#ao3 snack

[thevoidstaredback]

Danny smiled from his place on the clocktower roof. He'd been in Gotham for a while now, two years to the day exactly, but he'd never get tired of the view. Sure, he hated not being able to see the stars at night, but there were worse things. He did make sure to leave the city every night to see them, though.

He liked being up high. It reminded him of, not simpler times, but times when he wasn't as alone. Jazz had made her way to Harvard, Tucker was MIT, and Sam was at Pomona. Danny was nowhere.

They say after he turned fourteen, he died. It, to say the least, wasn't a pleasant or painless death, though it didn't hurt past the initial shock and revival. When he was sixteen, he realized he wasn't aging. Sure, Danny Fenton aged until he was sixteen, but Danny Phantom stopped at fourteen. Good for keeping a secret identity, but horrible for wanting to half live normally.

The day after he turned eighteen, exactly four years after he died, Danny disappeared. He left everything behind and hid out in the one place he'd always said he'd avoid. It was the one place no one would look for him. The one place where he was just another face in the crowd.

Gotham City allowed Danny the anonymity that normally came with death. Instead of just another headstone in the graveyard or a body in the harbor, though, he was just another kid on the streets in a busted hoodie and jeans. No one looked twice and no one asked questions.

In the two years he's spent on the streets of Gotham, he's learned a lot. Survival was something all humans are born with, but growing up with neglectful parents amplified that instinct. Dying and becoming an unwilling hero honed those instincts. Living in Gotham gave him a chance to learn more.

Learning the lay of the land was another thing he learned very quickly. Batman is over all of Gotham except for Crime Alley. That's Red Hood's haunt. Gotham Proper was split into blurry lines and shared between Batman and Robin, Red Robin, Orphan, and Spoiler. Nightwing is over Gotham's sister city, Bludhaven. Signal is the only day shift, so he had the most ground to cover in the least amount of time.

Of course, the Rouge's all had their own territories drawn with hard, barely flexible, lines. Black Mask was really the only one to breach those lines by trying to take Crime Alley, but Red Hood had been keeping him in check.

Learning the rules for each territory and how to interact with each person, Rouge or Vigilante, took time, but he managed. His own experiences had probably helped with that.

The next thing Danny had mapped out was where the neutral stations were. Every territory had them. They were places no one attacked because the important ones have standards. In Crime Alley, it's The Club. In Penguin's area, it's the Iceberg Lounge. Ivy marked off Robinson Park. Etcetera. The Joker is really the only major Rouge without a neutral mark on his map, but that's because he's more of an asshole than the rest. An asshole with standards, but an asshole nonetheless.

Very few of those neutral areas were available to spend the night in. Even fewer we're hiring. So, the homeless population of Gotham City stuck to the streets and back alleys.

However, there were two places Danny knew he could go where he'd be safe from scrutiny if someone looked too close at him. The Club in Crime Alley where all the working girls and boys checked in and reported any Bad Johns or Bad Janes, and The Iceberg Lounge in the richer parts of Gotham.

The clocktower was where Danny liked to spend his nights when the streets were too loud and the lights too bright and the fights too close for comfort. Oracle, who was Batman's eye in the sky and ear to the ground, worked from the clocktower, but he made sure to avoid her. It wasn't easy with what's basically super hearing that he can't turn off, but he found a spot near the very top where he could block out all Bat Business. Plausible deniability and all that.

Danny misses the stars. He misses being able to peek his head out of his bedroom window and name of each constellation he could see. He can't do that in Gotham because of the light pollution that clung to the sky like black mold. It was part of the reason he'd sworn to never go to Gotham.

There are Shades in Gotham. Shadows of people who have died but aren't quite ready to move on. He helps them as best he can, but there's so many that he sometimes feels like he's cutting off a Hydra's head. He gets to see results, though. Some days the parks are more colourful, the clouds have drifted enough to let natural sunlight through, and the graveyards are buzzing with thankful energy.

Danny forwent the thought of trying to get a job a while ago. As far as the world is concerned, Danny Fenton is missing, likely dead. Being dead, in case it wasn't well known, is a legal barrier. Sure, most jobs in Gotham didn't do background checks, but Danny didn't really want to join the Goonion. He's just fine living on the streets.

Ectoplasm is scarce compared to Amity Park, but that's to be expected. Besides, the miasma crushing the city like a weighted blanket was enough to sustain his basic abilities. Food was a bit harder to come by, but, like sleep, he could survive longer without it than a living being can. If anyone were to ever ask - though the likelihood of anyone even finding out - how he was alive, his answer was "Photosynthesis, but for ghosts."

Danny liked being just Danny. No name, no responsibilities outside of keeping himself alive.

Danny Fenton, the loser nerd who fell to the bottom of all his classes, who's obsessed with space and everything in it, who could tell you exactly how long it would take to get from Earth to Betelgeuse and back, is dead. He died the day after he turned fourteen.

Danny Phantom, the hatefully loved vigilante who appeared with the throngs of ghosts, who grew more powerful with every fight, who won more fights than he thought he could because there was no other option, is gone. He disappeared after exactly four years.

Danny just exists. He lives on the streets of Gotham City, staying away from trouble because he learned how to recognize it as soon as he could walk. He loves space and finds every opportunity he can to get out and watch the stars and moon and planets. He likes heights because being up that high reminds him of when he was living and not just surviving. Was there really a difference anymore? He hangs out in graveyards and the docks because the dead are so much more tolerable than the living.

Danny liked being just Danny because Danny doesn't have the world of Infinite Realms and Possabilities on his shoulder.

Danny likes to be able to just be for once.

Storyboard Part 2

[thatbennybee]

"I'm okay!!"

♪Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh, get back up again!♪

Poppy I am begging for you to just be normal and let Branch lead the way 🙏 you are going to die sweetie

[fanfic-writer-and-rambler]

Green Arrow: Welcome to the latest meeting for the Justice League. I know I promised donuts and coffee, but I was in a hurry and couldn't buy them.

Batman tosses his phone at Green Arrow in rage. Green Arrow's head knocks back in shock and he covers his eye in in pain.

Batman: Why am I even here?! God damn it!

Batman storms off.

Superman: I'll go deal with him.

Superman follows Batman.

Superman calling after. Batman: I have donuts, calm down.

Green Arrow stands up and rubbing his left eye.

Green Arrow: No one help me. I'm fine. Hit me in my good eye, but I'm good.

Green Lantern: Yeah, this could've been an email if you didn't bring snacks.

Vixen: Yeah I wanted Dunkin coffee again. I had to go through traffic for this!

Green Arrow sighs.

Arrow: If I go now can you all wait and stay for the important, not 'could've been an email' meeting?!

John Stewart (Green Lantern): Can you get me a bear claw, thank you.

Wonder Woman: Get me a peach tea too.

Arrow groans and leaves in a huff.

[cochineal-leviat]

Boyfriend/friend? What's the difference?

Some readers of mine might recognise this comic. I made a quick comic while working on A Royal Visit as a thank-you for the great support and love I got from the first chapter. I wanted to rearrange the panels and make the text more readable to share it on my blog.

And then I thought, "I've been having a lot of fun doing lineart, I will just quickly do that and - I've got a full comic now. Whoops." Sometimes, creating art really does not make you feel like you're in control.

For a bit of context for the people who have not read my fic: Fluff mistakenly assumed that boyfriend meant a friend who is a boy, and King Dedede (and Meta Knight) take it in the the worst way. Well, except King Dedede who gave the prince a kernel of doubt and confronted him about it.

The old comic is under 'keep reading'

The old comic still has its charm with the messy sketch style. I always adore Fluff's little bean mouth. Funny lad.

[tavsianus]

Y'all I need to ask something. There was this Snack fic where Sev was a drug addict and Sirius was his dealer. It was called something like Baggie and I'm pretty sure the writer deleted their account or something because I can't find their other works either.

Does anyone have a pdf of it that I can read? I had just finished the first chapter when it was all gone 🥺🥲

[nythtak]

Thought it'd be fun to do a little drabble soooo-

Cattonquick Oxford Days - the first cigarette

(This is based in the Maneater AU - unless I change my mind on details later - but can be read as in canon universe)

The lighter fails to catch the first couple of times Felix tries it. But after a final, despairing shake of the crappy thing, the flame sputters to life.

“Thank fuck,” he mumbles around the ciggie, and hurriedly brings the lighter up. April’s swung in with far too much chill, because fuck England, right? No spring for them, nooope. Just horrible grey rainy days, where even brief lulls like this evening are tarnished by cold winds.

He’s regretting not grabbing a jacket when he had chance to, and he eyes Oliver’s long-sleeves jealously. They’re on their way back from the pub, and it’s still early enough that most streetlights feel unnecessary. After a of couple hours there Felix realised he just wasn’t feeling it tonight, that stickiness of going through the motions and not enjoying himself like usual, where even a few pints couldn’t soften it up.

So when Oliver gave him a nudge, mentioned he has an essay he really needs to work on, Felix leapt at the chance to head out. He has his own pile of coursework to dive into before the Easter holidays start. Maybe speed through a chunk of it tonight, get that late night focus on, and then he can decide how much is usable tomorrow.

He’s glad he decided to stick it out at Oxford over the coming break. Originally it was more about keeping his word on staying at university all year, rather than nipping home every holiday - or even every other weekend, like some silly sods do. He went as far as to swear off a trip abroad this school year, fully committed to the uni life, which means no fluttering off to sunnier skies.

He aims a glower up at the dark clouds far above them. Curse thy existence.

“Felix?”

Felix’s head snaps down, and down, and he has to grin. Oliver is so short. Like, okay, so he’s not actually super-duper short. A bit below average, perhaps, and around the height of most girls. But he’s a lot shorter than Felix, which is what really matters.

It means he’s the perfect height - practically made for it - for Felix to sling an arm around his shoulders and drag him into his side. Oliver runs a bit cool, but he’s still a damn sight warmer than the nippy evening air.

“Yeah, mate?” Felix takes a pull from the ciggie, careful not to blow it all in Oliver’s face. Would be awfully rude. But that does get him thinking about how Oliver doesn’t smoke, and he frowns at him. “You know, I don’t think you ever said why you don’t smoke.”

Could it be something to do with his family? Cigarettes are a huge leap from heroin and meth and whatever else, but traumas can be multi-layered, can’t they? A full-on aversion to anything even related. But Oliver is clearly battling through it, going to the pub and clubs where alcohol abounds, not even flinching at all the casual drug use their group gets up to.

“Just not keen.” Oliver shrugs slightly, and it’s interesting to feel the motion of it under his arm. Makes him want to squeeze Oliver a bit. His hand slides down to cup Oliver’s bicep rather than hanging loosely, but he holds off on the full grabby. For now.

“So you’ve tried one before?”

Oliver hesitates, but shakes his head. He’s looking ahead rather than at Felix, and while he does have lovely thick hair, that isn’t quite the view Felix wants currently.

So he brings them to a stop, Oliver stumbling into him a bit and looking up questioningly. There it is. Christ, Oliver’s eyes seem to get bluer every time Felix catches a glimpse. Like, with each additional second he knows Oliver, he’s able to see more of him. Another droplet of paint on the colour palette, swirled in with patient brush strokes.

“If you’ve never tried it…” Felix puts the ciggie between his lips, just so he can flip his hand and pluck it out again. Holding it filter-first toward Oliver with an inviting smile. “How can you know you won’t like it?”

Now, Felix would never pressure anyone into doing something they don’t want to. That would be terrible manners. All he’s doing here is giving Oliver the chance to expand his horizons. Indulge in a little fun, like he’s clearly not had chance to- well, probably in his whole life.

Felix has been making up for that. He’s fully embraced showing Oliver the highlights of uni life, and it’s been an absolute blast so far. Letting Oliver have a go at smoking is just another part of that.

“I dunno, mate.” The corner of Oliver’s mouth ticks up as he looks from the ciggie to Felix. “They’re not great for your health, right?”

The little right? at the end softens what might’ve been an annoying admonishment, to something that makes Felix smirk. “All part of the appeal. If we only did what was healthy, we’d be a proper dull lot.” He raises his eyebrows and tips the cigarette closer to Oliver’s lips, his pinky finger grazing Oliver’s chin. “You’re not dull, are you, Ollie?”

He knows most of his friends think Oliver is boring. That he outlived any novelty within the first week; Felix’s unlikely saviour from a tutorial scolding, the scholarship boy with the funny accent. Farleigh has certainly made his opinion clear, his pissy attitude the real bore around here.

They just don’t get Oliver. None of them.

Nah, Felix is the only one who gets the real Ollie, the one Oliver trusts and opens up to. They’re already best mates, fitting together like two puzzle pieces. And the way Oliver looks at him - yeah, it can get a bit much at times, but it’s all part of Oliver’s charm, really. He’s completely genuine and clearly thinks the world of Felix, so obviously he can’t filter that intensity down. Felix would never ask him to. He accepts Oliver exactly as he is.

Oliver takes the cigarette, pinched between his thumb and forefinger as he eyes it like it might bite him. Or give him lung cancer.

Felix would give him a drumroll if he could. He settles for an encouraging shake and cheering, “Go oooooon, Oll-aaaaay!”

And Oliver does.

Not that there was ever any doubt. But it’s still satisfying in a warm, buzzy way to watch Oliver take a drag, lips pursed and the shadows on his cheeks deepening a little. Takes it like a pro, his Ollie, and it’s only once Oliver’s eyes close that Felix realises they’ve been locked in a staredown.

Then Oliver breathes out, and Felix is hit by a faceful of smoke.

The moment his coughing fit is done, he grabs a hastily apologising Oliver by the shoulder, snatches the ciggie back, and gets revenge.

[hua-liansimp]

girl who didn't even finish reading svsss back in 2019 but is still reading svsss fanfiction in 2023

[aurinkomoukari]

the one where Jim kidnaps you (162088 words) by aurinkomoukari Chapters: 14/14 Chapter title: the one with the finale, part 2 Fandom: Slipknot (Band) Rating: Explicit Relationships: Jim Root/Reader Chapter summary:

The universe has one more shocking surprise in store for you…

Are you ready?

[tajiklove]

Tajiklove's guide to leaving comments:

We've all read those cringe worthy fics that had made us frantically hit the back button, say no outloud, or consider partaking in a more healthy pastime.  Regardless of it's gag inducing quality, every piece of art warrants a comment. Every artist deserves encouragement for putting their twisted shit out there and to practice their craft.  You never know when you'll receive a karma payout for not expressing how utterly devoid of talent some dribbles you find are.  So what do you say when you come across a flaming bag of dog shit of a fic?  Why not try some of these? 

Wow, lots of words.

Interesting character portrayal 

Excellent use of punctuation! 

You were really creative with your length of sentences 

As someone who suffers from dyslexia, I could relate to your spelling choices.  

Whatever was happening seemed fun

I appreciated that you included dialog 

I'm glad that your writing included a setting! 

I could tell that you had stuff on your mind when you wrote this.  

I ran out of time to read this but the first paragraph was good.  (A little white lie never hurt anyone)

I love that you included characters

What a unique expression of the English language 

Way to surpass that 2,000 word count! 

Thanks for sharing and showing me that even I could put something out there.

Looking for a safe place to try these out? My fics are distasteful.  Challenge yourself to swallow your bile and leave an asinine comment that is vaguely positive. I'll let you know how you did.  

[shit-people-probably-didnt-say]

Day 2 of ao3 being down

Status:

[baejax-the-great]

Well I thought there'd be a chapter today

[currentlyreadingawesomefanfics]

IT IS COMPLETE! Let me know what you think :D

[ao3screenshotss]

(yin yu gave snacks to ren song so he would interrogate other people for him)

[kayessbeebeebeee]

Fic Name: Courting the Prince

Writer: sorendeimos

Fandom: Harry Potter

Rating: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Remus Lupin/Severus Snape, Sirius Black/Severus Snape, James Potter/Severus Snape, Lily Evans/Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Malfoy/Severus Snape, Regulus Black/Severus Snape, Mulcifer Jr./Severus Snape, Charity Burbage/Severus Snape

Characters: Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Sirius Black, Lily Evans, Mulcifer Jr, Charity Burbage, Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Regulus Black, Rita Skeeter, Avery Jr, Wilkes, Aurora Sinistra

Tags: Social Media, Twitter, Severus Snape-centric, Marauders Era, No-War AU

Summary:

Chapters: 4/?

Words: 2,656 (lots of photos/edits/etc..)

Published: 2024

[pixelatedraindrops]

I decided to finish the fic I wrote months ago based on this edit

Also inspired by this ask and my headcanon/analysis on Yuma becoming tired/sick after overusing his own forte.

SPOILERS FOR RAINCODE CHAPTER 1

Click Keep Reading to Read

The Price of Having a Forte (Oneshot)

Word Count (2,900)

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic, Fever/Illness Whump

Fandom: Master Detective Archives RAINCODE

Characters: Yuma Kokohead, Shinigami, Halara Nightmare

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a string of locked room murder mysteries around Kanai Ward lately. For 6 months they kept appearing. All these cases involved the victim being killed by countless nails while the corpse was surrounded by a crowd of porcelain dolls. The murders seem like an Urban Legend in Kanai Ward done by a figure known as The Nail Man.

On his first morning in Kanai Ward, detective trainee Yuma ends up dragged into a mess by his ghostly partner Shinigami. Literally dragging him by a chain to eventually get him involved in the most recent case, involving a child whose father was arrested by peacekeepers thinking he was the culprit.

Yuma takes it upon himself to help this child save his father by finding the true culprit. But he realizes he’s in way over his head and will need some help. So, he seeks out Halara Nightmare, a master detective who charges a little too much for their services. Sadly, this meant Yuma ended up in debt to them. With a bill of 5,500,800 shien.

Unfortunately, the duo’s interference in the case caused the Amaterasu Peacekeepers to hold their Chief hostage as punishment, and they only had three hours to solve this case, or they would arrest him.

Over time investigating the cases, Yuma can investigate the case in the past with Halara using the aid of their forensic forte, Postcognition. Able to see the past of the case when it was discovered by a third party. This proved very helpful because Yuma also had a forte of his own (though he thinks it’s Shinigami’s power) The power of Coalescence. The ability to share someone else’s forte by holding the person’s hand.

Halara sadly showed some reluctance at first due to despising all of humanity, so the thought of touching Yuma mortified them. But Yuma persisted with using Halara’s greed against them.

Thus, his bill becomes bigger.

The duo had just finished investigating their second case in a mansion. They were on their way to the third crime scene in the art gallery in Ginma district. But something was wrong. Yuma was starting to feel tired, dizzy and on the verge of collapse. He even started coughing.

It wasn’t even sudden. The more he used Coalescence with Halara during the investigations, the more he grew fatigued. At first it was just some light tiredness and a small headache, but now it was becoming unbearable.

As the two of them walked towards the center of ginma, Yuma was moving slower. Causing Halara to turn around and face him. He was hunched over, looking down to the ground panting slightly.

“Pick up the pace Yuma, I won’t allow time to be wasted.” Halara said looking a little annoyed.

Yuma didn’t look up. Great. He was already a burden to Halara.

“S-Sorry… You go on ahead…I’ll…catch up….” He said in a winded voice.

Halara doesn’t argue and goes on ahead of him.

“Master come on!! Another dead body awaits us!” Shinigami said in a nagging tone.

Yuma let out a few raspy coughs. His head was killing him. He just wanted to sit down. But he had to keep going.

“I-I know… I’m coming…” he responded under heavy breathing, coughing again.

“What the heck’s going on with you?? You’ve been looking pale since you kept holding hands with Hellara.” The spirit said. “Don’t tell me you’re sick.”

Yuma groaned holding his head. He clearly was.

“Okay, I won’t…” he said in an aggravated tone.

Yuma’s body was giving out. He coughed again before wrapping his hands around his body. He started feeling hot and cold now. The endless rain was not helping him at all, his cold rain-soaked body had begun shivering. The dizziness wasn’t stopping.

Did he have a fever too? Or did he have one this whole time and it just got worse?

Yuma tried to take another step but ended up tripping and collapsing to the floor. His face hitting the wet ground.

“Master!!” Shinigami cried. “Get a hold of yourself!!!”

Yuma’s fatigue levels were skyrocketing. He tried to get up, but his arms were like jelly and wouldn’t move. His entire body was in pain, and he couldn’t stop shaking.

“I can’t…move…. H…help…” he said quietly.

“There’s nothing I can do when you’re the only one who can see me!! Dammit!! Where’s Hellara when you need them!?” Shiniagmi said in an annoyed tone.

Meanwhile.

Halara had just arrived at the destination, but they noticed Yuma wasn’t with them by the time they arrived at the art gallery. This wasn’t their case; they were just assisting him. What took him?

Halara did realize something as they thought to themself on Yuma’s absence. Every time the trainee held their hand to use their forte, over time he felt… a bit warmer?  And come to think of it, he was coughing a little bit too. And he was too tired to keep going.

Halara’s eyes grew slightly wide as they put the pieces together.

Yuma may have been in trouble. And in that state, if peacekeepers saw him…

They immediately rushed back to where Yuma was to see if their deduction was correct.

When Halara got back, they noticed a crowd of people circling around where Yuma was.

“Is he okay?” a ginma civilian asked.

“What happened? Did he get hurt?” another said.

“Maybe someone should call a peacekeeper…” a third said.

That was enough to set Halara’s defensive mode into action. If the peacekeepers found him, it would be over.

They walked over, not even bothering to say excuse me, practically pushing people away. They found Yuma’s unconscious body on the floor. They stood in front of it in defense.

“He’s with me. You can leave now.” Halara said giving an intimidating look.

This was enough to send people away. Halara was hesitant to touch Yuma at first, but he needed to be taken somewhere safe. They reluctantly picked him up and rushed to a small dark corner close to the art gallery.

They set Yuma down against a wall.

“Yuma wake up.” Halara said shaking him a little. “Hey, pull it together…”

Yuma slowly opened his eyes.

“w-who…?” he quietly said. His vison was a little blurry.

“Calm down it’s me.” Halara said. “Are you alright? What happened?”

“H…hala…ra…” Yuma’s breathing was heavy; he could hardly speak.

“Hey now, stay with me Yuma…!” they quietly exclaimed.

Yuma’s eyes were fluttering. He looked as if he’d pass out any minute.

Then he broke out in a harsh wet coughing fit.

He was in BAD shape.

Halara paused for a moment, they really didn’t want to touch him again. But they had no choice, the trainee was clearly ill, and he needed help.

They swallowed their hatred for people and placed a hand to his forehead.

Their deduction was on point.

He was burning.

They moved their hand to his cheek and behind his neck. Then removed it.

“Yuma, you’re burning up.” Halara said.

Yuma’s coughing settled down before he had a dizzy spell and passed out falling in front of Halara and landing on their chest. Due to Halara’s shock, he almost knocks them down.

But he was too small.

Halara was still paused in shock but as they heard the trainee’s heavy panting, they knew the rain was only making his state worse. He was shivering and felt hot. He likely needed medical help.

Not good. Not now… They were on a timer! At this rate, the chief will be…

Halara tried to remain calm. This wasn’t good. They had to do something.

First, they had to get him out of the rain. They picked him up again and ran over to the café.

The staff worker was surprised to see the customers they had just hours ago in such a panicked state. Practically running at full speed into their entrance.

“What happened?” The staff member asked. “You look distressed.”

Halara sits Yuma onto a chair keeping him upright holding his shoulders before turning to the staff worker.

“Call an ambulance. He needs help.” Halara said in a minorly panicked tone.

🚑~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ambulance arrived, and the two were in a waiting room of one of the emergency clinics in Kanai Ward. Halara was seated with Yuma sitting next to them, laying on their right shoulder still panting with their eyes closed.

Eventually the nurse staff takes Yuma away to have him examined.

During his small bit of times in and out of consciousness, Yuma wasn’t sure of what was going on. He could see blurry silhouettes surrounding him, he could feel cold hands touching him, lights flashing in and out, and even the prick of a needle in his arm at one point.

Soon he was out cold once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he opened his eyes again much later, he looked around him and saw he was in an unknown room. It looked pretty fancy, and he laid tucked into a large and very comfortable bed. 

He took a moment to look around, but his head was hurting a bit too much. Although the immense dizziness and heat from before subsided and he felt a little more stable, he still felt very tired, and the fever was still very much present. But he didn’t feel as bad as when he was outside. Maybe it was because he was out of the rain, dry and in a warm bed.

“Where…am I…?” he said quietly.

“Master? You awake?” Shinigami said floating beside him.

“Shinigami…? What happened?” he asked.

The small ghostly spirit shrugged.

“I wish I could tell you, but you kept passing in and out of consciousness. And since the two of us are connected, when you pass out, so do I.” she responded. “All I know for sure is that you’re sick as hell. You may as well be a corpse right now.”

He thought to himself.

That’s right… I felt dizzy on the walk to Ginma and couldn’t move much… I guess I fainted.

“My mind feels hazy…I can’t really remember how I got here…” Yuma said holding his head.

“I think that’s normal for an amnesiac like you!” Shinigami said in a teasing tone.

“But you took my memories…” Yuma said. “Anyway, I wonder how…I even got in this state…”

Was it because of all the rain? The lack of sleep? Maybe the stress of this case?

Shinigami pondered for a bit.

“Y’know this is ONLY a guess, I think that maybe, juuust maybe, using Coalescence too much might’ve caused your body to deteriorate like this.”

“Now that you mention it…the more I held hands with Halara…the more tired I became…”

“Yeah, so maybe you can only use it a specific number of times.” Shinigami said.

“You didn’t know about this? Isn’t this your power Shinigami?” Yuma asked.

“Th-That’s not important right now! Look over there, Master.” Shinigami said pointing to a bag on the desk beside him.

Yuma turned his head and noticed there was a prescribed medical bag. It had his full name written on it and instructions and numbers per dosage taken. He reached his hand for it and grabbed it looking it over.

“I wonder if… Halara may have taken me to a clinic.” He said deducing that from observing the bag.

“Yeah, I think I remember from the black in-and-out visions, I saw a lot of white and some people in scrubs. I think you were taken back.”

“I do remember feeling something poke me… Maybe they had to give me a shot.”

“Not surprising with your weak body. I bet the lowest fever would cause you to be taken to the medical ward. Sheesh you’re so lame Master.”

“Again… This is your power…” Yuma protested.

But before they could argue further, he heard the opening of a door.

Yuma looked over and saw Halara holding a bag as they walked in.

“Yuma, you’re awake.” Halara said, putting the bag down.

“Halara…where am I?” he asked quietly, placing the prescription bag back on the nightstand table.

“You’re in my hotel room. You collapsed outside Ginma. I took you to a clinic and they told me you had a fever of almost 102 degrees. You need to rest.” they said.

“S-Sorry…that you had to go through that trouble…” Yuma responded meekly. “Thank you, for helping me Halara…”

“You owe me an extra 500,000 shien for that.” They responded, putting the bag down. “And I didn’t have a choice, we’re on a timer and I couldn’t just leave you there to die.”

Yuma remained silent. It must have been hard for Halara to do that since they didn’t like touching other people. To see them go the extra mile for him was surprising but kind of them, nonetheless.

Halara reached into the bag and grabbed 2 things.

“Now, I got you a glass of ice water from the restaurant as well as some vanilla yogurt. You’re free to eat it later. Before I leave, you should take the medication to help you sleep.”

Yuma tried to sit up, but his body was not cooperating. The shot from earlier seemed to make his body limp and the fever was still making his world spin a bit. He was only more stable due to being out of the rain outside and somewhere warm and dry. He couldn’t move if he wanted to.

“S-Sorry…I can’t…move…” Yuma responded.

“That’s to be expected. The nurse told me the injection you received would make your body feel limp for better recovery purposes.” Halara said as they walked closer to Yuma placing the water glass on the stand beside him. “Why do you think I’m still here? I will assist you.”

Halara knelt on the floor so they could be at Yuma’s level. They grabbed the medical bag on the stand and took the prescribed medicine tablets out of it. They punctured one of the blue and white pills out and set it on their palm. Then they grabbed the glass of water with their other hand, along with a small straw that was included with it. They unwrapped it placing it into the glass delicately.

“Okay, now open your mouth.” Halara said as they held the pill in between their fingers.  

Yuma opened his mouth as Halara gently set the tablet where his tongue was. Yuma closed his mouth, not swallowing the tablet, but didn’t want to look awkward with his mouth hanging open while waiting for what Halara would do next.

The taller detective took the glass of water then moved it and the straw close to Yuma’s now closed mouth.

“Here. Drink up.” Halara said.

Yuma opened his mouth again then closed it once he had the straw and bit down onto it, the tablet still on his tongue. He drank the water quietly swallowing the pill in the process.

“Huh… Guess even Hellara can be pretty nice every once in a while…” Shinigami said floating above his head looking down at the sight before her.

Yuma closed his eyes as he continued drinking. The ice cool water felt good going down his throat so even if the pill was already down, he kept drinking. It was refreshing and it was just what his feverish body needed.

Once he was done with his cold beverage, he released the straw exhaling.

“Thank you Halara…” he said with a weak smile.

Halara didn’t speak putting the glass down and stood up walking toward the door.

“I will solve this case alone. You cannot continue in your state.” They spoke.

“Wait…but you said…”

“I know what I said. But circumstances have changed. The chief is still being held hostage by those peacekeepers, and you’re too ill to continue the case. There is no time to hesitate…you will owe me greatly for this, but we do not have many options.”

Halara closed their eyes. “I may have an idea on the culprit…just leave it to me, Yuma.”

Yuma looked up at Shinigami.

“Hate to admit it but, Hellara’s right. You can hardly move in the condition you’re in and pretty sure that rain would boom-kill you before you solve the case anyway. Plus, if you pass out, so do I, and that wasn’t a lot of fun for me y’know!”

Yuma sighed as he looked back at his temporary caretaker about to leave.

“Thanks… I’ll leave it to you Halara…” he responded.

Halara nodded. “Get some rest. When you wake up again, we will be back in the agency with the chief unharmed.” They gave a wink.

“With my logic, anything is possible.”

Yuma nodded as he watched Halara leave the room making sure the door was locked so nobody would barge in to bother or even attack Yuma. They made sure the windows were locked too and the lighting in the room was dim.

They really did think of everything.

Yuma yawned as he slowly turned his head sinking it into the soft fluffy pillow. This bed was much more comfortable than the sofa he slept on back at the agency. He felt he would fall asleep any minute.

“Hey, Master? I think you should probably be careful how much you use Coalescence from now on…” Shinigami commented. “Maybe only use it just once or twice…”

Yuma nodded weakly as he sighed, slowly closing his eyes drifting off to a much-needed slumber. One that he couldn’t get back at the agency.

[mikachuusedcharm]

Chapter Summary:

Acting is Yakko's calling, his passion. So that could only bring him joy, right?

Max is definitely keeping it cool, of course, not at all falling in love, mhm, no siree!