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Jyushi doesn’t realize they’re lost until it’s too late.
Such is the nature of being lost, of course. If they’d known they were getting lost they would have done something about it. But the fact remains that it’s almost certainly past midnight, and Jyushi’s phone is dead, and they’re alone in the middle of Shinjuku.
The smart thing to do would be to find Hitoya. But if Jyushi could find Hitoya, they wouldn’t be lost, since Hitoya’s where they’re supposed to be.
Kind of. “Supposed” is a little bit of a stretch, probably. But Kuko had insisted that someone needed to make sure Hitoya’s date went well, and he’d been tied up at the temple all night. So he kind of strong-armed Jyushi into doing it. That was their story if Hitoya caught them and they were sticking with it.
… even if they’d been curious, too.
It had been fine in the restaurant. They had some very nice napolitan pasta with Amanda and Hitoya’s date went… fine, probably? They’d gotten a little distracted. It was hard to keep an ear out while eating. And then they’d looked up, and Hitoya and his date were gone, and they paid and stumbled outside and immediately got very, very lost. For a couple hours.
And… Jyushi’s been doing better, okay? Even Kuko says so. Jyushi doesn’t cry at the drop of a hat anymore, even if they want to. But.
But they’re alone in a part of the city they barely recognize, and their phone is dead, and they don’t know how to get to the train station from here, or even where “here” is.
And it’s suddenly all way too much. The flashing neon lights, the cheering and yelling and the thumping bass coming from every club on the street into a cacophony designed to make them miserable, the smell of smoke and alcohol and cologne and garbage, and Jyushi can’t hold onto their thoughts.
This happens sometimes. Jyushi’s mom used to call them tantrums but they were always less about getting their way and more about surviving. Their grandma understood, though. She’d let them curl up underneath a blanket with their hands over their ears until everything stopped being too much. The thought makes Jyushi sob, wet and embarrassing.
This kind of episode happens much less often now that they’ve gotten used to performing onstage, but there’s still a big, big difference between being on stage at the eye of the storm and being swept up and tossed around in the crowd like this.
Panicked, Jyushi ducks into an alley behind some seedy-looking host club and curls up as small as they can. They’re trying very hard to cry quietly, but it’s never been a skill of theirs, and they’re sure anyone who walked past the mouth of the alley could hear them blubbering. They’ve just gotta hope nobody hears them.
Selfishly, they imagine Hitoya or Kuko coming and picking them up off the ground. Giving them a hug maybe. Jyushi wants–
Footsteps. Someone’s coming. Jyushi curls up smaller and holds their breath.
“Is someone out here?” a voice calls, smooth like silk. Jyushi stays very quiet.
“Hifumi, nobody’s there. We’re going home, okay?”
“I’m sure I heard the tears of some lovely kitten, Doppo-kun– ow, hey!”
“Take the damn suit off already, you–“
Jyushi can’t help it: they start laughing. It’s quiet at first, wet with tears, but suddenly there’s something so completely hysterical about the whole situation that they burst into giggles.
The voices both pause. The first one – though sounding much different now, less sultry, more cheerful – calls out: “Hello?”
“I– I’m here,” Jyushi murmurs.
“Holy shit,” says the second voice, and then two men round the corner.
And Jyushi’s – they’ve seen these men before. The three of them in Bad Ass Temple had watched the recording of the first division battle probably a hundred times. Jyushi would know their faces anywhere.
This is Matenro’s Izanami Hifumi and Kannonzaka Doppo.
Doppo frowns. “… a kid?” he murmurs.
Instinct takes over. Jyushi scrambles to their feet, strikes the best pose they can there next to the garbage bin overflowing with champagne bottles. “Bah! No child stands before you but the fallen angel of dark rebellion, Aimono Jyushi, 14th moon! You would do well to remember the name.”
Hifumi and Doppo stare, for long enough that Jyushi almost starts to fidget. They won’t break character over it, though. They’re committed now, okay? They’ll be the first to admit 14th Moon doesn’t make the best impression, but it’s safe! Safer than introducing themself as… Aimono Jyushi, lost teenager.
And then Hifumi bursts into laughter. Doppo groans at his side but Hifumi isn’t deterred at all, practically doubled over.
Jyushi puffs up, annoyed. “D– don’t laugh at me!”
Doppo blinks. “Woah, your voice–“
“Sorry, sorry–“ Hifumi says, still laughing, “I’m not laughing at you, promise! You just totally caught me off guard! Like, I meet a lot of people at my job? But you’re something else!”
Jyushi relaxes, slowly. Whatever Kuko might have to say about Matenro, Jyushi knows these two wouldn’t hurt them.
“Hifumi,” Doppo groans, “can we please go home? I’m exhausted.”
Hifumi ignores Doppo entirely, sticking out a hand and beaming at Jyushi. “I’m Izanami Hifumi! Call me Hifumin!”
Jyushi fidgets. They take Hifumi’s hand, probably a little too hard. “U-um. Aimono Jyushi. You can call me Jyushi, if you want…”
Doppo sighs, then sighs again. “Kannonzaka Doppo. Hifumi, please…”
“Doppochin, don’t you recognize them? You should be friendlier with the competition!”
“The– huh?”
Jyushi interjects here, “I’m! A member of Bad Ass Temple!”
Doppo clearly racks his brain for a moment before he can place the name. “Oh. Oh, you’re the kid.”
Jyushi frowns. “The…?”
Hifumi laughs. “Don’t worry about it! Hey, hey, Jyushi-kun, what are you doing way out in Shinjuku so late?”
Jyushi opens their mouth and then snaps it shut. It’s probably not the best move to tell Jakurai’s teammates that they were spying on him. “Uh,” they say, searching frantically for a lie that will make sense.
Doppo frowns at them. “If you’re spying on us you’re not going to get anything useful…” he mumbles.
“I’m not spying on you!”
Jyushi realizes their mistake at the moment Hifumi’s eyes go wide, sparkling with mischief. “So you are spying on someone? Spill, spill!”
Doppo glances sideways at his companion. “Come to think of it, wasn’t sensei’s thing with Amaguni-san tonight?”
Hifumi hits their palm with a fist. “Oh my god you’re totally right.”
“It’s not–”
“Did you follow them! Oh my gosh this is perfect. Jyushi-kun, you have to come back to our place and tell us everything.” Hifumi grabs their hands eagerly, setting off down the alleyway.
“A-ah?? I’m sorry?” Jyushi stammers, allowing themself to be pulled along. This might as well happen.
“Hifumi!” Doppo exclaims, jogging a little to catch up, “You can’t just kidnap random teenagers!”
Hifumi stops, turns around. “But Doppo-chiiiin,” he whines, “sensei’s never gonna tell us anything exciting! It’s not my fault you wouldn’t take off work to tail them. How else am I gonna know what happened?”
“Sensei is a grown adult, Hifumi,” Doppo says, rubbing his temples. “Like you’re supposed to be.”
“You’re no fun. Hey, Jyushi-kun, your pompadour lawyer, is he nice?”
Jyushi blinks, head spinning at the quick change of subject. “Um. Hitoya-san? He’s the best person I know. He acts grumpy and mean but he actually cares so much. He… he saved my life, when I was younger. He didn’t have to. He could have just let me… but he didn’t.”
They’ve exited the alley by now, Jyushi walking alongside Hifumi and Doppo trailing a few steps behind. Hifumi’s expression goes soft around the edges as Jyushi speaks.
“Sensei is the same,” Doppo says. “I hope… um. If you were worried about Amaguni-san. You don’t have to be.”
“Um. I mean. I know Hitoya-san can take care of himself. Way better than I can, ahah.” Jyushi looks down at their feet. “But, um. I owe him a lot, you know? Like I said. And he was really nervous about this. A-also! It was Kuko-san’s idea! So!”
Hifumi tips his head back and laughs. “I’m not judging! I wanted to tail them, too! But Doppyon and I both had to work.” He pouts. “Did anything exciting happen?”
Jyushi thinks for a moment. “Um, Hitoya-san almost knocked the candle over? I think? I couldn’t really hear much. Or see very well. It was hard to get a table where they couldn’t see me but I could see them. So I just… couldn’t.”
It’s embarrassing, but Hifumi only nods sagely. “Well, if they didn’t catch you, I’d say that’s a roaring success. Press your Hitoya-san for details when you get back to Nagoya, okay?”
At the mention of their predicament, Jyushi starts to feel a little queasy again. But, looking around – Hifumi’s led them back to the train station.
“Oh!”
Hifumi smiles. “You’re a good kid, you know? Come hang out with us again sometime.”
Jyushi nods. “You’ve been too kind, Hifumin-san! I really can’t thank you enough!”
Doppo takes Hifumi’s hand and regards Jyushi. “Don’t let him get attached to you. You won’t ever get him to unlatch. Like a barnacle.”
Hifumi sticks out his tongue. “I’m your favorite adorable barnacle and you know it.”
Something tugs in Jyushi’s chest, warm and important. It’s hard for them, sometimes, to imagine being as old as Hifumi and Doppo are now. To imagine making it that far, juggling that many things. But. They’re doing it, aren’t they? Even though it’s hard. So maybe… Jyushi can too.
Jyushi smiles. “Thank you both so much,” they say again, and set off to find their train.