The Heir Of Despair

Among Friends (Intermission 2)

Junko's room was an absolute mess. And while she had already 'warned' him- by just briefly mentioning it just before opening the door- Byakuya was still quite disgusted by the sight he saw. The room was a chaotic disaster, as if a whirlwind had swept through it, leaving nothing in its original place. The bed was buried under a mountain of crumpled clothes- some clean, some clearly worn and forgotten. Pillows were thrown haphazardly, one nearly touching the floor. It was absolutely disgusting- the sight, not the pillow itself. The pillow seemed fairly clean, even with it being half white.

The floor itself really wasn't any better- it was barely visible beneath the clutter. Discarded shoes, mismatched socks, and random papers- most likely the few homework assignments they did get- were scattered across every inch. An empty pizza box sat in the corner, its greasy remnants still clinging to the cardboard, surrounded by a small army of empty soda cans and half-full water bottles. It was absolutely disgusting and made Byakuya want to throw up.

It was already bad enough that Junko wanted to eat and drink such disgusting things, but to not even clean them up... That was just extremely repulsive. But he supposed it would give her the despair she desired- it sure made Byakuya feel that way.

She was at least living up to one of her Ultimate titles, even if Ultimate Despair wasn't official, He thought as he took a further look around the room. Though, that truly is the only Ultimate title she was living up to...

The closet door hung ajar, its contents spilling out as if the clothes were trying to escape the chaos. Hangers hung empty, their intended garments strewn across the room or tangled on the floor. It wasn't a sight one would expect from the Ultimate Fashionista, it truly wasn't. But then again, Junko was truly something special.

Junko kicked a can as she walked towards her bed, "Whoopsie. Seems like I forgot to clean up," She said with a giggle before turning to Mukuro. "Go clean this up, Muki. Our guest here doesn't like messes," Junko continued with a glance towards Byakuya.

That was true, though Byakuya hadn't told her that. Though, he hadn't needed to- it was to be expected for someone like him. And there was always a chance he had already displayed behaviour that would prompt Junko's thoughts. Not that it mattered- they had much more important things to discuss than how big of a mess her room was.

"You can say that," Byakuya said, a displeased expression present on his face. His lips were pressed into a thin line as he frowned. "But while she does that, we can discuss our plans," He said, his tone a bit forceful. He had come here for a reason after all, and that was to discuss their plans. They had barely discussed anything at this point, though he did know that Junko already had some things planned.

Junko sat down on her bed- Byakuya reluctantly did the same- and then let out another giggle, "Always so serious, Kuya~!" She began with a big grin, but Byakuya quickly interrupted her with a scoff.

"I don't remember giving you permission to call me that," He responded a bit harshly as he crossed his arms. He wasn't exactly the type to do nicknames, especially not when he hadn't given permission to do so.

"Aww, come on. It's just a little nickname," Junko responded with a pout. It was a very playful one, like Byakuya had come used to by now.

He scoffed again, "It's more than that. It might suggest something that isn't the case," Byakuya said as he shot Junko a glare. He wanted to be sure she knew that he was serious about this.

Junko let out a laugh, "Are ya worried about that~?" She asked as she tilted her head. "There's no need to be worried, I know about your interest, or rather the lack of."

How- Byakuya hadn't even told her... yet...

Then again, it wasn't all too surprising- it was Junko after all. And if Byakuya knew one thing for sure about her, it was that she was very observant. She even noticed things at times that he hadn't- though, those occasions obviously were quite rare.

"That's... good," He responded after a while, not quite sure how to respond. It was only Junko who could leave him speechless, and it was something he far from enjoyed. But he wasn't as annoyed by it as he would've expected, something about Junko being the one that could do it made it not feel as bad.

He obviously had no romantic feelings for her- just the thought of that made him want to throw up- but she was different. She was different from everybody else, and while he had known that before already, it had become more obvious the more time he spent with her. She was... interesting. For some reason, he liked interacting with her.

She understood him. Junko just... knew what his life was like, how everything just felt so boring. And that made it... easier for him to talk to her. If anything, he almost liked talking to her. He also... didn't mind it that much that she was calling him a nickname.

"Glad you think that way, Kuya~! I mean, you're my bestest friend ever- no offense Muki," She said in an obviously fake sweet voice as she addressed her sister.

Mukuro looked up from the pile of junk that she was cleaning. "No offense taken, Junko," She responded in an emotionless voice before going back to cleaning.

Junko turned back to Byakuya, a grin present on her face. "Like I was saying, no romantic feelings involved! Just cutie-wootsie friend ones~!"

"That better be the case," Byakuya responded harshly before letting out a sigh. As he did so, his gaze softened a bit. "And I suppose that... you may continue calling me that asinine nickname if you wish."

"Oh, Kuya!" Junko said in an almost shrill voice, her whole demeanour filled with excitement as she suddenly leaned forward and hugged him, making Byakuya stiffen. "You are the best! I already know our plans are gonna go awesome!"

He pushed her away- he loathed physical contact. "We haven't even made actual plans yet, which is why we met," He responded as he rolled his eyes a bit. "You're getting ahead of yourself. We need to be precise for this to work. One mistake and everything could go wrong."

"Oh, the despair~!" Junko mumbled, letting out another giggle that bordered on being a maniacal laugh. "But, ooookay. Lemme tell you everything!"