The Reverse Card is the Most Powerful in the Deck

by SuddenShrike

Summary:

Takumi will admit, he did not think this through.

After returning from the past, he is faced with a crucial decision, to kill or to spare. He chooses the third option, to play it so that Eito never knows that he can time travel. This, however, means that he has to keep a close eye to stop him from hurting anyone again, and well, what’s the harm in having a little fun along the way?

It escalates.

Chapter 1: Kill Him with Kindness

Notes:

Hello, I have made the decision to compile the oneshots into one bigger, multi chapter fic bc it fit the story better :)

DAY 2

 

“Eito?”

Eito pauses, scythe stilling mid swing, its end pointed at Sirei’s back, the unexpected noise bringing him to a standstill. Startled, he looks to the side, to the entrance of the gymanamisun.

The grotesque visage of Takumi Sumino stands at the doors, staring at them with wide eyes. His chest is heaving like he had run all the way from the roof.

“Takumi?” Eito, startled, says the name without thinking. He’s here. He shouldn’t be here. Why is he here?!

Shit. Eito’s plan to eliminate the leader of this operation is in the trash. He might still catch Sirei by surprise and kill him in one hit, but then Takumi will be a witness to eliminate. He’ll have to postpone, but first, he needs to assuage any possible suspicions.

“Huh? Sumino?!” Sirei exclaims. So he hadn’t been expecting Takumi either.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Eito stutters.

For a moment, Takumi just stares at him, his disgusting, rotting eyes piercing into his soul. Just being subjected to that gaze makes him want to puke. Does he suspect? What is he doing here?!

A tense moment passes where Eito’s skin feels like it could crawl off of his body under the vile gaze of the human before him. If this goes wrong his mission would end before it had even begun. Worse comes to worse his life is forfeit. It all depends on Takumi.

“…what are you doing?” Takumi finally asks after that overlong pause.

Plastering a smile on his face, Eito straightens up and looks Takumi in his disgusting, rotting eyes, his excuse ready on the tip of his tongue.

“Me? Oh, I just-”

“Aotsuki here asked me how to use his hemoanima,” Sirei interjects. “Of course I agreed. What else could I do when he expressed interest in defending the academy?”

Understanding flashes across Takumi’s corpse-like features. “But I thought you chose not to fight? What gives?”

What gives is Eito needed an excuse to get Sirei alone to get rid of him, but he can’t tell Takumi that.

“I did some thinking,” Eito lies through his teeth. “If humanity really is in danger, then I can’t step by while the others fight. I need to do something, even if I don’t have all the facts.”

Takumi looks at him, unreadable no matter how much Eito forces himself to look at his disgusting face. After a moment, he smiles.

“That’s great! It was real dicey earlier when that commander showed up. I was scared we were all going to be killed!” Takumi says, light and as pleasant as the sound of a knife scraping against a glass bottle.

If only the commander had killed him for good.

“Y-yeah, I saw that. Seeing you work so hard to save your friends, it really moved something in me,” Eito lies, bringing up a hand to his chest and plastering a warm smile on his face to sell the lie. It seems to work, judging by what he can gleam from Takumi’s revolting face.

“Hwafafah,” Sirei laughs. “Great to see such camaraderie among my troops. It warms my heart.”

“Now, get to bed, soldiers! You’re gonna need your sleep if you want to be killing invaders!” Sirei exclaims.

Unceremoniously, Eito and Takumi are herded out of the gym, Sirei vanishing behind the closed doors. For a minute, Eito stands there, processing the failure of his plan. Although he’s gotten away this time, it would be dangerous to target Sirei again, now that he’s been seen in a suspicious situation with him.

Eito sighs deeply and leaves the door of his failure alone, turning towards the stairs. “I guess we should get to bed.”

Takumi steps in stride alongside him, smiling. Eito resists the urge to leave him behind. That would be bad for the persona he’s presenting. Alas, he will have to bear with Takumi a little while longer.

They travel in silence, walking up to the second floor, then the third, and finally the roof without a word exchanged between them. Subtly, Eito sneaks glances at Takumi’s face. Each time, he seems lost in thought. Most likely, he’s still processing the outlandish situation they got themselves in.

It’s not long until they step out from under the shelter of the ceiling hatch and under the night sky. This is only Eito’s second time seeing such a sight, but he’s sure that it will never stop taking his breath away.

The night sky is unlike anything he has seen in the TRC. It’s entirely natural, untouched by humanity, the Earth is its truest form. The beauty of the stars, partially covered with clouds as they are, is stunning. That’s not to mention the moon. It’s lovely as well, although Eito never thought it would have such an odd texture.

He almost forgets the ugly presence at his side until Takumi speaks, ruining the beauty of the moment. “I guess this is goodnight, then.”

Eito smiles at him. “Goodnight, Takumi.”

Takumi’s room is closer to the stairwell, fortunately or unfortunately. Eito waves with a smile as Takumi closes the door behind him.

Finally alone, Eito sighs deeply. This has been such a long day. Not only has he been forced into a war ‘for the sake of humanity’ but he also has had to endure more human company these past two days than he has for years. He’s in desperate need of some alone time.

Leaving no chance for someone else to wander up and strike up a conversation, again, Eito opens up the door to his room. As he enters it, he swears he could feel the odious sensation of eyes on his back. Eito looks back, surveys the roof, but there’s nobody there.

Hm.

He closes the door behind him, and locks it for good measure. You never know what a human is capable of. Better safe than sorry.

Tired, Eito sheds his coat and tucks himself into his bed. Today has been a disaster, but that’s alright. This is not the first time he’s encountered obstacles in his plans. He’ll do what he always does, lay low and wait for a better chance.

For now, he will take Sirei’s words to heart and sleep.

Tomorrow, he learns more.

 

DAY 3

 

So the invaders are being created by World Death, apparently.

It’s suspicious, incredibly so. While Eito is familiar with World Death, a concept he found tucked away in dusty history books, he had never once heard of its spawning creatures like that. It’s very likely that what Sirei told them is a complete lie.

For all he knows, it’s a lie and what they are doing is ensuring the destruction of what’s left of the Earth, rather than protecting it. The ‘why’ isn’t clear, but it would be typical of humanity, so mindlessly destructive.

In the end, it doesn’t matter much. Either way, Eito has to stop them, no matter the consequences. He was the only one who could do it, the only one who sees humans for what they truly were. It’s his destiny to do so - the reason he arrived at this place.

The other students at this so-called academy wander around with shocked looks on their faces. Some, like Takemaru, appear all the more fired up and willing to fight. Others, such as Hiruko and Ima, seem uncaring of the bomb dropped on them. But the majority look as hesitant as ever.

Maybe, for all their vileness, this group of humans aren’t entirely stupid as well. There’s doubt spread clear across their repulsive faces. But Eito doesn’t know for certain. He’s no psychic.

Gradually, the students filter out of the War Room. There’s no reason for him to linger, even considering his persona, so Eito doesn’t stay long. He makes his way out alongside Tsubasa, doing his best to remain a wallflower.

He’s done a lot of deep thinking since last night, and has come to a decision. Killing Sirei may be off the table for now, but the others have no such protection. The question is, who first?

Hiruko is clearly the strongest of them. Killing her will definitely be a major blow to the Defense Unit. The problem is how. With the Revive-O-Matic here, she won’t stay dead for long until he can find a way to keep her dead.

Footsteps click on tile behind him and Eito chokes back a growl of frustration. He’s not allowed to do that. Instead, he fakes a smile and turns to the one who followed him.

It’s Takumi, of course it’s Takumi. Why did he think otherwise?

That damn monster has been on his heels since this morning! He’s not taking a hint! No matter how politely Eito phrases them, he’s behind him like a dog. No - that’s an insult to animals everywhere. He’s following Eito like a horror movie monster.

It’s perturbing to the highest degree. Eito’s close enough to smell his rancid stench. It sticks to his nose even during the bathroom breaks he takes to get five minutes to himself. Not to mention Takumi waits outside the door for him to leave.

He had hoped that Takumi, who’s already proven himself to be the last one to get up in the morning, would be shaken by the news and would be left behind. It seems his hopes are for naught.

This isn’t good. Eito’s patience for humans has worn thin today. He doesn’t know if he has it in him to bear another conversation without giving himself away. It’s time to use his tried and tested excuse for getting out of social situations.

“I’m sorry, Takumi. I’m not feeling well. I think my illness is flaring up. I’m going to rest in my room for a while,” Eito says, putting on the guise of frailty that served him time and time again.

“Let me walk you there,” Takumi insists. Of course he has to be that type.

“There’s no need,” Eito insists. This too doesn’t discourage Takumi from pursuing his misguided compassion. Instead, his expression becomes even more determined.

“Come on, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to you while you were alone. Let me do this,” Takumi says, stepping forward close enough that his stench makes Eito want to hurl. Curses, he isn’t getting out of this one.

“…Alright,” Eito concedes. He can’t deny Takumi’s request more without looking suspicious. The smile that crosses Takumi’s revolting face is horrifically satisfied.

And so, Eito spent the rest of his day locked in his room, fearing that if he took one step outside he would be met with Takumi standing outside, waiting for him, menacingly.

 

DAY 4

 

“Hey Eito! Are you feeling better today?” Takumi calls out from across the cafeteria. He wastes no time in striding over to where Eito is seated, slowly eating his breakfast.

Takumi has learned that he can’t truly read Eito’s expressions, so he doesn’t put any stock in the surprised and warm smile he’s greeted with. Once, he would have been fooled completely. Now, he bears no illusions that even a fragment of what he sees is real.

“Yes, I am,” Eito says. “Mostly.”

Eito puts his hand on his chest and makes his smile wobble to sell the point. It would’ve worked had Takumi not known better. His sickness isn’t real. Is Eito planning to use it as an excuse to get out again?

“I don’t blame you if you’re still feeling off. The whole World Death thing was a hell of a shock,” Takumi states, remembering how he felt when he first learned of it. That had been a bad day.

“You’re telling me,” Gaku interjects, heedless to the fact that neither of them are talking to him. “I can’t believe that the Earth is killing itself!”

“Do we really have to discuss this so early?” Tsubasa sighs. “My mind was running in circles last night. I couldn’t get any sleep.”

“Eh, I for one think it’s great. World death makes for a great set-up for a killing game. It’s such a vibe.” That’s Darumi hopping into the discussion.

So much for it being a conversation between him and Eito. One by one, in typical fashion, everyone in the squad is dragged into the conversation, adding their two-cents. All of them, except one.

Hiruko. She remained quiet, sitting with a plate long empty. She’s looking at them, watching them with perturbation painted on her typically cold features.

For a split second as thick as a stew, they meet each other’s eyes. Brusquely, she breaks away and stands up. Hiruko takes her plate back to the Ration-O-Matic. Without the slightest bit of acknowledgement she turns her shoulder and leaves the cafeteria.

What is that about?

Whatever, Takumi has better things to worry about. Namely, keeping an eye on Eito. Despite being right beside him, it’s not an easy task, as while Eito may seem entirely innocent, there’s no way of knowing what he’s planning.

That manipulative bastard could be plotting any number of things, so Takumi can’t let his guard down for a second. He has to be looking out for whatever and whenever it is. This isn’t going to be easy, Eito is, and he’s loath to admit it, smarter than him, so this is a risky strategy.

Takumi didn’t intend to use this kind of strategy when he first used Redo to go back in time. If he’s being honest, he’d admit that he had little strategy, hadn’t thought beyond ‘stop Eito from killing Sirei’.

At that time, bursting in on the event that would lead them to ruin, he had only one thought in his mind - stop Eito, for good.

In that very moment, standing at the entrance of the gym, looking at Eito as he’s interrupted in his first betrayal, Takumi, truly and certainly, wanted to kill him, to get him out of the picture for good. But then, a strange certainty overtook him, telling that even if he was successful, Eito would manage to find a way to haunt him beyond the grave. Like, he’d come back as a zombie, crawling out from the grave to avenge his own murder. Oh, this is sounding dumber by the word.

Regardless, Takumi shouldn’t kill Eito. Not just because of that, but because… it wasn’t the right thing to do. After all, this Eito has technically done nothing wrong, hasn’t he? He can’t just kill him because he might do something. Although, that may be him justifying after the fact, but it still goes.

That said, he can’t let Eito run around doing his own thing. Allowing him to plot is a recipe for disaster. Takumi has to interfere. He’d been about to announce that he knew all about Eito’s schemes when he remembered Darumi, or rather, one of those killing game series that Darumi is obsessed with. One that involved the protagonist time travelling.

“The protag is sooo dumb in this one! He immediately told everyone that he can time travel! I mean, not that I mind, it did give the mastermind the opportunity to trap him, kyohohoho~”

As disturbing as Darumi’s tastes are, she had a point there. It was a bad idea to tell Eito that he could time travel. That would only be forfeiting his upper hand.

Takumi couldn’t let Eito know that he knows. But he hadn’t thought about that until the very last moment. So, he floundered, standing there, mind empty. Then he got an idea, a dumb, vindictive idea.

If Eito really hated being around them so much that he was willing to kill them for it, then what better punishment is there than forcing him to endure Takumi’s presence?

So he took a page out of Eito’s book and choked down his anger, plastered a smile on his face, and approached him as if he knew nothing of his true nature. Pretended as if nothing was wrong, like the situation didn’t reek to all hell. It worked, at least a little bit. Sirei isn’t destroyed, and Eito doesn’t outwardly suspect Takumi of being a time traveller. All good.

Thus why he is following Eito around like a puppy.

A shout drags Takumi out of his musings. Somehow, at some point the conversation had transformed into a discussion over food, with Gaku staring scandalized at the unholy concoctions that Kako and Ima are eating, presumably the source of the shout. Takumi emphasizes. He wants to cry just looking at what appeared to be a combination of tuna, chocolate, and mustard.

This reminds him of the first hundred days, back when Gaku set up an entire barbecue. Takumi had been so ignorant back then of the danger right by his side, the one pretending to be his friend just so he could stab him in the back. Eito must’ve hated it, been feigning enjoyment while inside he seethed and loathed them from the bottom of his heart.

Actually, that gives him an idea.

“We should hold a barbecue!” Takumi blurts out. Everyone turns to stare at him. “I mean-”

“Hell yeah!” Gaku cheers, cutting off Takumi’s bumbling excuses, then he slumps. “But… we don’t have a grill, or fuel.”

Ah, yes, that is an issue, but not an insurmountable one. Takumi already more or less knows where to find all the items needed in the ruins. It’s just a matter of finding them without tipping anyone off that he knows more than he should. That specific idea is gonna have to be put on hold, but that doesn’t mean he can’t improvise.

“I’m sure we can scrounge something up eventually. But even if we can’t, it’ll be nice to eat together. There’s no better way to get to know another, right? What do you think, Eito?” Takumi asks, turning to his ‘friend’.

Eito smiles. “I suppose so. In a situation like this it’s for the best that we find a way to get along, although I’m not sure food is the way to go…”

“Don’t be like that, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Hey, how about we start tonight. Let’s gather everyone and have a nice dinner,” Takumi presses his advantage.

“I guess we can do that,” Tsubasa says uncertainly.

“Can we, brother dearest?” Kako asks, equal parts excited and uncertain.

“I suppose if it makes my dear sister happy then we can join,” Ima concedes. Takumi knows the only reason he does that is for Kako.

“It sounds boring,” Darumi complains. “But getting attached will only make it better when we all start killing each other kyohoho.”

“I’ll come,” Gaku says. He seems still pumped up from the discussion of a party earlier.

“Me being there would only risk infecting you all with my loser virus, but I guess if that’s what you want,” Shouma states.

“That I do,” Takumi affirms. “Eito?”

Eito is still sitting there, slowly picking away at his breakfast. It’s astonishing that he can eat at all if being around people is really as bad to him as he made it out to be. The look on his face is placid, thoughtful, and a lie.

“Sure. You’re right, Takumi. It’ll be a nice opportunity to bond as friends,” as expected, there’s nothing that Eito can do but agree, not if wants to keep up his persona.

With that, Takumi has successfully dragged Eito into doing the one thing he hates most; spending time with a bunch of ‘filthy, nasty, disgusting monsters’. It may be too early to celebrate, but he’s feeling rather good about himself right now. After all, his plan is going swimmingly.

Nothing has changed about Eito’s demeanor, a true testament to his acting skills. If Takumi hadn’t known better, he would think that he’s having a pleasant breakfast. In reality, Eito must be fuming on the inside.

Serves him right.

Chapter 2: Field Trips are Great for Bonding

Summary:

A few days have passed since Takumi has latched onto his like a dog, and Eito is hoping that this trip to Second-to-Last Defence Academy… well, he doesn’t know what he wanted, but it wasn’t this.

DAY 8

Eito’s patience is starting to fray like an overused sock. Seven days. It’s been seven days since he first woke up at this academy. He’s fought dozens of monsters, literally died once to a commander monster-

And Takumi is still following him around!

Sure, he’s eased up a little the past two days, but not by that much. Yesterday, despite being exhausted from battling a Commander, Takumi went out of his way to get him a novel using the Gift-O-Matic. It is a rather good book, Eito would admit, but who makes gifts for someone they’ve known for less than a week? It’s odd. It’s suspicious.

With every day that passes Eito is growing increasingly certain that Takumi does suspect him after all. Takumi is keeping by his side constantly to keep an eye on him, to stop his plans. It’s what makes his bizarre clingliness make the most sense.

Takumi must be naive to think that Eito wouldn’t figure him out. He’s not being subtle in the least. It’s honestly a miracle that it took him this long.

So, he’s got to get rid of Takumi. Not today, though, as tempting as that is. Takumi isn’t paying him a lick of attention. It’d be easy, so easy, lop off his head with a swing of his scythe. But he can’t. For one, Darumi’s here too, and if both of them were to die suspicion would be cast on him immediately.

Had this group been any dumber, he’d be tempted to try it, but as it is…

Hiruko is trouble. She's smarter than the rest of the rabble and would sus him out the instant he came back to the Academy alone. Especially as she’s already suspicious of him.

Had Eito been any less sharp he wouldn’t have noticed her giving him intense, sidelong looks when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. She’s up to something, that much became evident yesterday evening when Sirei pulled them all into the War Room and announced that they were going on an excursion to Second to Last Defence Academy.

Sure, it was Sirei giving the announcement, but as he spoke, it became clear that it wasn’t his idea. He was too fuzzy on the details and Hiruko a smidge too quick to provide them. This was all her idea. She’s planning something.

Unfortunately, Eito can’t tell yet what it is yet. Ostensibly, they are going here because aerial surveillance confirmed that there’s going to be a big attack at the second academy and they’re to be acting as a cavalry. On the outside, this is perfectly reasonable, putting aside the inherent absurdity of the situation, but a deeper look makes it come unravelling. For one, if this is so important why only send three of them, and why these three in particular?

Darumi he gets, she’s a bloodthirsty, violence obsessed monster, and Eito himself may have been sent away to keep him out of trouble, but Takumi? After what happened with Murvrum, Hiruko should’ve kept him far away from the battlefield.

Unfortunately, now is not the time to ponder these questions.

The world outside Last Defence Academy is exceptionally dangerous. Invaders lurk around every other corner, not to mention the random assortment of dangers that force them to keep themselves on their toes. They’ve been walking for hours and have encountered no less than three injured bears and two runaway trucks. His arm still hurts from the last bear.

At this point Eito would prefer encountering a hoard of invaders to another damn bear. Every single one had attacked him. They are rapidly becoming one of his least favourite animals, second to only humans.

Darumi kicks a rock down the road, still energetic despite the arduous journey. They have been walking in silence for some time, a natural progression and one that Eito has no desire to break. Too bad that humanity never cares about what he wants.

“This is so boooring! There’s not even any invaders to fight,” Darumi sighs. She pauses, a wicked smile crossing her face. “You know, in a situation like this, it’d be typical for one of us not to come back. Kyohoho, if one of us is secretly plotting to off the rest now would be a great time to do it! Oh, that would be the dream.”

Eito wants that too, he’s just smart enough not to constantly say it out loud, or actually go through with it when he’d be such an obvious suspect.

“Hey now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m sure that none of us are planning on hurting each other,” Takumi chimes in placatingly, a drop of sweat trailing down his inflamed, diseased skin. He speeds up to step besides Darumi, leaving Eito trailing behind.

If only you knew, Takumi.

“Ah well, it’d be most interesting if one of you two killed each other,” Darumi mused.

“W-what do you mean?” Takumi stutters. He’d like to know that too.

“Come on, Takumi. You’re not exactly subtle,” Darumi rolls her eyes. “Everyone knows how you feel about Eito.”

Eito stops in his tracks. Is she suggesting what he thinks she’s suggesting?

“W-what? That’s not it!” Takumi stuttered, face flushed red. Please no.

“Then why do you follow him around like a puppy?” Darumi tilts her head with a finger pressed to her face in a vile mockery of innocent curiosity. Goddamn.

“T-that’s. I, uh,” Takumi’s frantic stammering only makes Darumi’s mischievous smile grow.

Holy hell, Darumi’s suggesting that Takumi likes him, and the worst part is that it makes far too much sense. That explains why Takumi’s following him around with the tenacity the immortal snail, why he doesn’t seem to suspect Eito of anything despite catching him in the act. He’s infatuated and it’s blinding him.

Eito strongly, truly, and absolutely prefers his first theory to this. He does not want this to be right. Just the thought of Takumi ‘liking’ him makes him want to stab someone, preferably Takumi, but also himself. It’s disgusting, just absolutely vile.

Overcome with emotion as he is, Eito strains to keep smiling cordially as Takumi continues to sputter out clumsy denials. He’s not exactly making his case. Eito’s chest is starting to hurt from the sheer revulsion he’s feeling. He’s got to shut down this topic, fast.

“It’s alright, Takumi. I believe you.” Eito doesn't really, but even thinking of acknowledging the possibility out loud makes his chest hurt. The faster they change topics the better. “You shouldn’t tease him like this, Darumi.”

Darumi rolls her cloudy, dead-fish eyes but shuts up. Thank goodness he doesn’t have to hear her harpy-screech voice for a while. If he’s lucky she’ll stay quiet until they get to the second academy.

…

Sadly, Eito is not that lucky.

“And then he just ups and tells him that he’s a time traveller! I mean, how dumb is that?” Darumi narrates, gesturing wildly as she talks about a game as ugly as she is.

“Very dumb,” Takumi replies. He says it strangely, with a weight behind those words.

Eito wishes they found another bear. Even when trying to kill him, bears are infinitely more pleasant company.

As if sensing his despair, Darumi twists her neck to stare at him with an eerie grin splitting her face ear to ear. “Hey, Eito. You’re not planning on killing us all, are you?

“Of course not,” Eito says, fake affronted. “You are my friends. I could never harm you.”

“Reeaaallly? You totes seem the type to have a secret dark side,” Darumi wildly speculates.

Darumi is eerily on the money. Too bad no one, not even herself, takes her seriously.

“Come on, I’m sure Eito’s not hiding anything…” Takumi says, oddly flustered.

“Exactly. I’m exactly what I appear to be,” Eito lies, like the lying liar he is.

“You guys are so-” Darumi suddenly cuts herself off and stops in place, staring ahead with wide eyes.

“Hey, I think that’s it over there!” Darumi shouts, pointing ahead. Eito follows her gaze to the distance. Sure enough, there, half hidden behind fallen buildings is a familiar rooftop.

She and Takumi pick up the pace, forcing Eito to do the same, despite his tired legs. The group squeezes through a cracked, dingy alley, bursting to the other side. What Eito sees puts a pit in his guts.

The grounds of Second-to-Last Defence Academy are covered in gore. Invader after dead invader lay dead, dismembered, decapitated, across the grass and granite, dying plant and stone crimson with blood. It’s a gory, gruesome sight. But that’s not what’s important about this scene.

There is no shining, shimmering protective shield around the Academy, and, with a quick glance, Eito identifies why.

The barrier generator is in pieces and surrounded by bodies. There’s three of them. A girl with a green tomato for a head lay dead on the ground, surrounded by broken machinery. By her was a boy with blue hair, and another girl. All of them wore class armour. The students of the second academy.

It’s self-evident what happened. They fought. They lost.

Further afield, a girl in white armour and a big one with a spiked ball swinging on a chain desperately struggle against an invader. Different from the rest, the creature was small and symmetrical. With red eyes set deep into its white body facing every which way. It floats, recoiling as the large girl’s mace slams into its body. A commander.

Eito grimaces. This is bad. Why did they have to arrive now, and not when all the filthy humans were dead for good? As is it now, he has no excuse not to fight on their behalf.

“Oooh, this isn’t looking good, guys!” Darumi cautions.

“That’s a commander they’re facing off against,” Eito comments, just in case they haven’t clued in yet. He squints, there’s another group beyond the commander heading away from the wall of fire carrying… something white. Well that’s alarming.

“We have to help them!” Takumi declares and breaks off into a sprint.

Stifling a curse, Eito follows after Takumi as he flings himself onto the battlefield. This is going to suck.

The other students seem to have already cleared out most of the small fry, but some remain. Eito rushes to deal with them as Takumi darts to the others’ side and Darumi flings a load of knives against the commander.

“Who are you guys?!” The girl in white armour yells. Her voice feels like an ice pick to Eito’s ears.

“We're from the other academy! We’ve come to help,” Takumi yells back.

“I didn’t expect this tag team-up, but I ain’t complaining. Let’s bring this to a clean finish!” The larger girl shouts, not pausing in the least as she slams the commander with her flail again.

Eito swings his scythe, striking down six Darumar invaders at once, their blood spurts like a waterfall as their top halves fall to the ground, followed shortly by the bottom. It’s an unwieldy weapon at times, the scythe, but its power more than makes up for it. These underlings pose no danger to him, so long as he’s not surrounded.

“What’s the situation?” Eito huffs, fatigued from his attack.

“We need to get past the commander!” The girl in white shouts, desperation clear in her odious voice. “They’ve got Nigou and broke the Revive-O-Matic! We need to get him back to fix it, otherwise…”

What would happen otherwise remains unsaid, but clear to see. If they don’t get it back the dead will stay dead. That’s a problem he needs solved, as there’s a chance that Eito too will die in combat, otherwise he doesn’t care, would be happy about it actually.

“Got it. We’re gonna have to split up,” Takumi says. “Darumi, you stay here and help. Eito and I are going to save Nigou.”

As little as Eito likes getting ordered around by a filthy human, he doesn’t have any arguments around the plan. Takumi is a solid tactician. So, he obeys. “Understood.”

He and Takumi move like a well oiled machine. If Eito hadn’t known better, he’d have thought this isn’t only the second time that they’ve fought side by side.

As numerous as they are, the invaders are nothing special. It takes time to clear all of them out, but nothing more. There’s no real challenge. A couple minutes of fighting, and nothing is left except what they had been taking away, but Eito’s not responsible for the sheer speed in which the enemies were felled.

Takumi is strong, almost eerily so, in much the same way that Hiruko is. It’s like he’s been fighting much longer than the rest of them. Watching him fight makes Eito certain that he can’t handle him in a fair one-on-one. He’s going to have to be careful when he takes him out, but that’s neither here nor there.

That white thing that the group had been carrying was a robot, one that looks an awful lot like Sirei, if Sirei wore a red beret and had lips. It quivers on the ground, whimpering with its stubby arms over its head as a pathetic shield. This must be the ‘commanding officer’ of Second-to-Last Academy.

“Nigou!” Takumi exclaims, crouching down at the robot’s, Nigou’s side. “Are you alright?!”

“H-huh? What?! Who-?” Nigou stammers, startled out of its cowering and staring up at them with surprise in its beady eyes.

“We’re from the first campus. There’s no time to explain. You have to get back in the school to repair the Revive-O-Matic,” Takumi explains hastily.

“O-oh, yes! Right!” Nigou hops to his(?) feet. “I’m on it!”

Nigou makes a beeline for the academy. It’s a surprise just how fast a robot with stubby little legs could move. He’s going to get there fine by the looks of it, so Eito refocuses his attention.

Ahead, the other group is struggling to hold their own. Darumi is still flinging knives joyously, and the big girl is still going strong, but that can’t be said for the final member of their team. The girl in the white armour, the odd one out, is lagging. Blood is dripping down her arm and onto the crimson-stained ground as she empties her gun into the commander. Fatigue is evident in her movements, how they are just the slightest bit slower than they ought to be.

They are looking worse for wear, but so is the commander. The deep dents and scratches in its armour leaking hemoanima. If Eito had to hazard a guess, he’d estimate that the commander is halfway defeated.

There’s no words exchanged between him and Takumi. Both of them knew instantly that they had to go help, although Takumi is undoubtedly more enthused about it.

“Keep your distance!” Takumi instructs.

Eito falls back, obeying without much thought.

The commander lashes out. A volley of red arrows fly through the air in a circle around if. Eito leaps back, arrows lodging themselves in the ground by his feet. That had been close.

Takumi had followed his own suggestion and held back, forgoing his typical close range assault in favour of hammering the commander with blades of air. He avoided the assault easily, too far to reach. However, the close distant fighters did not fare as well.

Fatigued from the continuous assault, the large one had no time to move. She is stuck directly not by one, but by several arrows.

“Moko!” White armour shouts from behind the big one. She's fine, having inadvertently used her ally as a human shield. How disgusting to use a person like that.

The big one, Moko, staggers. She twitches, then goes still as stone. Her putrid eyes go as blank as slate, and Eito realises what’s happening before anyone else. Oblivious, white armour jogs up to behind Moko’s back. Well, this is going to be interesting. Moko starts to turn.

“Wait, Nozomi! She’s-”

Takumi’s cry is too little, too late, and the head of Moko’s flail collides with Nozomi’s. She goes down, hard, and doesn’t move again. A pool of blood grew around her head, soaking her head like a morbid crown.

He can tell even from a distance that the blow is fatal. There’s a dent in her skull. It somehow makes her even uglier, which is saying something.

“Nozomi!!” Takumi shrieks, high and grating, and sinking into his core. Eito suppresses a biting comment. This is truly excessive, considering that they’ll get her back once the Revive-O-Matic is back online.

Takumi races to Nozomi’s side, collapsing at her side with Eito following closely behind. He plasters fake sorrow on his face, while it’s genuine counterpart streams as tears down Takumi’s cheeks.

“Oooh? Are we finally killing each other now?!” Darumi crows gleefully.

“No. It’s the commander. It’s brainwashed her!” Eito corrects, looking at the carnage.

That monster keeps staring at Nozomi’s corpse like it’s going to revive into a zombie at any moment. It doesn’t look like he is going to move any time soon. Eito will have to cover Takumi until he comes to his senses. Annoying.

While Takumi wastes his time the commander remains a problem. Because of that attack, it’s too dangerous to get up close. Eito has to stay back to have even a chance of avoiding that attack. This relegates him to one of his weaker attacks, but that’ll have to do. Eito’s not getting brainwashed today, thank you very much.

And not only does he have to deal with the commander, he also has to fight the brainwashed monster. If it weren’t a two on one Eito would actually be pleased. He’s been itching for an excuse to spill human blood.

Just not his own! Eito ducks out of the way of a spiked metal ball armed at his head. He feels the whoosh of wind as it sails mere inches above his head.

Eito retaliates with a brutal swing of his scythe. It cuts straight through Moko’s class armour, carving a line from shoulder to hip. It’s good, incredibly satisfying to slice into this monster, like releasing the valve that bottles up all his pain and hate. He wants to do it again, and again, and again until there’s no bringing her back no matter the Revive-O-Matic.

But he can’t. He’s decided not to sabotage this fight, and that means not showing his hate, no matter how tempting. Ugh, the consequences of his actions.

“Stand back!”

Eito obeys without thinking, leaping aside. The moment after proves that was a good move.

The world explodes into azure flames. Thrashing, the commander shrieks as its flesh is burned away. Pale blue light scorches his retinas as the enemy is burnt alive.

The commander is still and silent as the flames fade away. Their beastial form vanishes in a display of stardust, leaving behind their monstrous bipedal form laying on the ground, charred and twitching. A commander, laid to waste by a single strike.

If that had struck Eito, it wouldn’t matter if he was in the peak of his health, it would have burnt him to a crisp. That's how disproportionately powerful Takumi’s special attack is. And it was Takumi’s.

To the side, Takumi pants, winded. Looks like he’d finally come to his senses and ended things. But he’s not going to be able to move for a minute. Once again, he’s going to have to cover him until he recovers. Past Eito was right. This does suck.

It is two on one now in their favour. All Eito has to do now is defeat this monster alongside Darumi. That shouldn’t be too hard.

“Stab! Stabby, stab!” Darumi doesn’t hold back against her fellow human. How vile, being so eager to spill the blood of own kind, not that Eito expects more of such a monster. She fights well.

And Eito-

Eito makes a mistake. He overextends his swing, throwing himself off balance, and stumbles. One foot slides out from under him and he falls, landing hard on one knee.

He only has the time to see the flail careen towards him. Fast as a flash, it grows in his vision until it’s all he can see.

Something slams into his side. Eito topples to the ground with an ungraceful squawk. There’s a meaty thunk, and when Eito gains his bearing he looks over and sees-

“Takumi!” Eito yells.

Takumi breathes heavily, curled up on his side and spasming. Blood weeps from a ragged wound in his shoulder deep enough to reveal the white of his clavicle. His eyes twitch, open but unseeing.

Had… had Takumi just taken that blow for him?

Meanwhile, Darumi had all the time she needed. A barrage of a dozen knives embed themselves into Moko’s back and dissolve. She pauses, wobbles, and falls face first on the concrete.

Moko doesn’t get back up.

It’s over. Only two are left standing among a battlefield full of corpses. There’s so many of them that Eito fears that the grass will never be green again, forever crimson from the crimes of humanity. The sound of ragged breathing is the only thing he hears.

In a rare moment of seriousness, Darumi frowns at him and says “we need to stop the bleeding.”

“Y-yes,” Eito stammers. His hands go to the pouch on his belt. He brings out a roll of gauze and gets to work.

Eito feels even more off balance than he had felt when Takumi burst into his assassination attempt. Takumi has saved his life. He doesn’t understand. Why would Takumi do that?

Darumi has to be right. Takumi likes him, and that’s why he’s following him around, not because he’s suspicious of him. There’s no way that a filthy human would act so self-sacrificing towards an enemy, only a ‘love interest’, oh that thought makes him taste bile.

It should be a weight off his shoulders to know that one less person suspects him, but Eito is far too disgusted to feel any sort of relief. It’s been only a week since they arrived at the Academy and Takumi is already so attached to him. It’s pitiful and odious.

But, somehow, he can’t bring himself to hate Takumi as much as he ought to. Despite being a filthy human, Takumi saved him, risked his life to do so, not knowing when or if the Revive-O-Matic would be operational again. As much as Eito would chalk it up to hormones, that too doesn’t explain it in its entirety. It's incomprehensible.

He looks down at the unconscious boy. His face is befitting of the darkest horror novel, and his stench makes piss pleasant by comparison. But he looks peaceful.

Eito doesn’t understand Takumi Sumino at all. It’s almost… interesting. Part of him wants to push him further, see what he would do in another tense situation. It's a strange feeling for him, one that he doesn’t know how to deal with.

Unfortunately for Takumi, his newfound intrigue changes nothing. With him on Eito’s heels all the time, he can’t do half as he needs to. He’s a problem, and problems are to be eliminated. It doesn’t matter now that he’s marginally interesting - that’ll only make killing him all the more satisfying.

Hehehe, it’d be fun to see what disgusting face he makes when he sees that Eito’s the one killing him.

 

Takumi’s body is vibrating. It’s not a pleasant experience. Each little jolt jars his shoulder, sending stinging pain throughout his chest. He feels awful, like he went a round sparring with Veh’xness.

There’s a fog in his mind, clouding his awareness, smothering him in a state of half-consciousness. little by little, it abates, allowing him a measure of awareness he’d been robbed of before. The leather under his skin. The vibration. It points to one thing.

He’s on the bus. His legs are uncomfortable in the way they get when he doesn’t move for too long. Takumi shifts.

“You’re awake,” someone says. Takumi squints open his eyes and looks up. Right beside where he lay, so close that he almost had his head in his lap, is a blurry image of grey and white. It’s Eito, that much he can tell, but the specifics of his expressions are lost beyond the fog. What… are they doing here?

Memories filter in as slow as a trickle in response to the mental request. Like a slow, buffering video, images of the past day slip through his mind.

Nozomi… Nozomi died.

Tears well up his eyes. Nozomi’s dead, for good. She’s gone. The reason he came back, the person who he cared for the most is dead.

Takumi went back in time to prevent all this, to stop Ima and Nozomi and Moko from dying, and what has he done instead? Gotten so preoccupied with Eito that he waited far too long to make his move. He’d known since the second attack that the invaders were picking up pace, but had spared no thought that it would happen to Second to Last Defence Academy too.

While he was lazing around, enacting petty revenge, his friends were dying. It’s unforgivable. No more. Takumi… Takumi has to get up, check on everyone, help them. Anything else is inexcusable.

Takumi braces a hand on the fake-leather and pushes up. A hand on his side, below his injured shoulder, stops him before he can move an inch.

“Careful, don’t move. You’ll reopen your injuries,” Eito cautions. His injuries? As if woken from the reminder, the pain comes to the forefront. He… can’t recall why his shoulder and chest hurts so much. Everything after Nozomi is a blur.

“What… happened?” Takumi groans. If someone else got killed why he was down he will never forgive himself.

“You don’t remember?” Eito asks, quiet, contemplative. It’s a tone oh so familiar from his first hundred days. “You saved me, Takumi.”

Oh.

He remembers now.

Eito, still inexperienced in combat, had overextended himself and slipped on some loose ground, falling to a knee. The brainwashed Moko had not missed a beat and attacked, sending her mace crashing in with a blow that would’ve rendered Eito’s head from his body.

At that moment all Takumi saw was Eito gurgling around the sword embedded in his chest, coughing up blood. How he spat out his last words of hatred and fury. He remembered how his power flowed into him, the withered carcass left behind. Most of all, he remembers the hollowness opening up in his chest after it was done, the lack of anything and everything except a void that consumed his heart and pressed against the inside of his ribcage like it would burst him open like a macabre flower.

Takumi had moved before he could even think about it, but it was still almost too late. He shoved Eito out of the way, and raised his sword half a second too slowly. Moko’s attack had thrust it to the side, continuing to strike him directly on the chest.

After that, there was pain and blood, so much of it seeping out from the holes in his chest. The attack had pierced right through his Class Armour. Moko’s strength as overwhelming as ever.

He remembered Eito’s wide eyed astonishment, frozen where he lay, as Takumi staggered and fell. Then, nothing.

“How’s… everyone else?” Takumi mutters, voice weak from sapped strength.

“They’re fine. After you went down, Nigou was able to repair the Revive-O-Matic. Everyone from the second campus is fine except…” Eito trails off, breaking eye contact.

“Nozomi,” Takumi quietly croaks.

“Right… they weren’t able to revive her,” Eito says sadly, averting his gaze to instead stare down at his lap.

Takumi had known that from the instant she went down. It didn’t matter for her whether the Revive-O-Matic was operational. She couldn’t use it. Once she is dead, she’s dead for good.

The pain in his heart grows and swallows him whole. Takumi is a stone, sunk deep into a mire of grief, inanimate, still. He’s exhausted, physically and emotionally, enough so that he feels like he could sleep the whole hundred days. Slowly, his eyes droop closed.

“You shouldn’t have risked your life for me like that.” The words are soft, barely audible above the rumbling of the engine.

“Hmmm?” Takumi groans, cracking an eye open. Above him, Eito looks vaguely uncomfortable, glancing out the window to avoid eye contact.

“We’ve known each other for a week, Takumi. I know you’re… fond of me, but this is a bit much,” Eito says, turning away from the window to look straight at him. He’s frowning, his eyes clouded with something Takumi can’t name.

It sounds genuine, so painfully genuine. Once upon a time, Takumi wouldn’t have thought twice about those friendly, kind words, would’ve taken them at face value. Now, he could never. That kindness is fake like plastic flowers, beautiful at first glance, but nothing more than cold, hard, and artificial in reality.

He wishes Eito would stay silent. This gentleness is worse than any vitriol that he could spit. It reminds him so much of better times, back when he thought of Eito as a trusted friend, and showed him his back without fear of a knife between the ribs.

If Takumi closed his eyes he could imagine that he’s back in his first hundred days, and he and Eito have just come back from an expedition and collapsed on the hard, cold benches in the cafeteria. They would chat, and joke, while chowing down on dinner from the Ration-O-Matic. After that, they would go their separate ways and sleep deeply, content from a belly full of food and good company.

He can’t forget. It was a lie. From the very start that camaraderie, that trust, had been a ploy. Eito had used him, lied to him, tried to kill him. Worst of all, the truly unforgivable sin, he had gotten Nozomi killed. Karua. His childhood friend.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment. I just don’t want you getting hurt because of me,” Eito explains.

Despite himself, Takumi’s mouth twitches up into a smile. The way Eito’s speaking, you’d think he genuinely believes what Darumi said. It’s surreal.

There’s no way in hell that Eito actually thinks he has a crush on him.

Chapter 3: What’s a Little Prank Between Friends?

Summary:

It’s finally time for Eito Aotsuki to get Takumi off his heels, permanently. It doesn’t go the way he wants it to.

DAY 11

 

Dinner is officially Eito’s least favourite time of day and it’s all Takumi’s fault.

Eito smiles, taking small bites of his food as he listens to the inane chatter that surrounds him. It’s terribly difficult to pick out the threads of conversations when they’re all talking at once, but he has to. It seems that Ima is once again going off on how much he loves Kako. Disgusting, the perversion he has for his own sister. It makes him want to hurl.

Sadly, Takumi’s disguising idea of getting them all together for dinner had worked all too well. Every single day for the past week or so Eito has been forced to bear the company of a dozen hideous, vile monsters as he chokes down his food.

He takes another bite of his noodles. It tastes like ash in his mouth. Swallowing it is like eating rotten meat, the stench of human is strong enough to override its true taste. He feels his stomach churn violently as it goes down. Eito isn’t going to be able to eat much tonight, much like last night.

Takumi sits at his right side, chewing on his sandwich, occasionally taking a break from eating to chat idly with one of his classmates.

With this lot, dinner is a raucous affair. There’s always someone or another yelling or picking a fight and it has only gotten worse since the task force brought back the students from the second academy. That tomato head girl, Kurara, is particularly bad. Hardly an hour goes by without her picking a fight.

Kyoshika and Yugamu are as bad, for different reasons. Both of them are disgustingly horny and violent, all too eager to bare their blades at people. All he can think about when they speak is slitting their throats with his infuser so he can finally have peace.

Moko, at the very least, is silent. She has not said more than a word at a time since she’s arrived. Too shaken up from slaughtering her own friend to speak. He’s not concerned with her.

Shame that she’s about the only one.

“I-I told you! It’s not like that!” Takumi wildly denies, his slimy, rotting cheeks turning an ugly red. Eito suppresses a sigh.

Oh great, this again.

“Don’t worry, Takumi! We don’t judge!” Kako calls out cheerfully.

“Ah, Sister Dearest is such a kind girl. You should appreciate her support, Mr. Sumino,” Ima chimes in, his disturbing attachment evident in every sickly word.

“Hey! If Takumi says it’s nothing then none of ya are gonna grill him on this, ya get me?!” Takemaru scolds. The LDU, having already learned that he’s a civil servant at heart, do not feel threatened and continue to grill Takumi.

“I didn’t take you for that type, Takumi,” Gaku sighs. He probably does not know how that sentence came off, foolish monster he is.

Takemaru glowers at Gaku like a demon. “You sayin’ something?”

“Eep! No! Not what I meant!” Gaku backpedals cowardly, raising his hands in front of his face as a pathetic shield. “I just mean- nevermind! Ignore me!”

Gaku’s blubbering does nothing good for Eito’s ears, or nose. Does that guy not brush his teeth in the morning?

At some point in the past four days every single monster in this academy has been convinced that Takumi and him are a thing. He’s been doing his best to ignore it, but every insinuation that disgraces his ears makes him throw up in his mouth a little bit. The urge to throttle Darumi grows ever stronger.

But there is one silver lining to this situation. Nobody will suspect him of anything when Takumi disappears. Never say that he’s not an optimist.

The mire of humanity’s stench is getting stronger the longer that the SDU remains in the cafeteria. Eito’s stomach is roiling, rejecting the nice, clean food he put into it. He knows his limits. If Eito doesn’t get a break soon he’s going to hurl.

“I’m sorry, but im not feeling well,” Eito says. This time it’s not even a lie. “I’m going to go to my room.”

And take a shower to get the smell of human off his clothes.

Takumi frowns in concern. “Do you need anything? I can get you some medication, or, like, ginger tea? What about some blankets?”

He keeps on talking. Please just shut up so he can go. Please, Takumi, show the slightest bit of decency just this once.

“I appreciate your kindness, Takumi -” absolutely not true “- but I think I just need some time alone to recover.”

“Are you sure? There’s no reason to suffer alone.”

Ugh. It’s too late. Lunch is coming back up. Time to pull out Plan V. It's not his favourite plan, but when all else fails, it, above all else, has prevented repeats.

Eito turns and vomits on Takumi’s lap. The latter yelps and scrambles up, bits of chunky, half digested food slipping off of his lands and splattering onto the floor.

“Takumi! I’m so, so sorry!” Eito apologizes profusely, not sorry in the least. He pulls a tissue out of one of his many pockets. “Here! Let me help you clean up!”

Eito scrambles to wipe off some of the puke off of Takumi’s pants. As expected, Takumi, who’d been standing there, frozen, staring down at his lap with an appalled and disgusted expression, snaps the tissue out of Eito’s hand and does it himself.

What Takumi is feeling now must be a fragment of the revulsion that Eito has to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Shallow as it is, it’s nice to know someone, even a monster, shares his feelings.

Eito feels much better now.

 

Home sweet home, or what passes for it in this hell of a school.

Eito’s room is at least to his liking. White, pure, sterile white all down the walls and along the floor. Even his bedsheets. Some might think it boring, but he likes it. It’s a small bastion of cleanliness in a world full of filth.

There’s a half finished book on his nightstand with a purple bookmark sticking out of the top. A history book, all about humanity. The one that Takumi got for him. Eito picks it up and opens to the bookmarked page. That bookmark too is a grift from Takumi.

Eito doubts that Takumi gave the contents more than a once over, but it’s a good choice. The author, despite being human themselves, does not hold back describing the wicked, disgusting acts that humanity have waged on themselves throughout all of history. There’s even information that he, who had spent much of his time searching for this information, had not known.

It’s easy to get absorbed in the book. Literature is a welcome respite to get lost in, a place away from the monsters that haunted his world day in and out. It’s only when Eito is reading that he feels any measure of peace, however brief.

“At ease, soldiers. It’s time to hit the hay. You never know when the invaders might attack, so rest up while you still can. Well then, goodnight…” Sirei’s mechanical voice echoes through Eito’s room, cutting off his concentration.

Sighing, Eito slots the bookmark in and closes the book. It makes a pleasant thwap sound as it shuts. The top of the bookmark changes hue to a lovely champagne.

(Okay, he gets a kick out of the bookmark)

He hums as he looks up to the announcement screen. It’s gone black, but he doesn’t want to leave just yet. It’s best to wait until a little later, so everyone else is asleep.

Eito bides his time with this and that. He takes cleaning chemicals and scrubs his sink and mirror, clearing up the grub and residue. It’s satisfying. If he closes his eyes he can almost imagine that instead of clearing scum from porcelain, he’s wiping humanity off the face of the Earth. Wonderful.

By the time he’s done, most people should be fast asleep in their beds. No one will interrupt at this time. Eito knows this for certain. He had tested it himself, having spent the past few days staying up late outside waiting and watching for late night wanderers. Not a single person left their rooms after night fell.

That makes it the perfect opportunity.

Eito strolls out of his room and into the peaceful night. It’s chilly, the brisk air caressing the bare skin of his face, but not unwelcome. Should he spend too much time out here without his jacket his body would surely slowly shut down. This is nature in its pure form, beautiful and hostile to humanity in equal measure. It reminds him of himself.

Scanning the rooftop, he finds that tonight is just like the other nights. There’s nobody but him moving about. Good.

He saunters across the roof and climbs the steps up to Takumi’s room. Facing the door, Eito drops his smile and schools his face. A frown, wide eyes, raised eyebrows. For good measure, he runs in place for thirty seconds to really sell it. Now he’s sweaty. Good, he's the perfect picture of panicked. Reaching out, he rings the doorbell frantically.

There’s a faint muffled groan from the other side of the door and a thunk, as if Takumi literally rolled out of bed. Eito rings the bell twice more.

Takumi stands in the doorway, disheveled. His fetid stench washes over him. His tired eyes, diseased and rotting, blink at Eito. He raises one spindly, ghoulish hand to tiredly rub at the pus-leaking, inflamed skin of his face.

“T-Takumi! You have to come quick!” Eito shouts, his breath coming hard. His preparations worked, he sounded just like he had run all the way here.

Takumi’s eyes widen grotesquely, appearing all the more awake. “Huh…? What's going on, Eito?”

“There’s no time to explain! You have to follow me!” Eito gives Takumi no time to question things and runs towards the rooftop entrance like a bat out of hell. It works. He hears Takumi’s footsteps thud on the ground behind him.

“Wait up!” Takumi cries shrilly. Eito does not wait up. He throws open the door and rushes down the stairs. As expected, Takumi follows, guileless, stupid, and trusting.

Eito races through the academy, down the stairs and through the corridors until he reaches his destination. The classroom on the second floor.

This is where it all started, this classroom. It’s the place where they first met. How fitting that it’s going to be the last place they ever see each other.

“T-there, in the classroom,” Eito gasps, pointing a shaky finger towards the closed door.

“Seriously, what’s going on, Eito?” Takumi huffs.

“I-I can’t say. It’s too horrible. Please, just look,” Eito implores with his best ‘look how shaken I am’ voice.

Takumi looks indecisively between him and the door. Of course, there’s nothing actually in there. It’s just a convenient excuse. For a second, it almost seems that Takumi is on to him, but it passes in a heartbeat when Takumi speaks.

“I assume it has something to do with that,” Takumi says, gesturing to the bottom of the door. Huh?

Instinctively, Eito follows the gesture. When he sees what Takumi is referring to, his eyes widen involuntarily.

There is a soft purple light, like that the undying flames produce, shining out from under the cracks between the door and the walls.

Wait, what?! There had been nothing there when he had checked before? What the hell is this?!

Murderous plan forgotten, Eito watches with genuine trepidation as Takumi opens the door to the classroom and steps back.

The classroom is dark, with only the faint illumination coming from the artificial satellite. The purple light is gone.

“Where’d it go?” Takumi asks dumbly.

“I don’t know,” Eito responds, perplexed. He scans the room from the floor to the rafters for anything out of place. A light, a hidden passage, anything.

There’s not a single thing out of place in this room. Whatever had made that light, it either was gone or otherwise out of sight.

The sole abnormality is within Eito himself. There’s a burning, humming in his chest. A power that thumps through his veins. It feels like how he did the night of the second day. But there’s no surge of power that makes him feel like he can do anything, only a heat that spreads through his body with every beat of his heart.

This is perplexing, and worrying. Eito does not like being left in the dark like this, metaphorically speaking, although it is true in the literal meaning as well. It’s too dark in here. He can’t see.

Something brushes his back. The touch sets his nerves alight like an electric shock. Eito jolts and whirls around. There’s nothing there.

That… that has felt like a human touch. Nothing else makes him feel like his skin is crawling off of his flesh and bones. It’s abhorrent, intolerable. Rage coils in Eito’s chest at the indignity inflicted on his body.

“There’s someone here,” Eito says, glaring into the darkness. “I felt them touch me.”

“Huh? Really?” Takumi responds dumbly.

Eito doesn’t grace that with a response. He feels that strange presence again, the heat that boils his blood, but he can’t pinpoint where.

“There it is!” Takumi shouts, pointing to the windows.

What Eito sees, shining against the dark sky, is like nothing that he has ever known. There’s a boy, standing there, made of entirely undying flames. His hair twists and floats. His body flickers and fades around the edges. He moves like a mirage, weightless. A pungent scent, like sulfur and misery, fills Eito’s nose.

Distantly, he wonders how a creature made out of flames can have a scent, but that thought is quickly washed away by a wave of visceral repulsion.

“H-huh?!” Eito stutters. For once, his shock is not fake. This boy is made out of undying flames! Where did he come from? Who is he?!

“Who are you?!” Takumi demands, hand reaching for an infuser that isn’t there. Eito could bring out his own but then he’d have to answer why he had it in the first place.

The Boy of Undying Flames says nothing. He merely walks towards them, calmly, not faltering when they assume defensive stances. His eyes never leaves Eito’s own.

This boy's voice is - bizarre. Eito doesn’t know how to describe it. It’s like he isn’t hearing it with his ears, rather like this being is reaching into his very soul to speak. It is violating on a primal level, feeling this soft, uncanny, ghastly noise in his blood.

“I know who you are. I know what you are planning to do,” the boy whispers. He moves closer, blazing pink eyes growing close to Eito’s face. “You’re going to kill them, aren’t you?

The blood drains from Eito’s face. He’s been caught. How does he know? He’s never told anyone his plans! Not a single soul!

“Don’t listen to him, he’s lying!” Eito denies wildly. Takumi gaped at him, brow furrowed.

“Eito, he’s not saying anything!” Takumi exclaims with no small amount of concern.

“W-what?!” But Eito is hearing him loud and clear! Is there something about him that lets him hear him? Or something about Takumi that stops his comprehension?!

“We need to run!” Takumi hisses. “We don’t even have our infusers! We’ll be sitting ducks if this invader attacks”

Is this boy an invader? Eito has no time to think deeper before a slimy, repulsive hand snatches his wrist and yanks him forward. “W-wait!”

Eito rips wrist from Takumi’s grip and follows dutifully. If things go wrong he can use Takumi as a meat shield.

The duo dashes through the second floor hallways, not knowing where they are going, merely away from the enemy. Takumi dashes up the stairwell with Eito not far behind.

Pausing on the landing, Eito dares to look behind him. That beast of fire and heat is still on their heels, encroaching, chasing, and getting closer with every second that passed.

“He’s still following us!” Eito cries out in warning, flying up the steps after Takumi.

A burst of heat coupled with brilliant pink embers hits the wall next to him, showering him with sparks.

“Ah!” Eito yelps, instinctively throwing himself to the side, away from the flames. The second after, he realises what a bad choice that was.

You see, Eito is on a staircase. To the right is the wall that just got hit with an undying flame attack. To his left, however, is but a railing. A railing that he had thrown himself on with all he has. The short, wooden raising.

Fuck! Shit! Damnit! Those words and so much more run through Eito’s righteous brain as tips ass over tea kettle straight over the bannister.

He flails through the air with all the grace of a starfish yeeted into the ocean. Images flash before his eyes at the rate of 30 per second. Flashes of his childhood (horrible). His parents (now dead). The kind nurse that introduced him to literature (also dead). The children at school who dared to befriend him (what do you know? Dead). His last regrets in this moment are in the hideous faces of the people he’d failed to kill.

Damn you Tanaka, you never gave him back his pencil in 9th grade. That’s an unforgivable crime. Why did your parents have to be detectives!

Alas, Eito doesn’t die. He hits the first floor stairs back first, knocking the wind out of him, and bounces, flopping like a ragdoll, down to the golden-brown and lime-green hallway of the first floor. He lays there, feeling more like a dead fish than human.

(But wouldn’t that be better since humanity is so horrible? Eito muses as his poor lungs expand to take in air)

“Eito! Are you alright?!” And there’s Takumi’s horrible shriek of a voice, coupled with his rotten stench. He saw everything, didn’t he?

Eito stares upwards, dead inside. There’s fake vines strung across the ceiling, just under the green light bulbs. Why him? All he had ever wanted was to destroy humanity, why does he have to suffer such indignities? If only that boy would come and kill him now, but sadly, it seems that he has vanished like the wind. These no spark nor ember of him anywhere.

Takumi’s mutilated, puss seeping, odious, hideous, vile, repugnant, disgusting, loathsome, sickening, nauseating, gross face appears above Eito’s head like a demon from hell. He’s frowning down at him, melting eyes alight with concern. “Are you alright?”

“I’m… fine,” Eito grits out, propping himself up with one hand. He’s still not regained his breath.

Without asking, Takumi takes his hand and pulls him to his feet. Eito has never been more grateful for his gloves in his life, even as he’s wobbling on his feet. Damn Takumi, trying to help him. What a monster, presuming he can touch him like that!

“You need to be more careful! You could’ve split your head open!” Takumi chastises.

Damn it. This would’ve been less embarrassing had he had split his head open.

If only.

 

DAY 12

 

Isolated in his room, Takumi breaks out into breathless cackles.

“Oh, that was just too good,” Takumi chuckles, plastering a hand on his mouth has he desperately tries to stop himself from laughing loud enough to wake the whole school. “Did you see the look on his face? Priceless.”

“It was amusing,” the boy admits. There’s a reticent smile on his face, as if he’s admitting to indulging in a guilty pleasure. It fades, and the boy’s soft features grows pensive.

“Although… I wish I hadn’t gotten carried away.” He says. “I didn’t mean to make him fall down the stairs.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Takumi says, waving a hand dismissively. “He was fine, and besides, he deserved it.”

It’s not like that attack the ghost boy used was strong enough to do more than singe Eito’s clothes. He’d overreacted. Besides, Takumi admits that seeing Eito flop over the staircase that theatrically was funny as hell. The ever collected Eito, having that ‘oh shit’ expression right before he toppled over is just hilarious.

Mind you, it wouldn’t have been so funny if he’d actually been hurt. Takumi hates the guy but he’s no sadist. Seeing someone get hurt is never fun. But Eito was fine, so he’s gonna laugh at him.

“I wish I could’ve helped more…” the ghost boy says quietly. Takumi can’t allow that to slide.

“Give yourself more credit. It’s only because you saw him lurking around at night and warned me that this worked,” Takumi refutes sternly.

This boy was the only reason that Takumi was able to get himself out of there so cleanly. He had known from the start that Eito had been planning to kill him, but knowing and being able to maneuver himself out of it are different matters. It’s through this boy’s help that he didn’t arouse Eito’s suspicion, that he is able to keep up this charade.

“Thank you, for all your help,” Takumi says, staring him straight in the eyes with all the sincerity he can force into his voice. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

The boy blinks, wide eyed. He averts his gaze with a small smile. He’s shy. It’s honestly endearing, in Takumi’s opinion.

“It’s my pleasure,” the boy says, a faint pink flush crawling up his cheeks. “I know that this isn’t the best situation, but… it’s been fun.”

“I guess you wouldn’t have experienced anything like this before, huh,” Takumi muses. He couldn’t, not living in a pod as he is. God, he can’t imagine being stuck as a baby. That would suck so much.

“I haven’t…” the ghost boy trails off. It seems like he’s at a loss for what to say, and honestly, Takumi is too.

It’s a sad life that this boy has had, and he deserves better. He deserves to have friends, to go to the beach, the arcade, experience the highs and lows, all life has to offer. The normal, mundane life that Takumi had taken for granted for so long would be nothing but magical for this boy.

But Takumi can’t offer that, not when they’re all stuck in this school, this war. He has to focus on saving them all, getting distracted has already proven to be fatal. It’s unfortunate, but giving this boy the life he deserves will have to wait.

Maybe he could rope the ghost boy into more of his schemes? Messing with Eito is pretty satisfying, and Takumi has the sense that this guy will be happy to be included.

At some point, they had drifted into quietude, with the sole breakage being the faint whistle of Takumi’s breath, matched with the crackle of undying flames. Just the sounds of their lives.

It isn’t awkward or uncomfortable, but comfy, companionable. Takumi hasn’t had this with many people, not in the last hundred and twelve or so days.

His mirth abruptly fades so thoroughly it may not have been there in the first place.

Takumi had forgotten for a moment, all caught up in vengeful satisfaction and laughter, but he’d failed. He’d come back for a reason, and already that reason has left this world.

Nozomi…

She’s still dead.

Guilt wells up in his chest. It’s been merely four days and he’s forgotten, if even for a moment. It’s unforgivable.

The ghost boy looks at him with sadness in his eyes, but is quiet. Perhaps he doesn’t know what to say. Isolated, there hasn’t been a chance for this boy to learn how to comfort. In its stead is a silence, but a companionable one. One filled with sympathy and shared sorrow.

(It reminds him of the times he spent with Eito in the library, not talking, just reading in each other’s presence. Relaxing after the days of terrifying battles and awful, soul wrenching agony. He hasn't visited the library once since he came back. It was too painful, a reminder of a knife in his back.)

“Truthfully, I still don’t understand what you’re planning. I have to wonder if this approach is too casual,” the boy says, breaking the silence. “It would be bad if Eito catches on to your schemes.”

Takumi wonders that too. There’s not a second in his life that he doesn’t wonder if he’s made the wrong decision, gone down the wrong path. Yes, he’s been successful so far in that Eito has failed to kill anyone or sabotage the mission, but Nozomi…

He doesn’t know. He just doesn’t. But he still has the justifications he repeats to himself at night, when things get too much.

“You said it yourself. If I change too much, I won’t be able to predict what’ll happen,” Takumi says, instead of the truth. Well, it was true enough, but it's not his reason per se…”

“Whatever you decide, I hope you’ll get the result you want,” the boys says, and then he’s gone, like a ghost.

Takumi is alone.

Chapter 4: The Real Materials are the Friends We Made Along the Way.

Summary:

His first attempt to take Takumi’s life may have been a failure, but Eito is no quitter. He’s going to bring Takumi out to the wasteland and bring his life to an end.

At least, that was his plan.

DAY 14

 

Eito’s last plan for getting rid of Takumi may have been foiled by unexpected elements, but that’s not enough to put a dent in his determination. He is going to destroy humanity, starting with Takumi, and he is not going to let a single failure dissuade him.

It’s time for his Plan D. What happened to B and C you ask? Well, Eito has no access to exercise balls nor are there conveniently placed canisters of poison gas, so there’s those two gone to the trash. It’s not ideal, but luring Takumi out to the wastes and offing him there would have to do.

“I’m coming with you,” Hiruko says. She’s with them in the entrance hall, having appeared out of nowhere despite Eito’s attempt to subvert her. Her stench, like rotten eggs and urine, rolls over him.

“Huh?” Takumi says, squinting at her sleepily, contorting his face into an even uglier state. The lump of flesh that is Takumi looks like he just rolled out of bed, which is true. Eito had gone to him first thing in the morning.

“Who else is going to make sure that you two don’t get distracted?” Hiruko postulates. Her smug, slimy smile, revealing rows of yellow, rotting teeth suggests an alternative motive.

Not her too! Eito has been getting enough of this from everyone else. He swears, if one more person harasses him about this, heads are going to roll.

“Come on, you don’t really think we’re like that… right?” Takumi grumbles, scratching a puss-leaking cheek with one long, mangled finger.

Hiruko just smirks.

“Right?” Takumi echoes hopelessly, looking for all the world he wants to crawl back into bed and ignore the world.

Hiruko’s grin grows grotesquely. She means it.

…

Hiruko came with them. There was nothing that Eito could do about that. He knows when to admit defeat.

This time, they don’t go too far from the Academy. They don’t need to. Eito’s excuse for this outing is getting more materials for Yugamu’s drugs, and there’s a city park that suffices well enough for that purpose, although the quality of the ingredients is not great.

The park is a nice place, with plants he had only read about growing wild, free, and pure. It would be fantastic, had it not been for the lingering human presence. Trash, from textiles to machines, lay scattered all around, a remnant of the cavalier carelessness and selfishness of humanity. The skyline is soiled with crumbling buildings and glimpses of undying flames. Worse still, he has to cope with the hideous humans right beside him besieging him with their ugliness.

“What about this one?” Takumi points to a mushroom growing in the grass. Eito suppresses a sigh and saunters up to Takumi to take a close look at what he’s pointing out. He squints at the mushroom.

“I think I recognize this one… Yes, it’s edible,” Eito says.

That is a lie. Eito does not recognize this mushroom. For all he knows it could do anything from kill to cause hallucinations, or do nothing at all. He hasn’t a clue, but he’s not telling Takumi that because if Takumi eats it and dies then he can claim an honest accident. It would be very convenient, if unsatisfying, murder.

“And that one over there?” Takumi plucks the fungi out of the ground, recklessly destroying the small life that struggles to survive in these wastes. How typical of a human.

“I believe that one is edible as well,” Eito lies again. He puts a finger up to his lips and furrows his brow in a ponderous expression as he thinks out loud. “I wonder if it tastes good.”

By the way Takumi stares at it, it seems he’s genuinely tempted.

“Takumi, don’t eat strange mushrooms,” Hiruko scolds, her duty as the one with the brain cell. “Eito could be wrong.”

“She’s right. You shouldn’t risk your health for this” Eito agrees, ignoring how much he wants to egg Takumi into eating potentially poisonous fungi. Alas, that does not fit his public persona. The sacrifices he makes for the greater good.

“Oh, okay,” Takumi agrees. “I just figured he knows best. Eito is very smart.”

The compliment makes Eito feel weird. He knows well that he’s smarter than the rabble, but it’s always different when someone else acknowledges it. Behind the slimy feeling he always gets from being praised by something so hideous, there’s a little bit of pride perking up from being acknowledged. It’s almost enjoyable.

“So what about this one?”

Nevermind.

 

It’s been hours since they first departed from the academy and Eito is no closer to success.

“So, Aotsuki, isn’t it strange that you could hear that ‘ghost boy’ while Sumino couldn’t?” Hiruko asks, blood-crimson eyes burning into him like heat vision. Having such a look from a face as ugly as hers makes his chest feel like it’s clumping like spoilt milk.

Yes. It’s because of Hiruko. She has not let her eyes off of him for a second. Furthermore, she’s been interrogating him on every aspect of what happened with the intruder, as Takumi tipped her off.

“Yeah, Eito was like ‘it’s a lie! Don’t listen to him’,” Takumi helpfully chimes in, doing his best Eito impression. It’s a very bad impression. His voice makes him want to take pliers to his eardrums.

Hiruko’s gaze sharpened further. It felt as if she could slice him into strips like pork with her eyes alone, and then cook him up into noodles for good measure. Takumi, why must you tell her these things?!

“A lie? What exactly did he accuse you of, Aotsuki?” Hiruko asks. Her suspicions weighed on him like concrete tied to his feet. He hates, hates it from the bottom of his heart.

Eito had suspected this question would come. He’d thought deeply about what he should say, but figuring that out is tricker than one may think. Lying outright could put him in the least suspicious position, but may backfire if it turns out someone else could speak to the intruder. He couldn’t very well tell the truth either. So, he’s going to have to go with a little of both.

The best lie, Eito has found, is one that incorporates many elements of the truth but is misleading in its entirety. It’s a philosophy that he lives by, his second most important one, next to that ‘humans are all disgusting monsters that deserve death’.

So, he puts on the appropriate expression and speaks. “He said that I’m not who I say I am.”

It’s certainly one way to interpret that boy’s words, albeit not a very accurate one. It’s true in the vaguest sense. Eito is not the kindhearted softy who loves his friends.

What he can’t get over is how did he know? Eito had not breathed a word of his plans, never left a trail on paper or online. There’s no way that he could’ve known.

Or… perhaps there is a way.

Hemoanima is a mysterious power. It can do all sorts of things. It augments strength, allows them to pull weapons out of nothing. Then there’s the Special Abilities.

Takumi gets stronger for every ally that falls. Hiruko grows strong for each kill. Eito himself has his Special Fortunetelling.

That boy clearly wields the power of Undying Flames, and thus hemoanima. It stands to reason that he too would have a special ability.

All of this is pointing to one explanation.

The Boy of Undying Flames can read minds.

This is a terrible disadvantage, but not an insurmountable one. His opponent’s intellect will be the limiting factor to how well he can use his ability. If Eito is smart, and he is, he can push his opponent into a corner.

“And who does he think you are?” Hiruko interrogates. Eito blinks, coming out of his thoughts.

“Sorry, but I don’t know. He wasn’t specific and I can’t read people well.” Eito lets that hang in the air.

“Really, you don’t have a clue?” Hiruko presses with narrowed eyes.

“Truly. I wouldn’t lie to my friends about such an important thing,” Eito injects as much sincerity as possible into those words.

“Is that so?” Hiruko says. Suddenly, her gaze sharpens further and she takes a step towards him, intruding into his personal space. His hands twitch at his sides, fighting the urge to rip this revolting being away from him at any cost.

Instinctively, Eito takes a step back. Hiruko grins down at him, all sharp edges and predatory intent. She looks like a wildcat like this, all deadly grace, if a wildcat looks like a hundred pounds of mangled flesh and putrid scent, that is.

“Who are you, Eito Aotsuki?” She asks pointedly. A bead of sweat drips down Eito’s face. He doesn't have to fake the nervousness. Heedless of his state, she charges on. “And what are your intentions for Takumi Sumino?”

Eito blinks, thrown by the sudden change in topic. What.

Hiruko stares him down expectantly. Somehow. He’s taller than her.

Is this… is this the shovel talk? Is that why Hiruko followed them out here? She wanted to get him alone and threaten him to make sure he doesn’t break Takumi’s heart? Alright then.

“Takumi is my friend. I want nothing but the best for him,” Eito professes. Hiruko narrows her eyes, like she doesn’t quite believe him. What a bother.

“It’s true. You may not believe me, but I’ve had a rather… isolated upbringing. I haven’t spent a lot of time with people of my own age, so it means a lot to me that Takumi is so willing to be my friend. I apologise if I did anything to make you doubt my intentions.”

As he speaks, Eito scans through the memories of his every interaction with Hiruko. There’s not many, and he doesn’t remember saying or doing anything that could lead to this suspicion. Either it really is about a strange, misplaced attachment to Takumi, or else something deeper is happening under the surface.

Is Hiruko talking to the mind reader?

“Hm. Say what you will, but mark my words, if you do anything to harm him, you will regret it,” Hiruko promises with the chill of a moving glacier, unstoppable and merciless. He doesn’t doubt her.

“You don’t have to worry,” Eito earnestly promises.

Seriously, what’s with the attachment? Do they know each other from before the academy? Because that’s the only reasonable explanation that Eito can think of. Strangers don’t act so protective of each other, except maybe Takumi.

“Come on, Hiruko…” Takumi interjects uncomfortably, putting a hand on her arm. He’s been standing there the whole time, silent and staring awkwardly like a kid whose parents are arguing about insurance.

Hiruko smirks, as if she’s gotten exactly what she’d wanted, but she does as Takumi asks and steps back.

“We need to find those ingredients,” Hiruko says. Then she turns her back and shambles brokenly away as if she hadn’t been the one to delay them by interrogating him.

Eito has no idea what to think of what just happened.

 

Lady Luck herself must approve of his holy mission because, yet again, they ran into an injured bear. Eito had heard from multiple people that he looks like a goat, and bears must share that opinion as, without fail, they try to make a meal of him. This bear is no exception.

Long story short, he ran, and now Eito is alone, wandering the deserted city streets looking for his classmates. If he creeps up behind them, he can pick one off, or better yet engineer circumstances for one to die while poor Eito has lost yet another one of his friends.

Eito peeks out from behind a corner. Cleverly, he has looped back and predicted which paths his monstrous classmates would take. And he’s right!

There’s Takumi, walking into a deserted dollar store, alone. This is a great opportunity, if unfortunate, as it would’ve been better had he been Hiruko, as then he could get rid of the person most suspicious of him, but Eito can be flexible. Besides, he’s not planning on letting either of them survive the day.

Carefully keeping his steps silent, Eito creeps after Takumi. There’s an abandoned, rusty pipe on the ground. He picks it up. Should Hiruko find Takumi’s body afterwards he doesn’t want the wound type to trace back to his class weapon.

Eito peeks around another corner. Takumi is eyeing the shelves. How irresponsible, looking for materials when his friends are missing. Selfish.

It’s good that he’s taking Takumi out of this world. For the greater good, truly.

He walks up, as graceful and silent as a cat. Takumi, absorbed in his task, notices nothing as Eito creeps close.

Like an angel of death, Eito pulls back his arm. Takumi will soon return from the void from which he came, from which monsters are born. Finally, the blight on the world named Takumi Sumino will be eradicated! Eito’s arm is pulled back as far as it can go. He readies himself-

And hesitates.

Eito should be killing him right now, should be splitting open Takumi’s head like rotting fruit. It’s his best chance to get rid of the pest that’s been dogging him for weeks. He’s killed before and he will do so again. It’s Eito’s holy duty.

So why is he hesitating?

Abruptly, Takumi turns around. Eito freezes in place, his pipe held up behind his head, ready to come down with brutal prejudice. Takumi blinks, taking in the scene, then smiles widely, his distorted face lighting up in joy.

This scene feels awfully familiar.

“Eito! There you are! What are you doing with that pipe?” Takumi questions happily, dumbly, like an oblivious dog not knowing it’s master is about to put it down.

“I thought you might’ve been an invader so I picked this up to defend myself,” Eito’s excuse is flimsy to his ears, but Takumi eats it up unquestionably.

“Oh, okay,” Takumi turns his back to him trustingly, naively. “Let’s go find Hiruko. I don’t want to leave her alone out here, no matter how strong she is.”

Eito could do it right now. He could summon his scythe and swing it down on Takumi’s exposed back and nobody would be the wiser. He could go on to kill Hiruko and frame all this as a tragic accident, the result of an invader ambush too far from the Revive-O-Matic.

It’d be easy. All he has to do is swing his weapon. This is what he wants, what he dreamed about for so long. Takumi is a monster. Takumi is in his way.

So why doesn’t he want to do it? Why isn’t his arm lifting up to smite this blight off the world?

It can’t be that part of him likes Takumi. Eito hates humanity, all of humanity, and he hates Takumi too. He’s hideous, idiotic, selfish, clingy, and a whole number of other negative adjectives. So why?

…

It’s the puppy-like idiocy that’s messing with his resolve. That has to be it. Takumi is dumb, so much so that he reminds Eito of an animal, and Eito isn’t a monster. He doesn’t kill animals, only people. It’s a part of being the world’s only decent person.

Ugh, he hates this! Why couldn’t Takumi be smarter?! Then Eito wouldn’t be so conflicted!

Whatever. It doesn’t matter.

“I hope Hiruko’s alright,” Eito offers up. “I don’t know what I’d do if she got hurt because I ran off.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” a horrible, nails-on-chalkboard voice calls out from behind him.

Eito jumps. The scent of lavender hits his nose, followed swiftly by the wretched scent of humanity which it valiantly, of futilely, fights against. He’d know who it is before he turns around even if she hadn’t spoken.

It’s Hiruko, of course. She’s standing there, sternly, one hand on her hip and her eyes narrowed.

When did she get here? More importantly, how long has she been there?

“Hiruko! When did you get back?” Takumi exclaims, strolling up to her with a big smile on her face. He exudes the energy of a golden retriever in the body of a horror movie monster.

“Oh? I’ve been here for a while, did you not notice?” She says teasingly, with a smug smile. As she says that, she looks directly into Eito’s eyes, mocking him.

Eito just smiles back awkwardly, unable to deny the allegation, and feeling a little sick from seeing her leaking, rotting eyes.

“I didn’t, honestly,” Takumi admits abashedly. “I guess I got distracted talking with Eito.”

“Is that so? It’d pay to be more aware of your surroundings, Sumino. You never know what’s lurking around here,” Hiruko teases.

“Aha… you’re right.” Now Takumi looks straight up embarrassed, scratching his cheek.

“All that matters is that we’re back together,” Eito adds cheesily. “I think we should make our way back to the school before we get split up again.”

It has nothing to do with the fact that he’s absolutely done with this lot of monsters. Nope. Eito just wants his friends to be safe.

Just like that, Eito has successfully steered the conversation in the way he wanted it to go. Takumi, who’s already tired, easily agrees, and Hiruko does not object. It is getting dark, after all.

Eito is the last to leave. He drops his smile, watching as Hiruko and then Takumi leave, two shambling monsters. The sun is starting to set, dying the crumbling landscape yellow and orange. It’d be beautiful, if it weren’t for the monsters spoiling the view.

There’s something off, though. Eito squints at Takumi, hard, feeling like a scientist examining a specimen under a microscope.

Perhaps it’s just the lighting but… is Takumi looking a little less hideous than before?

Chapter 5: A Good Friend Always Has Your Back

Summary:

For the sake of knowledge, Takumi takes matters into his own hands. He regrets it, somewhat, when the consequences roll around.

DAY 16

 

It’s strange being on the rooftop at night. It looks so different from the day, like a completely different landscape, and yet Takumi knows that nothing has changed. Nothing except how he sees things.

Takumi remembers the first time he looked up to the artificial satellite in the sky. That was when he first met the Undying Flames Boy, wasn’t it? It’s embarrassing how much he had freaked out back then, jumping to conclusions and yelling at an ally. The memory is cringy enough to make him want to crawl into a hole.

How time changes perspective. If you asked the Takumi of twenty days ago, he’d say that what the Takumi of today is planning is crazy. And he’d admit it. It’s a dumb idea. The rest of his classmates here would probably agree, barring a couple exceptions, but that’s not stopping him.

It’s just, those commanders… Sirei said that the invaders were made by World Death, that they had no purpose outside ensuring the destruction of humanity. But that’s not what Takumi saw. They were in a relationship - they had a kid! It’s abundantly clear now that Sirei had lied.

But his classmates won’t see it that way. They have already decided that Sirei is telling the truth, and are ignoring the evidence to the contrary. Takumi couldn’t blame them. He had done the very same thing during his first hundred days.

If they catch him, Takumi has no illusions on what they would do. At best, they would declare him a traitor and leave him in a cage to rot. At worst, he’s executed. Takumi can’t let that happen, not when he has people to protect.

A shadow flickers in the corner of his vision. Takumi whirls around, his back to the roof exit. It’s dark, the only light is the faint glow of the nameplates and the starlight. It’s not enough to light things up.

He squints into the darkness, in the walkways between the dorms. Nothing moves.

Takumi sighs. His imagination must be acting up. It’s been a long few days trying to predict Eito’s every move, with the threat of death hanging over his head should he fail. Safe to say, his nerves are shot. He walks towards the exit.

Nobody jumps out to attack him on the rooftop. Noone appears on the third floor to glare and accuse him. The second floor is similarly abandoned. Takumi makes his way to the passageway leading to the centre of the academy unbothered.

The courtyard looks different at night too. All of the academy does, but it’s especially pronounced here. Fake stars shone through equally fake glass. A cool breeze caresses his face.

Two cages sit silent and still in the center. The one on the left is vacant, but the one on the right…

The captured commander, Murvrum, lay within. He’s sleeping uneasily, shifting under the covers. Takumi wonders if he’s having a nightmare. It would be terribly scary getting captured by the enemy and almost executed.

“Hey,” Takumi whispers. He knocks on the metal cage. Murvrum stirs, then stills, settling into slumber.

“Murvrum!” He whispers with more urgency. Murvrum snaps into a sitting position like a bear trap. The beady red eyes of his helmet snap to Takumi. When he sees Takumi, his grip on his sheets tightens.

“You… what you do want with me?” Murvrum’s voice was rough and quiet, barely more than a whisper. He’s still recovering from his throat being crushed. What Takumi can hear sounds fearful.

Murvrum, in the scant few days he has known him, has proven to be remarkably timid. He skitters away to the far corner of the cage whenever he gets too close, and stutters when they ask him questions. It’s hard to believe that he’s the same fighter that crushed Darumi’s body like an empty soda can on Day 1.

Try as he might, Takumi struggles with the dissonance. Even on the battlefield his brain couldn’t quite connect Murvrum’s beastly form with the timid young man that came out from the light show of dissolved transformation. Something didn’t compute, so try as he might, Takumi couldn’t scrounge up enough ill will to want to execute him.

At that moment, with Murvrum on the ground, pleading through a ruined voice, Takumi got to thinking. Hey, he spared Eito, who arguably deserved death far more, why couldn’t he spare Murvrum? It’s not like he’s a particular threatening commander. Besides, they had a convenient cage to keep him in. There, he doesn’t have to worry about the ethics of killing nor getting murdered. All perfect, right?

Well, maybe not, but not because of Murvrum. Takumi’s suggestion had not been well received in the moment. Really, only Shouma had agreed with him, and he backed down the instant Kurara glared at him. It’d taken a lot of purgation and although they conceded, they weren’t happy about it.

Sirei himself had barely agreed, and even then, he hadn’t been happy about it. The entire following week, he had acted suspiciously, taking Murvrum out of his cage for long periods of time, acting cagey about the blackouts they’d been having. To boot, he’s been acting increasing frustrated about something. Whatever it is, Takumi is pretty sure it’s about the commander, and that Sirei won’t tolerate Murvrum’s presence much longer. If he wants to act he has to do it now.

But, if Takumi felt like being honest with himself, it isn’t all about morality, or even morality at all.

“That’s what you think the truth is.” Eito had said, before he tried to kill them all.

There was a chance that it was a bluff, that Eito was just tormenting them all, but if he wasn’t? Takumi could not sit by and stew in his ignorance when the lives of his friends are on the line. He has to take this chance.

“I’ve got a deal for you,” he says, staring down at Murvrum with the most serious expression in his repertoire.

Murvrum looks up at him. It’s impossible to tell his expression under that monstrous mask. His hands are clenching his bedsheets, and his body stiff. Despite his masked face it’s obvious that he’s scared.

“You answer my questions, and I’ll let you go,” Takumi speaks, pulling the cage key out of his pocket and letting it jangle. Murvrum’s attention snaps to the key. He’s got him hooked.

“…what do you want to know?” Murvum rasps hesitantly, hopefully.

“Why are you attacking our school?” Takumi demands.

Murvrum still, looking at Takumi like his question is incomprehensible, or so dumb that he’s at a loss for words. An awkward moment passes before he gains his words.

“Because… you attacked us first? You have a weapon that will kill us all?” Murvrum says, as if explaining that water is wet.

“No we didn’t,” Takumi refutes. “We’ve only been here for what, two weeks? We didn’t do anything to you.”

Murvrum keeps on staring at him like a puzzle to be solved. “True… you yourselves may have not fought before this, but…” he trails off, gazing to the side for a second before returning his attention to Takumi.

“It’s your people who started this war,” Murvrum whispers plainly.

“What?!” Takumi exclaims.

“You didn’t know?” Murvrum’s voice is growing so hoarse it is painful to hear, but that’s the last thing on Takumi’s mind.

“You’re the ones invading our planet.”

 

DAY 17

 

Smooth jazz flows through the air of the courtyard. It’s slow, calm, like what he would hear in a noir thriller. It sets Takumi on edge.

“It seems we have a traitor in our midst,” Ima says. His voice is calm, but his eyes are like ice, coolly sweeping over the group gathered in the courtyard.

Besides him, facing the pack is Kako. She is wearing detective merchandise, including a deerstalker hat. Grasping an unused pipe in hand she regards the group of students with aloofness that does not cover the excited sparkle in her eyes. It would be cute, like watching a little kid play dress up, had it not been for the severity of the situation.

Takumi’s hands, hidden inside of his hoodie, shake. He can’t bring himself to meet Ima’s gaze, instead focusing on the empty cage. The cage, that just like night, had an enemy commander inside. The cage with its door swung wide open, the lock dangling carelessly. That cage.

Murvrum is long gone. Takumi has no clue where he is right now, back with his people maybe, hopefully.

“As you see, the lock is-”

“Hush, Brother Dearest. I’m the one who’s supposed to be a detective here!” Kako scolds. She’s trying her best to sound serious, but it just comes out petulant.

“My apologies, Sister Dearest,” Ima simpers.

Kako takes a deep breath. “As you can see, the cage lock has been opened, not broken. This means that someone used the key to open it.”

“You’re saying that one of us did it,” Hiruko interjects coolly.

“Are you seriously playing jazz music?!” Kurara snaps, waving her hands towards Ima and the stereo at his feet.

“Of course. I’ve got to set the stage for my darling sister’s entrance,” Ima responds, smiling, heedless of the incredulous and exasperated looks he’s getting.

Takumi stays quiet, sweat dripping down his face. He should be focusing on what Ima and Kako are saying. At any second they could rip away the thin veil of deceit that hides Takumi actions. It’s important, but he just can’t focus.

Not when Eito keeps looking at him.

He can feel that traitor’s gaze boring a home through the back of his head. He knows that if he were to turn and look, Eito would be watching Kako and Ima, pretending to be interested in the proceedings. Then, Eito would ‘notice’ Takumi looking at him and give him that small, sweet smile, like Takumi’s the one doing something odd.

It started on Day 14, when Eito tried to kill him in the wastelands. That had been too close for comfort. Had Takumi not turned around at the exact right time he would be dead, and maybe Hiruko as well. That had shaken him, enough so that he could not miss the weight on Eito’s gaze on his back on the way back to campus. It felt like being dissected, like Eito was flaying him open with his eyes along to see what makes him tick.

This didn’t stop when they got back to the academy. That whole night, and the next two days Takumi felt the weight of Eito’s attention keenly. The only time when this burden lessened was when Takumi himself would look back, and Eito would be conveniently distracted by something else, except the time he didn’t.

It was during the communal dinner that Takumi set up. He’d been eating dinner, eying warily the unholy concoction that Kako tried to have him eat. Just looking at it was spoiling his appetite but he couldn’t help himself. Like a car crash, he couldn’t look away, until he felt that now familiar weight.

Instinctively, he turned his head, fully expecting Eito to be looking away, only to be met with clear blue eyes staring straight at his own. The expression that Eito had was unnameable. Something like fascination, entrancement, but with a hint of horror underneath.

Eito knows. Takumi doesn’t know how he knows, but he knows. At some point, Takumi had said something or did something that cued him onto that Takumi is not as ignorant as he pretended to be. No, Eito probably was onto him from the start, and is only now letting Takumi know that he knows.

Damnit! Why did Takumi think that this was a good idea?! He knew that Eito would catch on eventually, it was inevitable, but he went through with it anyway, with not a plan on what he’d do when that happened!

Takumi curses out his past self. Past-Takumi is so dumb, he doesn’t think things through and current Takumi is paying for it. Damn past-Takumi, he hates that guy so much.

“I want each of you to tell-” Kako is cut off by an ecstatic scream.

“Finally, FINALLY!” Darumi all but screams, throwing her hands in the air like she’s in a rave. “We’re gonna kill each other! AAAAAAAH!”

“I think Darumi’s broken,” Tsubasa says with no small amount of concern and annoyance.

“Ooh! Ooh! Maybe they’ll burn our food supplies and leave us to starve! Or! Or! Maybe they’ll wait until the last possible second to stab us in the back and rant about how much they hate us!” Darumi rants.

Once again, Darumi is uncannily on the mark. How is she predicting what happened in the first hundred days?! Has she been given the gift of prophecy or is Takumi's life really so much like an anime that Darumi can predict the plot changes?!

…maybe he should talk to her some more, just in case.

“Quiet, Darumi,” Hiruko scolds.

“Yes, Mistress Hiruko!” Darumi cheers. With that, Darumi began to act like a dog, tongue hanging out, panting, holding her hands like paws.

Takumi is uncomfortable.

“Now that that’s over, let’s get back to what’s important here. Namely, the traitor. Who had access to the key last night?” Hiruko speaks.

Suddenly, the smooth music stops. A cold chill infuses the air. Like snow, it slides down his neck, freezing everything it touches. From the looks on their faces everyone else is experiencing the same. Takumi looks around, searching for the source of the cold. It can’t be the climate control malfunctioning, can it?! That’s when he sees it.

It was Ima, who has the most bone-chilling glare that Takumi has ever seen on anyone’s face. Not even Eito during his unhinged rants could compare. The courtyard would freeze solid if he kept this up.

Besides him is a pouting, indignant Kako, sticking Hiruko with a glare that is cuter than anything else.

Hiruko sighs, resigned to Ima’s. “Fine, go on, Kako.”

Kako lights back up like a light bulb. She begins to pace in front of the gathering, stroking her chin like a detective. Ima turns on the music again, completing the scene.

“…as I was saying, whoever did this took the key, which was stored in the war room. So, what were you all doing last night?” Kako, stops on her tracks and fixes them with her most serious look. She looks pleased to see the group sweat. Little does she know that it is Ima’s Death Glare behind her causing it. Kako herself is as scary as a kitten.

“Sleepin’” Takemaru says.

“M-me too,” Takumi stutters, lying like a lying liar.

“I was getting my beauty rest, but I bet Kyoshika was up humping that sword of hers until midnight!” Kurara declares.

“W-what?! I’ll have you know that I slumbered much sooner than that!” Kyoshika says, failing to address the accusation in Kurara’s claims.

Ignoring Kyoshika’s blatant sword fetish, every one of them gave the same answer as the last. Sleeping. They were all sleeping, except maybe Kyoshika but, in perfect synchronicity, they decide that she’s not capable of such a thing and ignore that. Well, everyone except one person.

“What was that, Shouma?” Takemaru says. All at once, the entire group turns towards Shouma, who looks like he wants to sink into the floor like a glob of acid.

“N-nevermind what a pathetic glob of mucus like me has to say. It’ll only lead you down the wrong path to listen to me…” Shouma utters despondently, so in his usual speaking voice.

“C’mon, don’t give me that shit. Speak up!” Takemaru encourages aggressively.

“Okay… if you insist,” Shouma mutters. He shudders in place, visibly gathering up his courage. As he does this, his eyes flick over to where Takumi is standing.

Oh no.

“I saw Takumi on the roof last night.”

Takumi’s blood freezes.

——————————————————

Interesting. How terribly, horribly, fascinating.

Takumi is rippling. His engorged, blue-red eyes shrink in its sockets, becoming proportionally normal. His hair, crimson-red strands of wire smooth out to soft, rose coloured strands before reverting to its horrible natural state. The rest of his body follows in this pattern, pus-leaking skin, disjointed limbs and disfigured muscles shuddering and twisting to become a fragment of normal before the wave passes and he’s back to his normal, revolting self. All of this happens in a fragment of a second, fast enough that his eyes struggle to catch it.

Eito stares at Takumi’s horrific, flickering form. It’s hideous. It’s disturbing. It’s unlike anything that he’s ever seen before. Like a car crash, he can’t take his eyes off him.

The empty cage and the possibility of another traitor is unexciting in comparison. Honestly, it’s a problem, Takumi has almost caught him staring seven times, and actually caught him once, in the middle of a ripple that made his eyes look normal. Eito knew that he should’ve looked away, but he couldn’t bring himself to. In that moment, Takumi’s eyes, like blue gems rimmed with red, were all too captivating.

Takumi is sweating awfully hard. Eito doesn’t have to think very hard to understand why. It’s very obviously Takumi who freed the commander from his cage. It’s a testament to their hideous foolishness that the others hadn’t figured it out yet. He is not good at hiding it.

As watches Takumi, he listens to Kako and the others go on about this and that just enough to keep up with the conversation. There’s no reason to torture himself by fully listening to their abhorrent voices when they’re not saying anything of substance. Instead, he is thinking deeply.

Just what is going on in this school? First they are dragged here without explanation and told to fight. Next, Sirei gives them an extremely suspicious ‘explanation’ that justifies their violence. Third, he is attacked by a telepathic boy made of undying flames. And finally, the captured commander was released from his cage in the middle of the night. Well, that last one is no mystery. It was Takumi.

Takumi, who seems to be deceiving his righteous eyes, who is involved with every last strange event. Come to think of it, and Eito is shocked to realize that he hadn’t picked up on this before, but this isn’t the first time Takumi has done something truly strange. Back during the battle against the brainwashing commander at Second-to-Last Defence Academy, Takumi had screamed out Nozomi’s name as she was brutally struck down by one of her friends.

Only, Takumi shouldn’t have known that. Sirei had not told them the names of the Second-to-Last Academy’s students. It’s a testament to how confusing and chaotic Takumi usually is that Eito didn’t notice it until now. So, how exactly did Takumi know that? Why did he let the commander go free? And most importantly, why is he starting not to look like a grotesque monster?

Interesting, interesting, interesting. The first two questions led to a singular conclusion: that perhaps Takumi is not as monstrous as every other human that Eito has met.

How incredibly novel. Eito never thought he’d see the day, but here he is. It makes sense then, in retrospect, that Takumi attached himself to Eito so thoroughly. He must’ve sensed a like soul, or perhaps Eito has got it backwards. Perhaps it’s because of that closeness that Takumi is transforming.

Right now, though, Takumi is looking incredibly suspicious in the eyes of the others. He really could not look less guilty if he tried. At this rate he’s going to get caught.

“I saw Takumi on the roof last night,” Shouma says. “I had stayed up so I wouldn’t bother anyone with my gross presence while I eat. I was going to go down to the cafeteria but I saw Takumi heading for the doors. I didn’t want to bother him, so I didn’t say anything,”

Called it. If he thought Takumi looked guilty before, now he looks like a criminal walking to his execution. It’s a little difficult to tell beyond all the rippling, but his pallor is sheet-white.

Suddenly, the music changes. The suave jazz music that Eito had enjoyed is gone, replaced by an electronic melody that’s faintly familiar. It brings to mind… cartoon skeletons?

“Are you seriously playing megalovania right now?!” Takumi asks incredulously.

“It fits the scene!” Ima smiles from ear to ear, giving him a thumbs up, ignoring Takumi’s indignant cry of ‘does it?!’. Then his countenance falls into suppressed rage. “Not that you have any say in it, traitor.”

“I didn’t betray you guys!” Takumi futilely insists. Such a halfhearted answer could never satisfy a mob like this, and as such, the intensity amounts, suspicion growing in on itself like a diseased plant bulging at the stem.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” says Hiruko, pushing up the bridge of her glasses.

“I-I, was, um,” Takumi flounders. The crowd's distrust grows.

At this rate, Takumi is going to be thrown in the cage that he released the commander, or even executed for his crime.

Normally, Eito wouldn’t be fussed about that outcome. A human dead is a human dead, even if it truly shows the hideousness of humanity that they are willing to kill their own so easily. But this time he can’t let it happen. There is so much about Takumi that he wants to, needs to know. It puts a pit in his stomach to think of leaving this unsolved.

Looks like he’s going to have to step in.

“Takumi’s innocent,” Eito announces. Everyone turns to him with bulging, surprised eyes. Having the attention of a group of monsters like this makes him want to shiver.

“Huh?” Kyoshika utters.

“Huh?!” Takumi echoes, surprised. Not helping his case, that Takumi.

“And how do you know that?” Kako presses, still playing detective. It’s uncanny, sees a grotesque monster dressed like a detective. Ima changes the music again, this time to tense music like you would hear in an interrogation scene.

“Because he was with me last night,” Eito ‘confesses’. He puts up the embarrassed look of a teenager caught in the act, flushed cheeks, looking at the ground, rubbing his fingers together in a nervous tick.

“HUH?!”

“Sir Eito and Sir Takumi… spending the night?!” The very thought of that seems to send Kyoshika into a tizzy. She blushes, her gross, human mind descending into the gutter at record speeds.

“Explain, Aotsuki,” Hiruko demands, shouldering the glare from Ima like it’s nothing.

“D-don’t be crass,” Eito explains. “Like I said, it was an innocent sleepover. I hadn’t been able to experience one when I was young so I- ah, I’m rambling, forgive me. I’ll get straight to the point.”

“I had forgotten one of my books in the library. Takumi had offered to go get it, that’s all.” Eito’s acting skills are top class, but he doesn't have much to work with here. There’s still doubt in their grotesque faces. “He was only gone a minute, not long enough to free the prisoner.”

It’s a flimsy excuse, banking on Eito’s subjective judgment of time, but it’s the best he could think up on short notice. Hopefully, they will all be so distracted with the… implications that they won’t look too deeply.

“Is this true, Takumi?” Kako asks.

Takumi is incredibly flustered. His face is about as red as his horrendous hair. Just what is the thought of spending a night with Eito doing to him?

“Y-yes, we were together last night,” Takumi ‘admits’, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

“So it was a date!” Kako declares with sparkling eyes.

“I guess it makes sense… they’re practically attached to the hip,” Gaku muses, for once not putting his foot in his mouth.

“Oh, young love. How lovely,” Nigou sighs. Moko, who had been silent and morose until that very sentence, perks up like a wilted plant given water.

Sirei glares, throwing his stumpy arms up in a fit. “You horndogs better be keeping things above the belt!” He gripes.

“Y-yeah, that’s right!” Nigou exclaims, immediately going back on himself to support Sirei.

“What’s with the change of mind!? You’re too easily influenced!” Takumi complains, chagrined.

“Yeah, I bet you’d want Nigou out of your way!” Darumi jeers.

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

And like that, the conversation has run off the rails, seemingly everyone simultaneously forgetting the elephant in the room in favour of Takumi’s and Eito’s ‘relationship’.

It’s as wrong as could be, but Eito doesn’t deny it. It is a convenient excuse, no matter how revolting the idea of dating a monster is. So long as it’s a means for his end he can deal.

Indeed, this is shaking out in his favour, as gross as it is. The pretence of them being a ‘thing’ will make Eito less suspicious, after all, why would he sabotage the mission when that would put his ‘darling’ in danger? But most of all, bailing him out of this situation gives him excellent leverage to figure out why Takumi has done this in the first place, how he had known Nozomi’s name, and most importantly, why his appearance is changing.

Eito is going to have to get closer to him. That should not be hard, considering Takumi’s foolish attachment to him and lack of intellect. He will simply leverage that fondness. Easy.

But someone isn’t quite done.

“Why couldn’t you have waited until the next morning to get the book? Surely it wasn’t a pressing matter,” Hiruko questions.

“It was a gift from Takumi. I didn’t want to risk anything happening to it,” Eito replies, plastering on a small, shy smile. Internally, he’s roiling at the implications he’s making, but not quite as much as he thought he’d be. He supposes it’s because it’s Takumi.

“Aww,” Moko coos, wait- Moko? Far from the subdued and guilty wreck that he knows her as, this Moko has a lovely gleam in her eye and a smile on her face. Did she get out of her funk through the power of Eito’s and Takumi’s imaginary romance? Ugh.

An ear-splitting noise filled the air. His classmates cry out in surprise and pain, clutching their ears to block out the sound. Eito, who is forced to listen to worse on a daily basis, just stands there for a second before realizing that he should follow.

“Ooh! Ow! What is that noise?!” Eito says, faking pain. The painful noise continues for a few more seconds, drowning out the pained cries of the monsters before cutting off as abruptly as it started.

Everyone turns to glare at Ima, who’s standing at his stereo, staring them down with an unamused face. Kako, behind him and away from the worst of the noise, looks humiliated by her brother's actions.

“Brother Dearest!” She shouts, flustered and red-cheeked.

“That’s for taking over my Dear Sister’s investigation again!” Ima declares.

This is tiring. Everyone else seems to agree, as they don’t argue with Ima as he tears control of the investigation away to shove it in his sister’s incompetent hands.

“Alright… Shouma, did you see Takumi come back?” Kako questions, leveraging Shouma a look that makes him curl into himself, which isn’t saying much as Shouma would do that if a leech so much as glanced at him.

“N-no, I didn’t,” Shouma says. That’s a problem.

“Are you certain?” Eito presses, knocking down Shouma’s fragile self-assurance like a house of cards.

“No… oh, I shouldn’t have said anything. I knew that a pus-soaked maggot like me speaking would only make things worse…”

“It’s okay, Shouma. We understand,” Eito soothes. “You did your best, and that’s all that matters.”

Shouma, at least, is self aware of how hideous he is. That’s more than the rest of his classmates can say.

“But this just means we’re back at square one,” Eito continues, pushing the conversation forwards. “…Kako? Do you have any ideas?”

“…I’m sorry, I got nothing,” Kako admits. Figure, for all her posturing, she wouldn’t be any help. The music changes yet again, becoming a morose melody to match her mood. Kurara’s fraying patience snaps.

“Glad to know all that was pointless!”

 

DAY 18

 

One long, tense day has passed since the confrontation in the courtyard. Takumi lays in bed, emotionally exhausted beyond belief. He doesn’t want to get up. The world beyond the confines of his room is huge, terrifying, and worst of all, filled with people who think that he’s in love with Eito.

It’s been terrible! Everyone, from Darumi to Moko to Gaku keep on giving him these knowing looks like they - they - Takumi doesn’t know! He just doesn’t like it! And yes, he knew that they thought that before, but having it ‘confirmed’ is different!

Sure, Eito is kinda pretty for a guy, but the personality under the facade is a steaming pile of garbage! Takumi could never like such a hypocritical, self-righteous, malignant traitor! Any fondness he’s had for him is long extinguished, flooded under an ocean’s worth of betrayal and hurt.

Oh, this is so humiliating! Eito knew that Takumi’s affections were fake, that pushing this narrative would unsettle him and force him into his debt. This is all a ploy, revenge for the harassment and deceit and a way to push him into a corner. He is surely going to leverage this debt to his advantage. Yes, Eito is wilier than even he had imagined.

God, what a situation this is. Takumi had only wanted to learn the truth about this war, but before he knew it had lost so much ground. Surely, being imprisoned in a cage for 82 days would be pleasant in comparison. Takumi is totally not deliberately focusing on this to avoid thinking about a more painful truth, it’s just that shameful.

*Ding Dong!*

Ignoring the urge to lie down and sleep away his embarrassment, Takumi pries himself off his bed with a metaphorical crowbar. He sighs deeply, trepidation growing in his gut. He already has a good idea who would be waiting for him once he opens the door.

Rubbing the back of his head in a nervous tick, Takumi opens up his door. Awaiting on the other side is Eito, who bears a tense expression on his face, as if he too is dreading the conversation to come.

Takumi says nothing, only steps aside to let Eito into his room. Distantly, he worries for his safety, but Eito isn’t the type to operate in broad daylight, so he’s not too scared. He closes the door, locks it, then faces Eito.

“Thanks,” Eito quirks a small smile that quickly settles back into that stiff frown.

“No problem,” Takumi replies. Two words in and he’s already tired of this conversation.

“I’m here about yesterday,” Eito says. He frowns, eyeing him with concern and the faintest hint of suspicion. Had Takumi not known any better he’d think that Eito was the friend he portrayed himself to be.

“Figured,” he sighs. “Guess I should be thanking you for that.” Isn’t that terrible? Takumi doesn’t want to owe Eito nothing.

“It’s alright. I’m always happy to help a friend in need. But… Takumi, why did you do it?” Eito questions, looking him right in the eye, soft and sad and oh so fake.

“Do what?” Takumi plays dumb.

“I know that you’re the one who freed the commander,” Eito tells him bluntly. Despite knowing that he knows, Takumi flinches at the accusation. “Ah, don’t get me wrong! I know you wouldn’t have done that without a good reason.”

Takumi stares up at the ceiling thoughtfully. There’s no real way of wriggling himself out of this accusation now, not with someone like Eito. So what does he say?

The last thing that he wants or needs is to lose more ground against Eito. Sure, the latter now knows about his deception, but he may still not know about the time travel, so Takumi can’t just tell him the truth. But Eito would see through a lie in an instant. What’s left is to take a page out of Eito’s book. Tell one of those half-lies that the traitor is so fond of.

“Because it was wrong,” Takumi states.

Eito blinks, shocked. “Wrong? But they’re trying to destroy the Earth, right?” He says like he believes Sirei’s explanation.

“Are you sure? Because from what I’ve seen they look to be… well, just people. I had to know the truth, that’s why I bartered his freedom in exchange for knowledge. What I found, Eito… it’s horrifying.”

Takumi recounts what he had learned from Murvrum. That they are not protecting the planet from invaders, but that they are invaders. Their mission is that of colonization.

All the while, Eito quietly listens and grimaces. He looks displeased, although not particularly surprised. Go figure. That misanthrope is probably seething on the inside. In hindsight, this is probably what Eito had been talking about when he’d gone spouting on about ‘the truth of this war’. How ironic, then, that it’s Takumi telling him about it.

“Are you sure that he was telling the truth?” Eito questions after he finishes his explanation. “It could be a trick to get us to stop fighting.”

“I wish,” Takumi sighs. “It just makes too much sense. I mean, why else would Sirei be so secretive about this war otherwise?”

Really, if the World Death explanation is true, why would Sirei have been so hesitant to tell them about it? It’s not like that isn’t info the enemy wouldn’t already know. His behaviour only makes sense in the context of a lie.

“I suppose that makes sense. Still, I would like to see for myself before making any big decisions. I’m sure the others would feel the same way.”

“Haaah, yeah, I get that,” Takumi says, flopping onto his bed. The two of them fall into silence. He’d thought of telling everyone himself, but it’s not like they would believe him as easily as they believed he and Eito are a thing.

That’s when Takumi has an idea. A way that he could put Eito on the back foot, regain control of the situation, and get petty revenge all in one swoop. He sits back up.

“Eito?” Takumi says, channeling what Karua had once called puppy-like energy, blinking at Eito with wide, guileless eyes.

“Y’know, what the others think of us… I wouldn’t mind if it were true,” Takumi mumbles the last part, suddenly overcome with shyness. The red in his cheeks is not a lie.

Eito pauses. He stares. Heh, he must be overcome with disgust that a filthy human feels this way about him.

Smugly, Takumi thinks there’s no way that Eito is going to agree. He is going to reject him, and Takumi is going to fake being sad, and then they’ll be on level ground again, no debts in sight.

There is no way this is going to go wrong.

“Oh, Takumi. I’d think I’d like that too,” Eito replies, smiling with gentle affection, a blush dusted across his cheeks.

What?!

Notes:

So I accidentally didn’t add Murvrum’s section in the end of last chapter. Whoops. Well, that just means you get an extra long chapter today :)

Chapter 6: This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Overly Long Chapter Title

Summary:

Takumi takes Eito out on their first date! They have a completely normal time!

Day 20

The evening light filters in through the ceiling-high windows, casting long shadows of desks onto the hard tile floor. Takumi sits at a desk, looking idly through the window, watching the wall of Undying Flames flicker. He ponders, mulls over one of the important questions in his life. The outcome of his answer will change the very fabric of his life. It would make or break him. There’s nothing more important.

“Let me confirm, you want to set up a date with Eito but you have no idea what to do?” Moko, who is sitting in a desk facing him, summarises.

“Yeah,” Takumi sighs. It’s quite a conundrum he’s found himself in. In order to keep Eito on the back foot in this weird-ass game of gay chicken they found themselves in, he has to make the first move, and the correct one to boot.

That’s where it gets difficult. In order to properly punish him Takumi is going to have to strike the right balance. If he pushes too hard, Eito will strike up an excuse to get away. If it’s too soft, then the whole venture would be pointless.

This is an area in which Takumi has no experience. He never had any interest in dating before, not even with Karua, so he can’t say that he’s thought about the matter deeply. In this sense, he’s a complete novice, so it’s logical for him to go to someone who knows what they’re doing, thus-

“Well, you’ve come to the right girl! Let love expert Moko guide your path to victory!” Moko declares. For reasons beyond his knowledge, she is wearing a pair of glasses without lenses. He’s not sure when and where she got them.

Takumi’s not sure going to Moko for advice is the best idea. He never got a chance to really know her in the first hundred days. It’s just that she seems very into romance and the like, so it’s logical that she could help guide him in his actions.

At least she’s seeming a lot happier than before, smiling and gesturing emphatically as she speaks. It’s far from the silent sorrow that he’d seen but didn’t know how to help with. That pain, it isn’t gone, still. He can’t see it in her eyes, a darkness that she’s pushing to the back of her mind in favour of helping Takumi with his little request.

Far be it for Takumi to judge her for using a distraction. He knows what it’s like, feels it every night after he lays in bed but before he falls asleep, the sorrow that forces itself intrusively into his brain, the could-have should-haves that torment him. He’s in the same boat as Moko, indirectly responsible for Nozomi’s death, only he doesn’t have the excuse of being mind-controlled.

Oh yes, where was he? Tormenting Eito, right. That’s much more fun to think about.

“So, I’m going to need your help on this. What does Eito like?” Moko questions, pushing up the nose of her useless eyewear.

“Eito? Well, he likes literature a lot, but he already spends a lot of time in the library…” Takumi muses, staring at the ceiling fan thoughtfully, his fingers tapping on the desk. “Other than that, he seems to be a fan of nature. I… don’t think it’d be good to make it an expedition, though.”

“There’s always the courtyard!” Moko says. “Oh! You could have a picnic!”

Takumi muses over the idea. It has promise, but it honestly seems a little… light, so to speak. He doesn’t want Eito to actually have a decent time. Although, it’s not like he could possibly enjoy actually spending time with a ‘filthy human’. He doesn’t know.

“Listen here Takumi, a good date needs a certain thing that sets it apart from a hangout with friends,” Momo declares, pointing one finger up to the ceiling.

“And that is?” Takumi asks.

“A way to let the other know just how much you like them. So long as you do that, it’s sure to bring you and Eito closer!” Moko says.

The idea of him and Eito getting closer… he can’t say he likes it, but it is, in a weird, twisted way, his goal here. It’s not like Eito would actually like such a things, considering all that he said during that dramatic, villainous monologue of his which sounded like it was ripped straight out of a light novel.

“You thought I actually liked you? Was that an idea that brought you comfort..? Oh, that’s gross… So very ugly…” Eito’s words from before flash through his head.

Seriously, could he get any more comically villainous? It’s unbelievable that Eito thinks himself the good guy after sprouting all that. Still, he ought to appreciate that rant. It gave him so much knowledge on what made Eito tick. Without it, he’d be up a shit creek without a paddle.

“I think you may be onto something..” Takumi mumbles. In his chest swells a burning determination. That’s it. This is how he makes Eito suffer while maintaining his facade. It’s all become clear.

He has a plan.

Oh, Eito is going to hate this.

 

DAY 21

 

Eito is, believe it or not, having a good time. The courtyard is a nice place, serene, with an abundance of flora and a fountain trickling water. It puts a rare sense of peace in his chest.

But he knows that this peacefulness is fake, the sounds of crickets from a recording. The wind and sunlight are from fans and lights. Every part is a simulacrum. In a way, it’s much like Eito himself.

It may be artificial, but that doesn’t mean that Eito doesn’t enjoy it. The warmth feels good on his skin, and the breeze ruffles his hair in a pleasant manner. It's close to the dream of unspoilt wilderness that Eito can get.

It’s just him, Takumi, and Moko hiding in the bushes. How does he know that Moko is here, you ask? He can smell her, the uniquely disgusting scent of sweat and rotting sugar that follows her around like a cloud. Also, he can see her purple clothes through the silver-green leaves of a wolfwillow bush. She’s not subtle.

“Here we are! I brought supper,” Takumi says, gesturing to the grass. There’s a large blanket spread out across the grass, on top of which is a picnic basket and the stereo that Ima had used to set the mood during the interrogation.

Takumi is especially excited today, like he’d been looking forward to this plan a great deal. He’s like an excited dog eager to go for a walk. Eito doesn’t mind it as much as he should.

“All this for me? You truly went out of your way, Takumi,” Eito graciously says, sitting down on the blanket. There appeared to be chips and sandwiches, as well as paper plates and plastic utensils in the basket. They are well set up.

“It’s no problem. I wanted this date to be a good one!” Takumi declares, plopping right back down beside him, a mere foot away, closer than what is comfortable.

A rustling sound comes from the bush. Takumi quickly glances at the source of the noise then busies himself with turning on the very same stereo that Ima had before. What comes out of it sounds to Eito’s ears like the unholy shrieks of the damned being tormented in hell. Eito suppresses a twitch of the eye.

Eito takes a bite of the sandwich in an effort to distract himself from the interlopers and the horrible excuse for music. Normally, having a human in such close proximity to him while he eats would spoil the food’s flavour, the scent of rot and shit drowning out any taste and making his stomach flip, but it’s not too bad, this time. Takumi doesn’t smell nearly as bad as the others. Yet another peculiarity.

“Truly, I’ve never had an experience like this. I spent so long hospitalized that I’ve never gotten to experience something like this,” Eito says. Quietly, he reaches for the stereo and turns the knob. The music changes to classical music that Ima must have loaded in beforehand. Much better.

Eito words are full of lies and half-truths, but there is a kernel of honesty. It is true that he spent much time hospitalized when he was young, he just didn’t specify that it was a psychiatric hospital. And it is also true that he never has done something like this before, but it was because of unwillingness, not inability. He had hated all of his so-called friends, could not tolerate them getting close.

Takumi is different, so unlike all the rest in their hideousness. His hopes for Takumi have only increased since they freed Murvrum together. With this action, Takumi has further proven that he is different from the others. He’s too nice, just too, too nice. He’s going to get himself in trouble someday. But Eito can’t be upset about that. It’s that very quality that makes him different from the rest.

Safe to say, Eito is no longer planning to kill Takumi. How could he kill the only person with a hint of decency in this group? Besides, Takumi is working with him now. He’s not the obstacle to his goals that he used to be. No, he’s an ally to Eito.

How very interesting, that Takumi.

“That sounds rough,” Takumi says sympathetically. Having such kind words come from a nasty voice is a little grating. Takumi reaches for the stereo and changes it. This time, sugary pop music that must be a sound based weapon assails his ears.

“Oh, it’s alright. That’s simply how the circumstances of my life ended up. There’s no use being upset.” Eito says.

He isn’t upset about how his life turned out. He can’t be. Doubting himself, his righteous eyes, would make it all, the suffering, the hate, for nothing. That is an interoperable prospect.

Eito changes the music again. Looks like they’re back to the jazz music. Much better.

“Still, it’s fine to be upset when things aren’t ideal. Otherwise, how can you possibly move forward?” Takumi says, frowning. Thankfully, he does not change the music again, too engrossed in their conversation.

Eito hums and nods like he’s considering Takumi’s ideas. In truth, his mind is somewhere else, his eyes having been caught.

Takumi is doing it again, the rippling. His features shift like disturbed water, from hideous to beautiful and back again.

For a single split second Eito sees it, all of it. Deep, ocean-blue eyes like gems with ruby red rings filled with softness. Smooth, soft, rose-red that fell across his forehead in an unkept way that only made him all the more attractive. A gentle yet dignified face free from blemish.

Beautiful. Takumi is truly beautiful.

Eito doesn’t dare blink in fear that it would go away, but it’s not up to him. He gets a mere two seconds of marvelling before the tides of beauty recede, leaving the hideous monstrosity that he’s always known. It’s saddening.

But it’s getting better. Slowly, Takumi is starting to look like a person to him. Even the monstrous form he’s reverting back to is not as ugly as usual. Perhaps there will come a day that he always retains that lovely form. But until then, he will simply have to grin and bear it as he’s always done.

Under the weight of Eito’s intense stare, Takumi flushes, his inflamed, leaking skin growing redder than usual. His gaze averts to the ground. He appears flustered, and it occurs to Eito that he ought to make an excuse.

“I’m sorry. You’re so beautiful, it’s hard not to stare,” Eito says, blushing. He’s honestly a little embarrassed being caught out like that.

Takumi makes a face like he doesn’t know what to make of that comment.

“Awww!” A voice comes out from the bush.

“Quiet!” A second voice hisses. It is…Kyoshika? He didn’t think she’d be the type. “They are going to hear us!”

“It’s a bit late for that!” Takumi yells. The bush rustles, then shifts wildly as two figures burst from behind it, booking towards the door.

“Retreat!” Kyoshika shouts, beating a hasty retreat alongside Moko. Both of them are running like death itself is on their heels. Kyoshika is Naruto running.

Kyoshika kicks the door open. There’s a cracking sound that Eito suspects came from the hinges. In an instant, she is gone. Moko winks and waves before shutting the door behind her.

Takumi sighs like he has aged ten years in the span of two minutes. Eito is simply glad that they are gone.

His comment about Takumi’s beauty goes unacknowledged. Takumi keeps looking away from him, his eyes shifting to and fro like he’s pondering something, or rather, considering a plan of action. The blush remains on his face.

Is Takumi shy about compliments? Interesting. He will keep this in mind for the future.

Eito is still observing Takumi’s shifting expression, which is the reason he sees it. The shifting consideration consolidating into determination. It’s the type of expression that Takumi wears on the battlefield, the hard-heartedness that allows him to cut down his opponents without mercy. How unusual, to see that determination here.

Takumi moves, reaching out. Eito sees what’s coming and dreads it. Still, he does not move as Takumi gently takes his hand.

Eito couldn’t help it, he stiffened, expecting what always happens when a human touches him. He expects that overwhelming sense of disgust, like he got feces on his gloves, or sludge. He anticipates that sickly warmth and pressure that makes him want to scrub his skin raw despite the protective barrier.

It doesn’t happen. Eito doesn’t feel that instinctive revulsion, that sliminess like fluids are seeping into his gloves. Instead, it’s just… warm. He can feel Takumi’s fingers, slender and strong, all correctly proportioned, wrapped around his own.

It’s pleasant, in an utterly unfamiliar manner. Eito isn’t sure what to make of it. There’s something in his chest, bubbling up like a boiling pot, leaking out from under the lid and dripping down the side. He can’t contain it.

“Takumi, I-”

*Vwaaah!* *Vwaaah!*

The intruder alert blares.

———

“Well, this is a pickle,” Eito sighs.

It is long past the nighttime announcement. Takumi is exhausted, his body crying out for rest even as it continuously throbbed in pain. It’s a struggle to keep his eyes open long enough for a conversation.

“Yeah…” that’s all that Takumi could muster up to say. Loathe as he is to concede to him anything, Eito is right.

“If we don’t do anything, Eva is sure to end up with a terrible fate. That machine Murvrum spoke of… I’m certain that it’s a brainwashing device of sorts,” Eito ponders, holding a hand close to his mouth in his ‘thinking pose’.

“Yeah…”

“Since we freed the last captive, Sirei is going to be much more cautious this time around. He’s not going to wait long before using it. I’d say we have a day at most.”

“Eito, I know!” Takumi snaps, patience snapping like a frayed rope.

“There’s no need to shout,” Eito reels back.

“Haaa, sorry,” Takumi sighs, rubbing his forehead to relieve the budding headache. God, he just wants to sleep. “Go on.”

“Fortunately, I thought ahead and found that device that Murvrum told you about. So long as Sirei doesn’t interfere, I might be able to sabotage it without him knowing,” Eito says.

Takumi looks at him. Eito is no Tsubasa but there’s no denying his intellect. If there’s a person in this academy capable of doing such a feat Eito would be top of the list.

“The challenge is keeping Sirei away while I work,” Eito says. “If he catches on, then it’s over for us both.”

“So I’m playing the distraction,” Takumi says. “Alright then.”

The fatigue dragging down his limbs only seems to increase. Takumi dreads the upcoming task, not because of the risk it poses, but because it’s tearing him away from his precious, his beloved, the light of his life. His bed.

This is going to be tiresome.

 

——-
Day 22

“Oh my god,” someone gasps.

Takumi, despite all his faults, can realize when he’s made a bad decision. This, he thinks, looking at the burnth wreck of the gymnasium, may, just maybe, perhaps, be one of them.

Fire had been absolutely everywhere, scorching the equipment, crawling across the floor, and climbing the walls like a sort of desperate spider. And it shows. Ash covers every square inch of the ruined room, along with that charcoal that used to be equipment. Not to mention the pervasive smell of smoke.

So, maybe arson was not the best plan. In his defense, he did not think that it would go up so fast. It was meant to be a small job. Grab some oil from the cafeteria, a blowtorch from the workshop, and bam! Sirei and Nigou will be so distracted that there’s no way they will notice Eito sneaking about.

To be fair, it did work.

“What kind of scoundrel could do such a thing?!” Kyoshika gasps, hand firmly on the hilt of her blade.

“It really is all burned to a crisp,” Yugamu muses, observing the scene calmly.

“No…even the dumbbells,” Shouma whimpers at the pile of ashes that used to be his work out equipment. Takumi is unsure how the metal dumbbells were destroyed considering they were, you know, metal.

The group banters back and forth, their absurd personalities crashing against each other and turning into a comedy routine. Takumi wonders why, is having a weird-ass personality a requirement for using hemoanima? What does that say about him? Is he as weird as the rest of them?! What a terrible thought.

“Does anyone have any idea who could have done this?!” Kako shouts over the din, glaring at them with puffed cheeks, her ‘detective face’ back on. Everyone goes silent as they glance at each other with suspicion.

Takumi does his best to act innocent, poorly mimicking the expressions that his classmates have. They may be an easily distracted bunch, but that doesn’t mean they would totally forget what happened just a couple days ago. He’s suspicious and he knows it.

Nobody says anything. All of them were dead asleep when this was all going down, except for him and Eito but they sure are not going to tell them that!

Eito’s innocent act is as good as ever. He looks perfectly confused and concerned, the picture of innocence. Just seeing that makes Takumi feel inadequate as an actor.

“Could it have been an electrical fire?” Takumi suggests.

“No.”

“…alright,” cowed, Takumi goes back to silence. Ignoring his dumb suggestion, the rest go back to their discussion.

“It seems there’s no way to know who did this,” Yugamu sighs. “Unless you are willing to let me tortu- massage information out of us?”

“Hell no!” Gaku yells.

“Mr. Maruko is right. Trying to torture information out of you will only make things worse. As it stands, there is no way to know who did this,” Sirei states, his stubby arms crossed. “It’s best we give up on this line of questioning for now.”

Then, his demeanor shifts. He glowers menacingly out from under the brim of his top hat, his beady eyes shining white from under the shadows. “But mark my words, when I figure out who did this… there will be consequences.”

A shiver runs down Takumi’s spine. He doesn’t know how a cartoon ghost robot manages to be menacing but by god does he manage it. That glare makes him want to shrivel up and die on the spot.

Boy is he sure glad that his and Eito’s plan worked out splendidly.

…

Wait… wasn’t he supposed to be working against Eito?

“By the way, I have news!” Sirei cheers, his mood swinging up like a pendulum fast enough to give Takumi whiplash. “We have a transfer student!”

“A transfer student?” Takumi echoes.

“Yeah, he just said that, peasant!” Kurara snaps at him.

“Peasant?” Takumi echoes again, still shocked by Kurara’s language despite spending months with her.

“Stop echoing me!” She snarls, waving her hands in the air.

“Say hello to Eva!” Sirei declares, setting off party poppers that he pulled from… somewhere. Glitter confetti lands in Takumi’s hair. His classmates' faces contort in displeasure as the same thing happens to them.

Distracted as they are with the mess Sirei made of their persons, when the sound of heels clicking against the floor hits them, their heads snap up all at once.

There’s a young woman approaching them calmly. Her long black hair gently sways from side to side as she moves, as with the streak of purple in her bangs. On her body is dark, intricate, form fitting armour. Serene lavender eyes set on a gentle face surveil the group, taking in their appearances, those who should rightfully be her mortal enemies, with the utmost tranquil tranquility.

“Hold on…” Takemaru says, stiff as a board. The captured commander does not hold on, instead coming to a stop in front of the group.

She looks at them and smiles, the perfect picture of a protective older sister, or perhaps a mother. Raising her hand to her chest, the commander declares with closed eyes.

“My name is Eva,” Eva says. She opens her eyes and clenches her fists, brimming with determination.

“Let’s kill lots of people together!”

Notes:

Not sure how satisfied I am with this chapter but eh, whatever.

Chapter 7: Two Idiots Get Wet

Summary:

It’s Eva’s turn with the braincell today.

Day 24

“I see, so that’s how Murvrum got free…” Eva says, her eyes glazed over with thoughtfulness. “I had wondered… he had been cagey about it.”

“How is he, anyway?” Takumi asks. He’s been wondering about him for days now, since he freed him, actually. He just hadn’t had the chance to ask.

Ever since the ‘second incident’, as they have taken to calling the arson of the gymnasium, their self-proclaimed commander has been breathing down their necks. It’s hard to get away from him. It’s why it’s taken them days to talk to Eva, and why they’re talking with her here, in the strange room with the capsules. It’s closed off, no windows, and thick, soundproof doors. No eavesdroppers.

“I am unsure about his exact status, but he’s most likely alright. Though… I doubt Veh’xness will be pleased with him,” Eva muses.

Right, Veh’xness. That woman who had shown up at the end of their battle with the merging commanders, giving them the opportunity to drag their battered bodies away. She was horribly powerful, double so now that Takumi messed around with time travel. Just what has he gotten them into?

“Veh’xness… that’s the Supreme Commander, right?” Eito questions.

“That’s correct. She is a terribly dangerous opponent who will stop at nothing to complete her goal and…” Eva trails off abruptly, her gaze sliding to the ground. She looks thoughtful, hesitant.

“And?” Takumi presses.

“…nevermind. She’s not the type to let cowardice go. Murvrum will have a difficult path ahead of him,” Eva says. She’s avoiding something. He wonders if he should press.

“I see. At least he has a chance to survive,” Eito says. The group falls into a comfortable silence, thick with thoughtfulness, each consumed by their own thoughts on the situation, on Murvrum. On mercy.

“…I have to thank you two,” Eva says. “If it weren’t for your efforts, I would surely either be a mindless husk bent on killing my own kind or dead. So for that, you have my gratitude.”

“Don’t thank me…” Takumi says, flustered, feeling entirely unworthy. “Eito did most of the work.”

He hates to admit it but that was true. Not only did Eito do a great job sabotaging the device in a way that Sirei wouldn’t notice, he even went out of his way to contact Eva and explain what was going on, which in turn allows her to fake being brainwashed, thus avoiding possible execution.

“Don’t be so modest, Takumi. If it weren’t for your stellar distraction I would’ve never been able to consult with Eva,” Eito proclaims, looking at him with those fake, earnest eyes.

“He’s right, don’t sell yourself short,” Eva agrees.

Takumi blushes and scratches his cheek. It feels strange to be complimented by his enemy like this. He definitely does not like it. Not at all. He feels nothing.

“That said, there’s something I have to ask you,” Eva tells them, abruptly growing serious and shattering the lighthearted mood around them.

“What is it?” Takumi questions, tilting his head. Eva meets his gaze.

“What exactly is your plan for me?” Eva asks. Good question.

“Uh,” Takumi says intelligently. Right. His plan. What was his plan again?

“Eventually, when we get an opportunity, I would like to be able to free you as well, but with how close Sirei is watching us. I don’t know how long that will take,” Eito says. “In the meantime, I would like you to keep pretending to be brainwashed. Unfortunately, you will likely have to fight against your own people to keep the act up, but if you focus on the minions instead of the commanders… I hope it will be bearable.”

Of course Eito already has one. He probably has at least five cooking in the back of his brain, each one more heinous than the next. But this one seems fine on the surface, so Takumi says-

“Yeah, what he said,” Takumi adds strainedly, pointing to Eito.

“What about your mission?” Eva presses, her lips in a thin line. “That weapon you have is truly atrocious. Surely you can’t allow this planet to be scorched to ruin?”

Takumi hadn’t thought that far. He was planning, if you can call it that, to cross that bridge when he gets to it. Figure things out as they come, as he’s always done.

“There’s a few options I have prepared,” Eito begins, speaking with that cadence that experience tells him he will be at it for a while. “I’ve been looking into ways to prevent the attack from occurring, although security is tight. I don’t know if that is going to be possible without using brunt force to break the weapon. Sirei is going to be a problem. Even if we get everyone on our side, he’s not going to let us revolt, so I don’t know if it’s wise to let others in on our plans. Worst comes to worst, we can attack at the last moment and stop it right then and there.”

Takumi feels dumb. “What he said,” he repeats.

Eva blinks, gaze thoughtful. He wonders what she’s thinking. Then, she smiles fondly at them. “You two are such good boys.”

Takumi flushes. “That makes me sound like I’m some sort of dog.” Like, he knows people say he follows Eito around like a puppy but being called a good boy is too much!

“It’s part of your charm,” Eito cheerily claims, furthering Takumi’s humiliation.

“You too, Eito?!” Takumi exclaims.

Eva chuckles, one hand over her mouth. It rings pleasantly, like silver bells. Takumi hates it.

“Speaking of, I had almost forgotten!” Eito suddenly declares.

“Forgotten what?” Takumi asks, instantly on guard. That happy expression of Eito cannot mean anything good, but he masks his suspicions as well as he can.

“You’ve been so generous towards me I decided to return the favour,” Eito explains. Every word coming out of his mouth only makes Takumi more suspicious of him. He reaches into one of his many pockets and takes out an item.

It’s a choker. No, calling it that is too generous. What this strip of deep blue leather resembles is more so a collar one would put on a pet dog than a fashion accessory.

Takumi gapes at the gift.

“Is this an invader courting tradition?”
Eva asks, tilting her head.

“Sorta?! Eito?!” Takumi exclaims, whipping his head around to the gifter.

“I thought it suits you,” Eito says simply, his smile giving nothing of his thoughts away. He tilts his head slightly, that grin growing fond and abashed. “And besides, you have given me so much already, I wanted to return the favour.”

Well, it’s true that Takumi has given him about five gifts in the past twenty four or so days, but he’d never expected reciprocity!.. maybe he should have expected something like this.

Well shit. With the attitude that Takumi has taken in regards to Eito, there’s no way that he can refuse a gift like this without looking suspicious, or worse, giving Eito an excuse to distance himself. In this situation, there’s only one choice, no matter how much he hates it.

Trembling, red with humiliation, he pulls the collar around his neck and snaps the latch. It fits snugly, but not tight enough to be uncomfortable.

Damn you, Eito. He has to get back at him for this! And there’s only one method to think of! His last attempt to drive him away through hand-holding may have backfired, but surely, getting a little closer than last time will trigger Eito’s disgust response.

Takumi determinedly steps forwards and throws his arms around Eito’s back. He really is annoyingly tall. The six inch difference in height means that Takumi is just at the right height to press his face into the crook of Eito’s neck. The rough fabric of his coat collar scrapes against his cheek.

He feels vindicated as Eito stiffens up like a toy soldier under his embrace. Hah, he’s probably hating this right now, choking down at having to endure Takumi’s stench and proximity right now.

But slowly, he goes lax in Takumi’s grasp. A set of arms loop around his shoulders, squeezing firmly. He can feel the brush of Eito’s gloved thumb press through his hood, looming threateningly over the frail bones of his neck. Takumi blinks, taking in the fact that Eito is returning this.

Is there no end to how far Eito’s willing to go to keep up the act?! He keeps on gripping him, even after Takumi loosens his hold in an indication to pull away. That stubbornness! It almost makes him wonder - no, there’s no way. Eito’s simply dragging this out for Takumi’s own discomfort. Finally, Takumi pats him on the back, and this time Eito takes the cue and releases him. He can practically feel Eva’s amusement emanating from her like a tangible force.

The door clicks. Takumi only has the wherewithal to realize that he forgot to lock it before the door opens. Meandering casually, unknowing of the secret meeting she walked into, is Tsubasa Kawana.

Tsubasa jumps a little when she sees them. Evidently, she was not expecting them to be here. “Oh, it’s you three. What are you talking about?” Tsubasa asked.

“Killing invaders!” Eva declares before Takumi, or more realistically Eito, could come up with an excuse.

“…right,” Tsubasa says dryly, raising an eyebrow like she doesn’t believe a word.

“What she means if that we’re discussing strategy for future battles,” Eito, ever silver-tongued, lies smoothly. Tsubasa gives him a Look but either decides she believes them or that it’s not worth the trouble to pursue and leaves it at that.

“Alright, just don’t drag Eva into anything weird, you two,” she tells them. Turns out it was the latter.

“Why does everyone treat us like this now?” Takumi bemoaned. Everyone ignores his cry for answers, perhaps because they have none themselves.

“See you later,” Tsubasa says. “Oh, and by the way, you may want to check out what’s happening outside.”

Without another word, she closes the door. She hadn’t even said what she was doing here in the first place but that is overshadowed by-

“Outside..? What did she mean by that?” Takumi says, a bead of nervous sweat dripping down his forehead.

“We can’t know until we see it for ourselves,” Eito replies, holding a hand to his mouth thoughtfully. The air around them has become thick with trepidation.

“Yes, let’s,” Eva concurs. Then, as one, they make their way out of the room, leaving the capsules of which despite his time travelling, he does not know the purpose or reason for.

The group heads straight to the Entrance Hall. It’s the same as it’s always been, golden walls and all. Just like how it was during their peaceful days, and exactly how it was during their fiercest battles.

Anxiety thrumming, Takumi pushes ahead of the pack and puts his hand on the door. Swallowing his fear, he shoves open the stiff metal door and beholds what awaits him on the other end. The thing that Tsubasa told them to look out for.

Ah, Takumi had forgotten.

Outside in the courtyard shadowed by clouds is the continuous pitter-patter sounds of thousands of tiny water droplets hitting soil. An unusual smell permeated the air, something musky, damp maybe. A cold wind, coupled with spits of water, hit Takumi’s face through the door opening.

“Is this..?” Eito mutters over Takumi’s shoulder. His presence presses close as he peers over his head.

“It’s rain,” Takumi says with a sigh. How underwhelming. Here he had thought someone was dying.

Suddenly, Eito slips by him gracefully and steps outside, out into the rain. What is he doing? He’s going to get wet.

But despite the rain, Eito turns to him with a pleased smile on his face. His eyes, behind glasses splattered with water, shines happily. “You should come out with me,” Eito says happily. “It’s nice!”

Takumi narrows his eyes but steps forwards anyway. As soon as he steps outside, rain pelts him in the face, making him squint his eyes. How is Eito enjoying this?

“What a wondrous phenomenon!” Eito says, even as he’s slowly getting soaked. Eito’s excitement seems so earnest, so disarmingly pure.

“Have you never seen rain before?” Eva questions.

“No, back at the TRC there was no rain, no wind or mist either,” musingly, Takumi explains, watching as the unfamiliar phenomena soaks everything in sight. “Honestly, it was convenient. It would suck going out like this.”

“Is that so,” Eva purses her lips, troubled and thoughtful. He wonders what she’s thinking about. Does she pity them?

“You’re such a pessimist, Takumi,” the ever-wetter Eito laughs. “It’s fine!”

“It’s wet is what it is,” Takumi complains. His bangs are sticking to his forehead. He’s gonna smell like a wet dog after this.

Yeah, that’s enough of standing in the rain. Eito’s insane. There’s nothing enjoyable about this. Takumi turns to go back inside-

And his foot slips out from under him. Before he knows it, he’s falling face-first onto the wet, muddy ground. Takumi lands hard on his hands, which too betray him by sliding out from under him, the work of that dastardly mud. He lands on his face in the wet, muddy puddle that he’d been inadvertently standing on. Muddy water soaks his jacket, his pants. He even feels it seeping into his underwear. This is the worst sensation he’s felt in his life. Even being trampled by invaders is pleasant by comparison.

“Are you alright?” Eito says. Takumi hears the splashing of two sets of feet coming towards him. He does not move.

“Just leave me to die,” Takumi whines, lying there in the mud like a corpse. He wonders that if he drowns in here will the Revive-O-Matic bring his back clean? That would be a fair trade-off for dying.

But his dreams of death are far off, as this puddle is not deep enough to drown in, and Eito won’t kill him with witnesses around. So, despite wanting nothing more than to fall into the void, Takumi pries himself out of the mud. Grabbing Eva’s hand, he pulls himself up, his pants making an awful shucking noise as they are freed from their prison.

Stupid Eito, with his stupid act and stupid dumb smile. Look at him, acting all innocent and sweet. He bets that he had planned this all from the beginning. Yes, it’s absolutely like Eito to plan for Takumi to fall in the mud. This is a revenge plot for the hug earlier.

Spitefully, Takumi shakes his head like a dog, spraying muddy rainwater onto Eito’s face. “Hey!” Eito cries out indignantly.

“Hey, Eito,” Takumi says darkly. He takes a step forward. Eito’s indignant expression falls into dread as he realises what’s happening. “Come and give me a hug,” Takumi grins viciously, holding out his arms.

“No thanks,” Eito says with a strained smile, backing away for every step Takumi takes towards him.

He’s not getting away that easily! Takumi breaks into a run, dashing aggressively toward Eito, heedless of the possibility of falling again. After all, he can’t get any dirtier!

At the last second, Eito side steps, gracefully dancing out of the way out of path of Takumi’s embrace. Takumi goes to pivot and -

His foot slides on the mud again. Instead of the elegant pirouette he intended, Takumi goes careening back into the muck. This time, he twists in such a way that he lands back first, knocking the wind out of him. Shocked, Takumi lays there. What remains of his dry and clean clothes quickly becomes soaked. There is now not a single spot on his body free from the shackles of wetness.

A soft chuckle fills the air. Eito, his rival, his archnemesis, the mastermind behind his suffering, is laughing at him. That will not do. Takumi has to get his revenge. The evil laugher cuts off as Takumi sits up with a fearsome glare. Eito’s smile only falters for an instant, despite Takumi’s best efforts. It’s as though he’s taunting him, daring him to try his best.

If that’s what he wants, Takumi’s more than happy to rise to the challenge. Again and again, he charges at Eito, intent to spread the misery that covers his body. He fails, each and every time, with Eito dodging out of his way as if he can predict his every move. It burns to know that he’s so transparent.

Worst still is amusement stretched across Eito’s face. He’s grinning, smugly, as Takumi fails yet again to spread his misery. There’s a strain in Takumi’s own face, and with a start, he realises what it is.

He’s smiling.

“Boys!” A stern voice calls.

Takumi immediately stops in his tracks. His heart skips a beat. That voice. It pierces him to his core, shackles his heart with chains and compels him. There’s no disobeying it. It… reminds him of his mother.

Eva stands in the doorway, her hands on her hips, leveraging the two young men a steely look. Not even Eito, the criminal mastermind, can resist the sheer force of Eva’s motherly presence. Obediently, like a duo of ducklings, they waddle back inside.

“You’re going to get sick playing out in the rain like that,” Eva scolds. “Look
at you, Takumi. You’re covered in mud! And Eito! You’re soaked!”

Takumi ducks his head in shame alongside Eito as they are scolded like children. A puddle slowly forms around their feet.

“Dry yourselves off and come to the cafeteria,” Eva demands. “I will make sure you don’t get sick.”

It is then that a squeaking sound catches there attention, the sound of cheap rubber soles sliding against tile. Synchronized, the three of them turn their attention to the door that separates the Entrance Hall and the hallway. It’s open. Someone is standing there.

Gaku blinks at them in shock. Undoubtedly, he too is shaken by Eva’s motherly tone and demeanor, especially since she is supposed to be brainwashed. Oh, this is bad.

“I mean, let’s kill lots of invaders!” Eva cheers with clenched fists.

Gaku blinks at them a second time. Takumi stands there, waiting for the shoe to drop. The instant stretches into seconds filled with an awkward silence as four people stared silently. Then it breaks, and Gaku turns and walks off, mumbling something under his breath about how he’s not paid enough for this shit. For once, Takumi agrees with him. Wait, does that mean that Gaku’s getting paid? Unfair.

“That was a close one,” Eito mumbles. “We’ll have to be more careful.”

“Yes, you’re correct. I apologize,” Eva says. Then, her expression hardens. “Still, I will not allow you two to stand there in muddy clothes. Go get changed.”

“Yes Mom,” Takumi grumbles. Eito huffs a quiet laugh at the remark but silences himself when Eva’s motherly glare lands on him.

Takumi trudges upstairs, leaving a long trail of mud and water behind. The classmates he passes give him long questioning looks that he ignores. Takumi strips off his sodden clothes with a sigh of relief and also dread on how difficult they’re gonna be to clean. He gives his face and hair a rinse then slips on a clean pair of clothes and slips back downstairs to the cafeteria.

“Welcome back,” Eito greets. He’s sitting at a table, holding a steaming mug and a blank slung across his back. His jacket is hanging off the back of his chair, Takumi notices. This is the first time he’s seen him without any huge coat. It’s plainly odd. Eito’s not as scrawny as Takumi thought he’d be. There’s serious muscle under that long-sleeved T-shirt.

It’s when Eito’s smile starts to strain around the edges that Takumi realises that he’s been staring at him for at least five seconds without saying anything.

“Sorry,” Takumi coughs into a fist. “It’s just that I haven’t seen you without that jacket before, so,” he cuts himself off, not knowing what he means to say.

“It’s alright,” Eito responds. Is it just him or does Eito seem the slightest bit… flustered? Takumi narrows his eyes. There is the faintest dusting of red on his cheeks, probably from suppressed rage. He will keep this in mind later.

“Sit down,” Eva commands. “I made tea to warm you up.” She sets down a steaming mug full of translucent yellow-green liquid. The smell of lemon and ginger hits his nose.

“You have some mud, right there,” Eito pokes his cheek. Takumi glares and scrubs at the area, his hand coming back with dirt.

“I’ll get you one day,” he hisses. By the way that Eito’s grin grows, it doesn't have the effect that he intends. He only looks all the more smug, which Takumi had thought impossible until now.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Eito says, then he takes a sip of his tea, eyes narrowing in a way that suggests glee.

“As long as you keep that for later, and clean up all the mud you tracked in,” Eva says. She really is taking up a motherly role here, isn’t she? It feels odd.

“Okay, Mom,” Eito replies, the epitome of casualness.

Takumi chokes on his tea. To call a young woman, who they hardly know by the way, that unsarcastically… Eito truly has audacity unlike any other. He coughs, laughs incredulously. The unabashed smile that he gets from Eito, and the vaguely pleased air around Eva, only makes him laugh harder. How ridiculous these two are, acting like mother and child without any shame! Eva, maybe wouldn’t surprise him, given that he knows nothing about her, but didn’t Eito once say-

He said that he killed his own family.

Suddenly, the mirth that had built up over the course of the day is gone, flushed down the drain. In its wake is an awful hollowness in his chest, expanding like space and crushing like a black hole. The vacant space in him aches.

Why are you sitting here, laughing with him like nothing is wrong? This is the one who tried to kill you not once, but twice in the past month. He’s killed his own parents and he’s planning to kill your friends too, and here you are playing with him like you’re actually friends, and not foes slipping under each other’s skins to gain an advantage.

“What’s wrong?” Eito asks. He’s looking at him with concern painted across his face. Concern that is fake. Just another feigned aspect of friendship to take advantage of Takumi’s naivety.

Takumi looks at him. That look of his makes his stomach churn. Faintly, he can see his face reflecting in the lens of Eito’s glasses, not clear enough to discern.

“I’m fine,” Takumi says, voice a dull croak. Eva frowns at him, plainly concerned. He wonders if that emotion is any more real than Eito’s. Takumi grimaces.

“It’s fine,” he echoes, averting his eyes from the two actors. Takumi stands, putting down the cup of tea and letting the blanket draped over his back fall. Without casting a single glance, he leaves the traitor and the captured commander behind.

————————————————

Eito watches silently as Takumi slinks out of the cafeteria.

What was that about? One moment, they had been laughing, enjoying each other’s company, and the next, Takumi had gone silent, his beautiful face sunk into this awful hollow expression, like all the joy had been sucked out of him. It had happened out of nowhere, with no warning, nor a clue as to why.

He frowns, the expression mirrored on Eva’s revolting face in a much uglier way. This is no good. Had he done something wrong? Eito can’t think of anything, perhaps there’s something in Takumi’s past, something hard, that he was suddenly reminded of.

Come to think of it, he doesn’t know that much about Takumi, does he? He knows his personality, hopelessly caring and cute. He knows his interests, popular movies and manga, but his past? His values? All that is a blank.

No good. If Eito wants to keep Takumi at his side, he needs to know him. Otherwise, he risks stepping on hidden landmines, poking sore spots, or simply not knowing how to be the type of person that Takumi will want to keep by his side. This is an unacceptable state of affairs.

He thinks of a magazine he saw in the library.

Yes, that would do.

Chapter 8: Eito Aotsuki Speedruns Getting Smitten (Any%)

Summary:

Eito uses a not-so clever method to get to know Takumi. Yugamu is a menace to society and Takumi continues to regret every single one of his life choices.

DAY 27

A dart, steel tipped and elegant, soars through the air. With a thunk, it embeds itself in the dartboard within the 18th section, just a smidge too low to be a double.

“Say, Takumi. If you could have your choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?”

Part one of Eito Aotsuki’s plan is a go. Earlier today, he managed to rope Takumi into playing darts with him in the Rec Room, under the pretense of wanting to spend time with him, a break from their constant training. It isn’t completely a lie, but to say that Eito has no ulterior motives would be false. He never not has ulterior motives. Regardless, what he’s doing here is sly, but innocent. He wants to get to know Takumi better, and so, for that end-

A second dart hits the board. This time it’s a twenty, about an inch above the bullseye. Pausing, the recipient of the question keeps the third and final dart in hand as he turns his attention to the asker.

Takumi tilts his head, a confused frown crossing his face. His eyes search Eito’s face, like he’s trying to figure out where this came from. Fair enough, Eito couldn’t find a better way to slot the question into conversation organically, so it may have come out of left field, and he is not about to give context. That would give away his game plan.

“I don’t know… maybe a celebrity or something?” Takumi says, fiddling with the collar wrapped around his neck idly. Eito is pleased to note that he has hardly taken it off. He likes seeing it on him, a mark of Eito’s interest, his fondness, that he can focus on even when Takumi reverts back to his disgusting state, which is still more common than he’d like. “What about you?”

“Me? I suppose it’d be nice to talk to a famous author or a scientist,” Eito muses. No matter how disgusting a human is, there’s no denying that picking the brain of an intellectual could be very beneficial for his cause, not to mention the leverage Eito can get with an influential person on his side. Yes, he can tolerate a monster if it benefits him.

“Should’ve figured you’d say something like that,” Takumi mutters, throwing the third and final dart. This time it hits a triple 19. Eito isn’t closed off about his interests, except for the downfall of humanity, but the assured way that Takumi says that strikes him as odd, like he has known him longer than this past month.

Hm, he must be overthinking things, Eito muses as he notes down the hits. Takumi already has his 19s, so he puts it down as a triple.

“You know, my childhood friend’s Mom is a researcher,” Takumi continues. Eito snaps his attention back to him immediately. This is the kind of information that he’s been fishing for.

“What does she study?” Eito inquires.

“Honestly, I never figured that out. Karua didn’t talk about it, and I didn’t talk to her mom much,” Takumi sighs. Then, he wilts, and mutters in a sorrowful voice “she’s gone now.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Eito says consolingly. He’s only sorry as far Takumi misses her.

“It’s fine,” Takumi does not look in his eyes as he says that, keeping them firmly on the wooden table.

Judging by that tone, it is not fine. Grief is not a concept that Eito can understand. Sure, he has encountered it in his readings many times, can analyze it and break it down into its components, but in a holistic sense, he has never known what it feels like. He cannot relate to the despair in knowing that someone is gone from the world, as he’s only known relief. Even now, while Takumi wears that haggard expression of misery, his eyes glazed over, tears budding in the corner from a mere reminder, Eito can't feel anything other than discomfort from being in this situation, and a desire to wipe all thoughts of this ‘friend’ from Takumi’s mind.

But such a thing is not possible, not now. Perhaps later, when their relationship progresses he can replace this friendly figure in Takumi’s mind. If not that, and this figure becomes a problem, forming a barrier between him and Eito, there’s always that device that Sirei had meant to use on Eva. He’s sure that he can use it, given enough preparation.

“I’m sorry if I brought up bad memories,” Eito apologises further.

“Eito, I said it’s fine,” Takumi replies, a hard edge in his voice. “Let’s just talk about something else.”

Eito may not be the best at reading a room, such a feat is hard when everyone looks like horrific monsters, but he does know when to stop pressing an issue. So, he lets it slide

“There is something that I’ve been wondering,” Eito asks, affecting innocence.

“Hm?” Takumi hums, tilting his head in a puppy-like manner. It’s very cute.

“What do you value most in a friendship?”

Question #16. Eito opted to jump ahead, as this one is more important than the rest. This, he can use as a guide.

“Trust, I guess. It’s harder said than done, though.”

Takumi has had no issue trusting Eito, though, and that thought makes him preen inside. But the look that he gets as he says it is disconcerting. He is staring into the distance, eyes unfocused. There’s more to the story, here, possibly another sore spot, but Eito is nothing if not exceptionally curious, and he can’t help himself.

“Why so?” Eito asks.

“…bad experiences, I guess.”

“Did someone hurt you, Takumi?” Eito asks, outwardly concerned, inwardly already plotting ten ways to murder whoever would betray Takumi.

Takumi is too kind, a well meaning fool. That Eito had known from the moment they met, even before he learned of Takumi’s inner beauty. It would be all too easy to use him for one’s own benefit. Eito, ashamedly, had been planning on doing exactly that. It would be no surprise that a filthy human had already done so, taken advantage of Takumi’s good nature and wrung him out to dry.

“Yeah…” Takumi admits, eyes shadowed by his bangs. He casts his gaze low, avoiding looking Eito in the eye.

“I… I’ve been betrayed, before. Violently,” came the quiet confession. Righteous rage churns in Eito’s chest, burning and spreading through his body.

“Who?!” Eito demands. Takumi hunches in his seat and he realises that that came out with too much intensity.

“It doesn’t matter. That person is gone now. Didn’t survive the attempt,” Takumi mutters.

The implications of his words click like perfectly matched puzzle pieces. Takumi had killed her, the person who had dared harm one of the precious two decent humans alive. He feels a swell composed of relief and affection crash through his chest like an ocean wave. Takumi is more like Eito than even he had thought.

Abruptly, it’s like a veil is lifted from his vision. What remains of that distortion that twists Takumi’s form into that of a hideous beast, which had been rising and falling like the tides, suddenly retreats. That deep, incomprehensible ocean that has clouded over Eito’s perception all this time is gone, leaving the metaphorical beach in its wake. The sparking sand which reflects upon the moon’s light, dazzling and beautiful, is all that he sees.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that he has seen Takumi like this, but somehow Eito is experiencing a sense of finality, of permanence. He knows, without experience, that he won’t be seeing Takumi as a monster anymore.

This realisation is enough to distract Eito from the matter at hand, until Takumi’s hand, shaking, catches his eye, and he realises that he’s been staring, not responding, for the better part of ten seconds. Eito snaps back to the matter at hand, shoving back the sense of awe that overcame him.

He puts a hand on Takumi’s shoulder and puts on an appropriately sympathetic expression, hiding his glee under several layers of not-quite-fake compassion. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. I promise that you will never have to worry about that from me.”

Something dark and complicated flashes through Takumi’s eyes faster than he can read it. It is gone in a flash, leaving Eito unnerved, not knowing what the one decent person is thinking or feeling.

“Ugh, how did we get back to this topic?” Takumi complains, stepping aside and breaking the physical contact connecting them. Eito’s fingers twitch with the urge to grasp and hold on. “Could we just go back to playing darts?”

The words that Takumi said echoes through Eito’s mind. His brain whirls like gears as he further processes the information. Lines of thought, both parallel and converging, are sifted through with lightning speed.

‘Didn’t survive the attempt,’ Takumi had said, about the person who hurt him.

‘She’s gone now,’ Takumi had told, about his old friend.

All his thoughts converge on one point. One small, but infinitely important fact.

Karua is lucky that she’s dead.

That's all there is to it.

“Of course,” Eito says instead. It’s his turn to throw.

One, two, three. Eito makes sure not to throw too accurately, deliberately missing the high-value, difficult-to-hit targets such as the triples. He does, however, finish off his 14s. As it is, the game is close, with neither competitor pulling significantly ahead. He notes it down, pulls out his darts, and steps back while Takumi takes his turn.

Now, Takumi is distracted. He won’t be watching Eito’s movements. This is an excellent opportunity.

Stealthily, as not to attract attention, Eito slips a hand into one of his many pockets and takes out a magazine. After a quick glance - Takumi is still lining up his shot - he flips it open to the bookmarked page. With speed gained from years spent with his nose in books, Eito reviews the contents.

“Ah!” Takumi cries out.

A jolt of pain shoots through Eito’s arm. Reflexively, he drops the magazine in shock and twists his head to look at the source of the pain.

There’s a dart embedded in his arm.

“I’m sorry!” Takumi sounds horrified as he scuttles over, grabbing Eito’s injured arm. “I didn’t mean it! It bounced off the wire, I swear!”

Eito looks at the dart that had priced through his coat. There’s only about a centimetre visible above the fabric of his sleeve. Just how hard had Takumi thrown the thing?

“I- I’ll get some supplies from the Bio Lab,” Takumi stutters.

“No need,” Eito says, and plucks the dart from out his arm. It hurt, but compared with the pain he’s experienced fighting commanders, it’s nothing much. Takumi winches and turns away. Squeamish, huh?

“We should still go and get a bandage, at least! You’re bleeding!” Takumi gestures to his coat, on which a red dot is slowly growing.

There’s that puppy-like aspect to Takumi. He hadn’t seen it in a few days with all the stress that’s been happening. How cute to see Takumi fret over him like this. Alright, he will go along with it, if only for Takumi’s state of mind.

“If you insist,” Eito concedes. He’s not blind to Takumi’s guilt-tinted relief, nor does he miss Takumi dipping down to grab at the magazine Eito dropped.

Obediently, he allows Takumi to lead him through the halls by hand, silently enjoying the warmth through his glove. No matter the size of the academy, it’s only one building, so it’s all too soon that they reach the Bio Lab, and Takumi lets go of his hand in favour of pulling open the door.

Instantly, Eito slams up his defences against the hideous being that awaits him. He avoids looking at that thing’s visage directly, for just looking at that thing’s bulging, seeping flesh horrifies him. He tries not to breathe too deeply, a paltry defence against the scent of rot and vomit that assails him. Most importantly, he shoves on the guise of ‘completely normal human being’ Eito Aotsuki.

“What do I owe you two cuties for a visit? Are you here for a nice relaxing tortu- I mean, massage?” Yugamu says, holding one hand up in what’s meant to be a friendly manner, but is actually a threatening brandish of twisted, broken fingers and claw-like nails. His voice grates on Eito worse than nails on a chalkboard. He could go on, but there’s no point.

It’s incredibly uncomfortable, and utterly normal.

Out of all the monsters within the academy, Yugami has to be one of most monstrous, and that is saying something considering the competition. Eito wouldn’t need his righteous eyes to see Yugamu’s vile, true nature, he does not bother to hide it from anyone. He is obsessed with torture and murder, and even openly admits to killing people! (Eito knows he’s also done that but it’s different when it’s him). How vile, he doesn’t even get points for dropping the pretense.

“Don’t be weird. I just hit Eito with a dart, so I’m getting him some bandages,” Takumi scowls at him. The knowing, mischievous smile that crosses Yugamu’s face in turn makes Eito’s skin crawl. The contrast between the beauty and the beast only makes him want to hide Takumi away where no one can touch him. Alas.

“You know there’s much better tools for-” Yugamu starts to say, only to be interrupted by Takumi.

“It’s not like that! Why does everyone think we’re up to some weird shit?!” He exclaims, cheeks burning red from humiliation as he gestures.

“It’s because your wearing that collar. What are we supposed to think?” Yugamu, who is only growing all the more hideously amused, says.

“W-wait, really?!”

Eito gives Yugamu a less than pleased look. If this pervert causes Takumi to stop wearing the gift he got him there is going to be hell to pay. The monstrous pervert only smirks back at him.

In a split second decision that may come back to haunt him, Eito lets his friendly facade fall away and glares at Yugamu full force. Yugami shivers, clutching his arms, corpse-pale cheeks reddening. “Ah~ what a look!” He practically moans, making Eito regret his decisions.

“Huh?” Takumi looks back. Eito fixes him with a placid smile. Takumi squints at him suspiciously.

“Where are the bandages?” Eito enquires, very stealthily and tactfully changing subjects.

“Oh, yes, yes. Here you go,” Yugamu, apparently done being a pervert for two seconds, finds the bandages easily (Eito notes the location) and hands it to him.

“Thank you,” Eito says, not thankful in the slightest. He would have gotten them faster had this ugly pervert not become so distracted with his unsightly, lascivious fantasies.

Eito rolls up the sleeve of his jacket. Every inch of skin bare makes him feel like he’s becoming contaminated. He wraps his arm as fast as he can then rolls down his sleeve. Once he’s alone he can scrub and disinfect the wound all he wants, and boy does he want.

There’s a spot of blood on his sleeve. That’s going to be annoying to clean up, but it’s nothing he’s not unfamiliar with. At least it’s not like the situation when he was fifteen with that girl and the popsicle. Now that had been an utter pain in the ass to clean, but at least now Eito knows to use cold water for bloodstains, and the value of unconventional weapons.

“While you’re here, I may as well mention,” Yugami starts, taking advantage of Eito’s brief ‘distraction’. That tone of his tells Eito that whatever he says it’s not going to be good.

“I’ll let you borrow the restraints you gave me, Takumi.”

…what?

Eito freezes like a deer caught in headlights, one hand on his sleeves cuff. His mind whirls like loose gears, spinning towards nowhere as he processes the implications of Yugamu’s words. Takumi… had given Yugamu restraints. The only restraints in the Gift-O-Matic are meant for ‘adult activity’. Ergo, what Takumi had given Yugamu…

A scorching rage threatens to burn him from the inside out. A righteous anger, tinged with an emotion that he can’t recognize. How dare he?! Yugamu…!

“Don’t look at me like that, Eito! They’re for torture! Torture! Not… those activities!” Takumi blusters, waving his hands about wildly, face red.

Yugamu chuckles. He is now first on Eito’s list. If this monster gets through the hundred days alive it’ll be because Eito died for good. He would say that he’ll make it painful except this beast would probably like that. No, for him the scythe of death shall come swift and merciless.

“I’m sure you have a similar excuse for the ‘massager’ you gave to Kyoshika,” Yugamu adds cheekily. Eito’s mind instantly connects to the obvious vibrator listed in the catalogue. He clenches his teeth. Had Takumi been giving everyone suggestive gifts?!

“Huh? Is that not what it was? I thought her muscles would get sore,” Takumi tilts his head in that puppy-ish way and it’s impossible for Eito to stay mad at him.

“Oh, you sweet summer child. You know nothing, don’t you?” Yugamu teases.

As much as he hates to concede a point to a monster, Yugamu is clearly correct in this regard. Takumi had no idea that his gifts could be taken this way, and that’s the only reason that this shall go without punishment. It calms him down, if only a little.

“You need to be more careful Takumi. You’re going to give people the wrong idea,” Eito scolds. Takumi winces slightly at his less than perfectly gentle tone.

“Sorry! I didn’t realize it would be taken that way!”

Eito sighs. So long as Takumi knocks it off, he can forgive this. If he kept on… flirting like that, he doesn’t know what he would do.

The thought of Takumi becoming one of those monsters’ consort is one that Eito cannot abide. He’s not allowed to be with anyone other than Eito! He’s his and his alone!

…what did he just think?

“I guess the wedding dress was misleading too…” Takumi mutters under his breath, not quiet enough to escape Eito’s notice.

“You gave someone a wedding dress?!” He narrows his eyes. Whom.

“Oh my, Takumi. Had I not known you have eyes for I’d think you’re trying to seduce the whole academy,” Yugamu teases. Takumi reaches his breaking point.

“Alright! I'm done here! If you’re fine, Eito, then let’s be getting back!” Takumi snaps, whirling around and storming out of the Bio Lab like a storm. With a small smile as a goodbye, Eito follows after him, leaving the pleased Yugami behind.

“That Yugamu… he’s always so, ugh!” Takumi complains noisily.

“Agreed,” Eito replies affably. It’s an incredible relief for it to be just the two of them, no monsters in sight. It feels right, like it’s meant to be. If only it can stay that way, forever.

“Why does he have to be like that!I can’t believe- huh,” Takumi suddenly breaks away from his rant, seemingly remembering the magazine he’s still carrying. “Oh, yeah, this is yours right? What have you been reading…”

With no regard to privacy Takumi flips open the magazine. Eito knows now that he has been caught. Takumi will see what he has been reading and put two and two together.

36 Question to Fall in Love

That is the title of the magazine Eito is referencing. These questions were designed specifically to foster closeness between two strangers, or so it claims.

“What a minute…” Takumi says slowly, and Eito then knows that he’s been caught. “I thought you’ve been acting strange! That’s what you’ve been asking me? Questions from a relationship quiz?!”

“Thirty-six questions to fall in love,” Eito confirms shamelessly, his smile unfaltering.

Takumi rubs his face. “You’re unbelievable,” he complains with no heat.

“Why thank you.”

“Geez, if you’re gonna ask me a bunch of questions, you owe me at least a few back!” Takumi, scowling, points a finger.

“Go ahead,” Eito says agreeably. Takumi seems a little startled by his easy acceptance.

“Let’s see,” Takumi murmurs, eyes moving back and forth as he checks the question list.

“Here. If you knew that in one y- hundred days you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are living now?”

Interest question to hop straight to. Takumi must not be one to beat about the bush. It’s serious, but well, Eito owes him an honest answer after that grilling… or so he’d like to say. In truth, that is but an excuse to close the distance between them. Eito mulls over the question for a moment, then speaks.

“If I knew that I would die soon, then I would work harder to achieve my goals. I may not be able to complete them entirely, but if I was able to do all that I could, I could die satisfied.” That is what he tells, not a word of falsehood. Although, he’s not being forthcoming in what his goals are in the interest of preserving their relationship.

Takumi gives him an oddly blank look, as if he had not expected him to answer in earnest. That’s fine. He’s only getting to know Eito better. Without another word, Takumi shifts to the next question.

“Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die? Like, do you think that you’ll end up stabbed through the chest or something?”

Eito raises an eyebrow. That’s oddly specific. One would think that Takumi is drawing from past experiences when he talks like that.

…could it be, that was the fate of ‘Karua’? How brutal, fitting for a traitor who hurt Takumi’s heart.

On the other side of Eito’s look, Takumi comes to his own conclusions and flushes. The reason, if he has to guess, is a misinterpretation of Eito’s facial expression. It’s likely that he thinks Eito is opposed to the question.

“Nevermind. Share an embarrassing moment in your life.” This interrogation is moving astonishingly quickly. He’s a little sad about it. At least this is an easy one.

“I wet my bed regularly until I was in fifth grade,” Eito confesses.

“H-huh?” Takumi gasps, gaping at him. Under such scrutiny Eito can’t help but get the sense he overshared. He cringes inside, hoping that Takumi won’t be scared off.

“I’m sorry, was that too much. I can never read a room,” Eito apologizes with a sheepish look. The look on Takumi’s face isn’t that of pure disgust, so it should be fine, right?

“It’s fine. I mean, I’m the one who asked,” Takumi mutters, scratching at his reddened cheek. Whew, looks like it’s fine.

“Would you like to ask anything else?” Eito offers consolingly.

“Nevermind. This was a dumb idea anyway,” Takumi sighs regretfully. Eito can’t help it, he pouts, to which Takumi narrows his eyes. “…why are you looking at me like that? Was this not your intention?”

There’s a hard edge to those words that he doesn’t know what to make of. It’s like Takumi thinks he’s lying or being conniving!

“Of course not,” Eito replies. He’s a little affronted. Since when has he lied to Takumi? Aside from his true thoughts, feelings, and plans to eradicate humanity, there’s nothing!

“Riiight,” Takumi drawls.

And that puts an end to the bizarre game of twenty questions that Eito started. Although it has not gone as planned, today has been illuminating. He’s learned much.

Takumi has been unintentionally flirting with half the class. Takumi had a childhood friend named Karua who betrayed him and got killed by the sword, presumably by Takumi. Those two are the most important facts, and shall be his guiding force for his next moves.

Eito clearly has not been proactive enough. Takumi’s gift giving tendencies have gone too far, and who knows who may misunderstand his intentions and take advantage of his good nature? There is no telling who may come on to him next. This is an unacceptable state of affairs. Takumi is his and his alone.

He needs to make this clear.

It’s time for Eito Aotsuki to enact the second stage of his plan.

Chapter 9: This Game of Gay Chicken is Starting to Get Out of Hand

Summary:

The second part of Eito’s plan has commenced. Naturally, Takumi misunderstands things.

DAY 30

Takumi Sumino lays on his bed, staring up at the ceiling unblinkingly. He’s so still that one could mistake him for sleeping with his eyes open, or drugged into a paralyzed state, but neither of those are the truth. In reality, he’s simply so deep in thought that the outside world has been all but forgotten.

Not that he’s getting anywhere with his thinking. Takumi, unfortunately, is not the smartest of boys. Good natured, yes, but clever? There’s a reason that his grades weren’t the best even when Karua harassed him into studying. Perhaps there’s some merit to the dog comparison, after all… he’s still wearing that freaking collar.

“Are you alright..?” A soft voice, wavering like the edges of flames, asks.

Takumi blinks, coming out of his trance-like state. He sits up and turns his head. There, gazing upon him with magenta eyes full of concern, is the boy made out of Undying Flames.

“Ye,” is all Takumi has to say. The gears in his brain whirl uselessly until one catches and he thinks to ask a pertinent question. “Why the visit?”

The boy frowns, and Takumi senses he’s made a misstep. “Not that you need an excuse! I just wonder why now of all times?”

“…I try not to appear like this too often, because it uses much of my power, but Eito’s been on the move,” the boy says.

Strangely, what Takumi felt in the moment he learned that was not along the lines of dread, anxiety, or even anger. Rather, he’s hit with a wave of relief as a tension he hasn’t noticed he’s been carrying leaves his shoulders.

Finally, this emotion says. Finally, Eito is leaving behind this persona he’s built up, the caring boyfriend who’s curious about his past and just wants to help. He is starting to act as the person Takumi knows he is, conniving, cruel and utterly vicious. The wait is over. Takumi can stop pretending too. All that’s left is to stop whatever nasty scheme is laying in wait.

“I’ve been watching him when I can… a couple days ago he was up late at night, using the Gift-O-Matic,” the ghost boy explains, gaze averted pensively as he recounts what he has seen.

“Did you see what he made?” Takumi asks, putting a hand to his mouth. Whatever it is will be the biggest clue to Eito’s operation. He needs to know.

“It was dark, so I’m not sure, but… I think they may have been candles, as well as some sort of electronic device. There were other items as well, but I wasn’t able to identify them,” the ghost boy says to him.

Candles and electronics. That does not bode well. What could Eito be planning to use these for? Nothing good, that’s certain, but the specifics elude Takumi. It likely has to do with fire, given the candles, but other than that? He has nothing.

Takumi is going to have to keep a very close eye on Eito.

“What should we do now?” The boy asks. There’s an element of excitement to the boy’s demeanor, a gleam in his eyes that suggests a growing proclivity to mischief. More than that, it’s an expectation. One that Takumi can’t fulfil.

“I… don’t really know. Honestly I’m flying by the seat of my pants here,” Takumi admits shamefully. It kills him to see the spark in the other’s eye die out, replaced by disappointment.

“…you still are very bad at making plans,” the ghost boy murmurs, subdued.

“-gh!” Takumi feels called out. He can’t deny it. He’s been winging this whole thing. Still, he can’t help but defend himself. “Some of my plans worked!”

“Like the one that burned down the gym,” the ghost boy says.

Takumi cringes “You know about that…” he mutters, reaching up to fiddle with his collar. How terrible that that’s becoming a nervous habit.

The boy does not grace that with a reply. Of course he knows about it. Takumi specifically asked him to keep an eye out so Eito doesn’t murderer him while his back is turned. Naturally, that means that he’s watching.

God, how must this look to him? After all, this is the boy whose very purpose is to power the weapon in the Defense Room. He is the embodiment of their mission. The one that they are defending with their lives over and over again. And here Takumi is - the one who travelled back in time for the sake of the mission, turning around and sabotaging it. But if he knew the truth, then surely he’d understand. Even if he was raised for this, he still has a moral compass, right?

“Do you know what our mission really is?” Takumi inquires. The boy looks at the floor, shame colouring his delicate features.

“…yes. I overheard you talking about it,” he says quietly.

“Then you understand why I’m doing this,” Takumi replies firmly.

The ghost boy doesn’t reply. It’s clear that what Takumi is saying is true. This boy can’t argue against him as he knows that what they’re doing here is immoral. That's why he hasn’t stepped in, hasn’t ratted them out to Sirei.

“We’ve gotten off topic,” Takumi says, after a long pause. “Eito.”

That’s their biggest concern here. Eito is on the move. With all the evidence piling up, there’s only one option that makes a lick of sense.

“He’s going to try to kill me again.” That, is the morbid conclusion that Takumi comes to.

Takumi had known that it would come back to this, just like how it’d been during the first timeline, with Eito lying, luring him out with bloody intentions. He grimaces, recalling the brutal impact to the back of the skull that knocked him out in the wastelands. It’d been a stroke of luck that he survived. Still, better that it’s him hurt than anyone else.

“Are you certain that’s what’s going on?” That voice broke through his thoughts. Takumi looks at the ghost boy, who’s regarding him with an expression that’s hard to place. Pursed lips and an intense gaze.

“Huh?” Takumi utters, tilting his head. What else could Eito possibly be planning?

“…I know I’m far from an expert, but it’s starting to sound like he may be genuine,” the ghost boy suggests, still with that strange look on his face. Now that’s a suggestion he can’t even consider.

“That’s ridiculous. There is no way that he’d actually like a ‘hideous monster’ like me,” Takumi counters, using his fingers to make air quotes. He hopes his face conveys how ridiculous that prospect is. The guy wants to eradicate humanity for god’s sake! There’s no way in hell that he’s come around to Takumi of all people.

“It is absolutely impossible,” Takumi concludes, hands on his hips.

How goddamn pathetic would he be if he even allowed himself to consider that possibility after everything that happened. It’s not like the first timeline, where Takumi was blissfully ignorant. Back then, it would have been fine for him to get caught on that thought. After all, the Eito he thought he knew had been so soft, so kind, that having him like Takumi like that would be no surprise. He could think of Eito’s soft blue eyes, and pretty hair and think that, if Eito liked him like that, it would’ve been okay. But that’s not here, that’s not now. It’s not okay.

The ghost boy gives him a long look that feels like it’s burning a hole into his skin. Takumi furrows his brows as he meets the other's gaze. With that expression on him, it is like there’s something he’s holding back.

“What is it?” Takumi asks tiredly, wondering with a part of dread what this guy is thinking.

“I don’t think that it’s as impossible as you think,” the boy says. Takumi purses his lips, wondering where the other is going with this. It’s impossible.

Taking advantage of Takumi’s silence, the boy starts to explain himself. “There’s one major difference between the Eito you know here, and the Eito of the other timeline. Or rather, the change isn’t Eito, it’s you,” the ghost boy goes on to explain.

“What I think may have happened is-”

 

DAY 33

 

Takumi is not having a great day.

This morning? It was fine. He managed to roll himself out of bed as soon as he woke up - hitting the floor is an excellent way to rid himself of his sleepiness - and quickly went down for breakfast. His morning quota of Eito Harassment went equally well (he managed to rope him into eating breakfast with everyone). Unfortunately, in a way that’s very unusual for Takumi, the morning is proving to be the highlight of his day.

What’s going on, you ask? Well, it is simple.

His hand is caught, ensnared by Eito’s grip, like a hapless rabbit in the grip of a python. There’s no escape for him, only the ever-looming certainty of death as he’s marched across the rooftop like a death row inmate. In his other hand, the one uncaught, is a bouquet of flowers, a beautiful arrangement of red roses and camellias. It is probably poisoned.

“Here we are!” Eito says cheerfully as they climb up the steps to his room. He pulls open the door and ushers Takumi inside.

The inside of Eito’s room is about what he expected from him. It’s white - all of it, from the floor to the ceiling. Sterile. There’s few personal effects. The only ones that Takumi could see are the few gifts that he had gotten Eito nearly arranged on his desk. He’s surprised they weren’t thrown out.

The only other thing that stands out is an electronic device set up on his desk. Facing the far wall, it’s a movie projector that Takumi recognises from the Gift-O-Matic catalogue.

Oh yes, he didn’t mention the candles, did he? Well, they’re everywhere. On the desk, the table, basically anywhere that they would fit. All of them are lit, casting the dark room into candlelight. That’s another thing he had failed to mention. The lights are off and the window blinds shuttered.

Takumi feels like he’s stepped onto the set of a horror movie.

Eito hurries over to the movie projector and fiddles with it. “What would you like to watch? The academy has a surprisingly large selection,” Eito says, turning to him with a grin.

It clicks. Eito is taking him on a ‘movie date’, complete with candlelight.

He sees it now. Yes, at some point during the movie, Eito is going to reach over and ‘accidentally’ knock over one of the many lit candles. It is going to fall on the bed, or the rug, or maybe the desk, and set it on fire. From there, the fire will spread uncontrollably, so fast that Takumi, tragically, is unable to make it out in time. His body will be burnt to cinders, far past the point of the Revive-O-Matic’s capabilities. Eito will be consoled, appearing as to everyone a tragic survivor. No one will suspect him, allowing him to go on and sabotage their mission and kill the rest of them unimpeded.

For Eito, this plan is honestly transparent. Is he getting sloppy, or is Takumi getting smarter? Takumi is not sure which is more likely. Either way, he needs to find a way to counter it, but how?

Such faults plague Takumi as he begins scrolling through the movie catalogue, absentmindedly evaluating the collection. He pauses. One movie in particular catches his eye. It’s not the type of movie that Takumi would pick, but he can picture clear in his mind who exactly he’d give this as a gift to. That gives him an idea.

Yes, Takumi’s counter is starting to take shape.

—————————————————

Eito Aotsuki’s day had been going well, emphasis on the had. He got up on time, ate breakfast with Takumi. And up until a certain point, his plan for their date had gone swimmingly. The flowers he procured were vibrant and beautiful, the candles all set up. All that had been left is the execution.

It had been perfect. He had the atmosphere, the setup, he even did research on the movies so that if Takumi wanted him to choose, he’d still find the perfect one for him.

So why, why did Takumi feel the need to get her involved?!

“Good afternoon, Sir Eito! Takumi has retrieved me to accompany you two for the day,” Kyoshika informs him, arms crossed, eyes serious. She moves deeper into his room, soiling the untouched sterility of it.

Eito’s brow twitches. He can feel his facade weakening, crumbling at the seams. Frustration is starting to leak through, sharpening his expression out of the soft one he’s so practiced. His voice is equally as sharp as he speaks unsteadily. “Hello… Kyoshika. How are you doing?”

Kyoshika, who may be one of the densest people who Eito has had the displeasure to meet, does not seem to notice his strain. Nor does she seem to notice that she’s barged - or got dragged into - a literal romantic date.

“I am doing quite well, thank you!” Kyoshika responds, a blindingly bright smile disgracing her disfigured face. Her rotten stench is filling up the room in a way that not even the scented candles can cover up.

Why, why did Takumi do this? Surely Eito is beyond clear with his intentions. He brought him flowers for god’s sake! There’s no way that even Takumi is that oblivious!

“What moving picture are we watching today?” Kyoshika asked Takumi. Does she not know the word ‘movie’?

“Oh, I saw this one that I thought you’d like, Kyoshika. It has samurai in it. And ninjas,” Takumi explains. He’s regained some of his usual pep, talking to Kyoshika with bright, lively eyes.

“Ninja samurai!? What menacing opponents!” Kyoshika gasps, holding a hand in front of her mouth. That is not what Takumi said.

“Close enough,” Takumi mutters.

Is Eito moving too fast? Is this what it is? A sign that Takumi isn’t comfortable with bold romantic gestures? If so, Eito wishes he would just tell him instead of dragging someone else into their date!

Still, this is salvageable. Eito can just get rid of Kyoshika and continue on with his plan. There’s things he wants that she cannot be there for. That would be unacceptable.

Kyoshika gestures when she talks, and generally moves around a lot. That’s something Eito knows, just from being near her, but it hasn’t been relevant. Until now.

Eito figures that the risk of accidental immolation is low. While there are flammable objects in his room, the vast majority is constructed out of metallic and or other non-flammable, inorganic material. Even if a fire starts, it would not be able to spread fast. Besides, there’s a fire suppression system built into the ceiling. Don’t think that he’s missed the sprinklers! Fortunately, preliminary testing shows that candles are not enough to set it off.

He watches silently as her gesturing brings her clothes close to the fire. Close, but not quite enough. If only.

“Why don’t you take a seat?” Eito offers, pulling out his desk chair.

“Why thank you,” Kyoshika replies, sitting down in the chair. Eito settles down on his bed. On the other side, Takumi sits.

Projected on the far side of the room, overtop the couch, the opening sequence of the movie begins to play.

“What a marvellous machine! This is certainly the pinnacle of the technologies found at this academy!” Kyoshika declares.

It’s a rather old fashioned projector. The quality is not that good. Compared to what else found here, it’s one of the most basic devices.

“Oh, I forgot the popcorn,” Eito says. He never intended to bring in popcorn, too messy, not good for his gloves. “Kyoshika, can you please grab some from the cafeteria?”

“As you wish.” Obediently, Kyoshika stands up. In all hopes, there is none, and ashamed of her uselessness, Kyoshika slinks off into the wasteland, never to be seen again.

“Eito? There is no popcorn. I’ve already checked,” Takumi speaks up. Kyoshika sits back down. Damn.

“Hmm, nevermind then. Thanks, Takumi,” Eito says, not feeling very thankful. That’s one idea down the drain.

The movie keeps playing. What Takumi has chosen is, as he said, about a war between ninjas and samurais. It’s only been five minutes and Eito can tell that it’s rife with inaccuracies. He’s spotted three anachronisms already. The plot makes little logical sense.

Eito has never enjoyed movies. He gets enough of people in his day to day life, so there’s no point in subjecting himself to further Horrors™ unnecessarily. With his condition, every movie is a horror movie. However, a glance to the side reveals that Takumi has become engrossed, his beautiful blue gems of eyes fixated on the proceedings. He’s enjoying it. So, Eito will deal.

“Egad!” Kyoshika shouts. A glance at the screen reveals that she’s shocked at a character’s betrayal. Eito can’t say he’s surprised. The foreshadowing was blatant. “I can’t believe he did this!”

“Absolutely unbelievable,” Takumi agrees, nodding fervently.

“How ever shall they deal?!” Replies Kyoshika, as if she’s not going to see that in literally a minute.

And so the conversation went, with those two talking about every single scene in the movie.

Eito Aotsuki has become the third wheel on his own date. This is certainly the biggest indignity that he’s ever experienced, surpassing even the humiliation that was the time his second grade teacher sent him to the principal’s office for calling another student stinky. God forbid he tell the truth.

“No-o-oo!” Kyoshika cries, tears steaming down her face like a waterfall. “Poor Satoshi! How dare Makoto play with his feelings like that! After all that they had gone through together!”

Suddenly, she, in a light night fast motion, slides her sword out of the sheath and brandishes it before her, damn her slicing a hole in Eito’s bedsheets in the process. Kyoshika glares at the credits balefully, tears of hate welling up in her eyes, mouth contorted into an ugly scowl.

“I will find him… and I shall cut him down!” She tearfully declares. It’s a grand declaration. Clearly, she is completely serious.

Eito and Takumi exchange a look, united by a sense of bafflement and a single shared thought. Does she think that this is a true story? That is what Eito reads in the other’s eyes, and is reflected within the mechanisms of his own brain.

“Kyoshika…” Takumi mutters, a hand raised, held awkwardly over her shoulder like he wants to comfort her but is afraid of getting his arm chopped off.

“Thank you, Sir Takumi, Sir Eito, for bringing me here. I now have a new duty that I must fulfil! I will leave you to…” Kyoskika trails off, her bulging eyes trailing across Eito’s room, across the lit candles and the bouquet of flowers Takumi left on the table. “Wait a moment…”

“Forsooth!” Kyoshika exclaims, standing up so abruptly that the desk chair clacks into the desk. She’s gone pale, her eyes wide enough to reveal white all around her irises. Aghast. “Have I been what they call a ‘cockblock’ all this time?!”

“Kyoshika?!” Takumi exclaims. He startles at the sudden movement, and stares at her with wide eyes.

So Kyoshika has finally used the singular brain cell bouncing around that empty skull of hers. If only she could have done that earlier, before their movie date was over. She turns to Eito with an apologetic expression, or what passes as such on a face like hers.

“My apologies, Sir Eito. I had not realised that I had interrupted your courting. As such, I will take my leave,” Kyoshika states, arms crossed. She bows, unnoticing as Takumi’s face becomes more and more panicked.

“Kyoshika!” Takumi yells. “Your clothes!”

“Huh?” Kyoshika grunts, and turns around.

As it turns out, when she stood, the chair had bumped into the desk so hard that it knocked one of the candles over, which then rolled to the edge of the desk. This in itself wouldn’t be too big of a problem, except remember when Eito said that Kyoshika moves around a lot when she talks? Yep, her cape had caught on fire. He had hoped she wouldn’t notice.

“AAAAH!” Kyoshika shrieks. She whirls around, swinging her flaming clothes everywhere. Eito ducks just an instant before the blazing weapon would have flapped into his face. His bedsheets, unfortunately, are inanimate objects and cannot move, and thus cannot dodge out of the way of Kyoshika’s foolishness.

Yelping, Takumi scrambles away from the flames quickly crawling across Eito’s bed. In his eagerness to avoid conflagration, he rolls right off the far side of the bed. Squawking a second time, there’s a painful sounding thud as he hits the ground.

“Takumi? Are you alright?!” Eito fusses, dodging the aflame Kyoshika as she desperately tears off her burning cape. He ducks around his bed, which is now covered in flames and squats down by Takumi.

“I’m fine,” Takumi grumbles, rubbing his head. That’s no good. He might have a concussion! And if he doesn’t die, he will have to heal the long way, potentially leaving weeks of recovery!

“Begone! Cursed flames of evil!” Kyoshika shouts as she stomps on her cape. It’s getting smoky in here. That’s bad for Takumi’s lungs!

A harsh beeping noise cuts through the crackle of flames. Eito braces himself. An instant later, water sprays down from the sprinklers hidden in the ceiling. Takumi squeals and Kyoshika shrieks as they’re quickly soaked. Eito, having long accepted his fate, endures the ordeal silently.

The deluge, along with that nasty beeping sound, continues on for a minute or so, before cutting off as abruptly as it arrived. His glasses are now covered in droplets. He can’t see shit. Still, Eito squints through his glasses, standing back up from his crouch.

His room is screwed. Not only is everything and anything soaked - there go his books, including the one that Takumi got him, damn it - but his bedsheets are a charred, melted mess. There is no way that he’s going to be able to sleep in them tonight.

“I’m sorry!” Kyoshika bursts out. Through the fog in his glasses, Eito sees her grab her half-gone cape off the floor and book it.

“Wait, Kyoshika!” Takumi shouts, but it’s too late. Kyoshika is gone. The arm he was using to reach out to her droops.

Finally, it’s just the two of them again. They are soaking wet, unhappy, but alone, so Eito will consider this an upgrade from their prior situation.

“This is… unfortunate,” Takumi says, then his head like a dog, splattering water everywhere. “Looks like you’re gonna have to find someone else to sleep.”

Takumi speaks these words plainly, as if unconcerned. He must be thinking along the same line as Eito. With Eito’s bed gone, there’s only one logical place for him to move into. That's right, his boyfriend’s room. This is turning out so neatly! He wishes he could say that he planned this.

“I’m just glad that you’re unhurt, Takumi,” Eito says, bringing a hand onto Takumi's shoulder. He can feel the warmth of his skin through the thick material of the hoodie. How nice would it be to feel without that barrier, he wonders?

“Um, thanks, I guess,” Takumi replies, shifting under Eito’s hand. His gaze is flitting between Eito and the floor as if shy. His tongue slips out from between his teeth, licking at his soft, smooth lips on a nervous gesture.

Who would have thought that Eito’s Takumi would be shy about receiving affection? He gives it so easily, to so many people, and yet when it comes to reciprocation, he’s been shying away. It must be because of that cursed girl, Karua. She had been his friend, right? And she betrayed him, snapping his trust like a twig. It’s little wonder that he’s acting hesitant here and now.

Eito should have thought about that sooner. How thoughtless he has been, pushing too hard. It stings a little that he hasn’t been trusted to be alone with him, but trauma isn’t rational. It’s nothing to do with Eito himself.

But still… Takumi has been making such efforts to trust him. He’s been by his side, fighting alongside him, entrusting him with his secrets. He’s trying so hard, and for him.

An urge wells up in Eito’s chest. It’s a bubbling, frothing emotion, warm like a ray of sun peeking through the clouds on an overcast day.

“Takumi,” Eito says, soft. The name rolls off his tongue pleasantly, so unlike all the others.

“Hm?” Takumi blinks at him, and they make eye contact. He’s as beautiful as ever despite being soaked, unspoilt like pristine landscape, pure, unblemished. Wonderful.

There’s an urge, new and unknown, swirling in Eito’s chest. One that he struggles to put a name to, as foreign to him as it is. A sensation that he’s only read about in books. It’s desire, a fervent want, plain and simple.

Eito stares into Takumi’s glistening azure eyes, looking up at him with the faintest confusion. He frowns, but that does nothing to sully his beauty. He steps forward bringing one hand to cradle Takumi’s face. Stiffening under the unexpected touch, Takumi’s brows furrow as he watches carefully, but keeps quiet. Taken along by urges unfamiliar, helpless to resist, Eito starts leaning forward, bringing their faces closer together.

And then -

*Vraaaaah!* *Vraaaaah!* *Vraaaaah!* *Vraaaaah!*

The intruder alert alarm blares out, stopping him in his tracks.

“Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Unauthorized personnel detected on school grounds. Defense Mode initiated. All available troops, prepare for battle immediately.”

…

Eito Aotsuki is going to kill them dead.

Chapter 10: Cause This is Filler! Filler Night!

Summary:

Because the Author needed time to pass. Alternate title: Takumi’s Slow Growing Mental Breakdown Extravaganza.

DAY 37

 

It's official.

Takumi Sumino is losing his gourd.

His day starts off like this: with Takumi slowly, painfully, crawling out of the depths of his slumber. As always, it’s a long, gruelling process. It’s like his body and mind are out of sync, his body demanding wakefulness, and his brain getting dragged along like a victim of a kidnapping.

One by one, like an agonizingly slow computer rebooting, his senses come online. First is his sense of hearing, but there’s nothing much to hear, only the soft sound of breathing. Next comes his sense of temperature. It’s warm, warmer than he usually is. Takumi shuffles, pulling his arms out from under the covers with difficulty. There’s a strange resistance.

Finally, it’s his sense of touch that tells him that something is off. There’s a weight off to his left, making the soft mattress under him dip down. His first, half-asleep thought is, irrationally, that there’s a dog sleeping on his bed.

Opening his eyes, Takumi sees a pale blur to his side. He blinks away the fuzziness. What he sees then shocks him to his core.

“What are you doing in my bed?!” Takumi shouts, springing up like a spring trap. He pulls the sheet up to his chest like a woman who’d been walked in on.

Eito squints up at him bleary eyed, his hair tousled with sleep. He’s in his bed. Why is he in his bed?

Takumi glances at the couch, as if a second Eito would appear there and reveal to him that he’s developed a cognitive disorder that makes him see Eitos everywhere. It’s empty, only a blanket and pillow folded carefully. There’s only one Eito and he’s in his bed.

“You were having nightmares,” Eito states, sitting up slowly. “I wanted to comfort you.”

Takumi is taken aback at the audaciousness. “That doesn’t mean you can just crawl in and cuddle me while I’m sleeping?!”

Takumi did have nightmares last night. That, he can recall faintly. It’s not new. He’s been having nightmares periodically since his first day at the academy. Getting fucking killed and watching your friends die does that to you. He’s been coping. Mostly. Somewhat.

Having Eito here, in his room, has not made it better. It’s been utterly nerve wracking. Every single day Takumi has been going to bed wondering if he’s going to be shanked in his sleep. Every morning, he wakes up surprised to be alive. It really sucks.

This time, his nightmare, from what little he remembers, had been nonsense. Something about lizards and trashbags. It sounds dumb now, but it was much more terrifying to live it than to remember it afterwards, give him a break.

Eito tilts his head and blinks innocently. “Ah, is that so? In that case, I’m sorry, but I only had the best intentions.”

Takumi highly doubts that. This must be revenge for him bringing in Kyoshika. There’s no other explanation. Nope. Nada.

The words that the boy of undying flame said flash through his mind. He stiffens. No, that can’t be. This is all part of some scheme.

Externally, he sighs deeply. “I get it. Just - don’t do that again, please.”

Eito finally gets out of his bed and stretches upward, the movement pulling up the hem of his shirt, revealing smooth skin underneath. Takumi averts his eyes.

“I’m going to go get breakfast after I change, Takkun. Would you like anything?” Eito asks.

“Takkun?” Takumi echoes. What the heck is a Takkun?

“Or should I call you Takky? Would that be cute?” Eito ponders, hand to his chin, looking for all the world that he’s thinking deep, intellectual thoughts.

Takumi smiles strainedly, bristling internally. He knows. How does he know? That doesn’t matter. All that matters is keeping that nickname out of his filthy mouth. “I’m not too big on nicknames.”

“Is that so? Ahaha, guess I’ll keep calling you Takumi then,” Eito says, an armful of fresh clothes. He disappears into the shower to change.

Now more or less alone, Takumi groans to himself, rubbing his face. What kind of situation has he gotten into? Why do his plans keep backfiring in his face with explosive energy? Is he cursed? Did he mess with a haunted artifact or something? Is he trapped in the matrix and all this is an illusion to torment him?

Takumi half-wishes that Eito would just take Nozomi’s empty room, no matter how sacrilegious that is. His only respite had, as it turns out, came in the form of none other than the head honcho himself. Sirei.

He can remember that evening as clear as day, as if it’s a flashback in a fanfiction.

 

The bundle of blankets in Takumi’s arms shifts, sending one corner slipping down, dragging on the ground. He suppresses a grumble and shifts, then pauses. Takumi keeps walking, letting the corner drag. If Eito wants perfectly clean blankets he can wash them himself.

“Here,” Eito says, opening the door all gentleman-like. Takumi mutters a thanks through the pile in his face and steps through the doorway.

His karma proves to be his undoing as the hanging, dragging corner of duvet gets underfoot. Unable to catch himself in time, Takumi topples forwards, landing in a heap on his front. Fortunately for his teeth, the blankets he was carrying made for a good cushion. Face first in covers, Takumi wonders how his life has come to this.

“Are you alright?”

Takumi pries his face out from its soft hiding spot. He blinks. In front of him, Eito comes into focus, wearing a concerned frown.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he says, climbing to his feet, disregarding the helping hand held out to him in favour of scooping up the scattered blankets.

He then dumps the blankets into a messy pile on the couch. It slides down into a heap on the ground. He doesn’t pick it up. Eito can deal with that.

“We can alternate who sleeps on the couch,” Takumi says. “Sorry, but I’m just not comfortable sharing a bed yet.”

Sharing a bed with Eito. Takumi can not think of anything that he wants less. A spar with Veh’xness sounds more appealing than that. At least she would kill him to his face.

“It’s fine. I understand completely,” Eito concedes easily. Ironically, he probably agrees with him internally. It must suck for him to even share a room with Takumi. Ha.

“You better keep to that!” A third voice interjects. Neither of them respond.

“Thanks. It’s just too much for me, nothing personal,” Takumi continues, plopping down on his mattress as if exhaustion has overtaken him. Eito bends down to pick up the fallen duvet.

“We are a strictly above-the-belt academy!”

“You don’t need to justify yourself to me,” Eito says, arranging the bedding to his liking, all while twisting his head to face him.

“Absolutely no illicit activity allowed!”

“I appreciate that,” Takumi sighs, falling onto his side morosely.

Why, oh why did it end up this way?

“Hey!” Sirei shouts loudly, making both of them wince. Grouchily, both of them turn to the robot which they had been ignoring for a solid minute and a half.

“There’s no need to yell,” Eito scolds. “We can hear you just fine.”

“Then respond to me earlier!” Sirei yells indignantly, flailing his stubby arms in a comedic fashion. It’s like watching a toddler have a tantrum. And this is supposed to be their commanding officer.

“We are in the middle of a conversation. If you want to interject, you need to wait for a proper opening instead of forcing yourself in. That’s what the nice nurses taught me, at least,” Eito recounts, like he’s talking to a five year old. It’s almost enough to amuse him.

Sirei droops, cowed from Eito’s rebuke. He’s slumping, a morose expression on his robotic countenance. Takumi isn’t sure how a robot can be so expressive.

“I’m sorry. Kids these days… they never listen,” Sirei whines. Then he jumps up, suddenly mad again. “I will repeat myself once more, and you better listen, you freaks! Keep your hands to yourself!”

What is he implying? “What are you saying?” Takumi asks, miffed and mystified.

Sirei immediately kicks off into a rant. “I’m saying no doing it! No shaking the sheets! No rolling in the hay! No horizontal tangling, tossing the salad, hanky panky, knocking boots, porking, boning-”

Wait, he’s saying? Oh, god no!

“Jeez, jeez! I get it! You can stop now!” Takumi loudly interjects, his face as red as a tomato, putting an end to Sirei’s endless list of euphemisms.

“Ho ho!” Sirei laughs. “I see that you understand now!”

Takumi puts his face in his hands and groans. Why is he here? Just to suffer?

“One last thing before I go,” Sirei says, suddenly serious. Takumi peers through his fingers at the robot.

“I’ll be watching,” Sirei says, then seemingly vanishes into thin air. Where the hell did he go? And how? Takumi does not like this ability of his.

As Takumi is pondering this mystery, the other person chooses that time to speak up. “Pervert,” Eito mutters, scowling. Bizarrely, he looks genuinely pissed off over this development.

Takumi chokes on a hysterical laugh.

 

“Takumi?” Eito says. Takumi looks at him and hums in acknowledgment. “Are you free today?”

Takumi stops in his tracks. Oh great, what does Eito have in store today? He does not want to go with him. It’s barely afternoon and he’s already tired.

But, he has not made plans with his other classmates. He hasn’t even thought too deeply about what he’s doing today yet. Can he say that he’s practicing with the VR machines? No, he used that excuse yesterday. What about the Metal Shop? No, they’re still low on minerals…

Wait a moment, why is Takumi the one making excuses to get away from Eito? Isn’t he the one who’s supposed to be harassing him with his company?

Goddamn it, Eito’s got the upper hand again. Is there no end to his wiles? Because this has to be intentional on his part.

Shit, there's no way around this. Previously, Takumi would take this challenge head on, and dive straight first into whatever Eito has planned. But, his experience has taught him that does not work well. Eito excels at adapting on the fly, and pushing through his discomfort to mess with him.

Takumi is so not looking forward to dealing with this.

“No, I’m free,” he eventually concedes.

“Great!” Eito cheers, and reaches out, taking Takumi by the hand. Eito’s fingers intertwine with his. He’s not wearing his gloves, again. The feeling of skin on skin sends an unpleasant shiver up Takumi’s spine. He wants to tear his hand away.

He doesn’t. Takumi lets Eito lead him by the hand once again. Together, they head down the stairs. They walk through the hallways until they come to the entrance of a part of the academy that Takumi hasn’t stepped foot in weeks.

“The Leisure Lounge?" Takumi questions, tilting his head to peer at Eito, who smiles back at him. He’s too damn smiley.

“I thought it would be nice for us to take some time for ourselves. You’ve been working so hard training, going on expeditions. All for the sake of humanity. But you need breaks too!” Eito explains.

It is exactly the kind of thing that the fake Eito he knew from the first timeline would say. There has to be an alternative motive. A catch. The gears in Takumi’s brain whirs as he processes this information. Soon, it becomes clear -

Eito is going to try and drown him. He should have expected this. Of course, since his attempt to take care of him through fire and smoke inhalation failed, he’s going to go to another method. Naturally, he will go to the opposite of fire - water.

This might be an opportunity. If he can ‘catch’ Eito in the act, then he can’t finally break this dumb game of chicken for good. He can expose Eito as the traitor and killer that he is, shove him inside the cage, and figure out how he’s going to stop this intergalactic war of genocide, hopefully with the help of everyone else.

Mind made up, Takumi stares ahead with determination. He marches straight into the Leisure Lounge, and hangs a right to head to the change room.

“It’s nice to see you so enthusiastic,” Eito says.

Takumi already has a set of swim trunks in one of the lockers. He made it a while ago, wishing to enjoy a late night swim to burn off some of his nerves. That never ended up happening.

“Ah, you already have trunks,” Eito comments. He seems a little disappointed. Takumi squints at him.

“Yeah?” He says questioningly. “Did you think I would come here without anything to wear?”

“I planned for that possibility,” Eito sheepishly admits. “I brought something for you. I’d been hoping to see you wear it.”

Takumi’s eyes twitch as he resists the urge to glare at Eito suspiciously. “I’m gonna get changed,” is what he says instead.

Fortunately, there’s a couple small changing rooms, so both he and Eito are spared the agony of having to change in front of each other. Although, Eito’s eyes follow him into the stalls, with a look that he can swear is faintly disappointed. The door closes behind him, a comforting barrier. A balm that soothes the permeating unease.

He takes off the collar. Underneath, his skin is smooth and perfect. It’s hard to wrap his mind around that it hasn’t chafed to the bone, a mark of ownership. Takumi changes into his swim trunks as quickly as possible, avoiding the vulnerability of nudity as much as possible, but it hardly helps. Even with the trunks on, he feels naked in a way that he’s never been before while swimming.

By the time he’s returned, Eito has beaten him to the punch. He’s already changed into a pair of the plain, deep blue swim trunks that come standard from the Gift-O-Matic. Identical to the ones that Takumi himself is wearing. He’s shirtless, stuffing his stuff into a locker.

Takumi squints at Eito’s form. He’s ripped. Why the hell is he so ripped? If he saw this during his first hundred days there’s no way that he would have bought the sickly act. He’s feeling inadequate just by looking at the guy.

Suddenly, Eito glances over, catching his eye. Embarrassment for being caught staring burns through him, and he looks away quickly, but not quite fast enough to miss the expression that forms on Eito’s face. He goes red, a thin smile forming on his lips. He looks… shy, flattered maybe?

That’s just an act. It has to be. Takumi turns away, but then something catches his eye. There’s something odd in Eito’s locker. Something he can’t quite see but definitely doesn’t belong, with bright orange and dark patterns.

Eito shuffles off to go to the showers, getting a quick rinse in before dipping in the pool. Takumi quickly takes the chance. He rushes to the locker and opens it up, his heart pounding, but ready for anything, be it as innocent as Eito’s clothes and as horrifying as a bomb.

What he sees is neither of the above. Not a tool of murder, what awaits him is equally as horrifying.

It’s a risqué men’s swimsuit. It’s obviously modelled after the risqué briefs in the Gift-O-Matic. It is something that Takumi will never, not in a million years, wear. And it is, most likely, what Eito had been planning on having him wear had Takumi not had his own pair of trunks. It chills him to the bone.

Takumi shuts the locker door. That is another bullet narrowly dodged. If he had to wear that in public he may as well throw himself into the wall of undying flames. That would be preferable to the shame he would feel.

Walking over to the showers, the hairs on the back of his neck raise and Takumi has the inexplicable feeling that he’s being watched. Without thinking, he turns around, and meets clear, deep blue eyes.

Eito Aotsuki, without his glasses and soaked with water, stares at him. Takumi stiffens as Eito’s eyes rake his form, down, and then up again. It feels like he’s staring into his soul, gazing straight through him, down to the essence of what makes Takumi, Takumi. He shuffles his feet uncomfortably, feeling his stomach do a flop. He feels naked, in that moment wanting desperately to hide away in his sweater and loose pants.

Smiling apologetically, he shimmies past him through the doorway and into the Leisure Lounge. Scratching at his skin as if that would relieve the mental itch, Takumi follows soon after.

The Leisure Lounge, Takumi has to admit, is beautiful. Huge cascading waterfalls frame a crystal clear pool, sparking with blue light that comes out from the big glass windows on the side. It’s a place that he would have loved to spend a lot of time in - in other circumstances. Takumi does like swimming, but the fact that they’re fighting a war for the future of humanity puts a damper on things. He doesn’t have time to mess about. Training and resource hunting always takes priority.

Isn’t this a blast from memories past? He remembers being in a very similar situation once. Yes, back in the first timeline, the day before Hiruko died, he and Eito had gone looking for her, and they had found her in this very same pool.

In hindsight, that day was a big hint of what Eito truly is. It was not a coincidence that it was immediately after Hiruko professed her intention to tell them the truth that she went missing. It was not a coincidence that the only two people there to hear it were Eito and Takumi himself. He should have known.

Now what?

“If only there were waterslides,” Takumi muses.

“There are the waterfalls,” Eito muses too.

Takumi opens his mouth to say ‘yeah, I don’t wanna die today, sorry,’ but then pauses. This is transparently a scheme to get him killed, as using the waterfalls as an attraction is obviously dangerous, but maybe he can use this to his advantage.

“You know what… yeah,” Takumi says, staring down the cascade of falling water with determination.

“Wait, I wasn’t being ser-”

…

“AAAH!” Takumi screeches as he plummets dozens of feet down toward the unforgiving waters below. His body is pelted with droplets as the waterfall rushes alongside him. There is nothing going on in his head except pure, primal terror as he falls to his doom.

“Takumi!” He hears Eito call out, but it doesn’t register, as an instant later he crashes into the pool.

He hits it like a pad of cement. The force knocks the wind out of him like a truck to an isekai protagonist. Bubbles come out of his mouth as Takumi sinks to the bottom.

Takumi stares through the water, stunned, before ten or so years of swimming lessons (he was bad as a child, okay?) kick in, and he kicks against the bottom of the pool propelling himself up. He emerges from the water gasping and coughing. Slowly, he treads to the side of the pool and pulls himself up, breathing heavily.

“Never doing that again,” Takumi mutters. Why did he do that in the first place? Nevermind. He looks up to the where those huge pipes in the wall are, the spot the waterfalls come from, and finds a lack of Eito.

Dread courses through his veins as Takumi scans the lounge. Eito is not at the ladder. He’s not by the exercise equipment nor at the edges of the pool. He’s nowhere.

Damn it! Takumi redoubles his efforts, twisting around to check behind him, half expecting to see Eito there, scythe or pipe in hand, ready to bring it on his head in a devastating blow. He sees nothing but the wide, clear windows.

Finally, he looks back down in the pool. He spots a patch of darker blue along the bottom, right where the waterfall meets the pool. What he’s seeing becomes clearer as he stares. The blue patch is swim trunks, trunks that are still attached to the person. He’s found Eito.

Takumi waits, watching, expecting at any moment for Eito to move, to rise to the top of the water. It’s not like he’s going to drown himself to spite Takumi.

Eito doesn’t move.

Is this… a bait? It has to be a bait. Eito is waiting for him to go rescue him, only to grab him and drag him down, having led him into an expertly laid trap. Well! Takumi is not going to fall for it! He’s going to sit here and wait until Eito gets tired of this charade and comes back.

Eito still doesn’t move.

He’s not falling for this. He’s not!

…

…Goddamn it.

…

Two minutes later, and Eito is laying on his back, spread eagle on the cold, hard tiles that make up the sides of the pool. He’s breathing hard, panting, as he recovers from his near-drowning experience.

“What were you doing down there?” Takumi gripes, wiping his eyes, which are starting to burn from all the chlorine. Great, now he’s not gonna see it when Eito tries to kill him. Although, even he would have a hard time doing that after nearly dying in a damn swimming pool.

“I got worried and jumped to help you…” Eito says, voice hoarse. “I think I overbalanced and landed wrong.”

“I’d say,” Takumi mutters. He too knows the devastating consequences of a bellyflop gone wrong, and from that height? Yeesh, must only be that damn muscle protecting Eito from having his ribs smashed.

“Thank you, Takumi. Thank you so much. You have saved my life,” Eito thanks him profusely from his spot on the ground.

Yeah, from Eito’s own stupidity. Come to think of it, this isn’t the first time this guy has damn near died overestimating his abilities. There was that time in the wastelands, last timeline. Hm, maybe Eito isn’t as smart as he thinks he is.

“If there’s anything I can do to repay you, just say the word. I am forever grateful,” Eito gushes, smiling bright, earnestness pouring from every fiber of his being as he pries himself off the ground. Suspicious.

“There’s no need for that,” Takumi assures him. “Really, you don’t need to repay me. It’s what anyone would do.”

Despite having saved this man’s life, Takumi feels no more confident in his position. As been established, gratitude means nothing to Eito. If anything, this increases the chances that Eito will try to drown him in the future. Just like how saving him in the wasteland got Takumi nearly murdered in the wasteland.

“Truly, I want to,” Eito insists, climbing sorely to his feet. Takumi stands with him, keeping them at the same level.

Their eyes meet. Eito’s silver hair glistens blue under the artificial light. His deep cobalt eyes shine with fondness and affection. Evaporating droplets of water catch of light just right to shine and Takumi is struck with a realisation, one that he’s had before. He doesn’t like thinking about it but… Eito is surprisingly pretty, isn’t he?

The moment is thick with a tension that Takumi can’t name. It’s not bad, like the times he thought he was going to be offed, but he can’t understand it. Why is Eito looking at him like that?

Suddenly, Eito lurches forward. Takumi flinches. His heel skids on the puddle that had formed underneath him. He cries out as he topples backwards, his legs kicking out and striking Eito in the shins.

Just as suddenly, they’re falling together. Takumi’s back hits the tiles hard, sending sparks of pain up his spine. His head smacks the ground just as Eito lands over him.

Winded, he looks up. Eito had caught himself with his hands, and is looking right above him, mere inches away, watching him with wide eyes, mouth parted slightly.

Takumi shimmies out. Their faces had come far too close. He knows that they’re ‘dating’, but actually kissing would be far too much. Ugh.

Imagine being in an actual relationship with Eito Aotsuki. Couldn’t be him.

 

DAY 42

 

Takumi is unnerved. He feels trapped, blocked in a corner. He doesn’t know how much more of this game he can take. Truly, this is the worst situation of all time.

“Say ‘ah’!” Eito says.

“Ahh,” Takumi responds, mindlessly opening his mouth.

Takumi has been stagnant, doing nothing but waiting for the next crisis to arrive, for Eito to turn around and finally reveal his true colours. Now, time has been ticking away. They’re almost to the half way point of the hundred days, and what has he accomplished? Nozomi is dead, Eito is free to do as he likes, and the commanders are as much of a looming threat as ever. Despite travelling through time, he has not accomplished a single thing.

“You two are disgusting,” Kurara says judgementally.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Kurara! I think it’s adorable!” That one is Moko.

“Yeah! I think it’s fun too!” Comes the uncannily cheerful voice of Kako

“Sister dearest, please don’t let them corrupt you.” Naturally, next is Ima.

But damnit, why did it have to be Takumi to be the one with this ability! Anyone else would have done better. Shizuhara, Takemaru, Gaku - okay, maybe not Gaku - Yugamu. Hell, even Kako would have done better than him! Before this, Takumi had not a single responsibility. He slacked off in class, had no extracurriculars, did no volunteering. His life was banal, day by day it was all the same. The same people. The same events.

“Hehehe, I wish someone would collar me like that,” Yugamu titters.

“Nobody asked you,” Kurara scolds, dripping with venom.

Now here he is, trying desperately to change the timeline but not enough so to throw off things hard enough to make future events unpredictable. It’s him, slacker Takumi, and no one else trying to outwit Eito and keep him from killing someone. He’s the one dealing with the fact that what Sirei told them was a lie, and that they’re on a mission of colonialism and genocide, and having the responsibility to stop it. All the while trying to keep them from being slaughtered by their enemies.

What do you expect him to do? How do you expect him to react?

He’s just a kid.

Another bite of food is airplaned into his mouth. Takumi chews. It tastes good. He has been cursed by Eito’s good cooking ability. He hopes this isn’t drugged. He opens his mouth again, but not food comes in. Finally, Takumi’s attention is brought back to reality, sees the empty plate, and he realises he’s been looking like a dumbass.

“You’re finally done? No one wanted to see that, man,” Gaku complains, forking a bite of his cheap cup-noodle ramen into his mouth.

“Gaku,” Moko says. Her countenance is outwardly friendly, but everyone can hear, dwelling just under the surface, the threat. He knows instinctively that if Gaku does not shut up he’s gonna get suplexed to next week. A fate he doesn’t wish even on his worst enemy, that being Eito.

“I-I mean, do what you want! Gay rights!” Gaku backpedals, waving his hands fearfully, like he’s trying to scare off a bear.

“More like gay wrongs, am I right?!” Darumi chimes in from the candy machines, sticking her head through the gap between two of the huge glass containers.

“Darumi,” Hiruko says. And of course, it only takes one word for Darumi to kick off her dog act.

“Yes, Mistress Hiruko!” Darumi cheers, then lets her tongue hang from her mouth as she positions her hands like paws in front of her body. Why.

“Ah, young love!” Nigou chimes in with a pleased smile. “It’s nice to see such affectionate couples early in the morning.”

Is that really what they think of them? That they’re a happy couple? Well, it’s not like he’s presenting any different, but…

Takumi’s stomach churns. He stands up abruptly.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” he declares. “Don’t wait for me.”

He feels the pressure of a dozen pairs of eyes weighing on his back as he goes. His lunch almost comes back up in the toilet.

A couple hours later, Takumi is wandering through the halls, aimlessly searching for a goal. Maybe he will improve on his class weapon some… but they’re running short on ores. He’ll have to go out on an expedition soon.

Takumi walks around the second floor. He’s thinking of training in the VR Room upstairs, or maybe going downstairs to work in the Bio Lab. Either or.

Faint sounds of voices hit his ears. It sounds like Eito. Immediately suspicious, Takumi heads towards the source of the voice. It’s a classroom, the doors cracked open just enough to let sound through. He creeps low and slow, and peers through the crack.

He peeks around the doorframe. There, inside the classroom is Eito and… Moko? They’re talking, but as Eito is facing away, Takumi cannot hear what he’s saying.

“You can leave it to me!” Moko declares, saluting.

Eito says something in response, too quiet to make out. Whatever he’s walked in on, it seems that he’s seeing the end of it. Eito starts to turn around.

Takumi ducks out of sight and silently but swiftly power walks around the corner. Once he’s on the third floor, he stops and signs. That had been too close.

So Eito is up to something, again. That, is in no way surprising. Or at least it should. It’s just… Takumi had thought that the last five or so times that Eito did anything, and none of them turned out to be harmful.

Somehow, Takumi is starting to wonder if Eito really is trying to hurt him. Unless this is some 100 IQ 4D chess that he’s playing, that’s the solution that makes the most amount of sense.

But it’s impossible. But that can’t be. Eito hates humanity. Eito hates you. Eito can’t and won’t change. Repeating thoughts circle in his head like trains on a set of miniature tracks, or like a protagonist in a time loop. He sighs deeply.

“I’ve found you!”

Takumi freezes in place like a rabbit in the sight of a hawk. He plasters on a smile like plastic and whirls around, speedwalking like an excited child.

“Eito! I was looking for you!” He declares, stopping by Eito’s side, getting all up in his grill.

“That’s great, so was I. Here, come with me,” Eito grabs his hand and begins leading him to the cafeteria. On the first floor, they run into one of their classmates.

“Hmm? What are you two fools doing sneaking around?” Kurara asks contemptuous, boldly holding one baggy sleeve to her chin.

“We’re not sneaking,” Takumi corrects dryly.

“Be quiet, peasant!” Kurara snaps.

“That’s not very nice,” Eito frowns. “You should apologise.”

Suddenly, a vicious aura surrounds them. Takumi feels malice, weighing on his back like the sky on Atlas’s shoulders. His blood shivers. He glances at Eito, who’s looking stern but hasn’t devolved into his batshit true form. It’s not… him? Then who’s doing this?!

A bead of sweat drips down Kurara’s mask… someone. She glances over their shoulders, looking more anxious by the second.

“Nevermind! I don’t have the time to bother with peasants such as yourself!” Kurara declares as she stomps (runs) away.

That was weird, Takumi thinks as Eito ushers him down to the cafeteria. As they enter the room, Takumi stops in his tracks. It looked like nothing how it used to. The lights are dimmed. The table, covered in golden cloth, and that’s only the start of the alterations. What had been a normal, if fancy school cafeteria has been transformed into a five star restaurant lounge.

“Man, this is fancy,” Takumi can’t help but say, marvelling at the sight. The change is creepy as hell.

“Impressed?” Eito asks, leaning towards to look at Takumi’s face.

“Yeah, you got me. I’m impressed,” Takumi admits. It is impressive, but mostly creepy that he would go that far. How the heck did he do all this in just a couple hours?

Eito puffs himself up like a pleased possum at the admission. Takumi feels he might be blinded if he smiles any brighter. That’s so unfair.

“Good day, valued customers. Please, take a seat,” comes a voice. Takumi turns around, then reels back.

It’s Gaku, but not. Or rather, it’s Gaku’s face and body, but everything else is wrong. He’s wearing a waiter's uniform! A very expensive one! Gaku doesn’t have the money for this. No matter how nice the fabric is it just looks wrong when the person it’s own is the opposite of high-class.

It makes him uncomfortable. The dissonance is too strong. Takumi’s uneasiness may also, just maybe, perhaps, could be, because Gaku looks vaguely terrified.

He side-eyes Eito, who’s letting nothing but smiles show through. What the hell did he do to this man?

At a loss because of the absurdity of this situation, Takumi allows Gaku to seat them at the table, facing each other. A moment later, laminated menus (there’s a laminator here?) appear in front of their faces.

Takumi scans through the menu. He narrows on to one option.

“I’ll have the special,” he says, pointing to the one and only option on the menu. There are no other possible things to order. There is only the special.

“Me as well,” Eito seconds. Not that he can order anything else. Again, there is only one option.

“As you wish,” Gaku says, like they had options. He then takes the menus and gives a deep bow with picture perfect posture.

As Gaku hustles into the refrigerator with the speed of an underpaid server desperate to make ends meet, Takumi stares into Eito’s eyes, as if he can see into his brain if he just keeps looking. Eito stares back like a lover in a terrible parody of a Christmas movie.

This is so awkward. Takumi scratches his neck as an itch, deeper than physical, crawls up his spine. His skin twinges with discomfort.

Suddenly, there’s a dull thump. Eito startles a little, finally done gaping. With a frown on his face the other ducks down to peek under the tablecloth. Anxiety creeping, Takumi follows.

What could it be? An intruder? A mind-controlling parasite? Nozomi coming back from the dead? All of them seem equally likely. He doesn’t know what’s possible anymore in this damn world. Wild thoughts spin through his mind as he looks under the table.

…he doesn’t know what he expected.

“Shouma? When did you get here?” Eito asks, friendly, but with an edge creeping up.

Shouma looks up from where he’s huddling in a fetal position, laying amongst a small pile of food wrappers, crumbs, and dirty, like he got swept in by a broom.

“I was always here. Don’t worry, everyone forgets about my existence. It’s better that way,” Shouma tells them miserably.

Takumi stares. He’s never known how to deal with Shouma’s self hatred. Just, like, what do you say to that?

“Ah!” Shouma shrieks. Suddenly, he slides backwards, yanked lengthwise under the table by an unseen force like in a horror movie.

“Shouma!” Takumi leaps to his feet, heart pounding. He’s just in time to see Shouma get pulled ankle first out of the cafeteria. His hand is grabbed, preventing him from running after him.

“What was that?!” He demands to know as he whirls on Eito, the one stopping him from moving.

“Don’t worry about it,” Eito reassures him. “Please, sit back down.”

Takumi is now more worried. He takes one more look at the exit and catches a glimpse of pink rounding the corner. A throbbing pain lances Takumi’s skull. He wants a drink.

Please, God, or whatever deities that may or may not exist, please protect the remnants of his mental strength.

He’s gonna need it.

Notes:

YouTuber voice: and if you liked this fic, don’t forget to kudos, comment, and subscribe!

 

Srsly tho it helps.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Uno Reverse Route