An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
This wasn't Yuriya's first go-to for dance practice, nor would it have been an option he would have ever considered, but Nemu wanted to hang out with his friends, and so, here Yuriya was.
The last thing he expected was for one Hoshikawa Gaku to seek him out for a quick chat.
AKA go my gakuyuris, this is a bit of an old writing, admittedly, i just missed them
based on the mukuyuki story cg bc the mental image wouldn't leave me alone after ryu-san said romamero were like mkyk in a different font
mini-ficlet under the cut
notes: uses concepts from the timeline theory and the idea that merold remembers timelines with my own spin on it (HCs and such), needless to say it's a bit of an AU/canon divergence from what little we know in fragmem canon
---
It starts with the Red Bouquet's first roundtable meeting as a complete unit.
Merold had greeted Hallritt with the typical easygoing callousness Romarriche had expected from his childhood friend. What he hadn't anticipated was that brief flash of animosity. It was a familiar sight, if an oddity by the time and place, because Merold had tensed up as if he'd been in the middle of battle.
Whatever it is that Merold saw in the rookie knight, it bleeds through his actions, and Romarriche can tell that Merold, consciously or not, viewed the man as a threat.
"I would like to think that despite our time apart, I'd still be the one to know you best."
This weariness that looms over his friend is coming to be familiar to him. It's minute. He's seen this before. If it were anyone else other than him, one would be bereft of suspect of Merold ever being in anything else than tip-top shape.
Merold turns to him, that strand of pink hair on top of his head bouncing with the sharp movement as he tilts his head at him with what could be construed as confusion. He knows better, however. "Romarriche? That's pretty sudden to drop on me~" Merold's eyes crinkle with amusement. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're feeling some jealousy."
"Yes, yes," he humors him, the smile that leaves him is unerringly fond. "However, you do know better."
Romarriche halts, lays his palm flat against his chest, determined. In the middle of the hallways of Lord Marroncream's castle, the two come to a standstill.
"I'm worried." About you.
"You always are. That's just the type of guy you are."
Here's the thing: Merold knows Romarriche just as Romarriche knows Merold. They've known each other since childhood, long before there even was a Merold, the Fragaria of My Melody, and Romarriche, the Fragaria of Marroncream.
"You've been having nightmares." He says slowly. It's come back to him. This had happened before Merold left to travel around the continent. There hadn't been a cure then, he hopes there would be a cure now.
There's a small breadth of distance between them, and yet somehow, Merold seemed no less further away than when he'd been out and about and doing his work. Yet, most intriguingly, "And Hallritt seems to be the trigger, however odd that notion be."
Merold does not respond.
"…Come here for a bit."
Until he does, and Romarriche has always been weak for his childhood friend, and so, he obliges him.
"…Okay," Romarriche says, stepping forward until he and Merold were face to face. Or as much as they can be, when Merold hadn't grown since the last time he'd seen him, leaving the gates and waving goodbye to fulfill the duties expected of the Greatest Knight.
They had been the same height, then.
Merold places his head onto Romarriche's shoulder, hands shaking where he held onto Romarriche's pink coat. His neck tickles at the shuddering breath Merold releases.
Romarriche figures he wouldn't say anything about the sniffles. Nor the wetness that spreads across his shirt.
"Okay," he repeats, wrapping his arms around his friend. "I'm here."
(Romarriche felt real.
In this world that continued to change, Romarriche felt real and alive. He may not remember like he did, but his presence was a comfort that Merold never realized he'd taken for granted, much in the same way those instances of losing Kurode continued to haunt him.
He doesn't know what tipped the man off in this run of events. He'd confronted him before, in the past timelines, but ultimately left the matter well alone before Merold could succumb to the notion of telling his childhood friend anything.
Perhaps, it was Merold himself that had changed. Whichever it was, one thing was certain.
Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective is a hit detective TV series that is starting to gain popularity with the masses. It follows the adventures of *Ron Kamonohashi, a private investigator with serious issues, and Totomaru Ishiki, a pure-hearted but dim police detective as they team up to solve the most baffling of mysteries.
Despite popular belief, however, actors are not their characters brought to life, no matter how similar they are to the characters they portray.
Or in this case, how different.
* most parts are quoted from the manga’s description on mangaplus
(click for better quality)
put under read more, bc technically spoilers for the RYOMA! movie, i think,
i like what ifs, i also like ryokinsaku
also, not really any real dialogue from the movie, just how i interpret scenes and then twist them into this scenario
that one clip of sakuno getting kidnapped but after ryoma yells "ryuuzaki!" theres a blur of kinchan going "NGINGINGINGI" (?) running at the fucking car at mach speeds
which led to,
"Let them go, I'm the one you want."
Ryoma stares down Emerald with determined eyes. "Echizen Nanjiroh doesn't have a daughter. He has a son, and that's me."
Emerald narrows her eyes at him. "And how do I know you're not just covering for this other kid?" She grips Tooyama's head roughly, eliciting whimpers from the unconscious boy. Sakuno tugs and struggles against the rope that binds her wrists.
"Tooyama-kun!"
Ryoma clenches his fist. "Leave them alone, and let them go."
Emerald pauses for a moment, loosening her hold on Tooyama and barking out a mad cackle. His head slumps forward, too quiet and far too still. "I like that look in your eyes, chibi."
The lights start to flicker alive when she snaps her fingers, revealing the dark area to be a tennis court.
"How about a match to settle this instead?" She grins. "Or are you too chicken?"
Ryoma gives Sakuno what he hopes is an assuring look, before reaching back and grasping the handle of his racket firmly. His golden eyes are striking against the light.
kalim yells out his name and before ruggie knows it, he was grabbed by his arms and what greets him is the serious and determined expression on the dorm leader's face.
"ruggie..." he says yet again, and ruggie's thoughts speed past a mile a minute. was he going to break off the deal? did kalim finally have enough of seeing his lying, lying face-?
it's none of that, ruggie realizes when the other boy loosens his grip and leans toward him- invading invading, a hot and sweaty scent that he's growing fond of-
ruggie does it on instinct.
"Laugh with Me!"
kalim mimics as ruggie takes a half-step away, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. kalim stares at him, wide-eyed and shining. his words his only weapon refuse to work with him, so he does what he does best.
i actually wrote random stuff bc of this and im in tears, ryokin brainrot real
it's uncommon knowledge that ryoma is the owner of two cats
---
ryoma hears hisses and mrowls before finding karupin fighting something in the garden.
said something leaps at his face and lets out a particularly earshattering and warbly shriek.
"rakupin, kin is sorry! sorry!!!"
...he was going to be late for school at this rate.
-
he's just entered schoolgrounds when he hears a sneeze come from his schoolbag.
he runs to the nearest tree and crouches down, silently pulling on the zipper of his bag. ryoma finds large and bright hazel eyes staring back at him.
the little cat ears twitch once, twice, before kin leaps and grabs a hold of his face once again.
"koshimaeeeee-!!! rakupin was being mmmeeeaannn!!!"
ryoma pulls the little one off of his face and he plops back into the open section of his bag.
"why are you-” ryoma pauses before continuing in a hushed tone. “i left you at home!"
kin wilts at that, ears flat against his head. ryoma refuses to back down, no matter how much seeing the little cat child sad like this stabbed a hole in his heart.
"rakupin meanie..." he sniffs, small paws clutching his little fitted jersey that ryoma's mother had sewn for him. "and wanted koshimae..."
yeah, ryoma lost the moment he saw the tears welling in kin's eyes.
he sighs.
"alright, you can stay." the cat child leaps at his face again, but this time ryoma grabs him by the collar before he could reach. "but you have to stay out of trouble. stay in my bag and stay quiet!"
"yay, yay!!"
"kin..."
"eugh... quiet voice..."
"good."
-
kin had behaved decently well enough during classes. ryoma gave him one of the tennis balls that he had found loitered around the clubroom and the little cat child was practically enamored by it.
ryoma had to force himself to stop peeking, he kept unconsciously smiling at the sight. his classmates were a nosy bunch, and he really didn't want to deal with that particular garbage fire.
it was almost lunch. ryoma exclusively ate lunch on the roof (sometimes even took a nap or two) and that was as perfect time as any for kin to stretch his legs. sitting still was painful for the little cat.
"just a few more minutes and you can play," he whispers.
