Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I'm bored."

Yusaku did not look up from his tablet, not that he needed to. As soon as he'd decided to curl himself up at the head of his bed in lieu of getting another backache from his desk chair again (he was just going to have to bite the bullet and get a new one soon), Ai had ever so gracelessly flopped himself across the foot of the bed. Even now the twit was half hanging off the side, both legs straight up in the air, waving to and fro in the exact position that would put them at the center of his view if he looked up from his work. And if he did so, Yusaku would be required to make a comment on them, otherwise Ai would start poking him both verbally and physically until Yusaku kicked him off the bed or something. Which wasn't a bad idea. There would be screeching, there was always screeching, but he was kind of used to that by now. The only time he ever really needed to worry about anything was when Ai got quiet. Which was definitely not happening at the moment.

"Yu~sa~ku, I'm booooooored."

Oh, he almost sounded plaintive there. He really must be bored. Tragic. Truly.

"Are you even listening to me?"

And there was the slight hint of annoyance. Like clockwork. "No."

A low level growl filled the bedroom as Ai very exaggeratedly rose from his ungainly sprawl, slithered up the bed, and gripped the top of the tablet none too gently. Those stunning golden eyes were glowing with barely concealed ire, but Yusaku completely ignored them and focused instead on the expertly polished nails that were now on display for his appraisal. Gold. With little purple metallic hearts painted on them. "Nice color," Yusaku remarked blandly as he nudged one of those fingers out of his way, "Goes well with your eyes."

There was a moment of silence then, and Yusaku knew that if he looked up right about now that he'd be witness to the epitome of frustration. Because while Ai might be bored, he was also very, very easy, and a compliment like that tended to send him off swooning like a shoujo manga heroine. With the requisite flowers and bubbles. Because, yes, it was Ai, and he was so very adept at those holograms of his. But no, the fingers merely tightened further, then pushed the tablet down and out of the way. Ai flopped face down into his lap immediately afterwards, arms slithering up as those fingers gripped at Yusaku's hips instead. A muffled "Pay attention to me." issued forth, and really, this was quite the setup. Yusaku almost felt like he should pull out a golf clap or something.

"If you wanted sex, you could have just said so," Yusaku pointed out as he moved his tablet even further out of the way.

Ai shifted around a bit, just enough so that he could turn his head and glare balefully up at Yusaku with one of those still glowing golden eyes. "I don't just want you for sex," Ai grumped while sporting a petulant pout.

"No, you don't," Yusaku agreed easily enough as he buried his own fingers in the dark golden mane splayed out over his lap, "but it is one of the perks you really like." Ai really was ever so pretty. And so very easy. A satisfied smirk crossed Yusaku's face as he started lightly scratching at Ai's scalp in the exact way he knew would have his exceedingly difficult partner melting into a puddle of purring mush in no time at all.

A hint of rosy heat climbed up Ai's visible cheek before he hid his face back in Yusaku's lap again. "Maybe."

Yusaku quirked an eyebrow at that and carefully considered his next step, then very deliberately removed his hand from Ai's hair and started reaching for his tablet. "Well, in that case, I really do need to finish this up."

The fingers grasping at his hips clamped down even further, hard enough that Yusaku was pretty sure that he'd be sporting handprint shaped bruises tomorrow, and then Ai shot up, golden eyes sparking with pure indignation as he pinned Yusaku back against the wall. "Don't ignore me!" Ai hissed as he leaned forward, practically plastering himself against Yusaku even as he pushed him further against the wall.

It was an uncomfortable position, but he knew it wouldn't last very long. These games never did. Instead, Yusaku merely smiled, tilted his head up, and gave Ai a quick peck on the tip end of his nose.

Ai squeaked and jerked back in response, his hands flying up to cover the offended extremity. He sulked like that for a minute or two, then shot an even more indignant glare at Yusaku. "Why are you like this?"

"Because it's me," Yusaku stated matter-of-factly as he reached up and pried Ai's hands away from his face, swiping his fingers tenderly across rose dusted cheeks, before reaching back further to wrap them around the back of Ai's neck. "And that's what you want," he murmured knowingly as he pulled Ai in slowly, lips meeting at the last in the gentlest of kisses, a contented sigh chasing away the gold-tinted frustration and giving way to a happier glow. There were multiple ways to make Ai melt, and Yusaku knew every single one of them.

Chapter Text

He doesn't know why he's here. Talking to Fujiki is pointless. He'll do whatever he feels like and damn the rest… and Ryoken can't really fault him for that. Not really. He does the same damn thing himself. But at least he has perfectly logical reasoning backing every single plan he has ever had, or ever will carry out. He doesn't live by his gut feeling or whatever other sorry excuse Fujiki tells himself. So really, there's no point for him to even be here, and certainly no reason for him to be staring at the door to Fujiki's apartment. There's no rationale in wanting to talk things over with Fujiki about Ai's- No, not Ai. Not anymore. What a foolish sentiment. There's no reason for him to think about that thing as anything other than the Dark Ignis, not after its latest crime.

But that… That was why he was here. He knows that Zaizen has sent out feelers, asking to meet up with Playmaker. Hanoi had gotten their own invitation, after all. And he knows that Fujiki won't do the smart thing and stay out of what's about to happen. He never does. And that's why Ryoken is here, as fruitless as he knows it's going to be, he has to at least try and talk Fujiki out of something that would no doubt damage him even further.

He shouldn't be involved. None of them should. It wasn't their burden to carry. It wasn't their sin.

Steeling himself against the monumental frustration he just knew he was about to experience, Ryoken reached up and started to knock, but the door simply swung open at the first light rap of his knuckles. What the-? Ryoken spared not even a single thought to the potential and obvious danger as he recklessly pushed the door open the rest of the way and headed inside. If any of the others had been present, they wouldn't comment on his predilection for haste when it came to anything involving Fujiki. At least not where he could hear them. But… something obviously wasn't right. Fujiki wouldn't have left his door unlocked.

All the lights were on, leaving nothing to the imagination, sadly. Ryoken had known Fujiki lived in something of a hovel, but it was an entirely different thing to see it firsthand. Maybe he really ought to- No. He shouldn't. It wasn't his place. And that thought was completely out of place considering the present situation anyway. Something was wrong, Ryoken should focus on that, not ridiculous flights of fancy.

Unfortunately, his caution, or rather lack thereof, served him not at all, because the moment he reached the entrance to the bedroom something grabbed him and yanked him off of his feet. No. Some things. Ryoken could only stare aghast in mounting horror as a mass of very familiar looking tentacles wrapped snugly around him and dragged him into the bedroom.

The Dark Ignis was already here.

"What do you know, Roboppi," the gaudy looking SOLtis crowed as the Ignis operating it folded its hands underneath its chin and grinned, looking much like the cat who had caught the proverbial canary, "We have a guest."

A much smaller, child sized SOLtis, who had apparently been riffling through Fujiki's things, stopped what it was doing to stare at Ryoken in what appeared to be pure wonder. "This is-"

"That's right," the Ignis' SOLtis purred, "It's our dear old friend Revolver, the leader of that genocidal minded idiocracy they call the Knights of Hanoi."

Ryoken did not rise to the bait as he was carefully lowered down to the floor, within arm's reach of the damned thing. Fujiki was nowhere in sight, and that sent a myriad amount of alarm bells ringing throughout his mind. Surely, they hadn't done anything to him… "Ai" at the very least had seemed inordinately attached to its origin, but then again, the Dark Ignis had a neverending tendency for lying.

The mass of tentacles released him abruptly, and then slithered back under the SOLtis' ridiculous looking cape, but Ryoken knew better than to think he was free. His appearance had obviously been unexpected, but he also knew that he was a known quantity to the Ignis, and that nothing was safe when the thing was doing exactly as it pleased. He needed to put it down. For all their sakes. But that didn't seem feasible at the moment, and there was something else that was far more important at the forefront of his mind. "Where is Fujiki?" Ryoken growled. Both of the SOLtis cocked an interested eyebrow at him, before sharing a knowing glance, and then creepily grinned at him in unison.

"Yusaku," the Dark Ignis' SOLtis explained pleasantly, "Is… somewhere safe. We're just here to fetch his things. Can't leave anything laying about, after all, we don't want people like you getting their hands on his stuff. That would be a crime." The SOLtis smirked condescendingly at him, before turning its attention back to its still creepily grinning companion. "But yes, gotta get all his things, chop chop, Roboppi."

"Aye aye, aniki!" The smaller SOLtis chirped before it went back to riffling through Fujiki's things.

That… Well, considering what he'd walked in on, Ryoken had already deduced that unfortunate outcome. "So you kidnapped him," Ryoken said flatly, his hands balling up into fists before he'd even realized it. How dare-

"Tut tut," the Dark Ignis wagged the SOLtis' finger at him patronizingly, "It's not something he's unfamiliar with. And besides," Ryoken had to stop himself from taking a wary step backwards as all the previous good cheer instantly vanished on the SOLtis, the pretty face instead curling up into a disgusted sneer. "It's not as if you have any room to talk, Kogami-san."

Ryoken was taken aback by that. The Dark Ignis had never actually dropped its masks in his presence before. Instead, the damn thing had always been fakely cheerful and completely ridiculous in its countless attempts to appear as harmless as possible. But there wasn't a single trace of that persona present here in this moment, just something cruel and vicious… and angry.

The sooner he killed this thing the better.

The moment, thankfully, ended, and the Dark Ignis had its SOLtis smiling gaily and bright as it just kept on going, "He'll always be safe with me. I'd never hurt him. And I certainly wouldn't torture him, ruin his life, make him absolutely miserable, and then not even have the gall to say I was sorry. At any point whatsoever. I mean, who does that?" The SOLtis shrugged and chuckled ever so innocently.

Ryoken ignored the jabs. He was well acquainted with his own guilt, had accepted it long ago. This thing wasn't going to get a rise out of him over it. "Don't give me that. You're the one preying on him, not me. Stop involving him in your insanity. You're the only reason he isn't safe."

The SOLtis went absolutely still, and Ryoken found himself swallowing the rest of whatever tirade he'd been working himself up to. What… The face was utterly blank as the Dark Ignis tilted its head and blinked at him. What was- "You're a lot more perceptive than I gave you credit for." It vocalized without moving its lips, sending a shiver of unease down Ryoken's spine. "I guess I'll have to reassess my plans when it comes to you." Then motion finally returned as it smiled sheepishly and flapped its hands in the air helplessly, "But that's neither here nor there."

Ryoken did take a step back as the thing leaned into his space, its smile looking almost pained now. "As much as you want me to be, I'm not the real danger here. Not yet, anyway. I could be, very easily, but we're not quite there yet." Ryoken forced himself to stand his ground as it reached up and cupped his cheek in a deceptively gentle caress. "I know the future, after all. And knowing is half the battle." The Dark Ignis briefly twisted the SOLtis' face up thoughtfully after saying that, then shrugged again. "Or something like that."

Ryoken stumbled backwards, not caring one whit at how graceless he appeared. It was worth it to get free of that thing. It took him a moment to gather himself once he was clear, and the Dark SOLtis merely stared at him the entire time, mocking him with a perceptive look, as if it knew everything there was to know about him. How dare it. How dare it take Fujiki. How dare it try to manipulate him. Both of them. How dare it pretend to care as if it knew- Wait. The future? That was-

"Finally getting a clue?" The Dark Ignis asked pleasantly as it turned its back on him, acting as if he didn't even register as a threat to it. And… He likely didn't. Ryoken grimaced and forcibly shoved his stupid emotions and reactions to the side. He needed to be more in control. This was a dangerous situation, and he needed to treat it as such. But… The Future? Did it mean-? "Have you looked recently?" It queried as it joined its compatriot in packing up what little remained of Fujiki's things. "The little details are the most important, you know. It really only takes one to end it all."

What?

"Of course," It glanced back at him, and the almost wistfulness to its expression made his skin crawl in apprehension. "There's no hope for you either. It'll destroy you right along with me. Everything else after that is collateral."

The future… It was talking about the simulations. No, Ryoken hadn't looked into them again after he'd finished his father's set, hadn't felt the need. "Ai" had been the only Ignis left and… He'd foolishly thought everything would be all right with just that one left. But he'd been wrong… Or had he? "What are you-"

"Don't worry," It said soothingly as it packed up the last of Fujiki's things, patting the other SOLtis on the head, and grinning indulgently as it leaned into the caress. "I'll change it. Everything will be fine."

Ryoken wasn't sure whether it was talking to him or the other SOLtis, and honestly was only paying it half a mind at this point. He was already running through the logistics of setting up another set of future simulations, or rather several. He'd need to factor in a few separate variables to get a good batch. Though, that was assuming he would get out of here unmolested, but Ryoken was fairly certain of that outcome now. Ai wasn't going to hurt him, and maybe he was being deeply, incredibly stupid to think that, but something told him that he wasn't wrong. For whatever reason, Ai had run its own future simulations and hadn't liked what it had found. And whatever it was had involved Fujiki, otherwise, neither of them would have even been here. He… couldn't let that go. Not if it was Fujiki.

If Ai truly was a danger, Ryoken could, would deal with it later. For now-

"Time to go," Ai said brightly as it hefted a quite obviously overburdened bag, leaving the rest to the other SOLtis, and started making its way out. "We'll be seeing each other again soon, I'm sure. Though," It stopped as it drew abreast of him and gave him a thoughtful, if sympathetic look. "Don't let it get to you too much. Remember, I am going to change it."

Ryoken said nothing to that. And really, what was there to say? In a sense, he was letting the end of the world walk out the door and continue doing whatever it damn well pleased. And as much as he should do his duty, and knew that he'd regret not doing so, he just… couldn't. If something was wrong with Fujiki, then… it would have to be dealt with first. And if the Dark Ignis remained a danger after that, well, he'd been prepared to do what was necessary ever since he was eight. Things might have changed somewhat since then, because yes, he had a gigantic mental stumbling block called Fujiki Yusaku. Or perhaps they hadn't changed at all… But… That's just the way things were.

The smaller SOLtis, Roboppi(?), nudged him in the side, and looked up at him with a lopsized, but thoroughly friendly looking smile, "Nice to meet you, Revolver-sensei." Sensei? "I'll be sure to kick your butt next time." What?

"Buh-bye." It waved back at him happily as it skipped along behind its aniki, babbling gaily about tiers and something about Playmaker being all the way at the bottom. And… What?

Ryoken blinked. What?

Chapter Text

Takeru mostly forgot what they'd been arguing about as Ryoken huffily turned away from him, scowl firmly in place as he crossed his arms. His ears went to half mast, while his tail whipped around in agitation, and at any other time, Takeru might have mocked him for this obvious petulant display, but really, how could he even focus on anything with this twit's fuzzy, expressive ears wilting like that. How could he resist? Takeru took a tentative step closer and Ryoken's tail whipped a little harder. God, he was such a child.

But then again, so was Takeru.

Smirking impishly, Takeru carefully reached out and tentatively ran his fingers over one of those fuzzy temptations. And wow, they were soft. Really, really soft. Who would have thought? He'd figured they must have been as prickly as their owner. And- OW! Takeru yanked his hand back, but it was too little, too late, Ryoken had whirled around and snapped at him. Literally. Ow. "What the hell?"

Ryoken looked deeply, incredibly incensed, then a moment later the panic hit. "Oh shit."

Takeru just stood there, blinking, his hand smarting something fierce, as Ryoken grabbed at it while muttering a litany of, "Oh shit. Oh god. Oh shit. Oh god. Please don't let it have broken the skin. Please please please." Which instantly stopped once he got a good look at Takeru's now bloody hand. "Fuck."

Huh, Takeru thought to himself as he watched the tiny rivulets of blood dripping off of his poor hand. It didn't even hurt anymore, but boy, was it bleeding. Hmm, he should probably do something about that. And probably do something about Ryoken too, cause wow, those mood swings were getting bad.

"Fuck fuck fuck," Ryoken muttered as he flipped Takeru's hand over, studying the damage, back and forth, again and again. Then finally, Ryoken looked up, catching Takeru's gaze with the most tortured, pathetic expression Takeru had ever seen on the man, wolf, whatever's face. "I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what happened. I was just so mad about nothing, and then I just reacted. Why the hell did you mess with my ear? But that doesn't matter anymore. If we cut it off right now, you might not change."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Takeru yanked his hand out of Ryoken's grasp, noticing briefly that it wasn't even bleeding anymore. Wow, that was fast. "We are not cutting off my hand. What are you even on about? It's fine. You're just an asshole."

Ryoken nodded woefully in agreement. "I am an asshole." And oh god, it looked like he was about to cry. What the hell? "I bit you, Takeru."

"Yeah, you fucking did," Takeru grumbled as he hid his poor hand behind his back, out of reach.

"That's how you become a werewolf, you idiot!" Ryoken yelled as he stepped forward, reaching out with both hands as if to yank Takeru's hand back into view. "You get bit by another werewolf."

Takeru blinked. Well. Okay then. That didn't sound too bad. Having fluffy ears didn't seem like such a world ending conclusion, and Ryoken's tail was pretty nice. And hey, maybe he'd get some other dog related things too. Now that would be something! "Okay," Takeru said blandly and shrugged.

"Okay?! What do you mean okay?!" Ryoken almost shrieked, and wow wow, Takeru really hoped better hearing wasn't part of the whole werewolf package. Otherwise he was going to have to teach Ryoken how to shut the fuck up. "Being a werewolf isn't pleasant! Everything's different! And the transformations are fucking painful. How can you just stand there and act like it's nothing! I've ruined your entire life! Oh my god." He then very dramatically fell to his knees and looked for all the world like he was about to dig himself a hole to the center of the earth.

Why did he always fall for the high strung twits? Takeru wondered to himself for the umpteenth time ever since he'd started hanging out with this utter moron. "So if I'm going to be a werewolf now, does that make me your alpha?" Takeru wondered out loud.

Ryoken went completely rigid. "What?"

"That's a thing with wolves, right?" Takeru just kept on going, cause as much as he thought about it, and to be fair, he wasn't thinking about it very much, being a dog didn't seem all that bad. "And, you know, that dick thing, do I get that too?"

If Takeru thought Ryoken's expression had been pained before, it was absolute agony now. "I- I don't… What?"

"What is it called?" Takeru asked casually as he wracked his mind for the right term. "What is it? Like the knot? Something like that, right? Do I get that? Cause I gotta say, I'm not seeing a downside here."

"You're going to be an animal, you fucking asshole," Ryoken hissed out at him.

"I already am an animal," Takeru pointed out oh so helpfully. "Now I get to be one for you."