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Nagisa had been distracted lately. He knew the others could tell with the way they were looking at him when he suggested going into the Palace.
It was a battle to convince them to let him into the Metaverse at all but Nagisa needed this.
However Wonder very much did not need to get separated from his group. He couldn’t even say when he separated from them. One minute he was with his team, antagonising every shadow he could get his hands on, the next he was on his own. Which only made the problem worse.
Wonder just couldn’t help but think about his interaction with White Mask. Something had clearly set him off but Wonder just didn’t know what. Likely about Merope but if they really were the same then surely there was nothing wrong in admitting that he also knew Merope. So just what was it?
Another Shadow down as Wonder bit back a scream. Why did White Mask have to be so secretive! Why did he have to wear Wonder’s face and use Wonder’s name and call him that stupid stupid nickname.
White Mask also stabbed him!
He was angry, he had to be angry because the alternative was that Wonder wasn’t angry and that was so much worse. If Wonder wasn’t angry at White Mask then what did he feel? Curiosity? Embarrassment?
God what if he was into it? That was weird, disgusting even. How self-centered can he be, to enjoy his own company so much that he kept thinking about himself even though it’s been made very clear that he can’t trust a word he says! Wonder wasn’t even sure if White Mask was him at all, if White Mask looked like anyone else, would Wonder be tripping over his own feet the way he was right now?
What a mess he had got himself stuck in–
“Mudo!”
Darkness could hardly be seen in the traditional sense. If a bright light appearing from behind caused everything in front to look darker then it stands to reason that a great darkness from behind would make everything look brighter.
A quick look behind and Wonder saw the tell tale sign of a dissolving shadow. Either the shadow was weak (false: nothing in these damn palaces were weak), the attack was incredibly strong (false: it was a mudo, eiga hit for much more on a bad day), or the attacker was lucky (probably true: Wonder had managed to hit the insta-kill chance for mudo a few times).
But did it really matter when he knew who cast the spell? “Wonder?”
The air rustled as White Mask flipped into view, taking a bow as he landed. “The one and—well, I guess I can’t say only. Hey there.”
“Hey yourself.” Wonder felt awfully wrong-footed. Here White Mask was, smiling like nothing was wrong.
“You should pay more attention to your surroundings, first you get separated from your party and now Shadows are sneaking up on you.” White Mask tsk-ed, “I expect better, I won’t always be around to save you Nacchan.”
Wonder scowled. “Stop calling me that!” Where did Nacchan even come from? It wasn’t a nickname anyone had given him in the past, it was a White Mask original.
“Well what else should I call you?” White Mask pouted, “I can’t just go screaming your full name in a Palace now can I? Not without you scolding me, but maybe you’ll hold on to me as you tell me to shut up.” White Mask sighed wistfully like the weirdo he was. “I can’t call you Wonder because I’m Wonder. Maybe Kami-kun? Nagi-chan?” White Mask paused for a second as if to gauge Wonder’s reaction. “…Beloved?”
Wonder slapped him. An instinctual reaction really, it took his mind a moment to realise what he had done. Not at all helped by the fact that White Mask burst into a giggling fit soon after.
“Don’t—don’t laugh!” Wonder huffed, feeling oddly embarrassed.
“Looks like we’re sticking with Nacchan!” White Mask declared.
“I don’t get why I can’t be Wonder, I call you that.” Wonder grumbled but didn’t push past that.
“Wonder belonged to me first, besides, you act like I don’t know that you call me White Mask in your head.” White Mask shot back, “Couldn’t even be creative with it.”
“Well it’s the main difference between us.”
“Yeah but… What, was Hood a contender too?” White Mask rolled his eyes but it seemed almost fond. “Maybe I should call you Red Mask then, or Red Visor since that would be more accurate. Maybe even hoodless.” White Mask hummed, giving far more thought to the topic then needed. “I’d probably default to calling you Red, short and sweet just like you. But Nacchan is far cuter! Fits you so much better!”
Wonder scowled as he got booped on the nose. It was just a matter of time before White Mask started gushing over his looks again. Worst of all Wonder couldn’t help but feel flustered. Why couldn’t the both of them just be normal, the strongest evidence to them being the same so far was that they both had problems.
Idly, Wonder thought about what the cause of those problems was for White Mask. Did he have his desires stolen too at some point? Had Wonder losing them affected White Mask at all? Or maybe it stemmed from years of parental neglect. White Mask struck Wonder as someone who hadn’t interacted with any sort of parental figure in years, no discipline in sight.
“This was pointless.” Wonder sighed, he didn’t know why he even bothered. “Why did you approach me?”
“Aren’t you glad to see me? I killed a shadow for you.” White Mask pouted, “You approached me last time, am I not allowed to return the favor?”
“We’ve met a total of three times,” Wonder pointedly ignored the ‘I know something you don’t’ smile that White Mask gave as he said it. “Two of which were you approaching me first.”
White Mask shrugged as if conceding to Wonder’s point. “Maybe I just missed you.”
Wonder gave him a look at that. He wanted to point out that the two did not know each other, not nearly enough for White Mask to miss him but… that wasn’t exactly true, not on White Mask’s end anyway. White Mask was already wearing Wonder’s face and already knew Wonder’s name before they had properly met.
At the latest, White Mask learned of Wonder when he first awakened to his persona with Cattle in Mementos. And Wonder didn’t even want to begin to consider what the earliest could be.
Did Wonder know White Mask? Or more probably, had he known White Mask. Wonder didn’t have any siblings and the two cousins he had weren’t at all close to his age, nor did they look like him. Wonder’s relationship with White Mask wasn’t really appropriate for family members anyway…
Wrong avenue of thought then. If he could just figure out the how then maybe it would be easier to figure out the why. Or maybe both would be equally as difficult as each other. White Mask didn’t seem the type to be very forthcoming about his secrets.
“Are you like that because you have to be or because you want to be?” Wonder asked instead of the myriad of more pertinent questions in his head.
“Can it not be both?” White Mask blinked up at Wonder innocently, as though that answer was not the clearest answer he had given so far.
Though it was frustrating for it to not purely be for the love of the game. At least then Wonder could’ve gotten some answers when White Mask inevitably got bored by whatever it was he was seeking from Wonder. But if White Mask had to be… at least he was getting some entertainment out of it.
“Are your thoughts really that much more interesting than I am?” White Mask smirked, as if catching Wonder doing something who shouldn’t. “Or am I what you’re thinking about?”
“You are quite the mystery.” Wonder said in lieu of a proper answer, though the statement itself was one.
“Am I?” White Mask seemed delighted. “You make it quite difficult, always stumbling into things you shouldn’t.”
“Like your phone?”
“Enough with the phone already!”
Both of them stopped, blinking at each other, unsure at what to do at White Mask suddenly snapping.
White Mask laughed, pretending he could play it off. “You really know how to hold onto a grudge.”
Wonder decided to let him get away with it. “…Shouldn’t you know that already?”
“I guess I do.” White Mask stepped closer, far to close, grabbing both of Wonder’s hands and entwining their fingers.
Wonder should be terrified, he was terrified. It had to be fear making his blood rush, it had to be fear that made his heart so loud. There was an expression on White Mask’s face that Wonder couldn’t discern. But it was intense, it was all Wonder could see.
Then it was gone, replaced by surprise, then annoyance.
“You should come up with a decent excuse for your behavior.” White Mask whispered, “I’m not sure your friends will accept the truth from you. I’ll see you around.”
A promise. At least Wonder hoped it was.
White Mask stepped back and let go of one of Wonder’s hands, the other he brought to his face. Bowing slightly, White Mask kissed Wonder’s hand.
Then he left.
And Wonder was left there alone to process what just happened.