Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I know you don't have a job and are broke, but you could at least try to be a better quack guidance counselor."

"Fuck you, Shuu-rack"

If Shizu were to describe how well her regular meetings with Gakushuu from all the way back to three days ago till now, she'd probably just whine like a stupid brat.

"Why are you so complicated? Are you a psychopath? You must be a psychopath- or a sociopath? I learned the difference between those two last week, and I'm still having trouble on which dump you and your dad belong into."

Poor Gakushuu Asano groans with the recent exhaustion seeping off of his perfectly groomed eyebrows.

It's merely been almost four days ever since his distant cousin got back from university to spend some time with him. Unusually uncharacteristic of her to even think of some ridiculous idea of bonding time with a family member she never got along with, but still, it was thoughtful of her to do so.

Now, it can be absolutely outrageous to even hear about Gakushuu Asano having a new routine for every afternoon to visit a nearby cafe, a few blocks away from Kunugigaoka Academy, (maybe not unusual for making a typical, diligent routine) just for a family member who's better off as a stranger to him after she threw an empty container of ramen at his head when he was 7 years old just because he was passing by her room, but Shizu-- in all of her absurdity, actually knew how to listen well to Gakushuu's ranting hobby about his psycho dad, and how to react dramatically for effect. Which gave her plus points.

What an honor.

Shizuka, a complex character in Gakushuu's already difficult and busy life, was looped into an unpleasant series of gossip, cursing, unadulterated loathing of her uncle she'd rather die than stay in a room with, and Shuu's benevolent wallet that gets waved in front of her groggy face shamelessly here and there-- nonetheless treating her to this cafe more often than she'd realize.

Initially, she just wanted to see how this younger cousin of hers was doing, after a torturous long time of not meeting each other, mainly because of the reason that there wasn't an underling to boss around. However, since she started to mend a non-existent familial relationship with the younger man, Shizu realized that this wasn't the same boy she used to call 'Shuu-rack' all the time, and is now a hauntingly similar carbon copy of his superhuman father.

He grew taller, sharper with a ridiculously glib tongue, and even more pompous. Yet, he was still as unappealing to her precious view of the world.

Shizu decided to not annoy someone who looked as scary as her Uncle Asano, nor someone who acted just like her stern and stiff workaholic mother.

So, she relented to Shuu's idea of being his personal fake of a guidance counselor (who can visit this cafe with him every afternoon). Or therapist. Whatever they preferred to call it depending on the context. Actually, it doesn't matter-

"You should go to a licensed doctor for your problem in your mind, take Uncle Asano with you for countermeasures," the irresponsible young adult clears her throat, and tries to relieve her problems with noisy sipping from her mug of caramel macchiato. "Who knows? Maybe family therapy works better?"

"You should tell that to my father then. Maybe he'd listen to your proposal."

"Haha, did I say family therapy? I was kidding, I don't want an innocent therapist to die out of heart attack once they hear about your problematic relationship with your dear papa. You're so funny, Shuu."

Shuu rolls his eyes. His hand easily reaching for tissue wipes in order to give Shizu, who was now choking on her saliva and coffee after chuckling awkwardly. Obviously, he's done this a couple of times just by how unbothered he was. Maybe letting her die from her favorite routine of drinking coffee in unhealthy doses every day, with so much sugar that it would give even his father diabetes, would be better, than having to listen to her half-assed advises. But Shuu realizes he was better than his old man, so he relents to a part-time job of being a minor caretaker of his unprofessional talker/listener/yapper/counselor/therapist/cousin.

"Did you even drink water at least once, this morning?"

"They cut off my water supply in my apartment. I couldn't pay last month, you see. I don't have money to buy drinking water either."

She had the gall to even act so sheepish and guilty.

"Figures."

Gakushuu decides that it's time to send a message to his unpleasant biological father about his unfortunately equally-unpleasant but tolerable biological older cousin, and let her stay in their house.

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THAT HELLHOUSE! I SHALT NOT BE THY ACCOMPLICE IN ABHORRENT ACTS OF SPITE AGAINST THY SIRE!"

"You're being noisy, we're still in a cafe. And he already said yes."

'I SAID NO- will I have a daily allowance?"

Gakushuu also decides to try not to regret his decision of taking in a crazy rat. It's not even someone like Akabane. Hopefully, he thinks, it won't be worse.

Chapter Text

"It's nice to meet you again, Uncle," Shizuka bows perfectly in front of Gakuhou Asano. Her normally barbaric mouth turned into a fashionably blessed hypocrisy.

"Thank you for accepting me, I promise to be responsible and help around the house when needed."

Gakushuu stared weirdly at the shamelessness of this girl to be so quick at modest appearances. She was just gaping and squealing at every furniture a while ago, claiming how 'fucking rich' her relatives were.

"What the fuck is with the dull and bland colors, seriously?" "Aren't the walls perfectly similar to Kunigigaoka's?" "Are you serious? You have a whole fucking-"

"Why are you so dramatic? Did you not have a kitchen in your apartment? A single couch? A table? A bathroom?"

"My dear cousin of mine, my favorite cousin-"

"I'm your only cousin."

"Take care of me well, okay? I love you."

Gakushuu thinks he made a mistake. And he never makes mistakes. Shizu would scoff at that blind assumption. She desperately wished for the whole world to knock him down a peg.

Gakuhou Asano is known as a man deserving of glorious accomplishments. A top academic achiever, a professional educator, an efficient and physically fit athlete, an exquisite team leader, a perfect public figure, and a genius principal of one of the well-known educational institutions in their society. Still improving, still thriving, never disappointing. However, he is also known for being a sick manipulator who has a supernatural ability of making immaterial centipedes crawl up into people's holes.

And he is also the richest and was the kindest uncle that Shizuka has ever known since childhood. Actually, he is her only uncle. But very distant.

"It's certainly been years, Shizuka. You were far younger when we last met."

Gakuhou presented his well-bred polite smile that the public always swooned at. If Shizuka didn't know any better based on Shuu's incredibly detailed and lengthy portfolios of essay complaints, she'd probably decide to live the rest of her life in this house forever.

"Gakushuu is capable enough to help you around at home. Don't worry, I heard that you've been lacking financial support while studying, I contacted your mother, I'll be supporting you."

"Gakushuu, treat your cousin well."

Gakushuu stoically nodded as his father kept up all the niceties with Shizuka. The patriarch of the house that screamed hard-earned wealth, put a light pat of his hand on the young adult's shoulder as she thanked him profusely.

Ever since Gakuhou Asano found out that his son has been meeting up regularly with a distant cousin, who was away from home to study within a national distinguished university, the parent has been observing the two for a while now. Gakushuu seemed to have made an agreement with his older cousin (the Asano patriarch was sure that this cousin was the one Gakushuu used to whine about a lot, back in his daycare days). And Shizuka, who grew up with her own independent academic achievements, almost fully changed from her bratty ways-- was all the more willing to go with the flow. (Gakuhou laughed at the fact that his niece depended on his son for daily treats to shops and food stalls).

The man decided to agree with his son for once and let the poverty-stricken relative of theirs, stay in their home for the rest of her vacation. He hoped that she'd be helpful as well, contributing in his petty hobby of picking on Shuu. By how much Gakuhou has been seeing more and more wrinkles appear on his son's face after his 'therapy' sessions with this unofficial therapist, the parent's following days turned as bright and sunny as a certain octopus alien's hairless, slippery head.

Thus, Gakuhou welcomed another cute pet in the household.

.

"Wow, you have a whole schedule packed up for a year ahead? Are you that meticulous?"

It has been an hour since Shizuka greeted her uncle she hasn't met since she was in elementary school. Looking at him reminded her of Shuu's ugly stoic face, only being much more better. She wondered if that was how her little cousin would improve his face throughout puberty later on.

"Why are you in my room while I fix yours? It's not pleasant unpacking your overloaded bags," Shuu clicked his tongue as he lightly pushed her out of the way and took his planner calendar from her hands. "Why on Earth do you have so much, anyways? And most of them aren't even body care supplies."

"Puh-lease, as if I'm interested in hassling daily routines of facial and body care."

"That's why you look so haggard all the time with dead and dry hair."

Shizu held back from smacking the shit out of his face, reminding herself that this kid had a scary dad she always hears about on a daily basis.

"I don't like making your house maids work." Shizu shrugged.

"So you make me work?" Shuu grumbles.

"You're a workaholic, and you're as diligent as your dad- plus, we're besties, that's normal."

Gakushuu didn't want to even bother to reply to that declaration.

Shizuka plops down on his bean bag with a huff. She's been observing Shuu's room the whole time while he was being ordered around again. After she unpacked all of her clothes and mindlessly shoved them in her cabinet, Gakushuu was forced to join her in organizing the rest of her stuff. His intolerance towards sloppy organizing skills kicking in.

The older female soon abandoned Shuu in the quest that was supposed to be hers, she instead wandered around the hallways and discovered that his room was just across hers.

Shuu's room was a lot more neat and cozy than her old apartment. With a fluffy and soft mattress, an organized study table, a perfectly kept bed, a detailed personal board for mind mapping and brainstorming, expensive high-quality of stationary and school materials that Shizu herself, would die to get her hands on-- It was a perfect environment for her to shove her nose into and eat snacks while staring at him as he studied. Who knows? Maybe she'll get some motivation from watching him, and do something productive in her lazy vacation for once. Like stealing his things.

"It's getting late, aren't you going to bed? Do you want me to tuck you in? Did your papa ever tuck you in?"

Gakushuu scowls at the old-looking wrinkly face of his relative that kept on eyeing him in pity.

"I'm going to study for an additional thirty minutes before washing up and doing my facial skin routine. Something you, an older girl, can't even manage to do," he scoffs at her with his eyes perfectly strained to his notebook, diligently going over the lessons he learned this week, along with the additional text books he keeps for advantageous knowledge.

"You nasty brat, are you generalizing every girl like me to normally have a tendency of paranoid facial care?"

Shizu stood up from the bean bag, her arms stretching up with her tiptoed feet assisting her small, rare moment of muscle-relieving activity.

"My face gets really itchy whenever I put random products on it."

She lets out an extensive yawn before walking towards the door and deciding to switch the lights off, to which Shuu grunted at in annoyance. Shizuka only cheekily grinned while blowing a stupid kiss to her sulky cousin that finally removed his focus from the troublesome amount of handwriting that was too similar to how she wrote her notes. She didn't want to be reminded of school and finger-hurting note taking so early in her vacation.

"You have a whole checklist of self-care in your list, this unofficial therapist of yours approves!" Shuu chose to switch his study table lamp instead, raising a brow at her enthusiastic thumbs-up gesture.

"But you could do with a little more prolonged timespan of rest." She added, before being backhanded by the brat once more.

"Says the one who has iron-deficiency and gets lightheaded after waking up from a 4 hour sleep. Your permanent dark eye circles say a lot more about your habits than you think, onee-san," he played around with his tone at the end of his sentence, mocking Shizu with the title of 'big sis'.

"Shush."

Shizu shamelessly took one of Gakushuu's furry pillows and took the exit.

.

So far, Shizu's first fresh morning in the Asano household started with a bright, hot, memorable beginning. Literally.

"You fucking lit every painting along your dad's hallways on fire!"

"He triple-double-locked his office with a new security system. I couldn't get to his table."

"Those paintings cost billions-- you were aiming for his office table?!"

Shizu tore screams out of her lungs to her speaker. Shuu responded calmly all the time as if the poor girl didn't wake up with a start, rushing to drag a heavy fire extinguisher in order to put out the flames that haunted the Asano hallways of death's framed paintings. Artworks that costs more than her daily savings, her cheap phone, her clothes, her baggage, her whole life! She almost cried hysterically with her bird nest hair and drool-filled face.
Luckily, the house keepers continued the day, already used to the daily routine of cleaning up after their bosses' shenanigans. One sweet maid had enough pity for Shizuka, that she immediately took the burden out of her hands. The newly added rat in the household felt really grateful that she wasn't blamed for anything.

So, she contacted the suspect of the crime scene.

"You better prep your ass for a whooping this afternoon, boi!"

"Call ended."

"Oi! Hello? Shuu! GAKUSHUU!"

Shizu decided to reach for her allowance from Gakuhou Asano's blessings, in her pockets, for comfort. And she sniffed the bills. Ah. She could care less if she appeared as an addict. This was one of her harmless coping mechanisms, okay?!

Chapter Text

File 01. Recorded four days ago, 12:43, entitled “JOB-HUNTING SUCCESSFUL! OPERATION: ‘What have I gotten myself into’–in commence. Appointment witnessed and concluded by Shuu-rack & Amateur Therapist/Counselor Shizuka.

File 02. Recorded three days ago, 17:13, entitled “Patient's first session, pt. 1: Uncle Asano’s true colors dumped in front of my latte without warning.”

File 03. Recorded three days ago, 20:30, entitled “Patient's first session, pt. 2: Gakushuu's tenacity=confirmed genetic.”

File 04. Recorded two days ago, 20:10, entitled “Patient's second session: How am I related to two insane monsters?”

File 05. Recorded two days ago, 21:59, entitled “Patient's third session: Gakushuu's bombshell turns out to be 74 unresolved (but ‘unfairly’ concluded) lawsuit files against his father for crimes of arson, child abuse, destruction of property, etc. with 899 entries of Shuu's emotional, physical, and property damage (all in variety of length– perfectly stored since his elementary grade)– as a consequential phenomenon of being Gakuho Asano’s only son."

File 06. Recorded one day ago, 18: 16, entitled “Patient's fourth session: my patient and his dad decided to agree on picking up a stray. It's me.”

“Aha… ahahaha…AHAHAHA– Huuuuuuuuffffhhhhh—AHA- KEGHK- KEGHK-! Oh shit-”

Shizuka harshly slaps against her flat chest a couple of times. She should really learn by now that laughing hysterically was not her forte, since extremes of joy seemed to hate her so much to death that she'd either run out of breath or choke on her saliva while cackling. Why does happiness always go hand-in-hand with suffering? 

It took about five strikes to her chest and a few attempts to clear her throat before she began to snicker again. Shuu's exaggerated furious tomato face glowed on her laptop screen. It was taken a couple of days ago during one of their sessions, when he ranted about how a guy with ‘annoying strawberry hair’ provoked Shuu and his underlings (besties) after he got back from suspension and started attending the school assembly more often, ruining the “privileged elite's peace and ambience.” Gakushuu wasn't mad about Akabane’s sly teasing though. No, no words that came out of this ruinous delinquent's mouth could ever bother the son of the school's head, as long as Gakushuu still prevailed over him. 

It was Shizuka's comment that irked him so much, Shuu went as bright red as his rival's ‘annoying strawberry hair’.

“Wow. By how much you complain about that Akabane guy’s hair, I might start to think that you like him.”

That was her carelessly made joke before her ears got assaulted by her cousin's whining. 

Shizu never heard Shuu whine like that before. She never had a guy whine and screech like that right at her face in any stage of her life! 

Not a single file of their sessions even had a record of Gakuhou junior going this ballistic going on and on about his devil of a father. It was a world record-breaking moment. And Shizu had been the one to make it happen, even taking a photo as evidence of such a historical moment, and succeeding in not letting Shuu delete it. She deserved another latte with 4 spoonfuls of sugar.

“Okay, I'm gonna send it to uncle. Definitely.”

Shizuka never said she picked a side. She's flexible.

Gakuhou Asano giggled.

Tadaomi Karasuma, a government agent— lethal weapon capable of protection, advanced strategizing, leadership, combat and many things— the higher-ups’ perfect lapdog. Favored by all of his bosses and clients, including his students, as THE best capital M among men (and as an unwilling client of an alien octopus playing girly salon)— blanched for the very first time. 

Giggling?

“Chairman?”

“Ah- yes. Apologies, where were we?”

Another image of Kunigigaoka's top student being ugly and cute was saved in a safe folder of Chairman Asano’s phone that day

Chapter Text

There has been a very strange rumor circulating the whole circle of class 3-A recently. Actually, it was already acknowledged by a few, last weekend. And their collective reactions of shock, astonishment, and heart attack, (along with episodes of argumentative debates and therapeutic self-reassurance to ground themselves) couldn't exactly be any less helpful to keep the propaganda within safety reins.

“Student Council President Asano has been seeing a girl?!”

In a cafe??

Almost every afternoon???

And he's been seen with his cream-covered mouth being wiped by this one girl who looks older than him????!!!

Gakushuu Asano was aware of the rumors. Nothing could get past him. Unfortunately, this also included his father, who was thankfully aware of the real identity of the certain ‘girlfriend’ that his son has been seeing, and could only shrug it off. Board Chairman Asano knew that the boy would handle it, eventually. Rumors were a scary thing, these two blackmailing, manipulative professional bastards, were perfectly aware of that.

At first, Shuu found it ridiculous, then disgusting— to immediately be assumed to have a romantic involvement with the most ignorant, gullible, impulsive, sleep-deprived maniac he's ever been unwillingly related to. But he liked it when they recognized she was older than him. He rejoiced that her face was decaying enough for everybody to see her as a middle-aged pedo— ah, was that something to be happy about? (He totally did not appreciate that his classmates and peers determined by themselves that he was into older women though).

“Asano, w-were you really…out with a girl?”

It was his best min- friend— Ren Sakakibara who had the guts to ask him about the rumor first.

There were photos taken of Gakushuu and Shizuka in the cafe, already printed out, and even disseminated by some of his female classmates (who were stupidly jealous of their ‘Asano-kyun~’ being ‘claimed' by another girl, shamelessly huffing and puffing- being the ones to instantly make her out to be a gold digging hag) and the perpetrator who had the temerity to stalk him and spread the news.

When he saw the amount of the photos, it was obvious that the stalking began from the second day of his sessions with his cousin. It was a Wednesday, and the following photos taken after made him conclude that this stalker of theirs made it his/her own diligent routine to gather goods for misinformation and potential blackmail.

There were more photos from one week ago, back when Shizuka wasn't living in his house yet, but since Shuu could meet her more often at home— their visits to the cafe had decreased (to which the older girl complained about since she couldn't get treated to sweets and iced coffee everyday anymore)— and the photos of them together lessened along with that. Shizuka always made sure to call him after school and make him buy from the cafe on the way home though.

Gakushuu blankly blinked at Ren, who was accompanied by the other members of the Big Five (he was sure that they were the reason why the rumor came to the rest, with their horrible skills at acting cool), and their classmates who looked at anywhere but him— still keeping their ears wide, invested.

“Yes.”

Chaos erupted.

“SERIOUSLY?!!!”

“ASANO-KUN, WHYYY???!”

“HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL US?! I THOUGHT WE WERE CLOSE?!”

Everybody stared silently at that emo-looking weeb guy (that Gakushuu helped ONCE) in the corner.

“Ah… sorry, keep going.”

Everybody turned back to look at the president of the student council, some puppy-eyed, some close to crying, the rest were thankfully sane (they weren't).

“Then-!” Teppei Araki, their resident top broadcaster, shot up to his feet with a gasp, before his speech got interrupted by Tomoya Seo— slamming his hands on Asano's table, catching them off guard. “You really have a girlfriend?!”

It was the long-awaited, insufferable question that they all didn't know how to ask. But now that the photos were confirmed to be true, unfiltered and raw, they had to feed the rest of their curiosity that made them itch all night.

Gakushuu, on the other hand, was lucky to have mastered (or so he thinks?) the ability of not surrendering to his emotions, and displaying his classic princely smile (he already knew who the stalker was anyways, he just had to catch that rabbit later—).

“No—”

“Then your crush?!” Natsuhiko Koyama jumped in right after, copying Tomoya’s action.

“You have a crush?!!”

“ASANO-KUN?!!!”

“As I said before, no—”

“YOUR FIANCE?!”

“Has the Board Chairman arranged your future family to keep you in wraps this time?”

These little shi—

Gakushuu internally cursed and threw a tantrum (one that Shizuka would surely mock him for). Clearing his throat, counting one to ten, he successfully did the grounding technique that his semi-failure of a cousin taught him in one of their sessions, one where he couldn't help but throw a childishly embarrassing scene in front of her, after she made a joke about his relationship with Akabane (which is COMPLETELY PLATONIC!— his mind screams at him). Then, he stood up, patted his two daringly close min— friends’ shoulders, and quietly approached Ren who fumbled with the collected copies of the photos. Ren let out a small gaping sound of realization once his best friend laid out his open palm, immediately giving him the photos.

“This is Shizuka, my cousin. She and I have been spending time together in the cafe a few blocks away from this academy, having her break from university. No, she isn't my girlfriend, crush, nor is she my fiance.”

Everybody blinked slowly at the eloquent explanation.

“Oooh-”

“Aaah-”

Dragged and shrieking noises of chairs and tables soon followed after five seconds, class 3-A dazedly sat back down and still registered the new information.

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Gakushuu's four friends nodded along his words. Tomoya looked albeit disappointed, really hoping that his friend finally snatched a girl like he did. Natsuhiko sighed in relief, adjusting his glasses up as he internally celebrated the comfort of knowing that Asano didn't beat him to getting a girlfriend.

“See? I told you guys, we speculated wrong,” Ren, always the peacemaker, recollected himself as he weakly smiled at everyone. Teppei nodded along beside him, as if he didn't almost fall for the rumor in the first place. “Sorry about that, Asano. We were just concerned.”

Well, they definitely got their caring attitude in the wrong direction.

Gakushuu let out a heavy trail of air through his nose, passing back the photos to Ren, with the expectation that those abominations be burnt.

“I understand, don't worry. However, please don't trouble anyone by spreading rumors about me and my cousin, I would appreciate everyone's concern much more if the issue refrains from bothering everyone's focus on their studies and activities.”

The entirety of Class 3-A enthusiastically echoed their message of agreement, trusting their leader. It was a sugar coated warning as well, for the photos and ‘scandalous’ whispers to be permanently ceased, for the sake of Gakushuu's reputation, as well as for everyone's betterment.

...

...

"...YOU HAVE A COUSIN—"

“OOOOHH!! She's a definite, hot, intellectual scholar!”

Up in the mountain, behind the main building and close structures of Kunugigaoka Academy's more crowded grounds, was a natural environment for wild animals, herbs, trees, critters, and bugs that thrived even under the treacherous gaze of the scorching, dauntless sun.

It was also a natural habitat for an oversized, perverted yellow octopus; and a playground for the misfits of Kunugigaoka, with the supervision of Tadaomi Karasuma— their soldier, temporary (soon-to-be-permanent) Physical Ed teach.

“How can you even tell?” Nagisa Shiota deadpans at his classmate, Okajima who already had his nose dripping with blood (he was holding a photo of Gakushuu Asano and his confirmed cousin, eating in a cafe) to which the others around them groaned.

“Can't you see?! That poise, that dark academia manner of styled clothes— that glint in her sharp eyes that burns with greed and desperation for victory, exhausted and half-lidded but dark, mysterious! She has a strong smile that insinuates a sense of pride!— The kind that someone like her— feels honored and justified to have her worth be acknowledged and revered! But at the same time, mischievous and sly, like she still has more things up her sleeve and– EURGH!”

Nagisa didn't bother to stop Nakamura from hurling a kick at the baldie’s head.

“Gimme that and shut yer trap!”

Yesterday, Nagisa was walking home with Kayano, Kanzaki, and Karma after another unsuccessful attempt of assassination— but luckily with better results on his English long quiz! The blue-haired guy still had to work on speaking the dialect better, and practice on sentence and grammar construction, but seeing as how his scores improved a lot more with Koro-sensei’s help— Nagisa was looking forward to sharpening his skills, not only with a gun, blade, and hand-to-hand combat, but also with his mind.

When they passed by this famous cafe nearby after trekking down the mountain, there were a couple of familiar faces wearing the similar uniforms they have. Luckily, they were too distracted, crowding near the cafe and not noticing them pass by (avoiding prejudicial glares they normally received). Some of them were old acquaintances- even friends– that they once had back when they weren't dumped in the disgraceful Class 3-E.

However, it was Karma who approached them, and snuck behind a heavily distracted boy holding a photograph, mindlessly replying to Karma's nosy questions without looking at the red-haired guy.

It was eventful. Karma managed to snatch the photograph after his ears perked up by the sudden news of his top A rival seeing an older girl in this cafe that was being crowded by the students, curious and gossiping– wanting to have a chance to see her for themselves (only to fail since Shizuka was lounging inside the Asano household by then)— then ran away while dragging Nagisa and the others with a wide grin.

Thus, the rumor had spread to Class 3-E.

And because of the students’ chatter, even Koro-sensei couldn't waste this chance to bond with his precious kids and enjoy the hot, boiling tea!

“So this is his cousin? Weird, I didn't know he had another family member apart from his dad,” Nakamura fiddles with her chin, staring at the photo in thought. The girl in the picture was certainly older-looking, mature-ish (but the way she looked like she was teasing while holding a spoonful of parfait to Asano Jr. 's scowling face, made her look more playful). And- wow, she has a whole delicacy of sweets on her side of the table—.

“She looks warm though,” Kayano added, “very different from Asano.”

In contrast to everybody's assumptions based on the rumors, this girl (or woman?) in the photograph that their annoying school prodigy had been meeting with, was not his girlfriend— after a very thorough checking of their target-slash-teacher, who was adamant to bring in more details to the group bonding gossip time by impulsively disguising himself and sneaking out before Karasuma-sensei could stop him. Koro-sensei personally listened to a chaotic discussion between the student council president and the rest of Class 3-A (he's also being scolded and hunted on by Karasuma-sensei the moment he got back).

“Hoho, I certainly didn't expect Mr. Perfect student be family-oriented,” Karma slyly snickered next to Nagisa who sighed at his friend, knowing that the delinquent had managed to retrieve a couple more of photos from the rest of the main campus students, and print several copies of them. Nagisa didn't really want to know where he'll use them for.

“Well, I guess that's nice,” Isogai comments with a sincere smile.

It really was. But it was also heavily unexpected to know that the second person who held the most influence after the Board Chairman Asano, over the main campus’ hostile attitude and perspective towards those who couldn't measure up to people like them— had a hint of a thoughtful gentleness within him.

“Sometimes, because of everything that's happened, and all that can still happen— with all the division between us and those at the main campus— since we have different upbringings, and varying standpoints, including our views of each other,” Isogai continues to speak, and everybody close in range couldn't help but pay attention, especially by how he sounded so gentle and thoughtful, “–we tend to forget that just like us, they're also people, and students our age or close to it, and they go home to rest after studying, receive help from their textbooks, or maybe from their parents and siblings, sleep after a long a day– and during the weekends, spend time with their loved ones.”

Nagisa intently listened to his friend’s open thoughts, his fingers fiddling with the hem of his uniform. He didn’t realize how tightly his jaw was clenched, nor how his teeth were tensely grinding. 

Isogai-kun– more insightful of those around him than anyone thought– was saying things right now that they all probably denied to vocalize out loud. And all of these words were true.

“Just like how they forget about their connections with us because of the system, once we ended up here in Class 3-E… Maybe, we also forgot how we also saw them once as people we looked up to, or classmates we mingled with during school assembly.”

(Sometimes, we tend to take others for granted. Not just objects or gifts that we all didn't like, but felt guilty to refuse.)

(—And perhaps because of that, we can't even look at each other's eyes, and we try to desperately deny the several reasons why it feels so wrong. That the only way we manage-- is by ignorance.)

(So that maybe, just maybe— it would hurt even less, when the people you cared for— still turned their backs on you. Maybe, it would hurt less, if they are strangers, no, monsters- that you could hate easily. Curse at without sweat. Kill without any remorse. And eventually, feel fine about it in the long run.)

(Hopefully.)

Chapter Text

The humming sounds of chatter, and the clinking and clanking of utensils against utensils, unpleasantly rubbed on his ears. But for now, it was a temporary respite from the opposite noise inside his head that's been pushing, and pushing, and pushing him to work work work. Noise against noise. Outside vs. inside.

His shoulders and neck have started to strain again this time, not even the amount of cooling pads and ointment could relieve him from the sharp, electrifying jolts of pain that startled him away from his focus more often than not.

Mix that batch of unneeded pain with his regular experiences of migraines. Ugh. He's totally going to blame this on his father. Maybe his unwholesome genes passed onto him the annoying nausea and headaches.

And maybe to everyone in the world that's been irritating his head more than enough lately. Including E-class’ recent cases of eased attitudes during school assembly, in contrast to everything that's been so decently planned to keep them in wraps.

(Should he think of other better fortified plans to cut off their knee joints this time?)

Gakushuu fiddles with the spoon on his plate, his fingers carelessly pushing it and pulling it around with the crumbs of the half-eaten chocolate cake that he deemed to be too sweet to finish.

“If you ain't gonna eat that, give it to me.”

Shizuka sat across from him, her side of the table had more than what her stomach could handle. She was the one to suggest that they go outside for a walk in the middle of the night, after opening his bedroom door and guessing right then, that he was still up and about, mumbling about a formula that he was trying to assemble on his own.

He had been too invested in his trance that he didn't even realize that his cousin already draped his coat on his frame, inserting his socked feet in his rubber shoes, and only snapped out of it when his hair had already been combed presentably.

His grumbling and inaudible whining just fell to deaf ears. He thinks that his bored cousin, always thinking of acting on her impulsive bouts of cravings like a brat, is actually just making up excuses to get him to treat her to another shopping spree or another adventurous escapade for her stomach to stay satisfied. 

Give it up for his sweet-toothed cousin in doing a remarkable job at wasting his money. Not that he ever spent it much anyways. He always had a pretty sum of allowance kept in his savings that was barely touched. The only things he truly thought to be essential for him to spend his money on, was either for budgetary assistance for the student council events and activities, or for his own educational finances.

But really, since he was a top scholar, and that his father was wealthy enough to give him everything he needed so he wouldn't end up broke or hungry and unhygienic, including his own well-prepared back-up plans for future purposes— Gakushuu could only think more about where to put the rest of his money next other than for charity and business.

Luckily, he had this one who wasn't as privileged as him, away from her hometown, and greedy enough to shamelessly ask him for special treats.

Even though, at times, she asked for them in the late, ungodly hours of the night.

“You haven't even finished your waffles” His exhausted, droopy eyes flickers up to her, holding back an annoyed grumbling session by how she slurped so loudly on her milkshake..

They– Shizuka– decided to visit the bakery minutes away from home. Some random idea that doesn't even let him interfere with any input as he gets pulled into a place with the very, very tantalizing aroma of buttered, sweetened, modeled, sculpted, baked flour. 

It gave him the kind of wakefulness that even his vitamins could never replicate; it was undeniable that Shizuka's cravings begun to influence him more and more over time.

Gakushuu sometimes wonders if she's doing this on purpose. If by some, subtle gesture of care looped in with her own greedy nature, decided to grant him a moment of time to feel like relaxed for once. 

Shizuka just goes on naturally, holding his arm when they walk casually without any concept of time to ever be able to stop her from letting him be concerned over rules, about how late it's out, about how stupid it is to even have to drag him with her. 

Then her hold switches to tugging on his hand whenever she finds something that piques her interest, definitely aware of the risks of curfew, of sleep deprivation, of Shuu's fretting; nonetheless going on with whatever she wants to experience.

Experience. Shizuka likes to throw that word at his face from time to time. When she interrupts him for this and that, when she rambles in his ears to distract him, when she tries to snatch his attention away from his study table, his books, his notes- every time a schedule of studying, reviewing, and skimming ends, before she lets him do whatever he needs to do after random breaks in between those hours. 

She says he has had too much of overworking experience and less of relaxed experience.

So yeah, Gakushuu ends up wondering if this is how she shows that she cares. 

Or maybe it's just part of their contract. 

Either way, he doesn't want to stress over it. Why would this greedy girl show and extend concern and care beyond whatever reason they agreed upon? He'll have to split his brain open to somehow look for a justification or even a complex formula to solve such a a problem.

“Hey. Gimme more money. I want another iced latte.”

Yeah, Gakushuu doubts that.

The more that Gakushuu spends time with this sleep-deprived, caffeine-boosted college student, the more that he got to delve deeper into the mind of a bonafide clown.

It's not like Shizuka's really someone who's enlightened enough to give him thoughtful advice on his own unhinged, bottled up frustrations. It wasn't very professional to seek therapeutical advice from a person who already is deprived of such things, herself.

One day, he just sat down, greeted her politely, then proceeded to scan the cafe menu for anything he felt like having. 

Shizuka did the same, only, she was more vocal about everything that Gakushuu didn't really think to be appropriate, since she ran her mouth too much about her own life, her hobbies, how she said his plain espresso was so bitter, how was his father doing?, how was he doing? wow you really grew up, nice to know you're still as nonchalant though, hey did you make friends? I wish you had, I bet you didn't, I heard you're a genius, my caretaker shoves a lot of comparisons between me and you back home, don't you want to taste the cake? Here, eat some—

Gakushuu always thought that he had everything under control, maybe not everything, but at least he is conscious that he is able to take the reins whenever the opportune moment arises. 

But Shizuka doesn't think so. Nor does she lets him think that way.

Shizuka was always poking around in his room, his thoughts, his food, his wallet- she was nosy enough that he gave up on trying to ‘control’ her. She always twists and twirls around, consciously, unconsciously. 

Like the pulling and pushing of the sea’s tempered waves on the shore, like the maple leaf- bright and auburn; fiery in color and delight- dragged along wistfully by the cool wind in autumn. She was reckless. Impulsive. Yet good-natured. Fun qualities you'd normally find in a fool. Like in the E-class.

Somehow (in every unlikeable reasons he could come up with), Gakushuu couldn't help but be confusedly relieved about that.

But he doesn't want to admit it (it rejects the ideologies that's been so deeply drilled into his psyche) so he shoves in the whole half of his chocolate cake into his mouth.

Like how he shoves every problematic, abnormal, depressing thoughts in the back of his mind.

“Woah, chill– I wasn't gonna take it–”

Yeah. Maybe Gakushuu should've never entertained her.

Shizuka laughed at him with the edges of her eyes tearing up in joyful crinkles of her skin. Gakushuu looked like a squirrel. Cute.

Her gaze was so soft and– happy? (Shuu didn't get how she looked so gentle and carefree with him)

But Gakushuu’s bubbling headache was gone.

Shizuka made sure to at least make him eat sweet candies or pastries every time he had those kinds of irritating pain. He even had his bag and trouser pockets be daily filled with a handful of caramel candy. Very sweet. Yuck. As if the five jars of those diabetic things back at home wasn't enough. She even got to lure his father in it, occasionally taking one or two from a jar before he goes to work.

Gakushuu eats the candies and shares some with his classmates and his five buddies by the way.

“Pffrt—”

Oh my gosh, her cackling face was so stupidly ugly. He choked on the cake while attempting to swallow it.

What? She had a bigger mouth than Koyama— and her face easily got red even with a small snort and giggle. 

The dramatic funny expressions were so easy to get from her, and it wasn't really easy for Gakushuu to know whether or not her breathless disposition after a minute of snorting and squealing, would somehow kill her or not.

It was weird that the person choking faster on her saliva was the one to offer him a cup of water the moment he coughed.

So, Gakushuu also passed a cup towards her in assistance, only for them to drink each of their drinks at the same time.

(He doesn't want to admit that he almost laughed a little at her face.)

(What quirk of his lips? What are you talking about?)

Gakushuu slept easy afterwards in his room with a full stomach, and a silent mind. The lamp on his study table long since turned off, and his notebooks fixed neatly into his bag, along with his pens and highlighters.

Shizuka made sure to visit him in the following nights to offer candies, ruin his late studying schedules, his overnight working; and maybe a small walk outside the house here and there.

It's not really certain if it's better than his old scheduled plans, but Shuu relents to accepting that it does him no harm.

He can still efficiently time his chores, his schoolwork, his extracurricular activities; Shizuka just takes it upon herself to remind him that those aren't the only things he should be doing in a daily basis. And she ensures that she doesn't disrupt any more of his concrete agendas than necessary.

For now, he can approve of that.

(He isn't gonna admit it though).

“I see you've been getting closer than ever with Gakushuu.”

Shizuka hoped that she would be able to avoid this man more, even though it was basically impossible when he woke up at three in the early morning, shuffling inside the same house that she was currently imposing in.

Gakuhou Asano smiled at her so easily while passing her a mug of hot black coffee. 

She already had coffee in the bakery earlier with Shuu.

This blend was visibly more bitter and dark, like how this person's overwhelming presence and piercing gaze made it impossible for her to even be comforted by the kitchen lights.

She didn't like bitter flavors.

Nor did she like the sensation of centipedes crawling on her skin.

Chapter Text

Shizuka never envisioned herself to be so close with her cousin in her young adolescence. She didn't exactly expect she'd be so eager in building strong familial bonds (it's weird that she gets to even call him family, she had long since forgotten what that word even meant in her life).

She thinks it serves as her own sort of freedom, maybe. (Free from what?)

Or a distraction. From whatever else, she doesn't know. But what she did know was that she'd rather mull over her cousin's rantings and problems than her own.

Shizuka never had any siblings. Nor did she have present parents. All she had was a caretaker who'd nag at her about this and that throughout her childhood.

She didn't care much back then. Maybe she just preferred to stay in her own bubble and not care too much about troublesome things, so she forced herself to accept that loneliness was a thing. Even though, she probably never fully understood what it meant, and had no other way to express it other than to let go of things silently, and pretend like it was nothing. Would that count as a way of expression?

But that didn't mean she cared about it too little. 

In fact, she doesn't want to be someone who cares too little.

(Like her mother? Perhaps.)

Maybe that was why she couldn't help but to be drawn to her cousin, Gakushuu Asano, a nosy younger kid that was cute, annoyingly bright, and for her, looked like a squirrel.

He was a small kid once, that one. He barely reached her height back when he was a toddler, which was pretty normal for his age, but something that Shizu always gloated upon. She can't say the same now though, since she could just reach half of his neck currently. Growth spurt. Argh, she spits at it.

They had some kind of complex relationship when they were kids. Sometimes, they'd play out of boredom, sometimes they'd fight over mundane things like any other emotional kid. Did she throw an empty box of ramen at his head one time? Or was it a rubber band?

Shuu-rack was someone she didn't think of too fondly, but always missed his presence when they were separated for too long.

Now, she sees a paranoid boy that always sat and stood upright, minded his manners, knew the answers to this and that; who knew how to please, who knew which to avoid, and who knew better than someone even older than him.

A prince, intelligent and talented. A tyrant like his father, who wouldn't accept defeat. He'd be the only one worthy enough to acquire everything he needed, everything he wanted, and there would be no other.

It occasionally made her stop on her tracks and think about how he grew up without her presence. Did he even remember much of her? She doubts it, they were so young, and she bets he'd think more about what was now and what should be in the future.

It's not like she feels bad about it. She barely remembers half of her elementary days.

But there was a time that she remembers a little critter, curious, open, and  sympathetic. Someone spoiled from all the things offered to him with a mere request or a tug at his kind father's pants, but not at all arrogant.

Someone who had the world, and the ability to rule it, in his small hands; but chose to cradle it. He was open to the things that could be wrong, and wanting to know why. But also bares a wide toothy smile in acceptance of the things that are, and the things that aren't.

Shizuka faintly recalls being pettily envious of several things about him that she'd rather not bring up (or never learned to talk about).

Maybe Shuu hasn't changed much in terms of his same old, nostalgic desire that burns like a wildfire inside the deepest depths of his chest, of his soul. That greed to know what, why, where, and how— the insatiable desperation to be perceiving, to be uncontrollable, to be something more than mediocre, more than human, more than normal.

In fact, that greed only surfaced to a whole new different kind of scary.

And the innocence that once bloomed along with that greed, was now just a faint light in his eyes, that Shizuka preferred to have stayed still.

Maybe that was what rubbed on her the wrong way.

She doesn't know what happened in detail. Why did her uncle, who used to tell her fantastical stories and interesting prose, suddenly become a man so dim and bleak. Why did the person she favored as a parental figure, in the absence of her own parents, become someone whose presence was worse than a shallow hole of what should've; what could've been present inside a home.

She didn't know what exactly made Shuu be so— distant? Ruined? No. That wasn't right, that boy still had a heart in him.

Fake.

Yes. Those two became fake, suddenly, in her high school graduation when she saw them for the first time again since elementary, when they visited to offer their congratulations. That, and no more.

When did it start? Was it when Shuu was six? When they started to drift apart, the more that Shizuka preferred the presence of kids at her age? Was it when she stopped visiting them during vacations? Was it when she started missing the presence of a little brother who'd argue, yet also play with her board games that were kept buried away, underneath her bed? Was it when she started to forget about him and her uncle's fun educational stories back in middle school? Or when she focused on surviving in a world that takes and takes and takes, and got over the fact that everything and everyone were fleeting presences in her self-centered life?

Shizuka wants to know. But she also understands that it's out of her hands to fix.

Gakushuu probably became her repentance for everything she neglected to care for. For everything she regrettably forgot and left behind.

Someone she unhesitatingly latched herself onto, because it just didn't feel right not to. It didn't feel right. That stiffness, that haunting reminder of what wasn't there before, of what Shizuka wasn't used to.

Maybe, she wants to be more greedy this time; to have the desire to keep things and never lose like him. She lost the chance to, back when she was younger. She was too much of a coward to defy the rules of the course, to be more, to want more, to—

“I see you've been closer with Gakushuu more than ever.”

Was it so bad to not want to let go of things?

“You ran away from home right after Ms. Tanaka retired and you got your monthly allowance from your mother, then proceeded to drop out of college after your sophomore finals, before you decided to spend everything in the savings your mother gave you.”

Her uncle had no filter or hint of sympathy present in his expression while summing up everything he knew about Shizuka, sipping from his mug gracefully.

“Yes.”

Shizuka already slumped in defeat. Nothing could get past him, as always. Eventually, Gakushuu would also learn about her immature endeavors. It was disgraceful of her to even show up in their faces, close to having the life of a beggar, and ditch education behind her mother’s back. Even so, the most important problem she had now was the possibility of getting snitched on, rather than getting kicked out of the house.

“Is this you finally being a rebel?”

Gakuhou let out a dry chuckle that she didn’t know how to react to.

“I guess disobedience tends to always spoil budding flowers the more they grow,” He stepped closer. Closer. Closer. 

Compared to Shuu, Shizuka could easily spot how piercingly haunting his father’s eyes were; how it seemed like there was nothing but rotting corpses inside of them.

Ah.

What’s this?

“What’s this?”

“Did the absence of Ms. Tanaka’s supervision got to your head that much, Shizuka?”

“It’s useless to throw a tantrum, Shizuka. I’m the only one here. The only one that will always be here.”

“It doesn’t matter if they come home a few times a year, but oh well. Act perfectly, maybe that can get them to stay, if you want that so much.

I CAn’t bReathe, Ms. Tanaka.

What should I do?

Ms. TAnaKa, Are You ThEre?

Not here.

Right.

Good—------------------------------------------------

“Then, enjoy your vacation here. Family is family.”

“Even in a home, you can be a nobody. Do you want to be a nobody, Shizu?”

Work hard. Earn it.

“Stop that.”

Gakushuu had to force his cousin’s mouth wide open and throw in a caramel candy so as to snap her out of her trance. She’s been a little out of it lately. He just disappeared for the sake of school for a day and now Shizuka’s acting like a blank sheet of paper; uncharacteristic of her usual demeanor.

He looks down at her arms, tainted with a few scratching marks. It was as if she was trying so hard to get rid of something bothering her under her skin. He couldn’t understand how a person like her could even do such a thing. Gakushuu always thought her to be someone with very very low pain tolerance, that he doubted she’d be able to not go ballistic over a stubbed toe or a plain papercut. It’s unpleasant and strange. She didn’t put in any candies to refill the jar in the kitchen nor did she put some in his pockets this morning either. What made her so detached in the span of one night?

It’s not like Gakushuu was the best at comforting in these cases, he didn’t really want to know much of her problems if it made her this unresponsive. His usual princely perfect gestures of concern and kindness didn’t work very well towards Shizuka. Either he would end up being disgusted by his own actions, or Shizu would smack his face for even thinking to woo her out of her shell to talk. That was the kind of scenario that would definitely happen. Nothing in between.

“Hey.”

Shizuka was drilling through his eyes with her own, searching for something that might swallow her up in case she spills too much or spills too little. A subtle act of fearful caution that made it difficult for her to snap out it— TO SNAP OUT OF IT—

“What?”

“Do you think bugs can enter my body and crawl under my skin?”

“Hah?”

The formication is a strange thing that she couldn’t explain in detail.  The sensation that your failure of a mediocre body is eaten and consumed; ravaged and scavenged by malevolent beings greater than you. They probably held more meaning and value as living organisms that could easily feed on prey by eating you alive. 

The way you could feel their irritating, thin, and pointy legs pricking the meat inside of you. Pins and needles. Venomous pins and needles.

You can’t be sure if they’re really real or not.

At first, it would itch, and itch, and itch, and itch— then it would stab stab stab. Millions of times per minute. And then it would burn. Burning through the meat, through the fat, through the veins, the arteries, the blood, the cells, the atoms, the molecules.

And then it would itch again.

So you scratch. Keep on scratching. Just do it.

I SAID STOP FUCKING SCRATCHING!----------

None. He just seemed perplexed and bewildered by the stupid question. Shizuka couldn’t help but laugh, there were the crinkling lines around her eyes. However, it didn’t seem like her grin made them lighten up even though it stretched widely; it was a toxic kind of mirth.

One that Shizuka hoped to be the meal that the insects inside of her ate, instead of her body.

“Have you finally gone crazy with all your caffeine overdose and sleep deprivation?”

Gakushuu’s cringing expression just made her laugh harder until her insides hurt, where her gastric system was probably being filled with venom as it grumbled and groaned—

“I might’ve!”

Right.

Bugs can’t just crawl inside of a human being.

Because she was already born with crawling critters inside of her from the moment she was born.