“Thank you so much, Ohno-sensei! The painting is perfect!”

Ohno nodded and smiled gently at the woman before him. As she continued to gush over his latest commission that was currently on the easel, Ohno took out his wand and and mumbled a small spell that would protect the painting against any sort of damage.

The frame glowed a faint light blue before returning back to normal. Ohno slipped his wand back into his pocket.

“There, now it’s finished,” he said when he turned back to his client. She looked at him with delight in her eyes, and he had to hold back a small flinch when he saw her tear up.

When he had first entered the industry of painting magical portraits for the deceased a few years ago, the crying clients were his biggest problem. At first, Ohno didn’t know how to react to the crying ones, the ones that would weep or sob loudly when they saw the final product. Now that he had been in the industry for a few years, he had gotten better at handling the more… emotional clients. Despite that, Ohno was still at a loss if he had clients that just outright bawled in front of him. He had never been good at dealing with crying people, especially women.

“Thank you so much,” his client said again as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief she took from her pocket. Ohno shook his head at her and gave her a bow when she summoned a bag of coins in the mid-air. “Your payment, Ohno-sensei.”

“Thank you,” Ohno replied kindly and took the bag. He took out his wand again, gave it a little twirl while mumbling the spell, and the bag disappeared with a whoosh! He turned back to her and gave her another small bow. “Please let me know if there seems to be anything defunct with the portrait. I’ll come and take a look at it.”

Ohno apparated out of the house grounds. When he appeared again, he was standing in front of a traditional Japanese home. He brushed the dust off of his clothes and headed for the gates. Ohno placed his hand on the iron gates of his home and sent a blast of magic on it, watching as sparks of blue energy filled them. He took a step back and waited for a few seconds before the gate glowed with the colour of his magic before it faded back to its regular black colouring. Ohno stepped forward and walked right through the gates.

The Ohno family home looked the same as when he last left it—the only new addition were the sunflowers planted near the entrance doors. Ohno walked towards the front door with quick steps because he knew that the gate would have already notified his family of his arrival.

Normally, Ohno would apparate home after working on a commission for a client outside of town (which was often), but since his last client lived in Kyoto, Ohno decided to visit and stay at his family home for a couple of days before going back to Tokyo. When he reached the front doorstep, the doors flew open to reveal his nephew and niece who cheered when they saw their uncle.

“Uncle Satoshi is here! Uncle Satoshi is here!” they cheered happily and tackled him in a hug. Ohno chuckled and bent down to wrap his arms around them.

“Hi, Yuka-chan! Hi, Souta-kun! What are you guys doing here?” he asked when he released them, looking at the twins in amusement. They grinned at him.

“We heard Uncle Satoshi was in Kyoto!” Yuka exclaimed excitedly. “We wanted to see you!”

Ohno laughed and pinched the little girl’s cheek. “I see. Well, Uncle Satoshi is going to be here for a few days. Want to show me your magic?”

The twins cheered in excitement and each child grabbed one of his hands and began to pull him inside. They dragged him all the way to the kitchen where his mother was making dinner. The twins sent him beaming smiles and made him promise to come see them after Grandma Ohno was done talking to him. Apparently, she was the one who had sent them to greet him at the door, with strict orders to bring him to the kitchen immediately.

“Satoshi! You're home!” his mother exclaimed happily and dropped the carrot she was holding to run over to him for a hug.

“Hello, mother,” Ohno greeted and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I feel like it's been ages since I've last seen you!” she said wistfully. “You need to visit us more often.” She sent him a frustrated look and Ohno chuckled sheepishly.

“Sorry, mother, but you know I can’t do that. Jun and Sho’s work is in Tokyo.”

“Why can’t they relocate to Kyoto instead? We have much stronger magic over here.”

Ohno just smiled and shook his head at her. This wasn’t the first time they had this conversation. Ohno found it interesting that his mother had no problem that he was in a relationship with two wizards—male wizards at that—but she hated that he moved far away from his ancestral home.

Ohno would never ask his lovers to move to Kyoto—he knew how much they loved their jobs. Unlike them, Ohno could live almost anywhere to do his art. He could apparate wherever he wanted for his commissions, and could go back home in the blink of an eye. Not that Sho and Jun couldn’t do the same to get to work from Kyoto, but since those two hardly ever got a proper night of sleep—especially Sho—Ohno didn’t think it would be a good idea for them to be using so much energy every single morning and evening. Ohno didn’t have trouble being away from his hometown. He had studied at a boarding school located in a secret ground hidden in Mount Fuji, meaning he had never made any friends in his native Kyoto—or anywhere, really, he was kind of a loner when he was younger. Sho and Jun had an active social life, and most of their friends and relatives lived in Tokyo.

“We just bought that house I told you about some months ago,” Ohno said with a smile. “Jun adores it. I’m thinking of modifying one of the rooms to give him a walk-in closet. He has a separate closet right now but it doesn’t seem to be enough for all his clothes. I already let Sho-chan take one room to do his research, so I guess it’s fair, right? Although, we gave Sho-chan that room because Jun was tired of him leaving trails of paper all over the house.”

“It sounds like they really like it over there,” Ohno’s mother commented.

“Oh, they do!” Ohno exclaimed. “It would break my heart to make them part with a house they love so much… and after such a short time of living there!”

Ohno’s mother narrowed her eyes at him. “I see what you’re trying,” she said with a small laugh. “Fair enough. I won’t ask you to move here for their sakes, but you have to visit us more often! I haven’t seen my sons-in-law in a while either. Can’t you convince them to take a little vacation?”

Ohno winced. “You know they hate that word.”

“I remember.” Ohno’s mother laughed. She still remembered how antsy Sho and Jun got the last time they were in Tokyo when Ohno’s father “accidentally” misplaced their phones, leaving them with no way to communicate with their co-workers, even though they were supposed to be on vacation. Jun was so close to having a panic attack that Ohno had to convince his father to return Jun’s phone. Sho spent a couple of hours calming Jun down in their room—Ohno wasn’t allowed to enter because Jun accused him of being responsible for what happened.

“I’d like them to take it easier,” Ohno sighed, “but they’re both such workaholics that it’s hard. And with me travelling out for work so often, it’s difficult to tell them to take it easy sometimes.”

His mother patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sure they miss you very much when you’re out of town.”

Ohno nodded, giving her a light smile. “They do. They complain about it constantly.” Sometimes it was even hard to get out of bed early in the morning because Sho wouldn’t let him go (if he woke up too), and Jun would grumble and glare at him the entire time. Maybe I should start looking for commissions closer to home for now? he thought to himself.

“Well, you’re all grown boys, I can’t tell you how to live your lives,” his mother said, moving back to the counter to continue chopping the carrot. “Just visit us more often, okay?”

Ohno chuckled. “Yes, mother, I’ll try my best.”

“So how are they?” his mother asked, not looking up from what she was doing on the cutting board. Ohno took a seat at the dinner table and placed his chin on his hands, watching her.

“Sho-kun and Jun-kun?” Ohno asked.

“Yes. Are they healthy?”

Ohno shrugged. “Jun-kun keeps us in shape. If it wasn’t for him, Sho-kun would probably eat too much.” Not that Ohno minded. He thought Sho was adorable with the extra weight, making his cheeks puffier, even if Sho often bemoaned that fact. Jun told him to either lose the weight or quit bitching. Ohno knew that Jun liked the extra weight Sho had gained though (if the constant rubbing of his tummy when they cuddled was anything to go by).

“Yes, that boy rather likes food, doesn’t he?” His mother giggled. Ohno grinned and nodded. “Though, the last time they were here, they were quite jumpy too.” She sent him a wary look. “You haven’t gotten into trouble lately, have you, Satoshi? I know you, and you can get into some of the weirdest situations. Those poor boys.”

Ohno pouted. “No, mother! Why is it my fault?”

“Satoshi, you have one heck of a magical talent. Weird things will happen when you’re around or casting magic.”

“That doesn’t always happen…” Ohno denied hesitantly. His mother rolled her eyes.

“Wasn’t that how you met Sakurai-kun and Matsumoto-kun?” his mother asked.

It was.

Ohno’s first meeting with the pair had been a few years ago when he was experimenting with his magical portraits. He had wanted to create a tridimensional portrait that could move of its own accord, using a spell he had casted once for a school project. The spell had worked perfectly, just like he had expected. The problem was that the family forgot to mention that the guy in the portrait was a complete psychopath. To be fair, perhaps they ignored it too, although that seemed unlikely.

Somehow, the tridimensional piece Ohno had created escaped from their home. It terrorized the town, wreaking havoc and summoning monsters from other dimensions. Ohno was certain that it shouldn’t be able to do that, but he was unaware at the time that the deceased he painted was actually a dark wizard, and that thanks to a forbidden spell they had mastered, their soul was able to come back and possess the portrait Ohno made. It was a very unfortunate coincidence that Ohno had happened to experiment with tridimensional art on that particular piece that day.

As the person responsible for what had happened, Ohno tried his best to keep the situation under control. It was working quite well until a reporter appeared out of nowhere, rushing straight to the middle of the battle grounds. Ohno’s opponent changed their strategy and attacked the reporter. It happened so fast that Ohno wasn’t able to do anything to save the man. However, just when he had thought that everything would turn for the worse, a man who was wearing a Magical Defense Unit (MDU) uniform appeared and created a barrier around the reporter. The distraction gave Ohno enough time to attack back and eventually destroy the portrait.

When he went to check on the two men, he found them arguing. The reporter was getting lectured by his companion, who seemed to be quite furious. At first, Ohno thought him to be angry, but upon closer observation, it was clear that he was simply worried. Ohno didn’t know if he should approach them, but he had to thank the man in the MDU uniform.

“You are such an idiot!” The MDU agent shouted. The reporter made several attempts to defend himself but the agent continued to yell at him, not once letting the reporter speak. As Ohno watched, he could see the reporter getting more and more annoyed until he snapped.

“Jun, for fuck’s sakes!” the reporter cried before grabbing the agent by his robes and pulled him in for a kiss. Ohno’s eyes had widened as he watched them kiss in the middle of the field. The kiss had turned from passionate to somewhat desperate as the agent wrapped an arm around the reporter and pulled him closer. Ohno looked around, but there wasn’t anyone else in the area except for him. Should I introduce myself now…? Ohno thought with a frown.

When the couple pulled apart, the agent had spotted him first. Ohno had never seen someone turn crimson red so fast before. It looks pretty on him, Ohno thought, before the reporter followed his lover’s eyes and spotted him too. He had to keep himself from laughing when he saw the two scramble apart, trying to put an arm’s distance between them.

The agent coughed, his face still red, before schooling his features into a serious expression and marched up to Ohno. The reporter followed his partner, looking curiously at Ohno.

Ohno lifted a hand and gave them a small wave. “Yo.”

“You saw all that?” the agent asked, blushing madly. He cleared his throat. “Ah. Sorry about that.”

“What were you doing there by the way?” the reporter asked not unkindly.

Ohno began to think. Was it a good idea to confess to the two, especially to the pretty MDU agent, that he was the one responsible for the whole fiasco? “Ah, well…” Ohno paused, trying to find the right words to say. The two men eyed him suspiciously, as if they knew that he was hiding something. He sighed and decided to tell them the truth.

It hadn’t been the best strategy. The agent immediately handcuffed him and started dragging him towards a building which seemed to be the MDU’s headquarters. The reporter followed them, asking a thousand questions in spite of his partner’s warning to stay away from there.

Agent Matsumoto Jun—that was the name of the pretty man who arrested him—interrogated Ohno for almost two hours. Not that their actual conversation lasted that long, since Agent Matsumoto’s reporter boyfriend kept trying to barge into the interrogation room. “Sho-kun, why don’t you go back to your office?” Agent Matsumoto said, glaring at him. Ohno found Agent Matsumoto quite intimidating, but it seemed that his glare had no effect on his boyfriend. Eventually, the head of the department came and invited Matsumoto’s lover to have dinner with him—food seemed to be the only thing that could keep him away from there.

Ohno didn’t have much trouble once he was able to explain the circumstances. He was still required to do community service for two months, and to fix the mess he had caused. Both Agent Matsumoto and his lover, Sakurai Sho, came to see him almost every day during those two months. While Jun kept his distance at first, trying to act serious and proper, Sho didn’t have any qualms about asking him personal questions. Both of them were doing their duty: Jun acting as an agent, and Sho as the star reporter from the local newspaper.

With the pass of time, however, their attitudes changed. They opened up to Ohno slowly, telling him about their day, and their hobbies and interests. Sho had opened up to him first, easily telling him about his job and the plans he had for the week. Ohno found him easy to talk to, even though Ohno didn’t actually talk that much. Sho didn’t seem to mind that.

Agent Matsumoto had been a little more difficult, but Ohno found that he had eventually eased up around him, and the conversation between them became more and more easier. Ohno quite liked the contrasting (but similar) personalities they had.

Eventually, Ohno found himself falling for them. When he had first discovered his feelings for the both of them close to the end of his community service, Ohno didn’t know what to do. Of course, he had no plans to interfere in their relationship—he wasn’t like that. Ohno knew that it was probably best to say good bye and go his separate way from them, but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to leave them.

To his surprise, the couple had asked him to join them for lunch one day, after he had completed his community service. He found it strange, since he usually met them separately. He had a bad feeling about the situation, especially when he arrived at the restaurant and spotted them sitting together at a table quietly. They weren’t talking to each other and Jun had a very serious face on, almost bordering on angry. Sho, on the other hand, was fidgeting constantly as he talked to Ohno and avoided eye contact with both of them.

Ohno thought that he had caused a misunderstanding between them. He was wrong. When Jun finally spoke, he said the last thing Ohno had been expecting to hear that afternoon:

“Look, the thing is… we both like you.” Jun’s cheeks turned red as he uttered the words. “It’s weird, I know, and you might think us crazy but… it’s the truth. We just wanted to tell you that, even if we have no idea what to do about it.”

Ohno had to admit that it was the strangest love confession he had ever gotten in his life. The response he gave them turned out to be just as strange though. “Well, I could date both of you,” he suggested lightly. His tone was so natural that he surprised himself. Where the heck did that come from? Ohno thought to himself as he examined Jun and Sho’s shocked expressions.

“Okay,” Sho replied, breaking the deafening silence that had fallen over them. Jun sent him an incredulous glance. “I… I think that could be good, don’t you, Macchan?”

Jun grumbled at the nickname—that’s cute, Ohno thought. “Well… I guess we could give it a try,” he eventually said.

It had been a little awkward at first, especially with the addition of a third person. Sho and Jun hadn’t been together for too long either, so they were still getting used to each other. The two of them had strong personalities and they tended to clash at times, especially when Sho refused to follow Jun’s recommendations regarding his personal safety. Ohno ended up acting as a mediator between them most of the time, unless the topic about his constant trips out of town for work came up.

Somehow, they made it work. The last two years had been the happiest of Ohno’s life.

“I don’t regret what happened that time, mother,” Ohno said with a shrug. “I think it’s the best accident I’ve ever had.”

Ohno’s mother shook her head fondly at him. “As long as you never cause anything similar again…”

“I won’t! I’m very careful with my work!” Ohno pouted.

“Oh, I know you are, dear,” Ohno’s mother said kindly. “So… how long will you be here?”

Ohno shrugged. “I don’t know… I think one week should be fine.”

His mother hummed, before looking again at him. “Will your Sakurai-kun and Matsumoto-kun allow that?”

“I’ll send them a hologram later,” Ohno replied. “They can’t stop me from visiting family, right?”

His mother laughed. “No they can’t, but they will probably miss you.”

Ohno grinned. “I’ll miss them too, but it’s only a week. What could possibly go wrong?”


Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, Sho and Jun were facing a huge dilemma. Actually, it was more like Jun was having two problems: the prankster god, and his boyfriend, who wouldn’t stay put no matter how many times he told him to.

“No, Sho!” Jun exclaimed for the nth time that afternoon. Sho scoffed at him and crossed his arms. They had returned to Jun’s office after apparating from Aiba’s place when the god had disappeared. Jun had gone into full panic mode and had tried to track the god down, but it was futile. He was gone. After yelling at Aiba for summoning random gods from a different plane, Jun had grabbed Sho (he knew how his boyfriend could get), and apparated them back to his workplace to plan what he was going to do next.

Jun knew he couldn’t let the god on the loose in Japan like this. There’s no way we know what he would do, Jun thought with a grimace as Sho fidgeted in front of him. Jun had planned to send out a search party using his team, and Sho had piped up, saying he wanted to go. But Jun refused. He had put his foot down for this and there was no way in hell Sho was coming along. It was too dangerous.

When Jun gathered his unit at the apparating grounds, Sho was still beside him sulking.

“I don’t get why I can’t go!” Sho whined, crossing his arms in annoyance. “Think about what everyone would say if I got the scoop on this, Jun! I bet nobody else knows about Nino yet! I can’t waste this chance!”

Jun glared at him. “You and your damn scoops, Sho. It’s too dangerous!”

“I can take care of myself!” Sho exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in annoyance. He vaguely registered that the other members of the MDU were watching them in curiosity, but he didn’t care. Sho wanted to go.

Jun sighed and shook his head. “I can’t let you do that, Sho.”

Sho narrowed his eyes at him before crossing his arms again and looked away with a pout. Jun frowned at his lover’s back before turning back to his team, who were all silently watching the two lovers’ exchange.

“Right, so I think we should go as a group for this mission,” Jun said, “I think this would be the best and safest option for us. Who knows what this god has up their sleeves?”

“Do you have any idea where they may have headed, lieutenant?” Toma asked, raising a hand.

Jun frowned. “I don’t, but we can try searching in Shibuya first before we head elsewhere. The god shouldn’t have gone that far, right?” His team shook their heads. “Right, let’s all apparate together. Then we can split off into pairs.”

A chorus of Yes sir! filled the air and Jun nodded. As Jun held his hands out for his team to take, Jun turned his head around to look at Sho, who was still pouting. “Stay out of trouble,” Jun warned him. “I don’t want to see you getting hurt or being anywhere near that god.”

Sho glowered at him. “I’m not a child.”

“No,” Jun said pointedly, “but you get in trouble like one.” Turning his head back to his team, Jun looked at their faces before nodding. “Okay I’m going to do it now.”

As Jun activated the spell for the group apparation, he didn’t notice until the last second that Sho had managed to sneak up to him. When he felt the pull of the spell, Sho immediately wrapped his arms around Jun tightly, attaching himself to Jun’s back. Jun let out an enraged cry before the group disappeared.

Once they appeared at their destination, Jun turned to face Sho. He seemed to be alright, smiling triumphantly at Jun. It was a relief that he had managed to apparate in one piece since the chance of him splinching was high in that situation. Jun’s heart was still racing at the thought of what could have happened in that moment.

“Jun?” Sho tilted his head. Jun stared into those round eyes, and couldn’t help thinking that, had Sho taken just one second longer or if he hadn’t concentrated enough, he might not even be looking at him in that moment. Not that splinching was always fatal, but what if it was this time? What if the damage couldn’t be restored? Just thinking that Sho could have gone through a lot of pain was terrifying. “Jun—”

The hand Sho had lifted to touch Jun met mid-air when Jun turned around and stormed off. He could hear Sho calling his name, but he didn’t stop. He was so mad, not only at Sho for doing something stupid but also at himself for not noticing until it was too late. He should have known Sho would try something like that. Instead of apparating with his team, he should have made sure Sho was in a safe place before leaving. Sho didn’t splinch, thankfully, but now he was right where Jun hadn’t wanted him to be in the first place. Sho was still in danger, and it was Jun’s fault.

Angry tears were pooling in Jun’s eyes. Not now, damn it, Jun grumbled, clenching his fists and trying his best to hold back. There was no way he would cry with his team hanging around in the area. Sometimes he hated his tendency to get emotional over such things. He bit his lip hard when he felt the first tears dampening the corners of his eyes and wiped them furiously.

“Jun! Wait!” Sho’s voice said from a far. He caught up to Jun when he turned around the corner, behind an abandoned building. Jun’s team members were nowhere to be seen. They were alone then.

Jun took a deep breath before stopping. He didn’t turn to face Sho. “What?” he asked, making sure to sound as cold as possible. There was no response. “What?” he asked again. This time he didn’t even have to fake his annoyance.

“Macchan…”

“Don’t. Macchan. Me.” Jun groaned. He glared at Sho over his shoulder. “Do you even realize what you just did? Do you have any idea of what could have happened?”

“I—”

“You could have gotten seriously injured. Heck, you could have even died!” Jun snapped at him. He turned towards Sho, burning with anger.

Sho’s eyes widened. “That’s not true!” he protested. “It’s highly unlikely that something—”

“I don’t care if it’s unlikely or not! You could have been hurt! How could I ever forgive myself if you had gotten hurt, eh?” Jun sniffed. He cursed between his teeth when he felt some wetness in his cheeks. “I have failed at protecting you. Now you’re here, in danger, and I just—”

Sho kissed him. Jun stiffened and tried to push Sho away, but his lover held onto him tightly. Jun struggled for a few seconds before finally giving in. He closed his eyes and melted under Sho’s touch. He parted his lips when he felt Sho’s tongue probing against them for entrance, moaning as he let it slip inside his mouth. His anger subsided slowly while Sho deepened their kiss. His thoughts about what could have happened were momentarily ignored as Sho wounded his arms around his neck, pulling him closer. When they pulled apart, Sho moved to rest his face on Jun’s chest.

“Jun. MatsuJun. Macchan,” Sho said, rubbing Jun’s back slowly. “You are not responsible for my wellbeing.” Jun tensed and pulled back to yell at him again but Sho clamped a hand over Jun’s mouth to silence him. “I wasn’t finished,” Sho said, ignoring Jun’s grumbling. He removed his hand and wrapped his arm around Jun, holding him tight. “Jun, you’re not responsible for my well-being. I appreciate it, I really do, but you can’t protect me from everything. And what about Satoshi-kun?”

Jun sighed and squeezed Sho back, letting his head rest on Sho’s shoulder, unable to hide an amused smile when his chin slipped. “I don’t have to worry about Satoshi-kun, but you?” Jun pulled back to look at him directly. “I worry too fucking much. You always throw yourself into danger, and I hate it!”

Sho shook his head and reached up to hold Jun’s face in his hands. “Jun, it’s my job. I know what I do isn’t smart sometimes—” Jun snorted. “But this is what I do. You need to respect that.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Jun scowled and pinched Sho on the butt, making the other man jump. “Honestly, you drive me out of my mind sometimes.”

“I know,” Sho said apologetically, “and I’m sorry. But you can’t stop me, Jun.”

Jun sighed in defeat. “I know I can’t.” He couldn’t. Jun could try, but Sho would always find a way. He wasn’t a Sakurai for nothing.

“Tell you what,” Sho said, caressing Jun’s cheeks with his thumb. “I’ll let you know where I’m going next time if something big or dangerous happens, and you can cast all the protective spells and charms on me if you wish. Just…” Sho bit his lips and shook his head. “Just don’t restrict me, okay? I’m a grown man too. Jun, I can take care of myself.”

“I doubt that,” Jun muttered but sighed. “Fine. But if you ever get the ‘scoop’ on anything dangerous again, I’m going with you.”

Sho nodded, beaming up at him. “No problem!” he said and kissed Jun’s cheek.

They walked back to the front of the building, where Jun’s team members were still waiting. All of them pretended to be serious, but Jun could see the glint of curiosity in their eyes. He’d have to deal with their interrogation later for sure.

“Lieutenant,” Nana said with a smirk.

Jun cleared his throat. Well, that was embarrassing. “I believe it’s best if we separate in pairs now. We’ll cover more ground this way,” he said. “Sho-kun, you’re coming with me.” Eita whistled at that, making the others laugh. Jun frowned. “What are you still doing here? Go!”

“Yes, sir!” His team barked before dispersing. Sho stepped up next to Jun and grabbed his hand.

“So where to, Agent Matsumoto?” Sho asked teasingly. Jun rolled his eyes but squeezed Sho’s hand. If he wasn't careful, Sho might run off again.

“Let's head back this way,” Jun said, turning around. “We can cover this area first.” As he was about to break out into a jog, he paused and turned towards Sho again. Sho looked at him in confusion.

“What?” Sho asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. “I didn't do anything!”

Jun took out his hand and placed it over Sho’s head, chanting two protective spells (and one tracking spell) in succession. Sho’s body glowed yellow, then green, and finally red. Sho looked at him in unamusement.

“Was that tracking spell necessary?” he asked dryly, watching Jun pocket his wand.

“It's necessary for my peace of mind,” Jun deadpanned. “Now, come on. We need to find this prankster.”

After an unsuccessful search party around Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Akihabara, Jun had decided to regroup and head over to Aiba’s house to see if their friend had any information about the god. To Jun’s utter horror, Aiba told them that Nino had disappeared and he had no clue where the small god had gone.

“What do you mean you don’t know where he is?!”

“I’m sorry, MatsuJun! But he just disappeared without a trace!”

“AIBA MASAKI, DO YOU KNOW HOW SERIOUS THIS IS?!”

Jun’s team watched their lieutenant yell at the other wizard in anger. It was the first time they had actually seen him lose his cool. At work, he was always calm and collected—very in control of what he did. To see him lose his temper, and overall act so unlike the Lieutenant they knew at work was… fascinating.

“MatsuJun! It’s not so bad—” Aiba tried to placate him. Jun glared at him and grabbed the front of Aiba’s shirt.

“Not bad? Not bad?! Masaki, there’s a fucking prankster god on the loose and I’ve already received reports from my superiors about strange happenings in other cities! How is this not so bad?!” he asked hysterically.

“Wait— what strange happenings?!” Sho piped up, looking surprised. “How come you never—”

“Not the time, Sho!” Jun growled, trying to push him away. Sho refused to budge and pulled on Jun’s arm, giving him a disappointed look.

“My scoop, Jun! My scoop!”

“Can your damn scoop wait for a minute?!” Jun snapped at him, still holding onto Aiba’s shirt. Sho gasped at him, offended by Jun’s attitude.

“Jun! Scoops never wait! I need to be there! I need to know!”

“Oh for—”

“Lieutenant!” Shun cried, running over to them. “I just received a message from headquarters! They spotted strange happenings in Osaka!”

Jun cursed and released his hold on Aiba. “Let’s go! Hopefully we can catch him then.”

“I’m coming too!” Aiba yelled, running after the agents. Sho made an excited noise, but Jun just looked at him in exasperation. Aiba wagged his finger in front of Jun’s face. “I actually know his powers, and I can help! The more people the better, right?”

“He’s got a point!” Eita yelled.

Jun sighed before turning to look at Aiba with a stern expression. “Fine. But when you find him, you better. Tell. Me.”

Aiba nodded frantically and gave him a salute. Sho snickered beside him. Sighing again, Jun gestured for him to follow.

“Come on.”

As they made their way towards Jun’s team, Aiba watched in amusement as his two friends began squabbling about something, even though they were both holding hands the whole time. He grinned.

“You guys haven’t changed at all!”

They stopped in their tracks, and Aiba had to hold onto Jun’s shoulder to prevent himself from slamming into him.

“What do you mean?” Jun asked. They were now walking slowly to the team, who were getting into their places for the group apparation.

“You guys haven’t changed since we were teenagers,” Aiba explained as they got closer to the team. “It’s cute! The way you guys would always argue over the smallest things back then. But at least now you guys know you love each other!” Aiba let out a laugh when both of their faces turned red.

“What— what?!” Sho exclaimed at him with wide eyes. Aiba elbowed him lightly.

“You guys say I love you, no?” Sho nodded, his face turning redder. Jun let out a small cough. Aiba grinned. Teasing them was fun. “You guys are exactly the same from when we were kids. The only difference is that you guys say I love you to each other now!” It was Sho’s turn to cough in embarrassment this time and Aiba couldn’t help but notice how red their faces got.

Jun glared at him, his cheeks still flushed. He cleared his throat and turned to his team who were pretending not to smile at the trio. “Right!” Jun barked, grabbed Sho’s and Aiba’s hand in his. “Let’s go. And Masaki, please don’t talk anymore.”

They all disappeared with a crack to their destination.


The next day, Ohno decided to head to the local park in their neighbourhood. After teaching his nephew and niece some magic spells that morning, he wanted to do some sketching. Setting up his art supplies around him on the grass, Ohno leaned against the tree and opened his sketchbook to a new page.

Ohno didn't often get to work on art outside of his commissions. It was true that he constantly painted, but it was always something that he never did for himself. Ohno liked his job, be sometimes he wished he could draw whatever he wanted.

As he continued sketching the trees, the birds, and the people in the park, his phone rang, indicating that he received a hologram. Putting his pencil down, Ohno reached over to grab the phone from his bag. It was from Sho! Ohno pressed open.

His phone glowed blue once before an image of Sho appeared on top of the screen in the air.

“Hi Satoshi-kun!” Sho greeted cheerfully, giving him a wave. Ohno couldn’t help but smile back—Sho’s smiles were infectious. However, it looked a little strained. Ohno frowned at that. “I hope you're doing well in Kyoto. Say hello to your mother for us. Remember to eat properly, and take breaks when you’re working okay? Or else Jun will be mad!” Sho narrowed his eyes playfully at him before chuckling. It sounded more nervous that anything else, and that got Ohno narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Everything is okay here. Same old as usual. Call us when you get the chance!” Sho waved at the screen. “See you in several days! Love you!”

The hologram cut out, asking him if he wanted to replay the message again. Ohno blinked at it before closing the app before dialing Sho’s number. It rang a few times before he was asked to record a hologram. Ohno frowned. He ended the call and pressed for Jun’s number next. He met the same fate. “Are they busy?” Ohno mumbled, closing the phone and putting it down on the grass beside him.

He returned back to his drawing, but he kept getting distracted. It was weird. Generally it was easy to get a hold of one or the other if one didn’t pick up their phone. The fact that both men didn’t answer his calls was worrying. Ohno sighed and placed his sketchbook to the side and picked up his phone again. He dialed Sho’s number again and waited for it to prompt him for a hologram.

“Hey Sho-kun, it’s Satoshi,” Ohno greeted, once the screen flashed, indicating that it was recording his message. “Thanks for the hologram. I’m doing well. Mom and everyone else are doing great. She asked after you guys. Call me when you get the chance, okay?” He bit his lips, not knowing what to say next. Finally, “I love you guys. Stay out of trouble! Bye!” He gave a small wave before ending the recording and sent it.

When he placed his phone back on the grass, he heard a rustle above him. He snapped his head up… nothing. Looking forward again, Ohno frowned. He was sure there was someone up there. Looking around warily, Ohno turned back to his sketchbook.

Rustle. Rustle.

Ohno froze.

Rustle. Rustle.

Grabbing his wand from his pocket, Ohno looked around cautiously. “Who’s there?” he asked quietly, eyes darting up and down and side to side. He didn’t detect anyone’s presence, but he knew there was someone in his immediate surroundings. Narrowing his eyes, Ohno wordlessly casted a spell that would tell him if there was any unusual magical activity around him. Ohno watched as a blue ring circled him before spreading out rapidly.

Nothing.

Frowning to himself, Ohno crossed his arms. Strange.

Rustle. Rustle.

Ohno quickly turned around and held his wand out at the intruder.

He did not expect to see a young man in his early twenties to be staring back at him with a grin from behind a tree.

Ohno blinked and then straightened up, his wand pointing to the floor. The man kept the grin on his face as he moved away from the tree to walk closer to him. Ohno kept his eyes on him, not knowing what he was going to do. He chenched his hand around his wand, eyes staying on the man as he circled him in amusement. When the man stopped directly in front of him, he let out a snicker.

“You’re interesting!” The man said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Yes, very interesting indeed.”

Ohno didn’t say anything, just watched as the man smiled up at him. He narrowed his eyes when the man came closer, almost a few inches away from his face.

“Hmmm…” The man took a step back and continued walking away from him backwards. Ohno looked at him in confusion. What was—

A flash and suddenly Ohno saw a spell was flung his way. Ohno immediately threw his wand up and created a barrier, making the spell bounce off into the air. Looking at the man in bewilderment, Ohno threw a spell back at him. The man laughed and waved his hands. A barrier formed in front of him and when the spell hit the barrier it was absorbed inside.

Ohno gaped at that. How was that possible? Narrowing his eyes, Ohno began to throw spells at the stranger in quick succession, one spell right after another. Most of the spells he sent the man’s way were entrapment and chaining spells, designed to keep someone in one spot, unable to move. None of the spells were able to hit, the barrier that the man had created out of thin air with his hands kept absorbing them.

“Woah! Woah! Stop!” the man yelled, holding his hands up when Ohno was about to throw another spell at him. “Truce! Truce!” Ohno narrowed his eyes put puts his wand down. “Wow!” the man exclaimed in shock. “You’re good!”

“Who are you?” Ohno finally asked.

“Just call me Nino,” he said, giving him a cheeky grin.

“Well, Nino, how can I help you today?”

“I like you,” Nino said, grinning at him as he circled Ohno. “Your magic is—woah!”

Ohno immediately chained him with his strongest binding spell, watching as the chains wrapped around the man thrice, sealing his limbs in place. Nino cried out in anger, as he tried to move, but it was futile. He couldn’t.

“How dare you!” Nino shouted, glaring at Ohno angrily.

“You’re not normal,” Ohno said sharply, “I can sense the magic around you, and I’ve never felt anything like that before.” Ohno looked at him suspiciously. “What are you?”

Ohno didn’t get any response though, because Nino was just staring at him dumbfoundedly. A little taken aback by this, Ohno took a few steps back.

“Your magic,” Nino said dreamily after a minute or so. “Your magic feels amazing.”

What? “What?” Ohno repeated out loud.

“I'm not attracted to you, don't be so smug,” Nino said, rolling his eyes. “I like the way your magic feels.”

“How can you feel my magic?” Ohno asked in curiosity as he took a step closer to him.

“I feel magic in everything.”

Ohno quirked a brow at him. “What do you mean?”

“Let me out of this and I’ll explain.”

Ohno looked at him warily. He didn’t trust Nino one bit. He could feel a massive amount of magic swirling around the man, and it wasn’t familiar in any way. Ohno wasn’t sure it was a good idea to release him.

Nino sighed. “I won’t hurt you,” he said. Ohno frowned, still looking unconvinced. “Fine. I’ll make a promise to you.”

Ohno looked at him in surprise. “A promise?”

Nino nodded, sending him a grin. “Yes, a pact.” Suddenly, the man started glowing yellow. Nino let out a small sigh before looking at Ohno with a stern face. “I, Nino, solemnly swear that I will not hurt…” Nino paused and looked at him.

“Ohno.”

Nino nodded. “That I will not hurt Ohno-san once he releases me from these chains.” He began to glow yellow again and looked at Ohno expectantly.

“It’s over?” Ohno asked unsurely. He had never heard of this type of magic before. Was it some sort of dark magic?

“I made a promise with you,” Nino explained, “that means I can’t go back on my word.”

“What happens if you do?”

Nino grimaced. “Bad things. Now can you let me out of these, please? My back is starting to hurt.”

Ohno hesitated but realizing that even if he kept Nino chained, he still wouldn’t know anything. Nino seemed like the type to only reveal information when he wanted to, threatened or not.

Ohno gave him one last wary look before twirling his wand to undo the chains. He secretly casted a tracking spell on the man when he undid the last bit of the chains— it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Finally!” Nino exclaimed happily and stretched his arms up over his head, making happy grunts of delight. “My fingers were starting to get numb.” The man made a show of stretching, and Ohno watched as he cracked his knuckles. Nino grinned at him and clapped his hands together. “Right, that was interesting. I have never been chained like that. You’re very powerful,” Nino remarked, looking at him curiously.

“Hm?”

“It takes a lot of skill to bind someone like me, you know?”

Ohno didn’t say anything, just watched as Nino started circling around him.

“Did you know, Ohno-kun, that I am a god?”

Ohno’s eyebrows shot up. A god?

Nino finally came to a stop in front of him. “You don’t believe me.”

“It’s a little hard to… believe,” Ohno admitted.

Nino grinned. “Fair enough. I think proper introductions are in order.” Ohno stiffened when Nino clapped twice. “Oh, don’t worry! I promised that I wouldn’t break my word. I can’t anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

Nino wagged a finger between them. “Like I said before, I am a god. I am the God of Mischief, Nino. What I did earlier was declared a promise. If I break it, bad things will happen. Things I never want to know.” He grimaced.

Ohno looked at him in shock. Nino was a god? The God of Mischief? That was a little hard to believe… yet… it wasn’t, now that he was looking at him. “You aren't here to cause trouble… are you?” Ohno asked warily.

Nino snickered. “What makes you think I haven’t? That Jun guy is so—”

Ohno’s face hardened and he thrusted his wand in front of Nino’s face.

“Woah!” Nino shouted in surprise.

“What did you do to Jun-kun?” Ohno asked impatiently. Did the god hurt Jun? What about Sho and Aiba? A million thoughts ran across his mind of any potential danger and injury and Nino was shaking his head frantically.

“Nothing! I didn’t touch them!” Nino exclaimed, raising his hands in a truce.

“How do I know if you aren’t lying?”

Nino huffed and lower his arms, crossing them across his chest. “Humans,” he grumbled before looking around. When he spotted the fountain, he quickly made his way over to it. Ohno chased after him. “Look.” Nino waved a hand over the water, muttering something in a language he didn't recognize.

At the next instant, Jun and Sho appeared. Aiba was there too, and Jun was apparently yelling at him. Sho seemed to be holding Jun back by wrapping his arms around the wizard, trying to keep him from getting closer to Aiba.

Nino frowned. “Is Jun always like that?”

Ohno shrugged. “Only when he gets panicky.” He watched as Jun yelled something at Aiba again, and Aiba shook his head vehemently at it. What was going on?

“Ah, how annoying,” Nino said with a sigh as he watched the scene unfold before him. “It was only for fun,” he mumbled.

“What did you do?” Ohno asked in suspicion.

Nino grinned and shrugged. “Not much. I just changed people’s hair colours, turned things into bugs, gave people beards…”

Ohno sighed. He didn’t think what Nino was doing was harmful, but still, it wasn’t something he should let the “god” do. No wonder Jun is freaking out, he thought to himself.

He turned around and went back to his drawings. Nino watched him curiously before Ohno motioned him over to sit beside him. Well, since the god was already here, might as well keep him occupied before Jun freaks out again, Ohno thought as Nino took a seat beside him.


“Where can he be?!” Jun shouted in frustration, slamming his fist down on the table. The three of them were seated in Aiba’s kitchen, trying to figure out where the god had gone. Sho sat between Aiba and Jun at the table, eyebrows furrowing in contemplation. Aiba bit his lips and looked down at the map of Japan. “Where would a god go?!”

“Did he tell you anything, Masaki-kun?” Sho asked, turning to his friend. Aiba shook his head.

“No, Nino didn’t say anything to me about that. He just said he was bored and was going to go find something fun to do.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Jun said darkly, glaring down at the map.

Aiba gasped. “MatsuJun! You can’t kill him!”

Jun sent him a glare. “Of course I can’t. But I can try to send him back to his own world.”

“Can you send him back again, Masaki-kun?” Sho asked in curiousity.

Aiba frowned. “I… I think I can?”

“Please don’t think,” jun said with a scowl, “do it instead.”

“Nino’s not that bad…” Aiba said meekly. “It’s all harmless—”

“Masaki, I received a call from the higher ups earlier, and they told me he had to be apprehended. Do you know how serious it is when I get a call from the higher ups?” Jun snapped at him. Sho laid a hand on Jun’s shoulder, trying to calm him down.

“But Nino hasn’t done anything bad!” Aiba cried.

“Is that why I have several reports of him turning people’s hair into snakes?” Jun asked bemusedly, crossing his arms.

“Those were illusions!” Aiba exclaimed in defense. “It’s not like he actually harmed anybody!”

“No, he just gave them panic attacks!” Jun retorted.

“But now one actually got hurt, did they?!”

Jun coloured, his face scrunched in anger. “Even then, it’s—”

“I'm sorry, okay!” Aiba hollered, getting up from his chair and glaring at Jun. he looked devastated and Jun wondered if maybe he had went too far. Sho gaped at them. “I know I shouldn't have summoned a portal, but don't you think you're overreacting?!”

Sho looked back and forth between them frantically, not knowing what to do. Should he intervene?

“Besides, the stuff that Nino has done are just harmless pranks! I'm sorry, but I think you just need to calm down. No one is hurt.” Aiba hissed the last word out before sitting back down in his chair and placed his face in his hands.

Sho looked at Jun worriedly. His lover was pursing his lips, looking at their friend with narrowed eyes. Sho quietly scooted his chair over to Aiba and placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

He just wanted this whole fiasco to be over (after he asked Nino his list of questions).


Nino, Ohno thought, wasn't actually a bad person (god?). While the god did like to cause mischief, the things he did were generally pretty harmless (Ohno had a feeling Jun was probably overreacting again).

Deciding that Nino wasn't going to actually hurt anybody, Ohno invited him back to his family home. His niece and nephews loved him, awed by the magic that the god was able to perform—magic that they had never seen before. He was polite to the rest of Ohno’s family members, acting courteous to the others. Ohno was secretly impressed how fast Nino was able to win over his mother and sister so quickly.

Well, he is quite a charmer, Ohno thought as he watched Nino discuss about old branches of magic with his grandmother on his second day at the Ohno family home.

Nino had told Ohno quite a bit about himself in the past couple of days, much to Ohno’s surprise. Nino said he trusted him.

Nino was the God of Mischief and lived in the plane of the gods, a world where very few mortals have ever had the privilege to visit. It was a very beautiful place, Nino had told him. There was literally everything you could think of, and many deities lived there together in harmony. Of course, you had some deities who didn't get along, but other deities made sure fights didn't occur.

Nino had an older sister who wasn't a god, but a mortal, someone who wasn't granted the powers of a god. Ohno asked if that was an issue in his world. Nino shook his head. There's a lot of them there.

Ohno was intrigued by Nino. He was keeping an eye on him, trying to figure out his real intentions. He knew that Nino was going elsewhere every night, thanks to the tracking spell he cast on Nino back during their first confrontation, but so far Nino hadn’t told him a thing about what he did during his escapades. During the day, he continued to be his charming self, showing off his magic and telling everyone tales about his feats.

Ohno took everything Nino said with a grain of salt—a god of mischief like Nino could just be lying just for his own enjoyment after all—but he had to admit that his little vacation at his parents’ home had gotten a lot more interesting thanks to Nino.

When it was time to go home, Nino said that he wanted to go with Ohno. While a part of him wished to know more about Nino, he didn’t know whether that would be a good idea or not. Jun would most likely freak out if he brought Nino home. As for Sho… well, Sho tended to have similar reactions to Jun’s, just that less extreme. He might get too interested in Nino though, which would mean lots and lots of questions, and Ohno wasn’t sure if Nino would like that.

“Ah, don’t worry about your lovers!” Nino laughed, patting Ohno’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine, believe me!”

Ohno jumped. He turned towards Nino with wide eyes. “Did you just—?”

“Read your mind?” Nino arched an eyebrow at him. “No, of course not. Don’t be silly!” He chuckled. “It’s written all over your face!” Ohno made a face and Nino laughed harder. “Sorry, sorry! Anyway, how are you getting home?” Nino asked curiously.

“I’m going to apparate,” Ohno replied, tightening his hold on his belongings. Nino nodded and hooked his arm around Ohno’s. “Coming along too?” he asked in amusement. Nino grinned, his eyes twinkling in excitement.

“Well, I think it would be a nice surprise for everyone, wouldn’t it?” Nino let out a chuckle before Ohno shook his head at him with a snicker of his own before turning on his heel.

They disappeared with a soft crack.


“How can someone just disappear?” Jun growled in exasperation as he tugged at his hair.

Sho sighed and rubbed Jun’s back. “Calm down… He’ll have to appear sooner or later.”

“This is all your fault!” Jun pointed with a shaky finger at Aiba. “You and your ‘research’!”

Aiba rolled his eyes at him. He had to deal with Jun’s accusations the entire week, so he did no longer even try to convince Jun of his innocence. Moreover, he had started getting worried about Nino’s disappearance as well. Not because Nino was a threat—Aiba never considered him to be one—, but because despite their short time knowing each other Aiba was missing him already. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to spend much time with Nino when he came back, since the MDU would probably press charges against him and have him banished from their realm. A tiny part of him wished it wouldn’t be that way. He found Nino oddly captivating.

“I wish that he had at least told me when he’d come back,” Aiba sighed. He picked up a strange little device that Nino had forgotten at his place—the god seemed to be quite attached to it, which gave Aiba hope that Nino would return to him one day. “I wonder how he’s doing…”

“It’s been almost two days since his last prank,” Sho mumbled. “What could be keeping him so entertained that he didn’t continue terrorizing everyone?”

“I hope he’s dead.”

Aiba and Sho turned to look at Jun with incredulous faces. Jun looked so exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his eyebrows were knitted in a frown that had seemed to be etched on his face during the entire week.

“I just… I want this to be over,” Jun said, burying his face in his hands.

Before Aiba could say anything in Nino’s defense, there was a loud noise in the room. The three of them turned in direction to it with shocked expressions. A cloud of dust invaded the living room, making the three of them cough. Two figures stood right in the middle of it.

“What the—? This isn’t normal!”

Sho’s eyes widened. “Satoshi-kun?”

As the dust dissipated, they were able to confirm the two people’s identities. “This never happens when I apparate!” Ohno grumbled, looking at the man who was holding on to his arm.

“Well, it always does when I do it,” the man said with a laugh.

That laugh made Sho shiver.

Nino was with Satoshi-kun? Sho thought in surprise. Beside him, he heard Jun let out a small growl.

That caught Ohno’s attention. He turned to Jun and beamed. “Hi Jun-kun!” Nino smirked and wrapped an arm around Ohno’s shoulder tauntingly.

Sho immediately moved to grab Jun in case the wizard decided to pounce on the god right then and there. He sighed.

This was going to be a messy evening.

Part Three