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seravphs · 11 months

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beating hearts promised to bared teeth — part one: “The God Finds A Familiar”

KITSUNE! GOJO x GOD! FEM READER; KAMISAMA HAJIMEMASHITA AU

When a kind stranger offers you his home because your gambling addict of a father can’t pay rent, you’re left in charge of a shrine - with a catch. Once you arrive at your new home, you learn a crucial fact that he conveniently left out. You’re the new god in charge, and his familiar, who now belongs to you, does not like you. What’s a new god to do, especially when she finds herself slowly falling for the fox spirit?

wc — 10k

tags — enemies to lovers, shoujo manga heroine type reader, Japanese mythology/yokai, age gap (1000 year old fox and high school girl), slowburn, cameo from Sukuna, Toji, and Nanami, cameo from original Kamisama Hajimemashita cast

part two — “The God Finds A Husband” (coming soon)

shoujo series masterlist

If your stomach growls any louder, you’ll scare off the squirrels fighting over the end of a baguette loaf by the park bench you’re sitting on.

You’re currently in the middle of what others might describe as very hard times. To be honest, your very hard times have been going on for a while now - they just culminated at this specific moment. Regardless, these days are only temporary. You’ve promised yourself that one day, you’ll be able to smile from the bottom of your heart.

It’s just that it was easier said than done when you weren’t homeless. Your father has never been the most reliable of men. You had to take over the household finances by the time you were eight, so you’ve always been accustomed to his lack of responsibility, but today really solidified his status in your mind as an absolutely useless, no good man. It’s unfathomable cruelty to have left his only daughter with no money, no relatives, and no home.

You don’t want to call it cruel. For all of his faults, you still love your father. And it’s because you love him that you know this wasn’t a cruel act. Cruelty is intentional. It’s malicious. It comes from a desire to hurt. Your father has never wanted to hurt you. It’s just a byproduct of his gambling addiction. You’re collateral damage in his quest for the jackpot that would solve all his problems.

You double over in agony at the renewed complaints from your stomach. At least you’ve gone from scaring mere squirrels to scaring passersby. That’s an upgrade, right?

One woman clutches her purse closer as she walks past you as briskly as possible. You get it, you look bad.

But there’s no use being resentful. Your father has been barely one step above a deadbeat all your life. At the very least, you’re used to fending for yourself. Your stomach growls again, but you’re determined to ignore it. You need a plan of action. One step after another, you’ll make it out of these troublesome times.

Before you can start to plot, a loud cry for help catches your attention. It sounds like someone else is in even more dire straits than you are, which is saying a lot.

The squirrels have long since scattered, run off not by the scary noises coming from your famished stomach, but a pack of dogs. Somehow, a man has climbed several feet into the tree next to the trash can, and now perched precariously in its branches. Below him, curious dogs tilt their heads and give cautious barks.

“Aw, hello there, cuties,” you coo, rubbing behind their ears. They yip at you enthusiastically. One sets to chasing his own tail around the tree. They seem friendly enough, but you suppose one can’t help their phobias. A little regretfully, you chase them off.

“Go on now,” you tell the last one, leading him away. He whines, but does as you say. What a good boy.

“Thank you,” says the stranger stranded in the tree. He slides down the trunk, face slowly regaining color. “I owe you my life.”

“It was nothing!” You smile, but he won’t let you brush off your good deed.

“You’re a good kid,” he nods approvingly. “Gotta reward that. Is there anything you want?”

A home.

Not just the house you shared with your father, but somewhere warm to return to. A person who waits to see you safely inside the threshold.

But you know a stranger can’t give you that, so you shake your head and smile. “Really, it was nothing. You don’t owe me anything.”

As if he had heard your inner monologue, the stranger raises an eyebrow. “A home, hm? I might be able to help with that.”

Before you can react, he leans in and kisses your forehead. Where his lips touched your skin feels faintly warm and tingly, almost like the sensation of your leg going numb, before you recoil from him in shock.

He presses a map into your hand and tells you, “Go to this address. Tell them Yaga sent you, and you’ll be welcomed with open arms.”

With that, he runs off.

What a strange man.

Well, you’ve had a strange life, taking care of your hopeless father and all. Perhaps these things really did happen. It wasn’t so impossible for strangers to appear out of nowhere and reward you for good deeds. Maybe all the fairytales your father had read to you back when he hadn’t been so terrible were true.

Or maybe that was the wishful thinking of an optimistically delusional girl who needed somewhere to stay desperately.

The address is located on the outskirts of town. Pushing deeper into foliage and closer to forest than civilization, you find the location you had been sent to.

It’s a shrine.

A run-down shrine, of all places.

Are you on a comedy show? Should you start checking for cameras?

Against your will, you feel your eyes grow hot. That was a cruel trick to play. He had gotten your hopes up for nothing.

It’s not just your eyes. Your entire body starts to feel warm. The world around you erupts into blue flame. Heat licks at your shins as you scramble towards safety, closer to the center of the circle that has formed around you.

When the flames suddenly leap, as if they’ll consume the entire sky, you scream and drop to your knees, covering your head like it’s a bomb threat. Two childish voices ring in your head, as clear and crisp as bells.

Welcome home, Yaga-sama.

It’s a shrine. There’s only one logical conclusion.

This is a haunting.

There’s only one safe path out of the ring of fire, and it’s towards the building you’ve now concluded is the site of paranormal activity. Between being actively burned alive or facing spirits though, you know which one you’ll choose.

Your frantic fingers fumble over the latch on the shrine’s red doors as the fire inches closer and closer until you can feel its heat on your back. Finally, you throw open the doors and all but launch yourself inside. The heat recedes, but the voices do not.

“Back already, Yaga?” A male voice drawls. “I thought your pilgrimage would’ve taken longer. After leaving me to maintain the shrine by myself for sixty years -“

You shriek as an enormous, clawed hand comes down towards your face. Your eyes squeeze shut, waiting for the end.

“I’m not Yaga,” you wail, hoping it will save you.

“You have a lot of nerve?” The voice finishes, more uncertainly than before. When you deem it safe to open your eyes once more, what stands before is a young man dressed in all white. White hair and blue eyes make for a staring constraint, but his coloring isn’t what’s strange about him.

It’s his clawed hands and the equally white fox tail behind him.

“Megumi, Tsumiki,” he says authoritatively. “This isn’t Yaga.”

A shining ball of fire comes forward, speaking in the little girl’s voice you heard earlier. “That can’t be right! Look, she has the mark of the god on her forehead.”

You touch your forehead, remembering the warm tingly sensation you had felt when that man kissed you. Feeling slightly delirious, you start to laugh, only to grow alarmed when you find you can’t stop. You’re growing out of breath from your near hysterical laughing, tears streaming out of the corners of your eyes.

“Oh, great,” says the fox spirit. “She’s crazy.”

“She’s the one with the mark,” the other ball of fire, Megumi, says. “That means she’s the god whether you like it or not, Gojo.”

Tsumiki darts over to you, but halfway through her journey, she goes from fire to a little child just under 2 feet tall. She’s wearing a mask and plain blue yukata.

“We have to celebrate!” She claps her hands together in excitement. “Our god has finally returned!”

Gojo looks dismissively down on you. Your laughing fit is finally starting to die down, but he doesn’t seem impressed regardless. “What god? I won’t accept a little human girl as my master. She couldn’t handle the strength of a familiar like me.”

His condescension only makes you giggle harder. You can’t help it. Something about the fluffy fox ears protruding out of his head makes it hard to take him seriously.

“What strength?” You laugh in his face. “This shrine is so dilapidated, I doubt you’re anything special.”

Gojo looks away. “If she stays, I’m leaving. I won’t serve this kind of pathetic god.”

He disappears in a cloud of white smoke before Tsumiki can finish saying, “Don’t be like that!”

The will-o-wisp children introduce themselves to you as shrine spirits who look after the building. It takes a while, but by the time they kindly show you to the room where you’ll be staying, you can distinguish Tsumiki from Megumi by the differences in the masks they never take off.

Your room is simple and threadbare. The walls are paneled bamboo and the only furnishing is an old futon. Still, you’re grateful. It’s leagues better than sleeping in the woods, which is what you started this day fearing you would have to resort to. You’ve never been the type to complain, and you won’t start now, no matter how strange your life has gotten.

Fox spirits and will-o-wisp children don’t exist. They’re the stuff of myths. Maybe you’re just seeing things because you’re tired, you muse as you drift off to sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning after a nice, long rest. The events of today will feel so far away, and you’ll be able to start over.

Or maybe you’re dead already, and you’re wandering in the Netherworld. Perhaps the reason you can see spirits is because you’re currently residing in their land. Your entire body seizes up as you jolt yourself back to wakefulness.

“Kamisama,” Tsumiki has crept back into your room. “Are you alright?”

You tell her to call you by her name. Calling you god just doesn’t feel right.

Gently, she nestles down by your pillow and puts her cold little hands on your forehead. Rather than shocking to your senses, it feels pleasant. When you were a little girl and got sick, your father used to let you stay home from school. He’d pack a towel with ice cubes and place it on your overheated forehead, staying up with you all night just to chat. It’s a good memory.

“It’ll be alright,” Tsumiki tells you in her gentle voice. “You’ll see.”

For spirits that supposedly take care of the shrine, you have a suspicion that Tsumiki and Megumi are pushing their work onto you when they brief you on your chores the next morning. It turns out godhood is a lot less summoning storms and a lot more doing yard work.

Tsumiki insists that keeping the shrine pure is important for keeping evil spirits away. For some reason, that means cleaning. When you ask about calling lightning or summoning lions, Megumi laughs at you.

“That’s Getou-sama’s job,” he says. “Your specialty is marriage. Yaga was very good at tying peoples’ fates together. You will be, too.”

He has more faith than you do in that regard. When it comes to chores, however, you’re more certain of your abilities. Busy work keeps the absurdity of your situation from sinking in, and you’re good at running the household from years of dealing with your father. You’re grateful for something to do. If you think about the past day too hard, you might break down into shocked laughter and never get back up.

Besides, even if you don’t feel particularly ready to be a god, Tsumiki and Megumi are letting you stay in the shrine. You have to earn your keep. Soon, you settle into the process of cleaning, letting the methodical, rhythmic nature of your movements erase any doubts in your mind. You think of nothing but the cooling sensation of the water when you dip your rag into the bucket and the clean, woody scent of the shrine as you scrub the wood.

“Ooh,” Tsumiki says approvingly when she appears. “It looks better already! Can you do the lawn next?”

Plucking weeds is notably less soothing than cleaning. With no gloves, you’re careful to avoid hurting yourself as you tug on spiky vines and knotted twigs, but it’s no use. Eventually, you lose focus and a sharp sting graces your finger. Blood drips down your hand. You hiss in pain.

A hand with white claws instead of nails grabs your wrist. You yelp in shock as Gojo brings your finger to his mouth and laps at the blood. It stains his lips slightly red. He worries at the cut with his tongue, making your wound ache. You try to pull back, but he holds on.

To your amazement, the cut closes before your eyes. You’re just about to thank him when he ruins the moment.

“You really are useless,” he says. “You can’t even pluck grass?”

You yank your hand out of his grip as hard as you can, sending yourself tumbling back against the grass. You hate how it must make yourself seem even more human in his eyes, a weak, fragile thing.

“Give up,” he says, and it’s almost gentle, the way his claws graze your chin as he holds your face in one hand. “You’re not suited to be a god.”

You turn away, unwilling to let him see any more of your vulnerability. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Suit yourself,” he says with a noise of annoyance. “Brats who run away from home aren’t my problem.”

“I didn’t run away!” You snap, whirling on him. “My dad was the one who ran! I don’t have anywhere else to go!”

But he’s gone.

At least Megumi and Tsumiki are nice to you. Megumi takes the bucket of weeds you deposit at the front door and whisks it somewhere out of your sight, while Tsumiki prepares a nice, hot bath for you. Exhausted, you collapse onto the bamboo floor spread eagle.

God, a voice murmurs in your head.

Not again. You don’t want any more spirits to deal with. When you raise your head, instead of another yokai, there’s an old woman standing in front of the shrine. Her head is bowed and her hands are clasped in prayer.

Please bless my daughter’s marriage so that she will enjoy a long and fruitful life with her partner.

Her voice is coming from some place inside your head. It resonates like a bell, ringing crisp and clear. You stretch out your hands wonderingly. You don’t look any different.

“You see?” Tsumiki says approvingly. “You’re a god.”’

But you don’t feel like one. You feel just like a normal person.

“A god needs a familiar.” You can’t see Megumi’s face behind his mask as he speaks, but you can imagine the solemn little boy he must be. “You need to bind Gojo to you.”

“How do I do that?”

“You have to kiss him.”

You wait for them to tell you they’re joking.

“What? I can’t kiss him! Is there-”

Megumi cuts in. “It’s just the traditional way to seal the contract. Don’t think too much of it.”

The fact that neither of them are bothered makes you feel like the ridiculous one for being off put by this, but you’re sure you’re not. Still, if you’re a god now, you have to put all of your mortal sensibilities aside. It’s like another culture, you tell yourself. Like how Europeans kiss each other on the cheek to say hello. Even if you can’t convince yourself, Megumi and Tsumiki are insistent.

You were so fired up just a second ago, but now your head is filled with doubts. If such a simple matter can sway you, are you really meant to be a god after all? Maybe Gojo is right. Maybe you should just leave.

“Please,” Tsumiki says. She looks distraught. “Don’t abandon us. Please don’t leave.”

Megumi doesn’t say anything, but his silence is enough.

“Okay,” you say, feeling defeated. “I’ll give it a shot.”

You’ve always been good at chores. If taming Gojo is just another part of your new job, it sounds like it's time to get serious.

“Take me to him.”

Megumi and Tsumiki balk.

“Right now?”

“Why not? The sooner I get it over with, the better, right?”

“He’s...indisposed at the moment,” Tsumiki says carefully.

“Indisposed? Is he sick?”

“Not quite,” Megumi says. He’s very expressive for a spirit. You can practically imagine him grimacing.

“Then it’s fine!”

You would soon come to regret your words.

Megumi and Tsumiki lead you out of the shrine. They show you where to find the path that can lead you to the land of spirits and demons. Your entire body rebels at the feeling of being in this other world, but at the same time, you feel at home here. The god and the girl that coexist inside of you are mutually repelled by and attracted to this place.

Even though you know Megumi and Tsumiki aren’t really children, or at least children in the way mortals think of them, you’re still concerned about letting them traipse around this dangerous place. However, they seem more used to this world than you are. That energy is better devoted to fending for yourself.

They lead you under bridges where the running water smells like flowers and women’s voices hiss in the babble of the current. Tree leaves rustle with hands that disappear into darkness. You follow them through dark alleyways lined with red paper blessings, and doorsteps encircled with salt. Eyes follow you, leaving your skin crawling.

You’re so focused on keeping your head down and staying out of danger that you almost don’t notice when they stop. You nearly run Megumi over.

“He’s inside here,” Tsumiki says.

Is it just you, or does she seem nervous?

The lanterns inside this establishment are turned down to a dimness that barely illuminates the corridors. Sweet smelling smoke writhes around your feet from some unknown source as you head deeper and deeper into the maze of hallways, following the pair of shrine spirits. You pass women wearing fox masks, dressed in luxurious kimonos. Their hair towers over their head in elaborate updos, held in place with beautiful pins inlaid with chartreuse and gold.

Megumi stops before a folding screen door. Like all things within this building, it’s beautiful. The silk screen is painted with images of flowers and more gruesome scenes as well, but somehow, it’s still breath-taking. A little like Gojo, in that regard.

You hear the voices of women behind the screen, flattering Gojo. The light of a single candle illuminates the dim room, imprinting his silhouette against it, as well as that of the two women with him. They’re draped over him, hands roaming his body as they purr their compliments. Your face burns with embarrassment.

“What are you doing?” Megumi demands of Gojo. “How can you parade around the red-light district like this? You’re the familiar of a god, not some common demon! If Yaga knew, it’d break his poor heart.”

Behind the screen, Gojo merely brushes him off. “Yaga’s been replaced by some little human worm. Why should I care what he thinks now?”

“What about the shrine? Don’t you care about that, at least?” Tsumiki's voice is thick with reproach.

“Now that you mention it, I don’t think I do,” he says. “Ha! You know what? Maybe I should thank that girl. Now that I’m free, I can do whatever I want.”

“Gojo-“

“I’ll can indulge in every little vice Yaga never allowed me to touch before. Who would want to be a familiar when I can have all of this?”

“Gojo, our god is here.”

“What?”

He leaps up and pushes the screen aside, coming face to face with you. He looks startled to see you, though you don’t see why he should care, since he so desires to lead a life of sin.

You look upon him with disgust. You might want a familiar, but you’re not so desperate you’d stoop as low as this. Gojo cares so little for anyone but himself. If you’re going to be a god, you’re going to do it right. You’ll pick a good familiar, one who will genuinely love the shrine as much as it deserves.

You turn and leave as he, half-clothed, frantically starts pulling on the outer layers of his kimono.

“Wait,” he calls after you. “Tsumiki! Megumi! Why would you bring her here?”

“She wanted to see you,” Megumi retorts.

“This isn’t the place for a human,” he says. “She’s going to get eaten!”

The faster Gojo follows you, the faster you run from him. By the time you’re out of what you’ve come to realize is a brothel, you’re sprinting. Your legs carry you right into someone else as your face slams against a broad, muscled chest.

“Oh,” says a voice above your head. “How pretty.”

A hand caresses your face. This spirit has tattoo marks across his face and body. More interestingly, he has multiple arms.

You’re frozen in place by fear as he brings his mouth closer and closer to your face. He’s close enough to kiss, but this is a spirit, which means he’s more likely to eat you.

“Be good for me now,” he purrs in your ear. “Fear makes flesh all the sweeter.”

Three of his six arms are consumed by fire. He pushes you away from him in favor of batting out the flame.

Gojo pulls you towards him, hiding you in the folds of his billowing kimono. You press your face against his shoulder, swallowing back the tears of fear from nearly being eaten. Somehow, he feels safe, even though he’s been nothing but antagonistic towards you. He feels almost protective as he shields your body with his, securing you under one arm.

“Scram,” he tells the other demon. “She’s mine, Sukuna.”

Sukuna rolls his pairs of eyes. “You weren’t with her when I caught her. She’s fair game.”

Fox fire flickers in Gojo’s hand. His white talons seem to elongate before your eyes.

“If you want to fight over her, then by all means,” he says with a dangerous smile. “But we both know I’d win.”

“Maybe later then,” Sukuna says, lazily as if Gojo isn’t threatening him. “Once I’ve eaten my fill.”

He stalks off into the night in search of more prey.

“This is why I told you to wait,” Gojo says, running his hand over his face. “You’re practically bait in this world. Come on, I’ll take you home.”

You nod, not trusting your voice, but he catches on anyways.

“Don’t cry,” he says, his face twisted in a grimace. “I won’t know what to do if you cry. Look, this is just your life now, okay? You’ll have to get used to it.”

On impulse, you press your face into his shoulder again, still sniffling. You want to be comforted, even though you know he won’t give it to you.

“Ugh,” he says, true to form. “Quit that.”

By the time you’ve calmed down, Gojo has already escorted you back to the shrine.

“Don’t come back,�� he tells you.

Of course, you can’t listen to him. On your second night in the land of the dead and monsters, not only do you have to hide from beasts who would devour you the moment they found out what you were, you also have to hide from Gojo. You’re wearing a disguise, courtesy of Tsumiki and Megumi.

In your defense, it’s not like you want to be here. You need a familiar, and it’s clearly not going to be Gojo.

According to Tsumiki, Gojo’s the strongest, but there are other familiars who would be willing to serve you. They’re all in the Netherworld, however, and you have to find them before you can contract them.

You pull the curtain of the hat shielding your face a little closer around you as you peer at the faces surrounding you, trying to gauge who looks friendly. None of them do. You’ve been wandering around for hours, but not a single spirit has stood out to you.

In the end, you don’t find him. He finds you.

“A human god?” A hand grasps your wrist loosely. “That’s rare. Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be here?”

The man in front of you looks normal by any standards - but you know better than to trust your gut in the netherworld. Still, he’s the closest thing to a human you’ve seen in a while. Surrounded by a maelstrom of monsters, he feels like the eye of the storm. There’s a quiet and a calm surrounding him, even as you walk among noderabo with withered, leathery skin and scaly yajo.

It’s not like he’s in his own little pocket of the world, you realize. He is. Everyone is purposefully giving him a wide berth.

“Who are you?”

“I asked first,” he says.

“You know who I am! You just said so - I’m the human god.”

His eyes rake over you. “So you are. But what are you doing here, girl?”

You throw his words back in his face obstinately. “You first.”

“I’m Toji.” That doesn’t tell you anything, but he’s clearly unwilling to divulge more. “Your turn.”

“I’m looking for a familiar.”

“What about your familiar? I heard that Gojo-sama isn’t keen on sharing.”

Somehow, the way he says Gojo-sama sounds derisive, even with the respectful honorific.

“He doesn’t want to be my familiar.”

The rejection stings coming out of your own mouth.

“Sounds like him. Haughty bastard, he couldn’t stand to serve a human girl, could he?”

“Yeah! He’s an asshole,” you say, feeling validated.

When Toji laughs, the scar over his lip tugs one side of his mouth down. You kind of like it. And he must be strong, just looking at him. He’s well muscled and covered in scars. Of course, there’s the little matter of the reverence everyone around you is offering him. Tsumiki and Megumi had told you to just go out and find one. Could it be that easy?

“Are you interested?”

He gives you a look of barely concealed amusement. “You’re funny, girl. I don’t think Gojo would like that very much, though.”

“I don’t care what Gojo thinks.”

“Oh, here he comes now. Don’t go running too far - you’ll worry him,” he says, slow and easy. His confidence is absurd - it reminds you of Gojo, actually. He must be strong. “If you’re really serious about wanting me as a familiar, why don’t you meet me here again in three days?”

“What are you doing?” Gojo snarls at you. His teeth match the rest of his fox physique. With wonder, you realize that his pearly canines are pointed beyond what’s normal. “I told you not to come back!”

“But- He-” You turn around to point Toji out, but he’s gone.

“Who?” Gojo says.

“He was right there!”

“You’re so annoying,” Gojo bites out. “I don’t care what happens to you, but if you die, Megumi and Tsumiki will cry, so stop wandering off on your own. You’re lucky you didn’t get devoured on the spot.”

He’s starting to get really irritating. You shove his hands off.

“You know it’s actually your fault I’m here, right? If you didn’t reject me, I wouldn’t have to scour the Netherworld for a familiar.”

Gojo scoffs. “My fault? Maybe you should take a look at yourself. If you were less weak, I wouldn’t have a problem serving you!”

“That’s- You’re impossible!” You splutter. “I can’t help being weak! I was born this way! Not everyone is so lucky to be born a kitsune, oh-so-great-Gojo-sama.”

“Enough,” he sighs. Taking you by your wrist, he forcibly drags you through the streets back in the direction you came.

“Ow! You’re hurting me!”

“Gojo!” Megumi’s reproving voice breaks the argument up before it can begin again.

He lets go of you almost guiltily, if you thought he could feel guilt.

“I’ll take her home,” Megumi says.

Gojo’s tail lashes behind him angrily, but Megumi doesn’t spare him a second glance as he ushers you away.

“Thank you,” you tell him in relief. “What are you doing here?”

“You were taking a long time,” he says. “Tsumiki and I were getting worried. Did you find anyone?”

You think of Toji. “No,” you say. “No one.”

The next day, while Megumi and Tsumiki dress you for your trip through the Netherworld again, Megumi presses three slips of white paper into your hands.

“We should’ve taught you this sooner,” he says. “One of the powers of a god is to transform objects. Whatever you write on this charm will become true - within the scope of your power. Be safe.”

Armed with your paper slips, you feel like a real god. Tsumiki pushes you out the door with a prayer for good luck, though you’re not sure you can grant prayers to yourself for yourself.

Outside the door, something whines by your feet.

“Gojo?”

Or is that a regular white fox?

It snaps its teeth at you.

Definitely Gojo.

“I don’t need an escort,” you tell him, making shooing motions at him with your hands. “Go away!”

He rolls over and yips at you, his tail wagging.

“I can’t understand you like this!”

“I said,” a cloud of smoke reveals him, mostly humanoid once again, except for his ears and tail. “I don’t want to do this either. It’s for Megumi and Tsumiki.”

Toji doesn’t seem to like him, so you don’t want to risk bringing him with you. Despite your best attempts to shake him, Gojo follows you as you retrace your steps back into the spirit world. You’re just starting to despair when you spot a bigger reason to be upset.

“Hello, delicious,” Sukuna says. “Ready for round two?”

Why does he look even more terrifying? Did he get bigger?

“Leave her alone,” Gojo says, almost bored. “It’s pathetic. You can only bully things weaker than you, huh?”

“I’m not afraid to fight you,” Sukuna tells him.

You’re panicking. They both look serious. You don’t want to be caught between these two forces of nature.

“You should be,” Gojo says, and steps in front of you. Over his shoulder, he tells you, “Run. You’re in my way.”

This is the chance you were waiting for.

Toji’s dressed differently when you find him again. Last night, he was wearing a casual black kimono. Tonight, he’s dressed in a tight fitting black shirt and loose white pants.

“You look nice,” you tell him, feeling anxious. Your mind keeps going back to Gojo. You’re sure he can hold his own, but you’re still worried for him. As you are, however, you’re of no help to him. The only way you’d be able to rescue him if he actually was in danger is by making a contract with a powerful familiar.

“It’s for work,” he says. “Follow me.”

“We can’t do it here?”

“Do you want to kiss me in front of everyone?” He shrugs and reaches for you. “I mean, I’m down if you are, but I figured-”

“No,” you squeak and dart away. “Privacy is good!”

He laughs. “You’re as funny as ever, huh? C’mere.”

Toji leads you off the beaten path and further into the woods. The only thing that keeps you from feeling more nervous is the moon shining overhead, illuminating your path. It feels almost like a friend is with you.

“Here is good,” Toji says, stopping at a clearing.

“It’s so pretty,” you breathe out, dazzled. This deep into the woods, fireflies are lighting your way. Beneath your feet, a springy bed of flowers and moss covers the floor.

“What can I say? I’m a romantic.”

“Yeah, right,” you laugh at him, but you draw closer. You think you could trust him. You think you could be partners with him.

Then Toji grabs you by the shoulders and dangles you off the edge of the clearing, over a steep drop you hadn’t noticed. The sharp cut off had been hidden by flowers, danger painted over with beauty.

“Sorry, kid,” Toji says. “No hard feelings, right?”

“Why?” You whisper. Gojo had been right.

“There’s a bounty on your head,” he says. “Getou has offered to grant the wish of anyone who kills you.”

His eyes turn wistful. “I have a kid. Haven’t seen him in years. You understand, right? It’s not personal.”

The fall is brutal. The wind whips tears into your eyes, if you weren’t already crying from the fear of falling to your death. You have to do something, anything. Above your head, something white flutters.

A dove?

Then another.

It’s one of the paper ofuda Megumi had given you before you left, caught in the updraft of you rushing down to earth. You snatch it out of the air. You can’t reach the pen in your pocket. With increasing desperation, you bite down on your finger hard enough to draw blood and trace the characters for a tree branch onto it. Holding it aloft, you pray.

Between your hands, wood solidifies. You’re clinging to a scrap of a twig sprouting from the rocky cliffside. Megumi’s words echo in your head - only within the scope of your power.

So this is it, huh?

That’s all there is of your godly strength.

“Looks like you’re in trouble,” Gojo says. He has no problem balancing on the sheer cliff. His appearance is impeccable, completely unscathed from his fight with Sukuna. He perches like a bird, as comfortable as if he were standing on solid ground. “Do you need help?”

Thank god. He’s here to save you! You nod, turning teary eyes on him. You were wrong about him. Gojo really is a good guy, deep down.

“If you say, ‘Please save me, Gojo-sama, I was stupid.’ I’ll help you. Throw in some crying and begging, too.”

Your eyes dry up instantly. He’s a total bastard. You clutch onto the branch tighter. There’s no way you’ll give him the satisfaction of groveling for help.

Your resolve weakens when you hear the first snap.

“Time’s ticking,” Gojo calls in a sing-song voice. “What will it be?”

The harder you hold on, the more your flimsy branch breaks.

“Come on,” Gojo says. “It’s not that hard. It’s just seven little words. Isn’t that worth your life?”

“Go fuck yourself,” you tell him, and the branch finally snaps.

Falling for the second time is just as bad as the first time. The icy wind snatches at you like claws, tearing at your clothes.

To your surprise, Gojo leaps after you. He makes free-fall look elegant - surely a far cry from whatever you’re doing.

“Just say it,” he yells, within arm’s reach. He’s so close he could snag you by the shirt and haul you to safety, but you know he won’t. Not without getting what he wants. “Would you rather die than just apologize?”

You have an answer prepared.

His eyes widen in shock when you press your palms to his cheek, pull him closer, and kiss him.

You barely have time to register the taste of him, sake and something sweet, before the reality of falling to your death rushes in again.

“Gojo, save me!”

As if his body is piloted by someone else, Gojo catches you. For him, it’s a short leap back up to the top of the clearing, where Toji has disappeared.

You climb down from his hold once you’re certain you’re safe. You never thought you’d miss the feeling of solid ground beneath your feet this much, but at the moment, you’re willing to kiss the earth.

Gojo seems much worse off. He’s frozen in shock, muttering the same refrain to himself under his breath. “Me? Bound to her? Impossible.”

“Let’s go home,” you tell him. He doesn’t seem to get it until you tug him towards the path, and then he leads the way wordlessly. .

You wake to Megumi and Tsumiki weeping over you.

“I’m alright!”

They freeze, then burst into fresh tears.

“We thought you would never wake up! Your first time using ofuda must have been too much for you,” Megumi gets out through his sobs.

You feel sore all over. You can barely recall the events of the previous night, only that you kissed-

“Finally up?”

Gojo’s tapping his foot as he waits for you to get up. He looks furious. There’s an unmistakeable tick in his jaw that spells trouble for you.

It’s too early to deal with him. You duck back under the covers.

“Oh no you don’t,” he growls out as he seizes your wrist and bodily hauls you out of your warm cocoon of blankets. “You wanted to be a god, you’re going to be a god. It’s time for some training.”

You shiver pathetically in the cold morning air. If you had known helping a stranger would lead to be harassed by a fox spirit, you would’ve never done it in the first place.

“Try harder,” Gojo says at your sixth failed attempt to turn water into wine.

“It smells alcoholic,” Megumi offers loyally.

“I am trying!” You insist.

“Harder,” Gojo snarls.

The seventh attempt doesn’t change. Gojo throws up his arms and stalks out of the shrine, declaring the need to cool his head. Tsumiki frantically trails him, not trusting him to not attempt to run away again.

Megumi tries to assure you that you’re doing well, but honestly, you need to leave too. The shrine feels too stuffy. A change of scenery will do you good. Sitting alone in the woods just behind the shrine, you try to focus. Slowly, stacks of ofuda disappear from your hands as you paste them to trees, willing them to blossom. Wilt. Do anything, anything at all.

You’re out cold when Gojo finds you.

“Divine power takes time,” he says as he prepares dinner. “Use too many talismans at once and you’ll pass out.”

You drink a spoonful of soup morosely. “How do I get stronger?”

“You’ll get stronger if you grant prayers.”

Tsumiki perks up. “One just came in!”

“I already looked at it,” Gojo says dismissively. “Not that one.”

“Everyone’s wishes deserve to be looked at,” you argue.

Gojo scoffs, “Not this one.”

“Don’t be rude! A god can’t pick and choose.”

He tosses the prayer at you.

Morimoto Rika’s request touches your heart. She’s the spirit of a nearby lake - not just any spirit, as Megumi helpfully clarifies, but another owner of a shrine. A human boy visits her waters nightly. By the light of the moonlight, she fell in love with him, but she can’t meet him because they live in two separate worlds.

And to think that you would’ve never known to help her if Gojo had continued keeping this from you.

“This sounds like the perfect job for me,” you argue.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Yokai can’t fall in love with humans.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Aren’t you bound to do as I say? Take me to her.”

Against his will, Gojo summons what’s called a ‘night fog coach’. Only operable at night, as the name suggests, it’s a tall black carriage truly made for a god. You’re just wondering how Gojo expects you to climb aboard when he effortlessly lifts you by the waist.

“You’re the one who wanted to go meet her,” he sneers. “Chop-chop.”

Your supplicant looks like a fish if it were a girl. She has pale green skin and large, black eyes, with overly large teeth for her mouth. Black hair frames a heart shaped face. She’s cute, in her own monstrous way. And she’s desperately in love with a human boy.

Gojo helps you transform her into a human body and make her over into a normal teenage girl. For a prayer granted, it feels like nothing more than dressing your friend up for a date.

You’re even as nosy as you would be in that situation. It’s the first prayer you’ve ever granted. You know you shouldn’t, but you and Gojo watch the burgeoning romance from a distance. Of course, he’s completely disapproving, but you have high hopes for them - until Rika pulls out a ring.

Aren’t they moving a little too fast?

It only gets worse when Rika confesses that she’s been stalking him - sort of. Keeping tabs on him for his safety by following him around town is a little too close to the other, for your liking. Your head drops into your hands.

But Yuta takes it surprisingly well. A little too well, in fact. It only seems to infatuate him even more. You knew there were certain types of men out there who loved crazy, but you had never seen it in real life - until now.

Could this even be counted as a success?

You’re happy for Rika and Yuta, as happy as you can be for their twisted little union, but you’re just waiting for Gojo to bite your head off for bringing a (real) monster and a human together as soon as you get back home. At least they’re happy, you think ruefully. Worse things could happen. Your first union as a marriage god didn’t fail. In fact, of all people, Yuta seemed the most likely in the world to accept Rika as she was, human or not.

To your surprise, returning to the shrine, Gojo begrudgingly says, “You did well.”

Any warm feelings you have for him the next day are replaced when he barges into your room and demands you strip.

“You have guests,” he says. “Messengers from Toji-sama, the god of the wind.”

Your eyes grow wide. You hadn’t known Toji was a god. Come to think of it, did Gojo even know the reason why you had been falling from that cliff? You weren’t sure if he had come in time to see who had pushed you.

“What are you worried about? I’ll be at your side the whole time.”

You’ll tell him later. Right now, you have a serious matter to prepare for.

You tried not to discriminate on the basis of his master, but it’s not that at all. Toji’s familiar, Naoya, is simply annoying on his own terms.

“So you’re the new god of this ramshackle little shrine,” he sniffs. “God, it’s disgusting. How poor are you?”

“You must be the thirteenth familiar Toji’s owned. He goes through you like toys, doesn’t he? Of course you wouldn’t know that he used to live in worse conditions before. Deplorable.” Gojo laughs in his face.

Naoya grits his teeth. “I’m surprised your little human dared to show her face. I thought she’d be terrified after what Toji did to her. They’re such weak little things.”

Gojo looks at the other demon with a calm that worries you. As human as he is, there are moments when you can catch the monster lurking within. He’s like the sea, deceptively calm until you remember the threat of an unseen riptide.

“If you insult my master again,” he says carefully, enunciating every word like he’s stabbing at them with a knife, “I will take your head and deliver it to your master as a present.”

“Don’t tell me you’re happy to be serving a mortal girl,” Naoya laughs. “Not someone like you, Satoru. How the mighty have fallen.”

Gojo looks at him for a long moment, then he ignores him completely and walks to your side. The most painful part of Naoya’s digs at you is knowing he’s right. Gojo doesn’t like this. How could he? He went from being the strongest to being commanded by some powerless girl. Still, Gojo gazes at you with his inscrutable eyes. You can’t read him at all.

Slowly, he sinks to his knees next to you.

With a gentleness you can hardly bear, he lays his head in your lap, as gentle and docile as a puppy. His neck is bared as if for an executioner’s axe, the delicate pulse of his heart open to you. He closes his eyes. His breath is shallow. He stays there, and says no more.

“Oh, Satoru,” Naoya says in delight. “You really have become a tamed thing.”

With an uncertainty you’re trying to hide, you lift your hands to Gojo’s head. His hair is sinfully soft. You’re almost scared he’ll try to take your hands off for it, but when you start to gently pet his hair, he almost purrs. His eyes close, half-lidded in pleasure.

“I serve who I want to serve,” Gojo says. His tail lashes behind him. “Who are you to tell me my master is unworthy?”

Naoya shrugs, clearly disbelieving. “Sure, Satoru. Keep telling yourself that. I’m just here to deliver a gift.”

He tosses you a package wrapped carefully in beautiful, ornate wrapping paper. You’re sure it’s not Toji’s doing. He’s not the type.

As soon as he leaves, Gojo pushes himself away from you. It leaves you a little sorrowful, the speed with which he tries to get away. He only did it for your sake, you know. He wanted to protect your honor in front of Naoya because you’re his master. But it must have disgusted him, to get on his knees for a human, if he recoiled so fast.

“What did he mean, what Toji did to you?” Gojo asks over dinner.

You know instantly that you’ll only draw his ire if you try to play dumb.

“Toji pushed me off that cliff the day you found me.”

Gojo’s eyes darken. The next time Naoya returns, he promises you, he’d set his tail on fire. No one besmirches his master’s honor like that.

It’s about honor, of course. You’d be a fool to think otherwise.

Alone in your chambers, you unwrap the package Naoya gave you. It’s an incense burner, beautiful and silver. As apology presents go, it’s a decent one. You set it aside for use at a later time.

Naoya’s visit only makes Gojo’s training worse, but these days, you’ve grown used to him and his harsh words. The more that he yells at you for being weak, the more you can brush it off as Gojo just being Gojo. That only irritates him more, of course.

But nothing pisses him off as much as you claiming that you’re returning to school. Gojo thinks that you have no need for school as a god. There’s nothing the humans can teach you that he can’t.

In your eyes, Gojo is a kitsune. That means he’ll never understand a teenage girl’s heart. School isn’t about learning, it’s about the experience! You’ll never be in high school again - there are so many things you still haven’t experienced, like school trips. You only have one youth - you have to seize it in the moment!

Gojo isn’t convinced.

Like an overbearing parent, he nags you all day and night until finally, you strike a deal. He’ll let you go to school, but only as long as you cover up the god-mark on your head. Gojo is never one to make things easy for you. The hat he bestows you with is an ugly grandma print with faux fox ears. You’ll be the laughingstock of the school!

“It’s dangerous,” he says. “Who knows what wild beasts will be lurking about?”

“You’re the wild beast,” you say. “I can’t wear that!”

“I guess you can’t go to school then,” he sighs. “What a pity.”

It’s all for show, of course. You know what he’s really like. There’s no use in arguing - either you agree to his compromise or you stay here, stuck in the temple for the rest of your life. You’ll miss out on all the joys of youth, never growing old in your cloistered shrine. The thought is unbearable.

You snatch the hat from him in indignation. Putting it on before you leave the next day makes you cringe, but as long as you avoid mirrors, you can almost forget that it’s there - if not for your classmates staring at you. You can feel their judging eyes everywhere you go, and the whispers.

You can’t even say you don’t care - you do care. You only have one high school life, and Gojo is ruining it. During lunch, you escape into the bathroom to mope and avoid all of your classmates.

“Are you getting bullied?” Gojo’s voice is too bright and cheery for your dark mood right now. You can’t promise to remain calm if he stays here.

“This is the girl’s bathroom, Gojo.”

“Don’t be like that. I’m just worried about my master,” he says. “Well? How is it? Do you want to go home now?”

He’s lying. You know he’s not worried about you at all, but you should be used to it. You don’t know why it stings as much as it does.

You’re hurt even though you know this is just how Gojo is. Of course he’d be happy to see you miserable - he hadn’t even wanted you for a god in the first place. He’s bound to you by obligation, and nothing more. You had known from the start that he didn’t care about you, so why does it hurt that he won’t comfort you? It’s just like those nights in the demon world that seem so long ago now. He hasn’t changed at all.

Gojo isn’t as shocked by your outburst as he is by the tears slowly welling up in your eyes. He stands stunned as you rush out of him and back into the hallway.

Tsumiki appears next to him out of thin air, completely unimpressed.

“You did a terrible job on that one, Gojo.”

As if in a daze, he lifts his hand, where the crystal of one teardrop shines. He’d tried to reach for you at the last moment, but you were already gone. “I made her cry...”

Megumi appears next to Tsumiki, his face red. “What’s taking so long? Hurry up and leave! We’re in the girl’s bathroom!”

“Gojo was bullying our master,” Tsumiki announces.

“I wasn’t bullying her!”

“He made her cry.”

Gojo winces. “Okay, yeah. I did do that.”

Megumi kicks him in the leg, which amounts to almost nothing. “Take responsibility, then!”

When you return home, Gojo is waiting by the shrine door with an almost offensively polite smile on his face. “Let me take your coat, master.”

Him being kind gives you the creeps. You can’t help but feel like he’s planning something, especially when he shows you the lavish dinner he prepared for you with all of your favorites.

“What’s with the look?” He says, annoyed at your accusing eyes peering at him over your bowl. “I do something nice for you and this is how you treat me?”

“This is really just for me? No ulterior motives?”

“None,” he promises.

The smile that breaks over your face is like the sun through rain clouds - sudden, dramatic, and almost painfully bright after a period of gray skies.

“Thanks, Gojo!”

The look in his eyes is unreadable as he reaches to spoon more food onto your plate.

You don’t have anyone else in this world. Besides the shrine spirits, Gojo might be the only person in the world who will take care of you. For some reason, the thought doesn’t sting as much as it did this morning.

The second day of school starts with pouring rain, as if it’s a direct reaction to your foul mood earlier. Gojo pulls you back when you try to leave.

“It’s a bad omen,” he says. “Stay home with me today. I’ll worry about you if you go.”

Normally, such sweet words might bring a blush to your face, but you can read between the lines.

Stay home with me today so I can keep you out of trouble, you brat.

I’ll worry about you if you go because you’re weaker than a worm.

“Stop trying to keep me from going to school! I thought we got over this yesterday,” you huff. “I’m going to be late for the bus!”

You leave Gojo with a handful of air as you dart under his outstretched arm and out the door.

In school, all your classmates are listless.

You’ve never been so unhappy to not be the subject of attention. What is wrong with everyone? Even the teacher doesn’t reprimand anyone for sleeping in class, half-asleep herself. You’re the only one who doesn’t seem to be caught in this spell of drowsiness, which insinuates paranormal origins.

As you’re sweeping the classroom after class, one of your classmates lets out a disgruntled noise.

“It’s a snake,” she says, not at all with the intonation of someone who’s just discovered a snake. Ami’s the type to go apoplectic at the sight of a fly, much less an actual snake, so you don’t pay much mind until you hear Kurama go, “Huh, she wasn’t kidding.”

There’s a little yellow snake in the classroom. In their stupor, none of your classmates seem to care all that much about it. They just continue going about their chores. You feel bad for it. It’s such a small, fragile little creature. In their state, they might accidentally end up crushing it.

With gentle murmurs of encouragement, you coax it into your hand. It’s surprisingly docile and twines itself readily around your wrist before you set it outside the window to be set free.

Gojo doesn’t praise you for your act of heroism on the behalf of his fellow yokai, as you remind him. You saved his compatriots! Where’s the gratitude?

He calls you a stupid little girl. “I don’t care about them, I care about you!”

Your face warms with embarrassment against your will even though you know he doesn’t mean it like that. Time and time again, Gojo has stressed that he will never see yokai and humans as even remotely on the same playing field, much less capable of being romantic partners.

“You’re my master,” he says. There’s your call back to reality. “Look at this mark on your wrist.”

It appears like a normal bruise to you, though you’re not sure how it could’ve happened. Your new snake friend was very gentle when he was coiled around your wrist. He must have been someone’s escaped pet. You hope he found his way back home.

Gojo’s mad. He’s enunciating every word.

“This is exactly why I have to keep such a close eye on you. That’s no ordinary bruise. That is an engagement mark. Care to explain to me how I left you alone for one second and you got yourself engaged to a divine beast?”

Your face pales. “Excuse me?”

“That snake is going to come and claim you as his bride.”

“As a bride?” Your head spins and you have to sit down. You’re too young to get married. You look up at Gojo, teary-eyed. You don’t want this.

“Stop making that face,” he snaps, pushing a hand over your face to hide it. “As if I would let that happen. The master of the Yaga shrine, my master, could never be wed to a mere snake.”

If Gojo says he won’t let it happen, you can put your faith in him. You breathe a little easier. As mean as he can be, Megumi and Tsumiki weren’t lying when they called him the best familiar. He’s the strongest and most capable person or rather, yokai, that you know. There’s not a single task you set for him that he hasn’t been able to complete.

It’s still raining when you go outside to practice your talisman making.

You find the weather quite pleasant, even though it’s a little damp. The chill in the air cuts through the muggy feeling of summer, and the raindrops cool your cheeks. When you turn your face up to the sky, you can taste ozone in the little drops that pelt your face.

“You’re very beautiful, kamisama,” says a voice.

There's a man waiting just outside the red gates. A supplicant? In this weather? You better get him inside in a hurry. You dash over to him.

“What are you doing? Come inside, you’ll get wet!”

Just as you reach him, he lifts his face. He looks like a statue, with high cheekbones, and solemn eyes. His hair is the same pale yellow as the snake you saw earlier that day-

“Gojo!”

But it’s too late.

The snake has a hold on your wrist, right above the engagement mark. He takes you away.

One moment, you’re standing in your own backyard, the next, you’re surrounded by almost-familiar bamboo walls. It looks like your shrine but for little distinguishing touches. That makes you uncomfortable.

“This is Haibara shrine,” the snake says. “I’m Nanami, the familiar of Haibara-sama. I’ve taken you away to marry you.”

There’s a curtain over the center of the room. Haibara presumably rests behind it, but something strikes you as off about the whole scenario. That’s not what’s foremost on your mind, however.

“I don’t want to marry you! You kidnapped me!”

He tilts his head at you. “I couldn’t have kidnapped you. We’re engaged, you see?” He traces the mark on your wrist with one slim finger. “We��re going to be very happy together.”

“You’re being creepy,” you push him away.

At your rejection, something dark crosses over his features - not danger, but pain. He has some nerve feeling upset when you’re the one who should be upset here!

“That’s alright,” he says, trying to stroke your hair. You won’t let him touch you. “I know it can take some getting used to. Here, let me show you to your room.”

Nanami has clearly put a lot of thought into decorating for you. It’s beautifully furnished, with rich silk sheets and the fragrant smell of plum blossoms permeating the air. Here, there’s not a single thing you could want but-

Gojo.

You miss Gojo and you miss your shrine.

When Nanami leaves you in your room, it feels like a tomb in the silence. You bury your face in your expensive, hateful sheets and try to resist the urge to sob. You want Gojo to come get you. You want to go home.

Hours pass, but Gojo doesn’t come.

Nothing but the sound of your breathing changes, passing from frantic to deeper, slower, steadier. As your head clears, you notice the window. It’s a beautifully ornate design, a red knot of luck. The center is just big enough for a girl to squeeze through, if you try hard.

Resolve grips you.

You’re not going to wait for Gojo to rescue you. You’re going to get out of here yourself, find him, and scold him for not coming to get you earlier. Aren’t you his most beloved master, as he so professes? You’re going to make him kneel for at least three hours practicing his apologies!

Filled with renewed conviction, you hoist yourself onto the window sill and begin the tedious task of shimmying yourself out. Just when you’re nearly there, the sharp edge of the metal scrapes your shin, leaving a long, thin cut.

The smell of salt replaces the plums immediately.

“God?” Comes Nanami’s voice. “I smell blood. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” You panic. If he discovers your escape attempt now, he might try to put you in a more secure room, and then you’ll really never see Gojo again.

The adjacent wall caves in.

Gojo stands in the rubble, seething, each hand wreathed in blue flame. He doesn’t even notice you, his attention wholly focused on Nanami. “You drew her blood? Are you prepared to face the consequences of hurting my master, snake?”

You grab his arm just before he attacks. “He didn’t! I hurt myself on the window- oof!”

Gojo’s so much bigger than you are. When he folds you into his arms, his entire body surrounds you. His chin tucks itself over your head, his large arms wrap around your body. You’ve never felt more secure than you are here, now. “I thought you’d be crying.”

His voice is hoarse.

You’ve never heard that before.

“You came,” you whimper, burying your face into his shoulder.

Nanami’s face is crestfallen. “Are you going to leave me?”

You grab Gojo’s arm and duck into the other room, where Haibara’s curtain is.

“Don’t!” Nanami cries.

When you pull it back, there’s nothing but an old, dusty kimono.

You were right.

This place is godless.

“You’re no familiar,” Gojo snarls, turning on Nanami. “Don’t even think to call yourself that. The difference between you and me is as clear as day, you vile beast. You’ll pay for your insolence with the loss of your shrine.”

Nanami’s misery is written all over his face. You’ve realized what’s wrong with this shrine. It’s too quiet, as if no one has prayed here for generations. Haibara has been dead for a long, long time.

Nanami must have been lonely.

“Don’t,” you tell Gojo.

He stares at you, incredulous. “Are you out of your mind?”

You tug yourself out of Gojo’s arms. Nanami’s crouched on the ground, trying to shield Haibara’s old kimono from Gojo’s foxfire. You kneel to his level.

“I’m sorry you’ve been lonely for all this time, Nanami. I can’t stay with you, but if you come to my shrine, we can play again.”

Nanami weeps and reaches for your hand. The mark of the snake dissolves.

Gojo doesn’t talk to you on the way back to the shrine.

“Don’t be mad,” you say, tugging on the sleeves of his kimono. He gives you a deadpan stare. “Come on! I only did it because-”

You can’t finish your sentence.

Of course, that piques Gojo’s interest. He can never resist bullying you.

“Because? Go on,” he goads you.

You say it so quietly he can’t hear you, even with his fox ears. He spins around, grabs you by the waist, and hoists you up so you’re face to face. You yelp and scramble to grab onto his shoulders for balance.

“Louder,” he demands. “I can’t hear you.”

“I was thinking about what would happen if I died and you were all alone again. I couldn’t leave him alone because I was thinking of you,” you tell him. Thinking of Gojo watching after an empty shrine all alone like Mizuki makes your heart ache for reasons you can’t explain.

He stiffens. “What a strange thing to worry about. I wouldn’t care.”

“Ugh,” you smack him in the shoulder. You shouldn't have tried to be kind to him.

He doesn’t put you down, shifting you into an easier hold. “You’re hurt,” he admonishes when you try to squirm.

Just before you enter the shrine gates, he has a confession of his own to make. “I’m sorry,” he says. “You got hurt because I wasn’t protecting you.”

You rub his ears, an indulgence you’re not sure he would’ve allowed if he wasn’t in such a mood. “It’s not your fault!”

“I’ve never had a human master,” he says. “I have to be careful not to break you. You’re so easily hurt.”

“You don’t have to say it like that,” you say, and then the shrine spirits are there to welcome you home.

You hadn’t realized you thought of the shrine as home until today.

Even though Nanami’s mood isn’t affecting the weather anymore, it’s still raining. Gojo tells you not to mind the weather, even though you’re certain that it’s not from natural causes, which means it is your job. Ever since you came back from Haibara’s shrine, Gojo has been extra protective of you.

You hadn’t thought Gojo had needed to be protected too, not until the thunder god came.

The god of storms and lightning is called Getou Suguru. He carries a mallet in one hand that can transform whoever it touches into their younger forms, and he used to be Gojo’s best and only friend. He’s also the one who called a bounty on your head.

#sera writes #gojo satoru x reader #gojou satoru x reader #gojo x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader

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kapitein-oranghien-29 · 1 month

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Hello dear followers! ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

My tablet's glass has broken, and the frame slightly dented when it fell off my bureau. I've been to the repair store, and it will indeed cost 578 euros to fix the screen of my broken ipad, the one I draw on. Since it's a model from 2017, there's just less out there to fix it. But there's also the fact that it might not work when I do get it fixed. Or that it will die and slow in the coming years by its age, making fixing it an expensive band-aid. So the opinion of the ones around me is that I would be better off buying a new tablet. And as you know, that is a quite expensive ordeal, looking at the prices around 1000 euro (*ﾉヮﾉ)

I just have no choice, and after a few tears and a night of sleep, I decided that I still want to continue doing (digital) art. (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

But with the costs of the tablets, I will be forced to at least wait till my payday to even think of buying one. This means comms will have about a 3 week delay. Rn, I'm trying to hold my tablet together with tape, so at least I won't be cut by the splinters. For the comms that I've already started I will finish them on my tablet to the best of my abilities, but for the ones I've only made a sketch for or yet to start, I will feel more secure if I start them on my new coming tablet.

So, I'll be scraping together some money for the new one, and maybe will do doodles for a buck or something to try and raise a little buffer? If you want to support me, I'd appreciate it so much! But don't feel obliged! I have a savings account I can dip into a little bit. ^^’

You can sun to my patreon and see spicy doodles and past comms! It's a euro per month, and you can cancel whenever too! (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)

patreon.com/KapiteinOranghien

There is nothing posted on there, butt you can drop me a kofi (・ω<)

https://ko-fi.com/kapitein_oranghien

Any help, including just, sending positive thoughts is appreciated, and I take that all to heart. After all, you guys liking my art spurs me on to make more!

🧡 kap

#kapitein oranghien comms

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yourlocaljonghoe · 3 months

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Trial of Fate. || Choi Jongho. [Prologue]

Summary: As a soul neither dead nor alive, you are merely there to guide those awaiting their trial of fate at the other side of the holy river. But one day, a God descended from heaven. His name was Jongho, and he was fascinated by your unique soul. Consequently, in defiance of all expectations, you now found yourself awaiting your own trial, and the dashing God of War decided to help you navigate it all. Could these two spirits, so different yet so similar, triumph against their destiny together?

Pairing: God!Choi Jongho x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, eventual Smut, Fantasy!Au, God!Au, Greek & Chinese mythology inspired

Wordcount: 2k

Warnings: None

A/N: This is the start of my first ever series. How long it will be is unknown yet, even for me, but it will have 3 essential parts called Trial of Love, Trial of Life and Trial of Death. I'm so excited yet nervous to post this, please tell me what you think! I will also open a taglist exclusively for this series, just comment or send an ask if you want to be added. Big thanks to @yunho-mp3 who proofread this and @nebulousbrainsoup who helped me brainstorm! Divider credits to @firefly-graphics!

Taglist: @yunho-mp3, @kyukyustar, @hwapetals, @foxinnie8, @preciouswoozi

Available here on AO3.

Ever since the beginning of time, the river parting the underworld and human realm has maintained its steady flow, guiding the new souls free from their mortal life to the other side.

But after over 1000 years, the river began to weaken. Eventually, the holy water formed a soul amidst all wonder, and that soul was you.

As you slowly unfolded, the lower souls began to call you Seongsu*¹.

Thereafter, as the once human souls entered your realm, you were their only hope. Some lovers came hand-in-hand and told you their romances from several lifetimes, and there were even those lost and desperate who stood bawling in front of you.

And yet, you were just the river flowing steady from one side to the other. You neither felt joy nor sorrow.

Once again, another millennium came and went, and as your soul became stronger, you even formed an appearance those dead souls were most familiar with; the form of a human, or at least something close to that.

As the souls crossed the river, the trial of fate awaited them in the underworld; some returned to you, now new souls ready for another lifetime, some ascended and entered heaven and some were never seen again.

It was a steady circle of life and death, and you were only a witness of it. Sometimes, you thought you formed a feeling the humans called jealousy. You thought about life itself and what it would feel like to experience it yourself, but ultimately found the thought both boring and useless.

But against all odds, as you awaited souls to come and cross the river once again, an old, wise soul appeared before you. Reading your fortune was a white-bearded priest passing, prophesying your coming trial to the knowing nodding of his head.

You protested: “Only those living beings experience the trial of fate. I am neither dead nor alive, Sir, I am here to guide all those awaiting their trial on the other side.”

But the old soul didn't answer you, crossing the river in silence and leaving both you and his past life behind.

You thought he was merely telling you nonsense.

You were a spirit formed from the flowing river of death and life; your soul was that of the river and your heart was that of a river.

There was no pain where there was no love. All living things had emotions, be it happiness or pain, and if your heart hadn't ever been stirred, how could there ever await you the trial of fate?

How could you, Seongsu, experience even the first phase of the trial?

The trial of love was the start of all life; in the human world, when two people fall in love, a new human is born. The new life therefore already completed the first challenge, that of birth.

Someone like you who was created by time itself had no chance of ever completing even its first stage.

Or so you thought.

But the flow of time was always full of surprises.

On a particular afternoon, you returned to the ever unchanging river after a walk as piercing sunlight suddenly burst through the quilt of clouds.

A man gracefully came from the heavenly realm.

You suddenly recalled the words of a young female human soul many, many years ago. She said: “A good looking man is a sight worthy of a 1000 lifetimes, may you encounter such a thing one day, Miss.”

You think you did just that.

After a thousand years, your stony heart made a rare subtle tremble.

He slowly approached you with a calm and collected expression on his face. It wasn’t easy to run into such a beautiful person, so you thought you should have a meeting worth his appearance with him.

“Sir”, you stepped forward and softly called out to him. You thought to curtly him like those pretty human women you've heard stories about, but didn't know how. You pondered for a moment, then mimicked the souls bowing to the god of death and dropped to your knees with a thud, banged your head on the ground and said to him, “May I inquire your name, Sir?”

Some lower stone and leaf souls gasped, but you paid them no mind. He stood there blankly with some surprise in his eyes. For a few moments, he only had his gaze on you.

Hearing no response from him, you briefly wondered that perhaps you hadn’t honored this man enough, meaning you didn't knock your head loudly enough and therefore hadn’t shown enough sincerity. You crawled forward on your knees and, not sparing any effort this time, fiercely knocked your head onto the ground once again.

“May I inquire your name, Sir?”, you repeated your earlier question.

Perhaps the antics of your behavior shocked him. He remained silent.

Hesitantly, you got up and wiped your face; it was only then you discovered how bloody you truly were, and while trying to clean yourself, you accidentally made it worse.

You panicked. With a look of helplessness in your eyes, you gazed up at the stranger.

In his eyes you saw your own reflection. Then, his mouth curled into an amused smile.

He seemed delighted, so you too offered him a smile of your own - well, you tried, because in those two millennia you existed, you never smiled before.

A lowly leaf soul came to your aid and helped you up. You wouldn't rise. Nervously, it whispered: “My dear Madam, you shall not do that! Don't you know who he is?”

Even if in status, all souls here were below you, they would only respect you due to your age. Your magic wasn't particularly strong.

“I don't know this man. I wouldn't ask for his name if I would, wouldn't I?”

“Miss, this man is a heavenly-”

A low voice interrupted the lowly soul.

“My name is Jongho.”

He extended his hand and you shook it carefully. Then, he flipped your hands and exposed your wrist.

Your vital, most vulnerable spot. He now had the perfect opportunity to wipe out your entire existence in a mere second, and from the look in his eyes, you saw he knew that too.

The lower leaf soul gasped and exclaimed nervously: “M’lord! M’lord! Miss Seongsu has lived here all her life. The underworld is but a humble place; the young lady does not know her etiquettes. I beg you to forgive her.”

The stranger, whom you now knew was named Jongho, looked at you again. “Seongsu? What a strange, interesting name.”

You shook your head. “It is not a name, Sir. It is merely a title”, you explained. He only hummed in understanding.

Jongho studied you for a while and then carefully pulled you up by your arm. Standing at your own two feet, you realized how broad and tall he truly was. “I have never seen a soul this old. Remarkable. You do not know who I am, yet greeted me with such great obeisance. Why?”

You suddenly understood. It turned out it wasn’t that your sincerity was lacking, but that it was too profuse. You honestly told him, “You’re so handsome that I wanted to… I wanted to…” Untimely, your vocabulary failed you. In your panic, you randomly grasped for a word you didn't even know where you got it from: “I wanted to seduce you.”

And with that, not just the lower leaf soul beside you, but all souls near gave you a ‘you're hopeless’ look.

He chuckled. “What a straightforward thing you are.”

You did not understand what it meant, but thought of it as a compliment. “Then, can I seduce you Sir?”

“I won't be staying long. I've only come to witness the trial of the souls I sent here*².”

What he meant was ‘no’. You lowered your gaze, a little disappointed.

“You've only ever stayed here, right?”, he suddenly asked. Hesitantly, you nodded.

Jongho seemed lost in thought for a moment. “And yet, I can see it.”

“See what, Sir?”, you asked.

“Your beginning trial of fate.”

“My beginning trial of fate? You must be joking, Sir, I cannot-” You suddenly recalled the old, wise soul you encountered years earlier. He said the same, but you didn't believe him.

Could you believe Jongho now?

“Do you want to leave this realm?”

You never thought of that before. Yet, for whatever reason, your lips formed the word ‘yes’.

“You are something special. A special soul like you… doesn't follow an ordinary trial like other souls. I will take you with me and make sure all will go well, but I must enter the underworld first.”

Your eyes widened. A soul like you, bound to this place, had the opportunity to leave? As if you'd say no to that.

He cast a golden seal on your wrist. “As a spiritual being, you need to learn to be smarter. Hereafter, take care to protect your vital portal.” He added, “Those who are stronger won’t always be as kind as I am. I will give you this to protect you. All beings will know you belong with me.”

Jongho looked you in the eyes again, before going and crossing the river.

“Jongho”, you called out to him, “once we are out of here, can I seduce you?”

He stopped, his figure floating above the water and laughed amused, “if you can manage to, go ahead.”

You took that as a challenge. Without turning around, he entered deep into the underworld and you remained, waiting eagerly for his return.

A stone soul appeared before you.

“Miss”, it called out to you.

“Hm?”

“Could it be that you developed some feelings for him?”

You turned to the soul and asked in all seriousness: “What does it mean to develop feelings?”

“However the lovers act in those books human souls bring to you is however developing feelings should be.”

You thought about it for a moment. In those books you frequently read, the gentleman would meet the lady, the lady then curtsied, the two next conversed in a word or two, and then they would begin to do a number of ooh ooh ah ah actions they couldn’t help themselves from. You never thought to ooh ooh ah ah with Jongho, so you really didn’t think you were developing feelings for him.

“No”, you answered honestly.

The soul sighed. “That's right, I thought too much. A soul like you should never develop feelings for someone in such a way. I am not saying you should never like someone once you leave this place, Miss, but that gentleman is not that someone.”

“What do you mean?”, you asked.

“Why is that? He’s the best-looking and gentlemanly person I’ve ever met.” You paused, then added, “And he has the most pleasing voice to the ears.”

“Miss, that gentleman is the God of War! The reason he is here to witness the trial of fate is because he sent them all to their death! The only thing that matters to him is chaos and violence. He has no time for feelings.”

You did not care about the fact he had no love in his heart, but the first part irritated you. “Jongho is the God of War? But he is such a kind man.”

The soul gasped. “Kind? But you don't really believe that, right?”

When he saw your nod, the stone soul shook its head and said in helplessness, “When the Demon clan attacked Heaven with an army as strong as never seen before, Lord Jongho led thousands heavenly soldiers and wiped them clean. Afterward, he led his army down to the Demon capital and massacred the entire Demon clan; blood flowed like water then. In the past decade, there has been no sound uttered by the demons. That’s because any demon three years and older has been exterminated.”

You remembered that event. During that time, the underworld became incredibly overcrowded. Although you now knew these demons were killed by Jongho, it did not change your opinion of him. War was in fact a matter of killing and surviving. As the God of War, he had the duty to do what others were too shy to do in order to protect the heavenly realm. You were impressed.

“Thank you for telling me these things. I will continue to wait for Lord Jongho here.”

“Miss, do you still want to go with him?”

You grinned. “Yes. I’m going to the heavenly realm to seduce him.”

(*¹Korean for holy water)

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fic #ateez x reader #ateez scenarios #ateez fanfiction #ateez angst #ateez au #ateez fluff #ateez imagines #ateez jongho #jongho #jongho smut #jongho x reader #jongho fanfic #choi jongho #choi jongho fanfic #ateez choi jongho

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mixelation · 4 months

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notes for the absolutely bonkers time line of toxicity (that's reborn au au). note that nothing is actually set in stone because it's derivative of reborn au, which is also not set in stone

i realized i suggested tori deciding to get with obito after the cave incident, but also that in reborn au she's actually already dating itachi when that happens. so consider

tori has been dating itachi for a few months (more if you count when she was dating him unknowingly) (her life is... dumb?)

she gets trapped in a cave by Some Guy and minato bans her from seeking vengeance

in reborn au she gets itachi to go freak out That Guy and is satisfied, but in THIS au everyone is more toxic. she has "destroys village out of affection" on the table as normal human behavior. she wants blood. she deserves blood

tori: can you BELIEVE itachi won't kill a singular guy for me obito: lmao tori is it really that big a deal? just kill him yourself tori: but it was :( tori: a cave :( tori: where i doubted anyone at all would ever help me again :( obito: obito: obito: okay FINE i'll kill him

tori breaks up with itachi specifically to seduce obito

it's an amicable break up. she doesn't tell itachi it's so she can run off with obito, but she's like "look i don't have any problem with helping you shirk your clan duties, but i still want to have my own dating life. lmk if you need something else but i won't be your fake gf" which is an entirely reasonable and mature argument for someone who is about to go after an unstable ex-missing-nin

obito is extremely confused when tori starts coming on to him (she is. not good or subtle at it) but ALSO he's kind of into it. he has a lot of weird feelings about tori but she's the one person who knows all his darkest secrets and he likes having her undivided attention. is she actually into him or is she trying to use him to murder more people? he doesn't care!

anyway i have been trying to figure out how no one intervenes in this or causes, like, some sort of permanent interpersonal fallout. and i remembered @waffliesinyoface and i joking around about toxicity just having its main cast destroy even MORE villages, and what if kushina wrecked suna's shit over gaara. so further consider

kushina goes to suna for some reason. idk maybe they host the chunin exams and they're like "send a representative..... not the hokage...... pls thnx." and she realizes how they're treating gaara and she loses her mind

kushina: SURPRISE I RUINED OUR ALLIANCE WITH AN UNTOLD AMOUNT OF MURDER!!!! kushina: also i kidnapped the kazekage's son. he's ours now kushina: he is deeply emotionally unstable and completely op and has murdered so many suna-nin kushina: but i can fix him. with my love <3 minato: o-oh

i don't think i'll have kushina PERMANENTLY adopt gaara (he has older siblings he can go back to!) but he's definitely in konoha for a hot second. so minato's life is currently

bonus child who is both crazy powerful and also desires to kill

(kushina: (shoving shukaku back in with her bare hands) HE'S FINE)

like the number of people who can handle gaara is. very low. he keeps sending gaara and naruto over to the uchiha compound for "babysitting" (Naruto keeps whining he's too OLD) but it's literally a bunch of A-ranks bc someone's sharingan is on them the whole time. the ushiha massacre 1000% doesn't happen in this time line because people are like "the uchiha are the only ones preventing us from being sand-coffined"

tori just fucking broke the hiraishin, so now he has to worry about the possibility of ANYONE ELSE doing that and killing/ruining everyone/everything he's ever cared about

obito?? decides to date her????

anyway the apparent situation of "obito, a 25 year old, has decided to date a teenager, who he's know since he was in his twenties and she was 12" is like. look, it's bad. but also minato is so tired. everyone else is so tired. obito what if you just...... didn't? please?

tori: but i'm the ultra manipulative seductress villain???

also an anon sent this

Itadei fake dating arc.... No one would even really notice/care since obitori is going on at the same time would they

Deidara doesn't give a shit about the murderous suna child. He killed him before and he'll do it again, okay. However WHY IS OBITO IN HIS APARTMENT ALL THE TIME NOW???

deidara: get her back. GET HER BACK itachi: ?? she had a very sound argument for our break up deidara: YOU'RE JUST COVERING FOR BEING A BAD BOYFRIEND

deidara is convinced tori would be SO easy to re-seduce. she likes good food and getting people to commit crimes for, okay. deidara would have just murdered that guy smh

deidara is going to show itachi how it's done

itachi is pretty sure being gay won't stop his parents from trying to get him to marry someone with a working womb, but maybe it will slow them down? certainly deidara has a good shot at scaring away any perspective dates

itachi and deidara start "dating" and no one gives it a second thought because it's the least insane thing happening right now

#reborn au au: it's gotten sillier

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ywpd-translations · 4 months

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Ride 756: The third Inter High!!

Pag 1

1: The Inter High starting line is impartial

2: Those aiming for victory

3: Those filled to the brim

4: Those who are scared

5: Everyone who put on their number bib

6: The line calls everyone to a new path

Pag 2 / 3

1: No2, Onoda Sakamichi's last Inter High!!

Pag 4

1: “Kyushu” was once divided into nine countries, and that's why it has that name*

(NdT.: The “kyuu” in Kyushu means nine)

(Currently is divided in seven prefectures: Fukuoka, Ooita, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima)

2: It has a lot of active volcanoes, and people coexist with the harshness of nature while enjoying hot springs, geothermy, and tourism

3: Trade with the continent has been active since ancient times

4: Formerly, the distribution of goods by ships, which was the mainstream

5: Passed through the Kanmon Straits, separating Honshu and Kyushu

6: And transported to Osaka, Edo, the Japanese cities by the sea, and every corner of the country

Pag 5

1: Even today, the Kanmon Straits, which passes through Shimonoseki, and Kitakyushu City, and Moji, is the shortest route that connects the Inland Sea and the Sea of Japan, and is a key point for the shipping through sea

2: 1000 ships a day pass through the complex strait, which is 500m wide in its narrowest point

3: As for the land route

4: An highway crosses the Kanmon Strait with a huge bridge 1068m long

5: Ordinary national roads and railroads pass through specialized tunnels

6: As for bicycles and people... they use the “pedestrian bridge tunnel” at the bottom of the huge bridge

From Honshu to Kyushu, they can cross over the Kanmon Strait by walking

Pag 6

4: Waaa

We're at the bottom of the sea here?

That's right

5: So above us is the sea?

Yeah

And we can walk to Kyushu?

That's right, it's around 400m from here

Amazing....

6: There's even people with bikes

Yeah

7: Look! There's a line!

It's the prefectural border

8: One, two-

9: Yes! I landed in Kyushu!

Pag 7

1: The entrance to Kyushu is in the northernmost town, Moji, in the prefecture of Fukuoka, Kitakyushu City

Pag 8

1: This is where this year's Inter High will start

Pag 9

3: Where do I put this baggage?

Put it in the tent for now

Thank you, senpai

4: Look, The bikes are all lined up

So pretty

Pag 10

1: I took a picture

So cool

2: Two portions of Mijiko curry, please

Yessir

3: A pressure of 6.5?

Six, please

4: Do you have an allen key?

Yes

Pag 11

1: Ohhhh

2: There's so many huge buses!!

Teh!!

3: Nara

4: That one is from Miyazaki

5: Na-Nagano!!

6: And there's so many people, too, teh....!!

7: Are they participants in the race!? All of them!?

You're kidding, they look so strong!!

8: The attendance!! Is on this scale!!

So this is....

Pag 12

1: A national competition!!

2: Teh?

3: Ohh.... suddenly my knees started trembling, teh

Ho- how do I stop it, teh, Ki....

4: Kinaka-kun!!

6: Ki.....

7: “The competition is in Kyushu, so there's no way we can bring everyone along”

8: Kinaka.... kun

Pag 13

1: I'm here!!

Ah, you're here....

2: I'll be a mechanical help for the next three days

And I was entrusted to be your lucky charm

De-he.... oho, ohoho, fuhoho!! What's that enigmatic way of laughing!!

3: Don't act like I didn't come!!

No... I just wanted to reaffirm again how grateful I am that you came, Kinaka-kun...

Ah!? That doesn't make any sense

4: It does!!

Pag 14

1: Because I really am grateful to you, Kinaka-kun!!

3: And I think this jersey is for the both of us!!

5: Don't say you're grateful so directly

It's embarrassing!!

6: Let's go to the tent!!

Yeah!!

You

7: It's your first Inter High but you're not all that nervous!!

That's somehow incredible

8: Yeah!!

After all

Pag 15

1: We have the strongest senpai!!

Pag 16

1: Ohhh

Waaa

2: It's Sohoku!!

It's Sohoku, the two-times in a row champion!!

Sohoku is in Kyushu!!

3: What a terrific aura!

Waaa

Onoda.... Naruko, Imaizumi!!

They look serious!!

Are they aiming for the championship again this year!?

Pag 17

1: They're going to get their number bibs

They're heading straight for the reception!!

Yes, all the participants are lining up in a row there

2: Oi, you're interrupting....

3: Sorry-

Soho-

Waa

Waaa-

5: -ku's...... bibs....

Pag 18

1: ….. please

2: Is he..... nervous....!? The reigning champion, Sohoku!?

Did he have a nervous aura?

Maybe the two guys behind him.... were supporting him?

3: They were supporting him, but the jersey came off

5: They're going back to their tent....

So that's Sohoku... right

7: So-so- sorry, I got nervous!!

Yeah

Right

8: La-la-la-la-la

La?

Pag 19

1: I was thinking it's the last Inter High!!

3: For us

Pag 20

4: Yeah

5: That's right

6: That's right, Onoda-kun

We're third years

7: It's our third and final

8: yearly grand stage

Pag 21

1: Once this is over, we'll retire

This Inter High is our last race!!

Pag 23

1: Honestly speaking, I my heart too was pounding when we were on the ship coming here

I was really nervous

2: Naruko-kun....

3: Naruko

4: But then I thought

When we were first years and ran in the Kanagawa competition..... maybe, at the starting point in Enoshima

5: The old man, Kinjou-san, and Makishima-san, too, were as nervous as we are now

Pag 24

1: They must have been

3: But they didn't show it at all to us kouhai

4: Well, we can't afford to show it, either

5: That's why, Manager, we talked and decided to go back to our beginning!!

6: We chased and caught up with those people's back, but this time we're gonna surpass them!!

7: Huh

8: We're changing our numbers from last year!!

Pag 25

1: The old man carried number 172, so I'll take number 2!!

Hotshot will take the number Kinjou-san wore, number 1!!

Pag 26

3: And Onoda-kun....

I....

7: The number Makishima-san carried

Pag 27

1: I'll run wearing the number 3!!

#yowamushi pedal #yowamushi pedal translations #yowapeda #yowapeda manga #yowamushi pedal manga #yowamushi pedal spoilers #ride 756 #what do you mean the ih is really starting #what do you mean this is the last IH and after this yowapeda is over #WHAT DO YOU MEAN NARUKO THAT AFTER THIS RACE YOURE GONNA RETIRE #yes i know its gonna take literal years before it ends BUT im just crying already #what a beautiful beautiful chapter!!#starting with a japanese geography lesson from watanabe-sensei #which is always interesting tbh yowapeda is a very educational manga #then there my babies my boys my children Roku-chan and Kinaka #i need to write more fics for them because- BECAUSE!! did you see theeeeem????#i really thought for a moment that kinaka wasnt there and i was about to start crying for real #but he's there of course he's there!! he could never leave rokudai alone that boy would panic too much #roku-chan's jersey is for the both of theeeem!! he really said that ;A;#and kinaka being all embarrassed asfdasgfd how are they so cute omg i love them #and then there's THE trio- my boys my babies who have grown up so much!!#Onoda who is a disaster as always whenever hes not riding a bike!! And naruko and imaizumi there being his knights!!#Not so good at their job sinc eonoda still falls and destroys everything and theyre left with only his jersey lmao #that was the funniest sequence of panels ever sagdhka #then end made me so emotionaaal ;A; theyre wearing their senpai's numbers ;A; they really are going to surpoass them this year #but also also hear me out #if theyre like the three senpai two years ago then roku has precisely the role onoda had #meaning HE is going to take the win #imma manifesting this #btw i really need to write fics this chap left me with the need to do it

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steamberrystudio · 4 months

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31/12/2023 Devlog

Hey everyone! Time for the bi-weekly tumblr update for Steamberry stuff! Except I skipped one because I can't remember why.

I half-wrote it but I think I just wasn't feeling up to finishing and posting.

I haven't been doing extremely well health-wise lately but still powering through.

Summary

Finished writing Chapter 5.5 (the new chapter in WSC)

Finished editing Chapters 6, 7, and 8 of Asher's path

Finished all the profiles for the GS lore book

Have started wrapping up the "side stories" and additional content for the GS lore book

Ramble

Okay so in my last update I was in the middle of editing chapter 5 and was nearly to the start of chapter six in editing Asher's route. I finished up chapter 5...

At that point when I was looking ahead, I started feeling like I wanted to add in a transition scene to move between Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.

As I started plotting out this scene, one of my ideas took on a life of its own and I realised that it might be better to interject a new, fleshed out story incident that would allow me to slow the pacing as well as flesh out the setting and universe a little more. This incident would also let me tie into some earlier events and connect them to something that occurs in chapter 6, also foreshadowing the chapter 6 incident.

Ultimately, this became too much to call a "scene" and I decided to branch it off into a supplementary chapter (IE a chapter a bit shorter than the others and meant to be released along with another chapter.)

Then that chapter ended up being 30,000 words.

So that happened.

After finishing that I went on to finish editing chapters 6, 7, and 8. I am currently on chapter 9. I only have a few more chapters before I'm finished editing Asher's path. As always, during my edits, one of the main things I do is flesh things out.

So obviously the word count has grown from that (and, you know, the 30k extra chapter I invented).

Currently the word count is 468,000 words.

Other Stuff:

I have received several new BGs and a new BG sketch. BGs are continuing to come in at a fairly steady pace.

I now have all the BGs for The Ophelia and the artists are working on other locations finally. OwO

I've also been, here and there, doing small tweaks to the sprites, small additions and fixes.

Gilded Shadows:

As I mentioned, I finally got through all the character profiles. There are so many more characters than I remembered in this game.

Then I got halfway through and realised that I forgot five. And had to insert them, which...meant rearranging pages, which is a pain in the butt. However, that is now complete.

What I'm working on now is finishing up some of the short stories and drabbles I have planned or partially written out and getting them into the lore book.

As well as gathering any other content. The lore book is currently about 350 pages. And I am really hoping to wrap it up soon.

Upcoming Weeks:

Next couple of weeks I will be trying to wrap up the lore book and wrap up editing Asher's Path.

When I finish editing Asher's path I'll be moving on to finish drafting the end sequences for the four remaining characters. I'm starting to have an idea of where the word count is going to end up but will have a better idea for sure when Asher's edit is complete.

I have written over 100,000 words since mid-August, just plugging away and trying to hit at least 1000 words a day.

I hit my year end word count goal of 466,000 words for When Stars Collide but unfortunately did not finish the draft because the draft has grown in size.

But I am really hoping to finish it early next year so we can fully move into phase 2 of When Stars Collide.

I am also hoping to get the final KS stuff resolved for Gilded Shadows early next year as well (the lore book, art book, and some residual art and stuff).

For now, I shall just keep plucking away at it until it's all done.

And that is all for now. I will see you all next year.

#gilded shadows #whenstarscollide #amare game #indie otome game #updates #devlog

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animehideout · 3 months

Text

A Deal ( Ryomen Sukuna X Reader )

Part 6

Check out part 5 here.

a/n: Hi loves, sorry for the late update, I'm struggling with finding motivation since I'm active on both Tumblr and Wattpad.

‼️Since you voted for 3 different endings and I promised to write all of them, I'll start writing 3 different parts ( for exp 3 different versions of part 7 ) till we reach the end, since the events would obviously differ.

Warnings: NSFW MDNI ⚠️

Standing in front of Jujutsu High, nostalgia flooded your mind with cherished memories ; laughter, giggles, echoes of principal Yaga's scolding. The scents and images of your past enveloped you, painting a bittersweet picture. As you began to reminisce, a soft smile adorned your somewhat gloomy face.

Sukuna's voice broke the reverie, jolting you back to the present.

"One hour... that's it," he declared, grounding you in the reality of the moment.

Realizing that despite the risks of being a Jujutsu sorcerer, life then felt like heaven compared to the current disaster, a true hellfire. You nodded, all what you wanted was to hug them once more. An hour seemed more than sufficient, considering you had endured weeks of separation.

"I'll be waiting right here.. if you don't come back in one hour, I'll get in there and kill everyone before your eyes" he threatened.

You gulped, already know that he won't hesitate and would do that for real. You can't risk putting them in danger, you've been bearing all the pain for so long for them to keep them safe, so now you can't ruin it by simply being one second late...one hour is one hour.

"Understood" you muttered,

Sukuna's hold on your waist loosened, granting a temporarily liberation. It felt like a bird that had been caged for years, now experiencing the freedom to spread its wings and fly once again.

You stepped inside as the clock started ticking, countdown began. You started running, to waste no second.

Sukuna's Pov Why do I feel empty? It's just one hour; she'll return, she'll come back to me! Yet, everything seems to turn gloomy and dark without her by my side. I've lived in darkness across all timelines, for long 1000 years. But she changed it; she ignited herself, unintentionally lighting up my world. The moment she offered herself to me as an exchange for Gojo and Megumi's life, what a woman! Maybe it was the way her soul was pure, maybe it was her courage, maybe it was just for my own filthy pleasure, desires and sins. But she succeeded in making me break from the ordinary, and now all what I can think about..is her. If she was anyone else, I would have killed them at the spot, wouldn't even waste a second to negotiate, or spare them with my mercy. But Y/N,she got me wrapped around her finger, to the point that despite boiling with jealousy, and this unexpected ache that I've felt in my chest, aware of what could happen between her and Satoru in these 60 minutes, I've let her go to him, because she wanted to. Because I can't say no to her pleading eyes that drove me crazy. But one thing I won't allow, I won't allow Gojo to steal her away from me. No one can have her. Either mine, or death. End of Pov.

Panting trying to catch your breath, stomping inside, with no further warning.

"Satoru, I'm home" you said with a smile,

“Y–y/n?" they said in union.

taglist 🫶🏻:

@bellagum @darlax @saiyara05 @bontensbabygirl @aquatufana @kiki17483 @certainduckanchor @openup-yourmind @certainduckpalaceland

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lemmetreatya · 1 year

Note

Hey, love love ur work! I was wondering if you could write a clingy, horny Jotaro begging his black girlfriend for sex like it's just been a hot day and all that he have been thinking about is her and how he wants to lick the sweat off of her back and inhale the stench in the air from their two bodies like I just wanna see a clingy, whinny Jotaro beg...

ARSENIC - Jotaro x Black!gf fem reader

contains: NSFW, male masturbation, descriptions of sex, horny!jotaro

GOSH YOURE SO GOATED FOR THIS REQUEST HONESTLY?? like as soon as it dropped into my inbox i literally evil laughed omlll. hope i did your vision justice!! enjoy <3

Drip.

Even towards the end of the year, the dry season of Japan’s summers were excruciatingly hot; The blossom petals that decorated most of the ground were starting to malt, the joyous bellows of school children still sounded in the air as they attempted to achieve their Coming of Age: 1000 Days of Summer activities and the skies still omitted every sighting of a swollen bellied cloud.

Drip, drip.

For Jotaro however, Japanese summers weren’t always the best. Coming home to a house that now seemed unfamiliar, he found it harder each time to settle well within the first week.

Ever since he’s been doing the whole ‘living in two countries’ thing — spending term times abroad but holidays at home here in Japan — Jotaro found it extremely difficult to get any proper enjoyment out of the constant moving around.

Even now that he finally chose to keep the citizenship passport of where he resided with you (much to Sadao’s dissatisfaction, but it’s not his fault that Japan doesn’t allow dual citizenships), coming home to his parent’s house always felt like a chore, like a restrictive prison.

And you never helped with that.

Drip, drip. Drip.

Swallowing a stiff gulp, Jotaro watched the ice lolly that you sported secret it’s syrup all over the garden ground as you currently hovered it in your hands over the deck chair’s arm rests.

At the lucrative sight, he couldn’t help but to turn towards you with a fresh whine already beckoning from the back of his throat.

“Babe…”

“Nope.” You popped the ‘p’.

Lapping your tongue across your dripping rocket shaped ice lolly, the sticky juices coated your hands as you ate the melting sugary snack with juvenile spirit.

“Oh, come on.” He groaned.

Right now, the both of you were 6 days into your two weeks holiday in Japan but Jotaro was having his concupiscence’s fine edged to the max by you.

You have this thing, that when the both of you came to stay in Japan, and specifically when you stayed at Jotaro’s childhood home, you wouldn’t sleep with each other the whole time you were there.

Obviously to Jotaro, this was a ridiculous oath because ‘what do you mean we can’t fuck just because it’s my “family home”? Just shut the doors and shut up when we do it — its not that hard’. But you had been brought up within very different circumstances and applied respect in contrasting ways to how Jotaro did. One of those things was that you respected who’s roof you were under and acted accordingly to the respect you bestowed upon them.

And because you deeply respected his parents, you wouldn’t disregard their hospitality and engage in such acts with their son under their roof, despite your big ages.

Jotaro’s eyes watched in wanton with how you ate the snack before making a face of disappointment. You took one long swooping suck of the lolly, beckoning the whole lolly into your mouth and essentially soaking up all of the excess liquid with a slurp before pulling it out excruciatingly slow.

You could see your boyfriend opening his mouth within your peripheral, clearly wanting to try his luck again, but you didn’t even let him finish.

“I said no—”

“I promise I won’t ask again this whole holiday but can we please just do it this one time?!” He begged.

You shrugged as you made a single dry laugh.

“I’ve already told you my answer.”

“But no ones home and no one will be home until several hours from now. It’ll be the perfect opportunity and we won’t have to be discreet and you can be as loud as you want.” Jotaro’s voice turned into a low whisper as he tried to entice you with the dangling carrot of ‘messy, loud and robustious sex’.

Scoffing, you couldn’t help but to turn your head away from your boyfriend. It didn’t help much concerning you were semi lying down on a deck chair, but it didn’t have to help because you knew where you stood on this opinion.

“But I don’t wanna be loud or obscene or non-discreet, Jotaro. The stakes are different than they are back home. You know the oath I made and you even agreed to stick by it with me, remember?”

Jotaro ran his hand down his face. Even after all these years, Japanese summers still soaked his tanned skin in buckets full of sweat.

“Yes! Yes, of course I fucking remember! There isn’t a fucking second where you let me forget.” He stressed.

“So you know what my answers gonna be.”

A long and tedious whine left the man’s throat. He began to continuously jolt his legs, bouncing it on the tip of his toes. You noticed that as one of the stim habits he had once he was frustrated. After a few seconds of contemplating, Jotaro turned to you again as he invaded your space, leaning over onto your deck chair as he tried to look you in the face.

“Why have you got to be like this?! Why are you denying me this one thi—Baby, please!” The last part of Jotaro’s statement came out high pitched as he almost capsized your deck chair considering you had just moved out of it.

Seeing you walk inside wordlessly but still sucking on your lolly, Jotaro tried calling out to you in desperate succession for just a small piece of something.

“Baby, please, pleaaaseee.”

“Goodbye, Jotaro.” You deadpanned.

Once you had disappeared, Jotaro flopped back onto his own deckchair in a show of huffy attitude. Another elongated whine left his throat but this time he couldn’t contain the physical effect it had on him.

God, his cock was always so hard nowadays.

From the minute he woke up to the second he finally put himself to rest, he was encompassed in constant lustful peril. There was no amounts of cold showers or jerking off that could satisfy what he needed from you and it was so bleak how you had yourself under so much constraint compared to him.

Jotaro wasn’t a sex addict.

Well, he doesn’t think he is. Even though he’s currently in the back garden of his family home, rubbing his legs together like a pathetic loser (He and the crying summer crickets were two of the same) — trying to subside just the mere thought of your body under his — he had long realised that sex wasn’t the issue.

He could get sex anywhere. In his home town, that wouldn’t even be a challenge, concerning how so many of his old flames from school would drop the pride of their stale marriages at the mere opportunity to get in close contact of his low hanging fat cock. But this wasn’t about sex, this was about you.

It was about how you called his name like a saccharine prayer once he got his rhythm right and plunged passionately in and out of your warm cunt, a song so strong it’d be enough to call the sailors home. It was how palatably soft you became once taken care of, how your eyes would look up at him with that licit doeness as your lips stretched around his length.

The taste, fuck the taste of your sweet pussy as he found himself doused within your abundance of honey that just never seemed to know any end. He doubts it had a telos but if it did, he had an aim to get there himself.

Don’t even remind him of that cloy smell of sex that perfumed the room once he was done fucking that sirenlike cunt of yours — the way he could even smell it once you were done playing with yourself and he happened to have followed into the room after you — that shit was what drove him insane.

Just by the sheer memories of you, Jotaro was able to tug himself to completion right there in the garden, cock out in the wide open as he woefully spilled his seed onto the ground.

He didn’t even feel any shame at what he had done because it still wasn’t enough and didn’t help with how hot and itchy he felt or how much he yearned for the real thing of what the two of you usually shared.

In a spur of the moment decision, Jotaro haphazardly pulled his shorts over his flaccid length before scurrying into the house to try and find where you were situated. Once he found you in the living room, he called out your name and stood in front of the TV, the pleas starting all over again.

“I am begging you. You’ve literally got me at my breaking point, it isn’t fair. I just wanna fuck real quick one time and then I won’t pester you for the rest of the trip.”

With a face of annoyance, you tried to look past your boyfriend’s obstructing figure, the show on the TV just about getting good. It however seemed a lot harder to tolerate his behaviour with no benefactor of a lolly to keep you calm.

“How is it my fault you can’t control yourself for just two weeks? Sounds like a you problem…” You muttered.

Practically stamping his foot, Jotaro jolted his body in frustration.

“But this isn’t about that—I’m not—If this were anywhere else at any other time, I’d understand but… It’s a lot more than just…Shit.”

With crude intention, your eyes glanced up at the whining man. Jotaro would class the smirk that decorated your face as borderline sadistic.

“Understand what, Jotaro? That you’re in heat or something? Like, please.”

“With how bad it is I might as well be!” He exclaimed. His glassy eyes were a testament to how worked up he was getting.

With a tired sigh, you rolled your head backwards onto the sofa back, a sign of your patience for the man’s rampant libido running thin.

“Okay, Jotaro, enough playing around now. It’s getting annoying.”

“But I’m being serious.”

“Serious enough that you can’t just jerk it off until we get back home?!” You chided.

“I’ve tried that! Trust me, I’ve tried every way I can think to get off by myself but nothing works.”

The black haired man waved his hands in front of you but all it did was annoy you even more than he originally was. Pushing yourself off of the sofa you waved your hand in Jotaro’s direction in a dismissive gesture.

“Oh, this is just getting stupid.”

But before you could get anywhere far, the large figure of a man scurried in front of you before getting down onto both of his knees, his hands resting on top of his thighs whilst his head dipped in shame.

Jotaro’s words came out in a jumbled off-the-dome mess of impulsive thought.

“Okay, okay. Look, look, look look. I’m on my knees. You’ve got me on my knees and I’m begging and I never ever beg but I am because I just really need to have you one time, like I’m so horny it hurts. It fucking hurts and I just…I really need to be inside you just once this whole trip. It’s all I ask.”

Astonished at his act of shameless pleads, you’d be lying if you said that it didn’t move you to some extent.

“J-jotaro, get up. You don’t need to be doing all of that.” You said as you raised your hand out to pull him up but the man stayed put, determined in his stature.

“But I do. I do need to do all of this because I need you to see how serious I am and how much I need this from you. I am begging and I am desperate.”

In all retrospect, you were speechless.

Even speechless was an understatement because the sheer lengths Jotaro seemed to be going for this couldn’t simply be brushed off as horny and it quite genuinely rendered you with no words else to say.

What was currently happening in front of you was the complete humbling of a man, who would never do else wise, under any other circumstance, but had to do so under the pure submission to one’s carnal desires.

With how many stripes he was pulling off of his pride right now, who were you to deny him off his simple ask?

Mentally you had to apologise to Holly and Sadao. Maybe the respect you had for them could be found in another way.

“Fuck.”

At the sound of your soft curse, Jotaro looked up at you in expectation. However he didn’t utter a single word. One, because he didn’t want to try digging up anymore dirt than he already had done, but also because there was nothing more that he could say.

Looking down at your boyfriend, you could only sigh in deep anguish, albeit you couldn’t deny that it was also dressed with the petticoats of adoration.

“You’re so lucky.” You mumbled.

Perplexity softly worked it’s way onto Jotaro’s face, his position on the floor making him look all the more pathetic.

“Why?”

With a lick of your lips, you could only dryly let out an answer of true defeat.

“Coz’ it seems like I’ve given into you.”

#jotaro is literally the embodiment of any spare coochie?#jotaro imagines #jotaro x reader #jotaro headcanons #jotaro x black reader #jotaro kujo #jotaro scenarios #jotaro smut

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4ngelholic · 10 months

Text

"one day.." i will stop falling in love with you

diluc , al haitham, dainsleif

unrequited love , angst.

DILUC RAGNIVINDR— you didn't mean to fall for him. you didn't mean to look at him like he was the whole world. you didn't know why you started liking him. you've been friends for almost a year now, but recently, you started seeing the small and big things diluc does. cares for his brother, mondstadt, and its people. the way he switches shifts with charles when he has the time to have a few moments to bond with kaeya, when his gaze softens looking at the lively tavern even when it's tiring when he thinks no one is looking, and the way he takes parts of his nights to fight and fend off the monsters that dare to trespass its walls.

your feelings didn't go unnoticed by a certain group of dark blue, maroon-ish, and dual-colored-haired group. in the end, you did tell them you did hold feelings for diluc, and they encouraged you to confess. they mentioned how the way he looked at you was different from the way he looks at others, but a good difference. and you hated the way your stomach did flips. because you knew better. he was healing but not yet healed. he wasn't ready for love in his life yet or at all.

he needed you. he wanted you. he cared for you. he needed a friend. he wanted you there as a friend. he cared for you as a friend. while you did everything as a friend, you wanted it to be something other than that. but you couldn't. your relationship was just friends. nothing more, nothing less.

·˚✎ ﹏

AL HAITHAM— he was well known in the Akademiya while you were on the other.. and besides, you guys weren't even friends since you guys only talked only a few times. would you two consider yourselves acquaintances? he was stoic, cool, smart, and very good-looking. if it was allowed in the Akademiya, he would have multiple gifts and love letters overflowing in his office. you were one of the smartest in the Akademiya but if you were next to him you couldn't compare. there are people you could see him with, like nilou, for example, but looking back on it, she probably only sees him as a close friend.

you despised how you acted around him. you were stuttering, fumbling, and being plain stupid. there was a time when you wanted him to look over some documents that you had, and when you were walking toward him, you tripped over an uneven tile. stupid stupid stupid. but instead of looking down on you like you expected him to, he chuckled. ah. was he laughing at you? or what happened? or both? he simply picked up the fallen papers and held out a hand for you.

"don't worry about the documents being put off order. I can handle it. but maybe you should check up on your knees if it hurts."

you thanked him and left his office. the next day, when you were picking the finished documents up, you found the uneven tile nowhere to be seen.

"I asked for the tile to be fixed after you left so it won't happen again."

gods... you hate the way he makes you feel.

·˚✎ ﹏

DAINSLEIF— you happened to meet him while you made a quick break in one of liyue's restaurants. you were a seat behind him, and you could hear his stomach silently grumbling. when the bill came for his meal, you overheard him, saying he only had 500 mora. innocently barging into the conversation with him and the waiter, you offered to pay for all of it. it was nothing really, 1000 mora off of your bank was basically taking a single strand of wheat off a haystack

a few weeks passed, and you found yourself falling for him. it might be the stretch to like someone you met for almost a month, but still. he was reserved, quiet, and a bit dull looking. but he had his moments of being kind. all you knew from what he told you was he was looking for someone dear to him, and that made your heart pang in your chest. what made it worse for you was not knowing if that someone who was dear to him, a lover, or a friend. but you knew better to pester him about them because he simply left it there.

he explained he couldn't stay here, as he needed to continue his journey. and as you bid him farewell, you regret not telling him your feelings for him. but you decide to keep your feelings buried deep within. so maybe the next time you see him, you can joke around with him about how you had a crush on him before with nothing to hide.

#genshin impact x reader #genshin impact angst #genshin x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin imagines #genshin diluc #genshin alhaitham #genshin dainsleif #diluc x reader #al haitam x reader #dainsleif x reader #diluc angst #alhaitham angst #dainsleif angst #genshin impact scenarios #{✒️} | writing

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couldawouldashoulda50 · 2 months

Text

A heart full of regret Part 2.1 (William Nylander)

Leading up to this here and here

I have to admit that I was struggling with this part - I started and stopped so many times and I really have no actual structure when I sit down and start typing. Hopefully it's not terrible - this is just focusing on the time that William is traveling in December during the Dad's trip while Y/N is in the UK, before returning home to Toronto.

Warnings - swearing, angst

Word count 3.5k

As the days went on, William refocused his energy on hockey. He had begun a new point streak in consecutive games but there had been moments where it appeared some of the intensity from his stellar start to the season thus far, particularly in Sweden, had started to wane.

The lull in the schedule during the first week of December afforded the entire team some additional practice time as well as the opportunity to participate in charity events around the city.

William welcomed the break with being the prime focal point of the media beginning to diminish. Constantly being in the spotlight for a few weeks had its perks, but William had to admit, it was wearing after a while. He wondered how you managed to stay above it all for so many years.

When he would ask you questions about fame and celebrity, while in the afterglow of the intense body bliss you two shared, you always said you were a reluctant celebrity; you never put much stock in the fame part of your musical career. You were just a girl, who loved to sing and make music, and somehow that path panned out for you.

As the second week of December was underway, the Maple Leaf organization held another Dad’s trip; a much beloved time for the players and staff. The Dad’s and mentors watched their sons wallop Nashville on the first game of the trip. The following day the club headed to Long Island in advance of the game the following day. The buzz was generally around John Tavares being at 998 points, and confidence was high that he could hit 1000 points in front of his former team and the fans that tirelessly booed him.

The energy was electric on the bus ride from the airport to the hotel and lively conversation and laughter echoed throughout.

Later that afternoon, the group reconvened in the hotel lobby after taking the opportunity to rest and relax once they were all checked in.

William spots the Swedish contingent of the group and heads over to stand with them while they await for the last few stragglers and for the transportation to arrive to whisk them off to dinner.

William scans the open concept lobby and spots Morgan and his Dad, Andy, relaxing in the plush seating alongside Brian Matthews and Auston, as well as Max and Tie Domi. They seemed to be glued to watching something on Max’s phone.

William watches as Max swipes and scrolls on his phone. The group suddenly appears to lean closer to the phone. After a few seconds, he hears the group chime “Happy Birthday, Y/N!!” in unison.

William’s stomach flips with hearing your name. Others that are close by make their way over to where Max is holding his phone to photo-bomb the group, wave at the screen and give their well wishes when they realize it's you on the other end.

Fuck - it’s her birthday today.

You and William had not been in touch since you left his condo a week ago. For two people that seemed to gel with one another so perfectly, once out of sight, you had become accustomed to not being part of each other’s lives at all.

What bothered him more right now is your friendship with his teammates.

William felt he was on the outside looking in with someone he was once so close with. Someone whom he is developing intense feelings for once more. Someone, he realizes, he may never have another chance with again.

He didn’t always feel like this - this feeling of deep envy knowing that you have carried on with your own friendships with some of William’s friends and teammates. In the past, during your times together, he was happy - proud even - as he watched you mix with teammates and their significant others so effortlessly.

Callë nudges William, bringing him back to reality as the group begins to file toward the exit and through the revolving doors toward the large coach that awaits.

Dinners during the Dad’s trip are always one of the many highlights. The exchanges are always lively and interesting; a chance for many of the fathers to commiserate with their own individual experiences with helping to guide their sons to the NHL.

A mentor of William’s accompanied on this trip; having seen William just three weeks prior in Stockholm, and knowing he was headed to Toronto for Christmas, Michael Nylander had decided to opt out on this Dad’s trip. As William noted in an interview, he has 4 other kids that he has to look after; he can’t always be doing things with him.

As much as he was enjoying himself at the restaurant, William wished his Dad was here. William could talk to his Dad about virtually anything, and in turn, he would give William sound advice, leaving the final decision making up to his son. William wondered what his Dad would say about the circumstances between you both.

William was lost in thought when Jake sat in a vacant chair at the table next to him. “How’s it goin Willy? You good?”

“Hey Cabe-r…doin alright - what’s going on man” William chuckles, straightening up in his chair unaware he was slouching.

“Ha, well - my Dad’s having the time of his life jawing with everyone else…you looked a bit down in the mouth sitting over here on your own.”

“Nah, man - I’m alright. Just got some things on my mind”, William smiled. “Thanks though”, he added.

“Too many women, not enough time?” Jake laughs.

“I think you got the first part right….”, William paused, contemplating how much he should reveal. Jake smirked at the star winger and chuckled. “Sounds interesting….go on…”

William continued tentatively. “I, uh….hooked up with this girl recently, around the end of November. Last week, she showed up at my place, drunk…and uninvited, with a friend of hers. I wasn’t alone at the time and she caused a bit of a scene - had to threaten to call security to get her to leave but her friend ended up dragging her out instead.”

“Ha - oh shit, you weren’t kidding with the too many women thing.” Jake laughed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, well - I had strung this girl along - the drunk one. Our first date - thing…whatever it was - didn’t go very well, but I thought I could…you know…just in case I was in the mood…she lives close by…” William gestured for Jake to fill in the blanks.

“Ahhh….right - got it...” Jake paused. “So wait - you said you weren’t alone…so you had another girl over at the time the drunk one showed up…with her friend?” Jake smiled and threw his head back as he laughed harder. “Fuck Willy - let me know when I should start feeling bad for you…”

“Yeah - I know…fucking nothing problems…which I brought on myself - I get it. It’s just that the girl I had over, I - like…I really care about her. We’ve known each other for years…she’s the only girl, outside of my family anyway, that just gets me. It’s so easy and fun being with her…know what I mean? And it’s always been like that - she’s got this crazy, interesting life and yet she’s always more interested in what’s going on with me and my life. She’s super down to earth too. And….not saying this is everything but fuck, she’s drop dead gorgeous. I mean like fucking 12 out of 10.”

Jake nods his head and grins; he can see the way that William lights up talking about you.

“Now, I’m pretty sure she thinks I'm a total sleaze because of these two girls that showed up looking for…you know…”

“Fuck bro…bit of a fuckin mess”, Jake shot William a knowing smirk, and continued to shake his head.

“I still don’t feel that bad for you…” Jake chuckled and gave him a couple of pats on William’s shoulder. “So, let me guess…was it Y/N who you had over at the time?”

“Fuck…is it that obvious?” William asked, lowering his head slightly.

“No, it’s not that…I heard rumours about you awhile ago…that you two were sort of involved on and off again but because of schedules or whatever, it didn’t work out. I kind of wondered when she came by last week whether you two would get to talking…you seemed pretty happy to see each other”

“Yeah, some not so great things happened before - it was really just me who sort of treated her like shit in the end. I kind of just lost her number, pretended I never knew her - and well, just stopped talking to her altogether. Then a couple of years later, I did something really fucking dumb and I basically hurt her all over again.”

“So….did she freak on you about the women looking for what - a threesome?”

“Nah - she just looked….I dunno - she just asked if I was ok. I think she tried to look like it didn’t bother her or look like she was disappointed but she just wasn’t the same after those girls left.”

William proceeds to explain the rest of the evening, and the fact his family is staying at your place over Christmas.

“So what’s the deal then…you looking for advice or what?”, Jake asked. William cracked a smile. “Sure - I guess, if you’ve got some.”

“Well, maybe start by breaking the ice…it’s her birthday today, maybe you could…wish her a Happy Birthday?” Jake said, rather sardonically. He enjoyed ribbing William at times.

“Well, yeah….of course, I had planned to…”.

“Yet, you haven’t…c’mon man…maybe just ask her how she’s doing…she just lost someone that meant a lot to her. Be there for her if she needs someone to turn to. It’ll take less than two minutes.”

William nodded his head in acknowledgment.

“Don’t even think about it - it’s simple….” Jake said as he stood up from the chair, giving William a couple more firm pats on the back. “If you care about her, let her know; even if she thinks you are a total fuckin’ sleaze, this might help change her mind a little. I don’t think I need to tell you that she’s worth a little bit of effort at least”.

Yeah. She is he agrees silently.

William takes a deep breath and his thumbs begin to tap away on the screen.

Hey Y/N, Happy Birthday…hope you had a great day. Hugs from me and the boys. Hope you are doing ok.

William smiles as he sends the next message.

So….where are you? 😉

During the months after you first met, you and William (loosely) stayed in touch, mainly with random texts asking where the other was in the world. The response would be a photo of your surroundings when you opened the message. Bathroom, bedroom, rooftop or beach…it didn’t matter, a photo without any context would appear once the question was asked. As time went on, and the more you and William had become more attracted to one another, the racier the photos would often become.

William knew the time difference was roughly the same in the UK as it was in Sweden, and he calculated it to be roughly 2:30 am. He wasn’t going to hold his breath for a response, and he slipped his phone into his pocket and rejoined his guest and the rest of the group as dinner wound down and dessert was being served.

Eventually, his phone vibrated once, and then once more. He grabbed his phone and quickly opened his text notifications to see you had responded.

“Thank you for thinking of me - I really appreciate it….hope the trip is going well so far”

William’s phone vibrates again.

A short video showing an elegant indoor swimming pool appears. William can see your reflection in the wall of windows as you sit by the pool's edge while recording the video. William continuously replays it; his eyes are firmly fixed on your slender figure as he studies your profile, wishing he was there waiting for you in the pool to give you your own private birthday celebration. If he was there, bathing suits would not be necessary; he would have had you pressed up against the pool wall by now, your legs wrapped around his midriff as his muscular abdomen pressed against your core.

“At my place in London now" “Earlier, I was here…”

An image of a glass igloo appears, dimly lit with soft neon lights situated on a slightly snow covered rooftop terrace. A few more images from the same rooftop were received, which all boasted incredible views of the frosted London skyline at night. William was more interested in perusing the faces of those in attendance; he swears he recognizes some of them as cast members of Game of Thrones.

“If you ever come to London, this place is a must. Look up Wagtail. It’s even on King William Street…”

William smiles and chuckles as he rereads your message a few more times.

His smile quickly disappears when he watches the pool video again. He begins to wonder if you are by yourself - going for a swim at 2:30 am - after celebrating your birthday. William knows that he certainly would not be flying solo under those same circumstances.

William zooms back in on the rooftop photos.

He texts back:

“Are some of your friends from Game of Thrones - like seriously???”

It's not long before you respond again.

“Ha - yeah, a few of them. They’re ready to disown me though…I still haven't seen the show…never got past Season One. Just never had time”

William can't help grinning. If he can get away with ribbing you, he will.

“Wow…that is a bad friend (jk). I'll come over sometime if you want - I've seen it but wouldn't mind watching it again in your theatre room 😉”

William stalls typing in the question he wants to know the most.

Just ask her and get it over with.

“So is your party moving to the pool now?”

William grips his phone and his jaw unconsciously tenses as the three dots flicker and fade while you type your response.

“Nope. Party's over…I'm just winding down before I head to bed. I'm so old and boring, eh? Don’t answer that."

William feels like he's dodged a missile.

“You’re definitely neither of those”

Although it was so subtle, William hoped that you could sense the affection and desire those words carried for you.

A bubble indicating a voice text from you appears. “Just wanted to say thank you for the birthday wishes and I hope your trip is going well. I think we’d better chat about your family arriving next week. I’m leaving soon for New York and then home. I’ll let you know when I’m back. Safe travels and good games, William…goodnight.”

William acknowledges your message with a heart. He can't help but to feel relieved with how open you seemed to be with talking to him.

“Fuck sakes Willy - you’ve been on your phone all night…jesus - put it away already.” Morgan elbows William in the arm. “Here’s a glass of wine…hang out - relax.”

William accepts Morgan’s offer and sits down with Morgan and a few other Dad’s, including Andy Rielly.

With Morgan being the longest tenured Leaf, Andy’s gotten to know some of the players quite well over the years, along with their fathers and other family members.

Andy strikes up a conversation with William, asking him how his family is and how proud they must have been to see him play in Stockholm. Andy asked about the dogs, if William likes living in Yorkville, and they discuss how much the city has changed since he and Morgan first started playing for the Leafs. They discuss Christmas and Andy laughs at William’s nonchalant response when he asks him if he’s started shopping for gifts for his family; not yet but he’ll get to it was William’s answer.

Andy arrived at the question of whether the Nylanders would be travelling to Toronto over Christmas. William didn't plan to divulge too much information about his holiday arrangements but he always found Andy so engaging and easy to talk to, William ended up mentioning the plan to stay at your house.

“That really sounds wonderful; what an awesome opportunity to relax and enjoy a couple of days off surrounded by your family. Your Dad's quite the chef, is he not? I expect you'll be eating well whenever Michael's manning the kitchen.”

William laughs. “Oh yeah, for sure - that's him. He's a great cook. But I think Y/N arranged for an actual chef for a couple of days so Dad can just hang out with us. Y/N's got some pretty cool stuff to do in her house so I'm looking forward to some downtime…practicing my drive with the golf simulator will be my first stop…that kinda thing.”

“Tessa was telling Shirley and I before of how entertaining her place was from all the gal get-togethers Y/N’s had. Pretty nice setup.”

“Yeah, I haven't been there for a long time…looking forward to seeing what she's added over the years.” William’s eyes shift downward as he ponders what to say next.

Andy pauses for a moment. He feels like he's hit on something uncomfortable for William, so a change of subject might be in order.

As if on cue, Brian Matthews approaches the group of men and sits in a chair between William and Andy. Brian makes similar small talk with William citing a few funny anecdotes from when Auston and William first started playing together.

Music begins to softly stream from a nearby phone, surrounded by Joe Woll, Matthew Knies and their fathers. Andy recognized the song almost immediately, having watched the same video earlier that night in the hotel lobby. It was a sorrowful ballad that you had written and performed as a duet at Shane’s funeral. Excerpts from the funeral which had been streamed live had begun to make their way onto all the social platforms. Your name had been trending rapidly after a transcendent performance headlined in the media as “a stunning tribute”, “a song of perfection” and "hauntingly beautiful”.

“Hey Joe, that's Y/N singing, right? From the funeral?” Andy asked.

“Yeah - it is - what a beautiful song. It's amazing.” Joe, himself a mostly self-taught pianist, found himself completely transfixed by listening to your composition.

William approaches the small huddle and stands behind Matthew to get a better view of the screen. His cheeks flush with warmth at the sight of you as you stand at the altar, in a grand old church in Ireland, playing that steel-plated guitar and singing with a pitch-perfect voice that sounded powerful and soft at the same time.

William thought if he could walk out of the restaurant, hop on a plane and come to see you in London, with no consequence or recourse to his team or his career, he would have already been on his way.

He studies your face as you sing, your eyes closed and brows furrowed with a glint of a tear threatening to escape and roll down your cheek. Amazingly, you kept your composure as the hundreds in attendance chimed in to sing the chorus. It was a moment of pure magic and heartbreak at the same time.

So I'll drink today, love

I'll sing to you, love

In pauper's glory, my time I'll bide

No home, no ties, love

A restless rover

If I can't have you by my side

Desperation is not William’s style, but the deep yearning he’s been harbouring for you now is completely uncaged and is running wild within him; he now understands how desperately he wants you.

As the fun-filled evening winds down, the group (after being fed so well and for some, a few too many drinks and feeling no pain), return to the hotel and retire to their respective hotel rooms.

Back in his room, William finishes brushing his teeth and slides between the sheets of the queen-size bed. He quickly loosens the tightly tucked-in hospital corners of the blankets so he feels less like he’s in a cocoon. He swipes his phone open and taps one of the social platforms; it does not take long to locate exactly what he is looking for.

William watches one clip after another as several international media outlets posted content from the live stream. It felt a little surreal; a little dream-like for him to watch you like this again - like you are a renewed part of his life again. You’re all he can think of now and William felt hopeful that you might still be within reach based on, at the very least, the friendly tone of your responses tonight.

William indulges in a few more photos of you but knows if he continues along this path, his arousal will get the better of him - he’s just simply too tired for that tonight.

William opens the last text exchange with you. He types “Good Morning” and taps send. He thinks if he can't be there in person, maybe he can still be your first thought when you wake up.

#william nylander #toronto maple leafs #nhl imagine #nhl fic #angst #nylander x reader

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