#mp100 fluff

There's no real evidence to his feelings. Hell, Reigen has seen with his own eyes you actively helping Serizawa put himself out there and you two are good people. Neither of you would hurt him in that way.

A feeling nags at him whenever he thinks about you and Serizawa. Could you two ever be as close? Would you ever be even closer? There's a drive in him that wants that and wants it strongly.

The feeling strikes him when you share an inside joke with him or when the two of you smile at each other. He has to admit, he's jealous of your relationship.

"Arataka? Earth to Arataka?" You're waving your hand in front of his face as you sit across from him at the dining room table; you invited him over to your place for dinner but he doesn't look all there.

Reigen blinks, shaking his head back to reality, "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry." His eyes drop to the table, chopsticks frozen to his hand.

You might be overthinking things, but there's something off about him and it's going to nag at you unless you ask so you do. "Is everything alright?" You won't deny it; there's a sick feeling heading towards the pit of your stomach.

Reigen has to swallow that lump in this throat and be honest with you. "Actually..."

As he talks, you have to admit that you saw this coming. You can see the wobble in his gaze, the slight tremble in his fingers as he delves deeper into his psyche. Why didn't you notice sooner?

"Hey, I'm really glad you're telling me this." You reach for his hand squeeze it firmly. Your lips press into a tight seal as you think of the right words to say. Then, it comes to you. Looking in his eyes and with a soft smile, you assure him, "I could never and would never see Katsuya that way... It's not because he's not great but because he's not you."

Reigen blushes hard. "Really?" He asks under his breath.

"Really. That won't ever change either. I'm forever grateful that Katsuya introduced us. He was right about you; you're a great man."

And suddenly, he feels a wave of peace. His chest billows out with a full breath, the purest he's had all night. "I'm grateful too."

“Oh, is that so? Because I find that hard to believe, especially after what Dimple told me.” You retorted in a coy voice, shifting your gaze back down to stare at Reigen challengingly.

Reigen curled an eyebrow at the mention of Dimple, visibly intrigued and annoyed at your words. “So now you’re listening to the loser spirit? Get real, I didn’t think you were that gullible, y/n.”

“Actually, the ‘loser spirit’ told me that you just weren’t the same while I was away.” You clicked your tongue against the roof of your mouth before clasping your hands together and widening your gaze to be doe-eyed.

“He said that you no longer carried the spark in your eyes when I had left, and you continuously sent longing gazes to my desk because of how much you missed me. You were so upset that even Mob had grown concerned, especially once he heard you sobbing in the bathroom one day, blowing your nose and choking on your own pitifulness.” Your voice was patronizing as you sighed dramatically, causing Reigen to pause his movements to glare at you. “Dimple said watching you be that desperate was truly depressing.” 

Reigen rolled his eyes and scoffed under his breath. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am.” You corrected before leaning closer to Reigen, slowly planting both of your hands on his desk and pushing your face inches from his.

“Just admit it.” You smirked, a smug expression adorning the outline of your face.

“You love me, Reigen Arataka...don’t you?”

Reigen raised his hand and immediately moved to put it in your face. 

“Alright, that’s enough. First things first, I’m way out of your league, thought that was obvious. And secondly, I fear the spirit might’ve given you false hope for something that’s just never going to happen. I would hate to ruin your day with a rejection, so let’s quit while we’re ahead, ‘kay?”

Your eyes were narrowed as you continued to gaze tauntingly at him, but the corner of your lip started to stagger. The loud cackle you had been holding in suddenly slipped out as you gripped the sides of your stomach.

“You’re too much, Reigen. I was only kidding.” You breathed through your laughter, wiping a fake tear as he merely stared flatly at you. You turned your body around with a head shake and strutted towards the door, however, before you could leave, you halted right before the threshold and looked back at Reigen over your shoulder.

“By the way,” You began, catching his attention once more. “I missed you too.”

You grinned while shifting your gaze downward, smoothly slipping from his office before he had a chance to comment.

And once you were completely out of sight, Reigen’s cool demeanor he wore during your entire exchange seemingly faded as his hand flew to cover his mouth, his body now bent forward as the feeling he tried to conceal finally made its appearance.

As he pictured how pretty your face looked while laughing and the sudden words that had just slipped from your lips moments ago, Reigen could no longer control the way his heart drummed rapidly inside his chest and the giddiness that now fulfilled him.

Reigen cursed under his breath, shaking his head before leaning back in his desk chair. He closed his eyes slowly while running his hand down his face.

That damn ghost sold him out.

Taglist: @katsukisplaything​ @royalelusts​ @manj1ros​

Spring 1999

A few weeks had passed since then. It turned out that you and Reigen shared a few classes: history, language arts, and home ec. It helped to have a familiar face in separate classes, especially since you were both in your first year of high school. Home ec had been the last class of the day. You were so ready to go home, although you couldn't exactly say you were looking forward to it. Just as you were about to leave campus, you heard a voice call out to you.

"Hey, wait!"

You stopped in your tracks. The familiar voice made you linger. You turned around with a soft smile. 

"Hey."

For a moment, he didn't know what to do. He gathered the guts to walk after you but lost his train of thought at the sight of your smile. His hands instinctively went into his pockets, brushing against the small item. He suddenly remembered why he chased after you in the first place. 

"You forgot this when you walked out!" He began to make his way toward you, waving something in his hand.

Your eyes widened. "Oh my goodness! I can't believe I didn't notice!" 

He gave you a boyish chuckle, clearly a bit shy. "It...smells really nice." It was your turn to let out a small chuckle, feeling a bit bashful knowing he had been the one to find your scented eraser. 

"Hehe, it does, doesn't it? Strawberry scented..."

You gave him a small thanks as he handed the eraser to you. For a moment, neither of you knew what to say. Reigen looked down and softly kicked one of his sneakers against the pavement. "You ready for that history exam tomorrow?"

You let out a soft sigh and rolled your eyes, shaking your head. "No, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't wanna get it over with. Have you been studying?"

He silently nodded. "My parents make sure I do. Even if I already know the information off the top of my head. They won't believe me! They want me to be like my sister who constantly head her face in the books."

A small smile tugged at your lips. Raised with high expectations - another thing you guys had in common. "Yeah, I get that. You do get really good grades, though."

He looked at you, taking in the way the sunlight hit your eyes and made them appear like honey. "You're not bad yourself. You have one of the highest grades in the class."

You let out a soft chuckle. "I do my best." You turned around as a sign that you wanted to walk and continue talking. "Are you walking this way?"

This was one of those moments where if you had the opportunity to walk with a pretty girl after school, you'd lie to the moon and back, even if it came back to bite you.

"Yeah."

The two of you began to make your way past Black sesame high school toward the bustling city streets. He knew he would get an earful about being late once he got home, but right now he could care less. The scent of your shampoo invaded his scenes. Just as he had suspected - strawberries. 

"You're really a big fan of strawberries, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

He pointed to the small coin purse attached to your school bag: a red and white gingham pattern with a strawberry charm on it. 

"Awww come on, am I not allowed to like them?"

"I think your version of like is a little more than just like..." You both couldn't help but laugh. Guess he had a point. Reigen decided to come right out and acknowledge the elephant in the room.

"You're not really from here, are you?"

He noticed the way your demeanor changed and quickly apologized with a not-so subtle panic. Gosh, the last thing he wanted was to make you feel bad. Rumor was it that you grew up abroad and because of your mixed ethnicity, you were the envy of many of the girls at school. He could see why, but it's not like you deserved any of it. He knew all too well how kids would start rumors and do things to bring others down. It was the shitty side of school that many would experience in their youth. Popularity didn't matter; you'd catch wind of it at some point. You waved him off with a laugh.

"Relax. You hit it right on the nail. That much I would assume is obvious."

"But your last name... Fujikawa..."

You glanced at him with a practiced smile. "I'm half Japanese. My mother separated from my father when I was younger. She decided to move back to Japan and remarried."

You glanced back at the road ahead of you with practiced ease. Like it was nothing but another detail about the weather that you just shared. Reigen looked at you for a moment longer before staring down at his own feet, feeling a bit unsure of what to say next. He didn't know what it was like to have separated parents, but he had a strong feeling that there was more weight behind it than you allowed yourself to share.

"Oh..." he looked back over at you again. "What about your first name?"

"(Y/N)."

"(Y/N)..." he repeated, testing the way your name rolled off his tongue. You smiled cheekily and walked in front of him now, facing him while walking backwards with a preppy little bounce in your step.

"What about you, Reigen-san?" You leveled your arms out as if you were walking on some invisible beam. Cute. He felt a little more awkward now being put on the spot. That and the way that you walked so confidently in front of him like that. You were charming in his eyes to a degree he wasn't used to.

"Umm, well my first name is Arataka. Reigen Arataka..."

You let out a soft hum. "Reigen Arataka... I like it! That means "blessed by divine powers," or something like that. Am I right?"

He gave you a half-hearted shrug. "I guess so. That's what my parents have always told me. Don't know why they chose that name out of all names..." He looked up to the sky with a thoughtful expression. "I hope I can live up to that..."

There was something about this kid that made you smile and wonder just how far he would go. Your thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone yelling at you from afar.

"Big sis has a boyfriend!!!"

((Read the rest here...))

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2

Now he knows your name but your username used to come first. It was how Serizawa met you after all, when he was still a complete and total noob to the pixel MMORPG you’ve frequented since day one. 

And like most things, your friendship with Serizawa happened by chance. You were helping a buddy out, shepherding them if you will because after all, they were trying the game out because of your incessant begging and pleading. You needed another person in your group after all, a certain raid requirement wouldn’t let you participate otherwise and you’d much rather go in with a group of friends than some randos that might steal all your loot in the end.

Serizawa just happened to be in your party when playing as a duo through the tutorial. After you tore down the first boss, an aquamarine monster made of slimy goo, Serizawa had typed an innocuous question in the main chat.

『 How do I equip the armor? 』

And you weren’t about to ignore the help of someone trying the game out for the first time. So what started as casual advice turned into a friend request popping in your inbox… Then spontaneous meet-ups…

『 Hey Gyudon-san! Are you going to be playing for long? 』

『 Hello! Yes, I have an hour. 』

『 Want to play together? 』

『 Yes! Thank you! 』

Turned into repeat plans…

『 Gyudon! I have a day off tomorrow, want to play? 』

『 Yes! That would be fun. I have night school but we can play after. 』

『 How are your studies going? Don’t play if you have a lot of work! Education comes first :p 』

『 No, not a lot. I want to play with you! 』

Which then led to chatting outside the game…

『 Gyudon-san, do you use LINE? 』

『 Yes, but mostly for schoolwork... 』

『 We should add each other! 』

『 Okay! 』

… And that’s when you learn his name for the first time. Serizawa Katsuya. The discoveries wouldn’t stop there; with the game no longer a crutch for communication, your conversations became a staple for having a good day. Good morning texts, good night texts. You messaged him when you saw something that reminded you of him, things that went beyond your shared interest in video games. He was so kind, you could feel his warmth over the phone even from simple messages; you have so many of them saved because sometimes, you need a pick me up from the man in particular. When you are on your phone with a smile that makes the apples of your cheeks glow, more often than not it’s because of him.

“You so like him.” One of your friends tells you one day over a bowl of ramen and they just know that it isn’t the steam rising from the broth that’s making your face clammy all of a sudden.

“He’s just– He’s a really good guy! Can’t I have friends?” You remark, stuffing your face with noodles and slurping loud enough to hopefully drown out the teasing that would soon follow. But you know they’re right. Who else do you think of when the lights are off and you’re left to ruminate in your bed, the mattress seeming larger and emptier as the days go by? Who else are you always looking forward to calling, even though phone calls aren’t really your thing? How many times have you looked up train tickets and times for Seasoning City, only to click back with your heart thumping in your eardrums?

“Don’t you want something more?” The words bounce off the walls in your head long after you say goodbye to your friend. 

Don’t you want something more? 

You can practically see the words when you close your eyes as you try to go to sleep but it’s deep into the night already and you’ve been tossing and turning for hours now. You stuff a groan into a pillow, cramming your face in the plush to silence the sounds even though you live alone. You groan because… you do want something more.

But does he?

You don’t know if you can live like this. Pining is one thing, something you’ve apparently been doing all this time (and you’ve known, god you’ve known but coming to stare it blank in the face is making your heart stutter at a pace that makes your chest cavity feel like it’s going to break at the seams if you’re not careful) but living in a shadow of doubt makes you feel even worse. 

“So that’s it,” You grumble into the pillow, “I gotta do it.” The pillow wilts in your arms from all the tight squeezing, the sheet blotted with a few drops of frustration straight from your scrunched up eyes. You grab your phone– no, you’re not doing it now but you figure, since you’re already going down this path, you might as well soothe yourself by rereading some of his messages from earlier.

Only, when you go into your chat history with Serizawa, you see three little dots greeting you from the dimmed screen. 

🗨 I can’t sleep… I hope you’re resting well.

Your thumb jitters on the screen, your last swallow lodged in your throat as you read the message. 

🗨 Same here. 

That’s it? That’s all you can come up with? You don’t want the conversation to die here so you’re flipping through conversation notecards in your brain, chiding yourself for not having anything to say when suddenly, you get another message.

🗨 Would you like to talk on the phone?

You say yes. Your stomach bounces, fraught with nerves, but you say yes. And when you answer, you don’t see the face of your phone until hours later when the sun’s already come up and a new day’s begun. 

“I didn’t realize what time it was… Sorry…” Serizawa sheepishly apologies and you swear you hear him stifle a yawn at the tailend of his words. Cute.

“No, no– it’s okay! Talking with you always makes my day… Night. Day and night?” You stumble over your words but it seems to charm him nonetheless, Serizawa’s soft laughter a gift to your ears. You wish you could hear it in person.

“I– I feel the same.” He briskly coughs, almost like he’s working himself up to something, “I– I was going to ask you… My last week of school is coming up. My friends want to have dinner and I– I was wondering if–”

Your shirt wrinkles in your balled up fist, trying as you might to still the beating of your heart but failing.

“If you would like to come? Y-You don’t have to, of course!”

“I’d love to!” You blurt out, incapable of keeping your lips in an airtight seal for any longer. “J-Just tell me the date!”

And he does– it’s in two weeks, which feels like so much time and not enough all at once. You put him on speakerphone, smiling all the while as he scrambles for the right words; is he as worked up about this as you are? You’re already on the shuttle website, looking at the price of tickets, debating on buying them early just because you can. 

“... It’s going to be a lot of fun, you’ll like my friends,” Serizawa’s voice drifts back to focus, “and I’ve… Told them about you too.” He’s blushing, glad that you can’t see the red painted across his cheeks. 

Your grip wobbles, phone nearly falling on your face when you gasp, “You have?!” 

“A-Ah, should I not–”

“No, no! I’m – I’m happy you have! I’ve talked about you to my friends too… Besides the ones we play with…” How is it already 7 AM? “Hey, you don’t have to go to work or anything do you?” 

You hear him yelp, “I-I do! I have work! I gotta go! Sorry!” 

How can somebody sound cute even when they’re panicked? How smitten with this man are you? “Go, go, go! Talk to you later, Serizawa-kun!” 

The phone line ends. You wish it didn’t. You already miss him. You blink, your retinas burning from the lack of sleep, your lids suddenly so heavy you can’t help but… Close them for just a little bit…

And when you wake up – is that really the time? – you’re greeted with a flurry of notifications but the only one you really care about is the message from Serizawa.

🗨 Very tired at work but I am glad we got to talk. I hope we can do it again sometime. 

Sometime would end up being an understatement. You go a day, tops two without talking over the phone, the next few times coupled with alerts that remind you to GO TO SLEEP because otherwise… You’ll end up repeating a sleepless night and as cute as Serizawa’s eye bags were (he’d sent you a selfie for the first time that week, which you stared at for an amount of time you are still too embarrassed to utter aloud), you weren’t about to make them worse… Though you were tempted.