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demonslayedher · 4 years

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Love Breathing Not Fully Bloomed: A Kanroji Mitsuri Meta

Some thoughts that have been brewing since we got a deeper look at the birth of the Breath of Love in the Rengoku Gaiden, boiling down to that Mitsuri had not yet reached her full potential.

SPOILERS AHEAD~!

While we don't have any reliable timeline for this series, we know that Mitsuri has been practicing swordsmanship for only about two years, likely less. The "two years ago" stated in her flashback to her failed engagement was back when she was 17, so let's be generous and say that was 2.5 years ago. But, we must also keep in mind that she's been a Pillar for at least several months by the time Swordsmith Village arc takes place. The Pillar meeting Tanjiro met her at was possibly her first of the twice-a-year meetings, but I wouldn't put it anywhere beyond her second. After the failed marriage discussion she would have spent some unknown period of time dying her hair and starving herself, before deciding to join the Demon Slayers. She accomplished her Flame Breathing training under Rengoku in six months, roughly half the time most Breath users train under their cultivators. Tokito is noted for becoming a Pillar in two months after taking up the sword, but Mitsuri probably stumbled her way into Pillarhood within months of passing the Final Selection; making the Kamaboko squad's quick ascension up the ranks look like nothing as she blows away the usual five years it takes someone to become a Pillar (or if they are especially skilled, more like two years, as stated by Gotouge in Taisho Secrets). While the way of swordsmanship and battle became Mitsuri’s everyday way of life, thereby leading to huge improvements, that's a really short time to develop actual battlefield experience. Among the Pillars, she is the least seasoned or naturally inclined for battle, it really is by accident of her bizarre strength that she’s gotten so far. That's hardly surprising, given her background and motives. For context, her interests are very domestic what with all the pet-keeping (four cats, a rabbit, and a whole hive of bees, by my count) and sweets and recipes, and her stated hometown would have been in the heart of developing city culture, with shopping and restaurants and movie theaters. There would have been no exposure to swords and the culture that goes with them, making her justifiably embarrassed of how monstrously her strength makes her stick out. Her inability to fit into a normal family life makes her feel worthless, even if she does have a base of love and support. (*Put a pin in these things, I'll be drawing a comparison to another character later.*) However it was that she was introduced to the Corp, it must have taken a huge leap of hope and/or desperation to leave the otherwise comfortable lifestyle for a life of battle. While Rengoku's home is not terribly far from hers, it still would have been a total break from the life she knew before, so she must had been betting everything on both her ultimate wishes; living in accordance with who she is, and finding a husband. Let's refer to these respectively as Wish A and Wish B. Note that "becoming a strong swordsman" and "elimating demons" are not among these goals; they are merely means to her goals. Now if we try to to follow her path as a swordsman chronologically, six months since taking up the sword under Rengoku, she's passed the Final Selection. On a mission with Rengoku, who now treats her as a peer, she's nonetheless filled with shame that she hasn't really picked up much skill and just waves her sword around with brute strength.

I love this bit of characterization because that is so, so easy a trap to fall into with martial arts. Even if you understand things in theory and do your best on proper form when taking things slowly, all of that very easily goes out the window when you're using them in the heat of the moment. The less experience you have, the far more likely one is to do this. Falling back on just throwing a punch as hard as you can instead of throwing a good punch makes Mitsuri so, so, so relatable. She is a normal girl with abnormal strength, not a battle genius. Like us normal people, and even like Tanjiro, she can only improve her battle sense with experience. This puts her in a very different situation than the other Pillars, who she meets either when they are very experienced, or when they are outright geniuses. This gives her a different sense of shame, which we'll come back to. While feeling ashamed that she can't live up to Rengoku's teaching, her fighting suffers with this lack of self-confidence (which, again, makes her very relatable because this is applicable to just about all of us normal people), and she only realizes the Breath technique when applying it through her own unique emotion-driven fighting style. While she goes on to name this Breath after Wish B (given that this is a romantic version of "Love"), it's powered more by a philanthropic love, realized only when she is protecting other people. This becomes a newly discovered third wish, as well as a source of confidence.

In the side story novels, Mitsuri later on suffers another blow to her confidence which compromises her fighting and makes her fall back into wanting to hide herself, for she is ashamed of how her motives compare to Shinobu's. Besides Shinobu's encouragement and giving Mitsuri a venue in which to openly express her love and appreciation for other people, another child whom Mitsuri has rescued looks up to her and says a few things to restore her confidence. Getting that feedback and being able to express herself openly (Wish A) is the cycle that powers Mitsuri's confidence and keeps her ultimate weakness, shame, at bay. This, combined with words of encouragement from Ubuyashiki and Rengoku, is what really empowers her to embrace her unusual constitution and develop the Breath of Love. While it's said that this is an offshoot of the Flame Breathing she's formally trained in, it's more of a stretch than the relationship between something like Snake Breathing stemming from Water Breathing, and more like she's hit at the basis of Breathing itself to create a technique suited to her, like Inosuke did with his entirely self-taught Beast Breathing. (*Put a pin in this self-created Breath style thing, we're going to come back to this too.*) So, Mitsuri went on to become the Love Pillar. With the rate at which Pillars cycle in and out (based on how many the Upper Moons claim to have killed), I have to wonder how fast the Lower Moons getting cycled in and out too. Even though these are her peers and we never see any other Pillars looking down on her, she sees herself in a lower position than the rest of them. Case in point, one thing I love that the anime did is that when Tokito chips the rock at Tanjiro and tells him off, Mitsuri is silently fangirling, and then when Tokito orders the Kakushi to draw back/leave, Mitsuri silently and automatically obeys and shrinks back. That wasn’t directed at you, silly!

Though her Breath requires confidence, she still has a ways to go. When we see her again later, she's in a position of being a protector to everyone around her; the swordsmiths and her juniors, and she's treated with the awe and respect and acceptance of a Pillar; in this kind of setting she is fully in accord with Wish A (reinforced by her less formal third wish) and, thanks to Shinobu's encouragement, not ashamed of Wish B, thereby eliminating a big part of her shame-based weakness. She's added all this power and just as importantly, experience to her preexisting raw strength and flexibility.

The experience is key here; she's gained a lot of battle sense since her first mission. She's not as taken off guard by demon abilities, and with her risen confidence, she's also gained more flexible thinking and can make quick adjustments in battle as needed.

Not entirely, though. At her core, she still relies on that brute strength.

Ultimately, though toward the end she thinks she might be overpowered after all, it's that boost of confidence and cycle of philanthropic love from her juniors and desire to protect them than she recovers and makes use of her mark. (I'm glad no one's told her that this means she's doomed to a short marriage, should she ever even get one.)

Following this historic feat; acting in a way that is natural to her and to her Breath to unlock a mark she didn't even know existed, she still feels a little shamed among the other Pillars for being so shamefully inarticulate about battle technique; despite this being what she's dedicated her life to. Again, it was never her natural desire to be a fighter, so it’s unsurprising that this part doesn’t come as naturally to her as it does to all those geniuses in the room.

Moving on to the battle with Nakime, this is mostly played for laughs because Mitsuri's lack of battle sense compared to other characters is put on full display. She's emotional from the get-go and easily overwhelmed and this affects her concentration drastically, leading to stupid mistakes and ultimately having to fall back on her brute strength to break through pieces of the fortress instead of survive and fight through observation. Getting called out on this is meant to help her, and she absolutely does her best to summon back her battle sense, but it's all downhill for Mitsuri and her Love Breathing technique from here.

As the battle with Muzan starts, that third wish is thrown back in her face as so many of her juniors die protecting her. Since he's powered by philanthropic love and confidence, she cannot recover any battle sense, and quickly falters so much that she must be removed from the battle rather than weigh everyone down. The difference between her and the other Pillars here is stark; her inexperience and lack of natural fighting inclination is, again, painfully obvious and relatable to a lot of readers. She has natural strength, but not natural talent. When she does return to battle, she only has that core strength to rely on again--no room for peace of mind, only brute emotional strength resulting in a panel that made me throw my fist in the air and cheer out loud because damn, that is hardcore, girl.

But, in the end, Mitsuri succumbs to her injuries, and only right before death does she get closer to Wish B. Even with Iguro's promise, it's too late.

This is super frustrating for a number of reasons, but if we're focused solely on the actualization of Love Breathing, it's because Iguro could have said something much, much, much sooner if he wasn't so ashamed of his own blood tainting her in this lifetime (not that she would have cared). Words from other people have such a huge influence on Mitsuri that if she had actualized Wish B, for which her Breath is named, she could have made humongous gains in confidence before being romantically loved, and having someone to openly shower in love. Imagine what she could have unlocked, if that shame she still carried for being too monstrous to be married could have been eliminated. But that's not all. What if the timeline had been different? What if she had not two, but five years’ experience? Or even more than that? What if, for a long duration of her experience as a swordsman, she was also experiencing a happy marriage? I invite you to consider the implications of a Mrs. Iguro Mitsuri who has the comfort and confidence of being herself with a husband, in addition to being in a leadership role in the Corp? A Mrs. Iguro who, with a little honesty from her husband who feels bothered that she’s embarrassed, stands up to Maeda-san and says that as a married woman she needs a more modest uniform?* A Mrs. Iguro who gained a level-headed battle sense that can only be refined through experience, not based in brute strength alone? She'd be such a happy badass. *(Not looking for a modern-era Western culture based debate on this; this is defined based on Mitsuri's desire for a proper Taisho Era marriage.) Now, remember those pins I put in place? Consider someone else who realized a natural Breath technique all on their own, who attained a mark without any intention to, who felt like a monster due to super human abilities that made them shamefully unable to fit into the ideal family life, despite only wanting a peaceful, happy wedded life? Someone who valued bonds with other people, a kind person who lived to protect others? Now, I'm not saying that Love Breathing is as powerful as the Breath of the Sun, or that Mitsuri is as innately powerful as Yoriichi (their natural skills were of different types entirely). But, as all Breath techniques stem from the same natural Sun Breathing source, Love Breathing might have found its way back a little closer to that source, in some way or another. Which is all to say, never look down on Love Breathing or on Mitsuri just because she didn't play as big of a role as the others in the final showdown. After all, that Breath was not yet all it could have been, and as a swordsman, she was not yet in full bloom.

#KnY fandom theories and meta #Kanroji Mitsuri #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer

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ayuuria · 3 years

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Yashahime Translation: Prince Animage May 2021 Issue (Part 1)

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

Due to the amount of content in the magazine, I have decided to the split the translation into three parts as follows

Part 1: Elder Son’s Resolve! Interview with Director Satou Teruo

Part 2: We Won’t Give Up On the Future! Father-Daughter Round-Table Talk with Narita Ken, Matsumoto Sara, and Komatsu Mikako

Part 3: The Strength to Overcome Destiny. Interview with Director Satou Teruo

Please note that there are two interview articles with Director Satou in this magazine.

The Strength and Pride of a Beast King

The Beast King of the West’s (The Dog General) eldest son, Sesshōmaru. He is far from the stereotypical image of an eldest son being “A reliable elder brother who protects his younger brother” or “A filial pious male heir”.

He once clashed with his half-demon half-brother, Inuyasha, many times. Also, instead of ruling over the western lands in place of his late father, he continues a wandering journey. However, his outstanding ability and noble mindedness that can overwhelm others is that of a beast king’s eldest son. Always treading the path he believes in, he is an aloof existence who never sucks up to anyone, no matter how backed into a corner he gets. That is the way of life for Sesshōmaru, the one who inherits the blood of a beast king.

That stance does not change, even with his own daughters, Towa and Setsuna. He does not spoil them because they are his daughters. On the contrary, he is sending them on a difficult path. Even when his second daughter, Setsuna, lost her life as result, he never grieved.

At a glance, Sesshōmaru’s actions appear collected, but behind that he must surely be hiding his own conviction. Though we cannot yet see the full picture of what Sesshōmaru is thinking, let us wait for the second chapter (season) while believing in the strength and pride of the eldest son!

Sesshōmaru The Eldest Son of the Beast King of the West. A proud demon with greater demon parents. Though he is not on good terms with his younger brother, Inuyasha, when Kirinmaru tried to fell Inuyasha, Sesshōmaru sent Inuyasha inside the black pearl.

Family

Parents: The Dog General and his wife

Siblings: Younger half-brother, Inuyasha (different mothers)

How He’s Addressed: “Sesshōmaru”

When One Says Eldest Son, (one thinks) “Stubborn” Looks Like He Will not Show Affection for A While?

In episode 18, Sesshōmaru gallantly appeared before Towa and the others as they fell into a tight spot battling Kirinmaru. Even though he fended off Kirinmaru and saved his daughters, he left the scene without a word. There is a glimpse of Sesshōmaru’s obstinate heart when Jaken asks him “What about the two of them?” and he answers, “Don’t say anything”.

When One Says Eldest Son, (one thinks) “Pride” One Who Inherits the Blood of the General of the West

The pride he has for the beast king blood he got from his father is an aspect you can’t leave off when talking about Sesshōmaru. During the time of “Inuyasha”, it was that pride that made Sesshōmaru dislike and look down upon humans and half-demons. However, because of his meeting with the young girl, Rin, and moving with her, a kind heart slowly started to bud within him.

When One Says Eldest Son, (one thinks) “Harshness” Spartan Training for Even His Daughters

Though it was to hide them from Zero and Kirinmaru, to take his daughters away from their mother immediately after birth and imposing a “rite of courage and cowardice”? Even with Setsuna’s death before him, he entrusts Towa with Tenseiga, (a sword) that can resurrect a dead person only once, but the blade is broken… His harsh trial for his daughters will continue in the second chapter (season)?!

Pay Attention to These Eldest Sons Too!

Kohaku Eldest son of the demon slayer clan. During his youth, he had a somewhat unreliable side to him compared to his elder sister, Sango. However now, he has matured splendidly, both mentally and physically. Taking over from his late father, he became the head of the demon slayers.

Hisui Miroku and Sango’s eldest son. He has two older twin sisters, Kin’u and Gyokuto, who do things at their own pace. For a long time, whether it was just from the rebelliousness of an eldest son , he misunderstood his father as a greedy and cowardly person. However, in episode 13, he changed his perception.

Sōta The eldest son of the Higurashi family and Kagome’s younger brother. Towa’s adoptive father. He saw Kagome fighting demons during his childhood, so he more or less does not get phased easily. Even when Towa returned to the feudal era, he gave her a gentle push.

Kirinmaru It is not known if he has other siblings aside from his older sister, Zero, but one can sense the personality of an eldest son from his imposing appearance. Whether it is towards his elder sister, the severity in his roar might even get through to Sesshōmaru.

Eldest Son’s Resolve!

Formerly, there was special regard for the eldest son as the “heir to the clan”. However now, there is a diversity in worth. If there are neets, then there are also vagrant sons and there are even families that are not blood related! Various eldest sons who are each fighting in their own fields, gather around~!

Good Brothers, Good Rivals Director Satō Teruo

— Where do you think Sesshōmaru’s charm as an eldest son lies?

Satō: Even if you say elder brother, Sesshōmaru’s relationship with Inuyasha is that of a half-brother. You may not really get a sense of an eldest son or elder brother but… I think he’s fundamentally a nice person. For the sake of his goals, he’s willing to move (others) in a way that’s convenient for him, whether it be his younger brother or children. However, in truth, it’s also for their sake and it’s like despite everything, he won’t treat everyone badly.

— That’s a little elder brother like.

Satō: He clashed with Inuyasha for a long time but over time, he took action in a way that would become proper support. Although, I don’t know just how far Sesshōmaru planned things. He has a “Whether they live or die is up to them” kind of thinking. It’s possible that the actions Inuyasha chose to take just happened to turn out well.

— In “Hanyō no Yashahime”, there was a phrase that came up for the daughters’ trial = “Rite of Courage and Cowardice”. Could that harshness also be eldest son like?

Satō: Even during the “Inuyasha” era, Sesshōmaru would always back Inuyasha into a corner but Inuyasha overcame and crawled his way up. Not only do I think that Inuyasha was able to grow because he had that high wall known as Sesshōmaru, but if Sesshōmaru hadn’t been there, it’s possible that Inuyasha wouldn’t have been able to battle Naraku. I feel that the two of them are good brothers and good rivals. In that term, I think Sesshomaru has some amount of faith in Inuyasha.

— By the way, are you an eldest son yourself, director Satō?

Satō: I’m the same as Sōta, Kohaku, and Hisui in that I’m the “eldest son who’s also the youngest child”. For some reason, there are many eldest sons who are the youngest child in this work so somehow, I felt close to them. Being the eldest son while also being the youngest child is completely different from being the eldest son and child. Everything is based on the elder sisters’ mood! (laughs) My two older sisters would mimic Pink Lady (translator’s note: A pop duo from the late 1970s) and I would applause as I watched. There’s an image that that’s how eldest sons who are also the youngest child are thoroughly trained on “how to read the mood” (laughs).

— Sōta certainly is able to read the mood. He was completely unphased when Setsuna, Moroha, and the demon came from the feudal era.

Satō: Sōta has nerves of steel doesn’t he. Thanks to seeing Kagome and Inuyasha go back and forth to the feudal era right before his eyes, even when Setsuna, Moroha, and the demon appeared, he just took a philosophic view like “Ahahaha… See, I always told you. There are demons”. Being able to adapt to their surroundings like “that’s just how it is” I think is a trait of eldest sons who are also the youngest child (laughs).

— What about Kohaku’s aspects of being an eldest son?

Satō: Kohaku at present is splendidly carrying on the family work as the head of the demon slayers, though it’s not a large family like in the past. I think while carrying the pride he inherited from both his father and elder sister, he’s trying to protect the work of demon slaying. When thinking of Sango as an elder sister, she seems kind of scary (laughs).

— Hisui also inherited the family work.

Satō: You’re right, inheriting Hiraikotsu from Sango. With uncle Kohaku’s existence, it’s possible that Hisui felt “he wanted to do the same thing” during his childhood days, like how children from kabuki families do so to speak.

— If we’re talking eldest son with an older sister, it’s Kirinmaru.

Satō: That is the case. Kirinmaru was a beast king who ruled over the east and stood alongside the Dog General so he’s already a feudal lord/head of the house. There was the phrase “Don’t get carried away” that he said to Zero. As the head, he was admonishing his sister who lacked a sense of justice. I think that dislike for half-demons comes from their position. In the second chapter (season), a new key person will appear in the story. Kirinmaru’s family relationship will become more complex again going forward so please pay attention to how that relationship in regards with Sesshōmaru’s family will turn out.

#Yashahime #hanyou no yashahime #yashahime: princess half demon #translation

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physicalturian · 3 years

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[G] Gentle summer - Rengoku Kyojuro x GN!Reader - Part 8

[Contains spoilers from the movie, and the manga] [No pronouns used for the reader, no physical description; Everyone +18]

Words : 8662

Archive of our own

Warning : mention of suicide (follows the manga, you might know which one) mention of fear of dying

— Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

On the morning following the moving night I had with Rengoku, we had to wake up early to train but managed to have breakfast together. Everything seemed different and yet, nothing had changed. Everyone around us was still training, diligently so, never stopping until they would fall exhausted on the ground. People would come and go from the place to get ready under different Pillars than those who had stayed at the Butterfly estate. Rengoku and I were the starting point of the training, we were the ones to get everyone slowly acclimated to the fighting, but it was only a matter of time before they were sent to coach under Uzui to better their stamina. Oh, and the look of pure horror on their faces when they would return from those days of training, face long and muscles sore.

Those who would train with Gyomei were too far away to return to this estate and would stay at a nearby place, along with recruits that would train with Mitsuri. More traumatized trainees would come back from Obanai’s training, their gaze devoid of any emotions as they’d shiver at the mere mention of the Pillar in question. I had heard his method was drastic to say the least, mortifying if I listened to those who would return to the mansion at the end of the day. On the first day I had returned, I realized that this was no simple training; something was at stake, they had to improve, they hadto get better by the end of this or they would not last a fight with Muzan and his remaining henchmen.

Coming back to reality, I looked at Rengoku and asked with a bit of worry laced in my voice, “Is there a reason why the training is so intense this year? I thought Pillars were only supposed to train those who would inherit their will?” I had asked, seated right next to a very awake man while I was still half-sleep, shivers running through my body from the cold of having left the futon only minutes ago. “Ah yes! Well, to start, if we defeat Muzan, there will be no need for Pillars anymore.” He said with a big smile, my heart clenched in my chest at the mention of the famous demon we had been training to defeat for too long already. “Why, yes… But it seems like some very intense training. Not that I mind, we could all use some, but it also seems a lot different.” I replied, observing the recruits outside. “At the swordsmith village, something unbelievable happened, we are trying to reproduce that.” He hummed, focusing on his food, still smiling.

Nudging Rengoku’s elbow, I gestured for him to explain. Realizing he had forgotten to continue, he nodded, took my hand and scooted closer, his knee touching mine as he proceeded to explain all about the mark they had discovered; how Tanjirou had been the first one among them on which it had appeared, followed by Muichiro and Mitsuri. He added that when they returned from the village they had a meeting, but he could not attend it due to the state he was in; he was told they had decided to reproduce the conditions in which the mark appeared. “Giyuu told me young Tokito was the only one who was able to properly explain what had happened.” He said happily while taking another bite of his food—as he did so, his hand slid to my thigh and he absent-mindedly caressed it. “Young Tanjirou and Mitsuri lacked a way with words, and I heard it angered Sanemi, but they still managed to agree unanimously on the course of action to take, which was to work hard to reproduce those conditions.” He finished, nodding to himself.

Kyojuro tried to recall what else was important to say, but I interrupted him by leaning over, my hands resting on his opposite thigh while I looked in the court in shock. “Kyo- Kyo-” I hit his knee a few times, “The demon girl is in the sun! She shouldn’t-“ Sprinting out of the room, I crossed the veranda and rushed to her side. My bare feet hit the pebbles and grass full force, making me wince at each step. Upon reaching her side quicker than I expected, I took off my haori in panic and threw it on her. Both girls that accompanied her looked in confusion and waited a moment, so did I as I tried to catch my breath. “Get her back inside! Why are you letting her-“ Smiling in the most adorable way, the demon girl said my name and lifted the haori from her head to grin, “Thank you!” She seemed to be stammering, clearly struggling to speak but she continued, “I can walk—in the sun.” She pointed at the sky, in case I hadn’t understood her.

I stood there in awe and hesitantly removed the haori from her form, still frowning in confusion. Not knowing what to say, I stood in front of her, unmoving; she did not seem bothered and waited for me to ask anything or to leave, she was patient. “How?” I let out under my breath, my gaze never leaving her. Never in my years as a slayer had I seen this happen, it could change so much.

A hand on my shoulder startled me, a gasp leaving my lips. I recognized the feeling of the hand before turning around to look at the person. Rengoku slid his hand to rest it on my waist and pulled me closer, smiling. “Nezuko can now walk in the sun, she sacrificed herself for the village and for some reason, well…” He explained confidently, gesturing at her smiling face that he mirrored gladly. The two girls accompanying Nezuko tried to usher her away, but before leaving, the miraculous demon girl grabbed my hand and bowed, thanking me again before leaving. I smiled, unsure and embarrassed at my actions then bid her goodbye. “It does not make sense…” I muttered.

It made Rengoku laugh fully while he guided us back inside, “Do not worry, I do not understand either. I am simply very happy that young Tanjirou’s sister is getting better. His will to find a remedy to her condition is doing miracles, is it not?” He asked, his eyes ever so wide and bright. Staring back at him, for a moment I forgot what we were talking about and simply got lost in his beautiful eyes; I couldn’t help myself from cradling his face and kissing his cheek lovingly. “I missed your laugh, and your smile.” He beamed, flustered and happy, and cradled my face back to kiss my lips with just as much love, if not more. “So did I, my love. That does not mean I will go easy on you when we are training the recruits.” He winked before kissing my forehead and sitting back down to finish eating.

Once we were done eating, we went to train the recruits. It was good to be distracted for most of the day, only doing what your body told you to, which was to fight back. Since none of the present recruits of Rengoku’s had been able to hit him, he told them that if they could land a hit on me, he'd give them a chance to strike him. They were fueled up for some reason, probably thinking it would be easy, but I did not have that teacher aura Kyojuro had. I felt no regrets in tackling them to the ground when they did not think and would act rashly. It made their determination falter each time, only Rengoku’s words could cheer them up, “Come on, get up and fight!” he would say, or even, “Don’t back down in front of an obstacle! They hinder your path to toughen you up, stand tall and try again!” He indeed had a way with words and was the only reason the trainees still had hope, he kept their morale up. I admired him for doing so much for all of us.

I made sure to talk about it to him on that evening when we had eaten and were now walking outside under the stars, just like our first evening. “Kyo?” He perked up at his name, his hand tightening around mine with a hum echoing from his throat inquisitively. “Thank you, for being…” cheerful? Hopeful? Determined? Optimistic to a fault? “You. For being you. You are probably the sole reason those recruits think there is hope.” I said confidently, making him huff a laugh. He brought me closer, his steps slowly coming to a stop as he pulled me against him, his back now resting against the wall. “We are all working hard, every Pillar has hope we will make it through. Give them some credit, my dearest.” He said with a beautiful smile. I felt my cheeks heat up and shook my head, “I suppose you are right, I have yet to see them train them,” I started, placing my hand on the fabric on his chest where he delicately slid it under his kimono and onto his chest, a stupid smile adorning his features.

Ignoring his playfulness, I added, “I was talking to myself. Hearing you be so determined is getting to me, in more ways than one but mostly…” I trailed off, my eyes meeting his again. I removed the patch from his left eye and looked at both of them, smiling. “It seems you have managed to give me hope, and I cannot say it does not scare me.” Blinking in surprise, his eyes widened before glimmering with pure happiness. His hands that were resting on my lower back brought me in a tight hug that I returned in no time, “Fear is inevitable, but we have to work with it not against it. If it paralyzes you, find someone that will push you to take that one step, if it makes you lose your determination, find someone that will lend you their strength. And if it makes you lose yourself, then I’ll find you without failing.” He whispered, only I was meant to hear this, it was not a secret of any sort but that intimacy we had was not to be shared with the world. It was him and I, at this very moment it was just us, no one else around, we were alone together.

Wrapping my arms tighter around him, I felt my heart soar in reassurance and pure fear, a mix I could not get rid of no matter how hard I tried. Each passing moment spent with him made this entire fight scarier, I dreaded losing him, but I could not doubt his skills, and hearing him talk like that made me believe. “That way with words never disappears, does it…” I mumbled jokingly against his chest, the rumble of his laugh sending warmth coursing through my body. “Well, I would not want to lose it if we were to pair up to be great entertainers once this is all over.” He beamed; the idea I had thrown at him the night prior seemed to have stuck in his head. All while caressing my back, Kyojuro continued, slowly lowering us to sit on the parquet outside. “Since we both agree I am good with words, here are a few suggestions of very affectionate names you can call me,” His tone was light and humorous, but I knew he wanted to be called something and not just Kyo like I had found myself in the habit of doing a lot recently.

“My love seems to be obvious enough, dear and dearest are definitely agreeable,” He nodded, pondering for more, I looked up from kneeling between his legs and felt my lips curl into a smile as he continued, “My heart, definitely love that one-“ Seeing my face, his expression was suddenly flustered, and he continued a bit more quickly, “I do not mind if you prefer to call me Kyo! I am simply throwing ideas-“ “Sunshine?” I cut him off, grinning. “Would that be alright? After all, you are like the sun, warm, bright and your smile does brighten my day. I would say it is suitable.”

He turned shy, for a moment I had rendered him mute. The first time I had a very silent Rengoku in front of me was on that beautiful gentle summer night with his gaze locked on mine. The smile on his face was growing silently as he looked at me with an emotion I could not quite decipher, but he got himself together fast and leaned over enthusiastically, making me lean back in surprise, his face was now almost touching mine, “I love it. I love you, I love your idea, say it again!” he breathed a small “please” without ever looking away. Knowing that I had all his attention, I could not help but feel my body heat up, there was no reason to feel embarrassed, but I still suddenly felt awkward. “Sunshine, would you please kiss me?” I said softly, not wanting to wake everyone up. We were outside and seeing where we had walked, I believe we were outside Uzui’s room.

Clasping his hands on my cheeks, he kissed me once, twice, three times, then kissed my forehead, my cheekbones, I had to stop him. “Enough, enough, sunshine-“ “Say it again, louder! It is such a sweet name, I do not believe I will ever get enough of it, say it again.” He pressed in such a cute way, his hands wandering to mine as he helped me stand up while doing it himself. Chuckling, I shook my head and whispered back, “No, we should head back and get some sleep. I would not want to wake everyone up.” I said with another huffed laugh when his expression fell and he pouted innocently, it left his face when Uzui slid his door open and gave us an angry look, “I’m not in the mood to hear you two be cute and shit, go the fuck to sleep.” His speech was slurred, his hair disheveled, he looked different, but he clearly sounded like his usual self, grumpy and scolding.

Laughing, Rengoku nodded and bowed him goodnight before pushing him back inside and closing the door, he did not miss the opportunity to say a bit louder and playfully, teasingly, “What a grumpy old man, no wonder he retired-“ “I will gut you, Ren!” Uzui’s grumble echoed when the door slid open brusquely before we rushed back to our room, stupid giggles muffled in our mouths as we tried to keep in it while running. We held back until we reached the bedroom where we burst out laughing, I had to shush Kyojuro seeing how his face was turning redder from laughter, he fell to his knees still laughing. I knelt in front of him and covered his mouth, still chuckling myself, albeit more discreetly. “Stop, you are impossible— breathe through your nose you foolish man.” I told him with a smile, shaking my head when he wasn’t stopping. I waited for him to calm down to free his mouth and see how out of breath he was from his fit of laughter.

“Feeling impish tonight, are we?” I asked when he had calmed down and was now sitting properly in front of me. With a beautiful, childish smile, he nodded, “He interrupted our moment, I do believe some payback was due.” He said jokingly before leading us to the futons we had placed next to one another to have enough space for the two of us. “Well, I could have done without running more after such a long day, you are lucky you have a pretty face. It must have saved you from a lot of trouble during your childhood.” I said lightly. Bringing my pillow next to Rengoku’s, I settled comfortably; for a moment I hesitated laying my hand on his stomach to cuddle up to him, he grabbed my hand and placed it on him wordlessly and replied, “If you like my pretty face, you should see Senjurou’s! He is the cutest little brother—he would like to become a swordsman!” “Like his big brother? It is understandable, you must be quite the role model.”

There was a short pause, “He likes to help people, and I suppose all he has known is my father and I being swordsmen… However, I believe he would make a great healer, I wish he could see things my way.” Humming pensively, I pondered his words, perhaps just as he was. Senjurou probably wanted to take down demons, that’s all he has heard his entire life so I said, “If we take down Muzan, there will be no need for him to learn swordsmanship.” The hand resting on my waist gripped it even tighter when Rengoku turned his face to look at me from an odd angle, I could see his smile even like that. “You are right!” he muttered it again, then added, “We will change things, no matter what.” He said, determined. I held back my darker thoughts, not liking the words he had spoken. I knew him, his will and his determination knew no bounds, I was aware he was ready to sacrifice his life if it meant winning, and that is the exact reason why I did not want to think about it.

If the opportunity to sacrifice himself does not show, he will not die… I will make sure of that.

We talked more about Senjurou afterwards, falling asleep quite fast.

After that first day, a routine had settled. In the morning we would wake up at ungodly hours and have a peaceful breakfast—or as peaceful as it can be with the older Shinazugawa brother yelling at his pupils. Once we were done, we would go to the open court and see some of our recruits going to train with a different Pillar once they had reached the goal set for them. It was nice to be busy the entire day, it cleared the mind somehow by filling it with tasks easy to manage. Breaks were given during training, it allowed me to spend some relaxing time with Kyojuro. It would not always be quiet, recruits would sometimes come in and ask questions, forcing us to be more discreet in our display of affection to not make them feel awkward. A few times I was the one called away from training, by the Pillars that were already here at the mansion to try to have me awaken the mark, each time was in vain.

The time I had been told that someone had come to visit and I had to bring her to Master Ubuyashiki was the first time I had seen her and got caught off guard when I understood she was a demon. I had to walk with her alone through the forest to reach the estate in which the Master was resting. He had decided to lay far away from us, to keep the worry away. My guard was back up quite quickly, but I greeted her nonetheless and brought her to the room of the young Master. I had never seen the state he was in until now, it broke my heart to see him so incapacitated; his condition had worsened, and I knew from my gut’s feeling that he would not last long. Both the demon woman—I later learned her name was Tamayo—and I were conveyed to come nearer. Following the Master’s orders, we shuffled closer and sat by his side. He had said my name first, taking my hand in his and smiling kindly. I could not see his eyes because they were bandaged, but I knew how kind his eyes were, how gentle the young man was, and I felt it in how warm his hands were.

“I can feel your uncertainty my child, your aura is disturbed. So is your heart?” It felt like a déjà-vu to hear someone mention my troubled aura. The man depended on more than his eyesight to read people, just like Gyomei did, but I was always amazed at how good he was at it. Glancing at Tamayo, I felt a bit shy having this conversation with Master Ubuyashiki with her there, but I hummed, “Do not trouble yourself, I am more than focused on training and fighting, I will not falter on the battlefield.” I stated, determined. His delicate laugh echoed, it slowly turned into a cough; Nichika, who had been by his side the entire time, helped him sit up and handed him a handkerchief. Drinking some water after his coughing fit seemed to have helped a bit, at least enough for him to smile kindly and say, “Reliable as always. Perhaps you should be focused on getting your mind off things? I am certain someone would be more than willing to help distract you…” He trailed off playfully.

Feeling my cheeks heat up, I gave him a look of surprise, knowing full well he was being mischievous on purpose. My delayed response made him smile. “Young Master, I am sure you have more important things to do than worry about my... romantic affairs." I replied diplomatically, still at loss as to why he would mention Rengoku. The blind man chuckled once more, “I have important matters to attend to, indeed, however I care about the wellbeing of all my children.” He explained, ever so caring. I took a moment to ponder, perhaps too long since he added on a humorous note that had an underlying serious tone, “Would you indulge in a dying man's curiosity?” Gasping silently, I felt a knot form in my throat and held back from saying “You are not dying” out of despair. He was, we had been told since the very beginning he would not live long, but being reminded of it truly stomped my mood for a short moment.

“Hopefully I’ll satisfy your curiosity enough to bring you back.” I said playfully, albeit sadly too. He would not want us to treat him differently, and he was very close to us in age after all; I was allowed to be slightly playful. With that, I proceeded to tell him about everything. Tamayo even partook in the conversation; I was surprised to see how kind she was and how knowledgeable too. Calling the both of us together was odd, but seeing how the Master and Tamayo got along I suppose he needed some company. At first that was what I thought, yes, until he dismissed me once we were done, and his expression turned more stern when he looked back at Tamayo. She was the important matter he had to attend to, she had an important part to play in this fight and he had to make sure she was ready.

After that meeting, I returned to my lover and tried to distract my darkening mind. I had a hard time getting rid of the negative thoughts that plagued it, but being with him helped; it was easier to forget about everything when he started gushing about Tanjirou’s prowess in training, he was passing all the tests at an incredible speed which amazed more than one.

That was added to the routine, I could never emphasize enough how much I needed those relaxing moments in the evening when we would talk absent-mindedly about everything and anything as if everything was normal. As if an inevitable death was not coming, as if we were sure we had a tomorrow after the final fight.

Days went by fast; the routine was only broken a few times. One time when one of the swordsmiths had made its way to the estate with a well-wrapped sword in hand, I rushed to their side and knew from the determined steps and the mask who it was. “Hotaru, to what do we owe the pleasure of-“ “What else but a sword? I can’t believe how easy it is for all of you to ruin the beautiful swords we make. Do you not realize the amount of time put into making those beauties!?” He grumbled, as usual. Ignoring his complaints, I offered to bring the sword to the one who needed it, but he pulled back and said he would do it himself, adding “There is no way your brute hands are touching this masterpiece, get me the Fire Pillar, he’s the birdbrain who broke his sword.” Tilting my head to the side, I tried to recollect when it could have happened and felt very defensive suddenly. “I do believe that birdbrain took the most damage when your village got attacked, did he not?” I stood tall in front of the strong man, knowing full well he could take me down too, but I did not budge.

“Are you a guard dog or something? Just get me the Fire Pillar—you know what, I’ll get him myself.” He pushed me aside to try and find Rengoku himself; instead, both of us bumped into the man in question when I tried to grab him to stop him from walking away. An annoyed sound escaped Hotaru, he was very close to throwing a fit when he saw the man in front of him, his posture straightening as he bowed and handed the sword with his arms extended in front of him. “Do not break it this time.” He simply said. Kyojuro met that remark with laughter, he was careful in removing the cloth and grabbing it before skillfully twirling it around once he had stepped back. “It is so much lighter! Thank you so much-“ “Don’t be sweet, look at the hilt, you better thank me for that.” Doing as he was told, Rengoku paid attention to the hilt that I now noticed had changed. It was still a vibrant color, but it was a different shape.

Hotaru handed the old hilt to Rengoku, “I kept it since you seem like the sentimental type-“ the grumpy man was interrupted by the lion-like man’s tight hug after he had sheathed his sword away. The entire interaction was painful to see, the swordsmith had to push away from Rengoku’s tight hug with brute force; even if I could not see his face, I felt like he did not mind, if he had he would have beaten the blond up. “Do you know how hard it was to make that hilt?”

I interrupted, “A poppy? It seems simple enough.” “Oh, it’s not hard, but when the wounded, half-asleep idiot,” He smacked Rengoku on the top of the head, making the younger man wince, “...who requested it only described it as the red one, the flower at the top of the hill, well, it makes the entire process harder.” Upon hearing his words, I met Kyojuro’s gaze and felt my cheeks heat up, but I held back from speaking. Hotaru did not. His eyes jumped from my lover to me, at least that is what I think they were doing since all I could see was his face going from the Fire Pillar to me, “I’ll be taking my leave,” he said awkwardly, all the anger having left his voice suddenly. He grabbed Ren by the collar and brought him close to whisper something I could not hear before bowing and bidding us farewell.

Once he was gone, I joined Rengoku’s side and asked, “Why did you choose a poppy?” I had a feeling I knew why, yet I could not bring myself to assume it was about me. “Why do you think, songbird?” a stupid smile made its way to my lips, I knew it, but I could not stop it. Nor could I stop myself from touching the hilt of the sword, taking a good look at it instead of looking at Kyojuro. “It is the flower you gave me at the fireworks-“ “The first flower, I plan on giving you many more! But you are very correct.” He said happily, tilting my head up to look at him before kissing me softly. I kissed him back longingly then broke the kiss, my hands having slipped to his shoulders without me realizing it. “It is a coincidence too, but the meaning of poppies is dreams, luxury, and other things too. But the most important thing is!” He grinned and leaned over, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear, “That you are a dream come true and definitely all I can dream of.”

He pecked my cheek gently, looking at me with the proudest expression that had ever crossed his face. “Smugness is a fine look on you, I have yet to decide if it was smooth or corny.” I smirked, bumping his shoulder with mine to signal we should return to the recruits who had not stopped working. Looking at Rengoku who was now walking behind me, I thought all the sweet things he would do or say made me swoon without exception. It was all those small things that made me want to have all of him. I held back of course, as hard as it was, but it was good practice to act more… civilized, instead of displaying affection openly in front of everyone.

Time went on as usual afterwards, the trainees were improving greatly. Not all of them had the same pace, some were slower and others, like Tanjirou and Inosuke, surprised all of us with the speed at which they were improving. I found some resemblance between Genya’s and Tanjirou’s mindset, not exactly the same but something similar at least. I had not talked enough with Inosuke to understand what his motive was, but I knew both Genya and Tanjirou wanted to protect the one they loved. The birthmark boy was determined to find a cure for his sister, while Genya was dead set on proving Sanemi he was worthy. It always pained me to see how Sanemi treated his brother, even after the many attempts the latter did to show he was not useless.

As if I had manifested it, while walking back to the room I shared with Rengoku, I was thrown on the ground when a body hit mine. I let out a grunt, but did not have time to complain before the body moved from my form, and I was able to move the door that had been kicked from its position and had landed on the ground. The soft voice of Tanjirou then echoed, “Stop this!” What is going on? I thought as I observed without interrupting, stepping back to let them talk. Listening more, it seemed like Sanemi was using brute force once again to make Genya understand he should leave the corps. There was no need for me to interrupt, seeing how Tanjirou was defending Genya beautifully, but while his words were deep and meaningful, Sanemi did not do emotional.

He did violence. It’s all he knew. And it showed when the brunette’s words reached him enough to annoy him, his usual frown was deepened into a scowl. Only seconds after, he was grabbing him by the throat and lifting him from the ground. “I’ll incapacitate you first, if not him.” He gritted through his teeth; I saw Zenitsu grab Genya’s hand before running away with him while the recruits around stared in shock. I was the first one to stand up, they followed my motion and jumped on him to stop him from attacking Tanjirou; there was nothing much he could do against all the recruits, so he let go of the brunette. Once the latter was out of sight, I ordered all the trainees to leave and was left with a seething Sanemi. Without wasting much time, I dropped my haori and tied my sleeves out of the way. “You utter moron, when will you learn that it is not the proper way to express your affection to your brother?” I spat.

He scoffed, pulling out his sword—I did the same; it was different than the training in the dojo because this time he was filled with ire. “What affection? I don’t have a brother.” “Then why do you care if he is in the corps?” I asked, frowning. He ran at me with full speed and as usual, a dance ensued. Dodging, slashing, dodging, kicking, those were the steps, the tempo was set erratically by his thoughtless actions, completely letting the frustration lead. “You’re always so fucking nosy, let me deal with my shit.” He grunted; I had a hard time believing his constant nonchalance. If I took a good look at him, I could see the worry painted in his eyes, how he hated the choices his brother made, how he wished he could do something. But being unable to do anything made him react in the most idiotic ways.

“It stops being your shit the moment you start harming the people you’re supposed to train, understood?” I said sternly. His gaze turned into a mocking one as he slashed my way again, “I don’t see how that’s your problem, you’re not a Pillar, you’re not that great at fighting, you’re nothing, you have nothing to do-“ “Oh, I did not know we were going down the petty road.” I stated before blocking his hit, I tried to grip his hand and open it to make him drop his sword, but he held tight and scoffed. I continued, “You are being so reckless and immature. It is surprising, even coming from you.” His words echoed in the back of my head, but I fought them by wording more positive thoughts out loud, with a scoff, “I thought it above you to use your status as a show of power, do you not realize I am still standing even after all your attacks?” Those were the wrong words to speak. His stance changed drastically, I quickly understood he was serious now and not just letting the steam out.

There was no helping the nervous giggle that escaped my lips. He was not thinking at all, he was blinded by rage he had built up on his own, he was running at me like a fool, clearly not caring if he got hit by my sword. The best thing I could do was twirl my sword around so that the hilt would hit him instead of the blade. Only seconds after, upon impact I was thrown to the ground. The tip of his sword was grazing my throat, I did not dare breathe. “Shut your fucking mouth, fuck you’re annoying, can’t you keep your head down and-“ “Sanemi, my friend, it’s enough.” The grey-haired man did not glance at the voice that was heard, I did not dare look either in fear he would act during that split second and kill me or perhaps because I just wanted to keep an eye on him.

“Drop the sword, my friend.” Rengoku’s gentle yet stern voice reached my ears again, I knew he would not let me get hurt but I also wanted to yell at him for trying to talk sense into the fool that had a blade at my throat. Sanemi’s response was to grin wider, I did not have time to see that smile widen into a manic laugh that he was kicked off of me. I was fast to sit up and crawl backwards to the veranda to let them fight. The Wind Pillar stood up fast, his expression thrilled, “Rengoku, get the fuck out of my way. Your diplomatic fuck needs to learn when to-“ he was cut off by the Fire Pillar punching him in the face and bringing him down by hooking his foot around the angry man’s ankle. “Watch your mouth, the girls are watching!” His tone was light, but his expression, from what I could see on the side, was dead serious. I saw from the corner of my eyes Kiyo, Naho and Sumi peeking from behind the wall, ever so worried. Returning my eyes to the men in front of me, I scooted to stand in front of the girls in case they decided to continue fighting.

The ginger gripped the wild man’s collar and lifted him from the ground, his smile disappearing slowly as he leaned in, “You made two mistakes, the first one was attacking your brother, your blood, the boy who is trying so hard to be worthy for you. What kind of role model are you? Do you not realize the luck you have to have him by your side? Fix this, or you will regret it.” He spoke from experience, not that he had a bad relationship with his brother, but he missed him, and I knew he was working hard to be the best role model for Senjurou. Rengoku was a man keen on bonds, on keeping good relationships with people and never in his life would he let things get this bad with his brother. I could read it in his eyes how angry he was at Sanemi for acting like this. Sanemi kept his mouth shut, which was a step forward to calming him down since he was now listening, “The second was fighting dishonorably.” He spat before letting go of Sanemi's collar and gesturing for him to follow, “Let’s finish this somewhere else. Only then will you return to your recruits.” It was not a suggestion.

Watching them leave, I did not say anything. I started thinking of how to thank him for having my back, but as I thought so, Rengoku called my name, getting my attention, “Do not forget our recruits! Get up and go train them, I will join you shortly, my love.” He winked with his usual grin, my face suddenly felt hot at the name he had used in front of so many people, it made him laugh. While the girls patted my shoulders, telling me to get up, I saw Rengoku hit the back of Sanemi’s head while they walked towards the forest. How quick were they to get friendly again? I suppose Ren had that effect on people, he was calming to be around and forgiving too, it was hard to feel bad around him.

That fight was quickly forgotten, everyone had other things to think about. Most of the recruits thought it was usual for the Wind Pillar to be mad like that and were not even disturbed. Only the other Pillars and Tanjirou’s little clique knew what had truly happened and that Sanemi and Genya were in fact brothers. It was not an information everyone needed to know, hence it was kept for very few people to know.

The countdown until the fight with Muzan was going; in the blink of an eye, we had reached the day before the fight. It was not a day of festivities, we had all agreed on winning and only then would we be celebrating. We were fully aware that we would not all be there by the end of it, but none of us would mention it. It was an unspoken fact, one that wandered about, weighing the air we breathed, making everything more glum. No matter how hard we tried, we were aware of it, even if it was just in the back of our minds while we waited for the time to leave the estate and head to the territory before sundown.

It was hard not to think about it, people were playing games, others had gone to sleep the day away. I found myself walking about the estate in the late afternoon, not knowing what to do and overheard a discussion I knew I should not have heard. Perhaps getting caught off guard at the mention of Shinobu killing herself was what made me let my stealth down. My name was called by the delicate, strained voice of Kocho telling me to come in. I had to take a moment to calm down and slithered inside, my mouth shut tight when I felt a wave of sadness rush over my body. She proceeded to explain the strategy she had in mind to kill the demon that had killed Kanae, her sister. I paid attention, trying to find a fault in her strategy, trying to find anything to convince her to change her mind but it made sense. She knew what she was doing, she was determined, I hated it, I felt heavy in my chest. She taught me a lot, she was not my closest friend but we were close enough for me to feel this pain.

At the end of her explanation, she smiled at Kanao and dismissed her. I was about to follow when she told me to stay seated. We then waited for the younger girl to leave. Once we were sure she was away, I breathed out, “Is this a goodbye, Shinobu?”

She hummed. I looked up from my lap and saw her strained smile, her determination was unwavering, she knew what she had to do but I saw her hands clenched on her lap. “There is no way to change your mind, is there?” She shook her head, her smile still present, her eyes closed with wrinkles at the corners from how hard she was forcing that smile on her face. “There is no need to act tough with me, you have seen me cry many times. I believe it is fitting to cry on your last day alive, don’t you think?” Those were the words that made her crumble. In an instant, I was in front of her and was holding her tight as she mumbled it was the right thing to do but it is hard to let down Kanao, to leave her alone in this world. “Alone? There is no way I am dying out there, I will keep an eye on her. And you are not letting her down, you are doing what is most honorable, she will battle by your side resolutely.” Shinobu was not one to cry, she did not stay in my arms long. As she pulled away, she smiled to herself sadly, “I wish to be the only one who dies out there.”

I could not promise that, we were going to lose many people, I knew that, she knew that, we all knew that. “But it will not be that easy,” she continued, lifting her head to look at me with a sincere gaze, “I will welcome those who will fall during battle, no one will be alone. You must stay alive and keep living, no matter what.” It sounded like she was repeating herself, but I knew what she meant. Do not let the darkness take over, do not lose your mind over the losses this battle will bring. “That is quite a huge favor, I am not sure-“ “You will, you have to. You are the one who has the most to look forward to once this is over.” There was no need to remind me of that, if I had things to look forward to, it meant I had things to lose and that scared me. So, I tried to distract myself and chuckled, “Do you wish to hear a funeral speech? I am not very familiar with living funerals, but I can try if you wish.” That made her laugh; thus, I spent the following hour with her. Making jokes, bantering and remembering the good times. It did not make the goodbye any easier but it was nice.

At around 4 in the afternoon, the sun was still high in the sky, so we still had a few hours or so in front of us before the plan Master Ubuyashiki had set would take place. For those remaining hours, I had called Rengoku to our chambers and decided to spend as much time with him as possible.

Upon entering our chambers, Rengoku undid his kimono and started stripping without much care, “Do you believe we should dress for the occasion? A battle like this calls for-“ “It is a simple battle, a battle we will win. Nothing has to be different; it is but a bigger demon.” I stated, looking away from his naked form. Did I believe the words I had spoken? Barely, but I needed to hear them, even if it was last minute, I needed to convince myself it was going to be alright. “You are very right; I see you are already dressed in your slayer attire.” He noticed, his voice soft and carefree. It probably was an act, but I enjoyed it, I needed it. As I looked down at my black outfit, I felt a whiplash at the realization of how close we were getting to that fight we had been preparing for so long.

Ignoring my thoughts for the umpteenth time, I gestured for Rengoku to follow me as I moved to the cabinet and grabbed a comb and a ribbon. He understood and sat in front of me, ready for me to take care of him. I did so in silence rather quickly, his hair was a lot less tangled than usual, as if he had taken the habit to brush it. It made me smile for a short moment as I threaded my fingers through his hair. Once I was done, I threw his braid over his shoulder and as if on cue, “With that, I’m sure to win! Nothing will get in my way.” He said enthusiastically as he stood up before saying, “I am quite glad it is the last time we are wearing this attire.” He pinched his shirt to emphasize when we stood up, but I interrupted him and glared at him, not thinking twice before saying, “Do not say that! We will win!” A lie, I did not believe those words, why was I getting that desperate? Why only now?

Rengoku’s eyes widened as he finished buttoning up his shirt; he then walked up to me and cradled my face to smoosh my cheeks and stare at me for a long time. “I meant that once we have defeated Muzan, there will be no need for the corps. We will retire, in a beautiful house near a big field.” He said, never letting go of my face.

I stared back, feeling stupid for my outburst. He was right, but deep down I knew that no matter the outcome, it was the last time we would wear this uniform. Kyojuro must have read my mind, or read my expression, my gaze getting lost in his from overthinking the situation. “Please, stop overthinking.” “I can’t do that. My mind is riddled with anxiety, I am conflicted between blindly trusting our skills or getting used to the idea we are all going to die.” I said, tears pricking the corner of my eyes. Rengoku’s brows knitted together in sadness at seeing me like this. I moved his hands away from mine to wipe the tears to calm down, thinking he should not have to carry the weight of my gloominess out on the battlefield. But I could not help the words from flooding out of my mouth, “I am so afraid of losing you, there is so much more I wish we had done, I regret not-“ “Stop right there,” He pulled me close to him and held me so tight I thought I would break. His head was resting on my shoulder as he hugged me in a bone-crushing embrace. “There is no regret; all that has happened, happened the moment it should have.”

Still holding me tight, he said, “Perhaps fate has other plans for us, perhaps it will try to separate us, but I love challenges, and if I have to defy fate to be with you, I will do it.” I laughed at that, knowing it was impossible, but this man was known for doing the impossible. He was himself impossible, untamable in the best way, the freest mind I had ever encountered. If there was one person who could go against fate and win, it would be him. “I would like to say the same, but at best I will defy Muzan himself, fate seems a bit too hard to beat but-“ “Easy enough for me! I am very skilled,” He said happily, his hands moving to mine as he pulled me with him, our arms extended lazily in front of us as he dragged me around the room all while talking, “I once caught a fish with my bare hands—well it jumped right back in the river, but I caught it!” He said cutely, almost tripping onto the futon behind him, I quickly pulled him towards me and held him close as I looked at him fondly.

“Skilled? Your balance is lacking, perhaps you should have taken dancing lessons.” I said playfully, one of my hands moving to his shoulder while one of his slid to my waist, bringing my hips closer. “My mother taught me how to dance, she was the most delicate when dancing with beautiful flowery dresses,” He smiled genuinely before kissing me and whispering, “Sing me a song, I will show you.” Lost in his glimmering eyes, I simply looked at him in awe, enjoying the warmth of his hands on my body. After a few moments had passed, he reiterated with a chuckle, that’s when I asked, “A song—yes. Which one? I know so many, maybe-“ “The one you were singing when I woke up the first time.”

Taken aback, I gulped and nodded, taking a few seconds to compose myself before starting. It was not made to be a concert, no, it was loud enough for both of us to enjoy and bathe in the serenity it brought us. As I sang, he brought my head to his chest and hummed along, a few notes were off but it made my heart burst with love to know how much he remembered it. I could hear his heartbeat and I hated myself for thinking it could be the last time I did so. Must it be so hard to brandish a sword and defend the ones you love? Must the price of failure be their death? How did we end up here, risking our lives for something none of us had asked for? For a moment, I wished we had been in a reality where we were entertainers, something we were anything but.

Tears started rolling down my cheeks, my words had come to a stop for I was now simply humming and so was Kyojuro. His head was resting against mine and we were slowly waltzing across the tatami, enjoying the moment, perhaps our last together. His embrace was like home, a home I did not wish to leave, it was welcoming and reassuring, a place I wanted to protect and go back to when this was over. It made my heart twist in the most horrible way at the thought of not being able to, of being alone without him by my side, of not hiring a painter to follow us on our adventure, of not having a dog with a silly name. “I am in love with you, please do not die, sunshine.” I sobbed against his chest, his arms tightening around my shoulders as he reassured me.

His answer did not stop the tears and was carved in my mind even hours later, after the explosion of the mansion in which Muzan was, after the Pillars had run there to help, after we had split in teams to all go to our assigned area. The words flashed vividly in my mind as I set foot on the battlefield, shambles surrounding us,

“Let’s live on, let’s do our best to live on, no matter how lonely it gets.”

[Part 9]

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alexthegamingboy · 3 years

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Toonami Weekly Recap 9/18/2021

Fena: Pirate Princess EP#05 - The Burning Sea: Abel describes to Fena that the portrait of her mother was made by him and is lacking some colors to make it complete. As the Bonito II surfaces, the crew all decide to chase after Yukimaru and rescue Fena with him. Meanwhile, the Rumble Rose begins its attack run on the Blue Giant. Abel decides to test the "Wellington Cannon" that was supposed to be used during a siege on them, blowing up the entire pirate ship and its crew in one shot. Fena suffers from shellshock, the burning wreckage and the British sailors reminding her of the attack on her father's ship ten years ago which the British Royal Army was also involved in. As the Captain of the Blue Giant demands she be thrown in the brig, Fena cries out for Yukimaru who arrives in time to start attacking the sailors, but he is shot twice by Abel's tri-barrel gun. Yukimaru recognizes Abel from the attack on Franz's ship as he collapses from his wounds. Suddenly, the rest of the Goblin Knights arrive and manage to escape the Blue Giant with Fena and Yukimaru, but both are unconscious as the group retreats to the Bonito II.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon EP#12 - Night of the New Moon and the Black-haired Towa: Konton tasks Nikosen, a sage-turned-apparition demon, of annihilating the Half-Demon Princesses and attaining their Rainbow Pearls. At the village, Towa and Setsuna accepts the mission of slaying Nikosen from Kohaku while Moroha helps local villagers in destroying the demon for his bounty. Towa and Setsuna come to join her but are attacked by Nikosen who demands the rainbow pearls they possess. Towa attempts to join her twin sister and cousin in battle, but her light blue energy blade does not form, which concerns her and puzzles Setsuna, as she can hear her heartbeat louder than she should. Moroha tries to use her Kurikaramaru but is unable to slice through Nikosen. In retaliation, Nikosen sends forth a stream of poison that affects and weakens Towa. Setsuna gives her a poison-shielding mask and tells Moroha to take care of Towa while she fights the demon. As Moroha helps an unconscious Towa across a bridge, she notices the change in Towa's hair color and length but is blocked by Nikosen's torso. In midair on Kiara, Setsuna attacks an illusion of Nioksen's head which is undo by the assistance of Hisui and his fellow Demon-Slayers. Finding shelter in a cave, Moroha is surprised that she smells the sent of human on Towa and learns from Myoga that Towa's predicament is because of the new moon which is different for every half-demon, with the exception of the late Naraku who was capable of choosing a night of his own free will. Towa is concerned that Setsuna has experienced the exact same transformation and wants to go find her. With Myoga's aid, Moroha infuses her spiritual powers into sutras to erect a blue sacred barrier to protect Towa. As Setsuna retains her full abilities, Moroha deduces that because her memories were taken from her by the Dream Butterfly, the laws of the new moon no longer apply to her. Taking advantage of this fact, Setsuna manages to hold off Nikosen who hopes to eat her and gain strength from her. Fortunately, daybreak comes and restores Towa's dog-demon abilities, ending in her using her charged sword to wipe him out completely. Having witnessed the whole battle in fire he created, Konton states how good a show it was and smiles in satisfaction, now aware of their weakness.

My Hero Academia Season 5 (My Villain Academia: Paranormal Liberation War Arc) EP#108 (20): My Villain Academia: Two months earlier, Gigantomachia appears before the League of Villains, declaring Shigaraki unworthy of being All For One’s successor. During the attack, the League is teleported to the lab of Doctor Ujiko, All For One’s assistant. The doctor intends to help Shigaraki in his goal of destroying everything that irritates him, but before Shigaraki can be granted power, he must defeat Gigantomachia. The League returns to Machia, while Dr. Ujiko asks Dabi to help him test out a High-End Nomu. A month and a half later, the League of Villains have made no progress in defeating Machia, but Shigaraki's strength and skill has been increasing. Intending to talk to the Giran, Twice is alarmed to find out that the League's Broker has been captured and tortured by Re-Destro, leader of the Meta Liberation Army. Re-Destro invites the League of Villains to Deika City to face an ultimatum. Shigaraki accepts, smiling at the prospect of Machia crushing his challenger’s forces.

Food Wars: The Fourth Plate (Promotion Exams Arc) EP#66 (05) - You're Done For, Fool: The judges find that Megumi hid an apple confiture in the center of her dorayaki. Despite this, the judges vote 2-1 in favor of Momo, citing that the bitter taste of the confiture overpowered the apple butter. However, Momo acknowledges Megumi's skill and potential. Meanwhile, Takumi decides to cook a pizza with shigureni beef. However, when Takumi puts his pizza in the oven, Eizan reveals his dish is a roast beef with cream sauce incorporating artichokes. He points out the cynarine in the artichokes will cause the judges' taste buds to react more violently to sweet flavors, which will ruin the taste of Takumi's pizza, as shigureni is naturally sweet. After the judges taste Eizan's roast beef, Takumi presents his pizza, which is separated into two halves; one side is purely cheese, and the other has shigureni. Takumi reveals that he predicted Eizan would try to neutralize the taste of his shigureni, so he adjusted his sauce to be more bitter to compensate. The cheese half of the pizza is made of a mix of four cheeses—mozzarella, parmigiano, gorgonzola, and ricotta—which further complements the taste of the shigureni. Impressed with Takumi's ability to make three different dishes complement each other, the judges unanimously declare Takumi the winner.

Black Clover: The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc EP#166 - Captain: Yami Sukehiro: Megicula takes over Vanica’s body, shatters the eternal prison and captures Secre. Loropechika is overcome with fear when she realises Megicula has also cursed Undine, and her proximity to Megicula activates her own curse, crippling her with pain. Vanica decides to kill her but Noelle manages to fight back and stab Vanica through the chest. Vanica at first is able to withstand the attack and strike Noelle down but is actually injured from Noelle’s attack. Vanica is impressed and asks Noelle’s name, Noelle replying she is a Clover royal and a Black Bull. Yami and Dante continue their battle, with Dante explaining if they manage to open the tree of Qliphoth he will have access to all Lucifero’s powers, though he is unsure if the same applies to Asta who uses anti-magic. Yami is crushed under a giant boulder but survives and, deciding he must once again surpass his limits, condenses his entire mana zone to just the tip of his sword and creates Death Thrust, which obliterates Dante’s entire torso. Dante’s own Body Magic, boosted by Lucifero’s power, regenerates him in seconds and he reveals makes him incapable of dying. Asta struggles to stand, but to his surprise, Yami announces he cannot win without Asta’s help, and Asta finds the strength to stand beside Yami and they battle Dante together, as equals.

Slightly Damned Page 1025: https://www.sdamned.com/comic/1025

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#Toonami #Toonami Weekly Recap #Toonami Game Review #Fena: Pirate Princess #Yashahime: Princess Half Demon #InuYasha #My Hero Academia #My Hero Academia 5 #My Villain Academia: Paranormal Liberation War Arc #Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma #Food Wars: The Fourth Plate #Promotion Exams Arc #Black Clover #The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc #Slightly Damned

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stones-x-bones · 3 years

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Slayer? I Hardly Know Her || Dani and Bex

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @surmamort and @inbextween SUMMARY: This is why we use the buddy system on campus. CONTENT: Domestic abuse mentions, Blood

The soft patter of rain on Dani’s windshield would have sent her to sleep had it not been for the roll of thunder and the flash of lightning across the ever darkening sky. For the most part, she found thunderstorms relaxing, but not when she had to drive in them. The tires on her truck were balding, and though she had been told time and time again by both of her mom’s that they would get her a new vehicle, she had bought Cleo with her own money, and the last thing she wanted was to sell it as scrap metal. She’d keep her truck for as long as she could-- besides, getting a new vehicle would mean installing a plethora of new secret compartments, and the only person that Dani trusted to do that was herself.

She lifted the cup of half-empty, too-sweet coffee to her lips, disappointment following at the lack of heat from the liquid. The sugar coated her tongue and her stomach churned. She wouldn’t need to stay much longer-- just until she saw the parking lot clear of any vehicles. Though UMWC was notorious for late night stays, especially in the library. Dani would stay until she saw the lights turn out, and then she would head home. What should have been an easy thirty minute wait stretched into an hour, and then two hours. It wasn’t until Dani saw the door finally open did she perk up. Hands on the steering wheel, she leaned forward and watched as a girl who couldn’t be much older than herself, came into view. The only problem? There was somebody else watching her-- just parallel to where Dani was currently parked-- something she hadn’t immediately noticed. Had they always been there?

Bex hadn’t meant to stay so late, but she’d been doing that more and more lately. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on a degree she didn’t want to be in. She was realizing that more and more, with each passing day she had to attend classes that put her to sleep. She just kept thinking about other classes, like Professor Beck’s class, and maybe even taking Professor Campbell’s Classics lecture. But she wasn’t in a position to do anything about it yet, so slogging through essays about criminal law and business law was her life right now. She had an exam soon, too, that she needed to study for, and it was all just piling up. Not to mention that she had been out for over three weeks of classes, thanks to the stupid dream curse thing, and then her injuries after.

But when she looked up today, she found that all the lights were almost out and it was dark outside. “Shit!” she swore quietly, slapping her books closed and shoving them into her bag. She knew she didn’t have to worry, she was still staying at Morgan’s and she wasn’t going to be mad if Bex came in late-- but at this point it was just second nature for Bex to worry. She slid on her backpack and dashed out the door. The parking lot was empty save for one car, and the street lights were flickering. That meant the busses weren’t running anymore, either. She’d have to call someone for a ride. Sighing, she pulled out her phone and went to dial up Mina when something made a noise behind her. She spun on her heel. “Hello?” she called out, but there was no answer. Oh, this wasn’t good. This was like the start to a horror movie. So instead of waiting around outside for the killer, Bex turned and started running up towards the library doors again-- only to find that they were locked. She spun around again and went to dial quickly when she spotted someone just down the stairs from her. She was staring at Bex with hollow eyes and a wide grin. “Locked out?” she asked, and it was then that Bex noticed her teeth were jagged and sharp. Bex looked to the one car in the parking lot. If she ran, maybe she could make it and hope there was someone inside. Without another word, she bolted, but whoever this person was had known she was going to do that. A hand grabbed the back of Bex’s bag and yanked her down. She hit the sidewalk hard and her phone went flying from her hand. Oh, this wasn’t good. This was bad. This was very, very bad. She tried to scramble away, but the woman was much stronger than her. Like way stronger. She lifted her up and smiled at her again. “Where you going? I asked you a question.”

Dani stayed still, her breath barely audible to her own ears. The way that they had moved, it was unhuman like. The grip she had on her steering wheel tightened, and without missing a beat, she was reaching underneath of her seat for the stake that was hooked there. She threw open her car door as soon as she saw the brunette make a run for it, only to be jostled backwards. “Hey!” Dani bellowed out, her voice loud and commanding, just as Jeanette had taught her. “Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” She held the stake against her palm, careful not to let it show. She could see the girl’s face clearly, both shock and horror contorting to create something out of a horror film.

There was no fear in Dani’s heart, only annoyance. “Don’t you know campus is off limits?” Dani asked as she reached into her back pocket, grabbing the flask that was there. In it, holy water swished as she brought it before her. There’d be no way for the vampire to know what was inside, not until she splashed her with it. “I think you ought to let the student go,” Dani motioned towards the brunette with the flask, “she’s just studying-- no reason to create a scene.” Dani prodded her tongue against the roof of her mouth, “or you can make a meal of her, and then I can kill you-- but I’m pretty sure I’ll have you to dust before you can even blink.” She finally revealed the stake, brandishing it like a knife, “do you want it in the neck, or the heart?”

She winced sarcastically at her own words, “oops, I forgot-- you don’t have one of those.” Quick on her feet, Dani twisted the cap of the flask and splashed the holy water at the vampire. Her short-ended shriek was loud in Dani’s ears, but it was enough to make her release the girl. She reached out, tugging on the brunette’s backpack just as the vampire had done, only with enough force to pull her away. The vampire lunged at the two of them and Dani pushed forward, nearly losing her footing-- but enough to cause the stake to clatter to the ground. The flask still in hand, she twisted her hand to an awkward angle, letting it pour over the creature’s arm as it tried to reach for the brunette. “Run!” Dani screamed at her, “go to my tru--” Before she could finish her sentence, the vampire knocked her to the ground, her thin fingers finding purchase on the stranger’s backpack again. “I’ll have my meal, and you’ll watch, stupid bitch,” the vampire growled as she repositioned her heel into Dani’s abdomen.

The first thing Bex registered was fear. It radiated through her entire body and gathered in the pit of her stomach. Whoever this person was, they wanted to hurt her. The second thing Bex registered was that whoever this person was, she was one of those “not quite human” people. The way her eyes were stained red, the sharp teeth in her mouth, the inhuman strength-- Bex wasn’t stupid. But what she was, she had no idea. Because she didn’t know anything about this world, or the people in it. Or the not people in it. She struggled in the woman’s grasp as she grabbed Bex’s head and tilted it to the side, exposing her neck. But then there was another voice and both Bex and the woman looked up.

The things the other girl was saying didn’t make sense. What did she mean? What was she holding? A flask? Before Bex really had time to register what had been said, the other girl was flinging her flask at the woman and shrieked, dropping her. The girl shouted at her to run and Bex was suddenly reminded of when she’d been attacked by the cockatrice with Mina. This was just like that, wasn’t it? Except this was a person, not an angry chicken. And Bex didn’t want to explode a person. She tried to scramble to her feet, but the other girl was yanking her in a different direction again, and she stumbled on her own feet. She’d always been a clumsy person. Palms hit the cement and she winced. Blood pooled under the scraped skin.

When she looked back, the older woman had thrown the other girl to the ground and stomped on her stomach. “Stop it!” Bex called out. Maybe she could help. Maybe if she concentrated, she could do something. Like Nell said. Pour her energy into something good. She’d done it before, she could do it again. “Stop! Leave her alone!” She felt the energy leave her, but the woman just stared at her, tilting her head. Even with all her nervous energy vibrating under her skin, nothing happened. No explosion, no sidewalk cracking, no headaches. Bex stared wide eyed as the woman descended on her, pinning her to the ground. “Get off!” she screeched as hands gripped at her wrist, slamming it into the ground. She cried out. The woman then lifted Bex’s bleeding palm to her hand and Bex watched, bewildered, as she licked up the blood. She smiled down at Bex, blood smeared on her lips. “Delicious.” She then grabbed Bex’s hair and yanked her head to the side, as she struggled uselessly underneath the woman. Teeth sunk into her neck and she screamed. She hated this world. She hated feeling useless. The library windows cracked and shattered. The nearby fence post splintered. But the woman on top of her remained untouched.

Dani let out a breath at the feeling of the creature’s weight on her abdomen. She splayed her hands out at her sides, trying to find anything to pick up, to lodge in the vampire’s leg. She looked up, towards the girl who was now yelling. “Didn’t,” Dani let out in an annoyed huff, her fingers slipping over the stake that had clattered to the ground, “I tell you to run?” A part of Dani was hopeful that the stranger would serve as a good enough distraction-- it was clear that the vampire hadn’t intended to run into a slayer. The relief Dani felt when the woman finally lifted her weight off of her stomach had her rolling to her side, but it was half a second later that she was back on her feet, swooping down to grab the wooden stake.

“Hey!” Dani screamed, the sight of the vampire taking in the stranger’s blood almost too much to bear-- how could something so vile exist? It twisted her insides, and it seemed that no matter how many times she had seen it, she would never get used to it. It was something straight from Hell. If she believed in that. “Get the fuck off of her!” Dani’s focus was entirely on the creature who was bent over the brunette now, but the sound of something ripping-- cracking, it played as background music as Dani lunged forward. She gripped the back of the vampire’s head just as she had done to the girl and wrenched it backwards, “time for you to go now, thanks!” Dani let out an uncomfortable breath as she leaned in and plunged the stake into the vampire’s chest.

In a flash, the creature who had been on top of the girl was gone, nothing but ash laid at their feet. Dani wasted no time in dropping to her knees, ignoring the girl’s possible need for personal space after what had happened. “Tilt your head.” She commanded, looking over the wound that had been created. It wasn’t that deep-- and it certainly wasn’t going to turn the girl. She looked down briefly at the scrape on her palm, blood smeared across it, as well as the pavement. “You’ll be fine. Physically. Maybe not mentally, but--” Dani leaned back, allowing for more room so that the brunette could breathe. “You won’t turn, you won’t crave blood, but you’ll probably have nightmares. Pot helps put you to sleep, but melatonin is what helps keep the nightmares away, at least that’s what I’ve heard.” Dani looked down the collar of her own shirt, the imprint of the creature’s shoe evident on her t-shirt. She would definitely bruise. “You good?” She asked as she got to her feet, doing her best to show no signs of pain.

In one instant, there was splitting pain in Bex’s neck, and in the next, the weight of the woman on top of her simply vanished. And so did she. The world was spinning but Bex could tell with absolute certainty that the woman above her was gone. There was just...dust. And the other girl. Who was talking. She was talking and she was okay? How was she okay? The older woman had kicked her in the ribs, stood on her, smashed her. Bex’s head was pounding. What the fuck had just happened? “Where did…” she started, sputtering, her voice still quivering from the fear in her throat, “where did she g-go?” But her question fell to the wayside the more the other girl talked. Crave blood? Turn? What was she talking about?

Bex wanted to sit up, but she couldn’t. The world was still spinning and the girl wasn’t making any sense. Nothing in this world made any sense anymore. She wanted to go back to her old life, where she knew exactly what to expect and how to deal with it. She could take an angry mother over whatever the fuck that was any day. At least she knew the pain her mother caused would go away. “Abso...lutely...not,” she breathed from the ground. She nearly ran her hands over her face before remembering they were covered in blood. Her neck was also bleeding, all over sweater. Finally, she sat up, looking around. “What was that? Who was that? What happened? How did you-- what did you do to her? Why didn’t my--” she stopped herself short and snapped her jaw shut. She didn’t want to say it. She wasn’t going to say it. She reached up and clamped a hand over her bleeding neck. “Do you have a tissue or napkin or...something?”

Dani narrowed her eyes at the girl, then nodded. She needed to stop assuming that everyone knew about vampires-- then again, wasn’t it her job to prevent people from knowing about them? By the look of shock and disgust on the stranger’s face, Dani was sure that the brunette knew nothing about them, and maybe that was a good thing. Only issue was, what could Dani do to keep her from going and blabbing to the newspaper? Maybe they’d pass it off as another screaming moose. That still got Dani laughing-- the idea that people believed that. Lost in her thoughts, she stared across the parking lot at her truck, the phantom feeling of the vampire’s foot on her chest now weighted heavily, making it slightly hard for her to breathe.

It wasn’t until the brunette started to ask questions did Dani snap her attention from the splintered fence beyond where they were. “Oh, uh--” She shoved her hands into her pockets. Nothing. She picked up the flask from the sidewalk. There was still some holy water inside. “Wash your hands off with this.” Dani handed it over and took off her sweatshirt. “You can use this. It’s not a deep puncture, it should heal in a couple of days, but you’ll want to use some antiseptic and bandage it up, if you can.” She frowned as she dropped the sweatshirt into the girl’s lap. “I don’t know who it was, and it’s probably for the better, and you don’t need to worry about it, she’s gone now.” Dani fixed her frown up into a smile with her index fingers, “see? I’m smiling, which means everything’s all good.” She made an ‘ok,’ sign with her hand before she shoved the stake into her back pocket. “I got rid of her. For you. You’re welcome.” Dani adjusted the collar of her t-shirt, suddenly feeling as if it were too tight. “I don’t know if you’ll believe me even if I tell you, but if you see anything like that again, uh…” Running wouldn’t do her much good, “try and keep some of that on you,” she pointed to the flask, “it’s holy water.”

Bex fumbled the flask and watched it clank to the ground next to her. Frowning, she picked it up gently with her thumb and index finger, not wanting to get any blood on it. She poured the water over her palms and winced when it burned. “Great,” she grumbled, “more bandages. I just got rid of the first set.” Her hands were still shaking from the fear and adrenaline pumping through her veins, but it was quickly turning into an anger she was becoming familiar with. An anger of ignorance over the world she’d been left out of for so long, despite, apparently, having abilities from it. Everyone around her seemed to decide for her what information she was allowed to. Walking on eggshells around her because she was just stupid, fragile Bexley. She looked at the sweatshirt, then back up at the girl. “I’m not...I know that woman wasn’t a good person, but she didn’t just vanish. People don’t do that. Or, I guess, not people, people. So either you can tell me what she was, or I can just go ask my friend what she was. It would be nicer if you did, though, considering you just killed her, probaby.” She shifted finally, standing on woozy legs. Her heart was still pounding and she hated it. Despite her efforts to seem fine after the encounter, her entire body was on alert and she knew her voice was still wavering in fear. “Wh-why does everyone say that? Like it’s their job to keep people in the dark? How about you let me decide if I believe you or not?” Another fence post crumbled and splintered behind them.

“Well,” Dani placed her hands on her hips, “at least you’re not dead, so there’s that.” If there had been any inclination that this girl would be on her way to turning-- though, it’d take a hell of a lot more than a simple bite, then Dani would’ve staked her on the spot, too. She wasn’t about to let some new blood sucker run around White Crest wreaking havoc, even if she hadn’t asked for the life that was forced upon her. Dani looked at the girl. She was certainly in a fragile state, and the last thing that Dani wanted on her hands was a breakdown in the middle of the college parking lot. She glanced towards the building, looking for cameras. She’d have to take care of those the following morning-- nobody would notice a solid hour missing from the footage. Luckily for her, she knew somebody in the AV club who owed her a favor or two. When the brunette started to speak, her voice picking up in pitch, it was evident that she was growing more upset. “You’re right, she’s dead.” Dani reached up and did jazz hands, “you saw a vampire, I saved you from it-- are you really not putting two and two together?” She arched a brow. Obviously there were people that were blind to what was around them, but to have its fangs in her neck and still be unsure? Dani watched the girl as she got to her feet. She looked as if she’d topple over at any moment.

“Because,” Dani sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the sound of the fence falling to the ground. She looked back over at the girl apprehensively, “it sort of is my job. To save you, and to keep people in the dark.” Dani observed the girl for a moment, “because if I don’t, then it gets a hell of a lot messier, and I’m not looking for mess.” She scrunched her nose in distaste at the idea of the town succumbing to fear. It was easier to work when nobody knew what was lurking in the shadows, and even if she did relish in the praise given to her when she did something right, overall, it sounded like a nightmare, having to explain what vampires and zombies were-- or any other supernatural creature, really. “Look, I get it-- you just almost died, but I saved you, and you’re going to live a--” she looked over the girl, “I don’t know what kind of life you live, but hopefully it’s a nice, safe happy one, you seem nice enough for it.” She took a deep breath, “now, do you want a ride home?”

A vampire. Of course it was a vampire. She’d been thinking that, hadn’t she? Bex wasn’t stupid, like this girl seemed to be implying. Who else had sharp teeth and red eyes and drank blood? Her brain was just spinning at the time. “You sound like someone else I know,” Bex muttered. At least Mina was nicer about it. She still didn’t know how Mina was involved in this world, but she was, and she figured, with time, Mina would tell her. Right? Her eyes wandered back over to the other girl, who looked annoyed. “A vampire…” she repeated quietly, holding her hand to her neck where the two puncture wounds were. “First magic, then demons, now vampires are real…” She felt nauseous again. She didn’t want to be a part of this anymore, it all felt like too much. Her brow furrowed in anger again. “Forgive me for not knowing right away that vampires are real. Apparently I wasn’t privy to this knowledge while everyone else seems to have been.” She knew she was getting unfairly upset at this girl, she had saved her after all, and she was grateful-- but her attitude after was picking at the insecure parts of Bex that had begun growing the second she’d accepted that she wasn’t just normal.

Happy was a strange word for it. This girl didn’t seem all too perturbed by the fact that she just killed someone, but Bex wasn’t sure on the rules here. Were vampires people? Did they deserve to die? God, there were too many questions again. She was still shaking from the encounter, too, and the adrenaline was beginning to wear off, which meant the fear was setting back in. Bex really was just defenseless in this world, wasn’t she? The thought made her stomach churn again. She looked over at the other girl and resigned herself. “Yes, I would,” she said quietly. “And, um-- thank you. For...saving me.”

The look on the brunette’s face told Dani that she was beginning to process the information. It was as if a light had been turned on, because the ashen look that had run across the girl’s face only grew. Dani cleared her throat, “well, if I sound like someone else you know, you should probably listen to them, they probably know what they’re talking about.” Dani offered an attempted smile, careful to keep her movements slow. She looked over at the girl as she began to mutter under her breath, an eyebrow arched. So she knew about demons and magic, why had she been so surprised about vampires? Dani bit back the words threatening to crawl out. Of course she’d be surprised-- nobody was actually supposed to know. That was a part of the whole, ‘keeping the supernatural world a secret from people who were vulnerable to it,’ thing. “Look, I’ve been dealing with them for a long time-- sometimes I forget that not everyone else has.”

A silence settled over them and Dani used it to glance towards her truck. The door still hung open, the cab light on-- as if a beacon to their safety. She looked back over at the brunette and shrugged, “it’s what I’m here for.” The girl had been lucky that Dani had decided to patrol the school that night, otherwise there’d either be a new vampire on the prowl, or they would’ve found her body come sun up. “Well, come on,” Dani said as she approached the brunette, offering to support her from the side. “You look like you’re about to pass out. I have some ginger candies in my glove compartment, I’ll grab you one.” She helped guide the brunette towards her truck, then after a moment, “what was your name?” The sound of her door creaking loud to her ears, she waited until the stranger spilled herself into the passenger seat before moving around to slowly lift herself into the driver’s seat. “I’m Dani,” she finally said as she leaned over, ignoring the weapon in the glove compartment, finding a candy in between papers. She pulled back and dropped it into the girl’s lap before putting the pick up into drive.

“Yeah,” Bex sighed, “she probably does.” More so than Bex, at least. Bex had no idea what she was doing in this world, or if she even belonged in it. She let out a shaky breath and felt the exhaustion she normally did whenever she accidentally used her magic, looking over at the other girl with a tired glance. Her neck hurt, her palms hurt, even her head hurt. With a resigned sigh, she followed after the girl, letting her lead her along. She tried her best not to flinch, she didn’t wanna be a dead giveaway to everyone she met, but muscle memory was often hard to overcome. She pulled away from her when she tried to help her, gripping the strap of her bag tightly, despite the pain in her palms, and forgetting about the blood still seeping from them. “I can walk on my own,” she muttered, even though it was difficult with the shake in her knees.

When they made it to the car, which wasn’t far but felt like ages, Bex crawled in gratefully and sagged in the seat. “Bexley,” she muttered to the other girl, “my name’s Bexley.” Her eyes locked onto the knife in the glove compartment. I protect people, the girl had said. Mina had said that to her before, too. She swallowed hard. Was Mina like this girl? “How did you-- do that?” she asked into the quiet hum of the car’s engine. “How did you know how to do that? How to-- get rid of the vampire?”

Dani’s lips formed a hard line as she glanced towards the fence posts that were caved in as if some frat boy had tried to make a point of how strong he was and barreled into them. Only, there had been no frat boy-- only herself, Bexley, and the vampire who was long gone. It’d be hard to believe that anything watching them from the outside would have taken them down while watching the situation unfold before them. The only logical explanation was that Bexley had something to do with it. Hadn’t she mentioned something about magic? “How did I know…” Dani glanced over at Bexley as she pulled out of the parking lot, glancing both ways before pulling into traffic. It was then that Dani realized she never remembered a beginning to her lifestyle-- it was one she had always been in, so even though there was life on the other side of the parking lot and trees, it didn’t feel odd going back into it.

“You’ve never watched a movie?” She asked with a laugh, stealing a glance of Bex out of the corner of her eye. She rested the heels of her hands against her steering wheel and mulled over how to explain it. It was obvious that she knew what she was doing, but confirming she was a hunter? That could put her in a vulnerable situation. “I’ve had to defend myself a few times,” she said instead, “you sort of learn.” She didn’t bother mentioning the heightened sense of vision, or the fact that she could move quick-- quicker than the average human, or that she was immune to the undead’s bite. “I did what I had to do.” She could feel a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. Though she knew the girl was scared, Dani felt a sense of accomplishment in having so many questions thrown her way about the situation. “Where do you live?” She asked after a moment, realizing she was driving in the direction of downtown.

“Uh, not particularly about vampires, no?” Bex said. “Also isn’t like-- most of the information in movies incorrect?” She pulled her sleeve up and dabbed it against the wound on her neck, resigning herself to another sweater ruined thanks to blood stains. She looked down at the candy that had been dropped into her lap, and tried to not let herself think too much about what had just happened. She didn’t need to have a breakdown in a stranger’s car. “Guess this place is more dangerous than I thought…” she muttered. This must’ve been why her parents kept her locked away in the house, instead of letting her free in the town. Maybe they were just trying to protect her from all the dangers of this town. She picked up the candy with her free hand and put it in her pocket. “Well, still...you didn’t have to, technically, so...thanks for not letting her um-- eat me?” She swallowed the lump in her throat. She hated that she’d had to just say that. Her legs felt numb again. “Harm-- err--” she’d been so distracted, she’d almost given the girl her actual address instead of Morgan’s. “East End.”

“They get some shit right,” Dani admitted. “Maybe not all the time, but sometimes.” She looked over at Bex and how she began to care for the wound on her neck. She had to have some napkins somewhere, right? As they pulled up to a red light, Dani began looking through the bag that was between them. “Here,” she said absentmindedly once the light turned green. She placed the napkins on top of her bag for Bex to take. “Dangerous?” Dani asked with a raised brow. “That’s an understatement.” To be honest, she wasn’t sure why her community still allowed humans to move there. In Dani’s opinion, they should get all of them out, then take out all the Supes. It was a plan-- not a good one, but one that Dani dreamt of perfecting. Imagine saving an entire town, she had told her mom. Only, she had been told, we save who we can. Big whoop. “I wouldn’t have let her eat you, even if I hated you.” Dani turned her blinker on once she drove into the correct lane. She pulled up behind a string of cars waiting to do the same. “But you’re welcome.” Dani looked over at her. “Take my number, that way if you run into any shit again, you know--” She shrugged, “you can call me for help.” She didn’t want to be a hunter for hire, or a hero for hire, but it was clear that this girl was going to have steady nightmares about this for weeks, or months to come.

“Even if they do, how is anyone supposed to parse out the correct information?” Bex asked back, taking the napkins Dani dropped in her lap and putting them against her neck. She bruised easily, and as well as all of that, she always bled a lot. Something to do with her thin blood or something like that. She hadn’t bothered listening when the doctor’s told her. Now, she wished she had. “Okay...maybe more than dangerous. Deadly? I guess this...explains the high death rate.” Why did anyone live here? She ruffled her nose. Why did her family want to live here? And for so long? It seemed strange. None of them had ever gone missing or been killed by strange circumstances. Maybe it was because they simply stayed out of the way. Her parents were very good at ignoring those in need. “How many vampires are there? Are there like...a lot? Do I need to be worried about walking home at night now?” God, that sounded like a nightmare. Just another thing to add to her growing list. She sighed, pulling the now soaked napkin away and grabbing another. She was beginning to feel dizzy. “I mean, I’ll take it, but I’m sure you saw how handy my phone was. And now the screen is broken, too.” She frowned down at the shattered screen. She was beginning to hate this pattern of things that were happening to her. “Sorry I’m bleeding all over your car. I can pay to have it cleaned.”

“It’d be a lot higher if it weren’t for--” She looked out the window of her truck and flipped off the prius that had tried to cut in front of her, then turned her attention back to Bex, “you know, people who protect other people.” She wasn’t about to dive into the mechanics of hunters, and though Dani was sure this girl was human, there was definitely something different about her. The splintered fence posts came to mind as she pulled down the street. One of the many advantages that Dani had was that she knew where everything was. For the most part, at least. Dani glanced over at Bex again and let out a short laugh, but nothing was funny about her question. “If I knew, I think I’d be sick.” Dani continued to drive, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, “there are more than even I know about I’m sure.” She quirked her lips to the side, then looked down at her lap as her own phone flashed a text message her way. “Huh?” Dania asked as she looked back over at Bex again, “nah, you’re fine-- do you see that stain there?” She pointed towards where Bex’s feet were, “I once lost an ounce-- I think they said, just right there.” She grinned widely before she took another turn.

Bex couldn’t help but think of what Adam had said, that his family had been protectors since the beginning of humanity. Was Dani’s family like that, too? She kept her mouth shut, though, because it seemed as if the other girl didn’t want to talk about it. She jumped a little at the laugh, looking over at the other girl in confusion. She hadn’t thought something like that would be funny, but she truly was out of her depth here. But how was she supposed to know? She rubbed her eyes with her free hand, making sure to not touch her still bloody palm. Morgan would be so upset-- no, not upset. Worried. She looked down at her palm again, then to the floor where Dani pointed, lifting up her feet. She felt a shiver run through her, at the girl’s casualty around her blood loss, around Bex’s. Maybe this wasn’t a world Bex wanted to be a part of. Maybe it was a world she’d never fit into. She swallowed. “So vampires are...if the movies are right, they’re people. Or they...once were. Is that, are they still-- like us?”

Dani had been told by Lauren that she needed to be kind to the people she helped, but Dani had questioned how much more kind could she be past having already saved their lives? As she got older, she began to understand what her mom had meant. Not everyone was aware of the things that she was-- not everyone would deal with it in the same way. She had people go into shock on her, as well as insist on calling the police because she had ‘murdered,’ somebody. Every person Dani saved was different. Bex? Well, she fit into the mold of the usual. Shocked, terrified, unsure of what was around her. Only difference was, she had fences that had splintered around her. “They’re not like us, and anyone who says they are, is a fucking liar.” Dani said it nonchalantly, despite the command in her voice. “That’s how they get you. Some of them are straight up monstrous, like the one that got you.” Dani tapped her finger impatiently on the steering wheel as she pulled up behind another car. “Others act like they have your best interests at heart.” She looked over at Bex. “Just…” It wasn’t like the girl would know what to look for. “Keep alert, y’know?”

“So,” Bex started, “just practice stranger danger. Got it.” The other girl’s advice wasn’t really helpful. Bex wanted to know how to spot a vampire. What were their natural habitats? Did they actually explode in sunlight? Obviously the blood eating thing was real. Were they all that aggressive? What had made that woman choose Bex? How had she known she was alone in the library? Did they have superstrength, superhearing, supervision? Why were her eyes red? Instead, she just looked over at Dani and furrowed her brows. “Are you a hunter?” she asked, remembering the conversation she’d had with Morgan now that her head was more clear. Well, at least her mind wasn’t panicking anymore, and really, that was the best Bex could ask for right now. If she was lucky, she could slip inside and clean up the wound without anyone seeing. She didn’t need Morgan or Mina worrying over some stupid little incident. “Look, I...might not know everything about this world, but I know some things. Like, that, magic is real. And that there are people who aren’t human. And that there are hunters who think those people are monsters, sometimes. And now, apparently, that vampires are real.”

Dani chewed on the inside of her cheek. She knew that it was up to her so that Bex would never have to worry about the undead, or any other kind of monster, really. The silence that filled the cab made Dani uneasy, but it was Bex’s question that took her by surprise. She shifted in the driver’s seat and put a little too much weight into her foot. Her truck lurched forward and she winced, “sorry.” She quickly restarted her truck and turned, ignoring the sound of a car horn from behind her. “So you know about hunters, but you didn’t know for sure about vampires?” She looked back at Bex, her grin slowly replacing the grim line that had formed. “Of course magic is real,” White Crest was full of magic-- an unexplainable kind. She knew Nell, ever since she was a child, and she knew that Nell had magic. She had been aware of it from the very start. It’d be naive to believe that with the undead, wolves, fae-- anything else, that magic would not be real-- all of it, after all, was some kind of magic. “So,” Dani said as she finally pulled down the destination street, “you believed in all of that from the get go…” She let out another laugh, this time less sarcastic. She looked for the correct address, and when she finally pulled in front of the house, she cut the engine. She looked past Bex towards the house and began to speak, “carry garlic, some holy water, and some wood if you really want to make yourself feel better.” She looked back at Bex with a small smile, “and obviously you can call me if you get yourself into any other situations.”

“To be fair,” Bex started, “I literally just learned about hunters the other day.” That was an entirely different situation for Bex to stress over. “And, I don’t know...who’s to say what’s real or not? How am I supposed to know? No one taught me anything about this. I’m pretty sure my parents specifically kept me away from all of this.” Like they were hiding her, or maybe hiding her from this world. She glanced over at Dani as she declared magic was real as if this fact was just normal and true for anyone and everyone. A casual reminder of what Bex had been deprived of her entire life. She replaced the napkin on her neck again-- at least the bleeding was slowing now. “I don’t know what I believe, really. But it’s kind of hard not to believe in things when they, well--” she shrugged, wincing, “for lack of a better phrase, bite you in the neck.” Bex turned to follow Dani’s gaze up the drive to see Morgan’s house, a few lights glowing on in the bedrooms. She chewed her lip. “Garlic? Seriously? That works?” She let out a long breath, rubbing the back of her hand across her eyes. Turned to glance at Dani one last time. “Um...thank you. I uh-- don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about you. I know it can be dangerous.” She rubbed her palms. “I would shake your hand, but--” held up her hands and stiffly wiggled her fingers. “If there’s any way I can repay you, though, just lemme know.” She opened the car door and slid out stiffly, grabbing her bag and her broken phone. “It was nice to meet you, Dani. Even if uh-- circumstances weren’t great. I hope your ribs are okay.”

Logically, Dani knew that Bex was right-- if she had just been learning about all of this, the probability of her knowing vampires were real was slim. Still, it was her own duty to ensure that people were aware-- maybe not of the specifics, but that they weren’t alone. She wasn’t about to go into the other creatures who frolicked around White Crest, as if it were their own, personal playground. “So if your parents know, then…” She looked at Bex, wondering if she had been right to believe that the girl was a witch. “Well, you know now, so…” Dani flexed her fingers against her steering wheel. The adrenaline from her fight was slowly dissipating and the ache in her bones was loud, right down to her finger pads. “Garlic does work, yes.” Not against zombies, though. She’d save that for later. She looked from the dead clock on her dashboard, back to Bex. “Don’t even worry about it, Bex.” She smiled at her, “nice to meet you too-- just… try not to make this a common occurrence.” She turned the truck on once Bex was out. “Let me know if you need anything, you can find me online.” She waited until Bex was safely inside before she drove away. The question of how Bex had been introduced to her world played around in her head. The split fences came to mind. Yeah, there was no way that girl was simply normal.

#chatzy #wickedswriting #chatzy: dani #slayer? i hardly know her #dani #domestic abuse mention tw

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inanotherheadspace · 3 years

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The Adventures of Team Lune - Chapter Two: To Work, or Not to Work

Summary: A dragon slayer, a demon slayer, and a god slayer walk into a Guild Hall... and all goes to hell

Pairings: Natsu x Fem OC, Gajeel x Fem OC, Gray x Fem OC, Sting x Fem OC, Laxus x Fem OC, Loke x Fem OC

Word Count: 3,078

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

“Caly, I’m bored,” May whined to the plumette as she rolled over on the couch. Calypso offered a long eye roll in response as she continued to work on May’s new cloak.

“You’re such a whiny baby. I’m literally fixing your cape and now you want my attention?” She kept her eyes trained on the needle as she worked, gliding it effortlessly through the fabric as she has done plenty of times.

“I haven’t seen you in months and this is how you treat me?” The blonde huffed, puffing her cheeks out in a frown.

“Go play with Ria.”

“Ria’s playing with Natsu.” May groaned, flopping over the couch once more, and busying herself with the strings of her shirt. “Plus, I don’t want to see them making out.” She faked a gag as her eyes focused on the ceiling.

“I am not out playing with Natsu stupid! I’ve been home this whole time!” Ria shouted from the kitchen, as a pan fell to the floor in a screech.

May let out a mumble, before stating; “I have a feeling you guys didn’t actually miss me and just wanted to make me look bad.” The girl’s brows were furrowed in thought, now glaring daggers into the ceiling as her eyes turned to slits.

“You know that’s not true May!” Ria’s frown could be heard in her voice as she continued cooking lunch. “You worry us too much, hell, you worry the guild too much! We’re both so afraid that one day you just won’t come home! You’re too reckless!”

“I’m a fairy tail wizard, I’ll always come home.” May replied blandly, her eyes defocusing on the white paint of the ceiling. Her fingers still intwined with the pink fabric of her cropped shirt.

“You promise?” Astria’s voice came out in a peep from the corner of the wall, her eyes shining with tears that were ready to pour.

“I’ll only promise if you two do too, otherwise, nah.” She shrugged absentmindedly, feeling herself slip in between consciousness.

“Fine then, I promise the both of you that I’ll always come back home.” Calypso stated, her slim fingers working wickedly through the fabric.

“I promise I’ll always come home,” the bluenette followed.

“I promise to always come back home.” May told, standing up from her position on the couch, turning toward the door. “I’ll be home in a bit, I got something I need 'a do.” Her voice came in a squeak as she felt the vile burning sensation begin in her throat.

Before the two could interrupt, the blonde made for the door, swinging it open and leaving the self-made home. The burning sensation continued as she made her way down the steps, stumbling in the process. She proceeded down and out of the building, using the walls for support.

"Shit.” Her voice left her mouth in a whisper, her hand desperately clutching her side, the other gripping the wall as she maneuvered around the building’s side. She could make it on time. She had to. Her eyes were painfully dry, wishing to experience some sort of relief from the pain, May continued to stagger, letting go of the wall as she faced the forest’s edge. From there, she sprinted.

Needing to get as far away as possible; she let the pure adrenaline carry her. She didn’t make it far past the edge, before her knees wobbled, sending her tumbling onto her shins on the ground. Her arms sprang in front of her; hoping to offer herself some stability, but it was no use. They quickly gave out in front of her, sending her chest down into the dry dirt. The burning sensation did nothing but continue its way down half her body. Her skin felt hot to the touch, the other half was pure ice.

Her body trembled from pure temperature change and fear as her mouth opened silently. Her brain flooding with her own intrusive thoughts, now knowing it was useless to fight against it; she fell limp. Her body taking to complete gravitation toward the ground and shaking against it violently. She’d be lucky if the best case were hitting her head on a rock. Her brain continued its massacre; the thoughts continuing to fumble in like a burning rain.

“What are you doing?”

“Who are you?”

“Who are they?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why are you hiding?”

“They’re afraid of you, all of them.”

The words shot through her skull, sending her head back and into the ground as each word erupted into its own pain. Searing through her skin and blurring her vision.

The darkness was thick. Fog-like and overall terrifying. It wasn’t a part of her. She exterminated darkness. She was not it. She was neither dark nor light. She was human. She was a Fairy Tail wizard. Nothing more, nothing less. No. She was a monster. She was not human.

Her shriek ripped through her throat, straining her vocal cords more than the burn. Her spit felt like lava and snow, coughing it out into the forest’s floor.

Where’s the light? There is none. You are the darkness. We are one. You are terrifying. You are nothing more than a demon now. You’ve gone too far. You’ve taken the power and become it.

May’s body continued to thrash ruthlessly, her breathing becoming ragged between screams. Some silent, gasping for air; others earth-splitting and beating through her ears.

I am a demon. You search for blood. You cannot get close to those you love. Their souls are not pure enough. You need pure souls. I need pure souls. Close to those I love. Love. Do you have love? No, you don’t either. Love doesn’t exist in this world. Only death and anguish. You are the bringer of both. You. Are. Darkness. You. Are. Nothing.

The final scream tore through her chest, her skin molten with it as her head slammed into a tree’s base; blood beginning to dribble down her forehead as her vision blurred immensely. The tears which pricked her eyes fell loosely, dark spots forming. A faint, “no,” ghosting her lips as the darkness took over and the blood continued to pool, staining the grass beneath her unmoving head. And then, the voices finally stopped. ◊◊◊◊

When she finally shifted, her skin burned once more. Unlike the searing pain from before, her arms just felt raw. As if her skin had melted off, leaving her bare to the air’s painful daggers. A groan rumbled in her throat, her eyes struggling to open. Is it morning? The girl trembled as the breeze continued to agitate her body. When her eyelids finally lifted, she was granted the sight of a glittery sky, littered in bright stars as her mouth gaped open from her previous lack of air. Her arms weren’t the only thing that felt raw, her throat too. Again. Her lips turned into a small frown as disdain racked through her body. She was a monster. She wasn’t a monster.

The blonde twitched, her subconscious kicking in once more. She tried finding the strength to roll over, but it didn’t exist. She raised her arm, to try and see its damage. Only to no avail. So, this is what I am now. Weak. Worthless. She cursed herself silently. Her arm trying to move once more, this time making it up to her line of vision. Her eyes grazed over the once pale skin, inspecting the redness that formed in lines going up and down against it. Scratches. Scratches created by long, sharp fingernails. Not nails. Claws. The strength she had to hold her arm up dissipated, her arm falling across her chest.

She had no strength to move it. No strength to get up. Not even enough strength to close her eyes once more. The grass was dyed red and the girl immobile, lying on rough (once)greenery and tarnished soil. Her head throbbed against her skull, making her wish for at least enough strength to sleep. At least some resilience. Her sage eyes remaining fixated on the blurry sky, her breathing beginning to slow. She could breathe now. She was alive. But she was weak. Far too weak. At this rate, you’ll never be able to save anyone. Another voice sounded within her. One she didn’t hear earlier but has met plenty times before. The girl struggled to speak, nothing but a small squeak coming from her parted lips. I have to, at least try. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. Her throat still burning, stopping only at the base of her lungs. It wasn’t long before she began to hear sticks breaking nearby. Her breathing hitched, shallowing in hopes of not being discovered. Her eyes remained heavy, as the footsteps neared closer and closer. Her eyes scanned what could be seen from her peripheral, as her body fell completely still. The next footstep she heard was by her head, as blonde hair and a large scar rolled into her vision. “Oi, what’re you doing out here? It’s ten 'o'clock.”

“I..” The words came out in a mutter, as her mouth dried. “I took a run and got tired.” “I’m not really someone you can lie to, May.” Laxus shrugged, slumping down on the ground behind her head. His large hands rested against her head, before placing it into his lap.

“You’ve been coming around more often, Laxus.” Her body relaxed, leaning into his touch. “And what of it?” He chuckled, unraveling his coat and placing it over her. “Get some more sleep. I’ll stay so you don’t get murdered.” The slight sarcasm was enough to let her erupt a small chuckle, before completely relaxing into his lap, and slowly falling back to sleep. ◊◊◊◊

“Natsu! You can’t burn down the entire forest!” Lucy beckoned, standing near a tree whilst Happy sat at the base of it. “Oh brother, why do I bother?” Her tone deflated as Astria also summoned flames to rival against Natsu’s. Flames were swept toward Astria’s feet, as she dashed quickly and leaped above the incoming attack from behind. From her stance above, she managed a quick flip over the pinkette’s larger body, sending her feet into his back as she slammed him into the ground on his stomach. The man’s jaw opened wide, swallowing the dirt beneath him. “Ria! That tastes like shit!”

“Then eat some more, flame brain!” A small symbol on Astria’s leg, in the shape of Jupiter began to glow. Her hands moved delicately as she summoned the ground to her own accord; twisting and wrapping around the fellow dragon slayer in an attempt to encage him.

From there, the earth swallowed him into a pit of Astria’s design. That was until the earth crumbled above Natsu, spouting fire and heat which emanated around the five.

The two continued to spar, flame combatting flame, then Astria took initiative to delve behind her own rock wall, which sprouted in front of her, right before she ducked.

In a swift movement, her fire dispersed before water was ejected straight into Natsu’s flames, turning it to steam.

“Hey, not fair!” Ria and Natsu yelled in unison at Lucy and the newly summoned Aquarius.

“Call me again to put out the fire brats' flames and see what happens.” The celestial spirit threated Lucy before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

“I was never a fan of celestial spirits, but I do like her.” Ria huffed as she turned back to her fellow dragon slayer.

“I like her too. It's because she smells like a fish!” Happy said with drool seeping out of his mouth. The exceeds stomach let out a rumble, loud enough to shock the birds out of the trees.

“I guess it's time for a break then, huh little buddy?” Natsu asked to his blue friend.

◊◊◊◊

Calypso’s hands worked quicker than her mind could as she continued to focus on the task at hand. The banging on the door was the only thing to break her train of thought.

“Hold on,” she shouted at the being behind her front door.

“Hurry up brat.” The man's gravelly voice shouted back, bringing a smile to the young womans face. Calypso opened the door to the taller man dressed in all black. She flashed him her smile, before leaving the door open and going back to what she was doing. This caught him off guard. Gajeel stood in the doorway for a few seconds before deciding to follow her, making sure to close the door behind him.

“You act like you’ve never been here before.” The plumette teased as she cleaned up what she was working on. Gajeel let out a grumble as he crossed his arms and leaned on the doorway. He kept his eyes on her as she moved gracefully around the living room. “As talkative as always I see.” She continued to tease as she shot the man a glance over her shoulder.

“I see you’re fixing the shorties cape.” Calypso let out a hum in response as she picked up the cloth in question. She took up her place back on the couch with her legs crossed in front of her. Her usual long, lose and wavy plum locks were tied up in a bun. Gajeel continued to look her over, she was dressed in her usual gear – a white halter crop top with a light grey leather bodice under the bust, a pale blue ankle length skirt with a slit up the side, and a pale-yellow chain around the top of the skirt that had a crescent moon attached at the end over the slit. What managed to catch his eyes were the slight bags under her eyes. For someone who always napped out in the open at the Guild, you’d think she wouldn’t have that issue.

“As best as I can. I’ve fixed it time and time again. I learned to sew just to fix this for May.” A soft smile graced her lips as she thought back to the beginning of her friendship with the two girls.

“I’m still shocked you have one friend, let alone two.” The girl in question let out a small laugh before tucking the cape away and turning back to the iron dragon slayer.

“Humm, I’d say it's up to three now.”

“Ha! Who’d you wrangle into being your friend now?”

“You.” Gajeel flinched back at her statement as her piercing green eyes meet his. Ever since he joined the guild and started talking to Calypso – who was by far, one of the very few people he found tolerable – he learned quickly that she has a knack for catching people off guard.

“In your dreams! Like hell I'd be your friend.”

“Oh yeah?” The plumette questioned as she stood in front of the taller man, her hands behind her back and eyes still locked on his. “Then why do you keep showing up at my house?” This thew the burly man off balance, he took a step back to get some distance between the two. Calypso was mentally faster than him and instinctively took a step closer. Gajeel let out a huff and crossed his arms once more before looking down at her.

“I had a question that you probably have the answer to.”

“Oh?” Calypso sighed before turning on her heels and heading to the kitchen. “What kind of tea do you like?” The black-haired man followed behind her, before taking his perch in the doorway once more.

“Got anything with iron?” He asked with a smirk.

“Hmm, May does owe me for fixing her cape. I can melt some of her old earrings and call it tea.” Before he could get an answer out, she was pushing past him and going up the stairs. After a few minutes – a loud “got it” was heard from the upper floor, before the sounds of footsteps made their way towards Gajeel. She stopped in front of him and held up the earrings with a grin on her face.

He quickly snatched them from her hands before bringing them up to his nose. The dragon slayer gave them a sniff before popping the two earrings in his mouth.

“I-” Calypso all but stuttered as she stared at the man before her. Gajeel smirked down at the shorter woman, he was basking in the glory of being the one to catch her off guard.

“They taste like ear.”

“...I wanted to make you tea...” The smaller mage began to pout, with tears welling up in her eyes.

“It would’ve tasted like ear too. Just make me a cup of whatever tea you want.” Gajeel let out his signature huff before averting his eyes from hers. The smile that lit up her face was almost blinding; it didn’t help the blush creeping up on the dragon slayers cheeks.

“I only really have Jasmine and Oolong. But I like the Jasmine a lot more, so I’ll make us that.” Calypso spoke as she began to prep the kettle. “Oh, and I would’ve suggested cleaning them before you ate them. But you’re greedy, huh?” She kept her back to him as she continued to work around the kitchen – her keen eyes catching the minuscule messes her two roommates had left behind. “You had a question, right?” Her soft voice snapped Gajeel out of his trance.

“Huh? Oh yeah...” Calypso let out a soft giggle before taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“I’ve been told my hearing is impeccable. Fire away!” She kept her eyes on him as he went to join her at the table, Gajeel took up the seat across from hers. His broad body filled up the space in the relatively empty and quiet room.

“...How did Astria and Natsu get their cats?” Calypso leaned back in her chair at his question.

“It’s kind of a long story.” The mage said with a smile as the tea kettle whistled.

#fairy tial #FAIRY TAIL FANDOM #fairy tail fanfiction #natsu dragneel #Gajeel Redfox #lucy heartifilla #gray fullbuster #Juvia Lockser #Laxus Dreyar #erza scarlet #natsu x oc #Natsu x Reader #gajeel x oc #gajeel x reader #gray x oc #gray x reader

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space-------kid · 4 years

Text

Anime/Manga: Kimetsu no Yaiba Pairing: Genya/fem!Reader Additional tags: violence and blood; a n g s t A/N: my brain: There’s not enough Genya content so go make some– A/N 2: me to myself: Why would you hurt Genya like this, heartless monster?

Summary:

You trust him, you really do. The only person you never trust is yourself. Maybe that’s why his eyes are painted with grief and self-blame.

The demon screeches horribly as your [color] blade detaches one of its arms with a clean slice. You nimbly dodge the counterattack it launches against you, jumping out of harm’s way until you find yourself landing beside Genya. He is quick to fire off two shots at the demon, taking out both of its legs in an instant. Your fellow Demon Slayer is quick to follow-through with a swing of his own nichirin blade, taking the demon’s head and ending one fight before the two of you can proceed to the next.

The second demon makes itself known mere seconds after the first one disintegrates into ashes, and you and Genya are back to fighting for your lives before either of you can check on each other for any injuries.

You lunge forward, blade at the ready, and you swipe at the demon’s neck. Before the color-changing steel can meet its mark, however, the demon’s body dissolved like a vanishing mirage, leaving you open as you try to stop the downward swing of your sword.

“[Name]!” You hear Genya shout, and you feel an arm looping around your waist before you are carried off to safety. The sound of gunshot makes your ears ring, and Genya has already set you on your feet before you can react.

“Are you okay?” he asks you, lavender eyes shining with worry as he risks a glance at you. The demon is cackling somewhere up in the trees, boasting of its Blood Demon Art. You find yourself losing the interest to care for a bit, your focus fixed on stopping the telltale blush from spreading on your cheeks at your companion’s display of speed and strength.

It’s never your intention to fall for Genya, really. But when this cruel world spares you some of its kindness by crossing your paths with the kindest boy you’ve ever known, how can you deny your own heart of its desires?

After this one, you remind yourself, I’ll tell him. He deserves to know -- he deserves to be loved.

Genya signals for you to attack, and you follow your heart with a fearsome cry as the demon unleashes an attack of its own. You use the second form of your Breath Style to parry, successfully taking one of the demon’s arms but not enough to reach its neck. You are blindsided, however, when the demon activates its Blood Demon Art yet again and sends you hurtling through the undergrowth with a pained cry.

You can hear Genya shout your name before rushing off to pick up where you left off. Something gets tossed where you lay, and dread fills your stomach when you see that it’s Genya’s gun.

You will yourself to stand despite the pain lancing down your chest. You may have bruised or broken some of your ribs, but you’d be damned if you let anything bad happen to Genya.

You breathe in, sending oxygen to your limbs, and leap into the air while unleashing the fourth form of your Breath Style. The demon dodges, and you stagger on your feet when you land, leaving you open again.

“[Name]!” Genya yells at you, a determined look on his handsome face. “Please trust me!”

The sudden exclamation confuses you, and he is already standing in front of you -- ready to shield you with his body -- before you can even ask him why.

You trust Genya. Even with your life. You have told him this before, half-jokingly but he knows that you mean it. So why is he--

The kindest, most human boy you’ve ever have the pleasure of meeting is ready to get hurt -- to die for you -- just to shield you from the pain your common enemy is about to inflict on you.

No.

Time slows as you watch the demon grin maliciously, solidifying only its arm as gravity brings it ever closer to you and Genya.

You don’t know what Genya is planning, what goes in his mind as he stands in front of you, arms spread to shield as much of you as he can.

You trust Genya. Even with your life. But if there is someone whom you never fully trust, it’s yourself.

You are not and will never be prepared to see the person you love the most getting skewered by a demon’s razor-sharp claws. You’ll never be prepared to see him bleed for you. You trust Genya, yes, but you don’t trust yourself -- how you’d react and how you’d feel if he ever gets hurt. You know full well what your job as Demon Slayers entailed, but it’s as if you’d known that you’ll fall for your colleague.

Time bounces back to its normal tempo as you knock Genya to the side with your full strength. Red splashes on your vision as the demon swings its arm like a blade, your sword clattering on the ground along with something wet -- covered with the sleeve of a haori and the Demon Slayer Corps’ uniform.

“[Name]!”

Genya’s anguished roar is the last thing you hear before your world turns black.

You wake up to the sound of rustling curtains and clinking bottles.

On your bedside stands the Insect Hashira, Kocho Shinobu, and one of the little girls from the Butterfly Estate -- Sumi. The latter is the first to notice you, and she lets out a surprised gasp upon seeing you staring at the ceiling, still sporting a dazed look from the painkillers they must have administered intravenously in your body.

“Kocho-sama! [Name]-san’s awake!” Sumi exclaims, wringing her hands as the master of the estate turns to look at you with a critical gaze.

“My, my, indeed she is, Sumi-chan,” Shinobu says, the ever-present smile on her face dimming a little when you notice her glance at something on your right. “I think you should go and tell Genya-kun, no? He’s been waiting all day to see her.”

Sumi nods and scrambles out of your room. At the mention of Genya’s name, you fight off the medicine’s effects and tilt your head to look at the Hashira, [color] eyes wide with ill-concealed worry.

“G-Genya-kun,” you croak weakly through your parched throat. “W-Where...?”

“Oh, he’s safe and unharmed, if that’s what you’re about to ask,” Shinobu replies as she sets a bottle on the bedside table. “You, on the other hand--”

Thundering footsteps cut off whatever Shinobu is about to comment, and the door is ripped open by a worried Genya with Sumi right behind him. The way your name falls desperately from his lips makes your heart clench with concern. Why does he sound like that? He’s unharmed, isn’t he? And you’re still alive, so--

“Genya--” you say, only to cut yourself off when you fall back down unceremoniously on the bed with a wince (you’ve forgotten your ribs, darn), your right arm seemingly failing you when you try to prop yourself up--

That’s when you noticed it. Why Sumi has been fidgeting when you wake up, and the way Shinobu’s smile loses a little of its brightness when she looks at something on your right earlier.

Your right arm -- from your elbow down, to be precise -- is missing. Your sword arm has been reduced to a bandaged stump.

Memories come back rushing to you. The fight with two demons. Genya attempting to shield you with his body after telling asking you to trust him. Knocking him out of harm’s way because you don’t trust yourself, never trusting yourself and how you’d handle it if you see him get hurt -- see him bleed and die -- for you. The demon cutting off your arm as you pushed Genya down--

“I’m so sorry!” Genya cries, and your heart hurt seeing those lavender eyes painted with grief and self-blame. “Y-You shouldn’t have-- I’m s-sorry for getting you hurt!”

You notice the way Shinobu is looking between you and Genya, and anxiety fills your stomach with lead.

“[Name]-chan, do you know how Genya-kun fights demons?”

“I-I should’ve told you!” Genya stresses before you can even ask, more to himself than to anyone else in the room. “It’s my fault... I shouldn’t have been a coward and just told you...!”

He eats demons. He eats demons, and he is granted the ability to heal and regenerate as part of his demonic transformation.

Despite the revelation, however, you never feel like an idiot for sacrificing your dominant hand in your bid to protect him. The only thing you’re angry at yourself for is the fact that you have failed to give Genya your trust when he pleads you for it.

You trust him, but you never trust yourself. And instead of you paying the price for your lack of faith in yourself, you have burdened Genya with the weight of your injury and what it entails instead -- adding more to what he is already carrying in his heart.

Saying sorry won’t cut it. Not this time -- not with this.

Ah, I’m horrible.

#shinazugawa genya #shinazugawa genya x reader #genya x reader #kny x reader #kimetsu no yaiba #kny

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minirokushi · 4 years

Text

The Burdens of a Hero

Sometimes the Warrior of Light needs saving too. (Haurchefant x Female! WoL. ARR Spoilers. SFW)

“What a horrendously long day.”

With his work behind him, Haurchefant steps out into the cold Coerthas night. A strong chill sweeps through the air as Haurchefant tugs on the cape he wore during these exceptionally cold times. At such a late hour, the usual hustle and bustle at Camp Dragonhead seemed like a distant memory. Any sound made by the few remaining guards was blanketed by the deep layers of snow.

Haurchefant closed his eyes, recalling the troubling events of the day: Mistress Tataru’s teary and panicked arrival, his immediate worry for his dear friend’s safety. Master Alphinaud’s despondent exterior as the events of Ul’dah were conveyed to him. How it struck him that it wasn’t until he was listening to his dear friend explain the situation that he realized: he had never seen her so truly distraught. Haurchefant wished nothing more than to comfort her in that very moment. But ensuring the safety of the Scions required immediate action and no time for further conversation.

Haurchefant sighed and looked up to peer at the moon. And as if Halone, herself, heard his earlier plea, a small red figure appeared in his line of sight. Above him, on the ledge of the Aetheryte bridge sat the very woman who plagued his thoughts: his dear friend, Kiana Kia. Reflexively, he smiled in her direction, before noticing her lack of outerwear. Surely, even the Warrior of Light could stand to catch cold in this weather. With a frown on his face, Haurchefant swiftly made his way onto the bridge.

As his footsteps neared, Kiana did not stir. Unusual behavior, Haurchefant thought, as she was usually incredibly perceptive of her surroundings being the hardened warrior she was. Upon closer inspection, Kiana’s expression appeared taut, her gaze unfocused, lost in thought. Dim feelings of pain and frustration tugged at Haurchefant’s heart as he removed his cape, draping it over Kiana’s shoulders. With this, Kiana came to, looking up at the Elezen standing beside her, clear shock on her face.

“So this is how the mighty Warrior of Light spends her nights: Stargazing.” Haurchefant says as he leans against the bridge staring up at the stars.

“Haurchefant?” Kiana asks, examining the large cape around her.

“Good Evening dear friend” Haurchefant replies. “Pray, keep my cape round you. It would not do to have you take ill now. Do not worry, I am much accustomed to the chill of the Coerthas air, I assure you.”

Kiana nods, pulling the cape around her further. Haurchefant cannot help but notice how it seemingly engulfed her small stature. An adorable sight.

“You were still awake?” Kiana asks. “At such a late hour?”

Haurchefant nods. “Yes, well upon Mistress Tataru’s arrival, I did my utmost to create a haven for you and the remaining Scions here at Camp Dragonhead. By prioritizing your safety it seems I mayhap neglected most of the daily duties in my care.” Haurchefant rubs the back of neck, suddenly feeling the fatigue from the day. “As such, I just finished reviewing the last of the reports regarding the situation in Ishgard.”

“I do apologize for our intrusion here” Kiana laments. “Were that I could do more to thank you.”

Haurchefant shakes his head. “With all due respect my friend,” he says. “Your apologies are not necessary. With all that you’ve done for my House and the whole of the realm, I am truly upset I cannot whisk you all away to Ishgard sooner.”

“Still,” says Kiana. “Thank you.”

A deep silence lands between them. They both stare into the night sky for several moments before Haurchefant’s lips form his signature grin. “Actually I do know of a way you can repay me at this very moment.”

Kiana perks up. “And what’s that?”

“Tell me what ails you” Haurchefant says meeting her eyes.

Kiana looks away. She remains silent for a few seconds before sighing and lowering her head. “I was thinking,” she begins. “About the Banquet, the Scions, everything...How the peace crumbled so quickly. And how I stood by and did naught to stop it.”

Haurchefant frowns. “With all that you have told me, I say you were put in an impossible predicament with which you could do naught by design.”

“Still I-“ Kiana balls her hands into fists. “I’m supposed to be the Warrior of Light! The Eikon Slayer! Defender of Eorzea! And I couldn’t even defend those I held dear. I just...fled and left them all behind.”

For the first time in quite a while, Haurchefant was at a loss for words. The desire to protect, to fight, to save those in need and those you loved, he understood those emotions all too well. He had suffered his fair share of losses and pain. He understood the frustrations and pangs of guilt that came with an inability to do naught else but stand aside and watch injustices take place. As a bastard son and a knight both he understood all too well. Haurchefant could not help but reach out his hand to cover Kiana’s fist. Slowly, she released them and looked up to show her friend a small smile as if to assure him that all was well. Kiana continued.

“I’ve spoken with Minfilia often. About what the legend of the Warrior of Light means to Eorzea. How the position is one that acts as a beacon of hope and thereby encourages a rise in strength and conviction across the realm. And while I have never asked for this title, I do my best to play the part well.” Kiana’s gaze drifts down to the Intercessory. “However sometimes I recognize that even the Scions are in need of the Eorzea’s Hero. Alphinaud and Tataru for instance. They need that hope, that strength, to carry on. So I didn’t think it proper to drop the facade in front of them now. They need the Warrior of Light and if I wish to be Kiana Kia and wallow in my pity I thought it best to come out here.”

With this Haurchefant felt frustrations rising in him. How silly of this young women to thrust so much responsibility and pain onto her own shoulders. How foolish. And to prevent herself from relying on her companions for counsel in times like these? Why, he had half a mind to reprimand her. But he knew she had no need for more anger. So he took a moment to compose himself before opening his mouth.

“So that is why you decided to stargaze tonight?” He asked.

Kiana nods.

“Well, with all do respect, my dear friend, might I say,” Haurchefant turns to look at her. “How foolish of a reason.”

Kiana is taken aback. She would be offended if she weren’t already confused by Haurchefant’s uncharacteristic harsh tone. But Haurchefant continues.

“I understand the need to be alone with your thoughts,” he continues. “But to do so because you do not wish to burden your allies with your troubles? Incredibly foolish.”

Kiana, still confused, stares at Haurchefant.

“They are your friends, Kiana, as am I. Your closest allies. Your worries are not burdens to us. And while I am sure Master Alphinaud and Mistress Tataru appreciate your strength, they must worry over your well being as well. Lest you forget,” Haurchefant turns to smile at her. “Before you are the Warrior of Light, before you are a Scion, you are Kiana Kia, a friend to many throughout the realm.”

Kiana blinks back tears as she smiles back at her dear friend. When the night began, she did not know what it would take to soothe the pain she felt, but somehow Haurchefant’s words found a way. Like a hearth burning bright in the cold Coerthas snow, Haurchefant’s presence warmed her completely. “Thank you, Haurchefant” Kiana responds.

Haurchefant laughs. “By the Fury, I do not believe I have done anything worthy of the immense gratitude I have received from the Warrior of Light today.”

Kiana laughs with him. “Oh, you have done more than enough” she says.

Again, silence drops between them but this time, there is a sense of levity. Of comfort. Haurchefant stares at the brave young woman before him.

“The temperature seems to be dropping rather quickly now” he says, a smiling growing on his face. “Would you care to finish this conversation somewhere warmer? My personal quarters perhaps?”

Kiana laughs. Ordinarily she would refuse Haurchefant’s advances. Either because she was too flustered to respond or otherwise preoccupied with various adventurer duties. Or both. But today, she felt no reason to refuse. Still, she thought she’d have a little fun.

“If I say yes,” Kiana begins “Will I be able to get another cup of hot chocolate?”

Haurchefant laughs. “Of course!” He exclaims. “I’ll make as much as you’d like!”

Kiana hops down from the side of the bridge and the two begin walking towards Haurchefant’s chambers, the bright light from the moon illuminating their path.

#look at me writing shameless Haurchefant fanfic #I don’t regret it this was fun #HaurcheKia #haurchefant x wol #haurchefant greystone #ffxiv haurchefant #ffxiv #ffxiv fanfiction #wolnpc #f #fanfic #haurchefantwol #wolhaurchefant

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chestnut-b · 4 years

Text

Himawari Chapter 7

“Do you think I could become strong too? Like you and Kakashi-sensei?”

Iruka couldn’t help but smile.

To see with the eyes of a child again.

He pressed his forehead to the boy’s own.

“Stronger than anyone else, for sure.”

Chapter 7 of a Demon Slayer AU.

Two days after he’d left the forest, Kakashi made the admittedly, equally convoluted journey to the slayer headquarters. On his arrival, he was ushered in by the waiting attendants, and was soon joined by another. Before they could exchange words, a pair of young girls dressed in deep purple kimono announced their presence.

“The master has arrived.” They said in unison, before retreating further back into the room.

The newly arrived figure took a seat before them, and with a calm, warm smile, began to speak.

“Welcome back, Anko. It pleases me to have you with us again after your long journey.”

“You honor me, Oyakata-sama.”

“And you, Kakashi, it’s been more than half a year since you’ve set foot here. I pray you’ve been well. We’re grateful for all your efforts.”

“Thank you, Oyakata-sama.”

As usual, our leader has a way with words, Kakashi mused silently. Lifting his head from his bow, he took in the sight of the man before him.

Senju Hashirama, head of the clan and current leader of the Demon Slayer Corp. He wasn’t lying when he told Iruka that they shared a striking resemblance, the teacher could have easily passed as a younger doppelgänger, though he lacked the aura and mannerisms of one raised in a great household from birth.

“It seems we’ve got great weather today. Is that so, Hinata?”

The girl in the back let out a surprised squeak before replying meekly “Y-yes! The sky is a deep, beautiful blue today.” The younger girl beside her stoically confirmed her observations. With their clear-white gazes, the Hyuuga attendants could have easily been mistaken as the unsighted ones here.

His condition’s gotten worse since the last time I was here, Kakashi noted. The Hashira’s thoughts flickered for a moment to a pair of similar, smiling dark eyes, but he quashed it before the unease could settle in his chest.

“Anko, if you would.”

The woman in question nodded before sitting up at attention. She began to recount the last month of her reconnaissance with Jiraiya. Kakashi gave her a once over in the corner of his eye, and was met with a red, beady-eyed stare, and a flicking, forked tongue peaking out from under the collar of her coat.

For a person who survived the trauma of Orochimaru’s enslavement and subsequent decimation of her clan, Anko was surprisingly fond of snakes, he thought wryly.

“The skin we found was estimated to be about a month old. We also engaged two members of the Lower-Moons in battle on our journey back. The samples have been sent to the medical quarters, as requested.” She concluded.

That caught Kakashi’s attention. It had been a few years since any slayer had encountered even a Lower-Moon ranked demon. The Hashira who’d engaged one had been instructed to collect blood samples. What they were doing with those samples, Kakashi wasn’t privy to.

The medical quarters were located in the Snail Estate and functioned as a hospital. He knew it used to have a leader, but for as long as he’d been a slayer, that seat had been left empty.

“Thank you, Anko. You’ve done well. Please get some rest before your next assignment.”

“As you wish.” Taking it as her cue to leave, she bowed, turned to wink at Kakashi and, if he knew her at all, left for the nearest dango stand, presumably.

“Kakashi, it’s about time for my walk. Would you care to join me?”

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

They moved, between the seemingly endless lines of grave markers, in silence.

Every member who had perished in service to the corp had a place here. Even those who’d failed the selection. Their predecessors; the ones that had lain here for over a hundred years still saw fresh flowers being placed before them, even now.

Among these, his father’s, Obito’s, Rin’s.

They stopped in front of one bearing the name ‘Namikaze Minato’. The one beside it bore Kushina’s name.

“Is he growing well, Kakashi?”

For a moment he wasn’t sure who had asked the question.

“Yes. It’s still too early to judge his strength, but I was able to observe his reaction to the wisteria, it’s promising. He should have no issue participating in the selections, should he choose to take it.” Kakashi turned to his sensei’s marker; there were bright yellow chrysanthemums laid before it.

“He’s energetic, loud, as much a troublemaker as any other child his age, but also brave.”

He remembered Iruka gently touching Naruto’s cheek.

“Naruto’s been well taken care of.” Perhaps his sensei would find it reassuring.

The man beside him smiled somberly.

“How much time do you think we have?”

“Patterns indicate five years, if we’re lucky.”

“Too short.” The older man lamented.

They continued walking for a while, and eventually reached another marker, differentiated from the others only by the wisteria flowers carved into the stone.

Tenzou.

The Senju are famously short lived you know.

He knew.

Kakashi had been promoted to Hashira merely two years after he’d received the sharingan. The first person he’d addressed as ‘Oyakata-sama’ was not the man standing beside him now, but a boy, not many years younger than he was.

He would have been the same age as Iruka, had he lived.

A gentle soul who loved gardening and plants, who looked at him less like a subordinate and more like an older brother. A boy who stood steadfast as he issued orders to the older Hashira, but cried only in front of Kakashi when the crows delivered news of more losses.

He’d succumbed to his curse before he’d had the chance to have a family.

“It’s a pity. I’m sure Tenzou would have very much liked to meet his cousin.”

He knows I know. Kakashi should have been surprised, but he wasn’t. Instead, he found himself in silent agreement.

You would like him, Tenzou.

“If I may ask, why haven’t you called for him?”

“Iruka knows he’d be welcomed if he chose to return. I do not wish to trample upon Kohari’s wishes by insisting otherwise.”

Iruka, stubborn as usual.

“‘I’ve heard he’s performing duties as a slayer, Kakashi?”

“To the best of his abilities, Oyakata-sama.”

The elder Senju smiled. “It’s been decades since any of our family have been able to take up a sword. He does us all a great honor. I have to send Hiruzen my thanks.”

Kakashi looked upon the figure before him with a hooded eye.

An anomaly in every sense of the word. When Tenzou had passed, he’d expected another young Senju to replace him as leader. Instead, a man who looked well into his forties had appeared before them. He’d seen that face only once before; among the portraits of clan leaders that hung in the estate, his was amongst the first. The space beside his, that would have normally been reserved for a sibling, was left ominously empty.

This man, by any calculation, should be well over two hundred years old.

Jiraiya and Sarutobi had served under him as former Hashira. By now, he should have been just one of the markers amongst hundreds in this garden.

Perhaps there are stranger things than Orochimaru still walking this land.

“I hope you’ll continue to be friends with him.”

The Hyuuga retainers soon appeared before them, and led the man back to the Estate, leaving Kakashi to greet his friends and father before he eventually left the compound.

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

He found Guruko whining pitifully at Anko at a roadside dango house. The hound busied herself staring down the snake that was coiled around Anko’s neck.

“You better not have fed her any dango, Anko. It could kill her.”

“As if I’d give up any for one of your mutts, idiot.” She muttered in between chews. The bandages that normally covered the bottom of her face were nowhere to be seen, leaving the scars that stretched across her mouth as plain as day.

Kakashi ordered a cup of tea. He’d been feeling strangely deprived. He delved into his pouch for a stick of dried meat, and tossed it to the hound who started gnawing on it gleefully.

“The old man’s dropping by the Forest Of Death before heading west. Isn’t that where you came from? Something particularly interesting I don’t know about?”

“I left the manuscript for his new book there.”

Anko rolled her eyes before starting on another stick.

“Five years huh. The Lower-Moons we fought weren’t exactly pushovers, but they’ll be replaced eventually. Something needs to change, or we’ll just be repeating this over and and over again.”

Kakashi made a nonchalant sound before starting on his tea. Not quite the way he’d become used to liking it, but it would have to do.

His thoughts turned to Naruto and his guardian. Naruto would be eleven, maybe twelve by the time Orochimaru would prepare for another takeover. If he ever knew about the boy’s immunity to sunlight, it would only fire his determination.

It was a grim thought.

“I’ll be heading up north to see if I can pick up a trail.”

“Well, try not to die. It would be a pain to have to cover for you.” She muttered, with all the concern she could muster.

Kakashi sighed, looking into his cup, he wondered if Iruka was having tea by himself today.

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

Iruka looked at his reflection in the mirror and grimaced.

He only remembered pieces of what had happened the previous night, and was ready to dismiss it as another terrible nightmare, but as soon as he was upright he was struck with pain in his upper body. Parting his yukata, he grew increasingly disturbed to see red patches spread across his arms and chest where he’d held the boy. Not quite burns, but they radiated heat and stung painfully with any extraneous movement.

Training was going to be more unpleasant than usual.

Steeling himself for another day, he quickly dressed himself and made his way to the main courtyard, where Naruto already stood before his classmates, rambling excitedly.

“Iruka-sensei was soooo cool! The demon was gonna get us but he chopped off his legs in one hit!” With his wooden sword in hand, he slashed the air.

Iruka cursed inwardly.

The boy was so caught up in his retelling, he’d failed to realise half his audience was slowly descending into hysterics. Lee was panicking; Sakura looked just about ready to cry. Further in the distance, Mizuki stared coldly.

“NARUTO!” He’d grabbed the arm holding the sword, harder than he would have liked. Combined with the unusual harshness of his voice, it was enough to silence the boy immediately.

“I-Iruka-sensei?”

He was looking at Iruka with confused, wide eyes. It was with relief that Iruka saw they were still the sky-blue eyes he loved, but somewhere deep down, it hurt.

“Enough. You’re scaring them.”

It prompted the boy to look at his classmates. Sakura broke into tears, and it made some of the others do the same. A few were staring at him angrily. He looked back to Iruka with a disquieted, questioning look.

“We’ll talk later, Naruto.”

He let go of the boy’s arm, and walked towards the distressed children, kneeling before them.

“It’s all right. The demon was defeated.” He wiped the tears from Sakura’s cheek with the edge of his sleeve. “All of us are here to protect you. Don’t give in to fear.”

His words seemed to help calm things down. It took a while, but with some encouragement, the class finally started, and they were back to practicing their forms. Iruka looked at his children.

Orphans, every single one of them. All because of demons, in one way or the other. How many of them had survived nearly being eaten by their own loved ones? How many of them had their last memories of their family tainted in blood?

They would have all carried those memories here with them.

Naruto didn’t know that pain, and Iruka was selfishly grateful for it, but it would always be a wall between him and his friends.

Every year, they took in more children, and every year, they sent off children with sparks on their backs.

Every year, the crows would deliver a short list of names who survived the selections.

Iruka gripped his sword tighter, ignoring the wave of heat that ran down his arm.

Something had to change.

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

It was night. Under the light of a full moon, they were sitting across each other on their futons. In Iruka’s shadow were two tiny glass vials of freshly drawn blood. A monthly ritual.

He had the boy’s small wrist in his hand, the same one he’d grabbed earlier in the day. With the ball of his thumb, he applied a gentle pressure.

“Do you understand what I just said, Naruto?”

The boy nodded slowly with a somber expression on his face.

“You’ve also experienced loss, but...not in the same way. Demons used to be people too, and for your friends, they may have been people they loved. It’s hard to imagine, I know. But I hope you’ll see why they reacted that way to you earlier.”

“My mom and dad, weren’t they killed by demons?”

“Yes.”

“So I should hate them too, right?”

Iruka paused. He had to pick his next words carefully.

“Naruto, most of them didn’t turn by choice, and many of them don’t have free will, but...I think they’re probably suffering, deep inside. They can’t walk under the sun, they can’t appreciate delicious food. They’ll never be able to hold their loved ones again.”

It was hard to admit, but it had taken years for Iruka to reach that conclusion. Even though his mother had tried explaining it to him since he was a child.

He’d spent years debating this with himself.

Was compassion going to be a strength or his weakness? Even as the words left his lips, he didn’t know if he was making the right choice.

Iruka placed his free hand on the boy’s head.

“Not everyone sees it that way, but I think the least we can do, is try to end their suffering. Everyone here who wants to be a slayer, it’s not just to become strong for the sake of it. They don’t want others to feel the same pain they did.”

“Do you think I could become strong too? Like you and Kakashi-sensei?”

Iruka couldn’t help but smile.

To see with the eyes of a child again.

He pressed his forehead to the boy’s own.

“Stronger than anyone else, for sure.”

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

This time it wasn’t Kakashi sitting across him drinking tea, but one retired Hashira.

Jiraiya let out a perplexed sigh as Iruka buttoned his shirt.

“I’ve never heard anything about this from Kushina. Has it happened again since?”

Iruka shook his head. “It was like a dream. But his eyes...I certainly felt the Kyuubi’s presence.”

It had been years, but he couldn’t never forget it even if he tried.

“Could be a reaction to meeting a demon for the first time. The old blood’s stirring. I’ll head to Sarutobi’s to see if he knows anything about it.”

“Please send my regards to him and Konohamaru-kun, Jiraiya-sama.”

Iruka placed a book before the older man. A vulgar, bright orange. It had been Kakashi’s last request of him, annoyingly enough.

But before it could be taken, a box was placed atop it. Curious, Jiraiya removed its lid.

“This is more than the usual isn’t it. Two of them aren’t even Naruto’s. What’s going on?” He asked, making eye contact with the youth before him.

“I have a request.” he stated simply.

“Hmm?”

“I’d like to speak to Tsunade-sama. Please keep this from Kakashi-san, too.”

“Just what are you hoping for, Iruka?” His gaze suddenly narrowed, but Iruka’s didn’t falter.

For a few long moments, there was only silence between them, but that was soon broken.

“Fine, but I hope you don’t live to regret this.”

Iruka smiled.

Rest assured, I certainly don’t intend to.

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

End of Chapter 7

Author’s Notes:

Thanks for reading! This chapter was another interesting but challenging one to write. :D Do let me know what you think of it! The mystery of the missing portrait, think you can figure it out? (If you read what we know about the character and the thing’s he’s done in Naruto’s canon, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out his role in this story!).

I wanted to try a more ink style for this chapter’s artwork. Hope you like it!

#kakairu #iruka #kakashi #naruto #demon slayer au #iruka umino #umino iruka

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happyvoidharmony · 4 years

Text

Just a look.7

rating : M pairing : Laxus & Mirajane found : FF.net AO3 Chapter : 7/7

The tingling sunlight awoke him. He growled and turned around hoping to find a hint of darkness into one of his pillows. The air was soft, still fresh and deliciously stinging his skin. He spread an arm and slid it against the cold sheet. Cold ? He opened an eye and abruptly sat up. It seemed like she was gone and hadn’t closed the window for that matter.

He groaned again and let himself fall against the mattress, not so comfortable now, and smashed said pillow on his face as he cursed at the sun attacking his pupils. Finally, the lightning mage found the strength to look at the clock. Eight thirty. Fucking demon leaving in the middle of the night and not closing the damn widow on her way out. A long sigh escaped his lungs and he noticed he was thirsty.

With all the strength he could provide, not really much, he pulled himself out of the sheets still warm on his side and heavily dragged himself into the kitchen – which was more storage than anything – pouring himself a large glass of water, eyes still half open. He put it down with a sound that echoed through the room and surveyed the place as if his eyes were discovering it for the first time. Finally, he noticed the paper patiently waiting on his coffee table, above a pile of already completed missions.

He walked to it, hoping it was just a forgotten chore list, and not a bunch of awkward apologies written in that quick and thin handwriting of hers. He grabbed it and deciphered the note :

“I had to open the guildhall, sorry. M”

And that was it. No tearful regret. No prohibition of saying a word to the others. No “slept well ?”. No “that was great, let's do it again sometime !”. No “Sorry I drove you crazy and left while you were sleeping.” Fucking demon.

What was he expecting anyway ? He groaned again, this time louder, not sure whether he was supposed to feel offended or relieved by this lack of consideration. He examined the paper again and finally raised his eyebrows before sighing in despair and heading back to bed, determined to get a few extra hours of sleep. She definitely needed someone to teach her some manners. And with a good kick in the ass.

The young woman wearily put down the case of food. It had been a week since she had slept with him. One entire day biting her nails off in anxiousness and six cursing in her mind. At herself, at him, and then at herself. Especially at herself. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice a thing. Not one suspicious look or a snide comment. What a relief.

He had been gone on a job for six days now, had gone to the hall late in the afternoon, had looked at her with the same indifference as usual, at least in public, she had just smiled, as usual. He had gone upstairs, into the room reserved for S-rank mages, and of course, she had followed after him. After a good fifteen minutes, to avoid suspiciousness.

She had entered cautiously, avoiding slamming the door, and found him casually leaning on the wall, detailing a job stamped with a red mark. The lightning mage had looked up at her, his golden eyes so expressive. She had entirely shuddered, feeling her insides getting warm and others freeze. Was he pissed off ? Should she have woken him before leaving ?

Yet, his gaze hadn't changed at all, it was the same one that had been detailing her naked body so furiously the day before, before his arms had grabbed her and convinced her to stay the night. And it had been worth it. Her knees were still shaking thinking about what happened next. She had wished to shut him up and he had made her regret, or not. She had taken the upper hand and he had stolen fit from her. Again and again, until she passed out, sweating and blissful in his bed.

She shuddered again and blushed heavily, remembering the few details left. His warm hands and definitely knowing their way on her sweaty skin, his rough kisses, the way he made her move at will, his mischievous grin when she attacked with the same heat. The way she had let him defeat her, despite all of her efforts. Some much she couldn’t tell if he remembered it the same way she was.

She had looked down, no longer able to keep her cheeks from reddening at these thoughts. He had stared at her again, she had looked up, wanting to make him swallow his self-confidence, and he had just grinned. Slightly, nothing too much. Although, for Laxus, that was quite excessive. A playful smirk, satisfied, but nothing mocking. Just a smile. And her heart had raced.

Finally, he had started walking towards her and showed her the paper.

“I’m taking this one, it should take ten days.”

She had wanted to utter a word, tell him what she really thought about it. Curse at him too. Maybe strike him. But she had only blushed and nodded softly.

He had smirked again, a little grin, but still so fascinating.

“Don’t miss me too much.” He mockingly added before stepping out the door and disappearing.

She had blinked, clenched her fists, cursed at herself and especially at him. Had come downstairs again, casually, but her mind far too busy. Stunned one smile of his could have thrown her off again, trying to avoid her body's memories of the night before, and half-cursing at him for laughing at her when he had begged her to stay the night before. Someone had to make him swallow his arrogance. And she had an idea of who would be absolutely perfect for the role.

Eight days later, he was back. After being away for fourteen days. Not that she had been worried, no. She hadn't counted either. She just had a good memory. That was all. And then, someone had to count for the Thunder Legion, reassure them, tell them everything would be okay and that there was no reason to worry.

And all of this without knowing, for sure, that they were perfectly counting as well and claiming to everyone that Laxus had certainly already finished the job and was simply taking a few days off to rest his godly being.

The barmaid sighed again before putting down the last glass of the day. Cana’s, her only company of the evening. The rest had already gone home or was protecting the weak and the defenceless in some land far away. Only Cana remained, still pesting against her last date that had abandoned in the middle of the night because it was apparently “not normal to be drunk at nine p.m.”. To which she had just called him weak and ordered a bottle for herself.

At least the brunette tried to be a decent human being. When others didn’t smile to anyone while they got back from an s-class job that had lasted four days longer than expected, knocking Natsu out in the process and starting a rampage when he fell on Gray, sending him against Elfman, sending him against Gajil, who of course had thrown him on Erza’s cake.

Not a word, not a look. Not a gaze to let her think that he wanted to talk to her. Not a move. Nothing. Who did he think he was ? He had gone upstairs. She hadn't followed him. What the hell was thinking ? She had work to do and couldn't afford to take a break every time a moody blond felt the need.

“Why are you making that face ?” She heard a voice.

The mage's loud voice echoed through the empty hall. The woman shrugged and shook her head. She turned and smiled as best as she could, hiding the boiling anger rising within her.

“Just tired.”

Her friend raised an eyebrow over her hazy eye and smirked playfully.

“Oh ? So it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Laxus came home today ? Or the fact that you completely ignore him for no reason ?”

She suppressed her surprise and went on smiling while taking on a surprised, perfectly innocent look.

“No… not at all. Are you done soon ?” She asked eagerly.

“Huuuh ?” She frowned and then, changed her mind. “Anyway, they're still chatting up there so you can't close the guild even if I leave.”

Which was true, the master and his grandson had been talking in his office for quite a while now, meaning where no one could hear them, disturbing the woman even more when it was the first time she had seen them talking that long in years. Probably about a family issue that had to remain confidential, although the master entrusted her with the most discreet matters. The mage raised her head towards the door where they were locked in, hoping Laxus wasn’t getting stressed over his father that still took a good part of his mind.

“Let's just come back to our little conversation…” The brunette offered, with a smile eager for gossip.

Mirajane sighed and desperately searched for some pretend story. Suddenly, they heard yelling and the door slammed open, revealing the visibly enraged dragon slayer, who went downstairs in a loud and heavy pace, exiting the hall with the same delicacy. Not without sending an infuriated look at the two young women, frozen in fear.

The master went downstairs shortly after, looking remarkably bored.

“Master ? Is there a problem ?” The woman inquired, more than shaken.

He warmly smiled and shook his head.

“Nothing to do with you.”

And then, he added :

“It’s getting late. I think it’s time to close.”

They both nodded, the brunette stammering quick greetings and vanishing faster than she ever could. The bartender locked the door soon after and started her way home, still deeply stressed out.

The night was dark, but she didn't mind. She was still thinking about him. It was hardly every day that the guy lost his temper. She had completely forgotten her anger of the day and quickly thought that it maybe wasn’t too late to come by his place, now that she knew the address. Not for very long, just to check if he wasn't about the town. Public health issue, truly.

She didn't decide where to go either. Let's be honest, he was going to throw her out, at best. If not going to take his anger out on her, definitely the last thing she wanted, to further complicate their already too complicated situation. She walked past a restorant and stopped abruptly, had an idea and shrugged with a mischievous smile. Why not ?

When the dragon slayer opened the door, determined to make the idiot ringing at his door regret he ver had the idea, he found her, dressed just as he had seen her a few minutes ago, with a bright smile and sparkling eyes. He had been trying to avoid her for a little while, that started well. He frowned.

“I am in no mood, Mira. Go home.” His tone was abrupt, almost mean.

He wanted to slam the door but she stopped it nimbly, obvious not in the least scared for pretty white fingers. He took a deep breath that wanted to be upset. He had nothing against sex to calm his nerves down but he really doubted she was there for that. Suddenly, she opened the door with a wide move and took bag out from behind her back.

“I have food.” She announced before mischievously raising her eyebrows. “And I know your fridge is empty.”

The young man's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since noon and his body wasn’t letting him forget it, it didn't help with his mood either, he was one to hate getting to bed hungry. And she was obviously well aware of these last two small details. He sighed in despair and turned to let her in.

“You’re really annoying, you know that ?”

She proudly crossed the threshold, visibly more than satisfied with her little effect as he watched her carefully clear the coffee table to put what she had bought. He sat in front of her and grabbed a burger avoiding the stare she was giving him. When he felt her focusing on her food, he gazed at her struggling with the sauce dripping down her fingers and lips, begging to be kissed. Much too cute. She looked up, looking far too serious.

“Do you want to talk about it ?”

He shook his head sharply, focusing his mind back on his fries. She gave him a benevolent smile and they continued eating in silence. She had bought quite a large quantity for him but finally wondered if it was going to be enough. Finally, she met his gaze again, intensely fixating on her. She shivered and blushed, her body racing although she thought it was under control and looked at him again, this time with the same envy.

Their eyes stared at each other for a few more seconds, waiting to be sure. When she crossed the table, he gripped her waist and she pinned him to the floor. He grabbed her buttocks, she grabbed his lips, and they both quickly grinned before going at it again, ready to devour each other.

That was the last chapter, thanks for reading and following the story until there ! Hope you enjoyed it !

#fairy tail #miraxus #Laxus Dreyar #Mirajane Strauss #laxus x mirajane #Cana Alberona #Makarov Dreyar

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autumnslance · 4 years

Link

((Originally begun as response to a prompt (that ended up another entirely), this got away from me and became it’s own thing. Since it’s a FFXIV Write 2020 freebie day, time to finally yeet this draft out after sitting on it too long. Also below the cut for those who prefer Tumblr.))

“We have time before these negotiations resume,” Merlwyb said. “I suggest we stretch our legs and clear our heads before meeting with the Emperor again, now we have a firmer strategy.” The others readily agreed.

Nanamo grabbed Alisaie’s attention about another matter, leaving Aeryn free to slip outside. She waved past the Alliance guards to go a short way down the path to a small, rocky clearing she had noticed earlier. Both forces’ camps sat on either side, but straight forward were the dark hills and valleys of Ghimlyt. Not the most calming or picturesque view she had ever beheld, but more open and empty than a tent full of politicians and soldiers.

The footfall of a man in heavy armor was unmistakable, and she looked back to see who had followed, blinking in surprise at an unaccompanied Emperor Varis, his guards left several yalms away. “I had hoped for a chance to speak privately,” he said.

Aeryn stood stiffly, watching him. “I wondered at your request for my presence. I’m not much for politics—my skills lie elsewhere.”

“I am well aware.” He tromped up alongside her, his own gaze looking over the landscape. “I wanted to take more of your measure, given our last meeting was cut short.”

Aeryn shrugged. She turned back to the scenery.

Varis frowned. “No accusation or rejoinders? Or have you learned the futility of such from your leaders?”

She disliked how he said that, but kept herself neutral. “There’s no point. We were both there.” Her Echo caught a whisper, as she remembered who else had been in Ok’Zundu that day. “But you weren’t there,” she added quietly. “When we faced Zurvan.”

It was his turn to stiffen and Aeryn almost found that impressive, given how rigid the man already was by nature. “I have heard the tale from my soldiers. But I would hear it from you, eikon slayer.”

“We fought back and forth across Azys Lla in the course of our research into the Warring Triad,” Aeryn began bluntly. “As we did, it became apparent that the failsafes the Allagans built into the facility had been purposely sabotaged from the beginning, to allow the imprisoned eikons their freedom. A plot of the goddess Sophia’s followers, hoping to rain her and Bahamut’s wrath both upon the old empire. That didn’t happen, and so they waited for four thousand years.”

“Until the Archbishop’s foolhardiness woke them, and drew our attentions to Azys Lla and its potential,” he said.

“Its nightmares,” she answered. “The creatures and machina remaining are twisted. Little good can come from what torments they inflicted on others.”

“Perhaps you are lacking imagination. A debate for another time,” Varis continued, almost hurriedly as she glowered up at him. “I wish to know about Zurvan, not the lesser creations of Allag.”

Aeryn grit her teeth and gazed out across the fields again. “The archons set wards to keep Garlean soldiers out of the facility. But the damage done by Sophia’s minions had been enough. Even only half-awake, the Demon’s power broke our wards.”

She looked to Varis again. “That’s when van Hydrus came to us. Our prior clashes had ended in stalemate and escape. That time, he asked for our aid. His soldiers were struggling to keep Zurvan’s minions from waking their master, despite the risk to their own minds—and when we arrived, many had been turned, fighting their own squad mates.”

The floors slick with blood, the screaming sounds of those centaur-like beings, the guttural roar of the eikon itself as it half-woke, Regula’s weapon cleaved in twain…

“How did Regula die?” Varis asked when she was quiet for too long.

Aeryn took a moment to clear her throat. “There were...aether collectors, to feed Zurvan and grant him strength. We had to disable them. But only three of us could get close: myself, another Scion with the Echo, and a boy who also bears the Blessing—our expert on the Warring Triad.” She noted his ever-deepening frown but continued.

“The archons tended to the wounded, trying to get as many as possible away from the eikon. Krile and I fought our way through and broke our generators, but Unukalhai was hesitant. For all his knowledge and skill, he’s still a child. So the Legatus dove into the fray to protect the boy and destroy the generator. Which he did--But Zurvan had awoken enough to take a swing to defend his thralls. His sword broke Regula’s. And…” Aeryn stopped, realizing she was hugging herself as she remembered.

Before Varis could speak she continued, letting her arms drop to her sides. “His last words were that he believed the Echo to be the only true way to destroy eikons, and so judged Unukalhai’s life more valuable than his own. He...spoke of you, what you did for him, and how he gladly gave his all in service. And he bade us complete our mission, end Zurvan’s threat.” She met Varis’ cold, dark gaze. “So I did.”

They were silent for a long moment. “Thank you,” the emperor finally replied. “The reports said much the same.”

“You thought I would lie about what happened?”

“No. All reports name you an honest woman. As I said: I simply wished to hear it from you.”

“I...I am sorry. For...I wish things had turned out differently.”

“Perhaps next time you won’t take a child onto a battlefield.”

She frowned up at him. “Believe me; I didn’t want to. But we don’t have a choice. And you don’t know all the circumstances. Unukalhai’s no ordinary boy.”

“But he is a boy. Unused to battle, and so one of our best, my onl--” Varis paused, taking a breath to collect himself. “You wonder why we call you savages, when you justify such.”

Aeryn bristled. “You have no room to talk. The empire’s no stranger to child soldiers--but I suppose they don’t matter if they aren’t Garlean.” She bit her tongue before mentioning the Resonatorium.

His lips pulled back in a sort of grin. “There’s the anger I expected. Nor are you above the same tit-for-tat as your leaders after all.”

“We can spit facts at one another all day. It doesn’t change anything.” Aeryn clenched her fists to stop their trembling--and the urge to throw a punch. That would be a helluva thing to do at a negotiation. Her eyes snapped up to his again. “Or are you trying to goad me?”

“Hrmph. No,” he said emphatically, and she believed him. “But we should each return to our respective camps, and make preparations for said negotiations to continue.”

Aeryn took a shaky breath as she stepped back. She did not trust herself to speak--she had no conscious idea what to say--so merely nodded, not looking away from him.

After a long, awkward moment, he finally broke eye contact and turned, stalking back to his guards, armor clinking with each weighty step. Aeryn waited until he was out of sight before returning to the Alliance side.

Lyse was waiting for her near the large tent set up for the parley. “There you are!” She exclaimed, relieved. “Were you talking to Varis just now? Or was I imagining things?”

Aeryn shook her head. “Not imagining. He was asking about Regula van Hydrus, and the Warring Triad.”

“The legatus of the VIth Legion?” Lyse looked down. “Honestly, I’d forgotten; you ended up working with him in the end, right? He saved Unukalhai.”

“And I told the emperor so,” Aeryn admitted. “According to some of Regula’s soldiers, he was Varis’ friend.” She frowned, looking toward the Garlean lines. “Maybe his only one.”

“Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for ‘His Radiance’?”

Aeryn scoffed. “Hardly. More...understanding, I think. Or trying to. What would that do to a person; to have only one other that you could trust and rely on?”

“And then lose them?” Lyse finished. They exchanged concerned looks, before Lyse let out a deep breath. “I think that’s enough sympathizing with the devil for one day. Come on; the others are waiting.”

The Alliance representatives were stunned by Varis’ candor and zealous proclamations. Aeryn could barely hear the others' responses, thinking instead of Gaius Baelsar’s own impassioned speech as they had ridden the lift down to the Ultima Weapon.

He had called Eorzea a land riddled with falsehoods, lies propped up by weak leaders to placate a weaker populace. But if what Varis said about the first emperor--his own grandfather!--was true, if everything about the Imperial agenda was just another scheme of the Paragons...

Nanamo’s certain voice began to cut through the haze. Aeryn focused on the Sultana, her own surprise giving way to pride in the young ruler, how far she had come since their first meeting under the Sultantree.

“And you, Warrior of Light?” the Emperor demanded. “Would you refuse me as well?”

Aeryn felt everyone’s eyes turn her way. She wished they wouldn’t; the attention was as smothering as an Ul’dahn heatwave.

She met Varis’ gaze. “Your prize is a lie and your masters demons,” she said bluntly. “I’ll stop you and the Ascians--no matter what.”

He sneered. “I thought you had more sense. Don’t you see? Regula was right! The Echo is crucial not only to ridding the world of eikons, but in saving it entirely--returning it to its original, natural state. That is what the Ascians mean--and what they fear in you.”

Aeryn glared. “Regula died because he believed another’s life worth more than his own--his last words were of service, of stopping the eikons and their followers from causing a Calamity, not helping them bring more about! If you think after all we’ve struggled through and accomplished, that I would ever agree to mass murder, then you didn’t ‘take my measure’ at all. I’ll defend Eorzea--this entire world--from your madness with everything I have.”

It was more than she usually said at such meetings, and she felt her friends’ eyes on her even as she and Varis glared at one another.

“It would seem the Alliance is of one mind on this matter,” Nanamo said firmly.

The meeting ended as Aeryn had assumed--despite all hope--that it would. She kept her eyes on Varis until he had swept out to bring the Empire's hammer down upon Eorzea for their defiance.

She wished, once again, that events in Azys Lla had ended differently. Perhaps losing his singular friend had left Varis no one else to discuss matters with, had left him open to the Ascians’ manipulations and the wild idea that any scheme was worth it to defeat them at their own game.

Thinking back to the empty bodies currently in the Rising Stones’ infirmary, Aeryn could almost understand such desperation.

Almost.

She joined her comrades as they prepared for war.

#Final Fantasy XIV #Lyn Writing #Stormblood #A Requiem for Heroes #Varis zos Galvus #Aeryn Striker

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