#like did i do a good taichou

[bleachbleachbleach]

Saw your reblog on tragic unrequited platonic love and technically, that trope definitely applies to the betrayed trio, especially on Hinamori’s end (depends on whether or not you subscribe to the view that she was crushing on Aizen). The way I saw it in my initial viewing of bleach, it was more of the type of intense admiration for an authority figure that can be misconstrued as a crush cuz you (the devotee) lack the ways to properly articulate it. Like how u feel abt the rlly cool English teacher u sometimes eat lunch with before they get arrested for like fraud or something. After experiencing the Horrors, of course Kira and Hinamori are going to imprint hard on the first semblance of stability and symbol of safety at the time. So that what they went thru meant something. Also, let me take this moment to briefly gush abt the headcanon u presented in the B3 fic cinematic universe abt hinamori’s fixating on squad 5 because it offers her the knowledge beyond her town that she’s lowkey seeking + the values she wants to strive towards (source: from afar). These nerds just wanted to be mentored so badddd!! Thus, the reveal of the fact that they were only a means to an end, specifically chosen on where they fall on the “easy to manipulate” scale hits HARDER. All that devotion?? Loss of work life balance and for WHATTT? Extended medical leave ? 😭 oh bleach my fave workplace sitcom AND workplace drama u will always be famous

PS: thank u for tagging me in that post!! In the process of drafting my response. It was so lovely of you.

You're right! That totally works here. It's interesting because (and I'll just focus on Hinamori here, because otherwise I'd feel compelled to honor the distinctions between her and Aizen vs. Kira and Ichimaru and Hisagi and Tousen, and this would probably end up reading very convolutedly) I think it kind of asks a question about when the platonic pining would have happened.

Is the pining part of suddenly realizing the disjuncture between what Hinamori thought something was and what Aizen did, and mourning something lost (and something that never really was)?

Or was there also pining when things were Good? We see Aizen be reassuring to Hinamori and generous with his time, etc. and we see Hinamori happy to receive from him, and quite devoted both to her VCship as well as to Aizen on a person level (or as he put it, "as a man" lol). We know she's well-respected by her division, and esteemed by her colleagues (okay, Kira and Hitsugaya may have some bias in this arena, but they both describe her as highly skilled).

But was she needed? Was she doing, and did she get the opportunity to do, things that Aizen couldn't do better? Did she have opportunities to express things that Aizen found interesting or outside of his expertise? Even as they are not equals--and there is no expectation that they should be--in the most fruitful mentorships, both parties have things to teach and learn.

Did Hinamori ever look at other Captain/VC relationships and yearn for pieces of what those looked like to her? Nanao would probably say "god i hope not" because Kyouraku's "reliance" on her often takes the shape of her having to do all the busywork and also herd cats, but in spite of this there's an intimacy there, an openness or trust, that Hinamori might yearn for. And that's taking Kyouraku--shadowy and full of many surfaces himself--into account. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto also have something that both Hitsugaya and Matsumoto probably complain about to Hinamori, but there's a degree of mutualism and collaboration to whatever's going on at the 10th that Hinamori might not mind a taste of, too. Renji has been Byakuya's VC for a month but Hinamori has probably already thought to herself "Kuchiki-taichou let him do WHAT" at least twice. Even though Byakuya is Byakuya, judging by how they handled their "meeting Ichigo in the street" mission, it seems like Byakuya lets Renji have his little projects. Like Renji is part of his investment portfolio and Byakuya feels very comfortable considering Renji a volatile but potentially valuable property and in order to get that ROI you need to stick with him through several honorless tech startup busts and commit long-term to the thing. Er, but I digress. My point is, Renji gets projects. "Develop training menu." Creative opportunity! With a result that has Renji all over it.

Does Hinamori get projects? Does it ever feel like she's pushing the envelope of what the 5th can be and how it can function on her own, without it being something Aizen already predicted the outcome of, or was actually his idea that he let her propose and take nominal ownership of anyway? Despite being completely blindsided by the actuality of Aizen, was there already that sense of inevitability/Aizen all over everything that happens at the 5th? (Competing, of course, with Hinamori's self-concept as a creative person; and her love of Aizen as a person, not just as a boss and mentor; and feeling as though she just needs to excel more and be creative better and she'll eventually meet this need she feels--it's not the environment that's the issue. She's happy here. Mostly. She doesn't need to leave, she simply needs to surpass--)

[kotonoba]

ISYT (Jushiro/F!Reader) Ch. 53

Heart-to-heart conversation with reader's Zanpakutou during the initial attack from the Wandenreich.

---------------------------------------------------------

You were with Jushiro when the first initial attack began. Pillars of light arose from the ground up, & that was what ticked off Jushiro that the battle had begun. The first thing he did was to put you in the safe house within the Ugendo. His priority was to keep you safe, & you understood that. But you also prayed for his safe return, as he said he’d return in one piece. 

You used what you learned to track his reiatsu, finding out that they absorbed the captain’s bankais—four bankais were taken. After that, it was prominent that the captains started to struggle. The most notable one you noticed initially was Rukia’s adopted brother. His reiatsu dwindled & danced on the tightrope. It was hardly noticeable, but he was still alive, just barely.

When Ichigo was announced to be coming to save Soul Society, there was doubt in your heart. Ichigo initially did beat Kuchiki-taichou, but he’s improved over the years; for someone to push the captain to the brink of death isn’t someone that Ichigo can easily win. Not to mention that it’s not just one enemy but a whole hoard of them. 

Worst-case scenarios began popping up in your mind; those you prayed weren’t real. All you could do was anchor down the fact that you could feel Jushiro’s reiatsu. Although he felt stressed, he wasn’t in any danger. 

“Stress is bad for the baby,” you glanced up from your praying position. It was your Zanpakutou spirit that happened to solidify beside you to keep you calm, “he’s not going to be in danger in this battle. But…” he glanced over at you, “you already knew that, isn’t that right? After all, you rushed to achieve bankai without anyone knowing, spiked up your reiatsu, yet hid yourself as one of the weakest soul reapers in Soul Society so no one would be suspicious if something bad happened.” 

You relaxed when your Zanpakutou stated that it wasn’t this battle that caused you this haunting feeling. If not this, then eventually. Perhaps you did prepare correctly, then, "Maybe. Maybe I truly am the manipulator, hm?” 

Your spirit laughed, lying on the ground at that comment: " Are you still planning to go against the Natural Law for your husband if something were to happen?” 

You gave him a sad smile, “yes.” 

“Those who go against the Natural Law get sent to Hell. You won’t be able to escape your fate anymore. You won’t get to stay with him. Are you sure that’s wise?” It sounded like he was trying to convince you not to do it. But you were as stubborn as an ox. 

“Yes, I can’t live without him. I would give him my life because he gave me his & gave me a happy family that I never thought I would be able to achieve,” you continued tracking the reiatsu. Before you could continue talking, you felt the air dry up. This must be the head captain’s bankai. It’s a dangerous bankai, but you could also feel that Jushiro was not in harm’s way, which was good enough for you. 

“You know, if you wanted, you could command me to kill the Quincies. That would also be going against the Natural Law, but you might be able to stay with your husband that way,” your spirit teased, using its reiatsu to block out the suffocating one. 

“But that would make the Ukitake clan come out as a villain; housing such power without telling Central 46 is a crime. He has already stood trial so many times. I don’t wish that on him. Sacrificing myself would be a safer option if anything were to go awry,” you whispered, your hand on your abdomen, “sacrificing our child & I is a sin I’m willing to take. A title I’m willing to bear to Hell..” 

“Child killer? You’d be notorious in Hell!” he laughed, & you laughed a little with him, too. 

“That’s a terrible thing to say, I wouldn’t say ‘child killer.’ But a killer for sure,” you hugged your knees close to your chest when you felt the disappearance of the Head Captain’s reiatsu. A tear streamed down your eyes, “I guess the peacefulness that Jushiro & I prayed for just doesn’t last long enough. The rise of a new era.” 

Your spirit hummed at that comment. Tracking the reiatsu was like watching the battle through a screen. You get detached from the actions & death, but they affect you significantly because these were the people you lived & worked with. 

“It seems like the battle has ended, & your husband is safe,” your spirit hummed, closing its eyes. You’re always surprised that he can solidify in a more humanoid form whenever he pleases, though you weren’t against him doing so. But this is going to be one bloody war. I hope you’re prepared.” 

You couldn’t respond quickly enough; he left on his own free will. You sat in silence, waiting for your husband to return. & return he did, but he seemed exhausted. You saw the stress & exhaustion leave the moment you went over to embrace him, “I’m home… I–” 

“It’s okay. I know a lot has happened,” you whispered. You wanted to help him relax first. 

“I’m just glad you’re safe.”

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Aries' AO3

[alexiethymia]

illumination

summary: [Post-TYBW] Hitsugaya fixed his tabi on the engawa as he waited for Momo. Not for the first time, he was gripped with that sense of déjà vu. First sunrise. First shrine visit. A lot of the firsts that he remembered in his life was with her.

[read on ao3]

Notes: I don’t consider myself good at domestic fics, so this fic had plenty of inspiration, mainly @rays-of-fire-and-ice, @canariie, and @bleachbleachbleach‘s head canons especially about Jurinan grandma and Momo’s calligraphy. It was also inspired by the Hitsugaya family in Untitled Collection and the warmest place in the world, as well as all of the HCs about hitsuhina children that I just went and bit the bullet and did my own version. I’m also way too late for HitsuHina week, but I really wanted to finish this work based on the prompt fireworks.

Soshun mazu sake Ni ume uru Nioi kana

New year and first Sake and the fragrance of plum blossoms Being sold

“Kira’s spouting off haikus again which means he’s plastered and that’s our cue to go. Thanks for having us, Hitsugaya-taichou!”

“Heh, you sure it isn’t because you’ve made your darling wife and daughter wait up for you and now you’re scared you’ll be greeting the new year with a sandal to the face?”

“Shut it, Hisagi-san.”

“Oi, oi, show some respect Abarai. It should be Hisagi-senpai.”

“Ehh Kira, isn’t that haiku out-of-season? Isn’t it too early for spring? Ah, but it fits perfectly with the umeshu doesn’t it, taichou?”

Kira just ignored the whole drunken lot in favor of shaking Momo’s hands. For some reason, he seemed to be crying.

“Just a small new year’s gift, Hinamori-kun…ah…eto,” Kira mumbles all the while still vigorously shaking her hands. Only a strained furrow in his drooping brow signified his strain as if trying to remember something important amidst the drunken haze he was in, “My mistake,” he amends, “I mean, Hitsugaya-san.”

Perhaps it was the same furrow mirrored in the captain’s expression that caused him to remember, but in truth Hitsugaya’s expression wasn’t really directed at him. In truth, it wasn’t only Renji’s wife who was maybe slightly displeased with him.

“No need to be so formal, Kira-kun! We’ve known each other for ages.” Despite that she consented to be supported by her back, she wasn’t as fully nestled by his side like in her moments of true contentment where she would be languid and soft against him.

She was the perfect hostess so she’d never let anything in her expression show except a welcoming and bright smile, but Hitsugaya didn’t know her for centuries for nothing. The smile she had now had the same subtle curves as the exact same smile she showed him when she said, ‘What do you mean? Of course, I’m not angry, Shiro-chan, how silly,’ when he’d eaten the peaches she had apparently been saving when they were just carefree kids back in Jurinan. Moments like this made memories like that feel simultaneously as if they were eons ago and also as if they just happened yesterday.

Hitsugaya sighed.

“Momo, you know you can’t drink for a reason.”

Everyone in the party turned to look at him at that. True it was stern as was characteristic of Hitsugaya-taichou, but at the same time it sounded conciliatory. Perhaps that was why Momo let her smile fall, and let a slight pout overtake her features. Internally, Hitsugaya sighed with relief. He’d rather she shows that she was displeased with him than hide it.

“I know, but still for you to go so far as to ask everyone to bring plum wine, precisely because you know I don’t like it…” When Madarame-san and Ayasegawa-san brought some over, she thought nothing of it. When Hirako-taichou had dropped by in human world attire clapping Toshiro on the back with enough force that he fell, irritated and grumbling, and ruffling her hair softly as he placed the bottle and a new jazz vinyl in her hands, she thought it was a funny coincidence. But when even Nanao-san with the soutaichou dropped by, her with books and him with more of the stuff, that’s when she began to put two and two together.

Maybe it was a bit much for new year’s celebrations, but it had also been a housewarming of sorts, and Momo was touched with all of the small tokens of welcome and well-wishes. Pity it had to be something she wasn’t fond of. But Momo was nothing but gracious so she accepted it all.

Abarai-kun and Hisagi-senpai looked at each other sheepishly, while Kira-kun looked just about ready to drop at the thought of possibly having offended her with their gift, but Hitsugaya-taichou insisted, and you never said no to Hitsugaya-taichou when he used that tone (rather you never just said no to Hitsugaya-taichou period).

At least Matsumoto-san was thoughtful enough to bring peaches which was probably why she was giggling at their expense.

Seeing Kira-kun’s shaking legs and increasingly off color (he might faint with how white he was becoming), Momo decided to let up with a sigh. Looking up at her husband who was looking at her straightforwardly, Momo found that she really couldn’t stay mad especially when the person in question was sure he had done nothing wrong. And anyway he also mostly abstained from the alcohol, only taking a few sips in order not to be rude to their guests. She leaned into him even as Hitsugaya-kun teased her lightly, “You would have snuck a few sips if it was fruit wine.”

Feeling as if they were intruding into some soft and fluffy scene, the vice-captains couldn’t help but feel second-hand embarrassment at being the witnesses to a married couple’s fight (if it could even be called that).

“I hope Rukia and I aren’t as obnoxious as that,” Renji whispered discreetly.

“You totally are. It’s just that your lover’s quarrels are more explosive.”

“That’s good. I’m happy for you Hinamori-kun, er I mean, Hitsugaya-san, no I mean Momo-kun!” For some inexplicable reason, Kira started crying into his arm again.

“Ahhh, taichou and Momo, could you stop making the rest of us feel so single?”

“Ahem, Rangiku-san, would you do me the honor of- “

“Yosh! That does it. Time to take this party over to the Kuchiki manor. I’m sure they’ll have some high-class sake!”

“Hey, wait a minute! When did I say- “ But Hisagi just slung his arm over Renji’s neck in a chokehold, while dragging Kira behind him. Hitsugaya privately commiserated, both with Abarai and Kuchiki. Matsumoto was a whirlwind who couldn’t be stopped. Feeling a migraine coming on at the prospect of having to pay for any potential damages, he almost didn’t notice Matsumoto sidle up to them and spirit Momo away for a careful, and yet cheerful hug. Nuzzling her cheek against Momo’s, she whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll sneak you some fruit wine sometime.”

Hitsugaya growled in warning at hearing that, “Matsumoto…” but Momo only laughed and hugged the buxom woman tightly, as his vice-captain winked at him. “After everything, taichou, I promise. Lieutenant’s honor.”

Hitsugaya calmed down, and sighed. He’s been doing a lot of that lately. Nonetheless he greeted his vice-captain, “Happy New Year, Matsumoto. I’ll be counting on you greatly for the upcoming year.”

“Thank you for visiting, Rangiku-san. Have a Happy New Year!”

With a lazy salute, she waved them both goodbye, and in a while they were both finally alone. Hitsugaya didn’t mind the company of his colleagues, while he knew Momo enjoyed it. Still, he didn’t want her to get too tired. Spying her drooping lids, he gently shook her, mindful of both her hands wrapping around her midsection, “Time for bed, sleepyhead.”

“Mmmm,” Momo yawned as she placed both arms around her husband’s neck while he scooped her up, “Hey, Shiro?”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“You know you’re going to have to drink all that sake right? And I won’t help with a single drop,” Momo giggled sleepily. As much as Momo disliked plums, she knew Hitsugaya-kun didn’t have a taste for alcohol either. Snuggling deeper into her husband’s broad shoulder, she smiled peacefully.

Hitsugaya blanched.  

“I’ll give some to Matsumoto.”

…

Momo felt a hand waking her from restful slumber.

Blearily opening one eye, she spotted Hitsugaya-kun already up with a bemused look on his face. He had always been the early riser between the two.

Stretching her arms and yawning, Momo fixed her hair while Hitsugaya-kun patiently waited beside her. It was still dark out. Her stomach suddenly grumbled, and while she might have been embarrassed about it before, with how often it kept happening these days, she just got used to it.

Hitsugaya-kun passed her a bowl of the leftover toshikoshi soba she’d prepared for them which she took gratefully, warming her hands on the reheated bowl.

She still felt slow as molasses, but luckily Hitsugaya-kun had always been alert. While she sleepily slurped at the noodles still only half awake, Hitsugaya-kun merely arranged her so she was comfortable leaning against his front. He even tucked her in their blankets, leaving none for himself since the cold didn’t bother him. Once he was assured that she was comfortable, he slowly opened their sliding doors so they could view the night sky. It was but a moment later that the inky blackness was replaced with slivers of rose light.

With no words passing between them, together they watched the first sunrise.

---

Hitsugaya fixed his tabi on the engawa as he waited for Momo. Not for the first time, he was gripped with that sense of déjà vu.

First sunrise. First shrine visit.

A lot of the firsts that he remembered in his life was with her.

Memory was a funny thing in Soul Society. While he remembered nothing of his old life, if he were to fix a point in time where his life started here, he found that she was always in his firsts - that her smiling face was the beginning of everything.  

First smile. First laughter. First friend.

First love.

Though he took a while to realize it. (Or perhaps like a circle, there had been no fixed point and some part of him had always known.)

Finished, he leaned back on his arms as he looked up at the withered branches. Though some things remained the same, perhaps a lot of things also changed. He remembers his first shrine visit with Momo and baachan. Back then he’d been impatient and rushing her so that they could get a move on already. But his grumbling had died in his throat when he saw her come out with a new yukata. It was nothing fancy, not even a kimono, but it was new. Everything about her then was new, from the first time he saw her put her hair up in a bun, small wild flowers threaded into the strands by baachan, to the new dusty pink yukata with plum blossoms scattered across it she had saved up for.

‘How do I look, Shiro-chan?’

‘…You look fine.’

It wasn’t even close to what he wanted to say, but only Momo would still smile brightly at him like that, leaving him dazed.

The plum blossoms were starting to bud, he noticed. Glancing down at his own kimono, he thought wryly that this was a far cry from the threadbare yukata he’d worn back then. Deep midnight blue and black, with whorls of clouds, on the back a great mighty dragon, shining in white as it rushed alongside a surging river, such that you wouldn’t know where the river ended and the dragon began. Truthfully, it was a bit ostentatious for his own tastes, but baachan had sent it and baachan had probably made it, so he would wear it gratefully.

Hearing the sliding doors open, he turned, a teasing remark of, ‘Finally done?’ at the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t even get the chance.

How could he even say anything?

Just there, Momo in a resplendent silk furisode, cloaked in white and vermillion. She gave him a little twirl and he spied the phoenix at her back, feathered tail curling all over her, along with flowers bright red and yellow, exploding like fireworks. There were subtle patterns of teal and green that matched his eyes, while her hair was held up with a matching red kanzashi, stray locks curling over her ear and feathering her forehead.

Separated by years, two moments in time, and he still finds that his breath catches.

“How do I look, Shiro?”

A blush on her cheeks, eyes sparkling, happy and at peace.

He smiled.

“You look beautiful.”

Some things changed, but some things would always stay the same.

…

“I wonder if baasan got our card,” Momo murmured thoughtfully as she rubbed the silk between her two fingers. Hitsugaya-kun just hummed and nodded as he made a path for the two of them in the crowd, hand gripping hers firmly. She continued touching the silk with her other hand, softly marveling. It really was beautiful. Baasan must have started as soon as she finished with their wedding clothes to get these to them on time. The subtly sparkling white on her furisode reminded her of her shiromuku safely put away back in their private quarters at home, while the black in Hitsugaya-kun’s kimono reminded her of his montsuki. Baasan had playfully added Hyourinmaru’s four-point star as a crest, while lamenting that she couldn’t decide if she wanted Momo to wear white, or a colorful iro-uchikake.

Watching the softly falling snow outside, she had made the decision for her. Momo loved white. Baasan had only chuckled and said next time then. Letting the long sleeve fall smoothly from her hand like water, Momo smiled wondering if this was her version. This wasn’t their first shrine visit since they were married, but it was still a kind of first nonetheless.

Hitsugaya-kun briefly glanced back at her. “Don’t worry, we’ll visit her soon.” She nodded, still smiling at him.

…

“Yatta, I got great blessing! What did you get, Hitsugaya-kun?” Momo looked pleased with herself and that was more than enough for Toshiro, even as she couldn’t help her giggle at seeing his own fortune, sue-sho-kichi, small blessing to come. Toshiro wasn’t superstitious, but was the small really necessary?

Toshiro wasn’t superstitious but he’s been noticing a pattern lately. Momo tended to pull out good fortunes, almost always Dai-kichi, sometimes Chu-kichi. If the overwhelming misfortune she faced meant that the cosmic scale was being tipped back in her favor, then Toshiro thought that there was justice after all.

She traced the characters on her fortune, machibito, a person being expected or waited for, “The person you’re waiting for will come,” she mouthed softly, even as Toshiro’s heart jolted at seeing shussan on her fortune slip.

Even in moments of calm like this, sometimes the anxiety would spike up. To shake off the silly urge of wanting to bite his thumb nail he smoothed over endan and negaigoto on his own slip almost obsessively.

Hirako once told him that everything in reverse would come the right side way up eventually. He didn’t put much stock in the other captain’s words, and much less did he put stock in pieces of paper, but if they meant that Momo would have a lifetime of fortune and happiness, then he would believe them wholeheartedly. It was nothing less than she deserved. And if nothing else, he’ll believe in himself. He’ll will those fortunes to reality if he had to.

“These are good fortunes, aren’t they Hitsugaya-kun?”

They were.

…

Just before they were about to pray, Momo suddenly asked him, “What did you dream about, Hitsugaya-kun?”

“Nothing much, just the past.”

Momo suddenly chuckled, “I had an auspicious first dream, a hawk flying high in the sky.”

“Oh,” Toshiro raised a brow, questioning. People talked about signs all they liked but it was actually rare to dream about them.

Momo smiled sheepishly, “Hehe, well to be exact I dreamed about the first time Hitsugaya-kun showed me his bankai. I remember being so amazed at seeing you fly.”

Toshiro’s brow raised even higher, “So I’m a bird now, is that it? You know you can’t just make up signs like that.”

Momo just smiled back impishly. “I’m collecting luck. It’s a lucky sign if I say it is. It’s up to us to make our own happiness after all.”

Toshiro just sighed in fond exasperation, he’ll tell her later if she asked but he had dreamed about a moment in the past. It wasn’t a specific moment, in fact it could have been every moment, but he had dreamed of a simple scene of them eating watermelons and watching the sunset.

It had been so tranquil that when he woke up he was disoriented at how Momo seemed to have grown overnight while Granny was nowhere to be found. Had she snuck into his bed to sleep again? Concerned, he wondered if she had another nightmare, before noticing her clasped hands in front of her. It hit him all over again, like a kidou spell, the immense but quiet happiness. Uncharacteristic of him, he had woken her because he couldn’t contain himself. The scene of watching the sunset in his dreams replaced with watching the sunrise. They had been surrounded by the mountains of their hometown in his dreams. Perhaps that counted?

A clap interrupts his reverie. Softly but enough for him to hear, Momo releases her prayer for the gods to hear as well, ‘may they be clever and strong’.

Toshiro contemplates whether or not to tell her that prayers were usually silent, but he decides against it. He doesn’t mind. Anyway, he knows what his own prayer will be.

It’s the one he’s been wishing for every night for the past year.

…

Hatsuyuki ya suisen na ha na no tawamu made  

The first snow Just enough to bend The daffodil leaves

“I thought that you wanted your first calligraphy to be…”

“I know, I know what I said, but I can’t seem to think of anything,” Momo’s eyes as she looks up at him are pleading.

Stroking her head to calm her, he then picks up the paper to carefully store away. “It’s still good.”

Momo pouts slightly perhaps thinking he was only placating her. Unfurling it, Toshiro observes it more closely, “No really, it’s good. As always your handwriting is almost too pretty,” he smirks. Momo only puffs out her cheeks and crossed her arms pretending to be offended. Really her husband could still be so childish sometimes, finding it hard to say what he wanted to say. But Momo could still read him just the same. To him, anything she said or did was beautiful. She was beautiful. It was as simple as that.

Cupping his chin in hand, he asked her, “Do you want this here? I can place it in the entranceway.”

“No,” she shakes her head, “I made it for the tenth division. I hope Rangiku-san also likes it.”

“You know her. I’m sure she’ll love it.” Finally putting the paper away, he dragged over another writing desk to place in front of her. It was easier to move around and sit without his captain’s cloak over his shoulders. He can’t remember the last time he went so long without wearing it. “Speaking of Matsumoto, I hope the tenth division barracks is still standing.”

“Hush,” she chides, even as she smiles and puts brush to paper to begin another stroke, “You know Rangiku-san can be counted on when it really matters.”

Copying her, he also drew a straight line downwards, though perhaps less elegant looking. His strokes were blunt and precise, sometimes heavy-handed in places where the ink would bleed out, much the same as him. He was good at dispensing reports quickly and efficiently, but wasn’t really suited to crafting pieces of art (unless it was with blade and ice), slowly and with care. This was more Kira’s domain, or Momo’s. She could get so absorbed in each stroke that perhaps an hour would pass before she was finished with just one kanji. She wrote like she drew, as if there was meaning and an entire world in each line that made up a character. And perhaps for her there was. “I know, I know. I haven’t even had any reports yet so they can’t be doing too badly without me.”

He hadn’t said anything, but perhaps Matsumoto sensed that he would prefer not to be bothered unless it was truly an emergency. She was an excellent vice-captain like that, although he rarely said it out loud. Again, perhaps, many would call it uncharacteristic of him, that he wasn’t worrying every minute about his squad but he had enough on his mind and in his heart right now. Gazing at Momo in front of him, humming as she added another stroke, he let out a subtle sigh of relief.

He could leave it up to Matsumoto.

…

It’s Momo who wakes him up this time around, brimming with excitement.

“Shiro-chan, look! It’s snowing!”

How nostalgic, he thinks sleepily at hearing her laugh, ‘she hasn’t called me that in ages.’

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, anxiety once again begins to creep in, contrasting his wife’s honest pleasure. ‘Won’t it be too cold for her?’ There were times in the middle of the night when he would unconsciously place space between the both of them, memories flashing back to those early days when he couldn’t control his powers. But without fail and as if she had some sixth sense for it, she would only draw nearer, looping hands and legs together so he would find it harder to escape, mumbling incoherent things all the while as she drooled on him. He had no choice then but to fall blissfully back into sleep.

Noticing her husband’s contemplative gaze as he looked outside, Momo sighed and wagged a finger to catch his attention, “No messing with the weather, Shiro. I’m fine.” Cross-eyed, Toshiro reluctantly nodded. “Good,” she chirped. One crisis averted she snuggled closer, and waited for him to put his arms around her.

Suddenly and without warning, colors bloomed in the sky, a multitude of flowers sparkling brightly and dazzling. Momo could only gasp in delight.

‘Fireworks in the snow, huh?’ A far-off memory that couldn’t hurt them now.

Certainly, it was too cold, but drawing the presence nestled in his arms even more closely to him, Toshiro found that he didn’t mind. The fireworks were spectacular yes, but his gaze was permanently drawn downwards. Blue, red, yellow, pink played off across her face in flashes. He could watch fireworks forever illuminated in her eyes. There, they would never fizzle out, the sparks would never die, rather they would shine brightly forever, so long as she kept looking at him.

Suddenly overcome with feeling, he wanted exactly that. He could only whisper her name, even if there were only the two of them, “Momo…”

“Hmmm,” she responded turning to meet his eyes with her own despite the display continuing above them, “What is it, Shiro-cha –“

He was a patient man, he was. And he’ll ask forgiveness for interrupting her later, but at this moment, he wanted nothing more than her lips on his. He should let her get some rest, he should, his mind was clearly telling him that he should, so why was his treacherous body tightening his arms around her, one hand roughly weaving fingers in her hair as he tilted her head back.

She was no better, fingers wound as tightly in his own hair, drawing out a soft groan he tried to muffle against her neck, as he kissed it feverishly, softly biting to leave blooms of his own on the milky skin, a counterpoint to the flowers up in the sky. Hyoten Hyakkaso without his zanpakuto, though these flower burned rather than froze.

There were times he was deathly afraid he would freeze her, but right now, nothing else plagued his mind besides her, and as he drew her down with him, for once he didn’t mind the snow, for he was sure he could warm her as long as he kept her close.

Up in the sky, the fireworks brightly shined and illuminated them both.

…

They write together quietly, Momo occasionally showing him a character to ask his opinion on it. She had already finished with the first one, excitedly showing it to him in a bit of feverish excitement.

The strokes for ‘flower’ and ‘fire’ were lively and vibrant. It matched her perfectly. Toshiro had agreed immediately.

It was the second one they were having trouble with. Toshiro had suggested the characters for ‘spring’ and ‘tree’. It reminded Momo of Tobiume, and Momo didn’t exactly mind it for ‘spring’ matched with his own ‘winter’, but something still felt out of place.

“Isn’t it too early for spring?” In truth, it was more that she wanted more of him reflected in these strokes and lines. She places ‘sun’ next to ‘happiness’.

Hitsugaya-kun only shrugs. Momo could only smile at him fondly. “I hope they’re more like you,” she says as she idly traces the strokes for ‘wish’.

Hitsugaya-kun merely smirks back at her. “Then looks like we’re in conflict since I hope they’ll take after you.”

Momo sticks out her tongue in playful indignation. “I’m sure the kami-sama will listen to my request over yours. I’ve been collecting more luck after all.” ‘Clever and strong,’ was what she had prayed for, ‘just like their father’.

Hitsugaya-kun shakes his head in amusement. Peering over to her side, he looks at what she’s been working on, “That could work.”

Momo hums thoughtfully, looking at the character this way and that. It seems perfect – a wish, a hope, a prayer – but it didn’t seem to be quite exactly what they were looking for.

“What have you got?” She leans more to his side, before bursting into a fit of laughter. If Hitsugaya-kun is embarrassed, he makes a valiant effort not to show it. On his paper, the character for ‘big’ in bold, black, strokes. Momo’s face softens at seeing the character under it, ‘shine’. It might be her own imagination that it seems like it’s glowing.

“They’re perfect.”

…

They made it just in time for the fire festival. Perhaps it was incongruous for them to be burning something they’d been working on for days, but this was just its own kind of prayer.

Both of them hold paper lanterns, in his, ‘Hanabi’ in her own script, in hers, ‘Haruki’ in his. Small bright lights cupped into the palms of their hands. As one they let both lanterns go, up in the sky, where they’ll burn brightly and send all their prayers up to the sky.

Fervently, Momo clasps her hands together, Toshiro a steady and unwavering presence around her.

She hopes.

…

Even if they had hoped for peace to continue, truly their idyllic days couldn’t last. They were still commanding officers, and when Matsumoto shows up on their doorstop one day, he knows exactly what it means.

He knows, but it doesn’t mean he has to like it.

Rangiku likes it no more than her taichou. She can’t even tease the both of them over the marks she spies not covered by Momo’s kimono. “Taichou…It’s Naruki City.”

He closes his eyes in aggravation, fingers closed over the bridge of his nose to stave off the migraine, as Momo and his Vice-captain look at him concerned.

For once, he wants to be selfish. It’s so close, too close. For once, he wants to forget about his captain’s cloak and his responsibilities and just stay here to shelter Momo from everything. Opening his eyes, he meets Momo’s own and is both equally dismayed and encouraged by the resolve he finds there.

Momo didn’t become a Shinigami to be protected. She became a Shinigami to protect. And it’s the same for him (except doesn’t she know by now, after everything, that she was the one he wanted to protect most of all).

Without words, she goes to get his captain’s cloak. If she feels his hands shake as she helps him put it on, then at least only she would know.

She cradles his face in her hands, arms going up to reach him now instead of down. He doesn’t know what she sees in his face, if it looks like he’s about to cry, but she only smiles calmly, ruffling his hair. When before, he had swatted her hand away, now he only leans into the simple comfort. He closes his eyes as he feels Momo draw him down and touch her forehead to his. His erratic heartbeat slows at hearing her breathe.

“I’m off.”

“Please go and come back,” she says as she bows on the engawa. There is no fear in her eyes, only trust as if telling him, ‘go and I’ll be here to welcome you when you return’. He wishes it was the same for him. He swallows before turning forward. He stops Matsumoto with a hand to her shoulder.

He has no words. “Matsumoto…”

Eyes widening in understanding, she starts worriedly, “The reports say there are at least five arrancars, taichou. I already commanded the rest of the troops stationed there to come back. I was planning to handle them myself…but the soutaichou said the both of us needed to be there.” Hitsugaya was glad she didn’t go by herself. He appreciated the soutaichou intervening on his behalf. Knowing Matsumoto, she would have rushed there headstrong and foolish for his sake.

All the points she raised were valid ones, but again all he could say was, “Matsumoto, please…” I need you here.  

There were moments where no words needed to be said, and the communication between a captain and vice-captain could be almost telepathic. This was one such moment, and as Rangiku gazed up at her not-so-little anymore captain, she could only smile in resignation, “Gotcha, taichou. But when you come back, I’m expecting an all-expense paid vacation. I’ve been working my butt off! Hey, Momo,” she called back, already making her way into the house, as Momo gazed at him with a question in her eyes, “Let’s go together!” Hitsugaya only smiled back.

Committing the sight of his wife and vice-captain smiling together, he tightened his grip on Hyourinmaru and set off.

…

Both his mind and body were on auto-pilot. He was glad Hyourinmaru had his back. It wasn’t like back then when his zanpakuto had to artificially mature him just so he could handle his own bankai. He had fully matured in all senses of the word, and had full mastery of his true bankai.

It was good that he was alone. There was no collateral damage except the enemy so he could release Shikai Hyoketsu without repercussions. But without Matsumoto there to support him, he felt more alone than ever.

He was getting tired. He lost count of how many enemies he had slain, of his own wounds and bruises. There was only one thought in his mind – to get home no matter what.

Using his sword as a crutch, he breathed out heavily before suddenly slashing out Hyoryu Senbi at the new presence he felt.

The shadow dodged and clicked his tongue. “Is that anyway ta greet yer elders? Ya look like you’ve been through hell. Need a little hand?”

Disoriented, Hitsugaya could only gape at the newcomer, “Hirako?”

“The one and only.”

Hitsugaya might have thought he was hallucinating but there was no mistaking that too-wide grin and tacky haircut. “What are you doing here? Naruki City isn’t under your jurisdiction.”

That carefree smile suddenly turned serious, “No it’s not, but I know someone who is under my jurisdiction. And I’m sure she’s missin’ a neglectful husband.” Hitsugaya growled at that. “What’re ya doin’ here? Do I have ta tell my daughter to divorce you?”

“For the last time,” a vein ticked in his forehead, this seemed like an eerily familiar experience he was having, “She is not your daughter! And anyway, you didn’t answer my question.”

He might have if not for another presence suddenly jumping in, “Oh, what? Am I interrupting a lover’s quarrel or something.”

“Nah, just an in-laws spat.”

What the hell?  

He couldn’t decide what expression he was supposed to be showing. Maybe Hirako decided to finally take pity on him as he decided to answer him. “The soutaichou sent us because it looks like someone forgot to bring their vice-captain.” Heh, more like they persuaded him. Even if that softie hadn’t already been ready to pull him out after hearing he stupidly went alone, Shinji’s sure Lisa’s kick to his backside, and Nanao-chan’s sharp glare would just about do the trick. Eh, a few misplaced forms never hurt anyone. “Color me surprised when I found out Naruki City was actually under the fifth and the eight’s joint jurisdiction. Who coulda been so stupid as to put it under the tenth’s all this time?”

Hitsugaya didn’t know what was going on.

Shinji sighed. The kid could be so slow sometimes. “Oi, Hitsugaya. Lisa also brought her vice-captain. I’m sure two captains and a vice-captain would be more efficient than one captain. Yer not needed here, so wouldja just hurry on to where you’re supposed ta be already?”

Finally shaken out of his stupor, he could say nothing. He put his own misgivings aside, and bowed low.

“Thank you.”

As the tenth squad captain shunpoed out of there, Shinji let out a whistle. “What d’ya know? The kid has manners after all. Let’s hurry this up Lisa. I got a grandchild to welcome.” “Lame,” Lisa replied, completely deadpan.

He let it off.

It was a joyous occasion after all.

…

She wasn’t there. She wasn’t at home.

His mind was perfectly blank.

He couldn’t feel her reiatsu anywhere.

“Hitsugaya-taichou!”

What was his seventh seat doing here?

“Matsumoto fuku-taichou brought Hitsugaya fuku-taichou to the fourth.”

Hitsugaya-taichou immediately left without even greeting him, but Takezoe didn’t hold it against his captain. With a dozen children of his own, he’d been where the young man was now. He only hoped his captain would make it in time.

…

He doesn’t remember how he reached the fourth, only overwhelming panic.

He could feel the temperature lowering, but only distantly, the calls of his title heard in a vacuum as if he was somewhere very far away.

‘Hitsugaya-taichou, please reign down your reiatsu.’

‘Taichou, please control it, it might affect the patients.’

‘It might affect…’

“Taichou!”

He felt as if he was roughly woken up from sleep. Heavily, he lifted his head up, “Matsumoto…”

“Taichou,” Rangiku said more softly. Her little captain wasn’t so little anymore. More than once he’d had to support her when Shiba-taichou left, and even after…

But now, as she sees how he trembles under her hands on his shoulders, subtly curling into himself, eyes haunted, she is taken back to years past, to a little boy so afraid of hurting the people he loves.

Matsumoto’s voice brings him back. He can sense a cacophony of reiatsu, all mingling together, that it was hard to tell them all. Abarai with his daughter, both Kuchikis even, Kira, Hisagi, his squad, members from other squads, her friends, their colleagues, their friends.

But that only serves to forcefully remind him that he was doing it again, he can’t stop it, he’s the greatest danger to those around him, to her, he can’t ever protect her, and as he shivers, the ice creeps up even faster.

“Taichou,” Matsumoto says, voice still soft. Placing her palm firmly against his heart, she pleads, “Please. Listen.”

Boy

A thunderous sound, more presence than voice. Hyourinmaru

Shiro-chan

Toshiro

A sound like wind-chimes, laughter threading every word. He gasps.

“It’s alright,” Matsumoto assures him, smiling brightly. “She’s alright. She knows you’re here.”

…

In the end, both their wishes are granted.

Both their children have her hair, hers lit like a coal flame, his softer and reminding him of forests and trees, the coming of spring. His hair was too unique to be passed onto anyone else, she manages to joke, but no matter because she still got what she wished for. Rubbing both chubby cheeks and coaxing both eyes to open, he sees what she means when he sees his own eyes reflected back at him. Brightly shining with an inner light.

They would shine brightly, he vows to himself, as he envelops her, all of them, to him, while he buries his face against her hair.

“Shiro-chan,” she laughs, the happiest she’s been, “Are you crying?” She hardly if ever has seen him cry. She nuzzles her cheek to his. “What am I to do with my crybaby husband?”

He can’t even manage his usual ‘shut up’ amidst his tears, only hugging them closer.  Thank you.

Momo smiles. The person you’re waiting for will come.

He did. They did.

They were all home.

Okaerinasai.

[shinobinvku]

"Apply pressure to the wound for a moment, Taichou. I'm going to grab some supplies." Chitose murmured. A gloved hand guides his to rest upon the gash across his oblique, giving it a little pat. Then, she leaves his side momentarily to rummage through her pack. They're stuck in an abandoned building in the middle of an icy storm. With no signs of letting up, they may have to hunker down where they are for the night. For @009720kakashi | Kakashi They were actually pretty lucky to have found this building. It gave them at least some shelter and time to recover a bit.  He did put pressure on the wound, after about 30 seconds he got up though. Kakashi was not good at being a patient. Though that was not entirely true. In the hospital he was actually not that bad. There he tended to do what he was told since he wanted to get out fast and be cleared for duty. In the field…nah…there were more important things than some cuts and bruises. Also technically he was still putting pressure on the wound and she had not said to not get up right? He felt sore and exhausted. It had been a rough fight but the mission was a success. The copy nin went over to the window to look outside. The tomoe of the Sharingan circling around his pupil lazily while taking in the outside. There was nothing suspicious. At least not for now. He made a face. The gash throbbed uncomfortably. “I’ll take the first watch” he said, looking at her. “Take some rest” he added. After a moment he added. “That was good work there Ryuketsu.” The copy nin was usually rather reluctant with praise. They were elite shinobi. It was their job to be good. However she had been exceptionally good on this mission. 

They were given simple orders: search and destroy. Their enemies were many and they fought admirably, but the Hound and the Dragon managed to lay them to waste. There was so much carnage. They work well as a team, anticipating each other’s movements like partners on a dancefloor. They were sleek. The two were cohesive, but the dance was deadly and bloody.

The Dragon should’ve known better than to turn her back on the Copy Ninja, for the moment she did, her captain was up, wandering the building, leaving behind a small blood trail wherever he went. Quickly, Chitose set the supplies aside and followed him over to the window. 

“Hey—” She hissed. Though she may be smaller than Kakashi, she is fierce. Chitose grabs her captain by the arm and with all her strength remaining, turns him around, urging him to return to where he lay.

“Are you daft? I didn’t say you could get up. You’re in no condition to be walking around. You’re bleeding all over the damn floor. Let me take care of your wounds first, and then we’ll decide who takes the first watch.” 

He makes her work twice as hard when he acts like this. Her body is exhausted from the fight, but she’s certain to have enough chakra to seal the gash at his side. The Dragon removes her mask to gain a better view of the situation, carefully removing her Captain’s flak vest and peeling up the black undershirt. She has a rather dark bruise on the left side of her face, a split lower lip, and some swelling on her cheekbone. 

“Thank me after my job is done, Taichou. I still have plenty of work to do,” She says, sighing.

[axgmented]

❛ do you think tseng likes getting his hair pulled during sex or nah? ❜

@bitterarcs

Well, the pudding would have tasted good if he hadn’t opened his fucking mouth and asked that. She did not need the image of her Taichou in the throws of ecstasy while some nameless shlep pulled his hair. She choked, the glob of tapioca and vanilla getting lodged in her windpipe. She sits up quickly, long legs propelling her up in the chair before she swallows quickly, thanking the goddess above that she didnt have a gag reflex as the treat slid down into her stomach. Crimson eyes narrow in annoyance, glaring absolute daggers at the redhead as he continued to act like he just stated the sky was blue, or if it was going to rain today. 

“Fuck’n what?” she wheezed, pounding a fist against her chest before throwing her hands up at the ridiculous question. 

The Director didn’t smile, hardly laughed for that matter; there was no way Rem could imagine Tseng letting anyone touch him, let alone his precious hair. Rem was envious of the Wutain’s hair, honestly. It was sleek, never frizzy and hardly a split end to behold. It wasn’t to be said that Rem didn’t take care of her hair– Rufus made sure she did– but it paled in comparison to Tseng’s. 

“I mean..” 

She trailed off, leaning back in the chair like a damn shrimp, shoulders hunched and legs stretched out. Three guesses where she got her posture from. Long fingers pick up the discarded pudding, poking and jabbing the curve of the spoon against the last little bit of tapioca pudding in the plastic cup. Eyebrows pulled together in thought, lower lip pouting out slightly before scooping up the sweet treat before letting it rest on her tongue, making a show of licking it off slowly before pointing the spoon at her redheaded mentor of old. 

“Prolly; He looks like tha’ type to submit.” 

[twilightmalachite]

Christmas Live - Epilogue 1

Author: Akira

Characters: Tetora, Chiaki, Hinata, Yuuta, Kanata, Shinobu, Yuzuru

Translation Team: Mika Enstars & 310mc

EN Proofer: ryuseipuka

"C’mon 2wink, you rush over here too! If you take too long, Taichou’s gonna snatch away all the good bits~"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Winter

Location: Park’s Live Stage

Tetora: Alright, everyone! There’s not much time left ‘til the Eve’s Eve Live is over!

While we’d love to keep the enthusiasm up with more and more hype—Christmas Eve and the actual performance have yet to happen, so~

Let’s not overdo it and end things early so that nobody catches a cold!

Tetora: But to anyone hoping for way more—don’t worry! We’d love to have you join us over at Yumenosaki Academy’s StarFes, on Christmas day!

As a present, we’ll bring even more passionate, glittering bright dreams to everyone there…☆

Chiaki: Mhm! Wonderful MC! It’s so full of excitement, Nagumo!

You’re informing them about everything that needs to be conveyed as concisely as possible! There’s really nothing else I could teach you at this point, huh…☆

I’m so moved! I can feel my eyes begin to water! My tears are so passionately hot, not even the winter’s cold can freeze them! Fuhahahaha! ☆

Tetora: Taichou, you’ve been performin’ this whole time, so how come you’re still so energetic? Gonna be real with ya—It’s just getting in my way. I’d rather you not snatch the spotlight from your junior.

C’mon 2wink, you rush over here too! If you take too long, Taichou’s gonna snatch away all the good bits~

This guy always does that!

Chiaki: Nagumo, why do you always say things that pierce deep in my heart… What can’t you stand about me!? Do you hate me!?

Yuuta: Ahaha, you just can’t help but have mixed feelings when someone more talented raves about you with such high praise, you know.

When the sun shines bright enough, the stars around it become overshadowed and invisible to the eye.

And then that sun comes around and tells you something like, “you can shine brighter than that!”…

It’s hard not to feel angry, or rather, pathetic. You understand, don’t you, Tetora-kun?

Tetora: Ooh, Yuuta-kun! The outfit suits you perfectly~♪

Yuuta: That’s ‘cause it was tailored to fit Aniki exactly. So it fits me perfectly as well. At least for now, as frustrating as that is.

Hinata: Well I’m happy that we can still wear the same outfits… We’ll get to make even more memories this year as just the two of us, right? ♪

Yuuta: It’s no longer just you and I, Aniki. Come on, things aren’t the same as “back then” when we were on the streets, shivering in the cold. We’re surrounded by the many, many stars of RYUSEITAI.

This year will probably be a much “warmer” Christmas than ever before.

Hinata: Though, with so many stars, it'll be way harder to stand out! But if we huddle close and stand together, we can shine brighter than any sun!

Behold the brilliance of 2wink, the twin stars! Make sure to burn it into your eyes, everyone~! ☆

Yuuta: 2wink, the two-in-one twin idols, are pleased to meet you! ☆

Tetora: (…Whew, what a relief. They’re still a li’l awkward around each other, but… looks like they made up, huh?)

(Guess it was a good thing that I really ripped into them—Or well, more specifically, swinging my fist at ‘em.)

(I might’ve done somethin’ unwarranted for their sake, but… That’s how an ally of justice rolls, right… Probably, I dunno~♪)

We shouldn’t get in their way, huh? C’mon Taichou, how about we go and hand out presents to the kids~?

Chiaki: Yeah! ☆ You can count on me for that, it’s my field of expertise! C’mon kiddos, gather around~! Santa-san’s got gifts for you! Come and get them!

Theeere, there, there~♪ (pat, pat, pat) You kids must be so sleepy by now, so we’re grateful that you stuck around with us for this long!

Ah—Hey, hold it, Kanata! Don’t give out live animals—! Where did you get those sea creatures from!?

Kanata: ehh~… [winter] is the season for [seafood], you know~?

here you go, a [sea cucumber] for you~♪ and for you, a [sea anemone]~…☆

Chiaki: Stop right there, you’ll traumatize the kids! Nagumo, hold Kanata down at once! Sengoku, come with me! We’ll split the work between us to distribute the rest of the presents, alright?

Shinobu: Roger that~! However, Taichou-dono… The Eve’s Eve Live can be viewed for free, so there is barely any profit to this…

If we were to distribute presents as well, wouldn’t we make a net loss here?

Chiaki: Mm? Oh yeah, true! But, well, the kids’ smiles are our reward! In that regard, Santa-san is the same as a hero! ♪

Yuzuru: Hmm… You could simply make up for your loss at StarFes instead. By working at a deficit to put on a great display of hospitality as a way to entice people to attend, you can increase the profit production margin at the actual event.

It may appear as if you don’t think about these things in advance, I see that your methods do make quite a bit of sense. I’m impressed. Although, well, I suppose rather than calculated, it actually came naturally, perhaps?

Chiaki: Woah—!? You surprised me…! Ermm, you’re Fushimi from fine, right? I-I’ll have you know, this live show has been formally authorized…!

Yuzuru: Fufu, even if it were unauthorized, I do not have the authority to intervene as I am not a member of the student council.

That being said, even President-sama has given out silent approval for unauthorized matches.

More importantly, I had been told that Anzu-san would be here… Where could she be?

Chiaki: Mm? You’re looking for Anzu?

She’s been busying herself with all sorts of things—from making preparations for the Eve’s Eve Live to tailoring our outfits, even setting up a merchandise booth and working as a vendor, so…?

I assume she’s decorating the Christmas tree at the moment.

Yuzuru: Is that so? Goodness gracious, even though I had asked her to head into town hoping she would take a break for once…

I see she’s back hard at work before I even knew it.

If you turn your hobbies into a job, then you won’t have any refuge… However, well, it’s Anzu-san’s life; she can do as she pleases, I suppose.

[ ☆ ]

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[aeoki]

School Festival ☆ Tamayori’s Haunted Dollhouse - Chapter 12

Location: Hallway (In Front of Haunted House) Characters: Hinata, Shinobu & Yuuta

Shinobu: (Heheh. I’m finally at the ninja house ~de gozaru…☆)

(It’s been on my mind the entire time I was out patrolling, but I couldn’t simply abandon my job to visit it~)

(All I could do was leave with a heavy heart ~de gozaru.)

(But the hero show ended in a huge success… And Taichou-dono said he and Shinkai-dono will take care of the stall so the first-years can have a break.)

(Taichou-dono is the same when it comes to “RYUUSEITAI” work but I’m grateful that he gives us proper breaks~♪)

(Tetora-kun went to see Kiryuu-dono and Midori-kun said he’d rest in the garden terrace.)

(I actually would have liked the two of them to come with me to the ninja house, but it couldn’t have been helped ~de gozaru.)

Hinata: Welcome, come swing by~☆

Yuuta: No one knows what’ll happen inside this house! What kinda thing can you experience, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to go in yourself to find out~♪

Hinata: Come, come. Come for a visit! Everyone is welcome~♪

We’ll be really happy if you get a good surprise~♪ So make sure to scream a lot like this!

Hinata & Yuuta: Kyaaaaaa…♪

Shinobu: (Kyaaaaaaa…!)

(T-That was dangerous! I ended up screaming without realising ~de gozaru!)

(The two walking in front of me… They’re the twin unit “2wink”, right?)

(One of them is my classmate but I can’t tell them apart at all, so I have no idea.)

(It’s not as though we know each other that well; we hardly know each other, if anything… so I don’t think it would be a problem if I ignore them.)

(No, it’d feel terrible to ignore a classmate, right? I shouldn’t let my shyness take over and go say hi to them ~de gozaru!)

(But, but talking to people I don’t really know is scary~! I want to run away immediately right now!)

Yuuta: Hmm…? Is that Sengoku-kun?

Hinata: Yuuta-kun, what’s wrong? Did you spot a friend or something~?

Yuuta: I suppose he’d be my classmate. Sengoku-kun, what’re you doing here?

Shinobu: …………

(Eek, they’ve started calling out to me! W-W-What do I do~!?)

Yuuta: Oh? He’s frozen. Heey, Sengoku-kun~?

Hinata: Hm…? Isn’t that the Transfer Student coming from over there? Ahaha, we’re seeing familiar faces one after the other ♪

Hinata: Heey, Transfer Student-san! Over here!

Yuuta: Are you enjoying the “School Festival” too?

Hinata: Yeah! We’re having a blast~♪ It’s a lotta fun dressing up as ghosts and scaring the visitors. I could get used to this~!

Shinobu: Oh, Transfer Student-dono~♪

Yuuta: Oh~ So you know the Transfer Student, Sengoku-kun!

Shinobu: Hyaa!? Y-Yeah ~de gozaru…!

Yuuta: (Looking at Sengoku-kun makes it feel like I’m watching a wild animal…)

Hinata: By the way, were you wanting to go inside, Transfer Student?

What!? Really? Yaay ☆ We hope you have a good time!

One visitor coming through!

Shinobu: Ah!

Yuuta: Hm? What’s wrong, Sengoku-kun?

Shinobu: U-Um! I-I’d also… uhh…

Yuuta: Did you also want to go inside? Then, why don’t you go with the Transfer Student? It’s the perfect timing, right?

Hinata: Sounds good ♪ You’re super welcome to!

Shinobu: Umm. Transfer Student-dono, may I go with you…?

Really!? Yaaay ♪ Thank you, thank you so much ~de gozaru! I knew it, you’re really like my goddess ♪

Alright! Let’s head inside the ninja house! Transfer Student-dono, come on ~de gozaru!

Hinata: Two visitors coming in…☆

Yuuta: Have a good time! Sengoku-kun will have a chance to talk with the Transfer Student one-on-one now~

He might run away if it was just us two with him, so I’m a little envious.

Hinata: The Transfer Student isn’t someone timid, after all~ Well, that goes the same for us, though! So we should be able to be friends with Sengoku-kun someday too ♪

Yuuta: That’s some positive thinking… It’s a shame he ran from us, but I’m in the same class as him so we’ll have plenty of opportunities to talk.

I hope we can slowly become friends~ I have a feeling Sengoku-kun might end up being my best friend at school ♪

Hinata: Like me and Sora-kun? I hope so! I’m rooting for you~!

Yuuta: Oh, right. This is about something else but Sengoku-kun called this the “ninja house”, didn’t he?

Hinata: Oh, yeah, he did. Did he make a mistake?

Yuuta: Well, we can’t do anything now since he’s already inside. It’s a haunted house, not a ninja house, so I hope he can still have a good time in there.

Hinata: He’ll be fine. Mostly everyone that went inside came out saying, “It was fun~♪” at the end.

Let’s continue to do our best and attract more people. “UNDEAD’s” cafe is probably the most popular thing right now so we’ve gotta catch up to them.

Yuuta: Yeah. We’ve got three units and they’ve only got one, so it’ll be frustrating to lose to them.

Hinata & Yuuta: Come right on in! We’ve got a super fun haunted house that’s awaiting your arrival~☆

← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[monkifuraibo]

[ So, what are you doing to prove you're worthy of Kuchiki-Taichou? Seems he's sacrificed a lot to be with you, but what have YOU done? ]

--- "He has..." Sometimes Renji thinks it is such a great sacrifice that he will spend his lifetime trying to pay it back. He's not doing great so far, is he? It always seems like he keeps asking for too much. More on top of everything else. More affection, more reassurance, more compromise. More, more, more.. And what is he giving back?

Can't pour from an empty cup, so the saying goes.

He has nothing to give. Nothing of value, anyway. His love, of course, and that must be worth something to Byakuya, or else he would not have left his wife-to-be at the altar for him. But is it worth enough?

Byakuya had tried to tell him to just be himself. He wanted him to frequent the Kuchiki manor more, too. As though showing him off. Renji didn't think that was the greatest idea. All the more chances for him to fuck it up, right? For Byakuya's grandfather or anyone else to disapprove of him. Even more than they already did.. Was that possible? Renji didn't know what they thought of him exactly. Just that.. They disliked that Byakuya was with a man.. And a commoner. Both things Renji could not change. But he could try to be the best version of a commoner, he supposed. He wasn't sure what that looked like, even though he did try. To speak more properly; to use the proper etiquette; to be strong and brave and a good soldier and right-hand man to Byakuya..

Maybe he should ask Shuuhei how he had gotten rid of his accent..?

He'd pondered for long enough and given no answer. A sigh and a shrug followed his long silence. "I don't know.. Maybe I'll never be worthy.. But I'm tryin'..."

[goldfishlover73]

Fic-Frog Sage NARUSAKU

This needs another good edit before I post to AO3, but I'm happy how it turned out and am looking for some insta-grat to carry over into some of my other WIPs (looks at all the open doc tabs)

Most of my fics don't reflect my life, but this one does. Sort of.

I dedicate this story to Froug, the frog I found freeloading in one of my plants last week. May you live to spring.

As with every other NaruSaku story I've ever written, it's a study on writing smutty stuff. It's only heavy petting, as I started getting self conscious that all I've been writing lately is NaruSaku porn, but it is fun with them.

This is also a study in a conversation I had with a reviewer of 'Heartbeat' about Naruto and Sakura's love language being touch. So it's pretty touchy-feeling.

Enjoy!

Title: Frog Sage

Pairing: NaruSaku

Rating: Hard T to M

Summary: When Sakura finds a frog in her plant she goes to the Frog Sage to save her.

After the war, Kaka-sensei presented each of them with a trimming from Mr. Ukki.

“May it never die under your care.” he said off handedly, though the longing glances he gave to each small potted plant as they pried them from his fingers told them how much confidence he had in his young team. 

Yamato-taichou had either more or less confidence in them; he gave them detailed instructions and set up visitations so he could review the health of Mr. Ukki’s offspring and cater those instructions to the wellness of the plant. “Once you get the hang of taking care of a plant, it becomes addicting,” Yamato-taichou promised, “I’ll be here to help every step of the way.” Sakura wasn’t sure if he was saying that for their benefit or for Kaka-sensei’s. Regardless, Sakura hated how they all gave her a knowing, pointed glance. More so than Naruto.

She huffed, puffing her cheeks out as she stomped away, clutching her new plant, grumbling that ‘if she could keep them alive, she could certainly keep Ukki-chan alive as well.’

At least Naruto cheered her on. Sai ended up needing her help later that afternoon for unrelated circumstances.

Ukki-chan sat outside on Sakura’s sun-facing balcony. When Yamato-taichou asked which sun, she could only point to the giant ball in the sky. But, despite Yamato-taichou’s blank stare, Ukki-chan seemed happy sun bathing in the warm summer glow with waterings every three days. She watched with the love that only a mother could know (she guessed) as the small twig of a plant grew new leaves and became thicker and more plant like.

Until fall came.

Their bi monthly meetings became weekly as Sakura struggled with the yellowing plant. Yamato-taichou scolded all of them for over watering, though his unimpressed glower was directed as Sakura more than the rest. 

Except for Sasuke, who’s plant was in the opposite shape of everyone else. He was not watering at all. 

Yamato-taichou did say a little neglect goes a long way (“though you do have to water them, Sasuke-kun!”). With a strained smile, wooden fingers moved to the roots of Sakura’s somewhat healthy and somewhat soggy plant, fixing the damage that she’d done. So Sakura took a page out of Sasuke’s book and left it out on her sunny balcony and left for a month long mission.

She came back and Ukki-chan was thriving.

It was shortly after Naruto’s birthday that Yamato-taichou announced it was time for them to present their Ukki offspring so he could gauge how well they were doing before they brought them indoors for the winter.

Naruto’s looked a lot like hers, leafy and alive, though Sakura hated how it seemed ‘more green.’ than it’s sister. Sai’s was less leafy, it’s leaves browning at the tips, but very much alive. Sasuke’s…was taken out of his care completely. Sakura winced as Sasuke’s eyes blinked red as Yamato-taichou held the plant to his chest, whispering into it’s leaves as he promised they would be alright. The rest of them were sent home with care cards and follow up appointments, and a heavy laden threat about overwatering.

Sakura scowled right back at him. 

III

According to Yamato-taichou’s card, Sakura was to set her plant right inside her balcony door where it could soak up the sun but stay warm through the winter months. She was to water it lightly once every two weeks and to ‘let it plant’ the rest of the time.

Whatever that meant.

Sakura dutifully ‘let it plant’ for two months, watering it when she remembered and otherwise just looking down at it fondly when she ate breakfast. 

Until snow littered the ground and her balcony on January morning. 

Before going to work, she decided to move it away from the door. Just enough for the leaves to not be cold. As her hands gripped the sides of the pot, she ‘tsks’ at the terra cotta’s coldness. “This will not do, Ukki-chan.” She let her hand run on the leaves, pretending that she was passing some of her warmth to the plant. She felt her cheeks warming. “Yamato-taichou is going to be so impressed that you’re not dead.” Moving it back a few inches, she admired how not dead it was. Ukki-chan was doing remarkably well. Her soil wasn’t soaking wet and her leaves were only mildly yellow at the very tips. “Maybe I’ll skip watering you a little longer…” She lifted the plant and spun the plant, her mind rationalizing that letting some of the back leaves face the sun when she moved her hand and watched slowly as two black eyes blinked up at her slowly.

The world slowed as Sakura slowly put the plant down and moved her hand back and retracted her hand close to her chest before she screamed.

III

Naruto vaulted out of bed as his door threatened to come off its hinges. He took a step before falling, his legs were ensnared in his blanket. He crashed to the ground and the knocking became more frantic.

“Naruto!?” He swore loudly as he fought with the thin blanket. He closed his eyes, sage mode flaring as he searched for an enemy outside his cotton captor. After four agonizing long seconds, he freed himself, launching himself towards the door, swearing as he didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. 

Except for Sakura banging on his front door. He grasped the handle, flinging the door open. “Sa-Mhm!” he winced as Sakura knocked him hard in the head.

Her eyes were wild, her face strangely pale and flush at the same time. Her hands were trembling as she grabbed his hand and yanked him out of his home with no shoes or pants.

III

Curious, dark beady eyes blinked up at him. It was a sharp contrast to the light gray of her body as she seemed to try to look as much like a rock as possible. Though a curious rock, nonetheless.

He looked back at Sakura-chan, unimpressed. Her left arm was tight around her waist as she bit her thumb on her right. “You pulled me out of bed because you have a freeloader?” Sakura’s face started to redden so he looked back to the pot. Her freeloader was a small, gray tree frog. It was sitting on the lip of her Mr. Ukki pot, rock-like, watching him. His own golden eyes, he supposed as natural chakra swirled through him, blinked back. Naruto couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled in his chest. “She’s not going to get you. She’s harmless.” The small frog looked back up at him.

He looked back in time to see Sakura-chan leaned forward and smacked his shoulder lightly. Well, light for her. It’s why he hadn’t dropped sage mode. “I know that!” she snapped, her face flush. “I just-” she shrugged, her eyes finding the poor little lady. “I didn’t know what to do.”

Naruto looked from her to the frog that was slightly bigger than his thumb. He looked back up at Sakura-chan. “Do?” He gestured to the small frog. “What is there to ‘do’?”

She smacked him again. “I can’t put him outside! It’s too cold! He’ll die!” 

Naruto frowned, looking back down at the small frog. It blinked at him. “So you woke me up?”

“Who else was I going to wake up?!” He looked back at her as she waved her hands, “You’re a fucking frog sage.”

He blinked his natural chakra away. “Toad Sage.” he corrected. She huffed, “I have a contract with the Toad Sages.” He pursed his lips as rolled his eyes. “Should I call you for any slug problems that might come up, Sakura-chan?” He held up a hand to block her as she came in for another swipe. 

Sakura-chan groaned, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. “What do I do!?”

He shrugged, leaning back, away from the frog. Now that their eyes didn’t match, her eyes melted into her body, making her look like a blobby stone. “Let her be?” He looked up to Sakura-chan, who’s bright green eyes widened in maybe horror. He shrugged, “She hasn’t bothered you all winter, just wait until Spring-”

“No.” She shook her head quickly. “Out of the question.” He opened his mouth and she went to swat him again. “I can’t just have a wild animal in my house! You’re bad enough!” Before he could clap back, her face paled. “What it jumps into my bed while I’m sleeping?!”

Naruto looked back down at the frog before looking down the long hallway to where Sakura-chan’s bedroom was. 

Probably, he didn’t know for sure. He’d never peaked through her window to verify this

Never. 

“She’s not jumping all the way down there.” He smiled softly, shrugging, “She’ll just hang out here. If she hasn’t moved in the three months she’s been here, then she’s not going to now that you know she’s here.”

“You don’t know what he’ll do!”

“I’m the frog sage, remember?” She huffed, crossing her arms. He sighed, leaning forward, cupping his hands around the pot. She squawked as he coaxed the little lady into his hands. “I guess I am a frog sage since I know the difference between a male and a female tree frog.” He cupped the frog in his hands and turned to see Sakura-chan’s cheeks as puffy Gamatatsu. He stood, smirking as he looked down at her. Her puffy cheeks faltered as they flushed. “I’ll take her home.” He said softly. “Then maybe we-” he gestured to his hands. The little lady hadn’t so much as moved. can both get some peace and-” he didn't’ get to finish as Sakura-chan’s squwaks and swats chased them out of her apartment.

III

Naruto was woken up later that day to less extreme pounding on his front door.

Though it was the same person. 

“Nice scrubs.” Sakura was in pale blue scrubs with little white slugs splatter across it.

“10 hour surgery. Saved a life. What have you done today?” Bright green, less frantic eyes met him as she shoulder checked past him, her arms carrying a small bag.

He smirked, “Snuggled up with my new girlfriend.”

She wasn’t nearly as impressed as she should have been. She kicked off her shoes, “I got him -” Sakura-chan froze in the entrance way, staring into his apartment. His stomach churned unpleasantly as she looked into the mess. She turned to him, her lip curling. He rolled his eyes. “Your place-”

“Wasn’t prepared for the harem of women it encountered today.” He closed the door. “Don’t worry, Sakura-chan,” he sang “all the clothes are mine, ya know.” Maybe he should be embarrassed by the amount of clothes piled near his bed, but he wasn’t. She wouldn’t get close enough to smell them. Luckily she also wasn’t going to go into his bathroom. He brushed past her as he went to collect the scattered empty styrofoam bowls. “Next time you throw yourself at me, like you did this morning, I’ll make sure the sheets are washed.” He really should do that anyway. It had…been a while. He looked back at her, smirking as her face reddened, her eyes looking down at the bag in her hand. He tossed the bowls in the overfilled trash. “Or at least the kitchen table.” He said suggestively, crossing his arms, lifting an eyebrow and the corner of his lips. “The wall-”

Her eyes snapped up as her lips curled and her eyes narrowed, “You-You-”

He wanted to go on. To continue poking the angry pink bear, but he didn’t want to get too uncomfortable. He could already feel his skin warming as his imagination started to run away with his words. “What did you bring her.” he snatched the bag out of her hand. 

She took a deep breath. “Just some things to hold him over until winter is over.” Her face faded into a pink that matched her hair. He ignored the flutter in his chest. “I think.” she jostled him as she opened the bag in his hands. She smiled brightly up at him as she pulled out a rock. 

He looked down at her unimpressed. “Sakura-chan, there are rocks all over the place outside-” She smacked him again. “It’s a rock home.” she flipped it over to show him it was hollow.

“She’s a tree frog, Sakura-chan, she doesn’t need-” 

“And I got these!” She interrupted, digging into the bag again, almost ripping it as she pulled out a long flat bowl that kind of looked like a hollow smushed rock. “Frogs like water!?” She seemed to be trying to convince herself. He nodded slowly. She shrugged, looking back down at the tray in her hand.

He nodded slowly, “As the resident ‘frog sage’ I agree with this statement, ya know.”

She sucked her teeth before her shoulders sagged. She shook her head, throwing her arms up. She almost hit him with the smushed rock. “I don’t know, I just thought it would be nice for him to have a place to hide and some water.” she swallowed thickly. “But I don’t even know if this is going to fit in the pot. I just-”

“Sakura-chan,” he could help the laughter that bubbled. His hand cupped her cheek. It wasn’t until he felt the warmth of her skin did he realize he was holding her arm as well. She hadn’t seemed to notice or else he might have been a dead man. “You kicked her out.” she flushed, looking away. He couldn’t stop himself from poking the bear again; his thumb rubbed her check. Softly. So soft.  “Why are you here?”

“She” she emphasized by pushing against his hand, but to his delight, didn’t push away. Or pull away “can’t live with me. I can’t wake up to her in my covers or on my face - “ he was about to point out half her life was spent sleeping on the forest floor on missions, but she cut him off “but if she has to live here, until spring…” she shrugged, her shoulder brushing his arm. “Then she should be comfortable?”

Naruto wasn’t sure why she hadn’t smacked him for holding her like this, but he wasn’t about to question it. Or let go. His mouth went dry as he nodded, “Yeah, but she’s just a frog.”

She gaped at him, pulling out of his grip, “Just a frog?! You’re a frog sage!”

He felt air rush into his lungs as he rolled his eyes. “Sakura-chan-”

“Where is she?” She brushed past him, her eyes narrowing on the potted plant on the sill next to his bed. She pointed. “Is she over there? In the pot?” He sighed, moving towards the window.  “She’s hiding.” He explained, picking up the pot and bringing it over to where she stood in the kitchen. Her bright eyes narrowed over the pot as she stared hard at the soil. Naruto rolled his eyes. She’s not even in the pot. She was on the window sill, sunbathing on an actual rock. He smirked, his fingers tightening on Ukki-kun before he made a poor life choice.

It would be worth it, ya know?

“Ohtheresheis!” he jostled the pot, thrusting it up towards her.

Sakura-chan’s eyes widened as she screamed, wrenching the pot out of his hands and throwing it against the wall.

The sound of terra cotta shattering was louder than Sakura-chan’s scream. And the sound of dry wall exploding.

And the sound of his neighbor banging on the wall.

III

Sakura spent the next hour cleaning his apartment. It had first started with picking up the pieces of the broken pot, but as he covered up the hole in the wall, she swept and wiped everything else down, shoving the trash into his hands and demanding that he take it out. When he came back, she was at his neighbor's door, apologizing for the noise. He didn’t get a chance to make it inside before she hooked her arm in his and drug him to Yamanaka’s flower shop.

She was eerily quiet.

Naruto frowned, watching Sakura and Ino talk as he inspected the pots. 

Ino was laughing, slapping her hand on the counter. “You and your monster strength, Forehead!” Sakura told him he needed to pick out a pot that was large enough for the rock home. He watched as Sakura’s face fell. “It’s just a tiny frog. You could squash it like…like well a frog. And that’s when you’re not being all scary.” Her shoulders sagged as she looked over to Naruto. He went back to the pots, grabbing a large black one. Ukki-kun was going to be comically small in this pot, but he figured he’d grow into. He turned with a bright smile. Ino rang them up and Sakura grumbled as she paid for the pot and soil. Ino threw in a small frog statue on her.

They left the shop with a thick tension between them.

Naruto nudged her, laughing. “Kaka-sensei is going to murder you!”

He relaxed as she huffed, though he could tell her heart wasn’t in it. “Me!?” She shoved against him hard. He hardly stumbled. “You’re the idiot! Why would you do that?!” She’d asked him more times than he could count after she shattered the pot. Especially when he told her she wasn’t even in the pot. He was lucky she didn’t kill him on the spot.

“It was hilarious, Sakura–chan.” He only cackled, using the pot to protect his stomach as she tried to elbow him. “Who would have thought that the strongest woman alive would be afraid of a teeny tiny little frog?”

She puffed out her cheeks like Gamatatsu before she huffed. “I’m not afraid.”

Naruto shoulder checked her. “Are you sure?” He was poking the pink bear, he could almost hear her growl. It made him grin wider. “You have taught everyone that tiny things can be very scary.”

Her puffs faltered as did her eyes. He cursed himself as they walked in silence towards Ichiraku’s. She promised to treat him for the hole in his wall. “You don’t…you don’t think I’m scary, do you?” He paused. Her voice was so small. So unlike Sakura-chan. A lump formed in his throat as he studied her walking ahead of him. She stopped, turning. He hadn’t seen her look this unsure of herself since they were 13. He swallowed thickly. 

Of course he found her scary. He found her terrifying. She could break him with her little finger. He had dreams of her small hands crumbling the earth beneath him, crumbling him. Causing his heart to lurch, his blood to boil and for him to wake up with slick skin and a painful erection.

Of course he found her terrifying. But that was something he loved about her.

He wanted to tell her how her strength was amazing. How he could be confident that she won’t break. Break under the pressure. Break under anything.

Maybe…he inhaled shakily Maybe break under me one day. He felt his ears warm as his body grew tingly. He swallowed at the thought of trying to find that breaking point. Of her finding his.

Instead, he shook his head. “No, I don’t think you’re scary at all.” he hoped it sounded halfway as convincing as he was trying to be.

She studied him, her eyes piercing into his soul. His heart hammered in his chest and the strongest woman alive sized him up. Challenged him, in her own way. He wanted nothing more than to kiss or. Or at least try. 

But he had a mission coming up. And Kaka-sensei would kill him if she killed him over trying to kiss her.

She nodded slowly, her face flushing the color of her hair. “Let’s get that ramen.”

He relaxed.

III

Yamato-taichou promised Ukki-kun would survive his traumatic crash, but threatened them both to remove their plants from their care if it happened again. He also promised to not tell Kaka-sensei - he had enough on his plate with being Hokage to worry about his little genin (“And Jounin!!!”)  and their plants.

Sakura-chan smiled brightly as she put the rock home and water dish in the pot before taking a large step back as Naruto placed the small frog in the plant.

“What is she going to eat?” Sakura-chan asked, her eyes doe like. They were sitting in his kitchen chairs. The pot was too large to fit in his window so it sat in the floor near his balcony. She was leaning toward the plant, inspecting the small amphibian as Naruto sat next to her. He felt the small frog watch him and he couldn’t help but morph his chakra slightly. His eyesight changed. The frog seemed to relax and close it’s eyes. 

He snorted. I am her protector from the crazed pink one. The crazed pink one shouldered him hard, as if hearing his thoughts.

Naruto shrugged, feeling Sakura-chan’s shoulder still against his. “It’s winter, so she might not eat, ya know? She’s essentially hibernating.”

Sakura-chan nodded. Naruto thought he felt her lean into him more, but he might have imagined it. Must have.

“What are you going to name her?” She looked at him seriously.

Naruto snorted, leaning into Sakura slightly. “She’s not mine to name. She’s her own person. Frog person.” Their forearms were flush. His heart leapt to his throat as she pressed her upper leg to his. He nudged her. “You name her.” he whispered.

Sakura-chan, oblivious to it all, nodded solemnly. After a few minutes, she spoke barely above a whisper, “Gamako.”

He nodded sagely, “Very original, Sakura-chan.” 

She huffed, slamming back into her chair. He slowly leaned back, matching her crossed arms huff. But he was smiling down at her. She looked up, her eyes meeting his before searching his face. “Isn’t that hard?” She asked, gesturing to his face.

He wished she had hair in her face so he could brush it away, so he could hold her face again. 

No such luck.

He nodded, “Extremely.” Especially when she was sitting so close, with her calf inching to be flush with his. “But it’s second nature to me now.”

She shrugged, mildly impressed. “Katsuyu doesn’t have a…slug mode or anything.” She said, watching Ukki-kun.

“You can make it rain slugs.” He offered. “Healing slugs. That’s pretty cool.”

She smiled, “It is, isn’t it.”

He shook his head, bracing himself, “Though you’ll never have eyeshadow this on point.”

Her lips pressed against each other as she tried not to smile. She looked up at him, trying to look annoyed. He grinned brightly. “Would you like me to help you with your makeup, Sakura-chan?”

She poked him in the side, making him cackle.

III

Sakura wasn’t sure what was going on with her. At first, she blamed Gamako for her odd behavior around Naruto. For her constant stopping by his place, but the frog hadn’t moved in two weeks from its spot under the fake rock and she was going over to check on her anyways. 

With fresh groceries. And a recipe for homemade ramen. And cleaning supplies.

Naruto seemed just as perturbed, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t offer to help (thank all the deities above and below) but he did hover. Just out of her arm and knife reach but still within his. His fingers found her upper back as he smelled the broth, his fingers trailing down her arm as he reached for the fridge. His knuckles on her hip as he moved around the small cooking space. She was aware of it all. She felt her skin itch for the contact. It made her mouth water and dry at the same time. 

Or maybe it was the ramen.

He didn’t have real bowls, so they washed the styrofoam ones that littered the table. She had to stop her mind when it started talking about getting him new ones. 

She held her breath as he slurped down the first bite. His regular, not brilliant, blue eyes closed as he chewed. She pressed her lips together as he swallowed. She gripped the table as his absolutely normal eyes opened again. It whined under her fingers as he contemplated the food. 

And then he smiled. His smile made her breath hitch as butterflies erupted. It’s because he’s taking another bite she told himself as he began to devour the food. She did not watch his lips.

“I’ve never had it home made before.”

“And is that a good thing?” She asked, her heart beating loudly in her chest. He hadn’t said he liked it, or hated it.

He cackled, “Ah, Sakura-chan, if you made this everyday for me, Teuchi would go out of business.” He slurped down his noodles. He scrunched up his face, “Has a lot of vegetables though.”

This. This feeling, the feeling of anger and annoyance, she could deal with. She felt her body go into autopilot as she went off on him not eating enough vegetables as he coward slightly, grinning broadly. This I can deal with now.

The rest, she supposed, could wait.

III

Sakura left for the night as Naruto showered and settled on the impossibly clean floor next to Ukki-kun as he closed his eyes. He inhaled softly as he focused on the natural chakra around him. He felt Gamako move and he held his hand out, smiling softly as he felt her sticky skin land in his open palm. As he settled into his meditation, he felt her half crawl, half hop up his arm and up to his shoulder.

He smirked, wondering what Sakura-chan would do if she knew that he let the frog climb the side of his face as he meditated.

He was a toad sage. But all toads were frogs and she, obviously, felt more relaxed when he was in sage form. 

He felt her settle on his head, barely aware of her light weight in his hair. 

Naruto smiled, thinking how Sakura teased him about his eyeshadow. “Gussying up for his new girlfriend.” his smile widened as he closed his eyes. 

Because of Sakura’s new obsession with a tiny frog she was afraid of, he had cleaned his bathroom, did his laundry and made sure his trash was taken out far more regularly than he had ever done in his life. He’d even washed his sheets. Usually, when he did this, his house seemed empty and far too spacious. But…Even with his apartment clean, there was still remnants of her;

One of her scrub tops was piled in the corner next to his jacket. She’d warmed the place up using the stove to make stir fry. There were two bowls in the sink with a matching pair of cups. She had threatened him with bodily harm if they weren’t clean and dried and put away when she came back tomorrow. Her favorite brand of rice was shoved in the corner of his counter as well as her favorite cookies. There was mochi ice cream in the freezer and dango in the fridge.

For tomorrow. When she came back.

His chest expanded. His home was clean and bare, but it…it was cozier.

The small frog on his head moved. He laughed, more to himself than her. “Though, if Sakura-chan keeps coming around, you’ll have some stiff competition, eh, Gamako-chan?” He cackled to himself as he felt tiny hands on his forehead.

III

Spring came too soon. 

“You can start to put your plants back outside.” Yamato-taichou said on their way back from a mission. “Just make sure you bring them back in at night.” he warned.

Sakura’s eyes bored into the back of Naruto’s head. He was in front of her, bickering with Sai when Yamato-taichou made his declaration. Sakura knew that Yamatao-taichou brought this up now in hopes that the two would stop arguing, but Sakura couldn’t help but feel fear curl in her stomach as Naruto looked back at her. 

If Gamako leaves…What would she do now?

And what the hell kind of thought is that?! She felt her mind scream as it raced. 

With spring, Gamako would go back outside, awaken from her rock covered slumber and hop off on her merry way. Then…Sakura would stop coming by Naruto’s on the pretense of checking in on a frog. 

Things would…go back to the way they were. How they had always been.

Naruto’s eyes caught hers, making her heart skip. She could almost feel his shoulder against hers as they chopped vegetables together. His hand warm on her back as he leaned over her to sneak a taste. His leg touching hers under the table.

I…I don’t want that.

That wasn’t true. There was the look he gave her when she’d leave for the night. The way that he bit his lip. It looked like he wanted to lean down and -

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind, coming back to the now. He was looking at her in the same way now, making her stomach tingle and her mouth dry. She bit her lip and a jolt went through her as his eyes dilated slightly. She didn’t want him to look away, but after two long heartbeats he did, scowling at Sai before they went at each other’s throats again.

She gripped her pack, her chest almost as tight as her throat.

Whatever is going on…I don’t want it to stop.

III

Naruto looked from Sakura-chan to Gamako. The small tree frog was outside her rock home and on the edge of Ukki-kun. She was looking at him with her black froggy eyes. Naruto looked back with his golden ones. 

Sakura huffed, leaning forward in her chair, her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. “She’ll need to go back outside.” Sakura-chan said softly. She sounded disappointed.

Naruto’s hand went to her back, rubbing circles around the symbol between her shoulders. “It is where she belongs.”

She snorted, “So do you, but I haven’t kicked you out yet.” She sat up, his hands trailing up her back. His breath catching as he watched his fingers get lost in her hair. She didn’t say anything as his fingers found her neck. It was soft and warm. 

She looked at him strangely, her cheeks flushing, but she didn’t pull away. “What happened to your face?”

He blinked. Then he felt his skin expand and bloat. He closed his eyes and focused. “Sorry-” he strained a smile. “I lost concentration when you said you hadn’t kicked me out of my house.” his fingers twitched against her neck and he watched in fascination as her eyes widened slightly before relaxing. His mouth went dry as she leaned back into them.

“You do act like you were raised in a barn.” her voice was like velvet. “And your house was like a pig pen.”

He bit his lip as he let his fingers become more bold. “It’s never been that bad.”

“A horse stall.” He ran his nails up her nape, softly. She exhaled almost as softly. “But definitely a barn.” 

His tongue felt heavy as his fingers pressed into her neck a little more. A smile formed on her lips as her head slipped slightly, falling forward. 

His skin was on fire as he struggled to breath. She was so soft.

“You’re losing concentration again.” she teased. His breath hitched as he spotted her eyes through a curtain of pink. “You’re looking a bit toadish.”

He struggled to concentrate but her neck moved beneath his fingers and his tongue -why am I aware of his tongue. It was better than focusing on the tightness in his chest.

Or in his pants.

He pulled her curtain of hair back, exposing her neck. It made his mouth water. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes focused on her smile. “Better?”

Her coy smile made it impossible to breathe. “Now you just look froggish.”

“Does it bother you?” he asked breathlessly.

She studied him for a moment before shaking her head. “No.” Her fingers found his face. “Not at all.” She fucking looked as his lips.

What about… he pushed those thoughts aside. He heard a voice in his head speak to him. A voice he didn’t know he had for twelve years. That was eerily silent for 15. One that barely shut up now. A voice that made other’s wary of him at best. A voice-

“Naruto-” that wasn’t the voice. He blinked and his vision was filled with Sakura. Fear gripped his chest as her fingers dug into his face. “You there?” She asked softly.

Toad eyes might be a little goofy, a party trick almost…

But what about Kurama?

She smushed his cheeks together, hard. She pursed her lips. “You there?” She called. When he blinked at her, she relaxed her grip, but didn’t remove her hands. “You ok?” She asked softly. 

His eyes burned, but he nodded, ignoring the tightness in his throat and the voice in his head. She studied his face, peeling back the layers of skin. He kept his mind completely blank in case she tried to read it. Instead she pulled him down, their foreheads touching. 

“Not. at. All.” She whispered. He felt her breath on his lips. He strained to look into her eyes as she gave him an almost playful smile. “No matter what your…” she shrugged, “animal of the day is.” he heard a dark chuckle in the deep recesses of his mind but he was focused on her lips, pressing together before she wet them. And then bit them. 

His hand twitched on her neck. 

“Plus…” Her voice was a whisper as she tried to look away. Her hands on his face pressed into his cheeks before relaxing and her blunt nails pressing near his temples. Her face was moving through the different shades of pinks and red. He couldn’t breathe. “I could handle it.” His eyes widened as all the air in his body rushed out. She licked her lips and he swallowed thickly as the hand not in her hair came to the back of her head. “You…you know? Because I-if you tried anything funny, I’d kill you.” she tried to end strong, but it was just breathy. 

He nodded. “You are absolutely terrifying.” he said, unable to keep awe out of his mouth. Her eyes got wide as she tried to pull away. His mouth-well, his mouth was doing something odd. His whole body was. Because he was done for. It was over. He was all over. “I’m going to do something extremely stupid.” he announced, licking his lips and nodding. She blinked as he dipped his head. “Please don’t kill me.” He felt her nod as her fingers went from his cheeks to his neck, pulling him in. 

“Only maim,” she promised against his lips as his world imploded.

He had always dreamt of what kissing Sakura for the first time (ever) would have been like. Her lips soft as they kissed softly before pulling back into look into each other's eyes before slowly moving back in for another, and another, and another.

In reality, he didn't feel her lips as her open mouthed begged to be tasted. His tongue found hers and his body ignited. The world crumbled around him like it did around her fist and he was falling. Her hands on his neck were the only thing keeping him grounded as her tongue lapped his before she bit it and then sucked it.

He groaned, and he felt like he was falling. The wind was knocked out of him when he felt her hands roam up his neck and into his hair, down his back under his shirt and her legs twist in his. His body throbbed painfully as his hips bucked he came crashing back to earth as she mouthed his name on his lips.

Literally.

His head shot up at the heavy thumping from the neighbor on his right. He looked around, dazed as he took in broken chairs and two small, beady eyes looking at him curiously over a terra cotta plant. They blinked at each other before he felt nails dig into his neck, pulling him down. He blinked down to see Sakura, messy hair fanned around her flush face, mouth parted as she alternated between biting her lip and licking it. Her heels dug into his ass, her legs tightening around him.

She was radiant.

Like a moth to a flame he dove in. Groaning as his erection pulsed painfully in his pants, his hips sought hers to find any kind of relief. His hands grabbed, pulled and tore anything that was between him and her soft skin. 

She was doing the same thing; Seams ripped and he felt a draft as her hands shoved roughly at his shoulders, almost pulling his left out of the socket as she yanked at a sleeve that had once been part of his black shirt. Her hands dug into his shoulders as her tongue left his mouth and moved to his neck. 

His breathing short circuited as he struggled to not collapse on her

His eyes rolled back as his body vibrated. His hands on her hips tightened, maybe bruising, causing her to bite down.

"Sa-sa-sa" he shivered, pulling her hips towards his. She gasped into his neck, stiffening before her tongue traced his clavicle and she dug her heels into his back and her hips into his. His brain short circuited. He pulled away, looking at her dazed. 

Is this really happening!?

Her face was flush and so was her neck. And her chest, as it rose and fell under torn clothes, was mesmerizing. He felt something primal kick in as his skin licked with flames. 

His hips rolled against hers and she let out a frustrated sigh. He smirked, watching as her eyes dilated, her lower lip going between her teeth.

"Sakura…" he was being pulled into her, he couldn't stop himself. His hips moved and he captured her lips. She kissed him back, teeth knocking together as they fought for dominance. Her breath hitched everytime he pressed his hips into hers, her hands gripping his hair painfully everytime. He would have moaned if he had any air left to breathe.

Her hand went to his hair and pulled roughly, tearing his lips away. "You're glowing." She breathed. Kissing him again.

"So are you-" he crooned.

She shook her head, their noses brushing "No, literally. Not frog." She warned. "Fox-" 

He looked down to see she was right. He was literally glowing. And her hands were in his pants. She just couldn’t reach. His heart was beating so loud in his head it drowned out Kurama's laughs.

He killed that chakra.

"Sorry"  he couldn't make his voice any higher than a whisper. Or figure out how to kiss her and have her hands delve further. 

She shook her head, "S'fine." She promised. She pulled her hips off the ground, changing her angle, her hand brushed his erection. His arms almost gave out. "Hot."

He pulled back, his heart hammering in his chest "What?” Not bothering is one thing, but - but- 

She growled, trying to pull him back in. "Naru," he watched her, wide eyed, as she went for his chest and her hand-

He shuddered, grabbing her wrist. Her eyes snapped up to him. She pulled against him. He flared his chakra as she charged hers. Her eyes narrowed.

He took a deep breath. He knew what he looked like; a golden glow with red eyes. She didn’t flinch. "It's not scary?" I'm not scary? 

A monster. 

He felt her chakra surge, flicking out of his grasp before she grabbed him hard. His eyes rolled back in his head as all thought escaped him because Sakura was touching him. Her wrist jerked up and he almost toppled over on her as her lips lightly peppered his neck. "You're an idiot." Was all she said.

His heart slowed as he closed his eyes, letting her pull him to her. He sighed into her kiss, letting the feeling of Sakura him. 

The hand not in his pants raked through his hair, pulling and tugging at she sighed into him, arching her back as his fingers trailer up her body. He was drowning and he didn't want to be saved.

Especially when Sakura's moved steady against his-

"Meep!"

Sakura let out a scream like she’d been stabbed (he wished), shoving him off with godly strength, sending him careening into his kitchen table.

He wanted to sob.

Instead, he swore loudly, natural chakra surging as his head snapped to the little cock blocker.

Gamako was perched on the side of the small plant, blinking at him. He watched her air sack expand before she let out another "meep!"

"You fucking bitch…" he snarled, pointing an accusing finger. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Suddenly, Sakura laughed. All his anger disappeared as he looked over to Sakura, her hair as in as much disarray as her clothes. She had a large mark on her neck that he couldn’t quiet remember putting there, but pride swelled nonetheless. But it was her smile that held his attention as her eyes sparkled.

"I forgot we had an audience."

He grumbled, sitting cross legged on the rubble of his kitchen table. He glared at the small frog as it started into his soul and let out a tiny "Meep!" again. 

His hands tugged his hair as he groaned.

"She must be hungry."

Naruto felt his ears heat. "She wants to get fucked." He mumbled bitterly. Sakura’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth but Naruto shook his head. "She's wanting to get fucked." He assured her. “It’s springtime.” Sakura turned to looked at the small, horny frog. 

He knew the feeling.

And she hadn't stopped looking at him.

“I know the feeling.”

Naruto’s eyes widened as his head snapped to Sakura. She wasn’t flushing, just staring with a knitted brow at Gamako. 

Naruto felt his lip curl. "She's got to go." Once she was gone, Naruto could focus on Sakura. Solely. Uninterrupted.

There was a knock on the wall. "And so do you!" A disembodied voice yelled. "I don't want to hear it. Take that shit somewhere else, Naruto!"

Sakura's face went from pink to the red of her torn qipo.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

“Meep!”

III

Sakura pulled Naruto's jacket tight around her, careful to not be obvious as she inhaled his scent.

She relaxed into it's warmth, ignoring the fact she had on nothing underneath as they stood under the red bridge in the middle of the village.

Naruto's pants were rolled up as he carefully placed the small frog on a rock next to the river. The smile on his lips warmed her more than the jacket as he ran his thumb over the top of the small frog. It blinked up at the sage before closing it's eyes and becoming one with the rock. 

They stood there for a few more moments before Naruto stood up. "Get fucked, Gamako." He said lovingly.

She gave a small "meep" before she hopped away.

Sakura hopped, rock-to-rock to stand next to Naruto in the river. His arms immediately wrapped around her, pulling her flush to him. Her toes tingled as she felt his hand run through her hair, pulling her head to his lips. 

"You did good, frog whisperer." She said, her fingers itching until they found his shirt, tugging it lightly. He hummed as her fingers brushed skin. His hand gripped her neck, turning her. "Can I kiss you again, Sakura-Chan?" He sang as he leaned down. She stood on her tip toes to meet him halfway. 

"Whenever you want." She looped her hands around his neck.

He laughed. "Ah, don't tell me that.” His large hands ran down her neck, under the high collar of the jacket. "I won't stop." His voice dipped as he lowered towards her.

“Is that a promise?” She opened her mouth, her tongue meeting his as their mouths met. She sighed as he groaned. His hands went to the zipper, taking a few tries to yank it down.

She felt a draft and remembered what had happened to her clothes. She used all her self control to duck back and away. He followed her, yellow eyes lidded, and she couldn’t help but smile. 

“As long as you put your hand back where it was.” She laughed into his kiss before pulling away, grasping his hand and leading him home. 

III

AN: Gamako is based off of a Cope's Gray Tree Frog. Very lightly. The females don't make noises, so I took some creative liberties.

[hardasstaichou]

. A polite knock on his office door. A pause. She is standing demurely and holding a plant of aloe vera for her ‘date’. Nemu is quite calm. The amount of research she has conducted will secure her one day courtship to be outstanding. “Muguruma-Taichou. I have arrived promptly to be your escort for the evening.” She will say and do everything appropriately of course.

Oh great. It begins. The things he did for hiyori... and to think that he would have to endure some sort of weird ass setup date with a robot just because hiyori thought it would be good for him.

his eyes moved to look at the plant she was putting forward and he was just, what the fuck am i going to do with this thing?? keep it on his desk? did he even want a reminder of what this day was going to be like? give it to mashiro. yep. he took it from her and shoved it on the table.

' be my escort? why does that sound so weird? anyway, fine. let's get this over with. where do you want to go? what do you want to do? ' and how long was this going to last? he was just dreading it all before it even began.

[joytraveler]

68: Hungry Hungry Every Day

This one starts with a dark title screen showing a hypodermic needle and a stethoscope: a medical theme is apparent.

When Bea begins the game, there's a few lines of text:

[A NEW DISEASE IS JUST BECOMING KNOWN.]

[DIAGNOSE EACH PATIENT AND DETERMINE THEIR SYMPTOMS.] [THE REAL PATIENTS ARE VERY HUNGRY.]

"No... no, I don't think so" Bea tries to exit but the chat explodes in protest!

"Fine, the sanctity of my stomach is clearly not important to any of you, let's move on!"

DueyDecimal: Finally some answers about those worms!

Syrupentine: Bea I'm with you on the gross thing but just a couple minutes okay?

Glockroach: Suck it up, soldier

The game itself is quite simple: a line of patients passes across the screen, one at a time per screen, and the player must choose what treatment to give them. If they're coughing, you give them the cough syrup; If they have spots, give them the hypodermic needle.

The danger is that you have to look away from the patient to look at your clipboard, and when you look back, sometimes the patient has different symptoms you hadn't seen before!

"Seems simple enough... Ok ma'am you look like you just have zits.. wait, no!! she wasn't coughing before!? did I give her a wrong thing??"

TaichouSenseiKun: She looks more pale than before too

Bea you don't have a green thumb at all!

After the third person Bea treats, the first person returns: looks like Bea did her good, she gets to stamp her with a clean bill of health! That's a big points bonus, too!

The fourth person, however, is extremely pale, and shivering, and the speech window says:

["Got anything to eat?"]

"It's okay Taichou you can kiss my butt later! We gotta worry about this guy. He's hungry! we should give him a tasty helping of WORM DEATH!" Where's the right medicine! or the right procedure..

Once you check off all the symptoms on your clipboard, the letters turn red and the message appears: QUARANTINE.

"Oh... all right, well.. off with ya then!"

Baconnaise: Great beaside manner, bed

Two people dressed in hazmat suits come to take the frightened patient away! The next one to come in looks scared too-- she must have seen what happened to the last one.

In fact, once Bea checks her clipboard to check off the symptoms, she's gone by the time you look up!

"This is obviously going to get more difficult... Hey!! I... I mean I don't want to send her off if I don't HAVE to, but if I don't.."

The next one that seems unwell, she just checks all the symptoms off as quickly as she can!

"Oooo i done bad.. I done really bad.."

berd_snurglar: nah he looks pretty sick. a nice healthy pink sick

Next one up is the second one you treated, who looks familiar... and not just because you've treated him before. That rictus grin, those unfocused eyes... the blue tinge to the skin.

Glockroach: Real good Bea, you made a Spumco out of the man

"I thought I sent him to be unwormed!! What do you want again, horrible zombish man?!"

The text in the speech box is jiggly and hard to read:

["TELL THEM I'M NOT SICK."]

pigbarrel: a spanko. spank him for his lies

Bea tries to have him sent back to quarantine! Oh, here's the third patient again...

This one looks fine! Pink cheeks, big smile... but something's squirming under its skin.

HNV: I don't think that's something you can check off-- oh wait there it is.

"I long for the charm of Surgeon Simulator.." says Bea, getting visibly uncomfortable! "Uuuugh come on guys you know I can barely do Trauma Center!"

berd_snurglar: the pixels make it better

"THEY MAKE IT WORSE!!"

As soon as Bea looks down at her clipboard, there's a red POP effect from above. "I'm gonna switch views again and squint through my fingers and you guys can give me the details.."

Syrupentine: STOP PLAYING THIS GAME. >____<

When she sees something is still moving on screen, off the game goes!!

HNV: Well, the good news is, that was a game over…

DueyDecimal: Thanks for being brave for us, Bea

Bee52: but you're probably glad you didn't see that

Baconnaise: She'll have to edit this later. there is no escape bea

"Maybe not but there's deep denial and I'm going with that for now, NEXT GAME!"

[bleachbleachbleach]

11/11-11/12/22

Wow!! This week was a whole mess! There was a bunch of RL stuff that’s been extremely time-consuming and very expensive, and then I found out my brother is being deployed next year, which I am not in favor of. I’d say I’ve been pretty zen about it all but I think the actuality is simply that I do not presently have access to my emotions because I am too exhausted. I spent all of October being very weepy and now I feel noooothing~! Were that not the case I can guarantee you I would have felt BIG big things about Byakuya vs. As Nödt, but I did not, and I think this is vitally unfair. I think next week is going to be a worse version of this week, but I’m hoping the week after will improve.

I did still try to do some fanfic things last night and this morning, though. I didn’t think that was going to work because I’ve been pretty ��Bleach WHOMST?” but it went okay. I hope I don’t look back on what I wrote in a few weeks and wonder why I thought it was worth the bytes it was written on.

This week’s spoils:

what the bottom half of Chapter 7 (Rukia) is going to sound like

some framing for Chapter 4 (Hinamori) and how she’s understanding this time spent with Hitsugaya

a 1000-word conversation between Chapter 5 Matsumoto and Akon, which includes mention of Nijinsky’s 1913 rendition of the Rite of Spring, specifically the bassoons

some floating pieces of the rest of the bottom third of Chapter 5 Matsumoto. I also think I’ve come up with a believable justification for why the three sections of Matsumoto’s chapter would segue into one another, so it feels less like Matsumoto chat roulette, in spite of the bassoons

“Oh, never been. Condition of my parole,” Akon says. “And as established, I’m not big on field trips, anyway. However, I do spend a lot of time waiting on assay results, and the 12th has a very large repository of film. All from the Living World, obviously, given how leery Soul Society is of the ‘moving pictures.’ I actually don’t know what the dance culture is like here on the homefront. Fewer bassoons, I take it.”

“You know, you’re chattier than I thought you were,” says Matsumoto. “How come you never come to the Vice Captain meetings? We could use you!”

But Akon has already stubbed out his old-new cigarette and is in the process of lighting another, with a small contraption that looks inspired by the lighters of the Living World, even as it refuses to be one. He needs the busyness more than the nicotine.

“Yes, yes. Ex situ Akon. Very entertaining,” he says. “Though Kuchiki’s also a lot louder than I’d given her credit for. You’re an interesting bunch.”

“Keeping tabs on all the ladies?” Matsumoto asks flatly. It’s just a test—a jest, really—but for all his nerves Akon doesn’t so much as blush.

“I have tabs on everyone,” Akon replies. “It’s what I do. I take pleasure in gathering information.”

Matsumoto’s eyes widen conspiratorially. “Akon! Are you a gossip?”

“That would be disseminating information, not gathering it,” says Akon. Then he disseminates: “You’re a dancer. Kuchiki is loud. And Muguruma-taichou? Not as good at bushwhacking as he thinks he is.”

Matsumoto snorts. “What about Shuuhei?”

“Hisagi is exactly as good at bushwhacking as he thinks he is.”

Matsumoto claps her hands. “Outoribashi-taichou?”

Akon opens his mouth, then snaps it shut. “...You two have similar hair.”

Matsumoto makes a face. “That’s barely information, let alone gossip. Some help you are!”

Akon, evidently having calmed enough to retreat into a more familiar laconic brevity, says, “I never promised insights, merely observations.”

But after a pause, he adds, “The hair observation was more specific. Molecularly. Follicularly. But people often associate that degree of detail with serial killers. I thought with the footwork comment already on the table, it seemed a bit much.”

This, Matsumoto is not inclined to react to at all. So she shrugs. “Fine. What about Renji? And you owe me something better than hair this time. I have eyes.”

“Abarai? Well, he’s brooding about something. Big time.”

Matsumoto frowns. That feels like a non-answer, because given the circumstances, who hasn’t been doing a little bit of brooding? But Renji seems the least like that of anyone, at least from what Matsumoto can tell. Akon does not volunteer more.

“You’re not going to ask about your captain?” he says instead.

[alexiethymia]

reaction

summary: [Post-TYBW] There's news over at the tenth.

[read on ao3]

notes: all references to individual squad members are credited to @rays-of-fire-and-ice, unless otherwise stated. (I hope it’s ok if I borrow your babies for this fic. ;-;)

part 1

The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a calm blue with hardly a cloud in the sky. The weather was mild with soft winds drifting lazily past. There were no unexpected explosions, invasions, mayhem, or general chaos. In other words, it was the perfect atmosphere for sleeping. Heck, even Zaraki was probably taking a day off with how peaceful it was.  

So why, Shinji thought while yawning loudly as he lounged against a tree, were two squads crammed together in a courtyard on such a fine day such as this one? Perhaps that wasn’t such a generous assessment. The tenth squad’s courtyard was certainly big enough to host all the members of the two squads. At least, Shinji thinks wryly, it was certainly bigger than the fifth’s own compound. And anyway if they held this little assembly over at theirs there was no doubt footprints would be tracked all over the flowers they had painstakingly and carefully raised over the years.

Shinji wasn’t really the gardening type at first, but Momo could be really persuasive when she wanted to be, and she did have a point that it was a great bonding activity for the whole squad. In exchange, there was always someone who’d accompany him fishing, with Momo being the most frequent victim—er, volunteer. And now he was as protective as anyone from the fifth over their little garden so he’d definitely be annoyed if anyone stepped on his snapdragons and lilies-of-the-valley.

It was a moot point as the tenth readily offered their facilities considering at least half of the responsibility in calling this meeting fell on them.

Not even trying to stifle his yawn he observed the members of the tenth from under the shade. Everyone was in perfect formation, backs stiff and posture straight, with not a hint of confusion or annoyance at being called out on a beautiful day better served for lazing about. Shinji sighed with feeling. The tenth took after their captain too well. Surely, you could see the years of impeccable discipline instilled in them by their commander from their demeanor alone. He sighed again. How boring.

Shifting his eyes to the side, he observed his own company. They weren’t as stiff as the squad opposite them, with a few engaging in conversation and wondering why they were called out. Still, each one of his men and women was in perfect position and not breaking ranks. Shinji almost felt disappointed. Clearly, his influence was still not enough and he needed to do more to teach those under him the value of spontaneity. He wouldn’t have them be all boring like the tenth so long as he was captain. A few did shoot him questioning glances which he waved away with a hand. They were probably wondering why he wasn’t up there at the front since this was supposed to be a joint announcement from the fifth and the tenth squad leaders.

This joint assembly may have been organized by the two squads but he certainly had nothing to do with it. Sure, he’d given his permission for it, counter-signing the memo the tenth had sent over, but that was only because of who had asked.  

The very same person whose influence was apparent on those who followed her, the same one who was probably the reason why everyone had woken up bright and early just to gather here with no prior information whatsoever. Shinji grumbled internally. Hardly anyone woke up on time whenever he invited them to go fishing. Thank goodness at least for sweet-natured lieutenants.

Speaking of lieutenants, he spies the tenth’s very own bounding over towards him. Raising a hand in a lazy wave of acknowledgment, he just waits until she draws near.

“Hirako-taichou! Glad you could make it.”

“Rangiku-chan,” he greets, “As if I could miss it. Ya have anythin’ ta do with this ‘surprise’ announcement?”

“Fufufu,” Eyes sparkling, Rangiku leans over, as always careful not to let her generous bounty spill, and confides to the fifth division captain, “It’s so cute when he relies on me, you know? I told him as long as he followed my advice, he was guaranteed one hundred percent success. And I was right!” She looked like she was about to do a little dance, and Shinji really couldn’t blame her. No doubt she was overjoyed for her two close friends. “With a favor like this, I’m sure I can get away with no paperwork for a year, no, make that five years!” Or that, she was probably overjoyed because of that.

“Kidding aside though,” Rangiku’s eyes softened as she adopted a slightly wistful look, “I’m truly and honestly happy for them.” Shinji stayed quiet. There was a history there he wasn’t privy to and had only observed from the sidelines. “But,” she turns suddenly to him, as if wanting to shake off the memories, “You don’t sound surprised at all. Taichou wouldn’t have told anyone, and she told me to keep it a secret.”

“Eh,” he shrugs. “When ya get ta my age, you just know things.” He grins at her in what he thinks is a rakish manner, but from the blonde’s skeptical look probably didn’t have the desired effect.

To be honest, there was no way he wouldn’t have picked up on it with how often his lieutenant’s head was up in the clouds these days. She would often look at the flowers outside in a daze while smiling dreamily. It wasn’t to the point that she’d forget to remind him to do his work, but once she started giggling and blushing as she cupped her cheeks in her palms, he was sorely tempted to ask if she needed to visit the fourth for a while. The moment he received that memo and then the subsequent hell butterfly inviting all the members of the fifth and tenth squads to the tenth squad courtyard one early morning, he finally got it.

Some of his own company members were looking over at the both of them probably wondering about the subject of their conversation. In contrast, the tenth squad members were resolutely facing the front as they waited for their captain. He was about to ask Matsumoto if all her squad members took after their captain in that they all had sticks up their—when the fusuma of the tenth captain’s private quarters finally opened and out stepped their leader.

No one was surprised to see him accompanied by the fifth squad’s lieutenant as they both went down to meet their squads. Nowadays it wasn’t uncommon to find the two together. Rather, the collective sentiment around Soul Society was that it was about damn time.

On one of his drinking sessions with Lisa and the tenth squad lieutenant, the latter had sworn him to secrecy upon pain of death, no something much worse, upon threat of shaving him bald, that he would never ever tell anyone what she was about to tell him.

The fact that she was threatening a captain meant she was absolutely plastered by that point and alcohol had always made for loose lips. But what the heck, he never said he was above gossip. As he waited for her big revelation while Lisa calmly sipped at her sake cup and pretended not to listen, Rangiku whisper-shouted that she thought the only reason her captain hadn’t yet confessed to his vice-captain was that he was waiting until he could be taller than her once again.

As he processed the stray thought that the much shorter captain was actually once taller than Momo, the rest of the statement eventually caught up with him and he was reduced to holding his stomach and banging his hand on the table as he laughed without abandon. Lisa remained cool-faced but Shinji could spot the twitch of her cheek from a mile away. Rangiku-chan was right to threaten him since should this observation ever get out, the tenth squad captain would never live it down and probably wring his lieutenant’s neck in the process.

Hitsugaya Toshiro was normally known for his patience. Shinji guesses you’d have to be with a lieutenant like Matsumoto. ‘Normally’ that is if you didn’t count people-who-must-not-be-named and threats to his precious childhood friend. Sure enough, he waited, at the very least until he was half an inch taller than Momo. Everyone sighed a collective sigh of relief when a picture of Momo kissing the normally stoic captain on the cheek surfaced on the front page of the Sereitei Bulletin. Strangely, the normally cool and composed captain was blushing red to his ears in the photo.

It could be surmised from the casual clothes they were wearing that they were about to visit their hometown. The two of them had been in an area with no people although you could see part of Jidanbo’s leg in the corner. The most devout of fans of the (strangely, in his candid opinion) popular captain could easily pass it off as two childhood friends being exceedingly affectionate with one another. It was probably no coincidence that those same fans were also the ones who were likely to be the most in denial. Yes, they usually could pass it off if not for the fact that also caught in the picture were the two holding hands with fingers tightly intertwined. Also strange was the fact that Hisagi Shuuhei could not be found for an entire month after that.

Shinji snickered to himself. As soon as he’d accomplished his goal, the captain likely could not help himself. It looks like the same pattern was repeating once again as not even three years later there was now this announcement. He doesn’t blame either of them. They had both been waiting for far too long after all. Yes, Hitsugaya Toshiro was normally known to be patient – except for one person.

Shinji observed the two carefully. The captain had grown a few more inches taller than his long-time companion since then, a fact which no doubt pleased him (those naps did eventually come in handy). He kept his hands hidden away from view inside the sleeves of his shihakusho - to look more formal in the company of his men perhaps? Or more likely to prevent himself from instinctually grabbing hold of the brunette’s hands. Shinji snorts, wanting to tell him that whatever façade he wanted to present to his men was a lost cause. There was no hiding that tender look in his eyes that encompassed only one person or that infinitely soft smile on his face. He knew Hyourinmaru was a powerful weather-type zanpakuto, but was it also a coincidence that the weather today perfectly reflected the state of contentment his master felt?

Momo for her part was probably eager to reciprocate. That blush seemed content to permanently make its home on her cheeks. Shinji notes how her hands fidget as they clasp together in front of her, and her eyes as she gazes up at her young captain, shine like stars.

In a while, both companies settle down and wait with bated breath. Shinji leans back against his perch once more while Rangiku grins with a hand to her waist as they wait for the announcement.

Momo lifts her hands as if in prayer and speaks softly, but her voice is clear as it rings across the entire courtyard. Hitsugaya-taichou stands behind her as he waits for her to finish.

A second stretches by too long that it seems like an eternity, so much so that Shinji wonders if he activated Sakanade by accident. But then, finally, a reaction.

Shinji can honestly say he’s not surprised so he doesn’t act shocked after Momo finishes sharing her wonderful news.

He is, however, surprised at how everyone else is acting.

Not even a second later and half of the courtyard is unrecognizable from the well-ordered and disciplined unit which was standing there just now. There are hoots and hollers and excited jumping. The peaceful air is broken by shrieks and an assorted number of materials – coins, accessories, and even an entire shihakusho – being thrown up in the air. He sees some members even kneeling on the ground with arms outstretched to the heavens. They hardly resemble a respected squad of the Gotei 13, more like drunken party-goers. In short, there was utter chaos.

Ah, Shinji thinks, he almost forgot that this was Matsumoto’s squad too. The woman in question would not be beaten in her enthusiasm as she cried into her scarf that she was so touched her little taichou had finally grown up.

The tenth squad captain is incredulous, and dare Shinji say, even embarrassed, as he looks at the unbecoming (for him) behavior his squad is displaying, and in the presence of another squad too.

Shinji looks to his own squad and doesn’t realize he’s mirroring Hitsugaya’s flabbergasted expression. In contrast to the tenth squad, the fifth squad was the complete opposite. Most of the unseated officers were crying, while the seated officers had doomsday expressions on their faces. He noticed Tomoko-chan comforting a new recruit, Higuchi narrowing his eyes at the tenth division captain in a way that would nearly get him reprimanded if he was a different sort of captain, and even the usually optimistic Isawa looking worried. In other words, it was as if the end of the world had come for his squad.

What in the world?

[verdantmoontruther]

why every single member of team 7 is absolutely intolerable (apart from the obvious), shippuden era

as a follow-up to this post, here are my thoughts on why the slightly older but not much more mature members of shippuden-era team 7 make everyone else want to leave them

naruto

- is oddly defensive and touchy about the fact that he needs an inhaler after sasuke pulverised his right lung, finds it embarrassing to carry around

- if he has something to do in the afternoon, he cannot do anything before or after. he is unavailable. his schedule is completely clear and yet totally filled up for the rest of the day

- no indoor voice

- still very much “but iruka-sensei SAID --”, but now he sometimes follows it up with things iruka-sensei never said (has done this in front of iruka, too)

- once he starts knocking, he will not stop until the door is open

sakura

- does the debby ryan radio rebel face thing

- asks people about their lives only in the hopes that they’ll ask back and give her the chance to endlessly talk about herself

- takes 1.5 hours to finish eating an apple

- often speaks unintelligibly fast

- very big on what she calls “experimenting”, which is just mixing up different chemicals she finds in the hospital to see which combination smells worst

sasuke

- thinks saying sentences out loud is beneath him, prefers to communicate via looks and attempted telepathy, gets angry when it doesn’t work

- constantly attempts to gaslight his friends into believing that what he said was right, even if they all know they were right and he was objectively wrong

- his cuticles are always bleeding, it’s concerning but honestly just a little gross

- will ignore people that are standing right in front of him and speaking directly in his face if he’s not in the mood (has done this to kabuto)

- disastrously confrontational, always ready for an argument

sai

- believes several highly improbable conspiracies, will talk about them endlessly and with a very serious look on his face if you even hint at being interested

- berates and admonishes people for “the state [they] live in”, ie the shoes on their shoe rack aren’t perfectly straight

- tells people if they have a resting bitch face

- steps on people’s toes on purpose (literally and figuratively) just to see how they react

- draws the most revolting things he can possibly think of (think junji ito typa body horror shit) and shows them to people while they’re eating

- “that’s what she said”

- considers mint and vinegar ‘spicy’

kakashi

- “when i was your age” to people tenzou’s age

- flat out refuses to get new clothing unless it is more than 70% destroyed, always dressed like a hobo

- gives people that are lost wrong directions

- told sai that “that’s what she said” is a valuable contribution to any conversation

tenzou

- makes roots bulge out of the ground a little to trip people up

- compares everything to some random obscure soap opera he watches

- asks vegans and vegetarians why it is that they don’t think plants have feelings, very passionate about their answers

- is the primary source for all the lies that spread about what is under kakashi’s mask

EDIT: part 3 here!

[myszumizu]

Hello I saw that your box was open and would like to request a either noctyx or luxiem accidental relationship reveal.

Where reader or the members accidentally reveal their relationship on stream. I like the cute reactions of the boys getting flustered or shocked.

Hope you like it

THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING <33 , and thank you guys for the support on my last post!! I CANT BELIEVE THERE WAS OVER A HUNDRED LIKES! THANK YOUUUUU!

gn!reader, fluff

HOW NOCTYX WOULD ACCIDENTALLY REVEAL YOUR RELATIONSHIP

ALBAN

. it just slipped out

. while alban tries his absolute best to keep your relationship hidden, he would eventually let the cat out of the bag

. happens when y’all were doing a collab

. probably when playing minecraft

. it was nighttime and you two were still out doing whatever

. you came into contact with a zombie and because you had just respawned, you did not have any of your loot and could not defend yourself

. “ALBAN, HELP! THERE’S AN UGLY ZOMBIE HITTING MEEEE!”

. “OMG, BABE! NOOOOO! HOW DARE YOU KILL MY LOVE!”

. yeah, you died

. and alban just revealed your relationship

. double fucked

. chat goes wild and the mods are panicking behind screen

. “alban you idiot.”

. “eh? what?”

. “YOU JUST REVEALED OUR RELATIONSHIP!”

. after a bit of processing, alban goes “OH SHIT.”

. he panics and gets all red-faced

. cue you hitting alban with your fists

. but it all turned out alright

. now alban can call you babe whenever he wants

. that’s a win i guess

FULGUR

. the moment y’all got together, he would have already dropped hints about your relationship

. acts like you two are a married couple 24/7

. chat asks a lot if you two are together but fulgur always gives an ambiguous answer

. but one fateful day, the truth is revealed

. you were over at fulgur’s house just to chill

. he had a stream scheduled

. while he was streaming, you were in the background on your phone

. suddenly, you had to get up to go get something

. as you were walking, you accidentally tripped and fell with a thud

. obviously, this alerted your boyfriend and he instinctively turned to find you on the ground, groaning in pain

. without hesitation, he goes, “oh god baby are you alright?”

. to which you replied, “yeah yeah i’m fine.”

. right after you said that, you realised what you’ve just done

. chat heard your voice and within seconds, the entire chat is flooded with comments

. “oh fuck, you’re streaming fulgur.”

. “shoot.”

. tries to change the topic but fails miserably because he’s so flustered

. the suspicions were confirmed

. [name] x fulgur is real

. “hehe, sorry [name] but now everyone knows you’re mine.”

. oh fulgur, they knew LONG ago

SONNY

. now, chat doesn’t suspect that you two are “together together”

. but they do suspect that there is some hidden feelings going on behind that screen

. i think how sonny would reveal your relationship would be by pure accident

. sonny was about to begin a stream

. however, he left his mic unmuted

. a very common mistake made by many streamers

. you just so happened to be at his house

. and you were also unaware of the fact that sonny had left his mic unmuted

. you were bringing food and water to sonny before his stream started

. “handsome taichou, here’s your food.”

. “ah, thank you love.”

. chat instantly recognises your voice

. chat overload

. at this point, you guys were still oblivious to everything happening

. “[name], can you give me a quick kiss before i officially start the stream?”

. obviously you give him the kiss

. when sonny started the stream, he was puzzled as to why the chat was so active

. after reading through the comments, he mentally facepalmed

. “[n-name], i left my mic unmuted. chat heard everything.”

. well, now you don’t have anything to hide

. good job sonny

UKI

. definitely reveals it when y’all stream

. okay so, most, if not all, of the nijisanji en members (professor included hehe) would have already known about your relationship

. you were doing another among us mega-collab and you were the imposter along with elira and reimu

. the only imposter left was you and you had already killed someone else, meaning you only had to eliminate one other person in order for you to win

. you had been following uki around for quite some time, waiting for the cooldown

. when it finally cooldowned, you went straight for the kill

. the game ends and all of you come together again

. uki is malding

. “[NAME], FUCK YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? IM YOUR BOYFRIEND! HOW COULD YOU, YOU CHEATER!”

. everyone goes dead silent

. “oh wait shit. nononononono.”

. “uki…”

. suddenly, everyone bursts out laughing, leaving a stunned you and an embarrassed uki

. after a few seconds, both you and uki regain your composure

. “okay [name], now that EVERYONE knows, can we fu-“

. “uki.”

. of course we can uki

YUGO

. his would be a very unique case

. at least i think it’s unique

. yugo was busy composing yet another song that was inspired by you

. now, he was writing the lyrics based off what he felt

. he was streaming this as well and didn’t notice that the lyrics he wrote was basically telling the tales about your relationship

. the lyrics were very genuine

. no names were mentioned until something unexpected happened

. “ah thank you for the superchat! ‘i really like the lyrics to this song! was there any inspirations?’ [name] of course! this was all about them!”

. yugo was so excited to talk about you he didn’t process what he said

. he continued to talk before finally realising that he had just revealed your relationship

. his eyes widened and he immediately went, “WAIT THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!”

. too late yugo, chat already knows

. “AHH [NAME], IM SORRYYYY!”

. you were already in chat and took in a deep sigh

. you joined the call and hear a sniffling yugo

. “it’s okay yugo, now we don’t have anything to hide.”

. yeah it’s alright yugo

. now chat knows how much you love [name]

[twilightmalachite]

Christmas Live - Line to Line 4

Author: Akira

Characters: Chiaki, Kanata, Tetora, Midori

Translator: 310mc

JP Proofer: Mika Enstars

EN Proofer: ryuseipuka

"Huh? Where’d this come from…? I’m Ryusei Black, aren’t I?"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Winter

Location: Park’s Live Stage

Tetora: Here you go, Midori-kun; the green-colored outfit’s for you…♪

Midori: Uuu, so I’m also gonna participate in the end…? I’m not a fan of the green-colored Santa-san costume, since it kinda makes him seem like he’s an impostor…?

Kanata: how [colorful]~ it looks like a [coral reef]. mine will be~ blue…♪

Midori: Ah—Shinkai-senpai, you were sleeping this whole time, but you’re awake now, huh…?

Are you doing alright, health-wise…? If you’re not feeling it, how about we go home together…?

Kanata: ufufu. i do not want to be the only one [left out]~ let’s work hard at this job… okay, midori? ♪

the five of us together are ryuseitai, you know…♪

Kanata: chiaki~ chiaki will be [red] as always, right? here you go~...♪

Chiaki: … …

Kanata: what is wrong, chiaki? you do not seem energetic…?

did you catch my [cold]...?

Chiaki: Ah, no… Nagumo, would you like to wear the outfit for Red this time?

Tetora: Huh? Where’d this come from…? I’m Ryusei Black, aren’t I?

There’s a black Santa outfit here, so I’ll be wearing this one, yeah~?

Chiaki: No, it’s just that I thought it’d be a good opportunity for you. After all, you seem to admire Kiryu—...admire Akatsuki. Plus, you’d much prefer the color red over black, right?

And yet, you’ve constantly had a color that barely satisfies your wishes pushed onto you. I’m sorry, I also had my reasons why I couldn’t just give up Red, but…

I’ve had you bear with it all this time, and I apologize for that.

Tetora: Mm~... Well, yeah, I couldn’t stand a single bit of it at first. Every time I put on the black outfit, I felt so pathetic and frustrated with myself.

But the black spots on the sun are where the temperature is lower. And that’s what I am.

I’m still inexperienced, and I was lacking in lots of different areas. That’s why I couldn’t get into Akatsuki—That’s all there is to it.

So that one day I can burst into red flames… I’m currently getting a share of everyone’s coal and heat.

I’m still a greenhorn who can’t yet reach Taichou’s level, let alone Taisho’s.

And when the day comes that I wear the red outfit… I don’t want it to be just ‘cuz “the opportunity for it has come”; I wanna wear it once I personally feel satisfied and ready for it.

So, is it alright if we put this talk off ‘til next year?

I’ll be sure to grow strong by the day you graduate and leave, Taichou.

As for Santa-san, he always comes dressed in the color red.

And Red, the leading actor… is definitely you, Taichou. I appreciate how you feel, but I’m just not capable enough yet.

Right now, Ryusei Black suits me just right. I’ll gladly wear this outfit.

So you don’t have to be considerate over stuff that nobody asked for, y’know~? It doesn’t suit you at all to be like that, anyway.

Chiaki: Ah, I see… You’ve really grown, Nagumo. May I hug you?

Tetora: No, I don’t want it. What’s with you today? You’re kinda acting gross. You sure you didn’t catch a cold?

Chiaki: Ah, no, sorry… Thank you, Nagumo—For growing up to be so big and strong.[1]

Aaalrighty then, I’ll wear the red outfit with much gratitude!

I’ll sing with all my might today, as Santa-san! For the sake of bringing dreams to all the kids out there! Fuhahaha…! ☆

Kanata: … …♪

Midori: Shinkai-senpai, your face is red… If you’re still not feeling well, please make sure to rest, okay…?

Kanata: no, i am [alright]. i feel [nice] and [warm] somehow~...♪

o holy night… the stars are brightly shining… twinkle, twinkle~♪[2]

[ ☆ ]

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Chiaki says something similar to Tetora a year later, in Motor Show, Epilogue 3.

He’s singing the lyrics from kiyoshi kono yoru, also known as Silent Night.