common enemy [Ryuji Sakamoto x Reader]

chapter two: morning

Your eyes shot open at the sound of your name. A thin layer of sweat coated your forehead, and you were panting as if you'd run a marathon.

You lazily sat up, shaking your thoughts from your head in order to steady your breathing.

So... that was a dream, you thought as your eyes darted around, analyzing your surroundings.

Boxes were haphazardly strewn across the room. You had been laying on the floor, wrapped in your comforter, an empty box next to you. You silently cursed at yourself. You must have fallen asleep immediately after trying to unpack your sheets.

This sudden realization reminded you that you were avoiding the elephant in the room. No amount of thinking would distract you from the nightmare you had escaped from. You shuddered at the thought, the false images of your parents burned into your mind.

"(F/n), are you even listening to me?" You heard from the doorway. You looked towards the voice, suddenly registering that your older sister, Emi, had been trying to talk to you.

"Uh... yeah," you responded, finally having taken in the situation. Emi walked to your window, pushing the curtains to the side. Sunlight streamed through, illuminating the empty space. You rubbed your eyes as they adjusted from the previous darkness.

"Well...? If you don't start getting ready now, you're going to be late," she sighed. You snuck a glance at your alarm clock from where it sat next to the room's only outlet. The time displayed on the clock shot energy into your system as you jumped up and started digging through your boxes for your uniform. Emi giggled and left you to your own devices.

"Damn it!" You cursed as you prepared for school. To be more exact, your first day of school as a new student at Shujin Academy.

You and your sister had just moved to Yongen Jaya in order to escape from the shadow that seemed to follow your family. In the process, you had switched to Shujin. Although its current reputation was less than perfect, it was still a good school, and that's all that mattered to you in the end. However, due to the rushed decision to move, you were joining towards the end of the school year.

You weren't the type to worry. This was something you were sure you knew about yourself. However, all you could think about was first impressions.

What if everyone hates me? Does my hair look okay? I hope my classmates are nice... These thoughts swirled around in your head as you ate a quick breakfast and rushed to get ready.

After dressing yourself in Shujin's bland uniform, you waved goodbye to your sister. You quickly slipped out the door, hoping that, maybe, the train would wait for you.

And that damn nightmare was still lurking in the back of your mind.

•••

You let out a deep sigh, holding your bag to your chest as you squeezed to fit into the crowded train car.

You had been lucky; the trains were running late due to a mental shutdown that had happened earlier in the day, so you just managed to catch it. As unfortunate as the incident was, you couldn't help but be silently glad.

"The Phantom Thieves have recently released a third calling card!" The conversation on the train's news broadcast instantly darkened your expression. "The cards were posted all over Shibuya, addressed to a 'Junya Kaneshiro'. Everyone's on the edge of their seats, waiting for what comes next!"

The Phantom Thieves; a mysterious group of heroes who made villains confess to their own crimes. They had recently boosted in popularity, capturing the attention of kids across the world.

And you, (F/n)(L/n), hated them.

Alongside the mysterious deeds of the Phantom Thieves were the recent cases of mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. You were no fool. The appearance of these 'heroes' at the same time was just too coincidental.

The nightmares of your parents' mental shutdowns constantly haunted you and Emi, and you were absolutely sure that the Phantom Thieves were responsible for their deaths.

To distract yourself from thinking of the nightmare, you turned your head to look at who you were pressed next to. An average-looking boy with black hair and glasses looked at his phone as a cat poked its head out of his bag.

Weird, you thought to yourself. Staring questioningly at the cat, you noticed the boy was also wearing a Shujin uniform. Maybe I can make friends with this kid? Let's go for it, you thought as you took a deep breath.

"You go to Shujin too?" You asked. The boy didn't respond for a few seconds, but looked your way when he noticed your gaze. He looked surprised that you were talking to him.

"I do," he responded as the cat ducked back into his bag. "Do you not know who I am?"

"No, I'm starting my first day today. I'm new." You wondered why he was so surprised.

"New, huh," he repeated, "No wonder you haven't heard of me."

You gave him a confused expression, but he just waved it off.

"If you're new I can help you out when we get to the school. Do you know what class you're in?"