I do not own, in any way, any shape, or any FORM, the original Devil Survivor 2, the animation, the Record Breaker remake/sequel, or any associated manga. All of those belong to their respective owners. Period. Also, you can find this story on my Quotev DarkHalf. Now read my first yaoi ever.
At first, it seemed like he was just trying to relax. Given all the stress with the Triangulum, it was only a matter time before someone tried to relax, though he never expected that it would be him. Shijima, or maybe... Actually, if anyone was gonna try and set a trend of trying to relax amidst all of this, Daichi Shijima was the ONLY one who came to Yamato's mind.
Hibiki just... Well, as far as everyone except for Keita, Alcor, and the Hotsuins were concerned, never seemed to NEED relaxation or rests. He was the one who could fight through waves of enemies through the mere act of summoning Byakko or Suzaku. But judging from his behavior of staying off to the side with his hoodie up during the meeting, it appeared that even the third Dragon Stream wielder needed a break now and again.
...Or so Yamato thought.
No, as soon as the meeting ended and everyone began to clear out of the command center, he was approached by the boy in a bunny hoodie and asked if he would repeat his part in the plan. Of all the people, out of their entire circle of friends, why would Hibiki fucking Kuze need Yamato to repeat his part in the plan?! He gladly and unquestioningly did so after a failed attempt at slapping Miyako for making a comment about "Big Brother losing his touch as a leader", of course but just... Why? Maybe Hibiki was just tired is what he told himself. That must have been the reason for it. Yamato had learned from Hibiki in the first world that sometimes, people who wear hoodies will put their hoods up when they're tired. That's all Yamato thought it was.
But no.
That couldn't have been further from the truth.
It wasn't just during that single strategy meeting, through. The next time the group all got together, there he sat with the hood up and its ears dangling in front of his face. This time, Alcor was kind enough to relay all of the information to Hibiki as soon as the meeting ended, so Yamato needn't bother this time, but still. Twice in row? As soon as the mission for that moment ended, Yamato approached Hibiki and implored him to get some sleep, maybe sit out the next job. The response was enough to send Yamato into the realm of curiosity, a realm he only explored when questioning civilian choices in food.
"I'm glad to know you're worrying about me in that I'm more then just a weapon, but I'm not tired in the slightest."
And that was enough for Yamato to venture into a state of mind that was normally more Fumi's territory.
"Big Brother, what exactly are you doing?"
Of course the question came. It was BOUND to come. Even after the world was rebuilt without the Akashic Record, Yamato and Hibiki still had their memories of the previous world. As such, Yamato still had memories of that fucking hoodie, but it was made from idle curiosity into full blown OBSESSION now since he had memories of this new world of Hibiki acting the same fucking way. Still never lacking in energy while everyone else was exhausted after a day of fun, but still tending to sit off to the side with the fucking hood up when either he or Ronaldo wanted to speak.
"Why does he always keep his hood up?!" He was probably seeming deranged, but he just didn't seem to care. "I just don't see him as the type!"
Miyako let out a sigh as she said, "He really isn't, brother."
Yamato froze up at this, but soaked in Miyako's words as she added, "He complains that it completely ruins his hair if he wears it every day. Though his hair is already permanently messy, so why that matters is beyond me."
He said nothing, but proceeded to reach for the open notebook on his desk, the shifting of his body attracting the attention of his beloved demon, Cerberus, and proceeded to scribble something in the margin shortly before getting the book snatched from his hand.
Despite Yamato's various complaints and shouts, Miyako began to flip through the pages of Yamato's notebook, which was three years aged, and once the pages stopped being lazy and lackluster notes from the tutors of their family, she couldn't help but giggle at what she read, noting it to be the most hilarious and most disturbed thing to have ever come from her brother. All of this, from the pen of her normally composed and emotionally lacking brother, just because he wanted to know why Hibiki wore his hood up all the time.
One could call it a Yandere-type of obsession easily, but even SHE wouldn't say it out loud and humiliate her brother THAT badly. So instead, she tossed the notebook aside, giggling as it balanced slightly on Ceberus's nose (before the dismayed demon threw it into the air and ripped it to shreds against his master's will), and turned to look Yamato in the eye.
"You know, you would have saved yourself a lot of time and energy if you just asked him directly."
"So, what's up with the private meeting? Not that I'm exactly complaining."
Of course he wasn't complaining. He had no reason to complain. This wasn't their first time alone together at the mall. They had been doing this an awful lot when Hibiki's college life and Yamato's job as JP's chief weren't getting in the way. In all honesty, these times were quite enjoyable. No Daichi or Miyako to tease them, no Saiduq to fawn over "The Shining Ones coming together to form a star", none of that when they were alone. He could just lose himself and his stress in the stress-free boy sitting across from him.
But no. He couldn't let personal feelings cloud his mind. He needed to know!
"I actually had something important I needed to ask you", he confessed as he passed Hibiki a boat of takoyaki. "It's been numbing at my mind for a long while now. Since the previous world, actually. And it's at a point where I can't take it anymore and need an answer. Only you can provide it."
Hibiki raised an eyebrow questioningly at Yamato, chewing on a ball of takoyaki as he did so. He couldn't think of very many things Yamato could want to ask him in private that the JP's chief couldn't just as easily order Fumi to answer on the job with much better results, given Fumi's infinite knowledge. Hell, even Saiduq would be able to provide a better answer for Yamato's questions, given that even an Al Saiduq reborn as a human is apparently a living encyclopedia. Unless...
Oh God.
Hibiki quickly pulled his hood and began scarfing down his takoyaki the same way Yamato did upon first discovering it in hopes that Yamato wasn't going to ask that. Though it was obviously going to make Yamato suspicious about his current behavior, so he had just dug the grave and-
"Right there! Tell me. Why do you always wear your hood?! You're not the type to wear a hood, it's never cold when you wear it outside of winter, it's never windy when you wear it, you're never tired when you wear it, and it's confusing me to no end!"
Silence.
Then laughter.
Sweet, lighthearted, and relieved laughter.
"Come here. Take your coat off and try mine on. I'll show you."
Yamato didn't question this laughter in the slightest. He was too close to his answer now. So after taking off his JP's coat and walking over to Hibiki, he slipped on the hoodie. It seemed to fit him just as well as it did Hibiki, if not, it was slightly longer in the sleeves. With a playful smile, Hibiki tossed the hood onto Yamato's head. And it was right then and there that Yamato heard it.
The sounds.
The sounds of music.
And more specifically, the sounds of Gazette, a J-Rock band that he knew even the J-Pop loving Hibiki was fond of. The sounds of the song "Invisible Wall" flooded his ears. So THIS is why Hibiki wore his hood all the time.
"The ears have hidden speakers in them", he heard Hibiki explain through the music, (the muffled voice explaining why Hibiki needed directions repeated. Yamato would have been too far away to hear clearly through music). "Whenever you saw me wearing my hood at times that seemed odd for it, I was listening to music."
Yamato listened to the song through to the end, taking a moment that, while fleeting, was how Hibiki liked to experience the world, before sliding the hood off with a smile.
"But you know", Hibiki added before Yamato could open his mouth. "I kind of regret doing it during the strategy meetings. I was listening to beautiful music, but I was becoming tone deaf to the most beautiful sound of all."
Hibiki took Yamato's expression as questioning, but instead of speaking, he decided to let his actions do the talking. Before the head of the Hotsuin family could do anything, he felt the lips of Hibiki Kuze on his own. Time slowed down to nothing in Yamato's world, memorizing everything about this moment, but in the world around him, it was only 20 seconds of lip contact. After those seconds ended and Hibiki pulled away, Yamato got an answer to his new question.
What was the most beautiful sound of all to Hibiki Kuze?
"Your voice, Yamato Hotsuin."
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