Archive of Our Own ^beta

Makie stumbled, panting as he fled from the scene of the crime.

He and Sachi had been out hunting the watari, as usual per their daily schedule working for Supervisor-san. Though, just because it was a normal routine for them didn't mean that it was any less taxing on poor Makie.

Being a human surrounded by monsters was strange enough for what used to be a normal life for him, but he loved it nonetheless. It was only a bit tiring sometimes. Like right now, as a large legged whale chased him through a bramble outside of an abandoned Daiso. There was a nest right behind the counter and several large watari had snuck it's way through and were spending their time grazing in the shop overrun with plants.

It was Makie and Sachi's job to herd them back through the portal and to close it up, to prevent any further creatures from escaping. Of course it was in his job profile to act as the bait, with his unusually sweet scent making him look like the perfect dish for all monsters. Of course it wasn't ideal, but the job paid well and he was always looking for excuses to hang out with his newly made girlfriend. Even if he was in the line of fire during their time together.

Right at that thought, an unsuspecting root suddenly snagged Makie's foot and the boy flew forward, slamming into the ground with a thud.

He gasped and turned behind himself to see how close the watari was getting to him, now that he had lost his movement and was shocked to see its giant jaws opening above him, a giant dollop of spit landing on his cheek from where the monsters throat was pulsating as if it was already thinking of swallowing its dinner for the day.

Bracing himself by holding his hands above his face, preparing for the worst as the monster dove down on top of him.

But right as Makie thought he was going to become watari food, Sachi dove in the way of the monster coming at him and interrupted his dive with her massive mouth, swallowing him in one big gulp. Gasping, Makie panted for air as the adrenaline from the mission wore down.

"That should be the last one," his senpai spoke, clapping the dust off of her hands as she transformed back into a human-type figure. She reached a hand down to Makie to help the boy up, him stumbling to get back onto his feet as his legs were shaking.

"Lets report back to Supervisor-san and then go out for crepes, what do you think?" Sachi asked, smiling down at her petite boyfriend. Makie should have been used to this by now, his girlfriend's quick rebound from fighting watari all day, but it still took him by surprise how quick to recover she was. He figured she wasn't being used as living bait though, so she had less to recover from. 

"Sure," He spoke in a dazed zoned-out voice. "That sounds nice."

"Hello? Earth to Funatsugi?" Sachi joked, giving his side a squeeze before taking his hand and leading him away from the abandoned Daiso. She skipped at a fast pace, Makie stumbling behind her, tethered to her body via hand holding.

Makie found her persistence cute, how she would always bounce back whilst being considerate of others. The one thing he found frustrating was how she couldn't relate to him. It wasn't her fault of course, both coming from very different backgrounds (re: monster) but still he wished she could see his side of things more often.

Coming up to a woman leaning against a large white truck on the side of a road, Makie recognized the uneven bangs of he and Sachi's manager.

"So, how'd it go?" Supervisor-san asked with a calm, impressed voice as she stared down at her junior fighters.

"All the loose watari have been taken care of, the portal closed of its own accord while I was eating them." Sachi spoke before Makie could even get a word out, though he was not complaining as the summary seemed impressive enough.

"Perfect. Report back here next week, I got report of another nest opening in the old elementary school.

"Got it!" Makie cheered, bowing down at his superior before he and Sachi took off, leaving their manager behind them.

"Crepe time!" Sachi expressed excitedly as she began skipping again, her body bouncing with her mood. Makie couldn't help but grin at he looked at his joyful girlfriend. She looked so happy, and he loved her so much.

Physical representations of his love for her could be found in the schoolbag slung over the girl's shoulder, where an empty bento box lay. Every day, Makie would make special lunches for him and his partner to share, and every day they ate them together.

He didn't know yet what he would make for the next day, but he had plenty of time to figure it out because it had just only turned 3:00 PM.

It was no surprise to anybody that Makie loved cooking, it was his primary hobby as well as his fuel for day to day activity. It only doubled his love for the activity that he could share it with people he loved.

"Here we are!" Sachi cheered as she saw the small crepe stand, the best one in the city she claimed. Last time they had been here was a week ago, when they had come together on their time off for a date. Makie always found it so cute when she got excited over things like this, her big innocent smile and spark-filled eyes widening as they ran towards the stand.

Stumbling after the excited girl, Makie chuckled along with her as they approached the hooded awning of the pop-up shop.

The crepe stand itself was a trailer, hitched to the back of a non existent car. The supportive breaks were up, propping the large black wheels of the shop off of the ground so it doesn't roll away. It was a bright light pink, with baby blue trimmings and a white menu. You could see bits of the paint used to decorate the trailer chipping off at the bottom, no doubt from its trips on the highway.

The shop itself was situated in a large circular shaped road, off to the side next to a hibachi restaurant. It was a pleasant area, with lots of greenery and benches to sit on. Makie could spot a couple families sitting down on said benches sharing a bite to eat. There was a bit of a line stretching across the sidewalk and swiveling around the rounded road, out of the way of any cars that may come to pass. 

The pair got in the back of the line right away, not wanting to wait around for it to get any longer. They didn't need to look at the menu to know what they wanted, two triple chocolate crepes with strawberries.

Makie wasn't sure where 'triple' chocolate came from, as there was only one kind of creamy chocolate paste in the crepe itself with the strawberries, but he wasn't complaining as it tasted delicious.

"You did good today, Senpai", Makie complimented, turning to look up at his taller girlfriend. "I really thought I was a goner back there, but thanks to you I'm standing right here!"

"Oh Funatsugi," Sachi giggled, "I wasn't about to let you perish on me! You're my boyfriend after all."

Makie smiled at the word. Boyfriend. It still made him giddy inside to have the girl he was crushing on for so long refer to him at her boyfriend, like a young girl fangirling over her favorite band.

Sachi must have sensed his joy, because she leaned down to quickly peck his cheek with her lips. Immediately, Makie went beet red, blushing even more furiously than before when he was thinking about their relationship status.

Rubbing at his cheek where she had kissed him, Makie scrubbed the spot with his simple grey cardigan. 

"You're so cute," Sachi commented before turning and walking up in the line.

They were almost at the front of the line now, having waited not that long. Makie figured that they must have their crepes pre-made because the one time he tried to do a special treat for Sachi and bake her their favorite treat, crepes, it had taken a god-awful time as well as ended in disaster. He was most certainly not a baker, he had figured that out.

Right as he hit that thought, he felt a hand on his wrist pulling him forward. 

Ah, he thought to himself. they must be at the front of the line.

He looked up at the counter Sachi was currently leaning on as she ordered their dessert. He was almost tall enough to reach it, maybe by high school he'll be able to order without the hassle of being below the counter.

Makie hated being short, it was one of his biggest insecurities but he persevered through. Plus Sachi said it was cute how short he was and that was certainly helping.

"Two triple chocolate crepes with strawberries, coming right up!" The burly man working the stand yelled out. Sachi stepped back, motioning him to follow as hot steam arose from within the cart. It certainly smelled delicious, and Makie couldn't wait to eat what Sachi had ordered for them.

He watched as Sachi paid the man for the foor, and then took her hand as they walked off to one of the vacant benches around the park.

Both of the crepes in one hand, Makie worried for a moment that one or both of them were going to fall but that luckily wasn't the case as they sat down. Sachi handed Makie his crepe before taking a big bite of her own snack, grinning as some of the hot chocolate sauce dribbled down her chin.

Pointing at his own to indicate where the spill was to Sachi, Makie blushed as Sachi picked it up with her hand, licking it off of her fingers, quickly looking away and directing his eyes back onto his own snack. 

It was certainly delicious, the chocolate filling around the ripe strawberries complimenting each other perfectly. The ratio was a bit off from the last time they had crepes from this stand, as they were all handmade on the spot. 

This time there was an abundance of strawberry slices within the regulation amount of chocolate, which Makie appreciated, they were his favorite part after all.

He rarely made dishes with fruit, as cooking meats and vegetables were more his specialty, but that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy their flavor. In fact, he was quite the fan of strawberries and their sweetness. He especially liked them between the sugary coating of a chocolate or whipped cream spread.

Hearing his senpai giggle, he looked back over at the now-clean girl, as she held her hand up to her mouth to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Makie asked, questioning the girl's odd behavior.

"You're just so cute when you blush!" Sachi cheered before bursting into another fit of giggles, forgoing her crepe in favor of covering her mouth.

Makie only blushed harder at the confession, his cheeks turning the colour of the strawberries he was eating. It was no surprise to him that she felt this way, as she often commented on it but it was always humiliating.

After Sachi's laughter died down, the pair ate their desserts in silence for the rest of the afternoon, occasionally glancing over at the other to see what they were up to.

Biting into the last corner of his crepe, Makie stood up to throw away the crinkle tissue that he had been holding it in, Sachi seeing his advances and standing up to follow him over to the trash can.

They threw out their wrappers together, before Makie turned to Sachi with something to say.

"It's been a long day, want to go home?" He asked the taller girl, refrencing their shared apartment that they had been living together in ever since they met.

"Yes," his senpai replied simply,initiating to take his hand again before leading him away in the direction of the apartment he had bought.

The walk home was again silent as Makie reflected on his day. He knew that the craziness of fighting the watari was something he had to get used to, with Miss Manager working them to the bone to rid their city of the nests.

Looking up at his tall girlfriend, Makie smiled as he took in her beauty.

At the end of the day, fighting the watari was nothing compared to dating one.