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Anidaemon had been an adventure, as always. Something about the excited chatter of fellow anime and game enthusiasts, the neon signages and bright lights inside the stores, and the endless rows of merchandise of all shapes and sizes never failed to leave such a lasting impression on your mind. This time had been the same, your excursion almost perfect except for one very significant aspect it lacked: the company of your favorite otaku.
A few weeks ago, you and Leviathan had planned your trip to Anidaemon in order to acquire limited edition Azuki-tan charms in a gacha event that would only be available for a single day. He found out about it in an online advertisement which he immediately took a screenshot of and sent you, inviting you to join him in his quest of adding more items in his The Magical Ruri-hana: Demon Girl shrine. Despite the two of you adjusting your schedules to accommodate your outing, three days prior to the day of the gacha event, Leviathan was unexpectedly invited to do an interview with the RAD Newspaper Club for a feature on the Hell’s Navy.
“I’d rather go to Anidaemon with you,” Leviathan whined after he read the message from the RAD Newspaper Club with a frown, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. He had been looking forward to your trip, and so were you, but things didn’t always go according to plan.
“Yeah, I was really excited about it,” you admitted. “It’s alright, though. Duty calls for the Grand Admiral, right? I’ll definitely be reading that article!”
Flustered, he covered his face with the back of his hand. “D’aaah! Don’t say that… It’s making me more nervous. Who knows? I might say the wrong thing and embarrass myself… and the entire Hell’s Navy!”
“You won’t. Most likely, it’ll be Mephistopheles who’s going to interview you, at least you know him already.” You patted his back with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure everything will turn out okay. You’ve got this!”
He withdrew his hand from his face and looked at you, only to avert his gaze the next second. “Oh… Um, thanks… I needed to hear that.”
“Anytime,” you said. “By the way, I’m still free during that day, so if you’d like, I can go to Anidaemon and get that limited-edition merchandise for us.”
“Y-You’d do that?” he clarified and met your gaze again, all of his earlier shyness seemingly gone for the moment.
“Of course!”
“Then, yes, please! You’re a lifesaver—no, an angel! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!”
“No problem! It’ll be something for you to look forward to after the interview.”
“I’m already looking forward to it! I’m giving you all my gacha luck and counting on you!”
“Leave it to me!”
Although Leviathan hadn't been by your side when you lined up in the queue, all of his wishes for your good luck had been in your hands as you spun the knob of the gacha machine. With a skip on your steps, you made your way back to the House of Lamentation, a pair of precious charms inside your coat pocket. Surprisingly, you arrived home before Leviathan, so you decided to spend your idle time in your bedroom while you waited for him.
As you scrolled through Devilgram and commented on a few of your friends’ posts, the sound of rapid footsteps in the hallway followed by a knock on your door caught your attention at once. You stood and opened it, pleased by the sight of Leviathan, excitement rolling off him in waves despite his attempt to keep his cool.
“Welcome back! How did the interview go?” you asked.
“Good, I think,” he replied, scratching the nape of his neck awkwardly. “Mephisto asked me about an update on Lotan. LOL!”
You chuckled, remembering his account of the incident involving him and Lotan during the Spirit Week celebration of the previous academic year. “Sounds interesting.”
“So…”
“Hm?”
“How was your trip to Anidaemon? Did you manage to get the goods?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” you teased. “It was great, and the line was longer than how we expected it’d be, but… I did! I got them!”
“OMG! Which ones were you able to get?! Any chance for the cute winky face SSR ones? Actually, SR ones are okay, too. Hell, I’ll even take an N one. Anything from that collection is fine!”
“I can give it to you now,” you began, placing your hand in your coat pocket to get the item, “but you have to close your eyes and hold out your hands.”
“Okay, okay! Ah, I’m so excited! The suspense is killing meeeee!!!”
Giddily, Leviathan shut his eyes and reached out to you with his palms open, waiting. You pulled one of the charms from your pocket and placed it over his hands. The way his fingers quivered once the item touched his skin was so Leviathan, and this—his presence, quirks and all—was one of the things you missed during your earlier trip to Anidaemon.
“Can I see it now?”
“Alright, open your eyes,” you replied, hoping he’d like it.
His eyes fluttered open and widened once he saw which Azuki-tan variation he was holding. “U-U-Ultra Rare! It’s the UR Azuki-tan charm!”
“Indeed, it is.” You smiled slyly, twiddling with the other charm hidden inside your coat pocket. “But wait, there’s more!”
“Huh? More?!”
“Well, I wasn’t able to pull the Taichi-senpai charm, but I did get something interesting.”
“What is it?”
You revealed your other hand and showed him the extra item you were able to snag from the gacha miraculously. “Ta-da! Isn’t it cool?”
“Is that…?”
“Yep.” You took his hand in yours to demonstrate how the two charms work together. “Look, when you put them together like this…”
As you shifted the bases together, the markings on the back of the two imagawayaki charms connected.
“No way... It’s Azuki-tan’s other half!” Leviathan cried out, sounding emotional. “Wait… Both of these are UR, though? HOW?!”
“I’m not sure how I did it as well,” you admitted, “but surprise! Great job on the interview!”
Leviathan’s face reddened, and he opened his mouth to give you a reply, but his gaze zeroed in on your hands. You and he were still holding the charms together, your fingertips touching. “W-What are you—I mean—what are we doing? Are you… This is nice, but—UGH!”
“Levi—”
Before you could ask him what was the matter, he had pulled you in his embrace and buried his head on your shoulder. “T-Thank you for doing this! I just… I’m so happy!”
“Anything for you.” You laughed. “Do you want to keep both of them for your Ruri-chan shrine? I don’t mind.”
“No, I… I want you to keep the other half.”
“Oh… Okay, thank you, Levi.” You nodded against his chest, smiling as you wrapped your arms around him in return. “I missed you while I was there. Anidaemon wasn’t the same without you, you know?”
He sighed contentedly and held you tighter. “Let’s go there again next time.”
“Together.”
“Yeah.”
Even though it remained unspoken, the two of you mused over the same thing: like Azuki-tan, both of you had found your other half, and to be in each other’s arms was just what you needed after a long, long day apart.