#when natsume was introduced in chapter one

[sevenboarproductions]

[IDOLiSH7] [Part 6] Chapter 9: Important Announcement

6.9.1. - The big meetup

Nanase Riku: I’m so excited for today's BackMagic Special…!

Izumi Iori: Because IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER, Re:vale-san and ŹOOḼ are all together, right.

Nanase Riku: Before we go to our greenroom, can we stop by TRIGGER’s room and greet them? I want to say hi toTenn-nii!

Izumi Iori: Shouldn’t you be calling him “Tenn”?

Nanase Riku: Well, Tenn-nii is Tenn-nii!

Izumi Iori: Please don’t say that in public.

Nanase Riku: I know, I know!

--

Rokuya Nagi: I’ll introduce you two once more. This is Tsunashi Ryuunosuke.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Hello. I’m Tsunashi Ryuunosuke.

Natsume Minami: He…, hello. I am Natsume Minami from ŹOOḼ. 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Your performances with Torao are always cool! You also write ŹOOḼ’s songs, right?

Natsume Minami: Uhh, yes…

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: That’s amazing. Are you close with Nagi-kun?

Natsume Minami: Saying we are close is….

Rokuya Nagi: OH…. Even though I’m the one who finally gave you the opportunity to support your oshi…

Natsume Minami: He is not my oshi!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Hey, Nagi-kun, wait. 

Rokuya Nagi: What happened?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I’m happy you came to say hello, but Natsume-kun has been avoiding eye contact this entire time. Did I do anything?

Rokuya Nagi: No, no! He’s just shy. He’s tsundere.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Tsundere…

Rokuya Nagi: Natsume-shi was Haruki’s friend. Your performance in “Zero” deeply moved him, Tsunashi-shi. He sees Haruki in you so it’s like he’s in a trance.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: So that’s how it is. I guess I can be happy about that then? Nagi-kun, how did you feel about it?

Rokuya Nagi: About what?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: You watched “Zero”, right?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I got some impressions via RabbitChat, but I want to hear your opinion again. Since we also didn’t get to talk much during the barbecue.

Rokuya Nagi: Obviously, Haruki is more charming. But when you sang “Phenomenon” you were even more charming than Haruki. 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Really!? I’m so happy!!

Rokuya Nagi: OH! I have to help Natsume-shi with supporting his oshi. Alright, Natsume-shi. I’ll take a picture for you!

Natsume Minami: That’s not… I don’t need… a picture or anything… 

Rokuya Nagi: Tsunashi-shi! Stand next to him!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Is here fine? Let’s do this!

Natsume Minami: Ah, yes… Well then, Rokuya-san. You can do it with my phone.

Rokuya Nagi: OK! 3, 2, 1…

(click) 

Rokuya Nagi: One more, let’s go~! 3, 2, 1…. OK! Please look at it.

Natsume Minami: Ah, there’s no problem with it. Thank you very much.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Additional performances of “Zero” have been confirmed, so please come watch again. 

--

(knock knock)

(door opening)

Nanase Riku: Good morning!

Izumi Iori: Good morning, Tsunashi-san. Rokuya-san and Natsume-san were here, too, huh.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Riku-kun, Iori-kun! Good morning. Were you looking for Tenn?

Nanase Riku: I wanted to say hi to TRIGGER! Tsunashi-san, it’s been a while! 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It has been! Riku-kun, haven’t you gotten a little tanned?

Nanase Riku: You, too, Tsunashi-san! I feel like you’ve also gotten more toned!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It’s because I’ve been training with Momo-san. Momo-san is more enthusiastic than ever!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: He said he wants to create a legend of the invincible Re:vale!

Izumi Iori: Even though I’d rather have them be as relaxed as kings and lose focus a bit… 

Natsume Minami: Indeed, Re:vale are quite strong.

Nanase Riku: Since it’s been a while I’m happy that I can see everyone today! What about Te— Kujou-san and Yaotome-san?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Maybe they went over to greet Re:vale?

--

Yuki: Yamato-kun, I went to the advance screening of “Mikazuki Ookami”.

Nikaidou Yamato: Ah, thanks.

Yaotome Gaku: I went there, too. And ended up running into Yuki-san.

Nikaidou Yamato: Ah, really.

Yaotome Gaku: We went drinking after that, and he kept praising you.

Nikaidou Yamato: I see… 

Izumi Mitsuki: Just be honest and show that you’re happy about it!

Yuki: I’m serious. It was to the point where I considered calling you, Yamato-kun.

Nikaidou Yamato: For real? I wish you’d called…

Yaotome Gaku: He thought it’d be bad if he called all of a sudden. Oh, right, I meant to send it to you afterwards, we recorded it.

Izumi Mitsuki: Recorded?

Yuki: Yes, yes. We thought we’d show you how passionate we felt after seeing the movie. Do you have the recording?

Yaotome Gaku: I do, I do. There it is.

Recording of Yaotome Gaku: Nikaidou is so good…!

Recording of Yuki: Yamato-kun is really amazing…!

Izumi Mitsuki: You were drunk.

Nikaidou Yamato: All I’m getting from this is that you were hyped up because you were drunk… 

Yaotome Gaku: I’ll send it to your phone later. We recorded around three hours of it. 

Nikaidou Yamato: That’s a lot of data…

Yuki: Shizuo-san’s voice is in there, too.

Nikaidou Yamato: He called!? Wait, did he actually come!?

Yuki: I mean, he has spare time right now. 

Yaotome Gaku: He was super impressed when we met him.

Izumi Mitsuki: What a gorgeous drinking party… 

Nikaidou Yamato: Right… But, well… Thanks. I’m relieved to hear your thoughts… 

Izumi Mitsuki: Nice, right, Yamato-san? Yamato-san was super nervous about the movie’s release.

Yaotome Gaku: Why though?

Yuki: There’s no need for that.

Izumi Mitsuki: See? I told you! 

Nikaidou Yamato: I suppose… Well, I did put in all the power I had. I did well…

Izumi Mitsuki: Right, right.

Nikaidou Yamato: …I did well! 

Yaotome Gaku: That’s the right energy! Wanna hear the recording once more? 

Recording of Yaotome Gaku: Nikaidou is so good…!

Recording of Yuki: Yamato-kun is really amazing…!

Recording of Chiba Shizuo: Yamato has come so far…!

Nikaidou Yamato: Don’t put it like that…! 

Izumi Mitsuki: You should make this your alarm. It’ll boost your self-esteem.

(door opening)

Momo: Hey, Yuki~! Ah, welcome, everyone!

Inumaru Touma: Good morning. Comin’ in.

Izumi Mitsuki: Momo-san! You were with Inumaru?

Momo: Yup, yup! I just met him in the hallway earlier! 

Momo: We talked about how much we practice! ŹOOḼ is training really hard!

Yuki: Heh, how admirable. 

Inumaru Touma: Thanks.

Momo: I told you, this isn’t the time to call this “admirable”! Let’s take more lessons, too!

Yuki: Eh~  If I’m going to spend time with Momo, I want to eat yummy food and be lazy. 

Nikaidou Yamato: You’re taking that many lessons? You seem busy, but still find the time for that, eh.

Inumaru Touma: I think we take as many as you guys? A bit less than what Re:vale said we do…? I think.

Momo: See, Yuki! We’re too arrogant!! Pride comes before a fall, you know! 

Yuki: I get it, I get it. We’ll take time to train properly and do our best.

Momo: Yup! We’ll beat TRIGGER, IDOLiSH7 and ŹOOḼ without holding back!

Yuki: Right.

Izumi Mitsuki: Our senpai are scary… 

Yaotome Gaku: TRIGGER won’t lose, either. 

Nikaidou Yamato: We’re gonna get there this year, too. We’ll overcome you. 

Izumi Mitsuki: Well said, leader!

Inumaru Touma: We won’t let you! As if we’re gonna lose against IDOLiSH7 twice.

Yuki: Right. I’ll make you cry, Yamato-kun.

Nikaidou Yamato: I won’t cry! I respect Re:vale-san and am thankful to you, but… 

Nikaidou Yamato: We’ll prove that we can reach even you.

~ to be continued ~

--

6.9.2. - Fun in the Greenroom*

Midou Torao: Well? Did you see it?

Ousaka Sougo: I did. It is really amazing that you managed to act out this action scene yourself.

Midou Torao: Ha… Well, yeah.

Ousaka Sougo: Thank you for letting me see it five times.

Midou Torao: Wanna see it once more?

Ousaka Sougo: Ah, of course…

--

Isumi Haruka:  Hey, Yotsuba. Has anything happened with Acchan recently?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Uh, why?

Isumi Haruka:  It’s ‘cause she’s been asking weird stuff on rabicha… If you dunno, it’s fine.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Weird stuff? What do you mean by “weird stuff”?

Isumi Haruka:  No, it’s fine.

Yotsuba Tamaki: No, tell me. Did Aya tell you anything?

Isumi Haruka:  … She said ”I wonder if I’m not cute enough”.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Huh… So what’d you answer, Isumin?

Isumi Haruka: What I answered?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Just so you know: I’m probably gonna get angry no matter if you told her she’s cute or not.

Isumi Haruka:  You’re such an overprotective older brother! I just responded with “You’re pretty cute, though, right?” normally… That’s just a normal response, right!?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Huh…

Isumi Haruka: Something must’ve happened, right? Look, I don’t know, but maybe it’s time for her debut soon, or something.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Aya’s debut… Now that you mention it, someone also asked me for advice about Aya.

Isumi Haruka: Who?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Tenten. But that’s it, huh. Aya’s debut…

Yotsuba Tamaki: I think I get why Tenten tells Rikkun such strict things now…

Yotsuba Tamaki: Being an idol is fun, but also hard. And there’s things that will hurt you…

Yotsuba Tamaki: I wonder if Aya can manage it.

Isumi Haruka:  Won’t she do better than you, Yotsuba? Acchan is pretty serious, you know.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Eeeeh—!?

(knock knock)

(door opens)

Kujou Tenn: Good morning. Ah, there he is.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Ah, Tenten! Were you looking for me maybe?

Kujou Tenn: Well, not just you, I was looking for MEZZO’’. Seems like the mood here is good. That’s relieving.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Thanks for worrying about me, Tenten.

Ousaka Sougo: Good morning, Kujou-san. Did you do anything that made him thank you?

Kujou Tenn: I didn’t. I listened to “Kizuna”. It was really good.

Ousaka Sougo: T…Thank you very much!

Kujou Tenn: Midou Torao. You did the last action scene yourself, right?

Midou Torao: Y-Yeah. Well, yeah.

Kujou Tenn: You have a lot of courage. It was impressive.

Midou Torao: …Thanks…

Kujou Tenn: Well, I’ll be going. I’m looking forward to working with you today. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Wait, Tenten! Thank you for the other day. What about the thing with Aya?

Kujou Tenn: We can’t talk about that here.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Is Aya debuting?

Kujou Tenn: Who said something like that?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Isumin did…

Isumi Haruka: I didn’t! I just asked if she was gonna debut! Isn’t it about time she does?

Yotsuba Tamaki: This job isn’t easy. You know that, right, Tenten?

Kujou Tenn: Well, that’s true.

Isumi Haruka:  Since it’s Acchan, she’s gonna be fine. You two should believe in her. You’re her big brothers, right?

Yotsuba Tamaki: That’s two different things! Right, Tenten!?

Kujou Tenn: No, I… I’m trying to put a distance between myself and my younger brother and sister, as siblings, so…  

Ousaka Sougo: Tamaki-kun, did anything happen to Aya-chan?

Yotsuba Tamaki: It seems like something happened, but he said we can’t talk about it here.

Kujou Tenn: I’ll go to you guys’ dorm soon.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Are you sure about it? Rikkun’s there, too… Didn’t you just say you wanna keep a distance from him?

Kujou Tenn: ….

Isumi Haruka: What’s the problem, just do it! Stop overthinking it so much. 

Kujou Tenn: Ah, right…

Ousaka Sougo: Up until recently, Riku-kun was calling you “Tenn”, but now it’s Kujou-san being distant?

Ousaka Sougo: That’s twins for you. Your nature and behavior are so similar, it’s very amusing.

Kujou Tenn: ….

Yotsuba Tamaki: Sou-chan, that’s unexpected of you…

Ousaka Sougo: Eh…? Was it rude to call it amusing!? I’m very sorry…!

Kujou Tenn: No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.

(door opens)

Nanase Riku: I’m back… Ah, Tenn-nii…!

Kujou Tenn: Riku…

Izumi Iori: Good morning, Kujou-sa—…

Nanase Riku: Waah~! Tenn-nii you were here! I wanted to see you, so I was looking for you!

Nanase Riku: It’s been a while since we got to work together! I was excited to one day be on BackMagic together with you all this time!

Kujou Tenn: ….

Kujou Tenn: …Would it be normal to say “Me, too” right now? What do you think, Izumi Iori?

Izumi Iori: You’re asking me that while not even bothering with a greeting? I think it’s normal, though.

Kujou Tenn: I see.

Kujou Tenn: Me, too, Riku.

Nanase Riku: Yay~! Looking forward to today!

--

Anesagi Kaoru: Good work today, Takanashi-san.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Good work!

Okazaki Rinto: Finally, it’s getting announced today.

Utsugi Shirou: The “New Black or White project”... How do you think everyone will react?

Anesagi Kaoru: They’re competitive kids, of course! Their idol soul is definitely going to be burning and get them all fired up!

Okazaki Rinto: Thinking about finally being able to talk about it in the open makes me excited!

Utsugi Shirou: I won’t lose to you.

Takanashi Tsumugi: That’s my line! The winner of the first “New Black or White” is…

Takanashi Tsumugi: IDOLiSH7!

Anesagi Kaoru: TRIGGER!

Okazaki Rinto: Re:vale!

Utsugi Shirou: I’m very sorry, but it’ll be ŹOOḼ.

--

Yotsuba Tamaki: …Huh? Sounds like the managers are arguing…

Izumi Iori: They’re rivals, but I’d still like them to try keeping the exchange between agencies in this business friendly in the end.

Isumi Haruka:  Embarrassing adults.

~ to be continued ~

--

6.9.3. - Special Day

Mr. Shimooka: This week’s “Backyard MAGIC” will be brought to you as a special 3-hour live broadcast!

Izumi Mitsuki: We have some great guests lined up in the studio as well! Everyone, please enjoy “Backyard MAGIC”!

Audience: Kyaaaah…!

Momo: Let’s have a good time!

Kujou Tenn: Let’s get along well.

Nanase Riku: Let’s have some fun!

Isumi Haruka: Let’s do this today.

Mr. Shimooka: This special live broadcast will be a grand male idol special!

Mr. Shimooka: With new information about Re:vale’s new movie “Chill Out”!

Mr. Shimooka: Special advance information about TRIGGER’s new program “Treasure Café”!

Mr. Shimooka: Current videos of IDOLiSH7’s recently aired summer vacation project, “Beach paradise! Uproar during water athletics!”!

Mr. Shimooka: From the drama “BLAST” starring ŹOOḼ in the main roles, we’ll be introducing you to it and showing you some highlights!

Mr. Shimooka: And finally! There is big news that no one here knows about so far!

Audience: Kyaaah….

Izumi Mitsuki: News that we don’t even know about!?

Yuki: Is today the last episode?

Momo: Yuki! This is a program with high ratings!

Yaotome Gaku: Are we gonna suddenly be taken somewhere…?

Ousaka Sougo: Right, it was on a different show, but there was a gag like that before.

Nanase Riku: I wonder what it is!? “Big news”!

Yotsuba Tamaki: Maybe they’ll give us something! Like a watermelon or grapes!

Mr. Shimooka: Fufufu… Please look forward to it until the end!

Izumi Mitsuki: And now: based on the Tale of the Soga Brothers, the near-future SF “Chill Out”! Can you point out some highlights for us?

Izumi Mitsuki: First, Yuki-san!

Yuki: Momo’s role is a really strong person. There’s a scene where he pulls out a radio tower from the ground and that’s really cool, but also cute.

Audience: Kyaaaah…

Izumi Mitsuki: Pulling out a radio tower?! That’s kind of hard to imagine… Momo-san, which scenes do you recommend?

Momo: Maybe the big fight at the end? I think the people who know the Tale of the Soga Brothers will probably get what I mean.

Momo: From a spy-like scene, it becomes a flashy action scene with a big fight before turning into a serious tearjerker scene…

Izumi Mitsuki: There’s lots of highlights, aren’t there?

Momo: Well, Yuki’s acting is just that good!! It even made it into my dreams, I was turning in my sleep.

Audience: Kyaaaaah…

Yuki: Really?

Momo: Of course~! I woke up crying out “Brother!!”. Please watch that part carefully!

--

Passerby A: I’m super excited for “Chill Out”!

Passerby B: I’ll look into the Tale of the Soga Brothers! The theme song is great, too, so I’m really happy!

Passerby C: The costumes in the film are the coolest! I wonder if they’re gonna dance in those, too!

--

Mr. Shimooka: Here’s the early footage from TRIGGER’s new program, “Treasure Café”! Ah, is that Gaku-kun?

Yaotome Gaku: Yeah.

Mr. Shimooka: The waiter uniform suits you!

Yaotome Gaku: Haha, thanks.

Kujou Tenn: This kind of thing really suits Gaku, right.

Audience: Kyaaah…

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: It does suit him. Ever since we’ve been living together, the three of us have been cooking together a lot, too.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I was talking with Tenn about how, aside from his stage outfits, Gaku also looks good in an apron.

Audience: Kyaaah…

Yaotome Gaku: You said something like that, huh? That makes me happy.

Kujou Tenn: You’re happy?

Yaotome Gaku: Looking good in a suit or a kimono is one thing, but a guy who looks good in an apron is cool, too, right?

Mr. Shimooka: You’re really happy to be praised by your members, aren’t you?

Yaotome Gaku: Well, yeah.

Mr. Shimooka: Let’s look at the recorded footage then, let’s go! …Ah, you’re wiping down the counter quickly, that’s some fine skill~!

Mr. Shimooka: Have you worked in customer service before?

Yaotome Gaku: Yes. My relatives have a So— I worked in a restaurant before.

Mr. Shimooka: I see! That makes sense. Then you’re already comfortable with that kind of work.

Yaotome Gaku: Yes, thank you.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Ah, a girl who came into the store started screaming.

Mr. Shimooka: Of course she’s screaming, she just entered a café and Yaotome Gaku was working there as a waiter!

Kujou Tenn: Gaku, what did you say when that happened?

Yaotome Gaku: “Welcome.”

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: That’s the right thing to say as a greeting!

--

Passerby D: Gaku-san is cool…! Cool yet cute…. I want him to be my boyfriend….

Passerby E: No, no, that’s impossible! We’re talking about TRIGGER here!

Passerby D: If it had been the Gaku-san from before, I’d also think it was impossible! But isn’t it kind of cute when he’s a little more careless and relaxed like this!?

Passerby F: I get that… I want him to be my boyfriend… Or at least, I want him to work at my workplace.

Passerby E: If TRIGGER were my colleagues, I’d also be super motivated at work!

Passerby F: Right~! I’d get promoted!!

--

Mr. Shimooka: I just went ahead and showed the footage from “Beach paradise! Uproar during water athletics!”. Everyone seems to be having so much fun!

Nanase Riku: We were having loads of fun! The sun wasn’t too strong, either, so Nagi was fine until the end.

Rokuya Nagi: It was the best! I’ve decided what my dream is, too!

Mr. Shimooka: Ohh, what is it?

Rokuya Nagi: Getting a house with a water athletics course in the yard!

Audience: Kyaaaah…

Izumi Mitsuki: If you say that, that means you might actually get it, aren’t you…?

Yotsuba Tamaki: Ah, this part! You gotta look at this! Me and Sou-chan had a real race!

Mr. Shimooka: It’s true! You’re surprisingly competitive! Ah, Tamaki-kun slipped when climbing the athletic course…!

Ousaka Sougo: I was able to pull ahead of him quite a lot there.

Izumi Iori: He looks so unconcerned while running. Ousaka-san doesn’t hold back during times like these, huh.

Mr. Shimooka: Wait, wait! In the back, the one relaxing on the bench and eating parfait, isn’t that Yamato-kun?

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’s true!

Ousaka Sougo: Yamato-san!?

Nikaidou Yamato: No, no. It’s not parfait, it’s cream soda.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Even though we were running around…!

Izumi Mitsuki: Well, it’s already good enough that the old man isn’t drinking beer.

Nikaidou Yamato: Exactly, exactly. Praise me, praise me.

Nanase Riku: Amazing! The world’s most yummy-looking cream soda!

Izumi Iori: That’s what you’re praising?

Nikaidou Yamato: …and its drinker Yamato-san.

Nanase Riku: Its drinker Yamato-san!

Nikaidou Yamato: Thank you! You get it, Riku~!

Izumi Iori: Isn’t that manipulation too obvious?

--

Passerby G: IDOLiSH7 is cute….! Just looking at them makes me energized!

Passerby H: This variety show was really fun, so I am glad to see the backstage parts of it! BackMagic gets it…!

Passerby G: Sougo-san was wearing a rashguard this time, too, huh?

Passerby H: Sougo-san looks good like that! Everyone’s swimsuits have been great~!

--

Izumi Mitsuki: “BLAST” ended at a crazy point! I wanna watch the movie already!

Inumaru Touma: Thank you very much.

Izumi Mitsuki: I always thought the guy Natsume plays, Nagato Kyouya, was suspicious! But I still didn’t expect that!

Natsume Minami: I’m happy you enjoyed it.

Izumi Mitsuki: The movie will deal with Shuu trying to get Shou back after he was kidnapped by the lab agent Nagato, right?

Izumi Mitsuki: He even joins forces with Hyoudou, who he always had a cat and dog type relationship with in the drama.

Inumaru Touma: Yeah, kind of like that! I know this isn’t a full review session, but how about we take a look at the next highlights?　

Izumi Mitsuki: Sure. I really like Sakaki Shuu.

Inumaru Touma: For real!? I’m glad!

Izumi Mitsuki: You’re really cool in the role of the lone wolf, Inumaru! Even though in reality, you’re such a sincere person. Speaking of which, Yamato-san says he liked Hyoudou.

Midou Torao: Oh, really. Thanks a lot.

Izumi Mitsuki: Isumi has been made into a test subject at the lab. Isn’t that kinda super bad!?

Isumi Haruka: It is, right. Even though he had just opened his heart to Shuu, Shou got betrayed by Kyouya. I feel sorry for him.

Izumi Mitsuki: I want you to be saved~! Please. Don’t lose against Natsume!

Inumaru Touma: Even in private, I can’t really go up against Mina…

Audience: Kyaaah…

Natsume Minami: Fufufu.

--

Passerby I: ŹOOḼ is so cool…! I’ve been into them ever since “BLAST”, so I’m happy to see Touma-kun’s smile!

Passerby J: All of them did great with their roles! Torao-kun even did an action scene by himself!

Passerby I: I wanna see the movie already~! I wanna see more of Minami-kun’s evil face!

Passerby J: I’m really curious about what happens to Haruka-kun’s role, too…! Ah, I’m excited…!

--

Mr. Shimooka: The time to say goodbye is getting closer, but everyone, you remember it, right!?

Audience: Kyaaaah…!

Momo: Big news! Big news!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Does Mitsuki-kun know?

Izumi Mitsuki: I haven’t heard anything either!

Yotsuba Tamaki: What kind of surprise is it!?

Mr. Shimooka: Time for an important announcement!!

~ to be continued ~

--

6.9.4. - New Black or White

Mr. Shimooka: Time for an important announcement!!

Mr. Shimooka: “Black or White Music Fantasia”, the yearly national music program, will be facing a big renewal!

Nanase Riku: Black or White will…

Kujou Tenn: Get a big renewal…?

Mr. Shimooka: Right now, the embargo on the information has been lifted, and at the same time, there are announcements on various TV programs, online streams and on social media!

Mr. Shimooka: It’s called “Black or White Live Showdown”!

Mr. Shimooka: Black or White has a long history with the music world in Japan!

Mr. Shimooka: To keep up with the current era, and to create an all-connecting experience, Black or White will experience a big renewal this time!! 

Mr. Shimooka: Breaking out of the confines of being a pure singing competition, “Black or White Live Showdown” will not only be about singing, but also dancing, costumes as well as adapting to the venue…

Mr. Shimooka: Several points have been added to the judging criteria in order to make it a mini live showdown!

Audience: Kyaaaaah…!

Momo: Mini live showdown!?

Inumaru Touma: Does that mean we can sing more than one song!?

Mr. Shimooka: The contestants will compete with a setlist of four songs!

Mr. Shimooka: The structure of the live, costumes, dancing and singing ability. Live performance, fanservice, the artistic quality of the set as well as stage directions!

Mr. Shimooka: Live goods and even uniforms, all of these are ways to strengthen the completeness and feeling of unity in the venue and will be part of the judging criteria!

Mr. Shimooka: How do you make the audience experience entertainment? Can you create the best live?

Mr. Shimooka: During the special time of welcoming the new year, how can the artists and the audience become one? Can you create a festival that can only be found there?

Mr. Shimooka: A Black or White that has left the living room! That’s what “Black or White Live Showdown” is!

Audience: Kyaaaah…!

--

Passerby K: Wait, wait! What does that mean!?

Passerby L: I’m not sure, but I think it means we’ll definitely get to hear a lot of songs!?

Passerby M: Ah, look, look! Even this female idol group’s show announced the same thing!

Passerby K: They’re gonna do Black or White in different locations across the country!? They’ll connect those via live broadcast, right?

Passerby L: I wonder which venue IDOLiSH7 will perform in!?

--

Mr. Shimooka: The final showdown of the male idol groups will be in Zero Arena…!!

Mr. Shimooka: Talking about the male idol group finale, the last overall winner was Re:vale! And the winner of the male idol category was IDOLiSH7!

Mr. Shimooka: Those two groups’ entry is already confirmed!

Izumi Iori: Our entry was confirmed…

Yuki: I see.

--

Okazaki Rinto: Looking forward to it, Takanashi-san!

Takanashi Tsumugi: I’m looking forward to it, too!

--

Mr. Shimooka: The remaining two entries will be determined through “JIMA” and “MOP” and so on, so it will depend on how successful you are in the music scene!

Mr. Shimooka: Will TRIGGER and ŹOOḼ, who are here right now, stand on the stage for  “Black or White Live Showdown”?

Mr. Shimooka: Nobody knows what the future will bring!

--

Anesagi Kaoru: All of Japan is talking about “Zero”. If TRIGGER’s name doesn’t show up, I’ll never trust this industry again. 

Utsugi Shirou: We’ll do our best, but ŹOOḼ landed a hit with “BLAST”, so there’s no way they would be excluded from the contest.

Okazaki Rinto:  I think you’re right, but you should probably still be careful.

Anesagi Kaoru: I know!

Utsugi Shirou: I know.

Takanashi Tsumugi: I hope we’ll be able to compete together with everyone!

--

Mr. Shimooka: Everyone who is watching the program right now! Yes, you who is listening to my voice right now!

Mr. Shimooka: If you’re watching BackMagic, you must be a pretty big idol fan!

Mr. Shimooka: Please leave your New Year’s Eve plans open!

Audience: Kyaaah…!!

Mr. Shimooka: If you can, please get a ticket and go to the live venue!

Audience: Kyaaah…!!

Mr. Shimooka: It will be the greatest live, made up of four songs carefully picked by the artists to express their style!

Mr. Shimooka: We promise you the best experience! This is a live versus live contest!

Audience: Kyaaah…!!

Mr. Shimooka: At the end of the year, let’s get fired up and enjoy the time together!

Audience: Kyaaaaah…!!

(clapping)

--

Nanase Riku: A new Black or White… Such an amazing project has started! He said it’s a live showdown!

Yotsuba Tamaki: I’m super excited! Which four songs are we performing!?

Izumi Mitsuki: There’s gotta be a new song in it, of course!

Rokuya Nagi: OH! Sougo, how about taking on the challenge of composing IDOLiSH7’s new song?

Ousaka Sougo: Me…?

Nikaidou Yamato: Yeah! If your schedule isn’t too packed, why not consider it?

Nikaidou Yamato: If we, as IDOLiSH7, are going into this contest, we want to sing one of Sou’s songs, too.

Ousaka Sougo: Yamato-san…

Izumi Iori: I agree. What do you think, Ousaka-san?

Ousaka Sougo: I… I’d like to take the challenge. I don’t know if I’ll do well, though…

Ousaka Sougo: I did think I wanted to have everyone sing my songs one day, not just MEZZO’’, but…

Nanase Riku: Please let us sing it! An IDOLiSH7 song made by you, Sougo-san!

Izumi Mitsuki: That’s great! Let’s win against Re:vale with a 100% pure IDOLiSH7 song! 

Ousaka Sougo: …Against Re:vale-san…

Nikaidou Yamato: I think TRIGGER and ŹOOḼ will enter, too, though.

Izumi Iori: Especially if TRIGGER enters the Black or White, too. They said Re:vale is within their reach. 

Rokuya Nagi:  ŹOOḼ is a very strong opponent, too. Their teamwork has steadily been getting better and they gained a lot of momentum.

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’ll be fine!  Do your best, Sou-chan! I’ll do the choreography again, too!

Nanase Riku: I’m really looking forward to it…! I can’t believe we’re gonna compete with a live we all made with our own hands…!

Nanase Riku: We also have a manager who’s great at stage directions! Standing at the top is no longer a dream, is it!?

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes, let’s work together to deliver it to the audience!

Takanashi Tsumugi: IDOLiSH7’s greatest live!

IDOLiSH7: Yeah!!

--

Woman: Ehehe… I couldn’t wait to go home to read the magazine, so I went to a café.

Woman: The “Auberge La Plage” special! That’s what I bought it for! The last episode was so good~.

Woman: The highlight of “Auberge La Plage” is how all the funny staff members turn out to be secret celebrities one by one…

Woman: Right, right. But because of that, a rival hotel tries to gain them for their business.

Woman: That’s when Tachibana Yuzuru, played by Riku-kun, together with Narumi Sei, the character played by Iori-kun, work together to figure something out. It was fun…

Woman: Aah, I’m sad it’s over… I wanna see more of IDOLiSH7. Their swimming contest was so cute, too!

Woman: I ended up remembering IDOLiSH7’s members’ full names, blood types and birthdays so quickly…

Woman: I’m not actually a fan yet, though. I didn’t join the fan club and I’ve never been to a live…

Woman: A live, huh…

Woman: I can listen to the songs on my smartphone and the dance performances are viewable on TV, so there’s not really a reason to go to a live~.

Woman: Places with lots of people are hard to deal with, and I’d feel sad if I was left behind because I couldn’t really get in the mood…

Woman: It would be a waste if I tried too hard and did something unnecessary and stopped having fun, even though I’m having fun right now.

Woman: I’ll stay like this, enjoying it casually.

Woman: …Ah, “IDOLiSH7” is trending on rabbitter. 

Woman: What…? “New Black or White”? The music program at the end of every year, that Black or White?

Woman: The male idols will compete in a mini live showdown…

Woman: Eeh, what’s that? That sounds really interesting…!

Woman: Let’s look for more information on rabbitter…

Woman: “There was an announcement in BackMagic”, “I wanna go for sure!”, “Support your oshi in person and make them win!”...

Woman: Support… That makes sense, it is a live showdown after all. I can support them…

Woman: I want IDOLiSH7 to win… I want to see IDOLiSH7 before my eyes and support them…

Woman: ….

Woman: How do I get a ticket? I wonder if I can get one without joining the fanclub?

Woman: No, that’s impossible, right? It’s definitely gonna be super expensive like that, right… Eeh~, now I really wanna go…

Woman: Eh~, can I buy it? Ah, just thinking about going makes my heart pound…

Woman: If I could go, it’d be amazing for sure…. It would be amazing for me.

Woman:  Because, y’know… I love just watching them, but having something so far away…

Woman: …To be close for just a moment, it’ll be as it becomes real… Something like that makes my heart pound so much, I might die.

Woman: …..

Woman: ….I’ll just apply, I’ll just try applying. If it doesn’t work, it’s fine.

Woman: Ah, I’m lying! I really wanna get it!

~ to be continued ~

--

hello!! mod riku here!! we are super alive, actually, but life is [gestures]. once more, thank you for all the positive feedback! also, happy new year, i suppose.

TL note courtesy of Haruka-kun!

* a note on the title of this section: the original is 楽(しい部)屋 which is a pun on the fact that both the word fun (楽しい) and greenroom (楽屋) share a kanji. i’m not smart or patient enough to think about a good pun equivalent in english, so you get the title and this note

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Mikan (pt. 40)

Hey! I played Just Dance with Zoe and then decided I was just gonna post this last part because I don't want it hanging over me. It's July and I just exercised and it's really friggin' hot and I'm sweating but I'm gonna post this so I don't forget tomorrow.

That's right, folks! Just one more part in the forty part essay special by yours truly about everyone's favorite shoujo manga couple (I speak for everyone on the planet, yes)!

<- Prev

Kageki no Kuni no Alice Chapter Four

Kageki is a step-up from the last few chapters because… well, because I get to pretend like those chapters just didn’t happen. There’s a lot I don’t like about Kageki, but I like the NatsuMikan, which there is a fair amount of! And that’s what I’ll be discussing today. Hopefully that’ll lighten the mood from last time. Though! I don't have much new to say that I didn't already say in Natsume's version. I'll do my best so we can end on a high note!

Natsume and Mikan are at the Opera School in order to visit Aoi, because they do everything together. But Natsume is also being ridiculously cold to one of Aoi’s classmates, Tsubasa’s sister, for no real reason. So Mikan and Aoi both scold him for being mean. Mikan apologizes for Natsume’s sake and we get a glimpse of the fact that they both have matching promise rings. 

RINGS!!!! They're gonna get married!!!

This is pretty big because as far as we know, Mikan just got back to the Academy a few weeks ago, and only part of her memories were recovered, but somehow in that time, her romance with Natsume has rekindled enough that she once more wants to get married to him… though this rekindling occurred off-page. Sigh. 

This chapter is presented in a strange way, jumping around in time, starting with a confrontation and then rewinding. I think it’s to introduce Natsume and Mikan right away for fans so they keep reading, but it makes things jumbled up. Natsume is as handsome and popular as ever, and quickly gets the attention of the Opera Troupe girls, but this excitement is dampened by Mikan’s enthusiastic arrival because oh dang he’s taken. 

That's right!

Mikan is excited to meet Hikari, because she loves Tsubasa, and it’s funny to see her speaking for herself and Natsume (because they are an item!), much to his chagrin, loudly proclaiming their joint appreciation for Tsubasa’s care. What I like about that is that Mikan and Natsume are a unit at this point, which is what makes her feel comfortable speaking for his feelings in the first place. “I” becomes “we.”

Hikari grabs onto this, that Mikan knows Tsubasa, and tries to get more information out of her. Mikan is affected by pretty faces, as we know, and Hikari is beautiful (or handsome? Since she’s characterized by a sense of masculinity in this story but honestly I've never read this manga in its entirety so I wouldn't really know), so she gets overwhelmed and Natsume ultimately ruins the mood again by stressing to Hikari that her brother wants her to leave.

I'm so delighted we can get back to NM content that makes me feel something!

Mikan scolds him for being harsh, though he claims he’s just not interested in sugarcoating. Hikari gets depressed and Mikan is again affected, though Natsume doesn’t like that. Then Thoma arrives, and the atmosphere between him and Natsume tenses, which spurs Mikan to ask what their relationship is. It could be simple curiosity or actual jealousy, whichever. If it is jealousy, then it’s interesting to note that the both of them are a little possessive of the other. Mikan certainly doesn’t seem to mind being monopolized by Natsume, but this could suggest she’s monopolizing him too. 

Natsume starts to leave and Mikan rushes after him. That makes me think that she could have been feeling jealousy, but mostly that she is just as intent on spending as much time together as he is. He can’t leave without her when she came to spend time with him! 

They are a married couple, even if they're not married yet.

When they leave, they’re joined by Narumi, who calls Natsume kind and thus gives Mikan a new impression of what he was doing with Hikari. It’s hard to tell with Natsume, honestly, because his kindness and cruelty all look the same. When Natsume confronts Naru by asking if Hikari was dragged into the school for Thoma’s sake, Naru denies it. Then he brings up the manipulative action of scouting Mikan for the Academy, leading to their meeting and falling in love. He turns to Mikan and asks if she thinks that was a mistake, coming to the Academy and meeting everyone.

It's refreshing to go back to "everyone" again, to remember the sheer number of people Mikan loves. Her alice stone was created by the thoughts of many loved ones, after all, not just Natsume, not just Hotaru. There is not just one name written on her heart.

She must no longer hide behind everyone or we... She can initiate affection like this. Isn't that amazing?

She grabs Natsume’s hand and says “Not at all!” looking him straight in the eyes, so he knows she’s telling him, “How could I regret something that brought me to you?” This makes it personal. Yes, she's happy to have met everyone else and they are all dear, but reassuring Natsume means letting him know how much he specifically matters to her. She trusts Narumi because she’s sure he has good intentions. After all, with everything that happened on her side of things, Narumi seems to have only been helpful. This is also a callback to Narumi requesting that Mikan have faith in him, despite his recent betrayal with the letters. Mikan chose to trust him then and never stopped. Natsume seems to cave, because he's weak when it comes to her, but he admonishes Naru for being manipulative.

Natsume then tells Mikan not to hang around Naru or Hikari anymore, just a little taste of what Natsume monopolizing Mikan looks like. He obviously knows that Mikan will not listen to that, but it’s his way of communicating that he dislikes Naru manipulating her or the way she behaved around Hikari. Mikan just says “huh?” though, so his message might not have gone through the way he liked.

Chapter Five

There’s not much I can analyze in Kageki that I didn’t already mention in Natsume’s version because they spend literally all their time together. On top of that, we get little of their perspectives, and mainly see them through Hikari’s eyes. So if this is short or minimal… oops.

Hikari is being stalked and bullied by Bear, and Natsume gets annoyed that she’s not angrier with him. This is a plot thing, but I always think of Mikan and how much I love her rage and how Higuchi ultimately drained her of all of it for the sake of being a smiley girl who makes everyone happy even to her own detriment. To me, he might be saying these words to Hikari, but he’s talking to Mikan too.

We're not just talking about Hikari, are we?

Mikan and Natsume are here as loving parents to pick Bear up from school, and Mikan is more focused on gathering Bear while Natsume is scolding Hikari. When Hikari’s cousin arrives to defend her, claiming that Hikari is just incredibly disciplined with her feelings, Natsume counters that she’s really just repressing them. (SOUNDS LIKE MIKAN!) I don’t think Natsume would be as adamant about this if it didn’t connect to Mikan. Maybe this is something they talk about, or something that will soon become a conversation. In any case, Mikan doesn’t seem to take any of what he’s saying personally, so maybe it’s not getting through to her.

In any case, Natsume goes a little overboard insulting Thoma, who instantly dismisses him by telling him to go home, which he does, but not before setting a fire that Mikan rushes to put out. After that, Mikan rushes after him. Because she has to be wherever he is. It's not just Natsume monopolizing her. It goes both ways.

There’s a big to-do about Hikari and Bear and anger and acting and Tsubasa, which I won’t get into mainly because I don’t really care. All that matters is Natsume using a non-burning fire and Mikan being impressed at the control he has over his alice. Like, "Wow, my boyfriend is so cool!"

Chapter 5.5 Omake

This omake takes place after Natsume was ordered to go home, so he and Mikan are doing just that, hand in hand. Where he goes, she goes, and vice versa. A clingy couple. 

GSHDFJHJKFGHKJDFJFHJFFJFGHSJFGDSHJFHAGSHK Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk.

Mikan asks what’s up with Natsume’s behavior with Thoma and Narumi pops out of the blue to explain that Natsume took her absence hard and that he strayed from the right path. Mikan is happy to see Naru; Natsume isn’t. All typical. But Mikan is confused because if Natsume skipped grades, shouldn’t that mean he was a good student and worked hard? And Naru says yes, that he did work hard, but by going on missions (THAT’S A CRIME NARUMI). Mikan is instantly concerned, because she watched him die once before and doesn’t ever want to experience that loss again, so Narumi assures her that none of the missions were at all physically taxing. That doesn’t eliminate her concern, though, until Natsume messes with her a little. 

In any case, Natsume re-enrolled as a high schooler when Mikan returned, so he could capitalize on her new presence. Mikan is excited to see Shiki and Narumi again when they appear, and they offer to show her Natsume’s middle school pics which she is excited to see until Natsume pulls her away, greedily. This chapter further teases Mikan and Natsume's rings, their inevitable wedding. Additionally, we see that there's some conversations yet to be had, particularly about what Natsume has been up to without her. She obviously wants to have these discussions, since she asks questions and then is so eager to see his middle school pictures, but it seems like Natsume is content now to completely leave that era in the past now that he has his girlfriend back.

Chapter Six

Mikan and the SA class are getting ready for the Culture Fest. Natsume complains about the Opera School students coming to visit the Academy campus during such a busy time, but he’s not really doing anything, so it feels unfair for him to say. 

Mikan doesn’t seem to mind that she’s being followed by a leech, and she teases him. She doesn't need him to help. He's just there so they can be together, and if he doesn't contribute anything, then that's fine too, as long as he's around. But the teasing never ends, because they wouldn't be NatsuMikan without it. This is crucial, because their bickering was never a cover-up for anything like it sometimes is for other bickering couples. For them, the bickering was always a relief. For Natsume, he could act immature and childish with someone when he’d been forced into a far more adult role in his life. For Mikan, it’s a way for her to cheer up when she’s feeling down, because bickering with him makes them both happy. The fact that they’re now officially a couple doesn’t eliminate the bickering, it just eliminates the pretense about it.

I'm sniffling...

Chapter 11.5 Omake

This is an outtake chapter surrounding Hikari searching for inspiration for her acting in a kiss scene. Tsubasa can’t help her for some reason, even though he’s in a relationship (inexplicably, his relationship is described as “new,” even though he and Misaki have been dating for like five years at this point). Thus, she must look elsewhere for romantic inspiration. And where better than Natsume and Mikan out and eating floating soft serve ice cream together?

She gets the ice cream all over her face and, since there’s nobody around, he licks it off her. She seems to find that silly and cute and laughs as he does so, though she is blushing. Will Mikan ever stop blushing around Natsume though? I don’t think so. It’s nice though that their affection is so reciprocal now. She doesn’t even freak out, really, which implies that there’s more intimacy to this extent happening away from the reader’s prying eyes. 

This was given to us because Higuchi felt bad about what she made us go through with the wretched final chapters. I appreciate the apology, actually, but I think we all agree we could use some more apologies of this nature.

They’re interrupted and it’s only then that Mikan freaks out, embarrassed to be seen doing something so weird. Very interesting! Maybe they'll work up to PDA status later. Nobody likes a voyeur, which is what the others are right now, but getting spied on while you're kissing is a little different than typical PDA. Who knows!

Conclusion

This is my last NM conclusion as far as I know now. How cute they are in this little spin-off manga! It lifts my spirits. Hopefully, seeing them all cutesy lifted your spirits too.

Anyway, friends, I'm genuinely remorseful that the last few parts of this essay were so negative and bitter. I'm usually not one to linger on those parts of GA. My mind is firmly rooted in various AU endings so I tend to be pretty chill about my feelings, but when I have to specifically address everything, it all comes to the surface and I get a little bitter. I'm really sorry it had to be that way.

In any case, despite the bitterness towards the end, writing this essay was genuinely a blast for me. It was nice to put my feelings about this manga into words.

I started writing this essay on April 12, 2015 (which means I was sixteen at the time). I always knew the exact order I'd write this essay in, because my main motivation in analyzing GA was to present my thesis about Mikan genuinely being in love with Natsume. Back then, I'd seen one too many tumblr posts about Mikan being "obligated" to be with Natsume because he was dying or because of comphet or because Natsume scared her or silly things like that and it pissed me off. Additionally, I was bombarded with people calling Mikan a Mary Sue or disregarding her character. I remember seeing posts like that in the dark ages and thinking, "Did these people even read the manga? Do they even pay attention to Mikan?"

I'd see those posts and roll my eyes. I'd read a grossly OOC Mikan in a fic and sigh exasperatedly. I'd see people disparaging her and I'd disapprove. I'd know deep down that Mikan does love Natsume and that she's much more than people are leading on. I knew they were wrong, but I more or less left it at that.

But then I'd ask myself what exactly it was that they were missing and I'd have to confront the fact that I was thinking based on vibes and "just because" and there's no evidence in that. Was I paying much attention to her either? So one day, probably in between ranting to Zoe, I opened up a Google Doc and decided I'd do the hard work and analyze the whole fucking manga to prove my point. Besides, there was no real analysis for NM out there, so I'd take one for the team and do it. But it wasn't enough to analyze NM. There's too much going on there to leave it to one essay.

After all, most people think of anime scenes when they think of the earlier chapters, and that's not accurate, so I'd have to distinguish between the anime and the manga. But it's not enough to simply distinguish! The anime contains scenes worth discussing, since NM is pretty different there. Thus, the essay had to be divided between manga and anime. But that wasn't enough, either, because analyzing Natsume and Mikan's feelings in one essay was sure to give me a headache, which means this project had to be three parts, and Mikan had to be last. She always had to be last, my grand finale to prove that she was no Mary Sue, that her love for Natsume was built up from the beginning, and that she had depth and growth that should be appreciated.

It is now July 27, 2023 at around 11 PM. I'm now finished.

Altogether, across all three essays, I wrote about 243,240 words about NatsuMikan. Hundreds of pages in my Google Docs. This would be a huge book. And if anyone out there read all of it? You're a damn trooper. I appreciate you so much.

To all my readers, the ones who stuck with me from the beginning, or the ones who find it long after I press post on this last one, the ones who read each word, or the ones who skimmed to the analysis of their favorite scenes, I thank you. To everyone who left a comment, I thank you. To everyone who reached out to tell me their thoughts, I thank you. To @crimsoncitrus for helping me out with plenty of the translations throughout this process, thank you! To @thesightofworms, for being my favorite person to rant to about GA, I very much thank you. And to Higuchi Tachibana, I thank you. I do have beef with some of your choices, but creating manga is no small feat and you wrote 180 chapters for us to consume and I am beyond grateful that you have created something so enduring and important to me, something I have never been able to move on from.

I have loved GA since I was twelve years old and I show no signs of stopping. This is just one labor of love of many to come. I'll never shut up about this manga. Today I finish a very long project that I've had on my mind since I was a teenager. Tomorrow I'll pursue another. I can't imagine I'll ever stop coming up with projects for GA. :)

Took me long enough, but we're done now! I love you all. Have a wonderful day <3

<- Prev

[haru-chi]

an idea occurred to me while reading vol 30 ..

spoilers since from untranslated chapters :)

I once said that Seiji's hate for fortune-telling was because of his sister .. I said that while assuming that his sister was Clara which turned to be not the case in the end.

now let me recorrect and reform this little theory after knowing Clara isn't his real sister :)

reading again makes me realize I still stand by that Seiji's hate has to do something with Clara ..

is it a coincident that after Seiji declare his hate for fortune-telling, we got introduced to Clara the fortune-telling lover ?!

"even though I only saw her once, she wasn't looking like that"

since we know Seiji is Kuro Misa then that prove that Seiji and Clara did crossed path in some form and she was close enough to see his face even if a glance..

did Seiji used youkai spells to fake his face for a woman as he did with his voice ? or Clara couldn't tell he was a man given his look ? or she do know he was Matoba Seiji but lied cuz she respects Kuro Misa or has some unknown connection to him ??

but either way, they did meet in the past !!

"my perception have always been good"

that what she said when she hit the nail that Natsume holds something interesting in his bag.

So, what if she hit the nail about something with Seiji too which was very triggering to him that result in him hating fortune-telling overall??

hmmm now I'm curious what did she said to Seiji exactly ??

I still stand and believe that his hate has something to do with Clara and no one can change my mind till I see it with my own eyes proven wrong <3

she may not be his sister, but she has some connection with him one way or another ..

I so hope in the next chapter we get to see what kind of role she truly plays overall ><

[lucifermeo]

Keeping Up with the Port Mafia: Lore Edition

I might or might not have a favoured spot for the Port Mafia and Asagiri definitely has the habit of dropping lore and timeline all over the places, so I thought I'll compile an everything-we-know-about-the-PM (and some speculation maybe?) post in chronological order (mostly for my own reference). For easy timekeeping, time posts are converted to years-before-present aka Chapter 1 of the main manga, and characters' ages at the time will be in brackets, eg. Dazai (14). There will be spoilers for canon materials up until June '22 (to be updated if we get something new).

Let's categorise the PM history into three main phases: (1) Before Mori, (2) Mori's entrance and MPMGA (Make the PM Great Again), (3) Dark Era and the Present PM.

1. Before Mori (?? – 12 years ago)

Known members: previous boss, Hirotsu Ryuurou, Kouyou Ozaki (join times: all unknown), Randou (real name: Arthur Rimbaud, join time: 15 years ago)

Not much is known about the mafia during this period. What little is known, though, paints a pretty terrible picture. The Port Mafia was the biggest and most powerful underground organisation in Yokohama, but the previous boss was described to be violent, sadistic, and grew progressively even more insane and unpredictable towards the end of his illness, and his rule was described as a "bloody tyranny."

One [..] day, the residents of an entire housing complex died when their water tank was poisoned on the off chance that a rival organization's executive was hiding there. And on yet another day, the previous boss issued a citywide notice that anyone who spoke ill of the Port Mafia would be put to death and anyone who reported such talk would be rewarded. The entire city spent the next several years engaged in a witch hunt with everyone suspicious of one another. Yokohama became a city of traitors; over a thousand people were executed, many of whom were apparently known at the time to be innocent. (Dazai, Chuuya, age Fifteen LN)

While he maintained the power of the PM, the previous boss also caused the reign of terror over the city and directly led to its instability, as shown by smaller gangs taking advantage of the PM's reputation to sow more chaos without repercussions (Ch. 50, Fukuzawa and Mori's flashback), as well as the rise of groups like The Sheep, originally formed to protect orphans against the Yokohama underworld. We know he treated his subordinates terribly, through the story of Kouyou (14?) and her mysterious man (Ch. 37), how most men had deserted the mafia by the time of his death, or how Hirotsu, probably the most 'traditional' loyal mafia man, barely blinked when he heard proof Mori cut the previous boss's throat (Ch. 33). It was also implied he didn't know how to use his subordinates efficiently, as Randou, with his OP subspace ability and presumably above-average intelligence even after losing his memories, was only relegated to a low-level grunt during his reign. This serves as contrast to Mori, who promoted Randou to sub-executive immediately after his ascension to PM boss.

What other main players were doing at the time:

During the Great War (?? – 14 years ago), Mori (?? – 26) served as the JPN army doctor, while Fukuzawa (?? – 31) served as a government assassin alongside Fukuchi, until the former quit. For unknown reasons, Mori left the military after the war to work as an underground doctor and informant, where he (28) met Natsume-sensei sometime 12 years ago.

Fukuzawa, after quitting assassin work because he was enjoying killing too much, worked as a bodyguard until he encountered Ranpo 13 years ago (the events of Untold Origins of the Detective Agency). 1 year later, to protect Ranpo, he (33) approached Natsume sensei for a Skilled Business Permit and was introduced to Mori (Ch 50, flashback). Both men undertook their first mission together at the manor and were then inducted into the Tripartite Plan. We also know both of them shared hatred for how the previous boss ruled the PM.

Dazai's whereabouts at this point are unknown. Fifteen LN suggests he and the previous boss were familiar (antagonistically) with each other, but whether it's due to them having known each other before Mori or purely due to Dazai's association with the doctor after he was 14 is hard to say definitively.

After the Arahabaki incident 15 years ago, Chuuya (7) joined the Sheep and acted as their 'leader', while Verlaine (age?) defected from his previous job as a French spy to become a rogue assassin

Oda had gained infamy working as an assassin in Yokohama since time unknown until he (14) read Natsume Souseki's novel, was approached by the man himself about writing the ending, and then quit assassin work 14 years ago. He continued doing odd jobs before the events of The Day I Picked Up Dazai (Side A) bonus story

2. Mori's entrance and Making the PM Great Again (12 years ago – 5 years ago)

Members initiated, by chronological order: Mori Ougai (personal physician, boss), Dazai Osamu (member, executive candidate), Nakahara Chuuya (member, executive candidate), Sakaguchi Ango (accountant, Special Division for Unusual Powers spy), Paul Verlaine (member, trainer), Oda Sakunosuke (low-level grunt)

Members lost: previous boss (assassinated by Mori), Randou/Rimbaud (betrayal, killed by SKK), the Flags and others (killed by Verlaine/Guirve), 84++ members and executive member 'Colonel' (killed in Dragon's Head Conflict)

12 years ago: Sometime after Fukuzawa's and Mori's first mission together, Mori managed to gain employment as the PM boss's personal physician and Fukuzawa's somewhat established the ADA with Ranpo as its only member (Ch. 66, their info boxes)

11 years ago: However, at the time, the previous boss was presumably still lucid and had the full backing of the PM members, which must have led Mori to believe the "most optimal" option to take him down was through force. Having no manpower of his own, Mori remembered his botched Undead Army plan during wartime and searched out Yosano ("3 years after the war" Ch. 66), which led to the breakdown of his and Fukuzawa's partnership. Upon Ranpo's invitation, Yosano (14) officially joined the ADA.

8 years ago: Without Yosano, Mori continued to bide for time while the PM's brutality continued. However, during this time the previous boss's illness grew worse (naturally? or did Mori poison him with something slow-acting as his plan B??) making his actions more volatile. Regardless, the previous boss started losing the trust of the PM members, as well as the PM's standing in the underworld due to increasing casualties. The time was ripe for a takeover.

It was then that Dazai (14) came into Mori’s care after a suicide attempt. Recognizing Dazai’s intelligence as an asset (and missing the fact that he can’t be trusted), Mori enlisted Dazai’s help to plan the assassination of the previous boss. Their plan carried on without a hitch, and Mori (32) succeeded as the Port Mafia boss (this might just be a hint towards Dazai’s real past; after all, people don’t send just any suicidal kid to the care of the mafia’s private doctor)

7 years ago aka the events of Fifteen LN: Mori had successfully removed the previous boss from power, but the succession was not smooth; he lacked trust from the factions still loyal to the previous boss, the mafia still lacked resources and talents due to the previous boss's action, and they were losing territories to rivals (Takasekai, GSS, Sheep). However, after the "Fake Predecessor" case, Dazai (15) and Chuuya (15) officially joined the PM and worked under Mori and Kouyou, respectively. With their help, Mori would go on to regain control and expand the PM.

Sometime during this period, Ango (19) joined the Port Mafia as a spy for the Special Division for Unusual Powers.

Two years ago, Ango went to Europe for business after he had been in the mafia for a year and gained their trust. (Dark Era LN pg 68-69, suggesting Ango joined the PM 3 years before its events.)

6 years ago, part 1 (Assassination King's Incident aka events of Stormbringer LN): Verlaine came into town looking for his 'brother' Chuuya (16). The resulting conflict resulted in heavy casualties for the PM, with 5 executive candidates (the Flags) and many ability users dead, and forced them to withdraw their influence significantly in the Yokohama underworld to protect them from the government's scrutiny. However, it was not a total loss: laying low would later help them through the DHC, they gained yet another government-level secret weapon in Verlaine (though his ability was significantly weakened), and Chuuya now knew how to activate Corruption (this can also be considered a turning point that secured Chuuya's loyalty to the PM as well as continued to build momentum for Soukoku's later infamous partnership)

6 years ago, interlude: Dazai (16) went undercover to investigate the rumours of a powerful figure in the city and ended up establishing a friendship with Oda. Upon Dazai's invitation while they were drinking in Lupin, 'Odasaku' (21) joined the Port Mafia (The Day I Picked Up Dazai, Side A short story.)

6 years ago, part 2 (Dragon's Head Conflict): An 88-day war occurred in Yokohama's underworld over a 500 billion yen inheritance. Due to laying low since the Assassin King Incident, the PM got away with the least damage in the beginning of the conflict. During this time, Dazai and Oda befriended Ango, thus began the trio's friendship until Dark Era. The Special Division brought in Shibuwasa (23?) intending to end the war, but he turned on them, started his own organisation, and made the casualties worse in his quest to acquire ability gems. He was eventually confronted by Dazai and Chuuya (16) and believed to have died when Chuuya used Corruption (Dead Apple multiple adaptations). This was implied to be the first time 'Soukoku'/Double Black term was coined ("[Chuuya and Dazai] destroyed an entire organization in one night" - Ch. 30) and marked the end of the DHC.

After the end of conflict, [the Port Mafia's] influence expanded rapidly in the burn-out underworld. Like a young tree after a forest fire that was remarkedly growing without the sunlight being obstructed. (Stormbringer LN, translated by @/Chibikko_Chuuya)

5 years ago: unknown (please ask twitter user @/kafkaasagiri)

3. Dark Era and Present PM (4 years ago – Present)

Members update: Sakaguchi Ango (intelligence agent, defected), Dazai Osamu (executive, defected), Nakahara Chuuya (executive), Paul Verlaine (executive)

Members initiated, by chronological order: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke & Gin (Dazai's subordinate, Black Lizard), Kajii Motojirou ('Sneering Lemon Incident'??uncertain), Tachihara Michizou (Black Lizard, Hunting Dog spy), Higuchi Ichiyou (Akutagawa's assistant), Izumi Kyouka (assassin)

Members lost: Sakaguchi Ango (defected), Oda Sakunosuke (killed by Gide), Dazai Osamu (defected), Izumi Kyouka (defected), Ace (executive, suicide by Fyodor), everyone? (vampires???)

4.5 years ago: Dazai (18) was made executive, the youngest in mafia's history. On the same day (The Heartless Cur short story), he professed to come across the news that a PM sub-organisation killed all of Akutagawa's friends and after baiting them to kill each other, successfully invited Akutagawa (16) and his sister, Gin, to join the PM.

(Note: the "4.5 years" was taken from Beast manga, where the same event happened except Beast!Dazai rejected Akutagawa to take Atsushi as his protégé instead. Since it is assumed Beast!Oda picked up Akutagawa the same time as canon!Dazai picked up Atsushi by the river, the length of time should apply as well?)

(to be confirmed) According to the order of events listed chronologically at the end of Stormbringer LN, a 'Sneering Lemon Incident' was supposed to take place between Dazai's promotion to executive and Mimic Incident. This might be when Kajii was recruited to the PM.

4 years ago aka events of Dark Era LN: Mimic came to Yokohama after getting Ango (22)'s information, which was actually manipulated by Mori (36). Everything went according to Mori's plan: the spy Ango was removed from the PM after exhausting his usefulness as a Special Division liaison, Mimic was removed with minimal casualty as Oda (23) would not have contributed much to the PM when he refused to kill, and the PM obtained the Skilled Business Permit, which would free them from most government interference and basically solidified their uncontested position as ruler of Yokohama's underworld. It is heavily implied Dazai (18)'s defection was planned as well, though Mori's reason was never stated definitely.

The organization had received an item of great value, something that more than made up for the total pecuniary damage and loss of talented subordinates. That included Dazai's disappearance as well. Logically, the results couldn't have been better. Everything was going according to plan. (Dark Era LN, Mori's PoV)

(The surface meaning of the above quote suggested Dazai was another calculated loss like Oda, while Dazai said Mori was afraid he would be usurped by Dazai. However, the words "logically", the fact the position is left open for Dazai, and how Beast manga implied Mori wanted to 'save' for Dazai, could also suggest Mori saw Dazai was getting worse the longer he stayed in the PM and wanted to kick him out for his own good?? Debatable.)

Interlude: Sometime after Dark Era, Tachihara joined as a spy for the Hunting Dog to replace Ango's position as the designated government spy, and Higuchi joined as well (reason unknown). Sometime after that, Chuuya (age?) was promoted to executive position, as Akutagawa and Higuchi were seen already working together when he received his gift from Mori for the promotion. At some point before present, Verlaine (age?) was also promoted to executive.

Present: Yay, we finally reached present timeline! Taking the final count of members before the Decay of Angels arc, by rank:

The PM boss: Mori Ougai (40). Role: everything

The Five Executives:

Dazai Osamu (22) (defected). Known roles: former Mori's right-hand man, former leader of Guerrilla Corps (The Heartless Cur short story), in charge of mafia's merger and acquisition of new businesses (Stormbringer LN)

Kouyou Ozaki (26). Known roles: Managing mafia's business ties and front organisations (Fifteen LN), in charge of the mafia's interrogation units (Ch. 19), combat when the situation calls for it (Stormbringer LN, Cannibalism arc)

Nakahara Chuuya (22). Known roles: Mori's current right-hand man(?)/next-in-command (Cannibalism arc), combat when the situation calls for it (suppressing uprisings in the west - Ch. 11, Soukoku - Ch. 31, Dead Apple, Cannibalism arc), formerly in charge of the mafia's jewellery trade (under Kouyou - Stormbringer LN)

Paul Verlaine. Known roles: ?? (side job: basement dweller assassin trainer)

Ace (deceased). Known roles: managing the mafia's casinos and finance

The Guerrilla Corps: previously led by Dazai, currently led by Akutagawa (20). Higuchi is a member and acts as Akutagawa's right-hand man. Follows orders directly from the boss.

The Combat Unit (Black Lizards): Led by Hirotsu (50) ('Commander of Hundred') with subunits led by Tachihara (19) and Gin ('Commander of Ten'). Acts as the offensive arm of the PM, follows orders from the Guerrilla Corps members and boss & executives.

Unknown rank: Kajii (28), Q/Yumeno Kyuusaku (13)

Other known roles/units:

Mafia's personal informant: previously held by Ango. Liaise with/spy on other crime syndicates. Answer directly to the boss, unaffiliated with the executives.

Accounting firm: in charge of money laundering, bookkeeping and the PM's banks. A senior accountant may be very well-respected among high-ranking members.

"The accountant you killed at the bank - he was a senior in the profession who had devoted himself to our organization for many years. He was highly trusted among the executives. The boss will probably attend his funeral as well. I, too, was personally acquainted with the man." (Akutagawa, 55 minutes LN)

Medical team: former member, Doc. "Extraordinarily valued and favoured" unit in the PM, due to Mori's past.

Public Relations Officer: previously held by Lippmann. In charge of negotiating with front companies, government officials, and the media.

Vehicle support: previously held by Albatross. Supplies and manages transport for all PM members.

(now it's time to keep up with manga updates and hope they're not all dead by vampirism 💀)

[knockyasocksoff2022]

More Than You Know \\ soukoku

Chapter VII: The Funeral

POV: Chuuya

(4,636 words)

(A/N: sorry the wait has been so long)

I didn’t dream at all. (Well I know I must have dreamed, because humans always dream, no matter what, but I don’t remember whatever it is I dreamed, so it doesn’t matter.)

Kouyou was surprised when I was already up and ready before she came to wake me.

It’s an early morning funeral, the sun isn’t even up yet, but we are, because we have to drive all the way outside the city to get to the chapel. Thanks Osamu.

Kouyou looks beautiful in the billowing fabric of the kimono. It ruffles in the wind as we wait for the car Akiko sent to pick us up (sometimes I catch myself forgetting just how rich the Moris are, and then something reminds me), but my suit clings uncomfortably to me. Clothes like a second skin? As if! I only ever needed one skin anyway.

-

The car ride is quiet, the only conversation being the driver introducing himself to us as Natsume-san.

-

When we step out into the cemetery, I can barely see my feet from the fog covering the ground. We’re some of the first people here besides the Moris of course. I see Akiko and Mori-san in front of the chapel, standing next to a group of people I don’t recognise, but they all look related to the Moris, except for three, a kid and a man with white hair, and a young guy wearing a cape and a hat, like he’s some sort of news boy from England.

Kouyou walks quickly over to Akiko, but I don’t let the group see me, instead wanding off in between the graves. Eventually when I’m far away enough, but not too far to be lost, I stop, looking around, unsurprisingly there aren’t many good spots for chilling in a graveyard. There’s a lone tree on top of a short hill separated from the rest of the cemetery by a small stream and bridge. I walk across, hoping to rest under the tree, at least for a moment.  When I get to the top I see the open patch of earth, a place where someone will be buried soon. The headstone reads: O. Mori. 

I stumble backwards, tripping and landing on my ass, almost rolling down the hill, only stopped by another headstone. 

How, how? Of all the graves in this cemetery, how did I end up right next to his? I stand up, dusting myself off. I’ve disturbed some of the earth on the grave I tripped over, so I say a quick apology to its owner, an S. Oda, and speed walk back to the chapel. 

(A/N: Yeah Oda is dead in this universe too, sorry everyone *evil author laughs*)

But I must have gone farther than I thought because even with my quick pace it takes me a few minutes to find my way again, still shaken from the fall.

When I do see the chapel again, it’s different. Everyone’s here. I mean everyone, Mori-san must have invited the entire grade, like this is some kind of party. No one’s noticed me yet, but they’re bound to. Something about it makes me want to run again. (Imagine it. What would you do if you were confronted with your entire grade all dressed in black, at a funeral for someone you didn’t know better than a classmate. Are you expected to be sad, or happy to see your classmates?) I haven’t cried for Osamu’s death, am I expected to? Will they think I’m a freak if I don’t?

Not that I’m very happy to see my classmates, I still don’t have many friends, figuring it was better to focus on studying since they’re all out of my league anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many designer clothes before today.

There's a low chime of the chapel bells and everyone heads inside the big wooden doors. I don’t see Kouyou anywhere, she must already be inside. I blend with the crowd, hoping nobody will say anything, even if I can’t hide very well because the black suit only makes my hair more prominent.

When I get through the doors I do spot my sister, she’s looking around nervously, probably thinking I ditched. I’m kinda offended that she would think that but I don’t blame her. Then she catches sight of me. She plasters a smile on her face that only I know the true implications of. (“Okay, that’s fine, do what you like, I’ll just beat you later” look) I hurry to sit next to her, she practically presses me flat into my seat, my ass hitting the pew so hard it sends a lick of pain all the way up my spine and into my neck. I suppress the swears rising in my throat.

The proceedings are short, me trying to keep a neutral look on my face the whole time (I guess a look of pain would be appropriate since this is a funeral, but I don’t want to seem like I’m faking to be dramatic.)

A minster speaks, the standard funeral spiel. I think I even remember some of the exact words from my parents’ funeral, but it was 11 years ago so I’m not sure. Akiko is crying beside Kouyou, the same way she did that first night. Kouyou squeezes her hand.

After the official blessing is over Mori-san takes the podium and says something, then Akiko, then two kids, slightly younger than me, who look related to the Moris. They’re all talking about memories they had with him, how he was struggling with bipolar depression (?) Osamu was depressed? I don’t hear the white haired man, or the newsboy, because I’m so busy trying to riddle it out. He never seemed sad, surely I would have noticed, since he always insisted on being around me all the time. He never seemed sad . . . except for last Friday.

I don't hear their tears. I don’t hear anything, just “Goodbye Chuuya” over and over and over again. I know the speeches from friends will come next. Who will they have speak? Osamu had no friends. Maybe those kids he tutored. 

Sure enough it’s them, but they all go up at once meaning they don’t have much to say either. Did no one know Osamu, surely someone had to? The four of them crowd onto the small podium and the Tanizaki boy takes the mic.. “Um, hi. I’m Tanaizaki Junichirou from grade 9. I didn’t know Mori-senpai very well, he was only my tutor, but he was always good to me, and the other kids he tutored. He was always doing funny, if slightly concerning things, and he knew exactly how to explain subjects so the concepts made sense and he was so patient when I made even the stupidest mistakes-s-s, I-I’m sorry.” the boy apologises as he bursts into tears, “I just wish that he was still here. I’ll just go.” His sister helps him down and the white haired boy takes the mic. 

“I’m Nakajima Atsushi, I’m also in grade 9, but I go to Suribachi High. I’ll be transferring to Kafka Academy for grade 10. ” He's already crying. “Mori-senpai was like an older brother to me, he helped me get settled into school after I moved here a few months ago, he showed me that it was okay to be myself to live freely for myself. He helped me deal with my own depression. And after . . . my dad died, even when he was dealing with the loss as well, he helped me. He was so strong to shoulder all of that grief all on his own, I’m just sorry I dumped all of that onto him. Maybe if I hadn’t . . . maybe he wouldn’t have . . .” He cuts off with a sob, shoving the mic into Kunikida’s hands, and running out the door.

I don’t entirely understand Atsushi’s words. Were he and Osamu related or something?

Kunikida stands alone on the podium now, he’s shaking. Silence fills the chapel. After a few seconds, there are footsteps. A boy with messy dark hair and big round glasses joins Kunikida on the podium. He says nothing but I see him grab the blond’s hand. Kunikida starts to speak. 

“I didn’t know Osamu that personally, but the way I saw him interacting with others told me everything I needed to know. I didn’t like Osamu when I met him. He was lazy and had no pride in himself or his classwork, always cutting class, and flaunting his intellect by still getting perfect marks. 

When Osamu first joined the tutoring club I groaned. I thought he was just there to be pervy with the female foreign transfer students who were taking extra Japanese classes, but I was very wrong. 

As . . . goofy as he could be, he was an asset to the club. He had a gift for teaching. And whatever care he lacked for himself he showed double to his students. He used his smarts and spirit to help those who needed extra help, the very example of what an upperclassmen should be. 

I’m sorry he couldn’t see everything that made him a good person, I’m sorry such a contributing member to society got overwhelmed by the voices in his head. 

If I could’ve helped him I would’ve in any way possible because depression is a terrible thing and no one should have to suffer through it alone . . . but the truth is, I had no idea he was depressed. He was so good at hiding it, or maybe I was just too blind, but he always put his students first and if he was having a bad day I never knew because he was always kind. The world lost a quality person and for that we should all be sorry. Thank you.”

Kunikida steps down, still shaking he grips the other boy's hand tighter. I nod to him as they pass my row. He gives a slight nod back. Out of everything that was said I think that was the most beautiful, not because it made him sound like an angel, but because it didn’t. It showed Osamu as he was, (kind of an ass) and made him seem more human. Even if I never saw that side of him I can imagine it better now. It’s true he may have been awful but at least there was a reason. He gave all his warmth to his students, and there was none left over for anyone else, including himself.

When the boys are seated again the minster says we can pay respects. The Moris go fist. There’s more of them than I thought. Mori-san places a red book into his son’s casket, then lifts up a blond girl, so she can see her brother, she kisses her hand and places it on his cheek I think. (I can’t see the body since I’m sitting down). The next child doesn’t need lifting but they still stand on their tip toes. They leave a doll in the casket. Akiko takes Kouyou’s hand when she goes up. She whispers something and places a violin in the casket. 

Next the two kids who spoke after Akiko go. There’s a little girl with them, her hair in two pony tails, adorned with white lilies. They leave red lilies. They must be cousins or something.

I look around when they step down, waiting. Where’s Mrs. Mori? Where’s Osamu’s mother?

She never comes. What kind of mother misses her own kid's funeral, no matter how upset she is? 

None of the other students in the grade speak, some leave flowers, all white roses from the buckets the Mori’s put outside for those who didn’t bring their own. None of them go to see his body. I can tell none of them really want to, I’m sure I do either.

The chapel bell tolls again, the sound echoing off the white church walls. Everyone disperses, there’s something frantic about it, as if we’re all eager to escape.

I feel shut in tight, like a sardine in a can, pushed and herded towards the doors. In my effort to avoid the crowd I end up next to the open casket. At first I want to bolt again, but there’s a group of girls by the door so I stay put.

I can’t resist it, I have to look, have to see. Just a quick peek.

The casket is set up at the correct height for viewing so I only have to lean over to see him.

He wears a black suit, a black trench coat draped over his shoulder so he’s lying on top of it. The coat is too big, it must be his fathers. I can see the edge of bandages on his wrists. Akiko said he cut himself, they must have wanted to cover it. There’s an eye patch over his left eye, hiding the bruise from my punch. His hair is still a shiny fluffy black, they must have done something to him. No one looks that pretty when dead. It all feels so artificial. Did his younger siblings see his body before they did all this? Is it better they remember him this way?

There's a breeze and I swear I hear him again, “Goodbye Chuuya.” but it’s just the door opening.

An older man appears beside me, he wears a monocle and an old fashioned three piece suit, like something from those western detective shows Kouyou loves so much. 

“Goodbye, Osamu. May your soul be forever in peace.” He places a pink flower in the casket, it’s beautiful.

“What flower is that?” I ask before I can stop myself.

He turns to me, smiling, “A pink camelia. His mother’s favourite. Mori-san asked me to place it.”

“Oh. Are you Osamu’s grandfather?”

He laughs, amusement twinkling behind his monocle, “Me, no. I’m the Mori family’s driver. But we are very close, they treat me like family.” his gaze turns curious, “Are you a friend of Osamu’s?”

I don’t answer him right away, I can’t. “I don’t know.”

He smiles again, patting me on the head, “Well I would say you are, if you’re in here. I saw the way most of those children rushed out, no respect for the dead.” He shakes his head, looking sadly at Osamu’s body. “If you’re staying to pay respects he must mean something to you, no?”

“I guess.” It’s a shit answer, and I know it, but I can't exactly tell him I just wanted to see the body. In fact I’m not even sure why I wanted to see it, just that I had to.

He gives a sad smile and starts to walk out but then stops, “I can see why you’d want to stay in here, but you should come out. I think the Moris would like to hear from a true friend of Osamu’s.”

I freeze.

What should I say?

Before I can answer he’s outside, in the crowd of people offering condolences.

I look at Osamu again, his eyes forever shut, mouth forever closed. They say the dead look peaceful, but he doesn’t. He looks empty. He’ll never smirk, smile or cry again, he’ll never do anything again. Is this really what he wanted? Does he think he’s free? Is he laughing at me from up there? Or is he sobbing, his soul still unfulfilled?

Shit, I sound like Kouyou now.

I planned to stay inside but I can hardly stay in here with the body after that.

It’s cold, too cold for this time of year. I stand on the church steps (marble, like the ones at school), just under the roof, watching everyone, catching snippets and fragments of conversations. 

They talk amongst each other, lots of comments about the food, everyone says sorry for your loss at least once, but they all look confused, as if they don’t really understand why they’re here. They didn’t know him. But still, do they just not care, even after hearing his family and friends speak? 

After thirty minutes almost all of the grade is gone. 

I note who’s still here. Kunikida, the Tanizakis, Atsushi and a young blond boy I think I saw when I was coming into the chapel. Kafka Academy is big, but there's something about him that tells me he doesn't go there. Osamu’s cousins are standing with them and the young blond boy is holding the hand of the girl with the white flowers in her hair.

Mori-san is still here, of course, he stands with his two youngest  talking with the white haired man and the newsboy but I can’t hear what they’re saying.

Akiko, stands apart from everyone, her arms are wrapped almost desperately around my sister.

I walk over to Mori-san, and as I draw closer I can hear the child who left the doll in the casket, they’re arguing about something with their father. They stop, mouth still open when they see me. The newsboy walks away to join Kunikida and the others.

“Nakahara-san, it’s lovely to finally meet you.” He holds out his hand for me to shake.

His words make me stop, the “sorry for your loss” dying in my mouth. Did Osamu talk about me?

I must look surprised because he withdraws his hand, “Akiko mentioned that Kouyou had a younger brother, and with your hair I figured you must be the same.”

“Ah, sorry. It’s nice to meet you as well. I’m sorry for your loss.” The words are thick and heavy like paste on my tongue. I’m not really sure I’d call it nice meeting Mori-san, but he seems like a nice man, and I am sorry for his loss.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to make up anything, we all know Osamu could be quite troublesome. We’re glad you're here all the same.” He’s tearing up as looks around at the few people left in the cemetery. He looks tired, weary, the same expression Kouyou wore for months when our parents passed. When you realise grief is an ocean and the earth is 70% water. ANd now you’re going to have to swim through it.

Mori-san’s son may have been a prick (I don’t know anymore) but he seems so normal, so kind, nothing like Osamu. He doesn't deserve this.

The silence is louder than it should be, wrapping around me, making me feel like I’m the one being embalmed, not Osamu. I know if I don’t break it soon, I’ll choke.

“I didn’t know Osamu had so many siblings.”

“Oh, yes. He was such a good older brother.” The white haired man speaks for the first time. He has a wise voice, fitting of his appearance. He’s the only one besides Kouyou in traditional dress, his black Yukta and Haori fluttering in the wind.

I can’t ask who he is before the blond girl chimes in,  “Yeah, he taught me all the dirty words.”

“Elise-chan!” Mori-san looks appalled and scoops the girl into his arms.

“Elise?” Even after years of English lessons, the western name doesn’t roll off my tongue easily.

“Yes, she’s named in memory of her mother whom we lost seven years ago. Elise was her last gift to the family, a little piece of her, so it seemed appropriate.”

“Oh, that’s so . . . sweet.” It feels strange to be complimenting Osamu’s father, a man who until now I’d assumed was just as much a snob as his son seemed to be, but it’s the only word I can think of. A heavy feeling fills my chest, I had no idea that Osamu had lost his mother. It’s one thing to grow up most of your life never knowing and not really remembering your mother, but he would have been eleven.

They say emotions make people do stupid things, so maybe I am grieving because I ask: “Is she buried here too?” Regret washes over me as soon as the words are in the air.

Mori-san closes his eyes, tears still flowing, and I regret my question even more. “Oh, no, her last wish was to be cremated . . . I wanted to have both their ashes next to each other, but Osamu left a note saying that he wanted to be buried here, and how could I ignore my son’s last request.”

An image of the note fills my mind, floating across the surface of bloodied water, red bleeding onto its surface from the wrists of the boy who wrote it, ink disappearing into the water, fading as Osamu life does. A risk that his last wish will disappear with him.

Of course that isn’t what happened. He must have put it on the floor beside him or something, like anyone would. I’m just being a dramatic moron.

“Of course . . . I wish I’d brought something . . .”

“Your presence alone is enough.” The white haired man says, his hand on Mori-san’s waist as if holding him up. Who is this guy anyway?

Osamu’s other sibling is glaring at me, hiding behind the white haired man. “Fukuzawa-san, make him go away.”

The man, Fukuzawa-san, smiles softly, “No, Kyu-chan. If Osamu mattered to him he has much of a right to be here as the rest of us.”

“It's okay.” I turn away right as the chapel bell tolls again.

There’s a man in a brown suit coming out of the chapel. Another relative maybe?

I can’t investigate because someone falls into step beside me. Mori-san. His hand is by his side. I take it, maybe to make up for my awkwardness earlier, maybe because even though Kouyou is just over there I feel alone here.

He squeezes my hand gently, “They’re putting him in the ground now, I suppose this is really goodbye . . .”

I nod.

As we walk someone else takes my other hand. It’s Akiko. Kouyou had her other hand, and when I look to either of my sides we’re all holding hands, like a big chain. Elise, Kyu, Fukuzawa-san, Mori-san, me, Akiko, and Kouyou.

We’re going back to that hill where I first saw Osamu’s grave.

-

The hill is small so we almost don’t all fit. The children go first. Elise, Kyu and then the blond boy and the girl with flowers in her hair throw a bit of dirt on the now closed casket. “You’re so strong, Kyouka. It’s okay to cry.” The blond boy whispers when the girl's tears start to drip into the hole as well.

The older of the cousins go next. Then the Tanizakis, then Kunikida. When it’s the Nakajima boy’s turn they have to pull his attention from another grave. The dirt is already damp with tears when it hits the casket. He sinks to the ground.

And then it’s my turn.

The minster hands me some dirt, the now bright sun glinting off his silver hair and glasses. I toss the dirt. Maybe I should say a prayer, but I don't know any.

Next Akiko and my sister go, and Mori-san and Fukuzawa-san, and finally the Mori family’s driver.

It happens spontaneously, but we’re all in a circle holding hands when they fill in the grave. I’m holding the young blond boy’s hand. Kenji, he tells me his name is. He has a countryside accent, I was right he isn’t from here.

After a final blessing from the minster we all walk back to the chapel. Kenji keeps holding my hand the entire way, Kyouka holding his other hand.

When the chapel comes into view I hang back a bit.

In the distance I see that man in the brown suit again, he lays a single match box upon the fresh earth. And then sits down between Osamu’s grave and that other guy’s. I watch him take out a glass, one that fancy people use for scotch and whiskey, filled with one of those probably and pours it over the man’s grave. He sits for a moment then leaves the glass, and starts walking this way.

Feeling a little creeped out I head back to the chapel.

Everyone’s saying their goodbyes, hugging. Sorry for your loss is heard once again. I don’t know anyone well enough so I just sort of stand there. Eventually Kenji, who’s been going around hugging everybody, hugs me. I notice the Nakajima kid getting into the car with someone in a brown suit. Isn’t his father dead?

I can’t make myself think about so much death.

There isn’t much to linger and talk about after something like this so within a few minutes everyone besides the Moris are gone.

-

The second youngest Mori child, Kyu, is marching up to me. Mori-san jogs to keep up with their pace.

They’re holding something but I don't have time to look before it’s shoved right into my stomach. I fall to the ground for the second time today. “It’s not fair!”

“Mori Kyusaku! Apologise right now!” Mori-san’s voice doesn’t sound as threatening as I’m sure it normally would.

Kyu ignores their father, “It isn’t! Why do you get his last words and we don’t? Why do you get to know what he was thinking? You don’t deserve that, you’re no one. We’re his family, not you! You weren’t even his friend! It’s not fair!!!” The kid raises their foot, about to kick me, I’m about to take it. Nothing they said is wrong, even if I don’t have any idea what they’re talking about.

Fukuzawa-san pulls the child back, wrapping them in his Haori as if they were an angry cat. They hiss as if they really are.

Mori-san bows, apologising.

“No, sir, please get up. It’s fine.”

Slowly the man rises to his feet, picking something up off the ground. A black book and a CD.

He has the smallest of smiles on his face, “Osamu willed these to you.”

“What?” I recognise that book. I look closer, it’s the one he was reading in class.

“Yes. The book is locked, we’ve tried to search for the key but we were unable to find it, even with the clue he left.” There's something almost conspiratorial about his expression. I don’t get it.

“Yes, but why would he give these to me? I-I’m not family. You all should have them.”

His smile grows ever so slightly, “I assumed you know the location of the key. Even if the two of you weren’t friends, you meant enough to him for him to will these to you, and that’s enough for me.” I have no idea what he’s implying or why he’s looking at me like that, as if trying to tell me something.

He hands me both the CD, book and a piece of paper, walking off to comfort Kyu.

I’m left standing all alone.

-

Kouyou finds me quickly. I can tell she’s reluctant to leave Akiko but there’s no point staying in this depressing place any longer.

“It’s been a long day, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go home, Chu.”

Natsume-san holds the doors open for us and closes them behind us.

The car ride this time is silent. I don’t even hear the sounds of other cars on the road. The book and CD feel heavier than elephants on my lap.

-

When we get home Kouyou disappears into her room to change out of her Kimono.

I do the same, forcing myself not to rip off the too small suit, but to carefully take it off piece by piece. It’ll need washing to get the dirt from my falls out but it’s otherwise unharmed.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I turn 360. Contrary to my fears, none of the suit fabric is in fact stuck to my skin but there’s a bruise forming on my back, blotches of yellow and purple painting themselves onto my skin. Probably from slamming up against the headstone.

I don’t know why, but I grab Osamu’s black book and hurl it across the room. It leaves a dent in the wall and flops to the ground.

I flop into bed, not bothering to put on a shirt. Clothing seems less and less relevant as sleep overcomes me.

[scorpionatori]

Natsume Yuujinchou Chapter 116 (“Younger Cousin” part 4)

Here's the last chapter, finally! As always, be aware there may be translation errors on my part but it should overall be pretty accurate to what's going on.

Mountain Youkai: How many times, for how many years and months has it been like this? I forgot long ago. Whatever I steal, whatever I eat, I’m only going to fade away. I let my feet lead me across unknown ground, but now I just wish to become part of the mountain. I listen to the north wind blow through the trees, and the noises of the forest. In the morning the migrating birds of winter pass through the sky. Sometimes at night, animals will howl in the distance. No one is left. I have nothing.

[There’s a rustle in the leaves, and the youkai notices someone coming. It’s Natori.]

Mountain Youkai: Ahh, at least there’s no light from the moon…

[Cut to present: Natsume is running down the hall, Nyanko-sensei clinging on to his back.]

Nyanko-sensei: Oiii Natsume, you can just leave that youkai alone. It was already driven away once. It’s especially not going to show up before an exorcist. If that strong attachment isn’t severed, the root of its evil will remain. You’re unfit to go through with the callous ways of exorcists. You trying to help this youkai will only make Natori’s heart waver. Protecting that youkai here is-

Natsume: [sternly] I know.

Nyanko-sensei: What are you trying to do for him? This will only make things worse. 

[Flashback to Mountain Youkai]

Mountain Youkai: Ahh, that man is here again… night after night… I wonder why he came this deep into the mountains to walk around… Did he lose his way? Did he lose something? Yet there’s just a tiny glimmer of light… I wonder if he can see me?... Hey… hey you, it’s dangerous, you know. There’s no moonlight to help you see. [she watches Natori] Hey, what are you looking for? Ahh, he came here from the valley on this moonless night. You better turn around and go home before you get hurt. Hey… hey you… can the voice of a youkai reach your ears… Listen to me… What are you looking for? I’m a youkai from the east who eats humans… [Natori slowly turns around to face her]. Now, I found you.

[Fade back to the present]

Natsume: –ru-san…

[Mitsuru is fast asleep at her calligraphy desk, surrounded by talismans. Natsume opens the door. There’s flashback narration of Mitsusu telling him about how abysmal she is at talismans, and how Natori just laughed about it. There’s a frame of Natori smiling while he stands by her with a calligraphy pen when he was in the illusion]

Natsume: –Mitsuru-san

Mitsuru: [waking up] Quiet, child.

Natsume: Mitsuru-san… Can you please explain?

Mitsuru: …About what?

Natsume: Your attachment to this house, why you were trying to be “Mitsuru”, what you told me about Natori-san, and for what purpose. 

Mitsuru: You really are a strange child. Open your eyes and see me for what I am. You don’t understand the danger you’re in.

Natsume: You told me that you want to become Natori-san’s ally. “Mitsuru” wasn’t his only wish. I… I remember your own words. [internal narration: Therefore, that existence is what Natori-san was so desperate to protect.] I don’t want Natori-san to exorcize you. If there was any way…

Mitsuru: Heh, for instance? Beg for forgiveness and serve him? I refuse to be rewarded the way those servants are. I saw the form of that man on a night stroll in the mountains as he was looking for something. The naive boy came every night. I watched him from the cover of a tree, hoping the moon would shed some light. If it would only shine just a little… However, that man turned around at the sound of a youkai’s voice. He was an exorcist… [there’s a frame from her perspective of Natori looking at her] It felt like he was staring at me forever. He was looking for me. The length of time, as well as my weary state, it didn’t matter if I was exorcized. But, I at least knew a name. If I quickly introduced myself with this name, I could show him an imitation. I’m wavering. I… am going to meet that gaze. Therefore, kind boy, I am no longer under the mere light of the moon. I will not become a tool like those servants. My name is “Mitsuru” [note: the kanji is now “deep” and “influence”. additional note: these kanji have multiple meanings but this choice seems most fitting for her character]. I feed on the deepest desires of my prey. That is my nature. I don’t know where I can escape or how much longer I have. Well, I guess, I want nothing except for him… 

[She smiles and disappears, with her talismans now fluttering around and falling.]

Hiiragi: Natsume. It was too late to prepare. It probably heard Natori’s voice calling.

Natsume: Hiiragi… could it have waited until our conversation was over?

Hiiragi: … That ayakashi… gave off the pleasant scent of flowers. It seemed to have escaped from somewhere. If not led out of the mountain, it was too weak to show itself. It gave up on attacking humans long ago. But still, it concealed itself with a scent. The stench ingrained deep in its blood wouldn’t go away. It wouldn’t change no matter where it went. It took much from humans. And thus, we will help our exorcist masters overtake it. We will not back down. Whether or not this awkwardness is something to ridicule, this is Natori’s greatest shame. I want to let him deal with this. 

[Natsume clenches his fist]

Hiiragi: …Being a familiar is a pitiful role. I do not want that reward. That’s what the youkai said. But we’ve made up our minds to serve till the very end. 

[Mitsuru arrives where Natori and the shiki are. She wears a camellia in her hair. Natori stands in the middle of a circle, holding a stick with a talisman. He looks at her slightly]

Mitsuru: Heh, your face is lowered. Please turn around to look at me, like the first time. Did you find what you were looking for? 

[Natori begins chanting]

Mitsuru: That time, I obtained from you the existence of the name “Mitsuru”, something tied into your family, the dim light of days past. I was gradually fading away. I thought I could lend a helping hand. None knew of your fortune that I found for you.

Natori: Enough with the pretense of kindness. Who’s the monster here? It seems I can’t grow to comprehend you. 

[He throws paper for the spell, and talismans swirl around her]

Natori: It would have been best if you hadn’t appeared before me that night. Don’t put on the anxious voice of a fickle human. Shouldn’t you have stayed hidden?

Mitsuru: No. In that case, I wouldn’t have learned your name. I couldn’t have spoken with you. I couldn’t have run while holding your hand. Therefore, once more now, I challenge you. That box… why did your uncle disappoint you by entrusting you with a secret of betrayal when he was about to leave? I wonder if it could be tied into the grudge against youkai. Or, searching for some hope for the Natori clan. If no one had remained here for a long time, if they had already given up without burdens to carry, I wonder if it hasn’t already been shown. If that’s the case, please come here just once. I can grant your wish. Time will stop like a frozen flower. Let’s sleep in an everlasting beautiful scene. You can meet this Mitsuru, and replicate the same scenery. We won’t have to put up falsehoods. Let’s stand and face problems together. Even without walking alone on a moonless night.

Natori: …That desire is my weakness. That wish can no longer come true. I don’t want that sentiment to only become my shortcoming. I don’t have a younger cousin. Mitsuru was an illusion. You are a youkai. I have made it my career to oppose you. 

[Talismans and flowers flutter around Mitsuru]

Mitsuru: …Ah, truly… those talismans are so beautiful and powerful. I can see my dream coming closer, that time of beauty. Wretched man-eater, whose heart trembled from the joy of passing the time with one she loves. I’m glad it was you who exorcized me, Natori Shuuichi-sama. 

[She disappears. Cut to Natori walking over to the entrance door after the exorcism. He sighs and opens it. An illusion or memory of Mitsuru appears.]

Mitsuru: Ah, you finally came. Welcome back, Shuuichi-san. Come in, quickly. I want you to show me how to make talismans. Hey, Shuuichi-san, I’m sure if it’s you—

[This fades out. Natsume sits on a porch outside. Natori goes over and pats his head.]

Natori: It’s over, Natsume. 

Natsume: …I’m sorry, because of my selfishness… nothing…

Natori: Not at all, it’s all okay, Natsume. 

[Natsume looks down, his face red. Natori smiles softly.]

Natori: Ah, I’m really glad you didn’t become an exorcist. 

Natsume: …You’re… 

[They look at each other.]

Natori: …I’m okay. I’m unable to have my way with various things I’m bad at, but just because someone’s burdened doesn’t mean they’re tied down. Nevertheless, I want to keep looking. 

[Natori grabs his bag and begins to head out]

Natsume: Hey, Sensei.

Nyanko-sensei: Hm?

Natsume: I don’t understand… Why did the uncle leave that sort of box for Natori-san… I don’t get it.

Nyanko-sensei: How should I know?! Let’s go, Natsume!

Natori: Now that it’s completely cold, shall we go grab something warm to eat?

Nyanko-sensei: [pouncing on Natori's back] Oh! That’s great! Where to, kid? [Looking at a charm written on Natori’s neck] What’s this weird mark on the back of your neck?

Natori: Oh… [covering it] It’s nothing… Just for protection.

Nyanko-sensei: Hm… 

Natori: Thank you for coming. I couldn’t have completed the mission without your help. 

Natsume: Ah, Sensei, Natori-san, this snow is… [looking at the paper dolls]

Natori: Haha, you’re right, Natsume, it looks exactly like snow.

[The paper dolls fall around the estate. The three familiars stand watching, and Hiiragi looks down at a camellia blossom on the ground.]

Natori: Thank you, Natsume. Let’s go back together.

Natsume: Yeah.

[Natsume notices a blossom on the ground and picks it up]

Natsume: Nato-

[Natori is already walking away. Natsume places the blossom in the stone lantern.]

Mitsuru(?): So, you’re an exorcist. …Hm? Your name is Natori? I’m… My name is—

THE END

[cesium-sheep]

boss wife takes kind of a weird approach to sex, when I’m used to reading a lot of bl. like there’s plenty of nips, but the single butt shot is censored with a word bubble, and they say things like “make love” or “sexy time” lol. it doesn’t look like it’s this writer’s first work, but it has some of the hallmarks of inexperienced writing. the way the setup is handled feels forced, foundational facts are introduced to us in a really weak tell-don’t-show fashion, and they include a specific flashback panel twice in the same chapter only a couple pages apart, which feels particularly clumsy.

the love interest definitely has some compelling elements to him, I’m generally fond of the “noble gangster” archetype especially when it’s one who clearly has a genuine softness so close to the surface. he’s set up so he’s supposed to have some complexity to him, but he still feels like a sketch character more often than I’d like. the easiest point of comparison I have is akitora from jealousy, but akitora’s a goofy exterior on a steel soul, whereas this guy feels more like a hard shell grown incompletely over a goofy center. and it’s kind of a rough spot to be in to be compared to one of my top 5 manga writers out of the dozens and dozens of series I’ve read, because how many people are going to be able to rival someone from the top 5? (4 implicitly lol, altho honestly I think I only actually have a top 4. scarlet beriko, natsume ono, suu morishita, and bisco hatori. manga in the us seems to be somewhat unusual in the way it cultivates loyalty to publishers, genres, and tropes far more than it does to individual creators (or repeated collaborative teams like suu morishita), but those four, I will get a manga just because it has one of their names on it. (although I suppose that’s not that unusual for american-made comics either. I was thinking more in comparison to novels in the us, where an individual creator is far more likely to have a following.))

the main character is a little hollow, she has a couple stated desires but no real shown desires. she says she really wants to earn a living as an artist, we’re told she used to stare covetously at a set of definitely-not-faber-castells all the time, but in the entire first volume we see her make one single drawing, immediately after being gifted a set of colored pencils by the love interest and at his explicit request as a job opportunity. it also feels like she has some fairly unrealistic expectations for the love interest, explicitly telling him not to act like a yakuza when they’re out together when he was literally born and raised into it.

anyway, I think it’s worth giving it another volume, although I feel like it’s showing a lot of cracks. no other way of knowing for sure whether those cracks will get better or worse. and there are also some really sweet moments. and inexplicably a lot of nips.

[osakaso5]

IDOLiSH7 End Of Year Story 2021: Idol Werewolf

~LIVE or HEAVEN~ Part 1: A New Year's Special!

Chapter Index

Momo & Mitsuki: Idol Werewolf ~LIVE or HEAVEN~!!!

Audience: Kyaaaa...!

Momo: Happy New Year, everyone!

Mitsuki: Happy New Year! Here's to another great year!

Momo: It's hard to believe New Year's Morning with Momo & Mitsuki is already in its 10th year...

Mitsuki Izumi: Especially since it's not.

Momo: Wait, it's not?

Audience: Ahahaha..!

Mitsuki Izumi: Nope. And besides, we just yelled out the actual name of this show. Let's do it again, one more time!

Momo: Sure thing!

Momo & Mitsuki: Idol Werewolf ~LIVE or HEAVEN~!!!

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Momo: Yaaay!

Mitsuki Izumi: Hold for applause!

Momo: For this show, we're bringing you a luxuriously dreamy cast to play a game called "Werewolf"!

Momo: Werewolf is a table talk game where we split into two factions: the villagers and the monsters!

Momo: The monsters are all hiding among the villagers, pretending to be on their side...

Momo: Which means there's no way of telling who's what! We have to talk to each other to find out who's an impostor!

Mitsuki Izumi: In the meantime, the monsters have their own rules to follow!

Mitsuki Izumi: We've got werewolves, who will kill and eat one villager each night! We've got fortune-tellers, who can reveal a werewolf's identity by doing a reading on them!

Mitsuki Izumi: We've got fox spirits, who won't die if they're attacked by a werewolf! They'll also cast a deadly curse on any fortune-teller who tries to do a reading on them, though!

Momo: With all these rules and roles, this game's gotta be really difficult!

Momo: But it'll be the perfect New Year's entertainment for all of you at home!

Mitsuki Izumi: Welcome, all you couch potatoes out there!

Audience: Ahahaha..!

Mitsuki Izumi: In any case... Werewolf's a pretty easy game, once you remember all the rules!

Mitsuki Izumi: I did a little practice match with Yamato-san and Nagi.

Momo: Oh, so you've already got some experience under your belt. How'd it go?

Mitsuki Izumi: It was a ton of fun! But it was also really hard!

Mitsuki Izumi: Yamato-san's a master actor, and Nagi's got a knack for scheming, so having them both beg for you to trust in them is insanely tough...

Momo: Ahaha! I bet it is!

Mitsuki Izumi: Especially since if I don't put my trust in either one of them, they'll both get all sulky.

Momo: Appealing to the other players' emotions is certainly one stategy to go for!

Momo: Well then, it's about time we introduced the participants!

Momo: Here's our first group!

Momo: IDOLiSH7!

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Riku Nanase: Happy New Year!

Iori Izumi: I wish you all a happy New Year.

Yamato Nikaido: Happy New Year.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Cheers!!!

Sogo Osaka: Happy...

Tamaki Yotsuba: No, not like that! We practiced this!

Sogo Osaka: C-cheers!

Nagi Rokuya: Yaaay! Happy New Year!

Nagi Rokuya: C'mon! Join me, Mitsuki!

Nagi & Mitsuki: Happy New Year!

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Yamato Nikaido: Happy New Year to you too, Mitsuki-san.

Mitsuki Izumi: Quit acting like we're strangers. We left the  dorm together this morning.

Tamaki Yotsuba: I'm here to eat New Year's grub! We got any?

Riku Nanase: Thank you for the money envelopes, Re:vale!

Momo: You guys sure are full of energy, like always!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Where's Yukirin, by the way?

Momo: He'll come out later! That's when we'll eat, too! In the meantime, go take a seat over there!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Awesome! Kashiwa mochi!

Iori Izumi: Aren't you supposed to eat that in May!?

Mitsuki Izumi: Sorry about all this noise...

Momo: I don't mind! Thanks for making things more exciting up here!

Momo: And here's our next group!

Momo: ŹOOĻ..!

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Toma Inumaru: Cheers! Here's to another great year!

Minami Natsume: Happy New Year.

Torao Mido: Happy New Year.

Haruka Isumi: Happy New Year! It's gonna be a great one for ŹOOĻ!

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Momo: Now there's a pack of wolves if I've ever seen one!

Toma Inumaru: Ahaha! Please don't cast suspicion on us right off the bat.

Mitsuki Izumi: That's actually the national concensus on you guys. It won't be official until later, though.

Toma Inumaru: The national what now?

Haruka Isumi: That sounds kinda scary...

Momo: It's nothing scary, we swear! Relax, and go wait over there!

Mitsuki Izumi: Here's our next group..!

Mitsuki Izumi: TRIGGER..!

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Gaku Yaotome: Happy New Year!

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Happy New Year! I hope the next one will be just as great!

Tenn Kujo: Happy New Year. I hope you'll continue to support us.

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Mitsuki Izumi: Happy New Year! What about you three, have you ever played games like this?

Gaku Yaotome: I've pinned the tail on the donkey, if that helps.

Momo: Pinned the tail on the donkey?

Gaku Yaotome: I've also got some experience with shuttlecock and spinning tops from some of our previous work projects.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Well, I typically played board games with my family before New Year's Day, rather than after it!

Tenn Kujo: You two do realize that werewolf isn't a traditional New Year's game, right?

Gaku Yaotome: Oh.

Momo: He's right, you know! We just felt like using it as the game for today's show.

Mitsuki Izumi: Considering you three are all actors, I bet you'll be really good at this!

Tenn Kujo: We'll be doing our very best.

Mitsuki Izumi: I bet you will! Go take a seat over there, please.

Momo: Then there's our last group! Momo-san, hurry on over..!

Momo: Got it!

Mitsuki Izumi: Our next group is, uh... You all know them! The big guys! They're just waiting to take to the stage... assuming they're ready!

Mitsuki Izumi: Re:vale! Come on out!

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Re:vale: Good evening!

Momo: Hello again, everyone!  

Yuki: Heheh... Happy New Year.

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Mitsuki Izumi: Happy New Year! What is it that you're chuckling about, Yuki-san?

Yuki: I figured Momo would be waiting over here with you, but then he suddenly dashed backstage.

Momo: I couldn't leave my darling alone, now could I!

Mitsuki Izumi: That's Re:vale for ya! Their love burns strong, as always!

Momo: Actually, he just told me to go walk on stage with me, because he didn't want to look like a loner.

Yuki: Maybe I should've snuck on stage with IDOLiSH7.

Mitsuki Izumi: I definitely would've loved to see that! How are you feeling about tonight?

Yuki: .........

Yuki: Victory is ours.

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Momo: Yuki, you're sooo dreamy..!!! If you end up being the wolf, then go ahead and eat me right up!!!

Yuki: OK, I will.

Audience: Kyaaaaaaa...!

Mitsuki Izumi: Thanks a lot for all the PDA, Re:vale!

Mitsuki Izumi: Now that everyone's here, let's hear that title one more time!

Mitsuki Izumi: On three! 1... 2... 3!

All: Idol Werewolf ~LIVE or HEAVEN~!!!

Momo: Thanks guys! Now, let's get started! 

To be continued...

[kym2020]

Shine▲Polyhedric Tri-Lights Covered in Hearts

The Tower Chapter 4

Tsumugi: Like biking and swimming, I thought I was one who wouldn't forget it after I learned how to do it.

Sora: HaHa~! HiHi~! HuHu~!

It's fun to skate on the ice ~♪ Like a figure skater, you'll want to jump!

Mikejima: Hahaha. Sora-san knows how to skate on the ice, isn't he? He looks more energetic than usual♪

Now. Let's see what about the other two?

Natsume: M~a, this is easY. I can't show everyonE an awkward appearancE of me in front of the public circlE.

I just don't want to make unnecessary effortS, but I'm not bad at exercisinG. Don't get me wrong therE.

Mikejima: Hō. Natsume-san that's perfect. Sora-san showing his unique physical ability, sometimes he tends to hide in the shadows, but his foundation is sufficient.

By the way, I can't see Tsumugi-san here... Oh, that figure caught by the railing at the entrance of the rink is...

Tsumugi: Oh, I'm okay...! You see, I can let go of the railing.

Wo-woah!?

Ahaha. I just fell down~...

Mikejima: That's surprising bad! Don't tell me that Tsumuigi-san can't skate?

Natsume: He looks like a newborn fawW. Where did the talk of his go until a while ago?

What's with that shaggy haiR? His hair is so shaggY, I'm so disappointeD.

Tsumugi: What is that prejudice...!?

I was confident until I slipped too~. When I was a little kid, I always skate normally.

I may have grown taller and can't move that much.

Mikejima: Hmm. Tsumugi-san is tall, so it may be difficult to balance the center of gravity. It's not a good or bad style? But alright, let me escort you!

Hold my hand Tsumugi-san until you regains your childhood sensation ♪

Tsumugi: Thank you, Mikejima-kun. Skating after a long time is so difficult, isn't it?

Like biking and swimming, I thought I was one who wouldn't forget it after I learned how to do it.

Maybe I can regain the old feeling if I slip a little. Until then...♪

Sora: HeHe~? Somehow, it feels like Senpai is dancing with the "Giant".

Natsume: If you say it lile thaT, then it's not ice skating anymorE.

Anyway, we just need to bring out the charM of the sportS at "Switch" through extracurricular activities. To grab understanD, I don'T think it would take us overnighT.

It looks like they're having fun over therE, what about uS, let's skate as to catch up to theM, Sora?

Sora: Yes! Let's skate together as not to lose to Senpai!

Mikejima: ...Fufu. The juniors are so energetic and envious of us?

Tsumugi: Ehe. Originally, this work was a project that Sora-kun said "I want to do this". Before I knew it, we decided the shape of "Switch" and was practicing now.

Sora-kun said at the [Magic Lantern]. "Switch" will show you a lot of beautiful things inside this world.

If the future of "Switch" is to introduce a lot of things that Sora-kun loves...

Then Sora-kun will introduce Parkour, which Sora-kun likes, and how to move the body.

Everything is a challenge, isn't it?

Mikejima: He seems to say cool things, but it's not convincing when a toddler say it right, right?

Well, should I say juniors-or rather, I agree that newcomers break our rigid wisdom.

The activity of "ALKALOID" during this time, and the fearless "Crazy:B".

It came from the outside mechanism that they took for granted, and vividly breaks the old tradition.

Should I say. In the precedent, was there something more accurate? "Trickstar" they're the one who broke the system of Yumenosaki Gakuin.

They are indispensable when talking about this topic.

Tsumugi: I agree. Various things did change there? Thanks to that, Echi-kun has become livelier than before.

Speaking of newcomers, Oukawa-kun was also one right. I feel that the atmosphere of Mikejima-kun has changed a little since the activity of "Double Face" increased.

It seems that you had something to protect and are doing "unit" activities more seriously now. Is this also the influence of your juniors?

If so, it would be very nice ♪

Mikejima: Hō. Tsumugi-san, you see him like that.

If you ask me, right after the establishment of ES, I was doing only the behind-the-scenes work, and I was reducing my activities as an idol of "MaM".

Since the formation of "Double Face", my idols work has been increasing little by little.  This is also thanks to Kohaku-san, wasn't it?

Tsumugi: I think it is ~ ♪

I also have to learn. I have to make sure that it doesn't hinder the growth of Sora-kun and Natsume-kun.

By doing so, I'm sure they will be inspired by me and I feel like I can climb higher.

Mikejima: A child of this age is growing each day. If you spends your time carelessly, you might be left behind by your juniors.

First of all, from skating. Should you not be able to skate properly?

Tsumugi: Yes.  I'll do my best...♪

「Sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ ᴛᴀɢs:

@keqinxx」

Planning to speed run the story translation if I can...

[infjsnightmare]

How You Met: Extra Style 2

A/N: This will contain one Manga Only Character and he is the first one on the list. The non-spoiler characters in this one are Ace, Katai, and Natsume. Francis is also in this one, but from season 3, so if you haven't gotten that far, it could be a spoiler. This might be the last in the series for now. At some point I might create some for the Beast side story, or if I read any of the others, or when the manga begins introducing more characters that don't die after one chapter...😅 Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this series!

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

Bram: Your footsteps echoed off the cobblestone walkway as you ran from the three men who had tried to rob you. Perhaps it was a poor time of night to go for a stroll, but that was neither here nor there at this point. Quickly turning, you headed towards an iron gate into the premises of a mansion that had long been rumored to be haunted. Maybe the thieves wouldn't follow you into the building? You quietly shut the door behind you as searched for a place to hide among the dust-ridden antiques. You saw a coffin, an odd piece of decor to be sure, and decided that it was as good a place as any other. When you reached to lift the lid, it flew open instead. Slowly sitting up before you was a pale man with long flowing locks and the most peculiar ears you'd ever seen. He held a hand to his head as if he had a migraine and gestured toward you with the other.

"And who is it, precisely, that dares to disturb my precious slumber?"

Francis: The slums were as run down as every as you made your way through, carrying as much food as your tote could handle. You'd always felt a strong pull to help those in need and this was the one practical way you knew how. Making your rounds of passing out food and drink to your usual suspects, stopping to make chit-chat along the way of course, you noticed someone out of the corner of your eye that you hadn't seen there before, with blonde hair and tired blue eyes. You made your way over with a bright smile to see if you could help at all. When you approached, you noticed how worn and ragged his clothes were, noting that they might be all he has. He looked up to your outstretched bag and seeing the smile on your face, gave you a small smile that seemed filled with sadness.

"Why, aren't you a kind one. Thank you. If it's not too much if a bother, would you care to sit and chat with a man who lost everything?"

Ace: This wasn't your first time at an underground gambling ring, but from the outside no one could probably tell. Normally, you'd be rolling in chips by now, but today you were down to you last few chips as a man with sharp violet eyes sat next to you, while the dealer shuffled your cards. He must be cheating, but however he's doing it, it's too subtle to catch. He flipped his pale hair out of his eyes as he viewed his cards, a small smirk gracing his lips. He must have a good hand. Letting out a frustrated sigh, you folded on you pair of 6s, hearing a slight laugh from him. He dropped his cards on the table, smiling playfully towards you.

"And to think I only had an Ace High. I see your almost out of chips, care to wager a date?"

Katai: You had a new apartment listed on your schedule for cleaning service. A rather serious sounding man had called saying that normally he would be cleaning this apartment, but his schedule wouldn't allow it and had booked with your company for the week. He had specifically said that this was a friend's apartment and not to allow him to talk you out of cleaning it. You weren't entirely sure of the legality of the situation, but money was money and the man had pre-paid. You made your way to the apartment and noticed an envelope with "For Cleaning Service" written neatly on the front. Inside was a key and list of all the things that needed cleaning. You entered the apartment, which you assumed to be empty given the circumstances, and began your cleaning. Opening the door into a main room you were greeted by many monitors, the ground littered with cup noodle containers and a man wrapped up in a futon, staring back at you from behind round glasses. His face immediately turned tomato red, scratching the back of his neck as he muttered.

"Kunikida must have set this up. Why wouldn't he tell me first? This is embarrassing, I'm incredibly sorry."

Natsume: You'd been searching the usual spots all day for the calico cat that you'd bring food for. You were sure that the cat had an owner, but your apartment complex didn't allow for animals, so interacting with other people's cats was the best you could get. It was such an unusual cat, too. It seemed far more intelligent than any other cat you'd met. Maybe the cat had stayed inside with its owner today? You hummed absentmindedly, giving up to return home, when you heard a loud crash down by a warehouse, as if an explosion had gone off. Hurrying as fast as your feet would carry you you rushed to the area to make sure that there was no one around that could have been injured. Seeing the smoke rise, you noticed a man walking out from near the building, dusting himself off. He was very peculiar looking with tri-colored hair and a slim pair of golden-brown eyes that felt so familiar to you. You shook the thought from your head as you rushed over to see if he was okay. Looking up, he had a strange look of recognition in his eyes, before he smiled to you.

"Oh, don't worry about me, I'm quite alright. I was just looking around for anyone who might have been caught in that blast, but it seems the place was empty."

[canariie]

baby, it’s cold outside

Rating: K+

Synopsis: “Well, he is a Hitsugaya after all,” Rangiku mused as she lit more candles. “Nothing will stop him with it comes to Momo.”

“Evidently so,” Toushiro grumbled. “I just wish it didn’t have to do with pushing me out of the way.”

...

It’s winter and it’s too cold for Toushiro’s son, leaving the white haired captain sleep deprived & at his wit’s end. 

Word Count: 3270 words

Setting: established relationship, many decades after the last Bleach chapter

Prompt: Hitsuhina Week 2021 Gift Exchange for @go-n-ef

Authour’s Note: I am so sorry that this is late! Thank you to @rays-of-fire-and-ice for being patient with me & allowing me to submit after the @hitsuhina-week gift exchange day!

@go-n-ef requested hitsuhina fluff with family, which IS MY JAM (if that is not obvious by now haha). I hope you enjoy it! :)

This is building off of a similar notion of Momo & Toushiro’s powers balancing each other, which I had introduced in an earlier Hitsuhina week 2021 submission, under the blue moon, except fast forward to a future where they are together & have more additions to their family ;) 

Enjoy!

---

“Taicho! Can we turn up the heating? It is frigid in here!” Rangiku groused as she entered the office. Little puffs of chilled air escaped her lips, almost as if winter had entered indoors. “If it continues like this, I’m going to have to wear a winter coat inside to work.” She doubled up her scarf and plopped herself down behind her desk, shivering in place.

“Good morning to you too Matsumoto,” the white-haired man said dryly, briefly looking up from his stack of reports. “Glad you could make it before noon.”

“It’s much harder to get out of bed now that the snow is piling up,” Rangiku defended herself, tightening her scarf. “If you increase the heating, maybe I’ll consider coming in earlier.”

“We’ve already used up our company’s expenditures for the month since somebody decided to spend it on an office party,” Toushiro retorted. “I suggest you bring in more of your own candles to work if the cold bothers you so much.”

The vice-captain huffed under her breath as she started rummaging through her desk for her scented candles. As she peered through the drawers, she cast a glance at her captain who was diligently copying down his notes. However, only her trained eye of being under his supervision for so many years could see that there was something wrong with him. From the tight grip on the brush, to the hunched shoulders and and the more prominent scowl on his face— Hitsugaya-taicho was in a foul mood.

Rangiku raised a delicate eyebrow at him. “What happened Taicho? You have bags under your eyes so black, you look like a panda.”

Though he had grown much taller and was closer to his matured adult form, he still couldn’t help the habit of sending an icy glare at his lieutenant. In normal circumstances, he would have reprimanded her for such a comment and told her to get back to work. However, they had worked together so long, Toushiro knew that she wasn’t going to let anything go.

His eyebrows furrowed together as he rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “Unfortunately,…I did not sleep as well as I would like,” he grumbled. A moment passed as he got his bearings together, before he muttered to the side, “I ended up being pushed off onto the floor.”

The look on her face was far more understanding than what Toushiro had anticipated. “Did you and Momo have a fight? I know she’s pregnant again and a bit hormonal but even that’s a bit much for her,” she quipped as she pulled out a candle from her drawer to light up.

Toushiro sighed wearily. “No, it’s nothing like that…”

There was a slight chill in the air as Toushiro closed up the veranda to their patio. Winter nights were his favourite time of the year as the world seemed quieter and more peaceful. No longer was there the hustle of the day where any minute could ring the alarm for battle. Instead, all the residents of Soul Society would light their candles and retreat inside, closer together in the warmth and refuged away from the frigid cold. It reminded him of his long night walks through the snow when he lived in Junrinan, a much simpler time when he felt like the only soul awake.

He could not enjoy the weather as well as he would have like for it had been a long day of back to back meetings with different divisions, leaving Toushiro without a break. So, by nighttime, he was more than looking forward to collapsing on the futon and sleeping next to his wife.

He entered their bedroom quietly, not wanting to disturb Momo who was already deep in slumber. Since she was pregnant with their second child, she fell asleep much earlier than him and would usually be passed out by the time he came home.

Another difference to his pregnant wife is that her reiatsu was much stronger while she slept. Momo had always exuded warmth, even from an early age. It wasn’t just her bright personality but her natural temperature was warmer than normal—as if the summer sun followed her wherever she went. That’s why it was only when she left their village that Toushiro’s reiatsu became unbalanced without her warmth to counter it—which almost ended up freezing his grandmother to death.

There was still a small part of Toushiro that feared he would do the same again, though he was much older and more in control of his powers. So, it gave him peace whenever Momo would stay the night at his place; after they got married, it alleviated his fears knowing that her warmth could fight his natural coldness—especially when they had their first child Natsume.

Toushiro walked over the crib to check on his son who was fast asleep with a small fist clutching his blanket, his little chest rising and falling gently. Though Natsume was about 2 years and already walking eagerly around, the white-haired man couldn’t stop staring at him in astonishment. Toushiro was happy that his son had inherited more of his mother’s features with his black hair and warm spirit. One of the few things he received from Toushiro were his emerald eyes, though he would have preferred Momo’s warm brown eyes. But it still sent a swell of pride knowing that he had a child with the woman he loved.

Toushiro slipped into their futon, moving himself behind Momo to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her against his chest. He inwardly cheered that he had finally reached his “aged” form—initially while he was not a fan, one perk was his ability to hold Momo who now seemed much smaller in his arms.

He buried his face into the back of her neck, taking note of the jasmine smell in her hair. With her in his arms, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

It was deep in the middle of the night when Toushiro woke up with a jolt, his eyes blindly searching around the room. Taking it for a bad dream, he instinctively moved closer towards Momo until he felt something intervene in between. Attached to Momo’s back was Natsume, fast asleep with his little fists holding onto her long hair. Somehow through the night, the boy had crawled from his crib and onto the futon in between his parents. The white-haired man felt his heart swell to see all his family together in one place. Toushiro moved to pull the covers over the three of them when he felt something like a barrier in between.

“What’s going on,” Toushiro murmured. He tried again to move closer but the barrier seemed stronger, pushing him away and fumbling off the futon.

Slightly annoyed, Toushiro picked himself up and pried the baby from his mother before placing him back in the crib.

However, this repeated for several nights with Natsume crawling out of bed and attaching himself to his mother. Even at a young age, his spiritual pressure was strong enough to ward off Toushiro—leaving him banished off the futon and to sleep on the floor.

“Well, he is a Hitsugaya after all,” Rangiku mused as she lit more candles. “Nothing will stop him with it comes to Momo.”

“Evidently so,” Toushiro grumbled. “I just wish it didn’t have to do with pushing me out of the way.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’ve tried it all! Blocking his crib with cushions, adding a space heater, placing his futon right next to Momo’s. Natsume still crawls in between and forces me off the futon!”

“Taicho…” Rangiku started slowly with trepidation, not used to seeing her captain all out of sorts. “Have you ever just thought…of buying a larger futon?”

He stopped in his tracks.

No, he had not. Something as simple as that had slipped his mind.

It must be the lack of sleep if his vice-captain thought of a better idea before him.

“You know, Matsumoto—you might be onto something.”

---

And that’s how the top two 10th division officers found themselves wandering through the town before settling on a futon store.

“Matsumoto, let’s be quick. We don’t want to leave the division for too long,” Toushiro warned, wary of being spotted out & about on company time. Though Kyoraku-soutaicho was much more laidback than the previous general captain, the tenth captain didn’t want to be risk being penalized.

“Nonsense, Taicho!” Matsumoto quipped. “This is of utmost importance—we are talking about your sleep here! We must resolve it, so you can be happy and the division—can ergo—be happy as well.”

“You just want to skip out on work,” Toushiro muttered dryly, but followed her inside with the bell chiming above their heads. The shop was a small intimate one, with stacks of mattresses lining up the walls, and leaving only a tight path towards the desk in the front.

A stout clerk was organizing papers and sent a dismissive glance up at Toushiro before glancing back down at his work. A moment lapsed where the two officers looked at each other before Rangiku moved to the front, sweeping her hair aside and batting her eyelashes. “Hi, I was wondering if you could help us with a mattress purchase,” she asked sweetly.

The clerk looked up again, and stopped in his tracks—making Toushiro roll his eyes. The captain was far used to the way that men behaved around his lieutenant and he had stopped trying to interfere a long time ago.

“How can I help you?” the clerk asked eagerly, not used to such attention from a beautiful woman. Rangiku smiled. “We were wondering if you had a futon, maybe a king size one, that would have a lot of room for two people,” she asked as she leant over, cradling her cheek in her palm.

“You two?” He looked them both up, taking in Rangiku fully before throwing a glance at Toushiro. “Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “She’s out of your league.”

“What…?,” Toushiro gritted his teeth. He was far from amused and had half a mind of pulling out Hyourinmaru and freezing this obnoxious man on the spot.

“I mean, it wouldn’t make sense if you two were together,” the clerk explained with a blasé attitude, sorting through some papers on the desk, oblivious to the rising fury on the white-haired captain’s face.  

“Hahaha he couldn’t handle me!” Rangiku laughed, clutching the sides of her stomach.

“Matsumoto!”

“I’m kidding of course, Taicho! Don’t need to be so uptight about it,” she lightly slapped his arm but it did little to move the stormy cloud that rested on his features.

--

“I don’t understand how those kinds of people could run these stores,” he muttered darkly as they returned back to the office. After Toushiro had frozen the nosy clerk quiet, the manager had appeared and with obsequious flourish, offered same day delivery at a reduced half price.

Rangiku dropped her bag on her desk before flopping on the couch. “Well Taicho, if you turn up the heat, then I wouldn’t say such things!” she commented as she tucked in herself with a shawl and blanket around her shoulders. “I’ll be better behaved when it gets warmer!”

Toushiro was about to retort a profane remark back when the door slid opened to a jubilant Momo holding a sleeping Natsume in her arms. “Hello Rangiku-san, Toushiro!” It was like a wave of summer wind as she walked in, exuding a welcoming warmth. She was dressed in a bright yellow maternity kimono, lined pastel pink cherry blossoms that Rangiku had bought for her. Her long hair was pulled back into an elegant chignon that did nothing short of highlighting her radiant smile.

“Momo-chan! It’s so good to see you!” Rangiku cheered as she immediately hugged her. “It’s too cold in here and Taicho won’t increase the heating!” Momo laughed at the glare that Toushiro sent the blonde’s way. “I’m glad I can be of assistance then!”

Toushiro watched as the two continued to embrace each other, with the sleeping baby tucked in the middle. After a couple moments, when he saw that his vice-captain wasn’t letting go of his wife, he cleared his throat. “Matsumoto, that’s enough—don’t suffocate her.”

The blond woman let go but remained with her arms around the shorter vice-captain. “Momo-chan, you should stay here! We could use your warmth in the office!” she exclaimed, pulling Momo by the couch.

She chuckled, “I thought I would stop by and check on you all! Hirako-taicho sent me off since there were too many division officers retreating to our office.”

Toushiro was about to interrogate her of which people were exactly coming close to his wife when the door was briskly opened again.

“Good day Hitsugaya-fuukutaicho!” the men chorused outside. Momo smiled widely at them, already used to this sort of behavior from her division. “I hope you all are doing well despite the cold,” she chirped as a few of the men sighed in content, like they were near a campfire. “It’s always a joy when Hitsugaya-fuukutaicho graces us with her presence,” one seated officer responded, the others nodding their heads enthusiastically in agreement.

Toushiro scowled at the gawking of his company men as they scrambled over each other to come closer to the edge of the door, and nearer to his wife.

“If you have time to be standing there, you have time to do the extra drills—outside,” he commanded. The lot turned to their captain to see his eyes flashing ominously ice blue. “Leave. Now.”

The two women watched with bemused expressions as the men scurried off, leaving the door wide open. The captain reverted his attention back to his paperwork, a deep frown etched onto his features.

“Rangiku-san, can you take care of Natsu-chan for a bit?” Momo whispered. “He fell asleep about an hour ago so he shouldn’t wake up soon.”

The blonde smiled at her, “Of course! Anything for my favourite nephew!” Momo handed the baby, carefully as to not disturb his sleep, into Rangiku’s open arms. She kissed her son on the forehead, affectionately brushing his hair. “Stay asleep Natsu-chan and don’t give your Aunt any trouble,” Momo whispered. The boy made a slight purring noise, but other that than made no other sign of waking up soon.

“Let’s leave your parents alone, Natsu-chan,” Rangiku said softly before quietly moving out and closing the door behind her.

The white-haired captain watched with a raised eyebrow as his wife sauntered towards him, a knowing smile in her eyes, before settling herself bestride on his lap.

“Ahh, I’ve wanted to do this for so long! Without your coolness, all the extra reiatsu has me burning up,” Momo mused as she snuggled closer, her arms encircling his waist. “I’ve missed you, Toushiro,” she murmured into this throat, sending shivers down his back.

He could only agree as he kissed her forehead, dropping the ink brush to brings his arms around his wife. “I’ve missed you too.” Pushing back the bangs from her forehead, he pulled back to look over her face. “How are you feeling?”

“We’re both in excellent shape!” Momo flashed him a dazzling smile and he couldn’t help but follow with his own. “Isane-san said that it’ll only be in a couple of weeks’ time that we get to meet the baby!” She looked down fondly at her belly, holding it maternally. It really had been so long since he last held her like this, and the warm reiatsu was slowly melting away his earlier sour mood. It was also a peaceful repose to have some alone time with his wife—which he didn’t realize how much he had needed before.

“However well I am, we must talk about this.” Momo pulled back as she gestured around him with her hands, the ring on her hand sparkling in the light.

Toushiro furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

Momo traced her fingers below his eyes, the sensation reminding him of being near a lit candle. “Shiro-chan, you haven’t been sleeping well. You look so exhausted and I’m worried about you.” Her bottom lip stuck out as she pouted. “Is it because of my reiatsu?”

“Of course not!” Toushiro sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “The warmth doesn’t bother me at all,” he admitted wearily. He was quiet for a moment as he debated internally what to say. “Natsume…has been crawling into bed and has been attaching himself to you. He’s also formed a barrier against my cold reiatsu so it…pushes me out of the futon,” he grumbled to the side.

Momo blinked before giggling. “Toushiro, are you sulking?”

“I am not,” he said petulantly. But the look in Momo’s eyes said she didn’t believe it. “I’m…afraid that I will be too cold for the both of you,” he admitted softly, not meeting her warm brown eyes. “If my son doesn’t want to be near the cold, who’s to say that the baby will not want to be near me.”

“Oh Toushiro…” Momo cradled his face with her hands, sending warmth throughout his cheeks as she tilted his head down towards her. “Your reiatsu may be of ice but that doesn’t mean your heart is like that.” She moved forward to kiss his cheek. “I love you for the coolness that you bring, and Natsu-chan does too—as will the new baby.” Momo moved his hands back around her again as she leaned against his chest. “My safest place is in your arms—and there is nowhere else I would rather be.”

She stroked his skin, lazily drawing patterns under his collarbone. “We work as team, Toushiro. My heat balances your coolness and vice versa. Without you—I would probably end up melting people,” Momo joked. He smiled at the visual, knowing that she was exaggerating to alleviate his real fears. However, with the warmth of Momo’s reiatsu and her tucked in his arms, he could feel a surge of relief flood through his whole body, easing the anxiety that was at the back of his mind.

He pulled her closer in. “Thank you Momo.”

They stayed like that for a while, with his chin on top of her head and a hand on top of her belly. Toushiro could feel a strong power moving inside, almost like they were appreciative of the cold rieatsu.

“Also, Toushiro, it’s winter now so of course Natsu-chan wants to sleep next to me!” She smiled brightly at him. “When it’s summer, you’re going to have me and the kids holding on to you to stay cool!”

He chuckled, but felt lighter inside at the prospect. “So I assume it was still worth it to get the bigger futon.”

Momo suddenly turned bashful, reminding Toushiro of when they had first start dating. She fingered a lock of his hair in her hands. “Well,” her smile turned puckish. “Natsu-chan is still asleep…we could go test it out.”

Toushiro raised his eyebrow, not used to seeing this side of her. “What are you trying to imply, Momo?”

She blushed. “I’m saying, we have some time for the two of us…”

“To do what?” he teased.

Momo pouted at him in exasperation, “I mean…” she pushed herself up and whispered in his ear. Toushiro’s ears turned red.

“Matsumoto!” he called out. “I’ll be taking my break now!” Momo giggled as Toushiro stood up in one swift motion, with her cradled in his arms, as he moved them both to their private quarters.

---

Authour’s Note: I headcanon that external & internal factors affect Toushiro & Momo’s reiatsu. For Toushiro, probably with winter, his reiatsu & powers are much stronger, which would probably make him colder to others. Momo on the other hand, can withstand this and would probably enjoy it more because, when she’s pregnant, she’s warmer than normal— allowing them to perfectly offset each other when they’re hotter and colder than usual :)

And again, I think there will always be some anxiety with Toushiro freezing the people he loves to death, especially if he were to have his own family. I think with Momo he has some ease, but with his children, it can still be anxiety inducing — especially if he’s worried that he would be too cold with them.

Safe to say, Hitsuhina needs each other!

[treecakes]

Taki Tōru for the character thing!

taki!!! yay!! i don’t post enough abt her...

favourite thing: i love her enthusiasm and curiosity (specifically abt youkai, but also in general she’s just a very curious person i think)!! it’s such a fun character trait and it adds to the main cast of characters in natsuyuu nicely. also a big fan of how midorikawa introduced the concept of her being a foil for matoba by way of the taki & matoba chapter. (off topic: i cannot imagine being natsume there i would have lost it i think)

least favourite thing: she’s often sidelined for the other main characters :( like i think we all know why (she is one of the few female characters in the series) but it still sucks. i wish midorikawa would write more chapters about her. she’s a fun character and i would like a pov chapter for her someday. especially since she is a character that, despite being someone natsume can rely on in regards to youkai, her whole character isn’t about him (unlike tanuma 😔)

fanon pet peeves: okay besides the entire fandom ignoring her existence 90% of the time, most people tend to give her a lot of tanuma’s traits (being observant (....she is not that observant, especially when it comes to reading others), being overly considerate, etc.) when in reality despite being a very smart character (as seen in the face of the noren arc) she isn’t very people smart. i am also going to blame some of this on the anime as the anime Also does this (sometimes giving her some of tanuma’s lines too???). which is annoying. also a lot of the fandom kind of reduces her character to being a cat lover which is also annoying because she is much more than that :)

[everythingsinred]

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Mikan (pt. 14)

Hi, friends! We've gotten so far into the manga and have watched Mikan's feelings intensify without her knowledge. Today we will discuss the Christmas Ball Arc, which will introduce romantic themes for Mikan in a way she can't shrug off as easily this time. Cheek kisses, accidental kisses, really long kisses in trees... It's a big night for her!

I feel like I might not have been the only one anticipating this particular post, so I hope you all enjoy. Please go easy on me. You have no idea how nervous I am posting these.

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Chapter Forty-Eight

Finally--the Christmas Ball Arc! This long awaited (by me) event has finally come to Alice Academy! Mikan is easily impressed by her surroundings and the cake she helped with. We go through the typical line-up to see what all the costumes look like this time and to give Mikan an excuse to hang out with all her friends. She even sees Natsume briefly, though he sours things by sticking his tongue out at her. She knows quite a few people on the stage during the representative’s address, but it’s Natsume who stands out to her. She still doesn’t understand all the mystery around him, so he’s intriguing for that reason (like we still don't really know what he's doing onstage). Also, she has a crush on him, which makes him stand out even more.

He's so special and important! That's why he's on a stage!

The Masquerade Ball is another great hook-up event of Alice Academy. There’s an in-depth tradition regarding the switching of masks and confessions and staying together forever, but there’s also a dark side: if your mask falls off when you’re dancing, then you’ll lose something important to you. Hotaru’s logic is to just not dance then, but Mikan finds the tradition terrifying, even if she doesn’t really understand what it means. This will be important later which is why I’m bringing it up now. 

Mikan is introduced to more customs and traditions until she notices Youichi, who’s lost his teddy bear. He perks up when he gets attached to Mr. Bear, but Mr. Bear does not want to spend time with a toddler when he has a job to do. But Mikan owes Youichi a favor from Natsume’s birthday, so she’s forced into the position of negotiator. This obligation is what makes her try to make a deal with Bear, but there’s something else that makes her decide to clean up the party in Bear’s stead so he can hang out with Youichi.

Natsume cares about Youichi. 

Natsume isn't even here, but the fact that Natsume cares about Youichi is enough to get Mikan to make the deal with Mr. Bear.

It’s something Mikan doesn’t want to do. She’s been looking forward to this party for a long time and making this deal means she won’t be participating as much. But Natsume looks out for Youichi. They’re both in the DA class, they both suffer, and Natsume takes care of him. So even though Mikan is doing this out of kindness and to help Youichi, it’s undeniable that she’s also doing it for Natsume.

She stays upbeat, even though this job sucks, and she refuses help because she doesn’t want anyone else to miss out on the holiday fun. The gig isn’t half-bad, though, when she can see Youichi is happy. 

Eventually, her gig becomes unnecessary: Hotaru has started issuing littering fees (capitalistic profiteering off of environmentalist efforts is okay when it’s her) and Mr. Bear ran away from Youichi anyway. So Mikan is chilling out on the terrace to catch her breath before going back inside.

Mr. Bear ran away, but Youichi still wants to thank her. He does so by pulling her hair and then kissing her cheek. It’s innocent and sweet, so Mikan just giggles. A pleasant little surprise to make the cleaning business all worth it. But then Ruka kisses her on her other cheek, thanking her too.

Thanks for what, exactly?

But she didn’t really do anything to prompt thanks from him, and that kiss didn’t feel like Youichi’s. That’s Ruka’s command: to keep that kiss a secret between them.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Mikan is freaking out. She’s confused by romance and has never been “pursued” in this way. I use the word “pursue” hesitantly because Ruka is ten and all he did was kiss her on the cheek. It’s hardly a marriage proposal or even asking her out. But even though it came at the tail of Youichi thanking her and kissing her, Mikan can tell there’s romantic intent. Mikan might be oblivious for the most part, but I think this kiss gave her a pretty good idea about how Ruka feels. After all, his kiss felt unprompted and much more serious than Youichi’s.

I think part of Mikan's discomfort about romance, particularly in this moment, aside from the fact that she's only ten, is that Ruka liking her romantically would complicate their relationship. She doesn't know anything about romance or romantic feelings or how to tell how she feels, so Ruka acting in a way that suggests he likes her makes her nervous. He likes her. So does she like him? If she does, are they supposed to date or something? If she doesn't, is she supposed to tell him? How is she supposed to tell the difference between romance and friendship? It makes sense that Mikan would freak out so much.

Mikan may be pretty oblivious to romance, but it's partially because she doesn't really want to understand. Despite that, she can still tell the difference between a toddler kissing her out of gratitude and Ruka kissing her out of... something else.

It doesn’t help that Hotaru becomes cold with her when she figures out that Mikan is keeping a secret from her. They’re supposed to be best friends and best friends don’t keep secrets but Ruka commanded her.  

(Also, Hotaru can tell the secret has something to do with Ruka so she torments him with a bad slice of cake as retribution.)

It’s time for the Masquerade Ball and though Mikan is excited to dance, she starts freaking out again as soon as she spots Ruka. He doesn’t seem to be nervous about what happened at all, which only makes her feel weirder, but calm and composed Ruka puts her and Natsume on the spot by proposing they dance together, since they didn’t get to at the festival afterparty (and we know why they didn’t dance then). He sets them up and then takes off, seemingly proud of himself. Both Mikan and Natsume are startled by this. 

Why the hell did he think this would be a good idea? They both look uncomfortable!

Even at the after-party, dancing with Natsume hadn’t seemed like a possibility. So far in the story, Natsume and Mikan haven’t really touched a lot. The beginning of their relationship has involved a degree of violent touch (like slamming her against a tree, keeping her in a headlock, tackling him in the middle of a suicide attempt). Then there was a bit of “mocking” touch (like when Natsume rubs in his victory at the end of the SA labyrinth, or his little kick in Chapter Forty-Seven). There hasn’t been a lot of earnest, gentle touch. (Which is bizarre because Natsume is so tactile when he loves someone. See how he interacts with Ruka for evidence.)

Dancing requires touch. Not violence, not mocking, but actual touch. And Mikan isn’t used to touching Natsume, so the idea of dancing with him--being in close proximity, holding onto each other--is startling. They’re the only ones without their masks on, standing still among a sea of masked dancers. I think it’s interesting that they’re not wearing masks. Whether they do or don’t wouldn’t really change the way the scene progresses. But they don’t and every choice is worth analyzing (step #1 of any literary analysis is just asking “why?”). The idea that most appeals to me after I asked myself that question is that their “courtship” (again, I’m using these words hesitantly) is so outside the sphere of what’s normal. 

I'm always asking myself, "Is this arc my favorite?" and I can't really answer that question but whenever I read this scene, I feel like it might just be my favorite...

For one: he’s not even courting her. He may have feelings for her, but that’s a secret he’s content to keep to himself. Second, she’s not courting him! Mikan may have a crush on him by now, but it’s certainly not something she’s aware of and if someone suggested it, she’d protest. Third, most people dance with those they like; they go through the motions. The hook-up event requires the masks and the tradition, the social rules and graces of the normal way to get together. It’s very interesting that Natsume and Mikan don’t follow any of these rules and don’t engage with each other properly for any of the hook-up events. The great hook-up events of Alice Academy tease the potential of a relationship blossoming, but at no point during these events does such a hook-up actually occur! (Mikan dances the Last Dance with Hotaru, the mask tradition only bears relevance during her dance with the ESP, and giving Ruka chocolates is the focal part of Valentine’s Day--they’re all misleading.) They’re not wearing masks because, narratively, the rules and traditions just don’t apply to their relationship.

But they don’t stand still for too long, because Natsume suddenly moves closer and takes her hand to start dancing. When she reacts with surprise, he responds casually: “What? We’re gonna dance, right?” That bizarre scenario of dancing with Natsume is now reality! They’re standing close, holding hands. Mikan blushes and is hyper-aware of Natsume touching her--her waist, her hand. Natsume has never been so gentle with her before, just dancing nicely, the way a normal person would, and Mikan blushes whenever Natsume acts outside of her expectations. 

She's danced this close before. Why is it only weird with Natsume? :)

Mikan danced with Ruka, with Hotaru, with every minor character ever, during the festival afterparty. She smiled and had fun. The proximity and closeness and touching didn’t bother her at all. It’s only when she dances with Natsume that she becomes insecure and nervous, that she starts to “feel weird” (and I look forward to comparing this “uncomfortable” dance with her dance with the ESP later). Mikan isn’t upset to be dancing with Natsume, but she feels internal pressure to do well, something she didn’t feel with the others. She wonders if dancing always requires this level of closeness, of touching, of holding hands--because it’s only with Natsume that she notices at all. She even steps on his foot and he doesn’t react negatively, the way he usually would. 

She is so insecure and uncomfortable that she can’t even hear the music playing. But why is this? Again, Natsume is different. She feels differently about him than she does anybody else but she doesn’t understand why he’s different, so that’s one reason why she’s uncomfortable. Another is that the feelings she doesn’t understand are actually romantic in nature, which will always bring a heightened awareness to touch (especially when it’s so rare). And one more reason is what I brought up when they were sitting by the lake during the Z Arc: fear of rejection. This fear is present whenever romantic feelings are involved, because there’s always the chance the other person doesn’t feel the same. Natsume might be special to her, but that doesn’t mean she’s special to him. The feeling of him holding her hand makes her blush, freaks her out, means something. That doesn’t mean that holding her hand means anything to him beyond the mechanics of dancing. She’s uncomfortable and he’s not and that only makes her more insecure. It’s only made worse by the fact that he’s acting so unlike himself, tolerating her stepping on his foot and just dancing. 

He obviously isn't pleased to have his foot stepped on, but he doesn't say anything or do anything. He just keeps dancing. Very strange behavior.

(This is probably the way he danced with all the other people he danced with at the festival after-party: silent and exactly like he’s supposed to.)

She’s quiet and she’s not smiling, so Natsume complains. How come she’s not smiling like she did with Ruka? How come he’s different? (And we know from Natsume’s POV that he’s doing everything right on purpose, so that she might smile or have fun with him like she did with Ruka before.) Neither of them have any clue that he’s different because she actually likes him (likes him likes him, loves him likes him). So Natsume is done doing everything right on purpose. He’s back to being a jerk, calling her names, which only incites her to call him names and in no time at all they’re insulting each other under their breaths, but dancing all the same. 

What if I told you that this is what true love looks like...

They never stop dancing. They don’t stand farther apart or stop holding hands. Mikan doesn’t stop blushing. But she does start smiling, because bickering with Natsume makes her happy, even if he’s being mean. And maybe Higuchi Tachibana could make her masochism claim here, but I don’t think that’s why she enjoys it.

She’s bickering with him, but she feels herself forget about all of the things that were bothering her before. Ruka kissing her on the cheek doesn’t feel like such a big deal anymore, dancing doesn’t feel uncomfortable. Fighting with him makes her feel normal again. 

Why is this different from the time she danced with Ruka?

Dancing with Ruka made her forget about romance. Dancing with him felt fun and platonic enough that romance didn’t matter. She’d been freaking out about the Last Dance and all the traditions, as well as all the gossip about her, that she felt left out regarding ideas about romance. Ruka made her feel like dancing didn’t have to be romantic, that she didn’t have to worry about that.

She's so happy! He makes her so happy!

Dancing with Natsume made her feel insecure. It’s arguing with him that makes her feel normal again. Natsume’s intriguing when it comes to Mikan because he both challenges her to get out of her comfort zone while also being her comfort zone (I’ll talk way more about this next chapter). Her conclusion in this scene isn’t that “dancing should just be fun!” It’s that being with Natsume (specifically) makes her feel better, particularly when he’s acting like himself.

But the happy moment ends abruptly when they’re shoved by another dancing couple by accident, sending them both falling to the floor.

She lands with her mouth on his, her teeth piercing his lip and causing him to bleed. It’s hardly a kiss, just an accident. 

Ruh roh...

She’s still freaking out and he looks pissed, but she’s waiting for a solid reaction from him, for him to dismiss what happened as nothing, because she wants it to be nothing (not the best way to have a first kiss, and she already had a not-a-great-first-kiss scare with the musical). 

But then he says--in front of everyone--that she sucks at dancing and kissing, almost as if just wanted to piss her off. 

Chapter Fifty

:) 

It’s time.

At first she’s just pissed off at Natsume. She can’t blame him for the kiss itself because it was an accident and thus not his fault. But she can blame him for calling it a kiss. Her anger is interrupted by Sumire attacking her--Permy is angrier at the idea of a NatsuMikan kiss than Mikan is--and Natsume gets the chance to escape, saying something about it not being a big deal, before finding solace in a tree for most of the chapter. Thus rumors start circulating that Natsume’s kissed plenty of girls before, which bothers Mikan. It might not be a big deal to him, after all, but it is to her!

They're so cute. I love them so much.

Koko embarrasses her by saying her thoughts out loud, particularly about how it was different when Ruka did it and how she doesn’t want Ruka to get the wrong idea.

Which leads to me thinking that Mikan knows Ruka’s cheek kiss was supposed to be romantic, which is why the accidental kiss on the mouth with Natsume felt different. It was just something that happened when they fell, with no intentions of any kind, so it can’t be romantic. I also think Mikan gets very confused about romance around this part of the manga. Ruka likes her romantically and she knows it. She likes Natsume romantically but she doesn’t know it. Being around Ruka is fun and he’s very nice, a clear source of comfort for her. It’s easy to get confused then. 

If only Koko would mind his own business...

Again, I’m not a multishipper. I’m not interested in the love triangle. I don’t wanna say anything bad about the Mikan/Ruka ship because I actually really like their relationship (I just only like them platonically). It’s just that to me this seems familiar, like something that has happened to me before, thinking you like somebody just because he’s nice to you. I don’t think Mikan’s had a lot of close friends of the same quality as Ruka. Finding out he likes her romantically inspires questions like, “Do I like him that way too?” and she’s not really sure how she’s supposed to know the answer.

In any case, she definitely doesn’t want Ruka to come to any conclusions before they’ve actually talked--though she also doesn’t want to talk about it.

In the end, Ruka chases Koko off (and how sweet is it that even though Koko is reading Mikan’s thoughts, and thoughts he might like to hear, Ruka chases him off and scolds him for invading her privacy? Like I said--I like their relationship!). 

Ruka is a gentleman! I want to get him a lot of pets on the head!

Mikan’s thoughts about romance only get further complicated by Tsubasa and Misaki, who dance the Last Dance each year and aren’t wearing masks when they dance (and it’s only here that Mikan learns people wear masks with friends or when they’re dating already, so my earlier analysis still counts!!). Tsubasa starts to say that they are going out, but Misaki laughs and waves off the idea, saying they’re friends and she only dances with him because he’s comfortable. Mikan can tell that there’s romance between them but that it’s unspoken. If Misaki only thinks that she and Tsubasa have a platonic relationship, but that they are really romantic, then maybe it’s the same for her?

After all, a whole panel serves to parallel Misaki’s obliviousness to Mikan’s. It’s understandably very confusing.

Anyway, Mikan dances with a few more people, all presumably without feeling insecure or hyper-aware of touching them, until she is approached by a mysterious boy (the ESP). He looks to be her age but she’s unfamiliar with him. He startles her too, just like Natsume had. He also seems to know all about her, including her name and that she’s Natsume’s partner. She starts blushing because he’s not really acting like a kid: his mannerisms and the way he speaks are all too elegant and smooth. 

He killed your dad, Mikan! Walk away!!

Like when she was dancing with Natsume, Mikan is a little uncomfortable, but this time it’s because the boy is charming and complimenting her. She’s embarrassed to be addressed like this, but it’s not entirely unpleasant. UNTIL, the mood changes. And unlike when she was dancing with Natsume and the mood changed to something nicer because he started bickering with her, the mood turns sour. He moves suddenly and her mask falls off. The boy smiles the entire time as Mikan recalls the darker side of the mask tradition: that your mask falling off means you’ll lose something important.��

He warns her to be careful not to lose something important to her and then he walks away, but not before taking his mask off so that Mikan can recognize him (though she’s still unsure it’s really the ESP).

Scummy, scummy little weasel man...

Ugh. WHY WAS THIS DANCE DIFFERENT, you might ask. 

The ESP is charming and handsome and always has been. It’s why he’s managed to get such loyal followers like Persona and Luna. He knows how to talk in order to charm the pants off of someone or how to terrify them, both of which he demonstrates here in one conversation.

Mikan is an intuitive girl, like we’ve seen, so she gets a weird vibe from him (“the atmosphere changed” when he showed up). She has no idea who he is or where he came from but he’s not like the other kids. 

Unlike with Natsume, that “different” vibe doesn’t come from romantic feelings, it comes from the fact that the ESP is actually a grown-ass man and that he is the villain of the story. 

Long story short, Natsume’s dance was different in a good, romantic way, and ESP’s was different in a weird, chilling way. 

I’m not 100% sure if it’s Natsume or Mikan remembering his warning to her from the night of the festival afterparty because they both appear on the page, but for all I know it was both of them! Whatever, we’re analyzing Mikan so let’s go. 

Everything is connected!

If she’s thinking it, then that means that she’s making a connection. She can tell that the ESP’s warning was ominous, and that it might have even been a threat. She’s received a warning before (one of many), from Natsume, when he told her to stay in the light and out of the dark. It wasn’t a threat when Natsume said it, just the most explanation she ever got in terms of his behavior towards her. She isn’t sure what to make of the ESP’s threat, but it concerns her just like Natsume’s did.

She wanders around trying to find someone to comfort her, specifically thinking of Hotaru, Yuu, Ruka, or Tsubasa. She climbs the Christmas tree in the hopes that she’ll see one of them from up there. She has a distinct goal in mind: to find someone who will listen to her and make her feel better.

But the person she finds is Natsume.

Mikan was told to stay away from black cats when she first met him, but Mikan’s instincts with Natsume are never to run away, even when she’s mad at him. She could easily just crawl back down the tree and find somebody else, but she stays with him. For all of him being unpleasant, he’s still a friend, albeit a weird and different friend.

Even though she doesn’t think of him as the supportive, comforting type, she ends up venting to him, complaining about the situation (particularly in terms of the jinx). It’s worth noting that her explanation must have been unclear because Natsume doesn’t figure out it was the ESP she danced with until he speaks to stalker-Nobara. If he knew, he might have been more concerned. Instead he tells her she’s worried over nothing. It’s pathetic to be this worked up over something so insignificant! Her mask fell off, so what?! 

And Mikan smiles. 

"Makes people angry." Y'all already get it at this point, right?

He might not be comforting in the way Ruka or Yuu are, but he is able to comfort her in a completely different way. “It’s because he always ticks me off that bad things stop bothering me.” She has an epiphany about him--even though he’s not saying nice things, she always feels better when she talks with him. 

(Like I said in the Natsume chapter, that’s the method that feels safest. When he starts being comforting in kinder ways, she’ll find him to be that much more of a safe space.)

We’re beginning to see the ways that Natsume is Mikan’s sunshine too.

But Natsume reminds her that she was mad and she remembers the rage until Natsume asks her about what happened between her and Ruka. Mikan, sworn to secrecy, clams up, even though Natsume keeps bugging her about it. She changes the subject to the rumors of Natsume kissing lots of people before. It becomes a back and forth--who kissed who forever. 

I think it’s interesting that Mikan stays firm on the subject of Natsume kissing other people, almost like it bothers her to imagine. We’ll later see Mikan get jealous in a bigger way, but this is sort of like a preview. Not only was their “kiss” not a big deal to him, but it’s not a big deal because he kisses all the time! The tense conversation again progresses into an argument where Mikan is screaming insults, particularly that she doesn’t understand why anybody would kiss him and shouting that what happened between them does not count as a kiss.

So he makes it official.

Smooch!

You might recall that I more or less brushed over the kiss in the Natsume essay. I said that he kisses her and that she pulls away and then I moved on to the post-kiss scene. That’s because Natsume is very interesting post-kiss. But Mikan is very interesting during the kiss. Why? 

Because it’s a long kiss! And it didn’t have to be! 

(For context, here are some other examples of kisses in this manga and their lengths: Narumi and Misaki’s kiss in Chapter 39 is two panels. Yuka and Izumi’s first kiss is one page/3 panels before it transitions into a post-sex scene. Hotaru and Mikan’s kiss is one panel. Naru and Yuka’s kiss in Chapter 132 is one panel. For the sake of fairness, I am only counting panels where the characters are actually kissing, not just leaning in or hugging.)

9 panels. 4 pages. She had time to say (part of) his name between kisses. A pretty looooooong kiss. This is not a quick peck.

And it could’ve been.

I’m not entirely sure why it took her so long to pull away (yes I am). But my honest opinion is that the only reason she did was because she couldn’t breathe, not because she didn't want to kiss him. Because she had been kissing him back by that point. Embarrassing.

He might have initially forced the kiss, but by this point she's kissing back, holding onto him, blah blah blah blah!

This kiss is much more romantic than an accidental kiss on the dance floor; there’s twinkly lights, they’re alone in a tree, it’s Christmas. It’s nice. This might have started out as a surprise kiss but Mikan kisses back. I don’t think that anyone who would read almost 60k words about how much Mikan loves Natsume would need much convincing about that point, but I’ll do it anyway, for both our sakes, because we're obviously both insane. She’s obviously surprised, confused, flustered. I think she’s also… happy? Content? Not entirely sure what word I’d use for a ten-year-old enjoying her first kiss. She holds onto his arm five panels in. She closes her eyes. Panel eight of the kiss has always looked like her leaning in to me. It honestly doesn’t matter because in the last panel of the kiss, he’s holding onto her and she’s holding onto him.

Zoe put it nicely during a text exchange I had with her when I was writing this part of the analysis: “he’s got the initiative (somehow despite his whole isolating, break her heart to save her schtick) and she’s got a lot of pent up affection and frustration that she can’t communicate properly because he’s so wishy-washy.” Brilliant.

When she pulls away, it’s with a gasp. She stays silent and tries to catch her breath because WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT. What a bizarre scene, to have Mikan silent for once, and Natsume talking to fill in the silence. Nobody is forcing the boy to speak, for once, and yet he keeps yammering on, first to explain himself, then to muse on what kisses feel like. Mikan now has her answer--no, Natsume hadn’t “kissed other people.” It’s just her, just now. Their first real, official, earnest kiss.

Then he says it’s no big deal, nothing to get worked up about. All that fuss people make about kissing is needless hype!

Big fuss over nothing??? People died!!!

But it’s a big deal to Mikan. This is Chapter Fifty--Mikan likes him romantically already, even if she doesn’t understand that. She just got swept away in a 9-panel long kiss just for the guy to say it was no big deal. She says nothing because there’s nothing she can say. She’s not angry like she was at the beginning of the chapter. The only evidence that the kiss meant anything to Natsume is that, after he jumps from the tree, he turns back to look at her. 

Chapter Fifty-One

Mikan spends her cleaning day stuck on Christmas. It’s hard to move on when she hasn’t spoken to either Ruka or Natsume. The kids of Class B gather to tell scary stories and Mikan takes cover behind Hotaru when she makes eye contact with Ruka and Natsume. She’s very confused about the whole thing and only gets more confused the more she thinks of what happened--especially in regards to Natsume. 

Poor Mikan! I know I say that a lot but she's so innocent and confused.

“The more I think about it, what they’re probably thinking and my own feelings get all messed up.” Thinking about what the boys are thinking and feeling only makes her more confused about what she thinks and feels, and that sucks because she was already confused to begin with! And the sad thing is that this chapter doesn’t really clear anything up either, though they all eventually “make up.”

Mikan is caught between being terrified of the ghosts stories and conflicted about having been kissed by two best friends. Natsume is acting relatively normal, but he and Ruka aren’t speaking very much, which only serves to freak Mikan out even more.

They get stuck together cleaning the halls. The silence is haunting, but Natsume seems to be the only one working to end it. Mikan is usually the one who can’t shut up and yet she’s entirely silent. It’s awkward until Natsume starts teasing her. Then it’s just weird and tense until there’s blackout and all three of them are cursed into sitting against the wall and waiting for the power to turn back on. 

Mikan is still scared of the ghost stories, but somehow this situation is harder than that. She’s confused about her feelings, about their feelings, about the fact that they haven’t spoken to each other. What are ghosts compared to that?

It’s only made worse when both of them take hold of one of her hands. Poor Mikan has no idea what to do. She doesn’t want to cause more of a conflict or to further confuse herself, but the boys seem to be doing all the work on that front anyway. When they each spot the other holding onto her other hand…

"WTF???"

They start to laugh. And Mikan is only more confused. I don’t think that Mikan is that stupid that she can’t tell their conversation is about her; I just don’t think that their conversation is what she’s focusing on. They’re talking cryptically and she’s not really following it, if she’s even really listening. Honestly, I think she’s more taken by the fact that they’re so laid-back and jovial about the situation. So she smiles, relieved, because there isn’t a problem after all. She’d been concerned that the boys would get into some sort of conflict because of her, and there’s good reason why she thought she’d already caused some, before they assuaged all her doubts. 

She’s happy for once until a ghost (Nobara) seems to appear down the hall. Mikan and Ruka take off out of fear.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Mikan is touched that Nobara would “become a ghost” just to see her again, but they are quickly parted once again by cleaning duties, when Mikan gets sent to the SA room to help tidy up there. Though Mikan is in much brighter spirits than before, she’s still concerned about why nobody likes Nobara. Even Natsume, who’s in the same class, dislikes her, even though he likes Yo-chan. Is there no feeling of kinship? But Hotaru appears out of nowhere to assure her that just Mikan being friends with her is enough. 

While the SA class is cleaning, they move a bookshelf and see that the wall behind it is covered in love-confession graffiti. One speaks to Mikan: Yuka and Sensei. They also find a bunch of old photo albums, which prompts many questions. 

For one, many pictures have two specific people (Yuka and Izumi) burnt out of them. (This is sad to me because it means that after she watches them both die, Mikan won’t have any pictures of them to look back on. Evidence of their existence will be gone except for in fickle memory.) Noda is able to clarify that the teacher in question used to have his job as lead teacher of the SA class who had the nullification alice like Mikan does. 

Then there’s the question of parentage and love connections. Apparently most alices marry other alices, particularly that they meet at school. Ruka, who was born from two non-Alices is a rarity compared to most of the other kids who have at least one Alice parent. 

The sad and tragic longing.

These new topics cause Mikan to feel a connection to the Yuka and Sensei graffiti. She wonders if her own parents had a love story, if they met at school, if they were Alices. We know already that Mikan feels a sense of connection to the mysterious former SA teacher, but she doesn’t know much about him other than his alice. It’s primarily Sensei that has her attention, and then incidentally Yuka, both of whom had their faces burnt out of all the pictures. That particular graffiti is precious to her now and she doesn’t want to clean it up and erase what little evidence of their love is left (and I don’t think she’s completely ignorant to the fact that she could be evidence to their love too).

When Tsubasa catches her being sad, he attempts to cheer her up by adding something silly to the graffiti. He also adds a heart to the Yuka/Sensei graffiti to reassure her that their love was strong and wouldn’t be disturbed by tiny obstacles (like Narumi falling in love with Yuka, like Mikan erasing the graffiti, like Izumi being murdered…). It gets out of hand when everyone starts adding more names to the wall, making up a bunch of SA drama and making the sadness of the Yuka/Sensei graffiti feel a little more fun. 

And Mikan gains the courage to add her own writing to the wall, since it’ll all get erased anyway: Jii-chan on the top, and Mikan on the bottom, the daughter of Yuka and Sensei.

Like I have said many times, Mikan is intuitive. She gets feelings about things and is usually right. She guessed rather easily that Natsume had the fourth alice shape without much evidence, though she disregarded that theory. And she can sense now that the former SA teacher who had the nullification alice like her must have something to do with her, as well as the student Yuka. She draws the line and makes the connection because Mikan has been yearning for her parents for her whole life. She has never known anything about them and this is the closest thing she’s ever gotten to an idea of who they were. People who were in love. People who loved her.

This is so cute and sweet. She just wants to connect to her parents!

Mikan’s embarrassed by Hotaru catching her in the act, but her friend only supports her, saying that “Mikan” and “Yuka” seem to match, two citrus names. Hotaru adds herself to the graffiti too, eventually adding on “Penguin” as well. It’s all Mikan wanted, to add new people into her mysterious and mostly empty family tree. 

I think this may be the reason Mikan craves connections the way she does. She never knew much about her real biological family and the only person she had from the start was her Jii-chan. She understands the importance of knowing people because she knows how much it hurts to not know. It’s why she looks so closely at people, why she seeks out their “true selves,” why now that she’s at Alice Academy she feels more compelled to make friends than ever. She might have been a strange girl before, but this is her home and will be for another ten years (or so she thinks). This might’ve been her parents’ home. She wants to fill the hole her parents’ absence created by loving and knowing and understanding as many people as she can.

Conclusion

I wanted to leave off on Chapter 50 but then I'd have to save 51 and 52 for one stand alone post and I kinda hate the idea of that. I want these essays to be more or less connected through arcs and themes, and I want them all to be long and fun to read. So.

Well, in any case, today we talked a lot about the Christmas Ball and a couple kisses that take place, including one really long one. Next time, we'll begin the New Years Arc, beginning with Mikan's birthday! I spent so much time analyzing that arc... I'm now only a measly 20 chapters ahead of the posts, which means I'm gonna have to pick up the pace!

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[enna-of-the-stars]

This is Home: Chapter 2

If you missed the first chapter, click here

Fandom: Natsume Yuujinchou Word Count: 5.1k Rating: General Audiences Summary: Natsume Takashi has never really had a place where he could settle down and call home, but that was before the Fujiwaras came along and bundled him away to a little town called Yatsuhara.

A ficlet about Natsume first moving in with the Fujiwaras and learning to break the habits that he's built over the years from constantly terrible relatives. Also, the Natsume Protection Squad develops instantly the moment Natsume walks into class. It just happens. That's it, there's no going back, the class just adopts him and Nishimura will fight anyone and everyone that will hurt Natsume.

CHAPTER TWO: Take Me Home

“Alright, alright, everyone settle down, settle down,” The teacher said. “We have a new transfer student today, so I hope everyone will welcome him.” And with that, the teacher nods at the twig-like figure hovering indiscriminately by the blackboard. Natsume’s hands are wrapped around his midsection, as he releases one to pick up a piece of chalk. His hands are weak and they shake slightly as Natsume slowly and carefully scratches out his name somewhere in the corner of the blackboard, taking up as little space as possible, while still making it readable just in case the teacher gets mad, because previous teachers have. The room is silent, and he can feel the piercing stares of the class honing in on every move he makes. Their stares bore deep holes within him and Natsume can sense the rising anticipation for his name to be released to the throngs of interested and curious students. When he finishes writing, there’s a collective breath as the whole class seems to relax suddenly. The constant frenzy of stares almost, almost disappear and Natsume can breath again.

“Alright, Natsume-kun, why don’t you introduce yourself?” The teacher’s voice cuts into the thick silence without much resistance. Natsume’s voice is just the opposite, slow, both methodical and heavy so that the silence fills where he pushes in every moment he pauses. The broken padlock and the stray fragments of rope have begun to creak. The lock clicks and clicks, it’s close to closing. The rope slithers up and around, reforming as it goes. But neither fully finish resettling.

“My name is Natsume Takashi, nice to meet you.” He deliberately ends it there. No use in continuing if everyone’s already dead set on believing the rumours that always hurry into a room before him. And it’s painfully obvious Natsume’s prediction is right; the moment he ends, the classroom erupts into a buzz and people are eyeing him just like they have always done. They whisper and collude, shifty gazes turning from stares into death threatening glares at the equally shifting Natsume. No matter how many times he goes through this, it still hurts. It hurts to see people like this, people that should have at least tried to welcome him, instantly throwing him aside and believing the rumors instead. It’s dark and full of shadows and the classroom seems dim. They don’t know him and they never will, he’s just that kid that no one wants.

“Well then,” The teacher’s voice once again cuts through the room, slicing the tension in two. “Natsume-kun, why don’t you sit over there, in the empty seat in front of Nishimura-kun.”

“E-eh?!” Nishimura sort of starts, snapping out of his daydreaming; everyone knew he had been napping, not daydreaming. But it’s too late, Nishimura has already over tipped the balance of his chair and yes, it seems gravity had a bone to pick with Nishimura as he flails, arms shooting up and out and waving all around before he falls, hard. The next thing he knows, the room is erupting in laughter at Nishimura, who in turn turns beet red and sputters as he sits up and meekly shuffles back into his seat. Even the teacher snorts, holding back chuckles as the entire class hysterically laughs. Natsume blinks, all the tension in the room is gone and no one seems to be staring anymore, instead they’re all laughing at, no, with Nishimura, who can’t help but sheepishly laugh along with them, mouth apologies, to which the teacher acknowledges whilst in the midst of laughing.

“Alright, alright, everyone back in your seats,” The teacher eventually cuts in, a kind smile already adorning his face. “Natsume-kun, why don’t you head to your desk now that we all know Nishimura-kun is back with us in the realm of the living.”

Hesitantly, Natsume nods and makes his way through the desks; people are still poking fun at Nishimura, so most of the class pays Natsume no mind. In fact, Nishimura’s little fall seems to have dusted away any tension that room had previously, and with the sun peaking through the windows just right, Natsume’s hunched shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. People may not have been the most welcoming, but that was to be expected; it’s obvious that they aren’t exactly cruel, not like before, so Natsume isn’t as afraid this time, less wary, to let a minuscule smile ever so slightly slip out as he makes his way to his new desk.

It’s nice honestly, the day is soft, wisps of air blow gently across the courtyard of the school. The sky is mostly a brilliant sapphire, clouds of pearl providing sporadic shade. The sun is gold, as it always is, shimmering and glittering and filtering its way into the classroom so that every desk is illuminated a golden yellow. The class seems small, but it’s better this way, better than anything the cities had ever been able to offer. The tension that had drifted away didn’t melt back in, and almost every classmate was chattering quietly, just under their breaths. But it wasn’t criticism, it wasn’t gossip, just simple curiosity and it suddenly hits him like a sack of bricks. I was wrong, Natsume thinks. The class hadn’t been like the others, the buzz that Natsume had originally perceived as gossip and scorn was actually just been that same curiosity that echoes now. They had heard the rumors, everyone knows them, but these people weren’t judging him. They were simply analyzing him, what his like were, where he’s been, what he’s actually like. And this, Nishimura kid, the one that sits behind Natsume, he’s no different either. Natsume would later know that Nishimura was not an analytical person in the slightest, at least not when it came to school. But looking down now, just before he sits down, Natsume sees a kind smile from Nishimura, who lifts a hand to wave hello.

“Sorry ‘bout that, I’m Nishimura Satoru by the way.” Nishimura smiles wider at Natsume’s slight nod. Soft spoken, and ever gentle, Natsume replies, forgetting the rope and realizing with surprise that it’s gone far, far away.

“Hello, Nishimura.”

The class is quiet after that, and when the break comes, Natsume silently falls asleep, too tired from the anxiety and fear that comes with moving to a new school, but for some reason feeling safe enough to rest, even if for just a few moments. Everyone notably quiets down when they see Natsume put his head in his arms and onto the desk.

“I-is he sleeping?” Someone whispers.

“I think so?”

“Should we wake him up?”

“Yeah, maybe? Break’s almost over soon.”

“Wait! Wait, wait!” A voice suddenly breaks in. Sasada hastily grabs Nishimura by the

crook of his arm. “You idiot! Natsume-kun is obviously tired! Let’s give him a few more minutes, the bell isn’t going to ring until ten after all.”

By the time the teacher comes strolling back in, everyone is in their respective seats. Natsume is still asleep at his desk, no one wanting to truly awaken him even as the bell signaling the end of break rings. They tried, but to their surprise, Natsume merely stirred slightly, face coming into view of the soon to be noon sun. When Nishimura saw the dark circles under Natsume’s eyes, he refused to let anyone else try to wake Natsume up.

“No, I understand what you’re trying to say, Nishimura, but have to wake him up! Class is about to start soon.” Sasada said.

“Your the one that said to give him some time, and besides, look at him! He’s exhausted. Come on, Sasada, you’re the class rep if you just explain things to the teach, it’ll be fine.” Nishimura retorted.

Sasada huffed and crossed her arms. Truthfully, she didn’t want to wake up the new transfer student either, he did look really tired after all. But at the same time, as class representative, it was her duty to help ensure a good working environment in the room, and with Natsume sleeping like this, it wouldn’t do any good for the work ethic she wanted to instill in her class. Yet, something inside her said screw that. She turned around and stalked out of the classroom to the teacher’s lounge, but not before glaring down Nishimura and sticking her tongue out at him.

“Geez, don’t hafta be so mean.” Nishimura said as he turns back around to sit in his seat. The rest of the class does the same as the late bell starts ringing and Sasada comes back with the teacher. The lecture starts with no discourse, and Natsume is allowed to sleep on as student after student slowly quiets down; something about Natsume makes all of them want to indulge him just a little, even if they have only just met. As the periods come and go, Natsume doesn’t wake up until lunch comes around. He slowly shifts and sits up, rubbing his right eye lightly and squinting at the sudden adjustment to sunlight. Ethereal, his pupils glitter gold and widen briefly before turning to cat like slits, giving rise to such a bright hazel that they look exactly like liquid amber. Students’ conversations sort of drop off, as they watched Natsume blearily rub his eye. Some other student, who Natsume would soon know as his friend Kitamoto, also stopped in his conversation with Nishimura. The two couldn’t help but stare; Natsume was lighting up the whole room with his gentle glow.

Natsume looks around, once again aware of the stares, which hastenly fall away when he looks at them. Self-consciously, Natsume grabs his bag and heads out the door, quickly shutting it behind him and fast walking away from the classroom. He shifts around, unsure of the school layout as other students that had filtered out from their own classrooms for lunch curiously looked at the new transfer.

There were too many eyes, too many people, not enough space. Natsume’s chest tightened as the reeling stares closed in on him and the air sizzled as he felt the burn of a flush threatening and licking fire onto his ears. The quiet voices grew louder and louder, echoing further and higher. There’s a buzz in the air just like before. Natsume can feel the world disappear as the air burns cold then hot then everything is gone and he runs. And he runs, and runs, and runs and runs and runs runs runs runs—

Gasping for breath, Natsume drops to his knees and falls to the wall standing tall to his right. The world is spinning in dizzy, maddeningly warping drifts. Spot are in his vision as they flicker in and out and the rush fills his head, roaring and screaming for him to find safety and there’s nothing but the roar, the gush, the sound and it won’t stop, doesn’t want to stop, can’t stop. Natsume clutches at his chest and desperately heaves a moment too soon as he drops to the ground, hoping somehow, that his lungs would work and the air would work and god why won’t anything work ? And it doesn’t and everything burns brilliant and painful as the world shimmers in and out of existence. The bubbles have come back. It’s foamy and watery and there’s nothing but a waterfall overflowing and drowning. Moments pass, who knows how long; eventually the torrent of water stops and the world comes into focus again, but it’s still incomprehensibly shaky. Everything wobbles and wavers as Natsume struggles to stand, leaning heavily onto the wall, using it as a support.

Slowly, but surely, Natsume shuffles along, one hand maintaining its steadying position against the wall. The sun is still high in the air and the sound of other students laughing and talking still comes around from the corners and falls down from above. At least it’s still lunch... I think… Natsume shakes head in an attempt to force the world to focus, and thankfully, it does—the walls straighten, the ground flattens, and the rustling of the tree leaves finally comes into the forefront—and Natsume plods along. Other students have begun to round the corner and their voices drop at the sight of the transfer student. And god is the silence louder than anything Natsume has ever heard before. It screams and screams. He turns around and gives them a quick once over, before  bolting, hoping, praying, that nothing would tilt and give way when he needed it the most. One corner after the other, gravel after concrete, and eventually Natsume finds the perfect corner. It’s secluded, impossibly drowning in the concrete walls that loom up above. A few trees surround it, providing shade, but most importantly, safety. No one can see Natsume from above. The concrete practically encloses everything in a shell, a protective cocoon that even if someone comes near the corner they would have to really look in order to see anything. It’s a small pothole really, but it’s more than enough for Natsume, he’s hidden in smaller before. This could be considered one of the roomier corners.

Natsume slips off his bag and sets it ever so gently down onto the cold ground. He leans against the wall, closing his eyes, relishing in not silence, but peaceful quiet. There’s no one around, no one to judge, no one to hurt him. He’s safe, protected, gone. Unconsciously, Natsume slides downwards, landing on the ground in a pile of twig limbs. A clink forces him to open his eyes.

Looking down, next to his foot, is the same school bag Natsume’s been using for the past few years. It’s worn, it’s old and most certainly out of style, but it’s stayed with him through all this time. He can’t remember where he got the bag, whether it was a gift or not, but either way it was the only thing he could call anywhere close to home. It was his constant throughout life; this bag was the only thing that he could count on, with its heavy strap digging into his shoulder reassuringly, reminding him it was there even after all the families that had thrown him away, all the people that had called him a liar, a thief, a problem child. This bag, with small embroidery on the tag inside with his name, “Natsume Takashi,'' was the only thing that reassured Natsume. Perhaps it was his mother that had made it all those years, before Natsume had even been born, preparing for him to enter middle school, or perhaps it was his father maybe? He can’t remember, not after everything. The rising panic settles in, can he even remember his father’s face? His mother… who was his mother again? She died before Natsume was old enough to learn her face, her voice. But his father… that voice was the only thing Natsume could remember, and even then it was hazy, barely there. The only thing that remained were the voices of those things that followed Natsume, those people that hurt him, that had him then tossed him away, passed him along to another to suffer with.

The tides return and the waterfall gushes and flows. Natsume gasps for air and clamps both hands over his ears and curls up into a ball; the roar comes back and fills his head drowning out all noise. It’s loud, it’s painful, but it’s everything Natsume’s ever known, and eventually it stops, just like it always had. The world flickers back. Wary, Natsume breathes heavily for a bit, letting the mostly warm summer air filter in and out, warming up his freezing fingers and allowing a warmth to blossom his chest. With shaky hands, he weakly pulls at the strap of the bag lying next to him and opens it. Inside, unbelievably, is a bento Touko had pushed into his hands that morning. It’s wrapped in a colourful cloth decorated in simple white dots on a baby blue background. A bow is neatly tied at the top, holding it all together.

Natsume  unwraps the bento with unsteady hands and is immediately surrounded by a heavenly smell. When he opens it with a soft snap of plastic, the fluffy aromas cascade and envelope Natsume in a gentle hug. Tamagoyaki, rice, leafy greens, and perfectly grilled salmon fill the bento, giving color and vibrancy that reminded Natsume of the welcoming lunch that he, Shigeru, and Touko shared together. Carefully, Natsume uses his chopsticks to separate a small piece off of the salmon and lifts it to his mouth. The moment he bites down, the crisp outer shell of the salmon gives way with a soft crunch, revealing the warm insides of tender meat. The tamagoyaki is soft, sweet and unlike anything that Natsume’s had before. None of his relatives had ever done this, making him breakfast where, Natsume wonders, Is this what love tastes like? Every bite is a treasure trove, perfect in every which way, golden and tender and full of the time and love that Natsume wonders if he was dreaming. What if all of this was just some cruel joke? The Fuijwaras were too nice, nicer than anyone had ever been to Natsume, too much like the dreams of family that he desperately wanted. What if they were just yokai, playing around with a stupid human child naive enough to truly believe what was happening around him. What if the Fujiwaras weren’t huma—

“Stop it.” Natsume growls out to himself. “Stop it. They’re real. Touko-san and Shigeru-san are real! They have to be real.”

A breath, and Natsume closes the bento. Even if the Fujiwara weren’t real, the food at least is and he has to save it. The Fujiwaras are nice now, but… so was Satanoka-san too, in the beginning. He can’t risk it. If there wasn’t any food anymore, the rest of the bento would at least tide him over just long enough so that Natsume could survive. Bits and pieces here and there would be enough. It was enough in the past, it will be now. So carefully, Natsume wraps up the bento, tucking it away safely into his bag. He swings the bag over his head and onto his shoulder, readjusting it like he had always done before, a habit, he realizes. Natsume looks up at the clear sapphire sky, the soft clouds rolling evenly, regularly over the wind’s waves and grabs at the strap of his bag once more as he methodically returns to the classroom, a few wrong turns here and there because the school was too new..

The bell rings as Natsume sits back down at his desk. The class settles as the teacher walks in, a different one this time, one Natsume doesn’t recognize. The lesson starts and Natsume swallows, he’s missed too many days in the past; the black board is full of incomprehensible math and everyone else seems to understand what’s going on. Natsume sets to copying what’s on the board. It’s okay, he thinks, I can figure it out. I have to. That’s when he realizes, all the periods before lunch had disappeared in a flash, and he had been sleeping the whole time, which could only mean one thing, the teacher was mad. They always get mad when he falls asleep in class. Always. So Natsume waits, hunching over, trying to make himself seem as small as possible. The earth could open up beneath him right now, and Natsume would gladly let it. Anything was better than getting yelled at.

But the cruel words never come, instead, the lecture merely continues. Natsume hunches further down, tension released from his shoulders, exhaustion overwhelming him all of a sudden. And it's as if he was Atlas, carrying the world on his shoulders, because Natsume can’t keep his eyes open, let alone sit up in his chair. The world is looming, it’s heavy, overpowering him until there’s nothing but darkness and silence.

“Wait, Kitamoto, lemme wake up Natsume first, before we go.” Nishimura said.

“Who?” Kitamoto replies from just outside the classroom door. He had just peeked into the room to find Nishimura.

“Oh, right, the new transfer student.” Nishimura said, pointing at Natsume’s sleeping figure leaning over the desk top. Kitamoto merely raises an eyebrow. “Just give me a sec, Kitamoto.”

Gently, Nishimura taps Natsume’s shoulder. And like a whirlwind destroying all that’s in its path, Natsume snaps awake in a flurry of motion, instinctively shying away from the hand that woke him up and consequently falling out of his chair. Nishimura falls back too, shocked at the sudden movement. Kitamoto surges forward to catch Nishimura and the two fall against each other, back to chest. Natsume scrambles up, a crazed look in his eyes as he stares first at Nishimura, then Kitamoto. His eyes dart back and forth between the two, chest heaving, gasping for air. A certain urgency flashes through Kitamoto and he wraps an arm around Nishimura’s middle and hauls him out of the classroom, almost carrying the severely protesting boy.

“Wait! Kitamoto what are you doing?!” Nishimura exclaims, kicking all the while being quite literally man handled into leaving the room. “Wait, Acchan! You can’t just—ack!”

With a lurch, Kitamoto practically throws the two of them down the stairs and away; he continues hauling the flailing Nishimura until they’re out of the school and far, far away from Natsume.

Natsume blinks rapidly before sliding down onto the floor, chest stuttering and breath disappearing, some spirit had ripped it from him, Natsume reasoned. Why else would he be so scared? But then again... I can’t believe I thought that Nishimura was a yokai… Natsume thought, before bringing both hands up to rub his eyes. The next time he opens them, the light is dimming and fire burns in the twilight. It’s golden hour, clouds vibrant and molten, sky burning away into black. Something about it sets Natsume off edge, something’s wrong. Hesitantly, Natsume stands back up and grabs his bag, leaving through the front of the school. Something’s wrong, it’s the familiar feeling of stares again and every hair on the back of Natsume’s neck is standing up, and yet the school is empty, too empty. Natsume hurries back to the Fujiwara house, the road stretching far in front of him. The bend in the road is thankfully familiar and it almost settles the uneasy feeling burning in Natsume with the sunset. Until he sees a shadow looming over him. A warm breath breathes down his neck, chilling a terrifyingly close.

“Natsume Reiko! Return my name!”

Natsume whips around and falls to the ground; above him is a horned yokai with no eyes and a mouth from one side of its face to the other. It opens its mouth again.

“Return it!” The yokai screams, a void opening where the mouth is, large and gaping. It lunges forward, hands clawing at Natsume’s arms and legs. Adrenaline snapping, Natsume scrambles backwards before flipping around and bolted as fast as he can away from yokai. He trips and falls, landing on his hand and slamming on to his right knee. The gravel digs into his skin, cutting it open and forcing his blood to flow onto the sturdy fabric covering his knee. The world tilts in confusing ways and Natsume runs, faster and faster until everything is just a blur, invisible to the eye. I can’t! I have to—I have to find a shrine, Natsume’s thoughts run. Shrines had always protected him before, so this time, maybe this time it would work too. So Natsume runs and runs and runs, until the world darkens and there’s nothing but him and the warm breath breathing down his neck every time he turns around.

Into the forest, over the roots and through the leaves, Natsume sees a glimpse of a staircase and staggers towards it. His lungs are burning and eating away at the precious oxygen supply that he has. Each step sends fire up his leg and into his chest, each grab of a tree trunk or root sends lava to his heart. Nothing matters except those stairs, The stairs, have to… stairs. Natsume breaks sharply to the right, the yokai following him. Up and up and up Natsume pounds along the stone stairs until with no breath left in him, he reaches a torii gate. And the moment he passes through, the yokai screams again, but proceeds no further, because it can’t. So Natsume falls to the floor on his back, his own lungs screaming for air, and the world tilting and swirling above him as he watches, strange for the season, perfect pink blossoms dancing on the air as waves crash and break about him. He closes his eyes.

A gentle touch awakens him. Natsume sits up, wincing at the sharp jabs of pain racing from his hand and knee, but then freezes at the sight before him. Lights, golden and shimmering float up and down, dipping with each lull of an invisible wave. The touch that had awoken Natsume was one of those gentle drops of yellow landing on his nose. It flew away the moment he sat up, but it lingered, drifting around Natsume before joining the sea of lights. They surround him, seemingly trying to lead him somewhere, so Natsume follows, mesmerized by the glowing faint warmth of all the lights sailing beside, above, and around him; feeling safer than he’s been before, Natsume understands no urgency. The lights bob up and down, fluttering faster and further every time he gets close enough, leading him on until just at the crest of the hill, an abandoned shrine, long lost to the echoes of time, stands firm despite its age.

The sun is long gone, settling down for the night and the sky is still that dusty black right at the end of twilight. Ink drenched shadows curl over the steps and Natsume takes a seat at the back of the shrine. The little lights flicker and bloom and settle. One moment they glisten and glow along the treetops, lighting up the flower blossoms, casting yellow rim lights; the next moment they twirl and dance downside up from staircase to tree and finally to Natsume, landing peacefully into his palm. Breathtaking and beautiful, the sky darkens into a velvet black and the world refocuses. There’s only the light of the fireflies and the smell of the blossoms. Natsume breathes in, letting his lungs finally, peacefully, take in the air that was robbed from it so long ago. By the time he’s breathed his fill and looks up, the stars have awoken, winking back at Natsume from the far off distance engulfed in space.

And it’s only now, does Natsume finally recognize the meaning of the dark. It’s too late, far too late. He should’ve been back at the Fujiwara house by now, but he’s not and suddenly, the panic settles back into his chest. It grabs at his arms, his chest, clutching tight and forcing the air out of him as it snakes its way around his neck and tightens impossibly. A noose. The world falls again and flickers. In and out. In and out. It’s too cold, too cold. The buzz is back and rings in his ears infinitely loud and obnoxiously drowning drowning drowning—

“Takashi!”

The flood stops and Natsume finds his footing, coming to the surface for the first gulp of air in who knows how long. He gasps and sputters as a figure comes rounding the corner. Natsume whips around and stares at the dark figure, overshadowed by the looming trees. But the lights around him start swirling and suddenly, Shigeru’s face comes into focus, illuminated under the glow of a thousand fireflies. A hand reaches for Natsume, patient and kind, waiting for him.

“There you are, Takashi. You gave us quite a fright you know?” Shigeru said, jokingly, a smile tugging at his lips. “Why don’t we go home before Touko-san cooks a feast for twelve.” He winks.

The water returns, but it’s no longer a waterfall of gushing drowning liquid, instead its softened. The small droplets simply dip low and fall with a quiet pit patter. Shigeru’s eyebrows knit together as he moves forward, gently sitting down next to Takashi. He opens his mouth to speak, but closes it in silence when ever so slightly, Takashi moves closer. Shigeru’s eyes soften and he wraps his arm around the crying boy’s shoulders. They sit in not silence, but quiet. Takashi doesn’t let any tears fall with sound, but the warmth of an arm around his shoulders is enough to let the waterfall flow. And the lights continue to glow; small flickers flash and float.

“Takashi-kun!” Touko exclaims as both Shigeru and Takashi enter the house. Touko still has that apron on when she comes practically running into the genkan to greet the two. “You had me so worried! Thank you, Shigeru-san, for finding Takashi-kun and—Oh my! Takashi-kun, your hand!”

Shigeru frowns and carefully takes a look at Takashi’s hand, and only then does he see the true extent of the injuries. Bruised and battered, both hand and knee were scraped raw only just scabbing over. The cuts weren’t too deep, superficial at most, but the bruising would only get worse before it got better and even then, the open wounds still needed to be properly cleaned and patched up.

“O-oh, I’m sorry, Touko-san. It’s nothing, really!” Takashi answers, clenching his fist and turning it away from Touko in an effort to hide them away from her.

“Natsume Takashi!” Touko raises her voice a slight pitch and suddenly both Shigeru and Takashi are ramrod straight. “We’re going to patch you up,” She gives a pointed look to Shigeru before continuing. “And then all of us are going to enjoy a wonderful dinner!”

And with that, Touko whisks Takashi away, pulling him into the kitchen and sitting him down in his chair. She grabs a clean napkin, lightly wetting it before returning to Takashi and rolling his pants up past his knee, dabbing at the still bleeding cut. Shigeru on the other hand enters the room a moment later, a small innocuous white box in his hand. He sets it down on the dining table and starts pulling out antiseptic, gauze, and band aids. When Touko finishes, Shigeru sweeps in, patching Takashi up. The two work in easy unison and Takashi can feel the physical burn of love coming from the two of them. And like the fire bursting with sparks, the sting of newly cleaned wounds lights another spark in his heart.

He’s home.

click here for chapter one

[scorpionatori]

Sharing Your World

@natsumeweek Day 5: Whispers/Sharing

an excerpt from chapter 4 of my fic, which will be posted soon from now :)

Edit: Chapter 4 is out!

read the rest of the fic in the link below⬇️

Sharing Your World by lyss_28

Natsume and Tanuma sat on the hill by the river, watching the setting sun reflect off of the water. Natsume seemed to gaze at something down by the bank. He said no words, but his face showed he was watching something with amusement. Something Tanuma couldn't see.

"Natsume, what are you watching over there?"

Natsume's concentration broke.

"I, uh-"

"Please tell me the truth. I know you see something over there. You looked happy, so I was just wondering."

Natsume looked down for a moment, and then looked back to the river bank and pointed.

"There's a couple of kappa playing over there. They look like they're trying to fish, but they're not being very successful at it. I think the one on the right is part of a group of youkai I hang out with."

Tanuma looked quizzical.

"Youkai you hang out with?"

Natsume looked at him confused for a second. He probably didn't even realize he never talked to Tanuma about this. It probably never occurred to him to share this information.

"Yeah." he smiled.

Tanuma gazed to the spot where the unseen kappa played in the water.

"Tell me about them."

Natsume sat for a moment, as if trying to figure out where even to begin.

"They call themselves the ‘Dog's Circle’."

"Are you the 'dog'?" Tanuma chuckled.

"Yeah..." Natsume sighed, embarrassed.

"They help me out sometimes, but mostly they hang out in my bedroom late at night and get drunk."

Tanuma snorted.

"It's so aggravating," Natsume sighed, this time in exasperation. "They always try to make me drink with them and I have to tell them I’m not old enough."

Tanuma was laughing.

"Don't laugh, Tanuma."

"Haha, sorry. That must be troublesome."

He started laughing again.

Natsume decided to let out a laugh too. He smiled.

"They're annoying, but they've helped me with a lot of tough situations. They act like it's to gain my favor, but in the end they never actually expect anything in return."

He paused for a second.

"You met one of them. Misuzu. You only got to see his human form, but his true form is scarier. He kind of looks like a giant brown horse with purple hair. He has both a hoof and a hand. Oh, and he has bell earrings and wears a plain kimono. Besides Misuzu, there's also the Midranks. One of them is a cyclops, and the other looks like a bull. Then there's Hinoe. She, um, really liked my grandmother. She has blue hair, and a beautiful ornate purple kimono. She smokes on her pipe a lot. And..."

Natsume kept on describing his youkai friends, trying his best to provide specific details, complaining about their antics, sighing in annoyance, telling stories of the trouble he's gotten into with them. Tanuma sat and listened intently to all of this, hanging onto and absorbing every detail. When Natsume finished, he spoke up.

"I know I couldn't see or hear them, but... maybe you could introduce me some day. I'd love to meet your friends. I know it would be a bother to you having to communicate everything to me, but it would make me happy to meet them, even if they could only speak to me through you. It would make me really happy."

Tanuma felt himself start to tear up, but he tried to hold this back.

"Natsume, what color are the fish?"

"What?"

Tanuma did begin to tear up now.

"The fish in the pond. I know you can see them. What color are they?"

"Tanuma..."

Tanuma looked at Natsume. He needed to know. It was such a simple, insignificant thing, but he needed to know despite this. No, because of this. There was no reason he shouldn't know such a simple thing. Natsume looked at him. He smiled, softly.

"Red. Golden. Some of them are white, with beautiful red and black markings. There's something ethereal about them. They almost seem to shimmer in the pond. It's so calming, watching them."

He clenched his fists and looked down.

"I'm sorry. I know you wanted to see them. You were so excited showing the reflections to me, I thought it would be insensitive to tell you there was more to them, that we couldn't see together. So I kept it hidden. I'm sorry, Tanuma."

Tanuma felt tears start to stream down his face, just a little.

"Thank you, Natsume."

"Tanuma..."

"Thank you for sharing your world with me."

[tsukikoayanosuke]

So, About How Jonah Argentum was Born? (3/8)

As you know, we have some Peter Parker and Kyousuke Natsume influences on Jonah, are there more? Actually, yes. So, let me introduce one of my favorite DreamWorks’ boy...

Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians)

"If there's something I'm doing wrong, could you... could you just tell me what it is? Because I've tried everything, and no one ever sees me. You put me here! The least you can do is tell me... Tell me why." - Jack Frost to Man in the Moon, Rise of the Guardians

Okay. The inspiration from Jack Frost is mostly from a fandom that I’ve been lurking in a long time and I’ll be sort of explaining later. And to be honest, the inspiration is very little but the similarities is too much so might as well mention it.

The Amnesia and Looking for Purpose of Existence

Here’s a thing about this. Most of the character that I make usually have this trait. I love this trait. The trope where the characters just trying to find their purpose in their life and sometimes might get jealous when others knows their callings but you don’t. It’s kinda a bummer that I haven’t found this trope in OC fanfiction because the underdog story is always a guilty pleasure.

Back to Jack Frost. In the beginning of the movie, we got the quotes from above after he created another fun snow day for the kids only to be ignored once again when one of the kid lost his tooth and start talking about the tooth fairy. Jack is so desperate to make children to see him. Later in the movie, we found out that the Guardians are once someone before they are chosen, this include Jack. Toothiana confirms this that Jack’s baby tooth contains the memories before he become Jack Frost. After 300 years of being alone and found out that he might be someone before he become a spirit, it became his goal to help the Guardians.  

Jonah has similarities here. Heck, their first appearance is nearly similar like waking up from darkness (even though it’s also inspired from Kingdom Hearts opening) with no idea who they were before their awakening. Both of them are desperate enough in search of their true calling. But Jonah was lucky enough to find his ‘purpose’ earlier, by being the captain Ace, Deuce, and Grim look up to. Jonah keep holding that ‘purpose’ until he find the real one, no matter how flimsy it is.

“I…” The boy stared down at his chocolate. “I guess... Because this is the only thing I can do.”

When Crowley tilted his head slightly, Jonah sighed and continued. His index finger kept tapping on his cup. “I don’t have any memory, remember? I’m basically just a blank slate back then.”

His lips curled up a bit. “But then Grim, Ace, and Deuce appeared and Ace called me 'captain'…” He stopped tapping and bit his lip again. “I guess something just clicked inside of me. It’s like... Is that what am I supposed to do?” [Chapter 71: And Who Better?! (Break & Gosh Arc)]

The Leader of the Big Four

Now this is probably the most wacky reasoning. So, there’s this fandom called Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragon, which is a crossover of four animated movies: Rise of the Guardians, Brave, Tangled, and How To Train Your Dragon. I love this crossover (at least before Frozen is added into the mix but I tolerate it now). I adore dynamic between these four and the endless possibility of fanfiction in this.

The four dynamic has been my go to when making OC groups: the leader, the brain, the brawn, and the heart. In ROTBTD Jack is the leader (Hiccup is the brain, Merida is the brawn, and Rapunzel is the heart) mostly because there’s a lot of story where him being the leader of the new Guardians with the other three as his new recruits. The same as Jonah, who is the leader of Shooting Stars and the NRC pirate gang, and the one who recruit the members with his captain charms.