Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuichirou sat back slowly, hand still on his mouse, the other adjusting his headset as he stared at the screen, perplexed. On-screen was the results of his last pvp match, a big, bold red “LOSER” staring back at him. Yuu didn't understand how this could have happened. He was certainly not a professional at gaming but he wasn't new to it either and had built himself quite a reputation up online. He usually won all of his pvp matches but had, somehow, been beaten easily in his latest match. He checked his stats and equipment, making sure he had all of his best items on before he started the match; nothing seemed to be out of order, which confused Yuu even more. “The hell?” he muttered, un-equipping and re-quipping his sword. His character was max level and one of the best classes in the game – berserker – and Yuu had spent more time and money than he would like to admit getting his items, which were all very rare and powerful drops and power-ups. How had he lost?

Sighing irritably to himself, Yuu clicked on the name of the player who had beat him, 'Mikashi'. “What kind of name is that? Some anime character?” Yuu muttered, opening up their stats. He sucked in a breath of air, staring in awe. Almost everything was incredibly high, especially the character's stealth and strength. They were one of the newer classes, vampire, which was surprising considering how long it had taken for Yuu to level his own character to where he was now, so this player must have some serious time on their hands. The character was a female with long, blonde hair and a pale complexion, icy blue eyes giving off an aura of strength. Even if it was just a game character it looked “pretty cool” in Yuu's opinion.

Despite how much stronger this character seemed to be than his own, Yuu was still angry that he had lost. He opened up his messenger and messaged the user immediately asking for a rematch.

Xblackseraphx: “hey i want a rematch u just got lucky bc i was distracted during our last match im usually way better than that -_-”

Yuu crossed his arms, waiting for the reply. Mikashi's status was 'online' but after two minutes of nothing Yuu started to get even more annoyed than before. He got up, pacing his room, looking back at the screen every now and then, flopping back into the chair in defeat after another three minutes had gone by. A light blinked on his screen and his head swiveled towards it, focusing on the 'typing' notice above the chat bar. A message popped up soon after.

Mikashi: “Sorry for replying late, I was helping my older sister make cake. A rematch? I don't mind at all. I'm sure you'll be able to beat me this time around, I'm fairly new to MMOs. Good luck!”

Yuu's face was inches from the screen, squinting at the words. “Why the hell are they being so nice? Not like I asked for a life story either.” he leaned back, re-reading the message. This person could bake? “Well, it wouldn't be weird if they could...” Yuu thought, looking back at the female avatar. Maybe this person was actually a girl? It would make sense with their kind way of talking. Yuu grinned, cracking his knuckles. Girl or not, he had to keep his title here.

xblackseraphx: “ya alright so get ready for me 2 totally beat u!!”

Yuu used his power-ups he had been saving for months for the right moment and clicked the 'Request pvp match' button on Mikashi's profile, waiting for confirmation. He'd go all out this time, no way he could lose! Even if this 'Mikashi' had a powerful character they were still a newbie by the looks of it, so he'd have no problem winning this time around. Yuu grit his teeth, the timer count down signaling the match to begin.

-

Yuu groaned loudly, pulling his covers up over his head in a futile attempt to block out the sunshine pouring through the blinds on his window. Last night he had suffered another crippling loss to the player Mikashi and his ego was beyond hurt. Yuu groaned again, refusing to get up. He did not want to have to deal with the world today, and if he went back online he'd have to deal with his soiled pvp scores. To make matters worse, Mikashi was undeniably the nicest person Yuu had ever met, and she had completely crushed him, giving him encouraging advice afterward. There was no way Yuu could ever hate someone like that. He sluggishly walked to his computer, logging onto his game despite everything – he had to know what his scores looked like now, no matter how terrible. In the corner of the screen his IM popped up: one unread message from Mikashi. Yuu sighed, opening the message reluctantly. This girl was making it harder and harder for Yuu to dislike them.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Yuu, what are you looking at?” Yoichi asked, peering over at Yuichirou's phone screen. Yuu recoiled immediately, placing his hands over the screen and bringing his phone towards his chest. “N-nothing.” he stuttered, looking away with a slight blush on his cheeks. Yoichi and him were in the high school cafeteria waiting for the others to join up with them, but so far Yuu had been too busy playing with his phone to eat anything. He looked back at the text, smiling slightly. On-screen, the contact name read “Mikashi.” Yuu would have never thought the two would become friends, much less even be able to stand each other. It was all because of how nice she was after the match.

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Yuu glared at the screen, yet another blaring red indicating that he had lost. He pulled at his hair, screeching angrily. “Shut up, stupid Yuu!” echoed from outside the hallway. Stupid Guren, he had no idea how this felt! Yuu had been beaten yet again at the thing he was best at. It's infuriating!

Mikashi: “Ahaha, I just got lucky, right? :^)”

xblackseraphx: “shut up 0K ur kinda good stop rubbng it in”

Yuu sighed as another response came, just wanting the conversation to end so he could reflect on his humiliation alone.

Mikashi: “I'm sorry I made you upset. I felt holding back would make you feel worse, though.”

xblackseraphx: “well........ ya..... that woulda made me angry but!!!! still how are you that good!!!! you beat me way too quickly”

Mikashi: “Again, I'm sorry. It was fun though. Thanks for everything!”

Yuu scratched his head, mumbling. He couldn't just let it stand like that, right? He was being a total jerk. It wasn't her fault she was talented.

Xblackseraphx: “im not like mad at u or anything yknow, u dnt need 2 apologize...”

Yuu stared at the screen as the light blinked in shock, cheeks heating up. He smiled, averting his eyes but then looking back just as quickly to re-read the message.

Mikashi: “You know, you're a pretty good guy.”

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Yuu had never been good at making friends but somehow Mikashi was easy to talk to; it was like they had known each other for years. Yuu had wanted to keep talking to Mikashi and convinced her to download an app so they could text, which was very unlike Yuu, and the two had been talking almost nonstop since. Yuu couldn't remember the last time he's spent texting someone until 4am, laughing the entire time. The only other person who made him feel so comfortable and tingly and happy and wanted was Mikaela. Yuu sighed, pocketing his phone as he stood from the table. “I'm gonna go to the roof. See you guys” the others at the table nodded in affirmation, Shinoa shooting a snarky “What are you going there for, cherry boy? Finally getting some action?” before he turned and left. He suddenly wasn't in the mood to talk, ignoring his phone vibrations. Mika had been too busy to talk to him lately with exams and some new hobby he'd found. Of course he tried to text Yuu every chance he got but Yuu had been upset at the distance and refused to text him back except for the occasional acknowledgment. He knew he was hurting Mika's feelings but he didn't want to drag him down anymore. Mika was a genius; Yuu was a delinquent. Yuu needed to give him some space so the guy could study and do well instead of having to deal with Yuu's antics all the time. Mika would try to make up some excuse to hang out with him, saying that Yuu wasn't being a bother, but when exam season had first come around and Yuu had let Mika persuade him to sleep over he remember waking up at 3am and seeing Mika at his desk, making up for the study time he had lost earlier playing games with Yuu. Yuu had never felt so bad before in his entire life, not even when he had flooded Guren's kitchen (he didn't regret that, honestly, not one bit; stupid Guren deserved it).

Yuu almost turned around and bolted as soon as he opened the door to the roof – there, leaning against the railing, was the source of his troubles: Mika. He slowly shut the door, trying to be as quiet as possible, struggling to ignore how the sunlight catches on Mika's eyelashes as he's reading and makes his hair practically glow. Yuu regretted getting distracted as the door creaked loudly, alerting the other who looked up towards the sound. His focused expression morphed much too quickly into one of pure joy, eyes glimmering as he cried out “Yuu-chan! There you are!” Yuu couldn't find it in himself to run away so instead he slowly dragged himself over to where Mika sat, sitting next to him hesitantly, trying not to knock any books or scatter any papers. “Woah!” Yuu yelled out as Mika's head was thrown into his lap, eyes smiling as the latter looked up at him. “What's wrong, Yuu-chan? We always used to sit like this when we were kids.” Mika said, his tone teasing. “Yeah, but...” Yuu trailed off, averting his eyes. Stupid Mika, he was supposed to be avoiding him now! Just study and do well and then we can be all touchy feely after your exams! “Yuu-chan, are you thinking too hard? Your face is all scrunched up.” Yuu glared down at the person in his lap, biting out a “Shut up, Mika.” before leaning back against the railing, relaxing a bit.

Mika sighed, closing his eyes, book laying on his chest. “I've missed you, Yuu-chan. Why haven't you been returning my texts?” Mika asked, his smile dropping off slightly at the end of his sentence. “It's... I just...” Yuu didn't know what to say. If he told Mika the truth, that he was being considerate, Mika would tell him it wasn't like him and to knock it off. Or something annoying. Whatever it was, it wouldn't help Mika in the long run, and everyone knew that Yuu wasn't going to study so having him bother Mika while he tried to would only hurt the other in the long run. “I've been so lonely I've had to find a new friend to talk to.” Mika said nonchalantly, letting his head fall against Yuu's thighs. “H-huh?” Yuu spluttered in surprise, earning a small chuckle from Mika. “I thought you were studying, stupid! I was avoiding you so you could study, not snuggle up to someone else!” Yuu huffed, immediately regretting his words when Mika opened an eye. “I never asked you to do that, Yuu. Being without you makes it harder for me to study since I'm so busy worrying about what you've gotten yourself into.” Mika smiled at Yuu crossed his arms. “I'm not some little kid, Mika. I can take care of myself.” he announced proudly. Mika clicked his tongue, closing his eyes again. “Sure, Yuu. Whatever you say.” Yuu decided to ignore him this time, looking out at the sky instead. “You're still my favorite, Yuu-chan. No one could ever replace you. So don't make that face, please.” Mika whispered. Yuu looked down, staring at him. “...what face?” he mumbled, keeping the eye contact despite wanting to run away. “That one. That lonely expression. I'm always here so just talk to me, alright, Yuu-chan?” Mika said softly, sweetly, almost letting Yuu completely forget everything he had been working to do before. Almost. “I-I'm not lonely!” Yuu exclaimed, looking away. “I met a really cute girl and I've been texting her, so I'm perfectly fine!” After a heavy moment of silence Yuu's eyes flickered back over to Mika, who's had taken on a dark look to them. “I see, Yuu-chan. Good for you, then.” Mika said, all of the warmth from before replaced with an icy cold. He got up, gathered his books, and left, not turning around to spare Yuu a single look before walking out the door back towards the school building. Yuu could only stare after him, a lump forming in his throat. Well, that hadn't gone as planned. He sighed, taking out his phone to apologize to Shi (he had nicknamed Mikashi that) for not texting her back.

Xblackseraphx: “sry was @ lunch”

He stared at the screen, waiting for a reply but not getting one. “Weird.” he mumbled, tucking his phone back in his pocket as he walked towards the staircase. “Good job, Yuu. You've managed to not only piss your best friend(?) off, but also drive away the first girl who has been nice to you in years. Really, nice work.” Yuu grumbled to himself, slumping against the wall as the bell rang.

Chapter Text

Mika glared at his textbook as if he were willing for the thing to burst into flames. He just couldn't focus on his studies no matter how hard he tried. What was with Yuu-chan earlier today, bragging about some stupid girl he'd been talking to? It was like he was replacing Mika. What if Yuu-chan suddenly decided he liked that girl more than he liked him? “It's not I'm not flirting behind his back like Yuu-chan is. The person I've been texting is someone online who I've only known for two days now. They're not like Yuu-chan. I don't care about them like I care about Yuu-chan.” Mika said to himself, slamming his textbook shut with an unnecessary amount of force. Mika had stayed up texting them a few times, but he was already up cramming for a test the next day or exams so it wasn't really out of his way. He didn't even like them that much – they had some funny stories and weren't a bother but it's not like they were best friends. Plus the guy's texting style was awful, just as awful as Yuu-chan's. Yuu barely texted Mika though, opting to call instead, thank goodness. Mika would much rather hear Yuu's voice than try to decipher his text messages. Hearing Yuu babble on about his game scores for the day was somehow endearing. Yuu has been refusing to call him recently though, much less hang out. Mika frowned, thinking back to what Yuu had said earlier today about avoiding him so he could study. Mika had started preparing for exams a good three months before, did Yuu not know that? Why was he suddenly now throwing a temper tantrum? What was Yuu-chan thinking?

Mika looked over at his computer, debating whether or not to take a break and play some games. In his free time Mika usually preferred to read books but after hearing Yuu talk about his video games so much Mika had decided to get one of them and was doing pretty good so far; he had managed to level up a lot in just a few weeks and was actually pretty proud of his character. If he hadn't decided to play his new game every now and then his head would've exploded by now. It just wasn't fun without Yuu-chan, though. He'd much, much rather play with Yuu-chan. Instead, Mika was stuck facing off with people he'd never met, gaining more than one nasty comment after winning matches, and talking to someone who he barely knew but liked enough because they reminded him of Yuu. The real Yuu was by far preferable, though. He had only been playing on-and-off for a short amount of time and Mika knew Yuu would jump on the opportunity to teach him how the game worked. Mika had gotten by with sheer luck so far, still not knowing how to operate some of the basic game functions. It really wasn't his thing but it was better than hurting himself over classwork. He hadn't had a chance to tell Yuu about him installing the game though because the moron wouldn't pick up his calls anymore and practically ran away every time he saw him at school. He wasn't completely stress free in the first place with exams and all, so having Yuu act so distant out of nowhere made him feel uneasy. He shuffled through his notes absentmindedly, groaning loudly in exasperation. He already had almost all of his study material memorized but he still felt the need to go over them, just in-case. Reading after studying notes for hours had proven not to work well at relaxing him but mindless games seemed to do the trick. Mika had watched old movies as well, finding that the Disney classics were the best to fall asleep to after a long study session.

Mika picked up his phone, having gotten a message from the IM app Black (that's what he had nicknamed xblackseraphx, since his username was a mouthful. Just thinking about it made Mika cringe) had made him install so they could talk without being online. Mika was prone to “pop-ins” so he was usually offline, which is probably why Black had insisted they talk this way, but the guy was already really clingy even though they had met... what? A week ago at maximum? Mika didn't mind talking to others – he was quite social, in fact – but he had some nagging feeling that something wasn't right. This person, Black, felt familiar, but also like a stranger. Mika worried that he was expecting something from him by the way he texted him. Mika's game character was a female and he was constantly mistaken for a girl. Could that be what this was? Mika shook his head to try to clear his thoughts. He looked at the IM, frowning as he read it.

Xblackseraphx: hhey so ummmm r u?? dating any1?? atm?? jw!!!! not tryn 2 b creepy!!

Yes, that was definitely it. He'd have to let this poor boy down gently, as gently as possible, if this is the case. Mika already had someone he loved, and he was pretty sure that Black wouldn't want to date him if he knew he were a boy.

Xblackseraphx: actually, um...

Xblackseraphx: you live near Shibuya right?? we should meet up!! :)))

Mika looked at the screen, weighing his options as his fingers hovered over the keys. This would probably be the best way, without making things seem to weird. He hoped.

Mikashi: Yeah, sure. Coffee sound alright?