Chapter Text
It must've been something you said
Confused Ryuusei looked at the faceless figures standing in a circle, numbers in front of them.
His own was the first and the numbering went on till the 10th.
"I see you've finally all gathered"
Spoke a voice, to him it sounded like thunder. He liked thunder.
"Sorry? My sleep schedule is really fucked up" That was 4th he noted.
"So what the fuck is this? Why do I have to have such a weird-ass dream? It's probably the podcast I've been listening to..." 7th rambled on but Ryuusei tuned out, his mind growing hazy.
The thundering voice laughed and suddenly his whole body was alerted.
"This is by no means a dream, this is reality, now you've-"
"Get to the point, I wanna have a non-weird dream" he wasn't really aware of his mouth moving, but he was proud of the words that had spluttered out.
10th laughed at his comment but didn't say anything.
The thundering voice only signed a thing slowly appearing in the spot that had been previously empty.
The thing on closer inspection was still weird, he couldn't quite grasp how it looked, its features were blurred, like the faces in his dreams.
"First I was going to get there eventually, anyways if further interruptions could please be delayed so I can start explaining, thank you. So, I am God and my life is slowly coming to an end."
"Which means he's crumbling and dying pretty soon"
This voice sounded like rain he noted, but unfortunately, he couldn't see the body belonging to the voice yet.
The thunder cleared his throat, even though it really didn't look like it had one, and started speaking again.
"And because of this, I have decided to find the next God, since I am very fond of time you all will have future diaries. Up until now, you each had diaries that you wrote each day, now they're going to write themselves. The future diary you'll have will have the same characteristics as the one you have been writing up until now. Did I make myself clear?"
Ryuusei nodded even if he really wasn't listing that much, it was just a dream after all so it really didn't matter, right?
The other players also didn't seem to have questions yet as God continued.
"Great, so let me state the rules. As already stated all diaries will predict the future differently since you all have been writing different diaries. Each of you is assigned a number from one to ten as of now and you will be referred by your title. This is until all of the identities of each player are known by each player. -"
"What if everybody knows for example who first is, will their identity be revealed? Or will they continue to have...that weird fog?"
Ryuusei knew this voice and it send shivers down his spine, it grabbed his core with cold hands and pressed it.
A truly terrifying feeling if you asked him.
"No. The player will be kept under the fog even if their identity is known by everyone, as it gives them a disadvantage. It's one thing to know a person's name and another to know how they look. Adding to that if the identity is not revealed some might refrain from taking action, just if they are wrong."
He quite liked the voice of God, who Ryuusei guessed was not really God but God of something. Probably time to be able to the in the future, or to hand out diaries that told you the future.
"Thank you."
And so God continued.
"Every action has a reaction, your futures are not written in stone. If you go against what your diary predicts it will change its entry accordingly.
Keep in mind that your diaries are your future the second you wake up, if your diary breaks, you will vanish from existence"
"What about if you drop it and it scratches?"
That was him again, he really was out of his body to not realize when he was asking or saying something.
He did feel like he was still saying something but no words left his mouth.
"As long as your diary doesn't break by accident all accidental damages will be ignored. If your phone still turns on and you can read the diary with no problem you nay continue to play, if that is not the case you will vanish."
"Damm what a bummer, buts thanks. So scratches not gonna do anything?"
He still felt like he was continuing to talk and the feeling didn't stop.
It was off-putting, to say the least.
The God nodded and before he could begin to speak again another voice cut in, this time the third.
"Can we retire from the game if we don't want to play?"
Third also sounded strangely familiar, but Ryuusei was always bad at giving voices faces so he wasn't positive that he could determine if he really knew that person.
Besides this all was a really fucked up dream, so he didn't need to know who the other players were.
"No, you are not allowed to quit or retire from the game. However your diaries can be stolen or temporarily given to a third party, the only condition to that is that the person you'll give your phone to knows of the game. Our game ends when there is only one player left. Everything understood?"
A little silhouette raised her arm and Ryuusei didn't need a brain to know that that was a literal kid.
God nodded again and the kid put his arms down.
"What's your name sir and are we allowed to tell others about the game?"
The voice sounded sickly sweet and made his stomach make a flip, it was laced with sweetness but nothing seemed to be behind it.
"You may call me Ai and it's prohibited to tell anyone about the game however if the person found out themselves somehow nothing will happen to them or you. If you break this rule a fitting punishment will be set in place."
Another set of hands raised in the air and Ryuusei was glad that they all had concluded raising it instead of just blabbering how they seemed fit.
Ryuusei blinked, the hand belonged to 9th, the same person who asked about the fog.
God turned towards Ninth, seemingly listening to whatever they had to say.
"What means are we allowed to use to win?"
A simple yet logical question, he wondered how he hadn't thought of it.
His detective genes really weren't kicking today, where they.
"You may use any tool you seem fit"
They discussed a few more things until his dream faded into Koyukis bedroom.
Koyuki was beside him, also 'awake'.
"I'll help you." He said without missing a beat.
His mind felt even hazier now, he wondered why since he was still dreaming.
So technically he should have a clear mind and sight.
He couldn't see anything, only feel Koyukis hot body beside him, an arm draped over him and another drawing circles on his back.
It was conforming
"But outsiders aren't allowed to play right?"
He might as well go along with his dream then maybe he could finally wake up and realize that Koyuki had vanished to the far edge of the bed again like he always did.
"It's okay, I'll be your tool, don't worry. I'll protect you. Now go back to sleep, we have school tomorrow" Koyuki lightly pressed a kiss against the top of his head and his hands lightly traveled around in his hair.
One might think that Mahiru was the Mother of the group, but while that was true to an extent it was Koyuki who most of the time prevented them from doing stupid shit.
But that Koyuki was still lightly stroking his hair and nuzzling into his neck just confirmed to him that this was all a dream.
Because this was all blissful thinking, Koyuki didn't love him. It had always been pretty obvious to him that he liked Mahiru.
He understood, that they had way more in common and their mindsets were pretty similar.
Like Mahiru liked to say, thinking simply they were perfect for each other.
♤♡◇♧
When Ryuusei finally opened his eyes to the sound of Koyuki's very annoying iPhone alarm the other was as expected on the very edge of the bed.
And there was no sign of him waking up soon. Ryuusei always wondered how Koyuki just managed to sleep through every alarm he had.
Strangely enough, he still was the first one to arrive at their meeting spot.
He propped himself up and reached over his sleeping friend with one arm and pulled him closer with the other.
He really didn't want Koyuki to fall out of the bed.
He hit the snooze button on the alarm and sat up, rubbing his eyes with his palms.
He felt like he hadn't slept at all tonight, but considering his weird dreams it wasn't much of a surprise.
Koyuki finally stirred and opened his eyes slightly. He kind of looked like shit, like he also hadn't slept all night.
He rolled a bit and sat up on the edge, stretching his arms.
Ryuusei stared at the way Koyukis muscle flexed and the t-shirt he wore to sleep lifted slightly.
It revealed pale skin, Koyukis skin was always pale.
No matter the season, because he always wore that damm cardigan and these long trousers. He wished that Koyuki would wear something more revealing for once.
Even if that made him sound like a pervert, but he was really worried about Koyuki one day just collapsing because of a heat stroke.
"After staring comes insanity"
Koyuki snickered lightly and Ryuusei realized that the other already stood in front of his closet, rummaging through it.
He wasn't worried about Koyuki noticing him staring and thinking, he did it since they were kids. The other probably thought that he was spacing out every morning, like a routine.
And he was glad about that because it saved his ass a lot more times than one would think.
His eyes finally focused enough on Koyuki to see that he was putting knives in his school bag.
For a moment all of his thoughts came to a hold, his brain not really helpfully supplying a sound like a screeching train.
"Koyu, why the fuck are you packing knives?!"
His whole body seemed to be on high alert now and all the drowsiness, he felt before just vanished.
His back straightened and he could feel his shoulders tense uncomfortably, while his hand scrunched into fists in an even more uncomfortable way.
If he thought Koyuki putting knives in his bag was scary enough, he certainly didn't account for the dead-eyed stare he got in return.
"To protect you of course"
The answer from his best friend seemed to come so easily, it flowed off his tongue like a truth he'd finally been able to tell.
It was frightening, more frightening than anything he had ever faced.
It didn't help that Koyuki was smiling, smiling like this was normal.
"It was a dream Koyuki, a fucking dream you don't need to pack fucking knives! Why do you even have so many knives in the first place?!"
He could feel how his voice started to rise and while Koyuki normally would shrink into the ground because somebody just remotely got louder he now only smiled more, while pulling out his usual cardigan and putting a spare in his bag.
"I really don't think it was a dream unless your phone having static for the last ten minutes is nothing to go by. You did mention in your sleep that every time the future changes on a phone diary a static could be heard."
He decided to ignore Koyukis' weird behavior for now and instead reached for his phone, which indeed did give static noises.
How he failed to notice it was a thing to think about later.
He opened his notes app while Koyuki started to fold the clothes that he had ruined in his rummage.
And there the predictions were
07:38 23/05/2016
Koyuki sleeps through his alarm again
07:45 23/05/2016
Koyuki packs knives, explains that they're to protect me.
08:20 23/05/2016
We sit under the tree with Mahiru.
He has scars littered around his body, he says it's his cat.
Koyuki doesn't believe him
08:50 23/05/2016
We write a multiple-choice test.
The teacher says it's to show us different kinds of tests in different countries.
What a weird way to do a surprise test.
The answer are
A, B, B, C, C, A, C, B, C, A
They're more notes, but Ryuusei closes the phone and puts it away.
His brain wasn't ready for this, it was too early in the morning.
Maybe this is all a pretty fuckin weird prank, or he was still sleeping.
He ignores the fact that no one can control dreams in favour of standing up and getting his uniform from his bag.
"So what does it say?"
His brain finally seems to catch on to the tact that Koyuki couldn't have known about the game unless he was a player.
Abruptly he straightens up again, his stomach is not happy about it, and faces Koyuki.
"How do you even know about the game?!"
He blurted out in surprise, his mouth staying a bit agape and his eyes wide open.
Koyuki slowly blinked at him and his brain noted that Cats blinked at humans to show them they loved them.
"You talk in your sleep, Ryuusei."
Koyuki smiled slightly before pulling up his T-Shirt and Ryuusei definitely did not stare at him for a few seconds.
"So.. You're not a player?"
This was stupid since it was all a dream but just in case.
"No, why would you think that?"
It was ridiculous how Koyukis body looked so toned and so soft at the same time.
He just shrugged his shoulders as a response, he was glad Koyuki wasn't a player, he didn't think that he could kill him.
He would probably let Koyuki murder him if that meant he won, or would he be safe.
When Koyuki was pulling down his pants he finally realized that he should also start changing.
♧◇♡♤
Today Mahiru was at their meeting spot before them, scars littered around his body.
Ryuusei briefly wondered if he had inflicted them himself, but knowing Mahiru he was more likely to get into a war than actually hurting himself on purpose.
(If only he knew)
As always Mahiru was as cheerful as ever and Koyuki was just as investigated in a conversation about food as ever.
See this was why the second part of his dream, which felt oddly real, couldn't have been reality.
Because Koyuki loved Mahiru not him.
Faintly he could hear a strange static noise in his school bag, but he decided to ignore it.
This was all a weird fucked up prank and the test answers were incorrect.
They stop in front of the tree near the school building and as always Mahiru is the first to sit down.
Koyuki takes the seat in front of him and Ryuusei sits beside Mahiru.
He feels a strange sensation of wrongness, that he wasn't supposed to sit here.
It was like he was taking the spot from someone else, but that couldn't have been.
It always was the three of them, it always had been this setting arraignment in front of the tree.
"By the way, Mahi, where in hell did these scars come from?"
He was never the sensitive type, but if he was he would never get the information he needed.
Mahiru looked himself over, confused about Ryuuseis statement before his face lit up in acknowledgment.
"I have no clue, but thinking simply it could only have been my cat...or because of my cat"
Koyuki looked like he didn't believe him and honestly, he also didn't.
Even if Mahiru sounded like he kind off told the truth.
"How are you even allowed to keep Kuro in school?"
Koyuki always asked the better questions, didn't he?
Mahiru shrugged his shoulders, before smiling a bit.
"They probably thought he was my service animal or something. I wouldn't put it past them."
That surprisingly made sense, especially if you looked at Mahirus past.
"I mean makes sense. But then again you could probably get away with anything. Benefit of the doubt and all."
Mahiru laughed slightly at his comment.
He always wondered how he stayed so cheerful and optimistic.
To him it seemed almost impossible, adding to that Mahiru always seemed to have a bunch of work.
How he hadn't had a burnout yet was a mystery he never would solve.
♤♡◇♧
For the whole week now Ryuusei had gotten full points on every test they wrote.
And he really couldn't believe that the answer his phone gave him were right.
But that also unfortunately meant that he was in a death game and he was glad that Koyuki continued to bring weapons to school.
(He had counted, 3 kitchen knives, one butcher knife, and one machete, he was sure he had also seen him pack a gun on one occasion)
Sadly, Koyuki wasn't here right now because Mahiru had asked him to have a private talk, the stress of private.
He was pretty sure Mahiru was confessing since he also seemed to like Koyuki a tad bit more than him.
And he felt jealous because Mahiru always seemed to have what he couldn't.
He sounded like a bad friend right now, but he didn't know how to phrase it otherwise.
The only thing Mahiru didn't have was a parent figure.
He essentially was his own parent, the only thing he could say was that he wouldn't be like Mahiru if that was the case.
"Hey Yako, could you come to the rooftop after school? I have to tell you something..."
Mikoku smiled at him, and he got a strange sense of deja vú like he knew heard her somewhere.
"Sure I have"
As usual, he smiled his polite smile, as his parents taught him.
"Great, that's all I wanted thank you"
His phone made the strange static noise again but he decided to ignore it since Koyuki and Mahiru were just rounding the corner.
Also, Mikoku had disappeared the second she had thanked him.
Mahiru looked quite a bit devastated and Koyuki a bit embarrassed, it was a funny sight.
Both of them never wore these emotions openly, which did make the situation a lot better.
(He didn't come to the conclusion that Mahiru had most likely been rejected and Koyuki may already be in a relationship if he rejected Mahiru. )
(Oh boy if only he knew the truth and not what he come up with. He'd probably dance like a three-year-old out of exitment)
"What did she talk to you about?"
Ryuusei wasn't as surprised as he should have been at Koyuki being so invasive.
Not that this was an invasive question, it was just that Koyuki usually didn't care and Mahiru poked out the truth of him.
"She just wanted to meet on the rooftop after school"
He shrugged his shoulders, he didn't think much about it she probably just wanted to confess.
"Are you going to reject another soul? Poor girls.."
That was Mahiru, it kind off had been a running gag between them...
"As if you're the one to talk Mahiru"
...because until now, they've rejected everyone that asked them out.
(Koyuki got asked out a lot, but since he couldn't say no he always went on one date and after that, he said they weren't meant to be. This had gone for a year until the girls stopped asking since it was useless anyway)
♤♡◇♧
Some of them want to get used by you
In the end, Koyuki insisted on coming with him, Mahiru had already run off because he forgot to take his clothes in and the forecast said it was going to rain.
(Somehow his clothes had been smelling like rain since he got his cat, even though it hadn't rained in weeks)
Right now they were waiting on the rooftop and Koyuki was sorting his knives.
He felt uneasy, seeing his best friend with a knife still was more fear-inducing than he would've thought.
Maybe it was that he knew that Koyuki intended to actually kill Mikoku.
"What does your diary say?"
Koyuki looked at him, one kitchen knife in hand.
Hastily he pulled out his phone, which proved to be quite difficult with shaking hands.
He still wasn't quite convinced that Mikoku would actually try to kill him.
He's proved wrong sooner than he'd like because the moment the doors opened to the rooftops several gunshots could be heard.
He looked up, his eyes widening in terror as he watched Koyuki charge at their classmate without a hint of hesitation.
He seemed to not know what gunshots were at the moment, as he swiftly moved forward.
"Koyuki stop!"
His friend didn't seem to hear him as he practically jumped forward and slit Mikoukus throat like soft butter.
Out of shock, Ryuusei took a step back, tripping backward in the progress.
He could feel his whole body shaking and his heart beating hard in his chest.
His vision got blurry, but not because of tears.
Before he could cope with what just happened Koyuki grabbed the arm of the poor girl, who seemed to be paralyzed by shock, and threw her to the ground.
She let go of her gun which slide just right into the range of him, which he couldn't acknowledge.
Like adding salt to the injury Koyuki kicked her in the back, what looked like a no-effort kick sounded like an excavator running over her back.
Blood spluttered out of her mouth and she coughed, her breathing getting airier.
Ryuusei could feel bile rising up in his own throat.
He took everything back he said before about Koyuki being scary with a knife, this was a hundred, no a million times more fear-inducing than that.
He looked up to meet Koyukis eyes, he'd expected to see a just as terrified look in them but no.
His best friend seemed completely calm, only a menacing look in his eyes.
His own traveled back down to his other classmate, his breathing getting hitched.
Mikoku lifted her head slightly, staring right into Ryuuseis soul.
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could do so her skull got smashed into the ground with another awful crunch.
It was too much.
He puked, tears shooting in his eyes.
Everything inside him was rolling itself in and out, doing flips, shaking with fear, and panic, he couldn't describe this emotion that filled him.
Holy shit this was scary as fuck and he was more than glad that Koyuki, first of all, wasn't a player and second of all on his side.
He ignored the thought that shoot unto his mind, she'd still been alive when Koyuki had smashed her skull into the ground.
Okay maybe he had underestimated Koyuki quite a bit in their many years together and maybe his love was quite a bit insane.
(He ignored that this whole situation hadn't changed any of his feelings towards Koyuki. He also ignored the mental note that his brain not helpfully provided: 'Note to self never fuckin mess with Koyuki again if he has a bad day.' Okay maybe he shouldn't ignore that)
"Did you have to smash her skull?!"
His voice sounded an awful lot like a screech and even to his ears it was hurtful.
"Why did you charge at her like that?! She had a fuckin gun?!"
His voice continued to sound like a cat whose tail just got stepped on.
Koyuki looked at him with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights.
If it weren't for the blood splattered on his face and clothes he would look completely innocent.
"I- I know!" Koyuki finally seemed to gather some of his composure back.
Ryuusei was surprised that only his questions had seemed to push Koyuki out of his trance, or whatever you might call it.
"Then why did you fucking charge at her?! What if she shoot you!"
At this point, he'd rather ignore his voice or he might throw up again, just from the awful screeching sound he produced.
"She wasn't exactly good at aiming, so I figured that if I moved fast enough the bullet wouldn't hit me."
Koyuki staigended his cardigan, now looking like this was all normal.
Even his usual smile had taken its place on his face, soft and light.
What the actual fuck
Before he could point it out though Koyuki took her phone and broke it in the middle.
Not even a second later her body got sucked up in a black hole, taking the blood around the body with it.
Expect the blood splattered on Koyukis cardigan, hands, and face.
(A bit got on his trousers too, but he decided to ignore that)
He felt like throwing up again.
Koyuki smiled at him while walking over, extending his bloody hand towards Ryuusei.
When he didn't take it and instead just started up at his friend, Koyuki wiped his hand on the cardigan.
Extending his hands once again Ryuusei just took it, despite not standing up on his own found himself standing on shaky legs.
Koyuki silently supported him and Ryuuseis brain just seemed to short circuit at that moment.
He really wasn't ready for what would come in the next days.