Mai's AN: Wonder how this will end :3

MIkoto's AN: I don't know what to say soooo hope you enjoy UwU

Letting out a soft sigh of relief when he saw the message, Amatsuki nearly crashed to the floor, his legs going weak. "Thank god he wasn't actually stupid this time..."

"So does that mean, Eve-kun has a plan? Are Sou-kun and him safe?" Kashitaro asked looking up from the shelf that he had looked into.

"Yeah... he told us to stay and pretend to be in disarray... that's their plan. To take Eve-kun from us..." Amatsuki could nearly burst into tears at that point. "I thought I lost them..."

Making a wry smile, Kashitaro patted his shoulder briefly before going over to clean up the mess they had made out of Eve's room in order to find any clues. "As long as they're save and they have a plan that's alright."

"I will still whack him a few times though when he comes back." Kuro told them though she was relieved to hear they still had some control.

"Can I join?" Neru let out a soft sigh before following after Kashitaro to help clean some of the mess at least.

"How about we all take turns?" Amatsuki laughed, rubbing his eyes just in case there was any tears.

"Sounds good to me." the fox-masked male agreed as he stacked everything on top of each other before putting them back. "Honestly, why are we cleaning this back up, he can do that by himself once he comes back as a punishment." Kuro joked though she helped cleaning up as well.

"We don't know when he'll be back." Neru shrugged, continuing to clean as Amatsuki joined them to clean. "I don't like leaving things messy."

"Let's just put the things back where they previously were, that should be enough." Kashitaro told them.

"Mn." Amatsuki hummed softly, stacking everything properly, looking way more relieved.

After a while, they finished and Neru immediately left to his room, claiming to be tired from cleaning.

"I am also tired~ How about we also get some rest and discuss what to do the next day?" Kuro suggested as the fox-masked male nodded.

"I have nothing against that. Rest well, Kuro." he wished her as she thanked him before leaving as well.

"Good night Kuro-chan." Amatsuki waved to the female before sighing to himself. "Haah... I don't think I had a worse heartattack than this..."

"Agreed. Since the others went to sleep, I think we should head back as well." Kashitaro said as he walked ahead, holding the door open for the brunet.

"Mn." With that, Amatsuki led the way to their room.

As soon as they were in, Amatsuki wrapped his arms around Kashitaro, hiding his face away. "Sorry... can we just stay like this for a bit...?"

He still felt nervous about this whole situation... and the fear of losing the two he was closest to was... draining.

Humming, Kashitaro merely stayed like that as he patted the others back. "Of course."

That was all he said before staying like that until the brunet would be fine.

Taking a deep breath, Amatsuki pulled away and smiled softly, "Thank you."

"It's alright, don't worry about it." the fox-masked male assured him before going to lie down on his futon adjusting everything. "If you need anything else, you can just call me."

"Ah... Kashitaro-san..." Amatsuki called out nervously.

"Yes, what is it?" the older asked, already closing his eyes as he adjusted his mask slightly when turning to Amatsuki's side.

"...Can you... sleep with me tonight...?" He had a feeling he might get a nightmare tonight... and he didn't want to wake up in a panicked state.

Opening his eyes again, Kashitaro blinked as if to comprehend if he actually heard right before smiling slightly and nodding. "Sure, I can do that." he said before standing back up again, lying down on Amatsuki's bed, holding the blanket up so the younger male could lie down as well.

Cheeks dusting slightly red, Amatsuki laid down, snuggling close to Kashitaro. "This isn't too much... right...?"

"...No, it's alright. I told you, you could tell me if you needed something after all." Kashitaro assured him, making himself comfortable.

Lying down like this, Amatsuki grew embarrassed, remembering their talk from the night before.

"Keep it up like that and I really won't let go of you again."

Was it bad he didn't want Kashitaro to let him go...? The older had risen to be someone important to Amatsuki... and the younger wanted to keep the older close. He was once told to keep everything important close so he won't lose them...

"Comfortable? If yes, let's turn the lights off and go to sleep, alright?" the fox-masked male told him.

"Mn." Reaching over, Amatsuki flipped the switch before nuzzling close into Kashitaro's chest. "Nee Kashitaro-san..."

Not expecting the younger male to keep sticking so close to him, Kashitaro hesitated before letting his arm rest around the shorter. "Yes? What is it?"

Flinching at first, Amatsuki took a deep breath before looking up to Kashitaro. "Yesterday..."

"Yesterday?" Kashitaro repeated, waiting patiently for the other to continue.

"...I meant it." Amatsuki whispered softly. "I... still don't understand love that well... but I feel something strong for you... and it makes me happy..."

Why was this so embarrassing to admit?

"Amatsuki-kun... that could be just something like the love you feel for your friend. Or you could see me as a big brother figure like family." Kashitaro answered. "If you don't understand it too well, that's alright."

"No." Amatsuki argued as he shook his head. "Mafu-kun is like a brother to me... I know that feeling. Eve-kun is a close friend... Senra-san and Kuro-chan is friends... almost like family too. But Kashitaro-san... it's different."

"...I see... If that is what you think it is, then I believe you. Anyways, you should get some sleep, Amatsuki-kun." Kashitaro brushed it off as he patted his head. "You must be tired from today."

"You're not taking me seriously... are you?" Amatsuki asked softly before sitting up. "It's fine... I'll just sleep in Eve-kun's room tonight. Kashitaro-san can stay here."

"I am taking you seriously but at the moment, you are probably stressed and want to seek someone to give you comfort. It does happen but I am sorry if I am doubting you." Kashitaro apologized, sighing as he sat up as well.

"If you want to sleep in separate rooms, I will change rooms, it doesn't feel right to take your room while you sleep somewhere else. I will go to Neru."

"...Maybe I am seeking someone for comfort..." Amatsuki hugged his knees. "But I... want to at least say this before any regrets happen."

As an ex-test subject... anything could be uncertain, even after years. Anything could go awry... and Amatsuki didn't want to have that regret.

"I don't want..." To be lonely anymore. To have people around him either leave... or just get kidnapped like Mafumafu did.

Tears unconsciously falling, Amatsuki shook his head. "Do what you like."

Seeing how he hurt the brunet in this situation even more, Kashitaro felt bad as he let out a sigh and pulled the other into a hug.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt or doubt you. It's just, I have some troubles as well, seeing how Sou and Eve disappeared today, I... unconsciously don't want to accept that you like me because I wouldn't want to... hurt either of us if we would have to part." Kashitaro said, trying his best to explain without hurting the younger male.

"I made a promise to protect Sou no matter what. And if something happens to him, I will have to get him back even if that meant laying down my life or disappearing." the brunet explained, pulling away to wipe Amatsuki's tears.

Tears falling even more, Amatsuki shook his head and pulled away. "It's fine... don't worry."

Trying to smile to ease the pain... as he always tried, but it never worked.

"I understand... you would put down everything for Sou-kun and the others... I would do the same. But even... just for a while... please let me love you properly."

If he got hurt... so be it. Add a few new scars to his heart.

"It's not like I don't love you, Amatsuki-kun. On contrary, I love you a lot even though it's just a short time since we've met." Kashitaro confessed.

"But you barely know me. What if you get disappointed about me after a while? I couldn't handle you leaving me too."

"I don't think anyone can disappoint me more than myself." Amatsuki tried to laugh it off, rubbing his tears. "But I won't... As long as you promise you won't do the same either. Tell me... at least a goodbye."

"...I will chase you down if you leave me. Are you alright with that?" Kashitaro asked. "If you accept me now, even if you reject me later, I will still follow you." the fox-masked male told him as he took the younger male's hand, looking at the other.

"That's fine with me." An honest smile in the dark as he squeezed the hand. "I don't mind at all..."

It made him happy to be wanted. He wanted to be able to love Kashitaro back with that much passion.

"Alright... Then if you accept me for who I am, even every ugly side of me, I will accept every side of you no matter what." Kashitaro told him, lifting their intertwined hands as he placed a kiss on Amatsuki's. "I love you."

Cheeks dusting a bright red, though it wasn't very visible in the dark, Amatsuki smiled happily. "I love you too..."

Caressing Amatsuki's cheek for a second, the fox-masked male then ruffled the younger male's hair before pulling away. "Alright, I really think you should sleep now though. I meant it when I said that you looked tired from what happened today. Except if you have anything else on your mind."

"Kashitaro-san should to." Amatsuki argued with a soft giggle before laying back down, pulling Kashitaro's hand a little to pull him down as well.

Complying, the fox-masked male laid down as well, pulling the blankets over them before making sure the other was comfortable. "Good night, Amatsuki-kun."

"Good night Kashitaro-san..." Amatsuki hummed softly, nuzzling close to Kashitaro's chest.

Closing his eyes, the older male let himself drift into sleep, hoping that tomorrow would be a less chaotic day and that they would be able to find the others soon.

~~~~

Waking up, feeling empty was a rather... weird feeling for the normally energetic Shima to feel.

Ever since Senra had found out, Shima couldn't really bring himself to face the blonde. It was weird! He never felt like this before...

So the only thing he thought would be logical was to look for the 'love' expert of their group, Nqrse.

"So you decided to come to me for love advice? Great choice great choice. Tell me thy problems, Shima-san." Nqrse urged him as he put on some fake glasses.

Laughing at Nqrse's attempts, Shima rolled on his bed, looking at Nqrse upside down. "I really... don't know what to do now. He found out."

"That you are his childhood friend from the past?" Nqrse asked to make sure. "Isn't that a good thing? He knows you now and if he thought you were important then his opinion towards you improved as well~"

"Problem is... I don't know what he thinks." Shima dramatically sighed. "I didn't want to know... didn't want him to be upset at me."

"I mean he is already upset that you kidnapped him but he still seemed to tolerate you the most out of all of us nevertheless." the pink-haired male reminded him. "In my opinion, if he is already accepting you more or less, knowing that you are his childhood friend, gives him more reason to like you."

"Except it could go the opposite and he could hate me even more than he does and be less tolerable than Soraru-san is to you have a bad hair day." Shima sighed, shaking his head as he sat up now.

"Did you have to add that last statement about aniki being even meaner to me?!" Nqrse asked pouting. "Either way, you should go and see for yourself. Better than moping around and self destructing, Maashi."

"I dunno... self-destruction and moping sounds way better than seeing disappointment in him." Shima sighed, completely serious.

"Ma-a-shi!" the pink-haired male exclaimed. "You better go talk to him, I am not watching you self destruct!"

Whining in pain, Shima clutched his head, pouting now. "I'm not going to!"

"Do you want me to go to Senra instead right now and explain to him how my friend became a coward?" Nqrse asked though he wouldn't actually do it.

"...Some reason I don't mind that." It still sounded way better than facing Senra. "And I used to be a coward as a child, mind you."

"Ugh, Maashi stop being so stubborn! Do you never want to see Senra again?" the younger asked in disbelief.

"It's a great plan." Shima hummed, laying comfortably in Nqrse's bed.

Letting out a sigh, Nqrse stood up from his bed before taking a pillow and whacking the purple-haired male. "Stop! Being! Such! A! Coward! And! Face! Him! Or! I! Will! Drag! Him! To! You!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Whining in pain, Shima tried to shield himself before pouting at Nqrse. "Then I'll face him in another 15 years." Maybe his heart will be ready then.

"Yeah, that's it." the pink-haired male said as he left the room not after whacking the purple-haired male once more.

"Wait Naruse-chan!" Shima got up frantically, grabbing Nqrse's hand. "No!"

"What?" Nqrse asked as he looked at the purple-haired male.

"I'll... talk to him." A sigh from Shima. already counting on so many ways to escape after it goes wrong.

"Oh yes, you will. I was going to get Senra while you were in my room and lock you two up in here but if you are willing to talk to him by yourself, that saves me a lot of work." Nqrse told him with a grin.

"..." Shima sighed before nodding. "Better than doing it against my will I guess."

"There there, I will be here to comfort you if anything happens." the pink-haired male assured him.

"You better." Shima sighed as he let go, now walking to the basement. "Wish me luck."

"Luck!" the younger male called after him as he waved before watching the purple-haired male walk off.

Walking to the basement, Shima peeked in, checking to see if Senra was awake. If he wasn't, at least he had an excuse to delay!

Upon hearing the door open, the blond looked up to see the purple-haired male standing there. "Maashi? Is it time for breakfast already?" the blond asked.

Crap.

"...No... I wanted to talk to you." Shima sighed and slid in, walking to his side. "May I?"

"Huh? Sure? Is it something serious?" the younger male asked with a frown.

Not saying anything, Shima carefully tucked the blanket around Luz before lifting Senra into his arms and carried him to his room.

Letting Shima carry him, the blond looked at him confused as he decided to stay silent as well, figuring that whatever Shima needed to say, would be soon.

Placing Senra gently on the bed, Shima awkwardly stood further away, shuffling a little. "So."

How did he start conversations like this?

"So?" the blond repeated. "What happened to your almighty confidence, Maashi?" Senra asked jokingly.

Flinching a little, Shima glanced away. "...Well..."

How could he be confident when he was a nervous train wreck anyway?

"Just say it fast if it's bothering you. Like ripping off a bandage or something." Senra told him. Why did he have to help now even though he was the one confused?

"...Do you still remember our promise?" Shima asked softly, deciding to just take the long road even though he was told otherwise.

"Ahh... the one where you told me that you were going to come get me and marry me?" Senra asked, a soft smile when he remembered how a child version of Shima used to say that. It was cute. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Would you?" Shima asked softly, cheeks flushing slightly red. "It's fine if you won't. The deal was only true if you returned my feelings."

"What's with you all of a sudden, asking me this out of nowhere?" Senra asked frowning. "We are on different sides and you just kidnapped me and my friends." the blond reminded him, wanting to say more if not for seeing the purple-haired male's expression.

"But because I am a fool who fell in love with an idiot... once your game is done and you make a proper proposal then yes, I will."

At first wincing at the words, Shima blinked before his eyes widened. "Really...?"

"Yeah but only if you take me on a proper date before proposing. Not having me here tied up and then asking to marry you." Senra said with a deadpanning face.

"Of course." Shima laughed before walking forward and hugging Senra tight. "I still love you... so, so much."

Not being able to hug back, all Senra could do was lean into the hug which is what he did. "I know. I... love you too." the blond replied.

"Ah." Undoing Senra's cuffs easily, Shima pulled away with a smile before hugging Senra tightly again. "Just for a bit... you have no idea how much I've missed you."

Shaking his hands a bit, Senra felt happy that they didn't really hurt before deciding to return the hug, seeing how that was what Shima probably wanted. "Yeah... It's been a long time after all."

"After this... let's get away and start anew... will that be okay with you?" Shima asked softly, not actually wanting to force Senra into anything else.

"Sure. We can go anywhere you want to go if you need a change of scenery too." Senra agreed.

Smiling happily, Shima hugged Senra tighter before placing a gentle kiss to his cheek. "I love you so much..."

"You're getting cheesy, I get it already." the blond assured him with a blush as he held his cheek. "I love you too, ok?"

"Cheesy for you~" Shima laughed softly before pulling away with a smile. "Are you hungry? Do you want anything before I..." Send him back down.

Shima didn't want to...

"Ah..."

Noticing how the older trailed off, Senra knew as he thought about it before answering. "I am kind of thirsty. And I don't want to go down yet. How about some coffee together before you send me back?" the younger suggested.

"Mn! Just stay close to me and we can go to the kitchen!" Shima scooped the younger into his arms with a smirk.

"A-and why exactly are you carrying me again?! Can't you just untie my feet or something?" Senra asked, not really wanting to get carried if others could see him.

"Because I want to~" Shima chuckled before his smile faltered a little. "Unless you don't want me too."

Seeing how the older's mood started to go down, Senra let out a sigh before speaking up again, holding onto the purple-haired male so he wouldn't fall. "Geez, don't get sad all of a sudden. Do what you want."

"Really?" Shima seemed to perk up, smiling even more brightly. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable... that's all..."

"That's thoughtful of you thanks." the blond male said. "But I am comfortable enough so don't think too much about doing something for me, you can just act to me like you do with your friends."

"Really?" Shima's eyes sparkled in happiness before nodding as he began walking out to the kitchen.

"Yes really. No need to give me that much special treatment." Senra assured him with a small smile.

"Okay then." Shima nodded as they entered the kitchen, which was luckily empty.

Placing Senra down, Shima immediately busied himself with getting two cups of coffee ready.

Watching the purple-haired male from his seat, Senra stayed silent for a while before speaking up again. "So you do know how to make coffee. For some reason, I thought the only one who was capable to do something with food was that short friend of yours."

Pouting at Senra, Shima brought the coffee over. "I know how to make something simple like this!" And he didn't burnt kitchens like Nqrse did sometimes...

"I can see that." the blond said as he picked up his mug of coffee, taking a sip as a small smile formed on his face again. "It's nice."

"I hope it is." Shima laughed softly as he took a sip of his own. "...Thank you, Sen."

"It's nothing, no need to thank me." Senra said as he took another sip. "So if you can make simple things, does that mean you can cook simple dishes too?"

"I can at least don't burn them?" Shima smiled sheepishly. "I make edible things!"

"That sounds very unconvincing." Senra said laughing. "...Once everything is over, we can both try and practice cooking together if you want. Since I am also not that good just decent."

"Mn." Shima chuckled softly. "Amatsuki-san... the Blood Prince, he cooks right?"

"Ah yeah, he is usually the one who cooks for everyone since he is the best at it. The only times when I cook are only when he really feels sick and can't cook for that day." Senra told him.

"Ah, I see." Shima nodded. Just as he was about to ask another question, Eve and Sou stepped in, Eve's eyes widening. "Senra-san...?"

"Eve?! Sou?! Why are you here?!" Senra asked shocked, almost dropping his mug as he stood up abruptly, almost falling since his feet were still tied up before regaining his balance.

"Long story... Why are you two acting so familiar with each other though, drinking coffee together?" Sou asked confused as he looked at the two.

"Why can't we?" Shima shot back as Eve shook his head. "We never said anything like that... but Senra-san is here..."

"Y-yeah, I'm glad that you two can get along so well, we were... just surprised that you two were so close." Sou defended themselves as he shrunk back a little, not wanting to aggravate the other. "Though it makes sense if you want to spend time with him since you seemed attached to Senra-san..."

"Do you guys know each other...?" Gently pulling Sou close to comfort him, Eve asked softly.

"We... do. Though I just remembered it a while ago." Senra answered, figuring that those two wouldn't overrreact too much.

"Ah... I see." Eve nodded gently, before gently taking Sou's hand. "We'lll... leave you guys to it."

Looking at those two unsure, Sou then gave a quick bow, squeezing Eve's hand.

"You two take care then? What are you guys even doing here though?" Senra asked though he was looking at Shima, wanting an explanation.

Pulling Sou away for now, Eve left Shima to explain.

"Well... It's part of the game." SHima scratched the side of his head awkawardly. "Eve-kun has just joined our side."

"...I see. I bet you guys kidnapped Sou first to get him here." Senra said with a sigh before he continued to finish his coffee.

"Yeah... it was Urata-san's plan to." Shima continued drinking his coffeee. "But no harm will come to them as long as Eve-kun doesn's try anything.

"Well, I sure hope so."

Eve was smart so he wouldn't do anything rash, right? "Anyways, this was a nice break but I think you should bring me back soon or else the others might worry."

"Mn." Sighing softly, Shima pulled out the handcuffs. "Let's talk more when we can!"

"Yeah, let's do that." the blond agreed before putting his hands out so the older could handcuff him again.

Cuffing Senra gently, Shima then lifted Senra into his arms, hugging him close.

Not protesting this time, Senra let the older do what he wanted as he waited for him to carry him back downstairs to the others.

Placing him down, Shima sneaked a gentle kiss to Senra's forehead as he covered him with a blanket before quickly leaving, a smile on his face.

Wanting to let out a complain, the blond then remembered that he shouldn't as he was back with the others now so he merely sat there in silence as he decided to just calm down and maybe take a nap.

Waking up a little, Luz nuzzled into Senra a little, humming softly.

"Ah sorry, did I wake you up? You can keep sleeping." the blond whispered as he shifted closer so the taller could lean on him more.

"Did you go somewhere...?" Luz whispered softly, opening an eye lazily.

"Ah yes, I can tell you later if you want to but you still look sleepy so how about getting a bit more rest for now?" Senra suggested.

"Mn..." Nuzzling closer, Luz nodded gently. "Good night Senra-san..."

"Good Night, Luz." the blond male said before leaning his head against the other. "Maybe I'll get some sleep as well..." he muttered before closing his eyes, soon falling asleep as well.