killing fever | opaquii & molotov

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

the displeasure was apparent across the model’s countenance long after the awkward exchange had ended in utter disappointment. he had given ichi the opportunity to speak his mind, he had hoped for something far fetched—it was his own fault really, he could’ve just as easily admitted how he truly felt. who was to say it wouldn’t damage their friendship beyond repair? or perhaps add to the awkwardness that permeated the air if junichiro didn’t feel the same way. it didn’t matter now, he supposed. by that point he had already begun to tune everything out, remaining silent with an ill-tempered expression plastered across his gaunt features.
settling into camp and luckily finding something edible other than bugs. mitsuru now tried his utmost to sleep on the dirt floor—in more pain than he would like to admit thanks to being tied down in a closet for god knows how long. though he’d take whatever he could get, and the soft earth was far more comfortable than the cold stone floor of the confined space. though junichiro was beside him, mitsruru remained with his back turned to him. in too bad of a mood to speak, much less acknowledge him. it was better that way, he wasn’t keen on taking his frustration out on junichiro, he wanted nothing more than to stay on good terms with him—he would never take for granted the time spent with his friend, not anymore. still, he new better than to try and speak with how frustrated he felt.
he grabbed at the spot his broach was once clipped, now a bare area on his dark button down. it felt odd not having it on him. recalling how he had lost it, embarrassment was quick to overtake his mind. squeezing his eyes shut, he pleaded for sleep to overtake him. no such luck, an intense shiver ran through his body, the chill of the cold air having long since overtaken him. as the chatter died down, soon nothing but the crackle of the campfire and the sounds of the forest filled the cool night air. maybe, he should try to say something, better than lying there freezing to death. “ichi, are you still awake?” mitsuru muttered, glancing behind his shoulder to check on the other. when he confirmed he was still up he turned away once more. “about earlier… i didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that. i just-“ he hesitated, biting the inside of his lip as he searched for the right words. “i guess i’m a little confused is all, about a lot of things.” he fidgeted with the top button of his shirt he continued, another shiver running through him from the cold. “i know i overreacted, the kiss just took me off guard. which i’m sure was the intention, it was one hell of a distraction.” he grumbled begrudgingly. “i didn’t know you had it in you, if i’m being honest.”

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
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Having someone's back as your view while you lay shivering on the ground was probably not the situation Junichiro wanted to be in, but it's not like he could have chosen anything else. He was completely ridden with guilt, staring at Mitsuru's backside blankly- at least until his friend spoke up. "... yes." Junichiro replied, then quietly listen to him talk. It took him a moment to figure out what to say, before uttering, "You didn't overreact, I should have picked something less... shocking to distract you with. I didn't think it through properly and ended up hurting you, I'm sorry."

Junichiro noticed him shiver, moving to sit up on the dirt ground and take off his jacket. He said nothing as he draped half over Mitsuru, scooting close enough that his chest slightly touched Mitsuru's back so he could have the other side of it. "I guess I'm full of surprises." A smile couldn't help but grow on his face from his friend's comment on his confidence. Junichiro kept his eyes trained on the back of Mitsuru's head now, mentally counting the strands of his wavy blond hair. "We're still friends right? Like always?" His voice was so small he wasn't even sure if his question was heard, but he continued anyway, "I don't want anything to change between us, negatively."

After that he let the sound of crickets and the distant lake overtake them both, at least for a good while. Junichiro knew and was somewhat accepting of the fact that he definitely had romantic feelings for his friend, the only problem was how could he even breach the subject... say that Mitsuru did have the same feelings, what would that even mean for them both? Although now did seem to be the perfect time, it was dark so Junichiro wouldn't have to face his eyes, and everyone else was asleep. He stayed silent for just a few more minutes, feeling a lump in his throat and as if his tongue was too big for his mouth and heavy as lead. "Mitsuru... I have feelings for you." He said it quietly, fingers fidgeting with each other under the jacket. "It was kind of why I kissed you. Other than distracting you- I guess I wanted to know what it felt like. If what I was feeling was correct and real." Junichiro waited for his answer, half expecting Mitsuru to let out an 'ew' or at least shift to look at him.

When none of that happened, he furrowed his eyebrows, "Mitsuru?" It seemed that he had stayed quiet for too long, his friend was now asleep. "Damn it..." Junichiro suddenly felt hot with embarrassment, face red. He closed his eyes as he ran a hand down his face, at least it was good practice for the future... that's if he had it in him to try again.

He calmed down after a moment, choosing to scooch closer once again and timidly place an arm over Mitsuru as he let his face rest at the nape of his neck. Junichiro's excuse was that he was still cold of course. "Good night." He mumbled, closing his eyes and hoping tomorrow would be at least a bit better.

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

mitsuru listened quietly, slowly lulled by the ambiance of the night and the sound of his companion’s voice. he let out a soft chuckle. “let’s just agree we both could’ve reacted differently.” he reasoned, offering a compromise that they equally had their faults in how they handled the situation, it wasn’t right to put all the blame on ichi. after a moment or so, he felt the jacket drape over him, and the warmth of the other draw nearer. he did not dare give any indication of how he felt, though inside blossomed a feeling of affection. “nothings changed. at least not in a negative way.” he assured, slowly shutting his eyes. it was odd that junichiro’s presence seemed to calm his restlessness, he only wished he had the courage to turn to face him, pull him closer, feel his touch. instead, he settled on voicing his appreciation. “i’m glad you’re here with me, ichi.” not long after did he find himself finally dozing off, overtaken by the quiet, and the love for the man beside him. unfortunately for ichi, the artist’s admittance fell on deaf ears.
———
mitsuru woke slowly, cuddling into the warmth next to him with little thought. it occurred to him rather quickly that there shouldn’t have been anything to cuddle into, not on the dirt floor. opening his blue eyes, his suspicions were confirmed. at some point in the middle of the night he had not only turned in his sleep, but now lay with his head resting on junichiro’s shoulder, so close he could hear his heartbeat. for a moment he contemplated staying there, just a little longer. though he found himself slowly pulling away from junichiro’s embrace, hoping not to wake him with the movement. sitting up, mitsuru carefully settled ichi’s jacket back over him. examining the other man’s face a moment longer, he let out a small sigh, grateful to have him back after so long. to think, he had almost lost him. it was all so hard to process, even now he could barely take it all in. “i wish someone would look at me like that.” came a wistful voice next to him, causing him to flinch. he spun to aiko, who was watching them—for how long he hadn’t the slightest idea. “it’s weird, everyone’s saying you tried to kill him.” she commented, smiling to herself. “but i know love when i see it.” aiko continued gently. mitsuru tensed, preying ichi wasn’t awake though he dare not turn back to check. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.” he scoffed, gaze trailing to the ground. “i didn’t hurt him, but people like me don’t date people like him. we’re friends, nothing more.” he fiddled with one of the buttons on his shirt, refusing to meet her eyes. “you’re lying-“ she tried to interject. “it’s none of your business, frankly. so why don’t you just go and stick your nose somewhere else, yeah?” he retorted coldly, growing more and more defensive by the second.

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
╚═══════╝

This was probably the best sleep Junichiro had gotten in weeks. It may have been dreamless, but he'd pick a dark void over cryptic scenes and old memories of his high school years any day. Once he subconsciously felt the warmth of something near him seep away he stirred awake, groggily forcing one eye open to see Mitsuru sitting upright beside him, and Aiko looking down at them both. Something told him to keep quiet, so he closed his eye and listened to their conversation.

Oh well... that was disappointing. Junichiro held his neutral expression, but he felt pretty let down on the inside. At least now he had confirmation that there was no reason to try and confess to Mitsuru, thank god he didn't hear him last night. Once silence washed over the two, he faked a yawn, blinking his eyes open to slowly sit up. "What's going on?" Junichiro mumbled, maybe Mitsuru would try to save his own ass and cover up their conversation.

Junichiro listened to their reasonings... or excuses. He made himself meet Mitsuru's eyes and gave him a muted smile, rubbing his cheek to try and seem like he was still half asleep. Thankfully he didn't have to say much as Akari timidly wandered over to them, sharing a look with Aiko. Junichiro assumed they had most likely talked about him and Mitsuru at some point. "I'm glad you two made up, I don't like seeing friends fight..." She fidgeted with her fingers, looking pretty worried for what should have been a normal conversation- maybe she was still scared of Mitsuru? "Everyone is getting so antsy, what if Monokuma is right and... you know..." She didn't finish before quickly switching to something else. "I just hope everyone else takes you as an example, even though things are hard, friendship and kindness should be priority right?"

Akari moved one hand to hold on to Aiko's sleeve, "I've been trying to keep the mood positive but it isn't really working." Unfortunately she seemed to take it personally, as if it was her fault everyone in the group had turned distrustful and secretive.

"It's okay Akari, can't blame them for being scared." Junichiro tried to appease her, gently nudging Mitsuru's shoulder so he would agree. "At this point it might be best if everyone kept their distances, give them a break from worrying." At his comment Akari chewed on her lip, glancing at Aiko again, "Yeah you're right... can we go walk around? I'm getting hungry." The question was thrown at Aiko only, giving Junichiro a moment to lean towards Mitsuru and whisper, "We need to talk."

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

never had he felt such dread over the sound of a yawn before in his life, freezing as his crystalline eyes darted over to junichiro. his words nearly getting caught in his throat before he was able to properly respond to the question “nothing you should be concerned about, aiko’s just being a busybody.” he muttered with a dismissive wave of his hand, receiving an annoyed huff from the matchmaker.
mitsuru maintained silence throughout the majority of the conversation that followed, listening to the bakers worries with an expression that betrayed little emotion. though in his head he couldn’t help but panic over the notion that junichiro may have overheard what he had said.
feeling the nudge, he begrudgingly joined in. “what he said, things are bound to be tense right now. everyone just needs a little time to cool down.” aiko nodded along with the pairs words, offering akari a reassuring smile as she interlocked her hand with the baker’s own. “of course, a walk should do us some good! i’m sure we’ll have no trouble finding something to nibble on.” the matchmaker gave the two men a final goodbye as she guided akari off, the model watched them leave, not really acknowledging ichi until his voice broke the silence.
mitsuru’s back straightened and his shoulders tensed with the simple utterance from beside him, as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. “talk?” he echoed guiltlessly. ‘we need to talk’ never implied anything good, unfortunately it failed to narrow down just what he had done wrong this time - or so he was quick to assume the worst. knowing this, mitsuru swiveled his head slowly until his gaze settled back on junichiro. “sure uh-” he offered the other an innocent smile to compensate for his guilt, trailing off as he did so. the last thing he needed right now was to cause another rift between him and his friend just because he was too afraid to admit the truth. “-we can talk. how about we take a little walk ourselves while we’re at it?” he offered more confidently than his initial wording would’ve implied, mitsuru lifted himself to his feet, and offered a hand to junichiro to help him up. “thanks for the makeshift blanket last night, by the way.” he added, nodding to junichiro’s green jacket. “i would be lying if i didn’t say that it helped to be so close to you.” their was a flirtatious tone to his voice, desperate to cover up from what had been previously stated.

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
╚═══════╝

His eyes followed Mitsuru as he stood up, before travelling down to stare at his outstretched hand. "Sure..." Junichiro let out a sigh as he got up with his friend's help, staying in his grip perhaps a bit too long before pulling away. The sudden flirtation was jarring, it was like a bowling ball that hit Junichiro's jumbled thoughts, "You- huh?" He blinked once, then twice, quickly looking away to pick up his jacket and busy himself with dusting it off. "It's no problem I guess... It's still cold outside after all." a mumble left his lips, face colored pink.

The walk was quiet, and a bit awkward- at least to Junichiro. At first, he had planned to ask Mitsuru about what he said to Aiko, but now it felt like he wouldn't get a straight answer, or maybe it would just start a new argument. It just felt insanely frustrating, and slightly stupid- they were in a killing game, and the only thing that was on Junichiro's mind at that point was if he'd ever get a chance with Mitsuru.

Embarrassing.

So instead, it was time to actually figure out what they could do, as victims, "I think we really need to focus on our other options on how to get out of here." He made sure to talk quietly, god knows if Monokuma had set up microphones around the camp along with the cameras. "Maybe we could climb up the walls at night? Monokuma needs to sleep as well, there has to be a certain amount of time when he can't monitor us." Junichiro scanned around himself as they walked, vaguely into the direction of the research labs. "Do you think there's a chance Monokuma is inside this area?" It was something that had crossed his mind once, but he hadn't thought too hard until this point. If Monokuma was a controlled robot, the signal would only go so far...

Junichiro stopped to take a proper look at the camp. If there was some sort of secret lair, where would it be? This area felt too open, and if it was underground- they would have had noticed by this point, right? "Maybe I'm just thinking too hard." The tattoo artist sighed in defeat, "If they built something as complex as that bear, we won't be able to figure it out." It seemed like they really were stuck there, at least... until the group would start to shrink.

"There has to be a hint-" Junichiro was interrupted by a scream, making his blood run cold. His head whipped back to where the shops and the forest was, watching as the others by the camp stopped in alarm. "What was that?" He met Mitsuru's eyes in fear, before grabbing his hand to drag him to the direction of the commotion.

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

The walk was a little too quiet for Mitsuru’s liking, and a part of him worried his efforts of flirtation had fallen flat. It was all in an attempt to ease whatever this talk was about, and a part of him wondered if Junichiro had overheard his little conversation with the matchmaker. A horrifying notion, but he was a fool for being so defensive about it in the first place. It was all so tricky to dissect; even if he did proclaim feelings to his beloved friend, did it truly mean anything in a killing game? He felt particularly foolish for prioritizing his romances over the direness of their situation, but at the end of the day, Ichi meant a great deal to him. He couldn’t stand to possibly of having something break them apart again. Though most of all, he feared what might befall Junichiro if they couldn’t escape, the risk of death was always looming, and frankly, no one was trustworthy in his eyes, nor would they ever be after the stunt they pulled with him.

Mitsuru listened to Junichiro’s careful contemplations and reasonings, not sure if he should feel relief that it was focused on methods of escape rather than something as trivial as feelings. “It’s difficult to say for certain. There’s no doubt a lot of effort was put into planning this game; escape wouldn’t be easy—but not impossible—we shouldn’t think like that.” The mechanical bear was a mystery to him, and so was this place that seemed created to host a game of death. Junichiro certainly brought up some points they could utilize. The shorter man’s following words were disrupted by a blood-curdling scream that sliced through the pleasantly calm air like a cold knife. Prompting a curse in French to escape Mitsuru, he met Junchiro’s eyes with mirrored fear before he was pulled toward the terrible noise. “I don’t think I want to know, quite frankly.” Uncertainty flooded over the model as the notion of being associated with a scream was the last thing he wanted to do. “Ichi, my reputation is bad enough; I would rather not be affiliated with whatever is going on over there.” He tried to protest, freezing as a new noise accompanied the first from speakers above sounded a chipper little ring, catching the attention of the confused campers in an instant and silencing the nearby commotion. “The first body has been discovered!” Announced the shrill, cheerful tune of Monokuma over the speaker, a grave contrast to the horrified silence of those who listened in. “Took you long enough! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, a trial will begin.”

Stillness fell across the whole campsite as the intercom clicked off, leaving the group who had yet to understand the true extent of the ordeal with the terrifying reality of the situation. Confusion of who, how, and why crossed Mitsuru’s jumbled mind, shaking his head in disbelief as he processed the shrill words. That’s when his eyes landed upon the crowd, standing just beyond a clump of bushes and underbrush, the crumpled body of Akari Sato unmistakable from behind the growing panic of the gathering around her. Strange to see someone who they were chatting with not long ago so lifeless. “How is that possible?” He uttered under his breath, his eyes flitting from person to person to assess their reaction. Aiko was the first to catch his attention as she cried out hysterically at the sight of her fallen friend. Katagiri caught his gaze second; quick on the scene, she shouted a series of orders, cool, calm yet clearly disturbed by the discovery of a fallen comrade. Mitsuru finally found it in himself to shake away the shock of the moment he approached the crime scene, holding tight to Junichiro’s hand. Though before he had a chance to move any further, Renho stopped them in their tracks, an eerily calm smile across her pale lips as she eyed the pair up and down. “Oh dear me, isn’t that a sight.” The medium cooed in a disarmingly upbeat tone. “Why, I certainly hope it wasn’t your doing, blondie.” She accused in amusement, taking Mitsuru by surprise as a look of fright overtook his features, and he took a step backward. Was it more suspicious to approach the body or stay away? He wasn’t sure, but her words did their job of getting into his head. Next, her grey eyes turned to Ichi, leering at him devilishly. “Or perhaps you worked as partners in crime; it is a possibility.” She teased in thought, giving a playful tap to her chin as she nodded to their hands locked together. “Better watch yourselves, lovebirds; the spirits tell me Shin and Yui aren’t your only enemies, and with this new development, those targets on your backs are sure to grow.”