Kazz is just your average Otaku. That otaku you know that rants about how bad Diabolik Lover is.
"I mean come on?! Does she even have one brain cell in her brain?!"
"You had ONE job to kill yourself... and you failed. How can someone be alive afte...
"Anything is fine! Come on, make one up! It could be lame like Azusa's and Kazz's fort." Kazz grins, feeling like a child again.
"Azusa's and Kazz's fort then..."
"Seriously?" Kazz smiles incredulously.
"It's...not...lame...It has... both...our...name...in it." Azusa said with a matter-factly-voice, with no expression on his face.
"Mhm, alright~." Kazz felt that Azusa was somewhat cute. He finally made an opinion, Kazz noted.
"Do you want to tell a story first or me?"
"Whatever...you...want..."
Kazz sighed and also noted that there's still a long way to go.
"You go first then."
"...What...story...do...you..want...to...hear?"
"It doesn't matter, just try your best and come up with one. If you can't think of any, just retell the ones you know." Kazz instruct, feeling helpless.
"...I...don't...know," Azusa whispered.
"...It also doesn't need to be long. Just a sentence is also alright, big brother~." Kazz ruffled Azusa's hair, he feels like he's bullying the child...
"...I...don't...know.," Azusa whispered in a softer voice this time.
"...Oh well, why don't I tell big brother a story first?" After he offered going first, Kazz could feel Azusa's frustration going away immediately.
Azusa nodded and remained silent, obediently waiting for Kazz to start his story.
"...Hmm... This is the story of The Ugly Duckling." Kazz stared at Azusa and felt that this story is the most relatable for him. A pitiful child who doesn't have anywhere he belongs to...How about his Mukami brothers, you say? Too bad, even they can't make him feel that he belongs somewhere - or else, why would Azusa still turn out to be a masochist in the future?
Kazz began the tale, "Once upon a time..." Using the system's help, it wasn't difficult to retell the story. How could a person in his 20s still retell the Ugly Duckling properly? Without the system, he could only say to Azusa, "There was once an ugly duckling! He was so ugly that everyone died...The end." He gives credit to Patrick.
When Kazz came to the part where the ugly duckling left his mother since he did not want to live in a place where he felt unwanted, Azusa interrupted him.
Kazz doesn't know what to say. After carefully choosing his words, he could only say, "...But the ugly duckling is not happy..."
"...He..should...be..."
"..." There was an awkward silence before Kazz speaks up again. "Mhm... Let's continue the story...So, the ugly duckling waddled far away..." When the ugly duckling decided to leave for the second time, Azusa said that he should've stayed again. Kazz paused then continued the story, ignoring Azusa's comment. When the ugly duckling found a family of geese that accepted him, Kazz noticed that Azusa's dull eyes were slightly misty. When the hunter shot down the family of geese, Azusa was trembling.
"...He...doesn't...have...them...anymore...He...couldn't...protect...them...He...should...die...There's...no...purpose..for..him..to..live..." Azusa said in the softest voice he could muster. These words were for himself, not for Kazz to hear.
Kazz continued on with the story and ended with the ugly duckling finally finding his family where he belongs. "And they lived happily ever after, the end."
Kazz was expecting Azusa to say something, but when he looked up, Azusa was silently crying. Sheesh, so much crying for one day. Kazz pulled Azusa's arm and pulled him into his embrace. Azusa was bigger than him, so they ended up laying on the blankets with Azusa on top of him. Kazz stroke Azusa's hair to calm him down. "There~ There~ Did you enjoy my story?"
Feeling Azusa's head nod, he smiled softly. "Good."
"...Hahaha!" Kazz hugged Azusa tighter. "That's my favorite story now!"
"...Good.."
The two exchanged stories until Ruki called them down for dinner.
Author's Note:
Three things I want to say:
1) I'm back~ I don't have a beta reader, so, I would be very happy if you, readers, could offer some criticism, advice, or compliments. Thanks~!
2) Link: https://www.dltk-teach.com/fairy-tales/ugly-duckling/story.htm and The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen (1844) (The second one is much more gloomy.)
3) Be safe out there ^^ and have a nice day~!
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