#i would start off by putting takeda on there

[trixibebe]

Gonna start using this as a new meme template

[haikyu-mp4]

heyy!!! Congratulations on the milestone! You deserve this and so much more! Each and every one of your fics is just so cute and sweet😁😁

Applying with Kageyama, I'm organised and driven.

hii! thank you so much, that warms my heart!! and thank you for the great application, you're hired<3

Vanilla latte

Kageyama is a customer and buys something just to talk to you, for the now hiring! event

word count; 742 – gn!reader

Kageyama would never understand how Hinata got so into coffee when he already seemed to have more energy than anyone else just by being himself, but here they were, hitting up a new coffee shop because his shorter friend wanted to bring a coffee to training with the Olympic team.

“Just because Iwa says it’s bad doesn’t mean it kills you,” Hinata insisted like he was at Takeda’s level of making everything sound like great wisdom.

“Dumbass!” he responded, as usual. “You know I don’t like coffee.” And just like that, the conversation ended and they got in line, Tobio standing halfway behind, halfway beside Hinata since he wouldn’t be getting anything. They had this conversation almost every morning this week, and Kageyama was sick of it. Why would he keep trying coffee for energy when he knew the bad effects of it and didn’t even like the taste?

While they waited in line, he and Hinata kept bickering under their breaths, or Hinata would look at the menu boards while Kageyama looked at the display of cakes and bakery. That did look good, he should have some for his next cheat day. Wasn’t Tsukishima’s birthday coming up? Bet he’d have some strawberry shortcake.

And no matter how many thoughts he distracted himself with, they were all whisked away when Hinata got to the register and Tobio heard the softest voice asking what he wanted. So he looked up to discover possibly the prettiest person he had ever seen.

“Can you recommend a coffee without anything chocolate-y?” Hinata asked cheerily, making you hum in thought for a moment before nodding.

“Personally, I love a classic vanilla latte,” you suggested, and while Hinata agreed to get that, Kageyama also nodded as if you were talking to him. “And you?” you asked, turning your attention to him, who stood stiff as a tree beside Hinata.

Kageyama had never wanted a coffee more in his life. It's as if his brain totally forgot that you can order drinks without coffee in a café.

“He doesn’t want-”

“I’d like to have the same,” Kageyama said, effectively cutting Hinata off but also earning him a confused glare. “As him.”

“I thought you didn’t-”

“I’ll pay for both,” Kageyama added to hopefully bribe him into silence, giving his friend a strict side-eye. Please follow my lead, dumbass.

“Sounds good!” you said, not thinking too much about their dynamic. You were on the opening shift and talking to them helped keep you awake. “What’s your name?”

“Hinata and Kageyama…” he said, pointing to his friend and then himself. “What’s yours?” You looked up in surprise, accidentally smudging the little heart you drew behind his name. And if your cheeks flushed a light pink from the intensity of his stare, who could blame you?

You pointed to the little sign on your shirt. “Y/n,” you still said, about to turn away and start his order.

“Also uhh…” Kageyama put a hand up to stop you, happy when you looked up at him again expectantly but felt his cheeks copy your flush as he had no idea what he was trying to say. He looked around the café, looking for inspiration, and then back at you.

“Is there something else I could get you?” And now that he was stalling for time, you took a moment to relax your shoulders and take him in. He was a very handsome man, tall, dark-haired, very your type. You would be lying if you said his awkward front wasn’t charming as well.

Maybe he felt your eyes on him because he took to rubbing the back of his neck. “Something to eat?”

“Like bakery or a sandwich?” you suggested, not even noticing that Hinata had moved on and your coworker came over to man the other register.

“Bakery. What do you like?”

“Cinnamon rolls, they’re the best here, I swear,” you said, and your conviction made him finally crack a small smile.

“Two of those.”

“We should come back here tomorrow,” Kageyama said, making Hinata chuckle at the finality of it because even though Kageyama was taller than him, he could clearly see the flush that was still burning his ears. Wait until everyone hears about this!

“Are you going to eat those?” he asked, pointing at the paper bag in his hand. Kageyama groaned.

Shit, I was going to leave one of the cinnamon rolls as a gift. Better luck next time.

masterlist

[cottonlemonade]

Hi hi!! I saw your lemonade stand and I LOVE the concept omg. Can I request a medium watermelon lemonade with pomegranate seeds for Asahi?

Thank you so much if you write it !! I hope you have a great day 🩷

Sharing A Tent With His Crush

word count: 1926 || avg. reading time: 8 mins.

pairing: Asahi x chubby manager!Reader

genre: fluff with spice

warning: mdni, spoilers

request: fluffy-spicy, sharing a tent with pining friend Asahi

“One, two, three, four…”

As Takeda counted in the background, Coach Ukai studied his clipboard, listening with a content smile to the hollering and laughter that was carried up from the beach by an easy sea breeze. The kids were off swimming and building sandcastles and trenches, enjoying their hard earned freedom after weeks of studying and practices.

“Oh no.”

Ukai turned to the teacher.

“What is it, Sensei?”

“Oh nononono - no!”

“What? Did we forget a cooler? What?”

“We are one tent short!”

“What?!”, Ukai’s booming yell made some birds fly out of a tree top, “I double checked it! Are you sure?”

The men stood shoulder to shoulder, counting. Again. And again. But even after the fifth time, Ukai had to admit his mistake.

“What are we gonna do?”, Takeda asked, panic rising in his voice.

“We just… gotta rethink logistics.”, Ukai said, grabbing the clipboard once more and flipping to the page of the sleeping arrangements.

One of the boys was supposed to sleep alone anyway. And one of the girls, too, because both numbers were uneven.

“Maybe we can squeeze Nishinoya, Hinata and Yamaguchi into one and then have y/n take the free boys’ tent.”

“Sensei, we can’t just sort them by size. I think… hm, y/n is a third year. If we put her with one of the other third years they should have the presence of mind not to try any funny business. The first years won’t get a wink of sleep having a girl so close to them at night and the second years are as girl-crazy as they come.”

“How about Sugawara then?”

“Don’t be too trusting, Sensei. I don’t think he is as innocent as he seems.”, Ukai said with a frown, “And Sawamura might do something without even realizing he is flirting. - I hate to say it but … Azumane will be too chicken to even go near her. I think he is our best bet.”

Asahi went pale when the news broke over dinner. He looked at you and was quite relieved to see you equally as shocked.

“It‘s just for one night.“, Ukai said quickly, “Not a big deal.“

Both the ace and third manager would very much beg to differ but the coach already made his way back to Takeda and his plate of chicken.

“No big deal.“, you repeated under your breath.

“No big deal.“, Asahi agreed.

It was, in fact, a big deal to Asahi. He didn‘t know exactly when he started to be hopelessly in love with you but if he had to take a guess, it was probably somewhere around the time when he noticed all of his sketches and doodles of various outfits becoming chubbier until they eventually matched your figure. Skirts for a lovely Sunday date, pantsuits for eventually kicking butt at an office where you undoubtedly would end up as CEO sooner or later, dresses for imaginary galas you‘d attend and even an elaborate gown for a daydream of a royal ball he had during a boring physics lesson. (He also came up with his own outfit for that occasion to match you.)

Noya was the only one he confided in. The libero had sworn on his honor to never hit on you and ever since tried to push his best friend to make a move before graduating and possibly losing sight of you. And after much pushing and pestering and strategizing, Asahi, under threat of violence, had agreed to confess his feelings before graduation - as an out, Asahi didn’t tell his friend that he hadn’t actually specified whether it was graduating high school or university so he still had time either way.

After dinner the team gathered around a bonfire to roast marshmallows and make up completely ridiculous, yet confident, remarks about constellations in the clear night sky.

Asahi was torn between wanting to play for time until curfew or savor every second of the increasingly appealing mishap - to share a tent, all night, alone, side by side with his crush.

But of course, as with every good beach episode, there had to be a game of truth or dare involved.

Daichi was forced to admit that he was deadly scared of mice, Hinata had to sit still for a whole minute and, in the meantime, Tsukki was dared to not insult him once. It was fun until Noya turned to you and the glint in his eyes made you gulp.

“So, y/n-san. Truth or dare?”

Quite frankly, both of these were dangerous coming from him but maybe truth wouldn’t be so bad.

Noya gave a victorious grin.

“Who, of the people here, do you have a crush on?”

Asahi wasn’t sure if it was the light of fire that made your cheeks look so pink. His heart quickened. You stammered, kneading your fingers in your lap.

“Alright everyone.”, Daichi said when an alarm went off on his phone, “Let’s get to bed. Lights out in 15 minutes.”

Noya groaned and began to argue but one look from the captain had him crumble. So instead, he and Tanaka pushed each other out of the way, eager to be the one to accompany Kiyoko the few steps to the tent she shared with Yaachi.

Suga and Daichi gave Asahi a nondescript nod Goodnight before heading to bed themselves.

It was quite miraculous, you thought, how Asahi’s massively tall frame could fit next to you, when your plump form occupied a good part of the truly pathetically crammed tent already.

You sat cross legged on your sleeping bag, in your pyjama shorts and oversized t-shirt. Given the sleeping arrangements you decided to keep wearing a bra.

“Just for one night, right?”, you said in a (failed) attempt to make your voice sound light and airy.

You pumped some oil into the palm of your hand before running your fingers through your hair. The pleasant smell filled the tent. You caught his eyes and smiled, then both of you looked away again. The atmosphere was somewhat stiff, even though you’ve been on friendly terms with the fellow third years ever since you switched over from the Sewing Club about a year ago.

“Do you think-“

“So what would you-“

You said at the same time and broke off, laughing awkwardly.

“You first.”, he said.

“Do you think it’s okay if we keep on a light?”, you asked.

“Sure. Do you have one? Cause otherwise, I brought-” Asahi reached for his backpack and so did you.

After a moment’s rummaging you produced a small panda bear figure and turned to see a thing in his hand that looked suspiciously like a round little rabbit with a leaf umbrella.

“Is that… is that the official Totoro night light with 8 different color options and dimming function??”

Asahi nodded and you clasped your hands in delight, leaning closer to inspect it as he held it out to you. You let out a small gasp. This was one of the best night lights on the market right now after all!

“I wanted one of those for ages! But they're always sold out! How did you get it?”

“I set myself an alert for when they’re back in stock.”

He basked in your impressed “Ohhhh” and a few minutes later you both lay on your stomachs, looking at the two soft glowing figures in front of you.

Outside the tent, Ukai nodded approvingly on his last checkup before turning in himself in the room he shared with Takeda in a guesthouse on the border of the camping grounds.

“What was your question?”

“Hm?”, Asahi turned to look at you.

“Earlier when I asked you about the light. You wanted to say something as well. What was it?”

“Oh, not important.”, he said and moved the Totoro night light a little closer to your panda.

“Come on, I wanna know.”, you lightly pushed his leg with your foot to encourage him.

“I was just… I-i was wondering what you would have said if Daichi’s alarm hadn’t gone off.”, he mumbled.

“When? Oh, the game. Uhm.” The pink from earlier returned to your cheeks. Now would be as good a time as any, you thought and after a deep breath you replied, “You.”

Stupidly, Asahi rolled around to check if there was someone else behind him in the tiny tent before moving his attention back to you.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”, you laughed.

“I- I don't know what to say.”, Asahi stammered.

You regarded him with a thoughtful smile, still somewhat hopeful that what Kiyoko and Suga told you was right.

“Well, you could tell me if you feel the same or not, maybe?”

“Oh right! Yes!”, he said, much louder than intended and ducked his head a moment later, “Yes, I do like you. A lot.”

You beamed at him.

“Nice.”

The following giggles were suppressed in your respective pillows.

When you came back up for air he brushed a few loose strands of hair out of his face and cleared his throat, “Would you like to go out with me once we’re back?”

“I’d love to.”

“Great.”

You both looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.

“So…”, you began, weighing your words carefully, “Do you wanna make out?”

If Asahi had been drinking water, he would have choked on it. His face immediately turned bright red and he needed a minute to put a coherent word together. You waited patiently.

“Yes.”, he croaked eventually.

He didn’t move.

“I’ll be right there.”, he assured you, his voice and face still not quite back to normal.

“That’s alright.”

Asahi’s eyes widened when you scooted closer and your noses almost touched.

“Hi.”

“H-hello.”

It started out with a peck. You pulled back to check if he had any objections but you didn’t get very far. His lips followed yours as if magnetic. He sighed into the kiss and your smile widened if possible even further. His large hand came to rest on your waist and you slotted your leg between his. The kiss soon became open mouthed, your tongue slipping back and forth to test the waters.

You hummed happily against him, making him squeeze your pillowy hips. He was losing his mind. How could one person feel this good? Your hand brushed down his muscular arm to lay on top of his and began to move it. He was so engrossed in your taste that he didn’t notice until he cupped your breast.

“Y/n…”, he breathed, resting his forehead against yours. He stared at his hand, how it went up and down along with your panting. You, in turn, felt him throb against your thigh that was pushed between his legs.

Your chubby fingers closed around his much larger hand, easing him into the idea that he was free to touch you.

“Y/n…”, he whispered again and was met with your lips on his once more. He had never been drunk before but he was sure this was exactly what it must feel like.

Asahi groaned into your mouth when his palm pressed against your hardened nipple, pushing through the fabrics.

____________________

Picking up a piece of omelet with his chopsticks the next morning, Asahi grinned down at his bowl of rice like an idiot. You sat right next to him, so close that your heavenly thighs touched his, just as dazed from the previous night.

Tsukki frowned and said to no one in particular, but loud enough for you to hear, “Do they realize that tents aren’t soundproof?”

a/n: this one got so away from me xD thank you for your request and your kind words! I hope you enjoy it 🌟

Also I apologize for being so inactive. It’s a mixture of writer’s block, summer heat and a twisted back 🥲

[mitsuas-coffee-shop]

𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 07/09/2024 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎: Would they peel a tangerine for you? 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: none 𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜: fluff 𝚃𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙻 (𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝): $349

I. The ones who do it without asking

"Yes, of course darling", they say after quickly grabbing the tangerine from your hands and start peeling it skillfully or maybe a little clumsily, still, the act is appreciated.

๋ ࣭ ⭑ Izuku Midoriya, Kirishima Eijiro, Sero Hanta, Mirio Togata, Hinata Shouyo, Asahi Asumane, Kiyoko Shimizu, Ittetsu Takeda, Ryuuchi Kashima, Keigo Saikawa, OM!: Mammon, Beelzebub, Diavolo, Barbatos, Simeon

II. The ones who do it doubtfully

"Huh, you don't know how to do it? Don't worry, I can teach you, look"—they start peeling it off slowly for you to watch closely and learn (if you really don't know) or start giggling from their cute reaction.

๋ ࣭ ⭑Shotou Todoroki, Tenya Iida, Tamaki Amajiki, Nejire Hadou, Momo Yaoyorozu, Aizawa Shouta, Takami Keigo, Shigaraki Tomura, Tobio Kageyama, Tadashi Yamaguchi, Ryonusuke Tanaka, Daichi Sawamura, Keigo Saikawa, Yoshihito Usaida, Hayato Kamitani, Maria Inomata, OM!: Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Barbatos, Solomon

III. The ones who tell you to fuck off and do it yourself, regretting it after seeing you sad

"What? No." As simple as that, they refuse your wish and shoo you away. 'You can't give up just now', you think, so try once more—this time making a pouty face that would be incredibly difficult to resist. They end up groaning while snatching the fruit from your hands and do it rapidly to stop that devilish smile you're giving them.

๋ ࣭ ⭑Katsuki Bakugou, Neito Monoma, Aizawa Shouta, Shigaraki Tomura, Dabi, Tsukishima Kei, Hayato Kamitani, Maria Inomata, OM!: Solomon

IV. The ones that does not give a shit about it

"Hey, I asked if you can help me!" you exclaim after they just fled away from your sight when you asked them to. So sad, probably they already know what this is about and they do not wish to be part of it.

๋ ࣭ ⭑ Katsuki Bakugou, Aizawa Shouta, Shigaraki Tomura, Dabi, Tsukishima Kei, OM!: Belphegor

V. The ones who don't know how to peel it, but still try

"Uh... uhm, I don't know how to put this... I've never peeled a tangerine off", they confess, head low in embarrassment. You smile sadly to their response, trying to cheer them up, you end up peeling it off to show them how to do it. After this, rest assured, you'll have your back covered if peeling tangerines is what you need.

๋ ࣭ ⭑ Denki Kaminari, Izuku Midoriya, Tamaki Amajiki, Mirio Togata, Hinata Shouyo, Ryounusuke Tanaka, Yu Nishinoya, Ittetsu Takeda, Ryuuchi Kashima, OM: Mammon, Leviathan, Asmodeus, Diavolo, Simeon

VI. The ones who fake not knowing how to peel it

It probably started off as the latter one, and as you are about to tear a part from the tangerine, it getting caught with your nail uncomfortably, you wince and catch your partner's sly smile. "Oh you're gonna pay"—yeah they won't ever refuse to anything you ask ever again.

๋ ࣭ ⭑ Hitoshi Shinsou, Neito Monoma, Sero Hanta, Mirio Togata, Nejire Hadou, Takami Keigo, Dabi, Yu Nishinoya, Daichi Sawamura, Koshi Sugawara, Keishin Ukai, Yoshihito Usaida, OM!: Satan, Asmodeus, Belphegor, Barbatos, Solomon

˚ ༘ ೀ ⋆ ｡˚ ˚ ༘ ೀ ⋆ ｡˚ +6 peeled tangerines

All writings rights reserved © 2024 Mitsua's Coffee Shop. (Credit to the respective owners of the pictures and tagged anime characters.)

[saigethearies]

saige’s terrortober presents…

trust me

while on an expedition into space, your budding romance with osamu came as a pleasant surprise- the murderer hiding amongst your crew, not so much.

alien!osamu miya x fem!reader

contents/warnings: murder, manipulation, and slight yandere, side character deaths, service dom!osamu, unprotected vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, oral (f! receiving), size kink, osamu is PACKING, praise, belly bulge, dacryphilia, use of pet names, betrayal, angst in the end, osamu still has his dyed hair but he’s in his twenties, this is basically an among us au bare with me

wc: 6.7k

18+ MINORS DNI

an: this one is posted a little late but it works out so it gets to be posted on samu’s actual bday!

“the fuck you mean you found a dead body?” terushima bites out from next to you.

your brain felt like it was lagging as panicked voices sounded off around you. there was no way one of your crewmates was dead. you’d all had multiple health screenings before getting admission into the space exploration program. no one would have gotten the green light if they were in bad health, so how could they just have died? and within the first week?

unless…

“there were multiple stab wounds,” director takeda said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible to prevent the surrounding tension from worsening. “as of right now, we can only assume it was a homicide.”

the room fell silent as everyone let the news sink in.

“ya gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me,” a voice drawls from across the circular table. “we’re stuck on this floatin’ hunk of metal and we’ve gotta damn killer on the loose?”

atsumu miya had a scowl on his face, arms crossed over his chest.

“if that’s the case then we need to start narrowing suspects down now,” oikawa followed up. “someone in this room is a murderer, unless we have a stowaway hiding somewhere.”

“security is top notch, there’s no way someone would have been able to sneak on,” kanoka rebutted.

“well then,” daishou started. “it’s time to start hearing some alibis.”

“i was doing weapons,” asahi supplied.

“i can vouch, i was in the room with him,” oikawa added, the other nodding in agreement.

one by one, all of your crewmates stated where they were, what they were doing, who they were with.

“i was in navigation with the twins trying to get the ship back on course,” suna said. “since dumb and dumber decided it would be a good idea to push a bunch of random buttons.”

“i was tryin’ t’ find the air conditionin’!”

“don’t rope me in with his bullshit,” osamu miya muttered from besides his brother.

you spared a quick glance at the grey-haired man. out of all the people on the ship, he seemed to be the one you always found your eyes wandering to.

“where were you?”

the question pulled you back into focus. you turned to see terushima staring down at you, awaiting your response.

“i was reading some samples in med bay.”

his eyes narrowed. “did anyone see you?”

you blinked. no, no one saw you, but that’s because you were the only scientist hired on with a medical background. most of your time in med bay was spent alone.

would that make you look suspicious?

you figured that honesty was the best policy, so you went ahead and told the truth.

“no, i was there alone- but no one else is ever really in there unless they need treatment or need to run an errand, if that makes any difference.”

“so what i’m hearing is that you don't have a solid alibi.”

you felt your hands start to shake. “i-i guess not…”

“let’s hear where the hell yer ass was, terushima.”

the two of you turned to see osamu’s dark grey eyes trained on the man interrogating you. the intensity in them almost sent a chill down your spine.

“ya seem desperate t’ go ahead and put blame on the lil’ lady without even giving yer own alibi yet.”

was he defending you?

terushima sent him a glare. “i was emptying the trash in storage. daishou saw me when he passed by.”

a furrow appeared on said man’s brow. “uh, hate to say it man, but i don’t remember seeing you there.”

“the hell do you mean? you literally walked right by me!”

“the only people i remember seeing before the emergency alarm sounded off was kanoka and the director in shields. i was dropping off some supplies for them.”

“you can’t be serious right now!”

“well look who doesn't have a solid alibi now,” atsumu taunted. “it seems t’ me like yer dejectin’-”

“projecting,” suna corrected.

“-projectin’ onto someone else because ya don’t wanna look guilty.”

“you’re trying to imply that i did this?” terushima shouted.

“if the shoe fits.”

“that’s enough,” director takeda declares, getting the bickering to subside before it could escalate further. “we don’t need to jump to conclusions and we don’t need to fall into hysteria, either. making a rash decision based on little evidence won’t help anything. the body was found near the reactors, so on the complete opposite side of the ship from where everyone allegedly was. Therefore, we don't really have any leads at the moment.”

“so what do we do?” asahi asked, anxiety written all over his face.

“for now, everyone just stay alert and on guard. try to stay in groups or at least pairs if you can. i don’t think the killer will lash out if more than one person is around, and if worst comes to worst, we’d at least be able to pick out who was with who. if you do notice anything suspicious about a fellow crewmate, come report to me directly. rumors will only cause trouble. understood?”

everyone gave their confirmation, you barely being able to mutter yours out.

there was really a killer amongst your ranks.

you were stuck on a ship traveling further into outer space with a murderer.

“good. meeting adjourned, everyone back to your tasks.”

you turned back towards med bay, practically moving on autopilot as your mind picked apart every piece of information you just received.

“i find it interesting that the person closest to the reactors at the time of the murder was you. that is, if your story was even true”

the voice was followed by a hand roughly grabbing onto your arm, halting your retreat. you turned to see terushima’s glare trained on you, his grip tightening. “everyone else might be letting your shitty alibi slide, but i'm not.”

“your own alibi wasn’t even solid,” you argued back, trying to wrench free from his grasp. “you don't have any right to accuse me, if anything i could be saying the same things to you right now.”

“you’re a lot more combative than you were a few minutes ago. i guess you dropped the quiet, innocent girl act now that we're not surrounded by others, right?”

you wanted to deck this guy. how dare he continue to try and accuse you of one thing after another when you haven't done anything wrong. especially after his own shaky alibi had been exposed.

“that’s not the case at all, i just don’t like to be bothered by a hypocrite!”

“i’ll show you a fucking-”

“get yer filthy hands off’a her.”

osamu was at your side before you could even register. while the expression on his face seemed blank, terushima could see the silent fire raging within his eyes, practically challenging him to try and disobey the grey-haired man’s order.

still, the shorter man made no move to release you, which prompted your unexpected savior to speak again.

“if i have t’ tell ya twice, yer not gonna like what happens next.”

with that, terushima finally released you. he scoffed before turning to storm out of the room.

you let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding in.

“ya alright, there?”

looking up you met the dark, concerned eyes of osamu. the contact had the inside of your stomach turning into an ocean, waves swirling around within you as you held his gaze.

“i’m okay, thank you,” you said, trying to ignore the feeling of your cheeks heating up. “he seemed relentless, so i really do appreciate you stepping in.”

a smile then appeared on osamu’s face, and you wanted to burn the image into your memory forever because goodness did that man look handsome.

“it’s no worries, my ma taught me better than t’ just stand by when a lady’s ‘n trouble.”

you felt the corners of your own lips curl upwards. “well then she did a really great job.”

“how ‘bout i walk ya back to med bay,” he offered. “director said we needa stick together, wouldn’t feel right if i just let ya wander off alone.”

the waves inside your stomach felt as if they were growing to tsunami-level proportions. you had clearly noticed that osamu was a handsome man the day the crew was all introduced to each other, but you reasoned that you had a job to do on this ship so you couldn’t let yourself get distracted by what was essentially a schoolgirl crush.

now, however, the person of your attraction was guiding you through the halls with a large hand placed on the small of your back.

“i feel like we’re ‘n the start of’a nightmare,” osamu said, pulling you out of your thoughts. “can’t believe shunki got offed by someone on the damn crew.”

“yeah, it’s insane,” you replied. “i still can’t really wrap my head around it.”

“ ‘m sure that terushima jackass barkin’ atcha hasn't made it any easier for ya, huh?”

you sighed. “no, but i guess he does have somewhat of a reason. my alibi can't be corroborated by anyone. besides, nerves are running rampant right now, so i can't really blame him.”

the two of you reached med bay, osamu reaching for the handle and opening the door before you could even lift a finger. he was every bit as chivalrous as he was handsome, your knees feeling slightly weaker as he ushered you inside.

“well i think his reason for comin’ atcha was bullshit. he doesn’t have a solid story, either, so his whole outburst is rubbin’ me the wrong way. be careful ‘round him, will ya?”

the thought had crossed your mind during your earlier altercation with terushima. you knew you weren’t a killer, but him? it could be entirely plausible that a murderer had just been laying his hands on you. if osamu hadn’t come to your aid…

“i’ll try and steer clear of him,” you replied. “thank you again, osamu. i appreciate it, really.”

“of course,” he replied with a smile coming back onto his face. “and you can call me ‘samu.”

returning his kind expression, you nodded your head before turning to grab the samples you were working with earlier.

“anythin’ i can help ya with while ‘m here?”

“you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, walking me back was already sweet enough of you.”

“nah, we gotta stay ‘n pairs, remember? can’t let ya just sit here by yerself with a killer on the ship.”

by the look on his face, you could tell osamu wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so you relented by pointing to the wireless connection panel on the wall across from you.

“i think that could use some maintenance.”

_____

while very tense, the next few days were quiet. no more killings, no odd behavior from anyone- besides terushima’s rotten attitude towards you, but at this point you were just getting used to it. everyone was taking it day by day, each uneventful twenty-four hours being looked at as a win. crew morale was constantly wavering, however. it was hard to feel confident in your coworkers when one of them was secretly a murderer.

your safe haven amidst all of the suspense was osamu.

he continued to spend hours at a time with you in med bay, your once silent workplace now filled with chatter and laughter. when it came time for him to leave to go attend to other tasks, you would often tag along.

“buddy system, right?” he would say.

atsumu and suna would also occasionally find themselves keeping the two of you company in med bay. watching the three of them banter was probably the best entertainment you were going to get on the spacecraft. with the way the dark-haired man interacted with the twins you would think that they’ve all known each other for a very long time, so you were surprised to learn that they’d only just met at the start of the expedition.

“it literally reminds me of mustard,” suna remarked, earning a burst of laughter from osamu.

“shut yer trap, sunarin!”

“did you just not think to use toner?”

“there is nothin’ wrong with my hair!” atsumu defended.

the bickering had been going on for the past five minutes, suna always finding a way to goad the blonde into being his personal entertainment. he almost had a talent for being able to get under either of the twin’s skin, antagonizing them almost as much as they antagonize each other.

“if yer worried ‘bout what's wrong with ya then yer hair is the least of yer worries,” osamu piped up, earning a small giggle from you. you were too engrossed in recording your sample data to notice the content smile come onto the grey-haired man’s face at hearing your laugh.

he came up behind you, leaning down so that his head was hovering above your shoulder. “what ya got goin’ on here?”

you kept your face turned down towards your desk, not wanting him to catch onto the way your cheeks were heating up at his close proximity. “just going over the results from asahi’s blood test.”

it was no doubt to you that after spending so much time together, there was…something brewing between you and osamu. at first you figured it was just physical attraction, but the more you were around him, the more you began to realize that wasn’t the case.

you felt a comfort with the man you hadn’t felt with anyone else before- not any of your friends, not any of your exes, not even your family. there was no denying that there was a genuine connection there, and whether you were falling for him so quickly because of the circumstances or because you were truly that into him, you didn’t know.

and it didn’t really matter to you, either. every day on this spaceship could end up being your last, so you chose not to waste your time overthinking.

“need any help?”

“no, but thank you, ‘samu. you're always so considerate.”

before he could reply, kissy noises were sounding off from the other two occupants in the room. the glare osamu sent atsumu and suna would probably have most peoples’ stomachs dropping, but the two of them seemed unfazed.

it was then that a red flash illuminated the room, a harsh buzz ripping through the air.

the emergency alarm.

you dropped your pen.

“dammit!” atsumu yelled. “not another murder!”

a hand was placed on the small of your back, guiding you to stand on unsteady legs. “don’t jump t’ conclusions, we don’t know fer sure.”

“well what else would it be?” suna asked.

you began to move towards the door, osamu’s palm not leaving your body.

“i guess we should go find out,” you muttered.

the walk was silent, the once tense atmosphere of the ship now suffocating as days after days worth of anxiety had come to a crescendo. the four of you waited as the cafeteria doors slid open, revealing the rest of your crewmates gathered around the meeting table.

well, all of them except one.

not again…

once you had all gathered around, director takeda spoke the words you’d been dreading to hear since the adjournment of the last meeting.

“another body has been found.”

silence.

“oikawa and asahi found daishou in the electrical room. he wasn’t moving and they couldn’t find a pulse.”

“that’s right around the corner from where the last body was found,” kanoka observed.

“on the same side as med bay,” terushima muttered under his breath, loud enough for you to hear.

you frowned. “can you at least wait until we get all the details before you try and start accusing me?”

“why? we’re already two men down, we can’t let this shit just slide again.”

“we won’t,” takeda firmly interjected. “there were several small bruises on daishou’s neck, so it seems that his cause of death was asphyxiation.”

“so whoever did this was able to choke a grown a man to death with their bare hands,” oikawa observed.

“wouldn’t that mean we have the culprit’s fingerprints?” you asked.

“unfortunately the perpetrator was wearing gloves.”

“damn,’ asahi sighed.

“well if they killed the poor guy with their bare hands then i really don’t think it could be the lil’ lady,” atsumu commented.

“yeah, ya really think these tiny ass fingers could choke a man?” osamu added, lifting your hand up to prove his point. your stomach fluttered when you saw how huge his looked compared to yours.

“here the two of you go fucking defending her again,” terushima barked. “she didn’t even have an alibi last time!”

“neither did you,” suna said.

“yeah, and this time all three of us were with her,” osamu motioned between him, his brother, and their friend. “so she has the damn alibi yer so bent over.”

“okay, so we know oikawa and asahi were together again, then the four of them were with each other,” kanoka listed. “i was checking oxygen levels with the director.”

all eyes turned to the remaining unnamed person.

“terushima, where were you?”

the man blinked. “i was doing weapons.”

“did anyone see you?”

“i-uh, well no, everyone was off doing other things.”

director takeda frowned. “so you have no one to confirm your whereabouts?”

“second time this happened,” oikawa commented.

the pierced man sent the brunette a glare.

“since he mentioned it already, wasn’t daishou the one who denied being able to verify terushima’s story last time? and now he’s dead, too.”

everyone went quiet at suna’s observation, terushima’s eyes widening.

“are you seriously implying that i fucking did this?”

“the evidence isn’t really pointing towards anyone else right now,” kanoka said slowly.

“what the fuck.”

“everyone else has alibis,” oikawa said, prepared to lay the facts on the table.”you’re the only one who’s been unaccounted for both times, and you have a possible motive for the most recent killing. no one else has the cards stacked against them like this.”

terushima looked around the table, everyone regarding him with a careful, withdrawn look.

“guys, come on!”

director takeda took a slow breath. “i’m sorry, terushima. but we’ve already lost two lives, and right now you’re the only suspect. we have to do what’s best for the crew.”

“fuck you,” he bit out, practically snarling. “fuck all of you! what are you gonna do now, shoot me?”

“no,” his superior said slowly.

“the ship has come equipped with a different way to handle violent members.”

_____

never in a million years would you have thought that what director takeda meant is that terushima would get ejected. thrown out into deep space to choke and freeze.

it felt so cruel and unusual. yet, your boss insisted that this was the best way to go about it. keeps the threat away without needing anyone to bloody their own hands.

you tried to take his word for it, but you still couldn’t help but feel that there had to have been a better method.

thankfully, the relief of the murder mystery being solved was enough to keep you from dwelling on it for too long. the atmosphere on the ship was light again, everyone more lively and talkative. there was still an underlying somberness held for those departed, but no more going through the day with bated breath.

well, almost.

you still couldn’t fight the feeling that something was…off.

as if your ship’s little mystery had been solved almost too easily. too conveniently.

“what’s wrong?”

osamu’s voice pulled you from your thoughts, standing at the entryway to your sleeping quarters.

“oh! hey,” you said, getting up from your desk. you had to crane your neck so much to look up at him. you tried to ignore how that fact made your heart skip.

as if he could read your thoughts, the grey-haired man brushed a strand of your hair behind your ear. “ya didn’t answer me.”

you gave him a small smile. “i’m okay, ‘samu, just tired.”

he frowned. “i don’t believe ya.”

a sigh escaped your lips. “i guess i’m just a little overwhelmed. i’m glad we found terushima out and all, but this whole ordeal has just felt like…a lot. and i think i've been struggling to calm down again, after things were so tense for a while.”

“i don’t like seein’ ya this worried, pretty girl like ya shouldn’t be frettin’ over a thing.”

the comment didn’t catch you completely off guard. osamu had started to become a little more flirtatious, but you always figured it wasn’t that serious. probably just a way for him to be affectionate.

as his dark eyes bore into you right now, however, you started to think that might not be the case.

“i’m okay, really.”

the hand that had brushed your hair away hadn’t left your face, thumb brushing against your cheek.

“i can see yer face lookin’ all gloomy,’ he said, moving closer to you. “c’mon, darlin’, talk to me.”

you took a deep, steadying breath. “i just want a break from all the stress.”

his hands were then roaming your back, pulling you into his chest. his lips found themselves at the shell of your ear.

“then let me take care of ya, sweetheart.”

the sexual tension building up over the past week came to boiling point when osamu’s lips slotted against yours, desire spilling over the sides and shrouding each of you in a cloud of desire. he started to press more firmly, tongue sliding in between the seam of your mouth.

he broke away from you. “ ‘s this alright?”

you nodded, eyes wide, before osamu’s lips chased after yours again, hand coming to the zipper of your pink bodysuit. he dragged it down slowly, revealing more of your skin inch by inch.

stepping out of the material, you stood before him in your matching set.

“so damn beautiful.”

you placed your hands on the back of his neck, eyes staring up at him doefully. “wanna see you too, ‘samu.”

“whatever ya want, darlin’.”

he peeled off his own bodysuit next, grey in color, and was left in just his briefs. gently leading you back towards your bed, he laid you down slowly.

kissing you once more, osamu started to move down your body, leaving little pecks against your heated skin in his wake.

“what are you doing?”

“i told ya i was gonna take care of ya, sweetheart.”

he pressed a kiss below your belly button, fingers gripping the hem of your panties. he glanced towards your face, chest tightening at the sight of your lust-blown expression, waiting for your okay. you nodded, and thus osamu peeled the lace off.

grabbing the underside of each of your thighs, he spread them open. kissing the inner part of each of them, his lips then finally descended onto your glistening cunt.

“ ‘samu,” you squeaked out.

he smirked, tongue grazing up and down your sensitive nub. the sensation had you mewling, fingers tangling into his dyed locks. your sounds made osamu smirk against you, adding two fingers into your cunt in hopes he’d hear even more.

the muscle started to move against your clit faster, mouthing against it like he was starved. another finger was then pressed into your pussy. you weren’t used to being stretched that much.

“too much,” you whined out. “ ‘s too much.”

“ya need t’ take it, sweet thing. if yer gonna take my dick later, ya need this.”

you felt your breath catch, the thought of being filled by him leading the heat in your stomach to start building.

finally hitting his fingers against that spongy spot deep within your walls, a cry ripped from you as he started to put all of his focus there. your legs were starting to shake, so osamu decided now was the time to switch up the motion of his tongue, drawing circles on your bundle of nerves.

you spasmed as your orgasm tore through you, whimpers leaving your lips as pleasure overtook every nerve within you.

osamu removed his mouth and fingers from you, inching back up your body before hovering over you.

“did so good, pretty girl, so good.”

you felt his thick fingers creep behind your back, undoing your bra. his eyes drank in the sight of your tits as he pulled the garment off of you.

kisses and bites were littered along your chest, small praises whispered between each. his lips moved back up your neck, leaving a final peck on the tip of your nose before speaking.

“ya think yer ready?”

you knew what he was talking about, nodding your head vigorously, excited to be able to feel all of him.

however, all of that excitement left your body when he finally removed his boxers.

oh…

you should have known. osamu’s whole frame was big and broad. why would his cock be any different?

god, would that even fit? none of your past boyfriends even came close to his size.

he must’ve seen your face grow pale. “what’s the matter, darlin’?”

you gulped.

“...that’s not gonna fit, ‘samu.”

“it will,” he replied, not even seeming fazed by your concern. “trust me.”

“but-”

“ya trust me, right?”

his gaze was zeroed in on yours, and you felt yourself become transfixed by just how endless it seemed, as if the space surrounding your little floating ship existed in osamu’s eyes.

“yeah, i trust you.”

another soft kiss met your lips. “good.”

his thumb was at your clit again, an attempt to distract you from the head of his cock pressing against your opening. he began to push in, a small whimper leaving your lips as you could already feel the burning stretch.

“relax, doll, ya gotta relax.”

more kisses were then peppered against your lips, silent reassurances as osamu entered into you further, each new inch making your brain feel as if it was going to explode.

“little cunt ain’t used t’ takin’ somethin’ this big, huh?”

you shook your head, confirming his suspicion as tears started to leak from your eyes.

“well, first time fer everythin’, sweetheart.”

you had no idea how he got the whole thing to fit inside of you. your pussy felt as if it was being torn apart at the seams in the best way possible, jaw going slack as he bottomed out.

“oh.”

osamu hummed. “tightest cunt i’ve ever been ‘n. yer just a dream, aintcha?”

you wanted to reply to his praise, but all that could leave you was a scream as he started to pull out and push back in. starting a steady pace, the man pulled you into a hungry kiss.

never before had you ever been so filled, moaning aimlessly into his mouth as the only thought your brain could come up with was so full, so full, so full.

he parted from your lips.

“ya feel it, darlin’?”

you didn’t have a clue what he was talking about until he thrusted back in, palm coming down against a protrusion in your tummy. the realization had more drops falling down your cheeks, babbles bubbling up your throat. he was going to rip you apart, and you were more than willing to let him.

“ ‘m gettin’ close,” he warned, forehead resting against yours. his hands then grabbed each side of your hips, holding you in place as he picked up the pace. “need ya t’ cum too, doll. ladies first.”

your cunt finally couldn’t take anymore battering, muscles spasming as you came hard on osamu’s cock. you saw him grin as your body shook, finally allowing himself to release with a low groan.

he made sure to pull out of your overstuffed pussy before you could get too stimulated, situating himself at your side so he could pull you into his chest. you rested your cheek against his pec.

stillness overtook the room as you tried to compose yourself, body still twitching with aftershocks.

osamu chuckled, kissing the crown of your head.

“i told ya i’d make it work. see, ya can trust me.”

_____

the next twenty four hours were absolute bliss. you and osamu were practically connected at the hip, all ooey gooey and lovey dovey with each other. atsumu and suna made gagging sounds every time they saw the two of you, but neither of you cared. nothing was going to ruin the oasis you’d built with one other.

the emergency alarm figured it was up for the challenge.

your eyebrows knitted together, pulling away from your lover’s side as you heard the sound pierce the content silence you’d been sitting in.

the uneasy feeling from before, the feeling that something still just wasn’t right came back to you.

“it might just be some mechanical issues,” osamu reassured, clearly trying to calm you down. you met his gaze, slightly taken aback by the expression in them. it was hard to read, but you just chalked it up to him being antsy, too.

“hopefully.”

the broken, bloodied glasses of director takeda proved the two of you wrong.

oikawa held them in the palm of his hand, a grim look on his face.

“he was in navigation,” he started. “i could barely even recognize him, that’s how bad the damage was.”

you couldn’t stop your lip from wobbling. your nightmare was still ongoing, and now the one person who kept you all sane had been beaten into his grave.

what came next broke you even more, though.

“kanoka is dead, too.”

two murders.

two murders on the same damn day.

you bit your lip, keeping your cries as silent as you could as the news settled.

suna was the first to speak. “do we need to move their bodies out of there, and give them a nicer…resting place, like the others?”

“that’s the thing,” oikawa’s tone now had an edge to it. “kanoka’s body wasn’t with the director’s, it was in lower engine.”

“so what does that mean?” you said, frustration starting to prick at you. “the killer moved her body? or had enough time to get from one crime scene to the other?”

“no,” asahi said. “oikawa was across the hall cleaning the air filters when he heard crashing in navigation. he remembered the time was around 7:30 pm. i was checking the reactor when i heard kanoka scream, and the clock on it read 7:27 pm.”

“ya mean t’ tell me they were killed at the same time ‘n opposite sides of the ship? how the hell is that possible?”

“is the answer not obvious?” oikawa bit out at atsumu. “there’s two fucking killers, and it has to be one of you four!”

“one of us?” you said in disbelief.

“yes!”

“wait a damn minute,” osamu started. “ya mean t’ tell us that if there’s two killers, it has t’ be two of us? not the two of ya, who’ve been stickin’ together since the beginnin’?”

“what ‘samu said! y’all have always been each other’s alibis, ya could have been bullshittin’ us the whole time!”

atsumu had a point. oikawa and asahi always being each other’s alibis would have been one thing when there was a singular killer, but now that there’s two? they could have been covering for each other the whole time. but still…

“if we were the killers why would we give away that there’s two of us? that makes no sense, we’d have nothing to gain from that.”

oikawa voiced the exact thought you had been thinking. they would have the element of surprise keeping their partnership under wraps, it doesn’t make sense why they would expose there are two murderers when it would be easier to let the impression there’s a singular one linger.

yet, you had gotten to know the other three people at the table. there was no way osamu, atsumu, or suna could be a killer. there was just no way.

“you could be playing mind games with us, who knows,” suna assessed. “there’s no telling what fucked shit you’re willing to do if you’re out here cutting people up.”

“no one is trying to play tricks!” asahi yelled. “the innocent people on this ship are in serious danger, we need to figure this out now!”

“the four of us see one another on a regular basis,” osamu said. “the two of ya are the outliers here.”

“we each have three other people that can vouch for us! the two of ya only have each other! yer outnumbered here!”

you were so overwhelmed. so much muddled information was being thrown around, no solid theories being able to stem from such minimal evidence. you weren’t going to be able to use your brain on this one, you were going to have to trust your gut.

“we’re supposed to believe the pair of two people aren’t the killers and instead the duo is hiding in the tight knit group of four? that shit doesn’t add up in the slightest, the two of you are talking out of your asses.”

oikawa and asahi turned to you.

“you’re smart, please tell us you believe us.”

you bit your lip.

“i just…can’t wrap my head around the idea that any of them could be killers.”

“don’t let being buddy-buddy with the three of them cloud your judgment. like i said earlier, why would we expose there are actually two killers if we were the two killers?”

a theory came to your mind, and you weren’t sure if you thought it up because it was actually plausible, or because you just wanted to prove your lover and friends were innocent. regardless, you shared it.

“the three of them are bigger than the prior victims, so they would put up a tough fight. two against four would be hard to pull off with them, so you could be exposing the murderer duo so that we get rid of two of ourselves and then make it a two against two.”

oikawa and asahi both blanched at your statement.

“she’s a genius!” atsumu exclaimed. “y’all really thought ya could put one by her, huh?”

“she’s wrong! we would nev-”

“i don’t know about you guys,” suna interrupted. “but i’ve heard all that i need to hear. let’s get them the fuck off this ship.”

the screaming and shouting that ensued as he and the twins pushed the two accused men out of the room and down the halls had you covering your ears, eyes squeezed shut as more tears dropped down your face.

you tried to tell yourself that you were okay. the murderers had been caught for real now, you were going to be fine. you were safe.

the ship went quiet, yells no longer being heard. that was all you needed to know that oikawa and asahi had been ejected.

footsteps pulled you out of your thoughts, suna regarding you with a nod as he re-entered the room.

“you alright?”

breathe in, breathe out. “i should be.”

“good. i'm gonna go send a message to headquarters. someone needs to tell them what the hell has been happening.”

you bid him goodbye as he left. standing up, you decided that being wrapped up in osamu’s arms felt like a good idea after the intense moment earlier.

they weren’t in med bay, so you did a little searching before hearing their voices from inside the admin room. you were about to enter the room before a sentence spoken by osamu stopped you in your tracks.

“i told ya t’ fuckin’ wait a while-”

wait for what?

“ ‘m sorry, i just wanted to get it over with! i told ya i didn’t want t’ be the one t’ kill the director.”

not even the limitless space outside could create the coldness you felt seep through every pore in your skin.

please be dreaming.

“ya still nearly got us exposed.”

“who cares? we’ve picked enough people off anyways. ship is ours.”

your pulse currently rivaled that of a racehorse, your brain not being able to deny what it just heard.

the twins were the killers.

osamu was a murderer.

movement to your left caught your eye, the brothers exiting the room only to stop in surprise when they saw you.

you tried to paint a look of nonchalance on your face, but it was too late. the panic was written all over you. there was nowhere to hide.

two very different emotions came onto their faces. atsumu practically looked predatory, whereas ‘samu almost looked as panicked as you.

“darlin’, listen to me-”

“cut her the bullshit, ‘samu, ya already dickmatized her enough.”

you found yourself backpedaling, fingers trembling as you attempted to put as much distance between you and them as possible.

“c’mon, angel, why ya look so scared?” atsumu taunted. you watched in horror as his brown eyes shifted to an inky black, the blonde about to lunge at you before his brother grabbed him by the collar of his maroon suit and yanked him back.

“not her,” osamu bit out, trapping his brother in a headlock. “i told ya anyone but her.”

“yer no fun, ‘samu!”

you didn’t wait around to watch them squabble, turning and running towards communications as fast as you could. you had to get to suna. he needed to know, and you weren’t going to be able to stand the slightest chance against the miyas without him.

choked sobs left you as you sped through the halls, sorrow and guilt eating you alive. sorrow because the man you had started to fall in love with, the man you had given your body to, the man you felt safe with ended up being a murderer. you felt beyond just betrayed.

then, your guilt stemmed from the fact that so many of your crewmates lay dead now, and several times you had let their killers roam free. not only that, but you’d also stood by as numerous innocent people were sent to their death outside in the vacuum of space.

you knew something was still off. you knew.

but your gut instinct had been fogged by your stupid, mushy emotions.

this was all fucked.

this was all so fucked.

“SUNA!” you screamed, sprinting into comms with red and bleary eyes.

“what is it- whoa, what’s going on?” he asked, placing his hands on your shoulders.

“we were wrong,” you said, throat tightening. “it’s the twins, they’re the killers! they’ve been playing us the whole time.”

“damn, that’s tough.”

his unserious response confused you. maybe he was in shock?

“also, correction,” the dark-haired man began. “the miyas haven’t been playing us the whole time…”

your heart nearly stopped when you saw suna’s greyish-green eyes turn the same black shade that atsumu’s had.

“...we’ve all been playing you the whole time.”

you couldn’t move, not registering suna’s grip on your shoulders tightening until you were being ripped straight out of it.

“don’t fuckin’ touch her.”

you felt yourself become engulfed in osamu’s arms, back pressed to his chest as he kept the two of you facing the other two…imposters in the room.

“dude, seriously? she’s the last one standing, we could complete the set.”

“sunarin’s right! c’mon, ‘samu!”

you felt his hold tighten around you, the same hands that slaughtered your crewmates now protectively embracing you. that fact made your head hurt.

“i told the two of ya, ‘m keepin’ her. lay a damn finger on her and ‘m rippin’ it clean off ya.”

he was met with begrudged silence from the two other men before suna let out an exasperated sigh. “fine, i guess she can live. she did really help us out by vouching for us back there, fucking oikawa almost had us figured out.”

“a pretty face t’ look at on the ride home won’t hurt.”

“watch it,” osamu warned his brother.

you didn’t know what they were talking about. you didn’t know what home was for them. all you knew was that you were gonna get dragged along, whether you liked it or not, by a man who built a bond with you through sugar-coated lies.

osamu leaned down, kissing the side of your cheek before whispering in your ear. “all my feelins’ are genuine, darlin’, that i can assure ya.”

you felt his fingers intertwine with your still shaking ones.

“ ‘m gonna take good care of ya, i promise.”

_____

saige’s terrortober masterlist

[selenacosmic]

May I request warlords had a big fight with MC until she cried, and now they have to comfort her because she is locking herself in a room and refused to come out. (She is sulking) What if they are married? Thank you!

Hello! Ohh this one will be sweet! Thank you for the request.

Warlords comfort MC after a big fight.

Oda forces.

Nobunaga Oda.

Nobunaga is the kind of person who, when faced with problems with his relationship and doesn’t know how to handle it, will call all the warlords for a war council to ask for advice. It wasn’t his intention to make you cry, but now it was too late since you wouldn’t come out of your room.

After taking in all the advice he receives, Nobunaga stays on the other side of the door to your room and begins apologizing, offering to share his favorite candy with you. He will keep doing it until you open the door.

Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

Hideyoshi doesn’t like fights, he tries his best to avoid them. Specially when they can lead you to cry. But on the occasion that it happens, he will try his best to spoil you until you aren’t upset anymore.

If you lock yourself away, he will be making constant visits to try and talk to you and leave a gift for you, all that until you open the door.

Mitsuhide Akechi.

Mitsuhide pays attention to not go overboard with fights, precisely because he doesn’t want to argue and hurt you. But if that happens, he will make sure you don’t even have time to lock yourself away.

The moment tears fall from your eyes, he will pull you into a hug and comfort you with sweet gestures.

Mitsunari Ishida.

Fights? What fights? Mitsunari is too sweet of a person to actually make anyone cry, even if a fight does happen.

Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Ieyasu can be… harsh with his words, and that’s something he tries to work on as to not upset you. If a fight does occur, he will flinch and freeze once he sees that you are crying.

He will calm down and apologize for his words, feeling guilty that he made you shed tears because of him.

Masamune Date.

Masamune will think a lot about how to ask for forgiveness, and after a lot of thought put into it, he will cook your favorite food to attract you out of the room. The moment you are out, lots of kisses and a tight hug awaits.

He will easily comfort you and melt all your anger away.

Ranmaru Mori.

Again, what fight? This another sweet guy can’t stand the thought of making you upset and wouldn’t start an argument, he wouldn’t want to see you crying.

Keiji.

Keiji is another one who doesn’t pay attention to how harsh he may sound until it’s too late, he will curse himself for hurting you and will think of ways to cheer you up.

The best way for him to apologize would be, ironically, being honest with you and tell you how he feels and that he didn’t want to make you upset.

Uesugi-Takeda alliance.

Kenshin Uesugi.

Kenshin would actually think of punishing himself, he is willing to destroy anything that may hurt you, that includes himself. Of course, after the others convince him to focus on making you feel better, he will do his best to comfort you.

Considering that he can be a bit… extra, kenshin will arrange many gifts and have all the bunnies surrounding you to give you comfort.

Shingen Takeda.

Shingen could never forgive himself for making you cry, he really was a full. For starters, he hates arguments and tries to avoid them. But when it happens, he thinks a lot on what to do to apologize and comfort you. Thousands of sweet words, kisses and apologies would come your ways

As well as him calling himself a fool for even making you cry.

Yukimura Sanada.

Yukimura will panic when he sees you crying, he didn’t mean to but it ended up happening. What will he do? He freaks out and tries desperately to calm you down and comfort you.

Of course, he was scolded by shingen and was given advice on how to apologize to you. Part of the advice he wouldn’t be able to pull it off, mostly because it was Shingen’s idea on how to apologize, but he still managed to be honest without saying something rude.

Yoshimoto Imagawa.

Yoshimoto is another who avoids fights at all costs, even if an argument is about to start. He is good with words, so if he ends up upsetting you, he will know how to comfort you immediately.

Sasuke.

Sasuke is a peaceful guy, he wouldn’t even start an argument. In fact, he is incapable of it.

Kanetsugu.

Kanetsugu can be… another rough and harsh man, so he makes a lot of effort in comforting you. He lowers his voice and holds you before you can lock yourself away in a separate room.

[keruimi]

Hey! I think your requests are open, but if not please feel free to ignore this!

I was just listening to Too Sweet by Hozier and had the idea of a reader who has a crush on (or is dating) Nishinoya and feels like she doesn’t deserve him

Falling In Love With Him

Pairing: Nishinoya x Reader

Warning: Comfort

Note: To write an angst story, I need an edit of them but I can't find anything so writing this is quite difficult but I seem to manage. My apologies if I decide to use another song for your request. But Thank you for the idea!

_____________________________

Admiring one of the best players in the school sports club is much more difficult than what I have thought. No matter how friendly he is to the people around him. Approaching him is like a damn challenge.

When a timid girl like me is the one who started to like him.

I was hopelessly in love with Nishinoya. Because I can put so much effort for him.

From the food I secretly give to him through Yachi. The notes I put on his table before he arrives back on class.

The nights I stayed awake just to think what I could do for him again.

Yet confessing was never one of them.

I once thought of it until I accepted that I am not deserving of him.

I can't taint a loveable man like him.

My mind is full of negativity. It feels like there's no positive things around me unlike him.

I am just an average student who is only good at one thing.

And that is my studies. The thing that made me feel like I am no one without it.

I keep chasing the academic validation I needed that I thought I shouldn't be in a relationship with anybody.

It was one of the reason why I never pursue the libero further.

I knew I couldn't give more than he deserve.

I'm Kazue Y/n, an average girl who can't have a leading man like him.

Until Intrams arrive. The time I feel like God showed another sign that I need to believe in.

A chance to move so I can obtain my happiness. And that's him.

A long week of Intrams gave me another chance to see him play in the court without getting scared that he would find out about it.

My eyes during his matches were always in him that I started to think...

Can I go closer to him? Can I close the distance between the two of us?

Can I take this secret admiration further?

"I'm so lost" I muttered while letting my body move on its record as customers piled up in our booth.

I sighed in annoyance with how timid I am in his presence yet can't stop thinking and even blabbering about my admiration for the libero.

It feels like all of my classmates knew how much I like Nishinoya. One time, they almost used Takeda-sensei so I can just enter the gym.

But it didn't happen because of the panic attack I had that day.

Yes, I really couldn't face him and I'm not even joking.

It feels like I prefer to move behind the curtains.

I want him to know me, love me like I did.

But I can't dream of it. It was simply impossible for me.

Because I'm scared on the way he would see me. Even though he is not the type of person to judge somebody.

I slap both of my cheeks to focus on the orders placed on the bulletin board.

I can't slack off because this is our test in another subject.

"Y/n!" I heard a male friend of mine call me from the front that made me peek on the curtains to look at him.

"It's time to switch" he told me as he stood up that made me go back behind the curtain to remove the apron I was using.

I planned to be an accountant that's why on this entire activity we are having, being a cashier is what I love the most.

In other words, I love Intrams week.

I sat down in the chair near the cash register to start taking orders when my hands halted the moment I looked up and saw him in front of me.

It felt like my heart dropped from my chest.

I just snapped out of it when I heard chatters behind the curtain that made me take a deep breath to calm myself down.

I can't hate them for this.

"Good Morning! What would you like to have?"

Those were the first words I uttered to him.

The first time we properly met and face each other.

And the reason why I decided to move up my game.

Because I want to feel the same happiness I felt during that time.

I found myself running to the gym where his match would be held the moment I heard their team was up next.

Until I felt like Yachi dragging me to a much better view when she saw me.

There I saw his skills that made me like him more.

I didn't regret admiring him at all.

There are times I urge Yachi to take videos of him so she can send it to me. Times when I couldn't prevent myself from cheering when he received a ball.

Those are the moments I confirm that this is not some puppy love or infatuation.

I did start liking him more than I thought.

I leaned on the wall behind me to catch my breath after all the screaming I did out there.

It feels like I'm more tired than the players.

I heard Yachi chuckling beside me as she lent me a bottle so I could take a sip from it.

"You really like Nishinoya-san" she uttered that I can't help but laugh.

"Yes" I admitted without any hesitations. Because it was true.

I don't know what I saw on him but I can't explain how my heartbeat skipped the times we walked past each other in the hallway.

His cheerful voice never made me get tired of hearing it.

The Man who I want to be with me.

In my eyes, he is my motivation to keep going.

But for him, I am just one of the many who admire him.

If he is just aware of the way I look at him. That wherever I go, he never left my mind. The way I hold back just so I can have the freedom to like him from a far.

Somewhere within me, wish he felt the same way. That no matter how hard I try to abandon my feelings, it just came back stronger than before.

But I don't deserve the love he is giving. Not even a percent of it.

"But he doesn't like me. He doesn't know me, nor look at me"

The same way I did to him.

"I should have been a manager" I joked but we both knew, I wanted more than this hopelessness of watching him from afar.

"But right now, I'm just his fangirl"

I stood up properly from my position and the girl I am with didn't waste any second and just started dragging me without informing me where we were heading.

But I feel like my world slowed down the moment I saw his figure among the crowd.

He was talking to the other players as Yachi dragged me closer, nearer to him who halted from drinking his water when his eyes laid on me.

Is this a dream?

Do I deserve this kind of chance?

"Nishinoya-san!" Yachi called for him and made me decide to stick my feet on the floor beneath me.

I don't dare go further...

Yachi looked back when she noticed I stopped. I took my hand from her as I hid it behind me so he wouldn't see how much it was trembling.

She didn't even give me a chance to bring anything

"Hello to you ladies!" He beamed and I felt how my cheeks warmed from his voice.

The voice I thought I would just eavesdrop from. I never dream that his words would be directed to me at all.

"What did you thought of the game?" He ask us but I knew he was talking to Yachi after noticing how I seem to preserve myself from them.

They could at least give me a warning so I can prepared myself.

"Miss" I flinched when I heard his voice louder and saw he is now in front of me.

Now my feet are also trembling from nervousness.

"Yes?" The stutter from my voice didn't go unnoticed that made him scratch his head.

"What did you think of the game?"

No matter how much I made it awkward for him, he still managed to lift a beautiful smile from his lips.

"You did great..."

I have a lot of things to say but I don't know where to start.

I bit my lips when I felt his silence as I closed my eyes shut.

"So great that I didn't regret admiring you at all"

And then I felt his eyes on me. I wiped the tears that fell from my eyes.

"Please stop staring at me" I mutter in embarrassment when I notice his gaze seems to stay in my trembling figure longer.

"Wow..." He whispered that made me look up to him and saw the shock he plastered on his expressions.

"You like me?" He ask again that made me took a deep breath before giving a slight nod.

Never have I dreamed that I would confessed, especially in public.

He was silent like it feels like he is trying to process everything before a grin lift from his lips and out of nowhere, I felt him twirl me around.

"You don't know how happy I am right now"

His words made my fear disappear as those thoughts that keep preventing myself from admitting my feelings also diminish from my mind.

The only thing that I thought that my feelings were the reason he is happy.

I made him happy.

And a smile finally lifted from my lips.

How did I get so lucky?

~•°•~

"Excuse me everyone, my girlfriend is coming through" his cocky words made me hit his shoulders before I took a seat on the end to not disturb the team more than I intended.

My boyfriend just love boasting me around. Especially to his best friend, Tanaka. Who is now glaring daggers at him.

I didn't mind them anymore and started preparing the first bento I made for him, which I already inform him yesterday.

But it seems like his antics is still not stopping.

"How lucky I am for my girlfriend to prepare my lunch. I don't deserve this"

I started to wish to melt there right now when he keeps pulling the trigger of his senpai's patience and the jealousy of his friend.

I hit his shoulder harder to shut him up and just start eating which he obliged when he notice how red I was already.

"Oh?" I heard him let a small sigh of confusion on his first bite that made me halt from taking my first bite.

"What is it?" I ask him as I put down my chopsticks and saw how he slowly chewed the food.

"Taste Familiar"

I smiled from his words before I started eating my lunch.

"Why does it taste so familiar?"

"Because she is the one who was giving the food to you after practice" Tsukishima's nonchalant statement made my boyfriend look at me.

"How did I get so lucky?"

Oh how much my chest warmed from his words.

I really did win him over

[degyash]

So like this is my first post and I’m not really sure what to do so I’m just going to do a one-shot (｡•́‿•̀｡)

So tho one-shot is you telling Ukai you’re pregnant, his reaction, and the teams reaction. You and Ukai are already engaged and neither of you have even thought about kids before.

“Keishin?” You say when you hear the front door open. “Hey, how are you?” He says after he finds you in the kitchen and he bends down to kiss your cheek.

You softly smile to yourself but it fades as soon as you remember what you have to tell him. You told yourself that you were finally going to tell him. It’s been about two weeks since you found out you were pregnant and you were scared. You know the Keshin would never leave you for a reason like this but you still couldn’t help but worry.

“Y/n?” You hear your fiancé. “Yes?” You ask him. “Are you alright?” he asks, concern written all over his face. “Oh uh yeah.” You brush off your earlier thoughts. Although he doesn’t seem to believe you entirely her still trusts you. “Ok love, Im going to go shower.” He kisses you one more time and leaves the room.

Once he leaves the room you let out a big sigh. How were you supposed to tell him he is going to be a dad? You hear the water start running and decide to start dinner.

You finish up dinner and you feel your fiancé’s arms around your waist. You giggle and turn around to hug him. “I love you.” He says. “I love you too.” You say smiling big. You and your fiancé walk to the table and sit down.

You start to think about what you have to tell him. You got nervous and Ukai took notice.

“Are you ok baby?” He asks putting his hand on yours. “Keishin I haven’t been honest with you.” You admit. He looks confused and then a bit worried. “About what?” He asks. You excuse yourself from the table to grab something. When you get back to the table you set it down in front of your future husband.

“Y/n? What is this?” He asks picking up the pregnancy tests you took. “I-i’m pregnant Keishin.” You say your voice hiccuping.

He looks at the tests and then back at you. Slowly he stands up and walks to your shared room. Assuming the worst you start to tear up. After a minute you are quietly sobbing as you hear your fiancé walk back out of the room.

He smiles and hugs you as tight as he can surprising you. “You’re not mad?” You ask. “Why would I be mad? The love of my life is carrying my baby.” He says into your neck. You start crying tears of happiness. He sets you down and you guys finish eating dinner.

———————————————-

Keishin had to miss practice today because you had your first doctors appointment. He cried a little the second he heard your baby’s heart beat. You giggled and the nurse smiled at the scene.

The next day Ukai had come to you and complained about how the volleyball team was giving him shit for missing practice. Mainly Hinata, Nishinoya, and Tanaka.

“You should tell them Keishin.” You say brushing you fingers through his hair. “Maybe, but they’ve also never met you. They are going to ask a lot of questions.” He says looking up at you. “That’s ok, they’re going to have to know anyways.” You say hugging your lover. “Why?” He asks. “Other appointments and you’ll have to explain why you’re not at practice when I’m in labor.” You say. “I’ll tell them.” He hugs you tighter.

———————————

3rd person:

“Ok boys. I have an announcement.” Ukai says. The whole team focuses on him. “My fiancé is-” he is cut off by Nishinoya who yells: “YOU HAVE A FIANCÉ?????”

Ukai looks annoyed and tells him to sit. “Yes, I have a fiancé. She’s also pregnant so there will be some times where I’m not going to be here because of that.” He announces. “You’re going to have a kid?” Hinata asks. “Yes.” Ukai answers. Ukai hears many congratulations before he ends the practice.

“So y/n is pregnant, huh?” Takeda asks. “Yeah.” Ukai answers, smiling.

AHHHHHH I can’t tell if this is good or not 😭😭😭😭 but I really hope you like it because I’m not much of a writer byeeeee

[qdbs-writes]

Yaya, request are open again! Can I please ask for Takeda, Kitana, Rain and Jade with an s/o who was cursed by Shinnok so that everyone who sees their face dies, and their reaction to seeing it for the first time after the curse has been lifted?

MK Peeps Seeing Cursed!S/O!Reader's Face For The First Time

Takeda Takahashi

Wants to look super cool and stoic during this really vulnerable moment, but he's waited so long for this that he can't help but start crying.

Also, deep down, he's a bit overwhelmed that he can look at you now, he's so used to having to cower from your face because of the curse, but it's a good change, and he'll adapt quickly.

Kitana

When the curse gets broken and you go to remove your mask, she'll ask you to wait as she savours the moment. She closes her eyes and waits for you to fully remove your mask so she can see your face completely for the first time.

Kitana is alarmed that she doesn't recognise you at all, suddenly the love of her life appears to be a stranger. She's not sure what she thought you'd look like, but she comforts herself with the fact that she can finally put a face to the person she loves.

Rain

The first thing to come out of his mouth would be "You're hot? Oh, thank goodness.". Not that he thought you would be ugly, but he was a little concerned with the whole 'cursed face' situation, but your looks are certainly to his liking.

Prior to this, he would be convinced that looking at your cursed face couldn't kill him because he's "too powerful", and you would keep having to stop him from taking off your mask so he doesn't die.

Jade

Asks if she can do the honours of revealing your face, as she's always dreamed of this moment since the two of you got together. Jade delicately and slowly pulls the mask from your face, drinking in every new inch of skin she sees.

When the mask is fully off, she steps back to fully take you in. Jade laughs and marvels as the murky details of your appearance from behind the mask can now clearly be made out.

[failyaoi]

(Swordblade) Johnny made Kenshi eat McDonald’s one time and bro almost died. Johnny can cook but dude definitely eats out more. KENSHI THO cooks EVERYTHING from scratch and I mean everything. It’s one of his favorite past times. Tho he is thankful that Sonya got him a bread maker to save on time.

My HC for Johnny is that he can only cook a few things from his mom's recipes that he's perfected and can make them really really well. But if you put him in front of a stove to make an omelet he'll somehow burn it. He prefers to eat out because he has the money for it and it saves time for him and honestly only cooks the recipes he knows when he has nothing better to do or he's craving it. When he gets with Kenshi, he starts eating healthier

....Kenshi on the other hand, really enjoys cooking ESPECIALLY if it's for his family (friends included) and cooks a variety of foods. He has the kitchen arranged perfectly and once he finds out someone's favourite food nobody is safe and he WILL cook it for them on a random Wednesday. He denies that cooking for others is a love language but it is so obvious that it's 100% just that. He also enjoys cooking for himself and will just do it after a long day. He finds out Takeda's favourite food and cooks it when it's an off day for him, he prepares Johnny and Sonya's lunches and when they open it there's always something they love but also nutritious/vitamin rich stuff too.

Johnny suggests they just eat out tonight because they were working late but Kenshi is like NO WE HAVE FOOD AT HOME. He has caught Johnny and even Sonya eating a burger in the corner as fast as they can and have sometimes even eaten in the car before they get home 😭😭

Sonya buying him a breadmaker is so cute and he definitely uses it all the time, for a few weeks after he got it there was always some sort of bread on the side of whatever else he made...

Speaking of Sonya I think she can cook she just doesn't want to. Her husband does it for her so why would she.......she's like make me Miso soup make me fried chicken and he's like yes my love ^.^

[ququb444hm]

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝

part 31 / old man ☆

masterlist

important note!! there is the implication of a panic attack in this part so if that makes u uncomfortable, please do not continue reading! i am sorry in advance if i offend anyone by the way i write out the panic attack. i have not experienced one before and am basing the information solely on research i have done beforehand as well as the experiences of my friends. and for anyone who has experienced a panic attack, U R ONE OF THE STRONGEST PEOPLE EVER!

“geez, the school needs to start providing free umbrellas or something!” coach ukai exclaimed. he stared at his two players and team manager– tetsu, kozume, and yn were all dripping wet and shivering from the intense weather. “we’re ending practice a bit early so just grab a towel and dry yourselves up a bit or go take a quick shower in the locker room so you at least don’t catch a cold before the game next week.”

“yes, coach.” the three nodded, quickly making their way to the showers.

“yn!” mori called out, running up to his friend with a hoodie in hand. “change into this after so you’re not cold.”

yn eyed the material, smirking once she realized who it belonged to. “did rinnie give this to you?” she mused, “ohoho, so are you guys talking or what?”

“oh shut up, go take a shower. you smell like wet dog.” mori grumbled, shoving the hoodie into yn’s arms. yn giggled, thanking mori before heading into the girls locker room.

(note: guys.. i don’t actually ship mori n rin LOL js a disclaimer bc ik (or im pretty sure) they like haven’t met in the actual series…? they’re more of a sub-plot like cece n tetsu bc i love side character lore! anyways back to the storyyy)

once yn was done freshening up, she joined coach ukai and mr. takeda on the bleachers to talk about the game. "the team is looking good," coach examined. he watched as the players went up against each other in a quick match. "i just don't know what to do about kozume and keiji." he rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought as he analyzed the papers yn gave him last practice.

"what do you mean?" yn asked. she didn't recall writing anything weird about the two.

coach ukai shrugged. "maybe it's because i've known these kids since they were freshmen, but something just feels off between the two. i compared your notes from the beginning of the semester to last week, and there's a slight decline in their abilities."

yn furrowed her brows, taking the papers from coach ukai to see the difference herself. "a decline?" her eyes scanned the data and much to her surprise, he was right. kozume's agility went down by 2.5% and keiji's been struggling to successfully set the ball up for kou which puts the team at a big disadvantage since kou is normally always on the court and has the most trust in keiji to send him the ball.

(note again: idk what i js pulled out of my ass w this one >o< i don’t play volley but wtvr! :3)

"speaking of kozume and keiji, where are they?" mr. takeda piped up. tetsurou finished showering at the same time as yn and was currently talking to a few members, assumingly giving them tips for next week, but kozume was still nowhere to be seen. there couldn’t have been only one working shower right? 

"bokuto!" coach ukai called out, "where's your setter?"

"uhh-" kou looked around, "not on the court, coach!"

keishin groaned. "well, obviously.."

"keiji is in the locker room, pretty sure.” kei answered instead. he heard the setter excuse himself to grab something in the locker room, but what would he need in there when they usually dropped their things off on the bleachers? the middle blocker shrugged it off, not caring too much about his upperclassman.

“uhm i think kozume is also still in there.” shoyou added. his eyes met yn’s, both of them starting to feel a bit uneasy after talking about the two last night. “do you want me to go grab them?” keishin sighed, motioning for shoyou to retrieve the two missing players.

as shoyou neared the red-painted metal doors, his ears picked up keiji’s voice. he sounded annoyed. really annoyed. “you can’t be seriously telling me you won’t leave yn alone, right? right? kozume c’mon,” keiji laughed in mockery, his voice was getting a bit louder, but not loud enough to reach the ears of the other people on the other side of the gym. “you’re just going to keep hurting her. she doesn’t deserve that. you don’t deserve her.”

“like you have any place to talk,” kozume barked back. though not as aggravated as keiji, kozume was firm with his words. “you made yn feel unimportant the whole time the two of you were in a relationship. you were the one who had an interest in her first, yet you barely took the time to show any effort. you couldn’t even go to one of the most important events in her life! she worked so hard, she always does, for the annual art exhibition, but you forgot about it.”

“i had an important meeting that day-” keiji tried to reason.

kozume only scoffed. “oh please.”

“okay. fine.” shoyou could hear heavy footsteps. keiji was corning kozume into the lockers. he pressed an accusing finger against his chest. “missing the art exhibition was a dick move, but am i the one who’s going for their friend’s ex? am i the one who would publicly reject yn, yet give her mixed signals behind closed doors, continuously confusing her and manipulating her feelings? am i the one who can’t make up his mind, slowly declining yn’s mental and emotional well-being? no, kozume, i’m not. you are. know your place. yn doesn’t need you.”

it was quiet for a few seconds before shoyou could hear keiji’s footsteps walking toward the door he was pressing his ear against. in a quick panic, the ginger hid behind a nearby scoreboard until he saw keiji far enough to where he wouldn’t see the worried sophomore slip into the locker room.

“kozume!” shoyou cried out. the blond was in a fetal position on the floor against the lockers. he rocked back and forth, the frantic movement almost causing him to hit his head against the hard metal. his breathing was short and unstable, almost like he was choking. it was even more difficult to breathe due to his strained cries. the state of his close friend made shoyou sick to his stomach, his body trembled, not knowing what to do. “what- whats happening?!” he tried to prevent kozume from accidentally injuring himself, but once his hand made contact with kozume’s shoulder, the blond slapped his hand away.

“don’t touch me!” he cried out. his eyes grew in panic, everything around him was overwhelming him past his limit.

shoyou fell back at the sudden impact, “kozume-”

“i’m sorry,” kozume dug his head back into his arms. “i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry-” he repeated the same words over and over again, each apology more desperate than the last. ‘i hit shoyou? why did i hit shoyou?’ “i didn’t mean it- i didn’t i-” his voice was restless, saying the same thing over and over as his mind grew louder by the second. ‘i hurt shoyou. i hurt yn. i can’t stop. i don’t know what to do. i can’t stop. it hurts. everything hurts. i hurt yn. my heart wont shut up. it’s so loud. everything is so loud. please shut up. please shut up. shut up. shut up. shut up-’

“kozume i don’t know what to do!” shoyou sobbed. the situation was getting to much for him, he needed to call someone for help. “i’m going to get yn, she’ll know what to do-”

“SHUT UP.” shoyou stopped in his tracks, body cold at the sudden yell. kozume’s head jerked up at his own words, disbelief written across his face. was he the one who yelled that? “please don’t get yn. please- shoyou please.” he was tirelessly begging. tears constructing his vision enough to not even know if shoyou was opening the door or not. “please. please don’t call yn. i don’t- she can’t know. please. i’m sorry i yelled. i’m sorry- just. just- don’t move.”

shoyou slowly removed his hand from the door handle. his movements were slow, scared that he might suddenly alarm kozume again. he squeezed his eyes shut, breathing long and slow to calm his nerves so that he could at least provide some sort of ease to kozume. “okay…” he whispered, slowly opening his eyes. shoyou bent down to kozume’s level, leaving a foot of space between them as he tried to calm the blond’s nerves as he just did his own. “it’s okay koz. it’s okay.” continuing the breathing exercise he was previously doing, shoyou used his hands to motion each inhale, each hold of breath, and each exhale. 

“i’m sorry.” kozume murmured, unable to meet shoyou’s gaze. he was slowly regaining stable breathing, the pain in his chest diminishing. 

“don’t apologize!” shoyou scolded. “i’m the one who should say sorry, kozume.” the ginger choked back his tears, refraining from overwhelming his friend. “i didn’t know what to do and i couldn’t help you..”

kozume shook his head, “you did help, sho. thank you.” a small smile graced his features, reassuring his friend.

the two sat in silence for a few minutes until shoyou decided to let his curiosity flow free. “kozume, can i ask you something?” the blonde nodded. “what's happening between you and keiji? and why can’t yn know about this? why are you hiding it from her?”

kozume let out a weak laugh. “that’s more than just a something.” 

“sorry, i just don’t get it!” shoyou whined. “yn likes you, a lot, and i thought you really like yn too. so why are u letting keiji get in the way and talk you down like that? why are you so afraid of letting yourself be happy?”

the familiar question rang through kozume’s mind. a previous conversation from tetsurou suddenly resurfacing.

“are you afraid of letting yourself be happy or something? look, i’m not saying you should’ve prevented keiji from asking yn out, but you’ve liked my sister since what? the second grade? and you just let some new guy sweep her off her feet? that’s just crazy, man! i know for a fact that he could never have the same connection you and her have, trust me, i’m like psychic or something. i know you’re the better person–- the only person, actually, for yn.” 

“it’s not that…” kozume groaned. “i’m afraid that…if yn and i do become something more than what we are now, i’ll disappoint her more than i already do. what if, once we start dating, she realizes she doesn’t actually like me?”

shoyou frowned. keiji’s words were dug deep into kozume’s heart. nothing he could say, no amount of reassurance could ever directly change kozume’s mindset. it needed to come from her–

knock. knock. knock. 

“sho? kozume? are you guys okay? i- uhm we’re getting worried…you two have been in there for a long time, is everything okay?”

there she was. the only person who could dissolve all of keiji’s cruel words from kozume’s distraught soul. 

“sorry, we’ll be out in a sec, nn!” shoyou called out. he reached a hand out for kozume to take. “are you okay to go outside?”

the blonde took a deep breath. “we have a game next week, don’t we?” he placed his hand on shoyou’s, pulling himself up.

the two opened the door to reveal yn’s big doe eyes brimming with concern. “what happened? did you lose your towel? was the water too cold?” she enveloped kozume’s hands into her own, feeling the difference in temperature. “if you didn’t have any warm water, you should’ve told us! taking a cold shower after being soaked in the rain isn’t good for you!” 

“hey!” coach ukai irked, already frustrated that kozume would only have less than an hour to practice. “stop feeling the boy up and let him get his ass to work!”

yn’s eye twitched at the suggestive assumption. she quipped her head at keishin and flipped him off. “shut up, old man!”

part 30 sassy man apocalypse <- | masterlist | -> part 32 nipples in a twist

note(s): hnnghghghgrfijwfmgh next part is a text msg part

✩⡱ taglist !! + @writing-for-the-hell-of-it @sherryuki-callmeyuki @anny-bah @ast4rg1rl @sukunasrealgf @dani-shitting-around @whokillednyx @vernon-dursley @limaswife @sugawara-levi @sixxze @ryoiii @literally-a-ferret @444sunarin @llearlert @lloyd4x @usermins @2baddies-1porsche @vernon-dursley @lyzisbitchingagain @h3xi2g0n3 @l0v3do11 lmk if u want to be added (msg or inbox)ヾ(･ω･`；)ﾉ

[nightmarerodent]

Acquisition

Hanzo and Takeda angst because I feel like it.

Hanzo was not surprised to find him sitting alone in front of the compound’s gates, eyes wet and rubbed raw from wiping away tears. His young charge was stubborn, much like his father. At least he’s stopped trying to run away. For now, at least.

It had been a few months now since Kenshi Takahashi had entrusted him with training his son, a task the boy was seemingly determined to make as difficult as possible. His anger was justified and something Hanzo could never hold over his young ward, the loss of his mother was still fresh and the circumstances of his arrival at the Shirai Ryu left little room to process the trauma. His father’s last words did not help.

“Stay with Hanzo. He’ll take care of you,” he had told the boy, “I’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

False hope. Kenshi will be back, of that Hanzo knew for certain, but that won’t be for a long, long time. At first Takeda took it in strides, believing his days amongst the ninja clan were numbered, but as days turned to weeks the child started running off to try and find a way back to his father. He never got far. Hanzo was always there to catch him. As weeks turned to months he’d sit at the gates, watching the dirt road for the silhouette of a blind swordsman to come walking down the path to retrieve him. He was determined to be the first one to greet him as he came. Now, it would seem, that determination has finally cracked.

“He doesn’t want me, does he?” Takeda’s voice was cracked and small, “He’s not coming back because he doesn’t want me.”

Hanzo’s throat tightened, unable to give the explanation for his father’s actions that the boy desperately wanted. He vowed not to tell. Not until Takeda was ready. Not until he was properly trained.

Instead Hanzo swallowed the lump that began to form in his throat and silently took a seat in the dirt next to the boy as fresh tears began to stream down his young face. He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and drew him in, allowing the young boy to collapse his small frame into him. Right now he couldn’t be the stern and stand-off ish Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu. Takeda did not need training or a lecture. He needed comfort. He needed a father. Hanzo prayed he still knew how.

[running-with-the-feels]

Can you imagine the kind of grief Suchin would go through if she was brought back by Kronica? Like, one second she’s fighting for her and her son’s life against what seems to be an endless wave of assassins, praying and hoping they don’t find him, then she’s yoinked from her time and is now standing before a god, by the way those are real, and she’s saying she can make it so her and her son are never discovered and she can raise the boy in peace, just do her this one small favor and kill these people for her. She agrees, assuming that if events are unaltered that both her and Takeda would have died, so like the younger Scorpion, she’s fighting for a lie.

Then she meets the people she’s tasked with killing, some military grunts and their bosses and another god. Whatever. But then one of them asks for her name mid flight and she gives it, thinking nothing of it, the person is about to die anyway, but they pause and have this haunted look in their eyes and immediately call everything off and start panicking because holy shit they were about to kill Takeda’s mom. This is messed up. And now she pauses because how do they know her son? He’s alive? He’s involved in all of his?

Then she learns who she’s been fighting. His friends, his fiancé, his mentor, his adoptive father and master. It’s 20 years into the future and Kronica puppeted her into fighting the people her son cared most about. She was played a fool.

Once everything is over and a new god is made and things calm down she finally sees him again but he’s so vastly different she can’t recognize him at all. Her son was a small, shy, young boy that stubbornly clung to his mother and was wary of outsiders. This was a charismatic, witty, and kindhearted young man that is fiercely loyal to his friends and clan. He had become a warrior and she had missed every step of that progression and it hurt.

She'd be wracked with grief but refuse to show it and Takeda would see right through her. I bet the only person who could really get through to her about it would be Hanzo

Also, her reactions with young Sonya would be very interesting. Bc Suchin loves her son, always has, but young Sonya is understandably put off by the thought of having a kid with someone she hates, so they'd have some interesting convos

Kronika would get ripped a new one tho, Suchin isn't "The Bitch With A Blade" for no reason, after all

[judgementdaysunshine]

May I please request headcanons for Sonya, Cassie, Kitana, and Jacqui reacting to their S/O having a heart attack or stroke and going through the recovery process?

Omg finally mk requests! 😊

Jacqui

She was working when you came in to have lunch and not too long after when she was talking with Cassie that they heard cass's dad Johnny yell with you holding tightly to your chest immediately being taken to medical and being sent to the hospital for a heart attack

She was terrified going to the hospital with you seeing you in so much pain being taken back while she waited in the waiting room crying quietly but as soon as she saw her dad who johnny had called right after the ambulance left the base telling him that his daughter and the love of her life needed him and he came immediately hugging jacqui as she sobbed in his arms

They found out from the doctor that you had a heart attack and you were lucky to have survived it but you had to have surgery to clear blockage in your arteries from how bad it was

You spent 4 days in the hospital and went back to her home as you recovered with her staying by your side as well as her parents getting visits from all your friends at base

You slowly recovered going back to base at first doing paperwork and storage eventually back on missions with cass and jacqui under Sonya's command all three being mindful and careful of what missions you went on and how much stress you were put under

You go to the doctor quite a bit to make sure your heart is not blocked up again or swelled which could lead to another heart attack if not spotted and treated and jacqui makes sure to go with you and if she can't one or both of her parents go with you

Kitana

The two of you were having a day off at home just spending time together until you went to the bathroom

She was wiping the table when she heard a thud running to the bathroom seeing you on the floor immediately yelling for Jade who happened to be next door

She realized immediately that you were having a stroke staying with kitana until the ambulance came and the two of you went to the hospital

You went for x-rays and surgery leaving her a mess even with jade, Kotal Kahn, and Liu Kang there to try to keep her company as the time drags on and no news of your condition until 4 hours later

The doctor tells them that you had a stroke and had to have surgery for an hemorrhagic type of stroke due to a ruptured blood vessel in your brain that bled out due to a head injury you had not too long ago

You spent the next 3 months recovering from the stroke and 4 months after you slowly got back to training until you were well and fully okay to fight again

Kitana was right by your side the whole way from you being in the hospital to when you could finally fight again teaching you all of what you had to relearn before from talking, eating on your own, and walking to coordinating your body movements, picking things up, and finally fighting

You fully recovered but you're also more weary when you get a head injury and always have announcers give fellow fighters warnings for you due to the stroke

Sonya

She was on base with Cass while you were at home off for the day so you slept in and had been talking on the phone to your sister when you started feeling unbearable pain in your chest and collapsed

She had her phone put up so instead of her getting the call about you going to the hospital cassie did and she just sobbed as Jacqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin stood hearing the news and followed cassie as she yelled for sonya who turned seeing the four along with Kenshi and she immediately ran getting on a helicopter with everyone else while Johnny held cass in his arms in the back of the chopper

He hoped you were okay because if you were gone god he didn't know if either women would ever be okay again if you weren't there to keep the peace but also by being there and loving both of them and because of that you put them back together after all they had been through

They found out you had a severe heart attack and had been in surgery for 25 minutes out of 2 hours so they all waited through the whole time and thankfully you were alive and recovering

They stayed right by your side as you recovered sonya especially after not being there with you when it happened even when you told her that it wasn't her fault

You went back into fighting making sure your heart was healthy enough for the training and hard strain of physically fighting and once that was checked off you were back good as new and better than before

Cassie

The two of you and Jacqui were spending the day out on the beach and we're heading back to your and cass's apartment when you noticed you were slurring when you talked which confused you and them

The next thing you knew was you felt your body go numb before everything went black you fell and started having a stroke which terrified both cass and jacqui and they tried to help you and calling an ambulance

They waited as you were taken for testing and surgery both of them terrified of you not making it and cass not knowing what she was going to do without you

Sonya and Johnny made it to the hospital two hours later after Jacqui called them and told them what had happened and hearing cass sobbing I'm the background

They held her and waited until the doctor came and told them that you were okay but you were unconscious and the next morning you woke up to the relief of everyone

They all stayed and helped as you recover from the stroke learning how to do most of your motor and cognitive skills all over again and once you were okay and approved cass, sonya, and johnny taught you how to fight again and later on you learned your old Japanese fighting style from Takeda and his dad Kenshi who also helped you during the stroke

You became the old you again but also a new version of yourself that you never thought you would be or even become in any other set of circumstances

You always thank the people who stayed by your side and tell them how much you love them and how they saved you in more than one way just by helping you after the stroke

[blackraged]

MORTAL KOMBAT 1 Thoughts Pt3.

[❌❌xontains SPOILERS ❌❌]

The final thoughts on the game as it's coming to an end. This was a ride!

Chapter 11

You go king. Show Sindel horrors beyond comprehension

Oohh, I love the incorporated acknowledgement of the plot from MK11 here.

Liu Kang is so humble, it makes him such a good character?? I was so scared he'd become too nice to handle, but they managed to balance him so well.

This existential anomalies concept is giving ATSV vibes.

D-did Nitara just straight up hiss at Sindel,, LOL

It literally warms my heart to see Sindel, Kitana and Mileena being a loving family. So far honestly the best decision by NRS.

Chapter 12

Lesbians

I'm in tears about this family reunion. I wonder if Jerrod is now fully in charge of the created Ermac body, or if this will be a "fight for the control of the mind and body" kinda trope.

Sindel dies after all, what???? That's not fair,, we had just gotten good Empress Sindel😭😭😭 at least she is within Jerrod now

Where did they leave Kung Lao, Raiden, Johnny, Kenshi and Syzoth in all of this?? Homeboys are literally missing out on all the drama.

This really is turning into ATSV, does that mean we get to see other reoccurring characters too??

Chapter 13

I know I said this before, but Liu Kang Geras' friendship means so much to me. He really be looking out for his friend qwq

"Dark doubles" now this one is a little confusing. Are those the dark doubles from MK11 which means Scorpion would still be Hanzo Hasashi, or did Shang Tsung recreate the Universe to the exact same as Liu Kang has, except made everyone follow him?

Was that an Armageddon reference 👀👀

Never in a lifetime would I have thought that Raiden, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi would become a fun trio.

Shang is way too baby girl, it's making me low-key uncomfortable. It feels so wrong.

Dark Shao Khan looks so silly, while Dark Reiko is serving c0nt

Chapter 14

I don't like how this chapter is called Time of Death and it starts with Liu Kang in the scene.

KITANA????? KITANA WAS A TITAN???? So ALL of the Tower Endings were real?? AND canon???

"You were my Liu Kang" btch I'm bawling

Yo, everyone's Dark Timeline look is absolutely stunning.

I'm such a fan of Liu Kang kicking Nitara.

These fights are so cool but visually so confusing. I never know where to look.

Chapter 15

THERE IS A FEMALE JOHNNY LMAO

Ohno, I don't like this "select your final warrior" option.

Not Quan Chi waking down like a Hell Priest

Wait BLACK DRAGON SONYA??

John Kahner......I would have loved you see that timeline.

I appreciate the various Easter Eggs put into game, but I hate (I'm being dramatic) the character mashups like Scorp Lao, John Kahner, Stung Lao, Frostbite, Quantum Chi,

The various Johnny's are killing me. Especially Mime Johnny. We need a spin off with all the Johnnys.

HOLD ON A FREAKING SECOND. CASSIE, JACQUI, TAKEDA AND KUNG JIN??? AYOO??

I think the new Era Shang Tsung is pretty redeemable.

These final fights are a little stressful ngl.

I-what....what just happened. Is it like just over over l. Was this a snap shot to another time line? Am I missing something? Is it over just like that?

I called it. I knew it was the damn Shirai Ryu.

Weird thought, but is Madame Bo the alt version to Bo Rai Cho by chance?

"Changed the Arcs of our lives" very sweet double meaning, but I feel like it has a secret third meaning, and I'm unsure if I like it. I'm sure there is something coming to sting.

Conclusion of the game;

THAT'S IT?? THAT'S FCKING ALL?? Why does this feel like the end of the entire franchise??? I know the title being MK1 implies that there WILL be future installments. But this very much felt like the end of a Saga, and it is really pulling the strings of my heart.

I have so many questions still. What's next to come? What does the end of this now mean for the entire MK universe? What will they do to Shang Tsung? Will Titan Kitana be back? What about all other Characters that have become Titans? Will we see other returning characters from previous games in the future? Is there even room for new conflicts??

But overall, I loved it so much. It was absolutely worth the wait, I sincerely hope that there will be more in the future and that we didn't have to say goodbye.

NRS have really outdone themselves. Each MK game just kept becoming cooler and cooler, with MK1 now completely putting me in awe with the story, animation, designs, effects etc I am honestly not sure how they're gonna top that for the next games.

I do have to say though, that while I don't agree with some of the changes done to the story and characters, I think my favourite thing in this "reboot" is that they made Kitana and Mileena ACTUAL twin sisters.

Some characters seem also a lot more interesting now too. I'm specifically thinking Kung Lao, Raiden, Smoke and Mileena (Please don't come at me. I know how everyone was literally all over her, but I simply wasn't a fan. That has changed now obviously).

Though while I really really REALLY adored Reptile in this game, I do wish they would have kept the original Saurian Lore, - or at least part of it. In my mind it would have made more sense for the Human look.

This game was intense, interesting, captivating, funny, and tearjerking. I am still so amazed, but also feel now that void in my chest. I'm not sure how things will go from now on, but MK will continue to remain one of my fave games ever.

This really was a ride y'all.

[ikeromantic]

Congrats on the Ikesen 1k event! Can i request Shingen + Secret + 👹

Ok so, this one hit me like a truck. Or a train xD My brain picked it up and ran with it. A sort of fairytale AU. So, here we go! Approx. 3000 words of Shingen, secrets, and oni.

Mai arrived at the village just before sunset. She was bone tired and dusty from travel. All she wanted at this point was a bath and a soft futon. Hopefully this place had an inn, or some kind people to rent her a room for the night. 

The street was strangely empty, too quiet even for the small collection of wood houses. There was no one out and about, so she tried knocking on a few doors. No one answered. She saw no lanterns lit and no smoke from cook fires. The only signs of life came from the castle set just above the village on a low rise. Strains of music drifted from the heights, which meant there must be someone there.

Lords were a tricky lot, she knew. Some would not deign to notice her presence, and their servants would let her sleep in the barn or a shed. Some would chase her off and threaten her. Others wanted payment for a room in something other than gold. But sometimes they were welcoming too. Asking for news from her travels and offering food and a place to stay in exchange for nothing but stories.

She trudged down the street to the castle gate. “Hello?” 

As with the rest of the town, there was no answer. Mai pushed the gate open. It was heavy and she had to put her whole body into it. The gate swung open with a rusty squeal, and a shout of pained surprise.

Mai stumbled back from the gate as an annoyed looking man moved into view. He was dressed in fine clothes, accented with red. His warm brown eyes were narrowed with anger, and he was holding his elbow. “Hi?”

“You know, you could show a little patience, ya damn boar woman! Shoving the door open on me instead of waiting for me.” He gave her a severe frown. “Anyway, what do you want?”

“Umm. Sorry about that. I thought no one was coming.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I need to find a place to rest tonight. It will be dark soon so . . .”

The man shook his head. “You can’t stay here. You should just keep walking until you’re well clear of the village.”

“Why is that?” Mai tilted her head. 

Another voice answered her, this one melodic and sorrowful. “Because this place is cursed.” A man stepped into view behind the first. He was opposite in every way. His skin was pale as porcelain, and his hair hung over his shoulder in a braid of shining dark silk. Pale eyes shone like the moon as his petal soft lips turned up in a melancholy smile. 

Mai almost didn’t notice the biwa in his hand, she was so busy staring at his beauty. 

“Ugh, you did it again, Yoshimoto. She’s about to start drooling.” The man with brown eyes named the beauty behind him with distaste. 

“I am not! I don’t drool!” She snapped. 

The beauty laughed. “Yukimura, stop being so rude. And let this lady in. I do not think she has time to clear the town before it gets dark so she will be no safer out there than in here.”

Yukimura stepped out of her way and motioned her inside. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” He glared at Mai as if this was her fault. “I guess we should take her to see Lord Takeda. He’ll decide what’s best for her.”

Yoshimoto nodded. “Come along, lovely traveler. What is your name?”

“I’m Mai. And you are Yoshimoto?”

He chuckled. “Yes. And my rude companion is Yukimura.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened here? Everyone is gone. It’s like a zombie apocalypse. Minus the zombies, I hope.” Mai smiled nervously.

It was Yukimura that answered. “Didn’t you hear what he said before or are you deaf as well as clumsy? The place is cursed. A mad oni rages here on new moon nights and devours maidens. So everybody that could, left.”

“It . . . devours maidens?”

“Yeah, but only pretty ones so you got nothing to worry about, probably.”Yukimura smirked. 

Mai felt the urgent and sudden desire to slap him, but she restrained herself. 

Yoshimoto tutted. “That is not true, Yuki. The demon devours any woman. Old or young, maiden or matron. Though if it did hunt only the beauties, I fear you would be at the top of the menu, dear Mai.”

She blushed. “Erm, ok. So . . . is it a new moon?”

Yoshimoto nodded gravely. “But perhaps Lord Takeda will have an idea of how to keep you safe. It would be a shame to lose you on the same night we met, hm?”

They brought her to a large audience chamber. It was once sumptuously appointed, but everything was now in disrepair. A layer of dust coated the decorations, the rugs were sun-faded and worn, and the light of the setting sun gleamed in through gaps between the boards of the walls.

Mai’s eyes were drawn to the lord of this place as soon as he entered. He too had the look of faded beauty. A wide-shouldered man with grey eyes like storm-clouds and lips that were made for wickedness. 

He smiled as he saw her, a flicker of life warming his expression. “What angel has graced us with her presence? Am I dreaming or has heaven sent me a blessing?”

“Umm, I’m Mai. And . . . umm . . . and . . .”

Yukimura snorted. “Seriously? First she drools all over Yoshimoto and now she gets all speechless in front of you?”

“I’m going to guess you didn’t get such a reaction,” Shingen chuckled. “Don’t be jealous, Yuki. I’m sure you will grow into your looks one day.”

“H-hey!” Yukimura turned bright red. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

Mai couldn’t help but giggle. 

The sound drew Lord Takeda’s eyes back to her. There was a fevered light in them, a bright heat that illuminated them like the sun behind the clouds. “Your laugh is music to my ears. It has been too long since we had anything here to smile about. So tell me, beauty, why do you grace the halls of this cursed home?”

“Lord Takeda . . . I am traveling to Sakai and I stopped here for the night. I was hoping to find an inn or rent a room. But Yukimura and Yoshimoto said, well -” she paused, unsure what to say. An oni seemed like a fanciful thing. A fairytale. 

“Call me Shingen,” he said into the silence. “We will have you stay here tonight.”

“But the oni,” Yukimura began to protest.

Shingen shook his head. “It will be fine. I will personally ensure she is safe.”

Yoshimoto frowned but nodded. “As you say.”

He closed the distance between them and took her hand. “I will let nothing touch you, my angel. Come with me.”

“L-lord Takeda -”

“Shingen.”

“R-right. Shingen. Thank you for letting me stay. You don’t need to worry about me though. I can defend myself. So if you’ll just point the way?” Mai didn’t want any special favors from this honey-tongued guy. She wasn’t sure whether or not there was a literal demon to worry about, but she knew all the dangers inherent in being around hot guys with big swords. 

He smiled at her. It was the kind of smile that had promises behind it. “It’s no trouble, gorgeous. If anything, it is I that should thank you for giving me this moment to view your beauty and a chance to prove myself worthy of it.”

“Umm. Right. Ok.” Mai felt heat creep into her cheeks. Thankfully, it seemed they reached their destination. A room at the end of the hall. 

Shingen kissed the back of her hand. His lips were warm and soft and sent a shock of pleasure up her arm. “I must leave you now. It is almost dark. Just . . . close your door and lock it. Do not open it, no matter what you hear or see.”

He pushed her gently into the room and shut the door. 

“Wait! Hey!” Mai reached to open it back up but his voice stopped her.

“Lock the door, angel.” There was something in his tone, some deep sadness as if he were on the edge of tears. 

Mai did as he asked. Once the lock slid into place, she heard his footsteps recede. Alone in the room, she set down her pack and checked the knife strapped to her arm. She wasn’t sure what to do with herself. It seemed a bath was out of the question, along with a warm meal. 

The room had a futon rolled up in one corner. She unfurled it and shook the dust out. It looked thick and soft, at least. There was a small shelf too, with some porcelain dishes and a lantern. A wall scroll hung above the shelf, depicting the town below in better times. And there was one large window that looked out on an overgrown garden. 

Even in its desolation, the garden was beautiful. Vining flowers grew up over the benches and crawled along the walls toward the window. Bushes grew in unrestrained tangles, blossoms pushing through the greenery in profusion. It was like a verdant, floral jungle. Mai decided she would look at it in the morning. Assuming she could. She swallowed her fear and went to sit down on the futon.

Everything would be fine. Oni weren’t real, so she would just need to be alert for the real problem. Maybe bandits? Or some disease that affected women more than men? A yawn disrupted her train of thoughts. Anxiety and exhaustion fought over her, leaving her limbs feeling heavy and thick and her heart beating fast and thready. 

Mai laid down on the futon. It was soft and smelled like lavender. Exhaustion started to win out and her eyes fluttered closed. 

Only to fly open at the sound of some creature in pain, howling in the night. 

“Come on, Mai. It’s not a demon. Just, like, a big dog or something. A bear maybe. A hurt bear.” She closed her eyes forcefully but the sound came again. 

She sat up and drew the slim blade from its sheath. “Ok. Ok. It’s nothing to be scared of. Probably that Yuki guy trying to scare me.” Mai sat there in the dark, nerves jangling.

The howling faded and for a moment, there was blessed silence. Then came the sound of cracking wood. Like trees being uprooted. Walls being torn down. She felt the walls shiver with the force of whatever violence took place beyond her sight. 

Mai stood and went to the door. She pressed her ear to it, listening. There was shouting in the distance, but she couldn’t make out the words. An animalistic growl and another crash, this one close enough to shiver the walls of her room. 

Then, she heard it. A soft sound just under the cacophony. “Mai,” it whispered. “Mai. Come out, Mai.” 

The voice froze her where she stood. “Umm. Hello?”

“Open the door,” the whisper came again. 

She moved back from it, fear prickling her skin. “Nope! I’m good! You can go away now!” 

Something huge slammed into her door. The wood creaked and bulged in protest. The assault came again and again. With each attack, the door looked closer to collapse but somehow held. And then it didn’t. With a shower of splinters, the wood gave way. 

Mai leapt back and ran for the open window. She crawled out of it and dropped down into the overgrown garden. 

A huge, horrid face leered out at her from her room. Gleaming white fangs, swollen red lips, horns jutting from a tangle of brown hair. “Come back Mai! Where are you going? Don’t run! I only want to eat you!”

She ran. It was never a good idea to run in the dark with a bare blade in hand, but falling and stabbing herself seemed like a better fate than whatever that monster had in store. Mai dodged around a vine covered bench and crouched behind a giant camellia bush. 

The oni crashed after her, tearing plants from the ground and smashing whatever stood in his way. “Mai!” His voice echoed through the garden. 

He sounded close. She held her breath and tried to make herself small. With luck, he’d pass by. And if he did spot her, she had plenty of room to run. Mai’s hand tightened on the hilt of her dagger. Just go away, she thought. 

“I can’t just go away. You smell so delicious little Mai.” The oni’s hot breath ghosted against her cheek as he spoke. 

She turned her head to see that he’d somehow crept up behind her and now crouched there, so close that she could not run. Mai screamed.

The oni grabbed her. His smile was wide and hungry. “It’s been so long,” he crooned. “So long. I have had nothing to hunt. Nothing to eat!”

“That sounds like a ‘you’ problem!” Mai kicked at him, trying to wriggle loose. She was so frightened that she shook like a leaf despite her vocal defiance. 

He brought her close, so close that she could see the beads of spittle on his long, sharp teeth. “I wonder if you taste as sweet as you sound.” His jaw creaked as he opened it wider.

Mai flailed, panic consuming her. The knife she still gripped slashed the oni’s face and then lodged in his shoulder. 

The oni howled and let go. It grabbed the hilt of her dagger and jerked the blade free. Blood as black as night oozed from the wound. “What have you done,” he cried. Something flickered in his eyes, a familiar grey like the overcast sky. He fell to his knees, gasping. “You’ve killed me.”

Mai wanted to run, she really did. But something held her there, just out of the oni’s reach. She watched as he slumped from his knees to the ground. His breathing grew more and more labored until finally, it stopped. 

Though she knew it was a bad idea, Mai crept carefully forward. She reached out and poked the oni. It did not move, just lay there in the spreading pool of black blood. Even though it was a monster and would have eaten her, she felt bad for stabbing it. She’d never killed anything before, much less a demon. Her chest felt heavy with conflicting emotions.

There was elation at surviving, but guilt too. And a certain curiosity. Oni were real, and that by itself was a surprise. She tentatively grabbed the oni’s shoulder, and rolled him over so that she could see his face. In death, the expression he wore was peaceful. And there was a certain nobility to it, as if perhaps, he was not all bad. 

“Sorry about this,” she told him. “You didn’t leave me much choice but . . . still. I wish we’d both parted ways alive.” She pushed back a strand of his brown hair. Did oni have families? Friends? Would anyone miss him? Or was he just a monster? “I hope you’re at peace now, anyway.” She gently closed his eyes and then, impulsively, pressed a kiss to his cooling forehead. 

As her lips brushed his skin, something began to change. She felt the oni’s limbs tremble. Mai yelped, and leapt away. It wasn’t dead! Her knife lay in the pool of black blood beside the beast, and she cursed herself for not picking it up first. 

The oni’s skin began to shift and bubble, paling in the dim starlight from the red of demon-flesh to a mortal color. And its face melted in on itself, the tusks shrinking, the horns melding with its head. 

Mai watched in horror, afraid to move, afraid to even breathe. But her fear turned to awe as the oni became the lord. “Shingen?”

His eyes fluttered open. “Mai?” 

She wasn’t sure what to do. Run? Fight? “You were the oni?”

He nodded tiredly. “I was. But you’ve broken the curse. I can feel it. The absence of it.” Shingen favored her with a smile that could woo a thousand maidens. “You really are an angel. No. You’re a goddess. A divine beauty with a soul as pure as light.” 

“Heh. I don’t know about that. I stabbed you. Not exactly angel material.” She took a tentative step closer. “Are you . . . ok?”

Shingen sat up and rubbed his torn clothes. “The wound healed. It would have anyway. The oni has been stabbed and shot and burned and cut in two. I always wake at sunrise, whole. It has been my secret shame for years. I am the lord when the sun is up, and a beast on the nights of the new moon.”

“But it’s not sunrise.” 

He took her hand and kissed it. “No. It isn’t. Because you broke my curse. You saw something good in that evil creature. And you gave me your blessing.”

“All I did was kiss your forehead.” She blushed, feeling foolish and also a little proud. How many seamstresses could say they broke a curse?

Shingen looked at her with his silvered gaze, a slow smile spread across his lips. “Would you grant me another kiss, then? Just to be sure?”

“I-if you think -” That was as far as she got before his warm lips closed over hers, with a kiss as sweet as summer melons. A slow, blossoming kiss that took her breath away and made her heart race. 

When he broke the kiss, she took a moment to get herself under control. “Whoa. I - I think you’re cured now.”

Shingen’s heated gaze held her shy one. “Are you sure, my goddess? Perhaps you should stay and treat me with your blessings for another month. Just until the next new moon passes. Just in case.” His thumb stroked her knuckles, a lovers caress. “I may need your medicine every day to keep me safe.”

“I - I think you’re exaggerating.” She knew he was. Probably. But there was no part of her that protested the idea of kissing this man every day for the next month. Maybe more than once a day. Maybe more than kissing. Mai cleared her throat. “I can see staying for awhile. Just to be certain. But - but that doesn’t mean you can just go kissing me whenever you want. I like to get to know a guy first!”

“Then let’s spend this month getting to know each other very well.” His reply was almost a purr. 

Mai wondered if the oni was really the more dangerous version of Shingen. Because this one promised to eat her up too, with those stormy grey eyes and that sensual mouth. But the way she was feeling, she wasn’t sure she would mind it much.