hanzawa/tashiro 💘 fake relationship / mutual pining / dared to kiss
It isn't lost on Hanzawa just how many gay people there are in his life. He's heard that they statistically make up about ten percent of the population, but that figure feels disproportionate to the number of friends who come to mind, let alone two of his brothers.
Despite what the rumor mill says, he has nothing against gay people. He's happy for anyone who can find love, whatever that looks like. If anything, he's afraid for them, undertaking relationships with little legal or social support. Nor can he imagine being responsible for another man's emotions, not when he already struggles with his own.
Hanzawa thinks it would be easier and safer to live in a world without sexuality at all. But as a high school third year he understands how childish that desire is, and begrudges his friends, both straight and gay, absolutely nothing. And if he keeps his own sexuality locked down, buried beneath an endless list of tasks and responsibilities, that's his business.
Apparently, though, there is an unexpected key to that lock, in the form of the lollipop Tashiro Gonzaburou is rolling between his teeth.
"I feel good about my chances today, senpai," he boasts from the other end of the table.
"You've never beaten me before," Hanzawa reminds him. "And now you're adding a distraction?"
"This isn't a distraction, it's gonna help me focus! I read about it online."
Hanzawa smiles. "We'll see about that, won't we?"
They do see, very quickly, that sucking on the candy does nothing to improve Tashiro's concentration. If he plays any better than usual, that's only because Hanzawa's gaze keeps drifting to his plush lips and the stick jutting out from between them. But Tashiro doesn't realize how much it's distracting Hanzawa, and does nothing to capitalize on the rare opportunity. Not that he would—what? Flirt with his male senpai to win a game?
"I can't believe I lost!" Tashiro whines after the club meeting, when Hanzawa has enlisted his help to reset the club room. "I even made sure to save the best flavor for today!"
There's a flutter low in Hanzawa's belly. "Oh?" he wonders, keeping his voice measured and even. "What flavor is that?"
"Strawberry smoothie."
Hanzawa's throat feels dry. "Mind if I taste?"
"Huh? But I already finished it."
His heart is the loudest thing in the room. "Will you indulge me?"
Tashiro looks just as bewildered as Hanzawa feels. He doesn't know what he's doing anymore, doesn't know when control of his body was wrenched away from him, but even so he's already walking around the ping pong table. Hanzawa think his movements are well telegraphed, and that much is confirmed when Tashiro meets his gaze.
"A-Are you going to... kiss me?"
Their eyes are level. When did Tashiro get so tall, to be of a height with him?
"Would that be okay?"
"I've never kissed a guy before."
"Neither have I."
"But I have kissed girls," Tashiro adds. "Do you think it's different?"
"Is that something you've been wondering?" Hanzawa asks, his voice dropped down low. They're so close to each other now, he doesn't need to do more than whisper.
Tashiro nods. "Is that weird?" he asks, his voice not only quiet but also small. Hanzawa's heart aches for him a little.
"Maybe," he hedges uncertainly. "But if you are, then so am I."
Since Tashiro hasn't moved away from him, and still doesn't move even when Hanzawa takes gentle hold of his wrist, he leans in and press their lips together. It's brief and dry, and the way Hanzawa's body responds so strongly to such little sensation doesn't make any sense, but he's too dizzy to parse it.
"That's it?" Tashiro wonders, brow furrowed. Hanzawa's heart sinks into his stomach, until he adds, "You couldn't have tasted the lollipop. You didn't even use your tongue."
Hanzawa gasps, hand coming up to his chest. He's not sure he can handle that line of questioning paired with such an earnest gaze. Tashiro might actually be the death of him.
@Regran_ed from @japonalia - “The way of the sword and the Way of Zen are identical, for they have the same purpose; that of killing the ego.” - Yamada Jirokichi #samurai #zen #samuraiwarrior #katana #harakiri #seppuku #masakikobayashi #ronin-ki #yamadajirokichi #hanshiro #japan #japon #japonalia - #regrann https://www.instagram.com/p/BrQYO9VFC9F/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=lcpuzq57kslr
This is a sequel to my other story Once Bitten... but with a focus on my favorite (noncanon) ship, Tashiro and Hanzawa. You can read either one in whatever order, it doesn't matter.
I officially met Gonzaburou when I was four years old. Well, I suppose I met him before that, as one of my mother’s favorite stories is how his first word was “Maa-kun” and how he would follow me around just chanting my name.
So I suppose a better way to put is I was able to recall meeting him when I was four. My mother had called to me, saying I needed to greet the new neighbors and I was… less than thrilled, to put it lightly. I remember trudging up to the door and getting ready to plant a fake smile on my face only to be left with confusion.
“They aren’t new. This is just the Tashiros.” The Tashiro family had been serving the Hanzawa family for generations. Before that would mean they were actually our servants, but now it just meant they were really good friends.
“Masato!” My mother looked aghast while the Tashiros simply smiled.
“What?” I blinked at her. Had I said something wrong?
She sighed and opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get out even a single syllable, I was suddenly knocked onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. I blinked my eyes several times as everything came back into focus and saw a bright eyed boy clinging to my chest. His grin was as wide as it could go and it seemed as if his eyes were actually sparkling as he looked at me.
“Maa-kun!” He cried out, his whole face squishing with his smile.
“Gonzaburou!” His parents scrambled to get him off me but he was stubborn and simply hung onto me harder. Without thinking, my arms came up to wrap around him, keeping him close. His warmth seeped into me, even at that young age.
“Who is this?” I asked, looking between the Tashiros and my mother.
This time my mom didn’t look upset and she simply smiled and crouched down to stroke the child’s head. “Don’t you remember him, Masato? This is Gonzaburou. He’s their son. You two played together all the time.”
I slowly shook my head and sat up, Gonzaburou moving with me. He was now clinging to my arm instead of my chest but his smile was still present. “Why is he here?”
My mother and Tashiros shared a look. I wasn’t sure what it meant at the time (and if I’m being honest, I still don’t quite know) but the look was gone as soon as I noticed it and my mother smiled again, “He’s going to join our family one day so we thought that he should spend as much time with us as possible. The sooner, the better, right?”
“Right!” Gonzaburou agreed loudly, raising his free hand high in the air.
In this world vampires are real. They aren’t like how they’re written in books, you aren’t bitten and changed and vampires – simply by nature – are more athletic, smarter than average, have good looks and (typically) have high senstivity to sunlight. They don’t burst into flames in the sun though nor are they averse to holy ground or garlic. Vampirism is simply a genetic mutation that happens before a person is born. When this mutation happens and your parents are both human, you are called a full vampire – meaning you can live off blood packs or live blood (blood directly from a human).
If that full vampire decides to have a child, if they have it with a human, their offspring is considered a dhampire, or a half vampire. These vampires can eat regular human food but need a small amount of blood to survive – typically they can survive off one blood pack a month added to their regular diet. Everyone is different though and some half vampires need more than others… some might even be unable to drink blood packs and need it directly from the source.
Now, if that full vampire has a child with another vampire their bloodline – after a few generations – will be considered pure and the vampires from that house will be considered pureblood vampires. These vampires can only live off blood taken directly from a human and they typically have special powers that come with being purebloods. Their bites carry a type of venom, that’s different from one family to the next but only comes in three types: amnesiac, antiseptic and aphrodisiac. Their powers are as their name implies. They also have the special privilege of having a bond with a human called a familiar contract. This contract is built upon a mutual agreement (aka consent) between a human and a pureblood vampire.
This bond is likely where a lot of the fiction comes from. When a human enters a familiar contract with a pureblood vampire, they gain a small bit of vampirism themselves. They become more athletic and gain an edge to their intelligence, as well as become more robust and they tend to live longer lives than the average human. They also need to ritually consent to the contract about once every month and during this ritual, the pureblood and the human exchange blood. While under this contract, the human cannot have children and the aging process will slow significantly, however the moment they decide they want to move forward, the contract is null and they are able to pick up their life where they left off… whether the pureblood wants to or not. You cannot force someone into a familiar bond.
Now with all that being said, the only reason I even bring it up, is because I – Masato Hanzawa – am a pureblood vampire. And the Tashiro family has been contracted to my family as their familiars for generations. Obviously this was no longer the case for the current (last?) generation as they had a son, but now, that son was set to become a familiar to either my sister (the de facto future head of the household) or my brother (the eldest son).
And that fact… left a strange, itchy feeling in my chest as I looked at Gonzaburou by my side. Even at that young age I knew that’s where he belonged… but I didn’t have the power nor the knowledge to keep it like that.
***
A few years later, I was in sixth grade, getting ready to head off to junior high, and Gonzaburou had since became a common (and important) part of my life – both at school and at home.
“Maa-kunnn!!” Gonzaburou yelled into the classroom as he threw open the door. I didn’t even pause or look up from filling out the journal for my day duties.
“I told you not to call me that at school,”
“’s fine. Not like anyone’s here anyway,” He said lightly and sat at the desk next to mine. “What’re you doing anyway?”
“Filling out the journal, I was on duty today.”
“Heh…” He glanced at my work before frowning and leaning back. “Are you gonna be done soon?”
“In a bit. Why?”
“’Cause I wanna-” He was cut off as the door opened a second time.
“Ah! There he is!”
“Tashiro, c’mon! Let’s play soccer!” A group of students were gathered at the door, a soccer ball squished between them.
“Can’t,” Gonzaburou said, shaking his head.
“Why not?”
“I’m going home with Maa…” He stopped himself when I glared at him and quickly corrected himself. “Masato.”
“Ehh?”
“Boring.”
“C’mon, let’s go, guys.” The group then dispersed as quickly as they came.
“… you could have gone with them.” I said after it was clear they weren’t coming back and he was staying behind.
“It’s fine. It’s not like I told them I’d hang out with them today. ‘Sides, I wanted to be with you more.” He was able to say such things with such ease, as if it were nothing. Meanwhile, his simple words made my heart squeeze in my chest.
However, I was but a child and had yet to truly understand what that feeling meant, so I simply sighed and shook my head, quickly finishing the log and gathering my things.
“Done already?” Gonzaburou blinked at me, a bit astonished that I had finished so soon.
“I can get things done quite quickly when I’m not interrupted.” I told him flatly and then raised an eyebrow when he didn’t move from his spot, “Are we going home or not?”
“Yeah!” He grinned and jumped from his seat, quickly sliding his hand into mine as we left the classroom.
“I have to drop this off with the teacher first and then we can leave, okay?”
“Okaayyy!” He cheered and nodded enthusiastically. We didn’t get very far towards the teachers’ room before my homeroom teacher popped up down the hall.
“Oh! Hanzawa-kun, did you finish the log already?” She asked, crouching down to met our eye level. She was a nice woman, young for a teacher of sixth grade, but she had a habit of treating me as a much younger child.
“Yes,” I handed it to her and she smiled at me before her eye drifted over to Gonzaburou, who was still holding onto my hand.
“Hmm… Tashiro-kun, right?”
“You know me?” He asked, his eyes slightly sparkling. I squeezed just a bit tighter on his hand in response.
“Of course! Hanzawa-kun talks about you all the time.” She smiled. “But, I shouldn’t keep you. See you tomorrow, Hanzawa-kun.” She waved goodbye and continued down the hall.
“I like your homeroom teacher,” Gonzaburou said once we left the school building. “I hope I have her next year,”
“Right…” Next year I would be starting junior school, which meant I would be away from Gonzaburou’s side for a whole year. Maybe longer if he decided to go to a different school. I knew that was the case but it was just now hitting me that it was so close.
“By the way, Maa-kun, did you have breakfast this morning?”
“What?” I blinked, taken slightly aback by the sudden change in conversation.
“I know you didn’t have anything at lunch, and you said you don’t like having breakfast. How often do you need blood again?”
“Twice a day at least but-”
“Then let’s do our usual!” He then dragged me off the sidewalk to a park where we quickly hid among the trees.
As a pureblood, I had to drink blood from a human in order to survive. And as a pureblood from a very old and powerful house, the list of people who willingly volunteered to be drank from was seemingly endless. Everyone in my family twice a day, in the morning before school and in the evening during dinner, would hide away in their selected rooms and drink. Every Hanzawa had an aphrodisiac bite – now, this bite didn’t fully take effect until we hit puberty but still – so in order to minimize the effects, we weren’t technically allowed to actually bite the person, they were to cause a wound or something that would then bleed and we would drink from that. But every now and then, someone might get carried away and actually bite the person they’re feeding on and no one wants to see that so, we hide away when feeding.
Now, with all that being said, going back to what Gonzaburou had said about me not liking to have breakfast was true. I had been drinking blood directly from a live source since kindergarten and it was never an enjoyable experience. The blood never tasted right… or maybe the more accurate thing to say was it never tasted like anything. It gave me the nutrition I needed, but I just couldn’t stand the taste so I often only drank a few drops and then sent the person I was feeding off on their merry way, telling them I had my fill. The only reason Gonzaburou even knew about that was because he had seen my collapse due to malnutrition once a few years ago. Ever since, he always bugged me about feeding and had more or less become my personal blood bottle. I didn’t agree to it, but his blood did taste better than any other blood I had had. And with his blood plus the blood I would get from my meager feedings, I was able to pass off as that I was okay without my parents or siblings really looking into it.
I sighed once we were deep enough in the thicket of trees that no one could really see what we were doing and frowned at Gonzaburou, “I really don’t want to do this today.”
“Sorry, Maa-kun, no can do. You gotta eat otherwise you’ll collapse again. And it’s not like you can drink from a blood pack or eat regular food to fill in the parts you’re missing like all the other vampires.” He explained as he triple checked that we were alone. He nodded to himself once he confirmed and then turned to me, his arms wide open. “Now come!”
I shook my head, knowing that there was no way I was talking him out of this and walked up to him, tugging his shirt collar down. We had an agreement that if I did this, I would do it in a place that no one was likely to see so I always made sure to bite him in an area that was covered by his shirt. “Wait!” His hand shot out and grabbed my arm before I even had a chance to lean down.
“What?”
“Do you think I should take my shirt off?”
“What??”
“I don’t wanna get blood on it!”
“When have I ever… ugh, it’s fine. Just hold still.” I covered his mouth with one hand and held his shirt collar down with the other and sunk my fangs into the base of his neck. Tashiro gasped, giggled and squirmed as I drank from him and when I finally pulled away after having my fill, I took a good look at him. His face was flushed and his eyes were unfocused.
"Gon-kun?" I gently tapped his cheek and he looked at me, his eyes only focusing slightly as a wide, happy grin spread across his face.
"Maa-kuunn..." He held his arms out towards me, asking for either a hug for me to pick him up.
My heart clenched but I smiled at him and scooped him onto my back, picking up his bag. "Let's go home, Gon-kun."
This reaction wasn't brand new but it was new. My bite was starting to turn into an aphrodisiac and Gonzaburou was clearly starting to be effected by it. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain to him that I couldn't bite him anymore... he would definitely think I was saying I wouldn't drink from him anymore. Actually, I shouldn't even be drinking from at all! He was going to the familiar to my sister or my brother, what was I thinking, drinking from him like this?
"Maa-kun," Gonzaburou sighed contentedly and nuzzled into my back, clearly feeling happy and satisfied.
***
I dropped him off at his house, making up some story about how he got tuckered out playing with his friends to his parents before returning to my own house. The moment I entered the door though, I knew something was wrong.
"I'm back," I called into the house but got no response. By this time, my sister would've been home and my mom would have been cleaning the house (she had no reason to make dinner, after all). My brother would come home shortly after I arrived but when I went to put my shoes away, I noticed that his shoes were already there. "Mom...?" I called again, but still nothing.
Feeling panic rise up in my chest I slowly went deeper into the house, nearly jumping out of my skin when I passed by the door to the formal dining room and saw my whole family sitting there in silence. Both my parents were on one side, my mother cradling our baby brother in her arms while my elder sister and brother sat across from them, their expressions stern but resolute.
"What's... going on...?" I asked as I slowly came into the dining room. My parents both flinched at the sound of my voice while my siblings didn't even glance at me. They continued to stare down our parents in silence.
"Masato, sit. Please." My dad gestured to the seat at the head of the table, between him and my sister. I took another glance at my siblings but they still didn't look at me, even as I climbed into the chair.
Once I was settled, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked exhausted.
“Mom?” I looked at her and she gave me a small smile, bouncing the baby gently in her arms.
“It’s okay, Masato.”
A little bit of that panic ebbed at her words and I slightly relaxed. I took another look at my sister and managed to catch her eye this time. She sighed and stood up from the table, smacking her hands on the tabletop as she did so.
“This is pointless. Look, Masato. I’m stepping down as the next head of the family.”
“… What?”
She let out a long breath and pushed her long hair back out of her face, “I don’t want to be the head of the family. Not if means having to marry someone I don’t even know! I want to be able to pick who I end up with in life, even if that means they’re human.”
“What about you?” I looked at my brother. He shrugged.
“I don’t want to take over, I also want to be with whoever I want to be with.”
“Then… what does that mean for me?” I slowly looked over to my parents. They shared a look before my dad reached out and gently grabbed my shoulder.
“It means that you’re going to the next head of the family, Masato.”
“Eh…?” A thousand thoughts went through my mind at once. I was about to go to junior high and they’re telling me I’m going to be the next head of the family? What did that even mean? What did my sister when she was going to be the next head? Did that mean I finally got Gonzaburou all to myself?
“Not much is going to change for you, Masato.” My mom explained when I didn’t respond right away. “You’ll just be taking a few extra lessons in addition to your regular schooling, that’s all.”
“That’s not all.” My sister spoke up and got a glare from my mother in return. “You’ll also have to take on a fiancee.”
“A fiancee?” I repeated. “Who?”
“That doesn’t matter right now-”
“Oh, come on, dear.” My dad shook his head. “We’ve had fiancees picked for all the kids, just in case this happened.”
“What?!” All three of us turned to him in unison.
He walked away and returned with a delicately decorated folder in hand which he then gave to me. “Here,”
I took it and slowly opened it. Inside was a picture of probably the most gorgeous, adorable little girl I had ever seen. She had big eyes and red hair so bright it seemed to be pink. If my parents hadn’t just explained it, I would have thought for sure she was a doll.
My eyes skimmed over the picture and then to the other side, where the name caught my eye. “Niibashi… Juuya ??” That wasn’t a girl’s name.
“Niibashi?” My sister yanked the folder out of my hand. “They have a kid? Whoa! They’re gorgeous!”
“It’s their son-”
“That’s a guy?!” My brother got up to look at the picture.
“Wow. He really looks like a girl.”
“He’s only a year younger than you, Masato! That’s great!”
“Huh?”
“Let’s call them right now!”
“They’re probably eating dinner-”
“It’s fine, you said they knew about this.” My sister dashed away to the phone.
“Wait! There’s an order to these things…!” My dad chased after her and soon after they left, our younger brother started crying in our mother’s arms. She quickly left to deal with him, leaving my brother and I behind.
“So, how are you feeling?” He asked after there was a long silence between us.
“A little… shaken up.” I admitted. “That was a lot of information to take in in a very short amount of time.”
“You’ll be okay, little brother.” He gently knocked my shoulder. “I’ve seen our sister do it, it’s really nothing.”
“But what about this fiancee thing?”
“Does it bother you? Wait, do you have someone else you like?”
My mind flashed towards Gonzaburou but I quickly shook my head, “No. But I don’t even know this person.”
“That’s simple then,” My brother shrugged. “Just get to know them. Unlike with our sister who was paired up with guy in his thirties, this Juuya kid is near your age. He doesn’t go to your school, but that won’t matter because in a few weeks you’ll be in junior high anyway. Just spend that time getting to know him.”
But I don’t want to . I thought. I wanted to spend that small amount of time with Gonzaburou at my side. Not this kid that I didn’t even know. But, ever the good son, I sighed and gave my brother a smile. “You’re right. I think I’ll do just that.”
My sixth year ended and I started junior high, where my lessons as the next head really took off. Due to those lessons and not being in the same school anymore, my time with Gonzaburou became nonexistent. Which wasn’t ideal but it did teach me to drink blood other than his, despite my unwillingness to do so.
Soon enough though, my first year in junior high ended and I was moving onto the second year and with the entrance ceremony came a big surprise. As I took my place on stage for the welcoming address, my eyes immediately spotted two things: Gonzaburou’s wide smile beaming at me from the crowd and the bright red pink hair of Niibashi Juuya.
If you enjoyed that first chapter, you can read the full story here!
