#//This one certainly took a while to type out. x.x

[doctor-yamagishi]

Concern or Consideration Part 9: Networking

Part 9 of Plotline developed with @tacitusauxilium

Several days would pass without incident before Fuuka would contact Ren, Ann, and Ryuji, along with Yusuke who had joined the ranks of the Phantom Thieves

"I got a respone from MItsuru-senpai. She said that she is willing to meet with you all. She is busy so it won't be face-to-face, but virtual." Fuuka would state hoping that they had enough to mentally prepare for the occurrence since it was already under discussion.

"Has this been going on for a while?" Yusuke inquires, unsure why something with such an impact on their times had been recently brought to his attention. He needed all the time that he could to get back into a comfortable flow regarding his art.

"Sorry Yusuke, everything occurred so fast once you joined that our bigger focus was on Madarame than on the future." Ann admits through her text.

"Honestly, I'm kinda nervous about what it will be like to meet someone who has a lot of experience using a Persona." Ryuji comments honestly, though it wasn't going to make the meeting any less tense for the Phantom Thieves.

"Knowing Ryuji, he'll just make a bigger fool out of himself than normal." Morgana states to Ren, though it wasn't put in the chat. Ryuji would sneeze from where he was. He couldn't tell who was talking about him, but he doubted it was anything good. Outside of Morgana, for the most part he didn't mind at the time.

"Given that they could've kept us from progressing with our heists and with Fuuka's assistance in Madarame's palace, I doubt there is too much to worry about." Yusuke calmly reaffirmed.

"Yusuke's right. As far as we are aware, Fuuka could've told them about the metaverse app and they could've taken care of us with little problems if they wanted to." Ann agreed.

"Anyways, where did you want to meet up for the meeting Fuuka?" Ren inquired, though all eyes were watching the chat more than ever while Fuuka made her response.

"The room I am staying at is good for the meeting as everything is already set up there. Don't worry, Mitsuru-senpai's really nice." Fuuka responded before typing out the address.

"I will let the receptionist know that I am expecting all five of you for supplemental lessons and to direct you to my room." Fuuka states.

"Five of us?" Yusuke inquired trying to keep account of all who was being invited.

"It's the four of us and Morgana, dude. Though he's a cat, he's still a member of the Phantom Thieves." Ryuji commented as he was doing his best to make a mental note of the location.

"Why did he single me out? I am a human too.....I think." Morgana responded, his tone shifted from upset to dejected at the possibility that he wasn't human, though he wasn't going to readily accept that fact.

"Anyways, see you guys over there. Depending on how this goes, we might get additional support when dealing with the palaces." Ann remarks before the line of text ends.

Roughly one hour later, all of the Phantom Thieves had gathered in Fuuka's room, which had a computer hooked up to a projector. The projector was aimed at a blank wall of the room.

"Even with the lack of furnishings, this room is not devoid of artistic appreciation." Yusuke commented, appreciated the subtle nuances of interior decorations that lingered in the room.

"We're here to meet with Mitsuru who sent Fuuka over, not to ingrain her room for a painting." Ryuji commented exasperated at how Yusuke can get so worked up on anything aesthetic.

"Focus Yusuke, it's the least you can do after I had to buy your round trip tickets for the train to get here." Ann added on, midlly annoyed at Yusuke's narrow-vision at times.

"Wait, why did you have to buy his ticket Takamaki?" Ryuji inquired looking over at Ann.

"I had spent all of the money I had on hand for supplies. Did not even have that much for a meal, but as long as I have what I need for my paintings, I will be fine." Yusuke remarks calmly yet proudly of his decisions before turning his attention to Ann.

"Still I must thank you for your generosity Ann. Just let me know when you would like to model for a painting and I will make sure it is able to repay you back considerably." Yusuke would later add on.

"For the last time, I don't want to be in your painting." Ann was going to restrain herself mostly for Fuuka's sake so not to cause her trouble being up in her hotel room. Otherwise, she would have stomped on the floor a couple of times.

"Mitsuru-senapi, are you there? I have all the Phantom Thieves here for the introductions." Fuuka spoke up softly into the microphone of her computer while waiting for an image from Mitsuru's camera to be shot out on the projector.

"My apologies Yamagishi, some business matters took longer than anticipated." Mitsuru remarks from the computer's speakers before an image of Mitsuru appears. She was sitting in her chair inside the Shadow Operative's headquarters.

"My apologies about the delay everyone and I apologize for you all having to take the time out of your day for this introduction, but I hope you will get enough value out of this opportunity to compensate for it." Mitsuru states calmly, resting her head softly on her right hand.

"Given the appeal of the room, I can say that will be the case." Yusuke responds before anyone can make a more substantive answer.

"Don't mind him. Anyways, why don't introduce ourselves? Since you arranged this meeting in more ways than one, we can start." Ren responds with a light flourish of his right hand.

"That would be appreciated and I will make sure to introduce myself in kind afterwards." Mitsuru answers gratefully with a subtle nod of her head.

"Guess I'll start then. The name's Ryuji Sakamoto, nice to meet you." Ryuji remarks, not sure how to really act given the Phantom Thieve's member's social identities along with the contradiction between Mitsuru's position and her apparent age.

"I'm Ann Takamaki. Hope we get along." Ann contributes before turning her attention to Yusuke, who had his focus on the details of the room for recollection later. "Yusuke." She would call out to snap him out of his focus.

"I am Yusuke Kitagawa and I hope that our collaboration can make wonderous works of art." Yusuke remarked before promptly returning his attention back to the room.

"My name's Morgana and no, I am not a cat." Morgana manages to squeak in, though Mitsuru wasn't surprised by Morgana's ability to speak and would turn her gaze toward Ren who was the last member of the Phantom Thieves to introduce himself.

"Ren Amamiya." Ren introduces himself.

"Ren's our leader." Ann adds on, earning a quiet nod from Mitsuru who has manages to make at least one implied fact by the statement brought to her attention.

"Since Amamiya is your leader, Yamagishi will give you my number should anything come up that you feel requires my attention." Mitsuru claims, nodding over to Fuuka who nods her head in return.

"Thank you for introducing yourselves. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo." Mitsuru introduces herself, though she would be slightly off-guard by the reaction it would obtain.

"Wait, you're Mitsuru Kirijo, as in the head of the Kirijo Group, MItsuru Kirijo?" Ryuji manages to speak up through his astonishment. It was strange to hear that someone in such a high position would have a persona.

"Yes, that is me. Do not worry though, I am not addressing you as the head of the Kirijo Group, but as the leader of the Shadow Operatives." Mitsuru does her best to assauge any anxiety that has manifested with her identity disclosed.

"Fuuka did say that the Shadow Operatives have members with a lot of experience with Personas, so I guess that you'll be helping us with our jobs as the Phantom Thieves?" Ryuji inquires, but Mitsuru would shake her head.

"No, the Shadow Operatives for the most part will be avoiding altering the operations of the Phantom Thieves." Mitsuru states calmly yet bluntly.

"What the eff is your problem?! You get us here for a meeting, but don't want to help us resolve the area's problems!" Ryuji shouts in an outburst, though Mitsuru simply lets Ryuji blow off the steam.

"Please understand Ryuji-kun, Mitsuru-senpai must have a good reason." Fuuka pleads toward Ryuji.

Between his indignation at Mitsuru's response and Fuuka's pleas, Ryuji feels conflicted, but calms down enough to avoid shouting, but has a mixture of anger and disappointment on his face as he quiets down.

"Through our experience with the first branches, it is best for each branch to mostly get experience with their personas with as little interference from the other branches. All of the Shadow Operatives have lives outside of this specialty and they may not be available to assist. It is better for everyone if the Phantom Thieves get experience now so they are prepared in the future should the other members be unavailable to assist." Mitsuru does her best for an explanation.

"That makes sense, but it still sucks." Ryuji remarks, all his prior anger and disappointment turning to grief.

"I understand Sakamoto. We can still provide support while allowing you all to gain experience." Mitsuru responds before turning to look in Fuuka's direction. "Yamagishi can offer support during your endeavors. She trusts you all and I have full faith in her opinion. Yamagishi, can you continue operating with the Phantom Thieves for the time being?"

"Yes, Mitsuru-senpai." Fuuka responds gently yet firmly.

"Thank you Yamagishi. The Shadow Operatives will directly intervene should there be a situation that we feel wouldn't have arised without our interference in the first place." Mitsuru states calmly, glad to have resolve the initial hostility associated with her outright refusal of more direct assistance for the Phantom Thieves. Or at least the portion that she could resolve.

"With that, there is nothing else for us to discuss at the moment, unless any of you have something for me." Mitsuru states, wanting to make sure to tie up all available loose ends before ending the meeting.

"Ummmm, Mitsuru-senpai...." Fuuka quietly states, unsure about whether or not she should bring up the person that has her father's eyes. If it was in Tatsumi Port Island, she would be a lot more confident in Mitsuru's ability to find information about the person, but this wasn't Tatsumi Port Island.

"Yes Yamagishi?" Mitsuru inquires, curious about what Fuuka might have to bring up.

"I-It's nothing. Sorry for holding you up." Fuuka states, deciding that it would be better to get more information about the person before mentioning it to Mitsuru.

"I do have a question. What would you have done if Fuuka determined that we are a threat?" Ryuji inquires, though he was conflicted about whether or not he wants to know the answer.

"If Yamagishi has determined that the Phantom Thieves are selfishly using their Personas, then should we determine how you are accomplishing your acts, we would swiftly and securely ensure that your abilties do not progress any further than they already have." Mitsuru states calmly, but that only added to how unnerving her statement is.

After having some time to recover from the bombshell dropped on them through that answer, Ann would speak next. "With all of the money that you have, why does Fuuka have such a standard room here?"

"The lodging was a strategical maneuver. At the time, we didn't know the capacity of the Phantom Thieves. Her accommodations are to dissuade investigation into why she arrived. If she was living far beyond the capacity of a teacher, then it might have prompted you to look into her and discover her association with the Kirijo Group." Mitsuru states calmly. While the Shadow Operatives largely operate outside of the jurisdiction of the Kirijo Group, their information is contained in the Kirijo Group database.

"Are there any other questions?" Mitsuru inquires looking around, taking note that there wasn't anything equivalent of an emerging question.

"It was nice meeting you all. Once the situation guiding the Phantom Thieves' operations has been resolved, then I hope that you will give consideration to joining the Shadow Operatives." Mitsuru states before signing off.

"Is something the matter Fuuka?" Ann inquires, taking notice of Fuuka on the edge of bringing something up to Mitsuru.

"It's nothing Ann-chan, at least not at the moment." Fuuka responds, though not entirely sure if it was nothing or not. Ann wasn't going to push the subject, seeing how Fuuka was and would change the subject.

"The only pressing matter is figuring out what to do about 'him'." Ann states sternly, earning a nod from the Phantom Thieves.

"We don't have enough information to work off of for now. We'll just need to wait for him to let his guard down. For now, let's just rest on the concept and go about the rest of our day like we normally do." Morgana states, resting his paws on Ren's right shoulder.

The Phantom Thieves would depart Fuuka's room and go their separate ways. "Let's go see Nobu again. Tae doesn't get much support from the hospital, so I am curious about why he delivers her supplies." Morgana states over to Ren who nods his head and makes his way to Tae's clinic as it is the first place and currently only place that he can think of seeing Nobu.

Standing right next to the clinic was Nobu, who was running through all of the receipts of all of the compounds that Tae had requested and was delivered, checking to make sure that they are all signed and double checking to see if there was any receipts that he might have left with Tae.

Nobu would close his eyes and mentally play back all of the compounds that were delivered and compairing them with all of the receipts, though his train of thought was driven off the tracks as he opens his eyes to look around, feeling that he was being watched.

"Oh, Ren, it's been a while. Were you here to see me or are you passing through to talk with Takemi?" Nobu inquires, making sure that he wasn't significantly blocking the way if it was the latter.

"I'm here to see you. Was curious about why you deliver supplies to Takemi's clinic?" Ren would respond while Morgana would peek out of Ren's bag and be a spectator to the conversation.

"All medical buildings are required to have what they need to operate. No supplier is willing to directly provide her given the nickname she has, but she did work for the hospital before moving to her clinic and the supplies were done in place of money for the severance packing." Nobu states, though he cannot fathom why Takemi would move from the hospital to such a small clinic where she can help more people in the hospital.

"The nickname also keeps a lot of people from wanting to deliver to her, afraid of being the test subject for her experiments. Her reputation holds more weight with me than her nickname, and she isn't willing to take such a risk knowing that not many other people would take my place if her concoctions reacted poorly on me." Nobu adds on, hoping that Takemi's ill-suited moniker can eventually be cleared.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like someone is watching us?" Morgana inquires over to Ren, who would nod his head and do his best to look around for the eavesdropper while not trying to let it on to Nobu, though Nobu is feeling unsettled, affected by someone's gaze or glare fixated mostly on him.

"I don't want to cut this conversation short, but I feel that I need to get back to work. Takemi may be rather strange in her approach, but if you see her, I can assure you that you are in good hands." Nobu states taking several steps away from the clinic before turning to face Ren. "It means a lot that you are willing to see me with all of the other things that you can be doing instead."

Charity Social Link-Lvl 3: No bonus granted.

[disastrousxdebby]

8.13.21

Anyone have anything of yours? Only on weekends I suppose. Though, ultimately I have him so... it depends on how one looks at it really.

Your last ex tells you they love you, are you surprised? Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that we have a child in common... I would laugh in his face and tell him "stranger danger." Though, I don't ever want to hear those words from my ex again cause they don't mean anything. 100.

Can you go a day without music? I have went a day without music I think... though, I really need music to get by. Very often by the end of the night even.. I find myself on my pc listening to youtube amvs in the background of whatever else I am doing. Music is a very huge part of my life.

Go five months backward or forward? I think I am good where I am at currently. Don't want to rush anything and I most certainly don't want to find myself going backwards. Everything happens for one reason or another.

Are you excited for anything? Next week, we are planning a trip out to the gnome farm and we are going to be hunting for sunflowers, mums and other fall/autumn related things but, most importantly I want to see the children having fun again. It was too freaking cute when we were at the fair and they were placing their noses up against the goats' and sheeps' noses.

Do you miss your past? Some parts, yes. Others, no.

The person you had the strongest feelings for dies, do you care? Of course. I wish that my loved ones are always safe and well.

Do you like rain? Depending on my mood there are days that I like it and then other days where I just want more sun.

Were you happy when you woke up today? Yes. I had a bit of a headache but, nothing much... I think at times I end up sleeping wrong and that's why I wake up a bit iffy but, I am a side sleeper that curls her legs up or scrunches them up and if I tend to lay another way.. I kind of mess myself up. x.x'' I hold onto covers and pillosws too.. I am a cuddler.

How was this past weekend? It was alright. I think I just mainly relaxed until the week came and then went to the fair with family, went out to do craft shopping and have been relaxing mostly with the family. [[-=

Does it bother you when someone lies to you? I don't like when people lie to me. I have had enough issues with people lying to me and even making promises to me that weren't honest at all. I feel that honesty is always the best policy. Besides, I deal with enough on a daily with children who are supposed to be grown and yet.. they seem to believe their own lies from time to time. I come to conclusion for whatever reason.. they think we live in fairy tale land and I am always going to the be the "wicked witch" that snaps them back into reality. They more or less usually project themselves onto me, which is a sickness and I can't force anyone to change but, it does get annoying sometimes having to listen to the stories, the made up lies that these others create. I continue to bite my tongue and stay strong for the ones that matter in my life. It's most important that I do.

Are you a shy person? More or less, yes. I may hide the fact that I am shy sometimes very well but, I am a very reserved type of person.

Is there something you’re happy about at the moment? Yes.

Do you want someone dead? Nope.

Have you ever tripped while walking up the stairs? Yep, I trip over the air and my foot from time to time too. I consider myself a very clumsy person. x.x

Is there anybody you wish you could be spending time with right now? Of course.

You can only drink ONE liquid the rest of your life, what would it be? This would not work for me... I need my coffee, water and iced tea. Oh and Mtn Dew as well. x.x

Did you hang out with anyone today? My family.

Did your last kiss take place on a bed? x'D Oh geez, so... it's been forever and a day since I last kissed someone in the romantic sense. It's been a good year and a half now. Though, yeah.. my last kiss took place on a bed.

What drink did you last consume? Milk because I was eating some cereal.

Do you get cranky when you’re hungry? Haha, who doesn't? Yeah. I get cranky when I get hungry and if I can't get something to eat usually I start feeling light headed (I think it has something to do with sugar. >.<) and sick. So, it's kind of important that I eat something and not get too hungry. Even when I am at work ... there have been times where I had to buy candy and just eat some because I wasn't feeling too good and got hungry. It's weird.

Do you ever wonder what your ex is up to? Nah. The only time I worry about what my ex is doing is when he has my child and I always wish for my child to come back to me safe and well. I honestly don't trust my ex with my baby at all because of the way he and others around him.. hold themselves. They act like children and show so much resentment towards me.. it makes me scared and worried often that someone will try and hurt my baby and I don't like that feeling at all. So, I always hope the weekend goes by super fast and I can have both my children again without a worry at all. It's a shame that I feel such a way but, it doesn't help either thinking about when I was pregnant and my ex told me the one time "You ever leave me and I will take the baby away from you and you will never see or hear from me or the child again." That just plays over and over and over in my head and I always get scared too that people will get super stupid with themselves and try to abduct my baby and I don't ever want that to happen.

Do you love anyone? I do. I love my family. <3

Do you have any pet peeves? Of course, who doesn't?!

What’s your sign? Leo

Ever wish you were someone else? Nope.

What do you think about before you go to bed? Everything and anything. Wherever my mind takes me.

[inuykago]

the plan, part 2.

andddd @britonell here’s the second part of your @inusecretsanta gift!!

it seemed like you and everyone else enjoyed this little thing & i’m so glad! ;-; ♡

P.S. I’M SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, NELL! i’ve been very distracted and learned i cannot write while listening to music bc then i just bump to the music & not do anything else... x.x ANYWAYS....

part 1

{modern au, winter, fluff. inukag. 2394 words}

It was awkward, to say the least.

Koga and Kagome kept on engaging in conversation, smiling and laughing. Though Inuyasha was standing right beside them, and in the middle of hundreds of people, he somehow felt alone.

You need to relax, he thought. He tried to take subtle, deep breaths as he nodded his head to the other two’s conversation.

Kagome noticed Inuyasha’s uneasiness in the situation so she moved her hand a little to the right and intertwined her fingers with his. Inuyasha, shocked, looked down and let out a little smirk, which helped calm him down.

This is stupid, he thought once more. Why am I getting so uptight about this?

He shifted his gaze between Kagome and Koga and just couldn’t fight off this weird, knotty feeling in his stomach. Should I even try this anymore?

“You’ve never been to the small shop area in Bryant Park?!” Koga moved up to her.

Kagome thought for a second, “Aaah, no!” She spoke with her left hand, keeping a hold onto Inuyasha, “I never even knew about it!”

“Kagome, you have to let me take you there,” he grinned. “Please?”

“Uhhh,” she looked over at Inuyasha. “What’d you say, babe? Wanna go?” she smiled.

“Oh, uhhh--” I really just want to take a walk by myself-- “You guys can go ahead,” he forced a smile. “I’ll wait here.”

Koga nodded his head, “Alright, cool bro.” He motioned over to Kagome, “Shall we?”

Kagome felt Inuyasha loosen his grip as Koga got closer to her. She frowned a bit, not understanding why he was acting so distant.

“Come on, babe,” she nudged. “I want you to go with us!” she smiled, rubbing his hand gently.

Inuyasha suddenly felt the tensions in his body ease up, “Okay baby.” I can’t let my emotions get to the best of me…, he thought.

“Ay, alright,” Koga quickly grinned before turning around and leading the way. 

Inuyasha stayed back the entire time.

Koga led the three through the scattered crowds of people. The shops were set up in every section of the park with lights illuminating what’s on the inside.

There were identical-looking shops ranging from food, knick knacks, jewelry, clothes, stationery, and just about everything that could be aesthetically pleasing. The cold weather didn’t stop the New Yorkers and tourists from waiting on line, ice skating, or simply admiring the city.

Kagome found herself most amazed with the clothing stores because she’d never seen these types of clothes before, and if she did, it would be way out of her price range. She gravitated towards the ones that had simple cute shirts or skirts on display and while Koga always stood behind her, Inuyasha admired her from afar.

He smiled as he watched Kagome excitedly shuffle through the racks of clothing and try her best to squeeze into the little areas with space.

She would move shirts from left to right, tippy-toeing to check the size, and pout whenever she wasn’t able to find one that would fit. However, when she finally found her size, he saw her eyes widened and laughed to himself as he watched her happily mumble to herself. She ran to the mirror that was on the side where Inuyasha was standing outside, and she’d check how it looked on herself, get more excited, and twist and turn looking for someone-- is she looking for me?--but then, Koga shoved his way to her, giving her the second opinion she wanted.

Inuyasha frowned as he saw a smile emerge on Kagome’s face, because it was another man that put that smile on her. Quickly shifting his gaze to the floor, he dug his hands deeper into his jacket pockets, turned around, and walked towards an empty table.

“Shit,” he said to himself, the cold air revealing his breath. “Should I have gone with her?” He put his hands on his head, elbows on his knees. “Shit, I should’ve--” he shook his head-- “I should’ve gone with her… Man, what the hell am I even doing…”

“What are you doing?” the voice startled Inuyasha. 

The ‘voice’ was wearing a dark purple trench coat over a black dress shirt and pants with a black scarf wrapped around his neck. His hair was put up into a short ponytail, and his gold hoop earrings were as bright as a ray of sunlight.

“Do I…--” Inuyasha raised a brow-- “know… you…?”

“No,” the man replied, extending his hand. “I’m Miroku.”

Inuyasha nodded his head slowly, still confused as to why this man was talking to him, “Okay, Miroku…” He shrugged his shoulders, “Can I help you?”

“Actually,” Miroku straightened himself, facing Inuyasha more forward. “I believe I should be asking that question.”    

“What are you talking about?” Inuyasha replied with attitude, stealing a quick glance at Kagome.

Miroku followed his eyes, “That.”

“What?”

Miroku sighed, “You can talk to me.” He leaned back into his chair, “Tell me how you’re feeling, what’s on your mind?”

“Bro, I don’t even know you,” he laughed, stealing another glance at Kagome.

“You’re trying to get with her--” Miroku chuckled-- “aren’t you?”

“Excuse me?” Inuyasha stabbed him with his stare. “I already got her,” he smiled faintly. “That’s my girl.”    

“Really?!” Miroku picked up his chair and moved himself right next to Inuyasha. “Then why are you letting her confide in another man?”

Inuyasha had to hold himself back from beating on him, “I-I’m not.”

“Hmm…,” Miroku looked at Inuyasha then into the store. “Then why are you out here?”

“LOOK MAN--” Inuyasha bursted from his seat-- “I DON’T NEED SOME STRANGER TELLING ME HOW TO HANDLE MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY GIRL”

Despite his yelling, Miroku kept his mellow tone and remained in his seat, “That’s not what I’m doing at all.” He continued speaking calmly, “I saw you mumbling to yourself… Hands on your head, elbows on your knees… those are the clear cut signs of a man feeling some type of pain--” he paused-- “I’m just glad it wasn’t physical pain, like an open wound or something… I’m not good with blood.”

Inuyasha just looked down at Miroku, shook his head, slowly sitting back down, “You’re an odd man.”      

“As are you,” he responded. “So, I’ll try again--” he faced Inuyasha, this time closer-- “What. is. Wrong?”

Inuyasha just laughed, shaking his head and legs, as he laid back into his chair nonchalantly thinking: What is good with this dude? Why is he pressing on me so hard? It’s not like he’d even understand. But then, his attitude changed as he watched Kagome hop into another store, with Koga right behind. The weird drop in his stomach made him feel more vulnerable, and he suddenly had the urge to express it.

“Ahhh,” he spoke between his sighs. “Do you think she’s into him?”

Miroku glanced over at the store where she was, “She certainly seems to enjoy the company.”

“Damn…,” Inuyasha breathed. “I messed up, huh?”

“What exactly did you ‘mess up’?”

“Like,” he furiously scratched his head. “I don’t know, man…”

Miroku smiled, “Sir--”

“Inuyasha,” he cut Miroku off.

“Inuyasha,” he nodded. “You’re overreacting.”

“Yeah…,” Inuyasha shook his head. “I knew you wouldn’t understand… it’s cool though--”

Miroku stopped him, “Let me finish.” He rubbed his hands together, “You’re overreacting because you’re making it seem like you can’t fix this, whereas, in reality, you can.” He looked over at the store again, “You said it yourself, she’s your girl, and that guy is just her--”

“Ex.”

“...Ex?” Miroku asked in shock, Inuyasha slowly nodding his head ‘yes.’ “Alright… well, that doesn’t change anything I’ve said.”  

“How?!” Inuyasha got defensive.

“Because you’re her boyfriend, that guy isn’t,” he tried to calm him down. “There’s a reason why she chose to be with you, and continues to be with you for a whole--”

“Year..”

“A whole year,” Miroku smiled. “Exactly. In today’s society, it’s tough being with someone for even two or three months without something messing that relationship up. Everyone is so insecure, but don’t let that be you.” He looked at him, “You must be confident in your relationship. And if you’re confident, then you and her will forever thrive. But--”

“But…?” Inuyasha interjected.

“But, do not hide these insecure feelings you’re having. A healthy, prosperous relationship is made up of several things, and confidence and communication are two of them.”

Inuyasha’s negative energy suddenly stopped; he was amazed with how enlightened this stranger was.

“Wow…,” he genuinely smiled. “I appreciate that advice, bro… I hate to admit it--” he could feel Miroku’s stupid smile piercing into him-- “but you really helped me out.”

“And that’s all I wanted to do,” Miroku smiled back.

“Inuyasha!” the two turned their heads to the girl’s voice. “Inuyasha?”

He waved back at her repeatedly, “Kagome!” And her face seemed to lighten up.

She motioned for him to go to her, and he nodded back before shaking Miroku’s hand and saying, “Thank you. I wish you the best in life, bro. Truly.”

Miroku’s happiness vibrated off of him as Inuyasha began to walk away.

“Compromise and understanding.”

“Huh?” Inuyasha quickly took a few steps back.

Miroku laughed, “Compromise and understanding… Those are the last few things that make up a healthy, prosperous relationship.”

Despite the enlightening advice, Inuyasha just couldn’t find a way to apply it to himself. He remained rather silent on the their way back home, often letting Kagome and Koga have their own conversation while he just listened, trying to block out his negative thoughts with Miroku’s words.

Even when they reached the street where Koga lived, and he finally left, Inuyasha still remained silent, only laughing softly, smiling, or replying back with one-worded answers whenever Kagome spoke to him.

When they got home ten minutes later, Kagome knew she had to confront him.

“Can you please tell me what’s wrong now?”

Inuyasha snickered uncomfortably as he took off his coat and earmuffs, “Babe, I already told you, it’s nothing.”

“No,” she went up to him after taking off her jacket and putting down her bags. “It’s definitely something. You’ve been acting off all day!” She sighed, “It started off in the morning when we were getting ready to leave… but I just thought you were trying to mess with me, like always,--” she giggled, but in a sadder tone-- “and then it just escalated once we saw Koga, and I felt so distant from you… like you were intentionally pushing me away… or something.”

“I just…,” he fumbled over his words. “I just… I…,” he sighed. “I don’t know, okay… I don’t… know,” he walked away from her and plopped down onto the couch.

She immediately followed him and sat right beside him, “Is this about Koga?”

He dropped his head into his arms, clenching his fists as he took deep breaths. He didn’t even have to say anything.

“Why… sweetie?” she shook her head, rubbing his back. “That relationship was two years ago… that’s over with. There’s nothing between us at all.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Am I sure…?!--” she pushed herself angrily off the couch. “Do you really think I’d do something so horrible to you?! Who do you think I am?!”

Why… did I say that..., he thought, shaking his head and taking in her yelling.

“I love you! And only you! You should never even worry about such silly things like that… because I would never… I could never…,” she slowly calmed herself down. “When I was browsing in the stores, and found the clothes that I liked and fit me, I looked for you…,” she sat down again. “I was so excited and I wanted to show you it, I wanted your opinion, I wanted to be with you!... But you weren’t there… It was Koga who showed up every time and it made me wonder if I did anything wrong to you…”

“No!” Inuyasha jolted up beside her. “You did nothing to me… you’re an absolute angel to me… and I’m the mess,” he sniffled. “I… I couldn’t escape my thoughts… negative thoughts… It all weighed down on me and made me think of so many worst case scenarios, and it just… it just shut my whole body down,” he admitted. “It was so weird, it was like whenever I saw you two smiling and laughing with each other, my body just shut down. I couldn’t function… I felt numb… and I know I sound crazy and like an overreacting bit-”

“You’re not overreacting, babe,” Kagome reassured him. “I understand, okay? And I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about. You are like…,” she looked around the room. “You’re like a blessing to me… some type of gift from the gods… and I want you to know that I truly do love and adore you,” she put her hands into his. “We’ll work on this together, okay? Just like we’ve been doing for the past year.”

“Compromise…,” he squeezed her hand.

“That’s right,” she smiled. “Compromise and understanding.”

Compromise and understanding… The two words triggered his earlier conversation with Miroku and it flashed before his eyes, almost as if this moment was ‘do or die.’ He let Miroku’s words and positive energy and thought flow into him, and then--almost as if it were a reflex--he pulled out the velvety square box, which he’d been holding onto all day, out of his pocket and dropped to one knee on the floor.

“Kagome, will you--”

“YES!!!!” she exclaimed in a heartbeat.

Inuyasha wasn’t even able to put the ring on her finger because she jumped on him, embraced him so lovingly and affectionately, it literally made the two fall on the floor--

Fifteen years later

“And, that’s how it happened.”

“Wow, dad, I can’t believe you almost let mom slip away,” Ai said playfully.

“I know, honey--” he looked at Kagome in the kitchen-- “If it wasn’t for your uncle Miroku, I would’ve probably walked away.”

Ai giggled, turning to Miroku, “Uncle Miroku, can you please tell us how you met Aunt Sango?!”

“Ahh, yes,” Miroku took a sip of his tea. “Well, munchkin, if it wasn’t for your dad, I would have never had a chance with Aunt Sango.”

“Really?!” Ai looked excitedly to Inuyasha. “If all that never happened… I wouldn’t have my great family…”

[morniingrose]

Tagged?

Someone actually acknowledged my existence? It’s not something that happens often, >.<  . Even if it could be because you lacked enough other people to tag (which is certainly going to be the case for me, because I don’t really know people on Tumblr... so i’m just gonna pick some random followers) or what, but thanks for thinking of me @xo-wildest-dreams-xo , lol. By the way, I think you have two great characters as your favorites, <3 Anyway...  here’s what this post is actually about:

Rules: Tell your followers 11 random facts about yourself and tag 11 people. Tag backs are allowed but if you do get tagged again you must not repeat any of the facts you mentioned in the previous round. The facts can be absolutely anything, whatever comes to mind first. This is gonna be tough, x.x  . I’m honestly pretty boring. 1. I guess i’ll start by talking about how I usually pick my own favorite characters, and tell why I enjoy my top favorites so much. This first one is gonna seem like an essay, but I promise that the other things won’t be this long, >.< The biggest way for a character to make their way into my heart is if I find them very relate-able on a personal level... The way that I usually get myself to genuinely enjoy a series is usually very dependent on having a character I can relate myself with; in a way, it sort of links me directly into their series and gives it a more personal, irreplaceable feeling. Sometimes, though, when I pick a favorite it could simply be because I find them interesting. I can and do enjoy characters that I can simply just find amusing/entertaining, or just like-able, but unless there is something really unique about them, i’m going to select another character I like that has more substance as my favorite for the series.

Now, for my top favorite character... It’s Setsuna Higashi from Fresh Precure, of course. I love her so much... I relate to her a lot and consider myself to be like her, from her past and her present. I used to be just like her at the start of the series; I hated seeing people happy, wanted to see them be miserable, was very uncaring, etc.. I would even go as far as saying that my circumstances while growing up were similar (in a more real life sort of way), but that’s not something I will go into right here.

Anyway, as time went on both of us started to change, though our reasons for doing so were different. My change was fueled by depression and a growing sense of loneliness making me start to see things differently, and her change was brought on by Love’s influence on her. I really appreciate how her character arc is done; you got several episodes to establish who she was, but you also got several episodes that show a gradual change in her. Her eventual struggle with her identity was very realistically done... I struggled with being transgender while I grew up, and tried for so long to try to ignore it; in fact, that struggle and how I was raised made me become who I was... She isn’t trans, but after a certain part (basically starting with episode 19), you get the sense that she knows that she’s different than what she was at the start of the series, but is starting to desperately cling on to who she “should” be, rather than being honest with herself and admitting to herself that she’s changed. That’s more or less how I was while I was in denial of being trans... After all is said and done, though, she becomes a much kinder, much more sweet, very caring etc. person, though you can still tell that she’s not literally a different person (still a bit of a loner, tries to be more independent than she should be, is socially awkward, etc.). Going by what people say about me, I guess i’m more like that now... But, Setsuna is also better than I am. She becomes genuinely happy, and makes friends; i’ve never managed either of those things. In a way, I guess you can say that she’s my personal hero, because she’s stronger than I am.

My second favorite character is Moeka Kiryu, from Steins;Gate. She’s a widely disliked character from what I can tell (for very incorrect reasons, at that), but I love her anyway... most people try to dismiss her as being “evil”, but the truth is that she’s not even remotely evil. I don’t think she has a single bit of malice in her at all... you don’t really get to learn a lot about her in the anime or the first visual novel, but even then, if you study her actions very closely you can find plenty of evidence pointing to the fact she isn’t the uncaring monster that people try to make her out to be. In extra Steins;Gate material, such as the Linear Bounded Phenogram visual novel (which has a story directly from her point of view) or the Darling visual novel (heck, even the Twin Automata ending for Steins;Gate 0),she’s shown to actually be a kind, compassionate person... but here’s the catch. She hates herself so much that she’s voluntarily tried to throw away who she actually is (who she sees as unlovable, unneeded and unwanted person) in favor of being someone who she isn’t; “M4″. “M4″ is someone (in her eyes) who is all of the things she is not: wanted, loved, and needed. Moeka has literally nothing, and her delusion is literally her only reason for being alive... If she doesn’t fulfill the role of “M4″, she would be abandoned and would be forced to back to being simply Moeka... the person who wants to die. So, no matter what Moeka herself actually wants or feels, she’ll do anything to not be tossed away; even if it means something she would never otherwise think of doing. It’s easy to see why she ended up being so broken: her parents didn’t want her and mistreated her (as revealed in the Darling VN), she was bullied a lot while in school, her severe social anxiety prevented her from making friends... She was never shown any proper love or care, so it’s only natural that she would go to extreme lengths to get even a semblance of it. I think a lot of the hate that she gets is based by from people who either never gave her character any actual thought, can’t understand what she feels or why she feels it, or they simply just don’t have enough empathy. I don’t endorse everything that she does, but I think the intent behind something makes a big difference. Anyway... I guess what i’m trying to say with all of this is that I honestly feel pretty sorry for her; both what she’s lived through and how the Steins;Gate fandom actually treats her (which makes me love her all the more to make up for it). My childhood was unpleasant itself, and I was bullied in school... never made any friends. My social anxiety is as terrible as hers, if not worse. Not to to mention the struggles with depression... Her and Setsuna are really the closest matches to me as a person. 2. My favorite types of music are metal and vocaloid... Metal is something that also gets a bad rep for undeserved reasons; there are many (and I do mean many) different styles of metal... I listen to different genres of it it, but my favorite type is progressive metal. Favorite bands include Dream Theater, Baroness, Kamelot and Soilwork. My favorite vocaloids are SFA2-Miki, Hatsune Miku, and CUL. 3. I really love sweets, <3 . If I wouldn’t get fat by doing so, I could live almost entirely on dessert, lol. 4. I’m a shut-in; I rarely leave my house more than once a month... sometimes I can go months without leaving.

5. I’m really lonely most of the time, :/  . I would appreciate it if more of you tried to talk to me more... 6. My first sewing project was making a tiny little ghost with the help of my sister. I also did a lot towards making a Moeka doll, but so far it has yet to be completed because we can’t figure out a good way to do her eyes. 7. My favorite TV show (that isn’t an anime) is Game of Thrones. My favorite cartoon (that, again, isn’t anime) is probably Steven Universe... though only for the plot episodes. I’m not a fan of a lot of the filler episodes.

8. I don’t read so much anymore, but I used to love reading while growing up... and that was because of my grandma. When I was little, she bought the first three or four Harry Potter books but couldn’t get either me or my sister interested in them. So, her and my mom took us to go watch the first movie when it came out... my sister and I both loved it, and when we went home we ended up fighting over the books, >.< 9. I can’t really tie my shoes (seriously). It’s a good thing that I usually wear boots, sandals, etc., so I don’t really need to tie... 10. On that note, my clothing style would probably be defined as “cute”. A lot of my things have hearts on them, because I really like hearts, <3 11. I love collecting plushies/dolls  of my favorite characters, and I frequently turn to them as a source of comfort... Time to tag some people: @beautiful-lusamine @jenhedgehog @flaresies @henry-parrish @yukyak @peterthepenguincure  @ arcticninja21 @albicantknight @curecresselia @harunojeanne @andy-the-umbreon

[pjarox-journey]

Breath of the Wild - Session #7

In and around Hateno

Hey! I, eh... might have been distracted by Baba is You for a few days (i’m still missing a handfull levels, might tackle them the next days x.x), but i was able to continue my adventure!

The last time i reached Hateno and visited the research lab there. With Purah, the childish Shiekah. But they had no power left for their device, so it was up to Link to help them. There is a blue flame nearby, and that’s what they needed. So i took the torch from the lab (after i had tossed the one i used to take with me a while ago...) in search of the flame!

On my way i explored the area nearby the village. A certain tree made me curious...

Tree big. Tree suspicious!

Of course you hid there, #28...

As the soil around Hateno seems to be fertile, Hateno also has a good amount of farms nearby, which feed the entire village.

“Baaaaah!” - Thanks, sheep, but LOOK AT THIS GOOD BOY TRYING TO SNATCH ITS TAIL!!

They also cultivate Hyrule-Rice on their fields around the village. With no protection whatsover. So... i kinda went ahead and helped them with their harvest. Without telling them. I also got some of the grasshoper living in the fields, so... that’s good! But eh... imagine you live your peaceful life, far away from the terrors of Hyrule (the guardians, i tell you... wouldn’t want to live in a place they could reach), and then the Hero of Legends visits you and just... takes all of your harvest with him. What a nice day, huh?

After obtaining more food for my journey, i lit the torch with the blue flame.

Blue fire! \o/

Also: hello #29. He also lives in a tree, like #28. *sighs*

With the fire, i lit the lanterns nearby, because somehow this is advanced technology nobody understands anymore. I also talked to some of the villagers, and surprisingly, they all had different lines of text than they had normally. Did i mention how much i love this level of detail in this game? The world feels so much more alive than in the other games, it’s wonderful. Like the farms and fields around Hateno. Or the interior inside the houses. If you play the game yourself, just do yourself a favor and look at all the details, and appreciate them!

At midnight of the 10th day i reached the lab once more. The scientists might have waited all day for Link to return, yes, but hey... i never promised to be back fast! With the fire, they were finally able to restore the lost features of the Shiekah Slate!

Drop

I got the photo mode, the album, and the encyclopedia. With this, i am able to search for things i got a photo of, i can take photos, and i am able to get back some of Links memories, although he doesn’t know yet. So... next stop is Impa, again.

I was also able to upgrade my Shiekah-Sensor and my bomb-modules as well. Powerful bombs aquired, yesh! Will i cheese the hell out of them? Probably, if i have some time to kill. And enemies. And now weapons... *sighs*

But first, the encyclopedia has to be filled with some stuff, so i took a photo of everything i was carying around right now! It took me roughly 15 minutes, i think? Well... things had to be done, so better now than later.

At dawn of day 11, i went down to the nothern beach of Hateno, just for some more exploration. I didn’t know anymore if there was anything interesting there, besides one big rocky boy who might have killed me several times in my playthrough. Oh, i remember him well, and he will most certainly go down this time...

Various things happened here: First of all, i met an Lizalfos in the sea. It straight oneshoted me with it’s knights sword, but i was able to defeat him quickly. One more strong sword for me! And you might be suprised, but...

...little guy #30, chilling in this pond.

I also found a... well, not so clever fish.

Thats not the sea, buddy. You know that, right?

Why did i swim there, you might ask? Well, there was another Korok living there. And for that i had to throw a rock into the sea. At the right spot. It was, eh... hm...

Bullseye!

I don’t want to talk about it.

Hey, wooh, #31!

On a nearby rock, i met Kass the first time. Kass is a rito and a traveling musician, singing songs over the hero here and there. This time he was singing about a big treasure. He mentioned something about 17, which would be 5pm, and... eh... it was nearly 5pm when i talked to him, so i immediatly found the treasure in the sea and was 300 rupees richer.

Kass Kass Kass Kass Kass. I like him!

While walking over the beach at night, i found another bulblin camp. With not one, but two silver Bulblins. Like. Game, please, i don’t have the weapons to fight them. Are you nuts? This is insane! So i... sneaked around them, to find some more Koroks.

Little guys #32 - #35. Is there a nest nearby or something?

Besides that... you see this?

Normal rocks. Just like that. Nothing suspicious... right?!

Rocks like this scream something like “We will stand up and kill you!”. After some time, you know what’s up, even if you don’t remember the Iwarok’s like i do. Anyway...

Rock goes BOOM!

...i like their loot. Especially from this one, as he was a rare one. There exists three different types of ores in this game: normal, rare, and glowstone. Normaly the rare ones drop rare gems (expcept this one rare ore i hit and I HATE IT. It droped NOTHING!! :<), sometimes diamonds, which are quite expensive, so you can earn many rupees with them. Or just... hoard them. Like i do. My shiny rocks! Do not steal!

It was pain in the ass to fight him, though. Climbing on his back, trying to hit him, falling down, trying again while he regenerates life... urgh x.x I finally learned i could hit him from the ground, and oh boy, that saved me from a lot more frustrating minutes.

That was all i wanted to do at this beach, so... i returned Hateno. I tried to climb onto the nearby mountain for a faster way back, but... eh... it’s cold there. Too cold for now, so i will return later. On my way i found another Korok, #36. I... i guess i din’t take a pic of him? Huh. Whatever. He looked just like his siblings, as you might have been expecting.

Back in Hateno i made the last preperations for my leave. I have to tell Impa about the photos Zelda had done in the past. So... i bought the Hylian Armor.

Link now fancy knight!

I will try to upgrade it soon in Kakariko, but for now, my upgraded Hylian Tunic is better. And i like it more, too, to be honest.

But... that’s it for today! Next time: back to Kakariko, and maybe i’ll explore the southern beach of Hateno. I think there are some monsters there who snatch some of the sheep, and i cannot allow that! You’ll see the next time how that went!