Kill la Kill [AU]
Ryumako/Mankatoi (Ryuuko Matoi x Mako Mankanshoku)
Food Makes the World Go Round
Chapter 4
A cheesy high school AU where Ryuuko and her gang vow to take down Satsuki Kiryuuin of the student council, who is the leader of a gang herself. Yet on the first day of her second year, Ryuuko meets Mako Mankanshoku, and life ends up taking a completely different path than Ryuuko planned
'Shit.'
Ryuuko didn't really have a choice in the matter of spending the night in the same bed as Mako. Mako made it irrefutable, but she did make some good points. This way, Ryuuko could keep an eye on her, and Mako could keep an eye on Ryuuko, even if Ryuuko thought that wasn't necessary.
"Ryuuko-chan, why are you facing the wall?" Mako murmured as she climbed into her bed next to Ryuuko, facing the other girl and poking her in the back. "We can't have deep, soul searching conversations if you're talking to a blank wall." Ryuuko didn't want to face Mako like this. 'What if I say something weird and gross while we're talking? What if after that, she thinks 'Ew, why did I ever let Ryuuko into my bed?' I mean she wants to be friends now and I guess I kinda wanna be her friend too but what if she finds out and wants nothing to do with me?'
"Jus' tired is all," she whispered, trying to convince Mako that it was seriously time for bed.
"Gosh, no fun allowed, Ryuuko!" Mako huffed a little and settled for turning over to face the opposite direction.
'I've been going out of my way to make sure I didn't have a chick for a roomie for a few years, and now look where I am now. Shit.' Ryuuko thought as she glared at the white wall in front of her. Right behind her, in the small twin sized bed that could have been considered cozy if it was not for the situation was Mako, breathing gently and making the act of falling asleep look like an art.
'I guess this isn't so bad. I mean…I can't see her or anything, which I guess was the point in the first place to glue myself to the wall,' Ryuuko mused, 'Besides, I can't say anything dumb if she's asleep, and it's not like I'm gonna check her out or anything. No, that'd be gross, we're just kinda friends. Yeah, I think I'm doing pretty good right now.'
Ryuuko looked over her shoulder to take a glance at Mako, wondering if she actually managed to fall asleep that quickly. Mako was quietly sleeping, her back turned to Ryuuko. 'Makes sense. She did have a rough day today taking care of me and my injuries, and also getting punched in the arm. Getting punched in the arm?' Ryuuko silently gasped as she was reminded once again that Mako also received her share of unnecessary injuries during the day.
'Crap, she wasn't supposed to get involved in any of this shit. Why did I let her hang around with us? I shouldn't have let myself get distracted. She should've been gone the second we saw her hanging around our group. I knew Satsuki's gang was a bitch, but really? Mako shouldn't have gotten hurt. What if the bruises hurt a lot and she's just sucking it up because I got my ass kicked by a vase to the head? Shit, I really hope she's not,' Ryuuko thought as she frowned at one of the happy looking rabbits on Mako's bed sheets, the guilt settling in.
Ryuuko slowly turned around, being careful not to wake Mako as she propped herself up on one elbow and leaned over Mako and grabbed the arm closest to her to inspect the bruises. It was dark, but she could see that the bruises had already darkened. They would probably bother Mako for the rest of the week, and that only added to Ryuuko's growing sense of guilt.
"I thought you were tired, sleepyhead?" Mako's voice suddenly broke the silence and Ryuuko froze. 'Fuck!'
"I, uh, am, it's just, y'know, it's prob'ly cause I got some shut eye earlier." Ryuuko tried not to sound like a deer caught in headlights. It's not even like she was doing anything wrong, she was just checking up on Mako.
The other girl was lightly giggling, turning slightly so she could look at Ryuuko with a drowsy smile. "That doesn't count as sleep at all, Ryuuko-chan."
"I s'pose not. But Mako, 'ere's some real talk: I'm sorry about your arm and everythin' else that happened today. I should've paid more attention to you. You got hurt 'cause of me."
"Oh, Ryuuko-chan, you don't have to worry about that. I'm tougher than I look! Really!" Mako tried to make her point by making a 'tough' looking expression, and flexing one of her bruised arms. This made Ryuuko crack a smile. "I should really be worrying about you more because you get into these dangerous fights! That's why you need me as your roomie and doctor."
"You don't have to though. You're only getting yourself into trouble, Mako. You're not safe with me."
"But I want to though, because I'm your friend. Besides, you know how to fight and I think right now, being around you might be the safest place."
Ryuuko didn't know what to say to that. She was staring at Mako for a little just to process it. She was getting that weird feeling in her chest, something akin to butterflies, and she was silently screaming at herself that this wasn't the time for that. Instead, Ryuuko gave Mako a small smile and reached an arm over to ruffle her hair up a bit.
"Thanks, Mako, it actually means a lot."
"It's no problem, Ryuuko-chan. But by the way, were you having a nightmare or something? You were making some weird grunt-y noises at the wall, and I was awake the whole time and worrying about you!"
Ryuuko immediately turned around and pulled the blanket up to her face. She must've been making actual noises when she was beating herself up about being an idiot.
"G'night!"
"But Ryuuko-chan!" Mako protested.
"Night!"
The next morning, Ryuuko and Mako went to class, which was over pretty soon considering that Mako had fallen asleep and Ryuuko wasn't paying any attention. When the bell rang, Ryuuko looked at Mako, who looked slightly uncomfortable resting her head on the desk, rather than on her bruised up arms. She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly trying to figure out the best way to wake her up. 'Do I just tell her t' wake up or do I gotta shake her or somethin'?' After a minute of contemplating, Ryuuko gently nudged Mako.
"Oy, wake up," Mako opened her eyes, raised her head and began to look around, "It's lunch time and the guys are waitin'. We should go so they don't, uh, assume somethin's up." 'Don't want them teasin' me 'specially since they'll get a kick outta us being roommates now.' Mako nodded and got out of her chair and rummaged through her bag for two bentos. She handed the red bento box from before to Ryuuko.
"Here ya go, Ryuuko-chan!" she said. Ryuuko raised an eyebrow.
"When did'ya make this?"
"This morning, duh! Before you woke up!" Ryuuko frowned and the two began walking to the meeting spot.
"You don't have to make me lunch ya know." She cautioned, not wanting to seem ungrateful for what Mako had done.
"Eeeeh? But we're roomies! Besides I told you, food makes the world go round! If you eat lunch, you'll be in better spirits and have more energy for the rest of the day!" Mako punched the air and Ryuuko gave her a small smile and put her hands in her pockets.
"Can't exactly argue with that." When they reached the meeting grounds, the gang members who were gathered turned their heads and grinned. One member stepped ahead of the rest and crossed his arms.
"What took ya two so long? You've been late to lunch a lot more often." Ryuuko glared and waved him off.
"Class is just far away. 'Sides that don't matter. We got important things to talk about," The members raised their eyebrows and Mako tilted her head, confused. "Princess got some of her knights to try cornerin' Mako ov'r there," All eyes shifted to Mako, who flinched in response to the concerned and angered stares, "They tried hurtin' her but luckily I was there. Long story short: A vase broke an' it was blamed on her. Now she's got detention. I need one of you guys to get detention for a week before today ends so you can watch ov'r her."
"Ryuuko-chan! I don't think anything bad's gonna happen in detention you don't have to wor—" Mako protested, but was quickly interrupted by Ryuuko, who gave her a stern look:
"Listen. Gamagoori is a part of Satsuki's gang, and he's also gonna be there to watch over you during detention. She sent people to try and get information outta you once and they failed. I wouldn't put it past her to try it again and I don't wanna bargain you gettin' hurt again. Ya understand?" Mako nodded.
"So boss. If ya want someone to watch over, uh, Mako, right?"
"Yup!"
"Good," The gang member smiled, "Anyways if ya need someone to watch over her I could do it. I got a really strict teach next class so I bet if I came to class late and maybe made a scene, she'd give me a weeks worth of detention." Ryuuko eyed the gang member up and down. 'This was the one who said he thought Mako was kinda cute, right? I dunno if I'd want him watchin' ov'r her but I don't think I got a choice.' As she evaluated the gang member, all eyes were on her. 'Though it's not like I'd really fully trust anyone here to watch ov'r her 'cept myself, but I gotta run practice. Fuck. I guess it's gotta be him then.'
"Fine." Her fellow delinquent fist pumped the air and swung his arm around Mako's neck, giving her a noogie.
"Don't worry, I'll get detention and protect ya from that bad Kiryuuin." Mako laughed, and squirmed a bit to make sure nothing hit her arms by accident. Ryuuko took notice and walked up to him, pushing him away.
"Oy! Be careful. Just introduce yourself to her and leave it at that." He rolled his eyes but did as she said. He reached out his hand, which Mako took and shook.
"Name's Takeshi. Nice t' meet ya."
"Great meeting you too!" Mako smiled. 'She's not even at her first day of detention and I can already tell I'm gonna be worried sick.'
"Right. Now that that's ov'r with let's get to business." Ryuuko walked over and sat on a wall. Mako walked over and sat next to her and began eating her lunch. Ryuuko went over the game plan for the upcoming week, and ate her own lunch in between her speeches. The weather was pleasant and everyone seemed to be a bit livelier. 'Can't be any reason in particular.' Even though that's what Ryuuko thought, her eyes drifted to Mako, who caught Ryuuko looking at her. She gave Ryuuko a smile then went back to her lunch.
The rest of the day dragged on and soon the two girls parted ways. Ryuuko, of course, was uneasy leaving Mako in Takeshi's care, but she had no choice. She walked Mako to the detention room before heading off to practice.
"You sure ya gonna be fine?"
"Mhm," Mako nodded, "Takeshi-kun is gonna be with me, right? If you're still worried though I could give you my number!" 'Don't accept. Don't accept otherwise you're just gonna come off as way too over-protective and creepy'
"I'll just give you mine. If anything happens just call. I don't usually get calls so I'll know if it's you. Remember, if anyone tries to hurt you block with your forearm muscle, then run. Call me if you can't get out of a situation and I'll be here as soon as I can." 'God dammit.' Mako nodded and took out a pen. She wrote down the numbers as Ryuuko told them to her.
"Mmkay got it!"
"Great. Anyways, I'm headin' off. "
"Wait! I totally forgot we gotta move your things in!"
"I'll just wait here after training. We can head up to my room and grab the rest of my stuff," Mako nodded, "See ya!" Ryuuko waved. Mako waved back until Ryuuko turned the corner, then she disappeared into the classroom and took a seat. She saved the one next to her for Takeshi, who came in about 5 minutes later. They enjoyed detention just about as much as a person possibly could while Ryuuko worked out and trained with the other gang members, Mako being on her mind a good amount of the time.
Practice was over and Ryuuko checked her phone. '5:45…Detention ends in 15 minutes. Guess I gotta few minutes to spare before I gotta meet up with Mako, but then again it would be nice to keep an eye on Takeshi too…' Ryuuko walked through the halls leading to the detention room. She stopped when she saw a vending machine, 'Maybe I'll get her a drink…She likes iced coffee, right?' Ryuuko approached the machine and put in enough money to get herself a cola and Mako, an iced coffee. With the drinks in hand, she continued her way to the detention room.
Once she got there, she leaned on the wall opposite of the door. She put the drinks on the windowsill next to her and played with her phone. After a few minutes, the door opened and a laughing Mako and Takeshi emerged.
"Dude, I can't believe that kid fell for his own flour trap!" Takeshi said between laughs. Mako wiped tears from her eyes and nodded. Then she caught notice of Ryuuko. If it was even possible, her smile grew twice as big. She skipped over to Ryuuko and gave her a huge hug.
"O-Oy!"
"Ryuuko-chan, you did wait!" Mako exclaimed, snuggling her head into Ryuuko's chest.
"Well, yea. I said I was gonna," Ryuuko said offended, "Why wouldn't I?" Mako shook her head.
"Never mind that! What's that?" she asked, pointing to the drinks next to Ryuuko.
"Oh, uh, I was thirsty after practice and decided that you could've needed a drink too. Also it's kinda a thank you for the lunch." Ryuuko replied awkwardly, scratching her cheek. Mako grabbed and opened her iced coffee and took a sip.
"Aah, this hits the spot. Thank you, Ryuuko-chan!"
"Oh, no problem," at this point the two girls realized Takeshi was still standing there awkwardly. Ryuuko raised an eyebrow, "Uh, thanks for watchin' ov'r her by the way."
"No prob. It was fun. See ya tomorrow Mako?" Mako nodded. "Good, well I'm off. Bye boss!" Takeshi gave them a quick wave of the hand, then turned and walked down the hall. After he disappeared from sight, Mako turned to Ryuuko.
"You ready to go get your things?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
(Aly and Peri)