Calling all Persona fans!! If you're a fan of the Lovers x Fools ships from P3 - P5 or even just one of them, feel free to check out my oneshot collection fic on Ao3 Fools Follow The Lovers!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
“Come on, partner! How are you going to find a girlfriend if you don’t even look?”
Yu sighed, “I already told you I’m not interested, Yosuke.”
“Why not?” Yu moved the phone away from his ear when the brunette’s whining reached another octave.
This has been a routine with Yosuke for the past few days, even though he has already expressed that he doesn’t want a girlfriend. But the brunette still insists on it every. day. Yosuke had only gotten worse after he found out that Kanji and Naoto got together.
“You only want me to come along so you can get laid,” Yu deadpanned.
“What! No! Of course not!”
“But that’s what you said, Yosuke.” He could hear Teddie, Yosuke’s teammate, roommate, and practically little brother, in the background. There was a thud on the other end of the line. Someone threw something.
“Shut up, Teddie!”
A loud yawn came from behind him. “Senpai?” Rise groggy voice croaked from behind him.
There was a pause on the line.
“Dude… Is that a girl?”
Shit.
“I have the TV on, Yosuke.” He was quick to shush the incoming bunny girl. He mouthed: “I’m on the phone.”
He turned back around before he could see the mischief glint forming in her eyes.
“What! TV my ass! That was clearly a girl’s voice!”
“Why would I have a girl in my apartment? I told you I didn’t want a- !” Yu bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a totally manly yelp after his girlfriend pinched a small inch of fat above his thigh. She giggled quietly into his white cotton shirt. He cursed under his breath. He’d forgotten who he was dealing with. Why did he even think she’d behave?
“Partner? Are you okay?”
“Fine. Just… hit my side against… something.” Skin slapped against skin in a loud smack when Yu caught Rise’s hand by the wrist before her hand could venture any further under the waist belt of his pants. “Stop.”
“Stop what? I haven’t done anything.” The brunette gasped. “You do have a girl over!”
“What! Sensei scored?” The next thing he knew there was a struggle over the phone. Rise’s laughed louder, the cotton shirt unable to muffle the snorts and chuckles.
“This is your fault.” He made sure to hold the phone away from his mouth. The two were fighting on the line. He still didn’t let go of his hold on her wrist.
Rise merely stuck her tongue out and nuzzled deeper in his shirt. Her fuzzy ears tickled the back of his neck and the underside of his left ear. She gently scratched the short hairs under his navel, sending pleasurable shivers down to his toes and blood rushing to where it didn’t need to be while he was on the phone.
“I’ll talk to you later, Yosuke. Bye.”
“Wait! Hold on-” Beep.
“So do I have all of Senpai’s attention now? Woah!” With a mooth turn, he had her pressed against the kitchen counter and his body. He leaned down and hovered just enough to where they were sharing the same breath. He said these words against her lips before trapping hers in a sweet kiss.
“Every last inch of it.”
Every day, early in the morning, Yu would leave. Then he’d come back, pet her, and leave again. Then he’d come back again and she’d merely watch him type away on the computer. At least this time he’d let her lay her head in his lap until it was time to go to sleep.
She missed him.
Okay she was bored out of her mind too, but she still missed him.
He left her the TV remote to watch her shows and she knew the basics of working the computer to entertain herself. But it wasn’t the same.
She’s watched every rerun of America’s Got Talent that they were willing to show and exhausted the clips of it on UWatch; and music could only hold her for so long.
She wanted her Master back. Why is this “college” holding him for so long? Did he like them more than her?
“No! Stop that, Rise!” She double slapped both of her cheeks once, twice. That type of thinking would only lead to more bad thoughts.
The door opened from the living room and she perked up.
“Senpai!” She raced out of the bedroom to the living room. Her master was finally back! But in the hallway, she stopped in her tracks.
Senpai had company. She could see two girls around the tall frame that was her master. They were like the opposites of each other. One was taller than the other but both were shorter than Senpai. They were looking around; the tall one’s expression of curiosity was more tamed than the shorter one.
Rise didn’t like the tall brunette. She was too close to Senpai. Why did she blush whenever she looked at him? A low growl began to work its way up her throat. Her long ears started to twitch in annoyance.
Senpai’s eyes locked with hers.
This was also another frequent occurrence.
Hybrids were illegal in most of the world and unfortunately that included many parts of Japan. Harboring Hybrids was one of the greatest offenses a person could make; even worse than being one yourself. Harboring could equal twenty years in jail to lifetime, even death row depending on how many you’re keeping. To see her here in his apartment would only spell disaster for both her and Senpai. So she knew what she had to do.
She skulked back to the bedroom, making sure to keep out of sight and be quiet as possible to stay hidden from the girls. She made sure to keep full eye contact with her master. Her eyes conveyed every emotion and word she wanted to yell at him noe.
She better get extra cuddles after this.
Yu knew she was upset when he saw the look in her eyes: a look he never wanted to see on her ever again. But in the world they lived in, he’d have to accept that there were going to be times when he’d have to see her sunny smile turn sunny side down.
She didn’t like it when she brought company over, especially if they were females. It took his time away from her, and she always claimed they were flirting with him whenever they came over. Which would result in him proving the rest of the day that he only wanted her.
He loves Rise. He loves her bubbly personality. He loves her comforting presence. He felt like he could truly be himself around her. He didn’t care about her having rabbit ears. To him, they were only an extension of who she is. But she didn’t see that way, and the world didn’t want her to.
“Yu-kun?”
“Huh?” Yukiko and Chie were looking at him expectantly. They must’ve asked him a question.
“You’ve been awfully distracted lately. Is everything okay?”
“I’m okay. It’s just been… stressful lately.”
“Is it school work?” Yukiko asked. A pink flush dusting up her neck and her eyelids started to flutter. Maybe she was feverish. “I wouldn’t mind tutoring you. If you need help that is.”
“Thanks, Yukiko, but I’m okay>” He stood up from his spot on the couch. “I’m going to get something out of the bedroom right quick. I’ll be back.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He left the girls on the couch to themselves to walk down the hall to his bedroom. The door was left slightly ajar. No doubt so she could listen in on all the conversations from down the hall. Those ears on her head were seriously no joke.
He opened the door to find her sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked up from her downtrodden stare at the ground to Yu.
“I’m okay, Senpai. You can go back to them.”
“You need me more than them right now, Rise.” Yu took a seat beside her on the bed. He covered his hand over her closed fist. She let his fingers slip in between hers without a struggle.
In her dreams of becoming a detective, she never thought she'd have to do this.
Their friends made a group chat without Yu. They were asking her to investigate Yu. Everyone agreed that he had been acting strange. Yukiko and Chie said that he seemed out of it when they had visited. He could barely focus on his work. Though Chie’s words were more objective than Yukiko’s, since the dark haired female had a crush on the college student.
Teddie typing “Sensei scored”, momentarily silenced the chat. Yosuke confirmed that it rocked the chat to its core.
So now she was asked to investigate his “mystery girlfriend” too.
Nowadays she felt more like a PI than a regular detective.
“Maybe it was just the TV.” She didn’t want to come over to his apartment alone, so she asked Kanji to tag along. He was great company on the way over. He had spent all night making a sweater for Yu as a housewarming gift. Him coming with her was a good excuse for him to give it to him.
“We won’t know until we investigate.”
They knocked on the door.
“Do you think he actually has a girlfriend?”
“Well it wouldn’t be that weird.” Yu has always been a hit with the ladies. She even had a crush on him at one point before she started focusing more on her work and started dating Kanji. Despite his popularity, Yu never made a move towards anyone nor dated anyone, except for those questionable days with Ai Ebihara. If he was dating anyone, she’d have no idea who it was. “Senpai isn’t made of stone.”
The door opened and Yu looked confused and… different.
“Naoto-chan? Kanji-kun?” He looked disheveled if she could call it that. His shirt was slightly rumpled. His hair wasn’t as tamed. He looked to be slightly out of breath.
“H-hi, Senpai. Can we come in?”
He let them, but he seemed hesitant to do so. He was looking over their heads at something.
“Uh, were we interrupting something, Senpai?” Kanji asked from behind her.
“No, but you guys coming was unexpected. You could’ve given it to me tomorrow.” They were all going to meet up tomorrow at the Junes food court. Why would they visit him today?"
“Uh, yes. But I really wanted to see your new apartment. You've been here for a month and I still haven’t seen it.” She looked around the apartment to better her excuse. She made sure to pay close attention in case she could catch anything suspicious.
“Here, Senpai.” Kanji gave Yu the present he had made him: a sweater. “It’s getting colder too, so this should help ya out.”
“Wow. Thanks Kanji.” He held the sweater out in front of him, silently looking over the design and intricate sewing. Even if it was mostly a plain white sweater, he knew Kanji still took his time to make it and embroider all the smaller details.
While he was admiring the handiwork, he didn’t notice the look Kanji and Naoto shared.
“Uh, Senpai. Yosuke thinks he left a pair of his headphones in your spare guest room. Think I can check?”
Kanji dragged Yu towards the back of his house and Naoto got to searching.
Little evidence that she could use was found. She found a long strand of hair on one of the couch pillows. She remembers Yukiko and Chie saying they had sat on the couch while they were doing their homework, but the hair was too light to be Yukiko’s and too long to be Chie’s.
But besides that there was nothing-
“Ah!”
She turned around to face the anomaly. She had hazel eyes and chestnut brown hair tied into messy pigtails. She had a face anyone would fall for, but the most prominent part of her were the two bunny ears standing tall and erect on top of her head from shock.
“Naoto! What happened?” Kanji ran from the back and stopped in his steps too. He, of course, saw what she saw too. He was had more words than she did at the moment. “Woah!”
“The others put you up to this?” Yu leaned on the wall behind them with his arms folded. His glare was sharp on Naoto and a little on Kanji.
“Senpai! What do you think you’re doing?” They left Rise and Kanji in the living room as Yu pulled Naoto in the spare guest bedroom for their discussion.
“Quiet down! She’ll hear you.” He whisper-said.
“She’ll hear? Why is she here? You’re a lot of things Senpai but you’re not blind. She a hybrid.”
“I know what she is, Naoto. And you know those rules they have for hybrids are bullshit.”
“It’s not about how stupid the rules are! Do you realize that if anyone catches you, you’re going to jail! Or maybe even worse!”
“Naoto!” Yu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What is Kanji was a hybrid?”
“What? What does that have to do with anything?"
“If Kanji was a hybrid, would you love him any less?”
“Love?” Naoto was speechless, her eyes wide in disbelief and shock. “You love her?”
Yu was quiet. He wasn’t sure himself. He’s never felt this way before, but he knew he didn’t want to be without her or see her in pain ever again.
His heart felt so heavy. Maybe this was love.
Naoto sighed at his silence. She shook her head at the ridiculous situation. Of all the people for her Senpai to finally fall in love with, it had to be someone with so many discriminations against her. Things with Senpai were never easy.
“Is she worth the risk?”
“Yes."
“Then I didn’t see a thing. But you have to find a way to break it to everyone. They are worried.”
“I will.”
When they returned to the living room, Rise and Kanji were sitting at the kitchen counter. Kanji was in the process of pouring another glass of tea. Rise was giggling before she noticed Yu and Naoto. She waved them over. “Senpai! Did you know Kanji-kun makes the best tea!”
Yu couldn’t help but smile and when he looked at Naoto, judging by her smile, Rise was growing on her too.
The velvet sheet felt so soft beneath her skin. It’s been so long since she’s felt such cozy material. She’s gotten so used to scratchy sheets and hard floors that the plush mattress felt like heaven.
“Is something wrong?”
She isn’t used to this either.
For so long Rise has been alone. No siblings, no parental guardians, no friends. She bathed herself, fed herself, and raised herself. She’s never had anyone to care for or to care for her, and she’s been fine with that.
Then he came into her life like a hurricane.
His eyes were the kind of sharp that meant sleep was long past him. One arm was propped up on the pillows and the other slipped around her waist, his index fingers drawing small circles and doodles on her upper thigh.
With him, she felt peace. And it scared her.
In this dog-eat-dog world everybody wanted something. That’s how it works. There are some who are up front about their desires. The ones who try to hide them are the dangerous ones. They buy you gifts and presents, give you a roof over your head and food to eat. They want you to eat up every last drop of their kindness until they finally ask for reimbursement.
This human hasn’t asked her for anything in return. He hasn’t made her do anything she didn’t want to do. He hasn’t made her do anything degrading. He hasn’t asked her to do anything illegal.
He fed her when she didn’t have any food or drink. He found her clothes to wear. He gave her a roof over her head and a bed to lay in without her doing anything at all in return. It was almost like she was freeloading. She actually was at this point.
But this human didn’t think so.
He said she could stay as long as she wanted. She can leave anytime she wants.
She fell in love. Or at least, she thinks this is love.
He frowned at her silence. She forgot he was asking a question. His hand traveled from her thigh to her cheek and gently drew the small circles there. “Rise?”
She blinked, still not used to the small acts of affection and tender touch that he gifted her. But she smiled, tiny and a little bit wary from the years of duress but still a smile. “Nothing at all, Senpai
~ A/N: was my first time writing for Izana. I wrote it as a present for a friend who loves Izana so I was like why not give it a shot.
♠️ ♠️
The streets were littered with layers of ankle high snow and obnoxious couples. Every block, every restaurant, every shop was packed with them as Izana walked back home from the Tenjiku hideout.
It made him feel bitter and so, so lonely. Because while he was here, his baby was miles away, working instead of spending the holiday with him.
He was okay for the first week. Work kept him busy. But it was one night when he got home from a long day of handling some bad deals, he sat down on their shared bed that her absence really hit him.
He realized how much her presence calmed his erratic moods,and how her soft snores would be the gentle lullaby that lulled him to sleep. Her warmth was gone from her side of the bed.
And now it's Christmas and he's sleep deprived, bitter and lonely, unlike these couples he's seeing on the streets.
His fingers are itching for his gun and itching to pull the trigger and emptying the barrel on the next couple he sees holding hands.
He wanted to go home, but was it really home if she wasn't there.
When he got home he instantly knew something was wrong. He's absolutely sure he turned all the lights off before he left two days ago, and he didn't hire anyone to come over while he was away to feed the fish. They had an automatic feeder.
He readied his pistol, switching it off of safety.
He kicked open the front door and drew his pistol, then stopped at the amazing and unbelievable sight.
The living room, which had been dark and boring, was lit with clear string lights, casting a warm golden glow in the living room. Underneath the string of lights was a small dinner table draped with a red tablecloth draped over it. On it, a green Christmas tree, wrapped with lights, blue ball ornaments, and beautiful red origami cranes with a red and black sensu as the tree topper. A KFC dinner was plated and still hot on the table as well.
There was humming coming from the kitchen.
And then she came out, carrying a big kurisumasu keki with two spoons sitting innocently on the plate.
"Oh, you're home, 'zana."
She barely had time to center her hold on the cake before he rushed her into the tightest hug he could muster. He even lifted her a bit off the ground as he nuzzled his head into the crock of her neck, wanting to be surrounded by her scent and her warmth. Her resulting laugh was the best music he's heard all month.
"I missed you too, 'zana. Merri Kurisumasu."
And there was the smile he's been missing and yearning after for a long, excruciating month.
♥ Protagonist x Lovers
“It was something I promised myself while holding his cold hand.”
“I’m going to like the me you found. After all… I like the you who found her.”
Rise felt like the specimen on the lab tables they had to dissect back in middle school as her client circled around her like a lion would a gisselle. But instead of being intimidating, it was really annoying. She felt like she was being sized up by a hunched-over stickman.
“So you’re the best assassin they have in employment, huh.” He gave her the elevator eye again, but he stopped circling her. “Never would’ve thought they’d send the famous teeny-bopper Risette. Man, what a shocker!”
Hearing this creepy, slouched over sleaze call her Risette made bile crawl up her throat, but she swallowed it down along with the list of long-ranging insults she wanted to hurl at him. Risette isn’t who she is anymore. After this last job, she’s leaving the life, no matter how difficult.
Her organization pumps out the best idols in Japan, and each idol goes through intense training to ensure they produce top records and make people smile across the country and even the world. What many people don’t know is that idols also go through rigorous training to kill without being caught, fulfill their clients orders no matter how disturbing or gruesome, and bring in money no matter how bloody.
It’s an existence she wants no part in anymore. Standing on that stage, hearing everyone calling a name that wasn’t her own…
She couldn’t take it anymore.
“What? The screeching canary finally sang its last tune?”
This mission may end with a different dead body than expected.
“Where is your payment? All requesters must be met with the money upfront.” Rise made sure to keep her voice flat to not give the jester any edge.
“Wow. Somebody fell out the wrong side of the cage this morning.” Her expression didn’t give an inch. “Fine, fine. No sense of humor. Your agency has received the payment.”
He must want a group kill. If the requestor wants more than one person killed they have to give the money straight to the company rather than the assassin. Group kills were messier, more factors to mess up the kills and a higher chance of collateral damage.
“Who do you want me to kill?”
“Straight to the point, huh. I bet you’re great at children’s parties.” He reached for the inside of his jacket pocket and pulled out a photo. In the photo was a group of six people sitting together at a food court, each looking like they were in high school. They were all eating and some were in mid laughter when the photo was taken. They overall looked like they were having a good time.
She’s jealous. They looked like an ordinary group of friends. What could they have done for this person to want them dead?
“They call themselves “The Investigation Team”. The bunch of brats go around solving mysteries like some knock-off Scooby-Doo gang. It makes me want to vomit.”
Ahh. They must’ve investigated too closely. She couldn’t count on both hands how many lives she took just because someone was sticking their nose too far into other people’s business. “Do you want them all dead?”
“Why else would they all be in the picture? Kill them all and any more that enter their little group, but I have a special request. This one-” Using his other hand, he pointed to one of the people in the photo: the teen’s silver hair was cut in a bob and amidst the table of seemingly chaotic screaming and laughing, he was drinking from the straw of his drink, watching the scene with a weird calmness, as if he was watching a movie.
“This one’s death is mandatory. Kill him first.”
“Yes sir. Are there any preferences of how you want him to die?”
The client shrugged. “Surprise me. Just make sure it’s slow and painful.”
“Yes sir.”
Coming back to the small town of Yasoinaba after having toured many different big cities and staying in some herself was like a breath of fresh air. It felt nice to return to a place where everyone was so friendly and personal. Inaba was so small that everyone knew each other’s business in seconds. It was warming compared to the coldness of the big cities. It reminded her of a younger Rise, who even though was shy still had a kind innocence to her.
Now Risette follows her everywhere.
“I heard that Rise just arrived in Inaba like yesterday.”
“Seriously! I wonder where she could be now!”
“What is she’s in Junes with us right now at this very moment?”
If they only knew.
Rise pulled the rim of her floppy sun hat lower over her face. Even with her aviator shades, the more skin covered up, the better.
She only came to Junes for some light shopping. A couple clothes, maybe a gift for her grandma, but then a couple became a few and a few shortly became five bags.
If being famous did anything, it definitely fueled her love of shopping. When she was little, she would watch the stars walking the red carpet on the TV and admire their beautiful and sparkly clothes. Shy, little Rise, sitting in her parent’s living room, could only dream of wearing clothes like that. When the idol competition came around and she found out she won, she thought her life would change for the better. Now she’s not so sure.
But now that she has the money to buy those fabulous clothes, she was going to buy them.
Rise was looking at a pair of shoes when she got a shiver down her spine. Someone was following her. As an idol she was used to being followed around, but as a trained assassin she also learned how to avoid them.
First thing’s first: she needed to lose them in the crowd. In training, one of the first lessons she learned was how to memorize her surroundings. She’s on the second floor. Junes has two elevators(it probably only has one but for the sake of this story we’re gonna say it has two). The first elevator was out of the question; it was too close-by and too easy to get to. To get to the second elevator, she’d have to round the entire floor and cut through the large clothing store.
The second floor it is.
She made extra care to keep her shades straight and keep her hat down over her head as she maneuvered through crowds of people. Worst case scenario: they fall off and she causes a rampage. It would make for an excellent distraction, but she honestly didn’t feel like being manhandled or being crowded today. It had to be a last case scenario.
When she made it to the large clothing store she made sure to stick to the smaller, narrower corners: every tight squeeze between the clothes racks, the aisles of the shoe racks, between the dressing rooms. The elevator was in sight. She couldn’t feel the person following her anymore, but she still wasn’t sure what they looked like to be certain. It would be best if she just hurried up and left.
She watched as the red numbers ticked down and it opened to her floor. Rise released the breath she was holding in as he stepped aboard. She made it without anyone recognizing her. She even managed to find a pretty gift for her grandma. She couldn’t wait to give it to her. She started to rummage through the bags as the elevator doors started to close.
A foot weighed itself in between the doors.
Rise backed against the metal wall as the door opened again and her assailant stepped forward. She recognized him. The bowl cut hairstyle was a dead give away. This was the boy she was tasked to kill brutally. Did he know she was sent to kill him? Did he come to finish her off first before she got to him and his friends? Her hand was sneaky when she eased it behind her back as she clutched her weapon in the hidden pocket of her dress.
Her phone was dangling in front of her face from his hands.
“You dropped this.”
“Huh?” Did he seriously chase her around the second floor just to return her phone
She was flabbergasted. She snatched it from his hand.
“Why didn’t you say so a whole lot sooner!”
“My bad. I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. She had just begun to regain her barings when he stopped and looked back.
“Oh, and that strap looks pretty tasty,” he said before the elevator door closed behind him.
What’s wrong with this guy?
The news of her arrival in Inaba striked faster than she thought it would, but it wasn’t unexpected. The flow of information was not something to underestimate. She has no idea how they found out she was working with her grandma at Marukyu.
Inaba is a sleepy town. No restaurant or stores besides Junes has ever had such an influx of customers at the same time except maybe on holidays. Now people were lining up by the tens outside of Marukyu, and most of them were definitely not here to buy tofu.
She felt bad for her grandma. She didn’t need all of this commotion that she’s brought her. But her grandmother said she didn’t mind. She admitted to being more worried for her than herself, like the sweet lady she was.
However, the ruckus did have a bright side.
It brought her closer to her targets. And thanks to the ruckus, she was looking at three of them right now.
When she heard of “The Investigation Team”, the first word that came to mind was nosy. She had no idea they went to this extent. What were they investigating anyway?
“Wait if that’s…, then who is…” That was her cue.
She turned around to face “The Investigation Team”.
Huh. They looked different face-to-face than from a polaroid picture. The false blonde walked up to the counter while the brunette gawked in place behind him.
“Uh, are you Rise?”
“Yeah. What do you want?” She had no energy to play the preppy idol today. At her dulled tone, the brunette sobered up and ended up looking confused. He must know who she is.
“Are you really Rise! Wait, no that’s not what I- uh. Tofu, please.” He definitely knew who she was.
“What kind?”
“Uh," he hesitated. He shot his friend with a withering look. "Psst. Kanji! Order something!"
"Why me? You said ganmodoki a few minutes ago." The brawny man huffed. "Two orders of Tofu and this guy wants ganmodoki."
“Okay.” She went about preparing their order. She could hear them whispering behind her. Maybe she’s just tired. She wasn’t tired, not the sleepy kind anyway.
“Rise, can you get that pot for me from that top shelf? The ladder is in the back!”
“Hai!”
Sizing the two of them up, the fake blonde would definitely be a problem. Judging by his build and his straight-to-the-point way of speaking, he would definitely be a problem. But the brunete seems to be an easy target. He was obviously a big fan of hers and a little too girl crazy himself. It would be an easy kill if she managed to get him alone by himself.
Or maybe even close enough…
Lesson 2: Seduction. A little slip of the foot should work.
“Ah!” Her foot ‘slipped’.
“Woah!”
“Dude she’s falling!”
She never hit the ground. She had a smile of triumph before she opened her eyes and saw who her savior was.
Gray eyes met her instead of brown.
“It’s you!”
“That is my name.”
She scrambled out of his arms. The teen stood up like nothing happened, aloof and calm as if he just walked into a normal working day in a restaurant with a waitress fixing the food.
Where did he come from? Why didn’t he come in with his friends? She asked these questions to herself while brushing off her apron.
“Are you all right?” The bowl-haired boy asked.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I’m fine.”
She could practically hear the implosion behind them.
“Why did she just said “it’s you”? Have they already met before?”
‘Woah! Senpai is the man!”
“Oh, Rise! Are you okay?” She didn’t know her grandma had seen her fall.
"I'm okay." The boy reached around her and grabbed the pot for her from the top shelf. He gave it to her grandma. "Here you go ma'am."
"Thank you. Such a kind young man."
Great. Now her grandma is taking a liking to him. Rise sighed. It should be fine. This was gonna be the only time they'd meet.
"Rise, have you noticed anything strange since you've been back?"
After helping her grandma close up, she left out for some fresh air. It was late enough where everyone was mostly home by now.
“The Midnight Channel, huh?” It’s been a few hours since The Investigation Team left the tofu shop to warn her. She remembered watching a channel like that the first night she had arrived, but she thought it was just some prank, a parody someone put together that somehow made it to TV. It wouldn’t be the first time.
But a murderer on the loose, a magicial TV channel that only appears at midnight. Just what has her client gotten her into?
No. It was just the start of her mission. She hasn’t even been here for a week yet. It was too early to say she was up to her neck, but a higher bonus was definitely going to be demanded for leaving out important information.
“Hey, is that Risette?!”
Shit.
“That has to be her! Let’s go ask for an autograph!”
Shit.
She took off. She could hear running footsteps behind her. It wasn’t enough to be a stampede, but it had to be more than six people. Too much attention. She couldn’t go back home with them on her tail, but she had nowhere else to go. She’d have to lose them then camp out somewhere until they leave.
Lesson 3: Always have an exit.
She could cut across the bushing coming up. Or maybe she could cut through an alley and duck into a building until the people chasing her give up and go home, but that may cause more of a hassle. The bushes were the best solution.
She made a beeline for the tall bushes in front of the sidewalk when…
“Ah!”
Her arm was tugged, and she was pulled along.
“Shh. This way.”
“Wha? Is that you?”
“That is my name.”
“You already said that!”
He laughed at that, his voice still low to not alert their chasers. “This way.”
As a small mountain town, once you got out of the neighborhoods the rest was pretty much foliage and highway depending on the direction you went. In the direction they were going she could hear moving water.
“The Samegawa flood plains?”
“I found this spot a few weeks after I moved her. They shouldn’t think to come down here.” The “spot” was the grassy expanse down the hill and off the main road.
Wait? Moved?
“You just moved here?”
“Yeah. A few weeks ago,” he answered her. He started walking towards the water while Rise stood still stuck in her contemplations.
He just moved here! Just what has he done in a few weeks to get someone to kill him so badly? As an assassin, questions were not something you asked. Whatever they wanted you just went with it, no matter how disgusting or random it was. It was how Rise climbed the ropes so quickly. She caught on fast and she flawlessly did as she was told. No questions asked.
So why was this one boy making her question so much?
The music was a muffled symphony from the peace of the balcony. The full moon shone brightly from above much like its avatar from below; and wearing a red, fitted dress that hugged every curve and flowed like water at the end. She looked just as beautiful as she did when they were kids. Her back was facing him and the gun in his hand felt a little heavier, the trigger a little harder to pull.
“Why are you here, Mikey?”
There it was. That old nickname he hasn’t heard in years. Hearing it again from her lips and in her voice was sweeping nostalgia, strong enough to almost make him fall to his knees.
“Are you here to beat me within an inch of my life like you did our friends?” she paused, a small sniffle reaching his ears. She was crying. She never liked crying in front of people. “Or are you going to kill me, too?” She turned around. The mask that served as the strongest tell of her family’s namesake was lying on the balcony’s railing. Her face was uncovered and so, so telling. Maybe that’s why she liked to wear it so much.
“Hibiki.” Her name felt so weird, yet refreshing on his tongue. It’s been so long. She closed her eyes at the sound of it, feeling it reverberate over her like a slow song, and let it engulf just for a little while.
“Takemichi reached out to you.”
She opened her eyes. Her nose twitched, a cute little move she had whenever she was able to lie. She shuffled in her spot, swinging her right foot behind and in front of the other repeatedly. It brought back a memory of how she would always fiddle with her shoes whenever she wore heels. Walking barefoot was second nature to her and shoes were like the bane of her existence. It looks like she’s still uncomfortable wearing them.
“He listens to you. Tell him to back off.”
She huffed out a small laugh and spread out one of her hands on the railing. She tapped her finger against the iron. Once, twice, a third time.
"You know, there was a time when you used to listen to me too."
"That was in the past."
"And who's fault is that, Mikey?"
"Stop calling me that!"
He readjusted his grip on the gun and that may have been the first time she regarded the gun in his hand.
"Tell him to back off and forget we ever had this conversation."
"Takemichi said you asked him to save you."
There was a furrow of his brow but besides that neither his face nor his blank eyes gave nothing away. She took one step towards him.
He shot a bullet inches from her feet. Stay back.
"Takemichi has a mind of his own, and, as you know, when he sets his mind to something he does it. As for me." A sharp gust of wind blew, fanning out her hair and her dress with it. A strong scent of citrus and ocean water, a perfume she could never go without when they were younger. She still smelt the same. She still smelled like home.
"I've never given up on you, and I refuse to do so now." She tapped the balcony. Once, twice. Then she walked towards the door so gracefully that the only indication that she wasn't floating was the rhythmic tapping of her heels.
"I love you, Sano Manjiro. As much as the moon loves the sun, but I refuse to let you stay in this eclipse forever."
I know it's too much to ask to write or make 7 edits for different prompts in a weeks time, so instead of a Chalant Week, the Chalant Discord is issuing out a Chalant AU Challenge!
Write, make an edit, or even draw art for one of these prompts for the week of October 9th to October 15th.
Here are the prompts:
Ability Swap AU
Merpeople AU
Secret Relationship AU
Spy/Assassin AU
Royalty AU
Musician AU
Early Mornings
*Early Mornings is a freebie. You can write/make whatever you want for it.
a/n: this is my first time writing for Tokyo Revengers. I'm growing to love these little gangsters and I've been wanting to write for them for a while.
Hibiki enjoyed staring up at the stars, a habit passed down from her mother: the ultimate definition of a dreamer. After training with her father and her onii-chan, her mother would take her outside on their porch. She would sit little Hibiki on her lap, and - in her own romanized way - tells her daughter stories of the stars.
Delphinus: the dolphin that carried Amphitrite to Poseidon, Pisces: the story of the mother and son koi fish. Her favorite was the story of Aquarius: the kidnapped Ganymede and Zeus’ attraction, an attraction he used to give water to the thirsty people on Earth, because while she was a dreamer she also understood hardships and believed in learning life lessons at a young age.
"Use your tools to your advantage. Unlike the constellations, no one is going to write your name in the stars."
This lesson was trained into her head. It was ironic how her dreamer of a mother became such a realist when it came to her only daughter, but it was a fond memory of a time when she was still able to sit on her mother's lap and have a moment of peace.
Now her life was far from peaceful, so she took the time on quiet nights just to stare up at the stars, her long-time friends, who would be there still long after her departure.
Sometimes Mikey would join her. His presence was quiet. He was a different than the sunshine child he was during the day. This was the time when the shadows started to creep in and that sunny smile retired into that pessimistic frown that Hibiki thinks doesn't belong.
Hibiki took the place of her mother these nights. Gentle as if he was made of porcelain, she would guide his head to rest on her lap and as she would card her fingers through his thick hair she would tell him stories of the stars. His eyes would droop and she'd still sit there, still massaging his scalp while he slept, keeping his nightmares away until it was time to wake again.
dailybridgerton
andulkaphoto
yousharknotpass
ellievsbear
prguitarman
theartofmadeline
janainaart
annaxmalina
vaporwave
dededos
snowghoul
