reanniee

[reanniee]

hi mira can i pls req a sae x reader and it’s like falling in love with someone. like you know that feeling when you’re really getting to know someone and it sounds like a soft song

i love uu take care x

Synopsis: Thanks to a chance encounter on the beach, you spend your vacation trying to apologize to the famous soccer player you inadvertently offended. Unfortunately, Sae Itoshi has other plans.

Event Masterlist

Pairing: Sae x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 11.6k

Content Warnings: love at first sight, fluff, humor, teasing as a love language, sae does not understand emotions or relationships but he’s rich asf, reader has a little brother and loves eating, meet-cutes, summer romance, SEAGULLS

A/N: although sae is a difficult character for me to get a hold of, i ended up having fun with this LMAO as i’m sure you can tell by the massive word count 😭 i hope he’s not horribly ooc or anything and that this is kind of what you were looking for anon!! tysm for requesting and ily too <3

Additional: part of my 500 follower event! see the event description and rules to make a request of your own.

You tried to evaluate the series of choices you had made which had led to you lying atop a boy with green eyes and sand smeared across his cheeks, a blank expression on his face despite the way you were literally sprawled over him.

First: your family had decided to spend your summer vacation in Spain. This was innocuous and broad enough, considering how large the country was, so you concluded that your brother’s desire to practice his rudimentary Spanish in a more realistic setting than his high school classroom could not be blamed for your plight.

Second: your father had gotten a great deal on rooms in a luxury beachfront hotel. He was like a bloodhound when it came to haggling and discounts, so it wasn’t a surprise that you were staying in such a nice place for a relatively cheap price — and with a complimentary breakfast every morning, too! Anyways, the hotel had its own private pool that you could’ve been lounging around beside, so that probably wasn’t the cause, either.

Third: your mother had told you that the beach within walking distance of the hotel was famous for its smooth waters and pale sand. You had to visit at least once, according to her and every other travel guide written about the region, but since no one had wanted to go with you, you had decided to go alone, bringing a book, a bottle of sunscreen, and a blanket with you, throwing a dress on over your swimsuit and preparing yourself to spend the entire day soaking in the sun’s rays. This was definitely a contributor to your current predicament, although considering the miles of beach that stretched out in both directions as far as the eye could see where you could’ve been instead of right there, it wasn’t the sole factor.

Fourth: you had thought you would get hungry at some point and had had the foresight to bring a sandwich with you. That was definitely the reason. If only you hadn’t been so concerned with your stomach! If only you had just sucked it up and made the trek back to the hotel upon feeling peckish instead of being so lazy and planning ahead, you wouldn’t be in this situation.

“Can you get off of me?” the boy groaned.

“I am so sorry!” you said, scrambling to your feet and offering him your hand. He did not take it, standing on his own and doing his best to wipe the sand from his face. Then he shook his head like a dog, shaking out the grittiness from his soft hair. “I’m really sorry. I was just running so fast, and I was so worried about my sandwich that I didn’t notice you were there until it was too late!”

“Sandwich?” he said. A few paces away, a seagull landed, the remnants of your lunch held in its beak. You and the boy watched as it tilted its head back, swallowing the last few bites before cawing at you in satisfaction.

“You pig!” you shouted, pointing at it, the boy beside you temporarily forgotten as you fumed over the loss. It cocked its head at you. “That was mine!”

“Ah,” the boy said. “Your sandwich.”

The seagull hopped towards you, like it was teasing you or something, and you screeched before diving at it. Satisfied with the mischief it had caused and the food it had stolen, as well as with making a fool out of you, the seagull took wing, flying well out of reach and leaving you facedown on the ground, your stomach grumbling sadly and emptily.

A foot nudged against your rib cage. “Hey. Sandwich girl. You’re not concussed, are you?”

Being referred to as sandwich girl was so humiliating that you were instantly pushing yourself into a sitting position, folding your arms across your chest as you gazed up at the boy, who still wore that same unimpressed expression from when you had barreled into him.

“No,” you said.

“That’s great,” he said, though he did not sound particularly concerned nor relieved. “Mind elaborating a bit more on why you ran me over? You could’ve seriously injured me, and then you would’ve been in a bunch of trouble.”

“You would’ve been in a bunch of trouble,” you mocked, making your voice high and smarmy. “Jeez, what are you, some kind of celebrity or something? I ran you over because I was taking a break from reading my book, and I realized that I was hungry. Well, luckily, I had brought a sandwich along with me, so it wasn’t a huge deal. I was just about ready to dig in, when that fat pig of a bird swooped down and stole it right out of my hands! The gall! The shamelessness! It was definitely laughing at me, and I can’t stand anyone who laughs at me, so naturally I took off in pursuit, and, uh, that’s how I ended up crashing into you. Though you really should’ve been paying more attention, too. What’s so fascinating about the horizon that you just blocked out the rest of the world for it?”

“I like looking at the ocean,” he said. “But, wait. What do you mean, some kind of celebrity? Don’t you know who I am?”

You gave him a once-over. He was tall, though not impressively so, and definitely well-muscled. His hair was a warm shade, and his green eyes were framed with long eyelashes that fluttered every time he blinked. A pair of sunglasses was perched atop the crown of his head, and the top few buttons of his white shirt were undone, lending him a breezy appearance.

“You’re not handsome enough to be an actor, so that can’t be it,” you said, chewing on your lower lip in thought. “Plus, I’ve seen a bunch of movies, and I’m pretty sure you haven’t been in any of them, so if you were in the film industry, you’d be a D-lister at best, and there’s no way you’d want to flex that kind of status.”

He furrowed his brow, the first hint of a different expression than the one he had kept for the entirety of your very brief acquaintance. “What?”

“What else are people famous for?” you said. “Oh! Are you a singer or something? Were you in that one boy band from a few years ago? I’m sorry, I was too busy having a ‘not-like-other-girls’ phase when they were popular, so I never got into them. I’m over the phase now, if you were wondering, but that would be why I didn’t recognize you.”

“You are amazingly off the mark,” he said.

“I am? I’m kind of out of ideas at this point, though. Can I have a hint or something?” you said.

“Do you watch soccer?” he said. You made a face.

“Hell no,” you said. His eye twitched, so you hurried to elaborate. “My little brother is obsessed with it, so by law, I’m required to hate everything related to the sport. Do you have any siblings? You’d get it if you did.”

“Ask your brother about Sae Itoshi,” he said.

“Okay,” you said, drafting a text to your brother and sending it when you had deemed it to be a perfect blend of uninterested and cool while also underscoring the urgency of the request. “So, your name’s Sae Itoshi? I’m Y/N L/N! I’m not a celebrity, though. If you text anyone and ask them about me, they’ll probably be pretty confused.”

“Yeah, I got that impression,” he said. Your phone vibrated in your hand, and when you looked at the notification, you saw that it was from your brother.

uglier sibling: no shit i know about sae itoshi. he’s that one super talented midfielder on re al. he’s dad and i’s fav player atm.

You gulped, glancing up at Sae before returning to your phone.

me: lol wtf is re al.

uglier sibling: it’s madrid’s team lmfaooo dumbass how do you not know that

uglier sibling: actually wait why are u even asking lol

uglier sibling: did u meet him or something

me: funny story actually!

uglier sibling: WHAT

uglier sibling: y/n are u with sae itoshi rn.

uglier sibling: y/n answer pls

uglier sibling: can you at least get his autograph for me or smth???

Pretending like you were still texting your brother, you typed the name Sae Itoshi into your phone’s search engine. The photos that came up matched the boy in front of you, and the news articles made your heart pound. He actually was a celebrity, and furthermore, his earlier arrogance was deserved. If you had somehow injured such a famous player and put him out of commission for the season, then you really would’ve been done for. It hadn’t been an exaggerated sense of self-importance but an honest evaluation of himself.

“Ahem,” you said, feigning a cough to appear dignified and mature. “It seems like you are a pretty well-known soccer player, Mr. Itoshi.”

“It seems like I am,” he said.

“My brother and dad are big fans, apparently,” you said.

“Good thing you didn’t take me out permanently, then, or I’m sure they would’ve been pretty disappointed,” he said.

You cringed. “I’m sorry again.”

“Whatever. I won’t hold it against you; all’s well that ends well, after all,” he said.

“I feel really bad, though,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck sheepishly. “Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

“You didn’t do anything, so there’s nothing to make up for,” he said.

“Not true! I knocked you over and said you’re not handsome!” you said. “I’d say that warrants some kind of recompense.”

“It’ll warrant more recompense if you keep saying it,” he said.

“You agree that you deserve payment, then? Great! Um…how about I…buy you lunch?” you said, the insistent pangs of your stomach reminding you that you still hadn’t eaten.

“Is food the only thing you can think about?” he said.

“For your information, it is not, but I haven’t eaten since the morning, so I’m hungry,” you said.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” he said. “It’s okay. I’m not interested, and just so you know, I’ve been asked out by plenty of girls, but by far, this has been the lamest attempt.”

You supposed, looking back, that it did seem like that was your end goal. But, of course, it had been nothing of the sort; you were just planning on going to eat yourself and thought that you might as well kill two birds with one stone. It was just your luck that he had twisted your words into such a request, though! How were you supposed to maneuver yourself out of this position? If you denied it furiously, then it would seem like you were just ashamed at getting caught, but if you didn’t say anything, then it would be akin to agreeing with his accusation.

There was only one way out of it, and even though you were usually opposed to lying, and even more opposed to bullying others, it was the only thing you could think of. So, bowing your head, you clasped your hands together in front of your heart.

“I’m sorry, but you’re not my type, Mr. Itoshi,” you said. “Like I said, you’re really not that handsome. Also, I’m into tall guys.”

That was how you found yourself sitting across from Sae Itoshi in a private booth at a fancy restaurant, your hands trembling as you read over the menu items and their associated prices.

“I’m in the mood for steak,” Sae said, stroking his chin and setting down his menu, interlacing his fingers and raising his eyebrows at you. “What about you?”

“Steak is a dinner item, don’t you think?” you said, your head spinning at the fact that he had picked the most expensive thing that was served at the entire establishment. “It’s lunchtime.”

“I’m an athlete,” he said seriously. “I need a lot of protein in all of my meals. Especially because I’m so short. It’s important for me to build muscle, don’t you agree? How else will I manage to compete with the taller, better-looking players?”

“Steak it is,” you said with a faux smile. “As for me, I’ll just get crackers.”

“Crackers? What kind of lunch is that?” he said.

“An affordable one,” you muttered under your breath.

“What?” he said.

“Nothing!” you said. “It’s nothing. I just really like crackers.”

He gave you an odd look. “Alright.”

You waved the waiter over. He had been hovering around your table for the past few minutes, and as soon as he saw you beckoning him, he sprinted to your side, fumbling with his pen and notepad before reaching you and bowing.

“Sae Itoshi, sir! I’m sorry to interrupt your date, but I just wanted to say that I’m a huge fan of yours. If — if it’s not too much trouble, could I have your autograph?” he said.

Sae sighed, a long-suffering and irritable sigh. “Just take our order first. I’ll give it to you after we’ve eaten.”

“Oh, my apologies,” the waiter said. “What would you like?”

“I’ll have the steak, and I also want this sandwich, but omit the tomatoes, please,” he said, pointing at the menu items he wanted.

“Got it,” the waiter said. “What about you, miss?”

“Just the crackers,” you said. The waiter paused, but when you did not say anything more, he giggled nervously.

“Would you, uh, like some cheese with those?” he said.

“Nope,” you said. “I’m really the biggest fan of plain crackers. That’s all I want.”

“Sure, miss, if that’s what you’d like,” he said. “So, one steak, one sandwich, and a plate of crackers?”

“That’s right,” Sae said, hardly looking up from his phone when he did so. It was only once the waiter had run off to place your orders that he put the device away, resting his elbows against the table, setting his chin in his hands and giving you a bored look. “Why are you glaring at me?”

“Steak and a sandwich, really?” you said.

“A conversation with you was more than enough to increase my appetite,” he said. “Forget about that. This is the part where you ask me questions about myself and I pretend like I am interested enough to answer them.”

“Why would I do that?” you said, rolling your eyes at him. “Actually, I’m pretty sure your answer to that question will be something that makes me even more annoyed than I already am, so don’t bother. What’s your favorite movie?”

“You’re not going to ask me about soccer?” he said. “It’s Taxi Driver, by the way.”

“I don’t know that much about soccer, so what would I even ask? Based on what I’ve seen from the matches my brother and dad watch, it’s just a bunch of sweaty guys kicking around a ball and pretending like they’re dying whenever another player happens to look at them the wrong way,” you said. “Oh, actually, I am curious about that. How many of those injuries are real? Have you ever faked getting hurt?”

“Almost none of them,” he said. “Generally, players will overreact for the sake of entertainment and the possibility of the opposition receiving yellow cards. I’ve never needed to do anything like that, and I never want to, because it looks stupid. Also, soccer is more than that mediocre description you just gave me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” you said. “Man kick ball. Ball go in net. Man happy. That’s the extent of it.”

“Women play soccer, too,” he said.

“It’s the same concept there, but with women instead of men. Not the argument you thought it was,” you said.

“I can’t believe you actually dislike soccer,” he said.

There was definitely some irony in the fact that you couldn’t care less about his chosen sport, and yet you were the one who had somehow finagled your way into eating with him — even if you were the one who was paying. There were so many people who’d do anything to be in your place, but to you, it was a begrudging chore that you were only performing because you felt obligated to. Mentally, you had already marked the entire encounter down as something that you’d laugh about to your friends later; a fun story you’d tell at parties, but little else.

“Like I told you earlier, I’m the older sister. If I didn’t rag on my brother’s interests, then I couldn’t claim that title in any way that mattered,” you said. Sae’s eyes flicked down to the ground.

“You should be nice to your brother when you can,” he said.

“Are you some kind of an only child or saint, then? There’s no way you’re saying that if you have a normal relationship with any possible siblings,” you said.

“I have a little brother,” he said. “Our relationship is okay. I haven’t seen him in a while, though.”

“Long distance?” you said, reaching over to pat him on the hand sympathetically. “That’s the worst. I miss my friends and my pets already, and I’m only here for vacation.”

He snatched his hand away. “You make it sound like we’re dating or something. It’s alright. I’m sure it’ll be the same as it was whenever I go back.”

“True, it’s not like he can dump you and find a new brother who’s both better and more conveniently located than you are. He’s kind of stuck with you forever,” you said.

“Enough about my brother,” he said. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Okay,” you said. “What TV shows do you watch when you’re bored?”

The two of you continued on in that mindless manner until your food arrived. Your mood, which had steadily been rising as Sae proved himself to be, if nothing else, a willing conversationalist, rapidly plummeted as the waiter set the steak and sandwich in front of Sae and the crackers in front of you.

“Enjoy your meal,” the waiter said.

“I’m sure one of us will,” you said, picking up a cracker and biting into it rebelliously. Sae began to cut his steak into small pieces, using his fork to demurely place the meat on his tongue, doing nothing to disguise the indulgence of eating such a wonderfully prepared meal while you were stuck with crackers.

“What a shame,” Sae said when he was about halfway through his steak. You hadn’t spoken since the food had come, mostly because you were too busy fervently hoping that he would choke and you would somehow be awarded a free meal as an apology on the restaurant’s part, so you jumped at the sound of his voice cutting through the silence. “My eyes were bigger than my stomach. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat that sandwich after all.”

“We should send it back, then,” you said.

“What sort of place do you think this is?” he said. “It’s already been ordered, so it’s ours now.”

“Are you serious?” you said. “What now? I’ll have to pay for something that you didn’t even eat!”

“You’ll just have to have it,” he said.

“Me?” you said, already salivating at the delectable sandwich, the bread which was taunting you. Come, it seemed to be calling out to you. Eat me. You know you want to. “I guess that’s a sensible prospect. Someone’s going to have to take it.”

“Someone will,” he agreed, sliding the plate across the table and stealing a cracker for his troubles. “It might as well be you. My coach will be pretty upset if I get stomach cramps next season because I overate too much on my off time. I’d have to tell him that it was your fault, and then you’d have all of Re Al after you, and you don’t want that. They’re relentless.”

Your fingers inched towards the sandwich. “I definitely don’t. That sounds scary.”

“It would be amusing,” he said. “A waste of resources, though. They might cut my salary to make up for it. ”

“Then the only solution is for me to eat this sandwich,” you said.

“Essentially,” he said. You gave in, taking an enormous bite of the tantalizing sandwich and exhaling in delight. It really was as good as the exorbitant price tag claimed it would be, and although you would never buy such a thing for yourself, you found that you were a little more grateful for the series of events that had led you to be in this position now that your stomach was finally being greeted with something substantial.

“It’s good,” you said, your words muffled by the napkin you held in front of your mouth as you finished chewing. “I can kind of get why they charge so much now. It’s still way more than any sandwich should ever cost, ever, but…I kinda get it. Is your food good, too?”

“It is,” he said.

“Alright!” you said, giving him a double thumbs up. “Then you can consider this a worthy apology! Let’s finish eating and be done with the entire mess.”

“Hm? But how can it be a worthy apology when I’m the one who paid for everything? To me, that doesn’t sound like an apology at all,” he said. You froze, your mouth wide open, the sandwich still halfway to your mouth and drooping in your hands. Sae looked at you, still expressionless, though if you really focused, you would’ve noticed something like mirth dancing in his irises.

“What do you mean?” you said. He unlocked his phone and showed you his screen.

“You can pay by app here,” he said. “I did it as soon as we were done ordering. I was going to tell you after you ordered what you wanted for yourself, but I wasn’t expecting you to be so frugal that you’d really only order crackers!”

“But — but I was supposed to pay! To apologize for—”

“You don’t have to say it,” Sae said sourly, cutting you off. “Believe me, I remember exactly what you have to apologize for, and I’m not going to forget. I just paid this time because I was feeling generous, but you still owe me.”

It was a little suspicious, but you didn’t have any reason to accuse him of anything, so you only narrowed your eyes at him. Taking another bite of your sandwich, you mulled over the latest reveal. He was paying for the entire lunch? You still owed him? You could manipulate that in your favor, then.

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll pay for your breakfast,” you said. “The hotel I’m staying at has complimentary breakfast for guests, but outsiders can eat for a certain fee. I’ll pay for your entrance, and then we can be even.”

“Sure,” he said. “I eat breakfast early, though.”

“How early?” you said.

“I have a snack at 7:00 a.m., before I go for my morning run, and then I eat a proper meal afterwards,” he said.

“Oh!” you said. “Any chance you could not do that?”

“It’s part of my training regimen,” he said. “How about you pay for my food and come on my run with me?”

“I hate running,” you said.

“You’re apologizing. It’s supposed to be an agonizing process,” he said. “You’ve called me short and ugly at least three separate times already, not to mention the entire slamming into me ordeal. It’s really the least you can do.”

“7:00 it is,” you said, though you were fighting back tears at the mere thought of getting up so early while on vacation. “Give me your phone.”

“No way,” he said, holding the phone away from you while you tried to swipe at it. “What are you going to do, post something embarrassing on my social media accounts?”

“Why would I do that?” you said. “I was going to text myself so I had your number and could send you my location for tomorrow.”

“Or you could tell me which hotel you’re staying at now, and then my phone is entirely removed from the equation,” he suggested.

“Do you think I remember the name?” you said. “That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. I don’t.”

He handed you his phone with an aggravated huff. “Fine. Don’t abuse the privilege. I only give important people my contact information.”

“Woah, you really are stingy,” you said, scrolling through his contacts list. All of them either had the designation of work attached to their profiles, or they were clearly members of Sae’s family.

Clicking on the plus sign in the corner, you created a new contact for yourself, typing in your number and giving yourself the name Y/N L/N — sandwich. It fit the naming conventions he had going on, and if it weren’t for the reminder that you were the so-called ‘sandwich girl’, you doubted he would remember who you were in the first place.

“Of course I am. Imagine I gave every crazy fan I met my number. I’d have a million stalkers before you could say Re Al,”he said.

“I’m not a crazy fan. To clarify, I’m not a fan in the first place,” you said, texting yourself from his number before taking out your own phone and responding to the message with a thumbs up.

“Correct, which is why you get my number,” he said.

“I feel so honored,” you said dryly. “Actually, you know what? I would feel honored, if it weren’t for the fact that you’re only giving it to me because you want to wake me up at an unholy hour and make me run with you before paying for your breakfast.”

“Would you rather pay for this meal?” he said, showing you the receipt he had been emailed. Your eyes widened, and then you shook your head rapidly.

“Nope! See you tomorrow!”

The next morning, you tiptoed around the hotel room as you got ready, trying your best not to wake your mother up. She, and the rest of your family, had been up late last night, going out for dinner and dessert well past your bedtime. Far too embarrassed to tell them the realreason you were going to sleep early, you had said you were sick and went to bed as soon as the sun set.

Angrily gnawing on a granola bar from your mother’s emergency stash, you stomped down the spiraling hotel staircase, your eyes still bleary as you texted your family group chat that you were going out for a morning walk but would be back for breakfast.

Sae Itoshi was waiting for you in the lobby, doing some weird stretching routine that involved pressing his foot against the wall and leaning over it. You watched him, bemused, wondering which muscles he was trying to stretch before giving up and deciding it was probably one of those pro moves that you were too uninterested and unathletic for.

“Oh, you’re here,” he said. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” you said, giving him another one of the granola bars you had taken from your mother’s backpack. “Sorry, it’s sort of smushed. It’s been in a backpack for the last few days.”

He pinched the wrapper between his forefinger and thumb, looking at the granola bar with a disgusted expression. You didn’t think it was thategregious, but according to Sae, it must have been all but an offense against humanity, as he tossed it into the trash can within seconds of having it within his grasp.

“I already ate my snack,” he said.

“Why did you throw that away? I could’ve eaten it!” you said.

“That thing had probably melted and reformed at least twice. It was most definitely radioactive. I did you a favor, so you should say thank you,” he said.

“Thank you, Mr. Itoshi, for protecting me from the horrors of a slightly misshapen granola bar. I’m sure that, by throwing away that still edible brick of deliciousness, you have done me a great service. Possibly, you have even saved my life. I am eternally grateful,” you said.

He snorted. “You’re terrible at groveling. No wonder you have to do all of this ridiculous stuff to apologize to me instead of just saying sorry and moving on like a normal person.”

“Look, it’s a product of my upbringing,” you said. He finished stretching and headed out of the door; you followed after him with a smile at the hotel concierge, who seemed surprised to watch you go — whether it was the hour or your company, you weren’t sure. “Whenever my parents did something to upset me, they never apologized. They just came to my room with a bowl of fruit they had cut for me.”

“At least you got fruit,” he said. “My parents just told me to go practice soccer until I had cooled off.”

“Wow, really? That’s hardcore,” you said. Sae began to jog, and you did the same, though it was closer to a run for you than anything. “Did you just kick around the ball until you were less mad?”

“Pretty much,” he said.

“How horrible,” you said.

“Eh, it’s fine. It was a good way to get my anger out, and it had the added benefit of making me better at the sport, so it was pretty constructive overall,” he said.

“I still can’t imagine it,” you said, shaking your head. “What’s it like, being a professional athlete? Your entire life revolves around a game. What about when you can’t play anymore? When you’re too old, or if you get injured?”

His upper lip curled. “Do you want that to happen or something? Why are you speaking it into existence?”

“Not the injury part, but everyone grows old. You can’t stop that,” you said.

“I’ll play for as long as I can, and then I’ll coach for longer,” he said. “After that, I’ll retire and make sure my kids follow in my footsteps. Athletes make a lot of money, so I luckily won’t ever have to worry much about my finances.”

“What if your kids don’t want to play soccer?” you said. He actually sneered this time, the expression at home on his cold face.

“What else would they do with themselves? If they don’t want to play soccer, or if they have no talent at it, then they’re definitely not my children in the first place,” he said.

“Hm, maybe cooking? What if they want to be a chef?” you said.

“Then I’d wonder how your kids snuck into my house,” he said. You gasped, though it was as much for breath as it was out of offense.

“Stop it! You just happened to catch me at a hungry time!” you said.

“Sure,” he said.

“Just entertain the hypothetical that you really did somehow father children that were into cooking instead of soccer. How would you react?” you said.

“I would put them up for adoption,” he said.

“Seriously?” you said.

“No, obviously not,” he said. “What kind of person do you think I am? Why did you actually find that to be within the realm of possibility?”

“I think you’re some kind of soccer fiend. Who knows how dedicated you are to the cause?” you said.

“Not that dedicated,” he said. “I’d be disappointed if my kids can’t play soccer, and our relationship would probably be a bit distant, as I don’t know much about anything else, but I wouldn’t disown them.”

“You don’t know much about anything besides soccer? That’s a little sad,” you said.

“Kind of,” he said.

“Do you wish you knew about other things?” you said.

“Everyone has something they specialize in. It’s not uncommon for someone to know a lot about one thing and only a little about others,” he said. “My ‘thing’ is soccer. If it wasn’t that, then it’d be something else, so if I was in the business of wishing, I’d always be unsatisfied.”

You were already panting for breath when Sae picked up the pace, though he had not so much as broken a sweat yet. He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, taking in your obvious struggles, and then he made the decision to not slow down at all.

“I get it,” you said. “You’ll face no judgment from me.”

“Like I would care if you did judge me,” he said. “You’re already dying, and we haven’t even started running yet.”

“This isn’t running?” you said. “What the hell? How much faster can you even go?”

“If you think that this is anywhere near the pace of an average soccer match, then I don’t even know where to begin with you,” he said.

“You look slower on TV!”

“What, so you think I’m slow, too?”

You and Sae returned to the hotel in markedly different conditions. He wasn’t even warm, still appearing to be perfectly put together and entirely perspiration-free, smelling faintly like body soap and cologne. On the other hand, you were still trying to regain your wits about you, leaning on his shoulder so that you did not fall over from exhaustion.

“This is embarrassing for you,” he informed you as you walked towards the breakfast area.

“You’re a professional athlete and I’m a normal girl! It would be embarrassing for you if I could keep up!” you argued weakly.

“That would be true, if I wasn’t going easy on you,” he said, pulling out a chair for you and helping you into it, brushing his arm off when he was sure you were seated. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. Be right back.”

“Have fun,” you said, resting your head in your hands, already knowing what you wanted to get. “We can walk through the buffet together. I’ll take the time to recover.”

“You do that,” he said.

While he was gone, you opened your phone, catching up on all of the texts in the family group chat that you hadn’t been able to read while you were attempting to run with Sae.

me: going for a morning walk but i’ll be back for breakfast

me: just wanted to let you all know so you weren’t worried!

uglier sibling: yeah nobody was worried LMFAO

mom: Hope you’re feeling better, honey!

dad: Make sure you’re back before 10. That’s when the complimentary breakfast ends, and we’re not paying for overpriced toast with jam.

uglier sibling: i still can’t believe u went for a morning walk

uglier sibling: like

uglier sibling: since when do u voluntarily wake up in the mornings at all let alone leave ur bed LET ALONE TAKE A WALK

uglier sibling: bitches will meet sae itoshi one time and suddenly they’re fitness influencers or wtvr

uglier sibling: btw i’m still mad that u didn’t get his autograph or a photo with him or anything

uglier sibling: i bet u made it up

uglier sibling: LIAR. FRAUD. HACK.

mom: Honey, leave your sister alone. Why would she make something like that up? 

dad: Your mother is right. Y/N doesn’t even know who Sae Itoshi is.

So it was a typical conversation, then. You hadn’t missed much; just your brother being salty and your parents showing some care for your well-being, as well as your father worrying for his wallet like he was prone to do. You didn’t even bother responding, just liking your father’s two messages and then putting your phone away.

“Y/N, you’re back already? What good timing!” your father called out to you from the entrance to the hotel restaurant. The world slowed as you turned to see the rest of your family walking into the restaurant, dressed in their typical touristy outfits. Your mother waved at you, and your brother faked gagging.

“Wow, you look like shit,” he said. “The fuck kinda morning walk were you on?”

“Gross, it’s you,” you said. “Go away! I’m busy.”

“You don’t even have any food with you,” he pointed out. “Can I sit with you? The parents are way too chipper in the mornings.”

“No!” you said.

“But there’s an empty seat at your table. Are you saving it for someone?” he said.

“Yes,” you said, wishing that for once they would’ve all slept in instead of getting here at the exact time that you and Sae had.

“No, you’re not,” he said.

“Come on, you two, let’s sit together and have a family breakfast!” your father said, motioning you and your brother over from where he and your mother had settled at a four-person table. Your brother gave you a pleading look.

“I’ll owe you forever,” he said. “I’ll grind on all of your video games for you the entire plane ride home!”

“I’m not lying, dude, I actually am sitting with someone. Now fuck off and leave me alone!” you hissed.

“Who?” he said, crossing his arms. “Your imaginary friend? Or your imaginary boyfriend!”

“Excuse me? Sorry, I was sitting there. Do you mind—?”

The most comical expression you had ever seen flashed over your brother’s face just then. It was horror mixed with incredulity mixed with extreme confusion. He turned slowly, his jaw dropping as he made eye contact with Sae Itoshi, whose dry countenance and perfect posture were as off-putting as ever.

“What?” your brother said. “What is going on?”

Sae sat opposite you. “This hotel has the most confusing first floor layout I’ve ever encountered. It took me ages just to find the bathroom.”

“There’s signs. Can you not read?” you said. He stared at you dully.

“I can read. I just happened not to look up at them,” he said.

“If I didn’t want to pay for even more food, I’d make another short joke, but I shall refrain,” you said.

“That was cutting it close,” he said.

“Y/N. My beautiful, amazing, wonderful older sister,” your brother said.

“Yes?” you said, preparing yourself for the incoming explosion. “Also, that’s not what you were calling me in the group chat earlier, was it?”

“Is that Sae Itoshi?” he said.

“Liar, fraud, hack, was that what it was?” you said. “Run along, loser. Maybe if you were nicer to me, I’d let you sit with us.”

Your brother opened his mouth to argue, but then, like he had remembered he was standing in front of his idol, he hung his head and trudged off, scuffing his toes against the floor as he did and giving you a betrayed look over his shoulder.

“That’s your little brother?” Sae said.

“Yup,” you said. “Your self-proclaimed biggest fan.”

“And you made him go sit with your parents instead of talking to me? You’re super mean, big sister,” Sae said.

“He wouldn’t shut up if I let him stay here, and considering the goal of this is for you to eat and then leave me alone for the rest of my vacation, that would not be conducive,” you said.

“I see,” he said. “I didn’t realize that was the goal.”

“Isn’t it yours, as well? I’m sure you’d like to enjoy yourself on your time off from soccer,” you said.

“Who says I’m not enjoying myself?” he said. You furrowed your brow at him.

“You’ve had the same expression on your face every time we’ve spoken,” you pointed out, lowering your eyelids and pursing your lips in an imitation of his resting mien. “Like this. It’s totally amphibious.”

“Amphibious?” he repeated. “What does that even mean?”

“You don’t know what amphibious means? Man, when you said you only focused on soccer, I didn’t think it was this bad!” you said.

“I know what amphibious means! I just don’t see how the word applies,” he said.

“Oh, right. Well, you kind of look like the frog emoji,” you said. “Sorry, I could’ve been clearer. That’s my bad.”

“Were you dropped on the head as a baby? I’m asking this from a place of concern, not anger,” Sae said. “It’s because you say so many nonsensical things. After all, I look nothing like the frog emoji.”

“Sure, and people tell me I look like a famous actress,” you said.

“Really?” he said.

“No, I thought we were both saying things that aren’t true,” you said.

“I think you look like a famous actress,” he said. “There. Now we’re both saying things that are true.”

“Well done, Mr. Itoshi! That was clever,” you said, knowing when to concede.

“Thank you,” he said. “Let’s go get our food now. If you die of starvation on my watch, it’ll be a major scandal for Re Al.”

“Your manager must love you,” you said. “So conscientious of your public image.”

“Nope, he’s usually pretty pissed at me,” he said as the two of you got in the buffet line.

“What for?” you said.

“Contrary to what you think, I’m pretty unconcerned with my public image. I’m a soccer player, not some kind of philanthropist or actor or whatever,” he said. “What does it matter if I offend people? My value is in playing well, not being friendly or kind.”

“No one ever accused you of being either of those two,” you said, spreading butter and jam over your toast. “You’re not that bad, though.”

“You’re not that bad, either,” he said. “At least, you’re better company than my manager.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” you said. He scoffed.

“You have low standards,” he said.

“Yours are lower,” you said.

“Very mature response.”

“Thanks!”

Sae was a pretty agreeable breakfast partner. He wasn’t as impossibly cheerful as your parents, who generally drove you crazy with their talkativeness so early in the day, but he also wasn’t as silent and closed off as your brother, who was prone to snapping at others until he had finished at least half of his meal. As with lunch yesterday, it was almost an enjoyable experience, right up until you remembered whose card he was eating on.

“Where are you going?” he said when your plates had been cleared and you had pushed yourself to your feet. He followed after you as you made your way to the hostess’s station, ignoring the whispers that echoed behind the two of you.

“To pay for you to be here, duh,” you said, fishing around in your purse for your wallet. “I know you’re famous and all, but that doesn’t mean you get to eat for free. In fact, that was kind of the point of the meal.”

“I already paid for myself, so you can go and sit back down with your family if you’d like,” he said.

“What? When?” you said.

“I wouldn’t spend that long in a bathroom,” he said. “Not a public one.”

“You little—! Now what?” you said.

“Now you have to see me tomorrow,” he said. “Bye. I’ll pick you up for dinner, so make sure to wear something nice, and bring your credit card. It’s your treat.”

He walked off with a jaunty wave, leaving you standing there, confounded by the development. He had paid for himself again? What was the point of making you take him places if he was just going to cough up the cash himself anyways?

“Psst. Y/N,” your brother said. You weren’t sure when or where he had appeared, but it remained that he was suddenly tapping you on the shoulder and whispering in your ear. “Does Sae Itoshi have a crush on you? If so, please ask if he can get tickets for dad and I to attend his next game.”

“What?” you said, a shockwave running through your entire body at the mere thought of Sae having a crush on you. It was so juvenile and cliched as to be out of Sae’s character entirely. “No! I just owe him.”

“For what?” your brother said.

“I ran into him, called him ugly, and said that he was short,” you said. “Indirectly, of course, but it still happened. I was supposed to buy him lunch yesterday as an apology, but then he ended up paying for us both, and then today, I went on a run with him, and I was going to pay for him to have breakfast here, but guess what?”

“He paid for himself?” your brother said.

“He paid for — yeah, how did you know?” you said.

“There weren’t that many ways the story could’ve gone. Also, I overheard you guys talking,” he said.

“Creep,” you said.

“Weirdo,” he said.

“Freak,” you said.

“Stupid,” he said. “I bet he has a crush on you.”

“Why would he? We have zero common interests, and I’ve mostly only insulted him in our very short time knowing one another,” you said.

“Maybe he’s into that. Some guys are. My one friend is — actually, I’m not exposing him like that,” he said.

“Thank you, because I really didn’t want to know,” you said.

“Anyways, where I was going with that is some guys like girls who humble them a bit. Especially someone like Sae Itoshi; he’s probably so used to people falling all over themselves to get his attention that it’s nice for him to hang out with someone who’s too oblivious to care about that kind of stuff,” he said.

“People like you?” you said. “I told him you were his biggest fan, just so you know.”

“Why would you do that?” your brother said, his eyes bugging out and his mouth forming a pained grimace. “He probably thinks I’m a nerd now!”

“You do it to yourself, buddy,” you said. “Let’s go. It looks like the parents want us to go sit with them. Think you can handle it?”

“After learning that my hero has a crush on my sister and, furthermore, probably thinks of me as some kind of dweeb, I can handle anything,” he said.

The entire day, you pondered your brother’s words. Did Sae have a crush on you? Running through his actions and every conversation you both had ever had led you to think that he did not. It didn’t seem like he liked you very much in even a platonic sense, so how could anyone begin to think he liked you romantically? It was just tolerance for the sake of his pride, that was all.

And you definitely didn’t like him. He was emotionless and conceited and teased you far too often. What did it matter that he was somewhat attractive? He had a terrible personality, and you bet that if more of his fans knew what he was like, he wouldn’t have any to begin with.

No wonder Sae’s manager hated him. He was probably a jerk to his poor employees, too.

“We’re thinking of going here for dinner tonight,” your father said the next day. “Look, their reviews are pretty high, and their prices aren’t crazy. What does everyone think?”

“I’m fine with anything,” your mother said.

“Same here,” your brother said.

“Y/N?” your father said. You were about to respond when your own phone buzzed. You knew exactly who it was texting you, and you sighed as you opened it.

sae itoshi (dumb haircut): I will be there in one hour.

sae itoshi (dumb haircut): You better not have forgotten about our plans for tonight.

sae itoshi (dumb haircut): I made a reservation, so I’ll really be mad if you stand me up.

sae itoshi (dumb haircut): Especially because you’re paying.

me: I WILL BE THERE OMFG STOP TEXTING ME

sae itoshi (dumb haircut): Okay.

“I can’t,” you said.

“Why not? Are you on some new diet or something? They should have vegetarian options, so that won’t be a problem,” your father said. “We can look at their menu beforehand if you prefer, and if you really don’t like anything, then we can find somewhere else.”

“I already have plans,” you said, your lower lip jutting out childishly. “Not that I want to! But I made a promise.”

“You already have plans? What’s that supposed to mean?” your mother said.

“I’m having dinner with someone,” you said.

“Ooh, how exciting! With who?” she said.

“I bet I can guess!” your brother sang.

“Enough out of you!” you said, kicking him in the back of the leg. He doubled over, though that did not stop him from smirking at you.

“Y/N and Sae, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” he said.

“You’re going out with Sae Itoshi?” your father said. “You should’ve just said so! That’s perfectly alright, honey. Actually, he’s the one man I’m not upset about you dating!”

“We are not dating!” you said. “It’s a more transactional relationship than that. No feelings involved. It’s just me apologizing to him.”

“Are you close enough to him to get an autograph for your brother and I?” your dad said.

“Um.” You thought about it. Would Sae give you an autograph for them? You weren’t sure. There was a chance he would, but there was also a high chance he would not. “I dunno. I can ask.”

“You’ll ask for dad, but not for me? Wow, I see how it is,” your brother said.

“Yeah, because you’re annoying!” you said. “Ugh. I have to get ready now. He’ll be here to get me in an hour. Have fun at dinner, all of you. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers.”

“You have fun as well,” your mother said. “Make sure not to bring any money with you. Gentlemen should always pay on the first date.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” you said, giving up on explaining things to your family for the sake of your sanity.

Sae was aggressively punctual. Exactly an hour after he had texted you, a shiny black car was pulling up in the valet lane, and a tall, bald man in a suit was opening the door for you. You climbed in awkwardly, finding Sae to be sitting on the other side, gazing out of the window pensively.

“Hello,” you said, smoothing your dress and buckling your seatbelt. “You have a driver?”

“Of course I do,” he said. “I usually walk places when I’m on vacation, but this restaurant is kind of far, so I thought it’d be more prudent to have the driver take us.”

“I see,” you said. “Thank you, driver, sir.”

The driver hummed in acknowledgement but did not say anything else. You supposed he probably wasn’t used to talking with his passengers; you doubted Sae ever spoke to him much.

“It’s been so hot out recently,” Sae said stiffly.

“That’s what happens during the summer, yes,” you said.

“That’s true,” he said.

“You’re right, though,” you said. “It has been hot.”

“Super hot,” he said.

“Yes,” you said. “Super hot.”

That must’ve been why there was a slight redness to his cheeks. There was definitely no other reason. And there wasn’t any other reason for why you felt uncomfortably warm, shifting in your seat to dissipate the feeling in your stomach. It was the temperature. That was all.

Given the trend, you really should have anticipated it when Sae paid for your dinner while you were freshening up in the bathroom, but you really had not seen it coming in the slightest. He scrunched up his face when you argued, simply telling you that he would see you tomorrow before dropping you back off at your hotel, the receipt in your hand, his flourishing signature scrawled across the back.

“For your brother,” he had said, handing it to you before you could even ask him for his autograph. “You said he was a fan, right? I’ll get him a better one later, but for now, this should do.”

You spent every day of the rest of that vacation with Sae Itoshi. Some days, you would accompany him on a morning walk — he had softened to slowing his pace, so that he was only barely jogging instead of the full on run that he had forced you into that first time — and on others, the two of you would have some meal or another together. The common theme was that, if there was money involved, he would take care of it. Without question, without hesitation, he always slapped your hand back and pulled out his own credit card, telling you that now you both had to meet again, and the next time you really would be the one paying, or else he’d never be able to forgive you for your terrible behavior.

Your parents and brother complained about it at first, as your new friendship with Sae — could it be considered a friendship, or was it something else? — meant you did not see them much on what was supposed to be a family vacation.

You brought it up with Sae, and he responded with something about how it wouldn’t have been a problem at all if you weren’t such a freeloader and actually paid for him, like you were supposed to. This resulted in a lighthearted squabble between you both, which in turn made you forget your family’s whining, and as well you should have. You could take a million more vacations with them, but you’d likely never get a chance to hang out with Sae Itoshi again, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of it when you could?

Sae didn’t forget, though. He sent you back from dinner the next evening with a soccer ball he had won in one of his games, his signature and a note of gratitude scribbled on it in black marker.

Thank you for letting me borrow your daughter and sister from you while you’re on your trip. I really appreciate it, even if she doesn’t know anything about soccer. — Sae Itoshi

They stopped complaining after that. The ball became your brother’s most prized possession, and every day, your father would tell you how happy he was that you had made such a considerate friend.

“And you know, if you ever want to date him,” he’d say, elbowing you in the side with an obnoxious wink. “We wouldn’t be opposed!”

Your mother was in the same boat. “He really cares about you, I think. Enough that he gave your family something so precious just because he thought we didn’t like him. You could do a lot worse than that.”

“Plus, he’s rich and famous!” your brother would chime in without fail. “Double win!”

“You guys are all nuts,” you’d tell them, shaking your head to disguise how pleased the thought of dating Sae made you.

It could never happen. Like your brother was so happy to remind you, he was rich and famous, an athlete that was adored worldwide and played for the best soccer club in history. He could have any girl he wanted, so why would he ever choose you? You and he were from two different planes of existence. Maybe you could pretend for a little bit that you weren’t, but the date for your eventual departure from Spain was drawing closer and closer, and that day meant the certain end of the fever dream that was your closeness with Sae.

You had been prepared from the start for it to finish in this way. You would go home and tell all of your friends about your trip, how you had spent almost every day with the famous soccer player Sae Itoshi, how he had given you his phone number and made you go on runs with him, how together, you and him had eaten lunch and dinner and breakfast and several meals that you were convinced he had just made up to have an excuse to buy food for the two of you — brunch, linner, midnight snacks and third desserts.

There were other things that you wouldn’t tell them, too, things that Sae had not necessarily said to you in confidence but which you sensed were held close to his heart and which you would therefore hold close to yours. His little brother was named Rin, and they had the same eyes, though Rin’s were quicker to water and perpetually had hair falling into them. He still watched the same shows he used to when he was very small, because they reminded him of his parents’ home. He thought that a person’s athletic potential could be determined by the shape of their butt, but he tended to avoid looking as a form of respect for others.

“That’s a pretty cool skill, Sae! What do you think my athletic potential is?” you had asked when he had revealed that last fact.

“If it’s possible for a person to have negative potential, then that’s about what yours is. If it’s not, then you’re definitely at a zero,” he had responded.

“You didn’t even look,” you had said, shoving a French fry into his mouth as punishment. He hated French fries for how unhealthy they were, and you had half-expected him to lecture you about fats and oils and salts, but instead, he had dutifully chewed and swallowed without any theatrics.

“Don’t need to, and don’t plan to,” he had said, and that was that. “I’ve already seen you run, and that told me all I needed to know about your athletic skills. Or, in this case, your lack thereof.”

If you took his words at face value, then you would’ve thought he truly hated you. He never missed a chance to make fun of you, and you were the same way — certainly, anyone who overheard your conversations would’ve been convinced that you and he were bitter enemies. But that was because they didn’t see the way he always positioned himself on the sidewalk so that he was between you and the oncoming traffic. They didn’t see the way he’d pull out your chair and only pretend to frown when you’d thank him for it. They didn’t see the way his ears would turn pink if you dared to smile in his direction or, heaven forbid, agreed with what he was saying instead of arguing, as was your go-to.

No, you were pretty confident that Sae Itoshi did not hate you. It was just that soccer was his thing and all other areas were beyond him, areas which included such fields as emotional awareness and sensitivity.

Maybe you might tell the friends you were particularly close to about that. Sae Itoshi treated me pretty well, you’d say, with grand, sweeping hand motions to emphasize the point. As well as he knew how to, which was well enough for me. If I ever get a boyfriend, they’ll have a lot to live up to. Seems kind of unfair to whatever poor schmuck gets stuck with the task, don’t you think? Considering the two of us never even dated…

“I'm going home tomorrow morning,” you said. The sun was setting, and the two of you were walking along the same stretch of beach that you had first met at. “I finished packing all of my things before dinner. It’s surreal, almost. I feel like an entirely different person now, compared to when I came here.”

“Is that so?” he said, the corners of his lips twitching slightly. “I wonder why.”

“Did you just smile?” you said. Immediately, he scowled.

“No way,” he said. “I’d never smile because of something you said.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh, you definitely smiled. I made you smile! I made you smile! I made you smile!” you said, poking him in the cheek repeatedly. Sae’s expressions were so subtle that it was easy to overlook them before they had vanished, but there was no overlooking what you had just seen. He had definitely smiled at you, or at least he had been about to.

“Stop poking me,” he grumbled.

“No,” you said, poking him again. “Only if you smile again.”

“Hell no,” he said. You poked his cheek again. “Y/N. Stop it.”

“Will you miss me?” you said.

“Not if you don’t quit that!” he said, grabbing your wrist when you prepared to poke him again. Heat rose to your cheeks at the way his thumb rested against your pulse, and when he realized he was holding your hand so familiarly, his own cheeks flushed. “No. I won’t.”

“I’ll miss you,” you said, digging your feet into the sand, turning out to the sea because you couldn’t stand to look at him when you were being so vulnerable. “I’ll tell everyone I know about you, of course, but it won’t be the same. Something funny will happen, and I’ll think to myself, oh, Sae would’ve snorted at that — but not laughed, because you don’t laugh. Or I’ll order shitty French fries, and it’ll remind me of how much you’d scold me for eating them. You’d say something like, those are basically heart attacks in a box, and then you’d pour a bottle of salted kombucha down my throat to cleanse my system.”

Somewhere in the distance, a seagull squawked, reminding you of the fateful encounter from so long ago. You wished you could go back and get to know Sae all over again. You wished you could ask him the same questions and not know the answers, so that you were surprised when he told them to you. You wished you could argue with him for a little bit longer. You wished that, one more time, you could imply he was short and ugly and slow and a thousand other rude adjectives, even if he was really none of those things, none of them at all.

“I’m going to ask you one last question, okay?” you said. “Please think over your answer carefully. It’s important.”

“Okay,” he said, uncharacteristically gently. “I’ll really consider it well.”

“What’s your favorite animal?” you said.

“Seagulls,” he said immediately, directly contradicting his solemn oath. You laughed at this, burying your face in your hands to hide the hitch in your throat.

“You traitor,” you said. “You know all about the feud between seagulls and I, and yet you’re still claiming they’re your favorites?”

“They always have been,” he said. “I like migratory birds, how they don’t stay in one place but are always moving around. It must be such a blissful life.”

“But it’s probably pretty lonely, too,” you said. “They don’t have anywhere to call home.”

“I like lonely things,” he said. “That’s why the end of the summer is my favorite season.”

“Hm,” you said. “Then, if I tell you that I’ll be lonely once I leave here, will you like me, too?”

He looked at you, but you stared resolutely ahead, your gaze trained on the horizon, the way his had been on the day you had run into him. It was such a kiddish question, and internally, you were beating yourself up for asking it, but deep down, you wanted to know, so you did not move to retract it.

“Well, I like seagulls for a different reason now,” he said.

So that was your answer, then. The waves crashed against the shore, and a balmy wind blew through your hair and clothes, carrying the light scent of Sae’s cologne to your nose, the same one he had worn for as long as you could remember.

“I understand,” you said.

“These days, it’s a specific seagull I’m fond of, actually,” he said.

“Huh? Like a breed or something?” you said.

“No, just one bird in particular,” he said. “It did me a really huge favor recently.”

“What are you talking about? You always say that you suspect I was dropped on the head as a baby, but between the two of us, I think the one that was dropped was you,” you said, the fraying ends of your rejected feelings driving you to irascibility.

“A while ago, I was standing on the beach, feeling pretty annoyed with the world — as usual,” he said. “I had had to run from the paparazzi in order to go on this vacation without being bothered, you know, and I honestly was starting to question if I’d ever be seen as a normal person. I get that the only thing I’m good at is soccer, but it’s pretty tiring to be thought of as a guy who kicks balls around and nothing more.”

Unbidden, you inhaled sharply, because the story was starting to sound familiar. Spinning on your heel, you were met with the sight of Sae smiling shyly, peering down at you through his unfairly long eyelashes.

“That seagull must’ve known how I was feeling. There’s no other explanation for it all. It must’ve known how I was feeling, and somehow, it managed to find the one person in the entire world that saw me as something other than that. Do you know what it did next? It stole that person’s sandwich, and it led her right to me,” he said.

“Are you talking about me?” you said.

“How many people do you think have called me a short, ugly, D-list celebrity instead of asking for my autograph upon meeting me?” he said.

“Probably not very many,” you said. He chuckled.

“Probably not any,” he said. You rested your forehead against his shoulder.

“Probably not,” you said. He stroked your hair, though his motions were like a marionette’s — he was not very used to this type of relationship, after all. But he was trying his best, and you found that to be far more endearing than any suave gestures might’ve been.

“I know you have to go soon, so I was planning on not saying anything,” he said. “What would be the point? I figured this was just a summer fling for you. But then you had to go and be all sentimental, and I had to say something.”

“I’m glad you did,” you said. “It would’ve been worse if I had returned home without knowing at all. Where do we go from here, though?”

“Where do we go from here? Let me think. Well, I’ll ask you to be my girlfriend,” he said. “And you’ll say yes, because who would ever reject me? Then we’ll talk on the phone every day, and you can send me photos of things you find funny, and I’ll have a sixth sense for when you’re eating French fries and I’ll send you strongly worded texts in reprimand. You’ll fly over to watch my matches whenever possible, and when I’m on my next break, I’ll come visit you and meet your family and friends properly.”

“Getting a little presumptuous, aren’t we? What if I say no?” you said.

“Will you?” he said.

“Not sure. How about you ask and find out?” you said.

“If you’re going to say no, then I don’t want to,” he said. You stuck your tongue out at him.

“I can’t be with a man who’s afraid of rejection. It was nice knowing you, Sae,” you said. “See you around. Hope you lose the Champions League.”

“Wait! I’m not afraid of rejection,” he said. “Y/N, will you be my girlfriend? Officially, I mean.”

“Yes, of course,” you said. “But you’re going to have to buy my plane tickets if you want me to watch you. Even with frequent flier miles, I doubt I can afford coming to see you that often.”

“Consider it done,” he said. You grinned at him.

“You know, if you’re my boyfriend, then you’re going to have to keep paying for our dates, as well. My mother said that’s the gentlemanly thing for you to do,” you said.

“Right, I was expecting that,” he said. “Don’t you think there’s a reason why I haven’t let you buy anything yet?”

“Then how am I ever supposed to apologize to you for the circumstances of our first meeting? I mean, I was pretty harsh,” you said.

“That’s true,” he said. “Let me think.”

“Mhm,” you said. “I know that that’s out of your comfort zone, so I’ll give you a minute.”

“I have an idea,” he said, though it was accompanied by a slight glare at your jab.

“What is it?” you said.

“Close your eyes,” he said. You obliged, squeezing them shut, though not without widening your feet into the defensive stance he had demonstrated to you on the day he had attempted to teach you basic soccer skills.

“What are you going to do, tackle me or something? I’m using the position you taught me, but please be gentle, you’re way more muscular than—!”

You were cut off by him pressing his lips to yours. It was a soft kiss, gentle and light, like feathers in the air or water against the sand, and he pulled away before you could really react or reciprocate. He had left you wanting, and you knew he knew that, because there was a smugness to his voice when he spoke next.

“Apology accepted,” he said as you blinked at him in shock, your mind still lagging well behind your body. “Now we’re even.”

“Hold on,” you said. “I’m suddenly feeling very repentant and remorseful. Are you quite sure you forgive me with just that?”

He laughed. It was such a lovely sound, his laugh, and you would’ve told him so if you weren’t afraid that he’d stop when you pointed it out.

“Maybe not,” he said. “You might have to apologize a bit more.”

“That sounds doable,” you said. “Yeah, I might be able to work that in. It’ll be agonizing, but a wise man once told me that that’s just the nature of apologizing, so it’s the least I can do, right?”

“Oh, shut up,” he said, holding your face in his hands and leaning in. You did the same, your eyes closing all on their own as you sought out the connection he had deprived you of earlier.

As the sun set over the horizon and the seagulls settled in for the night, he kissed you again.

[reanniee]

i love me some aventurine angst

fortune doesn't favor fools

aventurine x reader

notes: hinted nsfw, angst, gn reader, mention of slavery, mention of abuse, mention of sa word count: 2.7k

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts revels in the presence of a gamble. he rises at the mention of a bet and is quick to set the stakes. it is where he exceeds, afterall.

it is his fortune that grants you your freedom, afterall. it is his gamble that brought him his own freedom, after all.

aventurine is quick to make bets, whether the odds are against him or not. no matter the odds, no matter his disadvantages, the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts always wins.

it is his mere luck, he will say. all he does is for the thrill of the gamble. aventurine takes any bets, as he knows he will win.

though, there is one thing aventurine refuses to take a chance with–you.

aventurine will only take gambles where he knows he will succeed. aventurine only takes bets where he knows he is at an advantage. aventurine will only take chances he knows he can outsmart.

aventurine cannot bring himself to be with you.

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts chooses to live his life to the fullest. offering himself as collateral and sacrificing his life all for the sake of winning. it is that very reason that he refuses to involve himself with you–at least anymore that you are already.

he keeps you at a distance.

despite aventurine’s warnings, his pleas to himself to keep you away and out of his life–his ruined life–kakavasha cannot bring himself to do so. thus, he keeps you in his life, in his sight, all as to make sure you are alive.

kakavasha refuses to let anything happen to you again, and aventurine chooses to comply with his dead friend’s wish.

it is that very wish that he cannot involve himself in you–in your life. as anything more than an employer, that is. he cannot bring you into his world, not anymore that you already are. you have suffered enough because of him, and he refuses to cause you anymore grief.

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts does not want you.

aventurine does not want to hold you. he does not want to kiss you. he does not want to reassure all your worries. he does not want to replace all your horrible experiences of ‘love’ with new ones. he does not want to love you.

not one bit.

the very thought of it does not cross his mind.

afterall, the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts refuses to be touched by anyone, ever again. the mention of the very act disgusts him to his core. he refuses to take part in such acts. they have no use to aventurine, a stoneheart. so, why would he desire for you to do so?

you two share the same scars. you two were cut by the same knife. 

he knows how you feel–as he feels the same. you both underwent the same experiences, the same memories. so you must feel as he does. you must feel the same sense of disgust, embarrassment, and humiliation. the same that he does.

so, he will be strong. he will protect you, alongside himself, alongside kakavasha.

that is why, as the two of you share a drink, he is sure to keep his eyes on you. he is sure to watch you–to protect you.

“ah, this one is a special honey flavor”

the female across from the two IPC members spoke.

aventurine currently sat next to you, resting against the couch. in front of him sat a wealthy young woman who held a large bottle in her hand. a coffee table separated the couches.

he watched as you tilted your head, seemingly staring at the bottle. the woman laughed in response.

“it’s alcohol, sweetie. would you like some?”

he watched as you paused for a moment before slowly shaking your head.

“no thank you, ma’am.”

the woman laughed again.

“what’s the matter, sweetie? it isn’t all that strong”

you shook your head again.

“i’m alright, really.”

“ahhh, so a lightweight you are?”

he watched as you tensed up. he lightly clicked his tongue. 

it was unfortunate that you were forced to be here. he had been discussing with the woman regarding the ipc’s deals before she spotted you, and beckoned for you to join their conversation.

“ah, well.. yeah, i guess”

“you guess?”

he watched as you paused and redirected your gaze.

“i’m not a huge fan of alcohol”

the woman merely raised an eyebrow.

he knew. of course, he knew. he knew why you were so nervous, so alert. he knew why you hated alcohol. afterall, he isn’t a fan of it himself. and the two of you shared the same scars.

“well, this lovely thing’ll change your mind. specially imported from the xianzhou. be a dear and pour her a glass.”

the woman motioned towards one of her bodyguards.

aventurine watched as you gulped and slightly shrinked into yourself. he watched as you looked towards him. he sighed and sent you a nod and a slightly smile. he watched as you hesitantly smiled back.

“and you, aventurine?”

“go on, i’ll try some”

oh, how he dreaded those words. 

he was indifferent towards alcohol. it was an important and necessary tool for garnering relations and deals, so he did not mind. the taste was not all too bad, sometimes. the only thing he dreaded were the occasional memories that came along with the drink, the memories of the past–of a past person, of kakavasha.

as the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts, he enjoyed alcohol and the act of drinking. he could easily push his memories aside, as the aventurine now had a job to do. though, he knows that you are not the same. while he is now aventurine, he knows that you are still and have always been you.

his mood becomes slightly annoyed. forced to play nice, forced to act in order to garner a deal. forced to watch as the memories of the past resurface his own mind as well as yours. he does not like this one bit, though he hopes you are able to endure the situation for just a little. after, he’ll be sure to indirectly apologize by taking you on a trip, perhaps.

he watches how you are silent as he and the woman continue to converse, regularly taking small sips of the honeyed drink. he watched as the woman looks to you, telling you to join them and take a sip of your drink, and to at least finish a glass or two–after all this stuff is quite hard to get and expensive.

as you finished your first glass, it wasn’t long before the conversation switched back to you.

“so, whens the last time you’ve been able to let loose like this and just have some fun?”

the woman asked. there was an obvious flush on your face from the alcohol. you paused for a moment, before averting her gaze and answering.

“it’s… it’s been a lot of years”

he watched as your expression dropped. he knew. god, he had to finish this up already.

“she doesn’t enjoy drinking, that’s all. it’s not quite the hobby for everyone”

the woman glanced at him, laughing slightly before turning her attention back to you.

“and why is that?”

he watched as you paused, before your eyes widened. he could feel as your whole body began to tremor.

“the taste isn’t for everyone”

he quickly interjected.

“ah, is that so?”

“now then, back to the shareholder?”

“ah, yes. my apologies”

the two refocused their discussion. aventurine’s words became slightly hostile towards the woman, urgent to wrap up the deal.

the woman had poured you another drink. quite stubborn this woman was. you understood the importance of a deal, of keeping an appearance in the ipc. he watched as you hesitantly accepted the drink.

the two continued to converse whilst drinking, slowly emptying the lavish bottle. whilst you had been working on your second glass, aventurine kept up with the pace of the woman, nearly both on their seventh.

you had slightly scooted closer to him, now able to feel how your entire body shake as you tensed up. you were silent, and zoned out. he knew.

he sighed deeply as he placed his gloved hand over your shaky ones, sending you a firm, reassuring squeeze as he glanced at you. your eyes were frightened, terrified. he knew. he had to wrap this up quicker.

“so then, we have a deal?”

the woman held up her glass towards aventurine. he smiled, and brought his up in response, clinking the glasses together and finishing the rest of the glass. the woman got up, sent a final smile and goodbye wave towards the two, before exiting the room, leaving you and aventurine.

as the doors closed, you let out a deep breath, slightly panting. your cheeks were flushed an intense red, as your entire body continued to shake. you looked down as sweat ran down your body.

he knew.

he knew. he knew what you were thinking of. he knew what was going through your mind. he knew what memories were resurfacing. 

he quickly used both of his gloved hands to gently cup your face, turning you to face him. he watched as your eyes widened, slightly in shock at his actions. he watched as a tear ran down your face.

“i’m sorry. you shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

he watched as your lip quivered as more tears threatened to spill from your eyes. he moved to wipe the tear from your eye as you grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. 

you were leaned forward on the couch, hands desperately clutching onto the back of his coat as you placed your chin on his shoulder, leading your head onto his.

he was stunned for a moment, hesitant. he could not hold you like this, he really couldn’t. he cannot, for the sake of both of you. though, it is his fault you are in this position, so he will be selfish just this once.

he slowly wraps his hands around you, one wrapped around your back as the other was gently placed on the back of your head. he felt you shake, he felt your tears, he felt your rapid, heavy breaths.

aventurine was good with words, though when it came to you–he was at a loss.

all he could do was sit here. sit here with you in his arms. he could not say anything. he sat, comforting you for an hour. he would do it again, for as long as it takes.

he notices as you slump your head against his shoulder, your eyes closing. he notices your grip slightly weaken. he stands, holding onto you as he makes his way to your room.

the alcohol had gotten to you.

he sighs as walks down the halls, finding your room. you lightly stir as he walks whilst he caresses your hair. you hadn’t taken the alcohol well. you never did.

he finds himself at the entrance of your door, turning the knob and entering the room. soft, minimal, and cozy–as you were. he spots your bed, walking towards it as he places you down on it. your shut eyes slightly furrow in your sleep.

a small frown finds his face as he sighs. he brushes a strand of hair out of your face before turning to leave, stopped by a weak grip.

“aventurine…”

you voice is slightly groggy, eyes fighting to stay open. he sighs.

“go to bed”

he speaks as he places his other hand on yours, removing your grab off of him. he turns again, this time cut off by a grip onto his back, onto his coat.

“don’t... don’t leave me”

he pauses for a moment before turning to face you. sat up in your bed as a sense of desperation washed over you. tears threatened to spill as your eyes were wide open. you were shaking and slightly panting.

aventurine cannot bring himself to be with you.

he cannot be with you, as to save both you and himself. but, at your current state, he will stay. if only to comfort you.

he breathes deeply as he sits on the edge of the bed, facing away. you continue to clench onto his sleeve, as if he’ll leave if you falter for just a moment.

“i won’t. i’m right here”

“...promise?”

he pauses, his eyes slightly widen.

“of course.”

you let out a shaky breath.

it is silent for a moment before you speak.

“aventurine…”

“...yes?”

your breaths continue to become more shaky as you quietly speak.

“please hold me”

his eyes widen at your request. he notices how both your hands seem to grip onto his coat tightly. you are fully sat up, staring at him with half-lidded eyes as he turns.

his breath hitches.

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts does not want you. you have suffered enough because of him, and he refuses to cause you anymore grief. he refuses to reawaken old memories. he refuses to reopen your scars.

the alcohol had gotten to you.

he sighs. he will only hold you. he will only hold you in his arms. he will only provide you comfort–a sense of someone being there. he does not want you–for now he acts as a mere replacement for comfort. a mere replacement as he waits for you to meet someone you love. someone you cherish. someone you meet naturally.

aventurine is fully sat on the bed, his legs crossed as he opens his arms, a gesture for you. you quickly lean into him, moving to sit in his lap and accept his embrace. 

you are quiet for a moment, still as your arms are wrapped around his shoulders, quiet as your cheek is pressed against his shoulder. he feels your rapid heartbeat as you remain silent. he feels your breaths against his neck.

it is a moment before you clumsily take his coat off of him, struggling.

“hey.”

you continue to take his coat off.

“hey, you’re–you’re drunk.”

as the coat drops off his body, you look up to meet his eyes. his beautiful eyes. they widen as you press your chest to his and lean up, inching closer to his face.

“[name]?”

he can feel your heartbeat so clearly. it’s rhythm so fast, pressed up against his. he can feel your breaths on his bare neck. the feeling sending shivers down his spine.

“please… please aventurine”

he watched as you move your arms up to lightly grab onto his collar. the red flush unable to cover the clear desperation on your face. your voice is low, quiet, and tired.

the alcohol had gotten to you.

“please… just make me forget”

his eyes widened, frozen.

you bring your soft, small hands to gently cup his face. he hesitated, before quietly speaking.

“you don’t want this”

he places his hands on your wrists, moving to push your hands off his face.

the memories wash over you two. they still continue to. you more so than him. he knows this. he knows.

how could he bring himself to reawaken them further? how could he ever harm you more? he cannot. he will not.

his avgin eyes move to meet yours.

“replace my memories, please, aventurine”

his movements pause. he stares directly at you.

he cannot involve himself in your life any further. because of him, you are like this. because of him, you are forced to remember the past. because of him, you are in pain, again.

“help me forget”

aventurine does not need you. aventurine does not want you. aventurine does not love you.

he knows this.

“please, aventurine”

aventurine does not want to need you. aventurine does not want to be with you. aventurine does not want to love you.

and yet, he knows he does.

“i need you”

in a moment his lips are on yours.

your hands move to wrap around his neck as his move their way to your waist.

the kiss is tender, gentle, embracing. unalike anything you two had ever experienced. it’s new. it’s soft. it’s love.

he pulls apart, breathless. his eyes widened as he shakes his head.

“we–we need to stop. we need to stop this”

he knows he needs to. he knows.

“do–do you want to?”

no

how could he ever

[reanniee]

fortune doesn't favor fools

aventurine x reader

notes: hinted nsfw, angst, gn reader, mention of slavery, mention of abuse, mention of sa word count: 2.7k

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts revels in the presence of a gamble. he rises at the mention of a bet and is quick to set the stakes. it is where he exceeds, afterall.

it is his fortune that grants you your freedom, afterall. it is his gamble that brought him his own freedom, after all.

aventurine is quick to make bets, whether the odds are against him or not. no matter the odds, no matter his disadvantages, the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts always wins.

it is his mere luck, he will say. all he does is for the thrill of the gamble. aventurine takes any bets, as he knows he will win.

though, there is one thing aventurine refuses to take a chance with–you.

aventurine will only take gambles where he knows he will succeed. aventurine only takes bets where he knows he is at an advantage. aventurine will only take chances he knows he can outsmart.

aventurine cannot bring himself to be with you.

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts chooses to live his life to the fullest. offering himself as collateral and sacrificing his life all for the sake of winning. it is that very reason that he refuses to involve himself with you–at least anymore that you are already.

he keeps you at a distance.

despite aventurine’s warnings, his pleas to himself to keep you away and out of his life–his ruined life–kakavasha cannot bring himself to do so. thus, he keeps you in his life, in his sight, all as to make sure you are alive.

kakavasha refuses to let anything happen to you again, and aventurine chooses to comply with his dead friend’s wish.

it is that very wish that he cannot involve himself in you–in your life. as anything more than an employer, that is. he cannot bring you into his world, not anymore that you already are. you have suffered enough because of him, and he refuses to cause you anymore grief.

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts does not want you.

aventurine does not want to hold you. he does not want to kiss you. he does not want to reassure all your worries. he does not want to replace all your horrible experiences of ‘love’ with new ones. he does not want to love you.

not one bit.

the very thought of it does not cross his mind.

afterall, the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts refuses to be touched by anyone, ever again. the mention of the very act disgusts him to his core. he refuses to take part in such acts. they have no use to aventurine, a stoneheart. so, why would he desire for you to do so?

you two share the same scars. you two were cut by the same knife. 

he knows how you feel–as he feels the same. you both underwent the same experiences, the same memories. so you must feel as he does. you must feel the same sense of disgust, embarrassment, and humiliation. the same that he does.

so, he will be strong. he will protect you, alongside himself, alongside kakavasha.

that is why, as the two of you share a drink, he is sure to keep his eyes on you. he is sure to watch you–to protect you.

“ah, this one is a special honey flavor”

the female across from the two IPC members spoke.

aventurine currently sat next to you, resting against the couch. in front of him sat a wealthy young woman who held a large bottle in her hand. a coffee table separated the couches.

he watched as you tilted your head, seemingly staring at the bottle. the woman laughed in response.

“it’s alcohol, sweetie. would you like some?”

he watched as you paused for a moment before slowly shaking your head.

“no thank you, ma’am.”

the woman laughed again.

“what’s the matter, sweetie? it isn’t all that strong”

you shook your head again.

“i’m alright, really.”

“ahhh, so a lightweight you are?”

he watched as you tensed up. he lightly clicked his tongue. 

it was unfortunate that you were forced to be here. he had been discussing with the woman regarding the ipc’s deals before she spotted you, and beckoned for you to join their conversation.

“ah, well.. yeah, i guess”

“you guess?”

he watched as you paused and redirected your gaze.

“i’m not a huge fan of alcohol”

the woman merely raised an eyebrow.

he knew. of course, he knew. he knew why you were so nervous, so alert. he knew why you hated alcohol. afterall, he isn’t a fan of it himself. and the two of you shared the same scars.

“well, this lovely thing’ll change your mind. specially imported from the xianzhou. be a dear and pour her a glass.”

the woman motioned towards one of her bodyguards.

aventurine watched as you gulped and slightly shrinked into yourself. he watched as you looked towards him. he sighed and sent you a nod and a slightly smile. he watched as you hesitantly smiled back.

“and you, aventurine?”

“go on, i’ll try some”

oh, how he dreaded those words. 

he was indifferent towards alcohol. it was an important and necessary tool for garnering relations and deals, so he did not mind. the taste was not all too bad, sometimes. the only thing he dreaded were the occasional memories that came along with the drink, the memories of the past–of a past person, of kakavasha.

as the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts, he enjoyed alcohol and the act of drinking. he could easily push his memories aside, as the aventurine now had a job to do. though, he knows that you are not the same. while he is now aventurine, he knows that you are still and have always been you.

his mood becomes slightly annoyed. forced to play nice, forced to act in order to garner a deal. forced to watch as the memories of the past resurface his own mind as well as yours. he does not like this one bit, though he hopes you are able to endure the situation for just a little. after, he’ll be sure to indirectly apologize by taking you on a trip, perhaps.

he watches how you are silent as he and the woman continue to converse, regularly taking small sips of the honeyed drink. he watched as the woman looks to you, telling you to join them and take a sip of your drink, and to at least finish a glass or two–after all this stuff is quite hard to get and expensive.

as you finished your first glass, it wasn’t long before the conversation switched back to you.

“so, whens the last time you’ve been able to let loose like this and just have some fun?”

the woman asked. there was an obvious flush on your face from the alcohol. you paused for a moment, before averting her gaze and answering.

“it’s… it’s been a lot of years”

he watched as your expression dropped. he knew. god, he had to finish this up already.

“she doesn’t enjoy drinking, that’s all. it’s not quite the hobby for everyone”

the woman glanced at him, laughing slightly before turning her attention back to you.

“and why is that?”

he watched as you paused, before your eyes widened. he could feel as your whole body began to tremor.

“the taste isn’t for everyone”

he quickly interjected.

“ah, is that so?”

“now then, back to the shareholder?”

“ah, yes. my apologies”

the two refocused their discussion. aventurine’s words became slightly hostile towards the woman, urgent to wrap up the deal.

the woman had poured you another drink. quite stubborn this woman was. you understood the importance of a deal, of keeping an appearance in the ipc. he watched as you hesitantly accepted the drink.

the two continued to converse whilst drinking, slowly emptying the lavish bottle. whilst you had been working on your second glass, aventurine kept up with the pace of the woman, nearly both on their seventh.

you had slightly scooted closer to him, now able to feel how your entire body shake as you tensed up. you were silent, and zoned out. he knew.

he sighed deeply as he placed his gloved hand over your shaky ones, sending you a firm, reassuring squeeze as he glanced at you. your eyes were frightened, terrified. he knew. he had to wrap this up quicker.

“so then, we have a deal?”

the woman held up her glass towards aventurine. he smiled, and brought his up in response, clinking the glasses together and finishing the rest of the glass. the woman got up, sent a final smile and goodbye wave towards the two, before exiting the room, leaving you and aventurine.

as the doors closed, you let out a deep breath, slightly panting. your cheeks were flushed an intense red, as your entire body continued to shake. you looked down as sweat ran down your body.

he knew.

he knew. he knew what you were thinking of. he knew what was going through your mind. he knew what memories were resurfacing. 

he quickly used both of his gloved hands to gently cup your face, turning you to face him. he watched as your eyes widened, slightly in shock at his actions. he watched as a tear ran down your face.

“i’m sorry. you shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

he watched as your lip quivered as more tears threatened to spill from your eyes. he moved to wipe the tear from your eye as you grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. 

you were leaned forward on the couch, hands desperately clutching onto the back of his coat as you placed your chin on his shoulder, leading your head onto his.

he was stunned for a moment, hesitant. he could not hold you like this, he really couldn’t. he cannot, for the sake of both of you. though, it is his fault you are in this position, so he will be selfish just this once.

he slowly wraps his hands around you, one wrapped around your back as the other was gently placed on the back of your head. he felt you shake, he felt your tears, he felt your rapid, heavy breaths.

aventurine was good with words, though when it came to you–he was at a loss.

all he could do was sit here. sit here with you in his arms. he could not say anything. he sat, comforting you for an hour. he would do it again, for as long as it takes.

he notices as you slump your head against his shoulder, your eyes closing. he notices your grip slightly weaken. he stands, holding onto you as he makes his way to your room.

the alcohol had gotten to you.

he sighs as walks down the halls, finding your room. you lightly stir as he walks whilst he caresses your hair. you hadn’t taken the alcohol well. you never did.

he finds himself at the entrance of your door, turning the knob and entering the room. soft, minimal, and cozy–as you were. he spots your bed, walking towards it as he places you down on it. your shut eyes slightly furrow in your sleep.

a small frown finds his face as he sighs. he brushes a strand of hair out of your face before turning to leave, stopped by a weak grip.

“aventurine…”

you voice is slightly groggy, eyes fighting to stay open. he sighs.

“go to bed”

he speaks as he places his other hand on yours, removing your grab off of him. he turns again, this time cut off by a grip onto his back, onto his coat.

“don’t... don’t leave me”

he pauses for a moment before turning to face you. sat up in your bed as a sense of desperation washed over you. tears threatened to spill as your eyes were wide open. you were shaking and slightly panting.

aventurine cannot bring himself to be with you.

he cannot be with you, as to save both you and himself. but, at your current state, he will stay. if only to comfort you.

he breathes deeply as he sits on the edge of the bed, facing away. you continue to clench onto his sleeve, as if he’ll leave if you falter for just a moment.

“i won’t. i’m right here”

“...promise?”

he pauses, his eyes slightly widen.

“of course.”

you let out a shaky breath.

it is silent for a moment before you speak.

“aventurine…”

“...yes?”

your breaths continue to become more shaky as you quietly speak.

“please hold me”

his eyes widen at your request. he notices how both your hands seem to grip onto his coat tightly. you are fully sat up, staring at him with half-lidded eyes as he turns.

his breath hitches.

the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts does not want you. you have suffered enough because of him, and he refuses to cause you anymore grief. he refuses to reawaken old memories. he refuses to reopen your scars.

the alcohol had gotten to you.

he sighs. he will only hold you. he will only hold you in his arms. he will only provide you comfort–a sense of someone being there. he does not want you–for now he acts as a mere replacement for comfort. a mere replacement as he waits for you to meet someone you love. someone you cherish. someone you meet naturally.

aventurine is fully sat on the bed, his legs crossed as he opens his arms, a gesture for you. you quickly lean into him, moving to sit in his lap and accept his embrace. 

you are quiet for a moment, still as your arms are wrapped around his shoulders, quiet as your cheek is pressed against his shoulder. he feels your rapid heartbeat as you remain silent. he feels your breaths against his neck.

it is a moment before you clumsily take his coat off of him, struggling.

“hey.”

you continue to take his coat off.

“hey, you’re–you’re drunk.”

as the coat drops off his body, you look up to meet his eyes. his beautiful eyes. they widen as you press your chest to his and lean up, inching closer to his face.

“[name]?”

he can feel your heartbeat so clearly. it’s rhythm so fast, pressed up against his. he can feel your breaths on his bare neck. the feeling sending shivers down his spine.

“please… please aventurine”

he watched as you move your arms up to lightly grab onto his collar. the red flush unable to cover the clear desperation on your face. your voice is low, quiet, and tired.

the alcohol had gotten to you.

“please… just make me forget”

his eyes widened, frozen.

you bring your soft, small hands to gently cup his face. he hesitated, before quietly speaking.

“you don’t want this”

he places his hands on your wrists, moving to push your hands off his face.

the memories wash over you two. they still continue to. you more so than him. he knows this. he knows.

how could he bring himself to reawaken them further? how could he ever harm you more? he cannot. he will not.

his avgin eyes move to meet yours.

“replace my memories, please, aventurine”

his movements pause. he stares directly at you.

he cannot involve himself in your life any further. because of him, you are like this. because of him, you are forced to remember the past. because of him, you are in pain, again.

“help me forget”

aventurine does not need you. aventurine does not want you. aventurine does not love you.

he knows this.

“please, aventurine”

aventurine does not want to need you. aventurine does not want to be with you. aventurine does not want to love you.

and yet, he knows he does.

“i need you”

in a moment his lips are on yours.

your hands move to wrap around his neck as his move their way to your waist.

the kiss is tender, gentle, embracing. unalike anything you two had ever experienced. it’s new. it’s soft. it’s love.

he pulls apart, breathless. his eyes widened as he shakes his head.

“we–we need to stop. we need to stop this”

he knows he needs to. he knows.

“do–do you want to?”

no

how could he ever

[reanniee]

Do you take request? And if yes, do you write for female characters

hi !! yes i do female requests ! feel free to send them <3

[reanniee]

Your last fic has gn reader tag, even though it's clearly female reader

hi ! it is a gn reader. the reader sleeps with a female character, which is what you are likely referencing !

[reanniee]

i enjoyed writing this one a ton !

denial

aventurine x reader

notes: nsfw, smut, oral (female receiving), voyeurism, power imbalance, unhealthy relationship, mention of slavery, mention of sa word count: 2.0k

aventurine is a selfish man, afterall.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. afterall, what use is the past? the only thing important to him now is the future. there is no need to look back on such trivial memories, on such useless moments.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. aventurine has no need for such simple memories, for such simple emotions. so, he ignores and rids of anything that may revive his memories of such a trivial and unimportant time.

though, there is something he cannot bring himself to rid of–you.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. as he keeps you at a strict distance. never too close, yet never too far from him. he makes sure that you are still in his sight, still in his grasp, still in his heart, and still in his life.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. so, he constantly reminds himself that you are nothing more than a bodyguard. nothing more than a mere tool, a mere weapon he has saved and decided to hire.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. so, he constantly tells himself that he does not love you. he needs to repeat it to himself to remind himself of the promise he made.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. so, he is perfectly normal as the young daughter of the corporate boss, whom aventurine and his fellow stoneheart jade are currently negotiating with, approaches, and whispers something into her father’s ears.

he is perfectly normal as the woman blushes as she pulls away, and her father clears his throat, proposing an offer to the two stonehearts.

he is perfectly normal as the old man asks how much it is to purchase the lovely bodyguard by his side. the old man states that he will do any price.

he is perfectly normal as jade laughs whilst he is frozen in shock, unable to respond. she questions the old man’s use of the word ‘anything.’

he is perfectly normal as the old man nods. she laughs again before proposing that, perhaps a night would be satisfactory instead, at the cost of an extra 20%, that is.

he is perfectly normal as the old man looks to his daughter, to where she happily nods her head as the old man sighs, then expresses his agreement to the deal. jade then looks to you, asking if you are alright with the deal.

he is perfectly normal as you look towards him for approval, to where he provides no reaction, as he is perfectly normal. you turn back to jade, pausing a moment, then, you nod, stating that it is alright with you.

there is no reason for him to feel upset. no reason. he is perfectly normal.

he watches as the daughter of the old man seemed to light up, sparking with enjoyment and excitement. he watched as she ran up to you and grasped your soft hands, intertwining them with hers as she pulled you away.

he watches as the old man signed the contract that jade had written up for him, waved the two farewells, then exited the room, leaving the two stonehearts together.

he watches as jade laughs at him, placing a hand on his shoulder and asking if he were truly okay with sending you to that woman. he merely responds with what does it matter to him.

he watches as jade places a hand on his back, as if to console him. he does not need to be consoled. he is perfectly normal. she laughs at him, tells him he is in denial, before departing.

he watches as jade stops just before opening the door, telling him to go to the after party in an hour. it is important to keep up appearances in the ipc, she reminds him. and she warns him to control himself.

why would he need to control himself? jade does not need to remind him. he is aventurine, an esteemed member of the ten stonehearts under the ipc. aventurine has no need for such emotions.

aventurine arrives at the party an hour after his meeting. an hour after the deal was made. an hour after he sold you away. an hour after you left his side.

aventurine forces a slight smile onto his face as he converses with the other attendees at the party. it was a sultry and relaxing atmosphere, the lights dim as drinks were handed out.

aventurine finds himself walking around, scanning the entire room, trying to find where you are. he is stopped by many guests, constantly forced to put on a front and converse where the only thing on his mind is to find you.

aventurine tries his best to hold his composure as he finally spots you. you are with that woman. he watches as the woman pushes up against you, her cheeks flushed, seemingly tipsy.

he watches as the blush on her face grows, her expression morphing and her eyes showing a sense of desire. he watches as she smiles towards you, then grabs your hand and leads you to a secluded area with a couch. he finds himself following you two.

he watches as she pushes your shoulders down, forcing you to sit on the couch as she stands above you. he watches as your face has a slight blush. you must be tipsy, he tells himself.

he watches as she climbs into your lap, straddling your lap and leans into your face. he watches as she is now mere inches away from your face, lips close to touching. he watches as she leans forward, initiating a long and sensual kiss.

he watches as she pulls away after some time, gasping for air. a string of saliva continues to connect you two as the woman breathes heavily, attempting to catch her breath.

he watches as your eyes seem to get cloudy. a hint of desire forming within your mind as you stare up into the woman’s eyes as she breathes heavily. you are drunk, he tells himself.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you quickly flip the woman over, swapping your positions. you are drunk, he tells himself as you hungrily reinitiate the kiss, your tongue diving into the mouth of the woman now underneath you.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you raise your hands, interlocking with those of the woman beside her shoulders. you are drunk, he tells himself as when you pull away, you stare deeply and lovingly into the eyes of the woman who was struggling to breathe in front of you.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you slowly move down the woman’s body, placing kisses along a trail as you move downwards. you are drunk, he tells himself as you stop at her chest, fondling and placing soft, tender kisses at her breasts.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you pause and gaze into the eyes of the woman you are making love to. you maintain eye contact with the woman as you continue to trail down her body, stopping right above her cunt. you are drunk, he tells himself as you softly ask, may i, whilst arousal and need could be easily sensed from your eyes.

you are drunk, he tells himself as the woman shyly nods, to where you immediately rip off her skirt and underwear. you are drunk, he tells himself as you grab the woman’s thighs, spreading them apart as you keep a hand on each leg, giving you full access to the woman.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you dive your face into the cunt of the woman before you, skillfully and tenderly lapping at her insides and seeking her immediate pleasure, just like you were taught back then. you are drunk, he tells himself as you keep your eyes focused on hers, gauging her reaction.

you are drunk, he tells himself as her hands grip the hair on your scalp, begging you to stop as her orgasm was already near, her voice nothing but a crying mess. you are drunk, he tells himself as you refuse, continuing to give the woman nothing but complete and utter pleasure.

you are drunk, he tells himself as the woman releases, moaning out loud and gripping your hair. you are drunk, he tells himself as the woman begs for you to stop as it is too much, she’s too sensitive. you are drunk, he tells himself as he watched you continue to pleasure the woman, riding out her orgasm.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you finally pull away, arms still grabbing onto the thighs of the woman and your eyes continuing to keep direct contact with her. 

you are drunk, he tells himself as you stay there for a moment, watching the woman before you, watching the woman who had struggled to catch her breath, watching the woman who had a deep red flush on her face, watching the woman with small drool dripping from the side of her mouth, watching the woman you made like this.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you rise, placing a knee between her cunt and edging your face closer to hers, laughing as she weakly grips onto your shirt. you are drunk, he tells himself as you tease her, speaking nothing but sweet nothings and praises into her ears.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you kiss the woman before you affectionately. deeply. passionately. lovingly. 

aventurine is a selfish man.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past, just like he refuses to acknowledge the current situation in front of him.

he refuses to be with you–he refuses to love you–he refuses to bed with you–he refuses to force himself onto you.

he does not want to reawaken the horrible memories you have sealed away. the horrible memories that must still haunt you. the horrible memories that have left a permanent scar on you forever, both mentally and physically.

he keeps a strict distance between you two as to not inflict more pain onto you. he does this to save you–to protect you; just as he promised he would since the day he freed you. since the day he freed himself.

though, perhaps, just maybe. he does this all to save himself–to protect himself.

he does not need you. he does not care for you. he does not love you. 

he constantly repeats to himself.

he does not want to need you. he does not want to care for you. he does not want to love you.

and yet–despite all he tells himself, despite all he repeats to himself–he loves you greatly, more than he could ever say out loud.

but for your sake–for his sake, he must never tell you his true feelings. he swore to protect you, he swore to save you–he swore to protect himself, he swore to save himself.

he is now aventurine. kakavasha is no more. and aventurine has no need for such simple emotions. aventurine has no need for such simple desires. aventurine has no need for such jealous. aventurine has no need for such love.

so he swallows his pride, swallows his emotions, swallows his love for you–forcing himself to stand there and watch you.

for now, allow him to maintain a slightly smile and a calm expression. for now, allow him to keep up appearances as the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts. for now, allow him to believe that he is perfectly normal. for now, allow him to believe that he does not want you. for now, allow him to believe that he does not love you, for one day he knows that he will break.

aventurine is a selfish man, after all. and he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

[reanniee]

denial

aventurine x reader

notes: nsfw, smut, oral (female receiving), voyeurism, power imbalance, unhealthy relationship, mention of slavery, mention of sa word count: 2.0k

aventurine is a selfish man, afterall.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. afterall, what use is the past? the only thing important to him now is the future. there is no need to look back on such trivial memories, on such useless moments.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. aventurine has no need for such simple memories, for such simple emotions. so, he ignores and rids of anything that may revive his memories of such a trivial and unimportant time.

though, there is something he cannot bring himself to rid of–you.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. as he keeps you at a strict distance. never too close, yet never too far from him. he makes sure that you are still in his sight, still in his grasp, still in his heart, and still in his life.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. so, he constantly reminds himself that you are nothing more than a bodyguard. nothing more than a mere tool, a mere weapon he has saved and decided to hire.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. so, he constantly tells himself that he does not love you. he needs to repeat it to himself to remind himself of the promise he made.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past. so, he is perfectly normal as the young daughter of the corporate boss, whom aventurine and his fellow stoneheart jade are currently negotiating with, approaches, and whispers something into her father’s ears.

he is perfectly normal as the woman blushes as she pulls away, and her father clears his throat, proposing an offer to the two stonehearts.

he is perfectly normal as the old man asks how much it is to purchase the lovely bodyguard by his side. the old man states that he will do any price.

he is perfectly normal as jade laughs whilst he is frozen in shock, unable to respond. she questions the old man’s use of the word ‘anything.’

he is perfectly normal as the old man nods. she laughs again before proposing that, perhaps a night would be satisfactory instead, at the cost of an extra 20%, that is.

he is perfectly normal as the old man looks to his daughter, to where she happily nods her head as the old man sighs, then expresses his agreement to the deal. jade then looks to you, asking if you are alright with the deal.

he is perfectly normal as you look towards him for approval, to where he provides no reaction, as he is perfectly normal. you turn back to jade, pausing a moment, then, you nod, stating that it is alright with you.

there is no reason for him to feel upset. no reason. he is perfectly normal.

he watches as the daughter of the old man seemed to light up, sparking with enjoyment and excitement. he watched as she ran up to you and grasped your soft hands, intertwining them with hers as she pulled you away.

he watches as the old man signed the contract that jade had written up for him, waved the two farewells, then exited the room, leaving the two stonehearts together.

he watches as jade laughs at him, placing a hand on his shoulder and asking if he were truly okay with sending you to that woman. he merely responds with what does it matter to him.

he watches as jade places a hand on his back, as if to console him. he does not need to be consoled. he is perfectly normal. she laughs at him, tells him he is in denial, before departing.

he watches as jade stops just before opening the door, telling him to go to the after party in an hour. it is important to keep up appearances in the ipc, she reminds him. and she warns him to control himself.

why would he need to control himself? jade does not need to remind him. he is aventurine, an esteemed member of the ten stonehearts under the ipc. aventurine has no need for such emotions.

aventurine arrives at the party an hour after his meeting. an hour after the deal was made. an hour after he sold you away. an hour after you left his side.

aventurine forces a slight smile onto his face as he converses with the other attendees at the party. it was a sultry and relaxing atmosphere, the lights dim as drinks were handed out.

aventurine finds himself walking around, scanning the entire room, trying to find where you are. he is stopped by many guests, constantly forced to put on a front and converse where the only thing on his mind is to find you.

aventurine tries his best to hold his composure as he finally spots you. you are with that woman. he watches as the woman pushes up against you, her cheeks flushed, seemingly tipsy.

he watches as the blush on her face grows, her expression morphing and her eyes showing a sense of desire. he watches as she smiles towards you, then grabs your hand and leads you to a secluded area with a couch. he finds himself following you two.

he watches as she pushes your shoulders down, forcing you to sit on the couch as she stands above you. he watches as your face has a slight blush. you must be tipsy, he tells himself.

he watches as she climbs into your lap, straddling your lap and leans into your face. he watches as she is now mere inches away from your face, lips close to touching. he watches as she leans forward, initiating a long and sensual kiss.

he watches as she pulls away after some time, gasping for air. a string of saliva continues to connect you two as the woman breathes heavily, attempting to catch her breath.

he watches as your eyes seem to get cloudy. a hint of desire forming within your mind as you stare up into the woman’s eyes as she breathes heavily. you are drunk, he tells himself.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you quickly flip the woman over, swapping your positions. you are drunk, he tells himself as you hungrily reinitiate the kiss, your tongue diving into the mouth of the woman now underneath you.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you raise your hands, interlocking with those of the woman beside her shoulders. you are drunk, he tells himself as when you pull away, you stare deeply and lovingly into the eyes of the woman who was struggling to breathe in front of you.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you slowly move down the woman’s body, placing kisses along a trail as you move downwards. you are drunk, he tells himself as you stop at her chest, fondling and placing soft, tender kisses at her breasts.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you pause and gaze into the eyes of the woman you are making love to. you maintain eye contact with the woman as you continue to trail down her body, stopping right above her cunt. you are drunk, he tells himself as you softly ask, may i, whilst arousal and need could be easily sensed from your eyes.

you are drunk, he tells himself as the woman shyly nods, to where you immediately rip off her skirt and underwear. you are drunk, he tells himself as you grab the woman’s thighs, spreading them apart as you keep a hand on each leg, giving you full access to the woman.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you dive your face into the cunt of the woman before you, skillfully and tenderly lapping at her insides and seeking her immediate pleasure, just like you were taught back then. you are drunk, he tells himself as you keep your eyes focused on hers, gauging her reaction.

you are drunk, he tells himself as her hands grip the hair on your scalp, begging you to stop as her orgasm was already near, her voice nothing but a crying mess. you are drunk, he tells himself as you refuse, continuing to give the woman nothing but complete and utter pleasure.

you are drunk, he tells himself as the woman releases, moaning out loud and gripping your hair. you are drunk, he tells himself as the woman begs for you to stop as it is too much, she’s too sensitive. you are drunk, he tells himself as he watched you continue to pleasure the woman, riding out her orgasm.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you finally pull away, arms still grabbing onto the thighs of the woman and your eyes continuing to keep direct contact with her. 

you are drunk, he tells himself as you stay there for a moment, watching the woman before you, watching the woman who had struggled to catch her breath, watching the woman who had a deep red flush on her face, watching the woman with small drool dripping from the side of her mouth, watching the woman you made like this.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you rise, placing a knee between her cunt and edging your face closer to hers, laughing as she weakly grips onto your shirt. you are drunk, he tells himself as you tease her, speaking nothing but sweet nothings and praises into her ears.

you are drunk, he tells himself as you kiss the woman before you affectionately. deeply. passionately. lovingly. 

aventurine is a selfish man.

aventurine refuses to acknowledge his past, just like he refuses to acknowledge the current situation in front of him.

he refuses to be with you–he refuses to love you–he refuses to bed with you–he refuses to force himself onto you.

he does not want to reawaken the horrible memories you have sealed away. the horrible memories that must still haunt you. the horrible memories that have left a permanent scar on you forever, both mentally and physically.

he keeps a strict distance between you two as to not inflict more pain onto you. he does this to save you–to protect you; just as he promised he would since the day he freed you. since the day he freed himself.

though, perhaps, just maybe. he does this all to save himself–to protect himself.

he does not need you. he does not care for you. he does not love you. 

he constantly repeats to himself.

he does not want to need you. he does not want to care for you. he does not want to love you.

and yet–despite all he tells himself, despite all he repeats to himself–he loves you greatly, more than he could ever say out loud.

but for your sake–for his sake, he must never tell you his true feelings. he swore to protect you, he swore to save you–he swore to protect himself, he swore to save himself.

he is now aventurine. kakavasha is no more. and aventurine has no need for such simple emotions. aventurine has no need for such simple desires. aventurine has no need for such jealous. aventurine has no need for such love.

so he swallows his pride, swallows his emotions, swallows his love for you–forcing himself to stand there and watch you.

for now, allow him to maintain a slightly smile and a calm expression. for now, allow him to keep up appearances as the esteemed aventurine of the ten stonehearts. for now, allow him to believe that he is perfectly normal. for now, allow him to believe that he does not want you. for now, allow him to believe that he does not love you, for one day he knows that he will break.

aventurine is a selfish man, after all. and he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

[reanniee]

Hi hun, i've just read your shigaraki fic and it was beautiful. Your writing is absolutely beautiful and I love how you conveyed the story! Keep up the great work, hun. just wondering, what is the deal with OFA and reader? did he make her leave tenko? what happened to her quirk?

asfba THANK YOU SO MUCH. i genuinly love reading feedback and im glad people were able to enjoy my work. thank you so much!

but yes. ofa made reader leave tenko to further weaken him and strengthen the hold ofa has over tomura.

ofa also took reader's quirk, as well!

[reanniee]

yan shigi on pause for now

cooking up some yan chrollo and hisoka…. stay tuned this week !!!

[reanniee]

the moon

shigaraki x reader

notes: angst, death, violence word count: 8.5k

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...hey... are you alright?"

"..."

"...hello?"

"...w-what do you want..."

"...you're not okay... are you?"

"..."

"...what's your name?"

"why are you e-even out here... someone like you shouldn't be in a dump of a place like this..."

"...the moon..."

"w-what?"

"the moon... its beautiful... isn't it?"

".... what is wrong with you... you came out to a random dark alleyway just to see some stup-"

"the moon isn't stupid... it-its beautiful.."

"...you're crazy! the moon isn't worth coming out here-"

"so then, why are you here…?"

"......t-that's none of your business... now go home and leave me alone!"

"then come home with me..."

silence. pure silence.

in a dark alleyway, the most dangerous place for young children, sat a scrawny black haired boy sitting down in a corner, hiding himself from the world, and a young girl facing him.

".. go away.."

"...i'm not leaving without you. i'll stay here as long as it takes..."

the scrawny child looked up at her for a second.

"...you're an idiot! i'm not worth it! just leave!"

she shook her head in response.

"...there's no way I'm leaving you alone..."

"...tch... d-don't blame me if you get kidnapped idiot..."

she smiled.

"...[name]..."

"huh?"

"[name] [last name]."

"..."

there was a moment of silence.

"tenko shimura..."

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...hey... idiot..."

"...eh?"

"why won't you leave... why do you keep coming back..."

“because i wanna be here with you…”

“bu-but why! you have a home to go back to! why would you come here instead!”

"...why don't you come home with me?"

"..."

“tenko?”

“i…i can’t... i’ll only ruin it… i’ll only ruin your life…”

“tenko...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

"...the moon... it's really beautiful..."

“i… i can die happ-”

"hello? ma'am?"

"eh?"

the [hair color] haired female shook her head, coming out of her little daydream.

"s-sorry!"

the man who woke her up smiled.

"now, what would you like to buy, miss?"

"i'll take-"

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking back to her home at night through the crowded city, returning from a grand adventure of finding a convenience store for groceries. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a beautiful sky. a beautiful city.

she carried three plastic bags on her hand as she walked in the beautiful and bright city. a new city. a new environment. a new life. a new start.

new?

she came to a stop at a crosswalk; waiting for the light to signify when she was able to continue her path. the cars flew by her, sending a slight gust of wind her way. 

"so weird..."

she said to herself as she reached into her grocery bag to grab a juice box. she opened the juice box and started drinking it.

"i've been having those weird day dreams recently..."

the memories she had been seeing had begun affecting her everyday life. distracted at work and distracting whilst shopping. the memories causing her to zone out.

memories?

"is he someone i used to know?"

she just assumed that when she was younger, she probably knew the kid in her little day dreams.

“does this have to do with this city?”

the walking sign lit up. she crossed the busy street. cars stopping at her sides and cars flying past her.

"how come i can't remember him...?"

him?

she glanced towards the sky, her head hurting as she tried to remember who the mysterious boy was, when she saw the moon.

a new moon, huh?

"the moon... it's beautiful tonight."

she shook her head. strangely enough, the day dreams she had were all about the moon.

"...the moon?"

she looked up at the moon, admiring its beauty as she walked. a mistake she made constantly.

"is he... is he really re- ack!-"

she was too busy staring at the moon and talking that she failed to notice the people around her. she ended up bumping into someone else and falling down onto the ground.

"oh no! i'm sorry!" a female voice shouted out.

"n-no worries!" [name] said as the other female helped her up. a short and blonde girl whos hair was tied into the style of two buns. she was wearing a school uniform and seemed to be in a hurry.

"you're okay, right?" the other female asked.

"...y-yeah! i'm fine." [name] answered.

"i'm really, really sorry!" the other female apologized once again.

[name] smiled.

"it's alright! i'm [name], what's your name?"

"my names himiko toga!"

"it's really nice to meet you toga, but I've got to get going." [name] said politely.

"yeah! it's really late at night and I've got a place to go to as well! bye [name]!!"

"bye, toga!"

the two waved goodbye at each other and headed their own ways.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

[name] looked out at the moon once again.

"the moon... it's beautiful.."

a fresh start. today, is a fresh start.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...what're you staring at?"

"...n-nothing..."

"...were you.... admiring the.... the moon...?"

"..."

"you were! ....weren't you!"

"..tch, so.... its not that big of a deal..."

"....it truly is beautiful isn't it..."

"... what's with you and the moon?"

"... i just think that the moon is beautiful..."

"why do you mention it every single night?"

"because the moon.... it only comes out at night.."

"yeah? and the sun only comes out at day, idiot..."

"...not many people... they don't really get to admire the moon."

*beep beep! beep beep!*

"eh? ack!"

the same daydreams again. the endearing memories have recently begun to flood the poor secretary’s mind, distracting her from her daily tasks.

she looked towards the hanging cat calendar on her wall. may.

 it’s almost been 15 years exactly.

*beep beep! beep beep!*

“ah man... forced to eat burnt toast again..”

it was the morning and she was getting prepared for the day. her first day, kind of. after she scraped the burnt pieces off of her ruined breakfast, she continued her morning routine. after rushing to get ready, she waited near her door till she heard a familiar knock.

"hey, [name]!"

"hello sir! thanks for giving me a ride today"

the two walked towards the black car awaiting outside the secretary’s house.

"no worries [name]. first day back on the job, exciting isn’t it?”

he opened the passenger door for her.

“it sure is exciting”

“the building is almost fully done. today will just be us moving in and getting situated. area here's completely different from back home”

the two buckled their seatbelts and the elder male began to drive.

“i’m glad i was transferred here to work alongside you here, sir. thank you again”

“how flattering. don’t sweat it, kid"

"still!!! it’s nice of you to bring me to work"

"it beats walking, doesn’t it?”

“yeahhh you’re right i guess. walking is pretty fun though”

“...you should really be more careful [name].”

“huh?”

“you haven’t heard? there’s a lot more criminal activity in this area. walking alone– especially at night– is dangerous for someone like you.”

someone like me, huh?

“calling me weak since im a woman? hm! not very professional of you, sir. you know in this day and age, you’re gonna get canceled for saying something like that!”

he stared at you.

“that’s not what i’m talking about…”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking home at night from the main office building.

the boss was right. an exciting day. the building was still being rebuilt. a quick and easy day of moving. a nice day, ended with a nice night.

a nice night.

…

he likes the moon too.

the day dreams continued to plague her mind all day. the thoughts causing her to be distracted whilst at work. what was causing these recent memories? 

memories? are these my memories?

she looked up at the night sky, admiring the brightly glowing stars and the shining moon.

a waxing crescent moon.

she smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the peace that the night gave her.

well, she was, until she bumped into someone.

"watch where you're going."

"oh, s-sorry!"

she helped herself up and stared at the guy she had bumped into. he was shrouded in a black hoodie covering his entire figure. black hair peeked out of his hoodie and he wore a mask covering his face.

"...t-tenko...?" she said quietly, but loud enough for the guy to hear.

tenko? who… who is tenko?

"not my name sweetheart."

"o-oh! sorry about that! you just reminded me of someone... someone that I used to know!"

someone that i used to know?

"names' dabi."

"[name] [last name]."

"you should be heading home. it's not safe around these parts at night."

"right! yes sir!"

"cya around, [name]."

he started walking away.

"goodnight, sir!”

she continued on her walk home.

"why do i keep bumping into people... "

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

the rest of the journey home was quiet and peaceful. the secretary arrived at her home safe and intact.

“how beautiful”

she looked at the moon again. admiring the wonderful glow it provided. 

"he loved the moon too..."

loved?

a loud beep interrupted her thoughts. her phone lit up. a notification

reminder: sleep well!!!! no work tomorrow.

oh yeah. the office is still being rebuilt. no work tomorrow, i guess. i should probably try to relax.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"..."

"...w-wh-"

"..hm?"

"..."

"tenko?"

"...what?"

"you sounded like you wanted to say something..."

"...it-it's nothing.."

"..you sure?"

"...yeah..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"the moon sure is beautiful isn't it?"

"..tch... you and the moon again.."

"its beautiful! especially tonight"

"it's just the first stage of the moon… nothing special about it"

"huh?"

"what?"

"you… you know moon phases?"

"...yeah? and? "

"it’s special because its the first stage! its a new moon!” 

“a new moon?”

“mhm! it symbolizes a fresh start!”

“...”

“the moon is very interesting, yeah?"

"... i mean... i guess..."

"every phase of the moon is beautiful... it still glows, no matter what." 

“...”

“...”

"..why did you come out here in the first place?"

"the moon wa-"

"d-don't give me that!"

"eh? what do you mean?"

"why did you come out here? why in this specific place! you could have easily seen the moon from your bedroom window, or even outside your house! why'd you come out here! why in this exact alleyway!" 

"...it's way too crowded where i live... this place is the only place where i can ignore everything and just enjoy my time... with you..."

"excuse me! miss [last name]! are you in there!"

she blinked repeatedly, shaking her head, waking herself up.

"y-yes! you can come inside!"

a female with light blonde hair came inside. it was a co-worker of hers.

"you have this letter for the boss. its a proposal for another uprising business."

"thank you."

she took the letter from the blonde woman. the letter was enclosed with a fancy wax seal.

“y’know you reallyyy shouldn’t be daydreaming at work.”

“sorryyy! just been a bit distracted is all”

“well, i’ll be taking my leave! goodluck on the rest of your work miss [name]!”

she opened the letter and started to read it.

"quirk erasing bullets...?"

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

what is going on?

a busy night of work, cars, and pro heroes. as she waited for the walking light, she stared up at the bright moon.

a first quarter moon.

the stars chose to hide themselves tonight. their light too dull to be seen by the naked eye.

what a weird time of my life, huh? i really need to stop daydreaming.

as the walking light turned on, she crossed the street, finding her way into a barely illuminated park. a detour; the longer route home. a nice walk in nature to clear her mind so she can focus on work.

the park filled with rich green trees and greenery, only illuminated by the sight of the bright moon. what a beautiful sight. a beautiful night and evening to-

"help me please! no, stay away!" she heard a voice say quietly.

"n-no! shut up! why don't you!" the voice seemed to be arguing with.... himself?

"h-hello?" she asked, coming to a stop.

there was no response.

she looked around, and saw a man, crouched into a tree and covering his head.

"h-hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"...n-no!" he yelled out. he sounded as if he were trying to hold something in.

"c-co-cover- please!" he yelled.

"cover?"

"face!"

[name] looked at him, she squinted her eyes and saw a scar in the middle of his face.

she took her jacket off and tossed it to him.

"here, sir."

he immediately grabbed the jacket and wrapped it around his face, tightly.

"are you alright, sir?"

"th-thank you.."

"you’re welcome mister...?"

she paused, hoping for the male to answer with his name.

he remained quiet

"im [name] [last name]. have a nice night"

he looked up at her and she smiled.

"i've got to get going home, have a good night sir"

she turned around and started walking home, cutting her detour short and returning to her usual route. enough chaos for the evening. now, alone, she pondered her peculiar situation once again.

"was he even real...? or was he just apart of my imagination... to escape from this world”

she looked up towards the night sky. bright as ever. a few stars revealed themselves.

he made me happy, didn't he?

a sudden shiver ran down her body. cold.

guess i need to buy a new jacket.

she wrapped her hands around herself and continued her way home. once again, left to her thoughts in the lonely night.

ah, that letter. guess i won’t be getting much sleep tonight. boss is gonna see a tough decision tomorrow.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“..."

"..."

"...hey..."

"..."

"..."

"yes?"

"..what?"

"you sounded like you wanted to say something."

"..."

"you can say it.... i'm not gonna judge you."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...the moon sure is beautiful.."

"..."

"..."

"..what- what's your q-quirk..."

"my quirk…?"

“[name]... you can tell me anything.“

“...”

“...”

“i can heal people"

"...huh?"

"...what?"

"what's wrong with that?"

"..."

"..."

"it wasn't enough"

"..."

“...sniff…”

“i hate my quirk.”

"e-eh? why?"

"because i hate my quirk."

"what is your quirk?"

"..."

"...you can tell me anything too, tenko."

"..."

"..."

"de-decay.... my-my qu-quirk is called decay... anything i touch with all five of my fingers.... it… it will disintegrate......"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..i-i knew I shouldn't have told you! your scared of me now... yo-you'll-you'll hate me!"

"..."

"h-huh! h-hey! get off of me! wh-what are you doing! do-don't touch me!"

"..it's called a hug."

"..did-did you not hear what i said! if i touch you with all my fingers i could kill you!"

"i know you wouldn't."

"..hu-huh?"

"you won't try to push me off... i trust you.."

"...please..."

"..huh?"

"..i-i don't want to hurt you..."

"..you won't."

"...you idiot! j-just get off! I-i'm go-gonna hu-"

"it's your quirk. you can control. i believe in you.."

"...you-you idiot.... you're gonna die because of your stupidity... you-you know that?"

"...as long as I'm with you."

"miss [last name]!"

"h-huh? oh..."

"miss [last name], did you hear what I said?"

"my apologies.."

"are you alright miss [last name]? the whole office has been noticing that you've been spacing out recently..."

"it’s nothing! my apologies for worrying everyone. i've just been having a few flashbacks ever since I started an office in this area.”

flashbacks?

"has this area brought back a few memories?"

"huh?"

"maybe something in this area is reminding you of something in your childhood."

"i used to live in this area as a child."

"is there a common topic in your flashbacks? or a person?"

"huh? why?"

"i read somewhere that if all of a sudden, you start getting flashbacks of a certain person in your childhood that you haven't seen in a while, are nearby!”

“...”

“... or it could also be that you are nearby the place where you had met them or a place where you used to visit a lot with them."

"yeah... its about one of my old childhood friends.... we're always in one spot, the spot where we would always talk"

my childhood friend?

"have you thought of visiting that place? that might stop your little daydreams."

her eyes widened at the suggestion.

“thank you ma’am.”

"you’re welcome."

"anyways, what was it that you were saying before?"

"oh right- did you read the letter that I gave you the other day?"

"yes, of course. i created a report and forwarded it to the boss"

“what’d he think of it?”

“said he was interested.”

“it is quite interesting, huh?”

“i guess.”

“do you think we should get involved?”

“i’m unsure. its up to whatever the boss wants to do, i guess.”

"well, the leader has requested a meeting with the boss. discussing the bullets, that is."

"alright. i'll take a look into that."

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"where even was that place…"

she asked herself. the night alike every other recently. the venture home after a long day of work infected with the meaning of her daydreams.

"every day... the day dreams are getting longer... more real. im getting more information on him at least..."

why did i forget in the first place?

she looked up to the night sky, wishing to see the warming embrace of the moon.

a waxing gibbous moon.

"his quirk... it was decay..."

her head started to hurt. she stopped walking and clutched onto her head, the immense pain was stressing her out.

a sudden headache. a migraine.

why did she get a migraine? why now? why at this exact moment…?

"...aah...man oh man”

she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. but, the pain only got worse. she fell onto the floor

"ah!"

she desperately clutched her head harshly, begging for the pain to go away.

"excuse me ma'am. are you alright?"

a gentle, male voice spoke out.

"...my-my head...ah!"

she couldn't look up to see the male, but she could tell that he immediately knew what to do as he led her towards a nearby bench and told her to calm down, take a deep breath, and relax.

as she did so, she felt the pain in her head slowly fade away. as soon as it disappeared, she looked up at the male.

his body seemed to be formed of purple mist.

"thank you, sir."

"your welcome. and no need for anything in return."

she looked at him for a minute.

"are you weirded out by my appearance? if so, then-"

"no. it's not that. just...- you look familiar- or-er the purple... mist.."

"...you aren't weirded out by my appearance? you don't think I'm weird?"

"not at all. your quirk doesn't define you as a person."

the male was about to respond until a loud beep interrupted him.

"my apologies, but I must head home now."

"understood. thank you and goodnight, sir."

"goodbye ma’am"

she started to walk away.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"why-why did I react like that when I thought back to tenko..."

react?

did… did that happen because of tenko? but why?

she arrived home, sat at her desk. a glass of water rested on her desk alongside a bottle of tylenol pills.

she looked out to the bright night sky. the stars looked back at her.

what’s the point in thinking about old memories?

what use is there in reminiscing about an old life?

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"you seem like you want to say something again."

"..."

"you can talk to me about anything tenko."

"..."

"..."

"h-hey.."

"yeah?"

"..yo-you said that I could talk to you about anything right?"

"yep!"

"w-well..."

"...go on... im listening."

"...there... there is this one person... they are always there for me... they always act so happy... but.. I just have a feeling that... that something is going on with them too..."

"...why do you feel this way?"

"..well, they told me themselves that some people hide their true emotions behind a smile.... and i've been through a lot so... i recognize that look in their eyes... what do I do? they have helped me... they made me happy- they made me smile... how do I help them?"

"well, just talk to them about it. people feel better when they can just let all their emotions out..."

"..o-okay..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"the moon is-"

"hey... listen...."

"huh?.... eh?"

"i-i really.. l-... appreciate you..."

"you do?"

"t-than- thank you... for everything.... I want to let you know that I'm here for you too... okay?"

"you don't have to, tenko."

"but i want to. w-we'll help each other, together."

"together forever!"

"[name]."

“huh?”

“what do you think of all this?”

“oh.”

“sorry boss, but you can’t seriously be thinking about accepting their deal. are you?” the blonde co-worker chimed in.

the boss and his secretary were situated in the building’s main office, discussing the proposal offered to them by the shie hassakai as the blonde worker entered the room. the boss laughed.

“it is quite the proposal.”

“hey [name], you did more research on the shie hassaikai, right?” the blonde turned to the secretary.

“ah, yes. the shie hassaikai is a yakuza group. or well, the revival of one.” the secretary informed.

“well, they sure are intriguing, aren't they?”

“they’re dangerous, that’s what they are.” the blonde spoke.

“well, a dangerous idea and an interesting one are the same. isn’t that right, [name]?”

the secretary perked up, the conversation directing back towards her.

“in a way, i guess you are right sir.” she responded.

the blonde sighed.

“well, anyways i came over here to drop off another report. enjoy the rest of your day [name] and boss.” she spoke as she handed the secretary a file and left the room.

“well?”

“hm?”

“you never answered my question.”

“did i not?”

she opened the file given to her.

“the shie hassakai is… rumored to have dealings with the league of villains?”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

the female suddenly came to a stop. she blinked, trying to process what just happened. she had zoned out.

she shifted her gaze towards the night sky.

it’s a full moon tonight, how lucky.

she redirected her gaze forwards, slightly confused on where she currently was.

in front of her stood incoming traffic, and a familiar road.

a familiar sign. a familiar road. a familiar life.

she looked down into the street. dark, abandoned, and empty. the road seemingly called out to her, inviting her. she walked forward, as if her legs were moving on their own. familiar with the path which they were taking. not enough time to think.

she followed the dark and barely lit road as she was led to an abandoned neighborhood.

her legs. she came to a stop. she lifted her head up. in front of her stood an empty plot of land. a former family home turned to dust. cracks filled the land. the grass had grown back

the tombstone of an old life.

the snap of a twig woke up her.

her head darted around her, eyes searching around for the culprit.

“hello? whos… whos there?”

she spoke aloud, shaking.

what have you gotten yourself into now, [name]

“hello!” she shouted

to her right. footsteps approached. she quickly turned her head.

a strange man with a crazed look on his face. he was covered in blood, laughing.

is this where i die?

the man came closer, a knife in hand. she took a step backwards, her heart racing and her body shaking.

she was frozen in fear.

he was seconds away.

is this the end?

his eyes glared into hers, smiling as he rose his arm.

tenko… please

a gunshot.

a man wearing a white hood appeared in front of her. his face not visible from the distance.

she was shaking. this man had saved her. he was now slowly approaching her. her eyes widened.

“tenko? is that you?”

she whispered. frozen in place as the man came closer.

he was now a few feet in front of her, able to get a closer view. he was a strange man wearing a mask, similar to that of a plague doctor.

“my name is kurono. are you alright, miss [name]?”

“i… i am alright. thank you. thank you so much” she was shaking as she bowed her head towards her savior.

“it is rather dangerous around these parts, miss [name]. especially at night. you should really be more careful.”

“i know… my apologies.”

“what are you doing at a place like this, anyways?”

what am i doing here?

she glanced to her right, looking at the former house.

“i… i don’t really know”

his eyes resembled a soft smile.

“let me assist you home, then. it is dangerous this late at night. especially for a quirkless in the superpower world.”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

kurono had walked her home. he had stopped on her street and waved her goodbye. it was already so late. what an interesting day.

he was a savior. kurono. she had gone and gotten herself into some trouble again. all because of these daydreams. but kurono… how had he known her name?

she came to stop. a beep from her phone interrupted her thoughts. It was midnight already. she looked up into the sky.

a full moon.

tenko. hes… he’s not alive anymore, is he?

where are you now? how could you leave me?together forever you said, huh? i want to know more about you, mister mystery man…

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"..."

"h-hey, idiot... you haven't spoken at all tonight, I-is something wrong?"

"no, nothings wrong."

"why are you being quiet?"

"..."

"... i'm going to help you too. aft-after everything that you've done for me, i-w want... i want to help you. you- ... you can tell me anything, [name]."

"t-tenko… haha!"

"hey! why are you laughing and smiling like that all of a sudden?"

"you called me by my first name!"

"... huh? that's it?!?!?"

"the truth is, something has been on my mind."

"you can tell me, idiot."

"aww, I miss the '[name]'!"

"shut up and let me help you for once, idiot."

"well, can you tell me more about... more about your past. the truth on why you're here every night...."

"... only if you do as well..."

"huh?"

"i want the truth."

"i-...."

“that’s absurd!”

the gruff voice spoke as he slammed his fists into the desks.

“he had followed you on your way home?”

the secretary casted her gaze to her hands on her lap.

“well, yes. i was on my way home”

a small lie. it doesn’t matter, though.

“this city is quite dangerous. im glad you are alright, [name]. or else i’d be forced to find a new secretary.”

she laughed in response.

“im glad that you’re safe though. thank god a hero was there. who was it even? did you get his name?” her boss questioned

she fiddled with her hands.

“ah, well. im unsure if he was a hero. though i remember his appearance. he was wearing a weird mask. you know the masks that plague doctors used to wear? and he-”

“the shie hassaikai.” her blonde female cut in. “a member of the shie hassaikai had saved you.”

her eyes widened.

“ah, really? he was a member of the shie hassaikai? i guess they aren’t so bad afterall.”

the boss laughed.

“well, s’pose i should reward them, hm? for saving my dear secretary i’ll provide them with a meeting and some funds.”

“don’t,” the blonde spoke sternly.

the secretary perked up.

“rather suspicious, aren’t they?”

“how so?” the boss questioned.

“maybe instead of saving your secretary, they were following her?”

“a dangerous, but possible assumption. what an interesting spot we’ve gotten ourselves in.”

“you can’t forget the league of villain dealings as well.”

“that is true.” he turned his gaze to the secretary. “[name]. be a little more careful now, won’t you?”

“ah, yes, sir.”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking home like always, her and her thoughts on the way home. lectured by the boss and her co-worker about safety. she made sure to take the quickest route home tonight to avoid being scolded once again. and to avoid another incident.

she looked up to the moon.

a waning gibbous moon.

"should i find him again?" she said to herself. "would he remember me? how would i even find him?"

she continued to ask herself questions. but one question ended her thoughts, leaving her shocked.

"is he even alive...?"

she shook her head and sighed.

she continued to walk until she saw a flash of white in the corner of her eye out of a dark alleyway. she stopped walking and stared into the alleyway.

after a minute or so, a strange little girl with white hair and a horn came running out and clung onto her.

the little girl had a terrified expression on her face as she desperately clutched onto the legs of the [hair color] haired female. she buried herself, shaking and wiping her tears.

"hello? are you alright, sweetie?" she asked the little girl.

"pl-please... he-help me."

she kneeled down to the little girl’s height and looked at her in her eyes, trying to calm her down with a reassuring smile.

"what is your name, sweetie?" she asked.

"e-eri... please... he-help me..." the little girl spoke.

"here, grab my hand and I'll take you to the police." she said as she stood up and reached her hand out for the girl to grab.

the little girl's eyes widened. terrified, she took a step back. the look of terror in her eyes grew.

"i won't hurt you, sweetie." she assured the girl.

the little girl slowly approached her, and just as she was about to take her hand, a voice interrupted her.

"eri." a stern and cold voice called out.

eri's eyes widened as she stood in place, frozen in fear.

the [hair color] haired female looked into the dark alleyway seeing a tall man with brown hair and a bird mask that looked as if it were inspired by that of a plague doctor. similar to the one of that guy that had saved her that night. he had also worn white gloves. quite an interesting aesthetic.

the strange man began to approached the two

"hello miss. such a lovely night, isn’t it? my apologies for her" the male said.

"and you are?" she questioned as she nodded.

“i am the father of that girl there. she is quite the trouble maker, though. i apologize if she has caused you trouble miss.” he sighed

the man began to near where the two stood.

"why is she so scared?" she answered, glancing between the terrified little girl and the intimidating man. both suspicious and concerned.

he paused.

"she's afraid of the dark." he simply answered.

she looked down at the strange girl. contemplating on what to do.

should i save her? take her to the police?

the man was now closer

no… what can i even do against him?

what can someone like me even do to save her?

he paused.

"lets hurry, its midnight already and you should be in bed." overhaul stated and eri came rushing by his side. 

she stared as she watched the strange pair disappear into the darkness of the alleyway.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

small pebbles flung into the empty road. the powerless secretary’s mind tore at itself for not intervening. the two sides of her arguing with each other.

just a small girl with the inability to save anyone.

save? anyone?

she looked up towards the night sky. 

a waning gibbous moon.

"the truth... i want to know it... tenko."

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“i can’t go back. not now… not ever”

“why?”

“i…”

“tenko, you can tell me. i’m here for you. i’ll always be here for you.”

“they are gone.”

“...they?”

“my… my family… they are all gone.”

“what… what happened to them…?”

“...”

“tenko…”

“...[name]”

“tenko… it’s okay tenko. dont worry. i’m here. i’m here for you. i’m here with you. i’m here for you forever”

“-following report states that the yakuza group, the shie hassakai has been defeated and taken down. the leader ‘overhaul’ has been captured and detained. the villain will be transported to a secure facility where he is unable to harm people again. this supervillain has been defeated with the help of-”

“enough of that.” a gruff voice spoke as he shut off the television.

“that’s got you upset, boss?” the secretary questioned.

the secretary and ceo were stationed together in the main office. the two stayed together overtime, organizing paperwork and discussing future business adventures. the news played on the television caught the attention of the two.

“seems like a money opportunity gone. sucks to be us. could’ve used the deal too.”

“you thought about accepting it?”

he nodded and sighed.

“it would’ve been risky but an interesting business adventure”

“you took too long to make a decision anyways. that’s for the better, i guess.”

he laughed.

“she would’ve yelled at both of us if i’d accepted the deal. me for agreeing and you for following my order”

the two shared a laugh, then, silence. he let out a deep breath.

“quirk erasing bullets. can’t say that isn't intriguing” 

“i guess i can see it that way boss.”

“good thing you talked me out of it. huh, [name]?”

“could say we dodged a bullet there”

“get back to work, idiot”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“nice work today [name]. thanks for accompanying me today”

“no problem! its not that much of a hassle to do anyways.”

“dont worry kid, i’ll be sure to pay you overtime”

the two shut down the office for the night, turning off lights and locking the doors. they walked together out of the building.

“hey kid”

“hm?”

“let me give you a ride home tonight, yeah? it’s rather late”

she looked up to the moon.

a last quarter moon.

“no shie hassaikai to save you if some big bad villain approaches” he jokes, referencing the incident that had happened to her a couple days ago.

she laughed in response

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

it was a quiet car ride. the duo too tired to converse after a long day of paperwork. the secretary stared out the side window, admiring the night sky.

no stars tonight. just the beautiful moon accompanied by the deep night sky. a beautiful last quarter moon. the moon cycle is nearing its end.

i’m here for you, huh? 

how ironic. he was nowhere to be seen. she had not a clue where he was. perhaps she should give up. cleanse herself of these meaningless daydreams. cleanse herself of the memories that plagued her mind.

“the road is so empty tonight. how weird.”

her boss spoke, interrupting her thoughts. she shifted her gaze to the front window. he was right. no cars were on the road. the only vehicles on the road were the two trucks and the police car right in front of her.

she turned back to the side mirror.

“what the hell is… [name]! shit! watc-”

a piece of metal debris came flying towards the boss and his secretary. the metal had shattered the front window and stabbed itself into the backseat of the car, between the two. glass shards from the window had covered the two.

their car came to a stop. the alarm going off.

“what the hell. [name]! you alright?” the boss asked, he was only able to catch a glimpse of her face. she was in complete shock, frozen at the sight. her eyes widened and glued to the view in front of her.

“shit. [name]. are you-” he was cut off by a sudden impact. the police car previously in front of them was now flying towards their car.

the vehicle had flipped over, landing behind the car which the boss was in.

another loud impact. the truck directly in front of them had crashed, flipped over as the truck had opened, causing a man who was tied up to fall out onto the road. he was directly in front of the boss and the secretary. fire engulfed the road as the second truck had come to a stop.

shit. what is going on? is the boss alright? what is-

she looked in front of her. her eyes widened. on top of the truck resided a man dressed in a black coat and covered in white hands. he had light blue hair.

tenko?

the man had jumped down from the truck, now slowly approaching where the tied up man laid, and where the secretary resided.

tenko… is that really you?

“[name]! we need to get out of here”

tenko… please

“name!”

the man, hearing the cry of the man, quickly darted his head towards the car. his gray orbs widened as he scanned the vehicle and he met eyes with the secretary.

“tenko.”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“tenko! tenko! tenko, is that you!”

“[name]... you’re so loud…”

“tenko! where have you been! it’s been so long… you-you were gone for so long! i’ve come here every night to look for you but… are you okay? where did you go? are you hurt? how are you feeling?”

“...”

“...tenko?”

“...”

“hey…”

“...it’s not… it’s not tenko anymore”

“h-huh?”

“its… shigaraki now… i have a new name… my master gave it to me… tomura shigaraki”

*beep beep*

“-awake! get the doctor! she’s awake!”

a familiar voice shouted

tenko?

“shit, [name]... you had me worried for a bit”

her vision cleared. in front of her stood her boss. he had a concerned look on his face.

she was at the hospital, laid down on the bed dressed with a hospital gown and a tube connected to her arm. “aw shit. what happened. where am i, boss?”

“you passed out kid. glad you’re awake now, though.” the boss spoke, relieved. “you remember? anything?”

her eyes softened as she directed her gaze to her hands resting in her lap.

“no, sir. i do not”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“her injuries are minor. we did not sense any brain damage. the only damage caused to her was from the glass shards on the window. the cuts will not take long to heal” the doctor informed the two.

“we good to leave then, doc?”

“i’d like for her to stay a couple hours longer. it is already very late into the night. plus. You are still yet to be treated, sir.” the doctor spoke sternly, glaring at the elder male.

“yeah yeah, fine. can’t we go home after i’m done?”

“sleeping here until morning would be her best option for faster recovery. you are welcome to stay if you would like, sir.” the doctor spoke, clearly tired from the long night.

“yeah, whatever. just bring me a blanket please, doc”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was discharged from the hospital in the morning. her boss had covered the fees and had driven her home. the ride was silent. the boss deciding whether to bring up the incident that had happened last night or not.

instead, he opted to lecture and scold her, on behalf of their fellow coworker. he thought, what would she do. he yelled at her, warning her to be careful. the blonde would be proud, he thought.

she merely laughed at him. her boss’ poor attempt to switch the atmosphere. it is the effort that counts, after all. she was excused from work for the day, leading her to enjoy a three day weekend. 

he spoke of the break as an end of month break. a celebration of sorts. the first month of working in this new city. this new building. this new environment. though, she knew he was trying to play off his concerned thoughts.

she waved him off as she exited his car, broken windows and all. the two waved goodbye at each other until she reached her door.

as she arrived home and closed the door, she immediately fell to the ground, her hands darting to cover her face. tears fell from between her fingers. she wept on the floor of her home. 

why was she crying?

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

a boring day. though, perhaps that is for the better. 

a relaxing day, her boss told her to get.

before departing for the weekend, her boss told her to enjoy herself and relax. for it was the end of the moon cycle, no better time than to treat yourself to some joy.

the boss is a great person when he tries. a real and utter softie at heart. work was manageable with a kind man such as the boss as her leader. despite his attempts to seem intimidating, it was quite easy to see his real persona. stern but caring, almost like a father figure.

work, huh? working at that company is not so bad. the pay is nice. the work is average. her coworkers were fun. when she returned, she was sure she would be lectured by the blonde. always acting as her guardian. her mother, almost.

how ironic

*beep beep*

her phone went off, interrupting her thoughts. attachment: an image. a message of her dear blonde coworker, sending her an image of the moon. 

a waning crescent moon.

the end of the moon cycle already? but i just got here when it began.

she looked towards the hanging cat calendar on her wall. june.

june already? in two days it’ll be…

15 years exactly

she looked out her window

“tenko... what happened to you?”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

her boss told her to take it easy. her boss told her to not get into anymore trouble. her boss told her to get some inner peace ‘for once.’ her boss told her to relax. it’s a shame how her form of relaxation is going on a night stroll.

she made a mental note to never inform her coworkers about this, lest she want to get scolded and yelled at for an hour.

the secretary couldn’t help herself, though. it was a beautiful evening. the end of the moon phase is always a beautiful time. she came to a stop, waiting for the light to signify her time to cross the street. she cast her gaze upwards at the night sky.

a waning crescent moon.

the star was filled with stars. such a beautiful moon. a beautiful night. and a beautiful sky.

the walking light lit up. she crossed the street, approaching her local convenience store. entering the small stop, she smiled and waved at the cashier. she approached the soft drink isle, pondering on what to get.

staring at the large array of choices, she felt a pair of eyes glare into her. the eyes had been continuously looking at her for a while now.

it was a public store. she mustered enough courage to quickly look left. as she turned, there was a man? a person was staring at her.

the man wore a gray hoodie with the hood pulled up, shielding his face. though, the secretary was able to catch a glimpse. his skin seems to consist of green scales, almost like that of a reptile.

as she met her gaze, the man’s eyes widened and he quickly turned away, seemingly shocked that she had caught him staring.

she rose a brow and turned back to the fridge, opening the cooler and taking two drinks.

as she walked to the cash register, preparing to pay, she felt the same eyes on her again. she turned around, meeting the red eyes of the green heteromorph who seemed insistent on staring at her.

shocked that he was caught, again, caused the man to seeming panic and leave the convenience store, buying nothing.

the secretary sighed. she paid for the two drinks and chased after the heteromorph.

“hey! you there! stop!”

she shouted as she walked after the man who was rushing away. he paused, and turned back to her.

“you! what do you want?” he stopped as she caught up to him.

“me? what do i want?” she sounded offended. “what do you want? whats with you staring at me?”

at hearing her response, he seemed taken aback. he paused, then, he turned around once again and began speed walking away.

“hey! come back here!” she yelled again, walking after him.

he paused, turned around and waited for her to catch up. “what.” he spoke

she caught up to him, then she reached into her plastic bag, picking up one of the two drinks she had bought. she held the drink out to him. he seemed confused.

“you didn’t buy anything, so. i’m [name]”

he uncovered his hood a bit as he took the drink, nodded at the girl, then proceeded to walk away.

shit.

she watched as he walked away, while she remained still. her body began to shake.

he was there. he’s part of the league of villains.

a small pain began forming in her head.

i need to find tenko. i need to.

she looked up into the moon. a waning crescent moon. the end of the moon phase. 

in two days… it’ll have been 15 years already. since the day you changed my life forever.

please… tenko, where are you? i’m so sorry tenko. i’m sorry for not being there for you.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“...tenko?”

“...”

“hey?”

“that’s not my name anymore… you know it [name].”

“i’m s-sorry ten-... i’m sorry. it’s just been… ever since you came back… you’ve been different”

“...”

“what… what happened to you, tenko?”

“i already told you! nothing happened! i found my place in the world! i-i found someone who wants me. i found someone who actually cares for me!”

“tenko… i care for you”

“...”

silence. pure silence.

in a dark alleyway, the most dangerous place for young children, sat a [hair color] haired girl and a boy with light blue hair facing her. 

“tenko…”

“...m-master says you’re… useless”

“t-tenko?” she stood up

“he tells me… to stop seeing you… t-that you don’t r-really care for me… h-he tells me that you’re like everyone else!” 

“that’s not true! tenk-”

“its tomura. shi-shigaraki tomura.”

“please, tenk-”

the boy came closer to her. her eyes widened as she froze. her gaze directed to his hands. the same hands that could cause destruction. the same hands that did. the same hands that inevitably would.

“...[name]?”

“ten-to-tomura… i-i didn’t mean it like tha-”

“master’s right…! you’re just like the others… you… you…”

“tenko please” she shouted in desperation

“why can’t anyone just love me… why did i have to be like this… why was i give this quirk…”

“tenko! i’m here for you!”

“you don’t really love me… why can’t you love me... why… it’s because of this quirk…”

“your quirk… it doesn’t mean anything! it doesn’t resem-”

“then why are you scared of me right now”

she froze. silence. pure silence.

“tenko… please… i lov-”

the words never finished. she was cut off. her mouth refused speak what her heart so desperately wanted to say. her body refused to listen to her. it seemingly acted on it’s own. almost as if she were forced to.

the young girl ran. she left the dark alleyway. leaving the boy to live on his own.

“tomura.” a deep voice uttered.

“she left you. you have no use for her. she does not care for you. only i do, tomura”

the poor boy turned around and looked up, tears threatening to poor from his red eyes.

“...y-yes… master”

“shit! ow”

the secretary woke up breathing heavily as sweat ran down her skin. a nightmare, seemingly. it was no nightmare.

it was the cold, hard truth.

the woman jumped out of bed. she rushed outside and ran. it was the middle of the night. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a bright sky. a beautiful city.

she ran as fast as she could. that place. that important place. how could i forget it? how could i forget the place i met you.

forced to come to a stop, the same light staring at her, signifying her turn to cross the street. she was impatient. she needed to get there. quickly. before he left. before he was gone again. before he left her. before she left him

she looked up into the night sky. the sky was a beautiful deep blue. the stars shone brightly tonight.

a new moon.

the light switched, and the secretary quickly ran across the street. she passed the welcoming convenience store. she passed the dimly lit park. she passed the dark neighborhood. she passed her new building, her new life.

please.

please be there. 

tenko. please.

i love you

her running came to a stop. she breathed harshly, tired from the exertion she forced upon herself.

her head began to hurt. the scenery became familiar. all too familiar. the same sign. the same street. the same path. the same buildings. the same alleyway.

she approached the same alleyway. that same alleyway where no child should ever venture into. she is no longer a child.

the pain throbbed in her head. a deep voice warning her, telling her to get away and run away.

how could she ever run away. not again. not ever.

please.

please be there.

tenko. please.

i love you

she entered the alleyway. the same boxes. the same feral cats. the same stench. the same scary atmosphere. the same darkness. the same alleyway.

please

she was engulfed by the darkness. seemingly walking into nothing, hoping to see him. she aimlessly walked into that same alleyway, all those years ago.

near the end of the alleyway allowed for a patch of the moon to shine into the dark alley. the darkest alley was also the brightest, in times like this. she stood on the edge of the darkness.

he turned his back to her. he had messy mid-length light blue hair. the same as that day. he wore all black. the same as that day. he seemed as if he wanted to disappear from the world entirely. the same as that day.

he was watching the moon.

she stepped onto the moonlight, and then, he turned around.

deep red orbs stared into her own. his mouth slightly open. his eyes widened. he did not move.

a new moon

she walked forwards, continuing to stare into his eyes.

a new moon

she settled in front of him. the moonlight shining on the two of them. the stars intently watched the two.

she shifted her gaze to the night sky, admiring the moon.

a new moon

at the break of eye contact, his eyes followed hers. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a beautiful sky. a beautiful city.

“hey…” she spoke softly.

silence. pure silence.

“the moon is beautiful… don’t you think so, tenko?”

he glanced at her, then looked at the moon once again.

“i can die happy”

her mouth opened to speak. nothing came out.

questions flooded her mind. she had so many. so many things to ask. so many things to say, but the words couldn’t leave her mouth. she wanted to ask him so many things. are you okay? where did you go? are you hurt? but she was unable to utter out any of them.

“...tenko?”

“[name]...”

silence. pure silence.

“i’m not tenko anymore. [name]. my name is shigaraki tomura.”

the two turned to each other. their eyes met.

a new moon. a new night. a new start. a new time.

the same place. the same confession. the same day. the same moon.

the same girl and a new boy.

[reanniee]

yandere shigaraki drabble

notes: yandere, more shigaraki angst, mention of kidnapping word count: 400

coming up with an idea of yandere shigi is really challenging. i'm unsure which part of him i want to showcase in the 2nd part of the moon fic. because i can really see it going two ways.

do i want the beginning shigaraki? the man-child who refuses to take no for an answer. the egotistical type. obsessive type. the punishing type. the cruel type.

he holds himself to a high standard, viewing himself as such. and he holds you to an even higher standard. to shigaraki, he owns you. the teachings of his master continue to chain his true feelings. he views you as more a toy, a plaything. something he owns. something he won.

he refuses his love for you. he does not love you. he does not care for you. he does not need you.

how long can he keep this façade up before completely breaking down before you? he is scared. scared to show you his true feelings, out of fear of rejection. so, instead, he takes you. forces you to be his as he acts as though he does not want to be yours.

in reality, he does not harm you. his actions more bark than bite. the lies he tells you are for himself, not for you.

he refuses his love for you. he does not want to love you. he does not want to care for you. he does not want to need you.

but he does.

or do i want the desperate shigaraki?

the former temper-tantrum throwing child is no more. hes faced too many losses for him to be as egotistical as he was prior. the loss of his nomus. the loss to allmight. the loss of a precious lov member, magne. the loss of his dear master, all for one.

to him, you cannot be another one of his losses. he refuses for it to be so. the type to worship and be completely enamored by his darling. after all, he just got her back, and now he will never let her go.

the desperate, pathetic shigaraki.

he holds you dearly, as if you would run from him immediately when given the chance. he is weak around you. you are the only one who truly understands him.

the desperate, pathetic shigaraki who confesses his love to you constantly like a mantra.

he does not listen to your response, fearful of it. for now, let him enjoy your embrace. let him enjoy your love. let him enjoy you.

for after tonight. after the moon sets. after a new cycle repeats. your relationship will never be the same again.

[reanniee]

ajajajaj first story posted on tumblr. what do y’all think ! comments and feedback r appreciated lots !!

[reanniee]

the moon

shigaraki x reader

notes: angst, death, violence word count: 8.5k

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...hey... are you alright?"

"..."

"...hello?"

"...w-what do you want..."

"...you're not okay... are you?"

"..."

"...what's your name?"

"why are you e-even out here... someone like you shouldn't be in a dump of a place like this..."

"...the moon..."

"w-what?"

"the moon... its beautiful... isn't it?"

".... what is wrong with you... you came out to a random dark alleyway just to see some stup-"

"the moon isn't stupid... it-its beautiful.."

"...you're crazy! the moon isn't worth coming out here-"

"so then, why are you here…?"

"......t-that's none of your business... now go home and leave me alone!"

"then come home with me..."

silence. pure silence.

in a dark alleyway, the most dangerous place for young children, sat a scrawny black haired boy sitting down in a corner, hiding himself from the world, and a young girl facing him.

".. go away.."

"...i'm not leaving without you. i'll stay here as long as it takes..."

the scrawny child looked up at her for a second.

"...you're an idiot! i'm not worth it! just leave!"

she shook her head in response.

"...there's no way I'm leaving you alone..."

"...tch... d-don't blame me if you get kidnapped idiot..."

she smiled.

"...[name]..."

"huh?"

"[name] [last name]."

"..."

there was a moment of silence.

"tenko shimura..."

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...hey... idiot..."

"...eh?"

"why won't you leave... why do you keep coming back..."

“because i wanna be here with you…”

“bu-but why! you have a home to go back to! why would you come here instead!”

"...why don't you come home with me?"

"..."

“tenko?”

“i…i can’t... i’ll only ruin it… i’ll only ruin your life…”

“tenko...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

"...the moon... it's really beautiful..."

“i… i can die happ-”

"hello? ma'am?"

"eh?"

the [hair color] haired female shook her head, coming out of her little daydream.

"s-sorry!"

the man who woke her up smiled.

"now, what would you like to buy, miss?"

"i'll take-"

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking back to her home at night through the crowded city, returning from a grand adventure of finding a convenience store for groceries. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a beautiful sky. a beautiful city.

she carried three plastic bags on her hand as she walked in the beautiful and bright city. a new city. a new environment. a new life. a new start.

new?

she came to a stop at a crosswalk; waiting for the light to signify when she was able to continue her path. the cars flew by her, sending a slight gust of wind her way. 

"so weird..."

she said to herself as she reached into her grocery bag to grab a juice box. she opened the juice box and started drinking it.

"i've been having those weird day dreams recently..."

the memories she had been seeing had begun affecting her everyday life. distracted at work and distracting whilst shopping. the memories causing her to zone out.

memories?

"is he someone i used to know?"

she just assumed that when she was younger, she probably knew the kid in her little day dreams.

“does this have to do with this city?”

the walking sign lit up. she crossed the busy street. cars stopping at her sides and cars flying past her.

"how come i can't remember him...?"

him?

she glanced towards the sky, her head hurting as she tried to remember who the mysterious boy was, when she saw the moon.

a new moon, huh?

"the moon... it's beautiful tonight."

she shook her head. strangely enough, the day dreams she had were all about the moon.

"...the moon?"

she looked up at the moon, admiring its beauty as she walked. a mistake she made constantly.

"is he... is he really re- ack!-"

she was too busy staring at the moon and talking that she failed to notice the people around her. she ended up bumping into someone else and falling down onto the ground.

"oh no! i'm sorry!" a female voice shouted out.

"n-no worries!" [name] said as the other female helped her up. a short and blonde girl whos hair was tied into the style of two buns. she was wearing a school uniform and seemed to be in a hurry.

"you're okay, right?" the other female asked.

"...y-yeah! i'm fine." [name] answered.

"i'm really, really sorry!" the other female apologized once again.

[name] smiled.

"it's alright! i'm [name], what's your name?"

"my names himiko toga!"

"it's really nice to meet you toga, but I've got to get going." [name] said politely.

"yeah! it's really late at night and I've got a place to go to as well! bye [name]!!"

"bye, toga!"

the two waved goodbye at each other and headed their own ways.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

[name] looked out at the moon once again.

"the moon... it's beautiful.."

a fresh start. today, is a fresh start.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"...what're you staring at?"

"...n-nothing..."

"...were you.... admiring the.... the moon...?"

"..."

"you were! ....weren't you!"

"..tch, so.... its not that big of a deal..."

"....it truly is beautiful isn't it..."

"... what's with you and the moon?"

"... i just think that the moon is beautiful..."

"why do you mention it every single night?"

"because the moon.... it only comes out at night.."

"yeah? and the sun only comes out at day, idiot..."

"...not many people... they don't really get to admire the moon."

*beep beep! beep beep!*

"eh? ack!"

the same daydreams again. the endearing memories have recently begun to flood the poor secretary’s mind, distracting her from her daily tasks.

she looked towards the hanging cat calendar on her wall. may.

 it’s almost been 15 years exactly.

*beep beep! beep beep!*

“ah man... forced to eat burnt toast again..”

it was the morning and she was getting prepared for the day. her first day, kind of. after she scraped the burnt pieces off of her ruined breakfast, she continued her morning routine. after rushing to get ready, she waited near her door till she heard a familiar knock.

"hey, [name]!"

"hello sir! thanks for giving me a ride today"

the two walked towards the black car awaiting outside the secretary’s house.

"no worries [name]. first day back on the job, exciting isn’t it?”

he opened the passenger door for her.

“it sure is exciting”

“the building is almost fully done. today will just be us moving in and getting situated. area here's completely different from back home”

the two buckled their seatbelts and the elder male began to drive.

“i’m glad i was transferred here to work alongside you here, sir. thank you again”

“how flattering. don’t sweat it, kid"

"still!!! it’s nice of you to bring me to work"

"it beats walking, doesn’t it?”

“yeahhh you’re right i guess. walking is pretty fun though”

“...you should really be more careful [name].”

“huh?”

“you haven’t heard? there’s a lot more criminal activity in this area. walking alone– especially at night– is dangerous for someone like you.”

someone like me, huh?

“calling me weak since im a woman? hm! not very professional of you, sir. you know in this day and age, you’re gonna get canceled for saying something like that!”

he stared at you.

“that’s not what i’m talking about…”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking home at night from the main office building.

the boss was right. an exciting day. the building was still being rebuilt. a quick and easy day of moving. a nice day, ended with a nice night.

a nice night.

…

he likes the moon too.

the day dreams continued to plague her mind all day. the thoughts causing her to be distracted whilst at work. what was causing these recent memories? 

memories? are these my memories?

she looked up at the night sky, admiring the brightly glowing stars and the shining moon.

a waxing crescent moon.

she smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the peace that the night gave her.

well, she was, until she bumped into someone.

"watch where you're going."

"oh, s-sorry!"

she helped herself up and stared at the guy she had bumped into. he was shrouded in a black hoodie covering his entire figure. black hair peeked out of his hoodie and he wore a mask covering his face.

"...t-tenko...?" she said quietly, but loud enough for the guy to hear.

tenko? who… who is tenko?

"not my name sweetheart."

"o-oh! sorry about that! you just reminded me of someone... someone that I used to know!"

someone that i used to know?

"names' dabi."

"[name] [last name]."

"you should be heading home. it's not safe around these parts at night."

"right! yes sir!"

"cya around, [name]."

he started walking away.

"goodnight, sir!”

she continued on her walk home.

"why do i keep bumping into people... "

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

the rest of the journey home was quiet and peaceful. the secretary arrived at her home safe and intact.

“how beautiful”

she looked at the moon again. admiring the wonderful glow it provided. 

"he loved the moon too..."

loved?

a loud beep interrupted her thoughts. her phone lit up. a notification

reminder: sleep well!!!! no work tomorrow.

oh yeah. the office is still being rebuilt. no work tomorrow, i guess. i should probably try to relax.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"..."

"...w-wh-"

"..hm?"

"..."

"tenko?"

"...what?"

"you sounded like you wanted to say something..."

"...it-it's nothing.."

"..you sure?"

"...yeah..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"the moon sure is beautiful isn't it?"

"..tch... you and the moon again.."

"its beautiful! especially tonight"

"it's just the first stage of the moon… nothing special about it"

"huh?"

"what?"

"you… you know moon phases?"

"...yeah? and? "

"it’s special because its the first stage! its a new moon!” 

“a new moon?”

“mhm! it symbolizes a fresh start!”

“...”

“the moon is very interesting, yeah?"

"... i mean... i guess..."

"every phase of the moon is beautiful... it still glows, no matter what." 

“...”

“...”

"..why did you come out here in the first place?"

"the moon wa-"

"d-don't give me that!"

"eh? what do you mean?"

"why did you come out here? why in this specific place! you could have easily seen the moon from your bedroom window, or even outside your house! why'd you come out here! why in this exact alleyway!" 

"...it's way too crowded where i live... this place is the only place where i can ignore everything and just enjoy my time... with you..."

"excuse me! miss [last name]! are you in there!"

she blinked repeatedly, shaking her head, waking herself up.

"y-yes! you can come inside!"

a female with light blonde hair came inside. it was a co-worker of hers.

"you have this letter for the boss. its a proposal for another uprising business."

"thank you."

she took the letter from the blonde woman. the letter was enclosed with a fancy wax seal.

“y’know you reallyyy shouldn’t be daydreaming at work.”

“sorryyy! just been a bit distracted is all”

“well, i’ll be taking my leave! goodluck on the rest of your work miss [name]!”

she opened the letter and started to read it.

"quirk erasing bullets...?"

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

what is going on?

a busy night of work, cars, and pro heroes. as she waited for the walking light, she stared up at the bright moon.

a first quarter moon.

the stars chose to hide themselves tonight. their light too dull to be seen by the naked eye.

what a weird time of my life, huh? i really need to stop daydreaming.

as the walking light turned on, she crossed the street, finding her way into a barely illuminated park. a detour; the longer route home. a nice walk in nature to clear her mind so she can focus on work.

the park filled with rich green trees and greenery, only illuminated by the sight of the bright moon. what a beautiful sight. a beautiful night and evening to-

"help me please! no, stay away!" she heard a voice say quietly.

"n-no! shut up! why don't you!" the voice seemed to be arguing with.... himself?

"h-hello?" she asked, coming to a stop.

there was no response.

she looked around, and saw a man, crouched into a tree and covering his head.

"h-hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"...n-no!" he yelled out. he sounded as if he were trying to hold something in.

"c-co-cover- please!" he yelled.

"cover?"

"face!"

[name] looked at him, she squinted her eyes and saw a scar in the middle of his face.

she took her jacket off and tossed it to him.

"here, sir."

he immediately grabbed the jacket and wrapped it around his face, tightly.

"are you alright, sir?"

"th-thank you.."

"you’re welcome mister...?"

she paused, hoping for the male to answer with his name.

he remained quiet

"im [name] [last name]. have a nice night"

he looked up at her and she smiled.

"i've got to get going home, have a good night sir"

she turned around and started walking home, cutting her detour short and returning to her usual route. enough chaos for the evening. now, alone, she pondered her peculiar situation once again.

"was he even real...? or was he just apart of my imagination... to escape from this world”

she looked up towards the night sky. bright as ever. a few stars revealed themselves.

he made me happy, didn't he?

a sudden shiver ran down her body. cold.

guess i need to buy a new jacket.

she wrapped her hands around herself and continued her way home. once again, left to her thoughts in the lonely night.

ah, that letter. guess i won’t be getting much sleep tonight. boss is gonna see a tough decision tomorrow.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“..."

"..."

"...hey..."

"..."

"..."

"yes?"

"..what?"

"you sounded like you wanted to say something."

"..."

"you can say it.... i'm not gonna judge you."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...the moon sure is beautiful.."

"..."

"..."

"..what- what's your q-quirk..."

"my quirk…?"

“[name]... you can tell me anything.“

“...”

“...”

“i can heal people"

"...huh?"

"...what?"

"what's wrong with that?"

"..."

"..."

"it wasn't enough"

"..."

“...sniff…”

“i hate my quirk.”

"e-eh? why?"

"because i hate my quirk."

"what is your quirk?"

"..."

"...you can tell me anything too, tenko."

"..."

"..."

"de-decay.... my-my qu-quirk is called decay... anything i touch with all five of my fingers.... it… it will disintegrate......"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..i-i knew I shouldn't have told you! your scared of me now... yo-you'll-you'll hate me!"

"..."

"h-huh! h-hey! get off of me! wh-what are you doing! do-don't touch me!"

"..it's called a hug."

"..did-did you not hear what i said! if i touch you with all my fingers i could kill you!"

"i know you wouldn't."

"..hu-huh?"

"you won't try to push me off... i trust you.."

"...please..."

"..huh?"

"..i-i don't want to hurt you..."

"..you won't."

"...you idiot! j-just get off! I-i'm go-gonna hu-"

"it's your quirk. you can control. i believe in you.."

"...you-you idiot.... you're gonna die because of your stupidity... you-you know that?"

"...as long as I'm with you."

"miss [last name]!"

"h-huh? oh..."

"miss [last name], did you hear what I said?"

"my apologies.."

"are you alright miss [last name]? the whole office has been noticing that you've been spacing out recently..."

"it’s nothing! my apologies for worrying everyone. i've just been having a few flashbacks ever since I started an office in this area.”

flashbacks?

"has this area brought back a few memories?"

"huh?"

"maybe something in this area is reminding you of something in your childhood."

"i used to live in this area as a child."

"is there a common topic in your flashbacks? or a person?"

"huh? why?"

"i read somewhere that if all of a sudden, you start getting flashbacks of a certain person in your childhood that you haven't seen in a while, are nearby!”

“...”

“... or it could also be that you are nearby the place where you had met them or a place where you used to visit a lot with them."

"yeah... its about one of my old childhood friends.... we're always in one spot, the spot where we would always talk"

my childhood friend?

"have you thought of visiting that place? that might stop your little daydreams."

her eyes widened at the suggestion.

“thank you ma’am.”

"you’re welcome."

"anyways, what was it that you were saying before?"

"oh right- did you read the letter that I gave you the other day?"

"yes, of course. i created a report and forwarded it to the boss"

“what’d he think of it?”

“said he was interested.”

“it is quite interesting, huh?”

“i guess.”

“do you think we should get involved?”

“i’m unsure. its up to whatever the boss wants to do, i guess.”

"well, the leader has requested a meeting with the boss. discussing the bullets, that is."

"alright. i'll take a look into that."

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"where even was that place…"

she asked herself. the night alike every other recently. the venture home after a long day of work infected with the meaning of her daydreams.

"every day... the day dreams are getting longer... more real. im getting more information on him at least..."

why did i forget in the first place?

she looked up to the night sky, wishing to see the warming embrace of the moon.

a waxing gibbous moon.

"his quirk... it was decay..."

her head started to hurt. she stopped walking and clutched onto her head, the immense pain was stressing her out.

a sudden headache. a migraine.

why did she get a migraine? why now? why at this exact moment…?

"...aah...man oh man”

she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. but, the pain only got worse. she fell onto the floor

"ah!"

she desperately clutched her head harshly, begging for the pain to go away.

"excuse me ma'am. are you alright?"

a gentle, male voice spoke out.

"...my-my head...ah!"

she couldn't look up to see the male, but she could tell that he immediately knew what to do as he led her towards a nearby bench and told her to calm down, take a deep breath, and relax.

as she did so, she felt the pain in her head slowly fade away. as soon as it disappeared, she looked up at the male.

his body seemed to be formed of purple mist.

"thank you, sir."

"your welcome. and no need for anything in return."

she looked at him for a minute.

"are you weirded out by my appearance? if so, then-"

"no. it's not that. just...- you look familiar- or-er the purple... mist.."

"...you aren't weirded out by my appearance? you don't think I'm weird?"

"not at all. your quirk doesn't define you as a person."

the male was about to respond until a loud beep interrupted him.

"my apologies, but I must head home now."

"understood. thank you and goodnight, sir."

"goodbye ma’am"

she started to walk away.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"why-why did I react like that when I thought back to tenko..."

react?

did… did that happen because of tenko? but why?

she arrived home, sat at her desk. a glass of water rested on her desk alongside a bottle of tylenol pills.

she looked out to the bright night sky. the stars looked back at her.

what’s the point in thinking about old memories?

what use is there in reminiscing about an old life?

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"you seem like you want to say something again."

"..."

"you can talk to me about anything tenko."

"..."

"..."

"h-hey.."

"yeah?"

"..yo-you said that I could talk to you about anything right?"

"yep!"

"w-well..."

"...go on... im listening."

"...there... there is this one person... they are always there for me... they always act so happy... but.. I just have a feeling that... that something is going on with them too..."

"...why do you feel this way?"

"..well, they told me themselves that some people hide their true emotions behind a smile.... and i've been through a lot so... i recognize that look in their eyes... what do I do? they have helped me... they made me happy- they made me smile... how do I help them?"

"well, just talk to them about it. people feel better when they can just let all their emotions out..."

"..o-okay..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"the moon is-"

"hey... listen...."

"huh?.... eh?"

"i-i really.. l-... appreciate you..."

"you do?"

"t-than- thank you... for everything.... I want to let you know that I'm here for you too... okay?"

"you don't have to, tenko."

"but i want to. w-we'll help each other, together."

"together forever!"

"[name]."

“huh?”

“what do you think of all this?”

“oh.”

“sorry boss, but you can’t seriously be thinking about accepting their deal. are you?” the blonde co-worker chimed in.

the boss and his secretary were situated in the building’s main office, discussing the proposal offered to them by the shie hassakai as the blonde worker entered the room. the boss laughed.

“it is quite the proposal.”

“hey [name], you did more research on the shie hassaikai, right?” the blonde turned to the secretary.

“ah, yes. the shie hassaikai is a yakuza group. or well, the revival of one.” the secretary informed.

“well, they sure are intriguing, aren't they?”

“they’re dangerous, that’s what they are.” the blonde spoke.

“well, a dangerous idea and an interesting one are the same. isn’t that right, [name]?”

the secretary perked up, the conversation directing back towards her.

“in a way, i guess you are right sir.” she responded.

the blonde sighed.

“well, anyways i came over here to drop off another report. enjoy the rest of your day [name] and boss.” she spoke as she handed the secretary a file and left the room.

“well?”

“hm?”

“you never answered my question.”

“did i not?”

she opened the file given to her.

“the shie hassakai is… rumored to have dealings with the league of villains?”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

the female suddenly came to a stop. she blinked, trying to process what just happened. she had zoned out.

she shifted her gaze towards the night sky.

it’s a full moon tonight, how lucky.

she redirected her gaze forwards, slightly confused on where she currently was.

in front of her stood incoming traffic, and a familiar road.

a familiar sign. a familiar road. a familiar life.

she looked down into the street. dark, abandoned, and empty. the road seemingly called out to her, inviting her. she walked forward, as if her legs were moving on their own. familiar with the path which they were taking. not enough time to think.

she followed the dark and barely lit road as she was led to an abandoned neighborhood.

her legs. she came to a stop. she lifted her head up. in front of her stood an empty plot of land. a former family home turned to dust. cracks filled the land. the grass had grown back

the tombstone of an old life.

the snap of a twig woke up her.

her head darted around her, eyes searching around for the culprit.

“hello? whos… whos there?”

she spoke aloud, shaking.

what have you gotten yourself into now, [name]

“hello!” she shouted

to her right. footsteps approached. she quickly turned her head.

a strange man with a crazed look on his face. he was covered in blood, laughing.

is this where i die?

the man came closer, a knife in hand. she took a step backwards, her heart racing and her body shaking.

she was frozen in fear.

he was seconds away.

is this the end?

his eyes glared into hers, smiling as he rose his arm.

tenko… please

a gunshot.

a man wearing a white hood appeared in front of her. his face not visible from the distance.

she was shaking. this man had saved her. he was now slowly approaching her. her eyes widened.

“tenko? is that you?”

she whispered. frozen in place as the man came closer.

he was now a few feet in front of her, able to get a closer view. he was a strange man wearing a mask, similar to that of a plague doctor.

“my name is kurono. are you alright, miss [name]?”

“i… i am alright. thank you. thank you so much” she was shaking as she bowed her head towards her savior.

“it is rather dangerous around these parts, miss [name]. especially at night. you should really be more careful.”

“i know… my apologies.”

“what are you doing at a place like this, anyways?”

what am i doing here?

she glanced to her right, looking at the former house.

“i… i don’t really know”

his eyes resembled a soft smile.

“let me assist you home, then. it is dangerous this late at night. especially for a quirkless in the superpower world.”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

kurono had walked her home. he had stopped on her street and waved her goodbye. it was already so late. what an interesting day.

he was a savior. kurono. she had gone and gotten herself into some trouble again. all because of these daydreams. but kurono… how had he known her name?

she came to stop. a beep from her phone interrupted her thoughts. It was midnight already. she looked up into the sky.

a full moon.

tenko. hes… he’s not alive anymore, is he?

where are you now? how could you leave me?together forever you said, huh? i want to know more about you, mister mystery man…

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

"..."

"..."

"h-hey, idiot... you haven't spoken at all tonight, I-is something wrong?"

"no, nothings wrong."

"why are you being quiet?"

"..."

"... i'm going to help you too. aft-after everything that you've done for me, i-w want... i want to help you. you- ... you can tell me anything, [name]."

"t-tenko… haha!"

"hey! why are you laughing and smiling like that all of a sudden?"

"you called me by my first name!"

"... huh? that's it?!?!?"

"the truth is, something has been on my mind."

"you can tell me, idiot."

"aww, I miss the '[name]'!"

"shut up and let me help you for once, idiot."

"well, can you tell me more about... more about your past. the truth on why you're here every night...."

"... only if you do as well..."

"huh?"

"i want the truth."

"i-...."

“that’s absurd!”

the gruff voice spoke as he slammed his fists into the desks.

“he had followed you on your way home?”

the secretary casted her gaze to her hands on her lap.

“well, yes. i was on my way home”

a small lie. it doesn’t matter, though.

“this city is quite dangerous. im glad you are alright, [name]. or else i’d be forced to find a new secretary.”

she laughed in response.

“im glad that you’re safe though. thank god a hero was there. who was it even? did you get his name?” her boss questioned

she fiddled with her hands.

“ah, well. im unsure if he was a hero. though i remember his appearance. he was wearing a weird mask. you know the masks that plague doctors used to wear? and he-”

“the shie hassaikai.” her blonde female cut in. “a member of the shie hassaikai had saved you.”

her eyes widened.

“ah, really? he was a member of the shie hassaikai? i guess they aren’t so bad afterall.”

the boss laughed.

“well, s’pose i should reward them, hm? for saving my dear secretary i’ll provide them with a meeting and some funds.”

“don’t,” the blonde spoke sternly.

the secretary perked up.

“rather suspicious, aren’t they?”

“how so?” the boss questioned.

“maybe instead of saving your secretary, they were following her?”

“a dangerous, but possible assumption. what an interesting spot we’ve gotten ourselves in.”

“you can’t forget the league of villain dealings as well.”

“that is true.” he turned his gaze to the secretary. “[name]. be a little more careful now, won’t you?”

“ah, yes, sir.”

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was walking home like always, her and her thoughts on the way home. lectured by the boss and her co-worker about safety. she made sure to take the quickest route home tonight to avoid being scolded once again. and to avoid another incident.

she looked up to the moon.

a waning gibbous moon.

"should i find him again?" she said to herself. "would he remember me? how would i even find him?"

she continued to ask herself questions. but one question ended her thoughts, leaving her shocked.

"is he even alive...?"

she shook her head and sighed.

she continued to walk until she saw a flash of white in the corner of her eye out of a dark alleyway. she stopped walking and stared into the alleyway.

after a minute or so, a strange little girl with white hair and a horn came running out and clung onto her.

the little girl had a terrified expression on her face as she desperately clutched onto the legs of the [hair color] haired female. she buried herself, shaking and wiping her tears.

"hello? are you alright, sweetie?" she asked the little girl.

"pl-please... he-help me."

she kneeled down to the little girl’s height and looked at her in her eyes, trying to calm her down with a reassuring smile.

"what is your name, sweetie?" she asked.

"e-eri... please... he-help me..." the little girl spoke.

"here, grab my hand and I'll take you to the police." she said as she stood up and reached her hand out for the girl to grab.

the little girl's eyes widened. terrified, she took a step back. the look of terror in her eyes grew.

"i won't hurt you, sweetie." she assured the girl.

the little girl slowly approached her, and just as she was about to take her hand, a voice interrupted her.

"eri." a stern and cold voice called out.

eri's eyes widened as she stood in place, frozen in fear.

the [hair color] haired female looked into the dark alleyway seeing a tall man with brown hair and a bird mask that looked as if it were inspired by that of a plague doctor. similar to the one of that guy that had saved her that night. he had also worn white gloves. quite an interesting aesthetic.

the strange man began to approached the two

"hello miss. such a lovely night, isn’t it? my apologies for her" the male said.

"and you are?" she questioned as she nodded.

“i am the father of that girl there. she is quite the trouble maker, though. i apologize if she has caused you trouble miss.” he sighed

the man began to near where the two stood.

"why is she so scared?" she answered, glancing between the terrified little girl and the intimidating man. both suspicious and concerned.

he paused.

"she's afraid of the dark." he simply answered.

she looked down at the strange girl. contemplating on what to do.

should i save her? take her to the police?

the man was now closer

no… what can i even do against him?

what can someone like me even do to save her?

he paused.

"lets hurry, its midnight already and you should be in bed." overhaul stated and eri came rushing by his side. 

she stared as she watched the strange pair disappear into the darkness of the alleyway.

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

small pebbles flung into the empty road. the powerless secretary’s mind tore at itself for not intervening. the two sides of her arguing with each other.

just a small girl with the inability to save anyone.

save? anyone?

she looked up towards the night sky. 

a waning gibbous moon.

"the truth... i want to know it... tenko."

 ˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“i can’t go back. not now… not ever”

“why?”

“i…”

“tenko, you can tell me. i’m here for you. i’ll always be here for you.”

“they are gone.”

“...they?”

“my… my family… they are all gone.”

“what… what happened to them…?”

“...”

“tenko…”

“...[name]”

“tenko… it’s okay tenko. dont worry. i’m here. i’m here for you. i’m here with you. i’m here for you forever”

“-following report states that the yakuza group, the shie hassakai has been defeated and taken down. the leader ‘overhaul’ has been captured and detained. the villain will be transported to a secure facility where he is unable to harm people again. this supervillain has been defeated with the help of-”

“enough of that.” a gruff voice spoke as he shut off the television.

“that’s got you upset, boss?” the secretary questioned.

the secretary and ceo were stationed together in the main office. the two stayed together overtime, organizing paperwork and discussing future business adventures. the news played on the television caught the attention of the two.

“seems like a money opportunity gone. sucks to be us. could’ve used the deal too.”

“you thought about accepting it?”

he nodded and sighed.

“it would’ve been risky but an interesting business adventure”

“you took too long to make a decision anyways. that’s for the better, i guess.”

he laughed.

“she would’ve yelled at both of us if i’d accepted the deal. me for agreeing and you for following my order”

the two shared a laugh, then, silence. he let out a deep breath.

“quirk erasing bullets. can’t say that isn't intriguing” 

“i guess i can see it that way boss.”

“good thing you talked me out of it. huh, [name]?”

“could say we dodged a bullet there”

“get back to work, idiot”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“nice work today [name]. thanks for accompanying me today”

“no problem! its not that much of a hassle to do anyways.”

“dont worry kid, i’ll be sure to pay you overtime”

the two shut down the office for the night, turning off lights and locking the doors. they walked together out of the building.

“hey kid”

“hm?”

“let me give you a ride home tonight, yeah? it’s rather late”

she looked up to the moon.

a last quarter moon.

“no shie hassaikai to save you if some big bad villain approaches” he jokes, referencing the incident that had happened to her a couple days ago.

she laughed in response

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

it was a quiet car ride. the duo too tired to converse after a long day of paperwork. the secretary stared out the side window, admiring the night sky.

no stars tonight. just the beautiful moon accompanied by the deep night sky. a beautiful last quarter moon. the moon cycle is nearing its end.

i’m here for you, huh? 

how ironic. he was nowhere to be seen. she had not a clue where he was. perhaps she should give up. cleanse herself of these meaningless daydreams. cleanse herself of the memories that plagued her mind.

“the road is so empty tonight. how weird.”

her boss spoke, interrupting her thoughts. she shifted her gaze to the front window. he was right. no cars were on the road. the only vehicles on the road were the two trucks and the police car right in front of her.

she turned back to the side mirror.

“what the hell is… [name]! shit! watc-”

a piece of metal debris came flying towards the boss and his secretary. the metal had shattered the front window and stabbed itself into the backseat of the car, between the two. glass shards from the window had covered the two.

their car came to a stop. the alarm going off.

“what the hell. [name]! you alright?” the boss asked, he was only able to catch a glimpse of her face. she was in complete shock, frozen at the sight. her eyes widened and glued to the view in front of her.

“shit. [name]. are you-” he was cut off by a sudden impact. the police car previously in front of them was now flying towards their car.

the vehicle had flipped over, landing behind the car which the boss was in.

another loud impact. the truck directly in front of them had crashed, flipped over as the truck had opened, causing a man who was tied up to fall out onto the road. he was directly in front of the boss and the secretary. fire engulfed the road as the second truck had come to a stop.

shit. what is going on? is the boss alright? what is-

she looked in front of her. her eyes widened. on top of the truck resided a man dressed in a black coat and covered in white hands. he had light blue hair.

tenko?

the man had jumped down from the truck, now slowly approaching where the tied up man laid, and where the secretary resided.

tenko… is that really you?

“[name]! we need to get out of here”

tenko… please

“name!”

the man, hearing the cry of the man, quickly darted his head towards the car. his gray orbs widened as he scanned the vehicle and he met eyes with the secretary.

“tenko.”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“tenko! tenko! tenko, is that you!”

“[name]... you’re so loud…”

“tenko! where have you been! it’s been so long… you-you were gone for so long! i’ve come here every night to look for you but… are you okay? where did you go? are you hurt? how are you feeling?”

“...”

“...tenko?”

“...”

“hey…”

“...it’s not… it’s not tenko anymore”

“h-huh?”

“its… shigaraki now… i have a new name… my master gave it to me… tomura shigaraki”

*beep beep*

“-awake! get the doctor! she’s awake!”

a familiar voice shouted

tenko?

“shit, [name]... you had me worried for a bit”

her vision cleared. in front of her stood her boss. he had a concerned look on his face.

she was at the hospital, laid down on the bed dressed with a hospital gown and a tube connected to her arm. “aw shit. what happened. where am i, boss?”

“you passed out kid. glad you’re awake now, though.” the boss spoke, relieved. “you remember? anything?”

her eyes softened as she directed her gaze to her hands resting in her lap.

“no, sir. i do not”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“her injuries are minor. we did not sense any brain damage. the only damage caused to her was from the glass shards on the window. the cuts will not take long to heal” the doctor informed the two.

“we good to leave then, doc?”

“i’d like for her to stay a couple hours longer. it is already very late into the night. plus. You are still yet to be treated, sir.” the doctor spoke sternly, glaring at the elder male.

“yeah yeah, fine. can’t we go home after i’m done?”

“sleeping here until morning would be her best option for faster recovery. you are welcome to stay if you would like, sir.” the doctor spoke, clearly tired from the long night.

“yeah, whatever. just bring me a blanket please, doc”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

she was discharged from the hospital in the morning. her boss had covered the fees and had driven her home. the ride was silent. the boss deciding whether to bring up the incident that had happened last night or not.

instead, he opted to lecture and scold her, on behalf of their fellow coworker. he thought, what would she do. he yelled at her, warning her to be careful. the blonde would be proud, he thought.

she merely laughed at him. her boss’ poor attempt to switch the atmosphere. it is the effort that counts, after all. she was excused from work for the day, leading her to enjoy a three day weekend. 

he spoke of the break as an end of month break. a celebration of sorts. the first month of working in this new city. this new building. this new environment. though, she knew he was trying to play off his concerned thoughts.

she waved him off as she exited his car, broken windows and all. the two waved goodbye at each other until she reached her door.

as she arrived home and closed the door, she immediately fell to the ground, her hands darting to cover her face. tears fell from between her fingers. she wept on the floor of her home. 

why was she crying?

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

a boring day. though, perhaps that is for the better. 

a relaxing day, her boss told her to get.

before departing for the weekend, her boss told her to enjoy herself and relax. for it was the end of the moon cycle, no better time than to treat yourself to some joy.

the boss is a great person when he tries. a real and utter softie at heart. work was manageable with a kind man such as the boss as her leader. despite his attempts to seem intimidating, it was quite easy to see his real persona. stern but caring, almost like a father figure.

work, huh? working at that company is not so bad. the pay is nice. the work is average. her coworkers were fun. when she returned, she was sure she would be lectured by the blonde. always acting as her guardian. her mother, almost.

how ironic

*beep beep*

her phone went off, interrupting her thoughts. attachment: an image. a message of her dear blonde coworker, sending her an image of the moon. 

a waning crescent moon.

the end of the moon cycle already? but i just got here when it began.

she looked towards the hanging cat calendar on her wall. june.

june already? in two days it’ll be…

15 years exactly

she looked out her window

“tenko... what happened to you?”

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

her boss told her to take it easy. her boss told her to not get into anymore trouble. her boss told her to get some inner peace ‘for once.’ her boss told her to relax. it’s a shame how her form of relaxation is going on a night stroll.

she made a mental note to never inform her coworkers about this, lest she want to get scolded and yelled at for an hour.

the secretary couldn’t help herself, though. it was a beautiful evening. the end of the moon phase is always a beautiful time. she came to a stop, waiting for the light to signify her time to cross the street. she cast her gaze upwards at the night sky.

a waning crescent moon.

the star was filled with stars. such a beautiful moon. a beautiful night. and a beautiful sky.

the walking light lit up. she crossed the street, approaching her local convenience store. entering the small stop, she smiled and waved at the cashier. she approached the soft drink isle, pondering on what to get.

staring at the large array of choices, she felt a pair of eyes glare into her. the eyes had been continuously looking at her for a while now.

it was a public store. she mustered enough courage to quickly look left. as she turned, there was a man? a person was staring at her.

the man wore a gray hoodie with the hood pulled up, shielding his face. though, the secretary was able to catch a glimpse. his skin seems to consist of green scales, almost like that of a reptile.

as she met her gaze, the man’s eyes widened and he quickly turned away, seemingly shocked that she had caught him staring.

she rose a brow and turned back to the fridge, opening the cooler and taking two drinks.

as she walked to the cash register, preparing to pay, she felt the same eyes on her again. she turned around, meeting the red eyes of the green heteromorph who seemed insistent on staring at her.

shocked that he was caught, again, caused the man to seeming panic and leave the convenience store, buying nothing.

the secretary sighed. she paid for the two drinks and chased after the heteromorph.

“hey! you there! stop!”

she shouted as she walked after the man who was rushing away. he paused, and turned back to her.

“you! what do you want?” he stopped as she caught up to him.

“me? what do i want?” she sounded offended. “what do you want? whats with you staring at me?”

at hearing her response, he seemed taken aback. he paused, then, he turned around once again and began speed walking away.

“hey! come back here!” she yelled again, walking after him.

he paused, turned around and waited for her to catch up. “what.” he spoke

she caught up to him, then she reached into her plastic bag, picking up one of the two drinks she had bought. she held the drink out to him. he seemed confused.

“you didn’t buy anything, so. i’m [name]”

he uncovered his hood a bit as he took the drink, nodded at the girl, then proceeded to walk away.

shit.

she watched as he walked away, while she remained still. her body began to shake.

he was there. he’s part of the league of villains.

a small pain began forming in her head.

i need to find tenko. i need to.

she looked up into the moon. a waning crescent moon. the end of the moon phase. 

in two days… it’ll have been 15 years already. since the day you changed my life forever.

please… tenko, where are you? i’m so sorry tenko. i’m sorry for not being there for you.

˚⭒. ☾ .⭒˚

“...tenko?”

“...”

“hey?”

“that’s not my name anymore… you know it [name].”

“i’m s-sorry ten-... i’m sorry. it’s just been… ever since you came back… you’ve been different”

“...”

“what… what happened to you, tenko?”

“i already told you! nothing happened! i found my place in the world! i-i found someone who wants me. i found someone who actually cares for me!”

“tenko… i care for you”

“...”

silence. pure silence.

in a dark alleyway, the most dangerous place for young children, sat a [hair color] haired girl and a boy with light blue hair facing her. 

“tenko…”

“...m-master says you’re… useless”

“t-tenko?” she stood up

“he tells me… to stop seeing you… t-that you don’t r-really care for me… h-he tells me that you’re like everyone else!” 

“that’s not true! tenk-”

“its tomura. shi-shigaraki tomura.”

“please, tenk-”

the boy came closer to her. her eyes widened as she froze. her gaze directed to his hands. the same hands that could cause destruction. the same hands that did. the same hands that inevitably would.

“...[name]?”

“ten-to-tomura… i-i didn’t mean it like tha-”

“master’s right…! you’re just like the others… you… you…”

“tenko please” she shouted in desperation

“why can’t anyone just love me… why did i have to be like this… why was i give this quirk…”

“tenko! i’m here for you!”

“you don’t really love me… why can’t you love me... why… it’s because of this quirk…”

“your quirk… it doesn’t mean anything! it doesn’t resem-”

“then why are you scared of me right now”

she froze. silence. pure silence.

“tenko… please… i lov-”

the words never finished. she was cut off. her mouth refused speak what her heart so desperately wanted to say. her body refused to listen to her. it seemingly acted on it’s own. almost as if she were forced to.

the young girl ran. she left the dark alleyway. leaving the boy to live on his own.

“tomura.” a deep voice uttered.

“she left you. you have no use for her. she does not care for you. only i do, tomura”

the poor boy turned around and looked up, tears threatening to poor from his red eyes.

“...y-yes… master”

“shit! ow”

the secretary woke up breathing heavily as sweat ran down her skin. a nightmare, seemingly. it was no nightmare.

it was the cold, hard truth.

the woman jumped out of bed. she rushed outside and ran. it was the middle of the night. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a bright sky. a beautiful city.

she ran as fast as she could. that place. that important place. how could i forget it? how could i forget the place i met you.

forced to come to a stop, the same light staring at her, signifying her turn to cross the street. she was impatient. she needed to get there. quickly. before he left. before he was gone again. before he left her. before she left him

she looked up into the night sky. the sky was a beautiful deep blue. the stars shone brightly tonight.

a new moon.

the light switched, and the secretary quickly ran across the street. she passed the welcoming convenience store. she passed the dimly lit park. she passed the dark neighborhood. she passed her new building, her new life.

please.

please be there. 

tenko. please.

i love you

her running came to a stop. she breathed harshly, tired from the exertion she forced upon herself.

her head began to hurt. the scenery became familiar. all too familiar. the same sign. the same street. the same path. the same buildings. the same alleyway.

she approached the same alleyway. that same alleyway where no child should ever venture into. she is no longer a child.

the pain throbbed in her head. a deep voice warning her, telling her to get away and run away.

how could she ever run away. not again. not ever.

please.

please be there.

tenko. please.

i love you

she entered the alleyway. the same boxes. the same feral cats. the same stench. the same scary atmosphere. the same darkness. the same alleyway.

please

she was engulfed by the darkness. seemingly walking into nothing, hoping to see him. she aimlessly walked into that same alleyway, all those years ago.

near the end of the alleyway allowed for a patch of the moon to shine into the dark alley. the darkest alley was also the brightest, in times like this. she stood on the edge of the darkness.

he turned his back to her. he had messy mid-length light blue hair. the same as that day. he wore all black. the same as that day. he seemed as if he wanted to disappear from the world entirely. the same as that day.

he was watching the moon.

she stepped onto the moonlight, and then, he turned around.

deep red orbs stared into her own. his mouth slightly open. his eyes widened. he did not move.

a new moon

she walked forwards, continuing to stare into his eyes.

a new moon

she settled in front of him. the moonlight shining on the two of them. the stars intently watched the two.

she shifted her gaze to the night sky, admiring the moon.

a new moon

at the break of eye contact, his eyes followed hers. a beautiful evening. a beautiful night. a beautiful sky. a beautiful city.

“hey…” she spoke softly.

silence. pure silence.

“the moon is beautiful… don’t you think so, tenko?”

he glanced at her, then looked at the moon once again.

“i can die happy”

her mouth opened to speak. nothing came out.

questions flooded her mind. she had so many. so many things to ask. so many things to say, but the words couldn’t leave her mouth. she wanted to ask him so many things. are you okay? where did you go? are you hurt? but she was unable to utter out any of them.

“...tenko?”

“[name]...”

silence. pure silence.

“i’m not tenko anymore. [name]. my name is shigaraki tomura.”

the two turned to each other. their eyes met.

a new moon. a new night. a new start. a new time.

the same place. the same confession. the same day. the same moon.

the same girl and a new boy.

[reanniee]

hi hi!!! my name is ria and i'm a new writer starting on tumblr. i am 19 and i've previously written on other platforms before and i've decided to check out tumblr! im looking for mutuals! so if you are interested i am also accepting asks! im going to be posting one-shots, full stories, and also short imagines from time to time. if you are interested, here are topics that i plan to write about! i mainly write about yanderes, so if you are interested please stick around and i am excited to show you all my work <3

media: hunter x hunter my hero academia honkai: star rail genshin impact chainsaw man bluelock haikyuu

topics: yandere dark themes alternate universes romance angst