Work Text:
Ryuuen and Kiyotaka's Daily Life:
DAY ~ ???
It started with me walking into the empty training room.
It continued with me discovering that it wasn't empty.
Ryuuen stood there, shirtless, sweating, training like he was in the middle of a cheap action movie.
He turned to me at exactly the wrong moment —
when he made an overly dramatic move, slipped,
and fell to the floor.
"You didn't see anything," he said immediately.
"I saw everything," I replied.
"You're going to die."
He tried to look calm, but his face was red.
From embarrassment.
"What are you even doing here?" he snapped at me.
"I thought the room was empty."
"It was empty."
"Until you fell."
"I didn't fall."
Silence.
Awkward.
One that even I could feel.
Then —
He came closer to me, pointing at me like I was the problem.
“If you tell anyone you saw me like this… I—”
“You’ll knock me over too?”
“I didn’t fall!”
He took another step closer.
Too close.
“You’re enjoying this, huh?”
“A little.”
“You’re unbearable.”
“You’re the one who slipped.”
“I. didn’t. fall.”
Then —
the door opened.
Kay came in.
Looking at both of us.
Looking at shirtless Ryuuen.
Looking at me.
“Uh…” she said. “I… I’ll be back later.”
The door closed.
Ryuuen looked at me.
“It’s your fault.”
“Of course.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAY ~ ???
“You’re following me,” I said.
“I’m not following,” Ryuuen replied immediately. “I just… go exactly where you’re going.”
“For three days in a row?”
“Coincidence.”
He leaned against the wall, arms folded, as if he wasn’t the one who was standing behind the tree two minutes ago trying to look normal.
“You’re bad at this,” I said.
“Me? Bad?” He laughed. “I’m a genius. You’re just… impossible.”
“So why do you keep trying?”
Ryuuen opened his mouth, closed it, then pointed at me as if he’d caught me in the act.
“Because you do it on purpose! You go too slow. Or too fast. Or at odd angles. Who goes at odd angles?”
“I just go.”
“Liar.”
He took a step closer.
“Tell the truth. You enjoy it.”
“From what?”
“From the chase.”
“You’re the one chasing.”
“Yeah, but you make it… fun.”
For a brief, almost imperceptible moment,
I thought maybe he was right.
Then he added:
“And—you walk like a grandpa. Move your legs, you robot.”
“I’m not a robot.”
“Ah. Sure. Say that again without that dead face.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DAY ~ ????
“Sit,” Ryuuen said, pushing a chair toward me as if he were a personal trainer and I were a failing student.
“I’m standing,” I replied.
“I didn’t ask permission.”
He sat down across from me, placing a notebook on the table.
The cover read:
“Training Program: How to Be Less of a Robot.”
“Is that real?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said proudly. “I wrote it especially for you.”
“I’m not a robot.”
“You say it like a robot.”
He flipped through the notebook.
“Lesson One: Facial Expressions. Do you know the concept?”
“Yes.”
“Knowing — or using?”
“Knowing.”
“As I thought.”
Ryuuen leaned forward.
“Give me a smile.”
“No.”
“A little smile.”
“No.”
“A microscopic smile.”
“Not yet.”
He sighed, as if I were the problem.
“Okay. Let’s try something else. Say something… emotional.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. ‘I feel.’ ‘I think.’ ‘I love’—”
“No.”
“I knew you’d stop me before ‘love.’”
He stood up, starting to pace around me like a frustrated teacher.
“You do realize I’m doing you a favor, right?”
“I didn’t ask for a favor.”
“Of course not. You’re not asking for anything. You just… exist.”
“That’s usually enough.”
Ryuuen paused, looking at me as if I were a mystery he couldn’t solve.
“You’re unbearable.”
“You’re the one who started the lesson.”
“Yes, but you’re ruining it.”
He sat back down, leaning back.
“Okay. Lesson two: basic communication.”
“I communicate perfectly.”
“With whom? With walls?”
Silence.
“You see?” he said. “Even walls would answer me faster.”
“I don’t understand why you insist on that,” I said.
Ryuuen smiled—a small, genuine smile, the kind that doesn’t suit him.
“Because I’m interested in you, Ayanokouji. And it annoys me.”
“Then stop.”
“No.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mission failed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Okay,” Ryuuen said, leafing through his notebook as if he were a university lecturer.
“Lesson three: basic human interaction.”
“I communicate very well in a very basic way,” you replied.
“With whom? With ghosts?”
He tapped his pen on the table.
“Okay. Try to start a conversation.”
“With whom?”
“With me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“It wasn’t a choice.”
He leaned forward, smiling the smile of someone who really enjoys answering me.
“Come on. Start.”
“Hello.”
“Not like that!”
“How?”
“Less… dead.”
“Hello.”
“It’s exactly the same.”
Ryuuen stood up, circling me like a coach giving up his life.
“I don’t understand how you live like this. How do you talk to people?”
“I don’t.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
He stopped in front of me, pointing at me with his pen.
“Okay. Try asking me a question.”
“Why?”
“That’s a question, but not a good one.”
I sighed.
“How was your day?”
Rivan froze.
“What is it?”
“A question?”
“No! That’s an old man’s question! What are you, Grandpa?”
“You asked a question.”
“Not one of those!”
He sat down again, frustrated on an existential level.
“I swear to you, Ayanokouji… you’ll kill me one day. Not in battle. In conversation.”
“I’m trying.”
“I know.”
A short silence.
And then —
“Okay,” Ryuuen said, “Lesson Four: Basic Flirting.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“Yes!!”
“I don’t flirt.”
“Of course not. That’s why we’re here.”
He smiled a small smile, the kind that betrayed that he was enjoying himself too much.
“Come on, Ayanokouji. Try to tell me something… flattering.”
“You… haven’t fallen before.”
Ryuuen froze for a moment, then his face changed from shock to rage.
“That… was… a compliment?”
“Yes.”
“That was bad.”
“It was real.”
“That’s what makes it bad.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And once again, the mission failed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Okay,” Ryuuen said, slamming his notebook shut with an overly dramatic slam.
“We’ve reached the advanced stage.”
“I didn’t know there were earlier stages.”
“There were. You failed all of them.”
He moved closer, leaning on my desk as if he were trying to scare me.
Or impress me.
Or both.
“Advanced flirting,” he announced, “is when you say something that sounds normal… but actually isn’t.”
“Like what?”
“Like… ‘You’re unbearable, but somehow I’m still here.’”
“That sounds like your problem.”
“It’s always my problem,” he said, pointing at me. “You.”
He sat down at my desk.
Not near.
On.
Like he was waiting for me to throw him off—and I wasn’t.
“Okay,” he said, “your turn. Say something… progressive.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Ayanokuji, if you say ‘no’ one more time—”
“No.”
Ryuuen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then smiled dangerously.
“Okay. I’ll show you how to do it.”
He moved a little closer.
Too close.
“You know what annoys me the most?”
“The list is long.”
“The fact that you don’t move away,” he said.
Silence.
“Is that flirting?” I asked.
“It’s progressive flirting,” he corrected. “Now try.”
I thought for a moment.
Then I said:
“You’re loud...”
"..."
"....?"
“That’s not flirting.”
“...But somehow… it’s less disturbing when it’s you.”
Ryuuen froze.
“What was that?”
“Advanced flirting.”
“It was… good.”
“I know.”
“I hate you.”
“You’re the one who asked.”
“I still hate you.”
“Of course.”
He turned away, but I saw it—
the little smile he was trying to hide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mission accomplished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~