Work Text:
It would make him a jerk to say it out loud, but when Isamu first looked at Naoki when his boyfriend returned from the basement, part of him didn’t trust him. He didn’t mention it, but Isamu tensed up when Naoki approached him, trying not to glance at the glowing tattoos and the fucking horn, the back of his mind wondering if this new… person was still the same Naoki he knew before. Chiaki didn’t seem to give a shit, examining Naoki all over in fascination, and if she saw him staring at Naoki, she kept her mouth shut. He just… didn’t know what to think anymore; not only had the world apparently been destroyed all around them, but something happened to Naoki and now he…
Loud, metallic clanking pulls Isamu from his thoughts, his head snapping up. Across the room, Naoki springs to his feet with abnormal strength, reaching the door before Isamu manages to splutter, “What?”
“Shit,” Naoki mutters and Chiaki races over.
“Oh fuck,” she says. “Quick, barricade the door!”
Finally able to move, Isamu stands up and creeps over. The closer he gets, the louder the creaking becomes, until he finally notices it: the door is not just being banged on, but something is trying to slide it open. The… thing has enough intelligence to try the handle.
“Isamu, fucking help me!” Chiaki yells, and he stumbles towards his girlfriend, who grabs one end of a heavy metal hospital bed.
Isamu complies, muscles straining as he pushes the bed, and he notices how Naoki is still by the door. He… Naoki has both hands planted against the door, pushing back against the invading thing with more of that inhuman strength.
If this wasn’t really Naoki, if their friend had been destroyed by whatever did this to him and took over his body or something, then… wouldn’t Naoki just leave? If this weren’t their boyfriend, why would he be barricading the door, forcing the invader away? In fact… why did he rejoin him and Chiaki after he transformed into whatever he is now? Why didn’t he kill them? Why has he stayed by their side, even going so far to give them both a drink he took from a vending machine and advising them to stay at the hospital until they all have their strength back? If Naoki’s personality has been changed, then why is he protecting them?
He has to focus again when Naoki steps back to allow them to push the bed against the door. Naoki tells them to hurry and Chiaki swears at him and Isamu cries out when something throbs in his back, but they nearly have the barricade in place and—
Something slams against the weakened door with incredible force, and the tortured metal finally gives way, the door toppling to the floor with an enormous thud that almost crushes Isamu’s feet. But he doesn’t have time to think about that, because—oh fuck—a real fucking monster burst into the room. It hovers above the floor, face contorted into a horrifying smile, and the fucking thing laughs as it makes a dive towards Chiaki.
“Chiaki!” is all Isamu manages to say, his feet refusing to move, but Chiaki manages to stay almost calm, clenching fists and assuming a fighting stance. But she won’t be able to do anything against this monster, and Isamu tries to run towards her, but—
Instantly, Naoki is in front of Chiaki, arms spread wide and a terrifying glare on his glowing face. Isamu has never seen anything like it, his boyfriend’s expression almost… animalistic, and Isamu finds himself wondering if the transformation caused this. Because Naoki has always been protective, but his new level of possessiveness is stunning (and kind of hot, but this really isn’t the time to be thinking of that). He looks prepared to destroy anything that tries to hurt them.
Naoki gets into a sort of fighting stance and a weird, tiny creature appears from thin air, giggling and floating at Naoki’s side. It looks a bit like a pixie, but Isamu doesn’t get much time to study it, because Naoki suddenly lunges at the monster with a cry and the air around him crackles with blinding light and, with a scream, the monster fades from existence. And then the pixie thing vanishes and Naoki’s stance relaxes, and he turns around to face Chiaki.
She stares at him with wide eyes, seemingly frozen in place.
“Chiaki?” Naoki says, tilting his head slightly. Even with those glowing lines slashed across his face, that expression is familiar: he is worried.
And Chiaki must notice, as she snaps out of it, grinning at him. “Oh my god, that was incredible!” she cries, jumping towards Naoki and enveloping him in a hug. “You’re so strong, Naoki!”
Isamu clears his throat, wandering over on slightly shaky legs. “Yeah, that was… that was something, man.”
“I had to protect you,” Naoki says, flinching as Chiaki traces a finger across the glowing lines on his bare back (where did his shirt go, anyway?), but he doesn’t push her away. “You have no way to defend yourselves against the Demons, but I’ve…” Naoki trails off, lost for words. After all, he is never the most talkative guy.
“It’s okay,” Isamu says. “We get it. You.. you’ve changed a lot, but… you’re still you, and you wanted to keep us safe. Right?”
“Of course,” Naoki says, and Isamu steps closer, reaching out a hand.
“I hate being so defenseless, and I wanna find a way to fight those fucking things, but until then… please keep me safe, Naoki,” Chiaki says, hugging him tighter.
And as Naoki makes a little embarrassed mumble and Chiaki begins to tease him, Naoki slowly, tentatively presses his fingers against one of the glowing lines snaked across his boyfriend’s body. It doesn’t hurt him, and Isamu sighs, relieved but also wanting to kick himself for his earlier thoughts. How could he ever have thought Naoki had been taken over or something? He may look different (and have a load of weird powers that fit in perfectly with the other bullshit happening around them), but he’s still the same old Naoki deep down.
And with Naoki protecting him, maybe Isamu can survive in the hellscape the world has become.