#did one of them immediately ‘correct’ herself and apologize once I took off my mask and spoke? yes

[gay-victorian-astronomer]

massive wins for gender euphoria today (was called sir while out in public by two separate people)

[atlabeth]

everything happens for a reason part 4 - zuko x fem!reader

The night was full of terrors and your eyes were full of tears

part 3 | masterlist | part 5

a/n: i told you this was where everything starts to go downhill !! throw one out for my girl kura though water tribe mothers stay winnin

i had this scheduled for next week but elle wanted angst so it’s out today😁😁

wc: 2.9k

warning(s): threats/talks of killing and violence, lots of stress, ozai being the worst (and racist), basically just. angst

chapter title comes from the night we met by lord huron + phoebe bridgers!

The blood in her veins turned to ice as she shot a panicked look at Zuko.

“What?” A frown was already forming on Zuko’s face despite his efforts to remain impassive. “Why?”

“I’m unaware of the reason, my prince. All I know is that I am supposed to escort you to the throne room, then once you are finished to deliver the servant. Another guard will be here shortly for her.” A pregnant pause hung in the air as the two children met each other’s eyes, the fear obvious in Y/N’s.

“I’m sure you know that the Fire Lord does not like to be kept waiting, Prince Zuko.” The guard’s voice brought them back to reality and Zuko nodded unsteadily as he began to walk with the guard, shooting a look that he hoped was reassuring back at Y/N.

She couldn’t even return the sentiment — she was completely frozen in place despite the age old urge to run shooting through her body. Servants didn’t meet with the Fire Lord in any sort of formal way — Spirits, they barely even talked to the royal family as a whole unless it was for some kind of business reason; even then they were at risk of their infamous explosive tempers.

Y/N might’ve been young, but she understood just as much — she was as good as dead the moment that guard arrived.

What was she supposed to do? Y/N was a child, a servant — if the Fire Lord wanted to see her, she had no choice but to follow along with it. But she knew that nothing good was going to come out of this. She cherished her friendship with Zuko more than anything but she hadn’t been treating it as seriously as she should’ve.

Her mother was right. She couldn’t imagine her life without Zuko now, but Y/N knew now that she never should’ve attempted anything more than professionalism. The Fire Nation was a cruel place, the Fire Lord was a cruel man, and she was going to pay the price for trying to go against it.

As if summoned by her thoughts, her mother came storming around the corner with an unusual haste in her step, the fire blazing in her eyes only offset by the pure horror.

“Y/N, what did you do?” Her mother’s frenzied voice went in one ear and out the other as she just stared at her wide eyed, mouth opening and closing but nothing coming out. “Why did I hear the Fire Lord’s personal servants talking about meeting with a servant girl?”

“I— I—” The stammered syllable was all that she could get out, but Kura didn’t wait for an answer. She grabbed her daughter’s hand and began to run, constantly looking behind her as they darted through the hallways towards the servants’ quarters. Once they had arrived, she slammed the door shut behind them and immediately got to work.

“I’m sorry!” she cried, finally managing to form a sentence. “I— I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking about—”

“You weren’t thinking about anything!” Kura flew around the room, shoving various items into a satchel and all but clearing out Y/N’s area of the quarters. “I told you to be careful just talking to him, and now— now this?”

“I’m sorry!” Y/N repeated, her words coming out in between choked sobs. Her head was spinning and she could barely breathe — no more than twenty minutes ago everything was perfect, how did it go so wrong so quickly? “I thought we were safe, I thought that they wouldn’t know—”

“The Fire Lord will always find out,” Kura muttered, still a whirlwind around the room as she tried to think of anything her daughter could need. “I was too lenient. I should have never let you get close to him.”

“I don’t know how it happened, but I started liking him and he started liking me and we went out into the city even though I knew we shouldn’t have and he told me he liked me and I like him even more now but now I’ve ruined everything!” Y/N heaved another shaky breath, the words flowing out of her like water as tremors ran through her whole body. “And now the Fire Lord is going to kill me!” she sobbed.

“Nothing is going to happen to you, baby. Okay? Not as long as I’m here.” Kura threw a cloak behind her at Y/N. “Put that on.”

“Why?” She began to do what her mother asked, but questioned it anyway.

“Because I’m going to get you out of here.” She dug through a parcel of coins and after a quick count, threw it into the bag as well. “The Fire Lord wants to mess with my daughter?” she muttered to herself. “He’s going to have to go through me first.”

“How?” Y/N asked yet again, her voice just as uncertain as she felt — it was like she was incapable of anything other than one word responses.

Satisfied with the contents of the satchel, she put the strap over Y/N’s shoulder. She then knelt on the ground in front of her and adjusted her cloak, carefully pulling the hood over her head to conceal any distinguishing features. “I want you to listen to me, and I want you to memorize every word I say. Is that clear?”

Y/N nodded and Kura cast another glance at the door, as if expecting the Fire Lord himself to burst through the door at any moment, before turning back to her daughter. “Alright. You are going to leave the palace through the servant door near the infirmary. You’re lucky — the guards should be changing shifts around this time, so if you move quickly you’ll be able to make it past the walls without getting caught. Do not stop running until you reach Harbor City — I don't care how tired you get or how much your legs ache, do not stop. Ask around for Eisuke, but be careful; the place is brewing with criminals. Once you find him, tell him you are Kura’s daughter. He’ll be able to get you out of the city; if he wants coin, give it to him. From there—”

The door burst open all of a sudden and Kura shot up, instinctively hiding Y/N behind her. She relaxed when she saw it was only Aiko, but the somber look on her face told her all she needed to know.

“There’s a guard looking around for Y/N,” she warned. “I managed to throw him off the path for now, but it’s not going to last. If you’re going to get her out, you need to do it now.”

Kura turned back to her daughter, once again kneeling in front of her. “From there, do whatever you can to get to the Earth Kingdom. You’ll have far more allies there than anywhere in the Fire Nation. Once you get far enough north, you’ll be able to find a boat to take you to the Northern Water Tribe. Tell them that you are Kura’s daughter, and show them this.”

She ripped her necklace off from around her neck and tucked it into Y/N’s hand — a simple band with a blue stone carved in the shape of a flower — and closed her fingers around it. “They’ll recognize it from my time in the tribe, and they will help you. Do you understand?”

Y/N swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, her eyes already shimmering with tears. “I’m so sorry, mother. I’m so sorry.”

She shushed her and embraced Y/N in a tight hug, trying to soothe her as much as she could. “It’s alright, darling. You shouldn’t have to apologize for being a child.”

“Why can’t you come with me?” she asked desperately. “You’ll be safe too.”

“I have to stay back to make sure that you’re safe on the other side as well,” Kura reassured. She knew that if her daughter disappeared right before she was supposed to be punished, it would only serve to anger Ozai more. If she left alongside her, Kura was almost certain that all of the servants would be punished; if she stayed then she would be able to take full responsibility — as long as she knew her daughter was safe, Kura could weather anything.

“But I can’t do this alone,” Y/N pleaded, the tears now falling freely. “Please, mother.”

“You can, my little otter penguin. You’re braver than you even know. “ Kura pressed a kiss to her forehead and smiled faintly at her before looking back at Aiko. “Can you make sure she gets out of the palace safely?”

“Of course.”

Kura embraced her once more, squeezing so tightly that Y/N couldn’t breathe, but it was a welcome sensation this time. “I love you, Y/N. Always remember that, no matter what happens.”

Y/N nodded and shouldered her satchel, biting down on her lip hard to keep herself from shedding any more tears. “I love you too, mother. I swear, I’ll find my way back to you. I don’t care how long it takes.”

Aiko took Y/N’s hand and began urging her towards the door, looking back at her mother with nothing but pure sympathy. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Kura.”

“So do I,” she whispered.

-

Zuko knelt in front of his father, willing himself to keep his eyes on the floor as well as stop the tremors running through his body. He was in trouble, he had to be for a meeting like this, but all he could think about was Y/N and how much trouble she would be in. He had to figure out some way to save her—

“Prince Zuko.” Ozai’s voice boomed throughout the hall, and he worked to maintain the mask of stoicism. It was near impossible with the countless thoughts bouncing around in his head, but he somehow managed. “I’m sure you know why I have called you in here tonight.”

He counted in his head the seconds passed for an appropriate pause before answering cautiously. “No, father. I’m not aware of the reason for this.”

“Don’t lie so blatantly to my face,” he spat. “I have eyes everywhere, and I know you were in the city without permission. Am I correct?”

Zuko swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and nodded shakily. “Yes, father, you are. I went into the city today with—”

“With a servant girl?” The flames on either side of him flared up as a result of his growing anger. “I would ask what was going through your head when you decided to do something so stupid, but it doesn’t seem like anything is going on up there.”

“She needed silks for a project she was working on,” he said, trying in vain to defend himself. “She didn’t have the materials that she needed so I thought I would take her out into the city to help her.” It was so much more than that, but Zuko feared for what would happen if his father knew the feelings he harbored for her.

“You are the crown prince,” Ozai growled. “It is not your job to help servants. You should know better than to go prancing around with Water Tribe savages, but I suppose I have to teach you a lesson.”

“Please, don’t—“ Zuko began, but he was cut off yet again.

“You will speak when spoken to,” he interrupted through gritted teeth. “If you won’t take such a coveted position seriously, then I will take it into my own hands. I will not have your feelings ruining the image of this family after how hard I have worked. The Water Tribe peasant will suffer severe consequences, and it will be your fault. This will be your lesson to remember just who you are. Nothing in this world comes without a cost."

Zuko felt his heart stop for just a moment as his father’s golden eyes bore into his own, and he dug his nails into the flesh of his palm in a half-hearted attempt to stay calm. “Father, is this really necessary?”

“The mere fact that you are questioning my decision proves that it is,” Ozai seethed. “This is not your choice to make, and every attempt in undermining my authority will make her suffer more. Do you understand?”

He found himself unable to speak, the horror of the situation still processing in his head. Y/N was going to get hurt, possibly killed, and it was all his fault. He should’ve been more careful, he shouldn’t have been around her at all, he was being completely selfish by wanting her company and now his father was going to—

“I will not repeat myself again; do you understand?”

Zuko inhaled sharply and nodded, his vision coming back into focus as he croaked out a “yes”.

Ozai appeared less than satisfied, but it seemed the extended company of his son was not worth worming a better answer out of him. He directed his attention to the guard waiting by the door. “Take him back to his quarters — station two guards outside to ensure that he stays put. Once you are done, find the savage and throw her in a cell. A night in the cold will loosen her tongue. You are dismissed.”

Zuko felt numb as he pulled himself up from the floor, bowed, and walked out of the throne room with the guard. Every fibre of his being screamed at him to break away from the guard, to run and find Y/N, and take her away from this dreaded place before any harm could come to her.

But he didn’t. He remained in place, following the guard silently to his room as a storm brewed in his mind.

What in Agni’s name had he pulled her into?

-

Prince Zuko doesn’t sleep a wink that night, spending every moment staring out the window with wide eyes and a petrified heart. He has no idea how Y/N is going to get out of this, and he feels like a coward for not being able to protect her. What good is any kind of honor if this was the cost?

The next day, he is forced to be with a guard at all times — he doesn’t catch a single glimpse of the waterbender.

The next day, the rest of the week, a month — no sign of her. He tries to find Kura, but is met with the same result. He manages to sneak his way into the prison, but he can’t even find her there. None of the other servants will tell him anything about their whereabouts, either out of fear that the same will happen to them or direct orders from his father.

He feels like he’s tainted, like he only brings pain to those around him. His mother gone, his love missing, dead, or worse, and the same for her mother. The effortless cruelty his father shows to everyone around him — it makes him wonder if that’s what will become of him when he eventually takes the throne.

It makes Zuko sick, to think of what she went through and that he was the cause of it. It takes everything in him to hold the tears back, but the floodgates open at night when he is alone — with Y/N gone, he feels that way more often than not.

Every sign points to her being dead, but Zuko prays to every spirit he knows that she somehow found a way out.

-

Y/N doesn’t sleep either that night, every breath and every step dedicated to getting farther away from the palace. Every sound she hears sends tremors through her body, expecting every cracked branch or bump in the night to be someone coming to finish the job. More than once she questions what in Tui’s name is she doing, and Y/N knows that her mother’s final words are the only reason she is able to get through this.

She feels like a coward for leaving. Her mother is going to bear the consequences, and it’s more than likely other servants will suffer because of her too. And Zuko — she has no idea what is going to happen to him. He may be the crown prince, but title has never stopped Ozai before. She doubts it will stop him now. Knowing that it won’t last is the only comfort — she’s just a servant; punishment will only be inflicted to make an example out of the situation and then it will be left alone.

At least, that’s what she hopes for.

Y/N tells herself that she will reunite with Zuko no matter the cost. No matter how long it takes, how much she has to go through, even if she has to break into the damn palace — she knows that her story with the prince is not over, even if she has to keep writing it herself.

She will see him again. Y/N knows that much.

-

oops²

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

ehfar: @chandies-sideblog @persica27 @anzanity

atla: @marianne1806

[blackcatclawsout]

Majima x Reader- Shopping with Mama and Papa

"How long d'ya expect me to carry around this thing for?" Majima huffed.

"Just a minute longer, I swear! I forgot bandaids!" Y/N promised, making her way to the needed aisle.

She felt bad enough, making him carry the 9 kg bag of rice, despite his insistence, but to make him wait longer because of her forgetfulness made her hurry. She lightly jogged to the pharmacy area, slowing as she reached the aisles. She carefully began to stalk up and down the aisles, assessing the shelves for the bandaids. She only got a few aisles in before she was stopped by a sudden weight on her leg.

"Okaa-san!" A small boy chirped, burying his face in the fabric of her pants.

She hesitated. Clearly, this wasn't her child. Her head quickly swivelled in search of the correct mother, but no other woman was apparent. The little boy looked up, smiling. As soon as he locked eyes on her, the smile fell immediately.

Y/N prided herself on being a quick thinker and fairly level headed in situations such as these, but throwing children into the mix threw her off-kilter.

"H-hello... Are you looking for someone?" She hesitated, trying to smile.

She was met with widened eyes, teetering between fright and shock. Carefully, the little boy was plucked from her leg to stand on his own. She knelt to his eye level, repeating herself carefully.

"Are you looking for someone?"

"I can understand you!" His face lit up, clearly amazed by this foreign woman. Y/N smiled, charmed by his zeal.

"I hope so! What's your name?"

The boy rocked on his heels, "I'm Daiki! Whatta 'bout you?" he beamed cutely.

"Y/N; are you looking for someone?" She pressed politely. The boy's smile faltered, suddenly looking about.

"I lost my mom... I don't know where she is." Daiki trailed off quietly, looking distant.

The white noise of the store became more apparent to Y/N; The announcer over the store's intercom, the beeping of cashiers, idle chatter of shoppers. The stimulus would be a lot for anyone, let alone a child. She turned her head to look around. The department store sure did look big from this angle... Not everyone in Kamurocho was kind to others, even during the day. It didn't help ease her mind that it was already 4:30, meaning the hooligans of the evening would soon be making their way onto the street. She stood up defiantly. In clear conscious, she could not leave this child alone in the store.

"Why don't we find your mom together, Daiki-chan?" Y/N extended her open hand to the boy, smiling kindly. He looked up, smile perking up his body once again.

"Okay, Y/N-chan!" He took her hand.

The pair began trudging up and down the aisles, stopping at the sight of every woman. Slowly they migrated to other areas of the store, leaving the pharmacy area. The pair began to swing their arms while they walked, with Y/N enjoying the young boy. He chatted about his class, his favourite subject, and what it was like at home. He rattled off what he had done so far today, and to Y/N's own surprise, she was interested in what he had to share.

Having children had never really crossed her mind and wasn't a conversation Majima and her ever had. A wave of shock washed over her; she had forgotten all about him! A glance at her watched told her she had taken way too long. A rough voice cut through her worry immediately.

"Hey, where the hell ya been?"

Y/N whipped her head around, eyes landing on her lover.

The expression on his face read somewhere between annoyance and concern, Majima's steel grey eye surveyed her. His brow arched, head tilting to the side.

Daiki peered around her side, glancing at Majima, owlish eyes darting over his body. Of all days for Majima to not be wearing his snakeskin jacket, she thanked god today was one of them.

The young boy glanced cautiously up at his caretaker, "Um, do you know him, Y/N-chan?" Daiki chirped curiously, looking back to the older man.

"Oh, y-yeah. This is my boyfriend, Majima-kun." She flushed, glancing apologetically towards her partner. Without warning, Daiki flung himself to the yakuza.

"You can help me find my mama too!" He took Majima's free hand and led him over to Y/N. The child grabbed her hand and began to swing the arms of the two adults, "It's like when I go shopping with Mama and Papa!" He giggled.

Y/N felt a flush creep up her neck to her face. Her cheeks burned with a giddy feeling.

Me, like a mama?

She glanced up at her lover to gauge his reaction. Majima's eye was wide, a blush spread across his face as well, an ecstatic look written across his face. Their eyes met and the heat increased. Y/N tore her gaze away, feeling dizzy from the sudden thrill of it all.

"Sure, kid. We should probably get a move on, huh..." Majima grumbled, gaze landing elsewhere.

Daiki led the adults up and down the aisles, the three keeping their eyes peeled. Goro and Y/N began to relax after a minute, leading the small boy through the grocery store. Y/N giggled as Daiki pulled the two of them along, making faces at Majima. She laughed even harder when her one-eyed lover returned the silly face, sticking out his tongue and rolling his eye. She enjoyed this feeling. The light, warm feeling she felt in her stomach began to over-flow her body. Seeing Goro in any domestic situation always made her a little joyful, but this was a new sentiment. Seeing him like this as well; god! It was amazing. Y/N felt like it was a rare moment to see what he was like before the Yakuza. She walked to the end of the aisle, tittering to herself when she ran into a woman. She turned to apologize, meeting a panicked face.

"Excuse me, have you seen a young boy around here?" Her head bobbed around, scouting for her target. Y/N's face fell for a second, before forcing a smile.

"You must be Daiki's mother. We were just looking for you." She turned around to the duo behind her, watching them mess around.

Smiling sadly, she called out to the child.

"Mama!" Daiki exclaimed, rushing to her side.

Y/N watched on as the pair reunited, his mother fluffing his hair and checking him over. Once she appeared satisfied, they turned to leave with Daiki waving before they eventually wormed their way into the crowd of shoppers.

A pinch on the ass brought her out of her haze, brows furrowed at her mate who now cheekily grinned. She huffed before, returning her gaze to where the pair had disappeared. They watched together in silence for a short while, steady breathing between the two of them. For a tangible moment, Y/N could feel the mundane return. It wasn't necessarily sad, more dismaying.

"Cute kid, ain't he?" Majima sighed.

She glanced to look at him. Despite being on the side where his eyepatch was, she could still make out his lightly furrowed brows and tight lips. She understood the look he gave was that of when he was seriously contemplating.

He had mentioned once, when he was rather drunk after a night out with his boys, that he could have been a father once. It had caught her off guard at the time, as she was about to settle into bed again. Y/N silently turned back to him. His back was facing her; the oni mask boring into her, like a second set of eyes for him. She remembered crawling to him, finding tears silently falling from his face. He muttered something about his ex-wife and how it could have never worked out anyway, all the while she cradled him close, absorbing his quiet sobs. When they woke up the next morning, he either didn't seem to remember or didn't wish to bring up what had happened, so she never pressed.

Quietly, she slipped her hand into his, meeting the warmth of his flesh against hers. She enjoyed touching his bare hands, rubbing the back with her thumb, messaging the strong muscles that were sheathed underneath. Feeling the lightly calloused palms of her lover. He squeezed her hand in return, receiving her silent message. After another minute of silence, he sighed loudly, turning back to her.

"Hey, whaddya say we head outta here, eh?" he smiled softly, Kansai accent laid on thick. "I already paid for our shit, so no worries."

They walked side by side quietly, the evening sun hitting their faces as they stepped out of the store.

Clouds above were illuminated with the orange glow of the sunset, streaked with the pale blue of the exposed sky. The street lights began to click on, giving a faint glow to the shaded streets. The smell of wet pavement, beer, and grilled meat wafted throughout the air, drawing in the evening crowd. The usual bustle of Kamurocho began to settle in, causing strangers to bump into one another. The couple slipped into the forming traffic of the street, becoming ordinary in the dinner-rush. They slipped to a smaller alley, one they typically took to and from the apartment. The pervasive smell of wet stone mixed with damp tobacco filled their senses, darting through the dim walkway.

In a second of clarity, Y/N let go of Majima's hand, a frown settling to her face. He stopped and swivelled, examining her face.

"'Ey, what's bugging ya?" He asked, nonchalantly.

Events played in her head and her scowled deepened. He took a step forward, toughing her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Y/N?" Goro pressed, his voice quietening.

She met his gaze, scowl remaining on her face.

"I fucking forgot the bandaids."

[strawberrylemonz]

Tonight’s Showing

Part 1 [CURRENT]

Part 2

DT: @bargledblocks my beloved <3 and @snapdragonfirefly my beloved <3

------------The screaming and yelling tore into his mind, filling him with pain. The screams, Tommy’s screams, called out to him, begging for him to save him. He didn’t want to leave the boy there, he never even dreamed of such a thing! That stupid security issue that occured a week ago had started all this, and Sam hated every bit of it. He didn’t know what to do in the situation. What was there to do? 

“SAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!”

His eyes widened at the tone of Tommy’s voice coming through to him from the communicator. Tommy sounded terrified. He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t wait any longer. Rushing through the halls towards the main cell, Sam was fully prepared to get Tommy out of there. Fueled by the screams, he stumbled into the room, flipping the switch to undo the lava. His fear and adrenaline only grew the moment the screams fell silent. Why was Tommy silent? Before he could even see the lava fall, however, a bright light momentarily blinded him. Upon regaining his sight and senses, he was quick to draw his weapon, only to realize he had no weapons or armor on him. The only thing he had were his everyday clothes.

“Why am I here? Where is here?”

He quickly turned around to see that he was not alone in this confusing predicament. Everyone from the server was appearing into the strange room, all panicked and confused. Ranboo quickly rushed to check on Tubbo, who appeared to be digging around his pockets for some form of protection. Ghostbur, Techno, and Phil stuck close to each other, the latter two wary and ready to fight. Heck, even Drista was there! Everyone was the same, armorless and weaponless. Everyone, including-

SMACK!

Everyone turned to watch as Sapnap’s fist flew threw the air, connecting to a familiar mask. Dream. Dream struggled against Sapnap for a moment, his mask as crazed as his movements. Before the two could exchange any more punches, an invisible force separated the former friends. As the two regained their senses, everyone could get a good look at the freed prisoner. Whether the blood on him was from the altercation with Sapnap or not, no one knew. Standing there, mask facing mask, Drista could only stare as she questioned her older brother.

“What did you do?”

“He did something despicable and disgusting.”

The unfamiliar voice caught everyone’s attention, causing them to turn and face the direction of it. Standing there was a petite woman, watching them. Studying all their expressions, she snorted as she turned to face Dream, who was trying to walk forward. 

“Don’t even try leaving that small area, Dream, you can’t. Then again, I’d enjoy seeing you struggle, Bitch Boy.”

“Who are you?”

“Didn’t Tommy tell you guys? Wait, I forgot that none of you ever took him seriously when he mentioned me. The name’s Clara, I’m the lady in the sky.”

Lani played with her fingers, unsure of what to say or do. Sticking close to her brother, she gathered her confidence before speaking to the mysterious “lady in the sky”.

“Excuse me? Clara? Did you bring us here?”

“Yes! Well, with a little help, of course.”

Clara smiled as a grand being glitched into the room, his white orb of a head spinning in delight. Stopping the orb from spinning, his shoulders shook in joy as his prominent ‘XD’ presented itself to everyone there. Techno and Phil pressed their lips together as they shared a knowing look, obviously not expecting to see the god once again.

“Oh, you make me blush, Clara.”

“I do no such thing, we both know that. Did you give unhacked access for the others to join us?”

“Yes, they should be here any moment now.”

“Wonderful.”

Just then, a dark door emerged from the ground. Watched as the knob twisted and jiggled, the residents of the server didn’t know what to expect. When the door opened, however, they could only watch in confusion. Everyone, that is, aside from Phil and Techno, who happily rushed to her side.

“Kristin!”

Said woman smiled and giggled as Phil gathered her in his arms, planting kisses on her face as his broken wings flapped in excitement. Her own wings, white and pure, happily fluttered behind her as she returned the gesture. Pulling away, she turned to face Techno, a hand on his face as she smiled.

“And how is my eldest child?”

“Eh, you know. Here and there.”

“Here and there, indeed.”

“I’m sorry, what is going on here.”

Quackity watched the scene unfold in genuine confusion. Who was this lady named Kristin? Why was she so important to both Phil and Techno? Where did she even come from? He wasn’t the only one confused, pretty much everyone in the room was. Smiling as she stood in front of both men, Kristin hummed as she extended her arms in a welcoming manner.

“My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself! Hello, my name is Kristin! I’m the wife of Phil, as well as the mother of Technoblade, Wilbur, and Tommy! I’m also Death itself.”

“I’m sorry, Philza Minecraft fucked death?!”

“Wait, Techno is Phil’s kid?! I thought they were just business partners!”

“Business partners? I thought they were just besties!”

“I’m still not over the fact that Techno is related to Wilbur and Tommy.”

“I knew about Tommy being brothers with those two, as well as being Phil’s son, but I didn’t know about death being his mother! You’d think he’d tell me, given that I’m his best friend!”

“You knew?!”

“Duh.”

“And you never corrected us?!”

“Thought it was just a dumb inside joke.”

Ignoring the chaos caused by those around her, Kristin made her way to Fundy, who was frozen in uncertainty. Smiling as she placed her hands on both sides of his face, Kristin gave the fox hybrid a sincere greeting.

“My my, what a lovely young man. It’s finally great to meet you, Fundy. Look at you, I’m so proud to call you my first grandchild.”

She knew that her words caused her husband to flinch, it’s what she intended. As much as she loved and adored her significant other, she did find it sad that Fundy was denied the right to be loved. He deserved to feel loved and important, because he was.

“I can’t wait to learn all about you during the free periods! Oh! Speaking of grandchildren, silly me.”

They watched as Kristin made her way back to her opened door. Peering in, she spoke out in a gentle voice.

“Twins? Can you two please come out? Grandma will make sure no one hurts you two.”

Everyone watched as two small figures made their way out of the door, tiny hands holding onto one another. Watching as the door disappeared back into the ground, the twins turned to face Kristin. Humming, she gathered the two in her arms as she presented them to the room.

“Family, not family, meet Clementine and William-”

“Hn.”

“-I’m sorry, love. Meet Clementine and Wilbur! They’re technically Tommy’s children, born from the debris of his star.”

“I’m sorry, his star?”

“That will be revealed soon enough, no worries.”

Clementine just glared at the occupants of the room, her pigtailed hair bouncing as she turned to make sure everyone saw her expression. Wilbur, on the other hand, opted to hide behind his curled hair, painted in the same blond color as his sister’s. 

“Did he name his son after his dead brother? Because if so, that did not age well-”

“Fuck you!”

Everyone watched with apaled expressions as Clementine glared Dream down, flipping him off with her tiny fingers. Kristin shook her head in mock annoyance as Clara belted out in laughter, XD following in suit. Doing her best to regain her composure, Clara spoke up once again.

“Oh my Me, she certainly is Tommy’s daughter.”

“Well, as much as I don’t enjoy hearing my youngest son and my only granddaughter curse out their issues, she did do it in her brother’s and uncle’s honor, so I’ll let it slide.”

“Hehe.”

“Go on, go sit with your cousin.”

“M’kay!”

Kristin set the twins down back on the ground, smiling as Clementine immediately took her brother’s hand in her own. Pulling him along, the two happily ran up to Fundy, smiling as they did so. The moment was interrupted by Quackity, who was unsure of everything.

“As great as witnessing this family reunion was, why are we all here?”

Sam nodded as he agreed with Quackity, speaking up as he gave Dream a pointed look.

“Not to be rude, but I agree. Something happened back in the prison, and I haven’t been able to see what.”

“Ah, yes. That is exactly why we’re here. Kristin, XD, if you will.”

The two nodded at Clara before taking each other’s hands. Closing her eyes, Kristin began mumbling as XD stood there, waiting. Once Kristin finished her mumbling, XD released one of his hands from her, drawing invisible signs on the air. Once he was done, both deities gave a synchronized nod. Rumbling was heard as a tunnel emerged out of nothing. A train emerged from it, coming to a sudden stop. As the doors slowly opened, everyone froze as they watched the occupants walk out, confused and cautious. 

“Wilbur?”

“Schlatt?!”

“And me, MD!”

Before anyone else could make a move or sound, Clara spoke up once more.

“As much as I want more of these sweet reunions to occur, we really do need to get a move on. Now, I am very tired of everyone treating my poor starchild with such unjust unfairness. Don’t get me wrong, Tommy does make mistakes and his narrative is in his perspective, but come on! Blaming everything on him? This is getting ridiculous at this point! Now, you are all going to sit here and feel and hear everything he did! I, alongside Kristin and XD, will be monitoring you all. And Dream? Don’t make me go over there.”

Without warning, the environment completely changed. The group suddenly found themselves in the vast emptiness of space. They didn’t know what they were looking for, no one but Kristin. Said woman could only grimace as she nodded to herself, unconsciously touching her stomach.

“I remember this.”

“Remember what-?”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

The group turned to see another Kristin scream out in pain, her hand resting on the bump of the belly. They watched as she tried to take a step, only to double down in pain again.

“FUCK YOU, PHIL. HOLY SHIT, I’M GONNA PUNCH YOUR FACE SO MANY TIMES.”

Phil grimaced as he leaned away from his wife, who laughed as she kept sikeing him out with her fist. Wilbur snickered at the sight. Turning back to the scene before them, they watched as Clara quickly rushed to Kristin’s sign, obviously not enjoying her distress.

“Clara, I- Ah! I don’t think- think I can make it to the bo-OOOOOOAH! The boys! I know I promised, but I can’t.”

“Phil will understand, dear. Breathe with me, in and out, okay? I don’t know a thing about human childbirth, but I know starchildbirth. Allow me to help, okay? I don’t like to see you in pain, and neither would your husband or sons.”

“Hurry!”

Clara pulled out a small orb from her pocket, holding it in the palm of her hand. Gently holding it against Kristin’s belly. Closing her eyes, she mumbled as the dull like of the orb brightened, growing in size as it did so.

“What is she doing?”

“That orb in my hand? That’s a dying star that I collected that morning. I’m using it to dub Tommy a starchild so that Kristin wouldn’t struggle with giving birth.”

Kristin let out a sigh of relief, her screams and sobs subsiding. Taking deep breaths to try and calm herself, she rubbed her face as she tried to wipe away her tears. Mumbling out a thank you, she watched as Clara extended the bright orb to her.

“Here he is, a healthy little boy! He’ll shine brighter than the sun, I’m certain of it.”

Kristin smiled as she took the orb into her own hands, watching as the light dimmed, revealing the newly born child. Tufts of blond hair poked out of his head as she adjusted the blanket. Kristin couldn’t help but let more tears fall as she held him close, kissing his forehead.

“He already looks so much like his father. Oh, Phil will be upset that he missed this.”

“Go and see your family, I’ll cover your shift for you.”

“Thank you.”

Kristin summoned a door, adjusting her youngest son as she walked through it. Navigating through the dark void, she came across another door. Opening the door, she stepped outside into a secluded area in the woods. Walking down the path, she approached the cozy cottage that proudly stood there. Knocking on the door, she cooed at the child in her arms as she waited for the door to open.

“Kristin?”

“Meet your son, Phil. He looks so much like you.”

The group watched as Phil dropped everything in his hands, startling his sons from the other room. Holding his newborn son and wife in his arms, he wept tears of joy as a tiny Wilbur and Techno rushed in, prepared for the worst. Seeing that it was only their mother, their worried looks morphed into joyful expressions.

“Mum!”

“Mom!”

“My boys! Come, meet your new brother.”

The two boys staggered for a bit, eyes widening at the revelation of the newest addition of the family. Watching as Phil and Kristin stared down at the bundle with great love and joy, they couldn’t help but feel excited at the sight. 

“Can we hold him?”

“Of course, just be gentle with him, okay boys?”

“M’kay.”

The twins carefully cradled the bundle in both their arms, working together to keep him safe and secure in their arms. Watching the sleeping child, they were in awe at the sight.’

“He has golden hair! Just like papa!”

“Gold! Gold! Gold!”

Kristin and Phil both laughed as they watched, joy and love filling them. Humming, Phil spoke up in a gentle tone.

“Well? What’re you two gonna name him?”

The twins just watched their baby brother as he slept soundly in their arms. Suddenly, startling the twins, their new brother yawned and squirmed in their arms. Rubbing his eyes with his tiny fists, he blinked his eyes open for the first time. Blinking up at them, he tilted his head as he squirmed. It wasn’t until Wilbur spoke up that he reacted.

“Tommy. Let’s call him Tommy.”

Everyone gasped as the feeling of immense love and wonder filled them, something they weren’t prepared for. Doing their best to cope with the feeling, they watched as the baby let out gurgles of giggles, reaching for his brothers. It was only then that they realized that Tommy was a very emotion-driven person, and they were going to feel every bit of that.

[phantominsertsandmore]

Modern Pregnancy Series 10/

Something happens

Erik-

It happened to be the middle of winter and it was rather snowy out, the roads were rather icy as well. You knew that Erik would rather you wait until he got home so he could drive you to the grocery store- but you couldn't bring yourself to burden him anymore than you already were. Besides, you thought you'd be fine. You were correct for the most part, but on your way home someone behind you lost control of their car. They rammed into you and you accidentally bumped into the car in front of you, the abruptness throwing you against the seatbelt and hitting your stomach against the steering wheel.

This caused you to panic slightly, tears running down your cheeks and your mouth parted in a silent sob. You were assured that you were at no fault and the paramedics on scene insisted upon transporting you as you happened to be a pregnant woman. You were just worried enough to go with them. You called Christine who immediately agreed to call Erik for you. You weren't thinking straight at the moment and you were scared to call him yourself.  

You'd been able to calm down for the most part at the hospital, especially when they assured you that your baby was perfectly fine after a quick ultrasound. You were still nervous, jumping slightly when Erik rushed into the hospital room. Your usually put together boyfriend looked a mess, even his mask was slightly off angle. "You were in a damn car accident?" He demanded, and though he sounded angry you knew he was mostly worried. His concern sometimes presented itself as anger

"I-It's alright, Erik... The baby is fine-." You murmured, toying with a loose thread on the hospital blanket. Erik made his way to the side of the bed, causing you to squeak slightly in concern when he dropped to his knees. He grasped your smaller hand in his tightly, kissing it repeatedly while he rested his free hand on your stomach. It took you a moment to realize he was trembling and crying. It took you a moment to realize he was worried about both of you. You gently covered the hand on your stomach with your own and murmured apology after apology.

Raoul-

You'd been more than eager to go to the pool party with Raoul, figuring that you might as well get some normality before your son came. After all, you'd be busy taking care of a baby at that point, and though you were excited you were also apprehensive. So, you'd figured that living it up would help. Perhaps you were also just eager to show off your baby bump, as Raoul jokingly pointed out while you were leaving. But there was nothing wrong with that, either.

As soon as you reached the party, you and Raoul went your separate ways. You'd seen one of your old friends by the pool and decided to go sit beside her. The two of you chatted and caught up for around thirty or so minutes. She had to go home early as her day was going to get busier in the evening. She congratulated you on your pregnancy and exchanged numbers with you before leaving.  

You didn't see one Raoul's exes- mostly because you never really paid them any attention. You got along with Christine, but that was only because she was such a sweetheart and they'd remained friends. Alaina, however, was not one of his nicer exes. She'd grown more jealous the longer she watched you and she decided to do something about it. You sitting on the edge of the pool only made it easier. She walked past you and pretended to stumble, knocking into you hard enough to send you into the pool with a startled yelp. She immediately rushed off, her senses returning to her.

Fortunately, Raoul had been only a handful of feet away from you, having come to check up on you and seen everything. He got in the pool with you and realized that you were already struggling to push yourself up. He offered you his hand and you took it gratefully. He pulled you to your feet and immediately into his arms. You clung to him, both you and the baby were fine, you were just shaken.  

Meg-

Sometimes you could become quite tired easily- it seemed that the more babies one carried, the more affected that person was by simple symptoms. Meg had been gone for the last week, visiting her mother and extended family. You'd overworked yourself this morning, waiting for her return. Even though you knew you were at your limit for the day, you kept pushing yourself, wanting to surprise your lovely girlfriend. You'd prepared a special dinner and everything.

Meg entered the house and you rushed towards her, hugging her as well as you could manage with how large you had gotten. Meg had giggled and returned the embrace, leaning in to kiss you. You returned the kiss eagerly, letting it linger. She slowly pulled away and her smile faded, noticing how exhausted you looked. "Y/N? Are you feeling alright? Should I get you to a sea-" Her sentence was cut off with a scream as you went limp in her arms, seemingly have fainted.

The poor girl was hysterical, working herself up. She managed to transport you to the couch with some struggle. She considered calling an ambulance when you stirred and woke up, gazing at her. You frowned when you realized that Meg was in a complete panic, forcing yourself into a sitting position. You grabbed her hand. "Gorgeous, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just over did it today, that's all. I promise." You soothed her, your voice somewhat raspy.

Meg looked at you wide-eyed for a moment before she burst into another round of tears, lunging at you to hold you as close to her as she can get. "Don't do this again, Please. I don't like it." She implored carefully and you promised her you wouldn't, wrapping your arms around her and stroking her hair.

Christine-

You and Christine had been invited to this year's family reunion and both of you'd been eager to go. You wanted to see your little sister, Maya again as well as you parents. It'd also be good to share the news with the extended family that either didn't use social media or were too young to. Unfortunately, you'd forgotten about your homophobic uncle, Craig.

Almost everyone had been pleased by the news and seeing you again. Especially Maya, she'd been glued to both of your sides for the most part. A couple hours later, the two of you bid goodbye to everyone else. Craig hadn't said anything at all, and aside from his numerous dirty looks you hadn't noticed anything to indicate he was going to do anything stupid, that was until you tried to follow after your girlfriend. He stuck his foot out at the last moment and you went sprawling to your hands and knees with a small yelp. You pushed yourself to your knees, cradling your wrist to your chest.

"Oh my god! Are you alright, Mon amour?" Christine exclaimed, coming over to help you up. Once you were up on your feet, she kept her arms around your waist and pulled you closer against her  side. She was already guiding you away as your family got into a shouting match with Craig, your father making threats that most definitely wouldn't be empty if he was still in his youth.

"Yes, I think I just sprained my wrist in the fall." You answered softly and she gave your hip a gentle squeeze, kissing your cheek. She was relieved that nothing too bad had happened. She already had a splint at your place that you'd be able to use for a while. Christine knew one thing for sure, she wouldn't be allowing you and Craig to be anywhere near each other ever again.

[hit-me-with-a-ladle]

Ch.10 Creepypasta x Fem! Reader

Before even realising, the week had ended once more, perpetuating the endless cycle experienced day after day. Though not as severe as the previous, it was still very tiring in its own way. As the first day passed, Ben wanted to perceive her potential, making her brew something after every lesson and making sure the notes taken were comprehensive and correct. But what he failed to inform her was that the slightest miscalculation could end up in an explosion. The combining of two opposing substances ended up in a chain reaction that gave the girl burns and potential scars, their severity somewhat dulled by the elixir Ben would create after, but still very painful.

That week was strange, as Ben was inept at any social interaction. Struggling with reading the room and understanding others thoughts and feelings. Though he hated silence and many-a-time attempted to end it with a random ramble about a certain topic that would last hours at a time, tiering the poor girl forced to listen. His tendency for not understanding physical boundaries had begun to become a problem too, invading the girl's personal space at very unwanted times and always flashing that creepy smile whenever he saw her, making her tense up.

Though the perpetual cycle had begun to have a toll on her. Her body was on autopilot most of the day. Walking around and doing the same things as a robot. And the last day of the week hadn't been any different. She'd fallen asleep the previous night at exactly ten pm after launch and woke up the morning at around five-fifty six am, before her alarm. Getting up taking a shower, bandaging her wounds, getting dressed, and heading towards the stairs for a nutritious breakfast before she'd have to meet the new person sent there to train her. Toby had presumed.

Right as she was about to take her first step down the narrow wooden staircase she stopped in her tracks, looking back towards her bedroom door. Stepping back she walked towards it and walked in, looking around quickly before spotting the thing she was looking for. The necklace Ben gave her, she took it off the previous night and forgot to put it on. Quickly snatching it and clasping it around her neck and putting it under her jumpsuit she hurriedly ran downstairs, not wanting to be off schedule. She wasn't sure why she'd gone back to grab it, but something was telling her that it was special.

Looking at the clock she sighed, twenty minutes left before her training starts. Her thoughts were in shambles as she imagined what the new man was going to be like. A sadistic narcissist like Jack? An aggressive control freak like Masky? Or maybe, a blabbering creep like Ben? She wasn't ready to find out. But it was inevitable, no matter how much she wished she could leave, to get an end to this madness. But she didn't have to wonder for long as she heard light footsteps on the hard floor approaching her. Usually, she wouldn't have noticed something as minute as that but recently her senses have heightened significantly with the constant rushes of adrenaline her body had been going through to stay alive.

Gazing in its direction she finally saw the man, he looked to be around twenties years of age. He was of average height, around five-foot-seven or about hundred-and-seventy-three meters, a bit bigger than Ben. His mouth, covered with a black striped mask and a pair of orange-tinted goggles over his eyes. Bushy dark brown hair peeking out from the blue hood of his stained zip-up. The only feature visible was his pale almost grey skin that seemed cold as ice. Below the waist, he had two old hatchets harnessed on either side of his long baggy jeans, with his gloved hands firmly gripping both whiles staring at the girl. As he stood he would occasionally jerk or twitch to the side without warning. She gazed at him, confused by the sudden motions of his body.

Suddenly the man coughed, grabbing her attention and snapping her out of the daze that she was in. Shaking her head and apologizing immediately. He approached, now right in front of her.

" He-llo. I'm To-toby."

He stuttered as he stretched out his right hand at her. Swiftly grabbing his hand to shake it. The leather that collided with her skin was worn out and patchy.

" Hi." She retorted, trying to pull her hand away but he would let do. She could feel his flesh twitch underneath his thick glove. " So when are we going to begin training?"

She awkwardly addressed trying to soften the ever-growing tension. The man only nodded his head and softly huffed, finally letting go.

Glancing behind her shoulder, staring at the back door with a blank stare he pushed her aside and walked towards it. She was perplexed by him, not expecting such an act as a frown formed on her face. 'Who does he think he is? He didn't even answer my question. Jerk.' She thought, her eyebrows scrunching in irritation while going back to making herself breakfast.

"I'll wait for you to fin-finish outside. Be quic-k."

He said quietly as he stepped outside.

Sighing dramatically she began to eat, starting at the clock on the wall, counting down the seconds with dread. Eating had become a choir, her mouth always feeling dry. The food itself was bland too, devoid of odour and taste made the texture unbearable at times. But she didn't have much of a choice. It sometimes felt like eating sandpaper but she couldn't complain as it would only stir up a problem. Most of the food was meant to strengthen her body and make her more durable. Forcing down the last bite she got up but the dishes in the sink and went towards the back door with a black expression on her face.

Opening it up it made a loud creak, annoying the girl as she slammed it behind her, searching for the googled man. She assumed that he was in the armoured area of the forest. Remembering passing it while doing Maskys test, grumbling at the memory. Picking up her speed and running towards it she got there in about ten minutes. Abruptly stopping when she saw the back of his head, a sense of accomplishment washing over her when she realised that her judgment was right. As she was about to inform him of her arrival he swiftly turned around. His orange stained goggles reflect the sun's rays making them shine.

" Si-since you arrived, w-we should begin." He softly said as he reached for his hatchet and pointed to the middle of the small clearing. It was perfect for close-range combat, especially if what they were using were close-range weapons. It was specifically designed for the people training in them to be wary of their surroundings and to focus their movements. Small bumps and rocks were scattered to make it more of a challenge. Battered practise dummies were also present on the sides, some had throwing stars and objects logged on their body. A small shed was tucked in between two trees, made to store some of the weapons they practise with.

As he stood in the middle Toby walked up to the shed, shoving his hand in his pocket searching for something, suddenly pulling out a set of rusty keys and looking for the one that matched the shed's lock. Going inside he searched for something, the girl wasn't sure what as she wasn't able to even see him. After a minute, he finally walked out holding something in his hand. Approaching her he extended his gloved hand letting her see it, a small hunting knife. The blade sharpened to perfection as the thick mettle it was made out of shine in the light, encased in a large worn wooden handle, finger-like dents could be seen from previous use.

Taking it in her hands it fits almost perfectly, holding firmly she studied the mettle further. Just like Maskys pocket watch, there was a crossed-out circle on it; her face was now showed intrigue by the particular design.

" The b-blade you're hol-ding in your hand is o-one of the most impor-tant things you need to sur-survive. Not only is it used fo-for self-defence it's also used for ever-everyday tasks. For ex-example, cutting down vines and or carving th-ings into wooden sur-surfaces."

As he spoke he would occasionally twitch and jerk but he didn't seem distracted by it, already used to the constant random unwanted motions his body made.

The girl nodded her head, thoroughly listening to his every word said, she'd come to terms that if she expected to escape she had to use everything that they thought her to good use. Toby had started to show her different techniques of cutting and use of the knife, explaining the proper stance and movements. But the girl seemed to struggle, shuffling her feet trying to get the stance right. Toby rolled his eyes and went behind her, starting to fix her mistakes and instructing her while doing so. The girl could faintly feel his uneven breaths on her neck. He was noticeably rough with the way he grabbed her hands, fixing them in place. When he was satisfied he let go and went to the side to watch her work.

The silver blade shined as the light hit its clear surface, the girl quickly jabbing and slashing the tree she was told to work on, creating noticeable scratches as she did. At first, her movements were quite slow and sloppy, not being able to get the hang of the small weapon, but eventually, she got the hang of it, quickly gliding around the tree with pretty much no effort and slashing it with remarkable precision. Toby watched her every step, pleased by her sudden improvement.

"I th-think that should b-be enough." He said loudly, disturbing the girl from her trance. Making her quickly straighten up and look at him.

" I-i think yo-you learned the bas-basic, now le-lets see how you will do it hand-to-hand."

The girl nodded, approaching him without saying a word, blade in hand ready to use. Toby also didn't bother to say a word, only pulling out one of his hatchets and getting into a fighting stance, she quickly followed. Neither of them tried to attack at first, only scanning their opponent, anticipating their every move. A cold sweat started to form on the girl's back as panic slowly arose in her mind, the tension was unbearable, and she feared that it showed on her face, but even still she had to muster up the courage and finally strike first.

She leapt at the googled boy, attempting to slash him with her blade but he avoided it in the nick of time. He was quick to react as he soon tried to sweep her off her feet but she blocked his blow and sprang a bit away creating a small distance. He was the one to attack next, facking a strike with his hatchet to her head, quickly using his other hand to punch her in the jaw, making her stumble and slip. Going to her lever and attempting to strike her again, she was quick to block, using all the possible strength she had in her arms to protect herself. She managed to somehow push him off as she quickly tried to get up, but made one fatal mistake by averting her gaze from his, giving him the Milly-second of a chance to slash her upper thigh.

Screaming in agony she fell to her knees, quickly feeling her weight turned on her back and crashed on the ground, the impact causing the necklace around her neck to come out from the jumpsuit, catching Toby's attention. The bottle shined in the light and wasn't hard to spot, he approached her aching for, carefully kneeling to her lever. Her face was in a mix of emotions, ready to defend herself again at any moment, but as he extended his gloved hands what she didn't expect was for him to reach for the necklace.

He held the small thing in his hands, twisting it around to get a better look at what was contained inside of it.

"A-a protection ch-charm." He murmured, but the girl still managed to somewhat hear it.

Her face showed a mixture of confusion and distress. Moments ago he was trying to slice her throat and how she was softly gripping her necklace, not saying another word.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes, the tension in the air occasionally being broken by the googled man ticks.

" Did Ben gi-give you this?" He asked sternly, twisting the tiny bottle between his thumb and pointer finger as he held it in front of her face.

" Yeah" She only said, averting from his gaze. He scoffed harshly letting go of it and firmly standing up, taking a few steps away from her.

Shooting pain ran up her leg to her back as she tried to stand, quickly holding the wound on the back of her thigh, adding as much pressure as she could so the blood would stop pouring out. Toby did say a word only looking in her direction. The girl's thoughts were racing, anger and fear swirling all in the bat of rage. She has enough of this, recollecting her strength slowly she took a long breath in, subtly looking in her peripherals to spot where Toby was standing. And the moment she felt the adrenaline kick in like all those times before she leapt.

The pain didn't concern her anymore; she only wanted him to feel the same she felt. Tackling his feet, he let out a low yelp as he fell on his lower back, she then quickly acted by pulling out the second hatched holstered to his person and putting it to his neck. Heavy jagged breaths escaped her chapped lips as she stared at him with a wide eyes gaze, sweat coming out of every pour.

Shaking uncontrollably while firmly holding the hatchet to his neck. She whispered, "I win."

[jo-the-schmo]

Red, Dead, Reflections Ch. 1

A/N: Alright so... I started writing this fic over a year ago, and was posting it as I wrote it. I fell out of it for a few reasons but I’ve missed it. So I decided to start writing it again. The original versions of the first 5 chapters already exist on my blog but I want to repost them and do some editing. This way I can make the series more polished. I also want to try and do a once a week maybe schedule to give me some time in between writing chapters and so I can take some feedback into consideration.I hope some of the people who originally wanted to keep up with my series see this and I want to apologize for falling back on this. I feel really bad about it. I’ll try harder to commit to this. Thank you so much for being interested in my work. If anyone would like to be tagged just let me know, I don’t wanna assume the people who did before want to now. 

Summary: At the age of 23, you and your pseudo-family perform a heist gone wrong, leading you into a dangerous and seemingly impossible position. Discover your own history, the story of those around you, and gain new relationships along the way in this (sorta) choose your own adventure.

Warnings: Explicit language, blood, death, violence

Word count: 5,988

From Out West

“This is a little too ballsy for my liking, Austin.” You warned as you carefully adjusted the colored contact lenses in your eyes.

“Since when did you turn into a little pussy-willow?” He smirked at you while he turned a corner. 

“This is a bank, not a home robbery, so forgive me if I’m a tad nervous about this! We’re robbing a god damn bank in the 21st century, in a busy city that we aren’t necessarily familiar with!”

“Maybe you aren’t familiar, you know I’m a regular ol’LA boy.” You turned your head to look at the two in the backseat.

“Miguel, you can’t seriously be okay with this.” You questioned but were confident in it enough to make it a statement. He shrugged his shoulders, making that confidence literally evaporate. 

“We gotta trust Austin, as crazy as this plan is. We haven’t gotten caught yet.” You crossed you arms and made sure your wig was pinned right.

“Doesn’t mean we won’t be startin’ now.” You grumbled. 

“Come on, sissy! This plan is fool-proof! They’ll never even know it was us!” Eli chirped. 

“Oh yeah, except for the fact that this is a fucking bank and the FBI CAN get on our asses for this!” You swore it was exhausting being the only realistic one sometimes. “On top of that, there’s only 5 of us! We’re insane!” 

“6.” Austin corrected. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Your girlfriend won’t be in the damn room with us.” 

“She’s the ace up our sleeves, it would be silly for her to be in there with us.” The car smelled like old cigarettes, it made you sick. The band around your chest dug into your ribs. You opted to stay silent and relent for the time being, instead focusing on your disguise. The wig was carefully pinned to your real hair, it was short enough to be confused for a men’s haircut but had enough length to not require any glue. Dark brown hair, abnormally vibrant green eyes. And with the mask covering your face, that would be their only descriptions they could give to the police. Flat chest, boyish haircut, baggy black hoodie, just your average deviant. The destination was in view. 

“Alright,” Austin started. “everyone knows the plan, yeah? Gina is inside, she’ll send us the signal. We go in quick and make our presence known. I go behind the counter to make sure the tellers ain’t up to no funny shit. Miguel, you round up the lovely citizens into a corner, hit Gina a little to make it convincing. Eli, you take care of the money. And Y/N, I need you to stay in character, be loud and intimidating, keep the tellers in check when I’m helpin’ Eli, and the civils with Miguel, got it?” You all nodded. He looked back at Miguel. “You got the fake bomb ready?”

“Yes’ir.” 

“I’ll pass the big boss to you once I pick him out. Zoe is waiting for us in the alleyway between the bank and the office building. We get in, make some noise, scare them shitless, get the money, and go.” He parked up front of the white walls, you saw a mother walk through the glass doors with her toddler in a stroller. You immediately felt bad. 

“You promise this is the last job, right?” You looked at him seriously. “At least the last of something this big, I don’t think I could handle with again.”

“Of course! This is just to get us enough money to get us all out. The economy is garbage, think of it as taking what should already be ours.” You heard the crackle of the walkie on Austin’s lap. He threw it into his bag. “That’s the signal, masks on everyone.” Austin’s was a fox, long, fake salt and pepper hair rolled form under his hood. Eli’s was a raccoon, convincing copper bangs swooped between the ears. Miguel had an owl; disturbing blue eyes pierced your being. You strapped on your black dove and joined with group as they exited the stolen vehicle. You kept both your hands in the front pocket of your hoodie, trying to be discrete about the two handguns inside. Only one was loaded with real bullets, that was the backup, You preferred to use the blanks. Unable to trace, and when used properly, won’t hurt anyone. Austin and Eli took the leads. 

The doors were kicked in. 

“EVERYONE GET ON THE FUCKING GROUND RIGHT NOW! HANDS UP, ALL YOU! THIS IS A ROBBERY!” He screamed, pointing his gun at a man behind the counter about 3 yards away. Miguel was quick to shout at the people in line to get into the corner of the room. Gina pretended to try and defy, he slaps her, needless to say it’s convincing. 

“Dove, handle the worms.” You traded spots as Austin grabbed one of the men behind the counter. Your eyes locked with the poor woman, she was covering the stroller with her torso. You pointed your blank gun at some random person. 

“Stay on the ground or I’ll fucking shoot, ya hear me?” You lowered your voice, made it coarser, time to be a ‘man’. They nodded hysterically. The woman was crying. You could hear Eli screaming his demands in a fake accent. “Everyone hand over your phones. If any of you give me a reason to even SUSPECT you’re up to anything, I will shoot.” Everyone put their phones on the ground and slid them over toward you. You turned your attention to the back. “What’s the hold up, owl?” 

“I’m handling it.” He strapped the fake bomb to the teller’s chest, making him kneel down in the middle of the bank. “Listen up, everyone! This man has a bomb attached to his body. We have someone hacked into the security cameras. If you don’t follow our instructions to the T, they will blow a hole in this lot.” He paused to let the cries and gasps die out. “Now, for those said instructions, listen close. We will exit the building soon, you will stay down for 5 minutes.” He pointed at a clock on the wall. “Do not touch anything or move a muscle. When 5 minutes have passed, the big guy here-“ He patted the man’s shoulders and dropped a key wrapped in tissue in his lap. “will take a little drive off the premises. He will keep going until he reaches the designated location written on that tissue. If any of you contact the police before the end of the day, he will die, along with any other drivers in his vicinity. So, unless you want a substantial amount of blood on your hands, I’d suggest you keep quiet until midnight. As for the rest of you, you have permission to leave the building once that 5 minutes are up. But I would suggest keeping a low profile, for your safety and others’.” There was a loud crack. 

“I got it!” The phony Australian accent rang. Austin led the rest of the bank tellers to you, making them sit in the flood of civils. 

“Staying alert, Dove?”

“Don’t patronize me, stupid Fox.” This whole situation pissed you off. The baby was crying, mom was too, trying to hush the whines. 

“Fire a shot, Dove!” What? “Don’t let their insubordination stand.” He demanded. This was a fear tactic. He was trying to teach a lesson to the others. 

“I’m not firing a warning shot over a fucking baby, you psycho!” Your blood was boiling, this was overkill, he was way out of line with this. Of course, he wasn’t telling you to shoot the baby or the mother, but you weren’t going to cause more grief where it didn’t need to be. 

“Take the shot!”

“Fuck you!” 

“Why are you going against me?” Was he seriously doing this now? You felt like your head was going to explode. She was the only person with a child present. You put both of your pieces back in your hoodie and knelt next to her. She flinched as you approached, but that was to be expected. 

“Ma’am, I’m making an exception for you because you have a child with you, and that prick is really getting on my last nerve. You’re allowed to exit the building now, but the other rules still apply. People will die if you talk, maybe not you, but other people who have children like you do, most certainly. Take your kid and get out, don’t do anything out of the ordinary, and get out.” Her red eyes shook you to your core, familiarity. She nodded in both fear and appreciation. 

“Than-than-thank y-“ She was choking on her own misfortune, you decided to spare her. 

“Yeah, yeah, just get out.” She got up and collected herself, checking around the room as she walked out of the building. You could only see his eyes, but you could tell Austin was reaching his limit fast. An older gentleman stared at you. 

“At least one of you has a heart.” You were glad Austin was too focused on being pissed to hear that. You got up, kicking the phones toward the door as you walked. Austin grabbed you arm. 

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill her for that.” By letting that woman go, you showed weakness. It was a hint at your identities, but you didn’t care. 

“And you’re lucky I’m not shooting you for saying that. I’m not a killer like you, Fox.” Your voice was laced with venom. Eli had interrupted your dispute. 

“Alright lovebirds, time to play nice, we’ve got precious cargo.” He gave both of you a duffle bag, they were pretty hefty. Austin took a deep breath, putting on his best showman voice. 

“Alright folks! That right there is our cue to hit the road. Remember, 5 minutes on the clock. No one likes a-“ The doors were filled with red and blue, sirens. The police were here. “Shit!” Shit was right. “How the hell are they here?” Austin screamed. He gave you a shove. “It’s probably because of that god damn woman!” 

“There’s no way she would’ve had enough time for that.”

“And no one had a phone out, I was watching the whole time.” Miguel chimed. 

“We have bigger fish to fry right now! We gotta go.” You all dashed over to the back door, all you had to do was move towards the alley, if you could just get to the dump van, everything would be fine. Drive up to get the real car, leave that one with no prints or hair, and you’d be home free. The 4 of you booked it out the door. But the van was no where to be seen, instead, there were about 3 cops on either side which was 6 in total, trapping you in. 

“They must’ve got Zoe!” Yeah, no shit. 

“Put your hands up!” You all raised your arms, except of course for Austin. You kicked his calf. He didn’t budge. “I said put your god damn hands up!”

“In case you didn’t notice, pal, there’s a bomb in that building. If you don’t let us pass, I’ll blow that building out of existence, along with the man attached to it.” He pointed his gun to one of the cops to your left. “So, I suggest you let us through, or else you’re gonna piss me off more than I already am.” 

“We know the bomb is fake, drop to your knees or we will shoot!” Another one barked. Someone had ratted you out. You looked at Miguel and Eli, you weren’t letting this go down, not by a long shot. You tuned out Austin’s ramblings and whispered to the other two. 

“Be ready to run. I’m gonna buy you guys some time. Don’t kill any of them, disarm them.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Y/N?” Miguel questioned with panic. You took a deep breath. 

“Thank you for being my family.” You swept your leg behind Austin’s knees, and he collapsed to the ground as you stood. 

The world slowed to a crawl, pulling a gun out of your pocket, these were real bullets. You’ve never missed a target. You drew the attention of all 6 police officers, but no amount of training could prepare them. You fired 3 shots, each one hitting the hands of the officers Austin had been talking to. Their weapons fell from their hands. You felt bodies push past your legs, down the alley way away from the bank. You were glad the streets of LA were confusing. Now was the time. You whipped your body around to face the rest of the officers, firing rapidly at their shins. You weren’t gonna put blood on your hands. 

But deep down you knew, there was no making out of this one. You would buy them a few minutes while trying to subdue you. Just as your haphazard shots began, they fired precise ones of their own. Two passed through your skull, three in your chest, and one got a through almost half of your jugular. Both pieces fell away from you as gravity swaddled you. Bits of your wooden mask, blood, head pushing back unnaturally, seeing the backs of your made family run, they were almost home free. There was no pain after that point, you waited patiently for your back to hit the ground beneath you, but it never did. You kept falling. 

And falling. 

The midday light felt like it was slipping away, there were leather walls encompassing your lifeless form. No sound, no sense of texture, just the smell of dirt and decay. Then there was nothing but darkness, but that void that beckoned you, that pulled at your very being, was gone just as quick as it appeared. 

Your body shot forward with a violent intake for air. The gasps filled your lungs to the brim, your chest and head ached, throat tight. The coughing erupted from deep in your chest, which also held a different pain from the ever-tightening band around it. You threw you hoodie away and made quick work of loosening it just a bit, and in doing so noticed that your body was free of any physical wounds. There was still a soreness, and blood wiped off your skin, but there were no open wounds. You were incredibly cold, and at first you assumed that to be attributed to your near-death experience, until you looked up high to see to see an open window with snow falling outside. 

“I don’t think we’re in California anymore.” You muttered to yourself. You shivered, the place was covered in hay and in low light, that’s when the smell hit you. It reeked of animals, that would probably have something to do with the fact that you’re in a barn. Shakily, you got to your feet. Knees wobbling, your eyes adjusted, there were horses. That certainly explained the stench. A chill ran up your spine, the cold tickling at your vertebrae. You scanned the room for where you had tossed your hoodie, only to find it in a horse’s mouth. Your eyes widened in fear. “No, no, no, no, no, no!” You exclaimed. You rushed forward and grasped at the hanging sleeve, tugging on it with all your strength. “Drop it! Drop it right now!” 

The horse did not listen, in fact, now it seemed more hellbent on consuming the thick material. After hurtling a few curses at the horse, you heard a distinct rip. You fell back, the remnants of black cloth now in tatters. You let out a muffled scream of frustration. Even with the long sleeves of your cotton shirt, you were still freezing. It suddenly struck you how odd it is for it to be snowing at all. You figured you weren’t in California anymore, but you were somewhere that snows in the middle of May? How far were you? You couldn’t think of any states that snowed this late in the year. Were you in Maine? Up north, Canada? How did you even get here? 

“Did those idiots come back to get me? I could’ve sworn…” You could’ve sworn they ran like you told them to, and that you had experienced several fatal injuries. Is this hell? Purgatory? The other side? It was cold enough to be Hell that’s for sure. Nothing made sense. You found your mask on the ground, chunks of the painted wood were replaced with vacant space, splintered bullet holes. You fastened it to the first belt loop, it rested against your left pant leg. Pins dug into your scalp, wigs still surprisingly attached to your head. Your eyes watered, your contacts were drying out. You opted take them out now rather than waste your time trying to find drops in a barn. You flicked them away once they were out. “Now, if there’s a barn with animals, there’s gotta be a house with people.” You walked over to the large wooden doors as your talked to yourself, but today just had to be the worst day of your life. Something landed on top of you, or more accurately someone. 

You were surprised you didn’t feel any cracks as the weight crashed on you. Shifting your weight over, you elbowed the man in the jaw. He rolled off of you with a grunt of pain. You were quick to jab him in the stomach with the toe of your boot. Sputtering a cough with saliva dripping out the mouth, the man rushed to stand. He was trying to fight. 

“You’re on the wrong side of the mountains, partn’r.” He slurred. “This here is O’Driscoll territory, Which you don’t got no business bein’ in.” I’m in the mountains? Where the hell- He didn’t give you enough time to finish that thought before he was throwing a punch at you. If this basic boy thinks he can step in my personal space, he’s got another thing coming. You blocked the fist with your forearm and redirected the force toward the ground. With the base of your wrist, you hit his throat. The force of your own strength and the ever so impeccable sense of gravity caused him to wheeze, choke, and writhe on the ground. 

“Listen here, buddy,” you pressed your boot down on his chest “I have no idea where the hell I am right now. I don’t give a single shit about territory or whatever the fuck you’re going on about, but if you put your hands on me again, I’m gonna mangle your entire lower half with a rake.” You applied more weight. “I didn’t come here of my own volition, someone put me here. Which means, you’re little punk ass better tell me what’s going on or get out of my way so I can-“ Gunshots. Mystery man took your distraction as an opportunity to wriggle out form under you. They were ceaseless, did someone drop you off in the middle of a gang war, what the hell is going on? You were about to duck behind whatever cover was around you if the idiot of the room had decided he didn’t learn his lesson. 

“Are you with those crazies?” He yelled, peeking out the barn doors for only a second. “I should’ve known.” His voice was cold and malicious. “You’re with that son of a bitch, Dutch!”

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, pretty boy, they must’ve sent you up to spy on us! I’m gonna kill you for-“

“I literally have no idea what’s going on!” But he wasn’t listening to reason, clocked you in the ribs before you got the chance to block, then using your surprise to his advantage, hit you on the nose. There was a familiar crack and blood rush. “Did you just fucking break my nose, you ass?” You screeched toward the ground, wiping away the blood. 

You took him off guard by doing that, so you were quick to knock him in the jaw. The shooting stopped but you were a little preoccupied and decided not to waste anymore time. His arm bent to caress the side of his face. You rushed forward, lacing your arm between the gap his made. Using all your weight, you swung your legs out and forced him to drop to the ground. His back slammed forcefully and with a swift adjustment, your shins trapped his neck, locking him in place. You squeezed his neck enough to make him gasp. He tried to push away from you, but with the position you left him in, there’s no way he’d be able to without some sort of outside assistance. 

“Who are you calling pretty boy now? Huh? Who, bitch boy?” You heard the door start to open, you let lose and pulled the man up to shield you, locking his head so that you peek between a gap in your arm and his head. A man wearing a blue coat and hat walked in, his hands resting on his belt. 

“Well, well, what have we got ourselves here?” You couldn’t quite place his accent. You noticed he had a holster. 

“Don’t fuck with me, dude. I’ve got your friend trapped between me and you. No need to make this get crazy.” You warned, tightening your grip to enunciate your point. What sounded almost like a chuckle escaped his throat. 

“You must not be an O’Driscoll if you think he’s my friend.” You panicked, you tried to think of your next move, but he had plans of his own. “What’s your name, son?” Your suspicions were correct, it seems. This isn’t the first time someone’s confused you for a man, especially when you were trying so hard to not look like yourself. But maybe, you could use this to your advantage. 

“James West.” That was Austin’s code name for danger. If someone introduced you or called any of you James, it meant they weren’t trust worthy. You and Gina would usually use Jamie, but now James felt like the safer option. 

“Now how in the hell did you get involved in this, West?” He rested his hip against one of the stable posts.  

“I have no idea.” You threw the man away from you, there was no point holding him anymore. “I woke up here, and this guy just started attacking me.” You thought for a moment. “Are you Dutch?” You asked. This time, it was a single, hearty-

“HA!” He had a spark in his eye. “Me? Dutch? I ain’t that old yet, kid.” You rolled your eyes and pulled yourself up. 

“Well, my nose is broken because this little shit thought I was with you, so I have some choice words for this ‘Dutch’.” You huffed. “And don’t call me ‘kid’.” You brushed your fingers across the bridge of your nose, preparing yourself for what you were about to do. One deep breath in, out, pop. You pushed your nose back into place and winced. A wad of blood shot out. “Jesus shit!” You coughed, you never get used to having to do that. The blue coat cowboy looking mother-fucker looked semi-impressed. 

“Well, I’m not Dutch, but you could sure meet him if it pleases.” Something caught his attention. “Speak of the devil…” The door opened again. A man walked in with very distinct black hair. He was also a cowboy looking mother-fucker. Oh god, am I in yeeyee country? His eyes immediately locked on you. 

“Did you cause this mess, Arthur? Or have we just met a new friend?” The man who you presumed to be Dutch, had a deeper voice than the man apparently called Arthur, but their accents were similar. That was not promising for you. 

“That depends, his name is West, James West. I walked in a right fine mess between him and that there O’Driscoll.” Arthur pointed to the man still struggling to steady himself. Dutch choked a deep laugh, he seemed more amused than Arthur was. 

“Right fine is right, Arthur. You did this?” He asked. You nodded reluctantly. “You’re a good fighter, boy. Real good, it seems.” He strode over to the guy on the floor and picked him up by the collar, tossing him over to Arthur. “Morgan, you deal with this trash while I talk to our new pal.” Dutch walked over to you, confidence in his step, while Arthur threw the man back on the ground. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and shook you around a bit. “James West, huh?”

“Yeah, what’s it to ya?” 

“Oh, this boy’s got spunk, Morgan!” You looked over and saw Arthur yanking the man around by the shirt. Dutch forced your attention back to him. “Now West, you’ve gotta understand our position here. We can tell clear as day you ain’t involved in a lick of this mess. But we don’t have a single clue as to what your business is up here. Now, you seem like a considerate young man, but I got worried folks on this mountain, and I can’t have no scamps running around and hellraising” He squeezed your shoulder. “So, don’t take any offense to what I’m about to ask, but what are you doing up here?” He looked you dead in the eyes. In your opinion, the question was fair. You couldn’t fully let your guard down, but they appeared to not be whoever put you here. Then again, these O’Driscoll’s didn’t seem to be either. 

“I can’t give you an answer to that one, Mr. …?” 

“Van Der Linde.” That’s one hell of a name. 

“Mr. Van Der Linde. Frankly, I have no damn clue why I’m here. One minute, I’m getting shot down in the middle of the day, and then I wake up trapped in some barn in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, in what looks like the ass end of winter. So, I’m a little confused right now to say the least.” You were clearly frustrated with your situation, he wasn’t oblivious to it. 

“Where are you from, son?”

“California.” That was a safe enough answer. 

“James West from out West. That’s certainly an opener.” He scratched his chin. “I’m gonna put you to a test young man.” He turned you around and lead you over to where Arthur had just gotten off the now bloody man. He was whimpering, begging under his breath for mercy. 

“I don’t think he’s got much to say, Dutch. They apparently happened upon this place and took it over. That’s all I’m getting’” 

“I’m going to give our new young friend a choice.” He pulled a revolver out of his holster and held the handle out to you. “In normal circumstances, I’d let Arthur handle this situation himself. But I’ve got an itching curiosity with you, kid.” You felt obligated to hold it in your hand. Looking down at the man, pity flared in your chest. “Should we kill him, or let him go? I’m letting you make the call.” What kind of question was this? Who were these guys? The choice wasn’t very difficult, you’d be a hypocrite if you did otherwise, and you weren’t compromising your promise on the off chance these guys might not like your opinion. 

You handed the gun back to Dutch. 

“Just because he’s an asshole, doesn’t mean he deserves to die. Let him go.” Dutch was intrigued by your answer. He looked over to Arthur with a smirk.

“I think I like kid!” 

“Please don’t call me ‘kid.” You requested. Arthur pulled the man to his feet and threw him outside.

“Get outta here before he regrets it.” The man darted into the snow, leaving a trail behind him. 

“Grab the horse, Arthur. We gotta get something out of this.”  You were lead outside to find a horrific scene, bodies were strewn about the snowy landscape. Whoever these guys were, they were not to be trifled with. You should play this safe. 

There was a house not too far away, the snow was dense. It was more than freezing. You sent a glare to the horse Arthur led past you. You’ll pay for this, you dumb fucking horse. With your adrenaline dying down, your whole being felt frozen. 

“Normally, I wouldn’t be one for disrupting dead for anything other than money, but you’ll die out here without something warm, Mr. West.” Dutch gestured to one of the several bodies riddled through the snow. You swallowed the lump in your throat, trying your best not to think about how you were robbing from dead people. It wouldn’t be the first time, but you still didn’t feel good about it. You separated from him and carefully stepped around the bodies littered in the snow. You found a man with his face in the snow, you pretty much picked him so you wouldn’t have to see his face as you stripped him of his coat. It didn’t look particularly warm initially, but anything would be better than this. The arms bent limply back as you peeled the sleeves away. Luckily upon further inspection, you were happy to learn there was a sort of wool lining inside, that would at least help insulate your own body heat. A sudden commotion broke out from inside the rustic home. A man yelling for Dutch and a woman screaming. Your instincts made you spring into action, you lept through large portions of the snow to make it to the steps faster and before you knew it you were bursting through the door. A blonde man wearing another cowboy-looking hat was chasing a woman around a table. 

“What the hell are you doing, Micah?” Arthur questioned as him and Dutch followed you in. 

“We got a feisty one over here, boys!” He hollered. Oh, you were not comfortable with this type of language.

“Stop chasing the poor woman, ya moron!” He warned with more intensity. You weren’t gonna see this go down, that’s for sure. You ran up behind the man called Micah, grabbed his collar, and used his weight to pull his back towards you, and then to the ground. His body slammed, he let out a surprised yelp, followed by a pained groan.

“Fucking sicko! Stop chasing her around, she’s scared!” 

“Get out of my house!” The woman bellowed. Admittedly, you had no idea what was going on, but you knew you could at least try and defuse the situation. You put your hands up to appear less threatening. 

“Miss, I don’t know who you are or what in God’s name is going on, but I promise I am not here to hurt you.” You spoke to her in a calm voice. Whatever was going on, it clearly had her frazzled. “I don’t have any weapons, and I don’t make it habit of hurting people who don’t need hurting. You clearly have been hurting for no reason. Can you explain to me what’s happened so that I can help you with this situation?” You took a cautious step around the table to make sure she wouldn’t dart away from you, you kept steady eye contact. 

“They…they killed my husband a few days ago! They took over my home and locked me in the basement!” She wept. Maybe these O’Driscolls were the ones to stow you in the barn, they sure seemed like the type with this new information. 

“I’m so sorry for your loss, ma’am. I can assure you that those men won’t be bothering you anytime soon. Can you-“ You heard glass shatter, looking over, you found Micah scattering to his feet, fire was spreading from the floor to the wall at an incredible rate. It was already crawling up the right-side wall before you had a chance to react. There was no way you could put that out by yourself, and the others weren’t exactly jumping at the chance to help you. You settled on running to grab some blankets from the bed across the room. The boys were leading the woman out of the house and she reluctantly followed. Micah sent you a glare as you passed him out of the house. “Oh, don’t you look at me like that, you weren’t any help!” You knew you should keep your mouth shut, but you knew you were right on this one. The group was walking toward some horses, you followed behind. 

“Micah, lead the horse back to camp.” You handed the blankets to the woman. 

“Thank you.” She seemed genuine but was also hurt by your sentiments.

“It’s no problem, ma’am.”

“Adler, Sadie Adler is my name.” She wrapped herself in the blankets.

“Well, it’s no problem, Mrs. Adler. It’s the bare minimum to what I could’ve done.” You hoped whatever camp Dutch mentioned was close by. This cold was blistering. 

“Mrs. Adler, you may ride with me, we’ll get you back to people who can help.” Dutch hopped up onto a white horse, lending a hand for Sadie to pull herself up. “Arthur, please take our new friend with you. I don’t think he’s in any shape to be riding.” Arthur nodded, heaving himself with ease onto a spotted mare? You couldn’t tell if it was a girl, but you just got that vibe. He did not give you a hand. Oh yeah, I’m a dude. A manly man. You gripped the back of the saddle and used all the arm strength you had to get onto the bare back on the horse. You hoped this ride wasn’t going to be too bumpy because you were not about to get punched because you had to grab onto this man and couldn’t tell if someone was a homophobe or not. You sure hoped these people weren’t, but you weren’t exactly in the position to be picky. 

“Pearson’s not gonna happy about this.” Arthur mentioned as the horses pushed forward.

“Mr. Pearson isn’t happy about anything except his drink. He’ll be alright.” Now seemed like a good a time as any to start asking questions. They couldn’t go anywhere away from you at the moment. 

“Not to interrupt or anything, but could someone tell me where I am, or what day it is. Could someone please tell me what the deal is?”

“We’re north of New Hanover if the maps are correct. We’re planning to head down there as soon as this winter passes. God knows how long that’s gonna take.” Dutch complained. You had never heard of New Hanover, but apparently it was winter. Maybe you really did get shot, put into a hospital maybe? Then these guys… You panicked for a second. O’Driscoll wasn’t another name for them was it? It didn’t make much sense but no one else would put this much effort into stealing you away. “As for the day, I couldn’t tell ya exactly. It’s winter in the year of our Lord 1899.” He laughed. What?

“What?”

“Ah, just bit of a joke, son. We live in dark times. We’re hurtling straight into a new century.” Wait was he joking or not joking?

“It’s 1899?” You tried to keep your voice neutral, but he seemed to pick up on your worry.

“Yes, it is, son.” He paused. “Are you alright?” You were anything but alright. These people are crazy, I’m trapped on a mountain with some insane cultists who think they’re in the 19th century, I’m fucked. “Arthur, we need to hurry, the boy’s looking pale.” 

Your head felt fuzzy, colors were blurring together. I am not stuck on a god damn mountain in 1899, I’m not, that’s physically impossible. This is all a dream, or some weird set up. You felt like you were 19 again, disconnected, afraid, losing it. You weren’t gonna go back there again, you wouldn’t! You didn’t know you had stopped breathing. You didn’t feel Arthur’s arm catching you so you wouldn’t get trampled. Everything was black. 

[ahsokasanity]

Chapter Ten

A Court of Shadow & Ribbons           Wanna start at Chapter One?

                                                            *

Mor apologised the moment they entered the sitting room.

“I’m sorry for the subterfuge, but Azriel knows about me and he…..”

Emerie had not let go of Mor’s hand and as she spoke, Mor found herself being turned toward the female who had captured her attention at the party, and even before that. Mor was staring into Emerie’s hazel green eyes and losing any capacity to finish her sentence.

Emerie said “Now, I know too” and kissed her. Not a passionate kiss, a request of a kiss. Mor sizzled and held tight to Emerie’s hand, putting her other around her waist to hold her there. She didn’t let Emerie move back from that touch, Mor licked her lower lip and went back for a more intimate meeting.

Emerie sighed and felt herself going pliant and loose. She stepped toward the lounge, pushing Mor backwards to sit facing each other, stroking her hands in Mor’s hair, around her waist and over the perfect lines of her cheek and jaw.

“Oh I’ve never known what this felt like”

Mor stopped kissing Emerie’s ear lobe

“Just you wait” she whispered, Loving the shiver that ran through the female with her

“I just want to feel you and have you here with me, but tell me what you want” She hadn’t stopped touching and feeling and kissing, and Emerie’s eyes were closed when she murmured

“More of this for now, please don’t stop”. There they stayed, on the lounge as the sun rose and they discovered each other. Mor stopped at one point to ask if they should move from the sitting room

“Nope, this is it for now, I want to fall asleep here with you Mor” Emerie answered. So they did.

                                                            *

The training ring was pink with the streams of sunrise when Azriel landed. He found the rose with it’s chain in his pocket and strode into the house and his room. He couldn’t believe that Nesta and Cassian had not fallen asleep yet as he heard the low murmur of Cassian’s deep voice followed by a higher demand from Nesta. Mother save him from having to hear much more of that.

The house seemed to respond with some modicum of decency and muted the increasing sounds from their room. As Azriel closed his door, the moaning was left behind altogether.

He went to his armoire and opened the furthest right bottom drawer. In to it, he placed the jewellery beside a small cedar box. The only item that he kept from his childhood – a gift from his mother created when he was discovered to be a shadowsinger. She had placed a few items in it as he grew, even when he was imprisoned and she was unable to contact him. A lock of his hair, a note she’d written and a tiny dagger that she hoped he’d be able to learn to wield as he matured.  

He picked it up for a moment. Re-promising that his children would be loved in person, daily, and never would come to hurt whilst he breathed

He closed the drawer with his foot and changed into training gear. His body screamed at him for some sleep but he kicked back at the need and told himself “after training”.

                                                                       *

Most of the girls were already at the roof by the time Azriel arrived. Emerie was of course not there, nor were Nesta and Cassian. Apparently you do not have to train the day after your mating ceremony. All of the others were there including Lorelei and Roslin who had perhaps drunk more alcohol than they should at the celebration.

Those who had not attended the festivities were happily listening to the stories from the ceremony. Many of them had heard the tale of Gwyn’s singing and were congratulating her as they warmed up.

“Gwyn”. Azriel got the attention of the entire group. He indicated that Gwyn should join him at the front and she was nervous.

“We are a little short on instructors and members today, so I thought it might be nice if Gwyn led us in a warm up”

“Phew” Gwyn sighed inwardly and took a big breath. The best moves that she and Nesta and Emerie had found to get moving everyday were easy. She felt comfortable with the trainees and not pressured by Azriel. She could see him out of the corner of her eye correcting stance and core strength movements.

Everyone was flushed and perspiring by the time Gwyn finished the last rhyme. Azriel broke the females into three groups of three and had them sparring with staves, the third person of each group was the watcher to help with their feet and defence in-case anyone was having a particular problem.

Funnily enough, that left Gwyn and Azriel. Azriel handed her a heavy shield and led her to the area with a little more room.

“Sometimes, you won’t have a weapon but you may have some protection. Learn to use it to stay alive longer against an armed opponent”

Gwyn stood awkwardly holding the wooden metal plated implement on her left arm. Azriel attacked with deliberate slowness, signalling where he was going with each strike of his staff. Gwyn dodged and held, shuffled her feet and moved her weight to take every blow. Azriel sped up and reduced his warnings until they were both running with sweat and one of the other groups had stopped to watch them.

Azriel did not yell as Cassian could sometimes drag on his General’s mask, he merely indicated with a hand and “Ladies” -for the females to gather to watch.

“You see how you can fight without fighting? Defence can be the best way to stay alive until help arrives or until you are able to locate something more like a weapon”

Gwyn stumbled as Azriel spoke, attention lost in a memory of desperately waiting for help to arrive. Too late. Help came too late, even in the form of the winged assassin standing before her now. She dropped her eyes and Azriel continued to address the others.

“Get into a line and you can each have a moment to attack me with your staff, one at a time. Let’s go.”

The Idisi formed up immediately and began an assault on Azriel, giving Gwyn space to step out of the ring to get a drink. Why couldn’t she just get over this? How could the mention of being in danger make her stop thinking? Stop fighting? It had not happened on Ramiel. She thought that she was Valkyrie and unstoppable. Breathe she told herself, just breathe.

Once her heart rate had calmed both from the exercise and the panic, she returned to the line of staff wielding priestesses. It was time to have her revenge on Azriel’s earlier attempts at her. She would not be cowered and would never again be simply left waiting for help to arrive.

Azriel looked pleased to see Gwyn reach the front of the line and the others had begun to stretch and to drink water before the cool down.

“Apologies if I triggered something there, you were doing really well”

Gwyn stepped right then left and slammed the staff toward his exposed left wing. Azriel ducked and laughed at her audacity, but got his shield up in time to block the next blow.

“Now that was serious” – he blocked a third hit, but with effort and when Gwyn spun and angled the staff at his shins, he had to jump back to protect himself.

“You’d better give Azriel, I can do this all day” She grunted as she threw another two-handed attack at his neck and shoulders. Her feet were actually getting faster as she became more comfortable with the longer weapon. Azriel knew he could out manoeuvre her without a time limit, but she was so strong, so resilient he knew working her to exhaustion today would not be helpful. She needed this confidence and she needed more training and further fitness, but Cauldron was she a warrior.

After a resounding clash of staff and shield, Gwyn aimed a particularly good weight at his upper arm and connected. It was not enough to take Azriel out of a sincere fight, but it was a move that deserved reward.

“Give. I give” Azriel admitted freely. He was not winded, while Gwyn was pink and panting slightly. She knew without commenting that Azriel had forfeited. She didn’t mind. She had hit him after all!

They both drank greedily and Gwyn wondered if she was doing anything useful toward gaining Azriel’s affection. He was just the epitome of trainer today, although he’d focused on her a bit more than normal. She looked over at him and smiled, he gave her a nod of appreciation and she lowered her eyes.

“Form up Idisi” Azriel’s voice carried easily across the rooftop.

“Gwyn, please lead the cool down?”

Gwyn stepped out of the line sideways and began the relaxation chant.

Azriel stood sentry still, but took it all in, tensing and relaxing different muscle groups as the trainees breathed steadily and stretched. He was just nodding off, his wings held slightly open and his eyes closed. A stiff breeze nearly knocked him over and he realised that he was asleep. Thankfully he had no more appointments for the day and could just wash and sleep.

The females were saying goodbye and thank you to him and Gwyn was storing the staves and shield and tidying up around the ring as Azriel went to enter the house. He called out

“And thank you Gwyn for your help. And for reminding me to protect my upper arms!” He smiled at her and she grinned.

“Anytime. You are certainly training me to keep up my guard”

He turned again to look at her and she made a face like she had not meant to say that.

“Oh. You’re doing really well, so, you ah, you should feel good about that. I’ve gotta go, I haven’t been to sleep yet. See you tomorrow”

Gwyn nodded and headed off, embarrassed that she had dragged that information out of him. Where did he go after he dropped her here? He must have been back by dawn, he had got changed for training. Did he go to the nightclub? Did he hook up with someone? Gwyn cursed herself for a fool. He’s an experienced male who is your trainer. Why would he curtail his fun just because you spent some time with him? Why indeed when she’d given the gift back?

                                                                                   *

She used the library to forget all about thinking and re-thinking through last night and her memories of Azriel. The other priestesses, especially Merrill, wondered where she got the energy to run from place to place and help others with heavy tomes.

She just wanted to be exhausted by dinner time. Just wanted to sleep with no tossing and turning.

Azriel slept. No dreams, no startling awake. He drifted off hearing Gwyn singing in his head and woke up having barely moved. It was pitch black outside so night had fallen, but it was hard for him to surface from the total relaxation that he’d found. He merely checked his windows and his connections to Rhys – no emergencies, and stretched his wings. Laying on his other side, he fell right back to sleep.

                                                                       *

[frightfurtabby]

HimiKiyo Week 2021 Day 4: I Am Not Your Queen

// Mastermind Kiyo AU for day 4! Because that’s a pretty good reason to be enemies. Could things be different? It’ll take a while for these two to figure out.

Word Count: 2848

Links-

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34159447

Amino: (coming soon)

“That’s right. If all other alibis check out…” Shuichi said, hand on his chin. This was the final class trial, everyone’s fate hinged directly on what was going to happen next. It depended on the case they’ve built up so far being absolutely correct. One irrefutable accusation and the mastermind’s entire game was crumbling to pieces like a house of cards. “Then there can only be one person that was behind the lies that killed Kaede, Rantaro, and all our other friends.” 

His finger pointed across and to his left, at the person standing between Tsumugi and Maki at their trial bench. “Korekiyo Shinguji, you’re the real mastermind behind the killing game!”

The detective's words echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. Himiko, in spite of how many times others called her “slow” grew increasingly silent as the discussion kept going back to them and their actions from earlier. They had been outed as a serial killer in a previous trial but in spite of everything they helped Himiko at her lowest point immediately after what had happened with Angie and Tenko. 

She remembered crying on Kiyo’s shoulder, listening to their soothing voice put her at ease, advice like a wise sage being passed down. Each and every time she needed it, she would go to that anthropology lab. Each time her footsteps took her in, her feelings only grew stronger. Her first kiss was in there, with them. Before what happened there was a pull she felt, but she never got much of a chance to get close with how intimidating they came off as.

Kiyo, who was now replying calmly as though none of it was bothering them. This was how it started in the other trial too, So that should be reassuring right? 

“Yes, it was me.” they said, “I just so happened to pick up my own after noticing Kaede had taken one with help from my nanokumas.”

Oh. 

Oh no.

And now it felt like the world was crumbling again. Only instead of feeling deflated and alone she was enraged. Enraged that the case against Kiyo didn’t have any holes in it. How could it be true? And now just admitting to it?

“Was all of that… was all of it a lie Kiyo?” she begged that what they had was real. Even now standing across from them as enemies. 

“No. I’ve been up front with you this whole time. There were simply parts of the story you weren’t ready to know. And you still… aren’t ready yet.”

“But you- but you-” words escaped the Mage, leaving her unable to think calmly and properly. “You could have stopped this at any point, but you kept going.” She didn’t even notice they felt a tinge of fear underneath the words she was replying to.

“Why assume I have enough control to end it early, that would be going far off-script.” A small bead of sweat formed which the killer wiped away. 

Wait… off script? What did something like that even mean?

Himiko turned to notice that Maki was giving them a death glare. “Because you’re the mastermind, obviously.”

“Oh, I see. In that case… no, I wasn’t working alone to do this.” they began to explain. “This wouldn’t have been possible without Team Danganronpa and all the fans watching right this very minute!”

“T-Team… D-Danganronpa?” Tsumugi stuttered in shock.  

“Yes, the studio that put together the killing game with me on the ground so to speak to act on their behalf. We are not actually the only ones left alive, there are more humans alive than any other time in history and millions upon millions of them tune into this program.“

“The world is… fine?” Kiibo pondered. The revelation made him tense about what his inner voice may be.

“Why would the world want a killing game?”

Kiyo responded “It works as a kind of release valve, I suppose. Conflicts have dwindled over the existence and increasing popularity of this show after all.”

“Can we… Can we go home? Kiyo please, let me go, let *us* go. You can do that right?”

“Even though it is not destroyed, you still cannot.” The other voice came from Korekiyo once more. Sister was back in action. Sternly she looked over each of the remaining survivors. As though she was looking down on them.

Himiko glared at her from under her hat. “You again.” While she was feeling so complicated about Korekiyo right now, she unambiguously disliked their “Sister”. Then it hit her. Maybe if the Sister personality was the one that was the one really in charge she could forgive them… maybe.

It would take a lot after something as horrible as this. Especially since Maki and Shuichi swore to never forgive the mastermind, she was certain that she wouldn’t either. Even if Kiyo was just a lackey it would take time to trust again.

“I’m pleased you’ve all made it this far.” Sister said, sounding incredibly pleased with herself, rather than anything they’d accomplished. “I wasn’t sure you had it in you. I’d like you all to meet the fans.” 

The blush bear sweated, making the cartoon ‘awooga’ sound like a character seeing an attractive person. “Yes ma’am.”

Futuristic gears spun in front of Monokuma, bringing a keyhole to in front of him, he stuck the key in and several screens proceeded to descend. Faces appeared: Asian, white, black, men, women, even children. Various expressions across their features. None of them stayed long enough for any witness to recognize, even if they remembered anyone they had known.

“These are the fans of Danganronpa.” Sister explained. “Danganronpa is their collective favorite show. The 53rd season has been one of the most successful in years.

The discussion was halted. It was surreal, more so than even waking up here originally was. All of those people had been watching the whole time. 

Himiko asked “So the fans they saw… everything?” Did they know who the mastermind was?”

“I presume some of them did, but this reveal is equally for their benefit. There’s a vibrant debate each season about who the mastermind is and how they did it. Occasionally spoilers will get leaked.”

“So this… was the killing real?” Tsumugi’s voice wavered as she tried to speak up.

“Yes, that part was real. The people playing those eliminated characters are gone from this world as well as the real one.” Sister took off Kiyo’s hat and put it across their chest looking solemn. “They knew there was a strong chance of that, and signed up like many other fans before them.”

“Was it you or Korekiyo who committed Rantaro’s murder?” Shuichi prodded. The shock was wearing off. The trial was continuing at last in the wake of 2 extremely unnerving revelations.

“I feel like that’s a question dear Korekiyo should give the answer to.” Their shared body pulled up the mask and Kiyo began to speak again 

“It was as I said many times, I’m only meant to be an observer. I… admittedly broke that role when I chose to do what I did. I even apologized to them, to myself for it.”

“Then why, surely you must have had a reason.” Shuichi prodded. 

“Regrettably for my ethnography, our class that should have been in a completely fresh, sealed environment was muddied when I did it. Sometimes what I want comes into conflict with a higher power and they were banking on Rantaro Amami’s death being the hook for the episode.”

“So then Kaede’s shot put ball really missed…then why didn’t you kill all of us when we got the answer wrong? Simply f--for Television ratings?”

“I’m afraid the answer to that is yes. That is why everyone survived the sham trial. The fans would have completely revolted.”

“But maybe we’d be spared this revolting game continuing. Do you understand all of this is wrong?” Maki shot at them. 

“Those are quite the harsh words from a professional killer. Though… maybe I shouldn’t say that, your backstory is fake after all.”

“So then… I didn’t spend all that time…” Maki muttered. That wouldn't stop all of it from feeling deeply real. 

“No you did not. That is part of the Ultimate Real Fiction.” Kiyo explained. “It was put into your mind by the flashback lights, as Shuichi deduced. All of our lives were.”

“Being fundamentally changed into a completely different person with a completely different life… what kind of cruel person would force someone to-” Maki

“Forced to?” Kiyo asked quizzically. “No, I can assure you every one of you wanted this. Team Danganronpa takes all of your input very seriously.”

“Our… input?” Himiko asked.

Kiyo clapped their hands together. “Of course. Now I shall show you!”

The screen cut away from the faces of the fans and to some kind of tape. Shuichi Saihara stood in front of the camera. He spoke about how he loved Danganronpa and wanted to be a detective character.

He finished with “ And I’d do anything to be in danganronpa. I will come up with the best, most gruesome murders. Everyone would love it! And, a detective character hasn’t been the blackened yet, so I’m sure I could do that. I’m even thinking about the perfect punishment… for the ultimate detective.”

His glee was evident. Someone so against the killing right now had been one of the biggest fans ever, with a Junko like joy in thinking about how he would be punished as the culprit. It really was like before coming here he wasn’t the same person.

They even went so far as to play Kaede and Kaito’s revealing in part they had said things like “I don’t have any faith in humanity” and “I’m going to kill everyone and win.” respectively. 

“So you see… none of us were the same. If you like how you are now then you may stay perhaps? Finish the fight of hope against despair. Or we, as friends, could all stay here?”

“No, we won’t do that.” Shuichi said, pointing dramatically. “Right guys? The only way to get through and win this. It’s to reject hope and despair. The very premise of Danganronpa.”

It was put up to a vote. Before that, the outside world had tried to argue Hope or Despair, reinforcing the choice. But the cast continued to refuse. 

“We’ll end this with our own hands!” 

It came and went. And… Everybody abstained.?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiibo flew out of the trial room, determined to end the entire killing game now no matter the cost. Everyone would finally be free. All he needed was to finish off this prison school with his upgrades. Rocket boosters made it easy to fly to the next part to blow up.

Down below him, the remaining survivors stood in the courtyard. Kiyo had stopped right before outside. Himiko stopped as soon as she noticed they weren’t running like the others. And those three stopped everything because their friend was endangering herself.

She approached them, which caused a curious head tilt. They had been waving before that moment. It should have been goodbye forever.

“I can’t… let it end like this. It shouldn’t end with you dying like Junko.” 

“Why not? Do you not doubt my feelings? I’m just playing my part after all.”

“Your part, look… about that, listen.”

“And what a grand p-” It seemed like they wanted their final words to be some grandiose speech. 

“We don’t have time, please.” She grabbed them by the hand, watching the school building collapse further as it became less able to hold its own weight with all the holes punched in each wall. Over her shoulder she pleaded with Maki to help move the obstinate murderer. 

The rock above must have spurred Maki on. If she had done nothing, surely both of them would have been crushed. And as painful as it was to keep someone who worked for the captors around she wasn’t about to lose another friend after watching what had happened with Kaito and Kokichi getting themselves killed in that harebrained scheme. 

If it ended like that, it felt like it was disrespecting their plan to stop the killing.

Maki also helped Himiko pull Kiyo away towards an opening that formed after Kiibo blew himself up to take the cage down with him. Four people crawled through, blinded by a bright expanse. 

Birds chirped. Several voices could be heard shouting. It was time to go home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The campus was in a bright field. In fact they could clearly see the ruined courtyard from where they all stood. The wall was broken down and so all that was left behind was the twisted, warped metal of their former cage and the buildings they had walked for the several months they were in a fictional world cut off from everything else.

The line separating the two worlds was broken. It was really that thin the whole time. And it reflected the true reality they found around them. 

It was as unfamiliar as their memory of waking up inside what they had just left. Nobody but the mastermind retained any memory of ever being in this place.

They were led to a hallway by uniformed employees, many rooms lining each side of it. It looked exactly like the dorms that had been in the fictional hope’s peak. Save for the fact all the placards were for them: the survivors and the deceased. 

If there was much spoken, Himiko didn’t pay attention to it. She didn’t know what to say, how to process much of it internally. 

Korekiyo was much more aware and listened, chiming in hoping to be helpful in spite of the fact none of them would want their help. 

The mastermind was almost always scripted to be killed, to be thoroughly and finally defeated by the hope of the students. It was in fact what they had agreed to happen. This class was very different. Shuichi and Kaito and Maki of course, but the whole time Himiko was special too. 

And she didn’t remember why that was. 

They had agreed in private at some point before the procedure to fully become their characters but after the first scene’s rehearsal that it would be terrible if only one of the two had to die. In the moment of escape there was a split second where Kiyo could swear a spark in her eyes indicating some kind of memory of this.

Was it an unspoken acknowledgement? They had to check. If she had really remembered something, then maybe there wasn’t a need to perform a routine as enemies. And they could be forgiven for what happened. At least, more easily so than if she did not recall what things were like leading up to the actual game.

After things settled down, Himiko and Kiyo privately met once again. Both were nervous. 

“Himiko Yumeno. I… would like to ask you something.” 

She didn’t look up, just sitting in the chair and debating whether or not she should be afraid of them. They could go back to being Sister at any point, and that would really freak her out. 

“Go ahead.” the redhead muttered.

“Why did you save me?” Kiyo leaned forward trying to listen more closely.

“I don’t know. I… maybe it was a mistake letting you live. For some reason though I felt… like I had to.”

Maki, Shuichi, and Tsumugi certainly let her know how much of a mistake they thought it was. It didn’t feel good, even if the latter two tried their best to be polite about it. 

“If it makes you feel any better I’m not sure how I feel about this either.”

“Do you… no, did you want to die Kiyo?”

“Yes. I was quite fine with it.” they held their tongue upon finishing, hesitating. That statement was not entirely true. They had accepted it, but part of them still felt bad that only she would get out of this if they had. And that was debatably the worst outcome. The other two options would have been preferable, and they got one of them!

“I… well you know how much I wanted to die in the killing game. How scared I was.”

“I knew how much you wanted to die before, from your audition.”

That reminded her. “Why didn’t you show any from mine then?”

“I…” Kiyo started, rubbing the back of their neck. “I was sure you would hate me even more than you already should if I showed it the way I did the others.”

“Can you show me it?” she perked up a little bit. Why were they so concerned about if she hated them? They certainly seemed willing to tell her all sorts of things even though they were enemies.

They nodded and produced a USB drive. They walked over to a laptop and put it in. “And if you don’t remember anything after this, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Promise?” she pleaded with them.

“Yes.” a small smile was hidden by their mask. Maybe being enemies wasn’t a forever thing.

[occasional-drabbles]

Compress Hates Apologies

Okay so!!! I got into a LOV mood today thanks to re-watching the summer camp arc, and finally did a drabble with my OC Miyuki, partially from Compress's POV! This is pre-relationship, and I couldn't find a way to smoothly add it in, but Compress had been planning to confess to her after the mission.

Warnings: Amnesia, descriptions of injuries but nothing too serious (Bruises and scrapes, mostly), probably a lot of OOCness but fight me it makes me happy

“I’m sorry”

Two little words, and the alarms in Atsuhiro’s brains sounded. They’re never good to hear. It means there is something to apologize for. And in their line of work, there’s terrifying possibilities.

Best case scenario, it’s just an attack too close for comfort, missed footing that is easily corrected.

Worst case scenario…

He dismissed that thought for now, ducking down to dodge an attack aimed at his head, keeping his focus on Miyuki. She was planning something, and he couldn’t tell what. But he couldn’t focus on her, he needed to trust that she’d take care of herself. Right now, he needs to get this little hero off of his back. Sure, he could compress him, but he has no use for him, so why bother?

As Atsuhiro moved to use his cane as a weapon to hit him with, the hero completely froze, and seemed… confused. His eyes glazed over with a lack of focus, his drawn back fist slowly lowering and loosening.

“What in the world…?” He mumbled, his eyes widening behind his partially broken mask, turning his attention quickly towards where Miyuki was. He focused on her just in time to see her collapse. Ignoring the hero, he ran towards her, unable to help flinching with the ‘thud’ that followed her hitting the ground. Hopefully she didn’t break anything, and won’t end up with a concussion…

He reached her just as Kurogiri’s gates started to open for all of them, giving them the chance to finally escape, as all of the heroes they’d just been struggling with had been immobilized similar to the one he’d been going toe to toe with. Wasting no time, he scooped up Miyuki and carried her through the portal. Damage can be assessed once they’re all safe.

The portal deposited them in the main room of their hideout, which was secure enough. He carefully put her on the couch, the most comfortable place for her to be laid down, because like hell he was putting her on the floor. Especially since whatever she did seemed to have been the reason they could escape.

I’m sorry…

What was she apologizing for? Was it just an apology for not being able to warn them better? Not doing it sooner? Did she know she’d pass out? All of that seemed likely, knowing her… but it felt like there was a greater weight to it. Like there was something more… He’ll have to ask her when she wakes up.

If she wakes up, a part of him thought. But he dismissed it as the rest of the League came filing in through the portals. They all seemed relatively exhausted, Twice was limping with parts of his suit torn (though his mask was still thankfully in tact), Spinner’s left eye was already starting to swell, and Toga and Magne both sported some forming bruises. His own coat had a few tears, and he had a scratch on his forehead that he could feel throbbing now that he could take a moment to think about it, thanks to a particularly hard hit having broken off the top corner of his mask. A shame, too. He quite liked this one.

“That was fun!” Toga chimed excitedly, somehow still having enough energy to bounce in place as she started to unstrap some of her combat gear then and there. The blood tanks, the extra knife storage on her thighs, all of it was being put with surprising care against the bar for the moment. Perhaps it’s the fact that she had seen plenty of blood today that she was still happy despite their forced retreat.

“It was epic! That was terrifying!” Came Twice’s response, seeming to at least partially agree with his young friend, groaning as he perched at the bar, spinning just a little as he surveyed the others. No doubt taking in the damages, just as Atsuhiro had just done. Dabi simply grunted in response, his hands shoved in his pockets as usual. He seemed the least ruffled by their little excursion, but then again he was their best ranged fighter. He didn’t need to get in the thick of it.

“That was way more of a response than we should have gotten…” Spinner mused. Or well, pouted, as he set aside his sword and took a seat near Twice, taking the chance to catch his breath, and accepting the ice pack that Toga was putting together for his eye.

Magne came back with the first aid kits that were kept around the base, setting one at the bar for that trio, and bringing the other over to the couch, where Atsuhiro was sitting on the arm and checking over Miyuki as much as he dared, and Dabi was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut.

“What happened to her?” She asked, letting Compress tend to himself while she took her turn checking over Miyuki, checking her for a fever and any obvious injuries. “Small fever, some scrapes and definitely going to have bruising, but I don’t see anything else.” She announced, to anyone who was paying attention.

Atsuhiro gave a small shrug, finally taking off his mask and balaclava in order to tend to the scrape on his head as best as he could. Though, Magne was helping him after he seemed to keep missing where the injury was with the cleaning wipe.

“I’m not sure…” He admitted, sounding almost guilty as he shut his eyes, hissing a little as she put a disinfectant on the cut. “I heard her give an apology, then the heroes all just seemed to… freeze.”

Toga climbed up right next to Twice, kicking her feet and frowning, her eyebrows furrowed. “But why would she apologize? Whatever she did got us out of there! It was so cool!” She beamed.

“I’m not sure, but she must have expected repercussions. Be it from us, the heroes, or maybe even her own quirk?” Spinner offered, though didn’t sound too sure of himself.

It’s true that they didn’t know much about the limits of her quirk… but it was to make people forget her, not to paralyze or disorient them. So it’s not likely to be her quirk, as near as Atsuhiro could tell.

Dabi had his eyes half open now, looking at Miyuki before scoffing. “I’m going to go lay down.” He announced before leaving the room. No one really said anything on it, figuring he was done with people for the day, not that anyone blames him.

Spinner ended up going to do the same after he’d tended to what he could, dragging his sword with him after wrapping it back up, and keeping the ice pack over his eye. Toga, Twice, and Magne stayed out with Compress for now, chatting amongst themselves and recounting their individual battles while waiting for Miyuki to wake up.

It took over an hour before a soft groan broke the silence, the group having migrated to be sitting around the couch. Twice and Toga were on the ground, Twice laying on the floor with his head in Toga’s lap as she ran her fingers through it, absently putting little braids in it, but avoiding his stitching. Magne was leaning against the back of the couch, Compress content to stay on the arm of the couch where he could best see Miyuki’s face. Toga heard the groan better than any of the others, having been the one speaking. She immediately froze before lighting up, scrambling up to her knees so quickly that Twice’s head thunked to the ground, but she ignored his complaints as she shuffled over to get in Miyuki’s face, despite Magne carefully putting her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder and trying to nudge her back.

“You’re awake! You had us really worried, you know that?” Toga asked, absolutely beaming down at her other sister figure.

Miyuki finally managed to open her eyes, rubbing at her head as though it ached, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Who…?” She mumbled, pulling her legs up a bit closer to herself as she worked on sitting up.

Something wasn’t right….

Toga tilted her head for a moment before just laughing “It’s Toga, silly! You must have hit your head when you fell!” She tried, not too concerned just yet.

“Toga…?” Miyuki mimicked, slowly curling up in the corner of the couch, similar to how she did when she first got to the base… before she knew them.

Atsuhiro felt his heart drop to his stomach before she had the chance to speak again, a sick feeling in his gut.

“I don’t remember you.”

Toga blinked a few times as it slowly seemed to register. “Don’t… remember me?” She echoed, shifting to sit back on her feet. Twice was sitting cross legged beside her, having to put his mask back on at some point, but openly surprised at the admission.

Miyuki shook her head a little, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Do you remember who you are?” Magne asked, keeping her tone soft, and careful not to crowd her.

It took too much thought for Atsuhiro’s comfort for her to answer. “Miyuki… that’s my name… right? Miyuki… Nakashima?”

Magne nodded, her posture relaxing a bit. “Okay, that’s something at least. Do you remember any of us?” She asked, gesturing to the four of them around her. Miyuki started with Twice, staring at him thoughtfully for a bit before shaking her head, repeating the process with Toga. She focused on Magne next, and again remembered nothing.

Then she focused on Atsuhiro, and he thought his heart was going to stop. There was none of that familiarity in her eyes. No familiarity, no amusement, or mischief, no relief… nothing. Just… confusion. And a bit of fear. He managed to keep from flinching when she shook her head again. “I’m sorry…” Came her soft apology. Atsuhiro was starting to hate those words.

Magne gave her a soft smile, gently smoothing out her hair, getting some of it out of her hair. It was a mess, but that wasn’t important right now. “That’s okay, dear.” She reassured softly. “I’m thinking you just pushed your quirk, and lost your own memories.”

Twice perked up at that “That’s why everyone froze! They forgot what they were doing! How can you lose your own memories! Keep track of that shit!”

Toga seemed relieved that that was all it was. “Will you get your memories back??” She asked eagerly, trying once again to get in Miyuki’s face, held back by Twice this time, who caught her in a playful headlock.

Miyuki considered before giving an uncertain shrug. She was back to not talking much.

“That’s okay.” Atsuhiro finally said, giving her one of his signature charming smiles, even if he didn’t feel like it. She needed their support, so she gets it. His feelings be damned. She’s surrounded by strangers with hardly any memories to her name, he needs to focus on her. “We can help you try to get those memories back, and in the meantime get you up to speed.”

His reassurance seemed to be what she needed, as she gave a hesitant nod and uncurled a tiny bit. At least she was opening up to them quicker than she did the first time. It probably helped that they knew her better now.

“Wait… how do we tell Boss?” Toga asked, frowning. “He may not like having one member down for the count…”

“Yeah, she can’t do her information stuff if she doesn’t remember anything! We should kick her out! She’s useless like this!”

Magne huffed a bit and rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. “I can tell him when he gets back from his meeting with his ‘Master’. Or we can have Kurogiri do it or something. We just need to see how things go. But she can still help, so long as she wants to.” She insisted. Then she turned her focus back to Miyuki. “In the meantime, you should get some rest. It’s been a busy day for you. For all of us.” She said, expression softening some.

“Compress, do you mind-”

“Not in the slightest, my dear.” Atsuhiro answered before she could even finish, standing from the couch and offering a hand to Miyuki. Remembering how much she always seemed to appreciate his showmanship, he even gave a playful bow, taking his hat off and everything. Hearing the faint, familiar giggle as she took his hand, he felt some of his anxiety about the situation pass. It really would be okay. She was still Miyuki.

She was still the woman he’d fallen for.

[malecsecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, magnus-the-maqnificent!

For @magnus-the-maqnificent. Greetings!I hope your holiday season has been good.You honestly challenged me a bit with your request because you made me think of soulmates in a different light.Thank you for the new perspective and challenge.Enjoy.

Read On AO3

*****

Strawberry Expectations

Chapter 1

“Please wait to the side, and your name will be called out shortly,” Alec directed as he handed the professor her receipt back. “It should only take five minutes.”

“No worries, I’m just glad I made it before the evening rush.” she politely excused herself and went to the side to play on her phone while she waited.

Alec turned and pressed the button so the order would pass over to Bat, who was working at the coffee machines today. He turned back and started to wipe down the counter. The customer had been right. In a few minutes, the 5 pm classes would release, and college students would flood the small college coffee shop. Alec knew he only had a short amount of time before that happened.

“Excuse me, this isn’t peppermint, right?”

A melodic voice pulled Alec from his thoughts, only for them to steal his breath. He knew those words. Not the voice attached them, but he knew those words, and had memorized them since the first time they had appeared on his shoulder blade. He recalled standing with his back to the bathroom mirror as his fingers swept over the intricate text.

When Alec got the job at the small cafe, he knew that there would be a few times where he would hear that line and not be his soulmate. Alec was well aware of how common his soul mark’s words were when working during the holiday season. Still, this was the first time someone had spoken the words.

Alec looked up, finally to see who had said his words, and immediately felt his stomach start to flutter. The man in front of him looked to be around his age, and by the backpack slung over his back, he was a college student just like him. Alec tried not to make it evident while checking out the other student, but the way the other’s chocolate eyes followed his own assured Alec that the student had caught him. Alec quickly looked instead to where he was pointing and was glad to see that it was some of their sugar cookies with strawberries in them; the specks of red in the soft colored cookie often gave the impression of a candy cane flavor.

“N-No strawberry, is that okay?” Alec cursed at himself when he stuttered his reply.  Alec tried to reason with himself that there was still a high chance that the student wasn’t even his soulmate. But when Alec looked up to see them again, the other man’s wide eyes stared back at him.

“Are you allergic to strawberries?” the man asked in a hurry.

“No, they are my favorite fruit,” Alec found himself answering for some reason. He didn’t understand what was compelling him to this man. Alec didn’t know if it was the soul mark or himself trying to fool him into thinking he was lucky enough to find his soulmate on the first try. Alec shook himself back into reality and tried to mask his nerves. “Would you like one of the cookies with a drink?”

“I’m Magnus,” the man, Magnus, replied instead, extending his hand out for Alec to shake. “You’re Alec, right?”

Alec wondered for a second how Magnus knew his name and remembered he was at work and had a badge with his name on it. He took the offered hand and instantly understood why Magnus had acted so oddly and asked about strawberries. Alec felt a slight burn on his shoulder blade where his soul mark was and understood.

“Look,” Magnus called out to Alec as he rolled up his sleeve and allowed him to stare at the shining text.

‘N-No strawberry, is that okay?’

Alec saw his response to Magnus, neatly displayed on the other’s arm. It still held a soft golden glow to it,  from just having established the bond.

“Dammit, Alec, only you could get yourself out of rush hour with a bond!” Bat cried out, annoyed behind him. “Go on, then. I’ll call Clary in to cover for you.”

Alec was still trying to process what was happening and why Bat was yelling at him about the Bond Protection Act. His mind was buzzing from the events. Then he felt a small squeeze on his hand, and he started to focus back on Magnus.

Magnus had his soul mark.

Magnus’ words were on his shoulder.

Magnus looked so beautiful with his slightly tinted blue hair styled perfectly, so that only a few strands fell over his eyes.

Then the panic started to return. Alec had no clue what came next. Everyone talked about the moment they met their soulmate, but no one ever explained the steps between finding them and loving them.

They surely couldn’t expect you to love a total stranger you just met. Right?

Alec’s eyes kept shifting between Magnus and the mark still displayed on his soulmate’s arm. The golden glow had subsided entirely now, and all that was left behind was the neat black text clinging to Magnus’ arm. The words brought an indescribable warmth over Alec, but with it came the whispers of uncertainty on what was to come. What ifs flooded Alec’s mind, robbing him of the small joy from the bonding.

Alec shifted his eyes away from the other and stood frozen behind the counter. His mind riffled through every romcom Izzy forced him to consume, and came back empty. None of the movies had ever talked about what was supposed to happen now.

Chapter 2

“Darling, are you okay?” Magnus asked as he looked at Alec, concerned. He hoped that the cafe employee was okay. He had come here looking for a pick me up after one of his professor’s monotone lectures and instead found his soulmate. “Alec?”

“Give him a moment,” the other attendant told him. “He’s free to go when you get him to move. Tell him not to worry about it; I will sign the witness papers if it comes to it.”

Since the initiation of a soul bond could sometimes disorient the pair, the government had agreed with doctors and set a protection law that allowed freshly initiated soul bonds a leave for two days to balance themselves without repercussions. A witness was only necessary if someone thought a pair was faking a bond initiation to get free time off. It was rare, but some people were that deplorable.  

“You said my words,” Alec finally responded to him. “That was the first time anyone said them all in the correct order .”

Magnus understood the meaning of that. He, too, had heard many variances of the words on his arm. Magnus had allowed himself to cling to them only for him to end up crushed when the person would utter ‘I don’t like them’ instead of ‘is that okay?’, or the one time Magnus had tightly held on only for the last word to be wrong. Magnus knew that a soulmate wasn’t something he needed in his life. On his own, Magnus was strong enough to survive if he ever happened to be one of the 33% of the population that never found their soulmate. Still, Magnus couldn’t help how his heart skipped a beat at Alec’s wide eyes and adorable expression when Alec looked at Magnus’ soul mark.

The silent moment between them seemed to span, and as it did, Magnus watched as Alec’s expression turned to panic. He watched as the chime from the opening door startled Alec into the present. Magnus could hear the chattering of groups of customers starting to flood the cafe. He saw the way Alec began to rub the back of his neck and realized that this wasn’t the place they should have their conversation. Magnus lived on campus, but he didn’t want Alec to feel trapped in a room with him.

Magnus started to hear the students and professors behind him lining up. His mind was racing, trying to come up with a neutral private area. It wasn’t till he heard someone behind him complain about forgetting their student ID, because of that they couldn’t access the library, that Magnus found the right location.

“I think we should go somewhere else,” he offered, motioning to the people slowly starting to flood the small college cafe. “We can rent a room from the library to talk privately.”

“Yeah. Let’s go,” Alec mumbled to him in response.

Magnus watched as Alec grabbed some things from behind the counter and shoved his hat and name tag in a backpack. He followed Alec’s lead, and after an apologetic wave at Bat, they both headed out to the filled sidewalks.

The silence continued between them as they both made their journey through the campus. Magnus stole glances at the other, observing how Alec was fidgeting with his backpack as they reached the library. He started to question if Alec was instead one of the rare few who never intended to meet their soulmate, and wondered if he had forced Alec to follow him out of pity. Magnus thought of how maybe his soulmate was only following him so that Alec could reject him in private.

He opened the grand library entrance for Alec, while offering him a small smile.

“Thank you,” Alec softly responded as he entered the building.

Magnus followed after him and felt his heart start to summersault again from Alec’s shy smile. Even if Alec didn’t want to explore the bond romantically, Magnus silently hoped Alec would at least entertain the idea of a friendship. Magnus wouldn’t mind the idea of being friends; if he was honest, he preferred to know Alec before starting a relationship, but he would honor and accept whatever Alec offered him. He had witnessed what happened when a soulmate bond was forced and twisted into love. Magnus refused to put Alec through that.

“Study room for two, please,” Magnus said as he handed the library assistant his student ID. “They need yours as well.”

He watched as Alec jumped once again and shuffled quickly to retrieve his card from his back pocket.

“Sorry. Here you go,” Alec apologized, as he handed his card over to the clerk.

“No worries, at least you both have your IDs.” She took their cards and started to input their data. “I’ve had people come in here thinking we would rent them books or rooms with only their ID number and not the ID itself. Alright, you two have one hour in room 25; it’s the last one on the left down the hall. If you need it for longer, only one of you has to come back to renew it for another hour. Both of you can keep doing so, unless we have a queue.”

“Thank you,” they both chorused, causing them to stare at each other for a second.

“Shall we?” Magnus took the red card the clerk gave them to put outside the door. He watched as Alec nodded and made his way to the room. Magnus could feel his stress rising. He had always been confident when he did things, but this was uncharted territory, and he was afraid of sinking.  

Chapter 3

They both entered the room, shutting the door behind them after placing the red card on the small outside sleeve.

Alec looked around the room and took in the window wall framing the door they entered. He assumed it was glass, so no students got any creative ideas while using the spaces. Alec watched his soulmate close the door and enter the room.

Magnus was trying his best to calm himself. The walk from the cafe to the library hadn’t been as soothing as he thought it would be. Magnus placed his backpack on the wooden table and pulled one of the four chairs out for himself. He drew the bag close to himself and looked up at Alec.

“I don’t know how this normally goes, if I’m honest,” Magnus confessed, as he watched Alec take his seat across from him. “Better introductions might help us get started. I’m Magnus Bane. I’m a sophomore and currently live on campus. I’m happy you aren’t allergic to strawberries.”

“I’m Alec Lightwood,” Alec responded, relieved that Magnus had taken the lead in the conversation. He wasn’t precisely uncomfortable with the situation; he just didn’t know what to do, “I’m a freshman but a sophomore in credits. I live off-campus with my twin sister and our brother. I still don’t understand why you keep saying the stuff about a strawberry allergy.”

“Well, darling,” Magnus replied, watching the way Alec slightly blushed at the endearment, “When I first got my soul mark, my dearest friends thought it was funny to put in my head all of the scenarios in which I could meet you. Ragnor and Raphael used to be fond of teasing me about eating strawberries, telling me to enjoy them while I could, in case your line meant you were allergic to them.”  

Alec found himself laughing at Magnus’ statement. Jace had attempted the same with him, but he had always thought it just meant his soulmate didn’t enjoy the taste of peppermint.

“Just to be clear, I do like strawberries,” Alec replied while trying to suppress his laughter. “I take it you don’t like peppermint, though, or are you allergic?”

“I like some peppermint stuff, but I’m not keen on it being in my baked goods,” Magnus explained. He found himself staring at Alec and the way his eyes would crease a bit when he laughed. Magnus had been afraid that his soulmate would proceed to reject him as soon as the door shut. Instead, Alec was indulging him and enjoying himself. The conversation seemed easy; sure, it was awkward, but it didn’t feel forced.

“Wait! Lightwood related to Isabelle Lightwood?” Magnus asked as he recalled one of the girls in his Design Study class. Now that Magnus had a better look at Alec, he could see the girl and Alec’s resemblance.

“That’s my younger twin sister,” Alec proudly confirmed. “Are you in the fashion design program as well?”

“Yes, I had to do the introduction course this semester since I didn’t know they only offered it during the Fall and not Spring last year,” Magnus explained. He started to feel more at ease as the conversation flew by. The thought of Alec rejecting him was still present in Magnus’ mind, but it was like a faraway echo now. “What are you studying?”

“I am going for a bachelors in education,” Alec answered. He stopped fidgeting with his backpack and risked another look at his soulmate. Alec still couldn’t believe this was who fate had decided was destined for him. He noticed how it wasn’t just his hair that Magnus styled to perfection. Alec noticed his soulmate’s nails as he drummed them on the table. Magnus had painted them with a deep blue that matched the intricate designs on Magnus’ white shirt. “So you want to be a fashion designer?”

“That’s the dream,” Magnus answered. “So you have two siblings and want to be a teacher?”

“Three, I am the oldest,” Alec smiled at the turn the questions were taking. Talking about his family or degree were things he was capable of doing. “I want to be a child counselor. I am double majoring in education and psychology.”

“Wow!” Magnus exclaimed, surprised by Alec’s ambition. He was already buried in course work and intimidated by his degree plan. Magnus couldn’t imagine adding another degree to it as well.

“It can be a bit much at times, but it will be worth it,” Alec smiled as he explained. “Honestly, I am surprised I was able to meet my soulmate. Izzy and Jace kept teasing me that with the amount of time I spend in the library or study center, my soulmate had to be either a librarian or someone at the center itself.”

“Guess we have my economics professor to thank for that,” Magnus teased. “If he hadn’t driven me so close to slumber, I wouldn’t have gone to your work and met you.”

“Mr. Starkweather?” Alec asked. He attended an economics course, too, so Alec wondered if Magnus had the same teacher but a later class.

“You have him too?”

“Sadly,” Alec responded with a grimace. “I don’t understand why he hands out so many reading assignments. He is the only professor that uses the textbook. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad we are at least getting to use the ninety dollar thing.”        

“Ninety? Mine was over a hundred! Where did you get yours?” Magnus asked. The book had initially been two hundred dollars, and he had found it online for almost half that price. Magnus had searched for a full week, convinced he had the cheapest option.

“I got lucky one of Izzy’s friends was a sophomore and took the class last year,” Alec explained triumphantly. “She needed the money for some new books, and the school store was only going to give her fifty for it.”  

“Lucky!” Magnus agreed. He enjoyed this side of Alec and wouldn’t mind getting to explore more of it. “Is your cafe work part of work-study?”

“Yeah, I was hoping the library would be hiring, but you can’t be picky with work-study since they take it if you don’t use it in time,” Alec groaned. When the semester started, he had hoped that he could get a position as a library assistant or even a book sorter but no luck. “Serving coffee isn’t so bad. The worst part is getting yelled at cause you put one too many ls or ms in someone’s name on the cup.”

“People yell at you for that?”

“Not often but once or twice we’ve served customers like that. Bat just smiles at them while they yell and have their tantrum. It scares and frustrates them that he won’t respond,” Alec smiled as he recalled the man who just gave up and left with his drink. He heard as Magnus chuckled at his story and decided that he really wanted to listen to that sound again. Magnus’ laughter, even as a chuckle, was beautiful. The fear and uncertainty of having met his soulmate had subsided and in its place was excitement. Alec wanted to get to know this man more. “Do you have work-study?”

“Yes, but I’m the lucky one this time; I work at the dorms as the person who signs in people who want to visit the residents,” Magnus smiled and started to play with his rings. “I do get my share of problematic people, though.”

“Let me guess they forget their student ID?”

“They forget their student ID,” Magnus confirmed with another chuckle. “It’s even worse because we can also accept their driver’s license or state ID but guess what? They usually don’t have those either! I swear what person goes to campus and doesn’t think to bring some form of identification.”  

Alec smiled as he watched Magnus rant about his work. He started to think that maybe he could see a future with Magnus. Not immediately a romantic one, but Alec wanted to see where his soulmate could lead him.

“I think our hour is about to run out,” Magnus stated, looking at his phone. “We can ask for another hour if you want?”

“I can’t.” Alec regretfully answered. He knew it was a mistake when he saw the way Magnus’ eyes lost some of their previous shine. Alec truly wanted to spend more time with Magnus. But he was supposed to pick up Jace from some art exhibit he attended because of a girl.

“I understand,” Magnus smiled at him and tried his best to hide his disappointment. Magnus thought he could talk Alec into giving them a chance, but perhaps he had spoken too much. Magnus stopped himself before his mind dove too deep into those thoughts. If his soulmate didn’t want him as he was, Magnus wouldn’t betray himself. He refused to change himself for anyone else but his own whims. “Hope we can hang out again soon.”

Alec watched frozen as Magnus started to move away from the table and straighten himself up. He realized  Magnus hadn’t understood what he meant and that had been partially his fault. Alec knew he didn’t always pick the best words to express himself. Magnus was already pushing his chair back in, when Alec heard the tender statement.

‘We are Lightwoods, big brother. We break noses and accept the consequences.’

He didn’t know if his little sister’s words applied right now, but he refused to let Magnus walk out of there, believing Alec had no intention of seeing him again. Maybe there was a chance that he was misreading this, and Magnus was relieved that Aled didn’t ask him to stay longer, but Alec was willing to accept the outcome if that was the case.

“I was wondering if you would like to come out to a small show with my siblings and some friends tomorrow,” Alec took the chance and reached out to grab Magnus’ sleeve as he spoke. Alec had pulled his backpack off the table in a quick motion and spilled some of his things. None of that mattered to him right now, though. His focus was entirely on Magnus right now.

“I don’t know what the proper etiquette for soulmates is, but I would like to see you again.”

Magnus stopped, turning to look at Alec in shock. He had been so sure that the other had just politely rejected him. Magnus had never been so glad to be proven wrong about something.

“I don’t think there is a proper etiquette,” Magnus answered as he turned to face Alec properly. He could see the sincerity in Alec’s eyes and knew he wasn’t doing this out of pity for his soulmate. “I think we should just do what feels right for both of us. I want to see you again as well, darling.”

Magnus watched as the light blush returned to his soulmate’s face and relished in the fact that he had caused it. He was still in uncharted territory, but it seemed less scary with Alec beside him.

“I’m not asking for a date, I think that’s too soon for us, but I would like the chance to get to know you,” Magnus continued with his newfound bravery, “maybe we could start as friends and see where that takes us?”  

“Yes,” Alec immediately responded and decided that honesty was his best bet now. “I know everyone says that once you meet your soulmate, your whole life and relationship will just fall into place, like some sort of fairy tale ending. While that sounds nice, I want to know the person better before I jump into anything.”

“So we'll go slow, get to know each other first, and go from there,” Magnus reiterated.  

“My sister’s boyfriend has a show coming up,” Alec stated, rubbing the back of his neck. “He isn’t great, but the food at the bar he is playing at is good. I-I don’t mean like a date, but maybe we could talk more there?”

“I’m sure if your sister is dating him, he can’t be that bad of a musician,” Magnus teased. “If you tell me the day, I can check, since I do have some evening classes.”

“It’s tomorrow,” Alec provided and remembered Magnus lived on campus so probably didn’t have a car. “I could pick you up? You could invite some of your friends as well.”

“Friday is one of my easy days. I should be able to make it,” Magnus eagerly agreed and noticed a paper that had fallen from Alec’s backpack.  He kneeled and picked up the sheet, seeing something interesting in passing it. Magnus stood back up, sporting a smirk, and handed the paper back to Alec. “Here you go, Alexander .”

Alec’s hand stopped mid-reach when he heard his full name. He had never liked how his name sounded when others called him, but Magnus made it sound like a gentle call home, rather than the scolding he expected. Alec picked up his bag and took the sheet, still stuck on the way his name sounded coming from Magnus’s lips.

“As much as I would love to associate seeing you with coffee, I think it is better if we exchanged numbers,” Magnus suggested as he watched Alec stuff everything back into his backpack.  Magnus noticed how Alec’s ears had turned red from him saying his full name. Magnus didn’t know still where things were going with Alec, but he knew his soulmate interested him. Not just as someone he could see himself dating - though that was a desirable option - but as someone who Magnus wanted to keep in his life.

“Here,” Alec held up a small piece of paper to Magnus. “I usually keep my phone on silent, but I check it often.”  

“No worries, darling. I promise not to text you during your classes,” Magnus teased as he took the paper and retrieved his phone from his pocket. He quickly sent off a text and saw Alec smiling, looking at his phone. “Now you have my number as well.”

“I promise not to text you during classes as well, though I don’t know when that is,” Alec offered and saved Magnus’ phone number. He looked at the clock on his phone and grimaced. As much as Alec wanted to keep talking and getting to know Magnus, he was already going to be ten minutes late to pick-up Jace. “I have to go, though. I promised Jace I would pick him up.”  

“No problem, Alexander,” Magnus smiled as he opened the door, seeing how once again Alec had slightly frozen when he used his full name. “I can stop using it, sorry.”

“No! I d-don’t mind when you use it,” Alec stuttered and turned to the side a bit to hide the blush making its way up to his face.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Magnus replied with a smirk and grabbed the red card from the door. “I’ll see you around, Alexander. Don’t be a stranger. Text me.”

“I will,” Alec called out as Magnus waved. He knew his sister was going to ask him a million questions, but it was okay. Magnus was another topic Alec didn’t think he’d mind talking about.

[unaccomplishedwriter]

- s a v i o r -

. Nicholas Scratch x Reader .

Prologue

{PART ONE}

“No.”

A furious hiss rang out, making the red backdrop of this particular confrontation all the more intimidating. A figure cowered in the corner, ignored for the time being by the malevolent being contorting his face in deep, malicious hatred before (y/n).

She almost found herself afraid, but then she felt the faint but unmistakable presence of the soul pulsing deep within the body in front of her.  

“I am the Dark Lord! I am Satan, the DEVIL, your kind shall have NO control over me!” spat the man.  

She closed her eyes for a moment, reminding herself of who she was and why she was here. The very existence of the aforementioned soul was why she was sent here, meant to commune with the Dark Lord himself. As a celestial, it should have normally been impossible for the Fates to grasp his tangible soul, yet here he was. Assigned to her, a rookie in every sense of the word. Could Fate be so cruel to assign one of its daughters the monumental task of curbing a literal universe-implicant apocalypse in her freshly assigned star domain?

Well, certainly it could.

“You are the Devil,” (y/n) stated calmly, “but where has the Devil found himself? Trapped in mortal flesh. The cosmos are imbalanced, and frankly I need an explanation before the Fates decide to wipe out this domain completely.”

As curses were rained down upon her by this literal god-forsaken man, (y/n) reflected on how she’d found herself here in the first place. Unlucky star domains were assigned at random, even this process being left to Fate. Not every stela has the responsibility of managing an Unlucky star domain, but, bright eyed and bushy tailed, she chose the longer option of waiting it out for one as her very own. The appearance of an unlucky fated star in a domain usually heralded an impending apocalypse, which was not uncommon for her kind to see and mitigate. But when she received her star and its respective domain, the Fates themselves were horrified at the sheer scope of catastrophe this domain had the potential to cause. Not just one, but several sects and gods were implicated as the haze over this domain was lifted for the first time. Being the dwelling ground of various sects of power, Greendale had never fallen into normal confines of Fate as these powers masked its existence to the stela. With the removal of the Dark Lord from Hell, his soul was binded to a mortal’s, his celestial existence ceasing, in a sense, while he was confined to the flesh acheron. Now with a tangible soul, the Dark Lord became subject to Fate, and in its attempts at bringing this domain back under its control he received an official fated star. The downtrodden celestial bore the the brightest unlucky star seen in millenia, only to appear just as (y/n) was receiving an assignment of her own. With the balance of power now out of whack, the haze that surrounded the domain that encompassed Greendale’s living was now visible in the star chart for the first time ever. As she felt the strings of fate tie her to the souls and fated stars of those of Greendale, she felt true fear for once in her life. Greendale was home to a bed of unending changes and terrors, certainly too much for the young stela to handle alone. Notifying the Fates was her first plan of action, but they couldn’t go back in Time, and the most they could do was allow the help of others when needed. (Y/n) knew she was being watched closely, and could very well be responsible for a catastrophe if she wasn’t careful.

And as she looked at the raging, childish man in front of her, she couldn’t help but to blame him.

“Shut up.” She inflected, voice thick with irritation. Ignoring the deeply offended and murderous look that fixed upon the man’s face, she cut off any attempt at retribution by raising her palm, cutting him off.

“If you want things to go back to normal, we need to work together. Whatever you are, you’re under my domain now. That means you help me, I help you. If you don’t,” she shrugged, “you and this entire world will probably be destroyed. Doesn’t mean much more than a demotion for me, but for you...”

Honestly, (y/n) was definitely underexaggerating the ramifications for herself should she fail at her assignment. But she was 100% correct in saying that the Dark Lord didn’t really have a choice in complying with her if he wanted things to go back to how they were. The man seemed aware of that, because he immediately began pacing, his voice a thunderous growl.

“Those bitches! They betrayed me! They all did. I’ll kill them all!”  he screeched, violently waving his hands.

It took quite some persuasion for (y/n) to calm him down enough to extract the full story, and if she were being honest with herself she was pretty impressed with the witches’ sense of self-preservation.  

“That explains the appearance of your star. Your soul must be entangled with the mortal you’re trapped with. His star...” (y/n) trailed off, eyebrows furrowing. In her star chart, alongside the Dark Lord’s fated star was a dim, dying one. The star was obviously feeding off the energy of the weaker one, dimming it’s owner’s connection to their fate.

What this meant for them, she didn’t know.

Upon this thought, her eyes immediately flashed to the figure hunched in the corner. Studying it carefully, she observed a boy in his late teens, early twenties, hands over his head and mumbling to himself. The boy did not seem well, and it wasn’t until she saw the same odd split in his soul she observed previously that she remembered who he was trapped here with did (y/n) finally get the full picture of what happened here.

The Dark Lord’s soul was also split, meant to represent his celestial self and the break unto mortal flesh. But this boy’s soul had been split and essentially shared with the Dark Lord, rendering him incomplete.

It the most unfortunate soul she’d ever seen.  

(Y/n)’s wasn’t the only attention spotlighted onto the boy, the Dark Lord immediately turning his ire to the one who’s body held him captive. Not willing to see the poor figure being tortured, she made a sigil, and with a flash the gloomy red scenery turned white.

Now they were alone.

It seemed as if the boy didn’t notice the change in scenery, because he didn’t even flinch as he rocked back and forth, mumbled jargon pouring listlessly from his mouth.

It wasn’t until (y/n) drew closer and rested her hands upon his face, palms glowing silver as she calmed his mind best she could that she received a reaction from him, his hands shooting up and gripping her own.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she cooed, her eyes searching for his. (Y/e/c) eyes met brown eyes, anguish and torture reflecting in muddy pools that stared dazedly back at her. As a sort of celestial being herself, (y/n) was able to send small, gentle waves of her presence washing over his body until his mind cleared a bit more. She couldn’t undo what the Dark Lord had done to him, but she was confident that her presence at the moment was at least relieving some of the burden.

“Who are you?”

he croaked, eyes flooding with tears. This was the first time he’d felt relief in what felt like an eternity, and all he could focus on was the figure in front of him. His grip tightened around her wrists, but she didn’t mind. Threading a hand in his hair, (y/n) settled herself between the boy’s knees, getting as close as she possibly could.

“I’m here to help you. It’s okay,” she repeated.

“Wh-where did he go? The..the Dark Lord,” he squeezed out, muscles tensing up at the mere mention of the alias. (Y/n) felt her heart go out to him, her own eyes becoming misty as well.

“I sent him to...sleep. He will be back, but not for a while at least.”

Of course she couldn’t separate them completely, they were still in Hell of course. Her powers weren’t nearly as strong here, and she could only offer temporary reprieve.  But it was something, she thought, and that’s what matters.

“What’s your name?” she questioned, intending to keep his mind present and away from dark, straying thoughts. He stayed silent for a while, attempting to anchor himself to the present as he focused on the healing effect washing over his mind.

“...it’s Nick,” he eventually responded, his breathing deeper and less erratic. They sat there in silence for a long while, her presence giving him comfort and his warmth making her feel inexplicable.  

Eventually, (y/n) felt her form starting to fade as her stolen time in Hell, aided by the Fates, approached its limit. He must have felt it too, because he grabbed her hand once again and used the other to caress her face,

“Will you come back?”  

Begging eyes met hers once again, and (y/n) felt her heart clinch. Visiting Hell for as long as she has took not only her power but the power of the Fates as well. If she came here alone again, it wouldn’t be for nearly as long, and would exhaust a huge chunk of her power every time she did so. But as she faced the boy in front of her, she couldn’t find it in herself to say no.

With whispered promises and broken sobs, (y/n) eventually found herself amongst her people once again, with a lot of explaining to do.

But even as the Fates shook her down for information, why could her mind only muster up images of the boy steeped in tragedy?

Author’s note: once again, I apologize for formatting!

[revangerang]

Fate’s Reprise

Synopsis: As Kagome struggles to find her place after her return to the Sengoku Jidai, Rin is kidnapped and she must join up with Sesshoumaru to get her back. But is there something more to all this than a simple youkai attack?

This first chapter of my first ever fic has been in the works for over a year now, so I figure it’s about time to just do the thing and post it. I posted a previous version of this back at that time for kaoruhana’s New Years Challenge on Dokuga, but this is the final product! I hope you enjoy coming on this journey with me~

This fic will mostly stick to manga canon, except if I don’t feel like it haha

Btw with regard to scent, please try to envision the actual scents rather than the like yankee candle imitation kind~

[AO3] ~ [FFnet] ~ [Dokuga]

Chapter 1: Prologue

Kagome’s head was beginning to spin in an overwhelmed frenzy. There were too many people. Too many faces, too many names. Too many expectations for the woman she was supposed to be.

[[MORE]]

Around her, revelers laughed and danced, ate and drank, visited stalls and participated in various festivities. When they saw her as they mingled, they engaged her in conversation and urged her to join in whatever fun they were having.

“Miko-sama, thank you once again for tending to my daughter in her illness,” said a man whose name possibly started with an N. “It is thanks to you she is here today.”

She hid her panic beneath a wide smile and did her best to make conversation without revealing that she remembered absolutely nothing about these people who were supposed to be her neighbors.

She was saved- and once again distraught- by a group of preteens who dragged her off to dance with them. She did her best to keep up with the moves, but they were so foreign to her. She felt her already pounding heart speed up with the physical exertion, and the determination not to let them down.

A young boy approached her, and she broke away from the dancers.

“Miko-sama, will you play that game again with me and my friends?” His face was lit up with an expectant smile.

Did that happen? Had she played a game with this child? When?

“Of course I will!” she beamed down at him, trying to keep her voice pitched with enthusiasm rather than panic. She hoped the noise of the crowd helped to hide it.

“Hurray!” he shouted. He grabbed her hand and suddenly began dragging her through the festival at a near-run.

She wracked her brain to remember who the child was and what game she was about to be expected to play, while trying to avoid running into anything or tripping over her feet in her traditional waraji sandals.

They flew by banners celebrating the anniversary of Naraku’s defeat, strung up on the tops of stalls which were selling the same banners in miniature, alongside masks and small charms. There were even charms made to look like the Shikon no Tama, she noticed with a gasp.

Her eyes widened in shock and surprise, and her heart clenched painfully. She wanted to laugh and cry- who would have thought those silly keychains of her grandpa’s had gotten their start all the way back here, just a few years after the jewel was rid from the world. Jii-chan would be so proud. But he was now lost to her forever on the other side of the well.

As she was still being led through the maze of stalls by the child, she blinked back her tears- and immediately ran into someone. Her hand slipped from the child’s grasp as she stumbled slightly to the side. Her momentum was still propelling her forward as she spun in place to apologize. She hit another festival-goer, and sent a stand of masks toppling over.

“Miko-sama!” several voices called nearby, hands reaching out.

“I’m so sorr-!” Suddenly, deafening booms rang out with great flashes of light.

Kagome jumped and shrieked, and as the fireworks continued to ring out she breathed a quick “excuse me” and fled, as fast as she dared, into Inuyasha’s forest, unable to handle any more.

~ ~ ~

Sesshoumaru leaned down and placed his hand gently atop Rin’s head. His ward turned her bright eyes from the empty sky where moments before she had been admiring the glittering fireworks.“I’m so glad you came to celebrate with us, Sesshomaru-sama!”

“Hn.” He nodded to her, eyes softening. She was no longer such a tiny thing, but was not yet a young woman. Leaving her here in the village had been the right choice: she was learning the ways of her people well. He had no doubt she would be well-suited to whatever choice she made for her future.

His hand lingered a moment longer before he turned to walk from the festival grounds. Though the festivities would be going on for a while yet, he felt he had properly fulfilled his obligation, and was much more content to observe the rest from a distance. He kicked Jaken for good measure, knocking him out, after the imp began a diatribe about how all the lowly humans should be honored to be graced with the presence of a taiyoukai such as the Great Sesshoumaru-sama.

As he made his way across the edge of the field, he noticed the Miko’s scent leading off into the trees. It was fresh, and it had a strong tinge of fear and distress. He reached out his awareness, but could sense no hostile presence nearby. Odd. He relaxed his muscles, which had begun tensing to rush to face the potential threat. Curious, he followed her scent and pulsing reiki a ways into the forest.

When he found her, the sight that greeted him sent a momentary flash of frost through his veins. He had never before seen the Miko in such a state. Even when he had very nearly killed her, she had always been bold and utterly fearless. She had never cowered as she should, but brazenly stood her ground, glaring and even chastising him.

But now she was huddled down on the forest floor, her form curling tightly around her knees where she knelt. Her face was pressed down to the grass, her arms wrapped around her head. She was trembling and scarcely breathing. Her heart beat wildly like an erratic bird. He inhaled lightly. He could detect neither blood nor tears. What could be affecting the woman so?

“Are you quite well, Miko?”

~ ~ ~

The further Kagome had gone into the forest and away from the festival, the more her swirling thoughts seemed to overwhelm and paralyze her.

Why had she just taken off like that? What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just do what she was supposed to do? Be who she was supposed to be? Why had she even come back here to the past? She was so far from everything she had known and loved for her entire life, aside from the one single year she had spent shard-hunting. And even that life had been completely different from life in the village. She didn’t know how to live here. She didn’t know how to do this.

Slowly, she descended to the ground, her limbs stiff. On her knees, she sank further down, curling around herself. Her eyes were wide, staring blankly at the grass before her; the breaths she took were coming in tiny sips of air. She began to tremble.

In the back of her mind, she felt Sesshoumaru’s presence coming closer, as that singular thought repeated itself, louder and louder, nearly screaming in her head: I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to do this! I don’t know how to do this!

“Are you quite well, Miko?”

At the use of her title, she made a small strangled gasp.

Miko. That person she was unable to be. That role she was unable to fill.

She knew she should sit up and reply, but her body wasn’t working properly. She managed to lift her head from the ground and turn her sad, panicked eyes to meet his.

He regarded her for a moment, then turned to walk away. Her heart clenched and all she knew was she didn’t want him to leave.

“Please,” she shook her head. “Where..?”

He paused. “To retrieve the Hanyou.”

“No-“

He looked at her.

“No, please. I don’t- want him here.” Not like this. She couldn’t handle that right now.

“Please,” she said again, imploring him with her eyes. “I need-“ Something. Company. Something to ground her to reality.

He gave a barely perceptible nod and turned back to face her.

Slowly, she sat up, her wide eyes coming to rest on her lap.

A child’s exuberant laughter rang out over the din of the festival. A breeze rustled the branches overhead, sending leaves down like confetti. Kagome gave a pained chuckle. It seems even nature has expectations of me.

“I don’t even know what I’m doing here,” she told him quietly.

“Do you not wish to be?”

“I did. I don’t know. I thought it would be good. I missed being here, being on adventures, being with my friends. But it’s been years! I’ve changed. They’ve changed. Except Inuyasha, but somehow that’s even worse. I’ve grown and moved on ahead while he’s stayed the same. And living here in the village is nothing like my life here before. And it’s nothing like the life I was studying and preparing for back home either.” She clenched her fists resting on her knees. “I just. I feel so lost. But I’m the Shikon Miko- everyone has all these expectations of me built up since I’ve been gone, and I don’t know if I can ever fulfill them.” Kagome let out a breath as she finished. It felt good to voice her thoughts. Even if Sesshomaru didn’t care, he had at least listened.

She looked up at him, wondering what he was thinking, and if the taciturn taiyoukai would say anything.

~ ~ ~

Sesshomaru paused when the Miko haltingly asked him to remain with her.

After a moment, she began to tell him what troubled her. As she spoke, her body began to calm. There was still lingering worry and sadness in her scent, but it was not nearly so pronounced as before, when it had been nearly a beacon. It seemed words were the correct method of helping her.

When she had finished speaking, he took a seat at the base of a tree: one leg propped up and an arm draping languidly across it.

“You miss your home.”

“Yes, very much.” She smiled sadly at him.

“Is it so different there?”

She blinked at him. “Oh. Did you never- No one told you where I come from?”

He raised a brow. Did she truly expect him to have paid attention to such a trivial detail?

“Well,” she paused, seeming hesitant. “I was born and raised right on this very land- 500 years in the future.”

Indeed? How intriguing. He could scent no lie, and it explained her strange mannerisms and the clothing she wore prior to her disappearance. He regarded her now. He had never given the Miko much thought- she had always been his brother’s interfering human wench, and then she was his brother’s powerful miko. It seemed she had been worthy of closer attention.

“Hn, you are quite far from home,” he said finally. “How did you come to be here?”

“On my fifteenth birthday, a centipede youkai appeared and dragged me through the well on my family’s shrine. When I climbed out, I was here in the past.”

Ah. The well from that time after the final battle… That certainly explained some things.

“You see, the power of the Shikon no Tama awakened her, and she ended up tearing it out of my body.”

“From within you?” He gave her an appraising glance.

“Yes. I had no idea before then, but we think I was born with it inside of me, because,” she shifted, looking a bit uncomfortable, “I’m Kikyou’s reincarnation, and she died holding the jewel.”

“The undead miko.”

“Yeah, that’s why she wasn’t able to be revived properly, and always had to have her shinidamachuu gathering souls. The witch who brought her back tried to transfer my reincarnated soul to Kikyou, but I was able to call it back.”

Her lifeless body regained her very soul on her own power?

“Hn. And so you were able to pass through the well to this time.”

“Yeah. With the jewel, I could pass back and forth freely- Inuyasha, too. Of course, when he came, we would have him hide his ears with a bandana or hat.” She smiled fondly. “But when the jewel disappeared, the well was closed.”

“And yet you were able to return.”

“I’m still not sure how I was able to come back here without the jewel… I hadn’t even checked the well for a few months since I was so busy with graduating, but right afterwords I went to the well house and the well was open. I couldn’t believe it! I didn’t want to miss my chance, so I jumped. I think maybe my heart was just ready to return, and the well responded to that.”

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. Somehow, that didn’t sit well with him. His instincts told him there must be more to how the well opened again, and he didn’t like the implications. Their business with the jewel should be years behind them now.

The miko seemed to think his expression was directed at her, because she began hurriedly defending herself, arms fluttering about.

“I mean, I know I maybe should have put a bit more thought and preparation into it, but it felt like one of those now-or-never things, you know? I don’t know, maybe I’m foolish, but I think I would have regretted it if I hadn’t. Well, that is… Sure, I also have my regrets about doing it. But I guess this is one of those times where there is no right decision. Anyways, the well opening again had to mean something, right? Like it was my fate to come back here…” She took a breath, seeming more confident. “Either way, I made the choice, so all I can do is go forward from there.”

It seemed the Miko had found her answers for herself, so Sesshoumaru merely inclined his head.

After a moment, he asked, “How did the jewel come to be broken?”

She grimaced. “A crow youkai took it, and because of the power of the jewel, it was able to continue reforming itself after Inuyasha struck it down. It was starting to escape, flying too far away to catch, but I had the idea to attach its foot to an arrow.”

“So that it would be attracted back to the main body.” Clever.

“Uh-huh,” she nodded with a slight smile. “But it worked a little too well and the arrow went straight into the jewel, and the shards kinda exploded across the countryside.” She looked away with a self-deprecating chuckle. “So yeah this whole thing was basically my fault… That’s why I kept coming back to this time, so I could fix my mistake.”

“The strategy was sound,” he assured her, her head to shooting up as she met his gaze. “You could not have anticipated such an unlikely result. Even so, you have honor and set about to rectify the situation. You are strong, Miko. If the coward Naraku had not been so fond of his games, it should have been a simple task to regain the shards.”

“You’re right, he was a total coward. I guess there was no helping it. I’m just glad that’s all behind us,” she sighed.

“Hnn.” He looked to the trees swaying in a light evening breeze, scattering moonlight among them. He was not so sure of that.

~ ~ ~

Kagome felt much calmer now. Aside from Sesshoumaru’s stoic and calming presence, remembering her first days in the past made her realize just how far she had really come since then. It was easy to forget in these days of peace in the village. She might still have a lot to learn, but look at all that she had already been able to do! And while saving the world, to boot.

She still wasn’t so sure she had made the right decision to come back, but there was no use worrying about what might have been. She stood and dusted off her hakama.

“Thank you for listening, Sesshoumaru.”

He gave a courteous nod.

She took a few steps, but then turned back to him. “I know you’re probably out here to get away from the commotion, but we could share a drink if you’d like?” she said with a nod of her head toward the festival.

She thought he would reject her offer, but after a moment he inclined his head. “This Sesshoumaru would like to hear of your home, Miko.”

Kagome laughed internally at his grandiose manner. Always having to act above it all, even for something as simple as sharing a drink… But it made her happy to think they may be beginning to get along just a bit.

Outwardly, she smiled. “Okay, but that will probably be hard with all the noise of the festival. Why don’t I go grab us some sake and I’ll be right back?”

He sent her off with a slight flick of his chin.

Now that she was calmer, the festival looked completely different. As she strolled casually to find the sake vendor, she smiled genuinely and greeted those she saw. She still felt a bit ashamed and frustrated at her memory issues, but it was probably just a case of too many changes too quickly. I hope.

Passing through the various stalls, she saw the souvenir stand selling little Shikon no Tama charms. She started to walk past but something made her change her mind. Her smile turned a bit bittersweet. It would be nice to have one of these to remind me of Jii-chan.

Her eyes instinctively scanned for one meant for students, before she realized that they wouldn’t have them and that she had no need for one anymore anyways. Feeling strange, she glanced over the options.

She didn’t need one for protection, Inuyasha always protected her and- as she had just remembered- she wasn’t too shabby at protecting herself these days either. She also had no need for safe travels now that she lived in the village. The one for good health and protection from illness would certainly be an ironic choice. But it would also remind her of Houjou-kun, who had often bombarded her with such talismans. That boy was just too eager, she sighed to herself. She briefly eyed the charm meant to bring love, but it just felt too pathetic. She would work things out with Inuyasha on her own. Besides, if this was something she carried on her person it would be embarrassing. There was no such thing as good luck in her opinion, so that was also a pass. Ignoring the ones meant for expectant mothers and businessmen, that left just one option.

Selecting one with the word yaku-yoke on it, Kagome paid the vendor and held it up to look at a moment longer. Yes, that felt right. The original had been such a source of evil, having one meant to deflect evil was the best choice. Running her thumb over the charm, she stuck it in her sleeve and continued on to find what she had come for.

After acquiring a sake bottle and a pair of shallow dishes, Kagome spotted a stall selling dango and decided to get some of those as well. As she was ordering, a calm, familiar voice called from behind her.

“Kagome-sama, I see you’re having similar cravings to our dear Sango.”

“Miroku-sama,” she smiled. “So Sango-chan sent you to get her some, did she?”

“And of course the children want whatever Mama’s having,” he said, making a show of clutching his purse ruefully.

Laughing, Kagome patted him on the shoulder. “Such a good father! Are you enjoying the festival?”

“Of course! Why don’t you come join us?”

“Maybe in a little while,” she said, indicating the two sets of food and drink in her hands.

“Ah,” he said sagely, “off to spend some time with Inuyasha?”

“Actually, it’s strange, but Sesshoumaru and I are having a bit of a chat. I guess he’s curious about the world on the other side of the well.” It wasn’t a lie, and no one else needed to know about her little breakdown.

Miroku raised his brows, but merely said, “How interesting.”

“I’ll be sure to come hang out with you guys in a bit, okay?” She waved- or rather vaguely raised the hand holding the sake bottle- and headed back towards the forest.

She wondered what she could tell Sesshoumaru about her own time… If this were a modern victory celebration, it might be more like a fancy cocktail party, and there would be champagne instead of sake, she thought, glancing down at the bottle she carried. She wondered what champagne tasted like- she still wasn’t of age by modern standards- and now I’ll never know, she realized a bit sadly.

Shaking her head to save herself from that downward spiral, she marched herself back to where Sesshoumaru was waiting.

~ ~ ~

Sesshomaru was a bit surprised with himself for accepting the miko’s offer. Though he was decidedly curious about her home.

And it concerned him about her ability to return. Yes, that was truly worrisome. Had the foolish hanyou and the others not considered this? Perhaps they were too blind in their gladness to have her again. And perhaps a bit too content in their victory and the ensuing peace. Humans were prone to ignoring that which they did not wish to see, after all.

In any case, he may need to keep a closer eye on things here. It would not do to have Rin put in any danger. That was quite contrary to her purpose for being in the village.

Knowing the miko would be a few minutes yet, he rose and made his way leisurely over to the clearing where the well stood. There wasn’t much to be found there, however. No lingering traces of power, nor scent of any recent presence. By all appearances it was merely an unextraordinary dry old well. He leapt down into its depths, but no more information was forthcoming. With one more glance around the stony walls above him, he gave a displeased sniff and leapt out gracefully, heading back to the place the miko would be expecting him.

After several minutes he caught her scent approaching- the light sweet scent of roses and the somewhat fuller yet subtler sweetness of almond, along with the bright pine scent of her happiness. Good, that suited the miko much more than the previous bitter tang of her distress, like unripe berries.

Sitting with his back to the same tree where she had left him, he did not turn his eyes from the moon as she approached. He sensed her turn to follow his gaze, and she gave a contented sigh.

“It is so beautiful here. I’ve always loved the night sky, but back home it’s nothing compared to this. The city lights are so bright, you can only make out a few stars, really.”

“City?”

“Yep. By my time, this place is known as Tokyo, and it’s actually the capital of Japan. My family lives in a small house on a shrine near the Goshinboku and the Bone Eaters Well, but all around it are tall high-rise buildings, and a little ways downtown are enormous skyscrapers that tower into the sky- the tallest one has 70 stories!”

Surprised, he turned his attention to her. Humans had changed little in the centuries he had been alive; would they truly change so much in the few hundred years from now? “What is the purpose of such buildings?”

“Well, there’s a lot of people… more than ten million I think, living in the city. And several times that in the area surrounding it. So to make space for all the homes and businesses, they kind of had to go upwards,” she said, pointing her finger up.

That many humans in one place? He tried to imagine it. “And you climb up all of these many stories?”

She laughed softly, “Well, some people do, but mostly we use things called elevators, which are like carts that go up and down using a pulley system.”

He could see the logic in such a system. Clever.

She moved to sit near him then, setting down what she was holding and offering him a sake dish. He took it with a small incline of his head, and she filled it with sake. He filled hers in turn, and she smiled before taking a sip. Long fingers brought his own cup to his lips, and he turned to look at the sky once more.

From the corner of his eye he saw her pick up one of the sticks of dango she had brought, then she settled a bit more comfortably before speaking again. “We had all kinds of machines that do all kinds of different things. It’s really convenient and a lot are pretty cool, too. Like cars and trains- vehicles that take us around the city quickly- and planes which we use to fly anywhere in the world.”

Another surprise. Humans achieving flight. Simply incredible.

“And we’ve even been to the moon, you know,” she said gleefully.

His eyes widened and he turned to look at her again.

Her smile grew. “Yep! There’s these rockets that blast out so much power that they’re able to leave the atmosphere completely and go to space! The people who ride them, astronauts, have these special suits with canisters of air so that they can breathe and stuff.”

He gazed at the moon. He had tried to reach it once, when he was younger. He had wanted to see just how high he could go, but the air thinned so much that his youki was too unstable to propel himself further and he was unable to continue. So humans will achieve what I could not…

With a sniff, he asked, “And what of yourself, Miko? What did you do in this future of yours?”

“Well, I was still a student.”

“At your age you still had not proceeded beyond apprenticeship?” He knew the miko to be intelligent and capable, so this came as a surprise to him.

“Ah, no. Where I come from, I’m actually not considered an adult yet- not till I’m twenty years old. I wouldn’t even be able to drink this sake back home,” she said with a laugh.

“What were you in training for?”

“I had just completed high school before I came back here, that’s just general classes that everyone takes. And then I would have gone on to university where I would have chosen a career path, and depending on what that was I could have gone on to do that in a few years, or else taken several more years of schooling.”

“Your people are quite educated then,” he said, impressed.

“Yep,” she gave a proud smile. “Inuyasha and the others never really understood why I had to work so hard. He always complained when I brought out my textbooks to study while we were searching for the shards. But just because some stupid spider was being a jerk didn’t mean I could fail my classes.”

She had worked on her studies even then? “Your dedication is truly admirable.”

Her eyes lit up. “THANK you! Geez, everyone else always acted like I was crazy.” She wilted a bit. “Well, maybe I was, since I ended up coming to live back here anyways…”

“No, Miko. Bettering oneself is always a worthy endeavor.”

She blinked in surprise, then smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, Sesshoumaru.”

He gave a nod, and turned back to the sky again. The pair sat in companionable silence for a while. They continued filling their cups, and he caught the gentle maple leaf scent of her contentment bubbling up.

~ ~ ~

As they sat enjoying the sake and the sparkling stars, Kagome felt a surge of gladness. After all the anxiety of the day and all the build up of negative emotions, she never would have expected to end up having such a pleasant time, and especially not with Sesshoumaru of all people.

Glancing up at him, she wondered what he was thinking. He was always so reserved it almost seemed like he didn’t feel anything at all, but then there were rare times like tonight… He had still been reserved, but he had shown some concern for her and helped her through her distress. And now he was sharing a drink with her, and had even praised her.

Honestly, it was damn nice to have someone actually appreciate not just the hard work she had done, but also why she had done it. After weeks of nothing but major culture gaps, this one bit of understanding was an innate connection she had been missing.

As she took in the sight of his striking moonlit face, a pleasant warmth spread through her, and she put it down to the sake starting to take effect.

After a few minutes of peaceful silence between them, Kagome noticed the sounds of the festival music picking up. This would probably be the height of the night’s festivities, and before long it would all be winding down.

Stretching her arms out in front of her before returning them to her lap, she let out a happy sigh. “I told the others that I’d meet up with them, so I should probably get back there. This was... nice. Thank you, Sesshoumaru. I guess I didn’t end up telling you all that much about my time though, did I?” She hesitated a moment. “If you want, I could tell you more some other time?”

He inclined his head to her before looking back to the sky. “Go see to your friends, Miko.”

She flushed a bit- was it from happiness or embarrassment? Perhaps both. Or maybe it was just the sake.

Picking up the now empty sake decanter and cups, she left Sesshoumaru to his stargazing and made her way back towards the village. She deposited the items with the sake vendor, and set out in search of her friends.

When she reached the space set aside for dancing, Sango called out to her from across the field. With a wave, Kagome made her way over to where her friend was sitting, and joined her in watching her children. The twins were among the crowd of dancers along with Shippou, Rin, and Kohaku, trying to keep up with the bigger kids’ moves.

Kagome clasped her hands over her heart. “They are so precious!”

“Just like their mother,” Miroku said, as he and Inuyasha joined them.

“Keh! At least they aren’t pulling on my ears.” Inuyasha huffed and folded his arms into his sleeves.

Kagome laughed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him affectionately.

Miroku, with baby Mori cradled to his shoulder, moved to stand behind his wife, casually placing a hand on her back. Inuyasha remained a ways away, leaving the trio between himself and Kagome, looking away with a slightly uncomfortable expression.

Kagome pressed her lips together and went back to observing the crowd. It can’t be helped- I’ve only been back in the Sengoku Jidai for a short time after all. It’s only natural there’s some difficulty in resuming our relationship. I just have to give it time, right?

She wished he’d be a bit more grown-up about it, though. Why does he have to get all defensive? It seems like every time I try to talk to him about it, things end up even worse than before.

He had always been a bit prickly and had a hard time being open with his feelings, but had it really been this bad? She sighed. She’d just have to wait for him to come to her. It was starting to get tiring though.

“I remember dancing like this during celebrations back home,” Sango said with a fond, bittersweet smile.

Kagome turned her attention back to her friend. “Really? That must have been a lot of fun. Why aren’t you out there dancing too?”

“I’m surprised you aren’t, Kagome-chan.”

“Ah, well I was but… I really don’t know these dances.”

“Oh, of course.” Sango offered an apologetic smile.

After a moment, Kagome made up her mind. She looked over to her friend with a determined grin. “Will you teach me, Sango-chan?

“Eh? Me?”

“Yeah! Come on, let’s go dance!” She took Sango’s arm and led her away from their seats.

“Have fun, ladies!” Miroku called after them, waving little Mori’s arm.

They joined up with the children, and soon they were laughing and dancing and teasing each other. All her worries were temporarily forgotten. Looking into each of her companions’ smiling faces, Kagome felt so glad to be right where she was. Especially on such an occasion where everyone was together again. She’d only been back a few weeks, and since Shippou was busy with kitsune school and Kohaku was off doing his taijiya duties, she’d hardly seen either of them. Even Jaken was there, clearly bullied by Rin into dancing with them. He was squawking and making a fuss, but she could tell he was happy to be included. She smiled fondly at Kohaku, and then she grabbed Shippou into a crushing hug, suddenly overcome with feeling.

“Wah! Kagome! ” he laughed.

“I missed you, kiddo,” she beamed down at him, ruffling his hair.

He made a show of fixing his hair, but beamed right back up at her. “I missed you too, Kagome. I’m so happy you’re back. Sorry I’m gone all the time, and you have to deal with stupid Inuyasha,” he stuck out his tongue.

It was so funny how Shippou acted like he disliked Inuyasha, though she knew he really loved him and looked up to him. She suddenly thought of Souta. He idolized Inuyasha so much as a kid- No. She was not going to be sad right now. This was the time to be happy with her friends.

She poked Shippou’s cheek with a silly smile. “It’s okay, you’re off making me proud at Kitsune school.”

She wondered how Souta was doing in school- No! She shook her head, and as a new song started up, she jumped back into dancing.

Kohaku was currently impressing Rin with some moves he’d picked up on his travels. Apparently the dance was becoming quite popular in some of the big towns. Humans really never change, do they? Kagome smiled to herself, joining the others in trying to learn this new dance.

She was actually starting to get the hang of some of these dance moves, and as she got into the groove, she was caught up in the euphoria of her wonderful company and pumping blood. But at the height of her excitement, just as she was doing a little twirl, she stopped dead. For the briefest of moments she had suddenly felt that long-forgotten and all-too-familiar pull of the Shikon no Tama. She stretched out her awareness, but could feel nothing.

“Are you okay, Kagome-sama?”

Blinking, Kagome looked down into the concerned face of Rin. “Ah, yes, it’s nothing,” she assured her, smiling. Great, am I imagining things now?

The rest of her friends had also stopped dancing and looked at her with concern. “Don’t worry, I just got a little dizzy for a second. I’m fine, really.” To prove her point, she took Rin’s hands and began guiding her back into dancing again. Letting go, she continued her own dance, subtly checking to see that the others had gone back to dancing too. Breathing an internal sigh of relief, she tried to get back into the spirit of things herself.

This was all she needed on top of everything else. Memory problems, being jumpy and panicking over nothing, constant worry and sadness about her home, and now paranoia and imagining things that weren’t there?

No, she was probably just tipsy, and all that spinning and moving around had jumbled her senses, that’s all. And her nerves had already been frazzled this evening. It was so brief that now she wasn’t even sure she had felt it to begin with. And if she had felt something, well, she had been in the modern era away from any kind of magic for so long, she probably wouldn’t actually recognize the feeling of the jewel if she truly felt it. It could have been anything, really.

She cursed her traitorous mind for the zillionth time that night, and firmly set aside all thought on the matter.

~ ~ ~

After the Miko left, Sesshoumaru stayed a while gazing at the moon. He glanced down at the remaining stick of dango. She had clearly left it there for him inconspicuously. It would be a shame for it to go to waste. Picking it up gingerly, he took a bite of the sticky treat and thought on his unexpected encounter that evening.

He had learned much more about the miko than he had ever thought to. He supposed he should have realized how unique she was from the start. If he admitted it to himself, she had caught his attention during that very first meeting. How had a human survived his Dokkasou? At the time, he attributed it merely to Tessaiga’s power, re-categorizing her in his mind as an ordinary human, to his dissatisfaction. But over time she had grudgingly won his respect with her power and daring- not least of which against himself. She displayed true honor and loyalty as well.

Beyond that, he had never given her much thought, however.

Yet he now knew her to be a child of the future, educated beyond perhaps even his own level of schooling, diligent and determined. And not only possessing of her own great power, but born with that accursed jewel of power within her very body. One did not often meet creatures such as she.

When he found her earlier that night, he had been perturbed. Such a distressed state did not suit the woman. It was strange, but he found he was glad to have contributed to her improved mood.

He wanted to know more about this future of hers. He was a curious being, after all. And her company wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, she was much like Rin in her expressive antics and ability to read him without much input on his part. Yes, he believed he would be seeking out her company once more. He needed to spend more time around the village at any rate, to ensure no issue came of that well.

As he thought, he found himself wandering back towards the festival grounds. The miko was among her friends, laughing and dancing. Rin seemed to be enjoying herself as well, he noted with approval as she briefly met his eye.

He marveled at the miko’s joyful demeanor. She was truly resilient to overcome her episode of distress to already be in such high spirits. He noticed when she stopped for a moment, seeming disturbed once more, but she quickly recovered and went back to her revelry. It seemed she was not truly past those feelings, then. Yet she was doing her best not to allow them to hamper her again.

You will find your place here, Miko. If his experience with her was anything to go by, she would in fact make her own place with little problem. She was never shy to insert herself into situations which she had nothing to do with, and were even a danger to her. Making a life for herself in the village was a simple matter.

Though perhaps not with Inuyasha, he mused. The festivities were dying down and the crowd was dispersing, and the two had come together, but did not seem to be connecting well. There was indeed a sort of barrier between them as she had indicated.

Hn. It matters not to This Sesshoumaru. The time had come for him to collect his vassal and bid farewell to his ward.

~ ~ ~

The music came to an end as Kagome panted and clutched her side. “I haven’t danced so much in a long time! Thanks for teaching us Kohaku-kun, you're a great dancer!”

He smiled bashfully and cast a glance to Shippou and Rin. “I don’t know about that, Kagome-sama. But tonight was a lot of fun.”

“Hey, I wonder if there’s any more dango left?” Shippou piped up, herding Rin and Kohaku towards the stalls where the vendors were beginning to clean up, Jaken squawking after them. “Come on, let’s go guys! See you at Kaede-obaba’s, Kagome!” he called over his shoulder.

Sango put her hands on her hips and looked down at Izumi and Megumi. “Alright, it’s time for bed, you two! Say goodnight.”

“Aw, Mamma….” the girls pouted.

“But we wanna stay with Auntie Kagome!” Megumi pleaded.

“Please!” Izumi joined in.

Kagome squatted down and booped them each on the nose. “Listen to your mama, you two. We can play more tomorrow, if you want.”

“Okay…” They slumped their little shoulders. “Goodnight,” they said in unison.

“See you tomorrow, Kagome-chan.” Sango took the twins by the hand and joined her husband.

They both reached up their little hands to Miroku. “Up, Daddy, up!”

“Okay, okay,” he laughed. “Goodnight, Kagome-sama,” Miroku called as he handed the baby to his wife and lifted up the two bigger children to carry them home.

“Goodnight!” Kagome smiled at the sweet scene. She was so happy that her friends had gotten together and were able to have their happy family after everything they had been through. And she was able to be here to be a part of it. As much as she missed her home, she wouldn’t miss this for the world. She only hoped she and Inuyasha would soon do the same.

She glanced over and saw him still standing where she had left him and Miroku earlier. His ear twitched as he noticed her attention on him. She smiled and made her way over to him.

“Phew! I’m beat!” she sighed, wiping her brow.

His mouth quirked up into that cocky smile of his she loved so much. “What did you expect with all that weird waving around you were doing?”

“It wasn’t weird!” she mock-pouted, clenching her fists. “We were having fun, and it is the very latest trend, I’ll have you know,” she said, pointing a finger at him.

“That was? You humans are always coming up with weird stuff, aren’t you?” he scratched his cheek. “I can see why everything in your time is so crazy.”

Her eyes flashed with pain for an instant, before she again distanced herself from thoughts of her home.

He seemed to notice however, and his face got serious again. “You know, Kagome, you can go back.”

“No! Why would you say that, Inuyasha? You know I want to be here. With you. With everyone. We don’t even know if the well will take me home, but without the jewel I won’t risk not being able to come back here again.” She looked seriously into his eyes. “I made my decision a long time ago, you know that.” She reached out to hold his hand, but he shifted away from her.

“I know, Kagome, I just want you to be happy.” He folded his arms into his sleeves again.

The sting of rejection was building up within her again, but she refused to allow it to overcome her. Biting her lip, she ventured, “Y’know the kids were saying there might still be some dango left. Wanna go-“

“That stuff is all mushy and always gets stuck in my teeth,” he said, sticking out his tongue. “Those brats probably already got any that was left anyways.”

She resisted the urge to chastise him for calling the kids ‘brats.’ “We could go for a little stroll maybe? The moon is nice tonight. I haven’t seen you much these past few days.” A light breeze picked up, and she rubbed her arms.

His ear twitched again. “It’s the moon, the same as any other night. You should just go back to the village.”

“Okay…” If he didn’t want to hang out, there was nothing she could do. Rubbing her arms again to relieve the chill that had started to set in, she hesitated another moment. Thinking of nothing else to say, she finally bit out, “Well, goodnight.” Turning to walk away, she winced at herself. That had sounded dejected even to her ears.

It was fine. He had been off fighting youkai with Miroku-sama for most of the week, and then immediately helped with the festival as soon as he got back. He was probably just tired. He didn’t have to hang out with her all the time. She wasn’t so insecure as that.

So why did her heart hurt so much?

She paused to breathe in some fresh air, looking up to the sky for comfort. The image blurred, and she looked away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Stupid moon. Stupid Inuyasha… Stupid Kagome.

She took another deep breath and patted her cheeks. What she needed to do was just go back to the hut, where she knew Kaede-baachan would already be preparing some soothing tea before bed, cuddle up in the futon with her two favorite kiddos, and get some sleep. She gave a weak smile. She was so happy to have Shippou-chan back for a few days. And it was nice sharing a hut with Kaede-baachan and Rin-chan since she had been back in the Sengoku Jidai. Even if things weren’t going exactly the way she had hoped, she was still glad to be here with everyone.

With another soft glance at the moon, she took a last fortifying breath and set off towards the hut.

~ ~ ~

Sesshoumaru found his vassal and ward with the young taijiya and kit, haranguing the dango seller for scraps as the man was packing up his things.

“Rin.”

The girl brightened and rushed over to him, stopping before him in that sudden manner of hers just a few feet away.

“Did you not have your fill of sweets earlier this evening?”

She had the grace to look guilty. “Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama.”

[Cont. here]

[tsipasce]

Same Difference Ch. 13

A/N: sorry for the late upload for anyone following, I’ve been pretty lax on uploading on here bc of the low interaction with these posts (I think like 3 people read this, maybe lol). But I’m going to try and upload them here just in case. 

Chapters: 01  |  02 |  03 |  04 | 05  | 06 | 07 | 08 |  09 |  10 |  11 | 12

AO3 | FFN

 “We need to talk. Now.”

“Yes. That’s why we’re on the phone.”

“We don’t have time for games today. You need to come to the base immediately.”

She’d recognize that “not now, Nanami” tone anywhere. Whatever it was, it was serious. Switching gears mentally to brace for the impending shitstorm, she exhaled,” Give me 30 minutes.”

“20.”

“What? That’s not even realisti—” she stopped, hearing the phone click. Rolling her eyes, she watched her friend exit the post office and walk over to the car.

“So, I say we go to that new brunch place first and then—wait what’s wrong?” Hitomi pivoted recognizing her friend was much less enthused than when she’d left. Nanami turned to her, an apologetic look on her face. “The hospital has you on-call again, huh?”

“Duty calls, sadly.” She felt bad about lying, but knew she’d feel worse if Hitomi got caught up in her mess. “Though I don’t know how long it’ll take so we might be able to salvage the day.”

“No, it’s ok, I understand. Take your time, we can always hang tomorrow or later in the week. When do you need to be there?”

“… in 20 minutes.”

“That’s unrealistic.”

“That’s what I tried to tell hi—I mean them, but it’s an emergency. Mind dropping me off at my house?”

“You got it. I’ll drive, you watch for cops.” Before Nanami could protest, Hitomi screeched out of the parking lot and back down the road they came.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 Waving bye to her friend, Nanami hurriedly grabbed her keys and work bag just in case the talk carried over to lab work. Running down to her car, she sped over to the base, basically rolling out of the car when she arrived as there were only 5 minutes to spare. Hearing a noise, she reflexively turned to look but continued running forward. Suddenly she felt herself run into a solid figure as she bounced back, falling onto her soon-to-be-late keester. Regaining her bearings, she looked up and saw an older gentleman in traditional attire, his hair slicked back and his face serious.

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” she apologized, giving him an earnest look.

He paused for a beat before giving her a kind smile, offering his hand to help her up, “That’s alright miss, no need to apologize. Where are you off to in such a hurry anyway?”

Crap, how do I get out of this one… she strategized inwardly on how to answer the question discreetly without sounding rude. “Oh nowhere, I just have to… make a house call! I’m a doctor, and my patient’s a massive germaphobe; very needy, you see.” She laughed awkwardly, hoping he bought it.

At her last comment, she could’ve sworn she saw a look of recognition flash across his face, but figured it was her imagination. “Oh, I see. Well he’s a lucky man to have you. As such an attentive caretaker, I mean. I won’t hold you up any longer, have a nice day Dr… what did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t.” She smiled, “You have a nice day too!” She said as she continued her jog to the base. She looked back to see him waving, returning it as she rounded the corner. Well that was close.

Once at the front gate, the door opened before she knocked, an irritated Overhaul waiting on the other side. “What took you so long. I said 20.”

“And I was going to say that was unrealistic before you rudely hung up on me. Besides, I would’ve actually gotten here on time if not for your friendly neighbors. I don’t know how the HOA of this neighborhood decided to let you of all people in. Everyone else seems so nice.” She pouted.

“What are you rambling about?”

“Your neighbor? I ran into an old man outside—I didn’t tell him where I was going or why I was here, obviously—but he seemed nice, if not a tad nosey.”

At this she saw him pause, “… What did he say to you?” The question much meeker than the last.

“Uhm, I bumped into him by accident, so he just asked where I was going, told me to have a nice day... oh! Also, how lucky you are to have me. You know, obvious stuff.” His brows raised before she quickly clarified the last statement, “As a doctor! I told him I was your doctor. He was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.”

Though he donned his usual mask, she could tell his features had softened at whatever he was thinking. She’d even bet there was a small smile forming, but at what she wasn’t sure, “Hm, I see. Well, there’s no use in loitering around, let’s go.”

“Well you’re the one that stopped but ok” she said under her breath. He turned, giving her a warning look as she shrugged, raising her hands in faux surrender.

They continued down the usual pathway in the underground base before reaching his office and passing it, going down a hallway she wasn’t familiar with. It gradually became much darker the further they went, and the air temperature felt as though it had dropped at least 10 degrees, almost causing her to shiver. After what felt like an indefinite amount of time they arrived at a door, but before Overhaul could reach the handle, it opened, a panicked Kurono standing in the doorway.

“He had a pill.”

Looking past him, Nanami could see the assailant from the night before. Though he was savagely beaten, it was apparent he’d killed himself with whatever pill was hidden in his mouth as foam was formed around it, his body still going through its final convulsions. Working in a large hospital, she’d seen her fair share of people dying, but to say it got any easier would be a half-truth. The vision was familiar, but it was still unpleasant, no matter who it was. In contrast, Overhaul seemed irritated for a second before realizing something and returning to his stoic expression.

“No matter, we got all we needed from him anyway. Follow me,” he directed at her as he left the room and Kurono to dispose of the body. Nanami somberly followed, mentally giving the man a moment of silence. Whatever happened, she knew the importance of remaining objective in the presence of death. There might come a time when she’d make some bad decisions herself—to put it ever so lightly— and she hoped whoever was there in her last moments wouldn’t relish in her death either. They arrived at the door of his office, the clicking of the handle rousing her from her thoughts. He sat down across from her on one couch as she sat on the other, now feeling a bit out of place in her casual attire.

“It seems you have a price on your head.”

“Hm?” Nanami squeaked, her face that of disbelief.

“The lackeys that tried to take you were sent by the head of the Okumura clan, a rival organization. He seems sure you have a unique ability and learning of our partnership only seemed to confirm this.”

“Bu…But I was so careful. I don’t talk to anyone about us, I take weird routes every time I come here, I always use the burner ph—“ she began frantically before he cut in.

“You were not at fault for this. One of the new recruits was abducted. He didn’t know much, but he gave enough information to pique their interest.”

“And what happened to him?”

He was surprised at the question, but answered anyway, “He was set free after the questioning.”

“Well where is he now? Maybe he can tell us something useful about them and what else they want.”

“He’s no longer with us.”

“… Like he quit?”

“…”

“Overhaul.”

“… As I said, he’s no longer with us.” They stared at each other, Nanami now knowing the “snitches get stitches” saying to be only half true. Something tells me stiches wouldn’t help him now… She sighed, his blank expression unwavering as he continued, “Also, there is no ‘us’ when it comes to you and I and the Okumura. You will stay here until this problem is solved.”

“I’m gonna do what now?”

“You heard me. Your apartment is no longer safe. Considering they probably expected to see their men return last night with you captured, they will undoubtedly send more to finish the job.”

She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again. She knew it wasn’t safe to stay at her place, but staying at the base was just a lot, especially if her assumption about not being able to leave was correct. “Ok, but I have work and a life. Am I just supposed to hide here and put all that on hold?”

“Would you rather put it on hold or have it all end?”

“…That’s not fair.”

“Most things aren’t.”

She shifted in her seat biting her lip, realizing she was losing the argument. Every counter she came up with she mentally shot down before speaking it. I could stay at Hitomi’s house? No, they’d just follow me there and attack her too, or worse… I could stay at home and defend my place? Except they wouldn’t stop coming. My place would be trashed and then the neighbors would find out...I could...

“I could go in myself and get them. It’s my head they’re after, I’ll just have to convince them it’s not worth the trouble.”

He gave her a pitiable look, knowing the suggestion was equal parts blind bravery and desperation, “Your training with Rappa has made you a capable fighter, but are you really prepared to kill another person, permanently? Dozens of them? Simply maiming them wouldn’t be enough, they’d keep coming until…” He paused as he saw her look down in defeat, her fists clenched in her lap, her jaw tightening. She was angry—mad as hell—but she knew he was right. She was a fighter, not a killer, and no amount of training could change that overnight. She knew the logical solution to the problem, but her nature wouldn’t allow her to solve it. Seated across from her, his head tilted as he gazed at her pensively. Overhaul couldn’t figure out why but seeing her so upset was… unpleasant. He wanted nothing more than to make it stop, though the motivation behind the action remained a mystery. “Dr. Watanabe,” He continued slightly softer than before, her fists unclenching for a moment at the change in tone, “Your strengths lie elsewhere. Strategically, it makes the most sense for you to be here. It will only be for two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” Nanami could tell he was trying, but the frustration with the situation lingered. Attempting to calm herself and accept reality, she finally managed to respond,” Can I at least get my stuff first?”

“Yes, but let’s be quick about it.”

“’Let’s?”

“You didn’t really think you were going alone, did you?”

“No!... Well, yes. Fine, let’s go.”

[within-thehollowcrown]

You Could See Me From The Dark

Elijah Mikaelson x OC

Word Count: 1476

Warnings: alcohol mention, language, death mention, angst, mainly just a lot of angst.

a/n: This was written for @xxwritemeastoryxx​ 1k challenge. Very heartfelt 

congratulations on 1K! Song prompt is “Sorry” by Aquilo. This is my first fic in this fandom so bear with me.

She hadn’t made a noise but Elijah knew she was there from the moment she entered the study. Though his back was to her, he could smell the spice of her perfume, could hear the pounding of her heart.

Peering into the amber contents of his glass, he shifted in his chair.

“Is there something I can assist you with, Brianna?” He asked the witch with detached politeness.

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for a week, Elijah.” The agitation in her voice was unmistakable. “I know this technology stuff is new to you, but would it kill you to pick up your phone?”

“I apologize for any inconvenience caused on my behalf. However, I have had responsibilities that took far higher priority than being accessible to you at any given moment to chat.”

The breath she had been holding rushed out with all the force of a punch to the gut. She stared at the back of his head for a moment, dumbfounded and hurt by his sudden aloofness. They were quickly replaced with anger.

“A chat?! Don’t you think you at least owe me the courtesy of an explanation?”

Elijah’s jaw tightened imperceptibly as he carefully set down his glass and rose, turning to face her. Her eyes were dark as flint and the heat radiating off them could have scorched him from across the room. Her black mass of loose curls hung wildly around her shoulders, glowing in the light of the fire. He met her demanding gaze with his own hardened stare. “My family and I are grateful for your efforts. I was simply honoring-”

“Enough!” The trembling of her shoulders mirrored the break in her voice as she held up a hand to stop him. “I made my decision. I was ready to die if it meant completing that spell. But you had to play white knight and charge in to stop me. And then you just drop of the face of the fucking Earth?” Her voice was rising rapidly. “What, were you hanging around just long enough to make sure that you didn’t have to add my death to your guilty conscience? Is that it?” Tears of frustration were welling in her eyes, threatening to spill over. “Your family and my coven made a deal. I was holding up my end.”

At that, he felt something inside snap. In an instant he had crossed the room, closing the distance until there was barely breath of space between them. She took an involuntary step back, startled by the motion, only to find herself pinned between the wall and the vampire peering down at her.

“You made an agreement to help my family to the best of your ability. Not to offer up your life as payment.” He snarled down at her. They stood there staring at each other, chests heaving. The cold mask had lifted and his eyes were blazing with intensity as his lips crashed into hers. She stood stunned for a moment before responding eagerly. Her hands drifted up his sides and over his broad chest before stopping at his neck. One strong hand rose to cup behind her head, deepening the kiss while the other grasped at her hip, pulling her flush against him. He was struck by the urge to have all of her as close to him as humanly possible. He pressed into her, pinning her against the wall, his kisses growing more and more desperate. She was beginning to lose herself in the feeling, Elijah overwhelming every sense that she had.

Then, all at once, he stiffened and drew back. Brianna had to catch the doorframe to correct the sudden loss of contact. They both stood motionless, save for their heavy breathing. Elijah was the first to break the silence.

“Don’t you understand?” He rasped, barely above a whisper. “I have already let you too far in. I have allowed myself to care for you with utter disregard for the consequences and look at where it has brought us.” He raised his hand to her cheek as if to caress it. It froze for a moment, suspended in the air before he let it hang back down at his side. “Because of my reckless infatuation, I dishonored both your wishes and a vow that has stood for nearly a millennium. It is because of my inability to see you hurt that I put my family in the gravest of danger. And that…that is simply unforgivable.”

He took another step back, desperately trying to piece himself back together. .

Brianna was still reeling from the kiss and his words were a slap to the face. Cocking her head slightly to the side and then took a ginger step towards him. He immediately took one step back. .

“Brianna…” He warned.

“What about you, Elijah?” Her voice was so soft, he would have missed it if not for his superhuman hearing. “What do you want?”

He drew in a shaky breath. “What I want is irrelevant. I accepted long ago that the pursuit of selfish desires only leads to ruin.”

She took another step towards him and this time he did not move away. Tentatively, she placed a hand on his chest just above his heart and gazed up at him, her eyes all warm coffee and vulnerability. His hands came to rest on her shoulders.

He closed his eyes and allowed himself one moment of weakness, one moment to imagine a world where he could give voice to what he truly wanted. Where he lived a life in which he could take her in his arms and prove his devotion by kissing every inch of her. One moment before he dashed it all to bits.

“What do you want, Elijah?” She repeated.

Elijah opened his eyes and stared down at her, choking down the lump forming in his throat and replacing it with hard resolve. He straightened his back, resuming the mask of stiff, polished detachment and removed his hands from her shoulders..

“I want you to leave. You are released from any obligations to this family and to me. Let me make this clear: you have nothing left to offer that is of any value to me. ”

He watched her eyes widen with shock and then disbelief. Her hand slipped from his chest and hung lifelessly at her side.

“I see.” She murmured flatly, but he could see her fight a tremble in her lip and the fire in her eyes. “I’m sorry that I cared.”  Her hair whipped around her as she spun on her heel, desperate to escape the compound before the dam that was her heart burst. His hand shot out for her instinctively as the door to the study closed with a resounding slam.

Every fiber of his being screamed for him to chase after her, to take it all back, and tell her the truth. But he remained stubbornly rooted to the spot. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He let her go instead.

I'm reminded of the fool I was

I cut you off and fucked it up again

I'm sorry that I let you go, I'm sorry that I cared

[hit-me-with-a-ladle]

Ch.10 of Creepypasta x Fem! Reader

Before even realising, the week had ended once more, perpetuating the endless cycle experienced day after day. Though not as severe as the previous, it was still very tiring in its own way. As the first day passed, Ben wanted to perceive her potential, making her brew something after every lesson and making sure the notes taken were comprehensive and correct. But what he failed to inform her was that the slightest miscalculation could end up in an explosion. The combining of two opposing substances ended up in a chain reaction that gave the girl burns and potential scars, their severity somewhat dulled by the elixir Ben would create after, but still very painful.

That week was strange, as Ben was inept at any social interaction. Struggling with reading the room and understanding others thoughts and feelings. Though he hated silence and many-a-time attempted to end it with a random ramble about a certain topic that would last hours at a time, tiering the poor girl forced to listen. His tendency for not understanding physical boundaries had begun to become a problem too, invading the girl's personal space at very unwanted times and always flashing that creepy smile whenever he saw her, making her tense up.

Though the perpetual cycle had begun to have a toll on her. Her body was on autopilot most of the day. Walking around and doing the same things as a robot. And the last day of the week hadn't been any different. She'd fallen asleep the previous night at exactly ten pm after launch and woke up the morning at around five-fifty six am, before her alarm. Getting up taking a shower, bandaging her wounds, getting dressed, and heading towards the stairs for a nutritious breakfast before she'd have to meet the new person sent there to train her. Toby had presumed.

Right as she was about to take her first step down the narrow wooden staircase she stopped in her tracks, looking back towards her bedroom door. Stepping back she walked towards it and walked in, looking around quickly before spotting the thing she was looking for. The necklace Ben gave her, she took it off the previous night and forgot to put it on. Quickly snatching it and clasping it around her neck and putting it under her jumpsuit she hurriedly ran downstairs, not wanting to be off schedule. She wasn't sure why she'd gone back to grab it, but something was telling her that it was special.

Looking at the clock she sighed, twenty minutes left before her training starts. Her thoughts were in shambles as she imagined what the new man was going to be like. A sadistic narcissist like Jack? An aggressive control freak like Masky? Or maybe, a blabbering creep like Ben? She wasn't ready to find out. But it was inevitable, no matter how much she wished she could leave, to get an end to this madness. But she didn't have to wonder for long as she heard light footsteps on the hard floor approaching her. Usually, she wouldn't have noticed something as minute as that but recently her senses have heightened significantly with the constant rushes of adrenaline her body had been going through to stay alive.

Gazing in its direction she finally saw the man, he looked to be around twenties years of age. He was of average height, around five-foot-seven or about hundred-and-seventy-three meters, a bit bigger than Ben. His mouth, covered with a black striped mask and a pair of orange-tinted goggles over his eyes. Bushy dark brown hair peeking out from the blue hood of his stained zip-up. The only feature visible was his pale almost grey skin that seemed cold as ice. Below the waist, he had two old hatchets harnessed on either side of his long baggy jeans, with his gloved hands firmly gripping both whiles staring at the girl. As he stood he would occasionally jerk or twitch to the side without warning. She gazed at him, confused by the sudden motions of his body.

Suddenly the man coughed, grabbing her attention and snapping her out of the daze that she was in. Shaking her head and apologizing immediately. He approached, now right in front of her.

" He-llo. I'm To-toby."

He stuttered as he stretched out his right hand at her. Swiftly grabbing his hand to shake it. The leather that collided with her skin was worn out and patchy.

" Hi." She retorted, trying to pull her hand away but he would let do. She could feel his flesh twitch underneath his thick glove. " So when are we going to begin training?"

She awkwardly addressed trying to soften the ever-growing tension. The man only nodded his head and softly huffed, finally letting go.

Glancing behind her shoulder, staring at the back door with a blank stare he pushed her aside and walked towards it. She was perplexed by him, not expecting such an act as a frown formed on her face. 'Who does he think he is? He didn't even answer my question. Jerk.' She thought, her eyebrows scrunching in irritation while going back to making herself breakfast.

"I'll wait for you to fin-finish outside. Be quic-k."

He said quietly as he stepped outside.

Sighing dramatically she began to eat, starting at the clock on the wall, counting down the seconds with dread. Eating had become a choir, her mouth always feeling dry. The food itself was bland too, devoid of odour and taste made the texture unbearable at times. But she didn't have much of a choice. It sometimes felt like eating sandpaper but she couldn't complain as it would only stir up a problem. Most of the food was meant to strengthen her body and make her more durable. Forcing down the last bite she got up but the dishes in the sink and went towards the back door with a black expression on her face.

Opening it up it made a loud creak, annoying the girl as she slammed it behind her, searching for the googled man. She assumed that he was in the armoured area of the forest. Remembering passing it while doing Maskys test, grumbling at the memory. Picking up her speed and running towards it she got there in about ten minutes. Abruptly stopping when she saw the back of his head, a sense of accomplishment washing over her when she realised that her judgment was right. As she was about to inform him of her arrival he swiftly turned around. His orange stained goggles reflect the sun's rays making them shine.

" Si-since you arrived, w-we should begin." He softly said as he reached for his hatchet and pointed to the middle of the small clearing. It was perfect for close-range combat, especially if what they were using were close-range weapons. It was specifically designed for the people training in them to be wary of their surroundings and to focus their movements. Small bumps and rocks were scattered to make it more of a challenge. Battered practise dummies were also present on the sides, some had throwing stars and objects logged on their body. A small shed was tucked in between two trees, made to store some of the weapons they practise with.

As he stood in the middle Toby walked up to the shed, shoving his hand in his pocket searching for something, suddenly pulling out a set of rusty keys and looking for the one that matched the shed's lock. Going inside he searched for something, the girl wasn't sure what as she wasn't able to even see him. After a minute, he finally walked out holding something in his hand. Approaching her he extended his gloved hand letting her see it, a small hunting knife. The blade sharpened to perfection as the thick mettle it was made out of shine in the light, encased in a large worn wooden handle, finger-like dents could be seen from previous use.

Taking it in her hands it fits almost perfectly, holding firmly she studied the mettle further. Just like Maskys pocket watch, there was a crossed-out circle on it; her face was now showed intrigue by the particular design.

" The b-blade you're hol-ding in your hand is o-one of the most impor-tant things you need to sur-survive. Not only is it used fo-for self-defence it's also used for ever-everyday tasks. For ex-example, cutting down vines and or carving th-ings into wooden sur-surfaces."

As he spoke he would occasionally twitch and jerk but he didn't seem distracted by it, already used to the constant random unwanted motions his body made.

The girl nodded her head, thoroughly listening to his every word said, she'd come to terms that if she expected to escape she had to use everything that they thought her to good use. Toby had started to show her different techniques of cutting and use of the knife, explaining the proper stance and movements. But the girl seemed to struggle, shuffling her feet trying to get the stance right. Toby rolled his eyes and went behind her, starting to fix her mistakes and instructing her while doing so. The girl could faintly feel his uneven breaths on her neck. He was noticeably rough with the way he grabbed her hands, fixing them in place. When he was satisfied he let go and went to the side to watch her work.

The silver blade shined as the light hit its clear surface, the girl quickly jabbing and slashing the tree she was told to work on, creating noticeable scratches as she did. At first, her movements were quite slow and sloppy, not being able to get the hang of the small weapon, but eventually, she got the hang of it, quickly gliding around the tree with pretty much no effort and slashing it with remarkable precision. Toby watched her every step, pleased by her sudden improvement.

"I th-think that should b-be enough." He said loudly, disturbing the girl from her trance. Making her quickly straighten up and look at him.

" I-i think yo-you learned the bas-basic, now le-lets see how you will do it hand-to-hand."

The girl nodded, approaching him without saying a word, blade in hand ready to use. Toby also didn't bother to say a word, only pulling out one of his hatchets and getting into a fighting stance, she quickly followed. Neither of them tried to attack at first, only scanning their opponent, anticipating their every move. A cold sweat started to form on the girl's back as panic slowly arose in her mind, the tension was unbearable, and she feared that it showed on her face, but even still she had to muster up the courage and finally strike first.

She leapt at the googled boy, attempting to slash him with her blade but he avoided it in the nick of time. He was quick to react as he soon tried to sweep her off her feet but she blocked his blow and sprang a bit away creating a small distance. He was the one to attack next, facking a strike with his hatchet to her head, quickly using his other hand to punch her in the jaw, making her stumble and slip. Going to her lever and attempting to strike her again, she was quick to block, using all the possible strength she had in her arms to protect herself. She managed to somehow push him off as she quickly tried to get up, but made one fatal mistake by averting her gaze from his, giving him the Milly-second of a chance to slash her upper thigh.

Screaming in agony she fell to her knees, quickly feeling her weight turned on her back and crashed on the ground, the impact causing the necklace around her neck to come out from the jumpsuit, catching Toby's attention. The bottle shined in the light and wasn't hard to spot, he approached her aching for, carefully kneeling to her lever. Her face was in a mix of emotions, ready to defend herself again at any moment, but as he extended his gloved hands what she didn't expect was for him to reach for the necklace.

He held the small thing in his hands, twisting it around to get a better look at what was contained inside of it.

"A-a protection ch-charm." He murmured, but the girl still managed to somewhat hear it.

Her face showed a mixture of confusion and distress. Moments ago he was trying to slice her throat and how she was softly gripping her necklace, not saying another word.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes, the tension in the air occasionally being broken by the googled man ticks.

" Did Ben gi-give you this?" He asked sternly, twisting the tiny bottle between his thumb and pointer finger as he held it in front of her face.

" Yeah" She only said, averting from his gaze. He scoffed harshly letting go of it and firmly standing up, taking a few steps away from her.

Shooting pain ran up her leg to her back as she tried to stand, quickly holding the wound on the back of her thigh, adding as much pressure as she could so the blood would stop pouring out. Toby did say a word only looking in her direction. The girl's thoughts were racing, anger and fear swirling all in the bat of rage. She has enough of this, recollecting her strength slowly she took a long breath in, subtly looking in her peripherals to spot where Toby was standing. And the moment she felt the adrenaline kick in like all those times before she leapt.

The pain didn't concern her anymore; she only wanted him to feel the same she felt. Tackling his feet, he let out a low yelp as he fell on his lower back, she then quickly acted by pulling out the second hatched holstered to his person and putting it to his neck. Heavy jagged breaths escaped her chapped lips as she stared at him with a wide eyes gaze, sweat coming out of every pour.

Shaking uncontrollably while firmly holding the hatchet to his neck. She whispered, "I win."