Archive of Our Own

The air was thick with tension as the hilariously underestimated Karasuno high scored yet another point against the powerhouse team of Shiratorizawa, bringing the game to a match point. Meaning that if they score the next point, Shiratorizawa won’t be going to nationals. The stands were in chaos with suspense, some fans screaming loudly while others stood back in a cold sweat, eyes fixated on the court in anticipation. There was a short pause as the players set themselves for another round, their setter readying the ball. The players had given the match their all. The sweat that dripped from their bows showed that they were now playing on borrowed time. While the team fixated on the game that could make or break them, they remained unaware of another momentous event that would take place with an unsuspecting girl in the stands.

Your interest in the volleyball team’s notorious blocker started with something so small and cliché it was almost pathetic. The day that fuelled the flames had been like all the ones before. Your friend talked excitedly at lunch about some topic you haven’t a clue about when your eyes found a distinct streak of red. It was that exact shade of hair that you began to pick out in crowds during school assemblies; you discovered that you were pretty good at noticing whenever he was in the same room as you as your gaze always wandered to him naturally. It created a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach. It was as if your subconscious was attracted to him or there was some unseen force that drew you to him.

Naturally, the more you noticed him, the more you became interested in him. You began to collect all the little snippets of information about him you could get your hands on. From what you could see, he had a childlike aura surrounding him as he was always smiling and made those around him smile. He walked through life with a spring in his step, and he had such an unusual carefree attitude. After seeing all of this, you found you were no longer satisfied with just knowing more about him. You wanted to be the person he smiles the brightest for.

So, when the class representative came in during the morning class to ask for audience members for Shiratorizawa’s upcoming important match, of course, there was no way you couldn’t go. However, you realised with a sinking feeling in your chest, you were going to have to go alone. There would be no way your friends would want to come, not after their reactions to your crush.

‘He’s just so weird! I don’t see it.’
‘I don’t get why you like him of all the volleyball team. I get nothing but creepy vibes from him.’
‘Honestly, I’d say it’s better you stayed away from him. They say he’s nicknamed as a monster!’
‘Speaking of monsters! He shares the name with a really creepy one that can read your mind, Satori!’

Your frown deepened as you remember their comments. Firstly, Tendou was nicknamed the ‘Guess Monster’ on the court because he was extremely good at guessing the attack and stopping it. Secondly, he was not creepy. He was just a little more extroverted and eccentric, which you’d take over boring any day. But of course, even when you tried protesting this to them, they just got even more annoying about it, which made you more defensive. It was a headache trying to talk to them about it. So in hindsight, you were thankful to be going to this game alone. It would give you a chance to watch the game stress-free.

And so, you found yourself front and centre to their match, your voice joining the masses as you cheered for your team to win as they always do. As the game progressed, it became more apparent that this was no ordinary, straightforward game as Karasuno seemed to continue to take the lead, leaving Shiratorizawa on the ropes. There was a lull of silence through the hall as both teams set themselves up for another toss which had the potential to send your team home. Feeling an overwhelming urge to give them one last push, you flung caution to the wind as you shouted at the top of your lungs.

‘GO TENDOU!’

Red irises darted to yours within seconds of your shout. Your cry had awoken everyone in the stands as they erupted again with their chants. Those crimson eyes still held you captive as the moment shared between you seemed to go on forever. At that moment, you witness a shift in Tendou’s gaze as his eyes narrowed from their wide exploded position from the shock into something darker, something intangible. Then those eyes left you, focusing back on the game, and you felt as if you could breathe again as a shiver of cold ran through you.

The feeling Tendou got when your eyes locked for the first time after you cried out his name was nothing like he had ever felt before. His entire existence felt weighed down and defined by this very moment as if he had been living in a simulation his whole life leading up to this one moment that had pulled him from his dream state into a vibrant reality. All of his senses felt heightened when he had heard his name fall from your lips and saw your eyes widen in shock as they met his own. Everything pulled him towards you at that moment. As if all his ties to reality had now been tethered to your existence. While he struggled to name these newly awoken instinctual feelings, he shifted his focus back to the court. He had to finish off here and figure out what to do about all of this. However, he found himself unable to give the last part of the game 100% of his attention. Because a part of him was now with you in the stands.

The day after the match was mundane, classes in the morning were a drag, and lunchtime was ever the same. So, when you went to your last class of the day, you really didn’t expect much and were just looking forward to heading home so you could be done with the day. It almost slipped your mind a certain someone was in this class but found it to be a pleasant surprise when you see his familiar red hair sitting on his usual seat closer to the front beside the window. Feeling a little chirpier, you took your seat diagonally behind him and took your notebook out.
The class was dragging on. Your motivation for the day was hitting rock bottom, and there was nothing you could do about it. No amount of positive re-enforcement from yourself about the day almost ending or glances in his direction could change that. However, you were snapped out of your self-pity spiral by the girl in front of you. She subtly slid you a folded note across your desk while the teacher had his back turned. Making sure you wouldn’t get caught, you unfolded it to see scribbly handwriting.

“Meet me out back after school. Alone.”

Vague. You tensed up a little, wondering who would single you out like that. As you made your way through possible people in the class that’d want to talk to you, you found yourself coming up short. You hadn’t upset anyone, as far as you knew, and you didn’t really speak to anyone in this class. Unless… your eyes flicked over to the spiky red hair in front of you. The game yesterday. Had you upset him with your rather obnoxious cheer for him? Did it throw him off his game?

You frowned at the thought of causing him problems from wanting to show him support. You had to own up to whatever this was for, so you sent a quick text to your friends telling them not to wait up for you without disclosing the details. They would be opposed to meeting up with him alone, saying you wouldn’t be safe. You rolled your eyes at their thoughts. Sure the concern was appreciated, but it was just a boy from school wanting to talk. On school grounds, no less, not much could go wrong.

Suddenly the time had gone in faster with the added anticipation of meeting Tendou, and the next thing you knew, you were on your way to the meeting point. Reaching the back door, you one-over-ed yourself as you made sure nothing was out of place. Then, taking a breath, you opened the door.

‘Well, hello! I knew you’d come, tell me, did you figure out it was me?’

There stood Tendou Satori in his full glory, up close and personal. While you had expected to see him, it was still a little overwhelming, and it left you a little flustered.

‘I-I wasn’t completely sure, but I guessed it was you, Tendou… ’

‘Oh? And just who else did you expect to meet? Did I disappoint you?’ Tendou tried to keep his tone light and playful, but his eyes revealed a different story, one he wasn’t able to fully contain as it leaked a little into his words and face. To think you had been contemplating someone else in his place, even a little bit, infuriated him to a whole new level he never knew he could reach. Taking a sharp breath in through his noes, he blinked his expression away to a more neutral one and gave his head a playful tilt as he stared into your eyes, daring you to lie to him.

‘N-No! You didn’t disappoint me, Tendou.’ You flushed under his intense gaze. It unnerved you a little; it was as if he was staring into the depths of your soul. You fidgeted with your hands as your eyes found his shoes. ‘I honestly didn’t know who or what to expect… I-I haven’t upset you, have I?’ Your mind cast back to the ominous note he gave, and you felt a spike of panic.

‘I don’t know, have you done anything that I should be upset about, Angel?’ He bent himself over, leaning into your personal space for emphasis, so his face was right in front of your own. Were you hiding something from him?

‘D-Did I, um… Did I somehow throw you off your game yesterday with my shouting? I-I’m sorry if I did I-’

‘No, don’t apologise for that.’ You shouldn’t be apologising for finally revealing yourself to him, it irked him a little, but you meant well. He kept that closed eye smile pinned to his face. ‘I really liked it, especially since it was all for me! Although I think next time, you cheer, you can call me Satori.’ He winked at you as he brought his face closer, hoping you’d catch onto his intention.
Tendo was smirking as he raised his eyebrow at you. It was so adorable to watch his little angel fret over possibly upsetting him. Now he just needed to be close to you and keep her closer to him. He had to make his move now. He was sure that just from the looks of your fragile frame, you simply couldn’t last another day without him to protect you. Heck, he was surprised you’d managed it this far on your own! Poor dove must’ve been aching for his attention and care for a while. After all, he had noticed there had been a set of eyes on him recently. He felt a little stab of remorse for not seeing your pleas sooner. Now was his chance to make it up to you, and he wouldn’t let it slide this time as he did on the court yesterday.

‘A-Are you sure that’s o-okay?’ You looked so flustered as you picked up on his implications, was he serious? Did he really want to drop formalities so quickly and actually start seeing you in that way or …? You got a little shock. What if you were misreading the offer entirely! ‘I-I mean, why would you, um…’ How were you supposed to ask this and clear things up?

Tendou watched you squirm a little under his intense gaze before he put you out of your misery and clarified what he had meant.

‘Of course, it’s alright, can’t have my girlfriend calling me by my last name, can I? People would think we were fighting!’ He leant closer to whisper in her ear. ‘Besides, I want you to be my personal cheerleader from now on, so no looking or cheering for anyone else. Okay?’

He took both of your smaller hands in his for emphasis. And oh my god, all he could think about was how your hands fit perfectly in his own, how soft and delicate they were, just like you, just like his petite angel.

You flushed under his stare again, and you began to worry about the amount of blood going to your face and head right now as you went dizzy with excitement. He was asking you out! Him! The guy you’ve been drawn to for a few months now! You let out an excited squeak in reply as you told him yes. His face split with the biggest grin you had ever seen, and he tugged you towards him as he caged you in a hug, spinning you.

‘You’ve made me so happy, Angel!’

However, just as abruptly, he pulled away to hold you at arm’s length and look you in the eye. He spoke in a light but bordering on a sombre tone as his face still carried his smile, but his contrastingly chill eyes sent a shiver down your spine as he spoke.

‘But I’ll reiterate, you’ve got to promise me not to look at anyone else, okay? Only me.’

You nodded in earnest. The look he was giving you had scared you a little. But, you thought, maybe someone had cheated on him in the past, and he needed the reassurance? If so, you would readily give it. Placing your smaller hands onto his larger ones that gripped your shoulders, you squeezed them in affirmation.

‘Don’t worry, Ten-S-Satori! I’ll keep my eyes on you!’

Just like that, the tension in the air dispelled, and he was left grinning again.

‘That’s a good Angel! I’ll walk you home today, so lead the way!’

It had been a little while into dating Satori now, and you had begun to settle into a new norm with your hyperactive boyfriend. He would walk you to and from every class, regardless if he was in the class nearby or not. He somehow always managed to be there when the bell rang. When you had asked him how he made it to your classroom so fast, curious as to how he got away from his own classes or was even going to them, he’d simply brush off the concern and saying, “The thought of seeing you made me go at the speed of light!”. He also whisked you away during breaks. Taking you straight from your class to a new secluded spot you now frequented. “A perfect spot for us to have some alone time, those other people hog you too much!” At the beginning of your relationship with Satori, he also had you sit with him at your own table at lunch. However, that didn’t last long as a specific incident occurred that triggered something in him you’d rather not see again.

It happened just a few days after you and Satori had started dating. You were still getting used to the new normal of not sitting with your friends during lunch, as Satori insisted you pay him all your attention as he was your boyfriend after all. Everything was going smoothly; you had managed to find a table that was empty and in the corner of the hall, so you both sat down and began to chat away about nothing at all. Then another plate was placed down beside Satori’s. You looked up to find Ushijima had taken his place beside his friend as he nodded to Satori, who had tensed at his fellow player’s arrival. Goshiki also sat beside the ace, wanting to talk about their recent practice more about how well he was doing on his route to be the future ace. Both men stopped in their tracks when they saw you, their eyes freezing for a moment before looking over at Satori. Goshiki was the first to speak up.
‘You never told us about your girlfriend, Tendou!’ He then turned to you and gave a slight bow with his head, ‘Nice to meet you, I’m Goshiki Tsutomu!’ You smiled and bowed your head in return and looked at Ushijima as he too done the same then introduced himself.

While they were saying their hellos, Tendou could feel himself burning all over. It was like he was itching all over. His eyes remained fixed on the lunch box in front of him, unable to look at anything else, or he might explode. His right side, where they sat next to him, felt like it was on fire as he had to witness them looking at his treasure, his sacred Angel that was for his eyes only. Knowing they were looking at you right now was hard to process, and he felt the snake of jealousy wrap itself around his lungs travelling all the way up to constrict around his throat, making it almost impossible to breathe. His mind was doing overtime as it burned with one thought over and over and over again. Someone else is looking at my sacred treasure. His heart beating erratically, and he was filled with a rage-induced fire that threatened to seep out of his pores if he let it. Then you smiled. You SMILED at someone who wasn’t him. And Tendou saw RED.

Standing Abruptly from the table, Satori lifted his lunch, grabbed your wrist from across the table and pulled you from your seat. He spoke in the lowest tone you’d ever heard him use, and it terrified you. Scrambling to get your stuff as Tendou continued to drag you away, you never even got to excuse yourself as you left the two men wide-eyed, wondering what had happened. When you and Satori hand reached your spot, he dropped everything and roughly shoved you against the wall. One hand rested on the wall above your head while the other was in your hair tightly. You winced a little at his grip but said nothing. His breathing was heavy as he rested his head on yours with his eyes closed. His hand in your hair started to move, slowly twirling your hair and running his fingers through it, then he moved to trace the side of your face, which led him to your chin until finally, his hand rested menacingly on your throat. His thumb rested on your pulse. He finally opened his eyes to look into your own petrified ones. He was the one to break the silence.
‘From now on, we’re eating here.’

Not wanting to agitate him further, you nodded in submission. You’d keep your questions for later when he was calmer. Right now, your mind was going crazy with fear as his overpowering figure engulfed you.

‘You looked at someone else, Angel. You promised me you wouldn’t do that. You said, “I’ll keep my eyes on you!”’ He mocked your tone in a sickeningly high sweet one of his own before growling. ‘You lied to me. My Angel wouldn’t lie.’

Your eyes widened at the accusation, and the threat laced in his words as you started to sweat. You noticed his eyes hadn’t lost their fire. A little confused, your brow frowned a little. You had only spoken to Ushijima and Goshiki. You hadn’t flirted with them or anything. Unless a smile counted? Did it?

‘I-I was only smiling-’

His finger on your pulse pressed down as he let out a heated breath, and he tightened his grip on your windpipes. His eyes narrowing into small beams.

‘Only Smiling, huh? Angel, do you even know what a smile can do?’ He looked so furious, but it was more than that. There was something else in his eyes, something you still found you couldn’t understand. It was that same look he held when their eyes first met. You were skating on thin ice. ‘You don’t do you?’ He sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and he took a moment to collect himself.

‘You don’t know that it’s your smile that brought me to you, one that holds all of your light. You showed it to someone else. You can’t do that. You promised you’d only look at me, and you need to keep your promises. I’m doing this for your own sake! If you got me with that smile and that look in your eyes, can you even imagine what it could do to someone else?! Do you want someone else to have you? Is that what this is?!’

He looked positively crazed now, and you wanted to simply run away. You usually felt so safe, protected, around Satori, but this was nothing like that. He was terrifying. It was as if he had read your mind as he relaxed his actions. He released his grip on your throat and moved it to the back of your neck, stroking it in soothing motions. The corners of his eyes began to tear up as he looked away from you off to the side, biting his quivering lip. Clearly, there was a deeper-rooted issue that he needed help with; maybe this was something he was struggling with. From the looks of him now, he seemed remorseful for hurting you. You felt slightly guilty and ashamed for your thoughts of abandoning him when he clearly needed your support.

‘I-I… I don’t want anyone else Satori, I-I never realised I made you feel that way. I’m sorry.’

You looked down to his chest, unable to meet his eyes. You were sure you had only been friendly, but from the looks of it, you had begun to screw up with your just-blossoming relationship with Satori. This was something you’d have to try and address with him later. In the meantime, you were going to have to be more mindful. Taking in a small breath, albeit a shaky one after his hand’s tight grip leaving you a little bruised, you met his eyes.

‘Don’t cry, Satori. Can you forgive me?’

Some tension left him as he could see your little eyes look up at him pleadingly, and as he felt your shaky hands come up to his face to caress his cheeks while wiping the tears away. Perfect. Of course, he would forgive you, his Angel. You truly were far too precious for this world; you had to be shielded from it at all costs. No one else deserved to see this look in your eyes. They were all too tainted and dirty. He was sent to guard you, be your best blocker against people trying to defile you. He leaned into your palms and closed his eyes, relishing the moment.

‘Of course, I forgive you.’

Then he snapped his eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly right through you, tears nowhere in sight.

‘But, never let that happen again. You won’t like what happens.’

Ever since that encounter, you both ate alone at your spot so no one else can disturb you. You also found that you never saw Goshiki and Ushijima again, and when you asked after them, Satori got really hostile. ‘Why are you even thinking about them? You’re with me. You don’t need them.’ Even when you explained all you wanted to do was apologise for being rude, he had snapped back, ‘They don’t need your apology. You shouldn’t be so concerned about other people and what they think.’ Any retaliation on the matter was met with a hard stare that unnerved you to no end.

Months into this relationship, you found that the glamour of it had long since worn off. You were second-guessing yourself at every turn, walking on eggshells around Satori and other people, worried about what would set off your explosive boyfriend. You couldn’t meet up with your friends anymore, ‘They’re backstabbers. Just look at them! They haven’t even tried to keep up with you, so why should you keep up with them?’ Which was true; he had a valid point. Not one of your friends had tried to contact you since the second week into your relationship, which was strange. They usually would at least text you if you couldn’t see them much during the day. Satori had also put that down to them being jealous of you, which you couldn’t understand, but according to Satori, there was a lot of things you didn’t know that you needed him to explain to you.

Frankly, it was getting exhausting. Satori was wearing you down by the minute, and ever since that day during lunch, similar scenarios kept coming up. You would space out in the wrong direction in class, which he would take as you looking for someone else. Or, heaven forbid, you would take too long getting dressed in the morning, which implied you didn’t love him as much as he loved you or your parents were keeping you from him. It got more and more ridiculous as time went on, and the punishment got even more severe. It started out with a hand menacingly placed on the back of your neck in the presence of others, squeezing a little too tight or sharply yanking on the back of your hair ‘Playfully teasing’ you enough to leave tears in the corners of your eyes. If you really upset him, he’d wait until you were alone so that he could ram you into walls, giving you mini concussions, and bruised you silly with his tight grip or from spanks on any area he saw fit. He never held back for one second if he felt you deserved it, leaving you in tears every time only to kiss them away after explaining how you deserved it, how it was to help you keep your promise you were having so much difficulty keeping.

So, there had been a build-up to your situation now. Which, was you being utterly terrified of your manipulative, abusive boyfriend who had warped your mind with fear to submit to him. You really felt helpless. There was no way out, he’d simply find you, and the punishment would be so severe you wouldn’t be able to show your face in public for weeks. But you had to try. You can’t just accept this and live the rest of your life like this. That was an even more terrifying prospect. Living with this for the rest of your life was not an option.
Feeling a little determined to start somewhere, you snuck out your phone while you were in class. The substitute teacher you had right now wouldn’t notice a thing and the lesson you were covering was actually one covered a few weeks ago by the regular teacher. They always say to start small, tell someone, baby steps. While you hadn’t contacted your friends in months, you knew they would understand. They’d help you. You sucked in a breath as you hit send with a shaking thumb.

“Hey, sorry it’s been so long. Can we talk?”

It didn’t even take her long to reply. She must be in her free period right now.

“Hey, er, now’s not a great time. I’m a little caught up with something.”

You blinked at her reply, had you really driven her that far away? You’ve been such a horrible friend to her lately that you guess you deserved that. Not wanting to lose hope, you tried to apologise first.

“I’m sorry if I am interrupting something, but I really need to apologise to you. I’ve been a really shitty friend to you lately. Ever since I started dating Satori, I noticed I’ve not spoken to you. I’m really sorry.”

You watched as the typing bubbles appeared on the screen quickly then went away for a moment before they reappeared.

“Look, you’ve got Tendou now. Just leave me alone.”

Why was she acting like this? This wasn’t like her at all. Had she changed drastically since you last spoke to her? Feeling a little dejected, you let out a sigh, but this was important. If she knew you actually needed serious help, she’d understand. You tried again.

“Look I’m really, really sorry for leaving you for Satori. But he is why I need help right now, he’s scaring me. I’m planning on how to break the news to him that I can’t do it anymore, but I’m too scared! Please, I know you can hate me for not being a good friend, but please, please help me figure this out.”

There was a moment of silence as you watch her read the reply. The minute lasted longer than an hour for you before she franticly texted back.

“RUN!”

“HE SEEN MY TEXTS.”

“HE’S COMING.”

“RUN! I’LL CALL FOR HELP!”

As soon as you saw those messages, you could feel your heartbeat in your throat, every limb shook on its own accord, and you swear there was no blood left in your body as everything turned stone cold. Your nausea must’ve shown on your face as you raised a shaking hand to be excused to the toilet because the teacher didn’t even question it, only giving you a look of sympathy that was all too fitting and telling you to try sipping some water. None of which helped your current predicament. Stepping calmly out of the classroom, you sprinted in the opposite direction of where you think your friend was, knowing he’d be on his way from there. That sentence haunted you, HE’S COMING and kept you going at top speed which you never knew you could run at, but you guess things change when you’re threatened.

HE’S COMING. Your mind was a mess. You looked up ahead to find yourself at the end of the corridor. You didn’t even know where you were going, so you took the first turn that came to mind. HE’S COMING. You went left, straight on, through the doors and ran frantically down the stairs. Hoping to buy some time, you hid under the staircase. You sat with your legs hugged to your chest as you rested your head on your knees, rocking a little. HE’S COMING. Trying to get one cohesive thought was hard enough at the moment, so you had absolutely no clue what to do next. Should you run out of school? Or Should you go to a teacher? HE’S COMING. You should go to a teacher; they’d help and know what to do. HE’S COMING. At the very least, they’d be there to protect you. HE’S COMING. He wouldn’t do anything with them there. HE’S COMING. Taking a deep breath in, you lifted your head and opened your eyes.

Only to be met with a pair of dead, stone-cold vermilion eyes that stared back, unblinkingly into your soul. His head tilted to the side.

‘What’s wrong, Angel? Scared?’

He brought his face closer to yours, so your noses were touching, never breaking eye contact. You could feel his breath on your skin. He was like a predator checking that his prey was actually dead and not just acting. You felt dead at that moment, unable to even sense your own heartbeat as you went cold and stiff under his glaze. The sheer amount of dread that filled your body weighed you down to the floor, your body turned to stone, like a deer caught in headlights only you knew the car would run you over. Shivering, your eyes glazed with tears as your lungs started to fail you.

‘Shhhhhhh, Angel, don’t cry. That’s what you told me, right? Don’t cry.’ He mocked as he stroked your cheek, his eye twitching as you flinch. ‘It’s everyone else around you, isn’t it? They’re making you feel this way, getting you to say these things to hurt me?’

Tendou knew, deep down, why you’d decided to run. However, Tendou’s mind wouldn’t let him accept that explanation. His mind was sent reeling when he had seen those texts. It had been just another day as he went to check up on how well your little ‘friends’ were holding up their end of the bargain when you started to reach out to one of them. She thought she could hide her phone in time for him not to catch the flash of your name across the screen, but she was, oh, so, wrong. He then demanded she hand her phone over, which she did. He noted that she had already replied to you, saying she was busy, not bad but a little stiff for an excuse. He then saw the typing bubbles, so he kept it to see your response.

“… I’ve been a really shitty friend to you lately, ever since I started dating Satori, I noticed I’ve not spoken to you. I’m really sorry.”? “I’m really sorry.”?

He had already TOLD you about apologising to other people, they didn’t deserve your apologies, and besides, you shouldn’t even be THINKING about anyone else. Why would they matter when you two are together? He felt his brow frown and his mouth slip into a scowl. He clearly needed to teach you a lesson tonight, one you wouldn’t forget in a hurry. He replied in place of your friend, trying to get you away from her. Something along the lines of “leave me alone”, that usually worked. People couldn’t handle bluntness well. The typing bubbles appeared again. Just what were you playing at? What he saw next, he wasn’t prepared for.

“Look I’m really, really sorry for leaving you for Satori. But he is why I need help right now, he’s scaring me. I’m planning on how to break the news to him that I can’t do it anymore, but I’m too scared! Please, I know you can hate me for not being a good friend, but please, please help me figure this out.”

Red. Everything went red. Tendou’s head throbbed as your words echoed in his mind ‘I can’t do it anymore’. ‘I’m scared.’ You now had a fucking reason to be.

He had to try and think straight. But every time he thought back to those words and something in him burned. It was like when Ushijima and Goshiki set their eyes on you, but this time it was worst, so much worse. What he felt now was like staring into the abyss and having it stare back into you, this all-consuming rage that just took over his body without him having any say. It felt as if his skin was being licked by blue flames. His blood pressure was sent soaring as his veins turned to acidic. His eyesight was going haywire. How could you ever want to leave him? You couldn’t. It was impossible. You were his Angel. You called on him that day. You sought him out. You smiled at him. He had seen it when you first started dating, that innocence. Where had it gone? What went wrong? Where did he go wrong?!

An image of you flashed through his head, of you smiling at Goshiki, smiling at Ushijima, glancing at your friends, texting your friends, being looked at in the hallways, being looked at during class. Being looked at and looking back. Of course, how could he have been so stupid? He had made such a grave mistake, and his poor, sweet, now falling Angel is paying the price for it.

He mindlessly gave your friend back her phone as he left to find you. He should never have left you as you were, so exposed to the outside world. He had let the world taint you, all because he was too blind to see what it was doing to you. If only he had seen this sooner, maybe things could have been different. But it was okay; he was on his way. He would make it all better now! He’ll right the wrong and save his darling angel from falling from grace before it was too late. He’ll save the day; you just leave it to him. He’ll need to find you first, and he couldn’t be too slow about it either, wouldn’t want you getting into more trouble or falling further!

He wanted the corridors around the class you should’ve been in but, as expected, you weren’t there, your friend must have told you to leave. Just further proof that the world was poisoning you. He mindlessly went to your spot. He remembered the many times he pressed you against that wall, hand on your throat while his mouth was on your lips. If only it had stayed that way, but it was his fault for not noticing you struggling. He heard shallow breaths. His eyes widened as his ears perked up at the sound. Could you really be here of all places?

He wandered around to under the stairs, and sure enough, you were there, all balled up. He made sure not to make a sound. He wanted to just watch you for a moment, engrave every detail into his mind all over again. You just being here had to mean you still needed him, still loved him, even if you wouldn’t admit it because you came to a place where both of you would wander off to too feel safe. It was your safe haven because he was here.
Your head lifted, and your eyes met his own. You looked so fragile. Tears threatening to spill over, shaking like a leaf and pale as a sheet. Sweet Angel, what have they done to you?

‘What’s wrong, Angel? Scared?’

Everything blurred for you as you were straight-up panicking. The rocking increased, and you buried your face in your knees again with your eyes squeezed shut, wishing it would all go away. Arms encircled you, drawing you closer to them. Your mind wasn’t even registering that it was Tendou at this point. Your mind couldn’t recognise anything past the shock. He rocked you and combed your hair, wanting to have a moment of peace with you. He kissed your head.

‘Let’s get out of here, Angel.’

Your head shook franticly as the fear rose in your eyes again. He sighed, knowing it was wishful thinking that you’d be cooperative. He put in a little more force.

‘I’m not asking.’

Still, the same response was repeated back to him. His eye twitched, and he cracked his neck.

‘You asked for this, Angel.’

And your world goes dark.

The first thing you could feel was the thin layer of sweat that covered your body as you gradually regained consciousness. You started to slowly become aware of the rest of your body like you had woken up from a profound sleep. Every part of you felt heavy, and you found you couldn’t lift your arms or move your legs as they felt weighted to the bed you were currently lying in. Looking around to gauge your surroundings didn’t help much as everything was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything. Feeling groggy, you frowned your brow thinking about how you had gotten here in the first place. Tendou.

The last thing you remember before your world went black was staring into his wide eyes in terror. There was an ache from the side of your head, which served as a reminder of where he had hit you, which you couldn’t even see coming because he was that fast in dealing his blow. Volleyball had served him well. Your heart sped up a bit as you remembered him. Where is he now? More importantly, how much time do you have before he comes back? You couldn’t see right now, so you’d better get up and start searching for a way out. However, just as you went to move your stiff limbs, it was brought to your attention that you were tied down. Each limb was attached to a bit of bedpost by cushioned handcuffs. Your raised head hit the pillow as you let out a sigh in frustration. Of course, you had been restrained. You hadn’t been very cooperative with him.

You started to panic as you struggled to develop any solution to get out of this mess. You pulled and pulled on all four restraints, none of which were going to give in any time soon. If you couldn’t get out of these restraints before Tendou came back… you shuddered to think what would happen to you. You knew you couldn’t take him on directly either; the man was a machine, a genius guessing machine at that. You really cursed your past self for not trusting your friend’s instincts more. If you had only listened to them and stayed away, you might not be in this mess right now. Your friends! They could still save you! They knew he was after you. She had even told you she was going to call for help! That’s it, just pull through until they can get help, and you’ll be okay. Just breathe. That’s all you have to do right now, just keep breathing…

The door opened with a creak, and light came flooding in, casting a shadow on the floor. Tendou had been finishing up the preparations for tonight. Everything had been set and taken care of. All that was left to do now was enjoy some time with his precious Angel. After asking for her forgiveness for his ignorance and correcting his mistake.

You looked so pretty, all tied up like that on his bed, just like a present on Christmas morning ready to be unwrapped. However, he felt his eyes darken as he drank you in, knowing that while you looked so good and pure right now, he had failed the primary goal of his guardianship which was to keep you untainted by the world. It was as if their eyes had left traces on your precious skin. They might as well have left fingerprints all over you as Tendou examined your exposed flesh from a closer angle. He felt that familiar lick of rage inside of him as he knelt by your bedside and laid his head on the bed in a bow to you. The feelings of failure, rage, pain, protectiveness were all so overwhelming to him. He needed to take this slow, go through all the motions or this wouldn’t work. And he couldn’t fail you this time. He wouldn’t. His voice was thick with emotion and remorse as he croaked out,

‘Angel, there’s a lot I want to explain to you before I do anything, so please hear me out, okay?’

When there was a slight pause, he moved his face and flicked his eyes up to your face. Vermillion eyes daring you to protest but also holding so much emotion. There was still that one unreadable look in his eyes.

‘I-I’ll listen, S-Satori, but-’

‘There should be no “but’s”, Angel. All you have to do is listen, so I’ll take that as a yes.’
‘Why am I t-tied up? C-Can’t you let me go?’

A hard look crossed his face, and instantly she felt the ghost of a hand around her throat, thinking back to all the times before when she had ticked him off in some way.

‘If you’re willing to listen, all your questions will be answered in time.’

It was not up for further debate. Tendou turned his face back down towards the bed, regaining the air of someone submitting themselves for confession.

‘Angel. I failed, and I am so sorry. You were put into my care by whoever it may be, be it fate, destiny or some kind of deity. My one goal through all of this was to protect you from everyone, to keep your aura clean from contamination. To keep you as pure as the day you were entrusted to me. I tried so hard. I made sure no one got too close to you in class. I took you to and from everywhere so as you’d have minimal exposure to people. When I noticed others looking at you during breaks or lunches, I took you away, so it was just me you could see. I regularly made sure that no one would even dream about coming close to you so that you could remain as you were. However, I failed to see…’

A small hiccup sounded through the eerily silent room as Tendou let his tears wet the bed covers.

‘I failed to see your struggle, Angel. I failed to see that even minimal contact was too much for you, that they were still poisoning you. I had thought about taking you away from it all nearer the beginning, I really did! I just thought that it would cause more complications and that what we had going on at that time was enough. I didn’t realise just the environment was toxic for you. I’m so sorry for failing you and not doing the right thing sooner. I swear to you, it won’t ever happen again. I don’t care what it costs; I will do what I need to do for you.’ He, almost shyly, raised his head to now look you in the eyes. ‘Angel, can you forgive me?’

You lay there stunned at his words. How could you even begin to process what he just said? He thought he had somehow failed you by keeping you in amongst society. There was so much wrong with all of his speech. He wanted to keep you all to himself, but it was more than the typical boyfriend ‘I don’t want to share this side of you’ because he wanted to isolate you from everyone bar himself. First things first, you had to get yourself out of this crazy situation. So maybe when he said he’d do the right thing for you, it meant listening to you? You sure hoped so because this might be your one shot at it. Schooling your fearful expression a little, you look back at him.

‘I-I forgive you, Satori-’

He sprang into immediate action, up from his bowing position right on top of you on the bed to give you the tightest hug you’d ever received. His breath was tickling your neck as you squirmed beneath him.

‘Oh, thank you so much! I was so scared you wouldn’t forgive me! That would cause so many more problems…’

‘But, listen, Satori…’

He pushed off the bed so he could face you. ‘Yes, Angel?’

‘Can you untie me, please?’

His expression snapped from bubbly to eerie neutral at the drop of a coin.

‘I’m afraid I can’t do that.’

‘W-Why?’

He looked at you like you were some incompetent child who had just asked why you can’t see your dead pet again.

‘You see, you’re still infected, Angel. We need to clean you all up first.’

‘C-clean me? I can clean myself, Satori.’

He clicked his tongue and continued to speak in a condescending tone while stroking your cheek with the back of his hand.

‘Oh, I know you can, I know, but this is a special kind of cleaning that only I can do, you see.’ He gave a smile that didn’t look as if it belonged on a human face. ‘Don’t worry though, I won’t overexpose you. It’s just on the dirty parts.’

He then lent over you from a straddling position above and began by removing your tie.
‘R-Really, Satori, please don’t. I can do it myself, please.’

‘Tut, tut. The more you protest, the more it shows me how badly you need this. It isn’t something you can do alone, Angel, because once you’ve got this kind of dirt on you, it infects your mind, so you can’t clean it off properly. Besides, you need me for this.’ He sounded all too happy about this outcome, and you weren’t in an excellent protesting position. However, that didn’t mean you had to give up.

‘Tendou, I said no. Now stop taking off my shirt! I thought you’d listen to me?’

Your words bounced right off him, leaving you with a cold feeling inside as you see his eyes darken at the use of his last name. He unbuttoned the whole of your shirt, and you had noticed that your shoes, socks and shirt were also missing, leaving you in nothing but pants, a bra and an open shirt. Why he hadn’t pre-removed that as well, you wouldn’t question and just thank whoever was above that he hadn’t, not that it was offering much protection now. While you were now mainly exposed, you still remained warm as the room seemed to have been pre-set to a warmer temperature, as if he’d known this would happen.

If you were uncomfortable and scared now, there were no words to describe just how terrified you felt when Tendou then proceeded to take out a decently sized blade from his pocket.
‘What are you doing with that, Tendou?’ Your voice came out in a fragile whisper, thinking that if you spoke too loudly, you’d somehow break the safety bubble that the quiet provided you with.

‘I’m about to make up for my mistakes, Angel’

He had a twisted smile on his face, and you had to push the raising bile down from your throat as you watched him bring the blade down. Somehow it disturbed you even more so to see that instead of slicing you open, he painstakingly dragged the edge across his own forearm. Creating a large gash in its wake that immediately gushed blood down his arm trickling down his palms and dripping from his fingers onto your stomach. You had a more challenging time keeping the sick down now as you watched him repeat this process further up the same arm with the same results.

There was a twisted look of fascination in his eyes as he made the incisions in his arm and watched the blood spill from himself. It was in that moment you could finally read what was hidden behind his guarded eyes this whole time, pure unadulterated insanity. He was a breed separate from the rest. This is the reason he was called a monster because he was a demon. The hardest part to swallow was how painfully obvious it had been from the start. The many signs you had simply ignored and driven by suddenly flooded in front of your eyes.

Your friend’s warnings came back to you like a stab in the gut. They had said he was creepy along with being called a monster, and you had dismissed everything. Even when you had come face to face with this lurking demon inside him when you stared into his eyes, and he stared back with his hand wrapped around your throat after body-slamming you into a wall for looking at Ushijima and Goshiki. The gut feeling you had towards him, the pull you thought you had felt to his red hair, was really a massive warning trying to alert you to the danger that awaited beneath as it pointed to the one thing that should trigger alarm bells—the colour red.

The red that was now currently pouring down on you from above as he squeezed his heavily bleeding arm over your exposed flesh. His face menacingly hovered above you with the edges of his screwy grin turned up, completing the unhinged look that covered his face as he finally let himself go into a rabid frenzy above you. All you could do was lie there, trying not to choke on your own vomit while you prayed to whatever god there was that you’d make it out of this alive.

This was it. Tendou could feel himself go lightheaded with the amount of excitement he was experiencing. Having you below him like this was all too much. He hadn’t anticipated this being so … euphoric. He had, admittedly, made a show of giving himself the cuts because he simply wanted to see that expression on your face again, that one when you looked like you were either going to cry, pissing yourself or passing out from fear. When he’d first seen it at school with you curled up under the stairs, he hadn’t gotten to fully appreciate it in his blind rage. But, now, he got to see it in its full glory, and it did not disappoint. Tears and snot were dripping down your flushed and blotchy face, your eyes looking a little pink with how hard you were crying—God, the things that face did to him. Needless to say, the combination of your expression as it was, you being tied beneath him, and his blood beginning to cover every exposed inch of you… he was starting to have a little bit of a situation on his hands. But he wouldn’t indulge himself, no, not yet. His Angel wasn’t herself just yet. You needed to be thoroughly cleansed before he touched either one of you like that.

He was making good progress on covering all of you in his blood. He would start by kissing the area, dripping the hot, sticky substance on you and rubbing it around the area before moving to the next. It was a slow, rewarding process as he began to feel the catharsis as he washed away the stains of other’s eyes and touches from you with his own DNA.

‘Yes, Angel, that’s it your doing so well. It’s working so nicely; can’t you feel everyone else being washed away and being replaced by me?’

There was nothing but continued crying from you, but he was too far gone in his own head to really register anything you were saying anyway.

‘Don’t you just love it? … Being covered …’

He kissed down your red smothered neck, trailing down the valley of your equally blood-coated breasts to then kiss your stomach.

‘… All the way from your head…’

He kisses you further down, running his crimson hands down each of your legs, to then kiss the red arches on either of your feet.

‘… Right down to the ends of your toes, in nothing but me.’

Once he was satisfied, you were fully dowsed in his blood, looking oh so pretty. He decided it was now okay for him to let loose a little. He mounted you again. This time his lips went straight to your mouth, smothering any protests in the process. His hands found your own above your head, and he wove his fingers between your own. Immediately he growled and began grinding you so hard into the mattress you felt it dip and spring up again. Your mind was screaming in protest, and you felt your chest tighten as you struggled to breathe both from his aggressive onslaught on kisses and your otherworldly fear of this man. While your mind was crying, other parts of yourself awoke as it would under normal circumstances. You tried to tell it repeatedly that this was not ordinary circumstances and you’d like to have some dignity. Biology never really listens.

Tendou was panting now as he trailed hot, sloppy kisses down the side of your jaw and throat. Everything was just getting too much for him, yet he couldn’t help but crave more and more of you. Nothing was enough. He bit down hard and was rewarded with a yelp from you, smirking; he kept up his attack.

‘How does my Angel like having me on top of her like this, hmmm?’ He released a hand from her hold to quickly undo his belt and fly, just to get closer, keeping the layers for more friction. His eyes rolled to the back of his head at the next thrust of his hips. You were so wet for him. Had you felt this way the whole time too? Did you get the same overwhelming feeling from seeing yourself fully claimed and covered in him? His mind just couldn’t keep up with the rush of emotions that kept crashing over him like a tsunami every two seconds. His eye barely knew where to look. Everywhere was begged for his attention. He licked a line up the drying blood up the middle of your throat to then steal your mouth in a heated kiss by first shoving his tongue inside.

What he hadn’t counted on was you fighting back a little by biting down so hard on his tongue that it drew blood. This almost sent him overboard as the act of protest immediately backfired on you, sending him on another hysterical spiral. He kept up his brutal pace with you as he pulled his face back with a look across his face that spelt ecstasy.

‘Angel! Yes, yes, yes! O-Of course, a-ah… l-let’s make a blood bond right now. I can’t believe I didn’t think of tha-ah-t.’

He then assaulted your mouth once more, only this time he came with teeth as he bit down hard on your own tongue. He then let out a groan as your tongues swirled around each other, mixing the blood and saliva. Everything was getting hazy, and the sides of your vision began to blur. It was too much.

He was getting closer to the edge, too, from the way he was panting and franticly rutting against you. His free hand clamped down on your airways suddenly as he stiffened up, gritting his teeth, he said.

‘Don’t you faint again on me! UgH! Now, my sweet, sweet Aaangel. Oh, fuck…nh, cum with me, DO IT! NOW!’

It was almost shameful how easily pushed over the edge you were by that. That tone, the hand, the feeling of him everywhere and the lack of oxygen just sent you teetering off the edge, and your vision went white. You questioned yourself silently if you were some kind of sick masochist before blaming the entire thing on lack of oxygen going to your brain.
Coming down from his high left Tendou with a radiating kind of afterglow. His twisted mind still shining through as he did one last thing to fully satisfy himself, for all his hard work, he deserved a reward too.

He reached into his messed up pants taking his cum on three fingers before he took them to your mouth, putting them in. He gathered your mixed blood and saliva from your mouth while revelling in your fucked-out face covered in his cum. Taking his fingers from your greedy mouth, he made sure he collected everything on his fingers before he thrust them deep inside you, stuffing you with your bonded blood and his cum. He kept that up for a while, listening to your oversensitive whines of protest before he then took some of your juices for himself. The taste of you and him together, in every way, blood, cum, sweat and spit in his mouth was otherworldly. There was nothing like it. He lapped up everything, swirling his tongue around the combination of you both in a drunken haze. You were bonded forever now.

Well, he was about to work on the forever part of that fantasy. Seeing you so boneless was perfect for the final step in his plan. Everything was perfect. It couldn’t have gone better; you were both now connected forever. He let his weight press gently down on you as he sang your praises for being so good for him as he kissed you softly, stroking your hair with one hand while the other remained laced with your own. He then trailed his hand down from your hair, along your side to then reach into his side pocket where he gripped the smooth fabric—only the best silk for his Angel. Trailing back up, he released your hand to bring it to the sides of your face as he continued to distract you while he delicately wrapped the soft material around your neck. Your brow frowned at the sensation, but the fabric was so smooth and gentle. Was he giving you something?

Your eyes went wide with panic, and you gasped as the smooth silk violently constricted around your windpipes. Your eyes franticly searched for Tendou’s, pleading for your fucking life again. You shook your head and thrashed against your restraints.

‘Sh, sh, sh, hush now.’ He stroked your cheek with such a gentle, bubbly look on his face. ‘You wouldn’t want to end our perfect moment like this, would you? I’d hate for you to remember it like this…’

The noose around your neck tightened again, and you’re sure your face was going a darker shade of red, and you franticly gasped for air, making strangled noises you’d hear in horror movies. But the tighter it got, the less oxygen you received, and your eyes began to roll around, your limbs losing their fight to survive.

‘No, no. Look at me, look here.’ When, for some unknown reason, you did as he asked, he cooed. His blissed-out face looking disgustingly happy, he was fucking giddy, as he spoke his last few words to you as you started to drift off and see stars.

‘They say you relive the last few moments of your life over and over again for all eternity. I really hope that’s true, Angel. I’m so happy I could fill those moments for you, and don’t worry, you’ll be my last moments too!’

The last thing you saw was the hysterical look of twisted love on his face, with his signature deranged smile and the unhinged look in his piercing vermillion eyes that you hated. Fuck the colour red.

‘I love you, My Angel.’