Summary: No one expects you, the most socially awkward person the Suzuran guys have ever met, to be the renowned Drift Queen. And why would they? You kept to yourself, and you're jumpy like a deer that's constantly being hunted. Street racing, and you would never go to together. At least that's what everyone thought...
Notes: Preview to the fic I keep delaying teehee. Not edited.
Beep!
Rao: Hey.
Rao: Yamaguchi told me you've been working yourself to the bone with your studies.
Rao: Don't forget to eat.
You couldn't bury the smile that kept creeping up on your face. But as soon as you felt a weight on your shoulder, you put your phone away.
Yamaguchi draped an arm over your shoulder, and your nose scrunched.
"Can I help you?" You said still looking at your notes on the cafe table. The loud smell emitting from your friend was ignored for finishing your annotations. Though you didn't really know what was worse, him poking you every second or how ripe he was.
Yamaguchi shook your shoulder hard enough to get a swat from your hand, "Did you get my coffee?"
As you slid the drink next to yours over to him a droplet of sweat from his temple landed on your notes.
"Ugh," You cried and shoved him away. He plopped himself down on the chair beside you. This might be the last time you meet him after his gym workout, you were grossed out to your limit.
Yamaguchi slumped in his chair, stretching his arms before him. The furious scribbling from you filled the silence in your corner of the cafe that you liked to call 'Your Perfect Solitude.' Which your dear friend here has always hated because it felt too boring. There was a lack of background noise that he always wanted to fill to your dismay.
"So..." He began, "I may have invited Mercy."
You stopped writing.
He sat up straight, opening his hands out as if trying to make it look like he had offered you a great gift. The look on your face told him that it wasn't working.
"Okay listen I know-"
You shoved your face into your hands and hissed, "Yamaguchi."
"Oh my God," He groaned, "He's not gonna judge if that's what you're worried about!"
You lifted your head up and kicked him harshly under the table, "I told you to keep your mouth shut, this is why I didn't tell you in the first place."
Yamaguchi rubbed his shin, "Okay. Ow. He kept asking me why I had to leave Rao's place early that day, and he didn't believe me when I gave him some random excuse. But it's just him, it'll be fine."
But you weren't convinced. The matches this week were important. Racing had been the one thing you found out you weren't just good at, you were great. Still, you hadn't been at it for long, and the fear of anyone looking at you making any mistakes made your stomach turn. The only reason you told Yamaguchi about the races is because he was never one to judge you in ways that mattered. He knew you long enough to know that doubts like these were in your head.
In fact, the morning when Yamaguchi introduced you to the rest of his group, you were almost in tears. You had put it off for so long in fear they wouldn't like you until Yamaguchi's patience wore thin.
You remembered how nauseous you were having that many eyes on you and how painfully awkward you were when you answered their questions. They probably were so confused at how someone like you was good friends with Yamaguchi. The least stressful part of that whole day was meeting Rao.
Despite being a known intimidating presence across districts, he was a man of few words which you liked. But Yamaguchi swore Rao talked to you more than he's ever seen him talk to any girl. At first, you would have never imagined how gentle and calm his voice would be considering Yamaguchi told you that during fights, his voice carried throughout buildings. You also never imagined how much he was a stickler for chivalry when you were around the Suzuran guys. You remembered watching Rao slap the back of Binzo's head for not leaving the door open for you a couple of weeks ago.
The more you thought about it, the more confused and anxious you got. Rao was incredibly nice, but you probably shouldn’t take too much of it to heart. And he should never know about the races either. It had swarmed your mind, but you couldn't let that happen right now. Not with matches to win so soon.
"You sure it's just him? No one else?”
“I’m positive,” Yamaguchi nodded.
Even with his confidence you couldn’t write off the possibility of Kamui overhearing him either. But you had enough to worry about this week so you sighed and packed up your things. Leaving with Yamaguchi to go get dinner.
IN CHAOS NOW!
synopsis : your brother and his friends make a small trip to get you from school, only to run into the local gang.
cw ; reader is gender neutral. no pronouns used. [name] in place of y/n. high&low characters implied to be your adopted brothers.
h&l taglist ♥︎ @straysugzhpe @yuken-gf @strxwberrychocolate @star2fishmeg @rouzuchan
[if you would like to be added / removeed let me know ♥︎]
song inspo ; frost by txt
if you have a blank blog [no bio, no user, no header or profile pic, nothing reblogged, etc] do not interact with my content. you will be blocked.
——♥︎——
toman + suzuran
“…does that make a little more sense?” The group of five stay silent before letting out a drawn out oh! in unison. You grin at their antics, shaking your head.
“Thanks again for doing this, [name].” Takemichi says. He rubs the back of his neck nervously, a sheepish smile on his face. “Hina gets upset with my grades, and I don’t want to bother her with re-teaching all of us this stuff.”
You ruffle his blond hair, “I don’t mind. I’m just glad I can help.”
“You help so much,” Atsushi speaks as he looks over his notes. Takuya nods enthusiastically, Yamagishi humming between them. “I don’t understand the teacher at all.”
The window leaks an orange haze as the sun begins to set ; a crow caws in the distance.
You tilt your head only to shake it after, hiding your unease with another smile. There’s no way. You look at the boys again, “need help with anything else?”
“Well—“
A loud bang echoes around the mostly empty school, an eerily familiar cackle hitting the walls soon after. With wide eyes, you and the group of five scramble outside of the classroom to see the commotion. A set of black and gold jackets are stood against… another set of black and gold jackets.
You blink, finding who you’re looking for as you walk up to him quickly. “Why are you here? Where’s my brother?”
“Curfew.” Is all Mercy says as another bang hits the wall. He glances to you, “it’s past your curfew.”
“Is it?” You mumble before pulling out your phone. It was past time for you to be home — an hour past, actually. You suck in a breath through your teeth, sending a sheepish grin his way. “My bad…”
A loud cackle hits the area again, “you’re a fun guy!” Binzo steps out of a pile of desks, knuckles bloody and a bruise forming on his cheek. In front of him, a boy with orange hair grins as he rubs his fist against his open palm. Binzo’s eyes widen, “I can’t wait to get rid of you.”
You act quickly, grabbing the wild boy’s ear and pushing his attention onto you. You frown his way, “and why are you fighting in my school?”
“Oh, hey [name].”
“Hi, Binzo,” you deadpan before letting him go. Across the hallway, you can see a boy identical to the orange haired one doing the same as you — calming a fight. Yamaguchi appears out of nowhere, slinging an arm around your shoulders as he leads you away from the fights damage.
Your brother is face to face with a blond, glaring as they stare each other down. They seem equal height wise but your brother has a different air to him ; a monstrous rage hidden he only uses to protect his siblings.
Your small study group follows behind you meekly, Kamui and Mercy behind them. Takemichi lets out a squeak at the sight of your brother, “he’s huge!”
You snicker to yourself and unknowingly catch the attention of a different blond. Smiling to your small group, you place your hand on Rao’s back and step into his line of vision. “Sorry I stayed so late ; I didn’t realize what time it was.”
Rao looks you over, as if making sure you’re okay. You roll your eyes, “I’m just fine, brother.” You point your thumb backwards to the group of trembling boys — their eyes widen at the attention. “Was with my tutor group.”
Atsushi smiles, a small laugh escaping his lips as he waves. “Nice to meet you mister Suzuran, sir.”
“Mister Suzuran,” Mercy laughs to himself.
You send a glare his way before looking at the new faces in front of you — and their matching uniforms. “That’s not a school, is it?”
“Toman!” Takemichi pipes up. He rushes to stand beside you and almost shield you from the group’s view. “My friends. Who are here because…”
“To hang out.” His voice is deep as he speaks, that taller guy. You raise your eyebrows — like you’re impressed — and look to your brother again. The rest of the crows have wandered up and gathered around you by now, shoulder to shoulder as they stood with you. “Why is Suzuran here?”
“You’ll have to excuse my brother and his friends,” you grin sweetly. Your eyes close and the irritation seems to leak from you as you hold the fake smile. “They have no manners. I’ll go get my things.”
The middle school boys follow behind you quickly, like sheep being herded to safety. The Toman boys eye the Crows apprehensively, but stay silent otherwise. You pop back up, school bag in hand as you stand beside your brother once more.
“We’ll go first. See you next week, boys!” you excuse yourself, pushing Binzo out of the school. Rao stuffs his hands in his pockets as your eyes land on him once more. “Showing up at my school just to fight… what nonsense.”
Takemichi is stopped by Mikey, a hand on his wrist as the leader stares at the spot you were just standing at. “Introduce me to your friend next time. ‘Kay, Mitchy?”
The blond can only agree helplessly as he watches a small light of intrigue fall into Mikey’s eyes.
——♥︎——
tenjiku + housen
“Housen…” a boy in a school uniform passes by them shakily. “Housen… it was them…”
“Kakucho,” the white-haired male speaks up. He pauses in his step, glancing from the boy to where he came from. “What is Housen?”
“A nearby academy,” Mochi answers instead. He nods ahead with his chin, hands in his pockets as a schoolyard comes into view. “They call them the Killer Corps. Four lower ranks, below the head of the school ; the strongest.”
Shion tilts his head with a hum, “sounds like us, huh?”
“What are they doing in my district?” Izana purses his lips, lilac eyes narrowing at the school in front of them. A small group of five stands there, gray uniforms sticking out from the plaid ones other students wore. He watches as the group is avoided ; people passing by averting their eyes and hunching their shoulders. “Hey. Housen, was it?”
Their heads turn, stone-faced but curious of the red clad group. Shion tries to look as intimidating as he can ; the others just stand behind their king. A blond speaks up, “is there a problem?”
Before anyone can speak, an energetic voice calls through the air. “Oh, what’s this? A surprise visit?”
The next thing Izana knows, the guy with the undercut has another person attached to him. You jump on Kenzo’s back, grin full force and pulling at your lips. “What a nice surprise! Good to see you, brother!”
“So noisy…” Yuken glares your way, but it falls into a soft smile as he watches Kenzo pull you from his back. “How was school, [name]?”
You deadpan, no emotion in your voice as you sigh. “It was school. What do you expect?” You turn to Housen’s leader unexpectedly, melting into something more gentle and quiet. “Hi, Sachio. I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“We all came to get you,” Kenzo speaks up. You swat him away absentmindedly, eyes focused on Sachio. He clicks his tongue, “I’m your brother and you’re paying more attention to him? Hey, don’t get any ideas!”
You face your brother coyly, “ideas like what?”
Yuken snorts to himself, looking to the ground. It reminds him that there are outsiders watching this take place ; other guys wanting to size them up and fight them. His face smoothed out, “right. You guys. What did you need again?”
Izana’s mind is spiraling as he watches you and your brother joke around. You don’t look alike at all ; don’t share a smile or eye shape or laugh. Yet you greet each other joyfully and bask in each other’s company. It reminds him of earlier times ; simplier ones when maybe he would've called Mikey his brother.
Kakucho clears his throat and looks on awkwardly as his king stays frozen. "Just making sure there aren't any problems. Carry on."
Your grin and playful voice lingers on Izana's mind far longer than he thought it would.
——♥︎——
haitani's + fujio and kiyoshi's factions
You're walking out with a classmate — Rindou, he said to call him — when he lets out a small laugh. "Seems my brother is here."
"Oh, mine too!" Your brother has dragged Yasushi along with him — of course. The two are rarely separated. What surprised you, though, was the sight of a taller boy facing the two of them. He's smiling with his eyes closed, twirling one of the braids of his two-toned hair. "Looks like he's causing trouble already."
Rindou saunters up to the unknown guy, scrunching his nose at the sight of your brother and his best friend. It makes you giggle — they often received that reaction. A whistle is heard in the distance as Fujio and Tsukasa strut their way to you.
“[Name]!” Fujio grins your way. He holds out a plastic bag to you, shaking it enthusiastically. “Brought some snacks for you!”
“I didn’t realize you’d all be getting me today,” you grab the bag from him. Yasushi peers over your shoulder as you pillage through the snacks, humming at the selection. “Oh, this is my classmate… and his brother, I think.”
The dual-toned boy raises his hand into a wave, his smile growing condescending and troublesome. “Didn’t realize the middle school was so close by.”
Your eyes widen as you see the four boys beside you twitch. Fujio’s smile has fallen ; Yasushi lets out a cackle as he cracks his knuckles. You exchange a look with Tsukasa and step in front of them before anything can start. “That wasn’t very nice, Pippi Longstocking! You should apologize before things get ugly, hm?”
His grin falls flat, mirth hitting his eyes as Rindou lets a snort out at your insult. You let out a sigh and rub your forehead. “Brother, let’s get our friends away from here before a fight breaks out.”
Kiyoshi groans but agrees anyways, slinging his arms around Yasushi and Fujio. The two are still frowning — but a lollipop from you is placed in their mouths in hopes of calming them down.
Looking back to the blond, you wave as Tsukasa waits on you. “See you Monday, Rindou!” You skip up to your group, looping your arm through Tsuakasa’s as you walk.
Ran lets out a laugh as he looks at Rindou’s complacent form. “Catching feelings, brother?”
Rindou shoves him with flushed cheeks and a frown. “You’re seeing things.”
——♥︎——
valhalla + senomon
Ryo often walked you home from school. As soon as your brother was in his car, the quiet boy was on his way to you — feeling as if he had some type of unspoken duty to do for you. You smile at the sight of him leaning against the school's wall, stark red uniform standing out against the white building.
A tap to your shoulder brings your attention to a boy wearing glasses. His longer hair is pulled back into a ponytail, a grimace on his face as he side-steps nervously. "[Name]... you don't mind looking over this for me, do you?"
He holds a mess of paper out to you — one you recognize as grammar homework. You glance at Ryo, smiling at him reasurringly as you take the paper. As you read over it, the boy in red takes your school bag and slings it over his own shoulder. "Just a few mistakes this time, Baji!"
"This one? I didn't think it was right," Baji frowns as he looks it over You walk between him and Ryo, messily and hurridly trying to explain everything Baji was confused about. "That one and— 'Tora?"
Outside of your building stands your brother and his following. Kohei's sneer is painting his face — as always — as two other boys face him. One is smoking, tattooes on his hands while the other has an intricate tattoo on his neck, his fiists clenched and eyes narrowed in. Ryo comes to a stop, "Kohei. You're here."
"Of course I'm here," he spits out. He makes his way to you, nose curling at the sight of Baji as he stands in front of you, blocking you from view. "Heard there were delinquents lingering about."
You grin, putting your chin on his shoulder. "And you decided to protect little ol' me? How sweet, brother!"
Kohei grimaces at you, "shut your mouth."
"No delinquents," Baji grins. He saunters over to the strangers, letting his hair down and taking his glasses off. "Just my friends!"
Scratching the back of your ear, you share a look with Ryo. "Well— same thing, really?"
The taller guy stomps his cigarette out, staring stonely at your brother. He breathes out a puff of smoke, "what're some rich kids doin' here? This is our part'a town."
"We don't want any problems." Ryo speaks before Kohei can. It's the best choice —your brother started and ended fights, never putting himself in the middle. He steps closer to you, "just walking this one home. That's all."
Golden eyes hit you, the jingle of his earring echoing at he tilts his head. You meet his gaze, looking away soon after and walking past your brother to Baji. You hand over another paper or two, "don't forget these. Let me know if you need anymore help — I'm still willing to help!"
"Thanks, [name]. See you tomorrow."
You pull your brother from the potential fight, letting him pout and whine as you ignore his words. Ryo smirks at your eye-rolls, nudging you and letting you tease Kohei freely. A golden gaze is still sinking into your skin as you peek over your shoulder, stealing another glance at the tiger boy. He's still staring.
"Tora," Baji speaks up. He narrows his eyes as Kazutora blinks rapidly, breaking his stare on you. "Be careful with that one. Don't want to make Senomon angry."
Kazutora smiles to himself, "wouldn't dream of it. Let's go."
an: contains spoilers for the worst cross. read with discretion.
→ fem!reader
• with his well built and muscular figure, i say good luck in escaping from his arms during cuddle sessions.
• most especially when you woke up first and you want to get out of the bed. even just one lift of your muscle, rao's eyes will immediately flutter open and you're being scooped back to bed.
• house husband rao!!! but that's saved for another headcanon yes.
• always has an arm around your shoulders or waist, but mostly around your waist!
• prior to dating, he talks to Mercy a lot about you - gushing about how pretty you looked today with a new hairstyle or how pretty you looked smiling while with friends.
• takes you to the orphanage of where he grew up and fondly recalls some of the memories.
• not only is he very protective around children, he's very much protective around you as well. if anything, he detests violence and doesn't want you getting mixed up with suzuran's or his factions business.
• not in the mood to workout with him? it's fine! he'll use you as his weights when exercising - cling on his back or have you underneath him when doing push ups, have you stand above his head when lifting weights and all!
• he loves physical dates because it allows him to show you how strong he can be. like going out for a bowling and air hockey!
• given his cold nature, he gives off as intimidating to others but he's a puppy through and through with you! fights are very rare and avoids conflict at all costs! but if disagreement arises between you two, then he'll try and understand where you're coming from.
• doesn't get jealous too often. he trusts you and he trusts that no one from his faction will do anything bad or funny to you. but if anyone else in suzuran were to make a move on you, you best believe that he'll grab them by the back of their head and toss them away from your sight.
• i honestly cannot help but say that rao is going to become a great and proper dad figure to his kid. as someone who's been abandoned the moment he is born, he'll never let his child / children feel like they aren't loved by him.
• whatever ever he does, he always asks for your opinion. it could be asking you which between going to the city or to the countryside would you prefer when going on vacation, which ice cream flavor do you like best or do you prefer bathing with cold water or hot water. it also helps him get to know you more a little deeper in a sense!
• has a whole album gallery of you on his phone. doesn't let anyone in on it.
• his favorite spot to kiss you? the top of your head! have i mentioned it's because given his tall stature and he can't help but find your small height as cute size? now you know!
• will never let you be the big spoon.
• a dom. is very gentle and makes sure to put your needs on top of his.
• calls you "baby", "babe" or "bunny".
• prior to dating you, he doesn't have any dating experience. but he makes it a goal to always make sure you're happy and comfortable with him.
• would probably be the first to say ily!
reader being part of an og sword gang & meeting the current crows <3
lowercase intended ; possibly ooc crow boys ; includes cussing ; reader is shorter than todoroki and rao ; violence / harrassment in binzo's
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MISAKI "RAO" MARIO ♥︎ OYAKOU
“let me talk to him!” you frown, crossing your arms across your chest. todoroki raises an eyebrow your way, only tilting his head. “give me his number, four eyes!”
“you’re calling me names and expect me to be nice to you?”
yasushi saunters his way to both of you, a grin growing on his face when he heard you arguing with todoroki. he giggles at your insults, “as if that’s different from any other day! you’re [name]’s favorite to tease, after all.”
throwing his arm across your shoulders, yasushi pouts and coos your way as he pinches your cheeks between one hand, making your lips pucker. “and who could say no to this cutie?”
you play along, widening your eyes and batting them innocently. a new voice calls out cheerfully, fujio waving enthusiastically at all of you. he’s got a larger boy trailing behind him, ever-present scowl on his face deepening at your position.
fujio points his finger between the three of you. “and what’s going on here?”
“bullying,” your voice is garbled — muffled from yasushi’s hand still pushing your lips together. you shove his hand away and turn to fujio with a frown. “this big, dumb jerk,” todoroki raises an eyebrow, “won’t let me talk to murayama.”
“why do you need to talk to him?” fujio tilts his head. rao just continues to watch on, wondering if he should step in and protect you or not.
you look to your feet shyly. “i miss him, is all. and seki and furuya and— jus’ give me his number!” you turn to todoroki again, raising your voice.
“i’ll think about it…” todoroki leans closer to you, making a show of bending over so that he’s your height. “shortstack.”
it’s immediate — your reaction. you slam the tip of your foot at the glasses wearing boy, only missing because he blocked the move. dropping your foot, you swing it again and meet his stomach this time, hitting your target this time.
you scowl, “little bitch. call me short again.”
yasushi is cackling beside you, an arm sling across his stomach as tears gather in his eyes. rao is looking at you closer now, inching away slowly.
“you go to a weird school.” it’s murmured in fujio’s ear as todoroki straightens up with a glare.
fujio giggles with a shrug, “i know! i love it here.”
MASHII "MERCY" TAKEHIKO ♥︎ WHITE RASCALS
you’re bobbing your head to the song playing over the speakers, shimmying with the dancers who come by to say hello. rocky and koo haven’t made a reappearance yet, but you weren’t worried — they could take care of themselves and everyone else in the building.
“my love!” a voice calls out. you grin, looking up from the beer you’re pouring to see kizzy lean on the bar to see you. she pouts, “have you seen rocky or kaito? i’m bored.”
you copy her pout, sliding the beers to where they belong before leaning closer to her. “i can keep you entertained, i don’t mind.”
“ooh,” she grins at the wink you send her way. playfully swatting at you before she fans her face with her hand, kizzy coyly flirts back. “i’d want nothing more, [name]!”
kaito steps up beside her, simply raising an eyebrow at her flushed cheeks before looking at you. you only shrug, “careful, or i’ll steal your girlfriend.”
kizzy giggles as kaito swoops her away, a minuscule smile on his lips as he does so. you chuckle and clean a few glasses before an order catches your attention. as you slide the rum and coke over, a new face pops up at the bar. he’s wearing sunglasses, and has a scar on his right cheek. rocky pats the newbie on the shoulder as he passes by, nodding to you as he goes.
looking the new comer up and down, you tilt your head with a squint. walking so that you’re in front of him, you ignore the way he stiffens and speak. “are you old enough to be here?”
“are you old enough to be working here?” he replies.
you purse your lips, nodding slowly before grinning. “…touché, sir. what can i get you?”
“mercy,” he says instead — you only blink. he clears his throat, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and hitting the bottom of the carton before pulling one out. “my name is mercy. can i smoke in here?”
“it’s allowed, but i hate it.” you curl your nose up. “did you decide on a drink?”
he looks you up and down again, the movement hidden by the sunglasses he wears. a cigarette is perched between his teeth — he pulls it out and licks his lips before speaking. “what’s your name?”
you let out a sigh, but your name is called before you can reply. kizzy is back, allowing herself behind the bar as she gathers you into her arms. her nose is nuzzled into your neck as she speaks, “kaito and i are taking you home today! lucky us.”
you hum, catching kaito’s gaze over the bar. he nods, looking at mercy from the corner of his eye. “lucky you, indeed. i’ll make your favorite for dinner.”
kizzy whines, shuffling further into your neck. it makes you grin ; how comfortable they both are with you. she pulls away only slightly and glares mercy’s way. “who’s this? a new guy who doesn’t know club heaven’s dress code?”
“be nice to the poor guy,” you nudge her with a small laugh. “he probably came for a meeting with rocky.”
she only hmph’s, curling back into your neck. she and kaito stay there for the rest of the night, not allowing mercy to talk to you anymore. while it got on his nerves, you couldn’t help but laugh fondly at how protective they were over you.
YAMAGUCHI MAGOROKU ♥︎ SANNOH HOODLUM SQUAD
naomi is instructing you on how to make the perfect omurice just as the door dings open. you both straighten up, looking at each other wide-eyed before rushing to the front. naomi wipes her hands on her apron, “welcome to it— oh, it’s just you.”
snorting at the quick drop in her voice, you smile at the man who’s just stepped through the door. tsukumo nods your way, taking a seat at the bar without a word. naomi’s frown deepens, “why are you here?”
“don’t be so mean!” you chose her softly. taking her place in front of tsukumo, you grin. “hello, sir! what can i get for you?”
“don’t act so coy.” he speaks sternly, eyes on the motorcycle keys he’s holding. you tsk, pouting at his dismissal of your advances. naomi snorts, looking down so you can’t see her laughing. “do you have any onigiri made?”
naomi nods, “tuna, right? spicy?”
tsukumo hums and finally looks up to watch her disappear to the kitchen. you ignore the ding of the door and flutter your eyelashes his way. he blinks, pushing you away from him softly by poking your forehead. “you have a customer, stop flirting with me.”
“you’re a customer, too… technically.” you sigh and walk to the new comer, eyes a little dimmer but still mischievous. he’s wearing a cheetah print button up, his hair pulled back in a ponytail as he chews on a piece of gum. “welcome to itokan! what can i get for you?”
the boy looks at you, gulping lightly before glancing tsukumo’s way. “what do you serve?”
you deadpan, glancing back to the giant menu above the bar before turning back to him. you resist the urge to point at it, reminding yourself he wasn’t one of the sannoh boys, so you had to be nicer. “jus’ say what you want and i’ll let you know.”
“hm…” he makes a show of looking you up and down, grinning as he pops his gum with his teeth. you snort as he blows up the gum once more, rolling your eyes.
“me?” you say it in the same voice you’d been using to speak to tsukumo. the older man is peering back at you with naomi, watching the stranger with hawk-like eyes. you pop the bubble he’s made, “not a chance, pretty boy.”
MIYAUCHI "BINZO" KOZO ♥︎DARUMA IIKA
you regret not wearing your red jacket today. simply put, a group of teen boys spotted you and decided they needed to talk to you. for whatever reason they had, your numerous no, not interested’s didn’t deter them at all. that led to you pushing them away from you and that turned into a fight.
and there you were, slamming your fist into the apparent leader’s nose until he ended up choking on his own blood. his eyes are swollen and teary, but they still regard you with terror, “you’re a demon!”
a proud smile crawls onto your face, covering your previous rage. “yeah — that’s what they call me!”
your words make his eyes widen more before he promptly passes out. you let out a huff, sitting on your bottom and leaning against the wall behind you. they’d gotten a few swings in at first — the pain had only settled in now. you hiss at your busted knuckles, “fuckin’ brats. can’t take no for an answer. hope they learned their lesson, at least.”
“oya?” your cackling is interrupted by a curious sound. at the entrance of the alley — you couldn’t let civilians see you fight! — a boy with wild hair stands. he reminds you of murayama for some reason ; the thought makes your grin more feral. “need help?”
“yeah, actually!” you slide up the wall slowly, wincing at the ache in your ankle. they might’ve sprained it, or you did after kicking them so many times. you wave the boy over, “help me hobble home, hm?”
he comes over slowly, assessing the situation you’d found yourself in. at his lack of speed, you frown and lean further into the wall. he nods to the pile of boys, “you do that?”
you look over them emotionlessly with a shrug, “they wouldn’t listen to me.”
hands lock around your knees, the world turning upside down as he pulls you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. you squeak, hitting his back with the palms of your hands. “you’re making me nauseous, you brute!”
“oh, sorry.” you’re sat back down, hands on your knees as you heave in breaths. you glare his way, but have to hide your laugh at the clueless expression on his face. you swirl your hand in a circle, motioning for him to turn. he tilts his head at you, “hm?”
“piggy back. so much easier.” you’re lifted onto his back, arms winding around his neck and holding on gently. you hum, “much better.”
he eyes your busted knuckles, thinking back to the pile of passed out bodies he’d seen. just how strong were you? what was with the rage you held? he shakes off his thoughts and asks a different question instead. “where do i take you to?”
he can feel your grin against his neck. “you’ll know when you see a sea of red.”
maybe it would’ve been better to just leave you there, he thinks as he steps into devil’s area.
KAMUI ITO ♥︎ RUDE BOYS
“think we need these?” he’s walking down the snack aisle when your voice carries over to him. peaking over the shelves, he can see a haggle of messy, dirty children following behind you. “should get some just in case, hm? the boys need anything?”
eri puts a finger to her chin as she thinks and you grin her way. another girl is eyeing the candy bars and you try your best to keep your smile on. you only had enough money to get some essentials — no sweet treats for today, sadly. eri snaps her fingers, “band-aids!”
“getting some first aid is a good idea. thanks, sweetie.” eri grins at the praise, scooting ahead to grab some antibacterial wipes. you let the kids pick the band-aids, giggling at the thought of seeing the scary and tough rude boys wearing hello kitty bandages.
you swipe a few more things into your basket before asking for their help again. he lingers behind you, smile hidden under his mask at the way you interact with the kids. it reminds him of rao — makes him soft and gooey as you giggle along with them.
“okay, my loves,” they all stand in front of you as you call. in a single line, holding each other’s hands — a formation that was drilled into their minds the first time they left nameless city — you go over the small list you’d made with them. you nod, “think this is it. ready to head back?”
they cheer, ignoring the looks other customers give them. you, on the other hand, send a dark glare to anyone looking at the mis-matched kids in any unkind way. the bell rings as you open the door, numerous bags in your hands. eri is in the lead, one tiny hand holding onto the back of your shirt as the other is clasped with the boy behind her.
the walk back to your district will be a tedious one with your hands this full. nothing you haven’t managed before, though. the clearing of a throat hits you from behind and you turn to see a boy, a mask covering the bottom half of his face. you stiffen, walking in front of the kids with a stone face.
the boy gestures to the bags, “want help?”
want — not need. because he knew you didn’t need help, but wanted to offer his services anyways. you glance back at the kids — they nod encouragingly. “okay, sure. we’re headed to nameless city.”
that would deter him for sure. any time your district is spoken of, crinkled noses and disgusted faces are on the other end of the conversation. instead, he nods and collects a few bags from your hands. “i’ll stay in the back, then, so that the kids are protected from both sides.”
as you walk back, you call out for the kids to sound off every few minutes. just to make sure no one was lost ; to make sure everyone was still with you. he smiles at that — so wide that his eyes scrunch above his mask.
arriving back to nameless city, you see takeshi and p waiting for you. their grins turn into unfriendly frowns as they catch the boy who’d walked with you. p greets the children happily, guiding them away from the stranger as takeshi comes to help you with the bags. he nods to the boy, “who’s that?”
you meet his eyes and smile, seeing his own growing under his mask. “a friend.” you walk up to the boy, “thank you for helping us today.”
he sighs — almost dreamily, it sounds — handing you the bags he’d been carrying. “anytime. anywhere. see you soon?”
takeshi glares as he pulls you back into the city, scrunching his nose at the boy. “no. goodbye.”
your giggles ring around the city, curling against takeshi and p’s scolding. he sighs, pulling his mask down as he watches your figure become smaller and smaller as you walk deeper into the city. he’s doomed — absolutely doomed — when he gets back to the crow’s district.
Summary: In which you have too many run-ins with Rao and every time you want to stay with him longer. But your nightmares never go away.
WC: 7.2k
Notes: my works can be gorey, violent, and other mature themes! lots of plot. reader went through a traumatic experience and has an injury that effects their lifestyle. there's also a nickname reader gets called by. murayama's bestie makes an appearance. barely edited I'm so sorry, it will be soon!
It was quiet, as quiet as a restaurant could be midday. There was only an elderly couple who stopped eating to exhange a word or two sometimes and a young woman with her child sleeping in a stroller.
Even the clatter of the dishes being washed echoing from the kitchen was tolerable. You considered the moment a gift as you enjoyed the soft hum of the music playing through speakers. But it was all tragically ruined by someone's finger.
"Stop tapping the glass."
Tap Tap Tap.
You put down the cup you were cleaning and lifted your head to the ceiling, "Do you have a death wish, kid?"
Your fellow waiter snorted at you, "Pretty sure if I did you'd still be fired."
He continued to tap on the cups lined up and it took too much of your willpower to not follow up on your warning. He happily ignored your looming urge to throw him across the restaurant.
The new generation were just so rude, which was your own but that wasn't the point.
You hated new coworkers, especially when they were from that nearby boys school. Usually they last a month, before they get bored or decide it wasn't worth the extra cash. That leaves yourself with cleaning up after them.
If you were going to be honest though, the current newbie wasn't as annoying as you'd have thought. Which was more than fine, but it doesn't mean you want to get along with him. You were only here to get your paycheck and a daily free meal. So, you focused on yourself. Tilting your head to the right to look closely and dried the glassware.
The door opened, and you heard several people step in. There it is. Well it seemed that having some quiet wasn't very realistic.
"It's yours," your coworker shot over the cabinet door he sat by, putting the clean aprons away.
You clenched your jaw because he was right. Of course you knew that. But this little brat had to tell you the obvious. "Put the glass away then."
He waved you off without turning away from the cabinet. "Yeah, Yeah. When I'm done here."
You let a breath out from your nose and threw the towel down. For the first time you looked at the people who came in, seated and restless. The black uniforms that you've grown accustomed worn by all of them. It was around that time school was out.
As you stepped around the lunch counter you didn't notice your coworker pop his head up from the floor. He scrambled up and stood like he was struck by lighting. Mouth opened and closed like a fish trying to talk underwater.
You slid the worn-down menus to the six boys, "Okay, what drinks can I get you guys started on?" Your tone was never much for customer service but at least you knew how to word yourself.
"Three waters, two cokes, and a green tea," It was the one at the edge of the booth, with tinted glasses.
You began to write- "Yah, Mercy. You know I want a beer."
You turned a little to your left, and you could see your dear coworker making motions in front of his face. Is he telling you to smile? You gave a simple glare in warning and turned directly at the table. The Suzuran student who wanted a beer was the one with crazy hair and even crazier eyes to match it.
"Yeah and I want a unicorn. But guess what? They don't exist and you're underage. So three waters, two cokes, and a green tea," You read out from your writing pad with your head tilting to side. "That it?"
Crazy hair slumped and dropped his head harshly on the table. The giant thud didn't make you react, much to the surprise of the biggest person at the table. He had a grimace on his features as he looked at you, though his eyes felt different. You immediately pushed that thought out of your head. Don't try reading people, you thought. Especially this one, you heard one of them call him Rao. Although you tried keeping Suzuran information limited, there were enough rumors about him to reach you.
Mercy, as it seemed, let out a mix between a scoff and cough at crazy hair in the corner. "Sorry about him, and if you can get us a basket of bottomless fries..." The sulking crazy hair boy slowly rose up, like his soul was revived.
"...Can I smoke in here?"
You squinted and said nothing for a minute. "Sure go ahead. While you're at it, go ahead and blow the smoke in front of the baby." You jabbed a thumb to the back, the soundly sleeping small child with his mother at the farthest table. You watch as Mercy dropped the cigarette he had ready between his fingers. Rao followed his gaze from your finger to the left corner of the restaurant, his expression darkened even more.
If he thought for one second that you were going to let one of his buddies expose the baby to second-hand smoke, you were willing to throw your job away. He could intimidate you, even threaten you. It wouldn't move you one bit.
Everyone went quiet quickly, so you gave one last look and walked away.
"Wow. What did you do to her, Mercy?"
"Ah? I don't even know her."
You sighed when your coworker kept whisper-yelling at you for failing to be nice to Rao and his group. This day needed to be over. And over fast. You kept your words curt as you gave them their drinks and their food that followed.
When you were done with them, you heard someone call your name while you were wiping down tables. It was Yuki, the young woman who came here with her child once a week.
"Sorry. I-" She hesitated before raising her hand with an envelope. "I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't an emergency, but is it possible for you to watch Isamu? I have to drop off paperwork off to the office across the street, and I know he'll wake up if I take him."
Yuki wasn't a friend but she was someone you knew well, as she lived two apartments down from you. You checked the time and then back at her, "How long do you need me to watch him?"
"It shouldn't be longer than 15 minutes."
You checked the time. Well, you were going on break in five.
"Yeah, sounds good."
"Thank you, thank you! I'll pay you back, I promise." You waved her off. You really didn't want anything in return. She went back to the table to gather her things and pushed the stroller to the counter.
You sat on a stool, giving your aching feet a break. The kid was still asleep, thankfully. He was small, really small. Maybe a year old? You may have remembered Yuki saying he was turning two soon.
Someone slammed one of cabinets behind the lunch counter loudly and woke him up immediately. Your glare was loud enough for your coworker to put both his hands up, "That's my bad, honestly."
The little kid was wailing and you shakily picked him up. A good temperament was something you lacked these days, but you were relieved to feel the kid accept you. He clung to you as you rocked him and you leaned over to the stroller to find his sippy cup. You did find it, but when you tried reaching for it, it fell and rolled across the floor.
"You've gotta be f-" You clamped your mouth shut. No cursing in front of small children.
Your eyes slightly widened in surprised when you saw someone's feet stand around it. Rao reached down and grabbed your lifesaver. With a napkin in his hand he wiped the top of it and slowly stepped in front of you.
"Here."
Rao still had the same grimace on his face. Body towering over you in a much more exaggerated way because you were sitting. It was like the world's smallest and most intimidating eclipse. It's probably the only way you can call him small. You were sure the muscles in his arms were bigger than your head.
Confused at the way his emotions were frozen on his features, you wondered. Just what is he doing? You took the cup with caution, as if you were taking a bone from a bear.
The kid calmed down when you placed it in his hands. You patted his head as you watched Rao walk outside to where the Suzuran boys were waiting.
◇♧◇
Shopping wasn't your strong suit. Okay, it was but not in any way that was good for your wallet. There was only one goal right now, quick cook food and medicine from the convenience store. Hunched over the candy section was nothing, you were just looking. Your hand that slipped and pushed a bag of gummies into the basket? Purely accidental.
Too busy looking at the gummy packets piling in your basket you didn't hear the door chime or the footsteps behind you. On instinct, you tense up with your shoulders raised. You felt an arm slip around your shoulders and felt someone on your right side.
"Sweets," someone giggled and pushed your head down to bump it with her own.
You rolled your eyes, "Hi to you too."
You didn't imagine seeing your friend here, especially since she lived in the Sannoh district. Not to mention she was in Sannoh Rengokai. This was more out of her way.
She hummed and let you go, "I haven't seen you in a bit. So when are you going to start working with me for real, Sweets?"
"If you go get me ibuprofen maybe I'll think about it."
Your dull headache that began an hour ago was a reminder that you had to restock your kitchen. Your friend returned from a couple aisles away and handed you a bottle of ibuprofen. You said thanks and placed it in the basket while she looked at you curiously.
"Are you sick?"
"My head just hurts," you shake your head.
She pursed her lips into a thin line and looked at the back of the store. Where a group of guys were grabbing a variety of drinks. In a quieter voice she asked, "Is it your eye? Your next appointment is for next month right?"
"Yeah but it's always been like that. It's fine," you sighed.
The conversation got cut short at the call of her name. A couple of people walked over to you, some of them with black uniforms. It instantly reminded you of Suzuran but these guys weren't, the uniforms were slightly different.
One of them pointed at you which you didn't like very much, "Oh, Who's this?"
Your friend introduced you and then looked at you, "This is Fujio, he's from Oya High."
He waved enthusiastically with a big smile, "Nice to meet you."
That made you raise your eyebrow, "But I thought you and Murayama were done with Oya?" As soon as you said that you realized that he wasn't anywhere to be seen or heard. "Where he is by the way?"
She looked down at the ground and tried not to look mad, "Away. On a trip or something. But yeah, we don't go there anymore. I still like hanging out with these losers though."
"You mean you like to leech off us."
"And you let me because you love me, Todoroki," She leaned towards the guy with the glasses and blew kisses at him until he walked away. "Anyways. You should come hang out with us, Sweets."
"Sweets? No way is her name Sweets!" Two figures you unfortunately recognized. Rao and the guy shouting at you as they came over, crazy hair. There was change in Rao's eyes, they widened a little. Your vision didn't let you see it.
You tilted your head at crazy hair, "I thought you were just having a bad hair day last week but I guess I was wrong."
Your friend laughed at that. "Wait, wait. You know Binzo?"
"I don't." You were staring at Rao, who easily loomed over everyone around you. He had originally stepped as close as Binzo but took a small step back. Hands in his pocket, he watched.
Binzo had a hand on his chin, his eyes wide in fascination, "So why sweets and not salty?"
"When we were younger people called her that because she liked to eat or make anything with sugar." Your friend pointed at the basket you were holding, half of it had candy.
You were embarrassed enough to rub a hand on the back of your neck. You buried it down and headed to the register with our friend clung onto you as she laughed.
After she said a soft sorry, she smiled, "Are you coming with us?"
"My head," You pointed quietly at yourself, "Maybe next time, okay?" Although you really wanted nothing to do with Oya and Suzuran.
You didn't understand how your friend still stuck around them. Everything that happened at the peak of Kuryu made you want to lock yourself in your apartment forever. The throb of your headache got worse.
She nodded, "And you'll let me take you next month? Y'know to-?"
A hum left you, agreeing. You paid for your things, your head tilted to right as you read the total amount. She turned around to look at the rest of the group.
Arms crossed she asked, "And which one of you men are gonna help her with her bags? She's not feeling well enough to be left alone."
At the sound of no one stepping up she had taken a breath to yell. You rolled your eyes hearing it but it still gave you secret and small smile. The yell never came though, you heard someone walk forward. He was swift to grab your bags, you couldn't turn your head to the right fast enough to see him.
By the time you had realized who it was he stood outside, waiting with your bags. Waiting for you.
"Ah?" Your hearing was good enough to hear Binzo's confusion. It mirrored your own.
Fujio walked over to the window beside the entrance and started dancing. Dancing? Even though Rao had his back turned.
"Alriiight Rao! A gentlemen as always," Fujio said in approval.
Your friend nodded in agreement and bumped her hip against yours. With a jolt you looked over at her.
"Well go on," She smiled mischievously, "Y'know I haven't gotten my hands on him. He is cute right?"
You sputtered out half words and noises of confusion. You walked fast, away from her, away from Fujio, and hopefully they didn't see the slightest red on your face.
Outside, you froze in place. Rao was so tall that you stared at his chest and you refused to look up. You jabbed your thumb over your shoulder.
You mumbled, "Ah... this way."
To your happiness it was a quiet walk, your noise sensitivity probably didn't help your head. The two of you kept some distance and the one time you glanced over he was staring straight ahead. God, his jawline looked chiseled from stone. The guy looked like an ancient warrior who's defeated armies, which is a funny thought while looking at him hold your grocery bags.
The headache bothering you since the last hour got worse even through the quiet. If you didn't do anything about it now it'd cause more trouble. Desperate, you turned to look at him again.
"Can you hand me that bag, please?" You pointed and he gave it to you. Rao watched you frantically find the medicine you were looking for. You took a couple a pills, not needing water even though your throat didn't appreciate it. Forgetting about him for a moment you hissed in pain and rubbed your fingers against your eyes.
"Are you okay?" Rao asked softly. You were caught off guard at the tone of his question. His voice was deep but didn't hide the concern.
You shrugged it off, "It's just a headache."
He went back to facing ahead and you thought it was the end of it.
Rao said your name and asked, "What highschool do you attend?"
"Oh. Why?" You left out any malice because you were genuinely curious.
"I haven't seen you around."
Since you gave him and his friends the worst customer service in the world a week ago, you almost wanted to say.
"I do school online," you sighed and kicked a can on the ground, "No problems that way. Actually going to school- that's too much." After Kuryu, after what you did, after everything.
Rao left a big pause, like he was trying to form what he wanted to say to you.
"Listen..." He stopped his footsteps, "If anyone from Suzuran did anything they shouldn't have-"
"Ah?" You shake your head, "Like I would let anyone from that place even near me." You managed to look him in the eye and let yourself smile, "No offense."
Rao let out a scoff but lightly he told you, "None taken. But you seem to not like Suzuran very much."
"I don't like the idea of Suzuran," You corrected and began to walk again. That was enough to for him to drop the subject, but it wasn't bad.
The rest of the walk was peaceful, with a few words in between but it didn't feel awkward like the beginning. Rao wasn't the worst person to walk you home. Which was a frightening thought only to you. He respected your space and let you talk freely. Well he didn't allow you to talk freely, but anything you said felt like it was heard by someone who wouldn't judge you.
There was nothing you knew about him. You knew enough to know he wasn't awful but that was all you wanted to know. You weren't going to analyze him, keep the little details in mind, or find out his weaknesses. You were just going to acknowledge that Rao was here, with you.
Outside your apartment you told Rao to leave the bags against the wall. He was quiet when he slipped away. When you unlocked the door to your apartment you bit your lip. Damn it.
Rao felt someone grab his wrist, he turned around to see you. You were refused to make eye contact and shoved something in the palm of his hand, "Bye."
There was no time to say anything as you rushed yourself and your bags into your home. Rao looked down at his hand, a soda. A strawberry flavored one, with little cartoons and pink hearts on the can.
"Bye," Rao with wide eyes whispered to himself.
◇♧◇
You now were officially working three jobs. Your friend was ecstatic when she got your call. She had wanted you on her team since she had gotten back into kickboxing. To your suprise, it was your least stressful job. You cleaned her wounds up between rounds and got to watch her beat men twice her size.
After another victory, there were plans to go out to eat. The both you were walking to the restaurant, she mentioned that a couple others would join you too.
You shivered in the cold and your friend basked in it after hours of fighting. The mini dress you had on was too cute that you had to wear it, there weren't too many occasions for it anyways.
"So you wanna tell me what happened with Murayama?" You asked to distract yourself from the crisp night air.
Caught off guard your friend flinched, "Huh? There's nothing."
"Nothing my ass. It's honestly kinda freaky that he's not with you. Is he really on a trip?"
"Yeah, he actually is and I was supposed to go too. Murayama, Seki, Furuya, and me," She looked away and found interest at the closed shop windows, "We got into a fight. He thinks I need to stop avoiding what Kuryu did to us."
"I'm sorry," and you meant it. You were sorry that he had point.
She said your name and looked at you, "...do you think we'll ever be able to talk about it?"
Your eyes stung, "I wish I knew."
That was a lie, you only wanted to lock yourself in a room. Where no one can hurt you, where no nightmare can find you. That could be enough. But you didn't say anything, you blinked your tears away and took a deep breath.
When you two made it to the restaurant, you sighed in relief when you felt the heaters. You rubbed your arms up down to get your blood warm again. Your friend ran over to a table as soon as she saw the people she was looking for. As you followed slowly behind, you froze at the sight of Rao. Oh, you gotta be kidding me, you thought.
It was strange not to see him in his school uniform, a good strange. Something that you weren't going to pay attention to. Rao was in the middle of a conversation with Fujio, Binzo and a couple others when he saw you. Your friend had called your name and dragged you over to the table. You sat down next to her and across from him.
Rao looked at you and you looked at him, and awkwardly you thanked him as he poured you a cup of water. He kept his stare on you and he said something to himself so quietly you could only hear an incoherent grumble. Out of habit you tilt your head to the right, wordlessly asking him a question.
"You look really nice," He finally told you.
You took a sip of water to hide your nerves, "You do too."
Your friend draped her arm around your shoulders and announced, "Y'know, Sweets is my fastest cornerman. She could be my medic too and be faster than the one we have now."
"That's true, we saw you between rounds. You were like a cheetah," Fujio gave you a thumbs up.
You were surprised, "Oh. I didn't even see you guys."
"Cause I put up a fun match right?" Your friend beamed. "Better than any of those rigged ones on tv."
You nodded energetically, "God, of course you are. You hit like a truck. You should watch your kicks though. You get too excited and hit early and lose damage. The guy was slow though- and with a big ego, you were gonna win either way."
That made her light up, with her knees on her chair she jumped up and hugged you. You groaned and made a bad attempt to get out of her grasp. For a small second in time you felt like nothing had changed the past couple of years and you let your childhood friend celebrate the deja vu.
She laughed, "Will do, Coach!"
"Yah, Sweets, do you fight? We should go one-to-one," Binzo asked.
"Nope," Your friend and yourself say at the same time. You hissed lightly at her to let you go.
You pointed, "She's got that covered."
The opponent she faced really was never going to win, even if you didn't know your friend, you knew that. You couldn't help watch closely tonight, your neck sore from how you liked to tilt your head. Crowds of people cheered and it made your friend's opposition grow taller. His movements were exaggerated and he kept making laps around the ring. The dead giveaway to you though, was that his gloved fists weren't even up to his face.
Just thinking about it all made you look at the people around you. Binzo's body spread out as much as he can with his chair at a farther distance than the others, relaxed but easily reactionary. Fujio seemed to like to keep his hands in his lap or on Tsukasa's shoulder, gently patting him. He had an injury, maybe a sprained shoulder or arm. Before you could process it, your stare made it Rao's hands. Arms crossed and tucked in arms, it wasn't a barrier, no, it was an act of soothing.
You caught yourself in time, you looked down at the table. Water, you needed water. When you reached for the glass you grabbed air. Your stomach dropped at the sight. You missed the fucking glass, you thought. It was about 4 inches farther.
Reality hit you and you were quiet the rest of the time. Even Rao spoke more than you. While your friend tried to ask you questions to join in the conversation you just nodded or shrugged.
"Hey." Outside the building, everyone was about to part ways but your friend pulled you aside. "Do you want me to walk you home?"
You took a step backwards, "It's fine."
You were in the Sannoh district and getting home would take a little longer but you just wanted to be alone. You shrugged off the sound of your name being called and left.
In some sick way you wished you were back to a couple years ago. Before everything hurt so much, you were so empty and cold. It was better that way, it was better than trying to shove everything you felt down in the abyss.
The uncomfortable soreness of your heels, your cold arms and cheeks, and the tight feeling in your throat. You walked through it.
Your ears caught the sounds of the occasional car that drove out of sight. Building owners had begun to close their shops and offices as you passed by. The sound of a big dog barking in a home nearby echoed from somewhere. Someone's footsteps who walked around in the alleyways closely. But nothing seemed to process in your mind or maybe you didn't even care.
A gasp barely left you when you got slammed against the alley wall with a rusty knife pressed against your neck.
"Your fucking wallet. Now, bitch." The stranger jammed the knife harder into your throat. It was dull but if the man wanted he could jam it through your neck. He smelled like alcohol and vomit, the smell. That's all it took.
A cold and dark room, your vomit, blood, and decaying flesh being the only thing you could smell. Some people remember their first kiss, favorite Christmas, anniversaries and birthdays. You could only remember how much you threw up in that awful room. Your infected wrists and blisters on your face, you could still feel them everyday.
Fingers weak and jittery, you failed to get his hands off of you. It was clear what was going to happen and again there was no one. The worst of the world would follow you until you were dead. You were alone.
So you did the only thing you could do, run your mouth.
"Fuck off," You tried to scream but it came out strangled. There wasn't any stopping him, things like this would just keep happening.
He growled and yelled so close to your face you could feel spit on you. You could feel the knife begin to cut your throat, you whimpered quietly in pain. Don't cry.
Just as you were ready, he flew into back of alleyway. You stumbled away from the wall and your hands found the dumpster to lean on.
Rao didn't look anywhere near you, completely focused on the man who had just started to get up. The grimace on his face that had most of the times was absolutely nothing compared to the look he had right now. His eyes completely dark with no empathy for the drunk.
Your attacker made the stupid decision to lunge at Rao. His wrist was caught easily. It only took Rao to tightened the grip around his wrist for the knife to the ground.
Rao scowled, "You ever hurt another woman again, I'll find out. I don't give second chances." You turned away when you saw him raise his other fist. A couple loud thuds and a yell were enough to know that the drunk was out cold.
You breathed heavily, and tried to get your legs to stop shaking. It wasn't working. You felt a hand touch your shoulder and you yanked yourself away.
You turned to Rao with a scoff, "Can you stop helping me?"
"Why?" Clearly taken back but Rao didn't move any closer.
"You don't know who the hell I am. You have no idea-" You sucked in a breath, "I'm the type of person who would work for yazuka, Rao."
You walked back to the dumpster and found an old metal machine to sit on. You curled up on yourself, as much as you can with a short dress. Did you want to go home? Did you wanna go back to that dark room? Anything felt better than being here with Rao. Him being anywhere near you was suffocating. God, you couldn't stop shaking. There wasn't anywhere you wanted to go, everywhere you go you felt the same.
Rao took a knee in front of you. He looked up and down, he scanned for anything serious. He had his hands on either side of you, but he never touched you. Then he looked at your eyes.
"Are you? Right now?" He asked.
"What?" You lifted your head. Rao, day or night, cold or warm, actions or looking afar, could never fail to make you confused. You paused for moment, weighing the choices.
"No," You whispered.
"Then it doesn't matter," He simply said. Like it was the easiest thing in the world. It took your whole being not to snap at him.
Rao reached out a hand before he pulled it back a little, "Can I look at you?"
He gave you all the time in the world, no ticks of impatience anywhere. You finally nodded and he checked the cut on your neck. It felt strange to feel his fingers. Confused, you felt his hand at the back of your neck and it returned with fresh blood.
Rao called out your name in a way that made your chest hurt. He rose up to his feet, "You need to be taken to a hospital."
"No, No," You shake your head, "I'm fine it's nothing. Look I'm fine and I'm standing." The impact to your head didn't felt like it had hurt at the time. You moved a hand to the back of your head the cut, it was as superficial as the one on your neck.
"Rao, it looks worse than it is." Your adrenaline wore off and you started to get cold again. You shivered, "Please. I just want to go home."
"Are you sure?" You nodded immediately and he sighed. He looked down the alleyway and then to you. When he slipped off his jacket you would never imagine that he would put it over your shoulders.
"Okay. Let's go then."
Rao watched you slip your arms through the sleeves, your fingers barely peeked through. When you zipped it up to cover the bloody mess he realized how small you looked in his jacket.
At your door, you could hear a distant bark. The lock clicked open at the turn of your key. Before you turned the knob you sighed.
"You can come in," You said softly.
There was no way you wanted to look at his reaction, so you stayed turned away and pushed the door open. You flipped the light switch at the exact same time your dog ran over.
It made sense that he was stand-offish with Rao behind you. "Sit. Good boy." You commanded and made you way inside. Rao watched you walk into the kitchen and then looked at your big dog. He had a black spiked collar with a heart shaped name tag that said Baby.
"He's trained," You called out from the other room, "Doesn't bite anyone's head off without my permission."
That didn't surprise Rao. He unhooked your heels from his fingers and put them in the shoebox near the door. When you two made it to your neighborhood you slipped them off and sighed about how you were done with tonight. He had wordlessly taken the heels from your hands.
It took a couple minutes to find what you were looking for. You got off the kitchen counter when you took it from the top of the kitchen cabinet. Avitene powder wasn't hard to come by when your friend was a boxer. You took off Rao's jacket and cleaned yourself up. The powder clotted your bleeding and you found a couple bandaids for your neck and head.
You asked for help when Rao walked in. You held your hair up as he carefully placed the bandaid on your scalp. His hands lingered as he looked with worry, not that you could see it.
"I could still take you to the hospital." You shake your head at that and you let your hair down to make him pull away.
"Do you know what they would do?" You walked over to your fridge, pulling out a soda and water bottle. "They would say I don't need stitches, clean me up. Then charge me my rents worth."
Not to mention you had doctor visits often, but he didn't need to know that.
"Thank you," He told you when you passed him the water. You led him to the couch and your dog pranced over too. Head laid back and you took a minute to process. Rao looked at the couple of picture frames you had, one of your dog when he was a puppy and another of a younger you and your friend.
He turned to you, "Did you two grow up together?"
You smiled, "A little bit. It was the wrong place, wrong time. Somehow, we're still here."
Rao's arms were crossed, it made him look much bigger. You didn't read him, you didn't want to.
"It's good." He found his shoes to be particularly interesting.
"Hm?" You tilted your head.
"That you're still here."
◇♧◇
When Yamaguchi told Rao that a girl was at Suzuran to see him his stomach flipped. He's been seeing you a lot these days but he never found you anywhere near Suzuran.
The rumors circling around about him recently, he knew them well. The girl who worked at that one restaurant half a mile away who kept being seen with Suzuran's strongest. Suzuran weren't the only ones, his own faction and friends were talking too.
Fujio had been telling him things to say to you since the convenience store. He immediately saw how much Rao paid attention to you. To help his friend, Fujio made sure to encourage him to voice out his thoughts and to make sure Rao made you feel comfortable. Which Rao really didn't need help with but Fujio advised him on what not to say. It was helpful.
The door to the roof creaked open. Rao should have known it wasn't you from how he heard no bickering from Binzo. When Rao turned around, what he found was your friend. A former Oya High part-timer and Sannoh's fighter. She was no joke, despite how easily she laughs and how affectionate she is with you.
She gaped at the whole school view, "Never been here and this place is already giving me memories."
Binzo grinned, "Missing Oya, huh?"
She didn't answer and instead looked at Rao. With a wink she smiled and waved.
"I need to talk to you." Yamaguchi and Binzo stepped closer- "Alone."
Binzo groaned but she taunted them with a wave. Her smile dropped immediately when they closed the door to the roof.
"I need a favor and you're going to do it."
"I am?" He furrowed his brows.
"Do you know about the appointments?" She quickly judged the confused look on his face and shaked her head. "...'Kay, well for long time I've been taking Sweets to her doctor's appointments. Never missed one, but now I don't got a choice."
"Why does she have to go?" The look on her face made him feel unsettled. A hundred thoughts seemed to go through her mind and she pursed her lips.
"About 3 years ago Sweets got hurt. The only reason she got better cause we were there for her. But now it's just me," She ran a hand through her hair, "Everyone else is dead or on the run. I don't know if I should even be telling you this."
Her pace was fast, Rao followed carefully. As he started to process it she began to walk away.
"If she doesn't miss the doctor's appointment tomorrow then this will be worth it." She glared at him, "At least just walk Sweets there. You don't do it, fine. You can not care. But if you hurt her, I'll kill you."
She walked away, and Rao could hear her laugh ring inside the building at a joke Binzo made.
◇♧◇
A Saturday was a perfect day to stay inside all day. Everyday was, if you could. Originally, you had plans but they're not going to happen. You called out of one of the restaurants you worked at and your friend's boxing match.
Baby had already been walked and fed. There was a constant squeaking from his chew toy outside your bedroom. You were nice and comfortable in your bed and sipped on your fresh tea.
A month ago you had been attacked. For a little bit you had to wear turtle necks but your cuts healed nicely. You didn't tell anyone what happened but Rao had made sure to check on you. At the restaurant it's a common sight to see him pass by or come eat with his group.
Whenever he pulled you aside to talk, Binzo would make faces behind Rao. You made sure to shut Binzo and your coworker up with a wack of a dish rag.
The closet door was opened and Rao's jacket was hanging in the corner. Your ears heated up, when you had worn it that singular time it smelled really nice. The cologne he wore you didn't know the name to but it was on your mind often these days.
"I should give it back," You told yourself.
Not today, though. Today you were going to stay inside and sleep. The mug you had in your hands was now on your nightstand. Right as you settled into your covers you heard your dog bark. A knock at the door made you roll your eyes.
Now who the hell was that? The neighbors never bothered you on the weekends and on the afternoons. No one texted you today other than your friend who okay'd your absence.
Begrudgingly, you shuffled over to your door. With the dog ready at your side you found, Rao?
You were embarrassed, "I... didn't know you were coming." Your sweats and old sweatshirt proved that.
Baby circled around Rao when he came in. You smiled at how gentle Rao patted the dog's head.
When your dog walked away, satisfied with the attention Rao turned to you. "Sorry, I should have called but I wanted to offer this in person."
"Offer what?"
"To take you today."
Your throat hurt, "What did she tell you?"
You were going to beat the hell out of your friend. How did she think this was a good idea? Rao called your name out to try to calm you, it was clear by your panicked eyes.
"Just that you needed to go to your doctor's appointment."
Okay, good. But still not good, you did calm down. You had told her you were not going, she guessed that Rao would work. You still planned to jump her for roping him into this.
With the soft encouragement Rao gave, somehow you ended up sitting on the couch as you slipped your shoes on. Well, if you wanted to get there on time there was no time to change.
You didn't want to talk and Rao respect that. He didn't need to know the details and it was a sensitive subject.
But when you two entered the waiting room his heart dropped. The eye posters and pamphlets on the wall. You had to go to the ophthalmologist?
When the nurse called your name, you stood up and began to walk away. Before you could take a step Rao grabbed your hand.
"I'll wait here." He watched your eyes water and you nod.
As you left, Rao realized you always had your head tilted to the right. He remembered the one time that Binzo teased you for it and how quiet you got. Rao may have to fight him again.
Rao had seen you reach out to things hesitantly. You were always aware of your steps and always on edge if you weren't in your home.
Why didn't he see it sooner?
It had gotten dark when the two of you walked out. You said nothing about your visit, you said nothing at all. Too much was happening in your head, so you were more stuck in there than out here.
You tripped over a box, that's what happens when you're not careful. If it weren't for Rao's hands that steadied you, you would have met the pavement.
"Are you-" You didn't let him finish as you stumbled somewhere, anywhere.
Away, you wanted to go away. Ignoring Rao as he called your name. It hurt so much.
Rao found you breaking a bottle against a dumpster. He tried getting your attention but nothing was working. Rao just watched you pace and pace until you walked to him.
"Did you know I can't see anything in my right eye?" You tried to smile and failed. "That I haven't been able to for years now."
Rao said your name and you scoffed, so tired of your feelings.
"No, no. Listen, I did a lot of bad things. I hurt so many people because that was the only thing I was good at. And when I wanted to leave," You gasped for air as tears streamed down your face, "I got what I deserved."
The only thing he could do was hold you, and that's what Rao did. You sobbed and cried on how it was your fault. Mumbled his name against his shirt. It was a long a time before you stopped crying. Rao didn't care, he could have his arms around you for an eternity. If it was for you, he would.
Anyone that walked by he made sure to shield you from them. Anytime your arms started to shake in anxiety he rubbed them up and down. And when you repeated over and over again how it was your fault he told you that he was here. He was.
Rao asked after you stopped crying, "Do you want to go home?"
You shake your head, for the first time you didn't want to. Slowly, you pulled away from him. You needed to stand on your own feet. Your head cleared.
"I don't know where I want to go."
Rao hummed and thought. He took your hand when he found an answer, "Let's get you gummy bears."
"How do you know I like gummy bears?"
"You had a bag filled of them one time."
You giggled, and then you couldn't stop laughing. Rao couldn't stop his smile that appeared.
He remembered. So you agreed. When he walked you home and kissed your cheek, you felt better.
You walked your dog, gave him a treat. Washed your face and teeth before going to bed. You dozed off in your warm bed and the last thought you remembered made you smile.
