i couldn't help but fall for you || Takuto Maruki x Reader

ideal & the real

Your body, for better or worse, no longer moved as you wished it to. You laid lifeless on a cold surface, and your eyes were shut so tightly they might as well be glued together. Ever so slightly, a single finger would twitch, aching to touch, to feel something—anything—beyond the ever-expansive nothingness you seemed to occupy.

You couldn't move, but you could still think. You still heard your voice, weak and shaky, within your head. You could see visions of your family, and of your friends. You knew what had transpired before you'd entered this void. So, this was the afterlife—or perhaps you were still falling. And maybe you would fall for all of eternity, shackled within the inaccessible remnants of the Metaverse. You couldn't feel anything, though, so falling forever maybe wouldn't be so bad—it would have been Takuto in your place right now, you remind yourself.

You wondered what befell of Ren and the rest of the team. You wondered what exactly a transition back to the original reality would look like. You even wondered how the Aoyama convenience store would fare without you, the job you hated, of all things. You hoped for the best, of course—after fighting this hard, you'd be real pissed if nothing you wished for came to fruition. Maybe Rumi and Takuto could rekindle what they had, too, and Takuto could find a different and equally meaningful purpose to his life. You weren't there to complicate things for anyone anymore, after all.

You'd once believed thinking of Takuto and Rumi getting back together would irreparably break your heart, so you never allowed the idea to cross your mind: You were wrong. Right now, you feel nothing. Not sadness, nor happiness, nor contentment, nor disappointment. Nothing.

After some time—God knows how long—the seal on your eyes gradually weakened, until you were finally able to flutter them open. The light that poured in blinded you at first.

But then your vision adjusted, and all you saw was nothing.

You also saw everything. It was so chaotic—simultaneously a white void, and millions of shades and hues and tones of colors at once. Both motionlessness and the rapid-fire whizzing of familiar objects around you. Both silence and deafeningly loud barrages of sounds.

Your eyes shifted down toward your feet, as you were still unable to move your head. Even beneath you, there was nothing. You were floating, and your body felt lighter than air.

From the distance, a figure approached you, a stunningly ethereal being. She wore luxurious golden, shimmering, and translucent robes, and her long wavy brown hair was adorned with bright green vines and leaves. Her face and body were full and curved softly, while her eyes were sharp, almost piercing. This woman had a certain familiarity to her—almost like Circe, but younger, more chaotic, yet still wise beyond her years.

She reached her hand out to you, and her skin glowed, like glitter.

"I know what you're thinking." The woman first uttered, "No, this is not the afterlife."

Your throat was heavy. You wanted to reply, but your muscles were frozen in place.

She tilted her head, almost saddened by your lack of response. "Is something the matter? You look like you have something you want to say."

I would say it if I could, dammit!

Immediately, her expression shifted, as if the pieces connected in her mind and she completely understood what was going on...somehow. "Ah, so you can't speak? I'm guessing you can't move either, since you haven't even so much as blinked... It must be because this plane of existence is so overwhelming for you, (Y/N)!"

So, she knows your name and she can read your thoughts. How eerie.

The woman cackled. "You don't recognize me, do you? I'm so hurt. You wound me so." She grinned, a strange light collecting in her hand before she placed it onto your chest. "I am Circe. This is my true form."