#Rin helps with the recovery process even before she wakes up

[nicosbrainrot]

here's something I wrote after talking to @kamiart about rin's fight in round 3 because I am full of love for rin & wanted to write an interaction for them <3

~

Ikuto was watching from the seats with the rest of his classmates. It was the third round of the sports festival and Rin was going up against Taishiro, both students in Sato sensei's class. The fight was a fast paced one, and it seemed like Rin could win it, depending on how much energy she had reserved, she had the advantage seeing that Taishiro couldn't use his quirk on her projectiles. Ikuto watched diligently, knowing that her quirk required moonlight and so she was running on a limited supply. She had faked out her last opponent by pretending to run out of energy, but after two whole fights she might actually be running low. Eventually she threw a kick at her opponent, which he quickly rewound and sent her flying. She wouldn't get up close unless she had to, this meant she was out of energy. The fight now could easily turn in Taishiro's favor but they locked onto each other, caught in a struggle with neither letting up. Suddenly Taishiro said something, not quite audible to the audience, but Ikuto could make out the word "dad," and he could see, even from the stands, something change in Rin's expression.

She said something, low and quiet, before shouting, "At least you have a father to fight for!" Her voice shot through the stadium, and she said something else, though still not quite audible, before shouting again, something about being able to do this on her own, and their surroundings quickly exploded into a bright flash of blinding light, but only for a moment.

Ikuto looked back at the arena after the blinding flash and saw as Rin stood there, staggering, and almost shot up from his seat when her body collapsed to the floor. Taishiro didn't seem to have done any damage, that was the result of her quirk, the result of her energy reserves being completely depleted. He watched as Miss Me quickly rushed into the ring, declaring Taishiro the winner and announcing that he would progress to the next round, as they brought an unconscious Rin off of the field and towards Recovery Girl's office.

After the crowd cheered and fell to a chatter, as it did between every round, Ikuto's thoughts began racing. Many students had been quite roughed up by the end of their fight, but none due to their own quirk. Well, some had overexerted themselves a bit, but they all ended up fine. Ikuto knew the nature of Rin's quirk, that she had an energy reserve that overlapped with her body's own natural calories, which it would cut into when her lunar energy had run out. If it was anything like he was imagining, and she was really on empty when that flash of light happened, she could be in pretty bad shape.

He quickly turned to Hoshizawa, who was sitting next to him on the bench. "I... I'm gonna go check on her, if that's okay."

"Oh yeah, sure." they said, seeming fine to be left on his own.

Ikuto got up out of his seat and headed down in the direction of Recovery Girl's office. He made his way down the hallway and peaked inside the room. Rin was now laying on the bed, still unconscious, Recovery Girl tending to her.

"Uh, excuse me." Ikuto spoke softly, and Recovery Girl turned around to face him. "I'm sorry to intrude, but..."

"You wanted to check on her?" she asked in her cheery tone.

Ikuto just nodded, stepping in from the doorway. He could see that her breathing was shaky, and his brow furrowed just slightly in worry.

"She isn't physically injured, but her body has depleted all its energy, she's overexerted herself. Sadly, I can't do anything to help her besides standard treatment." she told him.

Her quirk allowed her to help a person's body heal at a rapid pace but depleted the person's energy, which was the opposite of what Rin needed right now. He thought for a moment before turning to face the short nurse.

"I could get her something out of the vending machine." he suggested.

She smiled up at him. "Oh, that would be lovely, how sweet." she said, her chipper tone contrasting with Ikuto's monotone voice.

He nodded and quickly turned to leave, walking down the hall to one of the vending machines scattered around the building. He pulled out some money, which he kept loose in his pocket after Aito stole his wallet a few too many times and he got tired of asking for it back. He looked at all the drinks and decided on a bottle of fruit juice, it was sugary but not too processed, and he wasn't sure if she liked soda. He also got her a candy bar, the more she could eat after all this the better. He went back to the nurse's office, quietly walking inside and placing the food and drink on the table beside the bed.

Recovery Girl pulled out a bottle of medication, and Ikuto immediately remembered the bottle he saw near her bed when they were going through everyone's dorm rooms, it was heart medication. He looked over at Rin, who was still asleep on the bed, her breathing choppy. "Her heart, is it..." he started, not looking up from the bedridden girl.

"It's quick and irregular. I have this for her, but I can't give it to her until she wakes up." she said, setting the bottle down on the table.

Ikuto looked over to Recovery Girl. "Would you... like me to try and steady it?" he asked, unsure if she would trust him with that.

She was aware of his quirk, and thought for a moment. "If you're positive you know what you're doing." she said, a bit of hesitation in her voice.

"I do." Ikuto said calmly, and pulled up a chair next to her bed.

He sat down and placed his hand on her inner wrist. He could feel the irregularity in her pulse, and as he activated his quirk he could almost feel the pressure her heart was under. It wasn't unlike that of someone who was malnourished, the strain that puts on your heart. In fact, it was in that moment that Ikuto realized how thin she was, that she was underweight. His worry grew, because that only made the results of overexerting herself worse and far more dangerous. He made a mental note to check in on her eating if given the chance. However, right now he needed to focus, it wasn't difficult to slow her heart rate but steadying it took more concentration. He brought her heart rate down to a normal level, and kept it consistent. If he let go it would return to it's staggered pace, so he just sat there for a while, hand gently resting on her arm.

There was a television in the room silently playing footage of the current round, and Ikuto watched as the quiet battle took place on screen, taking note of any interesting strategies he saw. More and more times passed, and quite a few rounds came and went, but he was in no rush to leave.

After about an hour, Rin shifted slightly. Ikuto resisted his instinctual urge to pull away, not wanting to cause a jolt in her heart rate, and instead gradually let go of his quirk's hold on her, allowing her heart to return to it's irregular pace slowly. Recovery Girl quickly walked over and picked up the bottle of medication as Rin slowly woke up, and Ikuto let his hand fall down to his lap, getting a strange feeling from being disconnected after an hour sitting there holding pace for her.

Recovery Girl set her hand on Rin's shoulder as she slowly sat up, very groggy, holding a hand to her head. She blinked a few times, still exhausted, trying to reorient herself and remember what exactly happened before passing out. Recovery Girl handed her a glass of water and her medicine, which she took with a quiet "thank you" before turning to see Ikuto sitting near the bed.

His shoulders suddenly tensed up as he realized that she may think it's weird of him to have been here this whole time, seeing that they don't know each other very well, but tried his best not to let his worry show and looked up at her with as soft an expression as he could manage.

Rin's face showed a bit of surprise at the sight of someone in the room with her besides the nurse who she had seen just hours earlier. It took them both a moment of awkward silence before Ikuto finally spoke.

"How are you feeling? Are you alright?" he asked, a bit of worry in his voice.

"I... Yeah, I'm alright." she said. She felt exhausted but she wasn't horrible.

"You should eat something." he stated, reaching for the drink and candy bar to hand them to her. "Or uh, drink something... or I could get you something else, but you need something in your system after all that."

It was a bit strange to have this usually very quiet and reserved boy suddenly fussing over making sure she ate. She hesitantly reached out and took the now lukewarm drink and candy bar out of his hands.

"Th-thank you." she said quietly, not really looking him in the eyes.

She looked down at the candy bar in her hands for a moment before slowly unwrapping it and taking a bite. Ikuto just sat there, looking up at the match on the screen, but not really paying much attention to it, he just didn't want to stare at her while she ate.

When she finished the candy bar she realized just how hungry she actually was and silently wished she had another one as she opened the bottle of juice Ikuto had bought her and took a sip.

"I couldn't hear much of what you said during the match but..." he started, before turning to face her. "It was something about family, wasn't it?"

She slowly brought the bottle down from her mouth and swallowed nervously, remembering what exactly had triggered the outburst that landed her in this hospital bed. "Yeah... it was." she said, and for a moment Ikuto thought that was all she would say about it before she looked up at him and asked, "What is your family like, Maekawa-san?"

His eyebrows raised in surprise at the question, and he looked away for a moment to think. "I have a little brother." he said, not looking up from the floor. "He's a bit of a handful, really playful and likes to cause trouble, but he's a sweet kid." She could see a small smile on his face as he spoke.

"You sound like you care for him very much." she said softly, and he did, she could hear it in the way he spoke.

"I... I do." he said, looking as if he had just realized something. "I have to admit, I miss him since moving into the dorms."

There was a moment of silence, though not quite awkward, before she asked, "Y-your parents, what about them?" and there was curiosity in her voice.

He looked up at her, something in his expression that she couldn't quite place, and he hesitated before speaking. "They..." he started, before turning away from her again, looking back at the floor.

"They both have very different ways of showing that they care. My dad has... high expectations. He always says I can do better, wants me to be the best I can. And my mom, she thinks I'm more capable than I really am... and I don't want her to realize she's wrong." He looked back up at her and saw a strange expression on her face, and worried he had said something wrong. "Ah, I shouldn't be complaining. I love my family, they're not bad, I just..." He looked down for a moment before looking back up to meet Rin's gaze. "I don't want to let them down, you know?"

Rin looked him in the eyes for a moment before staring down at her hands, still holding the juice bottle she'd barely drank out of. "No... I don't know, actually." She hesitated for a moment. "I've... never had a family to disappoint."

Ikuto stiffened a bit, surprised, and his head tilted slightly to one side, questioningly, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and slight concern at what she had said.

She took this as a request to elaborate. "I... I grew up in a-an orphanage... and I never got adopted, s-so I don't have a family... and I don't think I ever will." she said in a soft voice, a hint of sadness, but mostly just a reluctant acceptance.

He let out a small sigh as he processed this, eyes not leaving Rin's tired but serious face, looking at her and suddenly realizing something. "You mean... you've done all this on your own?" he asked her, his voice slightly more gentle than usual.

Now it was Rin's turn to look confused. "W-what do you mean?" she asked.

"All of this, getting to UA, training to become a hero, you did all that... alone?" he asked, head leaning forward slightly, eyes looking up at her with a soft gaze, as if he were asking if she was okay.

"I..." she started, looking down at her hands for a moment. "I guess so..." She had never really stopped to think about it, everything that had gotten her to this point in her life. She tried to not look back.

Ikuto sat back in his seat and looked off to the side, thinking to himself. He had a great deal of respect for all of his classmates, but to get here without the support of a family was quite a feat, and he hadn't realized before just how driven Rin was. Despite her very quiet and somewhat sad demeanor, it was clear that she worked very hard to get here and was determined to achieve her goals.

Ikuto looked up at her, realizing he was lost in thought for a moment, and finally spoke. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Tsukikage-san. It's... truly admirable that you've gotten here on your own." he told her.

Rin looked over at him, surprised at the praise. "I-it's really nothing." she said, and she really didn't see it as much, it was just what she had to do, and she still had so far to go.

"But it isn't." he stated, surprised that she would say something like that. "You've done a lot, it's important to acknowledge the progress you've made."

She stared at him, thinking about his words carefully. He was right, she had done a lot, gone through so much hardship, all on her own, but it all seemed so small compared to what the future might hold for her. After all this, she wondered if she could make it the rest of the way.

He saw something shift in her expression as she looked at him. He could see worry on her face, as if she had been trying not to think about all of this and he had suddenly pulled it out of her. "I'm sorry, I- I'm sure it's been hard, but... you aren't alone anymore, you know." he started, desperately trying to comfort her but feeling very unsure of what to say. "We- if you ever need anything, anything at all, you can tell me... and I'll try my very best to help." He spoke to her with genuine care in his voice, and she knew he meant his words.

"I-" she started, but couldn't get anything out. She was touched by his kindness, but something felt bittersweet about it. She would be hesitant to reach out to her classmates for anything, but just knowing that she could, with at least one of them, was comforting. She almost felt tears stinging her eyes but held them back. She had wanted for so long to have a family, to feel loved and as though she belonged somewhere, to feel wanted. Yet here she was, after losing the third round foolishly, one of her classmates sitting by her side, worried about her. It had been so long since anyone was worried about her.

She turned away from him, almost ashamed that she didn't know what to say to him. "P-please don't worry about me, I'm fine, r-really." she muttered.

"I know." he said, causing her to look up at him in surprise. "You've made it this far, I know you're capable, but... my offer still stands." His voice softened at that last bit.

He said this so matter-of-factly, it almost puzzled her. She didn't need help, didn't want to be a burden, but... he seemed so sincere. Could this just be pity? No, she didn't hear any pity in his voice, in fact he spoke as if he were talking about something so simple. At that moment she didn't know what to feel or think.

"Do you not like the juice?" he asked, snapping her out of her spiralling thoughts before she even realized she hadn't responded. "You haven't drank much of it, I can get you something else."

"Oh…" She looked down at the bottle still in her hands. "N-no it's fine… thank you, though." she said softly. 

Ikuto just let out a quiet "hm" as he leaned back, not really believing her but figuring it's best to just let it be. The two of them sat in silence for a while, another match on the television coming to a close as Rin slowly sipped her juice.

After a while Ikuto finally cleared his throat and began to stand up. "I uh, should probably let you rest, and get back to the stands." He turned to her once he was standing. "Unless you would like me to stay."

"N-no, it's alright." she said before hesitating for a moment. "Th-thank you for coming to check on me… You really didn't have to." 

"Of course." he said, almost surprised that she would thank him. "I hope you recover quickly… Oh, I almost forgot." he said, quickly pulling out his phone. "I can give you my number, if you'd like, just in case."

She nodded, taking out her own phone, and the two exchanged information. 

"There." he said, handing her phone back to her after writing his contact info in it. "If you need anything, you can let me know. Or just…" His demeanor shifted slightly, seeming a bit more timid. "If you wanted to hang out… I don't know."

"I'd like that." Rin said with a warm smile, and she could see his shoulders relax as she said that.

Ikuto couldn't help but smile softly at her. "I'll hopefully see you soon then. Take care of yourself, okay?" 

"I… I will." she responded, and Ikuto then turned to leave.

"Also," he said, stopping in the doorway. "You can call me Ikuto, if you'd like."

"Okay, Ikuto-san." she said softly with a smile, and she could see a small smile on his lips as well as he nodded politely before turning and walking out the door.

[pastelwitchling]

Nobody ever knew this, but the day Alex had lost his leg, Michael had known about it.

Since the very moment Alex had told Michael that he’d enlisted, something had begun along the anguish in his heart. Plans. Michael had known secrecy was law in the military, but that hadn’t been nearly enough to keep him from strategizing. How would he keep an eye on Alex? How would he make sure his man was okay? He wasn’t family, he didn’t know any of Alex’s actual family, and if anything happened to him, Michael would be the last to know, if allowed to know at all.

So he’d hacked security systems he shouldn’t have hacked. He would realize later on that Alex could’ve done in seconds when he’d only managed after almost a year of nonstop research and covert sites and shady computer creeps. But he’d been desperate, and when he’d found Alex’s name registered under a certain unit, he knew the lost paychecks and sleepless nights had been more than worth it.

Every morning after he woke up and every night before he went to sleep, he would pull up the soldier listings, and touch Alex’s name, thinking of him, pretending he was warm and safe wherever he was.

“I’ll see you again,” he murmured to himself, hoping that somehow Alex could hear him.

Then one day, Alex had disappeared off the listings. Michael had only been half-awake when he’d checked, but as he scrolled to where he knew Alex’s name should’ve been and couldn’t find it, panic had quickly set in and he’d paced the airstream, the computer in hand, scrolling through the names a million times.

It took threatening another hacker with an abnormal strength that he would never explain to find Alex’s name again under the Captains listing. The hacker had cursed at him as he’d ditched the money and run for his life, but Michael didn’t care. He was too busy staring at Alex’s name, reminding himself that his airman was safe and unharmed. That he was a captain now.

Michael didn’t know how he felt about that. Alex was a captain, rising in the ranks. He had his own team with other airmen that followed his orders. On the one hand, the bigger part of him wondered if this meant Alex would never come back. On the other . . . his Alex was a captain. The pride made Michael smile.

“That’s my boy.”

For the next five years, nothing had changed. Michael kept checking to make sure Alex’s name was still there, the awards piling up. Michael had just begun to fear that he really wouldn’t see Alex again in that final year, but he looked for Alex’s name anyway. He didn’t care, he just wanted to know Alex was safe.

Then, one night, with a pain in his chest that he couldn’t explain and an anxiety that made him want to look up Alex’s name before his shift was even over, Michael found his airman with a Purple Heart listed beside him.

His brows furrowed, and he clicked on the linked information. He couldn’t remember what the purple heart was for, but dread settled in his stomach anyway and made him nauseous. Then he saw it. And he remembered. The Purple Heart was awarded to soldiers who were gravely wounded in battle.

“No,” he breathed, standing up with the computer in hand, staring at the report as if expecting it to be a joke. “No.”

An explosion had gone off where Alex’s team had been stationed.

“He’s alive,” he told himself, the very thought making him tremble and his vision shatter. “He’s alive, he’s alive, he’s alive.”

But his leg . . . his leg had been . . .

Feeling sick, Michael left the computer on his bed, grabbed his jacket, and drove with lightning speed to the Wild Pony. He stopped outside the doors, trying to steady his racing heart. Maria would know. One of Alex’s brothers might get in touch with her, someone would’ve gotten in touch with Mimi, and she would’ve told her daughter. Either way, Maria would know, and if she was happy and unbothered, then Alex was fine, and it was a glitch in the system. Everything was fine.

Michael stepped inside, the usual chatter and jukebox music of the bar turned to faint background noise, nothing so intoxicating and frighteningly inviting as it usually was. That was because Michael was here on a mission.

He made a beeline for the bar, tilting his head up and down looking for Maria. He spotted a head of brown curls and his eyes fell on Maria on the phone. Something like barely processed relief began to settle in his chest as she laughed.

Then he got closer, and realized Maria wasn’t laughing at all. She was crying. He froze.

Another waitress came up behind her and helped lead her into the backroom, patting her back consolingly before she took over the bar. Michael wordlessly turned around and left.

He sat on the ground against the airstream until dawn started to peek through, staring at Alex’s name. He had been taken to DC, the name of the hospital there in the report.

When his fingers turned numb and he started to forget where he was, his mind consumed with Alex, lying awake in his hospital bed, probably screaming his head off, alone and scared and miserable, he got to his feet, into his truck, and started it without a word.

He drove and drove and drove. He stopped once to put in gas and forced a greasy burger down his throat to stave off the blinding hunger before he kept driving. The streets changed, the desert faded, white houses sat side by side, and Michael soon found himself parked in front of the hospital where Alex was.

Michael was out of the truck before it was properly parked, and he stormed up to the front desk. “What room is Alex Manes in?”

The receptionist blinked. “Are you family?” Michael swallowed through a clenched jaw. That seemed to have been answer enough for the older woman. “Sorry, he’s only allowed family in this time –”

“Please,” he whispered. “Please. I came all the way from Roswell in New Mexico. Please just give me five minutes. Just five minutes.”

The woman eyed him for a moment, as if realizing something. Her gaze turned sympathetic and her shoulders slumped. “Fifth floor, room 52 in Recovery. Five minutes –” she warned but Michael was already running towards the stairs, taking them two steps at a time.

He ran down the hall and slid into a supply closet to avoid being spotted by a group of doctors making their way to the breakroom.

“I’ve never seen anybody like that captain before,” one of them said, and Michael’s heart leapt into his throat. “He just turned so . . . quiet.”

“What do you expect?” the other guy sighed. “You met his father. Those Manes men are made of stone.”

As soon as they were out of sight, Michael was searching for room 52. He came up to the door, and swallowed thickly. Hanging on the wall next to the door was a plaque that read, Recovery. It made Michael sick that Alex would ever need to recover from anything.

He hesitated and opened the door, holding his breath. He’d expected to see seventeen year old Alex sitting up in bed, idly strumming a guitar with maybe a bandage over his eyebrow. As he stepped inside though, he found a twenty-eight year old man, lying asleep in bed, the blanket pulled up to his chest as a heart monitor gave a steady beep beep beep. He slept on his back, his head turned the other way, his hands folded on his stomach.

But Michael could still make out the slight stubble on Alex’s jaw, his hair still soft by cut short and sticking out in different places as if refusing to stay down in its natural state. His cheeks were rosy but hollow, and the black circles around his eyes seemed darker than ever. He looked so much older, in more ways than one.

Michael’s eyes burned as he approached, something like a chocked whimper sounding in his throat as he reached out and touched Alex’s jaw, the stubble scratching his fingers. Even when Alex had been a teenager, he’d woken at the drop of a feather. It was a testament to his exhaustion and grief that he slept so soundly now, not anything resembling peace.

It was now that Michael saw him that he realized Alex had never known peace a day in his life. Life had been taking and taking away from him, and this. This was the biggest loss.

He looked down Alex’s form under the blanket, the muscle evident after years of training, and his breath caught. There was nothing below the right knee, the blanket revealing just what he’d suffered by lying flat on the mattress where his leg should’ve been.

A tear fell down his cheek and a sob escaped his lips. He leaned down, and pressed a wet, trembling kiss to Alex’s forehead. His skin was still cool and he still smelled like vanilla.

“I’m right here with you, baby,” he breathed against his skin. “Alex, I’m right here. I didn’t want to leave you alone, I’m sorry.”

His other hand reached down to hold Alex’s, but he stayed over him, pressing another kiss to each of his tired eyes, his cheek, his nose, his ear, his jaw. His lips hovered over Alex’s, eager to kiss him, but then –

“Mmh,” Alex stirred, his brows knit as his fingers twitched in Michael’s.

Michael let him go, stepping back. He swallowed, waiting anxiously for Alex to wake up, realize Michael was here, and ask him what the hell had brought him. Alex probably didn’t even remember him, didn’t care to see him, regretted ever having kissed him –

“Gue . . . rin,” Alex murmured in his sleep. “Guerin . . .”

Michael stared. Alex repeated his name in a whimper this time, his brows pinched tighter together as he stirred restlessly in bed. He was having a nightmare. He was having a nightmare, and he wanted Michael.

His breaths began to quicken, and Michael blinked out of his haze, closing the distance between them and taking Alex’s hand in his again, his hold tight. He smoothed Alex’s bangs out of the way and kissed his forehead again. “I’m right here, Alex,” he murmured. “I’m not gonna leave you. I’m right here.”

Slowly, Alex’s breathing calmed again and the tension in his body faded. His right leg lay still, and Michael couldn’t help but kiss him again. Maybe this would be okay, after all. Maybe Alex could wake up and see him, and Michael could promise that he would stay with him, take care of him. He’d promise that he loved him anyway.

Then a knock came and Michael straightened. The receptionist from downstairs came in with a clipboard in hand. She sighed, her expression genuinely apologetic. Michael didn’t care. Her news wasn’t good.

“Five minutes are up,” she said. “I’m sorry, but you have to go.”

“But –”

“His family is scheduled to arrive at any minute,” she said. “I’m really sorry.”

Then reality hit. As much fun as hypotheticals were, as much as he wanted to believe he was Alex’s family . . . he just wasn’t. He and Alex weren’t married, he hadn’t even spoken to Alex before he’d left all those years ago. They weren’t strangers, they could never be strangers, but who knew if Alex even wanted to come back to Roswell now that he was injured? Who knew if Michael was the one he wanted to see when he woke up and remembered he’d lost a limb?

His hand fell away from Alex’s and he stepped back, his eyes on the airman. This couldn’t be the last time he ever saw him. He wouldn’t let it be. He just wished he could look away now.

Alex had gone still again, sleeping soundly, and Michael finally tore his gaze from him and made it to the door before the nurse softly asked, “Who should I tell him came to see him?”

Michael looked at Alex, sleeping and unaware that the mess of a cowboy he’d once loved had come running. That Michael had loved him enough to come.

His eyes burned, but before anyone could see the tears, he shook his head and said, his voice hoarse, “Nobody. Tell him nobody came.”

And without another word or glance, with the intention to destroy the computer that he’d used to keep track of Alex all these years the second he got back, Michael left the hospital, left DC, left Alex.

[aloluptitude-blog]

Oil and Water: An Obito Uchiha Character Analysis

The following are my scattered thoughts on the layout and progression of Obito Uchiha's character. I’ve previously posted this a while back on a forum like a year ago but found that I wanted to share with a wider audience, if I should be so fortunate. With that out of the way, here we go. And warning, it’s quite long.

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The first lesson Team 7 had to learn as shinobi was teamwork. They initially all fought for their own self-interests, which prompted Kakashi to tell them about the memorial stone.

Later, once Sasuke and Sakura sacrifice their food for Naruto, Kakashi unexpectedly passes them and reveals to them his philosophy in life.

His mystery is further compounded with the reveal of his Sharingan, as well. Kakashi is built up as a man of mystery throughout Part I, and after the Third Hokage's death he is shown mourning at the grave of someone called Obito in a very somber scene.

(Note that the chapter in which Obito's name is first mentioned is the chapter in which Akatsuki first shows up. Likely coincidence, but interesting nonetheless) So, tons of shit happens, and the darkness in Sasuke grows. He eventually abandons Konoha to join Orochimaru. The cast is left crestfallen after his betrayal, with Naruto promising to bring him back no matter what. The chapter in which this resolution occurs, releasing shortly before Kakashi Gaiden, starts off with this:

The remaining pages revolve around Naruto's conviction to keep his promise to Sakura, and about comrades who have fallen into darkness. I hindsight, this was effective and subtle foreshadowing for Obito’s role to come. Next, immediately sandwiched between Parts I and II, we have the Kakashi Gaiden, revealing the character of Obito for the first time and showing his role in shaping Kakashi's life. Obito's character, from beginning to end, centered around the themes of injustice and cherishing one's comrades.

He not only vowed to "crush" the shinobi that diverged from his dogma, but he was able to gather the resolve to kill someone in order to protect Kakashi (this was likely his first kill). At this point, it is of course important to touch on Obito's love for Rin Nohara. Obito was a kindhearted Uchiha with big ambitions to be Hokage and end the war. But among the prestigious Uchiha clan, he was a washout. A disappointment. For a long time his only real support was Rin, and so he became attached to her.

Obito's insistence on rescuing Rin in the Gaiden was not, however, just because of his feelings for her. They played a role, but she was also a comrade of his, much like Kakashi. They did, however, play a larger role in his request to Kakashi. Obito ended up being smashed by boulders in the process of saving Kakashi. The two had formed a bond by then, so he entrusted his eye to Kakashi, telling him they would "see the future together". Even though he had been very mature throughout this experience, however, Obito was still a child at heart and told Kakashi to protect Rin at any cost.

Now, it’s very important to note Obito's last thoughts before being supposedly killed.

His most desperate wish is to survive so he can spend more times with the people he cherishes, which will become his main drive when rehabilitating in Madara's cave. Afterwards, a battle ensues and Kakashi moves to protect Rin. He later wakes up with Minato sitting beside him, and wonders if he survived. 

However, he was not the only one to survive. Obito found himself in a very similar, but less fortunate situation:

He awakes in an underground cave with Madara Uchiha. He is relieved to be alive, but is constantly driven by the desire to return to his comrades and protect them with his newfound power. Madara reacts to this by telling him his hopes are futile and reality is cruel.

But Obito, of course, would not pay heed to this until much later.

The only thing giving Obito hope and strength during this drawn on underground recovery, with half a body and surrounded by strangers and pessimism, is the thought of returning to his comrades. That thought is what keeps him going during his time spent down under.

Obito's most prominent trait for a while now has been hope. He's put all his being into reuniting with his comrades and escaping from this creepy geezer. But the reality ended up being far harsher.

Obito's entire world was shattered in this instant. The power he had entrusted to his newfound friend Kakashi to protect Rin was robbing her of her life (Obito’s Sharingan perfected Kakashi’s Chidori). Not only did Obito lose the one he loved, but his view of the world was shattered. All his hopes were crushed in that instant. But what happens here is one of the key differences between Obito and Madara. Obito does not lose hope in the world; he denies that he has it. He refuses to accept the reality before him.

Obito was in an unfamiliar place in unfamiliar circumstances, and his life just fell apart before his eyes. His immediate response is to reject what he sees. In contrast, Madara slowly but surely lost hope in the world over time. He accepted what the world was (or rather his perception of it). Obito couldn't. He never developed, or had time to develop, the mental state for it.

The person he loved most was killed by his best friend, and all his efforts had proven useless. Unlike Naruto, Obito was alone, and the people he did have, well it's self explanatory what happened there. Obito from this point on started operating in the shadows towards the completion of Madara's plan. Obito's general persona from this point on slowly becomes more detached and warped. He gains a sarcastic/sadistic bend to his personality and becomes increasingly divorced from reality, as he has abandoned (or rather surpressed) his hope for the world.

He still is fixated on and values camaraderie, but it's not in the same way he did before. It's more self-serving now.

He values loyalty, so long as it's loyalty to him. However, when double-crossed he will be merciless. The seeds for this were planted earlier though, albeit in a more innocent form.

This is an important divergence from Madara, who didn't really care about the loyalty of his comrades so much as their usefulness to him. As seen by him giving no shits when learning of Nagato's betrayal and not caring about Obito having his own plans either.

Obito's also become quite deluded by this point, choosing to consider the real world and its inhabitants "fakes" and the Mugen Tsukuyomi world to be "truth".

Basically, he considers bonds and interpersonal relationships to be a farce, because he believes the world will sever those ties, without fail, and cause people to sink into despair. Thus, uniting together would eliminate that and create harmony.

The way Obito sees it, this shinobi world that doesn’t align with how he thinks things should be is “false”, and the Moon’s Eye Plan / Tsuki no Me Keikaku is the remedy. The thing is, while Obito did initially defect due to the shock, trauma, and despair induced by everything to do with Rin’s death, he still did not have the hardened outlook on the world he would display in his adult years. As he made moves towards the completion of his plan, Obito observed the shinobi world's workings and it only served to deepen his conviction.

Obito, though not as far gone as Madara, steeped himself in the darkest areas of the Shinobi world. What he saw just reinforced his belief, or rather he made it so. He surrounded himself with fallacy (his identities of Madara and Tobi) and negativity. Even when seeing the brighter aspects of the world, Obito would brush it off. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias This shared outlook on the world may be why Obito considered Kisame "the person closest to him".

So, we’ve established what Obito is like by the time the main story unfolds. However, something starts to happen in Obito after Nagato’s betrayal at the end of the Pain Invasion arc.

Obito is bothered that Nagato, who was quite similar to him, was convinced to switch sides. This sort of reignites the doubt in Obito's heart, and so he goes to ask Naruto about it. Naruto, the boy who was so much like Obito and inherited the younger Obito’s ideals by way of Kakashi.

Of course Naruto cuts him off, and so Obito gets no immediate answer. His anxiety and anger towards Nagato and fixation on Naruto escalates when he fights Konan.

This, of course, would come to a head in the Fourth Shinobi World War, where the two shinobi finally clashed head on and pit their ideologies against each other. Interestingly, Obito also sees himself in Sasuke. Both were motivated by the death of someone they cared about, but chose to nullify their sacrifice for the sake of their personal ideals. Compare the following pages 

to this exchange

Obito was asking Sasuke if he had the resolve to shit on the sacrifice of someone he loved for the sake of his own motives. Basically asking if he was like him. And well

Obito’s corruption of Sasuke is even a direct mirror of when Obito awoke in a cave with Madara, who had sinister plans of his own for Obito.

So yes early as the Gokage Summit arc, the conflict in Obito was making itself apparent. The fight Obito attempted to orchestrate between Naruto and Sasuke was a microcosm for Obito’s own inner conflict that would come to a head in the War Arc, specifically when Kakashi and Guy arrived on the battlefield to help Naruto.

He struggles harder than he'd anticipated in his battle with Naruto, who begins to gain traction in their clash and amasses chakra from almost all the other biju as well as finally synching with Kurama.

These past few panels are from Chapter 573, which contains Naruto’s comrades running to his aid and ends with this panel

You’ll see later why this and a later panel perfectly bookend the meat of Obito’s journey to find himself again. Now, Obito still manages to somewhat retain his composure in this chapter, but by the time the story next cuts to the battle his detachment has lessened. His lunatic rantings increase in intensity, and he becomes more invested in Naruto and Kakashi. He was probably having those Rin flashbacks people love to criticize too but they couldn't be shown then for obvious reasons.

Once his mask is finally broken, Obito can no longer really run from his insecurities and grief. After all, now that he's unmasked he won't be able to escape more personal questions from Kakashi. He has to address things in more detail than he’d like to, at least to some extent. Although, he initially maintains some remnants of the detachment he'd held til then.

However, he soon fights Kakashi one-on-one and his rage boils to the surface.

Now I only posted enough of this to get the point across. But this man really beat the living shit out of Kakashi. He’s angry, despite his prior claims to have cut himself off from personal ties. At any rate, towards the conclusion of their scuffle, Naruto joins in and starts touting his resolve to protect his comrades and defeat Obito and Madara.

Now, it's around this point that Obito really attempts to crush Naruto's ideology, as it's basically his own (formerly of course). But Obito desiring to twist Naruto and in turn solidify his own conviction was first hinted during his fight with Konan, where he swore to "fade him into darkness".

He believes Naruto, and basically every shinobi, is destined to turn out like him (scum, basically. At least, I doubt he meant everyone would become a psychotic masked murderer).

  Itachi earlier foreshadowed this same thing to Naruto, warning him of what would happen if he forgot the people that got him where he was.

Obito recognizes that Naruto's ideology was basically the mirror image of his own, among their other similarities. By this point his resolve has wavered a good deal, so he resorts to trying to break Naruto's spirit in order to convince himself his path isn't mistaken.

This is a good time to bring up something I don’t think I can fit anywhere else. While trying to convince Naruto to abandon reality, Obito brings up the deaths of Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya, and of course Neji. All things caused, directly or indirectly, by Obito himself. This is why the act that Madara orchestrated Rin’s death is irrelevant. 

It’s beside the point of Obito’s despair and I dare say if he learned of this while still “evil” he wouldn’t have changed. He didn’t even like or trust Madara to begin with. It was the fact that such things occurred at all that raked at Obito’s mind. After all, it’s not like Obito has never manipulated people for his own ends. 

So this moment is more meant for Madara’s development, because it demonstrates his extreme arrogance which is shattered when he is betrayed by Black Zetsu and learns he was the biggest pawn of all.

Anyway, soon enough the Ten Tails starts to go out of control. This prompts Obito to commence with his plan of making Kakashi stab through Madara's puppet seal, which would enable him to become the Jinchuriki.

I'm pretty sure I've covered all the relevant characterization focused on in his battle with Kakashi in previous parts of this, so I'll just speed ahead to after that. Obito comes out of the Kamui dimension and is immediately assaulted by Madara, who wants Obito to Rinne Tensei him.

This point marks an interesting shift in the way Obito is portrayed. He is seen struggling against Madara's rods and relying on the memories and thoughts of his former comrades to propel him forward and resist the takeover.

It’s moments like this that almost makes him feel like the protagonist. But even with that, Obito still retains a villainous aura, as seen when he confidently declares that the war hasn't reached its end.

Yet even after succeeding in becoming the Jinchuriki, his ego was still under siege by the Ten Tails. And once more he draws on his memories of his comrades to resist and regain control. This frequent blending of heroic and villainous portrayals makes his eventual change feel even more organic in my opinion.

Obito's newly acquired power makes him the focus of the war, although Naruto, Sasuke and others start to gain on him and even the playing field. Obito becomes more agitated at Naruto and his constant interfering with his aims.

His frustration and fixation with Naruto has grown to an insane point. And it started with something so small and seemingly trivial:

So anyway, Obito continues to question and nudge Naruto in order to reach a conclusion about his own choices.

Now, the "my ninja way" thing may come off as bullshit and might not seem like a good answer. But the thing is, Obito isn't asking Naruto how to fix the shinobi world's problems. He's simply trying to see if he has the will to persevere no matter what the world throws at him. And by this point, Obito is almost convinced. Obito was never about grand visions concerning villages and government. That was Madara. Obito was always more intertwined with the personal aspect of suffering, which is why Naruto’s refusal to break infuriates him. Before:

After:

By this point Obito's resolve has wavered considerable, resulting in his defeat.

So this is the part where the main "TnJ" or "Talk no Jutsu" stuff comes in. Through the contact between their chakra, Naruto and Obito enter a sort of shared mental space. There, having connected to his memories, Naruto confronts Obito, frustrated that someone so like him turned out how he did. A lot of the shit discussed has already been covered though, so this'll be brief. I'll just post some interesting tidbits I may not have covered well enough earlier. First is this:

Obito viewed himself as the second coming of the Sage. Looking solely at the first image, you might think he was referring to Madara. But as shown in the second from his talk with Naruto, he really was referring to himself. He also refers to Nagato as the “Third Sage of the Six Paths” after his fight with Konan, presumably as someone who also carried his will.

Why did he not include Madara as a Sage? Well for whatever reason, Obito never seemed to trust Madara. He never wanted him revived, and has stated he never saw him as an ally

Might have something to do with that puppet seal Madara planted in him to prevent him from becoming the Jinchuriki himself. Another interesting point in Obito’s talk with Naruto is this parallel with the Kakashi Gaiden. Chapter 241: 

Chapter 653:

Slick. So at the end of this talk, Obito is more conflicted than ever, and with the combined power of both Kurama and the Allied Forces, The Biju are released from Obito. It works well thematically as an end to Obito's threat, because Naruto both utilized the power of all his comrades on the battlefield (in the ultimate triumph of Obito’s original philosophy over his new one), and Kurama's power, which was originally placed in Naruto for the purpose of defeating Obito in the first place.

Having been definitively beaten, Kakashi has a final talk with Obito about the path he chose. 

And guess what the chapter ends on?

Our friend, the panel from Chapter 573. Fucking slick and thematically poignant. At this point, Obito finally accepts that his path was wrong, and the whole Nagato thing that jumpstarted his indecision is given a conclusion as well.

He resolves to give his life to Rinne Tensei his victims in the war, but Black Zetsu intervenes and forces Madara's resurrection. Obito is put out of commission for a while, but eventually regains his senses, and uses Madara as a means to steel his resolve. Sure, he had switched sides, but he was mellow, depressed, and wrought with guilt. He didn’t even believe himself worthy of redemption.

But by talking with Madara, Obito contrasts Madara's ideals with that of Naruto (and also his own original ideals), and finally reclaims his identity as Obito Uchiha, resolving to do his best and end the war.

This layout with Obito caught between Naruto's (in actuality his own) and Madara's ideologies is a small scale representation of a major theme of his character. Same with his fascination with Naruto and Sasuke, seeing a part of himself in both of thmm. Obito is the man on which the core of the Naruto series hinges. Even how his literal physical body was half Uchiha and half Senju DNA. He has always been a man of duality, represented by his association with the concept of Yin and Yang: 

Yin and Yang, or as Obito himself is fond of saying, Oil and Water.

Obito proved to be an extremely valuable ally in the fight against both Madara and Kaguya, and gave his life one more time to protect Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke. He fought on with everything he had to redeem himself for even a fraction of the damage he’d done. He died not as the Masked Man or the harbinger of calamity, but as Obito Uchiha. Obito, in my opinion, is the best written character in Naruto. There’s way too much unjustified hate and too many misconceptions about the character. I put this together out of my recognition of that and desire to share my passion for this boi. Thanks for reading all the way through (if you did) or even reading just a bit.

[cetaceans-pls]

These Girls Are Coming For You

My gift for @mamodewberry​ as part of the @tachibanamakotobirthdayexchange! This fic’s a bit of a wild grab bag of your prompts, and it’s been way too long since I indulged in some good quality MakoRin, so I hope you enjoy!

A day out at the beach when the weather's warm and the sea's calm is generally the stuff of dreams, but Rin's luck has always run a little contrary to reasonable expectations.

Or,

How Rin meets Makoto.

Free! Genderswap AU, MakoRin [1/?]

Fem!Rin, created here.

This is so embarrassing, Rin thinks to herself as the rip current tears her away from the beach. If her bikini top comes off, she’s going to be pissed. This is probably karma for telling her mother that it’s fine, if she can be a professional swimmer who primarily trains in Australia of all places, she can go to the beach by herself.

Rin is careful to keep her head above water; do enough open water training and being caught in an undertow or a rip current is a clear and present danger, and she’s dealt with this before.

Admittedly, the one time she had gotten caught it was during training, there were plenty of pro swimmers out there with her, and she was in her competition suit, so staying afloat had been pretty easy even if the panic had been worse. This time she’s in a heinous bikini, because Gou had wanted to match but then had ditched her, and why’s a girl gotta get stuck in a potentially dangerous situation when she’s dressed at her most vulnerable and she’s just been dumped by her sister?

It’s just one of those days, Rin thinks to herself as she presses one hand to her chest to hold her (admittedly! Not very! ample!) chest in and with the other she starts to try swimming across the current, eyes on the beach. It’s deserted this early in the day, and it’s just another reminder of the absolute dumbassery of going for a splash at the beach for a sulk, then deciding to swim a few laps in open water without a spotter.

She’s going to burn this bikini when she gets home, Rin thinks to herself, before deciding that honestly if there’s no one here then there’s no one who’s going to mind potential toplessness. The current’s a little stronger than she expected, and while Rin’s got full confidence in her swimming, being dragged out to open water is still just that side of too ill-advised, even for someone who rarely listens to good sense when she could listen to herself instead.

It’s fortunate, probably, that Rin’s never developed a fear of the ocean, despite losing her father in a storm at sea. It’s spite, probably. Nobody and nothing gets to take anything from Rin she doesn’t want to give, and she most certainly won’t let it happen twice! The razzing she will get from her mother and sister if this is how she dies! Her coach will be at her funeral, going this is why I told you to have recovery days! Being put on a tapering break this far ahead of competition despite vehement requests to the contrary is already bad enough, thank you very much.

Spite maybe isn’t enough of a motivator to stave off death every time (after all, Rin’s certain that if being determined enough could keep somebody alive, her father would still be around), but for now it has her gritting her teeth as she slices through the water, breaking out of the current mere moments after being caught in the first place.

It feels like a lifetime, she's out of breath, and it's been a while since Rin has found herself thinking about her father's death, so all in all? What a shitty day. Near-death experience got her in bullet-time mode, which gave her ample opportunity to go over the weird, achy thoughts she would much prefer to completely ignore.

Deciding that if she's going to be in a bad mood she might as well work it out of her system before she rolls back home tired and buzzing at the edges, Rin flops over onto her back to just… decompress. The sun is out in full now, and the pleasant heat helps her to re-centre herself.

Well…. The sun, and years of putting in the effort to address the tire fire that was her teenage years. No one person should cry so much in so little time, all the while aggressively marinading in teen angst and too much fancy soap. Rin credits friends and family for getting her through that, and as she got older she started to credit the effort she put in too, and it’s been… better.

She’s never been a stranger to hard work, after all.

Thoughts all aligned in a row, Rin rolls her shoulders, wishes she had had the forethought to bring her waterproof music player with her, and slowly comes apart at the seams. She’s at home, the sun is warm and the sea is cool, she has the week off in Iwatobi for tapering before the whole family fly out to Tokyo, and the hotel her mother has booked is extremely close to the Olympic village.

Anxiety’s not as common of a companion now that she’s been a professional swimmer for more than a few years, but Tokyo 2020 will do a number on you if you’re a Japanese swimmer on home turf no matter how well-adjusted you are, probably. Rin idly floats around, wondering how long she can get away with this before the sun gets her red right across her nose, when she’s startled by a lot of shouting and even more splashing.

Looking up, Rin doesn’t spot the source of the commotion immediately. The beach is still mostly deserted, and barely any cars are out and about yet this early on a weekend. She’s half-worried that she had imagined the whole thing before the splashing gets rapidly louder and closer, and that’s when Rin realises that someone is, in fact, swimming towards her.

Confused, Rin slowly starts paddling towards them. Initially she had wondered if Gou had ditched her breakfast meet-up with a visiting friend to come join her, but long red hair is pretty easy to spot, and Gou, while an overwhelmingly competent swimmer, is not this ferocious in the water.

Rin doesn’t have a hell of a lot of time to think things through before the swimmer surfaces right by her, and suddenly she’s got a faceful of, oh my god , the single most attractive woman she’s ever seen in the entirety of her life.

Rin’s a professional athlete with a generally amorous attitude; the world is full of incredibly attractive woman, and yet here, on this day when she’s wearing an extremely flimsy leopard-print bikini, is when she must come face to face with the person God decided to use as proof of his abilities should he choose to flex.

It takes a while for thoughts to process, but Rin eventually manages to flash a big smile (not the teeth! The teeth!) and flirtily drop a “Hi, you.”

Further conversation is halted completely when she realises the woman looks absolutely terrified, is holding on to her with bone-white knuckles as she struggles to stave of hyperventilating, and is fully-dressed in what looks like a neat uniform.

Worry edging out unbearable thirstiness, Rin treads water and holds the newcomer up by her waist, trying to figure out the sequence of events that led to this moment. “Hey, are you okay? Did you pull a muscle?”

One doesn’t usually pull a muscle on land and then roll out this far into the sea, and Rin knows she’s not asking a reasonable question even as she asks it, but the woman she’s holding looks like she’s completely out of it, and running her mouth is helping Rin keep calm as she deals with the second emergency of the day.

The woman’s breathing is coming in shorter and shorter pants, and Rin makes the executive decision that enough is enough. She tries to remember the lifeguard training she had when she was working part-time in Sydney, and wrenches the woman’s arm up around her shoulder, making sure that her head remains above water.

It both helps and is utterly awful that woman is completely immobile. It’s easier to swim to shore with someone who isn’t struggling, but her quiet rigidity is creeping Rin the hell out. She spots her obnoxiously bright neon green beach towel from a distance, and heads right for it. She has dry clothes there, and her phone, as well as a protein bar and a fresh towel. Rin’s got no idea which of these things might help the woman she’s currently rescuing, but it’s definitely better than nothin' but sand.

Out of the water, the woman’s incredible build and height become evident, but Rin doesn’t have a chance to admire it as much as she would want to, instead staggering under the additional weight as her feet sink into the sand. It’s a struggle, but soon they reach her blessed beach towel, and Rin’s never been happier to see fluorescent green in her life. As gingerly as she can manage, Rin kneels and offloads the woman onto the towel, and tries to lay her out comfortably. At some point between her reaching Rin and Rin reaching shore, she seems to have lost consciousness, and Rin is fucking terrified that the woman had swallowed water while Rin had been focused on swimming.

Nothing for it. She fumbles and grabs her phone out of her bag, hitting speed dial and turning on speakerphone before turning to her, ah, patient. She can feel a pulse, but not much breathing. The training centre Rin’s based at made CPR training mandatory for all athletes based there after a terrible incident a couple of years ago, so while Rin waits for the call to connect she takes a deep breath, and ducks down to begin mouth-to-mouth.

It’s like something out of an extremely cheesy movie, but Rin really shouldn’t be shocked by this because the whole day has already been like an awful sitcom, but with 2 inches between their mouths and the Most Beautiful Woman in the World wakes up with a start, dragging in deep, shuddering breaths as Rin reels backwards, extremely grateful to have avoided being headbutted.

They share a tense moment staring at each other, before the woman flushes red so deeply and so quickly it gives Rin a headrush. It can’t be normal, and Rin’s so busy being concerned she doesn’t hear the “Hello? Rin, is that you?” coming from her phone.

“Hey,” Rin says as softly as she can, the 3rd time she’s tried a greeting. “You okay?”

The woman nods, still looking away, so Rin perseveres. “You wanna tell me what happened out there? Or, how about just start with a name?” While she waits for the woman to gather herself, Rin moves on autopilot and pushes a snack into her hands, and pulls out a towel to start drying the almost-drowning-victim. She’s been an older sister for much of her life, and even if the circumstances leading up to the messy rescue are unclear, these fundamental acts of looking after another person aren’t difficult. It buys them both time, and once Rin’s satisfied with how well she’s dried off the woman, she reaches over for her windcheater to pull on something dry.

God, leopard-print bikini in Iwatobi is such an awful look, and Gou cannot be allowed to get away with convincing her that it’s appropriate swimwear.

Rin’s about to reach over and rip open the candy bar herself when the woman seems to gather enough of herself to look up through unfairly thick lashes, and shyly says “Hi. I’m Makoto.”

Keen to not make it obvious how badly she wants to stare, Rin just flashes a toothy grin. “Hi, Makoto, nice to meet you. I’m Rin. How’re you feeling?”

Tugging the towel around her shoulders tighter, Makoto brushes a lock of drenched hair behind her ear. “Pretty embarrassed,” she admits, still beet-red but still looking at Rin. “I was walking by on my way to work, and I thought I saw someone being pulled out to sea. The currents here can be a bit tricky, and when I saw you floating I thought you had passed out.” She laughs, but it comes off like she’s laughing at herself. “That was my rescue attempt.”

That explains the neat collared shirt and the cute slacks, and why Makoto still had them one when she had dashed into the water, but it doesn’t explain everything to Rin. “Thanks, the rip current was a bit of a shocker, but after I got out of it I was just floating around.” It feels like there’s more to the story, and while she’s not really known for delicacy, Rin doesn’t want to distress her lady-knight in shiny armour more than she has to. “Uh. Did you pull something trying to swim out to me? Your form was looking great, but then you suddenly stopped, and….” It’s a doozy trying to come up with an ending to the sentence that wasn’t just, that freaked me the hell out, what the hell happened to you? , so Rin ends lamely with “If you got cramped up or something, I can help.”

Makoto shakes her head, and looks miserable. “This is going to sound really stupid,” she whispers, and Rin doesn’t know much about this girl aside from her name and her tendency to run headfirst into danger at the first sign of trouble but she knows this isn’t going to be stupid, “but, uhm. I’m. Mmm.” The blush that had been receding a little before comes back again full-force. “I’m terrified of the ocean.”

Rin blinks, and then blinks, and blinks once more for good measure. “You’re scared of the sea,” Rin tries to clarify, “so when you saw someone you thought was drowning, your first instinct was to rush in anyways?”

The smile she gets from Makoto is equal parts embarrassed and determined. Makoto tugs at a loose thread in the towel, and breaks eye contact. “Well,” Makoto starts, before stopping and clearing her throat. “They’re really big on decisive action at the fire station, and generally if we didn’t do things that scared us we wouldn’t get much done.” She draws her head up and her shoulders back, and with the bearing of someone you absolutely would want to see in an emergency, smiles at Rin with the burning surety of a thousand suns. “I thought you were in trouble, so nothing was going to stop me from trying to help.”

Rin’s struck dumb, because 1. Face of an angel is a whole-ass emergency responder who literally works in the business of saving lives; 2. God, hauling equipment and people sure does explain why Makoto’s shoulders and back look like a revelation sent down by overnight delivery straight from Heaven; and 3., Rin’s never been so attracted to somebody so quickly in her life.

Makoto seems to take the silence as a general sign of displeasure, because she fidgets with the towel again, clearly embarrassed. “It doesn’t sound cool when I ended up being the one who needed saving, huh?”

That spurs Rin into action, even if it’s her rolling her eyes and clicking her tongue. “You literally dived headfirst into your biggest fear because someone needed saving, and your day job is literally running headfirst into fire because somebody needs saving. What part of that doesn’t sound cool to you?” Rin’s absolutely serious, because literally what could be cooler? Oh, and that wasn’t even the whole of it. “Not to mention, your swim stroke’s gorgeous . Trust me, I’d know. I’m a professional.”

Good job , Rin thinks to herself. Casually drop in a fun fact about yourself to lowkey appeal to Makoto. It’d be great if she can allude to being an Olympian before she asks her saviour

(?) out for brunch. What a great plan!

Makoto’s whole face lights up, and if she had been blindingly gorgeous before, this is like a punch to the face Rin is happy to endure. It feels a lot like how it felt to bask in the sun just minutes ago, and it’s hard-going trying to resist closing her eyes and sighing in comfort.

“Oh, I thought you looked familiar! Aren’t you Team Japan’s-”

“Rin?” A new voice calls out. “What’s going on?”

-

A/N: Written for Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange 2019, this is for mamodewberry! 

I got a bit overexcited when I saw your list included genderswap (which I love) and MakoRin (which I also love), 2 things I don't get to play with enough. There's a dash of Firefighter!Makoto in here too, because something's got to explain those Shoulders and that Back, and a splash of character study, because everyone is just so moody all the time.

There's a continuation to this but because things got a little out of hand, pls get in touch so I can check a couple of things with you before I post the next chapter!

[chikwritesstuff]

One Way Ticket

(Kaminari X Reader Songfic)

Remember that night

I had to leave you

I sighed as I leaned against the door frame of our bedroom, watching him gather his items last minute.

Golden eyes frantic as he looked over his things not wanting to forget anything. He soon zipped up his suitcase and began to make his way towards the door. His movements rushed as he was going to be late for his flight to America.

His hero agency was sending him as a reinforcement there, due to a large natural disaster that occurred in California. Multiple other agencies were sending their own heroes as well.

I helped him with his things as we walked down the stairs of our apartment. Bakugo honking at us from the parking lot below, cursing at us to hurry up. Kirishima and Sero were the only others in the car.

My mind was full of worry as I looked at Kaminari, I didn't want him to leave. He'd be gone for almost a month or more depending on how long it would take to rescue civilians and restore the damage. I knew the risk of traveling and being a hero in general, after all, I am a hero as well.

We soon reached the car, Bakugo opening the trunk, mumbling about how they still needed to pick up Mina and deal with traffic.

"I'll be back soon, I promise," Kaminari told me as he gave me his signature smile. "I'm your hero after all. I'll always come home to you."

My (e/c) eyes softened at his words, releasing the breath I was holding.

"I know... Just please be careful Denki," I replied, reaching out and caressing his cheek.

He put his own hand against mine and leaned into my warm touch. The blonde soon pulled me in for a hug, holding me close. His embrace full of love, reassuring me of everything. He smirked as he began to attack my face with kisses, leaving my lips for last.

"I love you, (Y/N)," Kaminari told me, his words nothing but the truth as he kissed me.

I returned his kiss, it was full of love and care, his soft lips were so warm and soft. We made a promise to show our love to each other like this every time we left each other, no matter how long it would be.

We pulled away for air as Sero wolf whistled, teasing us.

I blushed at this, looking back up at my love.

"I love you too, Denki."

He closed the trunk and walked towards the car, opening the door with a loving glance.

"Tch, ‘bout time. You sure you'll be alright without this idiot?," Bakugo asked as looked at me from the driver side.

You said

"It's alright, It's his job after all."

He gave me a sad smile as they all said their goodbyes, leaving me alone in the parking lot.

and I believed you

I felt the wind blow through my hair, allowing strands to get stuck in my tears. I was full of nothing except worry.

"Please be safe Denki, I love you too much to lose you...."

No good at goodbyes

*Time skip*

I sighed as I had gone through my day, working as the school nurse under Recovery Girl. I was to take her place due to her wanting to retire, so I've been working for the school.  

I was helping out three students who had gotten injured during training, my brows furrowed as I finished wrapping one of their arms in bandages.

My quirks allowed me to diagnose what was wrong with a person, whether it be physically or mentally and gave me the power to calm anyone I saw. I could only diagnose the person if I touched them, if I wanted more details or diagnosed too many people I would faint or have a nosebleed. I was also able to heal injuries, but the price of that was taking away their pain and making it my own.

"Excuse me, Ms. (L/N)," One of the students perked up.

"Hm, What is it Ayaka?"

"I think you're using more bandages than you should be....," She commented, pointing at one of the other students' legs.

I looked down at it, seeing that I wrapped practically used all of the bandages and made a cast.

No good without you

"Oh! I'm sorry Obi, it seems I've overdone it," I apologized, undoing my work.

"Is something wrong Ms. (L/N)? Maybe we can help you?!," Inari suggested as her eyes sparkled.

"No no, It's alright. I'm fine,” I tried to reassure them, giving a small smile.

"The fact that you made a cast shows you aren't."

"Yeah and you don't usually do something like that."

I let out another sigh as I was almost finished undoing my work, giving in to their request. I'm sure they wouldn't lighten up even if I turned them down.

"Well, as you've seen on the news, the natural disaster in California was so bad some hero agencies have sent their own heroes to help... And my boyfriend was one of the chosen one to go."

"You have a boyfriend?!?!" The girls questioned, surprised by my comment.

"Oh? I'm sorry to hear that Ms. (L/N)," Obi replied ignoring his female classmates.

"It's alright, it's his job after all. No matter how far away or how dangerous the job, I'm always going to be worried.”

Better by your side

"I'm sure he's alright! I bet you picked a good one who's a fighter just like you are!," Ayaka cheered while the other two nodded in agreement.

I laughed at her comment, nodding as I finished my work on Obi.

"Alright you three are good to go, now get to class!"

"Yes Ms. (L/N)!!!"

I smiled as I watched them leave, looking down at the silver bracelet the blond had gotten my for our one year anniversary.

*Flashback*

"Happy one year (F/N)!," Kaminari exclaimed as he burst into the general ed class.

Said person had jumped at his words, blushing in embarrassment as they became the center of attention. The energetic boy charged over to your seat, greeting his friend Shinso in the process. I smiled and stood up from my seat, my arms out as he jumped into them.

"Happy one year Denki."

We smiled at each other once we pulled away, our gazes full of love and admiration. His smile grew as he kissed my forehead, using his height against me.

"I got you something."

"It better not be another pokémon onesie."

"You know you love our matching Pikachu onesies!"

"...You got me there-"

"Anyway~ Before I was so rudely interrupted."He began, as he pulled out a wrapped box from his pocket, holding it out to me.

I looked up at him, yellow orbs staring back at me expectantly, a blush dusted across his cheeks. I kissed his cheek before taking the gift from his hands, unwrapping the sunflower themed wrapping paper. Under it was a box, upon opening it there was a silver bracelet.

'Sparks fly when I'm with you'

My mouth was agape as I looked at it in awe, carefully grazing the letters.

"I love it!," I exclaimed, putting it on, admiring it more before tackling the electric boy.

Wish I could be there with you

* Denki P.O.V. *

I panted as I used my quirk to light up my body, helping to lead the way back to the first aid camp. I carried a teenager on my back as those who weren't as injured walked behind me. Kirishima carrying two children in the back, making sure no one got left behind. Katsuki had cleared a path from the rubble, Sero using his own quirk to secure any unstable ground and broken pipes that threatened to fall from the ceiling.

"It's okay, we'll make it out of here. Everything's going to be fine," He reassured the girl over his shoulder.

Another tremor hit, it hadn't been as harsh as many of the others had been but it lasted longer. My quirk flickered as the ground shook, stopping my quirk and leaving us in darkness. The civilians screamed and cried, their hope fading as they didn't want to die. Kirishima and I were doing our best to protect and reassure everyone. We looked at each other, fear in our eyes but we pushed it aside. We kept moving, helping them until they got out of the wreckage.

Other heroes, police, and anyone else able to move were helping to get those who were injured back to the first aid camp.

"Denki, we need you over here stat! A few of the generators went out and we can't get them back up, hurry!," Mina called out as they arrived.

The blonde rushed over to where he was needed, using his quirk to restart the generators. His eyes contracting when he heard nurses and doctors panicking. He hadn't been quick enough to save a few patients lives.

I'm feeling lost without you

Tears fell from his brown orbs, frozen as everything around him became silent and formed into a ringing noise.

Denki, wake up.

Come on

Denki Kaminari, wake up

Time to wake up love.

DeNKI!

"Wake up! Come on already!" Sero called out as he shook his best friend.

Kaminari groaned as he began to to so,"Ugh..What...? What happened?"

"You blacked out after over working your quirk with the generators."

"Oh..."

"Just rest for awhile, I'll go get you something to eat," His friend reassured, giving him a pat on the shoulder before leaving him in the tent that was for the heroes to rest, given the opportunity.

In this empty bed where I'm all alone

I've been such a mess

The electric user sighed, holding his head in his hands, body shaking. It was never easy for heroes to deal with losing the lives of civilians. He never handled death well, but then again, who did?

His phone vibrated next to him, a message appearing on the screen. Kaminari's gaze softening as it was from you.

Need a one way ticket

Anywhere you are is where I want to go

You are my address

I don't care how I get it

'I miss you Denki, but I love you even more. My love, I know the work you're doing is hard...but you're giving it your all too. It’s hard I know, remember that I believe in you. You’re my hero after all.’

I need a one way ticket

Tears fell from his eyes, all he wanted to do was go

Home

To be with you.

I need a one way ticket

Home

*Your P.O.V.*

When you’re not with me

These days are boring

I groan as I sit up from being hunched over at my desk. My bones cracking as I stretched in my chair, a sigh of relief escaping my lips. (E/C) eyes glancing over the two other stacks of paperwork I had left to do. I sit in my chair lazily as I look out the window. It was sunny with barely any clouds. Closing my eyes, I focused on the sounds around me. The students yelling and practicing outside, a few of the teachers themselves scribbling their own students papers, birds chirping, a phone ringing….wait-

“That’s my phone!,” I call out as I search through the piles on my desk for it.

Kaminari Denki (Love of my life)

“Denki?,” I answer the phone, walking outside into the hallway.

“(Y/N)...”

My eyes had begun to sting as I heard his voice, blinking as my tears began to fall.

The blonde himself was already crying,“I miss you so much…”

“I miss you too Kaminari…”

Wish it were easy

“I don’t know how much longer I can take this, I can’t call myself a-”

“Denki, don’t you even finish that sentence,” I interject wanting nothing more than to hold him in my arms.

“But I don’t! I lost them… I wasn’t quick enough to save them,”He cried out, voice in pain as he clutched onto the phone like it was his lifeline.

“Denki…,” I began,taking a breath as I try to figure out my words. “Denki Kaminari, you have proven yourself a hero more times than I can count.. You’ve saved so many people, families, animals,...you saved me. Hell, you’re the number 7 on the Hero Billboard chart.”

“You are a Hero, most of all you’re mine.”

After that it was silent, except for the sounds of both of us sniffling, until I heard him moving on the other side.

“What would I do without you?”

“You wouldn’t have passed English that’s for sure”

“Eh?! I wasn’t that bad!”

“If you had failed another test Aizawa would’ve been pissed!”

“...You got me there.”

The both of us letting out breathy laughs, reminiscing over how we would study together.

Like Sunday morning

*Flashback - Kaminari’s P.O.V.*

I yawned while I stretched, feeling the warmth of something pressed against me. My eyes blinking open at the realization, soon gazing at the figure I held in my arms. My gaze soft as I know who it is by the mop of (h/c) hair.

When I’d be waking up with you

I chuckled at the sight of her drooling face, mumbling about how it was gross but cute. Yellow eyes soon meeting (e/c), wait-

“How long were you gonna keep staring at me?”

“Till my eyes go as dry as Aizawa-sensei’s.”

Her laugh was music to my ears and I wanted to hear it on repeat. That reminds me..

“You ready for that concert later?”

Her (e/c) eyes began to sparkle at the reminder of it, practically glowing at the mention of it.

Only doing those things we wanna do

“Yes!!! I can’t wait, we deserve it after all that studying we did. Even if we’ll be dead tired on Monday, I’m sure we’ll pass that test!”

I looked away nervously, a smug grin on my face. I wasn’t completely sure if I would pass, but if (Y/N) believes in me, I can do anything. My gaze shifted back to the determined look in her eyes and smile on her face.

“I’m sure we will.”

My heart is anywhere you go

When I’m next to you I’m home

*Your P.O.V.*

“Wish I could be there with you…,” I said softly into the phone, glancing at the bracelet on my wrist.

“I’ll be home soon I promise… I have to go now, I love you (Y/N)”

“I love you too Denki, be careful…”

The phone had gone silent after that, tears falling as I looked up to the ceiling. My heart and mind ached, wanting nothing more than to be with him.

“I’m feeling lost without you…”

*Timeskip to later on that night*

In this empty bed

Where I’m all alone

I’ve been such a mess

Worry filled my mind as I held on to his pillow, wearing one of his jackets that had his scent. It was reassuring, but all it did was make you want the real thing even more.

“That’s it,” I said as I got up and began to pack my bag.

I didn’t bother folding or organizing, just grabbing the necessities and my hero outfit. I took a quick shower, changed, and was already in a taxi to the airport. My feet leading me to an american airline.

“I need a one way ticket,” I began as the employee listened to me, seeing the determination in my eyes. “To California, please. I’ll take the earliest flight, I don’t care what seating class I’ll take it.”

“We have a plane that leaves in an hour and a half, there’s a few seats left in business class.,” They replied after searching through the flights, looking up in approval for me.

I took out my credit card and nodded, handed it to her with a smile. I looked towards the planes as they did what needed to be done, my heart still beating fast.

“Here you go, have a safe flight,” They said while holding out my card and ticket. “I wish the best for you with whatever you’re doing Miss.”

“Thank you.”

Anywhere you are

Is where I want to go

You are my address

I don't care how I get it

I need a one way ticket

Home I was on the plane a few minutes before it took off, my adrenaline rush fading. I looked out of the window, noticing the stars still out at 4 am. My eyes began to feel heavy and I looked at my bracelet once more.

“Kaminari…..Wait for me,” I whispered before falling into cold slumber.

In this empty bed

Where I'm all alone

I've been such a mess

*Kaminari’s P.O.V.*

I coughed hard through the smoke and debri, a building structure that was marked unsafe finally collapsed. However, it was so strong that it broke an escape route to the camp. All I could hear was ringing, as I looked back at the scared family I was rescuing with Todoroki and Shinsou. The both of them remaining calm, but I could see the frustration and worry from our problem.

The three of us had circled around the family, just in case there was more rubble falling. Two of their children had begun to cry, making us nervous and think frantically of a plan. All we could do was hope for the others to notice and search for us, as it would be even more dangerous for us to head back into the fallen building we found them in.

“I’ll go look for another way out,” I said, making a decision for us.

“Kaminari, we should wait for the others.,” Todoroki replied, his tone calm.

Shinsou looked at me unsurly but nodded, understanding my decision.

“We don’t know how long they’ll take and we don’t know if another wave will hit.,” The purple haired hero commented as he looked at Shoto.

The half-n-half hero hesitated before nodding at me, “Signal us on the coms if you find a route or need assistance.”

I gave them a thumbs up before running off back to the building. Every step I took was cautious as I looked around for an exit, quickly walking through the rubble and clear paths we had made.

Come on… We have to get out of here.

I panted as I stood and looked around, my gaze wandering upward and seeing sunlight. Hope flashed in my eyes as my lips tugged upward.

“I think I found a way out, we just need to climb up a bit. Shinsou, you think we could use your capture weapon? I’m sure we could use that to tie the family up and Shoto could use his ice to lift them up,” I spoke into the coms, feeling confident that we would get them out safely.

“Yeah I do, sounds like a plan Chargebolt. Now get back here and lead us to it.,” Shinsou replied as he smiled underneath his mask, proud of his friend.

I returned to them safely, guiding them back to our improvised exit. Shinsou had gotten up safely, securing the capture weapon on a solid pillar before throwing the rest down to us. We had wrapped up the family carefully, Shoto with them, using his ice to rise up. I smiled at them, seeing them safe as Shinsou threw the end of it back down to me.

The ground began to shake again, but now it was due to the unstable ground not being able to handle the wait of the ice pillars. The ground began to fall, my eyes widening in panic as I ran towards the cloth. I was barely able to grab on to it, but my grasp was slipping.

“Hang on Denki!!!,” Shinsou called out, trying to pull me back up with the help of Shoto.

I cursed as I tried to pull myself up, only to fail and my grasp to slip more. I began to tear up as I struggled, the two of them making little progress pulling me up.

“Shinou, take care of (Y/N) for me if I don’t make it… That I’ll always love her, and ‘goodbye’.,” I tell him looking up, knowing my grip will give out at any second.

“DENKI-!,” They called out before I lost my grip, falling down into the rubble.

Tears trailed after me as I fell, my thoughts filled with you. We never said ‘goodbye’, only ‘See you later’  or ‘I love you’, because ‘goodbye’ would be forever.

If I say goodbye

...You’ll surely forget me

Within moments I hit the ground, losing consciousness as I felt my head it the cement hard and something impale the side of my stomach.

*Your P.O.V.*

I had arrived safely at the earthquake affected area, quickly rushing towards the first aid tents. My eyes frantic as I looked for the yellow hair I loved so much. I eventually saw familiar spiky hair and others running towards a collapsed building, my heart and stomach dropping. I quickly followed them seeing Shinsou crying as he looked down an open gap between scraps of the building.

“Shinsou! What happened? Where Denki?!,” I questioned, eyes tearing up as I had grabbed his shoulder to look at me.

His eyes widened, showing nothing but grief as I looked into them.

“He’s.. “He’s down there, but we don’t even know if he’s alive to the fall he took and the debri-,” Shoto explained for him, eyes feeling guilty as he hadn’t considered the weight of his ice.

I didn’t hesitate to grab the rope from one of the other medics, my eyes full of worry, determination, and hints of hope.

“Hold tight and drop me down, now.,” I ordered as I tied myself around the rope and took the first aid kit from another medic.

“You heard her! Do what she says!,” Katsuki ordered as he grabbed the rope as well as the rest of the others who were there.

I was lowered down to him within minutes, eventually spotting a small spike of pure yellow hair. I quickly yelled that I found him, rushing over and seeing the damage. He was barely breathing, blood leaking from the back of his head, a metal rod impaling the side of his stomach. I could tell he had broken his ribs, left leg and right arm.

Kirishima and Sero had followed after me as I was fixing his leg and arm.

“I need you two to take out this rod, I’m not strong enough to do it on my own.,” I told them, tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t care.

They simply nodded, pulling it out with a countdown, I quickly placed my hands over his the hole in his side. Screams erupting from me as I felt the pain from the injury. Any internal and external damage from it healing at a good pace while I felt a bruise forming on my own side.

I panted heavily as it eventually healed fully, my body aching as I turned to Kaminari. I slowly moved my arms, hands caressing his cheeks and pulling his head towards me. I rested my forehead against him, using my quirk once more. I held in my screams, feeling a painful headache as I looked at him.

There’s no second chance if I lose you

This, I know

I soon collapsed after I finished, Kirishima and Sero calling my name, thankfully being caught by the red haired male in time. Blood dripped from my nose and I looked pale. Yellow eyes weakly opened, seeing my figure and questioning me before knocking out once more.

I don’t care how I get it

(Third Person P.O.V.)

The electric hero had woken up first, groaning from the light surrounding the room. Eyes blinking away the tiredness as he heard voices become hushed and the beeping of machines. He looked through the room once his eyes adjusted, seeing his friends.

“What happened?,” Kaminari asked softly as Shinsou stood beside him with tired eyes that seemed worse than usual.

“You.. Your grip began to slip and you had practically fallen to your death.,” He explained as his eyes burned as they began to tear up. “I was too in shock to go down...but (Y/N)-”

“(Y/N) was there…?” The blonde asked as his mind flashed to the short moment of consciousness. “I thought I was dreaming, where is she now?”

The group of friends looked around, Todoroki speaking up, “They’re fine, they over used their quirk. The doctors said they’d be sleeping for awhile, but can’t confirm if she’s comatose.”

His heart sank at the reply, he was the cause of you overusing your quirk. Tears began to leak out of the corner of his eyes, hands clutching the blanket draped over him on the hospital bed.

Need a one way ticket

“Take me to see her,” He requested as he looked up at his fellow heroes. “Please..”

They all nodded, hesitant about moving him after waking up but did so nonetheless. Kirishima helping to place him in a wheelchair as the others handled the rest, soon sneaking him into the next room.

Kaminari wanted nothing more than to see you, to see the one person who made anywhere

Home

You lied on the hospital bed peacefully, your (H/L) (H/C) sprawled out on the pillow. The heart rate slower than it should be, but beating. They had used too much energy healing up their lover, but if it meant Kaminari would be okay they would do it again. Denki was their everything, he was the one who brightened up their day and always made them smile. He was always more than what he portrayed to be. He was your hero.

Need a one way ticket

Sero had rolled him over to your bedside, everyone leaving the room to give him space.

Kaminari had reached out, taking your hand, he remembered how they were smaller and warmer than his own. He pressed his chap lips against your skin, something he often did to tease you.

“I’m so sorry…”

I need a one way ticket

“Please wake up...”

“I need you…”

Home

“I love you (Y/N).”

Home

Kaminari had used whatever strength he had to get up and leaned over to you, kissing your lips gently.

I don’t care how I get it

Throughout the week you were in and out of consciousness, Kaminari staying by your side completely. He always cried when you woke up, thankful that you were alright. The others forcing him to clean up and separate after each day, knowing you wanted him to take care of himself. You told him as well, not wanting to hug a leaky battery who smelled like rotten eggs.

After nearly a week and a half you made a full recovery, consciousness and health stable. You were back to 100% and were so happy to be back on our feet. All of your friends and Kaminari escorted you after being dismissed from the hospital. Seeing as all of you were still in California and the rescue had been successful, you were able to relax. The heroes getting time off after such a difficult rescue job and you since vacation days were a thing.

The whole group of you had fun, exploring the sites, eating the food, going to the beach and amusement parks California was known for.

The last day of your trip you spent with Kaminari at an amusement park, as the both of you enjoyed the adrenaline rush of the rides. Both of you wearing each others hero merch. (Momo had made everyone jackets/shirts of their hero outfits a couple Christmas’ ago.)

As midnight dawned and the park was close to closing, the blonde had brought you to the main square of the park. The both of you standing in the center, the area surprisingly empty?

(E/c) eyes looking around as you soon heard fireworks, gaze looking up and reading the bursting message.

“Will you marry me?”

Tears flowed from your eyes as you read it, now looking down to see the love of your life on his knee. He held up a beautiful ring, two silver lightning bolts  holding a beautiful diamond in the middle.

You nodded, exclaiming repetitive “YES!”’s as you tackled him into a hug on the ground.

Unbeknownst to you, everyone was watching and recording from all angles with the help of a certain gravity defining hero, see through rope, long lenses, and some drones. They all cheered as they saw the scene in front of them, Kaminari crying happy tears as well.

“I love you so much,” The both of you told each other, kissing each other passionately.

The Stun Gun Hero had slipped on your ring carefully as he kissed you, holding your hand gently.

The two of you would always be there for each other, no matter how far or dangerous.

Need a one way ticket

Home