#((there’s a reason she won’t let Haru touch her it’ll come up in the next one tomorrow)) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nalu4emily · 3 years

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The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 16

Summary: Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff

Rated M for a reason!

"Hey, old lady! Open up!" The slayer bellowed through the tiny keyhole, beating the same spot on the large, ornate door repeatedly with his fist. "I know you're in there; I can smell you!"

"Go away, boy! I don't like visitors!" The occupant shouted from the other side, infuriating the dragon further.

He hammered his fist harder, determined to get some answers. There was no way he was turning back, not after running all this way. He'd kick the door in if he had to.

Haru, who was tucked into his arms, didn't seem to mind the small detour, or the loud clattering and yelling. He was perfectly content playing with anything he could get his hands on, namely Natsu's clothing. The occasional "Mama" or "Dada" would escape him but he mostly babbled nonsense to himself.

"At least you're having a good time. Daddy's starting to lose his patience." Natsu muttered the last bit under his breath, grinning at the child through his chagrin. He turned back to the door, "Look, I won't take up much of your time, I just need your advice. It's about Lucy…"

The door swung open with a rush and a thud, crashing into the very tree it was nailed to, causing leaves to fall from their branches. The noise had stunned Natsu into silence as he stared at the very person he'd come to see—Porlyusica. Dressed in her usual attire, she stepped out onto the porch and glowered at the young man, broom in hand, ready to chase him away.

Opening her mouth to scold him for the disruption, she caught sight of the little one he was carrying and closed it again, her hard lines softening. Instead of beating the slayer with her broom, which was the original plan, she held something out in her palm, expecting him to take it.

Eyeing it curiously, he took it from her hand and held it to his face, inspecting it further. It was a small, glass vile with a cork stopper lid, that contained a strange yellow liquid, its consistency was thick and it reminded Natsu, somewhat, of mashed up baby food—the kind Haru loved to eat.

"It's called morning sickness. Give her a few drops of that potion and it should quell its severity." She explained.

The boy accepted her potion and put it into his pocket for safe keeping, "Thanks! Lucy'll be glad of that. Only, it's not just her sickness that I'm-"

"I know why you're here. I could tell when I saw you all the other day, I'm just surprised it's taken you both this long to come knocking. So, where is she?" Porlyusica asked, looking behind Natsu for the blonde.

"At home actually. She… kinda doesn't know I'm here… but, I can't watch her suffer like that, I need to know what to do." Natsu pleaded, hoping the healer would help him.

She sighed, unable to refuse his request, "Has it been confirmed?"

"Not really… How do you do that?" Natsu asked, his knowledge on such things were limited.

"Get Lucy to test it, she'll understand. Then once it's confirmed, come back to me, I'll need to run some checks." She said, turning to go back inside.

"Checks? What checks?" There went his plan! Lucy would have to see her after all.

"You want a healthy child, don't you?" She said, as if it were obvious.

"U-Uh…"

The fire mage didn't get a chance to think too much into that before the door was slammed shut in his face, making him along with the baby jump.

The wind picked up a little as he turned to walk away, looking down at Haru, who was starting to snuggle down against his chest. Natsu smiled again at him, trying to mask his annoyance with the old woman's abruptness, "Sorry for making you wait, Haru, I bet you're super bored?"

"Dada…" The child yawned cutely on cue, making Natsu chuckle.

"Yeah, Dada's gonna take you home." He reiterated, turning to make tracks for home.

Natsu all but crashed through the front door, nearly breaking it off its hinges. "Luce? Lucy? Are ya home?" He yelled out into the house. Out of breath and panting, having just ran all the way back.

"Lucy?" He called out again, but with no answer still, he wondered where she could be, "Hmm… Let's go find Mama; she's around here somewhere."

"Mama…" The infant muttered, before going back to sucking on the ends of Natsu's scarf.

Once reaching the top of the stairs, he heard what he suspected might be the reason for Lucy's silence. A noise that'd become all too common over the last few days. Pushing the bathroom door open, he stood in the doorway, smiling sadly at the girl hunched over the toilet bowl once again. He felt nothing but empathy for her, the feeling of being overwhelmingly sick wasn't exactly foreign to him either, so he understood her pain.

The young man crouched down behind the blonde, cringing as she wretched her guts up. "It's alright, Luce. I'm here with you now." He spoke quietly, as not to alarm her of his presence. Placing Haru down next to him, he reached a hand out to her shoulder, the warm touch spreading over her clammy skin.

With one last cough and spit into the bowl, Lucy leaned back, breathing heavily while her watery eyes streamed down her face. She sniffled and blew her nose with a tissue, wiping her mouth at the same time. She took in a large breath and shifted to the man behind her, clutching hold of his jacket while she cried into his chest.

Enveloping her with his arms and cradling her head to him, he spoke tenderly to her, "Has it eased off now?"

"I-I don't know." Her voice was hoarse; her throat sore, "Please don't leave me again."

That struck a chord with Natsu. Never had he heard Lucy ask for him, not like that. She was always way too proud and independent, but this had really taken it's toll on her, not just physically but mentally also, making her feel vulnerable and it saddened him to see her so.

"I won't, Lucy, I promise." He said lowly into her ear, placing an affectionate peck just behind her lobe.

Nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck, she sniffled again, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, "I don't want this, Natsu. I don't care what's causing it; I just want it gone."

Really her words shouldn't have affected him like they did, yet he still felt a sharp tug on his heart. She didn't know the reason behind her vomiting; how could she? He hadn't told her. And now with her so upset, he really didn't know how he was going to do that. Where did he even start?

He'd been so ready to just blurt it out, never considering how Lucy might react to it. In fact, if memory served him, she'd most likely freak until she combusted, or worse, began to cry. This subject had to be handled sensitively and with care, but the longer he left it, the longer he had to dwell on her reaction.

"I know, Luce. Are you sure you still want to wait for Wendy? Gramps told me she won't be back for a week at least." He explained, hoping she might change her mind about seeing the old dragon woman.

"I don't care who I see, as long as they can get rid of it." She said, finally pulling back and wiping her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm just so tired! It's been so long since I've had any real sleep and the puking just won't let up. My tummy hurts, my back aches and my ribs feel like they're being squashed, I have a constant headache and food-" She placed her hand over her mouth again, feeling that overwhelming nausea return. The mention of food, any food, was enough to set her off.

"Just try and take a deep breath, Luce, think of something else."

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose and let it slowly out through her mouth, turning her attentions to Haru, "Sorry, little man, Mama didn't mean to ignore you, although you seem pretty content sucking on that scarf."

"He's been doing that all afternoon." Natsu answered for the baby, before switching back to Lucy, "Has the feeling gone now?"

"Not yet, it never really does. It just sits there until something triggers it." She explained, trying to breathe through the queasiness.

"That sucks… Oh, that reminds me, I have something for ya!" Remembering the little gift the old woman had given him, he started rummaging through his pockets, pulling out the item he was looking for and handed it to her, "Take it, Luce, it'll help with your, uh…" Wracking his brain for whatever Porlyusica had called it, "…Sickness." Was what he settled for.

Taking it into her hands she stared at it, frowning at the gross substance which could barely be called a liquid. "Um… Are you sure this is fit for human consumption?" She asked, hesitant to put it anywhere near her mouth. "And where'd it even come from?"

"Well, you know you said you didn't want to go to Porlyusica?" He blushed a little, putting his hand behind his head and grinned sheepishly, "I kinda did for ya and she gave me that. She said to take a few drops of it."

"Hmm… If you say so." She popped the cork lid open and let a few small globs dribble out into her mouth, pulling a disgusted face as it slid down her throat and stuck out her tongue. Little Haru found it hysterical and began laughing at his mother, his whole body jiggling up and down, "Well, I'm glad you're finding this funny, because that is repulsive!"

Natsu smiled, "You did look kinda funny, Luce. But at least it'll lessen your morning sickness now." That was it!

Eyes widening, Lucy snapped her head to Natsu, her amusement gone, "Morning sickness?!"

"Yeah, that's what she called it—which is dumb! It's more like all day and night sickness." He chuckled to himself, quickly falling silent when Lucy's expression didn't change at his little joke. He didn't understand; had he said something wrong? "What's up, Luce? I thought it might help."

"You… you think I'm pregnant?" She asked, eyes wide and mouth agape, her stare never leaving him.

Shit!

So morning sickness was a pregnancy thing? He wished he'd known that sooner!

Cursing himself again, he hadn't meant for her to find out like that and what's worse—she looked utterly horrified. Dammit! What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't lie to her; he wouldn't do that. With no other alternative, he did the only thing he could and sighed, nodding his answer and cringing at the sharp inhale he heard pass her lips.

Hoping she wasn't about to blow a fuse, he approached the stunned girl carefully, taking the vile out of her slack grasp and placed it back in his pocket before entwining their fingers together. Quirking one side of his lip into a half smile, he kept quiet and allowed her to process the information she obviously was not expecting.

His eyes dropped from her shocked face to her partially exposed stomach, catching her other hand instinctively come down to cradle it protectively, like an expectant mother would and it made the adrenaline course through his body.

"Pregnant… How did I not think of that?" She muttered under her breath, truly shocked that she hadn't once considered it a possibility. All the signs were there, everything pointed to it—shouted at it in fact, yet it was Natsu who'd realised it first. The boy that once thought humans laid eggs had figured it out before her? Something seemed fishy! "How come you knew? Who've you been speaking to?" Mortified to think that the whole guild knew before she even did.

"Gray, actually." He replied, shrugging, "And Porlyusica helped, obviously."

"Gray?! What does he know about having a baby? Doesn't he usually shy away from that kind of stuff?" She was astounded to find that it was the ice mage of all people. One of the girls from the guild was understandable or even someone like Gajeel who'd experienced it, but Gray?

"You think Juvia gives him a choice? She was crazy before, but now it seems she's on a whole other level." He sniggered a little, feeling kinda sorry for Gray, but kinda not. He'd made his bed and now he'd have to lay in it.

"Oh, so Juvia's pregnant too? How sweet, she's been desperate since… well, since forever!"

Natsu hummed in agreement, his attention focused more on Lucy's calm and collected demeanour, which honestly, he hadn't expected. She seemed happy by the prospect of growing their family, and that filled him with joy.

"Baby fever all 'round, it seems." Chuckling and tapping little Haru's head, the spirit wielder met the slayers eyes, smiling brightly at him with her hand still firmly placed on her lower belly, "I guess being so sick will be worth it, if it's for a baby."

"Our baby, Luce." Wiping the few stray tears away with his thumb, Natsu grinned at her, glad to see that gorgeous smile of hers split her cheeks, "Now we just gotta test it, right? Only, I don't know how you'd do that?"

"Hmm… I do, but… Oh wait! Cana!" She yelled, scrambling to her feet and nearly tripping on the bath mat. Luckily, Natsu was there for her to grab a hold of.

"What's this got to do with Cana?" He asked, confused—nothing good could ever come of her being involved.

"Her 'gifts'." The boy tilted his head; that made even less sense! "You know… ages ago, she pranked us with the condoms and a pregnancy test?" Lucy whispered to him, not wanting to say it out loud in front of Haru.

"Oh yeah! I wondered where they all went!" His eyes lit up when the memory returned to him.

"Please don't remind me…" Happy mumbled under his breath, a look of trauma on his face.

"Oh, hey Happy! I didn't hear ya come in!" Natsu greeted, waving at the exceed hovering in the doorway.

"Why're you guys looking for those things? You mean you're actually gonna use 'em?!" Nearly passing out at the thought, but shut his mouth quickly when he noticed Lucy glaring at him.

Returning to the task at hand, the blonde continued to search through the bathroom cupboards, "I put them away in here somewhere… Aha! Found it!" She cheered, holding and waving it in her hand to show Natsu.

"Awesome!" He cheered, "Now what?"

"Yeah, uh, you're gonna have to wait outside, and I'll let you know when I'm done." Pulling out the stick from its packaging, she crossed her arms and glared at the boy still standing there.

"Wait, what's happening?" The exceed asked, completely lost on their conversation.

"Why do I gotta wait outside? Can't I stay in here while you do it?" Natsu didn't want to be locked out again, it wasn't fair! He wanted to be in on the action!

She deadpanned, "Unless you want to watch me pee on a stick?" He was clueless.

"No, thank you!" Happy was gone in a flash, back down the stairs, no longer caring what they were talking about.

"So what, Luce?" The fire mage shrugged, "I've seen ya do worse."

"Just get out, Natsu, I'll call you back in when I'm done!" Lucy huffed, shooing the idiot out of the bathroom, ignoring his protests and shutting the door behind her.

Natsu exaggerated his huff, chuckling when Haru copied him, "Looks like we gotta wait out here, little guy. Are ya hungry?" The fire mage asked, taking them both down to the kitchen to retrieve some food.

Once returning to the bathroom door, food thoroughly shoved in their pie holes, they waited. When the door finally opened, revealing the girl with the stick in her hand, Natsu could barely contain himself; he wanted to know the results.

"So, what's it say? Are ya, Luce?" He asked, feeling like a kid at Christmas. Upon setting his own eyes on the girl, his face dropped instantly as he watched fresh tears build in her eyes. "Lucy?"

She wiped her snuffling nose and handed the stick to her partner, allowing him to look at the results. "Two lines means positive; one line means negative." Was all she said, using her sleeve to rub at her irritated eyes.

Peering down at the peculiar shaped object in his hand, he knitted his brows together. On the little screen, there was but a singular line—just one. He looked back up to Lucy, confusion still etched into his expression, "Negative?"

"It means, I'm not pregnant." Disappointment flowed out of her very pores; saying it out loud only reaffirmed it; a bitter truth escaping her lips. "Back to the drawing board, I guess. I'm sorry, Natsu, I know that wasn't what you wanted to hear."

Natsu remained silent, processing it all. It was definitely not the result he had been expecting, but it didn't seem to be bothering him as much as it should've. That niggle along with everything else that lead him to that conclusion, surely hadn't been wrong? He should've felt sad, a little disappointed, maybe? Or even a tad guilty for giving Lucy false hope—but he felt none of those things.

It was true that he didn't have well of medical knowledge like Porlyusica or some other doctor. He didn't read a load of books to get his information like Lucy or even Levy, and he certainly had no experience to pull from, and yet his gut still believed there was hope.

He placed the test down and pulled Lucy to him, enveloping her in his warmth to soothe her aching heart. With her nestled into his chest, he nuzzled his head into her hair, breathing in her scent, allowing it to relax him, when an idea struck.

Unexpectedly he pulled away from the sad blonde, passed her the baby and dropped to his knees, much to her embarrassment. He hugged her close, placing his nose on her lower belly and inhaled deeply, ignoring her flustered rants about 'reading the mood'. After several awkward minutes of her whining and his determination to be proven right, he smiled and let go.

"Natsu, you can't just sniff people like that! What were you doing?! I'm not in the mood for jokes." She sighed, watching him hop to his feet.

"Lucy, I think the test is lying."

Perking her head up to meet his eyes, with brows knitted together, she spoke, "Huh? Tests don't lie, Natsu! Don't be so ridiculous! I know it's hard to hear, but we're not having a baby."

"We'll see about that!" He grinned and hoisted her up, carrying her bridal style down the stairs with Haru perched neatly in her lap, ignoring her yells to be put down.

"Right Haru, let's go get some answers! You coming, Happy?" Natsu's usual electric enthusiasm shone brightly through his grin.

"Yeah! Where are we going?" Happy asked, hovering above the slayer's head.

He winked at the Exceed, then proceeded to kick the front door open and walked out into the front garden. "You ready, Luce?" His grin turning mischievous.

"Natsu, put me down! I don't even have any shoes on! Where the heck are we going?!" She screeched into his ear, making him wince, but smile all the same.

"You don't need shoes when I'm carrying you! Hold on tight guys, we're off to see the old dragon woman in the woods. She'll be able to tell us." He said, sprinting off down the path towards their destination, with Happy flying behind.

Eventually, Lucy gave up her struggle. She wasn't going to win; she never did once he'd set his mind on something. That was usually how all of their adventures started off, him dragging her off somewhere new and exciting. Although, she couldn't say going to see the old woman was new or particularly exciting, but if Natsu thought it was the right thing to do, even if the result remained the same, then she had no choice but to tag along.

Finally nearing the tree, Natsu could see from a distance that the door was open, meaning said woman was out and about, probably collecting ingredients for her next potion.

"So you've returned." They heard the gruff voice from behind, swivelling their heads to meet Porlyusica as she walked over to them. "And you've brought the whole cavalry… Well, don't just stand there gawking, in you go!" Natsu quickly made it into the tree, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the cranky woman with a broom. "And put Lucy down, a pregnant woman is more than capable of walking, boy!"

Lucy all but jumped to her feet, mortified and embarrassed by the whole situation and turned to the healer, "That's the thing though, I'm not pregnant, but Natsu insisted on dragging us out here. We're sorry for wasting your time." The flustered blonde seemed a little too eager to leave and tried to make a break for the door; however; the fire breather's quick reflexes caught her wrist before she could reach the door handle.

"Luce, I told you already: the test was lying!" He repeated, eyes pleading with her just to wait and see what the healer might say.

She sighed; feeling a little frustrated by it all, "Tests don't lie, Natsu. I'm not pregnant and that's all there is to it. I'll just have to muddle through whatever this sickness is until it goes away."

"It came out negative, I assume?" Porlyusica intervened, focusing on the blonde huddling close to the door. "Natsu is right, tests can give false negative readings, especially if it's old or hasn't been used properly." The pink haired woman walked closer to the girl, looking her up and down. "I thought that you might be when I saw you last and I'm rarely wrong."

Lucy hadn't expected the woman to actually agree with Natsu. She hadn't thought that there could be something wrong with the test, but then again, it was from Cana and god knows where she'd got it from. She perked her head up a little and was almost reluctant to look at the dragon slayers expression, knowing the smugness of being right would be written all over his face.

"Ha! See, I knew it! There's still a chance, Lucy!" Natsu shone his vibrant, toothy grin at the blonde girl. She could see the hope in his eyes; he really wanted this; to be a father again and her heart all but melted.

"I have other, more thorough ways of testing, if you'd let me?" Porlyusica asked the celestial mage, bringing her back to the present.

Apprehensively, Lucy nodded her head and went to sit on the bed by the window to await further instructions. She was so nervous, hoping for some positive answers, that would prove the test was false. She wasn't sure her heart could take the disappointment a second time, especially if it included Natsu's this time.

"There are a few different ways I can confirm a pregnancy, blood tests and so forth, but the most efficient way is a scan of the area." She said, gathering the instruments she needed whilst awaiting Lucy's approval. "I use a lacrima and it shows an image of your womb."

"O-Okay." Lucy replied, uncertain of what she'd just agreed to.

She laid back on the bed and pulled her top up, revealing her stomach. Taking a deep breath, the celestial mage twisted her head to Natsu, who had knelt down beside her. Her nerves were rattling within her body and was looking for a little reassurance, something to take the edge off of her apprehension.

He smiled at her tenderly and reached out for her hand to hold tight, not entirely convinced it was to ease just her anxiety as opposed to his own. They were about to find out whether or not their own little creation had taken residence in Lucy's womb, and he couldn't describe what an incredibly surreal feeling that was.

Porlyusica first needed to locate where the lacrima should be placed. Using one hand, she pressed firmly just above Lucy's pelvis, then several times around the area. Still tender and overly sensitive, Lucy tried her hardest not to show the discomfort it was causing. It rippled up into her throat, making her feel sick again, only this time she had no choice but to hold it back.

The wincing and quiet gasps didn't go unnoticed by the dragon slayer. He'd been watching the healer like a hawk, making sure nothing hurt Lucy too much. He leant over, understanding how unpleasant it must be and kissed her temple, whilst running his fingers smoothly through her blonde tresses.

The lacrima was a simple looking flat, green crystal that the older woman laid onto the stellar mages bare skin and waited for the image to appear. With a few flashes of light, a picture was formed like a projection hovering just above the lacrima.

"What the heck is that?! It looks like you swallowed a ball!" Happy couldn't take his eyes off of the image.

"That's so cool! I'm totally looking at your insides, Luce!" The fire breather enthused, unable to take his eyes off of the image.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the pair; typical Natsu and Happy, "You're both such idiots…"

"When you're done bickering, I'll explain what you're looking at." Porlyusica cut in. She pointed to the big black oval shape on the projection, that Happy kindly pointed out, and looked at the pair, making sure they were paying attention. "This is the outline of your uterus, Lucy. And from what I can see, it looks perfectly normal and healthy."

"Oh okay, that's good then." She pointed to a smaller, light coloured ball at the bottom of the black oval and knitted her brows together. "So, what's that?"

Moving the lacrima crystal slightly, the healer repositioned it to get a closer look at the small ball and both mages eyes near bulged out of their sockets. Their mouths dropped open and breath hitched simultaneously as the image took on a more human shape, its arms and legs moving rapidly.

"Oh my… Is that…?" Lucy had never seen anything like it, her mouth had gone completely dry and she felt the butterflies in her tummy cause her to quiver, she was in awe.

"Look at what we did, Lucy…" Natsu murmured after a few shocked, silent moments, catching the girl's attention. His eyes were glued to the image, watching it kick out with it's tiny little developing legs and feet. "It's an active little thing…"

"It's a baby, Natsu…" The celestial mages eyes glazed over, unable to control the flood of emotions that entered her system.

For the first time, the fire breather peeled his sights away from the projection and looked to his partner. His own tears peaked at the corners, feeling so overwhelmingly happy to be able to share this with her.

"Mm… it sure is, Luce." His voice sounded airy, sleepy almost, like his body had simply relaxed. His brilliant smile beamed at the blonde, making her heart skip a beat as she turned to face him fully, the sound of their little one's heart beat filling their ears.

"Look Haru, you're gonna have a little brother or sister." Lucy said as Natsu held him up to see, pointing at the even tinier one wriggling around on the projection. "It's a little one, just like you!"

Porlyusica turned the crystal once more, allowing them to see the baby from a different angle, "As you can see, Lucy, you are pregnant and by the looks of it, I'd say you have been for about ten weeks now."

"Ten weeks?! Surely that's not right; I would have noticed long before now!" Lucy was stunned to learn she was that far along already. The symptoms had only just started and she'd menstruated within that time—hadn't she?

"Not necessarily, pregnancy doesn't follow a certain set of rules. When Juvia came to see me regarding the same thing, she'd been suffering with symptoms from around the six week mark. Levy, on the other hand, had no symptoms and she was carrying twins. Some women experience symptoms just at the beginning while others, all the way through. Some later and some sooner, and some none at all."

"Oh… I didn't know. So, what happens now?" Lucy asked, feeling a little bit of disappointment when the healer deactivated the lacrima and removed it from her belly—she could've easily watched it all day.

"Yeah, when will it be born? Is it a long wait?" Natsu butted in, moving to sit next to the girl on the bed.

"And I thought Gray was clueless… A pregnancy takes nine months or approximately forty weeks, meaning Lucy has about thirty weeks left to go."

"That long? But that's ages away!" Natsu whined, turning into a child himself.

"Yeah, why can't it be born now?" Happy joined in, wanting to meet the little one already.

"Quiet, boys, before I kick you out!" She threatened, returning her attentions to the blonde, "Look after yourself, Lucy. A stressed mother is a stressed baby, but so far everything is looking as it should." The woman returned her equipment to their places and snapped her head to the little family still sitting there, "What're you both still doing here? Get out!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Natsu and Lucy jumped to their feet at lightning speed and ran out of the door, making sure they were out of sight of the old woman before slowing to a halt.

"Ugh! Now my feet are all dirty!" Lucy groaned, lifting her bare feet up one by one to inspect them, grimacing at all of the mud now coating them. "This is your fault- Mmph!"

A pair of warm, smooth lips silenced her, pressing urgently to her mouth, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. With him taking the lead, Lucy relaxed into it and enjoyed the feel of his mouth on hers, their tongues interloping, causing butterflies to re-enter her stomach.

Pulling apart, but barely, he stared at her angelic features and couldn't help but smile at the beautiful girl before him. Thanks to her, he was going to be a father again. A father not to just one, but two precious babies and he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

"I love you, Lucy." He grinned, the biggest, widest grin she'd ever seen, so enormous it was almost too much for his face. But it was still heart meltingly cute and to hear him say those words again was enough to turn her into a puddle. It wasn't something he said very often, but she was fine with that. It made times like this all the more special.

"I love you too, Natsu." She could see just how happy he was, his very soul glowing like the fire he wielded. "So, are you going to tell me how you knew?"

He quirked his brow, "Knew what?"

"That the test was wrong." She said, her eyes flickering between his.

"Oh… I, uh, sorta had a feeling, I guess. And I was sure I could smell something." He shrugged, about to lean in for another kiss.

"You could… smell something?" Horrified she pulled her face back; did she smell?!

"Yeah, another scent. I've been able to smell it since I came home the other day, but didn't know what it was until now." The boy explained, bringing her head back to him.

"You can smell the baby?" Lucy's eyes widened in fascination.

"Sure. It's real faint, but if I try hard enough, it's there."

"Wow! That's incredible!" She looked down at herself again and cradled her belly, right where the lacrima had been and pictured their perfect little baby safe and sound in there. "I'm so happy, Natsu."

"Me too, Lucy." Natsu chuckled and finally managed to pull her back in for a loving and tender kiss, relaying all of his own happiness to her in one fluid motion. His hand came up to rest on top of hers, caressing the soft skin of her belly, imagining just how beautiful she was going to look in the months to come, carrying his child.

But their passion was swiftly halted when a certain little fella stopped them in their tracks, placing a hand to where their lips joined and made a cute babble sound, as if he were trying to work out what they were doing. Chuckling, they both turned to Haru, who was still looking at them curiously.

"You two are just nasty!" Happy said, placing himself down on the floor. "Not only do you eat each other, but you're now doing it in front of Haru!"

"We don't eat each other, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Lucy defended, shaking her head.

"Yeah you do and other… more explicit things!" Happy shivered at the thought, "Otherwise you wouldn't be in this situation."

"What situation is that then?" Lucy asked, defiance lacing her voice.

"He means the baby, Luce, even I understood that one!" Natsu piped in.

"Really?!" She exclaimed sarcastically, "Ugh! You guys are infuriating! With any luck, this baby will be a girl, then I won't feel so outnumbered!" She huffed, crossing her arms.

"And she'll still end up like Natsu, and you know it!"

Lucy's expression deflated, her arms sinking to her sides ans sighed "You're right…"

"Anyway, with another mouth to feed, you might wanna reconsider that job, Natsu!" The exceed mentioned, not noticing the dragon slayer shoot daggers at him.

"Oh… What job is that then?" The blonde asked, curiously. She didn't remember Natsu mentioning anything about a job.

"It's nothing really, Luce." Natsu shrugged, playing it down.

"You should have seen the reward! I've never seen that many zero's in a number!" Happy chirped, only now noticing the look his friend was giving him, telling him silently to shut up.

"Natsu, what's up? How come you never said anything?" Lucy asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"It's not that big of a deal. Gramps gave me a request yesterday, but I turned it down, that's all." He explained, seeming a little dismissive but otherwise normal. "Why don't we get ya home? It'll be dinner time soon." Seeing the reluctance in Lucy's face to believe him, he sighed and smiled at her, not ready to have that conversation just yet.

Suddenly her feet were whipped out from under her and she and Haru found themselves in the air, with two strong arms holding them up, "Natsu!"

"What? Can't have Mama all pooped out now can we, Haru?" Natsu laughed along with the infant, grinning widely, "'Cause she's still gotta cook us dinner!" He smirked at the young woman in his arms, who's eyes snapped at to him, glaring at his handsome face.

"Hey! How come I gotta slave away in the kitchen?! I'm pregnant now, you should be making me dinner!" She retorted, huffing and turning her head to the side.

"I don't mind cooking, it's whether you mind having a kitchen or not?"

"On second thought, stay out of the kitchen, you're too much of a fire hazard. But you owe me a foot rub, after all, this is your doing!" She smirked back at him.

"Oh… I never remember you complaining, maybe I'll have to get you to jolt my memory later." He chuckled lowly back, rising to the challenge.

"That's it! You two are disgusting! I'm taking Haru and you can both find somewhere else to do your dirty stuff tonight." Happy whizzed down to snatch the giggling baby from Lucy and speedily zoomed off into the distance, leaving the other two behind.

"Hey! That's no fair! You got a head start!" Not willing to be beaten by a flying cat and a baby, Natsu hurtled himself and Lucy in the same direction, her screams of terror echoing throughout the forest.

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redxblueihateloveyou · 4 years

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i'm curious, what are your top 10 favorite rinharu moments in high speed and high speed 2?? i love the books. i don't understand why people say is impossible to ship rinharu if you read them...

Lmao who are those “people”? As in multiple? And are they from Mars? I do not get this. You cannot be serious. You probably meant “impossible not to ship”?

I don’t know about top ten, I love all of their interractions tbh, they just remind me of my fav type of romance in general. I know what are my top 5 I think, but after that I love everything, so it’s hard to rate.

1. My absolutely favorite moment will forever be the one, where Rin describes the way he sees Haru in the water, I’m seriously forever in awe, because, I’ve read a lot of books, and like... even period dramas got nothing on Rin Matsuoka, when he describes the love of his life. I mean, seriously, find yourself a person who sees you the way Rin sees Haru lol

Rin felt like he was touched by the light, that surrounded him with warmth. He turned around to see Haruka, who was glowing. Shining. Haruka was shining with every strong and confident stroke that he made. The outstanding energy, emitted from him, surrounded Haruka with the dazzling light and Rin froze, unable to look away. Rin’s heart was beating so hard in his chest, that he forgot how to breathe. Haruka stole his heart. And the further away he got from him, the more distance grew between them, the more uneasy Rin felt, like he was losing the control over his emotions. He was possesed by Haruka’s shining. His strokes looked as if he was hugging the water, his leg movements were so effortless and so elegant, as if water herself was moving him to the finish line. But in all these deceptively smooth and unhurried motions were so much strength and power and such incredible speed, that all his opponents didn’t stand a chance. His swimming was that transcendent reality. He was like a bird dancing in the sky with its wings spread wide.”

Dude... I’m like... still speechless. I mean, and not just this, but everytime Rin talks about Haru, even when he jokes about his stupid habbits, you still feel that he finds him so beautiful, inside and outside, that it just makes my heart melt.

2. When Aki tells Rin that if you put him and Haru together, you get a perfection.

“That guy has no sense of humor. He should learn by watching me, don't you think?" Rin joked lightly.

Aki laughed a bit at his words. "It's true. Add the two of you together and divide by two, and it would be perfect."

But I mainly love that moment, because like... Aki starts telling him, that Haru is not what he's pretending to be (like for some idiots in the fandom who call him selfish, that was the explanation for them xD) and how everyone always want something from him, and he never asks for anything in return and doesn’t have anyone to lean on (yup that’s what I said all along, too, with Makoto’s dumb behavior in difficult situations, he’s on his own there lmao). And she waits for Rin to deny it or like be surprised, but it turned out that that’s exactly how Rin sees him and that he cracked him from the very beginning. BTW, here’s your addition to the ask about Rin loving Haru for who he is and seeing him for who he is. I’m just in love with that moment, because I’m happy that he just... not only he knows him, but bc he’s not one of those many idiots who just don’t get it.

"Nanase-kun seems like he can do anything all by himself, doesn't he? He's good at studying and sports and even art. He really can do anything, right? That's why everyone relies on him, but it would really be something for Nanase-kun to rely on anyone, wouldn't it?"

Rin certainly thought this was true. He had only just transferred, but the image that Rin had of Haruka was exactly that. But even if Haruka didn't have the will to go out and get involved with other people on his own, it wasn't like he was completely isolated. On the contrary, he was considered the most reliable person in their class, and when people relied on him, he always did his best to meet their expectations. This was the strange balance that people around Haruka had to maintain.

3. The one when Haru calls Rin by his name for the first time. And I honestly for some reason didn’t even realize that this moment was in the anime until my 3rd rewatch (lol), but, man, little Rin’s reaction is the most adorable ever. I cry.

4. When Gou meets Haru for the first time and immediately goes “ah so you’re Haruka Nanase, the one, who my brother talks about 24/7...‘Nanase is so cool, Nananse is so fast!’” and Rin just goes red lmfaaaaaooooo.

5. When Haru says that he feels the fever running through his body each time he just sees Rin, but he doesn’t understand what it means... ahem.... OH WELL

6. When Rin tells them he’s leaving and Haru gets absolutely furious and calls him a selfish jerk, but then he feels his legs giving out and he thinks that he needs to be in the water, but then he realizes, that for the first time in his life it won’t save him and he’s so lost and fucking crushed. "you can’t just mess up my whole life and leave me like that” and “this can’t be true, I can’t be this weak.” aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa fucking hellish angst... that mix of emotions was seriously hideous, at first he was so confused and in denial, he couldn’t even think, he literally went “who is leaving?” and then it just all blew up. Poor baby.

7. Just all the little moments, when Rin notices everything Haru does and falls in love a bit more each time. Like when Haru slowed down, when he saw that Nagisa is having troubles of keeping up with him.

Nagisa was earnestly trying to keep up with Haruka. If he kept up that pace, he wouldn't be able to run next to Haruka for the whole trip. That was how it had been yesterday. Nagisa's breath was coming short, and when Haruka saw him slow down a pace, he lightly turned his eyes downward. I guess that's as far as he goes.

A sigh mixed with Haruka's long breaths. Then, by just a tiny increment, Haruka let his pace slacken.

"Oh?" Rin said quietly. Haruka could almost hear him saying "You're so nice, Nanase," and he tsked inwardly. Nagisa caught up to him, smiling as if it hurt a bit. It looked like he'd lost the energy to keep talking.

Just cute, and they watched each other all the time, it’d be a bitch to count each one, but god, all of them were cute.

8. All the moments of Haru pulling Rin’s pigtails... hilarious, especially the RinRin one, but the funniest and my favorite was when Nagisa turned to Haru to ask him for a permision to call Rin Rin-Rin, like... all the rights to Rin belong to Haru and vice versa lmao I agree. “I’ll allow it” lolz shut it, Haru.

9. This moment: “Something happened inside of him that made Haruka incredibly angry, he was so pissed, that he didn’t even want to swim anymore. To think that someone like Rin could make him feel such powerful swirl of emotions and make him such a mess... he felt disgusted with himself.” Yeah, Haru, love is dat bitch when you’re 13 lol

10. The one where Haru whispers “sorry for making you feel that way” to Rin? The one where Rin’s grandma doesn’t want to go to see the relay, but then she suddenly does, when she finds out that her grandson’s future husband is in it? The “he at that moment realized that the only thing Rin was concerned about was Haruka” one? I don’t fucking know, you pick haha ANY MOMENT, ALL THE MOMENTS XD

______

BUT in all seriousness, I do not get how you can love Makoharu after the novels. Like do people just ignore these moments:

“Haru waved Makoto off like an annoying fly”, “feeling annoyed by his obnoxious care, Haruka went right past him”, “feeling like Makoto’s smile could turn into tears any second now, Haru turned away and went to the showers” (fuck this shit I’m out lmao), “complitely ignoring him, Haru kept walking”.

??????? is this... does anyone find this amazing??????!!!!!!!!!!!

Or when Haru was literally fucking losing it, cause Makoto just repeated everything after him and how he just lost all the respect in that moment.

“I feel like I should also get into running.” Makoto said it as it was a joke, but Haru knew for sure that it wasn’t. More than that, he knew, that Makoto was going to ask him that ever since the moment he found out that Haru was running this morning. Haruka fel annoyed, because he couldn’t find the excuse to refuse him.

Or this moment:

“Makoto was late and Haruka didn’t have any reasons to wait for him. Makoto can catch up with him on the way, they’ll meet at the swimming club either way. For both of them it’ll be better, if Haru went by himself, than stood there and waited Makoto, slowly losing his temper.”

“Haruka felt uncomfortable, cause Makoto looked at him, as if was a weak”

Or this:

"Did you know I was going to come out here?" Even though he knew it was impossible, Makoto couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Nope."

"Then, why…" are you standing in a place like this?

"Watching the sunset."

and I can go on and on and on

and the fishies... oh my fucking god, the fishies

***

I’m just saying, all these moments are not even funny. My point in all this, that like no matter how much Haru loves Makoto as a friend... or got used to him is what I personally think, I don’t think he’s ever gonna idk how to say this... respect him as a human being? admire him? And this whole situation... I just can’t appreciate such kind of relationships even in a friends way.

1stly because Makoto’s behavior in general makes me have war flashbacks to some of my real life experiences (and yeah, I confess, it affected me and that’s why I don’t like his character a lot; because I don’t think many people know what it’s like to deal with these kind of people in general). 2ndly, cause Makoto fans keep trashing Haru and many call him selfish bc of the way he treats him, but what they don’t understand is that if it wasn’t for Haru being this harsh, Makoto would literally became even doormat-y than he is now (yes, it’s possible lmao).

P.S. my favorite in the novels tbh is all the Haru “I’m surrounded by idiots” moments, like when they started to dig the frozen soil with little scrapes and he was looking at them like they’re morons and then just silently walked away and came back with a giant shovel... “if you keep doing this with your tiny scoopers, we’re gonna be here all night” and they then they just watched him as he did everything himself LMFAO I just love him so freaking much. I also think his relationship with Nagisa are incredible and so underrated, since it’s a huge and incredible part of the books. I just keep saying, Haru’d be an amazing dad, so I can’t wait for him and Rin to adopt xD

P.P.S. And what about the Free! novelization????!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAA

#answered #anonymous #rinharu #harurin #Free!#free! iwatobi swim club #free #rin matsuoka #nanase haruka #sharkbait #Haru x Rin #rin x haru #did i not get something? wasn't the high speed a horrible thing for mh?#cause it seemed like that to me

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yusuke-of-valla · 4 years

Text

like rats fleeing a sinking ship, pt 6.

intermission ii

<-Previous Next->

AO3

“What the hell.” Akechi is the only one to speak as everyone staying in Takemi’s apartment stares at the TV and the news of Sae’s arrest. “What the actual hell, Sae?” Akechi runs a hand through his hair and starts pacing. “How could you get arrested? How.”

“Makoto’s here.” Akira mutters, more to himself than anyone else.

“We need to deal with Shido. Tomorrow.” Akechi says.

“Akechi, how many times do we have to tell you. We can’t be hasty,” Morgana snaps.

“We don’t have any more time to stall.”

“We have to find Makoto first, at least.” Akira insists. Akechi scowls and Akira rolls his eyes. “Don’t give me that look, if Sae got captured then Makoto’s hear, and our time limit just got that much shorter, we’ll need as many healers as we can if we’re going to finish the whole thing.”

Akechi grumbles. “Fine. Fine, but that’s it. Then I’m going in without you because you’re clearly no use otherwise.”

Akira sticks out his hand “Deal.”

Akechi takes it firmly.

Tae’s apartment only has one bedroom, but she’s let Akira use an air mattress and given the Akechi the couch to sleep on, not that either of them really sleep that night.

Akira stares at the ceiling, thoughts swirling around in his head. Where could the others be? It’s been about a week since Shido called for their heads, and he hasn’t heard anything from half of his friends. He should be able to protect them.

His thoughts drift around some more, though they keep returning to the sinking feeling that he’s failed as leader for not being prepared for this, until Akira doesn’t so much fall asleep as feel his consciousness be ripped away from him.

With a gasp, Akira sits up on a familiar blue cot, with his wrists shackled.

“Trickster.” There’s something... off, about Igor’s tone. Caroline and Justine look more serious than usual too.

“Look, unless you’re here to tell me that you know where my friends are, I don’t care.”

“This is very serious, Trickster. Ruin is approaching faster than expected.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“Show some respect, inmate!” Caroline shouts, slamming her baton against the bars.

“Our master is trying to assist you.” Justine says.

“You seriously can’t fail! You already messed up letting this Shido guy get the upper hand on you.” Caroline says.

“Our master personally contacted you to make sure you’re aware of the circumstances.” Justine adds, and Akira realizes that she’s nervous. Her eyes keep flitting to Igor, and Akira takes a good look at him.

His air of perpetual smug confidence is gone.

Igor is scared.

“This is different from the other ‘Ruin’ I’m supposed to be avoiding, isn’t it?”

“This was not supposed to happen. An unfortunate miscalculation, but you must understand the gravity of this situation. Ruin may befall us all if you allow your current opponent to go unchecked.”

“Alright. I won’t fail any of you. I promise.”

Just before Akira feels himself wake up, he smells the faintest scent of seawater.

“Akira, come on!” Morgana is patting his paws against Akira’s face to wake him up, and Akira slowly shoves him off.

He checks the time on Tae’s oven and realizes it’s almost time for them to meet the others. Akira gets up quickly and throws on a hoodie and jeans, then grabs his bag as Morgana jumps in and runs past Akechi, who’s been standing by the door the whole time.

They meet in front of Takemi Clinic, and the knot in Akira’s chest loosens up a little when he sees Ann.

Ann’s face lights up when she sees him, and they hug.

“I’m glad you’re ok,” Akira says.

“Same to you.”

“Good to see you again, Akira.” Shiho says.

“Yeah, you too.”

“So, what’s the plan,” Ann asks. “We saw the news last night.”

“We’re going into Shido’s Palace tomorrow.” Haru’s eyes widen and Akira shoots her an apologetic look. “I know we said we’d take a couple more days to look for the others, but with Sojiro and Sae going on trial, we don’t have time.”

“The plan for today is to start preparations,” Morgana says.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on looking for the others,” Akira adds, giving Haru an reassuring look.

Shiho nods. “I know Ann and I are going to go to Ryuji’s house and try to talk to his mom.”

“Right,” Morgana says, “we also need you to pick up some crafting supplies so we can make tools tonight.”

“I have no clue what you just said, Morgana,” Shiho says, “but I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll try and ask around for Makoto,” Haru offers.

“Can you stop by the church in Kanda too? I want you to ask Hifumi Togo if she knows anything about Yusuke.”

“Absolutely.”

“And while you’re walking around, maybe hit up some vending machines for energy drinks. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

“Sure. And you?”

“We’re going to Kichijoji to talk to that friend I mentioned before.”

“Alright.”

“We’ll meet back at Tae’s apartment tonight, and then we meet in front of the Diet Building and secure the route to Shido’s treasure, for better or worse.”

Ann, Shiho, and Haru all nod, and as brief as their reunion was, they split up again.

Akechi is silent for the ride to Kichijoji station, but once they arrive at the promenade he speaks up.

“I thought we weren’t worrying about Kitagawa.”

Akira stops. Then he grabs Akechi’s arm and pulls him into an alleyway. “Morgana, can you go on ahead, I’m going to talk to Akechi.”

Morgana leaps out of Akira’s bag and shoots him a concerned look before heading off.

Akira turns to Akechi, dead serious. “Look, I get it. You want to get back at Shido, or whatever. But we’re going tomorrow, just like you want. So can you stop complaining for five minutes?”

“I’m trying to give you perspective. If you’re distracted, he’ll kill you without hesitation.”

“I don’t think we’ll run into Shido’s shadow-”

“I wasn’t talking about Shido. I’m talking about Shido’s cognition of myself,” Akechi says, “who’s responsible for this.” He points to the wound at his side. “I suspected you were messing around in Shido’s Palace and went to confront you. Instead I found that thing that Shido thinks I am.” Akechi’s nose scrunches up in disgust and he bangs his fist against the wall beside him. “A damn puppet who’ll do anything for him. And who unfortunately is powerful enough that even going all out, I barely escaped with my life and arrived at your doorstep.”

“That’s how you knew Shido was about to put out the arrest.”

“Yes.”

“What did you even get from working with him?”

Akechi takes a deep breath. “He’s my father, and I wanted revenge. It was because he abandoned my mother that she killed herself and I was thrown into the foster system. Moving from home to home, completely unwanted. Until I awakened to my Persona. Suddenly I had powers unlike anyone else. I was special. So I made a plan. I approached Shido and offered him my services. I spent countless nights dreaming of the pure satisfaction of the moment when he won, when he was at his highest. And then I, the son he threw away, would force him to admit that he could only achieve his goals with my help, force him to acknowledge me, and then I’d cut him down.”

Akechi’s hands are shaking.

“So that is why I can’t afford to have you hesitate. It seems he would never acknowledge me as the reason for his success, since he thinks I’m some mindless weapon that he always intended to throw in the trash.”

“If he had a change of heart he’d acknowledge you,” Akira says after a moment. “He’d even apologize. Sincerely.”

Akechi snorts. “Yes well, I wasn’t aware of that option at the time. Maybe if I’d met you sooner, things could have been different.”

They fall silent again. Akira sighs. “Look. It seems like we both underestimated Shido. You thought you’d earned his respect, we thought we’d avoided his suspicion. We were both wrong. But the reason he wants to get rid of us so badly is because somewhere, deep down, he’s scared. Even the smallest threat to his power has to be stamped out, even if it’s a random teenager who stopped him from harassing some woman.”

Akechi’s eyes widen. “Wait, that was Shido?”

“Yeah. Your dad sucks. But he’s also a rattlesnake, trying to appear bigger than he is because he’s cornered and scared. We have a chance to beat him, but only if we work together. And we can’t work together if you’re constantly complaining about how I’m not doing things on your timetable. As much as we both want Shido out of the picture, we’re not the ones he’s hunting right now, so you’re going to sit back and let me worry about my friends.”

“You truly don’t give up on anyone, do you?” Akechi asks, tilting his head. “No wonder they adore you. Very well, I’ll refrain from any commentary for the rest of the day.”

“Thank you.”

“Senpai! Akechi-kun!” The two young men turn around to see Kasumi Yoshizawa running towards them, Morgana in her arms, who she lets jump to the ground to throw her arms around Akira. “I’m so happy you’re okay! I’ve been so worried but I had no clue how to get in touch with you.”

“Good to see you too, Kasumi,” Akira says with a smile.

Akechi looks between them. “Yoshizawa-san? You understand Morgana?”

“Yep,” Morgana says, “she’s a Persona user, but not a Phantom Thief. She’s still pretty new to it, but she’s strong.”

Kasumi nods. “Yes, although I’d like to change that middle part. Senpai, please let me accompany you on your current heist. You’re targeting Representative Shido, right?”

“Well, at least you pick up on things quickly.” Akechi says.

“It’ll be really dangerous, Kasumi.” Akira warns. “I mean, you’ve probably seen the news, we’re not in the best position right now.”

“I know the risks. I can’t turn my back on someone who needs my help though. So, please let me join you! Or actually-” Kasumi stands up straight and looks Akira in the eye. “I’m not asking. I am joining you on your next heist.”

Akechi nods. “Alright then. Welcome aboard.”

#alto writes #on the run au #akira kurusu #goro akechi #wordcount: 1500-2000

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plusultrabitchez · 5 years

Text

I Will Run To You Chapter 2: Just Talk To Her

It was lunchtime at UA. The cafeteria was crowded and noisy as usual. Shinsou poked at his food and watched the hoards of students come in and out as he sat with his friend Haru Imada. Imada was also in general studies with Shinsou but was looking to work his way into the support course.

"Hey Shinsou." Shinsou blinked a few times after being snapped back to reality and quirked a brow at Imada. "Mmm?" "Your girlfriend just walked in." Imada grinned and nodded to the main entrance. Shinsou perked up and turned around to see Kubo walking into the cafeteria followed by that electricity kid and that tape kid from class 1A. She was talking and laughing with them as they walked over to order food. Shinsou sighed as he felt his heart flutter at the sight of her. It should be illegal to be that pretty.

"She's not my girlfriend." Shinsou muttered as he tore his eyes away from her to slump back down in his seat. "We worked together in the Calvary battle and talked once since then." Imada rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and she offered to train you. Why haven't you taken her up on the offer yet? It's been almost 2 weeks dude." Imada shoved more rice in his mouth while he stared Shinsou down.

He shrugged as doubt overtook him. "I don't know. She was probably just being nice." Imada rolled his eyes. "Even if she was 'just being nice' a lot of Hero course hopefuls would kill to train with her. She's one of the best fighters in the whole school." Shinsou sighed and gave up trying to eat his food. "If she was just being nice I don't want to waste her time." That was only part of the reason he hadn't taken her up on the offer to train. The main reason was so stupid and was too embarrassed to admit it. But unfortunately for Shinsou, Imada was a human lie detector. "You're so full of shit Shinsou." Imada said throwing a balled up napkin at him. He chuckled. "Completely."

Shinsou looked back over to Kubo who was several tables over sitting with a bunch of dudes from her class. She had a ton of food on her tray and was going to town making her cheeks resemble a chipmunk. Shinsou let a soft smile creep onto his face as he watched her. "She's so damn cute." His thoughts were broken by Imada chopping him on the head. "Oh my god just talk to her you dingus!" Imada groaned. "I'm sick of you staring at her every day and not saying anything. You already know you two have a bunch in common so why won't you train with her?"

Shinsou scowled at his friend. "Okay fine! It's because I don't know shit about fighting." Imada rolled his eyes. "No shit Sherlock! That's the whole point of training with her!" Shinsou let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hands through his hair. "Ooooohhhh, I get it." Imada smirked at his friend as things clicked together in his head. "You're afraid you'll embarrass yourself."

Shinsou buried his face in his hands while Imada cackled. "Eh, I can't say I blame you. You are shit at fighting and she's super hot." "Wow, you're really good at that whole 'reassuring your friend' thing. I feel sooooo much better." Shinsou said flicking him off. "Haha! Alright alright, how about this? I took Judo classes in middle school. Maybe I can teach you a few things that I remember." Shinsou perked up. "R-really?" Imada held up a finger. "Only if you agree you'll fucking talk to her. The whole 'pining for a girl across the room' thing is getting old." . . ~Your POV~ The last bell rang and everyone was gathering up their things to go home. It was Friday night so you planned to do all your homework that evening and then have the rest of the weekend free. Of course, the only plans you had were to train and marathon X-Files all weekend, alone, as usual.

You were walking to the door when you heard someone call your name. "Kubo! Wait up!" Uraraka ran up to you looking flustered with Tsu following close behind. You stopped and stepped out of the way so you wouldn't block the doorway. "Hey guys. What's up?" "You're good with all these hero laws right?" She asked twiddling her thumbs. You nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I have a decent grasp on them." You had pretty much all of them memorized, but you didn't want to seem big headed. "We were wondering if you would be willing to help us out?" "Yeah, we're struggling a little bit." Tsu added. You were taken back for a moment. They wanted you of all people to help them? "Yeah, sure! If you guys want you can come over to my place to study." Uraraka and Tsu beamed at you. "That'd be great!"

Your face lit up. You were relatively friendly with everyone in your class, but this would be the first time you hung out with anyone outside of school. "Oh! We should make it a sleepover since it's Friday night!" Uraraka suggested and hopped up and down. "If that's okay with you?" You were in shock. Not only were you going to hang out outside of school but have a sleepover. "Oh fuck, what are you supposed to do at those? Should I ask?"

"Kubo? Are you okay?" Tsu asked. Her question snapped you out of your inner panic. "Ugh yeah! Um it'll be great! Just let me call my dad and give him a heads up. I can send you my address." You frantically got your phone out of your pocket and sent your addresses to them. "Perfect! We'll run home and grab our stuff and be over around 6?" "Yeah! Umm okay. Uh yes! Good." You were blubbering and visibly frantic which was a drastic change from your normal calm demeanor. "I'll get all the stuff that um, you have at a sleepover. You know, summoning circles and...." you searched their confused faces for any clues as to what the fuck happened at sleepovers. "....ponies?"

Uraraka and Tsu exchanged looks. "Um, Kubo?" "Yes?" You asked trying to play it cool and clutching your phone for dear life. "Have you...ever had a sleepover?" Tsu asked.

"Busted." Your posture became timid and you looked down at your feet. "No...." "God they must think I'm the biggest loser now." "Oh my god! We should go all out!" You perked up and quirked an eyebrow at them. They were...excited? "I can bring snacks!" Tsu said with a sweet smile. "And I can bring some movies!" Uraraka chimed in. A soft smile overtook your face. "Wait, so is that a yes or no to the summoning circle?"

The three of you walked to the front gates of the school and ended up going opposite directions. You had about a 15 minute walk to your train stop to get home. You put your earbuds in and scrolled through your phone and turned on some music then texted your dad.

(Y/N) Hey Dad! I have some classmates coming over tonight at 6 for a sleepover. I hope that's okay.

Kaito: THAT'S WONDERFUL! I'LL GO OUT AND GET YOU GUYS SOME SNACKS AND ORDER SOME PIZZA! OH! I CAN MAKE COOKIES AND SEVEN LAYER DIP!

(Y/N): But one of my friends said she would bring food.

Kaito: NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH JUNK FOOD AT A SLUMBER PARTY! I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE MAKING FRIENDS SWEETHEART!

You suddenly felt a hand tap you on your shoulder which activated your fighting reaction. You grabbed the hand on your shoulder and applied a rotational wristlock. You gasped as you realized who was attached to the hand. "Oh my god!" You promptly let go of his wrist. "Shinsou I'm so sorry!"

He gave you an apologetic smile through his wince as he rubbed his wrist. "Hey Kubo, it's okay. Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I called out to you, but I guess you didn't hear me." He gestured to your earbuds which had fallen out.

"Here let me." You said extending your hands to Shinsou. He quirked an eyebrow at you extended his arm, giving you access to his wrist. You gently took it and started applying pressure. Your touch made his stomach flip. You were a lot stronger than you looked, but you were gentle and precise with your movements. His expression softened as he watched you focus on applying pressure to just the right spot.

"There's a pressure point in your wrist call the TW5, applying pressure can help relieve wrist pain, rheumatism, and tendinitis."

"You're going to have to teach me that one." He chuckled.

You laughed as you continued to apply pressure. "The wristlock or the pressure point?"

"Both would be incredibly helpful." He smiled and rubbed his neck with his free hand.

"Well, I'll make sure these are the first things I teach you." You released his wrist and smiled at him.

"Oh wow..." He stretched he hand out to find it pain-free. "Thanks. You're amazing."

You gave him a shy smile as your cheeks heated up. "You're welcome, it's the least I can do."

He gulped and took a deep breath trying to summon courage. His heart was racing. "So uh, I wanted to see if you were still up for training with me?"

"Oh fuck yeah! When did you want to start?" You gave him a big smile and bounced on your heels with excitement. You thought for sure that he had just agreed to train with you because he was just trying to be nice.

"Fuck why is she so cute?"

"Would next Monday after school be okay?"

You smiled and nodded. "Sounds good!"

There was now silence between you. "So I uh, I gotta head to the train station." You said and pointed in the direction you were headed.

"Oh yeah sure. I'm actually going that way too." Shinsou said putting his hands in his pockets. "Do you..want to walk together?"

Your stomach was filled with butterflies. "Yeah, I'd like the company."

Shinsou smiled at you and you two started walking. Your size difference was almost comical. Shinsou took one of your earbuds that had fallen out earlier. "What are you listening to?" He asked as he brought it to his ear.

"All in this whole world now has been, already too controlled and you can't run away. Even the place one will live and die so that nobody wants to defy anymore."

"Oh damn, I didn't know you liked My First Story." Shinsou said.

"Oh, you like them too? That's awesome!" You smiled at him as you put the other earbud in. The two of you had to walk pretty close to each other so your earbuds would stay in place, but you didn't mind and neither did Shinsou. "What's your favorite song by them?" You asked.

Shinsou thought for a moment. "Hard to say. I really like Smash Out and Winner, but my all time favorite so far is Missing You."

"Yeah me too. I know it's one of their more 'mainstream' songs, but it's so fucking good."

Shinsou smiled at you. "So...what other bands do you like?"

The two of you discussed your favorite bands and were pleasantly surprised that you had the same taste in music. Whichever bands you didn't know of you jotted down to listen to and same for Shinsou. It was so easy it was to talk to him. Your stomach was filled with butterflies and your heart was racing the entire walk. This was a foreign feeling. You had never really liked someone this much before. You reached the station and you both sat on a bench while you waited for your train. Shinsou was bummed that his time with you would be over soon.

"So you're checking out Crossfaith." You said pointing at Shinsou. "And you're checking out Ice Nine Kills." Shinsou said pointing at you. "I'll let you know what I think on Monday." You smiled at him as you tucked your hair behind your ear. Shinsou was so taken with you. He had a blip of courage and decided to take a risk. "Or you could text me over the weekend." You were trying to remember to breathe and that screaming in excitement would be fucking weird so you opted to just smile and nod. "I'd like that."

He let out the breathe he was holding in and handed you his unlocked phone. As you input your info he got a text notification. You tried not to look at it so as to not invade his privacy, but you accidentally read it before it disappeared.

Imada: Dude! Did you talk to your girlfriend yet?

Your heart sank. Of course, Shinsou had a girlfriend. It was stupid of you to think otherwise. He was really smart, nice, insanely handsome, and had incredible passion and drive. You finished putting in your info and handed his phone back to him as your train pulled in. You plastered a fake smile on your face and stood up. "Well, this is my ride. Thanks for the music recommendations!"

Shinsou noticed a change in your behavior. It was very subtle and he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was just...different. Maybe he was just imagining it. "Uh Yeah, same. Let me know what you think."

"Will do! Have a good weekend Shinsou! See ya Monday!" You gave him a quick wave and a smile as you hopped through the train doors. Shinsou waved back. "You too! See ya!" After your train was gone Shinsou walked to the platform where he would catch his train. He looked at your contact info in his phone and smiled. He was overwhelmed with excitement and couldn't help doing a little fist pump and a little victory dance. He immediately stopped once he realized he was in a crowded train station and was getting weird looks. He cleared his throat as he composed himself.

He checked his notifications as he waited for his train. He read the message from Imada and his heart skipped a beat. "She didn't see that did she?" He checked the time stamp and it came in around the time you were putting in your info. Shinsou groaned. "Goddamnit Imada." . . . "Dad! I'm home!" You called out as you slipped off your shoes and put your backpack down by the front door.

"(Y/N)! IN THE KITCHEN!" You dad called out. His deep voice booming through the house.

You started walking to the kitchen only to stop in shock of what he had done to the living room. He clearly had a successful shopping trip. The furniture was pushed out of the way and the floor was covered in futons, fluffy pillows, and fuzzy blankets. He had made little gift baskets for your guests filled with toiletries and other goodies.

"Dad?" You questioned as you continued into the kitchen. "Da fuck is all that?"

Kaito turned around and gave you an intimidating look. It didn't work since he was covered in flour, wearing a pink polka dot apron and had a mixing bowl full of cookie dough in his hands.

You smirked. "Sorry." You cleared your throat and stood up straight. "Da hell is all that?"

Kaito smiled. "BETTER!" He set down the mixing bowl and wiped his hands on his apron. You quirked your brow at him as you eyed all the food that was on the counter. There was chips, at least 3 different dips, a fruit and veggie tray, pretzels, candy. He was going all out.

"Is this..." You gestured to the food before you. "...normal?"

"INDEED! YOU MUST HAVE A PLETHORA OF SNACK OPTIONS!" He rolled the cookie dough in his hands to make little balls and placed them on a cookie sheet. "IT'S YOUR FIRST SLEEPOVER! I WANT EVERYTHING TO BE PERFECT FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!"

"So uh, what exactly do you do at one of these things?" You grabbed a handful of pretzels and began to munch nervously. "The only thing I know of sleepovers is what I've seen in horror movies and I didn't get much of a reaction when I mentioned summoning circles."

Kaito let out a hearty laugh. "NO MY DEAR! THAT'S ONLY FOR HALLOWEEN SLEEPOVERS!" He said with a wink making you laugh. "CUSTOMARILY YOU WILL EAT TOO MUCH JUNK FOOD, SHARE SECRETS, PAINT YOUR NAILS, AND STAY UP TOO LATE WATCHING ROMANTIC COMEDIES AND CHICK FLICKS."

You crinkled your nose at that last one. "Yowza. I'm not the biggest fan of the romcoms or chick flicks, but I'll give it a whirl." "THAT'S THE SPIRIT! WHO ALL IS COMING?" "It's just Tsu and Uraraka. They're both really nice and have super cool quirks." You told your dad all about your friends as you helped him prepare the food. It was getting closer to the time they were supposed to arrive so Kaito decided to order the pizzas. "YOU GO GET READY FOR YOUR FRIENDS. I GOT THIS!" He said with a thumbs up.

"Thanks, dad. You're the best." Kaito smiled and gave you a big hug with his free hand. "OF COURSE MY DEAR! ANYTHING FOR YOU!"

You retrieved your bag from the front door and went to your room. You tossed your bag on the bed and went to your dresser to get some sweatpants and a comfy T-shirt. Your looked up at the mirror over your dresser and eyed the faint scar on your hairline. You lightly traced it with your fingers and let out a defeated sigh. "Even if he didn't have a girlfriend why the hell would he be interested in you?" You gulped down the gross feelings you had and got changed. Tonight wasn't a night for feeling sad. You were about to have your first sleepover with some truly wonderful people, tonight was a night to be happy. *DING-DONG*

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catsafarithewriter · 5 years

Note

Prompt 13: "When I say ‘go’, run. Run and don’t look back. I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”

A/N: Heya so, reason number 3008 why I’ve been slow on this was distraction caused by the wonderful little series Emara, an animated series on YouTube about a cybernetic superheroine and, naturally, I decided to grab some of my favourite bits and apply it to a TCR setting.

Basic premise: Baron is a Creation, Haru is… part Creation, for reasons that haven’t been revealed, they’ve worked alongside each other as superheroes for a while now (Haru going by Demeter, for several reasons) but there’s definitely some ulterior motives going on.

I have a lot more ideas for this AU, so I’m hoping to carry it on/expand it.

This ended up being super long… sorry! (Like… 3.5K words long)

EDIT: If you enjoyed this, please check out the full fic it became: Do Creations Dream of Clockwork Sheep? FFNET link here and AO3 link here!

No one was quite sure where Creations came from.

Haru had spent the better part of a year gaining the trustof one, and she still couldn’t answer that. She hadn’t even been sure that theycould blend in with human society until she met Baron.

Humbert.

Baron.

Life had been so much simpler before discovering thatHumbert von Gikkingen, tea shop owner and local busybody, and Baron,self-proclaimed superhero Creation, were one and the same.

She looked to Baron now and tried to see somethingrecognisable. Beyond the feline features and wooden skin hidden behind the fur,there was little to be identified from the human she had thought she’d known.Only his eyes retained their original colour, and even they were changed;rounded and catlike and glimmering like gems. She wondered if, like his skin,his eyes were inorganic too. If, if she touched them, she would feel stone.

It had been easier when he had just been Baron.

What people didknow about Creations was limited, but there were some concrete facts. Creationswere magic. They had mostly inorganic forms – usually stone or wood, but notlimited to either – and were hardier and longer-lived than your average person.

And they certainly didn’t bleed.

Haru watched the red seeping through Baron’s jacket and triedvery hard to believe that. They didn’t bleed and they didn’t get hurt and theycertainly didn’t die on her watch. She helped Baron down to the floor behindthe desk, her hand brushing against the wound and, oh god, it certainly felt like blood. A faint tang of iron inthe air told her it smelt like blood too.

“I thought you were all wood except for the fur,” shewhispered coarsely, trying and only partly succeeding in hiding the horror.“How are you bleeding?”

Baron chuckled, and the chuckle turned into a wince. “Whatcan I say? I like finding new ways to surprise you, Miss Demeter.”

“What I’d like isfor you to shut up and try not to bleed out.”

“How about one out of two?”

“Apparently you can’t do either. How attached are you toyour jacket?”

“Is this a choice between dying and my jacket? Because myimpeccable fashion sense only goes so far.”

“I’ll take that as a negative,” Haru said, and she tore theblood-soaked jacket away to reveal the wound beneath. “Fuck.”

Baron, very carefully, didn’t look down. “That doesn’t soundencouraging.”

Haru folded up the ruined jacket and pressed it into hishand. “Keep that against the wound. Also, again: How are you bleeding?” Haru repeated. And why did there have to be so much? “Aren’t you meant to be madeof wood? Where is the blood even comingfrom?”

Baron was breathing shallowly now, his eyes diluting. “Theelectric shock – I believe it’s disrupted my magic. Can’t… can’t revert back toinorganic state.” His glassy eyes met hers with some difficulty, and heconjured up a watery smile. “But don’t tell anyone – can’t let people know I goall to pieces at a little electricity.”

Haru struggled to return the smile. If Macavity knew it wasthat easy to disrupt Creation magic… the amount that weakness alone would beworth… “How do we stop it?” she asked instead.

“It’ll wear off. In time.”

“We don’t have time. We have a mutant Creation trying to eatus.”

“When you put it like that,it sounds so unwinnable.”

“Well then, how do you suggest we stop it?” Haru snapped.“We have one crazed Creation… thingrampaging the building, you bleeding out, and I…” She finally registered thefaint but insistent beeping trying valiantly to be heard over the cacophony ofchaos on the floor below. “Oh no.” She twisted to one side and pulled up thehem of her trousers to see the light on her artificial legs fade. The strengthin her limbs gave way and she caught the edge of the desk to avoid collapsingentirely. “Oh shit.”

“Demeter?”

Haru lowered herself down. Gentle hysteria and of course this would happen nowskittered on the corner of her mind. She took a shaky breath. “And my legs havejust run out of juice. Fantastic.Perfect time to forget to bring a recharger. I don’t suppose you have one ofyour patented improvised plans in progress, do you?”

“I sling you over my shoulder and make a run for it?”

The crashing got closer. The monster Creation was workingits way up through the building and it sounded like their floor was next on theagenda.

“That would be tempting if you could even support yourself.So that’s Plan A. What’s Plan B? I sling you over my shoulder and haul us out?”

“Just one. Where do you get the magic to recharge yourlegs?”

“What?”

“Only,” and Baron sounded casual in the way that people dowhen they’ve caught someone out in a lie, “all naturally… occurring Creations,even part Creations, generate theirown magic.” Those infuriatingly contradicting gemstone eyes met Haru’s. “So whatare you?”

She held his gaze at the question she had been avoiding formonths now. Macavity supplied her the magic for her part-Creation legs, legssupplied by the same organisation that Macavity ran, but she had never receiveda straight answer for where either came from. She set her mouth in a thin line.“Right now, I’m stuck in the same situation as you. We need a plan.”

He didn’t look away. If he thought she would break down andadmit everything, then he hadn’t been paying attention these last elevenmonths. He gave a tiny nod. Not accepting her answer, but setting aside thedeceit for now. “Apart from the legs, how are you coping?” he asked. “Are youhurt?”

“I hurt like hell everywhere. But, no,” Haru added. “Nothingserious.”

Another nod. Another decision made. “Good. That’s… good.Then you should run for it before the monster Creation reaches us.”

“Weren’t you listening? My legs–” She inhaled sharply asBaron curled a hand around her ankle and a jolt of unfamiliar magic shotthrough her. Feeling flooded her limbs, her metal half-Creation legs sparkingwith white light before settling back to their usual gentle glow. “Baron? Whatdid you–”

“You needed magic. I gave you magic.” He leant back againstthe desk, his eyes dimmed in a way that was neither human nor gemstone. Helifted a hand from his side, despite the hiss of warning from Haru, and gavethat ever-familiar chuckle. “Well, would you look at that? It stopped thebleeding.”

“In the same way that removing all your blood would, yes,”Haru retorted. She shuffled closer and saw that the bloodied wound was scarredwood now. “Baron,” she said, “what does it mean when your fur is just paint?”

Baron’s breathing was definitely hollow now, like windrattling through dead branches. “It means I’m getting dangerously close tooverspending my magic budget.”

“How do we stop it?”

“You don’t. I usually sleep it off before…”

A spasm ricocheted through him and he gasped, a long andhollow gasp, and painted fur stole along his jawline. His fur – real fur, theonly luxury of the illusion of life he usually afforded – sank down, to bereplaced with paint strokes and grainlines.

“Baron?! Before? Before what?”

“Before I automatically revert,” he managed. His words cameout clumsy, like he was fighting around a numbed mouth. His hand found Haru’sand gripped it. She could feel his wooden skin beneath his glove. It felt soempty. “You need to go, before it reaches us.”

“No! I’m not leaving you.”

“The magic in your legs won’t last long before it runs out.You can’t get us both out of here.”

Haru thought back to the chalk pen and symbols she’d beentaught. To confess it now would reveal her work alongside the Cat Kingdom –official portal security identification only – but if it was between that and leaving Baron to die…

“Actually, I have a better idea.”

And that, naturally, was when the monster Creation burstthrough.

In her time working alongside Baron, Haru hadn’t really metmany Creations. Most, she assumed, kept to themselves and didn’t go out onvigilante runs, but even she could tell that there was something… off about this one. It wasn’t just thefact that it was giant, pulled out of proportion of anything approaching human,or the way it lumbered like a newborn calf, if newborn calves were in the habitof being eight feet tall bipedal monstrosities with teeth that clattered likethe unholy offspring between a chainsaw and a meat grinder. It probably wasn’teven only the way magic pulsed out from it, bleeding, tainted, like pus from aninfected wound. There was just something innately… wrong about it.

Even Haru’s first instinct to fight faltered as the creaturepulled itself up through the wreckage in the floor. “Baron. What kind ofCreation is that?”

“The monster type.”

“You don’t have a clue, do you?”

Baron coughed. “I told you; it’s a monster. Now hurry andrun before it eats you.”

“Like hell I’m doing that.” Haru brought herself to herfeet, gingerly testing her legs. Baron had been right; his magic refillwouldn’t last long. She could already feel the foreign energy depleting.

Guess she had to make it count then.

“Hey! Hey, yeah, you! Big and ugly!”

Those luminous eyes turned to her. No pupil. Why did it haveno pupil? Wasn’t it nightmare-inducing enough without? She heard Baron curse,but he wasn’t in any state to stop her exceptionally foolish plan.

“You hungry? Yeah! Then come and get me!” She threwsomething from the nearest desk for good measure – a stapler, it turned out tobe – and made a run for the window. For a moment, she heard no sound of pursuitand almost slowed to glance back to make sure she was being followed, when thefloor shook and something snagged the tails of her coat.

She spun, shaking the jacket off and kept moving. The windowneared and she leapt, twisting her legs up to shatter the glass, and twistingfurther to grab the ledge before she could fall.

A grotesque hand loomed through the window and snatched atempty air.

Haru pulled herself along, grabbing the sill of the window’sunshattered neighbour and digging her toes into the brickwork. “Come on, comeon, come on…” she murmured.

The hand retreated and silence settled. It hadn’t been enough.

Maybe she should have thrown two staplers.

Then the hand reappeared – two hands, a head, those eyes, shoulders, and the monsterCreation began to pull itself through the window.

Haru’s plan was working, but suddenly it didn’t seem so great.

It swung one giant hand her way. She leapt up out of reach,scrabbling for a handhold on the wall, and turned back to eye her pursuer.

It didn’t bat an eyelid – probably because it didn’t haveany – and sunk its claws into the wall beneath her. It released its steady holdon the window frame. It started to swing upwards, hand going for the ledgeabove, and Haru dropped.

She propelled herself down, feet first, burning through theborrowed magic as she shifted her feet into forms of spikes, and plummeted theminto the monster’s face.

There was no blood. She didn’t even feel the spikes sinkinto its sorry excuse for skin, but it howled, and those clattering, grindingteeth even gave pause, and its hold on the building slipped.

It slipped.

And it fell.

It fell and Haru was falling too. She grasped for theshattered windowsill – caught it, slipped, drew blood, and carried on falling –and then her whole body went taut as something grabbed her wrist.

Baron leant out of the window, his face more wood than furnow, but his hold sure. His mouth attempted a smile, but only one side moved.“And where do you think you’re going, Miss Demeter?”

“Up,” she gasped. “Pull me up!”

“As you wish.” Another hand joined the first, the fingerscurling uneasily around her arms – and if Haru listened, she was sure she couldhear the creak of wooden joints – but once it was secure, he hauled her inside.

She tumbled to the floor and immediately pulled herself backto the window. Baron joined her a moment later and they both admired her work.

“Do you think that worked?” Haru asked. “Is it dead?” Itwasn’t moving but, again, there was no blood.

“I think it’s stopped it for now,” Baron answered. Hestarted to move away from the window, but hesitated when Haru continued towatch. “Demeter?”

Among the crowds rapidly surrounding the fallen giant werepeople in dark grey suits. People who moved with a kind of uncanny grace amongthe frantic crowds. One man in particular moved towards the building, tall andgaunt, and turned his sunken eyes up to the destroyed floor.

Haru’s arms were shaking. She let them drop, and she droppedwith them, sinking down to the carpeted floor with no pretence of grace.“They’re coming.”

Baron continued to watch the crowds below. Haru wondered ifhe noticed the outliers amongst the onlookers, knew what they came for.Probably not. They were good at avoiding such attention. “Who?” he asked. “Thepolice? It’ll take them a little time to work their way up through the carnageour monster friend left, who knows, they might even want to congratulate us,for once–”

“No.” Haru exhaled slowly. Her legs were dead. Again.“They’re coming for you. They know you’ll be weak after that.”

“Who?” And this time there was a wariness in his question,like he knew he wouldn’t like the answer. “Who, Demeter?”

She met his gaze. Held it. “I can’t tell you.”

“Why not–”

“Just like I can’t tell you that they’re coming for you. Orthat you should run.”

“Then we should both flee–”

Haru laughed. Short and harsh and more bitter than she hadmeant. “I’m not going anywhere, Baron. Not with these legs.” She grabbed hishand as he reached out. “And you’re not going to repeat your little trick fromearlier. I saw how much it took out of you. You can’t do it again.”

“Demeter, look at me,” Baron said. “I can barely stand – Icouldn’t help when the monster Creation came back for round two, and I couldbarely make it to the window in time to catch you. You’re not the only onewho’s in no fit state to run. But – if I do this – you’re the only one whostands a chance of getting out of here.”

“And that’s where you’d be wrong. Move.”

Baron hesitated, but complied, shuffling away from her. Shepulled out a chalk pen from her pocket, not missing Baron’s raised eyebrow atthe strange gem shimmering at the end. As best she could with her dormant legs,she drew a circle into the floor around her, filling the outer rim with symbolsthat had been carved well into her memory. Once done, she motioned to Baron.“Help me up.”

He did so, carefully avoiding the chalk lines. “What isthis?”

“Teleportation circle. To the Cat Kingdom.”

He inhaled sharply. “Only official portal codes can makethat jump.”

“I know.” She met his gaze, daring him to add anything else.He did not. “This one should go to the edge of the kingdom, to a safe housethat even- that nobody knows about. It only takes one at a time, so take aseat.”

“Me? But you–”

She held up the pens bejewelled end. “Portal crystal codedspecifically to me. You can’t work it, and no other magic will trigger thisportal. Go and don’t look back. I’ll be right behind you, I promise.”

He met her gaze. His eyes were entirely dulled now and shewondered if he could even see. But he nodded and gently lowered her to thefloor. “Right behind me,” he echoed.

“Like always,” she lied, and the moment he took to thecentre, she stabbed the portal crystal into the circle and Baron disappeared ina sphere of white light.

The new silence around her felt somehow heavier than thesilence shared between her and Baron, but she tried not to dwell on that.Instead, she dragged herself into the circle’s centre and shakily redrew theblurred lines she left behind. She could hear footsteps ascending their waythrough the building – just one set, getting closer, with a steady and surebeat that she would recognise anywhere – and she struck the circle with thecrystal one last time.

The lines glowed. And then faded. The remnant light in theportal crystal died entirely and the fight melted from Haru’s bones. Bringingthe pen to the light, she could see that a hairline crack ran along the gem.Probably damaged during the fight, and its magic had leaked from it, leavingjust enough for a single journey. “Well,” she said to the empty room, “Itried.”

“Oh, you certain did, Miss Yoshioka.”

She turned her head to see Macavity walk into the room.

The first time Haru met Macavity in his human form, she hadbeen surprised at how real it had seemed. But the more she got to know him, themore she realised you could take the cat out of the Cat Kingdom, but you can’ttake the Cat Kingdom out of the cat. His (true) feline form was a thin gingertabby with sunken eyes and a swaying, snakelike walk that belied something ofthe predator in him. His human form was tall and gaunt, with those same sunkeneyes, human but no warmer for it, and a stride that never broke its internalrhythm.

“Now, we seem to be missing one Creation, don’t you think?”he asked.

“What? Was big and ugly down there not enough for you?” Harureturned, motioning weakly to the window. “What’s a lady gotta do around hereto get some recognition?”

“You were meant to bring Baron in.”

“And I would have done, but it’s a little difficult whenones legs run out of battery.” She patted her inactive calves for emphasis andtried not to let Macavity see the fear behind her eyes. She had gone againsteverything she’d been ordered, every priority and rule set out before her, andthe only thing she had going for her right now was that Macavity hadn’tactually seen her release Baron.

“So I see. Such a shame.” Macavity approached and squatteddown at the edge of her circle, those shadowed eyes falling level with Haru’s. “And,tell me, what kind of state was Baron in after your little spat with the rogueCreation? He didn’t look like he was doing too well when he hauled you backinside. How much magic did he have left?”

“More than I did,” Haru said, biting the inside of her mouthto keep herself from saying anything she would regret. “Look, if I could havestopped him, don’t you think I would have?”

Those sunken eyes didn’t blink. “Would you?”

“Isn’t that my mission?” Haru retorted. “What do you wanthim for, anyway? You never told me that.”

“That’s need to know information, Miss Yoshioka. Need toknow. And you don’t. However, what I needto know is where Baron went next and what, exactly, you are doing with thisfailed attempt at a teleportation circle.” Those eyes narrowed further. “I hopeyou weren’t thinking of running away.”

Failed. He thought she’d failed.Small mercies. She kept her gaze level and told the closest thing to truth shedared. “He’s going to the Cat Kingdom.”

Macavity’s gaze flickered, again, to the chalk circle. Somethingalmost approaching surprise flashed across his face. “The Cat Kingdom?” heechoed.

“Said he was looking for answers.” She watched thefaux-human’s face for any sign that she was hitting the right mark, but therewas nothing. “Since magic originated from the Cat Kingdom in the first place,and Creations are made of magic, or something. It must have made sense to him.I was going to the Cat Kingdom to warn them.”

A moment passed.

Two.

Macavity nodded, accepting her explanation – for now. He straightenedback up, stepping away from Haru. “Well, Miss Yoshioka, I think you’ve done allyou can for today. We’ll get you scooted back home and recharged and we’ll letyou know when you’ll be dropping by the Cat Kingdom to track down our mutualfriend. That sound good?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, good.”

He started for the door, where more people in dark suitsstood waiting. Haru hadn’t noticed them before now.

“Sir?” she asked. “You never told me where the magic for mylegs come from either.”

That gaunt face tilted back, eyes glimmering. “Need to know,Miss Yoshioka. Need to know.”

SHAMELESS EDIT: If you enjoyed this, please check out the full fic it became: Do Creations Dream of Clockwork Sheep? FFNET link here and AO3 link here!

#adalhied-prime #replies #the cat returns #cat writes #emara au

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atopearth · 5 years

Text

Shall We Date? Ninja Shadow Part 8 - Shintaro Route

Shintaro!! Considering his shocked and embarrassed reaction every time he finds out about the heroine being a girl in the other routes, I’m kinda curious about how this will work in his own route and whether it’ll be how they get closer lol. Trust Shintaro to take her training the moment it’s been decided that he’s her instructor hahaha! I always like how serious of a guy Shintaro is though, he’s really considerate and helpful and trains other people well, guess we’ll see the heroine improve her skills!

First time the guy has been more mad about Suetsugu’s atrocities more than the heroine haha, I guess Shintaro is that kinda passionate guy. I really like the straightforwardness of Shintaro though, really respected him when Makoto wasn’t impressed they were out the whole day and Shintaro apologised, he’s a guy that will apologise if he’s wrong and won’t hesitate about it. It was so cute how Shintaro confessed that he doesn’t know how to handle women or even talk to them because he has no experience with them, he’s so cute. It’s understandable though, he runs a dojo and is in the vigilantes and so he probably doesn’t have to talk with women at all since it’s highly unlikely for women to be at any of those places lol. Considering how capable the heroine had always been in the other routes, kinda glad to see her slip up on her first mission when she let her guard down and was saved by Shintaro XD There’s always different variables so I’m just glad to see that the heroine isn’t always perfect. I also like how he gave her advice in terms of her skills on how she can improve for next time, so that she won’t be caught off guard again.

It’s kinda funny how all the guys in the other routes would probably gift the heroine something nice and sweet, whereas Shintaro gifts her a projectile weapon🤣 Not saying that’s a bad thing though! It’s very useful and shows how considerate he is to order it for her and teach her how to use it properly, it’s very thoughtful of him, I like it☺️ Oh wow, they’re dealing with Suetsugu already?! That’s fast! Guess they want to focus on Makoto’s brother in this route instead, since Shintaro looks up to him? I agree with Makoto though, the heroine has only done one mission, it’s reckless to put her in charge of anything since killing Suetsugu is so important and something they’ve all been hoping to do. She lacks the knowledge and experience to work on this kind of mission that cannot fail and that they can’t possibly afford to fail. I wonder why Shintaro has to sit out on the mission too though. He’s her mentor but I’m sure he wants to deliver justice too..

I love Shintaro. The heroine told him how frustrated she was about Makoto removing her from the mission because of her inexperience and he told her his thoughts very well. He also acknowledges that if Makoto thinks so, then he’s probably right, but knowing that she wants vengeance, it’ll be hard for her to swallow, so he wants to go with her to Makoto again and ask him to reconsider due to her circumstances. I also really liked how he said that if she lacks experience, then that’s more reason for her to train more! He’s right, there’s nothing else she can do right now besides train in order to get her skills up to par and get Makoto to think that she won’t be too much of a burden.

But yeah, as expected, it was difficult for Shintaro to accept that Toru is an ‘enemy’ since he’s a part of the smuggling and everything. And it’s even more difficult knowing that the vigilantes plan on killing him… Toru saved his life before so how could Shintaro do it… It was expected that he’d feel tormented and that it would affect his performance on missions and even at dojo training with Ritsu, but to see Shintaro be so aggressive and lacking the calm and kind demeanour is a bit saddening. But I do think it’s understandable that Toru’s appearance made Shintaro question whether the work the vigilantes are doing is wrong or right. He’s always respected Toru, so if Toru thinks that fixing Nagasaki from the roots rather than through the vigilantes is the way, it’s hard for Shintaro to not doubt himself. Honestly, as someone who lives in an era and country that doesn’t need such a thing anymore, I don’t think I’ll ever approve of their work, but as the heroine and Shintaro said, it’s true that there are people who are very happy and glad to see all these bad people be dealt punishment that everyone thinks they deserve, so even though I don’t agree with this justice, in a sense, this is a justice that Nagasaki needs right now since they’ve lost faith from the existence of the corrupt merchants. So, even if it may not be truly right, it’s not wrong either. Things need to change one step at a time, nothing can be perfect.

I’m really proud of Shintaro though! He’s really thought it out! Not only has he requested for the heroine to join Suetsugu’s assassination in order for her to be able to avenge her brother, but he also did it because he wants to speak with Toru again to understand what his motives and goals are. He’s ready to face it all and I’m proud of him! HAHAHA, when they fell down and he accidentally touched her chest and he asked the heroine if she suddenly turned into a woman😂😂 Then he started screaming😂😂 I feel so sorry for Shintaro since he must be in such shock but I can’t help but find it hilarious🤣 But it’s cool how he gathered himself pretty fast to give her advice and tell her to come clean to Makoto as a matter of respect etc. Too bad he’s way too self conscious over the fact she’s a girl now and can’t speak to her properly lmao.

Shintaro’s letter was so sweet but reassuring. The heroine must feel pretty scared to come clean about deceiving the vigilantes as a girl and he knows about her worries, so he said he’d take on the punishment with her as her instructor and also as a friend that will stay beside her and help her just as she did when he was in need. It was such a sweet and heartfelt letter. Makoto was a shadow for Toru before? Hmmm.. but yeah wow, so Toru taught Shintaro swordsmanship too, he practically raised him to be the person he is now then, no wonder why he’s so confused and finds it so difficult to fight him. Lmao when Shintaro called the heroine cute when she wore female clothes for a mission hahaha. To see him try so hard to hold her hand and pretend to be a couple for the mission is so adorableee!

It was so sweet when he said to Toru (when he was holding the heroine hostage) that he would get stronger and protect the woman he loves😍 I loved it when he so boldly declared his love for her in front of everyone and was able to confidently say that his future lies with her and the rest of the vigilantes, it’s so nice to see him so resolute and not be swayed by Toru’s words anymore. It was so cute when everyone scolded Makoto for meeting Toru alone and trying to solve everything himself haha, they’re like such a nice big family☺️ I love how sweet Haru is, she’d make such a good girl friend to hang out and shop with! Lmao at Shintaro telling her not to hog the heroine though🤣 HAHAHA, Haru thought they’d go on a date somewhere but Shintaro just took her to the dojo as usual, guess that’s how he is though🤣

Seeing them corner and capture Toru was actually quite saddening since his ideals and goals do make sense, it’s just that the way he tried to go about it was wrong since he hurt and sacrificed many people for it. Maybe it’s true that people will be sacrificed for the “greater good”, but even though I feel like Toru is right, he was too hasty about it. Change in Nagasaki is important, but even if you can change the city overnight, you cannot change the people as quickly and I think he failed to understand that a city is as much as its people, so no matter how much he hopes to do good, he can’t just erase everything when he should instead be working towards improving things for the better.

It’s so like Shintaro to pray to her brother’s grave and then ask the heroine to be his wife. He’s so respectful and sweet. Who wouldn’t say yes?! I really love how they’re both so grateful to Makoto and believe in him greatly as a leader that will work his best to improve Nagasaki, and thus are willing to give their freedom all to him and to dedicate their lives to this cause. Overall, I liked Shintaro’s route much more than I thought! Initially, I thought it might be a bit frustrating since he’s shy, but that didn’t play a big part to it so that was good, it focused on Shintaro growing to think and rely on his own thinking rather than blindly following the people he respects and I think it was done very well! I also really liked their relationship since it developed slowly but sweetly through her support in helping him come to the decisions that he can’t stay the same as he once was, always looking up at Toru without thinking about his own beliefs. Definitely enjoyed it! Now it’s up to Makoto!!! Legit excited to the max because I love him🤣

#ninja shadow

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