#this blade will shatter: one last kill | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thefallennightmare · 2 months

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The Coyotes Cry-One

*gif made by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Pairings: MafiaBoss!TattooArtist! Noah Sebastian x OFC.

Warnings/Tropes: violence, death, swearing, smut(very mature), angst, fluff, forced proximity, forbidden love, dark romance, mafia themes, arranged marriage, tattoo artist.

Summary: Centered on the story of a young bride whose fairy-tale vision of the Concrete Jungle is shattered when her father, part of the Irish Crime Family; McManus strikes a marital peace deal with the mafia head of OMNS, Noah Sebastian. Scarlett is faced with rage and conflict, as she is forced to work alongside her new husband in his tattoo shop that fronts for his mafia dealings. Devastating events leave Scarlett with the realization that there is more to Noah than meets the eye. "I would willingly, lay down my life for you if I had to." The power of love is thicker than blood.

Authors Note: Here is chapter one! I don't think this series will be more than six parts but you never know with how often I'm always adding things. This series will have mature themes throughout as a warning.

Tags[OPEN]: @thescarlettvvitch @sammyjoeee @happi-goth @lma1986 @iknownothingpeople @vinyardmauro @malice-ov-mercy @concreteemo @wheezybrenda @thisbicc @malerieee @mrs-zimmerman @srorgana1 @miserylovescompany1195-blog @embracethereaper42 @lizzieseveride @eclipseeetop @sundamariis @calleyx13 @krisslee18 @princessgh0st @aprosiacperson @xxrainstorm @ourdiabolikal-rapture @iamamatus @klutzy-kay24 @cookiesupplier @bngurngheart @idwt-money @rain-down-on-me

NOAH

The screams were muted due to the concrete confines of the room, the cold, moist air circulating us in a suffocating grip. But none of that mattered, the only thing that did was strapped to the chair in front of me. Cleaning the sharp blade on the once-white handkerchief, I clicked my tongue at the raw screams.

“Scream all you want. No one can hear you all the way down here,” I said while pointing to the concrete walls. “I mixed the concrete myself with a special formula. Think of it as soundproof.”

The man spat blood at my feet, nearly missing my black boots. “Fuck you!”

A chuckle to the left of me and I glanced over to one of my right-hand men, Joakim. Although, we in OMNS always called him Jolly.

“I applaud the fire in you,” Jolly nodded at the man. “You’ll need it.”

Twirling the knife between my fingers, I yet again asked the same question that I asked three times previously.

“Who killed Vincent?”

“I already told you fuckers, I don’t know!” The man, Barry, choked out on a mouth full of blood. “You’re asking the wrong guy!”

As Barry fought against the bindings, the chair scraping against the ground at our feet, I hummed in mock disappointment. “No, Barry. I don't think we are. My intel tells me that someone in the Irish Mafia killed a dear friend of mine.”

“I hate to tell you, your intel is wrong,” Barry said with a dry chuckle.

Suddenly his screams of agony sounded like music to my ears as I dug the knife deep into his thigh directly above the previous wound that Jolly had given him with the screwdriver. My hair fell into my eyes and I hastily brushed it back with my large hand, blood smearing in the dark strands. I’d been due for a haircut for the last few weeks but haven’t found anyone able to give me the correct Levi cut since my older barber passed away.

“My intel is never wrong,” I gritted out through clenched teeth while twisting the knife deeper.

Barry was a blubbering mess, dark tendrils of his hair covered the agony on his face so with a sharp nod from me, Jolly stood behind Barry and ripped his head back so I could watch in pleasure.

“Now, I’m only going to ask one more time,” I twisted the knife deeper. “Who killed Vincent?”

He did his best to writhe away but with my knife piercing him in place and Jolly’s tight grip on his hair, there was nowhere for Barry to run. Blood dripped from his mouth, his nose, and the cut on his eyebrow. Before we captured him, he had the looks of a movie star but now, I couldn't help but cringe.

“I already told you,” he sobbed, a mess of blood and snot. “I swear.”

Jolly and I shared a look for a brief moment before we pushed away from Barry to slink over to the far end of the room to have a conversation.

“Do you believe him?” Jolly tied up his hair into a messy bun.

I placed my hands on my hips and sighed. “I don’t think he knows who killed Vincent but he knows the right direction we need to look. We need to crank it up a notch and show him that OMNS isn't going to back down from this.”

Instantly, he understood and while he retreated up the stairs to my office, I titled my head at Barry.

“What family do you work for?” I asked.

His breathing was shallow and unsteady thanks to the hard blows of Jolly’s fists to his ribs but I had to marvel at this kid's drive to remain loyal.

“The Walsh’s,” he eventually answered.

My brows furrowed in confusion. “The Walsh’s haven’t been around since they moved their operations back to Boston. Why are you still here running the streets for them?”

Barry lifted his heavy head and wore a smug smile. “Call me committed.”

“No, I don't think that’s it,” I shook my head and took two large steps towards him, him shrinking back into himself. “I think it’s the fact that you’re lying to me and I fucking hate liars.”

“Fucking shit!”

He cursed when I ripped out the knife from his thigh to press the blade against his neck.

“You’re insane,” Barry shuddered when he noticed the playful gleam in my eyes.

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “But I also don’t like liars. Now, I’ll ask again. What family do you work for?”

“It’s a new family on the rise called O’shove it up your ass,” he spat in my face.

Literally.

His saliva and blood dripped down my cheek but I didn’t even flinch and made no effort to wipe it away. Instead, I broke out into a wide smile when I heard Jolly returning with something special in tow; something that made Barry’s eyes widen in fear.

“Wh-what the fu-fuck, man?! Do you just have that lying around?” He stuttered.

Glancing over my shoulder, I extended my hand to Jolly who in turn placed the handle of the katana in my palm. Standing straight now, I studied the old sword with careful precision.

“This used to be my great-great-great grandfathers; passed down through each generation. It might be old but I have the blade sharpened every once in a while, just in case,” I said while slowly removing the blade from the sheath.

The dim light overhead cast its faded yellow glow on the sharp blade and something inside of me twinged with sheer delight.

“Ju-ju-st in case fo-for what?”

Jolly snorted at the stuttering mess of Barry while leaning against the concrete wall.

“Tell us what we want to know and you won’t have to find out.”

The sharp tip of the katana pressed lightly against Barry’s jugular, all it would take would be one flick of my wrist to end it all however I refrained, not wanting to end the fun before I got what I needed.

“What family do you work for?” I asked again, this time with less patience than the last time.

Barry’s eyes glanced down from the long blade at his throat to Jolly then finally up to me as I towered over him. His bottom lip wavered as he finally nodded.

“Okay, okay. Promise you won’t kill me?”

He tried to wager but to humor him, I gave a curt nod. “Tell me what I want to know and I’ll think about it.”

“Fuck,” Barry sobbed. “It doesn’t matter. I’m good as dead anyway. The McManus family don’t like rats and a low-level drug dealer like me isn’t worth saving.”

My grip on my katana slipped slightly at the name but I was quick to recover. “The McManus?”

He nodded widely. “ Yea. I work for the brothers; Connor and Murphy. I deal their drugs and run their errands.”

“So you’re their bitch?” Jolly asked.

Barry’s shoulders fell. “Essentially, yes.”

“Did the McManus brothers kill Vincent?” I asked while tightening my grip on the handle of the katana.

“No,” he shook his head, the blood from the wound above his eye now pooling into his eyes. “But they might know who did it. I can try and set up a meeting with them, on your behalf. Maybe they can lead you in the direction you’re looking for?”

Jolly gave me a look and I held up a finger, not quite finished with my conversation with Barry.

“Why the fuck would they listen to you if you’re just their bitch?”

This brought a wicked smile to his face as he used his shoulder to wipe away the blood from his chin.

“Because Murphy McManus doesn't like it when his daughter is threatened.”

A loud rumble erupted in my chest, like a ravenous growl, as I dug the blade of the katana deeper into Barry’s neck, blood now oozing from the fresh wound. I ignored his wails of pain, now only seeing red.

“You’ve got some balls kid to threaten the daughter of one of the most feared Irish Mafia families,” I said.

Barry shrugged in his binds. “I didn’t say it would be coming from me. Word on the street is that McManus' grandfather had issues with your grandfather some odd years ago. They’d believe me if I said the great Noah Sebastian was looking to start a turf war.”

With a scowl, I snapped my head at Jolly. “Get this piece of shit his phone so he can make the call.”

Never once faltering the blade from Barry’s neck, I watched with narrowed eyes as Jolly removed one of the binds around his wrist and tossed the phone on his lap.

“Make the meeting. If I hear one threat on the daughter, I’ll end your life before you even hang up the phone,” I seethed behind the mask of my hair as it fell into my eyes.

My heart beat like a thunderstorm in my chest at the thought of the McManus daughter. No one knew of her and what she meant to not only the family but me as well; besides my closest allies.

Barry’s fingers worked fast to type out a message before showing me the screen and with my free hand, I snatched it from him to read it.

Barry: The brother's food will be delivered at six p.m. tonight.

Unknown: What’s on the menu?

Barry: Japanese with a side of Swiss.

“Joakim is Swedish,” I corrected Barry. “I’m assuming this whole dinner rous is to keep the authorities off your back if they go snooping?”

“Look at you! I think you earned yourself a gold star,” Barry joked.

Jolly’s fist collided with his face, his neck snapping to the side, and the faint red mark from his ring began to rise on Barry’s cheek.

“Let me guess, he’s the muscle between the two of you?” Barry spat out a chunk of blood.

Not bothering to look away from his phone as a new message came in, I answered his question.

“No, that’s Ash. Trust me, you don’t want to meet him.”

Unknown: Dinner will be served in the study. 6 o’clock.

“It’s set,” I tossed the phone to Jolly who dropped it to the ground seconds before his boot came crashing down on it.

“What the fuck! You guys owe me a new phone!”

Placing the sheath back over the katana, I set it on the table along with the other wide variety of weapons and turned back to Barry with my hands crossed behind my back; grasping the weapon tightly. He glanced between Jolly and me and noticed the sinister gleam dancing behind my honey eyes.

“Hang on,” he began thrashing in the chair, free hand swinging widely. “You said I could live.”

“I did. But watch what you say next.”

Quickly, Jolly grabbed Barry’s free arm to drag his still-bound body over to the table behind me and held his wrist down. His hand was on display for my wicked plan.

“Barry, I have a question for you. If you answer wrong, well-,” I pulled out the hammer from behind my back and shook it in front of him.

His eyes widened in fear but I paid no mind to it, simply asked my question.

“Will Murphy’s daughter be there tonight?”

“Fuck no! Dumb broad never leaves her bedroom,” Barry answered. “She’s holed up in there all hours of the day. The only time she leaves is at 8 o'clock for her nightly walks.”

Jolly sucked in a breath just as I raised the hammer, bringing it down on Barry’s pinky, whose cries were overshadowed by the noise of his bones breaking.

“Why are you so obsessed with this broad?!”

I brought the hammer down again, this time breaking his ring and pointer finger. Now he was practically having an exorcism with how he was moving about on the chair, struggling to break free from the binds.

“One more question then I’m finished with this game,” I said while craning my neck to the side before getting eye level with the man. “Do you suspect the McManus family killed Vincent?”

While he stayed silent, the look that flashed over his hazel eyes told me everything I needed to know. Turning on my heels, I dropped the hammer on the table and began walking upstairs to leave Jolly to clean up until Barry’s voice halted me in my tracks.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the broad pulled the trigger herself. She’ll do whatever she can to get Daddy’s attention since she was never the favorite..”

My shoulders went rigid and I could faintly hear Jolly mutter under his breath something in Swedish before I grabbed the gun from behind my back that had been tucked in the waist paint of my black slacks and fired two rounds straight into Barry’s chest.

“Noah,” Jolly started.

I waved him off before dropping the gun on the table. “Let’s be real, Jolly. We weren’t letting him walk out of here alive anyway.

“McManus,” he sighed while rubbing his jaw. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

I cleaned the blood from my fingers and rings before letting out a long breath. I knew he wouldn’t remember the name but that name haunted me for years, plagued my entire existence in more ways than one.

“They’re one of the most notorious Irish Mafia families. Their lineage started in Ireland generations ago before relocating to Boston where the McManus brothers were raised by their grandfather, Fergal. They moved to Los Angeles when the brothers were in their mid-twenties.”

“Wait,” Jolly’s head snapped over towards me. “The twins that went on that killing spree all those years ago in Boston. The last anyone heard from them is when they shot Yakavetta in open court.”

“Exactly why they moved here. Fergal didn't appreciate the hot trail on them so they hid out here for a few years. But Fergal couldn’t handle laying low for long because he began building the ranks here. Overstepping on my grandfather's turf, because he was still young at the time.” I grabbed the weapons we used on Barry and tossed them into the bucket of bleach in the utility sink.

“You know a lot about this family,” Jolly noted.

I hummed. “My grandfather told me all about them growing up. He wanted to make sure I was well versed in the McManus family once I took over.”

Glancing down at myself, I hummed again in displeasure when I noticed the blood spatter all over my white turtleneck.

Should have worn the black one, idiot.

I went about cleaning up the mess, ignoring the slumped-over body in the chair for a moment.

“The daughter. Do you think she did it?” Jolly wondered.

I halted unraveling the plastic we used to wrap the dead bodies for a few seconds before letting my shoulders drop slightly. “I don’t believe so. While the McManus brothers do hire hitmen to do their dirty work, there’s no way Murphy would make his own blood do it.”

“I know there’s some sort of history between you and her. With all of us-”

His words trailed off when I snapped my eyes over to him. “There is no history, Jolly. She’s just someone who went to high school with us. That was years ago and I doubt she even remembers that we went to the same school. She was too busy being preoccupied with other things.”

All of us in OMNS grew up together since we were twelve years old, Jolly moved here from Sweden when he was ten. We’d all been inseparable for the last sixteen years in the schoolyard and now the streets of the Concrete Jungle.

Not saying another word, the two of us busied ourselves cleaning up our mess and by the time we returned upstairs to my office. The staircase to the hidden basement was located behind a bookshelf and while Jolly closed it, I rummaged through the drawers of my desk to find a different shirt.

Now dressed in a fresh black t-shirt, we stepped out of my office and the sounds of tattoo machines reached my ears and I smirked walking into the open lobby. Every one of my artists had someone in their chairs and my most sought-after artist, Nicholas, glanced up at me for a second before returning to tattooing his client.

“How’d the meeting go?” He asked.

“Didn’t work out. We have another one set for 6 tonight,” Jolly informed.

I went up to the counter of my tattoo shop and glanced down at the book. It was a full day of appointments not to mention the group of girls that came in for a walk in. They were chittering like birds about how it was the blonde's bachelorette party and she specifically wanted me.

In more ways than one.

While she was cute, she wasn’t my type.

Roger, the receptionist of Under The Right Lights Tattoo Parlor, and newest recruit of OMNS glanced at me over his shoulder.

“Oh hey, Noah. Are you ready for the walk-in?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not tattooing today. But I do have a job for you.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah?”

“Tonight when the shop closes, stick around. We need your help with something,” I patted his shoulder.

“You got it, boss,” Roger nodded with a wide smile.

Turning on my heels, I stuffed my hands in my pockets to glance at my studio. I opened Under The Right Lights about six years ago and even though we had a slow start, once word got out that Noah Sebastian and Nicholas Ruffilo tattooed here, business flowed in through the doors.

I took over my grandfather's other business eight years ago but needed something to cover those dealings so that's when I thought of opening a tattoo shop with my best friends; my brothers. While Nicholas tattooed, Jolly ran the financial side of things, and Nick, or as we called him Folio, ran the motorcycle shop right next door. He was a mechanic, one of the best in town, and he often frequented here through the door to the left of Nicholas’ booth when he wasn’t busy fixing bikes.

Above my tattoo shop housed thirty apartments, all owned by me, and I lived in the penthouse on the tenth floor. Everyone in OMNS also lived in their own units so we could always be close to each other, in case something came up. With nine of the units being occupied by us, I rented out the other twenty-one for another form of income each month.

I treated everyone as an equal with the tattoo studio and OMNS but they also respected me enough to know that I had the final say with both. Things didn’t get approved unless I gave the okay.

Glancing down at my watch, I noticed that it was only four in the afternoon meaning we had a few hours until we met with the brothers. So I walked over to the back area of the shop where we used a private section to make a small gym where I knew Ash and Byran would be.

Ash was not only my bodyguard but he was also my trainer and Bryan took photos of the tattoos and ran our social media account.

“Tonight, six o'clock,” I said while crossing my arms.

Bryan wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded. “I’ll make sure the SUV is loaded up.”

“Thank you,” I then turned towards Ash. “I’ve got a body downstairs. Do you mind?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. I’ll bring Matt. He needs a break from managing everything. Get out and smell the trees in the woods. Or the salty brine of the ocean.”

With a snort, I bid them goodbye before retreating into my office and ignoring the preposterous waves of the blonde in the waiting area and instead thought of a certain redhead.

SCARLETT

With a longing sigh, I brushed away the fire-red strands of hair from my face and adjusted my position on my bed to continue reading the book in front of me. It was the book Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation by L. David Mech. This was the third time I’ve read but every time, I somehow learned something new.

I've been out of college with my degree for four years now and although I haven’t done anything since then, I still tried to keep up with my studies. The possibility of opening up a wildlife rescue still weighed heavy on my mind but I knew my father would never agree to it. His money was to be used for other business opportunities.

The spiral notebook was filled with my chicken scratch handwriting and after tossing down the pen, I shook out the cramp from my hand to glance at the clock on my nightstand. It was nearing six in the evening and when it would be time for dinner with my father and uncle, they had to cancel due to a meeting that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Next to the clock was a picture that made my heart drop to my stomach like it did every time. It was of me, my father, and my mother back on my eighteenth birthday and high school graduation; the last picture we took together.

Because she was murdered that night.

Eight years later the tears still burned in my eyes when I thought back to that night. We were driving home from dinner when someone crashed into our car and ran it off the road into a ditch. My father managed to pull me from the wreckage before the car burst into flames; my mother however wasn’t that lucky. We never found out who ran us off the road that night and whenever I asked about it, my father would wave me off and say one word only.

Revenge.

The relationship with my father was never the same since that night and once my Uncle Connor moved in, I retreated into myself. I loved them both dearly, but I blamed their life in the Irish Mafia for my mother's death. I did my best to remain respectful because I still lived in the McManus estate and knew I couldn’t make it on my own; not yet. My father had made it clear more than once that the only way I was to move out was either if I had my own money or married.

Hence why I was doubling up on my studies, I needed to find some kind of job with my degree, a simple job at a store or fast food place would not be enough to survive on my own. And clearly, my relationship with my boyfriend was nowhere near marriage level yet; we’d only been together for less than a year and never spoke about getting married.

I checked my phone and noticed Cory texted me a little while ago.

Cory: I have to cancel tomorrow night, sorry. Work is sending me out of town and won’t be back till Sunday.

I rolled my eyes knowing damn well he wasn’t the slightest bit sorry.

Me: OK. See you then, I guess.

I locked my phone, the sound echoing in the quiet of my bedroom, and I busied myself once again with the book in front of me until there was a soft knock on my door.

“Yes?” I called out.

The door cracked open slightly and a head of white curls popped their head inside and I instantly smiled.

“Hi, Dortha.”

“Hello dear,” our housekeeper smiled, resting her frail hands in the pocket of her apron. “I know your father and uncle can’t make dinner but I still made your favorite. If you’re hungry.”

My stomach growling gave way to my answer so with a chuckle, I let my studies be to follow Dortha out of my room and down to the dining room where I knew she already had a plate of food set up for me.

NOAH

The car ride across town to the McManus estate was filled with the ramblings of the other members of OMNS while I sat quietly behind the wheel, mind filled with more pressing matters. I gripped the wheel so hard that my knuckles were turning white, something Nicholas, who sat in the passenger seat, noticed right away.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded. “Just going over what I’m going to say.”

Pulling the car to a slow stop at a red light, I drummed my fingers against the dashboard, trying another thing to calm my nerves since the deep breathing exercises my therapist recommended weren’t working.

“Hey boss,” Roger spoke up from the back seat between Ash and Bryan. “Maybe someone else should drive. You seem nervous.”

My eyes sliced into him through the rearview mirror. “No one drives my car but me.”

With a shaking hand through his golden locks, he nodded and kept his head down the rest of the drive once I hit the gas again.

“Do you know what you’re going to ask them? Folio wondered from the seat behind me while tapping the wooden drumsticks he always carried on his lap.

“I’m thinking of coming out right and asking if they have any idea who killed Vincent,” I answered.

Jolly shifted in the seat behind Nicholas and without having to gaze over at him, I knew he wasn’t too thrilled about my idea.

“I’d say we just pop these fools. End this turf war once and for all,” Roger pipped up again.

His excitement for being brought along tonight was evident but I was suddenly regretting my decision.

“Chill, we need to be smart about this,” I said.

“We can’t go in there with guns blazing,” Jolly added.

I came to a stop in front of the large, gothic-like gate, and rolled down my window so I was able to click the button on the intercom.

“Yes?” A thick Irish accent responded.

I cleared my throat. “I have the brothers' dinner. Japanese with a side of Swiss.”

Only static came from the speaker for a long moment until the loud creak of the gate caused Roger to jump in surprise and Byran to stifle a laugh behind his hand. The SUV glided up the long drive with ease as the setting sun spilled inside casting all of us in an orange and purple glow. We all piled out as soon as the car was parked in front of the McManus manor and I nodded towards Bryan, Ash, and Roger.

“You three hang back in the foyer in case the brothers don’t want all of us in the meeting,” I said while clicking the safety on my gun before stuffing it in my back waistband.

While Ash and Bryan agreed, both double-checking their weapons, Roger on the other hand made his distaste for my orders known with a low scowl.

“All due respect, Noah,” he began.

I adjusted the peaky hat on my head and raised a brow. “Is there a problem, Roger?”

He shifted on his feet. “I’ve been the recruit for six months now, don’t you think I worked up being involved in one of these meetings?”

I bit the inside of my cheek to my snarky remark to myself but Folio was quick to respond in my place.

“Kid, calm down. It took Bryan six years to work up the ranks. Ash, it took him ten years.”

Roger gaped at the two of them who seemed to have played along with Folio’s joke and agreed with a nod.

“Can I atleast get a gun?” He outstretched his arms. “You guys are sending me into the warzone with no weapon!”

“It’s only a warzone if you make it one,” Ash said.

“No weapons for recruits,” I said.

Not wanting to waste any more time out here, I led the group of us up the crumbling steps and came to a stop in front of the door. Motioning to Roger, I waited for him to ring the bell, and glanced around the vast grounds of the McManus estate while stuffing my hands deep into the pockets of my black peacoat.

“Nervous?”

Peering to my left, I nodded to Nicholas. “A bit.”

He clapped my shoulder. “Let’s keep our questions short. Try to get the info we need then we can leave.”

“Yeah,” Folio agreed while shivering. “This place gives me the creeps. It looks like it's days away from caving in.”

Glancing up at the old brick mansion, I had to agree with him. It looked as if neither of the McManus brothers bothered to keep up with the maintenance of the home and the overgrown grass on the other side of the driveway was proof of that.

Suddenly the front door opened with an eerie creaking and all of our eyes met with an older lady with a head full of white curls.

“Yes?”

I stepped forward. “My name is Noah Sebastian. OMNS has a meeting with the brothers.”

Her brown eyes shifted between all of us before she slowly stepped to the side, letting us all pile inside the grand manor. While the outside needed some work, the inside was marvelous with expensive pieces of art and not a speck of dust anywhere.

“My name is Dorthea. I will let the brothers know you’re here,” she said with a thick Irish accent.

Movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention and when I gazed up at the top of the stairs landing, all of my breath left my soul when those familiar hazel eyes met mine. All of the hairs not only on the back of my neck but on my arms stood straight with the buzz of electricity that shot through me when I noticed her eyes double in size. The brightness of her gaze struck a chord in my heart, playing a soft melody that only the two of us could hear.

It had been a long while since I’d seen her last but fuck, she still looked absolutely breathtaking like she did the night of high school graduation.

Her hair was deeper red than the last time we saw each other, now it cascaded down her back, and when she outstretched her arms on the wooden banister, her head tilted to the side in a way to assess all of these strangers in her home.

Although four of us weren’t strangers to her. We all went to high school together even though she wouldn’t remember us. She was always with the group of kids that were rich, too good to be seen with the bottom dwellers like us.

I removed my hat to hand it to Roger to hold onto it then shook out my hair from my eyes before slicking it back and I could have sworn I heard someone’s breath catch in their throat.

“Noah Sebastian, standing here in my house. I must say, I almost didn’t recognize you without the long hair.”

Well, shit.

“Saoirse McManus,” I hummed in response to her sarcastic tone.

A low scowl pulled on her lips before she pushed herself away from the banister and quickly scurried down the hall, disappearing around the corner.

It was almost bittersweet seeing her again after all this time. While I wish it had been under better circumstances, I knew that I couldn’t allow myself to get wrapped up in Saoirse McManus; not again. I had built an empire since dropping out of high school and I couldn’t let anything tear it down, especially a silly little crush.

It never was a silly crush. It was always more than that. You’re just bitter that she never felt the same.

Why would she ever have feelings for me? In her eyes and her financial stature, OMNS were nobodies; the gum on the bottom of their shoe. While they ran their empire up in the rich estates of the wealthy, we ran ours in the slums of the Concrete Jungle. There may have been a point in my life when I wanted to be in the same stature as her but now having earned my wealth, I realized that all I needed was my brothers.

Bullshit.

If that were the case, seeing her tonight wouldn’t have taken my breath away and cock twitched with such a dire need for her.

“What was that about her not remembering you?” Jolly asked.

I ran a hand over my mouth. “I didn’t think she would.”

“Hey,” Roger’s head popped in between Jolly and I. “That’s the daughter, right? You know, rumors are going around the CJ that she’s the one that killed Vincent.”

My eyes sliced into him and Jolly had to press a hand to my chest to keep me from wrapping my hands around his throat.

“The CJ?” I spat out through a clenched jaw.

Roger swallowed thickly. “Yeah. The Concrete Jungle. I thought you would understand the nickname since you were the one who created the Concrete Jungle. I spend a lot of time in the tunnels with groups of guys who tell stories of OMNS success. Why do you think I wanted to join so badly?”

“Do me a favor, kid. Stop lingering in the underground parts of the jungle because you don’t know what dwells underneath there. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation you can’t sweet talk your way out of,” I said.

“What?” He let out an airy chuckle. “Are you hiding a tank full of sirens? Or creating your own artificial intelligence?”

With a dark look filling my eyes, I gave him a smirk before giving him my back when I heard the faint footsteps of Dorthea returning.

“Just the Japanese and Swiss,” she pointed to us.

Jolly let out a groan. “I’m Swedish.”

“Follow me,” she hooked a finger at us, ignoring Jolly.

Giving the rest of my brothers a nod, we followed Dorthea down a long wide hallway, and I took in the sight of all the pictures lining the wall, noticing that they were family pictures of the McManus family.

The first picture was of the man who started it all over one hundred years ago, Cillian McManus. It continued for a long while until Fergal’s familiar face caught my eyes, followed by his son, then Connor, then Murphy with his wife and Saiorse.

Coming to a brief stop, I studied the picture for a long moment, before Jolly pulled me along.

“The brothers are allowing you five minutes of their time,” Dorthea informed as we stopped in front of a set of double doors and her hands wrapped around the golden knobs.

“How generous,” I grumbled under my breath just before the door opened.

Inside was a huge library/office combo. Three out of four of the walls were just bookshelves full of books, the smell of old literature tickling my nose. Thick black carpet covered almost every inch of the floor and in the center of the room were two long burgundy couches that sat horizontally to an old fireplace that was blazing with hot flames. I felt the warmth on my face when Jolly and I stepped inside.

On either couch sat the brothers, both having a glass dangling from their fingers, and their hushed conversation seized when they noticed our presence.

“Ah,” the taller one with shorter hair muttered as he slowly stood to his feet and extended his free hand toward me. “You must be Noah. An acquaintance of mine said I’d be expecting you. I’m Conner.”

After we shook hands, Connor motioned to the other man on the couch, who still had yet to stand up. “That is my twin brother Murphy.”

Giving him a curt nod, I clasped my hands behind my back. “This is Joakim. We won’t take much of your time. But we do have one question to ask.”

While Murphy muttered something in Irish under his breath, Connor urged me to ask.

“About six months ago, a dear friend of ours Vincent Riquier was murdered, his body being left on the doorstep of my tattoo shop. I had some intel point me in the direction of someone in the Irish family.”

Connor's brow raised as he took a small drink of his amber liquid. “Are you saying we had something to do with it?”

Jolly shook his head. “Not at all. We were just wondering if you could let us know if our intel was correct since it came from one of your men.”

This caused Murphy to snap his head towards us and brushed away the long hair from his face; blue eyes boring into us. “One of our men?”

“Barry,” I said flatly. “Movie star looks. Although, I must say that was before.”

The twins shared a look before Murphy rose to his feet with a roar. “You killed him?”

I stood toe to toe with him, not showing him an ounce of fear because I knew guys like this could smell it.

“Never said I did,” I answered with a shrug.

“Imigh leat,” Murphy waved a hand in my face before turning on his feet to face the fireplace.

Connor let out a displeased noise at his brother before giving Jolly and me a tight smile, the lines in his face creasing. “You must ignore my brother, he just argued with his daughter before you arrived.”

Saoirse’s face crept into my mind but I did my best to push away those feelings. I couldn’t give away my feelings for her; the ones that stayed buried for so long.

“Again with this foolish dream of opening an animal rehab facility. Why she wants to work when she has all the money I can give her if she just stays here is beyond my thinking,” Murphy muttered after downing the rest of his drink, slamming the cup on the table next to the couch.

“About Barry,” Connor ignored his brother while stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. “If you did kill him, one less thing for us to worry about. He was a pain in our arses anyway.”

“So then, as a token, you’ll give us the direction we need to look into for our friend's death,” Jolly tried while scratching the facial hair on his chin.

With Connor’s silence, his gaze locked in on us with his hand on the holster on his hip, and Murphy’s back still to us, I nodded towards Jolly, who understood and we bid the brothers goodbye.

“Thank you for your time,” I said before ushering Jolly outside of the room before me.

Once we were back in the solitude of the hallway, we rushed back to the foyer with a burning feeling at the back of my neck. Something wasn’t right, their silence told us way too much and I needed to get far away from here.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Jolly noted.

I agreed with a low rumble in my chest, placing my hat back on. “I know. They were quick to dismiss us and I didn’t like how Connor reached for his gun.”

Hearing our footsteps echo loudly on the marble floor, Bryan glanced up from his phone with furrowed brows.

“That was quick.”

“We’ll discuss it in the car,” I said while ushering everyone outside quickly.

One by one we all piled out of the house and before I stepped through the threshold, I dared a glance back up to the stairs landing, hoping to catch sight of her but instead, I locked eyes with two large guards who had their guns in their grasp.

“Boss, this doesn't make sense,” Roger turned swiftly on his heels and blocked me.

“Roger, not now,” I said sternly. “Get to the car. Now.”

“All these rumors, they had to start somewhere,” he continued to ramble on.

I backhanded his chest and then threw a thumb over my shoulder to the men who were now descending the grand staircase. Finally, when Roger noticed them, he scrambled out the door, me swiftly following behind him.

All of us gathered around the SUV to discuss what our next plan of action would be. There were other Irish families I could talk with but they all had connections to the McManus brothers so they wouldn’t give me anything.

As I was chatting with Nicholas, Roger began pacing in front of the car, running a hand through his hair.

“What’s his problem?” Nicholas mumbled to me.

“He thinks the brothers are hiding something,” I informed him while shrugging. “I must admit, I feel the same. They were too closed off in there. And the way those guards were staring at me, I swore they were looking for a fight.”

“In retaliation for Barry?”

“Could be,” I ran a hand over my chin. “Or they don’t appreciate us showing up tonight. Either way, we need to get out of here.”

Everyone began loading into the SUV, besides Roger, who was still pacing.

“Roger, get in,” I demanded from behind the driver's door.

"They're a bunch of liars. all of them. I bet you that broad upstairs knows something.”

All I saw was read for a few moments before I realized that I had Roger pinned to the hood of the car by his throat, my tattooed fingers cutting off his oxygen. Strands of my hair fell into my eyes but I made no effort to let up my grip.

“Watch how you speak about her,” I spit out.

Roger’s eyes were white as he struggled to fight me, his nails digging into the skin of my wrist.

“Shit,” Ash muttered while scrambling out of the car to wrap his arms around my chest, trying to pull me away. “Let him go, Noah. You’re going to kill him.”

With an effortless grunt, I tossed Roger to the ground and did my best to fix my hair when Ash let me go as the front door of the manor opened; Saiorse walked out with the two guards following closely behind her.

She paid us no mind as she trotted down the steps and began walking the opposite way of us. Glancing at my watch, I noticed that it was 8 p.m.

“The only time she leaves is at 8 o'clock for her nightly walks.” Barry’s words from earlier rang in my ears.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I grumbled while adjusting my jacket.

Roger quickly scrambled to his feet and when he finally noticed the two guards who had stopped walking to watch us with careful eyes, something switched in Roger’s mind. My jaw began to drop when I saw him reach for something underneath his shirt, my next words came out slow, almost inebriated.

“Roger, no!”

The sound of gunfire erupted, and all of us dropped to our knees around the car for some sort of protection. Bullets ricochet off of the car, one nearly missing my forehead as it blew the hat clear off my head. I strangled out a vacant cry while pressing my body closer to the car. My heart was beating widely in my chest and my hands shook but I didn’t have time to dwell on almost dying, I needed to stop this before it became worse than it already was.

“Mother fucker!”

Glancing over my shoulder, I cursed when I saw Folio go down to the ground clutching his thigh, his gun skidding halfway down the long driveway. I crawled over to him, keeping my head down when I noticed that a couple more McManus guards had emerged from inside and now we were outnumbered; seven to nine.

Blood oozed out from the wound on Folio’s thigh and I grabbed a handful of his shirt, ripping a large piece from it.

“You’re alright; just a flesh wound,” I reassured him while fixing the makeshift tourniquet.

“Where the hell did Roger find a gun?” Folio asked through clenched teeth when I squeezed too hard on his wound to stop the bleeding.

“I’m about to find out,” I patted his cheek before ripping my gun from behind my pants and clicked off the safety.

Using the open door of the SUV as a shield, I peered around it to see that four guards were lying dead on the ground, two were hiding behind the pillars of the manor for their own protection, and one was coming towards us.

Firing off two rounds, both hitting the mark of the guard's chest, I watched him crumble to the ground and then gave a sharp whistle towards Jolly who was firing his weapon in the car through the shot-out back windshield.

“Two on the porch!” I yelled over the sounds of gunfire.

Jolly nodded and I gave him protection against the other two guards who were firing their weapons from behind a bush, he snuck up to the two guards hiding on the porch, their lives ending before they even noticed him.

Now the numbers were in our favor so slowly rising to my feet, I stepped out from my shield and called out to the last two McManus guards.

“You’re not walking out of this alive!”

“Imeacht go fánach ort féin is ar do chnapán miúlach!” A deep voice rumbled out from behind the bus.

A flash of red caught my attention and I forgot for a moment that Saoirse was outside when the shootout began. I could hear my heart in my ears with worry if she’d been hit but when I saw her slowly rise to her feet due to one of the guards pushing her to farther safety, I breathed a little.

Until a gun went off to my left and with sharp eyes, I watched as the bullet hit Saoirse in the arm, blood splattering against the fading white paint of the house.

“Bitch! That’s for Vincent!” Roger bellowed his victory.

I let out a vicious growl as I tackled him to the ground, laying fist after fist into his face. Poor kid never saw me coming and gave no fight against me. By the time I finished, my knuckles were broken and raw, covered in not only my blood but his as well. Roger’s face was a mangled mess as he rolled over to his side, spitting out chunks of spit mixed with blood. For a final measure, I laid a swift kick to his stomach making sure he wouldn’t get up for a while. Through the white noise in my brain, I did my best to calm my breathing when I gazed over my shoulder to the carnage that lay in our wake; all thanks to Roger’s trigger finger.

Besides Folio, all of my men were unharmed and it seemed as if Folio would be fine. However, out of nine McManus guards, only two remain. One held something to Saoirse’s arm while the other tossed his gun to the ground, showing us he surrendered.

“Is she alright?” I called out to them.

“Fuck you, Noah!” She spat, eyes almost as red with fury as the color of her hair.

Yeah, she was fine.

Through the eerie silence of the night air, I watched as the front door carefully opened then both the McManus brothers stepped into the carnage.

“Saoirse!” Murphy’s voice boomed.

“She’s over here!” The one guard who was tending to her wound called out while pulling them out from behind the bushes.

I sucked in a breath when I saw all the blood staining the gray long sleeve of her sweater as the guard quickly whisked her inside, her father right on her tail. The look of pure hatred was on Connor’s face as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Whose bullet hit my niece?” He asked.

I pointed to the broken body of Roger, who was still struggling to rise to his feet. “I’ll take care of him, I promise you.”

Conner gave a curt nod before hooking his finger in my direction. “You. By yourself. Now.”

Licking my lips, I nodded and handed over my gun to Ash, who looked at me with bewilderment in his eyes.

“Are you insane?” He demanded. “You can’t go in there by yourself.”

“If they wanted me dead, I would be,” I said with more reassurance in my voice than I was feeling.

Giving a soft smile to the rest of my men, letting them know I’d be fine, I stepped back inside the manor with Conner close behind.

SCARLETT

“What the fuck!” I screamed while pushing myself away from the table, but hissing as pain shot through my arm.

The doctor we had on standby informed me that it was merely a flesh wound I suffered and closed it up with a few stitches and some pills for the pain.

“Watch your tongue,” my father warned while not looking away from his plate of food.

“You just told me that I’m supposed to marry Noah Sebastian! How the fuck can I watch my tongue?! This is absurd! You can’t make that decision for me.”

He pushed away his plate with a sigh and then steepled his fingers together. “I can because I am your father. And for the price of peace, I couldn’t deny his offer.”

I nearly fell back into my seat at the dining room table. “His offer? This was his idea?”

My Uncle Conner nodded. “That man is quite the negotiator. He didn’t want any more bloodshed and for a truce, he asked for your hand in marriage; we agreed on one condition.”

“Oh, I can't wait to hear what this condition was,” I placed my hand on my hip. “Does he want a baby in a year? Do I have to abide by his command? Am I to be locked away in a castle for the rest of my life?”

“Far from that,” my father lit his cigar, puffing the smoke into the air. “We agreed that you can marry him as long as he kill the man that shot you.”

My eyes widened. “The kid? Fucking hell, dad! He can’t be more than twenty years old!”

“Then he shouldn’t have been involved in a game that was designed for men!” My father’s fist slammed on the aged oak of the table.

I didn’t even flinch, being so used to his outbursts like this. Instead, I fought back harder against this offer.

“What about Cory?” I questioned.

“Who?” My father’s thick brows furrowed as the age lines in his forehead creased.

“The boyfriend,” my uncle informed him while swirling the ice cubes around in his cup.

My father did a double take. “How the fuck do you know?”

“Fuck you, I know shit,” he shrugged.

“Very well,” my father sighed. “It’s not like this relationship would have worked out anyway. You will end it and move in with Noah by Friday.”

“FRIDAY?!” I screeched. “That’s in two days!”

“The wedding will be at the end of the month,” my uncle informed me.

Too much information had been thrown at me all at once and I pinched the bridge of my nose to keep myself from crying. I typically wasn’t a crier but from the moment I laid my eyes on Noah Sebastian in the foyer of my home, all of my old feelings came rushing in like a tidal wave and I still didn’t have time to process that.

“If I say no to this deal?” I shot back.

Neither my uncle nor father said anything, simply motioned to the guns that lay next to their plates. Now, I knew they didn’t mean they would kill me. Instead, they would kill Noah and every last mother fucker who had anything to do with tonight.

“This is unbelievable!” I yelled while throwing my hands up and storming my way up the stairs to my bedroom.

The sound of my door slamming shook the old bones of the manor and I yanked the ends of my hair with a scream. I despised not only this life but also the fact that I couldn’t do anything about this arrangement. Not when the lives of innocents were on the line.

Innocents? They shot you!

Shaking the thought from my mind, I fell back onto my bed with a groan. It was easy to tell that the kid was the one that started the unnecessary gunfight. Noah was only doing what he could to protect his people.

Those gorgeous almond eyes haunted me for years, plaguing my entire existence since I first saw them freshman year of high school. I never could do anything about it, however, knowing that we ran in different circles and it was forbidden. His family ran the slums while mine ran the prestige wealth.

The last I saw of Noah or any of those guys was the night of high school graduation. While Noah dropped out three months before, the rest of his friends walked across the stage and he was there for support. Our eyes locked across the vast space of the room. His hair was long but pulled back into a high bun, showcasing the sharpness of his cheekbones as he gave me a gentle smile. Of course, I had to ignore the pull of my heart strings, no matter how strong they were.

If someone had told a teenage me that now, eight years later, I’d be marrying that man who captured my heart so long ago, I’d laugh in their face.

Running a hand over my face, I sat up in bed and quickly dialed Cory’s number so I could deliver the news. On the eighth ring, he answered almost breathlessly.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” I played with the ends of my hair. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

There was some rustling on his end before his breath came through. “I suppose.”

Ignoring the tone, I took a deep inhale to prepare myself for breaking the news to him. “There’s no easy way to say this. But my father just informed me that he arranged a marriage for me. I have to move in with the guy on Friday. I tried to fight it, tried to fight for us, but I didn’t have a choice. It’s something I have to do.”

There was a very long beat of silence on Cory’s end before his voice broke through. “Ok. Thanks for letting me know.”

My heart dropped to the pits of my stomach. “W-what? That’s it?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Scarlett? You said it yourself, you don’t have a choice in this. Why fight for something that has no end in sight?”

I bit down on the inside of my cheek hard to not snap at him but eventually failed.

“You know, you’re right. What’s the fucking point,” I seethed.

Before I could hang up on him, I heard the click and stared down in disbelief at my now black screen.

“What a piece of shit!” I bellowed while tossing my phone onto my bed.

My knee bounced in anger, that conversation adding more fuel to the fire, and as much as I wanted to scream out my frustrations I knew that it would be futile. Instead, I dragged my feet into the large walk-in closet and began packing up things that I knew I would need in my new life.

NOAH

Wiping away the blood from my rings, I stepped into the lobby of the quiet tattoo shop and noticed Nicholas closing up his section.

“How’d it go tonight?” I wondered after tossing the rag into the bag he had opened.

The one we planned on burning anyway so any evidence would be gone in the flames.

“Slow night but those aren’t bad every once in a while,” he answered before motioning to the door I previously walked through. “All finished?”

“Yeah, Jolly and Folio are cleaning it up. This one was messier than I would have liked. I’ll admit, the kid put up a hell of a fight,” I said while leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

The tattooed muscles in my forearms flexed.

“Did he say where he found the gun?”

“Bought it off of someone on the street before we left that night. Apparently, he had a feeling I wouldn’t allow him to have one and he felt like he needed protection,” I informed Nicholas.

Who, in turn, snorted while packing up his tattoo gun. “A lot of good it did.”

My lips parted to speak but with the sound of the bell dinging above the door, revealing that someone had stepped inside.

“Sorry, we’re closed,” the words died in my throat when I saw who walked inside.

Her hair was pulled back into a tight braid, her green eyes standing out amongst everything else about her. She carried two suitcases behind her and one large duffel bag on her shoulder.

“Hi,” I said while standing straight up.

All of the breath inside of me left me with a whoosh of air as the excitement of our arrangement finally filled me. When I first brought up the idea to the McManus brothers, I fully expected them to deny it. Much to my surprise, they agreed almost immediately with the exception that I take care of Roger, as promised.

Not even an hour after sending the picture to Murphy, his daughter was standing in front of me; bags in tow.

“Hi?” Saoirse scowled. “Do you know what the fuck I had to go through to get here? The number of times I had to circle the building to find somewhere to park? Two blocks away. Not to mention, how many homeless people stopped me along the way to ask for either money or drugs? And all you can say is hi?”

Biting my lip at my smile, I walked over to the receptionist's desk to rest my elbows on it.

“Are you finished?” I teased with a playful gleam in my eyes.

She scoffed, appalled. “Am I finished? No, Noah. Far fucking from it. How dare you bid for my life without my consent? This isn’t the 1900’s where this was a common thing! I have a say in who I should marry!”

“Then why are you here?”

Saoirse pursed her lips and when I realized she had nothing to say back, I pushed off the counter to close the distance between us, my height towering over her.

“Let’s get one thing straight. I didn’t pay for you. I don’t plan on holding you prisoner here. You have a say with anything and everything however to keep the peace from stumbling into my empire, if I had to arrange for your life, you bet your fucking ass I would do.”

Her lips mimicked a fish and when her shoulders slumped in defeat, I held out my hand to her. “Keys.”

“Excuse me?” She raised a brow.

“Give me your keys. OMNS Legacy Villas has underground parking. There’s already a reserved spot for you,” I informed her.

Shoving the keys in my hand, she sliced her eyes into me. “If it says Saoirse, change it.”

I quickly tossed the keys to Nicholas, who understood and slipped out of the shop to retrieve her car.

“Change it?” I repeated her words.

“The only people who call me that are my father and uncle. Everyone else calls me Scarlett,” she tossed her bags on the ground at my feet before crossing her arms over her black sweater.

This sass that fell from her blood-stained lips made me want to toss her onto the counter, rip off that sweater, and attack every inch of her skin with my teeth but I refrained. Instead, I brushed a hand through my hair and smiled.

“Scarlett it is.”

Scarlett glanced out the large window in front of the shop, watching as people walked past, every single one of them dealing with something in their own lives. The trash that littered the street was figuratively and literally. I had to admit that when I first opened up my empire here, the slums were extremely bad but with my help and funding, the streets had been cleaned up immensely; with a few stranglers still lurking around.

Especially in the underground.

“I don’t understand how you live here. The homeless, the drug deals, and the illegal activities I saw walking in here. It’s disgusting,” she shivered.

I stood next to her now, stuffing my hands in the back pockets of my pants. “Welcome to the Concrete Jungle, Scarlett.”

She turned her head up to me as I bent low towards her, my warm breath fanning those beautiful lips. “Where I’m the fucking king.”

#noah sebastian #bad omens #noah sebastian x ofc #mafiaboss!noah sebastian #tattooartist!noah sebastian #the coyotes cry noah sebastian #noah sebastian fan fictions

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calypsocolada · 8 months

Text

how bsd boys react to thinking you're dead... ft. tecchou, akutagawa, dazai, kunikida

cw: blood, gore, death, sewerslide mentions/attempt in dazai's, angst, fem reader

wc: 2.2k

Tecchou dropped to his knees, your weapon clutched tightly in his hands. The blade was shattered, he held the pieces between his fingers. You were always ahead in a fight, always. You had the upperhand last time he saw you and now he couldn’t find you at all. Not to mention he knew you’d die before losing your sword, it was practically an extension of yourself. Tecchou couldn’t move, something wet slid down his cheeks as he stared at your sword. His one hand came up to swipe over his cheeks, his breathing ragged.

You two weren’t meant to be. He followed justice, obeyed the law, and put it above everything else. You were a criminal, working for some lowly mafia group in Yokohama. The first time you two met you bested him in a fight. He dropped to his knees in front of you and told you to take his life. You had laughed and placed the tip of your sword under his chin, tilting it up so he was looking you in the eyes.

“You're very dramatic.” You had said, amusement on your features. He looked at you, really looked at you. “You better beat next time you see me or I just might kill you.” You say, pulling your sword back away from him. He watched until you were gone and still sat there minutes after.

After that Tecchou saw you a few more times, but you two didn’t fight. Something threw you together and you had to work side by side. Tecchou couldn’t stop thinking of you. Treatise, traitorous thoughts of you. Haunting his dreams, your eyes in the middle of the night. You hair and the complex way you braided it, the way you talked and laughed and just every damned thing about you. It was exhausting how much his mind wandered to you. You weren’t a good person, to think of you this way was against everything Tecchou believed in. But he couldn’t stop. He found himself looking for you around every corner, searching you in every shop and watching the door at various cafes wondering if there was any conventional way he could meet you.

But now, with your broken sword in his hands and you nowhere in sight Tecchou felt something deep and guttural in his chest. It ached like nothing before. His fingers flexed hard around the sword, cutting them sharply against the blade, blood dripping from his hand.

“Tecchou!” A voice yelled. He didn’t look up from your sword, just stared at it as though he could will you back to life. “Tecchou!” That voice again. He blinked, a tear falling down his face. That voice. It was familiar, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t… “My blade…” The voice said, not so far away anymore. He looked up and it was like seeing a ghost. You were pale, dried blood from a cut on your cheek. Your eyes looked at the blade, broken in his hands. “Those bastards broke my-” He was quick to his feet, quick to grab you and pull you into his chest, one hand around your back and the other tangling in your hair. You gasped at how fast he moved. He held you tightly, so tightly you could barely breathe. “Tecchou---” You managed. “Is everything alright?” You asked, he loosened up a bit but didn’t let you go.

“I thought,” His voice broke a bit, the emotion in it dragged you to an understanding. “I thought you were dead.” He said, his fingers digging into you. You blew out a laugh, throwing your arms around him, patting his solid back.

“Me? Dead?” You scoffed. “I didn’t know you cared this much.” He pulled back at that, looking down from his massive height.

“I care.” He said simply and passionately. “You’re very important to me.” He says and your breath catches because Tecchou was serious. You, a lowly mafia member, important to a member or the Hunting Dogs?

“Am I?” You echoed because it seemed so out of the realm of possibility. He only nodded his head, his fingers in your hair sliding forwards to your cheek, his thumb tilted your chin up and before you could blink his lips crashed against yours. You gasped in surprise. Today seemed like a day full of surprises.

“Tecchou!” Another voice called out from across the way. You barely had time to react before Tecchou was pulling back, cradling your face in his hands.

“Go,” He urged. “Go now. I won’t let you get caught.” He says, hands pulling away from your face towards his sword. It was another Hunting Dog that called for you, an older man.

“You’ll get in trouble if I leave. You’d be breaking the law.” You say and he nods his head.

“For you I’d do anything.” He says, eyes lightening up with fiery passion. “Now go.” You clench your jaw, nodding your head.

You fell to the floor, blood spilling down the front of your shirt, your weapon clattering out of your hand and across the floor. It slid until it stopped right in front of Akutagawa. Something cracked and splintered inside of him. He watched as you reached a bloody hand towards him.

“Run,” You warned weakly before the light in you snuffed out and you laid limply on the floor, blood pooling around you. Francis started to laugh at your expense.

You and Akutagawa came here together to face him, to stop the ship from crashing into Yokohama. Akutagawa wouldn’t leave here unless Francis was split in half. He wouldn’t run because he knew if things were reversed you wouldn’t run either.

So he fought, with everything in him, to pay you memory he’d send Francis to hell. And just like that he slashed Francis and sent him tumbling off the side of this ship towards certain death. Akutagawa stared until Francis was out of sight. And when the rain started he ran to grab your lifeless body and carry you back towards shelter.

He didn’t win because he lost you.

It didn’t matter that lives were saved because your life was lost.

Nothing mattered as he laid you carefully on the floor, your skin pale. All of this meant nothing, nothing at all. Carefully he reached a hand towards you, his finger dragging your wet hair out of your face, your skin cold to the touch. He yanked off his jacket and pulled you into his arms, placing the jacket over your cold body as he held you. He held so tightly, wanting to give you just a little bit of his own warmth. And that’s when the tears started, slow at first then all at once. He couldn’t stop them. He’d wasted every moment with you. Pretending as though you didn’t matter to him. Pretending you weren’t everything he thought about every waking moment. He felt sick, sicker than ever. He ached for you. He lost.

“Don-t- cry.” A shock to the system hearing your weak voice. He yanked his head back, his tears dropping on your cheeks. Your eyes were open as you looked up at him. You were alive. Badly injured and close to death. But alive. He let out a ragged breath he hadn’t known he was holding as he stared shocked. “Akutagawa--,” You managed, coughing up blood.

“Don’t talk.” He choked out. “Don’t say another goddamn word.” He growled. You stared up at him, biting your lip. “I’m getting you off this god forsaken ship and to a doctor, after all that you can say something.” He says angrily. And then he did something that shocked you. His thumb swiped the blood from your lips before he pressed his own to yours. You froze, sucking in a breath. The kiss was short and left you with a panging want as he pressed his forehead against your own. “If you ever die on me I’ll kill you myself.” He hoisted you up into his arms carefully. You were in and out for the most part. Missing all the good parts. The next time you woke up was in a hospital bed inside the agency. Yosano clearly fixed you up because you felt no pain at all. But you were alone. After all, Akutagawa and you were on opposite sides. But after everything that happened, you weren’t so sure anymore.

Dazai always dreamed to find someone who he could commit suicide with. He felt it was the most romantic way to go out, side by side with someone he loved. But when he met you… Someone so full of life and love. He could no longer want that stupid dream of his. It haunted him at night when you laid beside him. He’d never felt this way. This fierce protectiveness to kill anything that would even try to harm you. Everything he loved was taken from him and a scared part of him hoped you’d be his exception. Hoped you’d do as he said. His rules to keep you safe and anything to do with the detective agency far far from you. He had his enemies. His enemies were cunning. He knew how they thought. Knew having you in his life meant he had a weakness to exploit. It kept him up at night because if he wanted to beat a villain he’d go after their loved ones as well. And when that day came it only felt the sickest fate, the worst kind of karma.

Dazai was smart, but he met his match in Fyodor and when Fyodor found out about you it was all over. You were taken in the night. Dazai was working late when he noticed a missed call from you. The voicemail… your frantic voice, the way it cut off. Dazai tripped over himself to get back to the house, he practically broke his foot busting down the front door only to find it empty. He went to the bedroom, blood splattered against your guys’ bed. Dazai dropped to his knees. You were gone and knowing Fyodor you were dead. He was quick to slide his blade out and press it against his own neck. There was no point to living if you weren’t here with him. So Dazai closed his eyes, tears falling down his cheek as he started to drag the blade across his neck. A hand shot out, grabbing him by the wrist.

“Dazai!” Your sweet voice croaked out as you pulled his hand from his neck, the other pressing against the small wound he made. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m okay!” You cried, falling to your knees in front of him. He stared dumbfoundedly at you, his hand slowly coming up to your cheek. To feel you and to know you were right here, and alive. His thumb swiped across your cheek that was wet with tears.

“I thought you were dead.” He said, his voice trembling as his hand tangled in your hair, yanking you into his body until you were practically sitting on his lap.

“I’m not, I’m okay.” You gasped through tears, holding him tightly.

The bomb went off, destroying half of the train station. Kunikida was thrown back several feet into a brick wall, body falling hard against the concrete. He couldn’t hear, just the muffled sounds of debris breaking and crashing to the floor. He pushed to his feet, his body aching. He held his ribs as he slumped slightly against the wall. He was mere inches from you before the bomb went off. You were a fingertips length away from him.

A ragged breath escaped his lips, his throat choking up. He surged forwards, dizziness throwing him off balance. He called out for you once, twice, three times but heard nothing. His hands bled as he yanked debris to the side where he’d last seen you. He moved on particular piece and his hand stopped. Part of the hem of your dress stuck underneath. It was ripped and when he pulled on it it came out easily. He pulled the piece to his chest, tears forming in his eyes. He felt sick to his stomach. He pocketed the piece and continued working to find you. He could barely stand straight, he bled from his hands, his ribs probably broken from the blast. He coughed up blood, tears mixing with the dust on his cheeks. He screamed your name, yelled it into the desolation. He’d search until he was dead.

You had to be alive, you just had to be.

So he moved until the pain brought him to his knees and even then he still moved. He’d rather die than give up on you. He stumbled through the debris and just as all hope seemed lost a hand shot out and grabbed him by the ankle. Kunikida’s balance tipped, he practically fell to his knees in shock as he yanked on some bigger pieces of rock until they dislodged. And there you were, coughing and sputtering covered in dirt and dust. A choked sob escaped his lips as he mustered all of his strength to pull you out of the mess and back into his arms.

“Doppo-“ you coughed, arms falling around his body. He pulled back, teary eyes searching over you for any wounds. He brushed your hair from your face and kissed you, kissed your cheeks and your forehead, yanking you into his chest to hold you close.

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ponderingmoonlight · 6 months

Note

Can you do a tengen uzui x jealous reader like she tells as if he’s been ignoring her and distant but at the end it’s all good

Hehe I love that request as I already wrote something pretty similar a loooong time ago and this is the perfect excuse to publish it. Hope you like it even though it's a little more than what you've requested <3

(y/n) finding out her boyfriend Uzui Tengen cheated on her he did not

Pairing: Tengen x fem!reader

Word Count: 3,7k

Synopsis: Catching your boyfriend Uzui Tengen with another woman mid-action shattered your heart into pieces and made you leave him without hesitation. But is what you've seen the whole true?

Warnings: mentions of cheating, language, this is one of the first fics I've ever written in english (worked on it last in june lol) so please let me know what you think, a loooot of angst, comfort in the end

The way his fingers linger through her hair makes your stomach turn. Tengen’s touch traces down her neck, to her shoulders, before grabbing her hips passionately. You know the look in his eyes all too well, the fire inside them. It is foreseeable what will happen next.

Of course you know, given the fact that you are his girlfriend, his fiancé to be precise. Only you should know these intimate truths about his behavior, that his fingers will trace around her bellybutton next before gently pressing against her lower back. But you’re standing in the ice cold rain at night while she sits on his lap and enjoys his caresses.

You’re heart goes numb, the only thing you are able to register is your own blood rushing through your ears and the heavy rain running down your spine. You never expected that he would cheat on you. He is an attractive and strong man that is well liked by the ladies, but you are a striking and powerful woman yourself. A hashira, a former kunoichi. You thought that was adequate for him, that you were enough for him. Well, obviously that was not the truth.

Actually, you shouldn’t have been here at all. He left for an important mission this evening, stating he’ll be back in the morning. He gave you his usual breathtaking smile, devoured you in his strong arms. He said he loved you. But how can he love you when he touches another woman like he touched you a few hours ago? So the weird feeling that brought you here was right.

Thick anger begins to radiate through your whole body, making your hands shake uncontrollably. You can’t let him get away with this. You are far too valuable to put up with his behavior. He needs to know that you caught him, that you are well aware of his affair. And this bitch should know who she messed with. After all, his engagement ring is still sitting unmistakably on his finger.

Without thinking twice, you toss your throwing knives into her direction with usual precision. You never miss your aim, not even when you whole body shakes in rage. She cries out cowardice, the sleeves of her kimono caught under your blades before she is able to touch his stupid perfect face.

Fuck. His heart begins to race in panic. Tengen doesn’t have to look up to know it’s you with your signature rushing past his ears. Why the hell are you here? He told you he’ll be back in the morning. Your enraged face makes him swallow noisily, the way your dark hair sticks to your face, your uniform soaking wet from the durable rainfalls of the night. You look like a kunoichi ready to kill.

“How could you?”, you breathe out, locking your eyes dreadfully with his.

It hurts him to see you like this. He swore to never hurt you, always keen to never break this promise. But now you’re standing in front of him, your face twisted in anger and pain, the veins on your forehead pulsate hazardously.

“(y/n), what are you doing here? Let’s talk about it at home.”

Another throwing knife crashes just millimeters from his ear into the wall behind him. Fuck, you’re absolutely furious. To be honest, he would be too if he were in your place. Damn, why are you here?

“Arrogant boy, this is the end. I will never speak a word to you again. We are strangers.”

He frowns. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This shouldn’t happen, you shouldn’t be here, you-

You are gone.

Frantically he jumps up from the futon, not the least bit interested in the cries of the woman behind him. Tengen’s mind races, his hands begin to tremble in pain. He knows you well enough to realize that you’ll make your words come true.

-(y/n)’s POV-

You run. Through the dusky forest, away from him and this sight. Your heart scorches with pain in your chest. How could he do that to you? If he at least told you the truth beforehand, if he had stated you that there was another woman for him…You would never had thought that Tengen Uzui is a cheater. He treated you so well, the loving gleam in his eyes seemed so convincing to you this morning.

Now it’s all a pile of shards. Your past, your future - all gone. Bitter tears of disappointment burn your eyes and mix with the pelting rain. You really thought you knew him, that you knew his heart better than anyone else. Oh, you were so wrong.

Your unfocused feet stumble under a root, making you fall to the ground before you are able to react. Your hands clench in the sodden forest floor while your face contorts in pain. No, it’s no longer possible. You can’t hold it back any longer. A pained, bloodcurdling scream echoes through the lonely woods. Tears now take your sight completely, desperately trying to forget what you just saw. You were always so strong, so confident, but now you feel like your emotions are ripping you apart from the inside. He tore your heart into a thousand pieces, you wish it would stop beating within your longing chest. Why? Why does he just throw your life away like that? You thought you gave him everything he needs. Was it not enough for him? Did you do something wrong?

Your gaze wanders up into the starry sky. No. You gave him everything you have. It’s not your fault that this coward can’t see what you’ve had in each other and decided to betray you. Stand up, pick yourself up from the dirt and keep your head held high for at least a moment. You stand up gradually and look ahead.

“Mayumi.”

Your crow immediately sits on your shoulder at the sound of its name, briefly rubbing its head against yours. Normally you’re both not good at expressing your feelings to each other, but today she seems to understand you without further words.

“Lead me the way to the butterfly estate, please.”

“Of course, (y/n)-san”, she squeaks immediately in response and flies in front of you a few meters ahead.

As always, you move quickly and gracefully through the opaque forest around you, so you soon arrive at the butterfly mansion. This is the only place you want to be right know. Shinobu is a good friend of yours, never pushy or too curious. She always seems to truly care about you and your wellbeing, even though you seem a bit cold to some people. She understands you – hopefully also this late at night.

You knock on the door stridently. There’s no way you’ll be going home tonight, not if he could be there. But what if she doesn’t open the door? Where should you go then? Maybe Rengoku, but you couldn’t stand his optimism, Mitsuri surely burst into tears, Sanemi-

“(y/n)-san, we didn’t expect to be honored by your presence tonight!”

The little girl in front of you, Sumi you assume, breaks out in a sweat.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t announce myself beforehand. Is there any way to talk to Shinobu-san and stay here for the night? Of course I don’t want to impose my-“

“That is absolutely no problem, we are honored to invite you for the night, (y/n)-san! Please let me show you your room and call Shinobu-san!”

“That would be perfect, thank you so much”, you even manage to gift her with a small and rare smile.

The little girl leads you to a small but well decorated room with a freshly made futon in the middle. This room would be anything but flamboyant enough for him…You shake your head rigorous. No, you need to stop thinking about him. He isn’t worth you thoughts, your tears, your time. What he did was unforgivable.

“I didn’t expect to welcome you at my estate this late my dear. Oh, you are soaking wet! Sumi, please bring our guest a fresh yukata!”, Shinobu’s kind voice echoes through the room.

“I’m truly sorry for interrupting your peace this late at night, I just couldn’t go home”, you reply bitterly while staring into the distance.

As much as you want to forget him, he always catches up with you. Damn, why is this so hard? Isn’t his betrayal enough to keep your strength and self-respect?

“You know that I would never impose myself, but you are always welcome here and if you need a talk, just call for me.”

“He betrayed me, Shinobu. I saw him with another woman tonight”, you breathe out.

Her eyes widen in horror. Now she understands why you visit her in such a state. Without hesitation, she crosses the room and sits next to you on the futon.

“I shouldn’t feel sad, ashamed or guilty. What have I done? Why did he feel the need to run into another woman’s arms? I know my worth, Shinobu, but it truly haunts me. I really thought he loved me, I thought we had a future. It just…hurts.”

The cracking of your unusual composed voice causes Shinobu’s heart to drown in compassion. Oh, you didn’t deserve this at all. Even though you seemed a little cold from time to time, she knew too well that you have a heart of gold. You could always be counted on – both in combat and in private. As a former kunoichi it wasn’t easy for you to break with your old habits from time to time. Nevertheless, all other Hashira knew how dearly you loved Tengen. You two were even engaged. How? How can he just throw all of that away?

“I thought Oyakata-sama entrusted him with a mission tonight. Oh, (y/n), please…Don’t you ever blame yourself for the things you have seen. You are a truly outstanding woman with striking beauty and a heart of gold. Any man would be lucky to have you by his side. It’s not your fault in any way that he can’t see your worth!”

Her words leave you speechless for a moment, tears swell up in your eyes once more. The emptiness he left inside you makes it hard to breathe. Now that Shinobu has said it again and you’re sitting in her mansion, it’s getting too real. You will never wake up next to him, soak in his sleep drunken smile, his arms will never wrap around your waist so tightly again. You loved him so much. His betrayal shattered your heart into a million pieces.

“I loved him and our life together so much. We-we…we wanted to get married next year in the cherry blossom season. All the things he said to me were worthless, as well as the life we built up together. He threw it away this night. He hasn’t even tried to explain himself for me, he just said that he will talk to me at home.”

You can’t help yourself. Crying seems to be the only thing that feels right at the moment. Shinobu holds onto your shaking frame tightly, not daring to let go of you for even a second. No, you didn’t deserve this. But if this is what you need, she will gladly sit beside you and hold you in silence until your heart feels lighter.

A ray of sunlight hits you in your face harshly. Your eyes seem to be glued together, you are only able to open them with difficulty. A gaze around makes you realize immediately that you are at the butterfly estate, with Shinobu curled up in a small ball on the futon next to you, breathing softly. The pain of this night hits you like a wall all over again when your sleep-drunken brain begins to realize why you are laying here and not in Tengen’s arms.

“Important message! Important message! Oyakata-sama desires to see all the Hashira for an important meeting at his estate! Please hurry!”

The sound of Shinobu’s crow wakes her up from her sleep immediately.

“Oh, I must have fallen asleep here. I hope you didn’t feel disturbed by me, (y/n). A meeting you say? But we just met. Well, maybe something important has happened. We shouldn’t let them wait any longer!”

Your stomach twists in disgust. A meeting of all Hashira means that Tengen must come too. No, you’re not ready to see him yet, you might break down when his gaze wanders to yours. Your hands start shaking all over again.

“(y/n), listen. I understand your anxiety at the thought of this meeting, but it’s not worth making you feel this way – he is not worth making you feel this way. You are the strongest woman I know with a tough will that is unmatched. If anyone is capable of coming forward immediately after a betrayal like this, it’s you. He doesn’t deserve the pleasure of your grief. Stand up, put on your uniform and clean your face from the stain of tears. You are strong, you are brave and you are a Hashira. You are more than enough by yourself, (y/n).”

Shinobu is right. You are a warrior, your abilities outstand those of other demon slayers by far. It is not your reputation or attitude to let your grief show. Tengen should see what he has lost.

“Give me 10 minutes to get myself ready. I’ll meet you outside”, you instruct Shinobu with your usual firm voice.

You put on your uniform, wash your face and brush your hair. In the mirror you look like the woman you generally are. Only the faint hint of dark circles and your slightly red-shot eyes tell a trained gaze that you’ve had a rough night. As you position your throwing knives in your belt, you lift your head with one last look in the mirror and step out into the fresh air of the morning.

You will get through this meeting and build your own future afterwards.

-the meeting-

Tengen is uneasy and more than concerned. You didn’t come home tonight. Well, considering what you saw it would have surprised him if you had, admittedly. But where are you? Are you alright? Dark circles decorate his face. As if he could have just closed one eye not knowing where you have been. You weren’t supposed to see him like this, in the arms of another woman. He knows you well enough to be aware of the fact that he is dead for you. But he has to explain himself, you have to at least give him a chance to see you, to talk to you. Will you be present at today’s meeting? No matter how hurt you are, your sense of duty will surely not let you miss it.

“Shinobu, (y/n), it is so nice to see you again! I feared you might not come when Uzui showed up alone!”, Rengoku’s strong voice shouts out.

His eyes snap up immediately to catch a glimpse of you. Damn, you look so good. Even with the slightly blood-shot eyes that betray your flawless face, you’re appearance is still breathtaking and composed. But your eyes don’t even look for him in the crowd of Hashira. Instead, you greet Rengoku with a small smile.

“Well, the last time wasn’t too long ago. I wonder why we meet again so soon. Something important must have happened”, you reply calmly.

You can sense him immediately, the way his eyes dart all over your body the second Rengoku announces your entrance. Your heart almost beats out of your chest, your knees go soft as butter. A new wave of aching and wrath washes over you and leaves you dizzy. No, you must stay focused. Don’t let him throw you off course.

“Welcome, my children. Please join me inside, the clouds in the sky look like rain”, Oyakata-sama announces calmly.

Out of instinct, you bow down in front of him immediately. You didn’t even see or hear him coming. Focus on the meeting, don’t look at him. You will get through this.

Shinobu gently grabs your arm and pulls you back up to follow the rest of the Hashira inside.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you”, she gently murmurs into your ear.

You can’t help but gift her with a smile and squeeze her arm softly. You can’t thank her enough for being such a great support to you during this difficult time. Will you ever be able to reciprocate with her?

“Thank you for blessing me with your presence, even though we just met a few weeks ago. I’ve tasked Tengen with a special mission that will bring us closer to our goal of finding and slaying Muzan Kibutsuji alongside his Upper and Lower Moons. Tengen, would you mind explaining to all of us what you have accomplished?”

Out of instinct, you glare at Tengen’s back in front of you while your mind is battling uncontrollably. A special mission? Closer to our goal of finding and slaying Muzan Kibutsuji? Why didn’t you know about all this? What mission does Oyakata-sama mean?

“I have been observing and investigating the area around the entertainment district for some time. Unexplained deaths, countless attacks in the nights, women that leave without explaining. A place that only comes alive in the darkness seemed like the perfect place for a demon, maybe even an upper ranked one. And given the fact that I am the flashiest men within the pillars, I decided to examine further. I talked to the women there and let my flamboyant charm play so that they dared to tell me something. Tonight I was able to find out that one of the oiran seems to be particularly cruel and females who got in her way always mysteriously disappeared or were found dead. Unfortunately, I could not find out the name of said woman, but I am almost certain that she is a part of the Upper Moons.”

You threaten to spill the contents of your stomach down Giyu’s neck in front of you. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Is that why he met this woman? Is that why he put up with her caresses, to get information? Your ears are ringing deafeningly loud while you can’t help but stare at Tengen in disbelief. All of this pain, his betrayal, your tears, all of this was a lie?

“Oh my…”, Shinobu breathes out next to you, covering her mouth with her hand.

Is that really true? Was all of this for nothing? Now what are you supposed to do with this information? Your head begins to spin in confusion.

You need to get out. Now.

“Sorry, I need a moment”, you mumble under your breath, stumbling awkwardly into the direction of the door.

“(y/n), wait!”, his strong voice shouts behind you.

The last thing you want to do right now is talk. You are absolutely confused and furious. If it was all about a damn mission, why didn’t he tell you before he flirted with that woman? He hasn’t told you a word about his investigations. Not.a.single.word. You thought you were partners, you trust him with your life. Why did it have to come to this?

“(y/n)…”

You see nothing but red. With a swift motion, your small frame lunges over and pins him to the text wall, your throwing knife pressed against his neck.

“Why didn’t you fucking tell me”, you hiss through gritted teeth.

For the first time since last night, your eyes lock with his. Oh, he looks absolutely gorgeous with his hair a little messy and his sorrow-filled gaze. But no, you can’t break your façade now. He trampled on your trust, your feelings, your relationship.

“I’m sorry I had nothing to say that night, but it was-“

“That night? You lied to me the whole time! You infiltrated the entertainment district every day for weeks without telling me! How can I trust you? How do I know that what I saw last night was just an act?”, your toe-curling yelling echoes through the estate of Oyakata-sama.

Fuck, you couldn’t care less about the fact that everyone just heard you. Your chest rises and falls rapidly, desperate for air. Suddenly he grabs your arm smoothly with one hand, turns you around and now pushes your frame against the wall he used to lean on a moment ago. Your throwing knife falls to the ground rustling.

“I did this to protect you!”, he taunts tormented, his face now only inches away from yours.

“You don’t need to protect me, I’m a pillar-“

“This ain’t no walkin’, (y/n). It’s one of the upper moons, the strongest demons to ever exist. Exposing you to this danger, allowing you to interfere…I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror anymore if I’d allowed that”, he interrupts you with unusual low voice.

“I thought you were cheating on me, that everything we built was a lie. When I saw you in her arms…”

You have to stop mid-sentence with hot tears swelling up your eyes once more. This night was the ultimate hell for you. If felt like you’re dying from within every time your thoughts wandered to him of their own accord. You tried to be strong and independent, told yourself over and over again that you don’t need him when in reality, all you hoped for was for this to be a misunderstanding.

“I would never cheat on a woman as flamboyant as you. (y/n), I hope you understand that I had no other choice. Both you and me know all too well that you couldn’t have held back, risking the mission’s success along with your life. Let me handle that, trust your flashy fiancé and his skills”, he whispers, gently caressing your cheek.

God, his touch burns like a thousand fires on your skin. All this time you thought you’d never get that pleasure again. You can’t help but snuggle your face in his hand, eyes closed to allow yourself this intimate moment. While you won’t easily forgive him for keeping you in the dark, you’re just glad that your dark fears of tonight are not reality.

“Just be glad I missed on purpose”, you mutter into his hand.

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aurora-313 · 8 months

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Anyone ever thought about how Bleach's greatest tragedy is Ichigo's desire was to fight fate but has never had a shred of agency his entire life?

Even when Ichigo sincerely believes he's acting of his own accord; he's merely the puppet dancing to another's strings?

Aizen manipulated his parents into meeting, manipulated Rukia into meeting him.

Kisuke manipulated Ichigo from behind the scenes while Ichigo tried to save Rukia, forcing him to learn skills waaaay above his paygrade before he was remotely ready to further Kisuke's own plans. It could be argued that Ichigo's entire existence was planned according to Kisuke's designs.

Isshin manipulated/forced him to learn Deux Ex Saigo no Getsuga Tenshou without telling him the cost, because apparently it was the 'only way' - despite having Kisuke "I plan for ten thousand scenarios" Urahara on his side. And did little in the way of helping his powerless literally soul-torn son cope with the monumental sacrifice after the fact.

Ginjo Kugo and his followers manipulated Ichigo by stringing along the prospect of gaining Fullbring, so they could steal it to have their revenge on Soul Society. Made easier due to the aforementioned apparent lack of support from Isshin.

Sword!Yhwach has manipulated Ichigo the entire time by turning him against his own soul, sabotaging his growth and ability to harness his powers.

Ichibei manipulated him into undergoing that trial to turn him into a Soul King vessel with the intention of chopping him up as the replacement.

Yhwach manipulated Ichigo into killing the Soul King.

"Give me a blade to shatter fate." is a sad joke and poor Ichigo is the walking punchline.

No wonder why no one told him anything about himself until the last minute. An ignorant tool is an easily manipulated tool.

#bleach #ichigo kurosaki #yhwach #kisuke urahara #kugo ginjo #isshin kurosaki #sosuke aizen

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lordprettyflackotara · 2 days

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dollhouse || jeff the killer

SMUT. MINORS DNI. 18+. PLEASE READ TW LIST: MURDER, YOU ARE A CREEP/MURDERER, blood kink? kinda?, choking, hate sex, enemies to prob lovers trope, orgasm denial, etc etc. yes there will be a part two ;) <3

“God fucking dammit!”

The screech left your mouth involuntarily, your hand gripping the back door and slamming it shut. The sound echoed through out the kitchen, your vision borderline seeing red. You continued to mutter curses under your breath as you stormed into the living room. Ben nearly bent his neck backwards trying to look at you from the couch, “Uh, something wrong?”

Your eyes were shooting daggers as you looked at him. The blonde would’ve cowered in fear if he didn’t find you tragically attractive. (Considering you’ve made it very clear you are off limits from any mansion residents). “I got a fucking assignment like i’m a goddamn proxy,” You grumbled, stomping into the living room. Lazily you flopped down on the couch beside Ben, running your fingers through your hair.

Ben playfully elbowed you. “Oh cmon, that’s not that bad. Every creep has had to go on a mission for Slendy at one time or another,” He said cheerfully, resuming his button mashing on his xbox controller. You slumped in your seat, sighing as you propped up your head.

“Yeah, but not every creep has been paired with Jeffrey Woods.”

“Don’t flatter yourself sunshine, i’m not happy to be paired with you either,” Jeffs cold voice rang from the staircase. Ben looked back and forth between you to, pausing his game. “Oh and call me that again and i’ll slit your throat,” Jeff barked. He casually strolled down the stairs, parking himself in his usual chair by the window. You refrained from looking at him, his face making you physically sick. “I don’t know what you’re complaining about either. If I were you i’d be dropping my fucking panties and praising Slender,” Jeff continued. His rambling was growing tiresome, your patience becoming thinner.

You and Jeff were equally as aggressive, which led to many disputes and many more fist fights. Jeff never knew when to shut his mouth and you never knew when to stop throwing punches. “You single handedly have the best killer on your team and you’re still running your mouth. At this point it’s a mystery why your folks didn’t stitch it shut,” Jeff snickered. Your ears twitched visibly, your eyes widening at the sound of him mentioning your human family. Your human life.

In a swift motion you dug the (carefully thought out) emergency knife from the couch, throwing it at his head. You were known for your aim, your accuracy. The blade whisked past Jeff, digging into the wall. “You’re gonna break a window!” Ben screeched. Jeff frowned, glaring at the knife in the wall behind him. “You missed doll face,” He seethed. You grinned your petty scheme paying off.

“Did I?”

A warm liquid began trickling down Jeff’s ear, his fingers reaching to identify the source. Crimson red blood stained his fingertips, the lobe of his ear nipped by the launched blade. “You bitch i’ll kill you!” Jeff yelled, rising from his seat. You matched his energy, standing up immediately. Despite Jeff’s tall size you refused to let him intimate you, your gaze always burning with a sincere hatred. Ben was quick to hop around you, wedging himself in between you both.

“Guys let’s think about this, you know Slender’s rules,” The blonde suggested. Typically Ben didn’t give two shits about Creeps wrestling it out. Shit, last week he let Masky throw Toby into the coffee table. (Shattered it, by the way.) But he genuinely liked the both of you, considering you both his best friends. Your eyes flickered past Jeff for a moment, landing at the disney princess clock Sally had requested.

“Shit we’re late. Clean yourself up and let’s go.”

One key thing was to be known about Slender missions: if you had any questions, you kept them to yourself. This is what you tried to convince yourself as you pulled on a set of scrubs. Cosplaying as a nurse was not on your bucket list, certainly not like this. “Could you be any slower?” Jeff huffed. You both stood in the back alley of the hospital, a keycard having been delivered to you to gain entry. Jeff stood on the other side of the car, facing the wall. You threatened to scoop his eyes out if he looked at you changing, the mere threat alone leading to half of his annoyance.

“Oh im sorry, maybe if your face didn’t look like it went through a meat grinder you could’ve been the doctor,” You spat, venom lacing your words. You shoved on your face mask, your key card pinned to your shirt. You rounded the car, shoving Jeff his sunglasses and blue face mask. “Do I look legit?” You asked. Jeff scowled as he shoved on the sunglasses, shoving his hood over his head. “I wouldn’t trust you with a walnut, nevertheless my life,” He snarled. You had learned long ago to discard anything Jeff said to you, no matter how hurtful or spiteful it seemed to be.

But he noticed your eyebrows briefly furrowing, your eyes flickering with concern you didn’t look nurse like enough to complete the mission. “But yeah I guess you look like a healthcare professional,” Jeff finished, shoving his face mask on. You locked the car, shoving the keys into your scrubs. Jeff’s part was to play a sick patient, one you were taking to the emergency wing. The same wing where they had a lab with copious amounts of blood bags. Again, you were never supposed to ask questions. But you couldn’t help but wonder what or who Slender would be feeding with these bags.

“Why did you make me wash my hoodie again? The blood on it could’ve looked like I was coughing it up,” Jeff asked. Jeff was notorious for not wanting to wash his hoodie. You figured it was an ego thing, pride always seeming to drip off of him when he paraded around in his victims blood. Grabbing your keycard you bypassed the pitiful security system, the door unlocking with a click. You grabbed him by his shoulder, assertively guiding him inside. “Yeah we would’ve wanted you to look like you were coughing up blood, not coming back from a murder scene,” You whispered. The bright hospital lights were borderline overstimulating, your vision narrowing as you struggled to remember instructions.

Jeff sensed this, fake coughing and jerking his head towards the sign. West wing. Great. You led Jeff through the busy hospital, nodding respectfully at any medical staff that made eye contact with you. No one seemed suspicious, just another human nursing a sick patient back to health, right? The journey felt longer than it was, your nerves gnawing at you. It wasn’t the fear of being identified necessarily. You and Jeff (if you managed to work together as a team) could certainly slaughter this entire hospital floor and get away. It’s not like many would try to fight you both off either.

Creeps were not to make spectacles of themselves by having their identifies revealed to humans. Camera systems were in place, people had cell phones, police were nowadays just one click away. If you both failed to remain secretive, you’d violate one of Slender’s rules. And if you cared to live another day with more than three brain cells in tact, you did not disobey Slender.

Finally reaching the west wing brought instant relief, both of you reaching your destination. You swiped your keycard, both of you pushing into the room. A middle aged man stood at the counter, turning around to see who had entered. He briefly turned back around, before realizing Jeff did not appear to be medical staff. You shoved a metal cart in front of the door, Jeff quick to take out the threat. “Go to sleep,” He snickered, slitting the man’s throat. You rolled your eyes, grabbing a trash bag from under the sink.

“gO tO sLeEp,” You muttered mockingly. You wondered when he’d retire the corny catchphrase. You threw your mask aside, tired of playing pretend. Jeff strolled over to the fridge, yanking open the door. Blood pooled on the floor beneath his shoes, staining them as he crouched down. Jeff wasn’t bothered in any capacity, reaching out to grab a trash bag. You both began shoving the bags into the bag, grabbing each and every type. “Wait did Slender want the different blood types in different bags?” Jeff asked. You sighed, ignoring him as he stopped and looked at you. He yanked off the mask and tossed aside the sunglasses, his obsidian eyes boring into yours. “He didn’t specify,” You shrug, grabbing another row of bags.

“He didn’t specify? So why wouldn’t you do it then?” Jeff asked. You rolled your eyes, dropping your hands. “What does it matter? We’re putting bags of blood into trash bags and delivering it like we’re in the twilight zone. We don’t even know what this is for,” You argued. You went to grab another bag, Jeff’s pale hand harshly grabbing your arm. “Exactly, we don’t know what it’s for. Meaning we should play it safe,” Jeff debated. You yanked your arm away from him, disgusted by his touch. Angrily you dropped the trash bag, standing up.

“You just want an excuse to argue. I knew you would fuck this mission up,” You growled. Jeff rose to his feet, towering over you as he did so. “I’m fucking up the mission? You’re the one who’s being sloppy,” He said, poking your chest. You shoved his shoulders, hating his touch. “You’re the sloppy one. Yeah Jeff get your shoes stained with the humans blood so they can look for it later. We’ll just have to burn it in the middle of nowhere,” You said, gesturing to his shoes. Jeff rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. “Them knowing my shoes, which by the way, are converse, which half of the planet owns, is not a big fucking deal,” He said mockingly.

You threw your arms up, exasperated. “Yes it is! Because then they’ll link it to any other crime they’ve captured with a stupid pale guy in converse and it’ll be all over the news, and you know how Slender hates the media-” You began, before the hallway light stopped your sentence for you. Two nurses shoved their way inside of the room, both of you freezing. Shit.

Jeff grabbed both of them by their scrubs, yanking them inside and slamming the door. He shoved his hand over the first one’s mouth, slamming her onto the cold floor. Your victim seemed dumbfounded, her eyes widening in the same fear that dripped off of every victim of yours. “Dont scream bitch, whatever you do, don’t scream,” You suggested. You didn’t look visibly armed, maybe she’d listen to you. As Jeff repeatedly stabbed her coworker in the chest, she changed her mind. A shallow gasp left her lips before you were on her like a wild animal, your pocket knives blade stabbing her from the underside of her chin.

Not your preferred method, gallons of her blood pouring down onto you and your scrubs. Her eyes went blank as the soul left her body, her life officially drained. Crimson paint coated your entire front side, the skin on your arms stained with the color. “There is no fucking way i’m going to be able to walk through the hospital like this,” You seethed. You turned to Jeff, tossing the nurses limp corpse aside. “You should’ve been keeping a lookout instead of picking an argument!” You exclaimed. Jeff rose to his feet above his own victim, her organs on full display as smashed lumps of meat.

“Nothings ever your fault, is it sunshine? Maybe take some responsibility for your fuckups instead of pinning it on me,” Jeff spat. You hated him. You hated him beyond belief. You also hated that he in one way or another, was right. You let him get in your head and distract you from the mission. In a fit of rage you shoved at his chest, the pale killer having enough of your hissy fit. He shoved you back, pushing you against the counter. Slipping on the blood beneath you, you instinctively grabbed handfuls of Jeff’s hoodie, dragging him with you.

His body smashed into yours as your back hit the counter, both of you breathing heavily. You glared up at him, his body not deserting yours. He licked his dry lips, observing you from above. Your chin and neck were coated in blood, along with the rest of you. When Jeff came to think of it, you didn’t look half bad when your mouth was shut and you were covered in his favorite liquid. Glaring up at him you noticed he was stained the same way, splatters of blood painting his face. “I hate you,” You seethed. Jeff leaned in closer to you, his face an inch away from yours.

“I hate you too sunshine. Don’t ever think for a moment I don’t,” He replied. You could feel your heart beginning to race, the close proximity making your stomach do back flips. “Why would I think you don’t?” You asked. Jeff hesitated, knowing what he was about to do would change everything. But fuck he could not resist a hot chick covered in blood. “Cause of this,” He huffed, smashing his lips into yours. You were surprised to find yourself kissing him back, clashes of teeth ensuing more than a traditional kiss. His large hands helped you onto the counter, the pale killer wedging himself between your legs.

You wrapped your arms around Jeff’s neck, bringing him closer. You both were willingly jeopardizing the mission, all for a sweet release. Because you both knew deep down that you both were the same, cut from the same cloth. Jeff’s hands slid up your thighs, reaching for the hem of your scrubs. Your lips refusing to stray from his, awkwardly lifting your hips to help him take them off. Jeff’s tongue slid into your mouth, the faint taste of a monster energy drink dancing across your tongue. Jeff was quick to pull down your pants and panties, leaving you completely exposed.

“We don’t have much time,” You panted into his lips, nibbling on his bottom lip. Your hands reached for his pants, fiddling with the belt. Jeff rubbed two fingers up and down your slick, sickly satisfied with how wet you were for him. “You’re fucking drenched. I knew your slutty ass wanted me,” He snickered. You glared up at him, wrapping your legs around his waist. Without thinking you raised an open hand, slapping Jeff across the cheek. The stinging electrified him, his cock throbbing with a more intense desire.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” He seethed, shoving two fingers inside of you. You let out a groan, your hand slithering down to your clit. “Who are you supposed to be pretending to be now? Ben?” You asked, relishing in the sight of his pale cheek turning pink. He curled his long fingers inside of you, your eyes fluttering shut as you moaned. “You greedy bitch, pay attention,” Jeff growled. His spare hand flew to your throat, harshly gripping at the sides. Your eyes burst open, meeting his dark orbs. “Thats it, look at me as I ruin you,” Jeff ordered.

You began drawing quick circles around your clit, biting your inner lip. “You gonna make me cum or just keep talking?” You huffed, grinning as his grip on your neck tightened. Jeff continued finger fucking you, your groans music to his ears. “You sick bitch. You like me choking you, huh?” He taunted. You could feel yourself getting closer to the edge, your orgasm threatening to wash over you. Jeff could sense so too, releasing your throat and yanking away your hand from your clit. His fingers emerged from your cunt, just as you were teetering on the edge of cumming.

“You fucking asshole, fuck you,” You seethed. You spat in his face, your saliva coating the same cheek you slapped. Jeff picked you up off of the counter, slamming you against the closest wall. Aggressively he pulled down his pants and boxers, his lips meeting yours again. For such a prick he was intoxicating, his lips working wonders against yours. “Be patient for once you brat. You’re gonna cum on my cock like a good whore should,” Jeff grumbled, rubbing his shaft up and down your slick. He forcefully shoved himself inside of you, your body splitting in half as his dick bottomed out inside of you.

You gripped his blood stained hoodie, your palms covered in the liquid you could never escape. You swallowed as you screwed your eyes shut, attempting to adjust. Your body was tense and still, your breathing heavy. You expected Jeff to be a prick and move, ramming into you the way he wanted to. But he didn’t, his eyes watching you intently. Slowly and unsurely he grabbed your chin, forcing your head towards. His touch seemed too caring to be real, his lips working against yours again. Your body slowly relaxed, his lips bringing you ease.

Jeff hadn’t expected you to be overly experienced, your walls squeezing him like you were a virgin. An uneasy silence flooded between you to as you fully adjusted, your eyes fluttering open. “Jeff, move,” You ordered weakly, straying away from his heroin laced lips. The pale killer wanted to deny you, to make you beg for him. But as your victims blood pooled at his shoes once more, he knew he didn’t have time for that. He began moving quickly, his thrust rough and reckless. His cock abused your g spot just like his words abused your sanity.

“You’re bigger than I thought you’d be,” You huffed, unable to stop yourself from insulting the man who was providing you euphoric pleasure. Jeff laughed dryly, burying himself in the crook of your neck. “You’re tighter than I thought you’d be. I thought you’d be so desperate as to let EJ fuck you and stretch out this cunt of yours,” He rambled, jealousy ensuing. He hated how well you got along with EJ. He hated how seeing you laugh with him made him feel. He didn’t understand it. That nagging feeling. He couldn’t understand it. He didn’t want to understand it.

You licked your lips as you tried to contain your sinful noises, Jeffs name finally straying from your lips as he abused your cunt. “Thats it, moan my fucking name,” He praised, a sick satisfaction making his hips snap into you faster. His breath was hot against your neck, the twisted fucker licking the side of your neck. The taste of sweat and blood was intoxicating to him, the killer only more turned on by the taste. You could feel yourself finally close to the finish line, your hands combing into Jeff’s shaggy ash black hair.

“Fuck, right there. Please don’t stop,” You whined, unable to stop the plea from falling off of your lips. Who was Jeff to deny you of that? Your walls spasmed around him as you came, your eyes rolling into the back of your head. Jeff came with a grunt, huffing into your neck as his warm seed flooded your cunt. You both were frozen for a moment, the realization of what had just happened washing over you. You shoved Jeff’s chest, pushing him away from you. The pale killer backed away, removing himself from your cunt.

He watched as you shoved your clothes back on, grabbing the trash bag.

“Get dressed bitch boy, we have a mission to finish.”

#creepypasta #creepypasta smut #creepypasta x y/n #creepypasta x female reader #creepypasta x you #creepypasta lemon #creepypasta x reader #creep #jeff the killer #jeff the killer x y/n #jeff the killer x you #jeff the killer x reader #jeff the killer x eyeless jack #jeff the killer smut #jeff the killer x female reader

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mmgwritings · 8 months

Text

UNKNOWN / NTH

Characters: Kaz Brekker / Sun Summoner ! Reader

Prompt: when alina starkov fails to destroy the fold, kaz brekker discovers the true power of the saints.

Warnings: angst, canon divergence, shadow and bone season 2, main character death, definitely didn't proof read, kaz suffering, fjerda sun summoner.

The nichevo'ya bore down upon us and Sankta Alina was struggling to wield her power while shielding the group from the volcras. Waves of terror swept over us when the screeches of the volcras echoed around in the dark. Beside me, Jesper whispered curses as he loaded more bullets into his pistols and Wylan knelt down to search for more gunpowder in the bag.

"Got everything we need, Wylan? We're not going to a picnic, you know" Jesper quipped, a nervous grim in his face. "We're definitely going to die"

Then, the nichevo'ya breached Alina's protection with the Darkling behind them. Inej, quick as lightning, drew her sword "neshyenyer" and sprang into action. With the blade gleaming in the dim light she enganged the shadow monsters in a fight which each swing of her sword was precise.

Y/N didn't wait and started shooting at the shadows. Jesper's pistols were also aimed and ready. He stood at the forefront of the remains of the First Army, with King Nikolai at his side, shooting and desperately trying to get a clear shot amidst the chaos of battle.

Nothing was working. It seems that don't matter how hard we fight the darkness didn't falter, and then, as if and overwhelming force had descedend upon us, Alina's light protection crumbled completely. We were now exposed to all the horrors of the Fold.

"Come on, run!" screamed Nina. She grabbed my hand and pushed me through a door in the fortress as the battalion scattered, desperately seeking refuge in other rooms. Jesper, Wylan, and Kaz ran close behind us, with Zoya supporting Nikolai's injured side and Mal dragging Alina.

We entered a training courtyard, with the remnants of the battle between the Darkling's Grisha and the First Army still visible. Volcra dragged the bodies of the fallen and descended from the skies in droves. The place was engulfed in chaos, and the sounds of combat reverberated all around. A volcra swooped over our group, seizing one of Nikolai's soldiers. His screams faded into the darkness.

"We're too exposed here!" Kaz shouted as he began striking his cane against the old door lock, which gave way without much effort. "Let's go, get inside!"

Kaz led us through a series of corridors, candles still burned and provided a faint glow to guide our way. The air was heavy with tension, and the sounds of death echoed from outside.

In a small, dimly lit room, we finally regrouped. Mal and Alina were gasping for breath, their faces pale, while Nikolai's wound was tended to by Zoya and Nina. Kaz was busy devising a plan, the gears of his mind turning even in the midst of chaos. Jesper and Wylan stood ready, pistols and bombs in hand, guarding the entrance.

Alina, even though visibly shaken, looked at each of us with fierce determination. "We may be cornered, but we're not done yet," she declared. "We fight, and we survive. This is not how our story ends."

"Well, whatever your plan is, Sanka, you'd better make it quick," Kaz said coldly. He had never believe in saints; this wouldn't be the moment. "You have amplifiers, don't you? Why aren't they working?"

Alina paled. "Mal... Mal is the third amplifier. Baghra told me that only with his death will I have enough power to destroy the Fold." A heavy silence settled in the room.

Alina would have to kill Mal, the man she loved. Y/N had always known that a Grisha's powers were cursed. She was born in a village in Fjerda, raised under the belief of Djel, but saw her world shattered when she discovered her powers. For her sins, for her curse, her family was murdered by the villagers. In a last desperate attempt, her sister handed her over to a Kaelish slave trader, which is how she ended up in the pleasure houses of Ketterdam.

Y/N had suppressed her powers since then, rarely using, and no one knew about them... no one except Kaz Brekker, the man who set her free. Kaz needed a spy, and she was perfect for the mission. Years later, Y/N was still working for Kaz — murdering for Kaz.

Kaz discovered Y/N's sun summoner powers by chance when a mission went awry, and they needed to escape. SHe had to blind two of their pursuers from the stadwatch and for the first time, she feared Kaz. She thought he might sell her, turn her over to Ravka, or auction her off to the Drüskelle.

But that day never came. He never spoke a word about Y/N being Grisha, never asked her to use her powers... and that was how she began to fall in love with Kaz.

Alina's eyes welled with tears as she looked at Mal, her voice trembling. "I know, but I can't bear the thought of losing you."

Mal reached out, gently wiping away her tears. "We've faced so much together, Alina. This is just one more sacrifice we must make for the greater good."

Kaz, still resolute, added, "We don't have much time. We have to make a plan"

Tears streamed down Alina's face as she nodded, knowing the weight of the decision they had to make.

That's not fair, i thought. And, as she was capable of reading my mind, Inej, who had been quietly listening, spoke softly, "Life isn't always fair, but the choices we make define us. We'll support you, Sankta Alina, no matter what you decide."

Zoya, her expression soft, added, "It's a hard choice, but it's one that could save countless lives. Or, maybe we can find a way... Nina, how fast can you cure him?"

Nina, her face filled with concern, replied, "I'll do my best, Zoya, but it might take time. We can't afford to wait too long."

The room was filled with a shared sense of determination as they began to explore every possibility, but we didn't have time. Outside a cry pierced the air. It was the Darkling, leading the charge of the dark forces.

It won't work. I realized this just by looking at the determined way Alina gazed at Mal – she would never sacrifice him to save the world. She's not capable, just like Nina isn't capable of healing him in time. Mal would have to die, and Alina couldn't be the one to kill him.

"Maybe there's another way" I whispered.

Inej, her eyes filled with hope, asked, "What do you have in mind?" at the same time that Kaz a loudly "No"

My voice gained a touch of determination as I responded, "We can't let Mal die, but we also can't let the Darkling win. We need to find a different source of amplification, something that doesn't involve taking a life."

Confusion hung heavy in the room as Kaz stepped forward, his face masked by controlled fury. "You're not going to," he said "I'll not allow it"

"It's not your decision to make, Kaz," I replied, my tone resolute.

Kaz's eyes bore into mine, a battle of wills silently raging between us. "You can't expect me to stand by while you kill yourself."

"Believe me, that's not my intention," I said with a sly smile. But smiles never fooled Kaz. He know me, perhaps the only person in the world who truly know me.

We're complicated people, each with our own traumas, but over the years, we've learned to share some of our past. Kaz told me about Jordie, the farm, the con and I told him about fjerda, the blood, the slavery.

Once, at the slat, on a rainy night, Kaz's expression softened slightly as he said "We've both carried our burdens, but it's made us who we are. It's what's kept us alive in this unforgiving world."

We became friends, confidants, and slowly, we tried to be something more. He can't stand being touched, and I can't stand being seen — two of the most broken people in the Barrel, trying to shed their armor.

In the quiet of that rainy night in the Slat's office, we dared to be vulnerable. Kaz's gloved hand hesitated, almost touching mine, as if testing the boundaries of his aversion to contact.

I whispered, "Kaz, it's okay. You can trust me."

He looked into my eyes, a storm of emotions flickering in his gaze, but he didn't pull away. His gloved hand met mine, the moment felt like a breakthrough, a chink in the armor we had built around ourselves.

In that fragile connection, we found solace in each other's company, knowing that we didn't have to be alone in the darkness of the world.

I let the memories fade away. Kaz was standing in front of me, shielding me from the eyes of the others.

"I have to do this, Kaz. You know that," I whispered, moving closer to him, my hand softly touching his fingers.

Kaz, his gaze unwavering, finally nodded in reluctant agreement. "I know, but it doesn't mean I have to let you go alone"

Dread coursed through my body when I realized that Kaz was going with me. If I couldn't make it, he would end up dying with me.

"No, you're staying here," I said, but Kaz simply turned his back and began giving orders to Jesper and Wylan to prepare reinforcements. "KAZ!" I shouted, panic-stricken. I ran over and stood in his way, and I did something I had never dared before – I held his face.

"You're not going alone, Y/N" he said, his eyes locked onto mine, "If you go, I'm going with you."

I removed my hands from Kaz's face when I noticed he was turning pale. Jesper, like everyone else, was confused, so he said "I'm not sure what's happening."

I couldn't explain further because, at that moment, a terrible noise descended upon us. Something was tearing the door apart. We all rushed towards the other exit leading to the hill. The Darkling's nichevo'ya circled the grass like vultures, destroying any form of life. Nikolai, Mal, and Jesper began firing their pistols.

Then, he appeared. The Darkling was still handsome, even with his face partially marred by the corruption of merzost. His eyes blazed with fury as he spoke to Alina.

"You can't escape me, Alina. Your powers belong to me, and you will give them willingly or by force."

Sankta Alina, her voice filled with defiance said "I'll never willingly give you anything, and you'll never control me again."

She then attempted to strike him with a beam of light, but it was strangely weak. When it hit the Darkling, he absorbed the light as if it were nothing.

A twisted smile appeared on the herege face. "You see, my little saint, you can't fight destiny. Your powers are mine to command."

Sankta Alina couldn't do anything to stop him. Y/N had to intervene while the Darkling believed he had everything in his grasp.

She looked at Kaz and whispered a "I'm sorry" with a small smile o her face, one that Kaz knew it was filled with sorrow.

Kaz expression hardened, he simply nodded and said, "Just make it count."

Y/N, being more experienced in sun summons than Alina, definitely didn't need an amplifier to perform the cut.

With confidence born of her expertise, Y/N channeled her power, a blinding ray of red sunlight cutting through the room and striking the Darkling. He let out a searing scream as the light consumed him, writhing in pain. It was a scream of pain and surprise. As the rest of the world, he believe that existed only one sun summoner.

The room was filled with a blinding radiance, and for a moment, it seemed like the Darkling's corruption might be purged. But as the light dimmed, his sinister form slowly re-emerged, and it became apparent that the battle was far from over.

"Alright, let's see how strong you are," Y/N said as she unleashed waves of light upon the nichevo'ya.

The nichevo'ya screeched in agony as they were engulfed by the brilliant light, their dark forms dissipating in its radiance. In the midst of the battle, the Grisha and first army all rallied behind her, recognizing that Y/N's power might just be the key to turning the tide against the Darkling's forces.

The sky crackled with energy as she fought the darkness. Y/N unleashed all her power, releasing every ounce of her strength, and gradually, with bursts of radiant lightning, the Fold dissipated. Volcras burned and plummeted from the skies.

Volcras and nichevo'ya fell one after the other, their malevolent forms vanquished by the searing light.

Y/N's power illuminated the battlefield, then, as a final blow, Y/N performed the cut, unlike the initial one which was merely to test the strength of the heretic. This one was hot, sharp, and incredibly potent.

But it wasn't enough. Remnants of the Darkling's cut hit her chest. She fell to the ground, struggling to breathe, her chest burning.

In her most haunting nightmares, Y/N is always alone when she die. Typically, it begins with a startling realization that her demise is finally upon her. She feel her heart struggling to keep beating, even under the weight of a perfectly aimed dagger. The cries of my family have faded into silence, and Y/N, like any other ordinary person, is capable of facing death.

But this time, everything feels too vivid, too different, as if a new nightmare is taking shape. She taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth, choking and bringing tears to her eyes. Strangely, she don't experience any pain; in fact, she doesn't feel much of anything except an intense cold, even though the sun shines brightly above.

What makes this new nightmare the worst is his presence.

Kaz looms above Y/N, his brown eyes hidden behind unshed tears. His voice sounds muffled, as if speaking from beneath murky waters. He speaks in desperation, making threats and offering impossible promises... promises about love.

Y/N, gasping for breath, managed a weak smile. "Not... on your... watch."

Kaz, his usual mask of indifference cracking, held her hand tightly, his gloved fingers trembling. "You better not."

But Y/N wasn't feeling the warmth of his hands and breathing was becoming a difficult task. Blood coated her mouth, and her vision blurred as Kaz's face slowly faded from focus, Nina was by his side, trying to tend to the gaping wound in Y/N's chest.

Nothing seemed to work; there was some kind of dark poison, a residue of the Darkling's merzost, in her body preventing the wound from closing.

Y/N loved Kaz's eyes; often, they couldn't lie as convincingly as his words. It was through Kaz's eyes that she knew. Kaz couldn't hide the worry and helplessness in his gaze. For the first time, he wasn't able to find a solution to the problem at hand, and it weighed heavily on him.

It didn't hurt, it wasn't tumultuous at all.

Yet, it was bittersweet to know that someone who had never believed in saints, who had never begged, and who had never touched another person for fear of the dead, had done all of that for her.

For the first time that year, the sun shone in Ravka, but when Y/N opened her eyes, winter was closing in around her.

In the distance, an ash tree stood tall, beckoning like an invitation.

#mmgwbrekker #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x you #shadow and bone #six of crows #kaz brekker #ineje ghafa #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #alina starkov #mal oretsev #malina #the darkling #darklina #nikolai lantsov #zoya nazyalensky

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moonbaby26 · 8 days

Text

Title: Abduction

(Chapter 9 of Doflamingo’s Marine Series)

*Crossposted to AO3 Here*

Chapter Pairings: Doflamingo x Reader, Doflamingo x Sir Crocodile

Chapter Warnings: language, violence, blood, murder (not main characters), toxic/controlling relationships, reader’s implied past abuse

Chapter Synopsis: You chose to interfere and save the life of someone who had nothing to do with you. But like plucking one strand of a spider’s web to call the predator to its prey, an irreversible chain reaction has now started. Doflamingo is goaded by his own past as well, forcing him to refuse even your temporary release from him this time.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

——————————

At least you hadn’t had to wonder long on if you’d misjudged the strangers’ intentions with the girl. Though if you hadn’t been so sure, your own body wouldn’t have reacted near as strongly as it had.

The look in that girl’s eyes was the same fear you’d seen on the faces of girls and boys just like yourself so many times. That last glance before they’d be pulled away into rooms with strange men, or onto ships with chains then around their wrists and ankles.

You’d been a rare survivor of that kind of childhood. And just like in Sabaody with the little merboy, you could never walk away once that realization of another child’s fear hit you.

And of course, all your intent was so clear in your own body language as well. Even in a sleek and beautiful dress you never would have chosen. Even in the mask, the heels, and the expensive jewelry you now wore, you were right back to being a fighter.

So the very moment you’d slid in front of that group to block their path and announced yourself as a marine captain with questions for them, they had also not hesitated in the slightest to deal with you.

But the flash of gunmetal and blades all at once from beneath so many equally expensive clothes also unlocked your last restraints.

Because they weren’t World Government contractors then. Even Cipher Pol agents would have just told you to stand down and mind your own business once knowing you were a marine.

These strangers willingness to kill a marine officer without you so much as laying a hand on them first made the situation more than clear.

They were either pirates or some kind of mercenaries then, and everything was completely fair game as the ballroom erupted into the echoes of gunfire and screams.

It actually helped you by the way they aimed only for your chest as well. You didn’t have to worry about bystanders being grazed then and could focus your armament as strong as able in that one place to catch those first shots.

Not that it didn’t hurt immensely though. The force from the bullets spread out like miniature shockwaves through your rib cage and organs regardless.

You missed the freedom of movement of your normal skirt and the weight of your usual boots too. But you had to improvise, working as fast as you could with no weapon but your hands and feet as you tried for one or two hit KO’s against them.

The sooner you could down each opponent, the less chance of additional hostages being taken or a stray bullet burying itself into one of the other nobles.

Tables were crashing over, glassware shattering, and floors cracking as you all chased one another around. Six of them versus one of you.

But you still felt like a dog on a short chain, moving in a tight circle to still keep yourself between them and the girl all the while.

Besides their weapons, you were just lucky at how weak they really were. But it did take so much haki to fully stop those bullets every time. A resource that was absolutely not limitless to you, as you still counted the enemies down as they fell one after another to your hardest hits.

By the time only one of the attackers was still standing, it wasn’t a coincidence that he’d been the last one up. He was stronger than the others you realized, and he hadn’t been hiding behind a gun. He had a sword that’d come from within his long coat.

All this entire battle had transpired in just moments though. From the time the first shot rang out to the time it was just you and him as you understood that his mission had changed.

He was going to strike the girl down, call this transport botched, and that be the end of it you were sure. And he would absolutely cut you down to get to her.

You’d been an idiot to leave your rope dart behind with your things at the villa. Weapons had been checked for at the doors here as they weren’t allowed. But obviously those rules could be skirted as he came for you with that long blade.

The first strike you did block anyway. His sword contacting your forearm as the girl trembled in shock behind you. But with the way it still did sting just barely through your armament coating, you already knew how in trouble you really were. That hit had actually kissed your real flesh.

Your coating was quickly thinning. You’d used too much, too fast in the speed of this incident.

And this man actually knew how to use a sword. Or maybe he was a fruit user. Something already felt off in your arm then as you still had no choice but to let the next swing of the weapon come. If you had truly dodged it, the girl would have been struck instead.

As it was, the blade missed your waist by only the thickness of your dress’s fabric that time. Not breaking your skin, but tearing a large swipe into the material as you’d backed into the girl as her shield.

On the resulting downswing, that falling sword did not miss your leg however.

But that was also the one chance you’d seen for your opening for a counter strike. Even as you felt the searing pain as he did break through your armament over your thigh, you’d still punched as hard as you could while his sword was down. The last bits of your haki diverted into your fist to make it count.

You felt your attacker’s nose break as he went flying backwards. The bloody sword along with him as you immediately fell to one knee while your leg went completely numb.

“No!” The girl was sobbing aloud at last then. You felt her pulling at your dress as if to catch you. But she’d fallen down too of course, and was then crawling to come around you.

She must have thought he’d fully succeeded in amputating your leg. But that leg was still there as you were already trying to put pressure on the massive gash atop your thigh. The blood was flowing out readily, so warm against your hands.

But she would have been killed if you hadn’t done exactly this.

You realized she knew that too as she desperately started to try and tear pieces from her own dress. “Please…I can make a tourniquet. I’m so…I’m so sorry.” Her face was absolutely contorted in fear, grief, and guilt as you watched her in a bit of surprise.

For her age, that girl now doing anything other than just sitting there in continued tears and shock was unusual. She was actually trying to help.

But your heart was racing yourself. You realized you couldn’t feel your arm any longer either even though it had only been nicked. Everywhere that sword had broken the skin had gone fully unresponsive now. It wasn’t normal. But you needed to concentrate on the blood loss first. You didn’t think it’d gotten into any artery, but if you couldn’t close the wound…

As you were thinking all of this, still trying to slow the bleeding with both your hands and the makeshift bindings from both your dress and the girl’s, you saw her eyes widen again as she looked back up from your wound.

The sound of footsteps crunching over broken glass behind you had you immediately trying to stand and turn in defense. Who had you missed? As if you could even fight one on one now though.

You couldn’t even stand to your own surprise, body so uncooperative as the girl got between you and those footfalls instead.

“Leave her alone! Please! Just take me! Don’t hurt anyone else! I won’t run again!” She was begging as she tried to hold her arms out as if that alone could shield you.

You would have used your still working arm to grab and throw her honestly. She was thin and light enough. You would have yelled at her to go for one of the exits. But as you looked over your shoulder to see what was coming, your resolve wavered.

Every other bystander had fled in the chaos. Doflamingo alone now stalked across that field of broken glass, looming with his hands in his pockets as you first saw the deep scowl across his face.

Your own mind did not react with any relief to that aura which preceded him. You understood the girl’s fear innately. Everything in that man’s body language now spoke of danger, not rescue.

So much so in fact, that you nearly threw her anyway.

But there wasn’t enough time. You grabbed the girl and pulled her back behind you instead as she yelped. Still at least keeping yourself between her and the warlord before that man’s long legs brought him to stand easily before you again.

The sheer contempt in his expression only felt like the pirate from years before though. The same one you’d once watched from binoculars on Tsuru’s ship as he’d slit the throats of rival pirates with one swipe of his strings before you could reach them.

You were absolutely at his mercy.

“And what was your plan after all of this?” His cold voice finally asked as you still shielded the girl.

“Doffy…” The word left your mouth before you had even bid it. As if he had physically drawn it out of you while your heart still pounded.

The feeling was indescribable. Fear, but something else too. You knowing full well what the sight of blood did to him, but trying to call him in to you all the same, to wake him up. You had no one else that could help you now. The only one who could save you from him…was him.

You saw that resulting twitch of his mouth at the sound of your plea too. His involuntary response to your own voice.

And suddenly he was crouched down right in front of you even with a then emerging sneer.

The girl gripped to you harder in her surprise, still behind you as Doflamingo roughly pulled the scraps of fabric away that you and she had tried unsuccessfully to put over your wound.

Your blood smeared thick across his hand as his fingers moved across the deep gash. But you could feel none of it, just watching as his strings emerged.

His movements were so precise, fingers edging in a criss cross pattern to pull the wound slowly back together with those same strings.

And once it was closed, he used both hands to surprisingly gently reposition your leg. Making the limb extend and raise, circling his hand above and below your thigh as more strings laid down around it. In the same texture as the softest cotton bandaging actually as your good arm moved to touch it lightly with your hand in curiosity once he was done.

He stared at you afterward and you could still feel that tension radiating from him. But it was gradually changing.

“You’ll really throw your body away for any brat in need won’t you?” He asked, with his face so close to yours again.

And you felt like he was either going to bite you or kiss you in that next moment as he remained so conflicted, confused even.

But with the way his mouth still shifted as he tried to choose between the two, you saw even one more emotion. Something you hadn’t noticed before.

And you were sure you must be misreading him.

Because he couldn’t. He didn’t. Not for you at least. Warlords didn’t show weakness that way. Pirates didn’t even care. And a true monster would never feel fear or panic. Not just for watching a nothing like you be cut down right in front of them anyway.

Was he actually shaken? Even the slightest afraid?

His hand was still so protectively grasped to your leg after making that bandage. Even as you did close that last gap for him on your own instinct, kissing him quickly before that complicated feeling he was trying to understand could be buried with further violence.

And that poor little girl must be so confused herself. Maybe she’d even regret being rescued by such a mess of a human being like you.

Doflamingo didn’t break the kiss once started either, even as you all heard more people coming. He actually only leaned in further, capturing you by the back of the head to press you in tighter to his mouth as the new voices finally came.

“Princess Vivi!” They shouted. “Oh thank fate, she’s here! Tell the king! She’s alive! Princess!”

Royal guards were running in one after another as you and the pirate finally ended that intimacy to look towards the commotion. But he didn’t let you go fully, with his hand still on your thigh. Nor did he stand.

He was absolutely still looking defensive, staying close as the guards surrounded you all.

But the girl did walk forward, quick to yell back to them. All those fresh tears were still wet on her face, even if they were now those of relief. “Stand down! This marine saved me! It’s alright. Everything is all right!”

And you did see the guards lowering their weapons immediately at her words. But in that distraction, apparently your most recent victim had been playing possum all the while.

You heard the additional sound as a few guards fell, the swordsman that had nearly taken your leg then up and muscling past them. But only with the intent to flee, quickly disappearing through the doors to the outside before any other could stop him.

At that, Doflamingo did growl and immediately stood to follow. Which you were still surprised by that intense of a response from him. They hadn’t done anything to him directly after all. And he certainly didn’t care about any random princess.

But again, you saw that strange moment of hesitation in him. The reflex to chase new prey so strong for him. Yet he glanced back at you, still seated there on the floor with those stains of blood around you. And you visibly saw as he changed his mind, tension shifting in his shoulders as he raised his hand instead.

It was the bloody hand that had tended to your wound.

Strings flew out from those red fingertips as the guards looked to him in renewed concern. But those strings only coiled tightly, falling to the ground. They formed feet, then legs, a torso, and quickly an entire copy of the warlord himself as he unleashed it with an all new scowl and the hiss of the words, “Black knight.”

You had never seen the creation of one of his string clones. Amazed how truly you could not tell the visual difference as the clone took on Doflamingo’s same current expression, leaping right over the stunned guards and disappearing out of the ballroom on the same path as the escaping stranger.

——————————

The agent had hidden themselves in a nondescript alleyway. Pleading in the dark to the one on the other end of that transponder snail as blood still ran from his broken nose.

“You were supposed to kill the girl immediately if she could not be transferred to the harbor. But I needed her dead by the end of all of this regardless.” That heartless voice responded coldly once more.

Followed by the sheer desperation from the subordinate, tone both nasally and muffled by his still bleeding face. “We tried, boss! I don’t even understand. The princess wasn’t supposed to have any other bodyguards. It was some bitch, I don’t know. She said she was a marine. But we had the girl. We took out the princess’s attendants just like you said to and took her. I paralyzed them with my power. It was all six of us. That should have been plenty, but-“

“You all couldn’t shoot or cut down even one marine after that?”

“I only got two hits on her with my paralyze cut. She fell, but she wasn’t alone either. Some tall ass guy showed up.”

“Then you should have finished the job. You said your devil fruit never fails.”

“But boss, really…I mean, They shot her so many times. It did nothing! It was like haki or some shit. What was I supposed to do?”

“You keep shooting and cutting, you fool! No marine short of an admiral can keep up armament forever. It would have broken, and she would have died. But now the princess will be under much heavier guard going forward. Your incompetence has cost me dearly today. It won’t be happening again.”

“No! Boss, please!”

“I’ll be sending other agents to clean this up. Run if you wish like those before you. It will be pointless. Consider your contract terminated.”

But a new voice had joined in just as suddenly before the call could disconnect. “Oh, I’ll save you both the time and effort.”

“Boss! It’s the tall guy, the one from-”

The sound of a person being sliced into pieces in mid sentence was certainly a distinct one. Followed by the briefest silence as Sir Crocodile’s contemptuous expression hardly changed.

He merely stared down at his snail, cigar smoke wafting up from his place at his desk within the basement of the Rain Dinners casino in Alabasta.

For a single moment, he’d hoped he hadn’t actually recognized that new voice. But that hope immediately died on the vine like all else in the next words from the uninvited.

“You picked the wrong night, you greasy prick. Take your cheap ass agents elsewhere. I’m working this island right now.” The string clone grumbled, now standing over its handiwork of the fresh kill.

“Doflamingo.” Crocodile bit further into his cigar. Body bristling with that physical abhorrence to just the confirmed sound of the other’s vile tone and everything it still represented to him. “Why are you even there? You goddamned freak. And helping marines no less…”

“Why are you trying to pick up little girls for quick cash? Are you that destitute again already? Do you need another loan from a real businessman, Croc?”

“I owe you nothing anymore. And I won’t ever again.”

The resulting dark laugh at that indignation reverberated low and menacing from the string clone. “Oh, like you didn’t enjoy paying it back to me…and with interest. You miss it don’t you? No one can fill you like I did.”

“You never get any less disgusting.” Came the hateful reply. “And you aren’t half as good as you think you are. But do stay delusional, Heavenly Demon.”

There was no quicker way to get under Doflamingo’s own skin of course. Even through proxy as the clone sneered, that ego prodded as he straightened up immediately. “Your moans for me said different, you sandy bitch. But here’s the thing. You do owe me something again now.”

“For goddamn what?” Crocodile growled. “I haven’t taken a single beri from you in years.”

“Your stooges shot the woman I was there with. You drew blood from something that belongs to me. How are you going to make that up to me?”

And Crocodile scoffed immediately. “Sounds like a mercy killing if some poor woman only had your company to endure. Just go buy another like you always do. Enjoy the complimentary syphilis or chlamydia to go along with it.”

The string clone hissed, even the forehead veins bulging in a realistic way. “You dumb motherfucker…you’re still not understanding. I wasn’t there with some call girl. I’m not talking about a worthless bystander. Your dead idiot already told you. They shot and cut that marine. It didn’t kill her because your men are trash. But you’re on my claim now. And you know I don’t let anyone take what’s mine. If you want me to fix this how I see fit, then that’s fine. Vice Admiral Momonga’s nearby. I can have a nice chat with him tonight about that dance powder you’ve been looking for can’t I? As if you could really buy it from outside of my network. And that Nefertari bitch you thought you could ransom and kill? I’m sure they’d love to know that too. Or were you going to ‘discover’ and defeat her killers yourself to get more on her daddy’s good side? I swear you might as well be fucking him too. You kiss ass, traitor.”

And Crocodile sat there for a moment. Truly awestruck at this mix of idiocy and true madness that had just graced his ears. “…Do you even goddamn hear your own words anymore? If only you’d drown yourself one day like the original Narcissus story.” He grumbled, the sheer audacity of it all as well seeming overwhelming. “So you’re now bedding marines too? As if that won’t blow up right in your face, you pathetic nymphomaniac.”

Crocodile kept on though, just getting louder in his responding anger, “You still think your cock alone can turn anyone into another of your sycophants? Please. You’re no gift from the gods, I assure you. You’re just another pirate who got lucky one too many times. And that over confidence will bite you in the ass someday. You’re going to fall like a house of cards then. And I hope we’re all still alive to see you hit every rung of that ladder on your way back down it.”

“Keep dreaming. Everything you do is only an imitation of what I’ve already accomplished!” Doflamingo spat back. “You should have given in and just become my subordinate ages ago. You’re going to bite off more than you can chew and choke on it without me to bail you out anymore.”

Crocodile was truly furious then. That implication of still not being responsible for his own success pushing him over that final edge of his composure. “Do not think for one fucking second that I owe anything I’ve achieved to you!”

“You tried to sleep your way to the top with me, Croc. Fucking own it! You got paid well for it, didn’t you!? But you stopped too soon. I could have taken you even higher.”

“I’d sooner gut myself on my own hook than ever come back to you, you degenerate bird!”

“Well, mess with that marine again and I’ll do it for you! I never minded rearranging your guts. But I can tear them out to show them to you just as fucking easily!”

“Go back to hell! If she has a functioning brain at all, that marine will escape you at first opportunity. Just like I did! You’ll be in Impel Down when she inevitably betrays you. In fact, I’ll be rooting for her now. I may even send her sympathy flowers, despite what she’s cost me here! There’s nothing wrong with sharing a common enemy. Because I’m sure she’ll see it my way soon. Your charms are all too fleeting. You’re just a disgusting, clawing, parasite! And once that mask falls for good, no one would even be caught dead with you!”

And the string clone was trembling in its own resulting rage of course. Because it would always come to this. They could never keep from each other’s throats for long. So very different in their personalities, but all too similar as well in that competing pride which had bled into full blown hatred after this long. Neither would ever forgive the other. “You’re wrong as always. And I’m going to prove it. Watch for the news! She’s mine, like you could have been. You ungrateful shit!”

And the connection was broken as the string clone crushed the receiver from off of that snail before the doppelgänger unravelled back to nothing in the alleyway.

All that raw emotion went straight back to the original who’d been aware of every word the entire time. Like the ultimate ventriloquy act through the power of his devil fruit.

Doflamingo’s real hands were still trembling in anger as he dug his fingers into the top of his pants over his thighs, sitting beside you in the ballroom still.

He wasn’t walking away this time, regardless of when the other marines would finally come. You could be as pissed as you wanted to be. He’d had enough of hiding and being told what he could or couldn’t have…and being judged as the kind of man he was or was not.

This was his life, his choices. He’d been pushed too far tonight.

———————————

“Sir…I mean your highness, it’s perfectly alright. Really. I’m just waiting for my commanding officer and then we’ll get all these creeps put in his brig for you and be on our way.” You tried again, attempting to fend off King Cobra’s continued insistence on having you checked out by their royal doctor.

Even after Doflamingo had said cryptically that the last assailant was ‘taken care of’, that dark implication still hadn’t dampened the new mood in the ballroom.

King Cobra couldn’t stop thanking you, and everyone seemed to be worrying over you like some kind of selfless hero in return now that things had settled while waiting for the marines.

And honestly, it was kind of refreshing to realize that there was a king that could act this grateful in public. He did seem to truly love his daughter and be beside himself with relief that she had nothing more than a few scuffs and scrapes after the whole ordeal.

It’d definitely been a targeted and brazen attack as she hadn’t even been alone when she’d been taken either. Her father had been at a meeting elsewhere on the island when their villa had been raided and her attendants and guards all overcome.

Apparently the kidnappers had run into more guards responding to those initial distress calls though, and their group had had to detour through the crowded ballroom to try and escape detection. As oblivious as the average noble was, it absolutely would have worked. Only you, as unsophisticated as you were, had noticed the trouble for what it was.

And you had no regrets at all for what you’d done. Vivi too had remained close afterward, fussing over you as well and asking question after question about how you’d learned to do these things. Princess or not, she was still eager and curious now that the danger had finally passed.

“Do you think I could kick like that one day?” She asked with that kind of sincerity that could only come from youth.

“I don’t see why not.” You smiled, picking on her about that blue and green feathered masquerade mask of her own. “Call it the peacock slice or something. I’m terrible with move names though.”

“Ah, hmm. The peacock kick maybe?” And she did raise her leg a little, just laughing as the two of you continued to joke.

Of course you hoped this devil fruit nonsense you’d been hit with would wear off soon so that you’d be kicking again too. After waking in the guards’ restraints, one of the other attackers had confessed how the power set of the one who had cut you worked.

That fruit user had cut you twice, which apparently numbed and paralyzed whatever they cut for at least hours at a time. So you had one useless leg and one useless arm for now. If he’d cut you in the chest though you may have stopped being able to breathe all together.

So it could have definitely been worse. But you still worried about one other thing entirely now.

Even after dealing with that one escapee, Doflamingo had chosen to remain here beside you. And you’d already used one of the guards’ snails to call Momonga who was on his way.

Of course Vivi, her guards, and even King Cobra had already seen Doflamingo here. Vivi and the first guards to arrive had even seen that kiss you’d given him that he’d also returned. But you weren’t sure they realized who he actually was.

Yet even in the mask instead of his sunglasses, and the dark suit instead of all the hot pink feathers, you had no doubt that the marines would know him when seeing him up close.

Because no one looked like Donquixote Doflamingo…but Donquixote Doflamingo.

And then what were you to say? You didn’t understand what his plan was. He just seemed agitated. Brooding over something still, but tolerating everything in silence as you played with Vivi and repeatedly politely declined Cobra’s offers of assistance.

You felt like you were still being guarded by the warlord right now in front of these others. Which wasn’t fully insulting considering your current state. You wouldn’t even be able to walk on your own right now.

But this current silence from him just left you hoping that that trademark smooth talking bullshit of his would emerge whenever the marines did arrive.

Couldn’t he just say he’d been here on his own and that any sudden fight or violence was always going to pique his interest? That wouldn’t be so far fetched would it? He was already a king in a place for royalty. One who loved fighting so much that he personally oversaw brutal colosseum matches in his home country. So that story might work.

You wished he would have at least said something more to you though after that short word of him taking care of the escaped assailant. When he didn’t, you had just kept on with Vivi.

But kids weren’t stupid. Especially her you were finding as she did lean in and finally whisper in your ear. “I think your boyfriend is still really mad you got hurt maybe? My friend Pell says boys are bad at feelings.”

You felt the heat in your face immediately. But you still laughed at the surprise and innocence of it, making Doflamingo’s head at last turn at the rare sound of your laugh as he looked at you both.

“Your friend Pell sounds smart.” You responded at normal volume, knowing the warlord had not heard what the girl said.

“He is. He didn’t come to Scylla with us. I bet he comes next time after this though! He’s a good fighter too.” Vivi smiled back.

She was helping you relax. But for all your worrying about what to say or do when Momonga and the others would at last walk in, that didn’t end up being what you had to contend with first anyway.

Not at all as new voices erupted as you’d all been awaiting only the marines.

You were finding that these supposed royal guards weren’t really worth a damn as several more people slipped right past them. Not with guns or swords this time. But in a way, almost something far worse as you saw that first flash bulb go off.

“King Cobra! Princess Vivi! We’re with the World Economic Journal!” The reporters clamored.

Cobra wasn’t far away at that moment, just with his guards again, confirming that all the remaining attackers were remaining properly restrained.

Vivi was right beside you however. Doflamingo on your other side, all three of you sitting on chairs in a row now as the press swarmed in to first get pictures of the scuffed up princess.

Fuck. You thought, albeit straightening up in your own seat immediately. You could see Vivi doing the same, but she grabbed your hand just as fast. And you realized she was helping you hide the fact that your arm was so limp for the cameras. Making it look better just that simply with her quick thinking to reposition it and hold your hand in clear solidarity.

She’d been trained as a princess, and you as a marine to both give a certain appearance to the public. Two completely different ends of the spectrum, but evidently complimentary here at least.

And their hunger for a story was as bad as anytime you’d ever been at the mercy of these vultures. Though normally never with such a direct role. After noteworthy or controversial deployments, the press would sometimes be found hounding for a picture or an official marine quote as you’d all be trying to reload Tsuru’s ship in port. The reporters hanging around the gangplank like scavengers, making the crew have to chase them off in order to actually depart.

You’d never spoken to them directly.

“They said you’re a marine! Was this a planned undercover operation then? Did you rescue the princess alone!? Did a kidnapper escape!?”

And you were about to open your mouth only to say that they could direct all questions to Vice Admiral Momonga once a full investigation had been completed…the standard canned answer you’d been taught when not sanctioned to speak to them.

But the man at your other side finally came back to himself in that moment. At least on the outside as he had shifted in his chair. One of his legs subtly touching against yours when he did so. Against your paralyzed leg that you couldn’t move away from him as his arm then stretched out over the back of your chair as well.

His body language said everything of possession and your one working hand absolutely clenched against your knee in your shocked reaction. Your mind was beginning to panic even if your expression didn’t yet change.

He still wasn’t smiling though. But his voice was easily that charismatic, strong tone you’d hoped for again. The one that made everyone stop and listen as the camera lenses turned to him immediately.

But you hadn’t wanted it like this. He was feeding into them instead of helping to play this down. What was he trying to do?

“Her name is Captain (Y/N).” Doflamingo spoke. “She defeated them all unassisted. One was not properly detained by these guards. I handled him after his escape.”

And you were hearing the camera shutters clicking all the while as he spoke for you.

You could even see the focused looks in the reporters faces. They were trying to place him. They all knew by now that he was someone important. With that aura again forming, this sway he had over the room as soon as he’d chosen to be present and back outside of his own head again.

“Your name, sir!?” One reporter finally asked.

And even Vivi was looking past you in curiosity then as you took a breath.

That smug smirk did cut across his face in response. He was letting the drama build.

You felt his fingers grace across your bare shoulder with the style of your dress too, from his arm that was over the back of your chair as it actually moved down. And there wasn’t a goddamn thing you could do about it in that moment.

“Donquixote Doflamingo.” The warlord announced himself.

The gasps went around the room as the camera flashes absolutely went wild again. The reporters were writing furiously in their little notebooks as well.

“King Donquixote!” “Are you here with the marines!?” “Was this a warlord assignment!?” “Has Dressrosa allied with Alabasta Kingdom!?” They all asked in competing shouts for his attention.

And as you stared across the room, you saw Vice Admiral Momonga now standing with his stunned officers beside an equally surprised looking King Cobra.

Doflamingo’s hand only tightened even further on your bare shoulder at Momonga’s arrival however. That bit of your dried blood still coloring those long fingers.

The pirate was giving you no option, no warning as the fear grew further in your chest. How far was he going to go? You couldn’t stand from the chair, you couldn’t even walk away from him.

He knew that.

“I was here on pleasure, not business.” And he was beginning to smile truly then, fully understanding everything that he was doing to you now. “Dressrosa needs no alliances to prosper. We’re already wealthier and thriving more than we ever have been. But-“

His head turned to look down at you with renewed emphasis.

“This particular marine has impressed me as of late. Saving Princess Nefertari here is just the tip of the iceberg I assure you in what (Y/N) is capable of. So in recognition of this, I’m formally inviting her to Dressrosa. That’s the only alliance I’m interested in right now.”

He hadn’t even called you a captain there. He’d just said your goddamn name like it was already so informal. Which of course it was to him…but not in front of everyone. Not in a fucking press conference as you felt how uneven your breath was becoming. Momonga and his officers were still outright staring now, completely taken aback.

Was this what the beginnings of a panic attack felt like?

And Doflamingo must think that even then his intentions weren’t obvious enough here.

He wanted everyone to know.

Because with that quick dexterity that so few could have managed, his other hand had already grabbed yours. Specifically your paralyzed one, slipping it right from Vivi’s grip as if the girl had never had it at all.

He was that entirely smooth in that quick movement. You couldn��t pull your arm back away from him if you’d tried.

“Doflamingo.” You finally hissed.

And you saw that dark smile in response. “Too late.” He whispered back.

And the King of Dressrosa brought your hand to his lips as he kissed the top of it in front of the flashes of those cameras. “Dressrosa would be lucky to have you.” He said louder for them to hear again. “What do you say, Captain?”

You heard Vivi make a noise to your other side. Not a negative one either. It was almost an excited squeak. But the girl was too young to understand. This was not a romantic gesture on his part at all. This was not a fairytale or any proposal of lifelong happiness.

You could lose everything you had fought for just from this abrupt power play.

But if you humiliated Doflamingo in such a public forum by fighting back or even verbally rejecting him at all, the outcome would have been as certain as signing your own death certificate and likely those of your friends as well.

You knew that every single click of those cameras could be an image that Big News Morgans might print for the entire world by morning. Anything you did now would be eternal on the printed page. You wouldn’t be able to take it back.

But for all your own fear and anger for being singled out this way…you still didn’t hate him.

And you couldn’t hurt him.

“Warlord Doflamingo…King Donquixote.” You said so very carefully. Somehow finding your own voice by adrenaline alone, as he still held your hand in that illusion of the interested gentleman suitor before the world.

“You are already my ally by the balance of powers that the marines have made and maintain with the warlords. And as the leader of the World Government nation of Dressrosa as well…of course it is also my duty to support you and your people however requested.”

Your heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of your chest. You were waiting for him to still be angry. You knew the neutrality and almost cowardice you were choosing in your words here. But you were still trying to save yourself without sacrificing his pride.

But that false warmth in his response did not hesitate. Not for even a moment. “Then I’m asking you to head a new marine post that we’re going to establish in Dressrosa, Captain. Actually…I’m asking you to return to Dressrosa with me when my ship leaves port tomorrow. We can scout locations for this new post immediately once we reach my home country.”

He was going to take you anyway.

And he was telling everyone here in real time, daring a soul to do a thing to stop it.

Vivi’s attempted kidnapping had been accompanied with all the dramatics of fighting and gunfire, and still been thwarted by you alone.

Yet your own abduction was now happening with only hollow words and camera flashes in front of an entire crowd who had every eye on you and this pirate. And no one moved to help you at all. No one even tried.

———————————

T⨂ BE

CONTINUED

———————————

Thanks for reading!

#doflamingo x reader #doflamingo x y/n #doflamingo x you #doflamingo x crocodile #crocodile x doflamingo #doffy x y/n #doffy x you #doffy x reader #one piece fanfiction #donquixote doflamingo #doflamingo #doflamingo one piece #op doflamingo #doffy #doffy one piece #dofuwani #doflamingo’s marine

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slavonicrhapsody · 2 months

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hey, i was wondering if you had an opinion on why the carian children’s alliance fell apart during the shattering. between rykard having invented the abductor virgins that both ranni and radahn employ, and jerren stating that iji forged weapons for radahn’s army (if you talk to him about iji before the radahn festival while working for ranni), it seems the carians were helping each other out at the start. i have a few theories already, but i love your elden ring meta

first of all thank you!!

yeah I have a lot of thoughts about this. I think it ultimately comes down to the fact that their personal goals are entirely different and really don’t have anything to do with each other.

Radahn seems the most disconnected of the siblings in terms of his actions — judging by what we know, it doesn’t seem like a total upheaval of the current order was a priority for him as it was for his siblings. His specific motivations remain pretty opaque, but I believe, based on his obsession with Godfrey and all the references to honor and combat, that at his core he made the choices he did in order to prove his own strength and heroism.

I suspect this is why his halting of the stars hindered Ranni’s plans — he was never acting with her interests in mind. I doubt he was intentionally sabotaging her though, because there is no evidence of he and Ranni ever feuding. I’ve said this before, but the idea that Radahn’s halting of the stars is specifically holding Ranni back is a total afterthought to Iji… if Ranni were convinced Radahn bore her ill-will, killing him wouldve been her team’s objective years ago. Plus, Iji and Jerren are still amicable as you said. I think the situation is simply that, as Iji says, he and Jerren serve different masters with different priorities. The same goes for Radahn’s relationship with Rykard — I believe it’s implied Rykard tried to protect Radahn, but I don’t think this protection necessarily meant the two were working towards the same goals.

Rykard and Ranni are more complicated… I believe the Blasphemous Claw description implies that before the Night of the Black Knives, the two talked of a wider plan to “trespass” against the current world order: “Should the coming trespass one day transpire, they would serve as a last-resort foil, allowing Rykard to challenge Maliketh the Black Blade, the black beast of Destined Death.” Since there is evidence that these two did share plans with each other, it’s significant that they don’t really have anything to do with each other anymore.

I think this is due to the fact that though their goals were the same on paper — remove and usurp the current world order — their motivations and personalities are quite different.

Ranni is motivated by a desire to rid the world of godly influence because, as I believe, she owes her life’s misery to the gods’ meddling. She has no interest in ruling the Lands Between as a god-queen; rather, she intends for herself and her order to be “at great remove” from the goings on of the world. As god, she will be completely non-present.

Rykard very specifically does want to rule. He had great ambitions; his followers planned to serve him as their “worthy sovereign.” He despises being treated as a servant under the gods and having to fight for “miserly scraps” of power… he dedicated his life to destroying an order he believes is “suffocating,” asserting his own strength and authority in retaliation, operating under the philosophy of “the strong take.” At his core, Rykard’s goal was always the acquisition of power for his own benefit… and I believe this is why he ended up entangled with the Great Serpent, devouring and growing eternally, never satisfied… a caricature of greed and gluttony. Rykard’s personal goals essentially have nothing to do with Ranni’s far-reaching plans for a new order, and I think that’s why the two ended up on very different paths instead of working together.

I also think it’s interesting that Ranni and Rykard go about their plans in very different ways: Ranni prefers to work in the shadows and strike when the moment is right, keeping a cool head and a clear mind, trying to stay detached. She is said to have “cast aside” her great rune, probably because she distrusted its “mad taint.” Rykard on the other hand is rash and volatile, carrying out his treason in spectacularly public fashion. He is ruled by his ambition and hubris, clinging to the power afforded to him by his great rune.

In conclusion I don’t think there was ever a chance of the siblings all being on the same page — they’re each too different from one another with their own lofty goals and priorities, despite the love they might have for each other.

#elden ring #radahn #rykard #ranni #asks #its evident in the game that the three had genuine love for one another #and there are numerous examples of small gestures of affection or collaboration or a desire to keep each other safe #but alas this didnt seem to have extended to a genuine coordinated effort between the three of them

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xmarziex · 7 months

Text

》ʟᴀsᴛ ᴋɪss《

Wednesday Addams x fem!reader

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Song: Last Kiss (Taylor's Version) – Taylor Swift Summary: In the fight against Joseph Crackstone and in addition Laurel Gates, R gets injured. Wednesday and R technically go on a date. Warnings: Blood, Death, Fluff (technically), Grave Digging Requested by: Myself 🖤 Words: 5.4k

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Wednesday had placed herself in front of the arrow being sent back in Xavier’s direction. She braced herself for the impact, hearing the sound clearly, a gasp as the arrow embedded itself into flesh, but she didn’t feel an ounce of pain. She watched almost as if in slow motion as you were sent tumbling towards the ground, the arrow now protruding from your shoulder.

“Y/N!” She didn’t even hesitate as she quickly kneeled beside you, dropping her sabre in the process. She was confused about why you were there to begin with, you were meant to be with Thing and Enid, taking care of the Hyde. She should’ve guessed that you wouldn’t listen to her instructions, you never did.

You gasped for air as you glanced at the arrow lodged in your shoulder, before tilting your head up to look towards Wednesday, feeling a little delirious, Xavier appearing right beside her. Her hand reached out to stroke the fresh claw marks that were on the side of your face, blood dripping from them, before trailing down towards the arrow. You grabbed her hand before it could make contact with it, giving her hand a squeeze as you winced in pain. “Please go. I’ll be okay, Xavier’s right here.”

Wednesday gave the boy a sideways glance, conflicted at that moment, wanting to be the one you leaned on, the one who helped you. She settled her dark eyes back to you who was lying on the ground, before pausing only a moment, a mean glare taking over her features as her eyes settled onto Xavier, “If she dies, I will kill you.” With a sound of panicked agreement, he was already dragging you up off the ground, Wednesday grabbing hold of her sabre, her eyes meeting yours one last time before beginning her sword dance with that of Joseph Crackstone.

While Wednesday was amid her duel you took this time to glance at Xavier, and then at the abundance of frightened students who hadn’t escaped the area yet. You gathered your strength enough to lean yourself onto a nearby pillar, making sure to keep away from the flames that seemed to surround the proximity of what used to be the courtyard. You met Xavier's worried gaze, “You need to go. Get them out of here. I’ll be fine, I won’t die from one stupid arrow, you know I’m stronger than that.”

“But Wednesday…” You could see the conflict in his eyes, as he stared around the courtyard also, his eyes settling onto Wednesday, before returning to you.

You smiled softly, “She’ll understand,” you gulped, “Just go”.

He seemed reluctant to go, not wanting to risk the chance of you dying, so he glanced towards Wednesday who was still fighting, then towards you who was leaning against the pillar in obvious pain, holding the wound with the arrow still protruding from it. But you didn’t let it deter you as you gave him a false smile of reassurance; one you knew was too good to be true. But there was no time left, so he did the one thing he knew he could, “I’ll come back for you, you have my word” You watched as he left to go help the other students.

You slid down the pillar, looking down towards the arrow before using both your hands to rip as much of the wooden shaft as you possibly could without opening the wound too much or causing more damage than there had been already. With part of the arrow in your left hand, you placed your right hand onto the wound before throwing the broken piece of the arrow to the side.

Your gaze placed itself back onto Wednesday, your eyes widening in disbelief, a shout begging to leave your lips as you watched the blade of her sabre shatter against his staff. Your hand left your wound in a quick succession as you placed your hands on the ground wanting to protect her, wanting to get up and sacrifice yourself for her, but you were too weak.

You watched helplessly as magic pushed her against the broken wooden table in the burning courtyard. You cried out, fear enveloping your senses as he prepared to give the final blow that would end her life. You slid yourself slowly back up against the pillar, using it as support as you made a move to stand up, blood still dripping from your wounds. You made it only a few steps before your legs buckled out from under you, your knees meeting the ground, as rocks and dirt dug into your skin. You grunted in pain, about to force yourself up again before Bianca decided to make her appearance known.

She materialised behind Crackstone, before striking the sabre within her grasp through his chest, it was at that instant, that her whole body was knocked back causing her to hit the ground hard. But it was all the distraction Wednesday had needed, as she picked up the blade of her broken sword, impaling it into his undead heart as soon as he had made a move to turn around.

You witnessed as his entire body burst into flames, sending out a shockwave that seemed to knock you backwards into the pillar you had originally been against a grunt of pain leaving your lips, before leaving a multitude of embers in his place. The ravenette made eye contact with Bianca, giving the siren a nod of acknowledgment before running to your side. She didn’t think twice before grabbing a hold of you, taking you into her surprisingly warm embrace.

You took a moment, the affection being completely foreign to you. Wednesday wasn’t one for physical contact and you knew that, but you did the only thing you thought of, not knowing when the next time you would receive an embrace from her would be. So, you held her as tight as you could, wincing slightly when you felt the pain in your shoulder.

She pulled back, grabbing a gentle hold on your shoulder as she inspected you for any injuries, she then proceeded to stroke the claw marks on the side of your face, ones she knew would most definitely scar. Her unblinking eyes, took every inch of you in before her usually blank expression morphed into one of slight anger, “Are you an idiot?” she gritted her teeth, “Why would you follow me? I thought I told you to stay with—"

You didn’t let her finish that sentence, as your lips captured hers. Her once tense body seemed to calm down at the action as her lips began moving in sync with yours. You felt it as she cupped the back of your neck, being careful with your shoulder as she tried pulling you closer.

She didn’t seem to care that she was getting your blood on her own cheek, she didn’t care that some of your blood was staining her hands as she took control and pulled you deeper into the kiss. It was the type of kiss you wish you could capture forever, one you hope would last an eternity, because you never wanted to part from her lips, so soft, so warm, so full of ecstasy.

But you knew you both had to come up for air at some stage and so you waited until you were on the verge of passing out as if holding your breath underwater. You gasped as you came up to the surface, taking in shaky breaths of air, Wednesday doing the same.

You couldn’t help but give a pained grin as her forehead lay against yours, the both of you breathing heavily. Her finger glided softly against the claw marks, your hand reaching up to clasp hers, stilling her movement as you placed her hand against your lips, giving it a tender kiss. You felt like you were dreaming in this moment, maybe it was the blood loss that was making you delirious, but you felt like Wednesday could disappear on you any second, and you didn’t want that.

You gave shaky breaths as you listened to the cackle of the fire that still enveloped the courtyard, not taking your eyes off Wednesday. “Is it wrong of me to assume that you reciprocate my feelings?”

Wednesday seemed to blink at that, your eyes staying locked onto each other, “It would be stupid of you to assume otherwise,” She rolled her eyes, as you began grinning like a complete idiot. “Don’t be so smug about it.” She felt like she had lost a game against you at this moment, and for some strange reason, she didn’t hate it.

“How can I not?” You smiled bigger, paying no mind to the pain on your cheek. “THE Wednesday Addams likes me back.” You gave a small chuckle, “It’s a miracle.”

Her lips twitched as she observed you, “The only miracle I see is how you’re still alive right now,” her lips curled into what looked like a scowl, “Which reminds me, I’m going to kill that imbecile.”

“Who? Xavier? Or Tyler?” You tilted your head slightly in confusion.

Wednesday glared, “Both.”

You chuckled softly as you reached your uninjured arm out, using your hand to trail your fingers along her cheek, along the mass of blood that didn't appear to be her own. She shivered at the touch, her eyes closing subconsciously, "You can do that later," You smiled, loving the warmth that seemed to emit from her, "I just want you here with me."

Wednesday leaned closer at that as if she were hypnotised by the very being that was you. She was distracted, it was a feeling she had never known she could feel. She couldn’t understand how you had the ability to control her as if you were a siren and your song was her weakness. She knew you weren’t a siren, it was glaringly obvious the first day she met you, as you had made a black dahlia materialise within your grasp and offered it to her as if it were the simplest thing, you had ever done.

It was the same black dahlia that Wednesday had forced Thing to make into a bookmark. A bookmark she only used when it came to her favourite novels. A bookmark she seemed to treasure as if her life depended on it. She had a suspicion you knew about it, considering the number of times she had seen your cheeks heat up whenever it had caught your eye.

Wednesday watched as you smiled at her as if she held your heart in the palm of her hands, something so delicate, so precious and you seemed to trust her with it. Her lips seemed to twitch as her hand stroked the claw marks on your face, the wound only seeming to enhance your beauty even more in her eyes. She hated the fact that you could so easily have spiders crawling through her insides, that you could so easily worry her. It wasn’t a feeling that Wednesday could ever get used to.

So, as you leaned closer, ready to capture her lips into another kiss, she let you. Instead of pushing you away, she pulled you closer, gentle enough not to cause you any harm, but you already felt numb to the touch. The kiss masked the pain you felt on your skin, her touch only lighting the burning feeling inside of you because all you could focus on was her lips and her skin against yours. You kept smiling into the kiss, your smile only growing bigger as you pulled away again.

It didn’t last long though, as you both missed the ‘click’ until a shot rang out, ringing in your ears. You didn’t feel it at first as you gasped, but Wednesday's face as it slowly changed into one of panic was all you needed to know what was happening. Wednesday seemed to cover the wound on your chest with her hands, as blood began seeping from your mouth, your hand grasping onto the lapels of Wednesday's blazer.

The ‘click’ sounded again Wednesday took notice this time as she saw Laurel Gates behind you with a semi-automatic pistol in her grasp, a sinister smile on her face, as she now pointed the gun on Wednesday, “I may not get to kill all the outcasts, but at least I’ll get to kill someone you seem to care about Wednesday.” She chuckled darkly, “To think it was this easy.”

Your hold on Wednesday’s blazer slackened, her glare directed at Laurel as her shaky hands kept the pressure on your wound. You were feeling light-headed, not knowing whether the buzzing sound was coming from your own delirious mind, or if it was actually happening. You flinched at the sound of multiple gunshots, the sound of Laurel's screams, the burning sensation in your chest and the hands that seemed to be held to your wound being the only thing you could focus on, besides the taste of blood on your tongue.

You sat there, leaning against a pillar in the burning courtyard your head slightly downcast, with only Wednesday in your sight. She seemed to be yelling at someone, calling for someone. You couldn’t understand a word she was saying as Bianca seemed to take her place, the siren’s jacket now being held to your chest, staining it with your blood.

You felt arms wrap around you, as you seemed to be lifted off the ground, your eyes closing, the pressure on your chest not loosening in the slightest.

Wednesday lifted her head as she came back to her senses, her black shoes having just caved Laurel's skull in. She was breathing heavily as she turned back to where Bianca had started lifting you in an attempt to get you out of there. Not willing to risk the possibility of you burning to death seeing as the flames seemed to be spreading.

The ravenette followed Bianca, remaining close to you the entire way as you lay limp in the siren’s arms. She didn’t want to freak out, your breaths growing shallower by the second as they walked towards the front gates of Nevermore.

Wednesday couldn’t think of anything, she felt like she was on the verge of hyperventilating when Enid had embraced her. The only thing on her mind right now was you, and whether you would be okay or not. Her eyes seemed to blur, she didn’t know whether from fatigue or tears. She made eye contact with your limp form that was now on the ground, Bianca seemingly frantic but Wednesday couldn’t hear a thing, her body meeting the ground as her vision seemed to fade to black.

»────◦•✗•◦────«

Wednesday clutched the side of her head, as she felt the black sheets under her skin. Her vision blurred as she opened her eyes slowly, squinting as a figure materialised before her. It seemed to be nighttime as she glanced at her dorm window, the only light shining through coming from the moon above. She could sense you before you came into focus, smiling down at her with your arm in a sling. She was relieved.

Her lips twitched as she observed you, your hand reaching out to stroke one of her braids, “I’m glad that you’re still alive, Wednesday.” You smiled softly, she could see the scarring from where she lay, the claw marks on your cheek having been stitched up, her fingers twitching to trail along the sensitive skin.

So instead of hesitating she acted, trailing her fingers slowly down the course of your scarring flesh with the gentlest of touches. She observed as you shivered, falling into the warmth that was her hand, a smile of contentment a permanent expression on your face. “I thought��” Wednesday gulped as she took a shaky breath, “I was afraid that you were…”

“I’m right here,” you smiled softly at the ravenette.

Wednesday allowed a small reluctant smile to free from her lips, not being able to hold it back as she watched you. As she felt you, the warmth of your skin, the shiver from her touch. You used your free hand to grab hers, pulling it towards your lips as you gave it a gentle kiss. “Yes, I suppose you are.”

She observed you closely, as you nervously let go of her hand to scratch the back of your neck, a habit that she had grown accustomed to from the moment she had met you. She watched as you began fiddling with your tie, not understanding why you would be wearing your uniform so late at night, but her lips twitched as she noticed its usual wrinkled state, your dress shirt remaining untucked from your pants. But she didn’t question it as she reached over to wrap her pinkie around yours, stopping your movement altogether.

You took a deep breath, “I know it’s late and you just got out of a small coma but—” you gulped, “Would you still be willing to go on a date with me?”

Wednesday tortured you for a moment, remaining silent as you tightened your pinkie around hers. Her face remained passive as she just stared at you, she wanted to know how serious you were. She gouged for your reaction a moment longer, letting you squirm in your nerves before smirking, “That could be arranged.”

You chuckled nervously her dark eyes trailing towards your sling, your eyes seeming to follow, “It doesn’t hurt so much anymore.”

Wednesday didn’t want to think about it, the way the arrow had embedded itself into your shoulder, the way the gunshot had almost had her witnessing your death right before her eyes. She didn’t want to think about how close she was to losing you. So, she looked away, meeting your eyes in the process, “How long was I out for?”

You looked away for a moment clearing your throat, “So about that date?”

The ravenette glared at you, “Y/N,” she gritted out, “answer the question.”

You winced, “One week.” Wednesday's eyes widened slightly as they observed you, blinking a few times before going back to her usual unblinking stare. “Everyone was worried, your mother informed them that you were fine and that you would wake up soon.”

Wednesday paused for a moment, “I’m more surprised that you’re awake before me, considering the injuries you received that night.”

You chuckled softly, your smile not seeming to reach your eyes as you observed the ravenette. “How about that date?” You squeezed her pinkie affectionately.

»────◦•✗•◦────«

The wolves were howling as you both made your way into the darkened cemetery, the rusty gate opening with a squeak. You spun with a smile, walking backwards as Wednesday carried the shovels, observing each plot, trying to decide which grave seemed the most intriguing.

It was a full moon on this very night, the light of the moon illuminating against your skin as Wednesday seemed to follow you. She observed you for a moment, her lips twitching at how beautiful you looked. The way you seemed free at this moment. She blinked once before going back to examining the different gravestones.

Wednesday was about to continue before one in particular caught her eye. It seemed so fresh, though the green grass that seemed to cascade around it, and the flowers that seemed to have grown made it look like it had been there for years. Wednesday didn’t know who had been laid to rest there, but it intrigued her, to say the least as if a string were tugging her towards it.

She carefully placed her shovels down, feeling your presence behind her, a chill going down her spine as she carefully ran her fingers down the gravestone. “Are you sure?” Your voice broke her out of her trance, as she looked back towards you. She couldn’t see the name on the gravestone, the name covered by a thick layer of moss. But Wednesday was intrigued, so she nodded in reply before getting up and grabbing one of the shovels.

She seemed to be in her element as she dug, the moonlight reflecting off her pale skin, making her look more ghostlike than anything. But to you, she looked ethereal, like a fallen angel who had been cast out of heaven. “Thank you.”

You shook out of your trance, “For what?”

Wednesday gave a small smile, “Bringing me here,”

You seemed to chuckle softly, although your smile never reached your eyes, “How could I not on a night like this?” you gave her a soft smile as you stared up at the moon before meeting her eyes once again, “The moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”

Wednesday reciprocated your action, observing the moon herself before looking back down, at the way the moon lit your skin, “I suppose it is.” She kept digging after that, looking over at you every so often to make sure you were still there, hoping that you’d never disappear. That you’d stay with her for all of eternity.

“Wednesday…” The voice hadn’t been yours that time, but it was familiar all the same. Wednesday stilled her digging as she made eye contact with the newcomer.

“What brings you here, Mother?” Wednesday stared at her.

“It appeared you were no longer in your bed,” Morticia didn’t move from where she stood, her gothic clothing blending her into the night. “I had a feeling you would be here.”

Wednesday huffed at her mother, dirt covering her own features, “As you can clearly see, I am quite busy right now.” She motioned towards the shovel, rolling her eyes as she went back to her task, “So if you would not so kindly leave, it would be appreciated.”

Morticia didn’t move from her spot, “Wednesday…” her voice unnaturally shook, “This won’t bring her back.”

Wednesday gritted her teeth as she stared at her mother’s unusually soft eyes, “What are you talking about?” she could feel it deep down, as her heart seemed to tighten.

Morticia took a step forward as she met her daughter's eyes, “You know as well as I do that she’s gone Wednesday.”

The ravenette paused, her tone weaker than the last, “Who are you talking about?”

The older Addams took a deep breath as she looked at her daughter, sorrow flashing across her eyes, a frown etched on her unnaturally beautiful face, “Y/N”.

Wednesday’s eyebrows furrowed, “That's utterly impossible,” her voice slightly shaky “She’s right here” Wednesday motioned towards you, as she reached out to grab your hand. Her throat seemed to tighten as her hand passed through, capturing nothing but air in its midst.

“Her family wanted to hold the funeral right away,” Morticia closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again.

Wednesday's hands shook as she tried again but failed to grab your hand, “She can’t be…” Her voice shook, “She’s not…” She saw your clothes, the way they were unkempt like they always had been, closing her eyes for only a moment, before opening them back up. She saw it then, the way your uniform was tattered, the head of the arrow still in your shoulder, the gunshot wound in your chest still visible and the claw marks on your cheek still an open wound. But above all, she saw the sad smile you gave her as all the things she had blocked away seemed to hit her.

She stayed there for a moment, just staring at you, her chest burning, her heart feeling like it was being strangled to its limit. She clenched her fists as she turned around, her vision blurring, the gravestone so obviously in front of her from where she stood as she slowly with a shaky hand began to wipe off the moss.

Her breaths became shallower as the name under it became clearer, the name becoming visible to her for the first time. Her fingers were shaky as they traced the name under the moss, ‘Y/N L/N’ She hoped she’d wake up at any moment, that maybe she was still in a coma. Maybe she had dreamt everything up until this moment. Maybe when she woke up, you’d still be alive in the dorm room you had filled with flowers, the dorm room that she had been to many times before, just because you had the ability to tug at her heartstrings with just a smile.

She had uncharacteristically loved the fact that you were a free spirit, that you made her flowers anytime you thought she was upset. How you would stay with her in comfortable silence whenever she had writing time. She didn’t want to believe for even a moment that she would never get those moments again.

She didn’t want to think about the fact that she would never hear your laughter again, that you would never be there to hear her play the Cello. She didn’t want to believe that she would never receive your precious flowers again or be able to witness the blinding smile that overtook your face whenever she accepted them.

Wednesday slowly and shakily climbed out of the ditch she had created, as she moved slowly closer to you. You looked so real, so perfect under the moonlight, but as she tried one last time to grab a hold of you, she couldn’t. It was the one thing she wanted more than anything, the touch of your skin and she couldn’t have it.

Morticia moved forward towards her daughter, wanting more than anything to embrace her, not being able to stand the clear heartbreak on her face as her mind was still battling with her reality.

Wednesday looked past you as Goody materialised out of thin air, walking up from behind you. “Goody,” the ravenette’s voice shook, Goody’s expression solemn as if she were here to take you away. “Please. Bring her back.”

“You know I can’t,” Goody smiled sadly, “I could only save you that night, with what little power I had left.”

Wednesday shook her head as her voice seemed to crack, “Then why are you here?”

Goody placed a hand on your shoulder as she stepped forward, “It’s time.”

The ravenette took a shaky breath, “Please…” her chest burned as her throat closed up more, “Don’t take her.”

Goody didn’t respond as you stepped forward away from the hand on your shoulder, causing it to drop. Your hand reached out as Wednesday watched you, tears brimming her eyes but not releasing. You did the only thing you could think of in the moment, as you made a black dahlia materialise into thin air. Wednesday felt a hand on her shoulder as Morticia appeared beside her.

The ravenette’s hand closed around the stem of the flower, as she stared at it, “Please don’t go.” The tears she had tried so hard to hold back finally fell when her eyes connected with yours. “Please just stay.” She had promised herself she would never cry, ever since her pet scorpion ‘Nero’ had been murdered, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore as her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds. “Please don’t leave me…”

You gave a sad smile as your cold lips ever so slowly made contact with hers. She stayed right where she was, afraid that if she moved the illusion would break, the illusion that she could feel your lips against hers, the illusion that you were still here, with her. She could almost believe she could still feel the beat of your heart. She didn’t want to break out of it, the tears falling freely as she hoped this moment would never end. She didn’t want you to be gone, she didn’t want you to leave her side, but she knew that was too good to be true.

She held the flower in her hand tight as you detached from her, you mouthed your final words, Goody’s hand latching onto your shoulder as you both seemed to disappear. Wednesday watched as the flower petals got left in your wake, staring blankly at the spot you used to be, playing over and over in her head the final words of ‘I love you’ that had left your lips.

Tears fell down Wednesday's face, her fist clenching around the flower in her hand. The sky let out a rumble as droplets of rain began to fall, mixing into the tears as the ravenette didn’t seem to move from her spot. She looked down at the black dahlia in her hand for almost an eternity, before resolving herself as she jumped back down into the ditch, not even paying attention to the mud that had begun to soften the dirt below. She grabbed hold of her shovel as she began digging, she felt someone drop beside her as they too began to dig, her eyes meeting her own mother's.

Her shovel seemed to hit something, as she bent down getting rid of all the mud that covered the casket. Her hands trailed its simple design. Morticia climbed out at that moment, Wednesday beginning to open the casket, the flower still grasped in her hand.

She didn’t know what to expect, as you were revealed. Your skin was so pale, yet for some reason, you looked almost like you were sleeping. She hated fairytales to the bone, but at this moment, she wished you were snow white, wished maybe you were sleeping beauty so that when her lips touched yours maybe it would break the curse and you would live happily ever after. But she knew it wasn’t how death worked, as he had claimed your life that night a week ago.

The rain dripped on your face, your pale skin seeming to shine like crystals under the moonlight. She took a shaky breath, kneeling towards you, her hand reaching out slowly to stroke your scarred cheek ever so softly. The flower in her hand disappeared from her grasp as she slowly placed the black dahlia in between your clasped hands, making you seem more ethereal in your eternal slumber than you already were.

There was no smile on your face, just a look of peace as you lay to rest, your heart remaining completely and utterly still. Wednesday stood a moment to admire you before shakily closing the casket back up. She took her time as she slowly covered it back up with dirt and soil, watching in slow motion as the grass and flowers covered the ground back up as she shovelled the final layer of dirt on top. The rain continued to fall, as she knelt stroking your name on your gravestone with all that she felt for you. She felt Morticia’s hand on her shoulder as the ravenette whispered the words she had wished she had been able to tell you, the words ‘I love you’ leaving her lips.

Maybe this was the curse, loving someone for all of eternity only for them to be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. Because Wednesday knew without a doubt that she would never love another, that you were her one and only and that she for once in her life, hoped that one day she would find her way back to you. That once she took her final breath, you would be there to greet her from the other side.

Wednesday seemed to ignore everyone as she sat on her balcony, looking up at the bright moon as the rain continued to fall. She didn’t have her cello with her as she sat there, staring up at the night sky, wearing your favourite jacket, one that was all too big for her, but she didn’t mind, as she revelled in the lingering scent of you.

She held the bookmark against her shattered heart, the one that reminded her of the first day she met you, as she trailed her free hand against her lips, still feeling the cold traces of their last kiss. Your name forever the name on her lips.

»────◦•✗•◦────«

Jamie Speaks:

Hahaha... Honestly, someone should take my writing privileges away from me.

How does one even write a sad fic?

#wednesday addams x reader #femreader #jennaortega #jenna ortega x you #wednesday addams x you #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega x female reader #wednesday addams x female reader #wednesday addams x y/n #jenna ortega x y/n #lgbt #wednesday #goodyaddams #morticiaaddams #wednesday addams #addams #wednesday addams x fem!reader #jenna ortega x fem!reader #Spotify

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lennox0arts · 3 months

Text

Icarus laughed as he fell

Credits to fiona for the original poem!

Here is what they don’t tell you:

Icarus knew he was in too deep. They’d said it out loud, leaning against the cave entrance.

“I’m in too deep now.”

The words left their lips in a shaky whisper that they knew no one would ever hear. They felt so helplessly, utterly alone as they sobbed against the cold rock. The word their friend had once called them circled through their mind.

Failure.

They knew he was right. They’d failed at being a good brother, a good friend, and they’d even failed at being themself.

They knew their back pressed against the same stone wall that had been splattered with the blood of their best friend by the blade of their father. Within the walls of this cavern, the fighting between Centross and their Dad replayed in their head. The purple scythe of the violet reaper turning their father mortal, and sealing their best friend's death wish. The golden sword through his chest. His smile as he faded into the stars, leaving nothing behind but the scythe, the now mortal god, and the son the god had almost killed.

Icarus laughed as he fell.

They felt their body wrack with cries mixed with confused, hysteric laughter. They felt disconnected from the winged person who stood from the altar staggering towards the fallen god.

They heard themself screaming,

“You killed him! You killed David!” Their father simply nodded. Almost as if to suggest it had to be done. As if their best friend had to be killed. Their mind flashed to the memories they’d tried so hard to bury.

Threw his head back and

yelled into the winds,

They were in the obsidian bunker, reaching through the gap of the trap that had opened barely enough for them to see.

“David?!” They smiled madly, their matted hair crusted with crimson. A drop of blood traced it’s way down their cheek bone.

“David let me out!” They demanded, their voice was rough and scratchy from hours of yelling. The man looked down at them with cold purple eyes, smiling at the trapped one like a hunter smiles at an animal caught in their snare.

“Y’know, Sherb,” The cloaked man smirked, “I don’t think I will.”

They felt their heart plop into their stomach as they tasted their lunch on their tongue as it forced its way up their throat. “David! Let me out!”

“Sherbert. Here’s what you don’t realize. Once a failure, always a failure.”

“Wha-” Icarus was cut off by the darkening of the world around them. They felt the pain of landing before they felt the explosion of pain in their head.

arms spread wide,

teeth bared to the world.

And then they were back in the endstone reset, on the destroyed roof of Will’s estate. Their hands shook, rain pelting their face, running down the deep purple inset lines of corruption before dripping off their chin. They flung open their arms and screamed at the heavens,

“Isn’t this enough? I killed her! I did what you wanted!” They were hyperventilating now, their chest pressing uncomfortably against the bow slung around their shoulder. The bow they’d just used to kill their best friend for a goddess that hadn’t spoken to them, or shown that she knew he existed.

(There is a bitter triumph

in crashing when you should be

soaring.)

They were standing on a trail of “wack.” As they began to take off, the base of their feathers turned into shards of gold that jabbed into their back and shoulder blades, piercing their skin as the feathers and muscles of their wings crystallized into a mess of amethyst and gold. In a moment of silence that most likely only lasted a few seconds, Icarus realized they were on the ground. Mere milliseconds after this thought, the metal that was now their wings shattered into sharp shards, slicing into their skin, logging into their back, digging into the ground.

One word through the pain.

Quixis.

The wax scorched his skin,

ran blazing trails down his back,

his thighs, his ankles, his feet.

They were standing before the lectern at Haley's funeral, watching the explosion of the tree speed towards them. They heard the loud boom and the rattling of their bones. The fire clawed towards them, dragging itself on the ground like a monster lunging towards its prey. The fire nipped at their two-toned jacket, ashes burning their eyes. It caught them up in flames before the world went blank and they heard a page being torn.

Feathers floated like prayers

past his fingers,

close enough to snatch back.

Snippets of other worlds flew past them, and they caught only a few glimpses. Them trapped in a concrete box trying to save a girl named Charlotte. Them running from a horse sized chicken. Them in front of a screen, talking to words on a box.

Death breathed burning kisses

against his shoulders,

where the wings joined the harness.

Then they were inside the cave. Watching the fighting once more from their place at the altar. Their chest aching as the skin stretched and rearranged in a glitching mess, each unstable breath more painful than the last. Centross and Fable pushing each other around the cave, each one landing punch after punch. Them, not knowing who to defend. Seeing their friend fade into the void. Doing nothing to help him.

Yelling.

Sobbing.

Laughter.

Betrayal.

Then, Fable walking towards them, framed by the sunset.

“I can bring him back.”

The sun painted everything

in shades of gold.

They were back outside the cave. Where they knew they actually were. Curled up into themself. He could get him back. He just needed more power. He was going to kill the primordials and rid the earth of death, or burn the world to shambles if doing so failed. And Icarus, his caged little bird, was going to stand muted at his side in the ashes of a fire they could have put out.

After all,

(There is a certain beauty

in setting the world on fire

and watching from the centre

of the flames.)

#fable smp #fablesmp #fsmp #fsmpblr #icarus morningstar #fable smp sherbert #centross #screaming crying throwing up #fablesmpblr #writing #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writeblr #fanfiction #fanfic #fable fanart

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lynnielovestlou · 7 months

Text

you and ellie find a baby while patrolling

꩜ CW: mention of gore , mention of infertility , father figure! ellie , fem! reader , pet names

꩜ synopsis: you and ellie find a baby while patrolling

sfw!

masterlist

☆—-------------------------------------------------------------—☆

No one knows how it happened. One patrol that was supposed to be normal ended up with you and Ellie finding an infant abandoned.

Ellie heard it first. The sound of clickers lurking in the heavily wooded forest just outside of Jackson. Of course, she never worried about it. Killing Infected was like stepping on bugs to her, but when she saw a group of people being torn up by them, she knew something was off.

You saw it all happen. A man had his entire arm dismembered, his screams piercing to yours and Ellie's eardrums. A woman's face was mutilated, her limp body making you feel sick. The third person of the group ran for a good while, managing to kill one of the clickers with a puny blade that didn't last long.

By the time you and Ellie had shot and killed the clickers, the people were all dead. The two of you were left alone in the forest, the only sound coming from the lacework of leaves above you and the crunching snow under your feet.

"You think they've got any loot on em'?"

You nod your head, already advancing towards them, trudging through the crunchy ice.

You both hear a noise, making you stop in your tracks first, Ellie right after. Your heart hammers in your entire body.

"Ellie, I thought you killed them?" You whisper, your voice caked with urgency.

"I did, babe!" She whisper-shouts, slowly approaching them with her gun drawn.

The noise happens again, this time more clear. It sounds like a cry, but not one that could've came from an adult.

You put your hand on top of Ellie's gun, slowly lowering it once you realize neither of you are in danger.

"Is that...?"

Sure enough, huddled by the cluster of dead infected and people, is an infant, kicking it's legs and squirming to be held. You heart instantly shatters into tiny bits and pieces, and you don't hesitate to scoop it up.

"What if it's infected?" Ellie says, thus receiving a dirty look from you.

"It's a baby."

"Have you seriously never seen the movie Gremlins?" She stifles a laugh, but you're too busy staring at the baby in your arms.

Ellie can see the look on your face. The motherly one that you've always had ever since she met you, even though you both know you can't have kids of your own. Ellie knows how much it broke your heart, knowing you can't have a baby. She always tried to tell you that it was okay and that she was happy just with you, but your heart always yearned for a child.

And now you're holding one.

"Babe..." She says softly, putting a comforting hand on your shoulder, "Let's just bring her to Maria."

"Ellie." You quickly say, looking at her with pleading eyes, "We were the last people to see her mother before she died." You motion at the woman with a bullet hole wound in her chest, and the swaddle wrapped around her body.

"What are you-"

"Can we keep her? Please?"

"Whoa, Y/N... this is a huge commitment, we can't just—" She stopped short when she saw the tears in your eyes, the baby leaning on your chest as if she had already warmed up to you. The look of you holding a child made Ellie's heart swell fuller than a river during a flood.

"Ellie. We can't just... leave her with Maria."

"Why not?"

"Because we can't." You say, sniffling and biting your lip, "Please."

She sighs, her shoulders dropping. She hates to tell you no, especially in a situation like this when she knows how upset it's making you, "Fine. Fine, okay, we'll take her home."

Your face lights up as you look at the little human leaning agains you, "Thank you thank you thank you! God, Ellie, I'm going to make this up to you."

Ellie rolls her eyes, a smile on her face as she creeps up behind you and rests her chin on your shoulder. Her hands hold your waist and she peppers gentle kisses on the length of your neck, "I like to see you happy, mama."

☆—-------------------------------------------------------------—☆

#lesbian #the last of us #queer #ellie williams #father figure #ellie williams blurb #blurb #fanfiction #sapphic #lynnielovestlou

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dollfaced-erin · 8 months

Text

𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟'𝕤 ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕝𝕖 (Blade x F!Reader x Jing Yuan)

PART 10

PART 1 , PART 2 , PART 3 , PART 4 , PART 5 , PART 6 , PART 7 , PART 8 , PART 9

A/n ! : -

sorry for being late again ! i was deep diving into the lore making sure i got nothing wrong ! though if i did we would be twisting canon fr tho but i think i have a way of moving through that teehee ! anyways enjoy the little sweets i scattered hjdkjashdkjashd

Taglist ! : -

@rebeccawinters , @nayukiyukihira , @pix-stuff , @fluffy-koalala , @swivy123 , @starxao , @kaoyamamegami , @kimura-uzuri , @rsvye , @seikouryuu , @just-here-reading , @matsulovesyou, @sincerely-aaronette , @prettyliliy , @chibiduck , @hermosacolibri , @la-diablas-thingz , @farelady-fate

(Y/n) didn't stiffen nor did she freeze. instead her body softened and relax at the loving touch of the individual that held her close so tenderly. Her hands moved up to come into contact with hands that were wrapped in bandages and in leather.

She didn't mind. As long as he was there.

"You came to see me again…?" (Y/n) softly whispered.

"Tell me, what should I call you, O man who has forsaken his name…?" she asked again, her right hand then going up to caress the dark bangs that covered his bowed face like a curtain.

"Blade." the man responded, his hand moving to take hers into his bandaged own

"I just…had to see you again. But I am sure it's the last." Blade responded, letting go of (Y/n). But his hands never left her, as they tenderly reached to hold hers. Though covered with cloth and glove, warmth seemed to seep through those barriers, coming into contact with (Y/n) slender hands.

"Once again…you do not cower to the sight of me…" Blade whispered, slightly surprised. But it was welcome.

Though he was a wanted criminal. Though there was billions of credits mounted for even giving a single piece of information about him. Though he has killed and slaughtered many, (Y/n) has never felt hands safer than his own.

It was…as if her body knew him. As if her heart knew him.

Though she had forgotten all, her shattered memories being her one saving grace. She knew this man. She met this man yesterday, but it felt like she knew him.

And as she saw him in her dreams, be it that he is no longer the person he used to be, he was still a person she held dear to her heart. For both (Y/n) and Dan Jia.

The man Dan Jia loved in her memories was Yingxing. But before (Y/n) was Blade. Dan Jia and (Y/n) were two different people, as Yingxing and Blade are.

"Are you sure it is alright to be out here at this time…? What if someone catches you ? I might be able to feign ignorance, but you--" "Hush, my dancer, speak no more." the man said, placing a gloved finger by her lips. Then he, moved a finger to tilt her head up.

"Our encounter tonight will be brief, and meaningful. But I must go soon." Blade whispered, his hand moving to caress her cheek tenderly, letting go of her from his tight hold, but still holding her hand.

He felt…proud. That even (Y/n) had lost her memories, and was slowly coming to terms with them, she still welcomed him warmly. She wasn't scared, no. It seemed that she had a good idea of who he was.

He felt…happy.

"I wish to leave you something, as a reminder that I will always be thinking of you…" Blade said, as he released his hand from her cheek and reaching into his pocket. He opened his palm to reveal two crystal wind chime earrings, crafted with utmost care and to perfection.

"Even if I told you I refuse letting you see me again, I just…needed to leave you something, as a reminder of this monster." Blade whispered.

"W-well then…take this." (Y/n) said, handing him one of the pieces of jewelry. "You take one, and I'll have one. That way…we can both have one, right ?"

"I don't see any monster. All I see is a man with the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. You can only be you, Blade. Not a monster, not a weapon, not a tool." She smiled at him brightly, hooking the small accessory. The small wind chime moved as (Y/n) looked up, and surprisingly she heard no sound, as the entire thing was made of stiff glass.

"Yingxing…time and time again I tell you…you are not a tool !" His heart pounded at the sight.

"(Y/n)…I depart soon. But before that…may I do something…?" Blade asked (Y/n).

(Y/n) nodded, the earring moving as she nodded her head. Though she wasn't ready for what he requested of her. But he didn't care.

With those words in mind, Blade immediately went to hold her chin with his thumb and index finger, and leaned in. His chapped lips were met with soft and cold ones, colder than the ones in his memories.

In that moment their hearts beat wildly in unison, as they stood together beneath the moon. He knew this was a bad thing to do, how selfish he was, how he was tainting this pure princess who has done nothing wrong, how he felt like he was corrupting her with his plagued body.

But he regretted nothing.

With the hands that went to his chest, pulling at his shirt, lips that kissed back, it seemed that it wasn't only him that had been dreaming of a moment so pure. The shoulders of the woman he held dear relaxed as she had moved on from the initial shock.

It felt so right…

He pulled back from the kiss, puffs of hot breath escaping his lips, mingling with (Y/n)'s own. Half lidded (e/c) eyes gazed into his own, cheeks as red as the ripest apples, pink lips slightly trembling as she panted.

But the tears that ran down her cheeks pained his heart.

He couldn't help himself. He felt his heart pound. He wanted to hug and reassure her, he wanted to comfort her, for he knew that she was confused and a little shocked, no matter how strong she seemed to be.

But time was running thin on them.

"I'll see you again if destiny allows us to reunite, my moon…"

He cupped her cheeks in his tender hands, and leaned in to place a soft kiss on her forehead. His lips were warm against her cold skin, and he stood there for a couple of seconds, (Y/n) closing her eyes to savor the moment.

As she opened her eyes, the man of the darkness was nowhere to be seen.

(Y/n) had no idea why she was crying. She herself didn't understand the reason. But then again, what did she know about herself ? What did she know of the person she was ?

But one thing for sure, it wasn't her that was crying. It was the soul in her.

"Lady (Y/n) !" a bright voice called out to her as she walked towards the plaza once again. She turned around to see a pink haired girl, one she had recognized to be as March.

"Yes ?" (Y/n) asked, turning around to see the pink-haired lady. "Is there anything you need me for ?"

The girl then took her hand, not even flinching at the coldness her icy hands were. Perhaps it was because her own hands were just as cold, but the girl's smile was way warmer and brighter contrasting her hands.

"Lady Bailu is looking for you. She told us to come find you to help her." March said, taking her hand and walking towards the plaza where the other Nameless members were waiting.

"Oh…? She sent you…? How did you find me ?" (Y/n) asked as March led her through the crowd consisting of natives, foxians and vidyadharas.

"It's not that hard to find you, silly ! With clothes of a princess, silky (h/c) hair and horns ? It's quite hard to miss you !" March said with a gleeful smile as they began to approach the little girl who was talking to the soldiers who were lying on the ground.

"Ah, Lady (Y/n) !" Bailu said happily, looking up at (Y/n) with her aqua eyes. (Y/n) could see the amazement and excitement in those eyes. Bailu then came to (Y/n) and took her hand, leading her towards the fallen soldiers.

As her eyes lingered on the infected knight, her ears picked up on the chatter between another doctor from the alchemy commission and Jingyan, the Vidyadhara she met a few times.

"That's…the best I can do…" the doctor said, standing up after injecting some elixir into the Mara-struck soldier laying down on the stretcher.

"Tsk ! And what's that supposed to mean ? Doctors don't give up that easily !" Jingyan protested, looking at the doctor incredulously. But the doctor sigh and shook her head.

"What else am I supposed to do ? The route back to the Alchemy Commission has disappeared, and we're in the field without the right medicine or supplies." the doctor tried to reason with Jingyan.

"Besides, we have no record of this disease at all. These symptoms are consistent with someone about to be stricken with mara--" "According to his medical record, this man is barely over 200 years old — he only just joined the Cloud Knights. How can he possibly be mara-struck? Why don't you… take another look."

The doctor sighed and crouched down again, trying to find any other anomality though it seemed quite futile from her behalf. Jingyan bit her lip as she looked at the soldier and the others surrounding the plaza. "If it goes on like this, the judges of the Ten-Lords Commission will have to come out and clean up this mess."

Then she glanced to (Y/n) who was with Bailu. "I saw the Vidyadhara dragon lady is here and Lady (Y/n). Maybe she can help stem the tide…"

"These symptoms…" (Y/n) said, trying to wrack her mind with memories, only to be met with nothing at all. But they seemed a little…odd to her. Was Mara supposed to strike this fast and this aggressive…?

"Yes, the Mara symptom these days are more extreme…" Bailu said sadly, looking down at the inflicted with pain in her little young heart.

"I can…try slow down the symptoms…" (Y/n) said, looking at Bailu. And Bailu's eyes lit up almost immediately and quickly made way for (Y/n) to get closer.

(Y/n) held out her hands, the palms hovering on top of the chest of the inflicted. She tried, but she really wasn't sure what the heck she was doing at this point. But she had to try.

She concentrated, closing her eyes and trying to focus. She felt her cold powers surge through her hands and she was able to feel the energy emitted by the individual laying before her.

It was…minimal…and contaminated. It felt as if there was a black mist surrounding the body of the soldier. But…she couldn't find the core of where it stemmed from.

But as she traced again…

"There are multiple spores in his body. That's why the Mara's spreading so aggressively." (Y/n) said, opening her eyes. No wonder she couldn't trace it. There was more than one root in the body that triggered the Mara faster than usual.

"S-spores ? How did those appear ?" Bailu asked, panic surging in her. She wasn't exposed to such sights, thus making healing a tad too hard for her.

"I'm not sure." (Y/n) said, her pretty lips turning into a frown and eyebrows furrowing. "But I'll try sealing them."

With her instincts and her insight, she managed to locate all the spores and place her fingers on the spots sharply and swiftly, letting her ice internally wrap around the spore and reduce the production of the mist. One down…and seven more to go…

"I've slowed down the progress of Mara symptoms in all the knights>" (Y/n) said, getting up from her position and looked at all the other Mara-struck she had tended to. Her body felt weak and tired. She wasn't used to exerting much energy and power.

Unlike when fighting with Yanqing, she was tired physically. But this really took out the power of her internal knowledge and frozen memories. Perhaps Dan Jia really could do something like this in the past…or maybe even more.

"That…that's so cool, Lady (Y/n) !" Bailu exclaimed, looking up at (Y/n) with wonder in her eyes. Then she looked at her own hands. "Maybe…if I had ice powers like you, I could learn it from you…"

(Y/n) couldn't stand a child looking so sad. Such a young child, being subjected with all the responsibilities and being restricted of her freedom. Did...Dan Jia have to go through this as well ?

Without realizing, (Y/n) had raised a hand and placed itself on Bailu's head, softly petting Bailu's purple hair. She couldn't help but want to comfort this little child before her.

"You'll be able to find a talent unique to you someday. I'm sure of it. You may not see it now, but I sense great potential from you." (Y/n) said, giving the child a small smile.

Bailu looked up at her brightly, awe in her child eyes. Then she nodded. "Perhaps then...I could cure Mara..."

Cure Mara...?

That sent (Y/n) thinking.

She had the power to slow down Mara. Could she possibly stop Mara from spreading by freezing those cores ? What else was Dan Jia capable of...?

Maybe she could stop the Mara from spreading in him.

In the man with eyes as red as spider lilies. An expression as cold as dead. But the lips as warm as fire...

Oh Aeons, she had forgotten all about their little intimate actions in the alleyway ! She was so distracted and wrapped up with things around her, she hadn't had the time to properly process and take in things !

But now that she thought about it...

His lips were cold but felt so warm against hers.

And they were so...soft...

"Lady (Y/n) ? You alright ?" (Y/n) heard and snapped out of her trance and looked at Bailu.

"Y-yes ? Is something the matter ?" (Y/n) asked the dragon lady next to her.

"Your face is red. Did you use up too much energy ? Do you need to rest ?" Bailu asked worriedly, her tone notching up one level as she reached closer to (Y/n). "M-maybe you should get something to drink or eat ! Something with high sugar to help you regain your energy."

"N-no, no. I'm really okay. Just a little tired."

Bailu dragged (Y/n) off to some food vendors as (Y/n)'s heart raced in her chest. her face was incredibly red and she was sweating. Bailu was scared that (Y/n) might've gotten a fever from using up too much energy.

"Here...lets get some Tuskpir wraps and sit down for a moment. The Astral Express team went to follow the Realm-Keeping Commission guys, and I cant go back to the Alchemy Commission just yet." Bailu said as she dragged (Y/n) along the plaza.

"And maybe I can try help you with you amnesia." the little girl whispered softly.

"Yeah..."

And maybe (Y/n) can help him as she subconsciously reached to touch the earring that dangled from her pointed ear, the pair being in another hand.

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x you #hsr x you #hsr blade x reader #hsr blade x you #hsr jing yuan x reader #hsr jing yuan x you #jing yuan x reader #jing yuan x you #blade x reader #blade x you #Dragon's Cradle #hsr x reader

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yurimother · 10 months

Text

The 2023 Yuri Guide - Light Novels

Your ultimate guide to the best Yuri content with over 200 curated titles from every genre and medium.

Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka

• School • Drama • Romance

Saeki Sayaka has always been an old soul—serious and reserved, preferring to focus on her studies rather than make friends. Until, that is, a romantic confession from another girl in middle school turns her carefully ordered world upside down. Though none of her classes have prepared her for this, Saeki must now come to terms with her sexuality in this gentle, coming-of-age novel about grappling with first love, growing up, and relating to other people.

~Written by Hitoma Iruma, Illustrated and Created by Nakatani Nio~ Licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment

The Executioner and Her Way of Life

• Action • Fantasy • Isekai • Enemies to Lovers

When Menou, an Executioner of deadly interdimensional “Lost Ones,” encounters a Lost One named Akari who can cheat death, she sets out on a mission to kill the unkillable girl — but her newly stirring feelings might get in the way of her blade.

~Created by Mato Sato, Illustrated by nilitsu~ Licensed by Yen Press

Girls Kingdom

• School • Romance • Comedy • Master/Servant

All Misaki wanted was a free education. Instead, she accidentally lands an exclusive contract with the most prestigious girl in school... to serve as her personal maid! Misaki soon discovers that Amanotsuka Academy for Girls is no ordinary school—her classes are all about how to be a maid, too! Students who impress the school’s elite young ladies with their domestic service skills might be lucky enough to become a “Seraph,” guaranteeing them a job with an upper-class household after they graduate.

~Created by Nayo, Illustrated by Shio Sakura~ Licensed by J-Novel Club

Girls’ Love of the Dead

• Horror • Mystery

When Mitsuki’s best friend suddenly dies, she decides to seek out the old abandoned building of their school, the Romero Private Academy for Girls. But when she meets her dear Rin again, there are quite a lot of reasons why the other girl doesn’t remember her…

~Created by Nanaoku Hoshii, Illustrated by Akiko Morishima~ Licensed by Manga Planet

I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner

• Isekai • School • Comedy • Action • Fantasy • Romance • Enemies to Lovers

Claire François has it all: beauty, brains, and the blood of nobility. As the daughter of a high-ranking noble, she takes her status and the according responsibilities with utmost seriousness—even as the king threatens to undermine his realm’s stability with his visions of “meritocracy.” Claire is nevertheless prepared to take this societal change in stride, until one of the new commoner students at her elite academy, Rae Taylor, turns her life upside down. Everything about Rae confounds Claire, from her behavior to her intellect to her bizarre fixation on Claire herself. Little does she realize just how much Rae will change her world, and how much she’ll change Rae in turn.

~Created by Inori, Illustrated by Hanagata~ Licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment

Last and First Idol

• Horror • Sci-Fi • Anthology

"Bye-bye, Earth! My idol activities here were so much fun!” A wannabe idol turned reality-shattering entity, existential isekai organisms, and a space opera about murderous voice actors… Award-winning author Gengen Kusano presenting an astounding collection of three harrowing existential widescreen yuri baroque proletariat hard sci-fi idol story has carved out a new legend in science fiction history! These high-concept stories are crammed full of horrific imagery and exceptionally detailed science that will leave your mind reeling.

~Created by Gengen Kusano~ Licensed by J-Novel Club

A Lily Blooms in Another World

• Isekai • Romance • Fantasy • Enemies to Lovers

Miyako Florence isn’t sad when her fiancé breaks off their engagement after two years. It’s all according to plan! Whisked into the world of her favorite otome game, Miyako frees herself from a dull noble to pursue her true soulmate: the game’s villainess Fuuka Hamilton. Proud Fuuka only has eyes for their mutual ex-fiancé! Miyako confesses her love to Fuuka and proposes that they run away together. Fuuka agrees on one condition: Miyako must make her say “I’m happy” in 14 days. With conniving nobles, strange diseases, and magical rituals pulling them apart, can Miyako win the villainess’s heart?

~Created by Ameko Kaeruda, Illustrated by Shio Sakura~ Licensed by J-Novel Club

Lily Clairet

• School • Slice of Life • Weak Yuri

A young girl is arguing with a cherry tree. That's a new one for Lily, who's managed to reach the end of her first year at high school without too much weirdness. Unfortunately for her, it's not long after solving this odd mystery that her untroubled life begins to unravel. Discovering an abandoned room at the end of the music department corridor, she finds that aside from it being utterly run-down, it's also devoid of its sole occupant: Sonata Sonoda, the missing journalism club president.

~Created by Kaye Ng, Illustrated by Rumikuu~ Independently Published

LOVELY! My Adorable Mamecchi

• School • Romance • Friends to Lovers

Everyone may have their eyes on the charming, prince-like Hikaru, but there's only one person Hikaru's got her eyes on - her darling childhood friend Mamecchi! But between Mamecchi's hot-and-cold personality and Hikaru's subconscious denials, this sure doesn't look like a recipe for success...when a certain repeat customer gets into Mamecchi's good graces, will Hikaru finally muster up the courage to confess to her first love?

~Kumako Nanbu, Hiromi Takashima~ Licensed by Manga Planet

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

• Fantasy • Romance • Comedy • Isekai

Despite her supposed ineptitude with regular magic, Princess Anisphia defies the aristocracy's expectations by developing "magicology," a unique magical theory based on memories from her past life. One day, she witnesses the brilliant noblewoman Euphyllia unjustly stripped of her title as the kingdom's next monarch. That's when Anisphia concocts a plan to help Euphyllia regain her good name-which somehow involves them living together and researching magic! Little do these two ladies know, however, that their chance encounter will alter not only their own futures, but those of the kingdom...and the entire world!

~Created by Piero Karasu, Illustrated by Yuri Kisaragi~ Licensed by Yen Press

ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword!

• Fantasy • Action • Horror • Master/Servant • Slow Burn

Flum Apricot was never meant to be a hero. Despite zero stats across the board and a power she can’t even use, she somehow finds herself included in a party of heroes. But Flum’s life hits rock bottom when the party’s renowned sage, Jean Inteige, decides that the useless girl is dead weight, and arranges to have her sold into slavery. Tossed to monsters to be feasted upon for her master’s entertainment, Flum makes the desperate choice to reach for a cursed weapon…and something new awakens within her. A grimdark tale about one woman’s blood-soaked quest to reclaim her life!

~Created by kiki, Illustrated by kinta~ Licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment

Sasayaki no Kiss -Read my lips.-

• School • Romance • Drama

Haruka has always lived in a soundless world. But not in her dreams, where she can hear her own voice - and the voice of the only other person in the dream with her, a beautiful high school student wearing an adorable, unfamiliar school uniform. Haruka knows this is just a dream, but why does a part of her think it's more than that? Is this girl she finds falling asleep in the park really the literal girl of her dreams?

~Created by Kumako Nambu, Illustrated by Akiko Morishima~ Licensed by Manga Planet

Seriously Seeking Sister! Ultimate Vampire Princess Just Wants Little Sister

• Comedy • Fantasy • Yuri Harem

Long ago, on the continent of Ephenia, there existed the feared tribe of vampires called “True Bloods,” whose great strength allowed them to reign supreme over all other tribes. However, a millennium has passed, and any trace of them has vanished off the face of the planet. That is, until the youngest and most talented royal daughter of the True Bloods awakens in the modern day.

~Created by Hiironoame, Illustrated by Siso~ Licensed by J-Novel Club

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!

• Fantasy • Comedy • Action

Tanya Artemiciov is a talented Mage-class adventurer who just got kicked out of her party by a sexist scumbag. So what's a girl to do? Go to the wasteland and blow stuff up of course! One small problem though: she inadvertently frees a mythical Sorceress named Laplace who was sealed away for the past 300 years… Surprise! Turns out this so-called "wicked" Sorceress is actually pretty cool. Laplace wants to start a party of her own, Tanya wants revenge, and the solution is obvious: team up. It's time to kick ass, kiss girls, and dismantle the patriarchy!

~Created by Ameko Kaeruda, Illustrated by Kazutomo Miya~ Licensed by J-Novel Club

Side-By-Side Dreamers

• Sci-Fi • Supernatural • Action • Fated Lovers • Love at First Sight

Unbeknownst to the common citizens, a battle has been unfolding between the Suiju, beings that possess people's spirits in the land of sleep, and the Sleepwalkers, who have the power to move about freely in their dreams. Saya Hokage, a high school girl who is unable to sleep due to insomnia, encounters Hitsuji Konparu, a girl who can put anyone to sleep as a “lover” in a dream. When Hitsuji's senpai sees potential in Saya, she ends up joining them and their group of Sleepwalkers on their mission.

~Created by Iori Miyazawa~ Licensed by J-Novel Club

Two Guns Under the Sheet

• Action • Drama • Enemies to Lovers • Shakaijin • Love at First Sight

All Aya wanted was a one-night stand that could take her mind off her lost love, but with Sakura, she may have finally gotten more than a one-night stand - she may have finally found "The One"! But before she rushes into imagining their future together, there's one uncomfortable question Aya has to face first - could it be possible that her beautiful new love is somehow related to the same organization she's bound by duty to destroy?

~Created by Kumako Nambu, Illustrated by Akiko Morishima~ Licensed by Manga Planet

Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta

• School • Romance • comedy

Yuna Momose and Rinka Aiba were made for each other, and their whole school knows it. Between Yuna's princess-like elegance and Rinka's prince-like charm, all their classmates see them as the ideal couple. Yotsuba Hazama is no exception to that, but she is exceptional in another way: she's somehow managed to become fast friends with both of them! Having the whole school's favorite ship as her two best friends isn't exactly easy, though. Not only does it make everyone treat Yotsuba like a particularly obnoxious third wheel, it makes her feel like one too! Or at least it does, until one day, Yuna asks her out. And then Rinka asks her out too! And Yotsuba, whose social anxiety never seems to kick in until after she's already messed something up...says yes to both of them, without sparing so much as a single thought for the consequences. Oops! Now Yotsuba only has one choice: keep her accidental two-timing under wraps and make both of her new girlfriends as happy as she possibly can!

~Created by toshizou, Illustrated by Kuro Shina~ Licensed by J-Novel Club

Yuri Will Not Blossom at Work!

• Drama • Romance • Enemies to Lovers • Shakaijin

Just as Rikka thinks the matchmaking event she grudgingly signed up for can’t get any more dreadful, she runs into her colleague-slash-rival Yuri Kisugi. Using Rikka’s embarrassment as leverage, Yuri compels Rikka into helping her find the perfect candidate to marry. Rikka goes along with Yuri’s antics with the hopes it will lead her rival away while she climbs up the company ranks. But what happens when Rikka’s nurturing tendencies coincide with Yuri’s secret vulnerabilities?…

~Created by Mai Yanagawa, Illustrated by Ruri Hazuki~ Licensed by Manga Planet

Yurizen! Salon -Shirayuri’s Comforting Food Therapy-

• Shakaijin • Romance • Slow Burn

Was it fate that led to Miiko meeting Doctor Shirayuri that one rainy day…or was it just her cramps? Pâtissier Miiko works through little pains like the rest of us, but when her ailments begin to affect her work, there’s got to be something she can do about it. Enter beautiful, mysterious herbal medicine doctor Shirayuri, who might be the solution to Miiko’s problems – in more ways than one!

~Created by Kumako Nambu, Illustrated by Miso Higashikawa~ Licensed by Manga Planet