Misfit Together

Chapter 7

(So last week was an interesting chapter, huh? Huh? Anyway, Happy Easter, my lovelies~ I'm going to try to make a start on the other one-shot collection (which will be called Opinions, btw) over the next two weeks and I might also attempt some cover art for this story...? I'm really out of practice with drawing but if I get time I'll see what I can do. Now that that's out of the way, time to get back to Momoko~ This is... sort of part-filler, part-plot, I think. I'm proud of it, though)

It was getting dark but Momoko walked slowly as she made her way home, feeling oddly drained. She didn't know what to think anymore and she feared she may be losing herself. Sure, her anxiety often made her feel scared and confused, sometimes insignificant, but she had support in that. And she knew, deep down, that her problems never turned out as bad as they seemed. She knew those feelings were irrational, even if she couldn't stop them. But this was different.

She had no way of knowing where this would go or who she could turn to.

Urushihara was her friend, but he was definitely keeping something from her. Shizuka was just as lost as she was in this whole ordeal. And now this guy at Sentucky's. Urushihara had warned her to stay away from him, but he was warning her to stay away from Urushihara.

She thought she knew him. She thought she could trust him.

She walked on in silence, her feet carrying her along the familiar path home, twisting the orange band around her wrist. The friction of the fabric rubbing harshly against her skin was a weak distraction from her thoughts.

When she closed the front door behind her, Momoko went straight for the stairs. She ignored her father's questions of why she didn't seem to have bought anything even though she had said she was going to the store. She brushed past her two younger brothers as they trampled down the stairs, pausing to look at the strangely solemn expression on their sister's face. Maybe she could sleep this off. She only hoped Shizuka was handling things better than she was.

Meanwhile, the source of Momoko's stress was struggling with his own dilemma.

He might have even changed his mind.

Urushihara was sat in his usual spot at his computer desk, hunched over with his chin resting on his crossed arms. He stared at the screen, Shizuka's blog staring back at him. He had been posting updates on how far his studying and exams were going. Cringing, Urushihara lowered his head, burying his face in his arms. He was seriously considering it. He sat up again and closed the tab.

"Maou..." he didn't turned away from the screen.

"Hm?"

"What... what if I did tell them?"

He could practically hear Maou's eyes narrow and his brow furrow.

"You're not going to tell me you already have, are you?"

"No..."

Maou sighed and put down his manga.

"You need to be careful with this. Remember, this isn't just about you, it concerns us too. All of us."

It was still weird to think that King Satan was even taking his enemies' wellbeing into consideration, even if those enemies didn't agree with him. And yet, it was happening.

"I get that," Urushihara turned to face him but he couldn't meet his eyes, "It's just... everything could be so much easier..."

His voice was quiet and unsure. A few seconds passed before Maou said anything.

"Have you thought it through enough? Are you completely sure about it?"

"I don't know, but..." frustrated, Urushihara ran a hand through his hair, leaving both eyes visible for a brief moment, wide with uncertainty, "Look, what if Emi and Suzuno are right? Maybe it would be safer for them to know about me."

"And maybe it would be safer if they didn't, too. There's a lot of ways this could go. You need to be careful."

Urushihara thought for a minute.

"Were you careful with Sasaki finding out?"

Maou gave him a blank stare.

"Yeah, I think you're gonna wanna rethink whose fault it was that Chi found out about us."

"That's not what I mean!" Urushihara glared at him, his teeth clenched, "Once she had seen all of that, you didn't erase her memories. And when she asked you for details, you gave them."

"She didn't want me to erase her memories."

Urushihara rolled his eyes, "The Great King Satan, falling to the will of a mere human teenager."

"Regardless of that, Chi reacted pretty well to having that bomb dropped on her. So, can you be sure of how your friends will react?"

He hesitated, looking back at the laptop screen briefly. That was all Maou needed.

"Then don't tell them. At least, not yet. And besides, Chi knowing the truth was inevitable." Maou picked up his manga again.

"Maybe this is inevitable."

It came out as only a soft murmur, one that Maou didn't quite catch. With a sigh, Urushihara turned around again and closed his laptop.