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eureka-its-zico · 8 months

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Chaos in Their Bones

Ongoing Series

Synopsis: All your life you’d listened to your friend, Usopp spin wild tales about pirates and adventure. Pirates weren’t a thing that came often to Syrup Village, but one straw hat pirate and his crew changed all that the day they arrived. Now, you aren’t so sure if your sleepy little village was always pirate-free or if no one had been paying attention.

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Reader

Genre: friends to lovers, frienemies to lovers, slow burn (I hope y’all like aching) eventual smut

Words: 5k+

A/N: I told myself I wasn’t going to do this, so naturally I did it anyway. This is the first chapter in a planned series with a reader insert following the events of the OPLA universe. I sincerely hope that this is a story you all love as this is my first initial time writing for one of my beloved anime. But let’s be real, after seeing Mackenyu play Zoro (my fav) I knew I was going to be whipped from the start. The reader will go by “Doc” in this story at times, and later a nickname by Zoro himself. As always, I hope you enjoy this. Much love, Jenn. Also, thank you @thegreatesttttttttt for indulging me.

The ringing of the bell thundered through the sky above. An upcoming warning of four words that would echo through the street's moments later.

“The pirates are coming!”

You could practically hear the rest of the town groan with a sigh. Their annoyance stunk up the streets as Usopp sounded the imaginary alarm as he usually did every day around this time. Maybe it was because you considered Usopp a friend that his tall tales and wild imagination didn’t bother you.

Instead, a sly smile tilted your lips as you continued to grind the seeds deep into the mortar. Mr. Edison’s gruff voice from outside your window reminded Usopp for the millionth time that he needed to stop as he sprinted past.

“What is that boy going on about?” Naan huffed.

You sent a quick glance behind your shoulder at the older woman who was currently folding the recently washed linens. All of them are used with a purpose to either staunch bloody wounds or for the simple purpose of relieving colds. Naan’s linens, like her home, were used for a multitude of healing services, with the only payment she accepted was that of the kindness of others around her.

“You already know, Naan,” you replied, your smile evident in your words. “It’s the usual afternoon reminder to stay on your toes.”

A deep chuckle came from behind you followed by the soft cough that came after.

“These toes can’t do very much standing. So, maybe tell your friend to give me a day of rest soon.”

“Usopp has done this every day for seven years. I don’t think anything anyone will ever say will make him stop.”

Even if you could get Usopp to stop, you wouldn’t be the one to make him. You weren’t sure how many people in town knew who his father was - or that he’d been a pirate. A father by suggestion, Usopp’s wild imagination could only recall small things from the stories his mother had been willing to share, and from those stories, even greater ones grew.

While everyone else may have found Usopp’s stories as an ever-present headache you knew they held a deeper meaning. They were the only thing he knew of a man he never got to know.

The sound of chair legs creaking across the floor cut you out of your thoughts. Just in time from the looks of the seed putty you’d created. A heavy thud on the boards informed you Naan grabbed her cane and the heavier shuffling of her feet that she was heading in your direction.

“What are you so intently making over here, child?”

Settling down the pestle, you reached over your workstation to grab a pot. You were going to need to fetch some water to bring everything to a bowl before you strained it into a jar.

“Water. I need to go get some water,” you murmured as you brought the pot down in front of you.

“Am I talking to myself?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Naan. Did you say something?”

This time you did dare to look at her. Her deep-set wrinkles set impossibly deeper as she regarded your work from over your shoulder.

“Oh, I only asked what you were making that was stinking up my kitchen.”

Your eyes flew open wide as you took a deep breath in. You were sure the only thing you’d put in that maybe - maybe - smelled was the slippery elm, but you hadn’t even steeped it in the water yet. Naan must have read your panic before it began to stitch your brow together. Your eyes still helplessly peeled to the job in front of you instead of the chuckling woman behind you.

“It’s fine, child. I’m just teasing you.”

All your panic rushed out in a huff of air as your body finally turned to greet her. Your eyes instantly took in the very tired look of hers.

“You should get some rest, Naan.”

The two of you knew you meant well. You would never try and make Naan feel older than she already felt, except you didn’t give a damn about her feelings when you could easily spot the sweat on her upper lip. The way her body leaned more into the cane that supported her. She batted your concern away with a swat of her free hand. As if it would be enough to make whatever fear that gripped at your heart magically disappear.

“Don’t patronize me. I’m fine.”

“You are not fine. You're wheezing with every breath now-“

“I said I’m fine. Leave me alone and start worrying about whatever it is you’re making.”

“Well, if you would stop interrupting me, maybe I could finish it!”

The irritation in your voice wasn’t hard to miss. Naan heard it too no doubt with the way her brow cocked as if begging you to repeat it.

The silence stretched uncomfortably between you. Naan wouldn’t even look at you - probably too scared to see your eyes pleading, full of worry for her to just go lay down.

Why must you always be so stubborn?

The question sat on your tongue and made your words form like molasses. You weren’t a child anymore. So, it begged the question of why you were still afraid to speak to her like an adult. It didn’t matter if what you said hurt her old feelings. Not when the thought of her not being around made your chest begin to spread wide like an aching chasm.

“You never did say what you were making.”

You pressed your tongue against your cheek while you debated if it would be worth it to try and argue with her. Of course, you were always the first one to relent and push it under the metaphorical rug.

“It’s a gift for Miss Kaya. Usopp told me her cough hadn’t changed and asked if I would make something for her.”

“Hmm,” Naan hummed in thought. “That boy is strange, but he is kind.”

“Not as strange as Kaya having an unknown illness the last few years and never seeking any aid from the town's doctor,” you grumbled.

Naan’s hand lightly clasped your shoulder in comfort - comfort you didn’t want to accept. Not only were thoughts of Naan being sick plaguing every ounce of free space in your brain but now so was Kaya. You’d only met her once when you were younger with Usopp and after her parents died that odd butler, Klahadore, kept her under strict observation.

In all the years you’d been with Naan, learning everything she could teach about healing, you’d found it odd that the staff never came to ask for help. You couldn’t recall a time when Sham or Buchi ever came down requesting any tonics or medicines from Naan, or for her to come with them to examine Kaya in the first place.

I wasn’t aware they were waitstaff and doctors.

You knew these thoughts would only dampen your mood until it turned completely sour. You just couldn’t stop the runaway train that was your thoughts from slipping back into questioning everything with the universe never giving you any new answers.

“How many times have I told you, child, we can’t make people get help. They have to seek it themselves and that- that is when the real healing begins.”

You were already bitter and that bitterness responded to Naan’s words in the form of an eye roll. One you were lucky the older woman didn’t see.

“It’s just not right.”

“Right or not, it’s not our place to go butting in.”

She stood behind you for a few more minutes waiting for a reply you didn’t give. You were done talking. Done trying to get her to understand that she was sick too and that all those years of molding words and actions to help others were what drove you to help her. To help Kaya. Only Usopp seemed to notice that something in her grand home wasn’t right.

Frustration drew tight across your chest causing your hands to seek support against the counter. For a split second, you imagined yourself splitting open and becoming two separate people. One being the doctor Naan trained you to be and the other something less controlled. Someone who was tired of listening but never being heard.

You listened as Naan began to retreat back to her table where the rest of the linens waited to be folded. You listened as another terrible cough violently shook itself free from her lungs as you focused on your work.

If you couldn’t help Naan you were just going to settle for helping Miss Kaya. Once you finished making Usopp’s requested medicine you were going to be sure he delivered it to her.

It was time a doctor paid a visit.

————

The shipyard.

Of course, Usopp was going to be here. Why you hadn't thought to come here first felt like a mystery all on its own.

In all the years you’d known him, Usopp’s routine hardly ever changed. He usually performed his usual pirate ritual just before he started his day in the shipyard. He was hired to care for and clean all of the ships housed within, however, and upon no real surprise to you, Usopp cleaned and polished the Going Merry daily.

So, it didn’t surprise you to find him already on the ship. What did surprise you were the three people standing with him steps away from the Going Merry, herself.

You didn’t feel alarmed in any way. Usopp was good with people - he enjoyed talking to anyone willing to listen. The man with the straw hat, who was grinning wildly in the direction of Usopp and then to his friends, seemed happy to listen. He was giving Usopp his full attention and whatever your friend was saying was exactly what Straw Hat wanted to hear.

The other two people beside him, however, didn’t seem to share in the excitement. Sure, the pretty woman with the orange hair was giving all the perfect signaling queues of a smile and nod to make it believable that she was interested in anything Usopp had to say. Did she probably care about whatever was being said? Probably not, but at least she didn’t look as sour as the moss-hair-colored guy-

Holy shit

Your feet stopped working. Your knees seemed to refuse to bend, to make any movement forward for the last few feet to close the distance to the group. For what reason? There had to be a perfectly good reason-

Nope. Thoughts gone. Head empty.

That was the best way to describe what was currently happening as your eyes stayed glued to the three-sword-wielding swordsman standing next to the woman.

Three swords? You wondered. Where does the other one go?

Maybe you would ask him if you ever summed up the courage to do just that. If you could just get your legs to function again.

In all the time you’d lived on Shell Island you were more than positive you’d never seen someone that looked close to him. Especially someone carrying around three swords or standing with so much purpose. Even as your eyes took him in you could tell he was pretending to be relaxed, but after years of mending bodies, you noticed the tightness between his shoulder blades. The ease he tried to display with a hand resting on the hilt of the sword wasn’t actually resting. Even relaxed, this man was ready to unsheathe those blades and use them at a moment's notice.

While the idea made you consider him a great swordsman, your heart also ached at the thought of feeling trapped and weary of others' intentions.

Your thoughts would’ve continued to run wild as you embarrassingly gawked at this stranger and his friends. All of that was ruined, however, when Usopp caught a glimpse of you between orange and green hair.

“Doc!”

Usopp’s excitement translated to a crazy arm wave and immediately caused all three of his newfound friends to face you. God, this meant you had to get your legs working. You had to physically move closer. You could do that. No problem.

Taking in a deep breath, you allowed a genuine smile to raise your lips in welcome. Luckily, your feet didn’t betray you as you moved the last few feet. You made a mental note as you got closer that the straw hat was meeting your smile with his own, while the other two regarded you with lackluster enthusiasm.

Great. They were the grumpy types of people.

“There you are Usopp,” you began cheerfully. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“You know, Usopp?” Asked straw hat.

You felt your brow crease in question as your smile wilted at the corners.

“I would hope so. We’ve known each other since we’ve lived here.”

“Impressive,” mumbled the woman.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t as friendly as you originally thought, but she was still definitely friendlier than moss hair. Who currently felt like he was drilling holes into your chest.

“Ugh, Doc I was just going to take these guys to visit, Kaya,” Usopp interjected.

He was still smiling - always smiling. His eyes darted to the three new faces before landing back at you.

“Why would you take them to see, Kaya?”

“She owns the shipyard and we-“Straw hat interjected, “Are in need of a ship. That beautiful ship behind us, to be exact.”

You glanced behind him to the Going Merry. Kaya’s family ship.

You shot Usopp a questioning glance that you weren’t surprised to see him ignore. He was up to something there was no doubting that. The issue was you weren’t sure what angle he was trying to play.

“Good luck with that.”

You did mean it. You didn’t think he was going to get it no matter how good-natured he seemed. That was still a family memory you weren’t sure Kaya would be willing to part with.

“Thanks!”

“Doc, before I take them over there do you by chance have what I asked for?”

You patted your satchel for good measure before you replied, “That’s why I was looking for you. I have it right here.”

Usopp took a step towards you, his hand outstretched in waiting for you to deposit the bottle. When you didn’t comply with his request he shot you a look of worry.

“You do have it right?”

“Yes, Usopp I told you I did. I just want to come with you to check on her myself.”

A look of worry dimmed the mirth in his eyes for one second. If you didn’t know what to look for you would have missed it entirely. You knew he’d been asking you for months to sneak in with him to visit Kaya. His own suspicions began to outweigh the doubt that plagued his heart with every heavy decision that needed to be made.

Deep down, Usopp knew if you were finally going to answer his request of sneaking in with him, it must be serious. A concept Usopp himself purposely tried to run from often.

“Wait, you’re a doctor? That is so cool!”

You needed to learn Straw Hat’s name because he was growing on you fast.

“I’m no-“

“She’s actually one of the best doctors in the whole East Blue,” Usopp beamed. “She’s cured this small village of at least two possible plague outbreaks twice already.”

You were willing to bet your eyes were the size of saucers. There was no way any of them would believe that kind of nonsense. There was absolutely no way-

“Wow, now that is really impressive! Sounds just like somebody who should be a part of my crew-“

“No!”

“We are not a crew!”

The absolute verbal whiplash you just experienced left your head reeling to pick up on every conversation. Straw Hat was practically turning into pure sunshine in front of you, while the other two were glaring like you’d sprouted three heads.

Geez, what a tough crowd.

“Ok, wait what?”

“It’s nothing he doesn’t mean anything by it,” the woman replied, a tight smile thinning out her lips.

“We don’t need someone pretending to play medicine woman to join us.”

Your eyes narrowed in on the now green-haired monster. He met your cold glance with his own. Whoever - whatever - he experienced in his life meant he didn’t find you the least bit threatening. He regarded you like an annoyance and you found yourself wondering why the universe made all the grumpy ones the most attractive.

If his lips pouted any harder he was going to have to rent a kissing booth.

“For your information, I’m not a pretend doctor.”

Whatever he was going to reply with was cut off by Straw hat who quickly pointed at himself. “I’m Luffy, and these are my companions Nami and Zoro.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Luffy,” you beamed letting them know your name in response. “But most people just refer to me as Doc because of Usopp.”

Nami clapped her hands together to bring you both back to the matter at hand. Kaya’s medicine. Their boat.

“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, can we get going? We really should stop by and pay her a visit.”

“Oh yeah! Come on guys, I can show you the fastest way there.”

Usopp tossed down his rag and skipped backward to the crate where his own satchel sat.

“Great! If you guys will kindly follow me this way I can show you something really awesome.”

You wanted to smack some sense into him. Usopp always wanted to be liked - for people to spend time with him and enjoy it. Besides Kaya and you who humored him with his opulent imagination and ability to spin fables like cotton candy. These people, Luffy excluded, did not deserve his endearing desire for friendship. They were both giving off major chip on their shoulder vibes and you vowed to become an even bigger pain in the ass if they were unnecessarily rude to him.

They didn’t wait to know if you were joining them or even behind them. They all moved forward to follow Usopp, who was spit-firing a conversation at Luffy who easily seemed to match it with his own charisma. Nami and Zoro trudged behind them both and you brought up the rear.

You’d hoped at some point Luffy or Usopp would drag you into the conversation. Anything that would keep your wandering eyes from constantly burrowing holes between Zoro’s sculpted shoulders. If you didn’t locate some form of self-control soon, you were positive your brain would be sent spinning into a tangent about how martial arts training with weapons was a godsend. So, looking at your feet for the next few miles would have to suffice.

It was strange how the world between poverty and the rich was such an overwhelming force. The farther you ventured out past the town and into the privacy of the landscape that kept Kaya’s family home hidden, it was a wonder that anyone would know it was there.

There were endless strawberry fields that farmers planted on one side and potatoes on the other. Dozens of workers tended to their growth with their hard work and sweat until a wall of bamboo cut off any view. All you could see was an endless path swallowed in bamboo branches making the path more foreboding than you thought necessary.

When you finally came in through the front gates, their iron and mortar was a welcomed sight. The one thing that wasn’t was that stupid Well you’d grown to hate ever since you almost fell in looking over the side as a child.

“I’ve never seen a house this big before.”

Luffy’s admission sent your eyes up from your feet to the large garden entrance. And that damned well that sat like a mockery in the middle of the walkway to the front.

“It’s impressive, right? Kaya’s given me an open invitation to stop by anytime I want.”

Your eyes darted over to Usopp who was practically skipping with excitement as he and Luffy made their way over to the well. You wanted him to look at you, but you knew he wouldn’t. If he did, Usopp would only find you looking at him - full of questions - with a look calling him a liar. You would never want him to feel bad. It was never your intention, however, it was going to be more embarrassing if you all got caught and thrown out on your ass than just being honest.

“Wow. That’s pretty awesome,” Luffy breathed. His face was full of wonder as he continued to take in the large space. “All of this is just for one person?”

“Well…she lives here with a few other staff.”

“Yeah. A bunch of asshole staff,” you grumbled under your breath.

By the way, Luffy and Usopp were hanging over the side of the well - ick - neither of them had heard you. Unfortunately, your fellow rear buddies did.

“You don’t seem to be a fan of the staff?” Nami ventured.

You eyed her carefully. She came off friendly enough, but she wasn’t giving anything else away. The small smile on her lips wasn’t reaching her eyes. Instead, they were calculating and waiting for you to give her any information you were willing or unwilling to give.

Nami was incredibly smart and equally dangerous because of it.

“They do a lot of suspicious things,” you replied slowly, unsure of how much sharing was too much.

“I’m sure butlers don’t come harboring life-threatening secrets,” Zoro countered.

His hand shoved in a pocket while the other still rested on the sword. He regarded you the way adults do children making up fairytales. The way the townspeople looked at Usopp like a silly child always crying wolf. They both thought you were being silly, and you wish you could say their disregard didn’t make your chest cave in just a bit, but you never were a good liar.

“No, maybe butlers don’t,” you countered, “but people do.”

When neither of them showed signs of continuing on with the conversation you started forward following Usopp and Luffy. You didn’t care about whatever conversation Zoro or Nami were having behind you. They could’ve been discussing robbing the place blind for all you could care about.

You were worried more about the people than the objects inside.

“If you have an invitation, why are we going through the back way?”

Just tell them, Usopp.

“Oh, well I never go through the front entrance. This is more of a VIP entrance.”

“This guy is full of shit.”

“Yeah, but if he gets us inside who cares.”

Why was Luffy the only member of this merry band of misfits who weren’t incredibly grumpy?

“Usopp,” you called out to him in a warning.

He gave you a glance over his shoulder before he made his way over the giant lily pads without a reply.

Little shit, you thought as you realized he was very much choosing to ignore your existence. Did you blame him? Not really. You couldn’t remember the last time anyone had humored him this long and you were debating on if you should be the one to crush his newfound hopes and dreams.

Fortunately for you, you weren’t going to have to be the bad guy in that scenario. One already seemed to exist.

Just as Usopp reached the second lily pad, you knew something was wrong. The hiccup of an, “Oh,” that came out of him registering as panic. He was already turning back to stop Luffy from coming closer, almost begging him to go to another entrance - an extra special one - when he was interrupted by a knife plunging into the lily pad between his feet.

A very sharp knife. One you knew could’ve easily severed flesh or nicked an artery. Your blood boiled as you pushed past Luffy, your eyes darting wildly as Buchi stalked towards Usopp who stuttered past a greeting.

“What the hell are you doing here, Usopp?” He snapped as his hands lurched in to grasp the leather of Usopp’s top. “You know you aren’t welcome here.”

“I know nothing of the sort. I came to give Kaya an extra-special gift.”

You practically glided past the last lily pad when a sharp hiss cut the air. You didn’t necessarily need to look to see if it was Sham. You knew it was. She stood just off the first step from where they’d been disemboweling the hog, mop at the ready, and her teeth bared directly at you.

“He’s brought the doctor,” she hissed.

Buchi finally seemed to register your presence from behind Usopp and bared his own teeth in warning.

“You are definitely not welcome here.”

“A rather odd thing to say to a healer when your mistress seems to be suffering a mysterious illness.”

“An illness we are more than capable of handling.”

“I find that highly doubtful.”

With his hands still holding onto Usopp, Buchi leaned forward to growl - literally growl - in your face like a rabid dog. You wanted to poke him in the eye and were incredibly tempted to do so when a soft voice cut through the tension.

“Usopp! What a wonderful surprise!”

Everyone’s attention shifted as Kaya made her entrance on the arm of Klahadore. You took a step back and away from the two just so Usopp could twist himself free and walk towards the waiting mistress of the estate.

“I wouldn’t miss today of all days. Happy birthday, Kaya.”

“You remembered.”

My god, she was practically swooning and Usopp was eating it up.

“I could never forget.”

This feels awkward.

They acted like they didn’t have a captive audience watching them look at each other like two lovestruck teenagers.

It wasn’t hard to notice how Kaya beamed at him or how that attention brought happiness to Usopp. For as long as you can remember, even as children, Usopp always liked her. Sure, he would play it off as if they were just friends. There was no way she could see him that way, but when Kaya’s parents passed away three years ago what was between them seemed to change. Their feelings became something saturated in an understanding of loss. Usopp knew what Kaya needed because it was something he himself had never truly received.

So, did it bother you that she actually hadn’t greeted you yet? Not really. What did bother you, however, was the way Klahadore’s eyes slithered over to you. It made you feel like you were going to be sick.

“Usopp. Did you bring the doctor with you?”

Please, let me crawl into a hole and die.

There was something off about Klahadore. It wasn’t just because he made your skin want to completely crawl off your body. It was the way he sounded every alarm bell in your brain. The way your heart speeds up triggering the fight or flight response that was ingrained in your body's defense system. The way he continued to look at you as if you were a bug that needed to be squashed, only drove the feeling home.

“Oh, yeah. Kaya, I had Doc make you something for your cough. I figured it might be worth a try.”

God, he looked so happy. He was completely oblivious to how Klahadore seemed ready to smite you both where you stood.

You closed your eyes, taking in a deep breath. Maybe when you opened them he wouldn’t be staring daggers into your face.

Nope. No such luck.

“Oh, that is so incredibly sweet,” Kaya beamed.

Klahadore slowly set his hand out in front of him. The cold obsidian of his eyes never left your face as he spoke. “Please hand over whatever tonic you’ve acquired for Miss Kaya.”

You weren’t aware your hand was already in the satchel. Your fingers wrapped protectively tight against the cool glass of the bottle as you continued to stare at one another.

“Hand it over. Please.”

“No-“

Usopp’s hand on your shoulder stopped you cold. Your teeth ground tightly to stop your next words. You didn’t want to hand that asshole anything. Not when Kaya looked so damn pale.

Something is wrong.

The thought wormed its way into your brain until it gnawed at all other thoughts until it consumed every available spot. It was all you could think as your eyes continued to look over her frail frame.

Naan taught you that as a doctor, and as a healer, it was your job to fight for your patients. To always do what you could and what was best for their care. Was giving the medicine you made for Kaya to Klahadore best for her care.

No. No, it sure as shit didn’t feel like it.

Maybe that was why it felt like such a betrayal to take the medicine from your bag and drop it inside his gloved hand. You watched as his disgusting white fingers wrapped around the gray bottle and brought it up to rest closely to his chest.

“Now, Usopp we’ve had this discussion about coming here unannounced - and this time with a doctor.”

“Nonsense, Klahadore,” Kaya interjected. “They are my friends. What a sweet gesture it was, Doc to try and make me something. Usopp, did you come to tell me more stories about your adventures?”

“I can do you one better. I brought some of my crew.”

With a sweep of his arm, Usopp introduced Luffy, Nami, and Zoro who registered this gesture with sheer disbelief. Well, disbelief would be putting it mildly.

“Is he talking about us?”

Luffy sounded as confused as you felt.

“I’m sorry, but we do not have any room for any extra guests tonight, I’m afraid.”

“Oh please, Klahadore couldn’t they at least stay for dinner? It is my birthday.”

You hated how Kaya had to beg to have company that wasn’t her staff. You could vaguely remember the butler who was in charge before Klahadore had arrived. Mr. Thorburr had been an absolute delight and genuinely seemed to care about Kaya and her family’s wellbeing. If he was still in charge, you were positive he would’ve believed in letting Kaya outside to enjoy the garden or have friends stop by, even unannounced, to visit.

One day he was just gone and slowly the only staff that was left were these three assholes. It all felt awfully convenient or maybe you were just being petty because you disliked them.

The way Klahadore looked at her made your stomach turn.

“Anything for you, Miss Kaya.”

You wondered if he choked a little over each word as they traveled up his throat.

“Great!” Luffy shouted. “When do we eat?”

“You don’t. Not dressed like that. You will change and bathe before dinner. No exceptions.”

Everyone was willing to accept the invitation. The premise of a bath seemed enough to make Nami practically skip forward to be led inside by Sham. Your feet, however, refused to move. Usopp, Luffy, and Nami practically took the small stairs up to the patio in one giant leap. Your earlier dread from the day was back and something dark borrowed its way into your chest.

Something is wrong.

You were about to turn tail and run when you noticed Zoro stop at the edge of the stairs. His body turned slightly to eye Klahadore one last time before he turned to follow after his crew. It was small and barely lasted a second, but it was enough.

Zoro noticed something wasn’t right either and maybe, just maybe, he’d be the one to believe you. All you had to do was join him inside the house to talk to him. No biggie.

Taking in a deep breath you finally moved to follow behind Kaya and Klahadore. Your eyes intently following a particular green-haired swordsman and wondering how you were going to get him alone.

The showers seemed like a great place to start.

_______________________

As always, thank you for reading. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

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pauking5 · 6 months

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Addicting Taste Chapter 5

Synopsis: Enishi Yukishiro was on a mission to execute his piece de la resistance. A plan to avenge his beloved sister. Until you showed up. Will you be a part of his downfall or will you try to save him?

Pairing: Enishi Yukishiro x reader

Genre: strangers to lovers, sunshine and sunshine protector, comedic relief, slow burn, a lot of fluff, smut (in premiere)

Word count: 8.9k+

A/N: This chapter was a ride. Parts of it were sitting in my drafts for the past few weeks and I'm happy that it's finally out. Breaking Up With Jesus by Reve is to blame for the way I wrote the smut. Hope the spice is to your liking ;)

Powered by Mackenyu’s outstanding portrayal of Enishi’s character in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, I hereby present you a story ripped from the figments of my mind. I hope you’ll love the story as much as I do. Enjoy lovelies, Paula.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Bonus Next

Dumplings. Oh, how delicious and soft they all look. Dozens upon dozens laid out ahead, waiting for you to dig in. You reached out for one and another one, and kept going until all you could feel on your tongue was their sweet taste. This was heaven.

As you were sitting on the ground chewing away multiple dumplings at once something caught your eyes. On the right, sitting on top of a pillar, sat a dumpling bigger than the palm of your hand. It looked so plump and you bet your last coin that it tasted delicious. Getting up from the ground you went over to try and grab it but each time you jumped after it the pillar rose higher.

“I’m gonna have you and you will taste amazing," you say struggling to reach for the dumpling.

Putting more force into it you jumped and you got the dumpling off the pillar, floating back down to the ground. This was it. The moment you’ve been waiting for. You lifted the delicacy to your mouth and placed your lips on it to taste it when…

The sound of what appeared to be a pot and a pan hit together woke you up from your dream. You rolled in bed trying to cover your ears with the duvet to stop any more of the noise coming in.

“WHO THE FUCK-“

“It’s time for training,” said a rather enthusiastic Enishi, putting the pots away moving to stand in front of your bed. You opened your eyes to look at him, staring daggers at him violently. No one had the privilege to wake you from your precious dreams. Not even the heavens above.

“Get. the. fuck. out. of. my. room.”

“Someone’s cranky," he said, signature smirk sitting proudly on his face.

Well of course you were cranky. You couldn't sleep after the whole encounter in his office. You made a pact with the devil without thinking it through and it came to bite you in the ass. When you got back to your room you sat on your bed trying to think of a plan of attack and you came up with nothing. You practiced a few basic moves you normally used to get them under control, staying up until the early hours of dawn. So it was no surprise that you were currently annoyed at him for waking you up so early in an idiotic way at that.

“Enishi, I swear to god—“

You didn’t get to finish because he leaned down and took your pillow from under your head in one swift move. The movement made your head fuzzy, letting it fall flat on the bed. He got up just as quickly and ran out of the room with your pillow under his arm.

“I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU,” you said as you got up and ran out after him.

You ran around the mansion hallways, closing in on the kitchen area. Stopping on opposite sides of the kitchen island you tried to block off his escape routes. Taking one quick left to fool you into reaching for him only to switch to the right, he successfully avoided your arms. Puffing out your chest in annoyance you took off after him again, following him to his office this time. He stopped in the middle of the room with nowhere to run, shifting to hold your pillow high so you wouldn't be able to reach it. You looked like a cat as you tried your hardest to jump after it.

Focusing too hard on getting back your precious pillow you jumped too high and lost your balance as you came back down. Before you could fall to the floor, strong arms wrapped around you, keeping you steady. Looking up, you saw Enishi’s face mere inches away from yours.

“You’ve got no space awareness at all do you?” he asked, a grin taking over his face. You really weren't in the mood for his antics today.

“Go fuck yourself," you say as you pushed him away. You made your way to the door and stopped when he called your name.

“You forgot your pillow—“ you cut him off whacking him over the head with it, storming back to your room. You had to get ready for the fight of your life.

—————————————————————————

This was it. The moment you would find out if the past weeks of training paid off or not. Nerves were taking over with every step you took. It wasn't too late to turn back and lock yourself in the comfort of your room. But you needed this. You needed to see if there was a chance for you to become the best without bringing her back.

Pushing open the doors to the terrace you stopped on the doorstep. Enishi was already there, stretching his arms, blue kimono resting on the back of a chair. Your hands got stuck on the doors as you thought it through again. You weren't ready, getting cold feet in the worst way possible.

Ah fuck. I can't do this.

Before you could turn around in defeat, a pair of eyes fixed on you. He picked up on your nerves from a mile away and flashed you a soft smile in hopes it would help. He knew this was a lot in such a short time, but he believed in you. He wanted you to get better and if you didn't do well today it wasn't that much of a big deal. You could always try again tomorrow.

His smile felt encouraging, giving you some hope that you could do something productive today. Taking a few deep breaths to slow down your accelerating heartbeat, you stepped away from the threshold of the cooking area, making your way to the middle of the garden. Reaching a few feet away from him you stretched your limbs, mind darting over the moves you practiced. Once you were done you straightened your back and took your place.

I didn't train so hard for nothing. I can do this. Let's beat his ass.

Enishi sensed an energy shift around you. You were ready to go, hands standing on the defensive, body angled for attack. He thought you changed so much in the last few weeks. When he met you that night at the precinct, you looked determined to skewer anyone who crossed you in the slightest. But there was this part of you that was afraid. Getting to know about your past made him understand why. You needed to get out of your head which is why he trained you this way. It only took a small push from his part to make you come out of your shell and he felt proud of what you accomplished so far.

He was proud of you.

Getting into a fighting stance of his own he watched as you started circling him. Your eyes narrowed in on him, preparing to read his moves. Just like he taught you.

"I won't go easy on you."

"I don't expect you to," you said and with that you launched yourself at him.

Lean muscles seared with force as your fist collided with his palm, slightly throwing him off balance. So your strength did get better. Latching his palm on your wrist he pulled you to him, pushing you down to the floor with his other hand. You landed on your hands and quickly hauled yourself back up.

"Your aim improved, but it's still not the best," he said as he charged at you. You ducked just in time, sneaking behind him to land a kick to his side. He reacted fast and turned, catching your leg just before it could hit him. He yanked on it getting you closer to him. You gripped his sturdy shoulders to balance yourself on your other leg.

"Hitting from the back is low, even for you," he said, fingers stroking your leg trying to throw you off balance. Little fucker.

"I wasn't planning on being civil today."

Pulling yourself up using his shoulders, you pushed off the ground and threw your other leg around his torso hanging to him like a koala. Twisting your body around his middle, you used all your force and tugged on your legs to pull him down as your hands reached for the ground. Your move caught him off guard and he almost hit the ground beside you if it wasn't for his annoying amount of balance. He turned his fall into a spin in the air landing in kneeling position, smirking at you. You threw your head back in frustration.

He's reading me too well. I have to change the strategy.

This time you let him come at you. His punches rained from all sides, moving relentlessly to land a blow on you, but you were just too fast for him. You noticed that he put a lot of strength into minimal movement and you used that to your advantage. Your small form proved to be a huge help as you darted around his robust body. He was getting frustrated with your tactic and you were enjoying every bit of it.

"Stop defending and attack!"

"Someone's getting impatient," you smirked. He was getting tired of swinging and that was exactly what you wanted.

He was going a little easy on you but his patience wore thin. He gave you the benefit of the doubt as he thought you were unprepared to take on him but you proved him wrong, pushing his buttons in the process.

Fast punches came your way and you caught every single one of them. The adrenaline that coursed through your body gave you inhuman strength as you pushed him backwards, making him stumble. You matched his pace and turned his own moves on him.

While your ego was filling up, his was slowly cracking. He came at you again, arms tightly clamping down on yours, throwing you off balance. You tried your hardest to get out of his hold but his grip wouldn't budge in the slightest. Locking them even tighter, he swung your arms and sent you flying to the other side of the garden. You landed on your shoulder, pain shooting down your arm. You got too cocky and it backfired on you.

Groaning to yourself, you got back up and rolled your shoulder backwards, wincing at the discomfort. You weren't going to back down, not when when you got this far.

Your marched back to him, slow steps turning into a full sprint. Jumping high enough, you brought your leg down into a kick, which he ducked. You dipped every time he tried to lay his hands on you, delivering a few quick punches to his abdomen that he failed to avoid.

You caught him by surprise as you ducked and swiped your leg behind his to throw him off his feet. Finally, he landed on his back accepting defeat, but not without latching a hand on your arm, tugging you down with him. Your body fell on top of his, arms securely wrapping around you. The feeling of his chest pressed flush to yours made your stomach flutter. You tried to steady your breathing that only picked up the more you gazed into his eyes.

"You did it," he exhaled. A smile took over his features as he looked at you.

"I did it," you said with a giggle as you laid your hand came to rest on top of his chest. His hand that was resting on your lower back trailed up to lightly grip your shoulder, causing you to wince. You suddenly remembered you were in pain. Worry flashed in his eyes as he checked you over, sitting you up.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," you tried to convince him but the frown on your face told him otherwise.

"Let me have a look."

"I said I'm fine- OUCH!" you cried as he touched your shoulder again and you flinched away in pain.

"Stop being so stubborn." He leaned over and took your arm in his, turning it around slowly to avoid causing you more pain. "It looks dislocated."

"What do you mean dislocated?" The adrenaline in your body started to wear off and the throbbing in your shoulder intensified, making you unable to hide it anymore.

"I can put it back, but it's going to hurt. Ready?" Your eyes snapped at him.

"You mean now? Hell no-" he pushed your shoulder back into place using your rambling as a distraction. You cried in pain holding onto it, forehead falling to rest on his shoulder.

"I hate you," you groaned, mumbling into his chest.

"I know you do," he chuckled, rubbing away at your shoulder to try and help with the pain.

"Is this a good moment to tell you we're going on your first mission?" You lifted your head, face beaming with excitement.

"You're joking."

"I'm dead serious. I think you're ready," he said as he got up and gave you a helping hand, gently pulling you to your feet. "I know you probably have a lot of questions, but I think it's best you go get some rest first."

“Okay. I'll swing by later," you said walking towards the kitchen.

"Put some ice on it," he shouted from behind you and you shot him a thumbs up with your good arm.

—————————————————————————

You tried to take a quick nap. Keyword: tried. No matter how hard you tried to sleep you couldn’t contain your excitement. It felt surreal that you were back in business so soon. My first mission here.

Deciding that it was no use to spend more time in bed, you got up and walked to the vanity table. You pulled out your pistols from the top drawer and ran your fingers on the golden rose crests that decorated the frame. They needed a little dusting off and tinkering, but they looked ready for some action. It’s been a while since I put these bad boys to good use.

The golden light filtering in through the window told you the sun was setting. You figured now was as good of a time to go over the plan with Enishi. You made your way to his office, stretching your shoulders to get rid of the previous strain from your combat session.

You thought back to the fight. As much as you improved, you felt like he did manage you a little, at least in some parts. Even if he did, he wouldn't admit it out loud if he wanted to keep his balls in the same place they are now. Anyhow, you were glad you got the opportunity to kick him off his high horse a tiny bit. He could be all "I am the god of martial arts" sometimes, but he knew when to tone it down.

You remembered the proud look on his face as he pulled you to the ground with him was enough to add ten years to your lifespan. There was something about it that made you feel confident in yourself and maybe that was what he wanted to accomplish. He seemed to have this empowering complex, always talking you out of your head when you needed it the most. It was like he knew what made you lock up and what made you open in such a short time and it kind of terrified you. He met the broken version of you all those years ago and now he knows the real you to a certain degree.

But you met him too. The present, real him. The Enishi that doesn't stray away from his goals, who does everything in his power to help people. You didn't want to admit it but he grew on you, latching onto you like a string of hearts. They are plants that need moderate care, often wallowing in sadness when they don't get enough sunlight or water. But looking at them makes you feel hope and warmth. As cold as the veins in their leaves appear to be, the green surrounding them embraces it in the shape of a heart. As weak as its stems look, they try their hardest to hold the hearts up so people can admire them and feel at peace. Enishi is like that too. You connected like the strings of the plant and you didn't want to untangle yourself from him just yet.

Your train of thought was cut short as you came to a halt in front of his office. Knocking on the door he beckoned you in. He was sat at his desk looking over maps and plans. The sleeves of his kimono were rolled up to his elbows, allowing you to see his arms, veins popping and twisting the more he moved his hand around. He looked deep in thought as his eyes were casted down on on the papers in his hands.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked without looking up from his work.

"Better. Thank you." You moved to stand next to him. "So... what's the plan for the mission?"

"There's a mafia playing at a casino in the city tomorrow night. They're called the Dao," he said as he pointed to a few wanted posters laying on the desk. "They're carrying the shipment we... failed to steal a few weeks ago," he continued.

Wait. The shipment I saw them loading off the docks that night?

"The plan is to go in and keep them distracted while the others load the goods onto our carriages. Once they're done we can leave quietly like we weren't even there in the first place." You nodded at all the information you were receiving, but you were failing to see what your role was supposed to be in this plan.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"You'll be inside with me. We're going to buy our way in to the usual poker game they host privately and play them a little."

"That's great actually."

"And why is that?" he prodded, eyebrow lifting in confusion at your sudden excitement.

"I'm great at poker," you confidently stated. He nearly laughed at you if it wasn't for the way you narrowed your eyes at him in a death stare.

"I guess we'll have to see if you are tomorrow."

—————————————————————————

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough, finding you in a bit of a situation. You had no idea what to wear. The duffel bag you carried was basically your only wardrobe and your outfit choices were limited. Another issue was that you were going to a casino, which called for a little class and finesse.

After wafting through every outfit combination that was sprawled on your bed, you set on a shirt with a corset on top and a skirt matching your red corset. There was just a problem though. You needed help lacing up your corset. In the process of rethinking your outfit for the hundredth time, a soft knock echoed on the door.

“Come in.”

“I came to see if you’re ready,” he said, eyes going wide when he saw you. Your hair was made in an updo, long strands of hair cascading down your shoulders. The cotton shirt showed off your collar bones, while the velvet corset pushed your chest upwards, showing the tiniest sliver of cleavage but not too over-the top. It matched the ruby skirt that fell just a few inches above your knees. He thought you looked breathtaking.

“You have perfect timing. Could you help me lace up this thing?”

“I.. Yeah, sure," he breathed out.

He walked to your spot in front of the mirror and stopped behind you. Fixing your gaze through the mirror, you watched as he picked up the corset strings wrapping them around his slender fingers. He pulled on them until the corset looked tight enough on you but you motioned him to pull it tighter. He laced the rest of the strings up in a bow and smoothed a hand on the crisscross pattern, icy hand coming in contact with your warm back as you dragged in a shaky breath.

“You’re going like this?”

“I don’t really have anything else to wear.”

“Make sure you put a coat on.”

“But it’s a casino. I’m supposed to show off these goodies," you gestured to your chest as he tried his hardest to avert his eyes to somewhere else.

“Coat on or you’re staying here," he said and walked away, leaving you dumbfounded. What has gotten into him now?

The truth was that he thought you were showing a little too much. Once he was out of your room, he leaned on the wall besides the door and released a breath. You looked absolutely beautiful. But that was a sight he wanted to reserve for himself. You weren’t his. But he was damned if he would let anyone else see you like this tonight.

—————————————————————————

The carriage halted and Enishi stepped out first, holding a hand to you. He wore a white shirt under a blue qipao, intricate patterns reflecting in the dim light of the night. You took his hand and he helped you down from the carriage, fingers lingering on yours for a few moments before he let go.

"Is everyone in their places?" he asked Wu, who was driving your carriage. He nodded and left, hiding the carriage in the woods nearby.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

The casino was on the outskirts of Shanghai, which made escaping a possible mafia war easier. The outside of the building looked like a normal warehouse, but the inside was far from it. Carpeted floors in red and gold greeted you as you walked in, paving the way to the main area filled with sitting booths. A reception bar sat at the far end of the entrance, buzzing with customers. To the right was a corridor that was guarded by armed men. That must be the way to the poker rooms.

You made your way to the bar ordering a drink for you and Enishi, scouting the premises. How are we supposed to get in there without getting broken in half like a toothpick?

Your question was answered as a woman approached Enishi and beckoned him to follow her to the corner. Her blonde hair fell behind her back as she leaned her hand up on the wall, putting all her goodies on sight for him. He replicated her flirty gazes as he trailed a hand up her exposed arm.

Her black corset was laced tightly around her body, pushing her bulky breasts together. You looked down at your own, a little disappointed that you lacked in that area. The high slit on her purple skirt showed off her legs. She wore the tallest heels you've ever seen.

She looked so much more feminine than you and it made your confidence falter slightly. You didn't really care about looks before so why did it affect you so much right now?

You felt really self-conscious ever since you met Enishi. The loose clothes you used to lounge around in changed to tighter fitting clothes. They were better for training, that's what you told yourself. You fixed the bird's nest in your hair more frequently, braiding or putting it up in sophisticated styles. It made training easier, you told yourself again and again.

"Any chance you could get us in there?" you heard him ask the woman as she twirled her hair around her fingers.

"Depends on what you're willing to do for it," she said leaning further on the wall, flaunting her cleavage at him. Can she choke or something?

It wasn't strange that she found him attractive. Enishi was eye candy, holding himself like the gods sculpted him. Who wouldn't want to get a chance to explore the defined physique under his clothes?

He pulled out a handful of money bonded together and handed it to her discreetly. She took the money with a disappointed huff and went on her way to the men on guard. She whispered something to one of them and motioned you to follow her. Leading you down the long corridor she stopped showing you a door with the number 7 crested in golden. Well that was so hard.

After she left, Enishi turned to you seeing you look rather displeased.

"What?"

"Nothing." You leaned a hand on the wall and copied blondie's earlier position, hand on your hip as you batted your eyelashes at him. "Depends on what you're willing to do for it," you say mimicking her annoying voice. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"Why are you laughing?"

"It looks like someone is jealous."

"Who? ME?! No. Not me. She can have you for all I care."

"Is that so?"

You nodded determined to show him you weren't affected in any way by the flirty exchange that took place earlier. Sparing you one more look he turned towards the door.

"Let's get this show rolling."

——————————————

The smell of opium hit you like a train, smoke hanging briskly in the confined air of the room. In the middle at a round table sat three men playing poker. You recognised them from the posters on Enishi's desk. The one in the middle was the boss of the Daos, the other two were his henchmen. Armed men sat behind them and around the room, busying themselves with their drinks.

There were no cards on the table yet which meant they just started the game. The dealer was a woman dressed just like the one you encountered at the bar. She looked scared as she mixed the cards, probably because she was here against her will. All heads turned to you as you walked in and sat down in the empty seat at the table.

"This is a private game," said a gruff voice from your right, belonging to the boss.

"This seat is empty, isn't it?" you asked, taking your coat off.

"What does a girl like you know about poker?" the one on your left asked after looking at you, licking his lips of the narcotics he smoked.

"You'd be surprised. Deal me in," you said confidently, hand held out for Enishi to hand you some money. He hesitated at first, but after seeing the determination on your face he sighed and dropped five thick stacks in your hand.

You shot the woman dealing the cards a look. She looked at the boss for approval and he nodded. A curious glint in his eyes told you he was curious about you and how far you could go. He had nothing to lose, especially with the amount of money sitting by your hands.

You quickly figured that the boss was the strongest player. His only flaw was that he bet everything knowing that his men would never go against him. He deemed you a weak player in the first dealings, but that was only because you were holding back on raising your bets on purpose, playing the weak damsel act to buy you some time.

Once you got your fourth card, you dealt all your money in, raising the bet double the amount. You smirked looking at the four cards in your hand, red hearts smiling back at you. A ten of hearts, a jack, a king and an ace. All you needed was a queen and you could play your hand in a royal flush, the highest card combination in the game.

"What's got you so happy, sweetheart?" asked the boss, confused at the smile pulling at your mouth.

"You'll see," you mumbled to yourself as you got your fifth card, completing your hand.

The dealer called the hands and the man on your right went first, placing his cards on the table. He had a lucky three of a kind as he turned to smirk at you. The other man in front of you showed his, grinning as he got a better hand than the other one, a strong full house thrown on the table. These guys were strong players despite having to yield in to their boss.

The boss took a long drag of smoke and smiled creepily at you. He placed down his cards, a straight flush of spades sitting idly on the table. He started reaching for the money in the middle before you cut him off with a look.

Enishi sat behind you, mouth slightly agape, until he took a look at your cards. "You're joking," you heard him mumble before you placed down your cards, a sheer of gasps erupting around the room.

"A ROYAL FLUSH?!" yelled the boss, the men sitting around the table just as surprised. You chuckled and turned to Enishi, a proud smirk taking over his features. You went all in and won against one of the most ruthless mafias in the country. He felt a little embarrassed for second guessing you without seeing you play.

You were about to reach for the earnings on the table as a man stumbled in the room.

"The shipment! It's gone," he said as he approached the boss. The earlier shock on his face was replaced by anger as he stood up to strangle the man, lifting him off the ground.

Enishi tapped on your shoulder, eyes motioning you towards the door. You had to get out of here now, whilst all the attention was on the man being choked. You made quick work of putting your coat on and got up quietly, reaching for the money in the middle of the table, before Enishi stopped you shaking his head. But I won them fair and square, you said with a look. We have to get out of here now, he pressed.

"How did this happen?" yelled the boss shaking the life out of the man. He pointed a trembling finger at you just as you were about to walk out of the door.

"Hold it right there," said the boss cocking his gun at you.

"This was an amazing game," you said with a hand on the door handle. "By the way, YOU SUCK," you yelled as Enishi pulled you down the corridor.

"Did you really have to?"

"The look on his face was priceless," you giggled. You came to a halt in the main area as everyone turned to look at you. The shouts of the boss were heard down the hall as the whole gang closed in on you.

"Don't let them get away."

There were about twenty armed men circling around you and there was only two of you, the only one actually armed being you. You reached for the pistols in the garter under your skirt, sitting back to back with Enishi.

We are so royally fucked.

—————————————

Guns were fired your way and you dodged them, shooting your pistols relentlessly. You managed to reduce the gang members to a half, while Enishi took to breaking limbs left and right.

You were shooting your gun at a taller guy when the clicks on your pistols locked and you realised you were out of ammo. He went to tackle you but you ducked before he could lay hands on you, going for a sweep, knocking his feet from under him. Another one got hold of your coat and you spun around taking it off your shoulders, using your arms to twist it in the man's hold. You pulled on it making him fall forward and you kicked him, projecting him into the bar island. Your coat ripped down the middle from the force. My only coat, gone. You served me well.

The guy got up from the floor and started throwing the glasses sitting on top of the bar at you. You barely dodged a cocktail glass aimed at your head, catching it mid-air. You sniffed the clear liquid recognising it to be vodka and you downed it in one go, throwing the glass behind you.

"That would've been a waste of good liquor." He sneered as he charged at you and you ran behind the bar taking hold of a beer bottle. When he got close you smashed it on his head rendering him unconscious.

Fire was opened again, this time towards you and you sunk to the floor taking cover behind the bar. Enishi joined you from the other side, reeling in next to you.

"What now?"

"We wait until they run out of bullets."

As if on cue the gunfire halted and you got up from your spots taking on the remaining members. Enishi slid over the bar landing a kick to someone's face mid-air. You took hold of a broom and used it like the bo staff you trained with.

Swaying the wooden stick around you cleared the path for him. Two goons jumped at you, trying to take your weapon. You were busy holding one of them off trying to shake his hands off the broom and failed to notice the chair heading straight to you.

"Miyu, watch out!" You turned just before it smashed into your back and dodged out of the way, letting the chair fall straight into the guy you were fighting off, both of them knocking into each other.

Enishi was fighting another pair. One of them pulled out a knife and tried to stab him. You intercepted the sneaky attack and caught his hand, kicking the knife away before yanking him towards your fist. He punched the other one and they both fell to the floor in sync.

You looked around at the mess you caused, trying to get your breath under control. The boss was nowhere to be found and you assumed he scurried off somewhere with the tail between his legs.

Spotting it among the pile of bodies, you went and picked up the shreds of your coat from the floor, smoothing a hand over it. Enishi took off his qipao and put it on your shoulders heading to the exit, without saying anything.

—————————————————————————

He didn’t speak a word on the way back. The only gestures he made were to direct Wu to take you back to the mansion. He didn't even look at you when you asked him about the mission. All he did was sit in complete silence, eyes closed in meditation, jaw clenched in irritation.

You went over everything that happened back at the casino. The blonde flirting with him, the poker game, the fight. Nothing stood out enough to be a problem and you certainly didn't do anything wrong, besides taunting and stealing off a mafia boss. Regardless, his silence was driving you crazy to say the least.

Why do I even care? I went and did my job and we finally got the weapons. What could possibly make him this mad?

You were snapped out of your thoughts as the carriage came to a halt in front of the mansion. Enishi quickly got off without sparing you a look, leaving the door open for you to get out yourself.

Wow. Fucking diva.

You stepped down from the carriage with the help of Wu and took off after him. You were determined to find out what made him this mad. His steps were fast like he wanted to get away from you but you weren't going to give him the satisfaction. You weren’t going to let him push you away again. He opened the door to his room and before he could close it shut you sneaked in.

He stopped in the middle of the dimly lit room, shoulders rolled in annoyance. You took in his room from your place by the door. His room seemed to be a mirror of yours, the only difference being that his was as dark as room décor could get. The cool light of the night washed the room in an even darker shade, currently reflecting its owners mood.

“Why are you here?”

“I want to know why you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you.”

“Cut the bullshit, Enishi. You haven’t said one word on the way back. Did I do something wrong?”

With a sigh he turned around to face you. His eyes were visible to you even in the heavy darkness. They seemed to drink you in with greed, debating on whether he should say something or keep the thoughts raging in his head quiet. He settled on the former, the adrenaline of the fight still pumping through his veins. If he didn't say anything now he knew he would regret it forever.

“You didn’t respect the plan,” he said taking a step towards you. “We were supposed to go in and get out,” another step, “not provoke a fight,” he stopped in front of you.

“Fuck the plan! We had them right in the palm of our hand. We got what we wanted, right? What else matters?”

“You! You matter,” he growled as he closed the distance between you, pinning you to the door. “You… drive me up the fucking wall,” he said as he settled both of his arms on either side of you.

“What?” you mumbled under your breath.

“I can’t take it anymore,” he exhaled and the next thing he did caught you by surprise. Warm lips landed on yours, moving with burning desire against your clueless ones. Your eyes widened in surprise and you froze, leaning a hand on the wall behind to keep you steady.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for so long,” he said as he pulled apart just enough for you to get a breath in, before he leaned in again, this time with much more hunger.

It was like your body caught on fire. You didn’t know what you were supposed to do so for the time being you settled on kissing him back. His hands moved from beside you to card through your hair, the other moving to sit at the base of your neck, pushing your face impossibly closer to his. His breaths were running wild across your skin as he moved down to your neck. Every kiss leaving his mouth was tightly sawn into your skin making your breaths heavier.

You craved and were afraid of his touch at the same time. Enishi could be both gentle and rough and you had no idea which one was sitting before you right now. Your mind was in constant tug of war between restraint and giving in to him. He didn’t let you wallow in your thoughts too much as a butterfly kiss to your collar bone brought you back to earth. He stopped and looked at you to make sure this was something you wanted too. Tracing your eyes to his, you saw the previous hunger in his eyes turned into sincere want. That was the only confirmation you needed to know as to which Enishi was with you right now, wasting no time in capturing his lips, a little rougher than he did.

Your mouths fought for dominance, none of you wanting to give in and submit to the other. The way his fingers worked to undo the corset he tied up for you just a few hours ago turned you on and you couldn’t wait anymore.

“Rip it off,” you whined.

“After I struggled so hard to tie it up—“

“Enishi, I don’t give two flying fucks. Rip it to fucking shreds.”

“Someone’s getting impatient,” he chuckled. Seeing you so worked up amused him. He didn’t want to make you wait any longer so he untangled his fingers from the strings and in one brisk move he pulled apart your corset, breaking it in two together with the white shirt underneath. The poor pieces of fabric fell to the floor, revealing your chest.

He revelled at the sight before him. You were exactly what he imagined in lewd fantasies at night, when his head was webbed with only thoughts of you. What set him on fire the most was that he knew you thought of him in that way too. Your eyes gave you away way too many times for him to not take notice of it. He just hid his a lot deeper so you wouldn't notice it. He failed to keep the thoughts away each time his hand found yours, or your waist, or your face.

You consumed him and you didn't even know it.

Tracing his hand down your arm made tingles dance all over your body. You couldn’t take his teasing anymore, not when you were this bare in front of him. If he's not going to move, I’ll do it myself.

With maddening frustration, you launched at his lips, capturing them wildly like they were the very essence of life. He responded to your attack with pleasure rolling off his vocal chords grunting into your mouth. Taking the opportunity, you pressed your hands on his clothed chest and ripped away at his shirt too, soft cotton turning into a mere rag as you pulled at it. Enishi was taken aback by your rawness and broke the kiss just enough to take another breath to be able to fight your mouth for his share of dominance.

He pulled you closer to get the skirt off of you just as you worked on his pants. You didn’t even notice you were already leaned back on his bed, spread wide for him to see all of you. Thoughts of every fantasy he had of you were spinning around in his head and he struggled to pick just one.

“Draw a picture it will last longer,” you say sitting up on your elbows.

“I’m gonna fuck this attitude out of you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

The whole thing turned into another competition you both couldn’t get enough of. He wasn’t going to back down and neither were you. Most girls got shy whenever they saw this hunk of a man stand above them, ready to turn them to whimpering wrecks. But you weren’t most girls and you planned on showing him that.

He was spending too much time observing you and you were growing desperate. Deciding to take the reins, you sat up to mirror his kneeling position on the bed and laid your hands on his chest, pushing him backwards until he fell on his back. Straddling his lap, you leaned down to take in his gasps of surprise in a chaste kiss. A kiss so slow that it made his insides burn with lust.

“Miyu, stop fucking around,” he groaned between kisses.

“That’s what you were doing a minute ago,” you say smirking through the kiss. He responded by raking his hand through your scalp and gently pulling at it, drawing a moan from you.

“I love seeing you this needy for me," he said, biting down on your lip. "I haven’t even done anything to you yet and here you are, ready to pounce on me if I don’t give it to you.”

You were begging. All for someone who’s never touched you to do just that. Because you knew he would do it exactly the way you wanted.

Enishi was chaos. He was like a drug to you, a damn good one at that. Once you got a tang of it you kept wanting more. The more time you spent with him the wilder your delusions got and you realised you were addicted to his taste.

You continued the makeout session, rolling around in the bed, tongues fighting for power. You sat on his lap, skillfully pushing into him without a breath. Every time you came up for air he pulled your head back down to him. He was just as addicted to you.

“My turn,” he smirked taking your lips in his. His hands trailed down your shoulders to your chest and he held your breasts, softly squeezing them. It turned you on beyond repair and you couldn’t help the whines escaping your throat.

“What do you want me to do?” he whispered, lips stopping a few inches away, teasingly grazing yours.

“Anything,” you replied, moving your head up to catch them, failing as he moved away from you. You dropped your head on his pillows, feeling lightheaded from the anticipation. He could do whatever he wanted to you as long as he did something.

“I need words, Miyu.” The way he spoke your name made goosebumps raise on your arms. His voice alone managed to undo you.

“I want you to ruin me. Take me to God or to Satan for all I care.”

He didn’t waste any more time and took to trailing the most teasing kisses down your body, from the dip in your neck down to your navel. He savored every part of you like a priest chastising the Sunday mass. He preached your body like a prayer, prepared to sink you in the depths of his hell. He only knew sin and he was going to taint you in his darkness tonight.

His kisses got slower the closer he got to your throbbing core, the part that was aching for him the most. You couldn’t believe he was performing your wildest dreams. You made the mistake of rubbing your legs together to create some friction, wanting him to touch you already, only to have him pull your knees apart spreading you back out. He caressed your thighs, fingers running from the base of your knees all the way to your hips, missing your core by just a few inches. The waiting was driving you mad, turning you into a whining mess.

“Enishi, stop messing around.”

“I haven’t even started darling.”

Securing a hand around your torso, he dipped down to kiss your thighs the same way his hands caressed your legs. His kisses stopped just before your opening and he blew on it, making you shudder under his hold. With one more look at your face, he dove into you. He worked his skilled tongue inside your walls as you wrote your moans in his pillows, gripping the sheets tightly. The hand on your torso rubbed circles on your stomach adding to the ecstasy you were feeling. You surrendered your body to him, letting him worship you the only way he knew.

His strokes turned haste as you neared your release. You came fast and he devoured your juices like it was the nectar of the gods, leaving no drop go to waste. You were seeing stars, sweat sticking to your skin as the heat became too unbearable. The only light in the room came from the moon and as dim as it was it was blinding you, senses overwhelmed by the man at your feet. He came up to capture your lips, letting you taste yourself the way he tasted you. He wanted you to know how good you were and how much he wanted to savour you.

“Enishi…," you gripped his head and kissed him arduously. "Fuck me," you begged and that was enough to finally get him going.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” With a swift kiss he slid inside you, length stretching you out sore.

He pounded into you at the speed of light. You closed your eyes to get rid of the stars you were seeing, but he made you to look at him. He wanted watch as he broke you apart and put you back together.

“Be a good girl. You can take it.”

His praises made your body quiver as he annihilated your insides. He was a god in bed, toned body shining in the moonlight as he took you to heaven. But he was also a devil, his thrusts branding his name inside of you like a mark. The more he delved in the better the pleasure he gave you. He knew exactly how to make you feel just right and you felt a surge of energy taking over as you flipped your bodies.

"My turn," you said, wanting to make him beg for you like you begged for him. Calloused hands worked their way up your sides as you took his lips once more, sitting on top of his lap. Your hands were messing around in his hair, grabbing at it every time he bit your lip.

You chased the dips in his neck with sloppy kisses, hands digging into your sides. Your hands massaged and pulled at his hair, moans rolling off his tongues like music. Your touch felt divine, awakening his cold body like the first sunlight of spring. He wanted you to be the queen of his hell, to fall in and out of grace together.

"I need you," he grunted. He got so turned on by this savage part of you and he didn't want to admit it, but it made him so weak. He craved all of you, even if he had to swim in your ocean endlessly just to find every piece of you.

"Your wish is my command," you said, sinking down on him with a grunt, feeling him stretch you out again. Once you felt comfortable you started rolling your hips, a string of curses leaving his mouth.

You were taking your sweet time and he felt you going agonizingly slow. His hands gripped your hips to move you faster and faster until your rhythm grew frantic, leaning to support yourself by his shoulders. Your head was spinning as you felt yourself come close to your release for the second time tonight.

"Enishi," you whispered breathlessly.

"What do you need?" he asked, fingers grazing your ear softly.

"You," you say seizing his lips. Your pace picked up as your moans combined in each other's mouth. He was twitching inside you, sign he was close too.

He would do anything if he could have you on top like this all the time. He would let his pride go to shit if he could feel you like this again. To see your hair stick to your face, locks tangled over your shoulders. To have your hands grip him like he was your lifeline. To see your eyes lost in the abyss that is him as you come undone together, bodies intertwined drunk on a high, on top of his bed.

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Warmth. That's what you were feeling right now. Muscular arms held you securely, gaze focused solely on you. One of his hands was stroked your hair in a gentle rhythm, head laid on his shoulder as you stared at the ceiling. A piece of your hair fell over your face and his hand moved to place it behind your ear, his husky voice breaking the comfortable silence.

"Why are your ears so small?" he asked poking fun at you, only to get kicked in the shins by your leg. "Okay, I deserved that."

You turned around and his eyes caught a glimpse of something behind your ear. A tattoo. His fingers smoothed over the skin, making out the word yume. And there he thought you couldn't surprise him more than you already did tonight. He reached for your hair to move it out of the way to get a better view at the inkwork. His eyes turned curious as he ran his hand over the mark.

"Yume," he whispers, just enough for you to sense the question on his tongue.

"It means dream. I got it done before I left Japan," you sighed.

"Why yume?"

"I didn't have any dreams for myself. I still don't. All I wanted was to find my parents and that felt like a good enough dream at the time," you said, eyes slightly tearing up at the memory of your parents.

"But as I got older it became something that drove me. I suddenly wanted to find a dream for myself just so I can give this life meaning."

Silence hung in the air again as he mulled over the information. He wanted to know more about what happened to your parents but this definitely wasn't the time to ask. You were too vulnerable right now and he didn't want to pry into your head more than you did it to yourself.

You got up from the bed, his shirt sitting snugly around you. Stretching your sore body, you headed towards his bathroom. You noticed that blue was a recurring aesthetic in the place. The finish on the sink was just like yours, the only difference being that it was dressed in dark motives. He bathroom had a shower in the corner, surrounded by black granite tiles and a glass wall.

"Any other tattoos I should know about?" You turned around to him. He had his arms behind his head, biceps flexing the more he leaned back. The duvet covered his lower part, chest fully exposed to you. You bit your lip as you looked at him.

"If you join me for a shower I might just tell you," you giggled, leaning against the frame of the bathroom door.

"You can say that again," he said as he got up from his bed and ran to you, picking you up in his arms.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU'RE SWEATY!"

"SO ARE YOU BUT YOU DONT HEAR ME YELLING ABOUT IT."

"You're so annoying," you said, linking your arms around his neck so you wouldn't fall.

"That's not what you were moaning a few hours ago, babe," he said walking towards the shower with you in his arms.

"Eww, don't call me babe."

"Sure... babe," he smirked.

"Oh, dear lord."

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Thank you for reading! As always, comments, notes and reblogs are welcome :)

#Addicting Taste #enishi yukishiro #rurouni kenshin #enishi yukishiro fanfiction #enishi yukishiro x reader #enishi yukishiro x you #this was a wild ride #i feel so deprived

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fablecore · 11 months

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have you seen the new one piece life action trailer yet?? i feel like all the casting has been on point so far

i am the meanest grumpiest most annoying most illogical hater of western live action adaptations of manga (& nostalgia reboots of beloved childhood shows), so i had a rather horrifying out-of-body experience when i watched the trailer and found myself thinking ".....oh. this might be... good?"

i love that the crew is wearing clothes from color spreads! it's a simple costuming choice, but i feel like it a) shows that the director is really paying attention, and b) actually does something better than the manga (adds more detail to characters/worldbuilding). inaki is a fantastic live action luffy. i really really like him.

i'm going to go in with zero expectations and i'm sure it'll be fun! i'm still grumpy there aren't more actors of color in the cast... this is probably my biggest gripe because it's so counter to how i imagine the op world... but i think inaki and mackenyu and jacob are going to be great. live action sanji is growing on me too, i must admit 😔

#letters #one piece #opla

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tea-and-finalfantasy · 8 months

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In regards to the weird backlash over Benn Beckman's live action casting--I'm sorry you expected a character at 38-48 to look like anything else but a legit older man. I'm sorry they cast a 39 year old in the role of an older man, first seen at age 38

In terms of looks, the trivia section of the wiki mentions that Oda said that Benn looks like a mouse. The man doesn't even have eyebrows

Like we all think he's hot, I think he's hot, he knows he's hot with that playboy attitude apparently--but please take a second to look at this beloved older man with no eyebrows and undereye creases and come back to me. Tell me you think those are subjectively sexy features and that we're not all fixated on someone who's yeah, normal, but a little strange

Yes I think he's genuinely beautiful for those reasons (among other things) but he's just some guy and I'm glad we get to see him as just some guy. He's incredibly smart and sympathetic and protective but like most of Shanks' crew, they look like normal people. I'm sorry you wanted all supermodels for the crew who camps out on an island the majority of the time. Realistically he'd smell like tobacco and alcohol, even just from proximity, even if he's absolutely one of the crew that actually showers everyday. Yeah Yasopp and Shanks are banging and Lucky Roux too--although apparently a lot of you haven't matured to the point where you realize fat people are hot--but they're all normal people with Benn being the oldest by far. If we were dealing with post-timeskip Benn here, you mean to tell me you think a 50 year old man would look any other way? Them hiring a 39 year old is fucking kind if someone ten years away from 50 is this upsetting to you

Like the one thing I'd fix is the wig styling. That's it. I feel like it needs to fit just a smidge better but this isn't RuPaul's Drag Race--I don't expect the wigs of all things to be top tier. We saw the Wado Ichimonji bend (which I'm also not taking seriously/I think it's so fucking funny) and people are irritated that Taz Skylar is more muscular as Sanji than Mackenyu as Zoro--as if Zoro wasn't a fucking beanstalk of a man in part one?

I get wanting to be picky about things, especially your faves, but they are never going to adhere to everything everyone could possibly dream of for a fancast. Hell, they don't even draw the characters the same in the manga anymore, with certain things (skin tones) being more important than other, more preferential things (hair color, type--even if those changes irritate me too)

You don't have to like the casting but for fuck's sake do you want an apology from fat people? Older people? He's not even 40! Get over yourselves. I'm thrilled that so much of this cast just looks like themselves. That they look like regular fucking people and that we can designate the entire budget to Chuu and Arlong and Buggy instead.

Plus Mihawk is gorgeous all the time and I think this is accentuated by like. Yeah the cast is hot and cute and good looking but they're also normal people. He gets to be this otherworldly beauty amongst good looking people you'd see everyday because he's this striking, chilling, strict, and beautiful presence around just, everyone else.

But if you think for a fucking second I'm personally not singing my fucking praises when a character like Benn Beckman has a round stomach like that my God like I don't know what the rest of you are doing wasting your time wishing he had abs, for fuck's sake he's on the crew of borderline cirrhosis, I think ALL of them should have beer bellies. Thank fuck for Lucky Roux and Benn Beckman in the same scene bc that was a blessing, thank fuck for fat people

Do you know how hot it'd be if someone as big as Crocodile was fat? How strange it'd genuinely be if he isn't? He's fucking massive, what do you want him to weigh, 170lbs? He couldn't support the fat titties y'all give him with that low of a weight

Do you know how hot Alvida is with her round face and double chin? For Benn Beckman of all characters to have a stomach, for Lucky Roux to be fat and endearing and cute and able to be written as an actual character and not like, a beach ball of a man, is the closest thing we're gonna get to fat people being allowed to exist normally in One Piece

And the story isn't fucking about them! One Piece has over 1000 episodes and Netflix is going to cancel this inevitably as they do with every show to avoid paying their actors and writers--we literally do not have time to give Benn more than a background role anyways. What's it matter if you don't like how he looks in the two scenes they're gonna give him

Lastly look at his IMDB pic and tell me he's not handsome

The point isn't to only respect people if they're attractive but like. He's really good looking anyways! Y'all are letting your perfect perception of Benn Beckman to overwhelm the actual performance being done, and of a background character no less. You guys are letting a cheap wig poison you into calling a real life person ugly for daring to play the role of a background character as instructed

This fatphobia and ageism (of a fucking, 39 year old man like he's pushing 100) combo is literally the mirror image of every anime fan power-scaling on Twitter, the "this is how Kaido and Big Mom will win" dudes preoccupied with their own poorly written fantasies rather than seeing what a clearly-written, the-good-guys-will-prevail story is plainly saying to the audience

You are becoming no different than the pathetic dudes (who aren't strong, who aren't doing fight choreo, who may even have the same amount of fat but who think they're immune to the same hatred for it--who could be doing all these things but still are worthless pieces of shit because they're spiteful and have no personalities or interests beyond that) saying he's not tough enough, that he should be stronger and more fit--in a show where everyone's either fit or ugly, in a show that showed him to be average size--real skinny even in the manga, as with everyone else at that point! from luffy to zoro to sanji, they all were beanpoles--in a world where no one can be normal about other people of any weight they perceive to be "fat," regardless of if that's the case or not

This is supposed to be for fun and being so irrevocably rattled by the little things is detracting from your enjoyment of something intended to deviate from the source media and that in some ways (in regards to the variety of people being casted/in regards to Luffy being Brazilian in Oda's words) is closer to the source media than we think

You don't have to have Liebenberg as your Beckman choice. You don't have to like the trimmed down storyline, even in the face of needing to cut for time no matter what. It's fine to be the type of person who wants adaptations to be as close to the source media as possible and I've felt that way about certain media too! I dislike when what I fixate on isn't the main focus of a new creation! But directing any dissatisfaction towards this dude doing the job he was hired for because you think he's ugly is ridiculous

#benn beckman #one piece live action #one piece

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bettsfic · 7 months

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I think the world is in desperate need of your analysis on ZoLu (and perhaps write a lil fantastic fic while you're at it teehee)

FIRST of all, having seen nearly mackenyu's entire filmography (he doesn't have a ton of stuff and some of it is unwatchable but god i tried), i can confirm that he's always typecast as some kind of angry/sardonic brother figure. that's the key: he is always a brother whose conflict has to do with brotherhood. in one of the very few things where he plays a romantic part, it is with that character's sister figure (but who is actually a cousin).

so here i was, innocently expecting more of the same. but instead i get

i have no frame of reference for the canon material, but i do have a frame of reference for mackenyu's Range, and i can assure you this expression hasn't shown up anywhere.

their dynamic is my kryptonite. goofy boyishness meets unwavering loyalty and reverence. i'm doomed.

unfortunately, i ship them in a very fucked up way no one will enjoy, and i'll probably end up walking into some kind of decades-long fandom discourse i wasn't aware existed.

i started writing a modern AU where baratie is a pseudo-fancy franchise steakhouse. the first part is sanji/nami. the second part is zoro/luffy (zoro is a bartender, luffy is a dishwasher; they're also roommates). i don't know if i'll finish or post it but here are some highlights from the zolu fic, which branches off at the halfway point of the sanji/nami fic. so we see this same scene from sanji's pov earlier.

note this is a very early draft, and it's only in reference to the live action. tw for alcoholism.

It’s Employee Appreciation Day at Baratie. Having been offered an open bar which he does not have to tend, Zoro feels amply appreciated. Luffy is on one side of him, crawling over him to talk to Usopp. Across the table, Sanji has just joined them. Nami, shit-faced, leans against him, and if Sanji doesn’t do something about this tension soon, Zoro is going to kick his ass. Fucking coward, he thinks, but the thought is cut short by Luffy crawling back to his seat, pointy knees and elbows digging into Zoro in the process, like a giant puppy that has no idea how heavy it’s gotten. Luffy’s leg remains crossed over Zoro’s thigh. They’ve been living together so long that Luffy no longer smells like anything. They share the same detergent, soap, shampoo. Zoro’s pretty sure Luffy even uses his deodorant. They have separate toothbrushes though. At least there’s that.

Zoro is less a roommate and more just a piece of playground equipment for Luffy to climb on. At some point these past three years, Luffy’s perspective of where his body ends and Zoro’s begins became skewed. What’s frightening is that Zoro doesn’t care. In fact he enjoys being Luffy’s plaything. He doesn’t have to bear the brunt of existence when Luffy is carelessly snuggling him like a beloved stuffed toy.

[took a few paragraphs out]

The truth is that he can’t be alone. Doesn’t want to be alone. Those years of his life after Kuina died, wandering through life just trying to make enough money to get blitzed every night, he’d managed to convince himself he was a loner. He doesn’t remember much about that time. It might’ve been the next day or the next year that he downloaded a hookup app. He’d never liked sex—men, women, didn’t matter—but if he could find some sweet shy girl to fuck or a pretty twink, he’d do his duty and then he’d earn his place beside them in bed, hold them, fall asleep with them, maybe even wake up with them. Some of them liked him, wanted to see him again, but he never fucked the same person twice. He needed to be surrounded by people but he couldn’t be close to them.

Luffy was kind of perfect in that regard. He was physically affectionate to the point of being literally clingy, but emotionally he stayed lightyears away. He was capable of meaningful conversations but he never made himself vulnerable. It was an admirable act. He could look you in the eye and convince you to follow your wildest dreams, could listen thoughtfully as you gutted yourself open in front of him, spilled your darkest secrets and greatest fears. But he’d never reciprocate. In fact, you'd think he didn’t have any at all. That he was living one step to the left of reality, and you could be there too, fearless, if only you followed him.

#my fic #the playbook

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srirachaz · 4 months

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people have to stop having the AUDACITY not to tell me when mackenyu is starring in something new

it's called dragons of wonderhatch and idc if the name sounds odd or if the plot sucks it has mackenyu and that's all i care about

like the first eps are promising and while mackenyu is a side character he's also my beloved AND he's a redhead with a scar and a drinking problem in this (literally like if he'd been shanks instead of zoro) (he's literally emo!hero!shanks) (i love him)

#dragons of wonderhatch #mackenyu

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lily-s-world · 1 year

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Let's talk about the live action of Saint Seiya/Knights of the Zodiac, without spoilers. Cause I was finally able to watch it and I'm always saying that you can't judge something that you haven't seen.

Since it was announced, I was really afraid cause Hollywood isn't good with anime adaptations (except for Speed Racer of 2008, my beloved) and Saint Seiya is honestly one of my favorite animes of all time; but I decided to give it a chance and go to see it.

I'll be the first one to admit that it isn't perfect - the dialogue is dull and predictable in a few scenes, and the cloths were okay, not great, just okay. Besides that, I enjoyed a lot the film.

The actors/actresses really acted like they knew their characters, and understood the purpose of them. Specially Mackenyu as Seiya, he was amazing. The effects were great, I loved the Pegasus and the Phoenix constellations, and the way the cloths merged with their knights was straight out pulled from the anime.

But what I really consider was the best thing about this movie, was the fighting scenes. Right from the start, it was well done and I enjoyed that so much. All my love to Andy Chen and his team, you outdone yourselves, it felt like watching the anime.

I also almost lost my mind in one specific scene were Pegasus Fantasy started playing, loved that so much.

Overall, I would give the plot of the film a 7.5/10; but the fights and effects (specially with that small budget) deserves a 10/10.

#What do you think #knights of the zodiac #Saint seiya #Knights of the Zodiac 2023 #Seiya #mackenyu #Sienna kido #saori kido #madison iseman #pegasus seiya #Phoenix ikki #Phoenix nero #diego tinoco #Alman kido #sean bean #Athena #Speed racer #anime adaptation

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the-mother-of-lions · 4 months

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SNAP @snapshotmaestro

ft a collection of things we've dragged each other into over the last couple of years

#snap my beloved #liongifs #icybtchgifs #one piece #over drive #mackenyu #lil nas x #trigun stampede #sk8 the infinity #taylor zakhar perez #joe keery

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scammydoesstuff · 8 months

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So about that OPLA...

My boyfriend, John (@jchristievo ) and I just finished watching One Piece live action on Netflix and I gotta say, fuck the haters. This was so goddamn fun.

So I'mma take a minute to gush about it cuz I gotta!

For context, John's a major fan of the manga/anime while I'm over here like, 'I saw the 4Kids dub for a hot minute when I was a child and was like nope!' I did watch several episodes leading up to Arlong Park with him as we geared up for the live action release, so I became familiar with most of the main parts of the intro of the series and before that, I respected the series for what it is and means to people. Because of the latter, I was definitely skeptical when I first found out about the adaptation, worrying for how they'd handle such a beloved series, but all the promotional stuff got us both hype af and had me hopeful that it'd be good. Not to mention Oda himself over here like, "Yeah, I want this to be a thing and it's gonna be made to my satisfaction or I'm pulling the plug".

For the creator to have so much involvement was such a game changer already and the cast are so delightful. Iñaki is 🌟Grade A Certified Good Shonen Boy🌟, Mackenyu is badass incarnate, Emily is a fucking weeb, Jacob consistently had me in stitches, and Taz was suave and also a badass. I absolutely adored all these goobers so much just from seeing them interact in the promos. Granted, I know those were staged to a degree, but their chemistry was there regardless and made me grin ear to ear every time.

I'm now familiar enough with the first arc to know what changes were made and some of what I'd expect when we went in, and I really like the way it was paced to cover everything it needed to. It can't be a one-to-one, but anyone expecting such a thing is out of their gourd. I think the story told here was very well done from beginning to end.

I did have some issues, of course. The series isn't perfect and there are definitely nitpicks I could name if given the time. While I think the acting was good, I think Arlong was one of the weaker aspects in terms of visuals which I think were otherwise excellent. He was intimidating enough, but his stature robbed him of some of that just a bit. It might be my main issue, in fact.

In regard to changes made, I'm probably the most happy that they left out Don Krieg. Even watching the anime, I never felt intimidated by him and got kinda bored with that whole span of episodes. They just wound up dragging so much imo with him doing very VERY little that I'm glad he was relegated to what was barely more than a cameo.

I think that's about all I wanted to cover as far as my main reaction. Only other thing I could conceivably mention would be...

I never expected that Buggy the fucking clown would be my favorite fucking character. Oh my god, I am so goddamn happy that he kept showing up. He was such a highlight and had me howling. For real, his actor was just

He was the perfect amount of unhinged and sassy and I was here for every second. I'm absolutely watching the series again to be on the hunt for Easter eggs with John, and to watch it with the og Japanese VA dub, but I'm likely gonna be watching Buggy's episodes the most cuz he's the best and I didn't get nearly enough Buggy.

Overall, 8 outta 10. Needed more Buggy. 🤡

#scammy sez stuff #one piece #one piece live action #netflix #Buggy my beloved #more Buggy the clown please!

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eileenjaneway · 1 year

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I went to literally the last screen of Knights of the Zodiac in São Paulo, after just two weeks it's debut.

I thought that I would have more time, so at 19pm I thought I wouldn't see the movie. At 2030pm my husband found this 2220pm session and we hasten to the cinema. Luckily it was closer to home.

Husband, whom is a CINEMA aficionado, it's not amused. he made weird faces all through the movie. I went prepared in mind and heart. And, the true is that i feel sorry for americans. Everything that is bad in the movie are changes to be more pleasant to Americans.

Besides that, I loved Marin, I LOVED when Seiya is down and he remembers Marin just like in the anime, i liked Ikki, I liked the cloths, I missed the techniques screamed, I missed the "nani?" repeated until exhausted, I liked Saori screaming SEIYA, Madison Iseman is full dedicated,body and soul, to Saori, the ex-wife thing is horrible but we all knew that and were prepared, I wished they presented the Sanctuary as the enemy (but husband made a good point: it's clearly a new story, you don't need the Sanctuary anymore, do something new and different, and I think I would go for it), the poor Cassius suffered horribly and his sacrifice is one of my favorites moments in Saint Seiya so I'm kind of sad for him, I jumped in the seat like a child when Pegasus Fantasy played, when Seiya wear the cloth, when Ikki wear the cloth, the dialogue is weak, Mackenyu is beautiful but such bad actor and looks like he definitely don't wanna be there.

So that's it. I'm quite happy I could see another Saint Seiya movie in cinema. And I can't look forward to torture my beloved cinephile with more movies ❤️

#saint seiya #knights of the zodiac #Madison Iseman #diego tinoco #Mackenyu

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misqnon · 22 days

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its march :3 (side note i think its funny that i chose march .. as a name.. to call myself. because i just like the name (and secretly i was thinking of the character from to you, my immortal/to your eternity) but it.. it was just march. march just ended. i only realized this connection yesterday.)

you would be CORRECT..!! see its Obvious. i think i would be way more embarrassed to pretend like ur wrong or gloss over ur guess bc thats ... .. the 2nd one just proves u right and the first one... is... is humiliating .... i will not go off anon tho this is comfy for me <3 (another side note. 20 minutes after giving myself a name . for ease. i was so embarrassed and ashamed LOL. like wow... i named myself when its already so obvious who i am....)

im really not much of a shipper tbh, especially with the straw hats cuz i love to see them as having familial relationships or just being real close friends but!!! one piece has definitely awakened something in me.. to ship characters. bc before i would never ship characters in media. i have.. various reasons for this. but the one piece fandom is so into shipping it has rubbed off on me a bit. i cant help it. i love hannyabul x magellan.

zoro is the perfect mix of cool and goofy, its so wonderful!!! using 3 swords is like the silliest thing in theory and then he busts out the most awesome moves with it and its like wow .. look at him. i cant imagine being zoro levels of bad at directions tho that is... impressive... /lh. DO PEOPLE CHOOSE LEAST FAVORITE STRAW HATS??? HOW DO THEY DO THAT .. tbh i dont consider people old til theyre in like their 50's or 60's (partly bc my parents are nearing their mid 60's and i see them as eternally youthful) but i feel like old man yaoi can include middle aged men!??? also tbh rayleigh (when hes old man-ified...) is really hot.. like young rayleigh is fine but old man rayleigh??? wow....

GOOD THING UR IN WHOLE CAKE ISLAND ARC SO U GET TO SEE KATAKURI SOON!!! cuz omg.... he is so lovely. he deserves so much love. crocodile is so popular!! i get the hype n i used to love him like that too.. but my interest has faded.. 😔 i do love the trans man croc and crocodad theories tho theyre so fun even if theyre not true. i love to imagine dragon (oh my god imagine dragons ...) as a guy whos still in love with his ex. i think that would be so silly .. and if his ex was croc??? that would be even sillier ... theyre perfect.

don't worry i have the sanji tiktoks saved for the day i work up courage 🫡!! pls DO send me more op stuff i love it !!!!

YES YES YES YES THATS THE WXACT VIDEO I WATCHED AHIFHSDJD!!! i was rly converted into a dub liker by That Alone!!!!

im real picky about voice acting tbh and japanese just makes it easier for me to like bc they have way cooler sounding voices. that "luffy... help me" scene with nami in arlong park will forever sound better to me in the sub rather than the dub . the voice crack!!! the helplessness!!! the way she squeaked it out, like it was the most painful thing to ask for help!!! ugh... big fan. i looked it up just now to rewatch and yeah i cried a bit 😎. also i just noticed her tears are rolling down her neck that is so real. anyways back to luffy,, yeah his voice acting makes him sound kinda more like... mature?? perhaps?? and he is a guy with endless youth and childish energy.. i dont like a luffy that sounds like. a teenager ... ofc i say all this having never watched a full episode of the dub so i could be super off LOL

the live action seems to play nami and zoro as much bigger grumps and ive heard zoro doesnt joke around much and im.... honestly rly worried to watch and be disappointed by that. although tbh nami not being super goofy makes sense to me .. zoro... my beloved zoro.. mackenyu (?) is a perfect zoro in terms of looks so i just hope i love his characterization of him too!!

i watched the april fools video!!!! i recognize that blob but idr the comic name.. very silly though i loved it. i guess i will have to do some pirating.. yarr mateys.

i can sit and watch shortform content for like 6 hours straight but as soon as i feel like i have to pay attention because im afraid of missing any context. suddenly my brain is out the window. i cant handle it anymore. ALSO IVE NEVER SEEN THAT COLORSPREAD??? DOFFY TONGUE PIERCINGS CANON??????

i ALSO loved younger joseph like he was so fun and goofy!!! and then he comes back as a gross old man who not only cheated but cheated with a MUCH younger woman.. and i was like wow!!!! suddenly you are disgusting!!! i will never pity that old man >:( (i will a little)

taking sanji away from oda and dressing him like a doll is Perfect. wonderful analogy. i love it. i keep thinking about dressing characters up like dolls so its topical to me specifically.

admittedly even as a transmasc person i didnt pick up on yamato being a trans guy at first. but all i had to do was look it up.. and read some ppls thoughts on it . and now i will defend him to the ends of the earth. its not hard to learn things that change ur perspective in this age of the internet !! i also agree he's done yamato dirty a few times . honestly when i see people listing reasons yamato isnt trans as like "he was drawn in a womens spread" or "he only identifies as a man because he idolizes a man" its. first of all its so exhausting. bc they always say the same few things. but also!! why did oda have to do him dirty like that!! 😭😭. i genuinely think that him being in a womens spread is probably just transphobia on oda's part (yes i think u can be transphobic towards ur own characters). but the whole "hes not trans because he wants to be *this* man not just *a* man" is so Weird?? like i usually love things being up to readers interpretation (even/especially lgbtq rep tbh) but i think yamato being trans could have been left up to interpretation in a better way?? or like he couldve just said "im a guy" at any point without the whole "because of this man i idolize" thing tacked on. idk if any of this makes sense. I'm trying to explain without spoiling anything LOL. hopefully i succeeded and ur still mostly spoiler free..

i havent written for any op characters before but i can imagine how easy it is!!! and somehow people still butcher their characters LOL its fucking insane. (im bitter)

law!!! yes hes SUPER popular. tbh i liked him real quick after the timeskip. it didnt take much for him to become one of my favorite characters!! all he has to do is make a shocked face every time he ends up going along with the straw hats antics. that is enough. sanji making sandwiches when theyre talking abt the alliance and law says "i dont like bread!!" and then his face of horror when he realizes what hes done .... its so beautiful... i love law and straw hat dynamics!!!

YEAH THATS FROM ONE PIECE PARTY. he actually shows up a lot in that series. i couldnt find all of it online but of what i could find... he was in almost every chapter. it was great. another amazing one piece party moment with law is. the sauna scene where they ask about his tattoos... i . i. i cant even explain how funny it is to me. my explanation could never do it justice.

actually a tierlist sounds Genius.. i am going to make a tierlist. wait for me... i will send it.. whenever im done .. although i dont kno w how to send images... ill find out .

choso is seriously the love of my life (i have many) hes so .. he is so special to me. i have been drawing for a large portion of my life but i spent a long time not taking it seriously out of fear . fanart has reignited my ambition to get better at art!!! its great. thank u hyperfixationions. thank u special interests. thank u audhd.

ok honestly ive never abt eye colors?? i saw recently that robins eyes are actually supposed to be brown not blue tho.. and like... wow... both are so lovely i cant decide what i like more.

to give u an answer though i will brainstorm what eye colors i think they all have!!

luffy: tbh.. like a light reddish brownish color.. i have reasons for this but i cant tell u yet.

nami: a soft orange. she is just so orange. or green!! like the leaf on an orange..

zoro: i... i have no idea for him??? grey?? white?? pink???? green?? im just listing colors?? actually white sounds pretty cool tho.. or maybe a super pale yellow?? that also sounds cool to me..

usopp: his eyes r definitely yellow or green

sanji: ive seen blue and brown for him but tbh as a blue eyed dirty blonde.. i like brown eyes better. i choose brown

chopper: theyre brown. he has big doe eyes. i love deer and their freaky giant eyelashed eyes.

robin: yeah blue or brown are both lovely on her!! tbh i loved her pre timeskip design especially bc the highlights in her hair matched her eyes.. and it was such a nice contrast with her skin color. so i have to choose blue.

franky: my blue eyed king. i love u american boy. they match his hair

brook (for funsies, despite never seeing his eyes): hes gotta have something wacky... rainbow eyes... rainbow.. yes rainbowm.. perfect . ok but actually if i were to choose id choose purple. light purple.

overall i think i chose pretty basic answers (lotta brown and blue). i love brown eyes they r so pretty . also this was very fun to think about???? thank u for asking??? pls tell me what ur headcanons r!!

no yeah i thought possibly it was a name but i was like “haha march anon. bc its march. yea”

jvbhc IT WASNT OBVIOUS WHO YOU WERE TO ME i did not have a guess at all until you said it was obvious and then i got a reply on my post that same day after that that had ur similar typing style and i was like. 👁️oh. KJFNKDSN but yes ur free to stay on anon if u want!! but my dms are always open too 👍

i was a big shipper when i was like. a teenager. and then i grew out of it UNTIL ONE PIECE…IDK WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED AND IM REALLY EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT </3 THOUGHT I WAS OVER THIS DAMN STUFF!! i jokingly refer to zosan as my one piece yaoi to my friends. they hate it. so do i,

p.s. the end of that paragraph. took me for a loop. i . WAS NOT EXPECTING HANNYABUL X MAGELLAN SKVNFKD BUT SO TRUE. SO TRUE ‼️

zoro IS a perfect balance its no wonder he’s so well liked (even tho...a lot of dudebros seem to ignore his silly side). whenever i ask someone their favorite one piece character im just expecting them to say zoro tbh. like yea that’s the correct answer. KDNKS not really but its definitely the one i see being most popular. and YES his 3 swords are cool enough but the earrings. does oda know how hard he went giving zoro 3 gold dangly earrings on one ear. like does he know

and you’re right about rayleigh. my friends tell me i am an old man chaser and therefore i am biased but u see my vision. he’s literally hotter when he’s old. it’s the silver fox look.

I KNOW I GOTTA BE SO CLOSE. AHHAGHHH. when i get to katakuri best believe the liveblog will go crazy

my interest has kinda faded with croc too as he hasnt shown up as much…but i know he comes back and when he DOES show up im always so pleasantly surprised i gotta list him. I 1000% think he’s trans (though i dont believe the part about him being luffy’s mom. however. i do enjoy the content that comes from it bc its an interesting concept. and dragon as his ex works weirdly well and is so fucking funny imagining dragon (oh my god i did it too…) missing his ex.

WOOHOO!!!! AWAITING THE SANJITOKS WITH BATED BREATH. i love that the brook video is making its way around bc its actually a joy. sub does sound “cooler” usually but it just sounds so foreign to me at this point (not foreign in the literal sense of being a diff language. like. just sounds Wrong after being so used to dub.) hold on i need to watch that scene sub now [...]

OKAY. SO. TWO VERY POWERFUL SCENES: i watched both nami’s “help me” at arlong park and robin’s “i want to live” at enies lobby in both sub and dub just now…and for those two in particular. damn theyre actually ALL GOOD?? LIKE ALL REALLY WELL DONE?? although. my favorite dub moment by far. is robin’s “i want to live” in dub. her english voice is my fav compared to the sub by far. if you havent heard it i HIGHLY recommend you check it out like please. for me. literally gives me chills every. time.

tbh that is one of my only major issues with the live action. i actually prefer live action luffy (DONT KILL ME. ITS ONLY BY A LITTLE BIT. INAKI IS JUST SO WONDERFUL AND ITS A COOL ALTERNATE TAKE TO HIS CHARACTER. HE’S..NICER. MORE KIND? BUT NOT IN A WAY THAT I FEEL ERASES MANGA/ANIME LUFFY) tbh the live action tweaked each character a bit. nami is more serious and grumpy, zoro is WAY TOO EDGY?? (zoro is the one i was least happy with) and isnt boisterous nor does he laugh enough (esp for early/pre ts zoro) he does great with the action scenes though. usopp is the closest but he feels more like. suave about his lying whether than nervous? i dont mind it tho. jacob is great. taz is a good sanji but melontee once called him “chad british sanji” and now i cant get tht terrible phrase out of my head KJDNFKVN it really is a fun ride tho!!

YES THAT COLORSPREADDDD i saw once that apparently the color spreads arent “canon” but whatever. thts not the point. the point is oda has drawn him with tongue piercings which mean he has considered doffy with tongue piercings. its canon to Me

im literally planning to write a fic where sanji goes back to kamabakka with the strawhats and gets forced into doing Kamabakka Island Things (read: gay shit) by Iva even tho he’s embarrassed bc his crew his there. rewriting kamabakka to be better is my favorite past time

u did a good job with the yamato explanation, i already was aware of a lot of that/dont feel spoiled at all! and i agree completely to all of those points. i feel like he Almost wanted to do trans rep but maybe wanted an out ?? or was too scared to go full send with it?? or is just being transphobic lmao. yea. yes to ur whole paragraph basically

law’s “i dont like bread” is iconic ksdnkdc. also ur description of “all he has to do is make a shocked face every time he ends up going along with the straw hats antics” just makes me imagine law pogging all the time. i think that alone just made me like his character more than before KSADNC

I LOOKED UP THE ONEPIECE PART PANEL. “PENIS DEATH” DFKN DF CHOPPA !?!?

if u make a tierlist i will make one…i might have made one b4 actually…i will look.

HELL YEAA i recently made a bingo for my fav characters across fandoms. u should tell me if u share any . and i think i have it turned on so people can send media in asks?? if not, my submissions are also open

and yes. keep drawing. always and forever as long as its fun!! dont be scared. ur supposd to enjoy it!

yea robin’s eyes are brown in the manga but blue in the anime! i think it was either an error or oda was like “yea whatever thats fine” lmao

luffy’s…”i have reasons for this but i cant tell u yet.” HELLO?? IM SCARED. personally i feel like he has dark brown!!

omg..i like nami’s canon brown eyes but orange or green would be cute!

i 1000% want grey eyes for zoro. i know whenever they stylize the irises in the anime they just color them grey for sanji and zoro but like. for zoro they actually really Work…though i think when u CAN see his irises in colored manga art they’re usually brown? the other most popular option i see people give him in fanart is gold/yellow tho!

VERY INTERESTING USOPP CHOICE?? I WAS GONNA SAY BROWN LIKE NAMI’S BUT MAYBE A BIT DARKER (lighter than luffy’s tho)

ive gotten so used to blue eye sanji bc thats how EVERYONE draws him but in the most recent colorspread…bro. tell me those arent brown. and i recently found other examples with oda colorign his eyes brown, so i think he has a situation similar to robin’s. i prefer brown eyes and brown eyed sanji is so hansome but like. i saw his blues so much that now im torn

i think i actually agree w you about robin for the exact same reason! and bc so many of his characters seem to have brown in “canon”

omg. i havent thought abt franky a lot but hear me out…pink?? i just think it would look good with his hair,

also i consulted this post for what i think their “canon” colors are (in manga)!

RAINBOW EYES FOR BROOK…GAY ASS OLD MAN…light purple would actually look good behind his glasses in his human form!

i might not be able to reply in the next couple days bc i always write so much in these that i sit down to do it at my laptop but i'll keep an eye out and get back to u when i can 🥸

ps...what are ur favorite arcs...

#asks #replies #march anon #should i call u april anon now /j #microphone effect #long post

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pauking5 · 7 months

Text

Addicting Taste

Pairing: Enishi Yukishiro x reader

Genre: strangers to lovers, sunshine and sunshine protector, slow burn, a lot of fluff (later chapters), occasional smut

Words: 3k +

A/N: I couldn’t hold back anymore and had to make a fic for Enishi. It won’t exactly follow the Rurouni Kenshin timeline for now but it will later develop into it. This is the first chapter in the series with more chapters coming. It is a reader insert as I couldn’t help but indulge myself in it completely. Powered by Mackenyu’s outstanding portrayal of Enishi’s character in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, I hereby present you a story ripped from the figments of my mind. I hope you’ll love their story as much as I do. Enjoy lovelies, Paula.

Also thank you @eureka-its-zico for supporting me with this and getting me writing again 🫶

Next Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Bonus Chapter 6

“Just how stupid are you?”

A loud smack echoed in the room.

“You thought you could just get away with it?”

Another heavy punch collided with his face making him drop to his knees.

“You’re a fool.”

An uppercut dug under his chin throwing him backwards. The force of the blow made blood pool in his mouth and he spat it out through clenched teeth. The man standing tall before him left his face full of cuts and bruises. But that was the least of Enishi’s worries right now.

Many months were spent tracking down the biggest shipment of weapons set to leave Shanghai for Kanagawa. Enishi’s men were supposed to rob the storage by the docks tonight before the ship set sail in the morning. But it turned out to be a harder task than it was intended to be.

The mission encountered several problems and it was nothing short of a total fail. It was also what led to his current position with his hands tied roughly behind his back, on the floor of the most secure precinct in Shanghai.

A few hours ago

“These dumplings are amazing,” you sighed happily while munching on three baozi dumplings at once.

The lady vendor grimaced at your manners. You were practically inhaling the soft dough in your hands like a grizzly bear. Leftover crumbs were decorating the edges of your lips. You couldn’t help but forget all about etiquette when the food literally melted in your mouth.

A little boy was walking by with his mother when he caught sight of the dumpling cart. He stopped to look at the steaming dumplings in awe and adoration. But when he saw the way you were devouring the small pastry his face turned to pure disgust.

You were getting slightly annoyed by his staring, so you shot the little boy a threatening look and he started crying, running off somewhere in the depths of the street. His mother regarded you with a condescending look and followed after her child.

“Can you leave before you scare all my clients away?” said the vendor lady, irritated with the fact that you’ve been hogging her cart for the past half an hour.

“Listen lady. I could buy your whole cart if I wanted to. Just let me enjoy these,” you said with your mouth full.

“I’ll be the one leaving then. You might spoil my dough from raising if I stay here any longer,” she said as she started to put away the steaming buns away and gathered all her tools.

“Wait! You can’t just leave.” But by the time you yelled after her she was already gone. There went your only meal for the day. At least it was a nice filling one to last you some time. You patted your stomach in a comforting manner and sighed, turning to go on your own way.

The crisp air of mid-October made its presence known as a breeze blew against the sleeves of your dress making them flutter. Your attire was nothing short of inappropriate for the lingering cold season. The chilly weather made it harder to do any jobs and you weren’t requested as much either. You never knew where your next meal would be coming from most of the time, so you powered through with anything you could find. Though your money was running out you always made sure to keep some aside for your snack cravings.

The once bustling street turned awfully quiet. It was the norm in this part of the city. Vendors were quickly packed away and activity was slowly coming to a halt in the wake of the coming night. Any normal person in these parts would know that being on the streets when the last flicker of daylight disappears wasn’t safe.

Who would want to be out in the dark with the Shanghai mafia having a full blown war with the commander in chief on the streets until the early hours of dawn?

Clutching the rest of your dumplings closer, you made your way down the narrow pathways circling the outskirts of the city. The place you resided in for the time being was just a street down from the docks. It was a modest room at the top of an abandoned jewelry shop, furnished with a desk and a small wardrobe. It was not the comfiest nor the safest place in the world, but it provided a space to roll your futon for the night.

The buns you bought were all different flavours with all kinds of fillings you haven’t tried before. Just thinking of taste testing all of them made your mouth water.

Whilst getting lost in your pastry daydreams, you were shaken back to earth by persistent yelling. As you were making your way further down to the docks, more agitated shouting ensued. The growing commotion piqued your curiosity. It wouldn’t hurt to take a closer look, right? It was in the way anyway.

Inching closer to the edge of the docks entrance you hid behind an abandoned fishing boat supported by empty crates. Tucking your petite form well enough so you wouldn’t be spotted, you looked over it to see what was going on.

Moving your eyes around you counted about twenty masked men. They were frantically rushing in and out of the storage holding cases filled with… guns?

As more of them came out you realised it wasn’t just guns. Long and short range artillery, fuses and all kinds of artisanal bombs. It was like heaven for pyromaniacs. Whatever these guys were planning was nothing short of mass destruction.

“We’ve secured all the weapons, Master,” a shushed voice spoke in Japanese from your right. He came closer to stand just in front of the boat you were using as a hiding spot. He looked about half a person in height. If a wild gust of wind blew his way he would most likely topple over and become dust.

“Good work,” said a deep voice from the left as he approached too. The way he spoke those simple words was enough to make tremors run down your back.

Trying to get a better view of the owner of the voice a tangled mop of white hair entered your vision.

Damn, this guy was long overdue for a haircut.

Trailing your eyes further down you took in his sturdy physique that was outlined through the clothes he was wearing. You could tell he was trained in some kind of martial arts. No one just had heaps of muscles like those. You could easily draw a map of the world between those wide shoulders… Snap out of it, Miyu.

The loud crash of crates rattling to the floor brought you back to reality. You needed to get out of there.

You couldn’t risk getting caught and brought in by the commander in chief. If he wasn’t alerted yet he sure got wind of things by now. That man definitely has mutant senses.

The last thing you needed was them catching wind of your location. You spent so long staying under the radar and now was not the time to advertise your whereabouts.

I am void. I don’t care. I haven’t seen anything.

I am not getting involved with this.

While repeating the mantra several times in your head in order to calm down, you had to figure out a way to sneak out as smoothly as possible without alerting anybody. Especially the strong muscular white mop of hair who hasn’t moved at all from his spot right in front of you.

After a quick scan of your surroundings you came to two choices: going left, straight through the docks and to your hideout located on just the other side; or going right, having to circle around the whole city to get back. It wasn’t hard to figure out which one was safer. You’d rather go around the whole city as many times as you needed if it meant staying away from whatever these people had planned. You just had to wait for the right time to make your way out.

After a while, the two men blocking your view headed towards the rest of their squad. This was your chance. All you had to do was get set, ready and sprint the hell out of there before someone caught you and made you fish food. If only things would play out like that.

In your rush to escape you missed a teeny tiny key detail. The dark brown fishing cord extending from the boat to the empty crates behind you.

You barely made it two steps before your leg tangled in it and you were falling face first to the hard concrete floor, taking the crates with you. The steaming buns you tried so hard to keep close spilled all over the floor in the process. I’m so fucked.

“What was that?” growled one of the goons.

Mophead turned around swiftly and locked eyes with you. Lifting your own gaze from your uncomfortable spot on the floor, you connected it with his. Eyes akin to predators that lurk in the dead of night pierced yours. They screamed murder. The ‘chop you apart for funsies’ kind of murder.

But something about them caught you off guard. The blue hue outlining his pupils. Something about them though eerie and giving you the eebie jeebies was so familiar. Where have I seen these eyes before?

He seemed to be stuck in his own reverie. A tilt of his head signalled his confusion to your presence. You don’t even know how long you were both stuck soul searching each other’s eyes as the deafening sound of gunfire descended down on the docks.

Breaking your staring contest apart you tried to locate where the firing came from. Then it dawned on you. The commander in chief was here.

Mophead set off in your direction to possibly grab you but he only managed to take a step before bullets lined up a few feet in front of him. With a low grunt, he spared you one last look before retreating back to his gang.

The bullets were flying closer and closer to your spot and the intense smell of gun powder filled your nostrils. This was your cue to exit stage.

You got to your feet, saved what was left of your steamed baozi and made a run for it. A few bullets narrowly grazed the ends of your dress but you quickly made it to the safety of a dark alleyway close by. Checking on your precious dumplings you saw most of them were unharmed and let out a breath of relief.

The pounding of guns suddenly stopped and you peered over to the docks from the corner of the alley. Assessing the situation you observed that half of mophead’s party was shot down by the commander’s force. Some of them managed to flee the scene when the firing started, but the rest were caught and put in restraints together with their leader.

Something felt off. Maybe it was the smug look on the commander’s face as he rounded up the thugs. Or the way most of his force came out from what looked like stationed places at the other end of the docks entrance. It almost seemed like they knew mophead and his crew were going to be here tonight.

No way. Was this a set up?

————————————

Back at the precinct

Enishi was fuming. It all went sideways too quickly for his liking. Someone talked and he was going to make sure they weren’t seeing the light of day. Once he made it out of the shithole he was currently held in.

“I’m going to ask you again. Why were you stealing weapons?” asked the commander. He was getting irritated and it showed in the way the veins on his neck strained. But he could press on as much as he wanted. Enishi wasn’t going to give him shit.

“Either you talk or your good for nothing squad will suffer in your place.”

“I don’t give two flying fucks about them,” spat Enishi.

This only earned him another punch to the stomach. The guards who were holding him let him drop to the floor, more blood dripping on the side of his mouth.

“I guess I’ll have to beat it out of you then,” said the commander, cracking his knuckles.

Bracing for the commander’s punishment, his thoughts kept wandering somewhere else. To the girl who was there tonight, hiding behind the boat. He wasn’t stupid. He sensed someone was eavesdropping.

You weren’t supposed to be there. You were a wild variable in his plan that he couldn’t have predicted. A handful of questions swarmed around in his head, but three of them stood out the most.

Why were you there tonight?

Who were you working for?

And where have I seen you before?

—————————————————————————

Ten armed guards at the front of the building. Another two securing the entrance from the inside. Five more moving around the halls. None on the top floor. Bingo.

Sliding open the glass window on the roof of the precinct you snuck in. You landed down swiftly, arching your heels to keep you steady. Stealth mode switched on in your head as you carefully inspected your surroundings.

Tightening the grip on your twin Remingtons closer, you advanced to the walls opposite to the railing overlooking the entrance. As you rounded the corners you spotted a staircase going down to what looked like a meeting hall.

Raspy shouting and what resembled the sound of slapping was getting louder as you descended. Someone was either receiving a beating or they were just into kinky shit.

You were on the last three steps when a guard passed by. Straightening up, you glued yourself to the wall, becoming one with the shadow. As he got further away you tilted your head towards the glass ceiling and released a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

This was a terrible idea. What were you even doing here in the first place? This was not your fight. But your conscience convinced you that you were somehow responsible for the unsuccessful outcome of mophead’s mission.

You weren’t supposed to be there tonight. It was just incidental. Your stupid craving for dumplings made you come out of your extremely comfortable refuge and one thing led to another as you found yourself in the middle of crossfire.

Without thinking too much of your bad choices for the day, you geared up to save mophead. You didn’t know why you were going this far for someone you didn’t know. But you felt needed for once in a while and like you finally had a job to do.

There was something else that bothered you about your encounter. The moment mophead locked eyes with you was scorched into your head. Your brain replayed it over and over again for no specific reason until it drove you crazy. Those eyes bugged you to the world’s end. There was something so addicting and familiar to them. But you couldn’t recall where you’ve seen them before no matter how hard you tried.

You needed to find out who this man is. So, like any normal person looking for answers, you went to ask him. As soon as you busted him out of the most secure precinct in Shanghai.

—————————

In the meeting hall

“This would be so much easier if you just talked,” yelled the commander in chief.

“How about… fuck you. Good talk,” said Enishi with a sick grin.

“You son of a—,” the commander was cut off by the sound of shots being fired outside the meeting hall. Suddenly, everything turned quiet. Everyone’s ears perked up listening for what could follow.

A powerful kick thundered against the golden door to the meeting hall that made it come off its hinges and cave in on itself. The door fell with a loud thud and you stepped over it, the click of your heeled boots bouncing off the echo in the room. All eyes were trained on you.

“Who’s ready to have some fun?” you chirped, enthusiastically twirling the guns in your hands.

“Who are you?,” asked the commander in chief.

“Let’s just say I’m someone you don’t want to mess with,” you said confidently.

“You’re just a stupid girl if you think you can just come in here —“

“This stupid girl just took out most of your guards on duty. It will be her utmost pleasure to take you out too,” you said with a smirk.

Enishi was watching the exchange, his head swimming with confusion for the second time tonight.

Just who exactly were you? And why were you crossing paths again?

You first show up as a hindrance to his plan and now you’re here to probably mess up more than you already have. He was also kind of blaming you for the situation he was in at the moment.

At least you proved useful in distracting the guards and the commander so he could work on getting his hands free of the rope tugging at his wrists.

Looking over at mophead you notice he freed himself. You haven’t worked in a team before so you threw him a look asking for guidance on what to do now. What he saw was more of a weird face that kind of creeped him out but he quickly caught onto what you meant.

He wasn’t sure whether to trust you but he didn’t have the luxury to audition for partners right now. So, sending a silent nod your way, you let the fun begin.

—————————

Mophead lunged for the commander in chief while you preoccupied yourself with the five guards in the room. You easily took out the first one by the couch at the side of the room.

Pointing your gun to the next one you pulled the trigger but nothing happened. You tried the other gun receiving the same response. You were left without bullets. Strapping the guns back to your belt you took a fighting stance. Hand to hand combat it is.

The guard lunged at you and your fist connected with his nose. A loud crack was heard and blood started seeping through his hands as he cradled his nose.

“You bitch—,” you cut him off by hooking your leg to the back of his neck, dragging him to the floor.

“Did your mother not teach you how to speak to a lady?”

He got back up and got ready to throw another snarky remark but you wasted no time in shutting him up with a nearby chair. The wooden chair broke to pieces as it made contact with him. Once he fell to the floor motionless you directed your attention at the other three guards. They started circling you from different sides. Showtime.

You let them come at you. The taller one came first, swinging a bat at your head. Ducking successfully to avoid having your head turned into a baseball, you went for a roundhouse kick to his head. He got projected to the other side from the force you put into the move.

The last two attacked you at the same time. One of them had a knife that managed to get a few cuts through the sleeves of your dress as he kept swinging at you recklessly.

“I just got this one,” you huffed disappointedly as you lifted a slashed piece to check the damage.

Getting annoyed with his incessant flailing about, you caught his hand just as the smaller one came from behind you. Kicking back your right leg into the stomach of the smaller one, you got a chance to take the knife throwing it away. You turned and elbowed the knife wielder in the stomach, directing another knee at his ribcage letting him fall flat to the floor. One more to go.

Standing face to face with your last enemy, you spared mophead a quick look. He was struggling with the commander as he was pushed face down on the big wooden desk. He quickly turned and got him into a deadly chokehold.

You didn’t even notice his outerwear was discarded and he was left only in a tank top. His huge biceps were flexing dangerously as he tightened his hold on the commander’s neck. Sweat was piling like rain drops down his arms and you found yourself drooling. You were suddenly digging the white mop of hair.

You were snapped out of your fantasies by the small garden goblin running towards you with a spiked staff.

Do these guys not have one normal weapon on them? Where do they get all this ridiculous stuff from?

You dodged his attacks until he got tired and his swings turned sloppy. Finding an opening you caught the end of the bat with your right hand and turned your left into an uppercut diving it to his chin. The impact was so hard he flipped back and landed in a star shape on the floor.

Just as you were finished with him, mophead finally squeezed the living daylights out of the commander and let him fall splat to the floor.

Sensing the ruckus, the guards from outside started piling up into the hall. You both walked towards each other until you were back to back. In other circumstances you would’ve loved the way your heavy breaths mingled and the way your shoulders shyly grazed each other. But now was not the time.

“Any chance you have a plan to get us out of here?” asked mophead. Guards were surrounding you from all sides and the only way to escape was fighting your way out.

“I’m guessing breaking some more necks wouldn’t hurt,” you replied hastily.

“You take the ones on the right. I take the ones on the left,” he directed.

With another nod you both got into position and watched as the guards descended upon you.

A storm of fists came your way. You tried blocking them as much as you could but five to one was too much to handle without a weapon. Mophead noticed your struggle and quickly tried to get rid of the three bat swingers in front of him. With a low sweep kick to their ankles they all fell over, hitting each other with the bats they were holding.

You were holding onto three bats with all your might, when two guards sneaked behind you ready to deliver a dangerous blow. Enishi intercepted them before they could carry out their plan, catching their arms mid swing and twisting their arms to an inhuman angle.

“Don’t you know it’s bad manners to hit a lady, especially from behind?” he said as they writhed in pain and scrambled to the floor.

You finally managed to throw the three men backwards, taking to delivering a kick to each of them. By the time you were done with them you were breathing heavily. You were a good fighter but your stamina was always holding you back. Mophead seemed to be more trained in that field though as you saw him cutting through the guards with ease.

Another five guards circled both of you.

“Give me a hand,” you said as you ran towards mophead.

He sensed your idea right away. Latching your hand with his you created enough momentum for him to pull you around in a circle to kick down all of the guards. Once you got both feet back on the ground you noticed the secured hand on your waist. Looking up at him you noticed he’s about a head taller than you. Feeling you tense in his hold he quickly dropped his hand from your waist and trained his gaze on the broken down door.

“We have to go before more come.”

“What about your crew? Are you just going to leave them here?”

“They can get out just fine by themselves,” he growled.

And with that he grabbed your hand and you made a run for it.

—————————————————————————

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#Addicting Taste #enishi yukishiro #enishi yukishiro x reader #enishi yukishiro x you #rurouni kenshin #enishi yukishiro fanfiction #fluff #sunshine and shunshine protector #badass mcs #stay tuned

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