renji @unbreathingg - Tumblr Blog

Kazuki panted, flying frantically through the corridors of the compounds basement as if one badly timed sharp turn wouldn't knock them out. She had seperated from the heroes herself to go loook for Eri, and nobody bothered to run after, so at this point, who cares?

"Come out! I've got you!" He hissed, not even sure if the shadow he saw moving was their own feathers.

Kazuki landed, starting to sprint over because there was no way he was going to risk breaking his wings when he was so close.

- @ravenraverz

Renji sprinted ahead, Eri tightly held in his arms. His hands rested against her head and he didn’t dare try to look back at who was chasing him. Keep going forward, find Overhaul-sama, give him Eri and fight. That’s all he needed to do, that’s all he was tasked to do. He couldn’t mess this up.

Part of him wishes there were more things at stake, maybe flying debris, something he could use to block his path without needing to create an air pocket. He quickly shut down his idle thinking and kept moving, not saying a word. His comfort was the least of his concerns right now.

His left hand left Eri’s head and extended outwards, quickly creating a pocket. The wind howled through the hallways, picking up any rocks or stones lying on the sides of the compound and flinging them backward, to whoever was chasing him. His hand clenched into a fist as he quickly let the pocket go after he knew there was nothing left to throw, sharply turning a corner.

ravenraverz

Kazuki grunted, using feathers to shield herself. Stones broke into pebbles with the fast moving feathers, and Kazuki kept running. For some reason, this quirk felt familiar. Kazuki couldn't put their finger on it, though.

They yelped as the person sharply turned. Kazuki scrambled to run after them. This place was built like a maze.

"Quit it!" Kazuki barked, before her eyes widened. They had caughtup enough to see a glimpse of their face, and that was.. Renji? What??

They risked a few seconds to ready their wings and fly after him again. "Renji?" Kazuki gasped out, already nearing him and getting ready to kick him down.

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Renji glanced to the side, catching a glimpse of Kazuki. He paused, a little stunned, but moved his hand once more to open a pocket around them and thickening the air to force them still. His lips pressed together as he held in a cough, picking up his pace.

He wanted to say something, he really wanted to say something. But all that slipped out was a soft, quiet — “.. Kazuki.” — before looking away, a guilty expression on his face. He didn’t expect anybody he was .. close .. to during the raid. Part of him wanted to turn around and maybe say sorry, maybe explain himself, but he .. couldn’t.

He let go of the pocket as he turned another corner, coughing blood into his hand before wiping it on his pants and holding onto Eri again.

ravenraverz

Kazuki froze, the air definitely troubling them as they coughed and panted before immediately making his way toward Renji again. They stumbled a bit this time but managed to keep up the pace.

Kazuki kept going, trying to glide through the corridor with the now thickened air. "Renji- you-!" He stuttered, arms outstretched as he tried to fly with the air. "You're the one who they couldn't get info on. You're the one whose files were missing?!"

She seemed almost betrayed. Maybe even anguished. "No, wait! Come back here!" She yelped, so close to grasping him.

Child abuse? Renji? Renji helping villains experiment on a child to be able to make a drug monopoly or whatever? The thought was unheard of to Kazuki. He didn't want to piece together the puzzle, but he knew it clicked. And he didn't want to think about how he knew it made sense either.

unbreathingg

Renji bit his tongue, feeling the steady metallic taste leak into his mouth. “Leave it alone.” He muttered, refusing to look back at her. He didn’t want to think about how upset they looked. How betrayed he must feel. Renji didn’t want to think about it at all.

He made sure he was just out of reach of Kazuki, moving sharply to the side or constantly turning. Occasionally, he’d move to lift up more rocks and small debris to throw and direct at Kazuki’s way—trying everything to make sure they didn’t get close.

He had to constantly remind himself not to get his feelings in the way of his mission. Move, get her to boss, and see yourself out. That’s all Renji is, ever will be.

ravenraverz

Kazuki dodged another pebble, groaning when they swiped at the empty space where Renji had been. She noted how he wasn't looking back or trying to talk, thought on how to catch him off guard to be able to reach him running through their head.

They inhaled sharply, narrowing their eyes. "Oh, so now you don't want to look at me?" Something out of character, Kazuki needed to say something that could stop someone who was used to their antics. "Too ashamed to look me in the eye? Did that shame not cross your mind when we met?"

He gasped, covering his mouth. Too mean. That was too mean. He just let that slip out, just because it would allow her to take control of the situation.

unbreathingg

It worked, just barely. Renji paused for a second too long, skidding as he turned another corner. He almost slipped but attempted to pick up his pace again, despite being almost beside Kazuki. He was trying to run through a game plan in his head, maybe push Eri to Overhaul-sama by his quirk? His mind was racing.

But that comment from them wouldn’t stop ringing in his head. What could she know? What could he possibly know about anything I feel? Renji gritted, trying to hold back doing anything irrational. He shouldn’t be feeling anything anyways. That’s what he is! ..But, he couldn’t. He couldn’t help it.

“Don’t act like you know anything about it!” He rasped, trying to evade Kazuki and keep Eri close to him. He’ll just push her to Overhaul-sama. It’s the best bet.

“I don’t feel anything towards you!”

A lie, of course, even if Renji himself didn’t notice. He didn’t mean that, even if he hid it in the depths of his heart. Who was he kidding? He was always too emotional for this type of job.

ravenraverz

"You...what?!" Kazuki gasped, grunting as he swatted at the air where Renji had once been again. Kazuki's wings strained as they flew just behind him, trying not to zoom ahead.

"What was I for? Information? Hah!" The thoughts were racing through their head. One that told Kazuki to say anything that would make the situation be easier to control, even if it wasn't true.

"Give her to me-!" Kazuki pounced for Renji. "Look me in the eye, Renji! Of course, why didn't I know it was you?" Again, so harsh. Kazuki was running on autopilot. "You're a villain. Of course. Are you better than your parents, aiding in child abuse?" Kazuki reached out, grasped Renji's hair and yanked it back.

Maybe Kazuki was too heartless to be a hero. They buried that down into their subconscious again.

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Renji gritted his teeth, “Of course you were for information! Everyone was! What makes you the exception to that?” His voice was sharp and defensive. Yet, despite it all, he refused to look at Kazuki. Maybe in his heart knew something he didn’t.

“Gah—!” He grunted at his hair being pulled, ultimately letting go of Eri. “Eri—! Go to Overhaul-sama!” His hand was swift to extend and open a pocket behind her, shoving her forward at a speed that was hard to keep up with. He had to get her to Overhaul. That’s all that mattered. Before long, it was just howling wind throughout the compound, and the spread of dust and small pebbles across the floor.

Now it was just the two of them, for better or worse.

Renji turned to face Kazuki but still intentionally kept his gaze to the floor, he moved upwards to kick Kazuki off of him, falling to the floor shortly after. Despite being weak, he could surprisingly pack a punch. He quickly shoved himself up, shaking his head.

“You don’t know anything about me. Don’t say anything about my parents like you know me!” He gritted, his hands moving to adjust his bandages tighter on his form. His eyes lifted and looked down a hallway. He needed to catch up.. “I’m sick of seeing your face and listening to your voice. Our ‘friendship’ served its purpose.” He muttered, holding back coughing blood. He shouldn’t have forced his quirk so suddenly, but alas.

ravenraverz

Kazuki's teeth were bared, and he was panting erratically. He took two deep breaths, and it didn't help. "You think I'll believe shit like that?" He hissed, stepping towards him almost mechanically.

Her brows were also furrowed, eyes hurt in a way where they looked like they were also searching for something else to say. It was not a look that belonged on their face. But it still looked natural enough to make Renji think otherwise.

"Look at me, Renji." Her voice had a forced air. "I know you're too ashamed to make eye contact. I would be too."

They let out a sharp chuckle, walking towards him. Kazuki forced herself to stop hunching, to look calm amd confident even though he thought otherwise. He decided to just.. remove his own mental filter.

"Yeah, of course I'd know nothing. Why? Because you," Kazuki stepped closer. "-are a fucking villain. You think I'd try to know more? It was obvious from the start. I should have sensed it." Kazuki's eyes widened slightly at his own words, but they didn't say anything to contradict it, like she was testing Renji.

His bared teeth morphed into a sneer. "Maybe you're as fucked up as your parents. That tends to happen to people like you."

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Renji exhaled, running a hand through his hair messily. His gaze was still pointed anywhere but Kazuki, unable to bring himself to look at them. He wanted to, to prove her wrong, to prove he wasn’t ashamed. He wasn’t allowed to feel ashamed. He wasn’t allowed to feel.

“Oh, shut up.” He grunted, his body trying to straighten itself, but it seemed like it couldn’t help but slouch and look exhausted. His hand moved to wipe the blood off his mouth, his eye twitching. “I don’t want to hear your self-righteousness.”

“You.. are just like me.” Renji growled, the rasp in his voice almost sounding desperate. “You think you’re any better because you got away? You got to go to a hero school?” He tilted his head, lifting it slightly so his face was actually somewhat visible; but his eyes were still averted.

“You were born to pathetic parents like I was. You are just a weapon, just like I am! You have no right to act like a hero, when you can’t even pick yourself up, and save yourself from your own pathetic life!” He sneered, teeth baring like a wolf trying to intimidate. His body language seemed so much tired and weaker and.. softer, compared to the sharpness of his words.

“I’m just doing what I was made to do. And you think you’re so much better.. for trying to divert from your purpose.” A shaky laugh left his lips. “Overhaul-sama was right. Hero Society is sick.”

ravenraverz

Kazuki clenched their fists, stepping closer. "I'm not a theatre, you don't need to project." He still had that sick grin on. Kazuki's wings fluttered, feathers each moving on their own with suppressed energy.

They flinched when they were called pathetic. "What point are you trying to make? We. Are both. Pathetic. You can't deny that we're from the same system. Look at me, Renji. Look at me!" Another step forward.

Nonetheless, Kazuki didn't seem to be preparing to fight. Almost like she didn't want to. "My purpose? I'm doing it right now. Taking people like you down."

And then another step forward, until they were only about an inch apart. "I know. You think I don't know how sick it is? I'm part of the reason why. That's probably one of the more stupid things you've said to me."

"Hey- how are you still looking away from me? We're an inch apart, how are you doing that? It kinda looks dumb." Kazuki's speech was entirety different, like someone had flipped a switch. Unlike the more biting tone they took for the last few sentences, it was casual-- more friendly.

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Renji rolled his eyes and scoffed, distain crossing his face for just a moment before it fades. “ ‘Take me down’ — then why haven’t you done it already?” He mutters, “You’re competent enough. I’ve seen you move. You could’ve knocked me out ages ago. And yet, you haven’t.” His voice was laced with exhaustion, the more Kazuki got close enough to listen to it.

He blinked, a little stunned at Kazuki’s sudden change in tone. He finally, finally, glances up at them, and by All Might; he looks like a mess. His hair was all messy, his eyes were so blank and tired, and utterly drained. Looks like Overhaul really put him to work over the past week. There wasn’t a single shine in his eye. Even his bandages were a little messy.

Despite his physical state, he gives a tiny grin as his hand lifts up and, almost gently, pushes her away just a little. “Maybe don’t stand so close then. I won’t look as stupid.” It’s almost like he actually gains some type of enjoyment in life when he isn’t doing .. Hassaikai business.

He pauses, exhaling. He can’t be enjoying things right now. “Are you going to arrest me now? Knock me out?” He tilted his head. “If you wanted a fight, you wouldn’t started one already.” Even with his words, it looks like he doesn’t want to do anything to them either. His hands were twitching at his side, and there was definitely a soft breeze moving through the compound from him— but he didn’t look like he would reach out and do something.

ravenraverz

Kazuki paused, before smiling almost warmly. There was still thoughts running through their mind. It did quiet down, though. "You look like hell."

They slowly reached out, checking his eyelid. "Naw. I know you don't mind it." Seriously what the fuck just happened. They reached into their belt and pulled out a small container, opening it and placing a pill in his hand. "That's for your iron."

He put it back into his pocket, seemingly unaffected by the confrontation they just had. "Maybe I just don't want to? What I said was hurtful, you can still come back to.. yanno. The hero side."

Kazuki turned slightly. Dramatically, of course. "You still look stupid." The breeze jostled their feathers.

Kazuki immediately turned and lunged for Renji.

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“Do I?” Renji tilted his head, his voice a little softer, but it still carried something behind it. He held surprisingly still when Kazuki touched his face, just stiffening his shoulders a little out of instinct. He stared at them for a moment, awkward, but nevertheless he didn’t move away.

His eyes drifted onto the pill in his hand, gently putting it into his jacket pocket instead of taking it immediately. “.. Thanks.” He hummed, looking away. He took a moment to look at Kazuki, and for the first time between the two—Renji looked almost content. Maybe he was just tired from the overwork, and this small break was allowing him not to push himself. But for once, he looked .. okay.

“.. Yeah.” He let out a small laugh.

And as soon as they turned around, he moved to the side and shoved Kazuki down to the floor with his foot, targeting his wings. He moved almost sluggishly, but despite his exhaustion, he stayed upright. “I guess we’re not having a conversation?”

ravenraverz

As he hit the ground, Kazuki let out a laugh like they were play fighting. Her wings fell apart, before hardening. They were blunt, unlike their brother's. "I dunno, I can. Do you want to?" The feathers shot through the space, more than a hundred flitting and slicing through the air. "I thought you just didn't want to."

Kazuki rolled, dragging Renji's leg and letting him hit the ground. There we go-- she was taking a more offensive stance, close to the floor and hands at the ready. There were no more wings on their back. They seemed to only be made from feathers, with said feathers all pointed at Renji.

"Considering the fact that you said that I was only for information," The feathers fluttered like a stadium full of people as Kazuki listed it. "Said that I'm self righteous.. That I'm just a weapon. Owie, that one hurts."

He sighed. Kazuki wasn't looking at Renji. She was looking in the distance, eyes unfocused. "Oh, smart move of you to not take the pill. That had cyanide." Kazuki shrugged, smirking. "Naww, I'm kidding. I don't have the heart to, like, kill people." Was this seriously a joke to him??

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“I don’t care.” Renji scoffs, watching the feathers fly around the corridor. Part of him thinks the sight is beautiful, but he buries the feeling and thought. “Whatever you do to me here won’t change the Hassaikai’s end goal.”

Renji falls to the floor after being dragged, his body slumping for a moment too long before shoving himself up. He panted slightly, his hand moving to his chest for a second before looking up at all the feathers pointed at him. He blinked, trying to decide what to do.

“I mean..” He exhales, “I’m right, aren’t I?” He tilts his head. “Just like you’re self righteous.. Just like you’re a weapon.. I’m whatever you called me. I’m a villain, I’m a weapon, a product.” There wasn’t any malicious intent behind his words, rather, it sounded like he was reading something. Like what he was saying was a fact, or similar to the sort.

“Overhaul-sama.. always said that .. people’s fates are dictated from the moment they manifest their quirks. That some people aren’t.. people. They’re whatever their quirks is. A weapon, a tool, whatever you want to label it. I’ve accepted that I am. I wish you would too.” He muttered on, sounding more tired than anything. It was probably something he told himself to keep himself going when he didn’t want to.

Renji couldn’t help but let out a little laugh himself. “Aah, is that so? Could’ve fooled me, really.” He sighed, his hand finally extending to open a pocket around the both of them. The wind howled, then thinned, then became crushing. Kazuki’s feathers dropped down onto the floor, but not without bringing down Renji and Kazuki respectively. Was he trying to take both of the out at the same time? Renji coughed up a little blood, “Ow. I forgot how much doing this hurt.”

ravenraverz

"Now who said I was a weapon?" Kazuki muttered through gritted teeth. "I'm more than that. Hey, how do you even know that. My story was that I was trained to be a hero. Not weapon." Renji was starting to actually get on Kazuki's nerves, but they had to keep calm. Always.

Kazuki had that shit eating smirk on like he knew something, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm more than my quirk. You sound like you're reciting something." They tilted their head. "Need to convince yourself, too?"

She raised a hand to their chest. "Hey, come on! You can't be talking, I was barely even trained to kill-!" Kazuki was cut off by the sudden change of air. The feathers scrambled with a desperate attempt to return to Kazuki as wings again before dropping. They quivered like maggots.

"Renji-" Kazuki gasped, dropping to his knees like some fallen knight. "What are you doing. What-" Kazuki coughed again, muscles straining as they fought to stay like that, like she was trying to keep some semblance of dignity. "This is a t-trashy move on your part." Another gasp. "Idiot!"

Kazuki bit her tongue, looking at Renji and reaching out to him.

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Renji shook his head. “I.. I’m just saying the truth. That’s the truth. Unless you’re insinuating what I’ve been told my whole life is a lie?” He questioned, voice pointed and defensive. He definitely was reciting something, whatever Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai drilled into his head. But he wasn’t willing to admit it. Yet.

Renji took a shallow inhale, as the air tightened and became shallow. It was as if all the air pressure in the hallway solidified and was crushing the both of them. Renji fell on both his knees, both hands resting on his thighs as he was forced down. He really was trying to take both of them out in one blow, even if it was just knocking them out at the same time. “Thought you— l-liked my tricks.” He gave a small, almost playful smile before coughing again.

He looked at Kazuki’s hand reaching to him and slapped it away roughly, the air quivering just slightly. “Don’t touch me.” He gritted, trying to sound angry. In a way, he was frustrated, but the underlying hint of.. relinquishment in his heart and tone showed more. “I don’t want to get closer to someone who..” He stuttered, voice trailing off.

“.. who made me think there was more to this than just.. doing the Hassaikai’s bidding.” He muttered, “I don’t want to wish for more anymore. I’m tired of it.” His voice shook, like he was tearing up, but it was hard to tell with how his head was hung low. The air suddenly thinned more, and it was getting increasingly hard to breathe properly.

ravenraverz

Kazuki clutched his chest, gasping for more air. "Renji, you've- b-been- ah, fuck." They coughed. "-Been working f-for a yakuza boss for most of it. Stop trying to condition yourself more." He looked at the ground, heaving another breath.

Kazuki was not doing so well with the air, but she kept talling even though that was possibly thinning it out even more. "You're an idiot." She muttered, shaking as she took another gasp of air.

Kazuki felt the adrenaline that came with panic go through their bones. Pressure, the lack of air, inability to use his quirk and the fact that they could be knocked unconscious didn't help. The hallway was well lit and vast, though Kazuki felt the panic creeping up her throat. She would rather deal with another one of those in her room.

They flinched as Renji slapped away their touch, her feathers quivering on the floor. Kazuki's hand froze between them, but they still managed to reach out and grip Renji's shoulder. "Yeah. I- I.." They took another gasp, fighting back panic. "You're right. We are the same."

Kazuki's other hand gripped the fabric of his own pants, trying to ground himself. "The commission-" Another sharp inhale. "They made me think that there wasn't anything more than my job." Kazuki was getting dizzy. "Renji. I swear to god that if this is- like," Kazuki coughed. "-A suicide attempt? I'm going to kill you." They shook his shoulder.

Kazuki felt a flashback of something they had blocked out during their childhood in that daze. This was doing things to him, and he even looked distressed. But Kazuki mustered the most shit eating grin and said, "Renji, w-what the fuck is the safe word."

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Renji glanced up at Kazuki as their hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked miserable. His eyes were wide, and watery, he looked so.. upset, in a way Kazuki had never seen before. He looked akin to a small, scared puppy. If that puppy had the ability to kill someone, that is. But, anywho—he looked a little surprised Kazuki would admit the two of them were similar. But he looked almost relieved.

Renji’s breath stuttered as he nodded, trying to get a hang on breathing in such thin air and harsh pressure. ”I-Is that so?” He exhaled, “Ahah.. And D-Despite that, you still.. have so much.. going for you.. I admire.. and envy you.. in a way.” He pushed out, his voice strained. Between the two, Renji’s issues with his lungs would probably make him give out first, but he didn’t seem too concerned with that fact, forcing himself to stay conscious despite the blurring of his eyes.

“No,” Renji turned away and coughed, blood splattering on his jacket. “I-If I were attempting to kill myself.. I wouldn’t be so— s-so selfish as to bring you down with me.” He inhaled sharply, his breath sounding like heaving. “T-That type of thing isn’t my style.” He admitted, looking back at the blurred mess of Kazuki in his eyes.

He paused for a moment, before giving a small smile and giggling breathlessly. He really did admire their way of staying positive despite it all. “Bandages.” He muttered. “If I had to choose, it’d be bandages.” He breathed, his hand shakily moving to grab Kazuki’s wrist. His fingers were trembling, and he looked like he was going to pass out. But, he forced himself concious. No matter how badly it would affect him when he fixed the pressure in the corridor.

“Kazuki..” Renji muttered, “When you.. s-say it.. And if I lifted the pressure..” He paused, as if not wanting to hear the answer, but asking the question regardless. “What’ll you do to me? Will you kill me?”

ravenraverz

Kazuki tried to keep the grin up, but was definitely getting weaker as their lips quivered. "Don't," He coughed. "-Look at me like that. Hey, how about w-we grab some d-drinks after this." Kazuki paused to gulp in more air. "Not in the alcohol w- ugh, way."

They paused at that. Admire? Nobody envied or admired Kazuki, at least in his own point of view. That smile dropped like Renji had said something wrong, before they let out a slightly wheezing chuckle. "Really..? You-" Another gasp of air. "Don't do that. I've said some really... mean t-things." They squeezed Renji's shoulder. "My ego... gets h-high."

Kazuki looked back at Renji with even more worry. They noticed how out of focus his eyes seemed. How he structured that sentence. She snapped twice. "Look at me. Don't... say it l-like- god this fucking air sucks.." Kazuki gasped, other hand coming to her chest. "-L..like that." They lightly shook Renji.

At Renji's reply, they giggled back, gasping for more air in between said laughs. "Oh-oh my god... It sounds-" Kazuki let out more breathless giggles and gasps. "Like.. y-you need medical help." Kazuki squeezed her chest."Oh...my god. What's next... M-medic? Hhhhah..!"

"..What?" Kazuki cocked their head slowly, hands trembling. "N-no, I would gasp for air." He then took a desperate breath. "Then I would kill you." -He said with a weak, friendly smile. "Obviously...obviously not. I-I wouldn't even arrest.. you. I'll let you go, just-"

"Don't tell a-anyone, okay....? I.. still wanna be a hero," They gasped for even more air, eyes watering. Kazuki's lungs were burning. "Yanno?"

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Renji chuckles, breathless and barely there. “Aha— ha, I-I wouldn’t mind t-the alcohol way, yaknow.” He gave a small grin in return, however he wasn’t able to maintain it for long before it fell back into neutrality.

He seemed so out of it as Kazuki spoke to him, not registering much and focusing most of his attention onto being able to breathe properly. He slowly looked up at them, seeing the worry on their face. He seemed a little amused, seeing them worry over someone like him right now. But he didn’t say anything.

When she started laughing, Renji couldn’t help but start laughing along, taking sharp inhales as he did. A smile spread on his face, and even if he seemed out of it, his eyes shone with just a hint of glee. “Eheha—!” He took a breath, “It fits me!” He mused, gesturing down to his own bandages. “W-Well.. M-More than like.. Hh— Than s-strawberry, o-or something..” He exhaled shakily, his hand that was around Kazuki’s wrist tightening instinctively.

Renji paused for a moment, staring as if a little stunned before smiling weakly. He couldn’t say he understood it too much. Part of his head expected Kazuki to admit he would kill him the moment he lifted the pocket. But maybe that’s was the air loss. He nodded, his eyes shining with appreciation. “I-I won’t tell a soul. T-Thank you, hero.”

And finally, finally, Renji lifted the pocket. The air suddenly shifted back to normal, a large amount of wind blowing through the corridor like a hurricane. The pressure eased off, and Renji immediately took a large gasp of air, coughing and panting with his head hung low. Blood gently dripped onto the floor from his mouth, his free hand moving up to wipe it from his cheeks.

“I’m sorry.” He heaved, his breaths coming out uneven and erratic. His grip on Kazuki’s wrist weakened before he let go and it fell back to his side.

ravenraverz

"Augh-" Kazuki gasped for more air. "E-ew, imagine the hangover, hahh.." They heaved, eyes watering. "W-when we're...older." Kazuki tilted her head, much like a raven. A suffocating, pitiful raven with watering eyes, but still a raven.

They felt like the soul was being sucked out of them, much like one of the Hassaikai's bullets' quirk, but that wasn't the case. Kazuki kept her eyes on Renji. It was getting increasingly difficult to speak, but Kazuki would keep talking. Why? Because Renji just seemed like he needed it.

Kazuki gasped, making a wheezing sound as the both of them laughed. "Oh-oh my..god. Imagine g-getting freaky-" They paused to gasp. "And they j-just scream- 'ngh..strawberry!' Oh-" Kazuki was cracking up too much for a person on the verge of passing out. Kazuki's breath stuttered as they flinched at the tightening of Renji's grasp, and she still kept laughing as she tried to stealthily pull the glove higher.

"Y-you're welcome... villain.." Kazuki responded after her laughing fit with that fuckass grin. The air hit him like a bullet train, and his hand slammed down onto the ground as Kazuki frantically gasped and gulped down air. They reached a shaky hand up to dry their own eyes, hands roaming his own pockets to look for something as he heard Renji cough.

There was a crinkle as he took out a packet of..hello kitty themed tissues-- not that the brand mattered - and opened them, flinging it at Renji and cleaning his fingertips, still frantically panting for air.

"Don't," Kazuki gasped for air. "-be." After flinging the tissue he had used on Renji at his face, Kazuki still gasped for air, trying to choke out sentences. "Are-" Kazuki let out a breathles giggle. "Are Overhaul and Chronostasis-" And another gasp for air. "Gay? Are th-they gay?" Kazuki tugged both gloves higher.

Seriously. Kazuki just escaped suffocation and was now asking if a yakuza boss and his second in command were gay.

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Renji shakily caught the tissues, letting out a wheezing giggle at the packaging, but he didn’t say much as he pulled out some of the napkins and used them to wipe the blood off his hands and face. He coughed into a couple more, looking fairly pale as he heaved, blood and saliva mixing into one as he cleaned himself up. Sniffling, he took another inhale, savouring the air and trying to slow down his pounding heart and his very weak lungs.

He paused for a moment, staring at Kazuki with an expression that could only be described as dumbfounded. “I-Is that—“ Inhale, “—seriously what y-you’re asking me right n-now..??” He exhaled.

He opened his mouth before closing it, chest rising up and down frantically as he tried to regain his breathing pattern back. He was actually thinking about it. A small stupid grin spread on his face before giggling and nodding. “Y-Yeah.” He whispered, half because his throat burned like it was on fire, and half because he was honestly worried about Overhaul somehow hearing him and killing him, or something.

“W-Well— Chrono-san—“ Renji gasped for air, “—got drunk this one time.. and he c-confessed to.. Overhaul-sama.. S-So I’d assume there’s something going on..?” He giggled, still breathless, but clearly having the time of his life. He feels like he’s going to die but yet he seemed perfectly okay with it as long as Kazuki was here laughing with him.

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Kazuki cackled between breaths, still clutching at his chest. "I-I have my priorities-!" He laughed, wasting more of the air she was trying to gulp down. At least they weren't in some suffocation bubble anymore, because Kazuki clearly could not control their breaths.

Kazuki immediately lit up, wings flickering behind her. "Oh my god!" He exclaimed between gasps, "My gaydar was right! Fuck- yeah!" She looked around to see if anyone was near, perhaps checking if Overhaul was near too. The yakuza boss just had that thing where you'd expect him to be in the most inconvenient space for you.

"Hehehe! Oh my godddduh!!" Kazuki was lit up with glee, wings flickering. "Imagine the fanfics." She had her palms out like they were imagining something astronomical. "I knew it..."

They then paused, grabbing Renji by the shoulders and shaking him out of nowhere. "You're an idiot!" They exclaimed. "Even if that was a big turning point-- and probably changed my brain chemistry, we would have both died!" Kazuki reached up and flicked him in the head. "Idiot!! Idiooottttt!" They said in a sing-songy voice.

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Renji giggled along, admittedly a little confused to why Kazuki was so excited and playful despite what happened, but he didn’t dare utter a word about it. “Gaydar—?” He snickered, tilting his head. He didn’t seem to understand what any of that meant, but in his defense, he did grow up in the yakuza. Even then, he didn’t question it. He was just having a good time.

He made a face along the line of contempt when the topic of fanfiction was brought up. He seemed to, surprisingly, know what it was, even if barely. And he didn’t seem to like it at all. “Ew, I don’t wanna imagine that at all.. People are so weird about Overhaul-sama..” Renji exhaled. He pouted his bottom lip to the side, as if thinking about something. “Fanfiction about those two..” He shivered, over exaggerating slightly.

His breathing seemed under control now, but his chest stuttered occasionally when it rose and fell. He paused, before being unable to hold his irritated face and smiling, letting out a tiny laugh. “But it’s funny to think about.. I guess..”

Renji blinked in shock as Kazuki grabbed him and started shaking him. “Uwah—!” He stuttered, his hands instinctively raising to attack. He paused just for a second so he didn’t sock Kazuki in the face and instead rested his hands on their wrists again. Well, one. His left hand moved to rest on his lap again.

“Heyy—heyy!” He pouted, slightly embarrassed, if the faint pink on his pale cheeks was anything to go by. “We would’ve been fine! That pocket isn’t even the worse I can do.. I just didn’t wanna.. I dunno, kill you.” He muttered, scratching his cheek nervously. “You can’t blame me. It’s been a long week..”

“A-And don’t go shaking me! I’m gonna pass out if you do.” He muttered, the previous exhaustion he had rapidly seeping back into his body after all his adrenaline had ran out.

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Kazuki didn't flinch as Renji raised his hand to attack, but his fingers gripped his shoulders a little tighter as the other rested a hand on her wrist. They reached up, continually poking Renji in the cheek. "You were coughing blood!"

Another poke. "Not wanting to kill me is quite thoughtful, but come on!" Poke. "We were suffocating! What the hell is your idea of 'fine'!" They poked Renji in the side. "Yeah, long week working under a yakuza boss. I mean, a gay one, yeah," Kazuki let out a small snicker. "But-! A yakuza boss, Renji! Yakuza. Boss!"

Kazuki gasped, immediately pulling their hands back when they realized he could have possibly been hurting him too. "Ah, shit, sorry." He muttered, standing up on knees that were shaky like a newborn fawn's. "Well, what do we even do? I doubt we can 'wrong place, wrong time' this thing if i take you to the medics."

He shook out his legs, holding out a hand for Renji to take.

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“That’s normal!” Renji playfully argued, his hands let go of her as they drifted back to resting on his lap, letting Kazuki just poke him. He looked fairly amused at the thing, though very, very exhausted. “It always happens when I overuse my quirk to this extent. There’s not anything to worry about it.” He rolls his eyes, feigning annoyance, but he does really appreciate their concern.

“Hey, we’re not suffocating now, alright?” He pouted, crossing his arms, “That’s the ‘fine’ part! We’re alive!” He grins, getting his playfulness back. He hummed, putting a finger to his cheek thoughtfully. “Yeah yeah, I know! Gay evil yakuza boss.. Working under him has been a pain. It’s just he was really bad this week.” Renji sighs. He figured he wouldn’t correct them on him wiring for them for just a week. It’s been years. But he doesn’t want to tackle that right now.

Renji gave a tiny smile and waved his hand dismissively. “It’s okay.” His hands rubbed his eyes tiredly, as he watched Kazuki shakily get up. He grabbed his hand, and pulled himself up with their help, his legs shaking. For a moment, his vision blurred and he looked like he was gonna pass out, but he steadied himself.

“.. If you want, I can just.. sort myself out here. I’ve fixed myself up before, so.. going to the medics isn’t really that necessary.” He muttered, guilt creeping into his voice. He averted his eyes away from Kazuki, looking at the floor.

“You should go. I could.. I dunno, catch you back up soon. If they really didn’t have any files on me, which I wouldn’t be surprised about considering how much paperwork I’m missing— I’m.. I’m sure I could figure out a way out of this without dragging you down. That’s the last thing I want to do.”

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"I dunno," They mumbled, checking over his eyelids again before rummaging through their pockets. "-That doesn't seem healthy. Unless you're talking about some pestilence in the medieval times- you know, with all the blood letting?" Kazuki pulled out another iron deficiency pill, handing it to him. "And even that was unhealthy."

Kazuki chuckled. "This week? You're saying the other weeks experimenting on a child weren't as bad?" He didn't make their tone seem more accusatory, more like the usual unserious statement. "But, yeah." She mumbled. "I didn't expect him to be gay. I mean, he definitely looked at Chronostasis in a really gay way. Mostly it was Chronostasis looking at Overhaul like that." She let out a huff of laughter. "He was yearning so badly. I could feel it. Oh-! Hey, I'm all about how villains don't present themselves to the media. Anything gossip worthy?"

Kazuki helped him up, gasping softly at his state. "Oh, it looks so tired... slash reference." Kazuki mumbled with a small smile, but her eyes were wide, flicking over Renji. "Okay, but seriously though. You are insane for thinking that you could fix yourself up."

She searched through pockets, mindlessly yapping about each one and how heroes usually undermine the usefulness of them before finally finding the right one on their pants. Kazuki pulled out a roll of gauze, rolling his eyes when Renji mentioned 'not dragging Kazuki down'.

"That's dumb. You're injured and also stupid. I'm suprised they let you walk around this place without supervision." He hummed, looking over Renji again to know where to place the gauze, before their eyes landed on the bandages on Renji's face. They had gotten loose, blood stained and sweat slicked.

"...Renji." They hummed, slowly tilting their head. "Can I replace those? They look really ratty." She leaned down just a little to be at eye hight of him. "I've actually never seen you without them."

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“It should be fine.” Renji hummed dismissively. “It isn’t like it messes me up much, so I don’t really care. Besides, if it was dangerous, I would be dead by now, so it shouldn’t be too bad.” He stared at the pill before popping it into his mouth, swallowing it dry. He stuck out his tongue for a moment, a little grossed out.

“Hey, I didn’t say all that.” He muttered, crossing his arms. “It’s not like I was allowed to do any of the actual experimenting. Hell, I wasn’t even allowed to see her unless I was there to calm her down. Eri-chan clung to me like a baby though, so I ended up being around her more than I was supposed to. It was just this week he wrung me dry. I barely got to sleep.” He complained breathlessly. He seemed a little awkward talking about his role in the Hassaikai, especially when it came to him handling Eri. He wasn’t too fond of thinking about it, which, fair enough.

Renji paused before snickering tiredly. “Well, they’ve always been each-others.. uh, person, I guess?” He shrugged. “I dunno if I’ve got gossip, but I could tootallyyy tell you more about those two when it first hurt to think.” He smirked playfully. “Oh, and the other eight bullets. Woaa—Lord, they always had something going on.”

He looked a little embarrassed at Kazuki reprimanding him, his eyes flicking to them every once in a while with pathetically puppy dog looking eyes. Or well, eye. Though, it wasn’t like he was wrong, Renji looked like a hot mess, putting it lightly. “Heeeyyy..” He drew out, pouting. “There’s no medic in the Hassaikai, you know! I gotta fix myself up myself, or get Overhaul-sama to do it. And between us, I’d rather not.” He grinned tiredly. “They let me walk around by myself because I’m responsible~!” He prided, putting his hand to his chest playfully. His body language was so sluggish, but he tried to keep up despite it.

Renji paused when Kazuki asked about replacing the bandage on his face. He blinked a couple times before his hand moved to rub the back of his neck awkwardly, his gaze averting as pink dusted his cheeks. “Uuh.. I mean, not seeing me without them is kinda the point.” He huffed, clearly flustered. “But— If it looks that bad.. Then I guess you could. I can’t really do them without a mirror anyways..”

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Kazuki giggled, a huge grin on her face. "Yes! Yes, tell me all of the gossip. Please. Pleaseeeeeeee?" They mumbled, silently clapping the tips of her fingers. "I love workplace gossip. Hrm. I should probably watch The Office. Does it even fall into that category?" He hummed, a finger going up to his lips as he thought.

Kazuki looked back towards Renji making puppy dog eyes. "Oh my god, don't look at me like that." He mumbled, looking a little unnerved. "Seriously! You're too good at that."

They nodded along at Renji's words, brows furrowed. "Stop pouting. Why are you actually good at that." Kazuki grabbed him and shook him again, before remembering Renji's physical state and letting go.

"Well, Now I don't trust you to fix yourself up." Kazuki grumbled. "I wouldn't trust you, you seem pretty irresponsible." He laughed, but mentally noted how sluggish Renji seemed, fidgeting with the fabric of their glove on her palms.

Kazuki nodded, unrolling his own bandages before gently undoing Renji's. "Wow! I get to do Renji's bandages! What an honor!" They exclaimed, finally unraveling them, and with a small 'eugh..', tossed the dirtied bandages somewhere. She looked back at Renji, grabbed his jaw and tilted his head like she was examining a science experiment. "Oh, wow! You actually have a pretty good jawline. I also didn't expect your eyes to be so big, maybe that's why you're good at the puppydog eye thing."

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Renji snickered, nodding. “I will, I will~!” He chuckled. “Just.. need to clear my head a little. God, I could go for a pint right now..” He huffed, pausing and tilting his head. “Mm, I dunno. I think it does. Either way, I’ve heard it’s funny. So you’d like it.” He nodded, clearly not knowing much about The Office, but going along with what Kazuki was saying.

“Hah?” He blinked, a little confused. Admittedly, he wasn’t even aware he was doing the puppy dog eye thing. Sure, there are times he does it on purpose, but his eyes .. just seem to naturally have that look to them?? It’s probably because they’re so big. And his eye colour being basically black definitely doesn’t help.

“Heyyyuh!” He whined while being shook. “Can’t help I look great in all expressions!” He sighed, a stupid small cocky smile on his face before it dropped into a more embarrassed expression. “In all seriousness, I dunnooo. I used to beg Chrono-san to give me stuff all the time, and he would, so maybe I just do it subconsciously.” He grinned.

Renji huffed, “Oh come on, I’m plenty responsible.” He rolled his eyes playfully. “There’s a reason I’m used as a spy, y’know.”

Renji’s cheeks flushed even more at the gentleness of their hands. He wasn’t used to anybody really touching him, let alone his face. But he held still. When the bandages dropped onto the floor somewhere, Renji’s right eye slowly opened up—a soft, gentle yellow shining back. It was a little dulled, and he hissed a little when it hit the light, but it was really pretty. There was scar tissue all around the eye, as well as a star-shaped looking mole next to the corner of it. It looked like the tissue branched off of the mole, almost looking soft of.. luminary? Star-like, for sure. It seemed much, much weaker than Renji’s other eye, though still as big. He looks like a stupid puppy.

“Eh—?” He blinked at her, clearly embarrassed if not flustered. “Well— Thank you? I think? W-Were those compliments?” He tilting his head, a little confused, but smiling nonetheless.

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Kazuki just stared at Renji and his fuckass eyes. Raising a hand before pausing and bringing it down again. They were definitely going to poke Renji in the eye out of reflex. "Yeah, your eyes have that weird big watery thing to them." She muttered, before grinning. "Like a bug. Hah!"

Kazuki just nodded along, rolling their eyes playfully when he mentioned being.... 'responsible'. "Hey, you tried to knock us both out, soooo...!!" They hummed, shrugging with a slight grin.

Kazuki's own eyes widened as they took in his. "Well," they started, "I've never seen any like yours before. They're so pretty??" They gasped, tilting his head to the side and staring straight at him with their own amber eyes. "Hehe, oh my god! I'm envious." Kazuki forced their hand back down to avoid poking him in the eye again.

"No, Renji, they aren't compliments, I actually have an unbridled hatred for you." Kazuki deadpanned, before snickering "Naw, I'm lying. those were compliments." Kazuki tilted their head with him. "Hey, is that mole a birthma- stop looking like that, stupid puppy, you know what you're doing, goddamn it!!"

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“Haahh—?” Renji looks a little taken aback by Kazuki’s reaction to his face, his cheeks painfully dusted with an obvious pink. He kept eye contact with Kazuki as his face was practically held still by their hands. Eventually, he averted his eyes out of embarrassment, unsure how to take their fascination. “Envious of what? They don’t even look that cool.” He huffed. How does one respond to being complimented? Renji wouldn’t know.

“Hate you too!” He stuck out his tongue playfully, before grinning and rolling his eyes. “But thanks, I guess.”

Renji pouted, playfully annoyed. “Doing what?! I can’t help it! I just look like that!” He crossed his arms, but he wasn’t letting it down. He did just naturally look like a pathetic sopping puppy. Whether that’s a bad thing or a good thing.. really up to Kazuki. “What, is it bothering you?” He smirked, leaning in before giggling and leaning back out so their faces weren’t super close together.

“But nah.” He muttered, scratching idly at the scar tissue around his eye. “I wasn’t born with it, at least not in this form. I might’ve had a mole there but it definitely wasn’t a star like it is now. It just appeared one day when I was like.. 9? I dunno. Ever since my old woman left me, it’s just grown into this thingy.” He seemed a little disappointed while talking about it. “It’s probably a quirk thing. Whatever it was, at least I look.. cool?” He joked, but unsure about it himself. The wound and star-mole itself didn’t look naturally created, so it was definitely whatever Renji thought it was.

“It sucks though. This eye actually has colour but I can barely see anything out of it. It’s better just to keep it bandaged. “He sighed, shrugging. “Speaking of which, are you gonna do that or not?” He grinned, tilting his head.

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Kazuki sighed, rolling his eyes. "Of course, it's bothering me!" They hissed through gritted teeth, flinching away when he got too close with his big eyes. "Don't act stupid, I know you're just doing that..." She muttered, eyes glancing between him and the floor.

"Weird way to word it. 'Not in this form'?" Kazuki muttered, cocking their head like a bird. "It does look cool, I'll give you that. Maybe it's your skin eroding or some shit from so much quirk use. I mean, you already bleed when using your quirk too much, right? I just..don't know why it's grown into that."

Kazuki bit his finger as they talked. "I mean, my scar grew into me. But you aren't me, and I don't really know what the fuck is up with it either." Kazuki reached out, tracing said scars with their thumb and humming at the texture. If they ha a clipboard they would have been writing things down like a researcher with how methodical it seemed. "I thought the bandage thing was because you just didn't like the look, but you don't seem to be doing so bad without it."

Kazuki looked up, nervously chuckling. "Eh..eheh. Yeahhh, but you're gonna render your eye useless more! You know the effects of placing one eye in darkness for too long? What if your immune system attacks your eye? What then?" Kazuki teased, but she unrolled the bandages and started to wrap them around his head again.

They carefully but firmly wrapped his head, making sure his eye was closed before pulling the cloth over it. She couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the scars on his neck, which Kazuki had avoided to touch because, well, some people were just ticklish there.

"Hey, Penguin." They mumbled, snapping her fingers and calling him by the name that he set on his phone. "Are the neck scars a sensitive topic or can I ask about them?" Kazuki was just naturally curious. "I'll give you info you want if you tell me! You know, cause you've told me about yourself so much. It kinda feels wrong to be so guarded. I'm an open book."

Kazuki finished up the bandaging, looking straight at him with focused eyes. Her white pupils seemed bigger than they were supposed to be, and that was kind of unnerving. Come to think of it, Kazuki was naturally an open person who shared about himself, but the guy avoided talking about his pre middle school years.

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“I didn’t know how else to word it.” Renji scratched his neck awkwardly. “I mean it like.. not the way it is now, I guess.” He shrugged, before making a small wincing face. “Eehh, I’d hope not.. I don’t think my quirk is even capable of doing that. It makes sense I cough blood since my lungs get all messed up from the air—but I don’t think it makes sense for my eye, yknow?” He tilted his head, honestly trying to think about it.

He’s never really thought about where the scar came from. All he knows is that it started after his mother left. He frowns at the idea that her quirk could’ve done this. She wouldn’t have put a vow on him without letting him know. At least, he hopes so.

“.. Yeah.” He muttered half-heartedly before shaking his head and getting out of his own thoughts. “I mean, I don’t like the look, but I didn’t wear the bandage until a year ago.. So it isn’t horrible to not wear it sometimes. I prefer having it covered though.” He shrugged, a little amused with how clinical and interested Kazuki seemed about it.

Renji held still as she bandaged his eye back up, his other eyes softening slightly when the light stopped hitting it. The bandaged eye was clearly way more sensitive than his other one, so it seemed that’s partially why he kept it covered so often. “Agh, don’t make me think of that..” He gritted, “Last thing I need is for my brain to think it needs to attack my eyeball.” He snickered, before sighing tiredly.

“Penguin?” Renji blinked, a little amused by the nickname. His little smile dropped a little when Kazuki mentioned his neck scars, and he looked away awkwardly. “Nah, they’re fine. Just a little stupid is all.” He muttered. “They’re from when I was trying to utilise that move where I throw things at people. Shrapnel hit my neck with how fast I was going and it cut there. Top one had me messed up for a while, but it’s alright now. Not the best story, but I learned my lesson.” He chuckled, scratching at the top one idly. Fat lie, but he didn’t feel like explaining an attempt to his friend right now. At least it was sort of true, for the bottom scar anyways.

Renji glanced back at Kazuki, staring at his eyes for a moment. “You have freaky eyes too.” He giggled, a stupid grin on his face. “But.. Hm, where’d your scar come from? I’m curious. And you’re offering, so..”

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"Uh, yeah. Penguin." Kazuki muttered, tying it off. "Cause, penguins used to fly. And now their wings are used to dive and swim. I don't know, it made sense to me, considering the connection between air and stuff." They shrugged, leaning back on their haunches. "I assign birds to everyone I know, you aren't special." Kazuki teased.

They noted how his smile faltered just a bit, respectfully nodding along. "Ow. Yeah, I can tell. I didn't know you used to play around with explosives." He hummed, carefully reaching up and hesitantly cupping the side of his neck, watching the scarred flesh.

Kazuki's eyes flicked back to Renji's, and they grinned. "Freaky? I've never heard that before! I mean, I've heard pretty, alluring, mischievous... but never freaky, heh!" The bottoms of Kazuki's eyelids tilted up in a smile, and instead of their eyes narrowing like a normal person, her white pupils swelled, covering most of the iris and staring straight at Renji.

Kazuki's hand lifted from his neck to her lip, humming in thought. "Oh, funny story." He shuffled to sit with their legs crossed, hands now in his lap. "I was nine. I got tired when training, and in a daze, stumbled and fell into a bench press." Kazuki blushed at the thought, chuckling nervously. "It was in front of.." She paused. Then a laugh came from her throat, hands gripping her pants. "My handler, yeah. He was a government official, and I-I was all about strength, so.."

She chuckled, tilting her head. "I walked it off. Uh, refused help." They smiled, seeming almost fond of the memory. "My brother had to track my feathered ass down and bandage me himself." Kazuki's grip increased on his pants ever so slightly.

"A-anyways!" Kazuki chuckled almost awkwardly. "Workplace gossip, r..right?"

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Renji seemed a little confused by the explanation, but he giggled and nodded, shrugging. “I thought you’d say it’s ’cause I have black and white hair.” He snickers, but clearly finding the nickname endearing. “But it’s funny. Your thought process, I mean.”

Renji flinched slightly when they cupped the side of his neck, his eye widening slightly before softening again. Kazuki could feel Renji’s pulse pick up from under her hand. “Aha, I played with a ton of random stuff when I was younger.” He grinned nervously. “Knifes, guns.. scrap pieces of metal.. needles..” He listed slowly, his items intentional. He swallowed awkwardly, not wanting to continue with that whole ordeal. Not that he hated his scars, or anything. It just wasn’t the right time to explain that.

“Really?” He hummed, a tiny smile on his face. “It’s kinda like a lil cat, you know?” He pointed out, his thumb and pointer finger lifting to his eye before he pulled it apart, a little gesture for the pupils getting larger. “When cats get excited and stuff and their eyes get bigger.” So much talk from someone who perpetually looks like a kicked dog.

Renji slowly nodded, his face turning into neutrality as Kazuki explained. His eyes were filled with something—not pity, but .. understanding, maybe. “Ah, I see.” He commented, but he didn’t say much else. He didn’t want to accidentally say something that would make the topic more awkward, and he noted how unsure Kazuki appeared while talking about it. But, he was far from judging them. He almost looked appreciative he would tell him that.

He blinked, nodding. “Oh yeah, workplace gossip.” He muttered, scratching his bandages. “Well, other than the weird situationship between Chrono-san and Overhaul-sama.. Umm.. I’m pretty sure Nemoto-sama’s got some weird ass thing for Overhaul-sama too. Everyone really wants Overhaul-sama..” Renji made a cringed out face, looking a little irritated at the idea of that. “Oh yeah, and then Tengai-san and Rappa-san are like.. one talk away from killing eachother. But that’s normal!” He grinned. “Everyone also hates Setsuno-san.. He’s kind of annoying but his cooking is nice so I sort of just tune out whatever people say about him.” He went on, eye looking up at the ceiling as if trying to think about more things to say.

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Kazuki casually pressed their thumb into his pulse point. With the efficiency of a researcher, that is. "Goddamn, was your playpen a junk yard?" they remarked with a grin, but noted how nervous he seemed and retracted their hand.

They then tilted their head. "A cat? That's cute." They muttered, leaning closer with a sly grin, pupils dilating. Did they have that much control over her eyes? "I have a friend who has a cat quirk." She muttered, leaning back to tap her lip. "Come to think of it.. I think.. all of my friends are gay." He laughed, shaking his head. "But, anyways!!"

Kazuki awkwardly chuckled again, hand movigg up to knead the back of his own neck before tilting her head. "It's nice, hearing all of these things from a perspective that hasn't really been.. let's say tained with hero ideals." Kazuki laughed. "Villainous choice of words, I know, but I'm saying that hero society romanticizes a lot of things for us. It makes it so wr don't humanize villains."

"And hey," Kazuki grinned. "It's nice knowing that some could maybe be as cool as you. Maybe." With that, Kazuki also looked up to the ceiling to think. "You think you're gonna visit them in jail?" Kazuki seemed like he was going to unleash another barrage of questions, but he bit his tongue, only asking one more.

"What if Eri told people that you wrre affiliated?" Kazuki muttered. "It's hard to admit this, but.." Those eyes focused on Renji again, knowing like ancient amber that shared the iris' coloration and almost prehistoric, the white pupil like an air bubble or blotch of cream. "Even though you're a villain, you're not bad. You were, and are still just a kid, and I don't want you to be sent to jail with no chance of rehab." Funny that it was coming from Kazuki, who was literally going through his own things without any therapist.

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Renji seemed a little confused at Kazuki’s rambling but nodded along and giggled. He paused for a moment when the mentioned heroism and villains, his gaze averting to the floor. “I see.” He muttered, sighing before smiling weakly. “Don’t call me that. I’m not as cool as you think I am. But yeah. I’m sure there’s better out there.”

He thought for a moment, not sure how to tackle the topic at hand. He’s never been good with confronting things like this. Society, consequences, people in power, world views—everything is so.. trivial to him, in a sense. He’s never understood it. He wishes that the world would just go on if people did what they wanted. But he knows humanity isn’t like that. He knows it isn’t that simple and there’s so much more to everything and everyone. It hurts his head to even think about.

“Yeah.” He hummed, when she mentioned visiting the Hassaikai in jail. “I mean, if I’m not in there with them.” Renji chuckled, his hand tiredly moving to rub the back of his neck. His exhaustion was really catching up to him. “I hate this place. But I can’t bring myself to hate the people I work with. It feels cruel, knowing we’re all here for our own reasons.” He mutters, exhaling slowly.

“I don’t know. It’s convoluted. I just know I wouldn’t live with myself if I didn’t say hi every once in a while. They’re.. good people, you know.” He seemed hesitant to continue, but wer on anyways. “W-Well, I know they’re not the best, and I hate them for it—but I can’t— I can’t hate them all the time. They .. fed me and care for me. That has to mean something.” Renji paused, cringing at his own words before shaking his head as if wanting Kazuki to forget anything he’s just said.

“If Eri-chan lets them know I was affiliated, then that’s that. I don’t want to argue against her.” He shrugged, seeming okay with the idea. “Though I don’t know everything, she’s been through enough. If she wants me behind bars, then whatever. That’s fine.”

Renji glanced up, staring into Kazuki’s eyes for a moment. His visible eye was such a deep black, it was hard to see his iris at all. He looked nearly blank, if it wasn’t for that painstaking guilt apparent in his facial expression. “I know. But I’m not a good person Kazuki. I don’t think I could be a hero. I’m not good enough to save other people. I’ve made my peace with knowing I’m tainted.” He mumbled, voice wavering slightly. It sounded like he was reciting something again, voice weak but trying desperately to be pointed.

“But I appreciate your hope for me. It’s the most I’ve ever gotten from someone.”

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"Stop doing that self deprecation bullshit." Kazuki scoffed, "You're pretty cool." They rolled their eyes, still with that grin. "I am honestly shocked that you're a villain. I mean, I always told myself that I would know if anything like this happened to me, but..." Kazuki trailed off, seemingly thinking about the things she said to Renji. "Sorry. For that. Like, actually. I have this weird issue." Kazuki did not elaborate, so there was just this weird silence that stretched on for a bit.

He chuckled nervously. "Anyways-! I'll.. make sure you won't get caught. It's the least I could do, considering those. Things. But, I could, ah..possibly help you with that? I have connections, so I'll make sure it isn't suspicious for you to suddenly meet all of them." The grin morphed into something more awkward, and Kazuki brought his hands down to start picking at her nails.

"You don't have to try and justify yourself." They murmured, a hand going up to pick at his own scar. "I understand a lot. I mean, yeah. They took better care of you than anyone else did, so.." Kazuki's nail dug into his scar a little deeper.

At the thought of Eri, Kazuki looked off into the hallway where she was pushed off through earlier. A crash came from the fight upstairs. "That is, if the Hassaikai is defeated. And I'll say, Overhaul's a tough guy." Kazuki winced as she picked into the skin deep enough to hurt. "Hey, if you guys win, put in a good word for me, okaayyy? I actually value not being tortured, thanks!" Kazuki joked, shrugging.

Kazuki's eyes rushed up to meet his, gaze a bit calculating. "Most heroes aren't good people. They're heroes." Kazuki forced his hands back down. "Lots of heroes are shitty. We all have our own things that make us not perfect, but heroes are just a different breed." Kazuki's thumb began idily rubbing against her thigh. "Eugh, purity culture. Heroes aren't superhumen. Besides, I have my own things, and I'm still a hero. I've been- tainted, but im still here." Kazuki talked a bit faster at the last sentence, eyes unfocusing before locking on Renji again. "It isn't hope. It's because I don't believe in the whole 'I'm not good' thing you're spewing. I know you can be a hero. There are worse people out there with higher statuses. Don't self deprecate yourself."

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Renji blinked a little before giggling and shrugging. “Alright alright, I’ll try to tone it down.” He scratched his neck awkwardly. “It’s fine. I’m meant to be a spy anyways. I don’t fault you for believing me. All my information was fabricated, so.. Don’t worry about it, okay? I don’t care.” He tilted his head, smiling.

He seemed a little surprised, but his smiling grew a bit and he genuinely seemed really thankful. He would never admit it, but he did see the Hassaikai as family. No matter how .. messed up it was. “You’d do that?” He blinked, nodding. “Yeah. That’d be nice. Thank you.” He muttered, a hint of warmth worming its way onto his expression. “.. Y-Yeah. They’re all I had. I can’t believe I spent so much time with people older than me than people my age.” He breathlessly chuckled, his fondness quickly turning awkward.

Renji glanced at the ceiling, hearing the commotion from upstairs. His brows pressed together, expression knitting into something of concern. For who, was unknown. “Yeah. Overhaul-sama’s a good fighter. The only problem is he lets emotion and rashness get the better of him. N-Not that that’s a negative thing. I’m guilty of doing that a lot.” He muttered, as if trying to guess what was happening in the fight. He found it hard to believe that Overhaul would lose, but he knows he shouldn’t be too sure. He’s seen the students at U.A and they’re nothing short of impressive.

He paused, looking back at Kazuki with a small grin. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen! I’m kinda in charge of that part anyways, so .. Not even a finger will be laid on you! But I’d be your boss, so that would kinda suck.” He snickers playfully, but exhales tiredly as his smile fades just a tad.

Renji paused, taking in his words. Part of him is a little surprised to hear that. For some odd reason, he’s always assumed heroes were pure of heart. Even if he’s been grilled into that they aren’t, or whatever Overhaul-sama says, he’s always foolishly assumed they’re nothing short of saints. Maybe it was because his ma believed in such a thing. But to hear it felt weird. To hear that he, out of all people, could be a hero felt even weirder. He could barely wrap his head around it. But I’ve killed so many people, he wanted to say. Can someone who’s hurt so many others be a hero? He wanted to ask, but he didn’t. It just didn’t leave his mouth.

A slow, breathless laugh left Renji’s mouth and he backed away, hiding his face. “Don’t say things like that.” He chuckled, his hand moving to his face. If Kazuki looked close enough, it was a tear. “I’ll never understand you guys. Heroes.. everything..” He muttered, sniffling. He wipes his face, making himself look at least presentable before looking back at Kazuki. “Well, if you think I can be a hero, I’ll give it a shot.”

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"Okay, okay. That's good." Kazuki sighed, taking on a more relaxed smile. His hands stopped fidgeting and even if Kazuki was still slightly guarded, he reached up and started twirling a lock of hair around their finger. It spiraled around the digit, flowing through like water.

Kazuki just hummed, nodding at Renji seeming so happy at being able to see the Hassaikai members. "Highkey real. I didn't know how to interact with people my age until the ripe age of 12. So.." Kazuki chuckled. "Guess we really are similar! Hah!"

"I mean, I do that too. Hell, the only reason why I'm here is because I ended up just wanting to talk." Kazuki chuckled in a bitter tone. Trapping the piece of hair between two fingers and pulling a bit. "I even let Eri go. A hero I am, am I right? It's alright, they surely have it settled." They sighed, going back to twirling it around her pointer finger.

Then, Kazuki grinned back, with a wider, more teasing grin. "Working under you? Pshhh, only if I get special best friend privileges." Kazuki would definitely have been kicking her feet at this. They looked up and saw how bummed Remji seemed at being the boss. "What about being my boss? Aren't I an amazing employee? Also, I'd probably be working as a hero." Kazuki paused for a little, and with a small chuckle said, "But if any masked guy ended up asking me to join the Shie Hassaikai, I would probably say yes. Hey, are there any hot guys in there?"

Kazuki paused, finger mid twirl and blinked. "Are you crying?" She muttered incredulously, reaching out to wipe off Renji with his sleeve before searching her pockets for a napkin. Kazuki found another pack of hello kitty napkins and tossed them at Renji. "I'm glad you will." They hummed, looking closer to see if Remji had eyeliner or something on before trying to wipeboff more of his eyes.

"Either way," Kazuki started, other hand coming up to scratch at her jaw. "I don't think anyone could understand. Heroism is different for everyone." Kazuki winced, nails hitting a spot too deep when clawing at his skin, fingernails retractimg with little bits of blood. "Ah."

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Renji nodded, “Ugh, same here. Growing up in this dingy place sucked so bad. Before I was sent to U.A, I didn’t talk to people my age. Unless it was.. like, for infiltration reasons.” He cringed, but smiled after Kazuki saying they were similar. “Yeah, we are.”

He cringed again at the idea of being in power again, especially a boss. When he was promoted when he was younger, he was.. a nightmare, to say the very least. But he giggled, and shrugged. “Oh, you know you’d get privileges! I mean, Overhaul-sama is a big softie towards Chrono-san, so I don’t see why not.” He exhales tiredly, amused, but still disliking the idea of being a boss of anyone that wasn’t the underlings. He paused for a minute when Kazuki asked if there were any hot guys in the Hassaikai, staring at her with a confused face. “What?” He asked, brows knitting together. Despite his confusion, he still tried to think of any. Nobody came up. “Well, they’re all old. Older than us, I mean, like they’re in their late 20’s usually. So nobody is really hot to me. Maybe Nemoto-san, but he slicks back his hair and it looks kind of stupid.” He mumbled, genuinely trying to think the question through.

“N-No, I’m not crying.” Renji grumbled, sniffling. He was obviously crying. “Just overwhelmed is all..” He muttered, closing his eye slightly when Kazuki wiped his face. He quickly caught the napkins and moved to wipe his face more of his totally not tears. When Kazuki leaned in, Renji looked away awkwardly, pink dusting his cheeks embarrassingly. He didn’t have any eyeliner on—though he’d look good with some—but he did have really, really nice eyelashes. His lashes were mostly white, definitely deriving from the white in his hair.

His eye flitted back to look at Kazuki, still overtly embarrassed for crying a little, but clearly taking his works to heart. “.. Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” He hummed softly, smiling just a bit. He really did look at them warmly, something to be admired. His eyes quickly sharpened when he saw Kazuki had drawn blood from scratching at himself, moving closer to them and grabbing their hand gently. “Hey, don’t do that, idiot. It’s gonna leave a mark.”

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Kazuki hummed, noting how Renji cringed at that. They blinked, resisting the urge to tilt his head inquisitively. Yes, it made Kazuki curious, but what if it was a tough topic?... "I've never done an infiltration before, how are they like?"

"Holy shit! Privilege? Like what?" Kazuki leaned forward with a grin, dramaticslly putting a hand to her ear. They nodded, retracted the hand, and then grinned at Renji's confusion. "What? Can't a girl scope out the competition?" Genuinely what the fuck does Kazuki mean by that?? "Ah, alrighty. Also, he slicks back his hair? Actually!?" Kazuki snickered, shoulders shaking. "I want to picture it, but I've never seen his face. It's funny, picturing an important yakuza member like that, being described as looking stupid." They tilted their head.

Kazuki stared into his eyes with an owl-like focus, staring at the silvery strands of his eyelashes. How had Kazuki not noticed that before? They were pretty and intricate, as if they were made out of snow fractals. Kazuki snapped himself back into the moment, focusing back into Renji's pupils. "Yeah, I get it. I destroy things sometimes when I'm overwhelmed." They shrugged, watching Renji's eye bandage dampen slightly.

Kazuki and Renji stared at each other with their own rare gazes. Kazuki's was sharper as their eyes flicked over Renji, instead of staring straight into his eyes and swimming in their darkness. They flinched as Renji reached out, and quickly forced her own hand down. "Yeah, sorry. I'm sure a mark won't really change this, though." Kazuki hummed, tracing a finger along her own mark as another boom sounded from upstairs.

unbreathingg

“It sucked.” Renji stuck his tongue out playfully, but he looked genuinely irked at the topic of infiltrating other places. “I’ve had to get way too close to people during infiltrations because it’s one of the only ways to get information faster. Gathering a reputation in a shitty place is a hellish experience I’ll tell you that. But it’s one of the only ways to get things fast and easy.” He hummed, playing at his hair. “I can’t count how many fake relationships I had to get into so the Hassaikai could overturn the group and steal stuff from it!” He shivered slightly recalling the memory. “Gross. The only infiltrating mission I actually liked was U.A.” He huffed.

“I dunno!” He blinked, trying to think of how Overhaul treats Chrono. “You could probably just do whatever you wanted honestly! And you get to go into my cool fancy office that I’d have! Or.. something like that.” He giggled nervously, shrugging. Renji blinked in utter confusion at Kazuki saying they were ‘scoping out competition’. For what..?? “What does that mean??”

He chuckled, nodding. “Yes! It looks so weird! I really like how he looks with his hair down, but he never has it like that, unless we’re having dinner together or something.” He puts a finger to his cheek, thinking of how to explain him. He’s spent a bunch of time around Nemoto-san unmasked, but it’s hard for him to explain. “He’s got a really nice face. Like—uh, sharp-ish jaw line, these little thin metal glasses.. He’s got light brown eyes.. They’re kinda sharp and he’s got nice lashes? I dunno, but I just know he doesn’t look good with it slicked back. It’s nice when his bangs go over his face!” He grinned, clearly fond when thinking about Nemoto.

Renji glanced back at Kazuki staring at his eyes, blinking slightly and flushing slightly. The pink really spread in his cheeks and he looked like he was pouting. He paused before snickering slightly, sighing. “Ehe, yeah.. I used to as well. But — I kinda just.. do this now. Which is a lil pathetic.” He muttered, his thumb moving under his bandage to wipe the tears on the other side of his face.

Renji really liked Kazuki’s eyes. He wouldn’t admit it, but they just looked so .. pretty. Maybe it was the uniqueness of them, or that he barely makes eye contact ever—so he just thinks they look nice. Regardless, he liked looking at them. His hand awkwardly fell by his side as her hand moved away. “I mean, it’s still bad. I don’t want you going ‘round digging your fingers in your skin, dummy.”

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Kazuki watched him play with his hair. It looked pretty fucking soft. They quickly snapped out of it. "Awww, really!" She cooed with a grin, "U.A. was the best one? Is it cause you met me? Be honest! Can I be the number one highlight of your life?" He teased, mentally regretting that last sentence. He honestly just threw that in there to see how Renji would react, much like their many other things, and Kazuki would not admit that out loud.

"Fancy office? Can I sit in your chair and spin in it?" They joked, grin lowered into a smirk. "I do appreciate it, though. Now I know which yakuza to join if everything else gets fucked up."

Kazuki laughed nervously when Renji looked confused. He shut his mouth and decided to not elaborate.

"So, like, conventionally attractive?" Kazuki tried to picture that. "Like a stock photo business man?" He snickered at his own description. That was specific and actually pretty accurate...?? "He has bangs, though? I just lost the image of him in my mind. Whatever. I feel like it was close enough."

"Psh, it's not pathetic." They hummed, stifling a coo when Renji pouted. "God forbid a guy cries a bit. Just another thing this fuckass society made us think, right?" Kazuki hummed, reaching out to gently tighten Renji's bandages and letting his fingers brush against Renji's hair. Soft.

Kazuki chuckled softly, looking back up at Renji with bashful eyes. "I'll keep that in mind." A small pause as Kazuki looked back up at Renji. "...Idiot." Kazuki thought for a minute, twirling a lock of hair around their finger again. The blonde lock had a nice sort of spring to it. "Wanna go hang out after, like.. all this?"

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“It’s ’cause there was no weird annoying old men to deal with! Don’t act so egotistical..” Renji pouted, rolling his eyes, clearly flustered. He blinked before his shoulders tightened and he giggled, putting a hand to his mouth like he was trying to hide face. “But I guess meeting you was cool too.. Idiot.” He scoffed lightheartedly, amused. “Highlight of my life is a little much, ain’t it?” He teased, tilting his head. Renji poked Kazuki’s forehead playfully. “But you played a big part in it. Is that what you wanna hear?”

“Yeaahh, you can spin in my massive fancy chair.” He sighed with a grin on his face, putting his hands on his hips. “If the Hassaikai is still around after this anyways. I’d vouch for you, if it came down to it.”

Renji raised a brow when Kazuki didn’t explain, but he didn’t ask. Maybe it was just a joke he didn’t get.

“Umm, I guess? But instead of having black hair, he’s blond. Like really dirty blond.” Renji chuckled at the idea of Nemoto looking like a stock image. He idly wonders if he could google it and see someone similar to Nemoto. “He’s got like.. one of those overtop bang thingys on the side..?” He muttered, gesturing to the side of his face. “It curves up over the top a lil. I think it looks nice.” He shrugs.

“It kind of is, but I guess so..” Renji mutters, embarrassed, but not saying much else. He doesn’t seem to believe Kazuki, but his thoughts get interrupted by their hands brushing his bandages and his hair. He flushes slightly, looking away. Was he seriously not used to physical touch that bad? “I coulda’ done that myself.”

He blinks, a little surprised by the invitation. He turns his head away bashfully, trying to look irritated but he just looks flustered and pouty. “You can’t just say that, I almost made you pass out like.. an hour ago.” He mutters, but his eye looks back to them, clearly wanting. “But whatever, if you wanna go out, I wouldn’t mind. It’s be pretty nice to see each-other outside of a .. ‘conducting a raid’ context.” He grinned, though a little shaky.

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"Yes! Yes!!!" Kazuki clapped softly, with a grin on their face. "Im sooooo cool." Kazuki huffed when sh got poked, but that grin was still on their face. "Psh, that basically means that I'm the best person you've ever met" He teased. "Also, you're such a tsundere." Kazuki doubled down, cackling. "I-I guess meeting you w-w-was cool too, Idiot!" She said between laughs, pitching their voice an octave higher.

Kazuki then calmed down, tilting their head. "Great! And then I could just be in your office all day.. Hey, do you even have an office? What do you even do all day?" Kazuki looked around the hallway they were in. "You think you could give me a tour, perhapsssss...?" Kazuki said, with a small, slightly nervous grin. There was another crash and the sounds of things falling from upstairs, but Kazuki ignored it. "And you'd vouch for me? Woah, that's actually pretty thoughtful. Thanks, man."

"Hm.. yeah, I think I see it now." Kazuki gave up on picturing Nemoto and was now thinking about why cookie recipes are more sugar than actual flour. "Yeah. Most slick backed hairdos look really dumb, haha. Like you're in the 1960s or something."

Kazuki noted the blush spreading across Renni's cheeks, and then decided to chalk it up to them being delusional. "Aw, shut up." Kazuki has to stifle a chuckle when Renji looks away. And then he has to force his hand down before she starts smoothing out his hair.

"Sweet!" Kazuki exclaimed, with a bigger grin. "I don't care about the passing out thing, it's, uhhh.." Kazuki snapped his fingers. "Character development! Yup." Kazuki cuts himself off when Renji looks at her with those weirdly puppydog shaped eyes, and has to fix her own breathing, inhaling a little too loud. "Oh- yeah! Go out! Yeah, that would be great, haahha. What did you have in mind, though! I'll pay for the both of us, so just- pick whatever you want."

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Renji blinked, as if offended by the title. “I am not a tsundere!” He flushed, shoving Kazuki playfully. “Just ‘cause you’re being embarrassing doesn’t mean I have to entertain you, ya know?!” He huffs, crossing his arms. “God, that’s stupid. I’m not a tsundere. That’s for like.. petty middleschool girls with shitty crushes.” He rolls his eyes.

He paused for a moment, before shaking his head. “Nah, I don’t. Overhaul-sama has one, but nobody else does really. I get my own room near the other Bullets and I get to do whatever in there.. But it’s not really an office. I just nap there.” He mutters, scratching his face awkwardly. “I’m usually out of the building most days. If I’m not at U.A or doing some other mission to collect info—then I’m bossing around underlings to do their jobs. Or.. I dunno. Other stuff.” He shrugs, not explaining what said ‘other stuff’ was.

Renji seemed a little surprised at why Kazuki would want a tour of the place, especially while there’s a fight going on upstairs. He looked up as the ceiling rattled from the force of whatever was happening, and he gave a slight grin. “I mean.. I guess I could? My room and stuff is a lil lower down one of the halls if you really wanted to. Aren’t you a tad worried about the death match they’re having up there?”

He paused for a moment, scratching his neck. “I mean, I guess.” He shrugged, tilting his head a bit. Oh my god, he was just like a stupid puppy. “You don’t gotta pay—but uh, if you say so.” He hummed, putting a finger to his cheek like he was thinking. He didn’t wanna pick a place that was too .. much or anything, but he didn’t wanna choose something that was super underwhelming either. “How about a sushi train? Those are nice. Or we could just.. go to the mall and wander around, if you want.” He grinned.

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"That's what they all say..." Kazuki trailed off as if he was telling a ghost story, playfully wiggling his fingers at him, after getting shoved. "You're a petty high school guy with, like, a shitty crush? Do you even have a crush??" Oblivious bird of the century. "Whatever. It still counts for you. You are literally blushing and huffing at me. You're giving fire to the flame or whatever the saying was."

"Haha, a 16 year old bossing around, like, what was the age range? 20 year olds? Funny." Kazuki seemed to enjoy the thought of being under someone like that. Especially because each time Renji described something, he would stop and think for a few seconds. "Fun. Haha, like a guard dog. Oh god, do they haze in the hassaikai?" Kazuki tilted his head when Renji said 'other stuff', but didn't question it. It could be something Renji just didn't want to think about right now.

"Death match? Psh, I'm fine!" Kazuki rolled their eyes, flopping their wrist. "Heroes don't kill, and I'm pretty sure if I hold onto you, Overhaul or whoever the fuck is fighting up there won't kill me. Right?" Kazuki flinched as the building rattled and the lights flickered, their own wings flickering for just a second before going inside their body as wisps. "Besides, I'm naturally curious." She shrugged, looking back at him.

Kazuki tilted their head with him, taking note of the puppy-like mannerisms. Kazuki wouldn't be suprised if he was actually a puppy in a skin suit, or something. "Oh, so a mall and a sushi train? I like how you're thinking! I could be, like, your sugar daddy. HHAH!" Kazuki clapped, shaking his head at his own joke. "Looking forward to that hangout. When will you be free?"

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“Oh shut up.” Renji grumbles, scratching at himself nervously. “I don’t have a crush. So technically it can’t even apply to me.” He points out, a small grin on his face. Holy oblivious.

“Oh, you don’t even know.” He made a face, something between irritation and embarrassment. The thought of being in a higher position excited him, but he was okay where he was now. He wasn’t exactly the best boss ever. “I was .. I think, 12? 13–when I was in the big leagues. Like working close-close with the Bullets. A 13 year old, bossing around a bunch of adults, and working with them too. God, can you imagine.. I dunno why Overhaul-sama thought that was a good idea..” He rubbed his face with his hand tiredly. “And no—thankfully. Well uh, not anymore. I used to beat the shit out of newbies. I don’t anymore.” He scratched awkwardly, as if admitting that was disgustingly embarrassing.

Renji sighed and smiled, before starting to walk down the hall, gesturing for Kazuki to follow him. His movements were still a little sluggish, but he seemed mostly fine. The corridor they were heading down was likely the room areas he was talking about earlier. It looked a little more well maintained than everything else. “Psh, alright. If you say so.. And yeah. I’ll make sure you won’t die.” He grinned, looking back at them.

He paused and flustered at the comment, looking both amused and unamused at the same time. “Don’t word it like that, dumbass!” He muttered, looking away. “Now you’re making me want to pay.” He rolled his eyes playfully, but the pink on his cheeks didn’t subside. “Dunno. With all the .. fighting and legal stuff that’ll happen after it.. It’s kinda hard to tell. I’ll let you know.”

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"What?! Not even a little one?" Kazuki whined, huffing after his sentence. "Oh, shit. What are you- like, aroace?" They asked, totally not to find out if Renji was capable of liking her back. Toootally.

He raised a hand to his face and giggled. "Maybe some of those bullets needed to be knocked down a peg, you know?" Then he tilted his head teasingly. "Or, maybe you needed to be knocked down one!" She paused, gasping a little-- but it was just to be dramatic rather than shocked. "Hah! That's funny as hell. You, running around and just beating the hell out of people?" They stopped talking, tilting his head up slightly to picture it. "That's cute. I wonder how we would have gotten along when we were thirteen." Kazuki shrugged. "I was a little fucked up in the head, though."

Kazuki trailed after him, gently grabbing his sleeve just to see his reaction. "Pshhh, I'm not going to die anytime soon." Their steps echoed through the hallway, and Kazuki's boots clicked softly, probably from the springs in them. Kazuki met Renji's face with a small grin, but flinched hard when the compound shook with another blow from the battle, and he ended up gripping his arm.

"Husshhhhh! Dude, I'm not letting my sugar baby pay." Kazuki poked his cheek playfully, letting out giggles and forcing himself not to give in to just pinching his cheek. "Awe, damn." They sighed, still holding onto Renji's arm. "That sucks. You mean we can't just skedaddle and let them all tire themselves out?" (haha chrono reference skedaddle haha)

unbreathingg

“Eh—? No.” Renji shook his head. “I’ve had crushes before, granted they were people older than me.” He muttered, embarrassed. “I’m just not around people my age enough to really.. I guess.. develop anything? But I dunno. Maybe it’ll change with time, but I’m not into anyone right now. That I know of, anyways. I’m too busy to really think about relationships in that kind of light.” He shrugged, clearly bashful about the topic. He definitely had more he wanted to say, but he held his tongue. Hm, I wonder why.

He paused before cackling, putting a hand to his face. “Oh, I was the one who needed to be knocked down a peg. I was a power-hungry sadomasochist, that’s what I was. I’m kinda glad Overhaul-sama toned everything down.” He huffed, exasperated. “The bastard had me doing a bunch of crazy stuff, so I was always chasing stimulation. Unfortunately most of that stimulation I wanted came in the form of attacking whatever underling pissed me off that day.” He grinned nervously, looking incredibly sheepish. He blinked in slight surprise at Kazuki calling that cute, looking away shyly. “I was messed up too. Maybe we woulda’ torn each other to bits. Or gotten along like now. Who knows.”

Renji flinched slightly at Kazuki grabbing his sleeve, but he didn’t push them away or anything. Though he wasn’t a person who enjoyed physical contact, there were always exceptions to a rule. And it wasn’t like Kazuki was touching his skin overly, so he didn’t care. “I hope not.” He hummed, focused on navigating the hallway. There were a bunch of twists and turns, but it was fair—it has to be a bit tedious to get to rooms of highly ranked people. He halted when the building shook again, gritting his teeth in irritation slightly. His eyes quickly flicked to Kazuki when he gripped him, blinking in concern. “You alright?”

He paused and scoffed, looking away again. He does not want to look at her while his cheeks were on fire.“I’m not your sugar baby—God, you have a way of making things weird.” He grumbled, starting to walk again. “I mean, we could, but if we get caught it’s basically game over. So I’ll take my chances.”

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"..Ah!" Kazuki chuckled, almost nervously. "Honestly real. I, uhh, had a girlfriend in middle school." She cut it off there, shrugging. Kazuki then looked a bit confused, the smile being a bit forced and his eyebrows furrowing. "How old..????"

Kazuki nodded along, trying to picture that. A bit astonishing to think that this.. puppy guy used to be a sadomasochistic whatever the fuck. "Damn, you got any pictures? I can't believe it.." He ended it with a breathless chuckle. "Yeah, eh.. I was a bit messed up too." He grinned as Renji looked away, but didn't elaborate about their background. Just as they always did. "But-! I think I would have at least tried to connect. I used to be.. really desperate for connection." They blushed a little, rubbing the back of his own neck almost bashfully.

Kazuki silently trailed behind Renji, mentally making a map of the place. Just in case they actually.. needed to. A few times Kazuki had zoned out and had to lock back in and almost tripped on her own feet.

"Sorry." He muttered, immediately letting go. "I, uhh.. Don't like loud noises." They noted how Renji looked at him with such concern and attention. Kazuki's expression didn't change, and neither did the color of her cheeks, but her ears grew red if you looked through the mop of hair he had. "Embarrassing. Usually things like that don't get me."

Kazuki calmed down, noting how Renji's neck-- the part that wasn't covered- was tinted pink. He giggled, stepping after him. "It's funny as shit!" He muttered between laughs, about to smack his shoulder while cackling but wrenching her arm back, considering the fact that the guy always looked some sort of sickly. "Awe, damn. You don't trust in my 'sneaking around' skills?"

unbreathingg

Renji flushed sheepishly, neck and ears warming. “.. Um. Well, if you can guess the general age range of my co-workers..” He mumbled, voice so quiet it was hard to hear what he was saying. “Couldn’t help it. I-It ain’t like I have the crushes anymore though! It never turned into anything weird, if that’s what you were concerned about..” He muttered, extremely embarrassed. He leaves it at that.

He blinked awkwardly, shaking his head. “I do, but I’m not showing those to you.” He grinned awkwardly, scratching his cheek. “I took selfies. Most of the Bullets have way better photos where I actually look presentable. But those are for nobody outside of the Hassaikai.” He internally winced at the memory of himself back then. He can’t believe how passive he’d become after just cutting down the amount of ‘medication’ he took. Part of himself wishes it could shine though again before crushing the idea of that completely. He paused, nodding. “Mm. I get that. I think we could’ve gotten along. Albeit.. In my own way.” He chuckled, shrugging. He idly thinks about how he could’ve been if he spent time around people his age; but dismisses the thought as fast as it formed.

Renji’s brows furrowed slightly, as if worried something else would happen but nodded. “It’s fine. ‘S not embarrassing at all. The noises are starting to irritate me too.” He muttered, scratching his neck annoyed before his hands fell back to his sides. He had to admit the sudden break of contact bothered him, but he didn’t say anything about Kazuki letting go of his arm.

He grumbled something incoherent, somewhere along the lines of ‘idiot’ and ‘dumbass’ mixed into the sentence. Despite his embarrassment towards the comments, he didn’t seem serious about wanting Kazuki to stop with them—finding them a little funny himself. He perked up and poked her cheek with a small grin at the ‘sneaking around’ comment. “You guys have our whole base surrounded! Even I wouldn’t trust us to get out without being jumped or somethin’.”

ravenraverz

Kazuki chuckled nervously. "Oh, thank god. Seriously, I would have murdered the guy, or something." They shrugged, still trailing after Renji like a duckling. "Funny how I'm saying that to, like, a murderer. Are you a murderer? I'd be surprised if not." She treated it with nonchalance that was not fit for a hero, given how Kazuki's shoulders were relaxed and how he wasn't focused on Renji and expecting the other to, like, pounce on him or something.

"What!!?" Kazuki shrieked, then clasped their hands over their mouth. "Please, please let me see!" Kazuki begged, eyes flicking over Renji's figure and searching for a pocket that might look phone shaped. "Come on, I don't think you were that ugly as a kid!" Kazuki snickered, stepping closer to look better. "Actually, I think you were probably cute as hell! You got those, like, slightly pathetic but lovable boba eyes. Like a, uhh.." She snapped her fingers. "A wet hampster!"

"Hey, at least that's better than trying to kill each other. I was a dumb little fucker, though."

Kazuki watched Renji's brows furrow intently, like an owl. How could this guy care so much? They only hung out a few times. Kazuki's hand twitched as Renji scratched at his neck, about to lift them to swat his hand away before watching Renji as he let his hands back down. "...Thanks. Nice to know I'm not alone on that one, hah." Kazuki muttered after a beat too long, a small smile worming its way onto her face.

Kazuki flinched a little at the poke, face slightly scrunched before giggling. "Hey, I trust us! And I think that that alone is a good reason to just escape! Cmonnn, you know you want to! Ayee, ayeee?" Kazuki egged him on, poking his shoulder as they walked.

unbreathingg

“Ah—? Don’t murder my colleagues.” Renji sighs, seemingly quite defensive about whoever he’s had interest in before. He paused before nodding, hands moving to fiddle with the fluff of his jacket. “Yeah. I’ve killed people before. Though that’s pretty obvious, huh?” He chuckled awkwardly, less than enthusiastic to talk about the people he’s killed. Part of him had to be grateful towards Kazuki’s nonchalance about the whole matter though.

“Eh—?!” He grinned nervously, putting his hands up placatingly. He flushed a little bit, shaking his head. His phone was somewhere in his jacket, the weird rectangle shape barely visible from the inside pocket. “No! I looked stupid, alright? And, uh, I don’t think the photos I got of myself are flattering at all. I was not cute.” He muttered, embarrassed. He had to admit —a lot of them were just less than savoury— and that was something he was way too sheepish to show. He tilted his head, mildly confused about what the hell they were talking about. “W-Wet hamster?? Fuck does boba eyes mean? Do I really have big eyes?” He flushed.

He exhaled, hands twitching at his sides a little. He seemed nervous about her pauses, but figured he was just thinking about what to say, so he let it go. “Yeah, ‘course. It’s loud.” He mumbled, nails scratching his palm idly. He shook his head; snapping out of it.

“Yeah? And what’ll you do if we got caught, hmm?” He questioned, playfully hitting back before stretching, hands behind his head. “‘Cause if we sneak out, and get caught, that’ll be all your fault.” He teased with a small grin.

ravenraverz

Kazuki shrugged. Kazuki's eyes slid over to Renji fluffing his jacket. Like a bird pruning itself. He tore his eyes away. "I mean, looking at you? Nope." He giggled, gesturing to Renji's eyes. "I mean it when I say you look like you cry to animal documentaries. Not that I've cried to any before. H..Haha." She chuckled nervously, waving it off. "But, it's pretty rare to come across a villain who hasn't killed."

Kazuki's eyes glanced between Renji and his pocket, and they suddenly stopped in their tracks. He immediately lunged at Renji, grabbing his wrist, her other hands splaying out against his side as she reached for it. "I'll be the judge of that!" Kazuki laughed, the sound ringing out across the hallways with the same air as a wind chime. "I mean, your eyes are already so wide, and they're also the only organ that doesn't grow!" He reached for Renji's phone.

"I was never really good with loud things, actually. That's partially why I have headphones when on duty." He hummed, gently taking Renji's hand and lifting his fingers up one by one. "Don't.. do that. I don't want you to break skin." She smiled when he snapped out of it, starting to walk after him again.

"Well, wrong place wrong time! I swear I'm a good liar!" She murmured, cracking a small grin. "Just- for now, I wanna see your room. Before this whole place goes down, you know? Maybe we could steal some stuff too, normal tomfoolery." He listed off, putting more pep in his step. "Come on, it's not like anyone could stop us now? And after, I need to find you a good therapist. Or, if you don't want that right now, you know I'm here...?" Kazuki rambled, but slowed at the last note like he was questioning Renji.

unbreathingg

Renji blinked, before a small sly grin spread on his face. He seemed oddly pleased to hear that. “Awwe, well. I suppose I’m meant to look unassuming.” He shrugged, his hands pulling away from the fluff of his jacket after it settled nicely. He tilted his head, a little amused at Kazuki’s animal documentary comment as a playful scoff left his lips.

He paused before yelping at an embarrassing pitch the moment Kazuki’s hands reached out and pressed against his side. “Ah—! Hey!” He flushed angrily, hands moving to grasp Kazuki’s wrist and push it down and away from him. His pale cheeks lit with a harsh red as he looked away, pulling his jacket closer to him with playfulness. “You’re not lookin’ at anything from that time! I was stupid as hell..” He huffed, avoiding eye contact. Even if he was flustered, he didn’t seem all that genuinely angry about it, just caught off guard by the sudden contact in a sensitive place. “Maybe I’ll show you one day, ‘kay? Not now though.” He hummed.

He blinked nervously, his cheeks flushing harder at Kazuki’s hands around his. He nodded, hands slipping into his pockets casually. “Don’t worry, that stuff usually doesn’t even leave marks if I scratch.” He muttered, fingers splaying against his legs as he started walking ahead again.

“Pssh—“ Renji held back a giggle. Like the ‘oops, wrong place!’ excuse would work with this. But, he held back his comment for now. He paused, thinking about it. “Yeah, alright. I guess we could go to my room. ‘S a lil messy. So sorry ‘bout that. It’s near this area anyway.” He nodded, turning another corner until there seemed to be a couple doors nearby. “Guess we could take a couple things, couldn’t we?” He grinned, clearly amused at the idea.

He had to pause and think at the idea of a therapist. He wasn’t sure he needed one—even though he definitely did. He shrugged. “Thanks. But um.. I think I might try gathering my thoughts before I try talkin’ to someone professionally.” He muttered, giving a small sheepish smile. He truely did appreciate Kazuki’s kindness though. That much was obvious.

#// RAHHH so sorry for the late reply studies are kicking my ass!!!!#// but YESS >u< i’ll try working on pre17 renji doodles for u …

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