#so so glad that chisato turned out well

[caramelmochacrow]

happy birth to chisatoooo!!!!

[animebw]

Alright, now that I’ve had some time to process, I’ve come up with some thoughts on what I want to see from Lycoris Recoil’s recently announced second season. Honestly, I’m excited: I always felt that the last episode was more of a season 1 finale than a full series finale, so getting a chance to follow up on all its unresolved threads could lead to something truly incredible. Or it might completely fuck everything up, who knows? Regardless, here’s what I would do if I was in charge of writing season 2, below the cut.

So the biggest issue with LycoReco season 1 is how unconclusive its politics end up being. You’ve got a full-on secret police of cute anime girls maintaining the illusion of peace at any cost, one of the two protagonists rejects the violence-first mentality of her organization and tries to solve conflict non-lethally, the antagonist wants to blow a lid open on the whole scam and show Japan their peace is built on a lie, and the ending resolves... none of that. Majima revealing the Lycoris’ existence to the public is somehow papered over by the flimsiest of propaganda, but both he and his guns are still out there promising to cause havoc in such a way that it can no longer be ignored, and the Lycoris organization remains basically unchanged. It’s clearly trying to say something about the conflict between giving up rights for peace and giving up safety for freedom, but it doesn’t come to any answers by the time the final episode wraps. Which is why I’m glad we’re now getting a season 2, because the inconclusive nature of that ending makes way more sense as a thematic To Be Continued than a conclusion in its own right. And if everything goes right in season 2, it’ll be a lot more forgivable considering what it helped to bring about.

So the big question is, of course, how do you follow up those threads? How do you tell a satisfying story about grappling with a fascist police state that actually, you know, says something about grappling with a fascist police state?

Well, if it was up to me? I’d go full Gen Urobuchi on its ass.

To be clear, I’m not saying LycoReco season 2 should turn into a greek tragedy and kill lots of characters very messily. That’s not the kind of show it’s been, it would be too big a tonal swerve (though I do absolutely think season 2 should be darker overall). No, what I mean is that it should borrow Urobuchi’s fascination with heroic ideals being tested and broken against the complexities of reality. If the ultimate end goal is to either destroy the Lycoris program outright or at least reform it into a non-fascist functioning community service (as it should damn well be), then both our leads, especially Chisato, will have to seriously consider what it means to protect people from harm, and what responsibility a governmental organization like this has to do so ethically. And that’s gonna demand some hard questions that the first season didn’t really get around to asking.

Consider: Chisato’s nonviolent philosophy stems from her desire to create a world where everyone can be happy. She refuses to kill, even when her target arguably deserves it, because she believes she can make a better world by solving things without bloodshed. A noble goal, to be sure, and one that puts her at odds with the rest of the Lycoris program. But, well, it’s not like Chisato is actively fighting against the Lycoris program either. She’s content to walk her own renegade path, solving problems her own way, while the organization she’s a part of continues on its bloody streak regardless. She may not kill anyone herself, but as long as she’s part of the Lycoris program in the first place, she’s still contributing to an engine of death that’s surely executing far more people than she can possibly save. And if Chisato truly wants to create a peaceful world where no one has to die, well... won’t that require doing something about the people who are responsible for the most needless death?

So if I was writing LycoReco season 2? That’s the angle I would explore. Majima’s schemes start causing chaos around Japan, the Lycoris program becomes even more authoritarian in response, and Chisato and Takina are pulled out of semi-retirement in Hawaii to help in the anti-terrorist efforts. But as things escalate and the Lycoris become even more violent and totalitarian in their efforts to keep the peace, Chisato will be forced to confront the fact that like it or not, she’s part of a system that’s working against her pacifistic goals. And if she truly wants to build a better world, then the Lycoris program in its current form needs to go. Which means not just acting as a free spirit inside the program, but outright opposing it and everything it stands for. Thus Chisato and Takina will become targets for both Majima’s terrorists and all our former Lycoris friends from season 1. Of course, plenty of those Lycoris will probably be reluctant to fight Chisato and Takina after they saved everyone’s asses in season 1, which eventually leads to a revolution from the inside as characters like Fuki and Sakura reject their boss’ orders in favor of following in Chisato’s pacifist footsteps. Eventually things climax in a big fight where the Lycoris program is destroyed, Japan is set on a course toward a less authoritarian future, and Chisato and Takina get to kiss in the sunrise of a new world.

Speaking of, Chisato’s crisis of faith could be a really fantastic way to officially jumpstart Chisato and Takina’s relationship into a proper romance. We could get a scene where Chisato’s breaking down over being a part of the Lycoris, saying she has blood on her hands and it can never be washed clean, and Takina steps in to pull her back from the brink and assure her she can still make things right. Just as Chisato freed her from her demons all throughout season 1, now Takina can free Chisato in turn. We can even get a callback to the artificial heart business, Takina can say something like "I was really the one with the fake heart... until you came along and made it real."

That doesn't account for everything, I know. You'd still need to figure out what to do with Mika, how the Lilybells factor into things, where Majima's character journey ends up. But if I was writing Lycoris Recoil season 2, that's the direction I'd take things in. Will the writers take any of that advice? I guess we'll find out in a few years.

[hydrangeawise]

Before I got into the tag as per usual after watching the most recent episode: EP12!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just, WHAT!

It was a lot and I'll get to all the things I loved about it in a minute, but the funniest thing was Chisato complaining about the USB stick. And her and Fuki fighting under the desk. That was a bit surreal with everything else happening around them, but so fun!

And okay, the first half was a lot! "Sorry, I can't right now, I'm having an emotional breakdown" is how I explained it to my feline flatmate. I had my theories how it could turn out and what could possibly happen with Yoshimatsu and the heart, but I did not expect this! It makes sense in a way, with Yoshimatsu being the person he is and his strong views on how the world should work, but wow! And man, Takina, my sweet angel girl, I felt her SO MUCH! Her desperation and fierce determination, her anger!! She changed so much from the way she was at the beginning, it makes my heart bloom every time I see it or think about it. I simply love the way she loves Chisato so much (how Chisato says "I'm so glad I got to meet you" and Takina doesn't say anything, but her actions imply "Only meeting you is not enough, I want/need you to stay with me", I may need to lie down for a while and marinade in my feelings about them). There is so much life to her now!

Oh, and Kurumi taking down Robota was pretty funny as well. And how Mizuki is always there to keep it real with her complains, it was *chef's kiss*. I'm also still curious why people keep referring to Walnut as an old guy; is it because of the voice Kurumi uses, or is it because Walnut has been a presence for a long time? And also: I'm really curious about conspiracy theories within the world because while people seem to believe that everything shown on the news screens was indeed a publicity stunt, I don't think everyone would be like that.

Finally, the cliffhanger at the end was [screams into pillow for a bit]. I saw people in the comments call it ungodly, and I cackled a bit at that. Oh man, I can't believe it's only one episode to go and that it will drive me absolutely feral to wait for a week.

[vulpiximisa]

here is a post of Why I Like Nanamaru Sanbatsu which may or may not also be a Reasons Why You Should Watch Nanamaru Sanbatsu but it’s not made with the intent of persuasion and more of me just gushing over things because this isn’t spoiler friendly

1) Niche Sport

I’m not a stranger to “Sport but it doesn’t involve Ball or Sweat”. That’s a lie, the players sweat a lot in Chihayafuru. The fact that Sasaijma (and then another character in the later chapters in the manga) refer to Karuta is a reason enough to pick up the series. Hikaru no Go was one of my earlier sports anime as well. It’s not like I was a fan of Go or Karuta either but the way the characters wholeheartedly loved what they were doing (and competitively), it made me love it as well. The same definitely goes for Quiz Bowl. While the two I listed were something I completely had no clue how the rules go, Quiz Bowl is a bit more obvious so it’s easier to get into.

(kinda hate these promo pics because there looks like so many fcking charas but really you just need to remember like 5 of them)

2) Nerdy Protag in a Sports anime

Actually coming from YowaPeda, Crunchyroll recommended this amongst other things. YowaPeda did the trope a lot better, given that you’d never associate an Otaku with Biking while a Bookworm being associated with Quiz Bowl does not seem unheard of. But the idea of a nerdy protagonist in a competitive sport was still an allure. 

And oops, I think Koshiyama is a cutie so there’s a huge bias towards that. The fact that Horie Shun who voices Enta Jinnai from Sarazanmai voices Koshiyama Shiki gave me a laugh and he actually fits his role very well. Further emphasizes his cuteness without Enta’s weird gay crush lol

3) Ishikawa Kaito

I’m not above watching anime for seiyuu reasons alone but I actually went in blind with this series and to my surprise one of my favs was in it. I’d known Kaito mostly for Kageyama Tobio first, but he’s gone through so many other roles that I enjoy (Kaki from Pokemon SM, Iida from BokuHero, Mimura Subaru from 2.43) and I’ve watched a lot of seiyuu events/radios with him so I’m just a big fan of him in general. Dunno if I should have just merged this point with the next but-

4) Mikuriya Chisato

Kaito has The Range and can do whatever role he wants (I’m most impressed by his role as Alan from BNA) but I think I have a weakness for when he’s slightly an asshole. Mikuriya gave off the generic rival trope, which he kind of is. I got some Subaru vibes from him as well. I don’t know if he’s canonically handsome, but yes I think he’s very good looking for an anime character. Plus the fact that he’s The Cool Guy but is participating in such a sport as Quiz Bowl. AND the moe gap that is his feminine sounding first name and the possibility that he might also actually be an otaku is 👌👌👌👌

My friend had tagged something with him as “Chazz Princeton with a haircut” and while Not Entirely, he is the “We are not friends, we are rivals but I interact and help you enough that we are practically friends but i will continue to deny it” and I love that trope. The way he’s so not interested in Gorls or Nonsense reminds me of Manga Manjoume, though nowhere as serious because he is not above nonsense himself.

5) Fukami Mari

The moment she was introduced, I had very low expectations for her. Of course she is the one that drags Koshiyama into the Quiz Bowl world BUT she doesn’t fall into the trope of “Female is very good at The Thing, BUT Newbie Male MC does it better than her almost immediately”. I’m so glad for that because as you go on with the series, she is very much an entire character and not just a female support cast. 

She loves Quiz Bowl but she’s not the best or even very good at it. Her childhood friend from another school (which I was 75% betting that it was going to be a male and a potential love interest) turned out to be a female friend. Instead of “cat fight”, they are still very amicable towards each other and support each other but also acknowledge each other as rivals. The fact that Yuki had only started Quiz Bowl because of Mari but liked it enough to continue on by herself, I think that’s really great. 

The anime doesn’t get to it, but she confronts her brother about why he quit Quiz Bowl and challenges him. She has her own goals and ambitions and you see her working on it. She also has her strengths and weaknesses and is a vital addition to the Buzou Quiz Team. Fukami Mari is A Good Girl and I won’t tolerate any slander towards her. The way the beginning of the series sexuallizes her via putting her and Koshiyama into generic anime situations is so uncomfortable but I’m glad they move past that later.

Also since their group isn’t technically a Club (?) Mari isn’t just Female Manager. A plus to Quiz Bowl being Co-Ed sport.

6) Quiz Questions

I like trivia. It’s a little harder to guess the questions along with the anime because you’d have to pause all the time and half the time the contestants are going to buzz in early before you hear the entire question. Unfortunately, unless you actually are a fan of random knowledge or a huge nerd, the questions might actually be hard as well. I literally only knew about 3 questions asked in the entire series and its the anime/manga related ones lol. Still, I enjoyed seeing the characters draw their conclusions and to know what each character’s strong and weak points were. (Mikuriya using Math to calculate the Day of the Week from the past was 😚👌)

7) Side Characters

The first one I’m thinking is obviously Sonohara Akira. The moment of his first appearance, I had a hunch that it wasn’t exactly as it looked. He’s a little schemer but he has his own code of ethics, so he’s not all that bad. (Also hes A Gamer, so Relatable.) The fact that he’s related to Sonohara of Asagaoka makes it all the more interesting because they're’ so different. The way everyone reacts to him is so interesting because he doesn’t take it seriously while everyone else does. My favorite interactions with him aside from the Akiba Squad are the ones with Ookura. (I actually prefer to ship them over Niina/Akira lol)

Sasajima, mysterious Quiz Master with a past related to Fukami’s brother, who used to go to the Prestigious Quiz King School. Character wise, he doesn’t seem interesting but I love his idea of what a Quiz Bowl should be. My favorite parts of a series is when they love the thing they do, and that having fun is what is the most important. Of course you have to be fairly good at the thing first to be able to enjoy yourself freely but he never brags and is a supportive senpai.

Jinko. She’s cute. That’s good enough for me lol. I guess her Electronics Thing is also pretty cool. I like seeing the Sasajimas interact.

8) Ship

Okay, well, its obvious where I fall here. I don’t remember the last time I’ve watched such a generic sport series with a one on one protag vs rival. I’m not above shipping the “obvious/main” ship, as SasuNaru and Edgewright are some of my ships. However I didn’t ship Akira/Hikaru and I don’t ship KageHina but I do ship something like Manjoume/Judai and if asked MakoHaru vs RinHaru, I’d pick the latter, so it might just be a matter of tastes and I won’t fall immediately into every “rival” ship.

So why would I ship Mikuriya/Koshiyama? Because I love it when the Cool Guy falls for the Nerd and EXTRA POINTS if the Cool Guy is also secretly a nerd too. When I mean secretly a nerd, I don’t mean Mikuriya being on quiz bowl but that he might be a closet Otaku. (ImaSaka is everything about this trope.) 

Anyway, they are the main two rivals in the series, so of course they acknowledge each other. Koshiyama took it so dramatically but in the past, nobody cared about his presence, let alone think that he’s a Threat. Mikuriya is a Hot Shot and thinks he’s better than everyone but this newb with potential beat him one time (unofficially) so he’s automatically curious. 

Even though it is Hot Blooded Competition, Mikuriya always seems to encourage and cheer Koshiyama on (in his own rival-y way of course) whenever he feels down about not being strong enough to compete with him. (When they were lining up for the Third round at Asagaoka) Even when Koshiyama lost, after Mikuriya had a huge handicap, Mikuriya tells him he’ll take him on anytime. The fact that he wants to do Quiz Bowl with (against) him, is practically Sports Anime confession. “I won’t wait for you, Git Gud” “Okay I will Git Gud so we can fight again” *Fist Bump* What are you guys doing.

It might just be the art style but there is a copious amount of blushing happening every time the two interact. Also that height difference!! Mikuriya is 172 while Koshiyama is 153, I fucking love it. 

Uhhhh that’s about it. I would like to gush more but there’s only a few chapters of the manga that’s been fan translated and it’s not even half of what’s actually out there. (I think the manga is complete by now?) There’s only one anime season of the series, and I doubt there’s going to be more so RIP me.

[tres-spades-hotel]

Day 4 - Fortune. Fantasy. Masquerade.

Hello, hello, hello! So, I never posted the last four days of #kbtbbweek2020 and this is because I had to send my laptop away for two weeks to be repaired. And then I was distracted by my uni work so I never ended up finishing these!

But I have now! Here’s the first story released for 2021, I hope you all have a wonderful and safe year.

*

When I was a child, I found a baby dragon starving by the side of my house. My father and I took her in and nursed her back to health. She told us that she is no baby and had been living for nearly fifty years. Her name is Alexia, and she has this rare condition which prevented her from growing into a full size dragon. Alexia is 50 inches in length and most of that is her tail. She is a silver Cryoback Dragon and my best friend.

My father ran a dragon sanctuary in the countryside. We take in wild dragons, old dragons, injured dragons and even healthy ones. I spent my entire childhood and the beginning of my adult life with the dragons. I played on their tails and cuddled with some of them at night, watching the stars.

Then, my father died, and I inherited his property. I became the Lady of the Dragon House.

‘Lady Vivian! Sir Eisuke and his friends are returning tonight! Here is the letter he sent.’ My handmaiden and friend, Chisato, hands me the document and I see my husband’s handwriting.

Vivian

I am on my way back. Prepare a feast.

Eisuke

Ever the one to be short and curt, but I feel pride and affection in his words.

‘Chisato! Have the maids begin cooking!’ I run from the rooftop down to the gardens where Alexia likes to bathe in the sun.

‘Alexia! Eisuke is coming home from the war!’ I shout out and all the other dragons perk up.

‘Really?’

‘He’s victorious then?’

‘I hope the dragons he took with him will be returning.’

I skip down the large stone steps to a big blue dragon laying lazily on the ground. He watches me as I run to him.

‘Cobalt! Did you hear?’

‘Yes, I did. But do not forget your duties.’ He says and nuzzles his big nose against my face.

‘I know, I know. Oh, I can’t wait! It has been months since he left.’

‘That tough purple man will be fine. He is far too stubborn.’

‘Hm, that reminds me of another who is far too stubborn.’ I laugh and he snorts at me. Cobalt is a retired military Saptillar dragon, with cobalt blue scales as beautiful as a glittering sky. He lost his captain and his crew and first came to the sanctuary because of the trauma. He isolated himself so much and Eisuke told me not to bother, but with time I was able to get through to him. Now he is as protective as he is wonderful.

‘Vivvy! If we’ll be having a celebration, you should get Eisuke a gift.’ Alexia chimes from the chairs behind me.

‘Maybe, but I’m sure he’ll be tired. I can only hope that he isn’t injured or badly wounded.’ I say, concerned.

‘He is the captain of the Ichinomiya Secret Force. When he comes back, he’ll gloating about how he saved us.’ Cobalt retorts.

‘Ha, I’m sure the others will do that for Eisuke. Oh! I need to start preparing their rooms. They’ll be back tonight so you all should prepare for a ton of food coming your way!’ I say, and the dragons start roaring in delight.

*

‘My lady! Come quick! I can see Kenzaki’s form in the sky! That must be them!’ Sakiko shouts out and a large horn is blown to signal the returning soldiers.

I fix the hem of my dress and run down the outside stairs just in time to see Eisuke’s dragon, Kenzaki, touch down safely on the ground. All eight dragons and all eight men with their crews have returned home.

‘Eisuke!’ I shout out as his feet land on the ground. His dark purple officer suit is completely untouched, as clean and unwrinkled as if I had just ironed them. When his beautiful eyes land on mine, he smirks at me.

‘Well, aren’t you going to greet me?’ He says in his usually confident voice and I breakdown into tears. My feet run to Eisuke and my arms wrap around his torso as tight as I can. I sob into his chest as he returns the hug.

‘You’re such a cry baby aren’t you, love?’ He whispers but I feel his affection laced within those harsh words.

‘Only because you made me worry.’

‘I told you, didn’t I? That I would come back to you. Victorious.’

Eisuke pulls my face away from his chest and his chilled lips press onto mine. I hear cheering and laughter surround us, but I let my husband be the focus of my heart.

After the festivities, we hear the government announce the end of the war. Eisuke and I take a stroll out by the edge of the sanctuary.

‘Let’s sit for a while Eisuke. You must be tired.’

‘Fine.’

We sit on the fountain edge and Eisuke takes my hand into his lap.

‘How have you been, Vivian?’

‘Well, ever since you left, I was praying for your return. For months, I tried to supress my worry and anxiety and continued my duties here. I looked after the dragons, fed them, looked after the staff, servants and maids, and do you know, I started teaching the children of the maids as well?’ I say and ask.

‘I know. You said in your letter. I hope you’re not teaching them how to be silly and strange like you.’ Eisuke teases, pinching my cheek.

‘No! Of course not. I’m teaching them English, History, Mathematics and manners.’

‘Oh? Very serious subjects. Maybe I should join you and begin teaching as well.’

‘On what?’

‘Strategy. Business. How to look after a dragon. Useful subjects. ‘

‘Are my subjects not useful?’ I pout and he chuckles at me, poking my puffed out cheeks.

‘They’re useful. But don’t forget who you should be giving all your time to.’

‘You?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, now that you’re back, we can do that! The both of us can start teaching: you with practical subjects and me with desk work subjects. Oh, and the others can probably help out too! Ota can teach art, Soryu can teach defence and how to tame a dragon, Baba can teach cooking and Kishi… um..’

‘He can teach the kids how to have a proper night’s sleep. Or how to turn a garbage bin into a bed.’

‘He did what?’

We look at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing. After a few minutes, we listen to the rushing water behind us.

‘Eisuke, I’m glad you’re home.’

‘Me too, Vivian.’

[in-class-daydreams]

Parlay (Kuroo x Reader) | Ch. 9

- Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader (ft. Roommate Kenma)

Word Count: ~2, 200

Genres: Fluff, general buffoonery

CW: Swearing, sadness I guess, a little spicy but only, like, half a chili pepper out of 5

Summary: (Y/N), a first-year student attending Tokyo U, is living with her best friend, Kozume Kenma. Little did she know, her life would be turned upside down after being exposed to Kenma’s volleyball teammate and close friend, Kuroo Tetsurou. One wrong move, and the parlay’s stakes only get higher each time.

Chapters: First | Previous | Next

“Is that a new style, (Y/N)?” Chisato pointed at her coworker’s misaligned shirt buttons. The young woman groaned, frantically fiddling with her uniform so she looked at least somewhat presentable.

On the way here, her phone was suddenly pinging with notifications, and before she could even check who was spamming her (and wasting her data), Tooru’s (beautiful) face popped up on her screen.

‘Oh dear...’ She mentally prepared herself to hear what was so important that Oikawa wanted her to hear it right now immediately.

“Hello? Tooru? What’s up?”

“(Y/N)-chan? Forget what I said earlier, he’s a moron. Go talk to him.”

“Tooru, what’re you talking abou--!” The call ended before she could ask him for any context.

Overworked, cranky, and thoroughly distracted, (Y/N) stood in the changing room with her brow furrowed. Flinging her apron down on a chair after failing to tie it properly for the fourth time, the girl glared into the mirror. Hair disheveled and eye bags deep, it felt like the completely put-together persona that she had worked so hard to build was crumbling down. Just after leaving Oikawa to his own devices at Tokyo U, she looked at her phone to see that it was already 5:17.

‘Shoot! I got too caught up with all this! I’m sorry Gran!’ she mentally apologized.

Making the sprint from Tokyo U to Chisai in ten minutes was doable for a trained athlete like Kuroo, but (Y/N), student, waitress, and studying extraordinaire, ended up being about five minutes late to her destination.

(Y/N) had only been late to work once, this being her second time. The last time she was late, she had spent ages profusely apologizing to Grandmother. The old woman didn’t seem to mind her being late, but to (Y/N), it was a guilt that never went away. She couldn’t believe she had been late to a 5:30 shift, which was just as the dinner rush was starting.

Now, she was both late and sweating profusely, a truly disgusting combination. While she wondered how one boy could get her so bent out of shape, Tamaki rapped gently on the changing room door.

“(Y/N)? Your boy’s here to see you!”

(Y/N) froze, “Okay, I’ll be right out!”

“Hurry up, though, we’re about to be swamped!”

It was already dark. The cool autumn air was beginning to turn cold. (Y/N) hugged herself to keep warm in her thin white dress shirt. She had barely made it down the steps of Chisai before she was dragged into a solid chest, held there by strong arms.

“Kuroo-san?” she gasped.

The boy in question just held her tightly, as if he was worried she’d pull away at any moment.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair.

“Kuroo-san, I-- What are you doing here?” she asked. Kuroo didn’t release his hold.

“I came to let you know I’m sorry. For everything. For being all weird around you, and for not talking to you properly, and for not treating you like a person. I really didn’t mean to make you feel like I don’t respect you, because I do. I really do. Maybe too much sometimes. And I don’t think you’re shallow at all, that was just me and my stupid mouth. I was the one who felt insecure, and it was wrong of me to take it out on you,” slowly, his arms fell away from her shoulders. She shivered at the loss of warmth.

“I… I accept your apology. I’m sorry, too. I went off on you for making assumptions, but after getting to know you, I should have known you didn’t mean any of those things. That was my-- Oh--!!”

(Y/N) found herself in another crushing embrace, the warmth surrounding her body once again.

“Wait!” she protested, (weakly) attempting to break out, “I haven’t apologized properly!”

Kuroo shook his head. Content, he rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Can we just stay like this for a little longer? That’s all I need from you.”

“But you deserve a full apology!”

“I’m just glad to see you.”

Pulling back, (Y/N) looked into Kuroo’s overjoyed expression.

‘Should I…?’ She hesitated.

Luckily, she didn’t need to make a decision as Kuroo’s catlike eyes flickered down to her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut as he leaned in.

“(Y/N)!” The girl yelped at the sound of her name. Clutching the tall boy by the hoodie, her head snapped towards the door of Chisai. Tamaki stood there looking harried.

“Unless your boy’s gonna put on an apron, you need to get your butt in here!” she snapped. (Y/N) smoothed her hair down with one hand and straightened her uniform with the other.

“I’ll be right there,” she told her coworker.

“You better.”

Somehow pristine and radiant once more, (Y/N) turned to Kuroo, grabbing his hands in both of hers.

“I’ll see you at the game tomorrow?”

Kuroo had become much more functional as a person around her since the ‘I table’ incident, but here she was, holding his hands, and his brain was going haywire because ‘Oh jesus, why are her hands so soft??’

His brain didn’t register the gentle pressure on his cheek until she had already lowered herself from her toes and was making her way up the steps to the tea house.

“And Kuroo?” Amber eyes snapped to attention at the sound of her voice, “You don’t need to worry about Tooru. I’m not sure how to say this, but, uh, you don’t really have any competition.”

“(Y/N), don’t make me come get you!”

Kuroo watched as she climbed the stone steps, giving him one last sweet look before she disappeared, leaving him standing there under the streetlight.

An absolute lovestruck idiot.

~~

“Bokuto-san!” Akaashi curved at the spine to send the outside hitter a toss. The spiker jumped up and slammed a straight right between the blockers, where it was picked up by the libero. The opposing team’s setter sent a toss to their ace.

Kuroo stepped to the side to line up with the hitter and jumped. The ball glanced off his left hand.

“One-touch!” he yelled over his shoulder.

Enraptured, Shusei leaned over (Y/N) shoulder, shoving fistfuls of kettle corn into his mouth.

“What’s up with your boy?” he said through a full mouth.

“I’m not sure…” she murmured. Her shoulders tightened up, “And stop calling him my boy!” she scolded her friend, who shrugged.

“You knew exactly who I was talking about, sooo.”

~~

It was Kuroo’s turn to serve. He tossed the ball in the air, jumped, and slammed it across the court, where the defense picked it up easily. Nishinoya picked up the opposing team’s attack and Kuroo hit a cross, where the defense was unable to save it. Kuroo ignored the roaring of the crowd, looking towards the stands. (Y/N)’s heart skipped a beat when the two of them made eye contact.

“Maybe you should go talk to him at the break,” Tamaki suggested, “ He’s probably distracted from that whole thing with you yesterday.”

“I can’t just waltz into the locker room!”

“Who’s stopping you?”

This time, Kuroo smashed his spike right into a three-person block.

“What is up with you today?” (Y/N) asked as if he could hear.

“I know you like being passive and staying on the sidelines,” Shusei’s eyes didn’t leave the court. He ran a hand through his styled strawberry blonde locks, “But that doesn’t seem to be going too well for you right now. If he can leave his comfort zone for you, maybe you can do the same, yeah?”

The referee blew her whistle, gesturing to the net. Kuroo had a look of pure anguish as the opposing team gained another point. The audience stared in shock as Tokyo U lost a point for Kuroo touching the net.

Tokyo U’s coach turned to his team in the box. Iwaizumi jogged up to the edge of the court, and held up a paddle with a familiar number.

“They’re taking him out?” (Y/N) wondered as Kuroo jogged over to the sideline. He took the paddle from his teammate and sat down on the bench. It was painful to see him so frustrated with himself.

The opposing team had taken the second set not long after Kuroo was benched. As the coach led them back to the locker room for a quick talk on strategy, Kuroo kept his eyes on the ground. Once he said his piece, the coach ordered everyone out except for Kuroo. With a sharp, “Get your head on straight!” the boys left their teammate to his own devices.

Meanwhile, (Y/N) sat conflicted up in the stands. She thought about Kuroo, and the miserable look he had on his face. The frustration that took over his whole body made (Y/N)’s heart strain in her chest, like it was reaching to be near him.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Kuroo would walk her to work because it was getting dark, and he didn’t want to take any chances. Then, he’d bust his ass getting to practice so he wouldn’t be late, and yet, he never complained. Hell, he didn’t even take credit for it.

Kenma was right. She really was oblivious. That boy with the ridiculous bedhead that was constantly so tongue-tied around her… He really cared about her, didn’t he?

Nearly tripping over the spectators around her, (Y/N) apologized profusely as she rushed towards the exit. There was a loud bang when her foot slipped on the stadium stair. Bare shin painfully connected with metal, but while onlookers asked her if she was alright, the girl paid it no mind as she kept moving towards the end of the bleachers. Unaffected by any quizzical stares, she broke into a run towards the locker room entrance.

By no means was she an excellent runner. After spending all her time with her head in a book, her stamina had gotten a little low, to say the least. Side cramping and shins aching, she kept on running.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity had passed, her exhausted arms flung open the door. Kuroo jumped at the sudden intrusion. The bewildered young man took in the sight of his favorite girl, sweaty, disheveled, and wheezing with effort. That cute furrow in her brow that he enjoyed so much deepened as she marched right up to him.

The completely wrecked girl in front of him grabbed his face in both hands. Before he could even process what was going on, her mouth was ranting to him a mile a minute.

“Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but I know you’re better at volleyball than this, and you know you’re better than this, so get it together! The guy I like is an excellent athlete and middle blocker, and you don’t have to win, but you will not go down like this, Tetsurou!”

Kuroo wasn’t sure what he felt first, her hands gripping the fabric of his jersey or his back slamming against the metal lockers with a thud. Any of those thoughts left his brain when her lips insistently met his. The world melted away and he tasted mint, strawberry, and something else uniquely her. She tasted like everything he ever dreamed she would. His strong arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer. Every nerve in his body was electrified while her hand snaked through his sweat-slicked hair. For the entire time he knew her, she just seemed so flawless, fitting in perfectly wherever she went: their lecture hall, her apartment with Kenma, that party with his teammates, but she’d never felt so ethereal as she was right then, flush against him, his senses completely consumed by her touch, her taste, her soft lips on his.

When their lips finally parted, his hand slid up to her cheek, pulling her back to him hungrily, so that her heavenly mouth may never leave their rightful place against his ever again. Bracing her hands against his chest, she gently nudged him back. He compromised by placing his forehead against hers.

“Good luck,” she whispered against his lips.

Kuroo pulled back and gave her a determined look.

“I won’t need it.”

~~

“Tetsu-chan!” Oikawa tossed to Kuroo, who did a wipe across the opposing team’s block. Ever since the coach agreed to put him back in, Kuroo was on fire.

The opposing spiker growled in frustration at getting shut-out once again. Tokyo-U’s head coach nodded in approval.

“Gave yourself one hell of a pep talk in the locker room, huh?” Bokuto said. His friend shook his head.

“I guess I did,” he dismissed.

“Did that pep talk include putting on pink lip gloss, or was that just a side effect?” Nishinoya taunted from the back row.

Kuroo brought a hand up to scrub at his mouth, then decided not to, just in case that kiss was a one-time thing, or the very real possibility that he had fantasized the whole thing.

It was Ushijima’s turn to serve. One bounce, then two. The mountain of a man jumped and sent the ball flying to the other end of the court with breakneck speed. Somehow, the other team managed to get the ball in the air. Kuroo’s mind was going a mile a minute. The second set, the opposing team had done a back row attack, but it seemed this setter from the first set preferred to use the outside hitter, who was left-handed.

Grabbing Bokuto by the shoulders, the two quickly switched places, and, on Kuroo’s count, jumped up just as the ace’s hand connected with the ball, meeting Kuroo’s exceptional block and hitting the floor just in front of the libero’s save. The referee blew her whistle and crossed her arms, signaling Tokyo U’s victory.

~~

Taglist: @nekomas-kuroo @joyful-jimin @ohwow-ok

[yume-no-ai]

Hana-chan’s Birthday

Pairing: Karamatsu x Hana

Warning: Mild rated

A/N: I typed this on my phone so I haven’t proofread and edit much. So sorry for many grammar and spelling errors. Enjoy 💖

A tall man with hazelnut hair and blonde highlights stared at a picture of a woman wearing blue sparkly revealing bunny costume showing a v sign. A dark haired man standing next to him also staring at the picture. Both of their eyes and mouth immediately widened and hang open when they saw the picture. 

“So, what do you think? It’s perfect for my birthday costume right? A sparkly bunny theme! Everyone can wear sparkly outfits too!” Atsuko Hana, who showed the picture and now stood infront of them, waiting to hear for opinions. Hana saw blood dripping out of Karamatsu’s nose and he quickly wiped it off. “Karamatsu? Nii-chan?”

“U-uhm...honey...do you really want to wear this on your birthday party?” asked Karamatsu. He flinched when the man beside him hid the picture from his gaze. “Yes, Kara-chan! You can wear your revealing sparkly outfit so we can be matchy matchy!” Hana answered. Her eyes were glowing at the two person she loves so much. “Then wear it, Hana! I love the costume too!” said Karamatsu. Hana was so happy she threw herself on her boyfriend, giving a tight hug. Karamatsu is always there to support her and willing to do anything to make her happy. Besides, it’s for her birthday.

“The answer is no” answered the hazelnut haired man. The man stared at the couple and growled at Karamatsu, making him throwing his hands in the air. “Niichan why??” Hana pouted while still hugging on Karamatsu’s torso. “Hana baby. The dress is too revealing! I don’t want others to see you in that costume,” Atsuko Kiyoshi explained. He removed Hana from Karamatsu. “By the way, who snapped this photo of you? And where did you get this costume?”

------3 days earlier------

“Ayame! How do I look?!” Hana said in her loud cheery voice as she walked in to her best friend’s house. She had a spare key.

Walking out from the kitchen, Ayame nearly dropped off her coffee mug. “OH MY GOD HANA!!! What are you wearing?!!”

Hana twirled around and showing off to Ayame, “Do you like it? I rented it and gonna use it for my birthday party!!”

“I... I do! It’s too sparkly and it suits you, Hana-chan” Ayame said truthfully. She took a sip of her coffee and her eyes were searching for something. “Hana-chan?”

“Yes, Ayame?”

“Do you bring any extra clothes?”

Hana’s answer made Ayame chocked on her coffee, “Oh I don’t bring any extra clothes!”

“WHAT??!!! You telling me you came to my house in that??!! Then what’s in your bag right now?” Ayame’s eyes were as wide as yours right now.

“My phone, wallet and instax camera,” answered Hana. Ayame’s reaction made Hana tilted her head in confusion. “Young lady...you bring a camera but not your clothes???” Ayame still in disbelief.

Before Ayame could say another word, Hana handed her instax camera to take a picture of her.

Ayame sighed, placed her mug on the coffee table and took the camera. She will surely lend Hana one of her clothes. Don’t want her to go back like that.

----- Present-----

The three of them were in Hana’s house. Kiyoshi dropped by to his little sister’s house after a photoshoot he had in Tokyo. He was very thrilled when Hana texted him to come by. But he turned frown and grumpy when he saw Karamatsu was there too. Not that he dislike Karamatsu but he is a very protective brother towards his sister. He does not want Hana to experience painful love again. But seeing Hana really loves Karamatsu, he decided to gain a bit trust on him.

“Niichan, I’m in my 20′s and my birthday is coming soon. I am an adult now,” pouted Hana. She walked over to her 2 seated-couch and sat down. Before Karamatsu can sit beside her, Kiyoshi quickly occupied the space; leaving Karamatsu sat on a single seated couch across them. Kiyoshi turned his attention to Hana and pat her head.

"Hana, I know you’re growing up. But you’re also still a lady. And you don’t know how many thirsty men will look at your body if you wear that. I’m so sorry, Hana. I won’t let you. I think even Karamatsu agree with me, right Karamatsu??” Kiyoshi gave a dangerous look that made Karamatsu gulped his own saliva and sweating. Hana didn’t notice.

“A-aah! Yes!! I agree with him, Hana-chan!”

Hana, still pouting, feeling very disappointed with her oniichan’s answer. And it’s not that cheap renting. She sighed and nodded.

“Fine. I will listen to you. But you need to pay back the rental money! It’s not cheap”, Hana still pouting at her brother which Kiyoshi found her cute. “Just tell the price away, Hana” answered Kiyoshi easily. Damn... Karamatsu wished to be like him. Rich and hoping to say the same statement like that to Hana.

On her birthday, Ayame threw a suprise birthday party that was planned carefully with the sextuplets, Momoka, Chisato, Yuzu and Kiyoshi few days before. And it worked! Hana didn’t expect them to throw a party at evening in a restaurant for her!

Everyone were enjoying themselves to buffet. Especially the Matsuno. Karamatsu warned his brothers to behave before going to the party but failed. He was laughing nervously when everyone saw his brothers eating like pigs on someone’s birthday. Hana reassured him that it’s okay to let them enjoy theirselves.

Ayame went to Kiyoshi’s side and nudged him on the hip. “You sure Hana is okay to not wear her birthday costume for her party tonight, Kiyoshi-nii?” Ayame whispered. Kiyoshi looked at Hana, who was chatting with Momoka, Chisato and Yuzu on dining table, looking no sign of sadness, he answered proudly, “It’s fine. She looks cute in those floral blue and white dress. And oh- I..picked out for her.”

Ayame gave a look to Kiyoshi. “What? Don’t worry yourself and enjoy the party, Aya-chan! Come! Let nii pour you another champagne”, said Kiyoshi while dragging Ayame to the champagne table.

Few hours later, Hana excused herself quietly and went to the restaurant’s balcony. She closed the door and slowly walked to the outdoor bench. The night view outside of the restaurant was so beautiful. Down below was a view of a street while above view was full with stars. She slowly walked towards the bench, loving the clicking sound of her heels steps. She sat down as she reached.

The peaceful sounds made her wanted to sleep on the bench until she heard a soft click behind her.

“......Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your thoughts.”

Seeing who had said that made her felt relieved and smiled.

“No worries. Join me, my love.”

Karamatsu quickly walked to the bench and sat beside her. “Why are you not inside? Are you not enjoying your party?”

She shooked her head. “I love it. It’s just...”

“Just what, honey?” Karamatsu looked worried for his girlfriend. He scooted nearer to Hana and placed his arm around her.

“I...I may sounds unreasonable but...I really want to wear the bunny costume for my birthday party,” she confessed.

“I am already in my adulthood. I know niichan wants to protect me but I never said anything when he wears something much more revealing and have his girls surrounding him on his birthday party. It’s just....so unfair.” Hana looked at Karamatsu to see if there’s any sign of unbelievable on his face. But Karamatsu just smiled and chuckled.

“I thought you had a stomach ache or you’re not feeling well. But I’m glad that is your reason” Karamatsu said.

“I understand that you want to strut your stuff on your very special day. And I love the outfit so much because you look beautiful in it. And sexy~” Karamatsu used his deep casanova voice on the last part, making Hana giggle.

“But I also understand about Kiyoshi-san trying to protect you. I....actually will feel jealous too if others seeing you in that. Especially by my brothers.”

Karamatsu’s confession made Hana go silence and thinking deep. And Karamatsu again broke her thoughts. He slowly leaning towards Hana’s face, his voice went low and breathy,

“If you still want to wear it on your special day, we still have 3 more hours to celebrate! But....the people invited on the list will be only us two. And celebrate at your apartment. What do you say, Hana?”. Karamatsu’s lips was dangerously onto Hana’s. One move and the lips will meet each other.

And Hana being bold, closed in with a long quick peck before answered, “Sure.”

Their journey to rush back home was difficult by sneaking past through the crowds, the big boss a.k.a Kiyoshi and the second big boss a.k.a Ayame but they managed to escape from it without anyone noticing.

In the taxi they took, neither  of them actually wanted to let go of each other but must behave since they were in public. The lust atmosphere was so heavy you can cut through them.

Reaching upon Hana’s apartment, both of them already calmed down and Hana was so excited to try on her birthday suit! Less than 2 hours left to celebrate Hana’s birthday in her costume.

Karamatsu took off his shoes and arrange them neatly along with Hana’s. He walked to the living room and sat down on the long couch, waiting for his honey to come out of the bedroom showing her sexy costume.

Not long after, the bedroom door creaked open and revealed a sexy figure with sparkly glitters costume. He loves the view so much he wanted to explode right here and now!

Hana walked towards where Karamatsu was sitting. She slowly and carefully pushed Karamatsu so he can sit and relax on the sofa. Hana lifted her right leg and placed beside Karamatsu’s left side. Same goes to her left beside his right. She sat comfortably on top of her lover’s lap and wrapped her arms around Karamatsu’s neck.

Karamatsu’s right hand slid onto Hana’s back, playing a bit with the bunny tail that attached to the costume while his left hand trailing up and down on Hana’s right thigh. He loves the feeling of the stoking that Hana wore right now. He loves the bunny ears on Hana’s head. He loves everything about Hana right now.

The two slowly grinding their hips together.

“Happy Birthday, Atsuko Hana. I hope you had a blast today, my love” Karamatsu wished in breathy and sexy tone.

“I think I will have a blast tonight, darling” answered Hana, latching her lips onto Karamatsu’s.

It was indeed a blasting night. Both of them were enjoying one another and let’s just say, they got scolded on the next day for putting their phone on silent.

[floopers]

some chisakanon cuddle just because

word count: 510

When Chisato opens her eyes, it’s dark. Or, well, it’s getting dark, the faint streaks of orange streaking through the holes in the curtains of her window. What had she even been doing? Taking a nap? She doesn’t usually take naps—

A shuffle by her side makes her pause. There’s a sound, a soft sigh, and then she remembers. One of her arms is stiff—she's not sure if she's feeling it, or not feeling it, given the way Kanon’s sleeping on it.

Chisato turns her head, trying to squint through the near darkness. Kanon is facing away from her this time, which Chisato finds odd because she was sure Kanon had fallen asleep on top of her. Chisato’s free hand gropes at the side of her bed—ah, now she knows why.

As carefully as she can, Chisato props herself up, just to make sure. Kanon’s somehow taken the jellyfish plush she left here last time, hugging it close to herself in her sleep. A pang shoots through Chisato. Kanon is too cute for her sometimes.

Chisato turns her whole body now, curling into Kanon’s warmth. She carefully moves her arm over Kanon’s body, sighing as Kanon seemingly moves back against her, almost like they fit against each other. It's overly sentimental, like a line straight out of a romance script, but Chisato cares little for such formalities right now. She's warm, Kanon's warm. Chisato doesn’t think she can recall a time where she’s felt so comfortable. Kanon is comfortable, secure, soft.

Chisato steals precious more minutes. But it’s getting late, Chisato knows. She doesn’t want Kanon to walk by herself home, not with her propensity to get lost. She should call a driver for her. But, she also doesn’t want to wake Kanon up. It feels almost… mean to do so.

But it’s getting late.

Chisato, regretfully, rouses Kanon from her sleep with a shake. “Kanon-chan? It’s getting late, you should go home,” she says. So much for trying to do their homework together, not when they’ve gone and fallen asleep instead. Kanon mumbles something, and turns back to look at her, eyes half-lidded with sleep.

“Chisato-chan?” she mumbles.

“It’s getting late, you should go,” Chisato repeats. “I’ll call a driver for you. I don’t want you to get lost so late at night.”

“Ah…” Kanon shakes her head. She doesn’t move away from Chisato. “Um, Chisato-chan, do you mind if I stay over tonight?” Her voice is quiet, shy as she speaks. “I feel bad that I fell asleep and… then, you, um…”

“Not at all,” Chisato immediately says. A part of her is sighing in relief, glad that she can spend more time with Kanon. But, they should at least be getting out of bed, they’ve accidentally wasted more than enough of the day away—

“... um,” Kanon starts, her voice so soft that even Chisato is straining to hear her, “do you mind if we can… stay like this a little bit longer then?”

Chisato pulls her closer, smiling against Kanon's hair.

“Not at all,” she says again.

[flipomatic]

Reason to Stay: Chapter 19

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

The group was in the castle for a total of about 20 hours. In that time they ate two meals, which Sayo noted were not nearly as good as the ones she had at Circle. She spent time catching up with Yukina and Lisa, filling in the gaps of the last week.

After breakfast in the morning, Kaoru appeared and handed Lisa a return letter for king Uehara. She said that Chisato sent her regards and wished them safe travels. All of this came with a pose and a flourish.

It was as good as a dismissal, so the group gathered their belongings from their temporary quarters and went to get their horses. The horses were already being prepared by a stable hand, so soon the party was on their way. Sayo wasn’t sad to be leaving Pastel.

Just as it had taken four days to reach Pastel, it would take the same four days to return to Circle. During these four days they were not attacked a single time, which was great. All members of their party had also resumed making normal conversation with the rest, so the time passed by relatively quickly. They camped in most of the same places as they did on the way over, not including the camp where they were attacked previously.

Sayo found that, though she was worried constantly about an ambush, the return ride was far better than the one down.

On the fourth day of riding they reached Circle in the midafternoon. The wall guards waved as they passed through the gates, slowing their horses to a walk as usual. They soon reached the castle and knocked at the stable gate. Within a few minutes it was opened to them and they entered the castle.

Kanon helped Sayo stow her horse, and she told the blue haired woman that she’d be back later to get her things and assist in caring for Neko. Once all of the horses were safely in stalls, Lisa led the way to Ran’s office.

Passing through the courtyard felt like coming home, the familiar halls oddly welcoming. Sayo could see the flowers she’d planted with Arisa blooming well in the courtyard. It was a strange feeling, but not an unwelcome one. She wondered how Tsugumi had been doing while she was out of the castle. The group soon passed the courtyard and neared Ran’s office.

Lisa knocked on the door, which was followed by Ran’s voice calling them in. The five of them barely fit in the open part of the office, but they made it work.

Ran’s expression was neutral as she looked between them, spending an extra few seconds on Lisa’s right arm. “Welcome back.” She said. Lisa stepped forward and handed her the letter from queen Chisato. “Thank you. I will ensure that the king gets this.” Ran stowed the envelope in her desk. “How was the road?” Sayo knew she wasn’t asking about the condition of the stones.

“Not too bad.” Lisa replied chipperly.

Yukina scoffed quietly. “One bandit attack, a few hours outside of Pastel.” She had her arms crossed.

“I see.” Ran replied evenly. “Well, take the rest of the day to rest and see a medic if you need to. You’re dismissed.” Sayo turned to leave with the group but was called back. “Sayo, could you stay please.”

“Alright.” Sayo turned back and stood in front of Ran’s desk as the others filtered out.

Once the door was closed Ran took a piece of paper out of her desk drawer. “It has been a month since you first signed your contract.” She turned the paper towards Sayo; it was a new contract. “It expired while you were gone. This one is for a whole year; will you renew it?”

Sayo had been thinking that it had been around a month since she started, and she was right. Did she want to renew for a whole year? Did she want to stay here, in this castle, for that long?

Hours spent teaching Lisa and being taught by her flashed through her mind. She remembered catching Yukina with the cat and fighting with both of them on this trip. She thought about the gossip swirling around that would still need to be addressed if she stayed. She thought about the friendships she’d formed.

Sayo thought about Tsugumi, the brilliant young cook she saw every day.

“I’ll sign it.” Sayo stepped forward, taking the quill from Ran. She glanced over the contract and confirmed that it was the same as before, with only the amount of time altered, before signing her name along the bottom.

“Excellent.” Ran examined the paper after Sayo signed it and then stowed it back in her desk. “You’re dismissed for today. Tomorrow your regular duties will resume.”

“Thank you.” Sayo said her goodbye and walked out of the room, making her way through familiar halls. She wanted to go back to her room and just sleep the journey off, but there was one place to stop first.

Since she would be resuming duty tomorrow, another guard would probably tell Kasumi about her return. The captain would add her to the schedule and even if she didn’t, Sayo would have her pick of the morning or afternoon shift. No, the person she needed to go see was Tsugumi. There was no way Tsugumi had seen her group arrive at the castle, so Sayo wanted to make sure she knew that Sayo would be back at work the next day.

That was the only reason Sayo’s feet carried her to the kitchen.

As she entered, the delicious smells of baking food washed over her. The staff all looked up to see who arrived, but resumed their tasks when they saw who it was.

“I’m back.” Sayo announced as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

Saya waved and Tsugumi called out in greeting. “Welcome back Sayo!” She was cutting up some meat, as Sayo approached she wasn’t sure what kind.

Tsugumi’s smile brought warmth to Sayo’s chest; she was glad she decided to stay.

Omake:

Tsugumi watched Sayo leave, still smiling. It would be a lot of work to prepare the rations so quickly, but she was confident they could do it. It was nice to be useful to her, to be able to help. She often watched Sayo come and go, unable to offer much more than a brief cooking lesson or a few kind words.

She had wanted to offer assistance with the gossip problems Sayo was having, but had only managed to squelch them in the kitchen. At least Tsugumi could do that much.

Even as the head chef, she didn’t contribute nearly as much around the castle as her friends did.

Saya walked over to Tsugumi with a sharp frown on her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Why did you accept this?” She clearly didn’t agree with the decision. “We’ll be lucky to have it ready even ten minutes ahead of time.”

That was true, it would be a lot of work to have the rations ready. But even if they could just make it, it would be worth it. “We can do it.” Tsugumi said, already thinking about what they would need to compile for the rations. “Let’s get started.”

They still had regular meals to prepare, so Tsugumi divided their forces to take on all assigned tasks.

She would be useful; she could do this.

End arc 2

Next Chapter

[danganronpa-paradox]

CHAPTER 1 - 018

After talking to everyone with Hitomi, we decided to follow Midori to the rec room. She said there were some people discussing the… recent events, so we figured we’d go check it out and see what the general consensus on how we should deal with this is.

There were about 5 other people in the rec room when we went in -- Naomasa, Naoto, Mitsunari, Taiyou and Keiji. That meant that half of us were discussing the motive in the rec room. Midori closed the door behind us, and we walked over to the others. Naomasa was the first to speak.

“Lovely of you to join us, ladies.”

“Hey there! Matsuba mentioned this to us, so we figured we’d drop by.”

“Yeah, we were just talking about the… y’know.”

“Yes. That.”

“We set this up so we could touch base with each other, and make sure there wasn’t anything concerning about these forums.”

“I am a bit concerned about the others who didn’t show up though…”

The others who didn’t show up… that’d be Yuu, Hitoshi, Haruka, Naomi, Asahi, Yuki, Kasumi and Kotori. We talked to 2 of them, and we tried to talk to Kotori, but she was talking to someone else. I wondered what was up with the other 5?

“Well, what’s important now is the people who did show up.”  

“Guess so. We’re just talkin’ ‘bout these bullshit forums. Where did that fucker even get these from? Did he really take’em from the school?”

“He said that he did, but given his nature, I don’t really think we can trust what he says.”

“So, what do we do? Just… Hmmm… Anyone got any ideas?”

“Well, like Oxford Blue over there said, we’ve just been tellin’ each other what’s on our forums to make sure nobody’s like, a serial killer, or somethin’.” That was an… interesting way to put it.

“Oh, alright then. I didn’t really see anything noteworthy on mine, unless you count some broken bones from rough soccer matches as something noteworthy.”

“I-I can confirm that! I, um, I got your forum, Kurosawa.”

“Ah, that’s right! We all get two forums, I forgot.” How did I forget that? Get it together, Ichigo.

“So, do we just… go around the circle then…?”

Hitomi was next.

“Well, um… I was born with transverse deficiency... basically, I’m missing my left leg.”

“And as a result of that, I’ve been wearing a prosthetic for most of my life.” She lifted her skirt a bit to show the others her leg.

“...”

“...”

“Damn…”

”...Can’t imagine how tough that is… only havin’ one leg and havin’ to walk around with another that ain’t really yours…”

“Well, I guess it is kinda yours ‘cuz you own it, but it ain’t really yours cuz it’s… a fake leg… y’know what I mean.”

“Yeah… I get it.”

“...Thank you for sharing. Yamazaki? Taiyou said she received your forum as well, but is there something you’d like to share with us?”

“Well, there is the reason I was scouted into Hope’s Peak in the first place…”

“In school, my average grade for math assignments and tests currently sits at 100, and it’s sat there ever since they started keeping track of my averages. My averages in subjects that involve a lot of math like science are also in the high ninetys.”

“The school board was baffled by how this was possible, and some of my teachers thought I was cheating. So when I was about thirteen, I was sent on a plane to the University of Tokyo, where I was tasked with solving 10 of the university’s most difficult math problems, while being watched by some of the professors to make sure I wasn’t cheating, because they didn’t believe that I could do it either. Joke’s on them, because I managed to solve them all correctly and flawlessly in precisely six minutes and thirty-eight seconds.”

“They still didn’t believe it, so they took me to get an IQ test. I scored 166. That’s when I hit the news, and Hope’s Peak eventually found out about me, and put me into their Super Junior High School Level Divison, and after that... here I am now.”

“Wow… that’s impressive!” Of course, he had already told me this information, but it was still crazy knowing a person as smart as he was!

“Whoa! You’re, like, one of the smartest people out there, and you’re only in high school!”

“He’s right! And with that IQ… you’re a literal genius!”

“Aw, c’mon, it’s not that special.”

“You’ve been a Hope’s Peak student for years, and you’re the guy who scored 166 on his IQ test when he was thirteen. I wouldn’t call that ‘not special’! Who knows what your IQ is now?”

“She’s got a point! Mitsunari’s already told me that there’s nothing he wants to share, so it’s my turn!”

“Really, the only interesting thing on here is that I’ve been playing in the band since I was thirteen. Keiji?”

“...Nothing really on mine.”

“Keiji, I got your forum. I know.”

“...Okay, fine, I’ll spill.”

“...We yarnbombed an entire park in the dead of night. Me and my knitting group.”

“You did what.”

“It was really fun! It was part of an event that we were participating in centered around art, so it was perfectly legal.”

“Why would they put that on your forum?”

“It was part of the reason I was scouted. They wanted someone from that group, and since I was the only one still in high school, they chose me!”

“Haha! You’re pretty wild, Thistle!”

“There ain’t too much on mine, ‘cept for the fact that I apparently grew an inch since they filled this out.”

“Alright then. Matsuba, you’re our last one!”

“O-Oh, me? Hehe, um, well…”

“Y-Y’know how Monomage said that some of us might be keeping secrets about our talents…?”

“Yeah, what about that?”

“Well…”

“...”

“!!!”

“???”

“Lil’ Candytuft… yer a-”

“Yes. I am.”

“Midori is… not real. She’s just one of the many identities I have assumed while going undercover. Everything you see on me is fake. The clothes, the hair, the makeup, the contacts, everything.”

“But… why’dja go undercover as a chocolatier?”

“You wouldn’t believe what some people put in those chocolates.”

“...Jesus Christ.”

“...Also, I received your forum, um… Toyama? Matsuba?”

“Matsuba’s fine. I’ll need to keep up this facade for a while anyway.”

“Facade?”

“You can’t exactly be an undercover officer without criminals and their associates in your midst… and I’ll just leave it at that.” What did she mean by that? Was there a criminal in the building with us who wasn’t being truthful about who they were?

...Did they have something to do with our kidnapping?

“...Right then. I’m no criminal expert, but if that criminal is really here and out for you, then staying hidden is probably a smart choice.”

“Yeah… but the thought of having a criminal after you is horrible to think about…”

“It is, but it’s something I have to think about a lot. I don’t really get scared thinking about it that much, but I guess that’s because I’m used to it.”

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Well, I’m glad we all had this discussion. I suppose we should all just wander around until suppe-”

“Not so fast!”

“Gah!”

“You!”

“...”

“Now what exactly is going on here? I give you those forums as a potential way to kill each other and here you are reading the contents like it’s some show and tell bullshit!”

“So what? You can’t control what we do wit’em, and you can’t stop us from talkin’ bout’em either!”

“Yeah, he’s right. It’s literally in the rules that you told us to follow.” She quickly booted up her Student Handbook.

“4. The host may not interfere with the students unless they break a rule or specifically request it.”

“You’d literally be breaking your own rules if you tried to force us to stop talking about it. Besides, you literally gave us a motive to kill someone. It’s only natural that it’d be a hot topic for discussion.” She was clearly trying to keep up her image as Midori, but it was almost like I could hear Chisato slipping through the cracks of her sentence.

“Well, I never! Seems like your law knowledge is coming in handy there, Officer!”

“...” I guess Monomage already knew who she was. She didn’t look scared though, so maybe Monomage wasn’t the criminal she mentioned.

“But, I guess since we’re all sharing stuff about each other…” He reached for the brim of his hat. “...I think it’s only fair that I share something about me!”

In that instant, he whipped the hat off his head, and…

...and…

“Ta-da!”

...What the heck.

“What.”

“You’re kiddin’ me.”

“What the fuck?!”

“Well, aren’t you just a pleasant bunch. Didn’t your parents ever teach you manners?”

“W-We were taught to express gratitude to stuff we liked, not stuff like this. What the damn were you expecting reactionwise?”

“Yeah! Tell’im like it is!”

“Oh, I get it! You all are just jealous that you don’t have luscious locks like mine! Shahahahaha!”

“Oh, you think you’re hot shit, huh?” Naomasa stood up from where he was sitting and reached behind his head.

“Oh? A challenger approaches? A challenger who thinks his hair attracts more attention than mine? Shahaha! You can’t get higher quality than this, Mr. Saxobeat!” Monomage’s taunting didn’t seem to deter Naomasa in the slightest, because in mere seconds…

“You wanna bet?”

“...”

“!!!”

“Well, how bout that!”

“Seriously, you could probably be a shampoo model with hair like that!”

“Oh, come on! What happened to little ol’ me?”

“You’re not important.”

“You’ve also just lost a bet.”

“Well, aren’t you just gentlemen! Guess I’ll leave you to your ‘teamwork’ bullcrap!” With a wave of his staff, his hat reappeared on his head and his hair was stuffed back inside.

“Thank you for choosing the Despairing Sunset Inn, and we hope you enjoy your miserable stay! Happy slaughtering!” He disappeared in yet another puff of smoke.

“Off he goes again.”

“Better gone than here, I suppose.”

“What was that all about, anyway?”

“I… couldn’t tell you, honestly.” I’d been confused the entire time Monomage had been in the room. First, he was condemning us for sharing our forums with each other, and then he was sharing… “information” about himself with all of us. Was he trying to confuse us, or did he have something else in mind?

“Whatever it was, we managed to chase him off again.”

“You mean you chased him off with that hair of yours.”

“Hehehe, just doing my best.”

I had to chuckle at that. After a bit of banter between Naomasa and Keiji, we all decided to head back. One or two people stayed behind, but the majority of us left for other places in the inn. I, however, wanted to check in with those people I hadn’t talked to earlier… That’d be Hitoshi, Nobuyuki, Kasumi, Asahi, and Naomi. I wondered what they thought of the whole thing?

BACK | NEXT

[tamakirishima]

I'm so glad you're back!!! I've missed reading your headcannons and fics. When ever you get the chance do you do a continuation of where kbtbb remember the mc (from when they had amnesia) and they go to get her back? Thank you sm b❤️❤️

I actually have gotten quite a few requests for this! Thank you all for being so patient with me! I hope you guys enjoy this This isn’t my best work, since I just started writing today, so I hope you guys deal with my cheesiness.. 

If you haven’t read the first part, you can access it here: http://tamakirishima.tumblr.com/post/108038500606/kbtbb-guys-with-amnesia

———————————————————-

Eisuke: The thought of coming back to Tres Spades made you sick to your stomach, but you had nowhere else to go. 

Heaving a sigh, you wrap the vacuum up and take one final look over the spotless hotel room before closing the door. You’ve been trying to keep busy so that you wouldn’t have to face reality anytime soon, but reality was coming sooner than you expected.

“_____! We have an emergency in the penthouse and Mr. Ichinomiya has called for housekeeping now!” Chisato says, breathless from running around the halls.

“Do I have to be the one that goes up? I can call Erika or someone else..” you respond, trying to hold your face from dropping any further. 

“Please, ______. I’m busy and it’s an emergency..” Chisato says with an urgent tone. 

You reluctantly agree and lightly jog towards the elevator to go up to the penthouse. Once you arrive at the beautiful white doors, you take a deep breath and slowly turn the golden handle to reveal Eisuke sitting on the couch with a newspaper in his hand. He notices you and looks up with a head nod. 

“You called, Mr. Ichinomiya?” you ask, trying not to burst into tears.Eisuke puts down the newspaper and slowly walks over to you with his hands in his pockets. 

“Why the hell aren’t you answering your pager?” he asks, with an annoyed tone. “Do you think that you can just ignore me and get away with it?” 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ichinomiya, I do not have a pager for work.” You reply, very confused.

“_______. Stop calling me Mr. Ichinomiya when we’re in private. Now that you’re here, can you just make me a coffee?” he asks, rolling his eyes and going back to the sofa. 

“I’m confused, Mr. Ichinomiya. Is this how you treat your housekeepers?” you ask, your confusion growing.

“No. This is how I treat my girlfriend.” Eisuke says, looking at you weirdly. Your heart is caught in your throat and you can hear blood pumping in your ears from the tension. Did he forget what happened…again?

“Oh yeah? Prove it. Prove that I’m your girlfriend.” You say, puffing out your chest.

Eisuke smirks and walks directly to you, pressing his lips to yours with a passionate kiss, with his hands sliding up your waist. Your hands find themselves wrapping his neck and tangling into his hair, as tears fall down your cheek. He’s back.

Soryu: Ever since Soryu lost his memories with you, it was almost as if his emotions were in the negatives. Business was booming for the Ice Dragons, but Ryuzo and Samejima started to worry for their boss without you. 

After weeks of Soryu overworking himself and negatively impacting his life, Ryuzo couldn’t take it anymore and asked you to come over and talk with him. Any other day would have been fine, but he chose the day when the biggest transaction for the Ice Dragons was taking place.

The gloomy afternoon made your stomach churn with anxious thoughts racking in your head. Was Soryu going to kick you out immediately? Or will he give you a chance to talk? As you walked up to the office of the Ice Dragons, you felt like the strength was draining out of your body.

Upon entering the office, you were greeted by Ryuzo, Samejima, Soryu, and a couple of men in suits with wide eyes.

“Who is she and what is she doing here?!” a suited man asked, reaching for his gun in his breast pocket. 

“She’s just our friend!” Ryuzo spoke out, while Samejima slapped him for speaking out something so ridiculous. 

Ryuzo turned bright red and looked at you with a concerned look. Another suited man closer to you wrapped his arm around your neck, and pointed the gun at your temple. 

“Soryu, tell us what the hell is going on, or your friend dies. We don’t play games. I will pull the trigger.” he said in a low voice, making Soryu jump up in surprise all of a sudden. 

Soryu looked at you with an expression that didn’t need words. “We’re been here before, haven’t we ________?” he asked you, his words suddenly soft. The way he said your name made your heart leap in all different directions. What did he just say?  

“Let her go.” Soryu growled at the men, before drawing his own gun and pointing it at the man that was holding you hostage.

“You don’t want to do that, do you? If I let her go, that means we go and you can kiss this deal goodbye.” The man said, with a taunting tone.

“Fine by me. I don’t care for the deal anymore.” Soryu stated, basically kicking them out of the office.

The men gathered their things and pushed you back to the Ice Dragons, glaring daggers into your general direction before slamming the door behind them.

“Soryu, I-” you started, before Soryu caught your lips with his with a level of passion that made up for the lost weeks away from each other.

Baba:After constantly trying to help Baba remember you and your relationship, you were on the verge of giving up everything when he asked you out on a date.

“Excuse me?” you ask, taken back at his question. 

“A lovely lady like yourself going after me is a gift for me, the only acceptable thing for me to do is take you on a date.” Baba says with a wink and a tip of his hat. 

“Well… I don’t know.” you say, hesitant of your feelings. 

“If you do want to accept my offer, please let me know. I’ll be waiting.” he says, kissing your hand and turning away. 

“Wait!” you say, before he can go any further. Baba turns around with his signature cheesy smile, and you can’t help but smile back. 

“Tonight at 7PM. Lobby. I’ll be waiting.” you say, hoping that you won’t regret this.

“Where are my keys?!” you mutter to yourself, rummaging through your tiny dorm to find your missing keys. After throwing the duvet around, you finally find them wedged in between your mattress and the wall. 

“Thank goodness! What time is-” you start to mutter again, when you realize it’s already 6:58. You rush out of the dorm and start running towards the Tres Spades. 

As you enter the lobby, Baba greets you with a warm smile.

“Right on time! Shall we?” Baba asks, holding out his arm for you. You happily take it, with a bittersweet feeling in your chest.

Throughout the night, you constantly request to go to the same places as you went on your first date, hoping to jog some of Baba’s memories. No matter what, Baba seemed to act as if everything was new to him, making you feel worse and worse. After dinner, you decide to try one more thing. The rooftop.

After getting on the same roof Baba took you at the beginning of your relationship, you both sit down and take in the lights of the city. 

“How did you know that this place was special to me?” Baba asked, with the most serious face he could muster. 

“Because.. I’ve been here with you before.” you whispered, barely able to start crying. 

Suddenly, Baba clutches his head and shakes his head. Shortly after, he looks at you genuinely and squeezes your hand. With one look, you knew that he knew.

Ota:Even though two weeks passed since Ota couldn’t recognize you, it was agonizing knowing he was in the penthouse a couple floors above you, while you were working. Your shift was over, but you couldn’t bring yourself to get up. On the corner of your locker, a beautifully decorated flyer for the new art exhibit caught your eye. 

Apparently there was a pop up exhibit for Ota’s new art collection, and you were invited. Your heart sank. Was this a sign? Maybe you should go check it out. Shaking your head, you snatched the flyer off the wall and stuffed it into your bag before getting changed out of your uniform.

You took the long way home; just to walk past the gallery that Ota was having his exhibition at, only to stop at the entrance. You pulled out the crumpled up flyer from your bag, and took a deep breath. With all the strength you could muster, you found yourself opening the doors to the gallery and walking into an empty gallery. 

With shaking hands, you took off your coat and hung it up on the rack. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, you thought.You were almost about to leave from the door you came from, when you noticed it. The painting.

This painting looked darker than Ota’s regular style and you could feel your heart racing as you got closer to it. One side of the painting had a silhouette of a woman in a lighter room, with a man falling down into the darker side of the painting. It was something so simple, yet so touching. It had the words, “Regret” and “Reprise” at the bottom of the painting in beautiful handwritten letters.

As you got closer to the painting, you realized that Ota was standing in front of it, drinking a glass of champagne. Immediately, you tried to escape, but your feet didn’t cooperate.

Ota noticed you, put down the glass, and smiled that familiar smile only you knew.

“_______. This is my apology. This is for you.”“You… You know-” you started to ask, when Ota simply smiled with tears in his eyes and interrupted you.“Yes. How can I forget my Koro? My beautiful girlfriend? My ________?”

Mamoru:It’s been a whole week and a half since Mamoru couldn’t remember you, and every passing day has gotten progressively worse for you. Everyday, you’ve gone to work, but all you could do was remember his look when he treated you like another “kid.”

There was another event in the casino, and you had to volunteer for service. You didn’t want to be at home alone anyways, so it was the best to grab an extra shift at the event.

You quickly changed into the event uniform and head out with the rest of the servers to the casino floor. You were only going to be serving drinks, but it was new and exciting, since you were only used to housekeeping.

All the guys from the penthouse were sitting by the blackjack table, either watching or playing. You did your best to avoid that table, and started to take drink orders from the guests at the slot machines. You actually managed to not interact with any of the penthouse guys for the majority of your shift, until a drunken man started to touch you.

“Sir, is there anything I can help you with?” you asked, trying your best not to smack him in the face.

“Nah, I’m okay.” he slurred, focusing his vision onto your body.

You shuddered and turned around, when he grabbed your bottom and squeezed it. Nobody was around you, so it wasn’t like you could ask someone for help. You started panicking, when the man stood up and pressed his body against yours, trying to grab at anything he could touch. He breathed heavily in your ear, while he tried his best to kiss your neck. Just as fast as he got on you, the man was thrown off immediately. Upon looking up, you saw Mamoru with clenched fists and a furious expression on his face.

“Mamoru..” you whispered, not able to look away from your boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend. “Why are you here?”

“I told you I would protect you for the rest of my life, didn’t I?”

[theraikouhotel]

You've been visited by the random OC question fairy! :D ~☆

Does your character miss anyone? Why do they miss this person? What would they be willing to do to see them again?

Oh goodness! This was unexpected! I have way too many to choose from.... hmm.... I can say that yes, most of my characters if not all do miss someone. I can make a list on who misses who too! And in brackets, whether or not they’d be willing to see them! Since everyone is in a hotel setting, they are away from everyone else and in this building isolated from their universe. I’m not sure if I answered this right but ummm I hope it’s okay!

Fate Raikou - Her retainers (DEFINITELY would be willing, they’re basically her children) Shikibu - Her former husband (Probably not, she feels as if she’s moved on from him) Arturia (Lancer/Ruler) - Morgan Le Fay (Arty would avoid her because it’ll be awkward) Europa - No one in particular comes to mind Irisviel - Kiritsugu Emiya (That’s her husband) Tiamat - Her husband (As the Queen of the Earth, she wants to cuddle him again)

Black Clover Asta - His mother (He has never met her, but he does recall some warmth. Liebe better tell him something soon) Noelle - Her mother, Acier Silva (Would definitely do it once more to tell her so many things) Vanessa - The Witch Queen, her mother (If she could get past the slight awkwardness)

Bleach Ichigo - Always his mother, always. (He failed to protect her and he wants to tell her that he now has the power to protect everyone he loves and to properly say goodbye) Orihime - Her brother (She wants to make sure that everything will be okay with him and reassure him that she’s okay) Yoruichi - Kisuke Urahara (She misses him when she doesn’t see him. Whe he’s gone, she sulks)

Highschool DxD Issei - Raynare (He wouldn’t see her ever again but he would show her that he has so much more than what she said to him) Rias - Her brother, Sirzechs (He’s away fighting a battle, a long one.) Sona - Her sister, Serafall (Same reason as Sirzechs)

Date A Live Kotori Itsuka - Shido (Would always be glad to see her beloved, but her duties always gets in the way) Kurumi - Same as Kotori Itsuka (She gets sulky when Shido isn’t about)

Love Live! Umi - Eli Ayase (She lowkey loves her but realises she doesn’t have a chance) Kotori Minami - Honoka Kousaka (Knows everything about her and would always love to see her) Mari - Kanan Matsuura and Dia Kurosawa (She loves them both and will probably ever only love them both in her life) Chika - Riko Sakurauchi and You Watanabe (Same reason as Mari) Emma - Yuu Takasaki (She’s the boss of both her and Karin yet she treats them with tenderness and kindness)  Karin - Yuu Takasaki (^^^)

Bang Dream! Sayo - Hina, her twin sister (She would love to see her twin sister but wouldn’t want to admit it) Tomoe - Kaoru Seta (Tomoe misses her antics but would never admit it, she’d be willing to see her for sure!) Aya - Chisato Shirasagi (Aya misses her as she feels as if Chisato completes her) Arisa - Kasumi Toyama (Kasumi was the first who bothered with her, Arisa loves her and will forever love her.)

My Hero Academia Momo - Shoto Todoroki (He got her out of her funk and well, she doesn’t like it when Shoto is with his friends for too long) Kyouka - Izuku Midoriya (She really wants to hug the green bean and right now, she doesn’t see him as much, which makes her sad)

Danganronpa Kaede - Shuichi Saihara (They’ve been partners ever since, whenever Kaede had free time, she’d be at Shuichi’s workplace helping him with some case. So she misses him every time they’re apart) Tenko - Himiko Yumeno (She found out Himiko had been avoiding her a lot and it turns out, Tenko got angry. She wouldn’t be willing to see her anytime soon.) Makoto - Kyoko Kirigiri (He misses her dearly and would always visit her office. But as of right now, he can’t as she’s away with Shuichi working on a case) Komaru - Touko Fukawa (She loves her antics and would always miss her when she was out on “training missions”)

Others Jotaro - His daughter Jolyne and Kakyoin Noriyaki (He hasn’t seen his daughter in a while and would love to see her again. As for Kakyoin, he misses his best friend. Would be willing to see him again.) Levi - Hanji Zoe (Would love to see them again, but would never admit it, he loved their quirkiness, it made things better for him) Weiss - Ruby Rose (She absolutely adores Ruby and would do anything for her) Mami - Kyoko Sakura (Her lowkey secret ex-girlfriend who she still loves, would always want to see her) Natsu - No one really. He doesn’t like his former guild. Lelouch - Cornelia Li Brittannia (His half sister whom he adores secretly. He’s always wanting to see her after Nunnally.) Haru - Akira Kurusu or Ren Amamiya, however you want to name him. (He was the first to show her that she didn’t have to sit and take it, hence why she wants him all to herself, missing him greatly.)

[hisnanoka]

Nanoka no Kare - Chapter 84 - Final Chapter

Click “Keep Reading” for the translation.

The following is a very rough translation/interpretation from the original Japanese text to English via Google Translate and is not guaranteed to be accurate. Text will be reviewed and edited when a Spanish translation is available to double check for errors.

Story: Saro Tekkotsu

Art: Miyoshi Toumori

Click here for the RAW scans! (Raws are out of order so I’ve uploaded them all here just this once.)

N = Nanoka | H = Hayata | T = Takato | O = Ouji | Y = Yuuko | C = Chisato

Page 1 – Cover page

“The love that was far away, I hope that it will lead to your happiness.”

Page 3

T: “I love you Nanoka.”

“But even now,”

“You still cannot see me.”

N: [Takato-kun told me that.]

[I thought I loved him more than I thought.]

Page 4

N: [I thought I would do anything for him.]

[Takato-kun is always fixated on the me that is missing.]

[I myself too]

[Even if I try not to see it, even if I try to fill it]

[Even if I try to keep my eyes turned away-]

Page 5

N: [Over time, I began imagining the depth of the hole arbitrarily.]

[It was swaying me and preventing me from moving forward.]

[So]

[I have to remember.]

Page 6

N: [For that purpose,]

[I]

O: “You just have to re-enact it.”

Are you scared of falling?

Page 7

O: It’s all right.

If it’s for the person you love,

You can do anything.

It’s right below your feet.

You ought to see the landscape that you thought was the most beautiful.

Page 8

N: A flower garden…

The flower garden I saw with Takato-kun…

O: Yes, he will be there soon.

Page 9

O: Let’s fall down together to that flower garden.

T: I see.

Page 10

T: If I was begging for Nanoka to jump down together for our future so that she could recall,

If we fell together

If

O: Takato?

Why don’t you return to Nanoka-chan

T: No

You are holding Nanoka.

Page 11

T: Release Nanoka.

Please let her go and allow her to go where she wishes.

…I am

We have

Caught the Nanoka of our dreams and trapped her for 2 years.

With the time I was given,

I noticed it.

Page 12

T: For the one I love,

Nanoka, I want her to smile from the heart.

O: …even if that means she will no longer return to you?

I see, you must hurry or Nanoka-chan will fall alone.

T: Hayata already went there.

Page 13

T: For 2 years, he continued running and now he came here.

He will absolutely grab hold of Nanoka.

So

Release it, Karasuma.

---even you fell in love with her at first glance

“” (T/N: The app I’m using can’t scan this part, sorry, still trying to decipher it)

Without being able to understand the emotions that were swirling in your head

“I also hate you as well” (T/N: Not sure if this is correct, both lines seem to be from past events.)

I can understand it.

Page 14

T: To know what kind of feeling is love, you already knew it long ago.

O: I

Page 15

O: Have been holding you captive all this time, I see your tears rising up to the sky.

What kind of face do you have while I am holding you in my arms, I want to know.

I am letting you go now.

Page 16

O: So

“Right now” *

“Turn around.”

Page 17

O: “Ayase-san.”

Page 18

Page 19

N: Hayata-ku……

Page 20

N: ......eh…

[“Hayata-kun”]

[“If only I never loved you,”]

Page 21

N: [“Would you not be suffering in pain right now?”]

[“If only I never spoke to him.”]

Ah

Let go Hayata-kun

H: You will fall if I let go

N: No

You’re wrong

Because of me, I’ve made Hayata-kun suffer

H: So you won’t hold onto either!

Page 22

H: At that time you chose not to grasp onto either and fell!

Neither Takato-san or I could grab you!

I’ve regretted that! My weakness is that I always make the choice to hurt myself.

You did not chose that for me! **

Page 23

H: Believe in me Ayase-san! I definitely won’t allow you to fall!

Page 24

H: Ayase-san…

N: ------------ha…..

Hayata-kun!

Page 25

N: Hayata-kun!!

H: ……thank goodness

Ayase-san…

N: Hayata-kun, I…

Page 26

N: I…

----ah…what……?

…why?

Why is it only me and Hayata-kun. Why is that so.

Page 27

N: I like…?

-

H: Her memory returned. It seems she passed out after the confusion.

Page 28

H: It’s a good thing we’re at a hospital. I will carry her down.

…she can’t be two people at once. Even I knew it would be like this.

Even though I understand it, I have not regretted that it has returned.

I feel pretty good right now that it feels like I’m the bad guy here.

T: What…

H: Is that funny?

T: I guess so.

Page 29

T: Hayata

I only have one thing to tell you

…The flower garden that you promised to go to,

I have already gone with Nanoka.

----Because of that, for Nanoka,

Show her an even more beautiful flower garden.

Page 30

C: Hayata-kun is going to the same university as Nanoka?

Instead of studying abroad!?

N: He decided on an apartment and is already moving in.

C: Aw~~~I can’t believe it. The same university – the same grade.

Y: Has Uesugi-kun ended all communication with you?

N: Yup.

Page 31

Y: I see. He didn’t even come to the graduation ceremony.

C: How was it? When you got back your memories.

After all for Nanoka, Hayata-kun has always been the right choice!

Y: How about that? You know? I’m still confused.

N: …at first the order of the feelings were swirling around. It felt like it wasn’t lining up properly but-

The half year returned.

I am here now

Y: Thank goodness

C: Bye-bye then! I have afternoon classes.

Page 32

N: [---However,]

[There are times]

[When it feels like I have two hearts]

[That flower garden.]

[When it gets wet with rain, a shining flower garden occasionally appears in my vision.]

[When]

[I am caught by my heart and sucked in there.]

Page 33

N: [The other heart]

[Drags me back to the surface.]

[My feelings and Hayata-kun is what I love the most.]

Page 34

N: [Round and round]

[We are making up for the lost time.]

Page 35

N: [The flower garden that was supposed to be seen by Hayata-kun – now he’s looking for one.]

H: Hmm

Flower garden, flower garden…

[As I thought, the state of Montana.]

[I heard that the scale of the flower garden there is amazing.]

N: Sorry for the wait!

H: Woah!

N: What’s wrong?

H: Nothing…

Page 36

H: What did you want to do today?

Want to go somewhere

N: Well I guess I’d like to go to Hayata-kun’s room.

Heh ♡

Organizing your moving luggage will be an ordeal. I want to help you.

H: Ah------

N: Is it no good

H: It’s not like that!

…it would  be faster to just show you.

N: ?

Page 37

H: See?

There really isn’t much to do since I don’t have much luggage.

N: …it was

Hayata-kun’s room was originally like this, wasn’t it?

Back when I visited Hayata-kun’s room in high school as well

I was sad because I saw you didn’t hold onto many mementos.

Page 38

N: I wondered if your room was set up that way to always be prepared to move quickly…

H: You thought like that?

N: …I did think that.

H: I’ll go get us some drinks. You can take a seat on the bed if you’d like.

Page 39

N: …this is…

“This is my e-mail. If it’s okay, please take it……!”

H: “……okay.”

Page 40

H: “Ayase-san”

“Is so cute.”

Sorry for the wait

Are sports drinks okay?

N: Hayata-kun, this is my note…

You’ve kept it all this time?

H: Ah

Page 41

H: That’s not-

This is-

…Ayase-san?

N: [You do not have to look for it anymore.]

[Because you have already found it.]

[You, who does not leave anything.]

[And lets go of everything.]

[In the corner of this room.]

Page 42

N: …like a small flower garden.

[Without being interrupted forever,]

Page 43

N: [The promise is right here.]

[He was always blooming right next to me.]

-END-

-Notes-

*Ouji is acting like Hayata here. Using his voice to speak the way Hayata would.

**It’s really hard to figure out what’s being said by Hayata here. If anyone knows it please tell me. I’m still trying to figure it out.

It’s been an incredibly stressful cliffhanger after cliffhanger ride but here we are at the end! I’m not sure if there are any special chapters after this so as far as I know, this is the end. A bit of a rushed ending for my taste after all that build-up - I feel like they should have given the authors another volume to work with. Regardless, I’m glad to see it ended on a happy note. Cheers~

[aldreaoakley]

Arranged Marriage!AU one-shot

It’s been a long while since I wrote something and @catchthespade had this one post that got my gears going and... just don’t kill me because I actually intended this to be a one-shot...

[long post again...]

As the car got closer and closer to the Ichinomiya residence, ___ wrings her hands in a frenzy. This is her first time meeting her betrothed like this and all for economic reasons. Her family's company is close to going bankrupt -despite that they specialized in anything related to cooking- and the deal with the Ichinomiya family is more than perfect. Combining the best with the best, it was a deal that both parties agree to.

"Miss," the driver interrupts, "we are here."

"Thank you Hikaru," ___ whispers while the heavily imposing gates swing inward.

The second her butler, Shuichi, opens the door is the same one ___ is fighting every single nerve to not flee to a far corner inside the vehicle. A man with inky Arctic eyes glares at her while the man next to him smirks. If anything, ___ is a hundred percent sure that this is not going to work out. ~*~ "This is bullshit Eisuke," Soryu snarls the second the door closes. "The corporation is booming and you are making a deal like this!"

Eisuke sighs with heavy exasperation at his bodyguard's tone. This wasn't his idea either but Akira had already gone ahead with the deal with the ___ even before his adoption. It was-

"Akira told me that the deal was should anything happen to the ___ family, we get married. Today we are just signing the damned papers to show that her family's company is now part of the corporation," he flatlines. "I had no say on this even before today. He told me this yesterday."

As far as Eisuke is aware, Akira didn't even meet ___ inside the hospital where she was born and that the deal happened to ensure that ___ has a comfortable life. He did have to wonder about one thing though.

"Do a through search on all of her staff. Wet nurse, butler, everyone," he orders Soryu.

With a nod, he watches the other leave. Once the door clicks shut, Eisuke pages for a maid. He needs a heavy dose of coffee. Now. ~*~ "This is no fair... why does Eisuke have such a grumpy bodyguard," ___ whines while her hair gets brushed. "All I wanted to do was run away but with Shuichi in there it was impossible to... but...... Eisuke does seem nice..."

"I would be careful," her nursemaid, Chisato, warns. "The Ichinomiya Corporation is very powerful. Should anything happen while we are there, it will be instant death."

"Is he really that bad," ___ questions. "He is so cordial and polite."

"Then that is for you to decide miss," Chisato comforts, "because at the end of the day, he is your husband by law. Now go to sleep."

"Yes ma'am."

After Chisato leaves, turning the light off, ___ breaths an irritated humph. So what if the deal gets a green light, all that matters now is that she's in a good position. Just as she is to be. ~*~ Eisuke frowns from overhearing a loud ruckus, forcing him to pause mid-paperwork. Slamming his palms against his oak desk, he storms to the door to see... 

/What the fucking hell is going on here/ he frowns.

The scene in front of him is not what he had in mind. On the floor is ___ with dirty water staining her new dress and shattered vases decorating her and the carpet. Nearby are three maids sneering, taunting and jeering with a few of his female business associates. Of course... these types of messes has been happening ever since the day after their wedding. He didn't dare touch her in order to produce an heir nor did he even leave a mark to show who she belongs to. It's a no-brainer to him but clearly there are those who disagree. Out a corner he sees Soryu cock his hidden gun. He signals for him to drop it. The latter reluctantly does so. Smoothing his suit and schooling his expression, Eisuke steps out.

"Ladies," he greets, "what are you doing to my wife?"

He sees ___ eyes widen a bit before relief floods them. There is nothing like the little things that she does that makes him feel like nothing is mundane. However, he isn't one for the frivolous love ideas of hers.

"We are just scolding her for being clumsy around such-"

"Do you take me for a fool," he hisses darkly. "Don't take me for a fool. Now all of you leave or else."

At the threat, they scatter. Eisuke signals for another maid as he helps ___ to her feet.

"Thank you for doing that. You are a wonderful husband," she smiles.

"Haven't you forgotten or should I repeat it," he mouths to her.

"Oh... but you're still my husband, not some other fool," ___ sulks. "And I'm not picking anyone else!"

Unknowingly, a soft smile dances across his face with the comment falling from his lips on gentle tones.

"You are far too nice for your own good." ~*~ Several weeks has gone by, leaving ___ able to finally relax inside her private gardens. To her knowledge, the maids got fired and the women who keep on giving her grief are also banned from ever interacting with her or Eisuke again.

"Ah... life is so peaceful," ___ smiles while sipping some tea. "Well back to work~"

But some odd reason, ___ cannot shake off a bad feeling after putting her cup down. The feeling lingers while getting closer to the main house. Something covers ___'s mouth and she manages to bite the hand then running off. While somewhat regretting wearing dressy jeans, ___ is happy that they are practical enough for one thing.

"Eisuke," ___ screams while fleeing the set of thudding feet. ~*~ "All right. ... I see. ... See to it that they don't have any further contact with any groups. And if possible, get Ota and Mr. Baba involved. ... I can't risk anything happening to my wife."

As his phone beep to signal that the call is over Eisuke looks at ___'s trembling form. He recalls what happened several hours ago. Her panicked screams ringing across the grounds mimicking the intuitive unease he was feeling... The way how the masked man was reaching towards her... Mamoru (a security guard) tackling the would-be kidnapper... The fuss with the police...

But despite all that, he feels some pride at ___ for being brave despite all the fear coursing through her. Biting someone who is attempting to grab you is stupid but...

"I'm glad you're safe," he murmurs gently, wrapping her in his scent. "I'm not going to loose my wife."

"Me too," her voice timidly leaks out. "Um..."

"Just don't do something that will risk our future."

"... Okay~"

For some odd reason... something that Eisuke can't explain to himself but during the few months after their wedding, he somehow gain something that was more precious than the corporation or a new addition to the business. The love that he thought had died when he was little, along with whatever hope he had then, had reappeared in the form of the being in his arms.

Author’s note: Yes I am familiar with how arranged marriages work and I also used some elements from an OTBS sub-story as help. I had to include Hikaru, Shuichi, Chisato, Soryu, Mamoru, Ota and Baba or it didn’t feel right adding in so many OCs.

On a side note... I didn’t include MC making coffee because I did allude to it with the cooking franchise thing. In all the KBTBB stories, MC is a cook that can only be rivaled by Baba and Luke.

I remember from the Japanese voiced stories that Baba is called Baba-san and thanks to @redpantychan for explaining how the honorifics work in Japan that I managed to get the feel right. I may live in America but I am respectful and aware of other countries. And Japan isn’t someplace that is as roomy as a wide open Kansas plain but rich people’s houses there can be somewhat insane...

Kudos to @catchthespade for all her Eisuke posts. Those helped me with how to get his character to develop in such a short time.

[emilyplaysotome]

Part 39 - Friends

Down the Voltage Rabbit Hole is an ongoing story about our MC, who could easily be anyone in voltage fandom. She woke up in hospital bed only to discover that she’d somehow been transported Voltage universe.

This story is ongoing, so if you missed a part, or are new to the story, please use the link to the masterpost below to catch yourself up:

https://tinyurl.com/k4rrxna

Part 39 - Friends

Standing in front of Ota Kisaki, I tried my best not to panic or make a scene. It had been careless of me to walk into an art opening without so much as glancing at who it was for, and having made my bed I knew I had no other choice but to lie in it.

There was a small possibility that none of the bidders other than Ota were here, and I prayed for the slim chance that might be the case.

“Ota - Congratulations,” I said flatly, “I actually didn’t realize this was your opening or I wouldn’t have attended.”

Ota laughed gleefully.

“I forgot how funny you are Ami.”

“Ami?”

I heard another familiar voice and turned once more to see Baba smiling broadly, and he approached me excitedly, taking both of my hands in his as he looked me up and down.

“You look absolutely stunning!”

“It’s like she left Sor and stopped dressing like one of his dragons,” Ota teased, clearly mocking how boyish and utilitarian my normal clothes had been around the bidders.

Baba quickly chided Ota for bringing up Soryu in front of me, and I did my best to pretend it was all ok, even going so far as to inquire how Soryu was doing. With the conversation shifting towards a more serious topic, Ota quickly lost interest and left me with Baba as he mingled with some attractive young women, wearing the angelic artist expression he did so well.

Baba let me know that Soryu was doing better, thanks to Eisuke’s help.

Evidently, after he’d paid me a visit at the matchmaking event, Eisuke had returned to the hotel only to go directly to Soryu’s suite where he stayed with him until he saw signs of improvement. 

At the time, even though Soryu had written that note to me, he was still holed up in his suite, not eating or sleeping. Eisuke being Eisuke, after we’d met up he apparently went straight to Soryu’s suite and ordered him to eat a meal with him. 

Supposedly, for the next two nights Eisuke didn’t go to work or to any parties or outings, and instead just stayed by Soryu’s side in. Though neither man was particularly demonstrative with his words, simply being there for Soryu had made the gangster realize that he wanted to be a better man in order to support those around him.

Our altercation had sparked a series of events that had culminated in Soryu having a bit of an epiphany, as he realized that his entire life he’d been groomed to fill a roll that he’d come to realize he didn’t even want. Soryu had realized that being the head of the Ice Dragons was toxic, and once he identified that started making the proper arrangements to walk away without incident. For the time being, he still ran the Ice Dragons, but he’d started giving the bulk of the dirty work to a subordinate of his, and was planning on transitioning out of the role once it was clear that the organization was in good hands. 

At the moment he was in the process of healing and “finding himself” and seeing as how he was still wealthy beyond belief thanks to the auctions at the Tres Spades, had the freedom to do so. 

Baba told me that he and Eisuke had also discovered crossfit earlier in the week (and much to Baba’s chagrin, as they talked about it incessantly), which helped them channel their aggressive tendencies into something positive, and as a result they were eagerly awaiting to see results of their hard work (especially Eisuke who always considered himself to be a bit too scrawny).

He admitted that there was a girl in Soryu’s crossfit class who already liked him, with his point being that Soryu had refused to go on a first date with her, or anyone else until he’d completed his anger management program (which he had a good month and a half left in).

I had already felt as if I’d gotten the closure I wanted from the letter Soryu had written me, but hearing what Baba was saying helped put me even more at peace with everything that had happened. In truth, I was a bit floored by all this new information, but as surprised as I was, more importantly I was given hope - hope that these characters (as two dimensional as they were at times) had the capability of growing far beyond their initial programming. 

At least, that was the case for Soryu, and I had to hope that could be the case for the man I was hoping to take home with me.

We eventually transitioned away from Soryu to other topics, and Ota returned once he saw that the conversation was noticeably lighter. 

I found myself relaxing, laughing, and enjoying my time with the two of them, unconcerned that I’d get dragged back into the bidders world. I no longer held on to fear in my heart surrounding them, and for the first time in a long time I felt as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

I stayed longer at the art opening than I expected, and when it came time to excuse myself and meet up with my girlfriends for dinner, I found myself giving both Baba and Ota hugs goodbye. 

Naturally Baba embraced me without reservation, and whispered in my ear that he still held onto the hope I’d let him take me out someday. It was clearly just Baba being Baba, and I shook my head at him, noting that it was a bit of a stale line and should he want to have a chance with me he’d need to up his game. We joked around a bit, full well knowing that he was just a flirt and there was no real meaning behind his cheesy lines. 

As we bantered, it sank in that out of all the bidders, the one who on first glance appeared to be a smarmy pick up artist ultimately had been the one to move my heart the most with his kindness. 

Knowing that, I felt a little sad saying goodbye, seeing as how this time, it was for real.

Not wanting to dwell for fear I’d start to tear up, I went over to Ota who begrudgingly returned my hug, blushing slightly and muttering something about how the lounge wasn’t the same without me. I told him that his paintings were beautiful, and that I was sure in time they’d all find a new pet to replace me in the penthouse.

Upon hearing the word “pet”, Ota’s eyes lit up and he regained his mischievous smirk saying, “You’re right, and unlike Soryu, I’ll make sure she doesn’t run away.”

With that, I made my way out of the museum, turning to look back on the party one last time and happened to lock eyes with Baba in the crowd.

His eyes crinkled as he gave me a warm smile, followed by a wave, to which I smiled back. Not wanting to cry and knowing that it was unlikely I’d see either of them again, I realized that I was glad to have walked away as friends.

To that point, I opened my FriendFind app on my way to the museum’s exit and accepted Baba, Ota, and Eisuke’s friend requests before picking up the pace and heading to the restaurant.

Even though Sakiko, Chisato, and the Conte MC were not the most complicated women, our dinner went surprisingly well, and I found that the night flew by as we enjoyed course after course. 

Our waitress, was the proprietor’s daughter, and at times we found ourselves including her in our conversation to which I found she fit right in. The four of us ended up staying so late that most of the patrons had cleared out, and we invited her to join us for a drink before she helped her father close the restaurant for the night. 

She resisted initially, but her father who was a warm, good-natured man urged her to take a break with us, and seemed happy that his daughter had found some friends in his customers.

The waitress was a pretty woman, with reddish brown hair, brown eyes, and a small birthmark which she joked was her defining characteristic. Like me, she was single, and she said that with her responsibilities at the restaurant she was having trouble finding the time to date. 

We commiserated over how much time dating takes up, and allowed Sakiko, Chisato, and the Conte MC to brag about their relationships in the sense they insisted the effort was worth it, depending on the man.

Sakiko mischievously alluded to the fact that I wasn’t as single as I had made myself out to be, which prompted me to spill all the details of my upcoming week with the girls (short of a few key details like the fact I was from another world and that I was hoping to find my perfect man in only a week’s time). 

Sakiko urged me to show pictures of the guys to the girls, and once more I found myself engaging in girl talk as Chisato, the Conte MC, and the waitress engaged in a lively debate as to who of the three was most their type.

“Ami...tell us, you must be leaning towards one of them right?”

I was about to answer her when I was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and two handsome men walked through which prompted the waitress to call out, “Sorry we’re closing for the night.”

“Oh. But the sign outside says…”

“It does but...”

Even though the waitress cut them off, upon seeing them she froze, turning pale - almost as if she’d seen a ghost.

The rest of us shared a puzzled look as our focus shifted from the men, to the waitress who was frozen, and back to the men before it dawned on me what was happening.

“You better go see what they need,” I said, prompting the waitress out of her stupor and watched as she ran over to seat them, making an exception for the pair as she took their order.

“Ami what…”

“It’s nothing - we should really head out for the night.”

I smiled to myself, and with the group none the wiser, we gathered our belongings and I watched on as another one of this world’s MCs began to fall in love all over again.

Having played her route and knowing exactly who the men were that she was interacting with caused me to feel almost omnipotent in this world, and I couldn’t help but say something as I trailed behind the group, purposefully being the last to exit.

“Here,” I said to her, handing over a piece of paper. “That’s our TalkTime and FriendFind info. Add us so you can join us the next time we go out.”

My words of friendship momentarily broke the dreamy expression on her face, and she smiled brightly, taking the paper and bowing to me with an excitable grin.

“Really? That would be great!”

“Of course,” I said to her with a smile.

From there, I looked over at the taller man, and holding my head high I said, “Take good care of her my lord.”

The waitress initially looked confused, before gently touching the birthmark on her neck, which prompted the man to notice it. 

His eyes widened with recognition upon seeing it, and with that I left the restaurant with a wry smile on face, confident that this MC would finally get the happy ending I’d wanted her to.

Once outside we all said our goodbyes and headed to our respective homes. It was the first Sunday in a long time where I had to get myself to bed at a reasonable hour in order to get ready for a full week of work. 

Truthfully, I was a little nervous that my week wouldn’t go according to plan, but not wanting to allow myself to be negative I quickly shook off those feelings of doubt, distracting myself with my phone on the train ride home.

I opened my TalkTime to see that Jin had responded to my inquiry as far as going out on a proper date this Tuesday. 

He’d agreed, and I found myself writing a bold response in which I alluded to the fact that I’d take care of everything, and that he shouldn’t worry about booking a hotel for the night as I had the perfect place in mind for our first night together. I hesitated for a moment before hitting send, but I knew that this week was not the time to be shy - it was the time to go after what I wanted, and with that I held my breath as I waited to see what he would say.

A minute passed, and I noticed a “read” receipt of my message, and moments later I received a cartoon character emoji whose eyebrows raised and lowered suggestively. 

It was so typically Namba, and I found myself laughing out loud on the train car, catching strange looks from other passengers as I guffawed over the fact that he was capable of sending such an unsexy emoji that somehow communicated how on board he was with this plan of mine.

Seeing as how my emoji game was no match for Jin’s, I simply responded with a winky face that was blowing a heart.

Moments after I sent it, I received a text from an unknown number and figuring it was the MC I’d met back at the restaurant, opened it to discover that it was sent from 5464 (K-I-N-G), and read, “Well done Goldfish! Looking forward to Tuesday as well.”

I tried to respond but my texts wouldn’t go through, and gave up after a moment, suddenly feeling self conscious as I realized that I was being monitored at all times. The second those thoughts flashed through my mind, I saw that I had another text from the same number which read, “Don’t worry Goldfish, I’m no voyeur - you’ll have some privacy on your dates.”

I heaved a sigh of relief, and my phone vibrated once more with yet another text which read, “I’ve sent you a present. It’s a surprise for when you get home.”

I racked my brain trying to think of what this surprise could be, and as the train pulled into the station near the Gods’ mansion, found myself picking up the pace, eager to see what the king had left for me.

I opened the door to Zyglavis’ room and found what was obviously my prize - the man himself.

He looked uncomfortable, and sat stiffly in one of the Operation GTFO HQ chairs with his arms crossed and a pout on his face. It had only been a couple of days since we’d seen each other but I couldn’t help myself from feeling nothing other than sheer happiness.

His face relaxed a little upon seeing me, and with what I interpreted to be a twinge of jealousy he said, “You look lovely. Did you...How was your weekend?”

“It was fun - I saw a movie, went to a museum, and I had the best dinner tonight!”

“Mmm.”

If I were to believe the first version of his meeting with the king, the version which appealed to my heart, it would appear that his curt reply was indeed due to petty jealousy that I thought I’d sensed in his voice. 

Seeing as how the king had been so kind as to reunite us, I wanted to give him a proper show, and before revealing who I’d been with mischievously decided to play with fire a little.

“I know Gods don’t eat, but food really is best enjoyed in the presence of good company, you know?”

Call it payback for what he had done to me at the planetarium, but I was enjoying watching him squirm a bit. His face flushed, and he grit his teeth a bit, clearly irritated by the idea that I’d derived such pleasure from a meal with another man.

I pretended not to notice and instead, sat down in front of him, kicking off my heels and rubbing the soles of my feet despite the fact that thanks to Zyglavis’ shoes they didn’t hurt in the slightest. As I spoke, I absentmindedly looked at my phone, to further fan the flames once more.

“What about you? What did you do during our time apart?”

“I caught up on all the work I’d fallen behind on thanks to having to babysit a certain Goldfish.”

His voice was icy, and I could tell that he was unable to hold back his annoyance, which I surmised was a side effect of the envy he was feeling. I found myself smiling, completely convinced that I’d succeeded in making him love me, and that the first vision the king had shown me had been the real deal.

“Why are you smiling at me Ami Mizuno?”

“Because,” I said, “you finally feel the same way I do right?”

“That’s...I don’t…”

I let down my hair from the updo it had been in all night, and as it tumbled down, I walked over to him, setting my phone on the Operation GTFO HQ table.

I reached out and touched his handsome face gently to which he pulled away, clearly confused as to what was happening and knowing that the king was probably enjoying the show, I lowered myself onto his lap while I snaked my arm around his shoulders and snuggled my body close to his.

“I wasn’t on a date. I was just out with friends.”

“Oh. I mean, why are you telling me this?”

“Because you were jealous right?”

His face flushed something fierce, and at that very moment I heard my phone vibrate and saw that 5464 had sent me two emojis - a face crying with laughter, and a thumbs up. 

I smiled, confident that I was holding up my end of the bargain which I hoped meant that the king would be inclined to hold up his.

“You are teasing me.”

“Never.”

“Even worse, teasing me is causing you great joy.”

I giggled and gave him a small hug to which he sighed and muttered, “You’re impossible you know that?”

With every word from him I became more certain that he was falling for me as quickly as I’d fallen for him, and not wanting to taunt him any further I got up from his lap. As much as I wanted to kiss him right then and there, I had planned the most romantic of dates for us, and hoped that our first kiss would be one we’d both remember fondly for the rest of our lives.

“Hey,” I said, “will you go on a date with me Wednesday?”

“I thought you’re working these days - in addition to reclaiming your independence, and had no time for frivolous matters of the heart.”

“I still am! I’ve got Kendo from 6 - 7 AM, and then work from 9 - 6 PM, and on Wednesday...a date with you from 7 PM until I have to leave for Kendo perhaps…”

My voice got quieter as the sentence went on and I found myself feeling a bit bashful. I caught a triumphant smirk pass through Zyglavis’ face before he eyed me cautiously and added.

“What of the others?”

“The others?”

“The ones that still fill Leon’s head. Surely you don’t think I’m stupid enough not to realize that you’re still seeing other people.”

“Oh, of course. I just didn’t understand...”

“No?”

“No. Truthfully, I’m hoping to take someone back to my world, and I’m trying to figure out who to ask.”

“Mmm.”

Zyglavis, clearly unsatisfied with my answer, got up and started walking towards the door. I quickly reached out and grabbed his sleeve to prevent him from leaving, and was surprised to see that he was attempting to hide his obvious jealousy and irritation by clenching his jaw.

“If you don’t want to go out with me knowing that I’m seeing other people, or that I want someone who will return to my world...I understand. But I hope you’ll believe me when I say that right now, I like you the most….so, I really, really hope you’ll go out with me.”

I watched as he swallowed his jealousy, grabbed me by the wrist, and pulled me towards him in a passionate embrace. 

He hugged me close, and with his other hand stroked my hair as he did the other day, whispering in my ear, “Of course you like me best Ami Mizuno. I am a God. And a man is no match for a God.”

To be continued…in Part 40

This chapter is dedicated to @kingdomzeldaquest <3

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Thanks for reading :)

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Sorry if I missed anyone and let me know if you want to be added/removed!

[in-class-daydreams]

Parlay (Kuroo x Reader) | Chapter 5

-Pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader (ft. Roommate Kenma)

Word Count: ~2,300

Genres: Fluff, angst if you squint, general buffoonery

CW: Some more swearing, secondhand embarrassment lol

Summary: (Y/N), a first-year student attending Tokyo U, is living with her best friend, Kozume Kenma. Little did she know, her life would be turned upside down after being exposed to Kenma’s volleyball teammate and close friend, Kuroo Tetsurou. One wrong move, and the parlay’s stakes only get higher each time.

Chapters: First | Previous | Next 

Grandmother had nearly given herself a stroke from agreeing so fast to (Y/N)’s request for a half shift that day.

“Is it for school? Is it for friends? Oh, (Y/N)-chan, is it for a man or a woman?” the old woman bombarded the girl she treated like a grandchild with questions. It was rare for (Y/N) to take a day off, much less request one. She shook her head.

“Nothing like that, Gran. My friends invited me to watch their volleyball game. Our school is very highly ranked.”

“Ah, your Tooru-kun plays on that team, doesn’t he?” (Y/N) watched as Grandmother cut a mango into slices and presented them on a bed of sticky rice. The young girl served the dish to a table by the window: a young father and his young daughter.

“The usual, for my favorite father-daughter duo!” she smiled sweetly at the pair. The father looked up from his computer.

“Thank you, (Y/N)-san. Look, Miki! What’s this?” he asked his 2-year-old. The little brown-haired girl looked away from the window to meet her father’s gaze. She had plump little rosy cheeks streaked with dried milk.

“Mangey!” she chirped. Before her father could react, the child had taken a fistful of mango and shoved it mostly into her mouth, though, the majority ended up on those round cheeks of hers. The man sighed, but not without a nonetheless adoring look at his daughter.

“I’m glad she likes it, “ (Y/N) giggled, “I’ll be back to check on you two in a few minutes, Suzuki-san.”

Making her way back to the kitchen, leaning against a side table covered in clean glass cups, (Y/N) took a moment to bask in the warm embrace of the place that felt like her true home. The kitchen was smaller than most tea houses of that size and of that popularity than the average place would normally have. Grandmother, however, made sure the place was immaculate. (Y/N) looked over the small plastic bins of ingredients, each one placed based first on health code requirements, then by frequency. Filling for songpyeon took up the largest bin. Continuing her conversation with Grandmother, she said, “Yes, Tooru is on that team,” she chuckled, “They practically begged him to play for them.” Grandmother dried her hands on a dish towel.

“Well, if you ever manage to pull him off the court, feel free to bring him around. That boy’s always neglected to eat,” the old woman griped.

Opening her mouth to reply, the ringing of the front door bell interrupted (Y/N)’s reply. With a quick swipe her hands over her apron, she swung out of the kitchen and greeted their new guests.

“Welcome in-- Oh! Hi, you two! Welcome in.” Before her stood her best friend and roommate and his tall, stressfully attractive childhood friend. Kenma’s dyed-blonde hair was mostly grown out - he’d been too busy (and too lazy) to get it redone. Kuroo’s catlike eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

“Good morning, (Y/N)-san.”

“Hi, (Y/N).”

The female led the two boys over to a booth across from the kitchen entrance. Away from the volleyball players’ line of sight, the other three servers working today poked their heads out from the kitchen doorway. Chisato, Grandmother’s actual granddaughter, was fanning herself dramatically, while Shusei and Tamaki were busy ogling Tokyo U’s handsome spiker. (Y/N) rolled her eyes at them. The boys took the menus she handed them.

“Can I start you two off with anything to drink?”

“Water, please.”

“Just a water,” because they were in college, and broke ass college students can’t afford not-water.

Kenma didn’t even open his menu before handing it back to her.

“Something with pork,” he said, after which he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his emails.

Without batting an eye, the server girl replied, “You got it!” Then, she turned to Kuroo.

“Would you like something specific or if you want, you can give me a general preference like Kenma did, and I’ll give you something you’d like.”

The menu was somewhat thick for a tea house, which Kuroo noticed was because they didn’t just have one country’s dishes, as Chisai’s selection contained an incredible variety.

Now, Kuroo wanted to say either, ‘I trust your judgement’, or ‘I’ll enjoy whatever you put on the table in front of me.’ Sadly, the poor mess of a boy was so preoccupied with thinking about how the girl in front of him was definitely not super adorable in her white collared-shirt and her totally not endearing plaid apron, much less how absolutely unlovable it was that she had flour in her hair from tucking it behind her ear so often. He ended up making a strangled choking sound and saying, “I table.”

Everyone blinked. Forget being a cat, Kuroo fought to repel his inner badger that wanted to dig a hole, crawl inside, and never come out. Kenma was turning red keeping his laughter contained, and as if the universe hadn’t decided it wanted to be a complete dick to the wild-haired boy, he accidentally glanced up at (Y/N)’s cute expression with her brows furrowed, and her lips puckered in confusion.

‘Ahhhhhhhh,’ he thought as his brain short-circuited. Finally, finally, (Y/N) smiled at him gently.

“It’s alright, I do that a lot. Try again?” Oh sweet Karasuno’s resident Jesus, what a sweetheart. Desperate to redeem himself, Kuroo cleared his throat.

“Ahem, I-- Uh-- What’s your favorite dish here?”

‘Amazing job, Tetsurou. You fucking nailed that, Tetsurou. You, sir, are a smooth criminal,’ he told himself. (Y/N)’s bright expression from his question was almost worth making a fool of himself. Almost.

“Ah! Well, I love everything here, and I promise I really do, I’m not contractually obligated to say that, hehe, and it really depends what you prefer personally - everything is delicious.” Kuroo’s soul left his body when she shuffled to his side and leaned over him slightly to point at specific dishes on the menu. She smelled of fresh linen and of fresh baked goodies.

‘Hngggghhhhh, smell good, good smell,’ the poor boy’s brain cells were failing him at the moment, and had been for the past couple of minutes.

“So, if you like shrimp, the har gao comes in orders of 4 and they’re more filling than they look--” (Y/N)’s voice faded away as Kuroo’s brain kept trying to figure itself out like a computer with too many open tabs and had a software virus called, ‘(Y/N) Smells Divine And It’s Not Fair.exe.’ Kuroo knew he was better than this. He knew he was charming and likable. There was no reason for him to totally crumble like he was. From knowing Kuroo so long, Kenma could tell he was struggling, and, out of pity, he lightly kicked his ankle so the girl above him wouldn’t notice. Luckily, that little jolt woke him up enough to catch the tail end of her explanation.

“--you can get it with egg noodles, which I love personally, and Gran gets the duck from a nearby vendor, so you know it’s fresh. It’s especially popular around this time since it’s getting a bit cold,” she finished. It looked like he hadn’t been zoned out for too long. Steeling himself, Kuroo shifted in the cracked burgundy seat.

“That last one sounds great, thank you,” he croaked. Taking the menu from him, (Y/N) told them their order would be out “in a jiffy,” and Kenma’s wheezing stopped him from short-circuiting again.

“What-- Hah-- What was that?” he cackled. Kenma didn’t laugh very hard. Even when he watched Plant compilations or looked at memes, he mostly just blew air through his nose, at best, but here, Kuroo was starting to worry about the shade of blue his friend was turning.

“I--uh” Kuroo started, ‘got distracted by the way she was being adorable and the way her perfume--NO! Tetsurou! BRO-CODE!’. “I’m just a little out of it today I guess.”

“Clearly. You stumbled your words in front of (Y/N) like a panini-head.”

Kuroo couldn’t deny that statement one bit. How had he managed to look like such a panini-head? Why now of all times? Was he nervous? God forbid if he thought he might have a slight crush on this girl because for heaven’s sake he wasn’t about to break the sacred Bro-Code. Before he could go off on his own tangent, (Y/N) walked over to their table carrying a couple of plates in her hands.

“Alrighty, so I’ve got the house cha siu bao for Kenma, and the egg noodle soup with roast duck for Kuroo-san. Is there anything else I can get for you guys?”

“I’m good for now thanks, (Y/N)” Kenma replied as he quickly began eating the fresh, hot pork buns.

“It looks great!” Kuroo responded, his face gleaming with excitement and anticipation of how the food will taste. His expression suddenly changed to a sly smirk, “but you know (Y/N)-san, this meal would be much better if you join us~”

‘Nice, I’ve redeemed myself. Ten points to gryffindor.’

“I’m sorry Kuroo-san, but my shift doesn’t end for another couple of hours. If I end early, I might not be able to make it to the game like I promised.” (Y/N) smiled back innocently.

Before Kuroo was able to say anything, he heard Kenma let out a small, “Pft, rejected”, from beside her.

‘Aaaand, just kidding’

Kuroo miraculously recovered, somehow, and managed to say, “Ah I see. Well thanks for the food, I’m really looking forward to it!”

“Of course! Please enjoy, and let me know if you guys need anything else.” And with that, (Y/N) went back to the kitchen to get more food to serve to customers.

Kenma was deep into his second pork bun when Kuroo dug into his own meal. The duck was perfectly moist with a savory skin. The egg noodles were boiled to a perfect texture. He could’ve wept. The exquisite flavor of the egg noodle soup distracted him from his horrific failure as a human being just a moment ago. Once he’d sated his appetite, he leaned back in his chair. The setter across from him looked totally boneless, a satisfied smile on his face. Kuroo rolled his head over towards the window.

There, the young lady that had been messing with his mind all day was squatting in front of an adorable little girl while the girl’s father laughed heartily across from them. The little girl clapped in delight at the funny faces the waitress was making for her. Kuroo’s heart beat a little faster.

“You’re staring.” Kuroo jumped. Kenma’s intelligent eyes were boring into his soul. Suddenly feeling even guiltier than he already was, Kuroo looked away.

“Kenma, I swear I—“

“Relax. She’s cute. Flirt, stare, call yourself a table, I don’t care.”

Kuroo spluttered at the reminder of his royal screw up. Then, he was puzzled at how Kenma could be so nonchalant about anyone looking at his girlfriend like that, especially his own best friend. He knew for a fact that if Kenma truly didn’t like his ogling at his super cute girlfriend, he would have said something. Maybe they were one of those open relationship-type things? Sounded pretty odd for Kenma, but Kuroo supposed that people change in college. If he were in Kenma’s place, though, he doubted he’d be so willing to share (Y/N)’s affection. Not that he wanted it, of course. Nuh uh, no ma’am.

When (Y/N) gave them their check, they tried to politely decline taking her generous discount, but once she threatened to bring Grandmother from the kitchen, they ended up just tipping her a little extra to make up the difference and exiting the tea house.

~~

“HEY, HEY, HEY.” The ace spiker with the interesting hair crowed as he landed after a vicious spike that went untouched by the other team. Tokyo U’s other team members came together and gave a quick cheer before quickly resuming their positions.

“Damnnnn, how the hell is this entire team so fine?” Shusei moaned.

“Mm, especially that number 6. He’s so pretty,” Tamaki nibbled on her thumb nail.

“Ooh, the handsome guy from this morning is up!”

(Y/N) blushed as Kuroo rotated into the front row. Gone was the stuttering, flustered mess from earlier, and he was replaced by Nekoma High’s scheming captain, all fire in his eyes ,and supported by skill and years of experience. (Y/N) leaned against the rail. Something about that focused look in his eyes captivated her completely.

Kuroo was an excellent blocker. He was smart and had the technique to support it. But despite this, the other team had powerful spikers and was starting to close the gap just enough to make the crowd uneasy. The coach leaned over and whispered something to one of the managers, who scurried off through the door to a side gym.

(Y/N) had already been a little (a lot) thirsty since Kuroo stepped on the court, but Akaashi tossed the ball into the air, Kuroo jumped up, and hit a straight right by the blockers. Suddenly, the gym air felt too stale, her cardigan too hot.

“Ohhhh my goddddd.” (Y/N) shushed Shusei and Tamaki’s moaning.

“Jealous much?” Shusei sassed.

“Wha—? Just— Just stop being weirdos!” she said louder than expected.

Tamaki wiggled her eyebrows, “Oh, so you admit you were jealous?”

(Y/N)‘s face felt hot. Her retort was interrupted by squealing all around them.

“Kyaaaaaa!”

“Omg he’s here!”

“I want his babies!”

…yeah, people get weird when they’re thirsty.

Shusei cheered and clutched Tamaki’s shoulders, “Whooo! What are we screaming about?”

“Some things never change,” Tamaki mused.

“Bitch, what?”

They stopped their bickering when their friend chuckled. She had a fond look in her eyes, but they also held something else they couldn’t quite place. (Y/N) smiled softly. She turned to them, “The Grand King loves making a grand entrance.”

~~

(A/N): You know who’s coming soon, and I’m really excited about this next chapter! Thank you all for the support you’ve shown us so far in the series, and please look forward to the next few chapters as well! Chapter 6 is planned to be released in about two days or so. See you guys soon!

- Admin Kiwi-Chan

Kuroo, honey, I’m so sorry to do this to you lol. I make this boy do stupid stuff in this series, but it’s fiiiine.

- Admin Mango-Chan

~~

Taglist: @joyful-jimin @nekomas-kuroo