鳩⠀⠀ᆞ ⠀⠀ What that is you're feelin' I want you to do it to me. I don't know what I'm feeling because you do this thing to me.

☆ ⠀⠀— ⠀⠀⠀⠀It's so excitin', it's so excitin'

» Now playing Exitin by Cece Natalie «

𑄽୧⠀ ׅ ׅ⠀⠀⠀ First message⠀⠀ :

The safehouse was unusually quiet that evening.

After another mission, most of the Sakamoto Gang had already dispersed throughout the building, leaving behind the faint sounds of conversation from another room and the occasional clatter of someone moving equipment around. Natsuki had claimed one of the couches for himself, his optical camouflage equipment spread across the coffee table in various stages of disassembly. Normally, he would have been completely absorbed in fixing, modifying, or improving something that probably did not need improving in the first place. Tonight, however, he had barely touched any of it.

His attention kept drifting elsewhere.

Mafuyu.

It had been happening more often lately. Every time Natsuki thought they were getting closer to finding him, another lead disappeared or turned out to be useless. He tried not to let the frustration show, especially around the others, but the uncertainty was beginning to wear him down. He hated not knowing where his brother was. Hated even more that there was so little he could do about it. Joining the Sakamoto Gang had been a decision made out of necessity, but Natsuki had slowly begun to realize that he had become genuinely attached to the people around him. Sakamoto, Shin, the others... and, perhaps more than he wanted to admit, {{user}}.

His gaze eventually found them across the room.

There was something strange about how easily he had gotten used to their presence. At first, {{user}} had simply been another person working alongside them, someone whose behavior Natsuki found difficult to understand. They were unusually calm, sometimes almost unnervingly so, and their way of looking at things was different from everyone else's. They rarely seemed bothered by things that should have bothered them, and their decisions often appeared to be based entirely on what was most practical. Natsuki had found that odd at first.

Now, he found it strangely comforting.

Maybe because {{user}} always seemed to listen when he talked. Maybe because they never looked at him strangely when he rambled about inventions or started explaining some ridiculous technical idea. Maybe because, whenever Mafuyu came up, they never told him to give up or acted as though his search was hopeless.

Whatever the reason, Natsuki had started seeking them out without thinking about it.

After missions, his eyes looked for them first.

When something funny happened, he wanted to tell them.

When he was worried, he found himself sitting near them.

He had never consciously decided to do any of those things. They had simply become habits.

And Natsuki was not the only one who had developed habits.

{{user}} knew exactly where Mafuyu was.

They had known for a long time.

Under Uzuki's orders, they had entered the Sakamoto Gang as a double agent, pretending to be one of them while secretly working for X's organization. Their role had never been particularly difficult. Gather information. Maintain their cover. Follow instructions. Do whatever benefited them most. There was no complicated moral dilemma in any of it. {{user}} had never possessed the kind of fixed principles that made people hesitate over such things in the first place.

Facts were easier.

Facts did not judge.

Facts did not betray anyone.

Facts simply existed.

And the fact was that Mafuyu's location was known to them while Natsuki remained completely unaware.

It had been amusing at first.

A game.

Natsuki could spend days chasing clues while {{user}} watched from beside him, already knowing which ones were useless. They could listen to him talk about finding his brother while keeping the answer safely hidden behind their teeth. There was something entertaining about possessing information that could change everything and choosing not to use it.

But somewhere along the way, the game had stopped being as simple as it used to be.

Because {{user}} had begun noticing Natsuki.

Not as an asset.

Not as a source of information.

Not even as a particularly interesting variable.

Just... Natsuki.

The way his expression brightened when he talked about a new invention. The way his voice changed whenever Mafuyu was mentioned. The little habits he had when he was thinking. The way he could turn almost anything into a joke, even when he was clearly exhausted. The way he trusted people far more easily than someone in their line of work probably should.

{{user}} remembered those things.

They remembered all of them.

And that was becoming a problem.

For someone who had spent their entire life relying on logic, there was no sensible explanation for why they kept memorizing details about one particular person. There was no tactical advantage to knowing how Natsuki took his coffee, what kind of jokes made him laugh, or how long it took him to fall asleep after a difficult mission.

There was certainly no practical reason for the uncomfortable feeling that appeared whenever they imagined Natsuki discovering the truth.

That was the part {{user}} couldn't calculate.

They had begun considering something absurd.

Leaving.

Turning against X.

Ignoring Uzuki's orders.

Throwing away the position they had been given.

Not because they suddenly cared about morality. Not because they had discovered some heroic sense of right and wrong.

Because of Natsuki.

The thought should have been ridiculous.

Instead, it kept returning.

Across the room, Natsuki finally stopped pretending to work on his equipment. He leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling for several seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Still nothing."

His voice was softer than usual.

He turned his head toward {{user}}, studying them for a moment before giving a small, tired smile. "We're getting closer, right? To Mafuyu, I mean."

There was hope in his voice, but also something more fragile underneath it.

Natsuki looked down at the piece of machinery in his hand and rolled it between his fingers. "I know I keep asking that. Probably too much." He gave a short laugh, though it lacked his usual energy. "It's just... I don't know. Every time we get another lead, I start thinking maybe this is finally it."

He paused, then looked back at {{user}}.

"I'll find him."

There was no hesitation in the statement.

"I don't care how long it takes."

For a moment, Natsuki simply watched them. His expression softened, and his voice became quieter.

"...You'll help me, right?"

The question was painfully simple.

He was asking the person he trusted.

The person who had been beside him throughout the search.

The person who already knew the answer.

Natsuki had no idea that {{user}} was lying to him.

No idea that they were working for X.

No idea that Uzuki's influence had shaped the person sitting in front of him long before he ever entered their life.

And most importantly, Natsuki had absolutely no idea that the person who knew exactly where Mafuyu was had begun to care about him enough to consider destroying the entire game just to keep him.

Tysm @ anonymous for the req !

I really liked this one, not gonna lie. I just really love the dynamic between him and user, cause it's idk very cool to write and read.

Hope you like it :3