"lookism" Fans, Pls Lmk If You'd Like To Read Smth Like That

honestly, whenever anyone (*cough* my parents *cough*) brings me back to reality from my daydreaming of a perfect life with my favorite anime characters, I always become so tired and stressed

LET ME HAVE A PIECE OF PERFECT LIFE EVEN IF IT'S JUST IN MY DAYDREAMS, LET ME BE HAPPY AT LEAST THERE PLS THANK YOU

ran haitani fluff (and sometimes sad, and also very out of character) headcanons

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he absolutely loves when you play with his hair or braid it (when he has long hair)

he especially loves it when his head is in your lap and you stroke through his hair. this man fucking melts when you do that

if you have adhd, or major troubles with concentrating your attention on anything, he'll sit himself right next to you to let you play with his hair so it's easier for you to focus on your stuff

will shower you in gifts

he will tie you close to himself and then push you away repeatedly for various reasons in the beginning of your relationships because he's scared you would leave him one day

but he really loves you

always seeks confirmation he's one and only for you, even if most of the times it doesn't sound serious but more like teasing

will definitely call you different pet names like princess/prince, babygirl/babyboy, baby, darling and anything else sweet

but he also likes to tease you a lot (with pet names like shortie, if he's taller than you and stuff like that)

his love language absolutely is a gift giving. but affectionate touches and words are ones of them as well

he loooves holding hands, kissing you and showing his affection in public

but he won't be doing that if you're not comfortable with it

because he's respectful of your personal borders (and he actually will be just a big softie for you)

he'll absolutely give you morning wake up kisses and call you a sleeping beauty, you can't change my mind

but he likes when you do that for him as well

will absolutely teach you fighting and will get you every possible self-defense thing, because he's scared one day you'll need his help but he wouldn't be near to protect you

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i accidentally wrote romantic fluff with Sanzu.............. and i don't even love Sanzu............. wtf how did it happen?...............

it's alright everyone has options lol, my user on ao3 is Mirr_or and like the most of my fics r abt gungoo so u can see them there if u want ^_^

ohhhh I've read some of your stories, some were fun, and others made me cry a little 🤧🤧 they are very nice!!)

when i say i’m from ukraine, people assume i live somewhere else now. when i say i live in ukraine, they assume i’m somehow immune to war, and there’s a logical division between a ukrainian they chat with on discord and a ukrainian on the news. bitches my yaoi is written from the bomb shelter

One thing about the War in Ukraine I don't think Westerners really get is that from a local perspective... Russia has always been like that. I don't entirely know what purpose mentioning this may serve within the discussion... except maybe to point out that this war came as a surprise to no one in Eastern Europe, and that when we doubt the moral standing of the average Russian, we are deeply aware of how their worldview has been shaped for at least two centuries.

Because when Pushkin wrote his infamous poem against the Polish Uprising of 1830, he used very much the same arguments as the Russian literary scene today. None of this changes. And this is why nothing short of a complete restructuring of Russia could possibly allow for any kind of civil relations between it and its neighbours — if the blood that has already been spilled doesn't make it too late for this century.

Title: Helping Hand

Pairing: Manjiro x Reader

Summary: You come to the leader of Toman to help you with your stalker problem| Genre: Fluff| Warning: Mention of stalking | Words: 3.8K

‘Ex-excuse me, Sano-san?’ 

You didn’t feel particularly good about what you were about to do, but given the circumstances, you felt you were left without other options. 

You felt too self-aware and nervous to look directly at him, but you could tell he slightly turned his head to look at you even without looking.

‘Did you say something?’ asked the short blond-haired leader of Toman, and you almost yelped. You wanted to talk to him, but it still caused you great anguish that he replied, forcing you to go on with your plan, ‘Uh, I…I…well, you see…’

The boy remained patient for an admirably long moment while you struggled to find the right words before he suddenly stepped closer to you. 

‘Oi! You should look at me when you’re talking to me. I might feel disrespected otherwise,’ he said, sounding beyond casual. Still, the possibility that you might offend a known gang leader was enough threat on its own.

You straightened yourself to your full height and looked at the boy around your age who wore a strangely disinterested look on his face.

Sano Manjiro, the leader of Toman, and the boy, you came to find on a school day forcing yourself to run late, perhaps even skip, watched you with a pair of the most alluring and sad dark eyes you had ever seen. 

You saw him around before. You knew how he looked when you found him, of course, but seeing his eyes this close caught you off guard. 

They’re pretty, though; you thought something about their nostalgia speaking to you.

Suddenly, he chuckled, ‘What’s the matter?’ he closed his eyes, and a lazy but pretty grin pulled across his face while he teased you, ‘Forgot what you were going to say?’ 

You felt your face catch fire at his words, and your eyes widened, realizing how silly you must have looked. You were already nervous, but now on top of all that, you also felt beyond embarrassed. 

You slightly bowed and yelled, ‘I’M SORRY!’

When you looked back up, he was still there with his hands in his pocket, looking somewhat amused, which didn’t help your face that continued to feel all too warm or the fluttering inside your stomach. 

You were never good when it came to talking to handsome boys. If it was possible, you would have avoided this interaction completely, but you just couldn’t. 

‘You’re kinda awkward, huh?’ he asked, and you closed your eyes, fighting the mortifying feeling of embarrassment that he would say something like that out loud to you. 

It was true. But still! 

‘Yeah,’ you admitted quietly before you finally said, ‘I would like to ask for your help.’

Mikey’s leisure posture didn’t change, but you could see the corners of his lips falling a tiny bit, minimizing his smile, ‘Go on then.’

You took a deep breath and stuttered over your explanation, wishing you had written it down last night when it occurred to you, you could ask the Invincible Mikey for help. 

The truth was a few months ago, one of your neighbors took an unhealthy interest in you, and the situation had only escalated since then. 

It started innocently enough, with the boy simply walking you to and from school, attempting to be friendly. You didn’t mind back then and were even thrilled you might have gained a new friend, but things quickly spiraled as he started to make you uncomfortable with his comments about your body and asking you out. You wouldn’t mind him as a friend, but you weren’t interested in anything else. He seemed alright at first, but there were a number of reasons why he wasn’t your type. 

Initially, you tried to be polite, but with time, you even clearly stated your reasons. It came out rather nervously due to your personality, but at least for once, you stood your ground. However, it seemed like he couldn’t take the hint, and later, he ended up full-on ignoring your protests. 

‘If you give me more time, I’ll change your mind,’ he said with confidence, making you sick to your stomach since you didn’t want him to try any more than he already did.

You were an anxious person who tried to avoid conflicts and anything too uncomfortable to deal with. So, it seemed natural for you to try and stop interacting with him when you rejected his advances. It would be too awkward otherwise. 

However, he seemed to disagree. He tried to walk you to and from school and seemed to catch you whenever you went grocery shopping or ran some other errands. 

At first, it was uncomfortable and annoying, but it quickly became creepy. He was pressuring you all the time, talking about how pretty you were and how much he liked looking at you, and a lot of other things that, with the way he was looking at you and how he always seemed to catch you when you went somewhere, were beyond scary. 

It wasn’t just that you were shy or anything like that. Every time on point when the boy showed up, you felt your stomach sink and nausea take over while he smiled at you. 

Your family tried to calm you down, claiming you didn’t understand how having a crush felt or worked and that you were overacting, making you feel even worse about the whole situation. 

On top of that, your neighbor was two years older and objectively somewhat good-looking, so it seemed like every other person you confided in thought you should give in and start dating him. 

‘It’s not like you have a shot at anyone else right now, right?’ asked one of your classmates, which shocked and hurt you so badly that you stopped talking about it together.

Perhaps, you just didn’t stress out about how severe the situation was, but you still felt upset and betrayed that no one seemed to see it as you did.

Of course, it all sounded innocent on the outside because none of those people were in your shoes.

You felt incredibly alone while dealing with all of this, constantly stressed whenever he found you somewhere smiling and acting all nice and sweet while all you could think about was to run. Only to later doubt yourself and wonder if you really weren’t just being too harsh on him. 

Needless to say, you weren’t in a good place mentally, and your anxiety was running all-time high because of all of this. 

You hit your sort of breaking point when he touched you the other day and tried to kiss you, telling you he waited enough for you to be ready and that he wanted to date you already.

You froze, feeling the weight of absolute panic that entered your body and was about to tear you in half. You were never more scared in your entire life, and rightfully so. 

Your only salvation was that before he could do anything, there was a commotion nearby. Your reflexes kicked in, forcing you to break free from his hold and run home. You drenched yourself that day while crying in the shower feeling hopeless and alone like you never did in your entire life. It was soul-crushing, really.

You barely ate that evening, and when your parents asked about it, you stated you weren’t feeling too well, fearing if you confessed what happened, they would just brush it off again, further breaking your heart and trust. 

It was impossible to fall asleep that night, so you spent hours trying to come up with a plan until you remembered your classmate, who never showed up for class and just so happened to be a gang leader. You were unclear about what exactly it meant to be a part of a gang while still underage, apart from getting into fights and skipping school. However, since Mikey’s sister Emma was still spending time with him and doing a better job in staying in school, it wouldn’t be so horrible. 

You were also suffering from sleep deprivation, so last night, the idea seemed really good.

Out of other options, you took all the money your frugal self has saved so far, packed your lunch, and went on a hunt for a certain blond-haired delinquent.  

‘That’s not cool of him at all,’ said Mikey as you managed to stumble over your words explaining what was happening. Of course, you gave him a much shorter version of it all. And in your frantic retelling, you might have even watered it down a bit. 

You finally stopped talking and forced your eyes to lift up to his face as you found it impossible to look at his expressions while discussing those events. 

Your eyes widened, and you were left stunned by the ice-cold look on his face. It was so bizarrely different from the relaxed and bored one from before. It was an exceptional look that spoke volumes on its own. 

Danger 

‘If you told him to stop and leave you alone, he should have. I have a sister, and if someone threatened her this way, I would have killed them.’

 You were left speechless listening to the firm and cold way he delivered those words and felt something snap inside you. 

A pathetic soft sob broke from your mouth. 

You covered your mouth while tears started to rush out of your eyes. The whole harassment had been going on for so long, and no one seemed too concerned about it. Not your family or friends, yet this boy, who was supposed to be a scary and mean delinquent, appeared to have no problem taking your side and showing you the compassion you desperately needed.

Your insides were torn between going through the pain you endured for so long and feeling warm relief over his kindness.

‘Come on,’ he spoke with a much gentle voice now, almost like he was talking to a child, ‘No need to cry for a jerk like that.’

He stepped closer, and while tears ran down your cheeks, he leaned forward and grinned right at your face. Your vision was blurry, but you could still make out his radiating smile. Even if you couldn’t see it properly and were a mess, you still couldn’t help but think it was rather beautiful. 

‘He doesn’t deserve your tears, yeah?’

You started to brush your face and speak, only to eventually nod as you felt it would take far longer for you to be able to sound coherent again. You just couldn’t help yourself. Until then, everyone seemed so dismissive of what was going on. 

Mikey barely knew you and immediately chose to take your side on all of this. It was a bit overwhelming for you, to say the least. 

‘Mikey-kun, sorry it took so long, but they-AAAA!’ 

You immediately stopped crying, startled by the yelling, and looked behind Mikey at another blond-haired boy you weren’t familiar with, who was looking and pointing directly at you with shock written all over him. 

‘Hm?’ Mikey turned back to the boy with seemingly disinterest before he said, ‘Takemitchy, you kept me waiting for so long.’

The other blond finally dropped his hand but remained looking at you with his eyes wide, ‘W-what are you doing, Mikey-kun?’

‘Ah, this awkward girl here wants me to beat up her stalker, so he’ll leave her alone,’ he said. You were stunned he could speak so casually about it, as if girls all over town came to him and asked him for his services. 

I hope not, you found yourself thinking with a sour taste inside your mouth. You were surprised you cared. It wasn’t like you would wish your situation on anyone, and if someone unfortunate did end up in it, you hoped they had options to be helped and saved. You also hoped that option wasn’t the blond who you wished would only help you.

‘She’s kinda cute though, right?’ he asked next, causing your eyes to widen and your cheeks to get warm again, ‘Cries just like you.’

‘Oi!’ complained the other boy but remained looking between you and Mikey, somewhat panicked, confusing you even more. Did he know you or something?

You were puzzled and a bit freaked out about why he was staring at you like that before Mikey turned back to face you and let out a relieved sigh, ‘You done with the waterfalls, huh?’

‘Y-yeah,’ you said and brushed your cheeks some more before you started to search your school bag for a wallet, ‘I don’t have a lot, but here.’

‘Keep it,’ he said, and your hand paused mid-air with your wallet inside it. 

The corner of his mouth pulled into another smile, ‘I have subordinates to give me money. I would feel pretty bad if I took yours. Though, I have a request.’

‘Anything,’ you said before you could properly think about your words and blushed even harder when Mikey chuckled and then pulled the corner of your lips into a lazy smirk. Your neighbor smiled at you a lot, which often caused your belly to react, but you couldn’t help but think it was nothing similar to the strangely sweet warmth you felt now. It was still awkward and slightly out of your comfort zone, but not in a way; you wished to run as far away as you could from the boy. Quite the opposite, actually.

You slapped a hand over your mouth while Mikey lectured you, ‘Careful with such things. Someone might get the wrong impression again, and I won’t always have time to beat up your stalkers, okay?’

You dutifully nodded, and the blond-haired boy pointed at the lunch box sticking out of your bag, ‘Share your lunch with me.’ 

You blinked and uncovered your mouth, surprised. 

‘Kenchin cut me off,’ he started to explain as if you knew who that person was, ‘and Takemitchy is already buying me dorayaki-’

‘I am?’ asked the boy behind him, and you uncovered your palm and giggled at his funny antics.

Even if just slightly and for less than a second, but when you did, it seemed his dark eyes lit up with something other than that dark nostalgia they seem to carry constantly.

You tried to give him your wallet anyway, but he didn’t even reach for it, so you ultimately put it back. 

 ‘Of course, you can take it,’ you handed the nearly packed bento into his awaiting palm, ‘I’m not that good of a cook, but I hope you’ll enjoy it anyway.’

He smiled upon accepting it, ‘It smells good, so I have high hopes for it,’ he then put on a very childlike face and said, ‘I’ll be very disappointed if it doesn’t.’

You didn’t like the sound of that and went to tell him, but he suddenly stepped closer to you. Your shoulders touched obviously on purpose, and he tilted his head to be able to speak directly into your ear, ‘Go back to class, Y/N-chan. I’ll come pick you up when I’m done with that guy. Yeah?’

You felt a shiver run through your entire being for some reason. 

Your hand quickly covered your ear and stepped away feeling flushed and warm, unlike never before over his teasing. He had to do it purposefully, knowing it would leave you flustered. But he didn’t touch you; instead, he left you feeling shy, embarrassed, and warm than uncomfortable like your stalker.

Mikey only grinned at you with a look behind his dark eyes you couldn’t read before he walked further down the street, calling for Takemitchy, the other blond-haired boy, to follow, which he did momentary pausing to give you a quick wave, ‘Bye, Y/L/N-san.’

You blinked several times before you turned back to watch them get on Mikey’s bike and drive, leaving you to wonder how he knew your name. You were surprised Mikey knew it since he rarely, if ever, showed up at class, and you were certain you never spoke with one another until today. But for that odd boy to know it as well?

So strange, you thought to yourself before you made your way to your school. Your only sanctuary since your stalker didn’t go there. Yet. 

You almost threw up the one time he mentioned he might transfer even if he wouldn’t be in your class since he was older, but at least he would be able to see you more often during the day. 

The day ended, and you dutifully waited in front of the school building close enough to take refuge there if needed, even if that had never worked before. It didn’t matter if you went home too late or not; it seemed your neighbor always caught up to you. 

Finally, after a while, Mikey showed up on his bike, along with another of your classmates, Ryuguji Ken, who almost never showed up in school either, and the odd boy you only met today, Takemitchi. 

‘Here, it was delicious.’

You took your bento from his hands and stuffed it back into your bag, noting it was empty before you looked at him again. He seemed in a good mood, partly lying over his bike while smiling at you.

You grimaced, ‘Hardly. My relatives always tell me I use too much salt or spice-’

‘You did,’ he chuckled, surprising you, ‘But you also gave me the whole thing instead of sharing and did your best, so it’s fine.’

You knew you were blushing when he said that and looked away so you would calm down a bit. It was hard to watch him when he looked this happy and handsome at you of all people, ‘Y-you don’t know if I really put that much effort into it.’

‘I do,’ he said with confidence and amusement, ‘You seem like the type.’

There was no point in denying it, so you took a deep breath and looked up, ‘W-well, did you manage to…’

‘Your neighbor won’t bother you again,’ he assured with a distant look behind his dark eyes, ‘He’ll stay away from you from now on.’ 

You watched him for a moment, finally letting those words sink in. You didn’t realize how stressed you were while waiting until Mikey finally showed up again. It wasn’t like you could assess his abilities since you never saw him fight or deal with his subordinates, so you were unsure if he could do something to have your stalker leave you alone. You feared your stalker would somehow talk his way out of it like he always seemed to. Now that you knew everything worked out, you felt like crying again.

‘Ah, come on, no more of those waterfalls,’ joked Mikey and reached out, swiping a tear from your cheek, ‘A guy like that definitely doesn’t deserve them. Don’t let them go to waste on him.’

His hand was warm, and everything about him felt so kind you thought you couldn’t handle it anymore. You were dealing with it for a long time; you felt overwhelmed with it all. 

‘Thank you!’ you could help but yell before suddenly you found your arms hanging around the blond boy’s neck and your chest pressed against his while you tried to fight back tears of gratitude, ‘Thank you so much!’

You squeezed him for a second or two before you jumped away and bowed, ‘I know it’s probably not a big deal to you, but it means a lot to me, so’ you rose and offered him your best smile while still attempting not to cry, ‘Thank you for saving me.’

When you looked at Mikey’s face, you could see just how shocked he was with his slightly opened mouth and widened eyes staring at you as if you grew a second head. You didn’t blame him, as you looked like a lunatic that tossed herself on poor victims. 

You blamed the horrible stress you had to endure all this time to be the reason, not to mention the fact that the boy was so nice about the whole thing. Not even accepting your money, just your hardly tasty lunch. And he even claimed it was delicious when you knew it wasn’t that special. 

You offered him a nod, unsure what to do next, and caught yourself thinking that you should run, only to have him call for you, ‘Wait!’

His voice sounded different now, and you panicked, thinking he must have hated when people touched him without asking, and perhaps wanted to scold you only to be met with his pretty face looking especially childlike and open arms, ‘Not enough, give me more.’

‘Mikey-kun! Don’t just demand that!’ yelled the panicked blond boy distressed behind him, but you already found yourself walking to the boy who saved you and put your arms around him, having him almost dive into you while letting out a small sigh. 

‘This is nice.’

You held him closer, closed your eyes to experience the moment properly, and held onto him if he really said, ‘I’m glad.’ 

It should have been bizarre to hug a relative stranger like this, but it didn’t feel that way. Mikey smelled like food and something earthy, and he helped you tight enough that, along with what he did for you, you felt safe. It was a good, really pleasant feeling. One that you wouldn’t mind prolonging even longer to savor every second of it if you didn’t hear Ryuguji call, ‘Oi! Mikey, wrap it up! You know we need to be elsewhere soon.’

The blond let out a little pouty sound that made you giggle against his ear before you could stop yourself. 

Just as you did, you felt Mikey’s grip tightened ever so slightly, ‘I like that sound.’

‘Hm?’

‘That sound you make when you laugh,’ he said, and you smiled, trying to hide your face a bit. You couldn’t remember the last time someone complimented you, making your insides feel like cotton candy. Still, you were glad you didn’t because the idea that only the Toman leader did was far sweeter. 

Ultimately, he let you go and, very disappointed, admitted he had to go, ‘Kenchin’s right. Today, Takemitchi will walk you home. I promised to kick his ass if anything happens to you, and he has a girlfriend who will beat his ass so that he won’t make a move on you.’ 

You grimaced and tried to deny his offer since you didn’t want to bother the other boy. 

‘Tomorrow though,’ said Mikey cutting you off, ‘I’ll take you out after school, alright?’

Your lips parted in shock, although you really shouldn’t have been surprised since the blond did compliment you a lot today, and you just spent a very long while hugging him. 

It might have been pathetic, but you couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face as you nodded and accepted having a very good feeling about it. 

Koniec

A.N: English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for grammatical mistakes. Thank you for taking the time to read this 😊 I apologize if it wasn’t as good as some of my stories, though ☹ I was in a weird head-space. Stay safe!

BONTEN MEN and how the tell you they love you

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MIKEY: "before you came into my life, it was nothing but pain"

RAN: "never thought someone will be in my mind more often than anything else but you somehow are"

RINDOU: "I've never thought I would fall for someone this hard but here I am"

SANZU: "you're making my world brighter. better. you are my world"

MOCHI: "I'm not a good guy, but I want to be good just for you"

KOKO: "I never thought I'd fall in love ever again but you made me fall in love with you"

KAKUCHO: "I don't know what I would do without you, I love you so much"

TAKEOMI: "I don't know if I won't fuck up everything but I really hope I won't"

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Hi there 💙💛

Sorry to bother you 😅 I was looking for you on ao3 to checkout if/what fics you wrote there, but I couldn't find you under riya-song. Did you change your name or simply didn't post anything there?

Have a nice day 💜

Ohh... now that I've looked at it, I seem to have made a mistake 😂😅🥲🥲

It's actually riya_song (with an underscore 😖😖)

but there aren't many works there (just 2 technically), and they are very short. I'm vorking on some big ones, but for now they are just in my notes and I have no idea when I will write enough for me to decide to start uploading them 😂😅🥲🥲🥲

//because whenever I start uploading stories not having even 1/4 of them written and beta-read, I end up usually not finishing those stories at all 🥲🥲

anyway, thank you for wanting to check my other works out, i really appreciate it, especially coming from you (considering you're my favorite writer in tokrev fandom 🤧🤧🤧)

Hi!

I really enjoy reading your fics! If your request are still open can i request a bonten ran x reader. Reader is at the club with her friend but the thing is she is really insecure about herself. Her ‘friend’ are honestly toxic towards her. Ran keeps looking at reader and she notices but also one of her so call friends does too. The friend gets jealous and won’t stop saying how ran is looking at her. Ran finally decided to make a move on reader but the friends her off by beginning to talk to him. Obviously ran outs her back in her place and starts talking to reader. Sorry if it’s too long. Feel free to ignore if it’s too much!

Hi there 💙💛

I’m sorry if it felt like a long time to write this one, but I got busy with the other requests😊 

I’m really glad you asked this one though, and I hope it turned out the way, you pictured it. 😊

It was interesting to write fluff for Bonten Ran though. 

I hope you enjoy it 😊

Title: I Saw You

Pairing: Reader x Ran

Summary: You went to a club with your childhood friend only to catch the attention of a well-known crime syndicate member. | Genre: Fluff |Warnings: Some Angst, Toxic friend | Words: 4.1K

Putting on the clothes you picked up for yourself earlier has proven to be an even harder chore than the shower you took or the makeup you put on a while ago. Your heart simply wasn’t in it to go out tonight, and until the last few minutes that you had to leave, you prayed your friend would call to cancel. It wasn’t nice to wish for such a thing, you knew, but you couldn’t help yourself. 

Your friend was someone you shared history with during the time, you were younger, and you lacked a bigger friend circle. Not much has changed since then, but you would like to think you did find people who were just a better fit for you, especially after your friend found herself other friends and a boyfriend ultimately leaving you behind. It hurt a lot at first to be on your own like that, but over time, you found a few good friends and didn’t dwell on it too much. 

When you met your friend a day ago and got the chance and reminisce about those few moments, you had to spare on the street, it was really nice and fun. You were close for so long as kids and shared many good memories from that time. You didn’t hesitate much to agree to meet today and catch up more, but when your friend suggested a night out in the club, you really wished you had. 

Clubs, especially as fancy ones as the one she took you to, weren’t your scene. The only reason, you forced yourself to go was because you were never certain how to avoid such things once you agreed and because she was your childhood friend.

A part of you wanted to keep reminiscing about those good times you shared, and another part felt sympathy when she confessed her boyfriend broke up with her after falling in love with her former best friend. It seemed like she was going through a lot, but one chuckle and savage ‘Looks, like you, still dress like you did when we were kids, huh?’ comment later, and apart from those good times you shared as children, you started to recall other instances when you would beg your family to lie whenever your friend came to ask you out to play or was glad when she was gone for a week because she went to visit her grandparents. 

She’s just hurting, you told yourself as you tried to start the topic of your shared past or her recent heartache to vent, but she hushed you and looked away leaving you nursing the coke you ordered surrounded by strangers behind some table inside some loud club. 

Your eyes lifted up to look around the place and for a moment you thought you caught a handsome man looking at you as he leisurely passed the table almost stopping at one point to prolong the moment and watch you.

Heat immediately hit your face, and you were certain, he noticed as he calmly smiled at you his downturned purple eyes making his face look softer now.

Your self-awareness caught up to you and you cast your gaze down. You weren’t ever one to draw the male attention, and even if you did, you never really knew what to do with it. 

But it felt really nice to feel admired for a second by the man though. 

When you gathered some spare courage and look up again, the man was sadly gone, and you felt a part of you was honestly disappointed by this. 

More time has passed and your mood was properly dropping. A few men showed up by the table trying to ask your friend out, ignoring you most of the time, but she always declined, ‘Oh, you don’t have to worry about me. You can go dance with them and have fun.’ Even if it would suck even more if you were left on your own, you would feel bad if your friend was wasting a night because of you.

She laughed as if you were being ridiculous, ‘Don’t be silly. Why would I bother with those third-grade losers when he hasn’t stopped looking my way once since we got here?’

Your eyes blinked as you were surprised by her words. Due to your shyness, you didn’t really remain looking at anyone for too long, but you still thought you would notice someone staring for too long, ‘Who?’

‘Haitani Ran,’ said your friend like it should have been obvious adding a mocking sound after the name at your ignorance, ‘He hasn’t stopped looking at me since we got here. He’s not subtle about it at all.’

She turned away from you, and you followed the direction she was currently facing away from you.

There were a lot of people present in the club tonight, but even still, it was rather obvious, your friend’s interest lay solely on the VIP table that was set on a platform height above the others giving its occupants the perfect view of the club and everyone there. The table was full just like your own. 

There were mostly men engaging in sipping their drinks while talking with maybe two women in revealing clothes that seemed to be the eye candy to a certain large and old-looking man. 

For a moment, you were still unsure, of who your friend meant by the name she gave you, but then your eyes were met with someone else’s. 

You blinked and looked away momentarily embarrassed that you got caught, but when you looked again, you found the man was still keeping his gaze on you with something like a calm smile playing across his face. You realized because of that smile it was the same handsome man who stopped by your table earlier. 

Your heart speeded up and subconsciously, you ran your palms over your clothes as if trying to iron out the wrinkles while once again pushing your gaze toward your lap feeling all too self-aware of his profound gaze, ‘Uh, w-which one is he?’

‘Only the most gorgeous one,’ said your friend and as if it should have been obvious before she fixed her dress to reveal more cleavage. 

After a moment she sighed almost longingly, ‘The man in the expensive purple suit with light purple and black hair.’

You blinked and lifted your eyes again realizing she was talking about the man, you previously caught eyes with. It surprised you how much the realization left you disappointed and down. It had to mean you merely mistook he was looking at you before and was probably eyeing your friend the entire time. It made sense your friend caught so many men’s interests tonight, and she was truly a stunning and attractive woman with confidence in herself, unlike someone like you.

‘Uh, he’s good-looking,’ you agreed and turned to your friend to offer her some support hiding your true feelings as best as you could, but she quickly rolled her eyes at you, ‘He’s hot and one of the most powerful men in the city that’s what is he is. No one would dare to cross or humiliate me if I was the girlfriend of Haitani Ran.’

You blinked confused and alerted upon hearing that before you looked at the man again. He was still pretty far along with his friends or business partners, and it was obvious they had to be important people to be seated in the VIP zone, but it wasn’t until your eyes lowered from his face that you caught the real reason why your friend said what she did. 

You swallowed feeling your heart speed up for a different reason, ‘H-hey, is that…isn’t that tattoo the symbol of the Bonten?’ Everyone in the city and their mother knew about the most ruthless criminal syndicate that gained power a few years ago and slowly took over the city and soon would probably control the entire country too. 

She seemed pleased that you noticed, ‘Yes. Wouldn’t it be perfect revenge for my ex to see me with such a hot and dangerous man?’

You couldn’t believe what she was saying and feared she might have planned something far worse than the petty revenge of who ended up the winner in some relationship feud. 

Taking a deep breath and gathering your thoughts you looked up only to find the man saying something to the other man and standing up all the while looking in your direction. 

Your heart speeded up again because even despite what your friend said about him eyeing her all night, you found your eyes hypnotized by his as he didn’t seem to want to allow you to look away.

‘Leave us,’ hissed your friend startling you enough to look away from the man and at her confused not just by her words but by the fact that you seemed to have shared a very intense eye contact with a member of the most dangerous gang around, ‘W-what?’

‘He’s coming over,’ she said looking annoyed that you didn’t seem to understand, ‘He probably doesn’t want to sit around and hit on me with my keychain friend around, don’t you think?’

Her words hurt a lot, but at that moment, they didn’t hurt as much as they could since you were still partly shaken by what was going on. 

Still, you got to your feet and mumbled a weak goodbye, but only managed a couple of steps away from the table before you felt someone very gently put their hand on your lower back. 

You turned to look at the person surprised. You were never one to appreciate new touches from strangers, but this person touched you so gently that it was almost like he simply kept his palm close enough for you to feel his warmth rather than the real feeling of pressure. 

Whatever thought you had run inside your mind over some stranger touching you immediately vanished as you found yourself face to face with the enigmatic and dangerous Haitani Ran whose name you only knew because your friend planned to let him hit on her. 

Everything about him was even more beautiful and breathtaking up close. The shape of his purple eyes made him look far too relaxed and calm, but the intensity of his gaze on your face was in direct contrast with such feelings.

Your lips parted, but you couldn’t form any words just yet since you were too stunned to have such a man, this close to you all the while watching you as if he didn’t want to look anywhere else. 

He was still smiling at you calmly, but being able to see his smile meant you could also have a good look at the Bonten symbol tattooed over his throat making you remember just who this man really was.

You stepped a bit away from his reach fixing your purse ready to leave when you felt him lean closer to your head and raise his hand to your arm although he never once actually let his palm touch you, ‘Don’t go yet. Please.’

Your heart missed a beat and then speeded up monstrously fast as you heard his velvet voice say so close to your ear. 

You watched him lean away to look at your face so confused yet tempted by those words alone simply because no one, especially someone as handsome as this person, ever looked at you in a way they really wanted you to stay in their presence as Haitani Ran did just now. 

Just then your friend came from behind the man and stumbled sort of into his side, ‘Oh, excuse me,’ she giggled all too loudly, ‘You know you shouldn’t bother my friend. She’s already leaving to wake up early for her job tomorrow. She’s not fun like that,’ you heard her say, and not for the first time tonight averted your eyes feeling all too insecure and humiliated by her recalling it wasn’t all that different when you were younger.

‘I, on the other hand, have all the time-’

‘You should use that time, to think why you’re such a shitty friend then,’ said the man with a completely different voice than the one he used on you not a moment ago causing you to look back up. 

He was looking at your friend, but nothing about his gaze spoke of calmness, ‘You should never call someone a friend unless you plan to be completely loyal to them.’

Ran smirked then, but there was nothing kind about it before he leaned down toward your friend’s ear and said something to her you couldn’t hear over the sounds of the music around you. 

Your friend’s face went very pale, and her eyes widened with pure horror before she turned around and went back to the table snatching her purse and quickly rushing past you without a single word. 

You should have gone after her, right? It was the right thing to do. The nice thing to do, but shockingly you found your feet planted against the floor simply looking at the man who just scared her off. 

‘W-what did you tell her?’ you asked as the man stepped closer to you again, almost enough that your bodies could touch, but somehow still maintaining distance. 

His wild smirk softened again, ‘I simply told her how I treat people who are disloyal to me.’

You swallowed and felt unsettled imagining what it could mean coming from someone associated with a crime syndicate like Bonten, ‘What do you want from me?’

It was a fair question, even if it surprised you, you managed to ask at all. This man was dangerous, and maybe you had a chance to run away from him, but at the same time still having his eyes on you, you couldn’t help but stay in place. And despite your anxiety, you couldn’t help but think it wasn’t fear that was making you.

‘I saw you when I first walked in,’ he confessed and took a proper look up and down your body, ‘You’re very beautiful. Extraordinary,’ he played with the word with his tongue, ‘I never see women like you around here.’

It made sense; you weren’t the type for these gatherings. 

You pointed behind you and admitted, ‘My friend took me here.’

Ran grinned upon hearing your words, ‘You could have mentioned that sooner. I would have been nicer to her knowing I had her to thank to be able to talk with you.’

His purple eyes were still very much planted on your face, and despite what he said, you couldn’t really believe it. You weren’t approached often and certainly not by men like him. 

‘Can I buy you a drink and take you someplace quieter to talk?’ he said seemingly with all the relaxed confidence in the world causing your face to feel warm and your palms to sweat. It should have been alarming to have someone like him interested in you, but you couldn’t help yourself but feel only your usual self.

‘Men like you usually don’t want to just talk,’ you found yourself saying weakly.

Ran’s calm smile became edgier as his eyes never once left yours, ‘Are you an expert on men like me, darling?’ he asked mocking you and making you feel embarrassed and nervous again for a whole new reason.

You couldn’t really answer him though, so you remained quiet as you looked away only for him to lean closer to your face again in a way that forced you to look back at him, ‘If you know men like me so well, do you believe we can keep our word?’

His closeness was almost unbearable, and you had to remind yourself he was a dangerous man because the alternative was to get far too excited and invested in his obvious interest that you still found hard to fully believe yet.

Still, you gave him a small nod and watched his smile return as his velvet voice said, ‘Then you have my word I simply want to talk.’ 

You realized immediately you fell into a trap but found it hard to care all that much. It was overwhelming to be the center of attention of such a man, but at the same time, it wasn’t as horrible as you would have imagined. 

You nodded again and when Ran leaned away motioning where to go, you did so almost immediately, all the while feeling the presence of his hand close to your lower back as he followed you.

For the first time ever in such a crowded place, no one knocked into you. In fact, it seemed everyone went out of their way, to make sure, they weren’t even close to you. 

The man who seemed to be watching over the elevator nodded and pushed the bottom for you while you waited. It was surreal and more than just a bit hard to process. 

Panic kicked in. Were you really planning to go somewhere with a known member of a crime syndicate, you just meet? You didn’t really tell any of your friends you went to this club, and they didn’t know your old childhood friend so who was to say anyone would ever find out what happened to you if you were to never make it home? 

Your heart sank and the fear must have shown across your face because Ran leaned closer to your ear and comforted you, ‘It’s alright. You have my word remember? I just want to take you somewhere nice and quiet to talk. May I?’

Your eyes moved to his face as he leaned away. Despite the red flags and overthinking it was hard not to believe him. 

In the end, you allowed the elevator to take you up into a hallway and then found yourself up on a balcony looking over the beauty of Tokyo at night. 

‘Oh,’ you breathed out in awe over the beautiful sight, you rarely got to see before you felt the cold wind hit your body on places your clothing didn’t cover. 

‘Here, take this,’ said Ran and offered you his jacket almost immediately putting it across your shoulders and smiling at you, ‘Better, darling?’

‘Yes,’ you admitted and looked at him as he came to take a place beside you leaning against the balcony ledge, ‘I like to come here and think sometimes. It clears the head to look at things from a higher perspective, don’t you think?’

The night air hit your face making it easier to breathe. 

You nodded feeling pleased as you were truly grateful to be away from the loud music, the smell of smoke, and alcoholic behavior, ‘It feels much better here.’

The city below you was noisy too, but at the same time, it felt rather peaceful since it was just you two up there. 

You couldn’t help but glance at your companion at the same time he turned to look at you as well, ‘Do you know who I am?’

He reached out his name for you to take, and you watched it for a moment too long before you finally did accept it. 

Almost immediately he brought it to his face and almost gave you cardiac arrest by pressing his lips eagerly against your kiss marking it in some way as you could feel the heat of his lips even when they leaned away to say, ‘My name is Ran.’

Your heart was beating all too fast, as he finally let your hand go and it fell back to your side. 

You nodded after a few seconds of trying to compose yourself, ‘M-my-,’ you found yourself pausing as you didn’t want to say the friend out loud again, ‘The person I came with told me, and I noticed your tattoo,’ you said and pointed to his throat smiling a bit unsure, ‘I’m y/n.’

Ran grinned looking delighted, ‘That’s really your name, isn’t it?’

You felt like you might be blushing from embarrassment again, ‘Of course, it is. Why wouldn’t be?’

He shrugged his shoulders and laughed a bit, ‘There was always an option for you to lie to me. Now, I can use it to find out things about you.’

You looked over the ledge again feeling like maybe you should have been worried, but with how calmly he spoke about it and how nice it was up here, you felt a lot of your anxiety and usual insecurities shrink. 

‘Or you could simply ask me those things like an ordinary person,’ you suggested and offered him a tiny smile to show him you were teasing him slightly. 

He seemed to like that because he laughed some more and leaned closer to you, ‘Alright, please tell me something about yourself. Besides that, you’re very beautiful and have poor taste in friends.’

‘Not all of them,’ you quickly felt the need to defend yourself, ‘I just know her for a long time. It’s hard to sometimes untangle yourself from such a person when you focus on the good things you went through.’

‘But it cannot last,’ he said, ‘Not when you evolve from that person, yet they stay the same.’ 

You nodded agreeing as you knew for a while now that your friend acted rather toxic toward you and not just tonight, ‘Yes.’

‘Then perhaps enough about her,’ said Ran, and with all the ease and time in the world, he reached toward you and brushed your hair aside ghosting his fingertips over your face, ‘Tell me about yourself already, y/n. I can hardly wait.’

Your heart skipped another beat and despite the possibility of all of this being some sort of trick to deceive you or hurt you, you believed him. 

You spoke a bit about yourself. It was tiring at times since you were never one to brag, so you tried to keep it factual, but it seemed Ran took it upon himself to overpraise your every smallest achievement as if it was something that you should have gotten an award for you. 

You never had anyone so thrilled about the things in your life as he did by knowing you for less than a day, and you couldn’t help, but feel delicate warmth and thrilling heat spread across your body at his behavior toward you. 

It felt far too enjoyable to have the attention of Haitani Ran all to yourself like this.

You talked for what felt like far too long only to stop once exhaustion kicked in and you yawned. 

He moved closer to you and got you to gasp as you felt his hand reach into the pocket of his jacket to check the time all the while grinning at you, ‘Relax, darling, you seem far too tired for anything like that. And I’m a man who prefers long hours of rest. The time we had left wouldn’t be enough for either of those things.’

Your face must have been scarlet as you looked away. It was unsettling how nice he could be with you one moment, only to switch to such flirty and suggestive behavior the next.

‘I want to see you again,’ he said after you realized how late it was and that you really needed to get home and get rest before work tomorrow, ‘Can I call you?’ he asked before he grinned, ‘But you should know I will find a way to meet you regardless your answer.’

That sounded almost like a threat except he made you feel so good while saying it, you nodded and even accepted his offer that his driver would take you home. 

Ran took you to the garage by a back entrance so you wouldn’t have to go through the loud and smelly club again all the while once again keeping his palm against your lower back warming you through your clothes despite the delicate touch.

Right before you were about to get into the backseat, he took your hand into his again and kissed it on your opened palm. 

His eyes had a mischief spark inside them as with a calm smile he stated, ‘I promised you to just talk tonight. But you should know, I won’t be able to make such a promise next time we met, darling.’

You couldn’t bring yourself to say anything to that other than get inside the car and wish him goodbye feeling that if he stopped you or suggested kissing you tonight, you would very much so let him regardless of who he was or any promises. 

The next morning, when you got to work, it all felt almost like a dream except your former friend didn’t stop trying to call you and the giddy feeling inside your stomach and uncontrollable need to smile wouldn’t let you go.

Once you came home, you found a large bouquet of your favorite flowers, something you also mentioned last night, waiting for you in front of your door with a surprisingly tame offer for dinner tomorrow.

You bit your lower lip and pressed the card against your lips still smiling mentally already accepting feeling braver than ever and good about your decision.

Koniec 

A.N: Thank you for taking the time to read it. I hope you enjoyed the story, and that you are well. Have a nice rest of the day 😊