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sunshinerory · 2 months ago

Note

do you have any thoughts about mizu meeting a girl in london? maybe like a nobleman’s pretty daughter who’s somewhat similar to akemi.

maybe she’s arranged to be married to some rich man who had a hand in trading with japan, and mizu needs information from him, and reader volunteers to help her on the condition that mizu gets rid of the guy for her. she’d rather not marry a man at all, but especially not him.

unlikely friendship turns to romance? mizu realizing this girl is actually tough as nails under all the satin and silk ^^

really latched onto the butchfemme realness that is all my mizu ideas lately

Ooooooh, I DO have thoughts. This is a great prompt!!

This one is a longer timeline so I did a mix of prose and bulleted headcanons, I really hope that's okay! I could see this becoming another 10K fic and I just did not have the time for that atm 😭😭

I really hope you can enjoy the mix anyway, anon!!

TW: forced marriage, implied gross male behavior, man threatening a woman with a knife, canon-typical violence/murder

Raised voices from the entrance hall catch your attention.

Before your music tutor can stop you, you slip from behind the virginals and scurry through the door, your train catching on the floor; in your haste to avoid being called back, you forgot to pick it up.

The upstairs hall opens onto a balcony that overlooks the entrance hall, which is where you can see the servants arguing loudly with someone at the door. You can hear them insisting repeatedly in English that “the lord”--your father–isn't home. A voice outside the door shouts again, louder, to be heard over them, “Routely. Where…is…Routely?”

Their English is accented, and both the name and the accent strike a chord in your chest.

Routely. Your betrothed–reluctantly on your part.

It's because of your betrothal that your father has insisted you learn Japanese, as a way to charm him, to show eagerness. Something you could have told him was worthless; Routely is clearly aware of your reluctance, and almost seems to enjoy it. It's bad enough to know you're soon going to be shackled to a man that could be your father, and even worse to know that he sees his bride’s discomfort and relishes it. You'd give almost anything to escape this wedding.

Still, you're curious; by that accent, this visitor is not from London. Your tutor, an equally disgusting fellow called Skeffington, was supplied through one of your betrothed’s networks, and he isn't Japanese, himself. You've never met anyone from there.

“Let them in,” you call down from above. The servants turn, looking startled to see you staring down from above, the picture of a haughty young Lady. They start scrambling to protest, even as they bow nervously.

“But–my Lady, your father isn't home–”

“It isn't appropriate–receiving men with no chaperone–”

“And you being betrothed–...”

“I said…” Your every syllable clinks with ice, “...Let them in.”

The servants look at each other; weighing the cost of direct disobedience to you versus the possible latter cost of getting blamed for this if it reaches your father’s ears.

Your temper is well-known. They bow again, and throw open the door.

The man that strides in takes your breath away. You reach out subtly to grasp the railing in front of you. Your face remains impassive, even as you convulsively squeeze the railing to power through the weakness in your knees. That stare, so intense… even with such a look of wary aggression in his face, suddenly you understand why any girl could possibly anticipate a wedding night with any joy.

“Welcome, sir,” you greet him in what you assume must be heavily accented Japanese. Despite that, you see his eyes widen, so he must understand. “My father is the lord here, but Sir Routely is my betrothed. Is there something I can help you with?”

At first, Mizu is just shocked to hear her mother tongue from a white face

It's pretty much the only reason she doesn't immediately get aggressive with you when she hears you're to be married to him

Of course, you invite “him” for tea, you're curious to know more about her country

And of course she accepts, she wants your information

Tea is extremely tense at first

You're so nervous that you come across as haughty and proper

Mizu reacts to this by being her usual snippy self, which, given your immediate crush, hurts your feelings a little

She sees your delicate face and all the jewels and silk, and can barely stop herself from scoffing right to your face

And you resent her obvious disdain, knowing there's more to you than the appearances you're required to keep up

Things make progress when she tries to congratulate you on your upcoming wedding

The combination of dread at the thought of it, your unhappiness about her snarking at you, and your sudden realization of feeling desire for the first time and knowing you'll never get to actually follow through, it's all too much

You burst into tears.

Mizu freezes, teacup halfway to her mouth, looking like a deer in the headlights

With Akemi, she knew exactly why the girl was crying, but why are you crying? What did she do??

You warble through your tears that you hate that man, he's horrible, you don't want to marry him, you don't want to marry any man at all, and he's the worst–

Mizu sets the cup down slowly, and then tries to figure out where that weird “handkerchief” thing went in these stupid foreign clothes.

She comes over to sit on the same couch as you (scandalizing!!) and blankly holds it out to you.

“I think we'll be more than able to help each other.”

Lo and behold, she's right.

She expected you to be upset by the idea of the murder, and is pleasantly surprised when you're onboard.

The problem is, you've really fought the whole “getting to know you” thing with Routely, so you just don't know much about where he goes or what his schedule is.

Mizu promises that if you agree to start acting more warmly with him, and try to plumb him for info, she'll definitely kill him before the wedding night.

You suggest that she replaces your old tutor, telling your father that she can teach you more flawless Japanese

Unbeknownst to Mizu, since you never mentioned his name, Skeffington slips through her fingers–for now.

(Skeffington is none too happy, as, secretly, he was using your house as a front for some of his trading, to make it harder to trace, and now he's lost access.)

You meet once a week.

Your father is elated that you’re finally taking your lessons seriously, and Mizu has to admit that drawing wages has helped her a lot with bribes and such for her work.

You give her whatever info that you have, and as a bonus, you teach her the customs she needs to blend in, along with a little more English

As it turns out, she did study the entire two-year journey, Fowler deliberately taught her bad pronunciation and incorrect etiquette just to fuck with her

Now that she has a friendly and helpful source of information and education in English, Fowler loses his bargaining chip.

BYE BYE.

The next week when she arrives, you notice a dried spot or two of blood on her doublet.

She freezes when you ask about it.

Oops

You don't scream or call for the guards, which impresses her, even if she thinks it's a little naive.

You just tell her she can't walk around like that, and insist she gives her doublet to you so you can clean the blood off it.

One thing leads to another–mayyyyybe you were a little hasty opening the door as she changed–and that's how your crush turns into Baby’s First Gay Panic

No wonder you finally felt desire for a man, if it wasn't a man!

This new level of secret-sharing just continues to deepen your friendship

Now you're kind, beautiful, clever, and you're helping her with her revenge, and you're fine with her gender?

Mizu might be swooning a little herself, but she tells herself that you’re a delicate flower, you're not meant to follow the path she does.

All the same, once a week starts to be not enough time together.

Instead of teaching you Japanese or learning English, Mizu wants to tell you about her home; about Ringo, and Sword-Father, and Madam Kaji and Akemi, even Taigen.

She even explains why the sword hanging at her waist looks so different from the sabers and other swords you're used to seeing the other men carry.

She wants you to know her, fully even if she doesn't understand why

And you open up about more than just Routely’s weekly information; your stifling upbringing, the odious behavior of your betrothed, the backstabbing, shallow friendships of upperclass female society.

Your allotted time flies by and you're not ready for her to leave.

So, she starts sneaking up the wall of the manor into your room. Sometimes during the day, sometimes in the evenings.

What else does she have to do? She only cares about getting her revenge. And seeing you.

You leave a specific statue on your windowsill wherever you're in your room and the coast is clear

This goes well for some time, and you're getting very close to a plan for Routely, when one day…

It's the day of a holiday, there's a festival going on in town. Your father is there presiding over it, many of the servants are given the day off to go to the fair. You plead off with a headache, already anticipating the luxury of a full day with Mizu.

You hear the telltale click of her tapping on the window to be let in. But just as you open the window for her, someone comes slamming through the door of your room.

Mizu ducks down quickly, out of sight, listening.

She hears you demand, “What do you think you're doing?” In your most snobbish tone of voice, and she would have smiled with amusement if she wasn't dangling perilously off the side of a building where anyone might see her.

Above, through the window, she hears: “Thought you'd put me out of a job, eh, little lady? Too good for my tutelage, with that pretty little nose in the air?”

You back away, groping behind you for the statue. “Get out, before I call my father.”

Your old tutor advances on you, his eyes glinting, a twisted smile on his face. A knife, thick and brutish, glints in his hand.

“You think old Skeffington is simple do you? Everyone is away, little girl… nobody here to save you now–”

A blur of blue whooshes past your face, and a metal clang echoes as Mizu’s sword is only barely blocked by the thick knife.

Skeffington falls back, shocked, but quickly recovers.

Mizu is extremely good, but Skeffington’s fighting style is very, very different, and she wasn't expecting a fight today.

In these damn constricting clothes, she can't maneuver like she wants to, and at an inopportune moment, she stumbles.

Skeffington tackles her, pinning her to the floor. She barely manages to grab his wrists before his knife plunges into her eye. The point dangles perilously, slowly starting to descend as his entire bodyweight gets out behind it.

She's kicking and thrashing, trying to get free, she suddenly–

THWACK

His eyes widen, then go unfocused, as he slumps, revealing you standing over them both with the bronze statue still raised for a second blow.

For a second, Mizu stares at you, beyond impressed, possibly a little turned on

…Before wasting no time, finishing the job without worrying about honor. This is her job–she only cares that they're all dead.

You watch without flinching, your mouth set in a grim line.

He deserved it.

When the deed is done, Mizu turns to you, and there's something lighter in her face, as though a heavy burden is lifting from her shoulders.

“Only one left,” she says, sounding almost in awe. She smiles at you with more joy than you've ever seen in her before. “I think the gods may have sent you to me.”

It should chill you to see her so happy after murder, but instead, you smile back. You feel the same way about her.

She stands, and despite the blood on her hands, she reaches out and grips yours. You squeeze back; the blood is shared between you now.

“We are very close to Routely, and then I'll be free,” she sighs, breathing in deeply.

But you feel a pang when her next words are “and i can go where i wish, perhaps home.”

Oh no

You try to keep your smile on your face, to be brave for her and not selfish, but you don't know what you'll do without her

But then, her grip tightens, and she tugs you a little closer.

She looks almost nervous, but determined, as your heart beats faster to feel the warmth of her body so close

“Come with me.” She says, and your eyes widen in such absolute shock and joy that you're speechless.

When you don't immediately respond, her expression crumbles ever so slightly, and she adds, very softly, “... please.”

You're kissing her before she can blink, and it's her turn to be in shock

But not for very long

The long, free day was put to good use in the end, after all.

#this was so excellent to come back to after a 10hr overnight shift

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sunshinerory · 2 months ago

Note

this is soso longwinded so i apologize in advance but i’m brainrotting lol

I think a lot about a reader x mizu where the reader is taigen’s younger sister/sibling, and just is vehemently bothered by how her brother bullies mizu. like they had very few interactions as children because taigen wouldn’t let them near each other, but reader actually was just interested in learning about mizu more.

reader being a bit devastated that mizu disappeared off to master eiji’s because she was getting so close to giving her brother the slip and actually having a conversation with them. i’d imagine there’s like at least one situation where reader tries to make taigen stop that would make it so they remember each other relatively well(?)

they end up running into each other because reader’s been sent to live with taigen so he can find her a marriage candidate, and she gets to be friends with akemi as well. reader is probably equally not into being pushed into marriage, etc, probably has a pretty contentious relationship with her brother even though she has to pretend otherwise.

HEYYY GUESS WHO LOVED THIS AND GOT SUPER INSPIRED

I hope this is close to what your were envisioning, it was so extremely fun to write, I loved the idea so much.

Taigen is a real fucking asshole in this one, be warned.

He/him pronouns used for Mizu bc of her disguise.

TW: physical abuse, use of slurs, threatening language, violence (nothing overly graphic or beyond canon-level)

“Taigen, stop!”

Your cry rang out, the familiar childish wail of the younger sibling.

Your brother paused, rock in hand, still kneeling over the cowering figure on the ground. His hesitation lasted just long enough for you to bowl into him from the side, knocking you both into the mud. Winded by your weight, Taigen groans, curling up in the fetal position for a brief moment, while you scramble up.

“Are you okay…?” Worriedly, you reach out a hand to the other boy. Despite him being a couple years older, he weighs almost nothing, and you pull him up easily. His eyes are wide as you grab his hand; the clearest, cleanest blue you've ever seen. To you, they look like something rare and valuable, like the gemstones you once saw winking in the ears of a rich lady passing through Kohama.

He doesn't reply right away; he looks shocked by your actions, even more so when you smile at him. His eyes scan your face, as though searching for the signs of a trick. He looks over your shoulder; his eyes grow even more wide with alarm.

Behind you, a child’s angry growl warns you that said dearest brother has recovered. Taigen’s expression is thunderous, sending a shimmer of terror through you. Taigen can be creative with his revenge. Both you and the blue eyed boy back away fearfully; without thinking, you reach out and grab the boy’s hand, squeezing it tight.

Taigen sees this, and his eyes flare even wilder.

“Don't touch my sister, round-eyes!” he bellows, his voice cracking, and you see his hand raise, the rock flying… You move without thinking, stepping in front of the boy, and the next thing you feel is a blinding pain in your head, your shriek of pain splitting the air. You crumple, wailing; you’re still only a little girl, and it hurts.

Gentle hands touch the tender spot. The blue eyed boy bends over you first, looking at the distinctive y-shaped cut now forking through your eyebrow. He looks utterly unsure how to help you. You never get a chance to know what he would have done, because a second later a hard shove knocks him away from you.

“Look what happened because of you!” Your brother shouts at him, his face contorted with rage.

A bright glow of light suddenly splits the sky above you; the ground rumbles terrifyingly as something streaks past you faster than anything you've ever seen. The other boys scream and scatter; Taigen, looking just as afraid, seizes your arm and drags you to run away with him.

Over your shoulder, you can see the boy vanish, too.

You never see him again in Kohama.

“Taigen!”

Glasses raise all around you; you keep your eyes fixed firmly on the table in front of you. You're the only girl in here that isn't hired to be here, the rest of this little “engagement party” are all men. Dojo students, the wastrel sons of minor local lords and merchants that Taigen has charmed–or settled feuds for.

You're here because, as Taigen put it, “dad sent you to me to get you properly married, and tonight, this room is going to be full of rich men horny enough and drunk enough to overlook your little deformity”. He's referring to your scar, the forked one carved deep across your eyebrow.

When the prostitutes had arrived, you'd protested, bravely catching his sleeve to mention Akemi. He'd brushed you off with the explanation that this was a man thing, something you just simply couldn't understand; it was about potency, virility, something or other… You tuned him out quickly.

When you looked unconvinced, he struck as fast as a snake, fingers grabbing your arm in a fierce grip. “Keep. Your mouth. Shut. To Akemi,” he growls, close enough to your face that you can feel his breath. You gasp in pain at the bruising force on your forearm; Taigen was already terrifying as a child…now, as a master swordsman, you don't dare to cross him.

You're stewing in the corner now, watching him nuzzle a girl’s neck and trying to figure out how to tell Akemi anyway–she's too good for him, and has been so lovely to you every time you two have met. She's the most beautiful woman you've ever seen, and yet she still tells you that you're perfectly pretty, and that Taigen is just looking out for you by scoffing, like all brothers do… You highly doubt that, but you appreciate that she loves him, and you don't want to burst the bubble of her joy.

Just when you're noticing one of the men eyeing you a little too interestedly, the door slides open.

“Taigen! Come quick. We have a problem.”

It's that haughty bastard, Mr Mystic Tengu, as you think of him to yourself after hearing him rant about them at every opportunity. He's not looking so haughty now, with a heavy bruise streaked directly across his face in the shape of a bokken.

As Taigen extricates himself, you hear Old Tengu raving to him about some intruder, a man with “blue eyes… like a demon!”

Your heart starts to race. You've never forgotten your blue-eyed boy.

Everyone else is too drunk to notice as you slip from the room, following your brother from a safe distance. It can't be… right?

But then…

“You're from Kohama village…” The strange man murmurs. You don't need to see his eyes, then. You know.

Your first feeling is elation–that the blue-eyed boy is alive! Alive, and here! As if fate had decreed that your paths would cross.

Your heart drops though, when you hear Taigen’s threats, watching them both drop into a fighting stance, manhandling each other across the dojo. You've seen Taigen fight, you know he's good, even if he's arrogant about it.

You don't even realize that you've got both your hands clapped over your mouth to stop yourself crying out in protest as you watch from around the corner. You pray to whatever gods are listening that Blue Eyes can somehow survive this. Your scar throbs, a reminder of what happens when you interfere.

That harsh conditioning is put to the test when Blue-Eyes’s glasses come off, and you finally see his face properly, for the first time in decades. He's…beautiful. The sleek lines of his blade-sharp features, the perfectly sculpted mouth, and those eyes… still like perfect gems, like a glowing spring sky.

The words kill him turn your chest to ice.

Taigen… Please… don't do this… it takes every ounce of your focus not to plead aloud; you have a myriad of remembered bruises to know exactly what will happen, and this time would be worse; to humiliate him in front of the dojo, when he's half-drunk… you don't need another scar. Your forearm is still aching. But your heart seizes in your chest at the thought of losing Blue-Eyes as swiftly as you found him again.

You trail behind everyone to the door to watch, your heart in your mouth. While nobody is looking, you scurry to pick up Blue-Eyes’s hat and glasses; you wouldn't put it past any of the still-conscious students to stomp them into shards out of angry spite.

The sing of Taigen’s blade unsheathing makes you want to vomit, especially when you see it pointed at Blue Eyes. You've seen many fall to that blade. You see it again, more horrible than ever before.

It's over in a matter of seconds; with a cry, Blue-Eyes crumbles to a knee, blood seeping through his haori, Taigen’s blade at his neck.

“Death comes for everyone,” Taigen starts, his voice dripping smugness. “For you…today–”

“No!!”

The cry slips from your lips unbidden; everyone turns in startlement, not realizing you had even been watching. For a half-second, you recognize the young boy you once knew, as Blue Eyes gapes in surprise; he clearly doesn't recognize you, is just startled at your interference. Old Tengu looks furiously at Taigen, whose face darkens. He turns his back on Blue-Eyes, kicking him aside, and stalks in your direction like a tiger.

“You–stay out of this,” he snarls. “How dare you speak out against me like this. I’ll teach you respect on the flat of my blade–”

Thump–thump–thumpthump.

The clank of metal into snow draws attention from you; you're too shocked to be relieved, as Blue-Eyes rises slowly, his cuffs left behind on the ground.

He moves like a blur.

For once, it's Taigen you fear for, as he's flung like a rag doll, flopping hard into the packed snow, a blade at his throat.

You might have screamed out another plea, but this time a male voice rings out instead, and you shuffle into the shadows as the master himself steps out.

All that for a simple question, as it happens. You're watching Taigen, the humiliation dawning on his face. A shudder of dread runs through you, tuning out the conversation. He isn't going to forget your interference. He will blame you for this defeat.

You need to get out of here.

A crunching footstep recalls you to the present.

Your heart stops to find Blue Eyes staring at you, only feet away, at the base of the steps. He looks…guarded, wary.

“Those are mine,” he tells you flatly, pointing to the accessories you're still holding. You jump, and then push away from the pillar and patter down the steps. The rest of the group watches with naked hostility as you hold them out to him quickly.

“S-sorry,” You stammer, watching him putting them back on, re-concealing his eyes. “I just didn't want them to get crushed by someone.”

He pauses in his re-dressing. Looks up, his brow scrunched in confusion at your kindness. Behind the tinted lenses, you see him study you more closely, his eyes drifting up to the scar in your eyebrow. Recognition dawns in his eyes, his lips parting.

You smile, hopefully–does he remember your shared moment, so long ago?

"You’re still. A dog."

You see the moment those blue eyes freeze over into cold fury. Like quicksilver, he moves so fast, so terrifyingly fast. When the spray of snow clears, Taigen spouts no blood, but beside him on the ground lies a dark bundle. His chignon.

Blue Eyes steps back, the moment between you gone in a flash at the reminder of his reputation, his hat once more concealing everything as he turns his back.

He's not the only one. As Blue Eyes’s steps recede, Taigen looks up to see the Shindo masters turn their backs, until only you stand near him.

The look he turns you sends your blood to pure ice. There's only one person here that he can blame, that can't fight back. You feel your stomach clench with dread as he staggers to his feet, his teeth bared with rage.

“You stupid fucking girl, you ruined everything. I'll kill your for this–!”

Before you can take more than a step back, his hands grasp your throat– but they never even get the chance to tighten. There's a sudden blur of blue, a sickening crack, and your brother collapses, crumpling under a blow to the back of the head.

Shocked, you lift your gaze to Blue Eyes.

“Come on,” he says grimly, catching you by the arm. "I owe you a debt, and will repay it." You flinch at his touch, and he looks down, seeing the bruises there on your arm, the way they almost match his hand, as if another similar grip had created them. His mouth tightens. He lets you go, jerking his head for you to follow instead.

You hesitate, looking back at your unconscious brother. Blue Eyes scoffs.

“Stay, if you want. But you'll be lucky if he just sells you to a brothel.”

You know he's right. Biting your lip, you bend down and pick up Akemi’s comb, tucking it in your pocket, before hustling to catch up to Blue Eyes.

Now that you're alone together, walking back down the path away from the dojo, you're not sure what to do. You shuffle along beside him in your kimono, and notice that he's adjusted his stride to match your shorter steps. You warm to him even further; handsome and kind.

“What… what's your name?” You ask; the most vital piece of information that you never got to know, so long ago.

“Doesn't matter.” His voice is dour, cutting the conversation short. But he notices you wilt in disappointment, and his eyes flick back to your scar again. He heaves a sigh.

“Mizu,” he says shortly. His face grows pink in the cold when you beam with delight.

“Mizu…I like that.”

#this is so perfect #i requested this and it’s exactly what i was imagining ty omg

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