#oda when you go low i go lower

[dentdechien]

The apprentice — and his hero

[mrprince3]

Why SaNami Over LuNami

Let me first start by saying I'm not here to offend the contrary. My goal is not to prove why SaNami is better than LuNami but simply show why I think SaNami is a good ship. Also, similar assessment has probably been done before so I might be repeating what other people have said without knowing so just know that. I've read a lot of posts from LuNami supporters and their evidence as to why they think it's a good ship and to be frank, I'm quite surprised because they had a lot of 'evidence' but not really at the same time but that just what I think you don’t need to take it for granted. Once again, this is my personal opinion. I'm not here to do anything negative of any sort, I'm simply just sharing my thoughts. Without further ado let's begin.

1. Nami is Sanji’s number one + More

Yes, wow! Amazing right? I know I know. Okay, if you're the person who is going to disagree with me now and say "But Pudding loves Sanji so they should be together." Then, you either hate Sanji or you like Sanji and you just want him to be with a person that actually loves him. Which I wholeheartedly understand but as a person who likes Sanji very much I think Pudding doesn't deserve Sanji. I'm not gonna explain why as I already did in my previous post so read that if you want to know. Nonetheless, I do want to point at one thing about Pudding that I haven't noticed in my post regarding her. Big Mom said that Pudding will have an awakening that'll allow them to decipher the poneglyphs. I think she was referring to the special ability of the 3-eyed tribe. Big Mom may have been defeated but she is definitely not dead because Zeus didn't disappear and she said it herself that it wasn't enough to kill her. So perhaps we will see Pudding again and if Oda ever tries to add more on her redemption maybe just maybe I could accept her and even be willing to say that she deserves Sanji depending on how significant her redemption is. Viola is another contender that I see, as of now I’d rather have Viola instead of Pudding, because both Sanji and Viola shared mutua romantic interest. However, the problem lies in developing their relationship and the two just weren't given the time to do so. Even if they are both in love, Sanji is gone. Unlike Pudding, the chances of Sanji seeing Viola again is very low because she has no other roles to play except for her role as a princess of Dressrosa. My point being that Sanji will just become more attached to Nami or have more interactions with Nami which may or may not further advance their relationship. Now let's start talking about Sanji. Some LuNami fans disagree with SaNami because of the fact that Sanji loves all the ladies in the world. So he automatically doesn't have the sense of commitment which I think is false. He was committed to the marriage with Pudding and was ready to give up his adventures with his crew and dreams if it meant saving their lives including his father figure Zeff. I mean he was so committed that he didn't have his usual reaction (heart eyes) when seeing Nami enter a whole yonko territory to save him. Sanji's kindness and bias towards women probably won't change but I think Sanji is definitely capable of commitment. You can’t hate Sanji for liking other girls because he isn’t into a relationship with anyone. It's all a gag that I personally find funny but preferred to be lowered down. Oda has undoubtedly made Sanji more perverted than he ever was post time skip and it's hurting his character. I do think after Wano things will become much better for Sanji and I do hope he doesn’t encounter female opponents. I do think Nami is conscious of Sanji's affection towards her so he does take advantage of that sometimes but I really don't mind and Sanji enjoys it so who cares. Nami also cares a lot about Sanji (She wanted to get Sanji back as soon as possible Zou and WCI highlights). Despite saying “I’ll never forgive you” to Sanji in WCI, she was overjoyed when Sanji caught her, preventing her from falling to the ground.

Part of me thinks she's just playing hard to get or even acting like a tsundere sometimes but I'm probably wrong. I mean who wouldn't fall in love with such a dependable and smart man? The only thing that's ruining Sanji’s chances is his lack of commitment and out of control perverted behaviors which annoys Nami often. Sanji's post time skip has undeniably become worse in regards with his pervertedness towards pretty ladies. But out of all the female characters in One Piece Sanji had most of his interactions with Nami. They had several moments with each other which just forced the belief on me that being them being together in the end. Oda could've simply not have included those moments but he did like the wedding theme exclusively for Nami and Sanji the groom and the bride. I don't know why but their relationship reminds me of Usui and Misaki from Maid-Sama if you know you know😉. If you don't know, I'd recommend watching it. Misaki's confession is how I would imagine Nami confessing to Sanji though the chances of this happening is probably close to zero. The difference is that Usui is an actual giga chad and is only dedicated towards one girl. I think Sanji and Nami just need a scenario where they can better understand and develop their feelings towards one another. Though the chances of this is very low due to it being a battle shounen it's still possible. Since Sanji has been with Nami all this time and has had some sole moments with her I do think that she's more special compared to other girls given that she's the only girl Sanji calls with San suffix and he’s the only guy Nami calls with Kun suffix. Which could just refer to respect but then again at the end of the day I find it cute because it's what a couple would do. Towards the recent chapters it was shown that Sanji actually lost control of himself and even gave Zoro a heads up to kill him if he ever goes berserk. 

 Maybe at one point Sanji will be forced into transforming into a monster to save his friends, probably more towards Nami and Robin. His emotions of course are what will cause this transformation. He'll unleash the devil that is hiding inside of him to save the person that he cares for the most, Nami (biased). I could really see this happening to Sanji. Sanji transforming into this monster will finally make Nami realize that she isn't just any girl for Sanji and she might be aware of this already but who knows. Nonetheless, perhaps Sanji could lose control like his siblings and have no remorse or the sense of value like he once had. Then, maybe Nami could do something to calm him down which would prove to her that Sanji's love for her is more special than she may have initially thought. This is all speculations and chances of it happening is slim to none. At any rate, Sanji and Nami's relationship is undoubtedly just going to progress. I would also like to mention those people that say “Romance between the crew would destroy the image of friendship that they have going.” I understand what they mean but you have to understand one thing: Sanji has had a different intention towards Nami ever since they met. Yes, they are friends as of now, but them being together wouldn’t destroy anything because Sanji has viewed Nami more than just a friend and in chapter 991 Sanji actually calls her MY nami-san. Perhaps you think oh it’s gonna ruin it because it’s going to be forced since it’s a one sided love. Again, I understand what you mean but them being together has yet to happen and I don’t think Oda would simply make Nami love Sanji romantically for no reason. 

For the second part of this talk I will discuss some of the plausible hints that may or may not prove anything. Though one thing before I do that, I wanna talk about some of the reasoning of LuNami fans and try to interpret it with my own logical reasoning instead of biased reasoning. Please bear me with me. 

1. Nami and Luffy are the only ones wearing crowns on some of the color spreads which apparently shows that they are both King and Queens meaning that they will be together at the end. Now this could be the case, but it could just show that Nami is the heroine of the story, the main girl. Similarly, Luffy is the protagonist and has a crown on him and it would also lead to the idea of his dream being the KING of pirates which is mentioned by him a lot. However, the idea of QUEEN of pirates has never been mentioned of any sort. The closest we got is Boa Hancock being referred to as Pirate Empress. Therefore, calling Nami that is just pure speculation with no relevance to One Piece but I do understand what the LuNami fans mean. 

2. Nami and Luffy are the only ones that appear to be raising their hand on some of the color spread. Now Luffy is raising his hand because there's  treasure which would mean he'd be able to eat a lot of meat. Similarly, Nami is raising her hand also because there's treasure and as we know Nami loves treasure.

3. Luffy putting his straw hat on Nami's head. Now I have no idea how this turned into a romantic gesture but I guess there's no point in questioning it. If anything though, Luffy giving his straw hat to Nami shows his trust to her even though she betrayed them which shows that Luffy still considered her as Nakama. Luffy knows his nakama very well and will do anything for them. Sanji literally went on a brutal beatdown on him and he took it without using haki because he understood Sanji’s sacrificial motive. Unlike Nami, who believed Sanji’s act, Luffy knew the truth. Sanji just thought of it as Luffy just being selfish but Luffy knew what Sanji really wanted, which was to be back with them. It’s one of the reasons why Luffy is such a good protagonist his always true to his words. It goes to show the lengths Luffy will go to once he views you as a nakama. Luffy treasures his nakama and puts his hat on Nami and says "Of course I will" after Nami asked for help. My point being, his hat is his treasure and was a way of confirming to Nami that he still viewed him as one of them. This is because Luffy could've just said "You're my friend, of course I'll help you." Instead, he took the hat route as means to say you're my friend and I view you as my Nakama.

4. LuNami fans like to use movies, especially strong world, for hints. But those movies are not canon...in other words it never happened in the real story. You can call it fanservice if you will. Some argue and say what matters is Oda's intention. I'm just like😂🤷 because sure it was his intention FOR the movie which is not CANON. The hints or moments in the movie are for the movie exclusively. It's like blood type just because we're both humans doesn't mean we have the same blood. We can't use each other's blood if they DIFFER as means for transfusion. (I was not arguing please don't hate me.)

5. LuNami fans also bring up Usopp Gallery where Oda apparently called one of the SaNami fan arts 'stupid' and 'delusional'. All I can say is it's called Usopp Gallery for a reason which means that it's Usopp's commentary not Oda! Even if we say it was Oda's intention it just wouldn't make sense because Oda made those Sanji and Nami moments knowingly that it'll create some sort of ship between the two. So if it was his commentary then it wouldn't make sense because it's like his calling his own creation stupid. Usopp though calling it stupid makes a lot more sense. Also, one of the fan arts indicating SaNami commentary stated "This is Sanji's dream" which would prove SaNami right? Since One piece is all about reaching your dreams. Again, We don’t have a way of confirming it 100% if it was Oda's intention or just Usopps but if you're a SaNami fan don’t take it for granted and let it deviate your initial thoughts.

6. Portgas D. Rouge, the mother of Ace, apparently looks similar to Nami. We don’t know anything about Rogue history to make comparisons in regards with character. So saying they’re similar is quite invalid. Appearance wise they do not look alike at all: different hair color, eye shape, and eye color. I also don't think she's a navigator or part of Roger's crew because the navy didn't seem to have known her. Luffy and Roger are comparable but not really in terms of character. Roger is more intelligent than Luffy in terms of being captain; he knows what he needs to achieve his goals. Luffy on the other hand, was just lucky enough to stumble upon the right people and had to save them to build trust vice versa. Roger seems to not have a problem killing people as he did for Squard’s crew. Luffy is less proud because he is in fact willing to kneel in exchange for favors and mercy. Whilst, Roger seemed to contain a lot of pride as we can see with Ace. Luffy also has the ability to draw everyone on his side which I doubt Roger had. Luffy and Roger share the same passion of becoming the King of Pirates but they are very much different. As a result, they are not gonna have the same outcomes except of course becoming the king of pirates.

7. Nami’s punches working on Luffy actually means something other than being a GAG. Garp calls them “Fist of Love '' so LuNami fans think that there's some connection between the two. In reality, unlike Nami, Garp knows Haki so it makes sense that his fist actually hurt Luffy. In an sbs Oda confirmed that it’s not that Nami’s hurting Luffy physically but his spirit.

8. They would also point out Oda’s wife cosplaying Nami and use it as a hint and say Oda thinks of himself as Luffy. However, when asked what he thinks about Luffy Oda said that Luffy is what his “ideal child” would be. Did you know that Oda’s a chainsmoker and a pervert? Well now you do. That reminds me of someone that we One Piece fans know very well…..Ohhhh that’s right, Sanji! My point being, if anything Oda is more of a Sanji than a Luffy. Thus, this hint is logically more favored towards SaNami.

The main reason why I choose SaNami over LuNami is mainly because I don't see Luffy as someone who is interested in romance. I don't think Oda will change Luffy's character and turn him into a character that appeals for romance like Sanji. This could possibly change after he is able to achieve his main objective of becoming the king of pirates like Roger suddenly having a baby. However, for Roger he had a reason why he wanted a kid which was to inherit his will of becoming the next king of pirates. As you can see the Roger pirates were too early. 

So he made sure to have a kid that could inherit his will which we now know as Ace. Unfortunately, Luffy will be the man Roger is waiting for and become the one that he hoped his child would become. Therefore, Luffy wouldn't really need a child to inherit anything because he already will be the one finishing the mission. Now, Luffy can still definitely have a kid but he is the embodiment of freedom. I'm not sure if Luffy would desire such responsibility. Luffy can also just end up with someone with no child like Rayleigh. Sanji has a sense of commitment as I established earlier; he just needs to be loved back and taken seriously. Despite Sanji being one of the more intelligent straw hats he has yet to discover the WAY to Nami's heart. Nami could personally just ask Sanji to do so and Sanji would probably be able to maintain composure and just love only Nami and still be kind to other girls which is not a problem and Nami actually favours it though not the point of him killing himself because of it. Like how Nami respected his chivalry in Enies Lobby. Personally, I just find SaNami really cute even though it's one-sided as of now. The slow burn romance of two friends slowly becoming true lovers at the end MaMa Ma Ma! that would indeed be sooo satisfying. My headcanon is getting more severe as we speak. If you have read until here you're a legend. T'was mostly nonsense coming from me but thank you for reading have a beautiful day.

Today marks the birthday of Nami-Swaaan July 3rd

[sharkboygirlish]

Messy.

ONE-SHOT

Word count: 2793

Disclaimer:  One piece and all it’s characters belong to Eiichiro Oda, I just like to write about them.

Warning: None

Rating: T (i guess?? there’s cursing)

Author’s Note: Whale, this is the first fanfic I’ve posted on the interwebs since high school so please keep that in mind, lol. I do plan to finish it sooner than later so check back in a few days if you want to read the rest, sorry I don’t have it all done right now.  At long last it it FINISHED.

Feel free to tell me what u think! Unless it’s mean, then I ask that u keep those thoughts in ur noggin because I’m just writing these for fun not for grades.

Without further ado, here ya go.

Author’s Note pt 2: So i didn’t end up going the smut route like I originally planned, but I think it worked out better bc this one got nice and Emotional.

Summary: Zoro really shouldn’t agree to be Nami’s drinking partner if he wanted to keep their friendship from getting... Complicated.

__________________________________________

The moon was floating high in the night sky when Nami wandered onto the deck, unable to sleep even after a few hours of sketching. 

She wanted company – specifically, she wanted the company of the crew’s resident alcoholic. It only took a few minutes to find him on the lawn deck with his back against a tree and his eye closed. ‘How typical.’

Nami smiled a small, excited smile as she strode over to him and squatted between his parted legs. An unconscious sigh left her nose as she swept her gaze up and down his face. She caught herself thinking, ‘He really is easy on the eyes isn’t he.’ ....again. 

Who was she kidding? She’d been thinking the same thing every time she looked his way lately. 

Two years ago she’d been able to keep the immature crush she had on him locked tightly away but somehow - it had gotten out and was slowly consuming her entire being. 

Nami hoped he hadn’t noticed how often she invited him to drink with her because she didn’t think she could handle being rejected. So she settled for spending time alone with him whenever and however she could. 

“Hey, moss-head,” the navigator said finally, leaning in to squint at him, “Are you asleep?”

He had literally just settled down for a nice cat nap when the navigator appeared suddenly to interrupt him. ‘Damn. What the hell did she want now?’ 

Instead of answering, Zoro chose to ignore her and pretend like he was deep asleep. ‘Why won’t she go bother someone else?’

Nami started prodding his cheek with one finger to rouse him if he really was sleeping, ”Zorooo wake up, I wanna drink,” she whined and his eyelid opened instantly.

‘Why’s she so damn pretty..’ was the first thought he had when he realized that she was a lot closer than he’d anticipated. 

He mentally chastised himself after, trying to remind his id that Nami had never once indicated that she wanted to be anything other than friends and he should respect that. 

But… There was no harm in looking from time to time was there? And she was pretty. She’d always been... ‘Oh for fuck’s sake, now he sounded like Sanji. He needed to get a grip.’

“Helloooooo,” Nami waved her hand in Zoro’s face until he snapped back to reality and snatched her wrist up, pulling it away. He scowled but it wasn’t deep, and now he was refusing to look her in the eye. “What was that about, huh Zoro?”

“Nothing.” The swordsman replied perhaps a little too quickly to avoid suspicion, “Thought I heard a noise, doesn’t matter – oi, didn’t you want to do something?” 

He couldn’t remember what exactly it was. He’d been so distracted by the way her bangs framed her face and sometimes got caught in her eyelashes—’Damnit! He was doing it again.’

Nami smirked again but didn’t press the subject anymore. She’d do that later once they started drinking. “Weren’t you listening to me? You’re so rude, maybe I should find someone else to share my booze with.”

Was it a good idea to go drink with Nami when he kept catching himself thinking about feelings that he’d been suppressing for the last two years? Probably not…

But he couldn’t just decline an opportunity to get buzzed. ‘And... Maybe he wanted to get buzzed with Nami, specifically.’  

Zoro scoffed, mostly at himself. “Quit playing games, damnit, do you want me to drink with you or not?”

“You’re so stubborn,” The navigator teased with a pleased smile that made his heart beat unevenly, “I could care less if you join me, but you’re not allowed to come unless you say you’ll be nice.”

“Nami. I am older than you, quit treating me like a fucking child or I swear-”

“That’s no way to talk to a lady who’s getting you drunk for free, Roronoa Zoro. If you can’t be nice then I’ll just add the cost of everything you drink to your debt and-”

Zoro didn’t have time to ruminate over the way hearing her say his full name made him shiver because he had to shut her up before she did charge him. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll be... nice.” He hissed through gritted teeth and her answering giggle made his pulse flutter. He had to fight to keep himself from smiling. ‘What the hell was going on with him tonight? Was he sick?’

“Good boy,” she turned and started walking towards the Sunny’s aquarium bar, glancing back over her shoulder to make sure he was coming.

“Don’t push your luck, woman.” Zoro snarled to mask his confusion over the sudden need to touch her that he felt scratching at the back of his head. He really shouldn’t agree to be Nami’s drinking partner if he wanted to keep their friendship from getting... Complicated.

He knew it, but he followed her up the stairs all the same.

                                                       * * *

“Why d’you always want to drink with me anyway, witch?” Skeptical of her intentions, his narrowed eye fixed itself on Nami as she approached him holding two maroon tinted bottles. She offered one to him and he accepted it – but he didn’t let his guard down yet.

Zoro lowered his gaze to check the label out, whistling long and low when he read 23% alcohol per volume. A couple puzzle pieces clicked together in his head ‘Oh, that’s why. Because if she tried to drink this with anyone else they’d pass out after two glasses.’

“Would you believe that I just like hanging out with you?” Though her tone was teasing she was actually being genuine, she had a lot of fun with him whenever they went out.

“No–“ He paused when Nami kicked him in the shin hard enough to make him swear. Reaching down with his free hand he rubbed the sore patch of skin and glared daggers at his crewmate. “What the fuck was that for?!”

“You said you’d be nice, Zoro! So be nice or I’ll charge you a hundred thousand beris for that bottle.” Nami uncorked hers but waited to hand the corkscrew over until he behaved himself. The look he was giving her would probably frighten a small child but she didn’t flinch.

‘This was his choice.’ He reminded himself. Of his own free will he chose to get drunk with Nami instead of napping, and that meant dealing with her bossiness no matter how much he loathed it. ‘Sometimes he just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and make her shut up, there were better things her mouth could be doing anyway-‘

“Why do you keep staring at me like that, do I have a zit or something?”

Zoro sat up so fast that he banged his shoulder on the underside of the countertop. ‘What the hell was that? What the hell was wrong with him?’ He hadn’t even opened the damn bottle and he was already making himself look like an idiot.

“No,” the swordsman grumbled, wracking his brain for a believable excuse, “Just thinking about how I’ll owe you money even after I’m dead if you keep charging me for bullshit.” That made her laugh and Zoro cursed himself for how much he liked hearing it. “Don’t see how it’s funny for me, witch.”

Nami let him take the corkscrew from her, eyes crinkled with amusement while he opened his bottle. “You’ll just have to stay alive until you pay me back in full, I guess!” She trilled before taking a long, heavy drink from hers.

“Yeah?” Zoro snorted before mimicking her and downing about half of the wine in the container. It tasted disgusting, which he’d expected, but that didn’t make the bitter aftertaste any less miserable. His nose wrinkled slightly as he set the bottle down. “I bet even if I did try to pay you off you’d find a way to charge me more.”

“You make me sound so heartless,” the navigator batted her eyelashes innocently, pretending to look hurt, “Why would I ever do such a thing?”

“Hah.” He scoffed before chugging some more wine and failing to keep track of how much he was drinking each time. “Because you want to keep me on a leash since I don’t throw myself at you like that dumbass cook.”

An impish smirk crawled it’s way onto Nami’s face that made him immediately regret what he’d just said. ‘Fuck. Damnit!’

“So…” She began slowly, savoring every second that the swordsman spent avoiding direct eye contact with her, “You admit that you are one of my lap dogs?”

A muscle in his jaw flexed and he stopped drinking for one second to grunt, “That’s not what I said.”

“That’s what I heard!” Chimed Nami as she rose from her seat, stepping over to Zoro and tracing a finger under his jaw while he drained the last few drops of liquid. “I should get you a collar, so people know who to bring you to when you get lost.”

Normally he would have snapped at her for poking fun at his sense, or lack thereof, direction but he wasn’t listening to her. She’d come close enough for him to pick up her scent and maybe it was the alcohol intensifying his feelings, but it was suffocating him in a good way.

He loved the way she smelled. Tangerines from her soaps mixed with salty seawater and traces of sunscreen. A hint of orange blossom, but only when she was close to him like this. 

Zoro inhaled deeply through his nose and, without realizing it, his expression melted into something affectionate and gentle. ‘In two years she’d changed in so many different ways… but she still smelled the same. She still smelled like home.’

                                                        * * *

“What are you thinking about, Zoro?” Her voice void of it’s usual teasing tone, Nami’s curiosity was piqued by his sudden shift in demeanor. He looked soft and peaceful, like he didn’t have anything to worry about. She wanted to know why.

‘Ah, fuck.’ What was he supposed to tell her? That he was thinking about how good she smelled? ‘Yeah right.’ Zoro was quiet for a while, mulling over his words until he came up with an explanation that didn’t sound as creepy – but also wasn’t a lie.

“I guess..” he finally murmured, his gaze shifting to meet hers, “It’s just been a while and… I was thinking about how nice it feels to be back here, with everyone…” a brief pause then he added, “I missed you guys.” ‘Look at him being all gushy and emotional, this wine really was something else.’ Zoro reached to brush his fingertips by her temple, catching a stray lock of hair and tucking it behind her ear, “I missed you.”

When had Zoro ever been this honest with her about the way he felt? Never was the answer, but now he seemed to trust her well enough to know she wouldn’t spill his secrets. Nami took his face in both of her hands, surprising him, and pulled his head down so she could kiss his forehead. “I missed you too, Zoro.”

Something about hearing her say that she’d missed him too broke a dam in his chest that he’d been trying to keep together for two years. Hormoness flooded through his bloodstream quicker than Zoro could even process them and before he knew it he was practically throwing his arms around Nami’s waist and crushing her against his chest.

“Nami—” he pressed his face into her neck to hide the tears that he couldn’t hold back anymore. Sober he might have cared about losing it like this around her but she was here and… ‘He just – needed to hold her.’ Hold her and smell her and feel how real she was because she had almost been taken from him.

‘He’d barely begun to process what he had been through on Thriller Bark when they were attacked in Sabaody. If he tried to think back on it his memories would get hazy and his bones would ache from their very cores. He knew what had happened but it’s like his brain was protecting him from understanding how close to death he’d come. Then – to be torn away from the people he loved with all of his heart? Who he had just nearly killed himself to protect?

It had ripped him apart and rubbed salt into every wound. And it fucking hurt. The same kind of pain he felt when he saw Kuina dead on the floor of their dojo. He was scared, he was furious, he was devastated – all over again but this time it was so much worse. So, so much worse.

That was why he had trained so hard over the last two years. Because he couldn’t bear the grief that came with loving them so deeply – so he got stronger. And stronger. And stronger. No matter the cost to his body, he would become powerful enough to defeat anyone who crossed them. Then… He would never have to feel the agony that he did when he first woke up on Kuraigana Island ever again.

Taking on all of Luffy’s suffering in Thriller Bark had been the most physically painful experience of his entire life – but that was nothing compared to how much it hurt to think that his friends were gone forever, that he hadn’t been able to protect them.

Training made it easy not to think about what had happened -- but now he was home, and they were safe - and he was realizing just how close he’d come to losing all of them. At once. And he could do nothing to stop it.’

Startled by him grabbing her, Nami was prepared to give the pirate a good smack if he was getting handsy but… He started trembling. ‘Was he not feeling well?’ Her mouth opened to form the question then stopped. His breathing hitched while his entire body jerked and she realized…

‘Zoro was crying.’

Roronoa Zoro, who prided himself on his strength, was sobbing wretchedly into her neck. ‘He must have been holding this in since Sabaody.’ Nami’s heart ached for him and his stupid pride that forced him to torture himself instead of letting him cry like he needed to. She’d been expecting him to crash at some point, how couldn’t he? Even someone as strong as Zoro was still a human being.

One of her arms cradled his head while the other wound round his shoulders, her fingers combing gently through his hair. “Oh you sweet, sweet boy…” she spoke in the tone that Bellemere used to use when Nami and Nojiko were frightened by a passing thunderstorm. It always calmed her, maybe it would calm Zoro, too.

‘Quit fucking crying you loser you’re supposed to be a man.’ But he couldn’t, he literally could not stop because he was trying to. “I wasn’t strong enough,” his voice quivered at the edges and he hated it. ‘He was definitely never going to drink this kind of wine again ever. Not if it turned him into a blubbering mess like this every time.’

“Shhh, no. No. Don’t you dare try to blame yourself for what happened. Hey, look at me.” Nami urged his head off her shoulder and cupped his face in both of her palms, “None of us were strong enough, okay? Not even Luffy.” Each tear that fell she tenderly swept away with the pad of her thumb. The corner of her mouth turned up as she assured him, “But we are strong enough now. We can take care of each other. Nothing is ever going to tear us apart again, Zoro.”

‘She was right. Of course, she was right. He needed to have faith in his crewmates and his captain. They could do anything as long as they had each other.’ His breathing slowly evened out as he focused on anchoring himself back to reality. He wasn’t in Sabaody or Kuraigana – he was on the Sunny. In the bar, with Nami who had grown so much since he last saw her. The look in his eye softened like it had before his breakdown.

“You’re staring at me again, Zoro.” The navigator teased, her hands falling to rest on his shoulders. He hadn’t let go of her yet but she didn’t mind, he could hold on to her for as long as he needed.

A ghost of his usual smirk passed across his face. “Sorry, Nami…” Zoro took a little risk by leaning in to press a chaste but lingering kiss to her cheek, then traced a path with the edge of his nose to her ear, murmuring, “Wine makes me a little… Messy.”

[juminly]

The Death of Me (Nobunaga x Reader)

Fandom: Ikémen Sengoku.  Pairing: Nobunaga Oda x F!Reader.  Summary: After being away from you for a while, Nobunaga finally comes back... and he misses you so.

Rating: Explicit. (Minors, DNI)

Warnings: Fingering, Teasing, Nipple Play, Dom/Sub Undertones, Slight Exhibitionism, Very Very Light Choking, Dirty Talk, Marking, Implied Oral Sex, Outdoor Sex, Doggy-Style.  –♥– ”Why is my queen looking up at the midnight sky when she should be waiting and watching the woods, seeking my arrival?”

His low husky voice swept into your ears without warning, it was unclear whether it was the sudden gust of wind that sent your skin shivering or if it was the sensation of having your Devil King pressed against your back, hovering behind you as he settled his chin on your shoulder and his hands found home on the top of your thighs. You knew better than that, feeling the minuscule movement of his hands as they began to travel up your body. He murmured against the column of your throat but all you wanted to know was if your Nobu was safe and sound and if his mission was successful. When you parted your lips to speak, the way his name fell from your lips in an inquisitive tone, your lover knew exactly what you were going to say and what was going through your mind and reassuring you was absolutely his top priority before anything else. He was still human after all and you would fear for his life, even from a mere cold and he has seen it with his own two bloody eyes.

“Tsk, when all my victories are sure and certain, my Queen, you worry about such trivial matter when it seems that my apparent claims of territoires that are exclusively mine and occupied by myself have been fading?” His hands meandering over your supple curves squeezed your small waist, right over the obi that had the kimono you were wearing tied together, tearing your mind away, wondering what your Devil King was talking about and what he was planning to do to you.

"I suppose my fireball is due for a reminder since she's been fiery enough to be wearing my clothes upon my unexpected return." The heat of his breath increased as you felt his lips part against your skin, his teeth grazing ever so gently before sinking into your flesh as he soon sucked on you as gently as he could. Not.

This was only a preamble to what he had planned for you and having spent over a week away from you already had him reeling and aching for a taste of you. The thought finally clicking in you brain, the blemishes that clearly marked you as Nobu's were no longer there. And the thought did not please him in the slightest. However, there was a silver lining. Now he could claim you over again, as he had many times before. As he will continue to do so as long as he is able to breathe.

Sucking in your breath with an audible hiss, you could feel the blood rushing through your veins as Nobu began so diligently marking very visible spots, tactically choosing the lands in which he wanted his claim to be the most apparent. His breathing seemed to be controlled yet you could feel his heart beating fast, hard and strong against your back, his hands were now cupping your breasts, over the fabric of the kimono of his that you had so brazenly worn, the same kimono that you had worn from the desire of wanting to be surrounded by them, the feeling of having him on you, his scent... anything of his.

It was all you needed, especially when he was away. You looked beyond delectable to him...The fact that you were dressed in a piece of apparel of his taunted him in inexplicable ways, especially since you did so when he had been away. What were the thoughts that you had of him when he was away? Were you thinking of him as much as he had been thinking of you? There had been so many thoughts whirling through his mind even as he had been so immersed in his role as King during his mission, yet deep down, nothing could change the fact that he was your lover and he would yearn for you, in any time, any place. He was irrevocably yours and the way you had occupied not only his heart and soul but his mind as well spoke volumes. Someone had to pay and it had be both of you.

His lips were ruthless on your skin, visible dusky spots appearing in his wake as his tongue teased your earlobe as he sucked on it ever so gently and whispered in your ear. "Is my queen glad that I have returned or maybe we shall allow your body to speak for you, hm?" Tracing a wet trail over the seams of your earlobe before speaking once again, every word from him blowing on it and eliciting the slightest of trembles while his calculated motions only caused the sleeves of the kimono to slowly fall off your shoulders, slowly but surely exposing more of your chest, the fabric barely even covering your breasts.

He could feel your pebbled nipples as he gently brushed his fingers over your breasts, the hardened beads noticeable even through the barrier that had dared to separate you from your lover and almost, excruciatingly so, he finally allowed the fabric to fall and unveil what you both sought.You wanted nothing more than his hands on you and he wouldn't even fathom the thought of depriving you of that wish.

Finally, his calloused fingers flicked over the sensitive pebbles while he palmed at the tenderness of your mounds, every part of you hanging on every word he spoke as you were aching to turn around and be utterly consumed by crimson, a pool of darkened blood that had every ounce of your being screaming in yearning. You knew the moment you looked upon it, you would then be rendered completely helpless, not that you already were. You were lying to yourself. As you tried to wriggle in his grasp, wanting to act upon your thoughts, Nobu pinched you, hard enough to elicit a small gasp from you and gentle enough not to hurt you.

"Nobu, please. Let me hold you. I've missed you and I want to just.."  Pushing you against him as he pressed you against the railing of the balcony, you couldn't help but squeal, a surge of adrenaline mixing with the desire rushing through you. "You better not let me go, Nobu. I've waited long for you. Let me have you first and then you can let me go."

Nobu chuckled, the resounding sound making your heart fluttering with happiness as if it were a bell that chimed in reaction to the blissful echo coming from the depth of his throat. ”My fireball has enough energy to tease me even in a compromising situation such as this.”

Finally turning you around, you were finally able to lay your eyes upon your lover. Finally taking him in, knowing that he was safe, knowing that he was back where he belonged, in your arms. You were expecting to see that devilish smirk of his, that expression that made your skin tingle and a deep knot being tied so tightly in your stomach. Yet, you were welcomed by a serene smile and eyes shining with emotions that you could only identify as affection and adoration. Bringing your hands to cradle his face, he leaned down and greeted you with an enrapturing kiss, his tongue stripping you from any thought that wasn't of him in your mind while one of his, hastily slid over your midsection and over the obi that was the only piece that kept the kimono on you, traveling down to smooth his hand over the apex of your thigh.

A deep chuckle resounded from his chest. You, out of everyone in Japan, being able to read his mind on specific occasions and especially in intimate ones, knew what he was thinking and aiming for. As he pressed himself harder against you, pinning you against the railing so you couldn't even move, even if you wanted to, the imprint of his hardness becoming imminent as you felt it probing your waist but you were far more distracted by what he planned to do with those fingers that had been teasing the softness of your inner thigh.

Right when you broke the kiss to catch your breath, Nobu pushed two fingers inside you and curled them immediately, caressing your inner walls and watching you with a fierce gaze, with bated breath that matched yours. “I know how the fire of impatience burns within you, love, I can tell by feeling how wet you are for me. But patience..." His smile grew wider as he watched your back arch and your mouth fall open as he easily slid in a third finger inside you.

"You shall find what you seek. See, I have all the intention to ravish you after I watch you fuck yourself with my fingers and tell me how much you have longed for me in my absence. Move, my love. I want to see your hips thrusting down on my fingers, bringing yourself over the edge, using me just for your own pleasure." One of your hands gripped his hair tightly when the other scratched at the skin of his nape, not even eliciting a wince from him as he watched you with a pleased smiled while you hump his hand, his thumb finally joining to drive you even closer to your climax.

"May the past lie in the past yet I can’t help but find myself curious and jealous of the thought of you not thinking about me the way I’ve been thinking about you. I’ve rode miles before my men as I left them to rest just so I can be here with you, my warrior Queen." Noticing how you had bitten your lips, the influx of sensations coursing through you, your legs quivering and barely managing to keep you standing, your grip around his shoulders even loosening as your strength is slowly drained out of you with the sheer intensity of your desire. His lips crashed down on yours, biting your lower lip and prying your mouth open, taking in the delicious sweet and soft moans that you were making in your kiss.Taking your breath away, his lips still hovered against yours, his eyes now even closer to yours, an unmistakable yearning in them.

"This nonsense of you being my future Queen than actually being my Queen is nothing I want to hear from you. Especially when you know the power you hold over me. People know you as The Queen that reins over the Devil King himself and that is not something that I'm saying.” What he told you were not just mere words, coming from him, they meant more, they weighed so heavily on your heart as you continue to get more acquainted with how deep his love truly runs for you. Brushing his lips gently across your cheeks, he whispered in your ear.

"It is what the people say. And I can tell you... It's true." And that's when you snapped. Your vision blurred as the waves of pleasure came crashing down on you, your core clamping down on his fingers which he was now pumping in you, helping you ride out the aftershock of what was just the prelude of the night. And he wasn't going to stop there.

"You're going to turn around for me, Queen of mine and let me fuck right under the midnight sky, so that the Heavens can look upon us and watch me as I claim you as mine and no one has a single say in it but me... and you." He spoke as he licked your slickness that dripped from his fingers, his attitude as haughty as it had always been but there was so much more in it than that. The vulnerability dripped from every word he said, the way the crimson of his eyes shined for comfort, for solace that he could find within and with you.

Removing your hands from around his shoulders, he brought of your hands to his lips, kissing your hands and your palms before turning you around and placing them on the rails of the balcony. "Since you had so eagerly took it upon yourself to decorate your body with a kimono of mine, you will not be taking it off until I am through with you." Pushing the fabric of the kimono to the side and exposing the lower half of your body to the cold wind, shivers ran over your skin but soon, you would have enough to warm you up.

"Nobu, I don't think I can stan... Ahh..." With a swift thrust, your King had completely sheathed himself inside you and began rocking his hips against yours, the slap of his skin against your behind joining the chiming of the cicadas that accompanied you in your intimate reunion. Your slick from your previous release only aided him in thrusting in and out of you at an intense pace, each time he plunged deep inside of you, the head of his cock would brush that sweet spot of yours and your body rocking forward with the sheer force of your warrior.

One of his hands were wrapped around your neck when the other had been placed on your lower stomach, his middle finger running incoherent and cruel circles over your sensitive nub. By the end of that night, you knew that you would be shaking from overstimulation and it was clearly bound to happen. Squeezing his hand around your throat briefly, Nobunaga growled against your neck. "Right after I'm done fucking you on the balcony, I'm going to carry you to my room and you're going to show me exactly what you were thinking of doing to me while I was gone." He chuckled lightly and kissed your cheek, the gesture almost a little too sweet for what he was doing to you. Completely and utterly wrecking your body.

"I'm going to watch you 'bounce on my dick' as you always say in the middle of your sleep, your naughty thoughts always revealing themselves to me. Shamelessly. And I wouldn't accept otherwise. Just like how your body tells me how much you want me. Your cunt is milking my cock so good... Gods... What are you doing to me?"

Gripping you a tad bit tighter, he turned your head so he could kiss you senseless, his hold on you the only thing keeping you both seemingly grounded. "You'll suck both your cum and mine off me, looking at me with those fiery eyes as you devour me whole and show me how determined you are to make me weak for you. Hah... Before I... take you all over again... Until you are completely spent. Don't you know how weak for you I am, my love? You... If I'll allow anything or anyone to be the death of me, it would be you..."

Only you... –♥– Tagging: @delicateikemenmemes, @sweetlittlemouse come get your man... again hehe.  Please feel free to leave some love in the comments or some feedback!💜 You can also check out my Masterlist ! 

[spacegirlapollo]

Can’t Be Friends [Dazai x Reader Smut]

Dazai x Reader Smutty One shot 

4,000+ words

Summary: After the death of his beloved friend, Dazai can’t trust love. But then you come bumbling into the picture and he can’t resist falling for you. 

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Dazai had always been fascinated by magnets, that somewhere written deep in the earth's rules, it had been decided that two objects would eternally be bound together if fate allows them to. On the other hand they could push the other away, with the same ease. 

He’s lived his life like a magnet, especially after Oda’s death. He couldn’t help it, although he desperately tried to not care about others it was simply impossible. To fulfill Oda’s dying wishes , he had to care about the people around him. He dared not admit it but he cared. He cared about Kunikida and the others at the agency. He especially cared about Atsushi and thought quite often of Chuuya and Akutagawa and how they were faring. To many souls to think about. So he cared, drawing them all in like magnets, connecting and then turning away pushing back against them when they got to close. 

And at the center of it all was you. You were the crowning jewel in his grand hall of people he cared about, thought and worried and languished about. You reminded him of Oda sometimes. And if he squinted at you maybe he could see Oda’s piercing eyes and not so easy smile.

He was in love with you, that much was sure, and it was a secret, to everyone but him. He was much too smart to not understand his longing for you, the way his heart rate picked up at your closeness and he often found himself longing to hear your voice. 

He didn’t think it would happen to him of all people. Sure he loved Oda, and he wasn’t sure if it was just as friends either, but this was different. 

He’d met you almost immediately after his return to society, now on the side of the “good guys”. You were Fukizawa’s niece and a fixture at the agency. He wondered often how long his stay at the agency would have been had it not been for you. 

In the beginning, Dazai couldn’t help himself, he had absolutely no self control over his magnets and the two of you connected, making quick friends. Wherever you went he would gladly follow. 

Then you’d been attacked, remnants of Dazai’s past life finally rearing consequences upon you. You’d nearly died, even though you were a force to recon with in battle. Fukizawa had been the one to save you in the end. It was salt over Dazai’s wound that you were hurt because of him, and he hadn’t been there to save you. 

It was a hard way to learn a lesson. To be smacked in the face with his universal truth. Everyone he gets close to will die, and it’ll be his fault. 

You weren’t so easy to push away though, ripping you from his life was taking a piece of his soul slowly, and besides he’d promised to be good and the Agency was the best place for that. So he stayed, but your friendship suffered in its wake. You got the message eventually, not bothering to call upon him at midnight anymore and late night trips for food had stopped. 

You’d never let on how it made you feel, and that somehow was worse for Dazai. 

He’d thought you’d replace him, he was mentally prepared to see you and Kunikida laughing At the lunch table. But it was more often that you’d head to lunch alone, or leave work alone. 

With newcomer Atsushi, things changed a little. You’d taken a strong liking to the boy, and he could tell you’d adopted Atsushi, as If you were his mother or aunt or something. Fretting and worrying. Dazai could see that the two of you were co-parenting in a way. 

Then Kyouka came and you and Atsushi’s time spent together became less, and you ate alone once again. 

Dazai observed this all as if he was peering into a fish bowl. Observing the lives of others and indirectly interacting with them but never jumping into the water. He thought himself clever. No one would know how much he loved you. That was until simple, observant Atsushi said something. 

“Dazai-San?” 

“Yeah?” 

They were both sitting in the open floor plan area of the agency, paperwork stacking high between the two of them. On his part Atsushi was trying to conquer the work while Dazai was listening in to your conversation with Kunikida from across the room. You were laughing, and Dazai thought maybe this was it, you were finally replacing him. Good. 

“Uh…” 

Dazai lifted his eyes from you and his partner to rest upon Atsushi, whose voice was uncertain. Dazai had learned from day two, that he should listen to Atsushi, who occasionally sculpted diamonds from words. 

Atsushi tensed with Dazai’s eyes upon him. 

“I was just .... “ he sighed and swallowed his voice coming out low and a whisper. 

“Are you and Y/N dating?” 

Dazai blinked. Not responding, although that might give away more than he would have liked. 

“It’s just that.” Atsushi seemed even more unnerved by Dazai’s non answer, seeing as the brown hair boy loved to talk. 

“You always look up when she enters a room, like you know she’s there. You always stare at each other when you think the other isn’t looking.” Atsushi’s voice faded off. “Stuff- stuff like that.” 

Dazai was half stuck thinking that he’d made a good choice of Atsushi for the Agency, and the other half was thinking about what he’d said. - staring at each other.- 

You looked at him too? 

“S-sorry.” Atsushi said, fearing he’d said too much. He had but that was fine. 

“Am I really that easy to read?” Dazai asked his eyes back on you and Kunikida. Kunikida was blushing as you walked away, his eyes firmly on your lower back side. Dazai felt a feeling stirring in him. But he shoved it down harsly. There was no place for those feelings to show. 

Atsushi shook his head. “No, you're quite hard to read. Dazai-San. Y/N is much easier to read, once I understood why she looks at you like that I realized you were looking at her the same way.”

Diamonds. Dazai thought , Atsushi was capable of making diamonds. 

————-

It was the fall time, the leaves had departed from their family tree or changed colors and the roads of Yokahama were cold and filled with that feeling you only got during the coming of winter. 

Dazai had to work late, once Kunikida found out just how behind he was on his work, Dazai had been essentially chained to his desk. He could tell there were a few people left in the office as some lights were still on. Signing the last page he sighed standing up immediately, Kunikida would be satisfied with his progress and he could pick it up again on Monday, although he was secretary hoping for a case to come and push the paperwork to the side. 

He tucked his hands in his pocket and made his way outside. It was a moment later that he realized that it was raining. The door to the cafe closed behind him and he stood under the awning, thinking with dread about walking through the rain to the subway station.

“No umbrella ?” You asked, and Dazai wasn’t sure how you’d been standing there that whole time and he did not notice. He turned to you his heart thudding rhythmically in his chest. You were as beautiful as ever, and you looked warm, swathed in faux fur jackets. He thought about how wonderful it would feel to lay in your lap and feel your fingers through his hair. 

You turned away from him breaking his guilty illusion and rummaged around in your bag. You pulled out an umbrella, identical to the one you were already holding. You extended it out to him with a smile playing on your lips. 

“You never carry an umbrella, Dazai.” 

His name on your lips was joy, he realized as his lips parted in surprise. You knew him entirely too well and Atsushi was starting to as well. How had he failed so spectacularly in pushing people away. 

He took the umbrella, unable to stop the smile on his face. 

“Why would I ,Y/N when I always have you to have an extra for me?” He teased. He couldn’t help it, months of pushing you away and he was cracking like an egg from a simple gesture. 

Your eyes met and he saw the faintest blush upon your cheeks. He wanted to kiss you. Badly. He blinked and looked away. This wouldn’t do, he needed to get home and fast. 

He would let his mind slip for one night, maybe have a drink or two and stroke himself, your name hanging off his lips like smoke to a cigarette. That’s what he would do. He just needed to get to the station now. 

“Dazai?” 

Your words were soft but firm. The way you sounded when you’d gathered up all tour couraged and readied yourself for a fight. 

He turned back to you, and your eyes shone with determination. 

“Let’s go get dinner together.” 

————-

Dinner, was located in a small corner of Yokohama, that only the locals seemed to know about. You either lived there or crashed there by accident. The restaurant was a hole in the wall, quite literally. It was an interesting place, made of stone and brick, with no real windows or doors, just, holes in the stone. It reminded Dazai of an old century oven, it had a large awning covering to keep the rain from the tables out front. Strings of light were laced around the stone building illuminating it in the darkness of the Yokahama streets. 

It was a place that the both of you were familiar with, having spent many nights here, sipping hot tea and talking. Upon seeing it for the first time in months, Dazai saw just how romantic the place really was and was regretting his decision to follow you here. 

Now seated you picked up the menu and started to scan it. 

“You already know what you want. Y/N” Dazai said amused. “You always order the same thing.” 

His smile grew as you put down the menu and glared at his teasing. “What if I wanted something different this time.” 

“Hell would freeze over Y/N. And the flying pigs would be out as soon as the rain stopped.” 

You scoffed cutely. “just for that I’m ordering something different.” 

“I wouldn’t.” Dazai said, “ you remember the last time you were adventurous.” 

Your eyes were wide with embarrassment. 

“You swore you would never bring it up!” 

“To anyone else.” Dazai corrected. He thought back on the time you’d ordered something new, and were so sick he’d brought you home, and had to hold your hair as you puked over the toilet. Obviously embarrassing for you but a fondly domestic memory for Dazai. 

The waitress interrupted whatever you were going to say next and further Dazai’s amusement you ordered your regular. 

“Dazai” you said after the waitress had collected your orders and it had been quiet for a while. Dazai’s heart started to thump again, the real reason you’d asked him to come to dinner was coming. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for it. 

You had that look again, that stored up courage look. “ Let’s be friends again.”

He wasn’t sure if this was on his list of things he expected you to say. Some irrational part of his thought this would be your announcement of your engagement to Kunikida which he would have congratulated you on and then left to get very very drunk. 

Your fists were clenched in your lap as you forced yourself to look at him.

“I’m sorry… if I did something wrong, and that’s why you stopped wanting to be around me. If I was - annoying or something I can-“

“Y/N” you blinked almost jerking at Dazai’s sudden harsh tone. He was angry, suddenly, 

“You could never annoy me.” 

The statement hung heavy in the air like cement. 

“And you don’t have anything to apologize for.” He tried to soften his voice as he wasn’t angry at you. He was more angry at himself. That’s why you thought he’d pushed you away? 

“Then why-“

“We can’t be friends.. Y/N” better to cut this off now. A few drinks was sounding better by the second. He dared a glance at your face and regretted it. You looked shattered, then confused, then angry. He hadn’t really seen you angry. It was beautiful in a way. 

A hot tear pressed down your cheek and you angrily wiped it away. 

“Why.” You asked now a wobble in your otherwise hard tone. 

“It’s better to remain professional in the workplace.” Dazai offered up, it was weak but his mind was spinning so his normal snake charming words were not coming to him. 

“Bullshit.” You said leaning forward. “You're not that way with anyone else in the agency. Hell you're not professional at all.” 

Dazai smiled at this, despite how heavy he was feeling.

“That’s fair.” He said softly. 

“Stop fucking with me Dazai.” You said anger still dripping over your tone although you were trying to keep it down since others were around. 

“One night were drunk together and up till 4am telling each other everything and the next week you stopped talking to me.” 

Your voice broke at the end of that. Another angry tear wipe. You pointed at him now.

“You let me in, you let me see you, and now you're going to pretend like we weren’t something?”

“Yes.” Dazai said with an edge . “ yes I am going to pretend.” 

“Why!” Your voice went a little higher than a regular speaking voice drawing a few more eyes but neither of you cared. There was only the person sitting in front of the other. 

“Because Y/N. I don’t want to be just friends.” Dazai felt like a popped balloon, that air just coming out of him rapidly. Years of holding that very phrase in and here he was whisper- shouting it at you in his favorite hole in the wall. That was only his favorite because of his memories with you. 

He kept going now, no sense in stopping now. “ I want to hold your hand, to kiss you, to be the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in the morning. I want to hold you when you're sad, and tease you when you do something embarrassing. I want you to fill up my life with your light” it was a mouthful, and Dazai sighed, looking up at you now, your face in shock. 

You smiled suddenly, another tear falling but you didn’t make a move to wipe it away.

“I don’t want to be just friends either Dazai.” You said and he felt his heart starting its kathunk kathunk in his chest again. 

“I thought maybe you didn’t feel the same way as I did. But I wanted to be near you. And things were so great when we were friends. And then we stopped and I thought at least I could still be around you. But I don’t want that it’s not enough. Just being around you, just being your friend isn’t enough. I want to be with you. Dazai.”

Dazai swallowed hard, if Atsushi’s words were diamonds you were like the rain. Cleansing away the unsightly parts of himself that he hated, he picked at. Soothing the old wounds that he’d left open as punishment to himself. 

“We can’t… I can’t….” Dazai couldn’t finish. He looked up to you. “Every Time I love someone they die.” He shook his head slightly. “and I won’t lose you too.” 

He thought then of Oda. He still couldn’t decide how he’d loved the man, there was a seed there, growing, and if he’d had more time, Dazai thinks he could have figured it out. Did he love Oda the way he loved Atshushi or Kunikida or did he love Oda the way he’d loved you?

But for Oda to be alive, and Dazai to have an answer to that question, Dazai needed to have removed himself from Oda’s life.

 Dazai’s thoughts of Oda evaporated as he felt the warm touch of your hand to his. He looked up at you then, your eyes a calm steady sea to his stormy brooding ones.

He wanted to steal you away from the others eyes, take you somewhere safe where only he could gaze upon you. Strange feelings from someone who spent so much effort in not caring. 

“You're a good person, Dazai.” You said. “I’ve seen it, I’ve seen your soul. Death is not the punishment for love. Life takes who she wants when she wants regardless of who we love and what we want. I’d rather die, having known your love than live forever without it.” 

He kissed you then, over the tea that had gone cold, besides the people who were pretending not to listen to your conversation. The only thing he could hear was the sounds of rain dancing on the canopy above your heads. 

———

Somehow the both of you knew that going home alone wasn’t an option. As the hole in the wall was closest to your place, it was decided without speaking that that is where you would go. You walked there holding hands. 

Dazai’s mind was spinning with thoughts of your kiss, thoughts of you he’d tried to keep down but it wasn’t working and his pants were stiffening. 

You’d looked at him, one look, that set him on fire. And as you crossed into your apartment threshold, he couldn’t seem to grab enough of you. The umbrella he’d borrowed from you was on the floor, along with your  pretty coat, leaving wet stains on the floor. You were pressed between him in the wall, your hands deep into his tresses as he kissed you, his hands gripping almost painfully at your sides. 

He pressed his lower body up against you unable to control the moan that came from his mouth at the contact of his hardened self against you.

“I need you.” He breathed out sounding so impossibly vulnerable.

“You have me.” You said between kisses, and so he did, his wide palms sliding below your waist end scooping you into the air, your legs wrapped around his lanky figure. 

He carried you to your room, my memory as you had yet to stop kissing him, and he couldn’t see. 

When he was there you fell into the bed, soft covers swallowing you up. He had thoughts to tease you, to take things slow, and feel every single moment of this. But as his fingers seperated your pants buttons and found their way to your core he couldn’t stop himself from pleasuring you. 

Your moans were honey, as he slid down your clothing and his mouth latched to your clit. One of your hands had traveled to his hair and the other was gripping his arm which was around your waist keeping your hips down to the bed. 

He wanted more from you working his tongue and fingers at a devastating pace. His cock painful in his pants at your honey dripped moans. His hand pressed down hard against your waist as you bucked against his face, sweat beading on your chest, it felt terribly good. 

“Daz-“ you choked out as you reached your end, your hand pulling at the base of his roots causing him to moan into your pussy. 

You couldn’t hold back your moan as you came, hard and fast, cheeks hot as he kept going riding you through your orgasm. 

Dazai felt your body go limp after you came, and he stood up reaching to unbutton his shirt but then your hands over lapped his and you began to remove his shirt. His lips were on your again as your removed his clothes. 

Dazai let out a small noise of surprise when you turned and pushed him towards the bed. He went willingly though his eyes half lidded in lust as you crawled over to him straddling his waist. He was taking you in, and fuck if he couldn’t come now just looking at you. 

You leaned forward ticking a finger under his chin and guiding his lips back to yours. Dazai felt his control slipping but he didn’t mind. He wanted to be yours, all yours. You could do whatever you wanted to him.

“Let me make you feel good.”’you whispered 

He hissed as you sank slowly down onto him your warmth wrapping around him like a vice. Damnit.

You moved again rising up your hips and bringing them back down at an agonizingly slow pace. This whole time he’d thought to tease you and it was you teasing him. 

Almost as if you were reading his mind you smirked dipping slower to kiss his neck. Dazai jerked, another moan on his lips as you kissed at his newly discovered sensitive spot. 

You’d hip were starting to pick up the pace a bit, sucking hard against his neck. Your pace and attack on his neck was torture, the best kind. 

His hands gripped your ass tightly now as you rode him, biting deeply against his neck. With each slap of skin you moved faster, Dazai felt like he could explode, and maybe he would. 

He couldn’t help himself, his hips snapping up into you suddenly causing you to throw your head back and moan. Oh yes he wanted more of that. 

Your hands fell to his chest as he fucked you, his dick pressing up against that spot that was making you unravel. 

In one swift motion he’d switched the flow and you were on your back again, and he was in between you. Your hands flew around his neck as he re-entered you. 

“Mhfph” you choked out as he pressed deep into you, moaning your name sweetly into your ear. 

He was one with you, as close as his magnet could reach, and though the fear of losing you still loomed in his mind, Dazai was in true bliss. 

You were close, that feeling of knitting in your stomach, his strong deep strokes had left you gasping. 

“Osamu” you crooned, and he looked down at you now. 

“Say that again.” He breathed out. 

Dazai felt like he was going to unravel, right as you’d said his name, the way it slipped from your mouth had his heart racing. 

He thrusted faster , kissing along your neck now. 

“Say it, say it again.” He moaned out.

“Mmm Osamu, “ you repeated his name over and over again like a holy chant. “Please.” 

His strokes were coming uneven, as he leaned down to take your sweet lips with his again, fucking hell he was going to come now, in the woman he’d loved for years. 

“Come with me.” He breathed out and you nodded rapidly, he pressed his forehead to yours as you felt yourself come apart at the edges. Sweeping in nothing but pleasure you both came.

“Osamu!” You cried out eyes shut in ecstasy. 

———-

Neither of you could be bothered to leave the bed. Dazai was holding you to his chest, your face in the crook of his neck, your heartbeats matching each other’s. 

“You know it’s too late for you now right?” You whispered, his fingers playing with your hair. 

Dazai smiled. “It was too late for me since the moment we met.” 

You chuckled softly, “that’s so cheesy.” 

Dazai chuckled back, placing a kiss on your forehead. 

“Yeah to bad you’ve got to deal with it from now on.”

“I love you, Osamu” Dazai heard you say, and even if he maybe thought he knew you did, it was different to hear you say it. He felt like he could break into a million pieces. Some stone cold bastard he was, he was absolute putty in your hands. 

“I love you to, Y/N” 

[ikeromantic]

Can’t Make Promises

A mini-fic for @chaotic-coyote featuring Motonari, who is in fact, a very bad boy. For my 400 follower celebration!

June, Motonari, Spicy and Sweet The roll of the boat on gentle waves soothed Motonari in ways very few things could. It was the sensation of being out of control, immersed in the chaos of the unpredictable sea. Giving his power up to the whims of the ocean. 

He glanced to where the Oda princess sat, her knees pulled up to her chest, head down. If only she could understand . . . you had to let go of control to see the truth of the world. That nothing meant anything, nothing but what you did with your own two hands. But she wouldn’t even open her eyes to try to see what he did.

Motonari crossed the deck and pulled her up by her arm. 

She looked at him with wide eyes, still afraid, though he’d treated her kindly. Protected her. From his own men, sure, but it still counted.

“I wanna show ya something.” He smiled at her, but this didn’t seem to help. She just nodded mutely, still pale with fear.

He walked her across to the rail and pointed at the sea, still holding to her with his other hand. “Ya see that?”

“The - the ocean?”

Her voice was like afternoon sun. Warm and bright. He didn’t turn to look at her, worried she would clam up again. “Yeah. Ya know what it is?”

“Ummm . . . water? A lot of water?”

Motonari laughed. “It is that, princess. But it’s more. It’s chaos. Freedom. An’ it’s mine, or I’m its.” He had a sudden idea. A way to explain without clumsy words. With her arm firmly grasped, he pulled her up onto the rail.

“M-motonari, I - I’m afraid we’re going to fall in,” she whimpered.

“Nah, we ain’t gonna fall. We’re gonna jump.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply. He leapt from the rail, and took her with him down into the blue.

The princess shrieked for half a breath before the water covered them. He could make out her shocked expression in the clear water. Her eyes were closed tight, jaw clenched. She began to panic, flailing. 

Motonari let her bat at him as he guided her up to the surface. It didn’t really hurt and she looked pretty funny. He was laughing when their heads brok the surface.

She sputtered. “You - you! I hate you!” 

He pulled her tight against his chest, stilling her arms. “I don’t hate ya, princess. And that flush in yer cheeks makes me think ya don’t hate me so much either.”

The Oda princess pushed away from him, and he let her. “You - you don’t know anything. Anything about me!” Her eyes found the ship. It was still moving, leaving them in its wake. “The ship! Motonari! They’re leaving us.”

He chuckled. “Yep. They’ll come back soon enough. I do this all tha time.” He grinned at her. 

“Well, I’m not going to sit here and wait.” She looked toward the distant shore. “I’ll just swim that way.” 

“Wouldn’t do that, princess.”

“Pfft. I’m not listening to you.” She turned and began to swim. But the tide and current were pushing out from the land, and she didn’t make any progress. Her movements grew more tired as she fought the waves and the heavy, wet cloth of her kimono.

Motonari stayed with her, in arms reach. He didn’t want to drown her, afterall. 

She finally stopped struggling and looked at him. “I’m not getting anywhere. You brought me out here to drown me.”

“Nah. I just wanted ta swim. Cool us both off. And . . .” Motonari found he didn’t quite have the words for the rest. Or, more honestly, he didn’t want to say it. That he’d brought her out here to share something special to him. 

“Great. So I’ll drown on accident then.” 

He chuckled. “I’m not gonna let ya die, princess. Not on accident.” Or at all, but she didn’t need to know that. “If ya wanna swim easy, ya need to lose yer heavy clothes.” 

“My!” She glared at him. “My clothes?!” 

He shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him one way or another. Which it didn’t. If she wouldn’t ditch them on her own, he’d pull them off of her when it looked like her strength was fading. 

Her hot gaze didn’t leave him as she reached under the water to undo the ties of her kimono. “You better have something for me to wear when the ship comes back.”

“Sure,” his grin widened. He wouldn’t mind dressing her up. He had lots of expensive clothing, stolen from traders or bought at port. Some of it was bound to fit. 

Her kimono and obi floated up, bubbling for a moment before sinking again. She was left with nothing but a thin, white shift. It clung to her skin, nearly transparent. 

Motonari couldn’t help the way his eyes slipped down her figure. He could see her breasts under the water, her bare legs kicking. His hands itched to touch her and his chest felt tight and hot. This was lust, yes, but . . . something more. Something as wild and chaotic as the sea. 

The princess blushed, her hands trying to cover her chest and swim at the same time. Unsuccessfully. 

With effort, Motonari turned away. He cleared his throat before speaking but his voice still came out rough and low. “Should be easier to stay up now. Do ya know how ta float? That’s even easier.” 

“Is that what you wanted to show me? How to float?” He felt the water stir against his skin as she got closer. 

“Nah.” He swallowed again. Why had she closed the distance between them? He felt her leg brush against his. Was she trying to taunt him? Did she not know what a thin thread his control was held by?

“You know, now that I’ve stopped being entirely pissed off at you, this is kind of nice. The water feels good. The motion is nice. And it’s beautiful. Everywhere I look, endless blue.”

Her hand reached out, touched his shoulder. 

Motonari caught it and spun to face her. She was, perhaps, a handsbreadth away. Her face close enough to kiss. So he did. He caught her lips with his, loving the taste of salt and sweetness. The way her body tensed at his touch, and then clung to him. Her tongue playfully pressing against his. She was every bit as hungry for this as he.

He broke the kiss to look at her face. Would he see the same passion in her eyes that burned in his heart?

The princess looked at him with wide eyes. There was desire there, but still a frisson of fear. 

The blend was heady, intoxicating, but . . . he didn’t want to conquer her. He wanted - wanted - Motonari cut that thought off like a tangled net. “Ya taste real sweet, princess. Might have ta move yer sleeping quarters and make ya an official bed warmer.” 

This had the desired effect. She pushed away from him with an angry expression. “It was just a kiss,” she pouted. “And you made me do it. Don’t read anything into it.”

“Sure, sure princess.” He laughed, though it sounded more forced than normal. “So, ya want ta learn ta float?”

She sighed. “I guess. I’m not a very good swimmer so . . . yeah. Just, no more kissing, ok?”

“Can’t make promises, but fer you I’ll try.” He grinned at her expression, half hopeful, half anxious. “Come on then. First, ya gotta lay back. Like on a futon.” 

She tried to lay back, but flailed at the water. 

Motonari went to her, and put his hands under her back, supporting her. “Ya gotta trust me, princess. Me an’ the ocean. Ya may not know what we’re gonna do next, but ya gotta believe we got yer back. Like this.”

It took a few breaths for her to begin to relax. To trust him. But she did.

He loved the feel of her skin on his calloused hands as he slid one to her shoulders, and the other to her low back. He couldn’t help but go lower still, caressing the round curves of her hips and ass. Damn but she felt good.

“Watch where you touch,” she hissed, but she didn’t move. 

“I gotta support ya, right?” He grinned and obstinately went lower still, stroking the back of her thigh. She made a little sound of pleasure that stirred him, leaving an ache in his chest and balls. He knew he should stop himself but he’d never been good at impulse control. 

“Y-yeah, but I think - I think I can . . . just . . . let the water?” She sounded strained, and bit her lip. The expression sent a shock of desire through him. Like a bolt of lightning when it hit the water.

“Ya can,” he nodded, letting his fingertips draw little characters on the back of her leg. He didn’t miss the way she shivered, nor the way his body responded to it. He slid his hand to her inner thigh and up. He could feel the heat coming off her. The need. His knuckles brushed her delicate cleft, tempting. Taunting. 

And she, blessed beauty, made a choked half-moan. 

“I can let ya go . . .” He made the offer, her last out, as far as he was concerned.

“N-no, damn you.” She closed her eyes. “Don’t you dare. You started this, Motonari.”

“Mhmm. And I finish what I start.” 

[op-sheepy]

ok so I'm particularly interested in

Bellamy Law

Law and Bible stuff

Law is a substitute kindergarten teacher

shichibukai applications

reverse hanahaki disease (?? do u spit out flowers when your nemesis walks by?)

if you feel like elaborating on any of these!

This is gonna get long and I actually contemplated posting them separately but would that have been more work? Yeah, that felt like more work so for anyone interested, check under the cut. :D

---------------------------------o

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Bellamy Law

Hm… This would be an attempt to explore the parallels and contrasts between Bellamy and Law. I've always found it fascinating that the former was a foil to the latter.

They both come from well-off  towns in the North Blue.

Bellamy left because of boredom. Law had no choice because Flevance.

Both ended up seeking Doflamingo  because of  his notoriety as a pirate. Both admired him initially

Doffy favored one over the other though. Bellamy always sought his approval but was never really part of the inner circle Doflamingo cared about.

Law got the dubious privilege of being part of the family despite being absent for so long. Even offered one of the highest seats by Doffy's side for seemingly nothing.

Law had no trouble turning his back on Doffy once he realized the man's nature. Bellamy tried to stick to his principles until the end despite admitting that he new he was wrong.

Bellamy can (and did) quit piracy after his ordeal with Doflamingo. Having the option to live peacefully, perhaps a return to his previous life (the one he considered boring). Law can't do that quite as easily what with his Devil fruit and his reputation.

I thought it would be interesting trying to explore what Bellamy was thinking. Did he hear the Donquixote Pirates talk about their missing 'family'? Did he get to see Doffy be amused at Law's rise as a Supernova while he kept being reminded of his own status? Did Law save Bellamy partially because he also saw what he could have been had Corazon not saved him?

On principle, Bellamy should have hated Trafalgar Law. Does. Bastard even saved him without him wanting it. But there was something about the shadows haunting those eyes and Bellamy started to wonder.

He had heard the family talk about Law before. The child personally taught by Doflamingo, chosen to be his right hand. Never was he compared to the man because Law was just obviously better. Smarter. Stronger. Bellamy was ever just an uncouth thug.

He was allowed to 'borrow' Doflamingo's symbol while Law had an empty seat waiting for his return–a seat Bellamy had wanted enough to risk everything for.

Maybe he had resented, Trafalgar Law for carelessly rejecting the things he had that Bellamy had always desired. In the end too, Trafalgar Law did prove to be better. He'd done as a child what Bellamy had trouble doing even as he was now.

But having been given the chance to observe the other man as they all recovered, he wondered, perhaps for the first time, whether despite Law being better than Bellamy, Bellamy had had it better–barring the poor life choices.

---------------------------------o

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Law and Bible stuff

This is just me wanting to know how many biblical parallels and themes I can draw from Law, the Donquixote brothers, the characters associated with them, and his backstory. Honestly not sure whether this would become a fic and in what style or I'm gonna give up and just make it a post.

Not gonna elaborate on them much but here are the ideas in more bullet points (yay):

Law gets familiar with all four horsemen of the apocalypse: conquest, war, famine, and death. He even survives them.

Law is like the son in the parable of the prodigal son to the Donquixote pirates. Except the themes are inverted.

Doflamingo and Rocinante -> Cain and Abel

Ope Ope no Mi -> Granting eternal life by sacrificing one's own life

Gods descending or living among humans. Also, Homing and his family being prosecuted for other people's sins.

That scene where they were hanged by their arms outstretched looks like a crucifixion. Also, Rocinante was on the right while Doflamingo was on the left. Similar to how the penitent thief was on the right and the unrepentant one to the left.

Flevance being considered a paradise with walls/fences/gates and somewhere Law cannot return to.

In the panel where the Donquixote pirates are seated at the table, there were thirteen of them with Doffy at the center. Same as The Last Supper

There are a lot more of these (David and Goliath, Solomon, Jonah, Job, etc.) but I kinda lost the notes and some are more visual so I can't really explain it too well. This would is a drabble series to emphasize or highlight the parallels so no proper snippet for this one.

---------------------------------o

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Law is a substitute kindergarten teacher

Originally an idea to get around most of the Heart Pirates being nameless but evolved to include other characters as kids. Chopper is a kindergarten teacher and he convinces Law to take over his class for a week because somehow Law has the qualifications to and free time. Naturally, he wasn't able to say no.

Unfortunately, despite not being terrible at handling children, Chopper's class is filled with menaces. Also, despite not being terrible, Law can still be awkward so...

"Mr. Trofao–fargar—"

"Trafalgar."

The kid—which one was this one again? Shit, he should really get them name plates or something—scrunched up his face and tried harder, "Tar-pal—"

"Law. Just call me Law."

"Mr. Low"—eh, close enough—"can I go to the bathroom?" Wide imploring eyes stared up at him.

"Sure, go ahead." Law gestured towards the exit of the classroom with his head.

The kid just stared expectantly at him and he tried to suppress the need to narrow his eyes.

"Is there… anything else?"

"Mr. Chopper always comes with me to hold my hand."

Really?

"Mr. Chopper isn't here. You should practice doing it on your own now." He said after a deep inhale.

"But the monsters might get me…"

"No, they won't."

"You don't know that."

"I do." Before the kid could open his mouth again to argue, he added, "Besides, children taste terrible so you're safe."

The kid looked stricken and took a step back from him. Uh oh. Glistening eyes, wobbling lower lip… "Alright! I'll go with you." The kid did not look reassured. In fact he looked like going alone with Law was the last thing he wanted to do. Guess, he kinda implied that he ate children didn't he? Oops.

Well, the kid needs to go and he's not going to be cleaning up after him if he wets himself.

Law glanced at the rest of the children. It was Arts and Craft time and they seemed preoccupied enough. Still, Law doubted Chopper ever left these kids alone–already he could see some of them glancing up at him, waiting for him to leave no doubt to cause trouble. That Monkey kid in particular looked extremely suspicious.

He stood up from his crouch and clapped twice to get everyone's attention.

"Alright. Fall in line. Single file."

There was some grumbling and questioning directed at him. "What's going on?"

Law shrugged. "You're all going to the bathroom."

---------------------------------o

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Shichibukai Application Forms

Crackfic where the World Government and relevant parties review various Shichbukai Applications. Most submitted by the pirates applying themselves, some produced by their own staff. They discuss and debate. As well as judge pirate resumes.

She scanned the document. Terrible format, really. If you fail to impress within the first page, you've failed entirely. There just wasn't anyone promising enough in this batch of applications or any of the other ones before. The last one had been that clown. "Apprentice to the Pirate King," was a pretty hefty credential.

"Oh, how about this one? Three years experience pillaging, and they even listed all the towns they looted." One of the newly transferred administrative staff said.

"None of these are worth considering at all. You know, when Mihawk was asked to submit his application, he hadn't bothered with all of this. He just sent us a card with his name on it and the title "World's Strongest Swordsman," underneath."

The staff perked up. "Oh, there was an application like that." There was scramble and some shuffling before a plain white card was produced. "Here."

"'From Trafalgar Law'. What does this even mean?"

"Well, it did come with a big box..."

---------------------------------o

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Reverse Hanahaki Disease

(?? do u spit out flowers when your nemesis walks by?)

Haha. At first it was going to be that way (because it is hilarious) but the inflicted would probably choke to death too soon. Or if both enemies had it, they'd end up just coughing flowers at each other until they stopped being enemies.

The version I ended up going with was that this variant of Hanahaki, instead of afflicting those with unrequited love, affected those in denial instead. The reverse part comes from the original idea that this would usually happen if you somehow fell in love with your nemesis (someone you originally hated). So it's not the thought that the other person can't love you, it's that you can't accept that you love that other person. You get cured by confessing to the person sincerely.

This is actually another KidLaw (surprise!). And the flower coughed up directly represents the person they're in love with (I went with Oda's flower representation for them because I found it funny for plot)

So the idea is that, you get sick but you don't automatically know (maybe) who it is because that's part of being in denial. Kid and Law have many enemies after all. In this story they both get it though not exactly at the same time and not known to the other.

He survived Amber Lead Syndrome only to be killed off by a stupid flower disease that apparently knows more about his own feelings than he does.

He glared at the petals. Tulips. Red.

An image of a cocky grin and a shock of red hair flashed through his mind and—nope. That's not right.

He coughed harder, tears stinging his eyes with the effort. More flowers. Now he has enough for a bouquet.

Alright, he was a doctor. He could do this. Differential time.

First, which variant does he have. He doesn't particularly feel unloved or hopeless. There wasn't anyone he wanted in particular to love him. Ok, nothing. It was maybe safe to say he had that other variant.

Which was stupid because Law had many enemies and he hated all of them.

And cue the racking coughs. More red. He was very familiar with that particular shade.

New theory. This was a new variant that somehow makes you sick when you think of the person you hated the most.

Yes, that had to be it. He thought as he all but collapsed on the floor from the sudden paroxysm.

I knew this was gonna get long. :) Oh well...

Thank you for playing. :D

[jjk-anime-horray]

Fists Colliding and Fancy Collections

Dazai Osamu x Reader x Oda Sakunosuke

Series Summary: While Dazai finally gets over the death of his friend and moves on with his life, he has to watch him unnaturally return into the would, and now he has to watch him turn twisted and into everything he hated in a way.

Chapter Summary: You finally convince Chuuya to let you attend the auction, but nothing could have predicted what was going to happen.

Trigger Warnings: Emotional trauma, mentions of extreme violence, mentions of emotional distress, mentions of illegal activities, and strong language.

Previous Chapter: Bringing Pinot Noir

I'm surprised that you were the one to punch the idiot in the face (Y/N) Flashed up on your phone's screen shortly after you sent him the footage he asked before he would give you his assistance.

Well I had to get the footage some how....

and frankly I wasn't going to wait around for the possibility of someone else doing it

I just made sure it happened! was your reply to port mafia executive's text, but when you were typing it made you think back to the betrayal that you inflicted on your friend.

Flashback....

"Ranpo, are you ready?" You whispered to the immature detective genius that was currently holding up his phone ready for recording.

"Of course I am, you're getting me some snacks after this right?"He whisper quipped back.

"Yes i'm! SHSSSH, SHSSSH." The two of you lunged behind a desk, to stalk your target, and ready your attack.

Dazai waltzed in humming into the room with airpods in, like a gazelle completely unsuspecting to the lion stalking him.

"Woah Woah yeah~, Shinju wa, Hitori de wa, Dekinai HMPFHH"

You had pounced from behind the desk with the veracity of a tiger, leaping towards Dazai. So fast that before he could even react your fist had collided with the side of his face, effectively knocking the airpods out of his ear, and sending him crashing to the floor wide eyed as what seemed to him to be in complete slow motion.

All the while Ranpo was recording.

Present Time...

A Deal is a Deal. The red head texted back to your response, you could literally see the smug smile from watching the video, lucky when you told Dazai why you punched him he didn't get too made at you.

We'll meet up on the day of the event.

See you then, btw make sure you wear something really nice it's very high end so make sure you look your best. Chuuya texted.

You responded with a Roger that before you shut off your phone, and bounced up to search for Yosano so she could help you find a suitable look for the auction you were going to attend. Springing off of the balls of your feet as you waltzed off to find her.

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

"Fancy clothes are always so uncomfortableeeeee." You complained to the red haired man currently leading you out of his car to the auction.

"Baka, I don't care whether or not you're comfortable, you look nice now stop complaining."

"Did the Chuuya Nakahara just compliment me, i'm so honored to be the receiver of this gift of kindness."

"(Y/N) sometimes you're even worse than Dazai."

"You wound me."

Those were the final words you said as you finally passed security and took your seats. The auditorium you were currently sitting in resembles more of an opera symphony hall than an auction room. Roman columns adorned the sides of the room, and paintings of greek gods and goddesses washed across the ceiling. Hinting that the broker or art you were looking for either European or worked for one because of the art style being so unlike japan's.

"The only way you're going to be able to meet the broker is if you buy something, you know that right?"

The red head was the one to break your train of thought, but starting another in the process, but you thought of a different alternative.

"I can just go back with you if you buy something, I am you're plus one after all."

"Who said I was going to buy anything??!?"

"You literally are the one who had the initial invite, they wouldn't have invited you if you didn't display it in the first place."

"That aside, who said I am going to walk home with anything, it's an auction it's not guaranteed you'll even get anything."

That made you pause, he was right, just because you're here doesn't mean your going to be able to get anything, and all of the rich people attending already is going to make your chances even lower than they already were.

"If we pooled both of our money, and bid high on a more low quality item we have a good shot at obtaining something."

"Who said I would ever agree to that."

"I never said you would, but i'm pretty sure that you came for the free fine wine hand-outa and not the actual art." You said in a matter of factly tone while gesturing to the wine glass currently resting in his hand.

"Whatever, fine, but i'm not going to bet on something if it's completely ugly, it has to have a little bit of appeal to it, and i'm keeping the piece of art afterwards."

"Deal."

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

After about being an hour into the auction the both of you started to get awfully bored, simply because well it was quite boring. You would think there would be a tiny bit more energy, but alas the only thing interesting that happened was two trust fund boy getting into a fistfight over a girl, who clearly wasn't interested in either of them. You shot her an apologetic look because it had to be an unpleasant situation for her. Sometime you just wanted to bitchslap some people, and frankly currently you were mentally beating up those two boys.

It only got better after that because all the items that were being displayed just hadn't been remotely appealing to you two, yet they sold off.

Currently being two hours in with no end in sight the two of you regret your decision to come in the first place, so does Chuuya as of now he's on his second glass of wine.

Three hours in your just about to lose your mind, so you settle on attempting to bid on a little abstract palette knife painting that actually was very intriguing, and surprisingly you actually successfully landed the bid because it wasn't extravagant enough for the other people currently sitting in the audience. You even didn't dig out of Chuuya's pocket either. The little square shaped canvas fascinated you. The multi colored flecks danced across the like star at night combined with the colors of the autumn season and shadows. It wasn't mean't to depict anything in particular, nor was it much, but there was just something about it that you could keep away from it.

Four hours in Chuuya is definantly tipsy, and working on his fourth glass of wine. So you made the decision to take away his drinking privileges until he's more sober for the time being. Then while waiting for the event too end so you can pick up the paint (and questioning the broker while you're picking it up from him) you decide to take a nap.

Your eyes started to drift shut, leaning against the velvety chair you sink back into it trying to find a position that won't cramp your neck. When it finally perfect you started to drift off, trying to kill some time in between waiting periods.

But before you could fully achieve that your eyes shot open to the sound of a BOOM.

[readerinsertfanfiction]

The Bae’st of All

Fandom: Ikemen Sengoku

Character: Kyubae the bae’st bae of all aka Kyubei

Prompt: Seeing how Kyubei is named after an alias that the real Mitsuhide Akechi used (Juubei) the chances of fans getting a Kyubei route from Cybird are slim. However, it is simply impossible not to fall for this man. He is too good. So here have my attempt at writing a route.

The key of the previous chapter was (Romantic/Dramatic):

+4/+4

+4/+2

+4/+2

A/N: Vote DRAMATIC or ROMANTIC to determine which ending I’m going to write first. 

Chapters:

1.1| 1.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.2

Avatar Challenge 1| 3.1 Gacha POV | 1st Letter | 5.2 Gacha | Avatar Challenge 2 | 2nd Letter

“Back again, young miss?”

The marketman is much too eager when he spots me out from the crowd, hands wringing together as he eyes Hideyoshi next to me.

“I see you are in different company.”

Not liking the tone of that I’m about to explain when Hideyoshi steps in front of me, his expression like stone when he eyes the man behind the stand.

“I’m her brother, if you will and I don’t like that suggestive tone.”

I feel myself sweatdrop at this exclamation wondering if this is how Hideyoshi sees the rest of his female friends as well. He treated them all the same, just like me, but never expressed any interest.

“No, no, I wouldn’t dare. I was merely noting that the miss was with another man the other day, handsome lad I must say. Looks very dependable.”

Sweating himself out of that hole the marketman raises his hands towards Hideyoshi, his smile faltering as he turns towards me once more, his hand gesturing towards the timepieces on his table once more.

“It seems that the miss is from a fine line, however. With such a brother and that eye! Do you care to explore my humble stand some more?”

Hideyoshi gives me a blank look when I try to sneak a glance at him, wondering what his reaction will be. He remains stern, however, eyeing the man up close as he reaches out to one of the goods first.

“These are western goods, not?”

Opening one of the timepieces I gaze down the archaic design again from which our modern watches descent from.

“Let’s go, Hideyoshi. The sun is nearly down.”

Before the salesman can pitch his pretty talk again I quickly interrupt, tugging at Hideyoshi’s sleeve as I scuffle away from the stand. We still hadn’t finished our errand yet and the constant eyeing from the man was making me suspicious. Exhaling Hideyoshi agrees with me as he puts the item down, though I can tell from his eyes that he is still thinking about it, his brown eyes still set in contemplation and longing.  

“But maybe we can pick one for Nobunaga?”

My careful suggestion is immediately met with a bright smile and an eager nod as Hideyoshi eyes down the complete table, picking up an item occasionally as he checks out its little design and asks for my opinion.

(I better be careful with how much I pretend to know. This marketman seems to have it out for me.)

Back facing me Hideyoshi is still excitedly picking out a suitable timepiece for Nobunaga while I wait in the back, my eyes falling once more over at the salesman who has made his advance towards me.

“Can I help you?”

I purposefully raise my voice in the crowd, hoping that it will catch attention but a firm hand wrapped around my arm is already dragging me into the crowd as I watch Hideyoshi’s figure disappear.

“Hey! Stop!”

Raising my voice I fight against my captor as I struggle against the firm hold on my arm and the pace in which I’m pulled at. When I finally manage to free myself I’m slammed painfully into a wall as I come eye to eye with a pair of raging reds.

“Ya better shut up fast. I’m not afraid of rising hell in the streets.”

The firm warning leaves no room for doubt from my side as I stare at the white haired man, wild and unhinged with a wicked smile to come.

“What do you want from me?”

I try to maintain my composure as I face him, sounding out my question as my captor rolls his eyes at me, seemingly annoyed already by his catch. Though, I don’t think he is the type to let me go for being too annoying.

“Word travels fast about the new princess the Oda has. What else?”

His words make my heart sink as I wonder how many more times I’m to be a tool because Nobunaga makes enemies left and right. A kidnapping, really? I miserably wonder to myself which trope I’m subjected to next as I’m pulled away once more.

(The day is coming to an end fast. I wonder if Hideyoshi noticed me already?)

I’m stuck in a cave, my arms wrapped around my knees while Motonari (my captor) is making a fire.

(It is no use running. He has caught me three times already.)

I wallow to myself at all of my failed attempts and the patience that is obviously running thin with the pirate warlord that is holding me captive now.

“What are you planning to do with me?”

I suddenly voice out this curiosity as Motonari pokes the fire he has created, agitating it to grow. His face is firm and set but when he looks up at me he smiles that wicked smile once more, a crazy glint glossing over the man that had so attentively built the fire.

“What do ya think? The Oda values ya, even someone with gunpowder for brains knows what that means.”

He speaks so crudely, but I can still tell through that slang that he is from noble birth, articulate and eloquent. I wonder what has made him discard it all, what has made him decide to lower himself to this rank when he had it all.

“They don’t value me. I just got lucky.”

But dissuading Motonari was no easy task I found. The man was much sharper than his speech let on and his actions, though feral were much more calculated. He wasn’t about to reveal anything that he wasn’t willing to reveal.

“You tell me where you got your knowledge from.”

The change in tone and shift in language doesn’t escape me as Motonari eyes me dangerously from the other side of the cave, the fire between us giving him a near demonic glow. I suck in a breath as I wonder if he had been around when Kyubei and I last visited that market, or if someone had told him instead.

(Was this perhaps why Kyubei seemed in a hurry that day?)

Knowing that I’m not about to get this knowledge out of Motonari I press my lips firmly against each other, my mind wracking over spurning a plausible story when a shadow moves in from the corner of my eyes.

“Ye late.”

Motonari’s response is simple as he falls back in the sealord’s language he has adopted as his guise and I turn my head to face who his friend is.

Tall like a mountain, broad like the reach of the sun, but dark like the colours of the night and the depth of the sea on a skin resembling moonlight. There he stood, the man I had missed most.

“Kyubei?”

(What’s going on?)

**Gasps in Sengoku**

His name escapes me so easily, but the usual warm and reassuring smile from the man is gone as Kyubei ignores me, instead facing Motonari as he goes down on his knees.

“I had to lay low for a while. Security has tightened up around this area.”

Motonari narrows his eyes at the vassal, clearly not believing the man, but choosing to keep quiet nonetheless as he shrugs his shoulders, his chin pointing towards me.

“Aren’t ya glad to see her back? Heard ya are fond of her.”

Kyubei doesn’t react to the taunt Motonari throws at him as he remains kneeling. A scoff escapes the other as he pokes the fire between us some more, this time to put out the flames.

“Ya better not think of running. Tomorrow will be another long day and I promise I will break her legs this time.”

The words leave a chill in me as the heat of the fire slowly fades away, leaving me in the dark as the shapes of the men shift, readying themselves for the night.

[art-of-love-and-war]

Hello! Can I request Angst Nobunaga ×MC where MC is pregnant and at the labour time she finds difficulties and barely survives but gives birth to a healthy baby .Thanks in advance

All our days

Pairing: Nobunaga Oda x Reader

Rating: Everyone

Word count: 1403 words    

Warning/s: Pregnancy themes, mentions of blood, very slight angst.

Notes: Hello everybody! Please remember that my inbox is always open if anyone would like to request something!

Inspiration: All our days by Casey Lee Williams

Then one day, you arrived. I heard your angel cry. Helpless, small, and perfect. Welcome to your life.

You were having sweet dreams, walking on clouds.

Yet it became distant as your beautiful dream faded and you woke up feeling a sudden and quite painful kick from your belly.

‘They are kicking.’ You thought, trying to focus your sight in the darkness of the tenshu.

As you were approaching the end of your pregnancy, the child you were carrying got more insistent inside you, moving and kicking as if they knew they were going to come out soon.

This time it had been different, your body felt too heavy as you struggled to sit up as you felt another kick. A whimper left your lips, waking your husband up.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, sitting up next to you with concern clear in his eyes, reaching with a gentle hand to brush your hair back behind your ear.

“I don’t know…” you rested your hands on your stomach. “They are kicking too hard this time.”

On a normal night, you’d wake up for a few minutes some nights, but something deep inside you told you that it would be difficult to go back to sleep tonight.

With a small huff, you tried to stand up and Nobunaga quickly stood before you to help you on your feet to make sure you didn’t fall. “I’ll have someone bring you something to drink.”

“No, no,” you held his hand, smiling softly. “It’s too late; I don’t want to bother anyone now. I just want to move for a little bit.”

You knew he had been on edge for the past weeks and that he tried his hardest to finish his work to tend your needs and take care of you and your unborn child. You were grateful for it and appreciated his and everyone’s efforts.

Servants, vassals, and guards all kept an eye out for you. The other seamstresses you were friends with openly told you to take a break and not push yourself to work on your pending commissions for your well-being and your child’s.

You brought your hand to rest over your belly, smiling.

‘You aren’t born yet, little one. We all care for you and want to meet you soon.’ You thought to yourself as you walked towards the balcony to watch the full moon in its entire splendor.

Nobunaga walked up behind you, setting a haori over your shoulders and then wrapping his arms around you to keep you warm. 

“You are smiling.” He observed with a soft smile of his own adorning his lips, carnelian eyes bright and soft.

You leaned comfortably against his broad chest with a sigh of content. “I was just thinking about them.” Your smile widened at the memory of you thinking that three months before going back to your time would seem like an eternity, but know these eight –almost nine—months passed by in a blink of an eye.

Nobunaga hummed, resting his chin on your shoulder to place a kiss on your cheek. “It won’t be long before they come.”

You nodded happily, nuzzling him as you stood in comfortable silence, watching the moon for a while.

Another kick, stronger than the past few, almost made you jump.

The thoughts that your child was only restless and having a bad night were replaced when the pain in your lower back became unbearable, and then you felt…wetness, growing between your legs.

You looked down, expecting to find that your water had broken, but your sleeping robes were not stained with the clear liquid.

It was blood.

You felt nothing but panic, fearing that this child, your child, would be lost before seeing the world, and as you turned you could see it in Nobunaga’s eyes too, that liquid fear that ran through your veins and filled your mind with the worst of thoughts.

He called your name, holding you securely in his arms before carefully lifting you off your feet.

You clung for dear life to him, fighting the fear and the pain as he took you through the hallways until you could no longer resist the agony you had been holding back.

The painful wail that you let out certainly woke all of Azuchi up.

[*]

He had been waiting outside the room for hours now after the midwife had dismissed him, even if he demanded on staying with you.

The night had been insanely long, making him think that he was trapped inside the most horrible of hells, all of his deeds had caught upon him and his punishment was listening to your pain through the screen door without the power to do anything to stop your suffering.

Even if he didn’t show it, he was dying a little inside, knowing that your life and the life of your child could be at stake, that he could lose both of you. It terrified him to no end and he could feel himself growing colder and colder.

If he paid enough attention and listened carefully, he could hear nothing in the castle, as if time itself had stopped.

Hideyoshi and company had arrived not long after and had stayed with him like silent guardians, voicing their concern for your health until morning rose completely, and they had left him in solitude to fill his place for the day as you were the only thing in his mind.

He battled his exhaustion on this so-called emergency day off, just listening to your panting and soft cries.

Time slowed down for him once more, as a sudden silence took over. Every hair in his body stood up in alert as he waited in this hell of uncertainty.

Fearing the worst, he stood up, slowly reaching for the door with a shaky hand, knowing that you could be gone, knowing that everything he had built with you could collapse.

He stopped when he heard a small muffled whine, followed by a very loud cry.

He bolted and almost kicked the door at the sound, knowing that he almost had pushed one of the women assisting you as he made his way to you in a hurry.

You smiled widely with exhaustion, sweaty everywhere, probably fighting to keep your eyes open.

“Nobunaga!”

“Fireball!” He couldn’t contain the emotion in his voice, falling on his knees before you and cupping your face in his hands to place a needy kiss to your lips and then your forehead, brushing the wet strands of hair away from your flushed face.

You giggled, letting him eye you and hold you to make sure you were okay

The midwife finally approached you, after cleaning the crying baby and wrapping them in a blanket for you to hold. She bowed respectfully to you, offering you the small baby. “My lady, you had a healthy baby boy.” 

She bowed low to the floor as you reached for your child, looking at him for the first time. 

The moment you cradled him in your arms, his little cries slowly ceased, whimpering and seeking the warmth of your chest.

You looked at Nobunaga, who had his eyes set on the little human now resting against you.

That panic and the fear that came with the darkness of the night was now gone. The child now swaddled in your arms, pressed against your chest…it was something so natural and pure that every bit of darkness and fear of death was cast back from the strength of the light he radiated. You were holding life.

Nobunaga pressed a kiss to your brow, leaning his head against yours as he reached to caress his son’s face with his fingers, gently grazing his soft, velvety skin with his calloused hand.

You saw how his eyes suddenly were brimming with life and light, bliss and everything that could possibly make him feel whole, like a new man, seeing his heir…His son.

Your child.

His family.

He trembled when he reached to hold him. Yet, Nobunaga resisted, deciding to wraps his arms around you and press another loving kiss to your face.

“Thank you.” He muttered, voice thin and almost broken, but he still resisted, having to be strong, but you heard the emotional strain on his voice.”I won’t ever let you leave my side again.”

Nobunaga can only look down at the little boy in your arms and just feel... overwhelmed by emotion and the pain and fear of losing it all and everything just vanishing into a dream. 

He can’t lose you, he won’t allow himself for harm to come your way.

He had made himself that promise to protect you since the moment you conquered his heart, and now he promised he would be stronger to protect what you had built together with determination and love.

Nobunaga would take care of you, and your son for as long as he breathed.

[littlegrrl7]

“A Devil’s Heaven”

Ikemen Sengoku - Nobunaga/OC 18+

Smutty Excerpt Chapter 31 Sneak peek!

For my November Nanowrite adventure I wrote a smutty tale of Nobunaga and Portuguese Captain Chiara Alvarez, partially inspired by his romantic route where he leaves Japan and travels with the MC. It’s currently sitting at 125k unfinished words It’s finished at 141K words, Huzzah! Posts daily over on AO3. As usual, it’s plot with a healthy dose of smut.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28048281/chapters/68713227

___

“I leave you alone for a moment, and you are at target practice and gambling?” Nobunaga teased, his lips going to Chiara’s neck, “such vices you have.”

“What else is there to do at sea?” She winked, and his grip on her tightened. His hands slid down from her shoulders, thumbs lightly tracing the curve of her breasts before his fingers cradled against her ribs. Chiara bit her pillowy lower lip, her body arching toward his almost pleadingly.

“I guess now I know what you did before I arrived to alleviate your boredom.” He kissed the roundness of her cheek, pulling Chiara closer to his body. She could feel the length of him, hard against the plushness of her hip. She couldn’t resist rubbing against him, feeling the press of his cock through their clothing and knowing just how much Nobunaga desired her. His breathing became uneven, ragged against her skin, and this only encouraged Chiara more.

“Is there something you are in need of, Lord Oda?” she gazed boldly into his eyes, waiting for his request, or even better, his demand.

“You. Every blessed moment anymore, I need you.” His kiss stole her breath. A hard, needy thing not bothering with finesse or tenderness, and Chiara drowned in the waves of his raw passion. Her hands fisted in the front of his kimono, then pushed it aside to caress the smooth planes of his chest.

“Chiara,” Nobunaga’s voice rumbled in his throat, strained with passion. One hand tangled into her hair, the other settled to her lower back, holding her roughly to him. She could feel the smooth, cool butt of his pistol pressing against her bottom. It was strangely erotic, being pressed between him and it.

“You should holster that thing.” She shot him a devilish grin as they both came up for air.

Nobunaga parted her thighs with his knee, grinding against her with a seductively deep laugh. “Here?”

Chiara chuckled at his double meaning. She glanced to either side, anyone could come up the path, but there was a small storage shed off to the left. She nodded to it:

“There.”

He holstered his pistol, lifting her up with a gruff, “Legs around me, Chiara,” then there was no more room for words. They were a tangle of limbs in the shade of the small building before she could take another breath. 

He set her down long enough to strip off her pants and then lifted her again, his mouth bruisingly hard on hers, the rough wood of the wall digging at her back through her thin shirt. She felt the thickness of him bunt against her, and he moaned at how soaked she was. Just a moment of his hands against her, a few glances and Christ’s blood how she wanted him inside her. She let out a tiny, pleading cry, her hips rocking against him, begging for him to stretch her wide, to fill her. Nobunaga thrust, burrowing deep into her flesh. Chiara whimpered at the intrusion, writhed at being stretched so quickly, and he kissed her harder, tongue plunging deep into her mouth in time with his cock, greedily swallowing down every sound she uttered. 

Nobunaga fisted her golden hair, yanking her head back as he took her. Teeth closed on Chiara’s throat marking her, and she moaned, nails digging into his shoulders, her thighs clenching tight around his muscled hips. The wet slap of skin and the sharp sensation of his teeth on her flesh were sending her into a dizzy euphoria. He hooked her thighs up over his biceps, pounding deeper. Tools in the shed rattled, coming off the walls; she didn’t care. Her body twisted tighter, and Chiara opened her eyes to his burning gaze. He looked like a dark djinn of middle eastern fairy tales, with their fiery eyes and endless ability to torment a soul. She could get lost in his carnelian gaze for centuries. Nobunaga slowed his pace, stilling himself within her, and pulled back a moment, his expression softening.

“Not yet,” he whispered, watching Chiara fall apart with each slow slide into her, “not yet, my radiant sun.”

When his lips covered hers again, the kiss was both urgent and slow, movement conveying feelings he had yet to fully express in words. He strained to hold back, to tease and delight her, leaving Chiara panting and breathless in the small dark shed.

His lips hovered just over hers, sharing breath as he slowly retook her, so deep Chiara thought she would shatter. And he watched every part of her trembling.

“Open your top,” the growled command made her clench tight around him. Chiara’s hands moved to the lacing, letting it fall to either side. He licked the trickle of sweat from between her breasts, then his tongue circled one dusky nipple, teasing her relentlessly. Chiara moaned, tossing her head back against the wall, her mussed hair coming undone around them. He sucked gently, timing it with the slow thrust of his hips, making her entire body ache with desire.

“Take me, please,” those blue eyes begged him, “I am so close.”

A low hum was his only response as he moved to her other breast. Teeth closed down over the tender skin, and she gasped, her body drawing so tight with pleasure that he couldn’t move within her. Nobunaga chuckled and lapped at the abused flesh.

“You adore the marks I leave on you,” he rumbled, his mouth nuzzled to the side of her breast, leaving a trail of sharp nips followed by soothing kisses.

“Yes,” Chiara writhed on him, her hips bucking, and he pinned her tighter to the wall.

“Do you look at them the next day and remember how I ravished you? How my mouth felt on your flesh? How my cock filled your body, making you mine?” he asked, breath whispering against the soft skin below her ear. Chiara's face flushed hotly as she nodded. His lips curled sensually against her neck.

“I can not hear you, my radiant sun,” he withdrew all but the tip, thrusting so lightly she keened with wanting.

“Yes.”

His mouth returned to her nipple, tongue lathing over it, lips tugging gently, then harder as his hips moved faster against her.

“Tell me how much you desire me. Let me hear it from your sweet lips.”

A strangled sound tore from Chiara. She gripped his hair, pulling him to her for another lustful slide of his tongue against hers. Her body pressed to his, large wet breasts slipping over his bare chest.

With a low growl, his thrusting became impossibly harder, drilling her into the rough wall of the shed. Nobunaga’s pounding rhythm fell erratic as Chiara screamed through her climax, his teeth sunk deep into her shoulder. With a roar, he filled her, then lay panting against her body, still pinning her wide to the rough wood.

She brushed his sweat-damp hair back from his face, her body aching, thighs shaking in his arms. Nobunaga pulsed inside her, Chiara's heartbeat answered. Their gazes met, each needing what the other offered. Gently he let her down, his arms coming around her, and they slumped to the packed earthen floor together.

Chiara limply rested her head against his shoulder, lips just brushing the salty flesh of his neck.

“I love the way you sound when you come, that feral roar rocks my soul every time,” she whispered her confession against his skin, not able to look him in the eye.

His lids slid closed as a shudder ran through his body. Chiara felt it and held him just a little tighter.

[solo-net]

WIP Wednesday

Fallen Star

A/N: Below is a passage from my fanfiction Fallen Star where Michiko Arasaka emerges victorious and takes steps to get rid of her enemies. Hanako is sent to Japan under heavy guard to live out her days in peace with Oda while Yorinobu is forcibly banished from Night City and cast out into the Badlands. Vera finds him and brings him back to the Aldecados. What happens next is a journey of anger, forgiveness, found family, and redemption.  

While the nomads storm Arasaka, Michiko Arasaka takes advantage of the chaos to take complete control of the Arasaka Corporation, crushing the rival factions into the dirt. Stripped of his power, money, and ambitions, a disgraced Yorinobu Arasaka roams the Badlands a shadow of the man he used to be and mourning the loss of his future.

Cured of her condition but still weakened from the effects of the biochip, Vera Takemura and her husband, Goro Takemura, continue to live free with the Aldecados cherishing each day and taking nothing for granted.

But things take a turn for the stranger when during a supply run, Vera stumbles upon an unconscious Yorinobu, and against her better judgment...she brings him back to camp.

A hard arm circled her throat, and Vera was viciously jerked backward, her neck arched unnaturally. A brightly gleaming knife was held in front of her face. She had been too stunned to react, but now shock flooded her as her gaze locked on the blade. Who had snuck into camp? Had Raffens taken over in the middle of the night? The anguish and rage that rose in her was wild and ferocious, consuming her.

“Do not fight, and I will not hurt you,” a deep, familiar voice murmured in her ear. Yorinobu. “I require answers, nomad. If you make a wrong move—” The fallen heir didn’t finish the sentence, but he didn’t have to. How calm the voice was, as cold and unemotional. 

It made Vera swallow. 

He was beginning to sound like his father.

The arm under her chin was tightening its hold, and she automatically raised both hands, clutching at him. The knife moved menacingly closer. “Do. Not. Move.” he whispered, his mouth close to her ear. Vera’s mouth twisted in a silent snarl, and she shrank from the knife, her head digging into his shoulder, her body crowding frantically against his in an attempt to put distance between herself and that shining blade.

“It was you who saved me. Correct? Nod.”

Sharp, piercing relief, as painful in its own way as the rage and anguish had been, made Vera’s muscles suddenly tremble as the tension left them. Her hands relaxed on his forearm. She nodded once. 

“That is better,” the low voice growled. “What is your name?” 

“Vera,” she said, her voice breathless because of the pressure he was putting on her throat. 

“Where am I?” 

“A nomad camp. I found you dehydrated and half-dead on the side of the road and brought you here.” Goro had been furious with her when she’d returned to camp with Yorinobu in the back of her car. Panam had opted that she put him back where she found him, but Mitch had stepped in, saying that leaving a man to die of thirst made them no better then Raffens. 

“He cannot stay here! I forbid it!”

“Goro, please--”

“No, Vera! I refuse to waste precious supplies on this traitor! Have you forgotten what he did to me? To us?”

In the end, Panam had put her foot down and tasked Vera with caring for Yorinobu. He was her responsibility and would use her own supplies to care for him.

Goro hadn’t spoken to her since.

Vera could feel him hesitate, though perhaps it was simply that Yorinobu was growing weaker. His strength was astonishing under the circumstances, but he was still frail, and his stamina was beginning to waver. “Please,” she whispered. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.” That was true, Yorinobu thought grimly. He was exhausted as if he’d run for miles; his legs felt as if they would give out on him at any moment. 

He didn’t know this strange nomad, and he couldn’t trust her; he had only this one chance, and one wrong move could cost him his life, but he didn’t have much choice. Slowly he relaxed his right arm from around her throat and let his left hand, the one holding the knife, drop to his side. His shoulder throbbed, and he doubted that he would be able to lift his arm again. 

Rather than jerk away from him, Vera turned cautiously, as if afraid of startling him into an attack, and wedged her shoulder under his right arm while her skinny arms went around him and supported him. “Lean on me before you fall,” she said, her voice still a little breathless. “It would be a mess if you tore all those stitches out. I worked hard to patch you up.” Yorinobu shot her a glare, but he forced himself to relax. 

He didn’t have much choice except to drape his arm over her slender shoulders and lean heavily on her. If he didn’t either sit down or lie down—soon—he was going to fall, and he knew it. Slowly the tiny nomad helped him back to the cot, supporting him as he virtually collapsed onto the edge of the cot, then holding his head in the crook of her left arm as she lowered him into a supine position while she reached around him with her other hand to arrange the pillow.

[masked-buffoon]

Chapter 7: An oxidising dream of a world (Part 3)

Warnings: violence, mentions of torture, abuse

Author notes: it’s been 7 chapters and that character had yet to make an appearance... That mistake is now fixed. Hope you enjoy!

I made sure myself that there was not an ounce of poison remaining between the men's teeth and checked the knots of the rope that was tying them. If it were only for me, I would have chained them to the wall, but the men I employed were not satisfied with this option — to them, torture would be unnecessary. They did not look harmful enough in their eyes. I felt uneasy.

"I'll go back upstairs to call Dazai-san and tell him about our success." I said with a slight smile "Get ready to hear faint praises and have a small income of money. I'll personally request for it —"

I cut myself before finishing my sentence and the henchmen refrained from cheering up. A frown darkened my expression, and I crossed my arms as someone entered.

"Akutagawa." I spat his name like a curse upon seeing him "What brings you here?"

He was the "dog" Dazai kept talking about. I had met him, once, after the incident against Q-kun, but it had gone horribly wrong. Akutagawa had demanded me to challenge him and, obviously, his ability Rashōmon was much stronger than mine, and his brutal force had been such I could not even have heard his thoughts in hope of predicting his upcoming moves, and he had crushed me like a mouse. It had been my utmost defeat... Ever since, when I walked past him in the corridors of the headquarters, he would send me contemptuous and envious looks; why was I, a weakling, the one our superior allowed by his side? Why did he not rather acknowledge him? These were questions I had asked myself as well, but, then, it had occurred to me that this person was especially violent toward our enemies. Killing was the way he thought Dazai would recognise his strength.

"I've heard Dazai-san had entrusted you with an important mission." He snapped back "Ogawa."

The way my name slipped on his tongue was no better than my own way of calling him. I raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? Then you have good ears, for it is true. I was just on my way to calling him."

"How could he do that!" He huffed "You're an incompetent."

"Yet he did not give that mission to you." I snarled, going up "Do not mess with my work."

Upstairs, I dialled my superior's number and rejoiced when he picked up immediately. I looked around, making sure there was no one, and spoke through the device.

"Dazai...!" I felt a smile "We successfully caught three men from Mimic. They are not yet awake."

"Nice..." He chuckled darkly "Very nice. I'm coming right now. Wait for me in front of the torture room."

"Yes, Dazai. By the wa —"

I stared at my phone screen in disbelief, seeing he had hung up. I had not had time to warn him about Akutagawa's presence...

The executive smiled slightly as I saw him walk toward me. Politely, I bowed before him, before following him downstairs.

"The men worked really well." I told him "They were very efficient, obedient too."

"If this works out, I shall award them properly then." He agreed, guessing my thoughts without much trouble.

The sight we were welcomed with was not the one I was expecting; lying in large puddles of blood, the three men we had managed to take back to the Port Mafia had longed stopped breathing. Two of them had that peaceful expression only sleeping people had, and the last's face was disfigured by a grim smirk. I feared I understood...

"What happened there?" Dazai asked curtly, without even glancing at me.

I had not been invited to, but I stepped toward my previous targets, horrified, and noticed the wounds. Bullets, and something different.

"Akutagawa...!" I gasped, turning toward him.

"One of them woke up..." An underling explained, his voice trembling "He shot his comrades before we could do anything or even call Ogawa-san... Then, he turned toward us..."

"And I punished him." Akutagawa finished simply.

"You punished him?" My superior raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms "By killing him? The only source of information we had hardly managed to get?"

"This piece of trash did not deserve to live." He defended "I served your interests, Dazai-san...!"

"Ogawa-kun, come here." He called me.

My head hanging low, I reached his side, obeying his orders without questioning. I only let out a startled yelp when his feet flew toward his protege's stomach, kicking him toward the ground with a force I had not witnessed for at least a year.

"Now, pull out your gun." He demanded me "And shoot him."

"B-But —"

"Shoot him!" He yelled "This person stole your job! He ruined your efforts! Why don't you just take revenge?!"

Trembling, I did as I was told and grabbed one of my weapons by my side. I did dislike this boy in front of me, but never would I want to kill him. The irrational part of my mind shouted at me, demanded me to press the trigger, but the sane one, which controlled most of my actions, calmed my heartbeat down and requested me to think twice before doing something I could regret. Dazai did not expect me to harm him. He had been against my revenge when I had gone to kill my parents. I lowered my weapon and gave it to the executive.

"Forgive me, Dazai-san... Not only I cannot shoot him, but it is not my place to do such a thing. You alone should punish him..." I murmured, walking behind him.

"Is that so..." I could not hear the expected disappointment in his tone "Then it shall be as you say."

Three gunshots echoed in the dark room. Akutagawa had died without even a cry...

"Hoh~ See, when you put some effort into it?" Dazai mocked his subordinate.

"I had never succeeded before..." He defended poorly.

I glanced behind my shoulder, and saw he was well-alive. He had used his beast to swallow the space between him and the bullets... Somehow, I could not help feeling relieved.

"Your ability is not only for killing. Next time, it will be two kicks and five bullets." He warned, giving me my weapon back "Now, on to work. Let's see what those corpses can tell us. Ogawa-kun."

"Yes, Dazai-san." I followed him.

"We better hurry, or else, Odasaku will solve this case by himself..." He sighed, starting to look into the dead men's pockets.

"Isn't Oda Sakunosuke a mafioso who doesn't kill?" A henchman asked.

"If he can't do something so simple, he doesn't deserve to have your attention, Dazai-san...!" Akutagawa added.

I glanced at him, disapproving strongly.

"Oda is worth better than a man whose only competence is to kill...!" I argued.

"The fact one kills shall not get in the way of the friends I choose for myself." My superior said coldly "My, to think my own subordinates only think about killing... I advise you do not piss him off, Akutagawa-kun. Not only you will never be half as strong as he is, but if he is angry, a whole squadron won't be able to defeat him."

His protege let out a frustrated growl.

[snow--blanket]

stream and deer

commissioned by @nyktoon-in-otomeland!

word count: 4028

fandom: ikemen sengoku

characters: kennyo, ishikawa reika ***

There was an old library, south of the forest in Sekihan, and the path there was cobbled and staggering. It depended on who you asked—the widows of soldiers in the past war believed the road was formed by the steps of the Gashadokuro, a skeletal giant that was made from the bones of a thousand fallen men. The ones that hung holly above their doors believed it to be the paw prints of black cats, leading you astray from the crooked road back home. 

Kennyo believed differently. 

He believed that the wayfarers that had found their way to the boundary between forest and field were looking for something new. Something troubling. They were waiting for a rise in the tide, the grey of smoke and storm that christened the air in the midst of a hail of bullets. They were not looking for something pretty. 

They were looking for a reckoning. They were looking for change, and change was what Kennyo needed. 

So he made himself steady through the forest, following the path of small stones that dug through his worn down sandals, and the road to the library was so narrow it could hardly be called one. It was more like a small alley, and the thorns pricked him red and stole threads of his sleeves as he walked. Kennyo realised that if he were ambushed in the forest, he could not get out. He was a soldier walking to his death, slowly watching his comrades being killed one by one, lined up and ripe for murder. 

He grit his teeth. Murder is what kept him walking, so he did not mind if he died. Still, it should not be here, where so many of his brothers have gone without tombstones to mark their graves. 

Kennyo reached the library by the one hundred and fifty-eighth tap, and the library itself was a fairly small thing, like a silo used to store grain. He remembered a soldier that came from the inner town saying that the libraries there were the length of more than a hundred arm spans. This one had no room for Kennyo to walk around the sides or behind, shielded by the thorny wood. He remembered the sight. He'd seen it before. 

The library of Sekihan was a heart and the forestry was its ribcage. He knew he was at the right place. 

Kennyo walked to the front door, ignoring the foggy windows and the rusty knocker, corroded by time and air and rain. There were no flowers around the library, only the browning summer grass. 

When he entered the library, he was surprised by the fact that he didn't cough. In fact, as he looked around his surroundings, the library was quite well kept—only a few books strewn on a table, but the floor was not dusty as he had expected. When he took off his sandals and walked on the wooden floorboards, it was smooth, no layer of dirt for him to wipe off his sole. The lighting in the library, however, was inconvenient. His only source of light was the evening sun filtering through the trees outside and passing through the greyed lens of glass. 

Kennyo walked to the bookshelves, looking for a title to catch his eye. His hand landed on the spine of a purple book, foiled with golden stripes. The title read, 'The Magic of Exchanges'. Surely this must be it. 

He removed the book from the shelf, but just as he was about to open it, a voice spoke: “I'd prefer it if you knocked next time.”

Kennyo's heart jumped in his chest, and he turned around to see a woman standing from her seat at a table, a book laid open. She rubbed her eyes and walked over to him. The woman stopped in front of him, then took the book from his hands. He was too surprised to react aptly, and for some reason he blushed beside himself. 

The woman went ahead and placed the book onto the shelf once more, then turned to look at him. “What is it you need?” 

He wasn't sure whether it was the filtered light passing through the foliage that made it seem like her eyes were star-scaped. He couldn't discern the colour of her eyes clearly, but her skin was the colour of the maple branches, and her kimono was a light blue. He blinked at that. “The book.”

The woman sat down in a chair, and then dipped a brush on an inkstone, writing on the pages of the open book. She hummed. “And for what reason?” 

Kennyo's brows were tight in a low snarl. “Not something you need to know.” 

She sighed. “This is my library. Every book belongs to me.”

Kennyo's legs already began to move, and in an instant, he pressed a blade to her throat. “I didn't ask.”

Her eyes met his own, and then they wandered down to his other hand that was free. She hummed. “Reika.”

“What?”

“My name is Reika. It's the name you will remember me by once you've killed me.” She stood up and walked slowly towards him, and it was then that he realised her eyes were not honey sunset or the orange from a lantern light, but dark as soil. Even though he was the one holding a weapon, the more she stepped closer, the farther he retreated, until they were both no longer doused in the evening light, dipped in darkness. 

He could do this. He had killed before. He would do it again. 

And yet, the more he pressed the cold steel to her skin, the more doubtful he felt. Kennyo could not take his eyes off of her. He did not try. He tried to say something kind—to make it quick, maybe?—but his tongue froze in his mouth and his words were robbed off him. Foolishly, he said this: “I will not apologise.”

“I don't expect you to,” Reika said, and her eyes wandered to his hand again. He only now realised that he had been drumming his palm with his fingers, a habit born out of anxiousness. “But it's not wise to lie to me.”

Kennyo opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, her hand had pushed his knife away, and his mouth was agape as he watched the small dribble of blood trail down her fingers. Without realising, he had lowered his blade, eyes widened as he saw that the skin where her cut formed chipped off and flaked to the ground like brittle splinters. “Who are you?” 

She smiled, and then bowed in a curtsy. “I'm Reika, the tsukumogami of the library, and keeper of the wisdom you seek. And you?” 

“Kennyo,” he uttered honestly, belatedly. “A…” 

Demon? 

“Traveler,” he said. It would do for now. “I'm a traveler.”

Her smile was edged, thorny like the woods. “And do all travelers carry weapons these days? I must have been asleep for quite some time.”

“It is a dangerous world.”

Reika's eyes glanced at the blade in his hand. “It certainly appears that way.” She looked back at him. “So what, pray tell, are you planning to do with the book?” 

Kennyo opened his mouth to let the lies fly out like locusts, but he found himself speaking the truth. “I will make myself a monster.”

She regarded him, a sort of understanding sinking into her eyes like stone. As if she has had this conversation a hundred times with a hundred different people. “And whose monster will you be?” 

His tongue thawed, and his words came easy and abrasive like sand. “Oda Nobunaga.”

She was quiet. There was no way she hadn't heard the name before. “I'll grant you permission on one condition,” she said. “That you speak truth.”

He considered this. “And when will I receive it, if I do?” 

“Whenever I deem you fitful.”

Kennyo gnashed his teeth. Nobunaga's march east would be in three weeks time, so he could only make sure to gain his powers as a demon within that time frame to avoid any more reckless deaths. “In two and a half weeks,” he said. “If you do not deem me fitful then, I will burn this library to the ground.”

She was a tsukumogami, and her spirit resided in the library, tying herself to the same thread. Burning the books was as good as killing her. If he could not make her bleed, he would make her disappear.

Reika smiled. “I don't think you'll need the book to be a monster, then.”

“I will need to be a stronger monster than him,” Kennyo spat out the words like poison. 

She hummed, appraising him with… something he could not recognise. Reika turned away from him, tidying up the books on the table. “Come again tomorrow,” she said. 

Kennyo nodded, and then left the library. When he arrived home, he asked a village woman about hexes to ward off impurities. The old woman was somewhere in her late forties or early fifties, her wrinkled face stretched like cloth that had gotten loose from use. She had a mother's disposition, taking care of many animals, as well as parenting a lot of the village children. Although she had her own name, everyone called her such. 

The old woman hunched over her small, damp, kitchen and tied rosemary and basil leaves together with butcher's twine, and then wrapped it in a small white cloth. She gave it to Kennyo, who uttered his thanks as he slipped it into his kimono. “Are you going somewhere far again?” 

“No.” Not now, at least. Kennyo lightly bumped her out of the way, picking up the ladle that still had the remnants of soup. He began his mindless work of tidying up her kitchen, as it often was messy after supper for the kids. “How is…” His voice caught on his throat like the briars had on his sleeves. “How is he?” 

The old woman started to stack up the dirty plates, hovering around the table so worriedly it truly gave justice to her title. “The usual. He asked you where you went, but that's about it.” 

“I see.” 

They were both silent after that, and Kennyo made himself sparse and went home after the old woman had sent him off with rice balls filled with anchovy and pickled plum. When he bathed, the nicks the thorns had made on his arms and legs stung red under the rush of water. There was magic there, he realised. His wounds looked like the sun spots behind his eyelids, a dizzying flower. It'll be worth it, he thought. The pain would be worth it. 

He woke up early the next day and ate the half of the pickled plum rice ball, giving half of it to the little boy that was drawing circles on the dirt. Kennyo simply patted his head and said "you need to grow up strong and healthy", smiling as he did so. 

“Like you?” 

His smile faltered at that. “Even stronger.” I will need to be a stronger monster than him. Kennyo hoped that the words would not echo. 

When he arrived at the library again, the narrow path seemed to have widened a bit—now it was not squeezing him like a tied coin purse, but it was as if he was in the kitchen with the village mother, working elbow to elbow. The curtains were drawn fully to let the afternoon glare enter. Even without lanterns, it seemed to be brighter than before. 

She greeted him with a smile. “Hello.”

He nodded, and then sat on a chair, all stiff shoulders like he was going to war. “Begin,” he said. 

She laughed at that. “If you say so.” She sat near him after she pulled out a green book from the shelf. She pushed it across the table in front of him. “Read.”

“Are you making fun of me?” Kennyo's voice was a low growl. 

Reika did not respond to his heat with fire. Instead, her voice was a slow stream from the mountains, ever-enduring. “Not at all.” This, she said without smiling. “Why do you wish to be a demon?” 

“So I can kill—” Her gaze silenced him. Speak truth. “So I can avenge my fallen brothers.”

She hummed, then took out a yellow book he'd seen her write on before. She dipped her brush in the inkstone once, and then drawled across the empty pages in fluid motions. “And you think killing Nobunaga will do such a thing?” 

“Not at all.” He thought even death was too easy for the devil of the sixth heaven. “But if—” he stammered, “but if it will give them some semblance of peace, then I will do it.”

She stopped her writing, tore out a page to squeeze the ink out of her brush, then put it down. “I'm going to give you something,” Reika said, and pulled out a green book. She flipped open the pages until she stopped at one page, and then a round lumpy object surfaced from the papers, like dead bodies in a lake. Kennyo's eyes widened. She took the object and put it in his hands. It was light, and smooth. Like a small rock that had been polished clean. 

He blinked at her incredulously. “What is this?” 

She walked past him and closed the yellow book, then nudged it into the bookshelf. When her eyes met his, there was something there. Pinecones and fallen leaves. Like she had seen death without stepping foot on a battlefield. “It's what you are looking for.”

“I am looking for power,” he said, and he almost felt ridiculous. As if speaking it into existence had somehow dulled the scent of gunpowder and burnt embers. 

Reika shook her head. “You're looking for hatred,” she said so kindly, “And that is what hatred is.”

Kennyo looked at the rock in his hands, eyes narrowed in puzzlement. This thing was supposed to help him kill Nobunaga? The man who had both the forces of the nine-tailed kitsune and the fierce loyalty of a man turned servant? He couldn't understand it well. 

When he tried to prod further, Reika simply smiled and then said goodbye, and he had the good sense to leave her alone after that. 

Nine days passed, and the remnants of war returned in the middle of winter. 

Kennyo did not visit Reika in that time—because of the ongoing skirmish (it was what they called it, but he digressed) near the village, the daimyo ordered for the soldiers to send any injured or dead to them. The air was thick with the scent of blood and pus. Kennyo had experience with bandaging and basic first aid treatment, so he was in charge of aiding the injured soldiers as well as teaching other young men how to do the same thing. 

They managed to set up an area to lay the treated soldiers on a flat field that the children used to play in. Because the medicine was especially ineffective in the cold, they had used up every lantern and candle from the houses to warm the wounded men. The villagers did not complain, for they had gotten used to the chill of the mountains. Like sinners that had gotten used to hell fire.

One man whimpered, tugging Kennyo by his sleeve as he lay and groaned his pain. “Will I… live…?” 

The man had part of his lower leg blown off by an explosion, and it was as if a wolf had bitten it off. A wolf would have been kinder. Kennyo was sure there was a way to save him, but he did not know how. All he knew was that if he decided to muffle his breathing with a pillow, it would end his suffering. 

And wasn't that a sort of grace in itself? 

“No,” he said. He would be a monster, but he would not lie. “But—” he gestured to the other men that lay beside him. “But they might.”

The man smiled. “That's all… I can ask for.” He exhaled, and his sigh was like smoke coming out of the wrong end of a gun. Kennyo looked away. 

Because that's all you can afford to ask, Kennyo thought, but bit his words down until he felt blood. 

When he was free, he walked to the village mother's house and went into another room with a bowl of gruel in hand. Kennyo's heart beat fast and heavy in his chest. He knocked at the wooden door, a hollow sound. “I'm coming in.”

There was no response, but he entered anyways, and nudged the door close with his leg. He put the bowl onto the small wooden table and then lifted it off the floor to be closer to the bed. Kennyo could hear his shallow breathing. “Have you eaten yet?” He sat on a nearby makeshift stool, a container for biscuits. 

No answer. Just his pale eyes that stared at the walls. He had beauty, once. People fawned over him, and his hair that was lavender was now the colour of… rotting meat. Clever eyes that were like wisteria were always closed or looked at something that wasn't there, like a cat that could see ghosts. His beautiful features became wasted and hungry, his skin being pinched by his cheekbones that became more prominent as the days went by. 

“Ranmaru,” Kennyo said gently. “You have to eat.”

Ranmaru did not answer. Kennyo hated that he'd forgotten what the sound of his voice was like. When he was happy, he was like a twittering songbird. When he was serious, his breath was steady and his voice rang with clarity. When he was sad… 

When he was sad, he was silent, and that was the worst of all. 

He only spoke to the village mother, but Kennyo did not chide him for that. People expressed grief differently. Kennyo felt his chest become heftier, like he was the crow that had drunk the rocks with the water. A foolish act. 

Kennyo dragged his seat closer, and then spooned the gruel in front of his mouth. Ever since a small girl had come wandering into the room and stared agape at Ranmaru's lack of arms, no one else was allowed to enter aside from the village mother and himself. They had made up silly stories about a ghoul of some kind to ward off the children, and that was how Ranmaru lived. Like a gust of wind that could pass as the voice of a ghost. 

When Ranmaru did not open his mouth to eat, Kennyo did not sigh. He returned the spoon to the wooden bowl and put it back on the table and stood up. 

As he turned to leave, he felt something slip out of his robes. Kennyo looked at the floor and saw the small rock had escaped him. He crouched to pick it up, dusting it off before slipping it back into his kimono. He straightened, and opened his mouth to tell Ranmaru to rest well, but he did not speak. 

For the first time in years, Ranmaru's eyes were alive and lit with disgust, his lips a pulled back snarl like a taut bowstring. “You too?” His voice was quiet and quivering, like a rabbit in a trap. “You're going to kill me too?” 

“I don't—” 

“Enough already!” When Ranmaru was happy, his voice was a twittering bird. When he was serious, his voice was a warhorn. When he was angry, his voice was a trembling string of a koto being strummed over and over and over until the fingers that played it had gone red and chafe with use. “Enough already… I know I'm already useless to you, Master Kennyo. I know I should die. I know that I can't help you with your goals anymore, and it'll probably be easier to kill me than to take care of me, but—!” 

“No. No! You're not—I wouldn't do that to you.” He remembered the man at the tent. “I wouldn't do that to you,” he said. 

“But someday you will!” Ranmaru shouted like the words had been ripped out of his mouth, from some part of him that knew the truth. That Kennyo was to be a monster, and he did not know where he stood between his fangs and his hatred. 

Ranmaru started shaking, his body convulsing as his breathing started to pick up, shallow and quick and unsteady. Kennyo started to approach him, but Ranmaru whimpered. “Go away.” His eyes looked at him in fear. “Please, go away.” He closed his eyes shut and tears streamed down his face. 

So Kennyo did. 

He hoped something would make him stay; regret, compassion, kindness. But those could not be his tools as a monster. His human tongue had nestled in slumber behind his canine teeth. So he left, knowing that he did not deserve those half-hearted attempts at deriving the gold of his heart from the poison. 

That night, Kennyo slept restlessly, and he thought about the sun spots the thorns had made on him and the look in Ranmaru's eyes. As if he feared him not for holding the gun, but as a volatile bullet in a chamber, waiting for direction and could erupt at a moment's notice. He was a monster at both ends. 

The next day, Kennyo visited the library again, and strangely, he did not feel pain when the thorns pricked him. Like a sinner that had gotten used to hellfire indeed. 

Without even a greeting, Kennyo laid down the stone on the table where Reika sat at and spoke. “What is this?” 

Reika recognised the hurt that flashed in his eyes like fire flowers that were all too willing to burn. “It's a projectile from a canon that's called Ozutsu.”

“Why would you give me such a thing?” Kennyo could not help his frown. 

“There are certain weapons that are banned from use, did you know? Because they cause unnecessary suffering.”

“What does that have to do with—” Speak truth. “I don't.”

“Well, where I come from, the leader of the country, so to speak, banned things like… poisonous gases and anything that could be used to set things on fire intentionally. They recognised that even in war, there were certain boundaries one must keep and self regulate on a constant basis, as to not misuse the power given to them to oppress the weak and harmless.”

This was truth. “Why are you telling me this?” 

“To let you know that even if violence is the answer, it should not be wielded around carelessly, driven by rage.” Her eyes glittered, like there was gold amongst dirt there. “That people are always finding ways to lessen your pain even if they have to hurt you anyway. And you will not be exempt of that judgement.”

Kennyo did not growl fire like a dragon, but he whimpered like a whipped dog who did not know what he did wrong. “Violence is effective—” 

“Violence is quick. It is not effective, nor is it efficient.” Reika exhaled, her breath fogging like the greyed lenses of the windows. “It is not as if I do not recognise what kind of monster Nobunaga is,” she said quietly. “But he is a kind of monster that can live with himself. He has gotten used to his claws and sharp teeth. You are…” She paused. “You are meant to be something else for this world.”

“I don't know how I can live as myself while other people are needlessly dying at the expense of my passivity.” He furrowed his brows, his anger spent at her rather naive way of looking at things. 

Reika smiled, and it was the hint of something new, the smell of fern and lime and her eyes that did not shy away from his. A reckoning that started from a small stream. “I think you've forgotten. I am Reika, tsukumogami of the wisdom you seek.”

She took a green book from the shelves, and he'd recognised it before. She splayed the pages open and pushed it in front of him. 

“Read.”

[nad-zeta]

Match up (✿◠‿◠)

hi! i hope you are well and healthy! I wanted to request a matchup.

okay so i want to do this as structured as possible so you can have it easier.

about me: i am a intp, type 5 enneagram female. i'm asexual and in demiromantic. as per my d&d alignment i'm chaotic neutral. i'm a computer science student (crying cause i constantly have a bunch of assignment).

my traits: i'm kinda unsocial and cold at first but polite nonetheless at first. i'm very stubborn and rarely (almost never) admit that i'm wrong. Most of the time i'm very chill and all i do is vibe but i cannot keep my cool when i see people being unfair. i'm very lazy and unmotivated, but if i have a task that is given to me, i will make sure to do it perfectly and ontime. i am open-minded and love to talk about almost everything. i very outspoken about my opinions and i'm not afraid to call out people on they stupidity and ignorance. with my friends i'm very cheeky and love teasing them and very loyal to them. i usually make self deprecating humour. also i'm very detail-oriented and i when i make plans i try too foresee every possibility.

appearance: half of the time i'm wearing dark academia fashion and half the time i look like a 12 year old boy with only an eyeliner. i have dyed hair, currently in ginger. i do wear glasses also.

interests: memes, astronomy and quantum physics, cryptography and programming, crime mysteries, anime, music, libraries, psychology, coffee and black tea, history movies about wars,learning about random shit, alcohool, traveling.

Hi hi, love! Thanks so much for the request! I hope you are doing well and I hope you enjoy love! Also sorry for taking sooo long to get this to ya! (˶◕‿◕˶✿). 

So I match you with..................... Nobunaga 

Hehehe I have to admit, I had to really think about this one cause, I had half a mind bout matching you with our friendly neighbourhood ninja boi buuuut I decided not to lol

So the first time you meet Nobunaga well other than saving him from his death, was when he summoned Masamune to bring you back. You now stood in front of the man you had saved earlier on in that evening, and you were trying your best to be polite. Everything was going well until Hideyoshi made some comment about what an outspoken woman you were. Honestly, you knew women didn’t have many rights in the past, but the fact that he now full of ignorance talked down to you for being a woman had your blood boiling. You whipped your head around to look him straight in the eyes, you were very quickly starting to lose your cool with him. “What makes you think you can talk to me like that you stupid monkey.” This comment immediately brought a chuckle to Nobunaga’s lips, he found it all so amusing that you had chosen the same nickname as he had for the man. You and Hideyoshi continued to bicker, and things were starting to escalate fairly quickly. At some point, Masamune and Mitsuhide had to pull the two of you apart as you were at each other throats.

Nobunaga named you as an Oda princess and told Hideyoshi to calm down. At the end of the war council, you now sat in a room alone with the troublesome trio. Each of them sending teasing comments your way. What they didn’t expect, however, was the cheeky way you replied to their jokes. They found your loud outspokenness quite amusing. 

That night as is Nobunaga’s standard procedure, he invited you to his room. You walked into the room cautiously, not really knowing what to expect. You made your way out onto the balcony, and before you could announce yourself, you saw the night sky simmering and shining above you. It was absolutely brilliant. You had never seen the sky so clear and full of stars before, it was usually masked by pollution and dimmed out by the bright city lights. Nobunaga had been curiously eyeing you the entire time, he smirked at the way you looked up at the sky in awe. “Why fireball, you acting as though you have never seen the night sky before.” You were startled for a second, you were so absorbed by the night sky that you had forgotten why you had come to his room In the first place. 

Nobu being Nobu asked you in his ever commanding voice to be his bedmate for the night. An offer which you shot down faster than the blink of an eye. The man honestly couldn’t understand why, most woman would jump at the opportunity to sleep with him, yet here you are flat out rejecting him. You had explained that you were asexual, something which confused the shit out of him but either way he accepted you as you are, “Fine but you shall entertain me in some other way then.”

Honestly, you rolled your eyes at him, just who did he think he was. You took his bottle of sake, resting on the rail of the balcony and poured yourself a drink. This was the second time you had left Nobunaga speechless, he had never seen a woman so boldly make herself at home, much less pour herself a drink from his own private sake. You took a sip and smile, it was good. 

The two of you stood there for a while, just drinking in silence when he suddenly broke the ice with a question. “Why did you look up at the night sky like you had never seen anything like it before?” You smiled at him, “Well that simple cause I am used to a much older looking sky, where I'm from you can’t see as many stars and planets with the naked eye like this, due to the pollution and bright lights. Again he was left confused what did you mean. He looked at you questioningly, and that is when you explained that you were from the future, and thanks to your interest in quantum physics you could also explain the concept of time travel to him in great detail. He was shook, and awestruck. What an unusual woman he has stumbled upon. And this my friend is how your nightly visits to Nobunaga’s room started

The two of you would sit and drink sake while talking about anything and everything. Nobunaga loved how open-minded you were about everything, it made it easy to bounce ideas off of you. Your topics would range from history to war to psychology. HE loved your nightly chats, in fact, he would buzz with excitement during the day at the thought of the two of you, just peacefully drinking and getting to know each other a bit better. He also loved how hard you worked for the castle and its people. He found it interesting how you would introduce the staff to new easier ways of getting the job done, simply cause you were too lazy and demotivated to do it the way they have done it for years. No one could fault your work, it was absolute perfection, and to be honest, it actually gained you a lot of respect and trust around Hideyoshi, although he still didn’t like the fact that you and his lord was spending so much time together. He was convinced you were trying to get him to lower his guard with you so you could assassinate him.

It wasn’t until a certain incident at the market that gained you Hideyoshi’s respect and trust. The two of you were sent on important business together in the market, i.e. to buy Nobunaga more candy, when some soldiers were harassing some nice old man for being a foreigner. You honestly couldn’t stand injustice and bullies so naturally, you spoke out and lost your cool with the soldiers. It wasn’t until the soldiers started talking shit about Nobunaga that your blood started to boil. Like yeah at first you also thought he was too arrogant for his own good, but you had come to know him as more than just a feared devil king. You stood before them spitting out, smart, witty comments defending both Nobunaga and the old man, forgetting that the people of this time carried swords. They raised the sword above their heads intending to cut you down where you stand, you closed your eyes and shielded yourself with your arms, but the blow never came. You slowly opened your eyes to see Hideyoshi standing before you, his own sword drawn. He had protected you and ultimately saved your life. He tied the soldiers up, and Mitsuhide emerged from the shadows to take them away. Hideyoshi now saw you in a new light, not only did you protect the old man but you also stood up for his lord. He bowed down low to you and apologised for everything, for suspecting you, for treating you so horribly, everything. He now knew you were someone who he could entrust his lord too and he was happy that Nobunaga had found a friend he could confide in

You and Nobunaga loved to travel together. It had come up during one of the nightly visits that you loved to travel and see new places, and naturally, Nobunaga would do anything to see that beautiful smile grace your face. The two of you would often sneak out of the castle to go on an adventure together, even if it’s just to a neighbouring province to buy some tea and sample their alcohol. Nobunaga really enjoyed your company he loves your cheeky teasing banter.

The best day ever, however, was when Nobunaga had shown you the castle archives, you were awestruck by the vast amount of books he had managed to acquire. He found it amusing that you loved reading and learning new things, and often during your nightly visits, he would excitingly gift you a new book about the most random topic ever. He loves it, even more, when a few days later you tell him everything that you had learned from the book. He loves talking to you and spending time with you. He loves how you fearlessly challenge his opinions and decisions and help him to grow as a person. He had long ago fallen in love with you. He needed to make his feelings known, and he couldn’t hold them in any longer

It had come up during one of your many conversations with the man that you loved crime mysteries. TBH he stored and remembered every little detail you had revealed about yourself to him. It was time to set his plan in action. He had worked closely with Mitsuhide to create a murder mystery for you to solve, expect what you didn’t expect was that at the end of the riddles and puzzles he had set out for you to solve, it wasn’t the murderer that you had discovered, but his love for you. The final clue to the fake murder was a letter that was encrypted in a secret code. You were overjoyed, you loved solving codes, and puzzles. Nobunaga was a smart man, so this code was particularly challenging, a challenge mind you, that you thrived off of. Once you had finally deciphered the code and read the letter, you were shocked. It was not a letter of confession from the fake murderer but instead a love letter that Nobunaga had poured every ounce of his love into. You were in tears at the beautiful words.

TBH it took this boy a while to get used to your self-deprecating humour cause in his eyes you were absolutely perfect, and without fault, so he could never understand the jokes you would make. Eventually, though he caught on and would chuckle at your jokes, as long as they remained just that, jokes. He loved you utterly and completely and despite appearances loved to spend hours upon hours with you cuddled in his arms. He loved to just snuggle up in your lap as you pull your fingers through his hair and tell him about your day.

The two of you cuties can often be found off travelling somewhere or sitting quietly in Nobunaga’s room sharing a drink. The two of you love nothing more than to just be nestled together. Nobunaga will hold you in his arms and gently rub circles on your back as the two of you talk about the most random topics. Nobunaga absolutely loves and adores everything about you, and loves nothing more than to just spend a quiet, peaceful evening with you.

Other potential matches................Sasuke

I hope you enjoyed it love and I hope you are keeping safe and well! (◕ω◕✿)❤❤🌼

[amarabliss]

Safe 4 - Nobunaga Oda/Military MC

I know not what I normally write for but i’m feeling way out of it, so enjoy if you like Ikemen Sengoku!

You were an active member of the military for many years and now you were in war torn Japan 500 years in the past. The lord protecting you dismissed your claims to understand what he was going through, but when you happen to peek at the war table you see many things that needed correcting…

Part 1 Part 2* Part 3

*Song played

Nobunaga looked out at the battlefield before him. Things had progressed faster then he anticipated, and it was all thanks to you, though it had cost him dearly in the end.

“You swore!” Your voice echoed in his ears as an image of your tearing face flashed through his mind.

“My lord…” He looked over to Hideyoshi who had a concerned look on his face.

“Everything is fine.” He told him confidently, “Are we on course?”

“Everything will be ready come morning.” Hideyoshi nodded watching him turn from the field “My lord?”

“Ask your question?” Nobunaga took a breath in watching his soldiers walk about the camp.

“…” His right hand stayed silent for a moment, “I’m worried about Y/N…she didn’t seem enthused to be here. Perhaps…we send her back with the messenger. She can return to Azuchi and guarantee that Ieyasu gets our orders.”

Nobunaga turned and looked at him, “Why would her discomfort matter?”

Hideyoshi looked at him surprised, “I…I didn’t mean…forgive me sir…I overstep.”

Nobunaga felt his jaw twitch before he looked away, “Do it…We don’t need anyone worrying over a woman when they should be focusing on the battle.”

“Yes, my lord, at once.” Hideyoshi left him alone walking toward the infirmary tent to find you. He gave a sigh of relief seeing you ripping up material to use as bandages, “Y/N…”

You looked up letting out a sigh, “Yes, you need something?”

“Actually…I’m hoping to help you.” He gave you a soft smile, “I’m sending you back with a messenger…you’re going to pass orders to Ieyasu and make sure he and Mitsunari come in a timely fashion.”

You made a face before looking down at the material in your lap, “Is this your idea or his?”

He frowned before kneeling down in front of you, “If truly matters…mine…”

You looked at him and nodded, “Okay…”

“What happened?” He reached out taking your hands in his stopping you from your task, “For weeks you two have been good for one another, and then…”

“He then he broke his word.” You told firmly eyes holding great saddness, “I won’t go into the details, but…I thought he was a better man…turns out I was wrong…”

“He had to have a good reason.” He watched you shake your head, “No please…listen…”

You looked at him as he sighed looking down before he looked back to your face, “Nobunaga is not a man who easily trusts anyone, and he has expressed that he believes in you. I have to believe that he had a good reason to do whatever it is he did, he always does. It may not seem like it…but he does…”

You sniffed looking away as you squeezed his hands, “You’re a good man Hideyoshi…but I can’t let this one go that easily…I don’t let my guard down a lot and for some reason I did around him, and he took away everything in an instant…”

You told him you would be ready when he needed you to leave before he left. He walked out feeling confused. His mind reeled as walked back to the war tent.

“Everything settled?” He looked up at Nobunaga who was looking at the map of movements.

“…” Hideyoshi felt a protectiveness grow inside of him “As well as it can be…”

Nobunaga looked at him, “What does that mean?”

“What did you do to her?” Hideyoshi stood in the entrance of the tent, “What did you do that betrayed her so much?”

He watched his lord stand up straight staring at him, “She didn’t tell you?”

“No, I think she respects you enough still to give you your privacy…” Hideyoshi looked away from him.

“I broke her trust. I told her I wouldn’t let her go home.” Nobunaga told him looking down.

“She wants to go home?” Hideyoshi questioned him looking surprised. He thought you were happy here.

“…she…” Nobunaga reached for a figure on the map, “she has people that need her…that depend on her…”

“I don’t understand…I thought… you agreed to let her…” Hideyoshi pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I can’t let her go.” Nobunaga told him crisply.

“And I’m sure you have a good reason as to why…but you should try and explain…” Hideyoshi began again.

“I need her!” Nobunaga’s voice raised and then softened as he placed the piece in his hand gently on the table, “I need…her…”

There is was. Hideyoshi knew then exactly what had happened. Though he knew Nobunaga would never be able to admit it to anyone but himself, “Possessing someone isn’t the same as needing someone…I don’t think for one second, Y/N, will allow you to possess her. She’s not an item…she’s a…genuine rarity…”

Nobunaga looked up as he went on, “Forcing her to remain…will only push her away and make her cold…She won’t be the same person we know now…”

Hideyoshi stepped over to the dispatch satchel taking into his hands, “I’ll send them on their way, if no objections sir?”

“Do it.” Nobunaga turned from him looking back at the movements.

“At once.” Hideyoshi bowed before turning to leave. He knew he struck a nerve. He only hoped it was enough to make his lord see reason. For yours and his sake.

Nobunaga hung his head thinking back to a few days prior. He had spent all morning with you discussing strategy and tactical movements. Then it all just fell apart so quickly…

“Personally…” Nobunaga watched you as you moved around the table pointing at the pieces on the map, “I wouldn’t go this way…you’re more likely to get ambushed.”

“And your suggestion?” He leaned forward watching you calculate possibilities. He felt his cheek twitch as you reached out moving the pieces.

“Take the bulk of the force this way…send a small force ahead along the other…” You were carefully moving his troops around trying to find the best way to save their lives while preserving his plan, “You will get a better idea of the enemy’s movements, while still beginning to move your forces. You sacrifice the element of surprise, but at the end of the day you will have a pincer option. Even if you do not use it and have them rejoin you, you’ll get a second wave of relief.”

He began nodding slowly taking the movement into consideration as he moved around the table to your vantage, “There’s a risk…”

“Of course, there’s a risk. War is risk.” You looked at him as he stood next to you, “The person who does nothing, does nothing.”

He looked at you a smirk coming to his face as you stepped away looking at the map again, “I still find it incredible that where you’re from allows you to be so bold.”

“Because I’m a woman?” Your eyes flicked up to him.

“No…” You both looked over to Mitsuhide stepping inside sly smile on his face, “Because you’re just a solider.”

Nobunaga followed him with his eyes as he stepped over toward you. You smirked looking at Mitsuhide. When did the two of you become so close? “And…soldiers are not supposed to make suggestions?”

You looked over to Nobunaga, “Generally not…”

“You see…” Mitsuhide reached over to move a piece, when his hand came back it landed on top of  yours, “should a soldier want to speak over a general’s orders or ideas…it could mean two things. One, he’s very loyal and seeks to advance himself by taking the general’s position someday, or two, he seeks to undermine the general and take his position now.”

“Neither one of those sounds particularly honorable.” You made a face as he took your hand holding it palm up.

“Indeed, it is not…” Mitsuhide smirked as he began tracing your hand, “Such small hands…”

“Mitsuhide…” You both looked over to Nobunaga who had stood up straight and now held a tense serious look, “Have you come here with news?”

“No, I just happened to hear voices and thought I’d drop in.” Mitsuhide smirked looking at you, “You see I find it very inspiring to watch someone at work.”

“Go inspire yourself elsewhere…perhaps with our assassin friend.” Nobunaga moved around the table placing himself next to you as he stared into Mitsuhide’s eyes, “See if he has anything else to say.”

“As you command…” He bowed low before taking his exit.

Nobunaga flexed his hand that had balled up as you spoke, “All ways have to be on your toes with that one…”

He turned to you as you moved the piece Mitsuhide had moved back to its place, “Yes…he’s sly but efficient.”

“Not always a great combination.” You looked at him with a smile, “You’ll never know if you can truly trust him.”

“Our goals are aligned…as long as they remain so, we have nothing to worry about.” He watched you nod absently you hand went to your wounded side, “Does it bother you?”

You glanced down dropping your hand, “It’s tender, but fine. I can now add being poisoned to list of injuries I’ve attained over the years.”

“You’ve been injured before?” He looked at your curiously, “How?”

Your eyes widened a little surprised by his directness, “Well…uh…I’ve been shot, stabbed, blown up…uh…hit by a vehicle, broke a few bones…that’s the short list…”

“And the long list?” He stepped closer to you, you looked away, “You told me when you first arrived that wouldn’t keep things from me. That you would answer all my questions…”

“Yes…I did…” You wrapped your arms around yourself, a movement he found you did when you felt vulnerable, “There are just…some wounds I’d rather not discuss. They were traumatic enough…I’ll tell you, if you must know, but…”

You looked up to him smiling eyes full of sadness before you finished, “I hope you would be considerate enough to realize that not all things should be spoken aloud.”

It was instinct what happened next. His hand finding your cheek the contact making your eyes shut as you leaned into touch. He could feel heat rushing to your face under his fingers. He lowered his head to your ear as he whispered, “Those who have been touched by war the way we have…deserve all respect and consideration.”

Your eyes opened and you turned your face to meet his gaze, “Nobunaga…”

There was a look in your eyes that he couldn’t decipher. Something that wouldn’t move past your delicate lips. “Yes?”

You didn’t say anything for a long time as he let his presence wash over you. Your hand fell over his before you pulled it away kissing his palm, “Thank you.”

He reached for you as you turned away, catching your wrist in his burning palm, “That is the second time you’ve done that…it must have meaning.”

Your gaze was locked with his as he stepped closer to you. He could see your mind working to formulate an answer that would be sufficient, “It does.”

He let out a soft laugh before he took that final step making you bump into the back of the table. He smirked feeling your pulse race under his fingers, “You don’t really think that’s enough of an answer, do you?”

Your eyes flitted away for a moment before returning to his, “I had hoped…”

“I’m afraid not this time…” He whispered as his other hand reached up absently taking a loose piece of hair between his fingers.

You bit your lips together again looking away from him before you spoke quietly, “…it…it means I…care for you…”

“You…care for me?” He looked as surprise for a moment before confusion fell on his regal features, “You barely know me…why would you care for me?”

“Does it matter?” You looked into his eyes before shaking your head a little, “You’re enigmatic…”

He stood completely still as you went on, “You’re strong…smart…care about those around you, even though you’d never admit it. Despite everything I’ve put through from running away and fighting you tooth and nail that first week…you never once considered getting rid of me…so I stopped fighting and started talking to you…and I found…”

“What did you find?” He felt himself holding his breath for your answer when you trailed off.

You swallowed before you spoke with a smile, “Peace…I found peace and safety. More than I’ve felt in years…”

“And kissing my palm…that’s your way of letting me know?” He pulled your wrist up looking at your hand.

“It’s the only way I can…” You voice sounded strained making him look at you, “I’ve already told you…I don’t belong here. When it’s time for me to go…I don’t want…it…”

“Don’t want it to be…” He let go of your hair and let his finger trail down your cheek, “what?”

You shut your eyes involuntarily at his touch, “Why is it important for you to know?”

“Because…if you’re to leave me…” He leaned forward toward your hand he held brushing his lips against your palm, “I want to know I did everything to make it harder for you.”

Your eyes sprung open with surprise, “Harder?”

“I don’t want you to go…” He whispered before pressing your hand against his face, “You’re my lucky charm after all…so tell me, you don’t want it to be…what?”

“…difficult…messy…” Your other hand took hold of his haori, “I don’t want to leave a trace…”

“It’s too late for that…” He let go of your wrist moving his arm around your waist, “You saved my life twice now. You given me no choice but to feel something for you…”

The surprised moan that escaped you when his lips met yours set his mind afire. He expected you push him away and tell him no, but you didn’t. In fact, you seemed as if you needed him as much as he needed you.

He pulled away to look at your face. Your eyes were dark with passion it was beautiful. He shook his head before he spoke, “I can’t let you go.”

“What?” You blinked looking at him, “But…you said…”

“I did…but now I can’t.” He took a step away from you looking away from you, “You’re too valuable to lose…”

“We had a deal…” You shook your head, “I can’t stay here…I don’t belong…”

“But you do.” He looked back to you his face becoming serious, “At my side…”

“Nobunaga…” You frowned and he could see the trust that you had built with him was shattered.

“We’re done for today…” He turned from you heading for the exit.

“No!” You moved in front of him putting a hand in his chest, “You can’t do this…please…”

“It’s already done…” He shook his head as he attempted to move around you. You stayed in his way and he sighed, “Move or be moved.”

“You swore…” You whispered to him tearing up. He focused on his breathing to make sure he didn’t show any emotion, “You said you understood the need to get back to those who depend on me. You told me if I cooperated you would let me go. Why…why break that?”

He shook his head, “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

He tried to move around you, but you stepped in his way again. He scowled before he leaned forward in a swift motion scooping you up onto his shoulder. You let out a growl as struggled with him. He grunted as he felt you hit his back.

He set you down and out of the way before he turned to leave again only pausing when you spoke, “I will not make this easy for you!”

His mouth opened slightly but he didn’t turn around. He pushed himself forward leaving you alone in the war room and proceeded to make his way to the tenshu. On the way he saw Hideoyoshi and instructed him to keep you busy over the next few days.

“Is everything alright, my lord?” Hideoyoshi questioned him.

“Yes…everything will be fine.” He told him before retiring.

Everything was not fine. He let out a heavy sigh before he walked out of the war tent. As he moved toward his tent he stopped seeing you readying a horse.

As you felt him staring at you, you looked up meeting his eyes. He felt a chill rush through him as you stared him down. Hideyoshi was right, you wouldn’t simply succumb to be a trophy for him. You were not a thing to be placed on a shelf.

Yet he desired you so much it pained him. He had tasted you on his lips and since then had no rest. He turned from your gaze walking away. Pride…would make him a lonely man.