#or apply for the lower rung job which is. this one. like fucking hell you like me

[doggerell]

“no one wants to work anymore” they wont let me do the job for highschoolers. with my college degree.

[merinnan]

Did you know that @xantissa​ and I wrote a spin-off to Cat’s Paw? Well, we have!

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandoms: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV)终极笔记 | Ultimate Note (TV)怒海潜沙&秦岭神树 | Explore with the Note & The Lost Tomb (TV)

Relationships: Jiang Zisuan & Liu Sang, Liu Sang/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling, Liu Sang & Wang Pangzi, Wang Pangzi & Wu Xie & Zhang Qiling

Characters: Liu Sang, Jiang Zisuan, Wu Xie, Zhang Qiling, Wang Pangzi

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, idiots being idiots, Canon-Typical Violence, prickly kitten and feral cat, prickly kitten and guard dog, Angst and Humor, Angst, Humor, Grief/Mourning

Summary:  The story of the cats and dogs friendship between Liu Sang and Jiang Zisuan, and how the truth about A-Ning's death was revealed.

Once the ringing had subsided to ‘no longer actively painful’ levels, Liu Sang shifted a little to his left, to see if he could manage to spot the sniper without the sniper getting a clear shot at him. His hearing was too fucked right now to identify him by sound, which he would have vastly preferred. Another loud bang that had him almost retching from the noise and the pain, another shatter of glass, and the slight rocking of the car he was huddled against quickly put paid to that idea as he dropped lower to the ground and trotted out every single curse he knew of at the absent Wu Xie. Once he ran out of curses he knew, he invented several new ones while he tried to figure out just how the hell to get out of this situation.

Wu Xie, who was with Zhang Qiling at the exact other end of the country now. Because this was supposed to be an easy job. A favor. He’d even had the absolute gall to ask Liu Sang for a discount, for which Liu Sang had glared him out of the room. No way was he ever giving anyone a fucking discount. Wu Xie was just getting spoiled by the fact that Liu Sang always caved in to him and gave him freebies. Well, he got his payment in other ways, so he had to admit that maybe they weren’t complete freebies. But he liked his money, he worked hard for it, suffered many a migraine for it, and he wasn’t going to cut his prices for anyone.

The result was that neither Wu Xie nor Zhang Qiling were anywhere near Harbin, Pangzi was still in Hangzhou as far as he knew, and while he knew he could call him for help, it would take time to get the man here. Hei Xiazi hadn’t been around in weeks, but Liu Sang still pulled his phone out and found the man’s number amongst the veritable flood of contacts. God, he missed the times when he had five phone numbers saved on his phone.

The call rung out.

Frustrated, he kicked the ground he was sitting on, sending a few clumps of glass and dirt skittering away, then had to pull his legs close to his chest as a bullet hit the grass that was dislodged by him, the bang of the shot spiking painfully through his head.

He closed his eyes, counting under his breath to give himself something to concentrate on other than the pain until it faded back to manageable levels. When he opened his eyes, he glared once again at where his earphones were laying about half a meter away from the car, having been knocked loose as he’d dived for cover. So close, and yet too far for him to be able to get without being shot at. He’d tried.

He looked back through the contacts in his phone, and once he’d ruled out everyone who he knew was nowhere near Harbin, he was left with just one number. He frowned. God knew where this one actually was. God knew if he could even help at all, or what that help was going to cost. On the other hand, it wasn’t like Liu Sang had many options right now.

He opened a new text message and stared at the blank screen for a while, trying to decide how to start. He started and deleted the message several times before finally hitting send.

Hypothetically, what would you do if you were pinned down behind a car by sniper fire?

-

Read the rest on AO3!

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ “Enigma” (Near/Nate River) [1 of ?]

Genre: Action, Supernatural, Angst, Crossover, Friendship ☁

Word Count: 3,319 ☁

Pairing: First Person x Near ☁

World: Death Note feat. Supernatural ☁

WARNING: Spoilers for episode season 1, episode 6 of Supernatural. If you want to want to skip the spoiler, skip the paragraph that starts with “To add to that”.

Author’s Note: This is written in the first person, featuring an OC named Rae Winchester, Dean and Sam’s cousin. You don’t have to be a fan of Supernatural to read this fic.

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Stifling a yawn, I slid the keycard into the lock, waiting for it to click before twisting the handle. A blast of cold air hit your face and you sighed in content. After being out in the hot Texas sun all day fighting off demons, it felt nice to find some cool air.

Sam shot up from the small round table near the door, his expression one of worry. “Where have you been?!”

I scowled, scratching my head. “I was working, what do you think.”

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“Uhh,” My mind flashed back to that morning. I had been fighting a rather large and ugly demon. My phone had rung and I got distracted for a moment, giving him an opportunity. He attacked, slamming me up against a brick wall. My phone fell out of my hand and smashed against the cement. “We should really invest in sturdier phones, Sam.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “That’s not important right now. We’ve got a problem,”

“What is it?” I asked, leaning against the counter.

“Dean was arrested,”

“Again?”

“This time it was the FBI,”

I groaned, falling into the chair across from him. “Of all the organizations, it just had to be those bastards.”

“We have to get him back, Rae.”

“You got a plan?” I questioned, leaning back in my chair.

He frowned, looking thoughtfully at his laptop. “I’m… working on it,”

I stood up, leaving him to his thoughts as I stepped back outside into the heat. The door clicked behind me and I leaned against it, pulling my pack of cigarettes from my pocket. I lit it up before taking a long drag.

My name is Rae Winchester and I’m a hunter. That is, I make a living off of killing non-human creatures that plague our world. Dean and Sam are my cousins, but they practically raised me and I view them more like brothers. Both of them are older than me, Dean being the eldest brother. They’re also hunters, but they chose a different path than I did.

While I take jobs and get paid to kill things, they prefer to hunt in secret and without pay. In order to get by, they commit petty theft – money, identities, credit cards. They’ve stolen it all at one point or another.

To add to that, a long time ago Sam and Dean were investigating a case in Missouri which turned out to be a shapeshifter – a creature that could take on the form of anyone it wants. When it became aware that it was being hunted, it changed itself to look like Dean before attacking and murdering a couple people. Ever since then, he has been on and off the Most Wanted list.

I’ve done my best to use my connections to their fullest extent to protect him, but even if I get the record erased from the system, there are still those hard-pressed agents that are determined to ‘bring him to justice’.

Justice… what a joke.

I threw my cigarette down onto the ground, stomping it out with my boot.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

I tucked the white button-up shirt into my slacks before pulling my suit jacket on and buttoning it up. I glanced at Sam as he waited by the door, dressed in his own suit.

Before leaving the hotel room we were staying in, Sam grabbed my shoulder. “Please be careful. Don’t do anything reckless.”

“Hmph, careful is my middle name, Sammy,” I responded, straightening the tie. I grabbed the wallet with my fake badge inside and tucked into the back pocket of my slacks before leaving the room. I headed downstairs, keeping my head held high as we exited the hotel. One thing I had learned over the years is that if you act confident like you’re the most important person in the world, people will start to believe it, and I did just that. Anyone that dared look at us, I glared at them in turn and they quickly averted their gaze.

The FBI headquarters that Dean was being held at was in New York City.

We stepped into the building like we owned it, heading for the security gate. The guard eyed us suspiciously as I stepped up to the keypad, scanning my badge. It clicked and the gate unlocked, swinging open. The guard nodded his head and we stepped through the metal detector without a problem.

It’s times like these that I’m glad I don’t use guns. Not that I have to, all things considered.

The woman standing in the elevator saw us approaching and held the door. Sam and I stepped onto the elevator and he thanked her. The door slid closed and the elevator lurched as it started its ascent.

“What floor?” She asked, her hand hovering over the panel.

“Twenty-four, please,” I answered.

She pressed it before looking at Sam.

“I’m also going to the twenty-fourth floor,”

She nodded, lowering her hand.

The two of us made small talk until the woman got off on the tenth floor.

“What’s the plan?” Sam asked, adjusting his tie.

“Find Dean,”

He looked at me in disbelief, “Please tell me there’s more than that…”

“Nope,”

“Plan B?”

“I don’t think they sell that here, Sammy.”

He deadpanned. “Not funny,”

I shrugged. “Never said it was. Look, all you have to do is find Dean. Once you find him, let me know and I’ll create a distraction. During the chaos, you grab him and run. Simple, yeah?”

Sam frowned, shifting from one leg to the other. “You better not die,”

“I won’t,”

“I won’t forgive you if you do,”

“I’m not going to die, Sam.” I glanced at him. “At least not yet,” I glanced at the numbers surging past on the LED screen above the door. “Look alive, we’re almost there,”

He straightened up as the doors slid open, stepping out and heading to the left. I went right.

Although it was only one floor, there was a lot of ground to cover and while our badges could get us past any of the security clearance levels, the people couldn’t be bypassed so easily. I wasn’t too worried about myself, I know I can handle their attacks, but Sam is a different story.

My hands clenched at my sides. Rescuing Dean was not my top priority – keeping them alive was.

I followed the hallway, glancing into each room with a window. I felt someone pass by me, but I paid it no mind. I wasn’t interested in the agents here, but I suddenly felt a strange feeling overcome me. What was this raw emotion I was feeling? Was it… a challenge?

I turned around, surprised to find the aura radiating off of a young boy. He stood in the middle of the hall, watching me through blank, calculating eyes. He couldn’t have been older than thirteen. What was a kid so young doing at the FBI headquarters?

“Hey, kid. I’m looking for someone. His name is Dean Winchester, you seen him?” I questioned.

His expression did not change, he just tilted his head slightly and started to twirl a piece of his snow-white hair around a pale finger. “You don’t belong here,” he stated, monotonously.

My eyes narrowed. I just fucking got here, there’s no way in hell I’m letting him ruin it this early. “Listen, kid, I don’t have time for games. It’s important that I find this man. Do you know where he is or not?”

He nodded but said nothing.

My eye twitched. This kid unnerved me. Why was his expression so blank? Was he a fucking robot? Forget it, I’m wasting time. Without another word, I turned and continued down the hall.

He followed me. I could feel his presence behind me. Despite his age, it felt like a lion stalking its prey.

Seriously, what is with this kid? I can’t sense any demon blood in him. He smells completely human… so why is he giving off such a strong aura? It didn’t make any sense.

I stopped, turning around to scowl at me. “Stop following me,”

“You don’t belong here,” He repeated.

“Pretty sure a kid doesn’t belong here either,” I scoffed. Should I show him my badge? It’s the highest quality forgery available, I paid top dollar for it and it’s never failed me in the past, but something about this kid made me hesitate. I knew deep down that he would be able to see through it. Before I could speak again, a shrill voice interrupted me.

“What do we have here~? Is that a she-demon I see?”

My body tensed at the familiar voice and I turned around, hoping that I was wrong. Standing at the end of the hall was a woman named Marnie. As usual, she was dressed in a skimpy outfit, the color pink being the primary color from head to toe. A large feather boa was wrapped around her neck.

“You have got to be kidding me,”

She smirked, folding her arms under her breasts, pushing them up and making them appear larger. “Imagine meeting you here of all places. It must be fate~!”

A sick, twisted fate maybe. “How the hell did you even get in here?”

“I charmed them, of course. One look and all the boys do my bidding without question.” She giggled, wrapping her arms tighter around her.

“Isn’t there some magical law against that or something?” I asked, rubbing the back of my head. What was I going to do? It would be bad enough that I have to fight off these damned FBI agents until Sam and Dean can get away, but now I have to fight off a witch too? Anytime you’d like to give me a break, universe.

I suddenly remembered the kid behind me and cursed. If we start fighting, he’s going to get hurt. Damn it.

She giggled again. “Of course there is, silly~ But rules don’t apply to me. I can charm anything with my magic. The world is my playground~!”

“Sounds fascinating,” I said dryly. “Well it was great catching up with you, gotta go.” I turned on my heel, grabbing the boys arm and speed walking back the way I came. I could feel the magic barreling towards me and I dodged, pushing the kid against the wall. A ball of pink energy whizzed past at an alarming speed before exploding at the other end of the hall. Alarms started to go off.

“Fuck my life,” I groaned, glancing down at the kid. He was staring at Marnie with wide, emotionless eyes. I shook his body lightly to get his attention, keeping my eyes on the witch as she approached. “Listen, kid. I’m gonna distract her. When I rush her, I want you to run in the opposite direction. Don’t stop, don’t look back. Just go, understand?”

He didn’t answer, not that I expected him to. I pushed him behind me, unbuttoning the suit jacket and loosening the tie.

“Ya know, I was set to go on vacation tomorrow. Peace and quiet without work for a week,” I sighed. “No witches, no demons, no fucking idiots for a full week. Is that so much to ask?”

“Come now, She-Demon, you know you can’t get rid of us that easily,” Her eyes narrowed and they started to glow. Before she could fire off another blast of energy, I rushed her, pulling my fist back and connecting it with her jaw. She slid back, her heels digging into the carpet. When she lifted her head, her eyes were glowing stronger, anger clear on her face. She thrust her hand forward and another ball of energy shot towards me. I dodged right as it got close and it whizzed past, colliding with the group of FBI agents that had just turned the corner, weapons drawn. They cried as it hit them, sending them flying against the wall.

My eyes quickly scanned the are behind me. The kid was gone. I sighed in relief.

“How dare you take your attention off me,” Marnie hissed, now in front of me. I didn’t react in time and she flew around, her heeled foot slamming into my stomach. The wall behind me cracked on impact and I grunted, feeling the heel slice the skin through the white button-up.

I grabbed her ankle, pressing hard into the ground to keep myself steady. “God, you’re so annoying!” I cried, kicking her other leg from underneath her. I pulled a knife from my sock and rammed it into her skin. She cried out, sending an uncontrolled burst of energy at my hand. I released her ankle and scrambled out of the way. It hit the wall, increasing the dent from my body.

“Come on, Sam,” I growled into the earpiece.

More agents rounded the corner, their guns pointed at us. They were all shouting at us to get down, their voices overlapping one another and drowned out by the shrill sound of the alarm.

“I’ve got him!” Sam’s voice rang through the earpiece. “We’re clear!”

Perfect, now I just gotta get my ass out of here. I glanced behind me. It was a dead-end, but there was a large window off to the left. Well, I can’t exactly use the elevator now, can I.

I smirked at the agents that were slowly advancing. “I’d love to stay for tea, but I’m gonna miss my train. Later, boys!” I turned on my heel and darted for the end of the hall. They started to shoot, but their aim sucked.

Marnie cried out in anger and I looked behind me in time to see her slam her fist into the ground. It shattered in a flash of neon pink, the burst of light engulfing the hall. I knew this was gonna hurt…

The light exploded, thrusting me out the window. The glass scraped my skin, but none of the wounds felt too deep. The wind ripped around my body as gravity started to take over and I started to fall towards the Earth.

This is also gonna hurt…

My body slammed into the cement a couple blocks away from the building, in an alley behind a fish market. I landed a foot away from the dumpster, my body digging into the cement and pulling the dumpster over. It landed on top of me, spilling its contents.

I should have let the agents shoot me. It would have been less painful.

Sam came rushing over, his face a mixture of worry and disgust. “Are you… are you okay?”

I grunted, shoving the dumpster off of me. My clothes were wet with blood and rotten fish guts. “What the fuck do you think?”

He held his hand out and I took it, muttering about witches.

“I don’t get paid enough for this shit,” I scoffed, kicking the dumpster across the alley.

“You’re not getting paid at all,” Sam responded, his voice muffled by the shirt he was holding over his nose.

“That’s the point, Sam!”

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I sat down on the park bench, watching the sun set on the horizon. The park was located on the edge of the river, so the sun was reflecting on the water. If I didn’t hate the sun so damn much, I might even consider it to be beautiful.

A week had passed since we rescued Dean from the FBI headquarters. The boys had left New York immediately, heading over to Oregon to investigate a string of mysterious disappearances. I headed over to Maine to recover from the fish hell I had experienced.

Even now, news stations and papers were going nuts reporting on the incident, which they labeled as “an act of terrorism”. What little bit of camera footage that Marnie hadn’t destroyed with her blast of anger was tampered with by an accomplice that worked for me. He’s considered one of the best hackers in the world – there’s very little he can’t get his digital hands on. With this, the FBI had no faces, names or leads. The only thing they could clearly report was that their prisoner had escaped during the chaos.

“Ren,”

I snapped out of my thoughts, looking over at Detective Kim as he approached me. “Sup, detective? Must be important to ask me out like this.”

He nodded, holding out a manila folder. I took it from his hands, flipping it open. The report was about a string of serial murders in Salt Lake City. There was also a report on a missing girl named Sarah Adams.

Detective Kim pointed at her photograph. “She was kidnapped sometime between the first and fifth murder.”

“What makes you so sure they’re connected?”

“He left his calling card,”

I flipped the page, seeing a photograph of this calling card he mentioned. It was a pirate flag with a bloody dagger stuck in the center, right over the left eye of the skull pattern. What a weird calling card. “Pretty extra if you ask me. What’s so special about this girl, anyway?”

“She’s the niece of the senator,” He folded his arms, turning to look at the last of the sun as it sunk in the distance. “The higher-ups are breathing down my neck for results. I’m doing the best I can, but at the end of the day, I’m just a man.”

“Hmm,” I continued to flip through the pages, looking for any information that may be key items.

“You’ll be paid for your work, of course.” He commented, glancing at me from under the brim of his hat. “You’ll also have my eternal gratitude,”

“Eternal gratitude?” I echoed, slapping the folder closed. “Why didn’t you say so sooner? Count me in.”

I saw the corner of his lips tugging up, but he held back the smile. “I’m counting on you, Winchester.”

“Yes, yes. Have I ever let you down in the past?” I asked, meeting his gaze. “On second thought, don’t answer that.”

“Just don’t make a national headline out of it like you did in New York.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” I scowled, standing up off the bench. “How the fuck was I supposed to know that a witch would show up to ruin my life?”

“I thought that was a typical day for you?” He raised a brow, an amused glint in his eye.

I pointed my index finger at him, ready to argue, but then I paused. “Fair point,”

He chuckled, patting my shoulder before turning and walking away. “Don’t keep me waiting too long, Winchester! I might have to rethink my eternal gratitude.”

You grinned at his back before walking in the opposite direction, the file tucked under your arm.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

You stepped into the police department, approaching the front desk. “I need to speak to Detective Kim,”

“Detective Kim isn’t in right now,”

“When will he be back?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t disclose that information. Would you like to leave a message for him?”

“No,” I scowled, turning around and exiting the station. I stopped on the steps, lighting up a cigarette. Where the hell was he? I’ve been trying to get a hold of him for three days to no avail. It wasn’t like him to dodge my calls, especially when I’m working on a case. This wasn’t like him. Had something happened?

I walked down the steps, taking a drag of the cigarette.

“Winchester!”

“Heh?” I stopped at the bottom of the steps, turning to look at the man rushing down the steps. He was wearing a police uniform, but I didn’t recognize his face.

“You’re looking for Detective Kim, aren’t you?” He questioned, his brow furrowed.

“Depends who’s asking,”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” he took off his hat. “My name is Rodriquez. I know you’re close to the Detective, that’s why I came after you.”

“Has something happened?” I questioned, giving him my full attention.

“I think so,” He frowned. “He hasn’t come to work in a week! The higherups are keeping it pretty hush-hush, or at least trying to, but I overheard Detective Niel talking about it. No one knows where he is. I went to his apartment yesterday and talked to his neighbors. They haven’t seen him either,”

The hell? I turned and started to walk away.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I scowled at him over my shoulder. “I’m going to find him,” I pulled my phone out as I walked away from the station, dialing his number for the umpteenth time. I didn’t expect him to answer, but I stopped when the line clicked.

A distorted voice came over the line. “Detective Kim is currently unavailable,”

Is this a fucking two-bit horror movie? What’s with the voice changer? I scowled, “Who is this?”

“You may call me N,”

Guess we’re passed using actual names. “And where is the Detective?”

“He is safe. For now,”

“What do you want with him?”

“That is of no concern to you,” The voice paused for a moment. “I wonder… can you find him?” The line went dead.

My hand clenched around the phone, cracking the screen. Son of a bitch doesn’t know who he’s messing with!

Okay, calm down and focus. Breathe – in and out. In and out.

I closed my eyes, picturing the apartment building that Seven lived in. I felt my body shifting like it had become a liquid swirling inside a tornado. The sound of wind whipped past my ears before suddenly stopping. It felt as if I was speeding fast and then suddenly came to a dead stop. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in front of the apartment building in Seoul, South Korea.

I tilted my neck right to left, cracking it. I’ve teleported so many times, but I don’t think I’d ever get used to the feeling.

I ran up the stairs to the third floor and banged on apartment number 412. It was late her in Seoul, around four in the morning. I banged louder, considering just picking the lock or kicking the door in.

The door opened, revealing a half-asleep Seven. He rubbed his eyes, squinting at me. “Boss?”

I pushed past him, stepping into the dark apartment. “I have a job for you,”

He stifled a yawn, shutting and locking the door. “Can I have a minute to wake up?”

“Make it a fast minute,” I ordered, watching him shuffle down the hall and into the bathroom. I opened his fridge, grabbing a can of soda and sitting down on the couch. He came back five minutes later, carrying his laptop, which he sat down on the table in front of the couch.

He entered the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of tea. “What is it you need, boss?”

I pulled out my phone, dropping it onto the table beside his laptop. “I need you to track a number. Something tells me it’s being blocked, but if anyone can find it, it’s you.”

He raised a brow as he sat down on the floor, his back resting against the couch. “That’s… Detective Kim’s number, right?”

“Yeah. He’s been missing for a week according to a co-worker. I’ve been calling him for three days to update him on a case,” I explained, sitting back on the couch as he booted up the laptop. “I tried calling him again a few minutes ago after I left the police station. Someone answered, using a voice changer.”

“A voice changer?” He glanced back at me. “People actually do that?”

“Apparently,” I scoffed. The phone started to vibrate right as he picked it up.

Seven lifted the phone over his head and behind him. “It’s Dean,”

I slipped it out of his hand and pressed it to my ear. “Hey, Dean. What’s up?”

“Hey, kiddo. What are you up to?”

“Nothing. What do you need?”

“Me and Sammy are in Missouri and we need your help,”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’ll be there soon,” I ended the call and handed the phone back to Seven. “Call Sam or Dean when you’ve traced the call.”

“Roger~”

I closed my eyes and concentrated again. The familiar feeling washed over me as I teleported.

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