clevernameeh: Np, as long as you're reading at some point at least.
Write him in my bed or me in his bed already!
Seriously, are you just a sex addict?!
... I dunno.
It will never happen!
Raze Olympus: Grim.
AT!Makoto.
Kotone.
Pharos.
Nightlyy: I am NOT "butt hurt"!
Yes you are!
I am not!
Tell me that when he's on top of me.
STOP SAYING THAT!
blahblahblech: Eh, fuck him.
T. E. K. 1996: ... Wait and see?
Home
Makoto groaned as he slowly began to open his eyes. There was not a single muscle he had that wanted to move; it was almost like the energy had been sapped out of his body after last night.
Last night...
It hurt just for him to even think about it. Every moment of her holding onto him made him feel as if someone was holding a fiery torch to his bare skin, yet it had some sort of comforting feel to it that prevented him from breaking out of her tight grip.
The room was completely dead-silent; The only noise that could be heard was the sound of sheets shifting as Makoto got out of bed and stood up before rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Following what he said, Kotone must've left some time after he fell asleep. Part of him was glad that she did what she was asked, and another part of him was upset that she wasn't the first thing he saw after another terrible nightmare, but none of him knew what to do now.
A soft sigh from the boy finally broke the silence as he continued to think about what happened last night. He was going to have to face her day after day in school, and that was going to be the only thing on her mind every time she sees him.
"Minato..." Makoto looked behind him and saw his old friend looked back at him as he sat on his desk "... We need to talk."
"About what?" Makoto asked as he slowly and groggily got another pair of clothes. Another day of school, another day that he had to slog through until... Hell, what did he even have to look forward to? Sleep?
"Her..." Pharos answered in a stern voice, intentionally dragging out the single word to be sure that Makoto understood just what and who he was talking about.
Makoto paused for a moment and for some reason the hair at the back of his neck stood up, almost as if he had a sixth sense telling him that this conversation wasn't going to go in a way he would like.
"What about her?" Makoto asked as he turned towards the boy, unsure why Pharos who had been mostly quiet the past few days had decided to start discussing her all of a sudden.
Pharos looked at his friend dead in the eyes, his own possessing a certain coldness that even someone like Makoto felt somewhat uncomfortable being in the center of his gaze "She needs to go."
Makoto felt his heart sink and a feeling of fear began to grip the boy as he processed what he just said "G-Go..?" After everything he'd told her, everything she accepted and continued to reach out to him, the many times he'd been a less of an ideal person yet she continued... He wanted her to go? "W-Why?"
Pharos exasperatedly sighed as he shook his head "Can you really not see?" He whispered, though it wasn't clear if he was talking to Makoto or himself. "You're losing sight of our goal, Minato. We've been here for months, but what have you done other than kill Ikutsuki?"
"We've been busy, remember?" Makoto said as he narrowed his eyes, already feeling as if there was tension beginning to build that was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
"No, you've been making excuses." Pharos shot back, unwilling to let Makoto go off on his own anymore. He needed someone to push him back in the right direction to accomplish the goal they have dedicated their lives towards. "The more and more you're with her, the more confused you're becoming, and that's even if it's you in control." he continued "You have to get rid of her."
Silence once again filled the room as the two friends continued to simply gaze at each other.
Despite his child body, Pharos was still able to give off a menacing aura that made even Makoto's seem tame in comparison.
Still, Makoto continued to stand his ground as he came to the one conclusion that he had to accept.
"I can't." He replied as he left his room and apartment without another word.
Pharos' ire immediately shot up even higher at his friend's response. He couldn't be angry at him. In the end, it was all her fault that Makoto wasn't thinking straight. He may not have been able to hurt her, but she was going to pay some day.
School
"Get rid of her!" Pharos continued to scream into Makoto's ears who had resorted to listening to his earphones on full blast, though that did little to block out the boy's voice.
With every second that passed, Makoto could only hear him screaming in his ear more and more to the point where he thought that he was going to go insane eventually.
Ever since he had gotten to his desk, Makoto had kept his head down and did whatever it took to try and block out the boy's voice. Never in his life would he have thought that he was going to have to try and ignore his best friend of all people, but it was the circumstance he was living with.
After what felt like years, Makoto felt a small tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a familiar redheaded girl.
Upon recognizing this, Makoto immediately took off his earphones "Yeah?"
"Uh... You okay?" She asked, the sound of concern as prevalent as it was when she found him last night. "You've been... Well, even by your standards you've been out of it today."
"It's just..." Makoto sighed as he massaged his temples. This was the mother of all headache machines, and it was likely only going to get worse. "... One of those days, I guess."
"Yeah, I get it. Hey, uh..." Kotone gently placed a comforting hand on his, the sensation of which provided a feeling a tranquility while also bringing him the feeling of having his fleshed burned by a hot iron.
"Can we go somewhere?" She asked, there was a bit of hesitance in her voice. Whatever she wanted, it had her nervous meaning it'd probably be something embarrassing for her too.
Go on, Makoto. Minato whispered, jumping for joy at the chance to spend more time with the girl. Once again, he paid no mind to the constant orders that Pharos had been screaming for the past few hours now.
"I..." Makoto was about to accept, but then he saw Pharos sitting on one of the desk staring at him; the stare was so intense that even Makoto felt as if it pierced straight through his soul "... I... I don't think that's a good idea. At least, not now."
Kotone's nervous expression was now replaced with one of disappointment instead "Oh... Okay." She didn't raise any objections. It only made sense that after something like last night he might not be ready for anything right now.
Minato let out a few complaints, but Makoto ignored them as he put his earphones on and tried to block it all out.
...
...
For the next few days Makoto found himself in a similar scenario as the first day since that night. Pharos had done little to let up his verbal assault on his ears while Minato continued to do the same with the opposite goal in mind.
Makoto's brain felt like it was going to going to explode from the constant screaming from the two sides. One wanted Kotone not just something important to his life, but wanted her to be an actual part of it as well. The other was ordering for her complete removal as if she was a tumor needing to be cut out.
Say something to her, dammit! Minato demanded, tempted to just try and completely take control but Pharos acting as a sort of anchor for Makoto like Kotone had done with him was making it difficult.
"Get rid of her!" Pharos continued to scream the same order into Makoto's ear over and over again.
Feeling as if his brain was beginning to suffer from extreme intracranial pressure, Makoto slowly got out of his seat and walked to the bathroom and promptly checked to see if he was alone.
Makoto walked to the sink and washed his face hoping that it'd help him feel at least a little bit better. Unfortunately for him, Pharos wasn't going to back down.
"You need to cut her loose!" Pharos screamed again which sounded as if it echoed in the boy's ears which caused him extreme pain.
"BE QUIET!" Makoto screamed as his flared a bright blue in response to his emotional state.
Pharos was taken aback at the sudden out burst as the boy stomped his feet past him. That was the first time Makoto had ever yelled or even talked back to him.
"I didn't want to do this..." Pharos sighed as he prepared to do something he'd never thought he'd ever have to do.
Makoto was about to leave the bathroom, but his legs went completely stiff as the world around him began to shift.
"N-No..." Makoto whispered as he took a step back as the images began to flood back into his brain.
The boy covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut as he was greeted by an all too familiar image.
"Minato!" Her voice... That horrible, horrible voice calling out to him.
"S-Stop it!" Makoto begged as he felt the heat of a fire spreading all around him; a feeling that he knew all too well.
"H-Help! Please! Mina-AAAAAAAAHHHHH" And those horrible, horrible screams the continued to echo in his brain and would likely do so until the day he died.
When it was all over, Makoto was curled into a ball slowly rocking back and forth in the nearest corner of the bathroom as the memories replayed over and over in his mind. Not even Minato could get a single word out after seeing that alongside his other self.
Sighing, Pharos walked back to his old friend "This is the pain we suffered because of them." He said, now knowing that Makoto was going to listen to everything he had to say. While he hated that he had to do that, it was an unfortunate necessary evil to guide his friend to the right path "She's leaving you confused; You have to cut her loose."
Makoto lowered his head, and when it was raised someone else glared at the boy "So, this is how you treat you friend?!" Minato yelled at the boy
Pharos returned the glare at his friend's false-self "I do what I have to if it means he'll be better in the end." He explained his sole motivation for any of his actions "Now, I want him back."
"Pf, like I'm taking orders from you." Minato shot back as he glared piercing bright blue eyes at the boy "Tell me, how's it feel to know that you're the reason behind everything that's happen to him?"
"This is how I'm atoning." Pharos answered simply as he continued to glare at the boy "Now, I believe your hold is about to fade soon."
"I'll save a spot for you in hell, you little brat."
...
...
"Kotone, Can I... talk to you?" Makoto asked, having found the redhead just in time before she could leave school.
"Huh? S-Sure!" She agreed with a quick nod and a smile on her face. If she was being honest, she was feeling a little ignored the past few days he'd been silent and acting a little weird, but it was nice to see him interacting with her again.
The two made their way up the stairs until they found themselves on the school roof which was more or less always deserted which made it the perfect place to discuss things privately. And since it was September, the weather wasn't much of an issue so it was better to get this over with now.
"So, what's up?" Kotone said as she looked at him expectingly. For some reason, Makoto seemed to be doing whatever it took to avoid eye contact which was rather unlike him since he only did that when some particularly unpleasant topic came up.
Makoto felt like his heart was racing. Minato was screaming at him for what he was about to do, but it had to be done. This... This wasn't going to end well if it continued "I... I don't think we should see each other anymore."
"Huh?!" Kotone blinked rapidly as her mouth remained slightly agape from the shock. Did he just..? "W-What's that supposed to mean?"
Makoto sighed, why did she have to make it so much worse? "I mean we shouldn't see each other anymore. We might see each other in the halls and all, but... Whatever you and I have should stop while it still can."
"D-Did... Did I do something?" Kotone asked, doing the one action that Makoto hoped she wouldn't do.
"No, no, no you idiot..." Makoto denied as he slowly shook his head. This was already making Makoto feel as if his guts were being ripped out, did she have to make it this much harder? "... I... I don't feel right around you anymore."
Kotone took a step forward, both confusion and fear were evident in her eyes "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" She demanded.
Makoto looked down at his feet, unable to come up with a response. Every moment he talked to her it felt like thorns were being wrapped around his heart and then pulled to completely eviscerate it.
"Answer me, Minato!" She demanded again, now using the one name that could strike Makoto's very soul.
"Because I can't think whenever I'm around you!" Makoto screamed which instantly silenced anything she was about to say. "Just like I said the other night, every time I'm with you I... I can never think straight!" he continued, speaking louder than he even realized
"It hurts being with you, but it hurts being away from you... " Makoto balled his hands into a fist as he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, but the lip quickly healed "God, it's so frustrating! You're on my mind so much and... And I just want it all to stop!"
Kotone let out a weak laugh as she took a step towards him with a weak smile on her face "God, you're such an idiot."
Before he could say anything, Kotone rushed over to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
The moment his happened, Makoto attempted to break "Get off!" he demanded as he managed to push her off, only to have her rush over and embrace him again. "Let me go!"
"You're the biggest idiot I've ever met, you know that?" Kotone let out another weak laugh as she continued holding onto him with a death grip "I mean, seriously... How can you not know why that's happening?"
Makoto grunted as he tried to push her off again, but to no avail "What the hell are you—" Before he could finish, Kotone had grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down as his lips crashed into hers.
The bluenette's eyes widened for a moment as he felt the sensation of Kotone's lips on his before his brain went into complete auto pilot and caused him to close his eyes.
Kotone moved her arms from his chest to his neck as she stood on her toes to make sure the kiss lasted as long it could.
The boy's thinking and body seemed to become two separate entities as his left hand placed itself at the back of her head and his right arm wrapped itself around her waist and drew her closer to him.
Despite it feeling like an eternity, the kiss had only lasted a few seconds before Makoto quickly stepped back as he regained control of his actions again.
Makoto slowly placed his fingers on his lips as he processed what had just taken place while Kotone simply stood there smiling at him.
"So... Should I take it as a yes?" Kotone asked, no doubt referring to the one question she had asked him during their last endeavor to the mall together.
"I-I... Y-You..." Makoto took another step back "I-I... Don't follow me!" he ordered as he quickly left the scene at a speed just barely below running speed.
Despite being left alone again, Kotone still had a smile on her face "Don't worry... I love you, too."
Makoto arrived home with nothing more than more mixed emotions. That wasn't Minato, that wasn't foundation, that wasn't Lovers... That was him. Kotone had kissed him, and he kissed her back.
When Kotone arrived back her dorm, she still felt like she had butterflies in her stomach. Despite that being far from, it felt as if that was her first kiss... It wasn't frenzied or rushed, but was slow and passionate.
Makoto gently hit his head on his wall as part of him regretting running away and the other part of him regretted not trying hard enough to push her away.
Even though it'd been hours now, Kotone couldn't help but continue to smile as she thought about it. She had a long list of things she regretted; this was definitely not going to be one of them.
Suddenly, both of them looked out their windows and at the skies, and despite being miles apart they saw the same thing approaching.
"Huh, looks like a storm is coming."
You mother fucker! You think you can get away with doing that to him!
I'm trying to help him. You're trying to ruin him. There's a difference between what we do.
Good god, it's like you're trying to get into his pants or something.
Why? I've already seen what's there.
And so will I...
NEVER! IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!
Take note everyone: Don't fuck with Pharos.
