#maki herself didn’t think it was a bad thing

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

did the zenin every try to convince megumi to stay with them by not beating the hell out of him? like were they ever nice or kind? other than maki and mai and the few times together, does megumi have any positive memories of anyone in the zenin?

idk just seems a bit counterintuitive to continuously isolate and destroy your relationship with the biggest thing since sliced bread by never showing him an ounce of kindness or sympathy even when he’s a kid.

So yes and no.

In their minds, they absolutely did, but Megumi would say they didn’t. The key issue is that they never tried to appeal to Megumi for who he actually was, but who they wanted him to be. They were trying to be nice to someone who wasn’t real to begin with.

Megumi got special treatment from the rest of the clan. He had the nicest clothes. He had personal trainers. He had the direct attention of the head of the clan. He had a private bathhouse and servants to attend him in it. He had a private room in the home of the clan head, who had the nicest home in the entire compound. All his meals were prepared for him and brought to serve him directly.

In the eyes of the clan, they were spoiling him. Everyone else was fighting for scraps. They all trained, but it was in crowded, sweaty rooms where they didn’t get attention unless they were already exceptional. The Zenin clan is very old fashioned, so they don’t really have private baths in homes. They were all bathing in communal bathhouses where you had to wait for your turn and half the time you got there and realised that you were out of soap.

Beating him was never a big deal, in the Zenin’s mind. They all got beat. It was a part of training. You learn to think through pain and react in a fight if you’re experiencing real pain, which is the exact reasoning Maki brings to hitting Yuuta during training. If they made the Ten Shadows exempt from that, they’d be weakening the person who was supposed to be their strongest by coddling him.

So the Zenin would say Megumi was already being spoiled by the clan, and any attempt to stop his training in handling pain was just another attempt at sabotaging his development.

The thing is that Megumi didn’t want any of the things that they were “spoiling” him with.

He hated the clothes they had made for him. He wanted to wear his own clothes. He couldn’t even pick what to wear. It was another way he lost control. Yeah, they gave him his own room in the nicest house, but he was getting locked into it, and he was only in there when they had finished training him to the point of collapse. The bathhouse was a traumatizing experience for him. He was stripped down and forcibly bathed by strangers. It wasn’t a luxury to him; it was a violation. He would have taken the communal bathhouse any day. He had no say in what he ate, and his meals were brought to him because it allowed the Zenin to pack his schedule even tighter, because he didn’t even get real meal breaks. He just paused to eat and then immediately picked up with whatever they were teaching him. But they never registered any of this as driving him away, because they were too deluded by who they wanted him to be rather than who he actually was. The Ten Shadows in their mind would not only not be upset by this, but he would appreciate it. Megumi was meant to be honoured by the clothes and the room and the private bathhouse. And he would be, as soon as they broke him of Gojo’s control. Any time he expressed upset was just another show of what Gojo had done to him. He needed to be freed from it, so they never actually heeded him begging them to stop.

It’s also important to note that most of the Zenin didn’t know how bad the beatings were.

Again, all of them got beat. The clan head got beat when he was a kid. It’s expected for them. But none of them got beat as badly as Megumi, except for maybe his father when he was Megumi’s age.

Because a lot of the beatings weren’t coming at the hands of someone who wanted him to love the clan. They were coming from Naoya. Who hated him.

Naoya wants him to hate the clan. Fuck, he wants him dead. Megumi is everything he was supposed to be, and he wants him gone. He wants to hurt him.

Naoya got more access to Megumi than anyone else in the clan when Megumi was a kid. He was one of their most gifted fighters and high up in the clan, but not so high up that he was busy with actually running it, so he was tapped in as his trainer. He went farther in hurting megumi than anyone else in the clan thought or expected he was. He was just supposed to hit him when he taught him how to fight, to train him how to take pain, and as a disciplinary measure to break him of Gojo’s influence. But even then, discipline in the Zenin compound usually stops at a few slaps. Like, they still all are abusing their children, don’t get me wrong, but the extent of the abuse that all of them face was no where close to the abuse that megumi was under.

Naoya wasn’t beating Megumi to train him. He was beating him to hurt him. He wanted Megumi to suffer as much as possible. He wanted to make him feel pain.

The rest of the clan never heard Gojo’s claims that he had taken Megumi away because they were beating him, but they wouldn’t have believed them if they did. Megumi was supposed to be their strongest, so if they could take training, he could take training. He was getting every luxury and benefit that they weren’t getting. The whole clan thought he was being treated like a little prince. Of course he didn’t need to be protected from them. They all have the mindset of “my parents hit me when I fucked up, and I turned out fine.”

If Megumi hadn’t had cursed energy, Naoya would have killed him with how badly he was beating him within a month. Even with cursed energy, he almost killed him.

It’s not the expected norm to beat clan members within an inch of their life, unless they’re failures like Megumi’s dad who they actually want to kill. That would be counterintuitive. They need their members in peak physical condition to be fighters. No one there would believe that’s what Naoya was doing if they knew.

The worst of the abuse came from someone who actually hated megumi and wanted to hurt him. But none of the “positive” things they said they spoiled Megumi with actually had any kind of positive impact on Megumi, because they refused to accept him as he was. They were trying to spoil the fantasy they had of him. But the actual child had lost all control of his life, was terrified of them, and was traumatised every time he set foot on the compound.

[shiftingparadise]

Yuji x Reader: You're staying

Hi guys, this one's about Yuji taking care of you when you're drunk. All characters are grown up. Enjoy reading 🤍✨

Warnings: none it's just fluffy and Yuji's really sweet <3

Word count: 2623

“Are you serious?”, Yuji’s sighed. “Yeah. She needs to go. She can barely stand”, Nobara turned her phone away from you, “But she doesn’t want to leave. You’ll probably need to drag her out of here”. “Don’t worry. I’m on my way”, Yuji put down his phone before starting his car. 

—-

“Let’s see who’ll give up first”, you smirked as you took another shot. “Oh? You sure you want to do this with me?”, the man smiled. 

God, Yuji couldn’t take this. You were drunk and flirting with a random guy who probably wanted nothing more than to take advantage of you. And why were you wearing that dress? Your breasts were practically falling out of the thin fabric… 

“Enough”, Yuji angrily grabbed your glass. “What’s wrong?”, the man grabbed his shoulder, “I’m sure she can take care of herself”. 

If you weren't struggling to stand, Yuji would have punched that idiot in the face, but you were his priority now. He just needed you to be safe.

“She obviously can’t. You realize this man is twice your age, right?”, Yuji’s eyes never left you. “F-fuck off Yuji”, you drunkenly hiccuped, “T-toji’s really nice and kind”. “Are you really that stupid? You know damn well what he’s after”. “So? I-it’s none of your business!”, you pushed him away. “I think it’s best if you leave”, an awful smirk on the man’s face, “She’s a grown woman”. 

Fuck, you could be so frustrating sometimes. He just wanted you to be safe. Was it that hard for you to see? 

“Fine”, he chuckled, “Have fun with that idiot over here”. The man stayed quiet, a defiant look in his eyes before he pulled you behind him. “Who is that kid? Is he your boyfriend or something?”. “No, of course not!”, you pulled a disgusted face as Yuji walked to Nobara. She’d been watching everything from a distance. 

His heart ached a little at your remark. Would it be so bad if he was your boyfriend? Would you rather have strange men groping-

“Shit”, Nobara sighed as she pinched the space between her brows. “What?”, Yuji angrily followed her gaze. He could see the man’s hand gliding down to your ass, softly pinching the soft flesh before he decided to leave it there.

This wasn’t going to happen. You were leaving, right this second. 

“Fuck Y/N!”, Yuji angrily pulled you toward him, “You’re coming with me”. “She doesn’t want to leave, right sweetheart?”. “Don’t you dare touch her again”, Yuji balled his fists. He didn’t care if he was going to get kicked out. He wasn’t leaving you here with that pervert. “Y-yuji!”, you tried to stand up straight but the booze had made your brain foggy. “Shut up”, he swooped his arm behind your knees as he lifted you from the ground. “Leave her”, the stranger grabbed Yuji’s shoulder again. 

Okay. This was it. He was going to punch that idiot. 

However, Nobara had done the sensible thing and informed the bouncer of your little dispute. “Is there a problem?”. “That pervert here is groping on her body while she’s clearly drunk”, Yuji held you close to him, ignoring your drunken pleas to stay. The bouncer looked at Toji before turning back to Yuji, “She’s your friend?”. “Hm”, he held you even closer. “Think it’s best if he takes her home”, the bouncer looked at the older man. “Whatever”, Toji smirked, “Enough chicks in here anyway”. “Nobara, you staying?”, Yuji tried his hardest to ignore the stranger. “Yeah, called Maki. She’s coming”. “M-maki? N-now I want to stay too!!!”, you dropped your head, looking at the world upside down.

Yuji gritted his teeth in response. How could you be so reckless? You told him you weren’t going to get drunk. It was supposed to be a fun night with your friends, but you had to overdo it. 

“Happy now?”, the pink-haired boy gently fastened your seatbelt. “Nobara’s worried sick about you”. “S-she’s boring”, a drunken hiccup. “No. She knows when she’s had enough. Unlike you”. “H-hey! L-let me out! I want to go back!”, you tried to open your door. “You’re not going anywhere”, he started his car, “Just close your eyes or something”. 

The drive home didn’t go smoothly. No. You had to keep complaining. Saying he’d kidnapped you, yelling at him, telling him that it wasn’t his business… 

“H-hey this isn’t my place! I-it’s yours!”, you folded your arms, making it even harder for your friend to get you out of his car. “You’re not sleeping alone”. “Exactly! I’m calling t-that guy from the bar-“. 

Yuji had been patient with you, despite your accusations, but he’d had enough. 

“Enough”, he roughly picked you up, carrying you inside. “You’re staying here, got it?”, he tried to be as kind as possible while laying you down on his bed, but your kicking and scolding made such a simple task impossible. 

He’d never seen you like this. Sure, you were always a pain in the ass when you were drunk, but not like this. You were always kind to him, maybe even more than when you were sober. 

“Fuck Y/N. Can’t you see I’m just trying to help you? Why are you acting like this?”, his eyes round in surprise. “Because you kidnapped me! It’s none of your business who I sleep with and-“. “Sleep with?”, a soft chuckle, “You really wanted to sleep with that guy?”. “So? He was handsome-“. “Handsome? Is that all it takes for you to open your legs?”. 

He was harsh. Too harsh. It wasn’t his place to say something like that, but... Well, to be honest... He did have a little crush on you. Okay, not just a little, and even though it was hard to admit, it hurt when you said something like that. 

“Get out”, you almost whispered. He knew he fucked up when he noticed the shift in your tone. “I didn’t mean it like that”, his voice soft now. “Get out Yuji”, a last warning. “Fine”, he clenched his jaw, “Pretend I’m the bad guy for keeping you safe”. “Safe? You just ruined my entire night!”. “I’m sorry that I fucked up your one-night stand. How could I be so rude?”, he sarcastically replied. “You know that guy was at least 40, right? He could’ve drugged you, hurt you, done all kinds of things with you-“. “Just leave me alone!”, drunken tears now streaming down your cheek, “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you”. 

“Hate?”, he smacked his lips as his heart shattered. 

“You always do this. You always ruin my chances with everyone. Why? Why do you do that?”. 

T-that wasn’t right. He never… But he did, didn’t he? Every time you went out. Every time he saw you were clinging onto a boy’s arm, every time you looked at a boy with something more in your eyes… He always swooped in, pretending to save you, but you were a grown woman, and he was only your friend. 

“I never meant to-“. “You know?”, you interrupted him, “If you had the balls to ask me out, I probably would’ve said yes. In fact-“, you sat up straight before continuing. “I’ve waited for months but you never asked me and it’s fine, you know? You don’t have to ask me out, but you can’t just ruin everything else for me”. 

Yuji could do nothing but watch as tears kept rolling down your cheek onto his sheets. 

“When have I ever done the same? I’ve watched how you’ve kissed random girls in the club, or when you’re out on another date… And I’ve never complained, not once, because I want you to be happy”. “B-but that guy was a pervert-“, he tried to intervene. “B-but but but”, you angrily raised your voice, “There’s always an excuse”.

What were you even telling him right now? That you feel the same? 

“Y/N-“, he tried to come closer. “No, stay away!”, you angrily threw your heels toward him. 

God, he hated this. This was the last thing he wanted. 

“Fine”, he raised his hands, “Just let me know if there’s anything you need, okay?”. 

He waited for a response but when he realized he wasn’t getting one, he just left. It was needless to say that he couldn’t find sleep. He tried over and over again to understand what just happened, but he couldn’t wrap his mind around your behavior. 

“I fucked up, didn’t I?”, he murmured to himself before he sat down on his couch. 

He wasn’t a bad guy. At least, that’s what he thought but when he saw you like that… The way you cried, the hate in your eyes… It’s true, he never asked you out but that was because he never thought you’d like him back. He wasn’t your type. You always used to whisper to Nobara how much you adored Megumi, how cute he was, and how much you liked him… He always thought you liked his best friend instead of him.

“4 AM?”, Yuji’s heart sank to his stomach. He was worried about you. 

One look wouldn’t hurt. Just to make sure you were safe and sound. What if you had thrown up? That was dangerous, right? Yes. Just one quick look into his room just to be sure.

He opened his door as gently as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was wake you up. “Y/N?”, his heart shattered as he could hear your silent sobs. 

Were you still awake?

“Y/N?”, he repeated at a lack of response. “W-what?”, you softly replied. “Why are you crying? Is everything alright?”. “I’m not crying. I’m fine”, you lied as you pulled the sheets closer to your face. All in a futile attempt to hide your tears. “You’re not”, Yuji softly sat down beside you, one hand resting on your waist as he signaled you to roll over. “What’s wrong?”, he gently pulled the sheets away from your face as he hovered over you. “I just don’t get it”, you rolled over, your face now buried into his lap. “What?”. “Why haven’t you asked me out? Is something wrong with me? Am I not pretty enough? Not smart enough? What have I done wrong?”. 

He stayed quiet for a bit. He didn’t want to say something to upset you, but he wasn’t sure this was a conversation to be held right now. You were obviously still drunk. 

“You can’t even answer”, you broke down again. “N-no”, he awkwardly placed his arm around you, “I like you, you know that”. 

“Just as a friend?”. 

A sudden panic rose to his head. You wouldn’t ask something like this when you were sober. 

“Not exactly”, he awkwardly shifted his back. “S-so more than a friend?”, your sobs suddenly stopped. “Y/N-“, he tried to change the topic of the conversation but you wouldn’t let him. “Yes or no?”. “Yes”, he shyly replied, his gaze fixed on his window. “Then why haven’t you asked me out?”. “Because I thought you liked Fushigoro”. “Megumi?”, your brows pulled together. “Yeah”, he massaged the back of his neck. “N-no he’s like a brother to me”, you looked up at Yuji. Even in the darkness of the night seemed his eyes to shine. He always had this spark to him, something he never lost. “Look, we’ll talk about this in the morning. When you’re sober and-“, his heart stopped when he felt your soft hand on his wrist. “Y/N?”, he nervously chuckled as his cheeks reddened. 

He normally wasn’t this flustered. He could pick up girls and rarely failed to do so if he wanted, but you were different. He cared about you. Somehow you made him feel a little lost. 

“I never wanted to go with that guy”, your voice steady, “I wanted Nobara to call you”. “Huh?”, he knitted his brows in confusion. “I wanted to see you, to make you jealous”, your cheeks now cherry red. “But-“. “I’m in love with you, okay?”, you finally raised your eyes. 

God, he tried to process what you told him, to figure this all out but… 

“Fine”, you clenched your jaw, “If you’re not going to do it…”. “W-what?”. 

He didn’t like this. The way his heart fluttered, the way his face felt like it was on fire… 

His eyes went round as your hands cupped his cheeks, your lips suddenly on his. 

This wasn’t right. He was supposed to kiss you, not the other way around… He didn’t want you to feel unsure, to think he didn’t want this.

So, without thinking twice, he let his hands explore your body. As gentle and careful as possible, of course. He wasn’t a savage. He respected you. His digits exploring the fabric of your little, black dress… Only slowing down when he felt your bare skin. 

Yes. He wanted more. So much more. Especially when you sat up a little straighter, your arms wrapped around his neck, singing cute, whimpering noises into his ear… He knew you wanted more too. You made it so clear when you guided his hands to your curves… 

“Slow down”, he sweetly smiled. “W-why?”, you sounded out of breath. “Because we’re not going to take this further. Not now”. “You don’t think I’m pretty enough?”, your eyes suddenly hanging low. “Are you crazy?”, he cupped your cheeks, forcing you to look into his eyes. “You’re more than perfect but I respect you too much. We’re not doing this when you’re drunk”. “B-but I’m not drunk anymore!”, you protested. “Not as drunk”, Yuji corrected you. “Look, just get out of your dress. You can sleep in my shirt”. “But Yuji-“. “I’m serious”, his tone a bit harsher than usual. “You need to get some rest. Come here”. 

He gently picked you up as he walked to his bathroom. 

“Here, you can brush your teeth”, he grabbed a new toothbrush from his cabin. ��Thanks Yuji”. “And here”, he happily handed you one of his shirts, “Call me if you need anything”. 

He waited patiently for you as he put on shorts and a shirt to sleep in. Yuji made sure your dress and shoes were neatly tucked away in his closet as he laid out a sweatshirt for you to wear in the morning. It tended to get a little cold in his apartment at this time of the year and -

His thoughts stopped as you suddenly stood before him, looking way too cute in his shirt. “Thanks”, you sweetly smiled as you noticed he’d neatly tucked your belongings in his closet.

His shirt was way too big, and it didn’t fit you at all. Yet, it somehow fitted you better than anyone else. His shirt had never looked so good on someone, not even on himself. 

“D-don’t worry”, a nervous chuckle. “Night Yuji”, you gently kissed his cheek before crawling under his sheets. “Goodnight”, he tried to take his eyes away from you but failed to do so. “What are you waiting for?”, one of the sweetest whispers he’d ever heard. “Huh?”. “Come here, silly”, you opened the sheets as you made room for him. “I-I already told you-“. “I just want to cuddle”, you giggled. “O-oh right”, he nervously scratched the back of his neck. 

Your body felt so warm, so soft, so … God, you were driving him crazy. You fitted perfectly into his arms. 

“Night, Itadori”. “Itadori?”, he murmured as his nose was already pressed into your hair; taking in your sweet scent. 

You never called him by his first name; no one did. 

“Don’t want to be like anyone else anymore”, you shuffled even closer. “You never were”, he tightened his grip around your waist, “You’ve always been special to me”.

[yevasxvoid]

Clouds Hidden Beneath The Sun - [Yuta Okkotsu x Reader]

Chapter 3: I can't hold back my tears

Y/n hopped out her window and quietly glided down the side of the building. She remembered the angle of the cameras, and moved behind the bushes and shrubs to conceal herself. In the morning, when the security guards looked at the cameras, they would assume the movement to be from a small animal.

She stood in front of Principal Yaga’s office and held a cursed weapon up to the door. The plan was to complete a reverse cursed energy spell concealed by the cursed weapon, and disable the alarm system. 

It appeared like there would be no need for that because someone had visited before she did. She stepped foot into the empty room nonetheless, and hid in a corner to survey the room. There was no presence of anything else, 'Just look at what you came for and leave.'

Y/n made quick work of all the locked documents. Her gloved fingers moved with haste and caution to put everything back the way she found it. Her heart almost stopped in her chest when she found her family’s case file.

Kerugi Fujino, Male, age 40. Status; deceased.

Murdered two members of the higher ups. Their bodies are missing. Kidnapped daughter, Y/n Fujino and attempted to use her body as a conduit for a curse—-most likely killed by daughter.

Mrs. Fujino, Female, age 37. Status, missing criminal.

Y/n Fujino, Female, 15, Status, Alive.

Innocence vouched by Gojo Satoru. Suspected of being an accomplice. Possibly a cursed vessel.

Y/n had thoroughly read everything, and put it back exactly where it was in the cabinet. ‘Satoru figured I’d come looking.’ She locked all the drawers that were closed, and quickly made her way out the office. She took the longer way back to her open dorm room. 

“Y/n?” Okkotsu was outside too. 

“Okkotsu,” Y/n had been avoiding him. This was their first time interacting with each other outside of class in days. “Why are you out here?”

“Gojo-sensei told me to keep an eye on you,” He didn’t bother lying. 

 “..Have fun with that.”

“Hold on,” He held her wrist.

“Let go..” Y/n saw his eyes glance behind her before he yanked her into a narrow passageway between two buildings. Satoru walked past them with a smirk on his face. Y/n gave Yuta a side eye and rolled them away from him. Her anger was possibly being misdirected.

“Did I do something wrong?” He asked.

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

“We’ll be sent on missions together again, you can’t avoid me forever.”

“That’s the problem. I shouldn’t need to be sent on missions with you!” Y/n snapped, “I was doing just fine when I was solo…” 

Yuta’s lips pressed together in a thin line, eyes softened and brows furrowed. He began to speak. 

“I didn’t mean it like that…” Y/n felt guilty. “I’m sorry, that was a shitty thing to say. I really didn’t mean it.”

“You were right, let’s just talk another time.” His expression was blank, “Sorry for bothering you.” He walked away.

Y/n felt so bad. Anxiety weighed on her chest the entire night. She couldn’t sleep without thinking about how much trouble she’s caused Yuta in the last few weeks. It was hard to look him in the eye before, but now she feared that he might not want to speak with her at all. The next morning, class was canceled because Satoru was out on a mission. Yuta was nowhere to be seen. 

Someone knocked on Y/n’s door. It was Maki, “What did you do to make Yuta look like a kicked puppy?” 

“..I was a bitch.”

“Nothing new,” Maki shrugged. “Anyways, I have a favor to ask.” She stepped aside. “Would you do babysitting duty for me?” 

Fushiguro stood in the hallway with his usual irritated expression. “Megumi!” Y/n embraced him, “You’ve gotten so much taller since the last time I saw you.”

He hugged her back and observed her, “You’re different.” 

“Is that a bad thing?” She teased. “Can’t I be happy to see my little sorcerer-in-training?”

“That’s not what I meant,” He said. 

“Then what did you mean?” Y/n pinched his cheek and he swatted it away. 

“You’ve got this taken care of, later.” Maki walked off. 

“…Did something happen? Why are you here so suddenly? You look more tense than usual…” Y/n asked now that Maki was gone. 

“Tsumiki isn’t doing well…she’s been cursed.” His fists clenched. “I feel useless.” 

“I get it, honestly.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ve heard of all the shit that’s gone down with my family recently…but, it’s part of being a sorcerer, I guess. Wanna go ice fishing?”

Fushiguro agreed. 

-

He had never done it before, and Y/n had only gone once with Gojo. Neither of them expected to catch any fish.

“You had an argument with Okkotsu?” Megumi asked.

“Yeah, I was a little mean.”

“Didn’t you try to kill him at the Goodwill Event?”

“Not exactly. I just pushed his limits a bit, and I apologized for that a while ago.”

“Are you threatened that he’ll take your spot as second strongest?”

“..What makes you think that?”

“You’re competitive.” Megumi saw that she was annoyed with his honesty. “You were also mean to me when we first met.”

“It’s different though, with Okkotsu I actually feel bad about it.”

“Maybe you have feelings for him then.”

“I caught something!” Y/n saw her fish line moving and she reeled it in hastily. 

Megumi burst out laughing, “ITS TRASH!!”

Neither of them caught anything. They got food on the way back to the school, Y/n paid for it.

–

The next day Y/n went to class, and there was still tension between her and Okkotsu. 

“Good Morning class, I have news today~” Gojo entered.

“What is it?” Panda asked.

“Y/n and Okkotsu will have to shovel the courtyard as punishment for sneaking out at night together!”

Everyone’s eyes pierced into the both of them, and Y/n only stared ahead at the board. 

‘Damn you sensei,’ They thought in unison.

They both shoveled the courtyard in silence. At the end, Y/n sat next to him.

“Yuta,” Y/n broke the silence. “Wanna talk?” 

“Sure, if you want to.” 

“..I misdirected my anger at you earlier, and you didn’t deserve that at all. I was avoiding you after my death because I felt embarrassed, that’s what I meant to say earlier but it sounded more like I was insulting you.”

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way,” He was so earnest. 

“You didn’t cause it.”

“No, I did have you on a pedestal,”

“Everyone has an unrealistic expectation of me.”

“It’s an unfair expectation on you.”

“You’ll understand what it’s like soon.”

“Sounds like a threat,” Yuta teased.

Y/n chuckled for the first time in a while.

“Are you laughing with me or at me?” 

Y/n burst into laughter for the first time in a while. Tears were in the corner of her eyes when she finally calmed down, “Don’t worry about it.”

[randoimago]

This idea just randomly hit me; can I ask for mahiru, mikan, kaede and maki from Danganronpa stumbling on their s/o trying to sneakily set up a mistletoe? And their s/o is going over their plan to lure them under the mistletoe out loud? Thank you and have merry Christmas!

Catching Their S/O Trying to Put Up Mistletoe

Fandom: Danganronpa

Characters: Mahiru Koizumi, Kaede Akamatsu, Mikan Tsumiki, Maki Harukawa

Type of Request: Headcanons

Notes: Here you go!!

Kaede

Doesn’t even know what you were planning. She didn’t notice any sneakiness or you being weird. She was just going about her day.

She accidentally stumbles into the same room that you’re setting the plant up in. There’s just a moment of silence between you two before both of you are stuttering and stumbling over excuses.

You’re able to tell her what you were planning, which causes her to get flustered but she can’t help but smile at the idea. It is very cute.

Kaede apologizes for ruining your plans but states she can act like she hadn’t noticed if you want. Offers a free kiss as an apology too.

Mahiru

Honestly wasn’t even trying to catch you in the act. Had noticed you being weird, but didn’t want to ask about it in case you’re planning some kind of surprise and she ruins it.

Mahiru is just editing photos that she took earlier. It’s when she edits them that she realizes what you were doing. 

She can’t help but giggle at the sight of you trying to hang up mistletoe. She thinks it’s amusing that you were accidentally caught by a stray photo.

Does feel a bit bad for ruining your surprise so she tries to act like she has no idea when your plans do get set into motion. She’s awful at lying though so you probably notice. You still get a kiss out of it.

Maki

She knows something is up with how you’re trying (and failing) to be sneaky. She’s an assassin, she’s trained to pick up on when her targets are being weird.

Maki does trust you, but with all your sneaking around, she can’t help but be a tad suspicious. Honestly, she’ll probably just call you out on whatever you’re doing. 

If you lie about what you’re doing then she will find out. Sneaking around is one thing, lying to her? Yeah, no, you might as tell her your plan because she’s going to look into what you’re doing.

If you admit to her your plan then you’ll get a scoff as she rolls her eyes and calls you an idiot. You can see pink starting to slip onto her face though. Not that she’d admit to being flustered.

Mikan

She was just trying to find you to see if you wanted to watch a movie with her and cuddle. She really just wanted affection and you’ve been away.

Mikan ends up tripping as she saw you using a ladder to hang something and she didn’t want to walk into you, so she tried moving away only to trip and fall.

You’re scrambling to see if she’s okay as she’s waving it off and saying she’s fine. And that’s when she notices the plant in your hands. She knows what it is and feels herself getting flustered. 

You notice that she noticed and you sigh and tell her what you were planning, causing her to get more flustered at your explanation. She can’t help but pout though because you can just ask her for a kiss. You don’t need a plant.

[ronanception]

Robins coming out story because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Using Rebel Robin as context for her parents because I am a Rebel Robin is Canon truther 😔

1000 ish words

"How did your parents react when you came out?" Nancy asked quietly as they stepped into the crisp evening air of the Back Bay. Robin sighs and grimaces, her hands coming up into a shrug.

"My parents are like, pretty different from yours, Nance. My mom smoked pot. In the house. Like, all the time. They're ex hippies and only really settled down because my mom got knocked up."

She rambles, trying to keep her hands to smaller movements to avoid hitting anyone walking by them.

"I have this huge extended family of people all over the country, the world! We're not related by blood, but by friendship. Hippy family. Anyways, they were all part of the free love movement. But still, they’re ancient, and when Will Byers disappeared they went from letting me be a free range latchkey kid to actually worrying about things like, where I was at night, eating dinner as a family, you know - square shit. I didn’t know if something switched in their mind, maybe they were going to vote for Reagan next, it was all very up in the air. So I had been working it over in my mind for the better part of a year, and then I came out to Steve and that went pretty great and I KNEW Steve’s parents voted for Reagan so, like, he should be the last guy I wanted to come out to.”

Nancy allowed the ramble to continue, laughing at the images Robin spun with her words.

“So Steve and I are going back and forth and I’m just, convinced, that they’re going to disown me. Steve says no problem, you’ll come live with me, and his parents are never home so who’s gunna know? Ok so that didn’t sound so bad, so, that weekend I tell them I need to talk to them. I’ve already got the basics packed in a suitcase in Steve's car, and he comes with me, for support, and we sit on the couch - oh, thank you.”

Robin cracks open the can of cola that Nancy pressed into her hand with a smile.

“It’s a very serious scene now - stop smiling, very serious. My parents look angry already, sitting in their respective recliners so I’m about to wimp out, but Steve squeezes my hand and so I say in my most vulnerable voice, Melissa. Richard. I’m a lesbian.”

Robin pauses for dramatic effect and takes a long drink of her soda.

“It takes them a second to get there, but suddenly they realize what I said and my mom starts crying. I’m talking. Sobs. Can’t even talk. My dad looks so upset and I see Steve on the edge of his seat, about to throw down in the middle of our living room and then my dad looks at my mom and says

‘I told you not to get so invested, Melissa!’

and Steve and I look at each other like, what the fuck is happening right now, and my mom regains enough of the ability to speak to say”

Robin screws up her face in an imitation of grief,

“‘Oh Richard, but the wedding was going to be so beautiful and I already designed it based on their star charts’

and now Steve is looking at me like he’s just had a stroke because nothing my mom said even sounded like English and - oh my god stop laughing you’re going to make me drop my drink.”

Nancy is breathless with laughter as she realizes where the story is going, and grabs onto Robin's arm like a lifeline, doubled over and wheezing.

“Stop it she didn’t-”

“Nancy I swear to God herself, that woman had been waiting, just scheming about me and Steve getting hitched.”

That does it for Nancy, and she has to crouch onto the ground for a full minute, recovering from her laughter because of course the worst part about Robin being a lesbian would be that she wasn’t going to marry Steve.

“So my mom's sobbing her head off and my dad walks over and lays a hand on Steve Harringtons shoulder and shakes his head and says,

‘I’m really sorry about this son’,

as if Steve didn’t even know and Steve is looking at me like what the hell am I supposed to do here? And I’m just like ‘oh my god. Richard. Stop making this about Steve.’ and my moms still crying and she’s all,

‘But your babies were going to be so beautiful!’

and I’m running over to cover her mouth because, ew, gross, Melissa! That’s com-pletely inappropriate! And she just won’t shut up about how they would have had such great hair, and Steve looks like he’s about to launch into the upper atmosphere with how red he is and I just lay on the floor because I actually really was about to die in the living room, looking at the popcorn ceiling.”

Nancy is shaking her head and wheezing with laughter and people around them have been giving them weird looks for a while now, but she can’t seem to find a single fuck to give at the moment.

"But now my moms always telling me about her friends daughter 'Raindrop' who's single and bisexual, or 'Oh Robin, I saw that girl from your class, Jennifer Fields? Her aura is a perfect match for yours'" Nancy giggles behind her hand as Robin used an airy, hypnotic voice for her mothers impression. 

"That sounds really hard for you." She teases with a nudge and Robin lets out an enormous sigh. 

"Thank you, truly, it’s a great burden. Anyways I think the worst part about it is that they then decided they could point out which same sex partners they had 'back in the day' and, oh my god Nance, they told me there was a brief stint in the 70s when they decided to try swinging. The 70s!!! I was alive for that!" She groans, pulling at her cheeks in misery. Nancy pats her back sympathetically, saying a small eulogy for Robins Lost Innocence.

[dragondemoness]

the Junko and Mukuro ditzy little brother prompt so how about dealing with the girl that he has a crush on and also first finding out their precious baby brother has a crush, but with Maki and Tenko I just would love to see them being overprotective big sisters and wanting their brother to be with a girl that treats them right. Lol let's hope tenko passes

Junko and Mukuro Finding out their Ditzy Younger Brother has a Crush on Maki and Tenko (separate)

Dealing with Maki 

They’re not a fan of her

Junko thinks she’s a creepy bitch, and Mukuro thinks she’s sketchy

For someone who was the “Ultimate Child Caregiver”, she had a very unfriendly attitude 

Mukuro isn’t even sure that’s her real talent

Technically she would be correct, but we’re leaving that out

So what do they do?

SPY

They follow you and spectate your little hangouts

You seem much happier with her, and even Maki is smiling more

But nah, fuck that

The second you leave, they’re on your ass

“(Name)! What the hell are you doing with creepy pigtails girl?!”

“Easy, Junko. (Name), we’re concerned that Harukawa isn’t everything she says she is. We advise that you steer clear of her.”

You didn’t take that shit and booked it straight home

Junko doesn’t feel bad about it, but Mukuro can’t take you ignoring her

As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters, right?

So they reconciled with you and had a talk with Maki

“I already know you two don’t trust me. You think I can’t hear you spying on (Name) and I? And you don’t have to worry. I may not be the most approachable person, but (Name) means a lot to me, and I’m not gonna sit around and bully him.” 

They’re still wary of her, but at least she makes you happy

So they can tolerate her for now

Up until the truth comes out

Dealing with Tenko

HELL. NO.

No brother of theirs is gonna end up with a sexist bitch 

Their words, not mine

They had no idea why you tried so hard to be her friend, but it wasn’t worth it

It couldn’t have been

Even when they spy on the two of you, it pisses them off

Tenko acts like such a bitchy tsundere towards you, even though she isn’t directly rejecting your offers to hang out

They’re about to interrupt when Tenko suddenly excuses herself

And you’re still staring after her with that dumb, lovestruck look in your eyes

After she leaves, they jump out and confront you

“(Name), what the fuck was that?! I know you’re always on our asses for being overprotective, but that was just ridiculous! Grow some self-respect, jeez!”

“I have to agree. No amount of desperation is worth the way she treats you.”

And like always, things don’t go well and you ghost them for a while

But both of them think they’re totally in the right

You deserve way better than that

But of course, you disobey their wishes and continue hanging out with Tenko

They’re prepared to shut it down until they notice something different

Tenko was… Improving?

She was a lot less rude towards you, though she still seemed stiff and awkward

At this point, this was driving them nuts

They needed to know what Tenko’s angle was

So they confronted her after you left

“I get why you two are worried. My master taught me to be wary of men. But (Name) has been helping me get better about it, even though I was super rude to him. But I promise it’s not gonna happen again. Even if it’ll take getting used to, I’ll give him all the love he deserves, I swear!

They’re still not sure where they stand with her, but she seemed truthful, so maybe they can give her a chance

So then, they reconcile with you and give you their “blessings” to date Tenko

They’ll still spy on you guys every once in a while, to make sure Tenko holds up her promise

And if she continues, maybe they can tolerate her

[fishys-still-writing-smut]

Warning: Lewd content below

Kinktober day seven!

Stuck in wall: (Maki/???)

“Come on…damn it!” Maki struggled to fit through the vent. It was kind of embarrassing, how she ended up in this situation. It shames her to admit it but she was attempting to find a way into the class trial room without using the main statue. Ever since they went to the trial room for the first (and hopefully last) time, Maki was curious if Monokuma sealed off that room for a reason. Perhaps there was an escape hatch or something? A faint dream of hope, but if anyone was going to sneak in there, who better than the ultimate assassin? 

Unfortunately, when she did find a hole in the ground, she didn’t think twice before crawling head first in. The thought of freedom was too tantalizing to ignore. However she underestimated her own body. Specifically the thiccness of her ass. It was stuck in the hole she attempted to crawl into, and was squished perfectly in so she couldn’t pull herself further in or back out. She struggled, shaking her large rump. But the only thing she succeeded in was seeming like a horny slut, shaking her ass for anyone to see. And if they didn't see her, they would have certainly been pointed in her direction by the sound of her phat ass meat clapping together. 

But she should be fine, as long as no one saw her stuck in the wall, twerking her big butt.

SPANK

She was no longer fine.

“D-do you want to die?” She threatened to no avail. Instead the mystery person flicked up her skirt. They moved her dark red thong to the side as they messaged her pussy with their fingers. Maki held back a moan as she attempted to think of who could be doing this to her. Kokichi trolling her? He wouldn’t put it past him. Or maybe one of the quiet ones, like Korekiyo or Shuichi? The quiet ones are always the horniest. Or maybe it was a girl who was showing an open pervert, like Miu or Angie? In her heart, Maki believed Tsumugi fell in that category too, based on the few anime shows she’s seen in her life. It also could’ve been someone she wasn’t expecting, like Kaito (though for some reason she was significantly less angry if it was him). 

Eventually the mystery person got impatient and fully removed her skirt and thong. But of course the pervert left on her stockings as they continued to rub her pussy. At this point Maki couldn’t help but melt at the pleasure the stranger was giving her. She unconsciously lifted her ass up in the air, allowing the stranger to quickly insert their member (or perhaps strap?) into her ass. And before Maki could react she was being fucked by someone she couldn’t even see! And what was worse, they didn’t even realize how big they were! They were thrusting so recklessly they didn’t realize they were stretching out Maki more than any one of her toys she used. It would’ve even been painful if it didn’t feel so good~

The hung stranger sped up causing Maki to drool. She could feel them throb in her tight ass, ready to bust. And she wanted it. Wanted it so bad. She didn’t even care if it made her look slutty, her mind was completely broken as she got pounded from the back. The stranger pulled her twintails like reins of a sleigh while giving her ass the occasional spank. Which she loved. Her phat ass jiggled with each spank, as she eagerly wiggled her ass while being pounded from behind. 

Eventually the stranger reached their limit and came inside of Maki’s asshole. Their warm, hot, thick cum filled her completely, with more of it pouring out of her rather than inside of her. The thick stranger took out their Kubspad and took a photo of their handwork. Maki, like a good slut, stuck her ass up in the air after hearing the camera click, posing for the next series of shots. As the strangers footsteps faded Maki sighed in content. She needed to fuck them again, no matter what the cost. Even if that meant fucking everyone trapped in the academy with her!

But as Maki heard a new set of footsteps approach her, she realized her goal might’ve come sooner than she realized. 

[linkspooky]

Saw your answer for Jjk ships and how you like opposite attracts ships, so I was wondering if that is the same reason why you also like Mai X Nobara.

Unless, you have other reasons to ship them?

P.S. I don’t mind the ship but I was wondering if you also consider Mai and Nobara as opposites to each other

Nobara Kugisaki x Mai Zenin

The ships I like in Jujutsu Kaisen are ones where both people represent two opposing sides of the same idea. Geto and Gojo oppose each other in their ideals on the strong and weak. Yuta and Maki are opposites in regards to love. 

As for Nobara and Mai, I believe they are two opposite answers to the question “What does it mean to be a normal girl?” 

My shipping of them comes from their conflict in the Kyoto battle arc, which is I think the most interesting and challenged Nobara has been as a character, just like my favorite character conflict for Maki was the complexity in nuance in the way both her and Mai were both victims of their families but expressed their victimhood differently. 

Nobara has a perspective on both Maki and Mai on the outsider which I think informs us of some of her character traits, Nobara idealizes Maki, while she despises Mai. However, I would argue that Noara resembles Mai a lot more than she does Maki. Nobara and Mai are both characterized by their bad attitudes. 

They both have strong friendships with females, Nobara is supportive of Maki, and while Nobara thinks Mai is a nasty person to people like Momo and Miwa she’s a good supportive friend. They are both kind of rude and self centered. They’re both anti-social. Nobara makes friends, but she also didn’t come to the country side to make friends. They’re both very limited in their scope and empathy. 

Nobara and Mai are also driven by a desire to protect someone they saw as an older sister figure, Nobara was the witness to the way Saori was harassed and hurt by the village. Mai grew up witnessing the same thing happening to Maki (and herself) in the Zenin clan, and despite the nasty attitude she puts on to hide her feelings, she does in fact care for Maki to the point where she willingly died for her. 

Nobara and Mai’s greatest thing in common is that they are both essentially just normal girls. Nobara doesn’t even want to be a Jujutsu Sorcerer, she just did it to get out of her country home and live in the city. Mai wants to be a normal person and tried to just stay as a servant in the Zenin household, but was pressured to after Maki became a sorcerer too. 

However, they have very different expressions of their girlhood, arising from the differnt situations they faced growing up. Nobara is incredibly self confident and believes she can manage to assert her selfhood and be both a normal girl and a jujutsu sorcerer. Whereas, Mai is self-loathing and fatalistic, due to the abuse she’s faced. She’s essentially given up her hopes of being a normal girl and doesn’t know what to do. 

I ship them because there was the potential for both characters to reach an understanding with each other, that would help them balance out those two extremes. Mai needed some of Nobara’se self confidence and independence, whereas Nobara is a person who is very black and white in her thinking and limited in her perspective she would have been able to better understand the situation with Maki, and help both Maki and Mai better if she understood they were both victims of the clan and both people deserving of sympathy. 

That’s not where it went in canon, but I wrote a fic about it called WEREWOLF, if you want to read about  how their relationship could help them both grow as people. 

[another-dr-another]

ok otori time!! we NEED to get an opposing viewpoint to the coffee theory rn, and i wanna see what he’s doing w his e-handbook -iris

Maeda, narrating - Ōtori seems… strongly against the coffee theory-

Maeda - Which is really weird, actually? He was so helpful when I got burned…

Maeda - I definitely need to ask him about his thoughts on everything we’ve found out so far.

~*~ 

Maeda - Ōtori~

Ōtori - Yes?

Maeda - How are you?

Ōtori - …Bad?

Maeda - …I meant to ask you about what you think happened, but I chose my question, and I’ll stick with it-

Ōtori - Sorry.

Ōtori - …Sorry, really- I’m just adjusting, that’s all…

Maeda - …

Maeda - I’m sorry I didn’t come back here sooner… I can’t imagine it was easy trying to keep Hatano from accidentally destroying evidence-

Maeda - God, there really isn’t a good way to phrase that.

Maeda - …It really messed me up to see Hatano’s reaction to Iranami’s death. Before this, no one was uniquely close with the victim- Hatano’s reaction made things feel really real, and really frightening.

Maeda - I didn’t know what to do, and you had to step in a lot to take care of things, but I don’t think you were ready or prepared for that.

Maeda - I feel… so stupid right now.

Ōtori - …I’m really fine. Just in shock, that’s all.

Maeda - Yeah, and what I said probably just threw you off-

Ōtori - If anything, I should be apologizing to her.

Maeda - …?

Ōtori - How I’m doing doesn’t really matter in comparison. She’s the one who lost her best friend.

Maeda - …Have you said anything to her?

Ōtori - What’s there to say?

Ōtori - She’s… even if I was… eloquent enough, I don’t think there’s anything we could say that she’d benefit from hearing.

Maeda - Yeah…

Maeda - …I hope she ends up eating some of her food-

Maeda - It’d be a good sign if she ate breakfast now, right? I’m worried she won’t feel up to eating, or doing anything to keep herself going…

Ōtori - Mm…

Maeda - Maybe when we get to the trial, work out who killed Iranami, it’ll be healing for her.

Ōtori - …

Maeda - …

Maeda - Oh- you were up before me, right? Is there anyone you think could’ve done it?

Ōtori - …Because I was up?-

Ōtori - Nevermind, you’re going based off the theory that the culprit snuck back into Tsurugi’s room shortly before we all woke up, right?

Maeda - Mhm…

Ōtori - No, no one caught my eye- it seemed like everyone was asleep.

Maeda - Did you happen to see Higa before we left?

Ōtori - No- Tsurugi was still asleep, he and the mattress together were significantly higher up than Higa was.

Maeda - Makes sense…

Maeda - …

Maeda - Speaking of what’s happened… what do you think happened to Iranami?

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - I don’t know. I don’t think we have enough evidence.

Maeda - Hm…

Maeda - You just seemed really firmly against the coffee theory… I figured maybe that was because you had a different guess.

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - …Did I?

Ōtori - Ah, well… I just think the evidence we have right now isn’t too strong. It’s important that we avoid making assumptions-

Ōtori - Every question I raise is one you’ll need to find an answer for, right?

Maeda - That’s fair-

Ōtori - Really, I don’t want to come across as dismissive! I just think it’s important we consider all the angles- wouldn’t it be a shame if we latched onto one theory, and missed the truth, right?

Maeda - …Yeah.

Maki - …

Maki - Investigating must be really important to you, Ōtori.

Ōtori - …Why me in particular?

Maki - …Well.

Maki - Of course, we all want to work out what happened to Iranami…

//Her voice lowers.

Maki - And everyone is worried about Hatano- but you were in the room when it all went down. It’d make sense if you were especially empathetic.

Ōtori - …

Maki - Not to mention, you accidentally destroyed evidence, right after you had to restrain Hatano, while she was in shock, to try and keep her from doing the same-

Maki - All the more reason you’d want to do your best to find Iranami’s killer… 

Maki - I get it, Ōtori.

Ōtori - …

Maeda - I’ll do my best to investigate everything-

Maeda - …It’s everyone’s life on the line- well, everyone except for Iranami’s killer.

Maeda - Either us, or the person who was willing to sacrifice us all for escape… we owe it to Iranami to keep that person from getting what they wanted.

Maeda - …Wait, fuck- does that sound self-centered? To point out that we’ll die if we get things wrong?

Maki - I mean, it’s true-

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - I wonder what’ll happen regarding the fact that two people died.

Maeda - Oh! Do you think they were killed by two separate people? 

Ōtori - …I did like the idea that two people might have worked together to kill Higa and Iranami- maybe they asked Monokuma how he’d handle it, and that’s why he specified his rules on killing two people now?

Ōtori - What I mean is- maybe they each killed one person, maybe one of them killed both, while the other assisted…

Ōtori - And whatever their reasoning was, it was interesting enough that Monokuma allowed it?

Maeda - …Do you think Monokuma is just gunning for whatever he thinks would be entertaining?

Ōtori - If I think for too long about why we could be here, I start to feel nauseous.

Maeda - Fair!

~*~

Maeda, narrating - I guess it’s early to be making any real calls about what happened-

Maeda - No! No, fuck that. I’m not saying I know precisely what happened, but I got burned! I got treated in a few minutes, and it hurt like hell! 

Maeda - Ōtori may be right in saying we should be open to possibilities… but something just feels weird about his reaction to the poison.

Maeda - Maki might be right about it being guilt though…

Iranami is still on the table, same as when Maeda first saw her, same as she’s been in the corner of his eye, and same as she’ll be when he leaves for the trial. Up close, the [positioning of her body] sticks out to him a bit more than it did initially. Additionally, he can already tell that there’s [more blood] than he’d expected. [Maki] and [Ōtori] have both made their way over, but neither seems quite sure what to do. Maki is simply looking at Iranami, while Ōtori keeps glancing between her, and his E-Handbook. Lastly, {Hatano} is sitting alone a few tables away… but Maeda isn’t sure he wants to approach. Maeda isn’t sure he needs to investigate any of what remains, and he’s considering {going to Tsurugi’s Dormitory} now.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

did maki ever believe that gojo was keeping megumi away from the zenin the way mai did? like this little boy who’s going to be the most important person ever shows up and agrees to be her friend and he treats her with respect in a way no one ever has before. she barely sees him after but she can tell it’s not his fault that he’s being micro managed like that and so she lets it go.

but then one day it’s announced that the ten shadows is never coming back because of Gojo and his scheme to weaken them. what was running through her mind then and when she sees gojo at school later and finds out he isn’t this scheming villain he’ll bent on snatching children who belong to her family?

A part of her believed that Gojo was just using Megumi until she saw him with Megumi and Tsumiki herself.

Maki didn’t think of it in the exact same way that Mai did. She was never fixated on Megumi as a possible way of things getting better. I don’t think Maki ever truly thought things in her family would get better. In the same way, she figured that Gojo was keeping Megumi from the clan for his own machinations, but she also she never thought that it would be all that great if Megumi was returned to the clan, because the clan sucked and Megumi didn’t seem to like them all that much. He was always so tired with them. And he never got a chance to play. She knew that they were beating him, but part of that was that all kids got beat in the Zenin clan. She thought it was normal. She half thought that he would be the exception, but when they finally went back after playing together, Naoya slapped him in the face hard enough to knock him over. He got hit first and he got hit worse, and it was years before Maki fully registered how badly they must have been beating him while they had him. Naoya always was the worst of their family. And they left him in charge of Megumi more often than not.

I think she’s felt kind of distantly bad for Megumi for years. She liked him. He wasn’t a bad kid. He was kind to her when no one else was. And she rarely thought of him, but when she did it was mostly that he was sort of fucked from birth. She figured that either her family would get their hands back on him one day, and he’d be locked up on the compound by a bunch of obsessive freaks, or he’d spend the rest of his life touted around on a leash by Gojo. Either the Zenin would get him back and force him to produce heirs, or the Gojo would force him to breed with their clan in hopes of the next ten shadows being born to them. Either way, she imagined his life would be spent on a leash or in a cage and every aspect of control over it would be kept from him, and it fucking sucked, it really did.

She never thought Gojo actually wanted him because they were a family. She thought Gojo taking him was just a power play by Gojo, and Megumi was the collateral damage.

Even after she came to jujutsu high, she didn’t want to stop believing that? She doesn’t trust easily, and she didn’t want to be fooled just because Gojo acted liked he cared about all of them. She figured he was supporting her as part of an act to embarrass her family again, but it worked in her favor this time so she decided to just let it happen.

Don’t get me wrong, she started to think that Gojo did genuinely care and was genuinely not using them during her first year. But she always pulled back. It’s like how she was with Yuuta in JJK0–after all their time together, Yuuta told her how much he admired her instead of rejecting her, and she told herself not to go thinking she had actually been accepted by people.

Maki assumes the worst of people as a defense mechanism. She doesn’t want to be their fool. So she’s spent the past year with the thought of Megumi lingering in the back of her mind, of whether Gojo was truly just using him, and she always just told herself to stop thinking about it because she didn’t trust Gojo either.

If she did start to trust gojo, and she found out later that he had spent the last decade treating the little boy who had once been kind to her like a pet at best, she would have felt like shit. It would be safer to just… never trust him at all. She was using him to become a sorcerer; he was probably using her to embarrass her family further. It didn’t need to get any deeper than that.

It wasn’t until she actually met Tsumiki and saw Gojo with them that she started to change her mind.

Because she had no idea Tsumiki existed. Megumi never talked about her. He got hit the few times he did in the beginning, and later, he stopped talking about her on the compound out of fear of the zenin retaliating against her instead of him. By the time he met Maki, he wasn’t talking about her at all, and Naobito was trying to get rid of Tsumiki entirely before the rest of the clan found out their beloved Ten Shadows insisted he wanted to live with Gojo because they would be mean to his non-sorcerer sister if they came and lived with the Zenin.

Tsumiki was a reason to keep Megumi from the clan other than using him in a political game. It was a reason Megumi would want to stay away from the clan. Everyone acted like he had been brainwashed by Gojo before now, and she figured that was probably true. But if he had a sister that would never in a million years be safe in Zenin care, and Gojo was treating her kindly, hugging her, teasing her, acting like she was his daughter—

Then maybe Megumi had been safe with Gojo all this time. Maybe Gojo wasn’t just using him.

And then she saw him with Megumi. And Megumi was never afraid of Gojo the way he had always seemed to be with Naobito or Naoya. Gojo ruffled his hair, called him nicknames, and seemed to genuinely just want him to be safe again.

They acted like a family. And maki is only just starting to accept that maybe all this time, Megumi had been safe with his family.

She’s not sold on it yet. She’s still heavily suspicious about why Megumi doesn’t know the importance of his own technique. But she doesn’t think Gojo is only keeping Megumi as his pet or way of mocking the Zenin. She just refuses to close the suspicion in her mind, because she doesn’t want to trust Gojo to Megumi’s detriment.

All of the second years have sort of joined this bandwagon of “protect the flour sack baby.” If she actually finds out that Gojo has just been using Megumi this entire time, her priority would be trying to find a way to get Megumi away from both Gojo and her family. She thinks what her family did to him was completely fucked and that he needs someone looking out for him that’s actually going to care about him as a person. She’s his cousin or aunt or whatever, she doesn’t actually know how they’re related, but she figures that means it may as well be her looking out for him. And these clowns, she guesses. Inumaki and Panda are basically glorified cannon fodder. Yuuta may kill people over him. That’s sort of normal for Yuuta though. It may actually be a positive thing. Who knows. She’s not all that worried.

[whoneedsapublisher]

A Muddled Future

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope y'all have a good one.

Words: ~2700

Summary: Usually, Nozomi's readings are fairly clear. She understands the tarot, and has a lot of experience with reading it. But sometimes, the future is too murky to fully understand.

Or maybe she just isn't thinking about it the right way.

Also on Ao3

**********************

The Tarot is not a straightforward art. All the cards are to some extent, metaphorical. The moon has nothing to do with nights. The fool doesn’t mean you’re going to run into someone stupid. And if you’re using the minor tarot, the ten of cups is not an indication that you’re really going to go wild at the next drinking party.

Of all the major arcana, there’s two that stick out as the most misinterpreted. Death is the first one. Death is a card about endings, but the focus is often more on what comes after an ending: a new beginning. It signifies change more than tragedy. Even reversed, it’s less often about negative changes and more about a resistance to change. And the second is the lovers. Yes, it can be about romantic relationships, and unity is one its meanings, but the lovers in its upright is about choice most often. And reversed, it can mean bad things about a relationship, but that’s because it’s about disharmony.

Nozomi knew all of that. She’d studied the tarot plenty, and with her spiritual powers, she had an intuitive understanding of the cards and their portents.

But… well… the fact was that even if the tarot was a metaphorical, there were symbols you didn’t like to see in some contexts.

When she read the relationship between her and Nico, seeing death, both upright and reversed, it made her uneasy. When she read the relationship between Maki and Nico, even if she knew what the lovers meant…

She didn’t like to think about Nico and Maki as lovers.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Nozomi shuffled the cards back into her deck.

She should be happy about the results of her reading about Nico and Maki. The lovers. Strength. And the reversed hierophant. Unity and harmony, compassion or bravery, and rejection of tradition or rebellion. It was a fairly straightforward sort of reading, and almost definitely a positive one. A harmonious relationship between two girls, and two idols at that… it certainly was rejecting tradition, and took bravery and compassion both.

And, well, a positive reading was good! She was glad that her friends were going to get on well. But it was a reading that suggestion that their quarrelling might be on the verge of changing to something else. And the lovers sitting right there couldn’t help but colour Nozomi’s impression of what that something else might be.

And what did she find when she looked at the future of her and Nico? Death. Reversed moon. The wheel of fortune. Endings, fear, and relationship changes. A dire portent, saved from being irredeemably negatively only by the notable absence of the tower. If there was a true tragedy looming for the two of them, Nozomi would have expected that particular harbinger of disaster to appear. But the inverted moon left plenty of room for the ending in question to be an unpleasant experience for Nozomi. Nozomi could almost imagine seeing herself reflected in the blade of death’s scythe as he rode in on the ever spinning wheel of fortune to reap the cautious feelings that had started to bloom in Nozomi’s heart. All to clear the fields of Nico’s love life for another.

Feeling distinctly disheartened, Nozomi decided to do a reading for her and Maki. It was bad enough to lose Nico, but surely she could at least keep her friendship with her favourite first year intact? She was only a little resentful of her stealing Nico… hopefully she could rein that in.

The first card was already a surprise. Justice? How could justice- no, she should wait for the other cards. Bemused, she took up the deck and dealt out the remaining two parts of the reading. The world? The sun?!

It was a very positive set of cards. Shockingly positive. Honestly, Nozomi was so startled that she was having trouble working out what the meanings were. Justice was… clarity? Truth? Consequences? And then the world… it had to mean completion in this set, didn’t it? And the sun was… joy?

Were the cards saying that Nozomi and Maki’s relationship was going to improve from Nico and Maki getting together? That it was somehow going to settle things between them in a positive way?

That seemed awfully implausible. Maybe she’d misread the cards somehow…

Perhaps a reading for her own future would illuminate things. The lovers… temperance … and there was reversed hierophant again. Duality… patience… and new approaches…? Maybe…?

She shook her head and sighed. If anything, she was just more confused. The future seemed more muddled than ever.

Well, it would all become clear enough, anyway. Because these readings were not for an uncertain day far off in the future. It was the evening of the 13th of February, and Nico and Maki had both been asking their classmates about valentines candy. And asking her even. Judgement day was tomorrow, and she’d have a chance to review how accurately she’d read the cards.

She just needed to focus on that as a positive, she supposed. And hope that her reading of an improved relationship with Maki was accurate.

No matter how unlikely it seemed.

**********************

Unsurprisingly, Nozomi was on edge all day. Nico and Maki, it seemed, didn’t want to be rushed in their candy delivery, and decided not to exchange gifts at lunch. Or maybe they had been planning to, but Nico had been hoping to sneak out and Nozomi hadn’t given her the chance.

The school day came to an end. Idol practice came to an end. And so far, the only chocolate exchanged was everyone in μ’s giving each other friendship chocolate.

Nozomi was tempted to stay behind a little and spy on them. Not that she really wanted to see their romance bloom, but… would it really be better to be left in suspense until tomorrow?

Still, it wasn’t like she wanted to explain that to Eli, so she resigned herself to trying to tease Nico on LINE later to get the information. Fate, though, had other plans.

When Nozomi went to go meet Eli by her locker, she found her just getting off the phone, surrounded by… multiple large bags.

“Sorry, Nozomi, but I can’t walk home with you today,” Eli said, looking embarrassed. “I um… had to call a taxi.”

Nozomi peered down at the bags surrounding her. Peeking out of the top of them were some brightly coloured boxes and a bar of chocolate.

Ah. Right. Carrying that much chocolate home right after a workout at practice would be quite the task.

“As popular as ever, huh Elicchi?” Nozomi teased, and Eli groaned.

“It’s so much worse this year because of the idol stuff…” she said, sighing. “I don’t even know most of these girls!”

“Well, you know how it is with idols,” Nozomi said. “I’m sure they don’t really expect you to return their feelings or anything, but they want to show their admiration.”

“I guess…” There was a honk from outside, and Eli’s phone buzzed. “That’s the taxi now. Bye, Nozomi. See you tomorrow.”

“Enjoy your candy, Elicchi! Don’t eat it all at once!”

Nozomi watched Eli heft the bags and shuffle towards the gate and let out a breath that couldn’t quite decide if it was a sigh.

Well. With an opportunity like that dropped right into her lap, Nozomi hardly had a choice about what to do next, did she?

Now all she had to do was find the idols in question-

“Nozomi! There you are!”

Or, perhaps, she didn’t have to do even that. Nico strode up to her impatiently, Maki following in her wake.

“You vanished after practice,” Nico said accusingly. “We have something to say to you, you know.”

Oh dear. And here it was. Nozomi, apparently, had missed the action. Nico and Maki had already exchanged chocolates. No longer was their romance a tense question of will they, won’t they. Somehow, in the scant time that Nozomi had taken her eyes off Nico, it had already become sufficiently confirmed for them to be telling other people about it.

But there was worse news.

They’d been looking for Nozomi specifically. Not just members of μ’s. There was only one reason why they’d want to tell Nozomi before anyone else, so soon after they’d gotten together.

Nico knew. Nozomi’s carefully sheltered feelings, tucked away under a protective shroud to hide them from the harsh light of day, had been dragged kicking and screaming out into the open so that Nico could crush them under foot.

The reversed moon… it could meant deception, too. In this case, perhaps, Nozomi’s deception being revealed. Dragged out in to the harsh light of Maki’s sun, her justice card revealing the truth.

“What is it, Niccochi?” Nozomi asked, feigning innocence. For one last hopeful moment.

“What do you think it is?” Nico said. “It’s Valentine’s day.”

Nozomi’s shoulders tensed.

Nico pulled out a box of chocolate and thrust it at Nozomi.

Nozomi blinked. Once, and then twice. Nico was still there. The chocolate was still there.

“Hey! Nico, no fair!” Maki snapped, digging around in her bag.. “We said we’d do it at the same time!”

“It’s not my fault that you missed the cue,” Nico said, as Maki pulled out her own box of chocolate and held it up to Nozomi hesitantly.

“What cue?! You just jumped into it!”

“Um,” Nozomi said.

Nico turned on her instead. “Well?” she demanded. Nozomi looked helplessly at her, and then shifted her gaze to Maki. Who was… also staring at her expectantly.

“Um,” Nozomi said again. “What are you doing?”

“Giving you chocolate, obviously,” Maki said, in her familiar scathing tone.

“Thank you?” Nozomi said. “But you already gave me chocolate earlier at the club exchange.”

“She doesn’t get it,” Nico said, turning to Maki. “I told you she wouldn’t get it. I told you she was going to think it was friend chocolate.”

“Ugh,” Maki said.

“See?” Nico said triumphantly. “I’m the one who knows her better.”

Maki glared at Nico angrily.

Nozomi was very lost. Was this some kind of… bizarre contest? Were they betting on her reactions? No, that was too mean of a prank for them.

“Look,” Nico said, waving her box of chocolate meaningfully at Nozomi. “This here? This is love chocolate.”

“Excuse me?”

It was not the best reaction to what was essentially being confessed to, Nozomi had to admit. But she was simply too taken aback for any other reaction.

Nico, clearly agreeing with Nozomi’s assessment of her reaction, scowled at her.

“But…” Nozomi looked over at Maki who blushed a little and started fiddling with her hair with a finger.

“M-Mine is too,” Maki mumbled.

Her and Nico’s reading suddenly came to mind. That reversed moon… it must have referred to Nozomi’s staggering misinterpretation of Nico’s intent. And this confession was certainly the end to their old relationship, and heralded a major change. No matter what she said.

And what she said should be obvious. Here she was, worried about losing Nico to Maki, and now Nico had just confessed to her. Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted? All she had to do was accept Nico’s confession.

Except… except part of her was hesitating.

Not hesitating to accept Nico’s confession.

Hesitating to turn down Maki’s.

Ever since the very beginning of μ’s, Maki had been special. It was cute how she just needed that little extra push to join. It was cute how she tried to pretend like she wasn’t already all-in from the moment she wrote that first song. It was cute how she played stoic but got so flustered when things didn’t go as she expected.

But she couldn’t reject Nico’s confession. She’d had a crush ever since she first saw Nico on stage. Seeing her in the rain, standing strong and using whatever underhanded tactics she needed to keep going. Her contradictory little combination of idealism and cynicism, acting fake while holding the most sincerity about being an idol out of any of them.

She wished she could consult the cards right now. That always helped when she wasn’t sure what to do. When she’d hesitated about taking that first step towards μ’s, it was the cards that had given her the same push she’d given Maki.

Except… she’d already consulted the cards, hadn’t she? Perhaps the three cards she’d dealt for her future hadn’t been intended to make sense then. They’d been handed to her for the future. So that in this moment, she could look at the cards she’d been given to make her choice.

That was why it had started with the lovers. A choice. This was the choice laid before her. And so she was left with the two cards left to guide what choice to make. Temperance, and the reversed hierophant.

What would symbolize Nico, she wondered. Perhaps the star, given her ambitions. Or maybe the fool, as a member of the three idiots. Or maybe she would be represented by the devil, an avatar of Nozomi’s reckless affection and lust.

Maki would almost certainly be the emperor, a card of unexpressed feelings, of tradition and lineage. Perfect for μ’s tsundere princess.

But none of those cards had appeared in Nozomi’s readings. There was no card inviting her towards either of those two. No easy answers in her future, telling her to abandon her doubts and just accept Nico’s confession.

The reversed hierophant… rejection of tradition. And temperance… moderation… harmony…

Taking the middle path.

An idea took root in Nozomi’s mind. A strange idea. An implausible idea.

Nico and Maki’s readings… Lovers. Strength. Reversed Hierophant. That reversed Hierophant matched hers. Lovers… a choice between them… or unity between them. And strength… bravery would certainly play a part in the truly insane notion that was starting to gather strength in Nozomi’s mind.

And the reading with her and Maki. Justice. The world. And the sun. Clarity. Completion. And joy.

God help her, but… it fit.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself.

“What if I accept both?”

In the spirit of the reversed hierophant, Nozomi decided to break taboo. To take the lovers card and red it a little more literally.

Lovers.

Plural.

“What?” Maki said, startled. Nico stared at her in disbelief.

“I’m… a very greedy woman,” Nozomi said. “I like both of you. And… I think you both like each other too. So…”

She reached out and took one box of candy in each hand, pulling them together in  front of her until Nico and Maki’s hands touched.

“Why don’t we all share?”

“Are you serious?” Nico asked incredulously.

“I am,” Nozomi said.

“You want me to share you with her?” Nico asked.

“I do,” Nozomi said. “But I’m willing to share her with you in exchange.”

Nico glanced over at Maki, a very complicated expression on her face. She was hesitating. She was taken aback.

But she wasn’t saying no.

Nozomi’s heart sped up.

“A-Are you saying I should date Nico?” Maki said.

“Don’t you want to?” Nozomi said. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

Maki spluttered, flushing red, rapidly curling a lock of her hair with a finger as she avoided meeting either Nico or Nozomi’s eyes.

“You can’t just… date us both,” Nico said, stamping her foot.

“Why not?” Nozomi said. “Do you not want to date Maki?”

“Not as much as I want to date you!”

“But you do want to date her?”

Nico frowned.

“This is crazy,” she said.

Nozomi reached out at took the chocolate from her hands, and then took the other box from Maki’s hands.

“Come on,” she said, starting to undo the ribbons on the boxes. “Let’s share.”

Nico and Maki glanced doubtfully at each other. But despite how bold her choice was, Nozomi wasn’t worried.

After all, she already knew that the two of them would end up together.

She just hadn’t realized that she’d be part of it too.

[loving-mista]

Please could I have a matchup and headcanons for your valentines event. Jjk & bsd if possible- if not jjk.

I'm an intj, pretty introverted but can also be quite extraverted depending on my mood.

I'm apparently hard to read. People tend to not really 'get' me. I'm awful at being vulnerable and tend to joke in pretty much all situations (often results in people thinking I'm not taking things seriously or being inappropriate unless they know me really well).

I get bored very easily if I'm not challenged. And can be pretty lazy as I'm good at most things without putting effort in...I only put effort in if I find it interesting.

I'm pretty fiesty and not the best at dealing with authority or being told what to do...I like to do things in my own way.

Love deep conversations about life, philosophy, and psychology.

Love movies, reading, gaming, animals and working out.

Not the best at comforting people as I'm more of a tough love kinda girl.

Very cuddly and sweet when I'm tired.

Your jjk match is

Maki!

- if anyone understands your tendencies to laugh in most surious situations it’s her, at first she didn’t get you either until she realized you both are similar in a strange way.

- she trusts you to handle things so she isn’t too demanding, even though at first it wasn’t like that. Once making got to know you better she understood how you work and she leaves you be

- maki herself is often sheltered by her own emotional walls, but once she met you she began lowering them having so many deep conversations. Maki has seen and been through a lot so she has a lot on her mind

- she loves that you like to challenge yourself and she loves sparring with you, it would kill her inside if she accidentally hurt you too bad. Panda was the one who gave her a pep talk because she was holding back with you because of it

- maki didn’t realize how she felt not until panda told her. She realized he was right. You both work so differently yet in a way you both are similar you both have similar characteristics you both just go about them in your own way.

[koipalm]

Hello! The same Mai Fan here!

I see where you’re coming from. But imo, I feel like the whole “Jujutsu world treat twins as one” is such a cop-out to what was their arc was setting up to be.

Like The whole conflict with Maki and Mai is that they don’t completely understand each nor work together. Because Maki is too independent vs Mai’s codependency.

Maki is a very starch individualist who only focus was to become stronger to prove that the Zenin Clan were wrong about her. That want she says to both Yuta and Nobara. To me, Maki is not interested in changing the system like Gojo is, she is just focused on herself, hence why she says that she’s not interested in saving people when Megumi asked her what type of people she want to save.

In comparison, Mai is a scared individual who’s scared of curses, and was also abused along side with Maki. With her only source of comfort and love was from her twin sister. Thus when Maki left without telling Mai or thinking how how Mai would feel, it deeply hurts Mai. Hence why she lashes out by hurling insults. Mai is trying to get any form of attention from Maki. But we know that Mai does look up to Maki, she thinks Maki is the better twin and such.

Both have nuances and interesting ways on how they cope with their trauma. None of them are the “good twin” or “bad twin”/ “good victim” or “bad victim”. They are two different people, who have valid thoughts and feelings, but are definitely going about their trauma the wrong way. Maki pushes everyone away, while Mai tend to lashes out and blames others. Both are not coping the greatest.

The set up was for them to grow, learn, and understand each other and break the cycle of violence/abuse by loving each other as family.

Now, it should be said that I do think Maki did start to think more about Mai after the Kyoto vs Tokyo event, but I wholeheartedly believe that Maki did left the clan for herself and not necessarily for Mai. But that’s my interpretation.

So when this whole explanation that the world treats twins as one… It splits in the face of all that set up.

No Mai. You are not Maki, and Maki isn’t you. The while set up was because Mai was different from Maki. It’s why she was unable to leave like Maki. Mai is weak, scared, and struggles so much. But even that still have its strength. Because Mai is weak she is able to bond more with people and value connections, hence why her bond with Momo and Miwa is so strong. Maki have people, but again, she only have them at an arm distance, not really getting too close to them.

But going back to the whole Mai’s sacrifice thing. I feel like it should not be treated as a good thing that Mai decided to sacrifice herself. Because… she basically commits suicide. She was willing to die because she can’t see herself being better and she believes she’ll just drag Maki down. Which apparently is true due to the terrible twins explanation.

In my opinion, I feel like a better story for Mai would for Mai to live and learning that her life still have value even if she is weak. Because her trying hard and struggling to live despite her weakness is a beautiful story.

And not only that Mai dying doesn’t really help Maki’s arc either since Maki didn’t do the damn bare minimum to understand Mai’s feelings before she died. Now I do think Maki does love Mai, of course she does, but only at a distance, because Maki is scared of that vulnerability. So that whole death scene, Maki didn’t learn anything nor grow, she just gets a power up in the dispense of Mai’s arc.

Like all of this things doesn’t feel like a conclusive arc for either of them. It only feels like the author wanting to cut their arc short to keep the story shorter but doing so butchered it so badly.

And also, yes. The fact that Mai is apparently fine being a sword for the rest of her existence is also a spot to want Mai actually want, which was to live a normal life. They soooo objectify her. It’s… so bad.

Mai deserves so much better…

Oh no! Sorry for the long ask!

NO BECAUSE I DIDNT EVEN CONSIDER THIS... YOURE RIGHT YOURE RIGHT....

youve got such a good point, i feel like maki in the end wasn't fully able to understand her sister and her dream, and i feel like a lot of her character is mostly used to make maki into another toji. i didnt even consider it from that standpoint but this really changes my understanding of it.... tbh i think the best way that mais story could have gone is if she was the only person to truly leave the jujutsu world, and she lives despite the disaster because of it.... i feel like it would help reinforce that her viewpoint is not a failing of her character, and it would be interesting juxtaposed with getos "killing all humans will save sorcerers from pain" and nanamis "being a sorcerer is shit but at least i helped a kid" like. considering that she herself as a kid would be leaving the jujutsu world it would be an interesting message of saving yourself

[eternal-love-song]

Did It Hurt When You Fell In that Dark Alley?

Maki wakes up injured in an alley and finds herself helped by a kind stranger.

[Kokichi/ Maki]

[Alternate Universe, Aged Up Characters, Hurt/comfort, Injury, Fluff, Flirting, Modern AU, Maki POV, Kokichi & Miu friendship]

Maki woke up to a world of pain. There was a sharp pain blooming in her head that spoke of an oncoming headache, soreness in her eye that she knew was likely to bruise, and her mouth hurt enough that she suspected a busted lip. She coughed and pain racked her throat and ribs, which wasn't good either. She was pretty sure that she had coughed up blood, but she hadn't opened her eyes to check, resigned to her fate of laying on the hard concrete.

"Wow, someone really did a number on you."

Maki didn't feel like opening her eyes to see who was talking to her, but she also didn't like the idea of a stranger standing over her while she was hurt and that really made the decision for her. She coughed again to clear her throat and yeah, she was definitely coughing up blood that time. "Fuck," was all she could force out for the moment as she lay on the ground and felt like something scrapped off the bottom of a shoe.

There was a hand on her forehead and she struggled to focus on seeing the person hovering over her. The first thing she spotted were bright purple eyes and eyebrows furrowed in worry. Next came the wild dark hair that filled the edges of her vision and she had to stare for way too long before her vision stopped swarming and she could understand who she was seeing. A boy, about her age or maybe younger?

"Hmm, I'd hate to leave you in this alley," the boy said. "Guess I've no choice but to kidnap you!"

Fuck, she was in an alley. That explained why her back hurt, she was probably laying on broken glass. In retrospect, going alone to pick that fight had probably been a stupid idea. A painfully stupid idea that she was definitely feeling the consequences of now.

Historically, going home with strangers was also pretty bad. Was it a worse idea than laying alone and injured in an alley though?

No. Undoubtedly not.

Maki tried to push herself off to the ground to very little success. After a moment of trying, of the boy watching her struggle unsuccessfully, she huffed and gave up. "I don't think I can walk on my own," she said, admitting defeat.

The boy nodded with a kind smile. "Don't worry about that." He stood up and looked over his shoulder, the kind look melting into a glare. "Hey, bitch, you ready to be useful for once?"

"Fuck you!" The reply came right away but Maki didn't have the energy to look for where it was coming from. "My head is spinning so hard I could die."

"Yeah, well, pull together the strength to walk ten more steps or I'll leave your pathetic ass here."

"I hate you so much." After a moment a blonde woman in a too short skirt stumbled into view. She took one look at Maki before frowning at the boy. "Fuck, Kichi, another stray?"

"No one asked you," the boy snapped. "Now help me get her to the car before you're the one laying on your back in this alley."

The girl whimpered and lowered her head as she scrambled closer to Maki. The girl reeked of alcohol and cheap perfume, but Maki was sure she smelled like blood and sweat, so she wasn't going to complain. The girl lifted Maki's right arm over her shoulder, the boy took her left, and they both helped her sit up. Maki could feel each and every one of her aches and pains as she sat up and she hissed as quietly as she could. They didn't say anything about how slowly she was moving though or the hisses and groans she made as they helped her stand, and for that she was grateful.

The boy was much shorter than her, but he was still strong enough for her to lean on. They half dragged, half carried her to the mouth of the alley where she assumed they had a car waiting. She didn't bother asking what they were doing in an alley. The smell of alcohol that lingered on them both and the girl's outfit made Maki fairly certain they'd been at a club or party somewhere nearby. Them finding her was probably just luck. Hopefully good luck for her, since she didn't have the energy right now to punch them in the nose if they tried something.

The car Maki had been expecting turned out to be a limo. Maki's good eyes widened painfully in her shock and a surprised noise erupted in the back of her throat. The boy grinned at her reaction. The three of them slid into the limo and the blonde immediately moved toward the door on the other side and curled up on herself. Probably nursing a headache or something with how strong the smell of alcohol was on her.

The boy pulled the door closed behind him and turned to look at Maki. "So what's your name, road kill?"

Maki frowned, but she couldn't deny that she felt as bad as road kill probably did. there wasn't much harm in telling him her name. Not when she'd already crawled into his fucking limo. "Maki," she answered.

"Miu," the blonde said from the other end of the car.

The boy scoffed. "No one asked you," he said. Then he was grinning at her again. "I'm Kokichi." He handed her a bottle of water. "Your lip looks pretty bad, but I bet your throat must feel even worse."

It did. She took the bottle of water and was glad that she could at least hold it herself. He'd already twisted the top off for her, she watched him and heard the little click that meant the bottle hadn't been previously opened. She tried not to drink too quickly, she knew better than that. The cold felt great against her parched throat and afterwards, she leaned her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes again. "Thanks."

Kokichi took the bottle from her hands, capped it, and then rapped on the partition. The limo began rolling smoothly forward and Maki felt herself relaxing against her will.

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

Maki only realized she'd fallen asleep in the limo when she woke abruptly at the sound of the door opening. There was a sharply dressed woman standing at the open door with a disapproving frown on her face and Maki felt herself frowning back instantly. The woman sighed as she looked at Kokichi. "I'm only carrying one of them."

Kokichi moved around Maki and gestured to her. "Take her, she's injured. I'll drag the whore up myself."

The woman sighed again. "You should speak more kindly of your friends," she told him.

"I'll speak kindly about her when she can manage not to get blackout drunk every time we go out."

"You are the one that lets her have as much alcohol as she wants," the woman said as she carefully reached into the limo to help Maki out. She really wasn't used to strangers touching her this much unless it was in a fight and if every part of her wasn't in pain, she'd never have allowed it. Given the circumstances though, she couldn't do much about it but clamp her lips shut and hold in her hiss of pain as her arm was thrown over the woman's shoulders and another arm went under her legs. She was sure she'd had worse injuries before, but damn if this wasn't bad.

"I'm not her fucking babysitting," Kokichi said. "It's not my job to cut her off."

The woman, whoever she was, didn't seem to have any trouble carrying Maki. She stood at the door to the limo, waiting for Kokichi to drag Miu out, before she closed the door and began marching off.

The building they arrived at looked expensive, to say the least. Maki supposed that she shouldn't be surprised when she had arrived here in a limo. It was a  high rise apartment with a doorman and valet service. The woman handed off the keys to the man at the curb and the doorman held the door open for them as they all entered. He didn't even stare at her, despite her being so clearly injured. Maki  wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one, but it made something in her squirm uncomfortably.

Ten minutes and one elevator ride later they were entering an expensive looking apartment. Kokichi practically pushed Miu onto the couch and got a muffled reply for his trouble.

"Take her to the bathroom, Kirumi, I'll clean her up," Kokichi said. Nice to have a name to go with the face.

Kirumi looked for a moment as if she would argue, but then she just nodded sharply and walked off. The bathroom was larger than Maki's entire bedroom and Kirumi laid her down on the chaise within. She'd never been in a private bathroom with furniture before. How rich were these assholes?

"Is anyone going to be looking for you?" Kirumi questioned. She was still wearing that disapproving frown and the way her hair covered half of her face only made the look seem more severe. It made Maki bristled, but she'd the look directed at the other two as well, so she didn't take it personally. It wasn't like she was planning to stick around too long. She just needed to get patched up and then she could get out of this woman's hair.

Maki shook her head in response to Kirumi's question. No one had ever looked for her after she had taken a beating before and she doubted that it would happen now. Anyone that would have been likely to worry about her had been on the wrong end of a fist in her last fight, so it was a moot point. Not that Maki would explain that to someone that so clearly wanted to get rid of her.

Kirumi nodded. "Good." She looked over Maki quickly. "Please do not bleed out before Kokichi has a chance to tend to you. He would be rather distressed if you died after he went through so much trouble."

"I'm not going to die," Maki snapped.

Kirumi didn't say anything more, just turned and left.

Maki let out a breath as soon as the door closed behind her. The woman's gaze was like a twenty pound weight and Maki didn't feel up to holding it.

It was around five minutes later that Kokichi came in. He had removed his coat and was in an all white outfit that was probably the last thing he should be wearing to deal with her, but she supposed he didn't care if he was as rich as he seemed. He opened the cabinet, pulling out cotton balls, cleaning solution, and lining the sink with products before turning to face Maki.

Kokichi examined her for a long time before he spoke. "This is definitely going to hurt."

"Not anymore than it did when I got injured in the first place," she answered. Not strictly true. The adrenaline of the fight meant that she hadn't felt most of the pain as it was happening, but she knew how these things went and the clean up never hurt as bad as the direct aftermath of the fight anyway.

Kokichi grinned as he placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head. "Spoken like a true veteran! You must be a pro at getting hurt!"

She grimaced, but didn't answer the implied question. "Just get on with it."

He chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll start with your eye."

Maki flinched when she felt the cold cloth against her sore eye, but only once. After that she was able to brace herself a bit better for the sensation.

"You'll feel better once you're not a cyclops anymore," he told her.

"Has anyone ever told you how bad your bedside manner is?" she questioned.

"Tons!" he answered cheerfully. The response almost brought a smile to her lips, but she repressed it. After a bit of soft dabbing at her eye, she was directed to try opening it. It still hurt, she was able to pry it open without it feeling like it was glued together, which Maki counted as a bit of a win.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Don't thank me yet," he said. "You still have a long way to go."

Maki was able to stay silent through the rest of it. Kokichi wiped and dabbed at her with alcohol, cleaned and bandaged all her wounds, and poked at any place that he thought Maki might have been hurt. It was easier said than done and it took a long time to get through it all.

"So what truck hit you?" Kokichi questioned. "You're too pretty to end up this bad by accident."

Maki blushed at that and looked away from him. "Do you wanna die?" she muttered in embarrassment.

"I don't know, will you be the one to kill me?" he asked with a grin that she could see out of the corner of her eye.

Maki ducked her head even more. "Sh-shut up!"

Kokichi laughed but then he leaned in close to her, his eyes honing in on her with far too much interest. "I'm serious though. Gotta know what highway to avoid, right?"

Maki almost bit her lip, but she could still feel where it was split and made herself avoid the nervous habit. "I... went looking for someone," she answered quietly.

"And let me guess, you found them?"

Maki nodded. She waited for him to scold her or maybe mock her.

Instead, he just leaned on the sink. "Well if you go looking again, maybe try a different plan. Unless this was the desired result?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Maki glared at him.

Kokichi just laughed again and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I just had to check. I know a lot of masochists and I'm not here to kink shame if that's what you're into."

Maki thought of the way he talked to his friend, but decided to cut that thought off before it could grow wings. She didn't need to know what he and his friends got up to.

"Why'd you help me?" she asked him. She didn't know too many people that would see a girl beat up in an alley and decide to help. At least, not without asking for something in return.

"I don't like seeing people hurt, if I can help it," he answered. He reached out to push her hair out of her face. "Especially not when they're pretty and mysterious. I'm a sucker like that."

Maki blushed again and pushed his hand away. "Stop that."

He tilted his head at her. "Hmm? Stop what?"

Maki glared at him. "You know what."

Kokichi smiled and leaned forward. "Oh! Looks like you have pretty eyes too. Lucky me!"

Maki huffed and looked away from him. "You literally picked me up in a back alley and called me roadkill."

Kokichi shrugged. "Being a bit roughed up doesn't mean you aren't still pretty," he told her. "And maybe road kill is my type."

Maki rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her lips.

Kokichi held a hand out to her. "You can sleep here tonight. You don't mind the couch do you?"

The couch she had seen when they walked in looked large and comfortable. She'd slept on worse. She put her hand in his and let him help her up. "I don't mind."

Kokichi moved closer so she could lean on him again and helped her out of the bathroom and to the living room before easing her down onto the couch. "Just don't rob me or try to sneak out in the morning or I'll have to have my organization hunt you down!"

Maki looked at him with wide eyes. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nishishi," Kokichi laughed as he walked away. "See you in the morning, Maki!"

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

The couch was even more comfortable than Maki had expected. It was plush, but firm, holding its shape beneath her even while it made her feel like she was floating. Even after waking she just wanted to stay huddled under the soft blanket, roll over, and go back to sleep. She forced herself to sit up instead, stretching her arms out above her head and taking in the apartment in the early morning light.

The couch that she was on was long, stretching out into a semi circle that wrapped around a glass coffee table. Miu was sleeping on the length of couch across from her, half hidden in her own blanket. To their left was a large widow, light barely peeking in through the blinds. Maki could see a kitchen area behind Miu's section of couch, separated by an island couter with tall bar stools. To their right where the couch  opened up was a dining area. If she sat up a bit more she could see the open door to the bathroom and there were three other doors that were closed.

As Maki was watching, one of those three doors opened. Kokichi walked into the room with his arms stretched out over his head. He looked cute with his hair all messy, a giant t-shirt hanging off one shoulder, and wearing the brightest colored shorts she had ever seen. It was a better look than the tight, white outfit he had been wearing last night, in her opinion. Maki hadn't meant to stare and she definitely hadn't meant to be caught staring, but Kokichi turned in time to catch her gaze and grinned widely at her, making her blush.

"Morning," he greeted her brightly. "Still feel like road kill or maybe more like the truck only grazed you?"

Maki rolled her eyes at him. Even though she had only met him last night she already felt like she was starting to understand his rumor, which seemed to just be trying to say the most inappropriate things at any given time. "I'm fine."

Ee leaned over the back of the couch to look at her more closely and Maki found herself shrinking back into her blanket to put space between them as her face heated up.

"Your eye is looking a little better," he said. "I can get you another compress for it." Kokichi reached out to touch her face and Maki stiffened, only relaxing when he turned her face to more closely inspect her lip. "Lip is probably tender, you could probably use more water. Hmm, you're also stiff as a board. That's supposed to be my job!"

Maki made a panicked squeak in the back of her throat as she pushed him away. "Kokichi!"

"Nishishi!' He propped himself back up on the back of the couch. "Are you in any pain?"

She had more than a few lingering aches and pains, but she would live. "I'm fine."

"Hmm, that's what a liar would say!" Kokichi said, pointing at her. "What hurts?"

Maki didn't answer, just pulled her blanket up higher.

Kokichi sighed and pushed away from the couch. "Ugh, fine. I'll go make some tea," he said. "I have something that should help with the pain and you need to be fed and watered anyway."

"I'm not a pet," she grumbled.

"I'll get that compress while I'm at it," he said, completely ignoring her.

Maki didn't reply, just waited. She heard the rattling of pots and pans for a while and decided to close her eyes. When she opened them again, Kokichi was setting a mug of tea on the table for her. "What do you eat?"

"I'm not picky," she answered.

Kokichi held the cold compress out to her. "Over your eye, drink your tea, and I'll make breakfast."

"Are you always this bossy?" she asked as she placed the compress over h er eye. She sighed at the sweet relief it brought it.

"Yes," he told her as he went skipping off toward the kitchen.

She reached out for the tea and took a careful sip. It didn't taste like anything she'd had before. It was a little bitter, though she could taste that honey had been added. She was glad that he hadn't made it too sweet. She appreciated the warmth and did wonders to soothe her dry throat. She still felt a little weird sitting in a stranger's house and drinking tea, but it wasn't like she had anywhere else to be. Her place was empty and everyone that might have cared about her had already decided that she was no longer worth the trouble. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that the noise in the kitchen was from her former friends, trying and failing to cook breakfast and only a few moments from giving up and calling her in to salvage things.

Her indulgence was broken by the groaning across from her. "Ugh, I'm dying..."

"You're not dying," Kokichi called from the kitchen. "It's just a hangout you weak cunt."

"Fuck you, yes I am," Miu said, wincing at the loudness of her own and burying herself in her blanket.

Kokichi waltzed back into the room with another mug of tea. He pulled the blanket off of Miu, ignoring her weak protest as he shoved the mug in her hand. "If you don't want a hangover you should learn to have some damn self control."

"You should have stopped me, you stupid gremlin," Miu muttered into her mug.

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "And if I had, you'd be complaining that I always get in your way. No, you suffer your consequences, you cow."

Miu looked up at him with an expression that wasn't anywhere near as upset as her whimper would have implied. v"C-cow..."

Kokichi pat her on the head a little too hard for someone that had a hangover. "What else should I call someone dragging around those disgustingly large udders?"

Miu made a sound that Maki couldn't distinguish between a moan of pleasure or pain, and maybe she didn't want to.

"Drink your hangover tea before you make a mess of my couch, you slut." Kokichi waited for her to take a sip of her tea. "I also made you breakfast if you can drag your worthless butt to the table to eat it."

Miu mumbled a small, "Thanks."

Kokichi moved to Maki's side next, giving her a much more pleasant smile than what he offered his friend. "I made you something, too. Come on, cutie."

Maki blushed. "You don't have to keep doing that," she told him as she pushed the blankets off of herself so that she could stand.

Kokichi winked at her. "I know."

"Your girlfriend probably won't like it," she said.

"Good thing I don't have one of those," he replied with a shrug.

Maki sent a pointed look to the other end of the couch.

Kokichi began laughing hard enough that he had to lean on the couch to keep himself upright. "I wouldn't date that ugly hag if you paid me!"

"Excuse you!" Miu yelled, once again wincing at the sound of her own voice. The pain wasn't enough to stop her from continuing to yell through. "You wish you could have a piece of this gorgeous ass."

"The only gorgeous thing about you is that shirt you stole from me," he told her. "And it was ruined the moment you shoved those bowling balls you call a chest into it."

"Th-they're not-"

"Anyway," Kokichi interrupted louder. "You don't have to worry about her. She couldn't be competition for you if she wanted to." He paused and looked at Maki. "Unless she's more your type than me?"

Maki didn't even have to look at the other girl again. "No."

Kokichi smiled again. "Guess we have that in common," he said teasingly.

Kokichi pointed to a place at the table. There was a plate of eggs and toast next to a stack of pancakes covered in syrup. Across from them was an omelet, a plate of fruit, and sausages. "The pancakes are mine, though if you reeeeaallly want, I can be convinced to share." He skipped over to one of the closed doors, knocked twice, and then returned to the table. "Do you want anything to drink other than your tea?"

"Orange juice?" she questioned.

Kokichi smiled as he retrieved a glass and a pitcher of orange juice and set them on the table. He practically threw himself into his chair and shoved the one beside him out for Maki. She took her pl;ace without objection.

Kokichi wasted no time in shoving food into his mouth, even stealing a few pieces of fruit from the plate across from him and putting them on top of his pancakes.

Maki dug into her own food as well. It wasn't much, but after she started eating she realized how hungry she really was.

After a few minutes the door that Kokichi had knocked on opened and Kirumi walked into the room. She was sharply in a button up and slacks, looking more put together than the rest of them combined. She looked at the table before sitting down in front of the plate of fruit.

"Stealing my breakfast, I see," Kirumi said.

"Chef's privilege," Kokichi said.

"Chef's greed," Kirumi replied with a smirk. "And it wasn't necessary for you to do this, you know that I am perfectly capable of cooking for all of us."

"It's called helping," Kokichi said. "You could thank me."

"I am appreciative of the effort," she replied dutifully. Kirumi raised her voice as she added, "Miu, your omelet is getting cold. If you don't eat it, I'm giving it to the new girl."

Miu came to the table quickly after that. "You didn't say you made me an omelet!"

"Well if you'd come when I told you to, you would have found out," Kokichi said.

"What kind of girl do you think I am?" Miu asked. "Trying to make me come on command."

"As if a bitch like you could be so well trained."

Miu whimpered and Kirumi cleared her throat, giving both Miu and Kokiochi a hard look.

Kokichi grinned. He dipped one of his strawberries in syrup and let it drip onto his tongue. When he caught Maki watching, he winked.

"No flirting at the table," Kirumi said.

"That's not a rule," Kokichi said, dipping the strawberry again.

"It is when I don't want to see it."

"Mmm, this is good," Miu moaned around her food. Maki could see bits of ham and green pepper in it. The girl cut a piece and held it out toward Maki. "Want a piece?"

"No," Maki answered immediately.

Miu rolled her eyes and pushed the plate toward her. "Want a piece if I'm not feeding you?"

Maki hesitated, but the food did look good, so she held out her fork and cut herself a piece. It was just as good as it looked. "Thanks."

The rest of breakfast passed that way. Kokichi and Miu were lively and talkative, teasing and insulting each other unreservedly, and Kirumi's dry comments slid neatly between them. It was easy to relax despite the hectic energy they all shared. Or maybe because of it. Her own group had never been rowdy in quite the same way, but it reminded Maki of them anyway.

Kirumi collected the dishes once they were done and went to wash them. Miu dismissed herself as well. That left Kokichi, leaning dangerously far back in his chair, alone with Maki. "So, wanna tell me what happened to you?" he asked.

Maki kept her eyes on the table. "It can't be too hard to guess," she said.

"Not hard to guess that you lost, but that's hardly a story," he said, letting the legs of his chair hit the ground before he turned to look directly at her. "Were you jumped? Targeted by an assassin? Kidnapped in the night? Oops, that last one was me, huh?"

Maki smiled briefly. "I told that woman that no one would be coming after me," she said.

"Good. That's not why I'm asking though," Kokichi said.

"Why do you care?" she snapped.

Kokichi raised an eyebrow. "Hard not to be worried about as a girl that you find beat up in an alley."

"I don't want you pity," she spat.

"Good because you aren't getting it," he told her. Maki looked up at him to find Kokichi watching her intently. "I was pretty sure last night, but your reaction now makes me certain that you picked whatever fight you were in yourself. You don't seem like you're afraid even though you clearly got your ass handed to you, so whatever happened must have been at least a little bit on purpose. I don't pity people when they get what they want, regardless of the result."

Maki should have guessed that from the way he treated his friend. She pulled her legs up in the chair and wrapped her arms around them, hugging them to her chest. "I picked a fight and lost, what else is there?"

"You wanna tell me why?"

"Not really," she answered quickly. She wasn't sure how to explain that she had gotten kicked out of a gang and when she went to confront her former friends, they kicked the crap out of her for invading their territory. It was a stupid thing to do and made her sound kind of pathetic on top of everything else.

Kokichi shrugged. "Alright. Wanna hang out more?"

Maki blinked at him, completely thrown off guard. "What?"

Kokichi smiled at her. "I'm not the boss of you. If you wanna pick fights you can't win, I'm not going to stop you. But if you want to hang out here with me and my friend, I'd like that. If you agree to exchange numbers with me, I'd like that even better."

Maki stared at him for a long time, trying to find an ulterior motive. She supposed she already knew what he wanted though. He said that he didn't like people getting hurt and if his flirting was any indication, he was also attracted to her. Maki couldn't deny that she felt a little of that attraction herself. And, well, she didn't have anywhere  else to be. There was no harm in hanging around for a while longer, right?

"I suppose that I can," she agreed slowly.

Kokichi jumped to his feet, pumping his fist in the air. "Great! I'll consider this our first date."

Maki looked up at him, her face entirely red from blushing. "Our... what?"

Kokichi laughed, grabbing her hands and pulling her out of the chair. "Don't worry, you'll have a great time with me. I promise."

And that was how Maki found herself with one new friend and one...maybe boyfriend.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Reunited: Part 2

[Hokkaido District, Night-time]

Alright. So here’s how it’s gonna go down.

Rantaro and I will do a quick scan of the surrounding area just to make sure there are no Zetsubou goons lurking about. In the meantime, the three of you head towards the bar and see if you can find Maki.

Some of the soldiers from the Tower will join you. If anything bad happens, you can rely on them to protect you.

Look after yourselves, ok?

Ok, but...just one more thing.

Rantaro. This is where she is, right? You’re ABSOLUTELY sure?

...

No, Kaito, I’m not. And that’s exactly why I guided us to this specific WRONG location. So we could show up and be dreadfully disappointed.

You don’t have to be so freaking sarcastic!

Then stop being so freaking stupid! You’re the one who decided to leap in without a plan, so don’t go doubting my directions now.

Why you-!

Hey! No fighting! We rescue Maki and go, ok?

Right. Come on Rantaro.

Alright, I’m right behind you.

Gonta found payphone here outside this bar. Gonta think maybe Maki call us from that?

Could be...Hey...Tenko. You go search the supermarkets. Gonta and I will check these bars and nightclubs.

No need.

Huh?

I see her.

Wha-!?

*Tenko points towards a country bar.

...

It is her! But...wait...she with someone...Isn’t that-?

How are you...holding up...?

Hngh...!

No, don’t try...to speak...I’m ok, really...I’ll...get some treatment...later...

That’s...That’s SEIKO! I haven’t seen her since like...a YEAR ago!?

Gonta sure she was locked up in Zetsubou base too! What she doing here!?

She looks injured. What the hell happened...!? Do you think they escaped?

Gonta not know...But Gonta sure now this Maki is real!

How come? 

Gonta not thing Tsumugi can cosplay two people...U-Unless she clone herself.

Ah yeah, fair point. Ah...Huh?

*Tenko looks back towards the tired looking girls.

Hey~ Wassup ladies?

*Three skeevy looking men walk over to Maki and Seiko. Maki stands up and glares at them.

What do you want...?

Nothin’ much. How you two doin’ tonight?

Fine...Thank you. Wo-Would you mind giving us some space...? We’re a little...tired...

Hmgh...

Not much of a talker, the one behind ya? We’ll break you out of that shell.

No thanks. We’re taken...I have a boyf-friend...

Oh yeah? Given how you lookin’, seems like he did you wrong, girl~

Tch...Don’t...ngh...

Coomooon, let us keep you company~

Pfft! Typical degenerate males! I’ll pound those groomers into submission!

Stop Tenko. Let Gonta talk to them. You and Kaito get...

Kaito!?

Huh!? Oh no...

*Tenko and Gonta suddenly notice Kaito isn’t standing next to them anymore.

Come on darling. We’re just being friendly~

I said...get back...Ngh...Do you wanna die...?

*WHAAAMM!*

GUHAGH!

The fuck!?

*Kaito rushes up to the bar and punches the delinquent who reaches out to touch Maki in the face, knocking him into the fence.

Get the FUCK away from her! You touch her again, I’ll bust your faces up so hard, you’ll be eating your dinner with a STRAW!

Shit! S-Sorry bro!

*The other two delinquents grab the third and bolt off.

...!?

You...you really...came...

Maki!

*Maki takes a step forward, then collapses into him.

Sorry...I would’ve handled those guys...but...

Yeah, any other day of the week, you’d have them for breakfast...

Maki! Seiko!

...!

*Tenko and Gonta rush up towards them.

Maki! Seiko! You ok!?

...

*Seiko nods.

You alright? You lost your voice or something...?

No...I...*cough*

Woah, hey, if talking is hurting you, stay quiet. Don’t worry, we’re here to rescue you.

You guys...you really are stupid...

*Everyone looks at Maki.

That not very nice thing to say to us! We came to rescue you.

But you must have known...ugh...that this COULD have been a trap...! I called to let you...know I was safe, but...I didn’t expect you would show up personally...!

*She glares at Kaito.

I bet this was your idea...I thought you would’ve learned...to be less reckless when...I left...but you haven’t changed...you’re as reckless as ever...

Heh...Pot calling the kettle black right there.

Huh?

Maki. You’re important to us. To ALL of us.

You’ve been gone for ages, and as soon as we show up to rescue you, you act all tsundere and cuss us out. You haven’t changed at all.

...

I am...grateful...that you were here for me...Don’t feel like I’m not...

But...it’s Seiko you need to take care of...she’s sick...a-and...and-!

!!!?

!?

!?

!?

...

*Maki is silenced, as Kaito pulls her close and kisses her passionately on the lips. Maki tries to push away, but is so devoid of strength, she fails to.

Um...K-Kaito! We are still here you know!?

*Kaito breaks away, staring into Maki’s eyes.

...

...Tenko’s right...you haven’t changed...

There’s no doubt about it...You’re the one true Maki Roll that I fell in love with...

Even though you can barely stand, you’re still staying upright, trying to protect Seiko...Wouldn’t be able to call you my sidekick if I didn’t...

...

But it’s ok Maki-Roll. I don’t know what pain you’ve been through these past few months, but it’s over now...

Because no matter what, even if Zetsubou throws an entire army at me, I’m gonna protect you! I won’t let them take you again!

So you...c-can rest...because I’ll...k-keep you safe...Because I’ll...I’ll...

I’ll be here...I-I’ll be here...forever...!

...

...

...

...*sniff* K-Kaito...!

*Tears fall from Kaito’s eyes. Maki suddenly buries her head into his arms and sobs...

[hamliet]

One thing I dislike about the discussion of female characters within jjk is that… people praise it too much?

Of course, the bar is low within Shonen, but even then I still think the series gets a bit too much praise for it’s “good” female writing.

For example, Nobara. She honestly have as much depth and narrative importance as Sakura in Naruto. Nobara is just more liked because she can apparently kick-ass and has a bad attitude.

Maki. She started out promising. She started out as someone who can’t cooperate with her classmates in jjk 0. But then during the actual series that seems to be revolved. However, with the introduction of Mai, her twin, we are then introduced with a very compelling and nuanced take on twins and subversive of the “good” victim vs “bad” victim trope. And then the Zenin Massacre Arc happened. Which not only killed off Mai who had huge potential, but basically destroyed Maki’s arc by giving her a power up without Maki actually needing to change or reflect on herself. And also… the terrible stereotype of twins within that arc too.

Yuki. Once again, she had promised. She is a Special Grade One sorcerers, but with a very interesting and twisted mind. She’s basically like a mad scientist, where she want to see if a world without curse energy is possible. And she’ll see certain things play out even if it means certain people will die, hence why she didn’t intervene during the Shibuya arc until the end. And well, we all know what happened to her in the end.

The rest have too little screentime, or not really important to the narrative at the moment. I’m honestly tired of hearing how “jjk have good female characters” when it really doesn’t. And they darn to go as far as said that the female are better written than Bleach and AOT??? I’m sorry, is it because all the female are “strong, determined, and ass-kicking”?

I’m sorry for this, I just wanted to get this off my chest since the fandom seems to praise this aspect of jjk when I believe it’s not deserved. However, that can be me. What’s your personal opinions?

I think it's pretty clear I agree with you haha. I don't have a lot to say that I haven't said already, but yeah. JJK's female characters are not even towards the good end of low-bar shonen expectations.

While there are things to critique about AoT's handling of female characters and Bleach too, I think it's wrong to say they, on the whole, have poorly written female characters. They have some badly done ones that are done poorly in a specifically gendered, offensive way (Historia). But they also have really great female characters who are, in some ways, I'd argue better written than many of the male characters within their tier of importance (Gabi, Mikasa, Sasha).

If you were to say, gather the female characters on the whole, AoT definitely has much better written ones on the whole than JJK does, as JJK has just has one relevant female character atm (Maki) and her arc is a mess. (Even if Nobara returns, I don't see how her relevance and arc can be salvaged.) To be fair, though, I guess it depends what aspects are most important to each fan, since the offensive aspect of, say, Historia's arc might conjure stronger feelings than the apathy of JJK's treatment of women.