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macrosdesfleur · 2 years

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A ficlet for you to have a “ha-ha”

SO, I was slightly busy (and lazy) this past three days and i kinda wanna indulge myself now that i have a spare weekend

But i had this dumb idea a whole-lot-of-time ago, so now that i have a bit of free time to sit and outline slash translate this piece so yeahh

what-a-will await you is uh? i have no experience tagging ficlets of even fanfiction but i will try;

Zuko joins the gaang early kinda

Just past s1ep13 The Blue Spirit

Sokka & Aang bonding i hope

Sokka (finally) being a big brother (in his own way tho)

Sick Katara being coddled

Confused Aang

Momo & Appa!

Confused Zuko

Frogs

...and spirit shenanigans

Word count: 2296

So yeah? Click keep reading i guess if you wanna read it *shrug*

A fair share of spirits slips into the world of people. Capable of performing miracles and curses that are worse than death. The Kingdom of Earth seeks protection from spirits for a long milenia now; Honorable grand spirits of Earth, strong-war-thriving ghosts in battlefields, even the weak non-seeable ones receive a fair share of offerings in exchange for a slight chance of protection on their village from Fire Nation army, such a frequent wish. Shridevi, the patroness of rice and plantations; turned out to be friendly and tolerant of small spirits seeking refuge. It is not surprising that minor feeble spirits appear in her grand fields of crop, looking for their calling in this realm. Some of them will become attached to a quiet tree and make it their home, someone will find the hearth of a house and will join the service of Agni. Or be overwhelmed by another more greedy spirit to never exist as itself again. Spirits have no reason to love, definitely not. However, seeing a feebler existence begin to engress her safe plantations, drawing earlier and earlier, keeps a reflection of her deep anguish tangible.

The spirit that freed the avatar from Pohuai Stronghold must have been born in a moment of true unbalace that broke out there. Such a pity her plantations and worshippers long burned. Shridevi sent a gentle breeze across the space where endless fields stood as a farewell to another being she had not been able to see in person hoping her touch reached far enough.

A breeze run through a foliage of trees. “You know what's the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is? I miss all the friends i used to hang out with!” Aang was sitting on the root of a tall tree. At what point they both ended up here is a real mystery. Why the avatar-child decided to open up abruptly and start talking about his past - a detective thriller in three acts, buy first two act-scrolls and get the finale for free. “Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon; the two of us, we get in’n’out of so much trouble together,” Aang's voice rose to the usual fluctuations in volume, if his head didn't hurt so much, it would be just perfect.

“He was one of the best friends i ever had; and he was from Fire Nation-”

“Just like you.”

OK, that’s it, maybe Aang got sick as well afterall ‘cause what is this sudden Fire Nation sympathy-talk means than. And it could kinda explain why he sees any other people -Fire Nation people- anywhere near their earshot. Well, if sickness makes Aang go suddenly all soppy and open and trusting, maybe it’s not gonna be real pretty if he now betrayed it. Plus, it’s healthy to be emotionaly open isn’t it? Not girly at all right?

“If we knew eachother back then, do you think we could’ve been friends too?” Aang's voice was full of trepidation, excitement, hope. But in his own gut- how could he let Aang down so badly? Hadn't they made it clear to the monk that they were friends? They are not just friends, they are each other's family.

Well, his father wouldn't have been such a great dad if he hadn't taught him how to support others. It remains only to remember how he did it and not how his gran-gran showed it.

“Aang,” the fear to say something wrong fettered him for a second. The voice didn't even seem to belong to him, but a real warrior does not show fear and sticks to his believes till the end. “I hope you know that I'm your friend, we're not on different sides afterall. I understand that your situation is difficult, so much so, that no one has actually faced it before you, but I hope that we can support you in some way, make it easier y’know” laying down and saying those words seemed wrong, but trying to get up and worry Aang seemed like an even worse idea, so be it. By the way, Aang at this moment looked shocked, only looking at him, goosebumps went up his skin. Shock quickly replaced relaxation, and a modest smile crept onto the face of the boy with the arrow on his forehead.

"I knew you weren't bad," Aang replied, he stopped hugging his knees, his smile broght ease into his gut. Well, he probably said something right ‘cause now this mischevous airboy got back at him for exiling Katara and him back and the South Pole right?

"I don't know what you mean, Aang." now, smiling seemed comfortable and easy. Their misunderstandings cleared up and they can relax again on treir respectable sleeping bags? Where is his sleeping bag?

“A-a-ang, what are those- are these leaves?” Oh the universe just lo-o-oves making him miserable huh, maybe he was too quick with the smiles so throwing a frown on his face seemed appropriate. Aang laughed. Even in his throbbing head he could’t stop his muttering about stupid airnomads and their stupid avoidance and their stupid all- Aanginess.

“Well, can you stand up? It's time for us to collect frogs for Sokka and Katara,” the monk jumped from his place on the root of a huge tree.

“What? Frogs? Why do I need frogs all of a sudden?” his body ached,little spots swam in his eyes, it seems that he did not fully recover. But he managed to get to his feet.

"I was at this herbalist's house and she said I needed to collect frozen bog frogs for Sokka and Katara to suck on." Aang looked sweet, content, as if he hadn't said the dumbest thing in the whole wide world. There was a springiness in his steps that usually showed when he was particularly pleased.

“Y”know, Aang, I'm not going to suck bog frogs and I think Katara will not approve either,” he hoped that maybe his fever still hadn't gone as he assumed and his mind was still coming up with words that Aang didn't actually say at all. It's a strategic move to mention all the keywords that Aang said to make sure he said them right.

"Mhm, I guess you won't need to suck on frogs," Aang looked away a little worried and stood still.

“You're not sick, are you? We can get more frogs, you know,” and lo and behold, the eyes of the avatar-child looked at him full of concern. How he could be so sincere was still a mystery worthy of great detectives.

“Uh, Aang, I do get what you mean, but I won’t put a frog in my mouth and definitely won’t suck one,” it seemed like the best option to move them legs and follow the boy; maybe he stopped coughing, but the fever churring weirdly in his stomach and whatever it was with him and Aang's hallucinations that say that somewhere there is a person from the Fire Nation and the frogs that heal are definitely still here. At least he doesn't feel like an earthbender. Everything has its pluses.

"Oh, we can't leave your mask and swords; I'll help," Aang muttered and quickly ran to the tree and the bed of leaves. And he returned, surprise-surprise, with a mask and a sword sheath with a sword hilt sticking out. At what point he managed to acquire a mask and a sword was also a mystery, but such gifts are not just dismissed. Aang jumped a little using his air magic tricks and shod a mask on him, the sword was bestowed in his hands.

***

It turned out that frog-hunting was not a hallucination and as for Aang's behavior; it could be mistaken for a hallucination or some kind of high fever symptom. He literally never ceased to generate happiness.

Something on the left side of his head kept pulling his whole face together, maybe when Katara gets better they can fly down to this crazy herbalist Aang told him about and she can examine his head. Good thing their hiding place wasn't as high as he thought. As soon as he frees his hands from the frogs, he will immediately claw from the avatar how he even ended up in the forest on a bed of leaves. Throughout their frog-hunting, Aang never stopped telling his past adventures with Kuzon and avoided any mentions of the dumb leavy-bed he made.

“Katara! Sokka!” It would seem that Aang can't vibrate with joy any harder than it already was, but here he is, in all his avatar glory.

“I brought you medicine! And you won't believe who I met!” oh, there it is, now he's jumping into the air without realizing he's using his air magic, typical Aang. Katara leaned out from under Appa's legs in an attempt to wave her meets to them. Oh, ocean spirits, she looks even worse than Aang described. She muttered something unintelligible and waved her hand languidly. The older brother's instinct did not fail him and he was already next to Katara and hugging her tightly. How could Aang leave her alone? How did he himself could leave her alone?

“Aang, what should we do? This so- so not looking good,” perhaps his voice betrayed a lot more concern, but this is his family, he can't just not worry.

“Zuko! It'll be all right, just give her the frog!" Aang's eyes darted from him to Katara, he was much more alert, almost nervous, stance ready for battle. Wait, Zuko? The mere mention of that name sent him into a fight-or-flight to inspect all of their hiding place, if the burning-fists prince-jerk was somewhere nearby, then they urgently needed to pack Katara up and fly away, but, there was no prince.His vision swam, he himself was not good to stand a fight and Aang still joke around about Fire Nation. Just. Not good.

“Aang, cut it!” he definitely didn’t shout so loud, as- he didn’t mean to frighten the monk so badly, but the boy cringed under his voice, his fighting stance wobbled as if he readied to bolt. OK, he'll deal with him later, Katara needs help right now. He wiped the cleanest frozen frog he could find and brought it to Katara's mouth. She herself reached out to the frog and literally inhaled the frog until it was half hidden in her mouth.

She...

Sucks.

The frog.

And her face seem’d to calm, the bog frog worked.

“Okay, I'm sorry I shouted, but just imagine how strange it is to put a frog in my sister's mouth, right?” he was still carefully examining how his sister sucked the frog from all sides and looked a little stupid, his hands found themselves gently patting her head and feeling her temperature. Definitely, if he remembers this sight well enough, he can come up with a joke and annoy Katara when she is all healthy.

“Sokka?” Aang asked puzzled. Sokka turned to look at the monk and raised an eyebrow, as if asking silently what he wants. The monk met his eyes, his face full of indescribable emotion, the main emotion was definitely bewilderment thogh.

“Oh, monkey feathers, how did i not see it sooner,” the monk slapped himself on his bald head and left his hand slowly slipping onto his face. Momo swooped down from the sky onto Aang's shoulder, Katara's water skin hanging full around his neck, Momo's fingers actually looked so weird sometimes, especially when those little grippers dug into people's shoulders.

“Aang? What?” Aang was a little too mysterious today, not in a soppy-sick way, it's time for Sokka to sort this out.

“You're Sokka, right?” Aang asked the strangest question Sokka had ever heard, not for the first time today. This is either a field of philosophy that he has not plowed and is not going to plow any time soon, or his fever is playing out again. Collecting himself and pulling himself out of his guesses, Sokka cleared his throat. Momo repeated his cough, but it definitely sounded like Momo, so his fever wasn't so high that he thought Momo was a conspyrasy-spying-animal against their world-saving plans and his high inteligent plays only for their side of this war.

“Yes, Aang, I'm Sokka, the one who is sick and sucks the frog lying on Appa - Katara, the one who stubbornly looks at me and-”

Sokka squealed. His squeal was the most masculine of all possible squeals, thank you very much, it certainly wasn't so loud and high-pitched in sound that everyone's ears got clogged. Momo seems to have suffered enough and flew away to hide behind Appa hiding his ears.

***

The second(?) Sokka broke out of the sleeping bag and performed a firebender kata that was supposed to set something on fire, but instead he just held his fist in the air for a couple of moments. “Hmm, didn't work.” Noticed the second Sokka out loud lowering his fist, after that he quickly did a couple of rolls, after which he grabbed Zuko-Sokka and took away his sheath with a sword- swords, after a couple more rolls, the second Sokka was near Aang, between Sokka and Aang, another Sokka that looks like Sokka. Oh this is so confusing, they need a better system than that.

"Avatar," a voice full of authority sound itself from the second Sokka. Hearing Sokka's voice in that tone was terribly unusual. The second Sokka drew Zuko’s sword from its scabbard and split the sword in two with too much grace for Sokka’s image.

"Whatever body you're hiding in, give up." The second Sokka's voice held on to determination, but his eyes studied each person in their place as like searching for a clue. The swords pointed at Aang and Sokka. “And, my body, you are also coming with me,” nervousness finally caught up with his intonation, he still continued to study everyone in turn thogh. Sokka let out what sounded like laughter in Zuko's body.

"Aang, Katara won't believe the kind of hallucinations I'm having right now. Here, Zuko in my body is threatening us with swords so that I go with him,” Sokka cackled laughing in Zuko's body.

“Well, you know, Aang, you convinced me. I now won't refuse to suck a frog," Sokka said in Zuko's body and was already stuffing the whole frog from his hands into his mouth. The squeal that followed will also be the manliest in the world if real-Sokka wished so. The real-Zuko's swords clanged to the ground,Sokka’s whole body restraining real-Zuko's hands with a reprieve. Appa did not like this concert of squeals as he let out a lowing sound that inclined his fatigue.

“What are you doing with my body?” shouted the second Sokka, probably Zuko-Sokka. “Trying to suck a frog whole?” Sokka-Zuko answered too simply, still stretching his whole face and tongue towards the restrained hand with the frozen frog in.

“No! Do not dare!” Zuko-Sokka continued to slur, hiss, and pull Sokka-Zuko's hands away from the frogs. Honestly, Aang managed to get confused about who is who, their behavior was not very different from the originals, according to his observations, if he wants to keep track of where who was, then he should come up with something better than Zuko-Sokka and Sokka-Zuko as well.

“Spit it out!” “Spit it out! STOP!” yes, Sokka was always the one who was not happy with things and he complained, he used to complain loudly. So? Not so different.

“No wait- it’s not- it’s not so bad, I- shhose fhe khleanesht onesh,” Sokka-Zuko justified himself. But to be honest, they saw how Zuko could do things worse than eating frozen frogs, and Sokka realy did choose cleaner ones. And so, the frog ended up in Zuko's mouth. Zuko's body? The loudest squeal escaped Sokka's body, okay, there's nothing to hide, they were both squealing too loudly. Appa sighed with his mighty lungs and lashed his tail in displeasure. Momo was definitely twittering as he crawled all over the bison's hide looking for cover.

Soon, the screams and even hissing stopped. Zuko, in Sokka's body, lay on the stone floor of their hiding place, barely moving. Aang should probably raise him off the stone floor so he could sleep peacefully. “I'm cursed.” Oh, thanks the spirits, he doesn't need to be lifted up.

"What do you mean, Zuko?" Aang asked, using Zuko's name just because, avatar intuition, definitely. “My inner fire, my body, I have been deprived of all,” Zuko began to list sounding too depressed for Sokka’s voice. He let out a shaky sigh and muttered something else, Sokka liked to lie down like that sometimes.

“This is the work of the spirit, I shouldn't have saved the avatar. Spirits are apparently inheritantly evil.” cut Zuko, still face down on the stone floor. “Maybe I could’ve saved the avatar without using a spirit disguise?” at least now he unsticked himself from the ground. Good for him. “Of course!” hissed the prince in Sokka's body, and banged his hands onto floor into a shape that meant flames were about to come out of them. There was no flame.

“Aang! Aang!” having understood, the voice of screaming Zuko meant Sokka. So Aang turned his eyes towards Zuko, well, Sokka. Monkey feathers,what an awkward situation.

“Look!” Sokka was still screaming, but there was fire on his arm, so it wasn't much different from Zuko- It's not really surprising that Sokka was silent when Zuko whailed about loosing his fire and body. He made fire. Zuko seemed to be looking in the direction of the scream as well, because now he was screaming into the stone floor. His cries generally had the idea of something like “you can’t be a firebender for less than two minutes and already make a stable flame” and “this is my body, how does this fire even come out like this”.

#atla au #sokka #aang #avatar aang #zuko #katara #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla s1 #prince zuko #momo #appa #my fic #my art #the gaang #atla fanfic

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hikari-kaitou · 3 years

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Capcom's Official AA Fanclub Surveys - DGS Edition

Many Western fans may be familiar with the Turnabout 4koma comics that get posted on the official AA fanclub site that Capcom runs, thanks to some lovely fans on tumblr and elsewhere who have shared their translations. What fewer people seem to know about is the character surveys.

Back in the old days, they used to hold a survey on Capcom's official AA fansite every few months where they'd write about the seasonal activities of a handful of characters and ask fans to vote for the funniest/most pleasant/strangest/etc answer.

They stopped doing them in like... 2016? 2017? The original text is lost for good as far as I can tell. Even the wayback machine couldn't help because the content was password locked and you can't get past the password wall while remaining in the archived version.

Fortunately, I saved some of my translations of them so I thought I’d share them.

Cut for length...

"February has begun, and the DGS cast is nearing the end of their journey aboard the RFS Alacrei. Which of them acted the most strangely?"

Ryuunosuke ~ Exhausted from his intensive study session, he decided to try some katana swinging practice as a change of pace and to combat his recent lack of exercise. But because he wasn't used to handling the katana, he swung it too hard and it went flying out of his hands and got stuck in the wall right next to Sherlock, who had just entered the room. Sherlock asked him, "aren't you supposed to be studying right now, Mr. Naruhodo?" and handcuffed him to his desk.

Susato- worked on developing a curriculum for Ryuunosuke. 'If we keep going at this pace, he won't be able to learn it all in time... It'll be hard on Naruhodo-sama, but we'll have to work hard through a couple of nights together.' With that thought, she created a harsh study schedule, and almost seemed to be looking forward to it for some reason.

Sherlock- Driven by excitement over the thought of returning to England after a long absence, he went up on deck to stare at the ocean. Being February, it was very cold out there and he ended up being chilled all the way to the tips of his fingers. He returned to the ship cabins and amused himself by putting his frozen hands on Ryuunosuke, who was stuck in his room studying.

Van Zieks- Upon hearing from Vortex that there was a Japanese exchange student coming to England to study law, he smashed a Lord's Bottle. He apparently also didn't care for the fact that that Japanese student wouldn't be alone, because he proceeded to shatter his chalice, too.

Hosonaga- in order to provide a respite from studying, he provided some hot chocolate. They enjoyed a pleasant tea time, marveling over how sweet and delicious the drink was until Sherlock piped up with some unnecessary trivia: 'Actually folks, chocolate has long been used in Europe as an aphrodisiac!' Everyone promptly spat it out."

"The long winter is nearly over and spring is on it's way, putting the DGS cast members in a celebratory mood. Who found the best way of enjoying spring?"

Ryuunosuke: the Yuumei University faculty members were holding a flower viewing event, and he joined the assistance committee. He exhausted himself keeping the blankets clean so the intense shower of flower petals wouldn't pile up too high on them, delivering sake and snacks, and mediating whatever pointless fights arose. To top it all off, for some reason his compensation was only a single piece of leftover candy. Talk about a sad result!

Susato- her father and the others living in his dormitory were holding the flower viewing event, so she got up early to prepare the bentos. But her father carelessly forgot to tell her that they wanted tea cakes, so she had to go around the house and neighborhood collecting sweets. For some reason, she ended up being able to gather caramels, biscuits, candy sticks, basically everything but tea cakes, for the tea ceremony.

Sherlock- he disguised himself as a beat officer and infiltrated Scotland Yard to have some fun. There was a real beat officer napping on his feet in the spring sunshine, and while observing him, Sherlock ended up falling asleep too. Detective Gregson gave them a good scolding when he found them, but then Sherlock revealed his true identity with a "hey, it's me, folks!" "What the blazes do you think you're doing?!" Gregson shouted, his rage growing even more, and Sherlock ended up making a run for it.

Van Zieks- went to the vineyard to oversee the production of the contents of his Lord's Bottle. As he viewed the still unopened grape blossom buds, he thought about how they would someday grow up to fill his Lord's Bottle, and ended up going around to look at each one. But the farm hands couldn't stop wondering whether the bottle itself or its owner's heel might come flying at them and were quite uneasy.

Asougi: exhausted himself running around since early morning helping with the professors' flower viewing event. When it was over, he took a break, sharing his reward candy stick [the name of the candy literally translates to 1,000 year candy] with Ryuunosuke, who had also been helping out.

"I wonder if the candy's effect is halved if you share it with someone."

"That still gives us 500 years."

They laughed and enjoyed looking at the flowers until dark. Then they parted ways with a handshake and a "see you later, best friend."

(This one was something about celebrating New Years. For some reason I didn't save the original question)

"Ryuunosuke ~ To celebrate New Years, he planned to pound mochi with everyone at the office. He somehow managed to get his hands on some mochi rice and he and Sherlock started pounding. Iris was having such fun watching them that she steamed a whole bunch more mochi rice so they could have some to share, and he and Sherlock spent the whole evening pounding mochi like crazy.

Asougi~ Because it's New Years, he went around to a bunch of shrines. When he drew his new year's fortune, he got a "horrible luck" result. "I'm not worried about it," he claimed, and headed up to the mountains early on New Years morning and work hard on a full training course of purification by water, meditation under a waterfall and wooden sword practice. It seems that he was working really hard to clear his mind of all earthly thoughts

Sherlock- Agreed to help Ryuunosuke pound mochi. As Ryuunosuke was flipping the mochi over, he carelessly dropped his badge into the bowl and Sherlock mixed it in without noticing, so they had to crack open both the hard and soft mochi to look for it. Fortunately they found it in the 4th one they checked, but apparently Sherlock got his hands and face covered in sticky white mochi in the process.

Susato- Wore a furisode and went with her father to do the first shrine visit of the year. The shrine was incredibly crowded and they had to wait in line for a long time, but she brought the Encyclopaedia of British Law and a copy of the Strand Magazine in her sleeves to secretly read as they waited so she actually ended up enjoying the wait.

Van Zieks- Ryuunosuke cheerfully gave him some mochi as a New Year’s (which at that time was celebrated at the same time as the Chinese New Year) gift, which he accepted confusedly, wondering “...Can the Japanese not even keep track of when the New Year is?” Because Ryuunosuke referred to it as a rice cake, he tried to eat it like a regular cake without softening it with heat first. It was so hard that he couldn’t imagine how it could possibly be food, and ended up misunderstanding the Japanese even more!

"Autumn has arrived, and the weather is starting to cool off, which means that everyone is becoming more active. Which character chose the most pleasant autumn activity to keep busy with?"

Iris was making bread but her hands are small and it’s difficult for her to knead the dough, so she asked for Ryuunosuke’s help. She wanted to make enough to hand out to Gina and all the other homeless children in the East End, so she made a massive amount and Ryuunosuke was stuck kneading this massive mountain of bread dough all day. Apparently he became such a expert at kneading that he could be a baker now.

Asougi was practicing with his sword, slicing autumn-colored ginko leaves as they fell from the tree. He cut so many leaves, though, that he ended up making a big mess on the ground, the number of fallen leaves now having increased, and it took him a long time to clean it all up.

Sherlock: Ryuunosuke told him that he was making anpan (bread filled with sweet red bean paste, the bane of my Asian-dwelling existance) and asked Sherlock to help by being in charge of getting the poppy seeds they’d need to sprinkle on top, so Sherlock went out and gathered a ton of poppy seeds. In fact, he got so many of them that no one knew what to do with them all cuz they had a huge amount of leftovers. Sherlock said, “Well, they’re only the size of poppy seeds! Surely you two can deal with them somehow! Ahahaha!” and Iris scolded him.

(I couldn’t capture it in English, but Sherlock’s line contained a pun, and a pretty stupid one at that, so that’s part of why he got scolded)

It’s grape harvesting season, so Van Zieks commutes to the winery regularly to direct the production of the contents for his “Lord’s Bottle.” He demands perfection in everything from the selection of the grapes to the way they’re squeezed, and the winery staff is terrified by the “grim reaper’s” gaze and heel swinging (i.e. the leg thing he does in court) so they grumble as they work.

"Hearing that there’s a holiday in the West called Halloween, the people involved with the court in Japan decided to try it out themselves. Naturally Halloween is a big deal in England as well. So, which member of the DGS cast had the best celebration?"

Team Ryuunosuke and Asougi- Asougi got Naruhodo up on his shoulders and they draped a white sheet over themselves to make a ghost costume. They went out like that, but Naruhodo had such exaggerated reactions to the fear of the people who saw them and to bumping his head on tree branches that they ended up losing their balance and falling on top of each other?!

Sherlock Holmes- went wearing a horse’s head mask. Iris used her skills to make it a fancy horse covered in stars, but the eye holes weren’t well made and he had to wander around blindly. Because of that he tripped hard over a pile of coal! He ended up getting so dirty that the stars on his costume were covered up!

Van Zieks- took inspiration from his nickname and dressed up as the grim reaper. He covered himself up with a skeleton mask and hood figuring no one would know it was him. Unfortunately he got angry when he saw Megundal (McGilded) pass by and started throwing bottles and glasses and ended up giving himself away.

"November has arrived, and autumn is nearing its end. However, the DGS cast is still keeping busy, even on their days off. Which character chose the most interesting way to spend their late autumn day?"

Ryuunosuke- Thinking that he’d better learn more about British culture if he was going to be a defense attorney in Britain, he went down to the East End with Gina for a little observation. However, because an Asian like him stood out so much, he got mobbed by the other children. On top of it all, his arm band got stolen from him and he had to send a replacement request to Yumei University on the other side of the ocean.

Asougi- He went for a meal at La Quantas. The customer at a nearby table got a persimmon for dessert and scarfed it down, saying “Mm! This is it! This sweetness makes it worthy of being called a treasure among foods!” Asougi tried to comment on this by saying, “The customer at that table sure is enjoying his pershim--gak!” but he may or may not have accidentally bitten his tongue in the process and been unable to finish his sentence.

Iris- She accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and prepared a bagpipe and kilt costume for him. “This outfit sure is breezy,” Ryuunosuke said shyly upon trying it on. With Ryuunosuke now dressed, he, Iris, and the others from their office headed over to Gregson’s place to get him to treat them to some fish and chips.

Sherlock- He accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and cooked up some European style curry for dinner. Thanks to the fact that his secret ingredient was a large amount of Chinese herbal medicine style spice, it caused some strange side effects and Ryuunosuke, who’d eaten it, ended up passing out and falling over.

“Another taxing trial for Ryuunosuke has finished and now it’s December. As the year draws to a close, which character acts the strangest?”

Ryuunosuke- he was recruited to help with snow removal around Yumei University and the courthouse and he enthusiastically began his task with the help of a large shovel. He got a little carried away, though, and ended up accidentally burying his umbrella, which he’d left propped up against the side of the building, in the snow he’d just finished shoveling. He had no choice but to share Asougi’s umbrella on the way home.

Asougi- On the way home, he nods silently to Ryuunosuke’s question of whether he’d finished his travel preparations and changes the subject: “...Come to think of it, it seems that tomorrow is celebrated in the West as God’s birthday.” “I’ve heard that they eat chicken as part of the traditional celebration. Wanna try it?” Ryuunosuke asks invitingly. Asougi is strongly opposed to that particular menu item, however, and they end up going out for their usual beef stew that night instead.

Susato- in addition to her year-end travel preparations, she also was busy with straightening up the book room in her home. She managed to get the law books in order when she suddenly stumbled upon some old issues of Strand Magazine! She hurried through the rest of her cleaning, then began flipping through the magazines she’d found, trying to decide which to take with her on her trip. She accidentally lost herself in her reading and didn’t realize it until it was already the middle of the night.

Sherlock- he was in the middle of a long ship voyage when Christmas night came. His mind on his partner in a far-off country, he made a toast alone on deck, when suddenly the crew began shooting off fireworks with a cry of “Merry Christmas!” Sherlock had to dart back and forth across the deck to prevent the fireworks from hitting him and setting off the explosive chemicals he carries with him.

Main series edition

#dai gyakuten saiban #tgaa #naruhodo ryuunosuke #asougi kazuma #mikotoba susato #dgs sherlock holmes #hosonaga satoru #barok van zieks #iris watson #gina lestrade #translations #official content #my translation #mikotoba yuujin #ryunosuke naruhodo #kazuma asogi #susato mikotoba #iris wilson

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physicalturian · 3 years

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[G] Gentle summer - Rengoku Kyojuro x GN!Reader - Part 7

[Contains spoilers from the movie, and the manga] [No pronouns used for the reader, no physical description; Everyone +18]

Words : 11 509

Archive of our own

Warning: nudity / Intimacy / Prepare some tissues

Inspired by those works : First Second Third on Twitter

— Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 -

I am seeing him again today, was the only thought running without ever stopping in my mind. Thrill and excitement were filling my entire being. That energy was put to good use by walking a lot, I barely saw time fly by. We did stop too many times for my taste, but complaining would do me no good. Instead, I was counting down the remaining distance until we reached the estate. I received a few comments from the most daring recruits, when my pace started getting too fast. Uchiyama was the recruit in question, he did not feel one ounce of fear towards me, even knowing I was his captain. He had put a hand on my shoulder and frowned. “Captain, are we in a hurry or something?” was what he had told me the time I dared speed up.

Chuckling, almost bashfully, I’d shaken my head and slowed down, “You are right, there is no rush. Should we take a break and eat?” When I heard the small voices behind agreeing, we all thought it best to settle for a while and have lunch. It did not take them long to finish their meal, even amidst their laughter and jokes. I was glad to see them so carefree after all they had been through. The look in their eyes had changed from the time they had joined the corps; they had lived through events that shaped the soul in the most awful ways, and I could see it in the absence of a glimmer in their gaze. Even with that change, I had them alive by my side and matured, it was the closest I could get to a success.

Losing myself in thoughts, I pondered more.

We had suffered losses, but what better way to mourn than to remember the good times we had and to keep living? To best honor the dead is to live a life we would define as worth it. Not to let others define it, but to feel in the depth of our core that we made the best of it, in our own way. Then again, everyone mourned differently. Takeshi and Daisuke were proof of that. The former had needed a lot of time alone; everyone had been there to support him, trying to joke around and to keep things as they were before all of it happened. Daisuke, while he kept a huge smile on his face, saw more than he should have at such a young age. He played it off, he kept his armour on, even if sorrow was written all over his face.

Many recruits were aware their friends died somehow, but they did not see it unfold in front of their eyes. But Daisuke had seen his partner get killed in front of him. It left him scarred, in the depth of his being, thatI knew from the relentless nights I spent by his side trying to calm his night terrors. Only time could help with the things he had gone through, but being with others that had lived through some of those things with him also had helped greatly. Seeing them knit-tight close was heartwarming.

It almost made me forget what was coming, what we were all getting ready for. Blinking out of my thoughts, I had come to the realization I was not participating much in the conversation.

I kept a certain distance from them when I was eating a bit further away. However, the distance was more than physical. I hated myself for doing so, but I could not let them get too close in case I lost them during this last battle. That thought crossed my mind too many times during this entire mission. Every time one of them came up to me for help, for advice, or even friendship, I would welcome them, but my heart would tell me it was a bad idea. Yet, I kept telling them to not hesitate if they needed to talk. A wrong move was the only way I would describe it, but I was their mentor, and we all needed some reassurance from time to time. I was the main provider of that reassurance, no matter how much I tried to talk sense into my actions of getting close to them.

“Captain! We should resume, I believe we just might arrive by lunch if we walk a bit faster,” Hana said enthusiastically. She helped everyone pack after I told her we could do that, adding that it would be great to have a warm meal and see everyone. I kept to myself the excitement I was feeling to finally see Kyojuro again; it was hard to do so with the little shivers I would get. The weather was far from cold, but the idea of seeing his beautiful face again, to be finally able to hold him, to enjoy more of him than that fleeting moment at the fireworks when our lips finally met, it sent energy coursing through my body.

As I was leading everyone, I could hear the loudest of my recruits talk in what they thought was a whisper, “Come on Jin, do you like the Captain? Is that why you’re all-“ Not wanting Jin to combust in embarrassment, I called out over my shoulder sternly, “Uchiyama, leave him alone. I suggest you learn the difference between admiration and love,” Pausing, I quickly added in a lighter tone, “Anyone would be amazed by my fighting skills, I could take you all in a fight,” I huffed jokingly. A few of them laughed and told Uchiyama he should keep his mouth shut, even adding that if the Captain was the one to reprimand him, he had fucked up. Seeing how everyone resumed talking merrily together, Daisuke approached me, bumping my shoulder, a bit too familiar for my taste but I let him.

“Say, you’re a bit quiet in the front. Is everything alright? You don’t seem excited to return to the estate,” Daisuke said, worry laced in his tone. His demeanor made him look smaller than he actually was, he acted shy and unsure of his movements, but all of that disappeared when he entered a fight. It was interesting to know he was the one I had seen fight with determination, with no hesitation in his motions, only raw strength capable of cutting body parts. He was the same man that had been by my side the entire month and throughout fights even as fear had overrun his body. Daisuke was a great addition to the corps and to my closer circle, even if I wanted to keep him away from me in case I lost him.

Looking at him with a playful smile, I lowered my tone and whispered, “If I may be honest with you, I am more than excited to return. However, it will not do us any good to have me all over the place,” I huffed a laugh, surprising Daisuke. A curious brow rose on his expressive face, “I’ve never seen you like this! Is there something waiting for you at the estate? Wait—is it the person you’ve been exchanging letters with?” He asked a bit too rapidly, his speech faster than usual from how thrilled he was. It made me chuckle more, my face heating up lightly, but I could blame it on the long trek we had started and not tell him I was flustered at the mere thought of Kyojuro. “It is, I have someone waiting for me,” and no words can really express how much I miss him, I thought, nodding with a chuckle.

“Can I ask who it is? I am curious now!” He asked in hushed whispers, a genuine smile adorning his features. Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes at how childish he sounded. But, it was heartwarming to see his interest, so I replied, “If you must know, it is the Fire Pillar-“ “Sir Rengoku! That is so grand! An intense man indeed, but definitely not as intense as sir Himejima, I remember my training with him…” He then started talking about his experience with Gyomei, I listened intently. For some reason, I preferred having him talk about himself than having him prying in my personal life. I still felt odd mentioning I was with Rengoku, no matter how much I loved him, simply because I was not sure people would take it well that we are having our own fun while a big battle was brewing.

I enjoyed having Daisuke talk by my side as we made our way back to the Butterfly Estate, of course I would not let him have a monologue, I would intervene and ask questions. Everyone was bantering light-heartedly behind us, which almost made the situation normal; I did not know if it was on purpose, to try to keep this faux-semblance of normality or if they were really carefree. The latter would be hard to believe, considering all they had been through recently, but I liked the idea of still having them optimistic and hopeful. How ironic.

The further we walked, the faster my heart was beating. I thought talking with Daisuke would help calm my rapidly beating heart, but all it did was embarrass me. I would sometimes stammer, my speech being faster than what it would usually be. That’s when I decided to keep my tongue in check and not speak as much as I would have liked. Daisuke did not find any inconvenience to that; I had seen his short smile the few times his gaze would look at the way my hand was clenching the handle of my sword. If I did not do that, I would have been drumming my fingers or playing with my hands from how stressed I was.

It took us a few hours of walking to finally reach the estate. Fortunately, the sun was high above our heads, meaning we had arrived around midday. It means more time with him, I thought eagerly. I had to take a deep breath to stop myself from running to the doors and tried my hardest to slow my pulse down. Everyone was chattering happily, some saying they could use a bath, others craved a bowl of rice, and I knew the quiet ones were longing for a good night’s sleep in a warm futon.

I longed for his arms. I wanted to run all around the estate to find him and throw myself at him, not caring if anyone was watching, not caring if he’d fall down. Would he be as excited as I was? Would he allow me to be this open? I am sure he would, he has never been discrete even before we officially got together, I thought with a smile.

“Captain, you can go find him if you’d like! I’ll get everyone to their room-“ “No, it’s alright. I am not that desperate,” a lie. A blatant lie. The pressure in my chest was insufferable, my insides were churning, more shivers ran down my spine with each step I took towards the mansion. If I put more thought into being aware of my entire body, I would feel how my feet were uncoordinated and my hands were clammy. Excitement was at its peak, and I knew I was more than desperate. I was aching to hold him, to touch him, to love him… “If you say so! We should hurry and get some food,” Daisuke startled me out of my thoughts.

Telling everyone to walk ahead, I made sure to secure the gate once we had stepped inside. They all seemed as excited as children on a field trip to the forest. I had a hard time feeling like that because my mind kept wandering to the thought of Kyojuro. When the recruits entered the estate, I stepped around the building and made my way to where I believed Rengoku could have been training his group. I made sure to hide my presence to not startle him and keep him focused. “One, two, three, and again! The other way, one, two, slash! Good work, good work! You are all improving greatly, I am sure we can go even further! Let’s try this again,” Hearing his voice made my heart burst with joy, but I kept my composure and leaned from behind the wall to catch a glimpse of his features.

I was caught off guard when I realized a new scar was adorning his beautiful face. While it was covered by an eye patch, I could see the pinkened skin on his cheek. All my excitement turned into panic, what had I missed? What had happened that left him like that? “You! Come here, try with me. If you manage to hit me, everyone gets a break, let’s begin!” I heard him speak loudly, his voice roaring like thunder as always. I got startled when he had called out the recruit, then realized he was not talking to me and sighed in relief.

He was smiling broadly, his hair sticking to his face as usual even if it was tied back. He did not seem to mind one bit to be lacking part of his sight and yet I could not help but feel pity. Would he want that? I do not think so, but there was no helping it. I wanted to interrupt him and talk to him aside, but seeing him training so hard, his determination unchanged and his skills just as sharp, I had to let him work.

Deciding to leave him alone until he would retire to his chambers, I turned around and was about to walk back to my recruits when my path was blocked by someone. That someone being the Sound Pillar.

“You’re back, why don’t you go talk to him?” He puffed his chest, his arms low on his stomach, hands hidden in the huge sleeves of his attire, as he looked at me with what looked like disdain. He seemed changed too; just like Rengoku, he had an eye patch. His was a lot less simple however, it was covered with little jewels. The married man was not wearing his Pillar outfit either, no. Instead, he had his hair down and had opted for a kimono that was very loose on the top, enough to show off his muscles. While I wanted to think he was showing off, the weather was warm and heavy, which could explain his attire. Trying to act casual, I shrugged, “He is busy,” I said off-handedly, looking to the side.

“See, you can’t look away now! It’s awkward enough that you’ve stared and all,” He grumbled, I quickly apologized, meeting his eyes again with a small smile. “God, you’re making this so awkward and for what?” He scoffed, annoyed, before gesturing for me to follow him with a motion of his head; as I did, I asked in all seriousness, “Do not be frustrated at me, how would you feel if when you returned from a long mission everyone had changed drastically?” The man had since calmed down and looked over his shoulder, his gaze observant and calculating. “Change is a big word, don’t you think? I like to say we were sketches, drafts, and now we are the final product, that is all.” He said, in the hopes of sounding poetic perhaps. “Each stroke is what makes the art, right? You paint over the lines you don’t like; you leave the one you feel makes it better, and sometimes when you accidentally brush over the paper, it looks great. Accidents are great.”

Offering him a slight chuckle, not really getting his metaphor, I nodded as I sat down when he did. He had guided us back inside, in one of the tea rooms and had gestured for me to pour us a cup each. I did not comment on his words. “What happened?” I asked as I brought the burning cup to my lips. It was not the greatest weather to drink such a warm beverage, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. “You cannot ask someone how they got their scar-“ “Uzui, I am serious. Is there anyone that did not make it? Why was I not made aware of all the damage everyone had taken?” His demeanor changed greatly. While he had an air of playfulness, light-heartedness even, seconds ago, now he looked at me sternly.

Sighing, he leaned back on one hand and brought one knee closer to his chest, “The district was attacked, I am retired, nothing more,” He paused, giving me a long stare before continuing, “For the others, it happened at the swordsmith village. No one died, I think Ren took the most damage and he is doing great, as you’ve seen,” I had. I had seen how he looked, but even behind this enthusiastic attitude, I was certain he was exhausted and in pain, he had shared that at least through his letters.

I felt hurt that he had not told me about his injury, but I could not feel anger yet. He must have had a good reason to do so, and to find out I would have to talk with him. “Are you retiring with your wives or will they be continuing-“ “Of course I’m retiring with my gals! I’m just here to help train recruits, they need to be in perfect shape if they want to be able to carry my legacy,” He said with a loud laugh, I joined him in his joy with more modesty.

He had indeed not changed much, but there was still something different about him. Uzui had always been mature, as much as it pained me to admit it, but he seemed even more so now. What had he seen at the district, or perhaps had been through, that shaped him like that? I could see in his eyes he wanted all of this to be over, he wanted peace, to return to his wives’ arms and to relax. The time was nearing when he would be able to do so. And when that time comes, I will have a sunken feeling in my chest that will only be shaken off by our victory.

“You’re still stupid to not go talk to him, the man’s been blabbering without ever stopping about you,” He quirked a brow, looking at me curiously and added, “I do not know what you’ve been exchanging in those letters of yours, but it fired him up to a point where we can barely have him take a break,” Leaning forward, he took a sip of his tea then raised his index as he added “The recruits are definitely paying the price, I hope you’ll apologize to them.” A laugh of relief and joy escaped my lips upon knowing Rengoku had been encouraged by my letters. However, I did not know which part had had him in such a state; was it the dream of a peaceful life together or my lewd words? Whichever it was, a funny feeling settled in my stomach.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the small table in front of us, “I am glad it helped him as much as it helped me, I will admit it was very tense out there and-“ I paused, shaking my head, “I’m sure it is not of your interest how everything went down, so tell me,” Looking up at him again, I smiled and continued, making sure not to shove my cup with my elbow, “What made you want to retire? What happened in the district that led you to this decision?” His face turned sour, his gaze diverting to the cup he was holding for a short moment. Slowly, he set it down and looked at his lap a moment before lifting his head high once again. “This,” He spat, pulling his left sleeve to show his hand, or lack thereof. It was still bandaged, but I was not sure it was because it was still healing.

From his attitude, he seemed angry to show it, if not ashamed. What I knew was that he did not need pity, so I held back from showing shock on my face. Instead, I breathed out, “I can understand the change in career,” His face lit up in surprise, then he let out a loud laugh. “Yeah, kind of hard to fight now. But hey, that doesn’t mean I can’t please my women,” He said with a wiggle of his fingers. I had to give him a look at how vulgar it sounded. I still huffed a chuckle, “A lot of people are attracted to scars, I am sure Makio, Suma and Hinatsuru find you just as charming.”

I was taken aback when his cheeks turned redder. He tried to cover it by taking a sip from his cup, but I had seen it and found it relieving that even this loud man could be flustered from genuine compliments. “They’ve been great, I should be glad they’re not leaving,” I surprised myself when I reacted by instinct and leaned over the small table to hit the top of his head. The clutter of the cup hitting the tatami echoed, but I did not pay it any mind. “They are anything but shallow! How could you believe for even a second they would have left your side?” Seeing his eye widen in shock made me realize I had been louder than I had meant to be, and that maybe I had taken his words at heart. His situation could be compared to Rengoku’s, and if my lover had spoken those words to me, I would have reacted the same way I did right now.

“I am sorry for the outburst,” I whispered, sitting back on the pillow. “You have been through so much with them. So, even if insecurities are hard to reason with… you must realize how much they love you just from knowing they stood by your side even when you were the loudest man on earth, I would even say annoying,” I finished jokingly while still meaning every word. A change in his appearance would never erase all that they had been through together, I could only hope he would realize that.

He was looking outside while I spoke, and when I was done, he smiled sincerely, “I don’t need your speech, I am awesome, I know it,” He huffed, giving me a side look before adding, “But thank you, I am sure someone else would love to hear those words,” I knew full well who he meant, and I had planned on speaking them to him too, whether he needed to hear those words or not. If I was being honest with myself, fear was my first feeling upon seeing Kyojuro scarred, the second one was admiration and perhaps it added a charm to his bright face. A roguish look that I might become fond of without needing to put too much thought into it.

After this heartwarming talk Uzui and I had, he told me about what happened while I was away. How a lot of them almost died at the Red District, but also how they had defeated one of the Upper Ranks Six demons. From what he had told me, the fight was rough, but they had pulled through with little losses. The three young recruits that had been sent there while I was still here had pushed through and were now training with the Pillars. He briefly mentioned the fight at the Swordsmith Village, but since he was not there he only repeated what he had been told or what he had read in the reports he had been allowed to overview. He had not been able to see Rengoku’s report, but he had seen him come back, face and back bloody.

I felt sick hearing his storytelling, but kept a composed face. It was hard to fight the urge to run to Kyojuro and tell him all the things he wanted to hear, to hold him close and to reassure him. If I could, I would tell him to go back to bed and rest, I would even promise him I’d sing to him every day, every night, without ever stopping if that was what was needed to have him safe.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t. It would be selfish to do so, and he was doing great. At least, that was the façade he was showing. The truth is, I was not convinced he was alright, but Uzui’s words gave me hope that my lover was actually doing fine.

We talked for a long hour to catch up. It was enjoyable, even if we would usually bicker, we were adults and it felt great to be able to talk as such. What made us part ways was the grumble of my stomach after a while; it came with not joining the recruits for lunch.

I was told to go eat and rest, not only by Uzui but also by Sumi who had entered the tea room in case we needed anything. Dutifully, I followed their order and went to have a nice meal before going back to my room to unwind. It felt out of place reading and relaxing when people were training for a war. None had any will to take part in it, but as Gyomei said, one should not stop living in times of war.

So, relax I did.

I ended up daydreaming too many times on each page. My mind would drift off to the man I longed to embrace and caress, the one that was diligently working to improve the skills of the trainees only steps away from me. Oh, how I missed those warm days when I would practice in front of him, only to have him stand by me and touch me in innocent ways that would heat up my body in seconds.

With all the daydreaming I was doing, I decided to write my last report to focus my energy somewhere more useful before having a discussion with each of my recruits. I was able to do so since some had yet to go to sleep; those who did seemed to be sleeping peacefully from what I could see. Those who were still fully awake were talking together, trying to get their minds out of the dark thoughts that were plaguing them. They all welcomed me to their late-afternoon card games accompanied by deep conversations. It was relaxing somehow, even if we talked a little about what happened during our mission.

It all came to an end after a while when Kiyo slid open the door to the recruits’ dormitory and hurried to my side. Turning around to look at her with a confused expression on my face, she brought a hand to my ear, hiding her mouth as she whispered, “Rengoku is in his chambers, he is retiring for the night,” She stepped back, smiling happily. My face flushed rapidly, how did she know I was waiting for him to be alone to join him? Uzui was the obvious answer. Had he told the three girls to be on the lookout and to warn me as soon as he retired? Perhaps… If it was indeed the case, I could only be grateful.

I nodded, thanking her before excusing myself to the ones that had yet to fall asleep. Among them, Daisuke. He grinned broadly, “Have fun, Captain!” I threw him a dirty look that hopefully quenched his audacity, but it did nothing to help. The swordsman’s smile only widened before giving me a thumbs up. I shook my head with a scoff and a small smile before leaving.

Once I stepped outside the dormitory and made my way downstairs, I realized how quiet the estate was. It was one of those rare nights when we could hear the cicadas louder than anyone else around the place. Most of the lights were off, people had had their meal earlier than usual to go to sleep before the sun had even time to set. They were probably exhausted from training hard, and sleep must have hit them the moment their head hit the pillow, which was understandable from how intense the work they were doing was.

As I made my way around the estate, I was careful not to make a sound with my steps. I had left my getas down the stairs and had opted to walk about without them, only in my socks; it was safer if I did not want to awaken the sleeping beasts in the mansion. Some doors were open, which brought in fresh air inside, something very welcome after a long hot day. It was refreshing. Furthering my steps around, I noticed a light was still lit in Giyuu’s room. In all discretion, I went inside and blew it off. I had to hold back a chuckle when I saw he had the three most recent recruits in his room, poor thing, I thought. The demon girl that was also there was respectfully sleeping in her futon, the three others were all over one another. Only Giyuu was left far away, perhaps he knew how wild their sleep got and chose a safer spot.

I had to pause in my trek when the floor creaked under my steps. A moment passed before I could leave the room safely once I made sure they were all still asleep. The next stop was Rengoku’s room. As I approached his room, I hesitated for a moment to call it our room in my head, it did feel nice to call something ours. Huffing to myself, I looked ahead and saw the flickering of the light inside; it was a relief to see he was not asleep, it meant I could catch up with him.

Choosing not to knock, I stepped inside. To my surprise, he was not there. His haori was laying on the ground, but he was nowhere to be found. The worst scenario came to mind as I considered the idea that he had been taken; with heavier steps, I looked around only to see him sitting outside on the veranda. A sigh of relief left my lips; seeing him after so long made my heart soar and left me frozen on the spot for what felt like ages until I found the strength to step closer to him. Calling his name softly I had hoped he would turn around, but he was left unmoving.

It was surprising to be able to catch him off guard, but I jumped on the opportunity and made my way to him. I stepped down the small step separating the veranda and the grass to stand in front of Rengoku’s sleeping form. His arms were crossed, his usual determined frown had left his face, leaving him relaxed and soft-looking. Oh, I had missed him so much.

His eyepatch was on his lap, and by his side were some paper, a pen and ink. His dominant hand was covered in the latter, it was adorable to see and even funny, but I was not here to mock. I did not glance at what he had been writing, instead I pushed back the hair that was covering his face, leaning in and kissed his forehead, then his brow where the scar was crossing from a bit higher on his forehead down to his cheekbone. I felt him stir a bit in his sleep, his head moving on the beam on which it was resting as a frown drew itself on his face. Smiling, I leaned back and started humming a song I had sung to him many times, whether it had been in times of boredom or when he could not fall asleep. My goal was to wake him up subtly, calmly and without startling him.

That did not work out as I had thought.

Without even opening his eyes, Rengoku reached out for me. I stepped back in time to avoid his grip, then whispered his name hurriedly. This time, he woke up quickly and let his arm fall to his side when he realized it was me; his expression turned into one of surprise then into a look of sadness. Quickly, his eyes teared up, I rushed to his form and wrapped my arms strongly around him. “You are back already,” He breathed joyfully, his hand threading through my hair as he pulled me closer. “I am back,” I nodded, gripping his back tighter only to have him wince lightly.

I let go rapidly and tried to pull away to look at him, but he did not let go, “Give me more time, please, I need to hold you—come let’s sit!” Without ever letting go of me, he sat down then had me rest both of my knees on either side of him while he sat crossed-legged and wrapped his arms around my form. I held him just as tight, my arms around his head instead as I held him against my chest while my cheek was against his head. The angle was bad for my neck, but I did not care one bit. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest more strongly than it had ever been and warmth was spreading all through my body.

“Would it be alright if I did not let you go until the morning?” He mumbled against my chest. His words were inarticulate from how he was pressing himself against me. “I would really like that, but first I said I wanted to worship you… Right?” I whispered softly, kissing the side of his head before trying to cradle his beautiful face in my hands. He kept his face against it, not moving, his hands gripping the back of my kimono a bit tighter. “There was a reason it took me so long to reply to your letters, my love,” He was serious, but his tone was laced with sadness and uncertainty. A nervous laugh escaped his lips, then slowly, he pulled away, his face still looking down. “You’ve mentioned many times liking my eyes, and the way I looked at you and… I’m not sure you will feel the same now.”

As he looked up, he slowly opened his eyes, revealing a bright fiery orb on the left and a ghost-like colored one on the right. He was unsure, his eyes were deeply looking into mine for any sort of sign that I was going to leave or hated it. Instead, I pressed a deep kiss on his lips and grinned, “Why would I not like it? A wise man once told me that scars were battle medals-“ He chuckled, interrupting me, “Do you realize you had told that to me, first? You had said it made us unique,” He smiled beautifully, his stress slowly leaving. My eyes widened; he had remembered that? If I said that, why can I not heed my own words when it regards my own scars? I thought briefly, but then looked back at Kyojuro bashfully, “I was not wrong, but the wise handsomeman I am talking about also said…” I trailed off, my hands cradling his face as I kissed his cheek, then his cheek bone, then his eye-lid, the Pillar chuckled timidly at that but let me do as I wished.

“…that scars were beautiful and mesmerizing, like the stars adorning the night sky. And just like the night sky, I wish to look at you until I see a glimpse of the sun rising, or perhaps until one of us falls asleep. I wish to bask in the serenity you bring and never let my gaze strand away from how beautiful you are,” because I love you, I held back from saying so, but it grazed the tip of my tongue. Our eyes never left one another’s, and even as I stopped talking, he did not speak. He looked at me in a mix of awe, adoration and perhaps a part of him still hesitated and needed to be convinced. I could feel my cheeks heating up from how intense his gaze was but loved every second of his attention. It pushed me to talk with more boldness.

Leaning over, my lips hovered over his, what am I doing? Where does all this confidence come from? Were some of the many questions crowding my mind; I was glad my hands were on his cheeks, it stopped them from shaking. The thoughts of uncertainty in my head were not mirrored by actions as I breathed against his lips, “If I remember correctly, that same man had written in his letters that he would like to worship me respectfully.” I held back a moment, brushing my nose against his before planting a delicate kiss on his lips. He tried to return it, but I pulled away quickly, chuckling, “I would love to do as I promised, and worship you instead,” My tone was so low, I was not sure he could hear me, but from how his body tensed I assumed he did.

I let my hands slide down to his shoulders, my eyes never leaving his in case he felt like he did not want to continue. Slowly, my hands slipped inside his kimono and on his bare shoulders before lazily pulling the sleeves down as my hands slithered down his arms. “My love, I cannot express how much I wish for your hands on my body right now,” He started and grabbed my hands delicately, bringing them to his lips before placing a kiss on it, “But I wish to know you are good too, and if you’d allow me, I would like to strip you of your beautiful kimono and kiss-“ I had darted my gaze back to his exposed skin when the word ‘strip’ left his mouth.

He stopped soon after and lifted my chin for me to look at him, “Are you still not hearing my words? Do you not understand that my adoration will not stop the more unique you get, my love?” I replied with a weak ‘I understand’ but he was not convinced at all, “Look at me,” he said sternly. I smiled when he said so, there was nothing I wanted more in the world than to look at him, but I still felt like the gash on my back was not the most beautiful. But then again, I was sure that with time I could get over it, and that his sweet words could help me get that confidence faster.

“I am looking,” I said in a low tone. Looking was a good word, but gawking would have been more adequate. The more I looked at him, the more I was getting used to that slight change on his face, and I was liking it more and more. I had not intended to make him feel self-conscious by ogling, but I felt like I had done just that when he smiled timidly, “You are indeed, and so am I,” He chuckled as he leaned in and captured my lips tenderly. I was grateful he did not break the kiss fast, instead he brought his hands to my jaw and tried to bring me closer to deepen the kiss. It felt so right and so good, I mirrored his hunger with a bit too much passion and made him fall backwards.

I apologized so fast it made Rengoku laugh loudly as he let his head hit the ground, “It’s alright, I love the enthusiasm,” His eyes traveled from my face down to my body, then to my hands that were gripping his shoulders tight, “I would suggest you kiss me again to help the pain away, I am sure it would help,” Looking down at him in surprise, I felt my cheeks heat up again, but leaned over with a stupid smile to then kiss his shoulder instead of him. “There?” I asked playfully. “Or there, perhaps?” I asked again, this time kissing the junction of his neck and shoulder. “My love, you are playing a dangerous game, I would like to kiss your pretty lips,” He said with a reddening face, his hands traveling to my waist where he held me.

I left a trail of kisses from the side of his throat to his jaw to finally kiss him passionately on the lips where he grinned into the kiss, returning it just as happily. “Can I suggest something? For the two of us to do?” He asked, his eyes burning into mine with intensity. My body temperature suddenly rose, I looked at him with flaming cheeks and looked at his still bare chest from when I had slid the kimono off him. “Yes, but I cannot promise I can stay silent-“ He covered my mouth quickly as he sat up, his face burning bright while an embarrassed smile painted his lips, “That’s not—I am so flattered, dear, I truly crave your touch, but what I had in mind was slightly different, if not very,” He chuckled timidly.

With eyes wide, I pried his hand away from my mouth and stood up, “That is embarrassing, do not think of me as wanton-“ Holding my sleeve as he stood up, Rengoku kissed me softly, “Then I will take the blame, I have no shame in saying I want you.” As if in a rush, he let go of me and stepped inside, his hand held out to me as he said, “Stay there, I have a great idea, bear with me my love, simply,” He moved his arm up and down, gesturing at my form, “Stay right there—no, actually, come sit on the futon, yes, yes the futon!”

He was suddenly hectic. A very different mood from seconds ago when I thought we were about to finally be together in more ways than one. I humored him and knelt on the futon, my hands on my knees as I looked at him, pink scars covering almost all his back. I resisted the urge to stand up and kiss all of them, as hard as it was. The lion-like man was careful when taking something from the cabinet, his sleeves hanging on each side of him for he still hadn’t dressed back. “As a child, when Senjuro would get hurt, I would have him draw the shape of his wound on paper, then draw around it, or with it, to make something fun. It would always make him smile,” Kyojuro told me, his eyes drifting to nostalgia as he did so. I wanted to know more about his brother, and his family in general, but I hardly believe now was the time to ask more about it. He had something in mind, and I was curious to know what it was.

“If you are not convinced you are gorgeous, even with scars, then let’s make it a real work of art!” His words were accompanied by his placing of a painting palette on the ground. A glass filled with dirty water and a few brushes were put on the ground too with just as much care. He then looked at me determined, but his gaze was searching mine for any sort of unease, just like before when he had revealed his eye. This time, I was hesitant, “You are suggesting I paint my-“ “I am suggesting to paint your back, your scar, with something so beautiful you will see it the way I do! And if you would like it, you can do mine too,”

Looking at him for a moment, I considered. My eyes trailed to the paint, then the tools around it to finally look back at Rengoku. He was already tying his hair back to get it out of the way. Seeing how thrilled he seemed by the idea, I thought it would not hurt to try; it was also an excuse to have his hands on my body, which rendered the idea even more appealing. Those weeks apart had made me crave his touch so much I was desperate for it.

“I will do yours first, if you do not mind. It will give me time to get used to the idea,” I smiled while mentioning him to turn around. A broad smile displayed itself on his face when his cheeks flushed pink, “Thank you for indulging me, let me-“ leaning over, he held my face between his hands gently and kissed me tenderly once again. The love dripping from his action made my heart beat faster, I kissed him with the same fervor, perhaps too much as my tongue tried to pry open his mouth. He pulled back laughing shyly; his thumb brushed over my lips while his expression was one that confused me. He seemed very concerned and happy at the same time. He was even about to say something but held back. Seconds after, he said, “I missed you so dearly, please, don’t be scarce with your touch.”

A breathless laugh escaped my lips while I nodded, “The thought never crossed my mind, now turn around,” I chuckled. Rengoku seemed insistent on looking at me and resisted when I placed my hands on his shoulders to turn him around. I laughed at that, for I struggled greatly seeing how unmoving he was. “Kyo, can you please turn around,” “Then I can’t see you!” He complained playfully. Pointing at the full-length mirror in the corner of the room, the one that was turned to face the wall, I said, “Then we move there, would that be better?”

After his approval, we moved to the front of the mirror after turning it around to face us. The man sat with his back straight, his hands resting on his knees as he looked at me thanks to the mirror. I had not realized he was doing so until I was done with mixing some paints to have some dark brown and had brought the paintbrush to his back. When I did, I looked over his shoulder and could see him smiling broadly, to which I said, “Is there something on your mind?”

“The same thing has been on my mind for the past four weeks and I am more than glad that my thoughts have manifested themselves today,” He winked flirtatiously. Feeling my cheeks flush, I told him to lean a bit forward all while pushing his head gently. He rested his elbows on the ground, his chin in his hands. Before starting the painting, I could not stop myself from kissing his shoulders. It earned me a giggle and a soft-spoken “Don’t be shy, your lips are welcome all over my body,” I followed his words and peppered kisses all over his scarred back, making sure to kiss each individual one. When I was done, I could see his face had reddened greatly and he was still looking at me in the mirror, his eyes glimmering with joy.

When I brushed the first stroke of paint on his back, he tensed suddenly but not without making a high-pitch sound of surprise. “I am sorry, is it cold?” I asked worriedly, pausing with my free hand on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he pressed a kiss on my fingers and shook his head, “I am a bit ticklish; those brushes feel like feathers on the skin, I was caught off guard,” He explained before positioning himself like he was before. Humming, I resumed my painting. From the beautiful pattern on his back, I could see a big tree that started more on the left of his back before growing up to his shoulders, the branches reaching across his shoulder blades and one over his left shoulder.

A few minutes passed; I was focused on the art that was happening in front of me. It was also irritating me faintly that I could not touch him properly, I wanted to hug him and fall asleep in his arms and as enjoyable and intimate this was, I wanted more. I needed to think of something, that’s why I asked out loud, surprisingly at the same time as the Pillar, “Should we start thinking of a name for our four-legged friend?” was what I said, Rengoku however was on a different note, “I am sorry for not talking, you are just so beautiful-“ He apologized for speaking at the same time as I did, so did I. Both of us laughed nervously. With a short gesture, he told me to go on, but I had heard his words, so I teased.

“Uzui told me my letters lifted your spirits,” I started, his face flashing in surprise then embarrassment, “Tell me, which part made you the gladdest?” Don’t start, I told myself. You cannot be this touch-starved to start something in the midst of an innocent painting, I scolded myself internally. I had finished the trunk of the tree, and was now mixing the colours to create a pink shade. Was I confident in my cherry tree leaves making? Not entirely. But I was going to give it my all. “Thinking of retiring with you!” He said a bit louder than he had spoken the entire time we were together. A disappointed “Oh,” escaped my lips without even going through the thinking phase. I quickly looked up to tell him it was nice, to add I was not disappointed, but when I saw his look in the mirror it had darkened. It was not as joyful as usual.

It was not sad either, but the smirk on his lips definitely helped me gauge the emotion portrayed on his face. “My love, are you disappointed?” His hand slowly reached behind to touch my knee. His fingers deftly helped the hem of my kimono out of the way to finally touch my bare skin. I had since stopped painting and was now staring right at him in the mirror. A huge innocent grin made its way to Kyojuro’s lips, “Would you rather I had said the idea of feeling your body against mine once again was what fueled me to get up, in more than one way, in the morning?” The brush was thrown on the wooden plank where the paint was as I leaned my head over his shoulder and slithered my arm to the opposite shoulder to cover his mouth.

I rested my chin against his collarbone and breathed out nervously, I felt him smile behind my hand. “Why are you being naughty now of all times?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Prying my hand from his mouth, the beautiful man pressed a kiss in the palm of my hand, “Because you have started it, I am only now joining in on the fun,” He then gave me an innocent look, the one he would usually have, as if he was not trying to rile me up, “I will stop if you ask me,” “I am not—I have not said that.” With the tip of his index and thumb, Rengoku lifted my chin and kissed me softly. The angle was not the best for such actions, but I melted into it without hesitation. “Very well, I am glad to hear it. Do not stop painting my love, I am impatient to see the final product!” He grinned enthusiastically.

Getting myself together, I leaned back and realized I had paint over some parts of my Kimono, “I dirtied my kimono because of that, I will blame it on you,” I said playfully, earning myself a loud laugh from the Fire Pillar as he added, in that same tone, one that is almost carefree, “Do not worry, we will dirty it even more,” He threw me a soft smile mixed with something I rarely saw on his face, arrogance? Pride? He added, “That is… if you’ll allow me, of course,” Bringing the back of my hand to my forehead, while still holding the brush between my fingers, I wiped the non-existent sweat, then resumed painting.

“My dear, if you keep that up, you might regret it,” I trailed off, my eyes staring right at his for a mere instant before focusing on his back once again. The pink was beautiful adorning the top half of his skin, up to his shoulders and even a bit on his bicep. I thought to myself it did not look as bad as it could have looked, after all I had no experience in skin-painting, nor painting at all. I was no artist, only a fighter. Broadening his smile, he moved his elbow to rest it on his knee. He was still sitting tailor-style which made him look so good when he rested his cheek on his knuckles. The teasing expression adorning his features drew me in, even more after he spoke, “Regret? You are more than welcome to use me, if that is what you so desire. Your gaze has been more open than your words, for the former has the honesty the latter lacks,” I was about to tell him off when he said, “My apology, I meant that I can read the lust in your eyes, even if your words are reprimanding me for being… wanton, as you would describe it,”

While I smiled to myself upon hearing his words, I could still feel the warmth in my cheeks. The embarrassment was strong, but I still teased back, “You are the first thought in my cloudy mind when I wake up,” I quoted his words from the letters as I put the paintbrush in the water, the look on his face was such a sight I could not help but lean over his shoulder and kiss his jaw. “My heart and body long for you and your…” Looking at him in the reflection, I delicately let my hand wander down his stomach. My heart was speeding up and I could see his eyes looking down at my hands, curious, wondering if I would dare do it. “...Touch” I then undid the knot of his kimono to feel him more, to have one of us act the words shared through those letters when his hand stopped me at such a speed I gasped silently.

A tight smile was on his lips. I loved seeing him like that, not fully out of control but trying hard to resist the inevitable; to resist the pull that was happening between us. Our long separation had only strengthened that need for intimacy, that need to be close, skin against skin, legs intertwined, breath mixing, and warmth shared under the blanket. “I have yet to paint your beautiful body, my love, will you be good and behave until I am done?” He asked with such a sultry look I was tempted to tell him there was no need to paint me, but he wanted to do it. So, I smiled stupidly, “You say behave as if I was a wild animal,” I chuckled, gesturing for him to turn around to look at the final product. He slowly did, while I focused my gaze on the reflection behind him.

He did not even glance at his back, instead he leaned over and kissed my neck softly while whispering, “Your wild, adventurous hands that needed to be caught to be stopped from going on a rampage, tell me otherwise,” I leaned my head the opposite side of his head to give him better access before even assimilating his words. His hair was tickling my throat as he trailed kisses higher on my skin, I gasped a laugh when his lips brushed over my ear then breathed, “Can you blame me? You have an addictive personality, and an even more addictive touch.” His chuckle was right next to my ear, I wanted to hear more of him. With his breath in addition, I felt a shiver run down my spine and looked at the door in case someone came in.

“And I am obsessed with your voice, but I have not made you moan yet, have I?” He huffed another laugh before kissing my cheek and leaning back. I was aware my gaze was flicking between his gorgeous eyes then his hands, many times. Before looking over his shoulder and into the mirror, Kyojuro looked me up and down, a proud smile on his beautiful lips, “Flustered, gaze askance and scared of being caught… Exactly how I had imagined it.” This effectively brought my eyes back to his in the mirror, this time with a pleasantly surprised smile, “Those letters of yours, they made me realize you had a way with words,” I started. He smiled, his beautiful eyes not leaving mine yet, “It made me wonder two things.”

Humming, he told me to go on all while gesturing for me to sit in front of him to start painting. My cheeks warmed up again at the thought of undressing in front of him. My fingers danced on the knot around my stomach while I spoke, “The first one being, if you have such a way with words, how come I have never received a poem?” I said playfully. It made Rengoku panic, his paintbrush falling from his hands as he looked at me with wide eyes. I quickly spoke before he could, “I am teasing. I was only wondering one thing, I would never be entitled enough to ask for a poem,” I said off-handedly.

This made his face burn bright red as he looked at me intently, “I have written many poems!” He said loudly, smiling. That smile turned more timid when he said, “About the one that is always on my mind, the one that makes my heart sing louder than cicadas in the summer. The one that keeps surprising me, no matter the amount of time spent together; I keep getting caught off guard by the words escaping from that someone’s mouth…” He said gently, his tone slowly turning deeper, more sultry. I felt like a comedian on stage, everything was pointing at me, I had all his attention, and I could not run. When he uttered the last word, his face was over my shoulder and he was smiling genuinely at me, “That someone is you, if you had not understood.”

“I had, I… am flattered. Maybe I will write you a song-“ Feeling like a great idea had struck me, I turned to look at him quickly, bumping our noses together. Both of us laughed as he put a bit of distance between us, “I could put a tune to your words, I could sing them—perhaps write words of my own to have you properly flattered,” I chuckled. A sound of surprise caught in my throat when Rengoku kissed me passionately, stopping my sudden rant and calming my burst of enthusiasm. When our lips parted, he stared at me lovingly, “I love this idea, I love it very much.” I giggled nervously, feeling stupid for doing so but did not add anything else. After a moment passed, he turned my head towards the mirror and gestured at my kimono as he said, “Now, what were you wondering upon reading my letters?”

I scoffed, my fingers dancing on the knot of my kimono, “I would hate to ruin the sweet mood that has been set, maybe I shouldn’t-“ Kyojuro wrapped his arms around my waist and pried my hands away from the knot I was not undoing to do so himself, all while talking and looking at me in the mirror, “Do not play a prude when your hand was between my legs minutes ago, my love,” He said softly. The tone was not depicting the actual insinuation of his words, which made it even more attractive that it was just from being spoken by him. He kissed my cheek again, pulling the knot away from my form, “Go tell me, share your obscene thoughts with me! Who knows, I might just share them,” He winked.

I tensed when I felt his nails scratch the back of my neck slightly as he held the collar of my attire. He paused, hesitant but not talking yet. I gently pushed his hands away and took a deep breath; as I let it out, I dropped my kimono off my form and said, with a fleeting gaze, “I wondered if that well-spoken man would keep his manners in bed, if your way with words would remain if you felt good.” I kept my back straight, hoping that if I did so, I wouldn’t shy away from his gaze. My confidence was a lie; even if I kept my head high and I had changed the topic, I knew full well that a seed of insecurity was germinating in the corner of my mind.

My whole body stiffened when I felt the warmth of skin on my scar. I did not pull away, but even if I tried, hands were holding my waist. It made my escape impossible. “Did you know that not one tiger has the same stripes as the other? It is a way to identify them, but also shows how unique they are.” It was slightly helpful and funny, I did not move and listened to him as he traced his finger over the length of my scar, from the side of my hip to the middle of my back. Mumbling to himself, he said he would try again, and try he did. “Perfection is like beauty, everyone has their own criteria they wish to meet, for themselves or for others,” This time I could feel the brush on my skin and shivered, my hair rising on my arms and neck.

“Now, you cannot force anyone to meet the criteria you like or wish for, that would be hard, yes,” He paused, dipping the brush again, his eyes focused on my back, “What you can do, is look at yourself, and see what makes you unique, what defines you, what are your more prominent traits—you make all of those yours, you embrace the traits you like and work on those you don’t,” His gaze met mine in the reflection, with a sweet smile he kissed the back of my head and added, “And what you have to do, is trust your body, love your body, it has gotten you through so much that it deserves all the love and worth in the world. Give your beautiful self worth.” I could hear him smile, his face was behind mine as he leaned over my back to paint details.

“Because knowing you are worth it, you will understand that you are your own perfect, and that perfection is a state of mind.” There was a long pause as I took in his words, while I still felt exposed being uncovered on my top half; while it was something I had never done around him, I still felt comfortable. At least more comfortable than before. A question set on the tip of my tongue; I was hesitant to ask it. “I am sorry if I stepped over some boundaries, we can go back to your question-“ “Do you like it?” His eyes widened. He paused his strokes and looked over my shoulder, confusion adorning his oh so beautiful face. “The topic of before-“ “The scar, do you like it? I will not see it much; I can ignore it, but…” I trailed off, not knowing what I wanted to say more.

Suddenly, kisses were planted on my back, all over it, first on the side of my scar, then on my shoulder blades, to finally reach the top of my shoulders, “I absolutely do! What could be more attractive than knowing how strong you are? And willed, determined! You are so beautiful-“ He looked up, a big smile on his face. I had to hold back a laugh when I saw the green paint on his lips. He had kissed paint that had not dried yet but did not seem to care one bit. “You are my perfect,” He said softly, wiping the paint from his lips with a cute smile.

My throat tightened; emotions were getting the best of me at his kind words. Laughing nervously, I looked down and wrapped my kimono back around me loosely. A gentle tug on my hand made me look over my shoulder then fully turn to face Kyojuro. His face was hesitant at first, but he beamed at me then reached for both of my hands instead, his thumbs brushing over the back of them, “I am going to be selfish—will you bear with me?” Knots tied in my chest, it felt heavy suddenly, but I nodded, my joyous attitude dropping from his words. “I know we do not know the outcome of this final fight; I know that. I am an optimist, I believe in all of us, but anything can happen—that’s why, that’s why I-“ He took a deep breath, bringing my hands to his forehead as he sniffled. His voice cracked as he expressed himself; it broke my heart. Was he going to put an end to this dream-like partnership?

I never let go of his hands, instead I tightened them around his. There was nothing else I could do until he was done laying his heart bare. I was fighting hard the tears that were threatening to fall. What about our future plans? What about retiring? What about our dog? Was this all play pretend? Was I hopeful for nothing?

He brought my hands back to his lips and kissed the tip of my fingers,

“I know it’s selfish to lay it out like that, I know… But I love you, I love you so much. I want you to know it, and that is what is selfish about me. You told me once that I could be selfish, that selfishness was good sometimes,” He brought each of my hand on each of his cheeks, placing his on top to press them closer, “I need you by my side forever, I wish to hold you every night, to hear your voice when I wake up and when I go to sleep,” a kiss was placed on my palms, he then let go of my hands but I kept them there, holding him closer.

He leaned in, eyes teary with a stupid smile on his handsome face, “… to see you trip on the tatami, to have your hands in my hair and to eat the best food with you,” I laughed through my silent tears, a smile matching his adorning my lips, “To love you is all I want,” He whispered before kissing me tenderly. The stress I had put on myself thinking he was going to leave me left through laughs in the kiss, our teeth clashing from time to time but happily so as I pushed him back on his futon. “I love you too, you are my perfect, my safe haven, my home,” I punctuated everything by a kiss on his lips, his arms wrapped around my waist to keep me close.

“I will not let you go, no matter what happens next,” To emphasize my words, I wrapped my arms around his neck, it made him laugh as he rolled us around so that we were both on our side on the ground, looking at one another, “Neither will I, I will find you no matter what,” he pressed a soft kiss on my forehead, then stared at me lovingly.

I could feel my eyelids drooping, I was exhausted from today and crying did not help, “Kyo… I truly love you… But I also think you have put paint all over your futon,” I mumbled tiredly. He chuckled with the same tiredness and brought me closer to his chest, humming, “That is too bad, I am not moving,”

“Is it a problem for our future selves?” I asked playfully.

“Absolutely, it’s their mess, after all,” He mumbled, his lips against my hair.

With my final functional thought, I asked, “If you heard my words about selfishness… Would it mean you were not asleep?” I remembered mentioning it when brushing his hair and even though saying so was out of place, relief flooded over me when I had seen he had fallen asleep. If he had heard me, it meant he had not actually been sleeping.

“I don’t regret faking it, I was able to feel your sweet kiss, a shame I couldn’t return it,” He said tiredly, his words mumbled and inarticulate. It was enough for me to understand and lean in to press a lazy kiss on his lips, “It is never too late,” a breathless laugh escaped his lips as he returned it slowly, sleepily.

We then slowly fell asleep to one another’s reassuring heartbeats, basking in the serenity of today and not thinking of any tomorrows.

[Part 8]

#demon slayer #rengoku #rengoku x reader #demon slayer x reader #kny x reader #kny #kimetsu no yaiba #kny rengoku x reader #gentle summer #physicalturian #writing #writer #ao3 #ao3 writer #fanfic

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goldemas1244 · 3 years

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Heyyyy I have a question :3

Do you have any headcanon/s for these character : Scraptrap, Scrap Baby, Lady Dimistrecu, the three daughter of Lady D, Heisenberg and/or Molten Freddy ? :3

You don't have to do all the proposition, you can choose what character you want to do :3

Have a good day/evening and stay safe ! :3

*Cracks knuckles* \(^v^)/

You already know I'm doing all of them! Thank you for the ask! Headcanons under the cut!

FNaF6

Scraptrap

He loves rice and would do anything to get his paws on it. Fortunately, the pizzeria is quite close to a Chinese restaurant so rice is easy to get.

He orders a rice-based menu at least three times a week, so the owners aren't at all that surprised to see a tuxedo-clad zombie-rabbit come in and ask for their signature fried rice with buttered lobster on the side.

Since he like to dine-in there, he usually asks Michael to give him a bath in exchange for pizzeria improvements. Michael usually shrugs and gives him a well-deserved bubble bath and his tuxedo.

He likes it when Michael gives him head pats and rubs. It makes him feel loved and appreciated.

He has a pet pigeon named Fernando Buschmann. It's German and likes to listen to the violin.

He likes ASMR and memes. ASMR makes him go feral with murderous intent while memes make him question the modern generation.

He has social media accounts, all named "Willton-Moldover". He usually posts cosplays and furry art on them and has 93 followers on his Reddit profile, 1.5 million followers on his Instagram, 550 followers on his Tumblr, 35 on his Snapchat, and 3.95 million on his TikTok.

He also has a YouTube channel with 10.784 million subscribers called "Willton-Gameover". He plays videogames one-handed and roasts popular YouTubers and famous people. He would never roast Keanu Reeves though, because Keanu Reeves is precious bean.

Due to his popularity he gets a lot of hate mail and private pics. He doesn't like them at all so he blackmails the people who post them. And if the media and police are involved? Well, he has a strong fanbase that's not going down as well as a good alibi so that works out well for him.

Yes, his fanbase also knows of the Fazbear Murders, and he admits to it but frankly, he's shown them the approving ghost kids (who've bonded and gamed with him) so that's no big deal. Only Cassidy hates him, but it's usually constipated anger.

He's bisexual and has an ENORMOUS crush on one of his favourite game characters, Karl Heisenberg. Something about that man reminds him of himself and Henry, although he's not sure what. Still, don't let that distract you from the fact that he owns a nude Karl Heisenberg body pillow, CAPCOM official.

Scrap Baby

Her favourite Monster High doll is Draculaura. She doesn't understand how pink goes well with black but oh boy, pink goes so well with black.

She knows how to skateboard like a pro. Despite her weight, her trusty skateboard still stands and, if she falls, she's always got her skates to spare. She likes to impress the boys at the skatepark with her ability to perform even the most difficult of moves with ease.

She's subscribed to fifteen different tabloid subscriptions. She likes to read them and criticize the stupidity of the human race, like her father. Hey, it's hereditary.

The lights in her boobies glow in the dark. They also glow whenever she gets tired.

She likes reading furniture and gardening catalogues. She's judgy of the prices though and usually becomes a full-on critic with Lefty listening.

She owns a crab named Mr. Tootie. No I will not elaborate on the name. I'll only tell you that it's taken a liking to kazoos and party favours.

She's listed as the No. 1 Best Fan of her father's social media accounts. Michael's in nineteenth place but don't worry, he's as emotionless as a mushroom.

She likes to make origami lotuses. She's such a pro at it that she's even got a mini-stall at the pizzeria: 1 lotus for 50 cents. It's a lucrative business, and it's still growing. Oh, and she switches to other origami works of art every week such as origami guns and origami nine-tailed foxes.

She's the Restaurant Rescue manager. Usually she saves kids from trouble. For this reason, yes, she's commonly seen in the pizzeria itself. Kids love her though the claw worries the more irksome parents.

She's a professional Karen dealer. Karen comes to see the manager? She's hypnotically talented in weaving her words through the toughest of craniums so don't be surprised if a Karen walks out with a new viewpoint of life.

She performs on stage on the occasion, which usually gets her a lot of fan love. She cherishes everything good they give but ignores the problematic everythings. Problematic stuff? Oh, she's good friends with the police chief.

Molten Freddy

He loves noodles. Give him a bowl of ramen and he'll shut up for the entire night. Enter him in a noodle-eating competition and his high metabolism rate means absolutely non-stop spaghetti.

He misses Bon-Bon very much. To the point where he's even tried to make a scrap version of him. Sadly, it doesn't work. He cried that day.

He dies inside whenever he finds out there's a spaghetti shortage in Utah. Poor Molten.

He's a bit wonky, but if he tries to play with you or get into your personal space, don't get mad at him! He's just lonely and wants someone to talk to and play with.

He likes to play Exploding Kittens. It's the only card game he's good at. It's also the only card game he owns.

He sees Helpy as a little brother and boops his nose on a daily basis. He also likes to reenact The Lion King with him (It's the ciiiiiircle of liiiiiife~). Hopefully Helpy doesn't mind.

He knows a lot of jokes in a lot of languages. So German-speaking Molten Freddy wouldn't be too far away from expectation. His favourite jokes are in French though; the wordplay is just immaculate.

He's good in French, English, German, Russian, and Malay. He's currently learning Japanese because he's a mega weeb.

His favourite cartoon is Charlie and Lola. He just likes to see the sibling shenanigans as it somehow reminds him of the good old days.

His favourite shows would be prankster shows. He especially loves the ones that give him new and creative ideas. He doesn't like the scary ones though. They make him feel unsafe and give him anxiety.

Surprisingly, he has a distinct taste for opera. He can modulate the remnants of his voice box to perfectly sing I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major-General. This both pisses off and impresses Henry to an extent.

Resident Evil 8

Lady Dimitrescu

She might act like the opposite but she really loves Heisenberg as her little brother. His determination, strength, speed, dexterity, and workaholic nature impresses her, who can't even fit through a doorway. She sometimes wishes she's as short as him too.

She's an avid collector of glass, porcelain, and anything fragile. It's a good reason to always be careful where you tread in her lair. She'll make you swallow every last shard if you don't.

She's an avid romance fanatic and is very loving towards the romance novels she owns. All those books you see in the in-game library? They're her collection of lesbian romances that she's collected over the past decades.

She doesn't like hats and prefers to stick to the one she wears in-game. She DOES have a collection of hats though. Last anyone counted, there were over fifty, one or two for each decade she's lived through.

She files her nails on a constant basis and owns an ornately decorated nail-clipper. Hygeine is of the utmost importance. She doesn't want to be compared to that filthy Heisenberg.

Despite her size and carefulness she keeps losing her stuff. Over the course of a week she could misplace three wine glasses, two reading glasses, and fifteen bottles of wine.

She's an expert at dodgeball and golf and even owns a lifetime access to the most prolific Country Club in Romania. With permission from Mother Miranda she goes there every year for the yearly party. It's one of the times she gets to see modernity (and Ed Sheeran) at its finest.

She loves bands from the 1920s and 1940s. However, she gets bored of them occasionally and switches them to something more modern, like Ed Sheeran. Seriously though, what is up with mums and Ed?

She's into executions and torture methods. So it's no surprise that she's a HUGE fan of Horrible Histories; even if she can't watch the show, she'll binge-read the books over and over again. She's even had the chance to encounter (and receive an autograph from) Terry Deary. They have sworn a bond not to tell anybody about this.

She loves exotic animals like anacondas and jaguars. She may or may not have owned a 10ft long Saltwater Crocodile (which was also about 5ft wide).

She's an incredible physicist and mathematician. She's also created many original formulae but unsurprisingly, she doesn't tell anyone about them, for fear that either more people may know of her, or that she may be wrong.

Dimitrescu Babes

They can devour an entire human being in mere seconds as flies. It's sort of like the scarab beetles in The Mummy movies. However, unlike the beetles, they are able to strip the bones as well. They leave nothing behind.

They all know how to play the piano with varying levels of success. Daniela can already play professionally while Bela is still stuck on Grade 5.

They love to listen to their mother when she tells them stories. Gotta hand it to 'em, when you're a fly, you know how to enjoy life in its most simple of moments.

They all love being around the hunky Soldats of Uncle Karl. Fortunately, they don't know of the rebellious plan to conquer Miranda.

Bela is bisexual, Cassandra is asexual and pansexual, and Daniela is demisexual.

It gets hard when you're a fly during the summer. If it's not the lizards, spiders, and other predators, it's the heat. Because of this, despite the material waste, they have invented the world's first blood-powered air conditioner.

The three girls have never ever ever touched a stove or oven in their life. They HAVE touched the hot end of an iron though. A good reason to not touch a bloody oven. Alcina has though, but doesn't tell them that.

They love puppies! Uncle Karl brought them a baby labrador. For the rest of the week Alcina had lost quite a bit of favour from them. Not that they minded of course. IT'S A PUPPY.

They don't like snow one bit. Not just because it's cold, but because it's too white. Too bright. Too shiny. They just can't focus on their prey!

They like to go over to Auntie Donna to play with Angie. Well, you know what they say, crazies attract the crazies, and the crazy has attracted the crazies.

They also like to go to Uncle Moreau's because he's the only one in the village with a PS4. Usually they'd spend about three-quarters of a day playing his games and eating his cheese.

Karl Heisenberg

He owns a dark blue armchair named Junkyard. Despite the name, he loves it dearly because it was a gift from Alcina for his twenty-first birthday. It became part of his final transformation too. Right under the hat.

He's a little blind in the right eye, much to his annoyance. It was a minor accident with Sturm; another reason for him to hate the uncontrollable wretch. He'll never live that day down.

Somehow, he sees better in the dark, which is why he wears such tinted glasses. He also wears them to hide his expressions, since, more often than not, he tends to end up wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his emotions in his eyes.

He's under a lot of pressure so it's no surprise that he breaks down in his factory when he knows he's alone. And by break down I mean crumple into an exhausted heap on the floor. Not even his Soldat Jet squad can wake him up until he's had a reasonable eight hours of rest.

He bathes once a day, every evening, but only three times a week. Perfume, tobacco, and cologne keep care of the rest.

He's the only Lord with a daily contact with the outside world due to his electrical abilities. Don't tell Miranda, but he can electrically CONNECT TO GOOGLE AND THE ENTIRE INTERNET IN GENERAL. He likes to play funny YouTube cat videos in his head when Miranda's having a boring meeting. It's also how he finds out that Chris is a boulder-punching asshole.

He does stimming! He likes to tap his fingers on his desk and the metal rails in his factory. He also buys stim toys from the Duke and keeps them in a well-kept box. His favourite is a non-ripping squishable toy duck. He also sings to chill out.

He's absolutely in the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise, and may have once believed in the pizzeria's existence. Come on, he's a mutated Overlord with magical magnet powers. Children souls stuck inside animatronics isn't too far-fetched of an idea. His favourite characters are the Funtimes and the Scraps, mainly because of the blueprint complexity. He HAS tried to replicate the animatronics in his spare time, but he's usually too busy with his Soldats so the project gets scrapped. He loves The Living Tombstone's songs and remixes though.

He doesn't like William Afton at all (though he marvels at his survivability). William's nature and habits remind him of Mother Miranda. He DOES however enjoy Michael Afton and often thinks how it would be absolutely amazing to have that resilient being in his Soldat army.

He's scared of what lurks below the watery depths and fire. Ironic because his brother is a literal fish and he works in one of the most hazardous fire-conducting environments. He's also scared of heights, though he doesn't get airsick.

He once died due to a killing electric shock whilst working on Sturm. It's the only time he's felt that sort of pulsing agony and also the first time he's had the confirmation that yes, Hell is real and yes, he'll end up in quite a dark pit in it. Or it could've been an electric dream, who knows? Anyways his soul apparently ran towards the opposite direction of the flames and he woke up alive after the passing of FIVE ENTIRE WEEKS. Oh boy did Alcina get worried when she couldn't find him.

Thank you for the ask! I hope you enjoy!

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17wishbones · 3 years

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Here is Chapter VII: War’s End (Part 2). I low-key cried writing this because, wow, I really do love this Flame Hashira so so so so so so much. I got a bit distracted reading other fanfiction and all that but here comes the second part. Now, this has spoilers from the manga/movie, so get to watching it as soon as possible. However, if you don’t mind it, go ahead and have a read! Please enjoy!

- - - - - - - -

Chapter VII: War’s End (Part 2)

Bright rays of the sun beat down on you as you stood before the oceanfront. The wind blew through your locks and along your skin. In your hands was a net and a few fish caught in them. You ogled them with a tight squint. ‘I know this handwork-’

“_____! _____!”

Your eyes widen. “That can’t be. . .” You slowly turned around and was blessed with a beautiful sight. “Mother? Father? You’re both. . .” Tears flowed like a river as you tackled them in an overdue embrace. You couldn’t swallow the sorrow that crept over your body when you thought to have lost them.

“We’re both what? Other than waiting for you to come home?” Your father was a tall man, standing halfway over six foot. His thick dreads touched the small of his back and his salt and pepper beard filled out his face. He was a handsome man still.

“You must be thirsty, _____. Come on in and drink. You’ve caught enough fish to last us a while.” Your mother was a beauty herself. She had a clean shaven head, a strong jawline, and the legs of an Amazon.

They stood tall while you remained short. You didn’t receive the end of the tall gene pool but that didn’t make you any harder to love, even though they joked about your height all the time. The two of them loved you so much.

Your mother, Oolade, wiped your tears away as your father, Uzoma, got the net of fish from the shore. “We shall eat as kings and queens together!” He shouted. “Look at the bounty our daughter has gathered!”

“I am proud of you, my sweet _____.”

“Mother, Father, please, you are embarrassing me!” You laughed. “Kyōjurō would love nothing more than to meet you both.”

“Kyōjurō?” They both questioned in unison.

“Oh.” Your mind went blank a moment. ‘Why did I say that? Kyōjurō? Who-who is that? His name sounds familiar.’

“Never mind that. Come.” You didn’t even think twice as you followed your mother to your quaint house on the shore that your father built by hand. It was just as you remembered.

“Oolade found some wild rice to make with as well. We’re going to have a feast!”

‘What was I even doing before? I must have been daydreaming.’ There was no questioning this surreal feeling as your parents showered you with love and laughter.

Overwhelmed with a sense of unbridled joy, you thought to never leave him.

You blinked. ‘Him?’ You questioned blankly. ‘Who is this him?’

Time had passed but the scenery didn’t change. “Hey, I’m going to step outside for some air.”

“Hurry back so that you may bless the food before we feast.” Your parents’ smiles, even though forever imprinted in your mind, suddenly dulled in comparison to the image of this fiery man.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. You slowly opened them and saw an outlined path towards the woods. You instinctively followed it to a rip into another space. You gasped aloud as you caught a young child making their way to this shining orb floating within a bundle of sunflowers.

The child turned to you, frightened and with the needle pointing towards you. They were sweating and shaking with fear.

“What are you doing here?”

“How did you find me!? You’re not supposed to be able to enter into your own unconsciousness!”

“It’s mine… isn’t it?” You took a step forward.

“_____? _____!” Oolade and Uzoma came running toward the border with sadness filling their eyes. “What are you doing? Come back!”

“_____, don’t leave us!”

You didn’t heed their words, but their voices wretched your heart. “You plan to do something? For what cost?”

“Destroying your core will allow me to sleep peacefully and see my family again!”

“And that’s the best way to go about it?” You ignored their calls as you pressed forward towards the child. “Your good dream will end and so shall you succumb to your pain.” Your eyes softened. “You will die a sad death. To a demon.”

“How do you know how I feel!? You just had a good dream!”

“A bittersweet dream. My parents have long since passed. They no longer live in this world. Even this cannot bring them back forever or give me peace.”

The child backed up until he was just a footstep away from your core. “Come any closer and I’ll do it!”

You stopped your approach and knelt down, holding your arms out. “Then you choose. Live your life or succumb to an eternal slumber?”

The child had wanted a good dream of his family, to be happy, but when he saw the look on your face, the look of pain and suffering from even getting a glimpse of what life could have been with them spread over your face.

He dropped the needle and ran to you full throttle, crying his heart out as he embraced you tight around your neck.

This was the right thing to do. Even as good as the dream would be, it would hurt all the more to have it taken away.

The faux warmth of the child disappeared and your eyes fluttered open to an ungodly sight that made you want to throw up.

“What the hell!?” You stood on top of flesh. “Intestines!?”

Rengoku flashed past you by one moment and returned the next. “You’re awake, Sunflower!”

“Did the demon become a train!?”

“So it seems, yes! Kamado and Hashibira are going for the neck. Our job—”

“Is to protect the passengers at all costs.”

“Nn! You take care of this cart and I’ll do the other four!”

“Just one?”

“Your safety is of utmost importance! Aid Golden Boy and the Demon girl as needed!” He kissed you quiet before dashing off in a blaze, hushing your protests.

“That man…” you drew your Nichirin blade, “Is so…” your short dash in the cart made easy work of the disgusting, fleshy tendrils, “Annoying!” But you couldn’t argue with his command or logic. He was sound in the midst of danger.

What you did was light work, and by the looks of it, Zenitsu and Nezuko had the other three sorted as Tanjiro and Inosuke ran for the front of the train. You hummed, slightly irritated at your position. You were getting into none of the action, but you knew how fast Rengoku and Zenitsu were moving by the back and forth teetering of the carts.

‘This train could topple at any moment, especially with all of this monstrous bulk. So, there’s no telling when it’ll--’ A shrill filled the air, disorienting you as the train of muscle crumpled up and fell right off the track. If it weren’t for the demon’s flesh and that Demon Slayer footwork, people onboard would have been seriously injured.

You checked those in your assigned cart and then where Zenitsu and Nezuko were. “Are you guys alright?”

“Mm, mm!” Nezuko nodded as you came over to the slightly slumped Zenitsu.

“Great!” You took him by the shoulders and started shaking him away. “Zenitsu? Zenitsu! Wake up!” He was still asleep, but he only incurred very few injuries as Nezuko had. “At least you two are alright. You really held your own, Nezuko. I’m a little jealous I didn’t get to help out much at all.”

Nezuko, no matter if tired or full of spunk, was just a beauty to look at. You understood why Zenitsu was so smitten with her though he feigned himself a well-groomed ladies man. She offered a soft sound as a response before she leaned up against you.

Parts of the demon’s body slowly faded from existence, leaving now broken windows with an open view to the outside. Rengoku stood over Tanjiro, instructing him as he laid on the ground. Nezuko picked up her brother’s scent and slowly headed outside. Zenitsu followed her sleepily as you grabbed a few people and exited yourself.

Suddenly, the earth shook and dust flew everywhere as something else landed unto the field. You couldn’t believe your own eyes! The aura spiked high as it circled around the tattoo-marked Upper Moon demon. The shine in those eyes were as hungry, monstrous, and devilish as their appearance.

In the blink of an eye, he was just moments away from striking Tanjiro. “Fire Breathing! Second Form! Rising Scorching Sun!” Rengoku’s quick thinking saved him. “I don’t understand why you’d target a wounded person.”

“I thought he’d just get in the way between you and me.”

You froze. You had never seen a demon so fast like this one. It was just as scary as that time in Asakusa. The aura you ingested made you run on instinct, quelling the thoughts of fear or nervousness.

This one looked too toxic. You’d be sick for days. Not to mention, this demon only had eyes for Rengoku.

“You and I have something to talk about? It’s our first time meeting and I already hate you.” Rengoku replied.

“Is that so?” Akaza mused. “I really hate weak humans,” in terms of Tanjiro and others, “When I look at weaklings, I just feel disgusted.”

“It looks like you and I have different moral values in regards to things.”

“I see. Then I have a wonderful proposal. How about you become a demon, too?”

“No chance.” Rengoku declined.

“I know your strength just by looking at you. You’re a pillar, right?” Akaza’s interest in Rengoku shined through his symbolic eyes. “Your battle spirit is quite polished. You’re getting close to Supreme Territory.”

“I am the Fire Hashira, Rengoku Kyōjurō.”

“And I’m Akaza.”

They both exchanged names but withheld their stances. Akaza came to kill and eat any humans as well as convert the strongest ones into those he could. However, no matter the strength, Rengoku was defiant in every sense of the matter when it came to slaying demons and protecting the weak who could not fight for themselves.

But you weren’t out of the clear, however. “Ah, seems like I have a two for one deal.” To your chagrin, the demon noticed you next. “Why don’t you consider becoming a demon, too?” He saw your spirit as well, one with potential of being his punching bag. “As a demon, you can become stronger. That wonderful sword style of yours will keep on improving and we can fight forever! Otherwise, you’ll never reach Supreme Territory and do you know why?”

Silence.

“Because you’re human. Because you’ll grow old. Because you’ll die.” Akaza pointed his finger at Rengoku. “Become a demon, Kyōjurō. You can train for a hundred years. Two hundred years. You can become stronger.”

His face grew dark as he pointed at the likes of everyone in the vicinity, truly disgusted by what he saw before him. Rengoku looked none too pleased with you inserted into the situation. ‘Don’t worry, _____. I will protect you, the children, everyone! Nobody here will die or turn into a demon while I still stand!’ He felt overprotective over you, and found it fit to fulfill his duty not only as a demon slayer, but as a man.

Rengoku couldn’t stand that look of dread and worry filling your eyes. “Growing old and dying is the beauty of the fleeting creature called a human being. Because they grow old. Because they die. They are tremendous. Lovable. What they call ‘strength’ isn’t a word that is used in regards to the body.” He wouldn’t let Akaza spout such untrue words. “This boy isn’t weak. Don’t insult him. I’ll say it over and over again. You and I have different moral values.” His sunset eyes widen menacingly. “No matter what kind of motivation I have, I will not become a demon.”

“I see.” Akaza stanced. “Technique Deployment. Destructive Kill: Compass Needle!” Akaza prepared to fight. “If you won’t become a demon, then I’ll kill you!”

Air waves and flames lit up the area as both Rengoku and Akaza moved at blinding speeds. Pillar versus Upper Moon. You were stuck in place, unable to move. The sudden gravity of the situation skyrocketed and your body froze. Your breath shifted, becoming uneven and quick.

“DON’T MOVE!! If your wounds open, it’ll be fatal! Standby, soldier!!”

Rengoku’s serious voice brought you back, but he demanded no one interfered. Inosoke, who stood at Tanjiro’s side, felt helpless.

It was an explosion of power that erupted, and emerging from the dusty cocoon was an unscathed, healed Akaza and a battered Rengoku. “Kyōjurō…?” His blood-soaked uniform recalled his humanity, his mortality. You were in a state of distress.

Akaza praised him, and employed the idea of becoming a demon, where all his wounds, his crushed eye, and his organs would heal in moments. He’d become stronger, faster, and more powerful than before, but the answer was still no.

Rengoku raised his blade and stared on with a dazzling, one-eyed smile. “I will fulfill my duties! I won’t let anyone die here!”

“You really should become a demon so that we can fight for all eternity!”

“Full Focus Breathing. Flame Breathing. Esoterica. Ninth Style: Purgatory!”

“Technique Deployment. Destructive Kill: Obliteration Style!”

They clashed in one final blow, and the results after the dust cleared terrorized you with your unknown and worst fears.

Akaza punched through Rengoku who held his blade upright. It was but a second before he tightened his grip and slashed at Akaza’s neck which surprised the demon. Rengoku, even as death approached him, remained resilient as he caught Akaza’s other hand, tightened his innards around his arm, and dug his blade further across. As the demon screamed for release, Rengoku screamed for his defeat.

“INOSUKE, MOOOOVE!!! MOVE FOR RENGOKU-SAN!!!”

Tanjiro’s shout broke you from your shock. Opportunity to strike was now or never. At the speed they ran, they wouldn’t reach Akaza as he struggled for release as the sun was due to rise.

‘Full Focus Breathing. Fire breathing. First form: Unknowing Fire!’

It was a split second decision that made all the difference, and thanks to Inosuke. As Akaza panicked upon seeing Inosuke preparing to jump, Akaza suddenly felt weightless below. ‘What? My legs!’

Inosuke stopped just in time, leaving the final slash to Rengoku who pushed with all of his might and brought his searing blade through Akaza’s neck.

“You sneaky bit— oh no! The sun! I have to go, I have to— AHHHH!!”

Dawn broke over the horizon and Akaza’s body disintegrated.

“Kyōjurō!” You helped him to his knees, seeing the condition that he was in. “You’re hurt. Maybe if we can get you bandaged up, we can—”

“I’m sorry, My Sunflower. My stomach won’t close. I will die very soon.” He turned and addressed Tanjiro. “Kamado, my boy. Let’s have a final chat.”

Tanjiro ran over, huffing as tears stained his cheeks. “Rengoku-san, don’t talk too much! Help will be here soon. Just hold on!”

“Just listen to me. Return to the Rengoku Estate. There should be notes about the ‘Dance of the Fire God’. My father read them many times. I didn’t read them myself, however, so I don’t know what’s inside them. And for the both of you, tell Senjuro to pursue the path that he thinks is right, as his heart tells him to. And tell my father to take care of his body. And also...” He leaned in. “Kamado, my boy, I believe in your sister. I accept her as a member of the Demon Slayers.”

Droplets of water dripped from Tanjiro’s big eyes.

“I saw that girl protect the humans inside the train despite bleeding out. Those that protect humans and fight demons are Demon Slayers, no matter what anyone else says. Live with your chest high. You, Hashibira, Golden Boy, and her will become great pillars.” His attention finally landed on you.“My Sunflower.” He weakly raised his blood-smeared hand, touching your cheek. “Never give up. I will be watching over you.”

Rivers flowed down your desolate face. “Wait for me over the bridge when I cross. And meet me in the next life.” You found his hands and held them in yours. “I-I l-” Words became lost as you choked on every letter, unable to contain the sadness corrupting your mind and heart.

It hurt him to see you like this, and it devastated him more that he wouldn’t be able to comfort you and grow old together. “My life flashed before my eyes and my most wonderful memories were of you. Your warm smile, your touch, your praises, it makes me more determined than ever to be with you wherever we may go or be.”

The last thing he’d feel was your lips on his, stained with his blood. “I’ll never forget you, Kyōjurō!” You said with as much enthusiasm as you could. “I-I love you!”

Rengoku couldn’t help but to smile. “I love you, too, My Sunflower. Set your heart ablaze. . .”

“And move forward.”

Rengoku peered past you and Tanjiro, spotting a familiar shape. ‘Mother?’ You and Tanjiro looked back but saw nothing. But an enveloping aura past you two and surrounded Rengoku. ‘Did I do everything right? Was I able to fulfill everything I was supposed to carry out?’

‘You did a wonderful job.’ A smile to him, a smile to her, and his head drooped. His body rested peacefully in your arms and his fiery aura dispersed as it was no more.

‘Kyōjurō!’ You were too choked up as you sobbed loudly and ugly. Your heart ached just like it had when your parents were eaten by demons.

Your world darkened, stained in your tears and his blood. What was this victory worth now that he was gone?

It was worth every saved life here, and you knew that. It was going to weigh on your heart how you didn’t help him sooner, but his face discouraged you. He took the brunt of Akaza’s assault and held on until the very end.

You mourned over him from that day and weeks later. No one had seen you since the Mugen Train incident. Rengoku had done so much to keep everyone safe, taking his last breath on the battlefield. It had been a hard pill to swallow, one that you had not fully been accepting of even though you were there to see him off.

Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Nezuko missed seeing you around. And especially Senjuro, but you needed to separate yourself and become better. You were no use to anyone lying on your back and crying your eyes out.

With the Nichirin blade in your possession, you carried on silently with a memory of him attached at your hip. His haori? Cleaned, pressed, and framed on the wall. For as long as you lived, his legend would be immortalized. On your shoulders, you carried the burden of loss. Sometimes, it’d hurt so much, your chest would heave and you’d clutch part of your left breast, where the pain ran deep as tears stung your eyes.

You left Senjuro with a kind yet sad smile as you didn’t want to hear the ugly mutterings of his father’s distant, drunk voice. His aura dripped in a drab blue, his melancholy nature surely melting at the loss of not only his wife but now his eldest son.

You hadn’t forgotten about those you loved. You’d be back for them. - - - - - - - - - - Chapters: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII (Part 1) / (Part 2) / (Part 3)

#rengoku kyojuro x reader #rengoku x you #rengoku x reader #rengoku kyōjurō #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic #demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic

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rymndsmth · 3 years

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querencia (jang han seo)

🎤 hello and gather around fellow himbo lovers, here is a small fic about our beloved and his life after That guy kicks the bucket. also idk how i managed to turn this into a love story? anyways lmfao, hope y’all enjoy!

Everything felt so different.

Truthfully, Han Seo never imagined what his life could be like, would be like, without the proverbial ever tightening noose around his neck. One that had been unexpectedly and disappointingly placed on him as a child by the one person that was supposed to remove such things. He was now free of that person, and the fear that stemmed from veering off the path set by them, but wasn’t entirely too certain that he was free of that feeling.

His muscles couldn’t shake it. The sudden chill to the bone, the anticipation of retaliation from an act that hadn’t yet occurred. Such an act that could never occur anymore given that his brother was dead. He knew this, but his mind had never been good at accepting possibilities that were positive.

This much was evident in the case of his relationship with Vincenzo. There was no reason why the stoic yet baby faced Mafia member would want to keep him around, at least not any that he could see. So, Han Seo spent the first few weeks asking the question both silently and aloud, will you kill me? Vincenzo had the motive, it’s not exactly like his hands were clean in his previous dealings with Babel, and he most certainly had the means.

It wasn’t until Han Seo was told that because he was trying to make amends, he wouldn’t end up in the Jang family crypt well before his time that he started to feel at ease. Still, for months after that conversation, he still had the nagging feeling that some invisible fist was lurking around every bend.

Regardless of that, Han Seo decided he would not waste his liberation however short lived it might have been. He made up his mind that he was going to do all the things that he was either too scared or outright forbidden to do before. The first thing on his list was to clean up his business. Luckily for him, the Guillotine file made it easy to weed out the snakes in the grass and allow him to steer Babel in the direction that the core of the business was about.

The hardest part was going to be restoring the public’s faith in the organization. Cha Young told him as much, and advised him not to agonize over it as there will be new corruption that will grab their attention (and hers). He intended to be the Chairman that such a company deserved, and therefore continued to study no matter how nonsensical and outdated the information seemed.

The second order of business was moving out of the place that felt more like a prison than a home to one that he liked. The realtor immediately recommended a few luxury places, but he turned them down to their surprise. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had seen what the quest for material wealth had done to his family (or more realistically because he wanted to be closer to newfound hyung and his girlfriend).

Either way, the house he settled on had its luxuries, but in a more affordable and quaint neighborhood. Han Seo even went as far as to attempt painting on his own, which went as well as expected for someone that didn’t even know the difference between a brush and a roller.

Being able to do what he wanted proved to be chaotic at times. There was no one to stop him from going on last minute trips to Jeju just for oranges and a quick dip into the ocean. Or to take away all the sweet and savory snacks that he found at these things called convenience stores.

He would stay up all night sometimes, not to binge watch all the shows he missed out on, but just to sit in silence. He didn’t know that the quiet could be so nice. That it was a space of tranquility and relaxation rather than one filled with anxiety. Of course, Han Seo more often than not regretted the choice not to sleep and ended up at the cafe a few blocks from his place.

While obviously no one had better coffee than the one at Babel, he found himself going to the cozy spot with increasing frequency because of her. The first time he saw her, she was deciding on which apple to choose from the basket beside the register. He then noticed that her canvas bag was filled with art supplies, and decided that it was a brilliant idea to draw a conclusion.

I think the one to the right would make a great subject on paper, he grinned.

She stared at him in a way that made him contemplate whether to not she was related to Vincenzo hyung before replying flatly:

I’m looking for the tartest one to go with my tea.

He was left a bumbling mess of flustered sounds and rapidly blinks, not getting the opportunity to insert some retort that undoubtably would’ve put him deeper into the realm of idiot.

The following morning he went again. No cup of coffee, not even the ridiculously overpriced espresso at Babel, would give him that jolt of electricity he felt under her gaze. And sure enough, she was there. This time her apple sat upon a folded napkin right beside her tea, and in front of them both was her sketchpad. On the page? A picture of the fruit. He couldn’t control the noise of exasperation that left him as he passed her table. On his way out he tossed over his shoulder with a grin so wide it hurt:

Nice drawing.

Their interactions continued in that same vein. Short, filled with just the right amount of bite. The balance of who had the best and last say constantly shifting, becoming somewhat of a competition.

You’re outside today, is that weed your subject?

As if there weren’t enough clowns in this neighborhood already.

You buy a lot of lattes for an artist that’s supposed to be starving.

Ironic coming from the gentrifier walking around a working class neighborhood in thousand dollar shoes.

He had look up what that g word meant after their last exchange.

There was something else he never got to do in his past. Sure, Han Seo had the occasional date or two, but commitment? That was out of the question. It wouldn’t have served his brother well if there was anyone around that would motivate him to step out from his hold. The realization that he never had a serious relationship hadn’t hit him until he started to have inconvenient thoughts during board meetings about stuff like taking a long afternoon stroll, and holding hands with her.

Han Seo could barely focus on the stack of jargon dense reading before him. He sent Vincenzo a text saying that he was coming over with soju, not waiting for a reply before making the short journey to Geumga. Cha Young’s face fell when she answered the door, muttering that she thought he was her delivery, but lit up once she saw he brought along alcohol. After poking around the rice he begged for them to share and sighing loudly for half an hour, Vincenzo ushered him out. He implored him to get a hobby so that these late night visits wouldn’t become a habit.

He was confused by that. Weren’t studying and running a company hobbies? On his walk back home he spotted a flyer that someone was offering private classes for beginners painting. The nightmare of a time he had trying to get the walls in his kitchen evenly colored popped up in his brain, instantly making him tear off one of the numbers. He didn’t exactly know how learning to paint homes was going to be a practical hobby, but hell, he would have something to show Vincenzo later.

While he was on one of his impromptu trips to the seaside, Han Seo had his assistant set up the class for him to take when he returned. As a gift for the instructor, he thought it would be nice to bring them an extra bag of oranges. If the session sucked, or if he hated it, at the very least there was going to be something to brighten the mood.

The day he got back, he even went as far as to tidy up the place on his own and put some fresh flowers around so the air was lightly scented. He practically waited at the door until the alarm sounded to let him know that his instructor arrived.

Is this a joke? She huffed.

No, I didn’t even know you were the teacher! His protest was adamant. I was on a trip and even brought back Jeju- He paused. Han Seo knew he wasn’t the brightest, but bringing up the oranges seemed like it would upset her given their previous history.

You brought back what? Her brow raised.

Mmm, good energy! Don’t you feel the vibes from the ocean? He spread his arms wide.

Han Seo waved her inside hurriedly, trying desperately to get past the awkward exchange. Of all people, he never would’ve thought it would be the neighborhood’s cute sass machine. A small noise of happiness couldn’t be stopped from escaping him as she accepted the invitation. Her eyes scanned the place without restraint, nose wrinkling when she took a look at the kitchen.

Where are your supplies? A slender finger ran across the surface of his counter.

Supplies? He thought that was included in the price for the lessons.

She sighed, placing a sketchbook, brushes, and small pots of paint onto the table. It was now very apparent to him that the advertisement did not mean what he thought it did. Thank goodness he also didn’t decide to open his mouth about that beforehand, it probably would’ve made her smack him with her bag.

Here, the materials were slid over when he sat. Paint something.

His facial expression surely mirrored what he was thinking. Han Seo had no recollection of ever trying to do this, not even during the course of his way overpriced private school education. She urged him on with a nod, only relaxing into her chair when he flipped open the book and picked up a fine brush.

There was nothing in particular he wanted to paint. Hell, he didn’t even know if he wanted to paint at all. This was simply something random that came up when he needed it.

To avoid being chastised, he dipped his brush into the light blue color and started swiping randomly across the blank page. He swapped the brush and added some dark green, then pink, and finished if off with small dots of white. At the end it looked like something a toddler would’ve considered a masterpiece. She eyed it with surprising interest.

You clearly didn’t know what you wanted to achieve with this, or why you were doing it at all.

Han Seo was about to interject with a prideful defense before she continued.

That’s good. It’s better to work with an unbiased mind. Her eyes met his. Your technique is shit though.

He laughed, like truly laughed. It was a full bellied, unashamedly loud, attack of sonic waves. She seemed to find it amusing, a hint of a smile dancing across her lips.

Alright, let’s start with how to actually hold a paintbrush.

There was no telling when their interactions had gone from less than playful banter to warm and friendly (still with a side of joking). Han Seo couldn’t put his finger on it. Did it happen during the second lesson where he mistakenly put paint on her hands, and didn’t settle for no when he said he would wash them off for her?

Or was it the time he was running late for work, but the barista already had his order prepared because she told them that he was on the way? Perhaps it was the time she had to reschedule their Saturday morning for the evening instead, and all he could think about was trying to replicate the color of her alcohol flushed cheeks onto the page before him.

Han Seo had never done the whole confession thing before, so he wasn’t sure about how it worked. An unfamiliar kind of anxiety crept up his spine as he poured glasses of wine and organized a fruit plate. Soft music played in the background accompanied by the crackle of the expensive candles he bought specifically for the occasion. Her mouth parted slightly as she took everything in once she arrived for what was supposed to be an ordinary session involving watercolors.

Wow, got a hot date later or something? Her legs seemed to automatically take her to the table.

Actually, He brought the glasses over to where she sat. It’s for you.

Oh…She gasped. A few seconds passed that felt more like minutes before she picked one up and held it high. Cheers then!

Something about it made him feel like he made a mistake. Did he misread their change in demeanor towards one another? Was she truly just being kinder to him because she considered him to only be a friend? Han Seo tried to not let the embarrassment he felt seep into the room, keeping a smile locked and loaded for when she made a witty remark about stuff like him painting in the most inappropriate white button down.

Don’t you have something to say to me? She quipped, neatly putting her things away after he finished.

Me? I- no…I... He clenched his fists. Why couldn’t he come out and say it?! This was as good as a chance as he was ever going to get. If he let this opportunity slip, he wasn’t sure if there would be one again. He had to act, he had to-

What sounded like a small growl came from her as she raked her hand through her hair. She pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt, her nose just shy of rubbing against his.

Jang Han Seo, when are you gonna stop driving me insane? She murmured, labored breaths dancing across his cupid’s bow.

If only she knew how true and reciprocated that question was to him too. From the moment he couldn’t fight against thoughts about her entering his mind, to the smile she wore when he stepped across his threshold, and the way she said his goddamned name, it was all enough to make him want to combust. To burst out of his skin, transforming into something or someone else entirely. A person that fully accepted that there were no more restraints on their lives, that they was no more fear and no more betrayal. Someone that was completely in control, and free to take what was theirs. And so he did.

It was painful, almost, the first time he kissed her. The second time even more so. By the third time, coupled with the question of her tongue prodding at his bottom lip, Han Seo had shedded the last of his previous being. He cupped her face, thumbs toying with her curled sideburns as he consumed her. Quiet whimpers made way for desperate cries, shivers were replaced by the searing heat of skin on skin.

The high he’d chased fruitlessly so many times throughout his life was finally achieved with his arms wrapped tightly around her, their bodies pressed together as she shuddered and sighed his name. He was in disbelief that what he had experienced was real, so he chased it again and again, receiving the same result each time his sweat slicked forehead bowed to meet hers.

Han Seo would learn that it could be obtained outside of that space they filled with the tangible evidence of their desire. It was also in buying melon flavored ice pops to eat in the park together on sunny days. The look on Vincenzo and Cha Young’s face when he timidly made the introduction. Her expression when she took her first bite of Hee Soo’s tteokbokki. When Mr. Nam and her had an hour long debate on which shade of red made the most realistic fake blood color. The flashing Best Chairman Ever coming from her phone when Babel secured their biggest deal yet without any dirty deals behind the scenes.

That feeling, one that outshone the other by such a long shot that it was nearly eradicated, had been there all along in the life he’d made. She just helped him see it.

#*throws this and runs to take my dog for a walk*#jang han seo #vincenzo #fics.n

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wickedgamesoyaoya · 4 years

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The threads that had woven comfort into the younger twin’s shoulders unraveled instantly as he read his brother’s latest text. Panic gripped his throat, drowning out the noises desperate to be heard. It was quite obvious that his brother’s overaction to the circumstances could cost him the small progress that was achieved just hours ago. While he knew he could outright refuse to accept the ‘gift’, the issue was… that he didn’t want to. There was no point in denying that he would be thrilled to see you in person. However, jealousy was not at the foundation of his desire. His reason was rather innocent – he just missed you. Could he truly be blamed for missing the one person who was the source of his happiness? Many would argue no.

And so, he was heavily conflicted. His brother’s latest purchase brought the male to face plant on the cold surface of the dinner table, with a gentle groan pushing past his lips. Despite being unsure how to rectify the situation, Kita offered the Onigiri Miya owner some reassuring sentiments along with a pat on the back. The MSBY setter’s intentions were admirable, the rice farmer noted mentally. But Kita knew guilt was a partial motivator for Atsumu, and that alone significantly muddled the blonde’s thought process.

When the two volleyball players returned to the farm, the white-haired male elected to save his scolding for later. Instead, he directed the pair to the dining space where Osamu’s forehead remained glued to the surface of the table. Upon seeing his friend’s frazzled state of mind, Suna instantly refused to accept responsibility for the older twin’s actions. He framed himself as an ‘innocent bystander.” Though no one in the room accepted this characterization.

“I think you’re blowing this outta proportion. It’s not like I bought the ticket for tonight.” A childish pout registered upon Atsumu’s lips as he crossed his arms over his chest protectively. Across the table, his brother expelled a low groan in disapproval. “‘Samu wasn’t gonna do anything unless he got a push.”

“Yeah, except you bought it for tomorrow when she’s supposed to call him. He won’t be able to talk to her if he gets on the flight.” The middle blocker plopped onto the chair beside Osamu sloppily, then slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. A quick glance was then cast in the somber twin’s direction, it took quite the restraint to not poke at his friend’s head.

“But then he can talk to her when he gets there.” The setter was beginning to concede that perhaps his plan was not perfect, but his stubbornness would not permit him to disclose this information.

“Atsumu, you cannot make decisions on behalf of your brother without his consent. I understand your feelings, but this was not a decision for you to make.” The eldest in the room shook his head slowly, pressing two fingers against the bridge of his nose. His words had dismantled the pout that was once prominent on Atsumu’s features, replacing it with a frown.

“Why don’t we just send ‘Tsumu there instead?” Humour coated the suggestion that was accompanied by an inaudible chuckle. However, Suna’s jest did not sit well with his former team-mates. And for the first time since their arrival, Osamu lifted his face, only to deliver his input with a glare.

“No.” The response was stated by both Osamu and Kita in unison, while Atsumu scoffed to himself.

“That is not a suitable solution. Perhaps we should speak with her friend about this?” Raising an eyebrow, Kita shifted his gaze to the cook, who surprisingly did not return to his collapsed position.

“Oikawa?” Croaking out the setter’s name, Osamu pressed his fingers against the back of his neck, dragging his nails against his skin gently. Out of your four best friends, he found Oikawa the easiest to converse with. Usually, his conversations with Iwaizumi were short and filled with formalities. Further, any chats with Hanamaki and Matsukawa would morph into some deranged debate that he would have to excuse himself from. However, with Oikawa, the conversations came naturally, and he was certainly thankful for it.

“Yes. I cannot disagree that speaking in person is far more beneficial than speaking over the phone. However, she may not be ready for that.” The exchange via text earlier did indicate to the farmer that you were ready to see Osamu, but he had to be sure. He would not take part in increasing your suffering.

“So, you’re sayin’…we ask him where her head is at?” The proposed solution had elevated the MSBY setter’s mood, a detail that could be ascertained by his sudden change in posture. He knew that once you and his brother spoke, at least a bit of the pain would be chipped away. Well, that was what he hoped for.

“Precisely.” A nod followed the affirmation. Kita could only propose a solution, but it was ultimately up to his friend to choose how to proceed.

“It could work.” Suna chimed in with an effortless lift of his shoulders. “You in, ‘Samu?”

“... Okay.” Various emotions spun inside of Osamu’s chest – fear, excitement… hope. Oh God, he hoped he could see you.

“If she is not ready, we will allow the money to go to waste. We will not be doing anything to upset y/n, understood?” The instructions were articulated slowly and firmly, indicating that the topic was not up for debate. It was also quite clear that the message was administered directly to the one responsible for their stressful circumstances. Atsumu responded with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Let’s do it again, shall we - thank you, atsumu

Masterlist - Previous - Next

A/N: so he’s going, friends!

taglist: @idiot-juice-enthusiast @vicassa @yourstarvic @bringmelily @newfriendjen @hikarichannn @anime-simp @tsukkismamagucci @laughingismorefun @astronomyturtle @shegrewupwithoutafather @hyskoa1998 @deephumandragonperson @pretty-setter-bois @raenebalgaire @sugawarabby @justanotherfangirl2 @keijisworld @90s-belladonna @momoinot @sempiternal-amour @cherryblosom111 @yqshirov @haikyuufairy @volleybloop @bloody-bella @4fterh0urs @seikamuzu @namyari @toaster-stick @coconut-dreamz @roseestuosity @prcttylittlcthing @uzumakioden@nerdynstoned @kenmasgameboy @unstableye @ouijaeater15 @aquariarose @fandomtrashpandasposts @helloalex80 @stfucanunot @envyusshades @cuddlesslut @seijohiseliterambles @meiikuki @cuddlejeongin @tchalameme @ditu-m9 @elianetsantana

Taglist continued in the comments from my personal ❣️

#osamu x you #osamu smau #haikyuu smau #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu #osamu x y/n #osamu x reader #hq osamu #osamu scenario

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yuzukult · 4 years

Text

effortlessly pt. 6 || jungkook & reader

title: effortlessly pairing: jungkook x reader genre: fluff, romance, school!au, smut (no smut in this chapter) words: ~4k notes: longer than i thought but closer to the end!! possibly 3 chapters left if i planned this right ;___; sorry for the delay! days pass by so quickly... and i’m always napping after work....

series: part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || part seven || part eight || part nine || part ten || epilogue

“Hey, you okay?”

His palms are clammy, you take note of this because the leather of his steering wheel evidently shows the residue left from the moisture on his hands. He’s anxious, it’s more than obvious, and you could potentially pinpoint the reason behind his uneasiness but you want to hear it from the man himself.

“Uh, sure. Kind of. Something along those lines.”

“You’re acting rather suspicious,” You say, paraphrasing the words he had used on you previously. “Talk to me, I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

The windows are rolled down and the sunroof is open, with the breeze flowing into the car yet you can still feel the heat of tension radiating between the two of you. He’d been silent the past couple days, head so focused and lost into just swimming during his practices, but that was all he did. Practice. Practice, practice, practice. Jungkook did it like a ritual, every single day at the same time, and performed it as if it was his religion. He hasn’t cooperated by eating enough meals during the day and although you guys didn’t share every class together, it had been apparent that he was behind on schoolwork.

He’d completely gone insane.

“So... the finals are coming up soon,” He manages to choke out, hands still tightly gripping on the steering wheel and eyes never leaving the road. He never said where the destination was when he sent you a text, prior to picking you up from your house on a Saturday afternoon, but you figured as much that he needed some time out so you complied. “And I heard that recruiters are coming. Well, rumor has it.”

“Hey, that’s great! You can finally show those guys your talents.”

“Yeah, but... what if I don’t get anything?” His voice is shaky, full of fear and angst. Although he wasn’t looking directly at you, you could tell that his chocolate orbs were mixed with ambiguity. Jungkook lived his entire life with the prospect that his dreams and aspirations were unattainable because he didn’t have the means to reach them. He lacked what many of his colleagues had— experience in competitions at a young age, training by professional coaches, and support financially from his family. He was at the bottom of the totem pole, knowingly still attempting to climb to the top despite of the downfalls, yet dismay always lingered.

The drive is quiet. The only sounds are coming from his old car, so worn out that the bumper is hanging on by duct tape. You regularly questioned Jungkook how the tape is so strong, and oddly enough, figuratively you realize that no matter how fucked up things are, you are the tape to Jungkook, who is holding onto his bumper of dreams. This situation wasn’t any different.

“Jungkook, I’m sure you’ll hear something. But even if you don’t, that doesn’t mean your journey ends there. And... you’re not alone. I’ll be with you even surpassing the end.”

It takes a moment for your response to sink in, but the edges of his mouth twist into a soft smile, your comforting words warming his heart. He feels as though he’s on top of the world when he’s with you, and it’s a reminder that nothing is out of reach if it means that you’re by his side.

Weeks later, Jungkook spends less and less time with you as time progresses on.

You’re trying to be understanding— again, emphasis on the trying, because he’s leaving classes and briskly moving straight to practices. He had made it through consolations with ease, but moving up to finals meant that the biggest competitors would be there however his colossal adversary is himself. Nonetheless, you miss your best friend, and it hadn’t been long after you’d been dating that he’s back immersed with his passions, long forgetting you. Or so, you mention dramatically.

“Why do you look so... sad?” Yura says, almost hinting disgust in her words. The two of you were out, looking for something to eat yet again, with Yura’s never ending black hole of a stomach.

“Because I haven’t hung out with Jungkook in forever.”

“You just saw him yesterday. Is this what puppy love is?” You roll your eyes at your friend, pushing her to a food stall on a street when the aromatic scents coming from the vendor invitingly enhances your senses. “No, I barely actually hung out with him. I came to his practice then he drove me home.”

Grabbing a couple sticks of fish cakes, Yura shamelessly shoves one in her mouth in one go. “What about today? I’m surprised you’re even hanging out with me despite the fact he has practice.” You frown, knowing that the guilt would eat you alive later, but you told your significant other you were ditching the one session since you’d been going back-to-back every single day. It had become a bit exhausting trying to keep up with his antics. “I... was going to go, but I’m tired. I’ve been going everyday for the past three weeks, I need a break.”

“A break from Jungkook?”

“No, not a break from Jungkook, a break from going to his practices.”

“Hmm,” She hums, cheeks full of rice cakes as you lean over and steal a stick of fish cake from her. “Well, you look hella sad. Why don’t you just tell him that you want to spend one on one time with him without the smell of chlorine in the air?”

“It’s so hard to talk to him.”

“No, you’re just being a weak ass bitch,” Yura snaps, your eyebrows raising at her choice in words. “You can tell Jungkook these things when you guys weren’t dating, why is it so different now? Because you actually care about what he thinks of you? Stop being so stupid, he loved you back then and he still loves you now.”

“OK, but won’t he think I’m too needy?” Immediately, it’s Yura’s turn to roll her eyes, groaning at your response. “Stop being one of those people! You want something, go get it. Beating around the bush doesn’t get you anywhere, yaknow.”

Yura makes a point. She always does, but like usual, you don’t let her know that.

“Did I tell you that Taehyung confessed to me?”

She coughs— nearly choking on the rice cake that she stuffs into her mouth momentarily before you mention the confession. “What the fuck— what? Kim Taehyung? The prodigy that graduated before any of us then got that wicked ass scholarship to study abroad and swim?”

“The one and only.” You remarked, taking a bite out of your food. “I rejected him, obviously. I told Jungkook about it since then, and we talked. Everything was fine, and still is fine, but I guess with the paucity of attention, it’s starting to eat me up inside and believe that it’s why he’s been ignoring me.”

“I mean, I doubt it. You rejected Taehyung. What else did the guy say?”

Fingers fiddling with the stick, you’re waving it in front of Yura’s face playfully as her eyes follow the goodness. “He just wanted me to know. I think it didn’t sit well with him if he didn’t at least try.”

“Do you think it bothers Jungkook knowing that if he didn’t confess, you’d be in the arms of the great Kim Taehyung?”

“Possibly. But he’s been so focused on swimming lately, I don’t think he even notices.”

That’s when the feeling drowns into your stomach— you know it’s not the food because it only happens when Yura mentions the words that bring your mind into overdrive. You’re overthinking now, there’s no way around it, and although you want to confront Jungkook about his new actions, you know he’d be the old him again soon after.

Your hands are equally muculent as if you’d just dipped your hands in the pool water with how much sweat you’re perspiring.

The chlorine in the air is an all too familiar feeling that you resent but yet again, you’d find yourself here frequently that the smell doesn’t quite grind your gears anymore. You’ve gotten used to it since you and Jungkook had become a thing, your love for him is a lot more indisputable and something you want to display.

He’d been giving you less attention lately, but he never fails to drop a quick peck on your lips before starting his practices. Today was different though.

Today was the finals.

You showed up in his locker room with an apple in hand and a cute little post-it note for support and motivation, and he gifts you his signature before-practice kisses, despite today being a swim meet. He’s distressed and fidgety; you’re pretty much the same. His team pats him on the back, pushing him with an inspirational chant which he lets out a laugh to—a laugh that is so nostalgic it reminds you of a time before the release date for the finals.

Sitting in the bleachers feels weird today. It’s not the bleachers at your school, for one, and two, there were just so many people in the crowd, you think Jungkook won’t be able to find you.

“Hey, if you sit here, Jungkook will be able to see you.” His name perks up your ears, turning to the owner of the assumption when you meet your eyes with Taehyung.

He looks... unfamiliar in this lighting. More mature, if you had to describe him in a word.

“Sure, I guess I could join you,” You respond, exchanging a smile with him as you settle yourself on the bleachers. The humidity in the arena was disgusting and you could almost feel your hair going insane with the frizz. But that was the least of your worries. “I’m kind of scared for Jungkook, even though I know he’s going to do fine.”

“Of course he’s going to do fine, he’s going to do better than fine. He’s Jeon Jungkook. Plus, he has us, his personal cheerleaders on the sideline for him and the rest of his team backing him up. He has all the support he needs, and he’s full of talent so he doesn’t even need luck on his side.”

You want to believe him because everything he says is true. But the word luck doesn’t sit well with you.

The introduction starts, informing the audiences what the relays would be, and a couple of the matches begin. Your brain can’t even fixate itself to watch the other players on Jungkook’s team because of how restless you are about Jungkook’s portion, but from what you hear beside you, Taehyung says that they’re all doing well.

Then it’s Jungkook’s turn.

He’s standing on the platform, dressed in his swim tights and cap, goggles in hand. Shaking to warm and loosen up his body, he looks like he’s shivering in fear. You don’t think he even takes a glance up at the crowd to find you and a bit of disappointment settles in.

Back crouched over, he’s taking in a couple breathes before preparing himself for the initial push. It’s like any other swim meet, is what he repeats in his mind but he knows that this isn’t just any swim meet. He knows that amongst the people in the crowd are recruiters, people who could determine the fate of his future, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at the sidelines. Too many emotions would sit in him and he possibly won’t even be able to swim if he did.

The whistle blows.

Jungkook dives off the platform, swimming away in freestyle mode. He’s admirable when he’s swimming, like he has all the freedom in the world without any burden on his shoulders. The words he mentions previously about his aspirations ring in your ears again. When I’m in the water, I’m floating. Floating without a care in the world, without anything pushing down on my shoulders. All I can think about is how I’m just surrounded by the water, how it sounds in my ears and how it feels on my fingertips.

Seeing him in his true happy place made you a bit envious. Envious that you didn’t find anything in close resemblance to how swimming made Jungkook feel, how you couldn’t even commit yourself to hobbies. What he said in the car weeks ago is a reminder that it’s okay for you to feel this way, that no matter what happens to you, Jungkook would always be there. There was some comfort in that.

He’s doing well, from what you can tell. He’s not overexerting himself in the water, and he’s switching between different types of strokes in order to ease the pressure off himself and quicken his speed. He’s neck and neck with his opponent, and you think nothing of it because it’s the exact scenario as some of his swim meets.

But then— you’re unsure what happens. It’s a moment of hesitation, possibly, but his opponent does one last push and he makes it.

Jungkook won second place.

It’s hard to tell exactly how he’s feeling. His eyes that once were bursting with excitement and happiness were filled with despair and anger yet his voice is calm and soft when he speaks to his teammates.

He doesn’t even look directly at you and you feel a certain way, but you don’t let that feeling eat you up inside knowing he’s upset with his performance.

The car ride is utterly quiet. So quiet that you don’t even hear the engine of the car sputter or roar during the drive, almost like even the car could feel the tension in the air.

“Jeon, you okay?” You barely say, voice as quiet as a mouse squeaking. He’s like a ticking time bomb at this point, and there’s uncertainty on what can detonate his anger.

He doesn’t respond for a couple minutes for exasperating a long and heavy sigh. “You already know the answer to your question. What’s the point of even asking? It’s a waste of breath.”

“Hey, you won second though. That should take account for something. You did well, I’m sure you’ll be okay.”

“Are you definitely sure?” He snaps. His tone is harsh and the volume is increased a bit but you brush it off thinking it was an impulsive decision on his end to respond that way.

“Of course I am.”

“Listen, don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t have dreams that just got ruined. Your goals don’t even exist for that— this swim meet was my chance to show those recruiters what I’m capable of. These were the fucking finals! I could be living the way Taehyung is, training for my life, given a coach that actually has the ability to show me tricks and tips that ours couldn’t.”

This... wasn’t the Jungkook you’ve come to know and admire. His aspirations were eating him alive, and for a brief moment, he’d abandoned the love he had for swimming, and just swimming alone, the only thoughts flooding his mind was winning finals. Swim meets weren’t even his favorite thing, he’d only did them because they were stepping stones to continue swimming and to do it as a career.

You push the tears back from brimming in your eyes, arms slipping into your jacket in preparation to get out the car. “Yeah, no, you’re right. I’m just some lost chick who stood in the bleachers, so dumbfounded and blinded by your love and affection. I won’t understand because I never will, I don’t have those passions or goals like you do.”

“Wait—“ Glancing over at you and before he can finish and say your name, you sling your backpack over your shoulder. “Stop the car. I can walk home or grab an Uber.”

“I was just mad in the moment—“

“You said what you said, and you meant it. I’ve been trying to be patient, but I’ve had enough. Stop the car, Jungkook.”

Abiding by your instruction, he pulls over to the shoulder of the road, turning to look at your expression. His face didn’t shone in antagonism anymore but that same fear he had before he went in for his swim meet earlier.

“Where are you going?” He says, voice wary. “Don’t go.”

“Home,” You respond abruptly and sharply, unlocking the seatbelt that embraces you before opening the door. “I can walk myself home. Don’t follow or wait up for me.”

He doesn’t comply with those orders though. Instead, as you’re walking on the sides of the street, he trails behind you silently, understandingly giving you your space despite the fact he didn’t want to. All he wants is to pull you into his arms and apologize. Apologize for letting his anger get to him, saying things to you that he didn’t mean.

Cars are beeping behind him, cursing and sticking their middle fingers up at Jungkook as they go around him, but he could care less. His day has gone so far down— potentially losing the love of his life and the route of his career.

Finally reaching to the front of your houses, he watches as you enter in as he makes his way into his own. Once he reaches his room, he quickly attempts to get your attention from his window. Jungkook figured, even when you’re mad, you couldn’t resist seeing his cute face from across the little space between your houses.

Excited with a smile on his face, he peeks through the glass, only to see that you’d already closed the window and dropped the blinds. His smile dissipates within seconds.

Jungkook concludes he’d let you calm down for the night and try again tomorrow.

The sun peers through his blinds, and shone on his face as he grunts in displeasure. His body is sore from the amount of practices and the swim meet from the day before, but nothing in comparison to the thought of hurting you.

His phone rings and almost immediately, he jumps out of his bed, still in his boxer briefs and without hesitation, he exclaims a “hi!” without checking the caller ID. Once he realizes that the voice on the other line doesn’t belong to you, his enthusiasm sizzles out.

“Jeon Jungkook?”

“Ah, yes. That’s me. Can I ask who’s calling?”

“I’m one of the recruiters that came to your swim meet yesterday. I’m so sorry for not getting to meet you afterwards, I’ve been so swamped in my personal life, I didn’t get the chance. Do you have a moment to speak?”

#jungkook #gyukultfics #jungkook fics #jeon jungkook #bts #bts fanfic #bts fics #jungkook x reader #jungkookxreader #jungkook and reader #reader #jungkookxyou #jungkook x you #bts smut #jungkook smile #wassup yall

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quartermera · 3 years

Text

Exchange of Good Practices

Hello there Moppo-chan ;) Thank you a lot for your kind request ^^ I hope you will enjoy what I came up with despite the long wait I put you through! Have a nice day/night!

A/N: I remember being so disturbed the first time I watched this movie but looking back I really love the different animation style though eh that might also be influenced by me falling in love with Mamoru Hosoda’s work xD

Ship: Vinsmoke Sanji x Reader (Gender & race neutral) Genre: fluff Warnings: none Word count: 1.500

You felt your mouth water as soon as you entered the room. The table was as per usual filled with delicious looking dishes. You hummed the air... delicious too. All the different smells teased your senses and you couldn’t wait to serve yourself a plate full of Sanji’s cooking.

This is what happened whenever you wandered into the dining room of the Sunny. The blond cook always made sure to take care of the crew. It was his way of showing affection.

Everyone always got delicious dishes, sure... but when it came to you it was a whole other story. You were the one that Sanji had fallen for. Out of everyone on earth, you were the lucky one. You weren’t sure how it had happened. You had thought to yourself that you had never been so lucky before. It was probably the universe giving you back for all the bad things it had thrown at you before and that you had overcome, you liked to think.

Sanji loving you didn’t keep him from being a flirt. It was his nature. However, he always made sure to tell you that you were the only one for him and the main way he did that was by covering you in little treats. He would prepare special drinks and snacks only for you. And aside from tasting great, they also always looked amazing.

To summarize it, the blond man loved to cover you in little treats of all kinds aside from being a sweetheart at all times, especially to you.

Loving him back just as much, you wanted to do something for him. You already had in the past, multiple times. But today, you wanted to try something extra special. You wanted to cook something for him.

You decided to go with a fairly simple menu: fried rice and a chocolate-pear cake. Exceptionally, you had managed to chase Sanji out of the kitchen. Not like you actually had to push him out though, asking him with a cute pout had been enough.

You had started by baking the cake, thinking you could leave it in the oven while you would cook the rice. So that is what you did! The chocolate paste hadn’t been difficult to make, neither had it been to peal the pears. Pushing the whole thing in the oven or pulling it back out was easy obviously and about halfway through the fried rice, the timer you had set for the pastry had gone off. You pulled the pan off the stove and kneeled in front of the oven. It looked just right!

Not waiting any longer, you pulled the cake out with a towel and let it rest on the counter, hastily going back to the main dish.

After a few more minutes, the rice was done. The process had gone fairly smoothly in the end, aside from a constant fear of burning down the kitchen. You tasted it still... It obviously wasn’t as good as Sanji’s cooking but you doubted you would be able to do any better. You hoped he would like it nevertheless and served a plate for him.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, you called your boyfriend into the kitchen. His face lit up as soon as his eyes laid onto the table. There, the fried rice was waiting for him along with a small glass of red wine. Sanji smiled at you brightly and pulled you into a hug, thanking you in the process.

He sat down and you did the same, right by his side. You’d by lying if you said you weren’t nervous. Sanji seemed to pick up on it and gave you a reassuring smile before saying: “It smells amazing, Y/N!”

You felt your heartbeat pick up but thanked him for the compliment.

Sanji thanked you for the meal and dove right into it. You couldn’t do anything but wait expectantly as he swallowed the first spoonful.

“Hmmm...”

You noticed your boyfriend’s eyes were closed. Time seemed to have slowed down as you were waiting for his opinion.

That is when his eyes sprung back open.

“Y/N!” the sudden mention of your name startled you. “This is really good! You did great, my love!”

It was obvious how happy and excited Sanji was.

“We should cook together in the future!” he suggested excitedly.

You felt you cheeks get hot but agreed to it.

Sanji emptied his plate quickly, a smile never leaving his features and making sure to compliment your cooking between every few bites. It made you happy to see him like this and it warmed your heart to know you had been the cause. To you, Sanji only deserved the best and you couldn’t wait to cook for him again or to do it with him when you saw how it made the man feel.

Once his plate was empty, you stood up to pull it away, but not before he kissed you.

“There’s still dessert,” you pointed out.

“Ohhh!” declared Sanji excitedly. “Do you want any help, darling?”

“No, you stay right here,” you ordered with a small smile.

The blond cook lifted his hands in defense.

“Okay, then! I’m not leaving my seat!” He joked. “If you need my help, let me know though.”

You told him you’d keep it in mind but that you should be fine.

Walking into the kitchen, you discarded the empty plate in the sink. Afterwards, you picked out two clean ones. You placed the bigger one over the cake mold. Grabbing them both, you swiftly turned them the other way around, so the plate would now be underneath. You could feel the cake slowly slipping out of the mold. Carefully, you lifted it but your efforts were useless.

You hadn’t expected it in the slightest bit but there it was. The cake was into pieces. You didn’t know why it broke like this. There was no reason for it to be so frail, it had looked great and sturdy when you had taken it out of the oven!

Gulping, you started slicing a piece. The disaster just kept going. The slice barely kept together and you knew that any other piece of cake would end up just the same.

Against better judgement, you walked back to your boyfriend and quietly admitted there wouldn’t be any dessert.

“Why is that, my love?” he asked softly.

“It’s breaking apart,” you explained.

Sanji offered you a warm smile before standing up.

“Let me have a look at it!”

Before you could disagree, the blond cook had already entered the kitchen. You walked in after him to find him analyzing the slice you had left on the counter. His brows were furrowed.

“Did you leave it in the mold after taking it out of the oven?” he asked gently.

You nodded.

“Ah, that was your mistake,” he declared with a sympathetic smile. “You should almost always unmold a cake or pie as soon as possible, other way it becomes moist and sticky.”

You nodded understandingly and said you’ll remember for later.

“But,” Sanji continued, surprising you, “I think we should still eat it, don’t you?”

Hesitantly, you answered: “I mean, I don’t know if it will be any good?”

The blond man smiled at you: “Considering what I just ate, I’m sure this cake won’t be bad.”

As if to prove his point, he picked up a small fork from the drawer in front of him and dived right in. His eyes closed and a hum left his lips.

Reopening his eyes, Sanji turned to you.

“Have you tasted this, love?”

You nodded in negation.

“Come here,” he requested.

The cook asked you to open your mouth and fed you a spoonful of cake. You had to admit it wasn’t too bad, but then again, nothing comparable to Sanji’s cooking.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” he asked you excitedly.

His smile only grew wider as you nodded shyly.

“We should let the others try it as well!” he suggested. “Except the marimo, he doesn’t deserve to taste it,” the blond grumbled under his breath.

You called him out while laughing and he offered you a wholehearted smile.

“Thank you, Y/N,” said Sanji, more calm suddenly. A breathy laugh escaped him. “I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”

You walked the small distance that still separated you and hugged him. Sanji nuzzled his nose in your neck.

“I’m thankful to have you in my life,” you whispered.

A soft peck was placed on your neck and you could feel your boyfriend smile against your skin. The two of you stayed like this a while longer, eyes closed, enjoying the moment. It was calm, soft, loving.

You felt Sanji’s breath against your neck until he moved away the slightest bit.

“Now let’s make everyone taste the delicious cooking of my favourite person.”

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! <3

#one piece #one piece x reader #one piece scenario #one piece imagine #vinsmoke sanji #vinsmoke sanji x reader #vinsmoke sanji scenario #vinsmoke sanji imagine #sanji x reader #sanji scenario #sanji imagine #fluff #one piece fluff #vinsmoke sanji fluff #request #nille writes #gender neutral reader #race neutral reader

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rinadoesstuff · 3 years

Text

Secret Soldiers

Chapter Fourteen

Georgia, Camp Toccoa, 1942

The next morning, Maggie woke up with an unusual smile on her face. The night before had been different but a good different. Though she wasn’t planning on falling asleep with her shoulder resting on George Luz’s shoulder, she was glad she had. The moment had shown her that she could trust the men, they’d allowed her to sleep even though she had been vulnerable in that moment. Although she hadn’t expected them to do anything untoward, they hadn’t seemed like the type, the thought was always in the back of her mind when it came to all men.

Letting out a yawn, Maggie checked the time on her watch that was still sitting on her wrist and realised she still had almost an hour before breakfast that morning. The sun was slowly rising, some light peeking through her window into the small bunker she lived in. Deciding now would be a good time to grab her mail, Maggie quickly changed into her OD’s and made her way toward the mailroom.

As she had thought, Maggie didn’t pass anyone on the way over - most of the men would still be asleep, getting as much in as they possibly could. She didn’t know how long they had been up the night before but they had all been playing poker still when Maggie had woken up. Although she offered to walk back over alone, George had insisted he make sure she got back safe.

Wanting to build that bond up even more with the men, Maggie allowed him to walk her over. It had been a nice feeling, not any hostility between the two as they walked to her small ‘home’. She was hoping that the men would be kinder to her, let her join in with their laughs a little more.

Entering the mail room, she had a quick conversation with Rice before he went to grab her mail. She had two letters, one with the SOE seal imprinted on the back and one she recognised as Camilla’s handwriting. Bidding Rice goodbye, Maggie left the mailroom and tucked her letters into her pocket. She wasn’t usually one for a cigarette but Maggie took one from her pocket, stuck it between her lips and lit it.

The nicotine rush was one she needed, still feeling the tiredness from the night before. As she took a drag, she noticed a group of soldiers coming her way. Standing off to the side so she wasn’t in the way, Maggie tried to work out if she knew them. The faces weren’t familiar, they could have been from one of the companies she hadn’t had the chance to meet yet.

As some of the men went into the mailroom, one of them came over toward Maggie with a small smile on her face. “Bum a cigarette, Lieutenant?” Maggie gave the man a look, raising an eyebrow as she grabbed her pack and tossed it at him.

“Do I need to give you a light as well, private?” She wore a lazy smile as she took another drag, the soldier laughing gently as he leant against the wall beside Maggie. He grabbed his own lighter, showing it to Maggie with a grin before lighting his cigarette. There was a silence before Maggie spoke. “Which company are you with, Private?”

She turned her head gently to look at the man, significantly taller than she was. “Dog company, ma’am. You’re with Easy, right?” Maggie nodded, taking a final drag of her cigarette before dropping it into the ‘butts’ bin beside her.

“I best be off, have a good day,private.” The man gave a lazy salute, making Maggie smile gently. Even though the man had no idea who she was, he hadn’t seen her as just a woman. He had treated her as an officer and even a friend, giving Maggie the smile that she now wore as she headed back toward her bunker. She had a bit more time before breakfast, giving her the chance to read the letters that had been sent to her.

Settling down on her bed, Maggie opened the one from the SOE to begin with.

Agent Walters,

With intel received, we are pleased with the progress you have been making with the US airborne. We have received some more intelligence about the plan of attack for the US airborne however you do not have the clearance for us to tell you. All we can tell you is that there will be another operative in the future, when a move of base is pushed ahead. There is not a lot we can tell you except we wish you luck and hope the two of you will work together before joining this war alongside the US troops.

GodSpeed, Agent.

Agent Frost, SOE.

Dresden, November 1942

The snow from the previous day wrapped the city of Dresden in a beautiful white one could only describe as almost magically but the blonde woman had something different on her mind. Looking down at the watch on her wrist, Claire let out a yawn before hiding her bare hand again in the warmth of the pockets of her coat. “I definitely have to sleep more.”

“You have absolutely no reason to complain, Clara.” Despite his own obvious lack of sleep, Hans was quick to respond. Leaning against the brick wall, the man let out a groan as he closed his eyes. “I have no idea how I’m supposed to get through my classes without falling asleep.”

“Well,” Claire started as she pulled her blue scarf further up into her face. “Maybe you should take a break from going out so often at god forbidden hours.”

“Yeah, just wait until you see what we did. It was worth it.” With a proud smirk on his face Hans rubbed his hands together in an attempt to get some warmth. “You’ll like it.”

Just humming in response, Claire shifted her gaze up towards the window on the third floor of the building they stood in front of. She freshly falling snowflakes made her task of making out movements on the other side of the window quite a bit harder but nevertheless a quickly moving shadows caught her attention. “Does Ilse know? You know, what happened a few nights ago?”

“Yeah I stopped by last night and spoke with her about it. She thinks it’s pretty amazing but don’t worry, she swore not to tell anyone.”

Nodding, Claire turned back to Hans with an unsure smile on her lips. “Alright, uhm, thanks for still trusting me. It means a lot.”

“Considering that you kind of held a gun pointed at me, I took the best chance by avoiding making you mad.” They both knew that it wasn’t meant to be serious but Claire couldn’t help herself and as a response she smacked Hans against his shoulder. The man only chuckled as he playfully rubbed his arm. “Oh you know that I love you too much not to trust you.”

Hearing this, a big smile formed on Claire’s lips. It was by no means the first time that she heard this from him and usually she knew that it didn’t mean much but weirdly enough this time it felt like more. She was about to respond but a door falling into its lock behind them caught both of their attention.

“Sorry that I’m late. My alarm didn’t go off.” Ilse had a hint of pink on her cheeks as she hurriedly closed her jacket. After a quick exchange of glances the brunette woman pulled her bag a little closer to her body. “Did I interrupt anything?”

When no response came from neither Claire nor Hans, Ilse just nodded in a dismissive manner and interlocked her arm with Claire’s just like they always did. It felt so normal to them by now that just like usually they started walking and chatting away, leaving Hans to follow them looking almost like a lost puppy.

Due to their lateness today, Claire expected the promenade leading up to the university buildings to be rather empty but the closer they got, the more they had problems passing the groups of students.

Claire reached behind herself and grabbed Hans’ hand out of fear of losing him in the mass as Ilse also tightened her grip. Not being able to see enough, the blonde woman stood on her tiptoes. After her eyes scanned the walls of the entrance her gaze fixated on the formerly well visible swastika on the right side of the wooden entrance doors. Half of it was broken out of the stone and it has been over painted in a thick black while a certain word was written right next to it.

Letting out a gasp, Claire quickly got down on the heels of her shoes again. Looking at Ilse and her desperate tries to see past the crowd all while having a curious look on her face, Claire was quick to realise that Ilse had nothing to do with this.

The brunette gave up after a few more tries to see something and instead looked at Claire expectantly. “Vive la révolution?” After not receiving an answer Ilse turned to Hans who wore a proud smirk on his lips “Are we starting one?”

Hand just pulled the two women closer to him as he leaned down so only they could hear his voice. “What do you say, Veritas? Are we starting one?”

With a mischievous grin, Claire turned from Ilse to Hans. “We are starting one.”

With a sudden burst of pride flowing through her, Claire squeezed Hans’ hand as she turned back to the large letters painted on the wall.

Veritas

It was her name.

Now the Nazis know who they are up against.

• • • • • •

Taglist:

@wexhappyxfew @pierrespandas @trashgoddess600 @junojelli @kmorecoffee @vintagelavenderskies @order-of-river-phoenix @adamantiumdragonfly @happyveday @alrightnicelighter @easy-company-tradition @keoghans @ultralillylove @pxpeyewynn @pinkesfaultier @madstertb

#band of brothers #band of brothers oc #band of brothers fanfic #fanfiction #historical fanfiction #Alternate History #secret soldiers #claire #claire harding #maggie #maggie walters #hans müller #Ilse Berger #Easy Company

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lumaejin · 3 years

Text

ten | zehn | 十

Bad Luck. New company. New luck. You’re getting a new manager. Finally. Your experiences with your last were... let’s say anything but pleasant, so you’re excited to have a new one. Well... only to find that good luck really doesn’t seem to like you.

➳ pairing: manager!seokjin x singer!reader

➳ genre: idol au, sm au, a tiny bit of angst?

➳ warnings: minor swearing, will be handling mental illnesses and triggering events from now on

➳ word count: 1885

The car ride to the restaurant was like always, silent. Over the past two days, you had quickly realised that the only thing you two managed to have a normal conversation about was work. How the hell the two of you had managed to talk for hours non-stop on the plane was lost on you. Even though you had somehow silently come to the conclusion that you could spend time with him without throwing up, you still had no idea how to start conversations. You were officially friends, but it was plainly awkward (though of course, it was better than before). You wanted to be comfortable around him, but memories of the end kept coming up whenever you looked him in the eye. You wanted to let your barriers down, but your mind and brain were warning you to not get too close. It was like your body was fighting an inner battle. A part of you hoped for nothing more than to talk with him like you would have before, another part of you wanted you to stay as far away from him as humanly possible. Currently, the first part was winning… you hadn’t run back to Korea yet. That was something, right?

Staring out of the window at the beautiful cityscape, you tried to keep your mind off of the person sitting in front of you. It was mostly dark, but the yellowish street lights gave the buildings an elegant feel. Stars competed with each other, trying to shine brightly enough to be seen, accompanied by the sound of the low rumbles of the car.

It was so peaceful. No traffic jams, no continuous honking, no hurried people with briefcases trying to make it to work on time. London was sleeping, softly breathing almost like a small baby.

It was beautiful.

You wished that your inner thoughts could be just as placid, but honestly, it was just an empty wish. Wishes were nothing if you didn’t do anything about them and they would never come true if you didn’t work for them. And honestly, something inside you (probably the second party in your emotional battle) was preventing you from pursuing that wish.

“We’re here,” Minju said about 10 minutes later, making you turn to look at the back of Jin’s head. He was texting someone on his phone, probably one of his friends. When he heard the driver’s words, however, he immediately put the phone back into his pocket.

“I’ve already reserved,” he said, getting out of the car and opening the door for you like a true gentleman.

You took his hand as he helped you get out, trying to ignore the warmth of his hand and the tingling feeling which was left in its place. You sculptured your face into one of nonchalance, waiting for Minju to get out too.

“He wanted to go and eat with some of his friends in London and I let him have the rest of the night off. Someone else will be coming to pick us up,” Jin said, tugging your sleeve in the direction of the entrance. You heard the engine of the car rumble and waved to Minju one last time, before the car backed out of the driveway and disappeared.

“He deserves it,” you said, putting on your face mask. It was unlikely that you were going to be recognised, but ‘better safe than sorry’ right?

As both of you entered the restaurant, Jin exchanged a few words with the manager while you looked around silently. The whole place was dimly lit, the lights tinted slightly red. There were multiple wooden tables placed around the room, and a few families were still eating their dinner. Some of them were korean and asian, some english. The smell of the food filled your nose and it immediately reminded you of your hometown. You felt Jin tap your arm as the man bowed and smiled, leading the two of you to a table slightly separated from the others. Another precaution to make sure you were safe from prying eyes.

A waitress came by with your menus moments later and as you opened it, your mouth watered at the sight of the korean dishes. You didn’t think that western food was terrible, but whatever it was that you had ordered yesterday, it had been a nightmare. Stale. Tasteless. Ew.

“Never thought I’d be so happy to see rice again,” Jin said as both of you looked through the list.

“Me too. To think that mum used to have to force me to eat just a tiny bit more of it,” you said.

“I remember,” he said, “You used to complain about it all day.”

Immediately, his eyes widened in surprise, “Oh my god, sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It just came out of my mouth.”

“It’s okay,” you said, just as the waitress came to get your orders.

After she walked back to the kitchen, the two of you were left in silence again. You turned your head to examine the paintings, trying to look anywhere but at Jin. Weren’t you past this whole awkward silence thing? You had gotten used to awkward car rides, but sitting next to each other and being like this was something else. A lot worse.

“Look… I know you don’t want to talk about it,” Jin said, breaking the silence. Suddenly, you were wishing he hadn’t. Here comes the serious talk. “But if we’re gonna be around each other as much as we will be, I think it’s not enough to say that we’re just going to ignore the past.”

You had expected it, in all honesty, but had hoped for it to come at a later time or maybe in a place where you could escape. For a moment, you thought about going to the bathroom… that would easily show that you weren’t ready for this conversation. Just as you were about to stand up however, Namjoon’s voice coursed through your head. He was right, the two of you really needed to talk if you were going to work together. He was right…

“I hurt you and I want to apologise for that,” Jin said. He was fidgeting with his hands, something he had always done when he was nervous. Once upon a time, you had found it cute and taken them in yours to try and calm him. Now, you were the reason for his nervousness.

“I’m not gonna lie… at the time, I really did mean what I said to you and I’m sorry for ever thinking about you in the way that I did. I’m sorry for never coming to you earlier to apologise, and I’m sorry that I ever even looked at someone else while I had you. You didn’t deserve what I did to you… you’d always been so good to me and truly, I loved you a lot. The woman… the woman I compared you with was a bitch and I let her words get to my head. I had a hunch that she was playing me, but decided to ignore it and… I’m sorry that I destroyed what we had,” Jin said, his eyes filling with so much regret as he looked at his hands, “I’m sorry for believing her words. I don’t even know why I did it… but I did it. I’m sorry Yn. If I hadn’t been so dumb, maybe… maybe everything would still be okay.”

Was it weird that you were happy that it hadn’t worked out with the woman? Was that being sadistic? You innerly shook your head at the thought. Here he was, apologising, and that was the one thing you decided to focus on.

“Why didn’t you say anything to me after you realised?” You were holding your tears back, using your experience as an idol to sculpture your expression carefully. Your facade was threatening to crack, however, the edges of the mask unstable and frail. You didn’t want to talk about this, but you knew that you needed it. This talk was long overdue, your own fears had prevented you from doing the sensible thing for so long. It was time to listen to Namjoon’s advice.

“I felt… I felt that you’d be better off without me,” Jin answered, his voice dropping to a whisper, “Once I came back to myself, I thought about it for a while and realised how much I hurt you. I just thought that you deserved better than me. I… I was going to apologise and then leave, but when I texted you, you never replied and I- I thought you didn’t want to talk to me anymore, so I decided to at least let you have that. I didn’t know that you had lost your phone… if I’d know I…”

You had always sworn that you wouldn’t let a break up ruin you. It was just a ‘simple’ break up, right? A few days and your heart would be healed. That was what you had thought before getting your heart shattered by the one person you loved most in this world. A break up like that had absolutely destroyed you. No matter how many days you tried to get over him, you were never able to. For many weeks, you watched someone else live your life, a hollowed out version of the real you. You watched as everything fell apart right in front of you. Your debut...pushed back. Your normal life… spent drinking at random bars. Your friends… pushed away whenever they tried to help. If Taehyung hadn’t been so insistent, if Jungkook hadn’t been so kind, if Namjoon had given up on you… you didn’t know what you would have done. They had been your saviours from the catastrophe that was Jin. And they continued to be saviours.

You couldn’t keep the tears back any longer. The thoughts of the times after the end… they hurt as much as thinking about the end itself. It hurt to watch yourself losing to life. It hurt to watch your friends’ desperate attempts to help you. It hurt to see the tears staining your pillows every night. But most of all, it hurt to relive the emotions you had felt during that time.

Before you knew it, he was sitting beside you, putting an arm around you and pulling you into his arms. The scent of his cologne and after-shave filled you and you almost smiled at the fact that he smelled just like he had so many years ago. The warmth of his embrace calmed your racing heart, but the tears continued to fall, wetting the front of his shirt. You could feel how sorry and regretful he was through his hug, how tight he held you, how there was wetness dripping from his eyes too.

And then, something inside of you changed. The barrier which had kept you from him, the barrier telling you that he was an absolute monster and that he was going to hurt you again and again and again if you even got close, disappeared? He had hurt you sure, and maybe you were going to regret this later, but the thing that mattered to you at that moment, was that he had made a mistake. And mistakes are made to be learned from.

➳ Full Story

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imomomi · 4 years

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Extra:

Atsumu wasn’t sure what he was expecting when Y/N said she was bringing her friends. Hell, if he was being honest, he’d never even expected her and Suna to get along as well as they did. But, the two girls that arrived were vaguely familiar and leveled him with glares so deadly, he instantly worried that he’d rejected them at some point. Y/N was oblivious to the stare off, searching the ground for the spot with the most grass. Atsumu rolled his eyes and tossed her his blazer. She didn’t say thank you and he didn’t really care to hear it.

Her friends tossed their things onto the ground as Y/N made a blanket out of his blazer and sat down. Iwanuma and Ota greeted him, bitingly adding that they were cheerleaders and that they hoped that Inarizaki would make it farther along this year.

“It’s not like you’d have anything else to cheer for if we don’t,” he said and then winced. Y/N frowned and raised a brow. Her eyebrows were usually the best indication of what kind of doom would follow. Once and only once, when he’d spilled a whole bottle of Pocari Sweat on her after winning a game in middle school, had her brows gone so high that he feared for his life.

“I’m here because no one else could stand to be in your presence, so shut up,” Y/N said. He rolled his eyes and stuffed the last of his onigiri into his mouth. The rice was bland in his mouth.

“Oh, no worries! We know he’s just joking,” said Ota with a cheery grin on her face. “Besides we never cheer for Atsumu-senpai.”

Atsumu blinked, head lolling to the side. He shook his head and laughed lightly. Guess Y/N had found more friends. The thought rung hollowly in his chest. It’s not like he cared much or needed that kind of shit anyway. He had Osamu, his teammates—even though some of them hated him—and volleyball. His brow furrowed and he fell strangely quiet, not noticing the three girls exchanging glances.

“Eat,” said Y/N and shoved a melon-pan into his hands. “It’s creepy if you’re watching us.” Her bento was freakishly neat, something Ota took delight in photographing.

“It’s always creepy. He has a pervert’s face,” said Iwanuma.

“Osamu has this face,” he defended. Y/N laughed sharply and shook her head. A tiny grin played at the corners of her mouth; eyes wrinkled at the corners.

“He wears it better,” she said, “I wish one of you had kept the black hair. It was nicer.”

“I look good! Everyone thinks so.”

“Who is everyone? The fangirls only want you because they think you’re going to be rich,” Y/N paused, turning to him with sharp eyes, “They haven’t heard you speak yet.”

“That’s not fair,” he whined, “I’m the older twin. I’m better looking. Come on, admit it.”

“What does being older have to do with looks? Won’t you just die faster?” asked Ota.

“That’s not the point,” he cried. The girls laughed together, the sound neither mocking nor scornful, but warm. Atsumu risked a glance at Y/N surprised to see that she was smiling freely. Though she wore her mask less often than she had in middle school, her face always carried an eerie calm that made it impossible to determine what she was feeling. Maybe it was because he’d know her for so long and spent summer’s figuring out what each twitch meant, but there was something comforting in being able to read her face.

They settled into light conversation, talking about school and their classes. They touched briefly on entrance exams, attempting to skim past the conversation when Ota voiced her displeasure at being the younger of the group. Atsumu knew that Y/N had her heart set on Tokyo, but he’s surprised to learn that it was because of her cousins.

“Volleyball,” he answered when they turn to him.

“Any team?” Iwanuma asked.

“The Jackals.”

“Holy shit,” Ota exclaimed and immediately covered her mouth with her hands. “You’re like good good.”

“Duh, he got called up to Youth Japan,” hissed Iwanuma, “What did you think? He’s dramatic, but it’s not without anything to back it up.”

“Dramatic?” asked Atsumu. He leaned back and rested on his elbows, grass digging into his white button down. Y/N made a noise between a squeak and a hiccup as he did and lurched forward. He swatted her away, smiling at the scowl that instantly formed on her face.

“THE SERVE ROUTINE,” Ota shouted. She stood up instantly and backed away a few paces. He groaned as she took four steps forward and thrust a fist in the air.

“No, no,” said Y/N to his surprise. His eyes widened as she stood too. What alternate universe had he walked into? Y/N mimicked his actions perfectly, down to the way he walked, and when Iwanuma started laughing, she leveled a heavy glare at her that was all too familiar. Atsumu choked and laughed so hard, tears sprung to his yes.

“Oi, sit down,” he ordered, “You’re all a bunch of scrubs.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” asked Ota.

“Doesn’t matter. Just don’t try that on M-1, you’re awful,” he shook his head. Ota jumped on Y/N’s back, pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek that was immediately wiped off.

When they’re done eating, he helped them clean up their stuff, not because he wanted to, but it felt like something Kita might have done and he’s all about channeling his ex-captain these days. Y/N lingered in the hall, letting her friends run off before her. Iwanuma dragged away a shouting Ota, who screeched the names of some boybands down the hall until she was no longer in sight.

“Where’d you meet those two clowns?” he asked. His blazer is tucked her arm with a promise to be washed and returned.

“Haru went to middle school with us,” she rolled her eyes at the look of confusion that crossed his face, “I tutored Mirai when she was a freshman.”

“You know, you’re kinda cute around them. A total tsundere.”

“Oh, shut up,” she huffed, cheeks turning a light pink, “I don’t need your inane flirting-“

“So, you admit it’s flirting. That seems like a step in the right direction.”

“Atsumu.”

“Y/N,” he mocked. She sighed and ran a hand over her face, staring at him with deeply ingrained exhaustion.

“We have practice later?”

“You can skip if you want. I’m pretty sure they deserve a break from their demon manager.”

“Your sets to Riseki need work. You’re the same height, but you keep tossing too high. He’s not playing on a trampoline; he can’t jump the way you want him to. Also, I think Osam-”

“Stop using your brain for a second. It’s stressing me out,” he breathed in deeply, putting a hand on her shoulder to force her to do the same, “Put it on paper and give it to me later. I’ll look at it.”

“Can you even read? You got a 10 on your last Japanese Literature exam.”

“I swear to god,” said Atsumu and inhaled sharply, “I’m this close to kissing you.”

“You demented pervert! This is why I don’t speak to you,” she shoved him away in an instant. The scent of her peach shampoo filed the air as she turned on her heel and stomped away. It was way too easy to rile her up, but somehow the thrill he got from doing it hadn’t gone away. Instead, he found himself looking for new reactions: little blushes, the way she ignored certain texts for hours, but would respond to others right away, sometimes he’d push just the right button and she’d throw something at him, usually her books, but once she’d pulled off a shoe and tossed it with a enough force to have given him a concussion had he not caught it.

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#haikyuu x reader #atsumu x reader #haikyuu #atsumu miya #atsumu miya x reader #miya atsumu x you #miya atsumu #miya atsumu x reader #atsumu imagines #haikyuu social media au #social media au #haikyuu smau #smau #atsumu smau

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msiopao · 4 years

Text

The One Where They Go to Paris

pairing: jungkook x nobi

summary: nobi and jungkook spend their break in Paris

There was a moment of silence after Jin banged on their door to signal them for breakfast. Neither one wanted to get up as they were too tired from the late night gaming that they were willing to give up food in exchange for a few minutes of dreams.

However, they weren’t willing to exchange those dreams for Jin’s angry yells and they werent going to repeat the time that BTS barged into their room and carried them out to the dining room.

Not happening again.

“Kook. Jungkook,” she rasped from her bed and all she got in response was a sleepy hum.

“Hm?” He sounded and with no reply, he cuddled further into the body pillow and felt himself slip into sleep again.

Almost falling asleep herself, Nobi forced her hand to rub away the sleep and sat up, stretching out her body and cringing at the sound of her bones cracking back to place. A blip of a second made her question where she was and who she was until she saw a big lump on the bed at the other side of the room and the big picture of her and Jungkook on the wall.

Remembering Jin and breakfast, she rolled off the bed and stomped over to Jungkook’s bed and sat down on the edge. She dug around and peeled off the numerous blankets he managed to wrap around himself before she finally saw a mop of shaggy black hair. Tugging at the strands, he made a noise of protest and swatted her hand away with his hand.

“Jungkook-ah. Please wake up,” she sleepily begged. He groaned and she yanked off all the blankets.

Using all of her strength, she pulled him up by the arms and he sat up, slumping towards her. A noise of surprise escaped her as his heavy weight made her fall backwards and he wrapped his arms around her before snuggling into her shoulder.

“If we don’t wake up, Jin-hyung is going to kill us, you understand?” There was no noise from him. “Jeon Jungkook, are you listening to me?”

She pinched his side and he bolted up, grimacing at the pain and he rubbed his eyes making Nobi sigh in relief that he was finally waking up.

“Honestly, you’re like a child,” she whined from the bed.

“I thought I could sleep in since, yknow, we’re on a break,” he complained. She chuckled before getting on her feet and grabbing his hand to make him stand up. Her hands made its way to his face and she cooed at his puffy cheeks and caressed the soft skin.

“We’ll sleep in when we go to Paris, bub,” she reassured him and he leaned to her hands for the warmth it radiated.

“2 more days,” he chanted as if saying it over and over again would make time come faster.

“Come on, I’m starving.”

.....

Hoseok saw the 2 youngest make their way to the table and laughed at their appearance. Hair pointing in all sorts of directions and face all red and blushed from waking up.

“Yah, I told you to stop playing Overwatch so late at night,” he pointed out.

Jin got up to place some rice in bowls for them and passed it to Namjoon as he was closest to their seats. “Eat up, kids.”

Nobi settled down on her seat and yawned before tying up her pink lemonade hair. Opposite of her, Jungkook laid his head down until Yoongi shook him awake, eyes immediately drawn to the potato pancakes that Jin made at the wee hours of the morning.

The breakfast table was filled with silence as the two 95-liners that used to fill the silence were gone on a vacation. Opting to go international as well, Jimin and Taehyung traveled to Tokyo a week ago where they constantly sent the rest pictures of them in front of shrines and ramen shops.

“Yah, Kura, your suitcase should be coming in today.”

Yoongi’s announcement made her perk up in interest as she was quite nervous at the lack of a big suitcase to take to Paris. Upon hearing the damaged condition of her old one, Yoongi secretly bought her a new one, only indicating he did when he sent her a picture of his checkout receipt.

“Hyung, thanks!” She gratefully smiled and he returned a nod before pointing his chopsticks at her.

“This is the only time, alright? If you, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin do suitcase races again, you’re responsible for buying another one.”

Hearing his name being called out and associated with a past memory, Jungkook laughed out loud as he got flashbacks their drunken shenanigans.

“Come to think of it, I still haven’t gotten a 5-star meal that Taehyung lost to,” Jungkook remembered. Kura nodded and pointed to herself as well.

“Once we get back, I’m forcing him for that meal,” she promised. Knowing that Tae and Jimin returned 4 days after they leave, she’s marking it in her calendar to remind herself of that lost meal.

...

Unable to sleep by herself, Kura wandered over to Jungkook’s bed before pushing the covers off and sliding next to his form, throwing the covers back on her. He laid on his side and she turned to face his back, giggling at the too small white shirt that was stretched to its limit. The feeling of her arm draping over his body, Jungkook opened his eyes and rolled over to his back. Sleep still laced his eyes and he blinked slowly at the face of his roommate.

Knowing what to do due to the frequent visits she made, he laid out his right arm and curled it once Kura settled on his bicep as a pillow and wrapped her arm across his front. “Can’t sleep?” he rasped out, a sleepy grin making its way on his face as he felt her head shake no. “You need to sleep, bub.”

“I can’t sleep. I don’t know if I’m too excited or I’m just not tired,” she mumbled. “Sorry for waking you, Koo.”

“It’s okay, bub. You know I’m always here,” he reassured. “So what do you want to do?”

Kura shifted her head up so she was able to look at his face and snuggled closer to his warmth. “Where do you want to go once we arrive? Do you want to go shopping first? Or have a meal?”

Jungkook’s eyes met hers and he shrugged slightly, “We can do anything. We have 2 weeks to do it all so it doesn’t really matter what we do first.”

Her eyes turned to the window and focused on the quarter moon on the sky. “Let’s see. Our plane leaves at 10 and it’s about a 12-13 hour flight. There’s also a 7 hour time difference so unless I’m doing my math wrong, it would be around 4 in the afternoon there?”

Jungkook chuckled, amazed at her ability to do math. “I trust you, bub.”

“It would be too early to eat dinner so what do you say we just settle in the hotel room and look up places until we go to a restaurant somewhere?” She asked and looked at him for confirmation.

He nodded and closed his eyes. “Anything you want.”

She pouted at his response, “Kook, this is also your vacation!”

That made him open his eyes and stare at her, gaze fixated intently at her brown ones. “Asami Sakura, I go wherever you go, no questions asked. Tell me what you want to do and we’ll do it.”

“But Kook-”

“Sshh.... Let’s sleep, hm?”

.....

The moment they almost missed their plane should’ve made Nobi understand that this trip was off to a bad start. With the two running down the airport and hands on their hats to keep it from flying, they were there a minute before they closed the gates. There wasn’t even any moment to spare for them to throw on some decent clothes as they slept passed their alarms and Jin was the one who chased them out of the house to keep them from missing their flight.

“Have a wonderful flight,” the attendant smiled at her before scanning Jungkook’s passport next.

After repeating the same sentence, Jungkook followed Nobi’s small form and ran up to match with her pace. He slung an arm around her shoulder and even through her his sweatshirt, he could feel her heart beating wildly.

“See, Kura? We made it!” He cheered but she just sighed.

“Jungkook, we probably look like terrorists right now because we didn’t have time to dress properly. I mean, whose sweatpants are these even?!” She complained.

Just laughing at her outburst, they walked into the plane and settled into their seats, first class and all. Nobi sank into the seat and she sighed in relief after finding the bar that raised the leg so she could properly lay down. To her right, Jungkook did the same thing and he stretched out like a cat.

“God, I love first class,” he said before tapping the screen.

Noticing the lack of movement or noise from beside him, he turned to say something to Nobi until he saw her still form. With her bucket hat draped on her face, he was able to quickly tell that she fell asleep.

“I’ll wake you up when it’s time to eat,” he promised her even though he knew she couldn’t hear him in the first place.

...

Half-way through the flight, Kura jolted awake, confused as to why her seat was vibrating and why it was so noisy. She lifted the hat off of her face and suddenly remembered that she was on a plane to Paris with Jungkook. Speaking of, was sound asleep with his headphones still on and The Secret Life of Pets 2 playing on his screen.

“You probably just fell asleep, right?” She asked him but expected no response. Pausing the movie and slowly taking off his headphones, she pulled his blanket higher and he unconsciously snuggled into it more.

Nobi got out of her seat and reached to the overhead bin to grab her bag where spare clothes laid inside. Internally screaming how grateful she was to Seokjin, she smiled at the white bag that held her pants and shirt.

“I placed some spare clothes in that bag last night just in case of a scenario like this.”

“I’ll treat you to drinks and dinner, hyung,” she cheerfully whispered.

Whispering apologies to other people in the aisles, she finally reached the bathroom and locked it behind her. She opened the white bag and despite being grateful at his thoughtful gesture, Nobi couldn’t help but sigh at the choice of top.

Under the grey plaid pants, there laid the white turtlneck crop top that she was sure she trashed away a long time ago. But suddenly it re-appeared and she had no choice but to wear that or the sweatshirt. She mustered up her courage and threw away the fear and took off her current clothes in exchange for the new ones.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Nobi cocked her head to the side. The pants made her butt look big and her thighs thicker than they were. Also, the turtleneck made her head look bigger and chunkier than it usually is.

“Don’t worry too much, unnie. You’re pretty enough.”

She blinked in surprise at the sudden memory of one fan who said that to her in a fan sign some years ago. Of all things, that seemed to stand out for her since it was a time she despised herself and an encouragement from a stranger meant everything to her.

It took everything in her not to change back to her jungkook’s sweatshirt and her probably yoongi’s sweatpants and smile at herself.

One step at a time, Sakura. This can be counted as one.

...

Watching the Parisian architecture pass them by, Kura turned to see Jungkook taking pictures and taking videos for his GCF. Looking back out the window, she saw the silhouette of the most famous Parisian landmark and she excitedly tugged her friend’s sleeve.

“Look! Kook, look!” She squealed and pointed at the Eiffel Tower.

He scooted closer and snapped several shots at the tall structure before looking over to Nobi to say something only for the words to falter in his throat. The wild bun that had strands escaping it and the bright eyes that flitted everywhere was more beautiful to him than any structure or building in the world. Jungkook couldn’t help himself but take more pictures of her than the city itself.

“Kook, look! A poodle!” Nobi hurriedly pointed at the puffy dog on the sidewalk, snapping him out of his trance.

“H-Huh?” He stuttered out causing Nobi to giggle at his confused expression.

“A poodle, Jungkook! Poodle!” She repeated again.

“Right. Poodle.”

....

Not knowing exactly how much to give the driver, Nobi just gave him a bill while Jungkook went to the trunk to grab their luggage. The hotel bellboys saw the upcoming tourists and went towards them with a cart to place all the heavy suitcases in.

“Merci,” Nobi thanked the young lad who placed her luggage for her. He nodded and slightly blushed at the bright smile he was given but shrunk away at the feeling of a heavy glare from someone else.

Once they were finished, Jungkook dismissed the staff, opting to push it himself while Nobi went to the counter to check in. Even with her limited English, she was able to get their room key and even the times for breakfast.

“Kura, do you want to just get room service tonight and get drunk?” The question startled her and she looked at him after pushing their floor button.

“Yah, Jeon Jungkook, have you gone dog mad?” She questioned, eyes fixed on him.

“We’re free to do whatever we want and you said we would do what we wanted and I want to get drunk tonight,” he reasoned.

Sighing, she couldn’t help but agree. “All right. Even though that was such a random request, I guess we can do that.” He cheered but was cut short when she pinched his side. “But if you do something you regret, I’m not taking responsibility for you. Like that drunk vLive you made last time.”

this is a long one, bois

here’s a reference to nobi’s outfit:

#i want my friends to go on a vacay with me #paris sounds really nice right now #this will be a series I guess #bts imagines #8th member of bts #bts 8th member #bts au #bts scenarios #bts female scenarios #bts female imagines #bts female member #bts female addition #kpop oc #bts girl member #female!oc #bts imagine #bts scenario #bts fanfic #bts aus

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scalpel-mom-mori · 4 years

Text

Doctor Death

After the death of her mother, Akiko leaves the small town she grew up in. There was nothing to tie her down anymore. Soon, she receives an intriguing offer

Or, an Au where Kouyou is Akiko’s mom, and Akiko becomes a wandering doctor.

Setting is like if feudal Japan was a xianxia novel. Free oneshot for whoever guesses why I wrote this.

Crossposted here to AO3

Trigger warnings: Heavy gore, death, Rintarou is creepy, slight religious themes

The world very may well have ended the day Akiko had to bury her mother. Sure, they’d had their differences, but, standing in front of a tiny mausoleum that would only ever house Kouyou, Akiko realized that it was more because they saw themselves in each other that they fought. They fought out of love and concern for one another.

She found herself almost angry as she carried the urn. She had nearly punched the priest, but restrained herself out of respect for her mother. There was no family besides her. She had been the one to pick her mother’s bones out of a pile of ash, she had been the one to carry the urn. She would be the only one that burnt incense at a tiny shrine.

She wasn’t sure who she was angry at. Not the priest. He hadn’t done anything really. Nothing improper anyway. Maybe a stray comment that that made Akiko snap a little harder than she needed to. Mostly, Akiko realized, she was angry at herself. And maybe her mother, a little bit. Angry with Kouyou only because she had managed to succumb to the only illness Akiko couldn’t treat. Angry because she had died and left Akiko alone in the world, the only one who would care enough to find the body.

For the first time in a long time, Akiko found herself angry at the father she never had. Someone had fathered her, in accordance with the laws of nature, but he hadn’t stuck around long enough to help Akiko say goodbye to perhaps the only person that ever cared about her for more than her job.

The number of times Akiko had ever really thought of her father could be counted on her fingers. Once, in medical school, when they’d asked. Akiko had responded with “With a mother like mine, I don’t need a man to raise me.” That had been what she’d believed. She still believed it, Akiko thought, as she placed her mother’s urn. But it would have been nice to have more than a priest pat her on the shoulder and give his formal condolences.

She didn’t realize what she was doing until she was almost finished. The house was a good one, but not one Akiko ever felt at home in after Kouyou had died. With a bitter laugh, she thought home is where the heart is, isn’t it? Her mother was gone. Her home, then was gone as well.

It didn’t matter anyway. She had, without realizing, been accumulating travel equipment in preparation for a trip she hadn’t planned on taking.

But, there was no reason for her to stay. There wasn’t a place Akiko had ever heard of where a doctor was unwelcome, anyway. This town could get along just fine without her.

Akiko managed to sell off all the possessions she wouldn’t be taking with her. The women in town were enthralled to finally get their hands on one of Kouyou’s gorgeous kimono. They had only ever been able to see them, and whisper their envy over the wash.

It never mattered to Akiko or Kouyou. They had known full well that they were tolerated, rather than welcome. They were strange women, far too strong-willed the townsfolk would say, for any man to have either of them. It’s a wonder there’s a daughter at all.

Akiko kept only one. She supposed she would rather wear one of her mother’s kimono than buy one when she needed one. Kouyou had always been beautiful, in Akiko’s eyes. Confident. Akiko had made it her duty as a daughter to make sure that her mother’s tastes could always be met. Most of the reason Akiko became a doctor in the first place. There was no one in the world Akiko cared for more than her mother.

There was, it would turn out, no one else in the world that cared for Kouyou.

Akiko finally sold the house for a nice price and left for Tama with her medical supplies, the necessities, a photo of her mother, a kimono, and her mother’s sword.

Akiko only said one tearful farewell in her whole life.

“The child will live,” Akiko said to the sobbing mother. “Let him rest and discourage any more of this behavior. However, I doubt he will be a great warrior. The leg may never heal properly. Part of your mistake was waiting so long. Some of the cuts are infected. That dog was probably ill.”

Akiko ignored the screams over money. She only did this for money. “I charge a reasonable price,” Akiko said coldly, measuring herbs into her mortar. “I wish you luck finding another doctor for what I’m charging you.”

When she’s done preparing the medicinal paste, she pours it into a bowl and begins packing. “Feed him rice and tea until he can feed himself. Apply the paste over the infected cuts before changing his bandages every night. Consider yourself lucky.” With that, she pockets her payment and leaves.

Perhaps she is a prickly doctor. It doesn’t much matter.

In exchange for passage to Renge, she treated members of a caravan.

The forest is beautiful, even at night. A river runs crystalline just outside the firelight-bathed circle of safety. Akiko takes the opportunity to bathe.

The water is cold, and runs faster than she expects, but not fast enough to put her in any real danger.

There’s hardly a splash when she jumps in, abandoning her clothes in a sloppy pile.

The cold water runs down her face when she breaks the surface again. With a toss of her head, she flicks her wet hair out of her face. She blinks. The woman sitting on the rock was most certainly not there a second ago.

She is beautiful. Not as beautiful, in Akiko’s opinion, as Kouyou had been, but it seemed to Akiko that gods tended to imitate the sort of look that mortals found beautiful. Indeed, the woman- the goddess, Akiko realized after a moment- seemed to be attempting to imitate Kouyou’s stern elegance.

“You can see me,” the goddess said, almost a question.

“So I can,” Akiko replied, sinking back into the water.

“You’ve lost someone.” This was not a question.

“Every human will lose someone,” Akiko said. “I just happened to lose the only one.”

“Not a lover.”

Akiko stamps down the urge to snort in derision. “Of course not.” No, Akiko had grown up with a woman who had been married and decided she didn’t like it. No lover would do what Kouyou’s death did to her.

The goddess peered at Akiko, almost curious. “How would a doctor like to follow the path of Izanami-no-Mikoto?”

Akiko frowned. Intriguing. “What are you suggesting?” she asked.

“My patronage. You’re a good doctor. Perhaps a great doctor. But that young man? He won’t make it without my help. No human can cure him alone.”

“What do I do in return?”

Izanami considered that. “I come above your Hippocratic Oath.”

“Naturally.”

“You will need to dissect someone. I will show you magical anatomy. I recommend at least four of each species I indicate. If sex changes the anatomy significantly, two of each.”

Akiko narrowed her eyes. “The Hippocratic Oath was taken so I could support my mother. Don’t act like I care about it, when you know I don’t.”

Izanami seemed surprised at this, before a sneer crossed her face. In that moment, Akiko decided that even if Izanami-no-Mikoto wore her mother’s body, she would never be as beautiful. “Then I trust you won’t care if you wind up in the business of assassination?”

“Did you have someone in mind?” Akiko countered. “Honestly, I expected to wind up there. Everyone trusts a doctor.”

Izanami seems satisfied at this response. “No one yet. Do as you please. I was only making sure I wasn’t dealing with a doctor that was afraid of death.”

At this, Akiko really does snort. “Only those with something to live for fear death. No doctor should be. They should, in accordance with their Hippocratic Oath, do everything within their power to save a patient, but we of all people know that we cannot save everyone.”

Izanami smiles, less coldly than before, and holds out a hand. A butterfly with opalescent wings lands in her palm. Its wings slow, changing color, before stopping. Izanami steps down off her rock and approaches Akiko over the surface of the river, holding the dead butterfly whose wings had turned to gold. Upon closer inspection, the body had turned into what appears to the bones in a human finger threaded with gold. “Keep this with you.”

The members of the caravan are slightly disgusted by the grotesque thing, but they give her a simple hairpin to attach it to. They avert their eyes when she starts wearing it in her hair. Still, they can’t complain too loudly. For treatments that would have cost them a fortune, she had only demanded safe passage to Renge.

Akiko’s coast side rooms were much finer than she usually preferred. But, she had long since fallen into a frugal lifestyle, and decided she could splurge a bit for the second anniversary of her mother’s death. She had hung up the kimono for a few nights to ease the folds. Today, she put it on and set her mother’s photo on the little table in the corner. After burning incense, she went out to the market to buy offerings.

The marketplace was quieter than she expected. She received a few odd looks on account of her attire, but she ignored them and gathered her purchases in a small basket.

On her way back to her room, she brushed a little too close to a middle-aged man with red hair. Red like her mother’s.

They both apologized at the same time, though there was something distinctly insincere about him, despite his kind face. The eyes, Akiko realized as he inspected her, almost as if sizing her up.

“You look like she did when she was your age,” is all he said, before bowing and vanishing into the crowd.

Akiko turned and left, refusing to let the encounter shake her. There was only one person in the world that she would think to compare herself to, but Akiko preferred to leave being beautiful to her mother.

Besides, there was no way that he could know she was Kouyou’s daughter anyway. Akiko had never really considered whether or not she resembled her mother

The next day she had a patient. A young man had been ill with a mysterious disease. Akiko prescribed him a medication and told him to find her again within the week if there was no improvement. It had been just like this when she had found Kouyou.

A small child with a broken arm. She had carried the child home and set the arm. It had been hardly more than a fracture, but the child had to be held down by the father and the mother and a maid before Akiko could work.

The house had felt wrong when Akiko had returned. The scent of matcha lingered in the air as it always did, but there was a horrible emptiness that Akiko hadn’t been able to place her finger on. “I’m home!” she had called, removing her shoes. Kouyou had not responded. Despite the fact that Akiko tended to be rather levelheaded, and that she rarely made excuses or rationalized, she told herself Kouyou was probably asleep. Mother has been napping a lot recently.

Each step felt heavier and heavier, and Akiko knew, even before she opened the door to her mother’s bedroom. Still, she entered quietly and knelt beside Kouyou, brushed her flaming red hair off her cool forehead. “Oka-san, I’m home.”

Even though she knew, she touched her mother’s neck, searching for a pulse she knew wasn’t there. “I’m home.”

The hollow silence, cold stillness under her fingers broke something in her soul. She had felt it a hundred times over at school, but all that death would never prepare her for the day she knew would come.

Akiko doubled over, as if she’d been punched, willing herself not to cry.

The young man wouldn’t need to speak with her unless he lost a fight.

Akiko and the man from the day before brushed past one another again on her way home. “Excuse me,” he called, and she turned. “I don’t think I caught your name yesterday?”

Akiko frowned. “Ozaki. Ozaki Akiko. Yours?” She asked more out of formality than anything.

The man shut his eyes with a smile, as if covering up a painful thought. “Of course. I would have expected nothing less from her.” He let out a short laugh. “She raised you well. My name is Rintarou.” He gave no other means of identifying him, though, in hindsight, Akiko probably shouldn’t have given him her own name like she did.

It didn’t much matter anyway. She never saw him again. She left the coast side town at the end of the week. Her patient had no need to come find her.

Izanami appeared in Akiko’s makeshift laboratory. “Does this please my lady?” Akiko jabbed as she turned the corpse on the table on its face.

Izanami only smiled. “You’ve got blood on your face.”

Akiko frowned. “I have blood on everything,” she snapped back. “What?”

Izanami looked taken aback at Akiko’s attitude. “Just thought I’d check in.”

“Why? You handed me a dead butterfly two years ago then disappeared.”

Izanami shrugged. “So I did. I’m really just using you for research.”

Akiko scowled, flipping the body back over so she could begin cutting it open. “You should have just said that. I would have been less suspicious.”

“Less suspicious?”

“I trust higher beings more when they’re not pretending they care about us humans,” Akiko explained, cutting the usual three-cut opening in the front of the torso.

Akiko tore out the sternum, an unusually effective bit of armor in this particular creature, with her bare hands and the unpleasant sound of cracking bones and tearing cartilage. Most of the blood sat in buckets off to the side of the room. Still, her hands came away bloodier than she would have liked.

Pair by pair, she forced the ribcage open, to allow her more room to remove the heart and lungs and diaphragm.

Izanami watched silently. Akiko wondered momentarily if she was amused or disturbed. She shook off that thought and continued with her dissection.

With a scowl, she turned over the heart in her hands. The only difference the coloring. Slightly more blue than a human’s. Bloodier, too. But it was difficult to dissect anything besides humans in a formal institution, and it would raise too many question. ns if she brought her own specimen.

Conclusion: better reinforced than the average human. Slightly taller. Stronger bones, adapted to be slightly better with protecting the organs. Otherwise roughly the same.

Akiko picked up the corpse and carried it to pyre outside. The buckets of dissected organs went next the stomach acid had already eaten away at the underbrush in a nice, wide circle. Akiko lit the corpse

Izanami seemed amused as Akiko stripped off her bloody clothes and slid into the water.

“You’ve made quite the reputation for yourself.”

Akiko glared at her over the surface of the water. “Thanks to you,” she bit sarcastically. “Why are you here?”

Izanami shrugged. “Only to suggest sticking around for next week’s cultural festival.”

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