Work Text:
The past few days had been…eventful to say the least. Getting kidnapped, waking up in the basement of an abandoned school with fifteen others around your age and getting told by a talking rabbit that they all have to kill each other. So far, no one has actually done the deed, everyone’s just been focused on trying to escape, their only bet being a small vent all the way up in the auditorium ceiling, with Tamba teaching Chiba, the only one among them that’s small enough to fit into the vent how to safely climb the makeshift bedsheet rope they all made.
Then at midnight right as the third day trapped transitioned to the fourth, the rabbit summoned everyone to the auditorium. It announced a motive to encourage participation in the killing game, no one is allowed to sleep within the school walls. Seeing that they’re not heading back to bed, most of the students decided it’d be best to start the day with some breakfast.
While most of the students simply took some general stuff from the pantry to munch on while awaiting the morning announcement and doing their best to not fall asleep, Tsuno was busy at the stove, cooking up some oyakodon for herself and someone else who decided he’d rather have some freshly cooked food instead of raiding the pantry for bits to snack on.
Tsuno didn’t really know what to think of Hama. He looked very much like how you’d picture your typical delinquent…minus a shirt of course, which made all the intricate looking tattoos on his chest visible for all to see. And who knows what other tattoos lay hidden under the leather jacket he wore. Whenever Tsuno saw him, either just passing by him in a hallway or at all the group meetings Sasaki keeps organising, he was always spouting about either his demon arm or telling stories of demons he’s slain. But at the same time, he acted very caringly towards Chiba, like a big brother keeping an eye out for his little sister. Could he maybe have a younger sibling waiting for him at home?
He honestly reminded Tsuno a lot about herself. Maybe she should talk with him, now does seem like the perfect time, seeing as it was just the two of them in the kitchen. She was standing by the stove, cooking some chicken and some onions in a pan, a pot of rice slowly boiling nearby.
“So Hama,” Tsuno wasn’t entirely sure on what to say. They had only just met three days ago, and in a situation like this you have to keep your guard up, because who knows if someone will give into the game and take a life. Hama was looking at Tsuno expectantly, waiting for her to continue with the conversation they’ve now started. “What’s it like having a demon arm?”
“It’s a pretty big fucking burden.” Hama raised his right arm, the presumed demon arm, for Tsuno to see. It looked just like his other arm, with tattoos akin to occult symbols peeking out from his jacket’s sleeve. “Every single demon I’ve come across is sealed within this arm. I need to maintain complete focus at all times, or else they’ll use that moment of weakness to take my whole body over and break free from the seals I’ve created.”
Tsuno continued to stir the chicken in the pan, the sounds of boiling water and the smell of cooked chicken filling the kitchen. She listened to Hama talk while she cooked, he was telling tales from his many demon banishing exploits. It was very intriguing.
“Last winter, when I was on my way home after picking up some groceries from the farmer’s market, my demon arm started to act up. It usually does that whenever a demon that has intruded on the human world is nearby, it’s like the demons I have sealed within my arm can sense the demonic energy it gives off.
I followed the demonic energy, and it led me to this abandoned building. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t dare enter it, but I could practically smell the fucking bastard. Yeah, demons have a scent, worst smell that’s ever fucking existed, luckily only those that have been touched by hell can pick up on the smell. Just another one of my burdens."
Tsuno didn’t want to imagine what a demon could smell like. The thought of it made her feel a little nauseous. Thankfully, the smell of the chicken she was cooking overpowered the thoughts of stinky demons. She continued to listen to Hama’s story, getting a little invested.
“I entered the building, and it didn’t take long to find the bastard. From the way my demon arm was shaking, it was a powerful one, probably directly serving under one of Seven Princes of Hell. And I didn’t have any of my exorcism gear, not even a vial of banishing salt. The demons sealed within my arm led me straight into a fucking trap! It was a pretty clever plan too, lure me to this powerful demon, have it drag my ass to Hell, and all the demons I had sealed away would be free to wreak havoc and dish out some payback on me. But I’m pretty fucking stubborn, and I wadn’t going to let them drag me to hell without a fucking fight!”
As Hama began to talk about his fight with this powerful demon, he waved his arms around to emphasize his actions, along with dramatically gripping his demon arm. Tsuno couldn't help but chuckle as she started to dish the meal up.
“It was by far the hardest battle I had fought in my entire fucking life, even harder then the time some asshole kappa tries to drown my little sister. But that’s a story for another day. Anyways, so this demon was getting a lot of hits in on me, and my fucking demon arm had turned against me! This situation was as you can guess, very sitty. They managed to get me on the ground, ready for the hellhounds to drag me to Hell. But what they didn’t realise, was I was next to the grocery bag, and in said grocery bag was some regular ass table salt. It’s not as potent as my special banishing salt, but it was better than nothing. With my free hand, I threw the salt right into the bastard’s eyes. The bastard should’ve counted his blessing that the salt I used wasn’t the authentic banishing salt. If I had used my authentic salt, then that bastard's eyes would've been melting. Nothing left but empty eye sockets”
And now back to the unsettling images in her head, thank you active imagination.
“Throwing salt gave me a chance to get up, and since it was now blind I was able to strike the bastard down with a single punch from my demon arm after regaining control over it. Its essence joined the many others sealed within me until the day I die.” Hama rolled up the sleeve in his jacket, pointing to a tattoo of some occult looking symbol. It stood out among all the other symbols he had on the sleeve of tattoos. “Had to get a pretty big and potent seal to keep this bastard from escaping. And after that day, I learned to always carry a vial of blessed banishing salt, because you never know if a demon may suddenly appear that you need to take care of.”
The story was…interesting. Very dramatic. That was probably the most Tsuno had heard Hama talk in the three days she’s known him. But she enjoyed listening to his story and getting a glimpse into his daily life, though she’s sure that he’s not fighting for his life against demons everyday.
The oyakodon was just about ready now too. Tsuno dished up the chicken, egg and rice into two bowls, gave one of them to Hama, and the pair made their way to the dining hall to eat. It wasn’t anything super fancy, just a quick meal from whatever Tsuno could find. But damn was it delicious.
“So,” now it was Hama’s turn to start up a conversation, “you got any, like superhero stories to tell?”
Tsuno paused to think. What could she talk about? Her life certainly wasn’t as interesting or dramatic as Hama’s constant life or death battles with demons. “Well…this one time when I was walking home from school, I heard some distressed noises coming from a tree. I looked up and there was this calico kitten stuck in a tree. I didn’t waste any time climbing up the tree to her. I gently picked her up and placed her on my lap once I reached her, giving her some gentle strokes to try and calm her down. She was so small, too small to be alone without her mother.” Tsuno made a small box with her hands to show just how small this kitten was. “I wrapped her up in my cardigan to keep her warm, put her in my school bag, climbed down the tree, and made my way home as fast as I could without hurting her. And that’s how I got one of my cats, Makoto. I spent a good few weeks nursing her back to health, with help from some online videos made by professional animal rescue workers.”
Tsuno’s story was a lot more wholesome than Hama’s, but it was nice to listen to. “Guess superheroes aren’t just limited to helping people out.” Hama commented.
“Nope. If anyone needs help, people or animals, the Ever Present Arm of Justice will do her best to give them the help they need!” Tsuno raised her fist high as she spoke, as if she was acting out a scene from a superhero anime. It made Hama smile.
Soon enough, their bowls were empty, not a single trace of chicken, egg or rice remained. Tsuno was going to get started on cleaning up the dishes, but Hama insisted he’d help. It was only polite to do so. Tsuno gladly accepted Hama’s aid, and the pair got to work with cleaning up. Tsuno washed while Hama dried and put the dishes away. They talked some more as they did so, sharing more stories about their daily lives. It almost made them forget about the situation they now found themselves in…almost.
— — — — — — —
Hama couldn’t help but feel a small sense of deja vu as he once again found himself in the kitchen at midnight. A few days have passed since…the trial, and that demonic rabbit had given them a new motive to get this fucked up killing game rolling again. Adrenaline gas. Way better than not being allowed to sleep, but putting everyone in fight or flight mode made even the demons within him shake. As if tensions weren’t already high enough.
Hama felt a little hungry after some of the tensions died down, and Tsuno once again offered to cook something up. A few others went to the kitchen to grab something to snack on to ease their growing anxiety, but everyone mostly returned to their rooms to go back to bed, leaving the superhero and demonologist in the kitchen all by themselves.
“So,” Tsuno asked, “what are you feeling like eating tonight?”
“Soba.” Hama responded without a second thought.
Tsuno let out a chuckle. “I think you’ve been spending too much time around Chiba. I think she’s influencing you a little.” Hama chuckled in response. Tsuno didn’t waste any time getting started, taking out some store bought soba noodles and putting them in a pot to boil, while also getting started on the dressing.
It felt odd…being in the kitchen, considering Isono was killed here. Hama, Tsuno, Wada and Chiba were the unfortunate group to discover her body, still on the floor, a small pool of blood under her, her head…smashed to bits like a broken pot, small fragments of her skull all over the flood like ceramic shards. Kamimura did a good fucking job cleaning up, it was as if Isono’s murder never happened. But still, Hama could still see her dead body whenever he looked over at the spot they found her. He just hopes she’s at peace in Heaven.
Hama was also a little worried about how Tsuno was faring, standing near where her friend’s corpse was found. She was trying to be strong, for everyone’s sake, mostly Wada’s, but it was very clear Isono’s death affected Tsuno greatly.
“Hey, are you okay?” Hama asked. Tsuno turned to face him, her eyes were welled up, as if tears could pour forth from them at any moment.
“Y-Yeah, I’m alright. It’s just…” The superhero glanced down at a spot near where she was standing.
“You’re thinking about Isono, aren’t you?” Tsuno gave a small nod. Hama was very perceptive. The demonologist took a few steps closer to her, and opened up his arms, wordlessly offering his friend a hug. Tsuno acted without hesitation, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. It didn’t take long for her to start crying. Hama just let her cry it out, gently holding her in his arms. It’s perfectly normal to feel grief over the death of a loved one. Tsuno may have only known Isono for a week, but they quickly became best friends in that short time.
Tsuno weeps and sobs soon died down, and she pulled away from Hama, wiping her eyes to dry off some stray tears. She gave the demonologist a small but grateful smile. “Thanks Hama, that…that really helped.”
“It was the least I could do,” Hama gave her a smile in return, “bottling up your grief won’t do you any good in the long run. Sometimes it's good to have a cry, you’ll feel a lot better in the long run.”
Tsuno let out a small chuckle. Who knew Hama could make a good therapist. “Yeah, I feel a lot better now.” With that little cry out of her system, Tsuno returned to cooking up the soba noodles. “Say Hama, are you feeling alright?”
Hama was a little caught off guard by Tsuno’s question. Guess she’s wondering if he was doing okay after he noticed she was not doing so well. He rubbed the back of his neck as he answered. “I could be better. Just a little worried.”
“About the motive?”
“That’s…a part of it.” Tsuno stayed quiet, waiting for Hama to continue. “It’s Chiba that I’m worried about. Ever since that trial, she’s been focusing all her free time into trying to climb up into the vent. I know that vent is probably our only lead on getting out of this hellhole, but Chiba’s been putting a lot of pressure on herself to reach the vent, escape and get help. I just worry with everyone’s expectations on her shoulders, plus the building filling up with adrenaline gas, that she might do something rash and end up hurting herself…or worse.” Hama didn’t want to think about the worst case scenario, think about Chiba possibly falling to her death in one of her many attempts to climb up to the vent. He had faith that she could do it, he just wishes she could be more careful.
Tsuno understood how Hama was feeling. It’s an older sibling thing, worrying that your younger siblings could hurt themselves. Her younger brothers did that on the daily, always doing all kinds of recklessness in hopes that this will be the day they will awaken to their superpowers. Every superhero needs a damsel to save, and in Tsuno’s case her damsel are her brothers. She only hopes that they’re doing alright without her. She’ll be back home to them soon…she hopes.
“Well, if you’re really that worried she’s going to hurt herself, why not talk to her about it.” The soba noodles were just about done cooking. Tsuno dished them up into some bowls, handing one to Hama who was leaning on a wall near the stove. He wasted no time slurping up the noodles. Tsuno decided to sit on the counter across from him before digging into her share of the meal. “She might start being more careful if you express your worry for her safety. Get her to take some breaks too. Trying to climb up to the vent all day everyday is just going to wear her out, then she’ll make no progress if she’s too tired to climb.”
Hama nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should drag her to have some of this soba you made, it’s really fucking delicious!”
Tsuno chuckled. “It’d be better if it was proper homemade noodles and not some cheap store bought stuff.”
“Well they are feeding sixteen- sorry, fourteen of us. Quality over quantity kind of deal.
— — — — — — —
God, it was freezing. Blame the motive for that. What would be the best way to die, getting murdered, getting executed, or slowly freezing to death. Tsuno and Hama once again had found themselves in the kitchen, after yet another midnight motive assembly. They were both still in a bit of shock, having witnessed Ojima punt the rabbit all the way across the auditorium in response to the motive announcement. They were glad the rabbit didn’t punish him for doing so, but it did warn them the next time someone laid a hand on it with intentions to harm, it won’t be so merciful. They’ve already lost four of their peers, they didn’t want to lose another.
Tsuno turned the stove, mostly in an attempt to warm herself up before getting started on cooking. Hama joined her. He may have the fires of hell bound within his arm, but sometimes that isn’t enough to keep him warm. This motive is going to be a struggle for the both of them. Tsuno’s supersuit is made from a light breathable material, not at all very good at keeping in heat. Her cape may be big, but the material it was made with is very light and thin to make it easier to get around, so it’ll be no help as a makeshift blanket. Then there’s Hama, who has never been seen wearing a shirt in the entire time he’s been here. Tsuno looked through his closet when she was investigating the dorms with Wada after…after Isono’s murder, and she did not see a single shirt among his collection of leather jackets and skinny jeans. There was his pyjama shirt, but it’d be weird wearing pyjamas when it’s not bed time, plus it wouldn’t really help much.
So they were both huddled around the stove, using the flames like a little campfire. Tsuno couldn’t help but notice just how close Hama was, and her face started to feel a little warm. Maybe that was just the heat from the stove.
As much as they wished they could stay by the stove, it was still around midnight, and they were feeling hungry. Hama left the warm sanctuary of the stove's heat to give Tsuno the space she needed to do her thing. “So, what’re you in the mood for tonight?”
Hama took a moment to think about what he was craving. “Do we have any yakitori left over from earlier? That was pretty fucking delicious.”
Tsuno took a look into the fridge where Hayashi stored the leftovers from their little dinner party earlier in the evening. There surprisingly wasn’t a lot left over, everyone ate until they were stuffed. The food was delicious, compliments to the chef, you wouldn’t think Hayashi is a great cook just by looking at her. The most stand out thing in the fridge was a bowl with a sticky note saying “Do not touch or else - Kamimura,” that must be his gyoza. Tsuno closed the fridge, “Sorry, I couldn’t find any leftover yakitori, we must’ve eaten it all. But I could go on and make some myself if that’s alright.”
Hama gave Tsuno a thumbs up. Seems like he was okay with that. Yakitori needed to be cooked in the oven, but she decided to keep the stove on just to warm the kitchen up a little. As she chopped up the chicken thighs and scallions, the pair had some idle conversation about how things are going.
“Yanagi’s been a great help in the medbay. I was a little worried he’d struggle with his hand still being messed up, but he did a good job today.”
“So who did you treat in the medbay?” Hama inquired.
“Just Wada, Hiroaki and Hayashi. I was getting a little worried about Masa’s health since he’s gotten sick a few times already, so I gave him a little check up. He’s doing well.” Tsuno didn’t mention just how thin Wada looked and how little he weighed. She swore to secrecy not to tell anyone about it, Yanagi and Hiroaki are the only others who know. Hama was close to Wada, she didn’t want him to worry about his friend’s health. He’s lost enough already. “Nagawa is still a little rough after the beating Yanagi gave him the other day. His bruising and swelling have gone down and his nose, eye socket and tooth seem to be healing well. He still can't eat much solid food, and I don't know when he’ll be able to.” Hama had noticed Tsuno and Hiroaki have been on very friendly terms recently. It was a rarity to not see him clinging to Ojima. It was nice to see new bonds be forged despite all the shit that’s gone down. Hama had gotten really close with Watari in the days since…losing Airi and Keizou. They clicked very well, almost like siblings. He’s honestly surprised she hasn’t yet dragged him into her little school staff roleplay that she’s been doing with Okazaki, or maybe that’s just a thing for the two of them. “Mai came by to see how Yanagi was doing, and I insisted I’d check out the wound on her leg. She protested a lot but eventually caved and let me look at her. It’s healing well, might leave a scar but I don’t think she cares.” The pair were honestly surprised that Hayashi didn’t have many scars. They expected she’d be covered in them with how often she probably ends up in violent altercations doing her bounty hunts, maybe she’s really good at taking her targets out before they land a good hit on her. She was pretty badass.
Meat and veg were all chopped up, ready to be assembled into skewers. Once they were assembled, Tsuno placed them onto a wire rack on top of a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil, before placing the food into the oven. She had pre heated the oven and set it to grill. It won’t be long until they’re ready to serve.
“I’ve heard you’ve been hanging out in the library a lot. Read anything interesting?”
“Eh, not really.” Hama shrugged his shoulders. “Most of the shelves are filled with long encyclopedias that no one would ever willingly read. The supernatural section they do have is fairly bland too, there’s just Twilight and a bunch of other grim dark monster romances. I’ve mostly just been touching up on my Latin and reading some manga.”
“The same manga as Wada?” Tsuno remembered that Hama had gotten Wada’s manga from the reward swap, and that he had been reading it as indicated by the folded page corners as a way to keep track of where he was. She had never seen Wada so angry before.
“Yup. He lent me his copy to read through after we talked for a bit. He also gave me a bookmark and glared at me telling me to use it and not mess up his volume. I’ve faced many scary demons in my life, but looking into his eyes sent shivers deep into my soul.” Tsuno giggled at the image of Wada angrily staring into Hama’s eyes as he handed him a bookmark. Don’t mess with Masa’s manga.
“And how’s the manga going?”
“Good. However there is one thing that’s annoying me,” why did Tsuno have a bad feeling about the way this conversation was leading, “this whole situation between Nozawa, Anzai and Sakakibara!” And thus there was no escape… “I’m currently at the summer festival arc. Anzai has invited Nozawa to go with him, but she doesn’t have feelings towards him. She’s head over heels for Sakakibara, but she doesn’t want to risk stuff going badly if she does something embarrassing at the summer festival if she goes with him, so she’s going with Anzai instead. The problem is, Anzai has feelings for her, and he thinks this is a real deal date when it’s not!”
Hama continued to rant about the manga, waving his hands around and slamming them on the kitchen counter when he gets mad. This was a big reason why Tsuno is not the biggest fan of shoujo manga, all the love triangles and misunderstandings that could easily be solved if the characters just talked to each other instead of doing everything they can to make the situation worse just didn’t appeal to her. She was way more interested in shounen manga and tv shows, they also serve as big inspirations for her superhero persona. Still, she enjoyed listening to Hama rant about the manga he and Wada were reading. It was nice, seeing him get passionate about the things he liked.
The yakitori had finished grilling and were now ready to serve. She placed the tray on the kitchen counter next to where Hama was leaning. “Here you go. I hope you enjoy it.” The pair both took a skewer and started to dig in. Nothing could ever beat the way his mom makes yakitori (Mai came very close), but these were fairly delicious. As they ate, the pair talked some more, completely forgetting all about the cold. It was nice, this little thing they did. They hoped that when they got out of this killing game they could continue to have these little midnight meals.
— — — — — — —
It didn’t feel the same, being in the kitchen at this time of night without her. It didn’t feel the same, not chatting about whatever came to his mind to anyone else. It didn’t feel the same, not eating a meal that wasn’t made by her.
Hama didn’t want to go to the kitchen. He wanted to go back to bed. Luckily, Hayashi noticed he was eyeing the kitchen and offered to make a meal to help ease his worries. Hama was thankful to her, he couldn’t say no to a friend.
It was pitch black everywhere, no thanks to the motive. Some light from the stove helped, but Hama still kept his shake light on so Hayashi wouldn’t end up chopping a finger off.
Speaking of the meal, Hayashi was making miso soup. It was something quick, and easy to eat in the dark. Hama couldn’t help but be reminded of Tsuno. Tsuno loved miso soup, it was her meal at the dinner party they all had last week. It had only been a week since then and so much had happened.
Hayashi noticed her friend was being quieter than he usually was. After adding some chopped up tofu into the soup, she went over to where he was standing. “You alright?”
“‘M fine…” Hayashi was not convinced. He looked just like how he was right after Chiba and Harada died. She had a gut feeling on who he was thinking about, that’s why she was making miso soup. She thought that maybe it could help, but now after thinking about it, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to make a mourning guy a meal his dead friend enjoyed.
The soup was ready. Best to enjoy it while it’s warm. Hayashi handed Hama a bowl, but he didn’t start to eat immediately. He just stared at the meal. Hayashi looked back on that fateful day, of finding Tsuno’s body with a plate of wooden stakes impaled into her gut. Everyone was devastated, Wada especially, considering he watched her die. Hama was oddly quiet though, Hayashi now realised he was probably struggling to keep it together. Finding love in a place like this…it only leads to heartbreak. At least Hama was handling it better than Hasegawa was. He had barely left his room since the trial, the only time she’s seen him since was when everyone had to gather for the motive. She hoped he was doing alright.
Hayashi placed a hand on Hama’s shoulder, reassuring him that it’s alright, he’s not going to go through this pain alone. Hama wiped some tears that were forming in the corner of his eyes and gave Hayashi a small smile, before at least eating the miso soup.
“It’s really good.”
“I did my best with what we got.”
“Thanks…”
“No problem.”
Maybe before he heads to bed, he should go and visit Tsuno in the medbay.
— — — — — — —
The kitchen was empty.
A new motive was announced.
Normally at this time, you’d see two people in the kitchen.
A girl with dyed hair dressed in a superhero costume, usually at the stove cooking something up for herself and her friend.
Her friend, a tall boy covered in tattoos wearing nothing but a leather jacket and skinny jeans.
They’d both just talk about whatever was on their minds.
But their young lives were unfortunately cut short by this game of life and death.
The girl was victim to a trap made by someone obsessed with a fantasy where they are rivals.
The boy was unknowingly responsible for the death of a friend, and was punished with death.
The stove remained cold.
The food remained untouched.
The kitchen remained empty that night.