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bts-0t-7 · 7 months

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Slithered | JJK | Chapter 1

Pair: Mafia Jungkook x F Reader

Summary: Jungkook was wandering the streets in the middle of the night and coincidentally passed the little flower shop you work at. Due to your odd working hours, you don’t have much socialising on a daily basis much less customers. So just imagine your shock when a handsome man, clad in all black, entered your shop in the ungodly hours of the night. Never would you have thought that the polar opposite of the worlds would collide and cause such a trouble.

Genre: Fluff, mafia au, soft reader

Chapter Warnings: mild violence, mildly creepy JK watching reader close up shop (if anybody does this irl, please smack the living shit out of them. Stay safe!), rape (I won’t go much into detail of this during the scene but it is implied. Do not be insensitive on this topic. For those who are sensitive on this, please do not continue reading)

A/N: Bold is for flashback.

WC: 2579

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Jungkook didn’t know how he ended up in an alley that sells flowers in the dead of the night and neither did he know why he was here. He was taking a stroll in, spending some time to himself when he smelt the citrus scents of the flowers, following them to where it currently led him. Most of the flower shops in this area are closed for the night or temporarily not receiving walk-in customers.

However, there are some shops where they are open and busy. There may be no customers in the shop but orders seem to be piling on the desks where the arrangements are made. Jungkook spotted a swift-moving medium, constantly running from place to place in the shop. He stopped right outside it. The interior was made in a way where the arrangements of flowers made the whole shop seem like a home.

A home full of plants.

But even from outside, Jungkook could clearly see the neat arrangements and lining of the labels. You, on the other hand, were running around the shop, trying to get the necessary flowers and stocks to make the last arrangement before the driver arrived and collected them. This project was big on money and your boss would be furious if you were to ‘fuck it up for him’.

Jungkook entered the shop, doorbell chiming as he pushed open the door. Your head whipped up from your working station, instantly greeting him at the front door.

“Hello! Welcome to Fior Arrangements!” You chirped. It may be two in the morning but you worked the night shift while your other colleagues work the morning and evening shifts. Most of them did not want to work night shifts so you took on the initiative.

Not that you minded.

You never had much of a social life due to your personality and you had always been quite a night owl. Most of the time, there were fewer people at night, which means that packaging orders would be easier than in the daytime.

“Hello.” The young man bowed.

“What brings you here?” You asked, honestly curious as to why a man wearing a full suit with a coat over, would come in the middle of the night. Anybody could see that he was stocked. His boots were, his hair slicked back, and the material of his clothes looked soft to the touch. “Any flowers in mind?

He shook his head.

“Well, every flower has a meaning.” You pointed to the labels on the walls. These are the names and meanings of the flowers. Feel free to look around and call me if you need help!”

Jungkook nodded at you.

As he walked around, reading the labels, he spied a few blurry-looking men walking into the shop. Instinctively, his hand shot to the gun hidden under the lapels of his jacket only for you to cheerily greet them. It shot a pang of jealousy through him.

Why was he jealous? He just met you!

Jungkook silently shook his head to clear his thoughts. With half his attention to his surroundings, he overheard the conversation between you and the men. You seemed to know them very well, conversations easily flowing between you.

“Yep! There are more at the back. You know where that is.” You laughed and Jungkook’s heart felt like it stopped. And started. And stopped and started again. It was so pure and melodious that he would do anything to keep you laughing like that.

“How are your kids, Peng?”

“Not too bad. Just refusing to study as usual.” The guy in the black shirt and oversized jeans told you.

“I mean… It’s kids these days. Plus, I’m sure when we were at their age we didn’t want to study either.” You snickered.

Peng laughed. “True, true. Very true.”

The four men spotted Jungkook walking towards the cashier as you signed the papers and stamped them. Handing them the customer copy, you waved them goodbye and finally headed over to Jungkook.

“Hiya, need help?”

Jungkook nodded.

“Well, what is the occasion?” You asked.

Jungkook didn’t come here for a specific reason. In fact, he didn’t even come up with a reason. So he just shrugged and answered, “Just wanted something calming in the house. It’s far too empty.”

That could by far be the worst lie he ever came up with.

But all you did was nod and head over to the pails of flowers, picking up stock after stock. You then carefully cut off some of the stems and plucked some leaves, arranging them in a glass bottle. Your body covered most of the work at times and Jungkook stayed at where he stood. He didn’t want to spoil the surprise for himself.

You didn’t take long, expert hands moving nimbly to arrange the flowers prettily. You turned over to him with the glass bottle in front of you, walking over to give it to him.

“How’s it?” Jungkook could see that you were nervous. The little ticks of indication like the furrows of your brows and wringing of your fingers behind your back.

“Do you always do this for customers?” Jungkook gently smelt the flowers. Lavender was the most prominent scent.

His favourite and you didn’t even need to ask. The scents weren’t strong and it did was already doing wonders to calm him.

You looked back at him, humming and shaking your head. “Just you and a few other more privileged customers. Seems like you’re one of them on the list now.”

Your eyes sparkled as you turned to him. Perhaps you knew the brands he wore or perhaps you guessed that he was more than rich. But as he brought out his card to pay, you declined him.

“No need. You looked like you needed this. So it’s on the house.” Your smile was blinding and at that moment, Jungkook knew that he would have you even if it took years and years. He would protect you.

You were closing up that day. Usually, the shop is 24 hours and the next colleague of yours who would be doing the morning shift would be the one to clean up the place. However, it was a public holiday and the flower shop was closed. Your boss had given all employees two days’ break so after your shift, you had to tidy up and ensure that all the flowers are placed in their exact locations a the back of the store so that they do not wilt by the time the shop re-opens.

Honestly, you couldn’t be happier. While your job was fairly simple and relaxed, going without a day’s break even on the weekends can truly drain your energy. You don’t have much time to yourself and it can affect you when you are overloaded with your senses.

Turning off the lights, you shut the door and lock it, the door code being with an indication that it has been locked. Scanning your surroundings and patting yourself down, you hummed, glad that you did not forget anything.

As you started to walk back home, you felt an eerie feeling in your gut. One that warns you that something is most certainly not right. The hair on your neck started to stand as you got goosebumps, making a sharp 180-degree turn to walk back to the store. You were instinctively aware that there were more than three pairs of footsteps following you. And every time you sped up or slowed down, they would keep the same pace.

So you did the next best thing your overdriven brain thought.

You ran.

Jungkook was driving his car up the little hill to visit the flower store. He wasn’t sure if you were still on shift then. He knew from silently watching you the past few days that your shift ends at five in the morning. And currently, the time was 5.30 am.

The road got too narrow for Jungkook to continue driving up so he threw his car into parking mode and left.

He was only going to take a while.

But as he got out of the car, he sensed that something was wrong. The air did not feel right and as much as he wished that his sensitivity would not follow him when he was off work, life has its way of throwing stones at him.

A shrill scream broke him out of his trance. If it was anybody else’s scream he probably would have just continued with his plans and walked up the the store. But he recognised the voice - the sound.

Yours.

Your scream - filled with terror and pain.

Without thinking, Jungkook ran towards the approximated direction where he had heard you. Your second scream for help was abruptly cut off making him pump his legs and arms faster. He didn’t want to think of all the horrid things that you might be going through right now. He needed to get to you.

Jungkook came to a stop the moment he saw you, held by your throat, against the wall. Your hair and clothes were in a mess, eyes bloodshot, and valuables strewn everywhere. But the most avergrating thing was the six males standing there, choking you as tears streamed down your cheeks, laughing.

Blood rushed to his head.

How dare they.

How dare they touch you.

Jungkook didn’t care for consequences as he pounced on the men.

You tried to run but they were too fast and too silent for you. You were pinned against the wall and stripped down against your own will.

“Now pretty lady, how about I do the talking and you do the answering?”

You didn’t want to but all you could do was struggle and struggle as they manhandled your body, stripping you bare of your own dignity. You cried and struggled as they took their turns, your body betraying you.

“Hey now, why are you crying, pretty?” They laughed, gagging you. “You’re enjoying it, see?”

Tears streamed down your face. You weren’t. You weren’t.

And yet, you knew that nobody was going to come help you. To come stop these men from doing more than they already did. You were so close - so close - to resigning to your fate when you were suddenly dropped to the ground.

Too tired to keep your eyes fully open, you watched through hooded lids as a mass of black pounded onto the males. You should’ve been scared - you should’ve cowered back, pleading with him to not come for you as well - but you didn’t.

Especially as that mass of black picked you up into his arms, snarling and hissing words that seemed incoherent to you, you felt safe. Perhaps it was the adrenaline doing the job but you curled yourself deeper into him. His hands were gentle, unlike the ones that handled you earlier. These hands were calloused - probably seeing worse days as they skimmed over your naked body - but they were respectful. They did not venture where the rest did and you found yourself wrapped up in a jacket before being lifted up once again.

Unable to keep your eyes open any longer, your head rolled to the side as you blacked out.

Jungkook has seen many things in his short life. Twenty-six years and he has seen death one too many times. But nothing has scared him more than seeing you black out and going limp in his arms. Pressing two fingers on your neck, Jungkook confirmed that you were still breathing. In shock you most certainly were but now Jungkook needed to bring you home and he did not know your address. So the next best thing was to bring you to his home.

As Jungkook’s black Mercedes Benz GT63S pulled up to the front lawn, he hurried out, passing the car keys to the butler and carrying you into the house.

In the midst of the whole case, it completely slipped his mind to inform his family that he was bringing somebody home. All he had done was hurriedly call the group’s private doctor, not caring what the guy was up to.

“Kook, what the hell! You can’t just bring a random person home like this!”

“Oh shit -”

“Fuck that girl is naked!”

“Jeon Jungkook, what the shit is wrong with you?”

“Did you fuck a girl out?”

“JUNGKOOK!”

Jungkook couldn’t be bothered. He’ll explain later. Right now, he needed the doctor to check you over and ensure that other than the physical and psychological trauma you’re going to have once you wake up, you were fine otherwise.

“A little bit of a bump on the back of her head, scratch marks and bruises. That’s about all.” The doctor placed some pills on Jungkook’s bedside table. “I suggest you give these to her, twice a day after meals. Antibiotics. You can give her paracetamol if needed. Ensure that she is kept hydrated.”

Jungkook thanked the doctor and leaned over to cover you with the sheets when the doctor stopped him. “It would be best to clean her up first.”

With that, the doctor left, leaving the six men standing at the threshold of his bedroom door. They watched as he got a few clothes, cleaning you up, making sure to use soft cloths so that you would not wake from the oversensitivity. Only after Jungkook deemed you clean enough did he take out his silk pyjamas and tug them over you.

The boys had silently excused themselves, only leaving Jimin as he helped Jungkook dress and tuck you into bed. Closing the curtains, he turned off the lights, leaving the moonlight on so that the room would not be encased in total darkness with the possibility of scaring you if you woke up without him there.

Jungkook knew that the topic at hand would not be easy to talk about and he most certainly knows that he was in the wrong as well. Well, a little bit in the wrong.

He would never apologise for bringing a person in need home, much less you. So as Jimin and he entered the living room, the boys were all seated, faces holding stoic glares.

“Jungkook -” Hobi hyung started.

“She works at the flower shop. She was the one I told you about - the reason why my room has a glass of flowers.”

“Still, you cannot just bang her up and -”

“She was raped.”

The silence in the room was pregnant and suddenly everybody’s breathing sounded too loud.

“I parked the car in the middle of the hill as it was getting too narrow for me to pass through. I couldn’t get there fast enough. By the time I reached, she was already taken.” Jungkook harshly rubbed his face with his hands. He wished that he could’ve been there earlier - faster. If only work hadn’t kept him up, the whole situation wouldn’t even have happened.

A soft hand landed on his shoulder, patting him gently. “Don’t beat yourself over it, Kook. It was good that you made it there.”

“But I couldn’t stop her from -” His throat choked up. He just couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

“Some things are inevitable.” He looked up from his crouched position to look at Namjoon Hyung. “What matters is that you got there.”

Jungkook nodded.

“I think today was more than enough of a fulfilling night. Let’s go to bed.” Seokjin Hyung called out and grunts of agreement were heard as everybody got to their feet.

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yyh4ever · 3 months

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Hello, Does yu yu hakusho also have Drama CDs?

Yu Yu Hakusho DRAMA CDS

There are two "Yu Yu Hakusho Shueisha Drama CD" released in 2004 and 2005. The voice actors are all the same as the anime version.

CD 01: December 2004

TRACKS

Spirit Detective Saga: the encounter between Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei

01. Sanbiki no Youkai (Three Youkai)

02. Kizuna (Bonds)

03. Jagan no Otoko (The man with the evil eye)

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TWO Shots Gaiden

04. Sesshoku (Contact)

05. Kyoutou (Joint Struggle)

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CAST

Yusuke Urameshi: Nozomi Sasaki

Kazuma Kuwabara: Shigeru Chiba

Kurama: Megumi Ogata

Hiei: Nobuyuki Hiyama

Keiko Yukimura: Yuri Amano

Botan: Sanae Miyuki

Gouki: Norio Wakamoto

Shiori Minamino: Kumiko Takizawa

Mirror of Darkness: Tomonichi Nishimura

Maya Kitajima: Yuki Matsuoka

Yatsude: Osamu Kato

Hedoki: Ikuo Nishikawa

CD 2: March 2005

Inter-dimensional Cannon Arc (events from the epilogue of the manga)

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Yusuke is spending his peaceful days running a ramen stand when he receives news that Genkai has collapsed. Furthermore, the Gate of Judgment in the Spirit World is occupied by those who seek the elimination of youkai from the Human World and the re-establishment of the barrier between the Demon World and Human World. If their demands are not accepted, they say they will fire the inter-dimensional cannon into the Human World. Yusuke and his friends gather together again and head to the Spirit World, but...

TRACKS

01. day by day

02. Reikai e (To the Spirit World)

03. Gekitotsu (Clash)

04. Noru ka Soru ka (All or Nothing)

05. Sore kara (And then...)

06. Messages from the VA: Nozomu Sasaki, Shigeru Chiba, Megumi Ogata and Nobuyuki Hiyama

CAST

Yusuke Urameshi: Nozomi Sasaki

Kazuma Kuwabara: Shigeru Chiba

Kurama: Megumi Ogata

Hiei: Nobuyuki Hiyama

Genkai: Hisako Kyouda

Botan: Sanae Miyuki

Keiko Yukimura: Yuri Amano

Atsuko Urameshi: Yoko Soumi

Shizuru Kuwabara: Ai Orikasa

Yukina: Yuri Shiratori

Otake: Hidetoshi Nakamura

It's great that after more than 10 years, "Two Shots" and "All or nothing" were finally made into OVAs in 2018.

There's also an original mini drama story written and directed by Shigeru Chiba (Kazuma Kuwabara VA). Part 1 was released in the Music Battle Edition 2 (1994), and Part 2 in the Yu Yu Hakusho Memorial CD BOX (1995). The cast is Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama and Botan.

"Yu Yu Hakusho Special Mini Drama ~ The Hungry Warriors" (Part 1 & 2)

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This is a drama that makes fun of the lack of eating scenes in anime, where Yusuke and his friends argue over what to eat. Among them, Hiei wants to eat monjayaki. In the manga, when Hiei melted Bui's axe, Kuwabara says "It melted like chocolate''. In the anime, his line was changed to "It melted like monjayaki''. So, it was probably an in-joke between the voice actors, using the mini drama as reference.

I don't know if there's any translations. I remember someone told me they were translating the mini drama, but I haven't heard anything since then. Does anyone know if there's any translations?

#Yu Yu Hakusho Shueisha Drama CD #幽☆遊☆白書ドラマCD #Yu Yu Hakusho Special Mini Drama #Yu Yu Hakusho Soundtrack #yusuke urameshi #kazuma kuwabara #kurama #hiei #botan #幽遊白書　スペシャルミニドラマ『戦士の空腹』#Hungry Warriors #Two Shots #All or nothing

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ginrinkoi · 4 months

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Rewatching my old flame(s) that got a newly fresh made Live Action today

#yuyu hakusho #yyh #hiei #kurama #two shots

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sittingcouchwithtable · 1 year

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TWO SHOTS (Art colab with @nightglow22)

Inspired by the song:

Line art done by me and the coloring done by @nightglow22, very nice to work with a friend👍

(I’m somewhat better at line art and they’re better at coloring so we kinda even each other out)

#rottmnt #rottmnt fanart #rottmnt movie #two shots #their coloring made the drawing more heavenly

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notimeliketoday · 2 years

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Exploration on Two Shots, Maya Kitajima & Togashi’s Possible Intent Behind The Story’s Relationships. (1)

PART II

Or to put it bluntly, a musing on the popular conceptions people have with Kurama and Maya's relationship - a different take.

Please excuse my ramblings and random date mentions. I'm just keeping track of how long since I started writing this whole thing. This may be the longest length of time I dedicated to writing my takes on something - just imagine an entire year.

Let me just mark this as posted on September 11, 2022 6:24 pm UTC +8 / GMT +8 because with the unrivaled dedication I poured into this, I deserve to remember when I decided to throw my hands up and left caution to the wind to post this whole thing lol.

Thanks to @yyh4ever for the translations and additional help with the whole thing, and @ombreecha for your insight.

Note: the first one's for the manga version.

Where did it all begin? Kurama in a corner while his peers in class were talking about an incident involving students going missing. The rest is history.

From the beginning, the heroine's introduction is off to a bad start. She was unfavorably compared to her nameless female friend. The first bad sign of what's to come.

The reader is then shown who this "Maya Kitajima '' or just plain "Kitajima" that an irrelevant and nameless character mentions. She started to include Kurama into their conversation, getting more and more animated the longer she talked. That was when her personality came into full display.

Interesting to note, and the first inconsistency I noticed concerning the "Kurama fell in love with Maya from the beginning" notion, is that during the entire conversation with her, Kurama's body language suggests distance, that he doesn't see her any differently from the rest of their classmates. He was even turned away from her when he answered. If Shuichi made an effort to at least be more open, Togashi would've drawn him turning even just his head towards her. In fact, when she then stated how boring his logic was to the disappearances, he gently told her how idiotic her ideas were.

Not to mention the way that Maya's subsequent replies sounded utterly nonsensical by the minute, with her gestures exaggerated, sets it up so it greatly lessened the impact when she said that she had Reikan. Shuichi went so far as to focus more on the eraser than her at that point.

Really, Shuichi?!

The implication on how easily the eraser captured and retained his attention when she's saying something important about herself I leave to you all.

Maya was meant to be an adorable weirdo whose unique hidden potential draws Kurama's attention. That was how Togashi built her up. One could say he played with the chuunibyou trope with her since she's legit, possessing the spiritual energy she brags about.

It's almost no different from the so-called spiritual masters Genkai promptly humiliated during her disciple selection. You'd think a potential love interest would be treated a lot more seriously from the start.

I'll say this: for all Keiko is his least favorite character, Togashi didn't treat her as badly as he did Maya.

I read the whole manga to see exactly how he did things and for accuracy and comparison's sake.

Just as interestingly, her outfit blends with her friends. This is the supposed heroine of this side chapter: indistinguishable from other nameless characters.

Kurama got a different outfit from his peers in this chapter but she did not, even with her prominence. It's not important I'm sure.

It's a sad thing that the very first time she was mentioned was a jab to her by one of her friends and thereby ensuring she isn't going to be truly significant no matter how important she's framed with her first appearance.

Centre aisle everyone?

However, the next panels indicate she may be more important than first assumed after all.

Kurama was then musing about said missing incident when Hedoki showed up and bragged about his intention to kill him, which Maya saw.

So she was right after all and that means Kurama can finally have someone he can talk about his past, and the truth of his identity, and later become his official love interest right? Yay!

No.

I'm sorry, but his response is outright gaslighting her. He even thought, "She was actually able to see it?" and his affirmation of its existence sounds more like a concession with how it was followed by him thinking his presence awakened it in the first place. This means he thought little of her ability and he believed that whatever little spiritual awareness she had had awakened and heightened from his close contact with her.

Then to really hit it home: "What do you mean? Maybe it was just your imagination."

Doesn't sound romantic, does it?

He could've just said that it's nothing and leave it at that and Maya's response can still be the same. I know it's the same gaslighting, but the insult is less harsh than how he did it.

There lies the second inconsistency with the romance route. You think Kurama would've demeaned the potential ability of his first love in the manner he did? Perhaps it can be argued he did it to protect her, and it's true in a way. But I've just discussed how his reception to it went above. There was also how he answered her questions and theories in the classroom. It wasn't even her claim of possessing spiritual energy he subtly questioned at that point, it was her very own sanity. He was all "you really believe that?" with his "I think that’s a bit far from reality"/ "Not possible". All in all, he sounds more like he thought very little of her as a person.

It can be taken that he didn't mean any insult and simply stating a fact, but his deliberate distance, not bothering to turn even just his head to address her, says differently.

Its purpose is to portray to the readers why Maya's female friend would be defensive in her level of credulousness, and show us the depth of Maya's own credulity through her interaction with him in that scene, though we are supposed to see this trait and her antics as endearing if only through Tasaka's (the male friend) crush on her and Kurama's supposed feelings in his inner monologue during his rejection.

He was acting like he was only speaking to her for the sake of politeness and her insistence to get into his personal space. There is nothing that says "I like this girl more than a classmate".

You can't even say that's him pushing her away when he could've treated her better than that.

I mean, is this the look of a guy who's looking at his crush?

His eyes are not as dull-looking and lifeless when he is talking to Hiei in his room!

In all actuality, if this intends to illustrate that her antics are cute or simply has any effect to Shuichi/Kurama and overall a lighthearted interaction, he would’ve reacted something. Maybe he could’ve sweat dropped like he did with Botan’s own flights of fancy, or even just smile towards her. Anything could’ve work better than this cold indifference. **

So where does that possibility of Kurama loving or his feelings of fondness for her come from?

The narrative sets her up for that role when it illustrates how Kurama-centric the root of Maya's ability from, as if she on her own won't possess it if they never meet. She's also the only one to get it through her contact with him.

(Something that isn't somehow repeated with Keiko and Atsuko with their much greater exposure to demons and entering Makai itself.)

Screams "meant to be", isn't it?

Tragic to think that it also implies that it is only her wishful thinking and interest in occult stuff that makes her believe she's special at the same time beforehand.

What happened next was her insisting that she wasn't wrong. That what she'd seen and heard was true. It's good that she got that much faith in her ability, otherwise she would've been crushed by Kurama's words.

Here comes her true reason for paying so much attention to him. She sensed he was different from the others, just like her. Then she added how happy she was to find the sort of person she'd long wanted to meet, someone who can relate to her, and maybe help validate that the strange things she saw from time to time is not just a product of her overactive imagination. Just as luckily, it's the guy she fell in love with.

We can see that he didn't even know about her feelings for him because of his surprised look and Maya saying, "So you really didn't know?"

Now here's the answer to how romance came into the picture. Maya detracted from her original question the moment she asked if he didn't know [of her feelings]. So when she persisted with "but you still haven't answered me yet" it now diverted from her asking him about the demon to how he feels towards her.

Kurama tried his best to dissuade her from probing further, and here's the awaited hint that he may reciprocate her interest after all.

"I can't... I can't say it". / "If I tell her how I really feel, I'll surely put her in danger."

(JP direct translation from @yyh4ever on twitter )

I will be blunt: this came out of nowhere.

At least the most accurate Japanese translation is. When I asked my friend @ombreecha - who I also requested to read this specific chapter - where it was hinted he reciprocated her feelings, she pointed out this one (the translation she read was the "I can't say it" line), something I agree with.

There's nothing that indicates he thought of her as his crush regardless of his need for distance from his peers in the classroom. If anything his body language and actions when talking to her is borderline rude, his words aside. That's too much for his "pushing her away for her sake" schtick.

He never repeated this level of distance in the series to anyone else. This is the rudest he could ever be to anyone not his enemy. Does this still scream romantic to you?

In comparison, her twist as the real deal possessor of spiritual energy is handled a lot better, and even that is not that good. His inner monologue and surprise over her feelings implies he didn't care to pay closer attention other than to know she got a hidden ability, yet it's still barely enough for his acknowledgement.

Not to mention they are supposed to be talking about that demon they both see and the admission of truth concerning their abilities while Kurama is doing his best to deny it. Then it suddenly flips into him hiding his feelings out of nowhere where it somehow becomes the most important thing to zero in.

That's what made this baffling.

It makes more sense if Kurama DID reject her claim that he is extraordinary. She was pushing him to tell someone about his abilities (i.e. herself) and put pressure on him that compelled him to deny it just to hide the truth about the incident and himself. It will flow better why she would say "[she] is ready and listening" rather than her confessing and probing him for his. The reason she will get so hurt by his answer then is because he inadvertently rejected her and her desire to get closer to him.

It need not be romantic on his side.

Ironically, the "I can't say it" translation flows better with this interpretation.

Maybe this is why the translator chose this wording.

What this part should have been would be him conflicted with his conviction to make her stay away from him or to finally have a true friend who knows who he is, not a love interest - yet. It would then be supported that there's an underlying implication he wanted to form a stronger bond with her, thanks to her spiritual sense and potential to be sympathetic to his true nature through her own interest in occult stuff, but couldn't due to the risk it posed. The reason I can say it need not be romantic in nature - at first - would be thanks to Hiei and what he offered later on.

It's actually thanks to this sudden change of topic that Maya sounds cocky and made her unlikable in my opinion because she's implying he should know about it in the first place. Granted, the whole class presumably knows but that required a level of engagement he wasn't interested in. It's like she thought she and her feelings are important enough to warrant such attention, or one was really blind if they didn't know something so blatant. It's funny, however, because she herself isn't sensitive enough to his own feelings and just tries to force her friendship without trying to understand what it is that he wants, only her interests. She's lucky he supposedly got a crush on her and he really did want to bond with someone who can understand him, otherwise her actions would have been intrusive had he been more like Hiei.

If she had pressed him to finally admit his hidden ability while offhandedly confessing her feelings, it may be more sympathy-inducing when he blew her off. It meant she did not pressure him with her confession but that she is open for more should he choose to confide in her.

Something like...

(Original dialogue spilling her feelings) and then this:

Maya: Admit it! You've really talked to that demon! Come on! Don't be shy. I understand that very well. It's not easy to be unable to share our experiences because other people won't believe us. But if you open up, you won't be alone anymore. I will be here to lend you an ear.

"Go ahead. Tell me.. I'm ready. I'm listening." - (Her own line in the confession above.)

It's precisely because this was not how things went that his rebuff made her only look pitiful with how cocky sounding she was before that.

I do believe that making Kurama open up to her is the original point of her probing him to tell her but the timing of her confession circumvented her words as though she's actively pressuring to get a confession out of him with the expectation he felt the same.

The OVA pulled it off in such a way that she really WAS pressuring him for his feelings towards her for the romance to be much clearer.

As I stated above, the whole thing with Maya was done poorly from the start. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Togashi attempted a then-atypical method of an underdog heroine for this chapter and did not bother to develop her initial characterization. She was built up as this chuunibyou with love of occult who turned out to be real but the payoff wasn't satisfying due to the sudden insert of the romance at her most critical moment.

Not saying that the romance is impossible but with the lack of build up on Kurama's side for that aspect, it's still premature on his part. It should be just a prelude to that specific possibility, not the actual mutual pining.

It's also an observation Ombree shared as well.

She gets shot down! Gently.

She then leaves with the sting of bitter rejection. What's more, it's a triple blow she got.

Let's think about it. Her feelings getting rejected, getting gaslighted by her first love and the crushing disappointment. Perhaps she was tired of feeling being alone in her uniqueness and wanted to maybe finally be taken seriously for once. Maybe she's not unaware of how her friends thought of her love of occult stuff and her credulousness and it pained her. More than anything, it hurts the most knowing that Minamino-kun was not so different from the rest after all. He also didn't believe in anything occult-related. He thought of her ideas stupid, and even insane. The way she immediately accepted and turned away just from a few words showed that this is expected despite hoping otherwise. It didn't mean it didn't hurt her though.

Oddly enough, she merely got sad during her rejection but didn't cry. It seems that in the manga, at least, she was not hurt as badly as her OVA counterpart because she already braced herself for a negative response, and her hopes weren't as steep. I see this to mean that she's already used to disappointments.

It was at this point that it's clear that though Togashi made an effort to build up Maya and the potential for the romance through mutual points such as her spiritual powers and interest in occult, which helped bridge their gap to one another, he also spent just as much time tearing them down - did it side by side in fact.

Even the little tidbit about her worrying over her weight hindering Shuichi did not escape as another means to demean her. Because the natural (and common) anime response by anyone in her position would've been to ask what's going on first and worry about the situation instead of focusing on how heavy they are. That's why Kurama answered her "that's not the problem right now" as it was not the right question to ask right there.

It was showing that she still got the mind to be conscious of her weight over prioritizing the more pressing matter in front of her.

I do concede it could also be just to show how out of depth Maya was with what she found herself and her crush in. She was responding according to how her brain processed the happenings; she was just a naive adolescent in the middle of a confusing situation. The point still stands however, due to Kurama's answer to her question and how she was written thus far.

When he grabbed her, she looked hopeful. Perhaps he's changed his mind and it's all a prank?

But his stance and words scream caution.

An enemy attacks!

Nah, false alarm on both ends. It's just Hiei.

The new arrival was just a demon looking for an Ice Maiden, and our male lead thought he's one of the enemies they each thought were working for their target.

All the while, Maya's forgotten and got taken during the scuffle. Togashi didn't even make Kurama gently drop her off before fending off Hiei.

I know it can be explained away as her distraction from the fight in front of her that she didn't sense another demon from behind her back but Togashi creating the proper conditions just so she would inevitably get caught was yet again to mean how little her spiritual powers matter in the grand scheme of things. If anything, Maya was more shown as the girl who was infatuated with Shuichi while her potential was just barely an afterthought.

So they learned who they were meant to fight and a new acquaintanceship formed which upgraded to alliance with her kidnapping.

It's obvious Kurama would never have joined the fight had she not been captured, and just as obvious Hiei wouldn't win the fight against Yatsude by himself. Maya's purpose was fulfilled.

When Hiei asked him for his motive for joining, he answered with "nonsense" / "don't be smart" which means he didn't want someone he just met thinking of his link with Maya.

Yet another point against the romantic view. The OVA alters this line with "we both have our priorities / we're both concerned" that recognizes her part for his cooperation. It makes sense with how it altered their dynamic.

Of course, the real enemy needed to show up at some point.

This is the other part where people are so convinced of Kurama's romantic feelings for her. How else would it explain his only instance of recklessness throughout the entire series?

I tried to make an objective view as possible so Ombree gave me her take on this part. I also tried to look for any official sources that discuss this one-shot and Maya to the best of my ability (and the language barrier), and went back to rereading and rewatching the whole thing many times for a year now (since the 2nd week of September 2021 iirc). I also asked for help on the translations as well as for clarifications from mori on twitter as well.

Ombree said he's more enraged at her loss and doesn't feel guilt is present when I asked her for it. But I think it's both and more. In her defense, this is the only chapter she read.

It can also be explained as his rage at losing control of the situation, anger that someone was killed so brutally, as well as anger towards himself for failing his classmate. It's a myriad of emotions manifesting into deep hate against the enemy. It need not be solely romantic for him to react this way.

How else do you expect him to react to the only kidnapping he "fails" at?

It's a logical fallacy to assume that the more explosive his reaction to someone's kidnapping and threats means that it's how strongly he feels towards someone.

It's like saying he loved his mother less than Maya because he didn't react this way for her sake. Willing to die sure, but get into a reckless rage he didn't do for her.

Or Amanuma, whose death provokes him to mercilessly punish Elder Toguro more than he did to those who threatened her.

It's like saying Hiei cared the most about Yusuke with how reckless and angry he was over the latter's second demise against Sensui, to the point Kurama himself points out he doesn't care about surviving the fight.

See a pattern here?

Maya, his supposed love interest, and Amanuma, a boy he just had the misfortune to strike down thanks to the machinations of a madman on the same day they met, invokes the same degree of intense hatred from him in two different ways.

All because of two aspects: they "died" during the ordeal. Only Kurama also bears the burden of those "deaths".

See these two important common factors.

It's why these failures are much more crushing to bear than the one time the group faced Yusuke's second death, for one thing.

Even saving his mother got outside help twice - Yusuke giving a part of his life, and when he, Jin and co. helped him defy Yomi's orders alongside the threat of Mukuro defeating him that ensured his mother will not suffer the consequences of his rebellion.

To the rescue!

I can say that even in this, it's shown that Togashi handled this kidnapping as though it's no different from him trying to rescue any other girl.

Proof?

He never called her by name when asking Yatsude. Sounds way too impersonal to me.

Now, I would agree with the accusation that this will just be nit picking on things but we need to look at the other times he referred to a girl this way.

These examples have something in common: he wasn't even acquainted with the girls in question yet during those times.

He could've easily said "Your underling grabbed my friend (or even just "my classmate") Maya earlier today. Where is she?"

She's already captured so any more extra caution about their connection should be obsolete but he still chose not to acknowledge it to the enemy. He still chose to put up a front that she was just a nobody he was trying to save.

Compare that to Yusuke who always mentioned Keiko's name even when the villain didn't know her at all.

I also agree that this on its own is negligible.

Except….

When Hedoki captured Maya, he was thinking of taunting Kurama about her through Yatsude, indicating this was his objective in handing her to him. However, there was no dialogue between them that clues us that the latter had known her ties to Kurama or treat it as anything important. If anything, he was merely saying that she would make a good gift for him and congratulating the former for doing a good job selecting his meal.

You know, like if he caught any other girl since he prefers them.

If he even bothered to care about asking the purpose for Hedoki’s gift, Yatsude may have perhaps used her to taunt Kurama for real. He would also not say "Is she a friend?" if he knew the capture was intentionally done to provoke him.

He was merely reacting at their invasion in his hideout rather than caring about provoking another demon through someone they care about.

The taunts he did were more coy and detached than the usual kidnapping case regardless if the subject in question was a then-unknown Ice Maiden or just a random girl his underling chose for him. He is really indifferent about them beyond how tasty they are, though there was more emphasis on the Ice Maiden since he made that false rumor about eating one presumably to increase his reputation.

If we actually compare his responses to Hiei's and Kurama's demands, it looks more like he baited Hiei more intentionally. Kurama was just another pest he had to deal with at the same time.

At a closer inspection, Hiei's attempts to find the Ice Maiden is actually a parallel to what was happening with Kurama and Maya.

Let's remove the knowledge that they're siblings and the plot between him and Yukina, and just look at this one-shot through a first timer's eyes.

This guy goes to such lengths to find a maiden whose name isn't revealed yet. Someone attempts to find out the nature of their relationship, but he was evasive about it because his personality is that of an arrogant lone wolf archetype. So his relationship with her is questionable, but one that can be mistaken as romantic.

Sounds familiar, right?

She was then said to be eaten by the enemy he's currently pursuing to gauge the truth. The ferocity he is fighting the enemy automatically cements that it must be for a romantic reason because, let's be real, we really don't immediately think they're a brother and sister especially with his character archetype - especially during those times until today - unless it's outright stated. This archetype is even one of the most common male leads in romances, particularly in shoujo works where the heroine is the one to thaw the ice for them to care about her.

(It's actually hilarious in hindsight how he played this role with Mukuro but in reverse. He was the one who did the thawing of her heart even before they officially met, according to her inner monologue right after his duel with Shigure, and after the Three Kings arc with her past.)

The villain in question seems like he's baiting the guy because he specifically mentions eating an Ice Maiden, even if it's a lie just to up his reputation of strength - the very type he is looking for. It's also lightly implied it isn't the first time they fight. Another clash is obviously inevitable.

Though he partially succeeds with his goal, we are still not told precisely what their relationship is until the end.

Just as how we are not told precisely what Maya is to Kurama.

Continuing that parallel later which reveals this bond as siblings and not romantic, then it also matches how in the end the relationship between them stayed as friends.

But there's a contrast as well and it is really recent, like just this May recent, that I noticed it.

The way Hiei questioned Yatsude is pointed and very specific. The identity of the maiden in question is important for him to know. So Yatsude responded the same way by treating it as a great secret only those in his confidence know about.

Kurama on the other hand worded his question as if he's asking about some girl that honestly could just be anyone captured that afternoon - like how should he know which one? That's why he was taunted with a random leg of a dead girl.

The only reason he could determine which one after his defeat was because her death was delayed thanks to him eating Hedoki first so he wasn't hungry yet before Hiei and Kurama barged into his territory.

It may seem like nothing but it matters a lot. You'll see why below.

Through comparing the two girls' importance presented we can see that the Ice Maiden is more relevant in the eyes of the villain of the story as though she's the heroine due to her significant usefulness for him both for his reputation and his strength - nameless and faceless as she is then.

This bit is brilliant because it subtly establishes that the then unnamed maiden will be a more prominent supporting character than the "heroine" of this portion. It's also a nod to the earlier volume where a villain really did use Yukina for his own gains; chronologically, it would've been a foreshadowing for that as well.

How in the end Maya is never seen nor relevant again (aside from an anime removed flashback in Dark Tournament).

She's even the foil to Maya's human.

You trying to tell us something, Togashi-sensei?

In my opinion: yeah, definitely. In more ways than one, especially considering the observations I laid out above.

It's also a hint to what he thinks will fit Kurama best.

Now, I actually thought that these are all there is to analyze about the plot and characters but it turns out there are more.

(Yeah, behold the beauty of taking almost a year to post one's thoughts. There's room for revision and new ideas. The one with the double asterisk above and below itself is conceived just this September 3 and made me internally scream because at this rate I may never get to publish this at all!)

It literally only came up to me right when I was in the middle of studying for my exam to boot! Hello to my July 23, 2022 struggle!

So, I said that Maya is the heroine of this portion and Shuichi/Kurama the male lead. Following the common conventions of shoujo plot romances, Hiei would have been the second male lead. In a way, he is. However, there were things subtly established by Togashi to avert tropes associated with the typical shoujo stories.

Hiei, as the second male lead, should've been besotted with Maya the heroine, but he not only looks down on her, he also only speaks about her in derision and scorn.

He also has his own heroine to save - a heroine later revealed to be not a romantic partner but a sister.

Where the end of the story should've culminated with the male lead ending up together with the heroine while the second lead ends up heartbroken but accepting of her choice, it ended with her getting cut out of her love interest's life while the two male leads form a new bond without her in the picture.

Maybe this is why Togashi showed Kurama dropping her and completely forgetting about her the moment he clashed with Hiei in favor of chattering with the latter until Tasaka called him asking her whereabouts?**

I know Togashi is a genius in his works but this is really the time it truly amazed me. To think he did all this angry and tired. The subtle nuances especially on the parallels and contrasts between each character are masterfully conveyed especially if you care to look deeper.

It is not merely just a meeting between both male leads that he was forced to make. He really did make an effort to the best of his abilities to tell this story and how it connected to the main story thematically and chronologically.

This is the reason for its popularity. He did not treat this halfheartedly but poured his heart into it. So anything shown here is done on purpose.

Those irrelevant on its own are collectively relevant to parse together the whole picture he wants to impart.

If this still doesn't convince people Maya's just a plot device however, I dunno what to tell you.

Poor girl got the short end of the stick!

Not even in this was she given her due as the supposed first love. I can no longer make excuses about this now. It's already far past the point for it.

Kurama is also the sort of character to be protective of girls because he's a mama's boy already by then. There is that too.

When I read this part, it feels like Togashi needs to give something to make Kurama and Hiei fight together for the first time that doesn't involve the former's mother getting kidnapped; who better to use than a classmate who liked the former and for whom he could possibly felt the same in turn?

They defeat Yatsude. Their issues are solved. Yahoo!

It did, except that this solidifies Kurama's principle not to get too close to anyone, while also ensuring Maya doesn't end up suffering trauma from the incident or worse get kidnapped again this time by demons wanting to get revenge or fight against him. This means her memories got to go.

There's a plausible second support for the romantic route on this portion. Kurama looked wistful when he removed her memories. It felt like he didn't want to do it and finally cut off ties with her.

However, it can also be perceived as his sadness with his decision to sever the bond with a friend he will never again allow to get close to him.

Hiei's impact in this (not) love story.

Everything one needs to discredit the romance is all thanks to him!

Need I also say how it took some of the focus from Kurama and Maya and shifts into getting to know more about Hiei and who he's searching for, and the last conversation exchanged at the ending?

The moment Hiei appeared was the moment Maya's role started to diminish. I'm not talking about Hiei's status as a main character, but at the standpoint of their interactions with Kurama.

Where he was guarded during his brief interactions with her, he had no problem probing into personal territory with a demon he just met. Hiei even calls him out on it. So this shows that Kurama would open up to someone who is at least aware of his true nature while being withdrawn from ordinary peers.

Hiei's advent unfolded the possibility that he once entertained venturing with Maya. It's more apparent with how they bonded immediately.

I believe he is the tool to tell the readers what Kurama wanted at that point (if you really wanna go there - ideal friend*) and to downplay the romance. I believe his nature as a demon also greatly influenced this closeness simply for the sole reason that he's the only one who can understand him as one of the same ilk. It's why out of everyone, they are the closest of friends despite the difference in temperament. It's why her spiritual awareness is what made her notable above the rest of the classmates. It's why the only thing he could say, and implied to notice, about her is this hidden ability.

It's why many can say that the romance is not strong enough to support the pairing between Kurama and Maya in the manga (even the OVA to an extent) chiefly due to how much better his dynamic with Hiei is, for all that they just met.

Most of all, it's why she was never shown again in person during the series proper. He already obtained what he secretly longed for with the gang. Her role ended the moment they cooperated against Yatsude.

From what I’ve seen, I can also say that the reason Kurama was first drawn to her was thanks to her status as a novelty to him in the sense that she's the first person with spiritual ability that isn't hostile to him since his rebirth in the Human World. He may not respect her meager abilities but he may have thought she will do for a potential close friend he can be completely honest with as not only is she the only one around him at that point with any spiritual ability at all but also because she’s the only one to bother trying to befriend him. Maybe he also finds her entertainingly cute with her antics.

This unfortunately adds more weight on why he immediately went all chummy with a certain fire demon after things were cleared, and why he loves taunting and annoying him. The ease in which he opened up to the gang in their first meeting, as though they're long time friends just after the Three Dark Artifacts portion is also a clue to this. It is yet another plausible reason why he was never shown again with another potential romantic partner. That novelty wore off by the time the series started.

(*I said friends not lovers. Togashi makes it clear who he thinks suits Hiei best through Mukuro.)

#yu yu hakusho #two shots #shuichi minamino #kurama #hiei #maya kitajima #yoshihiro togashi

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annusdraft · 1 year

Text

The Unwritten Rule | Part 1

synopsis: Aditya and Kashish have been bestfriends from a long long time. Several ups and downs throughout their lives but they are the only constants in each other’s journey. So perfect together. Just meant to be. Atleast that’s what all of their mutual friends think. Should they be together already? Kashish is confused about how she felt, until one night and then everything is clear.

warning: cheating

genre: bestfriends to lovers, angst, fluff

Guilt. Frustration. Heartbreak. Those are the negative and the only emotions you were feeling right now.

It was 1:00 am in the night and you were as awake as an owl staring at the pictures of him and you in your cellphone. HIM, the person who has taken up every corner of your mind, the person who has been with you through all the thick and thin times, one who would do anything for you.

Your one and only bestfriend, Aditya.

Yes, he is your bestfriend for almost 3 years now and he has seen you in every situation and trouble. Done things to put you in trouble and then help you get out of it. Yes, he always had to face the consequences of his actions but he never minded it and neither did you.

You are staring at the pictures of him reliving all the things you did with him, the memories, the laughter. Suddenly your phone rings. You read the name on your phone and you panic again. Your bestfriend has called you again. Panicked, not knowing what to do, you put your cellphone down just as soon as you read his name. Two minutes later a notification pops up. You raise your phone and the screen lights up.

Adityaa_

Hey

You see a text from the same person whom you've been avoiding for a month now. You don't know what to do right now. You feel all kinds of emotions. Guilt being the strongest one. Aditya, your bestfriend whom you've been avoiding since one month is trying to reach out to you, text you, call you, hoping you'd respond. You are not sure if you should reply to his message, well you know someday you'll have to face him, go through the most difficult part for you now. It's time you finally tell him this or it will to be too late.

Another text from the same person pops up.

Adityaa_

There are chances you might be asleep right now but

I know ur not. Pls reply so that we can figure

this out together.

Kashishx

hey

Adityaa_

Oh my god. You finally responded.

I knew you'd respond someday.

Kashishx

I need to tell you something important.

Meet me at the park at 6.

Adityaa_

Yes, sure lets meet.

Kashishx

(read)

Adityaa_ is offline🔴

Your roommate finally managed to convince you to go and meet him. It was her idea to text him and call him to meet up. Sure, you yourself wanted to meet him but you were not sure if you should. To be honest you are still having second thoughts about this whole thing. But you know you need to get this done. You can't avoid your bestfriend for your entire life, you also don't want to lose your friendship with him and not talking to him will do definitely do that.

It's 5:45 pm. You are in the cab. You will make it on time. The cab starts heading towards it's destination.

You know exactly what you are going to say to him. You don't know if you're doing the right thing or not, but you know this needs to get done. This will either mend your bruised friendship or break it completely. You clearly remember what led you two to the point where you are right now.

A month ago it was one of your common friends Kaira's birthday, Aditya and you were invited in her house birthday party. Alcohol, DJ, pool, everything you could ever ask for was there. But that's not what you wanted. You wanted him, your bestfriend to be besides you, to kiss you, to hold you, to tell you that he loves you too. You probably shouldn't think about some other man and definitely not about your bestfriend when you are here with your boyfriend Akshit who is right beside you kissing you, holding you, loving you, doing all the things you wish Aditya did to you. You felt horrible. This isn't fair to your boyfriend. You are just using him, pretending like you are still in love with him, yes, subconsciously but still. You are a horrible horrible person.

You like him and he is a really nice person but you are not in love with him anymore only because recently you've started to gain feelings for your bestfriend and as much as you want to accept this fact, you can't. Yes, your bestfriend, and he has no idea about it. It's better this way. You don't want to ruin your precious friendship with him just because of some stupid feelings. These are just feelings, they'll fade, they'll go away....right??

"I'll be back in few minutes." says Akshit while looking at some of his friends who are calling him from a distance. They are calling him over so you let him go. You nod giving him a green light and he gives you a kiss on the forehead before whispering 'I'll be back soon', his warm breath hitting your ear and then he disappeared in the crowd.

You order a drink for yourself sitting on the bar stool alone, now waiting for the drink to arrive.

"JUST ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE NOT IN LOVE WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND ANYMORE. KASHISH, WHY CAN'T YOU SEE YOU HAVE FEELINGS FOR ADITYA!!" you get the flashbacks from yesterday when your roommate and you were having a conversation, more like having an agreeing- disagreeing session.

"OH MY GOD will you stop saying that!!! I love him, I love Adity-- AKSHIT..." you take a pause to wrap your head around what just happened. That's just mix of names, you got confused with their names, that's it, you try telling this to yourself. But clearly your roommate doesn't think the same as you because you see her smirking but you don't comment on it, rolling your eyes at her is enough of a reaction itself.

"Besides Aditya is my bestfriend. Why would I love him? I have a boyfriend AKSHIT, yes!!" you say highlighting 'Akshit' to show her that you took the correct name this time but she just gives you a sarcastic smile. You are trying to convince her on the outside but deep down you yourself know that you are trying to convince yourself more than convincing her. You know what your roommate is saying is true but you don't want to accept this truth, because accepting this truth could probably ruin your friendship with him, lose one of the most important people in your life. You can’t fall in love with your bestfriend and definitely not when you have a sweet, caring boyfriend who never falls short on making you feel special. It makes you feel guilty.

All your thoughts are long forgotten when you feel someone tap your shoulder. You look at your shoulder, eyes following the hand to look at the person who is none other than Aditya, your bestfriend. You look at him and your heart warms up, a wide smile automatically taking it’s place on your lips.

"Hey, where have you been? I thought you'd cancel." he starts the conversation with a bright smile playing on his lips.

"Yeah, like Akshit was going to let me cancel them." you say with sarcasm while taking the glass the bartender hands you while Aditya chuckles.

"Akshit is here too?" he questions and you nod as a response. "He's meeting his friends." you reply while looking around, trying to search him with your eyes.

"Why don't you go dance with the girls on the floor?" you suggest.

"Are you kicking me out of here?" he asks and then chuckles. You chuckle back. "Besides I'd rather sit here with you." he says giving you the warmest smile there ever was. This made your heart warm. You take a sip of your drink making you squint your eyes from the bitter taste that now lies on your tongue.

"Shut up...just go and have fun, dance with the ladies, probably take one home." you suggest but then he smirks.

"You want me to hook up?" ofcourse you don't want that, but for some reasons you still say that to get a reaction from him. The smirk still not wiping off his face.

"Meh, I mean besides all men do is think about sex." you point out, acting nonchalant and purposely say this to get on his nerves but he just doesn't want to give you that satisfaction.

Instead he smirks and says "Hm, I can see your point," Aditya purses his lips "but sometimes it's hard not to think about sex when there's a beautiful woman."

You chuckle looking at your drink but when you don't receive the same reaction from him you look up only to look in his direction to see if he is serious, he doesn't laugh instead he looks at you more seriously this time. You choke on your drink, your heart beating more louder than before. But you try to mask it with your expressions, arching your one eyebrow at him shamelessly.

"Are you subtly flirting with me, Adi?"

"Do you want me to?"

Fuck, this man is so shameless sometimes.

Do you want him to?

The butterflies coming alive in your stomach are most likely a good answer for that. But it's very dangerous no matter how exciting and good it feels.

But then Aditya bursts out laughing, scrunching his nose at your face as you slap his shoulder, frowning annoyingly at your nails and fidgeting with them. "Dickhead!"

"Hey now," Aditya playfully frowns. "C'mon finish your drink quickly," he suggests. "I wanna dance with you."

You are not sure if any physical contact with Aditya is a good idea right now, especially when you feel your heart picking up it's pace and the sight of Aditya brushing his fingers through his hair isn't helping at all.

"Why?" trying to get yourself out of this, even though the thought of dancing with Aditya is tempting and it's been a while since you had fun with him in the form of dance. "Why don't you go dance with other girls? I'll sit here and cheer you on!"

You propose lightly and innocently, although devilish glint in your eyes as you look up at him, lips wrapped around your nails biting them lightly causing Aditya to frown.

"Stop biting your nails," he gently hits your hand causing you to frown. "And I'd much rather dance with you."

Fucking Aditya and his mouth for letting such words come out. His honesty no matter how it sounds when you think about what he just said now, your head spins. You are not drunk. The drinks you've been drinking are low percentage alcohol but you feel slightly relaxed from it. And it's dangerous because your mind already wanders into places it shouldn't have.

So you do what you do the best and you start whining, masking your panicked heartbeat and mind. "I'll look like an idiot next to you!" and you mean it in more ways than just one.

First of all, you are not drunk enough to be confident to dance with him. It's not just silly dancing you do at home. It's a big party and there are drunk people everywhere, you doubt everyone will have their eyes on you, but still. Aditya is like a magnet to eyes.

"That's not true," Aditya disagrees, grabbing your wrist gently as he shakes it a little. "Just one dance then. Please."

And he pouts, widening his eyes just like he knows, in that innocent and cute way that makes you shut your eyes as you let out a loud groan, knowing you've lost. "Okay, but I'm gonna finish this drink and you're gonna have one too."

He sits like an obedient student, flashing you with your favorite grin.

Aditya's convincing skills are good, just not as good as yours because finishing your drink meant two more and Aditya's one drink turned into three, all thanks to your pleading eyes, shameless begging and Aditya's soft spot for you.

He finishes his third drink and waits for you to finish your drink too. By the time you take the last sip and finish your drink, Aditya's already standing up. He doesn't give you any time to react already leading you towards the dance floor tossing you a handsome grin across his shoulder.

Realizing you've no chance, you deduce you feel tipsy enough to let yourself loosen up, even with Aditya's close proximity and his hands on your hips and yours on his biceps.

Aditya's one dance never ends with one dance. The alcohol flows freely in your body, the last three drinks you recordly gulped down causing everything to feel numb.

Everything except Aditya's hands.

You like the feeling of freedom the alcohol brings you. Overthinking is left somewhere else, letting you enjoy every second and touch of his.

It's a hard task to stay unaffected and you're failing miserably, feeling your insides twirl with excitement that you thought is long gone but it's proved that only Aditya can make it come to life. You're both still tipsy which is good because it means none of you are drunk. Tipsy to want to get close enough to Aditya which is freaking stupid, because he's already close enough as it is.

Aditya's warm breath hitting the crook of your neck causing you to shudder, shudder out of excitement and Aditya himself.

You know you've lost. It's too late to end this – at least that's what you tell yourself because you don't want to end this. You wish he'd just lean down and press those lips onto your neck like you love.

God, you're fucked. And tipsy. And horny.

And fucking stupid because when you shamelessly grind your ass against Aditya, there's no chance it looks like an accident. If you could turn around and look at him, you'd see him biting his lower lip.

His hands squeeze your hips, just like Akshit. AKSHIT!!Fuck, you completely forgot about him. He's probably out there somewhere thinking about you, saying nice things about you to his friends and Aditya is your bestfriend, so what the fuck are you doing?

Aditya's lips brush against your jaw, nose nudging it right after as you whimper, thankfully the sound gets masked by the loud music and bass that vibrate through your body. Everything is hazy, just not Aditya.

"Are you trying to make me hard?" he asks lowly, almost amusingly and he sounds so hot that you've a urge to turn around and kiss him, just because he's close and you're fucking horny, thanks to him.

Get a grip, Kashish, don't make a fucking mistake because you are tipsy and stuck with these feelings with him.

"Is it working?" you ask breathlessly and loudly enough for him to hear and you want to mentally slap yourself but the temptation and excitement are holding an upper hand here.

"I'm trying not to get hard," Aditya points out, maintaining the same low and deep tone as if he's telling you the deepest secret. "Don't start something you can't finish."

And that spurs you on even more, accepting the challenge as you turn around, staring into Aditya's dark and very much awake eyes. He has a lazy grin on his lips, living for the fire in your eyes and you're not sure whether he is amused by all of this or he's feeling it too.

"You out of all people should know I never start something I can't finish." you point out, smirk clearly visible on your face.

There's the boost of confidence growing inside you, very much thanks to the alcohol and probably hormones that are making you do and say all these crazy things.

Aditya's features darken and it's unbelievable that you can see it even through the shitty lightings.

Hands brushing against his chest, you slowly brush them down against his toned abs that you can feel through his button-up causing you to bite off the gasp that wants to get out.

Aditya chuckles, the corner of his lips lifting in a smirk as if he sees right through you.

Can he see how much he tempts you?

Is it just one of those times where you are teasing each other but are very close to playing with fire?

You're not sure but you're enjoying the thrill his eyes bring to you as they stare at you, crinkling at the ends while his hand touches a few restless baby hair and strands that got messy and slipped from your ponytail.

"I know but who am I if I don't challenge you?" he says with full confidence and a smirk on his face.

Breath hitching, it takes you a moment to release a giggle and you've no idea why you're suddenly giggling, maybe it's the way he wiggles his eyebrows - something he does frequently when he is fooling around.

"Shut up," you say, making him laugh while you watch him throw his head back a little before he's looking at you with a wide grin.

Not even a minute later and Aditya's hands are all over you again and so are yours, wrapped in his hair like you wanted them meanwhile the other hand holds the nape of his neck. His mouth brushes against your cheek and you shiver, whimpering how good it feels but it's just not good enough. You want more.

"Adi," you mutter into the air but it's almost impossible for him to hear you through the music, but once you turn your head slightly to look him in the eyes, you're met with the sight of his lips again.

You tilt your head back a little, finally seeing those dark orbs that watch you attentively, hands not leaving you. Shameless and fucking brave is what you are because your eyes find their way to Aditya's lips again. Wanting to cry out of frustration, you know your body longs for something else and your rushed breaths are one of the first indicators for it.

And then you grab the back of Aditya's head, inching his face even closer. You wait for him to pull away or at least give you a reaction that would say this is not what he wants. You would be fucking embarrassed if that happened, but maybe it would be for the best.

However, he lets you and just stares at you, almost as if he's challenging you to take the first step. Does he want this too?

Does he feel the need to kiss you just like you do?

He probably feels something because he would pull away if he didn't, you try to think rationally.

You try to bring your face closer to his, closer than it already is, your nose touching his and you wait. You wait for him to take the next step but Aditya looks at you with his hooded eyes not budging at all.

His eyes dancing between your eyes and lips, Growing annoyed and frustrated, you're ready to groan because there's something holding you back and you hate that at the moment but as always, Aditya saves the day and with a little bit of force forward, he finally lets his lips meet yours for the first time.

In a time you thought would never come.

Oh, Aditya's lips feel amazing and you feel like whimpering or cry out of pure satisfaction. They're soft, the softest. Your whole body feels hot, insides shivering with anticipation mixed with lust. The kiss feels good, it's not a hurried one, instead it's a slow and passionate kiss, like in a way he is telling you how much he loves you or maybe you are overanalyzing just like Akshit. AKSHIT!!! FUCK. You are kissing your best friend while your boyfriend is somewhere out there trying to find you.

But this feels good, you don't want this to end, you don't want to let go of him.

Aditya pulls away to catch a breath and looks into your eyes before diving in for another kiss. But before him attaching his lips to yours one more time, you budge and take one step behind. You budge because you know you fucked up. You fucked up bad time.

All you can think about is Akshit, how unfair all of this is to him, you cheated on Akshit, with your best friend. Your fucking bestfriend with whom you have also successfully ruined your friendship with, something you feared the most.

"Kashu" he calls you, hurt and guilt written all over his face, his hooded, dark eyes long gone, your gentle, sweet bestfriend coming back. He knows he fucked up too but you ignore him and turn. You turn and you run towards the restroom thinking you'll atleast get some air to breath there and time to process what just happened, realize how much you've fucked this whole thing up.

You run towards the restroom.

#the unwritten rule #love story #romance #angst #suspense #true love #love triangle #bestfriends to lovers #wattpad #wattpad story #tumblr #tumblr story #cliffhanger #my first story #part one #two shots

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