Chapter Text
The Devil
Saturday, 5:02 am
Arthur Boyle
Hey
Hey
Hey Devil.
Devil.
.
Shinra.
Shinra
Shinra Kusakabe.
Shinra
What the hell do you want
It’s
It’s FIVE IN THE MORNING
WHY ARE YOU SPAM TEXTING ME THIS EARLY.
Arthur Boyle
Do you have 30 dollars
Shinra
What
Arthur Boyle
I need money to get food to eat breakfast
And get cat food for Excalibur.
Shinra
???
Just go to Vulcans place and eat there
Arthur Boyle
I would do that…
But he, and his companions are away right now.
Shinra
Ok
Just come over my place me and Shō will are planning on making breakfast anyway
Come over around 6 or 7 ok
Arthur
Mkay
—
Shinra stared at his phone screen for at least 10 seconds after Arthur stopped texting him.
Five in the morning. Arthur Boyle had woken him up at five in the morning because he needed cat food.
Honestly, Shinra shouldn’t even be surprised anymore. Arthur had and will always have a strange habit of appearing in his life whenever he feels like it, like some kind of natural disaster specifically designed to annoy him. Yet somehow, Shinra still found himself answering every call and text anyway.
Maybe he’s the stupid one for talking to the idiot.
With a groan, Shinra dropped the phone directly onto his face. The impact hurt a little, but he was too tired to care.
From somewhere near his room, he heard slow footsteps approaching. A moment later, his bedroom door creaked open just slightly.
Shō stood there in silence.
His younger brother looked exhausted, though his expression barely showed it. His white hair stuck out in several directions from sleep, and an oversized black hoodie hung loosely from his shoulders. Even while half awake, Shō somehow looked calmer than most people did fully awake.
“Brother, was that Arthur?” he asked quietly.
Shinra took the phone off his face. “Yeah.”
…
“Why.”
“He needed money for cat food.”
...
“At five in the morning.”
“Yes.”
Shō stared at him blankly for a few seconds. “That makes sense.”
For some reason, that made Shinra laugh quietly into his pillow.
Shō stepped further into the room, stopping near the edge of the bed. He glanced down toward Shinra’s discarded phone before speaking again.
“Are we still making pancakes?”
Immediately, Shinra pushed himself upright.
“Hell yeah we are.”
—
Arthur arrived at exactly 6:38 AM.
Shinra knew the exact time because Arthur had texted ‘I have arrived’ three seconds before knocking loudly against the apartment door like he was announcing his presence to an entire castle.
The moment Shinra opened the door, Excalibur walked inside first.
The massive white Maine Coon didn’t even glance at Shinra while entering. The cat simply strolled into the apartment with complete confidence, tail raised high in the air like he owned the place already.
Arthur followed behind him carrying two grocery bags in one hand.
“Good morning, Devil.”
“You’re insane.”
“No, you are.”
Shinra stepped aside to let him in, watching as Excalibur immediately began wandering around the apartment like an investigator inspecting foreign territory.
The cat stopped near the shoe rack and sniffed one of Shinra’s sneakers before looking offended by whatever smell he discovered there.
From the kitchen, Shō appeared holding a box of pancake mix beneath one arm.
He looked at Arthur.
Then at Excalibur.
“Looks like your cat got bigger.”
Arthur nodded proudly. “He continues to grow stronger.”
Excalibur meowed loudly as if agreeing with him.
Then, the cat jumped onto the small table near the entrance, nearly knocking over a framed picture in the process.
“HEY- ”
Shinra rushed forward fast enough to catch the frame before it fell.
Excalibur blinked at him slowly.
“…Arthur.”
“Yeah?”
“Your cat’s an asshole.”
Arthur glanced over calmly. “No. He’s curious.”
Excalibur rubbed against Shinra’s leg immediately afterward, meowing again like nothing happened.
Shinra stares down at him suspiciously, then rubs his head. “You’re lucky you’re so damn fluffy.”
—
Making breakfast was a chaotic mess.
The apartment kitchen honestly wasn’t built for this many people. Shinra could barely move around properly without bumping shoulders with Arthur every five seconds, and Excalibur constantly walked between everyone’s legs like he was actively trying to trip somebody.
Shō mostly stayed out of the way, he sat at the counter scrolling through his phone while occasionally commenting on the disaster unfolding around him.
Arthur insisted on helping cook despite the fact that nobody trusted him near a stove anymore.
At one point, Shinra turned around for maybe two seconds only to find Arthur trying to flip eggs with enough force to launch them into the air.
“What are you doing.”
Arthur looked genuinely confused.
“Cooking.”
“You’re assaulting breakfast.”
The eggs landed half on the pan and half directly onto the stove.
Shō glanced up from his phone.
“That looked intentional.”
“It was not,” Arthur replied with dignity. Shinra grabbed the spatula from him immediately. “Move.”
Arthur sighed dramatically before stepping aside. “You wound me, Devil.”
“You almost burned my apartment down!”
“A true knight must master failure before success.”
“You sound like a fucking idiot.”
Arthur was obviously offended by that.
Meanwhile, Excalibur had climbed onto one of the kitchen chairs and stretched himself across the table, staring at the bacon like he was trying to manifest it into his mouth through sheer willpower.
Every few minutes, the cat let out another loud meow whenever someone stopped paying attention to him.
“He’s louder than last time,” Shō muttered.
Arthur nodded. “He has grown emotionally.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“…Heh.”
Eventually, despite everything, breakfast actually turned out decent.
Shinra made pancakes while Arthur handled the bacon under extremely close supervision. Shō brewed coffee for Shinra and tea for himself before quietly stealing pancakes directly off Shinra’s plate whenever he stopped paying attention.
The three of them sat around the small table together while morning sunlight slowly filled the apartment.
Honestly, it felt weirdly normal. The kind of normal Shinra wasn’t really used to anymore.
At school, people whispered about him constantly. Some students still stared too long when they thought he wouldn’t notice. Others avoided him entirely. But here, sitting in his apartment with Arthur arguing about how much syrup you should put on your pancakes while Shō ignored both of them completely, things felt simple.
Comfortable.
Excalibur eventually jumped directly into Shinra’s lap while he was eating.
“OH COME ON.”
The giant cat sprawled across his stomach immediately, purring loudly.
Arthur looked pleased. “He likes you.”
“He weighs like, forty pounds.”
“Actually, he’s twenty-two pounds.”
“I don’t CARE.”
Excalibur lifted his head and meowed directly into Shinra’s face.
Shō took another sip of tea. “I think he just likes warm people.”
Shinra pointed accusingly at Arthur. “Then why doesn’t he sit on him?”
Arthur looked down thoughtfully at the cat.
“Perhaps Excalibur recognizes my royal bloodline and respects my authority.”
“… Idiot.”
—
Arthur stayed for the rest of the day after breakfast.
Not that Shinra expected anything else. Arthur had a habit of appearing somewhere randomly and lingering there for hours afterward like a stray cat nobody officially adopted.
Shō eventually disappeared into his room around noon after muttering something about homework, leaving Shinra and Arthur alone in the living room.
The TV played quietly while Shinra scrolled through movies.
Arthur laid upside down across the couch for absolutely no reason, one arm hanging toward the floor while Excalibur slept on top of his chest.
“How are you comfortable right now.”
“I have trained my body to endure all conditions.”
“You sound stupid.”
Arthur ignored him completely.
Eventually, Shinra settled on Across the Spider-Verse.
Arthur narrowed his eyes immediately.
“The spider child.”
“You mean Spider-Man?”
“Yes. He reminds me of you.”
Shinra looked over. “How?”
“You both smile like weirdos.”
Shinra immediately threw a pillow directly at his face.
Arthur caught it without looking away from the screen.
“The Devil grows violent.”
“You make me violent!”
The movie continued after that, filling the room with sound while sunlight slowly shifted across the floorboards.
Arthur kept making ridiculous comments every few minutes while Shinra told him to shut up repeatedly. Excalibur occasionally woke up just to demand attention before falling asleep again somewhere else in the apartment.
And somehow, without Shinra really noticing it at first, the hours passed easily.
There wasn’t any pressure around Arthur. Arthur never treated him differently because of the rumors at school. Never looked at him weirdly. Never acted nervous around him.
To Arthur, Shinra was just Shinra. A weird idiot. But still Shinra.
That mattered more than Shinra liked admitting sometimes.
By evening, the apartment had grown darker. The television became the main source of light in the room, blue colors flickering across the walls while another movie played quietly in the background.
Arthur had become quieter too.
Not completely quiet.
The Knight King, Arthur Boyle physically could not stay quiet for long periods of time.
But still calmer than usual.
Excalibur slept stretched across his stomach while Arthur stared toward the ceiling.
Then suddenly, he spoke.
“My parents used to do this too.”
Shinra looked over slightly. “Do what.”
“Stay awake late watching movies with me.”
Arthur’s voice sounded quieter than usual. “Before they left for their mission.”
Shinra stayed silent.
Arthur rarely spoke seriously about his parents. Usually he wrapped everything in fantasy terms. Kingdoms. Castles. Dangerous missions. All that stupid bullshit.
But every now and then, Shinra could hear something real underneath all of it. Something lonely.
“They told me there was a threat near the kingdom borders,” Arthur muttered. “Something dangerous enough that they had to leave immediately.”
The television continued playing softly in the background.
“They said protecting the castle was my duty until they returned.”
Arthur laughed quietly after saying that.
Not his usual dramatic laugh either.
Just… small.
Almost awkward.
“They’ve been gone a long time.”
“…Yeah,” Shinra answered softly.
Arthur closed his eyes. “But they’ll come back eventually.”
Shinra looked at him for a moment.
And honestly?
He didn’t have the heart to say anything else.
So instead, he leaned back into the couch cushions beside him. “Yeah.” he said quietly.
And the two of them stayed there together long into the night while the TV continued glowing softly in the dark apartment.
—
Sunday arrived quietly.
Well as quietly as a day could possibly arrive when Arthur Boyle was involved.
Shinra had woken up around ten in the morning to the sound of Excalibur stepping directly onto his ribs like a horse running across a field of grass.
Apparently, sometime during the night, Arthur had shifted even closer against him on the couch while sleeping. Their legs had gotten tangled together beneath the blanket at some point, and Excalibur had decided the perfect sleeping spot was directly on top of both of them.
Shinra almost threw the cat across the room out of pure instinct. Instead, he just groaned loudly and buried his face deeper into the couch cushions.
“Arthur.”
No response.
“Arthur.”
Still nothing.
Shinra lifted his head slightly. Arthur was still completely asleep beside him, blond hair covering half his face while Excalibur purred obnoxiously against his stomach.
“…How are you still alive,” Shinra muttered.
Shō walked past the living room a few seconds later holding a glass of water.
He stared at the couch.
“Weird.” he said.
“Stop saying that.”
Shō shrugged before walking back toward his room. “Then stop acting weird.”
—
By the time Shinra and Arthur actually left the apartment, it was already a little past noon.
Arthur had spent nearly twenty minutes trying to convince Excalibur that he could not come to the park with them. Unfortunately, the cat took this personally.
At first, Excalibur blocked the apartment doorway entirely by laying across it dramatically like a fallen warrior. Then, when Arthur tried stepping over him, the giant Maine Coon grabbed onto Arthur’s pant leg with both paws and refused to let go.
Shinra almost passed out laughing. “You created a monster, dude.”
Arthur sighed while gently prying the cat off his leg. “He simply enjoys my presence.”
“He’s emotionally dependent.”
“That is not a flaw.”
Eventually, after enough petting and several promises of treats later, Arthur finally escaped the apartment. Now the two of them walked side by side through the city streets while the afternoon sun shone overhead.
…
Shinra kicked his soccer ball lightly in front of himself every few steps while Arthur rambled on beside him about some random RPG fantasy game he started playing recently.
Apparently, the main character “lacked the spirit of a true knight.”
Shinra stopped listening halfway through the explanation.
The park wasn’t too far from Shinra’s apartment, only around fifteen minutes away by foot. By the time they arrived, the place was already filled with people enjoying the weekend weather. Kids ran around the playground near the entrance while groups of teenagers occupied the basketball courts farther away. Somebody nearby played music quietly through a speaker while couples walked slowly along the stone paths beneath the trees.
Shinra liked places like this.
Crowded enough that nobody paid attention to him specifically.
The moment Tamaki spotted them near the entrance pathway, she stopped walking.
“…Why do you both look homeless?”
“Good afternoon to you too,” Shinra replied immediately.
Arthur straightened slightly beside him. “The cat woman arrives.”
Tamaki blinked slowly. “You somehow get weirder every single time I see you.”
Arthur nodded proudly. “Thanks.”
Shinra buried his face into his hands for a second. “This is actually my life now.”
Tamaki walked over toward them, oversized hoodie sleeves hanging past her hands slightly. Unlike her first day at school, she looked a lot less tense around them now. Less guarded.
Honestly, Shinra was glad.
He remembered how angry and exhausted she looked when she first transferred into their school. Like she expected everyone around her to hate her already.
Now, though, she just looked annoyed.
Which was honestly a huge improvement.
The three of them started walking through the park together after that.
Mostly, Arthur and Tamaki argued while Shinra watched.
“Well excuse me for not understanding your weird knight language,” Tamaki muttered after Arthur referred to pigeons as “sky rats of the kingdom.”
“They are untrustworthy creatures.”
“You sound insane.”
“A king sees truths others cannot.”
“You need psychiatric help!”
Shinra laughed loudly enough that a few people glanced over.
And honestly?
He didn’t care.
The afternoon passed easily after that.
Tamaki occasionally pointed out random dogs passing by while Arthur dramatically critiqued strangers’ “battle stances” whenever he saw people playing sports nearby.
At one point, Shinra bought drinks for everyone from a vending machine after Arthur realized he only had enough money left for exactly one bottle of water.
“A ruler should not have to pay.”
“You’re broke.”
“No idea what you are talking about.”
Tamaki snorted into her drink.
The three of them continued wandering aimlessly through the park pathways afterward, moving slower now that the afternoon heat had started settling in.
Eventually, they reached one of the quieter areas near the basketball courts.
The sound of a ball repeatedly hitting concrete echoed nearby.
Shinra glanced over absentmindedly at first, then paused.
Someone stood near the edge of the court spinning a basketball effortlessly against one finger.
Tall. Dark-skinned. Dreadlocks pulled back neatly.
Even from a distance, the guy carried himself with this ridiculously relaxed confidence, like he naturally belonged wherever he stood.
A few other students nearby seemed drawn toward him automatically. Laughing at whatever he’d just said.
Shinra narrowed his eyes slightly.
“No way.”
The guy looked up suddenly. Then grinned.
And even from across the court, Shinra could already tell that today was going to be a great day.