#saki finds out and her mind is BLOWN

[akumadayo777]

more IchiKasa doodles

[imagionationstation]

OKAY— so like, we had scenarios of which the B-Team were raised by the Shredder, but what if it was the A-Team??

Shredder telling both Leonardo and Raphael (who now goes by Takeō and Akihitō respectively) lies about their younger littermates (Donatello and Michelangelo, whom he named as Junkō and Kōta)— telling them that their younger siblings have been ruthlessly killed by Hamato Yoshi, who had deemed them as an abomination.

In fact, Shredder wasn't even aware of the existence of the younger two; at least, not until both Takeō and Akihitō brought it up a few months after they were officially able to carry out missions and daily patrol. However, he couldn't deny that it's truly a blessing— there's a chance that they might know of Hamato Yoshi's location, and even then, Shredder can expand his army of powerful mutants.

Donatello and Michelangelo, on the other hand, aren't so thrilled about having to 2v2 their older brothers at just about everytime. There's also that the two have the tendency to play dirty. Stalking their friends and whatnot, it's driving them up the wall.

I don't know if Karai should be with the Shredder, because her rivalry with the A-Team over the younger onces is delicious.

What do you think?

I love this. No, no, wait, see my vision, look-

Takeō and Akihitō are everything that Shredder needs them to be. They took up training from the moment that their little legs could walk and they excelled past anything that he’d ever seen before, and one of Shredder’s greatest fighters happens to be blind, mind you, so he knows what greatness looks like.

He knows it has to relate to the fact that they’re mutants, but he couldn’t care less. With one student who bears a determination to please and the other with the violent fury to be molded like his own, they’re better than an entire legion of Foot soldiers. Takeō makes sure every command is followed and Akihitō leaves no enemy unpunched- what could be better?

They’re perfect. No, they’re better than perfect. They’re a miracle.

One that he never hesitates to take advantage of. If Yoshi had done one thing right in his lifetime, it was leading him to them.

And then- AND THEN-

Enter Mikey and Donnie.

The universe throws out two turtles with on obvious ignorance of surface life and an instinct to defend those that dwell on it. Leo and Raph’s world is thrown out of whack the first time that they spot them- considering Mikey is a younger-shaped replica of them with freckles. They keep an curious eye on them from a distance, but uncertain what to make of them, don’t interact.

They inquire about it to their father and (considering Saki likely stole them from Yoshi) he fabricates a story that horrifies them. They already know about Yoshi and how he killed Karai’s mother- but he tore apart their family too?

Afterward, it takes about five seconds to connect the dots on who these mutant turtles are. They go out to track down and reconnect with their brothers. *insert canon plot stuff*

When Donnie and Mikey try to save a kidnapped April, they fail pretty badly. The Saki brothers step in, stop the Kraang from taking the girl before Donnie and Mikey’s brains get blown out, but don’t really do much about them taking the dad. They don’t really care about the humans. They’re far more interested in prodding the turtles.

And, after taking April to her aunt’s, prodding absolutely happens from both sides.

The childish giddy air of the Junkō and Kōta upon finding their siblings obviously cements them as the younger siblings in the Saki brother’s minds. They don’t doubt for a moment that they are who they say they are because Splinter told them that they had two missing brothers as little kids.

Mind made up, Leo insists that they come home. Mikey insists that they have a home and Donnie admits they shouldn’t really wander off with strangers. They both vocalize that their rat dad needs to meet them first since he’s the one who lost them and he’s misses them and they don’t have to abandon their dad or anything, they just really want them to meet Splinter! (The Foot symbols on their gear mean nothing to the Hamatos and the name Splinter means nothing to the Sakis. Oopsy.)

And so they wait around for Mikey and Donnie to collect Splinter and then Splinter comes across his sons and Leo and Raph are tolerant until he introduces himself as Hamato Yoshi and then it all clicks that the man who Shredder thought killed their brothers and he had stolen them away instead and he’s the reason that they haven’t see them for fifteen years-

They don’t even give Yoshi time to explain before they’re attempting to eliminate the threat. Donnie and Mikey are insanely confused until one of the brothers lets it slip that their dad is Saki and- oh wait are they evil?!- so now there’s fighting, attempted forced reasoning and kidnapping of little brothers, but the Hamatos manage to get away.

So now Leo and Raph’s are simply DISTRAUGHT because the madman had stolen and brainwashed their little brothers so how were supposed to focus on anything else when they’re out there but actively on the wrong side of this war??

It trashes their game and suddenly his miracle team is no longer a shinning example of perfection. Once again, Yoshi has ruined something great and, instead of seething, Saki gets creative.

He fakes an understanding with what his sons are going through and expresses a wish that he knew where Yoshi was so that he could put an end to the threat. If only, they could find the lair where he was keeping their brothers prisoner, maybe then they rid the world of the rat and bring them home. Once they’re free from Yoshi’s dark influence, they could all be one happy family.

And Leo, like the helpful little leader he is, realizes that they could find the lair. Him and Raph could totally find a way to convince the brothers to take them home, or even find a way to get in without their knowledge. They were ninjas, masters of deception and lies. They could do it, Master, if only he would give them a chance?

So he does because an end to Yoshi and two new powerful warriors is more than he could hope for. Exactly what he deserves.

And the rest of the series is just Raph and Leo doing everything in their power to inch their way into their brother’s trust. They stalk them in a desperate itch to make sure they’re okay, which leads to them intercepting and assisting on a bunch of Kraang mission.

They run into each other when Donnie and Mikey try to stop the Foot from being evil, and Leo and Raph are more concerned with making sure nothing happens to their brothers that the Hamato brothers end up completing their mission more often than not.

Leo and Raph are still dedicated to the Foot but their priorities are skewed every time their brother come into play. Nine times out of ten, baby brothers take first priority. And Saki lets these mishaps happen because his sons are insistent upon gaining the Hamatos trust.

It doesn’t take Donnie and Mikey long to realize what Leo and Raph are doing, protecting-them wise. They don’t quite understand it, but they assume that even though they have been misguided and brainwashed by Shredder, they still are good people deep down. It’s incredibly annoying that they are always in the way and can’t seem to realize how what they’re doing is obviously evil, though.

Like plotting younger siblings do, they adapt to use the brother’s new apparent weakness against them, putting themselves in situations where the Saki brothers have no choice but to interviene- even if that means slicing their own bots or preventing their own missions from succeeding. And the best part is that the Saki brothers have no idea that they’re being played- they really just believe that their baby brothers are kinda bad at their jobs.

Which really doesn’t help with the whole PROTECT alarms constantly ringing in their brains.

As for Karai, I think she would still be with the Foot, but instead of a doting older sister, there would be jealousy vibes. She’d been overshadowed her entire life by these ‘perfect’ brothers and she jumps at the opportunity to impress her father when they start slipping. She could even play an antagonist role- actively trying to dissuade her father’s approval of Leo&Raph’s activities in order to get a better standing. She doesn’t want them murdered at the stake or anything, simply taken out of the favoritism role so that his actual human daughter (or so she thinks) can have a scrap of his attention.

I WAS GOING TO STOP HERE BUT YOU HAVE ME THINKING ABOUT PLOT AND SUCH NOW-

Like, Donnie would now be the eldest with the responsibilities of genius and leader, which means that he probably feels like his baby brother’s one line of defense against an entire universe. Splinter didn’t train his boys for war- but Saki did. Imagine the pressure on his shoulders to keep his family safe while actively on deadly missions with brothers who could turn on them at any second, stuck under the weight of wanting to get April reunited with her missing family.

Leo’s side of the spectrum is spent worrying that two of his brothers are under the abusive care of their kidnapper. He desperately hones the “but I can totally bring them to our side and make them see things our way!” attitude that he has for Karai during the canon series. He does everything in his power to keep the blame from falling on them when missions go wrong, fabricating stories for their father, like he’s always done to keep Raph out of trouble. He doesn’t care for the Hamato’s missions, but he cares greatly for their safety, so he makes sure they tag along at every opportunity, whether they are wanted or not. Stalking is never out of the question, even if it doesn’t take long for the Hamatos to adapt to their presence.

I CAN’T SHUT UP ABOUT THIS SUDDENLY:

So there’s this song “Our Word” from 36 questions that absolutely has the vibes from this au that has taken root in my brain and when I think of Leo being a sneaky little guy and keeping Raph out of trouble- IT FITS. Well, these specific verses anyway:

When I was a little [boy] Like really little, like eight or so I was playing in my father's study A place in the house I wasn't supposed to go

My father fancied himself a sailor His study was filled with nautical decor He kept a boat in a bottle on the top of a shelf And it shattered on the ground when I slammed the door

I told my [brother] everything I told [him] I was so, so sorry [He] told me, "Don't cry, When he comes home tonight We can make everything okay This is all we have to say"

"We don't remember a boat in a bottle It must've fallen off its shelf alone We know you loved it, we're so sad it's broken But neither one of us was even home"

And it's our word Yes, our word Against his

HOLY MOTHER OF MUTATIONS I AM DEVOURING THIS AU AND NOW I HAVE RETURNED WITH CONCEPT:

“You shouldn’t be out alone.”

Donnie lands as irritation crawls up his spine and becomes fuzzy little ambers in his brain. He has a few irrational thoughts, such as giving the nuisance a taste of throwing stars, but they’re dismissed as he pretends to check his t-phone. He can sense one entity behind him, but his partner doesn’t seem to be hovering nearby.

He turns, t-phone at his side, the cheese phone on speed-dial. He doubts the Foot ninja wants to kill him, but if this is another kidnapping attempt…

Well. Better safe than sorry.

“Apperently, I’m not. Need something?”

“You almost got caught tonight.” Takeō cocks his head, face passive. “You shouldn’t be breaking into military junkyards. There have to be safer options. There’s a place in Chinatown. Less guns.”

“Well, as soon as civilians throw out this kind of equipment,” Donnie pats the bag on his hip. “I’ll consider it.”

He frowns. “You’re taking risks.”

“Weren’t your men trying to slit my throat last week?”

“That was not my doing.”

“Oh, sure, Shredder doesn’t want to lure Splinter out of hiding and you would never kidnap me or Mikey, right?”

“I didn’t know about Bradford’s scheme until it was to late.” Takeō scans his face and Donnie denies the sincerity any thought. “You have to believe us- why else would we help you escape?”

“To earn our trust? For future blackmail? As some part of some evil Foot plot to hurt Sensei?” Donnie sneers. “I don’t care what your excuse is when you made my brother bleed.”

“I told Bradford to back off, but I can only do so much.” The tone is defensive, but his frown softens guiltily. “I can’t stop the bots from doing their programing. Maybe if my clan did not see you as a threat- if you would rethink your position-”

His grip tightens over the t-phone. “This is not a conversation that I am entertaining. Goodbye, Takeō.”

“Wait-”

He does not.

And then Takeō is across the rooftop and roughly taking hold of his arm before he can take more than two steps. The t-phone clatters, adrenaline surging as he stops dead in his tracks. His attention shoots from the weapon on the warrior’s hip and then to the blue gaze that is drilling holes into his skull.

He swallows, proud that his voice doesn’t shake. “Let go.”

Takeō tightens his hold. He steps forward, their gazes locked, face unreadable. Donnie thinks it might be an intimation tactic, but he’s not scared, per say. His gut squirms in discomfort and he feels weirdly small despite being inches taller. He expects a low warning, or some kind of dark threat to cut the air between them.

Instead, he gets a soft promise laced so heavily in passion that it might as well have been shouted across the rooftops.

“I would never hurt my brothers.”

Donnie is silent for several seconds.

“You’re hurting me right now.”

Takeō tears his hand away as though he just found out that Donnie was radioactive. Donnie rubs the area, mostly for show, in the hopes of dissuading him from trying that again.

“…I-I meant…” Donnie looks up. No hesitation crosses his face, but his words come with uncertainty. “Not like that. Never like that.”

Donnie humphs.

“Is- Is Kōta-”

“Mikey.”

Takeō stares and Donnie glares back.

The warrior relents. “How is he?”

“It was a flesh wound.” Donnie picks up the t-phone, unsure why he’s telling him anything. “He’s already back to being a hassle.”

A beat of quiet. “I suppose that means we’ll be reunited soon.”

“To kick your shells in? Yeah. Probably.” Donnie puts away his device, looking somewhere over Takeō’s shoulder to the bulky shadow who has been inching closer through the extent of their conversation.

“You know, family means more to me than biology. Shocking to hear from a scientist, I know.” He pauses for effect, considering. “A family with differences is still a family. You might be serious about this whole hurting thing when it comes to Mikey and me…” He narrows his eyes and trains the hostility on the piercing gaze. “But if I find out that you even thought about touching my father again, you can forget any chance of brotherhood. I might seem like a weak joke to you, but I promise that I can make your life a living hell.”

Donnie stares him down, grip tight over the strap of the bag filled with weaponry that he’ll use to make Metalhead truly surface worthy so nothing can harm Mikey again, and dares Takeō to challenge him.

“There’s no stronger warrior than one whose greatest virtue is their loyalty.” Takeō decides simply. “And there is nothing more that I’d expect from a brother.”

Donnie is pretty sure that’s a compliment. He’s not sure what that he to do with backing off his father, but he accepts it.

He releases the bag. “Glad we understand each other.”

He turns his back to the ninja, looking over his shoulder. “And don’t have Akihitō follow me home.”

Takeō stiffens, eyes widening. He smirks. “See you later, bro.”

With a burst of speed, he takes off.

To their credit, they don’t follow.

Donnie knows better to assume that this’ll be the last time he has eyes on his shell. But, for the first time, he thinks he won’t mind.

[thaisibir]

The Dog In Her (post-Survive/Truthful route Aoi x Saki fic)

Rating: T Genre: Drama, Friendship, Romance, Hurt/Comfort Summary: Aoi and Labramon are inseparable. Together they conquered a murderous fog and beastly gods. But coming home with Labramon, Aoi finds her next enemy in her own mother, who’s allergic to all things furry and hates dogs, and from that finds her greatest ally in Saki.

Chapter 1/? Also on AO3

Egg salad sandwich wasn't her favorite. A lot of food from camp left much to be desired, really.

Still, Aoi was grateful to have something in her hands to keep them from shaking. She was sure that Labramon could hear her heart beating like a taiko drum in her chest. If she did, she was too nice to say it aloud.

A bright voice snapped Aoi out of her thoughts. "Who would've thought we live that close to each other?" Sitting beside Aoi on the wooden bench, Saki swung her legs back and forth. "You'll come visit, right?"

Aoi tried to break the tension inside her with a smile. "Of course I will. And you can always come see me too."

"It's a deal. I love that for us." Saki stretched her arms for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Did Shuuji finally get picked up or what?"

No sooner had she said that, the older boy came and went from a nearby window in a flash. A flash of him again, this time in the opposite direction. Still pacing around outside, Aoi guessed. She had caught a glimpse of his partner perched on his shoulders. Lopmon had one long brown ear draped over Shuuji to shield him from the sun.

Saki shook her head. "That guy doesn't know how to sit still."

Aoi frowned. "I can't say I blame him, knowing the kind of family he has…"

At least she and her friends had each other's backs when they came back to camp with their partners, trying to rein in the ensuing hysteria that had almost blown apart the school. Takuma had taken the lead, as he did for most things, to explain the existence of Kemonogami. Others have said that Aoi had also done a lot to calm everyone down with cool-headed rationale. That was out of the way now, but there were still families to deal with. That everyone had to sort out on their own.

Camp ended earlier this morning, with most of the kids picked up by their families within a few hours. Kaito and Miu lived in the area and didn't need to be picked up, of course, but they had to head home so they wouldn't worry their parents. Aoi, Saki, and Shuuji, on the other hand, lived the farthest away from camp. That left them the last waiting to be picked up. Sitting alone in the gym just with Saki and their partners, with no adult chaperones in obvious sight, brought Aoi back to the old, abandoned school she and the other Survivors had called their home for what seemed like a stranded eternity.

The Survivors, that was what they had called themselves. Or what Minoru had called their little ragtag band, to be exact. As often as Aoi would roll her eyes at the antics of the resident jokester, she had to admit that the name had a nice ring to it.

Dust motes made a slow, lazy dance in shafts of sunlight that streamed through the gym windows. Saki huffed a sigh, which turned into a sneeze that sent the nearest motes from a dance into a frenzy.

"We've been here forever," she whined, dragging out the last word. "If I could have my own car and drive, we'd all be home by now."

Aoi wrinkled her nose. "If you went a hundred-thirty kilometers an hour the whole way, maybe."

Saki giggled. "I would if I could!"

"That sounds like fun," Floramon said with a huge grin.

"That sounds dangerous," Labramon said with a small frown.

"Honestly, I don't mind the wait." Aoi felt like she needed all the time in the world to prepare for what came next.

The wild, harrowing, often death-defying journey through that other world was over. So was camp. Soon the two worlds would merge. Contact between humans and Kemonogami was inevitable.

"You're nervous about your family meeting me, aren't you?" Labramon gazed up at Aoi, her eyes as gentle as her inquiry.

"Yeah, I am." Aoi forced herself to take a bite of cold, bland sandwich. Anything to relieve her tight, dry throat. "But it can't be helped. Besides, if there's any Kemonogami my parents have to run into, I'd rather you be the first."

Labramon tilted her head. "What are your parents like? I didn't get the chance to ask earlier."

Aoi didn't get the chance to answer. She opened her mouth just as one of the teachers poked his head through the gym door and called for her.

"My dad's here. I have to go." Aoi rose to her feet, slung the strap of her bookbag over her shoulder, and glanced back at Saki. "You'll be okay here?"

The younger girl winked. "Don't worry about me. We got our fearless leader patrolling the block."

Floramon waved her frilly purple hand. "And she's got me, of course!"

Saki rolled up the sleeves of her pink jacket, putting on a very solemn game face. "We'll hold down the fort to bravely fight off our worst enemy: sheer boredom."

Aoi fought back a laugh. "I know you'll win." She played along with giving Saki a salute, then she turned, took a deep breath, and headed out of the gym to confront her own obstacle.

Her father waited at the curb in his truck, his build and frame not towering over his daughter only because he sat behind the wheel. Aoi picked up her brisk stride into what she hoped was an easy loping run, not a terrified scramble up to him.

"Morning, kiddo," he said as he rolled the window down. "Or should I say afternoon? Sorry for the long wait."

"It's all good, Dad."

His muscular hair-matted arm rested on the edge of the window. He looked down to address what his eyes had been tracking the moment Aoi had stepped outside the gym. "You must be the new friend my girl was talking about."

"Yes, sir," Labramon replied.

To Aoi's relief, her father didn't fall over in surprise at Labramon opening her mouth. Good thing she had that talk over the phone with her dad beforehand. She wanted to make this encounter as smooth and painless as possible.

Aoi forced herself to take in another deep, calming breath. "Dad, I'd like you to meet Labramon. Labramon, this is my father, Tatsuo Shibuya."

Labramon sat on her haunches to give a proper, formal bow. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Shibuya."

The ends of his dark moustache perked with his smile. "You are very well-mannered. I appreciate polite company. Hop in, it's a long drive back home."

Aoi opened the back car door for Labramon and helped her partner get strapped into the backseat before joining her dad up front. She almost collapsed into the front seat beside him. Mixed relief and exhaustion had turned her legs into boneless jelly.

A faraway shout made Aoi look out the window. Saki had emerged from the gym to stand beside Shuuji, and they waved at her as Tatsuo drove the truck away. Aoi waved back until her friends dwindled out of sight.

Her father glanced at the rearview mirror. "How's the air back there? Not too cold for you?"

"It's perfectly fine, Mr. Shibuya," Labramon replied.

Tatsuo shook his head and said in a lower voice, "Well, I'll be. A talking animal. And there's more of them too."

"There will be a lot more coming, Dad," Aoi said softly. "It's only a matter of time."

The car left the winding backwood roads and got on the freeway. Aoi caught a whiff of cologne from her dad. He'd put that on to mask the stench of sweat and smoke--just one of many quirks with having a firefighter dad. The familiar smell of family and home comforted her.

Tatsuo didn't turn on the usual rock music. No one said anything for a while. Then he said, "We have to talk about your mom."

Her fists on her lap and her gut clenched at the same time. "She needs to know. Labramon is very important to me. She isn't just some stray dog I picked up off the street."

"She definitely doesn't look and sound like she's from around here, that's for sure." Tatsuo glanced at his daughter. "Just what kind of mess did you get yourself into?" The naked disbelief in his eyes softened. "It's a long drive. We got plenty of time, kiddo."

There was so much Aoi couldn't talk about over text and call. He was right, this was a good time to explain everything. So she did her best to sum up the adventure she had, starting from the moment she and her friends had stumbled into that strange shrine. An hour passed when she finally stopped to wrap up and catch her breath.

Tatsuo stared ahead, as if there was a fork in the road and he contemplated which side to take. Finally he said, "That's a lot to take in."

"Yeah, and a lot of it is really weird. I don't blame you if you-"

"No, I believe you." He made a looping turn to merge into another freeway. "You got a good head on your shoulders, Aoi. You're not the kind of person to make up stuff out of the blue. You don't speak up unless there's real good reason to."

Relief filled her like rising warm air again.

"Besides, I can already tell that you've changed a lot since I last saw you."

"Really?"

"If it's only been a few days at camp but a lot longer in that other world, then yeah, there's been enough time for you to come out a very different person. In a good way, of course." Tatsuo reached over to briefly rest a hand on her shoulder. "This is the most I've ever heard you talk. You sound so sure of yourself. If you told me that the earth is flat, and I didn't know any better, I'd believe you. I'm so proud of you, kiddo."

Her cheeks warmed. "Dad…"

He sighed through his nose. "We need to figure out the best way to tell your mom, though. It'll take a lot more work to get through to her, if we can at all."

We. Dad was taking her side. That reassured Aoi immensely. Still, she didn't want to think about her mom now. As grateful as she was for her father believing her so easily, the combined efforts of explaining everything to the kids at camp and then him took a lot out of her. Talking to her mom about Labramon was a whole other hurdle to jump over.

Tatsuo seemed to take the hint as he exited the freeway to the nearest gas station. "How about a bathroom break and snacks for the road?"

When he got out to fill up the car with gas, Aoi turned in her seat to look back at Labramon. "I'm sorry, but you should stay in here. I don't know how people out there will react to you. I'll go in and get you whatever you want."

Labramon wagged her fluffy tail. "Sure, I understand. And I'll have whatever you're having."

Aoi was glad to have such an agreeable partner. She remembered Takuma telling her how much Agumon had put up a protest about staying hidden.

She couldn't help asking, "What do you think of my father?"

Labramon replied without hesitation, "He may look big and scary, but he's a kind and reasonable man."

"Good, I'm glad you like him."

"He reminds me a lot of you."

"Does he?" It had never occurred to Aoi that she took after her dad in any way. If anything, she had always wished she could be half as brave and strong as him. He could run into burning buildings while she couldn't even speak up for herself in class.

She was mulling over this as she browsed the snack aisle, and seeing the sweets jerked her out of those thoughts. She had claimed that Labramon was not an ordinary dog, but she wasn't sure if her partner could eat chocolate. Better to be safe than sorry, she thought. Aoi loaded up on the shrimp chips, rice crackers, and ramune instead.

She paid for the snacks and drinks in a sort of daze, every movement a second delayed. Back in the other world, she was so used to fetching rations for herself and her friends without going through anyone else. The idea of forking over cash in exchange felt foreign to her now.

Welcome back to the real world, she told herself.

Soon the "real world" wouldn't be even that anymore, but a new one as the world of Kemonogami would seep more and more into the fabric of reality. According to the mural, things would go back to the way it should be. Aoi didn't know what that would be like. The idea of it both excited and terrified her. No one, not even any of the Survivors, was truly ready for that new era. Didn't mean that Aoi wasn't going to do anything she could to prepare her family, though.

She returned to the car popping open a bag of chips for Labramon, then a bag of her dad's favorite brand of wasabi-flavored rice crackers for him to grab from the cup holder.

"These are so good!" Labramon had shrimp chip dust all around her snout. "I can't stop eating these! Human food is something else."

It heartened Aoi to hear her dad laugh at that. "I don't know what kind of food you had where you came from, but I can't argue with you there."

"Aoi's cooking is even better," Labramon added.

"Dad's cooking is the best," Aoi said modestly. "Everything I know about cooking, I learned from him."

When her dad wasn't busy putting out fires, he was an amateur cook who loved being around another kind of fire, the kind from the grill in their backyard. Despite the bag of shrimp chips she was eating from, Aoi now craved her dad's barbecue from home. She wanted Labramon to try it sometime.

Her four-legged companion through thick and thin was part of her family now. Aoi wanted to believe in that very badly. It wasn't up to her, though.

Aoi looked at the rearview mirror to meet Labramon's eyes, wishing she could face her partner properly for this kind of conversation. "I'd love for you to come home with us, believe me, but the thing with my mom…" She sighed. "Well, two things. One, she's allergic to anything with fur on it…"

"What does allergic mean?"

"It's um…the body's way of overreacting to certain things, like to peanuts or dust," Aoi replied. "In my mom's case, fur makes her cough, sneeze, and itch all over."

"I'll try not to touch her, I can keep my distance."

"Just you being nearby would set her off. Her allergies are pretty bad. But that's not even the worst of it. Two, she's terrified of dogs. Utterly, irrationally terrified of them."

Labramon frowned. "I'm not a dog."

"I know, but she won't."

"This huge fear she has, it's called a phobia," Tatsuo said. "When you're so afraid of something, you can't think straight. Your mind and body go into panic overdrive, fight or flight mode, as if you're in a life or death situation."

"That sounds terrible," Labramon said. Her pink ears drooped. "So it's probably for the best that she doesn't meet me at all."

Aoi bit down on her lip. "I wish it doesn't have to come to that…"

She hadn't thought about where Labramon could go besides her house. More like she didn't want to think about it. Now she forced herself. Her mind blanked out on the options, her stomach sunk lower and lower into a pit of despair…

Aoi's phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her. It was a text from Takuma in the Survivor group chat.

"Introduced Agumon to my mom," the text said. "He loves her curry so much that he ate two bowls in under a minute. He's a keeper in her book, she said."

Aoi wished that winning over her mother could be that simple.

Next came the string of laughing emojis from everyone else.

Another text from Takuma, this time asking if the late stragglers got home okay. "Still on the road," Aoi texted back.

Incoming call from Saki. Aoi picked up.

"Hey, beat you home," Saki declared from the other end.

Aoi could not help laughing. "It's not a race, Saki." That girl had a talent for lightening up the mood without driving her up the wall like Minoru would. "How are things at home?"

"Oh, just swell. It's love at first sight. Mom and Dad adore Floramon. 'You got what you wished for,' my dad said."

"What does he mean by that?"

"Try not to laugh, this is going to sound silly, but I'm in my school's gardening club and I'd talk to the plants. You know, complaining about boys and too much homework."

Aoi didn't laugh. "Talking to plants is actually good for them. Something about how they grow more from the sound waves and carbon dioxide we emit. I read that somewhere."

"Of course you did. You're so smart, Aoi." Saki said that with no sass whatsoever, but with genuine admiration. "Thank you for validating my craziness."

Aoi laughed then. "You're welcome, I guess."

"Anyway, I'd always wish that the plants could talk back. Well, I ended up with something better. I got Floramon!"

"Congratulations. It sounds like it couldn't have ended any better."

"Right? I hope it goes well for you, too."

"I don't know about that."

"Why not?"

Aoi paused, but not for long. With Saki, she felt like she could tell her anything, no holds barred. "My mom won't react well to meeting Labramon. She definitely wouldn't let her stay in our house. She's allergic to dogs and has a phobia of them."

Saki winced. "That's tough, I'm sorry." Then her voice went up an octave. "Hey, I got an idea. If you're having trouble figuring out where Labramon should go instead, why not let her stay at my place with me and Floramon?"

Aoi sat up straighter in her car seat. "Oh, Saki, are you sure?"

"That's a great idea," Floramon's voice floated in from the background. "Labramon should at least be with friends, if not with Aoi's family. Definitely not out on the streets alone."

"Definitely not," Aoi swiftly agreed. The very thought of Labramon wandering around without food and shelter like a stray sent a vice through her chest. "But Saki, is that really okay?"

"Sure it is! I have to let Mom and Dad know, but I'm sure they'll understand. There's plenty of food and room at my place for both our partners."

Aoi slumped in her seat, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "Saki, I can't thank you enough. That's so kind of you…"

"After everything you did to keep all of us alive, it's the least I can do."

"No, this is huge. Thank you, really." Aoi's voice began to tremble. "How can I repay-"

"Uh uh, don't mention it. Labramon can stay rent-free for as long as she needs to."

Aoi couldn't get anything out now, her throat all choked up with emotion. Labramon spoke in her stead from the back of the truck.

"Thank you so much, Saki. Aoi and I are grateful from the bottom of our hearts."

"Just helping out friends in need. Oh, got to go. Dinner's ready. Call me back when you're going to drop off Labramon!"

Aoi hung up, still overwhelmed beyond words.

"So that's Saki, huh?" Tatsuo said. "She seems like a sweet girl."

"The sweetest," Aoi finally managed to say. And the bravest. And the strongest. Everything Aoi wanted to be but couldn't be. She couldn't help feeling a swell of envy rising with admiration for the other girl. Floramon was taken in and accepted just like that. Then again, with the unseen burden Saki had to bear, she deserved that much to have something go that easy when everything else in her life was so damn hard. A stab of guilt swiftly followed that ebb of envy.

"Labramon staying with your friend Saki is a really good start," Tatsuo said.

Aoi nodded in agreement. She could rest easy knowing that Labramon would be safe, and she could avoid being less than honest and upfront with her mom by sneaking Labramon into the house and hiding her somewhere. If there was anything her mother hated more than dogs, it was dishonesty. And if there was anything her mother loved second only to the family, it was being considerate.

Since the moment she had learned to speak, Aoi had learned next from her mom to always think of others before herself, always be considerate. Aoi was resorting to Labramon being housed elsewhere out of consideration for her mom. That much was true. She hoped her mom would come to appreciate that.

Tatsuo ran fingers through his short dark hair. "She's already worried about you as it is. She's been fretting since she last heard of the landslides near the camp."

Aoi was well aware of that. Back in the other world, in the deepest level of the shrine, she had been startled with the least garbled text she had seen so far. That text was from her mom. She could just hear the worry coming off those half-garbled words.

"Let's get back home and make sure Mom knows I'm okay," Aoi said. "Then when the dust settles down, we can try introducing Labramon to her."

A sensible plan, in her opinion. Too much all at once wouldn't go down well with her mom, or she'd have a full-blown panic attack.

Every second in the truck with her dad brought Aoi closer to home. After everything she went through, she should relax now. Unfortunately she felt anything but relaxed. Together with Labramon, Aoi had conquered a murderous fog and beastly gods. So why did her heart beat so hard and fast in her chest, as if she was about to face her greatest enemy yet?

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

Sakura's First Guitar Lesson

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted some writing here because most of the time I use my a03. For Sk8Tember writing athon I originally wanted to do Fairy Tale day which is tomorrow. However, since I'm currently in the middle of changing up my writing style from first person to third person to try and be a better writer I thought that it would be for the best that I pick Instrument Day because guess what? Today is my birthday! I'm now officially 22 years old even if I don't look or act like it. I'm here to celebrate my birthday with everyone by sharing my new writing with all of you.

Songs mentioned in the fic:

La Via Strangiato: Rush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK1hmDpa8bo

The Long And Winding Road: The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR4HjTH_fTM

Let It Be: The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDYfEBY9NM4

Sakura Nanjo rocked back and forth on her heels outside of the music studio that she had her first lessons in. Since she told her parents that the thing she wanted to do more than anything in the world was to learn how to play the bass guitar just like her hero, they had been encouraging. Haru even found that he had a profound interest in learning how to play the drums. In reality, he wanted to do it so that his sister wouldn’t feel alone in wanting to try something new. He would never admit that to her though. There were some things that his sister did not need to know. She would never let him live it down if she knew the actual reason why he was so adamant about learning to play the drums.

“Sakura, if you keep doing that you’re going to wear yourself out. I know that you’re excited but it’s really starting to freak me out.” Her best friend, Miya Chinen, reminded her lightly with that same small smile that he often had when he was around her. He couldn’t help but find this childish and excitable side of her adorable. She would always be cute in his mind but especially when she got excited about the simplest of things. Like learning how to play an instrument that had always spoken to her.

“I can’t help it! I’m excited, I’m nervous, part of my brain is screaming at me because what if this is a really bad idea and what if I’m not any good at this thing that I’ve never tried before and change is terrifying and-“ He lightly put his arm around his best friend cutting off her word vomit. She only got like this when she was way past nervous and her brain to mouth filter failed her.

“Change is scary but it can also be good for you. You told me so yourself that this is something you’ve wanted to do for all your life right?” Sakura nodded her head nervously trying to stop this anxiety from bubbling up inside of her. With the recent diagnosis of aspergers syndrome she’s still learning to cope with the help of her friends and family.

“Well yeah, I’ve always loved the idea of playing music. Especially bass guitar because of my fixation on Rush and on Geddy Lee as a whole.” She argued and he just chuckled lightly at his best friend. Leave it to her to want to do something that could potentially become life altering just because her favorite singer did it too.

“Then I think that it would be a great experience for you to have if it’s something that you really want to do. It’ll make you happy and give you a hobby that you didn’t have before. You really need to have more hobbies other than cooking Saki.” She sighed knowing that her best friend was right as she looked over at the music studio.

“I know that it’s bad. But this could be something that I get really passionate about. I already know that it won’t necessarily be easy. Nothing really ever is easy for me.” She looked down at her skateboard tracing the end of her Haku dragon sticker before sighing slightly. Nobody ever did anything by being anxious about every little change that they came across. If that was the case then most of her favorite music would have never come to exist.

“Skating came rather easily for you after you got those grips for your feet. You just needed to distribute your weight easier than the way that you were.” Miya argued lightly hating that she would get like this sometimes. She shouldn’t ever have the need to feel sad. He preferred her when her ruby red eyes lit up with happiness rather than downcast and saddened like they were right now.

“Yeah that doesn’t mean that I’ll be good at this though… what if all of this is just me being childish?” She just sighed burying her head in her hands. Now that she had been told to stop being so overly excited the dread was starting to sink in. Her playing bass guitar? Yeah and the moon is secretly made of cheese.

“I don’t think that it’s you being childish. I think that it’s you trying to make yourself into a better version of yourself. You’re clearly not happy and you barely do anything for yourself simply because you want to. Saki you can’t know that you suck at something if you’ve never really tried it before. I know that you can do this because you’re the bravest person that I’ve ever met. You can literally do anything that you set your mind to. If you can dream it you can do it.” He comforted her and watched as slowly the light came back to her eyes.

“You’re right! I can do this, and I’ll be good at it as long as I work hard enough at it. I know that I can do this.” She clenched her left fist and shook it up at the sky daring anyone to tell her otherwise. If you asked Miya, this was the first thing that he really noticed about her that was different. He never met anyone that was as determined to do their best until he met Sakura. Her determination to defy every obstacle inspired him to push past his limits as well.

“That’s the stubborn best friend that I know and love.” He lightly teased and she looked down at her lap picking up the instrument that was there. The second that Kaoru found out his beloved daughter wanted to learn to play bass guitar he found the best one that he could through hours of off the clock research. He wanted his little girl to be happy and if this is what would make her happy and confident in her own wicked way then he would do everything that he felt within his power to do so. The guitar that he had eventually chosen for her was a lilac colored and sparkly one that he thought just suited his little girl’s personality.

“Shut up, I know I’m super stubborn already. It’s why me and Haru struggle so hard to see eye to eye because he’s just as stubborn as I am if not more.” She huffed a breath thinking about the argument that her and her brother had gotten into last night. It had been about something so stupid but it had just got blown way out of proportion and now she wasn’t sure if things were going to be awkward around him for a while. It had been about who was going to make dinner that night and Haru just blew up at her. Of course, never to back down from a fight the only thing that Sakura did was yell right back at him.

“He’ll forgive you eventually Saki. He always does you’ll go home and there will be forgive me cookies on the table for you. Besides he’s usually the one who yells first and knows that you will yell back. I’ve never once seen you actually pick the fight with him personally.” Miya hated when Haru would purposefully try and ruin her mood. He knew that he was just going through his own personal hell as he was still in the early stages of transitioning but he didn’t need to take his anger and aggression out on her.

“This one was really stupid though. It was just over who would make dinner since dad had to be at the restaurant late and mom was working late surprising absolutely no one ever.” Kaoru had always been the type that worked long hours even at the cost of not spending a whole lot of time at home with his children. He did the best that he could with the time that he was given and had mandatory time with them on weekends but the house was most of the time silent except for the twins. And sometimes they just couldn’t be around each other without a screaming match breaking out.

“You guys are the kids of Cherry and Joe, it would be weird if you guys didn’t fight constantly.” Miya tried to joked just to hear her laugh, which it worked. The first thing that really drew him to her was that laugh. That loud and open sound when she was well and truly tickled by something or the more quiet sound that he got right now when she was emotional.

“That’s true, come on, I’m thirsty all the sudden and want to get a drink before I have to go in for my first session.” She stretched getting off of the concrete and offered her best friend a hand up off the ground before she stepped onto her board.

“Arizona sweet tea?” He offered her that option and she nodded her head with a small smile on her face. She had fallen in love with her best friend’s sweet tea that he had gotten her addicted to after they got introduced to each other.

“What are you going to do while I’m doing my session?” Miya gestured to his backpack where he was hiding his switch that he brought with him today. He knew that he’d want to spend the afternoon waiting for his best friend to finish her session.

“I’ve got my games in here don’t worry about me. I want to spend the afternoon with you. You’re my best friend and I want to support you in any way that I can.” He encouraged her as they pulled into the connivence store so that they could get their tea and some snacks while they waited. This was a huge deal for her and he wanted her to know how much he supported her.

“You’re going to be amazing Sakura. I know that you will be because you constantly give everything that you can into your interests.” Miya knew that she could do anything that she put her mind to because if his best friend was anything it was bound and determined to do her best at every little thing that she tried. Even if she found that she wasn’t as interested in the idea of playing her favorite instrument as she made it sound both in her head and in the music she listened to, she wouldn’t back down without a fight. That stubborn nature combined with her kind heart had him being pulled even deeper into her orbit.

“I sure hope that your right cat-boy because I am so nervous right now. As was prevalent by my earlier word vomit.” He just smiled softly at her doing his best that he could to be her support system as much as he knew that she was nervous.

“Sometimes your nerves stop you from doing things that you’re really good at though. They stopped you from making genuine friends before now didn’t they? Being nervous about something is considered totally normal. But you can’t let those nerves run your life Sakura. Otherwise you’ll never get anywhere. If you let nerves stop you then there’s so much you can’t really achieve.” He knew the amount of almost crippling anxiety that she struggled with. He had only ever wanted to support her and push her further. As they stopped in front of the music studio and she took a deep breath opening the front door and hearing the sound of somebody in one of the rooms practicing.

“Hello! Are you here for a lesson or just here to see what kinds of facilities we offer here?” Sakura lightly yanked on her ponytail just to try and ground herself.

“My mom scheduled my appointment, it’s Sakura Nanjo. I want to learn how to play the bass guitar.” She told the clerk and Miya just squeezed her hand sympathetically. Talking to people that she didn’t know was never a skill that Sakura had excelled at. Haru was always the people person not really her.

“Oh that’s right!! Your mother did call in to our shop so we’re excited to begin to teach you. We’ll have your teacher be with you in just a moment. You’re welcome to look around. He mentioned that you’d bring your own instrument?” She nodded her head holding up her guitar sleeved she had walked her with her.

“He bought it for me a few days ago and came home with it the day before yesterday!” Sakura showed her the guitar that her mom had bought for her that matched her personality.

“That is really pretty!! It does seem to match your bright and bubbly personality. Are you here for lessons too or just moral support?” Miya put his arm around his best friend’s shoulders supportively with a small smile on his face.

“I’m just here for the moral support factor. She struggles with nerves and anxiety and I thought that it would be easier for her if she had me here to support her.” He reasoned and she smiled gratefully at her best friend. Despite only being friends for a few months she knew that there was something unique about the video game obsessed boy next to her. Something that was life altering and that she wouldn’t ever want to change.

“That’s really sweet of you!! I’ll go and tell your teacher that your ready to learn.” The worker went off in search of the bass guitar teacher and Sakura’s ear twitched lightly.

“Are you hearing La Villa Strangiato?” Her ear was always in tune to when a Rush song was being played around her. Miya couldn’t help but laugh lightly at her as he had been hearing it since they had come into the studio. She must have been way too nervous to notice that somebody had been playing a song by her favorite band.

“They’ve been playing it since we walked in. Want to go and see who it is?” She followed the sound of the guitar as it led her to a spare room where a girl with dark hair and baby blue highlights was playing a guitar. She was wearing a different school uniform than the one that they were wearing. It had a music note on the band around the arm. Maybe she went to a music school of some kind? Whomever she was, she was clearly absorbed in the music that she was playing. And what’s more than that, she was a good. Good from years of clear practice at her craft and good from knowing exactly what she was doing. Miya accidentally leaned into Sakura’s side a bit too far trying to get a better look at the girl and knocked her over. The girl that as playing the instrument suddenly stoped and looked over at Sakura who was on the ground.

“Sorry Saki!” He frantically apologized offering her a hand and helped her to dust off the back of her skirt.

“Are you guys new? I thought that I closed that door!! Sorry if I was playing too loud, my dad runs the studio here I don’t take lessons.” The girl apologized very clearly worried that she had distracted them from something.

“Sakura is here to get lessons but she’s a huge rush fan and knew exactly what you were playing. She wanted to see the person that was playing La Villa Strangiato.” Miya explained to the girl lightly put off by the fact that the girl instantly took Sakura’s hands in her own.

“A fellow Rush fan?! At long last!! I’m Kayla Sunohara!! Super awesome to meet you Sakura.” She introduced herself excitedly and Miya just possessively gripped her hand.

“I’m Sakura Nanjo, this is my best friend Miya Chinen. How long have you been studying Alex Lifeson?” Miya buried his face into Sakura’s shoulder, trying on a whim to keep the possessive nature that he was feeling come up his spine. She’s allowed to have other friends and not just me. She should have a female friend who likes the same style of music as she does. It was only a matter of time before Sakura made another friend that wasn’t just me. She’s too nice for me to keep all to myself like that.

“Oh I’ve been studying his work since I first started playing when I was seven!! What about you? You interested in studying Geddy Lee?” Sakura gripped her bass guitar a little bit firmer in her hands nodding her head.

“That’s so cool…” She gushed and Kayla just laughed a bit waving her hand up and down in a dismissive manner.

“It’s not really anything that fantastic, I’m nowhere near his level and I probably never will be. But his guitar is what inspired me to pick up my own. What about you? Why did you want to learn bass?” Miya couldn’t help the halfhearted glare that he was sending to the other guitarist. He didn’t know why, maybe it was because he hadn’t had friends in so long but he wanted all of Sakura’s attention on him.

“Sakura?” The lady in the front of the studio called her name and she instantly lightly hugged her best friend noticing the slight stiffness in his appearance.

“Miya, I have to go. Is there something wrong?” He shook his head at her putting on the fakest smile that he could muster at the moment.

“I’ll be alright, I’ve got my games and I’m going to play these games with Sunohara.” He lightly told her and she just sighed a little bit.

“Look we’ll talk later cat boy alright? Don’t do anything stupid like start a fight or whatever.” She lightly told him with a small smirk on her face going out of the room and carrying everything over to the room.

“Miss Nanjo? I’m Shizuko, I’m going to be your teacher.” She took a deep breath just trying to do the final calming of her nerves. “I’m Sakura, it’s nice to meet you.” She bowed before her teacher with a small smile on her face carrying the guitar.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. Why don’t you come with me and we can figure out what you want to do and why?” As her teacher led the way she couldn’t help but look at everything with this sheer ease of wonder and light.

“So, why do you want to learn how to play bass guitar?” She sat down in the chair in front of her putting the guitar on her lap lightly.

“I want to play guitar because I was deeply inspired by Geddy Lee. My dad he raised me on Rush because that was what he loved back in high school.” Her teacher listened to her speak passionately about her love of the music that had inspired her to get through the day.

“My little sister has been studying the art of Alec Lifeson for a majority of her life. So I totally get that you can be inspired by the lead singer. He’s a big inspiration for everyone that ever felt like they didn’t fit in. She’s going to probably take over this studio one of these days.” Shizuko bragged about her younger sister that was now bonding with Miya over a shared love of video games in the spare room.

“I met your sister! She was playing La Villa Strangiato in another room. I thought that she was really amazing at it too. She’s really talented.” Sakura exclaimed her praises towards the other main guitarist. Her teacher just laughed a little bit already foreseeing a future friendship between her newest student and her younger sibling.

“You really know your stuff if you knew the exact song that she was playing. Music has always been something that brought us closer together as a family. Performing has been something that was passed down through the lines. Our dad taught us when we were just little kids so it’s always been a big part of our lives tighter. So what do your parents do?” She put her guitar on the floor knowing that this would just be an initial interview to see what she wanted to do and why.

“My dad he runs an Italian restaurant, Sia La Luce by the marina that’s what I’m going to do when I get older too. That’s what I was doing until both of my parents decided that I should be allowed to be a teenager for a little while. I’ve wanted to play bass guitar ever since I first started to deep dive and I really learned what music was and what instruments did what. It wasn’t just Geddy Lee. I’ve been inspired by countless other artists as well.” She reasoned and the teacher just smiled to herself. She had a feeling that this student would excel really far at the guitar. She also thought that her sister might finally make a really good friend.

“Do you do well in school? Do you have any other interests?” She nodded her head with a small smile on her face thinking about her lessons in skateboarding.

“I’m currently learning how to skateboard finally. My parents both do it and compete in their own ways. My brother picked it up like a fish to water. I’ve only recently started to learn how because a friend wanted to teach me. He’s the first friend that I’ve ever made. I was relatively well liked by my classmates but we weren’t ever really friends. I do pretty good in school depending on the subject. I’m mostly good at math and English but struggle with science. That’s my brother’s area of expertise.” Sakura talked about the little things in school that she enjoyed doing.

“Science isn’t for everyone and it’s not your fault that you aren’t very good at that class. I’m sure that yo excel in other areas. Who are some of your other heroes in music that aren’t behind Rush?” As important as having one hero was, Shizuko knew that she wouldn’t get very far if that was the only genre of music that she wanted to play.

“The one that my mom got me hooked on from a young age was Queen so I’ve always admired John Deacon. He was the quiet one so not a lot of people really think about how important he was. He was both an incredible bass player but he wrote some of Queen’s most iconic songs. Also, Paul McCartney has always been one of my favorite musicians for The Beatles and for Wings. Really I found a lot of different musician heroes that I could aspire to one day learn more about. I have a recent diagnosis of aspergers that caused me to rethink a lot of what interested me.” Sakura was still just ever so slightly self conscious about what had interested her. She’d had so many people judge her that weren’t Miya it felt like. Shizuko couldn’t hep but smile softly as this young tween in front of her reminded her so much of her when she was younger. From the admiration that she had of all these different styles of bass guitarists to her naturally shy disposition.

“There’s a lot of really beautiful Beatles songs, do you have a favorite one?” She nodded her head with a small smile on her face.

“My favorite is The Long And Winding Road. Many times I’ve been alone and many times I’ve cried anyway you’ll never know the many ways I’ve tried. It reminds me of my relationship with my brother. We get into a lot of really heated arguments but at the end of the day he’s my twin brother and I love him.” The entirety of Let It Be was her favorite non-Rush album of all time and it was one that she listened to consistently when she was alone in her bedroom. Her parents got her a record player when she was eight because that was the item she most desperately wanted. Ever since then she’d been collecting records and she shared it with Haru.

“You sing really, really well for somebody your age. That takes a lot of talent, have you ever done it professionally?” Do my friends in Italy count? We’re kind of a band I guess and I always love singing with them. While Sakura had friends before Miya, they didn’t live in this country. Rather they all lived in Italy. They were the only large group of people that had welcomed her into their group.

“I have a couple of friends in Italy where my dad did his studying for his restaurant. We go back every summer just about and my friends and I we sing. I’ve always appreciated singing because it was something that I could control. It could be loud or quiet. I could train it to sing in different styles.” She explained her dynamic with her small group of female friends that welcomed her with open arms years ago. Found family movie nights on Friday’s were something that she always looked forward to even if it was earlier in the afternoon for her then it was for them.

“I don’t know very many young girls that are that into singing. They do it for fun a lot of them but none of them that do it for fun are very good. Not unless they put in the effort. Talent takes effort. You have to put in the work and make the commitment in order for talent to come from that. Taking on an instrument is a pretty big commitment especially with the guitar. Sometimes you just want to throw the thing against the wall and call it a day. But then you get back to it and you’re suddenly able to do it and you feel this sense of self worth and accomplishment.” Shizuko tried to make her young pupil see things from her perspective. She had lost a lot of younger students because they weren’t serious about the instrument. Once they saw the first sign of struggle they threw in the towel and gave everything up.

“I’m willing to put in the work. I just need a teacher to show me how things work.” Sakura never did anything halfway. She was either all in or had absolutely zero interest in the task at hand. She had grown up around the sound of a bass guitar coming from every room in the house in some capacity.

“I can tell that you’re one of the serious ones about this otherwise you wouldn’t have stayed after that talk. Most of the students leave because I’m “too harsh”. I just want people to try their best and to succeed in the areas where they should.” The teacher ranted and Sakura couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. That threat hadn’t even begun to diminish her joy at the idea of simply being here.

“My mom is a lot more scary than that so I’m used to the idea of being threatened. Music has always been a part of my life and now I want to learn how to play it.” She said confidently and by the look on her face Shizuko knew that she had found a gem in the rocks.

“That was why I wanted to learn how to play bass too. I grew up hearing it with my dad because he loves all different kinds of music really but it was a whole lot of Beatles, Rush, Queen, Heart, and a lot of other artists that just seemed to flow out of the windows. I’m glad that you came in today Sakura. I can’t wait to start teaching you. We’re just going to gloss over the essentials today.” Sakura looked at her teacher one question burning in the back of her brain. “What is your favorite Beatles song?” Shizuko blinked a little bit in confusion before a small smirk appeared on her face.

“My favorite Beatles song is Let It Be. Has been since I was a little kid, Mary was my mother’s name. She died last year so it’s been kind of a rough point in my life. But that song has always gotten me through bad times. And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me. Shine until tomorrow let it be.” As Shizuko told her new student about her song obsession Sakura’s heart warmed. It was such a beautiful story that she couldn’t help but love it.

“I’m sorry for the loss of your mom. That really must have hurt something awful. Is it just you, your dad, and your sister now?” Sakura pulled her hair back a little bit further with a small smile on her face playing with the ends of her ponytail.

“Thank you so much sweetheart that makes a lot to me. My dad has a girlfriend, they were divorced for a while since Kayla was younger. It was a bit of an experience for me to deal with but we’re still a family anyways.” Shizuko reasoned and her student just smiled sympathetically at her. She had no idea what it would be like if there was a fight that just pushed things over that sometimes tightrope edge that her parents walked on. When she was younger she feared that one day one of them would fall off the tightrope and it would end their relationship. That it would go out in a burning inferno and that one fatal argument would end their bickering relationship. It wasn’t until she got a bit older and wiser when she learned that their love language was bickering.

“I’m glad that you were still able to have that family. My family can be a bit loud and chaotic personally. It’s a lot of bickering and a lot of arguing sometimes about the simplest of things. But I love my parents even if half the time it’s like I’m the parent and they are the children under my care. My twin brother isn’t really that much better.” Shizuko laughed openly at the idea of this family as she could completely visualize it. From what she had gathered when she had spoken with Kaoru Sakurayashiki the man seemed like a complete overprotective but at the same time loving mom figure.

“So you have two dad’s right?” She nodded her head getting out her phone and showing her a picture of them all skating together.

“I have two dad’s. My brother and I were surrogate children because they wanted kids with their own DNA. To keep things less complicated when we were kids me and Haru decided okay your mom and you’re dad. It’s been that way ever since. Our family dynamic is a bit unique because of it but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if they weren’t my parents. They bicker like people that have known each other their entire lives because that’s what they do.” She settled against the back of the chair that she was currently in.

“Do you and your brother bicker a lot because of the fact that your parents do?” Sakura sighed heavily playing with her index fingers. She hated the fact that she had instantly been called out like that.

“Well… yeah we kind of do. Both of us are naturally stubborn types of people and sometimes it gets to be rather explosive. If it’s a day that we don’t get into at least a little spat well then that’s a miracle I feel like. We’ve really put our parents through hell these last several years especially.” She picked at the hem on her skirt just wishing that she could finally get along with her brother. It was so hard for them to see eye to eye though. Half of the time she had no idea what he was thinking and why he was doing the things that he was doing. She just wanted to help and every time that she tried he exploded on her.

“Sometimes siblings just don’t get along. You’re one of the lucky pairs if you don’t fight every time that your put in the same room together as children. My sister and I still fight a lot because we’re just different kinds of people. I’m sure that it’s the same way with your brother and you.” The older of the two of them felt the pain that the younger one went through like it was her own. There was a time a few years ago where a positive relationship between her and Kayla seemed like a wish on a dying star. It was just plain not going to happen.

“I want to be a better sister to him. I know that I do. I also just really want something to bond with him over. He wants to learn to play the drums.” Her teacher smiled at her instantly feeling that sense of love that Sakura had for her brother.

“Now that we’ve gotten all of that personality stuff squared away I know how to properly teach you. We’ll put primary focus on songs from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s rock n’roll because that seems to be the genre that you enjoy the most. I appreciate the taste it’s a welcomed change of pace. I get so many people that tell me their favorite artist is somebody more modern.” She got her own red guitar that looked familiar enough to the young tween in front of her.

“That a version of Brain May’s red special isn’t it? For the bass guitar?” Shizuko grinned openly at the girl in front of her for recognizing the iconic guitar.

“My dad also happens to make guitars here so I asked for this one to be custom made once I started teaching. It’s always been my favorite guitar that’s an icon so I asked if he could take that concept and make it into a bass guitar for me. I used to do band when I was in school and now I’m going to college for music theory.” That guitar had gotten the teacher through a lot when she was younger. Everyone has their little things that they’re obsessed with and for Shizuko that would definitely be her guitar. She couldn’t live without it.

“That sounds like me with my cookbook. I can’t go anywhere without it. My mom calls it my grounding object because it helps me to stay calm and it helps me to remember my goals and ambitions. I want to one day make food that will make people happy just like my dad. If that means that I have to do the same training that he did in Italy for four years then so be it. Whatever it takes to make people smile when they eat my food.” Whatever it takes to make Miya happy when he eats my food. I want to keep making meals for him that he’ll love. I want to get him on a healthier diet. She shook the thought right out of her head, now was not the time to start thinking about Miya. It was the time to start learning the basics of the instrument that had always inspired her.

“Your mom mentioned that you have a recent diagnosis of aspergers?” She nodded her head unzipping her own guitar and showing it to her teacher.

“I got it a few weeks ago when it was still summer break. We went to Hokkaido to get it in a beach town since my family and found family wanted to go on a small vacation.” The shiny guitar that was in her hands made Shizuko smile softly. It was obvious that everyone in the familial unit that made her heart happy.

“Does that boy that was with you, is he in your found family?” She blushed a bright pink and her teacher couldn’t keep back the cackle of laughter from leaving her.

“Miya is my best friend, I’ve only known him for a few months but he’s… well he’s everything to me. I never had a friend before him really. I was popular enough with my classmates but was never asked to hang out when I wasn’t in class. That was fine with me but I never really thought about how deep down lonely I really was. Loneliness started to get to me and I was depressed every time I would go to school.” As Sakura talked about what she went through during these last few months the sadness in her voice was evident. She had spent the last couple of months just half alive until she met Miya who had brought life and color back into her eyes.

“I’m sorry that happened to you sweetheart, I know that you’ve struggled a lot during the course of your life. Sometimes we just need to wait until the right person comes into your life. I didn’t meet my best friend until I was eighteen and she’s been there for me every step of the way. I only had rent-a-friends during my entire childhood.” Shizuko reasoned and she played with the ends of curly hair with a small laugh.

“He’s easily the best thing that has ever happened to me. We do everything together now and he’s been teaching me skateboarding.” She lifted the guitar that was in her hands and put it over her lap. Shizuko demonstrated the first cord that she would be teaching her and Sakura easily copied the same note. She was instantly feeling the energy that she was actually really good at this job.

“Skateboarding can be very difficult but I know that you must feel very passionately about the art from. It can be a lot of fun actually. My friend’s and I used to do it all the time when we were back in high school. I still skate because it’s rather simple to get from place to place that way.” Shizuko reasoned with the young girl as she showed her the chord again and Sakura hit it with ease. The teacher was surprised at the amount of talent that the girl clearly had for somebody that had never touched a guitar before. It was something that she was just clearly passionate about.

“I was never really able to do it until a friend of mine was able to make me a custom board. I had to have little divots for my feet to go so that I could maintain my balance. I have really bad balance normally so trying to do that on a skateboard was just a plain old recipe for disaster.” Sakura laughed a little bit at the pain of the moment as the timer on Shizuko’s phone buzzed.

“We spent most of the session today learning about each other so that we can better work together through this experience. I know that you’re going to be one of the best students that I’ve ever taken on. I’ll see you again next week?” Sakura nodded her head zipping up her guitar before her teacher stopped her.

“For right now, I think that I should keep the guitar here. It’s probably difficult skating with it right? I can have my sister drop off a rental at your house since she’ll probably be one of your closest friends.” Her teacher reasoned and she handed the sparkly guitar to her teacher.

“Thank you, I’m looking forward to you teaching me as well!” She looked down at her shoes with a small smile on her face. Sakura bowed right before she left the room easily picking up her backpack with a small smile on her face as she heard Miya’s familiar laugh.

“Hey! I finished my session. What did you two get up to?” Sakura flopped onto the ground next to her best friend and he instantly put his arm comfortably around her shoulders. He had missed her despite her only being gone for a small amount of time.

“We were just playing some Crash Bandicoot!! Your friend is really good at video games. How did your first session with my sister go? Was she too hard on you? She can be a lot during first sessions. I try to be a lot more open minded and friendly with my students.” Kayla mentioned off handedly as the pinkette just shook her head.

“No she was actually really, really cool. I liked my studies quite a bit and I’m excited to come back next week. I’m hungry for dinner though, you coming cat-boy?” She lightly ruffled his dark hair as he nodded his head against her shoulder. As much as he knew that she had to make new friends and that it wouldn’t be just the two of them forever and ever he would always be protective over her. She might be her friend but I’ll always be her best friend. Nothing in the world can change that.

[losingitinjersey]

I continue to be amazed by how busy life has become as a new parent.  I always figured since I was spending time at home that I’d have plenty of time to tackle projects around the house, maybe cull through drawers and clean things out.  Nope!  There are days when I barely find the time to do a 10 minute yoga session.  To be fair, I’m prioritizing things over it - like a nap or a shower.  

All this to say I’ve had several draft posts waiting to be written for weeks.  My problem is I like to spend at least 30+ minutes crafting a post from my laptop rather than posting on the mobile app.  We’ll see how that changes moving forward.  I keep hoping that once I make a catch up post (like this one) I then have the freedom to post more frequently, likely from my phone.  I keep taking pictures of every meal and activity like I’m posting daily thus resulting in a phone chock full of pics that never get posted.  

The pictures above are a good summary of what I’ve been up to.  Of most significance - I’m officially back into walking!  Since January 14th (three weeks postpartum) I’ve made my way out the door nine times (my first two walks weren’t logged due to my not downloading Runkeeper to my new phone in advance).  Today marked my first day out with just erp - and it was great!!!  Thankfully I had eight other walks under my belt (three with the babe) to get my comfort level back up, so I felt fully prepared today to go solo.  This week I even did my first five mile walk, which I used to do every other day pre-pregnancy.  Today, I listened to a “Getting Curious” podcast and loved the time outdoors in the fresh air with erp even though she was sleeping the entire time as she’s prone to do any time she’s in her car seat (hallelujah!). 

I also started lifting again this week!  Starting off from square one doing just the bar for bench and squat and minimal weights for deads.  It feels soso good integrating fitness back into my life again after basically being off for the last nine months.  I’m starting to be mindful of my eating and while I’m not back to strict keto I am trying to do moderate/low-carb.  I’m not counting every calorie but have started logging some meals in to get an idea of what my intake is while also stepping on the scale a few times per week.  I’m sure I’ll be back to full blown weight-loss efforts soon as I’m not a fan of how clothes are fitting now that I don’t have a baby bump to work with.  

Yoga is back to an every day priority which also brings back my vinyl of the day, which I’d missed.  I do love a solid routine!  

Erp is now over a month old (WHAT) and the center pic is an outtake from her one month photoshoot for FB documentation (although, I don’t intend to post more than at one, six and twelve months I’m sure I’ll continue to take them for my own records).  That bottom lip quiver gets me every time.  Since I’m not into frequent FB posting I downloaded an app called Tiny Beans where just my family and friends who want an onslaught of pics can subscribe and see the daily pics and videos I’m posting.  It feels like a really happy medium.  

Saki continues to be my best friend and occupies my lap any time there’s not a baby on it.  While he’s protective of his brood he isn’t the biggest fan of the babe.  He’ll usually jump on me, discover my lap is full, give her a good few sniffs before running off.  Occasionally he’ll share my lap or arms with her when he’s especially needy but that’s been rare.  Although, when he sees I’m sans baby he’ll be my shadow and can barely wait for me to sit down before he climbs on me for all the cuddles.  

Check out this random sprout coming out of this succulent!  I’ve had the plant since my bff’s bridal shower in May but apparently this little growth wanted to make his appearance nine months later on January 17th and the last picture taken today, January 28th.  I know nothing about plants but that seems like an awful lot of growth for just over a week.  I’m fascinated to see what’s going to happen next!  When is it going to get too tall to keep going straight up?  Will it lose all structural integrity and collapse?  Will it flower!?  This sprout is keeping me more than entertained.  

Speaking of entertainment, I’m zipping through shows like nobody’s business.  I’m sure I’m unable to remember all programming I’ve consumed but I’ve completed at least the following shows:  Fleabag, Crashing, BoJack Horseman, latest season of Grace and Frankie, You, Troop Zero, Unbelievable, Brittany Runs A Marathon, and I’m currently on the second season of The Let Down.  Not to say that I’m prioritizing watching shows over being productive, it’s just that I’m trapped in a chair either breastfeeding, pumping or rocking my child for the majority of the day and there’s only so much social media I can stomach.  

Breastfeeding and pumping have been going pretty well although I’ve recently been very close to running out of my entire stock of milk since my child is now on an extreme growth spurt.  She’s eating about 34oz a day and I’m producing roughly 32oz.  This past weekend we started supplementing with formula so I can start building back up a supply for when daycare starts next week.  I’m now pumping every two hours during the day and every three hours at night.  Each time I feed her about 6oz of breast milk then 2-3oz of formula to top her off.  I had allllll the feels about not being able to keep up and needing to use formula but thankfully I’m less emotional about it now that we’ve started doing it.  Fed is best and I’m doing everything I can for her and that has to be enough.  

All in all I’m doing really really well.  I’ve never had more purpose or felt this fulfilled and I’m loving taking care of erp, Kevin, Saki, the house and myself.  Sadly, this precious time starts to end this coming Monday when I go back to work.  Thankfully, I negotiated having six additional weeks of flex time so I’ll work from the office 2-3 days a week and work from home the remaining days.  Although, given how hard it is for me to get anything done I am worried how my work is going to suffer on days I’m working from home.  I doubt anyone (other than myself) has high expectations of me so I just need to give myself grace and try and find a balance.  Easier said than done, I’m sure!  

For now, my daughter is sound asleep in my arms, I’ve got half an hour before another pumping session then onto making dinner.  Even though this post is more than long enough, I have to add - Kevin has been amazing.  His school schedule has been extremely light so he’s home most of the day and does more than his fair share of baby duty.  He’ll prop her up on his desk while he’s playing computer games while feeding her or holding her as she falls asleep.  He just loves being with her as often as he can be.  He takes the first part of most night shifts so I can get rest and reminds me constantly how proud he is of me and how well I’m doing.  My favorite time is when we do bath time together as a team sport.  I really lucked out in the partner department and, man, did we make a cute kid! 

[sambart93]

2018.10.26 and 29 Teito Tantei Kitan Zigomar [Review]

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4

CAST and CHARACTERS

Hiroya as Z (Zigomar / Jigoma) Hattori Takeo as Mikasa Yumenosuke (Private Detective) Ebihara Yuka as Mutou Yuuko (Kidnapped by Zigoma) Hanaoka Meika as Hanasaki Mayuko (Mikasa's Assistant) Kadono Sho as Kitamiko Saburo (Chief Policeman) Tanaka Hiroki as Sumi Arata (Newbie Policeman) Oda Toshiki as Hira Tarou (Journalist)

Adachi Yuna as Tokage (meaning 'lizard' - Phantom Theif) Sawada Maria as Ando Ayako (Opera Singer)

Umehara Saeri as Aikawa Tamako (Tetsujiro's Girlfriend/Wife) Kuroki Kiko as Doi Shiori (Adopted Sister?) Tatsuya Yuu as Kobayashi Tetsujiro (Saved by Mikasa. Admires Mikasa.)

Working For Zigomar:

Hinagata Ui as Tsukishiro Tei Ogura Eriko as Sunaga Tokiko

Working for Fukiya:

Maruyama Raiden* as Gondawara Kouzou Odagiri Masayo as Harukara Meiko Souji Masato as Hitomi Hirosuke Kamidochi Kanki as Naoki Osamu

Terumi as Fukiya Kiyoshi 

W Cast:

Kai Chiaru / Oota Saki as Saito Kanoko (Yuuko's Maid) Ashikaga Itaru / Oda Shunpei as Mifune Saburo (Powerful Politician, Yuuko's Husband) Ihara Yu / Umeda Shohei as Tsujioka Fumisuke (Works for Zigomar)

*DAMN that's a REALLY good name!

*

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: My expectations for ASSH are always high and they ALWAYS met! They always make such amazing stages that are pleasing in so many ways! This stage was just as high quality as their previous ones; great in-depth amazing story with characters that you just want to know personally and in-depth - seriously, every single one of them I got very attached and/or interested in ! -, the darkness and the themes of the story was great, they always have a message that leaves you thinking, the costumes were well made and the theme was super interesting; and as per usual I was left wanting more, wanting another installment! I loved the messaged for this play which was very much 'how do we decide whether a character is good or bad?' because every character in this stage is flawed, every character in this has their reasons as to why their actions are justified, each character has a charming point that makes you believe their motives are the right ones. I just love that ASSH always poses such questions in their stages and has these types of characters. In true ASSH style, it is not a happy ending. They keep it partially raw and real and dark! The characters that stood out to me the most were obviously Zigomar and Mikasa, but I also got super invested in Hanasaki, Hirosuke, Naoki, Gonda and Kitamiko! I wanted to know so much more about them and their character scenes and arcs are great. Espeically for Gonda and Hirosuke; their arcs were GOLD. I was so invested and so affected by their storylines. I really hope we get a next installment, especially with the random mind-blowing reveal we get at the end of the play, and I am sure they'll find a way to kind of 'undo' what happens at the end so they can make a second stage out of this. It seriously deserves one and I seriously want one! Thank you ASSH for consistently producing and giving me great, solid stages! Rating: 9/10

*

SPOILER REVIEW

I have no idea where to start with this, as per bloody usual, but I shall try!

Aesthetics 

First I loved the visuals of this stage; I love how the stage looked, I loved the costumes (and how all of them except Zigoma had words on parts of their costumes which were lines from the script); I loved the ending where letters dropped from the ceiling and onto the floor; it was very visually appealing. Although ONE actress did have boots on and at the beginning they were not equal length and OCD me found it very annoying xD but she soon fixed them by the next time she came back on stage.

Story

The Main Plot is: A guy who calls himself Zigoma is running around killing politicians and the police force want to know why and want to stop him before he kills anymore. Also during his first political kill, the kidnaps the wife of the politician and a private detective has been hired to find and save this now-widow. But what is unveiled is so much more...

This show actually had two versions; the Detectives Side and the Bad Guys Side which means there should be a scene change or two between the two shows.

*

I really enjoyed the story; I loved the discussion and themes of ‘who is right?’ and ‘Is everyone’s individual motive justifiable?’. And we had the mystery of ‘who is Zigoma?’ and ‘why is he doing it?’ and ‘why does he do it?’ which gave some really great punches and revelations. Also the plot twists and the shocker ending were just perfect! I did not see some of them coming and that ending really was a great cherry on the top of the cake! But I won’t spoil it too much right now.

One question/theme that runs throughout the play is whether Zigoma’s motives are justifiable or not. And we get to one part of the play where Mikasa comments ‘I think he’s just doing it for fun. Just because he can.’ but later one Zigoma expresses his desire to change the political climate, to change those in power, almost like a Guy Fawkes (info here) type of character. But then right at the end, when all hope for Zigoma escaping is gone, he cracks. He starts to laugh insanely and then yells at Mikasa ‘you were right! You saw right through me! All along I was doing it just because it’s fun!’. This somewhat internally breaks Mikasa because he didn’t want to be right; he wanted a more logical reason as to why Zigoma did what he did. It’s such a good moment and it really makes the audience think: was Zigoma lying in this moment of insanity? Was he killing off politicians because they were simply shitty, corrupt politicians? Or was he really just doing it because he could? Also, it makes you think, if he was doing it because those in power were corrupt, doesn’t that then make him a hero and not a villain? This theme really messed with my brain and really made me think and I LOVED IT!

There is another scene in the play, that also makes you question Zigoma’s motives. Right at the beginning there is the very first murder of a politician (Mifune Saburo) which everyone thinks Zigoma did because the body discovered was covered in a towel that had the mark ‘Z’ on it. But then at about the mid-point of the story, we learn that in fact the maid of the house had killed the politician because he was not only abusing his wife but was also raping the maid, and she has finally had enough and killed him. However, that night Zigoma had actually come with the intention of killing him anyway so he tells the maid to tell everyone ‘this was my kill!’ and so left the flag on the body. We also find out later that the reason why Zigoma kidnapped Mifune’s wife (Mutou Yuuko) after the murder, is because they actually were original betrothed to each other before she got forced into her marriage with Mifune, which is just like ‘he saved her?! he protected her?! He still loves her?!’ so again, it creates all these questions and such in your brain that you just have to think through and make a decision on. Also once Yuuko realises who Zigoma is, she takes his side completely and helps him out, so she too still has feelings for him! Just waaaahhh?! But then in another twist of fate, right at the end he kills her anyway!! To which I was like ‘waaaahhh?!’ even more!

I adore the ending so much; not the fact that everyone dies at the end, but how it’s visually shown. They die due to a bomb going off, destroying the building they’re in (again, very Guy Fawkes like!), and just as they all drop dead, letters from the ceiling fall down onto their bodies, and the flags at the back of the stage drop down too. I absolutely loved this visual touch! It was amazing and beautiful.

Another plot twist that had me like ‘HOLY HELL! WHAT?!’ was at the very last scene. But first, some back story: the very first scene of the stage is the actor for Hira Tarou, explaining the backstory and setting of the story. Then IN the story, we meet Tarou who is a very good journalist who just happens to know that Mikasa and co. are trying to stop Zigoma. Because Tarou has some inside sources, they let him join their adventure and story. So we don’t really suspect him for the most part, but we do have one moment in the play where Mikasa asks ‘how do you know all this (secret) stuff?’ and Tarou simply replies ‘well I have informants in the police’ and they just brush it off. But right at the very end, when everyone else is dead, on the floor, on the stage, Tarou comes to the center to finish the narration of the story; he reveals (right at the end!!) that he is in fact Edogawa Ranpo, shuts the book in his hand, black out, stage finishes. I was like ‘wait... he’s.... EDOGAWA RANPO!?!?’ again, MIND BLOWN! I did not see that coming at all! And it was such a good, juicy and powerful reveal! It was so good!

Characters

I really liked how everyone got involved in the main story, and I loved all the different ‘factions’ within the story too! We had about six different groups within the story. We had the Detective and his sidekick alongside the police; Zigoma and his posse of followers; bystanders who get super nosey in the Detective’s business; A trio friendship between Meiko, Hirosuke and Naoki; An ambitious opera singer and a Phantom Thief who somehow get caught up in it all without meaning to; Kiyoshi and his clan of servants. I think those are the six main groups. So you can see the big dynamic difference between some and the similarities between others.

The richness and depth of these characters you get from them even though we barely spend two hours with them on stage is just amazing. I fell for some characters so quickly and so hard! I was completely invested in every single one of them! I seriously don’t understand how ASSH consistently makes big casts, but still manages to make every character so rich and different! I don’t understand how we haven’t had a mass crossover of character traits yet in any of their stages! It is just amazing! Characters that I automatically loved just because I love the actors were: Zigoma and Arata. Characters who completely won my heart over throughout the play were: Tokage, Hirosuke, Mikasa, Kitamiko and Hanasaki! I loved all the characters to be honest but the MVP, the one who I ended up completely loving and rooting for and took a lot of my attention was Hirosuke! I don’t know why; maybe because he was visually pleasing, but also his character development was so great! I also loved his relationship with some of the characters! Just... I need to go into spoilers to flail about this boy! So are you ready?

So the main story with Hirosuke is that he and his two close/best friends (Meiko and Naoki) decided to work for Fukiya so that they could have a better and less poor life. But it turns out Fukiya is the worst, and Fukiya orders Meiko and Hirosuke to murder Naoki because he discovers that Naoki is trying to trick and betray him. So while Meiko begs him not to kill Naoki, Hirosuke does it anyway. This obviously breaks his heart and tears him apart. Later on we see Meiko asking Hirosuke to stop following Fukiya, to leave with her and it get away from all this but Hirosuke follows orders, ‘this is for the better’ and shoots her dead. This obviously destroys him too and after killing her. I loved seeing the internal struggle that he had within himself; does he follow his boss? does he follow his heart? does he follow his friends? does he put power over friendship first. I love how we see it eat him from the inside! And that is why he is my favourite! I also love the little scene he has with Tokage at the beginning; she’s the phantom thief who’s being stealing things for Fukiya, but she has never shown her face - she always has him at gun point or knife point, forcing him to look the other way and never see her face. And the beginning of this play, he says ‘just once, could I see your face?’, but it’s not until right at the very end when all the characters have gathered together, that he finally gets to see her, and you can see how happy he is! I love the friendship/slight-romance we have between these two.

Relating to those three, there is a butler, Gondawara, who works alongside Hirosuke and Meiko, and also tries to protect them (and others) many times. I absolutely adored him. He had such a short role but I love how he protected Saito Kanoko and then persuades her to eventually tell the truth about Mifune’s death. He was also the one who stood in the way of Hirosuke and Tei, trying to get Hirosuke to come to his senses and giving him a chance to run away but this ultimately leads to Gonda’s death. He was such a sweet character and I’m so sad he died, and so quickly too!

Gonda’s death is thanks to Tei who has a short but very interesting story line! The girl is addicted to Opium. And once on the opium, she becomes absolutely obsessed with killing. So much so that she attacked and killed Gonda. The cops also try to stop her by shooting her in the leg but because of the drugs, she doesn’t feel it and instead just starts dragging herself across the floor. She finally drags herself back to Zigoma and her crew, but Zigoma deems her insane and that she has lost the real reason why they are killing people, so Zigoma kills her.

Of course, I can’t talk about the characters without talking about our young, new detective Arata, who also goes by the nickname of ‘Suspender-kun’ because he always wears suspenders! He was adorable! He was a fresh, raring to go new detective and I absolutely loved his relationship with his boss, Saburo! They were such a hilarious comedy duo! And Hiroki/Arata on his own did a damn good job being funny and hilarious too! Also Saburo himself was hilarious as a solo artist!

Let me tell you about their ridiculousness: In the very first scene where they introduce themselves, Saburo is completely over the top and takes off his jacket and just drops it on the floor, then later on Arata throws it back to him but he lets it drop. The timing was absolutely perfect and was absolutely hilarious! Another scene is when Arata decides he’s going to seriously help and Saburo finally calls him ‘Arata’ instead of ‘suspender-kun’, so he gets really happy and really dramatic and holds himself against a wall, and Saburo comes over and comments ‘you idiot’ before slapping him on the butt xD

Another character I enjoyed was the Tantei’s assistant: Hanasaki Mayuko. She  was an adorable dork!! I absolutely adored her! And she really shone during her adlibbed comedy scenes! Not only did she get the crowd laughing, but even Mikasa’s actor Hattori was having a hard time keeping a straight face at times xD She was so cute and funny and sweet and adorable! I really liked her! One scene that stood out to me for her: Hanasaki and the Youkan (a thick, jellied Japanese dessert made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar)! Kanoko brings Youkan to the detective as a thanks for saving her and for all their hard work on trying to find Yuuko. But turns out Hanasaki LOVES youkan so she tries to eat all of it through various ways, either offering to Mikasa (who she knows will say no), and quickly trying to eat another piece straight after. But because of this, natural comedy came out where she was trying to say her lines while her mouth was full of food xD also trying to be like ‘oh Mikasa doesn’t like youkan. DO YOU? No you don’t! Didn’t think so! More for me!!’ which was so cute.

Speaking of Mikasa, about part-way through the play, there’s a flashback-slash-fever dream where Mikasa is talking to Zigoma, and Zigoma is like ‘what’s the real reason you became a private detective instead of a policemen? You know deep down the real reason why!’ so that makes me think maybe his father had died on the job and that’s why he became a mysterious private detective instead? Or was his father corrupt as well as the police force at the time? So many questions!

One plot twist that I really enjoyed was the reveal that Tokage and Ando Ayako were actually sisters!! When Ayako starts yelling ‘Onee-san // Big Sister’ at one point, I was like “OMG THEY ARE SISTERS?!?!?!’. I totally didn’t see it coming! Especially because, for most of the play Ayako is horrible towards Tokage and is very cold, almost as if they had never met and just got off on the wrong foot straight away! But later on we learn that they do care for each other and they had to pretend not to know each other, in case Tokage ever got caught because she didn’t want to endanger her little sister. I was MIND BLOWN.

There is another twist where Aikawa actually betrays everyone and was working for Zigoma the whole time. Unfortunately I had already cottoned on a few scenes before hand that she was secretly in on it. I don’t know how I knew but I just felt like ‘there must be some other reason why this family of three are in the story’ and there are scenes where she’s left to protect Shioro at time, and Shiori is DUMB AS FUCK, so I wouldn’t put it past Shiori to not notice what Aikawa was up to and too dumb to realise when Aikawa had gone off to plot or make something. So I naturally figured either Shiori was pretending to be this dumb, stupid sister, or Aikawa was a secret mastermind or Tesujiro was pretending to admire Mikasa so he could set him up. I knew something was going on with those three.

Other Notable Moments/Scenes

In true ASSH style we had the whole cast dancing during the opening song. Luckily, Hiroki on the far left when the dance opening song starts.

There is a slow motion fighting scene which I thought was so cool!!! I really enjoyed the slow-mo moment. Also we got live singing! Ando Ayako’s actress Sawada Maria actually sang the opera songs live to us and she also sings the ending song live which is amazing! Her voice is very, very good!!

I really loved how Saburo and Mikasa decide to team up at the end even though they had some differences throughout the play, but for the greater good (!) they team up in the finale!

*

Some things that specifically happened during my First Show (Detective Version):

I was first row and on the very last seat to the left. The gap between my feet and the stage was practically 0.1cm! So I was super duper close to all the actors! Which was for the most part absolutely terrifying (especially during the fight scenes). However, it did have it’s good moment which I will list right here: towards the end of the show, Hiroki gets into a fight which causes him to get thrown and pinned against a wall. That wall was RIGHT in front of me and my head was at the perfect level for Hiroki’s waist, which means that his butt was right in front of me!!!! Also he smelt really nice xD another moment was the final showdown between Tantei Mikasa and Zigoma, they were fighting and again, they slammed against the wall right next to me!! I was parts freaking out and parts overwhelmed and overjoyed xD

We had a double curtain call, and the ending aisatsu was by Hanasaki who was totally cute and she got very shy and couldn’t remember what she wanted to say. But everyone was giggling at her adorableness xD She was stood next to Hiroki and they were both so cute alongside each other!

Of course it was filming day!! When do I never go on filming day?! xD I am ALWAYS at filming day!!! xD

*

Second Show (Bad Guy Version):

I went to the senshuuraku (the finale) of this show! They really went all out on the comedy in this final show! Hiroki got hit so hard by Saburo that he started laughing to the side of the stage. Then later Saburo went to pull and release his suspenders and pretended to it the first time, but on the second time he actually let go and it was really hard. Hiroki was rubbing his chest in pain.

Maybe I just didn’t notice in the first show but I feel like in this show, the three people working for Zigoma got their moment of explaining what they wanted and why they joined Zigoma. Maybe this was the scene especially created for this version of the show, or maybe I just missed it the first time round. But I loved getting to know where they came from, their backgrounds and why they joined him.

Another Higawari (daily change) was Gonda saying an Acrostic Poem for Ji-Go-Ma. In the second show, he got a huge round of applause after his Ji-Go-Ma poem because it was just too funny and very good. Unfortunately, I do no remember it *cries*

I also noticed in this second show that there is a moment where Arata and Hanasaki fall in love for a moment after she accidentally touches his arm and that motivates him to help Mikasa on his case some more xD

While in the first show we had Saburo just complete miss catching his jacket through his own lack of calculations, this time it was through Hiroki’s fault; Saburo couldn’t reach far enough to grab his jacket from Hiroki’s throw, it was hilarious.

Another higawari is when Saburo is trying to talk to Arata but Arata get’s super angry straight away: Saburo: Let’s go brat. Arata: *super angry* What did you say?!?! Saburo: Let’s go you brat! Arata: *calms down* Ohh I didn’t hear you! Saburo: *shock* IS THAT WHY YOU GOT MAD?! The scene ends with Hiroki asking Saburo to slap his arm, and they did this wave with their arms before walking off stage xD

In both shows, when Zigoma first appears in front of Yuuko in her house before kidnapping her, he walks in with brandy in a brandy glass and drinks it. In every other show the glass has been half full so it was easy for him to drink. BUT, in this final show Zigoma walked on stage with a GLASS FULL of brandy, and it took him a while to finish it. It was obvious who’d seen the show before because we were the ones cracking up as soon as he walked on stage! So as you can tell, they really went all out on the comedy in this final show! It wasn’t being filmed, they might as well do ridiculous shit and have fun xD

Just before the youkan scene, Hanasaki is in the kitchen making a mess, but then walks on stage and she uses a crashing noise to her advantage. She kept replaying the crash music as Mikasa tried to talk. She tried so hard to get Mikasa’s actor to burst out in laughter but didn’t work; we (the audience) were all dying though.

It was a triple curtain call where we got an announcement for the next stage (the next installment of KimiSaga - review here)!! In March!!! I was (and am!) so excited!!

*

GOODS

*

And that’s everything! Sorry it took so damn long to get these reviews out (and I’m still a shit ton behind!) but bare with me xD

[usaghinanami99]

@pichipichiparadise  Didn't I say you should be prepared for this? Well, here it comes! I hope I spelt all the titles right 'xD And sorry in advance for any grammar mistakes, I always do my best when I write in foreign languages but I'm just your average teenage fangirl who loses all of her reason before what she loves the most. Before starting, I should say that I love both slow romantic ballads and fast-paced pop songs on an even level, so I don't think I am too biased towards any of the two genres; truth to be said, MM offers some great pieces for both types of music, and I like all of them. Now, here's what you were all waiting for, i. e. my complete ranking of all the songs from the anime Mermaid Melody!

48) Ai no ondo Sorry, but it's just a big "no" for me. The tune is so irritating that it somehow annoys me to listen to it. 47) Koi wa nandarō? Urgh. Same as before. Irritating tune and even more irritating singer – it's higher on the list just thanks to some passages in the lyrics which make me think of some sort of sexual innuendo, and since I am both a hopeless romantic and a huge pervert, I vastly appreciate it XD 46) Oh, yeah! Alala Does this remind you of exaggeratedly cute idol songs? Because it's the impression it gives me, and it's not a good one. (OK, I'm overdoing, there are definitely some idols I like, but Jpop rarely clicks with me if it's not related to anime in some way) 45) Splash dream! Er... this is getting boring, but I just cannot stand Asumi Nakata's voice 'xD However, this is where the tunes stop being outright irritating for me, and it's just a matter of them failing to catch my heart. 44) Aurora no kaze ni notte I'm on shortage of comments already, I guess I'll just say that Ema Kogure sounds like a 2 year-older and that I keep on forgetting how the tune goes. 43) Star! Meromero heart Irritating singer, forgettable tune, stupid lyrics (I know it's done on purpose, but still). On with the next one. 42) Mother symphony OMG, I feel guilty for puttin your favourite song so low! Actually, I must admit that I've never thought about the lyrics the way you put it, and maybe reading your comment will help me appreciate this song a bit more ^^ However, this spot is where the songs start being just boring and uninteresting to me instead of plain unsufferable, so it's still something... I guess? 41) Nanatsu no umi no monogatari – Pearls of mermaid As I said, boring and forgettable and little else. I think I've already lost half of my readers by now. 40) Birth of love Really? Did they waste Eri Kitamura's talents to make her sing this so-so piece? That's a crime on my book! 39) Piece of love I said I love love songs, but that's simply an understatement: I am a literal sucker for slow, deep, emotional songs about feelings and such. But this... what I can see is that it tried to be a romantic piece but failed miserably and ended up being a mere yawn-inducing song. I'm not exaggerating, I really find it sleep-inducing! In this sense, it low-key reminds me of A dream is a wish your heart makes, lol. But I feel the need to repeat that I absolutely adore romantic ballads if done right, in fact the main theme from Beauty and the Beast is my single best favourite song in the whole freaking world, OK? But there's a clear limit between "romantically slow" and "sleepily slow", and this songs trespass it. 38) Mizuiro no senritsu I have a sensation that composing more upbeat songs is easier, because there can't be the risk to have your listeners fall asleep, or is it just me? In fact, this makes nice for a Jpop song... it's just that I'm not that big a Jpop fan to start, and the idols I do follow, such as Momoiro Clover Z, I do so just because they have sung songs from animes I love. I guess this song is somehow OK, it's just a matter of me not connecting with it. 37) Portami con te OK, finally here's what I think is the worst Italian song – in case you started thinking I was biased and would put all the Italian songs on top... well, you wouldn't exactly be wrong about the bias part, but still. For me, this song is just on the limit between "nice romantic slow songs" and "boring as heck slow songs": one day I find it sweet, the other day I think it is simply too slow. But what really made me decide to put it low in the list is the fact that it's a mere rearrangement of Yume no sono saki e instead of a completely new piece of music, thus making it the sole and only non-original song from the Italian dub... which is not cool. Definitely not cool. 36) Yume no sono saki e I really have the same opinion about this song and the last one, due to them being so terribly similar, but I decided to give this the higher spot because I'll be eternally pissed that they decided to use an already-existing base to arrange Portami con te, and that's not something I could ever forgive 'xD 35) Daijina takarabako (slow version) I think this could make for a nice lullaby. What else could I say? It's cute and it manages to be slow without being boring; now, I don't consider it to be necessarily unforgettable, but here we're starting heading for the better. 34) Hana to chō no serenade This is the perfect LanHua song, full stop: it's just as haunting, hypnotizing and mysterious as it should be, with that exotical feel to the tune that spices it up. And it is even better in French! It may seem to be too low in the list to be a song I like, but these are just the songs that I find to be good but not great. 33) Kibō no Kaneoto – Love goes on Now that's a pretty battle song! True, it may not be at Sera Myu level (but then, very few can compare to the eternal goddess Akiko Kosaka), but I admire the fact that it manages to be both sweet and relatively upbeat at the same time. 32) Concerto d'amore "Good but not great" is again all I can say about this one, so I'll add that I'm very disappointed by the fact that the second half of the song has never made it to the series proper and is therefore only present in the CD version – which is a shame, because I think that is where the song gets better. The tune is nice enough, but maybe it's overused, in the sense that it always plays whenever a radio is on during the show, which sometimes feeds me up; but it isn't a boring song, definitely not. 31) Voce del buio OK, I'll admit that the concept is good: this villain song wanted to be suffocating and practically impossible to forget, and it succeeded perfectly – that's the type of melody that just can't get out of your mind after one single listening. But there's too much rap for my taste and, though the contrast between the tune of the stanzas and that of the refrains is amazing, it somehow comes off as "I recognize is good, but it's not exactly my genre". 30) Ever blue Man, this song used to be so much lower in my list! The thing is, I just couldn't make myself listen to it without suffering terribly xD But then I heard the French version and I finally understood that it was just a case of me hating Hitomi Terakado with a passion that prevented me from appreciating the song! In fact, thanks to other foreign dubs (such as the Portuguese ones, but really, each one of them is better than the Japanese), I discovered thatt with a decent singer, it actually turned out to be a pretty song, and I'm more persuaded than ever now that the Cosplay Singers have just released their cover! I'll never understand why they tend to cast chipmunks instead of voice actors in Japan, but whatever. 29) Super love songs! Nice, clean, pleasing song of the more upbeat scale, with a catchy refrain: that's how I like my Jpop. 28) Daijina takarabako Even I cannot understand how can I like a solo by Asumi Nakata, whom I honestly detest, but I guess that when the melody enchants you, miracles can happen. Good job! 27) Legend of mermaid I think I can't say anything about this song that hasn't already been said xD Well, I like it but don't love it; I can only add that the instrumental intercourses in between the singing parts come off as really annoying to me, I think I don't enjoy the way they are arranged that much. 26) Ashita ga mienakute OMG this song. This song. This song. OK, sorry, let me rephrase that: as a 9 year-older watching Pure on TV, I was at best indifferent about Mikaru's feelings, and even partially blaimed her for the pain Lucia was suffering. Growing up, I melted out towards the character and, while I'll always be on Lucia's side when it comes to the love triangle stuff, as a middle-schooler I undertood that nothing of the love drama was Mikaru's fault. Some years ago, when I started using the Internet, I discovered that the Japanese dub of the anime had different songs from the Italian one, and was literally blown away upon first listening this one. A song sung by a handicapped girl my age who mourned about her solituted and sufference was, like, so much akeen to me as a person that it seems a strange coincidence. Add to that that I loved seeing depressed characters, because it helped me find my own depression a little less terrible. I've grown out of that phase now, mostly thanks to me having changed school, but this song holds a special place in my heart, and if I were to make a ranking of the most relatable songs I've ever listened to, this would come third after Belle and Let it go. 25) Tsubasa wo daite As lost in my thoughts as I were, I haven't mentioned the fact that both songs have got enchanting melodies (and I thought this even before knowing of the songs, because I absolutely loved the instrumentals that played when Mikaru and Mikeru spelt out their poems in the Italian dub). This version gains a higher place because, while Mikeru is less relatable than Mikaru, Junko Minagawa is a much better singer. Ah, and it's a song sung by a character who laments his condition and talks long about his feelings, which is exactly my cup of tea. 24) Kodō – Perfect harmony We're getting better and better with the battle songs! Here's another catchy one, but I'm afraid I haven't got much else to say about this. 23) Ankoku no tsubasa This is another case of the French version making me appreciate the song more than before – seriously, though, just listen to it! I really dig the style taken here, it screams "sexy villain" from every note and it's done so damn right. 22) Kizuna And here comes my favourite Japanese battle song! The thing is, I really dig the refrain but cannot say the same about the stanzas, so I decided to even it out putting it around the middle. What is more interesting to me, though, is that this song was clearly the basis used to compose Eternal eternity for the 3rd season of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, which makes it again more important. I know what I said before about me disapproving of rearrangements, but what can I do when one is just so unbelievably good? (Because yes, I indeed prefer Eternal eternity. Kill me now.) 21) Sekai de ichiban hayaku Asa ga kuru bashō Have I said how much I like sweet lullabies yet? Because I love them. I've got no more to say. 20) La nostra forza (rearrange) My first reaction upon hearing this on the CD was like "OMG how dare they ruin one of my favourite songs", but with time I learnt to understand that this style actually fits LanHua more than the regular version would have. Though I don't think I have to point out that the one sung by the BBS and Alala is far better. 19) Mermaid Melody – Principesse Sirene There's a complex love-hate relationship between me and this song, and it depends on how much weigth I put on each aspect of it: if I concentrate on the tune, I find it to be a great song worth of the glorious tradition of Italian OPs; if I concentrate on the rest, though... I really can't understand how they could come up with the idea of casting a 14 year-older to sing it, and this is without mentioning the absurdly stupid lyrics it features. Maybe this is what leads me to enjoy the karaoke version so much. 18) Legend of mermaid (slow version) What can I say, if not that it's cute and pretty and sad and everything else? I don't like Asumi Nakata and Hitomi Terakado's versions one bit, but Kana Ueda saves the song for me. And the instrumentals are far better than those of the original version. 17) Ai no kiseki Another awesomely sad and emotional song sung by Kana Ueda – see the pattern here? It's the type of song that really makes you cry, and I live for that. 16) Return to the sea Closing Kana Ueda's section, and at the same time opening the sequence of the songs that I outright love, comes Sara's awesome image song, which is tremendously catchy and terribly depressing at the same time. That's the magic of music (and cartoons) for you. 15) Taiyō no rakuen – Promised land That's exactly the type of Japanese OP that clicks with me for its catchyness, and well... What can one say about Miyuki Kanbe, apart from being sorry over her tragedy? She's incredible. She's an excellent musical actress and a perfect Usaghi (though to be fair, my best favourite is and will always be Anza Ōyama, no matter what, with Miyuki being a close second). Her singing is gorgeous and, as a sidenote, she's the person that made me realize that not all nasal voices are terrible – quite the contrary, on her case. 14) Beautiful wish This. Song. Is. Just. Perfect. Especially in French (but I guess you're tired of me saying that, uh?), but Eri Kitamura rules, too. This melody is just too perfect and it would deserve to be no. 1, if only there weren't some songs which are even more perfect imo. 13) Rainbow notes It's like the first OP, but even better: the catchyness has been brought up to eleven and Miyuki is as freaking skilled as always, and she'll be dearly missed forever. 12) Before the moment Sorry everyone, but the prize is going to the Pure OP for me (please don't kill me!). Not that I prefer Eri over Miyuki (though I love them both so much), but it just... well, listen to it. That music. 11) Star jewel Rina rocks and this song shows it excellently! And Mayumi Asano is the only one from the main trio who sounds like a real human being, so that's a plus. There's some pure awesomeness here. 10) Dolce melodia To think that, when I was a kid, I reckoned this song was just too much. I mean, not even for an instant did I dislike it (the contrary, in fact), but I found it to be so overused that it started tiring me, to the point of getting on my nerves. Now that I'm older, I've understood that beautiful things are always beautiful and can just get better every time you enjoy it again. Now I can listen to this song on repeat more than a dozen times in a round and always recognize it for the true masterpiece it is. (Except for Caren's version, that is – Rossella Liberti's voice is just something I can't stand.) 9) Kuro no Kyōsōkyoku – Concerto That is, the perfect villain song. Villain songs are really the best songs in the Japanese dub. I don't know what to add. Oh, wait... 8) Yami no baroque ...What do you mean, there's an even more perfect villain song? This show is just too much and it's so beautiful it's killing me, but I'll gladly die with Mermaid Melody if I must. 7) La nostra forza OK, the Japanese version definitely wins in the lyrics department, but the music here is just too prefect for it to be any lower. 6) Ritorno all'oceano Pure awesomeness and nothing more. Denise Misseri's version is gold and Francesca Daprati's is diamond, but there's really nothing else to say. 5) Battito d'amore Please don't judge this basing on the CD version, because the duet between Valentina Ponzone and Claudia D'Ulisse can't even remotely compare to the many stunning versions heard in the TV series. Battle song at its finest. 4) Fantastica poesia Battle song at its ultimate finest, i. e. The very best battle song ever! With the addition of some sexual innuendos to spice up the lyrics, how much better can it get? 3) Stella preziosa This. This better. It's a telltale sign the fact that I just can't bring myself to choose which I prefer between Francesca Daprati's version and Elisabetta Cavalli. 2) Assoluto amore I can't say anything else, I'm afraid. Perfect music, great lyrics and Valeria Caponnetto to do the goddesses' job. I'm in heaven. 1) Dolce melodia (orgel version) A sadly emotional arrangement of a great song? Yes, please. This song is too perfect and it's too much for my heart to bear, to the point that I'm not even listening to it as of now and I'm already crying just at the thought. Sung by Denise Misseri it's a masterpiece, but sung by Valeria Caponnetto it's the greatest tragic song ever.

[catsvrsdogscatswin]

Higurashi Month Day 11: Eye Contact

*throws a stereotypical Soulmate Color AU onto the pile and scurries away with a hiss*

Shion's world had been grey and colorless since the day she was born. She had been okay with that,  it wasn't like her options mattered on anything anyways.

But the day she met Satoshi…she ceased to stop caring.

It wasn't even immediately obvious, just the slow, subtle darkening at the corners of her vision, like the feeling of a bruise or the shading on the inside of a violet flower. Bleeding into her vision, marvelous shades of red and wine and a sharp fuchsia stain, the colors of some of the signs in the streets, and the saki in bottles, and Satoshi's beautiful, beautiful eyes. Next came the colors of the sky, the grass, the blue of Rika Furude's hair, and the day she finally saw the bright yellow of Satoshi-kun's hair, she thought her heart might burst with happiness.

But Satoshi…didn't. He saw every color but hers. Green-white colorblind, and he would "Muu…" and ruffle her hair, say to "Mion" that he thought it was because she was so close to the purity of angelic white. That he didn't care, that he loved her anyways.

But the worthless spare seemed to break everything she touched.

*

Mion's heart beat excitedly for the day she would see in color, and she constantly made a game of trying to see which indistinguishable shades of grey would solidify into which vibrant hue.

She'd nearly panicked when Shion met Satoshi, because great, how big of a frickin' giveaway could that be!? Starting to see colors only weeks, months, years after meeting one's soulmate? Get real!

Good thing Satoshi (forgive her, Shion) was such a ditz, and good thing he never talked about it to anyone, not that anyone in Hinamizawa would actually listen to a Hojo. Shion's cover would've been blown wide open from that first week, and Mion shuddered to think what Batcha would've done, to both of them. Mion was a willing accomplice, after all.

And then…he moved in.

Keiichi Maebara. From that very first day the soft cityboy had walked into their classroom, their unholy domain, dripping wet from the “welcome” trap Satoko had set, Mion's heart turned over in her chest. Those periwinkle eyes, meeting hers…she'd never known color could truly be so beautiful.

It was fast, after that. Mion had walked outside less than a week later and seen the sky, so big, so blue, with puffy white horsetail clouds chasing one another across that vast empty bowl, and she had stood and stared upwards for so long, filling herself with that bright, sunny view, that she was late to her and Rena and Keiichi's meeting place at the end of the road, by the mill.

She made it, though, and as they turned to walk to school, Keiichi's eyes sparkled when they met hers, and he told her about how very green the grass had been when he ran out the door.

*

Rika despised color.

She knew that Satoko still waited in hope for the day that her world would bloom, knew that Rena painted and drew and scribbled with unmarked colors, to hang the artwork up in her trash-heap fort and await the day when she could truly see her pieces for what they were. She knew Irie, who said he didn't mind (was that why he like maid dresses, though, so much? Because they were already black-and-white?), and she knew dozens upon dozens of villagers who never had and probably never would find their destined soulmates.

Rika would change places with them in a heartbeat.

Her world had always been in color, since the day she was born. It wasn't that she was soulmates with Hanyuu (thank Oyashiro-sama, perhaps ironically, for that), because Hanyuu had already met her soulmate centuries before, and he had died. Hanyuu herself said that Rika had been able to distinguish colors long before the goddess had made bold to introduce herself, coloring easily and correctly with crayons while the other children scribbled white suns and purple grass, orange roses and green water.

Rika had looked in the library for answers, but the Hinamizawa library was small and antiquated, more fiction than fact.

Hanyuu had told her that her ability to see color was because she didn't have a soulmate. That she had been born complete already, and didn't have an other half to find.

So Rika hated color. Every vibrant shade and hue that she saw as she opened her infantile eyes again and again, rewound back to her birth, she hated. She despised red and pink and orange and yellow, and she loathed green and blue and purple and black, and she absolutely detested grey and white and iridescence and every other color that could be named.

Because they were reminders that Rika was alone. She would always be alone, and had always been alone, and she had no soulmate to count on.

Because her world was already in color.

[psalexanzondria]

Imagine being Bella’s older sister, and you and Carlisle fall in love - Part 2.

Fandom: Twilight Pairing: Carlisle x Reader (OC name, feel free to change it in your mind) Warning: CURSING! Fluffy awkwardness! Overprotective Charlie!

Less than six months later, I am pulling up the Cullen's driveway once more, running a bit late as I climb out, racing up the front stairs, where Rosalie throws the door open, pulling me inside as the scent of orange blossoms, lilacs, freesia, and roses envelope me as we hurry up the stairs. "She's here!" Rosalie calls as Alice looks up from doing Bella's makeup.

"Finally! You're late!" Alice scolds, though she's definitely playing as she shoots me a wink. "Go take a shower. Rosalie will get you towels and a robe." I nod, hurrying into the bathroom. I strip off my tank top and sweatpants from the flight, climbing in the steaming hot shower,where I wash my body, then shampoo and condition my hair, before climbing out in record time. I dry off, before slipping on my bra and underwear, wrapping the robe around me, tying the sash as I walk out, Rosalie is in a stunning purple dress, her hair is pinned and curled down one side of her head, and she has a light layer of makeup on, she gestures to the chair beside Bella's, where I sit as she sets to work, doing my hair is an intricate pattern, before she does a beautiful job on my makeup, before I stand off to the side, observing my sister.

"Did you find our daughters?" I hear my mother's voice, surprising me.

"Are those... graduation caps?" I hear dad ask, causing me to giggle into my hand.

"Huh! What a fun idea!" Mom says. "Bella? Emma?"

"In here, mom!" Bella and I call in unison, she steps inside the room, her eyes instantly welling at the sight of Bella.

"Oh, honey you look beautiful!" Renee turns to the door. "Charlie? Charlie come look!" She turns as Alice provides a hanky, dad enters the room, looking dapper in his suit.

"Wow." Dad looks at me, and smirks.

"I know. I look hot." Everyone laughs.

"We got you a little something, for this day. Charlie?" Mom holds out her hand, causing dad to hurry, and lay a velvet box in it, which mom opens before Bella as I press off the wall, looking at the gift. It's a hair comb, with blue sapphires along the ends of each tooth. "This was your great grandma Swan's, your dad and I got the sapphires added. We just thought it could be your something blue."

"And something old, besides your mother." Dad says, earning a smack from both mom and I. Alice steps up, slipping the comb into Bella's hair, perfectly.

"We have something from great grandma Swan, for you too." Mom says. "You get it on your wedding day." I nod, causing mom to laugh, hugging me. "It's great to see you."

"You too, mom." I murmur.

"So, who wants to see the dress?" Alice chirps, Charlie steps out as Rosalie and Alice help Bella with the dress, over her head, before doing the lines of pearls buttons up her back. "Okay, so you have something old, something blue," Alice beams. "your dress is something new, so here." She flicks something at Bella, who automatically catches it, turning red at the garter in her hands. "There's your something borrowed. That's mine, I want it back."

"And here," I reach into my jeans on the bed, pulling out an very old penny. "here's a penny for your shoe." Bella stares at it, before Alice tucks it into the heel, which she slips onto Bella's feet.

"Renee, will you get the bouquets. Rosalie, help Emma into her dress." Rosalie grabs a dress bag from the closet, walking over to me as mom rushes out, and I watch in amusement as Bella toughters as Alice hooks the garter around Bella's thigh. Rosalie slips the dress over my head, after removing my robe, just as Alice pops back up, the dress is the same purple as Alice and Rosalie's, it's a dress that ties up around the neck, laces that cross up the back, the top is smooth, tight until my waist where is billows out a bit, and has a sweetheart neckline. Alice steps up, clipping a golden locket around my neck, before I slip on my purple heels, and Rosalie slides a diamond pin into place in my hair. It's after the wedding, during the reception, that I slip away from the hustle and bustle, my feet sore from the dancing, I make my way around the front of the house, where I lean against the banister of the porch, sighing.

A hand appears out of nowhere, a champagne flute in it, the bubbling copper liquid looks oddly tempting as I take the glass, looking up to find none other than Carlisle standing beside me, a gentle smile on his face, his hair is slicked back, styled in a way oddly fitting for his face, his tux is crisp, without a single wrinkle within it, his tie is the only thing that is the slightest bit off for him, causing me to smile, shaking my head as I set the glass on the banister, stepping up to grasp his tie. “You and Charlie both, is it a man thing? Even vampires.” I taunt as I straighten his tie, slipping the triangle up to tighten it as Carlisle looks slightly embarrassed.

“Was it like that throughout the entire wedding? How embarrassing.” He says as I drop one hand, using the other to smooth the silk white material down, before I turn to the banister, going to step back with my hand dropping, only for my head to whip around as he grasps my hand in his, he looks enamored as he reaches out, capturing a dark brown ringlet between two fingers, he twists it before tucking it behind my ear, finger lingering on the diamond pin in my hair, and I can feel heat burning my cheeks as he lets go of my hand, allowing me to return to my place against the banister, where I sip on my champagne. It’s a bad habit, not really something that I should encourage, but being in tokyo, where we have saki with every meal, I decide that it’s not going to kill me to have few sips of champagne. “Needed another escape?”

“Dad seems to think, if he keeps me occupied with dancing, that none of Bella’s friends will care to cut in, or ask for a dance.” I explain. “Or, he’s hoping to keep me occupied until Jacob’s friends show, and play matchmaker with them. It would not be the first time.” I explain, he is now leaning against the banister, though I do not miss the chunk of wood the suddenly splinters under his hand, crumbling away from the banister. Deciding against bringing it up, I turn to look in his honeycomb eyes, my sky blue eyes are sweeping over each of his features, studying them quickly. “What about you?” I suddenly ask, dropping my gaze to clear my throat, taking another deep sip from the crystal glass in my hand. “Needed an escape, as well?” “Hardly, even though it is a party, weddings are more of a symbol of a beautiful union between two people, and I do enjoy them. Though,” He seems to pause, glancing back at all the couples and pairs dancing. “Alice does seem to have gone all out, this time. I wonder why.”

“You do not think she’d do so for anyone else’s wedding?” I ask, suddenly curious.

“I’m not sure.” He hums.

“Not even your own, give the chance?” I ask, causing him to frown, brow furrowing as he looks at me.

“The chance has not come, nor will it, I believe.” He states.

“You have yet to find your mate.” It’s not a question, much to my surprise.

“No, I have.” He glances out at the woods, his furrow seeming to deepen, I cannot help but reach out a hand, resting it on his elbow, causing his head to snap over to me.

“Carlisle, you are my friend. What is troubling you?” I ask softly.

“It is… a complication.” He answers, vaguely, causing me to frown as I withdraw my hand, he reaches out to it, grasping it in his. “My mate,” He says the word with a surprising amount of sadness. “I have not told her that she is such, I fear she will not reciprocate. It’s merely that.”

“Oh, my friend.” I frown, setting my glass of champagne on the banister, wrapping him in a hug, causing him to freeze under my touch, the both of us are rather surprised by my move, but he wraps his arms around my waist.

“I know you’ve been dancing all night, but would you mind dancing with me?” He suddenly asks.

“Can we stay over here?”I ask him, he nods, causing me to beam as I kick my heels off, becoming considerably smaller without the two extra inches, making his 6’ 2” sizes that much bigger compared to my 5’ 4” size, so the top of my head ends just under his chin, my arms rest around his neck, while his arms are around my middle, causing me to blush as I look up at him. “Sorry, I’m so tiny.” This causes him to chuckle, a low throaty sound in his chest, which then changes into a full blown, head thrown back, roaring laugh, causing me to flush enough to where my ears are burning.

“You are the perfect size.” He says, once he’s calmed down, causing me to give him a wide grin.

“Good.” I breath out, the music that flows from the backyard changes from a swift pulsating beat, to a slower, almost heartbreakingly beautiful song, causing him to nod firmly, he turns us in a circle, starting the dance in a much less awkward circle, than the one that Charlie had us moving in, Carlisle seems to know how much of a lack of balance my family is known for. My head rests on his chest as I hum softly along with music, it’s oddly relaxing to be in his arms, but I keep a reminder in the corner of my mind, that I am not his mate, that his love is given to someone, I have to keep telling myself, not to fall for him, no matter how much it hurts.

“Are you serious?!” Someone yells. “Both of you?!” I spin around to find Jacob standing at the foot of the stairs, a scowl on his face as I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, a feeling of embarrassment makes itself known to me, in my chest. “Emma, they're not even human!” Jacob hisses.

“I… They are more human, Jacob Black, than you at this point!” I hiss, slipping my heels on, and stalking over to him. “It’s not as those I’m his mate, I’m his friend! He’s upset, I am trying to make him feel better, that’s what friends do! That’s something you did at one point, instead of making your best friend cry.” He flinches, visibly, at my words, before I huff the same stray lock of hair from my face, turning back to the house, where I stalk up the stairs, snatching up the crystal glass on the balcony, I toss my head back, drinking the smooth champagne in one go, causing Carlisle to freeze. “I need more champagne.” I growl, starting back toward the party. I know this was a mistake, drinking, but at this point, I don’t, honestly, care.

[bux-blurbs]

Year: 2020

(Kyokou Suiri) In/Spectre is a supernatural thriller peppered with romance and plenty of yokai (monsters).

When Iwanaga Kotoko was 11 she mysteriously disappeared for weeks, only to return missing an eye and a leg. The missing parts were a price she willingly paid to become the yokai’s God of Wisdom, mediating disputes between yokai and occasionally protecting the human world from their interference. She meets Kuro in the hospital one day and since that day she got a huge crush on him. Unfortunately, the latter already got a fiancée. Years later, Kotoke got informed that her crush Kuro broke up with his gf. She soon make her move to his crush, bluntly asked him out “Would you consider dating me with marriage in mind?”

Kuro narrates how the break up occurred from a disturbing incident with a kappa (river monster). When Kotoko asked for more details, Kurou ruefully said that “the coward” (8:58) just ran off, and his girlfriend said she couldn’t abide someone who was like that. He said he wasn’t worthy to be Kotoko’s boyfriend and started to walk off.This is where it gets seriously cool.Showing the astute intellect I’m beginning to appreciate in her, she asked, “Please clarify the subject of your statement. Who, exactly, left Saki-san there and ran off?”Just as the narrative intended, I thought that Kurou had panicked and had run from the kappa. But that’s not what happened at all. Yes, Saki-san had clung to Kurou in terror. But it wasn’t Kurou who had run in fear.It was the kappa. The kappa ran in fear. From Kurou.

Kotoko wastes no time moving in on him. She tells him all about her situation and even recruits him as her supernatural assistant. But it turns out Kuro has a secret of his own: he ate the flesh of yokai as a child and now now his bodily flesh. is poisonous to yokai. That’s why yokai and kappa fears him. However, they befriend each other.

Kotoko is brash, extremely blunt and refreshingly forward when it comes to her romantic feelings (though she did keep them bottled up for two years in deference to his relationship status).  He’s impassive and slightly unnerving in his presence.  But what’s interesting is that Kotoko isn’t unnerved by Kurou at all, despite the fact that all of the youkai and spirits that consider her a Kami are terrified of him.  Later on, with Kuro being friends with Kotoko, the faerie started to find him inoffensive.

Two years later, Kuro ex, Saki Yumihara, who is working in the police department started investigating a case involving supernatural events of Steel Lady Nanasa who is an evil spirit on rampage murdering any people on her way. She stumbles on Kotoko and soon discover her true nature. They befriend each other when she brings Kotoko to her house for first aid after a battle with the evil lady.  Later on, Saki met Kuro and Kotoke learned that she’s actually her crush ex. She didn’t hide her jealousy at all. She openly express her possessive nature towards Kuro and her mild jealousy but she still stays friends with Saki, however, forbidding both Kuro and Saki to approach each other. They work together and brainstorm over how to defeat Steel Lady Nanasa. After defeating her, Kuro meet Saki one last time and clear everything between them. They both agree that it wouldn’t work between them and that they better not see each other.

Kotoko who was sleeping to recover herself, woke up all getting frustrated doubting Kuro benefitting some free time went to meet Saki. When the latter returns she jumped on Kuro being all jealous.

The show ends up on a beautiful romantic note with Kotoko and Kuro having a walk on a bridge. Kotoko still concerned if Kuro will end up with Saki again. Kuro then decided to give her a little clarity using a metaphorical anecdote.

To set the stage, he asked her if she knew about Kuebiko, who turned out to be the god of knowledge and farming. She said the Kojiki, a collection of Japanese lore, spoke of him, and she’d read it. It also spoke of how a major god had shown favor to a man by giving his daughters, Iwanaga-hime and her sister, as wives. The man had married the sister but had sent Iwanaga-hime back home.

Kotoko understood the reference. Iwanaga-hime was able to bequeath eternal life, so she knew how to deal with immortals.

“Then you get it, right?” Kurou said . “I’m immortal, so I don’t belong with” the other princess. “I need princess Iwanaga.”

At first, I thought, wow, that was smooth! Surely Kotoko will be really excited that he said he needed her. But no, this is In/Spectre, so of course more complicated than that. Instead of getting all happy-flustered, she got angry. Why? Because the man had sent Iwanaga-hime home because he had thought her ugly.

Kotoko said, “You couldn’t have used a worse metaphor for a girl.”

Before I could worry how badly he’d blown it, he recovered, saying, “But you’re prettier than any flower, so I haven’t sent you back anywhere” .

He was serious! He wasn’t messing with her. He wasn’t being sarcastic. He was as authentic and honest as I’ve ever seen him. I still think their relationship is complicated because their situation is complicated. But to me, it was worth waiting a whole season for that moment.

And as they continue to walk, their hands touched and their fingers interlocked. kawaiiii! It’s the most beautiful romantic scene I’ve ever watched and also quite realistic.

[airmidtheawakened]

The Hunger, Part 2

Hello again, darlings. When last we left off, my cabal had received its first official task from the Consilium: find out the cause behind some horribly mutated humans going on a cannibalistic murder spree. So let’s not waste any time and get right to the meat of the story.

Lipsy and Saki went to visit Patch in Boston. They thought they might be able to find something in the part of En’s library that Patch inherited, but apparently spent four hours pouring through books only to come up with jack shit. Patch did explain a little bit more about Fisher’s unwillingness to help us, which is something I guess.

The way Saki explained it to me after all was said and done was that all the other cabals in the Boston area were keeping an eye on us new guys to see how resourceful we were and to gauge our potential. If we kept running around asking people for help it would make us look weak, or open us up to being exploited. Apparently things can get real catty real fast between all the cabals in the area.

Complicating matters is the fact that En’s place sits on one of the largest natural hallows in the state, with a well of liquid tass sitting right under the surface. En was powerful enough that he could defend it on his own, but he’s not there anymore. It’s just Aces. If anyone wanted to force her off that hallow they’d have an easy job of it. My cabal is her first line of defense. If we make ourselves strong, no one will mess with her.

It’s like high school cliques but with magic and shit. There’s gotta be a Mean Girls quote for this. I’ll let you know if I think of one.

Speaking of Aces, that’s where SiSi and I went. We didn’t learn any more than the boys did, so we mostly spent the morning hanging out with Aces and trying to cheer her up. She hadn’t been doing so hot after En’s trial. We promised to visit her more often so she wouldn’t have to say in that big house all by herself. We ordered pizza and stuff. It was nice. Aces was actually smiling by the end of it.

I got a call from Saki shortly after lunch saying he and Lipsy were gonna go check out the address on Shark Boy’s license. We could meet them there, and then head over to Concord to talk to the werewolf pack there about shapeshifting stuff. Patch seemed to think they might know something about it and pointed us in that direction.

SiSi and I left not long after lunch. By the time we got to the house Saki and Lipsy had already done a preliminary investigation. We got there and they two were standing outside looking scared out of their freakin’ minds. Lipsy was holding a jar of pig’s feet. Edgar was glaring at the house and snarling.

They’d snuck into the building under the pretense of being city inspectors. Apparently one of the neighbors had sent in several complaints about a disgusting smell coming from the house. I’m sure you can all tell where this is going but bear with me, please. This is important. When they got inside they found the place torn to shreds, with some rooms covered in blood. The kitchen was filled with the long-decayed bodies of stray cats, tossed about the room like ragdolls. Lipsy had tried looking around the place with his death sight. He a few ghosts, but they were too fearful to approach him. So he trapped one in a jar (of pig’s feet, since happened to be readily available) and hoped that once he took it out of the house it would be more talkative.

Now most people would hear this and turn tail. But not I! No matter how disgusting, we had a job to do. And I had a feeling if I slacked at all, let any potential clue slip me by, my master would not be pleased. I was not about to risk Papa Bear’s annoyance because I couldn’t handle a little gore. I convinced SiSi to go inside with me to try and find out more about Shark Boy’s transformation. I went upstairs to look at his bedroom and managed to find his journal. I was hoping for a computer or a phone, so we could have tracked his movements, but no such luck. I started flipping through the journal while SiSi explored the downstairs.

I almost cried reading the thing. Shark Boy’s transformation was slow, painful, and utterly heartbreaking. It’d started a little over a month prior, with a terrifying hunger that he couldn’t control. He couldn’t stop himself from looking at people as food. He tried to hide it but people noticed the way he was looking at him. One by ones his loved ones left him. His friends, girlfriend, even his mom; none of them could stand the feral look in his eyes. He started trapping feral cats to try and sate the hunger, but it wasn’t enough. Not long after he killed his first human; a homeless man who was passing through the neighborhood. That’s when Shark Boy’s outer appearance started to change. He skin broke out in sores, his teeth were falling out… It hurts my heart just remembering what he went through. He must have been so scared.

Meanwhile, outside, Lipsy tried talking to the ghost he’d caught. It wouldn’t talk no matter how many questions he asked, or how nice he treated it. Eventually he realized it wasn’t a ghost so much as a shade of pure terror. It’d been so warped by it’s death that there was nothing resembling a mind left, nothing resembling a true soul. There wasn’t even enough there for Lipsy to send it someplace better.

Saki got the idea to try and peer into the past. He thought that maybe he’s spot whatever caused Shark Boy to change. He didn’t, but he saw a snippet of what I read in the book: Shark Boy going to town on one of the stray cats, tears in his eyes.

After that the boys met SiSi and I inside. We decided to check the basement, just to be safe, before we left. Now I’m sure you called it back when I said the neighbors were complaining about the smell, but the basement had three stinking, rotting, human corpses strewn out on the floor, chests torn open and their innards devoured.

We started to talk about what could have caused Shark Boy to become what he was, because we still didn’t have any clues. I’d given the house a thorough once-over with my Prime mage sight and there were no traces of any magic (except what my cabal had cast, of course). I thought it might be a virus or bacteria of some sort, something potentially engineered through science rather than magic. I was convinced the cause had to be biological in nature. Which I could still potentially detect with my magic, provided I had a sample to work with. I would just have to look for disease rather than magical resonance.

I was really starting to regret letting Fisher take Shark Boy’s corpse away.

But fate has a funny way of working, you know? And its sense of humor is eerily twisted. Because as soon as I said that, Lipsy looked really uncomfortable. Now he’d been looking pretty green all day. I had chalked it up to not sleeping well combined with the horrific things we’d found in the house. It’s completely normal for people to get nauseous when they come up against stuff like this. But the fear and shame in Lipsy’s eyes was more than that.

“Guys,” he said. “I touched that woman’s corpse. The one he killed. I think… I think it’s happening to me too.”

He’d been fighting back urges to pounce one of us the entire time we were in the basement. Apparently the dreams that kept him up the night before were similar to the thoughts Shark Boy had recorded in his journal, too, but I didn’t find that out until much later.

Upside: Sample get. Downside: Sample was Lipsy.

I did my best to stay calm for him, to stay confident. I’m the strong one, after all. The one who always looks on the bright side. “So then I’ll fix you,” I told him. “Life magic, remember? Whatever you’ve got, I’ll find it and stop it.” I think I did a pretty good job of hiding the knots in my stomach. I’d always wanted to go into medicine, but not like this. I wanted to be a physical therapist. Diagnosis of disease wasn’t supposed to be in the job description, let alone curing horrific transformations into flesh-eating monstrosities.

But, with any medical field, bedside manner is key. Even if I felt totally unprepared and inadequate for the task I couldn’t let Lipsy know. So I ruffled his hair and led him back upstairs, smiling the entire time.

We went straight home. I knew that whatever he had wasn’t going to show up with just one cursory glance. Things like the common cold, flu, stomach bugs, common parasites, and the like all set off a ping on my Healer’s Trance spell really easily. More complicated conditions take a bit. I can tell someone is unwell but have to work a bit harder to discern the exact cause. Since this condition was entirely unknown to me I knew I’d have to pull out all the stops to get an answer. I opted to cast the spell as a ritual to give me the time and focus I needed.

As you can probably imagine, that didn’t really leave us time to visit the werewolves. We opted to table that until the next day.

Every mage casts magic (especially rituals) differently, but there are some common themes between mages of certain paths. For us Thyrsus folks it’s ecstasy; we get ourselves into a state where our minds are so overwhelmed with sensation that the doors to our metaphysical perception get blown off their hinges.There’s different ways to do it, of course. Substances like drugs or alcohol, or prolonged physical activity like sex and exercise, anything that gets the adrenaline pumping. For me it’s music and dance. It’s why I always cast with song.

SiSi and Saki helped me move the furniture in our living rooms to give me space to move. Then we took some of Lipsy’s blood to use as a catalyst for the spell. We put it in a heat-safe bowl and SiSi cast a spell to set it boiling. I put on some music and set to dancing. I felt Lipsy’s life force swirl around me in time with the beat of the music. I pushed my own will outward in time, directed both energies with my body, weaving them together with my steps to try and create a complete picture of what was wrong with Lipsy. Time seemed to stop for me. I remember taking a quick break midway through to refuel with some juice and a granola bar, but before I knew it nine hours had passed. It was nearly 3 am. I sat down, dripping in sweat, and took Lipsy’s hands to finalize the casting.

I can’t really explain how I perceive these things. It’s not sight, but I can still see. Like there’s an overlay in my mind’s eye. What I saw inside Lipsy was not good. I still couldn’t tell why, but I saw the internal effects of his condition. Lipsy’s organs were changing. His stomach was getting bigger. His intestines were shifting to accommodate the growth, and the lining of them was hardening.

Lipsy was just barely clinging to consciousness, and the look on his face… I can’t really describe it. All I can say was that it *wasn’t Lipsy*. It was like something else was looking out of his eyes, something that wasn’t human. It was staring at me like a piece of meat. But it was only for a second, and then our Lipsy was back. He heaved himself up from his seat on the floor and went to the kitchen to try and get himself under control. I had no idea what to say to him, so I let him go.

Saki and SiSi were passed out on the couch. I gently shook them awake. I tried to explain what I saw. Saki was flipping out hardcore. I tried to get him to calm down, but he was just so worried. I told them both to sit tight while I called my master. As much as I disliked him then, he is the most powerful Thyrsus mage in the city. He was our best shot at stopping Lipsy’s transformation. I went to my room to make the call and left Saki and SiSi to tell Lipsy what was going on.

The phone call progressed much the same as the first one. Arathnos answered the phone, I asked for my master, my master picked up, and I explained the situation. Well more like slurred the situation; I was ex-freakin’-sausted and scared to death for my friend, which didn’t help my diction at all. I’m surprised I didn’t start bawling mid-sentence. Papa Bear seemed to understand, though. He asked me to set my phone a few feet away, which I did. I plopped it down on my floor and went to sit on my bed. I knew what was coming. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Papa Bear and Arathnos were standing the middle of my bedroom.

I stood up, bowed my head, and welcomed them to the house. Papa Bear didn’t even wait for me to finish. He was out the door and looking for Lipsy as soon as he could. I hustled after him, and Arathnos followed me.

Papa Bear had Lipsy sitting down in a kitchen chair when we caught up. He was staring at Lipsy and mumbling something about the whole thing being “fascinating.” I asked him what he meant and he told me to turn on my Life sight. So I did. Normally when I see a person’s life energy it shows up as a glow. Lipsy’s did too, but there was something else there. It was somewhere between a black tumor and an oil slick, slowly growing over and smothering Lipsy’s normal aura. Then he explained that Lipsy was in the beginning stages of some sort of metamorphosis (Thank you, Lord Obvious) and tried to stop it with a spell I didn’t recognize. It didn’t work, though. Whatever was happening resisted the change.

All the while, Lipsy is asking for Edgar. None of us had seen him since we got home, and Lipsy was starting to freak out over it. Then Saki started freaking out. I firmly suggested he leave the room and take a minute to cool down. Sinopa followed him outside so they could both get some air.

Papa Bear explained that whatever was happening to Lipsy was changing his whole magical signature, and it was making it impossible for Edgar to maintain his connection with Lipsy. I can only imagine how scary that was to hear. Lipsy really, really loves his familiar. I wonder if Edgar was scared too. He probably wouldn’t tell me if I asked, but it couldn’t have been comfortable to have that connection severed so suddenly.

Whatever was happening, it was clear that Lipsy couldn’t stay with us much longer. He’d be a threat to us and to himself. I tried to be as delicate as I could when I brought it up, but Lipsy was a lot more blunt about it. He didn’t trust himself around us either. Papa Bear said the Consilium had someplace he could stay. He had Arathos take him there right away, using that telephone teleportation trick. Arathnos popped back a few minutes later, once Lipsy was safe. I gathered up some books for Arathnos and Papa Bear to take back to him, so he wouldn’t get bored.

That was the moment I realized I should probably be a bit less of a brat to my master. He didn’t need to show up to help. He could have just sent Arathnos to bring Lipsy to him, or ordered a sentinel to come to us, or literally anything else that didn’t involve showing up at our house at 3  in the goddamn morning. But that’s still what he did. The Nemean - Boston’s Hierarch, the most powerful mage in our city - made a house call for the greenest cabal in the history of forever. Because I asked him to.

I actually felt really lucky.

Papa Bear suggested we head to Concord in the morning, like we originally planned. I bid him and Arathnos good night, then went to my room and passed out. I may be built like a tank, but even I have my limits. Nine hours of dancing combined with severe emotional exhaustion are way beyond those.

I actually think that’s a good place to stop. I’m sure that was a lot for you all to take in at once. We’ll leave our trip to Concord for next time.

See you later, darlings. Be safe until then!

[twilightpony4]

HomeFront: 41. Search For the Promised Land

“I can't believe you took my horse!” Mona exclaimed heartily, trying to keep the stick of kâo ròu from falling into her mouth from which it hang from. It had been a while since they've all gotten back. Miwa had already prepared an easy dinner for the additional four, large teens she was to receive. The boys showed up first after Mona “insisted” she rode her horse back and not Leonardo. This, they've been properly entertained by the older man who used every insulting word to come by to show his disgust of them all showing up. No one really took it to heart and played it off as the old man who's just a little “coo coo in the head”. They gathered around the table, either standing or sitting (giving Miwa and the Ancient One first priority, of course) as they came together, loud in reverie. “What do you guys feed him? He's a bucket full of crazy!” Leo spoke, clearly remembering his experiences with the little cyclone she called a horse. “I prefer free spirited.” She defended with a smile, knowing to the fullest extent how Nan could be a handful. A gathered laugh from the table emerged. “You can fix him to calm him down, right?” The blue banded terrapin took a bite after asking. “He is.” The room quieted. “Yujin is the one not castrated.” A look of shock took over the leader’s face. Nan’s rambunctious cords; cut but don't stop. Then Yujin, intact and gentle. “Whoa.” Was the only response Leo could give them. His priceless expressions created another wave of laughter. “I can't believe you guys drove the plane over here.” Venus exclaimed, chewing as she spoke. The voice she created was too much for Donatello not to mimic back comedically. The turtle girl closed her mouth and smiled but not before giving him a playful shove. He did not retaliate for she was sitting in one of the chairs amongst the older people. She still hurt some and it was best for her to chill out and rest up. It's not everyday you get hit by a stinging, magical mass meant to kill you. “Wasn't easy either.” Vern chimed in on his behalf. His head rose from the two arms placed on the table so he may briefly rest his head there. “I had to dodge either mountain or tree, then avoid crop fields.” He gave himself a little ‘whoo’ for his efforts. With no quicker way to get over in time, they resorted to driving the plane over. Could you imagine? Just watching a plane drive slowly, not at all in the sky, around your village to some unknown destination? “That was an art in itself, especially since I did it with 0 sleep.” A hand of his pushed up against his right eye. Miwa, removed her tea cup from her lips and set it down with both hands. “You are all welcome here for as long as you like.” She offered. “Speak for yourself!” The Ancient One spoke out loud in utter disgust. The heads turned to the little old man who was stuffing his face as he continued talking. “Too many green monkey boys to feed! I needed more food than what we started with!” His sneer was followed by a scowl when he pulled up hit hat that he instead to wear even when he was at the dinner table. Based on the brushed off reactions the native family bore, the rest paid no mind to the grouchy, greedy old man. “Thank you, Miwa, but we promised our father we'd be home as soon as possible.” Explained Donatello. He gripped the top of Venus’ chair tight. “If you are regarding about tomorrow, surely you would like the morning in the village?” She suggested, voice growing higher in pitch along with her sentence. “From what I know, this is the rare chance to walk above ground and interact with people.” Finished with her own meal, the woman rose to collect her trash and offered any others. Raphael and Donatello were the firsts and thanked her when she turned away. “Don't tell me we’re not going to take advantage of that!” It didn't take long for Leo to get a heavy shoulder caused by the pulling hands of Mikey. The little child stuck out a lip and busted out the pleading eyes in order to break him down. There was no need for that as he dusted him off. “We are, we are.” He repeated, nodding his head as he grinned. Leo wouldn't mind another lap around the village before he left anyways. It'd be cool to show his brothers all the things he's seen and were he and Venus had gone. “You children did a wonderful job today.” Miwa complimented as she took away Michelangelo’s plate of oily kabobs. “Khan.” she muttered when she turned away. “Our great friend Khan associated with the likes of them!” she exclaimed in disbelief. She did not want to believe it, but Mona and Venus would not lie about such matters concerning their friends. To think that he had wanted to dictate over them made her uneasy and questioned his every motive and interactions with her and the village people. The latter of the table turned to her direction as she set the plates in the sink to be washed promptly; kabobs discarded in the trash can. “I simply cannot stand the Foot clan! Makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about them.” “Miwa, why do you hate the Foot so much?” She paused and spun around. It came from Leonardo, whose eyes were as seeking as his question. “I mean, I understand the general stance, but you show an utter disgust to them.” Miwa had to think back. It is true, her true colors concerning the Foot were always negative when the children would bring up their whereabouts since they had arrived. The hand-towel hung from a hook on the cabinet was snatched and used to clean off her gentle fingers. “May I tell you children a story?” She asked invitingly, looking into the towel as she asked. A couple glances, but there was no objection She took that as a yes.“My father, Hamato Yoshi, had a pet rat. Her name was Rōzusōn and he loved her like no other. One time, he had bred her, but when she bore, only one had survived. He called him Hehen for the young rat was “a thorn in his side” or, at least his teeth usually sunk into his fingers.” She giggled at the memory. That warm expression of her remembering her father brought a collective smile throughout the family’s faces. “Shortly after, Rōzusōn had fallen ill and passed away. Just as I, he was a ninjutsu master who used his dark arts for good as many urban ninjas now do. For years, he meddled with the Shredder’s plans while he reigned in Japan. One day, he confronted him. I was not there and neither was my mother. Till his death, my father fought to rid of his control on Japan, but had failed. Before Oroku Saki could leave, he spotted the young rat in his cage. He took the grey animal, believing he would make use of him as an experimental intelligence creature and shipped him off to his new domain in New York.” Miwa removed the towel she had dawdled with her hands and hung it on the hook. There was a knowing look about her that directed to each brother. With the fashion of doing so, the four wanted to believe there was some speculation. They looked to one another, silently asking each other what could be meant by that. “It’s not a riddle, stupid monkey boys!” the Ancient One criticized as he got up from the table. He left the room; no further comment and did not put away his dish. Miwa shook her head as the old man left for his nap. All of a sudden, Raphael smiled. He brought it up from the floor and showed it to his brothers. The other three were confused until Donatello had himself an “ah ha!” moment. Not a second passed by shortly after until Leonardo realized. Unfortunately, Michelangelo was still trying to figure it out, replaying it back in his head. Her dad had a rat. “A Thorn in his side”. Shipped to-.” it hit him; big eyes and all. He raised his hands to his head until showing them the gesture of ‘mind blown’. Finally understanding, they were able to share the moment properly. Venus and Mona slowly understood and shared the moment with one another with knowing glances. “Thank you, Miwa.” Leonardo removed himself from behind the chair and approached her by the sink. She knew what was coming as she watched the young one straighten up and leaned over slowly in her honor. “For everything.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. He cranked his neck to see her pleased expression. “Anything for one of my favorite students.” Slowly, Leonardo rose to grin. Miwa really did give him the chance of a lifetime, and now, he was finished with his training. What more can a turtle ask for? Behind Leonardo, a hand raised. The older woman, leaned off to the side to see past Leonardo. Noticing, he stepped aside and also wanted to see what was happening behind him. The hand came from Mona Lisa whose face was blank and expressionless. “But I'm first, right?” She wanted to assure for bragging rights. The table was in another fit of laughter from her joke. For the sake of it, Miwa nodded, but couldn’t contain her giggles. One would have no idea how good it felt to be at this dinner table. “Ready to go back to NYC?” Michelangelo pushed Donatello away some to get to Venus. He squatted by her side, using hind hand to grip the top of the chair to keep him from falling on his shell. The action frightened her, but for a moment. “We've got some pretty cool surprises waiting back home.” “Oh, no. What is it?” The blue banded terrapin asked in regret. “Gonna have to find that out for yourself!” Michelangelo winked, but that brought no ease to the older brother for he anticipated a groan for later on. Venus, on the other hand, wasn’t looking so easy. Her body weight shifted on the chair and kept her eye contact to the ground. “I’ve been thinking…” the female terrapin drifted off, deciding whether or not she wanted to admit to them. “I have to stay.” The breaths at the table were held in. Maybe this was a mechanism to hear her better for surely they didn’t hear her right. Did they? The air grew awkward from the stillness up till a point where Raphael had to break the silence. “Venus, if you don't want to leave-.” “No! Heavens no! I'm ready to go back to New York!” She cried; now, a collective sigh of relief. Donatello leaned over the top of the chair to catch an angle of her face. “What's keeping you?” “The Wizards Council.” she breathed, quite tired. Her wounds were taking a toll on her. “Khan is right. It's dying with Chung I and even more so with Khan in absence.” A hefty breath escaped her lungs. Donatello placed his hands on top of her shoulders in exchange from the chair. Michelangelo proceeded similarly, placing a hand atop her knee. The female terrapin grinned from the kind gestures. “It'd be only fair if I stay to sort things out. I am the daughter of Chung I, it is my duty.” Her explanation was thorough and sensible. She was trained personally by the great master. Surely, she will find a way. But, of course the brothers (and sensei) would dislike the idea of losing their gentle sister for a while longer. Alas, she has a responsibility and not one was to get in her way. Meanwhile, Mona was thinking up an idea of her own. “Well, if that's the case, then I'm staying too!” Mona offered. Venus turned quickly towards her sister. “Mona, you have no obligation to stay. You aren't a magician.” “But as Chung I’s other daughter, I say I do.” Her offer was firm and proud with a look to match. Venus couldn't argue with that. In fact, it will be fun to have her sister here to relieve and create new memories. The turtle girl grinned, and soon, the lizard lady copied. “Aw!” The sudden loudness coming from the youngest turtle caused a jumpscare at the table. “How long y'all gonna stay here?” he groaned. “Not too long.” “Just enough time to get these old guys in line.” Mona elaborated playfully. The orange clad terrapin immediately tensed up. Then, he relaxed as he lifted a knowing brow and lifted up a hand to snap with. “Okay ladies now let's get in formation!” he sang, moving his hand rhythmically with his snaps. “Exactly!” Mona pointed out. To further his act, he lifted up a ‘wait’ finger and patted his body, looking for something. “I got some got hot sauce in my bag.” he said as he kept looking for the imaginary bag. “Swag.” Raphael nodded across the table. “Hot sauce?” Leonardo asked the next oldest. “You missed out, bro.” was the only explanation he could give him. Although confused and usually wishing to seek out an answer, Leonardo just couldn’t this time. So many secrets, so much sleep needed. “I'm down for the count.” he put his hands up in surrender. They did notice his eyes were half closed and he appeared less animated at the table. Saluting them first, he turned and sought out to head back to the house in which he stayed in. “What do you mean? I'm all types of awake!” Mikey stood up, trying not to use Venus’ knee as his push-off. He lifted his big arms, stretching them out wide. Leo turned, pointing at the ground with both of his hands as he walked slowly backwards. “Nighttime here. Darkness. Chinese people sleep at this hour.” he replied flatly and smartly. His younger brother had a realization and dropped the matter quickly. “And so does the Falcon.” Vern rose. Upon standing, he yawned, but tried to keep it quiet to be polite to his hosts. “I'll lead you to one of our guest rooms.” Miwa pressed a hand behind his back to gently guide him away from the kitchen light. When they passed Leo from the entryway, he eyed them until disappearing into one of the hallways. “Falcon?” His brow was raised and pointed a thumb in their direction. Donatello waved him off. “We’ll tell you when we’re on the plane.” that sounded like a groan to him. Surely, it’s something stupid Vern came up with. One more mystery he’ll have to figure out for later. “No reason to be awake now. I'm going to try to fall asleep or something. Care to join?” He asked the remaining family members. Venus nodded. He offered a hand and she graciously put hers on top of it. The girl couldn’t help feeling like an elderly woman as her body rose slowly with the aid of the kind boy. Still sore, he held her up as she explained where they were to go. With a ways to go, it was best that they should get going. “Not quite.” Mona pushed off the chair she stood behind. “I want to see my colt.” Quickly, she made an exit to the back door where her gelding and the stallion were tied to a tie bar for the night. “Right behind you.” Raphael pushed in his chair and followed out back. He slammed the old door behind him, sending a ring throughout the room. The only ones left were the three youngest of the bunch. “You guys can hang with me in my room tonight.” She offered. Donatello nodded, not quite sure how to respond but focused his energy on getting her home. He knew that she hated to feel helpless and weak, so carrying her was off the table. Before they could leave the Wu Kwan, Michelangelo impatiently tapped on his brother’s shoulder. Unable to turn around completely for Venus’ sake, he only turned his head. “You wanna be my snuggle buddy?” the young one asked childishly. The purple clad terrapin remained silent; his expression blank as he carried on moving his best friend through the door. “Is that a ‘yes’?” There was no light outside. The subtle glow of the village’s lanterns kept the landscape around them from being utter darkness. Miwa had lit some lanterns on the back porch, yet they could only outline the bodies of the tied animals and show a reflection in their eyes. Raphael was just taking a seat on an empty space of the bar when Mona hopped on Nan. Although bareback, the horse recognized her voice and touch and allowed her to sit atop his back. He shuffled in his spot as she leaned over, placing her head on the side of his neck and stretching her legs and tail out until they hung off the back of his hindquarters. His smell, his warmth and fur, hearing his heartbeat eased her and took her to another planet as she lay there. Raphael hung out in the silence, not wanting to spoil the moment with his voice. He knew darn well how much being with this animal meant to her. He simply enjoyed watching her take it all in being home and with everything she knew once more. “It's going to suck having to leave everything again, especially my little cherry bay baby!” Loving hands caressed the furrows cheek of the wild beast. It snorted, lifting its head to a high position as she scratched him. The lizard girl giggled at her pet’s reactions and had to move her head in respect to his own. He's never changed. “Not really.” He spoke uneasily. Good thing she really couldn’t see his face. “Sure, he'll be in my heart and all that…. Blah, blah, blah!” “No. Mikey and I found that picture of him in your room.” At the moment, he could feel the silence as well as a look that showed ‘YALL WERE IN MY ROOM?!?’ was surely there, in which he made his explanation quick. “We made a few calls and now, they're ready to go. When you leave, or course.” “What do you mean?” she pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Jamboree cow horses. April made arrangements for them to stay there. They're a family friend and the closest neighbors to her family estate. Full visitation rights and use. If Venus would allow it, they'd like to use Yujin as a stud. Of course, you can't use Nan, as we learned earlier, which would be a bummer.” he chuckled, pointing at the wild spirit who was on his better behaviors. “Yeah,” She sighed agreeably. “we don't need any more ponies like you out in the world.” a loving pat on his shoulder brought no objection from the animal. She slid off his side and went in to engulf the base of his neck into her arms.“But I love you all the same.” Mona assured him, though he lifted his head up again when she squeezed. Anticipating any further antics, she immediately let go, giggling. “Thank you so much, Raphael!” Mona quickly trotted up to the turtle to squeeze him herself. He almost fell backwards, but was quick to tighten his grip around the bars to keep himself up. “You have no idea how much this means to me!” She spoke on his shoulder. Although he couldn’t hug her back, she could feel the love in his relaxed posture as time went on. “Uh… um… Mona?” “Hm?” She released him. His hands relaxed when he was able to regain balance on the bar. “About the ride over here…” His voice trailed off, as well as his gaze. A nervus scratch of the neck confirmed such allegations. “Why did you do that?” She cocked her head to the side, or he could tell in the little light they had. “Knock you out a few times?” she finished the thought. “What! A few times?!” He exploded. “Hush! What about it?” She dismissed him due to the hour of the night and to get to his point quicker. “Why did you do that?” he paused. “Knock me out a couple times?” Mona Lisa shrugged, turning to go back to her horse. “Who needs to know?” Her voice was flowy and unsuspecting as she went to smooth the hindquarters of the cherry bay animal. “Surely your brothers would use that type of information against you.” “What?” Did she have to spell it out? “You're afraid of heights.” “Nope, not afraid.” He shook his head violently, wanting to get such a thought out of both of their heads. “It's flying. And...the heights that come with it.” He played. She had him, and there was no way to hide it. Having caught in a corner, the two laughed it off for a short period. “You did it because you didn't want the guys to blackmail me?” “We already give you a tough time. No need to add to the list.” “That's decent, Mona.” “I know.” A cocky smile and tilt of the head as she smoothed her horse over. “Besides, you're not always the big brute of the clan. You just stand out a little more. Big bodied, big voice.” He was standing up now. Raphael shook his head and his arms as he approached her. Did she really just say that? About muah? “We're not talking about screamin’ matches ‘cause if I remember correctly, you're the one yelling all the time.” He cleared his throat to create a higher pitched sound. “‘Oh my gosh! Donnie, again with the pop tarts?! Leo! Stop letting the kettle whistle! Mikey! If you drop another piece of food and leave it there you're gonna end up missing!’” he joked (although it was plenty truthful). The lizard lady dropped her jaw in disbelief. “I don't say that!” She defended herself, combing her fingers through Nan’s mane. “I said ‘you'll never be found again!’”. She added, laughing at herself. A sigh escaped her lips, as well as Raphael’s. It had been a long night, but hanging out here proved relaxing (despite the short term yelling). “Remember when we used to have little screaming matches?” her voice mellowed out with the quiet night. “How can I forget? I was accused of having a baby with you.” He relived the memory, the painful memory of being in the hasi for absolutely nothing. Totally not cool, Splinter. Slowly, he approached the two. Wanting to get the feel of the fellow, he outstretched a careful hand. After hearing how wild he was, he was cautious as to how and where he was to place his hand. If all goes wrong, his legs were ready to bound out of there. Each second, he struggled to when he could do it and didn't have enough bravery to carry through. Tired of waiting for the action, Mona took the matters into her own hands by taking his. She gripped his wrist evenly and pressed it against the horse’s skin. Once there, she let him go feel for himself. The horse did nothing, much to his relief. His courage gathered up quickly as he began to rub and scratch along the animal’s side. “Yeah, that was messed up of them.” Mona agreed. “Feels like a long time ago.” “We've gone a long way. Now we’re just kicking it, with psycho-pony over here.” She patted him on the neck, but with love of course. When she stopped, so did the sound in the world. Crickets were off at a distance despite the long tall grasses that surrounded them. “I'm really gonna miss you, Raph.” she admitted. Being with Venus again was going to be wonderful, but of all the fun things she had done with her three brothers, and he especially, it’ll be just as bad as missing Venus. The red clad turtle smirked, but it was quite genuine. If you could see in the light, it was actually his reaction to blushing. “Can I say one more thing?” he asked. “No one’s stopping you.” “I just figured, you know…” His hands kept moving along the horse’s back to keep him together. “Since we’ll be apart it'll give you some time to think it over and not be pressured by this.” Pressured. Oh, boy. What’s this turtle up to? “Yes?” Mona asked, encouraging him to go on. He put his eyes to the ground. It was so quiet she can hear the gulp going down his throat. “Mona…” “All aboard the Falcon express!” Vern hollered for all of China to hear. The gang had returned from their little tour of the village until it came time to head back home. At the moment, the family was in the field in which the airplane was parked. “Hey! If anybody's gonna be naming stuff, it's gonna be me!” Michelangelo yelled back in defiance. “Just tell us when and what plane you guys are boarding. They'll take the horses and you guys can stay with them instead of the cargo hold if you want.” Raphael explained to Mona Lisa, to whom they were saying their goodbyes to. “Thank you, Raphael.” She smiled, then reached out to hug him. No longer on a rail, he was able to use his arms to wrap around her body. “I'll miss you.” “Bringing the horses was my idea too!” Michelangelo ripped their hug apart for his own selfish purposes. His older brother scowled, but Mona took him in open arms. “Of course, I couldn't forget Michelangelo!” She treated him like a child, but he could not deny. He stretched out his arms wide and scooped up the lizard girl in loving embrace. She squeaked at the sudden gesture, but could only shrug when she saw that loving face below her. “You can touch all my magazines, just don't mess them up.” She petted his bald head until he brought her back to the ground. “You got it chief!” He saluted. Mona returned it, skeptically, but let it slide for it was the typical behaviors of her littlest brother. Soon, his eyes looked for someone else. “Where's the other Sista?” “I got her first!” Donatello announced before Mikey could tear them apart. The next morning, Venus was better off’ no longer needing the support, but still slow at the walk. The turtle took the precautionary measures by holding both of her hands as he clown around with her with questions. “When Evil gangs try to take over China again, what do we do?” He asked like a father quizzing their young child. Venus giggled, then composed herself to answer rhythmically. “Call the family.” “That's my girl!” Donnie praised her. Unable to give her a hug, he found the kind gesture of placing a kiss upon her hand suiting enough. The turtle girl blushed for she had never experienced the gesture herself. It was cute. “Until next time, Venus. I have some new projects you'll be excited to come back to.” “Can't wait. I hate to be leaving you again. I just got my best friend back.” her tone was dreary and upset. To fix the mood, Donnie pretended to sound choked up. “It's one of those long distance relationships that got to work.” Venus couldn’t keep a straight face with that act. “You'll stay strong?” Eventually, she had to become indifferent to match his tone with her answer. “Yeah, yeah I think so.” That straight face did not last long when she burst into a fit of laughter. She squeezed his hand. “Later, Donnie.” “Later, V.” The two released their grip on one another. As he went up the plane’s stairs, he took a second to look behind him. Venus waved with a raised hand. He returned the favor until being forced into the plane by the other two brothers behind him. The last of them had his belongings on his back. Having finished his goodbyes with everyone else, now it was the time to say farewell to his travelling companion. Venus could hear him due to the sounds of the pack on his back. “This is it. Ready to go back home?” she asked with a grin. Leonardo took a deep breath. “I can't wait to show Sensei everything Miwa had taught me.” He turned to face her. He couldn’t touch her, but he could touch her with words. “Thank you so much for coming along with me.” “Thank you. You've brought me back to my memories and now I have newer ones with my extended family.” That smile, so genuine and true. Leonardo could not just leave it like that. She wanted her to smile for another reason, or so he hoped she would. “Since I'll be across the world and all, I just… There's been something I've been wanting to tell you since we've been together these past few months.” He stopped. “I just hope this doesn't turn you away-.” A finger pressed upon his lips, silencing him. “A tale for next time. Your pilot is waiting.” Venus reminded him. He did not know what to do, but he knew there was some speculation in the air. Without a word, he nodded and turned away to board the plane. The engine had been revving up as the others boarded. Mona came up from behind her sister. Both shared lovely smiles with one another. Donatello and Vern waved from their higher nests until the plane began to roll forward. Passing by, the three other brothers made their faces clear in the windows by waving. You can see Michelangelo, being the silly goofball he is by making facing; Leonardo, simply waving away; Raphael, who was no longer as afraid of flying as he had, waved timidly. Mona lifted her arm and presented him her bicep. ‘Be Strong’ was her message to him. The red clad turtle nodded in the time remaining to watch the girls before they rolled by. Before the jets could pass them, the girl made their distance away from the aircraft. Both sisters held onto one another as they watched the plane roll into the grass. Soon, it lifted off the ground, carrying away the wonderful bunch off and over the chinese mountains in search of American soil once more. The place where it all began. Book 3: Olá Americano… Turtle?

[twilightpony4]

HomeFront: 34. Breakout

Isolated; Been cut off from any further contact from the people around them. Routine checks came accordingly at least three times a day with an eight-hour difference between each one. There was no cure for them yet nor was there need for any strict security to be kept on them. The only company around was each other. Previously, their shaken actions mellowed out in a day. Some say that it has completely blown over, unlike the other half, who believe it was only the beginning. Somewhere in the mutation process, they've done something incorrectly. The turtles were injected with mutagen as well, yet they survived 16 years as mutants. Maybe it was because they were injected with pure mutagen while their victims fed off the traces of the alien substance from their bloodstream? Stockman had yet to test out the theory. In the meantime, the troubled mutants, all four, were kept to themselves. No exercise was provided due to them being in a quarantine zone. The only human- mutant contact administered was when they slipped their meals under the door or held them down to take recent samples of blood and skin scrapes. All the while seeming normal, the patients continued to think improperly. Tokah and Rahzar: there was barely a difference. Primitive, their minds were, yet now they have seemed to lost all their knowledge of understanding or speaking simple English words and phrases they were obligated to learn. Whenever somebody went in, they were the dangerous group to see. Not only unintelligent, but very animalistic. Rahzar wanted to attack as they backed him to a corner. A couple strikes with the cattle prods would tire him out for them to give him a tranquilizer shot. Tokah, although immobile mostly, was harder to see. Once someone made eye contact with him, he knew they were out to seek him. Slickly, his arms and legs sucked into their compartments of the inside of his shell. If his pointed-edged, hard shell couldn't deter you, the fearing thought of coming close to his head will. Remember, this is a snapping turtle we are talking about. The common snapper removes fingers with ease. Harboring an uncooperative one who happened to be 8 feet tall in height that had a jaw hinge-action equivalent to a hippo was no skip in the park. One brave figure will try to distract him while another brave soul could sneak behind and jump on the back edge of his shell firmly( the only place the turtle’s flexible neck couldn't reach). Only then could his tranquilizer be administered from the exposed skin. Their next door neighbors, although easier to handle, were in no better shape than they were. The two were able to speak after their paralysis, but their thoughts were quite unclear. Everyday, one would observe how they would seek one another's comfort when the walls felt like they were “caving in” or that the containment drove them crazy. With the time they spent under these two’s control formally, they distinctly remember the bitterness the pig showed the rhino. At times, they would notice that he took kindly to the less-than-smart mutant only because of his abilities and knowledge of firearms. Sure, he would use his stupidity for his own needs, but that kind of behavior was expected from a rotten individual who used to be Jazz Rollins. Lately, it wasn't a surprise that the pig would scoot closer and whisper to the rhinoceros who cradled his stumpy legs in his arms with a nervous look on his face. If they didn't know any better, they could have sworn that they have thought of each other as old friends. They were always together in the tiny room( meaning they wished to be together), told stories of things they used to do with each other (probably figments of their corrupted memories and imaginations), they even had a little catchphrase that they used very often: “My man”. Strange, indeed. At the moment, the pig sat in the corner, facing the cramped angle. Given his large body, he was a good distance away to keep from being cast from it. There, he shook and rocked. Recently, his head began to spin. Normally, the rhino would have attempted to show him solace, but who would do so for himself? The buzz didn't make him bash his head into the ground, but rather rock it up and down like an anxious horse. With the rotation and lack of surveillance cameras inside the room, the staff looked upon them poorly for no one suspected a thing. “We need to get out.” The pig whispered through his sickness. His friend, although annoyed with the buzzing in his head, quit his frequent rocks to give him a genuine nod. He stood up from the cemented floor; the raging brown eyes locked onto the direction of the door. Rocksteady took a moment to pause. His mouth and nostrils partook in a series of spasms until he rode them out by flicking his head. Suddenly, he took off. His large, mutant body slammed against the door. A nice fitting dent that took the shape of his folded arm made an impression, but didn't do a thing to unlock it. The rhino stumbled backwards in ugly steps before hastily making another thrust. A bigger dent; no avail. Bebop, watching from the corner, rolled onto his side and stretched out his legs. The added extension pushed his flabby body away from the wall. Once he was a safe distance away, he rolled to his side and pushed himself up. Legs of jelly, he wobbled. Both were uneasy, acting as if some sort of mysterious drug messed with their neurological systems. The sense seemed to be beaten out of the grey animal as he stood there, eyeing the one thing in his way of help. Bebop swayed and stumbled over his shoes as he tried to grab his friend. “I, help.” He muttered under his breath. The added weight of his arm dragging his shoulder down caught the rhino off guard. He could have almost elk if he hadn't reacted in time. Rocksteady swung his head to face Bebop on his shoulder. He gave a nod, but didn't realize his muzzle smacked into the pig’s face. It was a little numb after all. The contact didn't hurt too much, especially when he saw the rhino nod. A haughty snort vibrated through his ringed snout whose temporary pain diminished. A silent count was put in place; both rocked their bodies in sync to make sure they were to take off at the same time. 1...2...3… the large mutants charged towards the door. With skulls meant to bash into items, the door didn't stand a chance with a third assault done by two large animals. Metal crashed and scraped against the cemented wall, tipping over and scratching the floor beneath it with great alarm. Simultaneously, a different type of alarm went off. White lights flashed along the hallway, giving off a haunting song. The pitch and demeanor was excruciating. Both knew that it meant they should run away from whatever trouble had been caused, yet it was hard to think straight. Their thick hands clasped against their little ears that heard the sharpest and quietest of sounds. “Come!” Bebop took off down the hall. Truthfully, he did not know where he was going, but he wanted to get away from the screaming alarm badly. Unable to know any better (and not wanting to be alone), Rocksteady stumbled behind him with his elbows sticking out from his head. “What happened?!” A scientist demanded as she sprinted towards the main monitor. The lights and sounds were just as fantastic in the lab as it were in the halls. A higher ranked foot soldier was at the helm, trying to regain control of the situation. “The mutant’s room door was triggered.” He explained as he searched the cameras for where they may be. “They've escaped.” “Which ones?” “Bebop and Rocksteady. Tokah and Rahzar are still contained. But, look!” He stopped to see through the camera in the hallway in front of the animal’s room. In the corner, you could see the door ripped off of its hinges by their next door neighbors. There was movement on the door holding the wolf and snapper. It was rhythmic, like they were trying to escape as well. “We need a team to keep those two from escaping.” “Where are they?” She inquired. His mouth gaped open, finger continuously tapping the muse to change to different cameras. Hopefully, this way, he can get just a glimpse of where they possibly could be. “I don't know.” he admitted, still clicking. The woman looked shocked and offended. It confused the soldier. He’d probably analyze why she reacted in such a way, but he had more important tasks to complete. “What do you mean you don't know? We have cameras everywhere and you're telling me you can't find a giant pig and Rhino in a mansion? It's one job!” Her insults did nothing but let out some frustration. “Do you want to do it?” The soldier rolled his neck and eyes, letting them land on her own. As he did, she took a step back to keep her head from hitting his own. Continuing to click, he eyed her. She looked at him, then back at the monitor, then back to him. He was clicking pretty quick. At once, he resumed his eyes back to the main monitor. “They're probably upstairs.” Their prediction was correct, but it was too late. Somehow, they made their way into the most scared of the rooms. With Karai and Sacks gone, no one was guarding him. No Foot guarded his room for they were busy guarding the mansion itself. Any individual who'd visit him, unconscious or not, we're brave to do so. You can be brave when you don't have a conscience of your own. That's exactly why those two did. The bulking figures got into the master bedroom of the home. Silence wasn't their ally, but Oroku Saki was too far gone to attempt any reaction. All he could do was open his eyes when he saw a large pig overlook him. Unable to speak or move, he sat there and waited. The pig smelled him and nodded his head. “Why bring him?” His rhinoceros companion asked. He didn't look at Bebop directly, but to the armory next to his bed. It didn't take an animal’s instinct to feel off when looking at it. Most likely from the draft, it gave off an eerie, low grumble throughout. “They'll only come if he's there.” He pointed to the arrested man in the bed. His finger came so close, the man blinked sharply. Rocksteady kept his eyes on the suit of armor as he walked up beside his friend. Directly at the bedside, he turned to look down at the Japanese man below. “I'll carry.” He insisted, already pushing his arms underneath his body. There was no care to remove the heavy blanket over him, which now wrapped him up snugly inside and in the rhino’s arms. Internally, Oroku Saki feared that such a fashion would trip up the wary rhinoceros, ending in a very painful fall. “They'll be waiting,” Bebop reminded. “ to help us.” His voice grew more and more distant. Rocksteady, looked up from the horrid eyes of the dangerous man he carried. “Okay.” His head, normally long even with the large horn that adorned his nose, shortened up. Once over a foot long away from the central system of his face now drew closer with a shortened horn that became no longer than his finger. With his nostrils out of the way, carrying the unconscious man became a breeze since he didn't have to watch his head from smacking into his own. The buzz of their brains grew louder, muffling out the sounds of alarms blaring from underneath them. Bebop led the way with his companion trailing behind him. As they treaded down the stairs, the worse they felt. The pig stopped just before he could hit the main floor. Fatigued, he hunched over, using the handrail as support. His face gripped at his face, which seemed to be shortening up as he pulled. Trying to fight through the pain, he pressed on, even with the absence of his own snout. Looking for a way out of the mansion, drastic changes began to occur. With every step, it was agony, but they were far more light-footed. It was like their weight was dropping dramatically. Rocksteady noticed the most as his nose began to construct a normal bridge, closing up the gap where his massive horn had taken up. Outside the mansion, more activity occurred. A watcher in a crow’s nest sought out headlights coming up the mountain. He kept the ground soldiers posted, readying them for any battle they may endure. Soon, the flashing of blue and red colored the mountainside. Countless numbers of them began to alarm, echoing in a different manner than the alarms underground did. He gasped, throwing the binoculars on the ground. “It’s the cops!” he screeched as he came down from his throne. Confused members looked up to the horrified man. “Get underground!” he ordered. Soon, the flood of soldiers left the entrance. Most used their walkie-talkies to announce the news to those in the hidden lair. If they kept quiet in the undiscovered lab, the cops would have no further thought to search the place. As they ran, they had to think: what were they after? Hopefully, they were passing by? Then again, those mutants are on the run. What were they to think if they found them? One thing’s for sure: this was not good. Foot soldiers flooded into the mansion, trying to seek shelter underground, but they couldn’t put their finger as to why some others were running in the opposite direction. Amid the darkness (they cut the lights) and confusion, it didn’t register their minds who those people were. You heard it right, people. Six-foot tall, camoflauge-able, normal human beings came running out of the home. The former pig’s lungs stung when his nostrils first felt the fresh air. Rocksteady felt the same effect and wanted so much to clutch his throat. Unbeknownst to them, they were unable to see the small steps in front of the mansion. Both characters tripped up on their own feet that were betrayed into thinking it was flat surfaces from there on out. The dirt pushed up their noses, but they couldn’t remove it from their cavities. Everything hurt. Their heads, their eyes, every part of their body that had a means to move. The flashing lights of ironic freedom could be seen from the corners of their half-lidded eyes, illuminating the blurry outlines of whatever they could see. Closer and closer, the lights grew brighter and their sirens became louder. Car engines roared into their normal ears. Faint echoes and distortions could be heard as the vehicles stopped. A few doors opened, following police officers with guns at the ends of their hands. In front, a female officer took charge of the anonymous tip. “Put your hands in the air!” She screamed, gun cocked up in case somebody wanted to try something funny. There was no cooperation. Taking a closer look, it didn’t look like they could operate. She lowered her gun while ordering her squadron to follow. A silent signal to follow her sent a few forward as they went in to investigate. They treaded lightly as they approached the three bodies. Two large males, one caucasian, one african american, were facedown in the ground wearing enlarged clothes that barely hung onto them. The other, a dark haired man who was also face down and unable to unwrap himself. The female officer turned her head, chin to shoulder, and turned on her dispatch. “We got three individuals on the ground.” She looked back at them as the other officers tried to get a response from the african male. No avail. “May need medical attention.” she suggested highly when they could only get mutters from the caucasian male. Lastly, they turned over the other. The large scars on his face were highly identifiable. The look, the identification of his ethnicity, he knew who this was. “It is Oroku Saki!” he gasped. The rest of the officers came to see. Could this be a hoax? Did they really just find the most dangerous man in the world unconcious? The woman pushed the ooglers aside, seeing the face of the ever-evil man. “Get him checked out, then get him to maximum security.” she ordered. A series of “yes mam’s” went around as they unwrapped him from the blanket and set him into the arms of one of their officers. Quickly, the sound of an ambulance could be heard coming up. While the emergency vehicle treaded uphill, the rest of the officers aided the two other men. Both large in size, it took a team effort of two to lift up, but one to carry them. With the cold air of the mountain and a great distance away from the ambulance, they made the decision to sit the delinquents in the back seats of their cars. All three were shoved into the commander’s vehicle. The African american was put in on one side. Oroku Saki was next. His consciousness made him more intimidating. The officer holding him dared not to look into his lulling eyes as he fastened him in the middle. Lastly, the caucasian male was seated on his other side. The door slammed them all inside, squeezing them all together. Insensible the most, it was surprising that the caucasian male was able to move on his own some, let alone speak. His mind began to fog up and drift. At last, his head lolled to one side. The blur of his vision began to darken with each beat of his heart. Those long gone eyes rested on the face of the fallen, asian man. “You save me.” he whispered. “My hero.” A/N: I wanted this to end slightly different with more interaction with their incarceration, but I lost interest so… yeah, that happened. Sorry if it comes up vague, but I HATE writing bad guy parts! (but i need them! UGH! THE STRUGGLE IS REAL YA’LL!)