DON'T GET IT TWISTED. [RYO ASUKA X READER]

Shadow of death.

You shot up in bed, your heart pounding so rapidly that you thought you were going to regurgitate it. Your head spinning and menacingly sore, your gaze darted around the room in a state of paranoia, only to recognise familiar and comforting surroundings. The sweet comfort of relief gradually washed over you like tranquility.

You were not dead! It was all a horrific dream.

Giving yourself a good couple of minutes to come around, you got up and stretched, trembling, your limbs struggling to extend sufficiently. That awful nightmare had clearly knocked the wind out of you, mentally as well as physically. Your chest hurt sorely with every crackling breath. It was incredibly odd that you were getting physical symptoms from a night terror, but you supposed that dreams could be just as infectious as real life situations on the occasion.

Ding.

Ah! Another familiarity of life, your mobile phone. At least it wasn't a demon standing in the corner. Or a terrifying perception of deformed faces spinning around on a fairground ride in a haze. You disconnected your phone from the charger, pleased to be touching an actual psychical formation of normality. But then you noticed something really unusual.

Hi y/n! It's Akira! Would you like to come over to hang out at Ryo's place? He wants us to drink together. Let's have a few rounds!

Your phone departed from your grasp so rapidly. It slipped through your fingers like measly sand grains. It hit the ground with a echoing thump. You could hear your trembling breath whispering into the silent air.

You'd think you might have dropped your phone out of shock. Out of surprise at the context of the message. But it wasn't that. You'd seen that message before.

You saw the exact message, at the exact same time, at 8:03am, in the dream. You cautiously picked up your phone with rigid fingers, your eyes lighting up with paranoia. There was no way. This had to be some kind of freaky Dejá vù. You didn't waste any time responding, nor ringing Akira to ask what the hell was going on. You got dressed in the blink of an eye, throwing on any random clothing items. You needed answers, and you needed them now. Your
head was still pulsing as if you'd actually cracked your skull on that very pavement. You daren't even step outside, but you sped to Ryo's apartment complex, running as many red lights as morally possible without the risk of getting caught. Even the scenery matched the exact perceptions in your dream. You felt frustration burning in the pit of your stomach. This couldn't be a final destination type situation, could it? Perhaps you'd had a vision and needed to be cautious?

When you finally arrived at Ryo's apartment, you were shivering, hot salty tears streaming down your face. Your skin had drained of colour, your
fingers gripping your jacket in fright. You didn't know where you were, nor what you were doing. When the blue-eyed man that you valued so much finally answered the door, he saw you break down. Taking awfully gulpy breaths, you managed to dribble all down his immaculate professor's coat as you fell into his arms and sobbed against his chest.

"Oh ryo, it was horrible... I died and everything is the same as my dream and it's all.. it's all wrong. Everything feels wrong. Like a falsifying nightmare. It's corrupting me. I need someone to tell me it's-"

You felt the absent tug of Ryo's frame as he moved backwards, his cold fair hands dropping from your shoulders. You were so manic that you began to stumble, before Akira caught you. "Oh, y/n! Careful now! You don't want to hurt yourself, do you?" The dark-haired devilman exclaimed cheerfully, rubbing your back as you clung to his black shirt. Your eyes quickly scanned the crumbs littering the cotton material on his chest, your heart sinking. But what frightened you the most was Ryo's reaction.

He wasn't even half interested in your presence. This felt off. This felt sickening. Ryo had simply given you a quick scowl and gone back to perching at his couch, typing skilfully on his laptop, sky-blue eyes scanning the screen. Your mouth dropped open in a letterbox shape, your eyes narrowing in internalised confusion. It was slowly morphing into anger.

"Ryo.. don't do this to me.." you whispered, your voice getting caught in your throat on numerous occasions and croaking dryly. You were mortified at his lack of reaction. The person that you thought had reciprocated that exact love and care that you held in the highest regard for him. Akira rubbed your back, looking rather puzzled.

"What exactly did you expect? You just hugged somebody who doesn't necessarily, like you. Don't you remember that?"

A sly hiss of irritation ushered from the other side of the room, where Ryo sat.

"He's right, Y/n. You are nothing to me."