DMMD One-Shots [Dramatical Murder]

Promise Tattoo [Mizuki]

So here I am, taking a stroll, here in the Old Residential District at night. You might be thinking that it's probably dangerous for a young woman for be walking in a place like this during late hours. But you're pretty mistaken. I'm not in any of the Rib teams, but I've been told that I have a mean kick.

I watch as I pass alleys covered in different tag art designs. Some were unrecognizable rookie groups. As I pass another alley, a smile creeps up on my face when I spot the tag art sprayed over it. Dry Juice.

My coil's ringtone goes off and I tap on the bracelet on my wrist.

"Oh, hi Mizuki." I happily say as the holographic screen flickers in front of my face.

"(Name), do you have time? Why don't you come down to the shop with me?" Mizuki offers. There was no background noise, so Black Needle must have been pretty empty. Figures. Business was getting a little slow for Mizuki lately.

"Um... Sure, I have time. I pretty much have nothing to do at the moment." I breathed after checking the time.

"Great. See you there." Mizuki says in his less cheery tone and hangs up. I jog my way through the crowded streets to the tattoo shop.

~~~

The alleyway is empty. It was so quiet that I could heard the bustling of crowds from far away. I approach the tattoo shop, having no sign, and walk through the door. As I go in, a small bell above me rings.

Mizuki is standing by a chair, cleaning a needle. His cool eyes lit up when he spotted me.

"Hi Mizuki." I gave a small wink and put a hand on his shoulder. He smiles, but I can see the grief in his eyes. I frown, dragging his arm out the door of the shop.

"(Name)! What are you doing? I haven't finished-" Mizuki protests, but I still drag him along.

"Mizuki, just follow." I grumbled, striding through the alleyway out back into the city.

~~~

"Mizuki, I can clearly see the grief in your eyes. What's wrong?" I firmly ask as we walk past the bright store lights.

His footsteps shuffle and his shoulders tense up.

"I'm fine, (Name)." He simply answers, not meeting my eyes. Something is definitely going on. I had to get it out if him.

"Mizuki. Don't you trust me? If you do, look at me directly in the eyes and tell me that." I narrow my eyes, stopping right in front of him. A few people bump into Mizuki from behind, probably high or something.

His eyes shift left to right, until they finally meet mine. "I trust you."

"Then tell me what the hell is up with you! Don't you know how worried I am?" I snap, earning more weird looks from people around us, but I didn't care.

"(Name), you're drawing a bit of attention..." Mizuki attempts to calm me down by holding onto my shoulders, but I push his hands away. His expression changes from depressed to furious. Before I knew it happened, Mizuki hauled me into the nearest alley.

"Mizuki! What are you doing?" I yell, his strong hands gripping my wrists. His eyes stared at his boots and he clenched his jaw. I felt myself being forced against the aged wall behind me.

And then, I felt tears. Mizuki had his head hung low, close to my shoulder. His bitter tears ran down my shirt. I could hear the choked back sobs from his throat.

"Mizuki..." I whisper, cradling his head deeper into my shoulder.

"(Name), my Rib team... I'm thinking of joining Morphine. So many of them left for Rhyme. I don't want everything to fall apart." Mizuki cried, hands wrapped around my back.

"Stop. You can keep Dry Juice together. You don't need to join some other strange team just to keep your faith up." I softly said, as if I was talking to a child. Mizuki looked up.

"(Name)..." Mizuki took my cheeks in his palms. "I love you."

"Y-you... really?" I blushed hard, struggling to find the right words.

Mizuki continued to stroke my cheeks.

"I love you. I want you to join my team." Mizuki wiped the stray tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Me...? I'm a female. Why are you asking me to join your Rib team?" I clutched his wrists, shaking my head. All the background noise was completely oblivious to me. It's like Mizuki and I were in our own world.

"(Name), if you join my team, I'll feel motivated. Encouraged. Empowered. By you. You're a strong person. It doesn't matter, male or female. You are always there for me. You're the person I hold closest to my heart. I need you. I love you." Mizuki was holding back tears, biting his bottom lip.

My heart pounded loudly against my chest. I moved in closer to him reflexively. My voice barely came out in a whisper, "Mizuki, I love you too..."

With that, I closed the gap between our lips. I closed my eyes and let everything take over. I felt Mizuki's hand snake towards my hip, holding tightly and not letting go.

We parted, and Mizuki had tears in his eyes. I smiled, wiping them out from the corners.

"Don't cry."

"They were happy tears."

~~~

"So, what do you think?" Mizuki sets the needle down and gestures for me to stand in front of the mirror.

I could see my full reflection. Everything pretty much looked the same, except... There was a teardrop tattoo under my eye. Mizuki uncomfortably shuffles his feet.

"You don't like it?" He sheepishly asks.

"No. I love it." I pull Mizuki into a hug as he laughs and picks me up off my feet.

"Welcome to Dry Juice. Promise you won't leave me." He rests his forehead on top of mine.

"Promise..."