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Out of all the things Rimuru wished he didn't have to continue from his previous life, criticizing someone else, especially someone who looked up to him, was one of the more unpleasant ones.
Tamura had messed up time and time again, and although back then he tried to be patient, Satoru Mikami couldn't have lied and said his junior never made him frustrated. He wasn't the type of senior to yell at people in his old world, and neither was Rimuru in Tempest, as a demon lord who frightened many just by existing.
And poor Koby was already under a lot of stress, now that he was in charge of their trade with the animal kingdom. But that was the problem Rimuru needed to address: Koby couldn't handle it all by himself, and it seemed like he was trying to in secret, probably to not burden anyone else, least of all their leader, who entrusted this to him. He hadn't confirmed it, and Koby hadn't asked for help, but he seemed stressed out and weary, which he wouldn't be if he had sufficient help.
So Rimuru tried to do what he could to ease the topic for the both of them. It wasn't a formal meeting, least of all a scolding. A quiet, small room; tea and snacks for both of them, even if Koby likely wouldn't have any of it; no one but them on the couches.
Even still, sitting across the dining table of cookies and warm tea brought by the lovely Haruna, Koby was hunched in on himself, paws tense on his lap, ears hanging low and scared, and shifting nervously. Rimuru even tried sitting cross-legged when Koby meekly entered, to ease his nerves about being in the same room as Rimuru Tempest, his mildly displeased yet very concerned leader.
But no matter how many ways Rimuru tried to come across as friendly and nonthreatening, Koby was just the kind of person to be intimidated by powerful people, so he could only do so much before leading their small talk into the actual point of contention.
"How has trade with the animal kingdom been going, Koby?" Rimuru felt even worse when Koby seemed to whine like a kicked puppy the moment he said that, but nevertheless, he pressed on. "I've been getting some complaints from our alcohol makers and sommeliers that they're getting overworked."
They both knew the animal kingdom loved their alcohol—they were getting quite the revenue from them in the form of new, unique food and Tempest's ever growing cuisine was exciting—but people less patient than Rimuru were giving complaints that they could only make so much at once.
"It's not impacting our reputation with the animal kingdom yet, Koby, so you're not in trouble or anything, but it's just something we need to work on before it's a problem." He added, smiling, "Albis can be pretty scary when she's denied her scotch, right?"
Koby just nodded, his mouth clamped shut in obvious fear, despite Rimuru's best attempt to be gentle and light-hearted. It was the same at his old workplace too; juniors were afraid of their seniors during similar situations. Tamura had been the exception, at least after they got to know each other some more. He messed up a lot, but no matter how many times Satoru corrected him, sometimes a little more harsh when it was a bigger mistake, he was never afraid. Maybe Rimuru would earn that privilege with everyone who worked for him, one day.
"How many people do you have working under you, Koby? Do you have help with inventory, or someone running errands for you? Who is writing the reports you give me?"
"It's just me, Rimuru-sama." His voice was shaking, but it was nice to hear him speak up after his silence so far. To speak up about this in particular was especially nice, because that wasn't supposed to be the case. Koby, someone in charge of something so important, should have at least a few people working under him.
It was partially his fault for not making sure of that—he thought he had assigned Benimaru or maybe Rigurd to pick qualified people for the job, but he supposed he had forgotten after all with all the chaos at the time—but it was also a problem that Koby tried to tackle it on his own without speaking up about needing assistance.
"I'm sorry, Koby," Rimuru said. "I'll personally assign people to help you from now on. But you have to ask for help if you need it, otherwise no one will know you're getting overwhelmed until something goes wrong and it's too late."
It wouldn't be the first time that happened in either of his lives, and Rimuru doubted it would be the last. Even working his old job, people wanted to impress their seniors by taking on more than they could handle, but ended up making things worse by doing so. It was never easy to scold someone, let alone someone who looked up to him, but if he didn't, nothing would improve.
"I'm sorry, Rimuru-sama." Koby whined again, bowing his head low in obvious shame.
"You don't have to apologize, Koby," Rimuru said, hoping his gentle reassurance helped a little. "You do a lot of work for me, and I appreciate it. Take the day off and I'll send a few people your way tomorrow. They'll help with anything you need and report directly to me from now on, alright?"
Koby lifted his head only high enough to nod, before scurrying out of the room with his tea untouched and cold on the table. Rimuru's was in a similar condition. He'd have to apologize to Haruna for wasting her tea once he stopped feeling so awful for having stressed out Koby like that.
He closed his eyes and the room was silent for a few minutes before the familiar sound of Souei rising from his shadow filled his ears. Most days it was a comforting sound, but now it was more of a reminder that someone had seen his struggle today.
Then again, Souei said nothing hurtful any time Rimuru felt shame or embarrassment. He never had and never would. All he did was wrap his arms around Rimuru's chest from behind. The pleasant distraction from the tense feeling in his chest was appreciated even if he didn't say anything about Souei's warm embrace.
"It's not easy, my Ru," he whispered, no judgment in his soothing voice. "I have had to scold my friends for doing things improperly, too. You handled it well."
"I know," Rimuru said back, reaching up to lock one of their hands together. It was the quickest way to ease any tension, and Souei knew that because he was the same.
He had been the one training new people a lot back in Japan, seen as the competent, trustworthy person to tackle newbies and their inevitable mistakes. That type of conversation wasn't new to him, and they usually took it well when he was the patient kind of coworker, if a bit more sardonic at times. Admittedly, some took his jokes better than others, but, still, it was extremely rare for someone to walk away from him in tears.
That never made it any easier.
"Perhaps a small break is in order, my love," Souei offered.
"I have a lot more to do today, Sou."
"With all due respect, you are the leader of this nation. For all of us serving you, your word is law. If you say you are taking a break, no monster will complain."
"Humans will."
There were plenty of those living in Tempest now, and they didn't have the same undying loyalty and respect for Rimuru as all of the monsters he had taken in did. The festival showed him that perfectly well. All the commotion over currency and payments while the idiotic hero's party picked a fight with him even though their hero said they shouldn't... How annoying.
"Shall I murder them?" Souei was probably only half joking, yet Rimuru still couldn't help but laugh a little. "Their heads would make good decorations on my training dummies."
"I used to be one, remember? Human me wouldn't appreciate his boyfriend killing other humans for petty things, and neither would Rimuru Tempest."
"Very well, they shall live another day. Your word is law, after all." Warm lips kissed the top of his head gently, the affection sweet and soft. After a brief pause, Souei continued, "Are you feeling up to a break now?"
The tightness in his chest had disappeared during their conversation, and Koby's disappointed face in his head was less gut-wrenching. Of course it had; Souei had cheered him up on purpose.
"Clever boy, Sou."
"Naturally. Shall I carry you if you're not inclined to get up?"
As much as the offer was tempting—it might be fun to see everyone's reaction to Souei carrying a demon lord around the city like a prince—he was not about to let the monsters of Tempest see their powerful, confident ruler being carried like a frail, injured animal when his legs worked perfectly fine today.
"Another time, Sou," he said, standing up to turn and face Souei. "But you're right, a break would probably be a good idea."
Souei's face curled up in satisfaction. "We'll get something to eat and then get back to work, hmm?"
Considering his next task was meeting with some human merchants wanting permission to set up shops in the heart of the city—prime spots that everyone was already fighting over—he indeed deserved a good dessert in preparation for the long, arduous conversation.
"Of course."
Sharing a slice of cake with his lover would be a good treat for his soul on any day, anyway.
His day always started the same: the high pitched whistle of his next door neighbor's tea kettle waking him up. Satoru Mikami scrubbed his eyes and sat up on his futon on the floor. She was a nice lady, probably too old to be living alone, and he felt bad that no one seemed to visit her, so he never said anything about the shrill noise when he passed her by in the early evenings. And he made sure to have tea with her twice a week, just so she didn't feel so lonely.
She brought homemade cookies to his door sometimes, and he invited her in for long chats and green tea. He supposed she was one of his only friends. It was only fair.
Today was going to be just another day at his desk job, nothing special. Another Wednesday, another 5:20am wake-up, another lukewarm shower, another cup of black coffee and some plain rice with leftover grilled fish shoved into his mouth in the twenty minutes he had before taking the train to work.
Another dream of that other world.
The train that took him to work, the 10 minute commute, was where he remembered it more clearly out of everywhere else. Even standing uncomfortably packed against other people with his worn, heavy suitcase in his hand and his suit and tie a little too tight today, he always found himself drifting back to the dreams he had when he closed his eyes.
He never believed those things in mangas could actually come true—people being hit by trucks or stabbed or dying from overwork didn't actually end up in other worlds, nor did people get summoned by a beautiful goddess to save her world from demons or monsters or whatever—it was clearly just wish fulfillment, and he knew that no matter how many pages he read with interest. And he didn't mind his life. Sure, he had yet to date anyone, and the number of friendships he had was pathetically small, but he was content.
Except right after he woke up.
He didn't believe every person who was hit by a train got sent to another world, but sometimes, usually on long, hard, and lonely days, he wished that would happen to him, just for the chance to be brought to that world in his dreams. Though perhaps he should actually wish to get a date with someone handsome or at least make some new friends in the real world instead.
Recently, he had been getting a little too close to the train station's tempting yellow line when he was in a daze thinking about his special dreams and their people.
They called him by a different name in there: Rimuru. People with brightly colored hair and horns, goblins, dwarves, animal people, elves. They all called him Rimuru Tempest, their leader.
Except one.
My Rimuru, one would say. My love, Ru.
His voice was deep and calming, his strength unmistakable yet never harming him; the refined, subtle kind of beauty that didn't seek attention or praise, but Satoru, or, well, Rimuru, still gave it to him.
He could never see himself in the dreams, not fully. Rimuru never looked in a mirror. But he had long blue hair, because his beloved Sou had braided it with flowers before. Rimuru washed and brushed Sou's dark blue hair in return, the smell of sandalwood unmistakable. Rimuru was on the shorter, lighter side, because Sou would carry him sometimes in private, and in the dreams both of them were happy, like lovers.
Happier than Satoru had ever felt in his life.
Some mornings he woke up overwhelmingly miserable when Rimuru had this perfect life with a man like Souei and he had to go back to the real world in which he lived alone reading manga and eating cheap takeout food more often than going out on dates or partying with friends. Those more miserable nights he always went to bed early hoping to feel Souei's comfortable lips on his. Or, well, on Rimuru's.
Today was one of those days where he barely remembered how he got to the office. One moment he was on the train putting together the pieces of last night's dream—a boy with dog ears and paws named Koby, and feeling bad about having to scold him for something, followed by Souei comforting him, that was what he was able to remember—and the next he was setting his briefcase down under his desk and settling in for the day at 6:00am.
He tied his hair back with his worn blue hair tie, keeping it up and out of his face for the next eight hours. He had had shorter hair before, but after his dreams—after being a different man in his dreams—started a few years ago, he found he liked having it longer, and so he'd grown it out, not as long as Rimuru's yet, but he was getting there. Growing short hair into hair long enough to be braided took many years, after all.
Checking emails, opening files, and taking a sip of the black coffee can he left unopened on his desk yesterday. It had been too busy to remember his drink until it was too late in the day to have it. It had been Tamura's last day, so as his senior he had to manage helping him pack up while not slacking on his own work. Getting married at 28 was normal, and wanting to have a job closer to his new home with his fiance's family was too. Satoru hadn't gotten to meet her. Their schedules didn't match up, or the weather was too chaotic to be outside, or someone had to cancel last minute; Tamura had joked that something was cursing the three of them to never meet.
And here Satoru had prepared a funny joke for the day he did, just to tease his junior and his fiance, or, well, girlfriend at the time they first started planning to meet up.
A shame he wouldn't get to tell it. He wished Tamura all the best with his new job and (presumably) beautiful wife nevertheless.
More emails came in and he answered them, the opened files filled with more information, and his coffee was swiftly drained.
It was soon 9:22am and he sat up in his chair, cracking his back and looking away from the bright screen with the intent to get another drink just in time for his boss to knock on his cubicle, along with someone else who was obscured behind the white walls.
"A minute, Mikami-san?"
"Sure." He hoped he hadn't managed to screw something up in the two hours he had been at his desk. Boss-man Tanaka had a limited sense of humor and an even more limited amount of patience.
Just after he stood up, the person standing behind his boss stepped into Satoru's small work space. His eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open, the same as Satoru. The mere two seconds of silence before someone spoke felt like forever.
His calm, stoic expression, his enchanting deep blue eyes, his perfectly tanned skin tone, his black nails, his defined face and uniquely dark marks under his eyes, his broad shoulders, his body toned impeccably even hidden under his business attire. Those were all there, so familiar to him, that he felt a massive wave of relief and comfort wash over him.
It wasn't his beautiful navy hair, his dangerous yet arousing fangs, and his swords sheathed behind him at all times except when they were in each other's arms. Those wonderful things were absent completely.
But Souei stood before him.
Pitch black hair, cut precisely like Souei's and looking soft like cotton, a dark blue button-up and black vest, both perfectly ironed flat, and a tattoo peeking out from under his long sleeves. He had a birthmark on his forehead. A lighter tone than his skin, not white like Souei's horn, but it was in the exact spot.
"This is Sagara Souta. He'll be taking over Tamura-san's position from now on. Sagara-san, this will be your senior, Mikami Satoru."
Satoru didn't speak, his voice trapped in his throat while his mouth hung open, dry, with his breathing shallow. The relief and comfort had been taken over by confusion and shame.
Because it was a children's fantasy to think his imaginary boyfriend in his dreams was somehow on Earth. Getting his hopes up for even a second made him feel stupid. Yet he couldn't help but think that it couldn't possibly be that coincidental. Satoru had thought about dyeing his hair to look like Rimuru's blue, or getting a big, obvious oni pendant to wear every day. He wore more blue, white, and gold after his dreams started, since Rimuru seemed to wear those colors a lot. Based on nothing but this small, nonsensical feeling of hope.
If his extremely smart Souei was going to look for someone he only knew the human name and vague location of, but who knew what Souei himself looked like… He would do the same, right? He would wear more blue and black, paint his nails, do what he could to look like Souei.
Tanaka clearing his throat pointedly and impatiently snapped Satoru out of it, forcing him to come back to the real world where he was not Rimuru Tempest and he was not in a relationship with Souei. The real world where he was Satoru Mikami meeting his new junior coworker Souta Sagara.
"Sorry," he said. "I'm still a little sleepy." He could hear his voice shaking and he felt a bit pathetic that he was seen like that in front of not only his boss but his new junior. "It's nice to meet you, Sagara-san."
"And you," he said, with Souei's deep, commanding voice, bowing his head in greeting. Satoru clenched his teeth tight and smiled as best as he could. He was not Rimuru and this man was not Souei. He was supposed to bow to his senior, even if he didn't like seeing Souei's face bowing when he had finally convinced him to stop doing it.
"Show him around, would you?" Both of them looked at Tanaka, who was checking his watch while scratching his head in irritation and cringing at the time. "I have a meeting in two minutes, I don't have the time to do it myself."
He left without hearing his answer or even looking at either of them and Satoru was glad he did. Neither of them moved or said a word until he disappeared into his office down the hall.
"May I speak with you privately for a moment?" Sagara said quietly, furrowing his eyebrows like he was confused.
No one in the other cubicles seemed to notice the interaction at all, and even if the sudden shift in objectives led to nothing at all—he could just be asking a sensitive question about the job or admitting to urgently needing the bathroom—showing him where the meeting rooms were was part of his task anyway. Neither of them would get in trouble for it.
Besides, the feeling of confusion was mutual. Satoru couldn't handle the world playing this joke on him. Sending him a stranger who was so much like his lover that didn't exist anywhere but inside his head? It was too cruel. He needed to get away from the intense smell of coffee, ink, and papers, blinding white lights, and the suddenly obnoxiously loud clicking of keyboards all around him.
He nodded without a single word, leading him down the brightly lit hallways with thin carpets towards a less frequently used meeting room. It was smaller and the heating unit in it had broken last week, leaving the room chilly in the late autumn cold. Unappealing for meetings until it was fixed next week, so no one would interrupt them. There was one paper cup sitting empty in the small trash bin by the door and the swivel chairs were pressed tight against the long wooden table. He gently pushed the door closed behind them, the soft click the only noise in the silent room for several moments.
It was welcome after the overwhelming stimulations of the main office. Standing close to Sagara without the cacophony of smells, the only scent in his nose was a comforting sandalwood. When he closed his eyes for a few peaceful moments in the cool, quiet room, he felt like he was Rimuru stargazing on his porch with Souei on a beautiful winter night.
"This is going to sound strange…" Sagara said, slowly, like he was trying not to scare him off. He rolled up his sleeves the slightest bit, almost seeming on purpose. Satoru was never the type to run away, and even though the way that sentence started, giving him the slimmest of hopes, did scare him, he wasn't going to start now. "But does the word Tempest mean anything special to you?"
It was the tattoo on his wrist—white and gold lightning striking sharply across the violent spirals of dark blue and black—so Sagara could just be asking about something he was passionate about, or felt embarrassed to talk about with the top manager of their department, Tanaka. It could have meant nothing.
Yet… Rimuru Tempest was the name everyone called him in his dreams. Was it worth it to take the chance that that fairytale concept of people with shared dreams finally meeting each other was real and happening to him at that moment? If he was wrong, he would creep the new junior out on his first day. But if Souei really was Sagara, he was taking a risky shot by seeming crazy to Mikami, and if Satoru shut him down and wasn't honest because he was afraid of sounding crazy too, he would ruin everything.
If Souei left, having thought he remembered Rimuru's human name wrong or simply found a different Satoru Mikami, and moved on, Satoru might never find him again.
He made his decision with a nod. "Does the name Souei mean anything to you?"
The absolute relief on Sagara's face, the way his entire body relaxed; it was clear as day he made the right choice. "My lord, my love, my Ru, is it really you?"
Satoru couldn't help but give a smile traced with tears. "My kijin, my soul, my Sou, is it really you?"
Instead of an answer, Souei swept him into a tight hug. It was easier in the dreams when Rimuru was shorter and could rest his head on Souei's chest, but Satoru putting his head on Souta's shoulders and listening to his quiet, happy crying instead was also nice. He was comfortably warm as always and sandalwood had never smelled so much like home, like heaven.
Neither of them let go for quite some time, yet Satoru didn't care if anyone noticed they had disappeared and tried to track them down. It was a miracle Souei had found him. The thought of his coworkers discovering the oddity of two men who just met crying and hugging in an empty room was incredibly low on his list of worries.
"How?" he asked, not sure which 'how' he was asking.
How was Souei here? How did he know where to find him? How were those dreams shared between them? How long had he been searching for his love?
Had Satoru spent the entire time he'd been having those dreams thinking of them as no more than fantasies while Souta had searched for him? Or had he thought the same, and this really was all just coincidence, or maybe destiny?
So many questions, yet no idea how to answer any of them.
"I don't know," Sagara answered quietly, still holding onto him. "I was born Sagara Souta, and three years ago I started having those dreams. My early years as Souei the oni were blurry, but once I met you, Rimuru Tempest, things were clear and I was so much happier. You told me about your old human name, and that I remembered. There were others, and I remember them too, but never as clearly as you and your story. I forced myself to sleep much more often and for longer and longer, but I was never able to wake up in Souei's world."
People usually had those dark circles due to lack of sleep, but stress was a common reason too. Satoru had been apathetic about the impossibility of Souei actually existing. Had Sagara thought differently, or was he simply craving those happy dreams so deeply that he was overwhelmed by a desperate and unpleasant desire any time he was awake?
Oh gods, had Sagara been overusing sleeping pills just to see his Rimuru more? He could have easily died. Overdosed, organ failure, brain damage. The thought scared Satoru to the bone, a twist in his stomach and a painful shiver down his spine. Losing Souei forever was a terrifying thing to think about.
"Not anymore, Sou," Satoru said, pulling back to look in Souei's eyes and force him to understand. "You won't hurt yourself or feel lonely anymore. Because I'm here and I'm not letting you get away."
Sagara just smiled, and ran his fingers through his hair with a gentle, kind hand. "I always loved your long hair. I can't wait to see those flowers in it and have the honor of braiding it for you once more. Then perhaps we can share our green tea and stories during those times like we always did, as well."
If there was any more confirmation Satoru needed that Sagara really was Souei, that was it. He hadn't told anyone about those dreams, especially not that special ritual of theirs. Only someone from that world, only Souei even, would know. His fellow kijin knew about the reason behind the flowers, but absolutely no one but Souei would know about what they talked about during those quiet, intimate afternoons where neither had to worry about anything.
"What does all of this mean?" Satoru took Sagara's hands in his, curling them together in the way they always had. They fit in an unfamiliar way now that they were both in different bodies, but Satoru still wanted to never let go. "How is this possible? Why do we both know these things? Why do we have these shared dreams? Who are Rimuru and Souei?"
Sagara was quiet for a moment, pondering, but then just shrugged. "Another timeline? Another world? Past lives? Future lives? A god playing a trick? I don't know." He smiled softly and squeezed their hands. "I don't care. I found you and you remember me, that's all I care about."
Satoru still wanted to know, but he supposed Sagara was right. It was a miracle itself that the mind of Souei had been real all along, just in the body of a random Japanese man, but it would be impossible or near impossible to find out if the rest of them—all the goblins, kijin, animal people, dwarves, and even the humans Rimuru had allied with—were on Earth somewhere too, and how to find them if that was the case.
"…Is it too weird to ask you to call me Rimuru from now on? No one else will understand why, but…"
It just felt right. He hadn't realized until that moment that he missed being called Rimuru by someone, anyone. And Sagara was the only one who would know that name and how important it was to him, to them.
Sagara lifted his chin from when it fell in embarrassment over the odd question. His thumb brushed teasingly against his lip and Satoru leaned in to kiss Sagara in response. They had done that exact thing so many times before. His lips as Satoru had never kissed anyone before, let alone a man, but of course someone with Souei's talents would remember how he liked to be kissed, and so he did everything just right… up until he pulled away.
"Rimuru, my love," he said, soft and fond. Satoru, Rimuru from now on, felt the tension he'd been carrying around since he met Souei in his dreams melt away. "Please call me Souei. Your beloved Sou. Nothing would make me happier than being with my Ru as Souei, my true name."
Rimuru couldn't help but smile bright and wide. His true name, Souei. He felt more connected to the name Rimuru than Satoru, too, if he were honest. He had missed his Souei and he was sure Souei had missed his Rimuru too. He didn't need to feel misery about those wonderful dreams being nothing but fantasy, because they wouldn't be from now on. He wouldn't be the leader of a monster nation or be able to turn into a slime, those parts were still fantasy, but his life seemed a lot brighter.
"I'm sure everyone will be very confused when you're suddenly calling your new junior 'Souei,' but, then, when did Rimuru Tempest care about people calling him weird?"
"And I'm sure they'll be just as confused about their long-time senior suddenly being called 'Rimuru' by the new junior, but neither of us care about that, huh?"
"Right as always, my love," he said. Hearing Souei say that while Rimuru was awake was the happiest he'd ever been. "And I am overjoyed to be by your side once more, no matter what world we're in."
Rimuru hummed in agreement, basking in the warm joy that was getting a part of his soul, his Sou, back.