#Volume 1 is over! Yay! Originally I was planning on stopping at the end and letting it run but izuku's queue is just so much more full

[everypaneloftenya]

Chapter 7 - Costume Change?

[megabadbunny]

Hi there - first of all, in case I haven't pestered you before, I love your art and your fic is amazing! Happy bunny day to you and your furry friends! 🐇🐰🐇 Your hair looks super cute! My hair is getting really long, and it's making me crazy. :( Do you live with a hairdresser? Or are you actually cutting it yourself somehow? Is there a video? Duolingo for hair? A correspondence course? Plz help!

Awww thank you thank you thank you!!!! You’re such a sweetheart. And happy Bunny Day to you, too!

As for my hair, yeah, I took a deep breath and buzzed/clipped it all off myself. I figured, hey, if it turned out crummy, no one would have to know but my husband and our rabbits! XD

So here’s the dilly: I am more than happy to share the steps I took, but I’m not a hairdresser by any means, so please proceed at your own discretion (and if anyone else sees this who has official hairdressing experience, please feel free to chime in with corrections/additional tips!)

First, I looked up pics for inspiration—“pixie with undercut” and “disconnected pixie” yielded the best results for me. Then I checked out a couple of tutorials, having the best luck with ones like the guy at https://getarazor.com/how-to-cut-your-own-hair-with-clippers/ that are aimed toward men. (Warning for cheesy illustrations, but they get the point across!)

To start, I would recommend throwing on an old crewneck tee shirt, one that’s loose enough to move around in easily, but with a close enough neckline that you won’t get all those prickly lil fresh-cut hairs sticking to your skin. (I did not follow this step myself, and thus ended up with a bunch of prickly lil fresh-cut hairs stuck to my skin 😝.) I did, however, remember to move the bathroom rug out of the way, so yay for that! After thoroughly dampening my hair, I secured the entirety of the longer portion atop my head and out of the way. Then, with my husbeast’s clippers in one hand and a handheld mirror in the other, I got started clippin’!

Source. This gentleman’s eyesight is way better than mine lolol, I had to look into the little mirror the whole time so I could get it close enough to my nearsighted lil eyeballs XD

Starting out with a #3 guard attached (that’s 3/8 of an inch), I shaved upward all around my head, beginning at the bottom hairline and shaving upwards to the line where the longer hair starts. I took breaks every once in a while to brush off the little hairs that collected along the clipper. Once I was satisfied that the buzz-job was even along the sides and back (good to put your glasses back on, for that part!), I switched to a #2 guard on the clipper (1/4”) and repeated the process, except this time I stopped around the tops of my ears, to give a subtled faded look. Then I removed the guard and used the naked clippers to shave off all the lil peach fuzzy hairs on my jawline/neck (bc why the heck not) and to trim and shape the hair at the nape of my neck as well as around my ears.

Source. I shaped my neck-nape-hairline into a “v” shape.

After checking to make sure my buzzed bits looked good all over, I let down the longer portion of my hair on top, planning to take off about 2 inches. Working in sections, moving side-to-side, front to back, I pulled the longer hair up/out with a comb until the comb looked to be about 2” from the ends of my hair, and then I cut along the comb with the naked clippers.

Source. Like this, but further out! Coincidentally, this is how I accidentally cut a racing stripe into the side of my head. So, y’know, consider this your hearty warning to be extra-careful at this juncture. And if you do end up buzzing any oopsy lines on your back or sides, consider leaning the fuck into it and building on so it all looks intentional. :D

The more I clipped, the more I got kind of a feel for how the hair needed to be shaped and cut in order to make my desired style work–pay attention to the direction your hair grows in and the way it wants to fall, that’ll make a big difference. For me it worked out well to keep it a little longer in front and cut it a little shorter and shorter as I went back–I’d say it’s about 1.5″ long in the back, 5″ or so long in the very front. After it looked/felt done, I ran the comb through all the longer hair, and then went back through and combed it all back up and out to make sure I hadn’t missed any random chunks (I definitely had) and to ensure that there weren’t any bits that stuck out too long for their placement on my head (there were). Once I’d trimmed those bits accordingly, it was time for cleanup! Our dustbuster took care of all the hair chunks on the floor, I brushed out all the stray hairs from the bathroom sink, and of course you can’t forget to clean off your clipper, too! This was right about when I realized I had Made A Mistake and it would have been a good idea to wear a cape or tee-shirt; as it was, I used a mega lint-roller to sticky all the loose hairs off my skin :D

And yeah, that’s about it! I’ve had good luck with letting it air-dry and working a lil pomade through, I’ve had good luck with blowing it dry, and it holds up for several days between washings (and dry shampoo gives it some NICE volume!). It’s working out great so far for my naturally curly-wavy hair texture, which contributes nicely to the casual-tousled look and is also very forgiving for the many mistakes I’m sure I made XD

And just for shits and giggles, here’s a before-during-and-after for ya:

Nothing wrong with the original look, just sometimes you look in the mirror and say to yourself, “Self, how can we look Even More Gay”

Accidental racing stripe feels lonely? Consider giving it a friend! :D

Anyhoo! I think that’s pretty much it. Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions comments concerns corrections additions subtractions multiplications or any other kind of math* in relation to this post! If you do end up taking the plunge and cuttin’ all your own hairs, best of luck and SEND ME PIX! :D

Have a lovely week and stay safe, sane, and healthy! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

* Please do not actually send me any math, math is not my friend. It taunts me

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 2/24/21

SEAN: As I write this, Texas is being hit with blizzards. Why not curl up… in your dark house with no power… with some manga?

Airship gives us the print volume of the 2nd I’m in Love with the Villainess, and also a print volume for Skeleton Knight in Another World 8.

ASH: I haven’t finished reading the first volume of I’m in Love with the Villainess quite yet, but I suspect I’ll want to pick up the second.

SEAN: Denpa’s site says that The Girl with the Sanpaku Eyes 2 is out next week.

J-Novel Club has a trio of light novels. By the Grace of the Gods 6, Campfire Cooking in Another World 9, and The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan 8.

On the manga side, they have The Faraway Paladin 4 and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 5.

Kodansha has two print debuts, though we’ve seen them both digitally before. Cells at Work: Baby! is essentially the superdeformed version of the series.

ASH: I enjoyed the original series, but haven’t managed to keep up with all the spinoffs!

SEAN: A Sign of Affection (Yubisaki to Renren) is one that I’ve gushed about before, but here I am gushing about it again. This story of a boy and girl meeting and falling in love, it’s all about communication, as our heroine is hearing impaired, and our globe trotting hero does not know sign language. Fans of Kimi ni Todoke should check this out.

MICHELLE: I missed this when it was a digital debut, so I’m grateful for a second chance at it.

ANNA: Amazingly, this is one of the very few Kodansha digital titles that I have read, and it is absolutely wonderful. It is by suu Morishita, so fans of Shortcake Cake should absolutely pick it up. I’m sure I bought the first couple volumes digitally due to Sean’s gushing and just never posted about it. Morishita does some wonderfully innovative storytelling as the two main characters figure out how to communicate with each other, and the hearing-impaired heroine is portrayed with great sensitivity. I’m so rooting for Yuki and her first real romance!!

ASH: I’m really looking forward to reading this one now that it’s in print. Can’t pass it up with recommendations like that.

MELINDA: Well, how can I possibly resist after that glowing recommendation?

SEAN: Also in print: Heaven’s Design Team 3. The anime is currently airing.

ASH: I have legitimately learned things about animal life reading this series.

SEAN: Digitally the debut is How Do You Do, Koharu? (Gokigenyou, Koharu-san), by the author of (and in the same universe as) Say I Love You. Koharu (the younger sister of Yamato, the male lead in Say I Love You) prefers to keep her friends solely on the digital side… till she’s tempted by a follower who she might want to be more than just friends with. This runs, of course, in Dessert. I hope it is a bit less drama-filled than its parent series.

MICHELLE: I’d seen this one on the release calendar but didn’t realize it had any connection to Say I Love You. Interesting!

SEAN: We also see DAYS 22, Harem Marriage 2, Maid in Honey 6 (the final volume), My Best () Butler 6, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1 2, Shangri-La Frontier 2, What I Love About You 3, and When We’re in Love 5.

Seven Seas’s biggest debut may be one that came out first nearly 10 years ago. After a period where it seemed that you couldn’t go a week without a new volume, the Alice in the Country of _________ series vanished, allegedly due to licensing difficulties with the original creator. But now it’s back… in digital form! It’s getting rolled out over several weeks. This week we get The Clockmaker’s Story and Love Labyrinth of Thorns (Julius) and The Mad Hatter’s Late Night Tea Party 1 & 2 (Blood).

ANNA: I think I’m tapped out of Alice in the Country of stories but I’m amused to see these being released again.

ASH: Oh, wow! I had somehow previously missed this news.

SEAN: In actual new titles, the debut is Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon (Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts), a yuri office romance story that runs in Comic Yuri Hime. Always happy to see more non-high school students.

And there is The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Wizard’s Blue 2, Days of Love at Seagull Villa 2, Failed Princesses 3, and How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? 5.

MICHELLE: I still haven’t even read volume 1 of Seagull Villa!

SEAN: Square Enix Manga debuts Ragna Crimson, a Gangan Joker title whose summary has the words “dark fantasy” and “revenge-fueled quest” and I stopped caring.

In much better Square Enix manga news, we get A Man and His Cat 3.

MICHELLE: Yay!

MELINDA: Yes!

SEAN: Apologies to Tentai Books, I missed their debut light novel which is actually out later this week. World Teacher: Special Agent in Another World (World Teacher: Isekaishiki Kyouiku Agent) is another of those books where the plot is described by the title.

Tokyopop has a debut. The Cat Proposed (Bakeneko Katatte Sourou) is a one-shot BL title from Canna. A man watches a play and sees one of the actors has cat ears. Turns out he’s a bakeneko, and has chosen our protagonist as his spouse!

There’s also the 3rd and final volume of Still Sick.

Vertical has Ajin: Demi-Human 16 and Bakemonogatari’s 7th manga volume.

Yen On has had a few date shifts (try to contain your shock), but we do get a few new volumes this week… and two old ones, as Haruhi Suzumiya 3 and 4 get reprints. 4 is considered the series’ high point.

And there is Do You Love Your Mom (and Her Two-Hit, Multi-Target Attacks?) 8, The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn As a Typical Nobody 5, In the Land of Leadale 2, Konosuba 13, and May These Leaden Battlegrounds Leave No Trace 3.

There’s also a Yen Press title I missed last week, as it’s out this Saturday. Megumi Hayashibara’s The Characters Taught Me Everything: Living Life One Episode at a Time is her new memoir, and Yen is putting it out digitally the same day it comes out in Japan!

ASH: I really hope this is released in print at some point, too! It should be really good.

SEAN: Because of various delays and date shifts, Yen Press has FIVE manga debuts next week. We start with Adachi & Shimamura, the manga version of which we’ve already seen the light novel and the anime. Please enjoy Adachi’s gay panic and Shimamura’s attempts to be a functioning human being in a new medium. This runs in Dengeki Daioh.

Days on Fes is a series about two friends going to rock festivals, and that’s about all it is, from what I hear. Sounds like a Laid-Back Camp vibe. This runs in Comic Newtype.

ASH: Oh, that could fun.

MELINDA: I might be into this? As someone who used to go to a lot of music festivals, that is.

SEAN: The Girl without a Face (Kao ga Nai Onnanoko) is a one-shot from Comic Beam. A boy and girl are in love. She’s a bit… expressionless – literally – but that’s just fine. This looks both cute and spooky?

ASH: This could be fun, too!

SEAN: Golden Japanesque – A Splendid Yokohama Romance is the sort of josei title folks were BEGGING for ten years ago. It runs in Flowers’ online magazine, and its author did Kare First Love, for Viz fans with long memories. A Meiji-era title about a half-Japanese girl who’s discriminated against and the boy who thinks she’s a fairy-tale character.

MICHELLE: Ooh! I actually do own all of Kare First Love, as it happens.

ANNA: I am a Viz fan with a long memory and I think I own most of Kare First Love too. I am officially intrigued and will be picking this up.

ASH: Same!

MELINDA: Same here!

SEAN: Lastly there is ID:Invaded #Brake-Broken, a title which hurts me when I try to say it out loud. It’s the sequel to the anime, and runs in Young Ace.

We also get Eniale & Dewiela 2, Mieruko-chan 2, Overlord: The Undead King-Oh! 6, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 13, Slasher Maidens 2, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 7, The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap 2, and A Witch’s Love at the End of the World 2.

ASH: I’ll likely be picking up a few of those, too.

SEAN: What manga melts the weather all around you?

By: Sean Gaffney

[afteriwake]

The Cacophony Of Life (2/6)

AN UPDATE! SHOCKGASP! I KNOW!

Here’s an introduction to their preteen years. Enjoy (especially you, @elliedilly...I know you’ve been waiting forever).

The Cacophony Of Life - From birth, every person can hear the music that their soul mate hears, whether it’s music that they’re playing, listening to or singing along to, in their mind. Measures can be taken to lessen the sound, but there are times when the sound is too much, too overwhelming. For years, Sherlock Holmes and Molly Hooper use their connection to each other through the music they both hear to communicate: first to annoy each other as children, then to care for each other as teenagers and young adults, and finally to express the longing that hopefully one day, and one day soon, they’ll meet each other face to face and express the love that’s grown between them throughout the years.

Read Part 1 | Read Part 2 | Help Me Survive? | Commission Me?

May 1990 Molly Depeche Mode, “Enjoy The Silence” Sherlock Frédéric Chopin, “Prelude in E-Minor (op.28 no. 4”

She was starting to hate the smell of hospitals.

Dad was in the hospital again, though Mum swore he’d be out and about in no time, but they both thought she didn’t hear them when they talked at night. Sound carried in their little home in Bozeat, especially at night, when her room was quiet and so was her head.

Like she wished it was now.

She could tell her headmate was playing the music again. Was there nothing he...she...couldn’t do? She could barely dance and they were a bloody prodigy! It wasn’t fair.

None of this was fair, not at all.

She took her cassette player and went outside, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. Dad may come home, yeah, but this wasn’t going to end well. The hospital visits were becoming more frequent, the whispered conversations at home becoming more urgent, and she knew the truth even if her parents didn’t want to admit it: they had less time with her dad being alive than ever before. Maybe a few years, maybe a year, maybe months…

She jammed on her headphones and thumbed the volume dial all the way up. Yeah, sure, it could hurt her hearing but she didn’t care. Soon the soothing sounds of Dave Gahan’s voice filled her ears, drowning out the classical music a bit more.

Words like violence Break the silence Come crashing in Into my little world Painful to me Pierce right through me Can't you understand Oh my little girl

It took her a few moments to realize the other music, the music her headmate was creating, was slowing. It wasn’t their normal abrupt halt before doubling down. It was more that they were actually...listening. The song must have been a shock, roaring through their head like it did hers, but there was no retaliation.

Not this time.

All I ever wanted All I ever needed Is here in my arms Words are very unnecessary They can only do harm

And then, seemingly, they picked up the melody, playing a counterpoint, and she stopped in her tracks. This wasn’t the sort of music their headmate liked but they were...comforting her?

The tears fell and they couldn’t stop, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Someone was there, someone maybe cared. Maybe they didn’t know it all but...this was a change.

A change she needed oh so badly.

September 1991 Sherlock Johannes Brahms, “Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 - III. Allegro giocoso” Molly Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”

He stood up on the platform, violin tucked under his chin. His headmate had been rather quiet the last few months, and he’d thought with there being a summer break she or he would have been playing music all the time. He certainly was. But it seemed, perhaps, he was playing to an audience of one even when he was in a room of his own. There had been a comfort in that, that the two of them were no longer being childish.

It was...nice.

Nice things had been in short supply when there had been an increase in the fights in the household. His family would never yell, no, but things changed. It decidedly got colder, darker…

Lonelier.

So for his headmate to let him be in peace had been a blessing.

He had not started to play when suddenly there was a blaring sound in his head and he grit his teeth. Not now, not now…

Load up on guns, bring your friends It's fun to lose and to pretend She's over bored and self assured Oh no, I know a dirty word

“May I be excused for a moment?” he asked the people who were judging him and his entrance to an elite music program. They nodded and he dashed to the lobby of the building, his headmate’s song repeating stupid, meaningless lyrics until there was a pause.

With the lights out, it's less dangerous Here we are now, entertain us I feel stupid and contagious Here we are now, entertain us A mulatto An albino A mosquito My libido Yeah, hey, yay

He laid his bow across the strings and then made the most horrific sound he could and the sound cut off in his head immediately. He waited a few moments to see if his headmate turned their music back on, but there was blissful silence. He took careful steps back into the auditorium, got on the platform again, and began to play the piece by Brahms he had been practicing for months.

All to blissful, sweet silence in his head.

Except for the hum.

They had heard him play this song at least a hundred times, and he found the hum to be a pleasant accompaniment to his playing instead of a distraction. His playing got more lively, infused with feelings he couldn’t quite describe, and he felt a small smile form on his face before he closed his eyes and let the music take him away.

And then, the song was over, and the humming was gone, and he felt...alone.

But the adults were clapping and he would show his gratefulness to his headmate later, he thought to himself as he took a bow.

March 1992 Molly Guns N’ Roses, “November Rain” Sherlock Robert Alexander Schumann, “Träumerei” (as performed by Mischa Elman & Joseph Seiger)

The song played on the radio as her mum brought her home from school, a different tune in her head, giving her a headache. A trip into London, have to go, urgent. A sad song for a sad occasion. Dad had to be rushed to one of the bigger hospitals for a series of tests and she and her family were staying at a hotel nearby and she’d get a week out of school.

As if that would make it any better.

Her classmates were mean. She was losing her father, bits and pieces at a time, didn’t they care? But no, they teased about the cane he used, the wheelchair he was in sometimes, the sudden weight loss, the loss of hair…

She was losing pieces of her father a bit at a time and they didn’t care.

She felt tears at her eyes for she didn’t know how many times this week, but soon she heard the other song in her head stop and a counterpoint to the orchestral beginning and she relaxed. Rain on the outside of the car to match the song, and beautiful music in her head to remind her she wasn’t alone. She had the feeling even though there was Slash’s guitar solo in this, her headmate appreciated the long version with the orchestral beginning. They never joined in before today, but they never stopped her from listening to it. Perhaps this was a shared song to love? Who knew?

She shut her eyes and set her head against the window as the lyrics came into play, her hand against the glass and a sad smile on her face as she hummed along to Axl’s vocals.

When I look into your eyes I can see a love restrained But darlin' when I hold you Don't you know I feel the same

'Cause nothin' lasts forever And we both know hearts can change And it's hard to hold a candle In the cold November rain

This might not last forever, but it was happening now, and she was so so grateful for the music in her head.

November 1993 Sherlock Giuseppe Verdi, “La Forza del Destino Overture” Molly Smashing Pumpkins, “Mayonaise”

For once, the music on his record player and the music in his head, though at odds, were a blessing. There was a row going on downstairs and so one of his favourite overtures was playing as loudly as the record player could play it. He knew his parents may be upset but frankly, he didn’t care. He didn’t care much about pleasing them in any shape or form since he knew he was going to be sent off to another boarding school soon.

Was this all his own fault? No, not really. He had a set of skills, he put them to use and instead of making the world better he was laughed off. Well, he’d show them one day. One day, everyone would know who he was and he would be important.

His headmate had been listening to a particular album off and on over the last few weeks and he was surprised that he found it interesting. It was not his typical sort of music, a bit more...avant-garde? Experimental? But he had heard of this alternative grunge music coming out of America, in Seattle, and that seemed to be what his headmate liked. Some of it was too loud, too crass, but this particular band was rather melodic in some ways. He knew the name now of one of the songs he’d heard in his head, “Disarm,” and this one wasn’t so bad either.

Mother weep the years I'm missing All our time can't be given Back Shut my mouth and strike the demons That cursed you and your reasons Out of hand and out of season Out of love and out of feeling So bad

When I can, I will Words defy the plan When I can, I will

Fool enough to almost be it And cool enough to not quite see it And old enough to always feel this Always old, I'll always feel this

No more promise no more sorrow No longer will I follow Can anybody hear me I just want to be me When I can, I will Try to understand That when I can, I will

He made a mental note to buy himself this album the next time he went looking for vinyl, and to thank his headmate when he met them...whenever that would be.

August 1994 Molly Nine Inch Nails, “Hurt” Sherlock Sherlock Holmes, Untitled Original Compositions

I hurt myself today

To see if I still feel

I focus on the pain

The only thing that's real

The needle tears a hole

The old familiar sting

Try to kill it all away

But I remember everything

She felt so hollow. She’d thrown herself on her bed after the funeral and turned this song on and kept it going, over and over and over, until she had fallen asleep. Had she fallen asleep? She didn’t know.

She didn’t care.

What have I become? My sweetest friend Everyone I know Goes away in the end You could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt

It wasn’t apparent at first, but she heard something in her mind. Something...hopeful. Maybe even happy. Something that just made her want to reach out and find her headmate and hold them, have them hold her. She turned the song off and curled back onto her side, clutching the stuffed cat her father had given her when she was a baby, thinking she had no tears left to cry and yet there was new wetness on her cheeks.

The song was slow. Not because the song was meant to be slow, but it was as though her headmate was running on residual strength. But he or she kept playing, even though she imagined their arms must be so tired, so sore.

Had they been playing the entire time she was asleep? She glanced at her bedside clock and saw she’d been asleep for four hours. Four hours?!? Playing the violin for four hours straight? Bloody hell…

Soon the song tapered off after a little more, but she picked up on what the melody had begun and hummed her own version of the song. Then she wasn’t alone. There was a soft humming in her mind, knowingly differing the song to match her version. Soon the humming faded and she imagined her headmate had exhausted themselves.

But she kept humming until she, too, fell asleep, knowing she owed her headmate more than they could ever imagine.

[kimamanitranslatesnovels]

Destruction Flag Otome v3c2pt1

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T/N:

In case you missed my comment last week, I intend to release a part every week by Tuesday. 

There’s still a few hours left of Tuesday where I live... ^^;

I’m hoping to get out Volumes 3 and 4 by the end of the summer before school starts.

Volume 3, Chapter 2: Everyone’s Respective School Festival

Part 1: Pages 113 - 138 

For the magic academy’s school festival, I, Keith Claes, as a member of the student council, was placed in charge of the area displaying information about this country’s history and magical research.

As I greet the never-ending stream of students, parents, and guardians with a friendly smile, I wait for my older sister, who said that she would come right away yet still isn’t here.

It’s been quite some time since she said “Once I look around at the booths, I’ll buy some food for you and come back.”

Mary Hart, who’s a friend, a student council member like me, and is also in charge of this area, seems to be pretty worried about my big sister as well. She’s beginning to look rather depressed.

Well, if I’ve read the situation right, my stepsister Katarina probably lost track of time after being totally captivated by the food at the booths.

And then in the end, long after noon, the awaited person finally arrived. On seeing us, Katarina smiled wide and ran towards us, holding many bags. As I had predicted, Katarina had been distracted munching food at the booths and so came late.

“… I’m sorry,” apologizes Katarina, looking downcast.

In response Mary just says “Do not worry yourself over it. The most important thing is that you’re safe,” but… my stepsister is the type to do the exact same thing all over again if spoiled.

“I agree. Nee-san, you’re way too excited today. Please be a bit more conscious of yourself – it’s easy enough for you to get wrapped up in trouble as it is,” I say with a strict face, even as I feel a bit sorry for her.

Since we were small, Katarina has often ended up in trouble thanks to fraudsters and scammers. The incident she got wrapped up in last year was even life-threatening. And yet despite that, this carefree, worry-free stepsister of mine seems to have completely forgotten about that - lately she’s been particularly in high spirits.

No matter how much I warn her about Jared, who’s trying to make Katarina his own day in day out, it just goes in through one ear and out the other. She nonchalantly tries to go to his room on her own.

Katarina appears to be lacking self-awareness that she’s a grown woman who may be looked upon with desire. That’s why in this way I have to keep my guard up every day, eyes peeled. In order to protect her as well.

Even though she probably ate tons at the booths, she ended up having tea with us as well. I naturally commented without thinking that she was eating too much, but I was actually pretty happy that she would be sitting at a table with me.

In truth, I would’ve preferred to walk around with her at the school festival, but thanks to my duties as a student council member I was stuck here. Today really made me regret becoming a student council member. I wondered why I did.

“Wow, it looks so good!” says Katarina happily as she sees the sandwiches laid out on the table.

Her expression when her eyes are sparkling is very cute.

“I concur. It looks very good. Thank you very much, Katarina-sama,” says Mary to Katarina, looking like she’s having fun as she laughs.

However, I still can’t not say it.

“Nee-san, you just ate a lot, so keep it to just a little. You’ll get a stomach ache if you eat too much.”

“Okay…”

Katarina looks downhearted again at my words. I feel sorry for her, but if I don’t lecture her properly she’ll eat too much… everything is for her sake.

For a while she munched down on sandwiches eagerly, but eventually she began thinking about something as she looked about.

Ah, this is probably – just as I thought that, sure enough –

“Hey, Keith. Do you want to split with me?”

Katarina said what I had expected.

“… Yeah. I thought you’d ask that. Sure.”

“Yay!”

Katarina loves eating. And at times, it seems she just can’t go without eating certain unusual things or things that caught her eye. It also seems that she’s determined to eat anything she touches.

Other nobles barely touch food before leaving it on their plates on an everyday basis, so I really think Katarina is strange.

However, before being taken in by the Claes family, I was only ever given minimal portions of food. Thus as I learned that food is precious, I like what Katarina is doing.

I felt much too sorry for Katarina, who desperately ate anything she touched and ended up getting stomach aches. And so I eventually said to her a number of years back: “If you want to eat so many different things then you should split with me. I’ll eat the remainder.”

Katarina was even more overjoyed than I expected at my plan, and since then, we’ve split a variety of food so long as we’re not in public.

Splitting food is like a privilege only given to family members. I was very happy that the only person Katarina split food with was me.

“Here you go, Keith.”

Having gotten my approval, Katarina halves a potato salad sandwich and holds one half to my mouth.

“What’s the matter, Keith?”

Katarina looks at me in puzzlement. She likely doesn’t understand anything.

Don’t say “What’s the matter?” – realize what’s wrong, please.

“Ah, um, nee-san. Why don’t we not do this in front of others?” I say mildly, but –

“In front of others? But you said that it was alright to split things with you so long as it wasn’t in public. You said it was okay a second ago, right?”

“No, it’s not about splitting with you… I mean…”

She just doesn’t get it at all… Mary’s stare pierces me.

“Oh? So long as it’s not in front of others, you two do this all the time?” says Mary, smiling with just her mouth as she continues to glare at me antagonistically.

“Ah, yeah. When I want to eat something but can’t eat it all, we split it and I have him eat the other half.”

That’s true. What you’ve said so far is fine, so why don’t you just stop there, nee-san?

“I see. And Katarina-sama, you always take his half in your hand and offer it directly to Keith-sama’s mouth?” Mary asks about the one thing I didn’t want her to hear.

I look at Katarina, trying to soundlessly convey to her to stay quiet… but naturally, she’s not the type of person to notice that kind of look.

“Yup. I didn’t do that before, but a little while back Keith said that he wanted me to feed him like this when we split things.”

She revealed everything. Mary’s glare increases in ferocity all at once.

It’s true. Originally, I was satisfied in being the only one to split things with her… but Jared’s aggressive contact over the past couple years awakened greed within me.

I live in the same house as Katarina and interact with her the most in the first place. To be honest, if I wanted to do something, I could do it easily.

… I could do it easily, but unfortunately I don’t have that kind of guts.

And anyways recently I haven’t been able to casually touch her since she’s become much more like a woman. Her nice smell, her soft body – just by being close to her, my heart beats faster, my body heats up, and so I avoid her without thinking.

In recent years, I haven’t known what to do with myself.

And during my turmoil, Jared steps in calmly and touches Katarina.

Even though I want to touch her too! But in the end, even as I think that, I can’t touch her like Jared does. And so, I thought to then fight back by having Katarina feed me when we split food.

I did consider myself pathetic for getting Katarina to reach out to me because I couldn’t touch her. But I still felt very happy when she easily agreed to my request and held out her hand to my mouth.

Given that she’s dense and hasn’t realized the feelings I’ve held for her for years, it seems she hadn’t understood the meaning of her actions. Still, I secretly felt superior for being the only one being fed by Katarina in this way.

To think that it would all be revealed in this way.

“Keith-sama, did I not warn you to not take advantage of being family to get ahead?” says Mary, looking at me piercingly.

It’s true that Mary and I, united before our common enemy Jared, temporarily came to an agreement. Honestly, she should forgive me for this much in comparison to Jared.

But in response to my excuse –

“Please do not use Jared-sama as an excuse. He’s just unusual! … I miscalculated, I had thought that he had so many hidden plans that I could not lay a hand on him.”

She responded with a cold gaze and a sharp voice.

When I met Mary Hart, a marquis’ daughter, nine years ago, she was just a little girl with little self-confidence… how did she become such an aggressive woman today? Well, a certain somebody’s influence is probably one of the reasons why…

“I apologize, but I heard that second part even though you said it in a smaller voice. Anyways, Mary, you take advantage of being the same sex as her all the time, embracing her and touching her and all sorts of things.”

Loving Katarina as she does, Mary touches Katarina even more than Jared. This is because they’re the same sex, but despite that, I’ve always thought that they still touch too much.

“My, how rude of you to say that I’m ‘taking advantage’. We are the same sex, so it’s perfectly normal for us to embrace and touch each other. Eventually, perhaps we’ll even bathe together…”

“Um, no, no matter how I think about what you’re saying, Mary, it isn’t normal.”

“My, is that not an issue on your side?”

Even having come to an agreement, given that Mary and I like the same person (though, I’m still not entirely sure if Mary feels the same way as me or if she just feels friendship), once we let our dissatisfaction towards each other free, our abuse of each other just wouldn’t stop.

Furthermore, both of us had been feeling resentful that we were stuck in a place like this thanks to our student council duties - and unable to walk around the school festival with Katarina. Thus, our abuse of each other worsened. And yet.

“Keith, Mary. If it comes down to it, I promise to stand by the two of you, so don’t worry! I won’t let it end in tragedy like with Romeo and his lover!”

We stopped at Katarina’s sudden words.

Just what is she thinking? Well, I can kind of understand what she’s thinking, but I can’t understand how she came to that conclusion at all.

“Nee-san. I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking, but… I am absolutely certain that you’re mistaken,” I say calmly to Katarina, who looks towards us all fired up.

“I concur. I disagree with anything you imagined,” Mary adds on firmly.

“… Um. Keith and Mary, are you two in love – ”

“ – No,” say Mary and I in perfect union.

As I had thought, Katarina had somehow completely misunderstood things. Why does this stepsister of mine always think of the most outrageous things? Despite not noticing the most important thing, my feelings… I’d like to see how her mind works sometime.

“Nee-san, who’s Romeo?”

I can’t ignore the name of an unknown man slipping from Katarina’s lips. It’ll be a problem if she unintentionally seduces someone again. I would like to be spared from my rivals increasing any more.

************

On this day, I, Nikol Ascarot, was visiting the magic academy’s school festival. To anyone who asks, I came to visit my little sister Sophia, but in reality there’s someone I want to see even more than my sister.

I secretly hold feelings towards Katarina Claes, a duke’s daughter and childhood friend of her fiancé Jared.

Unfortunately, having graduated, my opportunities to see her have decreased dramatically. Thus nowadays, I want to see her, even if it’s only for a little bit. I was beside myself from wanting to see her smile.

When I went to go visit my little sister who was at the stage where they were doing plays and performances, I was placed in front of the entranceway for some reason. As I was feeling fed up with all the stares, I was then told to go hunker backstage. To be honest, I was relieved when I went backstage.

I'm aware that I’ve attracted attention from people since I was young. But I feel as though it’s gotten even worse lately. People stare at me incessantly but if I look towards them, they avert their gaze. Honestly, it doesn’t feel that great.

In comparison, it feels so soothing to see Katarina’s direct gaze towards me. Seeing myself reflected in her light blue eyes makes me feel incredibly happy.

I want to see her soon. As if those feelings reached her, at that moment Katarina came into the dim backstage area with a smile bright enough to light up the room.

“Ah, Katarina-sama. I see you came,” greets Sophia, looking overjoyed.

My little sister likes Katarina very much as well. After all, Sophia’s able to walk around outside with a smile because she met Katarina.

“Katarina, it’s been a while.”

I can feel my mouth naturally forming a smile just from seeing her. I’m very happy to see her after so long.

“… Yes, it’s been a while. Nikol-sama,” she responds, looking straight at me, just as she always has. My chest feels hot.

“Why are you two backstage? If you stood out front, wouldn’t people gather just to see you?”

In response to Katarina’s question, Sophia begins to explain what happened up until now. Once the explanation ends, Katarina holds out one of the bags gripped in her hands to Sophia, who looks downcast. She says that it’s food for us.

I felt relieved that Sophia started smiling again after accepting the bag of food. After all, the reason why Sophia looked downhearted was me… I’m impressed with Katarina, who restored my little sister’s smile again.

“Speaking of which, Katarina-sama, in the end you refused to participate in the student council’s play, no?” says Sophia suddenly after regaining her smile, as if she had just remembered this.  

Sophia did mention in her letters that there would be a play performed by the student council members, so she’s probably talking about that. She never mentioned who exactly would be acting in the play so I assumed that Katarina would be performing… but it seems as though I was mistaken.

“I’m not a member of the student council, and I can’t act,” says Katarina frankly.

In response, Sophia looks sad and says “I was looking forward to seeing Katarina-sama on the stage, and yet…”

“So I see, Katarina isn’t going to be in the play,” I murmur without thinking. I wanted to see her act on stage – what a disappointment.

Katarina then says:

“I think that the audience would be much happier if Nikol-sama made an appearance. You refrained from doing anything for the school festival two years ago, correct? Would you perhaps like to make a small guest appearance this year?”

Just as Katarina says, it’s true that I didn’t contribute much to any attractions at the school festival I attended when I was a student. Since I’m friends with many people in the current student council and my sister is also a member, I want to help out if I can…

“… But I can’t act.”

“You can’t act?”

Katarina looks blank at my answer. It seems she can’t understand what I said. As I think about explaining things to her properly, Sophia steps in.

“It’s true that acting may be a bit of a burden for my brother… Even ignoring the draw of his position in society, my brother is rather splendid… but unfortunately, his major weakness is that he cannot control his expressions at will.”

After hearing Sophia’s explanation, Katarina says, “Oh, I see… So that’s how it was,” looking as though she accepts the reasoning.

I feel complicated feelings watching the two of them. Yes, just as my little sister Sophia says, I can’t control my expressions at will. Or well, I thought I could control my expressions, but apparently it doesn’t go that well.

When I was still a student, Katarina commented “You don’t seem to smile much when you’re with your school friends, I see,” but I wondered whether that really was the case. I had thought that I had successfully faked smiles to an acceptable extent… but it seems as though I hadn’t.

I had thought that I would successfully smile when Katarina would ask me “Alright, Nikol-sama. Please smile.” … but apparently I hadn’t been able to smile at all.

In this way, I discovered the shocking truth that I couldn’t smile at will… or rather that I couldn’t emote at all at will.

However, now that I look back on things, whenever I met someone’s gaze they always immediately averted their eyes, so perhaps no one ever looked at my face properly. What a pathetic story.

And so, no matter how much I try, I don’t believe I would be able to act.

“Oh, but perhaps my brother would be able to smile if he were talking with Katarina-sama.”

Just as I had begun calming down, Sophia says something like that. I was shocked… what is she saying all of a sudden?

“No, wouldn’t it be better if he were talking with you, Sophia?” says Katarina, looking fairly shocked as well.

“No, I’m not enough. In order to draw out my brother’s smile, we need Katarina-sama.”

“No, I would think that I’m not enough…”

“Most definitely not. I’ve got it! Why don’t we have my brother recite lines from that play right now? If Katarina-sama would be his conversation partner, I’m sure that he would be able to recite them with a smile.”

It’s true that in front of Katarina, I unconsciously let out a natural smile. However… that doesn’t mean I can do that while acting.

But my happy-go-lucky little sister who seems to have latched onto her plan just began to explain some lines and gestures from the upcoming play to me with shining eyes.

At first, seeing how enthusiastic Sophia was I thought ‘Well, I guess it can’t hurt to try,’ and listened to her explanations… but as I heard more and more concrete details, my apprehension rose.

Unexpectedly, Sophia wanted Katarina and me to perform the love confession scene.

It was the highlight of the play, where the prince caresses the hair of the girl he loves, smiling, then confesses softly before embracing her.

In other words, I would confess my love to Katarina, then embrace her of all things. As I hesitated, thinking that I couldn’t do such a thing, Katarina in direct contrast stood up tall and confidently before me and said “Very well, go on, Nikol-sama!”

I don’t really get it, but it’s clear she’s raring to go. Encouraged by Katarina’s spirit, I make my way towards her, but…

“… Sophia, I don’t think…”

While I may be able to confess to her, to embrace someone’s fiancée even in a performance is a bit…

“No. Onii-sama, please do this properly. You’re already at a disadvantage compared to everyone else since you’ve graduated, so you have to take these chances as they come!”

Sophia speaks a small voice, but it’s clear that she won’t accept any objections.

Ever since she found out about my feelings, she’s been passionately trying to push Katarina and me together… but to be honest, I think the way things are right now is fine.

It’s not like I want to steal her from Jared. If I get too close with her, I might end up greedier.

Even as I think this, unable to disobey under my sister’s expectant gaze, I steel myself just for now.

“Katarina, are you ready?”

As I steel my nerves completely, Katarina responds brightly.

“Yes. To help out Sophia, I’ll be a good acting partner for you! Leave it to me.”

“I see… thank you.”

I can feel another smile naturally spreading across my face at her straightforward, kind demeanour. Those light blue eyes that gaze directly at me. Ah, I really do love this girl.

“I love you.”

I don’t know whether those words were just words from the play or my true feelings…

Next Katarina should say “I do too, Prince.”

“… I – I do too. Nikol-sama.”

On hearing those words spill out from her with her cheeks lightly stained red, my mind went blank for a moment. And then my body grew hot all at once.

She responded to my confession. She said my name. Joy unlike anything I had felt before filled me up. The small rational part of my brain reminded me that she just messed up her line, but…

In truth, it’s a lie that I don’t want to steal her from Jared and make her my own. I just tell myself that all the time so I can desperately slam a lid on my feelings. In truth… in truth, I want her. I want the girl called Katarina Claes so much I can’t stand it.

I want to steal her from Jared and make her my own.

The lid holding back my feelings starts to rattle.

“Um, Nikol-sama…”

On hearing my name spill from her lips yet again, I’m unable to hold myself back any longer. And so I embrace her soft, warm body.

“… Katarina, even if you became someone else’s, I would surely…”

I would surely be eternally unable to give up on you. And then, one day, when I would finally be unable to hold back my feelings any longer, I would…

T/N:

Little shorter this week because end of term moving chaos and starting work. I don’t want to split the chapter into three so next week will be longer though :) 

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[terrifyingrenegadelibrary]

Chapter 10

This chapter marks the end of Volume 1 of TSSBD!, and there will be a short break of one week before Volume 2.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

-Morgan stares at where Quinn used to be. All that’s left is a pink haze-

Morgan: Quinn…?

-nope-

Morgan: Quinn…

-she starts to shake-

Morgan: No…

-and off she runs-

Morgan: Please, please, please…

-Morgan runs through the streets, finding only piles of ash and the branches of Death magic, still hanging in the air-

-Liz appears next to her, and places a hand on her shoulder. Morgan jerks away-

Liz: Laura was going to tell you. It’s why I had her go with Evan. I thought your finding out then would be…counterproductive.

Morgan: So you decided you just wouldn’t tell me at all?

Liz: Come to the graveyard. We’ll explain everything there.

Morgan: Do I have a choice?

Liz: You could run. I wouldn’t recommend it.

-she gently pushes on Morgan’s back. Morgan takes the hint and proceeds towards the graveyard, Liz trailing behind, her expression unreadable-

-as they arrive at the graveyard, they find the rest of team Zaresi gathered. Evan is lounging on a tombstone, the Reapers have clustered around Zaresi, and Laura is sitting off to the side, looking abjectly miserable. Zaresi herself has regained her normal height, and looms large at the center of it all-

Zaresi: Is everyone here?

Iggy: Um, madam—

Zaresi: Quiet, Iggy.

Liz: We’re all here, Zaresi.

Zaresi: Excellent. Now, Morgan, before we begin, I imagine you have some questions.

Evan: Do we have to do this?

Liz: Evan.

Morgan: Yeah, I have some questions.

-she steps forward, away from Liz, and marches up to Zaresi, staring her down-

Morgan: What the hell did you just do?

Evan: Uh, isn’t it obvious? We killed everyone in town who doesn’t follow Zaresi, and drained their magic for a power-up. Which reminds me, I don’t owe Janice those favors anymore. Yay me.

-Morgan lunges at Evan, but is restrained by a pair of Reapers-

Zaresi: Evan, I understand you are pleased, but make an effort to control yourself. You as well, Morgan.

-she shifts down, into her human form-

Zaresi: In essentials, Evan is correct, but I would prefer to explain my actions without his additions.

-Morgan struggles against the Reapers-

Zaresi: Please, release her.

-they do. Morgan immediately conjures her scythe and slashes at Zaresi, who sidesteps the blow without blinking-

Morgan: What possible explanation could you have for this? You tricked me!

Zaresi: Unfortunately necessary. As Nalis had claimed most of the town’s Magicians for himself, I was under the impression that one as powerful as you would be a limited resource. I wanted you on my side. In any case, your sister was fine.

-while this conversation is happening, Morgan is still doing her best to kill Zaresi, who is easily evading-

Morgan: Only because I agreed to sell my soul!

Zaresi: You did nothing so drastic. Can you deny you have helped to make this town better?

Morgan: I’m pretty sure I was just complicit in making it dead!

Zaresi: Again, an unfortunate necessity.

Morgan: What could possibly have made this necessary?

Zaresi: You have seen as well as I the pattern. We fight, we win, we leave Vorn or Erian or even Nalis alive to work mischief another day. We allow for the Nicholases of the world, the Enerils. We risk one of them winning out of a misguided sense of fair play.

Morgan: What happened to the Convocation?

Zaresi: Empty words that allow history to repeat itself. Like any law, it must be discarded as it becomes outmoded. I have evolved beyond it.

-she smiles slightly, and her voice alters in pitch slightly, sounding far more human-

Zaresi: You’re young, Morgan, and you’re new to this. Death is a part of life, and has just as much meaning.

Morgan: What are you talking about? There’s no meaning to this!

Zaresi: Which brings me to my next point. This ritual is just the first working step in a plan that’s been in the makings for a very long time.

Morgan: What?

-Zaresi stands still. Morgan rushes her, raising her wispy, but still very sharp, scythe-

Zaresi: I told you, I’m sick of conflict. With my new power, I’m going to stamp out all opposition, and rule alone in the world as a true god of Death. I will remove the veil that hides us from ordinary humans, and I will enforce order. There will be no more war, no more meaningless destruction. Only my absolute authority.

-Morgan stops dead, scythe raised over Zaresi’s head-

Zaresi: You get it now? The magic of this town was a necessary sacrifice. Originally, my plan was to use the tulpa as a weapon, consuming the gods in my path as I traveled, but you saw how well that worked out. So Evan began work on his ritual.

Morgan: But—

Evan: You really thought that was for use on some cloud in the woods? You’re dumber than you look.

-Morgan whips around towards Evan, but a pair of Reapers intercept her-

Zaresi: I understand that he is irritating, but your conflict right now is with me, and I would prefer to resolve things between us.

-she glares at Evan-

Zaresi: Without the interjections of third parties.

-Evan withdraws, looking sullen-

-Morgan, meanwhile, is reminded that she’s currently trying to kill Zaresi, and resumes doing exactly that. Zaresi continues easily avoiding the scythe-

Zaresi: After the ritual worked on Nicholas, I was sure it would be enough to provide me with the power I needed, but not if I only took power from the gods and Spirits. Unfortunately, I needed the magic stored in the humans too.

-she sighs, dipping her head just enough to avoid being decapitated-

Zaresi: Everything I’ve done was out of necessity, and I can promise you that no other innocents will be harmed.

Morgan: Like that makes up for what you’ve already done? You’re no better than Nicholas was, or the Dragon! You just move from place to place, take what you want, and you don’t care who gets hurt in the process!

Zaresi: Nicholas and Eneril had no purpose but conquest. I’m looking for peace. An end to violence.

Morgan: Except all the violence you do, of course.

Zaresi: Means to an end. You would have killed Nicholas. You helped destroyed the tulpa when you still thought it was a being in its own right.

Morgan: They were hurting people! They had to be stopped!

Zaresi: This is only an extension of that logic. I’m trading the lives of the people here in order to fix everything.

Morgan: But they did nothing wrong!

Zaresi: Which is why it’s unfortunate.

-Morgan’s scythe vanishes as she looks around the clearing. She meets Liz’s eyes-

Morgan: Liz! You’re sane! What’s wrong with this picture?!

Liz: The world is full of atrocities, Morgan. This is a few hundred people compared to saving billions.

-however, as soon as Morgan turns away, Liz looks to the side-

-Laura steps forwards, cautiously reaching out a hand-

Morgan: Don’t touch me!

-Laura withdraws-

Morgan: You had family here too! What about your brother?

Laura: You never met him, did you?

Morgan: No, but what does that—

Laura: He was dying, Morgan.

Morgan: What?

Laura: Same thing my parents had. Even Zaresi couldn’t fix it, in the end. He was in pain, every day, and all he wanted…all I wanted for him, was an end to that.

Morgan: And everyone else?! What about the balance you talked about? What about living a life outside Zaresi?

Laura: …Liz is right, Morgan. This is the best way to fix things, long-term. There’s going to be time for the rest once things are stable.

-Laura turns away-

Evan: What? You aren’t going to ask me why I’m doing this?

Morgan: I don’t really care.

Evan: Exactly, me neither! I mean, come on. Vorn was too busy talking tactics to pay attention to anything that was actually happening, Erian’s head was in the clouds in every sense imaginable, Nalis thought he was so clever and look where that got him, and Novju…I mean, what even was Novju? Some second-rate goddess who thought she was creative? Oh, and don’t get me started on the humans. Because let me tell you—

Liz: Evan. Quiet.

Evan: You take the fun out of life, let me tell you.

-even so, he shuts up-

Iggy: Um, does anyone want to—

Liz: No.

Zaresi: Are you in or out?

-Morgan lunges at Zaresi again-

Morgan: Of course I’m out!

-she swings, dissipates her scythe midswing, and conjures a new one going the other way, burying it in Zaresi’s chest. The goddess takes a few steps backwards, face tight with pain-

Evan: Zaresi!

-he rushes forwards-

Zaresi: Evan, stay back!

-she looks up at Morgan, untwisting her face-

Morgan: Maybe I don’t have much power right now, but neither do you, and I bet there’s still enough in that scythe to kill you.

-indeed, Zaresi is looking drained around the edges-

Zaresi: Then that is your final answer?

Morgan: Yes, it is! You killed my friends, you killed my family, you killed my sister! I am never going to side with you, and if you want to talk about killing people for the greater good, then I’m going to start with you!

Zaresi: Very well.

-her voice resumes its normal tone-

Zaresi: Evan. The magic.

Evan: I was wondering when you’d get around to that.

-he extracts the bell jar from his pocket. The light it’s giving off is literally blinding-

Zaresi: My apologies, Morgan, but I would not have allowed you to attack me if there had been any chance of your success.

-she summons a tentacle, and drives it into the bell jar. The power flows into her, her outline resharpening. The scythe in her chest shatters as she grows back to her usual 10-foot-tall Reaper form, and she continues growing, becoming easily 20 feet tall, long trails of tattered cloth streaming out behind her. She stares down at Morgan, who is pretty much insignificant next to her-

Zaresi: Would you like to change your answer now?

-Morgan stares up at Zaresi, eventually finding her tongue-

Morgan: No! Never! Even if your logic were airtight, which, let me tell you, it isn’t, I’m not going to work with the people who killed my best friend and my sister!

-at this point, everyone adopts genuinely puzzled looks-

Liz: Your sister?

Morgan: You know, the one you put in the hospital to get me to join in the first place? Or did you forget about that fact?!

Laura: Holly—

Morgan: Don’t say her name!

Laura: …Your sister is fine.

Morgan: What?

Zaresi: The terms of your Contract, Morgan. Your sister’s life for your service. Those terms still hold. Your sister is perfectly fine.

Morgan: And you didn’t mention that?

-Zaresi once again shifts down to a human form, taking a more normal tone-

Zaresi: I apologize. I assumed it would go without saying. But she is well.

-Zaresi extends a hand-

Zaresi: What do you say?

Morgan: In that case…

-she extends her hand towards Zaresi’s-

Zaresi: I thought you might come arou—

-Morgan smacks Zaresi across the graveyard with the head of a scythe. Evan draws his knife, but Liz grabs his arm-

Morgan: My answer’s still no. Quinn’s still dead because of you.

-she takes a few steps back-

Morgan: I told you I wanted to keep people safe. I told you I wasn’t going to let anybody hurt them. So I’m going to save the one person that’s left, and then I’m going to save everyone else from you.

-Evan steps forward, and a pulse of power ripples off of Morgan, knocking everyone to the ground-

Morgan: And I’m not doing it by your side anymore.

-and she runs again-

-Zaresi returns to her feet, once again growing to her massive Reaper form-

Evan: Well, in my heart of hearts, I suppose I always knew it would come to this. Shame about her sister, though.

Zaresi: Liz. Catch her, if you would?

Liz: I suppose I would.

-she vanishes-

-cut to Morgan running out of the graveyard, when Liz appears next to her, easily keeping pace and outspeeding Morgan, cutting her off-

Morgan: Tying up loose ends?

Liz: Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not about to kill you.

Morgan: What’s stopping you? Not a sense of right and wrong, that’s for sure.

Liz: Think what you like.

-she shrugs-

Liz: I’ve been sent to catch you. Zaresi left it up to me to decide what that entails, so I’m inclined to think it involves trying to convince you that you made the wrong call here. So I’d appreciate it if you came back.

Morgan: Well, I would have appreciated not seeing my best friend explode in front of me.

Liz: Explode?

Morgan: Yes, Liz, explode! My best friend blew apart into dust and sparkly lights! So forgive me if I’m not interested in joining up with the people who helped that happen!

-Liz cocks her head and regards Morgan interestedly-

Liz: …I suppose you’re right. Good luck.

Morgan: I’d wish you the same, but it’s not how I feel.

-she keeps running. Liz watches after her with an intrigued expression, before disappearing-

-back in the graveyard, Liz reappears-

Liz: Couldn’t find her.

Laura: I might know where she is. Let me try.

Zaresi: Go ahead.

-cut to Morgan’s house. Morgan bursts in, and Holly screams from the couch, where she is curled up, staring at twin ash piles that were most likely Morgan’s parents-

Holly: Morgan! What’s going on? There was coffee, and then I was at the bookstore, and then I came back here, and then they…they just…they were there, and then they just dissolved! Morgan, I—

Morgan: I know.

Holly: What?

Morgan: We need to go, now!

Holly: Wh—wha—

Morgan: There isn’t any time! We have to get out of here before—

Laura: Morgan!

Morgan: That.

-Laura enters. Morgan stands up, putting herself between Laura and Holly-

Morgan: Liz didn’t already tell you I’m not interested?

-Laura tilts her head in confusion-

Laura: It’s not too late, Morgan. Please, just come back, and it’ll be okay.

Morgan: It’s never going to be okay, Laura. I thought I’d feel bad about this, but—

-Morgan thrusts out her hands. Nothing happens-

Laura: Zaresi terminated your Contract when you ran. You have no magic. I’m sorry about this.

-she raises her hands, which are sparking with Death magic, twisting helices already branching off of them…and then lowers them-

Laura: …Go.

Morgan: What?

Laura: Before Evan gets here. I’ll say you were already gone when I arrived. Take some money for you and your sister, run for it, and hope we never see each other again.

Morgan: I’m not leaving! I don’t care if I don’t have magic! I can still—

-Morgan grabs a candlestick, which Laura casually blasts out of her hands. Holly shrieks-

Laura: I said, go!

Holly: …Morgan.

Morgan: What?!

Holly: I think that we should listen.

Morgan: …

Laura: Morgan?

Morgan: What?

Laura: It was…it was nice to know you.

-Morgan runs upstairs, and Holly follows. Laura, meanwhile, sits down on Morgan’s couch and sobs as the two leave-

-a moment later, Evan enters-

Evan: Jeez, what’s your damage? We won.

Laura: Go do something else.

Evan: If you insist.

-cut to Morgan and Holly running away. As they run, it’s possible to see the Death branches slowly fading away. They run by where Quinn died, the pink haze now vanished-

Holly: Morgan, please, what’s going on?

Morgan: I’ll explain later.

-they enter the woods, and keep going, ignoring a large indent in the ground-

Morgan: We need to get as far away from here as we can, as fast as we can.

-the scene fades out gradually, and zooms back to reveal the two on a train-

Morgan: --And that’s how we got here.

-Holly stares-

Morgan: I think that about covers things?

[ocfanfiction]

Part 1 / 2 / 3

Part 4

Bakugou and Cassie walked in dead silence the entire time, Cassie thought to make some kind of conversation, but Bakugou's side profile caused her to rethink that. Eventually, after a nearly painful walk, they got to her house and Cassie led him inside. At first, he thought he’d have to greet her parents again, but when Cassie got inside she yelled out first.

“I’m home!” After a second, when she didn’t hear anything, Cassie smiled, “My parents aren’t here.”

“Why?” He asked. She shrugged.

“When I’m at school they do things that I could really care less about.” Cassie dropped her bag in the middle of the floor, Bakugou watched as she made no effort in cleaning it up. He picked it up instead and took it with him into the living room.

“Isn’t there a place to put this?” She shook her head to his question.

“Not really.” Bakugou was off to a great start with her, “I’m gonna go change, stay down here.” She ran upstairs in a hurry after saying that, Bakugou remained in the main room and looked around seeing various objects. The table was covered with books, game controllers and notebooks; other things filled the table including an out of place snowman on the table.

He assumed these things were hers, it didn’t seem like the kind of house decor a family would have. Bakugou placed both of their bags down on the couch before moving to sit there on his own. He sat on the couch and tapped his foot. All I’ll do is help her with something, that’s it… Eventually she’ll have to spill something to me or even just give me something that I can peak at!

He convinced himself that he didn’t want to date her, that this was some kind of plan he was formulating to beat her. As he thought this he realized she left her bag with him, something crossed in his head then it stopped, he just grabbed his own bag taking out his books before going in her bag for her books. Then he heard Cassie closed her door. 

“Oh, by the way, are you hungry?” He heard her yell from upstairs.

“What?” Cassie came down and went to the front of the couch and stood in front of him.

“I’m still in the house and with my Quirk you don’t have to yell, but I asked if you were hungry?” He shrugged.

“Don’t care.” She giggled and left for the kitchen, Bakugou growled. “Stop fooling around, let’s start so we can have enough time to go through everything!” 

“We will, I work fast you know.” He could hear noise in the kitchen. “I was only a few points behind you on our exams and you know it.”

“But you didn’t get over me.” He stated.

“Tests freak me out, so of course I answered easy questions wrong.” She explained. He scoffed.

“Sounds like an excuse.” 

“No, it’s not. I have testing anxiety and usually it leads me to getting sick.” He heard more noise in the kitchen, he wanted to get up and go in there with her, but he ignored the urge it for a bit longer. “What do you like?” She asked. He shrugged to nothing as he flipped aimlessly through the pages of their notebook.

“Anything’s fine.” Cassie grunted a bit, she wanted him to say something he actually liked, she set the bowl down and got an idea.

“Alright, then my super sweet ice cream stew should be alright then?” She heard Bakugou get up. 

“What the hell is an ice cream stew?” She giggled as she rested back on the counter.

“Thank you for asking. I don’t even know, I just said that so you’ll tell me what you really want.” He groaned.

“I like spicy things…” He said softly, “That’s why I didn’t say anything… I know you don’t like spicy things.” She stared at him and then giggled. Bakugou growled and turned to face the cabinets.

“It’s not that I don’t like spicy stuff, I just prefer sweet stuff over it.” She paused, “You should be grateful though, my mom’s the same so I know how to fix things that might go with your tastes. Now go back and wait, it’ll be done before you know it!” Bakugou knew he could trust her, but he didn’t want to come off as if he did, he moved and stood in the entrance. “What are you doing?” 

“Just cook, I need to be sure you don’t kill me with your cooking.” She scoffed.

“You’ve never even had my cooking before, how can you say that?” 

“You just made up something called ice cream stew, sorry if I’m concerned.” She chuckled a bit. 

“You’re such a jerk.” 

“And you’re a moron.” She turned to him. 

“Then wanna help me instead? It’ll go faster with four hands instead of two.” He sighed and stepped back into the kitchen as she told him what she was making.

…

    In the end, Cassie decided something small would be alright and just made shrimp and noodles for them. Cassie was alright and just ate the shrimp while Bakugou was given a spicy version, and even before their meal was over, Cassie was eating off his plate complaining about the spice she had added. They were full and got to their work, Cassie bit on the fork in her mouth as she completed the problem on her paper. Bakugou groaned.

“It’s not even this hard, we’ve been over this already.” 

“Then let me think back to it then!” He groaned and started tapping his foot. They were going over a math equation where Cassie had to remember the formula. Her being her, of course she couldn’t. The fork clanked in her mouth over and over as she tried to remember what it was. Bakugou growled and slammed his finger on the paper.

“It’s A minus X then-” 

“Shut up, I told you I’ll remember it!” They were yelling now and no matter how much it hurt Cassie’s head, she continued to reach his volume as she screamed over him.

Once they both calmed down Cassie sat on the floor putting the fork down onto the plate; Bakugou leaned back harshly, they were silent for a while until Bakugou spoke.

“Sorry about yelling.” He said after a while. She nodded.

“Sorry for yelling too, I know you’re just trying to help.” Bakugou sighed before getting on the floor with her, he took her pencil and wrote the formula down.

“The constants go in order, A, B then C, that’s an easy way to remember it.” Cassie nodded. 

“Then what would the variables be?” She asked.

“Usually those are given to you, the original problem would have some numbers for you to work with.” She nodded as he handed the pencil back.

“So you mean like in the problem five and three?” He nods.

“Those numbers are given.” He stated. She nodded scribbling that on the side of her paper.

“Then what about any other problem? That doesn’t work on the rest of them.”

“Because for those you just solve, if it doesn’t then use this formula.” She groaned.

“So I have to do both?” He nods trying to think about a way to explain it to her.

“Just think of it like trying our different flavors of ice cream until you find the one you want to buy.” She rested her chin on the table.

“Sounds like a lot of work even for that reward.” She sat up normally. “But if it’ll give me the right answer I’ll do it.” Bakugou watched her as she went on to another problem and did it with relative ease. She had been acting like an idiot all the while before this,,was she just faking it? Bakugou didn't have time to think about that when she lifted the paper.

“Is this right?” He checked it quickly, he realized that she had made a mistake.

“No.” She groaned, “But you only made one mistake.” He showed her the paper. “That’s a seven, but you changed it to a five.” She gasped.

“No way!” She changed it and redid it this time getting the right answer.

“Now it’s right.” She giggled, it was something about her giggle that upon hearing it, Bakugou’s eyes remained on her for longer than usual. He moved on and tried not to think about that.

After working on a few more problems Cassie let out a sigh and fell back.

"Thank goodness, I finally got it!" She then sat back up, “Since I know how to do it now, can we take a break?” He was alright with that, Cassie sighed contently lying on the floor. Bakugou decided not to leave the air so stuffy and spoke to her. 

“Your parents still aren't here?” She shrugged

“I dunno, sometimes they do this, stay out way later than they say. I’m sure they're at the movies or something.” Cassie sat up, “Hey, I know you said you don’t like the name Baka-chan, but what about Katsu-chan?” He looked at her.

“You have a weird obsession with honorifics.” She leaned closer to him.

“So the name’s fine?” He looked off.

“Yeah, that name’s fine.” She giggled and once more Bakugou felt his chest tighten and his heart lighten.

“Yay! Katsu-chan!” She went on a rampage and started saying that name over and over until she finally calmed down and seated herself on the floor once more. She pulled her legs to her middle and began to talk. “Hey, if my parents don’t come home… is it too much to ask that you stay over?” He blinked, she occupied herself with her feet, most likely to distract away from looking at his face, Bakugou wondered why she was so serious about this.

“Why do you want me to stay over anyways?” He saw her cheeks turn pink.

“Don’t make me say it.” 

“I won’t stay without a reason.” She groaned and let her feet go.

“... Look, it’s just that… I don’t like being alone.” He was surprised.

“Really? You’re the one who always tries to get away from us whenever we’re in class having free time.”

“That’s because you all are so loud all the time. Besides, we’re in the same room and it’s day time, who cares then?” She paused, “Seriously, I hate being alone at night and if my parents don’t come back home tonight I really will be alone…” Bakugou stared before letting out a scoff.

“You’re such a baby."

"That's why I didn't want to tell you!" Bakugou relaxed on the couch.

"Whatever, besides I should be yelling at you. You don’t have to ask me like that, we’re dating aren’t we?” She looked up to him, “If they don’t come home, yeah I’ll stay with you.” She beamed and her face turn up with a smile, “What’s with that stupid look?” He said. She pouted.

“I’m just happy, Katsu-chan, I never thought I could be this happy over someone like you!” 

“Someone like me?” Cassie sat up and touched his hand relaxing him before he would yell at her again.

“Yeah, I’m sorry if it sounds kinf of rude, but I always thought you really hated me.” He saw the emotion run across her face when she said that word: hate. He could feel the warmth left over growing on the top side of his hand, he turned his palm over and intertwined their fingers, Cassie was blushing now.

“Don’t think so hard, you’re supposed to be stupid.” She smiled a bit.

“At least I look smart, when I first saw you I thought you were an idiot.” He growled a bit. 

“Thought you were a booknerd.” She giggled.

“I still am, you should see my collection of manga in my room.”

“Not those kinds of books!” She smiled and held his hand tightly. “Oh, and about this,” He held their hands up together, “I don’t mind if you do it, but if we hold hands for too long I could burn you.” She hummed.

“Oh, is it because of your Quirk?” He nodded.

“Yeah, I can control what I explode, but not what I burn. This stuff is always active.” 

“It’s your sweat of course it would be, that’s an automatic function your brain does when you get too hot.” He stared at her.

“Tch, nerd.” 

“No, I just had to learn this stuff for my Quirk.” Bakugou looked at her and decided to move the conversation on.

“Besides haven’t you been left alone before?” Cassie looked off blushing.

“No, this is the first year all of my brothers aren’t living here. My parents think because I’m about to turn seventeen that I can handle being left alone, but… I hate it more than anything!” He chuckled.

“You’re such a brat!” She fumed while her cheeks burned with heat.

“Oh shut it, you’re a tsundere!”

“A what?”

“A person who is cold looking on the outside, but warm on the inside, you just hide it with all that yelling you do.” He released her hand.

“Then obviously you don’t want my hand then."

“Katsu-chan~!” She whined to him as she followed him while getting up, Bakugou didn’t want to admit it, but his thoughts of trying to find her weakness through this relationship was almost miniscule now.

He didn’t want to bring her down anymore than she already was. He hated to say it, but he wanted her to be someone he can say he loved.