#today i offer you akihiko once again

[cheriafreya]

𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚

[mireillexy]

Tiny little string of words based on artsquirrelb's art. Had me on a chokehold so much I wrote my first Persona one. I hope you like it OvO

Mitsuru presents him a single pokki during lunch break the way he had seen her giving a presentation in class: straightforward and effective.

“Here, this is for you.” 

Akihiko stares at the stick in front of him for a few seconds, before his mind tells him it would be impolite not to accept it. He tries to avoid touching the chocolate coated part and Mitsuru's fingers as he takes it from her.

“Uhm…thanks.” is all he says, before they stand there in the hallway in awkward silence.

MItsuru nods and brushes a strand of hair out of her face, but apparently she has no idea what to do next. And Akihiko doesn’t fare any better either. 

Is there something he is supposed to say? Or do? He had seen the boys giving pokki to the girls in class today, but hadn’t given it much thought. Some of the girls had literally squealed after receiving one. 

Akihiko takes a good look at Mitsuru and can’t imagine her to ever act like this. 

“I was told you’re supposed to eat it…” Mitsuru says, frowning and studying the pokki as if it held all the answers in the world, “...but I lack the understanding why today would be different than on any other day?”

Akihiko brushes a finger over his bandaged nose and chuckles, partially surprised that for once the all knowing MItsuru does not have a clue herself and also because he has to admit he is totally lost too.

“Honestly, I have no idea.” he says, smiling at her. He takes a bite from the pokki and tastes the dark chocolate, his favorite if he ever eats some. He must have looked pleased, for MItsuru's face lits up a fraction, before she excuses herself and heads to the library. 

Both of them are oblivious to the incredulous looks of their classmates and the hushed whispers in class afterwards.

************

Three years later they find themselves in the same hallway again. Though this time, no one's around to act as a witness.

“Only if you want to.” Akihiko is looking at her with sincerity, giving her a chance to back out of it. A pokki hovers between their faces, slightly swaying with how shaky his hand is.

Mitsuru swallows nervously and hopes he doesn’t notice it. Her next words come out a pitch higher than she intends to. “I do.” she breathes out and takes half a step forward to emphasize her words.

Akihiko stiffens visibly at her proximity, but soon regains his wits and places the stick between his lips. He leans slightly down - he has grown half a head taller than Mitsuru - and offers her the chocolate coated part.

Mitsuru takes a deep breath and leans in, guiding the pokki to her mouth with her hand, and  takes a tentative bite. 

She becomes acutely aware how close Akihiko is. She can feel the warmth radiating from his body, can hear him breathing quickly through his nose and somehow feels relieved that he is apparently as nervous about this as she is.

They take another bite and their heads (mouths!) move closer. Mitsuru can not recall the taste of it for it is the last thing she can focus on right now. She bites and chews and swallows as if on autopilot, the feeling of Akihiko’s hot breath fanning over her face the only sensation on her mind.

They angle their heads; their noses are nearly touching now. Another bite and then…

The pokki snaps.

MItsuru freezes on the spot, not daring to move closer or even back away. She doesn’t dare to open her eyes to spare herself the embarrassment, until she feels soft lips pecking her cheek. The warmth surrounding her is replaced with the chilly air of the hallway.

Akihiko’s face is a deep shade of red and he’s nearly crushing the pokki package between his gloved hands. His eyes flit around the hall as he’s trying not to look at her as if he is expecting an execution. 

Had anyone else dared to make such a move, Mitsuru would’ve turned the entire building into a frosty landscape. But with Akihiko….Her only reaction is to touch her cheek and stare at him wide-eyed.

After another minute of uncomfortable silence Mitsuru chuckles nervously and regains her voice.

“At least this time we knew how to play the pokki game.” And after feeling her cheeks heat up and probably matching the color of her hair: “Maybe, we can try again?”

**********************

“Do you remember your promise?” 

Akihiko fishes the pokki package out of his uniform’s pocket and holds it in front of Mitsuru. The flavor is dark chocolate, still the same throughout the years since they started the game. 

“Please don’t remind me. I suppose my mind was somehow incapable of grasping the consequences that day.”

“Couldn’t have been my doing. You were the one clutching my suit jacket and forcing yourself onto me.” He chuckles, proud of himself, and opens the packaging.

Mitsuru sighs and leans on his shoulder. “Maybe, but you were the one who came up with it. And you proposed we should take things to your room.” She pokes his ribcage for good measure, but her hand soon smoothes over his chest.

“Maybe. I don’t regret it. One of the best decisions in my life.” Akihiko pulls a single stick out and holds it between his fingers like a cigarette. “

“Me neither.” Mitsuru eyes the stick with disdain. “At least the part not involving food.” Why had she agreed on playing this stupid game every single year? She blames her lovesick brain and detangles herself from Akihiko to face her fate.

“What’s that look for? You don’t like them anymore?” 

His hands smooth over her waist as he draws her closer and instinctively Mitsuru puts her own on his chest to feel his heartbeat. Strong and steady, not the wild pitter-patter she felt all those years ago. They stare at each other for a second, the pokki between them, dangling from the corner of Akihiko’s mouth.

"That's not it." Mitsuru plucks the stick from his mouth which earns her an annoyed grumble which reverberates in Akihiko’s chest. A hand on his neck pulls him even closer until their noses are touching.

“There are things I like better.”

They fall onto the couch kissing passionately at the same time the pokki slips out of Mitsuru’s grasp. She couldn’t care less at the moment, her hand busy opening the buttons of Akihiko’s uniform.

[raine-kai]

I saw the Given stage play today.

Twas amazing.

Best adaptation of all, second only to the manga because that is the original.

Highlights:

-Every single actor was PERFECT. I don't care what you think if you have not seen it, do not @ me.

-THEY ACTUALLY PERFORMED THE SONGS. In fact, most of the scenes where they play their instruments, they ACTUALLY PLAYED. Holy shit, these guys were good. (There were certain sections that were not played live--notably Ugetsu never actually plays the violin.)

-They managed to carry the story all the way through the end of vol. 5, and even went one scene further.

-As a side note to the above, I didn't expect the stage play to go past vol. 3, which is probably why I was surprised to find myself encountering much shirtlessness. In related news, Akihiko and Ugetsu have nothing to be ashamed of, they are both very very muscular.

-They kept Shizu! Yay! They cut all the female characters instead, but the story did not suffer for it, imo.

-I felt chills the first time Mafuyu sang.

-I felt for Akihiko more than I ever have.

-Haruki is PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT.

-My heart broke for Ugetsu all over again.

-My heart broke for Aki all over again.

-This is the only version yet to keep the scene going after Aki gives his devastating retort to Haruki's offer of anything at all, to make it abundantly clear what happened. It is GREAT, but also if you had asked me to guess in advance which version would choose to do this, I would not in a million years have guessed that it would be the stage play.

-Itaya's actor was astonishingly good, it seems a shame that he was relegated to a side character.

I could not bear that I would only see this once, so I--believer in the philosophy of "more stuff equals more stress"--ordered a DVD. Apparently, the DVDs are supposed to ship in April.

If you can still attend a show, GO. REALLY, SERIOUSLY, GO SEE IT. If you cannot, GET THE RECORDING WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE.

[keijikunn]

Memories ─ part i

── A @celestialarchiveshq collab “Connected by fate”

Pairing: Semi Eita x fem!reader Tags: college!au, kinda angst i guess, fluff, SLOW BURN, maybe strangers to lovers!au Summary: On the last day of the year, you dream of your soulmate’s most impactant memory that happened within the year. Each memory will be different each year. Word count: ~3.6k

Author’s note: I’m late and I’m so so sorry! I said I’d comeback by the end of January, but here we are in March lol. I can explain why I took so long in another post, if you want, but anyways. Here’s my piece from the soulmate!au collab from @celestialarchiveshq ! I decided to break it into pieces, because so far I have 9k words and you don’t deserve this. Anyways, hope you enjoy and stay tunned for the next part!

WARNINGS: insecurity, mention of injury (it’s a broken arm), self-esteem issues, let me know if I forgot anything 

MEMORIES’ MASTERLIST

You didn’t know who your soulmate was, the little information you had about them was that you only knew they were a boy and had a huge passion for volleyball and music. But one thing that you knew for sure about him was that he desperately needed a hug. Not because he’s supposedly your partner for life, your one true love, your missing piece. No. Your soulmate mark taught you things are more than that, that there’s more colours than just black and white, more than just simple and exact definitions. 

Being able to access his most important memory of the year through a dream was both a blessing and a curse. The first one is quite obvious, it meant your soulmate had overall a good year, no bad day overshadowed the good ones. However, when the second case occurred, it pained you to know that he went through a lot, and you couldn’t do anything. 

It was hard to predict how much a couple of consecutive bad memories could have changed your soulmate. Knowing only an hour or so piece of the 8760 hours of the last year, let you little to no room to guess how he coped with it. You couldn’t help but think what did he do to deserve all the insecurities and self-doubt he’s been receiving. What happened to the sweet boy that still believed hard work was worthy?

2004 (age of 10)

Your soulmate was running towards his front door, ignoring his young sister’s whines to slow down, but he didn’t pay attention. He was eager to see what was the surprise his father told him before he left for school. What could it be? Your soulmate’s voice, a pitch higher due to his age, resonated inside his head. 

“Mom, dad, I’m home!” He exclaimed, kicking out his shoes to quickly enter the living room; only to receive a stern look from his mother, pointing with her fingers his shoes, indicating he had to organize it. “Okay, I’m doing it.”

“Mom! Nii-chan didn’t wait for me when I asked!” His sister, Aime, complained, closing the door behind her. 

The older woman scolded the young boy, who scratched the back of his neck, apologizing to his sister next. The feeling of excitement filled his body once again when his father, still wearing the shirt and pants from his suit, appeared in his vision, holding a large package. 

“Welcome back, kids.” He grinned, placing the mysterious box on the floor to spread his arms so Aime could jump into his embrace. Your soulmate did not waste time to approach his father, who messed up with his hair. “Son, are you ready for your surprise?”

“It’s not fair that nii-chan’s getting a present! It’s not even his birthday.” Aime whined, both parents exchanged a brief smile, before the mother held onto her shoulders, guiding her to sit on the sofa next to her brother. He was almost jumping on his seat, bouncing his legs as if that motion would stop him from throwing himself at the box to open it. 

“The reason why me and mama decided to gift nii-chan is because he listened very well to us,” the older man started to explain. “Do you remember what he asked us a few months ago, Aime?”

“I asked if I could get my own guitar!” Your soulmate piped in, almost bursting into happiness as he connected the dots. 

“And we talked to you two about it, right?” Their mother continued, instigating her children to remember the topic of that conversation. 

“Mama and papa said that if we dedicate ourselves to something we really want, they could get us what we asked.” The young girl replied obediently. 

“Nii-chan has been dedicating himself to his guitar lessons, so we thought about rewarding his hard work.” Their dad finally announced what your soulmate had guessed all along, a smile spreading on his face. After receiving a light nod from them, the boy immediately put his hands on the wrap, tearing it apart to reveal a beautiful guitar. “We’re expecting extra hard work from now on, buddy.”

“I will!” He exclaimed, hugging both parents tightly, cheeks hurting from his large grin. “Thank you so much!!”

September, 2017 (current time, age of 23)

The memories were blurred in your mind, though all feelings and sensations burned in your heart whenever you remembered it. You always saw them in your soulmate’s perspective, being privileged enough to have a piece of his happiness - or cursed to feel the sadness that washed over in other years. 

It was perhaps his fault that you got so hooked on music and learned how to truly appreciate it, you somehow felt connected with him, as if it was a language only you two knew. It didn’t really matter the genre of the music, you could listen to an indie band from your college or a worldwide superstar; your heart knew how to stay tuned to different frequencies, absorbing the perfect high notes to the bass riff that made your bones shake.

That was how you met this eccentric lead vocal and guitarist from a rock-ish band in your college department, a guy with ash blonde hair, narrowed eyes and a voice filled with unsaid emotions. Semi Eita appeared to be angry at anyone at any time of the day, quick to offer snarky replies with his sharp tongue. It could be just a persona he created as his band progressively became well-known around college, or could be just himself and his lack of interest in people in general. 

You got to know him through your friend - and the band’s drummer - Akihiko, after one of their performances on a local live-house most college students go on a Friday night. Semi sat far from his bandmates, who were talking excitedly with each other and a couple of friends, with the same scowl you’ve seen in a picture Akihiko once showed you. 

“Guys, this is my friend Y/n,” he introduced you as soon as you two entered the small backstage room reserved for the performers. “She’s really into music, so I decided to invite her to one of our presentations.”

“It’s nice to meet you all!” You exchanged greetings, while you noticed the lead vocal just rolled his eyes and busied himself with his phone. “I enjoyed it a lot today! I could feel every instrument resonating through my body. Please invite me for your next performance!”

Throughout the whole night you hang out with the band, Semi stayed quiet on his own, enjoying a bottle of beer too lost inside his head. His bandmates reassured you he was fine, the guy wasn’t a fan of gathering with friends or any sort of social contact - which was ironic to say the least, after all, he spends his free time entertaining people. 

Despite the singer’s wish to avoid contact, many girls - and guys - approached him perhaps to initiate a small talk, or maybe to end up on a secluded corner of the live-house with their mouths on his. His quite mysterious façade was intriguing, you even admitted it to yourself, as a possible explanation to his “fame” around people, and maybe that was the reason he attracted many people. 

You only got the chance to have a proper conversation with him on the next band rehearsal, which Aikihiko invited you per the other’s request. Inside the soundproof studio, you sat on a chair across Semi, who was too busy tuning his guitar to care about your gaze on him. He still sported the same scowl in his face, however, this time you could notice a hint of excitement - maybe even a silent love towards his instrument and what he was able to do with it. 

“Are you done staring at me?” Semi asked angrily, lifting his head from the tuning keys he had just finished adjusting. “Why are you here? Aren’t you Akihiko’s hookup or something?”

“First of all, ew!” You exclaimed, face contorting in a grimace at the thought. “I know him too well to feel attracted! Besides, he permanently smells like cigarettes, it’s awful.”

“Just wait until he arrives, the studio will be infested by this shit.” He replied with a huff, rubbing his hand against his face. “For real, though, why are you here?”

“The other guys invited me to watch you practice,” you said, then leaning down to grab a notebook from your bag by your foot on the floor. “They think watching you play will help me with an activity I have to turn in before the winter break.”

“What is it?” Semi seemed interested, you noticed, putting his guitar on its support, crossing his left leg. Although you two were talking for a couple of minutes, you still felt a cold barrier between you two. It was quite noticeable as how the lead singer guided the conversation, questioning you and your reasons to be there.

“I attend the music course as an extracurricular activity, and I have to produce a song by the end of the semester.” The room fell in silence, but you could almost hear the gears in Semi’s head turning. “And I’m also here to convince you to sing for my project.”

“No.”

“Expected.” You laughed amused as Semi’s eyebrow twitched at your response. “Do you like barbecue? I can take you to an expensive restaurant as a payment.”

“You’re not gonna bribe me.” He stated, narrowing his eyes to send you sharp looks. In response, you smirked at his reaction. Just like Akihiko told me he would react.

“You’re right, I’m not gonna bribe you,” you mirrored his posture: left leg over the right one, arms crossed on the chest. But, contrary to him, you opened a smile, though your eyes screamed at the challenge in front of you. “I’m going to make you agree with me.” 

October, 2017 (current time, age of 23)

A month has passed since your very first talk with Semi Eita, and although you didn’t make any progress regarding your project, you’re getting to know a bit more about the real Semi - not just the cold façace he shows. He is indeed quick with comebacks, hot tempered - especially when he’s talking about music, the boy stands still for his beliefs in what would be better for the band - but, Semi seems to have a huge wall separating his deepest sides from his friends. As if something holds him back from being true to his feelings. 

“C’mon, Semi, we’re having a movie night,” Akihiko whined once again. “Stop watching this volleyball game and let me start choosing the movie!”

“He won’t budge Akihiko, it’s his friends playing.” The bassist, Takeshi, laughed at the rather unilateral discussion: the lead singer’s eyes were still trained on the screen, watching carefully every movement; while the drummer tried to snatch the remote control from the other’s grip. “You should know by now that he analyses carefully every Ushiwaka’s movements to scold him later.”

“I don’t do that!” Semi spoke up, diverting his gaze from the TV, proceeding to push Akihiko away from him. “Ushijima doesn’t need my comments. He never did, anyways.”

“So, the famous Semi Eita is also a sportist?” You teased him, nudging his left left leg with your foot, since you were half laying on the couch. “And has his phone number? Impressive.”

“Our lead singer had the honour to play on the same team as Ushijima Wakatoshi.” Akihiko threw his arm forcefully around the ash blond haired boy, earning a groan in protest. “And played against the Adlers’ setter, right? And you lost, right?”

“You don’t have to remember me, Akihiko-san, thank you very much.” He removed his bandmate over himself to look at you. “And I’m not a sportist.”

“How come not, Semi?” Takeshi retorted rhetorically, the smile on his face gave away his enjoyment in teasing him. “You had a sport scholarship in Shiratorizawa, you have to be at least great in volleyball!”

“Yeah…” Semi muttered lowly, lowering his gaze to the wooden floor of Akihiko’s apartment, clearly bothered by the turn the conversation took. “Choose the movie, I’ll make the popcorn.”

As he left the room, the other two guys exchanged looks, and you kind of deduced they went too far in this topic. To say you were curious about why him attending such a powerhouse school was delicate was an understatement, the urge to get up and follow him to the kitchen and shoot him questions was undeniable high - but you weren’t a senseless person.

Another part of Semi Eita’s personality presented itself to you, holding as many secrets as the façade he shows to everyone else does. You couldn’t help but think about how many experiences he went through to close himself like that, but more than that, you tried to imagine what kind of story Semi could tell through a song. That was the reason why you wanted so bad his participation in your project. 

Semi Eita could tell a great story if he wanted to. And you would try your best to make it happen. 

2008 (age of 14)

Your soulmate slowly dragged himself back home from school, body sore and longing for a long hot shower to relieve the stress of his muscles. Finals were taking a toll on him, especially when he was about to graduate middle school and needed to pave his way to good high schools. The sidewalk was slightly slippery due to the recent melted snow, droplets of water occasionally hitting his uniform’s pants near his ankles. 

Soon enough, he found himself opening the front door, being welcomed by a warmer environment. The young boy removed his shoes and heavy coat, greeting tiredly his mother and sister, who were both in the kitchen making dinner. Your soulmate headed to his bedroom ready to throw himself on his bed, wishing the mattress could swallow him. However, as soon as he turned the lights on, a white envelope with a familiar purple logo on the table caught his attention.

His hands worked quickly in tearing the material apart, removing a single sheet from the inside. The euphoria already dominated his senses, eyes barely proceeding to read the name of the institution at the top of the paper - but he knew which one was. His eyes scanned the words, eagerly searching for what he was wishing to himself for the past few weeks. 

“Mom!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, running out of his room to find her. “I made it! With a sports scholarship!”

“Oh my gosh, congratulations!” The woman cheered, drying her hands on her apron to involve her son in a tight embrace. His cheeks hurt from how wide he was smiling, but the bursting sensation of pride in his chest made up for that.

I am good at something, after all. I made it to a huge school through my volleyball abilities. 

I’m not replaceable. 

Mid October, 2017 (current time, age of 23)

“What the heck happened to you?” The words left your mouth before you could even think after you entered the usual studio the band usually rehearses. Akihiko was seated behind his set of drums, scrolling aimlessly through his phone; and Takeshi finished setting up his bass on the amplifiers. But what surprised you the most was the cast on Semi’s left arm, holding it in a position he couldn’t stretch it. 

“Hi, Y/n,” Semi waved cynically with his right hand, “I am fine, thank you for worrying about my well being.”

“We need your help.” Both Akihiko and Takeshi said. 

“Why do I feel it’s related to the fact Semi broke his arm?” You questioned, glaring at the lead vocal suspiciously. 

“The band has a presentation in a week and Semi can’t play the guitar for obvious reasons,” the bassist started approaching you, offering you a bright yellow pick - which you accepted, still not sure about the end of the conversation. “We’re lacking a guitarist, but Akihiko said you’re pretty good, right?”

“Uh… maybe?” 

“What Takeshi is trying to say is,” Semi cut his bandmate, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “We need you to play the guitar as support for our next concert.”

It was unexpected, you thought with yourself, by the little you knew about Semi and his relation to music, you imagined he would ask any close friend of his that he trusted. Perhaps Akihiko mentioned you know how to play, he could have even shown him a few recordings you did in the college studio. Either way, hearing Semi inviting you was a surprise. 

“Sure, I guess?” Your answer sounded more like a question, evidencing your state of confusion and unsureness. “Wouldn’t you guys want someone else, though?”

“No.” The ash blonde hair boy answered without hesitation, once again surprising you. “You’ll do it just fine.”

You quickly exchanged looks with Akihiko, in hopes to discover that it was a huge prank or even a childish comeback from Semi regarding your stubbornness of having his vocals on your project. However, the drummer nodded his head; his facial expression didn’t give any sign of mischievousness like it usually does.

Semi stopped in front of you, handing you his own guitar. The instrument felt foreigner in your grasp, as if a simple guitar held secrets and hidden feelings of its owner - and it might do. You felt oddly connected to the guy in front of you, the same one who denied every invite of yours to sing for a couple of minutes for an extracurricular project. 

As your fingers strummed the strings, you noticed how perfectly tuned the guitar was and you were quickly to mentally facepalm yourself. It’s obvious Semi Eita would take such a good care of his guitar, the boy loved music after all. After adjusting the strap over your shoulder to fit your much smaller stature than the owner’s, you played a couple of chords to make the final adjustments on the amplifiers. 

“So, tell me the setlist I need to work on.” The three men smiled gratefully at you - though Semi’s looked more like a grimace, but you understood. They proceeded to fill you up with plenty of songs and minor details you should be aware of about their style, rearragended chords.

The hours flew by while you were in the studio with the band, the four of you fell in a good synchronization - if an outsider saw the rehearsal, they would never guess you weren’t the main guitarist. Playing with them felt familiar, all your frequencies merged into one smoothly, even easily. You adapted yourself to Akihiko’s excitement and Takeshi’s quirks during his solos, but the easiest one to work with was Semi. 

His style of singing fitted perfectly with your own strumming habits, even the occasional exchange of looks was easily understood between you two. He seems to be too arrogant on stage, pretending as if he was the best amaetur performer in college - but in a sense, Semi could think like this. The way he easily went with the flow with a new element in the studio, someone he has never seen playing before. 

“Great job, guys!” Akihiko exclaimed, clapping his hands a couple of times. You put the yellow pick on the top of the amplifier and cracked your knuckles, feeling your fingers a little stiff from the almost two hours rehearsal. And you did well, Y/n, you even remembered all the chords!”

“Akihiko!” Your whine made both the drummer and the bassist laugh. “I can remember things, okay?”

“Then tell me why can’t you remember your soulmate’s memories?” He wiggled his eyebrows, daring you to answer him. When you didn’t reply, he snorted. “You can’t even defend yourself on that! Anyway, we rented the studio for another hour, but I have some business to solve at home. Feel free to stay until the end, okay? Thank you for the practice!”

“Thank you.” You smiled, sending off the drummer. While you quietly went through the songs you weren’t familiar in the setlist, Takeshi bid farewell to you and Semi - leaving you two alone. “If you wanna leave, just let me know and I’ll stop, okay?”

“You are good,” Semi complimented you, not answering your statement. “Akihiko-san wasn’t lying after all, you are indeed good.”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” The studio was filled with rhythmical strums, following your favourite song of the list while you quietly hummed the lyrics. “I suppose Akihiko showed you a few things I did for the course.”

“Actually, he didn’t,” His response caught you off guard, your right hand stopping its motion in the middle of the song’s bridge. “And I suggested your name as support. I kind of wanted to see what’s up with you and music.”

“And what do you think, Semi?”

“Why do you want me to sing your song for the project?” He asked, ignoring your question completely. You arch your eyebrows in surprise, earning the same gesture - as if he was inciting you to answer him. 

“I strongly believe that music has an unique power to deliver messages. It could be the lyrics, the instrumental or just the performance… everything has a meaning.” You stated, adjusting the guitar in your lap properly; eyes fixed on the man in front of you. “From my point of view, after watching you perform and how you interact with music, I imagined you have some deep feelings buried inside of you that could be delivered through a song. Somebody could relate to you and feel grateful for you expressing something they might couldn’t.”

“I’ll do it.” Semi said after a few seconds in silence, surprising you. When you looked at his face, a small smile adorned his features. You mirrored his expression, though yours were much larger in order to convey your happiness. 

COLLAB MASTERLIST!

SEARCH FOR A BOOK!

General taglist

Bold users couldn’t be tagged!

@whootwhoot​ @nikkiandherrandomshits​

Wanna be tagged? Click here!

[mdelpin]

Second Chances

Given Valentine’s Event 2020 Prompt: Sweet Tooth Pairing(s): Yayoi & Ritsuka, Yatake x Yayoi (mentioned), Mafuyu x Uenoyama (mentioned)

AO3

Summary:  Yayoi hurt Ritsuka deeply, she knows that. More than anything she would like to make things right between them. She only hopes Ritsuka will grant her that chance.

Yayoi heard the front door to their apartment close and took a calming breath to prepare herself. She wasn’t really sure whether what she was planning was a good idea or not, but Yayoi knew she couldn’t bear Ritsuka’s closed off expression any longer.

She’d hurt him, even though that hadn’t been her intention. She’d questioned her brother’s fledgling feelings towards that kid in his band, even going so far as to call them unnatural and weird. What kind of thing was that for a big sister to do?

Especially when Ritsuka was so hesitant to show any feelings in the first place.

From the moment she’d uttered the words she’d wanted to take them back. Ritsuka had never been in love before, had never really shown interest in anything outside of his guitar. And now that he finally had, she had stomped all over it.

Ever since that day, they had lived as strangers, sharing the same house but not really speaking much outside of the necessary interactions to keep their parents off their radar, and Yayoi hated it.

She missed her little brother.

She looked at the bags she had placed on the kitchen counter earlier and hoped it was enough to repair what she’d broken. Yayoi grabbed the pot she would need to heat up the heavy cream, making as much noise as she was able in an effort to arouse her brother’s curiosity, but after a few minutes had passed, she gave up and went for a more direct approach.

“Ritsuka, can you come here for a moment?”

“What do you want?” his voice startled her, he’d been closer than she’d thought.

“Oh, hey! I was hoping you could help me with something,” Yayoi offered him her friendliest smile, the one which could usually get her anything she wanted from any male. Except for brothers apparently. Her smile dimmed as Ritsuka studied her with the same guarded expression that he’d given her since that day.

“Uhm, do you think you could chop up some chocolate for me?” Yayoi pleaded, “I have a shoot later today, and I can’t afford to break a nail.”

That was total bullshit. Even if she did such a thing, a nail artist would fix it promptly, but he didn’t have to know that.

“Fine,” Ritsuka went to the sink and washed his hands before accepting the packages of bittersweet chocolate from her and grabbing a large chef knife. He set about doing as she asked, and she used the time to think about what she wanted to say, not wanting to bring anything up while he was using a knife. His hands were just as important to him, especially now that his band seemed to be taking off.

She emptied out the remaining bags, placing the contents on the counter before filling the pot with the cream and putting it on the stove. She hummed a song as she waited for the cream to almost boil.

“What are you doing, anyway?”

“Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be nice to make some chocolates for Take,” Yayoi explained, and then as if the idea had just occurred to her she added, “I don’t suppose you’d like to make some as well?”

“For Take? Why would I?” Ritsuka frowned.

“No moron, for your friend. I mean boyfriend,” she quickly amended with a laugh, wincing when it came out brittle, “I bought plenty of ingredients. You know, in case I messed up.”

Ritsuka was studying her once again, his eyes narrowing in distrust. He went back to the chopping board, carefully scooping some of the chocolate into the bowl Yayoi had placed for that purpose before resuming his chopping.

“Please stop for a moment,” Yayoi pleaded, ignoring the pot for now as she watched her brother put the knife down and clench the edge of the counter tightly.

“I screwed up, okay? I know I did, and I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said those things to you,” Yayoi hugged her brother, ignoring the fact that he stiffened at her touch.

“Why not? You meant them,” Ritsuka snapped, letting some of his anger surface.

“I - I did, but I was wrong to say anything. And if I’m honest, I was mostly angry at Akihiko at the time. I couldn’t accept that he preferred another man to me,” she confessed. She might not have been consciously aware of it at the time, but her conversation with Haruki had convinced her of that fact.

“Look, it doesn’t matter what I think, or whether I understand your feelings or not. The only important thing is that you feel that way and that it makes you feel happy.”

Ritsuka hung his head, and she let go of him finally, knowing he wasn’t a massive fan of physical affection, at least not from her.

“Scared,” Ritsuka corrected, turning to look at her.

“What?”

“It makes me scared to feel this way,” Ritsuka admitted bluntly, “but also happy.”

Yayoi smiled, “I think I know how you feel, I get the feeling Take is a bit too good for me. But don’t tell him I said that.”

Ritsuka laughed, the first real one she’d heard in a while. “He is, actually,” he teased, “Way too good for the likes of you.”

“I want to understand, I really do,” Yayoi insisted, wanting Ritsuka to realize how important this was to her, how important he was to her.

“You should meet him then,” he invited, his eyes lighting up as he spoke about his boyfriend, “His name is Mafuyu. He’s a bit awkward and shy, and his guitar playing could use some work, but he uhm, well, he’s alright.”

Yayoi stared at him in wonder and burst into giggles.

“What’s so funny?” Rituska’s voice wavered, and she could hear the hurt closing in, threatening to ruin her efforts again.

“That might just be the most I’ve heard you say all at once, that’s all,” she replied, still giggling. “I definitely need to meet the guy who can make my little brother so chatty.”

Ritsuka shoved her playfully with his hips, and she felt contented, at peace. This was more like it.

“Does Mafuyu like chocolate?”

“Yeah, but maybe not these so much.”

“Are you insulting my chocolates?”

“No, but we’ll need to start over, the cream just boiled over,” Ritsuka pointed out, and Yayoi could see he was right.

“Shit!” she ran to the stove, pointedly ignoring her brother’s snickers and snide remarks about her cooking skills.

Ritsuka had already taken out a new pot and was pouring the cream into it, having read over the recipe while she cleaned up.

“I guess I’ll make some too, Mafuyu does have a sweet tooth,” he mentioned casually, even as he complained when he examined the molds she had bought, “Did it have to be hearts though? It’s so girly.”

“Says the guy who’s dating another guy,” Yayoi teased, snickering at the way Ritsuka stuck his tongue out at her.

“I might be gay, but I’m not a girl.”

It was said in a flippant tone, but Yayoi recognized it for what it was, a declaration. And maybe a test of sorts to see how she would react.

“Got it,” she replied with a smile, “and for the record, I like you just the way you are, even if you are a pain in my ass.”

Ritsuka rolled his eyes at her, but the return of his smile was everything she could have hoped for. She knew she hadn’t fixed everything, this was only a beginning, but she would do her best to be worthy of the second chance he’d given her.

A/N: I came up with this idea last night and it gripped me. I was once very close to my brother and I know this situation would have upset me greatly. We used to bond over making chocolate chip cookies and so I came up with this. I hope we get to see a similar conversation in the manga. Ritsuka deserves it. Hope you like it.

[defiant-firefly]

October Challenge Day 13

This is actually a rewritten version of yesterdays prompt but I hated what I wrote yesterday so I rewrote it again today.

The prompt was ‘Broken Down’ from the Whumptober prompts list. Given that it’s a Whumptober prompt, I feelI probably don’t need to say but uh... yeah I turned Labby into a punching bag again. It’s the third installment of the ‘zap Labby’ idea, taking place when she’s with the Shadow Ops and been with them for a little while. It’s basically, ‘Labby struggling with the associations between the maintenance chair and the hell she had to endure in the lab’. I’ve once again left the ending open so I guess this is getting another installment. Great.

Labby has officially taken over my October Challenge with this idea alone. Someone stop this rabid plot bunny please.

Anyway, the fic under cut!

The first time it happened, no one had been around. Her balancers had malfunctioned and she’d tripped and fallen hard.

Labrys had hissed at the awkward way her knee was forced to bend and at the awful way she’d landed on her wrist. She’d had to stay there for a few minutes as her balancers came back online and made the world stop spinning every time she to tried to move. When she did get back up, she’d considered going to see Fuuka to repair them but thought better of it at the time. It wasn’t that bad.

She’d carried on as normal, an ache in her knee and a soreness in her wrist that had gradually worn off by the end of the day.

The second time it happened, she’d been walking with Koromaru and Ken and her chain arm decided to unlatch itself at the same time as her visor decided to fall over her face mid-sentence. She’d scrambled to put her arm back before anyone had noticed, Ken helping out as pointless information started flying across the inside screen on her visor and obstructed her vision.

He’d asked if she was okay as she tugged at said visor as it jammed into place over her eyes and he’d had to help her with that as well before she broke it with a lack of patience. She’d insisted at the time that it was just a minor fault that got in the way sometimes and had taken some time to convince him it wasn’t worth bothering Fuuka over.

It was during the third time, she had to admit that maybe this was getting out of hand. Labrys had been alone thankfully when her mind went dark and she’d lost all external input for about a full minute. It’d scared her half to death to suddenly be numb with no ability to move or sense anything for even that short period of time and when everything came back, she’d had to sit down to keep herself grounded.

She didn’t ever want to be in that box again and that had just brought it all crashing back.

She should go to see Fuuka. She knows she should.

So she does.

Labrys entered the maintenance room where Fuuka often went to tinker with her engineering projects and hadn’t known what to say. She’d found herself asking about the projects she was working on and wondering what in the world all the dials and buttons were for. When asked why she’d come, she’d paused. She made to answer but had found the words wouldn’t come. Fuuka waited patiently as she made a few more attempts before her eyes had wandered and noticed something she probably shouldn’t have.

On the desk, right nearby sat a familiar little box shaped object with two familiar prongs jutting out one side.

Labrys had never been better at lying than in that one moment. As a notoriously bad liar, she’d even amazed herself at how convincing she’d sounded as she made up some random excuse to avoid what she’d come in for. She’d been scared enough as it was to ask for help but now…

Things were getting worse. The wear on her joints had started to ache nonstop, her visor got jammed what seemed like every five minutes and it was getting much harder to keep this to herself. This was nothing compared to what she would go through if she asked for help.

She’d had a few more momentary blackouts but had luckily managed to avoid having them in front of people. The malfunctions… not so much.

She’d nearly rocket punched Junpei when everything suddenly went off and the safety latches failed. Yeah… that had taken some convincing to keep that one from getting reported.

Thankfully she’d managed to almost completely avoid Mitsuru and Aigis most of the time. She knew there’d be no convincing either of them if something happened in front of them. The last thing she wanted was to be forced into that situation again…

Especially when she finally felt like she had some semblance of control over her life now. She wasn’t ready to let that go for even a moment.

“What’s your opinion on this, Labrys? You’ve been quiet.” Mitsuru spoke up, drawing her attention to the present. They were stood in her office for a meeting on some recent shadow activity, they being her, Aigis, Akihiko and Mitsuru herself. Looks like she’d zoned out again…

“Uh…” Mitsuru raised an eyebrow, seemingly already knowing why she hadn’t said anything. “Yeah, sorry. Ya lost me…” Labrys gave her an apologetic smile as she fidgeted with her hands awkwardly, a little embarrassed.

“It’s quite alright. Aigis can fill you in on the details of our discussion later.” She then offered out a file to her that she reached to take. She froze partway, flinching at the ache in her elbow that doubled with the loud grating noise that echoed from it. Mitsuru seemed to have a similar reaction, an awkward silence raining down on them.

“Was that-”

“It sounds worse than-” They both spoke at the same time before stopping themselves. A small bubble of panic started rising form within her and she quickly reached the rest of the way to take the file.

Hastily opening it up, she tried to ignore the red hot stares of the other three people in the room.

“Sister?” Aigis started hesitantly, earning an absent hum in response as ruby eyes scanned the words in front of her. “Have you been to see Fuuka-san recently?”

“Uh… yeah I saw her a little bit ago. Why?” She feigned ignorance as she flipped through the pages, narrowing her eyes on some of the details thoughtfully. She shook her head before Aigis could continue, “actually, never mind that. Did I miss the reason why we’re investigatin’ some ghost stuff?”

“Mitsuru thinks it might have something to do with shadows. It’s a bit of a long shot, but it can’t hurt to have a quick look, right?” Akihiko answered, crossing his arms as he leaned on the wall. Labrys nodded at what was probably repeated information from when she’d stopped listening.

She heard Aigis say something right as her sensors went fuzzy for a moment. She should probably get out of here before anything worse happens…

“W-well, um. Who’re ya sendin’ on a ghost hunt?” She asked, before realising she’d interrupted Aigis who gave her a funny look. “Ah, sorry. I musta spaced out again, heh…”

“You seem to be doing that a lot today, sister.” A blonde eyebrow raised and Labrys had to find a way to casually look back down at the files.

“Meh. It happens.” She gave a small shrug, ignoring the sting it caused. “Well, if ya don’t need me then-” Labrys made to hand the file to Akihiko as she approached the door to leave, only for everything to choose that moment to go wrong. Her eyes went dark for a moment as her hand lost its grip on the file and she lost her balance.

“Labrys!” She couldn’t tell who’d shouted that before the rest of her sensors shut off. A fear started pulsing through her at the lack of outside input and she scrambled to reboot everything. No sound, no sight, no smell, no touch… nothing. The only thing telling her she wasn’t completely unconscious being the fact her mind was racing.

Her hearing came back first and she clung to it, pushing the sensitivity up to maximum.

“So she’ll be fine?” Voices! She focused all of her attention on the sounds as the damage sensors came back online and started filling her head with the white noise of pain.

“Physically? Of course. Emotionally…” Fuuka’s soft voice answered the first. “Well there had to be a reason for this.” Reason for what? The feeling started returning to her body then, letting her know she wasn’t in a very comfortable place. The balancers on the back of her head shifted awkwardly as they came back online, her motor functions beginning to return as well.

“Hm? Is she awake?” Mitsuru asked, seemingly having noticed her small movements.

“Hmm…I don’t think she’s fully back online just yet. I think she can hear us though.” Fuuka answered sounding slightly more optimistic.

“How can you tell?” Akihiko followed by the sounds of footsteps by her left side.

“Oh it’s right here, see? The sensors are turned right up to maximum whereas when you got her here, they were only at about three quarters of the max.” The explanation made her worry a little. How were they seeing this…? “I can’t help but wonder where that damage came from though…” Damage?

A discomfort started building in her lower arms, an irritating, highly unwelcome feeling and after a few moments she realised why it was there. She felt the fans on either side of her head suddenly activate as her thoughts spiralled.

She was plugged in. They could see everything in her head. There was virtually nothing to stop them from doing anything. What were they doing? What had they done?

“Sister? Calm down.” Aigis suddenly spoke up, easing the panic slightly but not enough to stop the fans. Her optics came back online at that point, her eyes flying open to see something other than the pitch black. With her sight back, she found the cables attaching her to whatever computer Fuuka had linked them up to and immediately made to remove them.

When her hand met resistance, her heart sank further and the fear skyrocketed. Without a moment to think, she pulled on the restraints, pushing against them with increasing power despite the pain such strain caused her.

“Wait, Labrys stop!” Aigis was suddenly in her sight as she heard the restraints creak and begin to stretch under the sheer force she was pushing on them. “Sister! It’s okay! See? You’re in the maintenance bay! With me, Fuuka-san, Mitsuru-san and Akihiko-san!” She was promptly ignored as she struggled to free herself.

Gritting her teeth she briefly felt Aigis trying to hold her down. How could she try and stop her? Didn’t she see what they were gonna do to her?

“No! Lemme go!” She screamed at them the very moment her vocal systems finished rebooting. “I don’t wanna do it anymore!”

“Hey! Stop! You’re gonna hurt yourself!” Akihiko was at her side too, trying to stop her from causing any more damage to her already hurting limbs. She thrashed about on the chair as they continued to try and calm her down.

“Labrys, listen to me! It’s okay! You’re not at that lab anymore. You’re in my old maintenance chair, see?” Aigis kept trying but Labrys just doubled her efforts. This is the one place she didn’t want to be, why were they doing this to her?

Weren’t they supposed to be friends? Wasn’t Aigis supposed to be her sister? Then why would they force her to do this?!

“Stop it! Just lemme go!” She felt the tears start falling when they just held onto her tighter, their betrayal causing a wound bigger than any weapon possibly could in her heart.

Ruby eyes flitted about wildly, her gaze briefly finding Mitsuru’s. She didn’t seem to know what to do but she was the only one not stopping her from leaving. She took an instinctive step back at the look in her eyes and Labrys latched onto that.

“M-Mitsuru-san! Help!” She called out to her, desperation to get as far away from here as possible muddling any other thought process. Mitsuru’s eyes widened before a loud grating sound erupted from her right side.

“Sister!” Aigis cried in alarm as the restraint snapped and Labrys lost control of two fingers on that hand. She screeched at the searing pain the damage had caused and fought harder against her captors. She wanted out.

“Fuuka, do something!” Akihiko yelled as he struggled to prevent her from breaking the other restraints as well.

“I…” Pained ruby eyes found Fuuka’s round, hesitant ones. What was she gonna do? Aigis pulled back harder on her damaged arm and drew her attention away as she cry out at the amount of hurt that pulsed from the break.

“Fuuka, whatever you’re about to do, just do it.” Mitsuru commanded. “Somethings not right here.” Labrys found Fuuka again in dismay.

“No! I don’t wanna go through that again! Jus’ lemme go!” She pleaded, hoping her friend would listen to her but…

“I’m sorry, Labrys. It’ll be okay, I promise.” She said, never breaking eye contact as she pressed a button on the keyboard. Almost immediately a weight fell on her mind. What had she done?

Labrys felt more tears fall as it suddenly became difficult to move or even keep her eyes open. She was shutting down. Fuuka had started a shutdown.

“No…!” She tried to protest but the words had trouble leaving her lips as her body was forced to relax and she felt the energy quickly drain away from her. “Why…?” She managed to mumble right as her eyes lost focus and her head fell back against the chair. Labrys struggled to hold onto her consciousness, desperately trying to force her eyes to stay open as Aigis shifted from holding her down, to holding her close. She offered as much comfort as she could with small words she could barely make out in the fog covering her senses.

Labrys didn’t hold out long. Her eyes fell shut and she drifted away into nothingness…

[downtomyunderoos]

@va-lkyrie thank you for being patient with me, as i’ve been burying this blog with memes!! ok so!! akihiko in the drama cds and the stageplays. right!!

let’s start with the former, and i’ll make a second post later, k? :3c

what i like about the drama cds is that each contain a different facet of his. even if it’s a little, he’d interact with or mention other characters (and vice versa), as well as spill a bit about himself. the stuff akihiko mentions are shit i’d muuuch prefer learn rather than how games keep one-noting him. you dare make a character you could expand only to turn him into a caricature of himself?? lemme go ‘in-depth’ with highlights of a few cds + yt links!

p3p drama cd vol. 1

- everyone goes to the summer festival.

- akihiko and ken are awkward together, are too alike. and akihiko mentions how he only hangs out with one person.

- all the girls think he’s impulsive and that shinji and mitsuru scold him often.

- akihiko mentions he doesn’t like crowds.

- akihiko says the way junpei gets along with yukari and the other girls looks fun, then mentions how he in comparison isn’t interesting to talk to. junpei very briefly tries denying this.

- akihiko entertains the thought of yukari being a boxer.

- akihiko talks to hamuko (just a lil tho, about food. he offers extra asdfgh he knows).

- akihiko teases mitsuru.

- (there’s translated staff commentary too, with everyone saying how they’d like to do more with femc but are uncertain about the opportunity. midorikawa says it’d be great if p3(p) gets an anime, and that for femc he wishes his character could show up more. this was in 2010.)

episode rain

- a personal fave.

- focuses on akihiko and shinji. they talk about their childhood and growing up.

- AKIHIKO GOES RUNNING WITH KOROMARU (and mentions how minato, junpei, and shinji never join him, fff).

- i looove how midorikawa expresses akihiko’s range of emotions in this.

- honestly i just love everything. it’s ~9 mins long so just listen!!

p3 character drama cd vol. 5

- in front of everyone, akihiko and shinji get into a verbal fight (akihiko being gung ho about training in tartarus and shinji telling him he’s being foolish and arrogant, etc).

- SEES gossip about them but agree only shinji can say what they can’t to akihiko. fuuka points out those two are awkward with each other. mitsuru tells everyone to leave them alone, that it’s normal for those two and how it was a tame fight in comparison to past fights.

- (akihiko, out of breath, runs to koromaru to walk him while apologizing for being late. such loyalty!!)

- later, due to a misunderstanding, akihiko (unlike everyone else) freaks out that shinji ran away again, that this time it was because of their earlier fight.

- akihiko runs to the back alley and gets threatened by the punks inhabiting there. he, junpei, and minato gets saved by kurosawa (since akihiko prohibits himself to fight bc he’s a boxing captain), who then talks about how nice it is to have someone ‘set you right’ and it’d be lonely otherwise (referencing shinji for akihiko).

- akihiko tells shinji he doesn’t hate him and likes seeing him whenever he can despite being reprimanded. shinji forces him to apologize and then to promise running away in tartarus when he needs to.

- junpei and minato get dragged around by akihiko pretty much the entire time and get s o t i r e d. junpei calls akihiko a storm.

daylight

- this is more of a shinji-centric cd sorta, but akihiko mentions having a mom + how at the orphanage they were surrounded by kind adults and weren’t really alone until they entered high school.

- aigis offers to come up with better meal plans for akihiko, but he declines because he can’t cook.

- akihiko gets excited and decides things and pesters shinji p much fufu.

new moon + full moon

- takes place after november 4th.

- yukari about akihiko: “he’s shining today like never before. he does a good job in managing us too.”

- akihiko here is intelligent as well as leader-like (also makes it clear he doesn’t want anyone to die). the entire time he’d give orders to fuuka and aigis while SEES was in a tight spot involving the kirijo group.

- akihiko and ken believe in yukari during a crucial moment and also protect her while she does what she needs to do.

moonlight

- takes place before nyx time.

- everyone gets locked in a dorm room, and they’re freed once they’re honest about their feelings and are fine with moving forward. akihiko and junpei are locked in shinji’s room.

- akihiko says he’s had the same sleep schedule, and if he goes late to bed sometimes, he’d wake up at the same time as usual.

- akihiko remembers how shinji had an awful-sounding alarm clock and goes through his things so he can retrieve it for junpei.

- junpei feels bad for taking his things bc he figures akihiko should keep it as a memento like he does with chidori’s things. at present akihiko thinks differently, but he used to keep everything (photos, writing) that’s 10 years’ worth. he realizes that memories will fade nonetheless, and it’s best to share those memories with others.

- after all that, akihiko decides he wants to wake up junpei on his own from now on and make him train with him -- much to junpei’s horror. unfortunately, the translation for junpei’s and akihiko’s parts got cut by the end.

[serienzacharysblog]

Details in " Given "

Part one

________________________________________________________________

Welcome to all of you today. I wish you a good day and full of success. I'll talk to you today about some of the details of GIVEN and from my personal perspective. I hope you like it and have fun reading it. And without prolonging. Let's get started..

________________________________________________________________

ﾟ･:*✿ [[̲̲̅̅♯̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ᴛ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ʜ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ᴇ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ʙ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ᴀ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ɴ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ᴅ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅✎̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅.̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅.̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ̲̲̲̲̲̲̲̅̅̅̅̅̅̅]̲̲̅̅] .｡.:*♡

━━━━━━━━━★

As for the band, it is on as Uneoyama said before - in the third episode - it is a band, meaning that it is a band without a singer, but soon the conditions of the band will change by Mafuyu, where Uneoyama decides after hearing the sound of his singing to include him for their band to become a singer of the band, and that means that all It matters that they change the style of the band a little bit so that Uneoyama/Haruki/Akihiko finds the right melodies so that Mafuyu can make it conform to the song he will sing , At the same time, the band had the opportunity to participate in the singing tournament

- which is hosted by a friend of Haruki -

Haruki has offered to join his band for the competition, on the other hand. With all these arrangements, Mafuyu unfortunately can't find the right words for the song's melodies, which at the same time correspond to his inner feelings ..

But. All of a sudden. At the start of the show. Mafuyu begins singing unconsciously recalling his memories with his childhood friend yuki..

*, this really touches the heart, I want to cry*

Accordingly , he continues to sing until the end of the show, and the audience is amazed by Mafuyu's prowess and is a reason for the band's fame later to the point that the executive director of the event Take - Chan asked Haruki after the show and the events of the day,

"? Where did you get this kid" ..

Ugatsu says who has a great talent in playing the violin "Oh, I get it .. this kid Was born with a talent"

Later.. And after the premiere of their band ends, their team becomes very famous because of the song that Mafuyu sang in that show, and they will be sent an invitation from the singing tournament for young people** to participate in the competition, and accordingly - and after all the members of the band have accepted to join the competition - they are asked to find a specific name For the band, that's how the team agreed that the name was Given ..

Hence, Given's band began to appear on the stage for the second time in the new competition, in which the four members of the band Haruki / Akihiko / Uneoyama / Mafuyu ..

____________________________________

ﾟ･:*✿ [♯̲̲̅̅τ̲̲̅̅н̲̲̅̅є̲̲̅̅ ̲̲̅̅ρ̲̲̅̅r̲̲̅̅σ̲̲̅̅в̲̲̅̅ℓ̲̲̅̅є̲̲̅̅м̲̲̅̅s̲̲̅̅ ̲̲̅̅&̲̲̅̅ ̲̲̅̅c̲̲̅̅н̲̲̅̅α̲̲̅̅ℓ̲̲̅̅ℓ̲̲̅̅є̲̲̅̅ท̲̲̅̅g̲̲̅̅є̲̲̅̅s̲̲̅̅ ̲̅]

━━━━━━━━━★

Course.. For each anime its problems and challenges that do not end until the end of anime and which its heroes face daily, whether large or small, and regardless of all that, the problems and challenges of the main anime characters affect the band and its performance mostly..

- This is, of course, due to the fact that the main characters are the characters of the band themselves -

# ᴛʜᴇ sᴏɴɢs ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴᴇʀ

_____________________________

One example of the problems faced by the band is mafuyu's repeated delay in making songs suitable for the melodies in a timely manner, which led to the delay to the point where they had to try to perform their first performance without singing - a musical song without words - . If it wasn't for Mafuyu's courage and his attempt to sing during that show, the team might not have succeeded and become as famous as it was after their show that time..

And the same thing almost happened the second time they were on display. And I think if Uneoyama hadn't mentioned it , he'd have left the songs until the show started again..

But the surprise is that when he went to ask for ugatsu's help in showing his talents, Ugatsu was able to show his talents to the point where he made him show great skill and performance during their second performance to the extent that the CEO of the event was so happy this time!..

He changed the technical problems that Mafuyu faces because of being a beginner in singing and music, such as his inability to master the guitar during singing, or for example, his occasional lyrical beating on the amp while he sings..

- Which of course pushes Uneoyama to the brink of madness and makes him scream at him always with such anxiety and tension that he becomes like a raging devil when it comes to singing -

But the psychological problems of the band members - which they have every once in a while - are the cause of any actual problem that may arise in the band, they are - as a team and musicians - geniuses ! . . And each of them already has his real talent! .. But their psychological problems are the main cause of any problem their band may face..

# ᴛʜᴇ ᴘsʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴘʀᴏʙʟᴇᴍs

___________________________

For example. When Haruki felt he was in a bad state. Especially after Akihiko begged him to allow him to live with him because he doesn't have a home to go back to right now, and he'll be destined for the street if he doesn't help him..

This is especially after the night he did those bad things to Haruki ..  This led to his inability to play with them, and he started singing out of rhythm because he was hanging out of the ground all the time.'

Unconsciously and unconsciously what he's doing..

So was Mafuyu. The real reason why he was initially unable to find songs was because of his constant thinking in the past and how to confront his present and deal with his future and so on..

- After losing to yuki.

But. Unlike Mafuyu and Haruki , Akihiko and Uneoyama are able to control themselves and not to involve their psychological problems in musical matters. Especially Uneoyama ,As Haruki once said, Uneoyama becomes the "devil" when it comes to music and band,Akihiko is a talent to play in the band and being able to use musical instruments other than drums.  Like a violin, he was able to adapt to all the circumstances of the band with a little more skill than the members of his band..

# ɴᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ " ᴍᴏɴᴇʏ "

____________________

And, of course, .. There's a permanent problem with the band we've known. Or everyone who watched the second episode of the series knew her. It's the money , and their need for money to keep up in the band has pushed them to look for temporary jobs, where they get enough money for their band.This will undoubtedly remain a permanent problem with the band because they are constantly in need of money if they want to manage their band, but right now it's not a big problem for them, and they've managed it easily until this moment..

____________________________________

____________________________________

In conclusion, thank you for your good reading and I hope that my blog for today has benefited you, and I will see you in other parts soon..

#Watch_Given

#Details in Given

# part_one

________________________________________________________________________

[tiredpidgeon]

The Magic Within

“Now, as for your reward, if you succeed, you shall be given a seat at the throne.” Kageyama did not respond. “If you bring me back the Sorcerer, alive, and within the time frame provided, of course.”

**

Kageyama is a royal knight tasked with finding the elusive Fire Whisperer and bringing him back to the Queen. If he succeeds he will become the next King. If he fails he will most likely be exiled.

AO3 

Art 

Next

Chapter 1

Kageyama’s steps echoed through the empty chamber, the rustling of his cape amplified by the silence. The throne room was massive, roughly the size of an entire hospital. On special occasions, it was used as a ballroom, with thousands of nobles wearing intricate clothing intertwined in the most exquisite dances. Kageyama refrained from attending such balls, finding them one of the greatest causes of his boredom.

Today was no special occasion. The room was, therefore, empty, save for the crimson velvet carpet extended from the 10 feet tall oak doors all the way to the throne itself on the opposite side wall. Kageyama was walking on said carpet, body straight and head held high. When he reached the steps leading to the throne he kneeled on his left knee, placed his right fist closed over his heart, and bowed his head.

“My Queen,” he said, his voice firm.

“You may rise, Kageyama,” the Queen, Yachi Madoka, looked down at him.

Kageyama raised his head and nodded briefly before standing, hands by his sides and head high with confidence.

“Your Majesty called for me?” he asked.

Kageyama knew how to behave before royalty. He was virtually raised in the palace. His father had been the personal knight of Yachi Akihiko, the late king of Miyagi. When the king passed away his father became the Commander of the army but died in battle not long after. Kageyama’s mother left him when her husband died so the young boy was taken in by the Knights, who honored his father’s memory by raising him to be the best knight Miyagi had ever seen.

“I have indeed -I have a proposal,” she smiled at him. Kageyama immediately knew it wasn’t a proposal. If he refused anything to the queen he would be stripped of his title.

“Anything, my Queen,” he said, bowing his head.

“Your family has long served mine with the utmost loyalty. You have been rising in your ranks and proving yourself to be a valuable asset to this kingdom. I believe, therefore, it is time to send you on a quest to prove your worth.”

Kageyama’s eyes snapped up at that and he straightened himself up. A quest! He had never been on a quest. He had heard of quests from the others Knights. According to them, the Queen's quests were as ruthless and unforgiving as she. Nevertheless, Kageyama couldn't help but feel his body buzzing with excitement at the thought of being sent on a quest. Completing a quest usually came with incredible rewards such as riches or titles. Kageyama could barely hold himself back from asking what was in it for him.

“This quest is of the utmost importance, Kageyama. Failure will not be tolerated. Is that understood?”

“Yes, my Queen. I would never fail you!” he said, bowing again. He knew he was bowing excessively but he did not know how else he could properly thank her for the quest.

“Very well. Your quest is quite simple. There is a sorcerer on the run. He has been causing quite the ruckus in small villages around the Kingdom. Find him and bring him to me. Do not kill him. Do you understand?"

“Yes, my queen,” Kageyama said, deflating slightly.

The quest presented to him sounded rather underwhelming. The other Knights usually told him of quests for hidden magical objects or rare creatures needed for potions. All Kageyama had to do was capture some dumb sorcerer and bring him back. He had done this plenty of times. The queen often sent campaigns to druid camps to search for sorcerers and when they found them they brought them by the bulk.

“Do not underestimate him,” she warned Kageyama. “This sounds like a simple enough task but many have failed before you,” she shot her personal knight an annoyed look before turning back to him. “You can get all the needed information from Commander Oikawa. As for your resources, Kiyoko will aid you. You have a month,” she finished, intertwining her fingers and resting them on her legs.

“Yes, my queen. Thank you. You shall not be disappointed,” Kageyama bowed once more, knee on the floor. “Now, as for your reward, if you succeed, you shall be given a seat at the throne.” Kageyama did not respond. “If you bring me back the Sorcerer, alive, and within the time frame provided, of course.”

Kageyama’s heart stopped. A seat at royalty? The seat belonged to the queen’s daughter, and Kageyama’s childhood friend, Hitoka. Unless…

“You shall have Hitoka’s hand in marriage. I hope you comprehend the implications of such an offer,” the queen finished.

Kageyama stared at her with wide eyes and nodded hurriedly. “Y-Yes, Your Highness,” he stuttered out.

The queen sighed. “That is all. You may leave,” she waved her hand, looking towards her counselor to treat other matters.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Kageyama said, straightening up before he turned around and walked out of the throne room.

As soon as the doors closed behind him he started sprinting. What was going on? Was he offered Hitoka’s hand? Was she okay with that? Was she even aware of it? Why hadn't she told him anything? Once Kageyama arrived at his destination he placed both hands on his knees and breathed heavily, catching his breath. Once he recovered he straightened himself and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” called Hitoka from inside.

Kageyama opened the door and stepped into the study. Hitoka was sitting on a lounge chair. Kiyoko stood behind her, combing her hair. When she saw Kageyama she smiled widely and stood up, wincing when her hair got caught in Kiyoko’s fingers.

“My apologies, My Lady,” Kyoko pulled her hands away.

“Don’t apologize. It was my fault,” Hitoka smiled at her, warmth shining in her eyes. “Tobio!” she turned around to face him before running to him and hugging him tightly. He did not respond to the hug. Hitoka frowned and pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

Kageyama closed the door behind him and looked at her. “Did you know the Queen would offer me your hand in marriage?”

Hitoka’s face fell and she turned around, making her way back to her chair and motioning for Kageyama to follow. He did, sitting down on the chair in front of hers. She sat and Kiyoko got started on her hair once more, cradling her thin fingers through Hitoka’s blond locks.

“Yes,” she said, looking up at him.

“Why did you not tell me?” he frowned.

“What good would it do? Either way, Mother asked me not to. I tried to convince her otherwise, but she was having none of it,” Hitoka sighed and her shoulder sagged. “Don’t get me wrong, Tobio. I love you, but only as a brother.”

Kageyama raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m aware. I have no romantic feelings for you, either.”

“What do you expect me to do, Tobio? We don’t want to marry each other. I fail to see why you’re coming to me with the issue.”

“Fail to-” Kageyama ran his fingers through his hair and frowned. “Hitoka, the queen is your mother. Stand up for yourself! Tell her you want to marry someone of your choosing!” he shouted.

“I can’t. You said it yourself. Mother is the queen. Her word is law,” Hitoka shouted back, gripping the sides of her chair.

“You are the princess, Hitoka. You must learn to stand up for yourself. If not for your own sake then for the sake of your kingdom,” Kageyama yelled and stood up.

“Where are you going?” she stood too.

“You’re being a coward! If you don’t step up no one in this entire kingdom will follow you, Hitoka!” Kageyama’s face was turning red.

“What the hell would you know about ruling a kingdom? You couldn’t even become commander of the army!” she shouted.

“You’re not even the commander of your own life! Now your cowardice is bringing down my future too!” Kageyama’s voice cracked slightly and he glared at her. He turned around and stormed out of the room, not giving her a chance to respond.

**

“I don’t want to, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa whined as he pulled his sword back and ran it through the target.

“I couldn’t care less. The Queen ordered you to pass the information down to Kageyama and you will do it,” Iwaizumi stood behind Oikawa, arms crossed against his chest.

“Why are you ordering me around? I’m the commander!” Oikawa said and turned to face Iwaizumi, placing a hand on his hip. Immediately he faltered upon seeing the murderous expression on Iwaizumi’s face. “I’m joking, I’m joking! I will give him all the information!” he said hurriedly, pressing his palms together in front of his face, begging for forgiveness.

“And don’t even try to pass on fake information, Shittywaka. Don’t forget that this is not about Kageyama and your stupid rivalry with him. This is about the future of the kingdom. This sorcerer could be the game changer,” Iwaizumi uncrossed his arms and walked over to the corner where the wooden swords were kept.

“It’s so annoying, though,” Oikawa put his sword away as Iwaizumi handed him one of the wooden ones. “You and I are more than capable of completing this quest. If it’s so important then why entrust it to Kageyama, who has never gone on a quest?”

“I don’t know, but it is beyond my authority to question any decision that comes from the queen. The same goes for you,” he said, raising his sword and touching it to Oikawa’s raised one.

“I know, I know. I just wish she would realize that the two of us can do better than that brat,” Oikawa pulled away and almost instantly brought his sword sideways only to have it blocked by Iwaizumi.

“Maybe instead of focusing so much on Kageyama’s quest you should focus more on your own improvement,” Iwaizumi said as he stepped forward and onto Oikawa’s foot before throwing himself against the brown haired man. Oikawa lost his balance and staggered. He raised his sword horizontally in time to block Iwaizumi’s next hit.

“No fair, Iwa-chan. I was in the middle of a rant,” Oikawa pouted, a devious glint in his eyes.

Iwaizumi pulled his sword back before striking from Oikawa’s blind side. “Always be aware of your surroundings,” he reminded him.

“Don’t lecture me! You’ll see, you won’t even get close to me this time!” Oikawa blocked his hit and pulled back, making Iwaizumi lose his balance. He brought his sword up but stopped midair when he realized Iwaizumi was looking at the door. Following his eyes, Oikawa groaned when he saw Kageyama standing there. “Really? Now? Can’t you see that we’re busy?”

Iwaizumi jabbed Oikawa in the side with the side of his sword. “Hi, Kageyama.”

“Hello, Iwaizumi-san, Oikawa-san,” Kageyama said and bowed his head ever so slightly before walking in.

“We were practicing. Come back later,” Oikawa crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I leave in the morning and I need the information now.”

It annoyed Oikawa how Kageyama stood. Straight-backed with his head high and his eyes holding an indescribable fire. He had never struggled to portray himself as a soldier and that pissed Oikawa off.

“Meet us in the war room in five minutes,” Iwaizumi responded since Oikawa was too busy glaring at Kageyama, who merely nodded and walked out. “You are so childish when it comes to him,” He said as he turned around to face Oikawa.

“He’s infuriating! ‘I’m afraid I can’t.’ So entitled!” Oikawa groaned and threw his hands up in the air.

“You are the commander of the royal army of Miyagi and you are letting Kageyama, a mere soldier, get right under your skin.” Iwaizumi put the swords back where they belonged.

Oikawa sighed and looked at Iwaizumi, his breathing slowing down as a smile made its way onto his face. “You’re right. He’s not someone I should be worrying about.”

Iwaizumi nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at his best friend.

“You know who I should be worried about? My boyfriend and how he deprived me of a good morning kiss.” Oikawa smirked and took slow steps towards Iwaizumi.

“Maybe he wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t been whining all morning long.” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow and Oikawa placed a hand on his cheek.

“What if I behave better?” Oikawa bit his lip and looked into his eyes.

“Then he might reward you.” Iwaizumi’s eyes were glazed over as he uncrossed his arms and pulled Oikawa closer.

**

Kageyama was about to leave the war room when the commander walked in with his second-in-command. Their disheveled looks explained the reason for their 20-minute delay.

“Decided to come?” Kageyama crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the chair.

“Don’t speak as if we owe you anything.” Oikawa rolled his eyes and sat in front of Kageyama, Iwaizumi by side.

“You owe me nothing, we are here on orders of the Queen, and to her, you owe your life.” Kageyama uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on the table. “What do I have to know for this quest?”

Oikawa looked up at Iwaizumi, unwilling to talk to his annoying kouhai. Iwaizumi sighed and took a seat by Oikawa.

“The sorcerer you are looking for is known as ‘the fire whisperer’. He has the ability to wield and manipulate fire to his will,” Iwaizumi started and Kageyama had to bite the inside of his cheek not till laugh. What kind of nickname was ‘the fire whisperer?’

“Okay. Am I allowed to know what he looks like?” Kageyama asked.

“No. Now let Iwa-chan continue,” Oikawa cut across him immediately, crossing his arms over his chest.

“All we know is that he has bright orange hair. We have no information on his current location, either, but we have a list of the last villages where he was allegedly seen.” Iwaizumi slid a roll of parchment across the table to Kageyama.

“There are over fifteen villages listed here, most of which are in different corners of the kingdom. What makes you think any of these reports are truthful?” Kageyama looked up from the paper.

“Most of them are not, but we got a reliable source from Seijoh village saying he was there. We, therefore, know the reports from villages of that  area have a higher probability of being accurate.”

“Fair enough. Anything else I need to know? Is he traveling alone? Who is helping him?” Kageyama rolled up the paper.

“He is alone as far as we know. He is getting help from random villagers along the way, but those found helping him have been punished accordingly,” Iwaizumi sighed and looked at Oikawa briefly before turning back to Kageyama. “You’ll do well not to underestimate him, Kageyama. Oikawa and I saw a brief demonstration of his powers the first time he escaped. He is more powerful than any sorcerers we’ve encountered this far.”

“If he is so dangerous why am I being sent alone?” Kageyama frowned.

“The queen believes a quieter mission will be more successful. He is very elusive.”

Kageyama sighed and rubbed his face before getting up. “Okay. Thank you for your guidance,” he said and bowed briefly before walking out.

“Kageyama,” Oikawa called him. He stopped but didn’t turn around. “If you fail I will steal all your glory.”

Kageyama smirked and walked out. He loved a challenge.

**

Kiyoko opened the door of the laboratory but didn’t smile like she usually did. Kageyama sighed and bit his lip.

“I know I shouldn’t have said those things to Hitoka, but I get upset that she won’t stand up for herself,” he said and looked down.

Kiyoko seemed satisfied with that and stepped aside to let him in. Kageyama looked up and gave her a small smile, stepping in and closing the door behind him.

“Uh… Are you free?” he asked as Kiyoko sat on a chair. Before her was a table with vials and papers scattered, a few bottles of different substances and several books.

Kiyoko nodded and motioned for Kageyama to sit on the chair on the other side of the table and he did so.

“So… uh…” he started, twisting his fingers on his lap. “The queen said you had information about the fire guy?”

Kiyoko nodded. “Yes. He is known for wielding fire. His power is of great caliber but very unstable. I do not believe he has had a mentor therefore it is likely he picked up bits of knowledge here and there. It is also unlikely that his powers obey him consistently. Be careful with him, however. Great bursts of power will kill whoever is in the way.”

Kageyama nodded and looked around the room. He had only been in the lab a couple of times in his life. “If he does try to use his fire against me, how do I protect myself?” he asked.

“A titanium shield. It will be significantly heavier than the shields you usually carry but it is the only material which can actually survive the force of such blow,” she said.

“Titanium? I thought it was an extremely rare metal,” he frowned and looked right at her.

“Fortunately for us our armory contains a titanium shield so we do not have to concern ourselves with acquiring the metal.”

Kageyama sighed and nodded. “Will the normal iron shackles be able to retain his powers?”

“Yes. As long as he is cuffed he cannot produce any fire.”

Kageyama nodded again. “Is there anything else I should know?” he asked.

“Yes. He will likely have a stone with him. Take it as soon as you can and it will diminish his powers considerably.”

“Okay. Thank you, Kiyoko-san,” he said and stood up, bowing to her.

“It’s no problem, Kageyama,” she smiled and stood up, leading him to the door and opening it for him.

“Oh… Please take care of Hitoka for me,” he said and she smiled.

“I always do.”

Kageyama smiled back at her before leaving the lab. It was time to prepare for the mission.

**

“Please be careful…” Yachi said, a sad smile on her face.

“I will. And you take care of yourself,” Kageyama replied and briefly bowed to the princess before getting on his horse.

Waving his companions goodbye Kageyama rode out of the castle through the gates. He kept a slow pace through the village for he did not wish to alarm the citizens. Once he reached the edge of the village, however, he urged his horse forward, beyond a trot to a full gallop. The village of Seijoh was a day’s ride away, but Kageyama had left early in hopes of arriving before sundown. He galloped for hours until he felt the horse gradually lose speed, bit by bit. Kageyama pulled on the reins and kept the horse at medium pace until he spotted a clearing. He got down from his horse and stopped for a while. He ate and drank before feeding his horse and giving it some water. Once they were both well rested he set off once again.

It was past sundown when Kageyama finally reached Seijoh village. He was well aware of the dangers of riding at night, but he refused to camp in the forest. Not only was it uncomfortable but unnecessarily dangerous. Upon his arrival he was greeted by the village’s elder, Irihata Nobuteru, who recognized his royal garments. They fed him and let him bathe, offering him a bed to regain his strength. The food was awful, the bath water was cold and the bed was hard. Only when he went on campaigns could Kageyama fully comprehend the luxury he lived in for being a royal knight. He wouldn’t dare complain, though, for they were nice enough to take him in. Some villages would kick him out with rocks and pitchforks.

Despite the less than ideal conditions, Kageyama managed to rest, waking up fairly early to get to work. He had to gather information around Seijoh before moving on to the next village. He got up and dressed before going to meet with the village elder. Upon informing him of his search for information about the sorcerer the elder lead him to a small house on the edge of town. Kageyama knocked on the door and almost screamed when it was opened. Before him stood Oikawa but better-looking and with longer hair.

“Irihata-san. How may I help you?” girl-Oikawa asked.

“Good Morning, Ayumi. This is Kageyama Kageyama, a royal knight. He is searching for the Fire Whisperer,” Irihata said.

“So you are the famous Kageyama. Last time Touru came visit he wouldn't shut up about you. Nice to meet you, I’m Oikawa Ayumi,” she extended her hand and Kageyama shook it.

“Ni-Nice to meet you, Oikawa-sama,” he said and she smiled welcoming him into her house.

“How can I be of help? Would you like some tea, milk? Maybe a slice of bread?” she offered.

“Milk, please,” Kageyama replied. Not only was it courtesy to accept food offered to him, he was also starving.

She served him a cup of warm milk and some bread with cheese. As they sat down to eat she repeated her question.

“How may I assist you?”

Kageyama looked at her and his expression turned serious. “You spoke to the sorcerer?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. What would you like to know? I’ve told Touru everything,” she said.

“But he didn’t tell me,” thought Kageyama. Instead, he settled for saying “Please, if it would not be of too much trouble, could you tell me everything you know of this sorcerer?”

“Well, okay. He is much younger than most think. I would say around your age. He is also incredibly loud. For someone who is on the run he sure seemed to enjoy a round of drinks,” Kageyama nodded at her to continue. “I was serving that night. He was quite tipsy and wanted more drinks but I refused to give it to him. I didn’t wanna clean up vomit,” she chuckled. “Anyway, he started babbling on and on about how he was on a super important mission and how he was looking for a teacher. I didn’t realize he was a sorcerer, then. I asked him what kind of teacher. I wanted to keep him talking to try and sober him up. He said a magic teacher so I thought ‘Wow. This kid is really drunk.’ I asked him where he was gonna find this teacher but before he could answer a bunch of guards came in. When I looked back at him he was gone,” she finished and sipped on her tea.

“Did he ever tell you his name?” he asked.

“No. He did, however, mention that famous sorcerer, The Little Giant. Boy said he wanted to be just like him. I said ‘don’t we all?’ I thought it was a funny joke but he was not amused,” she shrugged.

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” he asked.

“No, sorry,” she finished her cup of tea and Kageyama finished his milk. “Sorry I couldn’t be of more help,”

Kageyama shook his head. “No. It helped a lot. Thank you.”

They stood and she lead him to the door. “Kageyama, don’t let him fool you. I know Touru might seem mean sometimes, but he likes you. You just piss him off with your talent,” she smiled and patted his back.

Kageyama’s cheeks reddened and he looked down. “Thank you,” he whispered and walked out, leaving a smiling Ayumi behind.

**

The next few days followed a pattern. Kageyama would go to a new village, rest, gather information, and depart to the next village. He hadn’t gotten a lot of useful information, but the trail was getting fresher. Unfortunately, however, the trail ended in the village of Wakutani. That afternoon, after getting the information he needed, Kageyama made his way to the tavern and ordered himself some mead. A third of his deadline was gone and just when he thought he was getting closer, the trail went cold. He was downing the end of his glass of mead when a man approached him.

“My daughter spoke to the sorcerer,” the man said. Kageyama merely raised an eyebrow at him.

“Is that so?” he asked as he ordered himself another glass. He was so done with fake reports.

“I speak truth, sir. I do not desire a reward. I merely wish to serve my queen and to clear my child of her sins,” he said, bowing his head in humility.

Something about the man’s demeanor compelled him to give him a chance. Kageyama paid for his mead and followed the man to his home. His daughter sat on the floor, in front of the fireplace.

“My dear Kanae. I brought this man to clear your conscience,” the man said and Kageyama had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He was no priest to forgive other people’s sins, but he wasn’t going to pass up a chance on getting some information.

The little girl rose from the floor, her beige dress hanging loose from her scrawny body and he fiery red hair flowing over her shoulders.. She reached up and grabbed Kageyama’s finger, pulling him toward her room. She sat on her bed and looked up at him.

“is it true that you will forgive my sins?” she asked in a small voice.

“No. God forgives sins. You must pray for Him to forgive your sins. I can, however, help make your conscience lighter. What’s bothering you?” he asked. Kageyama had always been good with kids, which was a wonder given he was terrible with people in general.

“I talked to the bad guy,” she whispered, looking around the room for signs of being eavesdropped.

“Tell me, how did it go? Did he hurt you?” Kageyama asked, protectiveness swelling up in

his chest.

“No. He said I reminded him of his sister. He played doll with me. Mum and dad were out and I was cold. He walked in and I was scared, but he promised I didn’t have to be scared. He turned on the fire for me and I wasn’t cold anymore,” she smiled.

Kageyama frowned at that. Something was odd about that narrative. Why would a runaway sorcerer stop to play dolls with a child?

“Did you have fun playing with him?” he asked.

“Yeah. He was very nice. He had to leave because mum and dad were getting here. He said he was going to the village next door,” she said, swinging her legs back and forth.

“Do you remember the name of the village?” he asked.

“It was something like Nagasumi,” she frowned in concentration

“Nagamushi?” he corrected her.

“Yeah,” she nodded and smiled widely.

“Why did he tell you all of this?” Once again the sorcerer displayed strange behavior for a fugitive.

“Because I asked. He was leaving so I asked where he was going. He said it wasn’t far. Said the name was Nagamushi. Said he would try to visit. I hope he comes back he was really nice,” she nodded vigorously.

“Is that so?” he asked and bit his lip.

“Daddy said he was a bad guy. What did he do wrong?” she asked, peering up at Kageyama.

Kageyama frowned at that. How could he explain to the child why the sorcerer was bad? Technically he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“He ran away,” he told her.

“Why?” she asked and he sighed, unsure how to answer that one either. Luckily he was saved by the girl’s father, who had probably been eavesdropping the whole time and walked in.

“I think that’s enough, sunshine. Say thank you to the young man for listening to you,” he smiled down at his daughter.

The girl got up and bowed to Kageyama. “Thank you for your time,” she said.

Kageyama smiled and kneeled down to be eye to eye with her. “No. Thank you,” he said and smiled before getting up and walking to the door. “Here,” he said to the man, “buy your daughter some decent toys. And don’t you dare leave her cold and alone in the house again.” Kageyama’s face was dark, his lips pressed into a thin line as he fished out a small pouch of talents and gave it to the man.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” The man bowed but Kageyama turned around and left. He was going to leave first thing in the morning.

**

The journey to Nagamushi was endless. It was actually only three hours but it felt like forever. Kageyama couldn’t wait to get there. The sorcerer was within his grasp and he refused to let him escape. He could already imagine: he would drag the boy into the throne room and force him to kneel before the queen. Then they would take him to the dungeons and Kageyama would be gifted beyond his imagination. He could already see Oikawa’s face, contorted in disgust and annoyance. He smiled at the prospect.

Kageyama could barely contain himself when he arrived. He could immediately tell the sorcerer was here. There was a heavy tension in the air. As he stopped in the middle of the square he was not greeted with warmth and smiles. Rather, everyone gathered around him and started booing. He was not fazed. The villages far from the capital were not fans of the royals. Kageyama got down from his horse and lifted the royal insignia which he carried attached to his belt. All villagers went silent, not brave enough to disrespect the queen herself since they believed she had been chosen by God.

“I am looking for a criminal. He is a dangerous sorcerer. You call him the fire whisperer. He had orange hair and is around this height,” he said and lifted his hand up to his shoulder to indicate the sorcerer’s height. “You will hand him over and in exchange, a large sum will be awarded,” his voice boomed through the square. Silence followed.

Kageyama’s eyes darkened. He knew the boy was here. He was going to get him and take him to his queen. Nothing and no one was getting in the way of his quest. Kageyama started walking and stopped when he reached an old man. Given his composure he deduced him to be the village’s elder.

“Here is the deal: you will hand over the sorcerer or I will burn your village to the ground,” Kageyama smiled and tilted his head to the side, eyes wide and menacing.

The elder shook from head to toe but glared at him. “Go fuck a horse,” he said and spat.

Kageyama saw red. He slowly brought his hand up and wiped the spit from his face. He looked at his hand before looking back at the elder. Kageyama nodded and turned around, walking over to one of the shacks. Going in he grabbed a torch and lit it up before coming back out.

“This is what happens when you disobey your queen!” he called out to the villagers before making his way to the barn and throwing the torch inside. Immediately the hay on the ground caught on fire. Kageyama stood before the burning barn, arms crossed and head held high, waiting for anyone to come forward and defy him.

“Bring me the boy or your plantation will be next!” he yelled out. Surprisingly his demeanor was calm. He was clearly mad but it showed in his eyes and not on his face. He wasn’t red and his body wasn’t shaking. However, his eyes held an unparalleled anger. Kageyama looked behind him and watched the barn burn, collapsing on itself. He turned back to face the crowd and smirked as he was what he was waiting for.

“Sensei! Stop! Don’t do this!” he heard a soft voice yell.

A man made his way through the crowd and stopped before Kageyama. He pulled the boy forward by his hair and threw him onto the ground.

“I told them! I told them all not to shelter this... this… this filthy criminal!” the man yelled and turned back to the crowd. “I told all of you! Now look what has happened! This is what happens when you go against God’s will!” the man motioned towards the burning barn.

Kageyama wasn’t paying attention. Instead he was looking down at the boy on the ground. He matched the description perfectly. Kageyama leaned down and grabbed a lock of his orange hair, pulling him up. The boy clenched his teeth and looked up at Kageyama who was taken aback. His eyes were incredibly warm and fierce. His mouth was contorted into a snarl and his jaw was set. Kageyama inspected his face closely and noticed a scar on his right temple. This was the sorcerer he was looking for. Kageyama grinned.

“And so we meet, Fire Whisperer.”

[tacitusauxilium]

Unforeseen Circumstances // Ch.03

Unrequited love is the most painful thing to feel, and yet, Fuuka is persuaded to try her hands at getting Junpei’s attention, no matter what. However, after multiple failed attempts, what will she do when she catches the eye of the boy with the maroon peacoat? The heartache that comes with falling in love might even be more than she bargained for.

Chapter 3;; Straight into Despair

Flash back — September 4th

Fuuka knew today would be a better day. Junpei almost never did anything the day before a full moon battle. So, she knew his day had to be open. Right?

She walked out of her room, noticing that it was eerily quiet—Koromaru was sleeping on the floor near the stairs and yet, nothing. Fuuka carefully ran down the stairs as she felt her heart sank even more. Only people downstairs were Shinjiro, Mitsuru, and Akihiko.

She looked around for Junpei, as if he was a lost dog. She began by looking in every corner she could think of—behind the counter in the kitchen, the desk by the entrance, but nothing. Mitsuru noticed that Fuuka looked slightly worried and tilted her head as she closed her folder filled with paperwork for her father.

"Yamagishi, you look as if you lost something. Could I be of help?" Mitsuru asked slowly as Fuuka stood straight, a little startled, but shook her head. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes—well, I thought Junpei-kun was down here, but maybe I was wrong."

Akihiko was fixing his boxing gloves as he turned to face Fuuka from the couch. "Oh yeah—! He told me he was going out and won't be back until later today. Didn't say why, though."

Fuuka crestfallen—this was the second time in less than a couple days that she couldn't get any time alone with him. She began to wonder if this was even beginning to be worth it in the end. She sat down and leaned back in the lounge chair.

Now I look like an idiot. Again.

Shinjiro could sense that Fuuka was beating herself up again. "You should have listen to me, Yamagishi." He mentioned as he turned on the TV, trying to find something that caught his attention. "Iori is an idiot, remember?"

Fuuka sat up in her chair and pouted. "Yes, I remember fondly of what we spoke up, senpai. Just thought he would stay in—he did the last two times." Fuuka sighed, wondering what else she could do. "I just don't want to admit it, yet."

Akihiko and Mitsuru looked at each other, wondering what in the world they were talking about. Though, they did agree that Junpei was an idiot in his own way. "Shinjiro—" Mitsuru grinned as she knew what was happening. It happened to her a few times in her middle school years. Being duped by a guy who didn't like her back, though she was the one rejecting them most of the time. "—do you remember that dessert you made for me, a few years back?"

"Mitsuru, I made you a lot of desserts. Be a bit more specific."

"I was a small, sweet you made. You said that milk chocolate was too sweet so you make dark chocolate."

Shinjiro took but a moment to think of what Mitsuru enjoyed. "Eclairs. Is that it?"

"But of course! You made them better than the cooks at my family home, Shinjiro. You know, I would—"

"Not going to happen."

Shinjiro was quick to silence that offer. He hated the idea of charity for himself—couldn't fantom the idea of working for Mitsuru, someone who helped him so much that returning the favor didn't seem so favorable to him. Fuuka thought of the idea of eclairs, wondering what they would taste like and smiled.

"Senpai, could we, I don't know, try to make some?" Fuuka asked, beginning to pull her phone out to look for recipes. "I am sure we can work together and bring about the same sweetness Kirijo-senpai mentioned."

Shinjiro turned towards Fuuka, his hand putting down the remote and frowning. "…you want to try cooking? I thought you were still a beginner. At least, that's what our leader kept saying."

"Well, yes, but I made onigiri the other day without burning the rice." She held up her finger and pointed towards Shinjiro. "…but that's all I have been able to make." She lowered her hand, her finger curling back inward.

Shinjiro crossed his arms, wondering if they even had the ingredients to make said eclairs. He had to close his eyes and think for a while.

We have the simple ingredients, but everything else might have to be bought.

Fuuka didn't realize how deep in thought Shinjiro was. It made her a bit happy to have someone other than Minako cook with her. "…senpai?" Fuuka called out to him, wondering how deep in thought he really was. Opening his eyes, he turned to Fuuka and got up.

"I will have to go buy the ingredients. Also, we won't be able to get them done tonight. You'd want the cream to sit overnight. It'll taste better that way." Shinjiro explained slowly. "Also, while I'm gone, can you go and check to see if we have a baking sheet and parchment paper?"

Fuuka began to pull a pen and piece of paper from the desk, after she dashed over when Shinjiro decided to list off what they needed "Oooookay." She finished writing that down and turned back towards Shinjiro as he had his fist holding up his chin. "Anything else?"

Shinjiro shook his head. He moved towards Fuuka, grabbing a piece of paper and looking for a pen. Fuuka gave him hers and she couldn't believe how fast he was writing down the ingredients. A couple blinks and he was done. I am impressed—he knows more than he lets on. She thought as he read what he wrote. "Yamagishi—"

"Yes?"

"Make sure to keep everyone out of the kitchen when I come back. Because I'll need your help to make these." He shoved the list in his pocket as Fuuka watched him leave through the door.

"D-do you need help? Or an extra set of hands?"

Shinjiro stopped as Fuuka asked if he'd need some help. It was odd—no one usually asked him for help, it was the other way around usually when no one even asked for help, he'd help anyone who needed it. "…" he let out a sigh. "Sure, but I'll carry the bags, before you even ask. And check the kitchen first, before we leave." Fuuka nodded and made it to the kitchen, double checking everything she was told to find.

Mitsuru got up from her seat and forked Shinjiro a few 1,000 yen. "For this, and for yourself. And no buts." She stated as she held up her finger to him before he could open his mouth. He grinned and shook his head before pocketing the money.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Mitsuru."

After several hours passed and many batches of horrible eclairs later, and almost close to midnight, Fuuka was happy to have at least 10 or so eclairs that were passable. Out of the 50 Shinjiro helped her made. "Well, I guess I'm good only 20% of the time." Fuuka remarked, but still felt proud of herself. "And everyone can have one—except Aigis, and Koromaru-don't want to make him sick."

Shinjiro shook his head. "I don't get it—how can you be so happy about failing 80% of the time? That's not good, Yamagishi." He pointed out as he did the dishes. Shinjiro couldn't understand how she saw the good in the bad.

"I know, but this is something good to look forward to. I couldn't make anything this great—Minako-chan will be thrilled to try these out." She smiled. "Maybe she could join us next time." Fuuka looked up at the clock, noticing how close to midnight it was. At least everyone was safe and back in their rooms. Fuuka put the good eclairs in a container and put them in a place so that Junpei wouldn't eat them all.

After crossing paths with Shinjiro to put the food away, she felt her heart skip a beat once everything turned dark—the Dark Hour was upon them and Fuuka forgot how dark it really gets. It was eerie, but something she still had to get used to. "…this still scares me after all this time." She murmured as she had to reach for the flashlight that was next to the fridge. "Perhaps we should head to bed? It's an early morning for me."

Shinjiro nodded, but added a small grunt as he could feel his Persona raging inside of him. Fuuka thought it was a sign of confirmation. Shinjiro didn't want to let go of his shirt, clenching it tightly at his heart. He couldn't let Fuuka know about this, not her, not yet. However, Fuuka felt something was off, but wasn't sure what it was. Lucia instantly pushed her towards Shinjiro, Fuuka's hand reaching out to his freed arm, and something within her made her freeze. Their eyes seemed to glaze over as their minds were filled with a vision.

It was as if they were in a warm, open meadow-Fuuka's hair blowing in the breeze, long, loose, and smooth. Shinjiro right in front of her-the air warm and the meadow filled with flowers. Their eyes gazing upon each other, as if they've known each other for a long, long time. Fuuka and Shinjiro looked older-more mature and happier, as if something came along and whisked them here, away from reality. As if it was a look into the future yet to be seen.

She didn't know if it was Lucia doing it to her or Castor doing it to Shinjiro, but it was a warm sensation going through their bodies. It was as if Lucia was trying to calm the beast within Shinjiro. Fuuka could feel something cold rolling down her face as she could tell if it was her crying or Shinjiro crying.

Somehow, someway, it worked as Shinjiro began to release his shirt slowly, his fist hurting from how hard he was squeezing his shirt. Fuuka felt as if she was in a trance—her heart pounding in sync with Shinjiro's—as she stared deeply into Shinjiro's eyes. It was, as if, a red string connected them.

Fuuka had to almost force herself to break the connection. She was in such a deep trance that the Dark Hour was already over. Fuuka didn't see anything, but Lucia made her feel many things—especially the pain that Castor was giving to Shinjiro. And the softness of Lucia trying to calm someone so untamed.

They both sat in silence—Fuuka didn't even realize that she was staring at Shinjiro until they broke off from each other. Fuuka removed her hand from his arm, her cheeks flushed red for…embarrassment? Happiness? She couldn't even distinguish what she felt. "Senpai… …I… did you see...felt what I felt?" She whispered softly as Shinjiro looked at his hand—not clammy like it usually is after a flare up.

The suppressants…didn't do half the work of whatever Yamagishi did to me. What the hell…just happened?

Shinjiro was bewildered at the fact. He just nodded silently, his beanie being pulled downward as he felt uncomfortably…at peace. "…you should go to bed. It'll be the best." He somehow let the words fall out of his mouth. Fuuka turned the flashlight off, laid it on the counter, and walked carefully out of the kitchen. Once she got to the stairs, she made a mad dash to her room, as quietly as she could.

Shinjiro put his hand on his chest—his heart pounding normally. It irked him. He reached for the pills inside of his peacoat and looked at them for a moment. For just a nanosecond, he was going to throw them away, down the sink. But he knew it was a fluke. Nothing this good could ever happen to him. Right?

Flash forward — October 10th

"Why the hell isn't anyone doing anything!?" Shinjiro yelled as he had to be pushed back into his wheelchair by Akihiko.

"Shinji, chill. They are doing all they could for her." He mentioned, trying to rub his shoulders to release tension. Shinjiro was yelling at Mitsuru, since her family owns the hospital, and not happy that Fuuka seemed to be in the same state she was at the beginning of the week. He turned towards Fuuka and frowned.

"Shinjiro." Mitsuru sat on the same side Shinjiro was on and leaned towards him. "They are doing the best they can. Yamagishi had a weak constitution before she was even here. You've read her files—she never fought off illnesses easily." Mitsuru slowly explained to him, hoping that would calm him down. She hated to resort to the bitter truth. "Yamagishi might not recover—you need to understand that, Shinjiro."

Shinjiro shook his head violently. "No! Fuck that! She…" Shinjiro pulled his beanie off of his head, relieved that he only has morphine on him now and that he'll leave the hospital soon, and gripped it tightly. "…no, I'm staying until she's awake!"

Akihiko sighed as he almost wanted to slap his best friend in the face. "Shinji, if you were here, would Fuuka do this? No—she'd probably be out there fighting. Now," he turned to crouch down to his height, "Minako might actually do this, but she knows she is waiting for you. She hates to see you filled with anguish."

She does? I thought she… is she even with Aki? Then again, she wouldn't tell anyone but Aki her feelings.

"…tch." He lowered his eyes towards Fuuka again—her teal hair slightly messy, as if she was tossing and turning in her sleep. "…!" Shinjiro felt his heart beating fast, his lungs taking away his breath. Mitsuru's eyes grew in worry as Akihiko knew what this was—he saw it all too well in the past.

"Where is your—" Akihiko began to ask as Shinjiro gripped Akihiko's arm and shook his head. "But—!"

"Give me…Yamagishi's hand…!" He cried out, feeling the despair of Castor wrangling him in to reality. "T-trust me!" Akihiko nodded as their hands made contact as Mitsuru and Akihiko observed what was happening.

His mind travelled back to the first time it happened within the Dark Hour. The big open meadow with flowers around them, it made his eyes grew that Fuuka wasn't there in front of him. But, he could smell the lavender that was on Fuuka's hair, and the chocolate aroma of the eclairs again. Lucia reached out, mentally and in Shinjiro's mind, to Castor, pulling the creature into her warm arms. Fuuka's heart monitor went off—escalating pass a pulse of 100 and her heart rate in the 140s as Shinjiro shook his head. "D-don't…do anything…"

The seniors looked at each other, the alarms going off loudly and annoying—Mitsuru was about to yell at Shinjiro, but then it was over in the blink of an eye. Shinjiro squeezed her hand tightly as his breathing went back to normal—Fuuka's own heart rate and pulse back to regular ranges. Subconsciously, her thumb brushed across his own hand, making Shinjiro jump slightly.

Senpai…you should fight for me. Please.

His eyes grew—he turned to Mitsuru and Akihiko, their eyes as wide as his was. "I am…surprised. Did Yamagishi tell you about this?"

Shinjiro shook his head. "We found out about a month ago—something about her Persona…keeps my Persona relaxed when it's riled up. I…Hell, I can't explain it either." He murmured as he turned his eyes back to Fuuka—her voice seemingly gone, leaving him feel a bit lonely.

"…Shinji." Akihiko softly uttered. He was taken aback. "…is that why you don't want to leave her side?" He asked slowly. Shinjiro nodded.

"If this will get me off my damn suppressants, then why not?" He seemed to have some hope in his voice. "Besides," he wanted to add more, but nothing seemed to came to his mind but one thing, "…I feel her calling out to me."

"…could be that she is communicating with her Persona." Mitsuru suggested. Shinjiro didn't move an inch—he was focused on Fuuka. Mitsuru looked at her watch on her hand and turned back to her allies. "Listen. I don't have time—my father wants an update on Yamagishi in the next hour. I…" She almost didn't want to break his heart.

Mitsuru realized that Shinjiro had fallen for her, so hard that if she never woke, he would be a mess and irreconcilable. "…did not know you and Yamagishi were close. But, stay as long as you feel the need to. Akihiko," she turned towards him and nodded, "stay if you must, but I'll arrange for a group meeting in a few days. We need to talk about what to do about Tartarus and the shadows."

Akihiko nodded slowly, stating to Shinjiro that he'll be back-his stomach was roaring loudly as he quickly made his exit, along with Mitsuru. For the first time this week, Shinjiro was finally alone with Fuuka. He rubbed her hand with his thumb. "Come on, Fuuka. Say something more, please." He whispered softly. Mitsuru was standing outside of the doorway, not fully leaving just yet. She wondered what in the world could calm Shinjiro's Persona so easily, without negative effects. It made her curious and she looked inside the room as she could see Shinjiro's heart ache.

If she doesn't wake up, what will he do then? Mitsuru pondered in her mind. She is our only navigator--and I cannot force my Persona to navigate again. It'll be harder on me-- She stopped as she watched Shinjiro stand up, but then he sat back down, laying his head on Fuuka's bed once more.

Mitsuru-senpai...

She jolted from her spot, wondering who was calling out to her suddenly.

Do not worry. I'll be sure to lend my help anyway possible.

Yamagishi...!

Now she knew Shinjiro wasn't crazy--Fuuka could do more than she ever thought she could. It made her wish she asked more about Fuuka and her Persona when she was alive and awake.

I'll get Shinjiro back to you-just give me a few more days. ...I promise.

If you say so.

Mitsuru walked away, her arms crossed, as she felt a smile appear on her face. For now, she would have to keep this to herself. She wouldn't let her father know about the power that Fuuka holds deep within her soul, within her heart. "If you say so, Yamagishi." She whispered outloud, as she walked outside. A warm breeze passed through her hair as she felt a bit more confident about Fuuka getting better and the promise she intended to keep.

[recentanimenews]

Aniplex Of America Outlines Plans For "Anohana," "Monogatari" And "Sword Art Online" Blu-rays

 Aniplex of America announced at their industry panel at Otakon today their plans for a number of home video releases, including an Anohana set, Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, and more Monogatari! G

  Anohana Blu-ray Box Set

Available on 10.31.2017

http://ift.tt/2nRjTOG

Disc Spec ■ Spoken Language: English & Japanese ■ Subtitles: English ■ Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen ■ Episodes: 11 ■ Number of Disc: 2 Blu-ray Discs ■ Total Run Time: Approx. 256 min. ■ Rating: 13 UP Bonus Contents ■ Textless Opening & Ending ■ Web Previews ■ Trailers and Commercials ■ English Dub Teaser ■ English Dub Trailer ■ English Dub Bloopers ■ English Dub Commentary * Bonus contents subject to change. * Bonus contents include English subtitles. Bonus Materials & Package ■ 60-page Deluxe Booklet ■ Rigid Box ■ Package Illustrated by Masayoshi Tanaka (Character Design) * Bonus contents subject to change.

SRP $149.98 Sales Price $119.98

INTRODUCTION

When we were kids, we were always together.

I was a leader of the group. I was confident. I wasn't afraid of anything. Until that day that I said something to her — something I would regret for a long time.

I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just thought I would apologize the next day. But that “next day” never came. We all drifted apart, closing off our little wounded hearts.

Time passed, and one summer day a miracle happened. She appeared before me out of the blue.

“I have a wish that I want you to grant for me.”

However, she didn’t remember what her wish was. And so, to realize her “wish,” we will reunite once again at our secret base.

  STAFF

Original Story: CHO HEIWA BUSTERS

Director: Tatsuyuki Nagai

Screenplay: Mari Okada

Character Design / Chief Animation Director: Masayoshi Tanaka

Art Director: Tsutomu Ishigaki

Art Setting: Koki Fukushima

Prop Design: Yukie Hiyamizu

Color Design: Kazuko Nakashima

Editor: Shigeru Nishiyama

CG Director / Director of Photography: Shinji Nasu

Sound Director: Jin Aketagawa

Sound Effects: Katsuhiro Nakano

Sound Engineer: Ayumu Anzai

Sound Production: Magic Capsule

Music: REMEDIOS

Music Production: Aniplex Inc. / FUJI PACIFIC MUSIC, Inc.

Chief Producers: Hiroyuki Shimizu / Koji Yamamoto

Producers: Shunsuke Saito / Noriko Ozaki

Animation Producer: Mikihiro Iwata

Animation Production: A-1 Pictures

Produced by ANOHANA Project / Aniplex Inc. / Fuji Television Network, Inc / Dentsu Inc.

  CAST (Japanese/English):

Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi: Miyu Irino / Griffin Burns

Meiko "Menma" Honma: Ai Kayano / Xanthe Huynh

Naruko "Anaru" Anjo: Haruka Tomatsu / Erica Lindbeck

Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki: Takahiro Sakurai / Ray Chase

Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi: Saori Hayami / Erica Mendez

Tetsudo "Poppo" Hisakawa: Takayuki Kondo / Kaiji Tang

Atsushi Yadomi: Mitsuru Ogata / Kirk Thornton

Toko Yadomi: Sayaka Ohara / Laura Post

Jinta (Child): Mutsumi Tamura / Tara Sands

Atsumu (Child): Asami Seto / Michelle Ruff

Tetsudo (Child): Aki Toyosaki / Abby Trott

Haruna: Kaoru Mizuhara / Cherami Leigh

Aki: Yui Makino / Brianna Knickerbocker

Manabu Honma: Makoto Yasumura / Chris Smith

Irene Honma: Fuyuka Ohura / Karen Strassman

Satoshi Honma: Kaoru Mizuhara / Marianne Miller

  Voice Director & ADR Script Writer: Patrick Seitz

  KIZUMONOGATARI PART 3: REIKETSU Blu-ray

Coming 11/21

THE ORIGIN STORY OF THE MONOGATARI SERIES - THE FINALE OF THE TRILOGY MOVIE!

This highly anticipated film has brought together an all-star creative team including Director Tatsuya Oishi (Series Director of BAKEMONOGATARI), Character Designer Akio Watanabe (Monogatari Series), Chief Director Akiyuki Shimbou (Madoka Magica, Monogatari Series, NISEKOI) and Studio SHAFT (Madoka Magica, Monogatari Series, NISEKOI).

PART 3: REIKETSU STORY

With help from Meme Oshino, the apparition specialist, Koyomi defeats the three powerful vampire hunters: Dramaturgy, Episode and Guillotinecutter. Koyomi takes back all the limbs of Kiss-Shot-Acerola-Orion-Heart-Underblade in order to become a human again.

Disc Spec

Spoken Language: Japanese

Subtitle: English

Aspect ratio: 16:9 Cinemascope

Episode: Movie

Number of Disc: 2 discs (Blu-ray Disc + Soundtrack CD)

Total Run Time: approx. 82 min.

Rating: 16 UP

Bonus Contents

■ Theatrical Trailer

■ PV & CM Collections

Bonus Contents

■ PART 3: REIKETSU Original Soundtrack CD

■ Deluxe Booklet

■ Pin-up Postcard Set

■ Package Illustrated by Akio Watanabe (Character Design)

Price

SRP: $89.98

Retail Price: $69.98

    KOYOMIMONOGATARI Blu-ray Set

Coming 12/19

Disc Spec ■ Spoken Language: Japanese ■ Subtitle: English ■ Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Cinemascope ■ Episodes: 12 short episodes ■ Number of Disc: 2 Blu-ray discs ■ Total Run Time: approx. 150 min. ■ Rating: 16 UP Bonus Contents ■ PV & CM Collections Bonus Materials & Package ■ Deluxe Booklet ■ Pin-up Postcard Set ■ Package Illustrated by Akio Watanabe (Character Design)  *Bonus materials subject to change

SRP $89.98 Sales Price $69.98

Introduction “You’re looking for a horror story? I wish I got one for you.” Untold stories… one per month for one year… Taking place between other Monogatari stories, a chapter not yet told surrounds Koyomi Araragi and the strange happenings he gets pulled into over the course of a year. With one episode told per month, the story unravels in this 12 episode-long series of shorts.

      Coming 12/19 After its overwhelmingly successful worldwide theatrical release, Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale- makes its debut on Blu-ray and DVD!  STORY The NerveGear, the world’s first dedicated full-dive device developed by the genius programmer, Akihiko Kayaba in 2022…a revolutionary machine that opened up infinite possibilities for the world of VR (Virtual Reality). 4 years later…. A next-generation, wearable multi-device called the Augma has been released to compete with the NerveGear’s successor, the Amusphere. A cutting-edge machine boasting the ability to enhance AR (Augmented Reality) to the maximum, the Augma offers a safe, user-friendly experience, as it can be used while the player is awake, making it an instant hit. Its most popular title is an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma, “Ordinal Scale (a.k.a. OS).” Kirito is about to join Asuna and the others as an Ordinal Scale player, but they’re about to find out that it isn’t all fun and games…

  Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale- Limited Edition Blu-ray

Description Spoken Languages: Japanese & English Subtitles: English & Spanish Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen Episodes: Feature Movie Number of Discs: 2 (a Blu-ray & CD) Total Run Time: approx. 120 min. Rating: 16 UP *Brief nudity and some violence. Parental guidance suggested.  Bonus Contents ■ Audio Commentary by Creators and Japanese Cast: (Tomohiko Ito, Shingo Adachi, Reki Kawahara, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu and Sayaka Kanda) ■ Special Short Animation: Sword Art OFFline –Ordinal Scale– * Bonus contents subject to change. * Bonus contents include English subtitles.  Bonus Materials & Package ■ Bonus Music CD: - “Ubiquitous dB –Special ver.-” by Asuna Yuuki (cv: Haruka Tomatsu), Keiko Ayano (cv: Rina Hidaka) - “Break Beat Bark! –special ver.-" by Rika Shinozaki (cv: Ayahi Takagaki), Shino Asada (cv: Miyuki Sawashiro) - “longing –movie ver.-,” “delete –movie ver.-" and “smile for you –movie ver.-" by Yuna (cv: Sayaka Kanda) ■ Deluxe Booklet ■ Rigid Box * Bonus contents subject to change.  SRP: $79.98 Retail Price: $69.98

  Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale- Standard Edition Blu-ray

Description Spoken Languages: Japanese & English Subtitles: English & Spanish Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen Episodes: Feature Movie Number of Disc: 1 Blu-ray disc Total Run Time: approx. 120 min. Rating: 16 UP *Brief nudity and some violence. Parental guidance suggested.  Bonus Contents ■ Audio Commentary by Creators and Japanese Cast: (Tomohiko Ito, Shingo Adachi, Reki Kawahara, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Haruka Tomatsu and Sayaka Kanda) ■ Special Short Animation: Sword Art OFFline –Ordinal Scale– * Bonus contents subject to change. * Bonus contents include English subtitles.  SRP: $49.98 Retail Price: $39.98

  Sword Art Online the Movie -Ordinal Scale- Standard DVD

Description Spoken Languages: Japanese & English Subtitles: English & Spanish Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen Episodes: Feature Movie Number of Disc: 1 DVD disc Total Run Time: approx. 120 min. Rating: 16 UP *Brief nudity and some violence. Parental guidance suggested.  SRP: $39.98 Retail Price: $29.98

      ------- Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[sleepyaxesolotl]

Not Your Average Fairytale

Chapter 2: Beginning (A/N: I didn't feel like putting information for another chapter,because........it's gonna take a long ass time. So I decided to tell you only about Taylor Bieke. Then I start the srory for real. Taylor Bieke:Played by my middle school (current) anime friend. Loves anime (yaoi/yuri) general terms and more. Black curly hair,light brown skin,dark eyes. Misaki's Senpia by a few months older. Loves Pewdiepie,Markiplier, and Music. Plays as a Neko-Human. Been Misaki's freind since pre-K. Now continue with the story!!!(Her wattpad name is Arakachan, follow her. She loves creepypastas,FNAF,Legend of Zelda, and Steven Universe) Alrighty let's start Now(also a lesbian) Okay NOW(And hates people's bullsit!) Done *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*               Author's P.O.V Once a---I mean on a day like today, it was going to be a beautiful and peaceful morni-- "Shit. Dammit. I should have turned down Shinobu's offer for a sleepover. I have a big shipment of pastries for the Blood Moon Ball." cried out Misaki 'Which coincidentally is the day two sons (Akihiko and Haruhiko) will pick a mate. Though in my opinion it's a one of the most bullshit ideas.' Misaki thought I mean they only have 2 nights to dance with thousands of women that just want them for their looks/money. Well money is 75% for that percentage of women of this era (No offense to some of the real people in this world. This is just for the story.) Misaki's P.O.V Though I'm just a village chef. I'm sort of popular, but not as famous as the worldwide places of backing and etc. So why pick a small person,for an order so big? I mean a few months ago I was in a slump and some nice soliders came by. One named Yukina, he was from the west region of the world on vacation. Though he reminded me of Nowaki, my other friend from the hospital,the place he works. They have a large bubbliness in their personality. I mean it looks as if they have flowers following them as their aura. It's just......creepy. Another one, Kisa-san, even though he is 29 surprisingly with that baby facr. They both asked for a breakfast special. They even gave me support, although I took it as a freindly geture. They reconsidered my thoughts. I felt glad because I know I wanted to make my business better every day. 'BUT NOW IS NOT THE TIME. I NEED TO GET MY ASS THERE PRONT--' My thoughts were interupted as my papers began to fall from my bag. All of the new recipes from the king himself. Even decorating them a childish halloween theme for an adult like party. 'Even though I don't blame him, its gonna take time to do all of this. I should just keep it all simplee!!!' My thoughts were interupted again as I accidentally tripped on a loose cement tile. 'Stupid tile' I thought I started to pick up up all of the papers that fell out. As I was very close to the last page the wind blew ot away. 'Fuck, why now I need the last piece'. I started to grab my blue bag and began to chase it in the wind. I wasn't paying attention. I didn't know I was one step closer to being crushed by a car. 'O shit ' I thought I was gonna be crushed till I saw two hands at the side of me. One grabbed thr runaway paper while the other grabbed mu front to pull me back. I gasped I was having a flashback of how my parents have died. Then imagining me in their place in the was. I almost had a heart attack. " Yo. Are you an idiot, you almost got killed over a stupid ass piece of paper" I heard a person yell. I looked up to see a silver haired man with light purple eyes. He looked kind of cute, in an overprotective type of way. He was glaring at me liek I was an idiot. I must be starting impolitly, better snap out of it. " Did you hear anything I just said lady" said the mytery man ' I'm a guy goddamit. I'll just tell him later. They always think I'm joking anyway. ' I thought " S-sory the paper was very important." I bowed in respect " Arigato Gozaimas. I would have been crushed if it wasn't for you" I replied,then stood up and almost turned around to start my journey, until I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. My had gotten chills and my stomach flipped. " Hey don't walk away, you owe me after that stunt". he said angrily " I didn't have to waste my time on you ya know." ' This bitch has the nerve. Luckily we are in public, or else I would give him a piece of my mind. Though he has a point, no one want's to be with a disgusting neko like me.(A/N: Soon you will see Misaki's past and why he hates himself) Even if my cat ears and tail are hidden with a technique I'm using.' "I'm sorry,eto....I could let you pick any three for free at my pastery shop. I'll also throw in a coupon. If the deal is okay with you?" I asked He thought for a moment, them looked at me. ' I'm not a mirror, do you want them or not?' I thought angrily " Fine lead the way, I'll take your offer." he demanded ' Dictator much' I thought as I sighed. " Okay then follow me we have to hurry I don't have much time. Also can you give me that paper it's important." I was about to snatch it from his hand. Though he was fater than me, so I didn't catch it. " Hm. What is this, a secret, a weird fanfiction?" he asked while smirking. He looked at the paper and his eyes narrowed. (A/N: Yeah Misaki is really OOC in this story so yeah hope you enyjoy. Also the next chapter is gonna be short cause I extended this chapter too long when I wrote it on Paper so,........Yeah. But for all the people who love the Terrorist couple. A special guest will appear.) BYE BYE