Looking back, these two boys had shown her more courtesy in the span of hours than her classmates through the years. If anything, the latter had tormented her with gratuitous insults and physical abuse, glaring eyes full of hostility and sickly smiles twisted up in contentment at her pain.

But when she regained consciousness the second time that day, the first sight filling her vision was that of Twelve’s brows furrowed in… worry? His voice was reassuring and low as he suggested she take a bath to help with the fever, a slow comforting smile breaking on Twelve’s lips when she nodded. He had even helped her up, eyes warm and hands hovering in case she fainted a third time on him.

As for Nine, he provided her with a towel and some utilities, his face impossible to read as he drew the items from the cupboards. He gruffly instructed her to not shower with water too hot or cold as it would worsen her illness, promptly leaving before she could speak a word.

At that moment, Lisa felt more cared for than at any point in her life. Even though she shared the same apartment as two seventeen-years-old boys she knew nothing of (besides the fact they fabricated bomb) and even though she was a complete stranger, Twelve and Nine had treated her with a kindness and politeness no one else showed her.

She was grateful.

-

Twelve and Nine had warned her they would be back by noon and Lisa didn’t doubt they would make good on their words.  The moment she saw them exit the building, she sprang into action.

Lisa opened the fridge, scanning each ingredient inside. In the cupboards, she found various pots of dried spices as well as some cooking utensils. Doing some quick mental calculations, Lisa deduced she would have to hurry if she wanted to have a presentable meal ready by the time the boys came back.

Despite the fact she had never tried her hand at cooking, she didn’t see the difficulty of the task. She just needed to throw some oil in a pan and then add the ingredients and stir so nothing would burn. Easy, right?

Well, preparing one dish and keeping her eyes on it was simple enough, but the more she added pans onto the stove, the harder it was to keep everything under wraps. While her attention was focused on the meat, the oil sizzled and the vegetables burned. No, no, no! This wouldn’t do, there was no way she could present this to Nine and Twelve!

Huffing, Lisa placed the burned pans aside, starting anew. No matter how many times things went wrong, she couldn’t give up: after everything Twelve and Nine did for her, the least she could do was pay them back by preparing their meals and tidying up the apartment. Lisa didn’t want to simply mooch off them and get in their way.

She would make herself useful, one way or another!

By the time the boys were back, Lisa finally had some semblance of a meal going. She plated up, ignoring the smoke clinging to her clothes, the distinctive smell of burned food, Nine’s face of utter disgust, and Twelve’s expression of reluctance. She intently watched as the boys poked their food with a fork, slowly pushing and turning around the zucchinis and the fish until Nine finally took a mouthful.

And immediately spit it out.

“This is terrible,” he said, crossing his arms and sitting back.

Lisa’s heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. “What? No way, I made sure the food turned out well!”

Lisa turned to Twelve, seeking some sort of backup. She watched intently as he took a bite, winced, and spoke: “This isn’t edible.”

Traitor! After all her efforts too! She gave her all to prepare them a meal, and they didn’t even like it?

“Aren’t you being too harsh?” Lisa asked, getting defensive. Yes, she expected her cooking attempts would be less than perfect, but the boys were clearly exaggerating. The food wasn’t even burned this time!

“Have you tried taking a bite, then?”

Well, she had wanted to, but she was too anxious for the boys’ reactions. Dissatisfied with their opinion, Lisa dug in and brought food to her mouth, wanting to prove them wrong.

Ugh.

It was so salty! She could barely stomach the taste as the food rolled around her mouth, and Lisa had to gulp down a glass of water to tone down the saltiness of the bite. Even after she swallowed, she could still feel the aftertaste of salt burning her tongue, and Lisa put down her fork, unwilling to repeat the experience.

They had been right.

(Still, they didn’t have to be so blunt. They could have showed some appreciation for her efforts, right?)

As if the experience wasn’t horrible enough, Nine had seen right through her intentions behind preparing a meal and told her, in clear terms, that her plan of making herself useful had completely backfired.

Thoroughly chastised, her head pounding, Lisa didn’t resist as Twelve helped her upstairs. He covered her with a blanket, returning moments later to place a cool towel on her forehead and gifting her with her stuffed penguin.

“Don’t take Nine’s words too seriously, alright?” Twelve said with a slight smile. “I’ve been his personal cook for years and he still finds a way to complain. You can’t win against him.”

“He didn’t have to be so blunt,” Lisa muttered, closing her eyes and snuggling under the blankets. Twelve readjusted the cold towel, easing away the strands of hair that had fallen on her forehead.

“Hey, Lisa?”

“Mm?”

There was a brief silence and the old couch creaked as Twelve leaned his weight on the furniture, bending until his face was so close to hers she could feel his breathing on her ears. As if she wasn’t already warm, Lisa felt the flush creep from her neck all the way to her ears.

“Thank you for the meal.”

A/N: HERE IT IS, AAAHH

Something that’s always baffled me when watching ZnT is the sheer amounr of trust Lisa puts in Twelve and Nine. I mean, at this point she had a maybe 5-min conversation with these two boys, but she still takes up Twelve’s offer to escape from the police, touches their stuff despite knowing they bombed a govt offce, bathes in the same apartment where two 17-years-old guys live, decides to prepare them food, and has no qualms staying over. 

And that Lisa is more comfortable and open around these perfect strangers than with anyone else she has known in her life speaks volumes about her past and the way people have treated her so far ._.

Nine never went a day without a plan. He didn’t go anywhere either with just only one plan, he multiple backup plans. Because he knew that life was unpredictable at its core. Something would unscrew, someone would shift sides and there would always be consequences for the fool that didn’t understand this rule. That was why he was careful with who he interacted with, who he kept by his side and at arm’s length. He grew up to see the vile the world could churn and swell.

Unlike Twelve who could stretch some of his childish ticks in variables Nine was more composed.

He steeled himself for a grand purpose—and that was to impose the world. To show how capable Nine and Twelve were when the world robbed their childhoods and maybe their whole futures in this lifetime. The consequences were all they had left; to summon their abilities and showcase their past in hopes for anybody (or the right person) to see what became of them. Nine and Twelve were living proof of how careful people should be when they connected with science and morbid curiosity. The demise of the others wasn’t what both Nine and Twelve set out to forget. It was the opposite.

It instead forged a greater impulse to step out. To reveal everything that had to be stopped from repeating another onset of madness and chaos. It may have been seen as overdone but, Twelve never strayed from Nine. He understood it, he lived through it and was surviving just like Nine was planning for a new future. He had mapped out all the places to use, what to say and how to act in front of the camera and within crowds. All the escape routes and diversions were good to use.

Everything looked like it was ready to orchestrate. That is until Twelve noticed the existence of Lisa Mishima. At the time, Nine was all more preoccupied to notice how that one incident would cause a storm later in their close future. She was too passive, too shy and almost too much of a distraction for Nine to sit down willingly when Twelve started to play around with her and give more side comments and passing thoughts about her. They had spent too many years in the dark to allow a girl into their circle that it almost caused a huge ripple. But he should have been not surprised at how stubborn Twelve could be.

Meeting and getting to know Lisa was not part of the plan, which was why Nine made sure he had back plans that were easy enough to slip into. Nine had always trusted Twelve with his life but with a new equation popping in it made almost made warier of their positions. They had the police coming from both in Japan and from Five’s influence. Gambling his life and freedom were always on the front but it wasn’t for Lisa. Meaning that all the years Nine spent on planning was slowing burning all his options. It was due to Twelve and his weakness he grew the way she made them see there was a hope of others wanting to invest feelings for them. For all the harsh words he said she was still willingly to love them.

It made Nine almost hesitant.

Because he almost forgot how good it felt to make another friend. He had always thanked Twelve for sticking with him but now when everything was pinning around their capture and demise Nine felt it. A false sense of freedom that only Lisa could provide. A savoir for their hearts, a dream that was tangible and mortality seeping in their bones. It caused Nine to almost sigh in defeat but he couldn’t; not when they were all so close to the climax. And maybe that was his downfall.

Where reality has costed them so much to suffer and bleed to the ground. His only comfort for dying was that he would not live in a lifetime where Twelve did not exist by side. He only wished that Lisa didn’t have to watch them fall and leave her alone and face the rest of the world. But if Nine had last thoughts passing his mind he knew that Lisa was stronger now; that maybe the next time they could meet it would be in a better situation.