#this trio is prominent in my aus be warned

[verycorrectlegomovie]

Sweet Mayhem: Yesterday I heard Emmet saying, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" and Benny and Unikitty replying, "Trust us". I have never moved from one room to another so fast in my life.

[strawberrymochin]

A Letter.....Long Lost!

kyojuro rengoku x fem!reader

word count- 12.2k

synopsis- the discovery of an old letter from kyojuro rengoku's room shakes the world of tanjiro. he thought he fulfilled every wish of rengoku. however he missed one. tanjiro needs to deliver it to the one it was written for; but the letter has nothing written except a name 'y/n'. who is y/n and how will tanjiro find her?

genre/warnings- post war timeline/ mentions of death/ slice of life/ angst/ fluff/ lots of flashbacks/ kamaboko trio going on a quest to find reader/ emotionally unavailable parents/ just read it i swear it wont disappoint/ comfort/ scenes of rengoku and mitsuri training/ mentions of mugen train

a/n- i had this idea in my head and i literally wrote this in two days. Loosely based off a film I'm obsessed with...this is my first time writing a long fic. im hella nervous. it will have a sequel with a reincarnation au and smut. not fully proof read, ignore small errors.

Nezuko chimed in as urokodaki made his appearance. Soon more people will join in. Kanao and aoi are helping in the kitchen, making several dishes while inosuke is trying to get aoi give him some to taste.

Tanjiro and zenitsu are spreading out the mats for people to sit and get comfy.

“urokodaki sensei! Please come and join.” tanjiro said noticing his former teacher, carrying a huge basket wrapped in a cloth with water patterns similar to his haori. Nezuko trails behind him bringing another basket.

“i brought some mitarashi dango and some hanami-zake for everyone.” said urokodaki with a soft voice, that made nezuko wonder if he was smiling under his tengu mask.

It's been 2 years since the war ended. People lost their dear ones with a pain bearing smile. Some endured injuries that would sustain through out their life marking them as ‘crippled’; while some sacrificed themselves for the greater good.

Seasons changed since then.

So did several people.

People who turned their hearts into stone, heavy from guilt of their family dying; who suffered from the culpability of being protected…

“giyuu san’s here too, please sit inside with the others while we get the stuff ready.”

“yeah how's your sister? I brought her some new kimonos”

A mild smile forming on his lips.

Tanjiro’s eyes widened a bit. It's kinda still new to him seeing such a soft side of the guy who barely used to smile.

……have let their guard down, allowing themselves to move on, now that there's no more threat hanging in the air.

People who had been afflicted by the remorseful long sleepless nights of trauma; killing the one who once bore them in her womb; whose eyes had become dull and frantic, dying inside in agony…..

“oi tomioka! Move outta my way!” grumbled sanemi, throwing a box wrapped in a delicate green cloth in tanjiro's direction as he catches it with difficulty. Having a hand crippled like an old man is sure a poor thing, not that tanjiro minds that.

“ahh the scary guy's here again! Don't touch the box tanjiro. It must've been poisoned!!!” shouted zenitsu, panicking around, hiding himself behind tanjiro.

“What did you just say?” Sanemi’s eyes narrowed at zenitsu, veins becoming more prominent, ready to throw a first at the blonde head's face.

“Goddamn shinazugawa! Don't scare the kid…” said giyu, grabbing his wrist and pulling him inside. “Wh-you’re such a creep tomioka!”

“Kk.”

“Stop giving me that kanroji face!” sanemi said as shivers ran down his spine. Somehow a smiling tomioka was scarier than muzan to him.

…have let go of their distraught, accepting the dreams which they wanted for their loved ones. Fulfilling it in their place.

“Both of them are creeps!” Zenitsu said digging his nails into tanjiro's skin as he spit curses on them. “Zenitsu they are gone now, can you please give this box to kanao san, it smells of fresh ohagi.”

“I'm telling you…it's fuckin poisoned”

“It's not, zenitsu…don't be like that” tanjiro pushed him away with the box. He then took up a broom and started sweeping any other leaves that fell down from the trees.

Pink flowers blossomed everywhere, now that another peaceful season had arrived.

Kanao had suggested nezuko and aoi that they should spend time together this hanami festival. Nezuko and aoi agreed to that instantly. Thus this is how they ended up inviting everyone at tanjiro's, whose house was surrounded by a lots of cherry blossoms.

Kiyo chan naho chan and sumi chan were playing with tengen’s baby as Suma kept pestering urokodaki san for loosening his face mask (I can't blame my lil curious mommy). Makio was sure annoyed at her behavior while hinatsuru just chuckled. Murata sat stiff in the presence of four former hashiras.

Almost all of them had arrived. Except the rengokus.

Aoi brought them some appetizers, as they kept on chatting. After decorating the food all of them would join outside admiring the moment of bliss.

“Senjuro Kun and shinjuro san ain't here yet right?” Asked tengen.

“They haven't made their arrival yet” announced aoi, “however tanjiro san is waiting outside for them, the food is almost done, we can start after they get here”

“HAHAHAHA…. RUSHING IN LIKE A BOAR!!!” inosuke dashed in with a sakura onigiri in his mouth, from the kitchen. “WAhahhh scar guy!! Fight me!” As expected from inosuke, nothing could ever stop him. At first he was a bit spooked seeing a lot of people at once and sticked to aoi till his normal composure returned.

“Still that dumb boar head! Will he ever get mature?” Sanemi grumbled lazily. “I agree” said giyu, smiling at sanemi, which almost made his stomach churn. Tengen bursted out in laughter, “I see you are still in spirit huh? Quite flamboyant of you.”

“YEAH THE GOD OF MOUNTAINS INOSUKE SAMA IS ALWAY—” Aoi smacked him on his head and dragged him away while muttering some apologies to the hashiras.

“He's still much of energy…and his voice has become much hoarse ain't it? I still remember taking those kids on that mission. And this kid in particular was such a ruckus.” Said tengen, stretching his arms.

“Isn't it good to see all of us after so long without having to fear losing someone?” Said hinatsuru, makio and Suma smiled at each other.

“But we had already lost many people.” Sanemi sighed. He wished he could apologize to genya. If life ever gives him another chance he would like to be a little less aggressive.

“If you keep sulking like that, your brother will definitely curse you from heaven.” giyu took a gulp of the matcha tea, sanemi sent at tanjiro's a month ago.

“Now that there are no demons, you two get along with each other quite well don't you think so?” Tengen threw the snarky question at them.

“what the—”

“I wish rengoku could have seen you guys like this…remember the one time himejima san told us that oyakata sama wanted to see giyu smile….”

“See me smile?”

“Yeah, what a waste of time i swear.”

“Rengoku disappeared for a while to buy glasses in order to make giyu smile.” laughed tengen.

“It didn't work though and then kochou emotionally blackmail me to make him laugh.”

“Oh so this is why you wanted to have sake daikon with me?” Giyu smiled again at sanemi.

“I swear if you make that kanroji face again at me, I will kick you on your balls.”

“Everyone food’s ready, let's go and sit outside!!” Said nezuko halting the heated nostalgic conversation of the two.

Murata finally lets himself relax a bit as the hashiras start moving out. Urokodaki slammed a hand at his back, as he felt his stiff posture return. “Don't be so stiff we aren't gonna ask you to duel.” murata’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment as urokodaki laughed off at the kid's nervousness.

These days are indeed peaceful.

Senjuro made his appearance a bit late. He apologized for his fathers absence, blaming on his health. It's not been that best for a few days.

“Oh goodness, is he really going to be fine, we can go run a check up on him you know?” Kanao offered an idea, worried about the shinjuro’s health.

“Thanks a lot. Actually there's something that has been troubling us for a while.”

“Is everything okay?” Tanjiro's asked with concern lacing his eyes. Sanemi noticed, he had always been kind. He was kind to his brother. During hashira training when tanjiro stepped over the line, it actually made sanemi kinda happy and relaxed. Atleast genya had someone in life he could rely on.

Shinjuro's put down his bowl and chopstick on the mats as he brought his hand to his knees.

“There's something we found a month ago….while cleaning aniki’s room.”

Not only tanjiro but tengen, giyu, sanemi, zenitsu and inosuke froze for a second. The untimely death of the young guy was such a sad event that has ached their hearts for a long time.

Tanjiro could smell senjuro’s emotions and it was odd. It wasn't sadness, or guilt, or anger. It was pity. And somehow it stinged tanjiro, the same way it did years ago.

Senjuro took out some bunch of old papers from the sleeves of his yukata.

Tanjiro's throat felt dry and uneasy. It were a bunch of letters.

All of them looked like they were forgotten for months. The letter envelopes had stained yellow and some even have their edges teared off. But it sure emitted a strong smell. The smell of kyojuro rengoku. Tanjiro's still remembers the distinct hints of his aura. And it somehow still lingered around these letters. Especially the one which was sealed.

“What is it?” asked aoi, finally breaking the deafening silence. A strong gust of wind blew the pink petals along with the letters from senjuro's hand. It's scattered around the mats as all of them tried to collect them.

“Y….y/n?” read nezuko aloud. She hold the sealed letter in her hand as tanjiro extended his palm to grab it. It had tear stains. One side of it had brush marks written ‘to y/n’. The ink has now blurred a bit. But it was still readable.

“What's the meaning of all this?” Tengen asked, grabbing one of the opened letters in his hand. Giyu had hold of one reading in pure shock, while sanemi pondered from the side. Eyes as shocked as giyu’s.

“What happened tengen-sama?” asked makio, seeing all of their disturbed expressions. Zenitsu tried to snatch away the papers from inosuke who was trying to eat it.

“We found these letters from aniki’s room. A lady named y/n had sent those letters to him. An—?”

“And that lady was his lover?” asked giyu.

“What nonsense!”

“He never mentioned any of that to me.” frowned tengen.

“Nor did aniki said anything about it at home. At that time our father didn't pay us any attention. He was drowned totally in despair from the death of our mother. Seeing us only infuriated his anger and sorrow. Aniki would train or be at missions and he was rarely at home. He never told me anything about that….”

‘A letter?’ thought tanjiro. He started sweating all of a sudden. He thought he fulfilled all his wishes but—

“Rengoku san! Please think about yourself, can you stop the bleeding with your breathing technique?” Tanjiro has muttered those words back then, panickingly, devastatingly.

He wanted rengoku to say yes. He wanted him to live beside him, fight beside him, eat beside him. But he didn't get that as an answer.

“No, very soon i'll be dead. Before that happens, i need you to hear me out. I have a younger brother named senjuro. Please tell him to follow his heart. And walk down the path he feels is right.” Rengoku’s face had the same content smile, which warmed their hearts up. He continued, “And tell my father to look after himself…and lastly…”

Rengoku went on and expressed his views on nezuko. It felt like a warm hug. Someone has accepted nezuko. Not because they pitied her but since they saw her true potential and that she was no harm to humans. And now when he remembers it clearly, there was something rengoku whispered before his heart stopped pumping.

It was a faint whisper. So subtle that tanjiro thought it was his ears ringing. But now that he recalls, after he said he trusted them as a slayers, he whispered a few words

“and the lette—”

Rengoku stopped mid sentence as tanjiro kept weeping. He wasn't looking at tanjiro but something behind him. It made him smile as he took his last breath.

“Oni-chan? What happened? Are you okay?” Nezuko pulled tanjiro out of his daze. Everyone was looking at him worriedly. Even sanemi was worried.

“I've not fulfilled rengoku san’s last wishes. I- i haven't. I haven't delivered…how can I be so dumb!!”

“What? Tanjiro san! Calm down! You told us everything aniki wanted to say to us.” Senjuro tried to comfort tanjiro.

“No…before dying he whispered something. I thought my ears were ringing but he did whispered something. It was about a letter.” tanjiro kept on babbling as everyone felt dead silent even senjuro couldn't move his hands.

The sealed letter stayed in tanjiro's hands.

Something that belonged to the girl named y/n.

Something probably dear to kyojuro rengoku.

Some words which were waiting since 3 years.

But…..who is y/n?

The rest of hanami festival gathering went by silent. Senjuro entrusted the letter to tanjiro as per as his request before leaving early since he need to be home before sunset to check upon his father. Murata and urokodaki san accompanied him on the way.

“That's completely ridiculous. None of us have any idea who the fuck this y/n is? how are the fuck are you even planning to find her?” Sanemi spit out bitter words at tanjiro, sitting on the porch, watching the sun slowly turn a deep shade of orange. It reminded him of rengoku’s odd hair colour. It's funny how not only he, but his tsugoku also had weird hair colour— a colour which was dear to Iguro obanai.

Tanjiro lowered his head, smiling a bit. Sanemi changed a lot, even if he speaks harshly, he can only smell pure concern. “But I can't start a new life without paying my debts. Rengoku san saved my life. Whoever lady y/n is….I need to deliver this letter to her.”

“I get what you're saying…but there's no address in any part of the letter. Moreover you are being hesitant on opening it. How do you think you will find her then?” Tengen spoke from the back, alerting the former wind hashira and tanjiro. Both wondered how long he's been eavesdropping them. They expect nothing less. He was a hashira and before that he was a ninja. Even after losing one arm and one eye, he still holds the same power.

“Honestly, I've no idea. But I just can't sit and let it slide.” said tanjiro.

“you’re getting married to kanao next year. Better focus on that. Don't get into useless troubles hanging her off.” sanemi said lazily, yawning and getting up to his feet, stretching a bit. “I will be leaving then. Take care.” Tanjiro didn't reply to him.

Tengen shared a look with sanemi. His eyes shooting a mischievous look filled with pride. Tengen has been in a mission with tanjiro and he knows how stubborn he can be. He knows how pure of a heart he had. And how he even had empathy for demons. He knows sanemi have to surrender infront of him.

Annoyed, sanemi rolled his eyes, “if you're that insistent on finding the girl, then why not refer to kasugai crows. Rengoku's crow might know something about the girl.” He suggested as tengen was in literal awe. He never thought sanemi could ever think logically with his brain. Tanjiro’s head perked up in joy at his idea. Now he finally has a path to look up. Sanemi felt awkward and took his leave, avoiding to look in their eyes.

“Ah! Shinazugawa san! Thanks for the idea!!”

“That brat finally seems to work a bit humane ain't he ?!” A deep laugh bubbled up tengen’s throat.

“I’m happy that he has softened a little now that demons have perished. However, about rengoku san’s kasugai crow, do you know where do I get in contact with it?”

“About that, i would recommend writting letter to kiriya sama. I'm sure he would know.” Tengen patted his head with a reassuring smile.

Soon he took his leave with his wives and giyu, since they were going to an onsen. Basically makio Suma and hinatsuru dragged him along forcefully. Giyu looked a bit tired but he was happy.

Things changed and improved rapidly in a short time. Zenitsu and nezuko got married last year. Murata also got engaged. Tanjiro couldn't help but wonder if the lady named y/n had moved on or not? Will rengoku san be happy if she found someone else? Will he be sad? He looked at nezuko smiling at zenitsu as he played with kiyo, naho and sumi. He looked at inosuke giving his shiniest acorns to aoi. He looked at kanao, smiling delicately, just like shinobu did.

He was happy.

But was the lady named y/n happy in her life?

Kanao looked at him and smiled. She came near him and took his wrinkled hand in hers. “Tanjiro san, you know I would really like you to deliver this letter to y/n san before we start a new life.”

“Even if it takes time?”

“Even if it does. I will wait for you for an eternity.” Tanjiro chuckled as red tints his cheeks. How pure kanao’s heart is? How did he get so lucky to have her in his life? God knows.

“Then I will write a letter to kiriya.”

After a few days, a letter arrived from ubuyashiki's. Along with that two kasugai crows were found circling over the house. Among them one belonged to tanjiro, when he was a demon slayer— tennoji.

The other was the one who accompanied rengoku till his last breath. Kiriya felt sad for rengoku and wrote his kind regards to tanjiro sending the crow to him. His name was kaname.

The crow looked pretty much normal and wasn't as hot -tempered as tennoji.

This was the first time tanjiro had seen him. “Hello, kaname san. Sorry for summoning you all of a sudden. But I wanted to ask you something…” the crow didn't reply, but tilted his head at tanjiro.

“I-ahh- do you know anything about a lady named y/n?”

The crow remained quite for a while, as if reminiscing the days which followed great sorrow. “Master's…y/n sama…master's lover…letters…”

His words were what tanjiro was expecting. Tanjiro finally saw a path clear.

“Can you tell me where she lives?” Asked tanjiro hopefully.

The crow shaked his head,“i don't know.”

Slightly disappointed, tanjiro started asking how she looked. The crow wasn't exactly able to describe her. Accepting his defeat, he asked the crow where he saw her for the first time. Maybe if he goes there, he will be able to find her.

“tokyo…capital…mission..”

the crow wasn't that helpful, they only got to know two things.

First- whoever this y/n is, she was rengoku's lover.

Second- rengoku's crow saw her in tokyo, the capital.

This indicates maybe rengoku and the people who went to the mission in tokyo as said by the crow, if alive, they might know something about it. Tanjiro wrote updates to the others.

A few days later, giyu’s letter came along with some sweets. In that he wrote that rengoku went to tokyo for a battle with lower moon 2 back then. Oyakata sama had assigned him to that mission, before he was a hashira. There were a bunch of people accompanying him, one of them being kanroji mitsuri.

Oh! Mitsuri kanroji was his tsugoku, tanjiro almost forgot about that, he got excited to ask her when reality struck him down. She died after the war. Even if she knew y/n tanjiro couldn't ask her.

He continued reading the letter from giyu as the path which formed in his mind started getting blurry.

Upon hearing from tanjiro, kanao dropped by at the kamado’s. She said she might have one way to get to know about y/n. Tanjiro's eyes perked up at kanao’s remark, which almost made kanao’s heart jolt since he was so cute.

Kanao explained, when shinobu was alive, she had once told her that mitsuri was close to a kakushi couple. She further said that mitsuri used to write letters to them about her missions on a regular basis. Those two even came to congratulate her when she was promoted to hashira. She said it was nice to see that a girl around her age so lively.

Tanjiro wrote a letter to kiriya again. And next week when tanjiro went out with inosuke to sell some charcoal in the city, a couple came to visit them.

Nezuko welcomed them, while zenitsu narrowed his eyes on them, especially upon the male.

When tanjiro returned home he was delighted to find the kakushi couple still waiting for him. They didn't hide their faces anymore. Dressed normally as regular citizens. Honestly they were pretty young, and tanjiro admired how they served the corps group keeping them intact.

“I'm so glad you both came.” Tanjiro bowed infront of them in gratitude.

“Oh no, that's completely fine. We are happy to be of any help. Oyakata sama said you wanted to know about mitsuri.” said the woman.

“Ahh not exactly about her, but for instance, do you have any idea if she ever mentioned a name called ‘y/n’?” tanjiro said pulling inosuke back beside him as he kept munching on the snacks for the guests. The guy gave him a creeped stare as he focused back on tanjiro's words.

“y/n? No I don't think so….she ever mentioned that name. Did she tanaka san?” The woman said.

Tanjiro felt anxious as the guy named tanaka tilted his head to think a bit.

“Nope I don't think she did.”, he clarified.

“Oh….” Tanjiro's voice was barely a whisper, that even inosuke sat straight checking if he's alright.

“Is there something else we can do, tanjiro kun? You look upset.”

“No no…it's fine. I was just trying to deliver a letter to rengoku san's love—”

“Rengoku san? Kanroji san’s master ain't it?” Tanaka spoke before tanjiro could finish his sentence.

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god? The one whom rengoku san loves was y/n?”

“You guys know her?” Hope shined bright in tanjiro's eyes. So did a fervent fear. Fear of disappointment. Fear of not being able to pay his debts. Fear of not fulfilling rengoku san's last wish.

“We didn't know about her name but kanroji san used to tell us about her…isn't it shimi san?” The guy turned to his wife with a fuzzy smile on his face.

“Yeah, she seemed so happy, wanting to have a love like them.” Said the wife.

And for the first time till now tanjiro wasn't let down. “Really? Did she lived in tokyo? Rengoku san's crow said he saw her for the first time during a mission.”

“A mission? No.” The wife let out a chuckle, “it started way before that. Kanroji san said….. ”

“Ahh! Master! Can we please have a break! I'm tired from hitting the sword, my limbs are sore.” Mitsuri cried barely holding another strike from her master.

“Haha you got tired this fast, we haven't even started.” the blazing hair resembling fire, moved swiftly as the guy attempted another strike on mitsuri, but thanks to a call outside, he stopped midway.

“Wait a bit, I will be back in a while.” Said kyojuro rengoku, her master. ‘i will be happy if you don't come back for a while.’ she thought as she collapsed on her knees, to exhausted to move.

“Ahh senjuro kun! Bring me some snacks please!!!” She shouted hoping for the little kid to hear.

A bit later, rengoku comes back. Senjuro looked at his elder brother, frowning while holding a letter. Mitsuri sat beside senjuro, who brought her some onigiris.

“What's that master?” She asked, stuffing another onigiri in her mouth.

“Even I'm confused. It's a letter but it wasn't delivered by a kasugai crow but by a postman.”

“Huh? Maybe it's from some neighbour wanting to lower your voice while eating.” Senjuro said shrugged off his shoulders as mitsuri suppress her laugh bubbling on her throat, almost choking on rice. It wasn't an irregular thing that neighbors anonymously complained about kyojuro shouting ‘umai’ every time he ate.

“Open it.” Said senjuro, curious what type of sarcastic words they might have chosen now.

Kyojuro did as his little brother requested. However kyojuro didn't reacted after reading the letter.

“Today's practice is over. You can relax.” He, then ordered senjuro to boil him some bathwater, shooing him away.

Senjuro obeyed his brother, while mitsuri felt kinda odd, yet she was happy to have a day off.

As soon as both of them left the backyard, rengoku blushed like crazy. The letter was still in his hand as he tried to digest the words.

“A love lett—” a big palm shut mitsuri’s mouth, preventing her from shouting. Yet she was squealing. “I thought you left! You've gotten quite quick in sly footing didn't ya? I'm impressed.” He finally removed his hand from mitsuri's mouth.

“Ofcourse you made me practice for 23 hours without sleep. Anyways, what's written in that?”

“Do you want me to make you practice for 2 days straight?”

“Naah I'm fine! But master, I'm happy.”

“Okay.”

“And curious too. Please let me read it.”

“No!”

After shooing mitsuri out of the backyard he tucked the letter in his sleeves. This letter was sure weird.

“Rengoku san thought that she didn't read the letter, but she had a strong memory and could remember each word after seeing it once. She was so excited telling us about that.” said the wife, looking outside the window at the moon.

The flame of the lantern flickered a bit. “So that might mean that the letter should be among those papers…”

“Woah zenitsu! I thought you were asleep?!”

“How am I supposed to sleep if you're talking that loudly idiot!”

Yeah the paper. There were a lot of papers. Some were smudged and unreadable, so they didn't read all of them. Tanjiro went over their cupboard and brought the bunch of papers.

“Can you identify the letter among them?” He asked the guy to inspect. The couple looked at each other. “Maybe we can try but the writings aren't clear.”

“Please if you can. I need to deliver that letter.” tanjiro bowed his head down begging to the couple.

“You're a nice kid, Tanjiro kun. We will surely help you.”

It's been more than twenty minutes since they are reading each and every paper. Inosuke got bored and slept on the tatami mats. Nezuko was already asleep so they didn't wanted to bother her.

“Yeah maybe this one. From what Kanroji san had explained, this seems to be the one.” The guy tanaka handed the delicate piece of paper to tanjiro.

“However, in each of these letters, she referred herself as his wife…I didn't know he was married…?”

“Huh?” Tanjiro frowned upon the man's words. ‘what?’ he checked the letters again. And the guy was right, y/n did refer herself as his wife. They didn't read the papers as carefully since they were long, they just assumed she was his lover. But rengoku san wasn't the one to hide such crucial information.

Tanjiro was confused, they were so focused on finding the address of y/n that they ignored reading the letters, which could provide information about her.

Tanjiro spent the entire night reading each word carefully. Fingers running across elegant handwriting and smudged ink. As he kept reading those with a pain in his heart. There were in total 7 of those letters, which were written to rengoku. And the one which tanjiro kept seemingly in care— the sealed one; one which has a strong smell of rengoku’s aura; one with tear stains.

The couple spent the night in their house and left the next morning after breakfast.

This helped but not that much. However the path had become clearer.

He knew that the girl was from a nice family who had hands in education from the curves in each characters of her words.

Second, she had mentioned that he had saved her and her friends from a fire, in yokaichi.

“I'm leaving for yokaichi.” Said tanjiro during breakfast.

“Eh? Oni- chan?”

“Don't worry nezuko, oni-chan will be back soon.”

“I will also go!” Said inosuke, “inosuke-sama will protect kamaboko gonpachiro, his minon from any harm.”

Tanjiro chuckled at how inosuke shows his care for him, “fine then.”

“Zenitsu san you also go with them…”

“Ehh, but nezuko chan won't you be lonely without me? I know you will be lonely without m—”

“I won't. You guys will be back soon. Till then I will be at butterfly mansion.”

“B-but nezuko channn!!!!” Inosuke dragged him away as nezuko watched the poor soul. She felt bad but she wanted him to be with her brother. She just felt that the three of them should go together.

The three of them finally reached yokaichi town. It was small but quite dense in population. Tanjiro felt that this was an advantage for them since they stories and folks might spread fast in a vast social surroundings.

“Inosuke, zenitsu let's ask the older citizens first, since they might be living here for a while, they must have known about any fire incidents.”

“I was about to say the same thing as you.” Snorted the board masked guy rushing off in the east direction. Zenitsu simply nodded and went in the opposite direction, sulking. He has been giving tanjiro silent treatment since he had to leave nezuko alone.

Tanjiro sighed as he started finding old citizens nearby asking about a fire incident.

After asking a few of them, he sighed, it didn't really do any help, since many weren't able to hear and some weren't able to remember. When he asked the youngsters, they ran away seeing his old crippled hand.

Tanjiro, let down, returned to the spot where they had started searching. Inosuke was already there tapping his feet as he was waiting for the others.

“Did you find anything?” Asked tanjiro.

“Nahh! They were mere cowards. Running way from me. Though I liked it! Everyone should fear the great inosuke sama.” As expected from inosuke, zenitsu was yet to return. Both of them decided to wait till he comes back.

After a while, zenitsu came back. His sulking still hasn't tailed off. “Ahh zenitsu! Did you find anything? You took so long!!”

Zenitsu didn't reply.

He stared at him with dead eyes.

Oh god! Zenitsu’s moody phases are the worst, especially if it's an urgent task. The whining and sulking from a few years ago flashed in front of tanjiro’s eyes.

“You turned mute or what?” said inosuke, already having enough of zenitsu’s tantrums.

But the only reply that came from the blonde was an eye roll. Inosuke got pissed, ready to throw hands at him if not stopped by tanjiro.

“Zenitsu, I will get nezuko chan make sweet washagis for you when we get back home.”

“Really!! You better do that. I can't even explain how much I've missed my dear wife nezuko chan. She must be so lonely without me.” Babbled zenitsu, finally speaking for the first time till they left home.

“She won't.”

“Stop making snarky comments you stupid boar head. What do you even know about pure love between me and nezuko chan?!!!”

“Ahh zenitsu! Did you get to know anything?”

Zenitsu considered tanjiro a while, before giving in, “At the very west of this town, there's an inn. People said it almost burned down about four years ago…I looked for its owner but they said he will be back late.”

Tanjiro let out a breath. If that's the case, then the owner might remember the incident clearly. If only he could provide any useful information.

“Btw do you really believe whoever this y/n is…she's still alive?” Zenitsu scratched the back of his neck, shooing away the mosquitos ready to feed upon his blood. It's been long three of them are waiting in front of the inn for its owner to arrive.

“Let's just not lose hope.” The inn did looked like it suffered severe consequences from whatever happened 4 years ago. Most of it has been repaired but the aura and the smell can still be recognised. There are still some wooden planks with burn marks which are yet to be repaired.

“May I ask who you three are?”

A chilly voice turned their attention. There stood a thin, frail boy, barely an adult. His eyes were small with hair falling down on his brows. He speculated about them with a suspicious look in his eyes(especially on the boat masked guy). Was he the owner? He looked too young for that.

“Ahh good evening! I'm tan—”

“If you're wanting to stay the night, go somewhere else, I'm not opening the inn today.” He replied coldly before tanjiro could even introduce himself.

“Ahh no, you're misunderstanding…. actually we are here to ask you something about the incident four years ago…”

The look on the boy’s face changed from suspicion to disgust.

“Well…I don't wanna talk about it. You guys can leave.”

“No please, at least hear our questions. It's really important.”

“As if I care.”

“Hey fucker! If you don't answer I'll break each and every bone in your body.”

“Stop it inosuke!” This isn't going any better. It's almost night, they also need to find a place to stay.

“tanjiro can you move aside a bit” said zenitsu, without waiting for his reply, he went to the kid. Apparently he whispered something in his ears which seemed to have creeped the guy out.

Tanjiro gulped. He must be desperate to go home and see nezuko. Sometimes he forgets that their coward friend can be hell scary when it comes to nezuko.

“Okay. He's ready to spill anything he knows.” The look on the kids face made it clear he didn't wanted to recall anything about that incident. However tanjiro had no choice but to push him off the edge.

“Hey I'm sorry if we're causing you any trouble, but you know we really need to know anything you know about a girl named y/n.”

“Y/n?”

“Yeah. Heard it before?”

“No. There were none with this name.”

“Eh? Can you try to recall. There must be someone. A girl who was saved by rengoku san. A guy whose hair was similar to fire.”

“Kyojuro rengoku you mean? He pretty much saved everyone. The inn you see here, is small. Before the incident also it was small and not that popular. Only a few people stayed here occasionally. So I can be sure there was no one named y/n.”

An ‘oh’ is just what tanjiro could manage. The boy got inside the house behind the inn. The night fell and they were still in the same position as before.

Inosuke was throwing tantrums in hunger, so they decided to go to an udon shop nearby. Perhaps they should not lose hope. Thinking empty stomach is not always the best option. This they were sitting in the shop waiting for their order to come.

“But she did mention in those letters that she was saved by him. How come the owner doesn't know anything about that?”

“I already told you we should have broken his bones, monjiro.”

“I think it's useless, let's just go back home to my nezuko chan.”

“Zenitsu! What if you were in place of rengoku san? Would you be happy if your last words don't reach nezuko?” zenitsu went silent at that.

They stayed silent till three bowls of hot udon were placed infront of them. Tanjiro and zenitsu thanked the server for the food whereas inosuke just shoved his head into the hot udon bowl. “You guys seem a bit tense, is everything okay? Asked the old man, the owner of the udon restaurant.

“Yeah we're just a bit disappointed.” Said tanjiro. “Haha and why so? Got rejected by a girl? Can't blame her, it's your hand.” The old man pointed at tanjiro's crippled hand. “What happened that's it's such in a bad condition?”

“Oh! It's…from…from a fight.” Tanjiro smiled, it's hard to offend him anyway,“ i already have a fiance and we are getting married soon.”

“Oh my god! Please forgive my mean words then. I wish you both happiness.”

“Thank you.”

“Then why pull a sad face. My udon tastes the best when you eat it with a good mood, ya know?!”

“Haha, I'm sure it will still taste good. Actually we were here wanting to acquire some information about the fire incident 4 years ago.”

“Oh that was such a bad one. If there wasn't that guy everyone would have lost their life…”

“Rengoku san? You mean?” Tanjiro's eyes perked up. “I see, you know kyojuro. Yeah, that boy was a regular in my shop. Although it's been more than three years since he last visited, i wonder how he's doing? Tell him to visit once, the old man misses him.” the man bursted in laughter while the three of them couldn't even managed to smile even once.

How are they even supposed to tell him, tell him that, “rengoku san died three years ago while saving us from…” zenitsu's voice trailed down into nothingness. So did the old man's. They didn't knew if he's aware about demons so they didn't exaggerated it anymore.

No one spoke for a while.

“I see. What did you guys want to know then? I'm sure you were close to him if he gave up on his life for you all…”

“do you know anyone named y/n? I need to deliver this letter to her.” tanjiro took out the yellow stained letter and handed it to the old man, who squinted his eyes on the writings, drawing a wrinkled finger tracing it's shapes.

“Y…y/n…..yeah she asked me to send some letters to his residence. The kid was young and beautiful.” he returned the letter back to tanjiro.

“She did?!”

“Yeah…that kid almost begged me to not tell kyojuro anything about that.”

The three of them looked at each other. “Can you tell us more about her?” “Do you know where she lives?” “Can I get a refill?” The three of them threw questions at the old man's face, whose lips creaked a bit. “Hmm, I don't know where she lives but I can tell you about her.” He said taking inosuke’s bowl to the counter for another refill.

The restaurant was almost empty so they went and sat on the round seats opposite of the counter.

“It was about four years ago when she appeared in my shop after kyojuro left….”

“umm excuse me…” you said

“Yeah young lady, what would you prefer?” asked the owner pointing at the chart hung on the wall which displayed all the items on the menu.

“I will take a hot tempura udon please.” said the girl beside you.

“And you miss?” The owner directed the question towards you. “Umm I will take anything you prefer.” “Ehh is that so? Fine, I'll make you the tastiest bowl of my special udon.”

“Just tell already…!” The girl beside you whispered into your ear, which was audible to the owner, he chuckled a bit. “Can you shut up….!!”

“I will if you say it…!”

“Okay fine!”

“Umm…if you don't mind, is there any way you can ask the address of the man who just left a while ago?” you asked hesitantly, fiddling with your fingers.

“Kyojuro you mean? I already know his residence, he made me deliver udon to his place before.” the owner said trying to keep his composure, young kids are just so bold nowadays.

“Is that so?” your eyes shined dreamily.

“Why harbored a crush on the man you saw a few mins ago? Hahaha!!” you felt blood rush to your cheeks as you couldn't find words to answer his question.

“She wants to thank him for saving her.” said the girl beside you. “Atsuko!” Atsuko just gave a smirk, ignoring how she threw you in such humiliation.

“Ah…if you don't mind then can you please deliver this letter to him anonymously. Don't tell him I asked you to send it. Please…I can pay you for that..”

“I don't need any payment. I will do that. You can just come and enjoy my special udon sometimes.” the owner accepted the letter from your hands, tucking it in his sleeves. “And maybe watch that man you talked about…he comes here around weekends.” The man hinted you the place which kyojuro normal has his lunch. And if you weren't blushing any harder, you felt your entire face burn with embarrassment. But you want to do it anyway.

Atsuko giggled beside you excited to see what happens next.

“So you delivered the letters in her stead?” asked zenitsu.

“Yeah…she kept coming back with letters for a good six months, if i remember correctly. Maybe kyojuro replied to them…”

It fell silent for a while. The only sound echoing was of inosuke slurping on the noodles.

“So, while you delivered letters rengoku san didn't knew her?” The guy with red eyes pointed the question at the owner.

“No i don't think so, she never came when he used to visit, that is, the weekends.”

“Can you tell us what was the name of her friend again?”

“Atsuko…if I remember correctly..”

“Can you describe how she looked?”

“Ehh? I can't really remember people's faces clearly, but she was very beautiful, big eyes with a nice soft skin. Her hair was long and dark. She had a soft voice. She looked like she belonged from a privileged family. So did her friend.”

“Oh is there anything specific you remember about her?”

“Hmm…let me think…if I'm not wrong rengoku once mentioned her name to a boy who tagged along with him. If you go to him i believe he could provide you some answers.”

“Really? Who was he?”

“His name was….daisuke I guess. He used to wear a similar black sort of uniform like kyojuro.”

After finishing their meal, tanjiro payed for everyone and thanked the old man for all that information. They went to a nearby inn and spent the night.

Tanjiro wrote some letters updating each one of their current status. And he sent a crow to kiriya requesting him to take a look if there's any former slayer named Daisuke and used to frequent his missions with rengoku.

The next day around afternoon, tennoji returned from ubuyashiki's. He said there was indeed a slayer named Daisuke. He had suffered severe injuries from the war and now lives in his village.

As directed by tennoji, tanjiro's crow, they went to the south east from their current position. After two days and one night of sleeping in the jungle without the fear of demons, a village appeared. It wasn't that populated. After asking a few kids, they showed the path which led to Daisuke’s hut.

“Umm excuse me? Daisuke san?”

“Yes, wh— ta…tanjiro….aren't you tanjiro?” the guy said, he was blind from one eye similar to tanjiro, with a missing arm and a limp leg. Tanjiro felt sorry for him.

“Yes, they are inosuke and zenitsu. Sorry for being a bother….”

“Oh no please come inside. I will get tea for you…” he said excited.

“Oh, you don't have to. It's fine. Actually we wanted to ask something….”

“Yeah? Please come in. I will surely help you as much as possible.”

They entered the hut and sat on the tatami mats. Even after pleading not to bring any snacks, Daisuke brought some rice crackers for them.

“Please have them.”

“You didn't have to.”

“Oh it's nothing. Now what did you wanted to ask about?”

“It's about y/n.” Tanjiro said as the rest simply focused on rice crackers. A hint of familiarity glistened in Daisuke's eyes. “Y/n? You mean the one rengoku san was madly in love with?”

Madly in love with? Tanjiro felt a pinch in his heart. Rengoku san must have adored you. The sealed letter had tear stains. Did rengoku cried while writing that?

“Ah…yeah…I need to deliver this letter to y/n but I don't know where she lives. Did rengoku san ever mentioned where she lived?”

“A letter? Why sent a letter when he was so adamant about that?”

“Adamant?”

“Yeah…he said that the pages limited his words to her. He was so desperate wanting to see her that he spent like 2 weeks searching for her without taking rest after his missions.”

“Seriously? So how are you supposed to recover from those injuries?” Daisuke said to his senior with an exasperated expression.

“It will heal when I get to see her face.” Said rengoku, bandaging the cut from a demon's blood arts whom he just killed.

“You're gonna exhaust yourself from build up fatigue.” The sun rays kissed the soil painted in crimson from the shedded blood.

“I will be fine. You go and take rest.”

“I can't believe you're going to find the creepy girl sending you creepy letters claiming herself as your wife.” Daisuke let you a sigh at rengoku's stubborness.

“In that case I gotta meet my wife.” Rengoku's laughter echoed among the vast field.

It still echoed in Daisuke's memories.

“So rengoku wasn't married…?”

“Naah. Honestly I think, after rengoku san’s mother died, he had faced severe neglect from his father. He was the oldest son of the family, so he had to be strong for his sibling. But sometimes we forget, even the strong needs someone to back for them. Even they need some kind words to let go all their tiredness and have a tight sleep. Even they need someone who assured them that they have a bright future…”

That's right. Tanjiro had seen how shinjuro, rengoku san's father, disrespected his sacrifice. He was so lost and depressed in his wife's loss that he forgot about the ones who need the most care— his kids.

Daisuke continued, “when the letter came from y/n, rengoku san must have read comforting words for the first time since that. He used to reread those letters a thousand times when he was free. Sometimes I wondered if he ever got bored doing that…but I knew he didn't. A starved man will eat anything. And I knew he was emotionally starving.”

Zenitsu and inosuke stopped eating rice crackers. Rengoku's death solely hurted them as much as it did to tanjiro, but they never thought it was that deep. That it was something beyond his life as a demon slayer.

Zenitsu could relate. After all he was an orphan. And rengoku was too, being in a situation similar to him, where his only parent was emotionally unavailable for him. He felt sorry for him.

No one dared to say anything. The silence was piercing their hearts like splinters of iron.

“Fun fact was that he did find her,” Daisuke chorted a bit before continuing, “and he literally begged her to marry him…”

Rengoku searched from cabin to cabin in the steam train. In the last letter you mentioned you were going to aomori to visit your relatives by train.

After a bit of negotiation he learned that there was only one train which was going to stop at aomori. This is how he ended up buying tickets at the last moment getting in the train, to find you.

He hasn't seen you before. He wondered how you would look. Even more beautiful and kind than your letters. Even more beautiful than the slight hooks of the curved kanjis you had written his name. Even more beautiful than the blazing sun.

He had checked almost the entire train. The content smile on his face has now thinned into pursed lips. He was nervous. What if he fails to find you? What if he never gets to find you? What if he never gets to see your face?

What if he didn't recognise you?

He flashed all the passengers in his head before lowering his head. None of them carried the same demeanor your letters did. He couldn't imagine any one of them being you.

He entered the last cabin. It was empty. However this cabin seemed a bit different. It had a narrow passage on the right with doors while the opposite side had small rooms. It seemed private. One previously booked by someone.

Rengoku turned back to return to his cabin when the door beside him shot open.

Inside was a girl, who seemed to have frozen for a while.

“Y/n?”

The girl’s eyes widened at the name which left rengoku's lips. She shut the door close, but it didn't closed, something was blocking it. The girl looked down, realizing rengoku had slipped his feet in to prevent her from doing that.

He barged the door open. “Y/n right?”

The girl remained silent for some time.

“I apologize to you with all my might rengoku san. Please forgive my intrusiveness.” you said, lowering your head, nervous at the sudden appearance of him.

“God you're even more beautiful than I thought…” you shoot your head up only to see him looking with such dreamy eyes at you as if you're the only thing he's ever wanted to look at. And it made your stomach churn. Guilt rushed in each of your veins.

“Rengoku san, i shouldn't have wrote those letters to you.” You say. Your friend had warned you before. You didn't listen.

“Why?” He took a step closer.

You gulped before answering,“i wrote nonsense, pretending to be your wife I'm very sorry yo—”

“Then don't pretend anymore.”

“Huh?”

“Be my wife.” Rengoku suggested. His face now inches away from yours.

“And then she ran away?” Said daisuke, barely containing his laugh.

“Yeah…did I do something wrong?” Rengoku said with visible confusion plastered on his face. It was rare to see any expression other than his smiling face.

“Of course she would run away.”

“and why so?”

“Rengoku san, a girl thinks about her future first after marriage. She knows nothing about you.”

“But she wrote me lett—”

“Which you didn't answered….since you thought you couldn't fit your words in papers.” Rengoku couldn't say anything in his defense. It was true rengoku never replied to any of your letters. When he received the first one he thought someone was pranking him. But then the letters came continuously, one each month. He slowly fell in love with those. He fell in love with your letters. And somehow, he fell in love with you.

“Then what do I do?”

“Be honest, tell her about your salary and your job, tel her you can take care of her needs.”

“Yeah? Kk I'm going then…”

Rengoku stood at the aomori station waiting for you to get on the train for your return. Upon spotting you, he called out for you. The train had a delay and he had a good 1 hour to make things clear.

“Eh? R-rengoku san!”

“I work in demon slayer corps. And currently I'm in the highest rank which is kinoe. I get a decent salary of 42,500 yen. I live with my younger brother and father. My mother died a few years ago from illness. I spend my day training, slaying demons and rereading your letters,” guilt rushed through your veins again. “I promise, I will fulfill all your needs and treat you like my queen.”

“rengoku san...”

“sorry i didn't replied to any of those, I just couldn't express myself much in writing. If possible I would like to crawl into a hole. However you don't need to worry. I will make sure that I keep you happy.”

You frowned at his words, unable to explain him. How could you do that to him?

“Y/n san, let's make the words on the letters true. Let's be husband and wife. I know that I work in an organization that isn't approved by governm—”

“Rengoku san, shall we walk while talking? We are blocking the road.” you change the topic, not wanting to talk about it.

“Sure.”

Rengoku continued telling you everything…everything about him. From his childhood till his mother's death. From his father's neglect, to his way up to kinoe, from his sword to the number of demons he slayed. You didn't believe in demons before, but now that rengoku tells you about this, demon folks is something you want to believe. You wanted to believe in everything he said. Even if he's telling the dumbest thing, far from reality, you wanted to believe it.

“Y/n san! Look here!” You turn back to rengoku.

Click.

“And did she said yes?”

“Maybe. He didn't mention her answer. He was so happy that finally he met her.”

“You must have seen her then…can you tell us how she looked?”

“I think I might have a photo of her. Rengoku san, asked to recieve a photo delivery, since he had a mission from the previous oyakata sama.” Daisuke got up limping to the one of the backrooms of his hut. He returned a few minutes later, handling a black and white photo to tanjiro.

Inosuke and zenitsu peeped from the sides to take a look at the long awaited moment, when they finally get to see y/n.

The photo was black and white, but tanjiro felt it was still colorful to rengoku san. In the photo there was a girl, young, with long beautiful hair, in a loose braid. She wore a flower hair ornament, which must have shone in gold back then. She was just how the udon owner described her, big doe eyes, pretty mouth, she looked educated. She was dressed in a floral patterned kimono. Zenitsu wondered what sort of colour the kimono would have been. He wondered if he could get a similar one for nezuko as a souvenir.

The girl was beautiful. Inosuke thought, she had similar smile to shinobu, he wondered if his mom’s smile was like that.

The girl's reflection reflected in several mirrors behind her, and one of the mirror had caught the reflection of the one clicking the photo— kyojuro rengoku.

“The last I heard from rengoku san, he said she wanted to meet him before taking the mugen train mission. He seemed happy, maybe she agreed eventually to marry him….if only he didn't…” Daisuke didn't finished the sentence, considering his surroundings.

They sit in deafening silence for a bit.

A bit later tanjiro thanked Daisuke for the rice crackers and his help. He asked if it were okay to take the photo with him. Daisuke had no problem with that. After bidding farewell they continued their journey, unsure what to do next.

After two days of staying at an inn, cluelessly with no idea how to find y/n, inosuke suggests to go to the station from where they got on mugen train.

“If we go to that lord's land and ask the people over there and show this painting of this long haired girl, then some might recognize her.” He had said.

“First of all that's a train station, second it's a photo. How can you still be the same stupid even after 3 years?” zenitsu cringed hard.

“wha—”

“Inosuke’s right zenitsu, we should go there and ask the people over there.” tanjiro said halting the cat and mouse fight which was about to start between the two.

Daisuke had said rengoku was about to meet her before the mission, which means before getting on the mugen train. Even if it is difficult, some locals must have seen even one glance of her.

The next morning, as per inosuke's idea, three of them left for the station.

“Umm excuse me…” said tanjiro, forwarding the photo in front of the local he stopped on his way, “can you tell me if you've seen this girl?”

The man gave a disgusted look at tanjiro. “no I haven't.”

“Ehh? Are you sure you haven—”

“I don't have time for bullshit.” He went off ignoring tanjiro. Strange. People here are less friendly, some even get irritated if stopped on their way.

It's almost lunch time, zenitsu and inosuke had tried to stop the locals as tanjiro asked them about you. It was clear that this ain't ending soon. Especially when they've got nothing good in hand.

“Let's go buy something to eat.”

“YEAH! I'M HECK HUNGRY!!”

“I saw a kid wearing glasses, selling bentos…let's buy some then…she went in that direction.”

Upon seeing the kid, tanjiro asked her to give them three boxes of bentos. It seemed similar to the ones they had three years ago. The girl was about to leave after receiving her payment, but tanjiro's instinct told him to stop her.

“Wait!” The girl turned back to him as zenitsu and inosuke watched him, confused. Tanjiro put his hand inside the sleeves of yukata, taking out the only photo they had of you.

“Have you ever seen this girl around here?”

The girl squinted her eyes behind the round glass frames,“y/n san! Isn't she y/n san…”

Zenitsu’s eyes popped out, he wondered if tanjiro's a mind reader or something, how can he be so quick?

“Yes! You know her? Can you tell us where she lives?” Tanjiro asked desperately.

“She never mentioned that to us…” the girl said frowning her eyebrows.

“Oh…how did you know her then?”

“Well, a demon slayer who saved us three years ago, requested…”

You waited for kyojuro to come. The sun shone brightly above you. The empty roadway started getting crowdy. You've had enough.

“Y/n san. You wanted to see me?” kyojuro had become a hashira now, and amongst his tight schedule he barely had time for you. It's not like you were disappointed, but still…you and kyojuro often talked through phone booths, after you've suggested that casually one day while strolling with him. Last week when he called you, after what felt like years, you said you wanted to meet him soon. ‘fine meet me at the near hinakawa station, I will be waiting.’ he'd said.

Though it was you, waiting for him to come. You've felt distant from him. And you didn't like it.

“I ran away.” You announced looking in his honey drizzled eyes. Though you aren't sure if it were your overthinking but those eyes seemed a bit dull today.

Kyojuro didn't say anything, maybe confused how to interpret your words.

“my family's against us. And I'm against them. I left the old relations to form a new one. With whom I love. Let's get married.” You said taking his hand in yours.

Kyojuro said nothing but wrapped you in his arms. You hugged him tighter, never wanting to let go. “I'm not alone anymore.” He said before nuzzling his face on the crook of your neck.

Yes. You've always wanted to hear these words from his lips. You've wanted to let him know that he's not alone even when he thinks he is. You wanted him to know that there's someone who will always support him even if he's father thinks he has no talent. This was the reason you wrote him letters in first place. This was the reason you let yourself get tangled in a world far different from yours— in the world of kyojuro rengoku.

He left soon saying he will be back after completing a mission. He said he will send someone to you and asked you to wait for him till then. And you agreed gladly. About half an hour later a girl wearing round steel rimmed glasses along with her grandmother appeared.

“Y/n?” You nodded your head at them. “Rengoku sama asked us to keep you safe till he gets back. If you don't mind then you can come home with us.”

You got to know from the grandmother, how the rengokus had saved their lives two times. You've never seen kyojuro fight, but you knew he was hella strong. Still your heart sinks into your stomach whenever he mentions a mission. You've never encountered demons, once you didn't even believed in them, and now here you are nodding at each of those demon tales of the grandmother.

It didn't mattered anyway as long as he comes back safe. You have to wait for a while for him to comeback….after all you weren't done….you still had an important thing to say.

“Then?”

“Then days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the slayer never made its return. She left eventually, thanking us. We told her to wait for a while more…but she was too stubborn.” said the girl, fixing her specks again.

Tanjiro couldn't believe what he heard. Rengoku had so many things going on in his life. He had more priorities than him and his friends. Someone who was more important. Someone who left her entire family for him.

Yet.

And yet.

He chose to save them sacrificing himself.

He wondered if the you hate him now.

Zenitsu and inosuke were too stunned to speak. All of them were on the verge of crying. To think…that he couldn't return because of them. To think that they played a role in ruining you happiness. That he died saving them.

“She said she was going to asakusa at her friend’s house, named atsuko.”

Tanjiro bowed at the girl, he couldn't manage thanking her, since he knew if he draws one more breath trying to talk, he would break down right there.

The three of them took a train to asakusa after eating those bentos. They looked similar because rengoku had bought the same boxes from that bento girl 3 years ago.

Inosuke was oddly quiet inside the train. The other two also barely chatted before reaching their destination.

Tanjiro had visited asakusa before and he didn't liked that experience very much. Especially the narrow lanes. This time the city looked more developed than before. And it was more crowdy too. They made their way as the girl has previously informed, that atsuko works as a teacher in a big school for aristocrats.

Coincidentally, tanjiro found the same vendor from his last visit. Back then nezuko wasn't able to savor his ramens since she was a demon. He wished he brought her along. They ordered a steaming bowl of ramen, as the vendor was delighted seeing tanjiro again.

“Where that bamboo girl you carried along with you?”

“She's at home right now.”

“Don't give my wife stupid Nicknames.” ,shouted the blonde at the vendor. Tanjiro apologized in his stead as he kept fuming. “So why are you three here all of a sudden? It's been long ain't it?”

“Yeah we're looking for a girl named y/n. She has a friend who teaches in a big school named atsuko.”

“Y/n never heard that sort of peculiar name…”

“are there any big schools in this area, where aristocrats study?”

“Umm…there are a lot of big schools, you could go and ask at the library. There's only one library here and all the school students or teachers borrow books from there. They must know something about that.”

“Oh really! Thankyou very much.”

Without any further do, the three of them went to the public library after eating.

“Woah this is so big.” Tanjiro said.

“It has so many books shall I borrow some for nezuko chan” zenitsu got lost in his dream world. Inosuke was quite whenever he gets in a new environment with a lots of people, so tanjiro didn't bother checking at him.

However, inosuke tugged on tanjiro's yukata pointing at something with his boar mask tugged on his head. Tanjiro could see his eyes popping out.

“What happened tanji—” zenitsu choked on his spit. Tanjiro’s jaw dropped, his mouth open wide. Inosuke was pointing at a picture hung on the wall. Tanjiro took out the photo hurriedly from his sleeves.

There's no mistake. This was indeed the same girl. Underneath the painting was written ‘princess akiko’ in bold letters carved carefully on metal.

“But isn't her name y/n?” Said zenitsu. What's going on? Before tanjiro could say anything, a woman in her twenties bumped into them while rushing.

The photo slipped out from tanjiro’s fingers.

“I'm so sorr—” the women's words halted as she looked at the photo lying on the ground in front of her. She picked it up before tanjiro could.

“Where did you get this picture from?” She asked as if it were a taboo to have this.

“Ahh you know y/n?”

“Y/n?”

“She looks similar to the girl in that painting” the boy with the boar mask declared.

“For the hundredth time inosuke it's a photo.” said zenitsu.

“She doesn't looks like her. She is her. She is princess akiko. The youngest daughter of the imperial family.”

What?

Three of them couldn't believe their ears. “But her name is y/n…” whispered tanjiro in a low voice.

“Just who are you?” She looked at the picture carefully, as if hiding it from the world, “isn't this rengoku?”

“You know rengoku san?”

“That's the man who saved us from a fire incident in an old town. And then became the main reason of the storms in akiko’s life.”

Tanjiro's eyes widened at the mention of the fire incident “Are you atsuko?”

The women nodded, surprised they know her name. Tanjiro, then explained the whole matter.

“I see.”

“This isn't right akiko…you shouldn't have continued writing letters to him in first place.” Atsuko said trying to persuade her not to run away.

“I can't. I can't live here. They will never accept him. And I can't live without him.”

“Akiko, try to understand…rengoku loves y/n.”

“And i am y/n!” The sound of the rain pouring down increased.

“You are princess akiko. Y/n is just a fake name, you created to hide your real identity when decided to write him letters. I supported you then since i thought it was a one time thing.” Atsuko shook the girl's shoulders trying to bring her to the path she considered right.

“But I don't wanna be akiko. I wanna be y/n…y/n rengoku.” Tears fell from the eyes in front of her as sobs escaped her lips.

“You're playing with rengoku’s feelings. Even if you run away, how do you intend to tell him the truth? You can't pretend to be y/n your entire life akiko.”

The girl didn't answered atsuko. That day slowly came to an end along with the rain. And Akiko did run away to rengoku, away from her pointless life, being a puppet in her family's hands.

“She returned a month after she ran away. When I asked him about rengoku she said nothing. Soon her brother came and took her away.” Whispered atsuko in a voice so doleful, that it was clear, it hurted.

“Did rengoku san knew she was a princess?” Zenitsu asked.

“He probably didn't. Akiko's family arranged several politicians later to set her up but she caused such a ruckus that her family gave up at last.”

“Do you know where she is now…i need to deliver this letter to her.” Each word tasted like bile to him. He couldn't even imagine how miserable it had been. You literally rejected a crystal palace only to live a normal life with him. Which didn't even come true. How feverishly would it have hurt? How apathetic fate was…

“She lives in osaka, running an orphanage. You would find her there. Shall I get someone two drive you three over there?”

“That will be very thoughtful of you” said tanjiro.

Atsuko arranged a driver, who would drive them to the orphanage, they expect to find you in. The car ride was even more silent than the train one. Inosuke, even, didn't make any fuss seeing a car for the first time.

‘So this is where princess akiko lives.’ thought tanjiro. The building was similar to butterfly mansion, nothing that luxurious but quite spacious. The driver left soon after dropping them.

They crossed several corridors of children buzzing like bees. Laughter echoed among the hallways. How wonderful of a place for someone who lost their parents. Similar to them. They wondered if they would have grown up in this orphanage if they were born here.

Finally they reached to what seemed like an office. Similar to one shinobu used when researching herbs, the one which kanao uses now. They entered with a knock.

“Y/n san?”

Your head perked up at the name, which once your beloved used to refer. That beloved who never came.

Your heart ached a bit expecting kyojuro. A melancholic smile forms on your face seeing three kids infront of you. Of Course it wasn't him.

“yes?” you said gently, trying not to give in to your emotions.

But tanjiro could smell it. He smelled the intense grief bubbling within you. He could imagine how long you've bottled up your emotions.

Without saying much, he took the letter out of his sleeve placing it on your desk.

“It's been waiting for 3 years.”

“Huh?”

“Rengoku san wanted me to deliver this to you. Sorry this took so long.” your hands froze at his name. Your chest heaved without even you realizing as you grab the letter.

A single drop of tear fell on the spot which had been previously stained with tears. Tears of kyojuro rengoku.

Your fingers shaked tracing your name on the letter. The name which he used to call. Y/n not Akiko.

You teared the seal, taking out a paper. It was filled with words. Words, he never thought he could express on paper.

Dear y/n,

If you're reading this, then I'm sorry. I might have broken my promise of protecting you forever because by the time you read it— I will be dead.

Y/n i wanted to tell you, that I've loved you. I have loved you from the very beginning. Before even I saw you. You were the one who protected the flame in my heart. While others told me to set it ablaze, you made me learn how to keep the flame burning.

You were as beautiful to me as the rising sun. So bright, so clear. You were the epitome of my life. I wanted to live a peaceful life with you, in which my father let's go of his depression. In which your family accepts us. In which we don't have to hide from others. I wanted you to have my surname.

Your words were like the first rain of summer to me. You saved me from quenching my thirst by your words. I have been starved…. starved for so long that I forgot what being hungry for love feels like. Until you came into my life. you healed my heart, handled it as if it's porcelain.

I thought papers were something I would never choose to express myself with. But look at me now. Haha. I don't know why I'm writing it now, but I just feel like, the time’s soon going to be over. And I feel like I will be gone without seeing your face.

Please don't hate me for that.

If I get to spend my life with you I will probably burn this off, but if this letter somehow unfortunately finds you…I want you to know, I gave my best. I gave my very best to save the ones surrounding me. That I fullfilled my duty till the end. So don't feel sad.

I still can't believe you chose to love me. If possible I would like to meet you in another birth, in another universe without demons, where I will be yours, completely yours. You're the best thing that happened to me, y/n. You're just perfect.

But I must say….you’re dumb for choosing a man who bets his life for others, leaving the silver spoon you had in your mouth.

Sadly, our time was limited in this birth. Good bye princess akiko.

~ your kyojuro

The letter fell from your hands. Your lips quivering as you barely contained your tears, which stained the letter.

You just managed a smile at the kids who brought you this letter. He was no more. And you couldn't believe that. He knew you were Akiko not y/n. The truth you weren't able to tell him.

“I'm sorry for making this long. Rengoku san died saving us from a demon, 3 years ago” said tanjiro, tears staining his cheeks. So do the others, barely containing their emotions.

“oh! But i-im glad you all are safe. H-he fulfilled his duties right?”

“Does it hurts?” Tanjiro asked.

“A lot.” And if he wasn't seeing things, he saw rengoku for one second with a silly smile on his face, maybe wondering how to comfort you.

The second he blinked his eyes he was gone. What remained was his letter. Tanjiro handed the photo to you before leaving. He wondered if in another birth he gets to see the both of you reconcile.

He took a deep breath wanting to return to kanao. Maybe he would just ask her to marry him this year. He doesn't want to waste anymore time away from her.

“Where were you?” Asked zenitsu to inosuke, who went missing for a while. They are currently waiting for a train to go back home.

“To buy this.” Inosuke showed a butterfly hair pin decorated with blue crystals. It was beautiful.

“Woah. Who did you buy it for?”

“Aoi.” Tanjiro chuckled at his bluntness, while zenitsu smirked. It's funny how inosuke still gets both of their names incorrect but he never made a mistake in saying aoi’s name correctly. Who knows they might have two weddings…

Now that tanjiro had finally payed off the debt, he wished you happiness as he looked forward to a happier future. He will remember you, not as princess akiko, but as y/n.

“Let's go! I can't wait to see nezuko!!”

“Zenitsu watch out your way!!”

© strawberrymochin 24 | plagiarism won't be tolerated | comments are reblogs are appreciated | banners are by me |

[misanthropologymajor]

to boldly go...

this is so based on my current tng watch and crippling addiction to cod fanfic of all things

Science Officer!f! Reader x Bridge Crew! 141

Star Trek: TNG AU (pt. 1?)

Human! Price- Captain of the Enterprise 

Human!Gaz- helmsman/operations officer (liutenant)

Klingon!Ghost- security-officer-turned-first-officer (lieutenant commander)

Betazoid!Soap- new security officer (lieutenant)

Half Vulcan!Reader- sciences officer (lieutenant junior-grade), [giving them various nicknames because (y/n) feels clunky]

wc: 4k

warnings: rearrangement of rank (Starfleet doesn't have enlisted officers & the equivalent ranks would not be bridge officers), reader is the youngest but the other ages aren't mentioned, abduction, Ghost was raised by humans in a Worf-analogue-situation, (Ghost's parents were killed in a Romulan attack), slowburn, no smut, written before i started playing mwii

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before!

As the turbo-lift doors opened, the familiar sounds of the Bridge Crew's squabbles filled the ears of the newest Chief Science Officer.

"Cap', 're you sure that MacTavish can actually read the Ferengi from this distance? I wouldn't put it past 'im to just wanna stir sumthin' up."

"Ghost, ye know damn well I wouldn' lie abou' somethin' like that."

Quietly walking to her station behind the caption's chair, the half-Vulcan began scanning the readings of the Ferengi ship. The Ferengi ship was peculiarly small and old-fashioned- at least a century old.

"Gaz, can you take us closer? One third Impulse, please." At Gaz's affirmation, Captain Price stood from his chair and walked towards the monitor at the front of the bridge. "Junior-grade, how many life signs can you read."

She startled, looking up from the inlaid monitor. "Only two, sir. It's a small ship, though there should be room for around thirty crew." Her gaze followed Price's to the front monitor, where she saw the short loop of Ferengi video broadcast. Both Ferengi men's large ears and prominent brow ridges glistened with sweat.

Gaz looked up from his controls. "Captain, the broadcast isn't coming from this ship."

"The distress beacon is, though. And the ship is definitely Ferengi." Ghost looked over Soap's shoulder to the security console.

"Price, be careful. We're getting close to the neutral zone." Gaz indicated to his monitor.

Price returned to the captain's seat, centered in the bridge. "Soap, keep scanning for other vessels. Ghost, hail the Ferengi ship."

"Price, they aren't receiving our hailing frequencies."

"Is anyone else thinking of Earthen anglerfish right about now?" the half-Vulcan mumbled. Then, louder- "They're down to just one life sign, Captain Price."

"They don' have shields up, Cap'n," Soap called from the security station. "I don't feel anything from the ship, either."

“Ghost, prepare an away team and get some protective gear. We’ll keep track and be ready to beam you back, but we need to know what’s happenin’ with that ship.”

“Gaz an’ the kid with me. Go get a compact medikit in case there’re any survivors, an' Gaz can tell us why it may 'ave stopped.”

As Gaz stood from his chair, the science officer rushed towards the turbo-lift, heading briskly down to the medbay. Swiftly getting the required supplies, she headed towards the transporter room, meeting with Gaz and Ghost.

"Three to beam to the co-ords Soap sent down." Ghost led the trio to the transporter bay, phaser in hand.

As they faded into shimmering white light, all three prepared themselves for the unknown of a seemingly empty Ferengi shuttle on the border of the Neutral Zone.

Following the briefest moment, they came back into awareness. Ghost was the first to reach full cognizance, the other two shortly following. The most immediately apparent thing was that the ship had not been abandoned by normal means. The cockpit was in disarray, and a trail of a mixture of unknown substances ended abruptly in the doorway.

At Ghost's indication of safety, the Vulcan activated the scientific tricorder to scan the trail. As the analysis loaded, she noted from the corner of their eye that both Gaz and Ghost tensed. Ghost's mask made the sudden lack of motion vividly unsettling. The tricorder loaded with a small chirp, indicating the presence of Ferengi and Romulan DNA. Abruptly, the shuttle lit up.

The ship began moving closer to the Neutral Zone. Soap's voice echoed from their communicators, "Wha' the hell are ye doin'? The Neutral Zone is right fuckin' there!"

"We're not trying to, Soap. I'm looking at the controls now." Gaz rushed to the lit-up console.

"Ghost, there's evidence Romulans here. We should get out of here, sir."

As the First Officer acknowledged the Science Officer, more words echoed from their communicator badges.

"Transport to away team, we've lost your location. There's some sort of interference." Tensions became palpable as the situation quickly devolved. Gaz frantically tried to turn the ship back towards the Enterprise. Ghost and the scientist worked on figuring out what left a Ferengi shuttle lost at the edge of the Neutral Zone.

Price's voice echoed through the ship, "Hold on, Away Team, reeling you in with our tractor beam." The ship jolted with the connection of the tractor beam, easing back towards Federation Territory.

Gaz began hitting the console, clearly frustrated by the lack of response from the equipment. "Ghost an' Cap, this shuttle isn't bein' controlled by this panel. This has gotta be a trap."

As two Humans, a Betazoid, a Klingon, and a half-Vulcan attempted to return the away team to the Enterprise, they were faced with a Romulan Warbird removing its cloaking device directly next to the Ferengi shuttle.

The Ferengi Shuttle was swiftly drawn in by the Warbird's tractor beam, half the distance from and twice the size of the Enterprise.

The science officer tapped the communicator on: "Sirs, this is not standard Romulan battle practices. Deception, yes, but blatant disregard for the Algeron Treaty? In just about two hundred years of conflict, they've never done anything like this."

"When did you become an expert on Romulan politics, Junior-grade?"

"Not the time, Garrick," Ghost aimed his phaser at the door between the away team and the interior of the Romulan ship. The other two quickly followed suit.

As the interior of the Ferengi ship dimmed, the shuttle bay door of the Romulan Warbird opened up. The ship slowed into the bay, and the environmental system hissed. Gaz was the first to feel it, and Ghost was the last.

As Ghost fought to keep his eyes open, he heard the half-Vulcan mutter about "anesthizine."

Gaz woke in a cell, his phaser and communicator on the manned desk beyond the forcefields. A few cells across the circular brig, he could see the Ferengi from the broadcast in a shared cell, and to their right was Ghost. "Ghost, can you hear me? Are you able to see any way out?"

"Damn Romulans cuffed me an' took my fuckin' mask. The door out of the cells is to your left, the kid's to your right."

"I can hear you, Ghost," she frowned. "They have our comms and phasers, and there's no way they've kept us in Federation Territory. Cap's gonna need to get approval from Admiral Laswell to follow us."

"Soap won't like that," Gaz said, standing from the cot to get a better view of the space. "Junior-grade, you said this wasn't normal for Romulans. Do you think we're working with an extremist group?"

"Definitely. I was awake when they were cuffing Ghost. They weren't in standard issue Romulan Star Empire Uniforms, and there's some wacky mods to this Warbird."

Ghost cut in, "At least they wan' us alive. We'd be long gone if they didn't think we could do sumthin' for 'em."

"'Specially with their views on Klingons and Vulcans. Nasty blokes."

"Thanks for reminding us, Gaz." She pressed her hand to the force field, searching for the weak point she knew wasn't there. As they searched, the brig doors opened with a hiss.

Three Romulans walked in, bearing phaser rifles. The centered one spoke: "I had hoped the Federation would be stupid enough to send a ship into our territory. Imagine my delight when that little ship sends me some a Klivan, a Hevam, and a Yyiyao wrapped in a nice little bow." (Romulan derogatory terms for Klingon, Human, Vulcan)

"Oh, what a shock: the Rihansu is racist. Where the hell are we?" (Vulcan [and Romulan] for Romulan)

"Hold your tongue, Yyiyao. I haven't killed you yet, but my mercy has limits. You don't even know why you're here yet!"

"Who the hell are you?" Ghost stood up abruptly, startling the non-speaking Romulans.

"Now, the Klivan is asking the right question! Who am I? And why would I capture two Feh'rengsu, a Kilvan, a Hevam, and a Yyiyao?

They call me Commander Makarov, and I will free my people from the barriers of the Neutral Zone and the Federation altogether."

"And you think that will happen by kidnapping a First Officer, Flight Control Officer, and a Science Officer?" Gaz sat on the cot in the corner.

"I'm not that foolish. You're nothing more than bait, tempting your precious Federation into breaking its own rules."

"You can't seriously think our Captain is stupid enough to follow us withou' givin' proper notice?" Ghost questioned.

"Oh, Klivan. He's already following us," Makarov grinned.

"I still don't get why you're tellin' us this." Gaz laid further into the cot.

"Either he's gloating or he's trying to get something out of us, be that intel or our charming personalities." The half-Vulcan wrung her hands, silently pleading for the Enterprise to be careful and give the correct notice.

The Ferengi began tittering with each other, briefly pulling the attention from the Starfleet officers.

"You three were victims of circumstance. But these two-" Makarov sneered. "These two will not try to swindle the sword of the Romulan Empire again."

Makarov's men turned off the barrier to the Ferengi cell. Each grabbed one Ferengi man and dragged them out of the brig. Makarov left the brig, questions hanging in the air.

"What a total dick."

"Thought you were supposed to be too logical for needless profanity."

"My Vulcan father lost the debate that determined what planet I was raised on. Before the Acadamy, I went to an Earthen public school, Gaz."

"Fuckin' hell you two, not the time," Ghost chastised. "Gotta work out what that bastard wants from us."

"Could be they want to kickstart a war against the Federation, relations have been easing in the past few-" Gaz cut himself off as the doors opened.

Makarov stepped through into the brig. "How lucky was I to have Captain Jonathan Price's crew, led by the Ghost, stumble on the ship I hadn't gotten around to destroying yet."

"What've the Captain or I got to do with you?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember us, Klivan! Not after our grand impact on your childhood."

Ghost closed his eyes and took a deep breath, setting his jaw.

"Now you remember me. I'll fill your underlings in. I was just an Uhlan, aboard the Perseus. A Klingon traitor sent us the codes to Khitomer's security system. Your Ghost was the only survivor."

Ghost's history was not frequently discussed on the ship, but his presence as a Klingon in Starfleet command made it clear that his life was full of unusual circumstances.

"And on top of that, your Captain is the one who convinced my previous Commander, that ryakna, to abandon the honor of our great Empire."

"The Cap's peace negotiations under Laswell? Not letting another Federation ship blow you all up for your secret base in the Neutral Zone? That's what this is about?" Gaz looked incredulous.

"He should have defended the great Romulan Empire! Why should we listen to rules set by your Federation." Makarov sneered. "The might of our great fleet could have destroyed all the Federation sent after us."

As Makarov continued on about the power of the Romulan Empire, the science officer tuned out. She focused instead on attempting to work out a method for contacting Captain Price from what was likely at least an astronomical unit away. She'd already ruled out the possibility of accessing their communicator unit, cobbling a communicator out of their tricorder, and breaching access on the communicator of the Warbird.

"But what sweet revenge, taking the sole Klivan survivor and two other crew from that peacenik, your Captain Price. How poetic that you will start the empirical expansion my people have been deprived of. I will return for you when your Federation breaks their own rules."

As Makarov left the brig, a quiet tension fell over the officers.

Gaz was the first to break the silence. "Do you think the Cap would be mad enough to follow after without getting Laswell up to speed?"

"Will the Romulan contacts deem this an acceptable reaction from Price in the case that he is this mad?" They buried their face in their hands.

"It doesn't matter what Price does, so long as we get the fuck off this damn ship."

"Ghost, what he said about your parents-"

"Doesn't matter."

"I know it doesn't, but I just want you to know you're allowed to be angry about this even if you don't remember it."

"Interesting take, coming from the Vulcan," Gaz interrupted.

"Half Vulcan. Born and raised on Earth."

"Neither of you are helpin'. Migh' as well just wait for Price 'f you're gonna keep gettin' distracted." Ghost pressed his hands against the force field of his cell. As each officer sought out their cells' unlikely flaws, they listened for any sounds around them.

After what could have been anywhere between ten minutes and an hour of searching, a set of footsteps approached them.

"Your Captain has demanded proof of life from us. Your scientist is coming with me." A Romulan with a jagged scar running down his face entered the brig. He approached the center cell and bound their hands, escorting them out of the brig.

The half-Vulcan yanked her arm from the Romulan's hold. "I can walk myself." She then ignored Gaz's protests, hoping that they were unnecessary.

Following a long walk, she was escorted onto a dark bridge. The Enterprise Bridge was displayed on the large monitor in front of the room. Price was in his Captain's chair, Soap above and behind him at the security panel. Both sets of eyes gently lightened at their Junior-grade, visibly unharmed and still slightly fighting their escort.

"See, Captain, unharmed. The other two are in the same condition, but I couldn't just release all of them, you see." Makarov brushed his hand across her face, earning three sets of glares.

"Lieutenant, are you, Gaz, and Ghost okay?" Price ignored Makarov's assurance.

Before she could begin her sentence, Makarov grasped her by her chin. As she wrenched herself from his hands, he spoke. "You've seen she's alive. My patience wears thin."

Even with the distance, she could see Soap's knuckles grip his console. "We're not followin' ye into the fuckin' Neutral Zone without word from her. S'bad enough ye didn' let our First Officer up."

"When I got grabbed to come up, Gaz and Ghost were okay. I wouldn't trust-" Makarov's hand clamped over her mouth, cutting her off. She had to fight the urge to bite the bastard.

"I didn't bring her up here to give away all of my surprises. Return her to the brig." Makarov looked over his shoulder to the scarred Romulan, who had brought her up.

She fought damn near the entire way back down, leading to another Romulan joining her escort. While she knew it would be fruitless, doing nothing felt more wrong. She felt like she'd wasted any opportunity to formulate a plan with the Captain, and hadn't fought against their captor enough to be respectable. Would Soap judge her, or, worse, would Price?

She shook the thought from her mind just as she returned to the brig. They moved her to the cell previously occupied by the Ferengi, where she was now unable to see Ghost and considerably farther from Gaz. They left her hands bound, and one sat at the guard station.

Unwilling to risk giving intel to the guard, all three sat in relative silence once she confirmed that Price had been in contact.

Gaz was humming an old Earthen song she couldn't quite place. Every so often, she would sigh dramatically. Ghost was the only one to remain entirely silent.

After about an hour, the guard received three trays at the door and delivered one to each occupied cell. Each tray contained an unappetizing green biscuit and a small cup of a grey drink. She and Gaz each took a half-hearted bite; Ghost refused to even look at the tray.

The half-Vulcan stood from the tray without taking a second bite. Instead, she chose to lay in the cot and nap—what was the worst that could happen?

It seemed that the worst that could happen was the ship going into a red alert, their guard leaving them trapped as he went to a battle station. The emergency lights flashed, and she could understand almost every other word of a Romulan emergency alert.

The alert seemed to indicate that they were under attack not by the Federation but by another Romulan vessel. She rubbed her bleary eyes and stood up.

"Just our luck— someone's attacking, and it's not Price." She smacked at the force field holding her in the cell. She could hear Ghost attacking his barrier as well and could see Gaz beginning to do the same.

"How do you know it's not Cap?" Gaz paused his attack.

"The emergency alert specified something about a T'liss, a bird-of-prey. They'd have said ih'calear if they'd translated the Enterprise's class."

"Since when do you know Romulan?" Ghost's voice echoed from the cell to her right.

"It's really not too far of a leap from Vuhlkansu, Commander. I took a couple classes in it at the Academy."

The alarm continued to go off, and the half-Vulcan did her best not to fret. From the size difference alone, a bird-of-prey against a warbird shouldn't have even been a blip in the radar. She strained to hear about a d'deridex, another warbird, but the alert kept repeating that the combat was against a T'liss class vessel.

What would a separate Romulan general do if one found them in this brig? Would they seek to continue the relative peace with the Federation by releasing them back to the Enterprise, or would they decide that the three weren't worth their lives and kill them, or worse, send them to a Romulan prison?

"Junior-grade, I can feel you worrying through the damn wall. Price or Laswell'll come, stop your fuckin' panickin'." She snapped out of her anxious spiral, mumbling a bit of gratitude to her commanding officer.

It took nearly an hour before the alert stopped its loop. It took a further forty minutes for anyone to check the brig. None of them expected the familiar Romulan to be the one to walk through the door, followed by their previous guard.

"Nikolai, you were the bird-of-prey?" Gaz beamed. The negotiations between Nikolai, Price, and Laswell predated the half-Vulcan's time as a bridge officer, but she had seen him on the screen, briefly, as she'd taken some data from the bridge.

"Best ship I could get with little notice from Laswell. Heard my old sublieutenant was causing issues."

"Thought you'd finally gotten out of military work, Nik. How'd you get even a lil' thing like that?"

"I have friends everywhere, Ghost."

The scarred guard reluctantly opened each cell door and unbound the wrists of the Klingon and the half-Vulcan. Ghost didn't respond, but she rubbed her wrists before introducing herself to Nikolai. Ghost grabbed all of the confiscated equipment, taking it for his crew.

"Good to meet you. Let's get you all back to the Enterprise, where you belong." He escorted the trio to the vehicle bay, where a bird-of-prey waited. Nikolai took control of the ship and navigated it towards the Federation edge of the Neutral Zone.

"Why would Makarov release us to you?" The half-Vulcan couldn't keep from questioning.

"The daeus would never have approved of Makarov's methods. The only way his plan worked was if it flew under the radar that he had blatantly disregarded the treaty in a way that was so obvious to the Federation." Ghost cut in for Nikolai.

"Basically. Definitely helped that after I retired from military, I started working for a Senator who wants peace with your Federation."

The return to the border of the Neutral Zone felt much shorter despite taking nearly twice the time. They flew with easy conversations with Nikolai, who admonished any crew who even thought about engaging in distasteful behavior towards their guests.

As they neared the Enterprise, Gaz couldn't convince Nikolai to come aboard and visit with Price. While Ghost stayed out of the enticement, the science officer leaned on and encouraged Gaz.

"We've done enough stretching of Algeron Treaty. Your Enterprise nearly got a light-year in to the Neutral Zone before getting the sense to contact me."

The trio gave Nikolai their fond farewells, and Soap came over their communicators to organize their transport onto the Enterprise. After they shimmered onto the transporter pad, Soap and Price ushered all three to the medical bay.

After being medically cleared and cleaning up, the bridge crew sat down for dinner in the Captain's quarters. Price had yet to emerge with his contribution to the otherwise replicated meal.

"How did you know to get Nikolai involved?" Gaz sat across from Soap.

"Mate, d'you ken that Vulcans are telepathically inclined? Our scientist thought so loudly abou' Makarov's plan that I could hear it from the Enterprise. Turned our ass around and Laswell got in contact with Nik." Soap leaned to his left and ruffled her hair.

Pointed ears warming, she pushed Soap's hand away. "MacTavish, maybe you've just got massive range on your crazy Betazoid telepathy."

Soap persisted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Hen, I'd have heard the Lt. or Gaz if it was just that. You were loud an' clear from a light year away."

Price's door opened to the Captain, holding three bottles of wine. "I thought we all deserved somethin' a little stronger than synthehol after the shit we dealt with."

Ghost nodded from his position across from the half-Vulcan as Price took his seat between them at the head of the table. Price opened the wines, handing them out to each officer to fill their cup with their selected beverage.

The bridge crew ate with light chatter, deliberately avoiding the topic of the overly-Empirical Commander. There would be plenty of time to discuss the ambitious Romulan in the coming days.

The half-Vulcan struggled to ignore the touchy nature of the Betazoid to her left and the Captain's comforting touches on her hand. She focused on her meal and the First Officer across from her, not wanting the Betazoid to sense her flushed discomfort.

Ghost had never fully removed his mask in front of her before. She tried not to think about how ruggedly attractive he was, letting loose with his friends and her. Was she a friend now? Her line of thinking left her confused and slightly flustered, though she hoped it indicated that he at least thought of her as a friend. "Junior-grade, you've picked your drink up and sat it back down without taking a sip three times now. You can relax, luvvie."

Never in a million years would she have anticipated the First Officer using a pet name for her. She could have sworn her pointed ears were so warm that they were steaming, a flush spreading across her entire head. She choked on the sip she took to hide her embarrassment.

Soap patted her back to help her cough as Gaz gently admonished Ghost. "Our girl doesn't need that shit from you, Ghost." Ghost just laughed, seemingly in on the joke.

A stern "Boys!" from Price seemed to end the joke that the half-Vulcan was trapped outside of. The other three sat up straighter for the briefest of moments, playing into a joke.

After a more collective evening of conversation, the bridge crew each returned to their quarters. The half-Vulcan donned her sleep clothes and lay in bed, questioning the day's events. Her thoughts drifted between her Romulan abduction, the unaccounted-for Ferengi, and the dinner—what had Price meant when he called her "their girl?"

As the day drifted out, she imagined what strange new worlds they may encounter the next day.

Star Trek Guide (probably a little inaccurate, there's so much star trek in the world):

Klingons: humanoid warrior species with pronounced forehead ridges that go to about the coronal suture of the human skull. they often have long dark hair and distinctive facial hair- in essentially perpetual conflict with Romulans for the majority of the 23rd and 24th centuries

Betazoids: humanoid species with no physical differences from humans except for pure black irises. they have telepathy in both concrete thoughts and emotions

Vulcans: humanoid species that pride themselves on logic above all else. Many are capable of a form of telepathy known as a mind meld, which is part of the intimate life of Vulcans. They are closely related to Romulans. Both Vulcans and Romulans have upturned eyebrows and pointed ears. prior to 370 AD, Vulcans were very warlike. A philosopher at the time led the transformation of society from violence to logic (Spock is a notable half-human-half-Vulcan)

Romulans: humanoid species that prioritizes conquest, in conflict with the Federation and Klingons. as Vulcan evolved from violence to peace, some dissented and left the planet to settle on the other two planets in that star system. Romulans were born from the dissenting Vulcans and indigenous populations of the settled planets. Some Romulans also have brow ridges in a "V" on their foreheads, although others are indistinguishable from Vulcans.

Ferengi: humanoid species that prioritizes profit above all else, and are notorious for their misogyny.. typically hairless, with large skulls, disproportionately large ears and brow ridges, orange skin, blue fingernails, and sharp teeth. (yk what no matter how accurately you describe the Ferengi, it's difficult to picture them without a picture)

[peanut-tyrug]

Pink City AU: Hunt for the Boxman

Chapter 2 - Breaking Boundaries

The idol-hunting trio tries to find out how to reach the Pink City’s outer plane. Only along the way do they begin to break the fundamentals of their own lives and world’s rules…

—

NOTICE: This AU is partially based on my ideas/interpretation. If anything appears to be inaccurate, I apologize. I tried to work with what little I had to make smth. I also took a few artistic liberties.

Another thing: THE PINK CITY AND IT’S CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME!! IT BELONGS TO GOOSEWORX!! Some canon lore for The Pink City has also been implemented in this story. This is just an AU/story I made based on it. If you’d like to check out The Pink City series itself, check it out here!

—

TRIGGER WARNING: This fic contains flashbacks/callbacks to traumatic experiences, panicking, a split personality, mentions of drugs, grieving, mentions of rituals/speaking to the dead, organ removal, a cult, caps, and swearing. If you aren’t comfortable with these things, please don’t read this.

Hoonis, Elain, and Dento walk down the street, discussing what they could do to find the Elders… more so Dento and Hoonis are discussing it.

…Elain is too busy being stuck in her head…

She can’t help but think about meeting the Elders again…

…Don’t think about it…

“…Maybe some kind of ritual?” Hoonis suggests.

Dento shakes his head. He and Elain are committed to doing good and helping the general public, but not to the point that they’d sell their souls for it. They’re young and have lives to live.

“How about one of the ghost board things?” Hoonis suggests again.

Dento shakes his head. He’s heard those things are fake. They’re also for speaking to the dead, not unfathomable horrors that they aren’t capable enough to properly comprehend.

“A seance?”

Again, Dento shakes his head. Seances are also for speaking to the dead. It’s not what they need.

“Then what are we to do?” Hoonis asks.

Elain is snapped out of her head when she hears the question. She taps Hoonis’ shoulder.

Hoonis turns to face Elain. “Hm? Do you have something in mind?”

Elain nods. She then pretends to open a book. She looks to Hoonis, trying to see if he’ll get it.

“…A book?” Hoonis questions. “A— a library?”

Elain nods.

“…Hm.” Hoonis hums. “We could give it a shot. There could be something on these beings there, right?”

Elain nods.

As the trio walks, Dento checks his phone. He notices the time.

It’s 3:00 am.

They need sleep.

Dento taps Hoonis’ arm. Hoonis looks to Dento. “What is it?” He asks.

Dento shows Hoonis the time. His eyes widen in shock. “Oh! We need sleep!” Says Hoonis. “You two can head back to your apartment, if you want.”

Elain then taps her phone screen. Hoonis notices.

She wants his number.

Hoonis looks over to Elain. “You want my number? I’d be glad to give it to you! We can be more in touch!”

Elain nods. Hoonis and Elain exchange phone numbers. Dento does the same.

The trio then seperates, heading to their homes.

—

Elain sits her room, dressed and ready for bed.

Although, she isn’t really wanting to get in bed just yet. She’s texting Dento.

'You doing okay?' Dento asks.

'Yea' Elain responds.

'You sure?' Dento asks.

'Yes' Elain responds.

Think happy thoughts…

Doing good for the city, going out to the beach, getting boba with Dento…

…Dento…

…When you hurt, I hurt…

No. Stop thinking about all that.

You’ll be okay.

'Alr, let me know if you need anything' Says Dento.

'I will' Says Elain.

'Gn Elain' Says Dento.

'Gn to you too Den' Says Elain.

Elain sets her phone down and gets herself in bed. She sets her head down on her pillow and closes her eyes…

…Darkness…

…Peaceful, terrifying darkness…

It’s almost agonizing.

As Elain begins to drift off, she can’t help but hear something…

…Whispers…

…All too familiar whispers…

“JOIN THE CREED.”

“JOIN THE CREED.”

“JOIN THE CREED.”

They become more and more prominent.

She can’t see a thing.

She can only hear the whispers.

…Calling to her…

Elain jolts awake. Her breathing quickens. She sits in her bed, staring into the darkness.

…Oh, no…

It’s gonna be a long night…

Elain lies back down.

…Think happy thoughts… think happy things…

…Then it’ll all go away…

~~~

Hoonis lays in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling.

…He wonders how Bep is doing.

How she feels after that show…

…All of what she said…

…Darles wasn’t like that, was he? Hoonis refused to believe it…

…No way in hell was he an unloving father who wanted nothing to do with his own kids… a father who never supported his kids… a father who…

…Hoonis’ mind had trailed off.

…He could never help but think of his own father…

His unloving, uncaring father…

…No way in hell…

—

Hoonis slowly wakes up, blinking a bit. He rises up in his bed and stretches. He spots his phone and picks it up. It’s 12:00 pm. He decides to text Elain.

'Hi!' Hoonis texts. 'Are you ready for our adventure today?'

He waits a bit.

…No response.

Maybe she’s still asleep.

Hoonis exits his messages and stares at his Home Screen for a bit.

…He could give Bep a call.

He opens his contacts and taps the contact for Bep he had left there. He never deleted it.

His phone rings. He waits for an answer.

The ringing continues.

Keeps going…

Until it stops.

Bep didn’t pick up.

Hoonis sighs in disappointment… then his phone buzzes.

It’s a text. From Bep.

'Leave me alone' The text reads.

Hoonis stares at the text, full of guilt.

…He lays on his back and sighs before getting up.

—

It’s the next day.

Elain slept okay.

…Eventually.

She picks up her phone and looks at the time.

…It’s 2:00 pm.

She also sees texts from Dento.

'Hey' Says Dento. 'You gotta get up'

She also spots some texts from Hoonis.

'Hi!' Says Hoonis. ‘Are you ready for our adventure today?'

…Shit.

She overslept.

…It’s not really unusual for Elain. She’s not very good at being organized or having a routine.

Her eyes widen. She rushes out of bed, not even giving herself time to stretch. She smacks open her door, and hurries to prepare herself for the day.

After scurrying out of the bathroom, she heads back to her room and slaps her Bounty Hunting gear on and grabs her phone. After that, she almost slips into a small kitchen.

She stops.

She sees Dento sitting at the dining table. He had been waiting for her.

Along with some food he had cooked. He made breakfast.

Dento looks to his phone. He types.

Elain’s phone buzzes. A text from Dento.

'I heard all that noise' Reads the text. 'We aren’t really in a rush'

'Sry' Elain responds.

'You’re okay' Says Dento. 'Now eat. Don’t want your breakfast getting cold'

Elain sets herself down next to Dento. As she prepares to eat, Dento taps her shoulder. She looks over to him.

Dento looks to Elain and turns his head. Are you okay?

Elain thinks…

She nods.

Think happy thoughts. Happy things.

Dento nods back.

He almost feels as if he doesn’t need to ask her that as much as he does, since she’s so insistent that she’s okay.

However, that’s what friends do.

You keep an eye on each other.

They make a good team.

—

Elain and Dento walk over to Hoonis’ apartment. It’s not far off from their own, they found out after Hoonis spilled his address to them through text.

As the duo approaches the door and Elain prepares to knock, Hoonis suddenly swings open his door, almost smacking Elain across the face.

“Good morning, good people!” Says Hoonis. He quickly takes notice of the duo in front of his door. “Hello! Are you ready?”

Elain and Dento nod, not really displaying the same kind of enthusiasm Hoonis is.

“Great!” Says Hoonis. “I’ll be leading us to the library! It’s a long way away! Come on!”

Hoonis quickly steps past the Bounty Hunters and makes his way downstairs. Elain and Dento quickly follow suit.

—

It’s been a few hours since the trio had set off. A bit longer than Hoonis expected.

It’s 5:00 pm.

Yet, they’re still walking.

“I didn’t realize it would take this long.” Says Hoonis. “I thought we’d be there by 4 at most!”

The three continue to walk, not really certain of how to keep on with the conversation.

As they walk, Hoonis’ phone buzzes. A text from Elain.

'Hru?' Reads the text.

“Oh!” Says Hoonis. “I’m good! How’ve you two been today?”

Hoonis’ phone buzzes again.

'Good' Reads a text from Dento.

'👍' Reads the text from Elain.

“Wonderful!” Says Hoonis, not looking up from his screen.

As he walks, Hoonis suddenly bumps into someone.

“Ah!” Hoonis yelps as he stumbles back.

The other slips back a little. He almost falls. “Watch where you going!” He says. “If you young people weren’t always on your DAMN PHONES, you’d see where you’re going!”

“I’m sorry, sir!” Says Hoonis.

“Malarkey, that’s what it is!” Says the man. “How about you good read a book every once in awhile! Your local librarian is losing money out here!”

Before Hoonis can speak up again, realization hits the three of them.

…This man is a librarian.

As the librarian begins to walk off, Hoonis speaks up.

“Wait!” He says. “We’re actually heading for the library!”

The librarian turns his head. “…Really?” He asks.

“Yes!” Says Hoonis. “…Are you on break?”

“…I don’t have to be.” Says the librarian. “Is there any particular book you’re looking for?”

Hoonis looks around before whispering to the librarian. “…Do you have any books on Gods?”

“…Hmm. I may have something piled up.” Says the librarian. “I think I remember someone dropping a book discussing such things. I’ve kept it since.”

“Oh! Good!” Says Hoonis. “Do you mind finding it for us?”

“I most certainly can!” Says the librarian. “Follow me.”

The librarian then leads the trio to the library, which really wasn’t very far from where they just were.

“I didn’t realize we were that close…” Says Hoonis.

“I was just preparing to leave when I had met you three.” Says the librarian. “But I’m perfectly fine with helping those who desire knowledge from the printed word!”

The librarian heads up a small staircase leading to the library’s entrance. He opens the door, allowing the trio to peak inside.

The library’s interior appears to be slightly run down. Cob webs are scattered on the floor and roof. Chandeliers light up the area, making it dimly lit.

“Ooh.” Says Hoonis. “Fancy!”

“Shh!” The librarian hushes.

“…Sorry.” Hoonis whispers.

The Bounty Hunters glance around. Elain is amazed by it. Dento, on the other hand, is slightly weirded out by it.

“Let me lead you to my counter.” Says the librarian in a whispering. “I have that book locked up tight back there.”

The librarian leads the trio to his counter. As they walk, the trio glances at the long and large book shelves. Various colors and and covers catch their eyes.

“Here we are.” Says the librarian as they approach the counter. “Wait here.” He walks behind the counter and into a backroom.

The three wait. Dento looks around a bit. He takes a peek behind the librarian’s desk.

“What’re you doing there?” Whispers Hoonis.

Dento looks back. He takes out his phone and types. He’s texting Hoonis.

Hoonis’ phone buzzes. Dento’s text.

'I don’t entirely trust him' Reads the text. ‘He’s got an air to him I don’t like'

“He seems like an innocent man.” Whispers Hoonis.

'Not to me he doesn’t' Responds Dento.

Before Hoonis can retort, the librarian returns. “Here.” He says, handing Hoonis the book they needed. “Let me know if you need anything.” He then walks back to his desk.

“Thank you.” Says Hoonis. The trio heads to a table nearby.

Dento looks over to the librarian. He glares at him. The librarian doesn’t appear to be paying attention.

…His evildoer senses are tingling…

…Although, he seems innocent enough…

But every bad guy is like that. Bounty or not.

Elain and Hoonis look at the book’s cover as Dento eyes the librarian.

“'Ghosts and Gods: A Book on the Unfathomable'.” Says Hoonis. “That’s an interesting title.”

Elain nods. She looks over to Dento. He’s still eyeing the librarian.

As Dento continues to look on at the librarian, his phone buzzes.

'You don’t trust him' Says a text from Elain.

'No' Says Dento.

'You think that man is an evildoer?'

'Yes' Says Dento. 'He’s got an untrustworthy air. And we know every bounty is like that'

'You’ve got a point' Says Elain. 'But he hasn’t acted too weird or anything. Maybe just keep an eye on him?'

'Sure' Says Dento. He turns back to the librarian while Elain looks back to Hoonis, who is soaring through the book.

“I’ve heard of most of these.” Says Hoonis. “I think I’ve covered some…” He turns to Elain. “Have you ever seen Ghost of the Year?”

Elain shakes her head, a no.

“That’s a shame. You should!” Hoonis says in a whisper. “It’s a good show, and I host it!”

Hoonis continues to look through the book. Many ghosts, ghouls, and other beings catch their eyes.

Eventually, Hoonis stops at a particular page. “Aha!” He whispers. “Here!”

The heading on the page reads: 'The Elders of Lost Eyes'.

Elain stares at the page, eyes wide.

…Keep your mind off it.

“Look at this!” Says Hoonis. He begins to read the paragraph underneath the artist depiction of the creatures, long dark pillars with various eyes. Among other depictions, such as more 'human' looking creatures with heads, shoulders, and a single pair of eyes on each head.

Just like the creatures Thlouretta saw.

'Not much is know about these beings, as there aren’t many witnesses. Although, from the few who have allegedly seen or heard these creatures amongst odd whispers, these creatures appear to show interest in expanding their 'Creed'. We would know more, but with each new witness of these beings comes a new disappearance. We may never know more about these Elders if more witnesses keep suddenly falling into a missing status.'

“…Odd.” Says Hoonis. “…There doesn’t appear to be any information on how we can see them, though…”

Elain can’t help but stare.

Suddenly, a sharp pain enters her head. She feels the back of her head.

…Somsthing’s impaled it.

She takes out what’s stabbed her.

…A dart.

…A tranquilizer dart…

She quickly begins to feel dizzy. She looks over the the librarian’s desk.

He’s still there.

…If it wasn’t the librarian who shot at her…

…Then who…?

Before she can even get up to warn the others, Elain begins to pass out. Her head slams onto the table, snapping Hoonis out of his reading and Dento away from the librarian.

“Elain?” He asks. He looks over to see Elain with her head down, unconscious.

“Excuse me.” Says a voice from behind.

Hoonis turns. “Hm?” He hums. Dento also turns back.

They look on in shock.

They see a two cloaked figures behind them, each of them have a bat in hand.

“I thought there wasn’t supposed to be any noise in a library.” Says one figure.

Suddenly…

*WHACK*

…Darkness.

—

…

…The trio slowly comes to.

They look up to see large trees covering up the sky. The sun has set. Each of them attempt to look over to each other. They all appear to be lying down. Tied up.

“…W-where are we?” Hoonis asks.

The trio looks around. Torches are scattered around a small clearing.

They’re in the woods.

Suddenly, rustling is heard from nearby shrubs. The trio tries to look over to spot the cause of the sound.

From the bushes, a cloaked and hooded figure emerges, holding his hands up in the air. “Friends!” He shouts. “They have awoken!”

From the bushes, more cloaked figures emerge, all talking amongst each other. They circle around the tied up trio and look down upon them.

The tied up idol hunters face the supposed leader. “Where are we!? What happened!?” Hoonis asks.

“It appears you don’t remember.” Says the leader. “Unfortunate. Perhaps they hit you too hard…”

Dento listens in on the voice… it’s familiar…

…Too familiar…

The leader then brings down his hood to reveal a familiar face.

The librarian.

“You!?” Hoonis shouts. Elain looks in shock.

Even though Dento, anticipated something was up with the man, he still was in shock. He didn’t know that man was a—

…Oh.

The librarian then puts his hood back up. “Never mind introductions, my dear sheep!” He says. “They require sacrifices— can I get an amen?”

“Amen.” The cult says in unison.

“…Dear, God…” Says Hoonis. “A cult leader!”

Besides that…

…Who was this 'They'…?

“…They will be pleased with your arrival.” Says the librarian. “Especially you.” He looks over to Elain.

Elain begins to panic again.

…No.

Don’t think about it.

…Don’t…

“Friends!” Says the librarian. “Bring them to the World’s Edge! The Elders shall ask, and they shall receive!”

The cult members then huddle and pick up the captives and carry them through the woods.

…Elain continues to keep her mind off things…

Don’t think about it.

Don’t think about it.

Do. Not. Think. About. It.

…But, it’s difficult.

The thoughts plague her mind. She can’t seem to shake them off this time. No matter how hard she tries…

The thought of it all…

The drugs. The Elders. The eyes. The pain. The confusion.

…Everything…

It feels so fresh in her mind, just as it was when it first happened.

Just thinking about seeing those eyes again is driving her nuts. She wants to forget it ever happened… although, she can’t.

Dento looks over to Elain, concern glossing his eyes.

Don’t think about it.

You’ll be fine as long as it’s not constantly on your mind. Eating at your mind like termites. Slapping your very soul across the face until it’s bleeding.

You don’t have to tell him as long as you aren’t thinking about it.

You’ll be okay.

Stay optimistic.

Elain nods to Dento.

…Dento almost feels uncertain about Elain.

Suddenly, the trio begins to fall.

They’ve been thrown over a cliff.

They fall. Hoonis’ shrills of terror smacking their heads like a ball in a pinball machine.

As they fall, however…

They rise.

They shoot past the cliff they had been dropped from and into the sky…

Into the atmosphere.

Into the stars.

Into the great beyond.

Hoonis’ screams become inaudible once they reach the outer limits of the world.

Past various lights and voids, all of them a terrifying sight to behold. They pass by planets, asteroids, solar systems with no sun. All of what the world hasn’t explored shoved into a few a minute trip.

The trio then enters a small hole with a large court house in the middle of it.

Elain begins to panic even more…

…You’ll be fine…

Stop thinking about it.

The trio enters the court house. Hoonis’ screams also become audible again. As they pass large white pillars and deeper into the court house, Dento kicks Hoonis’ leg, getting him to stop screaming.

“Ow! What’s the big idea!?” Says Hoonis. “Is that not a natural reaction to getting shot through space!?”

Suddenly, a loud buzzer goes off.

The rope tied around the trio unravels. Dento and Hoonis get sent downward.

Oh, no…

Hoonis and Dento stand next to each other. “What’s happening!?” Hoonis questions.

Two mouse cursors appears. They hover over the men’s bodies and click them. The cursors pull…

And the top layer of their bodies pop off, revealing their internal organs. Each one not an organic organ, but a shape one. Like something out of a cartoon.

“…AAAAAAAAAAHH!!” Hoonis shouts.

The cursors hover over the organs until stopping on their hearts and clicking it. The hearts are removed and odd creature appears off to side. It gobbles up their hearts in one bite. Their covers are then slapped back onto their bodies.

Hoonis and Dento are then brought back up to Elain’s level. Both are terrified. Hoonis especially.

The trio then begins to hover forward.

They enter a large void-like room. Large, shadowy pillars coated with colorful eyes look upon them. Above the pillars appear three eyes, which slowly open as the trio enters. The eyes look down upon them. The trio takes in the sight.

The Elders of Lost Eyes.

The trio is horrified.

…Elain especially.

…Don’t think about it…

“THEY ARE HERE.” Says the pillars. “SHE IS HERE.”

“THEY SEEK HIM.” They say again. “SHE SEEKS HIM. HE SEEKS HER.”

“BRING THEM TO HIM.” They say, echoing.

The phrase repeats.

“BRING THEM TO HIM.”

“BRING THEM TO HIM.”

“BRING THEM TO HIM.”

The trio then blasts upward. They shoot past the Elders and into another dark room. They’re all set down, and are able to stand. There’s a floor here.

…Silence.

Then…

“Hey, there!” Says a peppy, high pitched voice. “You seem confused! Allow me to introduce myself!”

Out from the shadows, clacking footsteps are heard.

The trio looks into the shadows.

Out from the shadows, a very familiar man emerges.

…Or, at least, a man who is very familiar to Hoonis.

A spindly man dressed in a magenta suit, paired with a teal bow tie and yellow undershirt comes out of the shadows.

And the most defining feature he has…

Elain looks in shock.

…A cube head…

…No, a box head…

“I am Darly Boxman!” Says Darly. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance! We’ve been waiting for you!”

Elain and Dento are completely frozen in shock.

Hoonis, on the other hand…

He looks on in utter excitement and shock. He begins to tremble as excitement takes over his brain and body.

He couldn’t help but squeal.

“AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAH!!!” Hoonis laughs maniacally. “I’VE BEEN WAITING TO MEET YOU ALL MY LIFE, DARLES NEMENI!!”

As Hoonis races toward Darly, The boxman lifts an arm into the air. Hoonis is brought into the air. He looks on at the other man in confusion.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Says Darly. “I don’t go by that anymore! Call me Darly!”

“I never knew you could be so committed to your character!” Says Hoonis. “But why don’t you go by Dar—“

Darly pulls Hoonis close and shushes him. “That’s not important.” He says. “Anyway, thank you!”

“Y-you’re welcome!” Says Hoonis.

Darly then looks back over to the Bounty Hunters. “Oh, interesting outfits!” He says. “That reminds me, I wonder how the times have changed down there. He hasn’t been there in years, not like he needs to.” He chuckles.

…What does that mean?

Elain and Dento are suddenly lifted into the air and paired with Hoonis.

“Look at you all!” Says Darly. “So moldable! I could just completely alter your code to fit my own image!”

The trio are suddenly coated in a bright blue aura. Their forms begin to alter and break apart. The aura eventually fades, revealing the trio now with different body types or limbs.

Darly continues to repeat this process of change.

Each time getting more and more painful. Each time Hoonis’ shrills gettting worse and worse.

Elain can’t help but think of the sheer pain she had to experience…

…Stop it… stop thinking about it…

Darly eventually lets go of the trio and sets them down. They fall to their knees and take a breather.

Hoonis looks up to Darly. “What was that for!?” He asks, still trying to recover and catch his breath.

“Oh, I just like doing that!” Says Darly. “Why not do it when you’re a God?”

…A God…?

“…What…?” Hoonis questions. “…I never found anything like that in my research…”

“That’s because that old, burnt out coot went missing!” Says Darly. “…It appears you all have some catching up to do!”

Shadowy tendrils rise up from the ground and stab the eyes of the trio, causing them to see visions…

Elain isn’t liking it one bit…

…No. Don’t think it…

'The man who you know as Darles was a desperate man, willing to do anything to make himself popular.' Darly narrates as a depiction of Darles on his knees begging appears. 'Even make a deal with the Devil.'

Eyes begin appearing around Darles. The vision fades.

'The Elder’s interest in the man piqued, and they helped him.' Says Darly. 'They gave him success. He got power. Fame. Ascension. All of what he wanted… All for a price…'

A new vision appears: Darles surrounded by eyes within a dark mass looking upon him.

'If they helped him, he had to join them…' Says Darly. 'And such a hungry man took the bait.'

The mass surrounds Darles, trapping him within it.

'And now, Darles and Darly have become one.' Says Darly.

Darles pops out of the mass, a box now replacing his dual-triangle head.

'He had achieved God-hood, he ascended, just as he wished.' Says Darly.

The tendrils then pop out of the trio’s eyes. They each fall to the ground.

'Now look at him! Look at me!” Says Darly, floating in the air. “He can do anything! He HAS everything! Just as he had wished for!”

“But what about his friends? His family?” Hoonis asks.

“…What?” Darly asks.

“Thlouretta? Bep?” Hoonis asks. “What about them? Does he miss them?”

“Why would that matter?” Darly asks. “He has everything he wanted!”

“But they loved him.” Says Hoonis. “They miss him… well, maybe Bep doesn’t miss him outwardly— but still, doesn’t he still love them too?”

“As Darly Boxman went on, he became hellbent on it!” Says Darly. “All he wanted was to ascend! For his show to succeed! He didn’t care about them!”

“There must be more to it! Thlouretta spoke of how kind and caring he was! He was never like this until work on his show started!” Says Hoonis. “…And I remember hearing a voice one night, someone calling for help… it sounded like Darles… he’s still in there… in your head.”

Darly isn’t sure of how to continue.

“…Tell me, Darles.” Says Hoonis. “Tell me you loved Bep like your daughter. Tell me that you were a kind and caring man. Tell me that you aren’t a piece of shit father.”

Elain and Dento look to each other. They’re surprised that Hoonis is acting so stern about this. He spoke with such passion they had never heard from him.

Darly pauses.

“…Please.” Says Hoonis, desperately.

…Darly hesitates…

…He then begins to float back down to the ground. He tries to pry the box off of his head.

It takes some time, but the box is removed.

…Darles looks up, pain in his eyes.

Hoonis looks back, desperately anticipating the truth.

“…I loved Bep with my life.” Says Darles.

Hoonis’ eyes widen a bit. Elain and Dento rise to their feet, surprise in their eyes.

“…I-I was a good man. Thlouretta and I were great friends… and I… I let it all go.” Says Darles. “…I threw it all away for a stupid show, for fame… I ruined my life, and for what? To be in constant suffering with this parasite clinging to my head…?”

The trio stares at the man as he vents.

“I never wanted this… I didn’t want those who I cherished to leave me— I didn’t…” Says Darles as he falls to knees. “…What in God’s name did I do to myself…?”

Faint sobs can be heard as Darles lowers his head. Before anyone can approach him, he lifts his head to the box he had set down.

Darles then proceeds to pick up the box. He squeezes it slightly.

“My STUPID lust for YOU, GOT ME HERE!!” Says Darles. “I AM HERE BECAUSE I JUST HAD TO WANT FAME!! I LOST WHAT I LOVE BECAUSE OF MY STUPID ACTIONS!! …I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!”

Darles then proceeds to stand back up and throw the box into the void next to him. He falls to his knees again and begins to sob.

Hoonis then tries to approach the sobbing man, only for Elain and Dento to restrain Hoonis and pull him away.

“Wait!” Says Hoonis. “We can help him!”

The duo pulls Hoonis back further.

There isn’t a point in helping a man that’s lost his mind.

Hoonis struggles to escape the duo’s grip, but they’ve got a tight hold on him. He tries his hardest to pull away from them, until he eventually pops out of their hold. He rushes over to Darles and begins to hesitate…

…After a bit, Hoonis gets down on his knees and sits beside the sobbing man.

“…I’m a horrible friend…” Says Darles through his sobs. “…I’m a terrible father…”

“…I don’t think you are one.” Says Hoonis.

“…Why not?” Darles asks. “I sacrificed who I loved for this. I hurt people. People I cherished. And now look at me… I’m broken man. Why try to waste your time with me when I can just send you all home?”

“Because I want to help you.” Says Hoonis.

“What about what I just said do you not get?” Darles asks. “There isn’t anything you nor I could do about this… I’m stuck here, and I can’t leave. I took the bait, and this is my punishment.”

“…I can try. We can try.” Says Hoonis. “We can help you become a better man.”

“No.” Says Darles. “I doubt I can change. I’ve ruined so much… just leave me be…”

Nearby, a small portal opens on the ground. It leads back to the Pink City.

“You can change! We can get you back home, help you let this go!” Says Hoonis desperately.

“You can’t break a contract with the Devil just like that.” Says Darles.

“But, I don’t want to leave you!” Says Hoonis. “I’ve wanted to learn from you all my life!”

“Are you dense?” Darles asks. “Why learn from a man who ruined his life chasing after fame? …Just leave.”

Elain and Dento step to Hoonis and pick him up. They drag him toward the portal.

Hoonis desperately tries to escape the duo’s grasp, but to no avail. Darles keeps his head to the ground.

The trio eventually trips into the portal. Hoonis yelps as they fall.

Once the trio is gone, the portal in the floor closes.

Darles sits there, alone, and on his knees.

“…I am nothing…” Says Darles. “Nothing but a puppet…”

…Darles then begins to chuckle a bit.

“…Hehehe… he is nothing… you are nothing…” Says Darles… or really, Darly. “…Is this not what you wanted, Darles? You wanted fame, so why don’t you embrace it?”

“…You stay away from me, you fucking leech.” Says Darles, sounding more like himself.

…He and Darly are in a predicament…

“Oh, no, that won’t do!” Says Darly. “I thought we were friends!”

“We may have been, but we aren’t anymore.” Says Darles. “I want you to leave me alone.”

“Why?” Darly asks. “You made that deal, now you’re stuck with me! It’s like you said, you can’t break the Devil’s contract just like that!”

“…Leave me alone, you wretched piece of shit…” Says Darles.

“Oh, dear!” Says Darly. “…I think you need a helping hand!”

Suddenly, approaching clicking sounds are heard. Darles looks up.

He sees his box head, covered in a dark ooze. It’s crawling with it’s six shadowy, spider-like limbs.

It’s quickly approaching Darles.

Before Darles can even react, the box head lunges onto Darles’ face, trying to attach itself to him.

Darles screams and quickly rises to his feet. He attempts to pull the box off of his head, but to no avail.

“GET OFF OF ME, YOU FUCKING PARASITE!!” Darles screams, his hands mounted to his head, trying to remove the creature from him.

“You know I can’t do that!” Says Darly.

Darles continues to struggle with the beast as it slowly crawls it’s way onto his head, attaching to it like a leech.

Darles falls to his knees again and struggles to combat the creature’s hold on him, both mentally and physically.

From the center face of the box, seven vibrant eyes sprout and slowly open.

Darly begins taking hold of the poor man’s body. He takes a look at his hands and slowly rises to his feet.

“I think you need this, don’t you think?” Darly asks himself. “What else do you need, I wonder…?”

Darly begins thinking to himself… before something comes to mind.

“…I know!” Says Darly. “You need a refresher just to show you what great power they gave you!”

—

The trio falls plummets from the sky, Hoonis still squirming in Elain and Dento’s arms.

“I could’ve helped him!” Says Hoonis as the trio falls.

The hunters eventually slam into the pavement. The citizens walking around jump and quickly take notice of the large hole made in the road. They all begin grouping around the hole and gazing upon the still bodies within it.

The three slowly rise and massage their temples. Hoonis looks up to the sky and no longer sees a way back to Darles.

“…I could’ve helped…” Says Hoonis. “He can change…”

Dento looks to Hoonis and pats his back. He then looks over to Elain.

…She doesn’t look well.

Elain knows he’s looking at her.

…Stop thinking about it.

You’ll be fine.

Dento reaches an arm over to her.

Before, he can reach her though…

*BANG*

Dento stops. Everyone looks around.

*BANG*

Nothing is around them. Nothing.

…The only place they haven’t looked…

…Up.

Everyone looks up to the sky.

…Not much happens.

Until…

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

The sky explodes apart. A large hole in the sky appears. And oddly enough, it begins to bug and glitch out…

The civilians begin to panic and run away. The trio remains in the hole, not moving a muscle.

From the hole in the sky hovers an approaching figure. The figure quickly approaches the Pink City, and stops right in front of the hole in the road.

The trio stares in disbelief.

Darly.

Although, his box head is covered in a black, dripping substance. At the sides of the box, spider-like legs remain. And for the man’s face; vibrant, multicolored eyes. They could bring utter fear to anyone who dared to look upon them.

“Hey there, everybody!” Says Darly. “Welcome back to the show! Did you miss me?”

No one seems to answer. Only screams are heard as the civilians scramble to their homes.

“I’m sorry for my sudden intrusion, but it’s come to my attention that a friend of mine needs a lesson in being grateful for the power they’ve been given!” Says Darly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to show you all what a REAL God looks like!”

Darly raises his hands, and out from the hole in the sky, shadowy tendrils shoot out and charge toward any unsuspecting civilians. The tendrils attack and hit at the civilians. Many are shot around against walls or slammed into the road.

The more the civilians are attacked, the more 'glitched out' they become. Slowly becoming horribly distorted and broken.

Darly then looks down into the trio still stuck in the hole.

“Oh, look at the menagerie!” Says Darly. “I’ve seen you before! You look like you’d be fun to play with! Especially YOU!”

Tendrils shoot toward Elain and grab her wrists and ankles. She begins to get dragged back. Dento grabs onto her. Both of them quickly get dragged out of the hole and toward Darly.

Dento pulls at Elain, trying to free her from the tendrils. He looks to Elain, she looks back.

Dento’s expression shows that of desperation.

'Don’t you let go!'

Hoonis then begins to struggle out of the hole to reach the Bounty Hunters. He can barely get back up.

Dento’s feet dig into the pavement as Elain gets dragged back. Both ends are tugging so hard, that Elain feels her body could be snapped in half.

“Ooh! We’ve got a fighter!” Says Darly.

The tendrils then begin to tug at Elain even harder. So much so, that Dento can barely hold on anymore.

In a snap, Dento’s hands give out, no longer able to hold on to Elain. Elain is shot up into the sky, completely disappearing from Dento’s view in a matter of a seconds.

Dento can’t help but watch as his dear friend is sent into the sky.

Lord knows if she’ll ever return.

Dento remains on his knees. He lays his head down as tears fall from his eyes. He silently sobs, his chest heaving, even if no audible sound is heard from him.

Hoonis is eventually able to climb out of the hole in the road. He spots Dento sitting alone, Elain nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Elain?” Hoonis asks as he approaches the sobbing man.

Dento doesn’t answer.

“…I’m sorry.” Says Hoonis. “You don’t have to tell me.”

Hoonis looks up to the sky. Dento does the same.

…Tendrils shoot out from the sky hole and quickly launch themselves toward the city.

Toward the duo that watches the sky above.

Hoonis and Dento spring up and quickly try to evade the approaching tendrils, trying to pass the hole in the road without falling in.

Once they pass the hole, the two stay fairly far apart. They run off, trying to find somewhere to hide.

As Dento runs, the sound of something approaching him catches his attention.

Too late, however.

A tendril smacks Dento on the back of his head. The force of the hit slams him into a nearby wall.

He falls unconscious before he even hits the floor.

~~~

Dento slowly begins to come to. He blinks a bit before slowly rising up.

He looks around.

Nothing.

Nothing but darkness.

As he turns his head, he spots someone.

Someone familiar.

Elain.

Elain sits alone, head down. She looks as if she’s ashamed.

Dento quickly gets to his feet and rushes toward his partner. As he approaches her… he hears something…

“SHE WAS NOT READY.” Says an unknown voice.

Dento stands nearby his friend, confused. He glances around, looking for the source of the voice.

“SHE WAS NEVER OKAY.” The voice says again.

Suddenly, out from Elain’s head, a vapor appears. From the vapor emerges a collage of shapes. Shapes and colors…

Shapes and colors that would remind one of stress. Of anxiety. Of fear. Of something underlying that is left without acknowledgement.

The collage takes up the void. Only Elain and Dento remain.

“HER MIND WAS NOT READY.” Says the voice again. “SHE IS CURSED WITH A TERRIBLE BLINDNESS.”

“A BLINDNESS YOU FELL FOR.”

“A BLINDNESS SHE FELL FOR.”

“NEITHER OF YOU…”

“NEITHER OF YOU ARE SAFE FROM WHAT SHE CAUSED TO HAPPEN TO HERSELF.”

As Dento glances around, he begins to hear a different voice…

'I’ll be okay.'

'I’ll be fine.'

'I’m okay.'

'Stay optimistic.'

'Stay optimistic.'

'Stay optimistic.'

The phrase, 'Stay optimistic', continuously lingering within the void.

“HER OPTIMISM IS A CURSE.” Says the other voice.

“A CURSE YOU BOTH MUST BEAR WITNESS TO.”

Dento glances around again.

…Was this true…?

…Or some kind of trick…?

As he glances, he notices Elain slowly raising her head. She stares at Dento with horribly desperate eyes.

He stares back.

…A new phrase lingers.

'I’m sorry.'

'I’m sorry.'

'I am so, so sorry…'

…Elain.

She’s speaking through her thoughts.

…Those thoughts of desperate optimism…

…They were hers…

And she never said a word…

Leaving both of them in the dark…

If she had said something…

She wouldn’t be stuck in the sky. The city wouldn’t have been put in danger…

…He should’ve known she’d be this ignorant.

Dento suddenly feels himself being pulled away. He quickly exits the colorful amalgamation of stress, barely able to hear Elain’s thoughts.

~~~

Dento jolts awake. He quickly rises. He glances around.

…He’s in his home. On the couch.

…Someone took him home…

“Dento?” Calls a voice from a nearby hall. “You okay?”

Dento turns over to the hall. He sees his sister, Danina, peer out from the hall. She notices her awakened brother and rushes toward him.

“Oh, thank God, you’re okay!” Says Danina, hugging her brother. “Some guy was carrying you, we just got you and took you home… what even happened?”

Dento thinks about who the hell could’ve been carrying him…

Hoonis.

…He’s grateful for him.

Dento can only hope Hoonis is okay.

Dento then begins to think about how to answer Danina’s question.

“…It’s a long story, isn’t it?” Danina asks.

Dento nods.

“Alright. Oh, also, I want to make sure,” Danina begins. “You aren’t hurt, are you? Mom looked at you, but I want to hear from you.”

Dento thinks…

…Not exactly…

Not only did he lose his friend, he’s had to learn about how she functions. Her ignorance. His ignorance…

…Sometimes, he hates how Elain works…

—

Elain sits alone. Alone within a dark void. Stuck in the sky. Unable to leave.

Not certain of how to leave.

…She feels awful.

…If only she had said something…

Realized how ignorant she was…

She didn’t want any of this.

She had set out to be a Bounty Hunter to bring good to the city. Bring down ne'er-do-wells and serve them sweet justice. All she wanted was to do good… not bring the city down to destruction and ashes…

All of this. All of it…

Is it not all her fault?

If she hadn’t decided to go on this goose chase. If she had said something. If she had taken better consideration into the inner workings of her head…

The city wouldn’t be crumbling.

People wouldn’t have been getting hurt.

A practical God (hopefully) wouldn’t have been unveiled unto the city.

Dento wouldn’t have—

Dento…

He wouldn’t have been hurt…

Mentally hurt…

…When you hurt, I hurt…

…

…What has she done…?

“Oh, dear!” Says a voice.

Elain turns her head, glancing around. She quickly rises to her feet.

…It’s familiar…

…Darly.

“Over here, dear!”

Elain turns.

Darly hovers behind Elain, staring down upon her with his seven vibrant eyes. His look paralyzes her, freaks her out.

…He looked awful.

Darly then bends down a bit. His box head hovers off of his shoulders and toward Elain. It stares into her eyes and pierces her soul.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Darly asks.

The box head slams back into its rightful place on Darly’s shoulders. He continues to stare Elain down.

“Have you thought of an answer yet?” Darly asks.

Elain thinks…

She was tired.

Tired of these thoughts. Tired of the guilt. Tired of the stress

She nods.

“I thought so!” Says Darly. “…Why don’t I lend you a hand?” He puts out a hand.

Elain stares at Darly in disbelief.

…Why would she make a deal with him?

“…Hmm…” Darly hums. “Perhaps you need a refresher!”

Suddenly, familiar visions and whispers fill Elain’s head.

“JOIN THE CREED.” The whispers yell. Over and over. The phrase echos.

Visions of what she’s seen. What she’s experienced. What she’s faced. All of it hits Elain like dodgeballs.

Elain curls up into a ball and wraps her arms around her head.

She wants it to go away. That’s all she wants.

…But it appears she can’t get it to go away on her own anymore.

“You want this all to go away, yes?” Darly asks. “Then why not make a deal?”

The whispers are unending. The visions are infinite.

“I need an answer!” Says Darly.

…Why not make a deal, when you can no longer face these issues on your own?

Elain looks up to Darly. She stares into his eyes before slowly and hesitantly bringing out a hand.

“There we are!” Says Darly.

Darly takes Elain’s hand. The visions and whispers quickly fade.

Nothing happens for a moment.

…Until Elain starts feeling a buzzing sensation on her hand.

She stares at the hand Darly had taken. The buzzing feeling doesn’t go away. The feeling travels up her body. She begins to feel numb…

Not only that.

…Her head feels fuzzy…

She can’t think straight.

Her thoughts become indescribable. Her consciousness feels as if it’s slipping.

…She almost feels dead…

Her body and mind are numb. She can barely think cognitively.

Almost like some kind of zombie.

Elain’s body has become that of a glitchy, buggy mess. Her body can’t keep a proper shape, as it often bugs out and loses a proper form. Her eyes void of sentience, glistening in a bright blue.

Darly chuckles. “Haha! Look!” He says. “You’re like me now!”

Powerful.

Exactly what Darles wanted.

A hungry person very easily and quickly takes the bait.

- END -

Next Chapter:

Previous Chapter:

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Haunted

Rei Suwa was his name, who kept his hair in a ponytail that showed his undercut on both sides. A lone strand fell on his otherwise stern face, which added some mysterious touch. So dark, so handsome, Kazuki thought. As for the flat, it was too cheap for a beautiful abode listed on the jiko bukken* section of the real estate website. A very good deal, which he never dared to question why. The building resembled a luxurious hotel. Each unit was blessed with its own terrace. The glass walls and windows added to its modernity. He could imagine the rays of sunlight that would enter the lodgings once the blinds were drawn. He could see how happy Miri and him would be already embarking on a new chapter of their lives.

Read the rest on AO3.

First of all, this fiction is an AU-canon divergence from the series. Everyone here is out of character, except for Miri. Ever since I’ve read about jiko bukken it doesn’t leave my mind. Recently it is becoming a fad for foreigners to purchase a property in Japan. One prominent Swedish male model even made a YouTube channel to document his acquisition and renovation in Tokyo where people close to him warned him of these abandoned houses. Both out of superstition and the steep financial woes he’d be in. Also, did you know that there’s a separate rubric of apartments in real estate websites where previous tenants died of unnatural causes (suicide, murder, etc.) ? Usually these flats are discounted for a year. So yes, I’d love the trio to experience it. I don’t know if the outcome is dark enough. (Tagging @plague-of-insomnia, if you’d like to take a look.)

[acgames]

I'm sorry for being insufferable but I need to know more about your Naruto au 🤣

Is this au a full crossover (could Mira run across Naruto, for example) or just Naruto's world with Assassin's Creed characters in it?

What's the Assassin village like?

What is Mira, Elio and Morrigan's dynamic?

Who's their sensei?

Who's the- uh- Assassinkage, I guess?

Do you have some other teams in mind that can interact with the main trio?

What made Morrigan leave?

What does she think about her fellow Akatsuki members, and who is she paired with?

(I have so many questions, but I'm going to stop here because this is already too much 😂)

Hey, you are never insufferable you know that 😂.

It was just something I had idea to draw, so I wouldn't say it's a full crossover I am going to develop, but I think it would be closer to Naruto universe with AssCreed characters in it, adopted as close as I could from AssCreed and my headcanons.

Yeah, I am glad you noticed they all are from Assassin Village 😂 I think that would be unique Village containing descendands of ancient lineage of Isu (would isu be Otsosuki like alien lineage? Perhaps). Still Assassin village clans share same ancient blood trait they inherited from Ancient Isu, called Eagle Vision, just every clan within Assassin village would most likely developed their own variants and jutsus around it.

Most prominent clans within Assassin village would be Ibn-La'Ahad, Auditore and Kenway. Ibn-La'Ahad clan are clan of strong will, so summoning and sealing are their strenghts, Auditore clan are known for their battle techniques and agility, so they are capable genjutsu users, but also possess most capability with their eagle vision and perfect chakra control, while Kenways have physical strenght and capability to connect with wild life, so they are not only master taijutsu users, they can be perfect spies and shinobis for secret missions.

Mira, Elio and Morrigan have some classic team 7 vibes to me: Mira is energetic and knucklehead of the team, Elio is mostly reserved and studious, while Morrigan has the designated "traitor" of the team (not her fault tho). They get along fine as children, even if there is growing animosity between Mira and Morrigan (typical Naruto/Sasuke style) as they see eachother as competitor (they in general would dislike eachother in any au due to Templar/Assassin conflict)

I think their Sensei would be Connor- Jonin level Shinobi from Kenway clan. Still due to actions of his father, Connor carries great shame and was orphan of the village and sole survivor of Kenway clan. Also I think Connor might be jinchuriki of a Tailed beast as some other characters (Adha for example also was jinchuriki of Tailed Beast).

Assassinkage (🤣) of the village would be Altaïr, the patriarch of Ibn-La'Ahad clan, and Mira is his granddaughter.

My team 7 (Connor as sensei, Mira, Elio and Morrigan) are second to youngest team. Younger than them team are team 8 (Flavia, Marcello, Io:nhiòte with their sensei Arno). Other older them is team 9 (Killian, Iokennó:ron and Kanièn:tara with their sensei Aveline) there also is fellow nomad village of rebel assassins, who are allied with assassin village, who are lead by Aguilar de Nerha too, so they have some of their own teams of genins.

Morrigan left, because her father did. Shay felt his warnings were ignored by Assassinkage, so he took his children and left to join Akatsuki and their leader Haytham Kenway.

Morrigan got to grow up into adult with her fellow Akatsuki members and she natually was paired with her older brother as they both got thier father's training and knew how to work as unit (in my stories too Morrigan and Killian work together, so this one was no brainer). Morrigan trusts Shay's word and Haytham's leadership, though she dislikes other members and feels their goals aren't as noble as her family's.

Sorry if it's too long, but these questions got me developing the au on a whim, while I never meant to, but thank you 😂 it was fun

[hanjsquokka]

*ੈ🏴‍☠️‧₊˚ the sea of monsters.

II. THE FRIVOLOUS THIEF

3racha × fem!reader — badass pirate captain! reader, pirate thief! jisung, pirate! changbin, pirate! chan, greek & roman mythology au, fluff/angst/smut (read series masterlist for more info)

chapter summary — you try to deal with the intruder but to no avail. you leave the task to changbin, who isn't too enthusiastic about it, and leave for the archives. when you get back to the ship, you are met with a disturbing revelation.

warnings — mature language, mentions of alcohol, steamy makeout (?), mentions of blood and wounds, very tiny bit of inflicting wounds, explicit sexual content (warnings under the cut)

word count — 5.2K

author's note — chapter two!!! i like this one 🤭. really wanted to post this on percy's birthday but i was busy so i couldn't :/ lmk what you guys think <33

please consider leaving feedback in the comments/reblogs as it makes my day 🫶🏼

minors dni. if you click read, you agree to nsfw content. this series portrays various other kpop idols, none of which represent the actual nature of them in real life. these are fictional characters with fictional personalities. characters depicted in this series are morally grey, they have their flaws just like all humans do.

smut warning — oral (f receiving), fingering

Changbin was still speaking; you could see his lips moving as he tried to explain the situation to you. Seungmin, from your right, headed off in the direction of the stairs from where the son of Ares had come from.

You couldn't hear anything.

You couldn't do anything.

Your ears were ringing loudly, and your body was frozen on the spot from the moment the name “Jisung” was uttered. It took your body a moment to process the initial shock, but once it did, it was replaced by unfiltered anger. Your brows furrowed deeply, your body moving on its own down the stairs to the cabins, sword drawn and crackling with electricity. You weren't a person to get angry quickly, a trait that you found helpful in situations where you had to stay calm and be a captain. But when you did get angry, it was an ugly sight.

“Where is he?” Your voice was loud and furious, and your eyes lit up like a spark. If you weren't careful, you could blow your ship to smithereens. 

“Cap—”

You swiveled your neck to face Changbin, who nervously swallowed at your rage. The words died down in his chest, and he shook his head. You headed to where two of the other members—Hyunjin and Jeongin—were standing guard by a door, talking to Seungmin. It was one of the empty cabins that the other members of your ship used for you. The ones that were now dead.

The trio, once they noticed you, hurried out of your way as you kicked open the door, the wood nearly flying off the hinges by sheer force. Your anger nearly doubled in amount once you caught sight of the man tied by robes, kneeling on the ground in the room; his head hung low until he heard the sound of your footsteps.

“You.” You pointed your sword towards him, clenching your jaw. The tip of your blade crackled with electricity as you stepped closer to him. “Han Jisung.” His name was uttered with nothing but pure venom. He had changed a lot since you last saw him. His hair was brown and more curly; he seemed slimmer and tanner. His dark teal robes were dirty and frayed, and his white shirt underneath was almost gray with dust. But his face hadn't changed. No, you remembered his face clearly—the same infuriating smirk plastered over his face, the apples of his cheeks more prominent than usual. “I remember telling you that I'd gut you alive if I ever saw you again.”

His smirk widened, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Good to see you too, Captain.” 

You wanted to kick him. Why was he so smug when he was the one tied up at your feet at your mercy? “Why are you here? On. My. Ship?” The blade of your sword was nearly touching his chest.

Jisung's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, licking his lips while he looked between the sword tip pointed at him and your face. “Just looking around.”

“My ship isn't a garden to frolic around in. Don't think I'll hesitate to throw you off my ship if you don't tell me the truth.” You hoped he couldn't hear the tremble in your voice or the way your hand shakes. Your palms were sweaty, and you were scared your sword would slip right out of your hands. 

You hoped he wouldn't see the tears forming in your eyes.

You hoped all he could see was the rage that was filling your body.

When he didn't say anything, the tip of your sword pierced the skin of his chest ever so slightly, making him groan.

“Fine, fine, I'll bite. Just put the sword away.” He was scared too; you could tell as much by the way his cocky attitude wavered at the sight of your weapon.

“One wrong move, and I'll use you as bait.” You sheathed your sword.

“Thank you, Y/N—Captain. Thank you, Captain,” he sputtered out, barely hiding the pain from the wound you inflicted upon him. It gave you both great satisfaction and great misery to see him like this, his arms bound and kneeling at your feet. You hated and loved it all at the same time. “I was stealing, okay? I was stealing.”

“You have some nerve—”

You raised your hand, and Changbin stopped speaking, but his eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw clenched. “I'll humor you for a moment and ask what you thought of stealing on my ship.”

“Just some gold to get by. Crete has some good baklava.”

“You're lying through your teeth; don't think I can't tell,” you spat, squatting down in front of him. Your own stab wound was burning in pain, but you had to keep your composure. “Vernon's bloody ship is docked a few meters away, and all puny thieves know that's where the jackpot is. And you all the better. So I will ask you one more time. What the hell are you doing on my ship?” 

Jisung's eyes darted from you to Changbin and your three crew members standing just outside the door. You knew he was hiding something. Part of you wanted to use more violent interrogation methods, to see him writhe in pain at his knees until he begged for mercy.

But you weren't cruel.

You couldn't be cruel to him, no matter how much the sadistic part of your heart was craving to see him beg for forgiveness.

When he didn't speak for a moment too long, you stood straight. “Keep him here. No food or water until he cracks. And he will crack.” You grit your teeth at the smug smile that tugged at his lips, wanting to slap it away, which you almost did until you felt a hand on your shoulder.

“I'll talk to him later,” Changbin said lowly in your ear, his warm breath sending shivers down your spine. “We have more important tasks at hand.”

That was the unfortunate reality of your situation. Your time in Crete was limited, and Bang Chan would be here in a short while. You had to go to the archives if you had any hope of saving your home. With one last spiteful look, you turned away from the curly-haired man and exited the room, giving clear instructions to Hyunjin and Jeongin before heading to your quarters.

Once you were in the safety of your room, you allowed yourself to shed a few tears—over your hostage or the pain flaring up on your side, you didn't know. You picked up the canteen on your table and took a few sips of the liquid inside. Nectar. The drink of the gods. You were supposed to take only minute quantities, or you would be burned to a crisp. The taste was of your mother's cooking; you could almost smell the sweetness of it as you drank. The pain eased up, but your heart was heavy.

With all that was on your plate, Han Jisung was the last thing you needed to worry about.

A sharp knock on your door made you jump, but you knew who it was immediately. It was his signature knock to let you know it was him. You opened the door, meeting his warm, concerned gaze. No words were exchanged as you let him inside and closed the door behind him. The room was thick with tension, and you were sure you could cut it with your sword.

The silence persisted for a while as he thought of a way to properly speak his mind, and you stood at your desk, fingers itching to open the left side drawer. Your hand won the battle, and you opened it, flitting through the papers and ink bottles until you felt the cool metal of the object you were looking for. With a shuddered inhale, you took out the brass locket and opened it with one finger. The pressed, withered pink dianthus flower crumpled in the small space. 

The locket was lifted out of your hands and placed on the table, and you felt Changbin's front press against your back, his breath hitting the side of your neck as he rested his chin on your shoulder. You gave yourself this small moment of weakness to sink back into his strong arms and forget about your worries.

Just for a moment.

His hand traced along your bandage over your shirt, a fluttering kiss pressing to the side of your neck before he turned you to face him and lifted up the white fabric and unraveled the bloodied cloth.

“You've been downplaying the severity of it,” he chided, making you chuckle. “It's not funny, Y/N. I don't like how reckless you've been since you started this.”

“I'm not reckless... just… passionate.”

“Passionate about near-death experiences, I believe.” Changbin cleaned the wound; the touch of the cloth made you wince. He wrapped another fresh bandage around it and stood straight, and you were finally aware of the proximity between the both of you.

The air was charged, and it wasn't because of your previous anger.

This was a different kind of electricity. 

“You're throwing yourself head first into something you don't know,” he said quietly. “You're putting yourself on the line for something that has a probability of not existing.”

“I'm not giving up—”

“I'm not asking you to give up,” he said, cutting you off with a stern tone. “I'm asking—begging you to stop hurting yourself over this.” He took a step closer, his fingers brushing a strand of hair out of your face, making your breath hitch in your throat. “We're all we have; I can't lose you too.”

“You won't,” you promised. An inkling of a smile formed on his face. Changbin cupped your jaw, his thumb grazing over your flushed cheeks. “We shouldn't do this.”

“Do what?” He teased.

“This. You. Me. What happened last time—”

“What happened last time was not a mistake.” His eyes dared you to say otherwise, a raging fire amidst the warmth you sought comfort in. “We're all we have. You're biting off more than you can chew. I can see the worry etched on your face. I won't leave without lessening that burden, at least for a while.”

The pleading in his tone, mixed in with the determination in his gaze, made you weak in the knees. You wanted to indulge him, to let him prove that he could take your mind off of your worries, even if it was for just a while.

He waited no longer, closing the gap between the two of you with a soft kiss on your lips. Your eyes closed, and you could feel him deepen the kiss, pulling you closer and tilting your jaw so he could merge his lips with yours. You craved his touch, no matter how much you denied it.

Your best friend.

Your only friend.

The one who stayed by your side through it all.

Your lips eagerly chased his, even when he pulled away to breathe. His half-lidded eyes brimming with emotions only increased your need for him, pulling him again by his collar for a steering kiss. Your mouth moved against his in perfect synchronization, his tongue gliding across your bottom lip, seeking more of you. Your lips parted instinctively, and his tongue explored you. His hand was firm around your neck to hold you in place.

Your lungs were burning with a need for oxygen, but your need for him burned even more. He was fueling the flame that made you want him so much that it drove you to insanity. 

He pulled away from your lips to start planting wet, open-mouthed kisses along your jaw and down your neck, which you craned to give him more access.

Changbin was addicting, like the rum you drank in the mess hall. He was addicting, like the fine wine you had once in your life in Salnich and never tasted again. You were drunk on his touch, on his hands that traveled over your body, unbuttoning the top few buttons of your shirt, and then went even more south until they reached the back of your thighs and hoisted you onto your desk.

He kissed and bit along the delicate skin of your collarbones, leaving marks that would be hidden and able to be seen only by him. He cupped your breasts in his hands, kneading the flesh to draw a low moan from you. 

“Let me make you feel good,” he said in your ear before he dropped to his knees, increasing the heat pooling between your legs since he first kissed you. His hands tugged at the waistband of your pants. You lifted your hips up to let him pull the fabric down to your ankles and onto the floor, spreading your thighs apart before settling himself between them, his face inches away from your core.

“So wet,” he breathed hotly, making you shiver visibly and your cunt clench around nothing. He kissed along your inner thigh and over your mound before his lips found the spot where you were dying to have him, his nose brushing against your bundle of nerves as he kissed over your slick folds. “Let me know if I hurt you, okay?” You nodded, but your wound was the last thing on your mind.

Before you knew it, your legs were over his shoulders, and he was devouring you like a man starving. You bit down on the sleeve of your robes to muffle the sinful sounds you were making, although you knew the other crew members were skeptical about the extent of closeness between you and your second in command. Your thighs tensed around his head, your free hair tugging at his hair, beckoning him closer and closer, suffocating him, but you knew he loved this, the thought only heightening the pleasure coursing through your veins. His finger and then another slid into you with ease, curling just right so they touched that spot that made your vision go blank, your mind filled with him and him only.

“God, you taste divine,” he muttered against you, the vibrations of his voice making your toes curl. 

With the action of his fingers and his lips around your clit, the band in your belly snapped, and you came all over his face, riding his fingers through your high. He didn't stop even after you were done, licking you clean before letting your legs down and letting you inhale and exhale deeply. 

The line of friendship was blurring between you and Changbin, and you weren't sure what to make of Chan's and Jisung's reappearance in your life. What you did know was that your mind was in a state of calm, just like he had promised. He looked up at you with that lustful gaze that made your stomach do somersaults. A silent exchange between the two of you occurred, and he stood up to kiss you once more.

Changbin took it upon himself to interrogate Han Jisung once Y/n had left the ship to visit the Archives with Hyunjin—the descendant of Hecate and unexpectedly blessed by Aphrodite and Seungmin, the legacy of Minerva. The steamy encounter between him and Y/N in her quarters played in his mind as he paced the deck, formulating different ways to question the pirate thief, which was proving to be more difficult than he thought, since every time he pictured Han Jisung's face, he wanted to drive his knife straight through the wall.

“He keeps saying he needs the captain,” Jeongin told him. The siren-eyed boy’s words made him clench his jaw. Their resident healer had also joined them after his well-deserved nap. Changbin was worried about Felix. The blond had been exerting himself too much lately, healing everyone but himself, but his nap seemed to have made some color come back to his face.

“What did I miss?” Felix asked, noticing the way Changbin's fists were closed, his knuckles turning white.

“We had an intruder,” Jeongin explained warily, not wanting to tick off Changbin even more. “A pirate thief named Han Jisung.”

At the mention of his name, he let out a growl, kicking an empty barrel hard enough to break it. Both of the younger members jumped. 

“Do you... have some sort of history?” Felix questioned.

“Now that you mention it, even the captain reacted like this.” Jeongin wondered aloud.

“You could say that,” Changbin huffed. He didn't want to sit in a tiny room with that man and ask him questions when all Jisung did was make snarky remarks. “It's not in my place to speak about it. The captain will tell the crew if she sees fit.” He looked at the horizon, the evening sun giving him a moment of calm. “Personally, I would like to use him as bait for a nice supper.”

The room below deck where Han Jisung was captive was dim, only lit by a kerosene lantern hanging on the wall by the door. He sat in the room with the man, his glare sending daggers in his direction. Even though he mentally recited everything he was going to say, it all boiled down to anger in the presence of the pirate thief. 

“Why are you here?” Changbin asked once the silence had gotten too awkward.

“I'm not answering you. I want the Captain,” Jisung stubbornly said, making Changbin roll his eyes in irritation.

“You won't get the Captain unless you speak to me. Now tell me, why the hell are you on this ship, or should I pitch you off the plank?”

Jisung laughed. “You don't have the authority.”

Changbin cocked a brow. “You want to test that theory?”

The fury in his eyes must've placated the smugness in his attitude, because Jisung looked scared. He was just acting all cocky, Changbin deduced, because he was scared out of his wits. He knew what would happen if he ticked off Changbin too much—something he had personally experienced years ago, as a joke, of course. But Changbin knew the thief wouldn't want to anger him beyond his limits.

“Like I said, I came to steal.”

“Like the Captain said, why didn't you steal from Vernon the Hound? You must know every nook and cranny of that barnacle-infested ship.” Changbin pulled his knife out of his robes, examining the reflecting metal.

Jisung let out a nervous chuckle. “Hey, come on, Bin—” He pointed the knife at him. “Sorry, Changbin, you know I can't steal from him.”

“And you thought Y/n was an easier target?” Her name slipped out before he could stop himself. He was angry. Beyond angry. Furious. And inside all of that, he was hurt. “You left us!” He yelled. “You left her. You broke her. Stop trying to worm your way back now that she's better.”

“Bin, I apologized—”

He held up his hand. “Don't call me that. I'm sick of you.” He spat and exited the room despite Jisung's protests, anger flowing off of him in waves. He was worried he'd set something on fire.

He never wanted to see Jisung again.

He was going to make sure he was gone far from here as soon as possible.

“Changbin,” Minho approached him as he passed a room on the way to his. His hands were greasy with oil, and he was trying to get off with an equally greasy rag that was more black than white, or whatever color it was supposed to be. “The repairs are almost done.” He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

Lee Minho was a man of few but precise words. Changbin figured it was because of his heritage—Vulcan (Hephaestus) was his great-grandfather, and he was given a vision of something that could make ships faster. Something called an engine. Granted, it took Minho two years to build the engine based only on the image in his mind and parts that did not exist, so he had to make them from scratch out of iron. But it made a great difference in how they sailed. 

“Good,” Changbin nodded.

“Who's that man?”

“The thief?” Changbin scowled. “A thief. Nothing more, nothing less.” He could tell Minho, heck, he knew everyone on the entire ship knew that something was up. He wished they never docked in Crete and that Bang Chan would've agreed to a rendezvous elsewhere. Chrysaor the Golden Pirate would have never attacked, so they wouldn't have had to stop in this unnerving city with people looking at them like they spawned on the ground before their very own eyes.

He had no interest in elaborating. He had no interest in rehashing the past.

Thankfully, he could hear Jeongin calling out for him.

Bang Chan must've arrived, he thought. He didn't know how he would receive him. With a hug? Or with an awkward hello? How was one supposed to talk with a man they hadn't seen in ten years?

Changbin would find out his answer as he reluctantly walked to the stairs that led above the deck.

Mad was an understatement of what you were feeling. You were already ticked off with the whole intruder situation, screaming at your mind to stop conjuring up the image of the man bound in the dimly lit room, his stupid face that you had once endeared, and now it gave you nothing but annoyance and mild nostalgia. 

You visited the Crete Archives with Hyunjin and Seungmin; their skills were vital for going through the parchment rolls piled up in the old building, cared for by dryads due to the trees that had begun to grow over the years. The writings were in all sorts of languages—Greek, English, Minoan, and some you didn't recognize. You faired only in the first two, so your half-brother did most of the ones in the latter language. Some had enchantments, much to the excitement of Hyunjin, and some were riddles, which were more to your taste.

But after hours and hours of searching with barely a few words to go on, your frustration increased. 

“How is there nothing?” You roared, throwing yet another scroll to the side. “If I see one more story of the Fleece's origin, I will strike down this place.”

Hyunjin looked nervously outside the window, where the sky had darkened with clouds, twisting the ends of his black robes. “Captain, could you not say that?” The boy looked like he would faint if he heard a crack of thunder. 

“Nothing is going to happen, Hyunjin.”

“Not unless you stay angry,” he muttered. You gave him a look, to which he replied with a hesitant shrug. “You've been on edge since that man was found on the ship. I haven't seen you so wound up since the Dolphin Pirates.”

“Fucking dolphins,” you cursed under your breath, your hand instinctively coming to your bandaged wound.

“Hyunjin, I need more scrolls.” Seungmin brushed off the remaining rolls of paper from the table that the three of you were standing at.

“Wha—Who's going to pick after you dump all of these on the ground?” Hyunjin exclaimed. 

“Don't care. I know something is here; I can feel it. Stop interrupting my flow.” Seungmin seemed like the only one who was focusing on the matter at hand. He had his leather-bound journal opened, jotting down anything he thought was important. You, on the other hand, were too distracted. You needed to get your sh*t together, or everything would fall apart.

“Sure, leave everything to the guy that has magic,” Hyunjin grumbled, closing his eyes to concentrate. He had gotten better at controlling his powers. Hecate was an ancient deity, and her powers were much more violent and uncontrollable. When you first met Hyunjin, he was adamant against using his powers, so you felt a twinge of pride at how he was now. A few moments later, five more scrolls tied to a gold-colored strip of fabric appeared on the table. “That's all that's left.”

“That's it?” Seungmin asked, his voice a mix of disbelief and irritation.

“Look at the ground, you dog! There's about a thousand pieces of parchment—”

“Who are you calling a dog, you ferret—”

“Stop arguing!” Both of them ceased yelling at your outburst. You let out a deep exhale and pinched the bridge of your nose. “Leave the scrolls once we're done; I'll pay the dryads, and they won't curse us for this mess.” You took out your pocket watch, your thumb tracing over the dianthus etched onto the metal. “We should get going soon. I don't want to leave that thief on that ship without me for longer than I have to. Gods forbid Chan does something when he goes there.”

“Do you have some sort of history?” Seungmin asked bluntly.

“Well, I—” You were at a loss for words for a second. You were used to Seungmin being straightforward, but not this forward.

“It's obvious, Captain. And I'm not being rude. I'm being logical. Clearly, you and Bang Chan have a backstory. You and Changbin do as well. It's obvious that you and Han Jisung (you stiffened at the name) do too. I can't help but wonder if all four of you know each other.” He looked at you quizzically, and you withered at his gaze. You felt less like a captain and more like Seungmin was the leader instead. These past few hours, he'd been more leaderly than you had. “You don't have to tell us anything. You're the captain, and I obey your orders. It's just going to be difficult to tread on hot coal around you and Changbin every day when our mission is as stressful as it is.”

“You're right,” you admitted, feeling embarrassed at your actions. One little thing was all it took for you to unravel. That wasn't very captainly of you.

Sometimes, even a captain needed someone to get their ass in line. 

Seungmin was that person for you; you understood that after many such incidents of him grounding you with his, albeit blunt, words. You felt it was because of the more familial connection between the two of you that you didn't have with the other crew members. 

The three of you wrapped up your research expedition in the Archives, paying a hefty amount of gold drachmas to the dryads that took care of the place, and headed back to the ship. Your thoughts are much clearer now. You weren't going to let the past affect you anymore. Han Jisung was an intruder, and you would deal with him as you did with all intruders.

Toss him off the gang plank to have a nice supper.

The walk back to the ship was brisk; your fingers were itching to leave Crete as soon as possible. Swiftly clambering up the ladder, you got onto the ship and were met with your old friend talking with Felix and Changbin. They turned towards you at the sound of your footsteps, your eyes meeting Chan's and his face breaking out into an irresistible grin, making your breath catch in your throat. He was dressed differently than how you had seen him earlier, with a white shirt that clung to the muscles of his body and a hat on his head. You barely noticed the numerous boxes of things at his feet, for you were too entranced by his face.

Curse you, Bang Chan, and your stupid good looks.

“Chan, glad to see you aboard,” you said, feeling a little of breath—either from your walk or from him, you didn't know. 

“Captain, did you find anything?” Changbin asked, looking expectantly between you, Seungmin, and Hyunjin.

“Old wives tales and perhaps a hint of something good,” Seungmin answered, holding up his journal. “I don't know perfect Minoan, so it might take a while to translate. But from what I could make out, we might have to make a stop in Athens.”

“Athens?” Chan looked at the brown-robed man quizzically. 

“I know it sounds far-fetched, but it's worth a shot.” If Seungmin was willing to bet on Athens, it was better than what you had—nothing.

They all turned to you. You swallowed dryly at the feeling of so many eyes on you, particularly two of them. Seeing Changbin again, you tried to push back the memory of what happened in your cabin to the back of your mind. “Athens it is.” You nodded stiffly. “It should take us a few days, I believe. I'll plot a course once I take care of our problem below deck.”

“What problem?” Chan asked, looking at you.

“Nothing worth worrying about,” you quickly said. “Hyunjin, show the man around and give him his quarters. Tell Minho to prepare for departing and make sure the ship is stocked up before we leave the harbor.”

Your crew got to work, and so did you, noticing the concerned look Chan gave you as you disappeared below deck. Jeongin was standing guard at the cabin where Jisung was being held.

“Any problems?” You asked him.

“Nothing weird except that he fell asleep earlier and kept moaning about something. I brushed it off until he said something that sounded like fleece.” An icy shiver went through your body.

“I never said anything about the fleece to him.” You pushed open the door to reveal the man that was tied to the ground, his head down, until he heard the creak of the wood as you stepped in, looking up at you through his messy hair. His eyes were unfocused and glazed over like you had never seen before. As you got closer, you could see almost a green sheen in the brown on his irises.

“Whoa, what's wrong—should I get Changbin?—” Jeongin was cut off by a raspy inhale coming from the thief.

“Someone you dislike will make an appearance. Turn him away, and your town will be doomed to ruin.” Jisung spoke, but that was nothing like his voice. It sounded more ancient, more earthly. More sinister, you thought.

“The Golden Fleece lies not where you think, but where the enchantress’ suitor did not sink.”

Jisung slumped forward, the ropes binding him the only way he was sitting. He was motionless for a few moments, and you feared he was gone until you saw him take a shaky, deep breath, like he was underwater for a lot longer than he should've been, and come up for air.

You let out a stuttered huff. What you heard was a prophecy. 

A prophecy from Han Jisung, the thief. 

Your heart thundered in your chest as the bound man shook his head and glanced up at you with big, brown eyes, his lips parched, and his face covered in sweat. 

He was the person you disliked.

He was the one you had to make a truce with if you wanted to save Salnich. 

The revelation made your head spin, and you stumbled backwards. 

So much for keeping the past behind you.

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[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Prominence [WCh. 2.19]

Social Media AU ; Idol AU ; Added Unit AU CW/TW: Language Genre: Comedy, Romance Pairing: NCT x Idol!Reader, Seonghwa x Reader, Yangyang x Reader; ft. ATEEZ Y/N Pronouns: Female (She/Her) Word Count: 4.0K

(19/80) [First] | [Previous] | [Next] [NCT Masterlist] | [Other Groups Masterlist] | [Prominence S1 Masterlist] | [Prominence S2 Masterlist]

Notes: Lots going down on this chapter that's gonna set some ground stuff for the next written chapters probably Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves.

Feedback is greatly appreciated!! Thank you for reading!

The day is the ninth of February, and the members of ATEEZ had just received the most disheartening news of the year. Their Europe tour has just been postponed, and now half of them were on their way home while the other half had some plans before leaving. Plus, for whatever reason, Wooyoung and San seemed adamant on returning home as soon as they could. They were now on their way to the airport to see each other off.

"Can you boys hear me?" ATEEZ's manager speaks from his spot on the passenger side of the van. Hongjoong answered for everyone while Seonghwa remained on his phone.

You still had him blocked, no surprise there. He had just opened his messages to tell his parents that the Europe leg of the tour got postponed, but then he saw your contact open and, as he expected, none of his messages sent. He wondered if he should go back home now too, but his previous plans with Hongjoong conflicted with those, but should he make you wait any longer?

Were you even waiting for him?

Then he heard three particular gasps in the van, and it was suspicious enough for him to put his phone down and look behind him.

"What's going on with you three?" Hongjoong beat Seonghwa to it. [San, Wooyoung, and Yeosang said nothing, instead just staying glued to their phones, Jongho, meanwhile, just rolled his eyes and shook his head]. Seonghwa looked between the trio and looked at them with some suspicion, it's never good when those three react at the same time.

"Anything you want to share?"

"We're playing Crazy 8," Jongho fills in. With Jongho? That's interesting.

"Yeah, and I'm winning," Wooyoung adds. Satisfied with this answer, Hongjoong looks forward again and Seonghwa returns to his phone, scrolling through the mass texts he probably shouldn't have flooded you with in hindsight. Maybe he should head back home now, and you're the first person he wants- needs, to see. It's time to talk this through properly, without either you or him acting childish about it. No more tantrums, and no more excuses.

"What the hell?!" San shouts from the back seat. Again, seven pairs of eyes were directed towards him, but San only seemed to be focused on Wooyoung, who didn't answer him aside from the wide glare he sent his way. "Why would you... ugh!" San noticed everyone's attention and crossed his arms, sitting back on his seat with a small pout.

"Looks like someone's being a sore loser," Jongho chuckles.

"Sore loser? You kicked me out of the-"

"San," Yeosang's voice held a warning tone in it. Yunho awkwardly tried to make himself smaller between San and Wooyoung. Why they made the tallest member sit between them is beyond anyone's comprehension, but the fact of the matter stood. Then, unprompted, San grabbed at Wooyoung's phone and Yunho yelped in his spot.

"What are you two doing?!" Seonghwa twists to look back there just as [San grabs Wooyoung's phone, quickly skimming over what was on it before furiously typing something out].

"Nothing! San's just being weird. Stop being weird and give me back my phone!" Wooyoung hisses. Yunho holds his arms close to him as Wooyoung makes swiping motions towards San. Wooyoung reaches over, crushing Yunho between the two, and takes his phone back, but as he types something out, San grabs at it again.

"What has gotten into you two?!" Hongjoong asks.

"Nothing!" Wooyoung and San both answer. Hongjoong, instead, sets his sights on Yunho.

"Yunho?" He asks. Yunho looks at San first, then at Wooyoung.

"They're... they're playing crazy 8."

"Likely story," Hongjoong frowns. "Well, if you're going to get physical about it, wait until we get to the airport and not in a van that can tip over because of how much you're moving it around," he says.

"Sorry, hyung..." San and Wooyoung both say. San takes this moment to yank Wooyoung's phone from his hand and continue what he was doing and, in some bout of annoyance, Jongho reaches behind him, takes the phone from San, and hands it back to Wooyoung. In another last ditch effort, San instead grabs Yeosang's phone, doing something on it quickly, before returning it to the member. Yeosang nearly looked offended when he did so, but chose not to say anything. San returned to his phone and the van fell back into silence.

Seonghwa opened his phone again, scrolling through all of the messages. He tried his best to explain everything, he just hoped that it went through correctly. How many times has he read through his own explanations to even rationalize to himself what happened? When would you even go through them at all? Part of him wishes that you both could just forget the breakup even happened and go back to how everything was before. But he knew where you were coming from, he understood it.

However, even so, when he finally came to tell you the truth, you pushed him away. It was such a childish move on your part and one he didn't expect that he didn't know what to say to you once he finally got the chance. He didn't understand it, but at the same time, he kind of did. If you did the same to him, he'd be as upset as you were. Now that it's been a few months, maybe the tensions had died down enough for him to better explain himself in a way that wouldn't make the situation worse. Maybe you'd be willing to listen, hopefully, you would.

He should've just told you everything from the get go. So what if he said those things about you before? That was in the past. That was in the past and once he saw you in person he'd explain everything and, hopefully, you'd understand.

At this rate, he'd even be content not getting back together with you. As much as he wanted to run to you and tell you that you were all that he'd ever need, realistically, he couldn't. He just wanted you and him to be on good terms again, at the very least, nothing more. No more playing the blame game, you both just needed to talk it out.

"Are you kidding me?!" San shouts again and Jongho turns to him with a look that could kill. San just threw his hands up and rolled his eyes. "This was my idea in the first place, you guys suck..." he mutters.

"Are you okay?" Mingi asks.

"Fine, just fine," San says through grit teeth. Seonghwa only shook his head and opened Instagram, scrolling through his feed like normal, and pausing just for a moment on your [post]. He skimmed through the caption and, lo and behold, the next post after yours was the one belonging to your best friend. Feeling his heart rate move faster and his brows scrunch together, he took a deep breath and hit his head against the headrest.

Jealousy was never a good look on him. On the rare occasions that it happened, he always said it, you always said it, then he'd quickly get over it because why wouldn't he trust you in the first place? Why wouldn't you trust him? He never really thought of how horrific sercets could be in a relationship until some that he had nearly forgotten about were revealed to him. He shook the thoughts out of his head. You weren't even together anymore, he had no right feeling this way right now, and he knows that.

But he also knows that sometimes, or maybe most times up until recently, Seonghwa was afraid that you would realize that in some aspects Yangyang could be so much better for you than him.

"Hey, you okay?" Hongjoong asks, interrupting Seonghwa's train of thought. Seonghwa turns to him and nods.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just feel bad for having to postpone the Europe leg, you know?"

"Yeah, it really is a shame," Hongjoong crosses his arms, doing his best to ignore San and Wooyoung's mostly silent argument. Instead, he sneaks a look at Seonghwa's phone. "You know, I genuinely think you both can get through this."

"Sorry?"

"You and (Y/N)... you're both something special, I think. Every time I saw you two together it was like you both brought out the best of yourselves. It always warmed my heart to see that because wow, you two really do love each other," Hongjoong kept his voice quiet. "You just need to talk, together, and figure things out. You didn't really know what you were doing before, dating as idols is complicated, I'm sure you know that. But, once you guys just really take the time to figure it out, you'll be closer than ever."

"I'm not too sure about that one, Hongjoong," Seonghwa shook his head slightly, moving between the two posts on his phone. Hongjoong followed his movements.

"You really think Yangyang would do that?" Hongjoong shook his head. "No, you really think (Y/N) would do that? Maybe you didn't know her as well as you said you did."

"And you know her better?"

"I know her well enough to know that, at the very least, she wouldn't lead her best friend on like that. From what I know of her, (Y/N) is the type to keep things frank between people, she doesn't sugarcoat things, she can't in this kind of career. No one can, if you're going to date an idol as an idol, you both have to be in mutual agreement that no matter what happens, you will stay together. It's hard to make real friends in this industry even if you're lucky enough to get along with all the members of your own group. Respectfully, I think (Y/N) understands that what she has with Yangyang is something not worth losing. And whatever she has with you? I can't speak for her, but I'm sure she thinks about it often."

"Thank you, Hongjoong," Seonghwa sighs.

"You just need to both stop being childish and have a genuine talk."

"I know. But to be fair-"

"No, there's no 'but to be fair's in this. It's been a while, I'm sure you both can have a productive conversation. If you get back together, great. If you don't, then that's fine too. We're all adults here, so we handle our problems like adults."

"I know," Seonghwa turns his phone off. Before he could say anything more, their attention is directed to their manager, who suddenly rose his voice on the phone.

"What do you mean our flight got delayed?!" He shouts. Hongjoong leans forward. "I have eight idols in one van and god knows how many fans following us, we can't safely transport them... fine, we can't do anything about it. Are the airlines at least providing a place to stay the night instead? Good, I'll relay it to the driver." Their manager hangs up and turns around, Hongjoong silently nodding. "Alright, boys, we're spending one more night here until we fly back to Korea. Our flight's delayed until tomorrow at noon. I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it," their manager's face was disappointed, but the members of ATEEZ understood.

"One more night, that's not bad, we can handle that," Mingi says. "We'll just rest up more before heading home, what's our schedule after?"

"We've decided to let you guys take it easy for a while, once we confirm the postponed dates we'll start practicing again," their manager explains.

"Got it," Yunho breaks San and Wooyoung apart. "So, where are we staying?" He asks, squaring his shoulders while Wooyoung and San glare at each other.

"Over... there," their manager points to a motel across the street of the airport.

"Well... it's just one night, right?" Mingi says.

~

"I want to go home," Mingi said absently, his eyes glued to the cracking ceilings above him and the bedsprings beneath him squeaking despite the lack of movement.

"Awww, it's not that bad, is it?" San walks out of the shower, drying off his wet hair with a towel. He grabs his phone and his face immediately lights up. "Hey, Mingi, think you can do me a quick favor?"

"What?" The taller member sits up on the bed.

"Can you and Yeosang switch for the night?"

"What? Why? I don't want to room with that hyung..."

"What? You have a problem with Seonghwa?"

"What if he starts moping about (Y/N) again? Like, I get he's heartbroken, or whatever, but isn't it better that they're not together?"

"..."

"San?"

"Can you and Yeosang switch for the night?" It sounded less like a request and more like a demand.

"Geez, what's with you?" Mingi pouts, but gets up anyway. "It's not like you were dating her anyway..." he shrugs.

"No, I wasn't, but she's still a friend of ours! Come to think of it, you didn't really like her at first, huh?"

"I mean... yeah, yeah she is our friend too, it's just that back then her reputation preceded her and... it's hard not to think of those when she's smiling all innocent like that with your friend, you know? I was scared she was just going to use him or something... I know better now! Don't get me wrong... But do other people know?" Mingi crosses his arms. San responds in kind. The rumors surrounding ANiMA and the rumors surrounding you, of course, he understood. "It doesn't help that those rumors only got worse, especially after they went public. I don't think those two wanted to admit it, but those really strained them. For hyung, and for (Y/N), I don't think they should get back together."

"The rumors got worse? In the end, shouldn't the only thing that matter be that we know they're not true?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Mingi sighs. "It's just... it's sad. (Y/N) can't help it because she's in NCT, and you know they have some crazy fans that always make shit up, Seonghwa can't help it because even if he said something it might make the rumors worse, it's just, it's sad. I know they both really love each other too and all but... I don't know, I don't want to watch them go through all those again. Even now, now that they're broken up, have you seen some of the things people are saying on Twitter? No matter what they do they'll just be faced with more pointless opposition."

"Yeah," San and Wooyoung spent a whole night going through the tag actually. San was just reading through it while Wooyoung was doing all the defending, but it did nothing to quell the rapid fire tweets. All the rumors of what happened behind the scenes, they just got more and more far-fetched the further down they went. Things like how they were never really in love in the first place, to both of them cheating on each other, to even people theorizing that the whole thing was a cover-up for what would've been a bigger scandal. It was all jumbled and for them to get back together now, as much as no one wanted to admit it, probably wasn't the best move.

"Why do you want them back together?" Mingi huffs. "It really shouldn't be any of our business, you know?"

"I just... they were so happy together. And now Seonghwa's all mopey, who knows how (Y/N)'s doing," he does, according to Mark you've been a lot sadder and maybe more blunt with your remarks, "I don't really know. They just seemed so right for each other."

"You know what I think?"

"Hm?"

"I think you feel guilty."

"What do you mean by that?" San clenched his jaw.

"You remember, the things you said about her when they first started out. I think you just want to prove to yourself that you were wrong for saying those things, I think you feel guilty about even thinking of her like that," Mingi spoke quietly, especially after hearing Wooyoung's loud laugh in the next room after. "You haven't apologized to her for that, and if they don't get back together you think that you won't have the chance. Am I right?" San doesn't answer. Truthfully, he didn't think much of the why until now, until Mingi pointed it out. And, as much as he hated to say it, Mingi had a point. For a while, San entertained your rumors, he thought they were fun to poke fun at to tease Seonghwa, and part of him may have believed that some of the more unsightly ones were true. "Either way, that's my bit, I'll switch with Yeosang, or whatever," he walks out of the room, knocking on the door next door and waiting for Seonghwa to open it.

"Hey... need anything?" Seonghwa asks.

"Yeah, San wants me to switch with Yeosang tonight," Mingi smiles.

"Really? Good! Great!" Yeosang calls from inside, in a few seconds he's out of the door and into the other room.

"Huh... that was fast," Seonghwa stepped aside and let Mingi in. "I wonder what's up with those two, they've been acting so strange this entire trip," he wonders aloud.

"They're probably planning something, knowing those two," Mingi frowns. He takes the empty bed and Seonghwa sits on the other one, returning to the English textbook next to him. The two were silent for a while until Mingi broke it. "Hyung, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Seonghwa closed the book and gave his attention to Mingi. He kept his voice quiet.

"Do you..." Mingi hesitated, trying to figure out the right way to phrase this. "Do you want to get back together with (Y/N)?"

"Of course I do," Seonghwa answered without hesitation and Mingi was taken aback for a moment. "Have I done anything to suggest otherwise?"

"No, not really, I was just curious," Mingi says.

"Just curious?" Seonghwa quirks a brow. "I heard your's and San's conversation next door, you don't need to say anything more," he says. "The walls are thin."

"Oh..." Mingi swallows harshly.

"You're right, you know. The rumors. They got intense after a while, and for a bit they did strain us. But, after seeing so many ridiculous ones, we realized, 'huh, we really shouldn't waste our time with these.' And the rest kind of faded out after that," he says. "And, you know, you can still talk to her. It's not like I'm blacklisting you all from associating with her. She's still your friend, right?"

"Yeah... I know that, it's just, it's kind of awkward now, no?" Mingi shakes his head. "You were our friend first, and I'm not sure about the others, but I'd put you before her, no offense."

"None taken," Seonghwa shrugs. "I know that realistically we're not going to get back together any time soon, probably. I really messed up with her trying to fix this whole thing with Juliet and, to be honest after thinking about it, as much as I love her, she can be a bit of a chore sometimes to handle."

"You can say that again," Mingi huffs.

"She's a bit high maintenance, but I never really minded it, I kind of liked it, actually" Seonghwa hums. "When I'm with her, it's like nothing else mattered, you know? Whether that was because I was just so head over heels for her or because she always kept me occupied when she was around, I'm not sure. But I always enjoyed it, and I hope we could at least be on good terms if not anything else," he admits. "Sorry, I heard that you didn't want me to go on this spiel, so I'll stop there."

"What? Nah, I asked you about it first. Look, I know we tease you a lot about it, and I know we can be pretty mean about it, but we're here to support you. If you want us to up and walk away, sure we can do that. If you want us to help you come up with this master plan to fix everything, okay, but I can't promise you that it'd be a good plan. We just want to help, you're both important to us now," Mingi leans against the headboard. "Or maybe I'm overthinking it, it's pretty late."

"Or maybe that," Seonghwa places the textbook on the nightstand. "Once we land, I'm going to try to find a good time to talk to her, and we'll figure things out from there. How hard can it be? We did nothing but talk before, this should be like all those other times."

"Want one of us to come with you?"

"No, I can handle it well on my own," Seonghwa says. "Thank you for your concern, really. I'm sure we'll figure things out soon," he looks down at his phone, still trying to find out what he said to you last night. "So, why did you and Yeosang switch?"

"Not really sure, San just kept insisting."

"Hm... strange."

~

"Where's Yangyang?" Mark squints his eyes and leans forward towards his computer.

"What do you mean 'where's Yangyang' we kicked the traitor out!" Wooyoung shouts.

"Shh! Seonghwa's in the next room over we don't want him to hear us!" Jongho says. "I literally heard Yunho and Hongjoong talking about whether waffles or pancakes were better earlier..."

"Speak for yourself, I have priorities!" Wooyoung huffs. "Yeosang, you said you had something to share, right?"

"Right. The investigation's been moving at a snail's pace"

"Gee, I under why," Chenle says sarcastically.

"I have a plan to move it forward," Yeosang leans back on his bed.

"Oh? Do tell," Yeseul shifts in her seat and, although he was on his phone, it was clear that Jaehyun was now listening closer.

"Well, our Europe tour got postponed, so some of us are on our way home while some of us are staying. We're going to do some schedule stuff here and maybe some sightseeing before we head back, but anyway, hyung and I are some of the people staying behind."

"Who's coming back here?" Mark asks.

"San, Wooyoung, Yunho, and Mingi," Jongho answers. "What's this plan you're trying to get at?"

"I'm gonna grill it out of that hyung," Yeosang crosses his arms and maintains a confident smile. "I'm not sure if you know this... but he's not very good at holding his liquor."

"Oh? That might work, actually," Chenle leans forward, somewhat impressed.

"Exactly. We're roommates and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't turn down a friendly drink. Once he's, you know, drunk, I'll try to get what I can out of him and figure it out from there. He's only gotten more cryptic about everything else surrounding it, and I can tell it's really weighing him down. I'm really more worried about him at this point. How's (Y/N) holding up?"

"Well... she's letting Mars sleep in her room again if that counts for anything. For a while Mars just stayed in Johnny's room," Mark frowns. "Poor guy was so confused as to why (Y/N) wouldn't look at him... poor thing."

"I bet he misses us..." Wooyoung pouts.

"Oh, I don't think so," Jaehyun says absently. "He's pretty comfortable here. Hasn't tried to escape at all actually."

"Well-"

"Okay! Before we get carried away, let's help Yeosang brainstorm that plan of his," Jongho says. "Where better to get the information than from the man himself? Has (Y/N) said anything about it at all, Mark?"

"I mean... no, nothing we don't already know," Mark shakes his head. "You know, I don't really feel comfortable doing this anymore... maybe we shouldn't pry into their relationship? Maybe it's a good thing we don't know, you know? It's good to take breaks in relationships, right?"

"..." The zoom meeting was quiet.

"Yeosang, remove Mark from the meeting," Chenle leans against his chair.

"Hey! Let's not be rash now! What did I say?"

"Remove the traitor from the chat as well," Chenle continues.

"Wait!" Before he could continue, Mark was removed from the meeting.

~

Meanwhile, in just the next room over, Hongjoong had left to discuss tomorrow's schedule with the manager and Yunho sat by himself, phone in his hand and a certain contact under his thumb. He took a deep breath before making a move to press on it, but he hesitated before committing and he put his phone down on the bed next to him, instead opting to stand up and pace the room.

This wasn't right, it really wasn't. He should say something, right? Definitely. He had to say something, it's only the right thing to do. Right! It's the right thing to do! He picked up his phone again, determined to press the number on it, but again he hesitated.

It's not his business though... he shouldn't pry.

But...

He shook his head and pressed on the number. It rang a few times before another person picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, (Y/N)!"

"Oh, uh... this is Yangyang, actually."

"Oh, shit."

"Huh?!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean that, uh... er..." Yunho stopped as he heard Wooyoung loudly talking to who he thinks is Yeseul in the next room, he couldn't make out the whole conversation, but he thinks he could put together the context, with what he was able to get a glimpse of in the van, it had to be true. "Is (Y/N) okay?"

"Yeah? She's fine. She just went to the bathroom and shoved all her things on me so... yeah?"

"Do you normally pick up her calls?"

"Yeah, she normally picks up mine so it's just a thing. Did you need me to tell her anything?"

"Uh... nah! No, it's fine, don't worry about it! I was just going to check in with her, you know? She's still a friend of mine and... yeah, you get it."

"I do, yeah, I'll let her know."

"Cool, thanks, bye!" Yunho hung up the phone, letting it drop onto the bed again. "Oh man... this is so wrong..." Yunho runs worried hands down the side of his head, "I have to tell her, oh man, but how am I going to tell her? Would she even believe me? Does she even care? She has to care a little bit, right? I have to tell hyung too! Would he believe me?! How am I going to tell her that half of our members and some of hers are trying to sabotage any chance of fixing things with Seonghwa?! Trying to set her up with her best friend argh, does Yangyang even know? Oh man, this is so screwed up..."

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[todoscript]

Syndicate — [ 1 ]

Parts | one ; two ; three

Genre | Mafia AU / Anti-Villain AU.

Pairing(s) | MafiaBosses!TodoBakuDeku x Fem!Reader

Rating | Mature

Words | 5.2k+

Summary | Being the lover of, not one, but three influential young men, who are the leaders of the most wanted crime syndicate in Japan, it is no surprise that other eyes are watching you beyond the three’s own.

Warnings | Violence. Cursing/crude language. Guns. Mafia talk/“negotiating”. Lots of fighting. Reader is inspired by the femme fatale archetype. Polyamorous relationship. Characters are aged-up. Sexual undertones/implied sexual content. Possessiveness. Heavily self-indulgent. Written in 3rd POV. Shouto’s “codename” is Mercury (b/c the planet is both half-hot and half-cold lol).

Author’s Notes | Hello all! This is the first ever fanfic I’ve posted on tumblr! Sorry, the idea was lingering in my head until I suddenly felt the burst of energy to start writing this out of nowhere in the dead of 3AM. I’ve written fanfiction before but I’ve never published anything for tumblr so this is exciting.

The air is still, nearly silent apart from the nocturnal creatures that scurry and prowl through alleys, navigating over the dewy darkness between the seams. The moon graces the gloom of the night with its luster across desolated areas in Japan. Business hours have longed past as services are halted until the next coming day. Civilians are nowhere to be found, tucked away in their homes with their lights flickered off.

What remains alive in Japan during this hour is the wind cast through the streets, the scamper of animals in the nocturne, and a low hum of an ebony vehicle driven down roads of street lights.

“Whatever the fuck Overhaul wants better be worth my fucking time, Deku,” hisses a peeved Katsuki Bakugou, leaning against the window of their sleek automobile and looking highly uninterested during the ride. Izuku Midoriya, the young man with the head of unruly verdant hair, nods his head. His expression is mild at his friend’s usual discontented tone.

“Kai Chisaki—the head boss of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza—wants to negotiate with us, Kacchan. Surely it would be advantageous for us to hear him out. If anything we’ll manage to at least squeak some intel from him to reference for later on.” A glint rises in the male’s eyes.

“‘Some intel’ ain’t enough. If they’re gonna drag all three of us out here, then it better be for something good, or else I might have to let off some explosions to satisfy my boredom.” Bakugou’s quirk begins to pop and crack around his palms at the idea of letting loose.

Shouto Todoroki—the third of the trio—sighs exasperatingly at his fellow inflamed mafia boss, running his hand through his red and white tresses.

“Bakugou, I’d advise against it. Knowing the location we’re heading to, your explosions would only cause a ruckus in the area that’d get the annoying heroes involved. I’ve had enough dealing with those fools as it is and we also don’t need the men in blue following after our trail.”

“Shut up Icy-Hot! If this ‘negotiation’ isn’t beneficial to us, I’ll find my own way to make them pay for wasting our damn time!” Bakugou yells.

These three young men—Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugou, and Shouto Todoroki—are known as the bosses of one of Japan’s most powerful organized crime syndicates.

Notorious, ruthless, and authoritative, these three, despite their youth, have secured a name for themselves within the underground crime world. Aside from their tenacity and skill, the strength of each of their quirks played a large factor in their rise among the rivaling crime groups. They easily snuffed out the weak competition without so much as a sweat, and working under them are other strong combatants, each of them possessing their own unique and powerful quirks.

With everything at their disposal, the Yuuei mafia group quickly obtained a vast, large territory within the capital of Japan—the epicenter of where all the shady deals and disputes occur.

“We didn’t even bring Angel Face with us. What a drag.” Bakugou gruffs. He leans back in his seat, arms crossed, and cushioned behind his head as the lamps flicker past them, the dim lights splayed across the endless road.

“Letting ____ rest was the least we could do after her successful infiltration at the political officials gala,” the middle of the three states matter-a-factly.

“Especially after the rounds she endured even after her mission,” Todoroki adds, vividly remembering the gala dress cascading down her skin and clinging to her body that night, as well as their antics that ensued afterward.

He recalls the beautiful, red formal gown she wore for the occasion, the material hugging her figure perfectly and accentuating her curves in all the right places. God, he prayed that something within him wouldn’t stir at the thought of it again.

They all remembered it quite clearly. It made their fingers itch the very evening of the event, yearning to touch all the dips and arcs that sculpted her body. Her hair, styled up and tied with a matching silk red ribbon, kept the skin of her neck bare and begging to be marked while gold lined her wrists and collar bones. To say she was a goddess that night would be an understatement. The three could barely keep their hands off her before she even left the mansion, let alone attend the gala. But once her mission was complete, she arrived home to be thoroughly loved and lusted, with three young and hungry men indulging in all the divine fruits this celestial being had to offer to them.

The girl they speak of is not only their right-hand woman but also the three’s beloved paramour. Since their journey into coming to power, ____ has been with them through thick and thin and has become an influential asset in attaining their position.

Beautiful, yet dangerous, she proved to be an incredibly powerful fighter in many forms of combat in combination with her quirk, along with having a gift for deception that allowed her to climb her way to the top of the pack. Naturally, the trio found themselves drawn to her, not just for her strength and beauty, but also her passion and ability to mend the spirits of those around her. If it weren’t her, the Yuuei mafia group would not be as intact and well-oiled as it is today.

“Besides, we have some of our best following in the car behind us in case anything suspicious happens,” Midoriya gestures to the similar-looking sleek and dark-tinted car trailing behind their own.

“I very much doubt we need them, but it’s best not to worry Angel too much while she’s resting,” Todoroki murmurs, crossing his legs.

A few more turns and they’ve eventually entered the area of a vacant warehouse located on the edge of Japan near the shore.

The moment their vehicle is directed to a stop, the three bosses exit. Bakugou vehemently slams his door, eyeing the building with a vexing glare.

“Let’s get this shit show over with. This better be good.”

The warehouse is eerily quiet in the dead of the night and smells of salt from the ocean behind it. Spotting them walking to the entrance, the watchmen of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza hastily open the doors enclosing the warehouse. The hinges bear an uncomfortable creaking sound that jars through the silence.

“Oh, he’s here! He’s here! My cute little Izuku is here!” hollers a shrill voice belonging to an all-too-energetic head of messy, bunned-up blonde hair. The said boy blinks twice at her enthusiasm as they approach the lone wooden table situated in the center of the warehouse.

Uh, do I know her? He ponders for a second before dismissing the thought.

A pale man with gloved hands and shaggy auburn hair holds a hand out to halt the girl behind him. “Calm down Toga, we haven’t spoken of negotiations yet, so I need you to be quiet.”

Toga pouts, nearly grasping a silver blade at her side but stills herself for now. In the meantime, she opts to fidget with the tubular machine wrapped around her body.

The three look up to view a small group illuminated by the light fixed above the wooden table. Their eyes swiftly count seven or eight of them surrounding that area, including the ringleader, and likely more hidden somewhere in the darkness around them. After all, any fine and experienced villainous group would know better than to invite the bosses of the most dangerous crime syndicate without being thoroughly prepared for a possible scuffle to occur.

However, for now, they all advance with the notion to talk first before unleashing quirks and violence (well most of them anyway).

“Welcome, welcome. I see you made it to this place without much trouble; you’re right on time,” Overhaul greets the three young men mildly, “Deku, Ground Zero, and Mercury.”

Midoriya walks forward as the center of their entourage to return the cordial greeting. “Yes, it’s nice to finally meet you, Kai Chisaki of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza. Otherwise known as Overhaul.”

“Ah, so you know of me and my cause. It seems our reputation precedes us.”

“Of course. The Shie Hassaikai yakuza has long been in business in the crime world…” Midoriya muses, “Though they’ve wrung out past their former glory. Having since been pushed back into the underground after the rise of heroes.”

Bakugou smirks, close to letting out a snicker at the backhanded comment.

It’s true. While the Shie Hassaikai were one of the main criminal groups running the yakuza underground, that all soon fell and crumbled as the surge of heroes came into society. It was only after the former boss’ grandson, Kai Chisaki, came into power and took leadership that their name grew back into prominence once again, albeit little by little.

“Why you little–” A man donning a long white raincoat and plague doctor mask swiftly appears with a pistol pointed in Midoriya’s direction, none too amused by the remark. However, he’s cut off by a wall of ice erected at Midoriya’s side.

“Watch where you point those toys you little rat,” Todoroki sneers, and the tone of his voice nearly exposes chills to the air.

“Calm down, Chrono. We’re the ones that invited them as guests, thus we need to treat them like so.”

The white-haired subordinate withdraws at the words of his leader, retracting the gun back into the pocket of his coat.

“I apologize, he’s simply on edge over the fact we have some pretty powerful people at our doorstep. You’ll have to excuse him.”

“It’s quite all–”

“Did we come here to talk, or did we come here to fight?” Bakugou barges through, shoving past Midoriya with no restraint.

“I thought this was a fucking negotiation, not an apology fess. If one of your dogs is so edgy, I’d be happy to give him a good thrashing to satiate him if you want,” his raised hand sparks and flickers in the dark, “If not then get to it, Overhaul,” he threatens. Midoriya sighs.

“I think we’re simply all… piqued as to why this meeting was demanded out of nowhere and scheduled for the dead of the night no less, but I’m sure you have some important matters to discuss with us right, Overhaul?” Midoriya reasons, a sly grin on his lips.

“Right, let's get to it shall we?” Approaching closer to the table separating them, Overhaul continues, “First off, I must congratulate you on successfully infiltrating that gala the other night. Not many crime organizations can sneak into a party of that caliber. Especially when it’s so heavily guarded and kept secretive to all suspicious eyes of the dark,” he commends, digging a hand into the pocket of his jacket.

The three exchange quick, wary glances from the corner of their eyes that the opposite party misses.

“You were there?” Todoroki questions bluntly in which Overhaul hums in response.

“Hm, yes. But for different reasons, I’m sure. You see, I’ve been… examining little details of the Yuuei mafia group recently. It fascinates me how well-oiled and efficient you are at running your organization, so I began to ponder: ‘How do they do it?’ Little did I know, the answer all became more than clear to me from what I saw at that gala,” the auburn-haired man drawls, finally plucking out a photo from his pocket and sliding it across the wood under the light.

The moment the three recognized the image, their eyes widened, soon shifting into visages of sheer hostility at the next statement pronounced.

“This girl here? I want her.”

Within the confines of the paper is ____, dressed in the red gown she wore the very night of the gala, a masquerade mask over her features with the purpose to obscure herself in the throng.

The three before Overhaul seethe vessels of wrath.

“What did you just say? Do you even know what you’re asking of us?” Todoroki feels icy and heated atmospheres form on his opposing left and right sides upon hearing Overhaul’s words, sensing the tension rising around his fellow partners as well.

“The girl, I must say, does excellent work at her job. She’s skilled and tactical, having infiltrated many influential organizations and assassinated several powerful faces getting in the way of your mafia group. Such precision, efficiency, and beauty makes her the perfect woman, wouldn’t you agree?” He picks up the picture, bringing it up next to him.

Given the deadly pressure in the air, the next words he utters might be the final nail in his coffin.

“Well, I want you to hand her over to me.”

The nail is hit. There’s a lingering silence before hell nearly breaks loose and the next motions could deliver his soul down the River of Styx.

Fueled by blood-boiling anger and annoyance, Bakugou charges forward to land an explosive hit on the yakuza boss. “LIKE HELL WE WOULD, YA FUCKING BASTARD!” He’s thwarted by a yellow barrier emerging to shield the leader from the attack, courtesy of a henchman at his left side. The blonde jumps back, his hands still crackling and his rage not dissipating anytime soon. “Don’t go spewing a bunch of shit outta your mouth!”

“Now… let’s be rational or you’ll start getting dirt everywhere...” Overhaul dusts off his shoulder before resuming the conversation nonchalantly, “Of course I’ll provide you with compensation. I wouldn’t be so naive as to expect to be given something so valuable without offering payment after all.”

With a snap of his fingers a large, bulky man promptly lays a silver briefcase on the table. The locks click open to reveal wads of cash layering the case to the brim, enough to flabbergast and entice any common citizen in Japan.

“If this amount isn’t enough, I have another briefcase with—”

A jolting sound of the wooden table and metal briefcase breaking beneath Midoriya’s foot is enough to diminish the rest of Overhaul’s remark, signifying their blunt answer to his offer.

“What a waste of a night it’s been. Presenting money to us in hopes that we’d simply hand over our beloved like she’s some prostitute for sale? You're more of a fool than I took you for, Kai Chisaki,” Each word that rolls off Midoriya’s tongue is laced with venom. Such malice is enough to paralyze those who hear it, as if it would be the last statement they’ll ever listen to before hitting the concrete dead.

Reasoning with the trio any further is equivalent to bargaining with the god of the underworld, offering nothing but your knees on the floor and a sad pleading voice, only to be whisked back to the deepest, darkest chambers of hell.

Overhaul simply pauses before following with a long, testy sigh.

“A no then? Alright. Toga.”

The bun-headed blonde pounces forward at the command almost instantaneously, knife in her grasp and ready to swing. Midoriya moves to the side with ease, evading the blade as well as dodging a puncture from a needle. His agility is manifested in green electric currents of aura.

“Ooh, I finally get to cut up and obtain cute Izuku’s yummy blood!” She grins psychotically, keeping both eyes trained on the green-haired boy. “Heehee, I’ve been waiting for this day! Ever since I saw that photo of you all bruised up in a fight, I had to have you all to myself! I just love a man all red and bloodied!” Toga exclaims in utter glee, giggling like a schoolgirl meeting her celebrity idol.

Midoriya grimaces, nearly shivering at her excitement over announcing her neurotic confession to him. Her contorted facade is not earning her any points either. Taking notice of the wary expression that crosses his brows, Toga grins wider.

“It’s OK, even if you don’t like me now, you’ll definitely like me when I get a drop of that girl’s blood and transform into her! We’ll look so much alike, you’ll have heart-eyes for me too!” Her features curve into a look of pure hysteric that leaves Midoriya speechless, so much so it takes a loud blast hurled past him to finally bring his senses back to the conflict.

“Move it, Deku!” Bakugou’s attacks are relentless and powerful, but Toga’s nimbleness prevents her from getting hit.

“Deku, Ground Zero, back up,” Todoroki raises his left hand, the corresponding side flaring with heat before quickly igniting into bright hot flames enough to cover his entire arm. “You lot have some nerve to call us and arrange this abhorrent deal under the guise of a ‘negotiation.’ I’ll incinerate you all for even thinking you could take her from us.”

His quirk is unleashed in a flurry of fire that’s launched toward his enemies.

“Dabi,” Overhaul signals and a lanky man with patched, burnt scars and skin held together by staples and stitches steps forward, triggering his blue blazes to combat the red-orange ones. The infernos collide into a firestorm that soon scatters and disperses due to a power struggle.

“Tch,” Todoroki narrows his brows, annoyed.

“Hm, the brat’s not all talk after all,” Dabi’s expression remains stoic while his hand hovers in front of him, still swallowed by his azure flames. Wordlessly he releases his blazes once more only to be countered by Todoroki’s wall of ice diminishing the onslaught of fire.

On their end, Midoriya and Bakugou are in pursuit of the head honcho Overhaul himself, while attempting to throw blows at Toga along the way.

Now enveloped in energy that increases his strength and dexterity tenfold, it isn’t long until the green-haired young man catches up to crafty Toga’s momentum. With a grunt, Midoriya kicks forward, swinging his foot into the girl’s direction with tremendous force that’s too quick for her to avoid.

Toga braces herself for the impact but the attack never meets. Instead, a yellow shield materializes in front of her to take the blow, a crack now evident on the surface of the saffron safeguard. “Oooh! Izuku’s really out for blood! How thrilling!” she squeals, licking her lips.

“It’s that fucking barrier bastard again! Move over, I’ll kill him!” yells a pissed Bakugou who jumps over Midoriya’s head, running across the top of the manifested barrier. From there, he spots his offender.

Gritting his teeth, he dashes off the shield before it can disappear and uses it to propel himself forward. His palms glow and envelope themselves with heat as he holds them outward.

“Rappa! I can’t conduct another shield so quickly, get him!” Tengai, the one with the barrier quirk, hastens his partner. Rappa zealously swoops in front of him with iron-knuckle gloves ready.

“Oh no, you don’t! Try and fucking dodge this!” Bakugou brings his hands forward while still in midair, “Stun Grenade!” A radiant, gleaming light emits from his palms, effectively blinding all those within his vicinity.

Rappa and Tengai have no choice but to cover their eyes from the intensity of the light, leaving them wide open to strike!

Without hesitation, the ash-blonde creates two more explosions to launch himself forward, spinning in the air and gathering momentum before firing his attack encased in an explosive tornado.

“Howitzer Impact!!”

In an instance, a flash exudes in a fiery burst of nuclear reaction, which releases violent discharges of kinetic energy towards his enemies. The attack hits home, covering a chuck of the area with debris and rubble, and producing a hole on the right side of the warehouse.

Tengai and Rappa are incapacitated.

“Kac— Ground Zero, you went all out didn’t you…” Midoriya mutters while holding Toga down despite all her fidgeting. In a last-ditch effort, the girl draws out the spare knife tucked away in her utility belt, however the young man on top of her knocks it away before she can react any further.

“Toga, am I correct? I suggest you stand down, or I may have to break something to make you cooperate.” Midoriya’s warning exudes a menacing tone, in contrast to his former courteous character and the gentle features adorning his face. Yet Toga does not seem fazed by this.

“Heehee, you’re so cute when you make threats like that…” she giggles, shifting her head ever so slightly to catch glimpses of the male’s appearance. He’s quite disheveled down to his wrinkled suit, unbuttoned collar, sweat glistening on his forehead, and what’s this?

Toga peeks at a single crimson line split on the skin of his cheek with dilated pupils.

“Even though you were so fast, I at least managed to graze you just a teeny-tiny bit! That scarlet cut looks so nice on you, Izuku, aw how I wish I can give you more!” She prattles on and on, beaming over every utterance spoken past her lips. “I did say red is the best color on you, after all!”

Midoriya’s eyes narrow at her behavior, fists clenched and apt to deliver a silencing blow.

“Although… blue wouldn’t look half bad either.”

Unable to express confusion at her remark, he soon perceives a blast of cerulean blue flames aimed and released in his direction, forcing him to jump up to dodge the attack. Toga makes her escape after the fire diffuses, withdrawing next to Dabi. The patched man continues his onslaught on Todoroki and Midoriya.

“They’ve managed to defeat our spear and shield, and nearly took out Toga,” Overhaul’s stance is methodical and calculating, overseeing the fight from the back lines of his unit with a gloved hand beneath his chin. “I suppose it’s time to use that,” he declares.

Chrono briefly glances at him before reaching for a gun in the pocket of his coat—a different weapon from the pistol he pointed at Midoriya earlier. In a container held behind him, he produces a peculiarly shaped bullet, one that takes on the form of a cartridge with a hypodermic needle sticking out on one end.

“Dabi, when these bullets hit, that will be your chance to burn them all away,” orders the auburn-haired man. He raises an arm to prep for the signal as Chrono readies the gun wielded in his hand, positioning his target onto the spiky blonde mafia boss.

“Ha! You think a pathetic little gun is going to stop me?!” While Bakugou exudes confidence and arrogance, his dual-haired comrade is not as keen about the situation at hand.

Why would those fools try to use such a primitive method of fighting at this point? They saw how useless that gun was earlier… ponders Todoroki in the heat of battle, Unless…

“Ground Zero! Be careful! There’s something fishy about that weapon they’re using!” he warns, making the blonde’s expression fix into an irritated glare.

“Shut up Icy-Hot; I know what I’m doing! Why don’t you pay attention to patchwork over there before you get another scar!” Bakugou quips back, eyes never leaving Overhaul. “I’m gonna make this washout yakuza leader regret ever giving us a call to this useless negotiation.”

The man is impassive at the blonde’s threats, lips remaining in a fine line underneath his mask. His arm stays raised next to him for Chrono to acknowledge.

At once, Bakugou’s body launches back into action like a jet engine propelling a rocket. His movements gather more and more sweat to strengthen himself for another devastating assault.

“Pesky thing won’t stop moving…” mutters Chrono, hand continually shifting aim at Bakugou’s unpredictable tumbling. “I’ll just make you sit still!”

On command, arrow-shaped hair pierces through the fabric of his hood and extends straight to Bakugou. His quirk’s versatility and quick instincts allow him to evade the attack to the left with ease. However, it seems Chrono was waiting for that very moment as the blonde is now within his gun’s line of sight.

Overhaul draws his hand down, giving Chrono the signal to finally pull the trigger. A crack of a sonic boom resonates within the single millisecond it is shot. The dart is fired.

The gunshot rings throughout the space of the warehouse. Todoroki and Midoriya can barely register the shot in time to yell out to Bakugou, whose head turns toward the capsule’s velocity in almost slow motion.

Crap..! he curses, unable to move away to escape the bullet in time and preparing to embrace the shot.

However, it never makes its mark.

“Boss! Watch out!”

A gruff voice suddenly makes its debut within the fray, taking everyone by surprise as the newcomer throws himself in front of Bakugou, hardened arms crossed.

“What the—!”

Chrono watches in despair. The bullet ricochets right off the rock-like body of a man with spiked tufts of crimson red hair.

“What the hell? Red Riot?!” sputters a bewildered Bakugou at Kirishima’s abrupt entrance.

“D-Dammit!” Chrono tries to fire again to rectify his failure, but his attempt is in vain. Something muscly wraps around his arm tightly, tossing him away.

“Froppy!” Midoriya calls out to the girl as she retracts her froggy tongue, currently clung to the wall, and camouflaged into her surroundings. She reveals herself into the battle with a small “ribbit.”

“While you guys were inside, a bunch of their goons started surrounding our cars. We knew something shady was up, especially when we heard explosions coming from inside, so we busted our way in here right past them!” Kirishima explains, now standing back-to-back against Bakugou, “Seems like you’re fighting a battle too!”

“I see, so they planned on ambushing all of us if we didn’t comply with their deal,” says Todoroki. He fires more flames in their direction. “How pathetic. They were woefully unprepared.”

“Agreed! Ambushing is no way to fight! Real men would come at us head-on!” Kirishima emphasizes his fierceness through clanking his hardened fists against each other, jagged edges sparking.

“Red Riot! Froppy!” exclaims Midoriya, “Where are the others?”

Asui ribbits before answering, “They’re handling the rest of the—”

“L-Leader..! Leader!” a frantic voice shouts from the entrance of the warehouse, where a ragged up Shie Hassaikai henchman tries to pry inside.

“T-The girl..! She isn’t h-here, she isn’t— GAH!”

His message is interrupted. A menacing shadowy figure looms over the goon like a monster hiding within the dark and throws him back to the struggle outside, proceeding to rampage across the battlefield. Desperate cries leak out but to no avail.

Overhaul discerns the sputtered message:

The girl he so desired was not with them to begin with.

To his dismay, this fight was pointless. If what he sought could not be forcibly taken right then and there, then there is no reason to continue the battle. There was no prize to be won by the end of it all.

Now, he must adjust his plans due to the unfavorable news. How tragic.

At the thought of having lost time, energy, and resources, the yakuza leader pinches the bridge of his nose, utterly furious. There’s a pause in which Overhaul seethes an aura of killing intent over this frustration.

But it eventually simmers and subsides. What happens now cannot be changed, no matter how enraged he is. So he must take logical steps to preserve and remedy the repercussions, which to him was simple:

“We’re withdrawing.”

“What?” Dabi looks at him incredulously, “After all this?”

“Yes, they've taken down our spear and shield, and have wiped out the majority of the soldiers. If what we want isn’t here, then there is no point in staying,” Overhaul’s husky tone bears weight and authority at every word.

“Nemoto, grab Chrono from wherever he was thrown.”

“Yes, Overhaul. What about Rappa and Tengai?”

The auburn-haired man doesn’t so much as spare a glance toward his two defeated subordinates lying on the ground, “Leave them. They’re expendable to me.”

Nemoto nods, going to gather a knocked out Chrono thrown across the warehouse and now lying unconscious atop broken wooden crates.

Midoriya’s fists clenched tightly at the scene, realizing what the yakuza’s next plan of action was going to be.

“They’re trying to escape!”

“Oh, the fuck they are. I won’t let a single one of you bastards leave!” Bakugou bursts into the air, propelled by the explosions from his palms in hot pursuit, with Midoriya catching up thanks to his heightened speeds.

“Sorry boys, party’s over!” Toga intercepts the two using twin knives flung in their direction, catching them off guard. Dabi follows the diversion by gathering a massive amount of flames into his hands before swiftly releasing the kindled energy to erect a blue wall of fire throughout his surroundings.

“Bye Izuku~!” a feminine voice shrills from behind the fiery wall, becoming the last words they hear as they wait for the flames to dissipate, ultimately revealing that their enemies had already fled.

“Those fuckers couldn’t have gone far,” Bakugou doesn’t relent, poised on finding them and having them pay the full consequences of their actions. Midoriya grasps his shoulder, stopping him.

“Let them go, Kacchan. Considering the location they decided for this meeting, they likely fled by boat. We have no way of following them at the moment.”

Todoroki agrees, adding on, “Besides, there are more important things to worry about right now,” he casts his gaze to the wooden table Midoriya had broken prior to the fight transpiring. “For one, they’re after ____ and are willing to go to any lengths to get her. We need to head back to the mansion to make sure she’s safe.” There’s slight urgency evident in his tone. Despite their tenacity, the idea of having their beloved wrenched away is enough to render them even a little bit fearful. Had she been present in the conflict, there’s no telling what could have happened.

“And two,” Todoroki walks off to another site of the warehouse, picking up something dropped on the floor, “we need to figure out what this is.” In his hand, he holds the small capsule bullet that is now slightly dented thanks to the impact against Kirishima’s hardened skin.

The other two examine the capsule briefly until Bakugou decides to take it from Todoroki’s fingers for closer inspection. If Overhaul was so keen on using a gun to do away with them all, despite how inferior it was, then this must be no ordinary bullet.

The three decide to contain the item for further examination for now as they, Kirishima, and Asui make their way outside again. There, bodies of Shie Hassaikai thugs littered the floor after having been thoroughly beaten into submission. Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, and Kaminari lean against the cars casually but remain attentive after the fight.

“It was quite an ill-planned move to dare to attack us in the night,” Tokoyami’s eyes closed in thought at the havoc he wreaked thanks to the amplified powers of his quirk. Kaminari snickers and boasts with an electric snap of his fingers, “Yakuza didn’t know what hit them, the mafia always stays on top.”

“Excellent work everyone, it seems the henchmen were of no trouble to you,” Midoriya commends the squad, “Now, we must leave before the police arrive on the scene to assess the damage.”

Their six combatants all nod at the order, about to gather back in their vehicle until Bakugou huffs with a final statement before they make their getaway.

“Know that the next time we see those Shie Hassaikai bastards, we will take them down,” He narrows his eyes at the ocean, the moon still hanging above the sky and basking the waters in moonlight,

“without hesitation.”

Ending Notes | Whew.. thanks for reading! For the next part I was considering writing it in 2nd POV since the reader will actually be physically present during the events of the story now, but I’m not sure yet. Please let me know your thoughts and follow if you’re interested in this series <3

[lawslessons]

A Healing Touch (Law x Reader)

“It just takes one touch, and then you’ll know in an instant that they’re the one for you. They’ll be the one that heals you...”

Hello, dears! I hope you all enjoy this! This is the letter N from the soulmate list, nursing! The premise is that a touch from your soulmate is enough to heal any ailment, any illness forever. Because of my school work load and some health issues, I may be publishing less just to take care of myself. Thank you for understanding. Love you all!

Modern! Au

Warnings: Terminal/Chronic illness, medical devices, mentions of death

Synopsis: It had been years since they had first found out they were sick. Another broken down van and another hospital trip for them to hear news they already knew before: Their illness was chronic and slowly becoming worse as time went on. But one faithful encounter with a certain doctor may be enough to change their path for the better. 

“How many years has it been since we found out you had this? Seven? Eight?” Nami asked with a small sigh as she sat with her friend on the small chair that was by the hospital bed. Her friend smiled and shook their head.

“Ten,” Ten softly said as they looked up at the ceiling as the IV in their skin slowly inserted the fluids into their system. Their eyes were somewhat dull and the bags had become more prominent from the lack of sleep these past couple of days and the serious lack of nutrition.

“The feeding tube doesn’t look comfortable,” Nami winced as she looked at the tube inside of her friend’s nose. They laughed and smiled at Nami with an affectionate smile on their face.

“You’re right, it isn’t. But I need this, I haven’t been able to keep food down in days,” they pointed out as they looked at the monitors that were next to them and saw all the vitals they were presenting. “I’m sick of being in these damn hospitals all the time though,” They said as they rubbed their face in some frustration. “I want to be able to go back and explore and have fun with you and the gang again. This is just ridiculous at this point, I’m holding you guys back,” They frowned. Nami frowned with them and moved to hold onto their hand and squeeze it.

“No, no you’re not. You can’t control your illness, no one blames you for that. Besides, maybe we can finally find a doctor here that can actually give more answers inside of just giving you fluids,” Nami sighed, the woman read the look on her friend’s face and saw that they weren’t as confident as she was in having answers so soon for this illness.

“Maybe, I’m not sure,” they sighed. “It’s getting harder each time I’m stuck here,” they said as they looked at their wrist with the numerous hospital bands on it. Nami watched the light beginning to fade from her friend’s eyes and it broke her heart just a little more.

“We can look for another — “ Nami was quickly cut off by a knock on the door and someone opening the door.

“Is this (Y/N)?” A gruff and tired voice asked as he started to look through his tablet. Part of his face was obscured by his blue mask, but they were able to see some tattoos on his hands as he typed some vital work on his tablet. “I’m the immunology specialist here, I’m here on a special consult for your case,” He said as he checked the fluids being given to them and typed some more.

“What’s your name?” Nami asked.

“Doctor Law,” The man said as he stepped back from the vital machines and looked over at Nami and her friend for a brief second. “Alright, I’m starting you on a new course of antibiotics and we’re going to take some blood samples to get some tests run,” he said as he looked up from his tablet. “Any questions?” It didn’t look like he wanted to ask that, it seemed as if he was forced to ask that out of obligation for his job. They knew that, so they knew better than to ask, but Nami didn’t seem to know that.

“How do you know that you need to start them on something new? You didn’t even do an exam,” she pointed out.

“I don’t need to,” The doctor shrugged, and they sighed at that.

“Nami, it’s alright. It’s not like he’s going to find anything new about my condition anyways,” they sighed. But the moment the words left their lips, they regretted it. Law visibly scowled and he looked away from the two who were in the room with him.

“Excuse me. I need to check on some other patients now,” he said before he went to leave the room a bit rigidly. They both watched as Law left the room and winced when the door was closed a bit roughly behind him. Silence ensued for a moment before Nami began to snicker and laugh.

“Why did you say that? I don’t think it’s a good idea to make your doctor mad,” Nami teased. They rolled their eyes and smiled at their friend.

“It’s whatever, he know’s I’m right. No doctor has been able to figure this out, what makes him think he’s so special?” They asked. Nami had to admit that what they were saying was true, she had even seen this play out in other cities and other hospitals throughout the country. They continued to talk for a few more hours before a nurse came in to inform Nami that it was time for her to leave.

“I’ll see you in the morning, alright?” Nami assured her friend as the nurses changed her friend’s medication and wrote some notes down for the doctor who as working on her friend’s case.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” they smiled before they started to drift off to sleep from the heavy doses of the new medication they were now on. They slept for a while until they heard something fall down in their room. They stirred in their sleep and tiredly rubbed their eyes to look up at who was in their room. Their eyes met gray ones and for a moment, the world was still between them.

“Sorry, I dropped my pen,” Law softly said as he picked up his tablet’s pen and pocketed it and looked down at the person who was staring at him. “I’m sorry that I woke you up,” he said as he awkwardly took a step back.

“Why are you here?” They asked.

“I’m checking your levels. You had low sugar and your pulse was low too,” Law explained as he looked at the monitor again. “Your levels are leveling out now, but I’m going to need you to stay here for a few more days for observation. I looked through your medical history and it would put me at ease if you stayed here,” Law said as he looked down at them again. They smirked and shook their head.

“Put you at ease?” They teased. Law scoffed and looked away.

“You know what I mean. I’m waiting on some of your tests results to come back, you know by now how slow the labs can be,” Law casually said as he looked at his tablet again. They were surprised, was he really trying to make conversation with them?

“I do know, I’ve been in and out of hospitals for ten years,” They shared. Law looked over at them and seemed to be giving them more of his attention so they could elaborate. “I was pretty young, like fourteen? Fifteen? I can’t remember, the years are blending together at this point. Anyways, I was just at school and suddenly I wasn’t. Suddenly I couldn’t stomach milk, gluten, anything. And then I felt like I was constantly on fire, I found out I was having an allergic reaction to the air freshener in my house. And when we went to the hospital, we found out that my organs were starting to shut down from how intense the reaction was. More than me being scared, my friends were terrified. My best friend Nami cried so much, we missed prom together with our other friends because of this,” They shared. And before they even knew it, Law pulled up a chair next to them and they spent the rest of the night talking, they honestly would’ve talked longer if it wasn’t for Law’s pager going off.

“I need to take this, I’ll see you later then,” He said before he had to stand up and leave. For the time they were talking to one another, they didn’t feel sick. But the second he was out of the room, their stomach started to turn and churn rather uncomfortably inside of them. They tried to get as much rest as they could before Nami and the rest of the crew came in with masks on.

“Hello! Did you sleep well?” Nami asked as she sat down next to her friend.

“Well — “ “Oi, there was someone weird standing by the door,” Luffy said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and Zoro pointed at the door.

“Was he tall? Dark hair and with tattoos?” They asked, this emphasis on details didn’t seem to slip by Nami or Robin for that matter.

“Yeah, he was,” Usopp said while they felt their face grow a little more flushed.

“Why don’t you guys go see what’s in the cafeteria while me and Robin talk to them?” Nami suggested. And before anyone could protest, Luffy began to laugh and grab his friend’s by their hands and drag them out of the room to check out the hospital food. “Ok, so what happened after I left? I missed a lot,” Nami pouted while Robin chuckled next to her.

“I didn’t sleep that much last night,” they began before explaining with an embarrassed smile what they and Law had talked about in the night. By the end, Nami had a big smile plastered across her face.

“You like your doctor, don’t you?” Nami teased.

“Hush! No I don’t. I haven’t even known him that long,” they defended.

“I don’t believe that is a good criteria to measure it by,” Robin said with a small smile. Nami nodded in agreement before she pointed an accusatory finger at her friend.

“You’re avoiding the truth because you’re scared! You like him, and that’s ok to admit,” Nami tried to assure them. They looked a little hesitant, they brought their legs up to their chest and sighed.

“I am scared, I will admit that. I’m scared because I haven’t liked someone since I’ve gotten sick and I’m worried about what may happen if I were to one day… you know…” The trio went silent at that and all of their minds began to spin.

“Maybe that won’t happen,” Robin hopefully said, being hopeful like this wasn’t like her, so Nami knew that her friend had more to explain. “There’s this phenomenon where soulmates are able to cure each other of their ailments when they’re finally together,” she explained. Their jaw dropped and they quickly looked away.

“First you say I like him and now you’re saying soulmates? Isn’t that a bit much?” They softly asked. “I mean, I don’t think that’s possible, things like that happen in fairytales to royals, and I am not a royal. I am a regular person who is sick and dying,” a wave of sadness dropped over all of them at their words.

“Dying…?” Nami found herself asking her dear friend. They looked up at the ceiling and sighed softly.

“I’m tired of fighting,” They admitted. They heard the gasp of shock from Nami and could feel the frown from Robin, but that didn’t deter them. “There’s no point if there isn’t a cure. Every time I’m forced to be in a hospital, I get better for a few weeks and then I’m back and I’m worse than before,” their hands grabbed at the blankets as tears began to well into their eye’s. “I’m so tired of all this pain, it never ends…”

A few hours later, Nami and the rest of the group left when a nurse scolded them all for being too loud. When their friends were gone, they found themselves stuck in their own thought again. With their knees at their chest, a flood of negative emotions dropped over them and threatened to drown them before a voice seemed to pull them out of the water.

“I got your lab tests back,” He said as he closed the door behind himself and moved to be standing at the edge of his bed. “As you probably expect, the results aren’t good,” They scoffed at that and turned away from him. Why did he have to be so blunt? Couldn’t he read the situation. “But, I can do something about then,” Law shared as he tried to get them to look at him. He sighed and moved back to be a safe distance away before he pulled his mask down. When they saw his full face, their face went a soft shade of pink. Of course he had to be even more attractive, how was this even possible? “Are you listening to me?“ Law scowled, they quickly snapped out of their little day dream and nodded their head.

“Yes.”

“Anyways,” he sighed in some annoyance. “I need you to trust me,” He then said.

“Why? I don’t even know you that well,” They pointed out. Even though they talked all night, that wasn’t near enough time to get to know who he really was.

“You don’t know me? So what? I need you to trust in my medical skills,” Law sounded a little disappointed but they didn’t seem to care as much. After their talk with Robin and Nami earlier, their mind had been in one spot the entire night.

“And what if I refuse to go through with your treatment?” They asked.

“Your prognosis isn’t good,” Law looked dumbfound that they were even considering refusing his treatment, his advice. “I can only promise you weeks. Maybe a month.” They went quiet at that. The sobering thought of dying from their illness hit them. They didn’t even realize that it had gotten this bad until now.

“A month is all I need,” They finally said as they looked up at Law with a serious and content expression on their face.

“What?” Law asked in a small whisper. Were they being serious? A month? Was that all they really wanted?

“What is living if I’m stuck living in a hospital for another ten years? I would rather live one more month on the road with my friends. Our van is almost fixed, soon we can hit the road again. When it’s done, I want to leave here and live out the rest of my life,” They stated. Law looked absolutely appalled by what they were saying, while he never got involved with patient matters, he couldn’t help but feel drawn to them.

“No.” Law stated. His hands balled into fists and he glared down at the person in front of him. “You didn’t even listen to what I had to say, do you want to die that badly? Why?” Law asked. They didn’t seem to deny that, they knew that they were rejected Law’s suggestion without even listening to him.

“Do you think this is living? Laying down in a hospital bed? Not being able to eat? Crying constantly because of the pain? This isn’t living, this is hell. I’m in hell, Law,” They bluntly stated. “I just want to see heaven even if it’s only for a month, I’d give anything for that,” They admitted with tears freely flowing from their cheeks at this point. That caught Law off guard, he wasn’t expecting there to be tears. He never knew how to handle people who were crying.

“You’re right, that isn’t living,” Law agreed, “But I said I could help you, I just need you to trust me,” Law said as he put his mask on again and moved closer to them. “Do you think you can grow to trust me?” Law asked as he looked down at the patient in their bed. They looked up at Law and felt more tears burst out of them, they were overwhelmed with all the information they were given in one night.

“I’ll try,” They mumbled through their tears. Law sighed in relief and moved to stand back by the door again. If anything, they were only going through this just for Law and to appease him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Law said before he left.

The next day, the rigid treatment began. It involved Law personally giving injections to them along with fluids and more medications. He spent most of his time in their room over the next few days, and he even had to admit that he had grown attached to them the more time he spent around them. This was bad, wasn’t it? Even the nurses were talking about it.

“Doctor Law is going in there again.”

“I heard he was only here for a consult, but now he’s staying! Why is that?”

“Do you think he likes them?”

Law did his best to ignore all the words from his coworkers, but the more they spoke, the more Law reflected on his actions and the more he realized he was falling for them. Shit.

Days turned into weeks and soon they were two weeks into the process and they seemed to be doing much better than they previously were doing. And Law was too. In the nights, he would grab himself a coffee and go off to the room where they always were in and talked to them about his day at work and would hear about the shenanigans that were happening with their friends. He learned about their whole crew, Luffy was the head of their adventure and then there was Zoro, Sanji and so many others that sounded interesting. They even had a medical student traveling with them named Chopper, it sounded so fascinating to him.

“So, what’s the prognosis now? Think I’ll be better soon?” They asked Law with a hopeful look on their face. Law felt his chest tighten as they began to smile at the poor doctor.

“You should be better soon, you’re doing really good with your blood work and soon we’ll be able to give you real food,” Law explained. “What would you want to eat first?” Law found himself asking before a long conversation began between the two of them. His heart felt so, so warm, he could feel it beating even behind his eyes when he looked at them.

“Law?” They asked, “Is something wrong?” God, stop looking at me like that, Law pleaded in his head with no avail.

“No, no, you’re all good,” he assured them.

While they were at first making some progress health wise, the results that came in today were worrying Law.

“How are they that low? Why is their body rejecting the medicine now?” Law asked himself as he looked over the scans. This continued on for another three days. More tests, more worrying results and more worrying signs from them. Slurred speech, low energy, it was getting harder for them to breathe too and it was terrifying Law. Their friends were even more worried.

“Tra-guy, what’s happening?” Luffy asked with a small frown, he looked ta his friend through the window that was there and then at the taller doctor.

“I…I don’t know,” Law finally admitted. “I don’t know.” He felt like a massive failure, after all he made a promise to them to make them better. “You guys should go home now, it’s getting late. I’ll call you if I have any updates,” Law said as he looked into the window and sighed. He knew it was a mistake to get this attached to them. He knew it was farther than just being attached, he had fallen for them. Hard. It was late in the night when alarms started to blare near his area.

“Code Blue!” A nurse shouted as she stared to run with a crash cart to an all too familiar room. Law felt his heart drop while he was running, he slowed down and stopped in front of the room.

“Doctor Law! We need your help!” Another nurse shouted as she grabbed his hand and dragged the stunned doctor into the room. Law felt like he was having an out of body experience none of this felt real to him.

“Give me the paddles, now!” Law shouted as he was handed the paddles and quickly got them activated. He placed them on their chest and took in a deep breath, “Clear!” Their chest rose with the shock but their heart was still stagnant. “Charge to one-fifty!” He ordered as he looked at their tired face, God he couldn’t lose them. He couldn’t. “Clear!” Another shock, and then another and another. Soon he had to be pulled back by the nurses to stop with the paddles. “No, no no!” Law shouted as he looked down at them, the person he fell for. The nurses started to clear the room and soon Law was left alone with them.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry,” Law whispered out as he looked them over, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I love you…” He finally said through his tears. His hand went to their cold cheek and he gently caressed the smooth skin. The second his skin touched theirs for the first time, sparks shot through him. Under his fingers, their skin began to warm up and soon their heart began to beat once again. Law pulled back in shock as they seemingly come back to life.

“Y-you’re alive?” Law said in disbelief as he watched them gasp for air and cough.

“What happened...?” They asked, Law laughed and quickly moved to hug them close to his chest on the bed as tears continued to stream down his cheeks like a pitiful river.

“I thought I lost you,” Law said as he finally pulled back and gained his composure back. “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” they tiredly teased.

“I don’t want to,” Law said after a minute, they both looked into each other’s eyes and felt the sparks once again.

“I don’t want to either,” They admitted as they leaned in and rested their forehead against Law’s. Law softly smiled and gently ran his fingers through their hair. Law looked into their eyes and slowly leaned in to kiss them. Their lips connecting together felt so natural and raw and law began to feel his heart speed up even after he had broken their kiss.

“I need to run some tests now,” Law said as he gently cupped their cheek in his hand and smiled. “I’ll be back soon, I need to tell the nurses,” He said as he pressed a small kiss on their temple and moved to get some more of the tests run.

“What do you mean they’re cured?” Nami asked in disbelief as she looked at their friend who was standing, walking and acting carefree.

“We don’t know how it happened, but they’re all better now,” One of the doctors said in some disbelief.

“All thanks to Law,” They chuckled as they moved to stand by Nami and smiled.

“Oh! Speaking of him, aren’t you going to grab him so he can come with us?” Nami asked while Luffy nodded his head.

“Yeah! I want Tra-guy to come with us,” Luffy pouted. They laughed at that and smiled, for the first time in weeks, months, they were feeling better. And this was a different kind of better, a cured sort of better. They went over to one of the nurses and smiled at them.

“Is Doctor Law here?” They asked, the nurse looked at them with a bit of an uneasy expression on their face.

“Him? Oh, he left early this morning, I think he has to return back to his other hospital,” the nurse explained. They stood there with a shocked and hurt look on their face. He left? Why did he leave? Why would he want to leave? They silently nodded their head and moved to go back to their friends, but they did their best to smile. Did Law lie to them? Was he just messing with them this entire time?

“He left, but it’s ok. I think it’s time for us to leave too,” They said as they started to lead the way out of the hospital. The group of friends all looked at one another with an unsure look on their face, but they knew better than to question them about it. When they went outside, Franky stood by their nice van with a big smile on his face.

“All ready to hit the road again?” Franky asked, the group all did their best to smile with him. The group of friends looked at their now healed friend and watched as they did their best to smile/

“Yes, I think — “ They were cut off when a tan, warm hand was placed on their shoulder.

“You going to leave without me?” Law whispered to them. They quickly turned over their shoulder and looked at him in shock.

“Law! You’re here! I thought you left,” They said as he pulled Law into a heartfelt hug. Law awkwardly smiled and rubbed their back before he pulled away and gently ruffled their hair.

“I did leave, I left the hospital, I’m taking a small break for now, I need to make sure that you’re doing alright and that nothing will happen to you,” Law explained as a small blush appeared on his cheeks. He moved to used his fuzzy hat to try and hide it, but they stopped him by placing a hand on his cheek. They smiled and gently moved to press a small kiss on his cheek that left the man breathless.

“Come with us, Law,” They said before they looked back at the rest of the group, everyone behind them smiled and seemed to be on board with this idea. Law looked at them all and watched as they all came forward and tried to bring him in closer.

“Yes! A new friend!” Luffy cheered.

“Welcome to our team, Tra-guy,” Sanji smiled as he stubbed out his cigarette on the concrete. They held onto both of Law’s hands and squeezed them with this new found confidence and strength. It was all thanks to Law, they both looked into each other’s eyes and smiled at one another and knew this was the beginning of something special, a new life together. Not only that, but their crew as well, them being so accepting and warm to him made his heart clench in an amazing way, he couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe he could be this happy.

“Thanks,” Law smiled as he squeezed their hand, he could get used to these guys. Anything for them.

[barnesandco]

Eat the Rich: Chapter 1

Eat the Rich Masterlist

The Avengers are tasked with tracking down an elusive thief, and retrieving the grand amounts of money she has stolen. Even after capture, she turns out to be impossible to break, save for a mystifying interest in Bucky.

Written for @mermaidxatxheart ‘s #jamiesmadwritingbash, under the Robin Hood AU prompt, with the dialogue prompt “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing, running around with the end of the world on her his arm?” in bold in this chapter.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: mentions of nightmares, memory loss and recovery, brief mentions of Bucky’s Winter Soldier days, and canon-level violence. Lots of frustrated Avengers. A bit of flirting.

A/N: I can’t decide if I want this series to make people laugh or cry, so good luck. Please comment and reblog! 

Divider by the fantastically talented @whimsicalrogers​!

The Avengers are confused. Perplexed and far out of their depths, they’re strewed about the meeting room with variants of displeasure on their faces. Bucky wears the biggest scowl of all, sitting ramrod straight in an armchair intended for postures far more comfortable. The source of their malcontent hovers in a hologram above the conference table, somehow managing to look bored while handcuffed and bound to a steel chair in the most secure interrogation room in the Compound.

You’re a thief. A crook who has been stealing big money from bigger people, in a slew of prominent heists that eventually led to the Avengers’ recruitment to your case. High stakes burglary isn’t their field, but when certain people threw their weight around, demanding a serious investigation, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had no choice but to play detectives to one elusive criminal.

A flirtatious one, too, Bucky thinks, remembering your first confrontation, as he traces the seams of his metal arm with the softer pads of his flesh fingers. 

Sam, Nat, and Bucky had tracked you all the way to Paris, where, one night, Sam gave chase while Bucky waited to intercept you on the predicted escape route, in an alley behind one of the classiest bars in town. Their prediction had proved accurate, and you had pretty much run straight into Bucky’s waiting arms. 

The ensuing fight should have been an easy one, and Bucky made the awful mistake -- the mistake he hadn’t made since meeting the Widows in the Red Room -- of underestimating a woman, and he ended up paying for it. 

His fists clench in his lap at the memory of how you had pulled a very Widow move on him, and he had wound up on his back with your thighs around his neck in a chokehold almost gentle. You had leaned over him to tie his hands together, and left him panting, out of breath, and with the taste of rust in his mouth. Clambering off, and wiping away the blood at the corner of his lip, you had then said, “I look forward to our rematch, handsome,” before disappearing into the dark, French night.

“Barnes?” He hears Stark call, and he blinks. “You still with us, or are you daydreaming about your girlfriend?” The room grows silent, and Bucky can sense suppressed smiles and silent glares, the latter aimed at Stark from Steve.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he grouses, letting his metal fingers dig into his kneecaps.

Sam, coffee abandoned on the table in front of him, eyes twinkling says, “We heard her through the coms, Barnes. In Paris, and in Buenos Aires.”

“And Oslo,” Peter pipes up, and Bucky falls back into the memory of autumn frost crunching under his feet, the reverberations of the orchestra in the opera house as he followed your coat-tails -- you played violin, because why the hell not -- down the busy street. Power-walking turned to running, and you had ended up in a crowded, posh bar with Bucky backing you into the wall in the hallway leading to the restrooms, holding your hands in one metal fist behind you.

Still, you had been unperturbed, trying to distract him with gemstone eyes while he called backup -- Stark, soaring in stealth mode above the fjord. “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing, running around with the end of the world on his arm?” You had asked, gesturing toward his metal shoulder, no struggle, no flight or fight. 

Red-lipped smiles, you had given him, and he had been so close to pulling out the handcuffs until a trio of burly security guards had appeared, your backup, apparently, and engaged him in enough combat to allow you to escape. 

“She seems to like you,” Sam finishes piercing the haze of another battle lost, less violently at least, and Bucky rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I don’t like her,” is the best he can come up with, and he stands, moves towards a window overlooking the grounds, addressing the bulletproof glass, next. “What I would like is for us to get the money back so we can all go on our merry way and pretend this ever happened.”

The room falls quiet at that. Every person here is acutely aware of the fact that they’re no closer to getting the money back -- nobody could ever spend the amounts you’ve stolen recently, so quickly; FRIDAY’s run simulations on it -- and you haven’t budged under the interrogations you’ve faced thus far.

Barton enters the room as soon as he gets off the quinjet, still in his typical Bed Stuy uniform -- ripped jeans and purple t-shirt -- and Bucky, alongside Natasha and Sam in the observation room behind the one way glass, can see the angle he’s going with. 

It’s almost cliché, or maybe it’s just Clint, so relaxed and loose-limbed with too much pizza in his system and likely smelling of one-eyed dog -- Bucky adores Lucky, but he’ll never admit it -- the way he turns his chair around and sits, resting his chin on folded arms atop the back of the chair. 

For a moment, Bucky worries he’s fallen asleep right there, until his blond head lifts ever so slightly and he says, “Would you like something to drink?” 

You quirks a smile. “I’d like a proper introduction. What, were you raised in a barn?” The smirk is teasing, but there’s no bite, like you’re greeting an old friend with an inside joke. Barton traces the edge of the table.

“Almost. Ever heard of Waverly, Iowa?” He asks. 

You shake your head, and then, grin, informing, “No, but I have heard of you, Clint Barton.”

“So you didn’t need an introduction.”

“I’m a prankster, can’t you tell?” Bucky thinks of the navy blue dress in Prague, the tiny but powerful stink bombs you had kept in a thigh holster, how you had left them coughing. 

“Jokes are all well and good but, uh, stealing isn’t so funny,” Clint answers., sitting up, and Bucky can hear in his hardening tone that he’s starting to get serious. 

“Depends on who you’re stealing from,” is your flippant response.

“Also depends on who has to get the money back, too, and let me tell you, we’re a little tired of playing games.”

“Then I guess I win, right?”

“Are you sure you don’t recognize her? Her tactics seem familiar,” Sam says, and the sensation that has been aggravating the nerves in an unlocatable part of his brain since he saw her for the first time worsens, but Sam’s question is addressed to Nat.

“She’s not Red Room, if that’s what you mean. The Widows were trained to be merciless. She avoids getting more physical than she needs to,” Natasha answers, retying the band on her braid, flaming red hair coiled over her shoulder.

“She broke Bucky’s nose,” Steve points out in protest. 

Nat shrugs, leans forward to doodle on the notepad resting on her knee. “If it was me, I might have knocked some teeth out. Maybe pulled a knife or garrotte.”

“You have to tell me where you get those sting-y things,” you say the moment Nat enters the room, eyes sparkling and wide with awe. Bucky winces as he remembers the short-circuit from that little electric disc. The engineers in the bank had been pretty troubled by the thought of what could’ve caused that kind of damage to the internal systems, until he his fist around one of their necks gave them something else to worry ab--

Steve’s hand on his shoulder startles him back to the observation room instead of Hydra’s clutches, and he says, “Hey, Bucky, how’s it going?” with a nod to the room in front of them. Vibranium cuffs peek out from under the large, green hoodie that envelopes your form, making you look deceptively soft.

“She wants to know where Nat gets her taser discs.”

“You’re eager for those even after you’ve felt how much they hurt?” Nat asks calmly, and Bucky imagines an ice-cool smirk on her lips as she reminds you of how exactly you were captured. It was the tasers that brought you down, after Sam, Steve and Bucky flew and ran you to exhaustion through the streets of Algiers, costing Stark some collateral payments. He hadn’t minded too much, just been happy to have you in custody, finally.

“They look like they’d be fun to use. Pretty handy around certain metal armed men, too,” you suggest playfully.

“Yeah, he isn’t going to talk to you, but I’ve been looking forward to this chat of ours, so why don’t you start by telling me your name.”

“I don’t have one. I’m a ghost story,” you say, and Bucky assumes Nat is looking unimpressed, because you press forward with the joke. “You’re going to need a medium to talk to me.”

“And where do you suppose I find one of those?”

“You have one. Isn’t Bucky Barnes a ghost story, too?”

Sam’s about to name what is sure to be another way to cause unnecessary injury when Bucky butts in. “It doesn’t matter how she hurt me or how she could have hurt me,” this, with a glare at Natasha, who smiles down at the paper. “We have a burglar with billions stashed away and a buncha angry billionaires breathin’ down our necks to find it.”

“Well why don’t you give it a go if you think it’s so easy?” Looking up from the hangman sketch, Nat fixes emerald eyes on his, reminding him, once again, of the unusual interest you’ve taken in Bucky. One that started with mid-battle conversations of a different nature, and that has extended into custody. Something that’s been bugging Steve, his protective instinct whirring into overdrive -- Bucky sees his eye twitch from across the room at Nat’s remark -- no more so than during Steve’s turn to question the captive.

“You guys are all taking your turns playing Good Cop Bad Cop, but I haven’t seen Robocop yet. Why is that?”

“You left him tied up in Paris–”

“There’s an innuendo in there somewhere,” you sing-song, head tilting rhythmically from side to side. Bucky clenches his fists in the observation room.

“–so he isn’t much obliged to see you,” Steve finishes, bypassing your interruption.

Playful eyes with laser determination, unperturbed by locked rooms and handcuffs, focus on a spot just above Steve’s shoulder, almost looking through the glass, even though Bucky knows it’s just a mirror for you. “What a shame. I was hoping our little back alley tussle wouldn’t scare the big, bad White Wolf away.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Are you going to tell us where the money is or do you want formal charges and a jail cell?” He asks, shifting so he blocks your line of sight, folds his hands on the table, and broadens his shoulders, all-Captain and no-nonsense.

“Giving up on me so easy?”

“I wouldn’t call it easy, miss. We’ve been looking for months and tried just about everything to get you to cooperate.”

“Not everything.”

“She’s yawning,” Sam proclaims indignantly, glaring, shocked, at the hologram where indeed, the source of their troubles is yawning, like you could fall asleep, tied up and all. “Unbelievable.” He shakes his head, and Bucky stops a snort from escaping. He’s seen all kinds of interrogations, faced a fair few, too, and this woman is just warming up.

The ensuing discussion and debate continues for hours, until the sun sets behind the window Bucky’s standing by, and what silences them is the thump with which Clint puts his hearing aids on the table in front of him. Sam’s coffee wobbles dangerously, and everyone sighs as Clint wordlessly tells them to shut up. Murmurs of agreement to rest and get a fresh start tomorrow echo through the room, and Bucky catches Barton’s eye, and receives a wink. 

Later that night, in his room, Bucky knows he’s not going to get a minute of sleep. It’s just an intuition, something his very bones are telling him, and he sees no reason to dispute it. Under the throbbing ache in his head, there’s an itch in the grey matter of his mind, somewhere he can’t reach, and he twists and turns. The feeling is recognizable as the vexation inflicted when he’s on the verge of a memory, but those return either by dream or by sense these days.

Dreams are for the bad memories, the days of the Winter Soldier, his subconscious loosening whatever locks his mind placed to compartmentalize the pain, to stuff it all away. The nightmares, the terrible memories leave him shaking, but therapy helps. By a few percent, but when the load of pain is as heavy as his is, every small burden taken off his shoulder helps.

Sense brings back the time before Hydra, although it’s sometimes hard to believe there was one. Steve’s face buried in his shoulder, be careful, Buck; Romanian take out, his mother’s hands; faucet dripping, water running out; oranges exploding on his tongue, a month’s salary plus overtime from working at the docks for that sweet rush once a year. The Depression, the first war -- trench memory brought back by a rainy run in Central Park, the scent of muddy petrichor in the air -- snowfall in the Alps, Dugan’s cigar. His body remembers, and then shows his mind the way.

However, this, this infuriating personality that has him incensed and restless, she isn’t in his mind in any capacity, but Bucky thinks he knows her. Or that he might have, once. And he needs to know her, again, because he hates not knowing. The nightmares hurt, and the memories of what he’s lost do, as well, but not knowing, existing in the strange limbo between certainty and loss, it’s unbearable. If this woman knows him, if she’s another key to another past, another piece of him, he has to talk to her.

“FRIDAY?” He asks groggily, sitting up. 

The screen in the wall across from him blinks blue in acknowledgement, along with a “Yes, sir?”

“Is Steve up?” 

“Captain Rogers is awake and having a cup of coffee in the kitchen, Sergeant,” FRIDAY tells him, and Bucky curses at the idiocy of consuming caffeine at this hour of night -- whatever’s in that shit works even on the serum and that can’t be good -- replacing his sweatpants with jeans once more and heading out to find his friend.

Steve has his back to the entryway, deep in thought -- dumbass, anyone could sneak up on you like this -- when Bucky comes in and clears his throat. The mug in Steve’s hands looks comically small, and Bucky sits down across from him at the island, reaches forward to take it from him, and downs the remaining half.

It’s just one more testament to how disturbed Steve is -- as if the careless consumption of coffee at midnight wasn’t enough -- that he lets Bucky steal his coffee. Blue meets blue in the silver dusting of moonlight, and Steve tries to locate Bucky’s purpose in his eyes before asking him for it verbally. “What is it, Buck?” He’s tired, too many missions weighing on those eyelids, but too worked up to let them close, to find rest. What Bucky’s going to say won’t help.

“Let me talk to her.”

[royallyjoon]

flower petal

credit for the gif goes to whoever made it and posted it first 🖤

yandere! jeon jungkook x reader oneshot

reincarnation au

you were once the queen married to the most well-known king of his dynasty, Jeon Jungkook. He failed to rule his kingdom properly, however, and took to prioritizing you rather than his kingdom. As a means of escape, you helped the people sneak into the palace and overthrow the young king.

centuries later, where you may have forgotten your place by his side, Jungkook will be all too sure to remind you where you stand.

note: (M/N) is for your middle name, and not your mother’s name just to avoid any confusion :) happy reading!

warnings: yandere themes, physical altercations

A.D. 1200s-1400s, North Drokest

“A king…does that mean I can be yours?”

He balked in confusion at the dark tone in your voice.

You weren’t meant to sound like this. Your voice was the honey in his tea to soothe his aching throat, the flower petals pressed between his pages in which he left a bit of his soul.

His queen would never speak to him with such a cruel, demeaning tone.

“Answer me.” Your voice got steadily louder. “You call yourself ‘king.’ You claim you rule over this sad, desperate realm but in reality, you divide. You cause turmoil. Your people aren’t happy. They starve, and they beg you for your mercy and you have none to give.”

The throne room was vast but straightforward. High walls and ceilings held up by ornate columns, decorated in every inch with the colors of the household. Red and gold banners decorated the walls, even the carpet leading to the red, plush seats of the golden throne was red with yellow lining. The tall, wooden doors of the palace stood behind you as threatening as the presence of the man before you.

 The space was empty, except for you and the king, as all the advisors and knights had been released from duty. You assumed they were happily spending their freedom buried in spirits, women, men, or something of the sort.

You stood before the king, the red and gold trim on his robes mockingly prominent.

“A king would not sit back in amusement as his land festers away with an illness, a virus that is the king himself. You poison your land, this land. You have absolutely no right to call yourself king. To me, you are nothing more than a child playing dress-up.”

He sucked in a breath, gazing at you curiously. This was the first time he was making this sort of expression to you and for some crazed reason, you thought your words were finally reaching the mind of the deranged man before you.

“As for me? I am anything but yours. My body is dust, my breath air. Everything that was given to me I intend to give back to this world. You lay no claim over me, just as you lay no claim over this earth.”

“A king is only as powerful as his people intend him to be. In accordance with your current state, the people have deemed you unworthy.”

Your words were accentuated with the crashing of the palace doors. Citizens young and old marched into the throne room, pitchforks and torches lit, clamoring for the death of the king.

His eyes never left yours as the crowds grew behind you. “So you have betrayed me, my love.”

“You lied to me. You promised that once you took the throne, you would change everything your brother and father stood for. The minute you placed yourself on their seat, you followed in their footsteps.” You had to scream over the chants now.

The crowds hushed as the village leaders climbed the steps to the throne, pausing beside you.

“This is not me enacting punishment against you, for it is not my place, but the responsibility of the people to remove a leader they deem unfit.” You said.

“This is how we end?” He asked, remaining calm. If anything, the sadness in his tone made you clench your fists tighter.

“We ended a long time ago,” you said.

Just before you stepped to the side and let the people take him away, you bowed to His Majesty one last time.

“Your flower petals lost color a long time ago,” You choked out, stumbling backward and rushing out the throne room.

Your voice was torn, he noticed. You had tears in your eyes.

That was his darling.

Breaking out of the cold, hard shell that was the woman before. You were there.

“(M/N)!” He called, watching your form retreat into the darkness. The leaders restrained him, but he fought tooth and nail to catch a glimpse of your form once more. “Petal!”

You froze, but only for a moment. You then continued on with a quickened pace, holding back sobs.

And all throughout the kingdom, up until the king’s execution, the only words that passed through his lips were your name.

In small, breathless whispers and desperate, ravaged screams.

He called for you, but you never came.

———————————————————————————

A.D. 20XX, a metropolitan city

“I don’t know why I took this course,” you muttered to your friend, sticking your phone inside your bag as you stood in line at the Treshiuan Art Museum.

The building was lined with obsidian rock, glistening in the morning sun. The steps were dark and slippery, and the glass walls that adorned the first floor reflected harshly against the material. Inside, the cool blasts of air from the ceiling didn’t make the space any more welcoming. You untied your sweater from around your waist and zipped it up.

“You didn’t want to be stuck with a science course for the optional summer colloquium,” Taehyung stated, carelessly flicking through a museum pamphlet. “You said, and I quote, ‘Memorizing old people, dates, their art, and its meaning would forever be easier than learning oxidation-reduction.’’

“But was I wrong?” you grinned at him as he rolled his eyes. Taehyung felt that you had a lack of appreciation for “the arts”. It wasn’t that you didn’t appreciate them; you just weren’t as interested as he was. You would never discredit the beauty (or lack thereof) and meaning artists placed into their pieces.

“Tell her she’s wrong, Jungkook.” The upperclassman pouted at your classmate, whose eyes were glued to the game on his cellphone.

“You’re both wrong for trying to interrupt me right now,” he muttered furiously slamming his fingers on his screen.

“Joumou University students, over here!” The art history teacher called your group out of the line, standing next to a tall, brown-skinned woman with dark eyes. She smiled ominously, eyeing your trio with something akin to amusement in her eyes.

“Good morning everyone,” her slightly accented voice rang through the students, causing even Jungkook to look up from his handheld game.

“My name is Ilyana and I will be your tour guide this morning. I have been told by your teacher that most of you know little to nothing about thirteenth to fifteenth century dynasty art. I am excited to tell you everything I can. Before we embark upon our journey to the past, are there any questions?”

“I like her,” Taehyung whispered in your ear.

“Same. Anything like ‘embark upon our journey’ would sound lame from anyone else, but she makes it elegant and exciting.” You whispered back.

Jungkook snorted and tucked his phone into his pocket.

“No? Then let’s begin. Our tour will cover pieces from the Drokest region.”

Ilyana led your group to the elevators spouting information about the formation of royal lines in Drokest, where you somehow managed to fit in with another group. Your stop was first, and as you stepped off the elevator, your jaw dropped in awe.

The room was covered wall to wall with blue, purple, and silver. Tapestries, silks, and paintings, all had the same colors with glittering figures and jewels.

“In this land, every dynasty had designated colors. The first family to rule, the Layvns, were crowned with shades of royal blue and purple underneath a full moon, depicted by the silver embroidery.”

You walked around with Taehyung and Jungkook, admiring the care and attentiveness put into the tapestries.

“They must have loved this family,” you noted.

“The royal line of the Drokest region, albeit short, was mostly highly favored,” Ilyana said as she moved into the next hall.

“Mostly?” Taehyung asked.

“That’s a story for later.” Ilyana smiled. 

You giggled and glanced over at Jungkook. He had his hood fully over his head, walking past all of the artwork without so much as sparing a look.

Like this, you passed rooms and rooms of bright, blooming colors. Pink and ivory for the second family, black and green for the third, and brown and ginger for the fourth.

As you passed through each room, the amount of artwork lessened. The number of tapestries decreased, the silk wardrobes became sparse, and the only consistent painting was that of the king and queen, possibly with their royal family.

You were with Taehyung, who was commenting on the horrible color choice the fourth family made when you noticed Jungkook sitting on a bench in the middle of the room. He had been downcast since before your tour of the exhibit started.

You left your energetic, argumentative friend and sat next to Jungkook. “You know, for the actual art major, you seem less interested in these pieces than me. Is everything okay?” you asked.

He shook his head. “I’m fine…the pieces are nice and everything. I just feel like…”

“Feel like what?” You gently pressed for him to go on.

“…I feel like I shouldn’t be here.” He finished. “Like someone hurt me and I don’t want to feel that pain ever again.”

Usually, you would push the feelings off with a joke, claiming Jungkook was getting in his feels because of the art and asking him if he wanted to play his hurt girl music. But the pain in his face told you a truer picture.

“Well, we’re almost done. After this next family, we can leave the museum and head back to the hotel. Or we can go to the restaurant you were excited to check out!” You said, placing a hand on his arm. “It’s only another half an hour. You’ve got this, and I’ve got you.”

Jungkook smiled weakly at you and you both stood as Ilyana called for the group to move on.

When your group entered the fifth room, it was a surprise for you to see only one painting. The room was bare of any tapestries or silks, and all of the lights were off, except for a single, dim light clearing the piece.

“Here, we have the fifth and final royal family of the Drokest region. We call them a family, but they were really just a royal couple. A young royal couple.”

“King Jeongguk and his Queen, (M/N). The two have quite a fantastic love story, full of tragedy, love, and disloyalty.” Ilyana smiled as if she had been present for the development of their story herself. “Gather for such a story, if you please.”

“King Jeongguk grew up in the palace a sheltered, careful boy. He did not have the same bloodthirsty, righteous drive his father and older brother carried. His closest companions were the walls of his bedroom; not even the chambermaids would speak to him.

“Jeongguk’s mother passed away at his birth, and he had never known the kindness of a woman’s touch. Legends say it was why he fell so hard, so fast for his future queen.”

“(M/N) was a little girl, the daughter of a flower peddler. She would stand in the streets of the capital city with her parents and older sister, charming people into buying a flower or two from her.”

“Jeongguk’s chambermaids would often purchase a bouquet of these flowers and place them in his room and the hallways of the palace. He adored their smell and look, pressed the petals between the pages of his book to save them, and talked to them in his extreme loneliness.”

“One day, the youngest prince escaped from the palace. He fled to the streets of the capital city, away from the brown and ginger flags of his father and pledged to live a simple life hidden amongst the commoners. During this short escape, he managed to meet the young girl as she and her family were selling his favorite flowers.”

Jungkook choked back a groan as he felt a sudden migraine hit. He stumbled his way to a bench and held his head in his hand as he tried not to draw too much attention to himself.

Images flashed before his eyes, with words and names that didn’t name sense. The clearest image was that of a young girl, with (h/c), (h/l) hair and the most beautiful (e/c) eyes. Her (s/c) hand extended a flower to him.

“Would you like to purchase a flower today?”

She grinned up at him, a few years younger and a few heads shorter. “I think it would look ever so lovely on your wrist or finger.”

He stood in awe until he heard the pounding feet of the palace guards.

“The palace guard found him, however, and dragged him back to the palace where he endured years of torment at the hand of his father and brother.” Ilyana continued.

Jungkook sat shaking.

How was he able to see the story in his mind?

“With every beating, the prince lost more and more of his humanity. The very viciousness that the king tried to instill in his own son was inflicted upon him and the crown prince. He slaughtered them and hung their bodies from trees in the mountains, letting the birds pick at their flesh. When nothing but bones were left, he had the soldiers throw their skeletons in the river.”

“Damn.” Taehyung whistled. You shivered, the feeling crawling down your spine.

“And once this cold-hearted prince became king, he had only one woman on his mind for him to marry. The same, precious little girl who offered to place a flower around his finger.”

“The king had her brought to the palace, where he essentially threatened her into marriage. At first, their relationship was tense but with time, the flower peddler’s daughter saw what was once in her young, sensitive prince. She brought out the best in him, hoping his kindness towards her could reflect more upon his actions in the kingdom.” Ever so often, Ilyana would pause and look you in the eye as she spoke about the queen. Her eyes carried a heaviness, a burden of emotions that you felt had no right to be turned against you.

“Unfortunately, however, it did the opposite and his reign got harsher, and the control he placed over his wife was suffocating. The citizens were taxed harshly, and corruption in the palace ran rampant. Jeongguk cared more for his wife than he did for being king. He was extremely possessive of her and forbid the chambermaids and knights from speaking to her. The queen eventually tired of this treatment and worked with the townspeople to overthrow the king. She disappeared in the night, and he was executed with her name on his lips. Thus, this was the last of the Drokest dynasty.” Your tour guide finished.

The room was hushed with the power of the story. Jungkook grit his teeth as more images flashed by in his mind.

The cracking of a whip against the air, the sting on his back and the smell of blood. His voice was hoarse from screaming.

The feeling of blood on his hands as he rid himself of his tormentors.

The joy he felt when he slipped a golden band onto his queen’s fingers.

The despair and anger that consumed him when she turned against him.

You had your eyes glued to the painting. Your chest ached painfully at the images of those two, young people. In every other portrait, the royal family is side by side staring cold and unforgivingly into the onlooker’s eyes. But in this portrait, as the queen grasps the king’s hands, she smiles gently. Her eyes are crinkled a bit, and the king beams as he turns his eyes on her.

How long must he have held his head in that position?

Since the beginning, I only ever had eyes for you. You are my saving grace, flower petal.

You turned, expecting to see someone next to you, but there was just empty space.

“Who said that?” you muttered.

Your eyes scanned the room for Jungkook, worried about how he was feeling after hearing the story. Perhaps it had hit him as hard as it hit you. Or perhaps it had made his uneasiness worse.

The young man stood in front of the painting, as close as the red rope allowed him. He scrutinized every aspect of the work.

Why did it feel so familiar?

He felt a hand on his shoulder and jolted. “Woah, are you okay?” You chuckled.

His eyes refused to land anywhere near you and his voice was currently not working, so he settled for a nod.

“The story must have gotten to you too. I was just thinking about how much love he had for her to break his neck staying in one position for the painting…” You looked at him searching for a laugh, or even a smile, but to your surprise, Jungkook had tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Jungkook?” You gasped out and reached to wipe them away.

He smacked your hand away harshly, his hood falling down to cover his eyes. Without another word, he stormed out of the gallery.

You were about to go running after him when Ilyana stepped in your path. “Beautiful, aren’t they?”

“What? Oh...yes.” You said. “In another life, I’m sure they would have made a great pair.”

Ilyana laughed gracefully. “I admire the way you think. Would you like to hear a little known fact?”

“Sure,” you said trying to hide your frustration as you watched your friend get farther and farther away. “Why not?”

“Rumour has it, King Jeongguk had the sweetest nickname for his queen.” Ilyana mused. “He called her flower petal.”

Your blood froze.

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

The rest of the summer was extremely hard. Ever since the travel colloquium, Jungkook had been ignoring you. Two weeks into the school year his behavior hadn’t changed. He would be with Taehyung, and once you walked up to the two he found a way to step out of the conversation.

There was a day when he stopped giving excuses, and it was the same day you stopped accepting them.

“Hey, (Y/N),” Taehyung asked as you were in his dorm room one night. The two of you were eating pizza and playing video games, as usual, relaxing from a busy, stressful week of adulting. He sat relaxing in his Gucci shirt and sweatpants. “Why are you and Jungkook so tense? Are you fighting or something? Did you two have sex over the summer and then things got really awkward, so you stopped talking?”

You spluttered, choking on a slice of pizza. “Tae, what? No! Absolutely not! I don’t know what went wrong--we were looking at that painting from the Drokest dynasty and he flipped out on me and hasn’t spoken to me since. I don’t know what I did wrong...”

“You shouldn’t let him treat you that way, especially if you don’t deserve it,” Taehyung advised. “Why don’t you confront him about it?”

“You know I’m not a very confrontational person. I don’t like getting into other people’s business. Then again, Jungkook isn’t just ‘other people’. So if he’s going through something, I should at least try to meet him halfway.” Your argument changed direction in a matter of seconds as you reconsidered your thoughts.

“Most definitely!” Taehyung cheered you on. “It isn’t too late, why don’t you go over to his apartment now?”

You hesitated but grabbed your bag. “Alright. I guess I’m off, then.”

Taehyung walked you to the door, hugging you goodbye.

On the way to Jungkook’s, you thought over everything you were going to say. Things ended so awkwardly back at the museum, you hadn’t the slightest idea what to do.

You passed by a familiar green and white sign, looking at the multiple flower bouquets and stands.

This would either go horribly wrong or horribly right, but it was going to happen nonetheless.

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

You stood, shaking for some reason, in front of Jungkook’s door. He resided in a quieter part of the university town, a considerable distance from campus. 

When terms with you two were better, he would join you and Taehyung’s  “legendary” sleepovers and rarely had to worry about the distance. Lately, according to Taehyung, he’d been shutting himself inside his house. 

Jungkook was a good student--he’d show up to class, never handed assignments in late, and was virtually passing every subject. But for the past couple of days, his teachers hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him.

You gulped. 

“Come now, (Y/N). You’re not walking into certain death here.” You spoke under your breath. “This is a friend of yours who is shutting himself away from you, and you care about him. This is serious.”

With that self-encouragement, you rang the doorbell twice and stuck the flowers behind your back.

It was quiet inside for a moment, but you soon heard floorboards creaking. The chain slid into place before the door slightly opened.

As he peered out the crack, he saw you standing there with a smile on your face. His eyes widened.

“Hey, Jungkook.” You rocked back and forth on your heels. “I know it’s been a while but...I’ve been worried about you since our museum trip...I’m sorry for anything I did to offend you back then and I would sincerely like to talk to you about anything you’re worried about.”

He eyed you for a few moments. Without another word, he closed the door and removed the chain.

“Come in.” He said quietly.

You smiled, entering with your front to his so that he could not see your gift.

Jungkook was never this demure before, you noticed.

The apartment was dark. All of the lights were off, save a single lamplight illuminating his desk. It looked like the apartment of a recluse.

“So you have willingly returned to me, my love?” Jungkook murmured.

“What?” You asked, turning your head to face him.

“What?” He replied, locking the door behind him. “I didn’t say anything.”

You laughed weakly, eyeing the lock he just turned. “Sure, okay. But on a more serious note...”

Rather than the usual doodles and pieces of artwork Jungkook would have strewn around his apartment, there were clippings of articles about the fifth king and queen of the Drokest dynasty pinned to the walls, curtains, and windows. From art reviews to historical findings, any piece of information he could find was stapped to a chalkboard near the desk like a considerable life map.

“Were you that fascinated with the king and queen?” You asked him. “I still find the ending unsettling. I kind of wish it had ended another way, you know?”

This was obviously dangerous territory, for the last time you tried to talk to him about them, he’d burst into tears.

Yet when you looked at Jungkook, his eyes were alight with a hope that had not been present before.

“Yes!” He said, beaming. “That’s why I’ve been trying to find out so much about them...I want to recreate ou-their story so that they can get the best ending possible.”

“That’s cute.” You chuckled. “I wish you all the success in making that happen.”

“What did you bring me?” He questioned. “I’m ever so curious.”

You blushed, ignoring his antiquated speech. “Funnily enough, I was coming from Taehyung’s dorm-”

You didn’t notice the way his face darkened.

“-and on my way here, I passed by a flower shop and saw these and, well,” You handed him the bouquet. “Aren’t they beautiful? I think they’d look adorable on someone’s wrist or-”

“Wrapped around someone’s finger, yes.” Jungkook took the flowers so carefully, treating them like precious glass. 

“Yes, how did you know?” You wondered.

“It was just a feeling...” Jungkook placed the flowers on his table and started preparing a vase for them. “...you know, (Y/N), when we were at the museum listening to the story, you didn’t feel anything strange?”

“Strange? No, I-actually, there was something a little weird. I thought you or Taehyung had said it to me, but after the story ended I heard someone calling me their ‘saving grace.’ But there was no one next to me the whole time.” 

Since the beginning, I only ever had eyes for you. 

Your head began to pound harshly. You grimaced and sat on a chair by his living room table. 

Your friend placed the vase in the center of the table, setting the flowers in the water. “So you don’t remember anything other than that?”

Jungkook’s voice was oddly menacing. He trembled in the darkness of his apartment.

“No, should I?” You said. 

Why is he shaking?

“You remember nothing of our past.” Jungkook lifted his head and those deep, dark, brown eyes were teeming with rage. “You remember nothing of your betrayal, yet your actions remain the same.”

“Jungkook, what are you talking about? I never betrayed you!” Your headache wasn’t getting any better and the situation had clearly worsened. 

“I’ve been using my time to find out any and all information about us,” He continued. “My death was broadcasted all over the kingdom, with the next ruler being the son of one of the village elders. You, however, you disappeared without a trace.” 

Your head was spinning too fast for you to understand. “Your death? The kingdom? ...Jungkook. Do you honestly think you’re the fifth king of Drokest?”

“I don’t think! I know I am!” He hissed at you. “I didn��t ask to remember, but now that I have do you expect it, all of it, to be water under the bridge?”

“Is that why you’ve been so angry at me?” You stood now furious, head pain be damned. “You think I’m the queen from the painting? You think I want you dead?”

“Like I said, your own actions betray you.” He gestured towards the flowers you brought him. “I can clearly see that history is about to repeat itself.”

“Those people are dead, Jungkook!” You finally burst. You had had enough of his emotional tantrum and gaslighting. “They lived, they loved, they’re gone! We are us! Here! In 20XX!”

Jungkook grabbed you by the shoulders and slammed you so hard against the wall you saw stars. But they weren’t the normal stars erupting behind your eyelids. 

The sky was lit with constellation upon constellation. A cool night breeze blew your (h/c) hair from your face. You reached up to brush it back for the hundredth time when another hand grabbed yours.

“For you, my love.” A young man with dark hair and dark eyes appeared next to you, holding out a beautiful hairpin. The flower on it was a dazzling red, and the beads that hung from it shimmered of gold and pink. 

You accepted the gift with a bow and trembling hands. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” 

When you tried to fix the ornament in place, your hands were shaking so bad it would not stay still. He gracefully took it and in one swoop, locked your hair behind your ear.

“I know that you are afraid of me,” he claimed as you stiffened. “I won’t pretend that I have not done some things others may consider atrocious...”

“Yet you have nothing to fear from me, darling. Should you give yourself to me, I promise you will see me anew.” He wrapped his arms around you so easily, as if they had always been there. “As a changed man, I will do better for you.”

You relaxed some. “Your Majesty-”

“Jeongguk.” He interrupted. “Please, call me by my name.”

You blushed and whispered his birth name. “I am afraid of you. I’m not crafty enough to lie in your presence. But there is something I have wanted to ask you since the wedding.”

“Speak.” Jeongguk rubbed his head into your shoulder. “Anything you ask of, I will comply with.”

You gently pushed him off of you so that you could look him in the eyes and it would not be taken as rejection. “Why me? My family and I have done nothing but vend flowers for years. I have no special meaning to this kingdom, I truly can not comprehend how I can be its queen.”

The king was still for some moments. “Your flowers were my only friends in this palace.” He muttered at last. “In this sad, cold place where I was confined to my room, I pressed the petals between the pages of my books simply to feel their smoothness and warmth later on.”

His arms, strong and constricting, still rested around you. They tightened as he went on, holding you to the point where you felt that you could not breathe.

“When my father and brother chose to discipline me into becoming like them every day, it was the love for your flowers that they tried to beat out of me. My love for you.” He smirked. “Clearly, it didn’t work.”

You shivered and resisted the temptation to look to the mountains, where the bodies of the previous king and crown prince were still hanging, swaying in the wind.

“I chose you because you are the reason I stay human. Since the beginning, I only ever had eyes for you. That precious day when we met on the market streets, and you offered to tie a flower around my finger. You are my saving grace, flower petal.”

With a harsh gasp, you were brought out of the memory. Your hands grasped Jungkook’s arms like a vice and your chest heaved as you tried to catch your breath.

The vision..the voice...they were real.

Jungkook patiently waited for you to calm down, tsking as you slid to the floor still in his arms.

“That’s just like you, petal. Blaming me for not being able to recognize your wrongdoing.”

“So I was the...” you said. “And you were...we really...why?”

“I couldn’t tell you why, (Y/N). I hardly know why myself.” Jungkook said. “I laid here in torment since the summer, trying to find a way to prove to myself that it wasn’t real.”

“The visions?” You asked.

“Your betrayal.” He gritted out. “The way you sold me out to the villagers like some common criminal. I screamed until my throat bled, begging for you to come back and you never did.”

Your eyes widened with awakened fear. “I...it was...”

“Do you still stand by that decision?” Jungkook asked as he kneeled next to you on the ground. 

“I...had to...” You whispered. Even after all these years, your feelings hadn’t changed. He was destroying the country, you, and himself. “Everything you touched was poison.”

Jungkook let out a sickly, dark laugh. He wrapped his hands around your throat, squeezing tighter and tighter, bringing his lips to your ear.

“I suppose that alternate ending you were waiting for has arrived, then, hasn’t it?” 

You feebly kicked at the spot between his legs but he jerked back without removing his hands. “Don’t worry, petal. I’ll make sure we go back to being happy and in love. With that, we will have the perfect ending. We can start the sixth line that never got to be.” His voice was dreamy and his eyes were light, despite the fact that he was applying enough strength to your neck to choke you out.

“N..o...” you barely managed to get the word out. It didn’t matter how much you resisted. Jungkook had centuries worth of anger backing him up.

"Don’t make me break you, petal,” he brushed tears from your eyes and shushed you like a child. “Flowers can’t grow to be as beautiful as they can be if the stems aren’t intact.”

I never should have come, you thought to yourself.

“Yes, you never should have betrayed me. But it’s alright, (Y/N). As you said, those people are dead and gone. We will start anew in this century and this life...and perhaps even the one after that.” He smiled, looking down at your unconscious figure and stroking your hair.

“I don’t care how many lives I have to live if it means I can finally be with you, petal.”

[max-is-tired]

bad things happen request: A1 + roceit? -ren

Remember me (for centuries)

Pairing: the AU is queerplatonic Roceit and romantic Analogicality, but the ships are not very prominent in this installment

Characters: Roman Sanders, Janus Sanders, Remus Sanders, Patton Sanders, Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders

Words: 3.835

Warnings: superhero AU, implied morally grey Janus, Remus and Roman, superpowers, swearing, a muzzle is used, fighting, there’s a character (OC) that has very black and white views and definitely goes too far because of it, if I need to add anything else please tell me

Notes: guess who’s back babey!!!!! After two months of writer block, I’ve managed to churn out this little monster in less than 3 days and I’m honestly lowkey real proud of it sjkcndjkscn it’s inspired by this idea I had the other day and after I remembered this specific prompt I just went full feral writer mode. I even have a few ideas for a sequel, so there’s that I guess!!

First fic for the @badthingshappenbingo!! The red squares are prompts that have already been requested, feel free to send more in though!! I don’t know how long it’ll take me to get to them but hopefully you won’t have to wait too long. Hope you guys like the fic!!!

Commission me!!  Buy me a coffee!! Join my Discord server!!  AO3!!

Once upon a time, there was a King.

He was as regal as he was mysterious, powers so strong he might as well have been able to make literal mountains kneel before him. Everyone knew of him, from the filthiest criminal to the richest man. He saw everything, heard everything, nothing and no one could escape his power. He was the judge and the executioner, protected the city in the way he saw most fit with the Puppeteer and the Duke standing at his sides.

The government called him dangerous. The people secretly called him a hero.

Once upon a time, there was a King. Until one day, he was no more -exactly how Roman had wanted it to be.

+++

Parting ways with Janus and Remus hadn't been easy. They'd been at his side since the very beginning, from the first appearance of his power to his decision to do whatever it took to protect those who couldn't.

"I'm always down to fight the government," Janus had said with a smirk, easily slipping into his Puppeteer alter ego as Remus simply swung his morning star around with a feral grin.

In the end, though, the King had had to go, and even then those two had supported his decision. What Roman had done to deserve his brother and his partner, he still had to understand. And besides, it wasn't as if he had had to cut them out of his life or anything! They still hung out lots during the day, either at the twin's apartment or at Janus' penthouse (being the only heir to a very rich family could have its perks, he supposed).

But at the end of the day, when the sun left the sky and the cover of the night fell over the city, it was the Puppeteer and the Duke who patrolled along the dirty rooftops, taking on those crimes Lady Justice seemed to overlook -Roman was nothing but a college student now and could only watch from afar, some part of him stubbornly longing for days that had since come to an end.

Or at least, that had been the plan. Then, well, Patton had happened.

They had met during a Psychology class they were both taking -for Patton, it was for his major, while Roman was just there for the credit. They had hit it off almost immediately, the both of them bonding over the pain that were morning classes and bemoaning how much money they were probably going to spend at the local coffee shop in order to survive the semester.

As much as he prided himself of being way smarter than people gave him credit for, Roman couldn't say he had figured his classmate's secret identity out immediately. It had taken him a few weeks and even then, he had needed Janus' help for his brain to click the dots into place.

Well, actually, it had been thanks to the recordings of one of the Puppeteer and the Duke's patrol sessions, during which the two had managed to stumble upon the new ragtag trio of superheroes, Storm, Heart and Logic, taking care of a small robbery downtown.

Janus and Roman had been analyzing the video, with Remus unhelpfully chucking pieces of popcorn at the back of their heads, when video-Heart had thrown his head back and laughed, grinning from ear to ear as Logic seemed to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Roman had frozen, the laugh ringing clear as day in his head as the last piece of a puzzle he hadn't known had been there slid into place -he knew that laugh, heard it every Tuesday and Friday morning before class as he sipped at his coffee and watched Patton try to fit as many puns as he could into a single sentence.

Patton was Heart. His friend was a superhero. Well, shit.

So yeah, Roman had figured it out and immediately started panicking about the newfound information. Janus and Remus, of course, had found the entire thing hilarious, teasing him about having somehow managed to stumble upon and befriend a superhero without even knowing it.

In the end, though, what exactly could he do? Roman was only a college student, and it wasn't like Patton was doing this alone -he had Storm and Logic by his side, keeping him safe and watching his back. His friend would be fine.

Then, of course, in came Virgil and Logan, the infamous roommates Patton had wanted to introduce him to since day one. In less than an hour, Roman had managed to help Pat gently bully Virgil out of his binder for the night and start a debate with Logan about the scientific accuracy of Elsa's powers and just how theoretically powerful she could have become based on the abilities she had showed in the movies.

(Olaf's existence had sparked a whole other tangent about conscience and the existence of souls on a metaphysical level, but Roman was not going to think about it lest he ended up having another existential crisis).

The real plot twist had happened much later into the night, when Roman had woken up to frantic whispering and soft rustling coming from somewhere to his right. Still keeping his eyes shut, he'd managed to catch the words "robbery" and "be careful" before hearing one of the windows gently slide shut.

Making sure to not alert anyone about his eavesdropping, Roman had waited until all he could hear was steady, even breathing before quietly sitting up, eyes shining gold into the darkness for a second before spotting Logan and Patton's figures on the ground -as for Virgil, he seemed to be nowhere to be found, the apartment being completely silent beside the two sleeping soundly beside him.

Roman had a suspicion. A very nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that was probably going to bother him until he got to the bottom of his. So, in the morning, he'd said goodbye to his new friends and headed to Janus' place, pondering over alternative explanations on the way over. Not that it would have been of any use since Janus did confirm that a robbery had taken place the night before, and that it had been halted by no other than Storm himself.

So. Virgil was Storm. Which, by taking the most logical leap, meant Logan was no other than Logic. Cool cool cool. No doubt no doubt no doubt.

… There was no way Roman could sit back and watch, was it?

And so, Prince stepped into the light, flames dancing on his fingertips and on the blade of his katana -a gift from Janus, who had reacted to Roman's sheepish smile with an eyebrow raise- and a bright red sash crossing his chest.

Logan and the others had been rather welcoming to the new superhero amongst their group, if not a little skeptical about his motives -Roman could not quite tell them he was doing all of this to give them an additional layer of protection, since he knew from experience just how dangerous the superhero gig could be. They thought all he wanted was to protect the innocents like a knight in shining armor, and he just never bothered to correct them. It wasn't like that was a lie, anyway so he didn't really feel guilty about it.

… Okay, maybe he felt a little guilty about keeping his former identity a secret. So what? It wasn't like he could go to his new friends and say "Hey, remember that one dude that scared the shit out of everyone? Yeah, that was me, fun times am I right??". And besides, it wasn't like King was going to do a comeback anytime soon, if ever. Right?

Wrong. So very, very wrong.

+++

It had started as a normal night-time patrol around the outskirts of the city. Roman had been joking around with Virgil, jumping easily from rooftop to rooftop as they exchanged dry remarks and teasing nicknames with Logan and Patton watching on in amusement.

Then, suddenly, an explosion.

They'd all frozen, exchanging quick glances as a cloud of smoke started to rise into the distance. Without a word, the four had bolted, the easy atmosphere that had surrounded them up until that moment gone in an instant as they prepared themselves to deal with whatever was expecting them.

They reached the plaza in a few minutes, immediately setting out to assess the damage. Strangely enough, there didn't seem to be much out of order -there were no civilians around, the few that had been around at that time of the night having been probably startled away by the explosion -which had probably gone off at the center of the square, judging by the debris and fairly-sized hole. Though the cause of it didn't seem to be anywhere to be found.

At least, until an amused chuckle resounded from behind the four.

They turned around, ready for a fight, only to be met with a grinning Nautilus.

"Oh, how nice of you guys to drop in!" the hero chirped, his grin only widening even more -Roman did not like the crazy glint in the other's eyes, his hand moving to hover a little closer to the hilt of his sword as a bad feeling started to pool in the pit of his stomach.

"Hello, Nautilus!" Patton greeted, his smile now a little tense around the edges -Roman couldn't help but feel glad he wasn't alone in his distrust, not missing the way Logan and Virgil also seemed to be a little more on guard.

It wasn't like Nautilus was a villain or anything, at least not for the public opinion. He meant well, Roman knew that, but the way he viewed the world -black and white, good vs evil with no space for anything else in-between those extremes- was something Roman just couldn't trust, knowing all too well how such a way of thinking could very easily skew someone's morals way too close to ruthlessness and self-justified cruelty.

So yeah, Nautilus might have been a hero, but Roman wouldn't trust him with the life of the most innocent of kittens.

"Nautilus, do you know the cause of that explosion?" Logan spoke up, his expression unreadable.

"Oh, that was me, nothing to worry your pretty brain about my dear Logic," Nautilus responded, waving the concern away with way too much nonchalance for Roman's liking. "I was just taking care of some little pests, nothing to worry about."

"By making the fucking square blow up?" Virgil asked, scoffing.

The other simply shrugged, once again dismissing the remark. "Sometimes you gotta do some harsh things to get rid of a problem, don't you agree?"

Oh, Roman did not like that smile one bit.

"What do you mean?" he asked, forcing himself to keep his voice neutral as his grip on his sword tightened.

Still smiling, Nautilus snapped his fingers, a water tendril appearing from behind him. And in its grasp, a familiar figure uselessly struggled for freedom, brown eyes glaring daggers at the hero's back. Faintly, Roman could easily picture the snarl currently adorning the Puppeteer's lips.

Lips he could not see, because Janus' mouth was currently being covered by a muzzle.

"Pretty cool right?" Nautilus grinned, stepping onto another tendril to let himself be carried at Janus' level. "A friend of mine made it, perfect to stop our local charmer from using his nifty powers."

Ignoring the way the other heroes were staring at him in various stages of horror, he grabbed Janus' chin, tugging his face forward until they were barely inches apart.

"Not so cocky without that silver tongue of yours, uh?" he purred, before pushing him back. "It's high time you face the consequences of your evil doings, you slimy snake."

But the Puppeteer's eyes were no longer glaring at Nautilus. No, they were trained on Roman's form, on his clenched fists and the way his eyes kept flashing a familiar golden color.

"Well, look who's gone and fucked up!" a voice chirped from above, attracting everyone's attention to the top of one of the surrounding buildings. The Duke gave the heroes a toothy grin and waved, legs swinging into the air with his signature morning star resting idly on his shoulder.

"Ah, the Duke," Nautilus hummed, crossing his arms with a cocky smirk, "I was wondering when you'd show up. Are you here to rescue your dear teammate? Please, do try, I'd love to bring down two villains in one day."

For the surprise of almost the entire square, the Duke let out a hearty laugh, throwing his head back as his whole body shook with the force of his cackles.

"Oh, please! As if I'll need to do literally anything," he said, amusement lacing every word. "This is your funeral, dude. You really angered the wrong royal."

Nautilus frowned, opening his mouth to reply -probably to ask what in the world the other was talking about- but all that left his lips was a startled yelp, fighting to keep himself steady as the earth started to rumble and shake beneath his feet. Because of the sudden distraction, all the tendrils of water broke off, included the one holding the Puppeteer. Without missing a beat, Remus jumped down and grabbed Janus before he could pummel the ground, holding him bridal style while sporting his best shit-eating grin.

"Told ya!" he sing-sang, sending Nautilus a mocking glare. Not that the hero was looking at him, mind you. He was more focused on his fellow "hero" standing just a few feet to the center of the square, his eyes blazing golden.

"Duke," called Roman, his voice clear and authoritative as it carried all around the plaza, "get him out of that damned muzzle, would you?"

"Aye aye sir!!" Remus chirped, easily ripping the piece of metal away. "Do you think you could leave a few bones intact for me to break? I wanna have some fun too!"

"Sorry, Duke-" the other chuckled, the sound sounding almost haunting to everyone else's ears- "but I don't know if I’ll have enough self-control left to do that."

A circle of golden light appeared at Roman's feet, rising up in the air and enveloping his body as it went. And then it was gone as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving behind a vision no one had ever thought they'd see again.

Bright, golden eyes. Hair as dark as the night. The uniform of a royal, a burgundy sash crossing his chest from shoulder to hip. In his hand, a familiar sword glinted under the artificial light of the street lamps, the hilt the same golden as its owner's irises.

The Prince was gone, lost in a circle of golden light. And at his place stood a very angry-looking King.

"That- that can't be!" Nautilus exclaimed, taking a step back. "You're gone, you can't be here!"

"Can't I?" The King -Roman, the King was Roman- asked, cocking his head to the side. "Who are you to tell me where I can and cannot be, Nautilus?"

"I'm a hero!!" the other snapped, his words laced with the desperation of a man who is standing face to face with his impending doom. "I'm a hero, you rotten king, and I after tonight I will be remembered as the one who wiped you and your villainous reign out of this city!"

Roman hummed, looking absolutely unimpressed as he calmly inspected his sword.

"You call yourself the hero… and yet, you are the one using downright torture-like methods to try and squash down those who don't fit your narrow view of good. All the Duke and I did was rescue our companion form your grasp. So tell me, Nautilus -are you really sure I'm the one you should call "villain" here?"

The hero growled at those words, eyes flashing in barely contained rage as tendrils after tendrils of water rose up behind him. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging for forgiveness at my feet."

"Oh honey," the King drawled, lips stretching into a feral grin, "at the end of this, I won't be the one begging for their life."

And off they went, crashing into each other in a whirlwind of water and metal.

Taken as they were with each other, the two supers barely spared a glance to the huddle of five people looking on from the side of the square.

"What the fuck." Storm whispered, staring shell-shocked at the scene in front of him. "What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-"

"I know, right?" the Duke exclaimed, completely ignoring the hero's obvious growing panic.

"Duke, play nice," the Puppeteer drawled, with the heat of someone who had had to deal with the other's antics for way too long to really care anymore.

"Storm, please take some deep breaths for me," Logic said, stepping into Virgil's line of sight. "Do you remember your breathing techniques, yes?"

Storm nodded, visibly trying to get his breathing under control to do just that. Heart, obviously worried, moved to sit beside him, resting one hand on his shoulder to tap a regular rhythm there.

Virgil looked up at him with a small, grateful smile, raising his own hand to cover Patton's before closing his eyes to focus on his breathing.

Once it was clear Storm's panic wasn't going to advance any further and risk affecting his powers, Janus let his eyes wander towards Logic's standing figure, the hero's gaze fixed on the ongoing fight.

"You don't seem too fazed with the revelation," the Puppeteer pointed out, arching an eyebrow. "I mean, it's not every day you find out your teammate is actually the very ex-vigilante that used to terrorize the city."

"If I remember correctly, the people targeted by the King's actions were almost all corrupt politicians and crooked cops," Logic pointed out, turning his head to look at the vigilante. "And besides, I already had my suspicions."

Janus couldn't help but let out an amused chuckle. "What was it that tipped you off?"

"Honestly, I started growing suspicious during the Prince's first day on the field," the hero shrugged, pushing his holographic glasses up his nose. "He looked way too familiar with fights involving supers to be a newbie. Add in the pseudo he chose, plus the somewhat similar outfit… once the doubts started creeping in, it was relatively easy to connect the dots."

"Roman," the Puppeteer piped up, "I know you guys know him outside of the mask, so we can use his name -all the royal pseudonyms can get real old real fast."

Logic gave the vigilante a long look before nodding, letting out a soft sigh. "I suppose that makes sense, since you all were allies prior to the King's disappearance. I suppose you won't be sharing the reason of that, by the way?"

Janus shook his head. "It isn't my story to tell -I'm a keeper of many secrets, Logic, and I'm not about to go divulge them without a valid reason to. If he wants to tell you, he will. In his own time."

"Normally, I would point out that we cannot be sure that Roman will even be able to tell us, since he's currently going against one of the heroes with most raw power," Logan pointed out, "but I have heard enough stories about the King's power to be fairly optimist about his odds in this fight."

Janus chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"Case in point-" he said, gesturing back towards the square- "it looks like the winner has just become clear."

Just as he finished speaking, Nautilus came skidding on the pavement towards them, bruises and cuts covering his whole body as he struggled to get up again.

"Told you I wouldn't be the one praying for mercy on my knees, hero," the King drawled, his uniform looking barely crumpled by the fight.

"I will never bow to you, villain," Nautilus growled, fighting to keep himself upright.

Roman arched an eyebrow, an infuriatingly amused smirk tugging at his lips. "Are you sure about that? because you look just about to fall over."

"You may have defeated me, but soon the entire world will know the truth!" the hero shot back. "Their beloved Prince, hiding such a rotten secret… how do you think they will react? Every hero will not rest until you and your companions are locked shut behind bars. Your time is coming to an end, King, and I'll make sure to save myself a front-row seat for the day you'll finally be kicked down from your throne of evil."

"A very poetic imagery, I'm sure," the Puppeteer drawled from behind them, gathering everyone's attention on himself, "though I'm afraid you won't be able to reveal jack shit, you pompous asshole."

Nautilus frowned in confusion until he felt a slight tugging at his hand. Eyes widening, he snapped his head down, eyes zeroing on the yellow string wrapped loosely around his wrist.

"Sleep now, and forget," Janus ordered, eyes flashing bright yellow, and down Nautilus went, knocked out cold.

Silence fell, only interrupted by the faint sounds of sirens approaching from afar. After a few seconds, Heart went to open his mouth, hand outstretched towards the King's back, only for the vigilante to suddenly bolt without a single word and disappear into the night.

Janus and Remus exchanged a look, obviously debating something between themselves without using any words.

"Go," Logic called, catching their attention. "We won't tell, we promise."

The two vigilantes looked at the trio, watching as both Storm and Heart nodded in agreement. Then they smiled, saluted, and took off.

"Do you think Ro will come back?" Heart asked worriedly, eyes traveling from the direction the three had taken to the quickly-approaching blue and red lights in the distance.

"He better, or I'll go and find him myself," Storm muttered darkly, biting at his thumb.

"Only time will tell, there is no use in worrying about that now," Logic sighed, just as the first police car drove into the square. "For now, we better come up with a believable story. They'll want to know what exactly caused the square to blow up in the first place."

"Why lie?" Heart asked, giving his friend a small smile, "after all, Nautilus was the one who did it, wasn't he?"

Logic smirked lightly, nodding. " I suppose that is true."

"You know, sometimes I forget just how much of a little shit you can be," Storm commented, tone laced with amusement. "Then you go and pull things like this, and I get reminded all over again."

"Kiddo, language!" Heart gave an exaggerated gasped, eyes twinkling in mischief. "I just don't like lying, you know that."

Logic watched as the two snickering heroes approached the police, shaking his head with a small smile. Tonight might have raised quite a few questions, but he had no doubt the answers would come, eventually.

All in due time, he supposed.

+

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[thebiasrekkers]

Once Upon a Dream

Pairing: VIXX Leo x Female Reader

Type:  One Shot

Genre: Dream!AU, Fantasy

WC: 3K

Warning:  None.

Summary:  There are people that are deep dreamers. The kind that have the ability to spin their nightmares into something else. So what happens when the Dreamer is apart of someone else's dream?

A/N: This is one of those dream within a dream scenarios. You know? The one where you have a dream - wake up, only to realize your ass is still dreaming? Yeah. I maybe had Shangri-La on repeat one day while I slept. 

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

She always dreamed in bright and vivid colors. Like a rainbow whirled in colors of deep space pulsating nebula. It was always like this, recently, that she could pick out each color blend. Every night as music drifted into her ears, and the calm settled over her mind - this dazzling display always seemed to be waiting.

One night something changed.

She didn't know the why or how of it - but something was different. The landscape of the dream had morphed into something...more. She could always see a tall figure looming ahead. A silhouette made more prominent by the shifting colors of the dreamscape.

She would always see him turn his head, ever so slightly, over his shoulder. It gave her pause after many nights of approaching this figure. Some nights she'd get closer, some nights it seemed as if she was walking in place. The distance between them grew - but she never gave up.

It never crossed her mind as anything but an overactive brain trying to settle after a hard day.

The next night came around and the day had been particularly difficult. Her emotions had swung from each end of the spectrum of good and bad. The stresses of family difficulties weighed heavily that night. She grabbed her earbuds with a heavy sigh. The music streaming app had paused on the last song she hadn't finished before waking for the day.

Music had always been an escape, a way to sway the torrent of emotions that she fought against daily. Music, next to writing, was a saving grace against the mental goblins of depression: a playlist created for each emotion, for the sadness, for the malaise, and the yearning of a lonely heart.

"For once, I just...want to sleep. No dreams." Her fingers curled around her phone as if negotiating with it. Like it held power to determine where her mind would take her tonight. Her fingers sunk into her blanket as she pulled it over her head. The music filtered into her ears as her breathing eased into a soft lull.

She could always remember when deep sleep started. It always started to blur the sound of the music, like she was traveling farther away from the melody. Like the connection between the waking world was playing through a layer of fabric.

Then she opened her eyes. "No." A hushed whisper as she stared up into the 'sky.' The whirling colors of the universe danced in front of her. An arm rose to cover her gaze, hiding from the intense display.

"What took you so long?" A surly voice echoed around her. For all that attitude, he spoke softly. Pushing to sit up, eyes wide, she looked around to find the source.

"You've got to be kidding me." Her gaze lifted upward. Of all the things, the places she could have had dancing through her dreams. Why...

Why HIM?

Draped in silk reflecting the colors above them, he was perched on a rock - staring down at her. "You really should stand up." A brow rose as she continued to stare up at him. The realization caused her to scramble to her feet.

She stared at him for a long moment before closing her eyes. "It's just a dream." An exhale as her hands pushed out in front of her. As if she could move the scowling vision from her sight. There was a swish of sound that tickled her ears before a strong grip caught her wrist.

"Don't do that." The tug was strong enough to throw her off balance. She stumbled forward into him and suddenly began to doubt her sanity. It was a dream.

It WAS a dream.

But, he felt too solid for her liking. "You're not real. I'm exhausted. I'm tired. This is a dream." He pulled her against him, staring down into her wide eyes.

"Is it?" He was so close to her. He was so very close. He was way too close! She wasn't a short woman by any means. He had enough inches on her to make that tilt of his head just enough to put them almost nose to nose.

"Is it a dream?" His breath felt hot against her face, against her cheek. So close to the corner of her lips.

"IT IS A DREAM!?" Her heart was beating furiously. She could feel a lump form in her throat. These physical reactions seemed too much. They were, in fact, too much.

Enough that she pulled away from him and the world seemed to open under her feet. She gasped as she fell into the darkness. The last thing she saw was the sudden darkening of his gaze and a look of silent rage as the muscle ticked in his jaw.

She woke up gasping, sweating, and clutching her blanket to her chest.

It was only 4 a.m.  

"Damnit." She hissed finally releasing the tension from her fingers. There was a thump as she slapped the edge of the bed, forcing herself upward. She shook her fingers as she padded toward the kitchen, followed by a trio of worried doggies.

The faucet rumbled as water filled her glass. It was raised to her lips before her gaze settled on the tilted heads of her pets.

"It's fine, guys. I promise." The glass was drained of its contents in almost two swallows. She set the glass in the sink with a sigh. Was it really fine? Another glance to the tilted heads caused her to shake her own.

If animals could speak? She was sure they would tell her - they didn't believe her.

Hell, she didn't believe herself.

She stared at her bed for a few minutes, as if contemplating whether it was worth it to try and sleep any more. "I think I'll just..catch up on some writing." Yeah, that was safe.

This continued for the next few days. She always woke up in that 'realm' greeted by colors and HE was always nearby. No longer a distance silhouette, no longer a mystery. Always waiting, scowling and surly, for her to arrive.

Always getting closer and closer to her. Always seething when she forced herself awake.

Today was no different. The day progressed faster than she realized. Before she knew it? Her phone screen blinked at 7 pm. Her hands stretched upward as her eyelids began to droop. These extended hours weren't new to her, but it had been a while since it had been consecutive in this fashion.

"Ugh. What's the point of eating now?" The heel of her palms dug into her eye sockets as she tried to blink the sleep away. It wasn't working. A nap would solve all of this. Just a short nap, to knock the haze off.

She didn't remember getting in the bed or bothering with the blanket. She didn't even remember if she put on the playlist. She just remembered the cool softness of a pillow - and then nothing.

She had achieved the nothingness she wanted, finally.

Or so she thought.

The vivid intensity of color was gone. There were lights like stars dotting the blackness beyond. She moved her from one end of the display to the other. And there he was, again.

She blinked, and he was suddenly closer.

"You're a strong  dreamer." His long fingers curled against her cheek. She could feel the metal of his rings against her skin. "...but that won't work tonight. You know that, right?" There was still that slight surly, scowl in his tone. Normally expressionless, you'd almost think that he..smiled? Smirked? There was a twitch in his lip that gave away to some emotion. His fingers unfurled as they tucked under her chin. He was right; tonight would be different. There's a difference between dreaming in a controlled state - and dreaming in an exhausted state. And she was in a state of utter exhaustion. Her body was running on fumes and had every intention of resetting its energy levels.

Which meant she would sleep like a log until someone or something woke her. How did he know? How did he know that?! Infuriating! He was absolutely infuriating.

He loomed over her, their faces close. She could feel the fingers sliding down the side of her neck. The fingers were cool as they put a possessive pressure against her throat. She made an unexpected sound, covering her mouth in embarrassment. A smile spread across his face as he pulled the hand away, pinning it above her head. "Who am I?" His voice was low, moderately as if he was mustering every ounce of menace in his very being.

"You're a dream."

There was that possessive pressure that sent shivers from head to toe. That sound escaped her again; he looked pleased. "Who am I?" His face was too close again. He straddled her knees pinning her to the floor.

"This is impossible." She spoke between clenched teeth.

"And yet here we are. Say my name." He urged again pushing her free hand into the ground harder.

It was stress. That's all this was. This was some music-induced stress dream. And maybe, if she just went along? It would end. Sometimes you have to go with the flow. She was constantly in the business of controlling the flow.

Fine. She'd let this go wherever it was heading. This fighting, this strange battle was becoming too deep nightly. It was causing fitful sleep. So, she willed herself to relax. She became soft and yielded beneath him. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Say my name." There was a huskiness to his voice.

She took a deep breath, exhaled softly as she closed her eyes. And she said it. She said the name that linked him to the waking world. She said the name she had screamed at the computer during live broadcasts. She said the name she yelled in her car as her favorite songs came on. It was strange to feel the flutter of her lashes against her cheek as her eyes opened. He looked satisfied, hungry almost. He was too close.

His lips brushed against hers. Her eyes flew opened wide on a gasp - and he took advantage. He tilted her chin upward locking his lips to her own. It felt too real! The slide of their lips together, the teasing tip of a tongue daring entry. He went from straddling her legs to covering her body with his own. He still held the one arm captive above her head. She had forgotten all about it. Beads of sweat formed, her heart began to run a derby in her ears. It was too hot; she couldn't breathe. The weight of him was too real. And when the panic was growing? He finally let up allowing her to breathe uninterrupted.

"I've been waiting for you." He said. Her brow furrowed in confusion. This is a dream. His fingers slid through her hair as he searched the planes of her face. It was too hot. He frowned, recognizing external stimuli was starting to interfere. Pushing to stand he pulled her up with him. That weird blurring of the world caused a strange static in her ears.

Wait, no. I don't want to wake up yet! He was saying something. His hand was on her tight, for dear life. As if he could somehow hold her there. He was talking as she shook her head. She was waking up; a panicked look up at him as his lips moved.

"I..I can't  understand what you're saying!" Her voice rose in pitch as the world fell away. She could have sworn she heard a faint echo — something reverberating in the walls of her mind as she fell into the dreamless state. Maybe it was her imagination. Because the last thing she heard?

Soon.

The dreams became more infrequent, more irregular as time passed on. Then they stopped altogether. She found herself sad, oddly, that nothing greeted her but that vivid nebula of colors. It was time to settle into the normality of things. Because she was sure it was just stress, right?

A friend called, out of the blue, with strange, yet fortuitous news. "So, I know you've been in a slump. I'm going to KCON and I think you should come with me. It would do you some good to get out of the state." Her friend sounded chipper, hopeful.

There was every excuse, and story of why she couldn't go - why she shouldn't go. And finally, a good fat excuse dinged in her brain. Like the sound of a microwave done zapping a meal. "You're right. Let's go." Wait, what? She shocked herself! And before she could change her mind? Her friend squealed with joy, rushed that she would figure everything out and hung up. Shit.

Barely a week had passed and she was on a plane, headed to L.A. Her friend rambled about all the things they would do. All the food they would eat. All the hi-touch, autograph and photo opportunities. It went into one ear and out of the other. She promised to not ruin this good time for her friend. They landed in California, it was bright and sunny. It was warm and loud. It was different from home and it invigorated her, just a little. They checked in, had dinner, and passed out. Tomorrow would be a long, packed day. She dreamed that night, but couldn't remember anything but fragments. Vivid colors. The sound of water. That distant silhouette.

Soon

She didn't dwell too long on it as they rushed to dress comfortably and leave. There were so many people! It was a sensory overload of scents and sounds. Her friend was rambling on about..something or the other. A word, a name caught her attention causing her to stop. Her friend turned to look at her, concerned. "What?"

"You - I'm sorry, where did you say we were going first?" Her friend laughed. "I thought I'd surprise you! You like that one group, right? VIXX?" The friend reached back and grabbed her arm to tug her along. "We're going to the fan event! Come on or we'll be in the back!"

It felt like the world went in double-time. They maneuvered through the throng of people to get, decent spots, in line for the fan event. Sure, she'd missed them when they were on the East Coast. But, this too advantageous.

Then it happened - the lights dimmed. The host came on the stage to mild applause. Everything seemed muffled like she was trying to listen with water in her ears. She could feel her nails digging into her palms. Using it as an anchor to keep her grounded, she watched as the group flood onto the stage. The applause, screams, and tears of fans rumbled the walls. They introduced themselves in typical fashion. Each stating their name and position, adding a smile, a wink or some type of aegyo at the end.

"They're doing a concert tonight!" Her friend nudged her excitedly. "We've got great seats for it!" She could only nod as they began their Q&A. The crowd yelled answers to questions. Laughed at jokes and silly antics, and then with the last chunk of time left? There was an opportunity to high-touch. Her friend dragged her to line squeezing in just at the cut-off. She turned to face her friend who gave her two thumbs up as she approached the stairs. I'm definitely going to kill her later.

The rough sound was louder than she realized, the girl in front of her turned with a questioning look. A small cough left her as she went up the stairs. She was the last one. Pictures really didn't do them any justice. They were really like mystical creatures.

The Leader smiled in that way that causes everybody to scream - it was intense.

The Rapper was charming, in a boyish way! It was a stark comparison to his bad boy rap persona in videos.

The Cute Main Vocal reminded her of a cherub. The slightly pudgy-faced, rosy-cheek messenger angels.

The Visual was stunning - what more could you say? The nickname Artwork fit him perfectly. You felt a sudden warmth at the width of his smile. He rightfully earned his title as bias wrecker supreme.

The Evil Maknae had grown so well! He was reaching the point where his height was starting to crest over the other members. She couldn't help but laugh as they high-five. This was good! This wasn't too bad, at all. She managed to get in words of thanks for their hard work in with each high-five.

There was a lopsided smile on her face as she continued on to the last member - her bias. She felt the smile begin to waver a tad but held up as she raised her hand to complete the line. A calming inhale as her eyes lifted to meet his. Her hand connected with his, "Thank you for your hard work. Good luck tonight."

His fingers interlocked with hers with that intense stare. "You."  

She knew that stare from her dreams. Her nostrils flared as the grip on her hand increased. "Impossible!" She was frozen in place.

He leaned down those few inches. The others members turned to look confused, shocked and stunned at Leo’s behavior. The sound of murmurs, gasps, and squeals flooded the room. There was that look on his face. He was pleased with her response. Their noses brushed as she stumbled into him again. "I told you I would see you soon." His lips brushed against hers again. The same strange heat and intensity. In front of everyone! In front of these cell phones and staff!

He broke their contact, releasing her hand causing her to stumble. Her arms pinwheeled as she fell backward. The world opened up beneath her as he watched her fall. He smirked as the world began to fizzle. "You're not the only strong dreamer."

Her eyes went wide as she fell into darkness...

....and woke up in her bed.

Gasping.

Sweating.

...and clutching her blanket to her chest.

[saneatsrice]

choi san: loving the babysitter pt. 1

summary: san needs community service hours in order to keep his position on the school basketball team and y/n needs money to help pay off the debt left behind by her father, what are the odds of them starting a romantic journey at a daycare center?

pairing: basketball player! san x babysitter! reader

warning: none

author’s note: I came up with this idea through an AU generator because I was in a writing mood but had no clue what to write LOLL, let me know if you want this to be a series because I have a few ideas but I’m not sure if I should continue writing this. also, it’s currently unedited because I’m lazy and brain dead but I’ll fix it later I swear! please enjoy :))

word count: 6052

y/n has a lot of weight to carry over her shoulders for a high school student. throughout her high school journey, she has had to carry out countless part time jobs in order to help her mother pay off the debt her father had left behind after gambling away their life savings and then fleeing the country, causing the two women to work in order to stop it from growing. this year being her last year of high school, y/n has to think about her future and how she will be able to pay off the additional college tuition once she graduates this year and begins applying for grants and scholarships. however, after getting fired from her last job, finding a new job that is accepting of her schedule due to school is immensely difficult.

as she was giving up hope, y/n came across a sign as she was walking home from school that read treasure daycare and saw a sign on the window of the small building that said “looking for babysitters”.

y/n being desperate to help with the family income and building up a savings account for her college funds, she decided there wasn’t any harm in applying. as she look through the window to see if anyone was in the building, her eyes landed on three toddlers sitting on the fluffy carpet. there were two little boys who were playing with blocks and laughing every time they accidentally knocked down the structure. however, the third little boy was sitting alone on the edge of the carpet drawing little shapes into the floor. soon y/n’s eyes land on tall figure with brown hair and a puppy-like face. y/n recognized him as yunho from her economics class, a boy who always knew how to make everyone smile and laugh even when they are having a bad day. yunho waves from the inside and runs to the sliding door to open it for y/n to enter. 

“hello y/n, what brings you here?” yunho asked while having that award winning smile on his face. 

y/n smiles back at yunho and replies, “I saw that sign on the door and was wondering who should I talk to in order to apply for the job”.

yunho beckons the girl to come into the room and leaders her to the middle of the room. “you can sit there while I go get my manager” yunho says while pointing to a plastic, toddler sized chair which causes y/n to laugh and walk towards the tiny seat to rest. As yunho goes, into the back room, she sees the two boys who were previously playing with the blocks, run over to her full of energy.

“hi my name is wooyoung and this is my best friend yeosang”, the little boy with purple hair says with a smile on his face while intertwining his small chubby hand with the little brown haired boy next to him.

“hello, what is your name?” the brown haired boy asked while hiding behind his wooyoung which did not help him any as he was taller than wooyoung. 

“my name is y/n and I hope I will be able to work here and get to know you two cuties” y/n replies with a smile on her face, wanting nothing more than to squish the two little boys’ cheeks due to their look of awestruck as they think about the potential of having another babysitter to play with.

soon yunho comes back into the room with an older man who has black hair following behind him looking as serious as ever. it honestly scared y/n a little bit along with wooyoung and yeosang as they ran to hide behind y/n’s side and hugged her on each side. the mysterious man realizes there are still children present and his eyes turn into a more gentle manner.

“i am sorry for scaring you kids, my name is park seonghwa, I am the manager at treasure daycare, I heard from yunho you wanted to apply for a job here, is that true?” seonghwa asked.

“yes, I was hoping to find a job to be able to sustain a family income in order to help my mom and college tuition is not getting any cheaper, so I am willing to take any job possible to help out my family” y/n replied while putting her arms around the two kids who have yet to let go of her. 

“well I can see the kiddos have already taken a liking to you and yunho really took his time begging me to hire you while bragging about how responsible you are and all that positive stuff to me so you’re hired” seonghwa says chuckling once he sees yunho turn red and whining to him about how he wasn’t supposed to tell y/n that.

after y/n thanked him, seonghwa began explaining the expectations for the babysitting job along with giving y/n her schedule. he mentioned how there were only three kids that y/n would ever have to take care of and entertain.

y/n quickly warms up to wooyoung and yeosang on her first day as they drag her off to play with them immediate but continues to look at the third child and wonders why he never joins them to play games or why he sits on the far end of the table by himself away from the other kids. he only sticks to seonghwa who seems to be the only one who is capable of getting him out of his bubble. 

after wooyoung and yeosang is picked up by wooyoung’s brother hongjoong who came after attending his afternoon class, y/n decided it was time to make an attempt to get closer to the unknown baby. as y/n approached the baby, he began to crawl away from her clutching onto his apple tightly as if he has been wanting to eat it but can’t bite through the hard shell. 

“hey buddy, did you want me to cut the apple for you?” y/n asked after watching him struggle to break the apple in half for a few minutes.

the little boy nods and hands y/n the apple where she holds the apple in the middle and breaks it in half perfectly. the boy looks at her in awe and for the first time, she saw him smile as she hands him the apple for him to munch on. 

“what is your name little boy?” y/n asks after she sees him happily take small bites out of the apple and smiles when he looks up at her with a shocked expression. 

“jongho,” the little boy replies giving her a gummy smile after getting the attention he lacks outside of the daycare center, but that story is for another time.

after that encounter, jongho began to open up more to y/n and created a strong relationship with her as he began to babble and speak the few words he knew to communicate with her. she used her time at the center to be able to teach jongho more words, basic knowledge a toddler should know before hitting preschool, and how to find joy in little activities such as drawing, running around the playground, and even breaking apples in half because he seemed super excited every time y/n did it. although y/n still made the efforts to spend time with wooyoung and yeosang, she felt more drawn to jongho as she spent most of her time with him to make sure he never felt neglected or alone in the daycare center. 

she began to notice how every time jongho’s brother came to pick him up, jongho’s smile would turn into a frown and his eyebrows become more knitted showing that he was irritated. y/n knew jongho’s brother from school as he was in her economics and english class and he is most well known for being the captain of Utopia High School basketball team. jongho’s brother was none other than the infamous choi san, who always had a cute eye smile around school that showcased his prominent dimples and his determination and serious face when he is on the court. 

san never uttered a word to y/n whenever he came to pick up jongho. he would just grab the pen with an irritated look on his face, sign his name in order to check jongho out of the daycare, grab jongho’s stuff, and walk out the daycare center with jongho attempting to keep up with his brother’s much longer legs. however, before leaving the door, jongho never failed to give y/n a hug and dig his face into her shoulder when she lifted him up so she did not have to crouch to his height and strain her back. 

everyday became a routine for y/n, she would always walk to school with her best friend mingi, who always made sure she had her breakfast and caught her up on notes that she may have missed due to stressing over her family situation. after school was over, she would walk to the treasure daycare and take care of the three toddlers she has created a soft spot for, especially jongho, and wait until all the kids are picked up by their guardian, and cleans and locks up the place with whoever seems to be working the same shift as her (most of the time it’s seonghwa). 

y/n loves her job as she adores the three adorable children she gets to play and nurture as they grow older and socialize with her two fellow coworkers which she later learned are just softies despite their tall statures. y/n learned how seonghwa is currently attending Aurora University along with hongjoong and works in the daycare center in order to earn money to pay off his college debt. she learned how yunho was san’s best friend and would’ve played basketball with him if it did not involve so much aggression and violence and thus, his friendly giant nature was better served in the daycare center where he could earn his community service hours and play with kids who share the same happy-go-lucky personality he has. the babysitting trio begins to get to know each other better and establish strong friendships. little did they know, their trio would soon be gaining another person. 

choi san spends all his time practicing basketball in order to improve his skills and due to the fact that he is a candidate for a basketball scholarship as aurora university, he does not want to lose the opportunity of obtaining it. all his time goes to practicing that he neglects his other scholarly requirements to graduate, specifically, community service hours. due to his lack of community service hours, the administration building asserts to san that if he cannot earn at least fifty hours by the time basketball season starts, they will take away his title as captain of the basketball team, which gives him a disadvantage in receiving his scholarship.

thinking quickly, he runs to find his best friend yunho on campus to seek advice on what he should do. he quickly spots the six foot giant about to exit the school gates and sprints to him, who stops abruptly after hearing loud footsteps and causes the basketball captain to run into his back.

“oh hey san, why are you on the floor? is it that comfy?” yunho asks with a goofy smile on his face while his best friend is fuming while rubbing his slightly red nose.

“who just stops in the middle of an entrance yunho?! anyways that’s not the point, the administration office just talked to me about lacking community service hours and told me if I don’t get fifty hours by the time basketball season starts, which is in three months, they’re going to take my captain title away from me. no captain title means bye bye scholarship, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!” san begins rambling and pulling at his hair without getting up from the ground.

“okay calm down, look, I think the babysitting center that I volunteer at still has one slot open where you can volunteer, it’s five days a week for like four maybe five hours. before you start worrying about your practice days, seonghwa is pretty lenient on shift hours. even with missing the few days basketball practice is on, it is enough to be able to get you to have an abundant amount of hours to clear fifty by the time the basketball season starts. plus after your shift, you can just pick up jongho afterwards and go straight home” yunho replies in the midst of san’s panic which causes san’s eyes to light up as he jumps up and koala hugs yunho, not caring about the weird stares he was getting from the other students who were leaving school.

“I have never loved your clumsy, giant self more than I do right now. what are we waiting for, let’s go to the daycare center” san says in an excited manner, while clinging onto yunho.

“uhh, can you get off me first?” yunho asks feeling uncomfortable after finally noticing the stares the pair were getting from their student body. 

the two begin their walk to the daycare center and when the open the door, they see seonghwa attempting to clean up after wooyoung and yeosang who continue to get paint all over the table. however, san’s eyes immediately goes to the girl holding his little brother in her lap as he holds a blue color pencil in his left hand, drawing quietly.

y/n look up and asks, “are you here to pick up jongho already? you’re a lot earlier than usual.” all while tilting her head in a confused manner and holding the little boy who looks grumpy at the sight of his brother and turns to hold onto y/n’s neck, resting his head on her shoulder in a direction where he cannot see his brother.

“actually no, I was hoping there was another opening for the job here because I need a lot of community service hours for school”, san replies which caught seonghwa’s attention as he tosses the rag to yunho asking him to clean up the paint and pulls san to the back room to talk to him.

in the back room, seonghwa drags san to sit in a chair, his nurturing, child friend persona gone, as his face turns into one of a strict, militant leader. (I don’t know how to put links to gifs on tumblr but just imagine like wonderland seonghwa’s stage presence LOL).

“I understand how much basketball means to you, but i do not want you to neglect your duties at treasure daycare because of it. these kids are too pure for the world and deserves all the love and attention, if you can’t do that, you can find somewhere else to get your hours. these kids mean everything to me and if you as so much make them cry or put aside their feelings, I will not hesitate to fire you and hit you with my broom.�� seonghwa says effectively scaring san as he hears him gulp his saliva nervously while nodding in a quick manner, wanting to go back out to main room as soon as possible. 

seonghwa moves to walk back to the room where everyone else was and changes his face back to his motherly persona. he walks towards y/n and puts his arms out, signalling y/n to hand jongho over to him. obeying his command, y/n places jongho in his arms and in response, jongho wraps his arms around seonghwa.

“y/n, I need you to train the newbie. I would but there is just too much to clean around here and if it’s not spotless in the next hour I will lose my mind. this mess is not good for my mental state and makes me incapable of dealing with stupid people today so please handle the newbie for me” seonghwa commands while rubbing his temples.

y/n nods and gives jongho a kiss on the forehead before going to the back room to find san. she finds him except he looks like he’s seen a ghost. she then approaches him and taps his should which he in turns screams about how he understands and to not get the broom. y/n confused as ever begins by introducing herself.

“hello san, my name is y/n, you may or may not know me from your economics or english class but seonghwa wants me to train you for your job here”, y/n says while smiling at the boy who is finally regaining his sanity after his little outburst.

san reaches to shake her hand and then introduces himself, still recovering from the verbal beating he had gotten from seonghwa without y/n’s knowledge of what had occurred in the back room as of recently. 

for the rest of the day y/n is describing the certain tasks that san will have to take on during his shift from washing the dirty dishes, setting up the cots for nap time, and playing with the three toddlers, much to jongho’s dismay. the more y/n was around san, the more she noticed how uninterested he was in working at the daycare center, as he was mostly staring out the window or the clock wondering when he can finally go home. seonghwa had asked y/n to lock up after she left as he had a night class today and yunho had taken the kids outside to watch the sunset and have a small picnic in the yard. as they were the only two in the room, she thought maybe conversing with him would make him feel more comfortable working at the daycare center. 

“so I heard you’re really good at basketball, how’s that going?” y/n asked while smiling at the boy who had snapped out of his daze out the window.

“I could be at the basketball court right now instead of here with a bunch of children and dirty dishes” san mumbled which caused y/n to frown at his attitude.

“but looking past the dirty dishes, this place is amazing. they have the cutest kids who have the warmest hearts and brightest smiles. I am so thankful that seonghwa hired me as I got the opportunity to meet the sweetest kids and the most amazing coworkers”, y/n says optimistically, her resolve beginning to break after dealing with san for the past five hours.

“these kids wouldn’t know what working hard is like, I waste my time here doing everything for them instead of them learning to do it themselves” san mumbles in reply which is becomes y/n’s breaking point.

“that’s it. I am so fed up with your stupid grumpy attitude. I tried so hard to get you to warm up and make you enjoy your job. but you only think about yourself and what your interests are. can’t you be selfless for once in your damn life and think about someone other than yourself. you have no idea what it is like to work for the benefit of helping others as all you think about is your stupid basketball. you try having to work countless job to be able to provide for your family and paying of the debt your father created after he left your mom to deal with. that is the life I am trying to keep these kids from experiencing. if constantly babying them prevents them from going through what I had to as a child, I would sacrifice anything for them to never have to even see what that life is like” y/n says with a ferocity that san has never seen, it was incomparable to the most aggressive basketball players he’s seen. the difference was behind y/n’s eyes there was a hint of pain behind them.

y/n threw down the rag she was holding from cleaning the water around the sink and walked out the back room, as far from san as possible. she walked outside towards yunho and the kids with an irritated look on her face. jongho noticing her distress, waddles his way to her and hugs her legs as a way of comfort. y/n picks him up and hugs him, trying her hardest not to cry at the thought of jongho, wooyoung, and yeosang having to go through the experience she had as a child. yunho notices y/n on the verge of tears and begins worrying for her and asks, “y/n, are you feeling alright?”

y/n uses her arm that was not carrying jongho to wipe the tears borderline from falling from her eyes. “yes, I just got a little frustrated with san, training him made me a little stressed out” y/n replied feeling jongho tighten his grip on her at the mention of his brother’s name.  

“san is really hard headed at times and doesn’t think about anything but basketball, but deep down, he’s super nice goofball who’s just buried under a lot of stress” yunho reasoned while cleaning up the paper plates and plastic utensils the kids had used to eat during their picnic.

y/n began patting jongho’s back as he was dosing of on her shoulder, nuzzling himself into the crook of her neck. she noticed someone was staring at her and looked towards the sliding door. she saw san standing by the window looking in her direction, specifically at his little brother asleep on her shoulder with a little drool sticking out of his mouth. he opened the sliding door and walked towards the pair. he noticed how his y/n’s face turned colder the closer he came towards her and his little brother. he sat down next to y/n as she tried to avoid eye contact with him as much as possible, turned her body away from the star basketball player, and clutched onto jongho tighter in order to comfort herself.

“listen y/n I’m sorry, I had no idea what you went through in your childhood years. I was being insensitive to your feelings and generosity while you were training me. I really appreciate you taking time out of playing with the kids to be able to make me a better worker. I also want to apologize for being so selfish and only thinking about my basketball career when I have three other children to care for now. I will try to be a better babysitter and take the workload off your shoulders and hopefully work my way up to being your friend eventually if you allow me to”, san said while pouting and looking down at the grass that suddenly seemed like the most interesting thing in the world. 

y/n smiled and scooted closer to san. with her free hand that was not holding onto jongho, she put her hand on his should in order to comfort and coax him out of his guilt. “I understand how much basketball means to you and how passionate you are in pursuing your hobbies, I guess I forgot what it was like to enjoy your favorite activities and took it a little too hard on you. after my dad left, I had to give up drawing and art classes as it became too expensive for my mom to pay for. I guess I had to grow up a lot faster than the kids around me and I was never allowed to develop a passion that I could really enjoy. that’s why when I started working here, I wanted wooyoung, yeosang, and jongho to never have to grow up faster than they need to and find things they can enjoy for themselves, instead of having fate choose their paths for them,” y/n said sadly while looking at san, trying her hardest not to let any tears fall.

san closed the space between him and y/n and pulled her into a side hug as best he could as it was hard to due to the fact that he did not want to wake up his little brother that was in her other arm. when y/n was in san’s arms, she used her one arm to awkwardly pat his shoulder as a sign that she forgave him for his rotten attitude from earlier and acknowledges his attempt in comforting her. she leaned her head onto his shoulder and let her tears fall freely as she began having flashbacks of her father packing his suitcases and leaving her and her mother with a large amount of debt for the two to pay off. 

san began noticing his sweater getting wet and hugged onto her tighter, letting her use his sweater as her personal tissue, not minding the amount of tears and snot that was being spilled on it. he began to rub her back and whispered the best comforting words he could as he has never been in a situation where he had to make a girl feel better since he has spent all his time playing basketball. the closest thing he’s had to a girlfriend was his basketball for christ sake. y/n began giggling at his efforts to get her stop crying and lifted her face for san to see her beautiful smile to which he returned with his closed eyed smiles that showed his adorable dimples.

in the distance however, yunho was holding wooyoung and yeosang in both his arms awkwardly, not knowing whether he should interrupt the potential romantic moment to tell them to go inside before they start getting mosquito bites or leave them alone to have their moment and take the other two boys inside before they freeze their little toddler bums off. he looked at wooyoung who was smiling at the scene in front of them and then looked at yeosang who was hiding his face in yunho’s hoodie afraid that he will see the two kiss, causing san catch cooties from y/n. 

deciding to go with the poor boy hiding , he moves his face towards the mop of brown hair hiding in his hoodie he loudly whispers in his ear “is telling them to go inside the daycare center the move?” causing the little yeosang to lift his head to look at yunho in question.

wooyoung catching onto what yunho was saying immediately, decides to make an executive decision without consulting his fellow third wheelers by screaming, “SAN, Y/N, YUNHO THINKS THAT YOU SHOULD STOP SHARING COOTIES AND COME INSIDE BEFORE THE LITTLE BUGGIES GIVE YOU OUCHIES!!” leaving yunho to face palm and yeosang to follow yunho’s action only for him to whine when he hit his forehead a little too hard, causing yunho to move his hand to lightly rub the poor boy’s red spot on his forehead. 

this made y/n and san turn their head towards the giant babysitter sitting on picnic blanket with the two toddlers on each thigh. wooyoung bouncing with a proud aura around him, thinking he was being a big boy and helping yunho take charge. while yeosang had little tears in his eyes as the impact of hitting his forehead too hard was finally setting in, making a stinging feeling spread through his head. 

meanwhile, jongho wakes up from wooyoung’s loud voice and lets out a whine as he rubs the sleep from his eyes with his little chubby baby fists. his eyes land on y/n above him to which he readjusts his grip on her neck reaches up to kiss her cheek. he then turns to look next to y/n where he spots his brother with his arms around y/n. seeing this, jongho springs to action by reaching towards his brother and using his little hand to push his brother’s face away from y/n. due to the force of little jongho’s hands, san ended up falling backwards, his head landing into a puddle of mud. y/n cringed a little at the poor boy’s predicament while the other four boys began laughing pointing at san’s now muddy hair, with yunho laughing the loudest of the bunch. 

y/n stood up with jongho in her arm and used her free arm to reach out and help san stand to his feet. as soon as san stood up, he could feel the muddy water slide down his sweater and small amounts of mud makes its way down his face. seeing the mud continue to travel all over san, yunho began laughing even louder and harder, adding in a couple of knee slaps.

“oh seonghwa is not going to be happy if you come into the center like that. he’ll go crazy in the morning when he sees how much mud you’ve brought into the center and dirtying his perfect white carpet,” y/n said, looking at the boy guiltily, while jongho who was facing away from his brother had a mischievous smile on his face as he leaned his cheek onto y/n’s shoulder.  

once yunho calmed down from his laughing fit and wiped the tears forming in his eyes, he stood up with the two kids still in his arms and walked towards to daycare center to find some towels to help his best friend dry off and clean up at least a little bit before he went home.

as the three third wheelers made their way into the daycare center, san, y/n, and jongho were left outside. san and y/n continued to stare at each other, while jongho glared at his older brother for taking y/n’s attention away from him. 

“I really appreciate you manning up and apologizing to me san, it was a really mature thing of you to do”, y/n says smiling in his direction causing san to smile back in return. 

the three outside then hears footsteps approaching the daycare center. they look up and see hongjoong walking towards them, coming to pick up wooyoung and yeosang. as hongjoong got closer, he noticed san, began smiling, and running up to the boy until he notices the boy is covered in mud and cringes.

“hello san, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you! hope the basketball team is doing well under your leadership.” hongjoong greets the muddy boy while smiling brightly.

hongjoong and san have been friends for years as hongjoong was the previous basketball team captain at Utopia High School before he graduated and passed on his legacy to san. san regularly goes to hongjoong to seek advice on certain problems that are plaguing his mind and take a toll on his mental state.

san smiles replies, “it’s been good, I’ve fallen behind on my community service hours so I am trying to catch up on them by working at the daycare center. if I don’t hit fifty hours in three months, they’re taking away my captain title”. 

hongjoong nods in understanding and then waves at y/n and making small conversation with her as he looks in the window to see yunho helping wooyoung and yeosang pack their belongings into their backpack, getting ready to go home. soon, wooyoung and yeosang make their way outside towards hongjoong who gives them each a hug and holds their hand. 

“give me second kiddos, I have to sign you both out and then we can head home” hongjoong says to the kids in a gentle manner as he makes his way towards the daycare center and grabs the pen yunho is holding to sign the binder.

hongjoong then gives the pen back to yunho and goes back to grab both wooyoung and yeosang’s hand once again and lead them to his car to drive them home. as yunho, y/n, san, and jongho watches hongjoong drive away from the daycare center, yunho throws a towel at san which he catches with ease, with yunho screaming at him to get as much mud off as possible before seonghwa kills all of them. rolling his eyes, san wipes as much of the mud off as possible until the pristine white towel was completely different shades of brown. y/n then grabs the towel from san and hands him jongho and goes into the daycare center to place the towel into the dirty hamper filled with dish rags and the kiddo’s dirty painting aprons. 

san goes towards the door where yunho is waiting with the sign out binder with a pen, trying his best to hold in his laugh as the mud had dried up san’s hair to where it looks like dry ramen. san rolls his eyes and snatches the pen away from yunho and signs the sign out sheet next to jongho’s name. as soon as he is done signing, y/n comes out of the back room with her stuff, cheering about how she is ready to go home after a long day. yunho goes to turn off all the lights and makes sure the place is spotless clean to ensure that seonghwa will not scold them when he comes to open the daycare center the next day. after turning off the lights, the last remaining four humans at the daycare center leave the building and y/n uses the key seonghwa gave her to lock the front door and goes around the back to lock the back door as well. 

“well, I’m going to head off first, I haven’t done the economics homework in the past week so I have a lot of catching up to do, see you tomorrow” yunho blurts out in the awkward silence and begins sprinting down the pavement towards the direction of his home causing san, y/n, and jongho to laugh at the boy.

san looks towards y/n with jongho in his arms and speaks up. “thank you for training me today y/n, even though I am probably the most difficult trainee you have ever had to deal with” he says while rubbing the back of his neck with jongho pouting as he wanted to be held by y/n.

“well considering you’re the only trainee I’ve had to train here, I would say you’re the best and worst trainee I’ve ever had to tolerate” y/n replies giggling.

jongho lets out a whine in san’s arms and attempts to reach for y/n to the best of his small body’s abilities. “hey jongho, what’s the matter with you, you’ve cuddled y/n enough for today, we have to go home for dinner before mom yells at us for being home late,” san scolds the boy causing him to whine louder.

y/n reaches for jongho to hold him and explains to san, “jongho has a somewhat ritual that he has to do before leaving the daycare center, where he always wants a hug from me before he leaves, no matter how late you two are running. I really don’t mind anyways since I love hugs and jongho just looks super happy after getting his hug” while rubbing jongho’s back to calm him down as jongho squeezes onto y/n tighter. 

after their little hug, y/n hands jongho back to san where the three walks away from the daycare center and part ways to make their journey back to their respective homes. 

as san is walking with jongho asleep in his arms towards their home, he begins thinking about how working at the daycare center may not be as bad as he originally thought, especially with his best friend yunho there to entertain him and y/n who could potential be a good friend of his if he plays his cards right. he felt as if y/n and him had some kind of connection on the grass and felt proud that he could comfort a girl that way crying after spending his whole life with a basketball as his soulmate. with all these thoughts running through his head, there was one big question that was plaguing his mind at that very moment:

did yunho really just cockblock me?

[valleyofwitcher]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion Characters: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier | Dandelion, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 01, Not Canon Compliant, Dragon Jaskier | Dandelion, Creature Jaskier | Dandelion, Established Relationship, Angst, Heavy Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Torture, Violence, Graphic Description, Kidnapping, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, Past Abuse, Abuse, Protective Jaskier | Dandelion, Protective Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Domestic Fluff, Dancing, Healing, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Rimming Series: Part 3 of Dragon!Jaskier AU Summary:

Jaskier is invited back to Oxenfurt for their third century anniversary. It's set up to be a wonderful time, until his family find him again.

Set After 'My Own'.  

They had been invited back to Oxenfurt. The academy was holding a ball in honour of it reaching its third century. And given that Jaskier was one of its most prominent alumni, how could the small trio refuse the invitation?   “We could just flee.” Geralt looks at the thick paper that Jaskier had handed to him. Picking at the corners.