10. A Shy Kiss

“You know,” Kuronamida hummed, casting his golden eyes about wistfully. “I’ve never actually been on a date like this before.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

Chuuya gave him an incredulous look, even as he tore another piece of bright pink cotton candy free and popped it into his mouth. Kuronamida pulled a piece off for himself, looking around once more at the carnival around them, as if expecting it to have changed. 

“I can’t believe no one has taken you to a carnival before.” Chuuya muttered, as if this personally offended him. 

“I suppose that means you have less to live up to.”

Chuuya scoffed, and Kuronamida smiled around another bite of spun sugar. As if Chuuya could ever do anything but impress.

“Aren’t you meant to win me some obnoxiously large prize or something?” he said offhandedly, and Chuuya gave him a devilish grin. After shoving the cotton candy into his Kuronamida’s hands, he made a beeline for the nearest game booth.

He played a shooting game which, rigged or not, he won with ease. The prize he selected was not obnoxiously large, but it was a rather comically fat teddy bear with bright red fur and hearts on its paws. Kuronamida couldn’t tell if he was being teased when Chuuya handed it to him, but he tucked it into the crook of his arm anyway.

They wandered the carnival, elbows brushing and fingers linking briefly every now and then. A clown made Chuuya a balloon flower, which he took with a bemused expression, and then handed off to a young girl once the clown was out of sight. Watching the rides, and the people on them, was more interesting to both of them than riding them themselves. Somehow they still ended up on the roller coaster, after which they played more games, handing off their winnings to children as they passed.

It was Chuuya’s idea to ride the ferris wheel, which Kuronamida thought was a bit silly, but agreed to anyway. Their last date had been at a sushi restaurant poised a good sixty stories off the ground on the roof of a high rise, so this view was going to be only so impressive. 

With the glittering carnival far below, they sat in silence, sides pressed together as the ferris wheel carried them into the air. It was no rooftop view, but it was still lovely. Kuronamida couldn’t help being distracted, though, Chuuya leaning into his side carelessly and worming their fingers together as the ground grew further and further away.

Kuronamida paused, torn, before turning and ducking his head, pressing a swift kiss to Chuuya’s mouth. It was remarkably chaste, but its purpose was not to entice. 

“Thank you.” he murmured, squeezing the mafia’s fingers. “For tonight. This has been lovely, Chuuya-san.”

Chuuya curled their fingers more tightly together.

Commission [ 2 / 2 ] for @oiyukis

Commission [ 1 / 2 ] for @oiyukis

Send a 📝 and I’ll introduce you to one of my OCs!

Per your request, let me tell you about Kiyoshi Chimamire. I’ve had his story worked out for about a year now, but haven’t done much with him.

Much of Kiyoshi’s story ties in with the culture he comes from. He is an Oni, which traditionally are thought of as violent, grotesque creatures similar to ogres. Oni, as I have developed them, exist in three categories; Oni with a single horn are usually small and impish, they have low levels of physical strength but talent with Oni magic. ( Which deals with blood and bones. ) Oni with three or more horns are the kind illustrated in Japanese mythology, large, vicious, and with low intelligence. Not very skilled with magic, but high physical strength.

The third kind are two-horned Oni. These Oni grow to the size and general body-type of humans, and are considered the “highest class” among Oni. They are intelligent, skilled in magic and physical strength, and govern over the various Oni clans. As one will note, Kiyoshi only has one horn.

Kiyoshi was born three things; the fifth child of the Chimamire clan’s head, an albino, and bearing just one horn. Of the last two, just one would have been enough to guarantee him a life of trials. Single-horned Oni born of two-horned Oni are seen as inferior beings, disgraces to their bloodline, and inherently weak. There’s no actual basis in fact for this belief, since it’s really just a rare birth defect. 

If this were not enough, albinism in Oni culture is viewed to be indication that all the life force has already been drained from a being. Oni take great pride in their vibrant, often clashing coloration, since they believe their coloring indicates how strong their will to live is. Albinos are outcasts, if not killed outright when they are born.

Contending with two of the biggest marks of a social outcast from the moment he was born, Kiyoshi was set to be killed. Neither of his parents wanted to lay claim to him, and his life would have ended then and there had his eldest sister not stepped in. Sachiko pleaded for them to spare Kiyoshi, rationalizing that perhaps one day his horn would grow, and then at least it would be just his albinism to contend with. Their parents were not convinced, but Sachiko was their favorite child, so they did as she asked of them.

Kiyoshi was locked away in the deepest part of the Chimamire compound, where for the next great part of his life his only company was Sachiko, the rare servant, and the occasional bird that passed his high windows. His second horn never grew, and by the time he reached puberty his father was done indulging Sachiko’s affection for him. He ordered Kiyoshi be killed.

Sachiko, who had raised him in the stead of their parents, could not bear to let him die. She took Kiyoshi and fought her way through the compound with him, escaping into the outside world with her youngest brother in tow. 

19. things you said when we were the happiest we ever were

“Anju, you ever want kids?”

Anju’s laugh was quick and sharp, cutting through the afternoon air and ringing in Hakuren’s ears. He’d heard people call it a violent laugh before, but he’d always found it refreshing.

“Me?” Anju scoffed, leaning back on his hands. “Hell no. I’m not father material on my best day, and you know I don’t have many of those.”