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the-obnoxious-sibling · 1 year ago

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in which lunch is had, old stories are told, and a misunderstanding is cleared up.

part five of the post-marineford portion of the near miss fics! (1, 2, 3, 4) if you have no idea what i'm talking about but would like to read a shanks/buggy story about kissing in disguise and then having to deal with the emotional fallout of doing that, click on this link, that's the tag for the whole thing in chronological order. (plus some complaining about writing, one inspirational improvised musical number, and a snippet of shanks pov) if you do know what i'm talking about: my intense examination of the cover to chapter 581 and frustrated googling of phrases like “oden cart curtain name” has finally paid off! also, i’d apologize for where this part ends, but that would be an enormous lie, i’ve been planning on ending this part on that line from the very beginning. >:3c enjoy!

With heavier topics taken off the table, the flow of conversation became smooth and easy. Shanks asked about Buggy’s crew, his recent travels, his plans for the future; Buggy asked about the best places Shanks had been, who he’d met. At Buggy’s request, Shanks devoted a full twenty minutes to a detailed description of his meeting with Rayleigh; to Buggy’s delight, it turned out Rayleigh was in Sabaody because Shakuyaku, the former Amazon empress, lived there. Buggy had always been impressed by her, if a little privately judgy of her taste in men, so hearing that the two of them had semi-retired together made him smile.

As did the revelation that Shanks had first seen a wanted poster for Buggy the Clown—his earliest one, actually, before he’d perfected the crossbones and had still been experimenting with lip tints—when Rayleigh pulled a copy out that day. “He keeps an eye on all the newspapers, from the four big seas and the Grand Line alike,” Shanks explained, digging his toes into the sand. (Buggy had gotten tired of his push-pull relationship with the tides and insisted they move further up the beach.) “I think he’s found and kept a copy of every one of our bounties.”

Buggy tried not to be obvious about how much that meant, but he had never been good at holding back the waterworks when he got emotional. Sniffing thickly, he said, “That stupid old man… your bounty’s gone up so many times over the years without the picture ever looking different! What a waste of his space.”

One of Shanks’ eyebrows went up—probably, Buggy realized a moment later, at the implication that Buggy had also been keeping track of Shanks’ bounties. Ah, well, in for a penny… “Seriously! It’s bad design!” Buggy insisted. “If the only changes someone like me ever noticed are that you grew that shitty little beard—”

“Shitty?” Shanks pouted, running his thumb along his jawline. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“It’s worse without the mustache,” Buggy said bluntly. Shanks played up his shock, gasping and grabbing at his heart like an elderly man.

Buggy rolled his eyes. “As I was saying: if all I ever noticed was the beard and that your hat disappeared at some point, your average citizen’s not going to realize the Marines have released a new poster and the bounty went up!” Jabbing a thumb brazenly at his own face, Buggy said, “At least I had something new going on each time.”

Shanks cocked his head at Buggy. “About that… do you change your makeup style so often for fun, or are you still searching for the perfect look?”

Buggy scoffed. “There’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to art, or fashion,” he said. “There’s just advancing your craft. Every time I change my look up, I’m incorporating newer and flashier techniques, and better supplies. The makeup I had access to fifteen, even ten years ago would never have lasted a day in Impel Down, let alone weeks.”

“That’s true,” Shanks said thoughtfully, hand on his chin. “The stuff you have these days is much—” He cut himself off, glancing over Buggy’s shoulder. Buggy turned to see a cluster of men in ragged prison uniforms standing maybe forty feet away, staring at them and then glancing away awkwardly when they met Buggy’s eye.

“I told them not to bother me today,” Buggy grumbled, giving the group a half-hearted glare. They visibly quaked, knees knocking, but neither moved nor explained themselves.

“I guess our presence is interfering with their shore leave,” Shanks said, slipping back into his sandals.

Looking past the men revealed the beach had gotten crowded while Buggy wasn’t paying attention—save for a fifty-foot ring of emptiness centered on him and Shanks. These men had only approached them because there wasn’t anywhere else to be. Sighing, Buggy stood up, brushing sand off the seat of his pants.

“Lead the way, then,” he said grimly.

With a polite smile and a wave to the former prisoners, Shanks walked back up the beach. Buggy gave them a glare, and a threatening slice-your-throat gesture (made more emphatic by the way Buggy separated his neck as he sliced) to encourage their silence before following Shanks further inland.

The terrain got a bit jungle-like as they went on, but there were neatly trodden paths between the trees. It was a civilized corner of nature, and Buggy found he didn’t mind walking through it with just Shanks and his questions for company, even when those questions started getting a bit specific for Buggy’s tastes. (What did Shanks need to know about his plans after he found Captain John’s treasure, anyway? Was he trying to go after Buggy’s next prize while he was still busy with the current one?)

It was the middle of the lunch hour by the time their jungle path led them back into town, which was almost suspiciously convenient timing. Buggy glanced at Shanks, trying to figure out if he’d planned this or was just aimlessly wandering. Well, either way he’d better lead them somewhere soon—Buggy was hungry! He wanted to eat the kind of food he couldn’t get back on the ship—nothing a typical chef in a typical kitchen could manage. He wanted something that involved a deep fryer, or another equally specialized device. Something that would be too much of a hassle to make on a ship. Something…

“Hey!” Shanks turned to grab Buggy’s attention, pointing at a yatai on the opposite street corner. “What about that?”

Buggy spotted the word written in bold white letters on slate gray cloth and started to laugh. “What are we, on a themed vacation or something?”

“You’re the one who put the idea in my head!” Shanks said defensively, grinning. “I know it’s out of season, but…”

“No, you’re right, we have to,” Buggy said, and led them to the oden-ya. “I’m just going to look like I’m obsessed, is all.”

Ducking under the bamboo noren curtains, they found themselves in a cozy space, with three stools set up along a polished wooden table the same length as the cooktop. A gorilla mink stood behind the partitioned oden pot, rotating skewers of fishcake in their niches within the steaming broth. He glanced up at their entrance, a friendly customer service smile spreading across his face.

“Welcome! Looking for oden this afternoon, or just something to drink?” He gestured to one side, where beautiful little sake flasks and other bottles of alcohol were arranged on shelves that took up the whole side wall of the cart. “I’d be happy to warm a flask of sake up for you on the stove if you’d like.”

“We’re looking for both, thanks,” Shanks said warmly, stepping up to the counter. “I don’t suppose any of your sake is sourced from Wano?”

The mink wrinkled his nose thoughtfully. “I may have some in storage, but that stuff tend to run a little pricier, given… well, if you’re asking for it, you must know.”

“Of course you have expensive tastes in booze and nothing else,” Buggy said with a smirk, bent down to inspect the sake that was actually meant for sale. “Come on, look, they’ve got some West Blue stuff, you were always a sucker for your home ocean.”

“Oh?” Shanks leaned over Buggy to get a better look at the stock, and a prickle of heat went up Buggy’s spine. “Ooh, I do like that stuff. But I really had my heart set on something from Wano…” Turning back to the mink, he said, “Sorry to trouble you, but can you bring out what you have from Wano? I promise the price isn’t an issue, and I won’t have any problem drinking a flask of each.” The mink ducked around back without complaint.

“More like a couple flasks of each,” Buggy muttered, but he didn’t mean it cruelly. Shanks liked a drink, he always had—and rumor said the last time he saw Whitebeard before all this he’d matched him cup for cup. Whitebeard-sized cups, too, which meant he had to have a crazy tolerance these days. Good for him. Buggy wasn’t quite as capable, but he could hold his liquor. He wouldn’t be any kind of ex-Roger Pirate if he couldn’t.

“Guilty,” Shanks said, sing-songy, reaching over Buggy’s shoulder to snatch one of the larger bottles of shochu. “Can you grab a flask or two of the West Blue sake for me?”

Buggy rolled his eyes, grabbing two. “One of them’s for me.”

“We can share,” Shanks said mildly.

Buggy snorted. “If by ‘share’ you mean I get one cup and by the time I’ve finished it the flask is empty, sure, we can share.”

Shanks laughed. “Am I that bad?”

“You’re just too fast about it is all. I like to linger over a drink, really savor it.”

“Oh, you like to take your time, do you?” Shanks’ smile, already suggestively wide, spread wider still when this comment flustered Buggy.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” he snapped.

“No?”

Why do you sound disappointed, Buggy was tempted to ask—except no, no he wasn’t, he did not want to know why Shanks might be disappointed Buggy hadn’t intended to be suggestive. He had already decided he wasn’t going there. “I just mean you rush things a bit.”

“…do I?”

Once again feeling like Shanks was reading things into what he was saying, but this time not at all sure what deeper meaning Shanks was taking from his words, Buggy averted his eyes, setting the pair of sake flasks down in front of the stove top. “Yeah, I know you like getting drunk, but there’s such a thing as pacing yourself, you know?”

Before Shanks could respond to this—with who knows what kind of misinterpretation of Buggy’s words this time—the mink returned, a crate of sake in flasks and jugs of various sizes in hand.

“Here we are!” With a soft grunt of effort, the mink set the crate down in front of Shanks. “Let me know if anything catches your eye.” He spotted the flasks of West Blue sake Buggy had set down and quickly made room in a pot of steaming water for them to sit and warm up. “Now, were any items looking especially appealing today?”

Buggy glanced sideways; Shanks was occupied with intently inspecting the sake. Well, if he wanted something specific he could ask for it later. “Two bowlfuls of whatever the chef recommends, for now.”

The gorilla nodded. “Coming right up!” And he was as good as his word, quickly throwing together a wide, shallow bowl of savory golden-brown broth with a skewer of fishcakes, an egg, and a few slices of daikon for each of them. It looked wonderful, warm and familiar, and it smelled even better.

Before Buggy could take a sip, Shanks had flung his arm across Buggy’s chest, blocking the spoonful of broth from reaching his mouth.

“Hang on,” Shanks said, weirdly serious. “You have to have this first.” He held out a small flask of Wano sake, tilted just far enough to encourage Buggy to grab a cup and accept the pour.

“Not warmed up?” Shanks expression didn’t so much as twitch. Buggy huffed. “Fine, fine... you and your expensive tastes.” He accepted the cup, swirled it for a moment to breathe in the aroma—they really did make it different in Wano; was it something in the water, or the rice?—and took a sip. Then blinked, goggled at the half-drunk cup, and slung back the rest with a warm floaty feeling in his chest.

Setting the cup down, he breathed, “Is that...?”

Shanks grinned. “Special pure rice brew.” He spun the flask around to reveal the maker’s mark. “From the Kuri region of Wano.”

Buggy snatched the flask away. Looking it over, he said, “Seriously?! From the same brewery?”

“And you wondered why I was so insistent.”

Buggy shook his head, laughing a little in disbelief, and poured Shanks a cup of the stuff. He glanced up at their host, politely not bothering them even though he had to be confused, and said, “This exact same sake was the first drink the two of us had, back when we were—what, eleven? Twelve?”

“Something like that,” Shanks said, watching Buggy with a pleased smile. “Stolen out of Oden’s rooms on a dare—”

“—you’re the one who dared me!” Buggy snapped. Thinking back, he added, “And he must have let us take it, we weren’t sneaky enough at twelve to get past Oden—”

“—oh, definitely,” Shanks agreed. “Bet he thought of it as a rite of passage, stealing your first drink from under the nose of your honored elders.”

Buggy snorted. “Definitely,” he echoed. Giving Shanks a look, he passed this flask along to the mink as well. “This stuff isn’t so fancy heating it will ruin the taste, right? Might as well try it the way it was meant to be had.”

“Of course,” the mink said with a gracious smile, adding the flask to the steaming pot on his stove. He watched the two of them dig into their bowls—delicious, of course—without comment, but as he carefully retrieved the first of the West Blue flasks from its bath he said, “Now, I haven’t thought about this in a long time, so I’m afraid I can’t quite recall… which of you is Shanks and which is Buggy?”

Buggy blinked dumbly up at the gorilla, his mouth full of radish. Next to him, Shanks was pulling a similar face.

Hastily swallowing his mouthful, Buggy cleared his throat and said, “You know… both of us by name? But not well enough to know which is which on sight?”

The gorilla smiled sheepishly. “I wasn’t sure until you brought up Oden. That’s Kozuki Oden, isn’t it? Which means the two of you must be Shanks and Buggy, they were the only other young people on the boat in all the stories I heard.”

“What stories?”

“‘The only other young people’…” Shanks lit up. “Do you know Dogstorm and Cat Viper?”

Buggy nearly smacked Shanks. “Seriously?! Not every mink knows each other, Shanks!”

“Heh, actually...” Buggy stared up at the gorilla mink in disbelief as he shrugged, making an embarrassed expression. “The truth is, I only learned how to prepare oden at Duke Dogstorm’s request.”

“Duke Dogstorm?” Shanks whistled. “Somebody’s moved up in the world.”

Buggy jabbed him in the side with a free-floating elbow. “I don’t want to hear that from you, Emperor Shanks!”

Shanks winced—an exaggerated gesture for the benefit of their audience—and leaned away from Buggy. “Oh, come on,” he whined, “it’s not like I meant to become an emperor or anything.”

“Oh, of course not,” Buggy said, rolling his eyes and shoving a piece of tsukune in his mouth. Eyes shut, he declared, “I’ll bet I can tell you exactly how it happened, too. You had a meal with some mediocre pirate crew and made friends. Then some shitty Marines started beating the hell out of them; they could’ve just arrested the crew, but they decided to torture them for their own amusement. Well, you could hardly let this abuse go unchallenged, could you? So naturally you had to step in, and sent the Marines running with their tails between their legs. And it was only natural that the pirate crew was thankful to you, but you never dreamed they’d all vow to follow you forever, forswearing their own flag in favor of yours. Not daring to call themselves true Red-Haired Pirates, of course, but Red-Haired Pirates adjacent.” Rolling his wrist, Buggy concluded, “And then that happened another twenty or thirty times, because you never learn.”

Opening one eye a crack, he glanced at Shanks. “How’d I do?”

Shanks, red-faced, his fist pressed to his mouth to hold back laughter, nodded weakly. “Well, uh... you’re not wrong,” he wheezed out. Taking a drink to clear his throat and calm down, he sighed. “Though you make it sound like far more of a foregone conclusion than it felt like when it was first happening.”

“That’s the benefit of an outside perspective,” Buggy said snippily. “And also hindsight.” Waving a hand in Shanks’ face, he said, “But enough about you!” Jabbing the pointer finger of that same hand at their host, Buggy said, “What’s this about you learning to make oden for Dogstorm?”

The gorilla mink smiled, his eyes wide, and Buggy suddenly remembered hearing once that gorillas didn’t actually smile, but instead bared their teeth as a threat against potential enemies. He pulled back his hand as casually as he could manage it.

“Do you really want to hear the story? I’m told I can be a bit long-winded,” the mink said, fishing one of the Wano flasks out of its water bath and offering it up.

“Yeah, let’s hear it!” Buggy said, pouring a cup for Shanks, then handing over the flask so Shanks could do the same for him. “I don’t know about Shanks but I haven’t heard anything from Zou in years, I’m dying to hear what those two have gotten up to.”

Closing his eyes, Buggy took a sip of the warmed Wano sake, not knowing Shanks was doing the same thing at the same time. They set down their cups and sighed in unpracticed unison. Suddenly aware of their double act, Buggy scowled at Shanks, who ignored him and made an encouraging gesture to their chef. “Please, go ahead. I’d love to hear news of Dogstorm and Cat Viper.”

A sad expression washed over the gorilla’s face. “I’m afraid I can only give you news of Duke Dogstorm.” At the looks on his guests’ faces, the gorilla threw out a hand and said, “Not to say—please don’t misunderstand! Lord Cat Viper still lives! It’s just that I have not met with him since he and Duke Dogstorm first returned to Zou. They... keep separate courts, and hours, and my service has always been to the day.”

A wrinkle appeared in Shanks’ brow. “They don’t talk anymore?”

“It always turns into a fight. Often one with devastating consequences for their surroundings.”

Buggy frowned. That didn’t sound right. Well, not the destruction—that sounded like those two—but fighting so badly they couldn’t even share waking hours... “What happened?”

The gorilla sighed. “As I understand it? Kozuki Oden died, and neither could forgive the other for failing to save him.” A moment later, he gave Buggy a concerned look. “Oh, are you hurt?”

Buggy blinked. Staring down at his hands, he realized he’d snapped his chopsticks in half. “I... no, I’m okay.” The gorilla carefully plucked the broken shards of wood out of Buggy’s grasp, along with a splinter or two that had tried to wedge their way into his palms. Thankfully the Chop-Chop fruit could handle any kind of stabbing, from needles up to legendary meito, so Buggy really was fine.

While the gorilla disposed of the pieces of wood, Buggy clenched his jaw, feeling Shanks’ eyes on him. “I can hear you thinking.”

“…it makes sense,” he said quietly. “What else could come between those two but the loss of someone who was as important to them as Oden?”

Buggy shot Shanks a narrow look out of the corner of his eye. “Pretty sure I told you this morning that I was done talking about sad shit,” he warned, and Shanks raised his hand in a placating gesture. The gorilla confirmed that Buggy wasn’t hurt, pointed out the extra chopsticks sitting in a cup to his left, and at their insistence told his story while they returned to their meal.

Dogstorm’s court sounded like a sight worth seeing. Minks of countless animal forms, musketeers and attendants! To think Oden’s retainer had retainers of his own now! And to think that he acted like a guy with such noble dignity, after the way he used to behave.

As the gorilla reached the end of his story—having made the closest thing to oden as could be produced with ingredients native to Zou, with Dogstorm pleased by the effort but quietly unsatisfied by the taste, the gorilla had left the court making a vow to learn the secrets of the oden-preparing arts, promising not to return until he was confident he would be able to put a true smile on the duke’s face—Buggy nudged Shanks in the side. He glanced at Buggy, a half-eaten skewer of fishcakes sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

“Can you believe,” Buggy said with a shit-eating grin, “that the noble, wounded Dogstorm this guy is talking about is the same one who tarred and feathered Mr. Rayleigh?”

Shanks nearly choked before starting to laugh. “How did I forget about that?!”

“I’m sorry, Duke Dogstorm did what?” the gorilla said incredulously, staring between the two of them.

“Wait, wait,” Shanks said, before Buggy could start to tell the story. “If we’re sharing stories of mutual friends, you have to share a drink with us too.” He grabbed a clean cup from a stack to one side and handed it over to the mink. Shanks gave Buggy a pleading look, and with a magnanimous smirk Buggy chop-chopped a hand to swipe another sake flask from the water bath and pour for both of them. “So—”

“Don’t you tell it!” Buggy snapped. With a grin and a wave of his hand, Shanks metaphorically turned over the reins to Buggy, and took the opportunity to return to his sake and his meal. “So,” Buggy said to the mink, “the first thing you need to understand about Dogstorm and Cat Viper is that they acted like respectful little attendants when Oden was around, but when it was just the four of us?” Glancing at Shanks, who was grinning around the skewer in his mouth, Buggy cackled. “They were just as bad as we were.”

Buggy went on to describe the prank in loving detail, alternating bites of fishcake with the reactions of the crew (mostly hysteria, especially from Roger) and the multiple attempts to blame the prank on someone else (Dogstorm nearly succeeded in pinning it all on Buggy, but forgot himself and corrected Rayleigh on where the tar had come from). Shanks followed this up with a reminder of another time the four of them had been absolute nightmares to the crew of the Oro Jackson, and the story Buggy told about that day brought their host to literal tears of laughter.

They went around like this for over an hour, topping off their bowls and drinks all the while, recalling old times with the golden burnish of nostalgia softening the edges, easing the hurts and offenses of youth. Gradually, the last of the fear Buggy had been clinging to all day faded. It was hard to think that your childhood dread mattered much when looked at from so far off, in so fond a way. It was easy to smile at someone who so readily smiled back.

Eventually the broth pooling at the bottom of their bowls grew cold, and the flasks of sake they’d bought ran dry. Not a soul had tried to enter the yatai while they were present, and Buggy felt a fleeting burst of pity for the gorilla’s business… until he saw how well Shanks tipped. With a light heart, Buggy waved a slightly drunken farewell to the mink—he’d paced himself pretty well, but a half-dozen bottles of sake split between two men were still going to have an effect—and ducked back out into the wider world.

The air outside was not exactly cold, but it lacked the cozy warmth of the oden-ya’s atmosphere. It set something within Buggy out of alignment—or maybe back into place? He stood just outside the noren with a hand pressed to his chest, trying to place the feeling, when Shanks made his own exit and nearly ran into him.

The proximity of Shanks at his back, with the last traces of that soup-warmed air drifting in his wake, sent a burst of longing down Buggy’s spine so intense his knees went weak.

Shanks’ hand went to his shoulder. “Careful,” Shanks said, hoisting Buggy fully upright, the flat of his arm firm along the breadth of his back. “You alright, Buggy?”

Fuck. Even though it was the wrong arm, something about Shanks putting an arm over Buggy’s shoulder made his stomach flip and his heart kick into high gear. Stupid, loyal organs didn’t have the sense Buggy’s brain had been given, to recognize that feeling feelings for Shanks was a very bad idea.

“Fine,” Buggy croaked out, taking a few careful steps away from Shanks to confirm he was steady enough to make that lie truth. He shook himself off.

“Your tolerance not what it used to be?” Shanks teased.

“My tolerance is normal,” Buggy insisted, not looking back at Shanks. “Yours, on the other hand...”

“Yeah, unlike you I’m actually fine,” Shanks said, picking up his pace to match Buggy’s stride. Glancing around, his back straightened involuntarily with recognition. Nudging Buggy’s shoulder with his own, he said, “Here, there’s a park nearby where we won’t be bothered. We can sit down, let you sober up a little before heading back to the ship.”

Buggy drifted in Shanks’ wake on some old instinct. It was only mid-afternoon. “There wasn’t anything else you wanted to do?”

Shanks glanced at Buggy over his shoulder. “What?”

“I dunno, some... sight you thought I should see, or a shop you like or something?”

Shanks blinked. “Buggy, I’ve never been to this island before. I asked the locals for recommendations yesterday so I could have a good time with you.”

Buggy’s face went hot. “You—stop saying shit like that! Don’t you know how that sounds?”

“How it sounds?” Shanks echoed. He led Buggy through a tall, metal gate, into a walled-off plot of land with very little to it, just rock-paved paths, plaques underneath oddly colored trees, and the occasional bench. Closing the gate behind them, he spun on Buggy. “How does it sound?”

Buggy scowled and stormed past him. Like Shanks didn’t know.

“If it sounds like I’ve missed you—well, sorry, Buggy, but I have. I thought I’d been pretty obvious about that.” When Buggy turned an incredulous look on Shanks, the corner of his mouth turned up, amused. “Obvious to everyone but you, I guess.”

“You—you didn’t miss me,” Buggy said, insistent. “You missed—” he gestured vaguely between the two of them. “—someone knowing you, without you having to say anything. You missed having a history with someone.”

Shanks shook his head. “I would love to see many people from back then again, but I’ve never missed any of them like I did you.”

“Oh, come on!” Buggy spat, “what was there to miss? A greedy little brat who couldn’t decide if he hated you more than he was jealous of you? A coward who ran and hid from every fight?” The memory of Shanks leaning in close, a hand on his face, shot through Buggy. Resisting another stab of longing, he blurted out, “Some stranger’s pretty face?”

“I missed my best—” Shanks’ face screwed up in confusion. “A pretty face?”

Buggy hadn’t meant to say that. He grimaced. “You know.” Swiping a hand across his face, he chop-chopped his nose off for a moment, hiding the gap behind his free hand. “This one, that you liked so much that time.”

Understanding lit up Shanks’ face. “Oh, the gorgeous stranger with stunning eyes.” A sheepish expression coming over him, Shanks looked away, askance. “Can I tell you something embarrassing?”

Buggy blinked. Not the response he’d expected. “Uh, sure?”

“I only thought those eyes were so stunning because they reminded me of yours.”

Buggy’s jaw dropped. “The hell they did!”

“They did!” Shoving his hand over his eyes, Shanks smiled self-consciously. “Oh, I felt so ridiculous later. That poor guy, I thought, was deserving of more than my secondhand affections.” Dropping his hand to look at Buggy, he said, “Though that’s nothing compared to how ridiculous I felt the other day.”

Buggy swallowed, mouth dry.

“I’m sorry, Buggy,” Shanks said after a long, silent moment. “If I’d known it was you, I wouldn’t have kissed you like that.”

Buggy blinked.

Well. Of course he wouldn’t have. That went without saying.

He stepped back. “I know that.”

“You do?” Shanks frowned. “I… good.” Shoulders hunched, he turned to peer down at a plaque mounted beneath a pink-leafed bush. “That’s good. I don’t want there to be any more misunderstandings between us.”

“What’s there to misunderstand?” Buggy spotted a bench and sat down. He immediately felt clearer-headed. Maybe Shanks was right about his tolerance. “I get it. You kiss strangers, not old friends.”

Shanks paused mid-step. “Are you…” He spun to frown at Buggy. “Are you deliberately misunderstanding me?”

“Hm?” Buggy had just gotten comfortable, hiking one knee over the bench’s arm. What was Shanks talking about now?

“Buggy.”

Buggy craned his head back to look up at Shanks. He looked tall from this angle, and taller still when he leaned over Buggy, resting his hand on the back of the bench. Shanks’ expression was unreadable, but intense. Buggy’s mouth felt dry again. Oh, this was bad.

“I was not apologizing for kissing you. I was apologizing for kissing you wrong.”

“Kissing me wrong?” Buggy echoed bewilderedly.

“If I’d known that stranger was you, I still would have kissed you, if you’d let me,” Shanks said bluntly. “I’d kiss you now, if you’d let me. But it wouldn’t be like that kiss, it would be different.”

Buggy blinked, dumbfounded.

Shanks… wanted to kiss him.

Not the stranger he’d taken him for back then, but Buggy himself.

Had wanted to kiss Buggy then.

Still wanted to kiss Buggy now.

Would kiss him in a different way from a stranger.

“Different how?” Buggy croaked out.

For a long, agonizing moment, Shanks stared blankly at Buggy. A furious heat rushed into Buggy’s face—there was no way to take a sentence like that back. He couldn’t pretend it was simple curiosity. He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t eager to be kissed.

Slowly, Shanks grinned, infuriatingly smug. “Would you like me to show you?”

#notfic #the near miss fics #one piece #shuggy #shanks #buggy #cackling to myself as i hit post on this bad boy

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ammstify · 2 months ago

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Blog Introduction Two: Electric Boogaloo!

Well hey there! I'm Ammy, or Nubbit, either is fine! And of course welcome to my blog!

I'm a twenty-three year old creative writer who goes by she/they, I'm aroace, and did I mention that I'm a writer?

Here at ammstify, I, ammy, use this blog to talk about all my different interests, reblog all sorts of neat art, fanfic, and ideas, and talk about my super secret project!

Funfact about myself: I absolutely LOVE books, fanfic, and of course, WRITINGGGG!

As a sort of New Year's Resolution, I've decided to start this year off strong with trying to read more! I'd love to discuss some of the books I've read so far, cause boy they are a DOOZY!

Some of my favorite genres include, but are not limited to:

Horror (especially supernatural and cosmic)

Romance

Realistic Fiction

Fantasy

And more!

As for fanfic, I'm actually in the midst of writing a fanfic right now, and hopefully in the future will post the first chapter alongside many other chapters too!

I'm in a wide variety of fandoms that I'd love to write fanfic for too, like:

The Trigun Series (1998, Stampede, and Maximum!)

The Persona Series (Persona 3 + Reload, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal specifically!)

Critical Role (Campaigns 2 and 3)

The Arcane series

Fullmetal Alchemist

Twin Peaks

And many more!

Alongside all that, this blog will focus primarily on things like:

✏️ Writing tips, fanfic chapters, and other content I've made! (Possibly including some art once in awhile that I feel brave enough to share ;3c)

📖 Mini-reviews and rambles about books I've read, enjoyed, hated, or just wanna talk about!

🌈 Advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, Disability rights, POC rights, Women's rights, etc.

🦔 An unnecessary amount of love for all things Persona, Dungeons and Dragons, and the joy of creation, and MORE!

And lastly, for the past eight years or so, I've been writing for myself for the most part, coming up with all sorts of stories and ideas on my own...

But also with a wonderful friend of mine as well.

Yes that's right, THE COLLABORATION I'VE BEEN HOLDING NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART WITH MY BESTIE, @comics-elianna!!!

I'm the co-creator and main writer of our long planned project "To The Ends of The Earth", a queer supernatural-horror story focused on two protagonists, Elianna's lovely boy Morgan Gray, and my boy Dominic Sandoval!

As you can see from my little silly illustration of us two above, the two of our characters are romantically entwined! BUT, as their romance buds through the story, their relationship and trust in one another will be tested, forcing the two of them to come to terms with their own inner demons...

Both metaphorically, and literally.

As always, if you'd like to learn more about the story and characters, you can find Ellie's more in-depth post about it here along with posts about their upcoming prologue comic for the series! And going forward, I'll also be posting as often as I can about them too!

I'm absolutely excited to talk about these two more in-depth, especially my boy Nicky! (Also to note because I'm worried folks will assume, Dominic is not white, he's Latino, I just didn't color him this time for these drawings 😅)

Lastly, as always, DO NOT INTERACT/DNI if you are a:

A TERF/Gender Critical

Supporter of JKROWLING or Harry Potter

Homophobic

Transphobic

Acephobic

Queerphobic

Ableist

Racist

Anti-Palestine

And of course...

#introductory post #pinned intro #my art #tteote #to the ends of the earth #to the ends of the earth comic #my ocs #writers on tumblr

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shad0w-elemental · 1 year ago

Note

Could be learn a bit more of the lore of the operator trio?

Thank you so much for the ask! ^ u ^ And sorry for the late response ^^;

I actually have a project planned. It has a title but I don’t wanna spill the beans quite yet. But it’ll be a collection of art, written stories, and comics regarding the trio’s adventures/stories throughout the Origin System. I don’t plan on making each… segment or chapter, I guess, in any specific order. Just sort of various snapshots of their lives from before, during, and after the Zariman in whatever order suits my fancy. But I suppose I can share some sneak peaks of ideas I have floating around in my head :3c

Violet: Quiet and shy, Violet first meets Aether on a whim, after said girl makes it her life's goal to coax Violet out of her shell. Which is eventually successful since Violet is more likely to be energetic and lively when alongside Aether and Willow; two people she cares deeply about. Out of the three of them, Violet is the most affected by the events of the Zariman. In part due to her being the Tenno in this timeline who made the deal with the Man in the Wall. She keeps the burden of this knowledge (and the rapid spread of her Void scars) a secret up until the events of the New War.

Aether: Due to her status as a ward of the state upon being picked for the Zariman Project, Aether is put under the care of the Zariman’s Chief Security Officer. This is hilariously ironic for two reasons: 1) Aether does NOT trust anyone in any position of power and 2) Cavalero, who has no interest in having kids of his own, is now stuck looking after a hot-headed teenager that hates his guts. After the events of Angels of the Zariman, however, they both come to have a mutual respect for one another. Just don’t call Cavalero her dad or they’ll both bite your head off.

Willow: Captain of one of the Lunaro teams during her time on the Zariman, Willow would end up meeting Aether and Violet while playing said game together, after which the three of them became inseparable. During their time as Tenno, Willow is the unspoken leader of the group, though she prefers to work from the shadows. More often than not, she’s coordinating the efforts of her companions from afar, serving as a voice of reason that keeps Aether’s passion and Violet’s empathy in check and from negatively clouding their judgment.

These little tidbits can’t even begin to cover the many thoughts I have about these three and in truth, I’m still figuring out new things about them everyday as I expand upon their lore. But I do hope in the future to share more about them. ^ u ^ I hope this satiates your curiosity… for now >:3c

#ask #warframe #warframe oc #i think working on their profiles for artfight helped me collect my thoughts about them and exactly what i wanted to share #most of their lore exists uh mostly in the head #i really should write it down #the operator trio #long post

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mrowsters · 3 years ago

Text

Fanfiction MasterPost :3c

All fanfics under the break! I hope you enjoy!

4/26/25 : Due to the scrapping of GenAI, I have decided to lock my works now and in the future. Only registered AO3 users will be able to read the works below. I apologize to any guests who enjoyed my work in the past. Unfortunately it is the only step I can take to protect my works from infringement.

Current fandoms:

Linked Universe

DPxDC

Transformers

Art:

Art will be under the tag mrow art OR mrow post until further notice.

Linked Universe:

True Courage: COMPLETED

A Wind-Centric fic that tells how Wind finds his way back to the Chain after getting separated in a shift. The only problem? He's stuck in the middle of nowhere in Wild's world a mere five years after the Calamity. How will he make it back to them in one piece?

Pls mind the tags on individual chapters for different triggers. Also, I feel the need to mention that this is OC-centric as well.

Lost and Found :

A Wild-centric oneshot related to True Courage that details the steps Wild is taking to find the Chain scattered throughout Hyrule. This also gives some context. HOWEVER, it is recommended that one reads this AFTER CHAPTER 36 of TRUE COURAGE to avoid spoilers to the plot.

A Team Bonding Exercise:

Oneshot. VERY FUN AND FLUFFY. Also one of my first pieces! Legend gets put on "babysitting" duty while Time, Twilight, and Wars run to town to get supplies. Legend takes full advantage of his leadership position to goof off with his brothers.

A Question For the Chosen:

Oneshot. This made me cry when I wrote it. Flora and Sky are besties and I WILL die on this hill. Flora has something she needs to say to Fi and Sky. ITS SWEET.

Danny Phantom x DC:

Lotus Corniculatus : WIP

Multi-chaptered. Chaotic, there will be angst and arson in heaps. Stay tuned.

"Danny wanted one week. Just one. That didn’t end up a complete disaster. He was so close, so close, to being able to fully relax. "

______________

Danny Fenton was finally getting a break. That is until Jack and Maddie Fenton packed up the GAV to investigate strange "energy surges" occurring in and around Gotham. Now, forced to come along, will Danny and Jazz be able to find the source of the disturbances and stop it in time before Batman catches wind of Team Phantom being in town?

---

Ivy + Danny Prompt Fill :

Oneshot. Inspired the fic above! From the prompt made by @/stealingyourbones; ""Danny gifts Ivy an extinct flower as a thank you gift."

--------------------

Brothers in Arms: Meeting

Captain Marvel and DPxDC mashup! Done with a friend @/somecrappyclone. Unsure if I'm going to continue. Will decide for suresies after Lotus is completed.

#mrow post #mrows fics #mrow masterpost #will add as I continue to write #FYI: I deleted mrowtastic blog as of 2/21/2025. I wasn't using it and I want to keep all my stuff here. Sorry folks.

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chirpycreations · 4 years ago

Photo

ABOUT

This blog is a collection of my comic shorts, fanfics, AU's and other works for the Henry Stickmin series. Asks for any of my AU's, or how I make this stuff (writing/ideas/art) are welcomed and encouraged.

I’m Chanti /Chirpy (@chirpycreations). I’m working on this blog alone, so updates will be when I have time and wrist able, since I’m dealing with a repetitive strain injury (the latest update on that can be found here).

📝 - Ask Rules - 📨

No anon magic ⇾ Sorry, my stories are mostly plot driven, so it wouldn’t work.

You can ask characters outside the main cast, but please keep it relevant to the story. (E.g. Don’t ask what Chuck Wellington had for breakfast.)

No NSFW! ⇾ Just....no.

Preferably no swearing ⇾ I’m not a big fan of it, so if you could keep it out your asks that would be appreciated ^^

Be patient ⇾ I’m just one person (also recovering from a wrist injury), I have my own life as well as over projects I do. I can only get so much done at any given time.

Ask Codes

So, this is an l idea want to try. At the start of your ask, so I know which AU (or ending in Triple Warfare’s case) you’re asking put the corresponding ask code.

It’ll make it less confusing for me ^^

eg: “TT: Reginald, how do you keep your moustache so radiant?”

(If you want to ask both you can use “+” as the start instead)

Ask Code [Triple Warfare]

⇾ TT (Triple Threat ending)

⇾ TC (Toppat Civil Warfare ending)

Ask Code [Lost Children of the CCC]

⇾ 3C

Ask Code [General]

-> G

About AU’S

Fan fiction: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29895810/chapters/73573791

Chapters available (17/4/21) : 3

Ask Status: Open

Characters available: Anyone who’s appeared chapters to date.

This WON’T affect the story, just a fun extra if anyone had any burning questions they would like answers to.

About 📖

Following a few months after the Triple Threat ending, Lost Children of the CCC follows the story of Reginald Copperbottom who must help his clan break free from the Wall and restore them to their former glory, whilst evading government capture.

Then, when a mysterious stranger offers Reginald a way to return his clan to its former glory it seems like a no-brainer but to accept. However, as time passes it becomes clear that the conditions of their offer- a blood sample from his Right Hand- is not his only concerns. Something from his friends shadowy past has been unearthed and is now coming for not only him, but the Clans future.

Meanwhile, Henry has settled into his final ending and is enjoying his new life with his friends and fellow teammate’s Charles and Ellie. With the Toppat’s locked away, it seems nothing could go wrong: A perfect ending...

...that is if you ignore the fact that RHM was a cyborg, even those he shouldn’t be. Not in this ending. But everything's fine. Sure his abilities are a little... ‘janky’ right now, but that’s probably just cause there hasn’t been much chaos lately to exercise them with since the Toppat’s are locked up. It surely can’t mean anything, besides! What’s the worst that could happen when he has his closest friends and government on his side.

That is until Henry meets the new Toppat recruit...

Plot driven ask blog: Comic

Status: Finalising Planning (, working on intro animation, aiming for a mid/ late May start).

Status: Closed

Characters available: NA

About 📖

You know...

Henry was starting to get really sick of waking up like this.

His head was fuzzy like always, but this time it was proving...problematic. See, the last thing Henry remembered was being on a mission with Ellie and Charles. With the Toppat Clan gone, other groups had tried to fill their place. Groups which the Triple Threat (, special operative under the government assigned by General Galefore,) had been working on stopping and this is where his problem was. The Toppat’s were no more, the leaders locked away, remaining members had disbanded and Henry knew for a fact the Airship had still been impounded. He’d seen it not even the other day, clipped wings gathering dust in the yard and yet...here he was:

Locked up in an operational Airship’s brig.

He could hear the engine.

He’d seen the Toppats which had bough him scraps- because those stale chucks of flour were NOT food. He could smell that distinct burnt coal smoke whisking thought the air conducts.

It was impossible.

Had to be, right?

“If... If anyone can hear me, I’d love some company round about now...”

#blog rules #ask rules #Henry Stickmin #the henry stickmin collection #my art

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ts-unsolved · 5 years ago

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Final Wrap-up for Chapter One

((since chapter one will be coming to a close shortly and there is still an assortment of questions left over, here is a masterpost of responses to queries that couldn’t be addressed during the story!

[reminder: the ask box will be left open, however the characters are not available. please keep in mind that non-plot related questions will not be answered by the characters after this post.]

Anonymous said: ((Just wanted to tell you your drawings are so pretty and I love ur blog. That is all I have no braincells to ask questions))

Anonymous said: OKAY MOD I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW I LOVE THIS AU SO MUCH AND ITS SO COOL AND GOOD AND YOUR ART IS TOO!! sorry for caps I’m just excited

Thank you! Sorry I didn’t always get around to answering asks like this, but for every one that was sent in, I appreciated it with all my heart. You guys are angels 💖

Anonymous said: What is one haunted location you guys would really like to visit someday?

Poveglia is definitely the highest on the list for the notoriety alone, although they would likely never get the permission to go (the history in general is almost excessively horrible and tragic, so nothing good would come out of doing an episode there. Maybe it’d be good as a final-chapter type location? 🤔).

@anxious-fander-bean said: Hey Logan, have you ever tried swing dancing? It's really fun and good excersize! There's also a lot of bouncing and upbeat music, so Patton might enjoy it as well! ((I'm doing it. I need the qpp boys to be happy and have fun, bc they deserve it.))

(LOGAN: I’ll...consider it.)

You did it, you got them to go on some good ol’ platonic dates! B)

Anonymous said: I feel bad that I don't have any deep question or something along those lines, but what's your favorite thing to bake, Pat? - 💐

That’s alright! Questions don’t have to be deep to be fun/interesting.

(PATTON: Cupcakes! You can make so many different flavors, and there are tons of fun ways to decorate them!)

@why-should-i-tell-youu2 said: Why cant anyone else see the seal?

You need to have The Sight to be able to see demon sigils. Patton has this ability naturally, and Dee has it because Elliott taught it to him. Otherwise, Virgil and Roman would be the closest in terms of gaining this ability, but a scared/skeptical part of them is holding them back.

Anonymous said: My good dorks, is there a way to, I don’t know, get a better/more effective charm for your office? One that costs more than $10? -🍁

Anonymous said: Hey, Logan, potential naturalistic explanation for ya: depending on what the charm was made of, shifts in ambient room temperature could have caused minuscule expansions and contractions in the material that would eventually crack the charm. Do I believe my own explanation? Absolutely not. Am I grasping at straws for a non-supernatural explanation? Absolutely. And ambient room temperature doesn’t even begin to explain the red symbol around the charm

(LOGAN: Our budgeting is already a mess as it is, the last thing we need is to waste more funds on decorations. And that theory seems much more reasonable than the contrary explanation.)

Anonymous said: Is the demon that Pavreen summoned the same demon that possessed Elliott?

Anonymous said: Welp Virge SUMMONED A DEMON- (Why do I have a feeling Remy was the demon that possessed Elliot-)

Nope, they’re all different demons! The demon that Parveen summoned is notoriously difficult to contact, so a bunch of teenagers wouldn’t have been able to do it. Likewise for Remy; you can only summon him once you have his True Name, and he’s already destroyed most references to that (sorry Patton).

Anonymous said: omg omg omg what part of mythology is remy part of???

He’s not from any particular mythology, but he is partly based off of Alps from German folklore and the general mythology around sleep paralysis!

Anonymous said: Can Patton see supernatural beings like ghosts and demons and stuff? I just think it would be interesting if his scars make him able to see them :3c

Anonymous said: If both Dee and Patton can see the sigil, and Dee can see ghosts, does that mean Pat can see ghosts too? With the whole red glowing thing (forgot what its called) it seems to be connected.

Yes he can see ghosts/demons, and you’re right that the scars (or rather the deal with the demon which gave him his powers and scars) are what lead to him being able to do it. The red is just a general indicator of something supernatural/not of our Realm.

Anonymous said: Wait so if Patton and his family all have that mark could that mean Patton is not completely human 👀 -🌈

I supposed you could say that Patton’s not entirely human because he’s a witch who was born without a soul, but he’d find that pretty offensive tbh.

Anonymous said: Are Elliott and Patton maybe related, even distantly? Also, roman needs to suck it up and have Feelings for the Snake Man

There’s no relation between Elliott and Patton. Elliott is the child of a seer and a psychic, Patton is the son of witches. They’re similar, but different. (Also you’re assuming that Roman hasn’t liked the Snake Man since high school, but considered him off-limits because he’s his brother’s best friend).

Anonymous said: Does Patton know that Dee can see spirits and does Dee know that Patton is protecting them all?

Anonymous said: Dee, pat, do you know that each other can see the sigil?

Anonymous said: is ... is patton a witch and dee a dee-mon and that's why they don't like each other.....?

Anonymous said: Pat what do you think about making deals with demons?

They’re both aware of each other’s secrets! Technically they’re both doing their best to protect everyone, but that doesn’t mean they agree with each other’s methods or bond over the shared responsibility.

Patton is indeed a witch, and Dee is a regular human who happened to summon a demon one time. Patton thinks Dee is the occult equivalent of a satanist, which he disagrees with because dark magic is unnatural/dangerous in his eyes (making deals with demons only leads to trouble!), and would prefer Dee not endanger his friends. Dee doesn’t like Patton because of his perceived moral superiority, and finds the way he can be so secretive and two-faced creepy

Regardless, they’re both sitting in glass houses and have more in common than they think.

Anonymous said: Patton Should Hug Dee *

Maybe. But he won’t. 8′D

Anonymous said: Since Dee has been able to see ghosts for a long time, was he an open believer in ghosts before Elliot died? Since it was mentioned that the reason he lies about his belief is because he knows that they're dangerous, he wouldn't have had a reason to hide it in the past. And if he did are any of the others aware of the belief change? Well, besides Remus. I'm guessing that one is pretty obvious.

He may have been more involved as a believer in the past, though that doesn’t mean he was ever super open about it. He was aware of how it would look like to outsiders (being genuinely skeptical at one point himself), so he wasn’t going to paint a target on his back by talking about ghosts and demons and things most people can’t see.

Of course, that didn’t stop people from stereotyping and making those sorts of assumptions about their friend group anyway, but no one besides them really knew about their secret-- not even Virgil.

Anonymous asked: What would happen if one time, the gang ended up getting something supernatural on camera?

The result of that would depend on the being. Ghosts can kinda appear on camera, although it’s very rare for them to appear as a full bodied apparition, which is why they usually only manifest in spirit orbs or light/shadows. Poltergeists are better since they’re able to interact with objects, but likewise since they can’t manifest into a physical form they can easily be brushed off. Demons and other miscellaneous creatures will straight up not appear if captured directly on film; you’ll simply get video glitches and distortions.

So essentially, they may technically have found something already, but capturing evidence that’s also compelling is a lot more difficult than you’d think. I imagine there’s a good chance that anything legitimate wouldn’t get taken too seriously because of how easy it is to fake evidence nowadays.

Anonymous said: Okay so a little bit of a rant but not really ig but imagine the ladylike and unsolved crossover for this AU like I can see it as like Thomas' friends dressing up Roman and Dee in style and seeing a blushing mess and maybe flirting going on because of how good the clothing complements each other but this is kinda a weak idea lol

It’s not a weak idea at it, it’s really cute! (though I may just have a soft spot for the Ladylike cast and crossovers).

The only thing to note is that I’ve chosen not to include Thomas’ friends in this AU because I personally weird about writing fiction about real people? (I was on the fence about including character!Thomas for a while too, tbh). So, apologies to anyone who’s sent similar asks or wanted to see any of Thomas’ friends; they wont be around!

Anonymous said: Did Dee and Remus ever have that talk Dee said he would try to have a while back????

They might have gotten the opportunity to chat back when Remus came back to help shoot the Room 1046 video. It wouldn’t have been a complete reconciliation by any means (dealing with years of baggage in one sitting is Hard), but now Remus is aware that Dee is open to discuss things again at some point in the future, so progress!

Anonymous said: wait wHAT?! When did he (Emile Picani) die?? Give us the deets oh wise one

Anonymous said: emile is... dead? what happened?

I see y’all, but unfortunately you’re not getting any answers from me just yet! You’ll have to wait until the next chapter~.

Anonymous said: Shit is about to go down and I am worried about the next ghost "adventure"

:) Don’t Worry About It.))

#OOC #((that should be all the big questions!#i'll update this later if anything comes up))

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polaristranslations · 4 years ago

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Chapter 1 - The First Generation Maniwa Koumori

This is a story from when this country was a warring country, when times were troubled times.

◇　　　◇

Maniwa Koumori was the possessor of talent recognized by everybody in the Maniwa village, but regrettably, there was a flaw to his character. Greed, violence, treachery, wickedness—he had none of those things. In fact, he was the complete opposite of them.

Koumori lacked ambition.

He lacked a goal.

He had no desire to do anything.

And thus, he had no ambition to accomplish anything.

He simply did as he was told, which one could say made him a model for ninja.

He excelled, but he lacked a certain something.

He surpassed, but he lacked a kind of charm.

That was the ninja known as Maniwa Koumori.

But it wasn't that he was a man of strict morals. He was plenty flexible, he appreciated a good joke, and if you associated with him one-on-one—for example, if you worked together with him on a task—he was extremely easy to deal with.

He treated others with respect, to the point that he never asserted himself.

For the Maniwa Ninja Corps, a gathering of shinobi with strong senses of individuality, he was quite the rare existence, and on top of that, he bore the responsibility of being the core of the Maniwa village.

The only flaw being that he himself wasn't aware of that fact.

"Y'know, 'bout me,"

expressed Koumori one day to his fellow ninja.

"I feel like I'm kinda one of those underling types—like, there'd be nothin' easier for me than if someone decided for me what my goals were, or what I wanted to do in the future, everything like that. Living? Life? There's no rule that says I gotta decide all that for myself. If there's a commanding officer that can make use of my talent and my ninpou (ninja arts) better than me, then I won't go against them. Even if they can't really make use of it, I won't complain as long as they're gonna take responsibility."

Well.

This would be fine to hear from some town youth, but hearing it from one of the top ten influential people in a village of shinobi did not look very good for them. Nonetheless, Maniwa Koumori was still young, with a long life still ahead of him—so the villagers remained optimistic that he would one day become aware of his true ability as he completed his tasks.

However.

Showing no signs of reaching such awareness, Maniwa Koumori continued to live out his days—and that was when the Maniwa Ninja Corps came up with the plan to reorganize so that they would not take directions from just one chief, but appoint Twelve Chiefs to take directions from.

◇　　　◇

"Aah, there he is—so you were in a place like this, Koumori-chan."

In a small thicket just outside of the village, Maniwa Koumori was dozing off upside-down with his legs hooked over a branch of a sturdy-looking tree when a voice called out to him. And that voice belonged to Maniwa Kyouken.

Though her appearance was that of a girl.

Her entire body was covered with tattoos.

After being called, Koumori opens his eyes ever so slightly—and in his field of vision, he sees the form of an upside-down Kyouken.

"—What is it,"

replied Koumori with a displeased tone.

Though it wasn't because he was actually displeased—he was just sleepy.

"I'm sleeping. Don't bother me right now."

"If you're gonna sleep, then sleep at home—just because your name means 'bat', it doesn't mean you have to sleep like that."

"You suuure like to complain."

Flip.

Letting go of the branch with his feet, Koumori did a half-rotation in mid-air and landed neatly on the ground.

"Everyone's all rowdy today. I can't sleep like that."

"Well, that's for sure."

Kyouken laughed wryly.

To Koumori, it didn't really seem like a laughing matter—but feelings like that weren't really her problem, and Koumori knew that very well.

"Going from one chief to Twelve Chiefs, huh—it's like, what on earth are they thinking, right? If we do that, the chain of command is gonna become a mess. Our organization will stop being an organization—there isn't gonna be order or anything."

"Organization. Order. Never thought words like those would come outta your mouth,"

said Kyouken while laughing.

"Well, I'm sure Houou-chan has his reasons."

"And you're okay with that? The whole basis of the Maniwa village is about to be toppled over, y'know? The village of the Maniwa that's stronger than anyone—"

"What's important isn't just to leave our mark, okay?"

Kyouken shrugged, though it wasn't clear if she was serious or not.

"Plus, I'm really just an advisor here—the brains of this village is all Houou-chan. Houou-chan decided this reorganization was necessary for us to survive in this warring country's troubled times—so I'm not going to oppose him."

Not to mention the dispute with the Aioi Ninja Corps is getting worse—continued Kyouken.

Tch, went Koumori under his breath.

"You shoulda said that in the first place—'sides, when they decide on the Twelve Chiefs, you'll for sure be set up as one of them, y'know? After that you won't be an advisor or anything. You won't be able to act like you're just an observer in this village after that."

"If that happens, then it happens. I'll accept my fate. ...But aren't those words something you should be hearing? Koumori-chan."

"......"

That was indeed the case.

The chain of command would become a mess and the organization would stop being an organization—but Maniwa Koumori was not so admirable to worry about such things. He was not the type to respect the idea of keeping order. He was just a shinobi that followed whatever orders he had from above. Though he had a will, he didn't have a goal—that was what Maniwa Koumori's character was.

That's why, the problem was.

If twelve people were to be appointed as chiefs, then without a doubt—Koumori would be chosen as one of them.

"Well, putting aside Houou-chan as an exception—Koumori-chan, Kuizame-chan, and then Kamakiri-chan and Umigame-chan are sure picks, I'd say. After that, I wonder who else—"

"I feel like if you're gonna be chief, you gotta have the capacity to be the chief—and I don't have that capacity. I'm the kind of guy that gets used."

"You're the only one who thinks that—everyone else is waiting for you to just grow up."

Including me, said Kyouken.

Even though her appearance looked to be far younger than Koumori, her way of speaking seemed to be far older than him.

She didn't call herself the village's observer just for show.

"Then they can give me that role after I've grown up. All of them, seriously. They keep coming at me assuming I'm definitely gonna become the chief. There's no end to them."

That's why.

There's no way he could sleep at home.

One after another, someone would keep visiting Koumori, who was a "Twelve Chiefs Candidate".

"People change when they're put in positions of power—and shinobi are no exception. Like how it's meaningless to just leave appearances behind, it's important in a way to start with appearances, y'see."

And with that, you can take on the appearance of a someone with capacity—said Kyouken, finishing her statement.

Koumori had come to the thicket to escape from the eyes of others because he'd gotten fed up, from the bottom of his heart, with the way people seemed to be blowing smoke at others, even though they surely had no ill intent. However, now that he'd been discovered by Kyouken, it seemed he'd realized this place was no longer a safe haven.

"...So?"

said Koumori.

"What do you want, Kyouken?"

"Hm?"

"Since you came looking for me and all—don'tcha want something from me?"

"Ah, nah—it's not really anything major."

You'd get in the way of a person's good sleep for something that wasn't major, was what Koumori thought, wanting to snap at her. But with Kyouken, if you snapped at every little thing she said, there'd be no end to it.

"It's just that, right now, there's a pretty interesting exhibition going on down at the square—so I came to invite you."

"An exhibition?"

"Haruzemi-chan—you know, right?"

"Ah..."

Maniwa Haruzemi.

It wasn't to the same extent as Koumori's or Kyouken's, but the name was certainly well-known in the Maniwa village. And even though it was called a village, it wasn't a particularly large village—if someone had wits or behavior that stood out, they would soon become well-known. That meant that Maniwa Haruzemi had either, or perhaps even both. He'd never met him directly before (at the very least, he'd never worked with him before—Koumori certainly never forgot a partner he'd worked together with), but he'd definitely heard of the shinobi.

If he saw his face, he'd probably remember.

"Rumor has it he's a guy with quite the lust for power."

"Yeah. That's why he's naturally aiming to be one of the Twelve Chiefs—although, as for whether he has the qualifications, to be honest, I'd say it's about fifty-fifty."

"Is there a problem with his personality?"

"'Having a problem with their personality' applies to everyone—in the first place, the Maniwa Ninja Corps is a group of people each with their own individuality, and not a group with strong camaraderie. It's fine as long as they can show results. Plus—it's just as you said earlier. People change when they're put in positions of power."

Perhaps, added Kyouken this time.

She was smirking.

As the self-proclaimed observer of the village, she surely knew more about Maniwa Haruzemi than Koumori did.

"...So? What's that Haruzemi doing in the square?"

"He's demonstrating a new ninpou,"

said Kyouken.

"In other words, showing off his accomplishments to get picked for the Twelve Chiefs. Unlike you and me, it's clear he actually wants that extra push to become one of the chiefs—"

"And, that new ninpou is that 'extra push'?"

Hmm, thought Koumori.

Koumori didn't want to be one of the Twelve Chiefs, and yet he didn't think he could refuse if told to be one, which put him in a bind. So the fact that someone actually wanted to become one of the Twelve Chiefs seemed kind of ironic to him.

He didn't suppose Haruzemi could take his place.

If he actually wanted to be one, then they should just let him, thought Koumori.

"So—what kind of ninpou is it?"

"Oho. Are you curious?"

"Don't mess with me. I'm only asking because it looked like you wanted me to ask."

"Mmm."

Kyouken made a face as if she was at a loss for words.

"Well, I guess it's a variation on the doton-no-jutsu (earth submerging technique)?"

"Doton-no-jutsu? He's going after something pretty plain, isn't he."

Although, you could say that made it practical for combat.

It seemed like it could leave a much better impression than ninpou that was overly flashy.

If that choice was planned out, then aha, he must not just be a person with a simple lust for power.

"However, you don't really need a lot of training for something like that, right? Even I can do it."

"You can pretty much do most things, though—by the way, I can't do it."

"If you would just put your mind to it, you'd be able to do it any time."

Koumori intentionally spoke as if he was insinuating something, but Kyouken responded unconcerned, continuing the conversation with an "Even so."

"I said it was a variation, right?"

"A variation, huh. I wonder what he's changing up. No matter what you say, doton-no-jutsu is just holding a bamboo tube in your mouth and hiding yourself in the ground. And then it's just a matter of how you pay attention to the presences aboveground—"

Koumori thought there wasn't any part that could be changed up.

It was a ninpou that was basically perfect, with no room for variation.

"—So yeah. You hold a bamboo tube in your mouth, right?"

"Well, of course. Although, it doesn't have to be a bamboo tube—it's just any breathing tube. Without it, you'd just suffocate. Although, you can't last a long time—at some point you'd have trouble breathing. That's more or less the doton-no-jutsu's weak point."

"So yeah,"

said Kyouken.

"The point of Haruzemi's revision is to strengthen that weak point."

"......"

"To not need a breathing tube. Moreover, to be able to stay submerged in the ground for a long time—that's the new doton-no-jutsu."

"The new—doton-no-jutsu."

"He called it the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi (Submerged Chrysalis)', you see—"

Being told that.

Koumori wasn't sure how he responded.

Ninpou "Moguri Sanagi".

If that was possible—it would be of great use for everyone's work. But as a result, it seemed entirely too idealistic—he thought it was a ninpou that couldn't exist.

Whether it was a bamboo tube or something else, the traditional doton-no-jutsu required a breathing tube—in other words, it meant that it indicated your location submerged in the ground to those aboveground. And, though it was a technique for concealing yourself, you couldn't conceal yourself for long—however, it wasn't quite right to call that a weak point.

It wasn't a weak point, but a necessity of human physiology.

However, Haruzemi's ninpou supposedly managed to compensate for that.

"...There's no way."

That was all Maniwa Koumori could say after being told about a ninpou that couldn't possibly exist. At the very least, it would have a great effect were that ninpou to be actually performed.

"If he manages to do that—he'll be one of the Twelve Chiefs for sure."

"Indeed. I think so, too."

"But what's the logic behind it? If there's no need for a breathing tube, that means he figured out some other way of breathing—"

"Well, it's not like I can tell you even if you ask me about it. Apparently he thought of it on his own, so it's probably not something especially mysterious, but the 'Moguri Sanagi' is Haruzemi-chan's weapon for the sake of becoming one of the Twelve Chiefs. He's not going to just teach it to someone else just like that."

"Well, guess you're right."

"Also—it's not like he's succeeded yet."

Hence—the exhibition.

Koumori was convinced.

Plus, a bit of curiosity welled up within him.

"Apparently, the grubs of a cicada can live in the earth for seven years or whatever. By absorbing nutrients from the roots of plants. I think he said the logic had something to do with that."

"...Sounds like a stretch."

It was hard to believe humans could follow the same logic as cicada grubs.

Nevertheless, it wasn't like Koumori could come up with a different logical explanation for it.

"Well, it's a ninpou that's rather befitting of the name Maniwa Haruzemi—that is, if he manages to succeed."

"Yup."

"So, what about the exhibition? How's he doing it?"

"Mmm... Well, you see."

There, Kyouken tilted her head.

"It was maybe a bit misleading to call it an exhibition. After all, there's really nothing to see if he's underground—basically, he dug a hole in the square. With the help of one of his subordinates, he was able to bury himself—afterwards, it's just a matter of some genin, his subordinates included, standing guard."

"Standing guard? What for?"

"So that he doesn't secretly come aboveground or whatever."

"Ah."

"And, just like that—for now, it'll go for one week."

Saying that, Kyouken raised one finger.

"Apparently, Haruzemi himself said he'd be able to last for years at a time, just like cicada grubs, but it's not like we can wait that long for that—if we waste too much time, it won't just be the dispute with the Aioi Ninja Corps, but the troubled times themselves that are gonna end. You know, that new shogun that conquered the six daimyo? Apparently, he's been on a roll lately."

"The new shogun, huh?"

The new shogun.

In actuality, he hadn't become the shogun just yet, but there existed a military commander that called himself that. The Maniwa village was a unit of hired mercenaries that did not belong under any one influence, but on the other hand, it meant that they could take action regardless of whatever influence commanded them—and among those, Koumori couldn't help but think that the influence of the new shogun felt a bit ominous.

It was hard for Koumori to imagine someone that could unite this country at war that was disarrayed by disorder, but if someone like that did exist, it was surely a being not unlike the new shogun.

—That was.

That was, most likely—someone with the capacity to stand above others.

"...Oi, Koumori-chan. Are you listening?"

"Hm? Yeah, sorry. Um, what were we talking about?"

"Like I was saying—for now, it's one week. If he can stay hidden underground for one week—then it will be considered a success."

"Well, a success, huh? I'd say three days would be enough."

If he wanted to be extreme, he'd be fine with even one day.

After all, if a normal person tried to last that long buried underground, they would definitely pass on.

"Well—it doesn't end there, right?"

"Right. Afterwards, he has to be able to come out of the ground on his own, without any assistance—and after that, he has to correctly guess who was standing guard over him."

"......"

"It's not like the same people are going to be standing guard for the whole week. Every day, they're going to take turns standing guard—and he's going to have to guess the order correctly."

If he's unable to grasp the state of affairs aboveground while buried under the earth, then it wouldn't be much use as a ninpou—said Kyouken.

"Of course, the order gets determined after Haruzemi is buried. So there's no way anyone will have informed him beforehand."

"I see..."

It didn't seem like there was any room to cheat.

It was very thorough.

"As long as the ones standing guard aren't all his accomplices, seems like we're gonna have to recognize it as a new ninpou if he succeeds."

"There's no way they'll all be his accomplices. While there are subordinates of Haruzemi, there are also subordinates of those hostile to Haruzemi."

"Hostile?"

"Well, it might be an exaggeration to call them hostile. Maybe I should describe them as rivals? Haruzemi isn't the only one aiming to be one of the Twelve Chiefs, after all."

"Oh yeah."

"From their point of view, if Haruzemi fails here, then it'll be a good chance for them—so they'll probably cooperate for that reason."

"He's really thought it through."

However—it was quite tenacious of him.

It was surprising how far he'd go for such a thing, thought Koumori.

And, he felt just a little bit embarrassed at his own lack of enthusiasm.

It may sound nice to be able to claim that he had no lust for power, but could that actually mean that he was lacking in affection for the Maniwa village?

"Seriously—if he wants, he can just take my place."

"That's no good, either. There's no way someone can just take someone else's place—even with your ninpou, for example."

As a result of the words of the honest Koumori, Kyouken couldn't help but smile.

"So, what are you gonna do? Do you want to go and watch? I'm going to go head there right now, if you are."

"—Well."

Maniwa Koumori.

Lazily shook his head from side to side.

"Maybe if I feel like it."

And, having said that.

Koumori would ultimately not go to watch Maniwa Haruzemi's demonstration of his new ninpou, 'Moguri Sanagi', in the village square.

◇　　　◇

It was a week later when notice of Maniwa Haruzemi's death spread throughout the village. Normally, it would've been the day that the success or failure of his new ninpou was ascertained, and since it had been a ninpou that had gathered a lot of attention due to the exhibition, the reality of Haruzemi's death stretched out to the corners of the village in an instant.

Naturally, it also reached the ears of Koumori, who was dozing off in a nearby thicket as usual.

At first, Koumori thought,

"Oh."

So he failed, was what he thought.

Though he'd boldly claimed how he'd revised the doton-no-jutsu into a new ninpou, it must have still been in the experimental stage in the end. Since the plan to reorganize the Corps to have Twelve Chiefs itself was decided rather suddenly, Haruzemi must not have had enough time to test out his new ninpou. Of course, in a way, the odds had been in his favor—after all, if things always turned out as expected, there would be no need for ninja in this world.

But, as expected, one week was too long a period for a human to stay buried underground. It wasn't just a matter of breathing—there were definitely more problems than just that. In other words, it meant that Haruzemi's revision failed to resolve all those problems—that was what Koumori thought.

However.

When he heard the details, apparently, that wasn't actually the case.

Success, and failure.

The problem was something that came before that.

After the week-long period had passed and Maniwa Haruzemi had not reappeared, the genin that were standing guard had decided that he had failed, and moved to dig Haruzemi back up. While it was probably too late, perhaps they could make it in time to resuscitate him.

Just as expected.

Maniwa Haruzemi was dead.

It was death by suffocation—however, the genin discovered something from Haruzemi's body that wasn't just as expected.

On the back of Maniwa Haruzemi's neck.

They found the mark of a rope imprinted clearly on his skin.

Underground, Maniwa Haruzemi had been hanged—

And murdered.

◇　　　◇

"—What's the estimated time of death?"

Maniwa Kyouken peeked into the hole where Haruzemi had been buried—the hole in the village square that had been dug out and not refilled—as she spoke the following.

"According to the Shiryouhan (Death Healing Squad), it was five days ago. In other words, from the start of the unveiling of his new ninpou, it was about two days. For the five days after that, he was buried here as a corpse."

"I see—"

It was Koumori, standing directly behind Kyouken, who responded.

There was nobody else around.

They'd ordered everyone else to stay away.

Right now, the ones in the square were—Kyouken and Koumori, just the two of them.

"—So the genin that were standing guard were just watching over a corpse, huh. What an empty task."

"Well, it certainly is empty. Of life—"

Hup.

And with that, Kyouken dove into the hole.

It wasn't that deep a hole—but it wasn't that shallow, either. It had a depth of about one jou. For any ninja from the Maniwa village, it was a depth that they would easily be able to enter or exit from.

Kyouken lay down at the bottom of the hole.

"Hey, do you mind burying me for a bit?"

"Hm? Sure."

Being told that, Koumori went to the mound of dirt beside the hole—most likely the dirt that had been dug up—and began dropping it onto Kyouken's body, one lump at a time.

However, soon after.

"Blech, I give up,"

said Kyouken, standing up and jumping back out of the hole.

"It's no use, it's way too intense."

"Of course it is."

Koumori had a dumbfounded look on his face.

Kyouken, covered with dirt, tried to dust herself off.

"In the first place, trying to spend time underground completely cut off from the outside world is going to be pretty uncomfortable."

"Yeah. In that sense—if it had been completed, it would've made for a really useful ninpou. The ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi', that is."

"Maybe it actually had been completed?"

said Kyouken.

"Maybe that's why—he was murdered."

"......"

The fact that Maniwa Haruzemi had died.

In itself, it wasn't that much of a problem.

For shinobi, life and death weren’t that big of an issue—to them, living and dying may as well be the same thing.

Even Koumori had that level of awareness.

However—being murdered was a different matter.

"Not to mention, it's one thing if he was killed while being careless on a job—but since he was killed right in the middle of our village, that's not something we can ignore. No matter how much I pretend to be an observer—and no matter how much you pretend to be a hermit."

"I don't remember pretending to be a hermit, though,"

said Koumori.

He looked back into the hole.

"Well, the first suspects that come to mind would be those Aioi Ninja Corps that are constantly after us... But I wonder. It feels like it's fine to actually cross them off the suspect list in this case only. If they were able to infiltrate the village for this, then that would be another problem entirely."

"That's for sure. So that can't be it—the Maniwa village hasn't fallen so far that they wouldn't notice any intruders. Not to mention, Pengin-chan and the others have been setting up a barrier—"

"So that means,"

said Koumori, sounding fed up with the whole thing.

"It was someone among us that killed him, huh."

"Indeed."

There wasn't even a need to confirm it a second time.

Koumori had already realized it when he'd first heard the news, and had confirmed it today when he was called out by Kyouken.

After all, Maniwa Kyouken...

Was extremely sharp when it came to these things.

"And that's why I said we should stop this Twelve Chiefs stuff—Houou shoulda known that struggles for power'd turn into us killing each other."

"You're probably only against the Twelve Chiefs plan because you're too lazy to get your noggin running. Don't act as if you foresaw this happening—and if we're talking about Houou-chan, then I think he already took this situation into account."

"Huh?"

"Basically, it's thinning out the ranks. Uncovering the kind of immature person that would kill their comrades out of a lust for power—maybe."

"That's not really fair to the person that gets killed, is it?"

"Well, if they're going to get killed, then that makes them pretty immature, too. A person that gets betrayed lacks the disposition to lead others."

Being respected is a talent in itself.

That was what Kyouken said.

"In that sense, you're completely equipped to have the capacity for leadership—Koumori-chan."

"I dunno about that. Who knows when someone'll take me out some day."

"I'm saying you have enough talent to not be taken out."

"Oh."

He nods noncommittally.

There wasn't really any point to arguing against it.

"But thinking about it that way... Hmm. For Haruzemi, it wasn't completely certain whether or not he'd become one of the Twelve Chiefs, right? If this was a murder due to a struggle for power, then they shoulda aimed for me or you. Then that would've opened up a seat for sure."

"Like I'm saying—the culprit didn't have the confidence to take one of us out,"

said Kyouken with a smirk.

"That's why—I can see why they'd make the choice to take out Haruzemi-chan, who was aiming for a spot as one of the Twelve Chiefs by demonstrating his new ninpou. It's certainly one type of strategy to ignore the ones that are sure to be elected and enter into a mudslinging match with other candidates instead."

"Even so, killing is kinda going too far, I'd say. They coulda just gotten in the way of him demonstrating the ninpou instead."

"That's—that's true."

There was no need to actually kill him.

Of course, killing him was the easiest way to handle it—but killing your comrades wasn't exactly a common affair.

"Why—why did they kill him? Actually..."

Koumori.

Spun around, taking a look at his surroundings—and then spoke.

"How did they kill him?"

"......"

Naturally, Kyouken had no response.

She couldn't respond.

Indeed—the problem here was not why Haruzemi was killed, but how he was killed.

The ninja hidden in the earth.

Who could've been the one to kill him, and how?

"Especially if it was strangulation—it would be a lot easier to figure out if he'd been stabbed from aboveground with a spear or something. Although, that would be impossible because of the ones standing guard—"

"Incidentally, did anyone find the rope that was used as the murder weapon?"

"Nope."

Kyouken shook her head.

"Unfortunately not. It would probably just be a normal rope, after all—like you said, it would be one thing if it was a spear, but there are any number of ways to get rid of a rope like this. I think it'll be impossible to tie down the culprit from that direction."

"I see... A way to strangle someone who's underground, huh. Well, it may be a bit anomalous, but..."

Koumori seemed a little embarrassed at his own words, but he continued.

"It's basically a locked-room murder."

"......Yeah."

Kyouken nodded and clapped her hands together.

"That's true. It's certainly a locked room. It can't get any more locked off than this."

Though whether it was a "lock" or not was pretty dodgy, continued Kyouken.

"However, isn't the usual premise of a locked-room murder to try and convince people that it was a suicide? But if they went and strangled him, then there's no way it's a suicide here."

"I just said it because I felt like I had to say it. You don't need to take me so seriously—well, putting aside what the motive could be, I don't have any idea what the method could be at all. Since, even if it's a locked room, it's not like there was an actual lock or key."

"Yep, it's a little too physical for that."

"...This is just for example's sake, but..."

Koumori lowered his voice, and then continued.

"Is it possible for the guys standing guard to have lied?"

"Hm?"

"Basically—it's only thanks to their testimony that we know that Haruzemi was buried for that entire week, right? But... um... was it two days? The people on watch around that time could have lied—"

No, wait.

If they were going to go as far as lie.

If that was going to be assumed—

"—isn't it possible that they're the culprits?"

"......"

Kyouken suddenly put on a serious expression.

It was an uncommon sight for her.

No—this was her natural expression, thought Koumori.

After all, even though she pretended to be just an observer.

She was someone that stayed at the center of the village more than anyone—and surely, even if the number of chiefs were to increase to twelve, that wouldn't change.

"Basically,"

said Koumori.

"Maybe at night, when everyone left but the ones standing guard, they dug out Haruzemi from underground—and strangled him to death. No matter how good of a ninja Haruzemi was, well, he'd probably get killed if he faced all the ones standing guard at once. And, after he was killed, they put him back into the ground just as before. Then they'd just have to nonchalantly keep standing guard—and, when it became time, they could nonchalantly call the next group of guards."

"There's no way."

In an instant.

Maniwa Kyouken denied Koumori's theory.

"I said this before, didn't I? There was no room for the guards to conspire with each other. If that had been possible, then the whole demonstration of the new ninpou would have been pointless."

"Ah—that's right, isn't it."

Those that were for Haruzemi, and those that were against.

The guards had been woven together with people from both sides.

"Well, just in case, I did hear the stories of the genin that were on guard during the estimated time of death—but I don't think they're going to be of any use."

"There were a few people that could use the ninpou of truth detection, right? Although, I guess they're pretty popular, so they're more often than not outside the village—"

"Lucky, one of them was still in the village and said they would help us out. But without even needing to look into it, all the guards are innocent. As far as I can see."

"—Well, if you're saying that as the observer, then I suppose it's gotta be true—"

However.

In that case, the crime couldn't have been committed.

"Having said that, we shouldn't just use truth detection willy-nilly on just anyone. It sucks that we carelessly got the estimate for the time of death, though—if it wasn't for that, we could just end the case by saying, 'one of the guards secretly strangled him while they were digging him up'."

"Seems like it would be pretty difficult to secretly strangle someone with a village full of ninja watching, even if they were all genin."

"Incidentally, about this case—has Houou said anything?"

"Not really. He hasn't even told us to go look for the culprit."

I'm just doing this on my own volition—said Kyouken.

That was about what Koumori had expected, so he said nothing and nodded.

"What if, when he was being buried..."

Koumori began to describe what had just come to mind.

Even though it was a theory that he knew from the beginning was wrong.

"Someone wrapped a long rope around him. So that the ends of the rope were still left aboveground. Then, it's just a matter of pulling those ends—and that would strangle him. And after checking that Haruzemi was dead, they could just pull the rope from just one end—then only the rope itself would get pulled out from underground. Leaving just Haruzemi's strangled corpse in the ground..."

After all that, he said,

"How about that?"

and waited for Kyouken's response.

"It's impossible."

Again, in an instant, Kyouken denied it.

"There are way too many parts of that that are impossible. You probably already realized it yourself, so I won't pick it apart bit by bit. In the first place... The whole point of the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi' was to not leave any traces of it aboveground. If there was a rope coming out from underground, someone would have noticed."

"Hmm. Well, that's true."

"It might not be good to say this, but..."

Kyouken began speaking with a rather desolate tone of voice.

"This might be a case of, 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down'. It was pretty ostentatious, this demonstration of his—and it wasn't exactly ninja-like, so to speak."

"...Is that so?"

"Well, it's a bit late now, and I'm not saying this because I find it amusing—but for example, I'm familiar with your ninpou. And you're familiar with my ninpou. But that's only because we've managed to see through each other's ninpou—it's not like we taught each other about ours in detail. That's fine. That's what ninja are all about, and that's what ninpou are all about—they aren't something that should expressly be taught. Ninpou aren't something to be taught, but something to be learned."

But then, said Kyouken.

"No matter how much he wanted to be part of the Twelve Chiefs—if he didn't try to teach everyone in the village so ostentatiously—"

"That's why he died like this?"

said Koumori, finishing Kyouken's thought.

"Well, yeah, Haruzemi had his own problems. Even so, that doesn't mean he shoulda been killed. To kill one of your own—that's a disgrace to ninja."

Although it’s true that we aren't really a group with a sense of camaraderie, Koumori said as if spitting out the words.

At this point, finally.

Koumori became aware that his feelings had been extremely hurt because of this incident.

He wondered why.

It wasn't like he'd worked together with Haruzemi before.

Was it because Haruzemi had had a sense of enthusiasm—that he himself didn't have?

A lust for power.

In other words, ambition.

Though the problem was he had too much of it—

However, not having enough of it could also be considered a problem.

To be honest, Koumori had already gotten prepared for the idea of himself becoming one of the Twelve Chiefs. This wasn't him getting conceited or presumptuous, but a composed decision that it was sure to happen.

He didn't have any other choice.

If this was his destiny, then he'd follow it.

But he felt pity for the subordinates who would have to work under a person with no urges like him. At the very least, Koumori could never show off the workings of his ninpou for the sake of getting ahead in life—and then.

Suddenly, Koumori hit upon an idea.

"...Hey, Kyouken."

"Hm?"

"What about you? For whatever reason—would you ever show off your ninpou, your precious ninpou to everyone else?"

"No... That's kind of..."

After thinking about it, Kyouken responded like so.

"I've never thought about doing that, though."

"Just for instance—let's say you weren't in the position of advisor, nor were you a candidate to be one of the Twelve Chiefs... And let's say you would be promised a position if you decided to demonstrate your ninpou. Would you still do it?"

"...Well, if I was actually placed in that situation, then maybe my opinion would change."

After thinking about it—and after saying that as a preface, Kyouken responded like so.

"But... No, I don't think I would. I don't think ninpou should be used for that purpose."

"Yeah."

Koumori nodded.

"I—think the same way."

"...But, that could just be my and your way of thinking—if Haruzemi-chan thought differently, then that could just be chalked up to our individual differences, right? It's just a difference in our principles. Though it's as a result that he became the nail that stuck out, though—"

"No."

Koumori interrupted Kyouken's words.

"I think I got it—I think I figured out why Haruzemi did something like that. Or should I say, I was only able to figure it out because it was me. Because my way of thinking was the exact opposite of Haruzemi's—"

"......?"

"So, Kyouken."

Now, Koumori was the one to jump into the hole.

And, from there, he looked up at Kyouken—

"I think I figured out how Haruzemi was killed,"

he continued.

"Eh? You figured it out?"

To the astonished Kyouken, Koumori said, "Though I only think I figured it out."

"Besides, the only thing I think I figured out was the method behind the crime—well, I guess maybe I might have figured out the motive, t too. However, I dunno who the culprit is specifically."

"......"

"But I should be able to narrow it down—it's definitely a crime done by one of us. It wasn't the Aioi Ninja Corps or some other powerful shinobi group... At least, I hope."

"That doesn't sound very dependable after all that."

Kyouken could only smile wryly.

To Koumori, who was in the hole.

"However, if you've figured out that much, then that should be enough—Maniwa Koumori. Koumori-chan. That's why you—are one of the Twelve Chiefs."

"It hasn't been decided yet, y'know."

After saying that, irritated...

Koumori closed his eyes and deliberated for a moment.

And, as if he finally hit upon something—

"How's Haruzemi's body being dealt with right now?"

he asked Kyouken from within the hole.

"Let's see—well, we couldn't just leave it alone. Following the usual process, I'd say he was buried."

"Hm."

Koumori nodded exaggeratedly.

"Then—shall we go with that plan of attack?"

◇　　　◇

It had been yet another week before the news that Maniwa Haruzemi had returned from the dead had propagated throughout the Maniwa village. It seemed almost like a joke, the way he casually greeted the gatekeeper and entered the village, as if he had just come back from shopping.

When pressed for an explanation, he simply said without diffidence,

"It's nothing, this was what the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi' was all about,"

as a response.

Everyone was struck with admiration and bewilderment at that response, but he said, "I'll explain it, so gather everybody," and headed to the village square—yes, the very same square where Haruzemi should have died while demonstrating his new ninpou.

There, he explained it like so.

"Basically, the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi' is a technique where you die while staying alive. Some people thought it was a breathing technique that manipulated the respiratory organs, but in actuality, it's a method to manipulate your life force. To make a long story short, I put myself in a state of suspended animation, and limited my biological responses like breathing to the bare minimum—that way, it's possible to survive even underground. Well, it was a pretty grueling task to make out what was going on aboveground while in a state of suspended animation, but that's where I can show off the fruits of my training."

"B-but, wait, Haruzemi-dono."

One of the ninja—one of the genin that had stood guard while Haruzemi was underground—hesitatingly interjected into Haruzemi's words.

"When we dug you up, Haruzemi-dono—you had absolutely for sure been dead."

"That's right. Otherwise, the 'Moguri Sanagi' wouldn't have worked. There are several ninpou that can put you in suspended animation, but those ninpou put you at half alive and half dead at best, about fifty-fifty. However, the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi' puts you at nine-tenths dead, and the remaining tenth alive. ...Of course, I was still alive in the end, and while I was maintaining my consciousness I got to enjoy the confusion from you fellows."

"N-no way—"

The genin wheezed.

"Haruzemi-dono, wasn't the plan for you to dig yourself out of the earth?"

"It wouldn't be any fun that way. I wanted to put on a little show—however, I figured at least one person would realize, so I maintained my state of suspended animation, but I was shocked that even the members of the Shiryouhan concluded that I was actually dead. What a great lineup of doctors we have, here. If any of you get hurt, you should be careful if you go see them."

"W-well then."

Not knowing when to give up, the genin continued.

"What about—the mark of a rope that was found on the back of your neck?"

"That was a part of the show I was putting on. I can't reveal that person's name now, but the truth is, I revealed what I was plotting to a single one among you fellows. My request was, as my body was being dug up, so that nobody would notice—for them to strangle my neck and leave a mark."

"......!"

This put everyone present at a loss for words, all of them exchanging glances with one another.

However, they couldn't figure out who it could have been.

It had been a week ago.

"The marks made on a living body and the marks made on a dead body are different—but in my case, I was still living while dead, and still dead while living. It was a rather simple matter to disguise at what point in time the traces of the rope were actually left. In fact, that's the true essence of the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi'."

Haruzemi spoke eloquently.

"Although, I never thought you would bury me just like that, but that in itself was rather entertaining. I thought I would try spending another week or so while dead. If I was dead, I figured I might be able to hear your true thoughts regarding me."

And then.

Then, Maniwa Haruzemi made a joke that was quite unlike something that Maniwa Haruzemi would do.

"Oh my, what's the matter? You fellows, you all look like you've seen a ghost."

—In any case.

Maniwa Haruzemi's demonstration of his ninpou had ended up in such a state—so it was just a matter of time before he was recommended to be one of the Twelve Chiefs. Despite him treating the concept of life as his plaything, in the end, it was only his life that he treated as his plaything, so there was no room to complain.

Under those circumstances.

After Maniwa Houou, Maniwa Koumori, Maniwa Kyouken, Maniwa Kuizame, Maniwa Kamakiri, and Maniwa Umigame, as the seventh person to be named as a candidate for one of the Twelve Chiefs, Maniwa Haruzemi's name propagated throughout the village, stronger than ever—

◇　　　◇

"Oi... What are you getting at, Haruzemi."

Just like that.

That night, Maniwa Koumori was called out to from behind.

They were at the village square.

A hole had already been dug into the ground.

It was late—a dark night with no moon.

In order to lure his prey out, Koumori had spent the whole night at the square—but he was relieved that someone had called out to him, the form he'd taken, earlier than expected, and casually turned around.

Standing there was a young man that he remembered.

He'd worked with him before.

His name—if he remembered correctly—was Maniwa Matsuzemi.

"Oi, say something, will you? What are you getting at that you'd tell such a huge lie? Are you trying to cover for me? If so, that must mean you're looking down on me, huh. Or, is there something else that you're plotting?"

"......"

"Oi! Haruzemi!"

The young man—Matsuzemi—yelled in anger.

At Koumori.

As if—he was speaking to Haruzemi.

But that was completely reasonable of him—because at that moment, Koumori had made himself look exactly like Maniwa Haruzemi.

"So it was you, huh,"

said Koumori quietly.

Sounding disappointed, just a little.

"Huh? What are you talking about—"

Stopping Matsuzemi, who was about to flare up even more, with a raised hand, Koumori took his opposite hand and began to massage his face—and as he did.

The face of Maniwa Haruzemi vanished.

And the face of Maniwa Koumori returned to its usual place.

"Eh..... Aah....!?"

In astonishment, he pulled back his body that had leaned forward, but it ended up throwing him off balance, and Matsuzemi fell on his behind in quite the unsightly manner.

And with a contemptuous glance—

"—Even though we've worked together a number of times, I guess I never showed you this ninpou, huh. Well, according to Kyouken, ninpou aren't something to be taught, but something to be learned—but I'll treat today as a special case and teach you about mine,"

said Koumori.

"The ninpou 'Kotsuniku Zaiku'—by manipulating your skin and muscle and physique, you can turn into anybody, any person you think of. That's my, Maniwa Koumori's, unique ninpou."

Yes.

Maniwa Haruzemi—was indeed dead.

The Haruzemi that had returned from outside the village had simply been an impostor, impersonated by Koumori using his ninpou. The original Haruzemi had been dug up and carefully examined to produce the copy.

Calling it a simple disguise wouldn't even come close to describing it.

It was truly a ninpou unique to Koumori himself.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten to move the original Haruzemi's body to a different location—

"Ko—"

Matsuzemi choked.

"—Koumori-senpai, wh, wh, why did you—"

"That's what I'd like to ask you, Matsuzemi,"

Koumori said to Matsuzemi, who was still on his behind.

"Why did you kill Haruzemi?"

"......"

"Well, that was just something I wanted to ask, since I can more or less predict the response—I've pretty much figured out the method and the motive for the crime. The only thing I couldn't figure out was the criminal. But I never thought it'd be you—"

As far as Koumori remembered about the man named Maniwa Matsuzemi, he was a very serious and honest ninja. In a different way from Koumori, he was a rare existence in the Maniwa village, being the kind of man that treasured the harmony between his peers.

To think—such a guy would resort to killing.

"...If I've been exposed, then I suppose there's nothing I can do."

As expected, Maniwa Matsuzemi.

Said as such—without making any excuses or struggling in vain.

"So basically, I was successfully brought out by Koumori-senpai... I'm still pretty immature, aren't I. Even though I could have probably seen through it if I'd just thought about it—no, there was no way I could have seen through it. With the way you turned into such a perfect copy—I didn't have a chance, even though I used to be Haruzemi's closest friend. For you to be able to deceive even my eyes—"

"You were—his friend?"

"Yes. I used to be. In the past tense,"

said Matsuzemi.

With a bitter smile on his face.

"However, Koumori-senpai. How did you figure it out? You're giving off the feeling that you managed to see through everything..."

"Eh. In general, it just happened to come to mind. And it happened to fit perfectly. Well, even so—if I had to say, it would be because Haruzemi's demonstration of his new ninpou was all too unnatural."

"......"

"Of course, he probably did have the ambition to become elected as one of the newly-established Twelve Chiefs. But even so, I could hardly think that he would go as far as putting on such a large-scale production to gather so much attention—"

Koumori looked at Matsuzemi as he spoke.

"Whether it's new or old, ninpou aren't something that are meant to be exposed to people—after all, to ninja, ninpou are their lifeline. They're not something you spread to others. Whether it's your enemies or your allies. But if there was a reason for him to do that... I was thinking that maybe Haruzemi wanted to make something an established fact."

"An established fact,"

repeated Matsuzemi with a pained expression.

"Yes—that's exactly right. What he wanted was for the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi'—to be recognized as his unique *ninpou, his and his alone*."

"......"

"*Even though—I was in pursuit of the same *ninpou."

They—used to be friends.

That was what it meant.

Koumori came to a profound realization.

And then.

He thought, that must be why—this incident had occurred.

"Well, it's not hard to figure out the rest after that—if you assume that the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi', a ninpou that improved upon the doton-no-jutsu, did exist, then you could simply use it to kill Haruzemi underground by strangling him—"

That was—the method of the crime.

If anything, that was all it was.

Maniwa Matsuzemi had dug further underground than Maniwa Haruzemi, who had hidden in the ground with the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi'—and then he had strangled him.

For Haruzemi, who was busy paying attention to the matters aboveground, he surely didn't think that anyone would have approached him from behind.

"However, Matsuzemi—ninpou development is supposed to be a fair competition, you know? It's like we're all hunting for treasure together. To go off and kill him just because he got ahead of you... Isn't that unjustified resentment?"

"That's not it! That guy... In order for him to demonstrate his ninpou before me, he went an announced an incomplete version of 'Moguri Sanagi'... Just to get ahead of me!"

"An incomplete version, huh."

Even so.

It seemed like a valid ninpou.

"However, well, it's true that the ability to freely move underground—your ninpou maybe has a higher degree of completion."

"Right!?"

"However."

Koumori stopped Matsuzemi, who had unthinkingly raised his voice.

"You could say that's why Haruzemi had gotten impatient and tried to set up his demonstration earlier than he should have. A treasure hunt isn't always first come, first served, but considering the circumstances in the village, being even one step behind could have been deadly. I would say even being able to hide in the earth without a breathing tube is a fine ninjutsu in itself—kind of ironic, really. You two were supposed to be good friends that were training your ninpou—and rivals that encouraged each other in pursuit of the same ninpou."

That was—the motive for the crime.

After saying it—if anything, that was all it was.

"If you simply wanted to block Haruzemi from becoming one of the Twelve Chiefs, then there was no reason for you to kill him—it was just that you held a personal grudge against him for being beaten to the punch while aiming for the same ninpou."

"He didn't beat me to the punch! He stole a march on me! Haruzemi, it's all because that guy tried to demonstrate an incomplete 'Moguri Sanagi'! Do you know how much of a disgrace that would've been for me? There's no way it makes sense for me to be late just because I cared more about completing my ninpou! H-his actions—they're a rejection of the ninpou development that I poured my heart and soul into!"

I couldn't.

I couldn't forgive him—said Matsuzemi, with all of his might.

"Rather than him,"

he said.

"Rather than him, it should be me—I'm the one that's more fitting to be one of the Twelve Chiefs!"

"......"

He was—a hostile force.

Although, since they were friends, and rivals pursuing the same ninpou—it wasn't clear if he'd be recognized by those around him as a hostile force.

However—so such normal motives existed.

Or so Koumori thought.

He would go that far—because he wanted it that much?

He wanted to stand on top of others that much?

Koumori didn't understand it one bit.

Neither the feelings of Maniwa Haruzemi, who wanted a seat on the Twelve Chiefs so bad that he'd demonstrate an incomplete ninpou—nor the feelings of Maniwa Matsuzemi, who would go as far as killing his friend, who'd overtaken him in their bout of friendly rivalry.

"You wouldn't understand,"

said Matsuzemi.

As if having seen through Koumori's inner thoughts.

"For someone like you, Koumori-senpai—who had been chosen from the beginning—you wouldn't understand at all."

"...Were you thinking about performing the demonstration yourself, after Haruzemi failed? Did you think you'd be able to get a seat on the Twelve Chiefs after that?"

"I haven't thought that far. If you ask me, I'd still say that the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi' was still incomplete. It's still not something that can be shown to others—"

Matsuzemi snickered.

"But, I just wanted to kill him. Because I couldn't forgive him. Because of how frustrated I was."

"......"

He didn't dare to nod in understanding, but Koumori judged that those his true feelings. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone for a method as haphazard as strangulation—he would have picked something more effective. By killing via such a method, it made it clear that Haruzemi had not died due to the failure of his new ninpou—that he had died at someone else's hands.

It was practically out of desperation.

When Koumori imitated Haruzemi and appeared in the village—he must have been quite shocked. It hadn't made sense to Koumori, who had known that it would be a trap, but Matsuzemi had appeared so quickly at the village square with good reason.

Koumori didn't know Haruzemi very well.

As such, no matter how superior the ninpou 'Kotsuniku Zaiku' was as a ninjutsu, there had certainly been an element of unnaturalness added to it—and for Matsuzemi, who had been his friend, perhaps he had been able to sense that bit of unnaturalness.

And yet, he hadn't been aware that, in that moment, all his tricks would be revealed.

That was also—the result of his desperation.

"...So."

Matsuzemi—picked himself back up in a rather relaxed manner.

"So, what are you going to do to me now—Koumori-senpai?"

"...Eh."

With a low voice, Koumori responded to Matsuzemi's question.

"We're ninja, after all—the one to get killed is the one that's more of an idiot. That's what I think, basically. I'm repeating Kyouken's words here, but—a person that gets taken out by one of their comrades pretty much didn't have the disposition to lead others in the first place. If Haruzemi actually had the capacity to be one of the Twelve Chiefs—then no matter how much you wanted to kill him, he probably wouldn't have gotten killed."

"......"

At the very least, Haruzemi should have taken some precautions.

Against the possibility that his friend might come to kill him.

"We're shinobi, after all. No matter what anyone says, we're just short-lived goods with mean and dirty work as our main selling point. Our lives are our own to protect. Killing a comrade may be a serious crime—but I don't really care about delivering judgment on it, or telling anyone else, either."

At present, the one and only chief, Maniwa Houou.

Had perhaps suddenly brought up the Twelve Chiefs plan in order to smoke out people like Maniwa Matsuzemi, or so Kyouken had said—and Koumori couldn't help but think that that Houou really would do that—

But that was a different story.

As long as it hadn't been clearly decreed, it wasn't an order.

"Plus, I'm a little impressed—if anything. Well, not just impressed at you, but including Haruzemi, too. Stealing a march on your friend, and then getting your revenge, all for the sake of your ambitions... I guess those sorts of desires are pretty common. But I don't have anything like that—no ambitions or goals, nothing like that. I just can't think about things in the same way you guys do. Really—it's amazing."

"...It all just sounds like sarcasm to me, Koumori-senpai,"

said Matsuzemi—while taking a step back.

It seemed he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Well, it's fine... I didn't expect Koumori-senpai to understand me, anyway. But basically, you're just going to let me off, right? From that serious crime of killing a comrade—"

"Yeah. Killing a comrade is totally fine,"

he said.

And in that instant.

He must have predicted it in advance, because when Maniwa Matsuzemi jumped back to run away—Maniwa Koumori spat out bo-shuriken from inside his mouth even faster, piercing Matsuzemi's windpipe.

"That's why—it's fine if I kill you, too."

He spoke quietly.

As if trying to persuade him.

"This ain't one of Houou's orders—but I don't care if he predicted this happening. Maniwa Matsuzemi. Out of my own will, I'm gonna kill you."

It wasn't clear if that voice of Koumori's had been heard or not.

Matsuzemi flapped his mouth open and shut, as if trying to say something—but, without being able to say anything, he tumbled to the ground.

His dying face was quite far removed from a tranquil one.

As Koumori looked down at Matsuzemi's body for a moment—

"Is it over?"

spoke a voice from behind him. And towards where he sensed that presence from, he said,

"Yeah,"

in response.

This time, without turning around.

It was Maniwa Kyouken.

As a precaution, he'd explained the situation to her and asked her to keep watch—naturally, Kyouken had been there, listening to the entire conversation between Maniwa Koumori and Maniwa Matsuzemi, without missing a single word.

However, it was as expected of a self-proclaimed observer of the village.

She had—the same arrogant smirk on her face as always.

"Well,"

said Kyouken.

"It is what it is."

That was.

Maniwa Kyouken's sole, official stance on the matter.

That's really like you, said Koumori with a bitter smile.

It was really like her, as someone who, more than anyone, thought about this village—who, more than anyone, respected the lives of her comrades.

"But, well, thanks to this, the truth behind the ninpou 'Moguri Sanagi' will forever be unknown, huh—that whole suspended animation and whatnot that you were preaching about was just a lie you made up on the spot, right?"

"Like I had a choice. Ninpou are something to be learned—right?"

"That's true."

"Maybe it actually did use the logic behind cicada grubs."

"Ha."

"Hey, Kyouken."

As if looking up at the moonless night, Koumori spoke.

"I—decided to try becoming one of the Twelve Chiefs."

"...Well, whether you liked it or not, I figured you'd become one in the end."

"I'm saying, I decided to try liking it."

"Why?"

"So that idiots like those—"

The only thing in his line of sight was Maniwa Matsuzemi's body.

But it seemed Koumori was including Haruzemi as well.

"So that idiots like those don't appear in this village again."

"I see. Well, you may as well try it."

She accepted it with a tone of voice that implied it didn't really matter to her.

"By the way? What should we do? About Matsuzemi-chan's corpse,"

she said.

"I don't think you'll be able to go public about the fact that you killed him."

"You're right. May as well dig up a hole and bury him."

◇　　　◇

After this, as had been expected by many, Maniwa Koumori would come to be praised as officially one of the Maniwa Ninja Corps's Twelve Chiefs, and, as had been expected by many, he left behind a great number of glorious military exploits. As a result, his name would be inherited again about two hundred years later.

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franeridart · 6 years ago

Text

Anon said: YOU DREW SERVAMP AS WELL??? JUST IN HOW MANY OF MY FANDOMS ARE YOU OH MY GOD I FEEL SO BLESSED I COULD CRY

Aw man, sort of, yeah!! I can’t say I’m actively into the fandom anymore, since I’ve lost track of the translations for the manga and I’m definitely behind at least a dozen chapters, but !!!!!!!!!! yeah man I love servamp it’s such a good manga TT^TT

Anon said: Ok since you like fire force *slides $20 bill* can you draw some Shinra x Arthur?

Whoops, sorry but I don’t ship it just yet! (might happen? might not?? we’ll have to wait and see what Okubo has planned for my poor heart this time around) but! hold that thought and the $20 cause I might actually open up commissions soon enough if my money situation doesn’t change, so!! >:3c

Anon said: do you think kirishima would be taller and bigger than bakugou in the future?

My ideal adult!KrBk are the ones I posted a few days ago, so!! Not really, I prefer them remaining more or less the same size as each other, just different body types - exactly as they are right now in the manga, just !!!! adult!!!!!!!!

Anon said: I Just want to say: I totaly love your content! Your Art is amazing and full of life 🥰 You are my fav. KiriBaku artist on hole Tumblr. My fav. part is your Fantasy AU art. I fucking love dragon Kiri and his king. But i really like your full content. Pls keep going!

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!! (TT^TT)<3<3<3 I’m glad you like my stuff this much!!!!!!!!!

Anon said: Just wondering, do you like any femslash ships in BHNA? If so, which ones!!

I do!!!!! MomoJirou and MinaJirou are def favs of mine, and I dunno the ship name but Kendou and Yui got my heart beating really fast, ngl <3<3 there’s something in the aesthetic of it, it just gets to me! Also Nejire and Yuyu, such a good ship (oTT^TT)9

Anon said: Heya, sorry for this stranger call. I just wanna ask if i could use your Kiribaku Comics for comic-dubbing. If i post it on social Websites i will give credits to you of course. I'll wait for a answer. I couldn't ask you that per dm so I need to doing it here

I’d prefer it if you didn’t, sorry!

Anon said: Reading your essay about bakugo finally things into place!! Thank you!!! I guess I just didn't fully grasp the whole "he expects you to just get it". He IS a character that requires more than a cursory glance to figure out and i love that about him! And i love the endearing things he does like you said, especially his unexpectedly great fashion sense. Personally another thing that gets overlooked about him is how smart he actually is. He doesn't just go BOOM BOOM all the time. He a smart boi.

I find like the whole “he says one thing and expects people to understand another” is made pretty clear in the arc right after the overhaul one, even if I think it was present enough before then too - but in that arc he says one thing, and then another character says a thing that has nearly nothing to do with what he said, and he goes “that’s what I said!” and when he explains what he meant with the first thing he said it makes it clear that he just, has a terrible, horrible way of expressing himself that’s way more aggressive than what he actually means? He’s been doing this since the start, going around yelling die and I’ll blow you up at things and people and then when he goes to act on it his actions turn out to be way milder than what he said ????

but yeah!!! it’s made more clear the further we go in the story and that’s one thing I really really love about him hahaha

Anon said: It's not that you put Baku's ring on the wrong hand, is that Baku is too much of a rebel to use the ring in the traditional hand! :D

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll take it!!!!

Anon said: I seriously just come back to your blog sometimes to go through your art and it's like straight up drinking happy positive energy I'm in LOVE with the way you portray both Bakugo and Kirishima and their relationship and the rest of the boys and it's such a blessing and a delight and I feel like I will never be able to be thankful enough. Thank you for sharing your beautiful art with us, thank you for sharing your throughts, thank you for sharing your love for these two boys. Thank you 💕

You are!!!! Too kind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (TTATT) thank you for being so genuinely wonderful to me!!! and thank you for liking my stuff this much, it means the world to me!!!! <3<3

Anon said: I just read your Bakugo answer to that anon and honestly, there's so much love in it to be fair it obviously shows throught your art as well but reading that made me tear up a little. What an amazing character. What an amazing BOY I love him too thank you for sharing your thoughts and your amazing art you are one of my favorite artists in the fandom and I'm so glad you love him as much as you do and I hope it makes you as happy as it makes me when I look at your art 💕💕

GOSH thank YOU for loving him as much as he deserves, honestly!!! He’s such a wonderful character and has been making me happy for so long now!!!!! (TT^TT)<3<3

Anon said: I legit don't understand why people are taking things out of proportions I can assure you nothing outside of the usual squabble is going on in bnha fandom.There are some assholes on both sides but I think that since most of us haven't actually 'seen' it and just 'heard' of it means it's not exactly as prominent as they're making it out to be, probably just the assholes being assholes to each other exclusively, so please don't worry about it,they're messing up their own enjoyment of fandom really

I don’t really know what brought this ask on, to be honest!! But as things stand I have withnessed people being very, very horrible to others lately inside the bnha fandom (and obviously, specifically between ships) so! there’s that! then again it’s also true that the bigger a fandom gets the more easily rude people will find their way in it, so I guess it’s just something you learn to live with if you want to stay in the fandom - personally, I’m just doing my best to stay in my corner and draw my sappy comics without bothering anyone hahaha

Anon said: Just here to say that your art is like, my life at this point because I would be like big depression if I hadn’t found your blog. Not to rant but my week has been an absolute hell and your art makes me feel so much better and just please keep drawing because this means the absolute world to me ok thanks bye.

THANK YOU!!!! SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so SO glad I can help your mood even just a bit, that’s really all I try to do with my doodles T^T fix my own mood, and maybe if I’m lucky help someone else along the way <3

Anon said: this may be all over the place, but I have the need to thank you? I was feeling very bad and down tonight, full on anxiety but I turned some music on and started going through your account and it calmed me down. I cant even count how many times I've gone through probably your whole account and just... thank you. your posts are so unique and funny and pretty and just sososo beautiful. I love how you built up bakugou and kirishima's characters and their relationship. just sososo beautiful.

Gods, you guys are going to make me cry for real (TTATT) you’re!!!! too nice!!!! again, I’m so happy to hear my doodles can help you feel better!!! I hope your days have been better <3<3<3

Anon said: So I keep rereading your latest kiribaku comic and its so fucking soft and I'm cry. It's so perfect and I just, it makes me so soft and happy every time I see it. It's honestly goals. I love ALL of your comics tbh, like, they're literally all perfect. Please continue to be your wonderful self!!!!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! asks like this one are the reason why I keep sharing what I draw!!!!! <3<3<3<3

#fran answers #y'all.............................so kind.................................. *sob*#long post

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venomlion3 · 6 years ago

Photo

Here's my ref for Pennywise the Dancing Clown, or IT! I've had a headshot sketched out since 2017 but I never got around to giving him an actual ref until now. I'm pretty sure I originally envisioned him as a wolf, but I think making him a lion instead of a wolf like the Losers shows how he's an entirely different creature and a threat to them. Sure he might look like one of them at times, but there's something not quite right about him.....

More design details and various ramblings under the cut!

I gave him 7 pom-poms to reference 'the Lucky Seven', or the Losers Club, and the markings on his back reference his final spider-like form. He has two sets of eyes; the orange-golden eyes he usually has, and the blue eyes he uses to appear friendlier (and to remind Georgie of Bill if I remember correctly), and the two blue eye refs show his more 'human'-looking eyes and blue eyes with his regular eye shape.

Also, can I talk about how much fun I had drawing those headshots on the side? I remember being in the theater watching IT 2017 and gawking at the deadlights scene because I thought it was super cool. I love body horror and I love drawing it even though I don't draw much of it to begin with, and I think all the years I spent drawing Venom with multitudes of protruding teeth as a child helped prepare me for this moment :> Also YES I know he's got buck teeth but I really just wanted to draw sharp teeth in this ref.......I'll draw it in future pictures dw

---

I can't believe Chapter 2 is next week???? The first week of September is gonna be jam-packed for me anyways because the Steven Universe movie comes out a few days beforehand, and SnK Ch 121 spoilers are probably gonna drop around the time I go see Chapter 2, so I'm gonna be pulled in millions of directions emotionally. I'm likely gonna end up ugly crying while watching it because I just know for a fact that the movie and the content the fandom is gonna produce after they see it will kill me. Once I go into the theater I won't be coming back out because I'll have long been disintegrated when the credits roll and I'll be communicating from the other side at that point. The great thing is that I have an awesome outfit planned so I'll probably be posting it before I leave to go watch it :3c

Here’s more of my IT related art if you wanna check them out!

IT Miniseries Redraw 1 - https://venomlion3.tumblr.com/post/186798229804/and-a-bunch-of-handsome-old-men-they-are-this-is

Back on my Reddie bullshit - https://venomlion3.tumblr.com/post/186467415334/i-inevitably-got-sucked-back-into-it-after

Chapter 2 Reunion Redraws - https://venomlion3.tumblr.com/post/186873563104/alt-title-can-you-feel-the-love-tonight-playing

#it #it movie #it 2017 #it 2019 #it chapter two #it chapter 2 #pennywise #pennywise the dancing clown #pennywise the clown #body horror tw #my art #venomdraws

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catcomixzstudios · 2 years ago

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[Key to the Future’s Fate is currently on HIATUS. The story will return with CHAPTER 3 on AUGUST 24TH. In the meantime, please enjoy this CONCEPT ART for the series!]

Since we got a name for them, /technically/ at the end of the Chapter 2 Intermission, I figure there's no longer a need to hide it! Everyone say hello to the PARADOX BUBBLES! Don't worry if they freak you out; you won't remember them. :)

I did some explorations of how exactly I want to imagine them interacting with their environments. I obviously kept the major aspects of them seeming to "burn" anything that comes in contact with them, as well as them clustering together. I wonder what /other/ things the bubbles are capable of? :3c

As an extra bonus, have some nice flora. I'm honestly not too proud of how the plant life here came out, but I'm sure I've made up for it elsewhere in the comic!

#my art #key to the future's fate #kttff #concept art

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reddeaddenial · 6 years ago

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A, G, and S for the boiiisssszzz (I'm sorry if its long setdfyguhij)

Nonono dont apologize, i loooove answering long questions like this! It really makes me think about my ocs and helps develop them more!

ヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ

A: Aptitude1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young?

Nick has always had very quick reflexes. They most likely developed while he was pushing himself to get stronger when he was recovering from his childhood illness. Or maybe they were there all along and he finally had a healthy body to show for it. This of course carried over into him quickly being able to point and shoot, engage quickly with enemies. He’s got terrific aim, but that’s something he’s practiced with over the years.

Leo is just… Leo. He understands and learns very quickly even from a young age. He learned to read very well early in life and impressed his tutors with his quick knowledge of math. He just retains everything like a sponge. Buuut he comes off simple because of his lack of understanding of social interactions. But i think the most natural ability he has is his way of thinking strategically. He’s been beating his brothers at chess for yeaaars lol And he’s been a massive help to his old gang leader when helping plan out robberies.

Theo is a natural charmer. he’s been able to tell since he could talk who and what he can get away with by reading the situation in a room. That only got better the older he got. He became the trio’s negotiator for most things. Hell surprisingly he’s the one that knows more than one language!

2. what activities have they participated in?

I’m not really sure what this is defining as activities. So I’ll just go with the RDR2 theme of it. Target contests for sure wit Nick, I bet he’s one quite a bit of cash at those. Leo has gone and done several horse races and hasn’t done too bad there. Theo on multiple occasions has gotten an entire saloon shitfaced and basically they become big parties and everyone having a great time and Theo is gettin’ the juiciest gossip about new places and stores to rob. >:3

3. what abilities do they have that they’ve worked for?

Nick it’s his aim. Before the outlaw life, they were all pretty sheltered and weren’t around lots of guns and such, so while he had the natural reflexes of a gunslinger, he hadn’t the aim. that was built up over lots of hard work and determination to protect his brother. He became pretty adept at it roughly 3 years in. He had to be, for them to survive. He also had to work to learn to cook for him and his brothers. Living on the road, they didn’t know much about food. It was a lot of trial and error, lots of food poisoning lol But now hes the best cook among the three, which isnt saying too much, but he at least knows how to season venison lol.

Leo had definitely had to work with his ability to shoot a gun, or use weapons in general. He learned the gun out of necessity thanks to Nick’s coaxing, but he’s surprisingly more comfortable throwing axes than using guns lol. He’s just just honestly the most uneasy around guns because of the business they had with their dad and the trio shooting him, even if it was on accident.

Theo had to work a lot with his knife throwing and just knives in general. He’;s got a lot of visible scars littered about his hands from a lot of failed attempts from some bullshit or another. But he’s gun a lot of dumb luck, like he’d throw a knife at an enemy and the handle hits the man instead of the blade. BUT he hit it so hard and in the back of the head, the guy goes unconscious instead lol

4. what things are they bad at?

Lol Oh man, so much. Like mentioned before, the other two boys cant cook for shit. They gotta live off of canned food or leftovers if Nick’s not around. Nick can’t patch up his own clothes, he sucks at sewing, just gets confused at what he’s looking at, one time he sewed the sleeve of his shirt completely shut, that had Theo and Leo in hysterics at his own expense. Leo as we know isn’t good with communicating well with others. He either comes off stupid or arrogant to strangers, neither is a good scenario. Theo in particular, sucks at stakeouts, or just waiting around doing nothing, he gets very fidgety and wants to talk. So he’s been forced to find ways to entertain himself with like a book or playing cats cradle

5. what is their most impressive talent?

For Nick it’s definitely his gunslinging. He’s quite proud of how well he can shoot.

For Theo, probably his medical work. He’s very quick and knows where to cute, and get you nice and buzzed on booze so it’s not too bad. He’s gone as so quickly to remove a bullet, sanitize, stitch and wrap a wound in less than ten minutes, he’s got it down to an art, it’s like removing a splinter to him lol

Leo it would be his brilliant plans. Like he may be quiet, but he is the most sly and creative of the group. I won’t go in too much detail cuz I have some great ideas he’s gonna implement in future chapters. But his brain is gonna have people go ‘well shit why havent we thought of that sooner?’ >:3c

G: Gorgeous

1. what is their most attractive external feature?

The twins like to tease that it’s Nick’s babyface and blonde hair. He just scowls and yanks them down into a headlock lmao. But honestly all the boys got those pretty ‘Teale Green’ eyes, that draw people in.

2. what is the most attractive part of their personality?

Theo’s is his humor and empathy with others. Leo’s is… well I guess some people would be into the quiet listener type? Nick well… honestly he’s a bit prickly but he has some good morals underneath all that. I think the best part of his personality is standing up and protecting others I suppose. :p

3. what benefits come with being their friend?

Oh boy well basically you get the infinite protection of these three. They’re loyal to a fault and will back you up in any situation. When they bond to people, it’s family. And you treat family right. Of course with that, you gotta put up with Theo’s shenanigans, Leo desperately wanting someone else to thrash at chess, and Nick’s paranoid grumpy ass. But they’re good boys who treat their friends right. ;w;

4. what parts of them do they like and dislike?

Theo hates that he cares too much about what people think, he can be easily antagonized sometimes because of it. He also has his moments where he just gets into this depressive spiral about how they’ve turned into murderers and thieves and his brothers gotta shake him outa it. He does like how tall he is though, it impresses the ladies and works for a good intimidation tactic :p Leo sometimes hates how identical he and Theo are, because people mistake him for Theo and get weird about how different and quiet he acts, he gets very self conscious about it some days, but hes usually ok. But in the same thought process, its something that he also likes about himself that he and Theo are identical. Idk its a bit of a crisis for him lol

Nick has some Arthur Moods™ when it comes to himself. He looks younger and smaller compared to his brothers some days, he hates the scar on his nose, reminds him of his dear ol dad who put it there, gets kinda self conscious about it too. One thing he suppose he likes about himself is his hair. Little secret, but he keeps good care of that shit, keep it nice and soft, will sometimes tie it back too. The twins tease him on occasion but not too much, else he’ll hide it all under a hat lol

5. what parts of others do they envy?

Nick of course envies his brother’s heights a lot, envies anyone who’s taller than him really. He also just envies people who can just be so carefree even in the darkest of time. He just hyperfixates on the worst a lot.

Theo envies Nick’s ability to shoot and hunt. They’re useful skills to have as an outlaw that he just hasn’t mastered too well. But at least he’s got his knives! :) Leo envies anyone who can just speak their mind to others so easily. How can they condense all their thoughts into just a few sentences? How do they flawlessly move through unspoken social etiquette? It’s a mystery Leo wishes one day he too will understand.

S: Streets1. are they street-smart?

They definitely weren’t at first! Sheltered boys practically caged up on their father’s property, only learning about the real world after they shot the man? Yeah they had a lot of learning to do and they learned through a lot of mistake son their part. But ten years have come and gone and they’re definitely a lot more street smart now.

2. would they give money to someone on the streets?

Probably, they know how that life is like. That first year on their own was very rough on them and they sympathize with the normal poor citizens having more morals than themselves to not go robbing people like they did.

3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets?

Oh definitely! Sometime Theo’s placating nature just riles up people more and shit happens. But he’s got his brothers to back him up. Also on that note, someone trying to mess with Nick and Nick being the unsociable cactus that he is, makes things worse. Next thing you know, someone pulls out a knife and Nick’s curb stomping the guy who called him girly. Y’know, shit happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. has anything happened to them on the streets?

Lmao see above.

5. are they cautious when out?

They’re always cautious thanks to Nick’s incessant lectures about watching their backs and always being aware of the law.

#this was so fun omg #cometoceantrenches #ask #teale brothers #teale lore

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castielartandcomics · 7 years ago

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OKAY. THE TIME HAS COME FOR THIS POST TO BE MADE. Even if it will be just a bunch of projects and me talking about them, it’s something I’ve been willing to do since a lot of time, mostly for a bit of self-esteem and to let you know that I’m actually working on stuff.

Since this will be a long post with some pictures, everything is under the cut! >:3

Honestly, I could start with a list of all the reasons why I haven’t been posting much, but the main reasons are low self-esteem and little to no time to do my stuff. School has been killing me slowly in the latest times, so the main reason why I post so little it’s actually academic work, nothing more and nothing less. ... this being said, let’s begin from what is REALLY interesting. >:3c

Gastertale

First of all, YES, I’m still working on Gastertale! And I’m extremly sorry for the long gap between the pages: the next page IS done, I just need to add dialogues, but I still haven’t for the simple reason that I don’t want to publish it only to make you wait other three months for another page. Hopefully soon I’ll return to have a bit of time, and at this point I’ll make pages more often and way better. I’ve improved a lot in this months, and despite there will probably be a little gap of style too between one page and another, I think I’ll be able to give you something more! My objective when I’ll restart to post it is to make at least one page a week and give a bit of a regular schedule, but about regularity it’s something that we’ll have to see (again, academic work). But hey, at least I’ll try to make you wait less than three months for the next page! </3

Plus, to confirm that something IS actually done:

preview, WOHOO!!

Sonic Humanitymorph & Sonic Battle Remastered

Basically. I want to draw more Sonic, and I want to draw him with a purpose. It’s... kind of a long story, but I’ll make it short for you because I don’t want to annoy you with melancholic and dramatic stuff (?). In a few words, I want to build new memories with Sonic and company, since my first memories are... kind of lost. I literally grew up with him, yet I remember little to nothing about his stories and about me in that period, and it’s something that makes me suffer a bit. SO! I’d really love to build new memories and honour a hero I’m really fond to, and I’d love to make this with you all! Since I also noticed that you really like my human!Sonic characters, so-! /)u(\

So, basically, the ideas are: MORE human characters. I still have your suggestions, I simply didn’t have the time to think about them, but I will surely do it! I’d love to make a lot more of the characters, if not all of them! And together with it, also another thing inspired by @slightly-gay-pogohammer‘s adaptation of Rayman “I’m Only Human”, which consist in adaptations of some of my favourite Sonic’s games, but in human form. And with some basic differences of course. I’m already working on it - my idea is of comics (as you could imagine, since I’m writing this on my art blog) but with a “much faster” style that will let me publish pages with a pretty fast rate (gotta go fast). Basically, sketches, and my sketches are very clean so the result should be pretty good. I’m working on Sonic Battle (which name will be Sonic Battle Remastered), which... SOMEHOW is still one of my favourite games of ALL TIMES, but in the list there’s also Sonic Riders Zero Gravity. And for the otheeerrrssss... well. I’m open to suggestions? :3

Rick and Morty: Kattebel

Remember him?

Rick I-T2B2, my personal interpretation of Rick Sanchez. WELP, I made him with a story in mind - and I actually thought of this verse’s versions of Morty, Summer, Jerry and Beth, even if I still haven’t drwan them because, again, freaking academic work. I’m tired, guys. What I have in mind with them is telling the story via comics, but in a slightly different way. I have little images with them, nothing that can be considered a full episode “worth” of a classic comic adaptation, that I think would be pretty cool if done in the simplest way, like a series of images without the need of making a full page. ... I’m not sure if I explained myself correctly, but in two word: SIMPLER STUFF. I’d love to make them, mostly because it’s a little and fun way of exploring this verse and its dinamics more than with just drawings of the characters. After all, I do want to tell you stories, and I should start to actually do it FOR GOOD, even in the simplest of ways! ... despite... yes, I actually have a more complex comic with Rick I-T2B2, about the “origin” of the condition of him and Morty (and by reflection of the whole family). So I think you can expect something bigger here too, despite it will be a MUCH shorter comic!

DEPONIA LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW

[FINGERGUNS] LET’S TALK ABOUT DEPONIA. First objective: actually finish the games. I have them since... a lot, and I still haven’t finished them for-- well, you know by now. An objective is surely to finally play the last two chapters and cry my eyes out, but we’re here for art, so here’s my project with Deponia:

first, drawing it more. Like... a lot more. I have many little ideas for illustrations and many others for little sequences that I think are pretty funny that I’d LOVE to do. I just need to DO THEM. Also, I have a whole lyricstuck in my mind with the Deponia series, and I’d love to make it! Or at least try, I’m not used to lyricstuck. But they’re so good,, Then, I have two projects comic related: one is... little stories. Pretty much it. Something probably of no more than five-ten pages long per story, little missing moments that might be interesting. And angsty, maybe, probably, I’m not sure. The other is... adaptation. Yes, at this point you might have noticed that I love adaptations. It’s just a little idea, but I’ve always found (probably because I’m a comic artist tbh) that the Deponia games would be... really good in comic format. And mostly for training I thought, “hey, I might try some!”. An idea would be of making the whole series as a comic, but I’m not really sure I can do it - but I’m pretty sure I can make little parts of it! It’s a project I had in mind for quite some months by now, and I remembered about it some days ago since I was looking in my folders and...

a WIP was found. Ten points and a biscuit to whoever guesses the scene. This will probably be mostly training, unless things change or something very cool happens. I lowkey dream sometimes that they’ll hire me, but. It’s just a dream. On the other hand, I might open suggestions for scenes to adapt in the games! uvu ... when I’ll finish the games.

Left 4 Dead 2

Am I late?... naaah. You don’t even have idea of how many ideas I have for this fandom, and all in comic form, just to make my life easier. I have no idea of when I might make these, but will probably be sketchy, pencil stuff, and I will enjoy every moment of them. Boy, I love these characters. I want to tell stories with them,

Oxygen Not Included

I HAVE. A STORY IN MIND. And it will be long, angsty, harsh and tragic probably. I don’t have any WIP nor I can tell many details at the moment because,, I guess it would be spoiler? But, it will be an experiment and something that it’ll be interesting for me to try! All that is needed to understand is,, when I’ll be able to make it, honestly-

And for something less comic-y: references

Because I realized I often post sketches, but not actual references of my OCs. I mean fullbodies fully coloured, with palettes and objects and STUFF. It will be a pretty funny thing for me to do, because the versions I’ll give you of my OCs will be slightly different from the “final” version I’ll show you when I’ll be able to tell you their story - because YUP, I’m working on those too, but for now it’s still a very big work in progress, so I’m still not ready to show you stuff. ;3c But basically, an objective of mine is references. Make those darn characters references with nice palettes and cool stuff, so that you’ll actually have,, at least some more infos than a black and white sketch. ... and a good reference in case you want to draw them? I don’t know just,, dreaming a little bit,, I’ll make the references for the OCs I’ve published (so most probably the ones I’ve put and will put more on @mcmentics, because I’ll surely add someone else in there soon), and after making Leda’s reference sheet (because Gio requested him to be the first >:3c) I might put it “to the vote” to decide in which order make all the others. <3 ... or simply go and make them all with the order I want. I don’t know. Let’s see what the future will offer us. <3

And those other projects?

SECRETS (?) But actually, I have told you just the main projects I have. Some (many, actually) I’ll keep as a secret for now, some are just too vague to make a post about it. But, another project is surely to livestream more! Again, I’ll need to see when I’ll have some time, but as for now I’m starting to have some free moments for myself, and I’d love to share them with you! >:3

AAAAND okay, this post got really really long. </3 Sorry, I thought I would have been much faster, but I had so much to say, haha- I’m sorry if something isn’t explained very good, I’m a bit tired after waking up at 5am for academy (and it’s 10.30pm now so,,), but in case something interests you and you wish more infos, my inbox is always open!! <3

Have a wonderful day/afternoon/evening for now, and hopefully,, I’ll start to make something BIG soon! :D Thank you for reading! <3

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sleeplesspensieve · 7 years ago

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Remedy For Guilt - XXV

Summary: The daughter of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange is a Healer who finds herself not only haunted by her past but also questioning her choice in career. When Lyra Lestrange’s old headmaster offers her a position as Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher she finds herself thrown into an adventure involving a secret affair with a colleague, discovering the cure for a disease and dealing with students cursing themselves. Who knew that being a Hogwarts Professor was such a rollercoaster?

Set in the school year of 1990-1991 with the prospect of a sequel, or two, on the horizon.

Rated: E for graphic sex scenes in THIS and later chapters. Over 18′s only please.

Word Count: 3425

Multichapter Fic (Expected to be around 30-35 chapters with a planned sequel which will take place during the Harry Potter Books)

Chapter Twenty Five - Cursed

Despite the fact that Lyra was on the front page of every magazine and newspaper for the week following the award, she still managed to carry on with teaching as per usual. Of course, there were the occasional questions about her life that would pop up but Lyra would redirect them to their work, if not they’d lose 5 house points. That was enough to deter the questions and keep her students focused on their school work.

Each day seemed to go by so quickly in anticipation of the school holidays but Lyra still had one more lesson she was looking forward to teaching before school broke up. She had planned for Anneli to come in and guide her seventh years in the art of curse detection and breaking, seeing as her parents owned a shop and she was well versed in the topic. It was also a good excuse for her to catch up with one of her old friends.

Lyra headed early into Hogsmeade that morning and met with Anneli, having a quick breakfast before making the walk back to Hogwarts.

“Wow,” Anneli said as they cleared the forest, “It’s that castle then?”

“Yep,” Lyra replied.

“Goodness,” her friend commented, “It’s way bigger than Durmstrang, wouldn’t you get lost?”

Lyra laughed, “Of course, it doesn’t help that there’s an enchanted staircase but you get used to it.”

“Enchanted staircase?” Anneli repeated, “You’ll have to show me that.”

The pair of witches made their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, Lyra taking the route via the enchanted staircase. Anneli stared in wonder and watched the students flawlessly move about on the stairs but when it came to her turn she was quite apprehensive, holding onto Lyra’s hand as she navigated the steps.

They arrived at Classroom 3C with just enough time to spare for preparation. They placed a small weakly cursed artefact on each desk for students to practice on. Soon enough, the seventh years began to file in and take their seats.

“Morning class,” Lyra said as they settled in, “I have a special treat for you today. For our double period we will be covering Dark Magic artefacts and to help me out I have invited my friend Anneli.” She gestured towards her friend and the class gave her a warm round of applause as a welcome.

“Thank you,” Anneli said as she stepped forward, blushing slightly and giving a half bow.

“Anneli’s family have run a curse breaking shop in Switzerland for several generations,” Lyra explained, “So she is our go to expert in curse breaking today and later on she will be guiding us in curse detection and removal techniques which you will practice on the objects that are sitting there on your desks.

So over the past six years of studying Defence Against the Dark Arts you would’ve covered information about Dark Creatures you may encounter and spells that will aid you in combat but cursed objects have not been touched upon. This is due to the degree of magical ability needed to deal with dark artefacts as well as the potential harm these objects can inflict upon you. Now, you’re all NEWT students so I expect you all to be mature enough to handle this and I can assure you this will be on your test at the end of the year so you all best pay attention during this lesson.

Some of you may sense the darkness the objects in front of you possess and some may even feel the temptation to touch and play with it. This is all a part of the compelling nature of the Dark Arts. Now, if you do play with it, not to worry, I have enchanted it with a light curse that will give you a shock if you touch it.” Lyra paused for a moment and watched a student’s curiosity get the better of them and touch the object.

“OW!” they yelled as they sprung out of their seat.

Lyra’s brow furrowed and rolled her eyes before continuing, “This is to teach you to not touch dark and mysterious objects you may encounter on your travels, you should treat an artefact with caution and never directly touch it. You all learnt the levitation charm in first year for a reason. If you have any doubt that an object may or may not be cursed, use it.”

She walked towards a cabinet that stood tall next to her desk and displayed an eclectic mix of objects, all of which she had pinched from Lucius’ own collection of Dark Magic artefacts. “Now, I know many of you have been wondering about the objects that reside in here,” she said as she drew her wand and unlocked it. “In here is a variety of Dark Magic artefacts that have been collected during travels or purchased from collectors. You will notice a running theme and I hope by the end you can point it out.”

Using a levitation charm she brought out a necklace on a stand that sat on the middle shelf of the cupboard, “This is a beautiful piece of jewellery, don’t you think? Anneli, could you tell me what’s wrong with it?”

Anneli drew her wand and orally cast two simple spells, an identification one and a curse detecting one. “It seems pretty normal,” she shrugged, “A necklace that claims to invigorate you.”

“Would you put it on?” Lyra asked.

Anneli’s eyes narrowed, casting another detection spell which caused the object to glow green for a brief second. “I’d rather not suffocate,” she said.

Lyra smiled, “This is a necklace of strangulation. It identifies as a necklace that will benefit you but in fact will tighten around your neck and not be unable to be removed unless you’re rather strong, use oil or a curse removal spell.”

Lyra pulled out each object one by one and described its use whilst Anneli would demonstrate identification and detection spells. There was a black ring that granted the wearer invisibility but was unable to be removed and slowly consuming the person’s skin with darkness until their arm fell off; a bloodied cape that increased the strength of one’s magic at the cost of their humanity; a genie lamp that would trap the person who rubbed it inside until they were wished to be free; two masks that were of the face of an animal which would give a special ability but would be unable to be removed after a minute and slowly turn the wearer into that animal; an Idol with a soul of a Wizard inside it that would possess the one who touched it; and a mermaid music box that would make you fall asleep as long as it played but if opened underwater would call mermaids to you. Each object was laid out after their description on Lyra’s desk for students to have a look and try out some spells on them for themselves towards the end of the lesson.

The lesson continued with Anneli teaching the class a few essential curse detection and removal spells which they all practiced on the objects on their desks. There was a brief question and answer session with Anneli about her career. Charlie Weasley gushed about his older brother who had moved to Egypt two years prior and was learning to be a cursebreaker for Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank. The conversation attracted the attention of one student, Ian Reis, who also aspired to become a cursebreaker. Their discussion went well into the recess between second and third period with Lyra ducking out of the classroom to snag a small bite to eat for the two witches. When she returned, Anneli was halfway out the door of the classroom, still speaking to the student.

Lyra smiled as she approached, “Still chatting away I see.”

“Sorry, Professor Lestrange,” Ian said.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said, “I’m glad I’ve been able to introduce you to someone in the field you’re interested in.”

“I really appreciate it,” he replied, “I should let you two eat before the next class.”

“Do feel free to owl me any questions, Ian,” Anneli said as she drew her wand, summoning a business card. “Always open to giving advice to any future cursebreakers.”

Ian grabbed the card and smiled, “Thank you Anneli and Professor Lestrange. I hope you two have a good day.”

“Thanks,” the two witches replied as he walked off.

“That was a lot of fun,” Anneli commented on the time that had passed as the pair walked down the hall and ate the small snacks that Lyra had foraged from the staff room. “You have a real knack for teaching.”

Lyra laughed, “You think so?”

“Yeah,” she replied, “You have a lot of knowledge to give. Are you going to stick with it or return to Healing?”

“I still don’t know,” Lyra sighed, “I mean, I won an Order of Merlin for my work as a Healer and there’s still so much to learn in the field. I feel like teaching is something you do when you know it all and you’ve gone out and actually learnt all there is to know.”

“Oh yeah, I understand,” Anneli replied.

“Sort of only did it as a favour to Dumbledore,” she said, “And because I just felt a bit lost when it came to healing but it’s definitely reignited my passion for it.”

“Then you should do it,” Anneli said with a smile, “Follow your passion.”

“How about you?”

The witches chatted briefly, Lyra showing off more of the Hogwarts grounds before they returned to her classroom. As they approached it they heard a commotion from inside, the second year students had already entered the classroom as the door was left unlocked.

“Holy hell!” she heard a male student yell, “I can see all the way to the Quidditch pitch! Even into the Forbidden Forest!”

Lyra pushed the door open and there was Fred and George Weasley wearing a cursed mask each, the artefacts had been left on the table. Fred was looking out of the window, wearing a brilliant blue mask covered in feathers whilst George was standing at the front of the classroom, wearing a red dragon mask breathing fire.

“Fred and George!” Lyra yelled, “You take that off this instant. No one touch anything else on the table.”

She glanced around the room and counted the students, quickly discovering one was missing along with another object, the black ring. “Lee Jordan, you better make yourself visible now!” she shouted.

“I can’t take it off,” George said, pulling at the mask.

“Neither can I,” Fred said.

Lyra walked briskly towards George, quickly casting a curse removal spell and pulling off the mask. Anneli did the same to Fred but instead the mask wasn’t coming off. She tried a couple more times as Lee Jordan reappeared and Lyra quickly removed the ring with a spell.

“Lyra, it’s not working,” Anneli said in a panicked voice.

“What do you mean?” Lyra said rushing towards Fred who was starting to panic.

“I can’t see!” he shouted as his hands pulled at the mask, “I can’t see! Fuck, Professor, sorry but I can’t see.”

His irises were clouded, white as though he had gone blind. Frantically, Lyra attempted the curse removal spell she had used on the other two boys and it also didn’t work. “Shit,” she exclaimed, her head beginning to tick over what she could do. “You try to remove the curse while I go get Severus.”

She ran upstairs to her room and flooed down to Severus’ office. She ran out, bursting into the potions classroom, “Severus, I need you. It’s urgent.”

Severus remained composed, striding towards Lyra with confidence as he said, “Class dismissed, I expect you all to go and write an essay on the history of Wolfsbane. Leave my classroom as you found it.”

Once they were out of earshot Lyra quickly explained, “Fred Weasley got cursed by an artefact.”

“How?”

“I didn’t put the artefacts away after the lesson,” Lyra said, “Anneli was talking to a student and I left her there to grab morning tea and when I came back she was outside and I just forgot that they were still out. I thought she put them away, I should’ve done it myself. Fuck, I was so careless, Sev.”

“Were they one of Lucius’?”

Lyra didn’t respond, her look alone was answer enough to Severus. He entered the fireplace first, Lyra following after him as they flooed back up to Classroom 3C. As they hurried down the stairs they noticed the students gathered around Fred in a circle as he lay unconscious on the ground.

“I’m so sorry, Lyra,” Anneli said.

#rfg #ill fix the tags later #just want this shit up

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