#☼ SHIGEMASA. ―▐ when the darkness comes knocking，accept it without waiting for you’ll be able to conquer the demon within.

[zorkaya-moved]

“ if you are meant to go to hell , then take the throne ” (Shigemasa )

@eliteimperialism

Is he not a smart and intelligent young man? Such young mind would certainly become someone dangerous, she knows that. The gleam that acts as a warning to others within Shigemasa’s eyes is never ignored, she acts with him as one would with a dangerous beast. Similarly to how people started to act when she drops the act of a clown, comedy dissipating into thin air to uncover the icy mask of a killer, murderer, torturer, strategist and chess master. They are similar but they are different. There is something different inside them that becomes polarizing, still putting them on the opposite sides when it comes to dealing with some of the more personal aspects of life. 

Even now, she wonders how her alliance with Tsukamoto can be used in the future. He is not someone who will become her friend even in the future, their similarities are pushing them away from each other, trust between them goes as far as their work goes, but they will never know the truth behind each other’s smiles when it comes to personal life and friendship. All of this diplomacy is farce that keeps the world going and Zarina continues to play with it, hoping it will soothe her boredom and will let the sharp corners become smoother. 

“With throne comes responsibility before thousands souls in Hell, Shigemasa. Do you really want to work in Hell as well? How dedicated,” the woman smiles at him like a Cheshire Car, purring the words out as a reminder that she is not going to simply own the throne. Even kings can be manipulated and used for her own entertainment, political figures wish for her presence and they wish to have her golden gaze cast upon them. Even if people can sense the danger beneath the comedy, they do not know how far it extends, making them dip down and then drown in the cup from where she’s drinking ichor without choking on it and dying. 

She does not believe in Hell and Heaven, the afterlife for her will be disappearance of her soul and there would be nothing left. Others may go to Hell or Heaven, and even if she does? The Devil will offer her a luxury hotel room to stay there for all eternity, but she’ll become bored and will be happy to have her soul disintegrate in one swift move set of a Devil’s benevolent gaze towards her, saddening by the insatiable goddess of death’s departure, the cold touch will not longer linger within Hell’s gates. 

“I would like to spend my time in luxury if Hell does exist. Why not go for a vacation down there? I’ve worked hard enough in this life. If you want to take the throne, go ahead, but for me? I’ll have my collar on the Devil’s neck and he’ll wish for me to be his lover until the end of times... only for me to deny him for my heart belongs to one person.” The Lucerne gaze comes to mind, her smirk only grows wider. Sokolova makes herself comfortable while lying on the couch, legs crossed and her hands behind her head as she looks up at the ceiling. Some people take this appearance as a guard let down, but little do people know that she can hear and sense those who approach this room all too good. 

[zorkaya-moved]

❝Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu, Zarina-san. I've decided to return the favor,❞ A small smile would form on Shigemasa's lips. A silver pin of a hawk embodied with yellow topaz would be given to her. Of course, that pin wasn't something normal, but it was customized to be used as a transmitter, a tracker, and for communication. How did he get his hands on it? Well, he decides not to disclose this information, but he knew it would be useful to her. ❝Might help on missions where you need to gather quick intel or communicate with someone in secret. If you link it to a pc, you can download and transfer that information quickly to your own database without it being traced back. Consider this a returned gift from my own celebration.❞ (Time Skip AU)

@eliteimperialism

С Днем Рождения, Зарина! / Happy Birthday, Zarina! - 𝟐𝟕.𝟎𝟕.𝟐𝟏

It’s been a while since they’ve worked together, it didn’t seem all that odd to receive a present from Shigemasa now. Even if it was simply out of politeness, but she’d appreciate his gift nonetheless (after inspection in the car as well). She could trust the young man’s tastes, they weren’t half-bad. It was natural for her to expect something nice and well-done as she’d seen how he worked and what people he surrounded himself with, it would be bad for him to choose bad presents. Well, she were a bit mean there, but once again, when Zarina wasn’t? 

With a look of gratitude and a smirk on her face, the woman accepted the gift from Tsukamoto, eying it curiously. He knew how to choose a gift as she expected, finding the Hawk pin to be beautiful and unique. Did he order it to be customized or did he find one design? Nonetheless, it was a wonderful gift that she will find a lot of use for in the future. The missions of stealth, the tracking for her team to know where she is, the transmitter. Ah, he really knew what to gift a woman of her profession. It made her wonder just how many of these typos of accessories did Tsukamoto had on himself if he could give her something like this for her birthday. Of course, she had to be careful around him no matter how close they were as business partners or allies. It didn’t matter, in this world it was kill or be killed. 

“A return gift for your celebration? Why, thank you, Mr. Tsukamoto,” she accepted the gift graciously, studying it with her analytical eye. Unlike him, she didn’t change at all. He grew up, time would change him as it would any other normal man, but she would not age nor change for many decades to come. It almost made her envy him at this very moment, but she pushed that thought away, not letting it stand in her way of enjoyment today. “It will certainly be helpful. I have a mission coming up where this will come up in handy. Thank you for your considerate gift.”

Sokolova smiled, not making any jokes to not ruin this wonderful moment. There’s no sarcasm dripping off her tongue like it would’ve been expected, her molten golden orbs shined brightly and clearly as she retained the visage of a true gratitude. There’s nothing that she disliked about this present; it was pragmatic and it was beautiful. Zarina liked beautiful things, it made her think of those days when she was jokingly called a dragon after coming back from the field and basking in luxury of her first paycheck. 

“Hope we’ll continue working together in the future as well. You’re a good client of mine, it’d be a shame to lose such a presence.” Meaning his wallet, but also partially meaning his presence and their small conversations as well. 

[zorkaya-moved]

💬 (For Rin or Shigemasa)

@eliteimperialism

SHIGEMASA TSUKAMOTO.

how I feel about you:

i hate you | i don’t like you | i don’t care about you | i don’t know you | i know you | i look at you from afar | you’re my friend | you’re my best friend | you’re like family | i care for you | i love you 

I want to:

kill you | punch you | ignore you | know more about you | be friends with you | hang out with you | hug you | kiss you

“He’s a business partner, that’s it. No matter how young he is, he’s got similar eyes to mine and several other younger people in the underworld that I know. He kind of reminds me of a protagonist of some books, becoming so powerful and influential since he’s young. He and Rin are similar on that aspect, they’re smart and they’re unique. However, when it comes to Shigemasa, he’s just a business partner and nothing more. That kid’s got more in his future than many, that I can say for sure. People like him won’t be met with an easy fate, but I’d say that he’ll go through with them and will take his place under the sunlight. That’s the reason I work with him and he pays me well, that’s honestly how it is. It’s nothing but business. Though, I find his girlfriend Natsura quite adorable, but it’s like seeing a flamingo and saying it’s cute. Then again, Shigemasa is also someone, who I think, should get more training in his patience and in his tongue holding simply because there’s so far he could go with that attitude of his. If he doesn’t create more allies for himself in the international sense, I can tell for sure that they’ll unite against him in the future. And I won’t be putting Shigemasa atop of my web of connections. He’s useful now and I hope he’ll continue be useful in the future just like I am useful to him now. That’s just how it is. We’ll see how the future will shape our interactions. Let’s hope that his ambition will continue to grow and he won’t get cold feet.”

RIN ARASHI.

how I feel about you:

i hate you | i don’t like you | i don’t care about you | i don’t know you | i know you | i look at you from afar | you’re my friend | you’re my best friend | you’re like family | i care for you | i love you 

I want to:

kill you | punch you | ignore you | know more about you | be friends with you | hang out with you | hug you | kiss you | be your family (parental figure)

“He’s caught my attention, I will not lie. I cannot explain exactly why I feel this way to the dot, but I believe it’s his eyes and his manner of speech. They were the beginning of my curiosity. It was like when I’ve met my teammates before, I was drawn to him as I was to them. My gut rarely fails me, you see. I sense fascinating people who might become more important to me, I choose them as my people, my family, my team. I adore the the shine he’s got to himself, the brightness of his enigmatic presence makes me want to know more about him and it’s familiar. He makes me think of myself, hiding his true personality under layers of acting. It means he’s smart, he’s so much more intelligent than people think. Those skills in observation he’s got? He knows things and he can get himself in some trouble with that. I certainly did when I was younger... It’s nostalgic, I behaved similarly to him. We have different reasons for that, but that’s why I want to be there to offer him a helping hand. I started to care, I want to support him. I spoke to my parents about it and, hah, they said something very interesting. The wish for me to protect, to be there as a support, to help him out with some of his life. They said I started to act similarly to my dad. Did I start treating him like my own child? I think it’s a budding feeling, I’m still learning more about it, I haven’t... felt this way towards anyone, the wish to be a parental figure. Can I even be one, hah? Would it be awkward for him if I’ll offer him more help or advice? I’d like to have a child like him, I want to be... there for him. I don’t know how yet, but I know now what this budding feeling is. He may say he’s a storm that makes people’s lives a tragedy, but my whole life’s already been a fucking hurricane. He doesn’t scare me, I’ve been beaten up and tortured. What else can he bring? A fucking apocalypse? Hah! I’ll meet it. He’s going to be a part of my family, I decided. He doesn’t have to travel with me or even accept my work, but... I’ll keep tabs on him, make sure he’s not going to die when I’m not around. He can’t make my life worse, I’ll turn every storm into an opportunity. He doesn’t have to fear causing trouble. He shouldn’t fear making noise, he shouldn’t be afraid of choosing what he wants to do. I mean, if he’ll be fine with it, I’ll be a mother. And what a mother wouldn’t do for her child? Well, I’m being too forward with this right now, even I know when to take my time and listen to another’s opinion.”