040 » if nobody's holding you back from me

[kochan]

[mishima himself isn't entirely sure if he agrees to go to ryuji's house out of friendship or because he's being pressured into it. it's hard to say no to ryuji, just because of the sheer force of the other boy's personality, but more than that, it's sort of exciting to be invited over to someone else's house. mishima doesn't often get invited to things. he invites other people. he invites himself.

honestly, ryuji's attempt at hospitality is even a little cute. chips, snacks, and vending-machine drinks: this is, pretty much, how one would expect two guys to hang out. maybe it's weird that mishima has to measure his life like this, by how much it seems like experiences he's heard about or seen on tv — but it's just how he's learned to survive social exchanges.]

Uh, you know I'm the only one with hypno powers, right?

[sakamoto has other powers. persona phantom thief powers. if he knew just how jealous mishima was, he'd kick him out of the house immediately.]

Comments

[thuggish]

Yeah yeah, whatever. Point is, we're in this together now.

[ or so ryuji sees it, at least. comes with being in on the whole hypno-crystal thing, not spilling the beans on why his leg's fixed up to his friends. what mishima might regard as barging in on his territory, ryuji thinks of only as expressions of their... uh. team-ness. "camaraderie" unsurprisingly is another of those words yet to penetrate the exterior of ryuji's thick skull, but he understands the idea.

sure, they're not teammates in quite the same way as ryuji and the rest of his actual team, and as much as they hang out they're not really close enough to be friends, but they've got something. like acquaintances with appreciably-similar values. values that most definitely don't include, say, making a guy give your boots a brief tongue bath over a little inferiority complex. that'd be a deal-breaker.

regardless, misunderstandings like this are what's landed them in this mess. landed ryuji in it at least. ]

So I've been thinking. [ first sign of trouble. he helps himself to a bag of chips, eating in typically ryuji-esque fashion. cleaning comes later, this is business time. ] Wanna see if you can make me ace Hiruta's dumb quiz tomorrow?

[kochan]

[it surprises a lot of people, but mishima is actually fairly meticulous and neat (even if he did misplace his school blazer a long time ago), and the spray of crumbs that follows in the wake of ryuji's crunching gives him some mild anxiety. he is seized by the inexplicable urge to clean ryuji's floor, though of course he has to hold back. you don't invite a bro to your house just so he can complain that your floor is dirty. not that mishima is a bro.

then again, he could also just hypnotize ryuji into cleaning his own damn floor.]

Uh... wouldn't that be a bit suspicious?

[damn mishima, back at it again with the common sense —]

Your grades are like, way below average, Sakamoto. If you ace a quiz, the teacher's just going to think you got a peek at the answer key.

[thuggish]

[ so his plan may have a hole or two. mishima may be forgiven for thinking ryuji came up with this in maybe the space of five minutes — mostly because he did. likewise, it's safe to assume ryuji's interests may lie less in perfecting their hypnosis skills, more getting round the fact he hasn't studied at all. ]

Well, yeah, but... [ he's definitely talking with his mouth full. hope mishima appreciates another spurt of crumbs while ryuji formulates a retort. manners were never his thing. comes with being a rebel, is his excuse. ] He's not gonna figure out how we did it, right?

[ this is not at all a solution. ]

And once we know it works, I'll hypnotize you, and we'll never need to study again! It's basically foolproof.

[kochan]

[mishima brushes a scrap of potato chip off of his school uniform pants, pulling a wry face as he also notices all the dust and miscellanea that's gotten caught in the fabric. damn it, he really needs to wash this shit.]

That's not the point! I mean, that's not even how it works.

[the most exasperated. sigh.]

First of all, if you don't want it to look suspicious, you should try to shoot for a gradual rise. Try to score, I don't know, above 60 this time? And then 80 next time? Save a full score for the finals!

Second of all, I can hypnotize you into looking at your notes and remembering them, but I can't just hypnotize you into acing the quiz. It's like programming a computer. I can't tell your brain to remember something it never learned in the first place.

[thuggish]

[ as an aside, ryuji would totally dispute their lack of bro status; they're guys who hang out together (by dint of having no-one else to hang out with, most of the time) who talk about girls (and how neither of them are ever landing a date). that's borderline bro-ness at worst.

why else but brohood would ryuji keep letting himself be the test subject? because he can't think of the best way to get that crystal off mishima without his brain shorting out?? ]

Okay, so the idea's fine. We just gotta iron out the kinks.

[ insufferably positive as ever, he leans back, shrugs his shoulders. ]

So I'll aim for a 60 and you'll make me memorise a textbook! Foolproof.

[kochan]

...I mean, I can try.

[though mishima sounds doubtful, this is exactly how he usually gets roped into sakamoto's plans (except when said plans involve girls, in which case mishima is just as enthusiastic as the idiot next to him). it's... probably fine to hypnotize ryuji into studying and memorizing the textbook, right? but what if they wind up hypnotizing him so much that he becomes a shade of the person he used to be? that would be creepy... like something from a horror manga. then again, sakamoto probably doesn't read horror manga.]

...Has your leg been better, by the way? No side effects?

[thuggish]

Yup! I don't remember what you did [ and he'd beat the shit out of mishima if he did. ] but whatever it is, it's working.

[ as if to demonstrate, ryuji gives his leg another experimental shake, again oblivious to the jolt of pain creeping its way up his skin. he's oblivious to a lot of things, these days, like how his mind exists in a delicate balance between mishima's urge to do good and mishima's urge to do evil. there's probably some sort of irony here about how gung-ho ryuji is about changing hearts. ]

Anyway, doesn't look like it? You've got me worrying you screwed with my head, man.

[ he laughs. funny joke, right? ha ha. no way would a relatively-okay-to-decent young man like mishima — a wimp like mishima, perhaps more to the point — would do something like that. and ryuji would definitely remember if he got tricked into doing anything weird. ]

[kochan]

Is there even anything in there to screw with?

[mishima is DUCKING PRE-EMPTIVELY because he's pretty sure ryuji is going to (gently?) punch him for that one —]

[thuggish]

[ HE IS! in fact, he's going for a light kick with his fixed-up leg, just for the poetic justice. hoist mishima by his own petard, that sort of thing. if ryuji was anywhere near that cultured. ]

Wanna say that again?

[kochan]

Hahaha!

[at least mishima's laughing about it. after he's finished dodging ryuji's blow — though he's aware that ryuji could have probably made that one connect if he really wanted to — mishima sits up straight, smiling just a little too much.]

Don't worry. I didn't do anything.

[it's heady and intoxicating, the power rush that mishima gets when he knows he can say that smoothly and know that it's a lie.]

I'm just trying to make sure I've hypnotized you properly. It's a lot more effort on my part than just saying stuff and hoping for the best, you know. That's why I don't really think it'll work if you try it on me.

[thuggish]

Well duh. Pretty sure I'd remember if you did.

[ he really has no idea. ]

Don't know if you noticed, but I'm pretty strong-willed, Sir.

[ and ryuji can't even try referring to mishima as such without laughing, though his tone remains teasing. it's plenty easy for his oblivious ass to assume they've descended back into the usual routine of ribbing on one another, a playful smirk as he rifles through his snacks and tosses mishima a bag of chips of his own. ]

Sure you're not just scared what I'd make you do? My mom's been whining at me to clean this place up, y'know. You could be my butler for the week.

[kochan]

[sir. the bag of chips hits mishima square in the face — if only because being called by that title suddenly makes mishima feel nervous. it makes him feel weird, like no one should ever call him that but it feels good for someone to call him that at the exact same time. even little kids don't call him sir. it's weird. strange. good.

he fumbles with the bag as it lands into his lap, and then pulls it open, trying to mask his sudden... what is this feeling? discomfort?]

I'm not gonna be anybody's butler! [huff.] I might try it if I got to wear a suit, though. Something really fancy. Ooh, and maybe I could have some cute maids as my coworkers...

[thuggish]

Oh, so that's what you're into? That's some classic stuff, my dude. Maybe if you work out this hypno stuff soon, I'll throw in a few maids for you.

[ needless to say, ryuji goes unaware of the cause of mishima's discomfort as mishima himself. instead comes another laugh he can't help at the other boy's expense, watching him flounder in typical form. that butler line musta really embarrassed him, huh? or so ryuji assumes, all the reason he needs to press that advantage, keep teasing.

one day he will stop using hypno like it's an actual word. ]

Sure I can't hypnotize you into being a maid? You can feed me grapes while I watch TV and be all "Here you go, Master Sakamoto-sama Sir ♥" or whatever.

[ ryuji's voice was never intended for such tones as to imply hearts, and for a moment he flusters before finding himself a can to crack open. ]

... Nah, that'd be kinda gay. I'll just make you think you're a dog or something.

[kochan]

...Yeah, that'd be really gay, dude.

[though mishima is at least somewhat aware that, of all the guys they know, he... yeah. he probably, objectively, looks the best in a maid uniform — even with his plain, unmemorable face, his smaller build probably sets everything off, right? there's no way in hell he would ever put one on just for people to laugh at him in it, though...

a-anyway, there are other things to talk about! better things. normal dudebro talk. like... what was it sakamoto wanted, again? ah, right. hypnosis studying. mishima pops a chip into his mouth and crunches around it as he talks, though he's careful enough not to spray crumbs all over the floor.]

...Anyway, you really want me to do it? Hypnotize you into studying for Mr. Hiruta's exam?

[thuggish]

Whatever. You've probably thought up weirder stuff.

[ the image of mishima as a maid is one ryuji never knew how much he didn't need. thought alone's going to give him nightmares for weeks, if not months. maybe he can ask mishima to just blast the memory out of his mind somewhere down the line? letting the guy have that much control over him sounds like a real recipe for disaster though...

better to resume their regular programming before things get weird. in which mishima's manners are wasted on ryuji, who casually chugs more soda than any decent man should before setting it down at his side. hypnosis studying has one major upside compared to the regular kind: he doesn't need to be awake to get all that supposedly-vital knowledge he's gonna need to get out of high school. ]

Sure do! C'mon, hit me. I wanna feel like a genius when I wake up.

[kochan]

[which is more gay: imagining your classmate as a maid feeding you grapes and calling you "master," or hypnotizing your classmate into licking your shoes like a dog? mmmm, they're gonna need a third-party judge for this one...

hesitating a moment, mishima sets his mostly-untouched bag of chips aside and then wipes his hands on his pants.]

Okay. We'll give it a shot.

[suddenly mishima wishes that he had a better mechanic for pulling out The Pendulum. as it is, he just kind of has to... pull it out of his pockets. technically, he doesn't even need this anymore, but ryuji expects to see it, so it's better for mishima to keep up the disguise while it's still necessary.]

...W-Wait, just to confirm, are you okay with waking up, uh... about an hour later? Or however long it'll take you to read the textbook?

[thuggish]

[ the part where ryuji nearly popped a boner over said shoe-licking throws a spanner in things to boot (get it). though they're gonna need a judge anyway if what they've got going on here ever gets out. sure is some tricksy legal territory though; does this count as ryuji giving permission to let mishima mess him up as he pleases? are there laws for turning people in your helpless hypno victims?? all questions he never bothered to ask. ]

Oh, uh...

[ it says something, no doubt, for what a damn good subject ryuji is that he's already following The Pendulum's arc with his eyes before mishima just has to butt in. he can't help himself. he has on every level convinced himself a cheap bit of jewelery tied on a string can turn his mind into mush. it's a little too late to take back control now.

had ryuji even the slightest suspicion that mishima had considered using his powers for evil, the thought of being under his spell for so long might give him pause. unfortunately, he doesn't, so his response is a disinterested shrug and: ]

Eh, sure. I don't care if it takes us two hours, so long as it works.

[kochan]

...Alright.

[there's something odd, again, about mishima's smile, and maybe if ryuji was just the slightest bit sharper, he'd notice it. maybe if he wasn't quite so trusting, so unguarded around fragile, spineless, pathetic mishima, he'd be able to get himself out of this.

but this is the devil's pact he's forged, and in this situation, mishima gets to feel like the smiling devil.

he lifts the pendulum — or rather The Pendulum, that wonderful, sparkling distraction — by its crystal, taking a moment to clear his throat and work himself into his hypnotist's voice.]

We'll do it like last time, okay? Focus your attention on the crystal, and take deep breaths...

[thuggish]

[ any chance of escape that required some modicum of sense on ryuji's part was already a lost cause, even before command of his mind was surrendered over to a weirdo of mishima's ilk. he sees that smile tugging the corners of the other boy's lips. he sees it, and as per usual thinks nothing at all.

then he sees The Pendulum swing and something in ryuji just melts. ]

... You sound real creepy when you talk like that, dude. You know that...?

[ tough words, from a boy already giving the crystal his undivided attention. because just as before, ryuji wants to be hypnotized — even more than before, now he knows that it works. now that some part of him he doesn't realise is there remains yet entranced, but a word away from dragging him back into dreamland.

with a sigh, he exhales. in, out, left, right, ryuji's posture already relaxed, eyes close to half-lidded. ]