#& it's not even something that struck me as bad until i fell into this self-incriminating rabbit hole

[lily-darling-pan]

The Rex Chronicles (2/8)

Wild, Wild Rex

Rex was ready.

But the true question was . . . was he ready ready?

He wasn’t sure. The thought of setting off in a journey across time was beginning to make him nervous. What if he didn’t find himself? What if he couldn’t teach himself to toughen up? What if-

With a soft humph, Rex interrupted to pointless, spiraling questions. At least he’d gotten one answer though. If he was doubting himself as such, he was not as ready as he should be. He had yet more toughening to do.

He needed to trust himself completely. To go with what his gut dictated without hesitation. To make moves in the heat of danger. As Rex thought of a ways to sharpen his confidence, a memory fell onto his unsuspecting mind.

A rescue. A high speed chase. And the sudden reveal that there was far, far more to the world than Bricksburg.

If Rex thought about it, the very first time he’d met Lucy, was also the very first time his self-doubt had begun to spiral. And was, apparently, still spiraling.

Most of the memory was useless to Rex. Feelings, extreme dependency, the naïve belief that people meant well . . . But there was a part of it he could take advantage of.

The first place Lucy had lead him into. The Old West!

What was tougher than gritty, old cowboys?

The answer, of course, was Rex. In the further future, when his self-inflicted training was finished. Other than that, there really was nothing.

Cowboys rushed around, dealt with crazed and clever criminals, made split second decisions by never doubting themselves. Or, at least, that’s how Rex imagined them.

“Get your boots ready boys.” Rex turned to face his raptors, hair swishing in a dramatic fashion as he did. “We’re going on a little field trip.”

                         _____________________

Rex adjusted his dark blue cowboy hat, making sure it both protected him from the bright sun, and made him look as if he were ready for anything.

He also adjusted Cobra’s hat. It had been difficult for him to settle upon only one of his raptors to bring, but he somehow doubted pouring into the old west with an army of dinosaurs was a good idea.

Rex walked alongside Cobra, squinting at nothing in particular, as he’d seen other cowboys do before. He practiced keeping his lips in a scowl, achieving the jaded appearance of someone who had seen and done all.

Due to this tactic, and the fact that he strutted through the small town more than once, it wasn’t long until someone sought him out, someone in urgent need of his help.

“You.” Rex barked the word as the young man passed by, clearly too intimidated by his confidence to approach him directly. “You look like you’re in trouble.”

“Me?” The young man looked momentarily confused. In the end he gave a nod. “It’s only that I lost my bag of seeds. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere though if-“

“Maybe, they were stolen.” Rex suggested. He looked into the faces of the people around him. All of them potentially guilty.

“I’m sure they weren’t-“

“Don’t worry.”

“I’m not.”

“I will find your stolen goods.” When there was no protest from the young man, clearly awe-struck at his luck, Rex hopped Cobra’s back. “Let’s find us some clues.”

I don’t think we need clues, The Raptor muttered, side-eyeing the confused young man, who was slowly backing away from Rex’s line of sight.

“Nonsense. Clues are the first step to any mystery.” Rex felt a small doubt bloom in his mind. What if it really hadn’t been a theft? Maybe he should find someone else to help. Maybe he was- No! He couldn’t keep doubting himself. “Let’s go!”

With a roll of their eyes, Cobra began trotting about town. Rex searched for anything that seemed clue-like.

When he accepted there wasn’t anything incriminating within the town, Rex guided Cobra to the outskirts of it. The empty desert was hard to search thoroughly, but Rex wasn’t the type to give up in the face of an insurmountable task.  

As they moved up a small mountain, Rex finally spotted something. A group of people were gathered around a small cave, muttering excitedly. Their clothes were torn in places, and most wore masks, which covered a little more than half of their faces.

Rex approached them slowly. Now that’s a group of toughened cowboys if I’ve ever seen one, he thought. He hopped down from Cobra’s back.

“Howdy,” Rex said, with absolute seriousness. “What are you fine fellows up to?”

The group exchanged glances. “Ah. We? We’re only trying to block off this cave. Dangerous creatures inside.”

“Really?” Rex questioned, noticing the dynamite in their hands.

“Oh, yeah. Very dangerous.” A different one answered this time, breaking into a soft fit of giggles.

“Well, I don’t suppose you need any help?” Rex rested his hands against his waist. “I’ve dealt with plenty of dynamite in my day. I could make this whole thing blow in a second. Yup. Just one. Boom.”

That was a lie. Rex had somehow felt that it would make him seem more impressive, to pretend he’d done these sorts of things before. The people before were impressed. Or at least, they seemed to be. It was hard to tell, what with the masks and all.

“I think we’re good. The only thing you could do, is head on back to town.” The only one without a mask said, words half garbled from chewing as he spoke.

Rex was disappointed. He began to turn away with obvious reluctance. Then, a shout came from inside the cave.

“Help!”

Rex narrowed his eyes. The unmasked cowboy didn’t skip a beat. “Ah, those creatures try to get you. But don’t trust what they say.”

Dangerous creatures that used pity to manipulate? Rex scowled, giving the group a knowing nod. Oh, he was far too familiar with that.

And yet. . . something was off. Rex had been told to go. He wasn’t needed. But his gut, his gut told him to stay.

To buy time, he moved backward slowly, reaching up for Cobra with even slower movements. What was off? What was off? Dynamite, masks, cave, chewing, shout, dirty, gritty, cowboys, Rex tried to name everything he saw, hoping for an epiphany.

It hit him then. Chewing. Or more specifically, what it was that was being chewed.

Seeds!

Stolen seeds, no doubt.

“Go on.” The unmasked man waved him forward. “Get out.”

“You know what?” Rex gave a chuckle he hoped sounded both disinterested and heroic. “I don’t think I will.”

Rex hopped up on his raptor “Cobra, Charge!”

Please would be nice, Cobra protested, but charged forward anyway. The cowboys, No, the bandits ran every which way, terrified about the teeth and claw combo that was heading their way.

“Not so fast, friend.” Rex said, directing Cobra’s movements into a sharp turn. They momentarily skidded against the sand, then began to gain speed, closing in on the unmasked bandit.

Rex jumped off Cobra in one impressive move. He landed atop the bandit, unbalancing them both. They rolled forward in the sand together. As their bodies came to a stop, Rex recovered fast, keeping the bandit down with the weight of his elbow. “You’re sorely Rex-taken if you think you’ll get away with your crimes.”

Rex-taken? Cobra questioned as they caught up.

“You know,” Rex shrugged, taking the lasso he’d packed off the raptor’s side. “Like mistaken. But with my name. Because. . . Rex.”

Cobra did not respond.

Once the bandit was tied, Rex took the bag off seeds from him, and tossed him onto Cobra’s back. They moved down the mountain side by side.

As they continued to move, Rex’s walked gained a confident swagger. He had been right. About the seeds. About the fake cowboys, and their bad intentions. About-

“Uh oh.” Rex stopped. “That person. In the cave. Should we have gotten them out?”

He exchanged a brief look with Cobra. Then, he shrugged. They’d be fine. Yeah. After all, he had a very good feeling about it.

When they arrived in the town, they handed the bandit off to the sheriff, then rushed to find the young man they’d initially set out to help. They found him by a field, tossing seeds into the dirt.

He gave a small jolt as Rex came into view. “Oh. You again. Look, don’t worry, I bought more seeds. It really wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“Every wrong doing must be punished.” Rex said, holding up the bag of seeds. “And punished it was.”

“Oh, wow. You actually found them.” The young man took the bag, then frowned. “It’s . . . empty.”

“There was a bit of a chase. They were probably lost in the process.” Rex said, frowning at the bag, silently scolding it for letting him down. “But! What truly matters, is I brought the villain to justice.”

He climbed back onto Cobra’s back. “Well, it’s my time to head out. I’ve learned all I can here. But don’t forget me, kid.”

“I don’t think I could.” The young man shook his head in disbelief, watching as the man and his raptor rode away.

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[flyswhumpcenter]

Burning on the Outside, Burning on the Inside [Fever February Day 6: Fever Dreams]

FEVER FEBRUARY INDEX

Summary: A beautiful landscape turns into a nightmare as the young boy gets his hopes of getting his darker secrets hidden from everyone else, and that's all thanks to an attack and some nightmares.

Fandom: Inazuma Eleven (original)

Word Count: 2K words

Notes: I'm sorry Inazuma Eleven, I love you yet I butch the characters Yes this is self-indulgent edgy trash about my rare pair fite me (actually don't I'm a very sensitive person with Feels™) it's 1AM what am i even doing

AO3 version available here.

The landscape is beautiful. A crystal-clear lake reflecting surrounding luscious trees and splendid mountains whose submits are eternally snowy. Breath-taking. He doesn’t feel like he’s already been here, but strangely, it feels somewhat familiar anyway.

There is a calm breeze running through his dishevelled hair, gently blowing in his white t-shirt as he sits down in the grass. He could be here forever: a bit of alone time isn’t too bad, he thinks, and that’s weird because he’s usually very happy to be with his friends, his classmates, his teammates… For once, he enjoys a kind of solitude he’s not used to: beneficial time to himself. It’s like he hasn’t gotten the chance to think back on anything lately.

It’s been a wild ride in a very short amount of time. It feels like yesterday he was the rookie of his school’s soccer club, and that everyone was making clear he was a rookie. A talented rookie, but just a rookie. The only first-year of the entire team.

He never really explained why he wanted the goalkeeper position so badly. Sure, what had kicked off his decision was Endou of Raimon Eleven: a motivational character, a role model to follow. His smile, his warmth, his charisma… He was drawn to someone so good, of course. He had deep respect for the captain of the team who had won the Football Frontier after forty years of Teikoku dominance. How couldn’t he? Nobody could deny Endou was a genius at being a captain. He knew how to motivate his teammates. That was one of his numerous talents, but the one which really struck him.

There wasn’t only that. There wasn’t only following in his idol’s footsteps. He was an awful midfielder: horrible endurance, clumsy when handling a ball with his feet, also pretty bad at speed when he thinks about it. The team was at first shocked of such a sudden request for such a drastic change: it was just how things could only work out for him.

He loved soccer. He kept on wishing he was better at it, sure, and he was a goalie once because the three other keepers they had had somehow call come down with the flu. It was so much fun, he didn’t want to surround the gloves. He would become a goalkeeper. No matter the cost. He didn’t need to be good on his legs, or to be that good at teamplay to be good at keeping the goal.

Frankly, it was easier to say he really admired an amazing goalkeeper everyone thought was amazing than admitting the real reasons why he had to get it.

That was dirty on his part, sure. Eventually, they’ll find out, right? He’s never been able to keep secrets for very long. It’s a surprise for him, to this day, that nobody has even guessed something was up with him at Raimon. The coach hasn’t found out yet (or maybe she did, but she just slipped it by like she seemed to have let so much shady stuff slide by because victory is her objective and nothing else). The managers haven’t found out yet. Endou hasn’t found out yet. Tsunami hasn’t found out yet (that one’s really surprising, until he considers Tsunami is one amazing friend with one hell of an airhead for anything not sea-related).

A part of him, most of him feels like hiding that isn’t fair to everyone else. It’s selfish of him to do that. The team may ever consider themselves betrayed, would they find out about it. They better not, and they better not do that in the worst way possible he can think of.

He’s naïve, he’s young, he has a lot to learn from his temporary place as Raimon’s goalkeeper. He’s truly grateful he got to know everyone: they’re all nice (except for Kogure), caring, determined and a very good team to be a part of. It’s like he’s been with them forever, when it’s not been so long at all. The managers are very caring of them, thus why he’s surprised none of them have landed a hand on the incriminating stuff yet.

He’s grateful for them, he really is. He loves his friends and teammates at Yokato, but it almost feels like he’s found a second family with the Raimon Eleven. He just feels a bit… left out, compared to the other players, like he’s miles away from them and their talent. And he is: most of them are older than him, they have tremendous talent, they completely deserve their image as national legends of soccer. He’s just… there. Somewhere in the picture.

He’s a stain on the picture. A big, ugly stain. The water gets dirtier as he thinks so. What a coincidence… He’s a stain because he’s failed most of what he’s tried to do. Does it take ages to master a hissatsu for anyone but him? Mugen the Hand was difficult and took him way too long to master. The entire team had to defend for him! On the first match he was their goalkeeper! He wheezed at the balls! That wasn’t how it was supposed to go!

The water of the lake is agitated now. This worries him: what happened to the beautiful water? Is it because of him? Everything was so calm before! The water is turning black, the grass is dying, so are the trees. What’s happening?!

The sky turns red, and there are haunting reflections in the water. He sees the hollow faces of everyone who is supposed to trust him, staring at him with red sclerae, twisted smiles or deadly grim faces. Even Tsunami’s face is making fun of him. Tears dwell up in his eyes, and he crashes to the ground, slamming the soil with his hands as everything around him turns black and gets on fire. The lake turns to coal. The trees turn to torches.

He’s terrified, but he feels so bad for everyone, but he’s even more terrified than he feels bad! He’s gasping for air a second, the next he’s… somewhere else entirely.

In a cold sweat, he jumps, screaming, only for his hands and head to hurt and force him back to lying. This isn’t what he expected. Did he die? Is he alive? What happened? Why is his hand so scrambled with confusing shards of what just happened or didn’t happen? All he sees is a white sky and even more white around him.

Next to him is someone familiar, who looks very startled yet upset at the same time. A girl with blue hair, blue eyes, red glasses… She’s a manager. She’s Otonashi, the first-year manager. Why is she here? Where are they even?

“You’re up, huh…” she says, staring at him with a confused expression, before shaking her head and taking back a serious glance.

“Otonashi… Where are we…?”

“In the nurse’s office. You scared everyone beyond their minds, Tachimukai!”

The sudden scold was way too early, and if his body somehow didn’t feel like lead, he would probably have jumped again.

“W-what do you mean…?” is all he asks back, genuinely confused as to how he scared everybody. To be fair, he just woke up from a nightmare, and he doesn’t have any idea as to when he even fell asleep.

“You fainted on the field, and nobody knew what was up! You started to choke on yourself for no reason, we were terrified!”

Her anger immediately turned to worry, or at least he thinks so? His vision’s a little blurry. It’s a bit hard to decrypt her emotions when his head confuses him.

“Why didn’t you tell everyone you had that?! You could have been in serious danger!”

His throat knots. He never wanted to reply to that question, and he still doesn’t want to.

“I… uh… I…”

It doesn’t want to get out, and he doesn’t want to cry either, so he’s stuck there stuttering.

“I… just didn’t want to worry anyone I guess…”

It’s deeper than that, but that’ll do for now.

“Well,” Otonashi smiles sadly, “that’s a bit of a mission failed, don’t you think? You got everyone so worked up, I don’t think they’ll ever let it slide by.”

She has her arms crossed, but she sits down, as if she was disappointed or resigned. She sighs.

“Since you seem to worry so much for us, the team’s won against the Dark Emperors, and they’re back to their normal selves. It’s also thanks to you, Tachimukai, you know.”

“It is…?”

He’s both confused as to how he could have helped if he got an attack on the field, and glad because he did something good that helped people for once.

“Of course it is! You showed them again what friendship and determination could bring them to on their own, without the need for the meteorite. You were wonderful on the field.”

He can remember that Kazemaru guy making fun of him for being a terrible keeper and smashing Dark Phoenixes in his face. He probably shouldn’t say anything about that to someone who cares deeply for the original Raimon Eleven.

“I’m glad I did then…”

Otonashi seems to get her usual excitement back as she tells the story of the match again, focusing a bit on his own accomplishments. It helps him remember what got overwritten by the blackout in his mind. Her tone shifts progressively to sorrow.

“Say, Tachimukai… What makes you doubt yourself so badly?”

He blinks in surprise. He didn’t think it was that obvious. Did he say something embarrassing too loudly when he was on the field?

“Why do you ask that…?”

“Because of some stuff you were saying in your sleep. You were speaking of feeling like a terrible player, a burden to the team and a ‘stain’. What even makes you think you’re a stain? You’re an amazing keeper who does his job very well!”

“I’m too slow for the team… I don’t think it was such a good idea to have me replace Endou, I’m sure he was still better than me after I had to leave…”

“Don’t say that! This isn’t a competition!” Otonashi suddenly gets upset. “This isn’t about who’s better, it’s about you and your own worth! You’re worth the very same as everybody else, and that means you’re vital to the team! Like everyone, you worked hard and you got so much better than when we first met, so raise your head and go forward without thinking every two seconds about how you’re a burden or some nonsense like that!”

Her face blanks out.

“Well… As physically possible when you’re injured, I guess…”

Oh, right, his hands. He injured his hands. His right wrist is in some kind of splint, he doesn’t have to look at it to remember how that feels like.

“Thing is, you don’t have to be the best. You just have to be as good as you want or feel like you need to be. There’s no competition to have inside your mind. Nobody saw you as nothing less than them, okay? You should have told us about your condition, but you don’t need to hit yourself over it over and over again like I feel like you’ve done lately.”

Her face softens into a smile.

“That’s enough motivational speeches for today. You look pretty shaken from your nightmare, am I wrong? You need some calmness and TLC. That’s all you need, I guarantee you. No training, no overworking yourself. None of these.”

“Otonashi…?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you so much… I felt lonely until then, but you made me feel better…”

That seems to get a little blush out of her.

“I’m happy you’re feeling better, then, whatever I did to make you so.” She shakes her finger around. “But don’t even think of getting up from that bed until you’re allowed to!”

That gets a giggle out of him.

“I’ll do that.”

It's a bit confusing so here's some notes: -I HC Tachi as having some kind of asthma (for some... personal reason I may explain someday), and as havin abandonment issues. I guess that resonates in that oneshot, since the fever got triggered by the asthma attack. -This is supposed to take place after the match against the Dark Emperors, in a slight change of things