How to Tame Your Edgelord White-Haired Anime Boy

Hedonist Safir & Heretic Merlin #7

By: Aviantei

[Twelve Shots of Summer: Nine Tales 8/12]

[Parameters: "Nakama" & "Cursed Marks"]

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lo0ol

Once upon a time, you'd spent several different lives in a world where Jungian psychology was something that took literal form. Personas, Shadows, the Collective Unconscious—all of it was a piece of how that world operated. It wasn't something that everyone had access to, no, but for those that could access such power, all those concepts became very real and very relevant. The mask you wore to interact with others and the darkest parts of yourself that you were ashamed to show to others…you were more than familiar with the concept.

So Rintarou having some inner manifestation of his Fomorian power that came out as a second consciousness in him? Yeah, you understood all that, all the way down to the silly name of "Id" he'd given himself in Canon.

I don't think I remember Id ever taking over Rintarou's body, though. Well, if you've learned anything today, it's that there's still plenty of details of the light novels you haven't been granted with. No need to worry about the small details.

"Good, you know who I am, too," Id says, his voice a perfect replica of Rintarou's—which makes sense, given that he's using Rintarou's vocal chords. It still sounds a bit surreal, given how much closer than usual he is to you, his breath tickling against his ear. "That makes this a whole lot easier. Though I guess I should thank you for waking me up in the first place."

Have you done anything to set Id off? It wasn't something you were trying to do at any rate, so you're a little bit confused until it hits you. "Oh, fighting with me made Rintarou-chan exert himself and tap into his powers way more, so that sped you up from Canon, got it." You might have considered that as a potential consequence sooner, but that would've necessitated considering Id anything even close to a problem, and ehhh. "But you were waiting to meet me, though? Whatever for?"

"What do you think?" Id hugs you a bit tighter, and the nuance of his hold isn't lost on you. You and Rintarou use both casual contact and flirtation on a regular basis, and, seeing that neither of you has complained about it, neither of you has seen a reason to stop, either. But this is…a little bit more than that. Nothing out of your comfort zone or you wouldn't even let it happen in the first place, but still different than usual. "You're a smart person, Safir. I'm tucked all the way in the depths of Merlin's consciousness. I know all his little secrets."

Despite how much of an oblivious mess you've been in the past, you're not going to fall into the same trap, not as long as you can help it. If Id's acting like this, that means that Rintarou is—at least to some extent—attracted to you.

You find that you don't mind that concept in the slightest.

But for the time being, you're not dealing with Rintarou, so that piece of info can stick on the sidelines for a while. "Well," you say, playing along with Id's tone, "I know some of your secrets, too. Like how you're a piece of a curse left over in Merlin's Fomorian power to try and make him kill King Arthur. How is it, being salty for centuries because you didn't get your way the first time around?" And, yes, you're more than aware that you're calling him out for something you've done yourself; that's why you get to call him out in the first place.

Given your positions, you can't see the way that makes Id's face shift, but you can tell enough to know you've struck a nerve. He recovers without an ounce of hesitation, though. "You go and say all that, but aren't you worried? I managed to get out thanks to you. Don't you think I won't do it, wipe out all the brats in his bloodline now?"

"Nah."

Id flinches, pulling you closer (somehow it's possible) in the process. Did he expect you to be afraid of him? If he's in part a reflection of Rintarou, wouldn't that mean he's worried about you being afraid of him? Or is this more of Id's sense of self worth that he considers himself an actual threat? The possibility of both isn't impossible. If it's the first one, it's no laughing matter, but on the second account…

The splutter of amusement slips out of your mouth, and you make no effort whatsoever to stop it.

"Oh, you're adorable," you say, reaching up and back to brush your hand against Rintarou's cheek. If Id wants to play pansexual chicken, you're not about to back down. "I won't deny that you're powerful, and I don't doubt that you'll do your best to try and fulfil that ambition. So in answer to question two, I do think you'll give it your best shot, but I'm not worried at all."

After all, unlike everyone else, you have no stake in this war. Oh, sure, you have a handful of Succession Battle candidates boarding in your house, but as for the ancient grudges and King Arthur's bloodline? You don't give a shit. You'll protect Luna and Emma and Reika because they're you're people now, but the one reason you got involved in this is because Merlin cares. That takes priority for you above all else.

"You can't threaten me with such a weak motive," you continue, teasing your fingertips down the tense muscles in Id's neck. "For one, I don't care. And for two, I don't think you're a real threat. If it came down to it and the two of us fought, I'm sure I'd still kick you into the ground, even if you unleashed your full power. Isn't that part of what Rintarou-chan likes about me anyways?" That you're the pinnacle that will forever be a few steps ahead of him, that will never view him as a monster because the true devil has been and will always be you?

(There are worse roles to play for someone you care about.)

You expect for Id to continue his argument—centuries in slumber without a vessel will give you plenty of time to form retorts and other sick burns—maybe even lose his cool. But instead he's the one that laughs. "You think I'm trying to threaten you? Even I know better than to do that." You're kind of impressed, given what you remember of Id's attitude in Canon. Still, if it's not a threat, then what is it supposed to be? "Though I feel a bit hurt, Safir. You don't think I'm capable of standing up to you at all?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can put up a fight. That doesn't mean I won't win." You have your pride as the older soul to stake on the line here. You turn your head, Rintarou's face close and settled into a more arrogant lilt than usual. You return fire with a confident smile of your own. "If you try and kill Luna, I'm sure Merlin would tell me to stop the both of you no matter what. So, yeah, I'd have to defeat you then."

Id smirks at you. "And what if he realizes what he's supposed to do and asks you to help him out? Killing Arthur…it's what he's always been meant to do, after all."

The thought makes you still more than it should. In Canon, it was clear what way this was going to go from the start. Rintarou may have been a disaster, but his character arc was very much about learning about the power of friendship and all that—about gaining people to trust. Canon Rintarou never would have given in to that concept from the start, and Luna would've knocked some sense into him if he ever wavered. But that's the thing: Last Round Arthurs was a light novel, a piece of fiction where things worked out nice and clean, no matter what scenario the characters got dumped in.

Reality does not have to be that kind.

If Merlin looked me in the eye and asked me to help him kill Arthur…

(This time, you could wipe out humanity and raze the planet within the space of a single breath. It would be so, so, so easy, just like everything else is in this round. You could revive them all, too, before they even understood they died. The very fabric of the universe can be like putty in your hands—all you have to do is pick it up.

You could kill Arthur without even blinking. You could reach inside Rintarou and rip Id's curse out of him, eliminating the issue.

Fuck holding back could be very, very dangerous if you're not careful.)

And yet, you offer Id nothing but a smile. You spin in his grasp, not shaking off his arms as you turn to face him head on, his face cupped in your hands with a gentle grasp. "For the manifestation of his true feelings and desires, you're an even worse tsundere than Rintarou-chan is, you know," you say, and Id blinks, baffled by your non-sequitur. "Did you want me to say I'd pick you over him? Don't be silly, Id."

There's the spark of irritation you've been expecting. "Are you just gonna hold yourself back, then?" he asks, and his fingers dig into your sides. You wonder if he's doing it on purpose or if he's just that worked up. "You're worth more than that, Safir. Don't you want to make it happen, to have the whole world open for you? If Merlin fulfils our purpose, then we'll all have true freedom—and I'll be able to let my power loose so I can stand at your side. Besides, you've already witnessed the good end, so where's the fun in that? You think we haven't seen that dark part of you that craves showing off your power? I could give that to you in a way Merlin couldn't even dream of if he keeps reigning his desires in like that! Why wouldn't you want to try that outcome instead?!"

While you knew you could read him well enough, you didn't expect him to not at least attempt to deny it. Maybe that's a side effect of forming as the Id? Something to think about later. "You're misunderstanding me, you know. If I wanted to reign over a world like that, I would've already made it that way." You've had almost seventeen years to make it happen, after all; even child you could've unraveled the Curtain of Consciousness and set the monsters from the Illusory World free. Id grimaces, but there's a flash of hurt in his eyes that he doesn't have the sense of mind to conceal when he's so worked up. "Besides, choosing one of you over the other is silly. You're both Merlin, dumbass. So like hell I'd go and pick sides."

Because Rintarou is your favorite person, the one that you've already sworn to stay loyal to, no matter what. And Id, while having an extra serving of Edge™ included, is part of him. There's nothing to even pick in the first place.

Choosing one of them means choosing both of them. Duh.

The look on Id's face makes it clear he doesn't find that conclusion as obvious as you do. "You better mean that," he says, all sense of agitation gone. He doesn't quite sound vulnerable, but there's something much more somber to his tone. You just look at him to convey, Who the fuck do you think you're talking to here? "If you take it back, I'll make you regret it."

Tsun, you think but don't say. Your general amusement is a bit dampened by your agitation that he's even bothering to doubt you in the first place. "Should I make it a binding vow?" you ask, echoing your words from before. The fact that Id looks tempted makes you sort of regret not executing the spell with Rintarou in the first place. How much of that doubt has he been harboring this whole time. You catch one of his hands and pull it up to your lips. "I said it before, and I'll say it again: I swear to never betray you."

And you kiss the back of his hand. You know, to make a fucking point. A faint thread of your magic connects to him—not a full unbreakable vow, but enough of an incantation to show you're serious, to tie the two of you together even more than you already are. You look Id right in those golden eyes, daring him to try and act like you're not serious. That seems to be a non-issue, though, since he's gaping at you.

You sigh. "You're making me worry I haven't already proven that I'm serious, you know."

"You can't blame him for that," Id says, the snark back in his voice to hide the care those words contain. "He's been hurt by the person he trusted most before, watched everything he's known about crumble, and on top of that, almost everyone in this time's treated him like a monster. He wouldn't have had to deal with that if he'd just gone ahead and killed Arthur from the start." You can't help but wonder about that, but you also know there's no changing the past. "Whatever. What you should be worried about is giving me that kind of power, you know."

"Why? You'll 'show me the rumors of your heresy are all true'?" Your next smirk has a different edge to it as you draw closer, your noses almost touching. "I'm pretty sure I've done way more than either of you can even dream up." You're not scared of anything Id or Rintarou can come up with, not in the slightest.

Id seems to recognize the words Merlin once spoke, and he laughs like you've told the best possible joke as he squeezes your hand back. "Man, you've got his number all figured out, huh? When were you planning to tell him you've got him in the palm of your hand, there?"

You pout. "All I'm doing is enabling Rintarou-chan to do whatever he wants." That much hasn't changed. "Besides, knowing doesn't mean shit if he's not the one to tell me himself." Which means that whatever this is won't be something that you bring up, not unless Rintarou decides to act on it. But for now, Id's the one in front of you, so you focus on him. "Are you gonna tell me you're disappointed that this is what I'm like? I wouldn't blame you, but it sure would suck if seeing a new side of me is a turn off after what I just promised you." You'd be able to take it, yeah, but that wouldn't make the initial experience pleasant by any means.

"Excuse me, who's the dumbass? I'm just processing that you're way more fun in person than I expected after watching the two of you all this time." Well, you suppose you could've guessed that much by the way he hasn't pushed you away or anything, but the compliment-seeking corner of your brain still appreciates hearing it outright. "Hey, hey, do me a favor. Give me a minute to do whatever I want to test that promise of yours."

"Fine." There's nothing he could do in that short amount of time that you wouldn't want him to do, anyways. And if he tries something stupid to try and scare you off? Once that minute's up, he can answer for any crimes in full. "Behave now, or else I'll have to punish you, got it?"

"Yeah, I like living, thanks."

Good, he understands that much at least. "Sixty seconds, Id-chan."

He breathes out a chuckle at the honorific, the smile on his face bright in the few seconds you get to see it—and then there's a pinprick of pain at your neck as he takes a bite as if it's natural. You keep your senses active, just in case there's some sort of curse he's going to sneak into your system, but nope, it seems he has other plans, working a mark into your skin that makes your nerves tingle and causes your lips to part in soundless surprise.

Which of course is the perfect opportunity for his mouth to meet yours, swiping this body's first kiss—and you've had far worse alternatives than this, so it's not so bad. He just said to let him do what he wants, but nothing about not returning the favor, so you give a tease of tongue, just to see if Id chickens out or not. You know, for science.

Except you don't get to find out, because he jerks back—his hair short and back to black and his mana calmed down, so it's Rintarou you're looking at, his face red and his expression mortified. It occurs to you that the minute you gave Id is already up, and he passed the reigns back to Rintarou. You shouldn't want to laugh, and you hold it in, but damn is it a lot of work.

Sorry, Rintarou-chan, but you are way too adorable whenever you get flustered.

"Shit," Rintarou is saying. "Shit, shit, shit. I'm so sorry. I tried, but I didn't manage to push him down. Shit. Fuck. What else did he do?" The polite thing to do would be to use Deceive to keep the bruise on your neck a secret, but that sounds like a whole lot of holding back to you, so you just tilt your head at the right angle for Rintarou to see Id's handiwork, and his eyes go wide before he buries his face in his hands, stepping back far enough to put a good meter of distance between the two of you. "Oh, god. Oh, fuck. I'm so sorry. Please just fucking end me now, I cannot—" And then he screams, a nice and loud sound that manages to echo out into the far reaches of the Netherworld you're both still hanging out in.

"Take your time," you say, all understanding. Good thing you have a baller poker face; as fun as watching Rintarou get embarrassed is, you think he might just faint if you outright laughed at him now.

Rintarou flexes his hands, and he almost makes the move to go for his swords—and then he seems to realize that the best person to fight to process his feelings would be you, which he doesn't look like he can handle. "Can you…can you just let me destroy things here? I promise I'll be ready to talk to you later. Oh, god, please, if you go home, don't let Luna see that, I beg you—"

Ah, yeah, you don't wanna deal with that either. "Deal. Do you need me to bring you home for dinner or…?"

"I'll figure it out. I just need some time alone, please." He's still smothering himself in his palms, so his voice is muffled, but you understand him well enough.

"Alright. Don't stay out too long, okay?" Rintarou nods, but just leaving him there like that seems mean, so you add, "None of what just happens has to mean anything, you know, so please don't worry."

And because that's way more than you should've said in the first place, you throw up a quick layer of illusion magic to keep anyone at home from noticing a thing and teleport right on out of there.

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There's plenty to keep you busy whenever you get home, considering the whole "Emma asked to remove Tsukuyomi Reika and her younger sibling from their abusive home" thing. The situation is a little bit more complicated than whenever you took Emma from the Religious Order of Saint Joan, but at least these kids hadn't gone through anything as intense as she did. Not that it makes it okay what they went through, but the less harm children have endured, the better.

Tsukuyomi Reika is on edge, her sibling still asleep in her lap, and her role as the protector is rather obvious even from first glance. For the sake of not startling the kids any more than they already have been, you keep yourself invisible in the guest room, making sure Emma's alright as she talks to them. It seems that while you were talking Id down from making a mess, Emma at least managed to make Reika warm up the slightest bit—it'll take a lot of work to become one-hundred percent trustworthy, but it seems Emma is making steps in the correct direction. You'll have a chat with her about what they've all decided on later.

Might as well make sure Emma knows what's up. Perceptive your King can be, but no need to make her perform any guesswork when it's not necessary. You teleport yourself into the entryway and make yourself visible again, wandering about until you find Luna hunched over the table in the living room, scribbling out something that you very much doubt has anything to do with your homework.

"Oh, Safir, there you are!" She perks up at your presence, her usual smile in place, though there's still a slight furrow left over between her eyebrows. "Emma came home with some kids…did something else happen?"

"It's about the same as last time," you say, and Luna nods her approval. "I don't know if they'll want to stay, though." You don't even bother to pretend like everything is okay; Luna's gotten pretty good at picking up your emotions by now, so you let out your sigh. "You'd think you descendants of King Arthur would have it a lot easier than this…" Sure, not all the Succession Battle candidates had nasty backstories, but it's still a lot in one place.

(Maybe Id had a point—burning down the world would get rid of every last awful person inhabiting it.)

(All life is precious.)

The serious look on Luna's face is such a far cry from her usual flippant behavior that you almost don't recognize her. "I know. Things like this make me realize how lucky I am." Wow, she almost sounds mature for once; too bad you're not in the mood to tease her for it. "But I guess…even if I had gone through something like that, I know you would've come and saved me, too, Safir."

You don't have the heart to tell her that your being here is a fluke, that there's at least one other timeline where you don't exist in this story—that you helping everyone you've helped so far has been nothing but a coincidence, you operating on your own selfish whims. If you hadn't remembered, you wouldn't have gotten involved with any of them, not Rintarou, not Emma, not Tsukuyomi Reika. Sure, you might've used your broken abilities to help some people, but that doesn't guarantee anything. And, since you do remember, you are certain of one thing:

You are not a good person.

(You have killed so, so, so many people, and you would fucking do it again if you had to.)

The worst part is that you could say that, and Luna would give you a whole speech on why that's wrong, why she believes in you. More than that, you'd start to believe her, and you can't accept that. You still have so much anger and selfishness packed up inside you, and you'll take and take and take what you want the moment the fancy strikes you. Forgetting that is just asking for trouble.

So you don't say any of that, instead flopping down on the floor, sitting on the opposite side of the table to Luna. "If you say so, my king." Luna grins, and you go about changing the subject before she can follow the conversation any further. "Also, I'm volunteering my bank account to pay for delivery tonight since we have new kiddos to spoil. What do you want?"

Sure enough, the promise of your limitless funds makes Luna's eyes sparkle. "Score! I've been craving Chinese and pizza and karaage! Hey, we should order a bunch of fast food, make a feast out of it—oh, if the kids are up to being around a bunch of strangers right now. Guess we should check that first." Luna Artur showing an understanding of healthy boundaries—you never thought you'd see the day. "You know if Rintarou's coming home? We could order some of those stuffed cheese bread things he likes."

"Rintarou-chan is going on an edgelord journey of self-discovery right now. He might be gone for a few days." Luna nods as if that's normal, and just what does that say about your faction as a whole? Well, at least she doesn't ask why. Not that you'd tell without permission, but it's nice to not have to worry about it. "If we order enough to have leftovers, he can rat through it whenever he gets back, so he can't complain that he missed out." It's not like doesn't have his own bottomless treasury to use, anyways.

"Yeah! Serves him right for missing out on a celebration like this." Luna's phone is already in her hand, and she's somehow managed to fill up a cart with a couple thousand yen's worth of items within the space of two minutes. "Heheh. I'll take a bunch of pictures and rub it in his face so he knows better in the future. Oh, and Safir?" You assume she's about to ask for your card info, so you reach for your wallet, but Luna instead looks right at you, her expression wholly that of a ruler. "You just keep doing what you're doing and save whoever you think needs it, okay?"

There's a thousand things you could say to that, but you swallow them all down and say, "Yes, my liege."

If your king is going to give you such an order, it looks like you don't have any choice but to follow it.

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Forget what you said before; the true indicator of how much of a mess your faction is is the fact that it takes less time to settle the Tsukuyomi siblings into their new life than it does for Rintarou to come back home. Two weeks pass, filled with paperwork and house hunting and supply shopping. Tsukuyomi Reika seems to have formed some tentative trust in Emma, and a bristling tolerance of you. Tsukuyomi Ryou is just young enough that it's clear that they haven't processed anything, though they don't seem too upset about the prospect of being away from their parents.

They didn't join in on Luna's feast, but they did eat plenty of food whenever offered, so that's a good sign. By the next morning, Reika had already made the declaration that she was fine without going back to her parents, but the condition was that you fund an apartment outside of Logres Manor for them to stay at. It's a done deal before you even start to think about lunch. Reika is just old enough that she can manage on her own, and she has some baseline magical ability. You teach her to summon a few familiars to help with the housework, set up yet another bank account with way too much money in it to get the Tsukuyomi siblings anything they want, and all it a day.

This is the part where Rintarou would make another crack about you being a Glucose Guardian. You know, if he were around.

Avoiding the house is one thing. You expected that much. In fact, you've even considered avoiding the house so that he can come back if he's comfortable doing that, but that would just make an infinite loop of you dodging around each other, so you toss the idea to the side. Him avoiding school is also natural, considering how much required time the two of you spend together there—seats beside each other, work in the student council chambers. Then again, maybe it's also a case of him just not wanting to be around you and Luna in tandem. She'd never let him live it down if she noticed how flustered he was about the whole thing.

All of it's enough to make you wonder if you should be flustered, too.

You may have been given the miracle body and mind this round, but you aren't immune to hormones. It's nothing unbearable, but you have noticed the changes in your body. But since you've done this song and dance a couple hundred times at minimum, you…can't be bothered to be worried about it. It's a natural part of life, and you know how to take care of yourself. Dating was something that you'd already decided would be super off the table for several more years.

But Rintarou exists. Rintarou is in the same boat you are. You're pretty sure the past version of you that read Last Round Arthurs had to have simped over Magami Rintarou—trash taste is a skill you've always been good at—but that was the character, not the living, breathing person you know now. He's still cute, but you care about him in a way that transcends any sort of romantic attachment. So, yeah, attractive guy that's on mental par with you in terms of reincarnation jazz kisses you, and you're gonna kiss him back.

You don't see the point in getting embarrassed over taking what you want when the other party made their own interest beyond the point of clear.

Yeah, no, you're not going to waste your time on this. Besides, just because Id kissed you doesn't have to mean anything more than he wanted to try kissing you. Calling Canon LRA a harem wouldn't quite be accurate, but you're sure there was some sort of romantic feelings floating around. Alright, your interference means that Emma was saved by you and thus has no impetus to have a crush on Rintarou, but Luna's already earned her childhood friends bonus, and Nimue…

You have no intention of getting in the way of somebody else's reincarnated lovers chance. Not whenever you would jump at the chance to see any of them again.

(RomeoWilliamDragulGoroElliotLioKaigakuAkiraAkihikoOvanteoShimizuKoyomiSuimeiKatsukiKeiDeanR—

The list would be endless if you let it.)

Despite all that, you wish Rintarou would come home. If there's anyone in this world who can handle themself without issue, it would be him, but that can't erase the sense of unease in you whenever he's not around. You like the little group you've formed in this lifetime, and you don't want to mess it up. You also get the sense that this is an issue that will be solved with an open an honest conversation, but you can't do that when you're by yourself.

"Cheer up, Master," Emma says at breakfast two weeks after your escapade to the Tsukuyomi's home. "I'm sure Magami-san won't be gone too much longer."

If you're worrying your student over something like this, you still have a ways to go.

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It's the sensation of unfamiliar mana that snaps you to alert. It's late, the middle of the night, and you've been passing the time by reading in your room since your body doesn't want to sleep. The fact that you don't recognize the mana is more concerning than the fact that it's there; you can handle any type of enemy that might show up, but someone poking a hole into your wards is a slight on your honor you won't endure.

Except, the more you concentrate, you do realize you recognize the mana, deep down at its core. It's just shifted around into something slightly different—a natural growth, but an accelerated one at best.

What the hell did Rintarou-chan get up to while he was gone?

You can make an educated guess. The mana is his, but it's also closer to that deep ocean that Id emitted, a mix of the two amplified with further strength. Maybe you've been misreading the situation the whole time, and this hasn't been about you, and instead Rintarou being worried about Id able to take control. Two weeks without any of the help he received in Canon seems a little bit over your personal estimate for Rintarou, but it's not an unreasonable amount of time for him to need to establish supremacy over the Fomorian instinct in him, along with wiping out that stupid curse on his soul.

Of course, the easiest way to find answers would be to, you know, ask, but you don't know if Rintarou would be up to talking or if he just wants to flop into bed. You're about to say you'll wait and see if he's still up after ten minutes before you bother him—but Rintarou takes the decision away by teleporting right into your room. Well, you did give him permission to come and go as he pleases.

"…I'm home, Safir."

"Welcome back, Rintarou-chan." You set your book aside and give him a quick once over—with both a visual and a magical sweep—but he doesn't seem to be in bad shape at all, given his boost in power. Good, that's your biggest concerns out of the way. "Is this going to be a casual conversation or a serious one?"

"Serious." You nod in acknowledgement and gesture for him to take a seat in the armchair next to yours. Rintarou does so, snuggling into the spare blanket he keeps around for this exact sort of purpose. At least he's not avoiding looking you in the eye, which is good. Even if this ends up being a conversation about boundaries, there's nothing to lose. "Id said you already knew all about him."

"More or less." Rintarou scrutinizes you, and you just given him a look right on back. "It feels like you two managed to work something out, though."

"More or less." There's no immediate follow up, and you don't make yourself fill the silence. Rintarou had some sort of topic in mind, so there's no need to rush him into it. Compared to all your thousands of years of past life experiences, an extra minute or two is nothing. "I wouldn't say we're fully merged yet, but we're more reconciled now. That curse was a pain in the ass, but it wasn't the worst thing to break since you taught me all that stuff. No matter what fate or whatever has planned…I'm going to decide my own future from here on out."

Good for him. You could've taken care of it all from the start, and you would've eliminated the issue if he asked, but it means so much more for Rintarou to do it all himself, now doesn't it? You offer a smile. "I'm proud of you, Rintarou-chan."

The faintest fraction of embarrassment tinges his expression. "Yeah, well, you know…" He clears his throat before murmuring a thanks. It's nice to see his dere back in action. "But I mean, me overcoming that was obvious! But what I wanted to talk about…" Here it comes, whatever it's going to be. "You said what happened doesn't have to mean anything."

"That's right." A no strings attached arrangement wouldn't bother you in the slightest. "Given the timing, I'm pretty sure Id did that just to pick on you. But if you're worried, I don't feel bothered about it at all, so please don't worry. I don't expect anything out of you, so—"

"Why not?" That wasn't the question you were expecting in the slightest, so you tilt your head at the perfect angle to express your confusion without having to say a word. "It doesn't have to mean anything, but what if it does?"

Your mouth opens and shuts without making a sound. It's been a whole lifetime ago that you were at a loss for words. Good thing the two of you are fucking adults who can have a rational conversation about this. "What are you telling me it means, then?" Because you're good with any option, but being clear and upfront without forming any assumptions is best.

"It means I'm asking if you want to become partners." Rintarou's face is red, but he said it without stuttering, so you know it's serious. "Physical or romantic or both. I know…I wouldn't be the first. That's fine. You wouldn't be my first, either. But I'd like to try and see if this is a good match. You know, beside all the other ways we make a kickass duo."

"Okay, both." You could fuss and ask questions to make sure all you want, but that wouldn't change the answer. You are not a good person, no—but you are someone who craves companionship. You don't think you're in love with Rintarou or anything, but you like him enough to be willing to see what happens. Rintarou somehow looks more stunned than he did in the aftermath of realizing he'd kissed you. "Come on, what's the point in beating around the bush? Did you forget rule number one?"

"Fuck holding back," he recites before seeming to take that advice for himself, standing up. His next move is to take your hand and pull you up from your seat before twirling you across the floor in an incomplete dance. "Lucky me. I didn't waste my time trying to make this thing."

With a little bit of magic, something small and metal materializes between his palm and yours. You untangle your fingers to look, finding a silver ring that looks simple at first glance, but has an intricate pattern engraved on it—and that's to say nothing of all the spellwork contained in the thing.

"Maybe it was a waste of time, considering that you're already so strong," Rintarou continues, "but I put a bunch of protective spells on it. I mean, yeah, you can handle yourself already, and I'm know you don't need my help, but if we're gonna be partners, then I want you to know I'm here to support you anyways. Hell, I would've given it to you even if you didn't say yes, but…"

"Thank you," you say, your voice coming out softer than usual. If you wanted to, you could nitpick the spells and composition, but you don't, because you do appreciate it. Rintarou made this because he wanted to help take care of you in some way—as if he hasn't done enough already—and it's perfect for that alone. "I love it." Happiness makes Rintarou look so soft, and you're glad he can still make that expression after everything he's gone through. "So did you spend more time on making this than knocking Id around or…?"

Rintarou bristles—but the moment doesn't feel like it's lost in the slightest. "Come off it! I had to make all the different enchantments not contradict each other, but all the conventional spells would've been useless for someone at your level, so I had to design them all from scratch! I never got into enchanting objects before, so it took me a day to get good enough at it to even try on the real thing." He has to know you're just teasing, though, considering that he doesn't sound all that offended. "Not that you have to, but you should try it on to make sure the resizing charm works right, too."

So he says, as if he doesn't just want to see you wear it. Well, considering you want to wear it, there's no point in dragging it out. You look to your hands, rolling the ring between forefinger and thumb before deciding that, yes, you do want to embarrass him that much.

("I vow to be yours and no one else's in this world.")

"Oi," Rintarou says, flustered as you slip the ring onto your left ring finger, "you sure you wanna do that?"

"I'll be sure to hide it from everyone else with Deceit," you say, not even bothering to deny the implications. "The resizing charm seems to work. Or did you want me to test it a few more times?"

"N-no, it's fine." Rintarou lets out a long sigh. "You are the devil, Safir."

You let out a delighted giggle. "You asked for this." You consider letting him know he can back out any time he wants, but that much should be obvious. Getting told something like that can wear on you, after all. "You should tell me about your fight with Id-chan, though. I'm curious."

"Yeah, of course you would. So…"

And so the days until the beginning of the King Arthur Succession Battle count down ever further.

^^^^
lo0ol

The funny thing about you now dating Magami Rintarou is that nothing feels like it's changed at all.

Maybe it's a testament to how close the two of you were before, or maybe it's a result of neither of you feeling like you need to change anything in the first place. Either, way, neither of you are dissatisfied. After all, the two of you have the mental security that both of you have each other's backs, even more so than you did before.

It's something small in comparison to the loves you've had in the past, but that doesn't make it any less valuable.

But even with that, daily life continues. Emma continues her own routine with regular visits to the Tsukuyomi siblings mixed in, and Luna works on both her training for the Succession Battle and her ever ridiculous plans for the student council. It's the latter of those that has her running rampant around the school, dragging Rintarou around as "punishment" for going MIA for so long. You're certain they'll come back with Rintarou griping and Luna with another treasure trove of ideas that will turn into more mountains of paperwork. Or they'll go galivanting off campus and you won't see them until they get home tonight. Either or. For now, you'll enjoy the relative peace and quiet that comes from not having your king cause chaos in the student council room.

You end up in such a state of flow that the last warning bell of the school day is ringing before you know it, and you blink back to awareness. There's no one else around, which means that everyone else must have dipped and that Luna dragged Rintarou off to gods know where, otherwise they would've come to pick you up to head home together. You stretch your arms out, enjoying the feeling of a day's worth of work well done. Luna will be delighted to see everything moving forward just as planned.

And then a faint note of chill fills the air of the student council room, and you meet eyes with Fuyuse Nayuki standing in the doorway.

"Safir-san," she says, her voice equal parts melody and melancholy, "I'd like to talk to you. Not as Fuyuse Nayuki, student council secretary, but as Nimue, former member of the Dame du Lac."

[Author's Notes]

"Fuck your slow burn." - Id, 2022

Hey, look, the plot of this thing is actually getting close to canon. How about that. Lucky me these [T-Sauce] prompts were perfect for what I wanted to do.

Not too many other thoughts to add on this one. I have ideas, so maybe the next part will be out soon-ish? After I get together the rest of A Fire Inside. Knowing how my writing patterns have been as of late, who knows what my posting energy will be like, so no promises.

[Twelve Shots of Summer] do still be going on, tho. Check in on that if you like, and I'll see y'all here next time for Nayuki content. Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[07.23.2022]