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Heart diseases pt. II
ft. y/n and ms. l/n
” Sky is nothing to believe “
–
Winter was still a long way away from drawing the curtains. As soon as the clock hit half past four, it was as dark as it would be past 11 during summer outside.
Kunikuzushi spun the pen between his fingers, eyes skimming down the sprawled out papers on the desk. Not even an hour left until he was going to be dragged into the witch’s den next to the house he was currently in. His lashes fluttered shut momentarily. Looking at the colourful post-its, ripped out sketchbook pages and washi tapes papers that looked painfully out of place in the bleak space of his room, he still wondered the question he had been filling his mind with ever since weeks ago.
Why am I collecting all this trash…
His under eye twitched at the thought. These papers wouldn’t last more than a few years even if they were kept in pristine conditions, purposed to eventually decompose into the ground and disappear. What was the point in delaying what would eventually happen? Despite that logic he firmly believed in, he was unable to do the simple action of shoving them into the trash that didn’t even take thinking to accomplish.
So why were these doing on his desk at home instead of in the drawer in his homeroom?
—Yesterday
“I forgot where the extra calculators are— in the.. Third drawer?” The student scratched the back of his head. His friend shrugged. “Just open them all. Hurry up, that demon is going to kill you if he thinks you’re snooping around.” He sighed. Scaramouche had temporarily left the class to go lecture the nearby art class that was going haywire while their teacher had gone down to the office.
He carefully opened the third drawer and peeked inside. Only stacks of neatly lined yellow folders and papers. “Yo, hurry up. Ms L/n’s class already gone quiet.” His friend urged, looking back to the door every once in a while. The first drawer was opened. Plain lined notebooks with lesson plans.
“Are you special in the head?? Let me do it.” The boy shoved his friend aside to open the last three drawers. But as soon as he was about to open the fifth drawer, it didn’t budge. His brows furrowed into a confused frown, eyes staring at the handle that did not move. He soon realized there was a lock on the drawer. “Nevermind. I’ll just borrow someone else’s. Who the hell keeps calculators locked in a drawer?” With that, he turned around to return back to his desk. “Who knows— maybe mr. Raiden collects porno magazines or something.” His friend shrugged with a snort at the thought.
“I collect what now?”
—Present time
Not wanting any further rumours about the drawer, he ended up bringing all the notes home.
He gathered everything in one pile before placing it between the pages of an empty notebook on his shelf. His eyes blankly casted over the room. For the first time in a while, he managed to keep the room in a condition he could actually see the floors in for longer than a month. This was her home after all, he had enough conscience to feel uncomfortable with her cleaning the mess he had caused despite never having asked for it.
Whether he admitted or not, his life changed so drastically in a ridiculously short period of time ever since that woman one day showed up as if she was always there.
Fingers tapping on his screen, the white light reflecting against his skin in the dimly lit room. He pressed on the blue search button on the right hand corner and watched the spinning circle roll as it loaded the page. Scaramouche cursed as it showed that there was no network connection. This room didn’t have the best wifi, which was the reason he often did work in the kitchen or in the storage room. Finally, it loaded just as he was about to throw the device across the room.
Different types of heart problems.
He scanned the pages, looking for trustable enough websites. Arrhythmia, heart failure, coronary arteries disease— the list was endless. The last option seemed like a possible contestant.
Symptoms;
• chest pain or discomfort
• weakness, light-headedness
• cold sweat
• irregular heart rhythms
• shortness of breath
• heavy feeling in stomach
—And the list continued on. The symptoms seemed to align with his current ones painfully accurately. Agh, whatever. He already scheduled a doctor’s appointment soon anyways.
“Scaramouche!! Come downstairs.” Looking to the door, he stood up and twisted the knob before padding down. When he did come down, he was first greeted by the overwhelming sweet smell that nearly made him gag. “Do you know how to turn off the oven while it’s still cooking??” He gave her a deadpan look. “…Isn’t this your oven?”
“Yeah, but I never actually learnt how to use it. I just pressed random buttons and it worked most of the time.” She placed her hands on her hips, staring down at the small black screen on the oven’s button panel. How she didn’t burn her home down yet was a miracle. How did she even bake that cake she made on his birthday?? Scaramouche rolled his eyes and pressed the switch button twice, as the oven made a small beep sound and the light inside turned off. “The manual takes five minutes to skim over.” He bonked her head and walked off to the sofa.
“Wait… There was a manual for this?”
She was actually going to be the end of his life.
☆
“….”
Yae gave her companion across the table a grin, glancing back to the younger two sitting beside each other. For as dense as she was, she seemed to understand it.
“Hm~ the two of you certainly seem closer now.” She hummed cheekily as Scaramouche grew an irk mark at just the sound of the voice that relentlessly teased him when he was younger. The teacher beside him only laughed softly in response before taking another bite. Y/n lightly jabbed his leg under the table to unfold his scowl. He replied back with a side glare to her direction that lasted barely two seconds.
Even Ei looked amazed at this drastic change in behaviour. Ever since arriving at their house, he hadn’t once shot an indirect insult towards herself.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk with you two because of marking finals, how has everything been?” Y/n spoke up after finishing the contents in her mouth. Scaramouche halfheartedly rolled his eyes beside her. “You give a glance at scribbles and colours on paper and decide if the lines are smooth enough or it’s not aesthetically pleasing. Take that back, I’ve seen you working at home twice at the beginning of your arrival.” He commented. The h/c haired female beside him huffed.
“Students make portfolios of their pieces and I grade them based off that and their usual class behaviour. Every piece is unique and different- all you have to do is mark the same questions with the same answers.” She reasoned. Y/n was an airy and someone who just agreed with anything suggested to jot make unnecessary dispute, but defended anything remotely mentioned about her students in all situations.
Happy-to-go and falling off the chair one moment and holding back sobs the other. They say with time brings understanding of one another, but it seemed to be the opposite with her.
Ei’s eyes lingered on his face for a moment. Despite the sarcastic comments and insincere attitude, she could see that his eyes constantly glanced back to the teacher beside him. Anyone who knew him for longer than a month could tell, but his tone microscopically nulled when speaking with words directed towards Y/n.
A thoughtful expression overtook her complexions throughout the meal, the other three being the ones talking the most.
Meanwhile, the pink haired woman on the opposite side from her continued to wear the scheming smile. It should have been around time since Y/n came back with the ridiculously short and obvious list she gave her a little while back. These two was going to give everyone around them diagnosed with high blood pressure from stress. For the sake of everyone, one of them had to realize their own feelings. And Scaramouche was probably going to be ten steps late before that happened, so the most hope she had was Y/n. —Who turned out to be denser than a rock.
She called him a friend. He refused to address her as anything to him. Friends who lived with each other as opposite genders. Friends in which one gave the other little notes every day and made all sorts of little trinkets that the said other kept. Friends that looked at each other with a look anyone would know at first glance— with eyes not meant for someone considered a friend.
Friends, sure.
“Cough” Miko cleared her throat softly. They had come to finishing their meals up. During the short time, it was mostly the younger two who were busy bickering and talking. (99% being Y/n’s voice) She had finally come to a conclusion.
Before this so called grand plan the students planned, she had to get at least one of them to recognize their feelings.
“Looks like we’re finished already. I can see Ei physically itching to lunge at the dessert Y/n brought.” She teased as the said woman blinked and coughed. “Well, this is when you catch the cue for a ladies’ teatime, Kunikuzushi. Unless you want to stick around with your favourite food?” The pinkette sarcastically glanced to the plate of dangos that Y/n had brought over earlier. He scoffed, but didn’t respond otherwise. He was more than ready to go back into his room.
But he didn’t like the thought of leaving his roommate behind with this fox and whatever nonsense she would whisper into her brain.
“You can go back if you want.” She agreed beside him with a casual smile.
“…” With a sigh, he stood up from his seat. The three ladies remaining at the table were silent until he half slammed the front door and dismissed himself out. Y/n subconsciously glanced towards the now closed exit, where she could see his glimpse from the window marching towards their shared home in the meantime. Ei shared a look with Miko before sighing and shaking her head slightly at the grin placed on her expression. Well, considering how ignorant she was to Yae’s painfully shameless and obvious moves when they were younger, she wasn’t one to speak at the moment.
“I will make tea to go with the desserts.” The violet haired woman announced before standing up and heading towards the kitchen. Y/n almost found her mouth agape.
Thighs save lives.
Miko laid her eyes upon her prey, (very dear friend) placing a hand under her chin and leaning in slightly. “So… Does a list sound familiar to you?” She whistled. The younger teacher snapped from her trance, an imaginary throbber sign popping up on her head before a lightbulb clicked. “Ah, that one? I did check off everything on it.” Ei turned to the two from the kitchen, in the dark from the topic that seemed to include a list that Yae gave her without her knowledge on it.
As much as she trusted her girlfriend.. As a victim to her antics on a regular basis, she had no choice but to tune into wherever their conversation was going without herself present.
“Well? Did you have anything in mind regarding it now?” Y/n furrowed her brows slightly, lightly drumming her index on her thigh. “Not.. In particular? Scaramouche is just…. Scaramouche.”
If Ei was a rock, this girl was an entire mountain.
“…Right.” Yae let out a breath that was meaning to say a hundred different words, but chewed them back. Ei soon returned with three porcelain cups and a fancy looking teapot, pouring the steaming liquid into each cups. Receiving the cup with two hands with a slight dip of her head in respect out of habit, Y/n took a quick sip before recoiling at the heat. He would’ve definitely made a comment something along the lines of—
Wait… Why was he suddenly coming into the story??
Her reflection distorted slightly with the soft ripples and curves on the surface of the dark liquid, the steam occasionally blocking the view. Without even realizing, her brows furrowed ever so subtly as the sudden previous thought began to intrude her mind like a bag of tea leaves spreading its colour into the once clear water. “—Y/n?” She blinked and snapped up, seeing two pairs of eyes staring at her. “Hm? Did I miss something?”
“Nope.” Yae popped the p in the word, taking a graceful sip of her own drink. (never once cringing at the heat or making even the slightest hint)
Being with these two women made her feel like a country bumpkin peasant in the presence of empresses..
“You certainly seem popular, ms. Candy teacher. Being called left and right.” She mused, continuing to speak. Ei mentally sent a good luck to the soon-to-be yet another victim of the history teacher, standing up. “Please excuse me, I’ll be going to the restroom.” Despite turning around from the table feeling like leaving an unknowing rabbit twitching its nose to the mercy of a bored fox, she turned her back and headed away upon coming to a conclusion Y/n probably didn’t need two pairs of eyes staring down at her at the moment with whatever Yae was going to dump her with.
Miko may be a little teasing, but she wasn’t one to overstep one’s boundaries. Speaking of her—
“Say…. Has anyone caught your eye yet?”
That was the third time someone asked her that question this week. Once by Fischl, the second by the usual group of girls that visited her for the cultural dance club after school, and the third just now. It was probably her overthinking again, but was everyone always so interested in her fruitless love life..?
“Not really. I’m not exactly looking for anyone for that way right now.” Y/n admitted honestly— or what she thought was honesty. “I’ve never been in a relationship before, and by my age, most people have dated at least once or twice. I don’t want my partner to have to guide me through every step, from the basics of dating courtesies to maybe even more serious or intimate milestones. And frankly… I’m not ready for all that.” She rubbed her index and thumb together beneath the table, waiting for the tea to cool down. Yae’s smiley grin turned a little more serious, showing full attention towards her words.
“I see.” From the soft ticking of the clock in the living room to the ambient background noise outside; it was a good thing there was something to fill the silence, or it would have surely swallowed and devoured the entire atmosphere. Her pale purple eyes thoughtfully gazed at the teacup as she gently swirled the contents. “—But let’s say, your future partner is someone just as inexperienced as you are. Would you feel pressured or worried they might put an imbalance to the relationship?” She piqued.
A response came much sooner than she had expected.
“If they can love me,” Y/n’s tone softened ever so subtly. “Then who am I to complain?” Miko raised her eyes from the drink and stared into the pupils of the woman in front of her. Why she spoke as if the thought of someone being able to love herself was an unimaginable superpower— the history teacher did not understand.
“When I was younger, the only kind of books I was allowed to read were nonfiction novels or textbooks— except for the occasional fiction books I got from school as English assignments.” Her image on the surface of the tea became more clear as the steam began to fade slowly. “The first fiction romance I ever read was a children-modified version of classic. The Ballerina and the Wooden Soldier. I remember my mom ranting about wasting kids’ times by making them read nonsense that came out of the brain of a mentally ill person hundreds of years ago.” She snorted softly, shaking her head.
“By the First Act, I knew it was indeed just fictional nonsense. But the concept of the story fascinated me after fourteen years of history books about wars and even more insane people.
—Miko. Do you like Ei?”
The question caught her off guard for a split second. Catching ms. Yae off guard was an achievement that would be recognized by anyone who had talked with her even once, but the response was a court nod without hesitation. Before she could speak again, Y/n beat her to it. “The two of you seem to be living together for a while. You probably know more about her private life than most other people do.”
The face the teacher across from her was making.. Was something unable to be described by words to the pink haired teacher. Her eyes looked bleak, two worlds away if her physical body didn’t limit the distance despite a relaxed expression splayed on the lower half of her face. Two e/c voids looking as if it would swallow everything in sight on the upper half.
“Does her shortcomings bother you, Miko?” She tilted her head. “People see many sides of each other the closer they are. It’s near impossible to hide any angle of yourself when the doors around you are closed and you’re left with another person.”
A long moment of thoughtful silence followed. Y/n sipped quietly on her drink that had simmered down to a comfortable warmth rather than a tongue melting boil. It was probably the art teacher’s first time seeing Yae this serious looking.
“…Have you ever loved someone, Y/n?”
“No.”
“Then I pity you.” Her eyes softened visibly, before closing for a moment and opening again. “Love isn’t something you can understand by reading or watching it as an audience. It’s a ridiculously biased and reasonless thing that makes people act outside of their circumstances.”
“Would you believe me if I said I don’t particularly believe in love?”
“Sure. Since you never felt it, I’ll give you an excuse.” At the response, the younger woman drummed her finger in a more steady pace on her leg before finally speaking out the question she had been thinking for a while now.
“What’s the love you feel towards Ei?”
After another sip of the bitter liquid, Miko sighed subtly. “Most people see her as an intimidating or elegant, composed and stoic— something along those lines. But all I see when I look at her is someone who shrivels up into an embarrassed mess when we’re alone. Ei who burns down the kitchen the moment she enters. Someone strong enough to have a child on their own after so many losses in her life.”
The both of them sounded what people would call extremely out of character.
“…Even if she did something very wrong, or messed up— would you still love her?”
“That’s the silly part about it. It’s so unreasonable and unexplainable in a reasonable manner. Would you try to argue with someone about something that is the obvious and unmoving truth to you?”
Y/n pondered those words for a while.
“Whether she almost destroys an entire nation or hides away in another realm to avoid it all, I don’t believe I could hate her at the very least as long as I can hear her side of the story. And even if that reason is completely unjustified… I’ll be shamelessly biased to her. That’s just me, though.” The pink haired woman concluded with a final slurp of tea that hit her tongue and smoothly rolled into the back of her mouth, leaving a flowery and herbal aftertaste. This was definitely not the way she was hoping the conversation would go…
But it seemed to have sent Y/n into a rethinking of her entire principles and thought process, whether it was for the good or not.
“Y/n. Whether you realize it or not, there’s so many people around you who would love you no matter where you came from or who you were before. The person they love is the you now, not whoever you were ten or five years ago.
…I bet with my name that there’s at least one person who’s willing to burn down the world for you once they finally realize it.”
“….”
“Have a good night. Tell Ei I said I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye.”
Her violet gaze stared at the slightly smaller figure of the younger teacher who stood up silently and somehow exit the house in less than ten seconds without seeming impolitely rushing. Whether this was the start of something even better or a brewing disaster in a pot waiting to overflow, would be all up to those two— who were the last two people anyone would trust with figuring out their own feelings. Nevertheless talking about them with another.
——
A/n we’re around at the halfway mark now (i think)
I was originally planning for this to be a silly little 20 chapter thing with 100 views at most but ig this works too
I JUST REMEMBERED THE WAY I TEXTED IN 2020 AND IM PHYSICALLY DOING BACKFLIPS AND CURLING MY TOES GREHQKDHWIDHJS
More of a filler chap to keep the ball rolling so more interactions for like 3 chaps straight from next chap (angst starting soon im installing security cameras in my house after finding you guys in my floorboards last bight)
Yes i know i made yae sound so ooc 💔💔🖤🤫🧏♀️
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