Chapter Text
Roji looked down at the paper in his hand in shock and then toward Yoichi.
“An assistant switch?”
Yoichi nodded while savoring the sweet tea and the snacks prepared by the blonde before him.
“It’s a thing that they do every so often whenever they feel like it.”
Roji tilted his head to the side in confusion again.
“Huh?”
He looked towards his side and Muhyo was still reading his Jabin. To other people, it looked like he couldn’t have cared less about the program, but to Roji, he could see the true feelings. His hands gripped onto the book tightly and he was frowning a bit. Roji subtly nudged the smaller male with his arm and he was met with the piercing gaze of his Executor. He smiled down at him in silent reassurance and the smaller male could only frown again before turning away and going back to reading the comic.
“Well, it can’t be that bad, can it?”
Famous last words…
~
In the week leading up to the start date of the program, Roji was going around the office and doing some of the paperwork (and household chores) at the last minute. He also made sure to cook hamburger stew for Muhyo and whoever was his temp for dinner. He also made a side salad and something for dessert. He was also taking notes of what to do, where certain things were, and a list of things for Muhyo. The hour before Roji was meant to leave and his temp was due to arrive, the two were sitting on the couch. Muhyo was leaning against Roji and the blonde looked super calm, but he was actually nervous. He didn’t want to leave his Executor. He was sure that it’d be someone they knew, but the thought of leaving Muhyo for the week made him physically ill, he hated being apart from his fiancé. The only time they were far away from each other was during that program at the MLS (we don’t talk about that time…), but even then he was distracted cause of Bellocent (and then Page with his offer of becoming an Investigator).
Roji felt a weight on his lap and looked down to see Muhyo sitting and staring at him. The two stared at each other for a bit in silence. Roji eventually looked away, his face a bright red and steam leaving his body. He heard Muhyo laughing and looked to see the smug smile on his face. Muhyo moved from Roji’s lap and stood on the couch so the two were facing each other. Roji tilted his head to the side and it honestly looked like a puppy was staring back at Muhyo. He reached over and gently pulled on Roji’s tie so the two were now close in space.
“Just do what you always do, and you’ll be fine. However, if something goes wrong or it doesn’t feel right, make sure you gather the evidence. Evidence is crucial when trying to prove something.”
Roji nodded, the determination returning to his eyes. Muhyo nodded and then tugged on the tie and gave him a surprise kiss. Roji spluttered in embarrassment and tried to string together a coherent thought, but his brain was not working right now (Roji.exe has stopped fucking functioning, his fiancé was not playing fair, at all!!!).
“Had to make sure that my idiot of a fiancé understood what he was supposed to be doing, heehee.”
Roji pouted and poked the Executor on the cheek.
“Of course, I know what I’m doing.”
Just then, a knocking came from the circle behind the bookcase. The nervousness and anxiety from earlier returned, and Roji slowly stood up to move the bookcase and stood away from the circle.
(He learned his lesson from when Muhyo stood in front of the circle, and Biko kicked him in the face. Never stand in front of the transportation circle.)
Yoichi popped out of the circle and landed right next to them. He winked and gave them a two finger salute.
“Yo~!”
Roji beamed. “Yoichi-san, what’re you doing here?”
The Judge laughed nervously while scratching his cheek.
“Actually, I’m the one who’ll be your temp for the switch. Also, I’m here to escort you to MLS so they can give you your assignment.”
Roji sighed in relief. At least it’ll be Yoichi who’s going to be with Muhyo. He turned to face his fiancé and found the dark cloud hanging above him. He looked between the two and only now he noticed that Yoichi was looking anywhere, but at Muhyo. He sweatdropped nervously.
‘Are they gonna be ok?’
He shook his head and turned to Yoichi. “Well, I wrote down some stuff that you need to know and I’ve already prepared dinner for tonight. Please make sure that Muhyo eats the salad. Also, feel free to use my bed. I’ve washed all of the bedding this morning so it’s out to dry on the roof.”
It was now Yoichi’s turn to sweatdrop. ‘Are they Executor and Assitant or Husband and Wife?!’
(If only he knew lol)
“Ok, I got it. Make sure he eats his veggies and follow the instructions.”
“That’s basically it…”
Yoichi tilted his head to the side. “Na, Roji are you feeling ok? I’ve noticed you limping. Did you get hurt or something?”
Yoichi became even more confused when Roji’s face turned a dark shade of red and Muhyo was smirking smugly. The Judge decided that it was too much of a hassle to figure out why they were like that and shrugged it off.
“Ooookaaay? I’m gonna go check on that bedding and give you two some space.”
The door to the roof clicked shut and Roji whirled around to look at Muhyo, his face still red with embarrassment.
“Yoichi-san noticed, Muhyoooo!!!!” Roji whined and pouted. Muhyo looked up at his assistant and pulled him by the tie again (always pulling the poor boy by the goddamn tie).
“If you don’t stop that, I’m gonna tell Yoichi to come back tomorrow.”
Roji felt his soul leave his body and pushed the smaller body away from him. “You—!!!!”
Muhyo smirked and brought them closer, their lips touching but not fully touching.
“Just come back to me, you idiot.”
Roji blinked away the tears and nodded.
“Yes!!”
Yoichi came back down and stood in front of the circle, waiting for Roji. He was going to escort Roji to the MLS and from there, the blonde would get his assignment and then he’d come back to the office and read all of the notes that Roji left behind.
(By the time program was over, he hadn’t gotten through half of the notes. He tried skimming the notes, but Muhyo threatened him.)
///
As it turns out…everything can go from sunshine and daisies and appear straight out of a horror film.
Roji had been with this Executor for 4 hours and he already wanted to go home to his fiancé. Muhyo’s cold demeanor during the Akagawa Apartment fiasco was better than what he was currently going through.
When he got to the office space of the temp Executor, he happily greeted the guy like how he usually would greet someone and he immediately got backhanded in the face. He blinked in confusion and brought his hand up to his face. His cheek was throbbing painfully and there was blood coming from his mouth, probably from where he bit it. He looked up at the Executor and saw the man looking at him full of disdain. Just like—
He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
“While you’re here, you’re not to get in my way. You’ll be doing all of the grunge work around here. Any single peep of complaint and I’ll teach you real good. Also, you’re not to interact with anyone and you are to do as you are told. Any insubordination will result in punishment.”
He led Roji to a dingy little room. It just barely fit him. “This is where you’ll be staying. Also~”
Hirotaka reached over and ripped the tie from Roji’s neck. A sense of dread filled his body and he tried reaching for his tie, but he was punched in the gut and kicked in the ribs, which left him breathless. Roji laid there, hoping that the creepy bastard would leave him alone (which he thankfully did). The words Muhyo said to him echoed back in his mind.
‘However, if something goes wrong or it doesn’t feel right, make sure you gather the evidence. Evidence is crucial when trying to prove something.’
Heaving a heavy (and much needed) breath, Roji reached into his bag and brought out his glasses. He had managed to install a tiny camera onto his glasses and hoped that the thing would record all of the evidence that he needed. Now, he just needed to survive the week…hopefully.
~
Slowly, but surely, Roji was slowly losing hope.
How long did he need to be here? Furthermore, how much longer did he need to put up with this guy? He was the world’s worst Executor and honestly, Roji had to question how he even made it to Executor in the first place? Roji overheard the guy talking to someone on the phone earlier and honestly? He felt bad for whoever was on the other side of the phone. A knock sounded on the door, he went to open it and saw two very familiar faces.
“ROJI!!!!”
“Ehh? Busujima-san? Umekichi?”
///
Busijima looked up at the shabby ass law office of Hirotaka Masahiko and immediately wanted to high-tail it the hell out of there. She already wanted to high-tail it when she received the request, but Ume persuaded her to take it on. So, with great reluctance, she accepted the job.
(She also felt extremely grateful that Ume was her envoy/ assistant and that they didn’t have to switch. She felt sorry so the person who ended up with the bastard.)
The pair walked up to the door and called out. A familiar voice answered out to them and they turned to look at each other in shocked disbelief. There was no way…
The front door opened to reveal their blonde friend and…fuck, he really didn’t look so well.
“ROJI!!!!”
“Ehh? Busujima-san? Umekichi?”
The blonde before them looked to be in really bad shape. He had bruises littering his body. He had a giant bruise on his cheek, his body was also covered in bandages (with blood seeping through in some spots, and his tie was missing. He also looked extremely sleep deprived and (could she think it??) starved. The look in his eyes were what struck her the most. His eyes, usually full of so much life and happiness (and love), were now dull and listless. It’s only been 3 days, what the fuck was this asshole doing?
(She felt a shiver go down her spine when she realized what would happen if Muhyo ever found out about this. She shook her head; hell yeah, she was going to tell him!!!! (His protective streak over his assistant is so cute!!!!))
When Busujima opened her mouth to say something, nothing came out because Hirotaka came storming down the hallway. She watched as Roji stiffened, and he almost seemed to stop breathing. He slowly turned around, and he soon went flying past her, crashing into the wall behind her.
“THE FUCK YOU DOING??? USELESS PIECE OF SHIT!!! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE STANDING AROUND DOING NOTHING AND BEING A WASTE OF SPACE!!”
Roji moved onto his knees and hands bowed all the way down in apology.
“Forgive my ignorance, Executor Hirotaka. I merely went to greet Executor Busujima and her assistant.”
Roji was shaking badly. Is this how this bastard has been treating him for the past three days?
…
This bastard is going to deserve everything that Muhyo dishes out and then some.
The bastard’s whole personality changed at the mention of Busujima’s name. It was like flowers sprung out from behind.
“Ooh, Busujima-san, it’s really great to meet your acquaintance. Thank you for coming, why don’t we go to the office and Kusano will make the tea.”
Roji quickly stood, bowed, and made his way to the kitchen. Busujima caught the new bruise that was beginning to form on his other cheek. The small trickle of blood that spilled from his mouth and the unshed tears in his eyes.
(Fuck, Busujima should start praying for the association. Muhyo is NOT gonna let this go. At all!!!)
The Executor looked down at her partner and nodded. Ume quickly scrambled after Roji. Hoping to help the guy out. Busujima followed Hirotaka and glared holes into the back of his head. She wondered if she glared hard enough if the fucker would combust on the spot.
Sitting in the office, she looked at anywhere but the bastard in front of her. She peeked over at him and smiled.
“You know I can sue you for sexual harassment, right?”
For a split second, it almost looked like the bastard was gonna hit her. However, his mask remained and he continued smiling (she hated it).
“Haha, it’s only sexual harassment, if I started something, though.”
She felt a vein pop in her forehead.
“No, it actually applies in any situation.”
The atmosphere in the room was heavy. The sparks were beginning to fly.
A knock from the door.
“Excuse me.”
Hirotaka clicked his tongue in irritation and sighed.
“Get in here.”
The door slipped open and Roji was looking down while carrying a tray, a nervous Ume next to him. He carefully stepped into the room and served the tea and snacks. Then, he went over to the far corner of the room and kneeled down and sat. Busujima could clock the little minute twitch and sharp intake of breath. The boy was clearly in pain. She turned to look at Hirotaka.
“So, what’s so important that I needed to be here? I am a busy woman after all.”
Hirotaka eyed her up and down. She honestly, to Hades, wanted to smack the living shit out of the bastard. She sighed heavily and leaned back, throwing one leg over the other and looking down at the bastard.
“So, why am I here?”
///
Busujima sat on the futon in the guest room. She was absolutely fucking seething. Ume had just told her about what he had learned from Roji. The bastard was abusing him and not caring about it. He’s also been sending Roji out on jobs on his own. The ones where they needed an Executor to sentence the spirits, but Roji has been handling it all on his own. He’s had to use an insane amount of Ren in the past three days, and the strain was beginning to take a toll on his body.
By what she saw of him, he wasn’t going to survive until the end of the week. Hell, she didn’t know if it was going to be alright tonight!!! Taking another drag of her cigarette, she brought out her phone and sent a text off to a couple of people.
Her phone lit up with a call.
“Yeah?”
…
“It’s so bad. I don’t think this poor kid is going to live to the end of the week with how things are going.”
…
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
She hung up the phone and sighed. She looked up when she heard a loud crash. A sinking feeling in her gut overwhelmed her, and she quickly and quietly followed the source of the sound. She slid open the door a bit, and she nearly wanted to whip out her (what the fuck you call that again??) book and beat the guy.
“Ume, get ready to grab him.”
Umekichi nodded nervously. This wasn’t going to end well for anyone.
When they saw the lowlife leaving the room, before he left, though, Roji weakly bowed to the bastard and thanked him for the lesson. The ugly ass just sneered at him and walked away. They waited for a few seconds and made their way inside the room. They quickly grabbed the unconscious boy and made their way back to the guest room. Umekichi whipped out their emergency kit and started tending to Roji’s wounds. Busujima placed her hand on his head and could tell that he was already beginning to sport a high fever. She hated this. Roji was supposed to stay with Muhyo and be so full of life and sunshine. They needed to act quickly when she got to Muhyo’s office tomorrow.
Before the sun loses its light.
///
A couple of hours later, Roji woke up and sat up. Busujima and Umekichi were shocked when he suddenly sat up.
“Roji?!”
The blonde turned to them, smiled a little and bowed, leaving the room. He returned a few minutes later and…looked worse than before he left.
“Busujima-san, are you ready to depart?”
That was not his regular speech. She could only nod numbly and follow the kid out to her truck. As soon as they got in and were on the road, was when it happened. It started out gradually and then Roji was bent over in his seat, unleashing wailing sobs with tears continuously pouring from his eyes. The Executor and her envoy could do nothing, but lean over the boy and embrace him in a warm hug that he was so desperately craving.
~
Roji sneezed as he tried to clear his clogged nose and throat. Busujima and Umekichi looked at Roji and patted him on the head.
“Wait for a while longer, and I’ll get Muhyo and Page to get you out of here.”
While she expected Roji to perk up in happiness, she didn’t expect for the younger male to look like the world was ending. She reached a hand out, and he violently flinched away from it. She quickly retracted her hand and criticized herself.
‘Of course, he was going to flinch away, idiot!! He just got beaten as a lesson!!!’
She looked at him.
“Roji, remember. This is only temporary. We’re gonna get you out of here and you’ll go back to being happy with Muhyo.”
Roji’s fist clenched tightly.
“Can we?”
“Huh?”
Roji looked up with the most defeated look in his eyes, tears on the verge of falling.
“Can we really go back to how it was? Can I work with my mentor again without flinching away if he moves wrong? Can we move on and I don’t feel scared that he’s gonna leave me behind? Can I go back to the office and not taking Muhyo’s joking seriously and not feel like I want to die? Can I continue to be normal so that I don’t show weakness in front of the person I love the most?”
‘Can I face my fiancé with things the way they are right now? Dammit, Muhyo, what should I do? I doubt I’ll even survive the last couple of days. Forgive me; I don’t want to leave you again. I’d rather die for you than at the reckless hands of a bastard.’
Roji buried his face into his hands. He had poured his heart out to a friend and didn’t want to see the look of someone, who would look at him like he was dreaming too big. Everyone had expectations of him and of Muhyo. Hell, he wasn’t sure if his Executor (his fiancé) would even look at him in the same way. He was pathetic, but as he looked down at his hands, he told himself that he wasn’t pathetic cause he survived and he’s going to get justice for all the people that came before him and for the people in the house. They deserved to be treated better than what they currently were.
Busujima looked at the younger blonde in absolute shock. Holy shit, she was witnessing something incredible. She remembered all the times when she was together with everyone for the meetings and Muhyo would do nothing, but rant about the blonde next to her. They all started making bets about when he’d go so crazy that he’d confess to his assisstant or whether it was going to come out accidentally. Maybe she should change the nature of her bet?
She patted the boy and opened the windows to let some fresh air in. They had a job to finish and she needed the damn help right now.
At the end of the night, she reluctantly let Roji get out of her truck. She tightly held onto his hand and gave him her best smile. He nodded gratefully and steeled himself for another day of pain and hate. Busujima watched him go and reluctantly drove away. She gripped onto her wheel and knew what she needed to do.
///
Busujima looked up at the sign and sucked in a heavy breath. she jogged up the stairs, Ume at her side, and steeled herself for a heavy interogation from someone so small. She opened the door and—
A book came flying at her and she narrowly dodged it. She blinked in shock and turned to look inside the office. She gaped at what she saw. She was pretty sure that the north branch town looked better than the small office.
Books were scattered about. Papers were flying everywhere. Muhyo’s bed looked like it was in disarray. Everyone looked to be running around like chickens without their heads. Muhyo, himself, was sitting on top of his desk and glowering at everyone in his line of sight.
“Uhh?”
Everyone froze and turned to look at Busujima. Page was the first to come back to his senses.
“Ahh, Busujima, lovely to see you. Did you just get here?”
She nodded her head dumbly. Page laughed and gestured to…somewhere?
“Well, come in and take a seat wherever.”
Busujima and Umekichi stepped over the mess and found a spot to sit in. She looked at everyone.
“Soooo, what’s going on?”
Yoichi flapped a hand in her direction.
“There’s a warehouse on the outskirts and there’s been signs of a huge amount of ren at that place. It’s there for several hours, but disappears when the sun come out.”
Busujima tilted her head. ‘There ain’t no damn way…’
“So, where is it?”
Imai answered by dropping a picture in front of her. Busujima grabbed the photo and she froze in her seat. Next to her Umekichi gasped.
“Boss, isn’t that the same warehouse we were at last night with Roji?”
That seemed to be the magical words as everyone stopped and turned to look at the pair.
“Roji?”
“You saw him?”
”How is he?”
“Hmp, so how is my idiot doing?”
Busujima gripped the picture and looked up at everyone with a serious expression on her face.
“Everyone, please listen to what I have to say.”
For the next hour, Busujima explained about what she had seen, what was said and done and everything else that had happened when she saw Roji last night. She also reluctantly talked about the injuries that the younger male recieved. A heavy sigh was heard and everyone turned to see Muhyo hopping off of the desk and going to his closet.
Busujima stood up and held Muhyo by the shoulders. She nearly flinched away from the look on his face. She shivered and then plucked him from the ground and placed him into his bed. Everyone stared at her in disbelief. Muhyo was staring at her and she could see the twitch in his body.
“You—”
She held up a hand.
“Listen to me first Muhyo. I know you want to go and get Roji, but going now without a plan could put him in danger. It felt like any and every thing was going to set the bastard off.”
Muhyo turned his head to the side and grumbled to himself.
“Just lie down and go to bed while the rest of us think of something.”
The younger Executor grumbled more, but did as he was told. He was asleep in 5 seconds flat. They all let out a collective sigh of relief and turned back to each other. It was silent for a while, each person trying to process the information. Page sighed.
“What was the name of the Executor?”
“Hirotaka Masahiko.”
Page sighed and rubbed at his temples. Busujima raised an eyebrow.
“I’m guessing that he wasn’t supposed to be a participant?”
Page shook his head. Lili and Maril hummed and looked at Busujima.
“Was he wearing his tie?”
Busujima tilted her head in confusion. “Huh…not really. No. In fact, I didn’t even see it the entire time.”
The twins sighed and looked at Page. They turned to the group.
“If we’re going to save Kusano, then it needs to be tonight!”
///
Once again at the warehouse, the group was hidden in the shadows.
They needed to be able to execute the plan flawlessly, to make it more solid, Rio and Biko had joined the group. They, too, were worried about Roji. However, it seemed that Page and the twins were extra concerned about the blonde sunshine. With three Executors, two Judges, three secretaries, two artificers, and one medium, they were ready to take this fight to the higher-ups, whether they wanted it or not. Muhyo soon plopped down onto the ground and was about to start complaining, when the door to the warehouse flew open and heavy steps followed by the sound of something being dragged echoed the steps. They peeked out from their hiding spots and found Roji being manhandled by the creep.
They all wanted to jump out when the creepy bastard tossed Roji and he slammed into the metal machines. They watched as Roji shrank into himself as the bastard kept talking. Roji could only nod his head, but cried out in pain when the bastard back-handed him and blood spilled from his mouth.
“I SAID DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME?! YOU WORTHLESS TRASH!!”
He spit on Roji and the blonde could do nothing but bow down and respond to the fucker.
“Yes, sir. I understand. I must be able to exorcise all of the ghost, even if it kills me.”
The bastard smirked.
“Good. I hope they do kill you, useless space.”
The guy turned around and stormed out of the warehouse, slamming the door shut with a sense of finality. A whimper echoed through the warehouse and they looked to see Roji sitting with his back against the machine. He picked something from inside his jacket and they saw an emergency first aid kit. They all nearly jumped from their spots when they saw all of the blood and bruising on his body. They heard a hissing sound and turned to see Lili and Maril biting at their thumb and mumbling to themselves. Muhyo himself looked like he was about to look for the bastard and personally feed him to Hades. No one looked any better. Imai and Rio had soon split from the group to hunt down the bastard. Some people from the Association were going to meet them and take him into custody. He needed to answer for his crimes.
They heard the screams of the ghost and suddenly Roji was on his feet and running from them. They heard cursing and Maril and Lili going to catch up.
“We have to hurry.”
The others were confused. Muhyo and Page just got up and started going after the twins. Yoichi voiched his thoughts, laughing nervously.
“I’m sure Roji could handle a few ghost, right?”
Yoichi paled and slapped a hand over his mouth when he was met with Muhyo’s piercing glare. Holy shiiiit, now he knows how Roji feels. Thank fuck, he actually didn’t become Muhyo’s assistant if he had to deal with that everyday. Props to Roji for dealing with it. Maril and Lili, however, had other opinions that prompted the group to go faster.
“He’s the one attracting the ghosts!!”
///
Roji was going numb. His lungs were burning so much that it hurt to breathe. His legs felt heavy enough that it felt like they were trapped in cement. His head was spinning, he felt like his body was running on autopilot. Was this how he was going to die? He looked down at the talismans in his hand. He inhaled a sharp intake of air and turned, flying a talisman at the horde of ghost and turning to run again.
He didn’t know what time it was. Did he have to last until sunrise again? It felt like his ren was turning against him. The burning in his lungs was starting to become unbareable. He turned again. Just as he started writing the seal, his body had stiffened and his vision was swimming. He felt something crawling up his throat and he collapsed to his knees. He began coughing and soon it felt like something was stuck in his throat. He opened his eyes to see the small pool of blood. He looked up when he heard the unholy screeching of the ghost. His body felt like lead and he couldn’t move at all. Was this how Muhyo felt after the fight with Sophie? Damn, he needed to get stronger and be better.
If he managed to survive this, first.
Just as the ghost was going to strike him, a flash and green barrier surrounded him. It soon fell and he was surrounded by familiar people. He felt hands on his face and something being said to him, but he couldn’t focus on the words or the person. The world was spinning, and soon he felt the world spin and darken.
‘I’m sorry, Toru. Forgive me…’
///
Yoichi panicked as Roji passed out. He hissed and quickly maneuvered to make sure that the blonde didn’t get anymore hurt than he already was. He hoisted the blonde into his arms and frowned when he felt how light he was. He turned to face the horde of ghost.
“Yoichi, how is he?”
The eyes of everyone was on him and he frowned even more, shaking his head.
“Damn…”
“He’s so light. I know that he was light but, he just feels even lighter. We need to finish this quickly he needs a hospital and badly.”
Everyone turned back to the horde of ghosts and inhaled deeply.
“Then that just means we need to step up our game, heh.”
///
The silence in the room was almost deafening. Each person tense, waiting for news about their friend. The door to the room opened and Imai and Rio walked in, looking a little worse for wear. Everyone looked at them and they could only nod in response. Page and the twins were in a corner discussing something and they were wondering if they were going to know what they were talking about and what they meant about Roji attracting the ghost. The trio turned back to the group with a dark look on thier faces. They waited patiently while the trio went back to their seats.
“The Swallow that Defies the Wind, the magical tool that prevents the outflow of ren. More specifically, the outflow of Kusano’s ren.”
Page let the twins explain, opening a window and lighting his pipe. The memories of that tiny blonde child, who looked so frail and learned that he suffered from excessive nosebleeds while doing menial tasks, who looked up at him like he hung the moon and sparkly teary eyes.
‘He’s certainly grown a lot since that time.’
“It’s been over 10 years since Page gave the tool to Kusano. They met while Page was out on duty, exterminating a ghost deep in the forest, a village isolated from the rest of the world deep within that forest. At that time, a young Kusano was there, being chased by the ghost. That small child was attacting the ghost and endangering himself and the village, but it was also putting a strain and burden on his frail little body. Page was able to pinpoint that his body was releasing huge amounts of ren.”
“The next day he sent the boy a letter with only one instruction ‘wear this everyday and do not take it off’. The letter was accompanied with the magic tool. With that information, the boy was able to live a relatively normal life, with the ambitions to become a magic lawyer. Time and again the boy was rejected by the MLS, but he persisted until one day he stumbled into a certain assistant’s exam. From there, the rest is as you say, history.”
The room was once again in silence. They subtely (or not so subtly) looked at Muhyo and saw that he was staring at his hand?
“Heh, so that’s how it is?”
He finally looked up and saw everyone looking at him. He felt the irritation seeping in.
“What?”
They looked away and said nothing.
“So, where is the tie?”
Imai rummaged through he pocket and brought out the tie. She had a deep frown on her face.
“It was sitting on a table with all sorts of tools surrounding it. I think the bastard was experimenting with the magic tool.”
Page frowned and sighed.
“So, we can add illegal tempering with a magic tool to his list of crimes?”
They all sat around and the door opened again to reveal a nurse. Page stood up and went towards the nurse. They whispered to each other for a few seconds and then the older Executor turned to the rest of the room.
“How about we pay our friend a small visit, huh?”
///
Seeing his injuries from before then and now sent a shock through their bodies. There was almost no spot that wasn’t covered in bandages. The talismans hanging on the string also made their guts feel heavy. Yoichi turned to look at Page, a look of horror on his face.
“His ren was almost completely depleted. There were also some internal injuries, whether its from a beating from that bastard or his ren fighting against his body. I wouldn’t be able to answer that for you. They’re trying to keep him alseep so he can recover his ren, but it depends on if he can stay asleep, so we need to be quiet.”
They looked over to Muhyo, who took the chair that was next to the bed and he was staring at the unconcious blonde on the bed. There was silence in the room as each person took the time to process everything that happened in the past 24 hours. A phone rang and Page answered it.
“Hmm?”
…
“Yes?”
…
“I understand. I’ll gather everyone who was a witness to the situation and we’ll be there.”
He hung up and sighed, feeling his years. He turned to the room.
“Everyone, the court proceedings for Hirotaka is going to be starting soon.”
They all shrunk down in their seats and looked towards the sleeping blonde. Yoichi reached over and pat his fluffy hair.
“Roji…we need to go soon. The bastard is going to court, and we serve as witnesses. We’ll be leaving you for a bit, so don’t think of doing anything reckless while we’re gone.”
He stepped a bit away from the bed. “We’ll get you the justice that you deserve.”
One by one, each person said something to Roji and left the room until Muhyo was the only one left. He made sure that no one was peeking in on them and leaned over, placing a small peck on his unbandaged nose.
“You were supposed to come back to me unharmed, stupid fiancé.”
Muhyo waited for Roji to respond, but the blonde didn’t say anything. The smaller Executor frowned and felt the anger wash over him. This was the thing that he was afraid of. He fought to keep Roji by his side for this exact thing. The world took advantage of his kindness and it dealt him a horrible hand. This person, pure and kind and unwavering in his devotion and loyalty, was hurt beyond repair. He wanted to burn the world down and reconstruct it so that he didn’t have to see his fiancé hurt in this way again. He needed to—
‘NO!!’
He took a deep breath in and composed himself. He needed to appear normal to the world. To be able to be silent in his revenge until it was needed. He sighed and jumped down from the chair that he was sitting on.
“Wait for me, Roji.”
With that, the Executor left the room, unaware of the fingers twitching on the bed. The bed’s occupant briefly opening their eyes and staring at the small body leaving the room, a smile on their face as they fell back asleep. They could finally rest easy, knowing that they were safe. That the love of their life was going to keep them safe from everything beyond these four walls.
///
The group was sitting in the front row of the court. The bastard looking entirely smug and not at all apologetic. They needed to find a way to prove that this guy was really abusive towards Roji, without the blonde actually being there. Even on the word of three Executors, two Judges, and the twins, the AssociationMuhyo tugged on Yoichi’s sleeve. The Judge looked down at his friend in question.
“Can you open a portal back to the hospital?”
Yoichi looked down at Muhyo in question.
“I told Roji something before he left and he probably followed my advice, so I need to go back and check on something.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Muhyo hopped down from his seat and went over to Page and let him know that he was going to be back. Page looked at him in question, but he waved it off and told him to be back. The smaller male nodded and the two made their way to a space away from the commotion and hopped through a portal. They landed back at the hospital and Muhyo went to the closest nurse and asked if there was anything on Roji that he came in with. The nurse tilted her head in confusion and snapped her fingers in recognition. She moved over to the nurse’s station and brought out a bag and Yoichi grabbed it, rummaging through the bag. He brought out the glasses case and looked at it.
“Huh? I didn’t know that Roji wore glasses.”
Muhyo grunted. “He only wears them when cooking or writing. Wears contacts the rest of the time.”
Yoichi smirked. “Ooh?”
Muhyo clicked his tongue in irritation. He looked up and saw a glint on the glasses, he reached up and snatched them and examined the glasses more. Something caught his eye and he smirked.
“This.”
Yoichi looked at his friend like he was losing his mind. “What?”
Muhyo put the glasses back into its case and put it in his pocket. “Come on, this is what we need.”
Yoichi didn’t question him, but just followed and opened a portal back to the court hearing.
~
When they reached back, somehow, the court had desolved into an entire argument. Muhyo ignored them all and went over to the clerk and handed over the glasses case to them. Even the woman looked skeptical at the Executor. She shrugged and made her way over to someone. They examined the glasses and decided to see if anything could be used. A smart looking guy was called to the court after a while (the arguments were getting louder and louder by the minute), and after a bit of tinkering, the entire courtroom could see the evidence that they needed. At some point during the whole thing, Roji’s glasses had flown off his face and it gave the perfect vantage point of what was going on with the blonde. Every hit and insult was heard by everyone in the room. The video stopped. The older looking bats of the Association looked like they were going to lose their lunch. Hirotaka, the idiot, opened his mouth.
“THIS HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF FABRICATION!!! WHO THE HELL IS GONNA BELIEVE THIS!!! ME, AN ACCOMPLISHED EXECUTOR, COMPARED TO A LOWLIFE NOBODY.”
This earned a bunch of angry hisses and quiet cursing from the group. One by one, each of the group stood in defense of the blonde, adding to his amazing character.
“Roji is the kindest, most selfless person in this entire room!!!”
“He’d never hurt a fly, and he helps ascend spirits with his unwavering kindness and gold heart!!!”
“He’s a thousand and one times better than you’d ever be!!!”
“You’d never match up to his standards as a human being!!!”
“At least he’s a dedicated and hard-working person; despite wavering, he always finds a way to come back and be stronger!!”
“His kindness and outstanding devotion to Executor Muhyo is what makes him a unique and amazing person. There are people who hope to be just like Kusano. To show unwavering faith and devotion to their Executor. To be a kind and gentle person as well!!!”
Time seemed to stil as Judge Imai’s words sunk in. Shiiiit this kid was Genius Executor Muhyo’s assistant. They looked toward the smaller male, and they could see the cold, vindictive fury in his sapphire blue eyes. He wasn’t just mad, he was pissed!!
“Furthermore, my assistant has more talent in his pinky than you do in your entire body. Where you lack in manners and hospitality, my assistant thrives in it. Where you lack compassion for anyone around you, my assistant cares for anyone with the slightest chance of redemption and fights my decisions on what to do with a spirit. Where you lack in anything else, MY FIANCÉ does it a million and one times better than you ever hope to achieve. So, if I were you, I’d think about who the real lowlife, piece of garbage nobody really is, cause it’s not Roji.”
The silence in the court was deafening, and with that, the court hearing ended. No matter how much Hirotaka Masahiko had screamed that Roji was a nobody and that everyone should be praising the ground he walked on, his fate was sealed.
Name: Masahiko Hirotaka
Position: Executor (former)
Court Hearing: 20XX, July, 7th
Charges: Illegal Tampering of a Magic Tool, 42 Counts of Abuse and Battery, Fraud, Forgery, and Larceny
Results: Guilty
Sentence: Removal of Executor Status, All Monetary Assets to be surrendered to Victims, Forbidden from Practicing or Associating with any Magic Law Associations in Japan, Sentenced to Life Imprisonment
As Signed By the Magic Law Association: Main Branch - Nagano Prefecture, Japan