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Walking into Hiruko’s room, Darumi doesn’t immediately plop down onto the bed. Hiruko takes note of this, gives her the positive reinforcement she knows her partner is waiting for with a scratch behind the ears. They need to wash off the dirt and the stinking invader viscera from their bodies. It’ll happen soon enough, though. For now she draws her hand away even when her partner visibly deflates.
Anyways, Darumi shuts the door behind them instead. And she clicks each lock into place until some of the tension Hiruko had been holding on her shoulders falls away. They can never be too careful, Hiruko thinks as she brushes some hair from Darumi’s face.
This whole Invader Hunt is one thing. Hiruko does enjoy being able to tear apart the invaders. But the possibility of her teammates dying certainly isn’t… ideal. She looks down at Darumi, her cotton candy hair making her heart swirl and twist into itself. Darumi needs to live, no matter what. Hiruko worries about her, so very much. She reigns her partner in as much as she can, in between everything else.
Yes, she’s rather busy these days. Working with Yugamu and Takumi, trying not to garner attention from the Sponsor or Darumi. She’d certainly feel betrayed, like Hiruko has been lying to her this whole time. And this is the last thing Hiruko wants to do, to lie to her partner. So for now she has to hide her efforts. It’ll be worth it, once they find the spare suit. Once the Sponsor is taken down, Darumi will absolutely be upset. But then Hiruko will have all the time in the world to make it up to her. The rest of their lives, even.
For now, Hiruko has to herd Darumi around like a cattledog. She doesn’t mind. She directs Darumi to her bathroom.
“Shower time, pet.”
“Mistress Hiruko must really want to see me naked… how naughty!” Darumi delights. She used to strip down the moment Hiruko told her to shower, but she knows better than that now.
“Go,” Hiruko says.
“Anything for Mistress Hiruko! Although maybe you can join me this time!” Darumi’s eyes are pleading. Hiruko softens, melted butter in hot sun. Then, she hardens.
“You can clean yourself up like a good girl, can’t you?”
“Anything for you, Mistress! Maybe then a serial killer will come and finish me off for real this time, kahaha!”
Hiruko decides not to chastise her for this line of thinking, just intervene. “I changed my mind, I’ll wash you.”
“Wow, Mistress Hiruko is feeling nice today!”
She helps Darumi out of her clothes and. It’s hard, she notices, for Darumi to accept this sort of thing. The soft kind of affection that Darumi never received growing up, a kind Hiruko feels ill prepared to give. But she still tries, because seeing her partner soften in her grip makes the struggle worth it.
She rolls up her sleeves and helps Darumi into the shower. And Hiruko is roped into slipping off her own clothes to join, even though it wasn’t what she had planned on originally. But all Darumi needs to do is make vulgar comments, hints of truth shining hiding them, and Hiruko hops right in. It’s a better angle for her to scrub off the invader gore, she says. She pulls back her long hair to scrub at her back and shoulders, then reaches places that Darumi could reach but that Hiruko insists on getting for her anyway.
“This is just like the scene in my third favorite guro game! Mistress Hiruko, I wish we could play it together! Too bad I’m dying in the Killing Game soon!” Darumi cackles, like it’s hilarious.
Hiruko asks her to elaborate on it, in hopes to lead her away from that thought process, that they wouldn’t get out of here together. It’s calming, listening to her partner go on and on about violent video games. Even as Darumi’s voice shrieks in its excitement and she wiggles around, Hiruko finds it soothing. The thought of losing her is… no, she won’t let herself think about that. She slathers Darumi’s back in soap and scrubs it for her, then pours water over her hair and runs her hands through the tangles and finishes cleaning her up.
Darumi leans over her, smiling with yellowed teeth and insisting on letting her wash her up. Hiruko accepts, only because she likes that smile. Even when she gets soap in her eye.
They climb out of the shower and Hiruko dries Darumi off with a towel, silencing Darumi’s less than pleasant commentary. No, Hiruko can dry herself off, but she wants to make sure her pet is dry first. Darumi accepts that, at least.
Hiruko gets their sleep wear on. Then she tucks Darumi in and lets her hair tickle her nose, her head resting on Hiruko’s chest. Of course, she doesn’t stop talking then, either.
“Didn’t I do a good job today, Mistress Hiruko? Didn’t I? Didn’t I?”
“You did, I suppose.”
“Aw, you’re too kind!” Darumi laughs.
She knows, without having to dig deep within herself, that it’s morally wrong to be treating her partner like a dog. In the TRC, maybe she’d feel guiltier, commanding Darumi’s attention all to herself and treating her so rigidly. But this is war, and therefore it’s a necessary evil. Darumi needs to be taken care of. She needs to ensure the survival of all of her friends, and Hiruko would do this for anyone else. And a little selfishly, Hiruko thinks Darumi’s had it so hard, and Hiruko is too messed up herself to handle that properly. But this? She’s very good at this. Darumi honestly doesn’t seem to mind. She’s cuddled up to her side, her features fully softened into something relaxed. However the means, it matters not. Darumi is happy. Hiruko would do many horrible, awful things to ensure she always looks this way. But she’d also do good things for her too, which was why she assumed the position as head of the Anti Sponsor Alliance.
Hiruko finds herself staring at Darumi, not for the last time. Without all her crazy makeup she looks softer, more relaxed— but Hiruko thinks she’s cute with it too.
She is at peace for all of five minutes, trying to be gentle when she strokes Darumi’s back. Hiruko would never say it, but Darumi reminds her of a fluffy white cat. The image almost makes her laugh, but she composes herself. Yes, this little white cat is curled up on Hiruko’s bed, and it tries to act tough but just needs some softness. Hiruko tries to provide this.
Darumi then wakes up, citing she never even fell asleep to begin with. And also she’s hungry.
Hiruko lets Darumi lie in her bed as she runs down to the cafeteria for the two of them. She has an itch to bring Darumi with her, so they can eat in the cafeteria. It wouldn’t do good to bring food into her room. But getting any food into Darumi at all is a miracle. It’s a mystery how long she’s lived, surviving off of convenience store snacks.
So she punches in two hefty meals after their hard work today into the Food-O-Matic and balances the plates, setting them down on the table. She makes Darumi join her and continues to entertain her, listening to her continuous rambling. Hiruko wipes food from the corner of her mouth with her thumb, then presses a kiss there too. She’s deeply satisfied when Darumi falls silent, if only for a moment.
Hiruko has just set her utensils down and is reaching for a napkin she brought up when Darumi is sitting in her lap, desperate. She’s pressing a kiss to Hiruko’s lips, or at least she looks like she wants to.
“I was such a good girl! I deserve a reward!” Darumi insists.
“Don’t be so hasty, Darumi,” Hiruko tilts her head away. “Your mistress requires one more thing of you.”
Her heart both breaks and swells at Darumi’s face falling.
“Teeth,” Hiruko says. “It’s almost bedtime.”
“Oh, right,” Darumi mutters. “Y’know, I was just thinking how cool it’d be to die from gum disease.”
Hiruko follows her to the sink and they brush their teeth. Her gaze falls onto Darumi yet again, eyes tracing the gentle loops and waves of her long hair. It’s hard not to be captivated though, when she has such vibrant blue hair.
“Finally! I’m so tired, I could sleep until day 100! Or until my time in the killing game comes to an end, kahahaha!”
Hiruko silences her with a kiss, this time on the lips. She tastes like mint, a huge step up from before they brushed their teeth. And before Hiruko had dug her claws into Darumi, never wanting to let go once the killing game began. Before she taught her to brush her teeth.
Darumi licks her lips, her body untensing even when Hiruko places a hand on her lower back. They break apart, and Darumi rests her whole self onto Hiruko. Darumi melts onto her, bodies melding together.
“Time to sleep,” Hiruko says. They need to be well rested for the next day. She’ll be getting that suit tomorrow, and even the smallest mistake could be costly.
Darumi protests, saying she’s not tired, but Hiruko lifts her and carries her into bed. She even tucks her in and lets her hug her, blue hair tickling Hiruko’s nose. She wouldn’t have it any other way though.
And for another night, things are okay.