A/N: Well everyone, it's finally time for me to introduce my next, big project: An Aoi AsahinaXToko Fukawa shipping fic, or FukaHina as I call it. This fic will be about taking the tangled mess of feelings between these two girls and seeing the romance that blooms from there. Are you all ready to take this ride with me? Because if you are- it's time for femslash!
Like a bad romance novel: Prologue
Kyoko Kirigiri sat down at her work desk in the Future Foundation, trying to think of the best way to write the report that she needed to send off to her superior. There was a very good chance that they would all in end up in some measure of trouble because of everything that happened. Not the least which being what Makoto was currently in the middle of doing right under their noses. Rationally speaking, everything Kyoko had done recently flew in the face of logic.
On the other hand, Makoto is good at getting people to see his point of view, Kyoko thought to herself, smirking. And I do agree with him that the way things worked out was ultimately for the best.
So then, why leave anything out of the report? If the end result was going to be the same regardless, then Kyoko was going to give the Future Foundation all the information they wanted. Kyoko was a firm believer in the power of the truth. And the truth of this past incident was far, far stranger than any fiction.
Once Kyoko loaded her typewriter with paper, she settled her fingers in the appropriate positions to start typing. The clicking sound of the keys would help her keep focus during the more ludicrous parts of this explanation. If she remembered correctly, this all started when she, Makoto, and Aoi were sent to Towa city, to ascertain the situation after what happened with the Warriors of Hope…
"You gotta help me, Kyoko!"
Kyoko looked up from the set of reports that she was currently reading. It had been a month since the Future Foundation lost contact with Byakuya Togami and Toko Fukawa. As mutual survivors of the Killing Game, Kyoko, Makoto, and Aoi were all sent to Towa city to find them and bring them back. After setting up a base of operations in a safe hotel, Kyoko decided to send Makoto to find his sister Komaru, who was also missing, and Aoi to find Toko and Byakuya. It seemed this had not panned out, judging by Aoi's expression.
"I take it that the mission was a failure?" Kyoko asked.
"Not exactly. We found Toko and Komaru, but not Byakuya," Aoi explained.
"If you're having trouble finding Togami, why don't ask Fukawa for his whereabouts?" Even as she finished asking the question, however, Kyoko found she already had knew the answer. Toko would never do anything that she would perceive as harmful to Byakuya.
"Nevermind Byakuya! I need your help talking with Toko!" Aoi exclaimed.
"I am afraid I do not understand what you are asking of me, Asahina," Kyoko said. "Could you clarify what you're talking about?"
Aoi crossed her arms, deep in thought. Well, at least as deep in thought as she could manage. "Well, ever since we've met, I've been trying to become friends with Toko."
It said everything about what they'd all been through that Kyoko couldn't tell if Aoi was talking about before or after the Tragedy. Regardless, it seemed as if another of Aoi's attempts to befriend to writer had failed.
"I still do not understand what I have to do with this," Kyoko said, hoping Aoi would get to the point soon. They did not have the time for petty disputes.
"I want to be friends with Toko, I really do! But she just makes me so mad!" Aoi exclaimed. "Just when I think I'm getting somewhere with her, she just starts insulting me! And I'm tired of going in circles like this with her. So I need you to use your detective skills to find out why she doesn't like me."
Kyoko didn't know why she expected anything else. As a Kirigiri, it was not uncommon for the public to try and get them to solve their personal problems. However, Kyoko was not generally interested in dealing with these kinds of affairs. "First and foremost, that is not how being a detective works," Kyoko said, unamused. "Secondly, we have far more pressing matters at hand. I would like you to focus on those, Asahina."
If anything, this seemed to make Aoi angrier, as the girl puffed her cheeks out in indignation. "Yeah, well, we can't go back to the Future Foundation until we find Byakuya, right? Well, according to Makoto he can't get his sister to say a word about him. So unless one of us can get Toko to talk, we're not going anywhere!"
Kyoko's eyes widened in shock. Despite Aoi's deductive skills being… comparatively average, she was completely right about their current situation. They could not afford to return empty handed on their first official assignment. It seemed like there was no choice but to intervene personally.
"Fine. Lead me to where Fukawa and Naegi are staying, and I will see what I can do to make it easier to talk to Fukawa," Kyoko said.
And just like that, Aoi was all smiles. "I knew I could count on you, Kyoko!"
Kyoko had a feeling today was going to be a very long day.
As it turned out, Toko and Komaru were holed up in an abandoned apartment in a different building to the one where Kyoko was staying in with Makoto and Aoi. When Kyoko entered the apartment, she could hear the sound of Makoto talking with his sister in another room. From what Kyoko could hear, they were discussing Komaru's involvement in the Towa city incident, and Aoi was helping him, albeit with limited success.
Toko didn't look too happy to see Kyoko- but then Toko almost never looked happy to see anyone. This would not deter Kyoko from what she needed to do. So Kyoko cornered Toko in another room in the apartment, slowly putting herself into interrogation mode.
"If this is about where Byakuya is, forget it!" Toko shouted, glaring at the detective. "I'd sooner die than breathe a word about it!"
Just from that initial reaction, it seemed that Toko was her usual self. This was a good thing- it meant that the responses would likewise be the author's true feelings. Now, where would be the best place to start?
"Actually, I did not want to talk to you about Togami," Kyoko said, deciding to be direct. "I'd like to speak with you about Asahina."
For a split second, Kyoko could have sworn she saw pain in Toko's expression. It was gone in the next second, however, and Kyoko was unsure if it was truly there at all. After making a mental note of that, the detective awaited for Toko's response.
"I don't think I've ever met anyone as thickheaded as her in my entire life," Toko said, biting her thumb in frustration. "Like, geez, learn when to take a hint."
"You know, Aoi is truly interested in becoming your friend. She just isn't sure about how to approach you." Kyoko said, carefully observing the reaction this statement would garner.
"Why does she keep wasting her time on me? She should just leave me alone, like everyone else does!" Toko shouted. Kyoko couldn't help but find that statement interesting, given that Toko was currently living here with Komaru. Perhaps even though they were such close friends, Toko still feared being betrayed.
Kyko took out a notebook and jotted down her observations in it, to refer to later. In her personal opinion, perhaps Aoi really shouldn't bother trying to befriend Toko- the detective could see no opening in the author's walls. However, Kyoko's personal opinion did not matter right now, so instead she considered what to do next.
"If you recognize that Asahina is thickheaded, then surely you must recognize that she will not stop trying to befriend you," Kyoko finally said. "I am here to ascertain what you think of her, Fukawa. Then I will decide what will work out best from there."
"What I think of Aoi? What I think of her is…" That was when something completely unexpected happened- a pink blush lit up on Toko's cheeks and an unsettling smile spread on her face.
"She's an idiot. She's way too loud. And she's so thickheaded," Toko said, her words belied by the way she was poking her fingers together. "Always so distracting with that clueless grin of hers. Or with those large, large mounds."
Well then. This was the last thing Kyoko could have expected, and in fact she was beginning to regret doing this in the first place. It was too late to back out at this point, so Kyoko decided to interview someone else to draw the complete conclusion. "Fukawa, could I speak with Genocider Jill?"
"And Aoi uses her thick legs to- huh, what could you want to talk to her for?" Toko asked, thankfully cutting off whatever it was she was talking about.
"Do not concern yourself with that too much. Think of it as being excused from this interview," Kyoko said.
The moment that Kyoko said this Toko took out what appeared to be a stun gun and immediately shocked herself with it, slumping unconscious on the ground. In the next instant Genocider Jill shot up, laughing her distinct, crazed laughter.
"Hey there, Kyo-nut! Long time no see!" Genocider Jill said, waving her hand cheerfully.
It took a bit for Kyoko to untangle the nickname the serial killer had given her, and once she did the detective could feel a headache forming. This interview could not finish fast enough. "Hello. I was speaking with Toko regarding Asahina. Now I wish to hear your opinion of her."
This entire time, Kyoko took notes regarding Toko's answers and what they could mean. Now, Kyoko quickly wrote down everything she knew about the serial killer
"You mean Milk Jugs? I have a more than a few choice words for her," Genocider Jill said, taking out a couple of her scissors.
"Oh? Could you perhaps elaborate on what exactly you mean?" Kyoko asked, pen poised over her notebook. Jill's response here would be critical to what Kyoko would do from here on forth.
"Where do I start! Everything about her just pisses me off!" Jill shouted, brandishing her scissors. "Oh, having to look at her makes me want to start carving her right up. Don't you think that would make her look so much better? Ah ha ha ha ha!"
Kyoko almost dropped her pen. After accepting this request from Aoi this morning, the detective deduced various ways this encounter could play out. Not a single one of her deductions had come anywhere close to what the interview had actually revealed.
"Well, is that all you wanted to know? I've got better things to do than just stand here and talk with you, Kyo-nut," Jill said. "Like making sure this shithole doesn't get any worse!"
"You are dismissed, Genocider Jill," Kyoko said, still feeling distinctly dazed. It seemed like at the same time, Makoto and Aoi's interview with Komaru was wrapping up, as Komaru was exiting the room she was in, with Makoto and Aoi following behind her.
Kyoko looked down at her notebook, as if she could will the words within to become different if she stared at them hard enough.
Back in the hotel, Aoi immediately took Kyoko aside. "So what did you learn about Toko? And what were you talking with Genocider Jill about?" Aoi asked, a look of anticipation on her face.
Despite how… unusual this day ended up being, Kyoko was a Kirigiri. She'd been "hired" to uncover a truth, and now she was going to give that truth to her "client". If it made their job of finding Byakuya Togami easier, then even better.
"I interviewed both Fukawa and Genocider Jill to arrive at a full picture of their feelings towards you. And I am here to report that they both feel similarly towards you," Kyoko explained.
"Really? And what do you mean by that?" Aoi asked curiously.
"After listening to both their testimonies about you and comparing it to what I know about Toko and Genocider Jill, the most likely conclusion is that…" Kyoko found herself actually hesitating, and mentally pushed herself to finish her task. "They harbor an intensely repressed attraction towards you."
For a few minutes there was silence as Aoi processed Kyoko's words. Then she blushed a bright red. "You're joking, right?"
"I do not joke when it comes to these matters," Kyoko said simply.
Aoi blush grew worse. "So then- Toko seriously- she really feels that way about me?" Aoi sat down in a chair. "I don't know what to think about that."
"Do with that information what you will. My duty comes to an end here," Kyoko said. "If I am not mistaken, tomorrow Toko will patrol Towa city with Komaru. You may attempt to join them, if you wish."
"You know what? I think I will!" Aoi exclaimed, already bouncing back from her shock. "At least I know she doesn't hate me! That's a start!"
Before Kyoko could say anything to this, Aoi dashed right out of the room. The detective could only shake her head. Well, at least now she could wash her hands of this entire affair. From tomorrow on, she could focus on the more important task at hand.
A/N: And so begins a journey that will plunge into despair, and will see Toko and Aoi deal with a harrowing situation they find themselves in. Next chapter will be from Aoi's perspective, then we will see Toko's, and so on- anyone that reads TSOMS will be familiar with this style. Remember that I can always be found on my Tumblr Snowthefirst. Until then, this has been Orion Fowl, and thank you for visiting my Corner of Romance!