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moonstruck-writing · 2 years

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Study Time

Pairing: Nachi x Futaba | Ayakashi Romance Reborn C/Ws: domestic/academic fluff, Nachi-centric, Yakumo appears but isn't the focus. Minimal spoilers for Nachi’s route and the more recent Yakumo card and event. Summary: Nachi hates studying, but for Futaba, he will learn to enjoy it. Anything so that he can stay by her side. Word count: 2.2k A/N: Yesterday was Nachi's birthday and I had this prepared but... somehow forgot to post it. So...happy belated birthday, Nachi~

Futaba’s feet feel heavier than usual as she heads back home from school. It could be because exams are on the way, or it could be because Nachi is not keeping her company like usual. She wonders if he is wandering through the city in his cat form, or if he’s still barricading in her room, mulling over her father’s words.

It had only been recently that Mototaka had discovered about Nachi being an Ayakashi, and that things had calmed enough in the city for her to pull her weight on her studies. Patrolling so frequently, and at night, and fighting against wraiths and whatnot, had left her not only exhausted but also without time to focus on her schoolwork. When Mototaka had raised his concerns, and he had seen Futaba bending over her books more than usual, an idea had come to him. Why wasn’t Nachi in school?

A lot of her Ayakashi comrades and friends had jobs, and some of them – Aoi – were also studying. Mototaka had reflected that just like Futaba was studying so that when the time came she could choose the path that she liked best, so should Nachi. He couldn’t depend forever on them, he really wasn’t just a cat, and as such, he’d probably live past them.

There were so many of those words that Nachi didn’t like. It wasn’t just that he hated studying – that was the last thing that worried him. But having Mototaka sit both of them down after dinner to talk, and express his concern for Nachi so clearly… It reminded Nachi that he wasn’t like them, that even if they really considered him part of his family now, they were fundamentally different. That he had been taking advantage of their hospitality for so long, and not just that, but he had started living with them without pure intentions. And the fact that he could live past them didn’t ease his guilt.

He knew how it must’ve looked to them when he couldn’t take it anymore and excused himself mid-conversation. Mototaka only wanted to explain to him the advantages of getting an education, and he had disrespected his effort and worry. But Nachi simply couldn’t keep looking down and quietly listening. Mototaka’s kind words started suffocating him until he felt there was no space he belonged in that house.

He escaped into the garden, quickly transforming into his cat form to jump the wall and roam the streets. But even that didn’t last long. It only took him a few blocks to realise he had done something stupid. He shouldn’t have run away from home – because as much as he was an ayakashi, that was his home. The safest he could feel was in Futaba’s room, not far away from it.

So he had determined he wouldn’t run away anymore. He would stay and confront his feelings, and make a decision. He wasn’t alone anymore, he hadn’t been for over a decade. It only made sense that he considered those he treasured in a time like this.

And so when Futaba came home today, she found him sitting between her dresser and the chest of drawers. She didn’t know how he managed to fit himself in such a small space while being in his nekomata form, but he didn’t get out when he saw her.

“Welcome home,” he whispered, but in the silence of the room, it could be heard perfectly.

“Nachi, I’m home.” Futaba left the bundle of books on the low table she used to study. “Come, help me get dinner ready.” She called to him, motioning for him to follow her.

“It’s already done.” He didn’t look at her, but his voice was a bit louder now. Before she could stop herself, Futaba let out a sigh. She couldn’t know for sure what was going on since Nachi hadn’t confided in her, but she had a pretty good idea.

“Then let’s set the table, come on, aren’t you hungry?”

“I am not.” He finally looked at her, offering Futaba what he thought was a kind smile. But there was nothing kind in the way he was trying to hide his true feelings. “You can go ahead and eat with dad.”

“We still had some sardines,” Futaba recalled, convinced that would be enough to lure him out of that hideout. But the way he furrowed his eyebrows proved he wasn’t falling for that. It scared her to have him look like that after mentioning his favourite food. “Nachi, you can eat them, you know that.”

“I don’t…” deserve them.

The situation continued for a few days. Now it was the weekend, and Futaba was getting advantage of her free time to catch up on her upcoming tests. She wasn’t doing as poorly as when her situation as an Omniouji had calmed down, but she still had a long way to go. She thought she could perhaps use the table in the sunroom and have a bit of a change of atmosphere. Nachi was nowhere to be seen, and her father was out meeting clients.

She had only opened her foreign language notebook when someone called. She rushed outside, but the visitor was already in the garden.

“Professor Yakumo!”

“Hello, my sweet doll.” He politely greeted her with a smile. “What were you doing on such a fine morning?”

“Oh, I am studying for my upcoming exams.” She beckoned him in and quickly scrambled to make tea, for she was sure her father wouldn’t be long in returning home. When she carried the tray to the living room, she found it empty and decided to peek into the sunroom.

There, Yakumo was peering at her open book and notebook. Futaba felt embarrassed. She was sure her notes were not the best, and to have them be so carefully observed by an eminent professor as Yakumo… She quickly placed the tray down and went to cover her notes with her hands.

“You have beautiful handwriting, my doll, very clear and easy to read.” He smiled pleasantly at her, and she wondered if he was telling the truth or if he was humouring her. “And your notes are concise and easy to follow. I can very well see you are a diligent student.”

“Not at all… I have been struggling with this subject.”

“Perhaps I could be of service?”

Nachi went over his words inside his head. The streets had gotten busier before lunchtime, but now everyone was inside shops and their houses, leaving him with plenty of space to reflect without having to worry about bumping into someone or doing something that wasn’t exactly cat-like.

He felt more confident than before, but mainly he felt he couldn’t take more time to think over this decision. He had to act now. He needed to talk to Mototaka and Futaba.

With that resolution, he jumped over the wall surrounding the Saotome house and transformed into his human form upon touching the ground. When he opened the sliding doors that connected the veranda with the house, he heard voices coming from the sunroom, making him change his destination.

The scene that greeted him was a conflicting one. Futaba was so absorbed in scribbling on her notebook that she didn’t notice his presence at first, but Nachi knew her companion had. It was new, seeing Professor Yakumo sitting with Futaba instead of with Mototaka, but what was more, he seemed to be helping her.

It wasn’t such a bizarre idea, a university professor helping a student, but somehow, it was the first time it happened – at least the first time Nachi had seen them be this close. He felt an uncomfortable sensation prickling his breastbone.

“Nachi! You’re home.” Futaba had finally raised her head from her notes and was now looking at him with a welcoming smile. Somehow, it didn’t comfort him.

“I’m back, Futaba,” Nachi tried to smile, but it didn’t last long. “Professor Yakumo.” He curtly nodded in his direction.

“Hello, Nachi. I hope I am not intruding here, I was helping my sweet doll with her studies.” Yakumo exhibited the same placid smile he usually used, although Nachi had learnt to read behind that expression. Today, it seemed to say Nachi was the intruder.

“Then, maybe I could also benefit from your help.” The words were out before he even realized he had clenched his fists and could feel his fur standing, even if he was in his human form. That was not the way he had planned for things to go, but it wasn’t like his plans ever happened in the way he had imagined they would.

Futaba gasped, abruptly standing from the chair. She stared at Nachi, trying to confirm whether he was saying what she thought he meant. As if she had completely forgotten about Yakumo’s existence, she flinched when he laughed softly.

“Nachi.” Futaba walked up to the door of the sunroom, where he was still standing. “Are you willing to… study?” She whispered, wanting to keep that a secret conversation – but it was futile.

“I’m not sure if willing is the right word, but… yes.”

After that, Nachi had a serious talk with Mototaka, who advised him to study using Futaba’s old books, and see if he could reach the necessary knowledge to choose whatever path he saw convenient.

Nachi wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow in Futaba’s footsteps, or Mototaka’s, and study that much, but he had to start somewhere. And that somewhere was right at the living room’s table, next to Futaba, who had Yakumo to her other side.

He wasn’t completely sure what Professor Yakumo was doing there again, and without Mototaka to boot. But that was the arrangement they had come to.

“Your translations are improving, my little doll.” Futaba smiled and rejoiced from the praise, but it only made it more difficult for Nachi to focus on his tasks.

Right there, reading about maths for the first time in his life – not that the basic concepts were foreign to him, but the way he had to use them was – while Futaba was doing something completely different and Yakumo was making him feel like a chaperone, he felt maybe he had made a terrible mistake.

Nevertheless, Nachi had lived long enough to know things usually weren’t as they first appeared. So he kept pushing through.

Day after day, as Futaba’s exams were approaching, the time they spent studying increased, and Nachi saw an increase in his resistance and stamina for study sessions. Luckily for Nachi, the time Yakumo spent with them didn’t increase, for he was a really busy professional. And Nachi’s resistance to Yakumo’s direct remarks and compliments to Futaba was decreasing exponentially.

It happened one day, when the sweet tone of Yakumo’s words seemed to coil more and more around Futaba, until Nachi felt he couldn’t see her, he couldn’t even breathe anymore. And so he felt the need to break that mysterious spell, and prove that he was there in the room with them.

“She is not a doll, nor your doll.” Nachi stared at him without blinking once. However, that didn’t surprise Yakumo one bit.

“Oh, perhaps you have grown enough for this affectionate nickname of mine to be inappropriate? I am afraid the habit would be hard to break, though.”

“It- it’s okay, Professor Yakumo,” Futaba hurriedly said, becoming flustered.

“Then, if my sweet doll is fine with it, I shall continue calling her that.”

“It’s not like you have a better nickname, Nachi.” She whispered. He couldn’t help but hate it. He didn’t understand it, but to him, she was simply ‘Futaba’. Why did Yakumo have to call her by any other names?

That was something that kept whirling around his head throughout the study session, and even past that, while they were having dinner.

Why didn’t he have a special name for Futaba?

He wanted to find one, but no matter how hard he tried, or how much he thought, that remained an impossible task.

“Is something wrong, Nachi?” Futaba decided to call out to him after he had been absentmindedly chewing on the same piece of food for a few minutes now. Hers and her father’s plates were almost empty while his remained half full.

“Oh, no, no.” Nachi looked up from the bowl he held in his hands. “I was just thinking.”

“Is something worrying you?”

“No, no!” He rushed to smile, assuring her it was nothing. “I was just… thinking about what I had learnt today! There’s still a lot I don’t understand and… sometimes it feels impossible…” Nachi’s voice started growing thin, and he ended up speaking in a whisper, the words held in his heart spilling out. “That I’ll ever be able to reach… his level.”

“Well, I think you used to believe studying was impossible for you at all, and now you’re doing it daily, Nachi, so I am sure you’ll reach wherever you want to, step by step,” Mototaka spoke, offering him an understanding smile. Nachi didn’t know how much Mototaka actually understood, but the words comforted him more than he wanted to admit.

He looked back down at his half-eaten food. He was lucky to have people who would remind him of how far he had already come, and that would remain by his side, supporting him on his journey forward. But he didn’t want to take that for granted, not anymore.

“Okay, I can fit a bit more studying before going to bed today,” he announced while he scarfed down his food.

“Then I shall join you,” Futaba promptly said. “I’ve been wanting to study together with you, just the two of us.”

Her smile was all the energy he needed.

A/N: Futaba could be in high school or in university, so I tried to be ambiguous about it. I think canonically, she’s probably finishing high school, but I feel more comfortable with an older Futaba, so I headcanon that (which means an older Nachi too since they're supposed to be the same age in human years).

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