[FIC] 6 10051 AUs (incomplete)
☆ Just a dump of the 6 incomplete oneshots I was working on for my khr_exchange09 fic ^^; Posted to serve as a reminder for me to finish them asap OTL
☆ All of them have varying degrees of mindscrew |D Not formatted because ugh formatting hell D: I hope to finish these soon ;w; [third], [fifth] and [sixth] are the ones that will develop to be really disturbing HAH. Especially [sixth]. Don't let the romance-drama setting fool you >.<
★ ★ ★
Title: (no title yet)
Summary: When they first met, Shouichi wanted nothing to do with Byakuran.
Classification: AU • 10051 • Drama, Romance • R
Contents: yandere-Byakuran + tsundere-nerd-Shouichi + AU = this fic;;;;;;
A/N: Kids, don't try this at home |D I am reminded of twilight after I wrote this. I'm… going to go hide now OTL
•
"Aww, I'm so jealous of you, Irie-san!"
"I wish they chose me, mou!"
"Irie-kun, can you help us get his signature, please?"
Irie Shouichi answers those exclamations and requests with uneasy smiles and awkward deflections. To be honest, he isn't exactly thrilled with landing the apparently-most-sought-after summer job.
"Congratulations, Shouichi." Spanner's expression is blank as always, but Shouichi knows him well enough to see the hints of pride and support hidden in there.
"Thanks," he replies sincerely, or as sincerely as he can, because he's still feeling more-than-a-little rankled from the requests shoved to his face. If he knew that this would cause this much of an uproar, he wouldn't have applied for that position.
"I can't believe you didn't know," Tsunayoshi's expression is both incredulous and sympathetic, "since it's the most popular thing lately."
Shouichi sighs at that, tightening his grip on the shoulder straps of his bag. Spanner is typing away on his laptop as the three of them walk home together. It's a rare moment of peace-Gokudera wasn't there to bicker with Yamamoto-but Irie can't enjoy it properly.
After all, he really didn't expect that when he applied for a summer internship on a game development company-he'd be involved in the development of the game based on a popular television show-with really popular actors.
He says a distracted goodbye to Spanner and Tsunayoshi when he takes a turn to his street. Really. Working with spoiled actors with strange temperaments and pampered lives-Shouichi rolls his eyes but tries to clear such thoughts.
He resolves to not let himself be bossed around-either by his coworkers, by his classmates, or by those actors. The lesser the involvement, the easier he can get through his summer job.
With that thought, Shouichi starts preparing the things he should bring for his summer job that starts tomorrow.
•••
"So you're Shou-chan?" A strange person with strange white hair and strange eye make-up and strange smile is grinning down at him.
Shouichi purses his lips so he doesn't accidentally let out a string of curses or retort about how nobody calls him 'Shou-chan' (except his mom and sister-but that was years ago and this person doesn't need to know about that).
"I'm Irie Shouichi," he says, opting for the professional approach, "and I'm the intern for the animation department."
His classmates (and various people he doesn't even talk to) are vastly exaggerating. They all squealed at the supposed glamour of his job-but really, all he needs to do is to make computer graphics out of the actors from the hit movie and then animate them. There are no 'up-close-and-personal' talks, no close camaraderie, no chances of getting autographs.
The white-haired man (-but Shouichi hesitates to call him a man, even in the privacy of his mind, because there's something that just screams 'childish teenager!' with the way he's slouching, with the way he's grinning mischievously-he just seems so childish-) blinks at him, a mildly uncertain expression crossing fleetingly on his pale face.
The uncertainty disappears quickly though and the man's smile widens even more. "My name is Byakuran." His introduction is accompanied by a firm handshake that goes on for too long. "It's nice to meet you, Shou-chan~♥."
"Please call me 'Irie'." He says slowly, snatching his hand from the handshake as soon as he felt the hold loosening. "And if you don't have any business with me, I'd like you to leave-I have work to do."
Byakuran-one of the leads in the film, someone who Shouichi hasn't really heard of until yesterday, someone who Shouichi doesn't really care for, really-blinks again. Shouichi bites his lip and almost takes back what he said (not because he doesn't want the other to go, because he does) when he sees the taken-aback expression on the actor's million-dollar face.
Surprisingly, an amused chuckle escapes Byakuran's lips, instead of huffing or requests to fire Shouichi for being so disrespectful.
"You're interesting." Byakuran says instead, smiling indulgently at him, as though he should be proud (he isn't-not in a million years) to be dubbed 'interesting'. "I like that ♪."
Shouichi ignores the actor and his exit and resumes his work. He holds back on replying 'I don't care what you like', and he refuses to think any further about that.
•
"You're not going to the party?"
Shouichi almost drops the boxes he's moving at the suddenness of the voice. He glares at Byakuran, a little confused and a little miffed at the disturbance. He likes working in silence, but with this person-peace just slinks away dejectedly.
"I'd rather finish cleaning up my stuff," Shouichi replies, rolling his eyes when Byakuran glides across the room and sits on his just-cleared tabletop.
"But it's a celebratory party," Byakuran reasons, tilting his head to the side, and while his classmates might find the action adorable-well, there's a reason why Shouichi isn't popular with them.
Shouichi doesn't really see the point of attending a party filled with glossy celebrities and bumbling non-celebrities, where he'll just spend the entire time being a wallflower and avoiding the alcohol because he's not yet legal. But more importantly, he doesn't see the point of Byakuran not being in the party.
"Then why aren't you there?" Shouichi gestures for Byakuran to move his ass away from the table and go out of the room because he's going to lock up.
"I'm not coming if Shou-chan is going to ditch the party~"
"You're already ditching the party," Shouichi reminds him dryly, since it's been two hours since the party started. And guilt-tripping him into coming to the party?-not happening.
"I know!" It's either Byakuran is extremely deaf to the weary tones and extremely blind to his displeased expression or he's just happily ignoring him. "Let's hang out, okay?"
He opens his mouth to make an excuse-summer homework (even though that's finished weeks ago)-family dinner (even though his family went to visit some relatives)-meeting with friends (even though Spanner is off to an internship somewhere and Tsunayoshi is off to Italy for the week).
He doesn't really have anything against lying, if it means escaping from Byakuran's infectious craziness. It's not like this would be the first time he makes an excuse to not 'hang out' (whatever that means) with Byakuran.
But he stops himself, his lips in a firm line.
Byakuran is combing his unruly hair and placing a newsboy cap on his head. Maybe it's his version of celebrating the completion of his internship. Shouichi swats Byakuran's hands away from their fumbling on the tying the necktie. Maybe it's his version of saying thank-you for an enjoyable summer. Shouichi helps choose a pair of shades that will hide Byakuran's identity. Maybe it's his version of saying goodbye to someone he wouldn't interact with after today.
For whatever reason, when Byakuran drags him by the arm to 'hang out' at the mall, Shouichi allows it.
(With little protest.)
•
"So, um," Tsunayoshi flashes him a strange look over their lunchboxes, "you're really close with Byakuran?"
"That's not true," Shouichi quickly says, pushing the bag of marshmallows away from him and towards the other people occupying the lunch table.
"But he brought you lunch," Yamamoto says with a thoughtful hum, laughing at Gokudera when the other chastises him for 'butting in on the Tenth's conversation with stupid glasses-boy'. "So you must be friends!"
Shouichi resolves to later tell Byakuran-san scathingly to stop sending him bentos, especially if they come with marshmallows and flowers.
He smiles tightly at Tsuna and his friends. "Byakuran-san's concept of normalcy just needs some work."
He stands up and makes his way to the garbage bin, ignoring the scandalized murmurs in the background as he throws away the unwanted (and really strange) bouquet of flowers.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: (No) Choice
Summary: Their relationship was supposed to be simple.
Classification: AU • 10051; side 100Uni, 100Kikyo, 4851, 1827, 8059 • General, Drama, Crime, Romance • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: 10051 & 1827. Fluffy Angst. AU - psycho yandere Byakuran with a weakness for sexy nerds like Shouichi XD;
•
A future for just the two of us-
•
Their first meeting wasn't memorable or anything of the sort-kids don't really remember things that are no of concern to them.
Byakuran stumbled upon a five-year-old Shouichi-awkward, feeble and helpless Shouichi surrounded by bulkier and meaner kids that harassed him for lunch-money or something equally useless.
Byakuran didn't ask for the kid's name then. Shouichi simply flashed him a grateful smile before half-limping away from that corner in the park.
The only thing Byakuran remembered about the affair was how much he liked that rush of protecting someone. Or at least that's what he told his father when he was questioned about the streaks of blood (blood that didn't even belong to him) on his shirt.
The only thing Byakuran truly remembered from that meeting was how much he enjoyed seeing those bullies' eyes be filled with fright at the sight of him.
•
Ten-year-old Shouichi knew nothing about investments, banking and economics. He knew that his father started working for the Gesso Investment Firm though-and that's why he went there to bring the bento that his father forgot at home.
Ten-year-old Shouichi knew nothing about office politics, lunchtime policies and chess rules. He might have not known the other's name then, but he knew that he was drawn to that challenging smirk and trying-to-be-childish laugh of the kid playing chess with the company's employees.
•
He stood in awe then-a normal fourteen-year-old kid that stood still and admired the glossy colors and the fashionable clothes. He vaguely remembered knowing the model he was gawking on -snatches of fleeting memories and no name, no interaction, nothing at all- but the thought escaped him just as easily then.
Shouichi was pulled out of his trance when a kid falls from a bicycle behind him. Shouichi didn't think such a feat was possible-who would fall out of a bicycle like that, flailing and screaming and totally uncoordinated?-but he didn't have to go home early then, so he decided to help out.
While Byakuran Gesso's poster loomed from behind them, Shouichi helped fix the bicycle of one Sawada Tsunayoshi.
•
Compared to his ten-year-old self, six years gave Shouichi more knowledge about investments and economics. He knew enough, so he understood the sad state of the country's economy. What he didn't understand then was the reason why his father resigned from his post in the Gesso Investment Firm.
Gesso-san, owner and CEO of the firm, was rumored to be campaigning to become the next Prime Minister. Shouichi didn't know why his father refused to be alongside a man who would have become a powerful figure.
But then again, he also didn't know why Gesso-san insisted on taking his father back to his company. All Shouichi knew was that his father withdrew his resignation-and after he returned to his job, he didn't contact them anymore.
•
Shouichi didn't think he'd meet the son of Gesso-san in an overseas university. At seventeen, Shouichi was the youngest undergraduate in the entire university. It could have been a noteworthy and newsworthy topic, but Shouichi preferred to keep quiet about it. The only ones who knew about it were the Office of Admissions and the son of Japan's Prime Minister.
He wasn't friends with Byakuran-san-they just happened to be classmates, seatmates, groupmates in the popular game programming elective. They talked to each other, sure, but it was mostly small-talk about subject loads and the game they're going to submit as their final project.
Byakuran-san called it CHOICE, a battle simulation game that was marked by different choices.
They had an easy companionship then, though he was greatly relieved when the semester ended and they parted ways. It was indeed fun to talk to Byakuran-san (his insights were vastly different from everyone and that made him interesting) and he had really great ideas for their game. But Shouichi felt it then, a strange feeling, as though Byakuran-san was hiding something sinister behind his happily-crinkled eyes, his always-smiling lips, his easygoing nature.
Byakuran-san dropped by his flat after his graduation ceremony and sweetly asked him for a copy of the computer version of CHOICE. Shouichi was surprised then, because he didn't think Byakuran-san knew that he continued to work on it even after they submitted their project. Byakuran-san asked for that to be his graduation present and Shouichi was unable to refuse his senpai then.
•
If he refused then, would things have been different?
Spanner, his flatmate, stared at him uncertainly, unsure whether he should be left alone or not.
He stared wordlessly on the television screen, knuckles white as he gripped his cellphone tightly.
Byakuran-san's father has launched an all-out attack against several neighboring countries and has crowned himself as the new ruler of the world.
But he didn't really care much about that, not now, no. What he cared about now, is the news of his house burned down and his father dead-all because of that man.
When Spanner quietly led him to smoky restaurants, secret passageways and underground mazes, he allowed his body to be steered. When Spanner quietly introduced him to a group of people wearing black suits, he allowed a tiny smile to grace his grim face. When Spanner quietly showed him to the boss of the underground resistance group, he allowed seething anger to turn into solid determination.
Above the ground, the Gesso Family-no they were called Millefiore then-waged war against countless countries and governments.
Underground, the special task force formed by various countries' alliances-Vongola-started to make their move.
•••
(No) Choice
-To love me. To be forced to love me. Those are your choices.-
•••
"Are you sure, Irie-kun?"
Tsunayoshi simply doesn't fit the image of a boss of an international covert operation. He's too kind, too naïve, too much of a push-over. He has a certain charm though and that charisma allows everyone to trust him completely, to let him make the final decisions on each step of their counterattack.
Irie Shouichi nods distractedly, flipping through pages of mission specs, taking a moment to readjust his glasses that slip down his nose, before resuming his speed-reading. Tsunayoshi is looking at him worriedly, so Shouichi tries to produce a comforting smile. It feels alien on his face, but he tries anyway.
"It's better if I don't take that drug," he refers to the memory-altering drug he synthesized inside one of the basement laboratories of Vongola's Italy Headquarters, "since he might remember me from before." There's a disbelieving note in his tone. "It's a risk I don't want to take."
"You don't have to do this, Irie-kun." Tsunayoshi's eyes are warm and understanding. Shouichi can only see the gentleness and pity packed in that gaze. "We can assign Yamamoto-kun. Or maybe Fran-kun."
Yes, they could. But. "I want to do this," he said with determination and with not even half the amount of fury that he has buried so completely inside him. "I want to bring them down."
Tsunayoshi stares at him for a few more moments, before he sighs and gives him the clearance to move back to the world completely conquered by the Millefiore.
Shouichi keeps his mind carefully blank, keeps his emotions in check, keeps everything but the clear, white noise tucked into little compartments of things-he-must-do and things-he-absolutely-must-not-do.
When Irie Shouichi steps out of the recruitment company which serves as Vongola's cover, he isn't a member of the international alliance that aims to free everyone from Millefiore's dictatorship, but rather, he is the newest advisor to the Millefiore boss.
•
"I didn't think I'd see you," Byakuran-san waltzes to the waiting room with a huge bang of the door and excited footsteps, "as an advisor, of all things."
Shouichi re-thinks about all the conversations he had with this man when they were in that one elective. He gives a tentative smile and offers a handshake. "It's been a long time, Bya-!"
Byakuran ignores the proffered hand and instead moves in to invade his personal space. Shouichi feels his heart beat unimaginably fast inside his ribcage; he closes his eyes briefly thinking about the mission and burying rage a little deeper.
He gives an awkward cough as soon as Byakuran lets him go. He expected to run into their target's son, but he didn't expect Byakuran-san to be this… friendly. He tries to recall whether the other was like this before.
"I missed you, Irie-kun." Byakuran tells him simply, before a cross expression filters to his face. "Mmm, Irie-kun sounds too formal. From now on, I'll call you Shou-chan, okay?"
Shouichi shudders for a split-second. The only ones who called him that were his family. But he is one of Vongola's best agents, with impressive work ethics and unbreakable poker faces and enviable analytical skills. He smiles a little uneasily at the other man. "I'd prefer it if you call me Irie-"
"It's decided then~ ♪." He bites his lip when Byakuran twirls around and drags him by his arm out of the room. "I'll bring Shou-chan to father~"
He is not sure if he managed to wipe off the look of surprised horror on his face. He really isn't prepared to handle Byakuran's actions. But he reminds himself of his mission, of how everyone is counting on him to infiltrate the home of the cruel dictator that managed to hold the world in the palm of his hands without any trouble.
He can do this.
Byakuran's grip on his arm tightens just the tiniest bit.
He just wishes that he wouldn't have to deal with his ex-classmate.
•
-That is my promise to you.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: Black |and| White
Summary: So what if he's friends with Tsunayoshi-kun? So what if he hangs out a lot with Spanner-kun? So what if he always bickers with Gokudera-kun? So what if I'm not the only one in his eyes? That's easy to fix~♪
Classification: AU • 10051 • Crime, Mystery, Drama, Romance • R
Contents: See that demented summary? |D BL, mentions of violence, serial killers, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: Spawned by my Mirai Nikki AU orz
•
A spider's thread-
-thick rope of guilt chokes him slowly, ever so slowly.
A door carefully opens-
-light spills inside slowly, ever so slowly.
Stay here with me - soft words that caress his cheek, flutter at his eyelids, tremble at his lips.
A door carefully closes-
-shadows stretch across the room quickly, ever so quickly.
A spider's thread-
-cold hands snatch him, holds him close, moving quickly, ever so quickly.
•
Black
•
White
•
"Secure the perimeter," Shouichi tells Yamamoto firmly, lips forming a displeased frown as he examines the… graffiti on the wall not too far away from the bustling streets of Chinatown.
This is already the third case and the police is still nowhere solving this string of murders.
Like the previous two cases, the entire wall is splayed with the words 'I love you', written in dark red blood. The victims' hearts were chopped to form another letter; this time it's an 'O' and Shouichi carefully steers his thoughts away from the possibility that the serial killer is referring to him.
So far, three bloody 'I love you' messages and three letters forming the word 'SHO'. There are no fingerprints left on the scene-nothing that would point to the killer.
Thank goodness for DNA banks-they were able to identify the owners of those chopped hearts. But that's the end of it.
There are no patterns in the killings-or at least, whatever pattern there is, it's not yet obvious to the police.
Shouichi looks at the wall again and feels a sick, sick feeling settle on his stomach.
I love you.
"Shou-chan~" Byakuran-san, his classmate from university and fellow investigator, bounces to him, pure smile radiant even with the gut-wrenching environment they're in. "Let's go back~"
I love you.
Shouichi shakes his head to get rid of any lingering thoughts, before he follows Byakuran back to the squad car.
•
"Sorry, Spanner," he says slowly, even though his hands are hastily pulling on clothes and combing his hair. "Byakuran-san insisted that we drop by the university-"
There's a loud crunch of hard candy breaking in-between Spanner's teeth. "It's your day-off today."
Shouichi's hair looks messy and he twitches when he recalls how Byakuran always teased him about it. He thinks about how he can make Spanner understand. "Byakuran-san volunteered the two of us," the dark edge on his tone shows how irritated he is at that, "and this might help the case move forward-"
Spanner lets out a heavy sigh-not that Shouichi is paying any attention to him, not when there's the sound of the door opening and Byakuran excitedly entering the flat and pulling Shouichi away for their 'investigation trip' before he can even say goodbye to his boyfriend.
That night, when Shouichi returns to the flat he's sharing with Spanner, he sees a note instead of his boyfriend.
'Emergency assignment. Be back in two weeks.'
Shouichi thinks about sending Spanner a text message about not telling him anything, before he decides that he's too tired to even move his fingers.
He falls asleep-dreams devoid of Spanner or the result of the investigations they did on the victims, who happened to be his former elementary schoolmates.
•
Fourth case and people are shooting him strange looks.
'I love you' and 'SHOU'.
"Are you okay, Irie-kun?" Tsunayoshi, the head of the internationally-renowned private detective agency, asks him with genuine concern.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: a tale of (a timeless) love
Summary: To save the future, he travels to the past. It is his final mission as the last surviving time-traveler of the kingdom-to kill that monster before he destroys the world.
Classification: AU • 10051 • Drama, Romance, Mindfuck • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: Inspired by the Godwin's Law of Time Travelling article on TV Tropes |D
•
Tick-tock-tick-tock-
Shouichi swallows past the lump on his throat, green eyes wide and afraid, fingers trembling, sweat droplets go down his temples and his nape, slower than the trickling of each second.
The spectacles he's wearing is cracked in the middle-but it doesn't bother him, not at all-because there are so many things that's even more bothersome with this moment.
He tries to steady his fingers, caressing the glowing symbols with fingertips coated with sweat and blood. The sound of ominous footsteps grow louder and louder, while the tick-tock of the clock in front of him is overwhelmed by the insistent screech of tick-tick-tick of the clock inside his head.
He needs to finish the incantations soon-he can't let himself be captured by the Millefiore.
Hibari Kyoya is already behind the heavy doors, bloodthirsty eyes focused on any enemy that will try to eliminate all traces of Vongola. Hibari is strong, Shouichi knows; he also knows that the Millefiore is already in control of every corner of this world and it's only a matter of time before the two of them-the only ones left of the mighty Vongola-are dragged to lick the feet of this world's most dangerous man, followed by their death.
Tsuna was against this plan-but now that his body is freezing inside the preservation cylinder Shouichi devised to keep his body from decaying-but now that he's dead, Hibari practically shoved him to this chambers, voice of steel commanding him to travel back to the past.
As a magician that specializes in time-traveling, he knows that there are countless risks in trying to travel back to the past. Especially if you're going to do something that would affect a great part of the future.
But it's not like he can do anything better than just trying to accept this. This is already the worst-case scenario-so it's not like he can make anything worse by attempting to change the past.
With that thought fixed on his mind, with his eyes fixed on the sight of the heavy doors giving way to the iron-clad Millefiore army, with his hands fixed on the blood-written symbols on his scroll, with his concentration fixed on transporting himself to a time when the world is still not on its final wobble to its destruction-
-tick-tick-tick-tiiiiiick.
•••
a tale of (a timeless) love
-I will destroy, even time, for you.
•••
…A university?
Shouichi blinks and rubs his eyes with a tired hand. The scenario in front of him doesn't change. It's still a university, with long corridors, metal lockers, soccer field, grass gardens and students milling around with carefree smiles on their faces and books on their hands.
He sneaks toward a thankfully-empty bathroom and washes the dried blood from his fingertips. He splashes some water on his face and tries to rearrange his expression to something less haunted and more relaxed. He also removes his outer coat, folding it so that the bloodstained parts are not visible.
A frown is on his face when he steps out-his lips twitch slightly when he feels his neutral mask slipping. He is panicking inside-this world is definitely not what he expected to reach.
He swipes a copy of the school paper and his frown deepens when he confirms the date. Apparently, he traveled ten years to the past, even though he meant to travel thirty years back. He grits his teeth when he realizes that it must be because of his weakened powers.
He planned to kill the dictator's parents from thirty-years-ago, but since his time travel got screwed-up… he has to devise a plan for this timeframe.
He tries to ignore the strange feeling in his chest-a blossoming confusion, since if he traveled to this time, he should have switched places with himself. He doesn't remember being in a university ever (never mind the fact that his memory is beyond fuzzy from five years ago). He refuses to think about another fault in his time-traveling.
He sits down on a bench and tries to rearrange his thoughts. He also tries not to feel too freaked out by the absence of rings and boxes and magic stamps on the students' hands.
He swallows again, putting a free hand around his stomach to lessen the painful churning.
Apparently, in the world ten years before-magic doesn't exist.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: a tale of love (that will move the stars)
Summary:
Classification: AU • 10051; others 1827, 8059, 8059(27)-ish • Mindfuck (that is so a genre), Mystery, Horror, Romance • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: Basic premise is thanks to Mirai Nikki. You don't have to read that series to understand this though. (I hope! XD) Please don't take this too seriously ;w;
•
He runs and runs and runs.
He trips over his shoelaces, but he resumes running after the brief stumbling, continues to run even as his lungs wheeze and his chest heave and his legs wobble.
He stops when he finally reaches the end of the extremely long hallway, collapsing against the cool floor tiles. He closes his eyes for a moment. A world that's entirely different from this one flashes beneath his closed eyelids.
He feels a cold draft and when he wrenches his tired eyes open-he wishes he didn't.
"Shou-chan, I'm back." The teenager in front of him tells him with a wide, friendly smile. "I'm sorry I made you wait."
He wants to say 'please go away', 'please stay away'. He wants to pretend none of this is happening. He wants a lot of things. The other has called him 'selfish' countless times.
"Byakuran-san," he starts to reply, but his voice catches in his throat and stays there.
"Mmm, you look tired," Byakuran remarks with heavy concern and mild wonder. "I'll help you up~"
He looks at the hand offering to pull him away from his slump against the wall. He doesn't have the energy to take the hand; he doesn't have the energy to resist the hug the other grants him.
He doesn't have the energy to throw up when he feels the warm blood on Byakuran's cheeks brush against his face.
•••
a tale of love (that will move the stars)
-I'll be getting the perfect world.
•••
Like most teenagers, he was absurdly happy when he first got a love confession. It was like one of the rites of passage to adulthood-one is considered beyond help when he hasn't even received at least one confession.
Like most teenagers, he was deeply surprised when he realized who was the one who confessed to him.
"Um, pardon?"
"Maa, Shou-chan isn't listening to me." He pouts, white hair swaying with the breeze. "I told you I like you ♥."
Irie Shouichi blinks once, twice. "This isn't a funny joke, Gesso-san."
"But it isn't a joke," Byakuran protests, but he doesn't sound annoyed. He looks like he's enjoying this, which riles up Shouichi even more.
"Then I'm sorry, but I can't accept your feelings." Shouichi deadpans, before picking up his bag from the bench. He resolves to not be too mad about it-even if Gesso-san accosting him caused him to lose a couple of precious minutes he could have devoted to his special robotics project.
"Mou, Shou-chan is so stubborn!" Gesso-san didn't sound affected by the flat rejection. If anything, he sounded even happier. How strange. "But I like that about him ♥."
Shouichi steadfastly ignores the popular upperclassman following him. He's not sure what this prank is supposed to accomplish, but he won't let them (whoever they were!) win over him. He might be a loner who always sat by himself and never got invited to class parties, but he's not stupid.
There's no reason for the school idol to confess to him, is there?
•
"There is a serial killer on the loose, so everyone be careful when you go home-"
Inside Shouichi's classroom, murmurs fly around quickly, relating information they got from the evening news, from the internet message boards, from their neighborhood vendors.
Shouichi feels a moment of panic, but then, nobody has a reason to kill someone like him, who doesn't stand out at all.
"A student from a neighboring school is one of the victims, so be extra-careful-"
•
"I'll walk you home," Byakuran offers with a bright grin. He doesn't bother waiting for Shouichi's answer (which is a definite no).
"T-There's no need for that Gesso-san-"
"There is," Byakuran insists, taking determined steps towards the direction of Shouichi's home. A sense of dread overcomes him-why does Gesso-san know about his address anyway? "Because Shou-chan is cute, so the murderer might come after him."
"I'm not cute." He protests, pulling his arm away from the surprisingly-possessive grip.
Gesso-san laughs. "Of course you are."
•
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"Maa, maa, Shou-chan needs to calm down~" Byakuran remarks giddily, skipping towards a flabbergasted Shouichi.
"Don't come-" Shouichi chokes on his words when he sees a glimpse of a disfigured face from where Byakuran was standing.
"But I want to get my reward," Byakuran's voice gets whiny here-clashing with his image of a proper student idol at school and the murderer that he stumbled upon.
Shouichi shakes his head and feels dizzy with the action. There's so much blood-he shouldn't have returned here. "You're the serial killer-"
"Nope~" Byakuran retrieves something from the body and tosses it to Shouichi.
Shouichi gasps as he reads the display on the cellphone screen.
(16:25) KILL Irie Shouichi.
(16:20) DEAD END…
"What does this mean?" Shouichi asks in part-awe and part-terror.
Byakuran gives him a soft smile-as though he didn't just kill someone horrifically, as though he wasn't still splattered in blood.
"I killed him because he wanted to kill you."
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: a tale of (a heart-breaking) love
Summary: It has been ten years since they broke up.
Classification: AU • 10051 • Drama, Romance • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
Notes: Mindscrew mindscrew mindscrew.
•
It has been ten years since they last saw each other.
It wasn't what one would call a messy break-up, but it wasn't a happy, friendly separation either.
It has been ten long years since their eyes last met.
They both greet each other with a 'long time no see'-
-followed by a 'this is my fiancée'.
•••
a tale of (a heart-breaking) love
Byakuran x Shouichi
•••
"Uni-san is…" Shouichi fumbles for the appropriate adjective, "…cute."
"She is," Byakuran agrees easily, settling comfortably on the couch, putting his one arm on the armrest, while the other arm is behind Shouichi's neck, a warm reminder that makes him feel both cold and hot at the same time.
There is a pause where Byakuran continued to let his eyes wander, looking at each and every person that mingled around in the party hall. Shouichi, on the other hand, alternates between squirming and keeping his back impossibly straight, to avoid brushing with the arm casually thrown near his nape.
"I thought you hated research seminars." Shouichi aligns his body to the side so he can see the person he's talking to. He feels his heart speed up when he sees Byakuran already staring straight at him.
Byakuran smiles at him charmingly, visibly pleased that Shouichi still remembered that. "I do hate them," he readily admits, before chuckling, "but this one has a very interesting after-party, ne?"
Sitting this close together -knees not-quite touching and eyes blatantly staring- makes Shouichi feel as though he's seventeen all over again. He bites his lip when a traitorous 'did you come here for me' almost slips past. Shouichi makes a mental note to never touch a drop of alcohol tonight-if he's already this light-headed while being sober, he doesn't want to help make a fool out of himself after a couple of drinks.
The crowd grows noisier with each passing minute, warm wine and good food encouraging them to be more lively and less formal.
"I didn't know that your company is also involved in medical devices." Shouichi puts a hand on his stomach and he secretly hopes that Byakuran still remembered what that meant (and hates himself for it).
Byakuran removes the hand near his shoulders and Shouichi's breathing grows a tad less constricted. The hand moves to grip his sleeve-covered elbow, dragging him with a sense of purpose and a wave of familiarity. Shouichi doesn't look at the other guests in the party, not even at Uni-san, not even at his fiancée.
They end up in a spacious study, bookshelves filled with books about every subject imaginable.
"You get nervous so easily," Byakuran comments lightly, leaning against the closed door. His eyes are staring straight at him when he says the nickname that he's so fond of, "Shou-chan."
Shouichi swallows hard, idly wondering if he actually drank something. That would explain the warmth on his stomach, the warmth resting high on his cheeks, the warmth curling at his every limb.
•
END
☆ All of them have varying degrees of mindscrew |D Not formatted because ugh formatting hell D: I hope to finish these soon ;w; [third], [fifth] and [sixth] are the ones that will develop to be really disturbing HAH. Especially [sixth]. Don't let the romance-drama setting fool you >.<
★ ★ ★
Title: (no title yet)
Summary: When they first met, Shouichi wanted nothing to do with Byakuran.
Classification: AU • 10051 • Drama, Romance • R
Contents: yandere-Byakuran + tsundere-nerd-Shouichi + AU = this fic;;;;;;
A/N: Kids, don't try this at home |D I am reminded of twilight after I wrote this. I'm… going to go hide now OTL
•
"Aww, I'm so jealous of you, Irie-san!"
"I wish they chose me, mou!"
"Irie-kun, can you help us get his signature, please?"
Irie Shouichi answers those exclamations and requests with uneasy smiles and awkward deflections. To be honest, he isn't exactly thrilled with landing the apparently-most-sought-after summer job.
"Congratulations, Shouichi." Spanner's expression is blank as always, but Shouichi knows him well enough to see the hints of pride and support hidden in there.
"Thanks," he replies sincerely, or as sincerely as he can, because he's still feeling more-than-a-little rankled from the requests shoved to his face. If he knew that this would cause this much of an uproar, he wouldn't have applied for that position.
"I can't believe you didn't know," Tsunayoshi's expression is both incredulous and sympathetic, "since it's the most popular thing lately."
Shouichi sighs at that, tightening his grip on the shoulder straps of his bag. Spanner is typing away on his laptop as the three of them walk home together. It's a rare moment of peace-Gokudera wasn't there to bicker with Yamamoto-but Irie can't enjoy it properly.
After all, he really didn't expect that when he applied for a summer internship on a game development company-he'd be involved in the development of the game based on a popular television show-with really popular actors.
He says a distracted goodbye to Spanner and Tsunayoshi when he takes a turn to his street. Really. Working with spoiled actors with strange temperaments and pampered lives-Shouichi rolls his eyes but tries to clear such thoughts.
He resolves to not let himself be bossed around-either by his coworkers, by his classmates, or by those actors. The lesser the involvement, the easier he can get through his summer job.
With that thought, Shouichi starts preparing the things he should bring for his summer job that starts tomorrow.
•••
"So you're Shou-chan?" A strange person with strange white hair and strange eye make-up and strange smile is grinning down at him.
Shouichi purses his lips so he doesn't accidentally let out a string of curses or retort about how nobody calls him 'Shou-chan' (except his mom and sister-but that was years ago and this person doesn't need to know about that).
"I'm Irie Shouichi," he says, opting for the professional approach, "and I'm the intern for the animation department."
His classmates (and various people he doesn't even talk to) are vastly exaggerating. They all squealed at the supposed glamour of his job-but really, all he needs to do is to make computer graphics out of the actors from the hit movie and then animate them. There are no 'up-close-and-personal' talks, no close camaraderie, no chances of getting autographs.
The white-haired man (-but Shouichi hesitates to call him a man, even in the privacy of his mind, because there's something that just screams 'childish teenager!' with the way he's slouching, with the way he's grinning mischievously-he just seems so childish-) blinks at him, a mildly uncertain expression crossing fleetingly on his pale face.
The uncertainty disappears quickly though and the man's smile widens even more. "My name is Byakuran." His introduction is accompanied by a firm handshake that goes on for too long. "It's nice to meet you, Shou-chan~♥."
"Please call me 'Irie'." He says slowly, snatching his hand from the handshake as soon as he felt the hold loosening. "And if you don't have any business with me, I'd like you to leave-I have work to do."
Byakuran-one of the leads in the film, someone who Shouichi hasn't really heard of until yesterday, someone who Shouichi doesn't really care for, really-blinks again. Shouichi bites his lip and almost takes back what he said (not because he doesn't want the other to go, because he does) when he sees the taken-aback expression on the actor's million-dollar face.
Surprisingly, an amused chuckle escapes Byakuran's lips, instead of huffing or requests to fire Shouichi for being so disrespectful.
"You're interesting." Byakuran says instead, smiling indulgently at him, as though he should be proud (he isn't-not in a million years) to be dubbed 'interesting'. "I like that ♪."
Shouichi ignores the actor and his exit and resumes his work. He holds back on replying 'I don't care what you like', and he refuses to think any further about that.
•
"You're not going to the party?"
Shouichi almost drops the boxes he's moving at the suddenness of the voice. He glares at Byakuran, a little confused and a little miffed at the disturbance. He likes working in silence, but with this person-peace just slinks away dejectedly.
"I'd rather finish cleaning up my stuff," Shouichi replies, rolling his eyes when Byakuran glides across the room and sits on his just-cleared tabletop.
"But it's a celebratory party," Byakuran reasons, tilting his head to the side, and while his classmates might find the action adorable-well, there's a reason why Shouichi isn't popular with them.
Shouichi doesn't really see the point of attending a party filled with glossy celebrities and bumbling non-celebrities, where he'll just spend the entire time being a wallflower and avoiding the alcohol because he's not yet legal. But more importantly, he doesn't see the point of Byakuran not being in the party.
"Then why aren't you there?" Shouichi gestures for Byakuran to move his ass away from the table and go out of the room because he's going to lock up.
"I'm not coming if Shou-chan is going to ditch the party~"
"You're already ditching the party," Shouichi reminds him dryly, since it's been two hours since the party started. And guilt-tripping him into coming to the party?-not happening.
"I know!" It's either Byakuran is extremely deaf to the weary tones and extremely blind to his displeased expression or he's just happily ignoring him. "Let's hang out, okay?"
He opens his mouth to make an excuse-summer homework (even though that's finished weeks ago)-family dinner (even though his family went to visit some relatives)-meeting with friends (even though Spanner is off to an internship somewhere and Tsunayoshi is off to Italy for the week).
He doesn't really have anything against lying, if it means escaping from Byakuran's infectious craziness. It's not like this would be the first time he makes an excuse to not 'hang out' (whatever that means) with Byakuran.
But he stops himself, his lips in a firm line.
Byakuran is combing his unruly hair and placing a newsboy cap on his head. Maybe it's his version of celebrating the completion of his internship. Shouichi swats Byakuran's hands away from their fumbling on the tying the necktie. Maybe it's his version of saying thank-you for an enjoyable summer. Shouichi helps choose a pair of shades that will hide Byakuran's identity. Maybe it's his version of saying goodbye to someone he wouldn't interact with after today.
For whatever reason, when Byakuran drags him by the arm to 'hang out' at the mall, Shouichi allows it.
(With little protest.)
•
"So, um," Tsunayoshi flashes him a strange look over their lunchboxes, "you're really close with Byakuran?"
"That's not true," Shouichi quickly says, pushing the bag of marshmallows away from him and towards the other people occupying the lunch table.
"But he brought you lunch," Yamamoto says with a thoughtful hum, laughing at Gokudera when the other chastises him for 'butting in on the Tenth's conversation with stupid glasses-boy'. "So you must be friends!"
Shouichi resolves to later tell Byakuran-san scathingly to stop sending him bentos, especially if they come with marshmallows and flowers.
He smiles tightly at Tsuna and his friends. "Byakuran-san's concept of normalcy just needs some work."
He stands up and makes his way to the garbage bin, ignoring the scandalized murmurs in the background as he throws away the unwanted (and really strange) bouquet of flowers.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: (No) Choice
Summary: Their relationship was supposed to be simple.
Classification: AU • 10051; side 100Uni, 100Kikyo, 4851, 1827, 8059 • General, Drama, Crime, Romance • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: 10051 & 1827. Fluffy Angst. AU - psycho yandere Byakuran with a weakness for sexy nerds like Shouichi XD;
•
A future for just the two of us-
•
Their first meeting wasn't memorable or anything of the sort-kids don't really remember things that are no of concern to them.
Byakuran stumbled upon a five-year-old Shouichi-awkward, feeble and helpless Shouichi surrounded by bulkier and meaner kids that harassed him for lunch-money or something equally useless.
Byakuran didn't ask for the kid's name then. Shouichi simply flashed him a grateful smile before half-limping away from that corner in the park.
The only thing Byakuran remembered about the affair was how much he liked that rush of protecting someone. Or at least that's what he told his father when he was questioned about the streaks of blood (blood that didn't even belong to him) on his shirt.
The only thing Byakuran truly remembered from that meeting was how much he enjoyed seeing those bullies' eyes be filled with fright at the sight of him.
•
Ten-year-old Shouichi knew nothing about investments, banking and economics. He knew that his father started working for the Gesso Investment Firm though-and that's why he went there to bring the bento that his father forgot at home.
Ten-year-old Shouichi knew nothing about office politics, lunchtime policies and chess rules. He might have not known the other's name then, but he knew that he was drawn to that challenging smirk and trying-to-be-childish laugh of the kid playing chess with the company's employees.
•
He stood in awe then-a normal fourteen-year-old kid that stood still and admired the glossy colors and the fashionable clothes. He vaguely remembered knowing the model he was gawking on -snatches of fleeting memories and no name, no interaction, nothing at all- but the thought escaped him just as easily then.
Shouichi was pulled out of his trance when a kid falls from a bicycle behind him. Shouichi didn't think such a feat was possible-who would fall out of a bicycle like that, flailing and screaming and totally uncoordinated?-but he didn't have to go home early then, so he decided to help out.
While Byakuran Gesso's poster loomed from behind them, Shouichi helped fix the bicycle of one Sawada Tsunayoshi.
•
Compared to his ten-year-old self, six years gave Shouichi more knowledge about investments and economics. He knew enough, so he understood the sad state of the country's economy. What he didn't understand then was the reason why his father resigned from his post in the Gesso Investment Firm.
Gesso-san, owner and CEO of the firm, was rumored to be campaigning to become the next Prime Minister. Shouichi didn't know why his father refused to be alongside a man who would have become a powerful figure.
But then again, he also didn't know why Gesso-san insisted on taking his father back to his company. All Shouichi knew was that his father withdrew his resignation-and after he returned to his job, he didn't contact them anymore.
•
Shouichi didn't think he'd meet the son of Gesso-san in an overseas university. At seventeen, Shouichi was the youngest undergraduate in the entire university. It could have been a noteworthy and newsworthy topic, but Shouichi preferred to keep quiet about it. The only ones who knew about it were the Office of Admissions and the son of Japan's Prime Minister.
He wasn't friends with Byakuran-san-they just happened to be classmates, seatmates, groupmates in the popular game programming elective. They talked to each other, sure, but it was mostly small-talk about subject loads and the game they're going to submit as their final project.
Byakuran-san called it CHOICE, a battle simulation game that was marked by different choices.
They had an easy companionship then, though he was greatly relieved when the semester ended and they parted ways. It was indeed fun to talk to Byakuran-san (his insights were vastly different from everyone and that made him interesting) and he had really great ideas for their game. But Shouichi felt it then, a strange feeling, as though Byakuran-san was hiding something sinister behind his happily-crinkled eyes, his always-smiling lips, his easygoing nature.
Byakuran-san dropped by his flat after his graduation ceremony and sweetly asked him for a copy of the computer version of CHOICE. Shouichi was surprised then, because he didn't think Byakuran-san knew that he continued to work on it even after they submitted their project. Byakuran-san asked for that to be his graduation present and Shouichi was unable to refuse his senpai then.
•
If he refused then, would things have been different?
Spanner, his flatmate, stared at him uncertainly, unsure whether he should be left alone or not.
He stared wordlessly on the television screen, knuckles white as he gripped his cellphone tightly.
Byakuran-san's father has launched an all-out attack against several neighboring countries and has crowned himself as the new ruler of the world.
But he didn't really care much about that, not now, no. What he cared about now, is the news of his house burned down and his father dead-all because of that man.
When Spanner quietly led him to smoky restaurants, secret passageways and underground mazes, he allowed his body to be steered. When Spanner quietly introduced him to a group of people wearing black suits, he allowed a tiny smile to grace his grim face. When Spanner quietly showed him to the boss of the underground resistance group, he allowed seething anger to turn into solid determination.
Above the ground, the Gesso Family-no they were called Millefiore then-waged war against countless countries and governments.
Underground, the special task force formed by various countries' alliances-Vongola-started to make their move.
•••
(No) Choice
-To love me. To be forced to love me. Those are your choices.-
•••
"Are you sure, Irie-kun?"
Tsunayoshi simply doesn't fit the image of a boss of an international covert operation. He's too kind, too naïve, too much of a push-over. He has a certain charm though and that charisma allows everyone to trust him completely, to let him make the final decisions on each step of their counterattack.
Irie Shouichi nods distractedly, flipping through pages of mission specs, taking a moment to readjust his glasses that slip down his nose, before resuming his speed-reading. Tsunayoshi is looking at him worriedly, so Shouichi tries to produce a comforting smile. It feels alien on his face, but he tries anyway.
"It's better if I don't take that drug," he refers to the memory-altering drug he synthesized inside one of the basement laboratories of Vongola's Italy Headquarters, "since he might remember me from before." There's a disbelieving note in his tone. "It's a risk I don't want to take."
"You don't have to do this, Irie-kun." Tsunayoshi's eyes are warm and understanding. Shouichi can only see the gentleness and pity packed in that gaze. "We can assign Yamamoto-kun. Or maybe Fran-kun."
Yes, they could. But. "I want to do this," he said with determination and with not even half the amount of fury that he has buried so completely inside him. "I want to bring them down."
Tsunayoshi stares at him for a few more moments, before he sighs and gives him the clearance to move back to the world completely conquered by the Millefiore.
Shouichi keeps his mind carefully blank, keeps his emotions in check, keeps everything but the clear, white noise tucked into little compartments of things-he-must-do and things-he-absolutely-must-not-do.
When Irie Shouichi steps out of the recruitment company which serves as Vongola's cover, he isn't a member of the international alliance that aims to free everyone from Millefiore's dictatorship, but rather, he is the newest advisor to the Millefiore boss.
•
"I didn't think I'd see you," Byakuran-san waltzes to the waiting room with a huge bang of the door and excited footsteps, "as an advisor, of all things."
Shouichi re-thinks about all the conversations he had with this man when they were in that one elective. He gives a tentative smile and offers a handshake. "It's been a long time, Bya-!"
Byakuran ignores the proffered hand and instead moves in to invade his personal space. Shouichi feels his heart beat unimaginably fast inside his ribcage; he closes his eyes briefly thinking about the mission and burying rage a little deeper.
He gives an awkward cough as soon as Byakuran lets him go. He expected to run into their target's son, but he didn't expect Byakuran-san to be this… friendly. He tries to recall whether the other was like this before.
"I missed you, Irie-kun." Byakuran tells him simply, before a cross expression filters to his face. "Mmm, Irie-kun sounds too formal. From now on, I'll call you Shou-chan, okay?"
Shouichi shudders for a split-second. The only ones who called him that were his family. But he is one of Vongola's best agents, with impressive work ethics and unbreakable poker faces and enviable analytical skills. He smiles a little uneasily at the other man. "I'd prefer it if you call me Irie-"
"It's decided then~ ♪." He bites his lip when Byakuran twirls around and drags him by his arm out of the room. "I'll bring Shou-chan to father~"
He is not sure if he managed to wipe off the look of surprised horror on his face. He really isn't prepared to handle Byakuran's actions. But he reminds himself of his mission, of how everyone is counting on him to infiltrate the home of the cruel dictator that managed to hold the world in the palm of his hands without any trouble.
He can do this.
Byakuran's grip on his arm tightens just the tiniest bit.
He just wishes that he wouldn't have to deal with his ex-classmate.
•
-That is my promise to you.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: Black |and| White
Summary: So what if he's friends with Tsunayoshi-kun? So what if he hangs out a lot with Spanner-kun? So what if he always bickers with Gokudera-kun? So what if I'm not the only one in his eyes? That's easy to fix~♪
Classification: AU • 10051 • Crime, Mystery, Drama, Romance • R
Contents: See that demented summary? |D BL, mentions of violence, serial killers, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: Spawned by my Mirai Nikki AU orz
•
A spider's thread-
-thick rope of guilt chokes him slowly, ever so slowly.
A door carefully opens-
-light spills inside slowly, ever so slowly.
Stay here with me - soft words that caress his cheek, flutter at his eyelids, tremble at his lips.
A door carefully closes-
-shadows stretch across the room quickly, ever so quickly.
A spider's thread-
-cold hands snatch him, holds him close, moving quickly, ever so quickly.
•
Black
•
White
•
"Secure the perimeter," Shouichi tells Yamamoto firmly, lips forming a displeased frown as he examines the… graffiti on the wall not too far away from the bustling streets of Chinatown.
This is already the third case and the police is still nowhere solving this string of murders.
Like the previous two cases, the entire wall is splayed with the words 'I love you', written in dark red blood. The victims' hearts were chopped to form another letter; this time it's an 'O' and Shouichi carefully steers his thoughts away from the possibility that the serial killer is referring to him.
So far, three bloody 'I love you' messages and three letters forming the word 'SHO'. There are no fingerprints left on the scene-nothing that would point to the killer.
Thank goodness for DNA banks-they were able to identify the owners of those chopped hearts. But that's the end of it.
There are no patterns in the killings-or at least, whatever pattern there is, it's not yet obvious to the police.
Shouichi looks at the wall again and feels a sick, sick feeling settle on his stomach.
I love you.
"Shou-chan~" Byakuran-san, his classmate from university and fellow investigator, bounces to him, pure smile radiant even with the gut-wrenching environment they're in. "Let's go back~"
I love you.
Shouichi shakes his head to get rid of any lingering thoughts, before he follows Byakuran back to the squad car.
•
"Sorry, Spanner," he says slowly, even though his hands are hastily pulling on clothes and combing his hair. "Byakuran-san insisted that we drop by the university-"
There's a loud crunch of hard candy breaking in-between Spanner's teeth. "It's your day-off today."
Shouichi's hair looks messy and he twitches when he recalls how Byakuran always teased him about it. He thinks about how he can make Spanner understand. "Byakuran-san volunteered the two of us," the dark edge on his tone shows how irritated he is at that, "and this might help the case move forward-"
Spanner lets out a heavy sigh-not that Shouichi is paying any attention to him, not when there's the sound of the door opening and Byakuran excitedly entering the flat and pulling Shouichi away for their 'investigation trip' before he can even say goodbye to his boyfriend.
That night, when Shouichi returns to the flat he's sharing with Spanner, he sees a note instead of his boyfriend.
'Emergency assignment. Be back in two weeks.'
Shouichi thinks about sending Spanner a text message about not telling him anything, before he decides that he's too tired to even move his fingers.
He falls asleep-dreams devoid of Spanner or the result of the investigations they did on the victims, who happened to be his former elementary schoolmates.
•
Fourth case and people are shooting him strange looks.
'I love you' and 'SHOU'.
"Are you okay, Irie-kun?" Tsunayoshi, the head of the internationally-renowned private detective agency, asks him with genuine concern.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: a tale of (a timeless) love
Summary: To save the future, he travels to the past. It is his final mission as the last surviving time-traveler of the kingdom-to kill that monster before he destroys the world.
Classification: AU • 10051 • Drama, Romance, Mindfuck • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: Inspired by the Godwin's Law of Time Travelling article on TV Tropes |D
•
Tick-tock-tick-tock-
Shouichi swallows past the lump on his throat, green eyes wide and afraid, fingers trembling, sweat droplets go down his temples and his nape, slower than the trickling of each second.
The spectacles he's wearing is cracked in the middle-but it doesn't bother him, not at all-because there are so many things that's even more bothersome with this moment.
He tries to steady his fingers, caressing the glowing symbols with fingertips coated with sweat and blood. The sound of ominous footsteps grow louder and louder, while the tick-tock of the clock in front of him is overwhelmed by the insistent screech of tick-tick-tick of the clock inside his head.
He needs to finish the incantations soon-he can't let himself be captured by the Millefiore.
Hibari Kyoya is already behind the heavy doors, bloodthirsty eyes focused on any enemy that will try to eliminate all traces of Vongola. Hibari is strong, Shouichi knows; he also knows that the Millefiore is already in control of every corner of this world and it's only a matter of time before the two of them-the only ones left of the mighty Vongola-are dragged to lick the feet of this world's most dangerous man, followed by their death.
Tsuna was against this plan-but now that his body is freezing inside the preservation cylinder Shouichi devised to keep his body from decaying-but now that he's dead, Hibari practically shoved him to this chambers, voice of steel commanding him to travel back to the past.
As a magician that specializes in time-traveling, he knows that there are countless risks in trying to travel back to the past. Especially if you're going to do something that would affect a great part of the future.
But it's not like he can do anything better than just trying to accept this. This is already the worst-case scenario-so it's not like he can make anything worse by attempting to change the past.
With that thought fixed on his mind, with his eyes fixed on the sight of the heavy doors giving way to the iron-clad Millefiore army, with his hands fixed on the blood-written symbols on his scroll, with his concentration fixed on transporting himself to a time when the world is still not on its final wobble to its destruction-
-tick-tick-tick-tiiiiiick.
•••
a tale of (a timeless) love
-I will destroy, even time, for you.
•••
…A university?
Shouichi blinks and rubs his eyes with a tired hand. The scenario in front of him doesn't change. It's still a university, with long corridors, metal lockers, soccer field, grass gardens and students milling around with carefree smiles on their faces and books on their hands.
He sneaks toward a thankfully-empty bathroom and washes the dried blood from his fingertips. He splashes some water on his face and tries to rearrange his expression to something less haunted and more relaxed. He also removes his outer coat, folding it so that the bloodstained parts are not visible.
A frown is on his face when he steps out-his lips twitch slightly when he feels his neutral mask slipping. He is panicking inside-this world is definitely not what he expected to reach.
He swipes a copy of the school paper and his frown deepens when he confirms the date. Apparently, he traveled ten years to the past, even though he meant to travel thirty years back. He grits his teeth when he realizes that it must be because of his weakened powers.
He planned to kill the dictator's parents from thirty-years-ago, but since his time travel got screwed-up… he has to devise a plan for this timeframe.
He tries to ignore the strange feeling in his chest-a blossoming confusion, since if he traveled to this time, he should have switched places with himself. He doesn't remember being in a university ever (never mind the fact that his memory is beyond fuzzy from five years ago). He refuses to think about another fault in his time-traveling.
He sits down on a bench and tries to rearrange his thoughts. He also tries not to feel too freaked out by the absence of rings and boxes and magic stamps on the students' hands.
He swallows again, putting a free hand around his stomach to lessen the painful churning.
Apparently, in the world ten years before-magic doesn't exist.
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: a tale of love (that will move the stars)
Summary:
Classification: AU • 10051; others 1827, 8059, 8059(27)-ish • Mindfuck (that is so a genre), Mystery, Horror, Romance • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
A/N: Basic premise is thanks to Mirai Nikki. You don't have to read that series to understand this though. (I hope! XD) Please don't take this too seriously ;w;
•
He runs and runs and runs.
He trips over his shoelaces, but he resumes running after the brief stumbling, continues to run even as his lungs wheeze and his chest heave and his legs wobble.
He stops when he finally reaches the end of the extremely long hallway, collapsing against the cool floor tiles. He closes his eyes for a moment. A world that's entirely different from this one flashes beneath his closed eyelids.
He feels a cold draft and when he wrenches his tired eyes open-he wishes he didn't.
"Shou-chan, I'm back." The teenager in front of him tells him with a wide, friendly smile. "I'm sorry I made you wait."
He wants to say 'please go away', 'please stay away'. He wants to pretend none of this is happening. He wants a lot of things. The other has called him 'selfish' countless times.
"Byakuran-san," he starts to reply, but his voice catches in his throat and stays there.
"Mmm, you look tired," Byakuran remarks with heavy concern and mild wonder. "I'll help you up~"
He looks at the hand offering to pull him away from his slump against the wall. He doesn't have the energy to take the hand; he doesn't have the energy to resist the hug the other grants him.
He doesn't have the energy to throw up when he feels the warm blood on Byakuran's cheeks brush against his face.
•••
a tale of love (that will move the stars)
-I'll be getting the perfect world.
•••
Like most teenagers, he was absurdly happy when he first got a love confession. It was like one of the rites of passage to adulthood-one is considered beyond help when he hasn't even received at least one confession.
Like most teenagers, he was deeply surprised when he realized who was the one who confessed to him.
"Um, pardon?"
"Maa, Shou-chan isn't listening to me." He pouts, white hair swaying with the breeze. "I told you I like you ♥."
Irie Shouichi blinks once, twice. "This isn't a funny joke, Gesso-san."
"But it isn't a joke," Byakuran protests, but he doesn't sound annoyed. He looks like he's enjoying this, which riles up Shouichi even more.
"Then I'm sorry, but I can't accept your feelings." Shouichi deadpans, before picking up his bag from the bench. He resolves to not be too mad about it-even if Gesso-san accosting him caused him to lose a couple of precious minutes he could have devoted to his special robotics project.
"Mou, Shou-chan is so stubborn!" Gesso-san didn't sound affected by the flat rejection. If anything, he sounded even happier. How strange. "But I like that about him ♥."
Shouichi steadfastly ignores the popular upperclassman following him. He's not sure what this prank is supposed to accomplish, but he won't let them (whoever they were!) win over him. He might be a loner who always sat by himself and never got invited to class parties, but he's not stupid.
There's no reason for the school idol to confess to him, is there?
•
"There is a serial killer on the loose, so everyone be careful when you go home-"
Inside Shouichi's classroom, murmurs fly around quickly, relating information they got from the evening news, from the internet message boards, from their neighborhood vendors.
Shouichi feels a moment of panic, but then, nobody has a reason to kill someone like him, who doesn't stand out at all.
"A student from a neighboring school is one of the victims, so be extra-careful-"
•
"I'll walk you home," Byakuran offers with a bright grin. He doesn't bother waiting for Shouichi's answer (which is a definite no).
"T-There's no need for that Gesso-san-"
"There is," Byakuran insists, taking determined steps towards the direction of Shouichi's home. A sense of dread overcomes him-why does Gesso-san know about his address anyway? "Because Shou-chan is cute, so the murderer might come after him."
"I'm not cute." He protests, pulling his arm away from the surprisingly-possessive grip.
Gesso-san laughs. "Of course you are."
•
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"Maa, maa, Shou-chan needs to calm down~" Byakuran remarks giddily, skipping towards a flabbergasted Shouichi.
"Don't come-" Shouichi chokes on his words when he sees a glimpse of a disfigured face from where Byakuran was standing.
"But I want to get my reward," Byakuran's voice gets whiny here-clashing with his image of a proper student idol at school and the murderer that he stumbled upon.
Shouichi shakes his head and feels dizzy with the action. There's so much blood-he shouldn't have returned here. "You're the serial killer-"
"Nope~" Byakuran retrieves something from the body and tosses it to Shouichi.
Shouichi gasps as he reads the display on the cellphone screen.
(16:25) KILL Irie Shouichi.
(16:20) DEAD END…
"What does this mean?" Shouichi asks in part-awe and part-terror.
Byakuran gives him a soft smile-as though he didn't just kill someone horrifically, as though he wasn't still splattered in blood.
"I killed him because he wanted to kill you."
•
END
★ ★ ★
Title: a tale of (a heart-breaking) love
Summary: It has been ten years since they broke up.
Classification: AU • 10051 • Drama, Romance • R
Contents: BL, AU, Byakuran.
Notes: Mindscrew mindscrew mindscrew.
•
It has been ten years since they last saw each other.
It wasn't what one would call a messy break-up, but it wasn't a happy, friendly separation either.
It has been ten long years since their eyes last met.
They both greet each other with a 'long time no see'-
-followed by a 'this is my fiancée'.
•••
a tale of (a heart-breaking) love
Byakuran x Shouichi
•••
"Uni-san is…" Shouichi fumbles for the appropriate adjective, "…cute."
"She is," Byakuran agrees easily, settling comfortably on the couch, putting his one arm on the armrest, while the other arm is behind Shouichi's neck, a warm reminder that makes him feel both cold and hot at the same time.
There is a pause where Byakuran continued to let his eyes wander, looking at each and every person that mingled around in the party hall. Shouichi, on the other hand, alternates between squirming and keeping his back impossibly straight, to avoid brushing with the arm casually thrown near his nape.
"I thought you hated research seminars." Shouichi aligns his body to the side so he can see the person he's talking to. He feels his heart speed up when he sees Byakuran already staring straight at him.
Byakuran smiles at him charmingly, visibly pleased that Shouichi still remembered that. "I do hate them," he readily admits, before chuckling, "but this one has a very interesting after-party, ne?"
Sitting this close together -knees not-quite touching and eyes blatantly staring- makes Shouichi feel as though he's seventeen all over again. He bites his lip when a traitorous 'did you come here for me' almost slips past. Shouichi makes a mental note to never touch a drop of alcohol tonight-if he's already this light-headed while being sober, he doesn't want to help make a fool out of himself after a couple of drinks.
The crowd grows noisier with each passing minute, warm wine and good food encouraging them to be more lively and less formal.
"I didn't know that your company is also involved in medical devices." Shouichi puts a hand on his stomach and he secretly hopes that Byakuran still remembered what that meant (and hates himself for it).
Byakuran removes the hand near his shoulders and Shouichi's breathing grows a tad less constricted. The hand moves to grip his sleeve-covered elbow, dragging him with a sense of purpose and a wave of familiarity. Shouichi doesn't look at the other guests in the party, not even at Uni-san, not even at his fiancée.
They end up in a spacious study, bookshelves filled with books about every subject imaginable.
"You get nervous so easily," Byakuran comments lightly, leaning against the closed door. His eyes are staring straight at him when he says the nickname that he's so fond of, "Shou-chan."
Shouichi swallows hard, idly wondering if he actually drank something. That would explain the warmth on his stomach, the warmth resting high on his cheeks, the warmth curling at his every limb.
•
END