Chapter Text
When Guren had told him to get out of the house, Yuu was fairly certain this wasn’t what he’d had in mind. To be honest, he was pretty sure this isn’t what Mitsuba had had in mind, either, judging by her expression as yet another drunken college kid bumped into her from behind. For that matter, Kimizuki also looked irritated – not too far off from his normal expression, though – and Yoichi just looked uncomfortable. Kimizuki pulled Yoichi out of the way of a couple making a valiant if misguided attempt to walk, suck face, and drink alcohol simultaneously. Yuu took another swig of his beer, winced at the taste, and then took another for good measure. Whose idea was this, again?
“Mi-chan!” Shinoa stumbled her way through the throng of people, drink sloshing out of her plastic cup. Yuu had known her for almost a month now, and still couldn’t believe how short she was. He couldn’t even see the top of her head until she wriggled her way between a small cluster of girls. Shinoa smiled widely and giggled, latching herself onto a disgruntled Mitsuba. She kind of reminded Yuu of an octopus. He couldn’t hear Mitsuba’s response over the driving thumpa-thumpa-thumpa of the music and the voices of the partygoers, but whatever it was didn’t deter Shinoa in the slightest.
Yuu had never been to one of these rich kid’s summer house parties before. Occasionally Shinoa would flaunt her status as a Hiiragi in the name of getting herself and her friends into upscale events, but Yuu wasn’t sure what he would call this. The house was huge, and the kid had apparently splurged and provided enough chips and salsa to feed a crowded football stadium, but otherwise it didn’t seem that different from the frat parties Yuu had been dragged to back before he moved here.
“I’m not drunk enough for this,” Kimizuki groaned. “Hey, asshole,” he said, coming to stand next to Yuu.
Yuu bristled. “Telephone pole.”
“First one to finish their cup of whatever the hell is in that keg wins.”
Most everyone at the party had brought their own hard liquor and anyone who hadn’t was left with the option of piss-warm beer – which suited Yuu just fine – or the keg. Yuu didn’t think he was drunk enough, or desperate to be drunk enough, to touch the liquid inside of it.
“You’re on,” he shot back anyway, puffing up his chest. He guzzled the rest of his beer and wiped his mouth. “Let’s go.”
Yoichi trailed meekly behind them as they went to fill their cups.
It was a bad decision. Yuu acknowledged this, but he also acknowledged that the sweet temptation of wiping Kimizuki’s smile off of his stupid face could account for a sizeable chunk of his bad decisions this past month. It would also probably account for many of his bad decisions in the future.
Yoichi cringed sympathetically when Yuu finally gagged and spat out the drink. They’d gone back for four refills, and both were visibly intoxicated.
“Fuck you, you tall fuck,” Yuu spat bitterly, then groaned. “Oh my god that was awful.”
“Idiot,” Kimizuki said. “You’re just mad that I kicked your ass again.” At this point, he had an arm wrapped around Yoichi’s shoulders and seemed to be leaning on him. How Yoichi was supporting his fat ass, Yuu had no idea.
“You want me to kick your ass for real?!”
“If you mean me kicking your ass, yeah, I’d love to!” Kimizuki pulled away from Yoichi in one awkward, violent motion. And Yuu might have been drunk, but he would’ve sworn Yoichi pouted. What was in that keg? In lurching toward him, however, Kimizuki’s elbow rammed into someone passing by. Their cup dropped to the floor, and dark droplets splattered onto the tile.
“You looking for a fight?” the young man demanded slowly, looking up into Kimizuki’s face. He didn’t look angry, but instead wore a sly grin that instantly creeped Yuu out. His entire appearance was odd. Long, dark, wavy hair tied back into a ponytail, one eye covered by sweeping bangs. He was short, too, with incredibly youthful features. Yuu could’ve easily mistaken him for a child if it wasn’t for his tone, and the dangerous look on his face.
“And if I am?” Kimizuki scoffed, looking unimpressed.
“No, he’s really not,” Yoichi interjected, flashing a pleasant smile. A well-placed hand on Kimizuki’s arm had him deflating entirely. Yuu looked on in drunken wonder. How did Yoichi do that? “They tease each other, but they’re very good friends. Sorry about your drink, do you want me to get you something else?”
“I don’t think I’d care for whatever you brought me,” the stranger replied. “Besides, it’s fine. Only a little spilled.” He swooped down to retrieve the fallen cup and brought it to his lips.
“Yoichi,” Kimizuki said, a distinct whine to his voice that had Yuu snickering. He bent down and attempted to whisper in Yoichi’s ear, but ended up half-yelling, “I really have to pee.”
Yuu threw his head back and cackled, and to Yoichi’s credit, his lips only twitched upward. “Okay. Yuu, you’ll be okay, right? Text me if you need anything?”
Yuu was reluctant to say goodbye to the only two people he knew here – besides the girls, but who knew where they’d gone – but this was the most content Yoichi had looked the entire night. “Yeah, sure, I just want you to do what makes you happy, you know?” Then, Yuu fixed Kimizuki with a glare. “See his happy face? If you make him sad I’ll make you sad. You get me? With my fist.”
“Okay, Yuu, please do text me later so I know you’re okay,” Yoichi said, leading Kimizuki away who was alternatively threatening Yuu and asking Yoichi where the bathroom was.
“Ugh, that asshole,” Yuu groaned, staggering a little. “He’s a good guy. I think. But man do I wanna punch his stupid face, you know?”
“A little aggressive, aren’t you?” the shorter man said. “This party’s getting dull. If you’re still looking for that fight, why don’t you come with me?”
“Whoa, you serious?” Yuu said. “Shit, dude, I’m not looking to get arrested tonight for whatever weird shit you’re involved with.”
“I see,” the man said. “You just posture for your friend. He’s the one who tops, I take it?”
“What?”
“You lie under him while he sticks his huge-”
“Holy shit, I know what you meant!” Yuu shuddered. “What the hell, I don’t even want to think about that. I don’t even know you! What the hell is your problem?”
“I just think it’s funny when little boys talk big when they have a big, strong man with them, but tuck their tail between their legs once they’re alone. You know?”
“Listen, you little shit,” Yuu growled, grabbing the front of the young man’s shirt. “Just because I don’t want to kick the shit out of some random asshole doesn’t mean I can’t. I could knock you flat on your ass.”
“So, are you in or not, little boy? Or do you want to run and have that other boy help you take a piss, too?” He smirked.
“Just get me where we’re going so I can hit you.”
This was also a bad decision, but Yuu was so drunk and pissed off that he didn’t care. He and the young man weaved their way through the crowd, exiting through a side door and making their way past the cars parked along the street. The shorter man led the way. “You don’t need me to hold your hand, do you?” he asked. At Yuu’s sour look, he laughed. “I’ll take that as a no. My name is Asuramaru, by the way.”
“Whatever.”
The cold air was clearing his head slightly, if only enough for him to send a quick text to Yoichi that read: M gonna kick asuramafus ass.
He did not kick Asuramaru’s ass. After a ride in an expensive car that Yuu would have described as traumatic if he’d been sober enough to think of it, Yuu stumbled out and found himself on a cliff. “What the hell!” he blurted, throwing himself backward. Asuramaru chuckled, stepping in front of him, dangerously close to the edge, and holding out his hand. Yuu ignored him, using the car to pull himself to his feet. “Where the hell are we?”
“New around here, huh?”
Yuu’s heart was racing. This whole thing seemed two seconds away from turning into a horror movie, and he was about as competent as a young woman in heels being chased by a killer right now.
“Well, go for it, then,” Asuramaru said. “See if you can hit me.”
Fighting was the farthest thing from Yuu’s mind. Flight was looking more and more promising.
“Fine then, I’ll start.”
The punch to his face sent him reeling backward, ass hitting the ground with a crunch of gravel. His head was spinning, and he barely rolled out of the way of a kick in time. Asuramaru waited patiently while he pushed himself back up. The bastard had the look of someone playing with their food, and way too damned excited about it. The second Yuu was on his feet, Asuramaru launched himself at him again. Yuu was able to sloppily block the first few hits, but then Asuramaru’s figure seemed to blur, something impacted with his stomach, and he was hunched over and hurling into the dirt.
He must have passed out, because he couldn’t remember what had happened between emptying the contents of his stomach and ending up in this weird old building, leaning back against something solid. He whipped his head around and instantly regretted it. “Where am I?”
“Ah, here’s the guest of honor!” The voice came behind him, and there were arms on his shoulders, jostling him and making him feel sick. He’d been leaning against… Asuramaru? Yuu flung himself to his feet away from the shorter man. He tried to scan for the exit, but his vision blurred and he had to close his eyes. He could only gather that he was in a really old, really dilapidated, and really enormous mansion of some sort. That, and he wasn’t alone with Asuramaru here. He caught the hazy outlines of people scattered everywhere, all looking at him.
“Hey, man, relax,” another voice was saying. More people were talking, but he couldn’t make out any of it. There were arms on him again, leading him over to a sofa and sitting him down. Yuu tried looking around him again, slower this time. They were seated in what might once have been a lobby, but dust and cobwebs coated much of what Yuu could see. There were candles everywhere, creating a low, intimate atmosphere that relaxed him even as Yuu still had an escape plan formulating at the back of his drunken mind. The ceiling was high, and too dark to see, but he thought he could make out a balcony. His eyes swept over the various figures, some seated, some leaning against the walls or perched on old furniture. He glanced at the fireplace and the person seated there, a blanket wrapped around their body, their face obscured by the shadows.
“I brought pizza,” a cheerful voice announced, and Yuu felt the eyes in the room finally leaving him. Yuu watched as boxes were passed around, several people getting into small scuffles when someone took too much. After a little bit, music started to play, and Yuu found himself tapping along with his foot despite himself. It was nothing like the obnoxious pounding from the house party. All around him, these people carried on with their conversations, eating pizza and sipping from plastic cups. Still, he could feel eyes on him when he was turned the other direction. He had the fleeting thought of texting one of his friends, only to realize that his phone was nowhere on his person. It must’ve been knocked out of his pocket when Asuramaru nearly knocked him out. Shit, that wasn’t good. Guren was going to kill him.
Yuu startled when someone waved a slice of pizza in front of his face. He reached out for it mechanically, but the person yanked it away, and Yuu looked up into Asuramaru’s grinning face.
“Ah-ah-ah!” he sing-songed. “You’ll have to kiss me for it.”
Yuu scowled. “Fuck off.”
“Now that’s not very nice to the person who invited you here,” Asuramaru cooed, leaning in close and pushing his knee in between Yuu’s legs.
“Stop that,” Yuu demanded, leaning back into the couch even more, but Asuramaru followed him, mouth drawing uncomfortably close.
“Leave him alone,” someone said.
Asuramaru turned his head over his shoulder with a pout. “Aw, Mika, but we were having fun.” Yuu felt his stomach do a somersault that had nothing to do with the amount of alcohol he’d ingested. It couldn’t be…?
“Whatever.” It was the person sitting by the empty fireplace who’d spoken, Yuu realized. Yuu watched as they stood, head not even turned in their direction. He watched as they made as if to walk away, and the candlelight finally reached their face, and Yuu realized he’d stood up fast enough to make several heads turn.
“Mika?”
Yoichi had left Kimizuki alone for what can’t have been more than a couple minutes, tops. He’d tried in vain to reach Yuu’s phone, but Yuu hadn’t answered any of the texts or calls.
And now there was… this. He wasn’t sure he was ready to think about what this was yet, at least not until he was well under the influence of some alcoholic drink. Perfect, someone had brought Jell-O shots. Yoichi excused himself for a moment, downed three of them in quick succession, and then returned to deal with… this.
It was no use. The alcohol wouldn’t kick in fast enough. He’d already seen it, and had been stubbornly fighting back tears for the past five minutes. Had it been five minutes? It felt simultaneously like both hours and seconds.
Kimizuki had someone pushed up against a wall, and the two of them were going at it rather enthusiastically, and Yoichi felt himself wishing he’d taken up that weird guy’s offer to go and beat the shit out of something. He couldn’t get a very good look at the someone, in part because said someone was practically being swallowed (literally? Yoichi shuddered) by Kimizuki’s large form, but mostly because he couldn’t bear to look at them for more than a few seconds at a time. It was like looking at the sun. After it had gone supernova.
Yoichi knew it was only a matter of time before he couldn’t hold back the waterworks any longer, and he wanted to be good and shitfaced before that happened. He shot one last fleeting glance at Kimizuki and whoever the hell that was – was their hair seriously green? - before going in search of more alcohol.
This was the third time. Mitsuba was sure that these people were sniffing her. She knew she didn’t smell bad. Or at least, not nearly as bad as the rest of these drunken assholes. Honestly, she had no idea what she was doing here.
“Mi-chan,” Shinoa cooed, attempting to tuck her head in the crook of Mitsuba’s neck while playing with one of her ponytails. “You’re so… so cute, you know that?”
Okay, so she maybe had a small idea. Still. Even Shinoa’s admittedly pleasant ministrations were not making some of these other partygoers less creepy. Not to mention, she’d caught a glimpse into someone’s cup as they went to take a drink, and she’d never seen any kind of alcohol move like that. The atmosphere was tense, and some of the looks she was getting seemed downright predatory. Not sexual in nature, but like her head would look lovely mounted on their wall. It was really beginning to freak her out.
Shinoa was attempting to get her hand under her shirt. Mitsuba blushed, and scolded herself for hesitating to stop her. She sighed. “Shinoa, we have to get you some water or you’re going to hate yourself in the morning.”
“Aw, I could never hate myself, not if you love me,” she purred. “Mi-chan, let me kiss you.”
Mitsuba flushed harder. Shinoa was always teasing her, and she only got more brazen about it when she was drunk. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re drunk, Shi-chan.” This was the only time Mitsuba called her Shi-chan. She absolutely refused to do it when Shinoa could remember. She wasn’t sure how Shinoa managed to forget everything every time she was drunk, but still get away with only a nasty hangover each time. She didn’t black out, most of the time didn’t even throw up. But her memories were always gone.
Sometimes Mitsuba wondered about that, but concluded that Shinoa was just a strange girl.
“Pfft,” Shinoa snorted. “Am not.”
“You can’t even stand up straight.”
“Joke’s on you, I can’t do anything straight.” Shinoa howled at her own joke. Then her eyes got very serious, and she maneuvered herself so that she was facing Mitsuba, both of her arms wrapped around the taller girl’s neck. “Mi-chan, I gotta tell you something. It’s super important, okay?”
Mitsuba’s heart pounded in her chest. She cleared her throat. “Uh, okay. Shoot.”
“Super, super important.”
“Right, so you said.”
“I…” Shinoa leaned forward. “I lied. I’m so drunk. I need you to carry me, baby. Hold me in your strong arms.”
Mitsuba threw her head back and groaned. “Someone save me.”
“Mi-Mitsu-chan,” a voice sniffled. Mitsuba straightened her neck, looked up, and felt her eyebrows rocket into her hairline.
“Yoichi,” she said. “You… uh… are you okay?”
He was swaying on his feet, tears running down his blotchy red face with reckless abandon, and there was a stain all over the front of his shirt. He reeked of alcohol.
“I spilled my drink, and now I can’t be drunk anymore,” he wailed. “And I have to be drunk because Kimizuki will never love me and I’m going to die alone with a bunch of cats.”
“Someone else please save me,” Mitsuba whispered to herself.
“Mi-chan, have I… have I ever told you… how much I love… your boobs?” Shinoa’s voice was muffled, as she was pressing her face against Mitsuba’s chest.
“Yeah, okay, we’re all going home now.”