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“Urk…” Shin felt nauseous.
His head was throbbing, everything before his eyes was a blur and he felt like throwing up his lunch. He lay on the grass with the ground hard and cold. The only thing he had to be thankful for was that it hadn’t rained in the last couple of days.
What happened?
Why was he on the ground?
Shin had no idea what was going on, but his instinct as a former hitman forced him to get up—or at least sit up—to survey the surroundings. With his head hurting so much, Shin couldn’t concentrate enough to use his power.
“Fuck…” he rubbed at his eyes a couple of times until his sight finally began to focus.
It was dark and although Shin still couldn’t see that well yet, there were a lot of rustling sounds of leaves with the wind constantly blowing by. Was he in a forest somewhere? But the last thing he remembered was closing up the store with Lu, how did he get outside?
As Shin’s eyesight became better, he noticed that there was a piece of stone next to him. In fact, it wasn’t just next to him, there were stones lined up across the ground, all of them smooth and cut into equal rectangles…
“This is…a graveyard?!” Shin gaped at the tombstone in front of him. It was also at that moment that he saw something from the corner of his eyes, fluttering in the wind. He quickly whipped his head around and saw a person standing in the middle of the lonely path, holding onto a bouquet of yellow flowers that were swaying in the wind.
Cream-coloured trench coat and a polo shirt underneath with black hair and charcoal gray eyes…
Shin felt a wave of relief wash over him, a smile starting to lift the corner of his lips as he pushed himself onto his feet.
“Nagu—” he was about to greet that person when alarm bells went off inside his mind. The second Nagumo vanished from his sight, Shin instinctively ducked. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a flash of silver as a blade sliced through where his neck was, cutting off a couple of strands of his blond hair.
“Nagumo?!” Shin tried to move but his vision spun, causing him to stumble over his feet. Before he knew it, he was slammed face-first back into the dirt. He let out a grunt at the pain with the air nearly being knocked out of his lungs. By the time his sudden dizziness subsided, it was already over. Nagumo was sitting on his back, the heels of his shoes pinning his hands to the ground with his hand grabbing a fistful of his golden hair to pull Shin’s head up and stretching his neck out for the executioner.
“Nagumo…?” Shin grunted and tried to move, only to hiss when Nagumo dug his heels into his hands harder as though threatening to break his bones right here and there.
“Hey,” Nagumo’s voice was soft, but just hearing it sent a chill down Shin’s spine because right now, the assassin sounded pissed. “I must have looked like a pretty easy target these days, hmm?” He muttered, seeming to be talking to himself more than to Shin.
“I’m really curious…how did you do it?” Nagumo’s tone suddenly regained its usual airiness, tinged with a hint of amusement. Yet, this abrupt shift in attitude only made things worse for Shin.
Forget being pissed, Nagumo was furious right now.
“Man, it’s quite realistic! Even I couldn’t create such a perfect replica. This appearance is when Shin’s twenty-one, isn’t it? Did you do it yourself or did someone do it for you?”
“Ow—Nagumo!” Shin shouted, cold sweat breaking out of his skin as the man’s bloodlust was practically suffocating him. The assassin was also applying pressure to his hands with each sentence, making Shin believe that in the next one, he would really break his bones. “Nagumo, this isn’t funny!”
“Yes, it’s not,” Nagumo agreed and Shin felt the sharp and cold tip of metal pressed into his outstretched throat. “So tell me, who sent you?”
“What?”
“Who sent you after me?”
“I don’t know what you’re—” he snapped his mouth shut when the blade dug into his skin and he could feel hot blood rolling down his throat before the pain kicked in. Shin swallowed hard, knowing that if he didn’t start saying what the other man wanted to hear, then Nagumo would really kill him. “Look, I don’t know what happened but can we talk?”
“Talk?” Nagumo laughed as though he heard something hilarious. “When you come to me looking like this, you've already forsaken the option to talk.”
“I really don’t know what you’re on about! I don’t know why I’m here or why you’re suddenly trying to kill me!” Shin shouted. While in normal circumstances raising his voice would be the worst option, it was the opposite with Nagumo. Right now, Nagumo was determined to kill him and the only reason he hadn’t yet was because there was still something he was interested in. In that case, Shin had to keep talking to keep Nagumo’s interest going.
“I was closing the store and—right, an assassin came!” Shin gasped, finally remembering what happened before waking up in this strange place. He was rearranging some items on the shelf when yet another assassin came to kill Sakamoto. Since he was busy, Lu dealt with the guy, but the canned sardine she threw bounced off the assassin’s head and smacked right into him.
And…that was it.
That was where his memory ended.
“Lu…!!” Shin gritted his teeth, finally remembering the culprit of everything. “A-anyways,” he coughed, unable to believe that he had to admit to passing out from something like that. “That’s how it went! I have no idea why I was dumped here—and you!” He tried his best to turn his head despite the blade against his neck and the hand fisting his hair.
“What the hell?! Why are you trying to kill me?! Even though you made me confess last week and—”
“How?”
“Huh?” Shin tried his best to look at Nagumo, but Nagumo twisted his head back and this time, his blade was pointed to the spot between his eyes.
“How did you confess?” Nagumo kindly elaborated for him.
Shin gritted his teeth and just when he was about to respond, his eyes drifted down and saw that tombstone. Even though it was dark, the moon was out, shining a bit of light on the land that allowed him to see the words engraved on it.
“What…is this?” He whispered, disbelief evident in his voice.
The grip on his hair loosened for a moment before completely going away—along with the blade. Then the pressure on his hands and back was gone, but Shin couldn’t care about Nagumo at the moment as he quickly crawled over to the tombstone. He wiped his hand over the words that looked like they were carved by blade than professional carving tools.
“Why is my name here…?” He asked slowly before his eyes trailed to the year and froze.
What idiot created a tombstone for him and made his death five years into the future?
“Nagumo…?” He slowly turned around to see Nagumo standing there, hands in his pockets as he stared at him with those empty-looking eyes. “Nagumo, what is this?”
Shin was starting to panic a little now. After all, no one was sick enough to do something like this, even for a prank. If he considered Nagumo’s attempt to kill him on sight, then there could only be one conclusion…
This tombstone was real and he somehow got knocked into the future by a can of sardines.
Nagumo remained silent. He crouched down to meet Shin at eye level, tilting his head slightly, but his lips stayed sealed. His gaze bore into Shin, sharp and searching as if dissecting every detail of him—every move he might make.
“It's…gonna sound ridiculous. I'm barely believing it myself but I think I might not be in the right…timeline?” Shin said weakly, shifting back a little as he did so because that was how much pressure Nagumo was exerting.
“Your confession,” Nagumo repeated slowly and coldly. “What did you say?”
“I said…” Shin took a deep breath and met Nagumo's eyes. "Sakamoto-san is always someone I will look up to, but only as someone I respect. You’re the only one I want to live with, share meals with every day, and spend the rest of my life with.”
Nagumo didn’t move, but Shin was certain he saw the older man's pupils shift a little—like a light tremble. Before he knew it, the blond was wrapped in the strong arms of the assassin, his hug so tight that he felt like his bone was going to get crushed.
“It’s you,” Nagumo breathed next to his ear and just like that, Shin couldn’t care about any potential broken bones or bruises that he was going to get. “It really is you…how is this possible?”
“I don’t know,” Shin shook his head, just as confused. “When I woke up, I was already here.”
Nagumo pulled Shin onto his lap and continued to hold onto him. It was strange…only seconds ago, Nagumo had been intent on killing him, yet now, Shin felt as if nothing in the world could harm him. As if there was no safer place than in Nagumo’s arms.
Shin suddenly felt extremely tired.
He wasn’t sure if it was because he was finally safe or the whirlwind of emotions that came with dealing with Nagumo. Shin closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off to sleep, enveloped in his lover’s warmth and lulled by the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
When he woke up again, he was in an unfamiliar room, but with familiar people surrounding him. The moment he opened his eyes, the people in the room instantly piled up onto him and nearly crushed him if not for Sakamoto and Nagumo quickly peeling them off.
“Shiiiin! You’re alive!!! You’re really alive!!!” Crying the loudest was Lu.
“Unngh!! You're not a zombie at all!!! I’m so glad you’re aliiiiiive!!” No, crying the loudest was definitely Heisuke. And what the heck was him being a zombie about?!
“Shin!” Akira was sniffling as she blew her nose into a bundle of tissue.
“This is unbelievable…he really is him…” Amane still looked to be in disbelief.
“Well, duh. Didn't the DNA testing already showed that?” Mafuyu stated while scrambling back from Lu and Heisuke, fearing the possibility of getting their tears and snots flung onto him.
Shin stared at them. Even though he guessed at least five years had passed, the weight of it didn’t fully hit him until he saw the faces of those he once called friends and family. Aside from Sakamoto and Nagumo, everyone had changed, either by growing taller or altering their usual styles. Yet, when he heard them speak and the way they acted, a wave of relief washed over him. Beneath the surface, they were still the same people he had known. That didn’t change at all.
Lowering his gaze, Shin stared at the bandage on his wrist—undoubtedly from having his blood drawn. The back of his hands was bruised, but there was ointment applied over it with a cooling effect to soothe the ache. When he touched his throat, his fingers brushed against another bandage, covering the cut Nagumo had left behind.
“Shin,” Sakamoto stepped forward before pausing, seeming to be lost on what to say.「I’m glad to see you again,」he finished inside his head instead.
“Sakamoto-san…” Shin felt his eyes watered before golden wings filled his sight.
“Piii!”
“Piisuke!” Shin smiled as Piisuke landed on his shoulder and rubbed its head against his cheek.
“Yes, I’m real,” he reassured the bird while petting it. “So…where am I right now?”
He glanced around the room. At first, it seemed like an ordinary bedroom, but the thoughtful decor told Shin that its owner spent a lot of time here, filling the space with things tied to their memories. Large plush toys—likely from amusement parks or carnivals—sat in one corner, while handcrafted pottery rested atop the drawers. A stack of oversized pillows that looked very comfortable to lay on in another corner, a rug with a style that looked to be from a foreign country…this room was full of life—nothing like Shin’s own, which was stark and empty by comparison.
“You’re at my home,” Nagumo answered, much to Shin’s surprise.
“Seriously?” He looked around again. He would certainly never imagine an ordinary and small room like this to be Nagumo’s, but from another point of view, it might actually fit him…
“Shin,” Sakamoto spoke up as Shin stared at all the serious looks the people gathered here were giving him. He knew they were waiting for an explanation.
“Right,” Shin took a deep breath. “You guys probably won’t believe this, but I’m—
“We know,” Sakamoto cut him off while gesturing to his friend. "Nagumo told us."
“Yeah, dude,” Heisuke sniffed. “You’re from the past, right, Shin?”
“Yeah…” Shin nodded, now a bit lost on what else he should say. After all, the him in the future died so…
「I didn’t get a wink of sleep thanks to that experiment, this better be quick…」A voice suddenly echoed into Shin’s head, causing him to turn to the door as it swung open, revealing the eldest of the Seba sibling.
“Mafuyu,” Natsuki said, eyes immediately landing on his little brother who stood next to Amane and Akira. “What’s the emergency—” He paused the moment he saw Shin on the bed and Shin stared back. Just as he was wondering how Natsuki was going to react to his sudden appearance, there was a faint buzzing noise and the guy went full invisible mode.
「Shit, it worked,」was his thought when he tried to flee.
“CATCH HIM!!” Shin shouted, jumping out of bed but he was still much slower than the two former Order members.
Sakamoto slammed the door shut while Nagumo got an arm around the invisible weapon maker’s shoulders to keep him in place.
A minute later, Natuski was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, completely tied up in chains with a large lump on his head.
“Stupid Natsuki…what did you do this time?” Mafuyu groaned.
“Do you know what happened to Shin?” Akira asked.
“He definitely knows something,” Lu huffed.
“He immediately made a run for it,” Amane agreed.
“Well…” Natsuki drawled before looking over at Shin. “I might have created a time machine—or something like that.”
“A time machine?!” Heisuke yelled. “Wait—for real?! Like…a real time machine?!!”
“How?” Sakamoto asked.
“I can’t really tell you the procedure, it was an on-and-off experiment so it's not something I could explain on how it functions,” Natsuki said in a flat tone. “Besides, I needed that guy's remains to run the tests. If I had told you guys, then—”
Natsuki wasn’t able to continue because in a blink of an eye, he got a blade pressed into his neck from behind.
“Heeeh~” Nagumo was smiling, but his eyes certainly weren’t. He was looking at Natsuki as though he was nothing but a corpse. “So that’s why I thought the grave looked uneven. You dug my husband back out after we buried him?”
“H-husband?!” Shin shouted and his eyes snapped to Nagumo’s left hand where there was a silver band on his ring finger.
“What did you put into the urn after taking him out?” Nagumo demanded.
“Huh? What? You dug it out to check?” Natsuki asked, sounding half grossed out and half impressed.
Nagumo responded by stabbing his blade into the armrest Natsuki’s hand was tied to—right between his fingers and missing his skin by half a millimetre. “You’re a weapon maker, aren’t you? It would be a pity if you were to have a couple of missing—”
“I cremated some random bodies from the black market and used those as replacements,” Natsuki quickly replied while trying to shrink his fingers away from the blade.
“Okay!” Nagumo beamed and turned to Sakamoto. “Let’s kill him~!”
“Wait!” Mafuyu shouted, fearing for his big brother’s life.
“Nagumo, calm down,” Sakamoto said as he rested his hand on Nagumo’s shoulder before turning to Natsuki. “Seba, the Shin that is here. What will happen to him?”
“Well…” Natsuki looked back at Shin. “He’ll probably stick around until the machine overloads and breaks down. It has to keep running the entire time. If I don’t have a sudden power outage, then I’d say that machine can run for about twenty-four hours or so.”
“So after twenty-four hours, Shin will return to his time?” Akira's tone had a mixture of relief but also sadness.
“Pretty much,” Natsuki confirmed her guess.
“Why the Shin from six years ago?” Lu questioned.
“Six years?” Shin turned to Lu in surprise.
So the him of this world died a year ago?
That was pretty recent…
“Why would I know? I told you it was just an experiment. Be thankful it even worked in the first place.”
“Let’s kill him after all!” Lu shouted, pulling out a shovel and looking ready to bury the infuriating man.
“Nagumo, when did you find Shin?” Sakamoto asked his friend.
“Five minutes passed midnight. I'm guessing he arrived exactly at midnight,” Nagumo replied before looking up at the clock on the wall.
Shin followed his gaze to see that it was 11:07. Did that mean he only had twelve hours and fifty-three minutes left in this world before he went back? Now that he thought about it, what would the Lu of his timeline think if he suddenly vanished? Were they looking for him right now? Shin was worried, but when he looked at these people he came to call friends and families, he found it hard to leave just like that.
“…Sakamoto-kun,” Nagumo said after ripping his weapon out of the armrest and putting it away. “Can you leave this to me?”
“Nagumo…”
“Sorry,” Nagumo said to the others in the room. “I’ll be taking Shin. I know it’s a selfish request, but there is something I have to do.”
The first to speak up was Heisuke, or really, the loud sound of him sucking his snot back into his nose. “No problem! You’re his husband, after all!”
“H-husband…” Shin was once more reminded that in this timeline, he was married.
Lu looked a bit hesitant, constantly taking glances at Shin but eventually agreed as well.
“Whatever,” Mafuyu shrugged while untying his brother.
Amane and Akira nodded.
“Lu, Heisuke, Akira, Amane, come with me to Seba’s place,” Sakamoto said.
“Huh? My place?” Natsuki looked up while rubbing his sore wrists.
“We need to ensure your machine is running. For as long as possible.”
“Sure,” Natsuki easily agreed. Just like that, the group left, walking out one after the other taking a last look at Shin, but did not say a word of goodbye.
Shin stared at them, feeling a heavy emotion filling up his inside. They did not give him any goodbyes because they hoped—no, they knew there would not be a goodbye. The fact that he was here and could return to the past meant that there was now a way to change his death.
“Hey,” Natsuki called out to Shin, pausing just before he step out of the doorway. “…Good to see you again, you stinky clairvoyant.”
“Yeah,” Shin smiled. “You're the same as ever, Seba.”
Natsuki snorted before he walked off with his brother in tow. Soon, he could hear the sound of the door from downstairs, giving the entire space to him and Nagumo. Shin swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous upon facing this older Nagumo who was his husband—even though he looked no different than usual. As Shin was wondering how to approach the topic of his death, Nagumo smiled and held out a hand to him.
“You must be hungry, let’s get you something to eat.”
“Huh?”
And so, Shin found himself sitting at the dining table right next to the kitchen. He was still stupefied by the change of event, eyes darting around the clean and tidy home. Just like the bedroom, Shin got a warm feeling from seeing the different things that seemed to hold value to the owner being placed around.
His eyes were then drawn back to Nagumo who was working away in the kitchen. All he saw was a flicker of light from the blade and the chunk of meat on the chopping board became ground meat. Nagumo’s skill was on par—no, even higher than Aoi's when in the kitchen. This made Shin curious if he was always such a good cook. He watched the man work. Since he was wearing a black t-shirt and shorts inside his own home, Shin was given a full view of his tattoos running along his arms and legs.
Five minutes later, Nagumo set a plate of western-looking breakfast in front of him. Well, half was Western with the sunny-side-up eggs, bacon and fries, but the other half was hamburg with demi-sauce and omurice. He even made miso soup and salad.
“This is a lot,” Shin stared at the food, wondering if he was able to even finish this.
“Just eat whatever you like,” Nagumo told him, taking a seat opposite of Shin as he reached to the plate to take some fries.
Shin nodded, looking around before he picked up his spoon and took a bite of the omelette first. Almost instantly, Shin felt warmth spread throughout his body. Had he not experienced Aoi’s cooking before, Shin was certain that this one bite would make him tear up.
It was warm…just like that first meal he had with the Sakamoto family.
“It’s so good…!”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Nagumo laughed, this time stabbing his fork into the salad and taking a bite.
They ate like that with Shin picking whatever he wanted to eat and Nagumo also taking food from here and there. With the two of them, the proportion was just perfect, making Shin wonder if this was how they interacted in the future.
After they finished eating, Shin was about to help Nagumo with the dishes, but the man simply loaded everything into the dishwasher and whisked him outside. At first, Shin was confused about where they were going—until they arrived at an aquarium. Without a word, Nagumo pulled out two VIP tickets, effortlessly leading them through the back entrance, bypassing the long lines.
For a moment, Shin wondered if this place held some hidden purpose, like maybe a secret organization was operating there. It didn't take long for Shin to realize he was overthinking it. All they did was wander through the exhibits, admiring the fish and even petting dolphins. As confused as he was, he couldn’t complain…not when he was a bit excited over being able to pet the dolphins.
The tour around the aquarium went on for an hour and a half before Nagumo drove them to the nearest zoon where they looked at more animals. Again, Shin could not complain because of the petting zoo. But then after that, he was pushed into a pottery shop where the owners sat him down and got him started in making…pottery. After that, they went to the amusement park.
Honestly, Shin had no idea what was going on anymore.
Due to how many activities were packed together, he couldn’t even find the chance to ask what was going on. They went from one place to another without any pause. Before Shin knew it, it was already the evening. He stood in the middle of the street, gasping for breaths over all the running around he had been doing. There was a straw hat over his head, flashing sunglasses from the amusement park, a gigantic shark toy in one arm, and the other arm holding a bunch of souvenirs.
“Mama, that big brother is weird!” A little boy shouted, pointing at Shin as he and his mother walked by.
“That is rude!” the mother quickly shushed the boy and pulled his hand away so he wasn’t pointing. “That's a tourist, come on now.”
“Mama, what’s a tourist?”
Shin awkwardly looked away as the mother and son passed by, pretending he hadn’t overheard their conversation. Fortunately, Nagumo soon returned. With the man wearing a hat and sunglasses identical to his, Shin felt a little less out of place…though in Nagumo’s case, he still looked as handsome as ever. It made Shin wonder just what could this man wear that would not look good on him.
When the man returned, he came with a thirty-centimetre-tall ice scream in his hand—each scoop being in a different colour and flavour.
“Sorry for the wait, there was quite the line for this.”
“Nagumo, what—” Shin wasn’t able to finish when the tip of the ice cream was pushed into his mouth.
“…What is this? This is really good.” Shin licked his lips at the interesting flavour of the ice cream.
“The top is ramune flavour,” Nagumo said as he ran a tongue over the top—right over where Shin bit into it. The sight was more sexy than it should be, making Shin’s cheeks flare up as he forgot what he was going to ask.
“You should eat it before it melts, or it would be a waste.” Nagumo took his shark plushie away so he could take the ice cream.
“Ah…thank you,” Shin mumbled, staring at where Nagumo had licked it before shyly taking another bite.
This was an indirect kiss…right? Shin was pretty sure this was what they called it in mangas. Even though he and Nagumo of his time were boyfriends now, they never did anything like kissing or even holding hands. Honestly, Shin has no idea what he should do and Nagumo just interacted with him like how he always did. If it was anyone else, Shin would have thought the confession and boyfriend thing was a joke, but this was Nagumo. Nagumo may be a troll and lies pretty much about anything, but he was not a piece of trash that would joke about something like this.
Nagumo was serious in wanting to start a relationship with Shin and Shin was the same.
Except…he still has no idea what he should do and the shoujo mangas he tried to get references from weren’t helping either.
“Huh?” Shin blinked when he saw a familiar logo in the corner of his eyes. He glanced over and his jaw dropped at the large SAKAMOTO’S sign over a department store.
“Hey, Nagumo—!!”
“Would you look at the time!!!” Nagumo was shouting louder than Shin while waving his phone at the blond to show him the time.
“Wait, I haven’t finished the ice—!” Shin’s protest was carried away by the wind when he was once again dragged off. This time, Nagumo led him into a high-end tailor shop where he was promptly measured before being shoved into a fitting room and forced into an expensive suit.
When he got out, Nagumo was waiting for him on the couch, also dressed in suits. For the umpteenth time that day, Shin could feel his cheeks getting warmed over how good-looking the man was.
“Are you ready?” Nagumo asked and just like back in his home, offered a hand to him.
“Where are we going?” Shin asked, taking the hand and letting Nagumo guide him outside. This time Nagumo was in no rush as he opened the car door for Shin, making sure he was seated before getting into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. At the back of the car were piles and piles of the things they got from a day’s trip all over Yokohama.
The restaurant Nagumo drove Shin to was not an unfamiliar place. Shin knew about it because it was a very famous restaurant serving Western cuisine at the top of an exclusive five-star resort. The chef for that restaurant even has three Michelin stars. He had heard Lu talk about it on many occasions before—mainly because there was apparently some really expensive wine.
At first, Shin was excited, but the moment he stepped into the restaurant and took his seat, the awkwardness and nervousness set in. A quick glance around the place revealed elegantly dressed patrons with refined movements. The clinking of silverware and crystal glasses only heightened his awareness of how out of place he felt. His gaze dropped to the neatly arranged spoons and forks before him and wondered if he should pull his phone out to check what he was even supposed to use.
“Don’t worry too much about it,” Nagumo chuckled at how stiff Shin was. “Eat however you want. No one’s going to judge you.”
“Okay…” Shin nodded as the waiter arrived, setting two identical appetizers before them with precise, practiced movements. He introduced the dish before pouring them each a glass of wine and excusing himself.
Shin stared at the plate in front of him. The dish was tuna sashimi with edges torched, drizzled with a unique green sauce and delicately topped with caviar. It looked expensive—elegant even.
“I heard this appetizer won some sort of contest,” Nagumo said, picking up a fork and stabbing it into a piece of tuna. Shin followed suit, stabbing into the tuna and scooping up some of that green sauce and caviar. When he put it into his mouth, his eyes lit up.
It was good and the flavours were really interesting and complex.
He never tasted anything like this before.
“How is it?” Nagumo asked as Shin quickly nodded.
“It’s really good. I’ve never tasted anything like this before, but…”
“But?”
“I think your cooking tasted better.” Shin wasn’t lying when he said that. Indeed the food was delicious, but he did not get the warm and fuzzy feeling that he would get from Aoi and Nagumo’s cooking.
“I’m glad you enjoy my cooking so much,” Nagumo smiled as he ate another piece of the tuna.
Shin stared at Nagumo, watching him eat elegantly before his eyes fell to the other people at the table. Another thing he didn’t say was that he liked the atmosphere of eating with Nagumo better. He liked how close they sat and how they shared food off the same plate.
It just felt more intimate and relaxing.
Still, the food here was good.
Once they finished their meal, the two of them changed back into their usual clothes and took another drive around the city. As night fell, the streets came alive with vibrant, colourful lights. At multiple points, Shin excitedly shouted at Nagumo, pointing at the massive (and glowing) SAKAMOTO’S sign towering over the buildings.
Every time, Nagumo would pretend not to notice—much to Shin’s frustration. Shin wasn’t dumb. After being ignored the first three times, he figured out that Nagumo did not want to let him know anything regarding the future. Perhaps he was afraid that if Shin knew something, then the future would change.
But what about his death?
Shin thought Nagumo would eventually tell him the information he wanted to know the most. As the clock struck ten, however, he wasn’t so sure anymore. They walked along the beach, hand in hand, their footprints being the only ones that existed in the sand before the wave came in and washed it away.
Shin stared at Nagumo from the corner of his eyes. Even though he was right there beside him, he couldn’t shake the feeling of loneliness wrapped around the man…
“Oh…” Shin muttered in realization.
Nagumo was missing him—the Shin who was married to him, not someone like him who came from the past. Perhaps in Nagumo’s eyes, he was a completely different person, even if he would grow up to become the other Shin.
“Come with me to one last place, Shin,” Nagumo suddenly said without looking at him and Shin could only nod.
In the end, their last destination was back to where everything began—at the cemetery.
The gates to the cemetery were closed at this time, but the pair just jumped over it without breaking a sweat.
“You know…I could have killed you,” Nagumo said as he walked in front of Shin.
“Yeah,” Shin agreed as he thought back to their meeting. “I’m surprised you didn’t.”
This was something he was curious about for a while now. He didn’t want to sound narcissistic, but if Nagumo loved him—or at least the older version of him, then Shin couldn’t imagine the former Order member letting go of someone impersonating his lover so easily. The idea of time travel was absurd, and the dead could not be revived. So no matter how Shin thought about it, it should have been a sure death for him.
“Family rule. No killing,” Nagumo answered softly, reaching into his coat to pull out a notebook.
“This is…just like Sakamoto-san’s!” Shin mumbled as he took the notebook and flipped through the pages.
“Sakamoto-kun’s wife gave that to us at our wedding.”
“Eh?” Shin gasped, looking up at Nagumo who was continuing his way through the cemetery. Shin then glanced back down at the notebook. Even though it was dark, the moon was as bright as last night, allowing him to read the words that were there.
Family Rule No. 1: No Killing!
Family Rule No. 2: No Secrets!
Family Rule No. 3: No Stupid Pranks!
Family Rule No. 4: No Cotton Candy!
Family Rule No. 5: No Using Weapon As Can Opener!
Family Rule No. 6: No Pictures of Sakamoto!
Family Rule No. 3: No Hiding Injuries!
Shin snorted out a laugh when he saw some of the scratched out rules in there. He could definitely see the battle of both sides when trying to establish these.
As expected…it was warm.
The book wasn’t anything like the homemade food Aoi and Nagumo made, but it warmed his entire body from head to toe.
“We’re here.”
Shin looked up to see Nagumo staring down at a familiar gravestone. The smile that was lifting his face instantly fell as he joined the man’s side to stare at his own name. There was a bouquet of yellow flowers placed there—the one which Nagumo brought when they first met.
“Today’s Valentine’s Day, so I thought I should pay a visit,” Nagumo said as he sat down on the grass, not caring if it would stain his pants. “After we laid him to rest here, I didn’t come back for three months. I couldn’t face him—I didn’t know how to. I broke our family rule, you see. I’m sure Shin’s very angry with me.”
Shin took a seat next to Nagumo, holding the book close and just listened to him because he knew that was what Nagumo needed right now.
“To kill or to be killed…that is the life of an assassin. I have no right to resent anyone over his death. I only resented myself for not being there when he needed me the most. That said, I still killed the bastard responsible for his death, even though I knew it wasn’t going to bring him back. I returned to being an assassin again. I took on the hardest job and barely got a wink of sleep. It lasted for a month before Sakamoto-kun hunted me down. That might be the most serious fight we’ve ever had against each other.”
Nagumo’s eyes flicked to the notebook in Shin’s hand. Seeing this, Shin handed it back to him and watched Nagumo hold it carefully like it was the most precious thing to him. Shin couldn’t tell before because he wasn’t paying attention to the cover and it was dark blue, but there were some stains on it.
The colour was very dark…if he was right, it was probably blood stains.
“I was trying to die, that’s why I returned to that life,” Nagumo said softly while caressing the notebook. “Time seemed endless, just a day felt like a whole month. Every day was torture…even just breathing hurts. I was so tired that the idea of closing my eyes and never waking up again felt like a blessing. There was just one problem…I couldn't kill myself, because that would be the same as pushing my death onto Shin. The only way was for someone to kill me, but I also have to give it my all in every fight. Who knew that being so good at my job would have its downside?”
Shin felt a chill running down his spine as he stared at that absolute calmness on his face. His heart jumped in fear because he knew that this man would really do it.
“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to die anymore,” Nagumo said just as Shin opened his mouth to say something to pull the man from such a dangerous thought. He turned to him, a smile turning up his lips as he waved the hand with the silver ring. “I’m a husband with house rules to follow.”
“Nagumo…”
“Oh, when we first met I fully intended to kill you in that first attack! I was so surprised to see you that I lost my temper a bit~”
“Ugh…” Shin stared at the cackling man in disbelief. How anyone could break such a serious and heavy atmosphere like this was beyond him.
“You’re the only one I can talk to now,” Nagumo let out a long sigh. “To think all those precious nights of me spilling my gut was to some strangers I don’t even know.”
Ah, right.
The eldest Seba robbed his grave—or ashes.
“Nagumo,” Shin fully turned his body around to face Nagumo. “I want to change this future.”
“Hm?” Nagumo tilted his head like he didn’t understand what Shin was asking for.
“How do I prevent my death? Tell me,” Shin said firmly.
Nagumo stared at Shin and Shin stared back. After a long, long time, Nagumo took in a deep breath and then…
“Not telling~”
“Huh?!” Shin shouted. “I’m gonna die though?!”
“Is there any guarantee that telling you would change the future?”
“Then what was everything we did today for?!”
“A date, of course. It’s Valentine’s Day, after all~”
“Can you be serious right now?!” Shin shouted as he slammed his hands into the grass.
“I am serious,” Nagumo said, his tone dropping. This was like a bucket of ice dumping right over Shin’s head as he stared at the man. “I can tell you how to avoid it, but is there any guarantee that by changing the path you take, you won’t meet your end another way? For example, you get hit by a car crossing the street on the left. Knowing that future, you took the path on the right, and got hit by a truck instead.”
“Then what, I should accept the fact that I’ll die either way?” Shin asked in disbelief.
“No.” Nagumo’s eyes narrowed at this. “You’ll live. I’ll make sure of it.”
“How?” Shin tried to push for an answer, but instead of getting an answer, a hand suddenly held him by the back of his head, pushing him forward as his lips moulded with another.
“Hmph?!” Shin’s gasp was swallowed by Nagumo who moulded their lips together and took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside his mouth.
Shin has never imagined what his first kiss would be like. He has read it in books and mangas, seen it on television and in movies…naturally, he has also seen people kiss in real life. As someone who lived in the underground world, he never once thought that these things would have anything to do with him. Even after becoming a part of Sakamoto’s family, he was too busy trying to lead a normal life and fighting the assassins coming after them to think about relationships.
If he was to imagine what a kiss would be like, it would probably be sweet.
However, there was nothing sweet about the kiss Nagumo was giving him. It was overpowering, dominating, hungry, possessive…there was so much strong emotion that Shin was almost instantly overwhelmed. He didn’t even know when Nagumo had wrapped him up in his arms, or when he was put on to the ground.
His lungs burned as Shin began to suffocate from the lack of air, causing some tears to be caught within his lashes. Thankfully, Nagumo has not completely lost his mind to not notice. He pulled back, tongue barely withdrawing from his mouth, allowing Shin to take one gulp of air before sealing their lips back together. He repeated this another time, then thrice, and kept repeating until Shin got enough air before sealing their lips together for another long minute.
By the time Shin was released from the kiss, he was delirious. He didn’t know if it was from the lack of air or Nagumo’s emotion that overpowered him. He panted heavily, his eyes that were wet from tears looking up at Nagumo hovering over him with his breathing perfectly event. His midnight black hair fell around his face and those eyes that looked darker in the night stared down at him.
Shin parted his lips, but Nagumo was moving down on him again.
“Wait, I can’t—!” Shin tried weakly and turned his head away fearing that if Nagumo kissed him like that again, he would really die. His heart was already beating so painfully that he wouldn’t be surprised if he was to suddenly die from a heart attack. Nagumo’s lips didn’t meet his. Instead, they landed on the underside of his jaw—right over where his pulse was the strongest.
Shin hissed when the man’s teeth broke through his skin but not hard enough to draw any blood. Nagumo sucked on the flesh almost tenderly, sending a weird tingling sensation throughout Shin’s body. Shin couldn’t talk at all as he was too focused on finding a rhythm for his breathing so that he would not choke. His breathing was extremely unsteady and his heart was pounding as Nagumo’s lips slid down the slope of his neck, biting and sucking over a couple of places.
Shin’s hands landed on Nagumo’s shoulder, not certain himself whether he was trying to push the man away or draw him near. This gentle touch made the man pull back, finally taking pity on his neck which was littered with his mark. He grabbed Shin’s right hand, pulling it off his shoulder as he turned his head to kiss the inside of his wrist.
The blond shivered at the sight as he watched the man’s lips pull back, revealing his pearly teeth that began nibbling at his skin. All while doing that, Nagumo’s eyes were locked with his like that of a predator.
Right now, Nagumo was the very embodiment of danger—yet Shin also found it incredibly hot. When Nagumo dragged a tongue to his palm, Shin jerked back with a startled noise and his movement caused his head to knock against something hard. He let out a weak grunt before turning to see that he had hit his head on his tombstone.
“You…you’re gonna get cursed one of these days,” Shin said and just like that, the dark look on Nagumo was gone. The assassin—or former assassin—pulled his hand away with a heartfelt laugh, returning to his usual self.
“If curses were real, don’t you think we’d all be cursed already?”
“Oh…I guess you have a point,” Shin admitted, which earned him another laugh from Nagumo.
The man now had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked down at Shin.
“But if curses do exist, that means my Shin will come back to haunt me. How wonderful would that be?”
“Don’t even joke about that!” Shin quickly cut off that dangerous thought, knowing full well that Nagumo was completely serious.
Nagumo grinned, rolling off him and flopping onto the grass. He took a breath, then let out a long exhale, his gaze drifting up to the stars above them.
“Shin.”
Shin turned to Nagumo who kept his gaze on the sky, making him wonder if it was really him whom he was talking to.
“I won’t let you die,” he then turned his head to meet his eyes and smiled. “Trust the Nagumo Yoichi in your time and live your life the way you want. This future will change.”
“Yoichi…that’s your name?” Shin said softly as this was the first time he heard of it.
Nagumo rolled onto his side and gave Shin a quick peck on his lips which were still moist from the previous kiss.
“You know how much I love getting a reaction out of people,” he whispered, voice tempting and low against Shin’s ear as a large hand slowly stroked down his back. “I, myself, am not excluded from that.”
Shin blinked, but before he could ask what Nagumo meant, his head suddenly throbbed and his vision turned blurry.
He recognized this sensation.
This was—!
“I’ll see you soon.”
「Happy Valentine’s. I love you, Shin.」
Oh…
Shin felt tears welling up when he heard Nagumo’s actual voice and his mind’s voice overlapping. This was the first time he ever heard Nagumo’s thought and it warmed him up more than any homecooked meals or family rule book could.
“Yeah,” he responded back with a determined smile. “I’ll see you soon, Nagu—…Yoichi.”
With that, the dizziness finally overwhelmed Shin as he allowed his eyelids to fall over his eyes and his consciousness sank into the darkness.
…
…
…
Shin slowly opened his eyes, feeling a sense of déjà vu as he stared at the white ceiling. When he moved, he heard noises next to him and then…
“SHIN!!!”
“Wha? Shin’s awake?!”
“Finally…”
Multiple voices mixed together, turning into a jumble of noises along with everyone’s thoughts as Shin slowly pushed himself up.
“Urgh…” he winced as he looked around the room, recognizing it as the guest room at Sakamoto’s house. “What happened…?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you!” Lu shouted. “You suddenly disappeared, I thought you got kidnapped!”
“Disappear…?” Shin closed his eyes to fight off the wave of nausea as he tried to think. After a moment, his eyes snapped open with a sharp gasp leaving his mouth. “Lu, what year and date is it?!”
“Huh?” Lu stared at him as though he had gone crazy. “Did you hit your head or something?” She raised a fist, looking as though she would whack him if he said yes, just to see if she could jolt his memory.
“Just tell me!”
Lu gave him a weird look but gave him the date and year. When Shin heard it, relief washed through his entire being. He was really back in his timeline…or could that all have been a long and weird dream?
Shin quickly checked the back of his hands to find the bruises still there, as well as the bandage on his throat.
It was real.
He really did travel six years into the future!
“Since he’s found, can I go now? I can barely feel my hands and my back hurts.” A dry voice laced with annoyance spoke and Shin glanced to the corner of the room to see Natsuki tied to a chair.
“Why’s he tied to a chair?” Shin couldn’t help but ask.
“You suddenly disappeared so we all thought you got taken by this invisible guy here,” Heisuke said as he pointed at Natsuki.
“I told you I had nothing to do with it,” Natsuki deadpanned, seeming extremely fed up with repeating himself. Shin found it very hard to give the man any pity considering he was indeed the culprit behind everything, even if it wasn’t the current him that did it.
“Right, Yoichi—!” Shin gasped, looking around the room before he spotted Nagumo leaning by the doorway, his face devoid of any expression.
“Yoichi?” Nagumo let his own name roll off his tongue before a smile slowly lifted the corner of his lips. “Sakamoto-kun, did you ever tell Shin my name?”
Sakamoto also stared at Shin. Shin quickly realized that he might have screwed up because Nagumo suddenly let out a laugh that sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
“Shin,” Sakamoto stepped forward and although he didn’t continue to speak, he finished the rest inside his mind. 「You can tell us anything.」
“Huh?” Shin wondered what was going on now. Sure the future Nagumo was angry when they first met, but that was because he thought that someone was impersonating his lover. What was this current Nagumo pissed about? Knowing his name?
“Did you know that my name’s Yoichi, or were you calling for someone else, Shin~?”
“I…” Shin stared at Nagumo, then at Heisuke and Lu who were looking at him with worried gazes. Heck, Heisuke looked like he was on the verge of crying?!
“W-why are you guys looking at me like that?” Shin asked, shuffling back a little.
Instead of answering, Lu walked over to the dresser, pulling off the large mirror there before turning it around to face Shin. When Shin saw his own reflection, he completely froze up. He might be able to dismiss the dishevelled clothes to sleeping, but his swollen lips and hickies marking the entire column of his neck made him look like he got sexually assaulted.
Shin gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to curse out future Nagumo.
That bastard definitely knew this would happen to him!!
“Well?” Nagumo smiled in a way that made every strand of hair on Shin’s body stand up.
“It definitely isn’t what you guys are thinking!” Shin shouted, quickly clapping both hands over his neck, doing little to hide the mass amount of hickies. “This is—mosquitoes! I fell asleep outside and got bit by a bunch of mosquitoes!”
“Oh, so it was mosquitoes!” Heisuke laughed in relief, being the only idiot in the room to actually buy that kind of excuse.
“Mosquitoes?” Nagumo let out a low chuckle, the look in his eyes barely reflecting any light—like a pair of black holes sucking him in.
Shin was breaking out cold sweat, not daring to meet the older man’s eyes and ended up meeting the gaze of Natsuki who was looking at him as though he was the world’s biggest moron.
「Is he stupid?」
“I don’t want to hear that from you!” Shin shouted. Before he could say more, his arm was grabbed and his body was tossed over Nagumo's shoulder like a sack of rice.
“Hey—what are you doing?!”
“Sakamoto-kun, your employee here is going to take two days of sick leave.”
“Nagumo…” Sakamoto stared at them with brows knitted in worry.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to him,” Nagumo laughed as he walked over to the window and opened it up.
“That’s not what I—”
“Well then, bye~”
“Hey—wait!” Shin shouted as Nagumo leaped out of the second floor.
As Shin saw the ground coming closer and closer, he braced himself—not because he believed that Nagumo would fall over from a jump like this, but the fact that the man’s shoulder was digging into his gut. If they landed like this, then Shin could already imagine the pain he was going to feel in his organs.
Thankfully Nagumo thought of that too so right before the landing, he readjusted Shin so that he was curled up in his arms. The assassin even made sure to cushion the fall with his knees so Shin barely felt a thing.
“Ack!” Shin yelped when he was thrown into the car parked at the side of the road before Nagumo walked around it and climbed into the driver’s seat. This made it a glaring contrast to how future Nagumo treated him, opening the door for him like a gentleman and such.
As an assassin and now a wanted man, Nagumo did not have a fixed place to stay. Shin did hear from Sakamoto about the man having a penthouse somewhere in Tokyo, but there was a chance that the location might be exposed so Nagumo hasn't been back since. He drove them to a five-star hotel, disguising himself as a young man who looked to be the same age as Shin, but not a face that Shin knew. Nagumo tossed the receptionist his credit card, booking them the president's suite for two nights. Once they got their room and card keys, Nagumo grabbed Shin’s hand and pulled him down the hallway.
The entire journey to their room was steeped in awkward silence. Even though he knew it was futile, Shin still tried to pry into Nagumo’s head multiple times. Naturally, he did not get any results. The elevator ride was even worse, as the large mirror surrounding them forced Shin to stare at his neck covered in love bites. His lips weren’t looking any better too. In fact, he could have sworn they looked redder and slightly bigger than before.
“Nagumo,” Shin began as he tugged on his hoodie’s collar even though that was not gonna help in covering up the marking. “It’s really not what you think.”
“Do tell~” Nagumo leaned against the mirror as they continued to move upward.
“Would you believe me if I told you that you did this?”
“Oh?” Nagumo tilted his head, now looking slightly bit more interested in hearing him out. At least that was a good sign.
“It’s gonna sound ridiculous,” Shin began, keeping his eyes to the ground. “I suddenly went six years into the future thanks to a time machine that Seba made. I died in the future and I also met the future you who didn’t change a bit. You took me all over the place, calling it a date and left these marks just before I was going to return.”
“…I had no idea a can of sardine has such an impact,” Nagumo mused. “Perhaps I should consider using it on my next target.”
“I’m being serious here!” Shin shouted, finally looking up at Nagumo who stared at him with a calculated gaze.
“You aren’t lying,” Nagumo concluded once he finished analyzing Shin, looking a bit more relaxed than before.
“Why would I lie about something like that?!” Shin snapped, this time tugging his collar down instead of up. “You did all of this right before you knew I was going to come back! Goes to show your awful personality!”
“Is that something you should say about your own boyfriend?”
“Considering how I gotta clear my name here, I could say the same to you!”
“I would never accuse you of something like cheating, Shin. I know there’s no way you would do that,” Nagumo said, looking extremely serious as he walked forward and stood right over Shin. He stared at Shin’s neck for a long moment before he reached up and gently brushed his fingers over the red marks.
“So when you called out Yoichi, that’s me?”
“The future you told me your name…” Shin mumbled, his voice weaker than before as the feather-light touches were starting to make his legs feel weak.
At that moment, the elevator came to a stop. With a dinging sound, the metallic door opened. Nagumo turned and walked out of the doors with Shin hurrying after him. They found their room at the end of the hallway. Nagumo tapped his card over the sensor before opening the door, revealing the large and fancy room.
“Wow…” Shin walked inside and looked around. This was the first time he had ever seen a president suite in a hotel. While he looked around the place, Nagumo was also looking—checking to make sure there were no bugs or bombs before closing the curtains and transforming back into his real self in the blink of an eye.
“Get on the bed and take off your clothes,” Nagumo said out of nowhere, making Shin’s jaw drop.
He stared at the man who was casually removing his coat and throwing it onto the table before rolling up his sleeves.
“Hm? Do you need me to repeat?” Nagumo looked up when Shin didn’t move.
“I heard you the first time, but this is kind of sudden?!” Shin shouted, his face turning red at how blatant that guy was. He thought Nagumo would have more tact than this.
Nagumo blinked in confusion. He stared at Shin for five long seconds before he burst out laughing. Shin suddenly felt an itch in his knuckles as a vein on his forehead jumped.
“Are you thinking of something lewd~?” Nagumo gasped and wiped away a tear that was squeezed out. “I just wanted to check your body, that’s all.”
“Your future self didn’t touch me anywhere else,” Shin said flatly, already tired and done with speaking to this infuriating man. Why in the world did he even fall in love with a bastard like this?
“Yeah, he wouldn’t. I know myself better than anyone else,” Nagumo agreed as he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “So you said you died in the future?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“In five years.”
“No other details?”
“Why don’t you go ask your future self?” Shin grumbled a little at this.
“Sounds right then,” Nagumo nodded. “Now take off your clothes.”
There were so many things Shin wanted to retort but seeing the serious look on Nagumo’s face, he decided to do as he was told. It didn’t make it any less embarrassing though. Shin has no problem stripping. He was a man after all, but it felt different when doing it in front of someone he loves and loves him.
He pulled his hoodie and the shirt underneath over his head and tossed it onto the bed. He stood there awkwardly as he felt Nagumo’s gaze travelled all over his body, leaving a burning trail on his skin. Then the man walked around him, staring at his back for a long moment before saying…
“The pants too.”
Shin’s head whipped around, but whatever he wanted to say died on his tongue when he saw something black on his back.
“What’s—?” Shin gasped when pressure hit him in the back of his knee, making him stumble before he was pushed onto the bed.
He hit face-first into the soft mattress, bouncing a bit before settling down. When he looked up, he saw Nagumo hovering over him, hands already going to his pants.
“I get it, I’ll take it off!” Shin yelled, face burning with heat as he quickly crawled out from under Nagumo.
Nagumo just knelt there on the bed, staring at his back intensely and waiting for him. Grumbling under his breath, Shin pulled his pants and underwear off, tossing them aside to join his other clothes.
“T-there, happy now?” He stammered a little and suppressed a gasp when a cold hand touched his warmer back.
“Stay like this and don’t move,” Nagumo instructed before his hand was gone.
Shin glanced over his shoulder to see the man opening a small black notebook and began jotting something down with a pen. Curious, he stretched his neck further, managing to catch a glimpse of his lower back that was covered with weird symbols in black ink.
“What is this?” Shin’s eyes widened at the scribbles reaching all that way to his tailbone.
“Don’t bother, it’s written in codes only I know,” Nagumo muttered, his focus entirely on his back as his pen continued to glide across the pages. “You won’t be able to decipher it even if you can see it.”
Shin was stupefied as he stared at these words(?) on his skin. He tried to think when the future Nagumo had done it and the only time he could think of was shortly after their encounter, after he fainted. So already back then, Nagumo must have figured out what was going on and wrote these on his back?
Shin touched his neck, now realizing why the future Nagumo started kissing him and leaving all these marks behind. This was to signal his past self inspect his body—so he would find the code meant for him and him alone.
“What does it say?” Shin asked after a while.
“What was my future self’s answer when you asked about your death?”
“You sure know yourself well.”
“Of course, it’s me, after all!” Nagumo chuckled and Shin could hear another page turned as the man continued to write. “If it’s a me that loves you, then of course I would know what actions he'll take.”
Shin’s breath hitched and his face felt hot all over again.
“I’m the one who’s gonna die but I’m left in the dark. Does this make sense to you?”
“I agree,” Nagumo hummed. “But who’s to say you won’t run into a second death after avoiding the first?”
“Wouldn’t I die no matter what then?” Shin asked, feeling like he was getting nowhere with Nagumo…again.
“I won’t let you die,” Nagumo said, his words a statement—a promise. “Instead of avoiding death by going down another route, it’s safer to face it head-on. We don’t know what will happen if we alter the future, but what if we bypass it? Then it’ll all be good, no?”
“How do we do that?” Shin asked, now curious.
“Do what you would do normally,” Nagumo answered and his large palm covered with calloused pressed into Shin’s back—right over where his heart was. “Go trigger that future. This time, I will be there with you. You won’t die, Shin.”
Shin closed his eyes, smiling as the tension and stress melted away at the promise and touch of this man. Playing the damsel in distress wasn’t his style, but letting go and allowing someone else to take the lead—just this once—didn’t seem so bad.
“So what did you do with the future me?”
“He pretty much dragged me all over Yokohama,” Shin laughed as he recounted his entire day with the future Nagumo. The more he listed out, the more impressed he was that they were able to go through so many things in just a day.
Nagumo listened intently, his expression relaxed as his fingers traced gentle patterns over Shin’s back. Eventually, his hand came to rest on Shin’s nape, his fingers moving in slow, soothing circles—almost like a massage. Shin could only imagine how many people had feared—and even perished—by that hand, yet to him, it was nothing but reassuring.
“Hey, Nagumo.”
“Hmm?”
“You better make sure you save me, or I won’t haunt you even if I die.”
“You really do know how to make a threat, don’t you?” Nagumo smirked, his hot breath gliding down Shin’s shoulder before a kiss was pressed into his collarbone, making him shiver. “I must admit, that is very effective on me.”
“Nagumo…”
“I’m listening.”
“Don’t die.”
Nagumo paused before a low chuckle rumbled from his throat. He didn’t respond to this one, but Shin knew he would take his word to heart.
“Nagumo.”
“Demanding today, aren’t you?” He sighed and rested his chin on Shin’s shoulder. “Go on.”
Shin took Nagumo by surprise when he suddenly turned his head and pressed a kiss onto the man’s cheek.
“Happy Valentine’s,” he mumbled, face burning red as he watched those gray eyes widen. In an instant, the man pulled him into his arms and laughed—a laugh that lasted for what felt like a full minute, gradually softening into a chuckle before melting into a wide smile. He looked down at Shin and pressed a kiss back on his cheek.
「Happy Valentine’s. I love you, Shin.」
His words echoed into Shin’s mind, overlapping with future Nagumo’s last words before the hand on Shin’s nape tightened and everything turned black.
…
…
…
Beep!
There was the sound of the lock unlocking before the door slowly opened, revealing an elderly lady whose face was covered in wrinkles. She moved toward the bed where the black-haired man sat, cradling another man wrapped in blankets on his lap.
“Make him forget everything that happened in the last forty hours,” Nagumo said, his gaze never leaving the person in his arms.
“Memories cannot be fully erased,” the elderly woman replied, setting out acupuncture needles on the bed. “I can only seal them for a period of time.”
“That’s fine,” Nagumo murmured as he gently stroked the sleeping blond's face. His eyes then shifted to the notepad beside him, where he already recorded down everything he needed before wiping away the special ink on his lover’s back.
“Six years—no, make it nineteen hours before the full six years. That’ll be more than enough.”
◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤
“Nngh…” Shin let out a quiet groan as he slowly opened his eyes to the dark room. The heavy curtains were closed, completely blocking the sun from spilling light into the room. He had to stretch his neck up to look over his pillow and see the digital clock sitting on the nightstand. It was six o’clock and Shin’s first thought was to get to work, only to be reminded that he took today off.
That's right, today's Valentine's Day.
Shin should get up and start getting ready, but he didn't want to.
It was warm…
He snuggled into the person tucked in his arms, looking down to see the mop of black hair buried against his chest. He could feel the slow breath of the man fanning across his skin, tickling his chest and stomach. Shin couldn’t help but smile at this sight. He tilted his head until he could see that handsome face, looking so peaceful even innocent. The blond held his lover to his chest and buried his face into his silky black hair, enjoying his rhythmic breathing and how those strong arms were wrapped tightly around his back, keeping him close. As usual, Nagumo has a very spoiled way of sleeping—not that Shin was complaining. Nagumo was so warm and the bed was comfy. Shin was almost lulled back to sleep when his groggy mind suddenly picked up a signal.
“…!” Shin was taken aback when he began to see images inside his head.
This was…from Nagumo?
The images inside his head were blurry at first, but they were slowly becoming clearer. Shin’s heart pounded as he felt a tingling sensation flow through his body. He was now wide awake, blood pumping in excitement as he tried to tune into Nagumo’s thoughts.
Nagumo rarely ever let Shin know what he’s thinking. The only times he did were because he was too lazy to talk and decided that using his telepath was quicker. Never had Shin seen any images in his head. On top of that, this was when Nagumo got his guard completely off. Even though Shin knew snooping was wrong, he couldn’t help but be curious about what usually went through Nagumo’s mind—especially when he was dreaming.
「Ah! Ahhn…Yoichi—nngh…n-no more…ah, ahhh~!」
Nagumo’s mind enveloped all of Shin’s senses and the blond was suddenly staring at himself—completely naked with his skin covered in pink and red marks. He was hugging tightly onto a large shark plushie, tears caught in his lashes as his body was being thrust upward on the mattress, then pulled back down by the strong hands gripping his hips. Accompanying each of those movements was the wet slapping sound of flesh echoing throughout his head like a siren's song.
Nagumo’s movement was quick and precise, making sure to slam full force into his weak spot every single time. As though that wasn’t enough, he grabbed Shin’s left ankle and pulled his leg all that way up while his other hand lifted his hips into the air so he was at a better angle to be pounded into.
「One more time…hah…last one,」Nagumo’s moan rang into his head as he brought Shin’s foot to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of his foot. Then his tongue came out, licking a wet trail up before slipping between his toes.
「AAH?!」Shin yelled as he tried to pull his foot back, but the man’s grip was too strong.
Through the vision flowing into him, Shin could feel a tight heat wrapped around his dick, letting him become aware of how hard the memory version of him was clamping down at that moment.
「You liar—aaaah!! You already—s-said that last time!! No—oooh—more!」
「More?」Nagumo chuckled, pretending to misinterpret Shin’s words as he dropped the ankle before grabbing the shark plushie by the tail and flung it across the room.
「Ah!」 Shin wanted to reach for it, but Nagumo leaned in to fill that vacant space between his arms. Then with vigorous force and speed, he began fucking him into the mattress.
"Ah…!" Shin shuddered, arms winding tightly around Nagumo as pleasure tingled through his body from his chest.
「Aaaaahn~! Y-Yoichi—oh! Ngh!」
"Hmm…ahn…" he curled up against the man as the wet suckling sound merged with the wet slaps ringing inside his head. From both inside and out, he could hear Nagumo's moans, completely matching and syncing up.
「Yoi—ah! I’m gonna…aaaah! I’m gonna…!」
"Yoi…chi—ah…"
「Go ahead,」Nagumo whispered into his ear while his teeth teased his earlobe.「Cum for me, Shin.」
"Ahn…" he shuddered, throwing his head back as his toes curled up and his hands gripped Nagumo tightly.
「AAAAAAAAAAH~♡!!!」
“GYAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” Shin hollered, finally managing to free himself from Nagumo's mind. With his face redder than a ripe cherry, he kicked the love of his life off the bed. Nagumo’s limp body gracefully spun around in the air, drawing a perfect arch while pulling the blanket with him, spinning himself into a cacoon before dropping to the ground. This left Shin sitting on the bed, completely naked and shivering from the cold air that assaulted him as well as the pleasure lingering inside of his body. His breath was short and his left nipple was wet with his lover's saliva and also perky from having been played around with by his tongue and teeth.
“WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HAVING A WET DREAM WITH THAT KIND OF SERENE-LOOKING FACE?!!!”
Moreover, that was no dream at all! The perspective might be different, but that was definitely Nagumo’s memories from last Friday after their movie night! Most importantly, he was horrified to learn how detailed Nagumo’s memory was. It felt like he was watching some VR porn from Nagumo’s perspective, which made it even more embarrassing.
“Pfftt…AHAHAHAHA!!” Nagumo’s laughter could be heard somewhere on the ground and when Shin leaned over the bed, he saw the man lying there comfortably with the blanket folded neatly under him like a futon. That explained why he couldn’t hear the sound of impact from Nagumo hitting the hard wooden floor.
“Damn it, I should have known you were awake!!” Shin screamed, unable to believe he fell for it.
“Sorry, sorry~” Nagumo laughed as he sat up. "You were looking at me so adoringly that I couldn't help it."
“Help what?!” Shin shouted, not sure if he should ask about that memory or the bastard taking the opportunity to suck on his nipple.
“Oh?” This made the man’s gaze drop to the spot between Shin’s legs.
If possible, Shin’s face became even redder as he grabbed his pillow and used that to cover himself. On the other hand, Nagumo had no problem showing the full glory between his legs to his lover. The sight of it was making steam rise from his face as he quickly turned his head away. He thought of it every time he saw it…but Nagumo’s really big.
It was amazing how it could always fit inside…
“It’s cute that you’re still so shy,” Nagumo chuckled, leaning on the edge of the bed with his head resting on his knuckles. “How about letting your dear husband take care of that little problem for you?”
“If I let you then I wouldn’t be able to leave the room until the afternoon,” Shin grumbled. “I’ve been looking forward to today’s date…I don’t want to take time away from it…” His voice at the end was getting fainter, but Nagumo heard it loud and clear.
Almost instantly, the former assassin got onto his feet and crossed the room in three quick steps.
“I’ll go take a shower first. You can sleep a bit longer,” with that, he was out of the bedroom, closing the door gently behind him as he did so.
Shin’s face was practically letting off steam now as he flopped back down onto his bed and buried his face into Nagumo’s pillow which was filled with the man’s comforting scent. Even though Nagumo didn’t show it, it was clear he was also looking forward to this day. He pulled his face out of the pillow to look at the silver ring on his finger, the smile on his lips widening more and more as he stared at it.
“Alright!” He jumped out of bed and pulled on a large sweater that belonged to Nagumo. He waited until he heard the sound of the shower turning on before grabbing his phone and hurried downstairs to the kitchen. He paused a moment, listening to the shower still running upstairs before he opened the bucket of rice stored at the bottom of the cabinet next to the oven. With a pair of long chopsticks, he dug through the rice until he found what he was looking for.
Using the chopsticks, he carefully gripped the object and pulled it out to reveal a red box sealed inside a ziplock bag. He placed the rice back, then opened the bag to take out the box. Listening to the sound of water from above, he quickly ran to his jacket in the foyer and tucked the box into the pocket. After this was done, Shin checked his phone to make sure all the preparations he made were in place. He was going to make sure today was perfect. This time, he was not going to let Nagumo outdo him.
While doing this, Shin never noticed the pair of charcoal gray eyes watching his each and every move. Every time he turned around, that person would stealthily shift away from his field of vision. Just as Shin was about to return upstairs, Nagumo was already back in the bathroom, closing the door soundlessly behind him before walking into the shower.
“So that’s what he’s been doing these days,” he chuckled quietly to himself.
It was adorable watching Shin fret over their Valentine’s date, even going as far as hiding his present like a squirrel hiding its food. Naturally, Nagumo found Shin’s present days ago but to respect Shin’s desire to surprise him, he never looked inside to see what it was. Although Shin did seem to suspect he might have caught on, considering how the places he was hiding the presents were getting weirder and weirder.
At this rate, Shin might one day find the perfect hiding spot that even Nagumo couldn't locate.
“Unfortunately for him, I’m still winning this year~” he hummed a cheerful tune as he lathered shampoo into his hair.
There were still fifteen hours until Shin’s memories from six years ago returned.
Nagumo was looking forward to seeing the reaction of his husband tonight~