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Kujo Aya was a complete and utter idiot.
She blinked at her phone screen, unable to comprehend the words of the text message she’d just gotten, wondering how in the world she could possibly have been so blind.
Because Yuki was an outlier, she’d thought. She and Haruka had discussed it, and they both loved Kujo, they both thought he was wonderful and amazing and wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone two idols.
But Haruka had just texted, told her that Kujo had said he’d never measure up to her or Yuki or Zero or any professional idol, said that he’d thrown him away and that he hated him now.
And Yuki, with his sad eyes and his slowly burning out anger, was supposed to be an outlier. And Aya had liked him well enough; he was talented and he cared about her and sometimes his bluntness reminded her shockingly of Tamaki, and she had thought that his suddenly doused rage three months ago meant that he was finally realizing that Kujo wasn’t awful.
But if Kujo had said such awful things to Haruka, and if Haruka hated him now, that meant that Yuki wasn’t an outlier, and he wasn’t coming to see the truth--his spirit was just breaking, or maybe it had already broken, after that last terrible fight between them three months ago, and Aya had watched it happen and looked at the quiet devastation Yuki had carried since and been glad.
Kujo Aya was a complete and utter idiot.
But she did not make the same mistakes twice.
Three months ago, she’d gotten a DM on Instagram from a boy named Nanase Riku. They had met in the hospital; Kujo had had some business there, and she’d been waiting for him, and Riku had come out of nowhere and claimed to be hiding from his brother, and they’d had an enjoyable time chatting about the music industry. She’d told him about Kujo and Yuki, and about her life before and her life now. In exchange, he’d talked about his twin, and his illness, and his time growing up in the hospital. They had exchanged Instagram handles, and both gone on with their lives, until Riku had texted inviting her to a meeting called the Fuck Kujo Club.
She had blocked him at the time, after explaining what a good person Kujo was, but now she unblocked him and sent a message explaining Haruka’s situation, asking if the invitation was still open, and if she could bring a friend.
Aya’s first father had been loud and drunk and violent; he had hit her mother most, and her brother second most, and he still found time to beat Aya often. Her second father had cared more for his appearance in adopting a poor orphan girl than he did Aya herself. Her third father was not shaping up to be much better than the first two.
Cruel, Haruka had called Kujo. Manipulative. A liar. Aya added pathetic and disgusting and sent the screenshots to Riku and waited for his response.
Maybe he wouldn’t send anything. Maybe she had been blocked in return. Maybe it had all been just a terrible prank.
But Yuki hadn’t yelled at Kujo in months, hadn’t done anything other than go to work, come home, sometimes cook her dinner, a deep-seated sadness forever on his face. Haruka had been tossed away like garbage, couldn’t decide whether to hate himself or to hate Kujo.
Aya had been an idiot, not to believe Yuki and Riku. But she never made the same mistake twice.
And Riku texted her back that night.
“He says the Fuck Kujo Club is still going strong,” she told Haruka over the phone, wandering through a park. “He says that they could definitely use our help, though we’re going to have to be careful and make sure not to let Kujo know we’re going, and that we’d be joining on a trial basis, since I used to be one of Kujo’s biggest defenders.”
“Ugh,” said Haruka. “Better than nothing, I guess.”
“I can ask Yu-niichan to get you a ticket home,” she said. “He’ll probably get it if I let him know we agree with him about Kujo now.”
“I wonder how that guy figured it out,” said Haruka. “He wasn’t thrown away.”
“If you want, I can ask when I go to him about the tickets,” she said. “He really hates Kujo, I think.”
“Acchan, you said he was stopping hating him.”
“Maybe he’d just pretending?” said Aya, but without much hope. “I don’t think he likes him. I just...I guess it seems like he doesn’t really care anymore. He’s just been going through the motions.”
“Sucks to be him,” said Haruka, who had said not a few minutes ago that his life was the worst ever lived. “Yeah, you can get the tickets. I guess. As long as I don’t have to see Kujo.”
“You won’t,” Aya assured him. “See you soon, Haru-chan.”
“See you soon, Acchan.”
That night, she went to Yuki. He was curled on the couch, shoulders folded in like paper, the very picture of defeat. No different than usual, then, but today she went and sat next to him, and after a moment he looked over at her, a glimmer of light reentering his sad eyes.
“Yu-niichan,” Aya said, “did you hear about what happened to Haru-chan?”
“Haru...that’s your friend from overseas, right?” asked Yuki. “Did Kujo kill him too?”
“No, of course no--wait, too? Yu-niichan, has Kujo killed anyone before?”
Yuki looked away. “...Yeah,” he said heavily. “Yeah. He did.”
“Is that why you hate him?” Aya whispered, wondering what Nanase Riku’s Fuck Kujo Club would think of this information.
Yuki shook his head. “First he put him into a coma,” he said. “That’s when I started hating Kujo. And then...three months ago...when he started waking up, and our friend was visiting him and everything was going to be okay for him...Kujo killed him. I know he did. The hospital claimed that there was a medication malfunction, but Kujo definitely caused it. There wasn’t even a funeral, they just cremated him and threw away the ashes.”
Aya gasped. “Yu-niichan, that’s...that’s terrible!” she said. “Why...why would Kujo…?”
“It was my fault,” he said. “I wanted to get him somewhere safe, so I got people to help me help him. But Kujo disagreed, and…” Yuki shook his head a little. “It was my fault,” he said. “I haven’t spoken to the people I asked for help since. I don’t want Kujo to go after them too.”
“I’m sorry you lost your...friend,” Aya said quietly.
“My best friend,” Yuki said quietly. “Kujo took him from me years ago. He’s just gone forever now.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Yuki nodded, and his gaze went faraway again, as if perhaps he was thinking of his lost friend, of how he died and what he could have changed.
“...Haru-chan’s been thrown away,” Aya said after a few minutes. “He’s all alone in Europe, and I’m worried about him.”
Yuki blinked, and then he looked over at her again. “Is there anything we can do for him?” he asked.
Aya hesitated. She had meant to ask this, but...wouldn’t it be cruel, when he had just lost his best friend forever, to ask him to help her bring back hers?
“He needs a plane ticket back home,” she said eventually, “but...I mean, you don’t have to. You just lost your…”
Yuki shook his head. “He would want me to help,” he said. “You...remind me of him sometimes, you know.”
“I do?” she asked.
“Your hair,” he said, “and your music. And how much you care about someone who’s only going to destroy you.”
Aya swallowed. She wanted to argue, but...she did still care about Kujo, even if she was mad at him now. She didn’t know how to stop.
“I know he’s a bad person,” she said. “Kujo, I mean. He did awful things to you and your friend and Haru-chan.”
Yuki nodded. “They deserved better,” he said.
“So do you,” Aya said.
Yuki shook his head. “He was only hurt because he was protecting me, and he was killed because I wasn’t obedient,” he said. “I don’t deserve better. I should have been the one who got injured, and I should have been the one who died.”
“Don’t say that, Yu-niichan!” said Aya. “I’d be really sad if you died, and I’m sure your best friend would have been, too. Plus, if you weren’t around I don’t think I’d have ever realized how awful Kujo is, so…”
“He is the worst,” said Yuki. “He’s not coming home tonight, is he?”
Aya shook her head. “He said he wanted me to keep an eye on you so that you stayed out of trouble.”
Yuki hummed and stood laboriously. “I’ll make you some dinner,” he said, reaching over to pat her hair. “Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Aya thought for a moment. She really wanted steak, but one of the things Yuki had used to fight Kujo on was his vegetarianism. He had lost--in retrospect, Kujo had probably threatened his friend’s life to get him to fall in line--but Aya had noticed that Yuki still did his level best to avoid all meats and fish whenever possible.
“I’m kind of tired of having meat, so maybe just a vegetable dish?” she suggested.
Yuki smiled at her, which meant he’d probably guessed what she was up to, but at least it was a smile. “That sounds good to me,” he said. “I’ll make vegetable gelée.”
“Ooh, yummy!” Aya said, smiling up at him. “I can’t wait!”
As Yuki was cooking dinner, and Aya helped prepare ingredients, her phone buzzed with a notification: an Instagram account, @FKC_Ban, had requested to follow her.
She checked the profile after finishing the preparation. None of the posts included any identifying characteristics; there were several aesthetic shots of the city, but they were from all around. There were one or two posts of meals, a picture of a cup of tea, one of a wheelchair. There were a few pictures of Trigger albums on a worn kitchen table, and the profile picture was that of a hand with chapped silver nail polish flipping the camera off, the background blurry.
After a couple moments of deliberation, Aya accepted the follow, and followed the account back. Almost immediately, she received a text.
@FKC_Ban: It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would you mind telling me why Kujo’s daughter wants to help us take him down?
@aya_sings: I’ve seen him hurt too many people, and I’m fed up with it. My friend Haru-chan and I want to stop him.
@FKC_Ban: Why now?
@aya_sings: The way he treated Haru-chan plus some other stuff that’s been going on made me realize how awful he is, and I don’t like it when the people I love are getting hurt. I couldn’t do anything about that when I was little, but now that it’s happening again and I have a chance to change things, I want to.
@FKC_Ban: You’re fourteen, aren’t you? You shouldn’t have to worry about changing the world. Leave that to us grown-ups.
@aya_sings: I’m fifteen, actually, and besides, it isn’t changing the world. It’s helping my family.
@FKC_Ban: You didn’t see it that way a few months ago. According to Nanase Riku, you said that Kujo was an upstanding man and an excellent dad.
@aya_sings: I was wrong. And now I want to help you guys take him down.
@FKC_Ban: I see. If you’re telling the truth, you’re quite the upstanding young lady.
@aya_sings: Because of my inaction with this, more people got hurt than if I’d agreed to help you guys three months ago.
@FKC_Ban: Hm.
@FKC_Ban: I still don’t entirely trust you, but I’m paranoid and I have a lot of time on my hands to see if you’re lying. Once we’ve hashed it out, I’ll DM you the date and time of our next meeting. Please don’t be late.
@aya_sings: I won’t let you down!
@FKC_Ban: Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you’ll let me down. Everyone does. Unless you betray us to that monster Kujo, though, I won’t hold it against you.
@aya_sings: What could I do to NOT let you down?
@FKC_Ban: You could actually want to help us, I suppose.
@FKC_Ban: Or, if you were that guy, I’d be happy, but I know for a fact you aren’t.
@aya_sings: “That guy”?
@FKC_Ban: Don’t worry about it.
@aya_sings: :(
@aya_sings: I have to go now, my big brother just finished making dinner. Can we text more later?
@FKC_Ban: Of course, text me any time.
@FKC_Ban: And, if you don’t mind, I’d like to hear more about this brother of yours sometime.
@aya_sings: I’ll ask if he’s ok with me saying anything, but he’s a pretty private guy, and I think Kujo has him absolutely terrified, so I’m not telling him about this stuff.
@FKC_Ban: Hm, I see. Well, thank you for letting me know. I hope you have a nice evening, and please take good care of that brother of yours.
@aya_sings: Will do!
Aya tucked her phone away and went over to Yuki, who was absently pouring the hot gelée into ramekins to set in the refrigerator. Once that was done, Aya started scrubbing out the pot and Yuki wandered back to the couch, where he curled up and watched out the window again. Aya wondered if he was thinking about his friend. She hoped he’d at least gotten to say his goodbyes to him.
...She doubted he had.
Aya finished cleaning the pot and went back over to Yuki, sitting quietly next to him and waiting until she was sure he wasn’t looking to send Haruka screenshots of her texts with FKC_Ban.
Haru-chan <3: lmao he def wnats something out of u nd i think it has 2 do w yuchan
he’s probably just curious?
yuniichan is a popular idol after all and his account has trigger pictures
Haru-chan <3: yeah but the accounts like totally fake like everything theres soooo obv staged the trigger stuff prob is 2
maybe its because kujo murdered yuniichan’s best friend
Haru-chan <3: what????
yeah yuniichan told me earlier
apparently that’s why he stopped fighting w kujo
Haru-chan <3: thats fucked
yeah :(
Haru-chan <3: what was the frind like?
yuniichan says i remind him of him
Haru-chan <3: oh so he was an asshole
mean!
but yeah probably
he said that his friend cared about someone like how i cared about kujo
“the way you care about someone who’s only going to destroy you” he said
Haru-chan <3: ouch
Haru-chan <3: hes not wrong tho
yeah :(
Aya watched her phone for a few more minutes, but Haruka didn’t send anything else, so she turned it off and looked over at Yuki, who was still staring absently out the window.
“Yu-niichan,” she said, “I have a question for you.”
He looked over at her. “Yeah?”
“What was your friend like?” she said. “I know he liked music and had similar hair to mine, but…”
“He was kind,” said Yuki. “He never gave up on me, no matter what, and never left, even when he got mad. Even when he should have. He was too good for me. I destroyed him. He loved music--songwriting, and singing. I wouldn’t have become an idol if it wasn’t for him. I caused him a lot of trouble, but he always just scolded me and went to fix things. No matter how much we fought, he never held a grudge. I never thought I would live without him. I thought we would be together forever, but…”
“He got injured and died,” Aya said quietly.
“Yeah.” Yuki’s eyes drifted down to the table in front of him. “You would have liked him. He had a good sense of music and a good sense of humor. He was the only family I ever had, really, until I met you. I wish you two could have met.”
“Me too,” said Aya. “I wish you could meet my brother Tamaki, too. Your friend doesn’t sound anything like him, but...I miss him a lot.”
Yuki nodded. “We could look for him,” he said. “Once your friend Haru-chan is back in the country.”
Aya shook her head wildly. “No way!” she said. “After what Kujo did to your friend--what if--what if he does it to Nii-chan, too?! I can’t look for him. I can’t see him ever again, just in case…”
Yuki’s eyes widened a little. “Right,” he said. “I didn’t think of that. I promise, Acchan, I won’t let Kujo get to your brother.”
Aya nodded. “Thanks, Yu-niichan,” she said, wondering if Kujo would go after Tamaki if he discovered that she’d joined the Fuck Kujo Club, or if he’d just stick to hurting Yuki. “...You’re a good brother.”
Yuki stared at her for a moment, and then tears bubbled up in his eyes. He didn’t seem to notice, though, even as they spilled over and down his cheeks.
“...Thanks,” he said quietly. “You’re a good sister, too. I promise I won’t let Kujo do anything to you. I’ll protect you, like...like how he always protected me.”
Aya pressed herself forwards against Yuki, hugging him, and his arms came up to hold her desperately, as if she were something precious that would shatter to pieces if he let her go, and as she thought of Haruka and Yuki’s dead friend and FKC_Ban, Aya heard, quietly at first, Yuki begin to sob as though his heart that had broken months ago was trying to force itself up out of his chest and into the air.