Chapter Text
"tuRUTURU~!"
A very cheerful 'noise' was heard in bar 4/7, and with that, out came a Ryu who was looking very excited.
"Ryu-kun is ready with his armour and is prepared to leave the mothership 4/7 hahahaHAHAHA!"
Shiki, who'd just came downstairs, was surprised that Ryu hadn't come to wake him up as usual.
"R-ryu kun?" The slightly startled Shiki turned to look at the owner.
Saimon put the cup of coffee and responded to Shiki's questioning gaze. "Ryu going to hangout with Reo-kun today."
"Yeah, that's why he's even more energetic than usual." Said Yohei, covering his eyes with his arm. "It's too early for this."
"Papa! Comrade Shiki!" Ryu called out to Saimon and Shiki, "How does Ryu's armour look?"
Ryu stood in front of them with his hands on his waist, puffing out his chest proudly.
Ryu was wearing a thin top with a matching tartan crop jacket and shorts with his favourite shoes.
"U-un." Shiki smiled at Ryu, "Your clo- ah, armor looks great."
"WAAH," Ryu exclaimed. "RYU-KUN THANKS SHIKI FOR HIS HONEST OPINION!"
Ryu, being surprisingly tame, sat on a bar stool, kicking his legs in anticipation.
"Ryu," Saimon turned to his child, "Aren't you going to leave now?"
"Reo-kun said he'll come to pick up Ryu himself," Yohei responded before Ryu could, "I guess he's worried Ryu might get lost, or distracted, on the way here."
"DING DING DING!" Ryu imitated a buzzer, with surprising accuracy. "Master is correct about the first part! Ten BILLION POINTS TO THE MOTHERSHIP TEAM!"
"Ten.. billion points?" Shiki thought to himself.
'Ah, He's back to his usual self, I guess.' thought the trio.
Ding~
The jingle of the entrance resonated in the bar.
"Ah, speak of the devil." Yohei mumbled to himself.
"Ryu! Shiki! Good morning!" Reo entered the bar and greeted his two friends. He wore an oversized hoodie and wide pants to match the whole look.
Realising he might've been too overenthusiastic, he bowed quietly to Kanbayashi and Saimon, "Ah, Pardon me."
Yohei commented on their unconventional outfit choices but his opinion fell on deaf ears. "Hey, aren't you two gonna be boiled to death in those thick clothes?"
"Ah, Reo," Saimon nodded back in greeting, "Don't worry about it."
"REO!!" Ryu jumped off the stool to meet Reo. "Ryu was worried Reo-kun would abandon our quest!"
"No way~" Reo patted his back to comfort him. "There's ABSOLUTELY no way Reo would abandon Ryu and the quest!"
"Ah ah!" Ryu tugged Reo's sleeve and led him out the door, "Master! Dad! Ryu-kun is going out of the mothership with comrade Reo for a super-duper ULTRA INTENSE quest!!"
"See you two later," Saimon smiled gently at the two of them.
Yohei watched the back of those two leaving and mumbled, "Ryu seems way more bright today."
"Un.. Wait, where's Kuro?" Shiki suddenly realised their cat, Kuro, was missing.
…
"Reo Reo!" Ryu turned to Reo and pulled out a black creature from his jacket, "Look Look! I brought Black Bucci DX too! Now White Bucci and Black Bucci join the quest together with us!"
Reo gave him a wide grin, "Yes! The four of us will do amazing on our quest!"
Black Bucci, also known as Kuro, jumped from Ryu's arms into Reo's and cozied itself on his hoodie.
"Ah! Black Bucci DX really likes you!" Ryu exclaimed in a loud voice while not-so subtly trying to hold onto the other's arm.
"Really." Reo smiled at seeing Ryu's attempt to hold him, his face seeming brighter than a thousand suns.
"Ah! Comrade Reo! Your face will blind me!"
"Yeah yeah, Come on! Let's walk fast so we can arrive at our quest site quicker!"
"ORDER RECEIVED!"
…
Soon enough, they arrived at the Japanese style mansion where the Akkan Yatsura members live.
The serene yet elegant atmosphere definitely suited a team like AKYR.
"Mission site reached!!!" Reo and Ryu exclaimed together.
"Ah, Ryu-kun, good morning!" Zen Gaho greeted the duo at the entrance.
"Zen-nii!" Reo took off his shoes and held Ryu's wrist. "I'll be taking Ryu to my room! Tell that one idiot to not disturb me unless it's ultra necessary!"
"Comrade big brother Zen!" Ryu turned back towards Zen to greet him as he was taken away by Reo, "Ryu-kun says good morning to you and your ship crew!!"
"Hope you two enjoy your date!"
"Reo-kun, Reo-kun!" Ryu held his hand as he walked(well, rushed) through the halls to Reo's room, "Your ship is so ULTRA massive!"
Well, indeed it was, the whole house had several rooms, so many that a few of them had to be converted into living rooms.
"Ah, We're finally here!" Reo opened the door to his room. "This is Comrade Reo's special living station!"
Reo's room was very stereotypically cute. His room consisted of a big double bed and with a solid ton of pinks and pillows and plush toys, a dressing table + mirror, a big wardrobe, a study table, a bookshelf, a gaming table and floor lamp.
Ryu sat on the fluffy rug and patted at his side, "Reo-kun! Come sit with Ryu!"
"Yes, yes," Reo closed the door and sat next to Ryu with a pillow in his lap. "I'm here."
"Ryu is ready to have lots of fun with Reo!"
'Meow~'
"Ah!" Ryu and Reo both just remembered they brought Black Bucci with them.
"Listen here," Reo instructed the cat in a sweet but serious voice, "white bucci is with Hokusai, go through the veranda and his room is directly beside mine, okay?"
Black Bucci meowed in response and walked away to go play with its friend.
"So," Reo turned his attention to his friend, "What does Ryu-kun wanna do~?"
"RYU-KUN! Ryu-kun.. WANTS TO SPEND HIS ENTIRE DAY WITH HIS COMRADE."
"Ah, how should the two comrades spend their day then?" Reo asked as he stretched his legs, putting them on top of Ryu's.
"Ryu-kun doesn't know.." Ryu sulked as he leaned on Reo's shoulder.
Reo bent his head and touched Ryu's face with the back of his hand, only to jerk his hand back.
"Ryu.. your skin is really dry." Reo looked at the boy in surprise. "When was the last time you used moisturizer?"
"Mois-chu-rizzer?" Ryu tilted his head, "Is this the name of a new boss we have to battle?"
"Ah," Reo sighed, getting up and walking to his dresser, "Let me grab my stuff and I'll help you take care of your skin."
With soft thumps of his feet, Reo walked back Ryu, except this time he was sitting directly in front of Ryu.
He took out his moisturizer, toner, face serum and a million other things from his bag.
"Don't mind me, alright~?" Reo said in a sweet voice as he kneeled in front of Ryu with his legs at either side of Ryu's.
He used a fluffy white- coloured cat ear headband to push back Ryu's messy bangs.
"Hey.. Comrade Reo.." Ryu's face cheeks flushed at the close contact with Reo. His legs almost touched Reo's thighs as he tried his best to keep his heartbeat under control.
"I'm gonna do your skincare now! Sit still!" Reo pushed Ryu's hands to his side and began opening the bottle of face toner.
He took a cotton pad and poured the toner on it.
Drip, drip.
The sound of the liquid being poured broke the slightly uneasy atmosphere between them.
Once the pad was sufficiently wet, Reo started to guide his friend carefully, "Now, close your eyes and don't open them until I say so."
Ryu felt a cold and soft sensation on his forehead as it slowly moved over to his eyelids, his cheeks, his chin and on his neck. The feeling was comfortable but he felt his face heat up thinking about how close Reo must be to him at this moment.
"Hey," He heard Reo's adorably high-pitched voice next to his right ear. "Continue to keep your eyes closed like this, I'll apply some serum now."
Reo took out a high quality serum and poured some on his hand.
"A-ah!" Ryu jerked at the feeling of the slightly slimy substance on his face.
"Ryu-chan! Sit still!" Reo scolded him as he gently worked the serum into Ryu's skin.
"S-sorry, hahaha.." Ryu didn't understand why he was acting so weird but he was unable to think as his thoughts were blocked by Reo's soft hands massaging his face.
'Reo-kun's hands are so nice..' Ryu thought as Reo focused on applying the serum evenly.
"NOW!" Reo was energised again, "Time for the moisturizer!"
He squeezed the tube of moisturizer into hand and a soft, floral scent filled the gap between the two of them.
"Waah, My legs are tired~" Reo complained as he sat on Ryu's thighs, carefully distributing his body weight to prevent putting too much pressure on him.
"AH! REO-KUN???" Ryu cried out.
"Wait, I'm almost done," Reo explained as he applied the moisturizer. "I want to make sure the skincare is done properly."
He rubbed the moisturizer in a circular pattern along his cheeks, his forehead and his neck.
The smooth and slippery substance dripped onto Ryu's skin as Reo gently held the back of his neck to allow him easy range of movement when massaging his skin.
"And… Done-" Before Reo could finish his sentence loud "BAM BAM BAM" footsteps were heard from behind the door.
BANG!
Satsuki violently opened the door.
"OI REO!" Satsuki started complaining as soon as he opened the door "Who the fuck allowed you to go through my stuff-"
Satsuki finally saw the situation on the floor clearly. Two boys, sitting on the floor, one leaned against the bed, face bright red, the other one on his lap, jacket disheveled, hands trailing down the other's neck..
"WHAT THE FUCK???" Satsuki finally regained his senses and felt like he just got jumpscared.
"SATSUKI, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Reo's face turned pink with anger as he screamed shrilly at Satsuki, "DIDN'T ZEN-NII TELL YOU TO NOT DISTURB ME??? GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"
Satsuki, obviously embarrassed to see his brother and his.. boyfriend(?) in such an intimate situation, ran out of the room and didn't forget to close the door behind him as he left.
Ryu had opened his eyes immediately when he heard the noise, it took a while to adjust his eyes to the light but seeing Reo's face so close to his and Satsuki's reaction, he felt shy for the first time in his life.
"Ahh.. that dumbass.." Reo sighed and turned back to face Ryu. "Anyway— RYU??? WHY IS YOUR FACE SO RED??"
Ryu evaded his gaze as he pretended to look at the bookshelf in the corner, "Comrade Reo, what are you talking about?"
'Ah.' Ryu thought to himself. 'My behaviour seems even weirder now.'
"Ahem." Reo cleared his throat, "Now, it's time for lip care~"
He took out a small box from his bag as he clarified, "By lip care I just mean lip balm to be honest."
"Reo-kun.. is that really important?" Ryu laughed dryly to hide his shyness.
"Yes! No skincare routine is complete without lip care!" Reo seriously explained as he opened the lip balm and used his index finger to scoop some of the product.
"Now.. gimme just a minute." Reo leaned close to Ryu's face. He looked carefully at Ryu's features. His eyelashes, his jaw, his surprisingly clear skin, his lips and..
Ryu opened his eyes to look at what Reo was doing.
Seeing the boy in front of him suddenly open his eyes, Reo was immediately startled and stumbled back.
Because he was sitting on top of Ryu with one arm around him, he pulled Ryu down with him too, causing both of them to stumble to the ground.
"Owwwie.." Reo mumbled as he rubbed his head where it hit the ground. "It's gonna leave a bruise.."
Ryu reached out and placed his hand on Reo's head. He moved his hand to where the other had bumped his head and carefully massaged it, looking very serious.
"Reo, you okay?"
Looking at Ryu's 'situation', the pink cheeks, the moist eyes and the kitty headband, compared to the serious look made Reo burst out laughing.
"Hahaha what was that~?" Reo laid on the rug as he laughed heartily, "You looked so serious just now!"
"RYU-KUN WAS WORRIED FOR HIS FELLOW COMRADE!" Ryu laid down next to his friend and they laughed and laughed together.
For a while, all that could be heard from Reo's room was the laughter and giggles of two people.
'Cough' Reo cleared his throat and pulled up Ryu with him. "Now, where was I~?"
"AH, THE LIP MASK!" Reo realised the product he'd scooped earlier had gotten on his clothes so he used a paper towel to carefully wipe his hoodie.
He scooped up more product this time, "Ryu-chan, keep your eyes open this time."
"Ah, really-?" Ryu was going to continue but he was interrupted by the other.
"Don't talk for a bit, let me apply the balm properly."
He used his index finger to put the product on Ryu's lips, slowly swiping his finger from one corner to the other.
"Waah, Ryu, your lips are really soft."
Reo finished applying the balm and pulled away from Ryu. Using the same finger, he applied the excess lip balm to his own lips.
"...kiss." .
"Hm?" Reo looked back at him,"What did you say?"
"Ryu said," Ryu forced out his inner thoughts, "isn't that basically an indirect kiss?"
Reo smiled smugly at Ryu and leaned close to him, "Hey, wanna try an actual one~? If you don't reply in the next 8 seconds, I'll take that as a yes."
One.
Two.
When in a situation like this, Reo always thought he would be more shy or embarrassed.
Three.
Four.
Ryu thought to himself, 'Hey, this isn't the usual me?'
Five.
Six.
Ryu looked at the lips in front of him. Because of the lip balm, the lips looked a mega million times softer than they did normally.
Seven.
Eight.
Surprisingly, Ryu was the first one to take the initiative as he just pressed his lips against the other's.
Immediately realised what he had done, Ryu pulled back, face red. "RYU-KUN APOLOGISES FOR THE SUDDEN ACTION! RYU-KUN ASKS FOR COMRADE REO'S FORGIVENESS!"
Reo was caught off-guard by that peck and laughed at the red faced guy in front of him. "You call that a kiss?"
As he spoke those words, Reo pulled Ryu closer to him and kissed him on the lips, enjoying the skin-to-skin contact.
The touch of Reo's finger on his cheeks sent a shiver down Ryu's spine, causing his face to flush a deep shade of red once again. He couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement mixed with a hint of nervousness.
Reo finally pulled back, giving the other a chance to recover.
Ryu took a deep breath and beamed with joy.
"TODAY'S QUEST WAS A SUCCESS! DING DING DING!!"
"Hey~ You came here with that in mind?" Reo teased.
"Non! It was a side quest!"
Both of them giggled, not-so secretly proud that their quest was an ultra mega success.
"THANK YOU, AYE-KAY-WHY-ARE(akyr) FRIENDS!" Ryu bid them farewell as he and Black Bucci walked back home, bursting with joy.
"Hey," Once Ryu was no longer in earshot, Satsuki finally asked the question that was on his mind for so long, "What's going on between you two?"
"Something virgins like you wouldn't understand~"
"WHAT?"
And so, Ryu's companion quest #257 was a massive success. The rewards and storyline were really good too.