Do I know your muse(s): yes | no | a little | tell me about your muse
Setting:our verse | my verse | your verse | modern | alternate universe | other
Pre-established relationships? yes | no | depends on the relationship
Possible relationships:friends | classmate | co-worker | roommate | family, real or adopted | dating or blind date | married | friends with benefits | unrequited love | lending a hand | teacher - student | rivals | allies | partner-in-crime | enemies | protector - guarded | business partners | spy - infiltrated | manipulator - manipulated | star-crossed | first meeting | other
I’m in the mood for: fluff | angst | horror | romance | humor | crime | hurt / comfort | action | supernatural | slice of life | crack | dark threads | light threads | any genre | multi-para | shorter para | one-line | any length | plotted threads | unplotted threads | other
Feel free to:message me ooc | message me ic | tell me your ideas | write a starter | answer one of my opens | send a meme | reblog this with your preferences - let’s find common interests!
Send me ✔ and I will bold my preferences for your muse!
My muse(s):
Do I know your muse(s): yes | no | a little | tell me about your muse
Setting: our verse | my verse | your verse | modern | alternate universe | other
Pre-established relationships? yes | no | depends on the relationship
Possible relationships: friends | classmate | co-worker | roommate | family, real or adopted | dating or blind date | married | friends with benefits | unrequited love | lending a hand | teacher - student | rivals | allies | partner-in-crime | enemies | protecter - guarded | business partners | spy - infiltrated | manipulator - manipulated | star-crossed | first meeting | other
I’m in the mood for: fluff | angst | horror | romance | humor | crime | hurt / comfort | action | supernatural | slice of life | crack | dark threads | light threads | any genre | multi-para | shorter para | one-line | any length | plotted threads | unplotted threads | other
Feel free to: message me ooc | message me ic | tell me your ideas | write a starter | answer one of my opens | send a meme | reblog this with your preferences - let’s find common interests!
Dongmin wasn’t too good at this either, but he did have the patience for it, so he was sure that as long as they both remained calm and worked hard at it, they would be able to get this to work for them. With the base being as long as it was, he wondered if they would even have enough cards to even finish off their card castle or not. “I think what we have now should be good. Any longer, we may not have enough cards to finish.”
Just a guess on his part, really. With Kyouhei already starting to try to make his triangles, Dongmin on the other half of the castle was trying to do the very same. Absolute quiet descended down on the two of them as they both were keeping quiet to focus with everything they had to make their triangles. Carefully he was trying to make it so that the very tips of the cards would touch at the top, and to have the cards be spaced evenly apart from the center.
Almost there… he could do this. How about—nope. Okay. Let’s try this again. Maybe if he tries to put the bottom of the cards in between two base cards?
“That’s true.” As many cards as Kyouhei had made, there was no telling how many they’d actually need. He rested his elbows on the table, right next to his own stack of cards, and began to set cards up.
“Ah.” On his second set, it collapsed and took out the one he’d managed to stay up. “Harder than it looks.”
Not that the student was surprised, but sometimes images made it look so easy. Or maybe he was thinking of plastic cup towers, which were, of course, way easier to make.
With a little difficulty, Kyouhei managed to get two triangles up and began to set a card down on top of them, carefully. He felt like if he let go, he’d ruin everything.
Komui had not paid too much attention to the students he had passed as he casually ambled back in the direction of his office. He had been idly wondering whether or not anyone would contact him soon or if he should have a more realistic outlook and temper his already mounting anticipation.
It was rather difficult not to get excited at the thought of having a student assist him with his experiments once more however, a slight grin appearing on his face as he imagined all the things that he and his future assistance could accomplish. Of course, he would have to give the prospective student a probation period to determine whether it would be a good fit for the both of them but those details could be worked out at a later stage.
He would need someone to apply first after all.
Suddenly a voice called out from behind him, a rather breathless sounding voice at that, and assuming that the stranger meant him he came to a abrupt stop. Turning to regard the student that had called out to him with some curiosity, the scientist couldn’t say that he recognised him from anywhere which made him wonder what the student wanted. Maybe something had fallen out of his lap coat?
“How can I help you?”
It had taken a little while to catch up - Kyouhei was no long distance runner either, so he was panting ever-so-slightly, his expression fixed with determination.
“Ah, are you…” the brunet thought back to the poster, trying to remember any contact information before just shrugging and continuing with what he had on hand. “Are you the one who put up the poster looking for an aid? I saw you walking away from one but I don’t want to assume…!”
Now that he thought about it, Kyouhei recognized this person. Wasn’t he a professor in one of the few science classes the student didn’t attend? He stood up a little straighter, just in case.
“I was asking because I’m very interested in - that is, I really want to apply to it, so….”
[水] - Mizumachi continued to watch Kyohei making the smoothies from over his shoulder. He was using good ingredients for the smoothie, so it was bound to be tasty and healthy. Those were the best combinations in his mind. High in protein or calories were also good characteristics to have, but high calorie and greasy were not.
Eating a lot of greasy food wasn’t good for your diet. It wasn’t very nutritious for one thing, but lots of oil and grease made for weaker joints. Lots of junk food made it more likely for you to injure yourself if you weren’t careful on the field. Sports injuries were bad, and could lead to you never being able to play sports ever again if you weren’t careful.
“Yeah? Peanut butter? Is it just peanut butter? What about just peanuts or any other kind of nut? Sucks that you’re allergic to peanut butter.”
Lots of really tasty treats were made with peanut butter, like chocolates and cookies. Though, it was good that he wasn’t allergic to chlorine, because then that meant he could invite his friend to the pool!
“If you aren’t allergic to chlorine, then we should go swimming one day! Do you know how to swim? If not, I can teach you!”
Don’t feel bad if you don’t know, he only learned how to swim himself a few years ago, so it wasn’t like he could judge you if you couldn’t.
After mixing in fruit to his liking (if Mizumachi hadn’t requested anything than anything should be fine, right?) Kyouhei set the blender on low and turned back to his guest, nearly hitting his face into his bicep while doing so.
“Dunno, I haven’t risked eating peanuts but I assume that it’d get me the same results.” The student folded his hands together before continuing. “And peanuts are actually different from any other kind of nut - they aren’t tree nuts so I think I can safely eat other kinds of… but I haven’t risked it and I don’t think I’m going to, you know? Allergic reactions are not fun, no matter how quickly you use an EpiPen.”
He was well aware he was missing out on a lot of things but at least there was now the knowledge that if he wanted an easy out of a class he could just give himself an allergic reaction and be hospitalized for a few days.
“I know how to swim!” Kyouhei laughed, delighted by the invitation. It wasn’t too often that he was invited out, so he accepted immediately. “Sounds like fun, so as long as I’m not busy, sure!”
ಥoಥ: How are they like when they cry? Do they just stream tears nonstop? Does their nose get clogged to the point that it’s hard to breathe? Is it easy for them to speak when they are sobbing? Do they hiccup when they cry?
Kyouhei isn’t ticklish at all… except for (oddly enough) around his hips. If you snag him by his hips (either in a romantic or playful gesture) he might startle or, if you’re lucky, he might giggle/snort.
Tender spots:
Very, very sensitive back and neck. I don’t think I can safely say more without breaking one of the rules of the redthread community.
If the ambiance/atmosphere is right then Kyouhei will be verbal with his fear - either swearing (only done when scared/surprised), making various cliche noises (“gah!” and “wah!”), or will even scream girlishly.
Be warned, though, he has a “fight” instinct… which means his surprised expression will be followed closely by a punch or a kick or another kind of attack….
Kyouhei is a physical kind of guy when it comes to showing his affection - hugs, throwing an arm around someone else’s shoulder, giving out appreciative nudges or pokes, hair-ruffling, and pinching is all acceptable in his book, and he’s okay with receiving most things…
If you throw a punch at him (as in, curl your fist and aim it at him) he’ll interpret it as an attack and will block it. Same goes with kicking and/or reaching out to playfully smack him. Even if he knows it’s probably friendly he’s driven by instinct.
If Kyouhei is nervous in front of someone he’ll try to laugh it off - for his own peace of mind as well, but if he’s nervous all on his lonesome he’ll hug his knees to his chest and take on a thousand yard stare - especially if it’s a situation or a future event that’s making him nervous.
ಠ-ಠ: Do they like it when people touch their hair?
Oh god yes. Kyouhei will melt if you give him a scalp massage but even patting his head or playing with his hair will put him in a better mood. It’s a type of positive physical contact no one has had the opportunity to ruin for him yet.
(〇o〇;): What is their body language like when they are stressed? Do they try and hide the fact that they are stressed? How do they recover from said stress?
When stressed:
Kyouhei will get stereotypical sweaty palms when stressed and he becomes very tense - to the point where he looks like someone who just barely got away with a crime. He finds it hard to concentrate on anything - especially the thing stressing him out, but will hardly ever remove himself from whatever’s making him feel bad.
While he isn’t good at hiding he’s stressed he’ll usually brush off any questions with superficial answers and insist he’ll get over whatever it is soon. Often laughs it off, even going as far as to say that he thinks he’s overreacting.
Recovering from stress:
While he won’t remove himself from whatever’s causing the stress he’ll collapse as soon as he’s deemed it “safe”. This means curling up on the nearest soft surface (preferably with another person) and distracting himself either by sleeping or by talking about something completely different.
On occasion, he’ll want to vent but this is an urge he’s learned to suppress and would only happen if he felt an enormous amount of trust towards his cuddle-buddy.
Kyouhei is rather attached to sleeping, and it doesn’t help that his dreams are usually pleasant. If you play some loud music it disturbs his dreams and he’ll wake up in a panic, or you can just pinch his cheeks softly.
Getting out of bed:
Even after waking up, he’s rather attached to wherever he’s sleeping (it takes a while for him to get comfortable so he’s reluctant to move) but if you remind him of the numerous responsibilities he has under his belt Kyouhei’ll get a move on with his life.
Σ(゚Д゚;): Have they ever sprained or broken their leg before? How about their arm? What was the story behind it?
╰(*´︶`*)╯: Do they appreciate hugs? Would they prefer to give hugs or receive hugs? What kind of hugs do they like to receive and/or give?
ಠಿ_ಠ: Do they look up or down when they are trying to recollect something?
ヽ( ´O`): What is their body language like when sleepy?
(Д゚≡゚Д゚): When they are surprised by somebody do they physically jump? Scream?
(⸝⸝⸝ ̑ ̑⸝⸝⸝): Does their face get red after they drink?
(„ᵕᴗᵕ„): Does their face turn red when embarrassed? If so, how else do they react when embarrassed? (I.E. Shifting of weight upon foot, etc.)
( ๑‾̀◡‾́)σ»: Do they have a sensitive spot/s?
(〇o〇;): What is their body language like when they are stressed? Do they try and hide the fact that they are stressed? How do they recover from said stress?
ಠ-ಠ: Do they like it when people touch their hair?
(ノ≧ڡ≦): Do they like to show affection by physically teasing? (I.E: Shoulder punches, etc.)
♪⁽⁽٩( ᐖ )۶⁾⁾ ₍₍٩( ᐛ )۶₎₎♪: How are they like when they dance? Are they stiff? Fluid? A good dancer? Do they prefer to dance with a lot of others, with one other person, or alone?
ง ( ⌓̈ )ง: Are they physically strong when it comes to fights?
(´∀`): Do they laugh when they get nervous?
ಥoಥ: How are they like when they cry? Do they just stream tears nonstop? Does their nose get clogged to the point that it’s hard to breathe? Is it easy for them to speak when they are sobbing? Do they hiccup when they cry?
ಸヮಸ: Do they lean back or forward when they laugh hard? Do they snort? Slap their knee? Do that seal-esque clap? Do they often laugh to the point that you can’t hear their laugh anymore?
「(°ヘ°): How does one calm them down when they are freaking out? Do they prefer physical comfort, or would they rather be left alone?
⊙.☉: Does their voice get an octave higher when they lie? Does it crack?
( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡): Does having somebody stroke their head make them feel relaxed?
(ꈍᴗꈍ)ε`*): Do they prefer kisses on the cheek? Forehead? What about neck kisses?
(-.-): How should one wake them up? Do they get out of bed easily?
(ó﹏ò。): Are there any foods that make their stomach upset?
Everyone has their moments and that’s okay. As long as you didn’t hurt anyone (or yourself) it was fine. It was shocking to see him throw up all the notecards, but he could certainly understand the notion. Sometimes he just wanted to give up as well and just stare up at the sky absentmindedly.
“Yeah, let’s see how well this will work out for us.” He followed Kyohei’s actions curiously, moving some chairs on his end of the table and set them aside. He accepted the one pile of the cards and he stared down at them, wondering how well this was going to go.
“Guess we can start with setting up the base?” He was guessing that laying down some cards to use as a base would serve them well so they wouldn’t have to worry about the cards sliding around on the table. Though they would have to worry about the cards that were laid down on the base would end up sliding. “Then we can work on setting up the triangles of the castle.” That is how it works, isn’t it?
Kyouhei wasn’t too good at this on his own, but once he’d managed to make a base for his pile and it was easier from there. Still, only time would tell of their success or failure.
“How far across should we make it?” He had roughly fifty cards altogether, which meant Dongmin and he each had about twenty-five, even if he hadn’t counted them all individually, and that meant that if they wanted they could make a pretty big tower….
“Uhm, yeah, probably.” The table would be too slippery otherwise. He began to set a few down, then took two in his hands and made a test triangle, quickly becoming tense with concentration.
“Oh, of course I can. I’m an expert at opening locked doors. It’s a specialty of mine you could say.” He crouched down for a moment to inspect the lock and hummed to himself. After a few seconds he nodded his head and stood up. “Well lucky for you this doesn’t take much effort. They really should change the locks around here, I mean really.”
With that he took a step back and slammed his heel into the door right about the knob. The door made a cracking noise as it swung open; the top hinge broke off and it hung precariously from the middle and bottom hinges. “Ooops, that was some overkill there.” Yoichi walked inside to inspect the broken hinge. “Ah, that’s an easy fix. We really could’ve been in some trouble for a second there.”
He looked around the immediate area until he located the two small nails that had popped out of place. Picking them up, he stuck them back into their holes and used his flashlight to bang them into place. “There we go. Good as new. Er, actually I’d call maintenance to fix that, I’m not entirely sure the door is going to be straight.” He turned to face the younger boy with his hands on his hips; his watch beeped as a self satisfied smile crossed his face.
“Hah, and just in time. Now, do you need any help with something that doesn’t involve doing illegal things?”
Kyouhei…… didn’t know what to say.
He probably should’ve expected this, knowing his luck, that the officer (Yoichi, he meant) would go about it destructively, and not have a master key or a lock-picking set - although having a lock-picking set would be a pretty weird thing to see on a police officer, right?
The student couldn’t find it in him to care anymore. It was late, he was exhausted, and honestly. Honestly. The fact that he’d seen Yoichi lift his leg and didn’t even bother to try stopping him said something about his mental state.
“I’d offer you some food as thanks,” but I don’t know if I should thank you, “but I don’t know if they’ll charge for repairs and I’ll need all the food I can get if so.”
Still, the nice boy inside him wouldn’t let this go without… without something. He reached into his pocket for his notepad and pencil, scribbled down a number, and ripped it out, presenting it with little ceremony to his “savior”. “If you ever need something a college student can provide, text me… or something.”
Humming through the halls of the university with taiyaki in his mouth, Leo was on his way to class. Or, at least he thought it was the way to his class. Wandering through the long empty corridors, his exceptional hearing picked up someone’s voice and he followed it.
Poking his head into what seemed like an empty classroom, the composer noticed another person standing in front of some… lab equipment? Were they a scientist? How interesting! What was more interesting was their voice. It seemed like they could sing and it wasn’t bad at all. Somehow, this train of thought seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t recall where he had it. Oh well.
“Hey~!” Leo called out to them loudly after swallowing the rest of his snack. “Whatcha humming!? Ah, and what’re you doing? Is it science? A science guy!? Or, maybe you work with the aliens~”
Not expecting anyone to find him (or interrupt), Kyouhei startled, dropped his tongs while trying to look over his shoulder at whoever was spying in on him, catching a glimpse of orange/red hair before the panic set in.
He’d dropped a potassium cube. He’d dropped a potassium cube into a dish of cleaning water, and it was already starting to react.
With an urgency he didn’t know he had, the student scrambled away, hitting the floor in front of the door as the cube popped due to the transfer of electrons, causing a loud, smoky explosion.
Or was he giving it too much credit, seeing as there was no fire, only a reaction that created a violent noise and a screen of smoke…? In the end, all that mattered was that it was harmless from a distance.
A little stunned, Kyouhei stared up at the person still standing in the door, a little irritated but mostly just indifferent to everything. That had been his last potassium cube, too….
Kyouhei cheered when it was announced they were done for the day, immediately moving to his tote bag and peeling off his surgical gloves to snag his phone out of its front pocket, adjusting quickly to the change in perception his glasses caused.
It was a little too late for him to stop by a fast food joint or a restaurant without feeling a bit guilty towards the workers, so he’d probably make curry or heat up some leftovers at home.
“Hey, boss,” he smiled over his shoulder, still a little energized by their unexpected - and borderline dangerous - experiments. “Do you want to join me for dinner? I promise I’m not a terrible cook.”
Kyouhei let out a half-sigh, half-yawn and stretched his arms over his head, not satisfied until he heard the popping of his shoulder joints, the tension from sitting upright in his uncomfortable desk chair.
Ignoring the papers and dog-eared science theory books littering his desk, he turned to check on his study buddy, Mizumachi, ready to offer the other student a bed or at least a pillow when he found he’d been beaten to the punch.
The sight of his friend just totally knocked out with his study materials made Kyouhei feel warm, and even if it wasn’t that deep it was a sign of trust that he would now treasure.
Fighting another yawn, he crept off to his bed and removed his blankets and a few pillows from it, resisting the urge to hum so late at night - strike that, it was nearly two AM.
Carefully, he spread the blanket over the resting Mizumachi and dropped a pillow beside his head (just in case he woke up and needed one) before stumbling over to his love seat and collapsing, pillow and blanket bunched up in his arms.
Kyouhei only baked once in a blue moon, despite making sure to cook something every other day. It was usually easier to make something filling that would last a long time (like meatloaf or spaghetti) as opposed to something sweet he’d be tempted to eat in one go.
The obvious solution was to share the Peach Cobbler with someone, of course!
“Be sure to tell me what you think! This is my first time trying this recipe, so I’m a little nervous…” The student found himself chattering nervously while cutting out a portion, which was still warm, and holding it out to the photographer. “Eat up!”
The boy was being more obedient now, eating the chocolate and drinking the water as he had been told. He also answered to izumi’s suggestions.
he didn’t minded the reservation he took at some points; no one wants to talk about personal stuff with a stranger. It was understandable, and expected. Izumi himself didn’t knew much about this stranger, so he was just throwing ideas at the air.
“Well, I believe building up confidence in yourself is what helps against negative critique. That and not caring too much about what others might think. But you can only do that yourself. You can’t ask for help when it comes to that kind of thing” he concluded “Things like gaining lots of confidence in something most people aren’t too good at, is a good way of getting that”
He sighed, trying to think of more ideas. he was already getting invested in helping this boy.
“What do you feel the most confident about? Studies, games, whatever. If you have one thing you can start from there. it’s also helpful when making friends”
Wow, this Izumi was… pretty smart. Good at giving advice, in any sense. Kyouhei made sure to listen intently while finishing off the chocolate and washing it down with some more water.
He then had to pause. Because… he’d never really thought about what he was good at. Whenever the student had to make decisions, it wasn’t usually based on “well, I’m good at this” but rather “this would be better for me”.
Well, there was obviously talent involved, so maybe it was something that went along with having hobbies? So….
“I guess… I’m a quick learner? And I have a good sense of rhythm, and I’m fast - but none of those are really practical skills, right?” Especially not in biochemistry, where it was a good memory that was needed. It was very matter-of-fact.
As for the friends front, Kyouhei’d just moved and the whole ‘socializing’ business was fairly strange to him, but there were already a few people who probably didn’t mind hanging around him?
“You’re very sensible, aren’t you Sena? Or maybe you have experience in stuff like this…?”
Akira doesn’t move at all, he doesn’t really care too much if he gets wet since he knows he’s going to at some point, but he does appreciate Kyouhei’s efforts not to splash any water on him.
“It could be useful, especially if you’re new to this area.” He wasn’t sure if Kyouhei was new to Bellevue but there was no harm in mentioning the update of a weather app, it did turn out to be helpful after all.
“Um…I think I’ll wait out a bit. I was only heading home, so it’s not like I’m in a rush.” Morgana could wait, maybe he’ll even bring his cat back some sushi as a treat. Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned his head to the other.
“I forgot to introduce myself– I think? My name is Akira Kurusu.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Feeling a little foolish for putting off the act for so long (because of what it meant, really) Kyouhei took out his phone and turned on the automatic location setting on his phone before putting it away, not risking any water damage on that front.
“There, problem solved! Well, as long as you only make a mistake once I’m sure it’s fine.” Not including fatal mistakes, of course.
The brunet nodded, acknowledging the decision Akira had made - and what a nice, simple name! He hoped he wouldn’t forget it on accident. “Kyouhei, a pleasure to meet you Akira - though I’m sure the conditions could’ve been better.”
“Same, same~” he chuckled a bit himself, quickly getting three boxes of pizza, each one of a different type , while listening to the boy speaking.
“Heh, you think so? TYVM~ wanna join my party lol?” he said, turning towards the boy again “Well, don’t despair. Even working adults like me give up on normal groceries~ Lack of time, lack of skill. And junk food is great~”
This guy talked like he mentally read some people’s texts. All jumbled up with acronyms and… actually pretty funny to hear out loud, although not funny enough to elicit a laugh from Kyouhei.
“I’m not sure, ah - what game is it?” He wasn’t a HUGE gamer but there were a few MMO’s he indulged in, and he was very partial to 3DS titles. Some Nintendo games had a multiplayer feature, right? Not that he had many people to play with.
“As much as I love junk food, sometimes I need… tacos. Or spaghetti. And those don’t come in boxed meals.”
[水] - Mizumachi only laughed in response. Of course he gets it! He is always up for something interesting and fun! That’s indirectly how he got wrapped up in this mess to begin with! He wanted to try training in another country, messed up and somehow found himself in Bellevue on some exchange program or whatever it was. He should have followed the rest who went to train in the Americas. Where else can you train to become a great American Football Athlete than America? Well, he wanted to be different.
Needless to say, he sure messed that up, but alas! That’s okay! He’s been having fun here, and he’s met all kinds of interesting people, you know?
“Haha! Yeah, investigating curious things is always fun! I like to travel to the beach a lot. Meet new people, gather shells, swim, check people out, beach volley, or tan!”
One of those things was not quite like the others. Who goes to the beach to play ‘Beach volley,’ right? It was all about Beach football! Everything else was common sense for when you go to the beach. It was just like how it was a duty of a guy to try to peep at the girl’s baths at least once in their life timeon a field trip. Yep. That’s what youth is about.
Sometimes Mizumachi would be piling up stools in the bathhouse so he can make a platform to dive off of so he could start swimming in the bathhouse. Then he’d get scolded by his friend Kakei. Be made to apologize, and then have to settle down and sit in the warm bath like a ‘good boy’.
“Nhaa~ I do! I got a loud voice! I’ll be a dynamic announcer! Yeah! I also competitive swim and play American football. It’s tough to balance everything, but it’s all worth it.”
He did love swimming and playing American football, so he was willing to put forth the effort.
“Ah! So you wanna follow me back to the dorms, or something? I’m headed there myself and we can keep talking.”
All is good to stand around and talk, but they should get going before it gets too dark, right?
“The beach?” Kyouhei hadn’t been to a beach in forever. He could only faintly remember going as a little kid, seeing the water go on without an end, touching the sky (in his mind, that’s what it was doing) on the horizon.
“Are you a beach-y person, Mizumachi? Is there a beach in Bellevue?” If so, the brunet definitely wanted to go there. Would the sand be as hot as he remembered? The sea as salty? No doubt it’d be more intense, now.
He totally glazed over the majority of what the larger man said, due to overthinking, but he could’ve sworn… well, it wasn’t really any of his business, right? Right.
Still, it was amazing that Mizumachi had so much on his plate and seemed to have energy to spare (if the current conversation was telling). It made Kyouhei a bit envious.
“I’m sure with your enthusiasm, you can get whatever announcing job you want - and at least you’re doing what you want to do, so that has to make it a little easier?” Not that he was the expert in following dreams, but it always seemed to be easier to do something when you enjoyed it.
Kyouhei took out his phone and peered at the time, noting that it was, in fact, much later than he should be pushing his free time to be, and made a long ‘eh’ noise.
“I would really appreciate that, thanks!” With a soft grin, Kyouhei pocketed his phone and turned to his now-guide and mock-saluted. “After you!”
In the dim lighting and with low voices, Kyouhei couldn’t help but shudder when presented with the adjuring. Akira wasn’t one to pry often, so the biochemistry student couldn’t find it in him to refuse.
“I…” he swallowed, trying to decide what to reveal. It was a tough decision but he wouldn’t back down. “I’m avoiding my family. I haven’t talked to them since I moved. Part of me hopes I’ll never have to talk to them again.”
Kyouhei blinked, a little surprised by the request, and then rested his chin onto his palms, considering his options. There were two kinds of dreams, and since he wasn’t really a sleep-dreamer….
“A lo-o-ong time ago, when I was still young and hopeful,” so not too long ago, if he wasn’t honest. But it sounded better if he started out like that. “I wanted to be a Geoscientist. I still kinda do, but that’s no longer an option for me, really.”
Kyouhei spluttered and waved his hands back and forth in front of him as if warding off an unsavory question or offer. It really wasn’t his fault he could only hear one-half of the conversation (which he now knew was because it was a phone call), and that he assumed the worst.
Really.
“Nothing big! I mean,” he clasped his hands together, nervously, looking back over his shoulder in an effort not to meet Kyouya’s eyes. “It kinda sounded like you were… extorting someone? Maybe?”
What a strangely serious way of phrasing that. Kyouhei almost felt like answering in a semi-serious way.
That didn’t last long though.
“Yesss.” He grinned, holding the metal tray awkwardly against his torso, positioned like a breastplate. It was no legit armor but with the right amount of tape, it’d do. “Duct me up, ‘Yori.”
Kyouhei hesitated. There was so much that Izumi’s question entailed, so much was included in that category of his life. It was difficult imagining how he could’ve turned out, and part of him wanted to cop out of answering, but his friend probably wouldn’t accept that.
“I guess so.” At his center, he’d always been a bit shy and not very rebellious, he’d probably end up right where he was - how depressing. “It isn’t all bad, though, don’t worry about it.”
Kyouhei let out a groan instead of properly replying, his belly aching from the amount of food now stored in it. He could really feel the regrets weighing on him now that there was no food left to distract him from it.
“If I could go back in time…” wait, he actually probably wouldn’t stop himself. No self-control and all that. “I’d probably just encourage myself to eat more, now that I think about it….”
“There’s something I really need to tell you.” “I honestly thought that things would be very different.” “Do you wish you could have done it differently?” “What exactly did you think was happening here?” “How do you decide when it’s enough?” “I would die for this cause.” “There are only a few things in this world that are truly important to me.” “Ideals have to count for something.” “Why should I be a nice person?” “This was meant to be easier.” “I have an idea that I need to share.” “Look, you might not like me but we’re stuck in this.” “You remind me of someone I once knew.” “How long does it take people to change, I wonder?” “There are no good choices here.” “There are days I think we’re just in over our heads here.” “How do you keep going when things get hard?” “Are you genuinely interested in me as a person, or is this a game too?” “I care what I look like because I care what people think of me.” “Why did you decide to do it?” “You know what I really regret?” “I’m still struggling to believe any of this is real.” “Are you certain this is what you really want.” “Tell me a dream? Or a secret?” “Do you think you would still be the same person if things had turned out differently?” “What I really meant to say was very different.” “I don’t know if you’ll like what I have to say to you, but I have to tell you anyway.” “You were never supposed to know.” “Why can’t you just follow instructions?” “Why can’t you just ignore instructions?” “What chains you to this life? What keeps you here?”
[Just got a new laptop and it’s different than what I usually use so I’m going to take a day to work out how everything works and to transfer all my stuff, then replies will be back on~.]
“Of course, I won’t be offering otherwise if I wasn’t okay with it.” Plus, she had been used to sleeping just wherever with whoever happened to show up; she remembers doing this back in the dorms in Iwatodai and in a few of the brooding schools she was at before.
And making new friends was a good idea too, while she was at it. She hadn’t really interacted with anyone in the city that much (though to be fair, she was busy with school and work) so it would be good, wouldn’t it?
“Yeah, just give me a second.” She moved over from her spot on the blanket she had laid out that she was on, patting the spot where she just was in what she thought was an inviting fashion, a small smile on her face. “Don’t worry about making me uncomfortable, I am the one offering after all.”
Kyouhei grinned widely and rolled out his shoulders - he might as well get all his wiggles out now so that he wouldn’t accidentally wake up his napping buddy or interrupt them before they properly fell into a sleep cycle.
“Sweet~.” He kicked off his sneakers and knelt down onto the blanket, settling half-into the warm spot made by the girl - oh, wasn’t it kind of rude to do this without introducing himself? “I’m Kyouhei, by the by. Thank you for sharing this with me.”
Carefully, he settled onto his back and folded his hands over his stomach, his head tilted so he could clearly see his snuggle-buddies reaction.
[水] - Smoothies~! Always a wonderful thing to have when you are soon to get ready to abuse your brain with studying—or you know… getting knocked around while on the field. Either or works. Mizumachi was following after Kyouhei out of curiosity to watch him gather stuff for the blender.
“Huh? Me? Uh… I don’t think so.”
Well, did boredom count? Sometimes if he got too bored, he like breaks into hives (okay, that’s a joke) and has this intense need to break out into— well, something! Kyohei has been spared this, but sometimes when Mizumachi got excited enough, he’d start stripping. Just down to his boxers, no worries! Sometimes they were swim trunks!
“You allergic to something? Like chlorine maybe? That would be sad. Then you can’t swim in the swimming pool.”
What is life without swimming? It is a life instead full of American football, that’s what! Haha!
Kyouhei hummed, happy he didn’t have to pull anything out of his usual smoothie recipe and began to peel a banana with one hand and his teeth while opening his small-ish jug of milk with the other.
Into the blender, they went and the semi-talented chef plopped the top on before turning to answer, grinning.
“I’m not allergic to chlorine - unless it’s made of peanut butter. I have a nasty strong peanut butter allergy. Found out after trying a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup for the first time. It really sucked. Although, yum.”
He wasn’t sure why it would be thought he was allergic to chlorine - maybe Mizumachi was trying to figure out why he was so pale?
He scratched his cheek as the younger male described his predicament. Well he was fresh out of luck if he left it at work; not even Yoichi was dedicated enough to go on a hunt for some dorm keys. “Well if you dropped them I can help you look around.” Not like he had much anything else to do. He blinked at the others question before flicking the name on his badge.
“Officer Oshiro from Bellevue’s finest at your service. Although you can just call me Yoichi, that’s what everyone else does.” He tucked the flashlight under his elbow and began picking at his nails. “I’m on patrol right now. Supposed to be watching out for riff raff or something. I just assumed that you weren’t some hooligan looking to break in because…well…you’re a bit scrawny. And most young offenders would probably make less noise when trying to enter a building.” He spoke from experience, of course.
“Anyway,” he let the flashlight roll back into his hand and tilted his head, “do you want to solve the immediate problem at hand or would you rather go waste your time at midnight looking for your keys. The real question being, if you did leave them at work could you even get in the building to retrieve them.” Yoichi glanced at his watch. “My first offer remains for another three minutes and fifteen seconds.”
“Nice to meet you, Officer - I mean, Yoichi?.” Kyouhei wondered if maybe he should salute. It was more of a military thing, right? What did you do to show respect to police officers… well, he’d figure it out?
He figured that was the case - not the part about the guy being an officer, but the ‘too scrawny’ part - that and there was the argument that he didn’t have a meaninglessly violent bone in his entire body.
That wasn’t really helpful but now there was an element of panic involved - a time limit. He felt like he was playing that one shark-watching simulator where you had to tranq the shark - anyways.
“Can you really get me inside?” Did he have a master key or something? A lock-picking set? Kyouhei decided to go with the quick solution. He could find his key tomorrow.
Stepping back to admire his handiwork, Komui grinned in satisfaction as he read the notice he had just finished hanging up. It had been a while since he had had an assistant but he thought now was as good a time as any to try find a new one. Hence all the posters he had pinned around the university where they would hopefully catch some prospective students eyes.
Frowning momentarily, the scientist wondered whether anyone would take any interest in applying for the position as even though there were benefits, such as credits towards the year mark and hands on experience, working with him seemed to be considered a dangerous task. People just didn’t seem to understand that explosions were a natural part of science. It wasn’t as if he intentionally set things (and people) on fire… at least, not all the time…
There wasn’t anything more he could do but wait, the most tedious part of the process to be sure. Giving a final parting glance at the page hanging on the wall, Komui then turned to head back towards his office to wait for the applicants to arrive.
If any did come…
On his way back from his basic Chem classes to his dorm, Kyouhei walked past a person who was walking away from a big poster - probably an ad or request of some kind.
Some of the ads posted around campus could be pretty interesting (evidence one, his own request a while ago) but the guy looked almost professional… which could mean possible credits.
Eyes sparkling with hope and with half a dozen Chemistry notes now shoved into his pockets, the brunet spared a prayer for anything that might be listening that the ad was something he qualifed for while sprinting towards where the ad was set up.
Breath catching softly in his throat as he wasn’t the fittest of adults - he gave the poster a once over. Then a twice-over, a grin splitting his lips as it looked very, very promising for him. A lab partner, he could be.
He pulled out his phone and dialed up the provided number at the speed of light, figuring a call was more convenient before remembering he’d seen someone walking away and closed the device, rushing to catch up.
“Hey, hey!” Grasping for something to call the person by, Kyouhei yelled out the first thing that came to mind, which just happened to be; “Man in the glasses! Excuse me!”
Never let it be said that Kyouhei was a half-assed student - as much as he complained and grouched over the fine details of chemistry and physics as a whole he did the work: and that included the practical work.
Such as experiments that made him feel like a real scientist.
Dolled up in glasses and a lab coat with his hair just barely held back by some mousse and some hair clips, he was carefully organizing, heating and mixing chemicals for the results marked down in his study guide.
The process was so mechanical that it was soothing, and Kyouhei found himself humming softly while he working, even going as far as to sing a few lines out loud - there was no one around so it was fine.
Kyouhei was really, really tempted to accept. Who knew when he’d get another chance to hold Yuuto’s hand? Nervously, he held out his own hand, palm towards the sky, trying not to shake but failing.
Realizing that the thought process was pretty self-centered (and it almost felt like he was using the idol, and he pulled back, cheeks puffed out slightly.
Kyouhei couldn’t help but laugh - settling back in place to do so just in case Izumi decided to lash out. It wasn’t really that funny but at the same time, it was because wow, maybe Izumi didn’t know him all that well?
“Is there such a thing as too sappy when it comes to me?” He teased, lacing his fingers together and sticking out his tongue. “I’m the sap-master, king and lord of all the gooey, warm emotions. Better watch out or I’ll infect you!”
Kyouhei startled at the sudden suggestion, his face flushed. Was she teasing him? He couldn’t really tell. It sounded honest but he was… well. Not the best at people-judgments.
“I don’t… need to hold your hand this time. This time.” He muttered, turning away slightly. “Thanks for the offer though, it makes me feel better.”
“Didn’t mean to cut myself,” Kyouhei muttered, examining the edge of his thumb where the serrated knife had dug in and where a bit of red was beginning to well up.
He was fairly indifferent to bodily injury but it was nice to take care of it right away. The boy turned to Ichimatsu and smile softly before accepting the bandage.
Kyouhei was easily surprised, yes, but he was also good at reacting quickly to unexpected situations. It was part of his military training - when something happened, you had to move.
He didn’t think that his training was meant for the day he saw someone trip so hard he nearly flung themselves, face first, onto the floor so that Kyouhei could react just in time - catching his shoulders so that he didn’t hit the ground so hard he broke their nose - that was just a bonus.
The collected moment didn’t last long, though, because he recognized this person and the shock nearly made the biochemistry student drop him, mostly out of surprise.
“Hey, aren’t you the person who spied on me that one time!?” He blurted out, still as a rock, waiting for the stranger to recover. “You thought it was strange I could sing? Wasn’t that you?”
“Ah!” Kyouhei spluttered, unsure of how to respond. He’d never? Had someone? Say anything even remotely similar to that before? It was strange, like placing himself in the song “Fight For Me” from Heathers and it was warm and strange.
“That’s fine, you don’t need to hit anyone Akira-” as flattering as that was, he didn’t want the younger to get in any sort of trouble, “there’s no need for you to be violent over me.”
Kyouhei felt a sob swell up in his throat and went to cover his eyes, tears already spilling down his cheeks. He brushed his fingers over them, wiping them over his skin continuously in order to get them to disappear.
Even with the comfort… was this really okay? He drew a bit closer to Vasco and rested a hand on his arm, needing the physical contact while he broke down over a whole bunch of little things.
“Th-thanks.” He managed to crow, his throat already tight from all his sobbing and hiccuping, a slightly embarrassed smile tugging at his lips already.
Most of the time, Kyouhei was delighted to have Mizumachi around. He was quite the energetic character, and fun on top of that - easy to get along with. The biochemist never felt like he had to put on airs.
Still, he never thought of this particular scenario - being stuck in a small space with someone large was never something he avoided because it was too strange of a notion!
Well. It had happened. Trapped in a teeny-tiny closet that (besides Mizumachi and Kyouhei) contained an abundance of cleaning supplies including but not limited to: soap, toilet paper, and three vacuums.
“Looks like we found the cleaning stuff - but who’s gonna find us?” He sighed - cramped up against Mizumachi’s side like a hip satchel of some sort. Curse his short stature.
It had seemed hopeless not five minutes ago when the posse of boy-hungry girls (women?) had descended on them, obviously going after his companion for the day - Izumi - who was a model so of course this would happen.
Still, he’d been extremely surprised (and a bit weirded out) when they started to flirt with him too, feeling as if maybe the situation was a bit much.
Chanting the phrase ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ like a prayer mentally, Kyouhei shyly stepped away from the girls and a bit closer to Izumi, slightly flushed.
“Ah, I know you must be excited to see such a popular model-” he decided to go with ‘shy and oblivious, but anxious’ seeing as it was closer to the truth, “-but I rarely get any time with my boyfriend, do you think we could get back to our date?”