Papercut | Akutagawa Ryūnosuke; AR [✔]

10 → Feelings?

I knelt down her level, caressing her face and plastering a smug look on my face. Drawing my face closer to hers earned reactions not just from her, but also the Akutagawa siblings.

"What the heck are you doing, Ira?" Akutagawa yelled.

"Has Akutagawa told you I am more in to women?" I teased the dumbfounded Higuchi, feeling her nervousness from my hand on her chin. "So why bother to eliminate me when you're competing with me -- I am not even straight like you."

Having no weapons left for her to get, she simply gave me a punch in the face, knocking me off to her side. Akutagawa responded almost immediately, summoning one of his varieties of Rashoumon.

I slowly got back on my feet, coughing out a little blood from the punch. I continued to be loquacious in order to trigger her even more, so that she'd waste more energy in being carried away with her emotions; rather than using her remaining energy to fight back.

"I may not be straight," I went on, sending an enhancement ability towards Akutagawa to keep Higuchi stuck in her senpai's grasp. "But my intentions are straightforward. I don't plan on being anything more than being his servant."

Having the enhancement on my master allowed him to unleash his Early Blooming Sakura more quickly than he normally would. Most of his abilities take time to be active, but with the help of my utility mode, Higuchi was taken down and out.

Gin went to catch her again, ensuring that she is unconscious or unable to move. Moments later, several teachers came to the scene of the crime. Dazai, Kunikida, and Ranpo came out from a car all at one, running to our direction as fast as they could.

"Aww, it's over!" Ranpo whined. "I knew we shouldn't have let Kunikida drive!"

"Out on a Saturday dinner, huh," Dazai put his hands together with a joyful expression. "Too bad somebody had to ruin it. Ain't that dandy, Ira?"

Kunikida stashed out a pair of handcuffs, locking them into the unconscious Higuchi's wrist. Fukuzawa and Mori, the two presidents of the school came to follow up a few minutes after the teachers' arrival. Higuchi was put inside the presidents' car, probably for interrogation or punishment.

Dazai and Ranpo approached my bloody self. I couldn't keep my composure due to too much energy drain, but at least I could stand up for a few more minutes. Tapping me on the shoulders, the flow of my ability calmed down thanks to Dazai, although that halted my wounds from healing itself.

"Stop pushing yourself to heal on your own, Ira," Dazai said, giving me a light pat on the head. "You are not Yosano."

"I know, I know," I smiled. "I am a try-hard, after all. It was worth a try."

"You made no difference with the blondie if you say it like that, then~" Ranpo added, walking towards Akutagawa afterwards. "If you don't mind, mister master!! We will be taking Mitsuya to the doctor first!"

Akutagawa did not show any signs of agitation, but went to say out "I want you back alive, creep."

I gave a feeble nod, waving a small goodbye at the siblings. My master did not react, but Gin gave out a bow and a small smile. Oh my God my heart, please send help.

Ranpo got in the car along with me, now just waiting for Dazai. He was staring at Akutagawa with quite the strange aura, making the man in black uncomfortable.

"W-What do you want?" Akutagawa coughed, looking away.

Dazai said nothing at first, until two-worded sentence escaped his thin lips.

"Thank you."

--

I haven't been to Yosano's clinic for about a week now; the last one was when I was dragged in to the forest as a hostage of Higuchi's plan. I kind of missed the black, empty room filled with nothing but the thin foam beneath me and an oak table right next to the metal wheeled bed.

Painfully chained down on the bed, I waited for Yosano to do her thing. She was not yet around, since she said she needed new 'dissecting' materials. While waiting for her, I went to rest my eyes even though my current position was really uncomfortable.

As soon as I closed my eyes, a visual image of Akutagawa appeared in my mind. The view was as similar of what had happened at the training room yesterday afternoon.

"Just do me a favor and never wander off, ever."

What does he mean by that? During my first few days as his servant about three to four years ago, he would always tell me to get out of his sight. I was a huge failure way back then, and I think until now I still am.

But now he is asking me to never leave?

I am still overthinking about the whole Higuchi thing. Those words that I've said only came from the book that I have been borrowing from Kyouka, but deep inside me, it quite pains me to think that even I can't get the attention of my senpai.

It was understandable, though. Having to get a chance to actually talk to her with only about twenty-four inches of gap made me realize all of those things that I said to Higuchi a while back. It is that no matter how I try to make efforts for anyone, sometimes they just don't return the same level of intimacy towards me.

I guess only staying friends with Gin -- and enduring his brother's orders -- is the closest that I can get for me to be in touch with her.

"Creep. I don't want to be in a relationship." Akutagawa's voice rang in my head again. Remembering those words saddened me a bit; I am not even entirely sure why.

Paranoia came to hit me like a truck, thinking of things like "Would he even care if my contract is finally over?" Probably not. He is strong and is very capable on his own.

"Would I be able to graduate along with him?" Most likely not. Over the years, I have seen him improve, but not me. I will surely stay in school for another year.

And last, but not the least... would he even care if I die?