im so sorry this is such an awful chapter ToT please point out anything that doesn't make sense or is grammatically incorrect.

its raw hnn

--tw: mentions of violence, blood, guns.--

bold: writing

'single quotation': thoughts

slanted/italics: memories.

'underlined: underlined sentences are basically commands and our very own Cv.'

"rn we're using the underlined quotations as telepathy"

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~" 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 "~

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Previously

She sent a picture of said building from afar. Butcher mask recognized it as the doctor's place and sped up in pace. The message wasn't sent too long ago, so he should be able to caught up before they leave.

Butcher mask felt a wave of tenseness shed off his shoulders at the thought of seeing Haruki again. It felt like ages since he had seen him. Hopefully he wasn't too upset.

brain refresher im adding for my own sake: butcher mask just jumped off a roof and into a window after being chased and also ran into beefy speedo man, who unlocked new childhood trauma

Bo)

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Butcher masks lungs burned. His exhausted feet pounded against the concrete roofs as he sprinted to the doc's building. Surprisingly though, he had enough energy to be eager about joining up with the others. Especially after his spidey senses started tingling that danger was near.

He skirted to a halt when he saw the scene before him. Yuri had her gun pointed at the doctor, who looked even more deranged than he last remembered, Cv was pointing out the obvious difference in Mayuko's behavior while she was fighting the mask girl he met a day or two ago, and a looming figure hung farther back, readied with crossbow and arrow. Not to mention the bloody man that was splayed on the grassy patch of roof.

What the fuck did he miss?

"THIS IS IT! It's finally your turn! Do it, Zwei!" The doctor cackled madly. "You idiots! You thought Ein was the only mask I am able to control?" The figure jumped out of the shadows. Unfortunately for them though, Yuri was prepared. She sent two shots, one destroying the angel's mask completely, ensuring death no matter what.

Butcher mask winced when he heard Ein and the doctor's pained shouts. Maybe he popped in at the wrong time.

The doctor looked devastated. Devastated enough to have a dramatic monologue. "I'm... going to lose? I can't. If I lose here, then it'll be just like in the other world."

Butcher mask got bored and zoned out the rest, letting his mind wander to much more useful concerns and questions. The bloody sweater was pretty unnerving.

'It's very unnerving.'

He'd probably terrify the kid if he saw him the way he was now, caked with sweat and fresh blood on the stains that had already dried into an ugly crimson. He had a spare shirt in his bag but his arm wasn't really in the condition to remove his sweater and put a new one on. Plus he'd probably be rushed to surgery after this confrontation anyway. Why ruin a perfectly good shirt? He'd just slip off the sweater.

He was about to strip when the doctor pulled a fast one on them and drew his own gun.

Mayuko stood before Yuri defensively, dagger ready.

"I've got a higher education and income than both of you combined!"

Butcher mask simply stood to the side, too tired to make any other sudden movements despite the nagging buzz in his skull. Yuri pointed her gun up at the doctor again, that terrifying gleam of determination and survival in her eyes.

'Maybe we should stop this.'

'yeah I mean this guy is the only one capable of mending your arm at the moment.'

'true that. I just don't really feel like moving rn.' Butcher mask meekly reached for his cleaver, but gave up halfway.

Suddenly the fucking tower in the distance started lighting up, which thoroughly snapped everyone out of their standoff.

'Cv what is that?!' Butcher mask thought worriedly.

'Hell if I know! D:'

The tower sent a ray of rainbow light, which was probably now on the top five list of craziest shit Butcher mask has ever witnessed firsthand, and destroyed a building a little to nearby for anyone's liking. The building's top collapsed and along with it every unfortunate person who was on the upper levels, each of which Butcher mask felt die as they fell to their death if they survived the blast because of his weird HAPP code. It was a nauseating feeling.

"W-what was that? Did you just make that happen?!" The doctor was off on another tangent once again. "You're telling me that's what your ability is?" He asked accusingly, eyeing the Yuri in newfound fear.

Yuri and Mayuko were just as confused as Butcher mask, who was yet to be acknowledged. Yuri had a huge realization by the sound of her gasp and quickly put on the Leonardo DiCaprio performance of a lifetime.

"That's exactly right!" She said with a strut as she approached the doctor, who still stood frozen. "Now you know that I'm closer to God than you'll ever be."

She paused for dramatic effect. "A mere pest like you will never be able to defeat someone like me!" She pulled a cartoonishly villainous face.

'girl the face she's making 😭'

'she's actually really good at bluffing'

And she kept going too. "I have to admit it was fun playing with you for a while. So what should we do now?" She leaned in, a completely crazed smile on her face now just to sell it even more. If Butcher mask was on the receiving end, he'd be terrified.

"Do you wanna keep playing?" Ein jumped in to protect her master (?), but it was clear that her fight with Mayuko had worn out any strength she had left.

"So what's your plan, huh? Little Ein, would you like me to finish you off quickly, like I did to poor Zwei?" Her tone was sinister and over the top arrogant. It was amazing how her personality had done a complete 180.

(BRO DURING THIS SCENE SHE WAS REALLY DIGGING INTO EIN AHAHAHA THATS SO FUCKED UP BRUH WHAT THE FUCK YOU LITERALLY JUST KILLED HER FRIEND ToT)

Ein collapsed to the ground, clearly heartbroken by Zwei's death. Soon after, the doctor was on the ground too, bowing before Yuri in terror. "I surrender! I give up on trying to become the Perfect God too! Please spare my life and Ein's as well!"

Yuri cackled madly, half choking in the process, to which Butcher mask offered his help by giving her a few smacks on the back.

She turned around to look at him in surprise. "Oh, Butcher mask! You made it! What happened to your clothes?" She eyed the blood that he was basically soaked in now.

Butcher mask tried to write a response on his notepad, but a choked cough drew the conversation away from the bloody, apron-wearing man.

"Mr. Tanabe!" Mayuko hollered in distress, kneeling to his side immediately. Yuri sprung into action. "Hey, you! You're a doctor, right? You need to treat him now!"

Butcher mask zoned out once again and came back to the shirt debacle. After weighing pros and cons, he decided to slip out of his top. It was starting to cling uncomfortably to his cut.

He tugged the apron and shirt to the best of his ability, stuffed it in his bag and then helped Ein back up to her feet with his good arm.

"Oh hey, you're here." The doctor said, a hint of fear still resonating in his voice from Yuri's intimidation. He eyed the wound on Butcher mask's arm, still seeping with blood. "What did you do to your arm? It's only been like what, two day?!" He sighed in frustration, not looking forward to closing the gash on the mask or tending to the old man who was currently bleeding out.

"The kid's been asking about you, ya know. He's already eaten through a third of my rations!"

"Woah wait, you two know each other?" Yuri bellowed, her shock well communicated by her :O expression.

"Hello? We have a dying man here?" Mayuko yelled urgently.

"Oh right."

"sorry ':D"

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(dun dun dun. the worst part I've written in my fan fiction history.)

"look Mr. Mask! Everything worked out!" Kuon exclaimed, proud that her plan to activate the railgun worked out so well in the end.

"Yeah." Sniper mask said absentmindedly, focusing more on his lit cigarette. The fight wasn't all that interesting to him. He knew that the girls were capable of defending themselves so there wasn't anything to rally worry about. He only started to vaguely pay attention when a certain apron-wearing man appeared, clearly exhausted and injured. Then again, he barely knew the masked man, so why should he care? I mean, that's what he convinced himself, anyway.

The smoke floated into the blue sky before completely disappearing, only leaving a distinct smell of burnt nicotine. Kuon gasped loudly.

"Oh my! Mr. Butcher mask is shirtless!"

"i-what?!" He wasn't completely sure why he scrambled to his feet and spun around to catch a glimpse, but something in his head told him it was something he absolutely needed more than a few puffs of lung cancer.

And there he was, in all his glory. It was hard to make out every single detail, but with Sniper's enhanced sight for sniping, he got a pretty good view. Except for the red gash on his left arm. Sniper mask frowned a little, but nonetheless kept staring.

Kuon couldn't help giggling at his gawking.

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The rest of the gang was pulling the man into the building, worried about his condition after being skewered by Ein's katana. Butcher mask was opted out due to his injuries, not being able to provide any help beyond emotional support and 'you can do it' thumbs ups. He stood to the side, watching Ein carry the man in.

His body stiffened all of a sudden.

'Someone's staring at me.' It couldn't have been anyone with him; they were all preoccupied with the impaled man.

'yeah it's giving me the creeps that you sensed that when even I couldn't.'

Butcher mask snapped his head around, meeting the piercing stares of Kuon and the fedora wearing mask from atop the building across. He sent them both a warm wave. Sniper mask looked away stubbornly while Kuon returned the wave with just as much enthusiasm.

'he didn't wave back.' Butcher mask thought glumly, slowly lowering his hand.

He watched Kuon elbow Sniper mask and whisper something inaudible to him. Hesitantly, the man turned back around and gave him a small flick of his wrist. It was enough to make a smile crack onto Butcher mask's hidden face.

He waved at them again before an idea struck him. He locked eyes with the sniper.

"Wait for me."

Sniper mask shivered at the sudden voice. It was relatively deep, a voice that tickled his brain with unmistakeable familiarity. Sniper mask simply nodded at the man before walking out of Butcher mask's sight.

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"Mister!" Haruki latched himself onto Butcher mask the second he stepped through the door. He pat his head affectionately, already feeling his stiff muscles begin to relax.

"I was so bored! There's nothing to do here!" He explained as Butcher mask dragged them both the building's long halls. The young boy looked at the slow drip of blood that trailed down the man's arm and whined.

"Are you ok? You've got a laceration."

Butcher mask titled his head in surprise at the word. "Laceration?"

"Yeah, Dr. Aohara taught me some words while you were gone. Are you ok though?"

Butcher mask gave him an "ok" sign to indicate that he was fine. He really wasn't. His body was on the verge of folding like a dollar general lawn chair and the steady drip of his arm's gash was starting to become concerning. But who wants to tell a kid that they jumped off a roof and into a window like a maniac and busted up their arm?

...

"I jumped off a roof earlier" Butcher mask wrote.

Haruki looked at him in complete awe. "Really?! You're like a superhero! Was it scary?"

Butcher mask puffed his chest out and shook his head, trying to look as exaggeratedly confident as possible. Haruki peppered him with questions ("Can you fly too?" and "Did you get bitten by a flying spider?"). It was endearing and Butcher mask welcomed the new feeling of homeliness that washed over him.

"Hey can you cook us something? I'm starving!"

"You're still hungry? You little monster." Aohara mumbled under his breath as he exited the operation room. He sighed and then turned his attention back to Butcher mask.

"You're up. Don't bust these these stitched or I'll rip you a new one." He glared, crossing his arms with a huff.

"A new what?" Haruki asked. Butcher mask ruffled his hair and moved the conversation along.

"Done already? You work fast." He wrote quickly.

"I'm the best surgeon in this city, after all." The doctor remarked, pushing his glasses up to add extra flare.

'Probably the only one too.'

"Let's go then. I'll have you patched up quickly, (depending on the damage, of course.)"

"Wait! Where's Zwei?" Haruki inquired again, this time with a concerned look on his chubby face.

Both adults froze. Aohara sent Butcher mask a pained look that almost said "he's your kid, not mine."

Butcher mask sighed and knelt done to Haruki's level. He pulled his notepad out. "She had to go away."

"Like mama did?"

Butcher mask tensed up and hesitantly nodded. How was he supposed to explain death when this kid was like 6-7 ish? He'd have to explain soon especially since he was stuck in this sick world with the rest of them. And yet he couldn't bring himself to ruin whatever small sliver of childishness Haruki still had. Maybe he was overthinking it.

'You'll have to eventually.'

'I know.'

"Are they happy where they are?" Haruki persisted, bright eyed with curiosity.

"I'm sure they are." That response seemed to suffice the little kid because he gave Butcher mask a bright smile.

"We'll be back. Ein should be in the lounge room."

"Okay!" And with that, the boy ran off. Both of them sighed in relief. "Well, let's go." The doctor said after a moment of silence. Butcher mask nodded and followed him to another room.

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"Is it done yet?" Haruki whined after popping into the kitchen for the 6th time already since Butcher mask started. Butcher mask chuckled, shaking his head and continuing to fry the enchiladas (YES BITCH WE'RE GOING MEXICAN CUISINE FOR THIS ONE🇲🇽🌯).

He was lucky to have found all the ingredients, which was a bit strange but whatever, and a nice enough kitchen in the building to cook them all lunch. And after not cooking in a while, he decided to go all out. It took a huge load off his mind and freshly stitched arm, brightening his mood immensely to the point of humming.

"Whatcha humming?"

Butcher mask shrugged at the boy and set out plates. He was really proud of himself. He wiped his hand with a rag and wrote onto a small slip of paper.

"go call the others please"

Haruki nodded happily and sprinted off. In the meantime, Butcher mask prepared two separate lunch boxes, making sure the presentation was perfect as he did on the three other plates on the small table. Cheese, shredded lettuce, potatoes, and cream piled on two enchiladas each, stuffed with potatoes and beans (he wasn't sure if any of them preferred to not eat meat so he took the safe option). He didn't go too crazy with the sauce since he didn't know how much spicy they could eat either. And just incase any of them had allergies or anything like that, he made extra alternatives and labeled each accordingly. It probably would've taken a normal person ages to do this all, but with Butcher mask's love for cooking and enhanced mask skills, he managed to do it all in a good 15 minutes.

He slipped the food into his now clean bag and left a note on the table. "Went out to eat outside. Eat anything you'd like." He made sure to draw a little smiley face and everything too. Butcher mask practically skipped as he zipped through the halls, passing Haruki on the way and explaining where he was off to and then continuing on his merry way.

He pushed the door open and stepped out onto the roof. The day was fair, not too much wind and just enough clouds.
He smiled fondly.

'someone's in a good mood'

'how can i not be?'

'i dunno maybe because you jumped off a roof like a maniac and got chased around by a beef cake a little over 50 minutes ago?'

'that's in the past. your bitchy comments can't hurt me right now 🤗'

'...'

Butcher mask followed the route Cv told him about when he was done pouting like a little shit and found himself on the bridge leading up to the building where he had seen Kuon and Sniper mask on before.

He peeked around the corner to see them in deep conversation. They were discussing something along the lines of those closer to God, information that was crucial to know in this realm. Butcher mask straightened himself up, smoothing out his clean apron and fresh set of clothes. However, another mask ruined his entrance.

They dropped off a bag of perishable goods and then vanished to do god knows what somewhere else. 

Butcher mask appeared from behind the wall shortly after, drawing the others' attention this time.

"Mr. Butcher mask! You're finally here!" Kuon exclaimed loudly, throwing a glance at Sniper mask, who nodded at the taller man in acknowledgment. 

"And he's clothed this time too." Sniper mask added stiffly as he moved over to the bag of goods. Butcher mask rubbed his neck awkwardly, but his embarrassment was replaced by excitement almost instantaneously. He shooed the sniper's hand away from the bag and pulled out his own, shoving a small box of food into the unsuspecting man's hands. 

He trailed over to Kuon and handed her her portion, a little less aggressively. Afterwards he took out numerous other boxes and set them all on the floor where the girl sat. 

"Oh wow. Did you make all of this yourself, Mr. Butcher mask?"

The man in question nodded eagerly before plopping across from Kuon. Sniper mask situated himself in the middle of the pair, examining the box's contents with an intrigued hum. He moved a hand up to his face to unclip his mask when Kuon gave a shrill shriek that shook every living thing within a mile's radius to the core. 

"No, no, no, you simply cannot let me see your face, Mr. mask!" She covered her face childishly. 

"Why not?" Sniper mask asked, a little shaken from the sudden outburst. He nearly dropped his food, dammit.

"You just can't!"

"Uh, sure, I won't then. I'll just sit over here then." He agreed, moving to face the wall and away from Kuon. She, in turn, turned her back away too, leaving Butcher mask to sit in the middle of them rather awkwardly. 

It took everyone a few seconds to come down from whatever the fuck that was. Butcher mask just focused his enchiladas, a little down since he wanted to see how they reacted to his food, but it was whatevs. 

He took off his mask and began eating in silence. It wasn't the awkward kinda silence from earlier, it was more of a mutually agreed pause to eat. Not awkward at all.

'This is so painful.'

'Agreed. Why does Kuon look like she's about to explode?' Butcher mask watched Kuon shake violently, an overall ominous atmosphere settling over her side of the roof. Sniper mask seemed to have noticed too. 

"I know you wanted this, but are you really that nervous to look at my face?" He said finally. "It might not help since I'm just saying this about myself, but I don't think you'd get too scared if you saw my face." Sniper mask said sarcastically, shoving more food into his mouth.

"I'm not scared! I just need time to mentally prepare. Just give me a few days."

Butcher mask chuckled silently, letting the two banter among themselves. He actually felt like he was disturbing whatever thing they were having here, so he promptly made the decision to leave after finishing his food quickly. 

Well, maybe after taking a small break. Butcher mask stretched out on the roof, laying his tired body down and looking up at the sky. It was a perfect day to be out. He let his eyes rest for a few and allowed his mind to clear. 

...

...

"You have really pretty eyelashes, Mr. Butcher mask!"

The man snapped his eyes open and shot up from his relaxed position, smashing foreheads with Kuon, who had been hovering over him, square on. 

They both hissed in pain, clutching their heads. 

Sniper mask couldn't help laughing at the two idiots despite not being able to turn around to see it unfold directly. "It's like you're carbon copies of each other. You know that sound two coconuts make when they hit each other?"

"That's not nice!" Kuon whined, still rubbing the red bump on her head. Butcher mask shot a glare at the back of the man's head and slowly started to clip his mask back on.

"I wish you didn't have to wear the mask. You have such a nice face!" Kuon looked over at Sniper mask's back with a fierce and determined glint in her eyes. 

"Don't you want to see too, Mr. mask?"

"If you don't want to look at my face, I won't look at anyone else's." He said stubbornly, but it was clearly playful. 

Butcher mask threw a balled up piece of paper at him. "I'm not that ugly"

"I'll be the judge of that, pretty boy." Sniper mask retorted back after reading the small note. "Not today, though." He added after feeling Kuon was about to go on another tangent.

'They're starting to warm up to each other.' Kuon, the mastermind of all relationship-making, thought as she watched both of them relax. 

They had been pretty stiff since the beginning, especially since they were both painfully awkward at carrying conversations (she didn't blame Butcher mask too much since his only communication method was writing at the moment.) Nonetheless, she was determined help them break through that layer of acquaintances and become something like friends instead of acting like complete strangers, which they were, but there was clearly something there Kuon couldn't place her finger on. Kuon knows these thing, just trust her. 

They just needed some way to spend more time together or have a decent conversation whenever they are with each other. A little help to get past that layer of awkwardness. Naturally, though, of course. You can't just force a relationship to happen ahaha. 

Silence enveloped the air again, but it was lighter than before. Butcher mask collected the dirty boxes and insisted that the others take from the numerous other food items for later. Before the apron-wearing man could leave, however, Sniper mask took his chance to ask about those closer to God. They settled back down on the roof, now facing each other. 

"If ones closer to God become a Perfect God, they basically have like creative mode on the rest of the world. I don't know an awful lot, but it's basically like shaping your own reality to your liking. Only one person can be a Perfect God, though." He wrote, passing the letter over to Sniper mask.

'...What's creative mode?'

'It's in, like, Minecraft.'

'Minecraft?'

'It's awful that you can make these references and not even know where they're from.'

"I've made up my mind!" Kuon said as she stood up. Both masks looked up at her in confusion. "I will aim to be a Perfect God! I'll do it to end this world peacefully once and for all!"

"You, a God, huh? That's a concerning thought, but I guess it's a step forward."

Butcher mask jabbed Sniper mask with his elbow and gave Kuon an encouraging thumbs up. 

With that, they both stood up. Butcher mask took out the small device from out of his bag's pocket and handed it over to Kuon. "Oh do you want my number? That way we can stay in touch better!" 

Butcher mask nodded as he was handed the phone back. He nodded in farewell at them both and started walking away. 

"Bye, Mr. Butcher mask! Hopefully we''ll see you later! Your food was delicious!" Kuon said sincerely. Butcher mask smiled as he nodded in gratitude and waved goodbye. He kinda accepted that Sniper mask wasn't the kind of person to show gratitude or any sappiness so he wasn't expecting any kind of 'thank you'. The masked man ate it without complaining and that's more than enough to put Butcher mask in a fuzzy mood.

At least, that's what he thought until someone tugged on his arm. He turned around to see none other than Sniper mask, who now stood stiff as a board.

"Your food was good. Uh, thanks...pal." The compliment sounded more like a question. Sniper mask looked pained as he said it, aware of how stupid he sounded. 

Butcher mask didn't mind though. He was over the moon that the cynical man had actually said something about his food; something positive too. He probably would've throttled the man in a hug if his arm wasn't injured. He settled for giving Sniper mask a firm hand shake and accidental eye contact for a good 5 seconds (which was very painful for the both of them, mind you) before walking away and past the corner enough to sprint the rest of the way to the doctor's building without being seen. 

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a chapter for you babes. eat up them words y'all, its the good shit. meh it was an ok chapter. we're easing into that relationship building since I realized that these two idiots are practically strangers, so for now we're gonna go to work and make this relationship as natural as a Wattpad fanfic relationship can be. kinda. meh. just take it. I know yall're only here for the eventual smut chapter later /j

you rats