You woke from your fitful sleep to find that you had passed out on top of your bed covers, still being in the same clothes as the previous day. You sighed as the soft light of dusk shining into your room hit your eyes, not feeling as harsh as it normally would; perhaps the windows were tinted? You pushed yourself from the bed and headed for the only other door in the bedroom, unsurprised to find a bathroom behind it. You freshened up quickly and headed back out, eyes wandering around the well-furnished room, in shades of blue rather than pink like your other one. You had to admit, this one was nicer. You eyed the wardrobe with curiosity, heading over on a whim and opening it to reveal there were actually clothes within it, nice clothes with designer labels, looking at some of the tags that were dangling from the items. You pulled out a stylish loose-fit jumper and held it up against yourself, finding it was your exact size. Your eyes then went to the mirror in the back of the wardrobe door, eyes widening as you took in the deep, irreparable crack splitting straight down the middle, a note addressed to you stuck at the center, written in a familiar cursive script. You tugged it off the mirror and opened it, frowning when your eyes skimmed over the words.
A token of my appreciation for your bold actions back at your house. Not a creature alive would so much as dare raise a hand to me, much less stab me through my own. I am understandably impressed; I have high expectations for you.
- K
"Fucking bastard." You snarled, crumpling it up and throwing it across the room, shoulders trembling just at the reminder of that horrible encounter. You couldn't quite believe you had actually knifed Karlheinz Sakamaki in the eyeball, but here you were with concrete proof that it happened. Still, there was no point in leaving all these clothes to go to waste so you quickly changed into the black jumper you were holding and a pair of slim cut jeans, wanting as much skin as possible covered up before you left the room.
You headed out reluctantly, thinking it probably wouldn't be good if you were so hungry you couldn't even speak; after all, your words had been your best tool so far. A weapon, a peace treaty...your quick thinking had gotten you through a lot. Hopefully it could get you through this next phase. You followed your nose to a set of double doors, eyes widening as you heard angry shouting from inside. You peeked around them to see Yuma holding a fork that was speared through what appeared to be a fried prawn high above his head, glaring at a pouting Kou. Azusa was sitting quietly to Yuma's right, watching the exchange with a timid expression.
"You can't be eatin' all the fried prawns!" He scolded, a scowl on his face. "Do you even know the meanin' of sharing?!"
"It's first come first serve!" Kou exclaimed, stretching over the table and snatching for the prawn, Yuma jerking it right out of his reach.
"Ha! Too slow. Hey, Azusa, d'you want it? You haven't eaten much." Azusa looked down at his plate with a mildly surprised expression, as if just having realised that he hadn't eaten much.
"Oh...I'll take it...if you're giving it to me..." He murmured, and Yuma gave an irate scoff.
"That's not what I asked! Do you actually want it?" He demanded, and Azusa nodded slowly.
"Yes...thank you." Yuma deposited the prawn on Azusa's plate just as Ruki walked in with another two plates full of prawn.
"What have I told you all? No fighting at the table." He reprimanded, placing them down on the table. You practically saw Kou light up as he reached for the plate.
"You should've told us there were more!" He said excitedly, Yuma immediately telling him off and encouraging Azusa to get some before they were all eaten. You couldn't help but smile at seeing them like this, so open and...happy? It was certainly unexpected - you had suspected the anime's portrayal (as well as being watered down) was casting them in too soft a light, as if purposefully showing the opposite relationship to the Sakamakis to make them seem more human, but it looked like they were every bit as affectionate with each other in person.
