#Keiko desperately needs a bath | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dudeandduchess · 4 years

Text

Kyōjurō x F!S/O: Dreams and Heartaches (Angst, SFW Scenario)

Summary: Kyōjurō finally gets to say his final words to the love of his life. Warnings: Angst, Implications of Character Death Note: Since the new trailer is going to drop today (already April 10 for me), I figured that this would be fun to write. The song inspirations for this were ‘Til My Heartaches End by KZ Tandingan, and Maybe in Another Lifetime by Keiko Necessario. Enjoy, bbys! 😂🍉 Word Count: 2,095

***

The sound of awed whispers, as well as quiet mutters of jealous words, reached (Y/n)’s ears despite the loud thumping of her heartbeat ringing in them. Her sight, which was once bathed in darkness, suddenly flooded with light— prompting her to blink rapidly as she was thrown in a white-washed world that seemed so familiar yet so foreign to her.

A familiar warmth enveloped her right hand tightly; and when she looked down at the source of the comforting heat, she saw a rough and mildly battle-roughened hand wrapping around hers— as if protecting it from the world.

Tears sprung into her eyes at the very sight of it and, hesitantly, she let her gaze trail up the haori-clad arm that the hand was attached to— taking note of the family emblem that was embroidered into the sleeve.

“Look at me, my sweet flame,” Kyōjurō’s deep voice urged her softly, which had her breath catching in her throat— especially when he reached his right hand out to hold her face by her chin, and tilted her face up to let her take in his smiling face. “You look as beautiful as the first time we met.”

His smile widened into a small grin at that— a breathtaking one that had (Y/n) returning it with a tiny smile of her own.

“There’s that smile I love so much.”

Inevitably, that brought more tears to (Y/n)’s eyes; and slowly, the first tear rolled down her cheek.

“You’re here…” She managed to squeak out— so soft and quiet beneath the din of hushed conversations surrounding them, yet Kyōjurō still managed to pick her words out from the crowd’s.

The Flame Hashira nodded, moving his hand up from her chin to wipe her tears away with the back of his index finger. He could feel his own tears bubbling to the surface, but he pushed them down in favor of keeping the smile on his face. As much as he wanted to cry and beg all of the deities for another chance to live, he knew that it was better to leave her with memories of him smiling.

Even though it hurt him inside to know that where he belonged wasn’t by her side anymore. It killed him inside to know that he would never be the one who was going to make her happy until they were old and gray, nor was he the one whom she was going to build a family with.

Once upon a time it was him— it was supposed to be him— but not anymore.

For the greater good, he had given up their happiness. For the betterment of many people, he had hurt the people he loved the most…

Still, he forced the smile on his face; if only to be sure that (Y/n) could always go back to the memory of him smiling, whenever she needed a something warm and comfortable to keep away the chill of loneliness.

After all, he wasn’t going to be there to hold her anymore.

Kyōjurō wasn’t going to be the one that she wrote to first thing in the morning, and he wasn’t going to be the one that she went to whenever the tiniest of inconveniences happened to her. Gone were the days when he would come home to see her and Senjurō making something in his home’s kitchen; and gone were the days where they spent their nights together, simply holding each other as they slept.

He wasn’t going to be able to tell her stories of his missions, nor was he going to be able to run his fingers through her hair as he kept pressing kisses against the top of her head.

His life with her— their past, present, and future— were no more.

The Hashira’s lips quivered the tiniest bit, and tears inevitably blurred his vision while he took in the sight of (Y/n) in her shiromuku. It was the last time that he was going to see her, so he had to take his fill while he could.

“I love you,” was all he could muster up the courage to say. He should have been telling her how she was always going to be everything to him, and how he would always wait for her… but a part of him told him that it wasn’t the wisest choice to keep her hanging on to him.

It hurt him to accept it, but she needed to find love with another man. Someone who would love her more than he ever could, and someone who would always put her needs above everything else.

But he was taking the coward’s way and working up to it; at least, that’s what he told himself.

Her tears increased even more at his words, practically twisting his heart inside his chest with every quiet sob that had come to pass from her lips. She moved to grip his own hands tightly, almost afraid that he would disappear if she loosened her grip for even a second.

“You don’t play fair, Kyōjurō.” (Y/n)’s words were soft and shaky, so thick with her tears that they were almost unintelligible, yet she kept on speaking— finally finding it inside her to latch on to the anger that she felt simmering down to her bones. “You told me you weren’t going to leave me.”

A stuttering gasp put a hamper on her words, but she pushed past her own unsightly crying and continued, “You said you were going to come back.”

Her eyebrows knitted together in frustration, as she helplessly clicked her tongue in irritation. At that point, she knew that she must have looked so pathetic as her expression scrunched up when she began bawling; sounding so weak and needy even to her own ears. Still, she couldn’t help but hurl the words she wanted to say at Kyōjurō.

“What am I supposed to do now?” She let go of her hold on his hands, in favor of clutching the front of his mon-tsuki haori hakama in tight yet shaky fists. Helplessly, she shook him as best as she could— putting all of her grief and frustration into her movements as best as she could. “Tell me how I’m going to live without you! Tell me, damn it!”

Kyōjurō’s eyes widened at the frantic and utterly heartbroken tone that his lover’s voice had taken and, slowly, he moved to wrap his arms around her shoulder so he could pull her into his chest. Her entire body shook with her sobs, yet her grip on his clothes never faltered— almost as if he was her last lifeline.

“It will be difficult,” He began quietly, his throat thickening up with the tears that he had tried so hard to push down earlier. Then, he swallowed past the lump in his throat and continued, “And it will hurt, but you have to let me go, (Y/n). Please.”

The young woman shook her head against his chest, adamant about going against his words in every way possible. “You can’t ask me to do that. I’m not- never- no!”

At that, Kyōjurō put his hands on her shoulders and pulled himself away from her— moving to cup her face in his hands so that she would look at him. When her attention was fully on him, he begged her, “I wanted to be the one to make you the happiest woman in the world, but I’ll still accept your happiness… even if it’s not with me. So please, my love, do it for me.

“Have all those babies that we talked about, the house with the sunflower garden that we wanted, and cook all of those dishes that you wrote so much to me about. Be happy for me.”

“This isn’t fair! Don’t do this to me!” Helplessly, (Y/n) tugged at his clothes in protest, but it didn’t do much aside from hide the fact that her hands had begun to shake badly. “Don’t do this to me!”

She didn’t know how long they simply stood there— with Kyōjurō uncharacteristically silent as he leaned forward to pepper her face with kisses— but when he leaned his forehead against hers, she felt her heart drop to her feet, because something told her that it was time for him to go.

Kyōjurō’s thumbs wiped her tears away as gently as he could, savoring the feel of her warm skin against his as best as he could with her tears marring the memory. And slowly, he leaned forward to close the gap between them— claiming her lips in a gentle kiss that he knew was highly unfair of him to do.

“Tell me you love me… one last time? Please?” He whispered against her lips, feeling her breathy gasps fanning across his lips with every stuttered sob that she tried to hold back.

“I love you,” (Y/n) answered his plea, as her tears doubled in force— bordering on desperation as she uttered the words over and over through her gasping sobs.

“I love you, I love you!” She kept repeating to him, with a tiny part of her hoping that her words would be enough to get him to stay. Still, a bigger— and more rational— side of her knew that it was too late for her words.

They were useless in the face of fate.

Because maybe, she hadn’t meant to be happy at all.

“I love you.”

***

The sound of silence greeted (Y/n)’s ears the moment she woke up; with her inhaling sharply as her eyes flew open.

She tried to make sense of what had happened in her dream, but her tear-stained face, as well as her heavy heart weighed her down further into the futon she had inevitably cried herself to sleep on. Her hands felt so as she tried to unfurl them from the hold she had on the wrinkled mon-tsuki haori hakama that she had seen in her dream.

The very clothes that Kyōjurō had been supposed to wear on their wedding day.

Slowly, she sat upright on the futon and pulled the clothes to her chest— closing her eyes to ignore how pathetic she had been to wear the white kimono that she had been so excited to wear for that special day; a day that would never come.

(Y/n) hugged the cold and almost weightless clothes, all while biting down on her bottom lip to silence the sobs that she knew were coming with her tears. Only, despite her efforts to hold them back, they broke free and echoed within the empty room— bordering on hysteria, as the full force of her grief came down upon her.

“Kyōjurō!” She screamed brokenly, not even caring that she was going against his wishes by still hanging on to him. Clutching his clothes closer to her chest, she buried her face in the material— hoping and praying to even catch the faintest scent of him, despite knowing that it wouldn’t have been possible; as he hadn’t had the chance to even wear it.

Her heart ached so much with every scream that ripped past her throat, yet she kept on doing it; needing an outlet for her anguish, instead of trying to keep it all inside her.

Before she knew it, she had kicked the tray of food that one of the housekeepers had left for her beside her bed— sending bowls filled with her meal scattering all over the tatami.

Seeing the carnage brought out a very slight reprieve inside her so, with hefty breaths, she picked up one bowl that had managed to land close to her— and she threw it against one of the walls; relishing in the loud crash it made when it shattered into pieces, much like the state that her heart was in.

However, instead of making her tears lighten up, it only made them worse as she hugged Kyōjurō’s supposed wedding garments even tighter than before.

Because she knew, that no matter what she did, nothing was going to bring him back. From that moment on, it was just her against the world.

164 notes · View notes

zukalations · 6 years

Text

Dream Stars’ Salon - Fuji’s Bar w. Ranju Tomu (Flower Troupe)

This Kageki feature from the mid-2000s had directors Fujii Daisuke and Ueda Keiko trading off hosting a ‘bar’ where they would conduct talk features with young otokoyaku stars. The interview between Fujii and Ranju Tomu was published in the February 2006 issue.

Dream Stars’ Salon - Fuji’s Bar w. Ranju Tomu (Flower Troupe)

Fujii: Welcome to ‘Fujii’s Bar’.

Ranju: Thank you for inviting me.

Fujii, Ranju: (laugh)

Fujii: I think the first time I met Tomu (Ranju) was your debut in CAN-CAN, when I was attached to the production as an assistant… You’ve grown up a lot since then.

Ranju: No, I haven’t grown up a bit~ (laughs)

Fujii: Is that so. I think the really cute thing about Tomu is that you’re really bright and friendly, and while you’re mature you can still be a little bit spacey. You’re someone who’s very easy to talk to. You had the ‘otokoyaku’ atmosphere even as a ken-1, didn’t you. I think I remember in Nao-chan’s (Iori Naoka’s) dinner show, you were ken-5, but they introduced you as ken-15… (laughs).

Ranju: I was constantly being used for that punchline in dinner shows and such as a junior actress (laughs).

Fujii: And then recently it feels as if you’re getting younger by the year (laughs).

Ranju: Yes, people say that to me all the time! (laughs) It really makes me think about how hard I was working as a junior actress…

Fujii: Really… Yesterday, I went to see the Flower Troupe performance, and felt like the kindness and big-heartedness I felt from Tomu is something nobody else could express.

Ranju: That makes me so happy~. For my character of Nicola in Palermo in the Setting Sun, that ‘big-heartedness’ was what I most wanted to express, so I’m really happy to hear that.

Fujii: And then in the revue show you had a really natural sexiness. Recently, you’ve come to the point where you can do things without having to push yourself past your limit, right?

Ranju: I’ve had people telling me ‘You’re more relaxed’ or ‘you seem so natural onstage’, so I do feel like I’ve begun pushing myself less onstage, but in a good way…

Fujii: That might be why you’re really standing out recently. By the way, Tomu, did you like Takarazuka ever since you were little?

Tomu: I started watching Takarazuka when I was in middle school.

Fujii: And did you decide ‘I want to join!’ from the start?

Ranju: No, it was when I was thinking of my future path during high school that it started to get to me. I thought ‘I at least want to try out for it’. So then for a year, I took entrance exam prep lessons in secret from my school…

Fujii: But weren’t you taking dance since you were little?

Ranju: When I was in elementary school I took classical ballet for 3 years, and then in middle and high school I was put in the ‘Creative Dance’ department. We had ballet lessons and danced to our own choreography…

Fujii: So, you can do choreography too!

Ranju: That would be a huge challenge, but I would like to try it once, I think.

Fujii: Oh, that would be great! If you hadn’t passed the exam, what path do you think you would have taken?

Ranju: I like English, so I had the vague idea of studying English in college and doing some kind of work related to that.

Fujii: You’re a really flexible person, so I can definitely picture that. Your grades have been excellent ever since you entered Takarazuka, and then you kept getting roles in shinjin kouens and Bow Hall performances, and lots of appearances in dinner shows. Are there any shows for you that were turning points, Tomu?

Ranju: Maybe the 2001 Bow Hall, Manon. That’s when I really started to aim for being an ‘otokoyaku’.

Fujii: Slightly wicked roles, like your character of Lescaut in Manon, really suit you, don’t they. And then that same year you had your first shinjin kouen lead, Michelangelo. What do you think about that?

Ranju: I was so desperate. It was like I was pushing to the limits of my energy, so I don’t really remember the particulars.

Fujii: But I think it’s exactly that which helped you suit the role so well, perhaps. And then the next year was Drenched in the Amber Hued Rain and Cocktail!

Ranju: In the show Director Fujii created and directed, Cocktail, I was able to sing with Haruno-san, Sena-san, and Ayabuki-san in the opening sequence, and then in the basketball scene I was playing the part of Haruno’s opponent, so I was thinking “is it really okay for me to be doing all this…?” It was a revolutionary show for me, internally.

Fujii: Is that so; it seemed perfectly ordinary to me, though (laughs). When all the current Flower Troupe otokoyaku are gathered, they’re so interesting, no matter what you look at.

Ranju: There were so many stellar otokoyaku when I was a junior actress. Maya Miki-san, Kaikyou Hiroki-san, Aika Mire-san, Yabuki Shou-san, Takumi Hibiki-san, Hatsukaze Midori-san, Kizuki Ayumu-san, Ranka Rea-san...And then at the time, Sena-san, Mizu-zan, and Kiriya-san were in Flower Troupe too, and everyone was so cool… I was like ‘what even is this troupe!’ (laughs)

Fujii: (laughs) And was it good training?

Ranju: For example, they would give very clear advice about the best way to wear a tailcoat, and precisely how many centimeters and millimeters until it started to look ‘just a bit off’. Even now, when it comes to how we’re holding a tailcoat, the senior actresses will still suggest ‘so, let’s do it this way this time’ and keep an eye on that. I think they all have a great aesthetic sense of ‘how an otokoyaku should be’.

Fujii: It’s something that’s passed down from senior actresses to the junior actresses. You were ken-7 in Cocktail.

Ranju: Yes. I had a lot of different experiences that year, with Gone with the Wind, Shadow of the Moon, and Elisabeth.

Fujii: How do you feel about singing, Tomu?

Ranju: I’ve studied it for a much shorter time, compared to dance. When I entered the Takarazuka Music School, if I had to use my voice in singing or acting, I never knew what I ought to be doing… In Director Shibata’s acting class he would always call on me as ‘that girl over there, with the strained voice’. I had a complex for a while that made it hard for me to get my voice to come out. Right now it’s not as bad as it was before, but unlike dance, where I can just go with my feelings, I have to think about using my voice more and tell myself ‘I just need to do it how I did in the rehearsals.’ When I hear Osa-san singing, I think that it feels really good, and I want to be able to use my singing to express what’s inside myself that way too…

Fujii: In the shinjin kouen of Elisabeth, it definitely seemed that while your gestures and such were very striking, you were nervous about the singing.

Ranju: Especially in the Takarazuka shinjin kouen I never got over the nervousness… I was in a battle with myself every day until the Tokyo performance. I remember that even right before the performance, I had shut myself in the dressing room baths and was singing. Finally, at the very end, it felt like I had made it over a huge mountain during that performance.

Fujii: That was a good experience for you, wasn’t it. You seemed to be enjoying yourself singing in the recent production of Ernest in Love, so I thought ‘she seems like she’s grown a bit…’

Ranju: Thank you very much.

Fujii: You were playing all sorts of roles in 2005, weren’t you. Hachigorou in Kurawanka was such a skillfully done role that it almost made me think you were ken-30 (laughs).

Ranju: (laughs) Although it was a hard time with the switch roles and things, the junior actresses put so much energy into it, and I think that show really helped everyone in the cast grow.

Fujii: After that you played Gunther in Marakesh: The Crimson Tombstone, and the outside performance R-HATTER*. You were so cool!

Ranju: Although at first I couldn’t even picture how things might end up, but Hattori Yuukichi-san was very understanding of what a ‘Takarazuka otokoyaku’ is, and put together choreography that showed off how the otokoyaku looked.

Fujii: But it was the kind of choreography that you wouldn’t see very often in Takarazuka, right. It needed a very high technical level, didn’t it?

Ranju: Yes. At first I was struggling just to keep up. Performing with foreign male dancers was a very valuable experience for me that really made me rethink ‘the appeal of an otokoyaku.’

Fujii: Although you’ve developed quickly and have the image of a ‘star student’, have you ever had times where you’ve come up against a barrier or that you can’t relax?

Fujii: I’ve never relaxed… Since I haven’t been practicing since I was a child, I feel like if I don’t practice more than everyone else I won’t be able to do it. When I was in the music school, I would dance at home until late at night, and I had my family buy a tap mat so I’d be tapping away at that...I was desperate (laughs).When I was a junior actress I hated being called ‘star student’ and I would break down sometimes. “Even though I’m always at my limit trying to deal with things, why do they still say those things about me…” I would think.

Fujii: I’ve never seen Tomu in a panic like that.

Ranju: I don’t let people see that (laughs). I hate failure, you see. Starting when I was around ken-3, I was able to act in the plays together with the senior actresses, and in the revues even though I was one of the youngest I would be able to join them, but I still couldn’t do things at the level the senior actresses were at… A lot of the time I would end up in the dark, deserted rehearsal room just crying, ‘Wah~’ (laughs)

Fujii: Oh… But you don’t do that any more now?

Ranju: No, if I can’t do things how I think I should be doing them, I’ll have a cry at home (laughs).

Fujii: You don’t want other people to see, yes. So, how are you going to progress from here? Can you tell me roles you want to play, or dances you want to do?

Ranju: In terms of plays, I want to do a really passionate grand romantic story. In terms of dancing, I’d like to do something in latin style, or some really vigorous dancing that they don’t do a lot in Takarazuka. Also, a really Takarazuka-style duet dance… When I was in the music school, in Shime-san’s (Shion Yuu’s) class, she told us “in your loudest voice, shout out your dream of what you want to do onstage”, you know. So, I said “I want to do a duet dance wearing pure white, surrounded by white smoke!” (laughs). I do want to do a charmingly romantic duet dance.

Fujii: So, finally, what do you think is the appeal of ‘Ranju Tomu’?

Ranju: Eh~, do I have to say it myself? I’m blushing… (laughs) Let’s see, first would be ‘Passion’. That’s been my theme ever since I was ken-1.

Fujii: Oh~ that’s great.

Ranju: From now on, I want to develop ‘big-heartedness’ and ‘sweetness’.

Fujii: Wonderful! I think Ranju has the ‘Takarazuka atmosphere’ in the best way, and you’re really irreplaceable. I’m looking forward to seeing how you flourish from now on.

Ranju: Yes. Thank you very much!

* This was a co-ed modern ballet production featuring Japanese and foreign ballet dancers as well as a few Takarazuka actresses.

#takarazuka #article translation #sienne: ranju tomu #troupe: hana #staff: fujii daisuke

10 notes · View notes

symphonic-scream · 6 years

Text

Difficult Times

Hibiki had been in Lit Class when the alarms sounded. His Mama had just instructed 1-A to pull out their reading homework from the night before when the lights cut out and the alarms rang out. The red emergency lights flashed, bathing the class in red light. They’d had three drills so far this year, so they all knew what to do. But it was the panicked look on Yaoyorozu Momo’s face that made Hibiki’s nerves surface. The class flooded for the door, but he hung back to look up at his Mama. “Is this a drill?” She shook her head, lightly pushing him out the door. “No, it’s not a drill, ‘Biki. Please, go to your dorm, follow procedure. Please.” The stress she put on her pleads made Hibiki want to cry, so he quickly embraced her before running after his class. Sero Chiaki was at the back with Hagakure Hiroki, who looked like he was hyperventilating. Ojirou Kazuya was glaring at anyone who looked back at him, while the class reps guiding the along the designated route. Once they were all inside the door to Alliance Heights, Hibiki flipped the lock, and joined his classmates in the living room. Someone had already drawn the curtains, leaving them in almost complete darkness, the only light coming from Himura Miyoko’s eyes. Hiroki was whimpering, clutching his head and curled into Chiaki’s side. “Is everyone here?” Akiyama Keiko whispered, leaning about to try to count everyone. “Hoshiko? You here?” “Yes.” A quiet voice came from beside the couch. Hoshiko was hidden under Yoshida Fumiko’s arm, seeming surprisingly small despite being taller than the girl beside her. “I don’t remember another drill being on Pa’s schedule.” Bakushima Tadashi murmured, turning his red eyes to Hibiki. “Did your Mama mention anything? I saw that you left last.” “Well, I, uh.” Hibiki stuttered, trying to decide whether to tell them or not. “It wasn’t on her schedule, but it could be a special drill. I’ve heard of them running drills without telling the staff first before.” A click came from their door, and everyone turned to watch as it quickly opened, before shutting behind whoever had entered. Minata Yui, one of Awase Masuyo’s friends, waved, as she flipped on the lights. “Class 1-A, yeah?” “Who are you?” Keiko practically barked, standing defensively in front of the class. Yui held up her hands, smiling sheepishly. “Minata Yui, Class 3-F. I’m supposed to be supervising you guys.” “Then why did you turn on the lights?” Ishikawa Rai asked, squinting his cat-like eyes. It was against school policy to have any lights on during an emergency drill. “Look, this isn’t a drill, and due to special circumstances, you’re basically on house arrest, not emergency shut down.” “It’s not a drill?” Fujioka Katsumi squeaked, ducking behind Kita Tomoko. Yui sighed, taking a seat in one of the lounge chairs still set up from last night’s movie marathon. “Please, sit on a couch or something, and I’ll explain.”

So, things went from bad to so much worse. A terrorist group that had started in America had shown up in Musutafu today, attacking the city with all their might. All heroes, even those off call or teaching, were called in, along with the third year hero students. So, not only were both Hibiki’s moms out fighting dangerous terrorists, but his older brother was there too. If things went really bad, he’d have no family left. Hiroki was sobbing, clutching Chiaki, who was crying silently. Kazuya was sitting completely stunned on Hibiki’s right while Tadashi, on his left, stared down at his own hands. Tomoko was biting her lip, but was still comforting Katsumi. Tokoyami Hoshiko was hiding her face in Fumiko’s shoulder, and Hibiki, well, he wasn’t taking it too well either. He couldn’t get the image of himself sitting in Principle Aizawa’s office, his Uncle Tomohiro and his wife sitting beside him, as the news that he was orphaned and brother-less was repeated to him, over, and over, and over- He felt a warm hand enclose around his own, and raised his eyes to look at Tadashi. The black haired boy didn’t smile, but squeezed his hand, as if offering Hibiki support. Hibiki squeezed back, leaning into his best friend. Yui said it would be a long night; that when things were finally over, if any of their family were involved they’d be called down to be shuttled out to see them. Someone had turned on the TV, but had left it on the news. They were covering the attack, showing blurry shots of hundreds of heroes and students alike using their full power to keep the destruction where it was. Once in a while a green flash or explosion would go off, and once he swore he heard a blast of a Nickel Back song. Watching the footage was somehow both worse and better than not, until they watching one of the towering buildings begin to collapse. Yao-Managing Co.’s headquarters was falling fast, and Hibiki’s heart stopped. He knew deep down that everyone, including his Uncle Reiji and grandpa-Yorozu, had been evacuated hours ago, but he couldn’t help it. It hovered above on the spot for a spell, before slowly dropping to the ground safely. “Uravity.” He heard someone mutter in relief, before suddenly the footage was cut off. The class began to shout, before it cut back in. Half of the district was gone, leaving a large crater where downtown once stood. It was all too much for Hibiki, who ran towards one of the back rooms. He closed the door to the game room, hugging himself and panting, trying desperately to get the image of his family lying lifeless in that crater out of his head. Tadashi was by his side in a moment, tugging him close. His body ran warm, immediately chasing away the cold, chilling feeling that had settled in Hibiki’s stomach. “Hey.” He whispered, swaying slightly to a silent tune. “Are you alright?” “I don’t think so.” He mumbled, gripping his waist like a lifeline. “I just - why did Toshi have to go?” Tadashi hummed, dropping them both onto the largest beanbag. “I don’t know, Hibiki, but I do know he has Ryoko, and Daichi, and all our parents with him. They’re strong, and they took down the League.” Not once did Tadashi say things were going to be okay, and Hibiki suspected he understood that no one could guarantee that everyone would return in one piece. But he was right, after all. Toshiro was tough, as were Ryoko, Daichi, and the other teens he knew on the site. And the Pro Heroes, they had faced something similar and gotten out alive. “Thanks, Tadashi.” Hibiki whispered, cuddling closer to the warmer teen. He knew neither would be able to actually doze off, but sharing warmth away from the scenes of carnage on the screen was as close as they’d get. “Any time.”

It was maybe four hours later when Hadou Etsuko showed up to take them to the shuttle. She’d been in the school that day talking with Support Classes about career options,and as the oldest taking the shuttle, she was in charge. It wasn’t like anyone was going to misbehave. As they stopped by the middle and primary schools to pick up the others, the mood stayed dismal. When the youngest of Tadashi’s siblings, Takeo, had run onto the shuttle calling for his brother, Hibiki felt his heart sink. What would happen to Takeo if his dads were gone? He was only ten, after all. And losing his sister, the person he was closest to in this world? That would devastate him. When the shuttle pulled into the city’s main hospital, Hibiki froze. He knew that it would ruin him to find out his parents hadn’t made it, that Toshi was gone. Or, for that matter, any of his Aunts or Uncles. He couldn’t imagine Christmas without Denki dressing himself up like a tree. He couldn’t imagine Heroics class without Eijirou. He couldn’t imagine a world where Tenya didn’t patrol the halls, shouting at wandering students. A tug on his arm from Tadashi, and he was walking into the hospital, his family all around him. In the waiting room, Hibiki saw many of his brother’s classmates and his parent’s colleagues. He watched as Hiroki was being cradled by Tooru and Mina. How Hatsuko and Sachiko practically jumped Izuku, before doing the same to Shouto. How Sakurako was met by Tamaki, who hugged his daughter like the world was ending. Some didn’t seem to even find family members, like Kazuya, who was immediately led away by a nurse. It was crazy, like a zoo in the waiting room. And his vision tunneled when he saw his Mom. Hibiki practically rammed into her, tears falling down his cheeks. She grunted, but returned his tight embrace. He sobbed into her jacket as she rubbed his back, soothing him. “Hey, little man, I’m safe, I’m here. I’m okay.” “I love you so much, Mom.” He sniffled, squeezing her tighter for just a moment before releasing her, but not her hand. He needed the contact right now. “I love you too, Hibiki.” “Where’s Mama?” He remembered suddenly. “And Toshi? Mom? Where are they?” His Mom quickly grabbed his shoulders, halting his panicked word vomit. “They’re alive, buddy. Toshiro broke and arm and leg, and your Mama got a little scratched up. We can go see both of them right now, if you’d like?” Mother and son walked hand in hand down the white halls of the hospital, and Hibiki tried to tune out the pained wails of devastated families around him. Soon enough, they turned into a room, and the Yaoyorozu-Jirou family was reunited once more. Toshiro was sitting in a wheelchair, right arm and leg in thick, white casts, face covered in soot, a complex expression on his face. Their Mama was lying in the bed, cloak torn and hanging over a nearby chair. Her hair was down, and she was also covered in dirt and dust. And, the cherry on top, her stomach was covered in thick white bandages. “Hibiki!” She sighed in relief, reaching out for her youngest son. He darted forward, carefully falling into her embrace, watching for her wounds. “My sweet boy, I’m sorry if we worried you. I love you so much.” “I love you too, Mama.” He assured, once again feeling tears fall down his cheeks. “I love you guys so much.” He heard a squeak, and suddenly Hibiki was sitting on his brother’s lap, his uninjured arm holding him close. “Come here, ‘Biki, show your brother some love.” He threw his arms around him, just now noticing his costume was missing the large, thick jacket he used as protection. “Where’s your jacket, Toshi?” His smile faded, his grip tightening. “Ryoko.” This was worrying. Was she okay? She was practically Hibiki’s older sister with the amount of time she spent at their place, and it wouldn’t be right for her to be gone.” “Do you want to see her again, Toshi?” A gruff voice came from the door, and Hibiki turned to see his Uncle Katsuki, arms stained black, his costume torn up, his eyebrows completely singed off. Both his hands were heavily bandaged, and the tips of his hair looked burnt. Hibiki felt Toshiro nod, and held on as their Mom wheeled the two down the hall. Ryoko’s room was a place with a depressing aura. Eijirou was passed out on a small couch, body covered in scratches. Takeo was knocked out in his arms, leaving Tadashi as the only conscious one in the room. He was pulled right up to the bed, where Ryoko lay, connected to a slew of machines. Her hair was down, looking more like black than ashy blonde. Her lips were red and chapped, face looking a little raw. Her head was all wrapped up, and her left wrist was in a cast. She was wearing Toshi’s jacket, and her costume’s accessories were scattered over the furniture. Tadashi looked up as they entered, and Hibiki has never seen him look so lost. Katsuki left them to go embrace his son, literally pulling him out of his chair to get both of them comfortable. Hibiki got off of Toshiro, and watched as his brother wheeled right up next to father and son, placing his left hand on his best friend’s leg. There was some shouting from the hall, before a distraught Uraraka Machiko burst into the room, eyes wild until they landed on her girlfriend. “No.” She muttered, stumbling towards the bed. She looked like she had been crying already, but fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. She stopped at the bedside, collapsing in the chair opposite the girl’s family. “What, what happened?” Toshiro shook a little, not looking up to meet his friend’s eyes. “We, me, her, Tarou and Ayumu, were fighting this one guy, and, the big explosion went off, and, it was really dark for a minute, and when I opened my eyes, she was on the ground, and they said she hit her head pretty hard, and I’m so sorry.” He broke down, his head falling forward as he sobbed. Tadashi leaned over, resting one of his warm hands against his back. “You did all you could, kid.” A new voice came. Tsuyu walked over to her oldest, her younger daughter asleep on her back. “No one saw that coming. We’re just lucky no one died today.” She was in hospital scrubs, her face and hands clean. Under her nails was a different story. They were dark red, still stained with blood. She let Taura off her back, laying the girl over the last couch before placing her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “She’ll wake up soon, too.” Tadashi muttered, watching the machines keeping his sister stable. “There’s only a small chance of amnesia, too. Some could say you’re worse for wear.” Toshi didn’t lift his head, but his sobs died off. Hibiki felt bad for his brother. He probably saw his best friend lying on the ground, believing she was dead. It was probably going to bother him forever. Hibiki remembered his Mama telling them traumatic memories tended to be the strongest. “Is Ocha in surgery now?” Katsuki asked, looking at Tsuyu. She nodded, squeezing her daughter’s shoulders. “Yes, ribbit. They wheeled her in after the girls got a chance to see her.” Machiko was still crying, and she sniffled as she squeezed her eyes shut. “She was so pale.” She spoke, barely audible. “And she’ll live?” Katsuki inquired, shifting his son in his arms. “Yes, but there’s a 60% chance of paralysis.” Hibiki couldn’t help but feel awful for Machiko. She was probably having the worst day of her life. Her girlfriend is comatose, with a chance of waking up with no memory of her, and her mother might lose the use of her legs. Over the next few hours, tons of people came in to see Ryoko. Hadou Ayumu and Toogata Tarou, on their way back from seeing Tarou’s brother Yuudai. Iida Daichi, accompanied Kimiko, Hayate, Masuya and Misaki, their father, Tenya, leaving with a sad look. Even Shouto, who placed a singular daisy on the bedside table before leaving. It was quiet for a bit, safe for the faint noises of the machines hooked up to Ryoko. Hibiki almost thought everyone dozed off, but he knew better. The only way anyone was sleeping was going to be brought on by pure exhaustion. Soon, his Mom returned, taking him and Toshiro back to their Mama’s room for the night.

A week later, and things are only just looking up. Repairs to the city have started, led mainly by the Yaoyorozu’s company and funds, with large donations from many foreign aid programs. Many international support companies came to help build the city back up again, while heroes from other countries came to watch over the population while those involved in the fight healed. Ryoko had woken up two days after the attack, memories just a little fuzzy at first. She was going to be released tomorrow, alongside Ochako, who’s surgery had been a success, and was participating in physical therapy until further notice. Since most housing was destroyed, UA was closed for the month to house victims while temporary shelters and new homes were being built. Casualties were low, with only seven civilian deaths, and one of Deku’s sidekicks dying of his injuries just yesterday. With nothing better to do, Grandpa-Yorozu had offered to house every member of their UA family until the city got back on it’s feet, even going as far as to offer financial help to the Monomas and Awases, as their buildings were among those destroyed. While things were never going to be the same for the group, it was nice to have them all so close. Having everyone under the same roof was comforting, even if Hibiki was sharing Toshiro’s room with all the other children. The bed had been moved to Hibiki’s room, and mats, bedrolls, and sleeping bags were spread across the floor. Hibiki’s room was housing those like Ochako, who had received more severe injuries. Of the children, only Toogata Yuudai was in that room, as he’d been impaled through the abdomen by a stray beam. In Toshiro’s room, Hibiki could watch everyone. Kendou Moriko, who was sandwiched between her brother, Yuuto, and sister, Reina, both arms in casts. Even Tetsutetsu Isamu, who had Takeo and Monoma Yoshirou on his chest, Awase Kazuharu curled into his side. Machiko had barely left Ryoko's side since she woke up, even during sleep. Tadashi rolled over, elbowing Hibiki in the face. It was rather cramped having this many kids in one room, but it made it feel safer. Even if only six of them (excluding Yuudai) had been in the fight, it was a huge relief to have them close now. This was the life of Pro Heroes, Hibiki realized, pushing Tadashi’s arms away before curling into his best friend further. There were always going to be more battles to fight, and more aftermath to struggle through. They were lucky, having everyone come out alive. Next time, they might not be so lucky. The next morning, Hibiki sits with his Mama as they watch their UA family feast on the large breakfast that had been cooked up that morning. “Mama?” Hibiki asked, turning to look at her. She hummed, turning to face him as well. “Yes, Munchkin?” “Is it worth it?” She seemed to ponder it for a minute, watching Hadou Hideaki and Monoma Takara squabble over a bowl of potatoes. “It is worth it. Because without people fighting the good fight, mornings like these don’t exist. We fight so others don’t have to, Hibiki. That’s what heroes do.” He nodded. Yes, that’s what heroes did. It didn’t matter, in the long run, that Hitoshi had been slashed up, or that Izuku was almost crushed by a building. What mattered was that the group had been stopped, and the citizens could eventually return to their regular lives.

38 notes · View notes

yumkinspuffs · 7 years

Text

Botan’s secret man

(thank you to anyone reading this )

“I will just tell him it was a one time thing and i’ll be on waiting for ferrying ,until my baby is born.I have to go , i have some serious conversations that need to be made “

******************************************************************************

She remembered the very day of when she told him .Botan went to the throne room with her legs wanting to give out on her do, to her fear. Koenma was barking order’s in his new and permanent teenaged form . Spirits grew up extremely slow but, if they had a burst of power they could grow to an adult in a matter of seconds. Thus, Koenma having his maifoken in slowed his aging to a snail’s pace, since it was sucking so much of his power. Koenma decided for a better image that demanded respect more ,he gave up a tenth of the energy in his maifoken to grow into at least a teenager. It was nothing compared to his father a fully grown giant but, it was something. She was allowed in by the swarms of the SDF guards .

“Botan thank goodness ,help me decided whether or not these files show be organized by color , date or alphabetize .” Koenma said .

“Excuse me your highness, i have a request to speak with you . “ Botan blurted.

“No, need to be so formal.This wouldn’t be possible without your help , your loyalty is unmatched , i needed to discuss your current position however, your going to be vidal to the process of reforming spirit world ,and i’m going to be giving you a lot more responsibility.”

“I’m honoured but , i have to tell you something …”

“I’m glad your happy with this , your going to be heavily centered in the public and dealing with reputation . “

“Please reconsider your choice, i don’t think i can do that .”

“Wait, why would you say no ? “

“If i could speak with you in private , i can explain everything .”

Koenma lead Botan towards one of the many meeting rooms in the palace . Koenma opened the door for her head and closed it behind him .

“I repeat why are you ,rejecting my propstion i haven’t even given you any solid information on it .If it wasn’t for our history , i would have fired you for such a brisk and insulting rejection .Explain.”Koenma demanded keeping his tone even and clipped .

Botan broke into a nervous sweat , when Koenma was hardly ever angry with her , and when he got really mad , he didn’t yell or shout .Koenma gets very quiet and serious .

Botan manage to stuttered out “I-m-mtwentyweekspregnant.”

“What ? Botan this isn’t a joke , tell me why you won’t take the job.”

Botan filled her lungs to the brim with air and repeated much slower “I’m twenty weeks pregnant , I don’t think that me, in a high position of authority would ,do you any favors. “

“What ! Since ,when did you find out ? “

“Today .”

“Who’s the father ? “

“It is-was a demon i met a while back.I’m no longer in contact and , i will be raising the child on my own .”

“I’m sorry for reacting so harshly Botan, I’ll consider everything and inform you what i’ve decided sometime around Thursday . For now your excused from your regular duties until Thursday , you may leave. “

“Thank you , your highness . I will be on my way”

Koenma slightly cringed at her formality, although he was her boss , he still considered himself a close friend of Botan. She was going to be a mother soon enough , and a mother with no support from the father of her child. If this happened before he was ruler over all of spirit world , he would be able to guarantee her job wouldn’t be jeopardized at all and say he would be their to help her out with her up and coming child . However, he was the ruler of spirit world .Right now he really shouldn’t be risking anymore negative press. Koenma was already told having a ferrygirl for his right hand women was a bad idea , but now to add insult to injury , he had his supposed right hand woman having a child out of wedlock .With a demon nonetheless .

Botan found herself travelling at an unrivaled speed to Shizuru’s house . Botan told her the entire situation and Koenma’s response. Shizuru assured her that he was just thinking and,wouldn’t do anything and worse comes to worse she could live in human world . Thursday came in a flash and Botan was prepared to hear that she was being fired and should leave spirit world .She walked into the meeting room and saw Koenma looked unaffected and, couldn’t help but feel hurt on how easy this was for him .

Koenma turned to face Botan and had a face of casual indifference that, didn’t reveal any distinct emotion or thought .

“Botan, i have taken careful consideration and have decided that I no longer can have you as my top ferry girl and i want you to be completely be packed out of your old room in spirit world ,within two weeks.” in a tone as indifferent as his expression

Botan had expected this and said nothing. She bowed and headed towards the door . She had just reach the door handle when Koenma’s voice stopped her

“Where are you going ? I didn’t dismiss you yet , and i haven’t even finished my news . If you intend to do well in life , you can’t be so brisk I want you moved into the main headquarters of the gateway of Spirit world .I’m having you fill in my old position , do try and let me finish my speeches before you walk out …Lady Botan “ Koenma said with a smug smile , knowing he had managed to scare her .

Botan bursted into tears of joy and pulled Koenma into a fierce hug. He patted her on her back and waited, till she stopped crying .

“I couldn’t ask for a more kinder King, thank you so much.I will do my best to live up to your expectations .”

It felt like ages ago but , it was only a few short months ago ,soon enough she would be bringing a new life to the world.Botan’s pregnancy was nothing short of a nightmare , her child’s kicks were powerful and frequent . She had extreme mood swings and had craving for foods that she didn’t know existed till now. Her entire body was in pain , headaches , swollen ankles ,sore back , tender breast , toothaches ,and the list goes on . The pregnancy was so difficult , since the two opposing natures of a spirit being and a demon combing into a child, was bound to be dangerous.

Botan headed to her office ignoring , all the murmurs and whispers people were saying.There was no point in hiding something , that would eventually become apparent.She didn’t hide the fact that she was pregnant ,and many began to speculate on who the father was .

“Perhaps it was that Kurama character, he seems like the star of the old spirit world alliance. Just imagine every dirty thing she did to convince him to assist spirit world . “ One of the ferry girls whispered

“My bet is that demon mut Yusake , she probably jumped on top of him , the moment she began guiding him throw the Styx river .” said another ferry girl .

Botan was almost in her office when she heard a particularly loud ferry girl .

“I know who the father is , it’s the fire demon . I saw him once enter her room while she was taking to long bath and the rest of those unruly bunch were being impatient . She came out with a smile , that only comes from being used in every way possible , by such a sinful Cassanova . On top of that , his hair was wet !” Said a very haughty ferry girl.

Botan took a turn towards were she heard that particular voice, that arrogant condescending tone could only come from one woman, Kagome. She had given her back her job a few months ago , and still has the audacity to speak in such tones about her.

“Hello Kagome, how are you .” Botan greeted .

Kagome automatically pulled a polite and kind expression to greet Botan with

“I’m fine Lady Botan , how is your pregnancy treating you . “Kagome asked sweetly

Botan placed a hand over her stomach and rubbed it affectionately .Botan matched Kagome’s mask of pleasantry .

“Kagome , would you please go to this location for me ?”

“Of course , where do you want me to go ? “

“The unemployment line, I gave you back your job , giving you mercy since I felt King Koenma was being to cruel .However, after seeing how you talked about me like a disgusting and filthy prostitute , I feel King Koenma would be pleased with me reinstating his original decision.Don’t let the door hit you , on your way out. Good luck job hunting , i’ll be sure to give a few words to potential employers about you . “

Kagome bursted into tears , trying to desperately to convince Botan not to fire her .Botan called security to escort her out and had her belongings mailed . Kagome was the first person she had fired , and like wildfire suddenly she hadn’t heard one nasty rumour about her or her unknown father of her child .Botan decided she wouldn’t hesitate to fire people if they were going to speak so ill of her

Botan walked into her office , and heard the ringing of her communication device. She opened it up to see Yusake .

“Come to the dinner it’s urgent.” Yusake said

Click .

Botan got her old oar out (as the head of the gates of judgement she wasn’t really supposed to use an oar anymore but, that wouldn’t stop her.) and flew at her top speed to Keiko’s diner .Yusake never used his communication device , even when he was a spirit detective . Botan couldn’t even imagine the terror that would be going on to make him call her . She bursted through the door the door ,expecting to see someone bleeding to death on the floor.

“SURPRISE ! “ Yelled everyone .

Botan saw the whole crew . Shizuru, Genkai , Yukina ,Keiko, Kuwabara , Koenma, Jorge ,Kurama ,Yusake an even Ayame , Hinageshi and her other ferrygirl friends.

“The girls were keep complaining how you kept ditching them , saying you had work . So, i put a rest to all of that. “ Yusake said .

“If this wasn’t so sweet and thoughtful , i would have introduced you to my metal bat , for giving me a heart attack” Botan said teasingly

“Yusake , don’t scare her like that it’s not good for the baby . “Keiko scolded .

The party was extremely lively despite , the fact there were only a few close friends of Botan.There was a quite a sum of food ,drinks and entertaining things to do .The center of attention remained on Botan and to bring a end of the party they all sat don and presented gifts they all got Botan. Ayame was up first ,she handed over her present to Botan and waited till Botan had unwrapped it .

“I decided yo get you , a spirit world certified monitor . It was originally intended for spying use however, now it detects extreme movement , influx of sounds and temperature of the room .A perfect for a mother to be .”Ayame stated in her monotone and ladylike tone.

Hinageshi and the remainder of the ferry girls were up next. Hinageshi brought out the crib they all chipped in to get . Hinageshi presented the gift

“Botan i’ve noticed how this baby has already got you wrapped around its fingers before, it’s even out of the womb ! I can see the power packed kicks you get all the time so , Rin, Shizuka and I got a sure fired crib. We even had some of the newbie SDF use one of these as target practice , so it’s sure to last your baby . “ Hinageshi gushed.

Shizuru handed over her present next.

“It’s a baby thermometer, that takes the average temperature of the child and goes off when its under or over that average .So, if your child has a temperature warmer than most , you won’t have to freak out to know if it’s abnormal for them. “Shizuru said simply .

To the others it was just another nice gift but, to Botan it was a bittersweet one. She didn’t want to think of Hiei but, she had to acknowledge her child had his genes and she knew little to nothing on his species of demon.If she knew her child’s average temperature it would save a lot of time.

Kuwabara baby toys , Kurama brought herbs to calm her stomach and herbs to put a baby to sleep, Yukina brought a handmade baby blanket that was softer than anything Botan ever felt before , Genkai opted for a high chair ,Jorge got her a few unisex baby clothes since Botan wanted the gender of the child to be a surprise. The last to go were Koenma and Yusake.She had a feeling that the two of them would have the most unique presents.Yusake was up first .

“Here’s my present Botan .”Yusake said as he handed over his box.

Botan open the present and saw some form of …meat tenderizer ?

“Oh thank you ! I love it but, what is it ? “ Botan asked.

“It’s electrocuting iron knucklebusters , to use on the dead beat who thinks it’s alright to leave a women all by herself to raise their kid. You deserve better than that , you may be a pain in the ass at times, but you’ll be a damn good mom. The asshole is going to miss out on meeting an amazing kid .”

Botan teared up a bit , the gift was definitely Yusake but, thoughtful. However, there was no way that he wouldn’t change his tune if he knew the man that he was talking about . It made her glad that at least her friends didn’t think ill of her for having a child out of wedlock . As long as they didn’t she was a horrible person ,than it didn’t matter what the rest of the world thought.

“Thank you Yusake , hearing you say that means a lot more to me than you could imagine. “

Koenma was last to present his gift . He had bought multiple gifts .

Yusake hollered just when Koenma started to stand up “Why don’t you just give the binky to an actual baby !”

“Very funny ,Yusake.I see you haven’t lost your distasteful toddler jokes. “Koenma said

“Botan I got you some nursery books in native spirit world tougne , a book of lullabies , a harp and last but , not least a spirit energy monitor that shows the rate of growth , spiking and monitors heart rate in case you ever want to enlist your child into the SDF .”

“How thoughtful , you should sing a lullaby to the little one , you have the best voice I know of and perhaps play the harp as well. “Botan said .

“Typical Koenma , the kid isn’t even out of the womb and your offering them a job .” Yusake hollered .

“What are you going to name the baby , Botan ? “ Keiko asked .

“Naming a child in spirit world is a big deal , we have a custom in which the child picks their name by, picking their most favored colors which decides syllables, letters and etcetera . “ Botan informed .

Since the party was over Hinageshi , Rin and Shizuka help carry everything into Botan’s nursery.

**************************************************************************************

2 weeks later

Botan’s water had broken and was being carried towards the infirmary and about 19 hours later ,she had two healthy babies greedily drinking her milk. This was just about the time most women had their significant other coming in to to see their newborn but , Botan was greeted by the various faces of her friends .

Kurama step forward to get a close look at the twins . Both had a fuzz of navy blue hair , pale skin and plump cheeks. The only way you would be able to tell the two apart was , by the fact one of them was a girl and the other a boy. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave the warmest smile he had ever given her

“You have two beautiful children , congratulations you’re officially a mother.”Kurama announced .

After getting a good look at the twins everyone was ushered out , to let Botan recooperiate in peace . In about 3 days Botan was permitted to leave the infirmary with her twins . The entire crew greeted her , excited to see the twins again .The twins had various compliments and all around attention . They were laying in a cradle and Botan sat proudly beside them .

“Botan , can i speak with you for a minute ? “ Kurama asked in a hush tone .

Botan took a glance towards her twins and preceded to get up and head towards kurama who was standing towards the hallway apart from everyone .

“What is it Kurama ? “ Botan asked .

Kurama said nothing but, pulled out two identical hiresuki stones that were placed in his pocket .

“I had a feeling there was something going on between the two of you but, I relented from saying anything since i didn’t feel it was my place. It would be wise to inform him of the situation at hand . “

“No, he wanted nothing to do with anything involved with spirit world , and he hated what i stood for .He even went as far to say he would have no problem with killing a being of spirit world if approached by them . I have a feeling he would hate children as well , he’s content in demon world , I don’t see why i should pester him into seeing me , in a world he hates. “

“Botan , if it was just you i would have no problem with that , however your involved with two lives that were created by the union of two people. It isn’t fair to keep someone in the dark of the fact that they now have an extended fami-”

“Hiei never seemed to care about that , his own sister is still heartbroken that she can’t find her brother . I don’t want him involved with my life .As my friend i trust you won’t speak of this to anyone .If you wouldn’t mind could you please thank Yusake for coming all the way from demon world for a surprise baby shower for me . “

“Are you sure about your decision Botan , it’s not too late to change your mind . “

“I’m as sure in my decision as Hiei’s in his .Here is a picture of the twins too give to Yusake if he wants to see them .”

Days turned to weeks, weeks advance to months and months created the years that passed . Eventually although the twins were never welcomed, but they were tolerated .They’re was plenty of distaste and hatred for Botan’s children since they were spirits and demons but, no one openly proclaimed their distaste in fear of punishment . Fortunately the news of such an event remained in Spirit world alone .

“Come Asahi and Himari your staying at Yusake and Keiko’s, I’m leaving for a meeting in demon world . “ Botan said .

“Why can’t we come with you , I want to participate in the tournament ! “Asahi whined as he was yanking on Botan’s Kimono sleeve.

“NO! Demon world isn’t what you would imagine , it is a very dangerous place that isn’t on the best of terms with Spirit world . I’m going there to help King Koenma repair the relationship with the worlds . The tournament that decides who is the demon king for a year , will be full of skilled and ruthless warriors who are the best of the best. Although, it’s discouraged to kill ,very often

That you’ll find some of the competitors are killed during the match or, at least seriously maimed. “

“What about Ms.Yukina she was born in demon world , so was Mr. Kurama and Yusake was a demon king .”

“How old are they , Yukina is old enough to have been your Grandmother , Kurama could have been around almost as long as me and Yusake had been under the influence of Raizen . “

“That doesn’t change the fact that they were all once my age , and living in demon world .Yusake even taught me more moves .”

“ Yusake was wrong to do that , i told you i don’t want you fighting .Remember when i used my new and improve short range demon whistle on you ? I’m going to do that again if you continue your whining , I said no and its final . There is no reason why you would go to demon world .”

“I am a demon , what type of demon has never been to demon world . I heard one lady talking about how Himari and I belong there with our kind .She seems to know what she’s talking about .There is even one of your old allies competing who is a fire demon like me , I believe his name is Hi-”

“I don’t you around that crowd , i don’t want you in demon world and i absolutely do not want you around that man . Being someone’s ally doesn’t mean your friends , he has a strong bias against spirit beings .Spirit world and human world are safe and i have jurisdiction and power to remove you from anyone who might endanger you . In demon world my hands are tied , since we are going their as GUEST , there will no doubt people who would want to hurt you just because what you are . Get your bag packed and do not disobey me , after this i’m going to take you to your room to discipline you for giving me so much problems .”

“I didn’t even do anything,that whistles makes my ears feel like their bleeding ! “

“I’m waiting for the two of you to finish packing , i’ll be gone for about 1 month , so don’t forget to pack anything . “

“Why do you get to go to demon world for a month ! I can bring peace between the worlds because i’m both demon and spirit .”

Tired of hearing Asahi’s complaining Botan grabbed him by the ear and lead him into his room and used her short range whistle . He was pouting but, packed his bags regardless .Botan double checked the twins bags to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything and than put both bags into her spirit space .The two of them rode on her oar as she flew to Yusake’s .

“The twins are here . I have to leave for the demon tournament . Please while Asahi is here don’t encourage him into fighting . Just a while back he got into a fight with a junior SDF . “Botan pleaded .

“Wait you aren’t taking the twins to the tournament ? “ Yusake asked

“No , demon world is far to dangerous . I wouldn’t want Asahi to get even more zealous about fighting and i’m sure Himari wouldn’t want to see such a gory display.”

“Take them , they’re both demons and need to learn about their heritage from something other than their books that you make them read. Asahi is going to want to fight regardless if i teach him or not , at least if i do it he won’t get himself hurt in the process.”

“Keiko and I already agreed upon this Yusake .”

“I mean they can come and stay but, we both have day jobs and there won’t be anyone to monitor them during the day .”

“I’ll contact Yukina than it that’s the case .”

“Your going to leave a 11 year old boy in a temple full of weapons ? Just take them with you , i’m sure if they get a chance to see the demon world it will not only be a good experience for them but, Asahi will see how hard it is to survive in demon world.“

“Those are all good points but, they can easily end up getting hurt .”

“They aren’t that fragile , you’re also going to go in with a shit ton of spirit world hounds aren’t you ?”

“The SDF but, wh-”

“If you won’t take them , i’ll take them and leave them with my monks and have them train with A class demons .”

“You wouldn’t dare ! “

“I would, now goodbye .”

The door slammed and Botan realized she was pretty low on options .The only friends she had who didn’t have day jobs were Genkai and Yukina , they however had to many available weapons . If she left the twins in spirit world , there could be a slight chance of someone taking a chance to say distasteful things since she wasn’t around.Botan could take them to demon world but ,she’d run the slight risk of them encountering Hiei.

“What are you going to lose ? Even if Hiei sees them, he will most likely assume it’s someone else’s and it would only prove to show i’m over him .” Botan thought to herself .

Botan turned around to see both her children looking up at her expectantly . They both had poorly concealed excitement in their expressions. They really wanted this .

“You both can come but, if you misbehave even slightly not only will you be punished but, i will send you home to spirit world with extra lessons immediately .” Botan said

The twins screamed in Union “Thank you so much mommy !”

Koenma was annoyed by Botan’s decision about taking her kids along to a detrimental business affair but, for the sake of peace said nothing but to be precautious .The spirit world group headed towards demon world and entered through a portal . Botan and the rest of the adults calmly headed towards the hotel nearest to the Tournament but, both the twins were in utter awe and gasping at everything they came in contact with. Everyone checked in as a group since they had one of the floors of the hotel reserved for them.

“Mommy , when is the tournament starting “ Himari asked .

“In 2 weeks , we came here this early however since we have many meetings scheduled and too make sure all of our plans are executed perfectly. “ Botan answered

“Will we get to meet any of the competitors ? “ Asahi asked .

“Most likely not but, there’s a slight chance you can meet some of them i knew from the dark tournament . “ Botan answered

Asahi broke out into a smile that reached ear from ear. He wanted to run to the room he’d be staying in but, the serious expression his mother had on meant if he misbehaved in the slightest it would end up with him hearing that horrible whistle . However, it wouldn’t stop him from yanking on his mother’s kimono sleeve to urge her to go faster . His sister on the other side of his mother, was hiding her face behind his mother’s leg .Himari was always on the shy side.

They were moving through the crowd of demons .Most of them kept their distance others, came closer to see the spirits move through the crowd .

They have some pretty weird faces on , maybe that’s how they greet people .I should return their greeting . Asahi thought .

He began waving rapidly at everyone around him . He didn’t stop until his mother forcefully pulled his hand into her own .Botan didn’t let go of his hand until they had reached their floor .The twins were sharing a room with Botan since she feared for the worse.

Botan spent the next two weeks having meeting after meeting . The twins had grown restless being cooped up for so long , with nothing to do since, Botan didn’t want them venturing off somewhere without her.

“I told you that this wasn’t a vacation , i can’t let you wander off on your own but, the tournament is tomorrow,and since i’m meeting with some demons i met in the dark tournament. Don’t ask them to many questions , be respectful , if they ask you anything you don’t know ,have me answer . You have to promise me you , won’t run off or separate me .You won’t just end up embarrassing me , You could end up hurting spirits world’s chance to bridge the worlds.” Botan said as she sat on their bed.

“We promise “ The twins said in unison .

“Good now go to sleep we have an early morning .”

Botan tucked them in , and went off to sleep in her own bed .Tomorrow would be an important day .It would be the tenth demon world tournament for king , the first tournament the twins saw , one of the first tournaments spirit world officials were invited to, and potentially the first time Botan saw Hiei after the birth of the twins.

The next day came and as promise the twins got to see some of her dark tournament friends. They saw Jin and Chu they were more than excited to get to meet them .

“Are you the wind master who Genkai trained ? “ Asahi asked

Jin squated so he was eye level with Asahi and answered with just as much enthusiasm

“Oh yes ! Does she talk often of me ? “

“ Yes, she always referred to you as “that one Irish bastard “ !”

Botan clamped her hand over his mouth immediately after that . Himari was having a far more polite conversation with Chu , while she was still partially hidden behind Botan

“Are you the drunken boxer ? “Himari asked

“Why yes , I am .Who are you ? “Chu replied

“My name is Himari , i’m the daughter of the current overseer of the gates of judgment .”

“Are you on your way to be one of those flying girls of spirit world ?You know the might fine ones in those fancy robes and bring back dead people “

Himari giggled “You mean a ferry girl ? I don’t think so there hasn’t ever been a demon ferry girl and i’m sure i’d burn up the oar , I burn up my mommy’s oar all the time because i’m scared of heights. “

“How could you be a demon ?Your mother is as much of a spirit as they come . “

“Oh, i’m only half spirit , my other half is a fire demon . “

“A demon and a spirit , i have never heard of such a thing . Who’s your dad , and are you a fire demon ? “

“,Mr.Chu would like to know,Mommy who’s my father ? “ Himari asked Botan as she tapped her to get her attention .

“Oh look at the time , we have to get going .Thank you so much for taking time out to talk to the twins .It means a lot to them .I wish you luck in your upcoming matches .”Botan said as she rushed the twins out .They were saying far to much .

“Lady Botan King Koenma needs you immediately ,Yomi and Mukuro wants to speak with the two of you . He wants to discuss business prospects “Said one of the SDF as he pointed in the direction of Koenma

“Would you please watch these two for me than , i can’t take them with me .” Botan asked.

Botan quickly walked off towards the direction that he pointed.35 minutes had passed and Botan hadn’t returned ,although the competition wouldn’t start until 2 hours later the twins had begun to be anxious .They weren’t use to going places without their mother always around .

“Do you know where the bathroom is Sir ? “ Himari asked

“How would I know ?It’s not like I’ve been here before , go ask one of those demons. “The SDF officer said harshly .

Himari wondered around trying to find someone who looked friendly enough to ask . She went past one of the corridors and foundly found a woman who seemed like she wasn’t a scary person .

“Excuse me miss , would you happen to know where a restroom would be located ?” Himari asked.

“Over there dumbass , why the fuck would someone let there 2 year old join these matches ? “ The demoness replied.

“Thank you , and i’m not sure .I understand that most people find the prospect of being a demon king desirable .”

Himari walked over towards were the bathroom was said to be . After using the bathroom she went back to where they were staying.She didn’t find Asahi or the SDF officer .They must have left without her.Himari really wanted to start to cry .What if she didn’t find them .She would never be able to survive in demon world .She just followed the curve of the halls hoping to find a way out of here and into the hotel.

Hiei had just enter the pathway towards the entrance of the tournament. He already was registered and what not,and he didn’t like dealing with any of the over eager fools . There were far too many of the little to no experience , weak and hoping to get lucky candidates. The entrance was empty ,save a few janitors and was the perfect opportunity for Hiei to go to his designated locker room .

He had a small child bump into him ,normally even approaching the fire demon would me taking your life in your hands .This child however , had the gall to bump into him .

“Excuse me ,i’m sorry to bump into you but, would you happen to know the way to the hotel? “Himari asked .

“Do i look like a guide , go find someone else .” Hiei answered rudely

Himari paused for a second to look at the dark disposition of the man in front of her .If her memory served her correctly , the was the infamous Hiei ! Her mother’s past ally , maybe if she informed him of who’s her mother he would help her. None of these people were being nice to her and she was lost and scared . Himari knew Botan wouldn’t be happy about this but, she would rather face her dreaded whistle than , end up getting left behind.

Hiei had already walked off when the small girl had raised her voice to say a response that made him stop dead in her tracks .

“Would you please help me find my Mommy Botan , she is one of your former allies ? “

“Botan of spirit world , is your mother ? “

“Yes and she would be very thankful if you help me find her.”

Hiei had walked towards the girl motioning for her to follow him . He was beyond hurt that not only she had found someone else but, had a child with the other man .When Hiei had ended their contact with one another about a decade ago , he did it since he noticed he was getting far to attached .He thought if he didn’t see her , the power she held over him would vanish . He was wrong , when he noticed she had nearly died in the sensui case he came to her rescue .

Hiei should have expected that Botan would have moved on to , someone new .After all she was more than perfect , she deserved someone who would be able to love her and return the endless affection she wasted on him. The only thing peculiar about the whole situation was the girl struggling to keep up with him ,was definitely not a spirit or at least not entirely .

He stopped to get a better look at the girl .Dark blue hair , pale skin and had the soft features of Botan .The only thing that wasn’t Botan’s features on the girl were her angler eyes and …red eyes and wild barely tamed hair that struggled to be contained in the bun that it was pulled back into.

Annoyed on how slow the girl was he grabbed her and sped to the meeting room he knew Mukuro and Koenma were at . They had just finished and he saw Yomi ,Mukuro and Koenma exit with the SDF dogs following around their superior. Botan was last out .

He released the breath he didn’t know he was holding in . She didn’t show any sign of aging but, the way she carried herself showed a sign of maturity ,she no longer supported her signature ponytail.Her hair was now pulled into a intricate braid that hung loosely over her shoulder . She didn’t carry her bubbly aura to the same extent she use to.

Himari jumped down from Hiei’s loose hold and went towards her mother .

“Mommy the SDF officer and Asahi left me, i got lost . I’m sorry for coming here but, i couldn’t avoid it .”Himari apologized.

“How did you find your way here than ?” Botan asked.

“Mr.Hiei your ally brought me here. He is such a nice man .”

“Go catch up with King Koenma don’t leave his side. I’ll meet with you later. “

Himari scampered off towards the Koenma and left Botan with Hiei .

“Thank you Hiei for, brining Himari to me. You didn’t have to do that however, she would have found her way back eventually , i wouldn’t want you late for your matches . “ Botan said while putting her hands behind her back to try to hide the shaking in them .

“Is that really your daughter ? “ Hiei asked .

“Y-yesss . “

“Is her father a demon ? She doesn’t feel like a spirit “

“Why should it matter to you ? “

“I just wanted to know if you realize how dangerous that is , you really have a thing for men who could kill you don’t you . “

“What i do with my life shouldn’t matter aren’t you in the same category of men wanting to kill me ? Why did you help Himari , your not going to gain anything by involving yourself with me . “

Hiei didn’t say anything but, just walked towards her slowly . The look in his eye was the same look he sported when he was about to make a profitable steal . Hunger, lust and desire was the only way to describe his expression .Botan backed into the meeting room , she hadn’t had a man look at her like that so boldly to her knowledge since, Hiei and hers affair ended nearly a decade ago . Botan couldn’t help but , remember the way he made her feel so wanted and almost … loved when they were together .

“Hiei , what are you doing ? I-i-i’mm with someone , i’m a mother . Your a general of a high esteemed army , you don’t want to get mixed up with someone like me . I have a lot going for me so do you . “ Botan stammered out

Hiei just kept walking towards Botan without any sense of urgency. Botan was already halfway in the meeting room and her leg had touched the table she was previously seated in . Hiei had closed the door behind him and before Botan knew it . Hiei was right in front of her not minging he had already breached her personal space . Botan bended her back over the table with the expression , of a prey facing it’s predator . Which wasn’t too much of a stretch considering , she wasn’t sure if he was going to kill her.

“Hiei , what do you want ?I don’t feel like dying and i’m sure you don’t want to deal with the hassle of the drama involved with killing me “

“I don’t plan to kill you , what i have planned will be far more satisfying . “

Hiei placed his lips over Botan’s while his hands began to wonder all over her body . Botan’s current attire was a robe style dress in black with a blue obi wrapped around her waist to secure the dress. It was far less restrictive than her normal kimonos and other various japanese and chinese formal clothing.It was quite thin and very form fitting but, it didn’t reveal a large amount of skin it only dipped a bit in the front. Botan was supposed to be watching the tournament with her kids and the Spirit world party, she didn’t see a reason for excessive modesty . She regretted her choice of clothing ,since now she could feel Every .Single. Inch of Hiei press into her as she was tongue dueling Hiei.

It’s funny how things turned out , Botan thought Hiei was going to kill her for one reason or the other but, now she was here making out with Hiei with no form of consideration for anything other than how good it felt . Gods . Botan was out of her mind , she knew everything and anything that could result from this meeting .The worst that could happen is it could start some form of drama between the three worlds or , this could somehow lead to her having a 9 month sickness that gets cured by birthing children .

Hiei removed his mouth from Botan’s lips and moved his lips along her collarbone and than her neck and stopping between her cleavage , do to the annoying obi would allow him no more room to work. Hiei decided that it was better off her , he never cared for the intricate ties and steps that were required to remove them . He tore the obi off Botan and took a moment to admire her figure ,his tongue ran dry…Hiei wasn’t sure of the puberty of a spirit however, she had developed these past years quite nicely. Her chest seemed to have doubled in size and her ass got even fatter than he remembered , all while remaining her toned stomach .He pressed himself even firmer into her than before , ignoring the shocked expression she had.

Botan had came to her senses after she heard the rip of her obi . Hiei always did have little concern for her clothing , if he wanted something off her , he tore it off , pulled it off and once he even burnt off one of her favorite mini skirts .It was obvious this was no longer any flirtatious makeout session. This was going to end in some form of potential ally with benefits relationship that would continue until Hiei got bored of her . Botan deserved better than just being some ….Some booty call for a emotionally stunted fire demon who didn’t care one bit about her or her life.

“Hiei we have to stop , this is wrong .”Botan said breathing heavily

“I never cared for what was right, you should know this by now. “ He said as he yanked Botan’s bra down to the floor to get better access to her perfect mounds

Botan automatically went to cover her now bare chest with her arms .

“Hiei enough , i’m done . I refuse to be someone to be at your beck and call whenever you just want to screw around . You and I both know you don’t have any feelings that run deeper than “stress relief “ as you call it .YOU were the one who said you no longer wanted to associate with me or spirit world . You even promised to kill any member of spirit world including myself . I have children , ones that you’d never claim as your own even after all we have done . “ Botan was on the verge of a breaking down , she had already had a steady stream of teardrops falling from her eyes .

“There isn’t a reason to cry , if you don’t want me to continue i’ll stop . I don’t see you as a tool just to use Botan. I left our “agreement” since I knew if wasn’t involved with spirit world it would no doubt draw attention towards you and , you were always worried you would get caught with a demon . I had things i had to deal with and, i felt you’d be a hindrance .If you would like to continue where we left off , now that being with a demon isn’t anything foreign to you i’d be more than glad”

“So , your implying i’m not only “use to being with demons “ , i’m something that can be used and discarded whenever “YOUR ready “ , i’m also the person to blame for you walking away , i’m a lead lead weight that drags you done when YOU have something to do , i’m also over emotional when i feel like crying because a man I wanted more than anything else feels like using me like a tissue . I had to deal with so much these last 11 years because of you , i had to go on like nothing happened while i felt like dying since you broke my heart. I was called the worst names in any dictionary ever made since i choose to be with a demon no , since i choose to be with YOU Hiei .I only ever been with you , no one else was on my mind since you left. I had to deal with two children , I had to look at them everyday and remember what we use to have since, i have to stare at those red eyes and realize where they got it from .I had to l- “

“Botan , what ? Are you saying that girl i brought here was my daughter ? !”

And that’s when Botan in her moment of rage ,she had single handedly revealed one of her most well kept secrets .She couldn’t help but , feel like a total idiot .

“Well uh- .”

“You kept the fact that i had a child , from me for over a decade ? “

“Why do you think I did it huh ? You treated me less than worthless, and I know you would never want children , least of all kids from a spirit woman . I didn’t feel like getting killed for the fact that we didn’t use enough protection .”

“You idiotic woman . You can’t have a second of productive thought can you ? Before you i never had a sexaul partner that lasted more than a one night stand , before you i never had a anyone to celebrate my birthday , before you i never had someone haunt my dreams with their irreplaceable smile , before you i never had anyone to celebrate my birthday ,and before you i never had a present .What i’m trying to say is that i was just as distraught with our last departure as you were . I wouldn’t have said a word to you , if i felt you didn’t matter nor, would i take the time to bring your child to you , and i would never would i go after a woman who was a spirit being who i thought would be married and already have a child .”

“Are you saying ..Are you saying that you love with me ?”

“Yes i’m in love with you, I want to help you raise our children and I don’t care who doesn’t approve .If you want to be with me after everything, i’d give my life to stay with you “

“Oh Hiei , you don’t know how long i’ve yearned to here that ! I want to spend the rest of eternity with you , i want you to see our babies grow , i want you to catch up for lost years . “ Botan through her arms over Hiei and embraced him like she never wanted to let go .

“Can we continue where we left off after the tournament , i’m sure they’re wondering where you went.The tournament will start soon .”

Botan dashed to try to redress as fast as she could .Her bra was only partly ripped and would do good enough , however she didn’t have any sort of tie for her robe.Hiei took off his scarf and tied it around her waist , it worked even better than her obi .She pulled out a small mirror and examined herself .Botan was just almost as presentable as before but, the only problem was she had a raging love bites all over her neck and between her breast .

“HIEI ! HOW AM I GOING TO HIDE THESE MARKS ALL OVER ME ?!!! “

“Simple , you don’t I want people to know where it came from .It’s getting tiring to hide such things , It will also save you the time of explaining why your so late . “

“HIEI !”

#long ass post #hiei x botan #forbidden love #yyh hiei #hiei x botan week #secret pregnancy #hidden child #breakups #breaking up getting back togther #secret prompt #late

16 notes · View notes

thatonekawaiigirl13 · 6 years

Text

Who Said Death Was Easy? [Death Note] Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-eight: Transition

Day Two of Surveillance

L’s POV:

“Hey...Mr. Stalker,” Misa suddenly started. Ryuzaki lazily cast a glance in her monitor’s direction, watching her carefully, looking for anything suspicious as she finished her thought, “I really want to take a bath...I’m fairly positive you already know where I live, don’t you? After all, I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t...so could you please bring me some clean clothes? It’s been days since I last bathed...I feel so disgusting right now...”

So, still you’re still refusing to cooperate with the investigation, huh? How long are you going to keep up with this little stalker act?

“Please, Mr. Stalker,” Misa continued on in a pleading tone, “even if you don’t get me some of my own clothes, as long as you at least give me a bath, I will wear whatever outfit you want me to. After all, there must be some sort of outfit you want to see me in. You want to dress Misa Misa up, don’t you? You pervert…”

At Misa’s words, the corners of L’s lips turned upwards into a slight smirk, “so...I’m still a pervert to you, huh?”

“And just when I thought the situation couldn’t get any more bizarre,” Aizawa commented, his hands on his hips.

“Well...that’s enough of that,” L murmured, flipping through the channels so that he could get a glance of Soichiro Yagami. Light’s father had only been in confinement for a day, but yet he already looked pretty worn out. His face was furrowed, and he looked deep in thought. It was clear that he was quite concerned about his son.

“He isn’t looking so good...I feel so sorry for the chief right now,” Matsuda gave a sigh, “this investigation must really be taking a toll on him.”

“This investigation is taking quite a toll on all of us, Matsuda-san,” Aizawa replied. L imagined that the policemen was probably thinking about his wife and young daughter at home, “it’s just hitting him the hardest.”

After a moment of watching the chief, L shifted the monitors once more so that Light was on screen. He was sitting in front of his bed on the floor. His light brown hair was covering up most of his face so that his eyes were hidden.

The detective studied light a moment, and then decided to make his presence known, “Light Yagami.”

As soon as Light heard the detective’s voice, his head snapped up. He immediately looked towards the camera in the corner of the his little cell, his eyes widened. It was clear that he was desperate for some news.

“R-Ryuzaki-san, please talk to me...what’s happening? Have any new criminals been identified so far? Anything that Kira would be likely to target? And if so, have any of them been killed?” Light called out.

“Hmm…” L raised an eyebrow, “in fact, quite a few criminals names have been broadcasted the last couple days...but since you’ve been detained, we haven’t had a single report of anyone being killed by Kira. Now...in't that fascinating?”

He watched as Light’s face scrunched up, “wait...no one’s been killed? Are you sure, Ryuzaki-san?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” L replied tartily, “as I said, since you’ve been apprehended, there haven’t been any new Kira victims.”

Light let out a deep sigh, looking rather forlorn, “I see...so I assume it’s only a matter of time before I’m convicted of being Kira.”

“I wouldn’t say that quite yet, Light-kun. After all, it’s only been two days. However, that does raise my suspicions of you,” L responded.

“Well I suppose that’s only fair given the situation...but you’re right, Ryuzaki-san, at this point, anything could happen,” Light rolled his head back so that it was resting on the bed, “I’ll just have to continue waiting.”

“Yes,” L muttered quietly, “we’ll all be waiting…”

Even though the detective kept his usual composure while speaking with Light, he had to admit he himself was a little baffled at the current situation. It wasn’t what he was expecting at all. In fact, he had expected the opposite.

L rested his thumb near his mouth, his eyes were glued to Light Yagami.

What’s going on here? I thought that the murders would continue, even after I had Light confined...instead, they’ve stopped completely...hmm...Light was the one who asked to be confined in the first place. If this continues, it’ll only strengthen the argument that he is Kira. the only question left at that point would be whether or not he was conscious of his actions while being Kira. Does he really think that’s going to work? Does he think that he will be let off the hook if he can just prove that he wasn’t conscious of being Kira?

The detective shook his head.

No way...that can’t be. It’s not like Light Yagami...no, even more, it’s not like Kira to do something like that...so what’s going to happen next, I wonder?

Keiko’s POV:

Keiko Kagami wasn’t normally one who would wear a fake smile. Whether she liked it or not, her emotions were usually always on display. However, the whole day she was at home, and perhaps the last day she would spend at home for days, maybe even months, she was careful that her true emotions didn’t show through. She wore that fake smile all day, despite the fact that all she wanted to do was break down and cry. It was all for her mother’s sake, of course. There was no way she wanted to let on that anything was amiss.

She was worried because she thought that if her mother had some sort of clue as to how she was really feeling, she would somehow try to stop her from leaving on that “study abroad program”. Of course, Kotoko Kagami had no idea that her daughter wasn’t really leaving on a school trip. She had no idea that her daughter was investigating the Kira case, the most dangerous case in history, and Keiko wanted to keep it that way.

While Kotoko knew that her daughter wanted to follow along in her father’s footsteps and become a detective, she was still in the dark. Keiko knew that her mother did all she could to support her dreams, but she also knew that her mother didn’t want her to do anything that would endanger her life, no matter what.

After all, since she had lost her husband, her daughter was all she had left. This was why Keiko didn’t tell her mother she was working on the Kira case.

Instead, she told her mother that she was buckling down on her studies especially now that she was a university student. With the sudden “study abroad program scholarship”, her excuse was pretty believable. As long as her mother didn’t find out the truth, Keiko would be okay.

Besides, there was no way that Keiko could leave the Kira investigation. Not now, not when she was so emotionally invested in it.

While Keiko’s mother didn’t like the idea of Keiko leaving so suddenly, she also didn’t argue it too much. To her, Keiko was a university student that was capable of making her own choices, even if she didn’t personally like the choices all that much.

Keiko sighed as she thought on the events that took place earlier that day. Her mother had bombarded her with questions as soon as she headed downstairs and into the kitchen.

“A representative from To-Oh University called earlier today, he told me his name was Watari-san. He told me everything...so...why didn’t you tell me about this study abroad scholarship program sooner?” Her mother had asked her, the phone was still in her hand, and there was a hard look in her eyes.

Keiko gulped, thinking carefully about what to say. There was no way she could say what she really wanted to say of course.

‘Because the scholarship study abroad program doesn’t really exist. Because I’m really investigating the Kira case. Because I’m lying to you about everything.’ Those were all things that ran through her mind.

Think Keiko Kagami, think, she thought to herself.

“Because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings by I telling you I wanted to go away for a long time,” Keiko finally settled on saying after a long moment.

Even though almost everything else that Keiko and Watari had said had been a lie, that part was actually true. It just wasn’t the whole truth. Keiko was certain that if her mother knew the whole truth, she would try to stop her her.

Upon hearing her daughter’s response, Kotoko’s hard gaze on her daughter softened considerably, “Keiko…”

While her mother hadn’t exactly been thrilled at the prospect of Keiko going away for a while, she agreed that the study abroad program would benefit her daughter’s education.

“As long as that boyfriend of yours, Light-kun, is around, I know that you will be in good hands. He’s a good guy, he should be able to protect you in case a situation arises,” her mother had told her later on that day while the two were packing up Keiko’s things, placing everything in her floral suitcase.

It was hard lying to her mother like this. Keiko had to bite her lip in order to hide her true feelings.

There was no easy way she could tell her mother that Light Yagami had been apprehended under the suspicion that he could be Kira. If L concluded that her ex-boyfriend really was Kira, then he definitely wouldn’t be the good guy that her mother thought he was. At that point, Keiko wouldn’t need to be under his protection, instead she would have to be protected from him.

The thought of Light being Kira scared her, so she tried not to think of it. However, even though Keiko tried to brush these kinds of thoughts away, they were still there in the back of her mind. No matter what she did, it seemed she couldn’t keep them away.

By some miracle, she managed to go the whole day without her mother noticing that something was wrong. It was only when Keiko was getting ready for bed later on that evening that she allowed herself to feel the full effect of everything that had happened in the past week or so. Her room had welcomed her, allowed her to let her guard down. She was finally free to let out all the emotions she had kept locked inside of her for so long.

Of course, she had locked her door and made sure that her mother couldn’t hear her as she cried. There was no easy way to tell her mother that she was crying because she didn’t know when she would be home next, that she was crying because everything that she and Watari told her had been a lie.

She wasn’t going on a school study abroad program, she wasn’t even going to school anymore for the time being. Not to mention the fact that Light Yagami was actually now her ex-boyfriend and the famous detective L’s prime suspect in the Kira investigation that she had secretly been working on.

Keiko cried softly until her pillow. She cried until there were no more tears left. It had taken quite a while, but once she had let it all out, Keiko actually felt a little better. Of course, she was by no means back to normal, but after that sudden release of emotion, she almost felt ready for whatever life was now going to throw at her.

I’m going to try to be stronger, more resilient from now on. After all, if I want to continue working on the Kira case, I have to be. I can’t let my emotions get the best of me.

She sat up in her bed, glancing over at her alarm clock. It was now a quarter past midnight, meaning she had been wallowing in self pity for the last couple hours. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t even feel tired.

Great…and Watari’s going to be here first thing in the morning. Looks like I won’t be getting that much sleep tonight.

Day Three of Surveillance

Keiko’s POV:

The following morning was quite rough for Keiko because of how sleep deprived she was. She had laid awake almost all night, thinking of all the changes to come now that she would be spending almost all of her time at the hotel. While she knew she was free to leave and go back home at any time, she also knew that she wouldn’t allow herself to leave until the Kira case was solved.

While Keiko wanted the case to be solved quickly, she also didn’t want the case to be solved quickly. It was like a double edged sword. If the case was solved quickly then she could go back to her normal life and study once more, but that would also mean that Light Yagami and Misa Amane were actually Kira and the Second Kira, which would be absolutely devastating. That would have meant that Keiko had been too big of a fool to realize it before.

On the other hand, if the case wasn’t solved quickly, then it would mean the two of them were innocent, which would be a good thing, but would also mean the Task Force would have to work even harder to catch the real Kira and Second Kira.

Keiko weighed the pros and cons on the drive over to the hotel. While she wanted to solve the case quickly, she also didn’t want her ex-boyfriend or ex friend to be Kira. After a while she decided that, no matter what, it seemed like she couldn’t win. A soft sigh fell from her lips, and she fiddled with the zipper of her jacket.

“Kagami-san.”

The sound of Watari’s voice lifted her from her reverie, “hmm?”

“It’s my duty to inform you that we’ve arrived,” the elder gentleman announced once he had her full attention.

She looked out the window of the car, seeing a hotel’s welcome sign. It was a new hotel, one they hadn’t been to yet. Another quick glance around the rest of the parking lot informed her that none of the other police officers had arrived yet at their new location. She suspected that L wanted her to get settled in before the rest of the Task Force arrived.

“R-right,” Keiko responded. She let Watari open the door for her and stepped out of the car. The next few minutes to her were a complete blur. Her luggage had been toted up the stairs to her hotel suit, and both she and Watari had been given room keys.

Her hotel room was much larger and much grander than she had expected it to be. Not that it would have mattered if it weren’t, as she was probably going to spend most of her time in Ryuzaki’s suite investigating with the rest of the Task Force anyway. Even so, she did think it was rather nice how comfortable her new bed was. She thought it was unfortunate that she couldn’t sleep in it right away. After all, the day was only just beginning and she still had quite a lot of work to do.

After finishing a short room tour and doing some minor suitcase unpacking, Keiko followed Watari through the door towards the detective’s adjoining suite. She realized once she arrived that his suite was almost like a complete replica of hers. The only major differences were the three big monitors that had been placed in front of the living room, all the police files that had been scattered about on the living room table, and the small coffee machine that had been placed near the back of the room.

The great detective had taken a seat right in front of the monitors, which were showing a determined Light, a sleeping Misa, and the listless chief. She also noticed that the other policemen had shown up; Aizawa and Matsuda were sitting side by side on one of the couches near the monitors.

Upon hearing that Keiko had entered the room, L turned around in his chair to face her. Keiko stepped closer towards the detective, watching intently as his dark eyes soon met hers. She had a funny feeling in her stomach, she guessed that it was probably her nerves, and she fought hard to ignore it.

“Welcome to the hotel, Kagami-san…” he started, “I trust your room is to your liking?”

Keiko could feel the questioning looks from the other policemen in the room. She shot a quick glance at Matsuda in particular, watching as he realized the full meaning of the detective’s words.

“H-her r-room?” Matsuda stuttered out, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets, “R-Ryuzaki-san...you mean...she’s staying here at the hotel alone? With you?! Do you honestly feel that’s appropriate?!”

Keiko couldn’t help but to let out a small giggle as she studied the young policeman’s astonished face, which relieved some of the tension that had built up inside of her stomach from her little staredown with L.

“Relax, Matsuda-san…” she started to say, but Matsuda didn’t stop to listen to her.

Instead, he placed his hands on his hips, “relax? How am I supposed to relax when it sounds like he’s taking advantage of y-”

Keiko tried again, speaking louder over Matsuda, “I’m staying in a separate suite...so don’t worry, Matsuda-san. I assure you, there won’t be any funny business. Anyway, it’s only until we figure out for sure whether or not Light-kun and Misa-chan are guilty…”

“O-oh,” Matsuda gave an awkward little cough when he realized what Keiko had said. His face turned a little pink, “I misunderstood the situation then. I’m sorry.”

Keiko could have sworn that she heard Aizawa, who had been informed of the situation beforehand, mutter something about him jumping to conclusions way too often.

A small smile took over her own face, and Keiko decided to tease the policeman a little more, “besides...what kind of girl did you take me for?”

Matsuda’s face went from pink all the way to a deep shade of red as he realized the meaning of Keiko’s words, “s-sorry, Keiko-chan...I never meant to, uh, imply anything about you…you’re...not...I know you w-wouldn’t....”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the corners of L’s mouth twitching upwards into a smirk. It was clear that the detective was enjoying watching Matsuda squirm.

After a moment of watching the young policeman fumble around with his words, Keiko decided to put him out of his misery, “don’t worry, Matsuda-san...I was only kidding around with you; I knew you didn’t mean it like that.”

She then turned towards L, “now, Ryuzaki-san, did I miss anything when I was absent the other day?”

The young detective shook his head, “it was only a day, Kagami-san. Not much has changed.”

“So there were no new Kira victims...but was anyone even broadcasted?” Keiko questioned, her heart pounding a little in her chest.

Aizawa looked over at Keiko, “yeah, quite a few criminals were broadcasted...but we still haven’t had a single new victim since Light Yagami was apprehended.”

Upon hearing Aizawa’s response, Keiko’s heart dropped. It wasn’t like she wanted new criminals to be killed, but she also didn’t want Light Yagami to be convicted as Kira.

“Don’t despair, Keiko-chan...after all, it’s only been two days,” Matsuda called out, waving his hands awkwardly in front of him, “I’m sure Kira will kill again soon, and when he does, Light-kun will be entirely cleared!”

Aizawa glared at Matsuda, which caused him to flush a little. The young policeman scratched his head, “I, uh, I didn’t mean it like that...I just meant…”

“We all know what you meant, Matsuda-san,” L interjected, “anyway I’d appreciate it if we stopped the mindless chatter and got to work.”

“R-right, I’m sorry, Ryuzaki-san. I’ll get right to work,” Matsuda grabbed a stack of papers off of the coffee table and started thumbing through them. Aizawa got to work on another stack, and Keiko took a seat next to the detective.

/timeskip/

L’s POV:

L’s eyes slowly drifted toward the brown haired girl sitting next to him. Three short hours had already gone by and they had gotten nowhere in the investigation. Misa had been sleeping the whole time and Light just stayed sitting in front of his bed, eyes cast away from the surveillance cameras. It was a little frustrating for L, he thought that something would have happened by now. After all, he knew that things couldn’t stay quiet for forever.

The detective also figured it was only a matter of time until Keiko realized that he was staring at her. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Keiko looked over at him. He could see the question written in her eyes.

“What is it, Ryuzaki-san?” Light’s ex-girlfriend asked him, tilting her head a little at the raven haired detective.

L carefully inspected her face, trying to gauge how she was possibly feeling about the situation.

There was no doubt in his mind that she was probably torn up on the inside. After all, her ex-boyfriend, who may or may not have cheated on her, was now in confinement. He got his answer when he saw the faint puffiness under her eyes.

“My, Kagami-san,” he started, “were you crying again last night?”

There was really no point in him asking as he already knew what the answer, but he rather enjoyed watching her reaction.

Keiko had quickly averted her eyes. Her voice was quiet as she replied, “t-that’s really none of your business…”

“You’re right, it’s not,” L replied. He leaned closer towards her, so that their faces were only inches away from each other. While Keiko still refused to look at him, he could see her face was now tinged pink. He continued on, “...but I do have to make sure that you won’t be biased due to your personal feelings during this investigation.”

She lightly pushed him away, “don’t worry...as I said earlier, it doesn’t matter what my personal feelings are, if the evidence points to Light Yagami, then there’s nothing else I can do.”

A smirk formed on L’s face, “that’s good to hear Kagami-san...please make sure it stays that way. Especially because, the way things are looking, Light Yagami is Kira.”

Keiko gulped upon hearing the detectives words. She knew he was right.

“I-I know,” she choked out, attempting to ignore the fact that L eyes were still glued to her, “don’t worry. I’ll stay strong somehow.”

“I have no doubt you will,” the detective next to her muttered. Keiko mentally rolled her eyes. She had a feeling that things with L would only get more interesting, a feeling that she fought hard to ignore.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Chapter Twenty-nine

1 note · View note

destination-kalafina · 7 years

Text

Shanghai Part 3

Author’s Note: Hi again, everyone!! Thanks so much for waiting patiently as I attempted to deal with the thing called life and write this third part of the story at the same time. It turned out much longer than I thought I would be, but it is now complete :) Luckily, I was able to finish it sooner rather than later hehe. I hope you like it!

There is only one more part to this story, and I will get it out as soon as possible. I have had this last chapter planned out for a long time, so I am going in 100% ready to write. Get ready!

WARNING!! This fic is very WaKei prominent!!! If that’s not your cup of tea then this story is NOT for you!!

Part 3

“Yes... Yes... Yes, Auntie Keiko will bring ALL of the candy next time! Don’t you worry.”

Keiko paced around her bedroom in her white robe, holding her cell phone to her ear. She had just started a bath when her sister called, asking her if she could babysit her niece next weekend. She didn’t get a chance to hang up before her adorable little one stole the phone from her mom.

“Promise?” replied the cutest tiny voice from the other end of the line.

“I promise. I will see you next weekend, okay?” Keiko chuckled at her niece’s insistence. “I love you. Goodbye, my little one.”

Keiko clicked the end button on her phone and then set it down on her bedside table, grinning from ear to ear. If there was anyone in the whole world that never failed to entertain her and put a smile on her face, it was her sweet niece. The little girl was barely a toddler, but Keiko didn’t know anyone more stubborn than the little ball of joy.

She was looking forward to spending a fun Candy Auntie and Candy Niece weekend. Looking at how things had been going lately in her work and social life, she really needed some family time.

Keiko sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, listening to the bath water fill the tub as she waited. She desperately needed the relaxing spa time, because her stress level had been skyrocketing recently, for various different reasons.

After a few seconds, Keiko stood back up and waltzed over to her bathroom. She leaned over her bathtub and reached out her hand, testing the water temperature to make sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold. Luckily, it was just right.

The woman turned off the running water and grabbed some lavender petals to ornament the scenery. She gently tossed in a few, letting the decorative flowers spread over the surface. Next, she dimmed the bathroom lights so that there was only a faint glow that filled the room. After that, as a final touch, Keiko lit a few candles around the room, creating a sort of warmth. Keiko’s bath atmosphere was very important to her, because the mood was a vital part in helping her wind down.

After looking around and making sure everything was in place, Keiko was eager to get in the water herself. She took a scrunchie from the bathroom counter and pulled her long hair up into a messy bun. Finally, she untied the knot holding her robe together and let the material slide off her body. She let the cloth drop to the floor and stretched, relaxing her body and muscles before she got in.

At last, Keiko stepped into the bathtub, instantly soothed by the warm water touching her skin. She slowly settled herself down, allowing the water to surround up to her neck.

Keiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the scent of lavender and spearmint that filled the air. Nearly every night she was home, Keiko would end her day by taking a bath. Normally, she would do this while listening to music or reading a book, but today she decided to just let her mind relax in the peaceful quietness. She really needed it today, especially after the long speech she had received from her mother earlier that day.

For the past several years, Keiko’s family have been relentlessly pushing her to start dating. Recently, as she was starting her third decade of life, they were becoming even more persistent.

“I guess my little one had to get it from somewhere,” the woman muttered to herself.

Keiko’s mother had called her around the late afternoon, going on and on about this wonderful young man that was the son of one of her colleagues at work. He was starting his own business and was set to be loaded, and she was desperately trying to obtain Keiko’s interest; however, she did so to no success.

Keiko listened to her mom ramble about the man, but every time something like this happened, it always ended the same.

“Mother… you know I just don’t have the time right now. I seriously can’t be committed to a relationship at the moment.”

“It’s time you should start looking for someone, Keiko. You don’t have much longer,” her mother had lectured her.

Keiko was 30 now, meaning she really was losing time to search for a partner, let alone start a family. Her sister, who had always been her role model her whole life, was already doing all of these things at this point, and she has now started a small family of her own. This, however, wasn't something Keiko could plausibly do or have much time to think about, not with the life she was currently living with Kalafina.

With all of the traveling the three of them do and how busy their schedules are, it would just be too hard to settle down with someone. It doesn’t even give her time to get to know someone to that kind of personal level really, so finding a person that could potentially be boyfriend or husband material would not be a simple task.

Plus, Kalafina and my singing career mean too much to me for me to set them aside like that, she thought to herself.

Keiko took a deep breath and then submerged her whole body under the water. She did this every so often to escape from the world around her, her trained singing lungs being able to go a significant amount of time without oxygen.

As she was thinking, Keiko realized she hadn’t been in a serious relationship since high school. Ever since she started up her profession in music, dating wasn’t really something that crossed her mind. She was focused on following her dream, and when she finally found Kalafina, it was the only thing she had her mind set on.

Even if she did want to find a partner, there was never a guy that caught her eye. With the number of fans she interacted with on a yearly basis, it wasn’t a surprise how many of them would flirt with her. Nonetheless, no matter how many men tried to seduce her, she just wasn't interested.

After a minute or so, Keiko came up from under the water and opened her eyes. She sat herself up so that the water barely rose to cover her chest and wafted her hands through the water, playfully moving around the flower petals that surrounded her.

But then… the concealed thoughts began to flow back into her head.

There was Wakana.

The woman who always made her laugh. The one who made her heart skip a beat every time she smiled. The one who is able to cheer up the mood of an entire room just by stepping into it. The one who would never stop talking about something she loved even if it was to save her life.

And… the one Keiko missed terribly.

It has been two and a half weeks since they came back from Shanghai and the two of them have barely spoken to each other. Keiko only saw her for work and wished desperately things could go back to normal. If only she could go back in time, Keiko would redo a lot of things that happened on that particular day they got into the argument.

First of all, she would go back and somehow erase that question about her dream guy from the interview in general. Not only did it kickstart her family’s nagging about dating some more, it was just a question Keiko didn’t particularly enjoy answering. Deep down, she knew what she truly wanted, who she truly wanted, and quite honestly, every time a question like this came up Keiko was worried it might push this person away.

Not that she ever would feel the same…

After the interview was over, it wasn’t long before Keiko noticed whenever Wakana had left. She immediately went looking for her, worried that something might have been wrong.

Is she not feeling well? She never leaves this quickly… she remembered thinking to herself.

When Keiko found Wakana in the dressing room, she was relieved the older girl was okay. Everything seemed fine and she was about to inform Wakana about some good news she just received, when the other woman suddenly snapped just as she was about to tell her. From that, the conversation continued to become heated, until Keiko was pushed to a cracking point and responded with a jarring statement.

Every single day that passed, Keiko scolded herself for being so dumb and saying such a hurtful comment to someone she cared so deeply about. This was the other thing she would go back and change if she could.

Keiko pinched the bridge of her nose. You know her feelings better than anyone, Keiko. How could you be so stupid?

She propped her arms up on the sides of the tub.

But why did she even get so worked up whenever I mentioned talking to that guy? she contemplated, leaning her head back against the wall.

Could it be…? It almost makes me think…

Keiko shook her head. No. You have got to stop thinking about something so ridiculous.

If Keiko was being honest with herself, she has been interested in Wakana Ootaki since they first met all those years ago. The joyful woman immediately caught her attention, talking to everyone she passed and greeting them. When they chatted for the first time, it was Wakana who kept dragging on the conversation, not wanting to let it die out. Keiko found it very endearing.

As the years passed and they sang together more, Keiko slowly fell more in love with the woman next to her. To everyone else, Wakana seems like a truly carefree soul, never affected by the problems around her. It took a person very close to her to know that in reality, she was truly a sensitive girl and tried to always be happy and cheer people up so that they wouldn’t have to feel half the pain she felt sometimes. Wakana’s heart was so big it made Keiko want to be a better person just by being around her.

Not only her personality, but also her voice was something that enraptured Keiko’s soul every time she heard it. She would never grow tired of hearing that angelic voice singing next to her. Keiko always strived to be as technical and skilled as Wakana, and it really was heartbreaking knowing that Wakana could not see the talent in herself all those years.

When Wakana talked about leaving the group, it nearly broke her heart in half. She remembered the three of them sitting and crying about the possible end of their little group, and she didn’t know in that moment what she would do. All she could do was be supportive, and she wanted desperately to be able to take those ill feelings away from someone she loved.

In the end, I would do anything if it meant she was happy.

After about 30 minutes of relaxing in the bath, Keiko decided it was time to get out because her hands were starting to turn wrinkly. She reached down and pulled up the drain to let the water flow out, and then stood up and grabbed a towel.

Keiko dried off her wet skin and slipped another one of her robes on, sliding on her bath slippers as well. She blew out the candles and then walked back into her bedroom, sitting down at her desk chair.

The newly cleansed woman grabbed an old picture of her and Wakana she kept framed on her desk, smiling at how young they were at that time. It was a picture they took from their first FictionJunction live together, and it was a silly photo they took after the show.

Suddenly, Keiko found that her eyes were beginning to well up with tears, all the sorrows of the last few weeks now starting to hit her at once. It wasn’t until now that she realized how much she just wanted to have a normal conversation with her best friend again.

Wakana, I’m sorry... for a lot of things.

The pain of loving someone secretly for years was a lot to bear, and even if there was the slight chance the feelings were returned, Keiko knew the risk it would bring to Kalafina if people ever found out about it.

She set the photo back in its place as the tears trickled down her face.

Maybe the problem with her not being able to find a partner all these years wasn’t that there wasn’t an ideal person, but that she wasn’t truly looking for anyone else.

Everything she wanted was right in front of her, yet it was so far away.

#kalafina #fanfiction #kalafics #shanghai #part three #keiko #wakana #hikaru

23 notes · View notes

dragonandtiger · 7 years

Text

Digimon 00 - Fragments - 23

“So what’s your family back home like, Keiko?”

Keiko’s hands stilled from their work of weaving a lean-to from vines and wood. She didn’t turn around to look at Ken, who was only innocently trying to start a conversation while cutting up vegetables with Ryo’s army knife. The half-formed camp was fairly empty with just the two Chosen Children and their partners, and the silence eventually became too much for Ken.

Unfortunately, the pregnant pause after his question served to make Ken feel little at ease.

“Good,” Keiko said as she went back to tying knots. “Narakumon is grumpy because everyone expects him to be a jerk, and Tenraimon is really nice, and they make out all the time.”

“Oh, uh, I didn’t mean them,” Ken said awkwardly. “I meant back in the real world…?”

Another pause followed, this one even heavier than before. “I don’t have any family on Earth.”

Ken stared at Keiko in shock before he grimaced, rather shamefaced. “S-sorry, I… I didn’t mean...”

“Don’t be mad at Ken-chan!” Wormmon said, immediately growing frantic seeing how wounded Ken looked. “He didn’t know your human family is dead for good. He just worries about his mom and dad and big brother a lot, and he worries about Ryo’s mom and dad, so he was worrying about yours too. Ken-chan is very, very kind like that.”

Keiko let out a huff of air, her tense shoulders slumping back a bit as she turned her gaze to the sky, though her back still faced the two working on dinner. “Don’t you dare feel sorry for her.” The words came out in a caustic growl that could burn away stone. “That woman doesn’t deserve you or anyone else feeling sorry her. She’s rotting in Hell where she belongs!”

Ken stared at Keiko, shock quickly taking over his guilt on his face. “Huh?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Keiko saw Nyamon’s concerned expression, but she was in no mood for comfort. “The woman who gave birth to me…” Her mouth twisted in an ugly sneer and her red eyes blazed like fire as she finally glanced back towards Ken. “She was the most vile human to ever live. She deserved to die.”

Ken could do nothing but continue to stare at Keiko, stunned completely silent. He didn’t know how to react to what Keiko was saying, let alone how to respond to it, so he instead simply stared at the Chosen of Darkness.

“Who deserved to die?” Ryo asked with an armload of fruit as he led the rest of group. His demeanor was tense, not really wanting to hear the answer, but when the first thing upon his return to camp was such a statement and Ken’s horrified expression, he instinctively felt the protective urge to draw attention away from his young friend.

FlaWizarmon looked at Keiko, whose guarded expression actually told him everything he needed to know. He turned to give Ryo a bright grin as he hefted up the firewood he had gathered. “Don’t you worry ‘bout that none, Lord Ryo!” He then focused on Ken, who instinctively turned to meet his gaze. “An’ the same to you, Ken-chan. Put it outta yer mind~!”

“Huh? Oh, um,” Ken faltered, glancing over to Keiko before returning his attention to the scarecrow. “O-okay…”

Witchmon had her ghostly little feline familiar set down the huge slab of meat that was bigger than she was by the fire and Ken as she floated over to Keiko. “It’s okay, hon,” she said softly by the young girl’s ear. “Take a deep breath and remember you’re safe. That woman can’t hurt you or anyone you care about anymore.”

Keiko turned her jagged ruby gaze to the crowd of people staring at her before focusing it sharply on the lean-to. She tugged on vines with excessive force, but although she said nothing in response, she did her best to breathe deep and even her racing pulse.

A phantom touch brushed against Keiko’s shoulder, opposite Witchmon. The Chosen of Darkness knew who it belonged to without even having to look. After all, it would only draw attention to something that none of the others could see - the ephemeral shape of Narakumon as he reached to touch her shoulder.

The sensation made Keiko’s eyes sting, but she shut them, refusing to break down further than she had already. The turmoil of emotions swirling blackly inside her heart threatened to overwhelm her in spite of her resentment towards it.

“Darkness always has the worst cross to bear, the path filled with the most trials,” Narakumon said, softly. “But you are not walking it alone. Just as you have joined me in my journey, I have joined you in yours. We will not be broken by these worlds, or anything in them.”

Keiko nodded ever so slightly and rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes with unneeded harshness. “St… stop looking at me like that. I’m fine. I’m past this.”

Nyamon’s ears canted back before she wordlessly moved to wrap her paws around Keiko’s waist, hugging her with surprising gentleness despite her large gauntlets.

FlaWizarmon and Witchmon shared a glance before they turned their attention to keeping the others occupied, turning their backs to the Chosen of Darkness.

Narakumon was quiet for a moment before he looked away, though he didn’t remove his hand from her shoulder. “Yes, you are. You are strong.”

A tear escaped in spite of Keiko’s desperate attempts to fight the urge to cry, but it didn’t last long before she wiped it away.

----

A heavy cloud hung over Keiko for the next several days that left her speaking in short sentences to everyone and Ken agonizing with guilt. He kept apologizing until eventually Keiko snapped at him to stop and left for the woods with Nyamon for an entire day under the pretense of scouting the area around their current camp. When the two returned, an unpleasant quiet hung thick like fog that lasted well until the next day when they resumed traveling.

Ryo tried everything he could to lighten the mood, but his attempts were no match for his social awkwardness.

“So, uh, Keiko, think it’ll rain today?” he asked with what he hoped wasn’t too strained a smile.

Keiko merely let out a grunt and shrugged, not bothering to take her eyes away from the foliage in front of them as Nyamon hacked away at the branches to carve a path for them.

Ryo couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped him before he glanced back at Ken trailing behind him. “I hope not, since I’m not ready for another cold shower after we had to get a bath in that freezing river last night, right Ken?”

Ken glanced over at Keiko before he looked away, hugging Wormmon to his chest. “R-right…”

FlaWizarmon watched the exchange before he glanced at Witchmon, who returned the look. He then glanced upward, lacing his fingers behind his head. “So! Who wants to take bets on who we’ll be fightin’ at ye ominous fortress in the middle of nowhere this time… Millie or yet another minion?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Keiko said with a sharpness to her voice to rival Nyamon’s claws.

FlaWizarmon paused at that before he smiled crookedly. “True ‘nuff, Lady Darkness.”

“Eeeeeh, scary, so scary…” Neemon whined as his whole body drooped, from his sagging shoulders to his canting ears. “Bokomoooon, who’s scarier? Millenniumon or Keiko?”

“I-idiot!” Bokomon snapped as he reached up to grab Neemon’s ear, giving it a twist. “Do you have anything going on in that empty head of yours!?”

Mystimon watched as Neemon failed about as Bokomon punished him for his comments, before wordlessly turning to fix a stare on Keiko as she pointedly ignored both the antics and the comment that lead up to them.

Ryo let out a breath that was somewhere between a sigh and a groan. He didn’t think he could stand the tension for much longer, especially not if they reached Millenniumon. He racked his brain for some sort of topic until the first thought to pop into his head came spilling out of his mouth. “I think I’ve figured out what kind of Digimon Millenniumon is.”

It didn’t even take a second for Ryo to regret saying anything, as everyone stopped to stare directly at him with curious, eager eyes that he could see were expecting some brilliant epiphany that would end this mess once and for all. He tried to mutter out a, “Never mind,” but it came out as a loose assortment of noises from a suddenly dry throat.

Witchmon suddenly came up behind Ryo and leaned against him, forcing him to take notice of her large chest pressed against the back of his head, turning his face a brighter shade of red. “Don’t be shy, hon. What kind of Digimon is he?”

Ryo swallowed hard a few times to clear his throat from a sandy desert to merely a parched tundra. “A cockroach.”

The word came out squashed the second it left Ryo’s mouth like verbal roadkill as he could practically feel the disapproval of the others for attempting such a weak joke. Instinctively, he scrunched in on himself, wanting to disappear, when he was startled again by Witchmon as she let out a laugh like the tinkling of bells.

“Well, there is at least one cockroach Digimon out there,” Witchmon said jovially. “It’d just figure if that Millie-peed was just a bug all along, wouldn’t it?”

“A bug beggin’ to be squashed!” FlaWizarmon agreed, chuckling as he pulled up the brim of his hat.

Ken let out an awkward laugh, more for Ryo’s benefit than any humor at the joke. He could tell right away that his friend was mortified at how badly his joke had failed, and neither FlaWizarmon nor Witchmon were making the situation any better.

Keiko flexed her fingers into fists then stretched her hands with unpleasant popping sounds. “They’re all cockroaches - him and his followers.”

Ryo cringed, a shiver running through him from Keiko’s chilling words. “Y… yeah. I… I guess so. But we’ll stop them.” He flinched at how weakly his voice came out. “…Sooner or later.”

Nyamon glanced between Ryo and Keiko, her suppression neutral, before she paused. Her ear gave a small flick before her eyes narrowed. Without warning, Nyamon whipped about to swing her gauntlets towards Ken, startling everyone out of their conversation - even Keiko.

The guitar let out a discordant belt of music as it landed hard against Nyamon’s gauntlets, inches from Ken’s stunned face. Wormmon cried out his partner’s name in pure panic from his partner’s arms as the Chosen of Kindness stepped back instinctively. Nyamon’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Kyoumon, who struggled to push down on the guitar without much success.

“You’re starting to annoy me,” Nyamon said, glaring at the puppet.

“Rudemon annoys Kyoumon already!” Kyoumon retorted.

“Him again?” FlaWizarmon asked rhetorically as he scratched at the back of his head. “I guess it has been a while since his last attack, hasn’t it?”

Nyamon threw her arms forward, flinging Kyoumon back so that the puppet landed with a squeal a sizeable distance away. “If you want to keep swinging at me, fine. But if you take another swing at Ken, so help me…”

“I’ll fight you!” Wormmon shouted as he held up two of his digits. “If you try to hurt Ken-chan again, I’ll fight you and stop you!”

Kyoumon stumbled up and dusted himself off, then turned to fix Nyamon with a glare of his own. “Rudemon and Rude Humanmon are a matching set!”

“Kyoumon.”

The strange Digimon jerked back and whirled to stare at Keiko, who fixed him with a frosty gaze that pierced his plush body to its very core. He stared at the Chosen of Darkness with wide eyes, his tail puffing up as his ears canted back.

“If you come after Ken again, I’ll destroy you myself.” Keiko said, her voice cutting him like a razor. “Do you understand?”

Kyoumon gawked at Keiko in stunned silence before he burst into tears, the liquid flowing from his eyes like a burst water main. “R-Rude Humanmons! You’re all Rude Humanmons!” He whipped about and took off as fast as his little wings could carry him, disappearing in to the woods where he had abruptly come from.

Wormmon drooped a at seeing Kyoumon retreat in tears, lowering his digits that had only a moment ago been ready to smack the other Digimon in the face. “Now I feel a little sorry for him.”

“You should not,” Leomon said with a shake of his head. “His actions made such words necessary. He needs to reflect on his behavior.”

Ken stared after the fleeing Digimon before he turned to Keiko. “You… you didn’t really mean that, did you? I mean, I don’t think he means any harm...”

“You’re kind, Ken.” Keiko said, with a shake of her head. “Sometimes too kind.”

Ken paused at that before he furrowed his brow, frowning.

“Well, he is Kindness,” FlaWizarmon said as he tapped his chin. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.”

“It’s easy to forget, especially with so little kindness in the world as it is,” Witchmon agreed. “We need people like Ken-chan to remind us now and then~!”

Keiko’s hard expression softened around the edges. “True enough.”

#Dreaming To Reality #Fragments #digimon adventure 02 #digimon #digimon adventure

3 notes · View notes