Work Text:
“Sensei, I have a favor to ask of you.”
It was Friday afternoon, just after the final bell marked the end of the week’s classes. Waving goodbye to her friends, Nene had ducked into the science prep room to find Tsuchigomori surrounded by papers at his desk.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” the teacher told her, gesturing towards the door. She quickly obliged.
Pen still scrawling over the assessments he was grading, he didn’t say a word.
Though, he knew what she was going to ask. He’d been anticipating it for quite a while. And if Nene’s red-stained book hadn’t told him what she was there for, the flower stems spilling out of her schoolbag were a telling clue. Maybe it was the sort of intuition that came with being the fifth wonder. Maybe it was the fact that she’d come alone.
He flipped over the test papers, mauled with his spiky handwriting. And waited for her to speak.
“Do you know…” Nene took a deep breath, and her question came tumbling out along with it. “...where Hanako-kun’s grave is?”
For a heart-stopping moment, everything was quiet, and she began to rethink her approach, question why she’d even come in the first place.
“That depends,” Tsuchigomori leaned back in his chair. “You’ll remember that I require information for information.” Nene’s complexion went pale, sparing a quick glance at the broadcast speaker.
“Relax, relax.” He laughed, which was probably meant to set her at ease, but the sound seemed to have the opposite effect.
“I just want to know one thing,” he continued, “Why are you asking?”
“Ah, well...of course it’s kind of strange...but I thought it would be nice, to make sure there were flowers…”
The idea had first come to her when she lay awake at night, and hadn’t stopped running through her head since. Had anyone come to visit his grave, lighting incense and leaving flowers behind? Or was it secreted away in some shady corner, where no one would happen upon it and wonder who Amane Yugi had once been?
Nene trailed off mid-sentence, grip tightening around her schoolbag. Tsuchigomori extended an arm far too long for any human body, and patted her head.
“Alright,” was all he said, before beckoning her out the room. “I’ll take you.”
“Wha-“ she froze. “Really?”
~~~
When Nene caught up, Tsuchigomori was standing in a small parking lot outside the staff room, staring at a set of keys blankly.
“Sensei, you can drive?”
“More or less. Too far to walk, so get in.”
While his answer didn’t exactly fill her with confidence, she settled on the very edge of the passenger seat, noticing that when he inserted the keys into their slot, they flashed a keychain bearing the name, Nagisa. So not only was she being driven by someone who had probably never been more than twenty miles from Kamome, but said driver was also stealing her homeroom teacher’s car.
They lurched out of the school and onto the (thankfully empty) surrounding streets.
“So…you can leave the campus?” she asked, if only to have something to break the silence.
“I’m not bound to the school like some of the other wonders,” Tsuchigomori explained, “There are certain times when my job requires it. Home visits, funerals, the occasional staff meeting, to name a few.”
Not missing the word he threw out so casually, Nene cleared her throat.
“So you were there when Hanako-kun…”
“No more questions.”
“Right, sorry.”
She folded her hands, sitting quietly for the duration of the trip. It was short, ten minutes at most, and the car slowed to a stop, she let out a breath of relief that they miraculously hadn’t crashed.
She unlocked the door, and took in their destination: an average-sized plot of land speckled with rows of rectangular columns. Swaths of grass and trees were scattered about, and she could make out a few figures standing among them. It wasn’t dreary, or run-down, or any of the things she had been dreading. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel a stab of sadness seeing the stones- and knowing that on one his name was engraved.
Nene turned back to the car, where Tsuchigomori still sat.
“Sensei, you’re not coming?”
“I’ll wait here, go along,” he replied with a strained smile.
“Okay,” she nodded, taking a moment to gather her courage. A pair of heavy iron gates denoted the entrance, squeaking to announce her arrival when Nene pushed past. The thorns of the roses she was carrying began to prick her fingers.
She whispered Tsuchigomori’s directions to herself while she searched the names. And soon she found herself on the uppermost hill, third row, ten plots in.
Her feet froze when she found it. Two names, etched in a simple script: Yugi Amane, and Yugi Tsukasa. The stone marker was clean, despite the weathering it had endured from more than fifty years unmoving. But she couldn’t help but notice that if there had ever been fresh flowers laid at the grave, they had long since wilted and became part of the earth.
It shouldn’t have hurt this much to see a physical reminder that one of her closest friends, the boy she would even venture to say she loved, was dead. It faded into the background of their time together, easy to forget when he laughed and teased her just like anyone else. Though sometimes, he’d flicker transparent before her eyes, and Nene could have imagined that if she only reached out, her fingertips would go straight past his body.
He always caught her looking at him with a strange expression, those few days. And she always changed the subject, smiled, and resumed her cleaning.
Even so, Nene knew she loved Hanako. She’d known for a long time. She wouldn’t dare to say the words out loud, even just to herself.
Once, after a narrow escape where he’d saved her life yet again, she resolved to tell him before her time was up. In some way or another. But this was a secret she held close to her chest for the time being.
Her fingers began to sting as the rose thorns gradually bit into them more.
No, she chided herself desperately, brought back out of her thoughts. No, nonono, stop, not the time, definitely not the place for this.
She shook her head to dispel the flush of her cheeks, and leaned down to place the flowers into their respective holder.
“You deserved so much more,” she whispered as she arranged them, barely audible over the summer breeze. The midday light in the sky told her that it was much later in the day than she’d initially planned for.
If I miss cleaning, Hanako will bother me in class tomorrow, she sighed. Nene took a step back to survey her handiwork. But...I’m glad I came here.
Before leaving, she unfolded a slip of paper that had been carefully hidden in her pocket.
Hamsters Galactic War- The Movie, read the ticket. The only thing that had somehow survived the fake world’s destroyal, still tucked into the bottom of her school bag where she’d left it.
Once she’d discovered them, the pair of tickets brought up a whole set of memories she did not want to relive, so they’d remained in her desk drawer where they were easy to ignore. Until now.
“Sunday afternoon,” Nene said, tucking the paper in among the flowers. “Don’t be late.”
She smiled as best she could manage, turned, and left without letting herself look back.
And if Tsuchigomori noticed her red-rimmed eyes while they drove back to Kamome, he didn’t say a word.
~~~
“Hanako-kun!” Nene’s feet pounded down the hallway, and she arrived at the girls’ bathroom out of breath. With an apologetic smile, she waved and settled her bag on the ground. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Yashiro~” the apparition discarded his hanafuda cards, and was across the room in two quick strides. “What were you thinking, ditching cleaning duty?” he pouted, poking her arm.
“That’s none of your business,” she replied, crossing her arms. “I’m here now.”
“Well, sorry to disappoint,” Hanako shrugged, “But I was at a meeting while you were gone, so the kid had to take your cleaning duty.”
“Ah! I’ll have to thank Kou-kun.”
“He left a little bit ago. You can just head head home, too, if you want,” he told her. There was a breath of hesitation, after which he wrapped her shoulders in a hug.
“Missed you,” he admitted quietly.
Nene’s smile softened, and she swiftly untangled his arms from her so she could turn to hug him properly. Trying to put all her emotion from earlier into it, she buried her head in the slope of his shoulder. As if he could somehow understand all the things she couldn’t say out loud, just by the grip of her arms.
“Eh-“ he inhaled sharply, waiting for her to speak. When she didn’t, he instead moved to stroke her hair. “Everything okay, Yashiro?”
“...Just glad I’m your assistant, I guess,” she answered while breaking the embrace.
“Now I’m starting to think something’s seriously wrong with you.”
She laughed, and without thinking about what she was doing, Nene cupped Hanako’s cheek and pressed a short kiss to it.
“See you Monday, Hanako-kun.”
Grabbing her school bag from where it rested at her feet, she escaped down the hallway, running as fast as she could. Hoping that maybe, just maybe Hanako wouldn’t follow her.
As soon as she started putting the plan into action, however, Nene realized she had fatally misjudged how fast Hanako could pursue her down the halls.
She only gave up when his hand caught her by the wrist. Noticing with some curiosity that it was trembling, her feet came to a stop.
“Yashiro,” was all he said, in a tone that she couldn’t read. She sighed, blushing furiously while turning to face him.
She expected any number of things, but more specifically that he’d be wearing a trademark smirk when she finally looked him in the eyes. And that would have been okay: Hanako would make a joke out of the whole situation, and she would laugh along and play it off as casually as she could.
But when she turned, and took in his expression, she found that she wasn’t getting out that easy. Although, it seemed like he was having just as much difficulty making eye contact as she was.
“We don’t have to talk about it,” he told Nene, giving a quick squeeze to her hand. “This is just so we’re even.”
She had to stop a squeak from escaping her throat as he brushed an identical kiss along her cheek. Leaning back, Hanako cleared his throat.
“And for the record, I’m...glad you’re my assistant, too.”
Her instinct to run away died, and instead she buried her burning face in his chest.
Meanwhile, Hanako finally decided she wouldn’t try to shove him if he tried to put his arms around her. The result was a sort of awkward half-hug, but she melted into it nevertheless.
Nene bit her lip, as if only to keep words from spilling out. As it turned out, however, this was spectacularly ineffective.
“Can I tell you something?”
“O-of course.”
“I really want to kiss you right now.”
She was doing terrible things to Hanako’s already flushed face. Her confession left his hands shaking and mind spinning, but he still dared to meet her gaze when she lifted her head.
And if I did? her eyes seemed to ask.
I’d let you, his replied.
That was all the confirmation Nene needed.
Her first kiss was nothing like what she’d fantasized about for years. It was barely even a kiss, more of peck, really, that she held for one, two seconds before backing away. But that didn’t stop warmth from blossoming in her stomach when her lips made contact with his.
When she leaned back, his mouth was open in a small “o” shape, and Hanako’s arms had migrated to encircle her waist.
“I’m sorry,” her instincts prompted her, and Nene immediately regretted speaking. Who apologizes after a kiss? Idiot!
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Are...Are you really okay with this?”
He lifted her chin with a gentle touch, forcing her to look him in the eye. Then he swiftly pulled her into another kiss, to which Nene found the courage to reciprocate.
It was as easy as that. Once Hanako’s resolve broke, her own worries dissipated into the air. Just for a moment, her mind didn’t have to spin with What if I mess everything up?, or Is it alright to love, when I don’t have much time left?
She pressed back with a new degree of depth, letting herself focus on her hands threading through his hair.
When they next broke apart, it was only for Nene’s breath to be swallowed up yet again. She tilted her head for a different angle, only to be surprised by the slight hesitation he showed.
It was then when she realized: Hanako had stolen her first kiss. But it was also more than likely she’d taken his, too.
Her breath caught on the thought, and she separated from him to fill her lungs with air again. They were quiet for a few moments, Hanako twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. His eyes really were beautiful up close.
“Why? I mean, why me?” he asked once he gained his voice back. Hanako ducked his gaze. “I’m not-“
“Stop it,” she interrupted, with a kiss to the cheek that was, in his opinion, much too quick.
“Because...I love you, okay? Is that too hard to understand?” The words felt new and foreign in her throat, like they didn’t quite fit. But she’d made a promise to herself to say them, and the time felt so undeniably right .
Yes , Hanako wanted to respond. Yes. I’m a murderer. I’m dead. I can’t leave the school. I can’t love you the way you deserve to be loved.
He sighed, drawn back to the first morning in Shijima Mei’s fake world. Experimenting, and discovering that he could pass Kamome’s gates. It was stupid, but instant giddy happiness had spread through his chest: he could leave. He could walk home with his friends, and get ice cream after school. He could ask Nene out on a date, and be able to go through with it.
None of it had ever felt as far away. But he couldn’t say he didn’t understand her, because his own feelings? Just as impossible. Left him just as breathless and confused. And so her told her:
“I love you too.”
The smile Nene gave in return made him want to pepper her face with kisses all over again.
So he did that, too. Along her jawline, and across the bridge of her nose. One final peck was placed on her bangs, before their foreheads settled to rest together.
“I really do,” Hanako whispered, soft and meant just for her.
Her heart was so full she felt like at any moment it could spill over, and she drew him into another kiss, one that was somehow different from all the others they had shared. Slow, and more exploratory. If Nene had to describe it in a word, she’d even say real .
It wasn’t the fairytale kiss that she had always dreamed of. But she couldn’t bring herself to be disappointed in the least sense. It was Hanako. And that was enough.
A muffled noise escaped her throat when he moved to kiss her bottom lip, and she felt him stiffen. She pulled away, taking a short breath. Before he could apologize, or back away, Nene was tightening her hold on his gakuran and letting her lips part into another kiss.
Hanako’s hand wound up into her hair, soft and silken on his fingers. It was then that he recognized that the familiar weight of his hat had long disappeared. She seemed to notice as well, because after Nene leaned back, she ruffled a hand through his hair, and giggled.
“I don’t look that different!” he protested, but couldn’t help falling into laughter too.
“Sorry, sorry! You just remind me…” she trailed off, and he took the pause to retrieve the hat from where it had fallen at their feet.
“...of Yugi Amane.”
He stopped, still bent over. Hanako knew: they hadn’t talked about Yugi Amane, whoever he was. Whatever he was supposed to be. Part of him wanted to leave that brief time in the past. Instead, he stood, and straightened his hat.
“Yashiro, I’m-“
“It’s okay.” She trailed a finger down his cheek, which was really quite distracting in itself. He sighed, enveloping her hand with her own.
“But-“ he started, and she returned with a sigh of her own, kissing his flushed cheek. That quieted Hanako pretty fast, in her opinion.
His expression softened, soon to be replaced with a teasing smile.
“Though, to be honest, I really was looking forward to our date,” Hanako said. Nene’s blush returned. Was it only that afternoon in which she’d left a ticket to said movie behind? It seemed to her like a lifetime ago.
“I don’t seem to remember saying yes to that date.” She scoffed, withdrawing her palm to cross her arms.
“Aww, come on, Yashiro,” he complained, clutching her hands back.
But in reality, she knew she would have said yes. She would have told him yes a thousand times over if only she had the chance.
Outside the school, the chime of the 5:00 announcement began to play, echoing down the deserted hallway.
Nene was sure most students and teachers had long since headed home. She was also sure that if anyone happened upon her and Hanako, they’d (or more specifically, she ) would make a pretty strange picture. Besides her daikon ankles, she didn’t also need to be known as the girl who held conversations with the air.
She turned back to Hanako, offering him an apologetic smile.
“I’ll see you later?” she asked, though they were still intertwining their fingers without any real intent of stopping.
“Later, then.”
They shared one final kiss, Nene’s face still dusted rose in the fading light.
~~~
“No. 5.”
“Honorable No. 7. How can I help you?”
Hanako lounged in the air, floating several inches off the ground. Behind him, a few mokke escaped into the science prep room before the door closed.
“You missed the meeting today,” he commented. “That hasn’t happened in decades.”
“I was busy with other matters,” Tsuchigomori said nonchalantly, a thread of smoke filtering out his pipe.
“Interesting, because you and my assistant seemed to be absent at the exact same time.”
“She asked for information. I merely obliged,” he answered. On the bookshelf, Yako stirred in her sleep, tail flicking slightly. “What do you expect from me, No. 7?”
Hanako hummed to himself, thinking. So, it was obvious he wasn’t getting any answers out of the teacher. But still he wondered… the tightness of her unexplained hug, and Nene’s gaze skipping over his hakujoudai when she waved hello. It reminded him with a startling resemblance of her behavior upon return from No. 5’s boundary.
He opened a window facing the school gates, watching the sky and the girl below who had just started down the sidewalk.
A slow smile spread across his face as he settled his head in his arms.
“You’re making that face again,” Tsuchigomori noted, a passing observation.
“Me?”
For a moment, he spared a glance at his former teacher, who locked eyes. A rare, genuine smile flickered on his face just for an instant.
“I’m glad you’ve found someone who makes you happy.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Sensei.”
When he looked back out the window, Nene had disappeared around the corner, he caught just a glimpse of her leaving his field of view.
Hanako traced a finger over his lips. Monday couldn’t come soon enough.