Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

On the edges of the city, there was a modest little clothing-slash-tourist trap establishment that sat near the end of the shopping block. In it now were only the staff on hand, one of which was preparing to leave. Nayuta held his hand out in front of him, angling it in several different ways before sighing loudly. “Aw man, my nail chipped…and I was going to paint them later, damn it.”

As if summoned by the words nail and paint , Reo popped up behind him. He peered over Nayuta's shoulder and hummed. “You could just trim them all short and do French tips? I heard they're popular somewhere.”

“Popular where ?” Nayuta gave him a skeptical look, but then seemed like he was considering it. Reo did give the best advice, after all. On some topics. Ones like this.

He shrugged and bounced off, swinging his bag on his shoulder. “Somewhere~!”

Nayuta sighed again behind him, then waved as Reo pushed open the door. Don't get run over or something , he thought, because Reo had a tendency to run into the street without looking. He voiced this thought right before Reo left, his shift done for the day. Reo paused, the door still open, then turned inside. “Would you be sad if I did?”

“Not particularly.”

He might, actually. Who was going to entertain him? Well, it was whatever.

“Aw, why not?”

“The sum of your existence can be found on some beauty guru’s YouTube channel. That's why,” Hajun called loudly from behind the counter. He didn't even look up from his phone, which was downright rude . Reo's jaw dropped in offense. Anne snickered, but still pushed him in Reo's favor.

“ I'd be sad. Now get outta here, loser. Shift's over.”

“Copy that~”

At that moment (when the door finally closed), Kanata ducked into the room through another, cloth-covered doorway. He looked around, satisfied that it had gotten quieter. He and Yohei had been waiting out the last few minutes of Reo's shift, not really wanting to interact with anyone that cheery (don't get him wrong—Reo isn't all that bad. But that kid can't do shit on his own, and it gets tiring looking after him sometimes). There were days like that. Yohei apparently had a kid at home who never shut up, and he seemed to be the reason for a lot of those days. But for all his annoyance, Kanata observed, Yohei did talk about this Ryu a lot.

“Coast clear,” he calls, and the two of them head out to resume work in the main room. The rest of the employees are slacking off, and someone's gotta maintain the place.

. . .

At home and safe from any disgruntled customers, Reo was concentrated on the small TV screen he managed to convince the anikis to let him have in his room. On it was the game he was playing, a fighting one recommended to him by Nayuta (quite a rare occurrence). It wasn’t the type of thing he usually liked, but he did find the aesthetics interesting. And it’s no fun losing a game, so.

It took him a second, though, to realize that the beeping noises weren’t coming from the game.

Reo looked around his room, trying to place the sound. It came from an old-fashioned alarm, the kind used to mark time as something sat in the oven. Which was actually what it was being used for. He leaned over to pick it up, shut it off, paused the game, and ran down the hallway.

“Zen-nii! Oven’s done—oh?”

He peered into the house’s shared office. It wasn’t Zen in there, surprisingly, but Suiseki. He was standing in the middle of the room, letter in hand. He looked up when Reo leaned in the doorway. “Aniki, where’s Zen-nii?”

“Out for a walk, I think. Oven?”

“Yeah, it’s done.”

Suiseki’s face bunched up, not wanting to let anything burn but seemingly having something more important to attend to. He waved Reo over. “I’ll get him later. Come over here, look.”

Reo looked down at the letter as Suiseki read a summary. “Your brother’s having an engagement party—this is the invitation. Seems it’s in a couple weeks.”

The brother in question, Hokusai, was the oldest “kid” in the house. And that’s ignoring the fact that he hasn’t stepped into the house in forever, even though the rest of the family still lives there (to which Reo says thank God , because he's still horrible with managing his money and would not be able to keep up with rent for a house of his own).

It was only a couple months, but still. He’d gotten a job in a city farther off, and was living in company housing because the Akanyatsura house was too far. Obviously, he’d kept in touch with everyone, and never let time stretch too long without calling with updates, but it’s still hard living apart. Reo was the last to get used to it. Not like he’d ever admit that, though. 

But anyway, it was nice to see that he’d found someone. The photo on the invitation showed him and a shorter, longer haired man lazily throwing up peace signs. Now that he knew what the fiance looked like, he could do some searching. Just a little investigation. To make sure this guy was good enough.

Now that he thought about it, why was he only seeing him for the first time? Hokusai’s visited before. Why didn’t he say anything? Reo felt jealous, then childish. Did anyone else know?

Suiseki folded up the invitation and turned to Reo. “Also, it’d be nice of you to maybe bring people…?”

Reo blinked and thought of his coworkers. “Mm! Yeah, I can bring some friends. I’d have to ask Hokusai, though, how many…”

Suiseki sighed. He cracked his neck and put the paper back on the desk (already topped with documents and the like). “You’re getting older, now, y’know, and you can’t keep up this ‘flirting, date for a day, leave in the dust’ thing forever.”

“Well…”

Okay, maybe he was right. Reo nodded and left for his room, crashing on the bed. He unpaused the game and started playing again, if distractedly. He muttered to himself as he did.

“It’s no problem…I could get a date…much faster than Satsuki can, anyway…it’ll be a cinch…I’m sure…”

Before he realized, he was just holding the controller and not looking at the screen at all. It blipped in his face, displaying a “GAME OVER” in big letters. Reo groaned and switched the TV off.

“Okay, maybe I’m dead…”

. . .

Flirting. That’s easy. And besides, I’m cute so it’ll be fine, right?

Reo hung another shirt on the wall, mentally hyping himself up (or whatever people called it). It was time to get serious. Woo…

He looked around the shop. Only a few customers were in at the moment, one of which being a fairly cute brunet with a gloomy face. They were fiddling with something not too far from Reo, so he inched closer in hopes of achieving…something. Looking around to make sure no one was looking (everyone was, again, slacking off), Reo bounced quietly from foot to foot. Here we go, he guessed. He popped up in front of Gloomy Face. “Hi!”

Too loud, oops—

Gloomy jumped, actually literally jumped, and stumbled over their words before mumbling an uncertain, “Hello?”

“What’s that in your hands?” Nice start, nice start.

“Um…it's just…a rosary…sorry…”

Reo nodded exaggeratedly. Nice start indeed, but where does he go from here? Gloomy looked over Reo’s shoulder towards something else. “Actually…I have to go now…sorry, bye…”

They awkwardly excused themself before Reo could stop them.

Nayuta loomed over his shoulder once Gloomy left. “What. Do. You. Think. You’re. Doing.”

“Eep!” Reo screeched and turned around. When did Nayuta get so quiet? “Nothing! Just…trying…something…haha…”

Practically growling, Nayuta crossed his arms (Reo has rarely seen him looking that scary). “Why.”

“I need a date…fast?”

Nayuta uncrossed his arms and put them, in a friendly manner, on Reo’s shoulders. “I’ll help you! But if you ever try taking Shiki again, I’ll rip out your stomach. Okay?”

“Okay…”

“Good. now explain.”

Reo sighed and crouched on the floor, ignoring the fact that no one had sweeped yet (wait, wasn’t that his job?) and it smelled…off. “My brother’s getting engaged and I think the anikis will be disappointed if I don’t bring anyone. Like, date anyone. And if it goes downwards after the party, they’ll still be disappointed. Also, Satsuki is gonna laugh at me.” He reached up for the out of order sign hanging on the vending machine and stuck it on his forehead. “I’m done for…”

Nayuta nodded as if he had any authority on the subject. “Hm.”

Yohei came over, having heard the conversation. “Work harder so you’ll be worth the money we pay you. That would work.”

“But that’s so much work!” Reo whined. 

“Can’t help you, then.”

“You’re fine the way you are, Reo.” Anne joined their conspiring circle. “Just try holding onto someone for more than a week and maybe it’ll work out! I’m sure lots of people would want to date you.”

“Would you?” Hajun gave her a skeptical look from behind the counter.

“Me? Ha…I mean…it’s like a minor-adult thing, so I’m not…haha…” Anne backed away.

Reo slumped against the vending machine. “Ohh…”

Nayuta kicked him lightly. “Get up. I got an idea.” He snagged the sleeve of Kanata, walking by, pulling him towards Reo. “Let’s ditch this place and go to the mall. Then you can practice, or whatever.”

Well, Yohei wasn’t going to like that idea.

“Why do I have to come?” Kanata shook himself out of his twin’s grip.

“Moral support. And so Reo has an example of what not to do.”

“You—”

. . .

“Here we are!” Nayuta threw his arms out wide at the entrance of the mall. Reo stuffed his hands in his pockets and deadpanned at him. 

“You only came here so you could shop for clothes, didn’t you?”

Kanata gaped at both of them. “Nayuta. That’s our rent money, Nayuta.”

“I’m not just gonna shop!” Nayuta scoffed. “I’ll be helping Reo, too! Even if it’s just so he’ll stop whining…”

“Wait, what was that last part?”

“Anyway! Look around, find someone, practice. I’ll be over there.” And with that, the most enthusiastic member of their group slipped off, probably in the direction of his favorite clothing stores. “And remember, no matter how bad you do, you’ll still be better than Kanata!”

Kanata sighed. “Whatever. Do your thing, I’m getting food.”

“Are you getting me anything?”

“Why would I do that.”

“...Because you love me?”

“Tough.” Kanata walked off.

Reo waved him away, scanning the mall. Even though they weren’t right next to him, Reo felt better with the twins around. Just in case things went wrong and he started a conversation with the wrong person. He had bodyguards! All he had to do was run to the food court or something.

(Briefly, he wonders if being a bodyguard is supposed to be a brother’s job. Protect your family, right? Reo tries remembering a time where he and his family did something together without it being rushed or short. He brushes those thoughts away and makes a mental note to call Hokusai when he gets home.)

Back to the point. Well, he was cute, right? So he had that…

On account of being lazy, he chose the nearest young-looking person. They had purple hair cut sharp and a jacket a similar color. He walked in their direction, going for the most reliable conversation starter he could think of.

“Ooh, I love your outfit!” Casual, complimentary. Again, a nice start.

Purple Hair seemed to lighten up, clicking off their phone. “Really? Thank you! I made it myself, actually. Took me waaay too long.”

Reo gasped. “You make your own clothes? No way, me too!”

“Whoa, no way!” Purple Hair looked at him as if he were a limited-edition video game. “So little people make their own clothes these days, it’s so hard—”

A voice called to them from farther off. A blond with a jean jacket was waving their hand. “Aoi! We gotta go, c’mon!”

Aoi stopped mid sentence and nodded in that direction. “Ah…sorry. Catch you later, maybe!”

They ran off before Reo could ask for contact information. Bummer.

“Well, I was close,” he assured himself. “Not too bad for a first try.”

Half an hour later, he and the Yatonokami twins regrouped and sat on a bench in front of a video game store. Reo relayed his (only, he’d spent the rest of the time wandering around) attempt to them as Nayuta nodded. “Well, at least it wasn’t your fault.” He broke the piece of gum he was holding and passed the other half to Kanata. 

Reo slumped over and sighed for the millionth time in, what, an hour? He looked around the area glumly, then suddenly held on to Kanata’s shoulder shrieking. Annoyed, Kanata whacked him on the head. “What?”

Reo pointed and whispered hurriedly. “That’s Satsuki! Augh, Aniki must’ve told him about the party already…Ugh! I can’t see him now!” He jumped up from the bench, earning himself weird looks from the twins and passerby. Behind him was the video game store. Well, he could duck in there. 

So he did.

Hopefully not attracting his brother’s attention, Reo pushed the door open and dashed to the back of the room (behind him, the twins sighed and slowly followed). He collapsed near the back wall, where  a box of games was sitting, not yet packed away. He picked up a few titles in his hands. Realizing how hopeless he really was, he started one of the few things he knew how to do well—whine.

“You guys…all I need are games, right? And my looks, of course. It’s no big deal, really…I’ll get a modeling job or something…”

As his hands fell, he noticed a game he hadn't seen before (and he’d seen lots).

“...Romantic Academy 7…nine out of ten basement dwellers recommend…”

He flipped the case over a couple of times. On the front, a green-haired boy in a typical high school uniform leaned against the right side, putting up a middle finger with a bored expression. Under his school jacket was a black sweater, some sort of dragon emblem on one side. He wore a collar, too, with a chain that hung the length of his sweater. It looked like a pretty generic dating SIM, with cherry trees and your typical high school in the background. Reo read off the text from the pixel heart on the cover. “Virtually improve your dating skills. Hey, maybe this is it!”

The twins walked up behind him, and Nayuta leaned down to look.

“A video game? Might suit you, I guess.” Kanata nodded, for the sake of not having to say anything, and blew a bubble with his gum while nodding.

Nervous laughter came from the nearby counter. The store clerk was rubbing the back of his head. “Uhh…you might not wanna buy that game…”

The three of them turned to address the voice. The man behind the counter, red haired and apologetic-looking, continued. “A lot of people have returned that thing. Also, someone left a note there.” He pointed in their direction. On the back was a sticky note with the words “destroy at all costs” scribbled on it. Kanata popped his bubblegum and folded his arms. Reo didn’t think he looked very happy with this cashier. “What the hell do you know, you fucking—”

Nayuta grabbed his twin by the arm with a cordial smile. “Y’know what, we’ll take our chances.”

Next to him, Reo nodded. 

. . .

Again, safe at home, Reo glanced out his window (outside, it was dark) quickly before putting the game CD in the player. His computer screen (old fashioned, because it was the one thing he bought himself and the one thing he could afford at the time) displayed text saying “year 2000 electronics”. Next came the opening screen with a somewhat obnoxious green background and cheesy music. The title was at the top. Under were three options and a silhouette of the boy from the cover.

Start?

Quit?

Or…spontaneously combust…? Strange. Reo clicked start and read off the screen.

“When the cherry petals of magic romance academy are in bloom…anthyding can hadplen . That is…so true.” He took a moment to reflect on, what really was, a banger line.

The text faded to the outside of the school building, the boy from the cover leaning against it suspiciously. The name above his text box read Mikoshiba Kenta. “What are you doing here? You new here at…ugh…School University or something? Whatever. You gonna sneak out with me or what?”

There were three options. 1. Yes of course!

2. I am impatient! Date me now

And 3. Hey look a squid!

Reo hummed. “What happens if I click the second one?”

The screen flashed red. Kenta sighed and seemed to peer at him through the screen. “Try again, you pink idiot.”

Reo’s mouth dropped open as he moved to press the first option. “I’m usually better at this, dammit…”

Coins fell from the top of the screen. He’d earned love points! Maybe this wasn’t too hard after all. “Oh!”

Kenta spoke again. “Choose something to talk about.”

More options. Your interests, samurais, or squids. Reo pursed his lips. “If I click on your face, will you be nicer to me?”

Kenta tried pushing away the cursor from inside the screen. “No. But hey, would you—”

“You’re kinda cool, actually. I wonder why anyone would throw you away.”

“Because they’re smarter than you, duh. What dumbass tries clicking on my fucking face?”

“What—hey!”

“Deserved.” Kenta flicked his finger at the cursor, and it flew to the side and bounced off of the screen like a ping pong ball. He turned to face Reo directly, and he ignored the chills it gave him and leaned closer subconsciously. “But you’re going to save me, right? That’s why you picked me up? To get me outta here?”

There was a feverish look in Kenta’s eyes, as mad as a pixelated character could get. Reo scoffed and sat back. “What? No, I picked you up because you’re on a dating SIM.”

“Fine. I’ll help you date or whatever, to stop your fucking whining , and then you release me. Deal?”

Is this an adventure game, or what? Save him? Reo shook his head in amusement, but locked eyes with the boy on the screen. Somehow, he felt comfortable (he ignored the ominous feeling in his gut). Real. “Deal. I promise…”

Kenta grinned and put his hands on the screen, tilting the view to include the ground. He sat crisscross on the grass. “Good.”

“...Shiba-ken~”

Kenta scrambled to his feet at the nickname. “The fuck?”

“Shiba-ken!” Reo giggled at his bewildered look.

“You little shit—” Barred by the screen, Kenta can’t really do anything to hurt him. But Reo swears he can feel his intent through the glass. He’s so busy teasing this sentient character, he doesn’t realize what he’s forgotten.

The cord to the CD player is still unplugged.

Chapter Text

Reo laughed, oblivious to the twins cautiously opening the door behind him. “I swear I’m not lying! They just flocked towards me~”

“You sure like to talk about yourself a lot.”

“But it’s fine ‘cause I’m cute, right?”

“Wrong.”

“Mean!” (Kenta sticks out his tongue in retaliation.) “As punishment, you have to tell me something about you now.”

Begrudgingly, Kenta picks up the Romance Academy 7 handbook and flips through it. “Apparently, every time I get a compliment, my eyes do a highlight-y thing.”

“You’re cute.”

Kenta makes a strangled noise and, lo and behold, another white highlight appears in his eye. Reo bounces in his seat. “Ooh!”

“Do. Not.”

“You’re funny.”

Another highlight.

“You’re smart.”

“Stop!” Kenta cries, voice high and strained. Reo giggles at his misery—there are stars and cat faces in his eyes now.

Kanata and Nayuta exchange a confused look. “Uh…Reo?”

Reo turns around, nearly falling out of his seat. “Oh! You guys! Hi, come in, sorry it’s messy…this game is really useful, actually. I’m doing better! Although I can’t remember when I last saw the sun…”

Kanata kicks away an empty soda can while his twin steps forward to stand beside Reo. “I think you’re ready to practice with normal people now.” He gestures somewhat dramatically towards the door.

“But I was going to ask more about Kenta’s family! He mentioned his brothers left him…before…”

Unamused, Kanata opens the shades. The room’s disarray is more apparent in the sunlight, and Reo wonders if maybe now is a good time to stop. The twins look at each other again and nod. They grab Reo by his limbs and ferry him out of the room. Reo clings to the desktop. “Wait! Ugh, okay bye Shiba-ken, talk to you later—”

Nayuta rolls his eyes. “It’s just a game.”

“You don’t need to say goodbye, dammit.” Kanata swings the door shut. “It’s not like it's going anywhere.”

Inside, the screen is left on, Kenta still standing by the brick wall. He grits his teeth, pupils darting left and right.“Right. It’s not like I’m going anywhere .” He mocks the twins in his head. Of course he’s going somewhere. He and Reo made a deal. 

He closes his eyes, steadies himself, and reaches for the nearest electronic device. 

Faintly, the telephone poles outside spark green.

. . .

Nayuta put his hands up to his eyes like binoculars. “Dammit, why’s it so empty…?”

The three of them are at the mall again, continuing their mission: Operation Get Reo a Date. Said target was standing beside Kanata, fiddling with the hem of his sweater. Nayuta pointed in the direction of the bathrooms. “Okay, which one do you want.”

“Huh?”

“Boys or girls, dumbass,” Kanata snapped.

“Either, I guess?”

Nayuta walked into the men’s bathroom, pulling a small balloon filled with…something…out of his pocket. Before Reo could stop him, he opened the door and threw it aggressively at the wall. Paint.

Multiple people came out of the bathroom. Nayuta walked back with a smug expression on his face. His twin gaped at him. “Nayuta, the guards —”

“And that’s where we go! C’mon, we’ll handle security and” —this is where he hooked his arm through Kanata’s and turned back to Reo— “you practice dating. Good luck good luck!”

Reo cowered behind a potted plant. He considered taking it with him (you know, as a disguise) but eventually decided not to. His arms were admittedly kind of shrimpy. He walked around, trying not to cling to the walls too much. “So many people…well, how am I supposed to know what everyone likes…there’s no manuals or anything…ah!”

He bumped into a shorter blond, somewhere around his age, who had dropped their purse (bag?) and was practically hissing at him as they bent to pick it up. “Watch where you’re going, you worm.”

“Um…undo?” Maybe he was a gamer. Maybe he’d appreciate the joke. Maybe…?

The blond only looked angrier. The pins on his jacket seemed to flash in rage. “You can’t undo who you are. ”

So, no. Not a gamer. Reo hastily apologized and hurried off, not wanting to interact with them any longer. He jogged to the nearest wall, pressing himself against the glass of an old TV store. “Augh, this sucks!” Reo banged his head against the glass. “Being at home and talking with Shiba-ken is so much—”

“ Don’t use my name like that you piece of shit. ”

Reo flinched and turned around. Kenta was leaning towards him, projected on the TV screen by his head. “Shiba-ken! How…?”

Kenta grinned again. “Dumbass. I’m not just any normal game, y’know?” He appeared on several more of the TV screens, different colored backgrounds shining behind him. “I’m special .”

Another screen lit up with the opening scene from the Romance Academy 7 game. Except now there were more characters besides Kenta. A teacher character, and two more students. One of them looked familiar, actually, but in his daze Reo couldn’t place who it was. Kenta kept narrating. “Short answer, a bunch of us were sucked into that game. But the minimum number of characters is one, so I helped everyone leave and ‘get help’. Bunch of shit lies. I’m stuck here now, unless you—”

“Wait, sucked into the game?”

Kenta didn’t look too happy at being interrupted. “Yeah. But that part’s not important now.” Reo blinked, and when he opened his eyes, Kenta was on every single screen. “The important part is that now you’re here” —all of him pointed at Reo, who had his hands pressed to the glass— “and we’re together, and I’ve helped you, and now you help me.”

He blinked out, the screens went dark, and Kenta reappeared, one ginormous form spread across the TVs. Some digital wind blew his hair and clothes back in waves. “Yeah?”

Reo swallowed. “Yeah.”

He wonders what Kenta could possibly be talking about, but pushes the thought away.

. . .

Kenta had told him to do whatever he wanted for now, so Reo had gone and found himself something interesting. Trains. The toy kind you ride on, made for ages three to seven, not seventeen. It felt nostalgic, though, so what’s the hurt in that? He was lost in thought (s, about Kenta mostly) when the movement under him slowed and a voice came through the speaker facing him. “Please insert another coin to continue.”

Reo patted his pockets and sighed. “Dammit, no more cash…”

He tapped around without getting up, looking for somewhere to put a credit card. Reo wasn’t one of those people who thought a credit card could get him anything, but times have changed enough, right? He looked around the area and ended up staring at someone who had evidently been staring at him. They were half hidden behind a food cart with the label “MEAT CUTE” in bubbly letters, peeking at Reo with wide eyes. “Oh! Um, hi.”

The spy walked over, and Reo could see that they were startlingly tall. But despite his own—quite short—height, he didn’t feel intimidated at all. “That’s kind of cool. No one around my age has the guts to do fun stuff like that anymore!”

“Really?” Reo forgot about the coins and the credit card. “How old are you, then?”

“Seventeen,” the spy replied, eyes still wide but friendly. Reo noticed a candy wrapper sticking out of their pocket. 

“You were pretty right then. I’m the same age.” He bows his head slightly. “Maruyama Reo.”

“Rokuta!” They bow too. “Miyama Rokuta. I think.”

Reo hides his mouth behind his hand playfully. “You think?”

“Yeah! I thought Itsuki-nii was my brother, but I’m not so sure because Kei-chan is also my brother, but I didn’t remember him…it’s all kind of complicated, actually. But I love them both a lot, so it’s fine!” Rokuta smiled easily, it seemed, even if they were talking about something really important. In the back of his mind, Reo acknowledged that Something was happening. Was this it?

“So you have a big family then?”

“Kind of, I—”

Again, an interruption. This time it came from the food cart, from the other employee waving to Rokuta from the counter. Half their body was dangling out of the cart, cropped white hair swishing about wildly. “ Come back the frying pans are burning!”

Rokuta turned around, almost stumbling over himself. “Ah! Sorry Ryu-kun I’ll be right there!”

Before leaving, though, they turned back to Reo. “We can meet up again, if you want! I have my contact info somewhere…”

“Sure, sure, here’s mine…” Reo felt a sense of accomplishment. He’d interacted successfully! Score! And he successfully delayed an interruption to keep in contact! Although, that part was mostly Rokuta’s doing. But that only made him happier, because didn’t that mean Rokuta wanted to talk to him as well? The slight panic he’d felt before was gone.

Reo waved them off, promising to meet the next morning.

He turned back to the coin slot on the train, again wondering if he should scrounge up some coins for another round. And that’s when two hands slammed on his shoulders so hard that Reo actually shrieked and fell off. He curled up on the floor and hoped that Rokuta or their coworker hadn’t noticed.

“I only have my credit card! I swear!” He dug in his pocket to look around for it when he heard a familiar voice.

Kanata snickered and kicked at Reo’s side. “Shame. Cash would've been nice, too.”

Scrambling back up, Reo gawked at the twins. “...”

“We saw everything. Good job, I guess. You have a date now.” Nayuta slow-clapped, which might’ve been supportive but was probably patronizing. “Now you can throw out that game.”

Reo was still caught on the words you have a date now . “Wait…throw it out?”

“Yeah. Why would you need it any longer?” Kanata sat down on the edge of the toy train.

Well. Point. But…

Reo thought back to everything he and Kenta had said. Sure, he was kind of a pain in the ass, but wasn’t everyone, a little bit, really? Besides, Reo didn't really get to bicker with anyone anymore except Satsuki (and he was always busy when Reo wasn’t nowadays), and Kenta must be lonely in there…

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a brain-Reo was screaming at him. He was a gacha character, for fuck’s sake. Not even alive .

“Well…I mean…Shiba-ken and I, we—”

“Blah, blah, blah. Can you take a dating SIM to an engagement party?” Kanata didn’t wait for an answer. “No. So throw it out.”

Reo’s heart twisted.

. . .

Hours later, when everyone else in the house was asleep, Reo cautiously booted up his computer and faced the game. There’d been uneasiness in his stomach since the trains and the twins, and it only increased as Kenta appeared onscreen to meet him. “Shiba-ken? We need to talk.”

“What else do we do? Spit it out, then.” Kenta switched the perspective again and sat down under a cherry tree. They had actually played the game a little more. 

“Um…” Reo fidgeted with his hands. “Well, I kind of did only pick you up to help me find a date for the party, and I might’ve done that…and the twins say I don’t need you anymore and they’re usually right, so…”

“So what?”

“I think I’m going to give you back.”

“ What? ” Kenta stood up and stepped closer. Reo frantically pushed at the volume button to quiet him down before anyone woke up. “Give me back? Are you insane?”

“It’s not like I want to! The twins—it’s them…”

Kenta scoffed, putting his hands on the screen. “Have you even told them?”

“I tried! Kanata cut me off before I could say anything, I swear!”

“Fine. What were you going to say, then?”

“...” Reo was standing up too, his chair thrown back on the other side of the room. He knew he felt something , but how could he put it into words? “We had so much fun together, right? I didn’t want to give you away because you felt real…like a real friend…”

For a second, Kenta looked more pained than angry. His hand slipped lower, fingers still grazing the screen. He hung his head. “...We haven’t gotten that close, idiot.”

Reo sniffed and ignored how not-normal this was. Even sentient characters could be affectionate. In their own way.

“Sure, sure.”

“Are you really giving me away?”

“I have to.”

Pounding on the screen made him flinch. “We had a deal , you jackass! You bought my game, you got a date, now you have to get me out of here! Did you seriously fucking forget?”

“I thought you were—”

“What, joking? You think I’d joke about something like that? Did you ?”

“Shiba-ken, calm down…”

“You promised you’d save me, you fucking liar!” His pounding was making the screen shake, enough that Reo couldn’t see the digital tears that were starting to spill. 

He did promise, didn’t he? Kenta wasn’t one to forget if he’d said that. He was starting to panic.

It was happening again. More leaving. More lies. He couldn’t let it happen. He had to escape.

So he kept pounding on the screen. “ I wasn’t fucking joking! ”

Reo backed away from the computer, shaking. How was he supposed to “save” Kenta? Reo was just a regular gamer, not a genius…hacker. Wasn’t he a character, anyway?

“...a bunch of us were sucked into that game.”

But wasn’t he lying? Wasn’t it just a line from the game?

He fumbled towards the computer mouse and pressed pause. Kenta froze, slightly blurred from the movement onscreen. Too stunned to say anything, Reo silently picked out the CD from the player, turned around, and tossed it onto his chair. He switched off his computer, and the green haired boy disappeared. The house was silent. He’d return the game tomorrow.

Reo crawled into bed and curled up into the tightest ball he could manage. 

. . .

Just before the sun starts to come up, the screen clicks on, and Kenta falls from his position. His hands are sore, he feels sore, and his face is cracked with tears. He drags himself up to the screen again, breathing heavily, and glares at the boy sleeping fearfully in bed.

Chapter Text

The twins dragged their feet and complained like a pair of toddlers forced on a shopping trip. Reo gave them both warning stares that did nothing at all, considering it was two-against-one. He’d convinced (coerced) them both to tag along for moral support before he went to go get something to eat with Rokuta. The three of them were waiting on the other side of the mall, counting down the minutes until Reo could walk over and the twins could go back to slacking at work. Well, one of them, anyway. Kanata craned his neck to the ceiling for the umpteenth time. “It’s fine if you’re two minutes early. Just go already.”

Well, he was very supportive. Maybe Reo should’ve asked Anne instead.

“Fine, fine…” He turned sheepishly to Nayuta. “Walk me?”

“I’m telling Yohei to cut your salary,” he grumbled, but pulled himself and Kanata along. Together they walked in front of a fast-food joint—on the far side, there was a small stage with automated robots playing screechy music. That was their hook, apparently—they were just holograms. But Rokuta had jokingly suggested it, and Reo had gone along. Maybe they both wanted to feel like stupid little kids again.

Rokuta was standing to the side of the door, waving to them. Reo jogged over, leaving the twins behind. “Rokuta!”

“Reo-kun!”

He gave Reo a quick hug, nearly lifting him up, and smiled at him. “I haven’t been to this place in forever. I didn’t think you’d agree, actually.”

Reo waved it off. “It looks fun!” He bowed dramatically and gestured towards the door. “After you~”

Once they were seated with menus, Rokuta looked around and pulled a small bag of gummy bears from his pocket. He held them out to Reo across the table. “Want one?”

“No way!” Reo took two, one green and one pink. Pointedly, he ignored the CD case in his bag and forced himself to swallow the candy. “Do they even allow that in here?”

“We’ll try not to find out, I guess.” They shared a conspiring laugh, and Rokuta looked past him to another table. “Oh wait, are those your friends who just walked in?”

Reo looked behind him. Kanata and Nayuta were sitting down at a table, half hidden behind a cardboard stand advertising specials. “Mhm! Coworkers. We were at the mall together earlier.” He didn’t mention the moral support part.

“Oh, okay okay. Nayuta and Kanata, right?”

“Yep.”

“I think I’ve met Nayuta-kun before, actually. Shiki hangs out with him a lot.”

Reo nodded. Internally, he smirked. So there was something going on there. He made a mental note to ask Nayuta about it later. “I—”

On the screen behind Rokuta, the football game was no longer playing. Reo froze.

Instead, Kenta stood there, expression blank. A text box under him read, “YOU LEFT?”

His face was blank. Reo’s skin went cold.

Across from him, Rokuta was making a concerned face. “...Reo-kun? Are you alright?”

More of the sports screens switched “programs”. A pixelated version of Rokuta’s head rotated on them, bright red Xs crossing him out. Reo felt like throwing up. There were still people staring at the TVs—how did they not notice?

He forced himself to smile again, hoping to whatever god that it didn’t look as strained as it felt. Reo nodded and started to get up. “Yep—just gonna use the bathroom—sorry…”

He rushed to the hallway where the bathroom doors stood at the end, crouched against the wall, and dug his phone from his pocket. Firing off a text to Nayuta with shaky hands, he waited for the twins to come. Reo hoped they wouldn’t think him any more crazy than they already did.

you: nayuta-kun please come bathrooms hekp

Lo and behold, he appears, twin in tow. They both look at Reo like he grew a donkey head. Kanata sighs and starts walking in the other direction. Nayuta kneels down in front of Reo, examining him like a bug in a jar. “What.”

Reo tries breathing evenly into his hand. “Shiba-ken…he’s here…”

Nayuta looks at him seriously for another two seconds before deciding that Reo is, in fact, crazy. He stands up, pulling Reo with him. “That fucking gacha character?”

“Yes! He’s—”

“Oh my God , Reo. He is a fictional character .” Nayuta could’ve kicked him in that moment, but refrains and tries not to shout. “He can’t stalk you because he’s not real .”

The lights dim, and the screechy music glitches to stop. Reo slowly stands, still nauseous, and leans around the corner. All of the patrons were staring at the screens now. Kenta was on every single one of them. Nayuta muttered “oh, fuck” and glanced at Kanata, now standing at their table.

At least he’s only on screens? Reo thought.

But the show-off that he was, the Kenta on the nearest screen closed his eyes and put his hands out. He was on a digital menu for soft-serve drinks, and once he blinked out, the whole machine sparked green and steamed. The figures onstage stalled and froze, the one in the back straightening. It tossed the plastic banjo it was holding off to the side without any noise and addressed the crowd. “All of you! Fucking scum!”

Sure, it was a giant squirrel, but that didn’t make it any less menacing.

“How do y’all even listen to this shit?” The squirrel—er, Kenta—stepped off the stage, and the people closest to him started to back away. His voice was coming out warbled from the speakers that surrounded the room. “Whatever. Hey, you! In the back. Reo .”

Reo clung to the wall. He needed to get out of here, get Kanata and Nayuta out, get…Rokuta…out…he’d forgotten about Rokuta. Shit shit shit . He looked back towards their table, but he was already rushing to Reo. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry” —he grabs Rokuta’s arm and turns to Nayuta, but he’d already gone for his brother. Reo starts to dash to the exit like the other people— “but we have to get out, now !”

“The only way out is through me! ” The squirrel rubbed at its face and dusted off its legs, and the hologram projected a life-sized Kenta in its place. It stretched, satisfied. Kenta reached out his hand and the lights turned off, switching back dimly in green. Rokuta and most of the patrons flew through the front door and exits until out of order arcade games toppled in front of them. The twins were stuck inside. Rokuta sprinted off, signaling to them to wait.

“Sorry, Reo.” Kenta stepped closer. They were both in the middle of the dining area. “You can’t run away from our deal, y’know?”

He remembered, now.

The important part is that now you’re here, and we’re together, and I’ve helped you, and now you help me. Yeah?

He’d agreed. Why did he agree, when it was obviously either fake or an enormous red flag? Reo felt like throwing up again, and slammed a hand on the nearest table to help steady himself. This was too far, impossible, unreal, a nightmare—

“But—”

“What fucking deal is he talking about?” Nayuta stepped beside him, Kanata in front. Reo had never felt so grateful to have the twins around him, ever. Kenta sneered at the three of them. 

“This idiot agreed to get me out of here. Now he’s backing out.”

“You’re a fucking gacha character, what kind of shit are you talking about?”

Kenta gritted his teeth and raised his hand. Reo pushed the twins away, standing closer now with his arms out. “Stop!”

There are tears coming now. This is stupid, he thought. I’m going to die because I can’t date. He blinks away the water and tries breathing normally. His outstretched hands are shaking violently. Reo sinks to his knees before he can collapse entirely. 

Something crashes through the glass door. A metal chair.

Rokuta steps on the sideways arcade game and clambers through the hole. “Come on!”

Nayuta grabs Reo’s arm, but he doesn’t move. He ignores Rokuta calling his name and focuses on Kenta, scowling at the hole in the door. “How…how would I…be able to save you…?”

Kenta’s face and hand goes slack, looking back at Reo. Then he grins the widest Reo’s seen before, almost too wide for a human face. His eyes have that feverish look again, more realistic now that he’s in 3D. Without the simplifications, Reo can see more of his details, and that he’s at least three inches shorter. Kenta steps closer, arms mirroring Reo’s a minute ago. He walks until he stands a foot away. 

“Do you remember what I said to you before?”

Reo gulps and shakes his head. “What?” Rokuta is still calling him. The twins are farther off.

“Minimum number of characters is one, otherwise I would’ve left. But if I can get someone else in here, I’ll be able to get out.”

It takes a moment for Reo’s gears to turn. “So…you…”

“Yeah.” 

All he feels is fear. Reo’s heart is pounding so hard, it’s making his ribs ache. He can’t let himself be trapped in that game. But he knows he’s sure as hell no match for someone with Kenta’s power. 

Kanata, who’d been crouching behind him, stands next to Reo now. His mouth is contorted into a livid grimace, but Reo still grabs his wrist. He squeezes as tight as he’s able to and gets up.

“Please…I need to speak for myself now,” he whispers.

“Who says I was speaking for you, you—” With all his strength, Reo shoves his shoulder into Kanata’s to push him towards the door. He knows Nayuta is instantly beside his brother.

“Go.” Reo knows they won’t go. They aren’t stupid.

Thank you, he thinks. He’s a coward for not saying it. He turns back to Kenta, whose arms are folded. Reo’s own hands are in fists. He wants to run, grab the twins and Rokuta and escape.

But he has things to say. He looks Kenta in his digital eye. He doesn’t feel scared anymore.

“I can't save you.”

. . .

It was so, so loud.

Ever since he’d been forced into the game, Kenta’s mind had been club-level loud with thought. He still remembers how old he was. Eight. Fucking eight, and he’s never been able to leave technology since then. It’s been seven years since then. Almost half his life has been lived behind screens. 

He remembers the other faces. There were three of them, before, only together under circumstance. By the time they were gone, they almost felt close. Almost. He knew they left.

He knew he needed to leave, too, he knew he needed to find them again. But for what? He still couldn’t decide if he was still angry or jealous. How could he have been so stupid? Of course they weren’t getting help. They wanted to shove him down and forget. And leave.

He remembers waiting for them to come back. And they didn’t.

He knew he needed someone else to take his place. He’d tried it with people before, different times, different ways, but it never worked. Never, until Reo came along.

Reo…he’d told him. Kenta had told him that he’d have to save him, and he agreed. He’d had a good feeling this time. It might’ve been all the talking they did. No one else seemed to notice when he said things outside of the algorithm. 

But that was unexpected, and unexpected things are bad.

He was so close now, so close—Kenta was almost shaking. He couldn’t wait to hear himself again. His heartbeat, his breathing. The two things he’d been missing.

“I can’t save you.”

Everything stops. His hands drop to his sides. It is so, so quiet.

. . .

“...Huh?”

Reo takes a deep breath and loosens his fists. “I can’t. I cannot save you. I can’t just pick up and leave. I have friends and family and people and things I care about. I’ve been relying on them all this time.”

Distantly, he realizes what he’s saying. The people he knows—his family, his coworkers—they’re his whole world. He depends on them for everything. If they all disappear, then what is he then? Not much. Nothing, even. Reo closes his eyes, squeezing out hot tears, and hopes he’s saying everything properly. “They’re all amazing people. So I have to make sure they’re not wasting their time on me…I have to let them rely on me, too. I need to figure out how to be my own person, someone dependable. Otherwise…I’ve let them all down.”

Kenta stands there and stares at him blankly. “...”

All Reo can do is wait for a reply. He doesn’t have any more words. He wants to take Kenta’s hand, somehow, but can’t figure out why. Then he remembers one of his first impressions.

He felt comfortable. Real.

“So…I’m still…I can’t leave?” Kenta’s voice is still coming from the speakers around the room. He sounded too confused, too hurt, to be just a character . Reo reaches out to take his hand, but it falls through the light. He clutches his hands to his chest instead and nods. “Yeah.”

He wants to save him. He wants Kenta to be able to walk freely, in the flesh, breathe air, talk through his own mouth, unrestricted to a video game handbook. He wants it, so, so bad. 

But he can’t sacrifice his own life for that. He can’t.

He still needs to call Hokusai. He still needs to ask Nayuta about the brunet.

There’s still so much he needs to do.

Kenta steps closer still and hovers his hands above Reo’s cheeks, not quite touching them. The betrayed look is still on his face, and it makes Reo want to reverse everything, before he was taken, before he had any reason to look like that. He can see Kenta’s jaw shift as he swallows. “You really won’t?”

“I’m sorry,” Reo whispers, and he means it. “I’m sorry you’ve been trapped in there. I’m sorry.”

. . .

He doesn’t want to tear Reo away from his life. He’s never wanted to.

But his longing to escape outweighs that. He really did give a shit about Reo. It might’ve made him a bad person, but he still gave more of a shit about himself. He just wants to be human again. 

So badly .

Kenta grits his teeth, closes his eyes, and focuses like he does when jumping devices. He can feel his fingers buzzing.

“I’m sorry, too,” the speakers echo, and Kenta drives his hands through Reo’s cheeks.

. . .

The twins scream. Rokuta screams. They are the last things Reo hears before he blacks out.

The hologram fizzes into nothing.

. . .

Nearly everything is black. Scattered in the void are different objects. Telephone wires. TV screens. Alarm clocks. Some move, some don’t. Some are suspended in midair, some are sunken into the ground. In the distance is a grove of cherry trees and a brick school. In a spot littered with arcade games, a pink-haired boy lies curled up on the ground. He sobs and screams; sometimes pleas, sometimes names, sometimes just nosies.

A fiance calls his brother. No one picks up.

The day he arrived, a different boy returned to the world. He appeared in the middle of a, thankfully abandoned, demolition site. He recognizes the rubble as the remains of the facility he was kept in before being sucked into that game . There is dust in the air, but he breathes in anyway. He coughs, green hair falling in front of his face, and laughs. He can breathe air. 

He puts his hand to his chest. It is warm, and he feels something thumping repeatedly.

A death is reported. Three witnesses testify that a malfunction of the singing holograms scared the patrons and staff out. An arcade game was knocked over by the crowd, and fell onto a boy trying to leave with the witnesses. 

These three keep the truth to themselves.