#rouzu fics

“Yeah, Tsukasa-san!” Jamuo shakingly affirmed. “You've been leaving at this time of day since—” he counted his fingers, “—the past month!” 

“You’re not getting into shady business, are you?” Yasushi playfully bantered. 

“Hey, don’t say that,” Fujio defended, expressing his displeasure. “Tsukasa would never,” he discreetly turned towards the said blonde, his foot raised on the arm rest while his arm threw over his thigh, “But, seriously, bro. You haven’t been yourself lately. What’s going on?” He said.

Tsukasa should’ve expected this sooner. 

If Oya High was notorious for one thing, it was not in academics. Everyone who attended this school had an unquenchable thirst to see fists flying and the taste of victory. Young adults who still haven’t found their purpose confide in what they do best with the people who think alike. 

However, it slipped over Tsukasa’s mind that his buddies were not like the other full-timers. Therefore, he did not expect them to pick up on his strange behavior.

With his back pushed to the corner, he caved in.

He took a good look at everyone’s anticipating and impatient gazes, before leaning back onto the couch with an exasperated sigh.

“...I have a date.”

Silence…

“Hah?!” Kiyoshi exclaimed first, standing immediately with clammy hands.

“A date?!” Jamuo stuttered.

“Don’t make me say it again,” Tsukasa chipped. 

Everyone was in over their heads. A myriad of expectful reactions would certainly get the rooftop a fine for public disturbance. 

Fujio grabbed his best friend by the shoulders and shook them slightly, spouting out question after question.

Tsukasa brushed off his hands and made a run for the exit, leaving their unanswered questions in the air. 

The more rambunctious (and desperate) group followed his tracks, clamoring down the stairs. The Todoroki faction could only watch as the idiots followed the now-smitten Tsukasa. 

“Tsuji, pay up.” Shibaman had his hand out to him.

Scoffing, the other stuffed his hand underneath his jacket, slapping some yen to last him a week of street meals.

After shaking off his rowdy gang, he rushed down the quiet alleyway, arriving at a suburban neighborhood. He kept at it until he spotted a familiar house down the street. 

Jogging to the side, Tsukasa climbed the rusty ladder, hopping down to the sloped roof.

The adrenaline leaving his body made his exhaustion more apparent.

Panting, he walked out of the corner and was greeted by a wondrous string of fairy lights placed on the terrace. A puddle of comforters and pillows laid center stage, snacks and pastries placed sparingly on the small breakfast tray. 

“Tsukasa!” He looked over his shoulder to find you coming out of your bedroom window. 

A stray smile stretched his lips as he exhaled a content sigh, feeling his shoulders slowly drop at the sound of your voice. “Am I late?”

“Just in time, actually. Aren’t you usually early?”

“'Got held up.”

You squinted at him, noticing the slight sheen of sweat coating his forehead. “Did you—”

“I didn’t get into a fight,” he affirmed, calming your nerves in an instant.

Well, if he did, he had to deal with your worried pacing and scoldings while you patched him up. Not a bad alternative, he thought.

How… How did things escalate to this point? You were only a regular person living your life, not involved with any gangs that run amok in the city.

A simple, normal life compared to his.

From helping you carry groceries back home, seeking refuge in your house on a pouring day, meeting at a mutually favorite café, to even find out about your love for stargazing…

Every interaction led to where now.

If he was being honest, Tsukasa had always expected to fall in love this way. A budding friendship of coincidentally bumping into each other daily, to cuddling under the moonlight as lovers.

You accepted his ways of life, as he did yours. Truly all he needed. 

“...They bullied me into spilling it. I tried keeping it a secret for as long as I could.” 

His half-lidded eyes stared at the sky, his hand engulfing yours with his thumb rubbing circles on your skin.

You hummed, melting closer to his side. “Sounds to me you got pressured.”

“Mm. I can’t hide anything from them…”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“When it involves my love life, yes.”

You chuckled. He turned his head to look into your eyes, knocking the breath from both your lungs.

Every second you could hear your pulse increasing, and so was his. 

Tsukasa’s gaze kept flicking from your eyes and then your lips, pushing himself into another dilemma. He pulled you in closer and rested his chin above your head, petting and stroking your hair with his fingers.

Which proved to be more stressful for him as he felt your warm breath fan his neck. Any more and he’d be a dead man. 

“I saw that you know.” You said, prompting him to whisper a “shut up…” as he closed his drowsy eyes.

Compared to his previous rooftop rendezvous, Tsukasa Takajo would take this one any day… 

“Hey, did they kiss already?!”

“No, they’re just cuddling. Damn…”

“You wish that was you, huh?”

“Fujio, stop kicking me!”

“Am not, just stand put!”

“Um… maybe we should just leave them alone. Tsukasa-san won’t appreciate us invading his private life.”

“He’s right. I wouldn’t.”

Oya High’s mightiest looked up to find Tsukasa’s cold glare sneering at their souls.

“I suggest you leave. 'don’t doubt someone already reported you guys…”

As if on cue, the blaring of sirens drew nearer to the street. “Fuck, we gotta go!”

They all scrambled like little ants and towards an empty part of the street, not before Fujio shouted “Congratulations, Tsukasa!!” in the distance.

His breath tickled your neck, catching his bleach-blonde hair in the corner of your eye. “Correction: Your only medic of Housen.” You forcefully pushed his nose back into his nasal bone, his tuts of pain falling onto deaf ears when you walked towards the windows. 

You had a strict rule as Housen’s most esteemed medic: unless you were Sachio, only visit when injured or in an emergency. The clinic stood at the corners of the campus, away from all the rough housing and fights. It was your safe haven to protect you while you were still paying off a debt Sachio held above your head when needed.

But, his annoying and, the admittingly, handsome nuisance of an adviser didn’t heed your rule at all. 

After his intervention, you resumed your productive reading session, flipping two pages before a chin rested above your shoulder, two slithering hands resting themselves on your belly. 

You bit the inside of your lip, trying to ignore his presence and warmth. He hummed and ‘awed’ reading through the chapter. You highly doubt he was absorbing 80% of it. “Even in her free time, [Name]-chan is still prolific as always.”

You sighed, “You’re hiding from Jinkawa again, are you?”

“Yup” He admitted, snuggling closer. 

Routine as always.

Even when you give off the demeanor, liking and falling for Yuken Odajima wasn’t a hard assignment. No matter how much you admit you enjoyed solitary, his personality brightens your mundane days, even more than the company of that favorite scene from a book. 

In the serene silence, a loud, growling shout of Yuken’s name that vibrated through the halls. 

“That’s my cue.” With one last squeeze, let go of your waist and scrammed outside. Your eyes lingered where he stood before.

And even more so hard to admit, knowing you were always on his mind gave you… assurance. Even amid conflict, he’ll always opt to call you and rant about Housen’s victory, while Sawamura in the background tells him to tone down his sugary words.

Yuken Odajima was that utterly entangled in your life, sneaking in while keeping your heart captive from anyone who dared. 

Your eyebrows creased when Yuken returned, panting as he gently crashed his chapped lips into yours, his head angled slightly for his glasses not poke you. ‘What the…’ Your brain shuts down for that one second. 

He pulled away, a cheeky yet giddy smile painting his face. He saluted you and started to run off, not missing a zooming Jinkawa from your doorway.

A nuisance indeed. 

Throwing the towel somewhere, he grabbed his phone. Inputting his passcode before clicking straight into his messages. 

The screen’s light illuminated his sharp features, his lips cracking into a smirk as he scrolled up into the message feed dating back from last week.

Damn. You just had to prance around his mind, huh?

Who knew getting dragged into his gang’s matchmaking rendezvous would lead him to now? He still remembered standing broody whilst everyone else chatted and danced around, light strobing and flashing in his eyes making him want to escape. 

In his silent ruminations, he was late to notice another suffering individual at his side, a little too uncomfortable in their skin. You were definitely in the same boat as him. 

And the rest was history. 

Because you lived on the other side of town (and went to an actual school), you both opted to text for weeks, promising to jump at any free time you guys had.

It was better than nothing, he thought.

Amid his floating, fluffy daydreams, a notification slid down from above the screen with a ding. His chest palpated when he read who the delivered message was from.

Hey, I’m heading downtown. Can’t sleep and I wanted to take a break from home :>

He bit inside his lip. Todoroki clicked on the message, sending him down to the very bottom of your chat room. His fingers hovered and deleted message after message, word after word. The chat bubbles danced for a while until he unintentionally pressed send. 

He lurched forward with wide eyes, reading his sent message.

Sure,     I’ll go shower rn

“Fuck!-- Nice going, Yosuke.” He breathed out, pinching the bridge of his nose as he dragged it down.

Another ring came from his phone, feeling his dread quickly pushed away as his throat banged as if he could choke his heart at any moment. 

He peeked over the screen. 

Haha, okay ^^ see u [NAME sent a location]

Seeing your lighthearted message, Todoroki released a breath he didn’t know he held. Crisis averted. Would you even mind? Did you get in the same situation as him some time ago? He kinda hoped so…

Brushing the embarrassment off, he got up and made his way to his shower, hoping to clear his muddled mind. 

After dressing up nicely, Todoroki walked down the cool and uncharacteristically quiet streets downtown. 

It only occurred to Todoroki that this would be your first time hanging out in person since the party. Hard to believe, sure, but with your schedules and his intent on never breathing a word about you to his gang, that insignificant time frame of one month suddenly became precious moments he’d never trade.

Todoroki shook his head, sighing as he curved the corner, hands stuffed in his leather pockets. He shouldn’t jump to conclusions. You were technically still acquaintances… Unless sending memes and funny cat videos were a sign of your affection— it was still too soon to call any shots unless this date– hang-out went well. 

What were you planning? You mentioned something about cafe dates being a go-to, but would cafes even allow caffeine during this time? What do they sell in cafes other than caffeine? Is there anything you’d like? 

“Over here!”

Todoroki raised his head and followed the voice, straight to you. Standing underneath the streetlight, you waved toward him. The fluorescent warmth made your features shine in the treacherous sea of strangers.

You didn’t look tired, or was that just the grin on your face? Todoroki couldn’t tell. He felt like he could drop all his worries now. You were there. Mere feet away.

Fuck… he was in deep. And as his body practically gravitated towards yours, Todoroki knew he wasn’t escaping from your fingers any time soon.

But, he’s honest with himself. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“And what are these for?”

You stare at him incredulously, the lingering scent of roses, baby’s breath, and marigolds wafting in the air around you. The priceless confusion and conflict in his expression made your attempts to hold your giggles fruitless.

“A gift, what else?”

“You sure it’s not an errand?” Cobra gave you a wary look. Shaking your head, you tapped his chest with the bouquet, urging him once more to take it.

With a sigh, he takes the bouquet without brushing your hand against his. Your heart leaped, watching his stoic features tracing over the petals and stalks. Nothing but the whistling winds occupied the sounds. Right, it was going to rain soon.

“Thanks,” he said. “You should go now, the weather won’t be kind tonight.”

You nodded, “say ‘hi’ to the gang for me.”

You scrambled towards the way to your house. When you reached a corner, you pressed your back against the brick wall. You let out an ecstatic squeal, pumping your fist in pride; slightly kicking your feet. After months, you finally did it!

You quickly cupped your mouth, looking around the area before resuming your journey.

Meanwhile, Cobra entered ITOKAN, treading to his usual table. He placed the bouquet on the table, before grabbing a magazine from the side.

While his rowdy gang hollered in laughter from Dan’s story, he couldn’t tear his attention away from the neatly-arranged beauty.

Cobra was observant. He noticed the fresh small scars and cuts that decorated your hands.

How long did it take you to make this? How many days of trial and error did you do to ensure this was perfect? He nursed a petal with his fingers, tracing its shape with feathered motions.

“Ahem.”

He shot his glance up, finding Naomi with his usual dish. Stuffing his hand in his pocket, he went back to his magazine. She placed the plate on his table, before crossing her arms.

“And here I thought men were supposed to give flowers to the maidens,” she quipped. “'better step up your game.”

“Shut up,” Cobra rolled his eyes.

Not a moment later, all it took was Yamato’s loud mouth to point out the flowers, before the entire diner went berserk.

First fic of the year 😭 My goal for this year is to write more, in a simple form. No matter how short or long! f*ck you, procrastination!!