Perfect On Paper (Nikei Yomiuri X OC)

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 32: 𝓤𝓹 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓻𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓵

Triggers: 🟡

When Aki woke up the next morning, there was a strange lack of discomfort. No headache, no eye strain from the light, no waves of nausea...For once, she slept soundly. It was almost blissful to not wake up with an awful hangover, but she wasn't sure if blissful was the right way to describe it yet. Right now it just felt...different. But, in a good way.

Ever since Nikei had rejoined everyone, Aki felt obligated to do so as well. She was attempting to reignite her good habits. She was putting on makeup again, doing her hair instead of rolling out of bed with a rat's nest. She finally felt the urge to look presentable again. She felt the urge to socialize again.

However, on her way to the dining hall, Aki spotted Iroha talking to someone in the hallway. That someone just so happened to be the man of the hour, Nikei. Despite the slow rekindling of their friendship, Aki still felt wildly anxious around the journalist. Deep down, she still had the feeling that she was getting in his way. Sure, the inkling was tiny compared to what it was a week ago, but sadly, it was still present.

So instead of butting into their conversation, Aki rid around the corner and decided to listen in to what they were talking about.

"N-Nikei...are you really sure you want to go through with all this...?" Iroha squeaked.

"Even if I didn't want to do this, which isn't the case, I can't turn back now. Why are you still begging at me? I'm not taking your damn place."

"B-But...! A-Aki...is my target...! I can't kill her...!"

"I told you. You don't have to. Lay a fucking finger on her and I'll kill you, how about that? You know, you should be thankful I didn't rat you out yesterday. That'd sure give Mikado a run for his money. You should consider joining in instead of wasting your time on his bullshit." he snickered as he left, heading to the dining hall as well.

Aki only heard bits and pieces of the conversation, unfortunately. Something about Iroha begging Nikei for something was all she really got out of it. She could've sworn she'd heard her name in there too, but their voices were too soft to interpret properly.

Once Nikei was gone, Aki stepped out and greeted Iroha by tapping her on the shoulder. The painter flinched, shrieking at the sudden touch as she whipped around to face the lyricist.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Aki apologized meekly.

"A-Aki...it's you..." she whimpered.

"Yeah, it's me. I really didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry, but, uh...What were you saying to Nikei?"

Iroha didn't answer. Instead, she made a shaky noise before breaking down into tears. Aki's eyes widened at this.

"H-Hey, hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Oh, did I scare you that badly...?"

Aki hugged the crying painter, shushing her gently. Iroha shook her head at Aki's previous question.

"What did Nikei say to you? Ugh, I know he's a little sassy, sometimes, but he shouldn't be making you cry like this. I mean, for me, it's fine, but...ugh. I'll talk to him for you, okay?"

Iroha suddenly pulled away anxiously, confusing Aki further.

"N-No, it's nothing like that! It's just that..."

She took a deep breath. "N-No, it's nothing...I'm fine now."

Aki saw a lot of herself in Iroha. Pushing away her problems, bottling things up, insisting she didn't need any help. Her behavior was way too familiar. She had to wonder what Syobai would say to her at a time like this.