#۩ Flickering Light: Tenshi/One for All

[bubblegumfanfictions]

Down the Rabbit Hole- Chapter 11

Fandom- Angels of Death, Satsuriku No Tenshi

Ships- Zack Foster x Original Female Character

Warnings- Swearing

Summary- Robin Reyes is a fucked up girl, from a young age she was molested by doctors and sometimes her mother's boyfriend. With her mother's abuse getting worse and worse the girl snaps and kills them both. While on the run she gets approached by a group of people claiming they know a place where people like her could kill, legally. All she needed to do was follow the rules.

When Robin meets Rachel she realises that she wants to try her hand at a normal life despite how abnormal she is and when she meets Zack they gradually warm up to each other until she realises who she wants that normal life with.

Word Count- 2722

After a few minutes of silence, Zack felt something move under his feet, "Hey, it feels like something rang under my feet. That means I can move right?" Zack grins, wading out of the water. Robin wrung out her dress to the best of her abilities, it was now just damp and Zack handed her back her Apron which she also squeezed out.

"Guess we should head back to the hole, right?" Zack asked Robin, who was attempting to pull her damp dress onto her body. Aside from that, she was uncharacteristically quiet. Zack had only been with her for a short time, but he was used to her obnoxiousness.

"Oi, Dumbass, you alive in there? Helllooooooo?" He kept tapping the blonde repeatedly, trying to get her to say something. He doesn't like one-sided conversations. He realised it had to be to do with what she told him, or her crying. Maybe she thought he would kill her? In a normal situation, he absolutely would but he related to shitty adults abusing, manipulating and scaring their children, he knew it all too well.

"If it means anything, you're still the same annoying ass girl that giggles too much, that ain't gonna change anytime soon, so quit your moping, it is almost more annoying than your normal mood. Not sure if this'll help any but I know what it's like to get fucked up by adults who think they're better than you."

Robin smiled a bit at that but she still looked upset. "Ughh, don't give me that look, you look like Rachel when you smile. Fuckin' dead eyes, the both of you." In retort to that, Robin tilts her head to the side, managing the deadest look possible and dropping to her knees.

"Please... Kill me." She looked at Zack dead in the eyes before he began to giggle like a maniac, that was when she finally lost it. She got up and they finally began to walk to the hole.

The second they left the first room however, the lights began to flicker. Maybe five or six times before Robin spoke up. "Looks like some dipshit forgot to pay the electricity bills" Zack giggled, that was the sort of thing he'd say. As annoying as Robin is, it was nice to have someone on the same wavelength.

When they get into graveyard 2, Zack runs straight up to the hole. "She still isn't back? What the fuck is inside there anyway? If that bitch is going to bolt on me-" Zack was interrupted by Robin groaning loudly.

"She won't, remember? She wants you to kill her. She won't bolt until you do." Zack nodded, pacing back and forward in front of Rachel's grave as he sorts through his thoughts.

"What the hell is up with her anyway? She won't run, she's all emotionless... It is fucking creepy." He thinks for a moment and then continues. "Yeah, it would be boring as fuck killing her. Maybe when she is frolicking around like a gleeful little dipshit, then I'll kill her." Robin sits down on a neighbouring tombstone with an equally thoughtful expression.

"Not necessarily, you saw her back there, if it wasn't for the dead eyes she almost looked alive." Zack raised an eyebrow. "What? I said almost." Zack stops his pacing while letting out a loud groan.

"Fuck sake, this is driving me mad!" As if on cue, or to purposely piss off Zack further the lights flickered. "Ugh, not again." Robin got up from her seated position when an odd feeling ran through her body as if she was being watched. She stood next to Zack as they both looked around the room, the lights flickering once, twice, three times and then a fourth before totally blacking out.

Robin felt herself freaking out at how dark it was, she knew she could handle the dark, she got over it shortly after killing the Doctors at the asylum but that still didn't help the gnawing feeling that something was about to go wrong. "Oh, are you FUCKING serious!?" She heard Zack yell to her left. "IT'S PITCH BLACK!"

The two killers tried navigating themselves into corners so they won't get jumped but ended up slamming into each other. "Watch where you're going, dipshit." Robin hissed at the taller boy.

"In case you didn't notice, I CAN'T!" Just as Robin was about to respond Zack stopped her. "Shhh. Who's there?" Zack called out as he clearly heard extra footsteps in the room.

"You grave desecrator." A child's voice? They have a child running this floor? The lights flicker back on, presumably controlled by the floor master. Robin looked down at the young boy, he couldn't have been older than 15 although she couldn't really tell due to the weird mask he was wearing. He had on some large blue overalls, oversized gloves and a red scarf and he held a large shovel in his hands.

"....Huh?" was Zack's reaction to the child that stood before them. He looked down at the child seemingly offended by the fact that whoever was running the joint thought that this kid could take him out.

"Howdy, Zack! ...Robin. The names Eddie." The young boy looked at the carnage that Zack has caused and sighed. "I had a nice spot for you with everyone else but you had to ruin your own grave? And Robin's? You are insane." Zack rolled his eyes, propping himself against his scythe, like always.

"Yeah, but don't you think mine was a piss-poor excuse of a grave? --No?" As quick as he could Zack lifted his scythe in preparation to attack Eddie but Eddie was faster. He switched out the lights and ran beside Robin before switching them back on. "...Damn you-"

Eddie looked forlornly down at Zack's grave and the hole. "Sorry, due to the circumstances yours was a bit of a rush job-- The hole is only half dug." Eddie's stance suddenly changes as he seemed very smug now. "But your tombstone is just fine, I'd say it fits you to a 'T' if you catch my drift." He proceeds to giggle in a creepy horror movie manner.

"How about I make YOUR grave instead?" Zack goes to attack the boy but gets stopped by Robin.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa I think fucking NOT, the little sod is just going to turn out the lights and then I'll be flayed!" Zack laughs at her comment.

"Two for the price of one!" He readies his blade again as the lights begin to flicker and dim and then it goes dark again, without a moment to spare Robin jumps out of the way just before she gets hit by the full force of his weapon. They flick back on again but this time Eddie is standing opposite the two adults with a grin peeking through the hole in his mask.

"Well, enough about you. I'm more interested in finishing that girl's grave, I'm in love." Zack looks at Robin, confused. Robin shook her head and gestured it towards the hole in the wall hearing Zack make a sound of acknowledgement. Eddie pouts and turns away from them. "It's always the same thing, making graves for murder victims day in and day out! It's boring! Sure making graves is my passion-- but the bodies that occupy them aren't quite as loveable. They lack beauty."

This was a bizarre situation. This murderous child just stood there talking about making graves. Robin and Zack looked at each other, at a loss as to what to do. They knew they would be too slow for the little shit but to be blatantly stood there with his back facing them was just a fucking death wish. Robin thought for a while that only Rachel would creep her out, but Eddie? Eddie is another story entirely.

He then turns to face them, finally. "But that girl! I want nothing more than to make the grave of my dreams for her. I think we are the same age too... I want to show her I understand! We are made for each other! That should be infinitely more beautiful than some sloppy and mangled up corpse! --Or should she desire it, sloppy and mangled would be fine too."

Robin started to back up feeling both awkward and freaked out by the little psychopathic crotch goblin in front of her, and by the look on Zack's face, she knew that he felt the same. They wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of dodge. Neither of them signed up for this shit.

Zack heaves. "Are you trying to make me hurl?" yeah, it was definitely gross. Eddie tilts his head to the side, taking a step toward Zack.

"What? My sophistication makes me the perfect match for her." He giggles once again. "Too bad I can't say the same for either of you. That is why the one taking her life will be me."

Robin frowns at being called unsophisticated. She was plenty sophisticated! She grips the pickax that was originally loosely dangling in her hands and looks at Zack. "Sounds like this little psycho doesn't know his place." They both ready their weapons and run towards Eddie. But before they get to him the lights go out and due to their agitation, they were both swinging their weapons with abandon. "OW! You hit me you bandage squandering machine!" Robin swung her pick in Zack's direction hoping to hit him in return.

"Fuck! I can't see my hand in front of my face." She clearly missed.

"No shit! That's why he switched off the lights Sherlock!" Then the lights switch back on and Eddie is gone. Zack walked over to the pipe that Eddie was standing on before he vanished and kicked it, crying out in pain and utter annoyance.

"Damn him, that little fucker!" He growled stomping towards the hole in the wall. "Hey get your ass over here!"

“SHIT! Can she not hear me?!” Zack exclaimed, squeezing his head through the gap in the wall to see if he could spot her. Spoiler, he couldn’t. “How freaking far did she go in?”

Zack flopped against the wall with a dramatic “Ugh.” Robin, who had been watching this temper tantrum had opted to stay quiet– mainly because she couldn’t be fucked to deal with him. The bandaged man in question began muttering “That grave-digging dipshit thinks he can outwit me?!”

“Please, outwitting you would probably be easier than stealing candy from a baby.” Robin scoffed, picking some dirt out from under her nails. You can only deal with his temper tantrums so long before you’re no longer afraid of dying. 

Zack didn’t fail to send a glare in her direction but ignored her response to rant even more. “That punk, he’s in love with her and wants to kill her himself?” Zack visibly shivered in disgust. “The thought just makes me want to puke!”

“We can’t have her dying on us, she is the only reason we haven’t killed each other,” Robin pushed herself away from the grave she was leaning on to go over to Zack. “Besides- she did say something about another room in the back right-hand side. Maybe we could figure out where it is and get her?” 

She could see Zack’s shoulders straighten as he stood up. “Wasn’t there a crumbling wall on the right side?” Robin shrugged as she wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings. “Might as well find out.” Zack concluded as he grabbed Robin's hand, successfully dragging her out of the room.

They both made it to the morgue and, sure enough, there was the crumbling wall at the back of the room where they found the key. Although for some reason, Zack didn’t see it. “Um… It isn’t here.” Robin shook her head letting out a heavy sigh. She shoved Zack to the side. “Oi watch what you’re fucking doing Wonderland! You almost shoved me in the water… Oh- I see it now.”

“dipshit.” Robin responded half heartedly, studying the crack down the center of the wall, “Hey! Rachel! Can you hear me?” Zack situated himself to Robins side, the narrow walkway making it impossible not to brush sides. 

“RACHEL! FOR FUCKSAKE ANSWER.” He yelled through the wall. Rachel must be right back against the wall because they both heard a gasp of surprise from the otherside of the wall.

“Oh great the loud mouth is here.” Robin, nor Zack could completely discern what was going on behind the wall other than odd sentences. “Choose who your killer will be. Him– Or me.” The pair of killers nosily shoved their ears against the crack in the wall to get as much of the conversation as possible. But there was only silence on Rachel’s end, she seems to be considering his offer.

Eddie continues, “Oh my dear sweet Rachel, let me lovingly put you to death.” Robin can see the gears turning in Zacks head, she could also see the make believe smoke coming from his ears from the years his brain has been unused.

“HA! Sophisticated? MORE LIKE MEDICATED!” Robin gave Zack the only look she could muster up– Bewilderment.

“Zack- he called you unsophisticated like an hour ago and you’ve just thought of a comeback?” Zack shrugs and continues.

“You gonna kill her with that boring look on her face? What a fucking idiot!” Robin chuckled quietly, seeing Zack that worked up was hilarious to her. A few seconds of silence passes once more before they could hear Eddie speak from behind the wall.

“Can you two KINDLY shut up!? Rachel and I are talking!” Robin looked at Zack, her brow furrowed.

“What are we going to do? If Rachel accepts his offer I doubt we will get much further than this.” Zack puts his hand on her shoulder, a small knowing smirk on his face as if to say ‘trust me I got this’.

Zack raps his fist against the wall a few times, the echo of the hits filling the room. “Hey- can you hear me?” Silence. “I’m not talking to the grave-digging dipshit. I’m talking to YOU!”

“Me?” Rachel’s voice finally fills the air after what seems like an eternity.

“Yes. You. Listen up. Don’t think for one second you can die of your own will.” Zack moves Robin off of the small walkway and begins to charge at the wall. “There’s plenty of people in this building who would love to kill you.” Zack rams into the wall a few more times before continuing.

“But I’ll have that honour.” Zack pauses, seemingly in thought and smashes against the wall again. “I swear.. I swear to God.”

“To God?”

“Uh huh!” Zack said breathlessly as he rams the wall again and again. “So make sure nobody gets to you first.” Zack and Robin wait with baited breath for Rachel to respond, and sure enough.

“Okay.”

“Rachel?” Eddie’s soft-spoken voice cries out, he sounds worried– Frightened, even. 

“Hit that wall as hard as you can!” Rachel yells out. Robin sees Zack take a few steps back, ready to charge the wall with all his might. He takes a few moments and runs straight into it. A loud crash came from the wall and suddenly the stone gave way and there stands Rachel with Eddie nowhere around.

Zack storms into the other side and starts hunting around “Where’d that fucking punk go.” Robin runs in after Zack and begins searching around the room herself, it seems to house all of the technical aspects of the floor like the heating and cooling systems.

“Why Rachel?? Is it so wrong to want to kill you?”

“Duh!” “Of course it’s wrong you fucking moron!” Both Robin and Zack exclaim.

“My my. He’s so vicious– Are you sure you want him to kill you Rachel? And what about Robin? She tortured her own family! Her own blood, Do you really think either of them will give you a clean death? I will do a pristine job! Let me!” Eddies voice filled the room but they couldn’t see the young boy anywhere. 

“Shut the FUCK up! Show yourself so I can tear you apart!” Zack yells, kicking everything in sight. 

“Rachel… You are mine to kill. Can you wait for me until then?”

[0stormy0muses0-archived]

For @herosname​ | Continued from here

    “Just checking in on you! How was your weekend? Have fun with your mom? I like the couch in your living room, it looks cozy!” He speaks like an old family friend instead of a near-insane stalker.

    “Are you heading back to U.A. now? We can’t hang out then! Or, at least, not as much. That’ll suck, but school is important! How’s All Might? You’re going to talk to him about me, aren’t you? I bet he’ll be sooooo surprised!”

[0stormy0muses0-archived]

@rolypolygum​

[0stormy0muses0-archived]

For @herosname​

    Aha! There he is! There’s no mistaking that sensation in his soul, the tingling pull---like magnets almost. The larger half constantly feeling the smaller, longing to be together once more. It’s impossible...or just about, he knows. But now he’s found the one he was looking for, a good day indeed.

    “Excuse me!” He raises a hand and waves, smiling to the teenager as he hops off the low wall he’d been crouched on, half stumbling when he doesn’t quite manage to stick the landing.

    “Gah! Oh jeez...you’d think I’d learn by now that my body hates doing stuff like that.”

[satuguro]

tenshi | pt. 2

IN WHICH: tsukishima can’t let go and your sadness turns into anger.

PAIRING: tsukishima kei x ukai!reader, kageyama tobio x ukai!reader

INSPIRED BY: freckles — kevin atwater, hikare are (moonlight) — burnout syndromes

WARNING: angst, cursing

A/N: sorry for taking so long to update! i’ve been having really bad writer’s block :,)

prologue, pt. 1, pt. 2

tsukishima wasn’t sure when it happened.

he always had a gut feeling that he had always felt that way when he looked at you. the feeling of caring so much for one person terrified him. he had never felt like that before— it was new and unexpected.

tsukishima didn’t like new and unexpected. he wasn’t like you, who practically craved the outside world that it was almost annoying.

he had spent countless nights trying to figure out when he realized he loved you.

was it when you gave him a box of dinosaur bandaids that you had stolen from your dad’s store? you given it to him with a smile and a short, “it reminded me of you.”

was it when you let him pick the movie for movie night, but instead of him picking jurassic park, you picked it? “you always pick jurassic park, and you always pick the first one because it’s your favorite,” you had stated with a nonchalant shrug.

or was it when you told him you were leaving? when you muttered out your mom’s plans and tsukishima’s blood ran cold because no, this wasn’t some sick joke. you were leaving and never coming back.

you had told him you were leaving, and all he did was walk away.

“i’ll walk home with the guys tonight!” you sent your dad a bright grin, one he only huffed at as he reluctantly handed the keys to kageyama.

“be safe,” he said sternly. his words would’ve almost come off as cold if you didn’t know your dad well. he was worried, that was all. as he made his way to the door, he paused, not looking over his shoulder as he said, “if you all don’t leave soon y/n won’t treat you to meat buns.” immediately, ukai shut the door behind him.

instantaneously, hinata bound over to you, his arms going up as he jumped around you over and over. you could never get used to the sudden height he gained “y/n teach me more about what you know you never got to—!”

hinata’s loud screaming was interrupted by a volleyball that hit his head.

kageyama, who was practically fuming as he stood behind the middle blocker, barked, “do you want meat buns or not? help us clean, dumbass!”

as the freak duo continued to bicker as they cleaned up, you nudged yachi softly as you watched on in amusement. “it’s good that they haven’t changed,” you commented, and she smiled widely.

“oh yeah, they’re still exactly as before. they just learned more, i guess,” yachi laughed. in front of you, yamaguchi tried to calm the two down, his freckled cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. tsukishima only loomed over them with an unimpressed look on his face. “same thing goes for yama. tsukishima, though...”

“i expected it,” you cut her off, words coming out more forced than you would’ve liked. without missing a beat, you smiled. you didn’t want to tell her that tsukishima was the last thing you wanted to hear about. “we should help out. knowing by dad, he’ll probably purposely close the store if we’re late.”

“they have the best meat buns, trust me!”

akiteru’s cheerful voice made kei let out a disgruntled grunt.

ever since he found out that his brother and his position as an oh-so-great ace, akiteru had ben doing everything to make it up for him. tsukishima’s frown deepened as he reluctantly walked into the store, his eyes set on his sneakers as he slowly followed his brother.

he lied. no amount of meat buns was going to change that fact.

“ukai! two of your best meat buns, please!” akiteru’s grin faltered for a moment as he turned back to kei, but that didn’t change his spirits as he turned to the cashier.

you sat behind the cash register, your fingers reaching up to your mouth and pulling out the red lollipop you were sucking on. it was obvious that you were kei’s age, yet you acted like you owned the shop (and maybe you did).

“my dad says i’m not allowed to get meat from the dish because it’s too hot and i’ll die,” you said pointedly, leaning forward in your plastic chair. you looked at kei with a curious tilt of your head, and kei only stared back.

your hair was pulled back with a thin headband, and he recognized the logo on your beige sweatshirt; a volleyball sweatshirt.

“i didn’t know you had a lil’ brother,” you said with a tilted grin, eyes switching between kei and akiteru. in response, akiteru ruffled kei’s hair, making the boy scowl and try to slap his hand away. you giggled in amusement. “he’s grumpy.”

kei gave you a nasty look. “am not.”

your beaming smile didn’t falter at the glare he gave you. you were perfectly unfazed by it, and to kei’s surprise, you only laughed more. “you’re funny.”

kei’s face bloomed a slight shade of red.

“s’bout time. i was about to close,” your dad sighed as he handed you the packs of meat buns.

you knew that was a lie. he always liked night shifts at the shop.

“even if you did close the shop, i’d feed them,” you hummed, looking behind you. your friends were outside, all standing in front of the glass door of the shop. yachi was laughing with hinata while kageyama sipped his milk peacefully. farther away from them was yamaguchi and tsukishima; the green haired boy was trying to speak to the other, but the blonde was too busy on his phone.

“whatever,” keishin managed a small smile as you turned back to him. “don’t stay out too late.”

“i won’t. thanks, dad.” you gave him a short side hug before you made tour way back outside, blind to the growing smile on your father’s face.

“oh my god, i love you!” hinata took the pack from you and began eating it almost immediately. you scrunched your nose as you saw part of the wrapper disappear in his mouth.

“hinata you ate like half of the paper—!” yachi yelled in panic, her hand smacking hinata’s back as she tried to get him to spit it out.

you turned to kageyama, handing him his meat bun with a close lipped smile. he squished his milk carton with one hand, his free one taking the meat bun from you. “... thank you,” he managed a smile, and you laughed.

it wasn’t as scary as his smile before you left. then again, you never really minded his smile.

you walked over to yamaguchi and tsukishima, both of whom were talking intently between themselves.

“you can’t keep this up— y/n!” yamaguchi’s freckled fave bloomed red as he forced a smile, his expression immediately changing. wordlessly, you handed the meat bun pack to him.

“what’re you guys talking about?” you found yourself asking, eyes daring to meet tsukishima’s for a second before meeting yamaguchi’s once again.

“none of your business, ukai,” tsukishima answered before yamaguchi could. you stiffened at the use of your last name; he never used it before.

“tsukki!” yamaguchi scolded, but you only smiled.

god, tsukishima hated it when you smiled. he hated how his glare, which was supposed to be nasty and full of hatred, would falter at the sight of it.

“it’s whatever,” you shrugged, playing off your feelings, “enjoy, you guys.”

┈┈ 𑁍༅ཾ༚ ┈┈

of course he was the last to leave.

you wanted to curse whatever god was in the skies that made him the last one to leave. the awkwardness hung in the air, and you could’ve easily just chosen to go inside the shop and he could’ve just gone home, but you were both frozen in your spots.

you two were sitting on the curb, making sure that there was a distance between you both. the only light was the flickering street lights and the dim lights of your shop behind you both.

you both could’ve just left. so why didn’t you?

“we haven’t—“

“shut up.”

your mouth shut and your gaze returned to your feet.

why wasn’t he leaving? why weren’t you leaving?

how could he still be so mean? this is kei, but still.

your confusion slowly turned to anger as your fists clenched harder and harder, before you snapped your head towards kei and finally let it out.

“what the hell is your problem?”

to your surprise (and anger), he only shook his head, letting out an incredulous laugh.

“really, ukai? you have no idea?” kei didn’t even look at you as he chuckled, his glasses nearly slipping off his face. “you’re as dumb as you look.”

“i’m not a fucking mind reader, kei,” you seethed in response, your eyes never once leaving his form. all the sadness that he once been caused by him turned into pure rage; his blunt words didn’t help. “so tell me. what is your problem?”

“fuck off,” kei snapped, standing up from his seat and shoving his hands in his pockets. he began to walk away without another word.

“no, tell me.” you stood up after him, your tenacity getting the beat of you as you followed him. “kei—“

“i told you to stop calling me that!” kei turned to you, meeting your eyes for what fet like the first time in forever. he was angry, that much you knew. his brows were knitted together as he looked at you, and his eyes held nothing good behind them. yet, despite all of this, you stepped closer. “leave me alone, ukai.”

“i just—“

“what, you want it to be like old times? you want me to accept you with open arms and a big fucking smile?” kei took a stop closer to you. he saw the way your lip was quivering and how you hid it by pulling it between your teeth. his haze was stone cold, and no matter how much he wanted to say, “i’m sorry for being such an ass,” he did nothing. kei was driven by the hurt you caused him before you left and the pain he went through by keeping his own words to himself. you left.

“leave me alone, ukai. i mean it.”

the first time you argued with tsukishima kei was when you were in middle school.

you had accidentally stepped on his favorite dinosaur figurine when you were dropping off his notebook at his house. in an immature fit of rage, kei told you to get out while he desperately tried to fix it.

his brother gave him that figurine before he left for college. of course it meant a lot to him.

you had come back to next day with a dinosaur plushie that you had bought with all your chore money. you had messily embroidered a small moon on the stuffed t-rex’s chest, and you had shoved it to his chest when he opened the door.

you didn’t like accepting defeat, but this was an exception. “i’m sorry, please accept this as a token of my affection.”

kei remembered that he had responded with a judgmental raise of his brow, but you had cut him off before he could make fun of you.

“i spent all night making that damn moon. accept it or die, kei.”

he walked away again.

you only stood in place, your eyes watching his form leave as you clenched and unclenched your hands. you wanted to scream. you wanted to find a punching bag and punch the living daylights out of it, but all you did was watch him go.

“y/n?”

you tensed up at the voice, and you turned around towards the voice. tobio kageyama stood right behind you, his hand reaching down for the pack of pencils he seemingly forgot before he left. knowing him, that was probably all the pencils he had.

“you’re crying,” the setter said dumbly, standing up at full height as he looked at you with a concerned frown. what else was he supposed to say?

you managed a laugh as you aggressively wiped your tears away. god, you hated crying. “no shit, genius.”

kageyama stepped closer to you as you continued to wipe your eyes. you laughed tearfully once again.

“i don’t even know why i’m crying,” you felt more tears flow down your cheeks as you hurried to wipe them away again. once again, you laughed. “it just keeps coming.”

quietly, kageyama pulled you closer to him, his arms holding you close as you continued to softly cry. your words of, “the tears won’t stop. why isn’t it stopping?” were muffled as you cried into his sweatshirt.

┈┈ 𑁍༅ཾ༚ ┈┈

A/N: again, sorry for the late update! writer’s block sucks ass :(

TAGLIST: @grapesauze , @neijiwave , @whothefuckstolemykeds , @sugakuns , @lexysclubhouse , @bakibakini , @animeanxiety , @kodzu-ken , @ukhyeonn , @sana-li , @differentballooncollection , @thechaosoflonging , @scrappydaisies , @nnessworls , @emogril , @killuaking , @vinnieluv , @kageyamas-whore , @helloshoutohere

prologue, pt. 1, pt. 2

[savnofilter]

Kinktober Day 14

angel!y. momo

☠️ warning(s): ⚠️ everything between both parties is consensual. ⚠️ 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, f/f, debuachery, no specific religion.

☠️ genre: smut, holiday special.

☠️ words: 2k [8 minutes, 10 seconds].

☠️ read more: kinktober(uary) | part one

☠️ summary: after a full year of rebuilding momo’s vows, she still had a lot more work to do.

“It’s time for your bath.” The guard escorting her said curtly, closing the door to her room-like dungeon, the cell accommodating her high status although ignoring her ‘heinous’ crime. Momo sighed to herself as she didn’t have time to thank her, looking back at her vanity as she looked at herself in the mirror.

It had only been one year since she had been taking her service, and might she say it was much harder work than she would have thought. Even though she had the pleasure of basically living in luxury she had to reap the work that had been damaged to many forests and landscaping of the lands that needed maintaining. Guiding souls, bringing them to their sentences, counseling them, filing  -- everything she wasn’t exactly excited to do. Momo loved to be in the action and this was something that had action just not the way she wanted.

Another sigh fell from her lips as she got up from the makeup bench, wrapping the pearl-white robe around her nude body, and got ready for her walk to the bathroom. She swiftly got her slippers on and began her walk from the long hallways, quietly following her warden to her scheduled bath. She was grateful that the god’s still swayed in her favour, no cold draft having to poke and prod at her skin. She much as she always enjoyed watching the tall ceilings and nicely embroidered walls with the memorable paintings; it never beat the always hot and comforting bath behind the mahogany doors she had been introduced to. They were massive and the guards in front of it opened with almost no hassle. Still amazed her till this night that they could.

“Two hours rewarded massage time for service.”

She couldn’t help but smile at the news that she had earned a longer bath added along with a massage, nodding her head before skipping into the said room it was spacious and large, the heavy ambiance of relaxation just as comforting as the hot and steamy room. She dropped her robe as she stood once the heavy doors closed behind her, letting her hair down as she made her way to the open bath pool, slowly going down the steps as she submerged herself into the water. Momo was quick to tie her hair into a towel, giddy as she could just imagine all the kinks being worked out from the heat. A graceful and small smile came across her face once she swam further in, going up to a shallow spot that she could sit in but still be submerged, and tilted her head against the wall. It was only a matter of time before the masseuse would come in and she couldn’t help but feel at least a little grateful that she was able to help fix up things needed to be tended to while gaining something in return.

N-Not that she did good things to receive praise-

“S-Sorry my lord…” Yaoyorozu groaned in apology, knowing that she didn’t aid something else to her sentence. She cupped up the water and washed her face once, the holy water washing her of her burdens… or so she thought.

“It’s alright my love, as long as you repent.” A voice joked back, making her jump. Her ravenette eyes looked at the woman who stood near the pool, her head coming up, and her breath hitching. It didn't take a second for her to recognize who you were. You faked a frown as she shrunk back, the heat on her cheeks that came about definitely wasn't from the bath itself. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.” You continued, resting your beautifully weaved tote. It was almost as if a cat had caught her tongue, struggling to even say as she didn’t dare to look at you.

“I-I, u-um…” Her head was running in circles, she had been doing so good. “How did you get in here?” She asks, finally looking up at you. She jumps back a bit once you start to climb into the bath, her hand clutching and the other steadying herself.

“Does it matter?” You smiled warmly at her, unlike her nude state you had a cloth bikini that kept you saint. “I have many jobs, you just so happen to be my appointment.” You say simply, beckoning her over. Momo was hesitant in coming closer to you, her hot blush not going away once you softly cupped her jaw and leaned down close to her face, talking against her lips. “I missed seeing you on your duties, y’know~?” You brushed against her teasingly before standing up again leaving her to admire your body in its glory. She couldn’t help but admire your unique physique. You gracefully sat down in the spot she once sat, beckoning her over so you could get started on your duties.

She nodded without a word, turning her back to you and carefully laying down her head in your lap and let your hands massage her head. Momo desperately tried not to think about the last time you two had met, the lingering remembrance of your fingertips making her brows furrowed.

“Relax.” You say calmly, hands leaving her hair while swiftly taking off the towel. You grabbed the appropriate hair routine for her and washed it. You observed as she closed her eyes at the wonderful treatment. Your hands were fairly innocent rinsing it before rubbing circles into her shoulders and urging a moan out of her. Her eyes shot open and she looked up at you, sitting up quickly.

“Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!” Yaoyorozu panted softly, not minding that her top half was visible anyways. But you did though, and your eyes wandered with the discovery as well.

“Please relax, I’m only here for your tranquility.” Your smile didn’t fade or flicker, the overwhelming urge to leap into your arms and feel your body against Momo was growing stronger by the moment and she had to keep herself from falling for it. “Come now, I promise to be softer.” Your smile turned into a pleading pout, eyes showing just a glint of your true intentions.

A few minutes had passed and you didn’t try anything sneaky. Your hands were back to massaging her as they should and only had her raising her brow at a few times when it would trail somewhere it wasn’t. But of course, each ‘mistake’ was met with an apology, one that she didn’t even need since secretly she liked it anyway. She sat up once you told her, her breath heavy as your hands worked almost like magic, the knots, and tension of that area significantly loosening. Your hands glided over her wet back, humming at how well curved and built her body was.

“You’re very beautiful, Momo.” You leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear, delighted that she didn’t move to speak or respond. Your hands gripped her hips and pulled her back into your lap, the position leaving her straddled against you. You played it as if you paid no mind, smirking to yourself as you just knew her brain was going in circles once again. Your hands started to work at the knots in her back, trailing over her sides just higher than the last each time. “So, what had you so tense today?” You try to make small conversation, hands reaching around to wrap around her waist, chin on her shoulder. Momo gulped as you did, feeling your clothed chest press against her, about to retaliate before your gripped her arm and started stretching it.

“Well, I was on duty to clean up the lands from Wishful Peak to the falls in Tenshi Sanctuary.” You cooed at the answer, nodding your head in understanding.

“That does sound very tedious, no wonder they called me in~” You answer, doing the same to her other limb before resting your hands on her hips again. “But I’m guessing you want something more, don’t you?” You ask against her ear, eyes watching your reflection along with hers. She made eye contact with the reflective surface. She bit her lip before nodded her head, hands timidly coming up to place your hands on her chest and turning her head to look back at you.

“Yes.”

You wasted no time in leaning in for a kiss, moaning at the sweet and pure taste of her lips against yours. Hers was delightfully soft and plump, the inside of her mouth just as heavenly. Your hands started to fondle and grope her tights, letting her carefully shift onto sitting on one of your thighs instead. You opened your eyes to watch her lewd expression, the excitement of being able to court such an esteemed angel making your heart race. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time, but to do this in one of the official sacred places is what makes everything exciting for you. You pulled away to watch up at her with a loving look, smiling bashfully once her hand came up to cup your jaw, her fingers delicate as she started to rock against your thigh once again.

You interlocked your free hand with hers, the other continuing to play with her tit to keep in rhythm. Once the stimulation started to build up with her, she couldn’t help but tilt her head back against your shoulder. You looked over her once again, lips attacking the skin of her neck with kisses, nibbling here and there to tease her but careful as to not leave any permanent marks. At least any that couldn’t disappear with the mystical water you used on her. Her breath was light as she gyrated her hips into your thigh, you happily allowing her and welcoming her to get off using you.

"That's it, baby. I've got you~ " You mumble in her ear, giving her loving a kiss before nipping it and sucking on it. Her hips stuttered as your hand expertly played with her breasts, your thigh moving against her to give her extra pleasure. Your mouth was careful in sucking on her lobe, making her breath hitch. Her hand moved from your jaw to lean to hold on your knee as she continued to ride against it. You encouraged her to keep going, her hips needily moving for a high she’s only felt once in a lifetime.

“H-Honey~” She tilted her head back, eyes closing again once your head played with her chest again, missing your devilish smile as you helped the angelic deviant get off.

“Cum if you’re ready to~” You tweak her hardened buds and pull, the stimulation making her tense up. You held back an amused smile when she finally did cum, the cutest shiver through her as she finished on you. You let her rub up against you as you slowed to a stop with your leg, watching as she came down from her high. You hummed appreciatively and let your hands over her skin, kissing her shoulder as you signaled her with a small tap on her hips that you were done.

Momo was a bit stunned before quickly realizing, apologizing as she got up. This time she faced you, hands close to her body as she looked away bashfully. “A-Are you going to leave now?” She asks, eyes hopeful and soft. You nodded as you looked at the sun setting outside.

“I’ll be back for you, don’t worry.” You give her your famous sly smile, standing up to kiss her on the corner of her mouth. You pull away as if you were never there, washing yourself off as she watches you. She sits back in the water, letting the water surround her once again. You step out of the pool to dry yourself and get ready, glancing at her once you place the note on her pile of discarded clothes. “Enjoy yourself, Yaoyorozu.” You walk to the door, leaving her in bashful silence. She waited a few minutes before getting up and going to the pile in which you had left your note. Her heart skipped a beat as she read it, a bright smile etching onto her face as she reads it. It was as if her night couldn’t get any better.

“Will you be mine? ♡”

[0stormy0muses0-archived]

For @heroboy​

    It’d just been like any other day, going out and seeking information on a more personal level. Hacking into computers and security systems is all well and good, but sometimes the most valuable information is to be found on the streets (once he verifies it). The route he’s chosen is particularly busy today---people crammed together and making their way, focused on themselves and their own lives. Here and there, he spots a pro or a hero in training, sees how the average civilian fawns over them.

    Gross.

    Determined to not give any heroes the time of day right now, he’s nonetheless dragged out of his own thoughts by a familiar pull. The sensation coming from deep within his soul---the bulk reacting to the missing fragment.

    This day has gotten better~

    “Oh oh! Hey! Excuse me!” He turns and reaches out, grabbing the green clad arm that almost passes him by. “I know you! You’re that new, upcoming hero, right?! Deku! Gosh, how exciting! Can I have your autograph, Deku?! Pretty please~?”

[hydrangeasimagination]

honestly, i feel like tenshi vs. endeavor would seriously cause a lot of repercussions. like, if tenshi ever found out a out dabi's relationship to him (dabi=touya theory) and got seriously hurt in the fight?? it would stir up so much trouble?? like dabi would go feral, hawks would cringe cause tenshi's just a kid and endeavor straight up almost killed them, and the whole league now has a new enemy :,(

Oh.

Oh no.

This just got a whole lot messier than it was supposed to be.

Despite your strength and skill, it was unlikely that you were able to stand against Endeavor for too long. His raw power and years of experience dwarfed your’s, even if you were able to rip down armies of people…

You didn’t engage in fights with the pros without back up, it was simply the smart thing to do.

But you couldn’t have helped it. He recognized your mask from Bakugo’s Rescue. All Might and UA had kept your secret for whatever reason, but if you were to use your quirk then they might be able to find out that it was you.

That and you couldn’t blow Hawks’ cover by asking him for help, so there was only one option.

Fight back until back up came.

It could’ve ended a lot worse, considering Hawks was doing you a favor by holding back a bit just so it didn’t seem obvious. You were smart though; noticing that Endeavor’s flames, despite being strong and intense in heat, he didn’t have the control that Dabi had over them.

Once more, it’s very unlikely you would have been able to stand against him for so long. Eventually, fatigue got to you and you had slowed down, just enough for him to get a solid hit in.

A flaming fist collided with your body and sent you flying away, hitting the cement and skidding a couple feet before you managed to stop yourself with the help of a tiny feather connected to the back of your suit.

The pain was terrible, a burn sizzling at the now bare skin of your upper chest and neck. Making you whimper softly as you pressed your hand against it.

You could see Hawks flinching, his gold eyes flickering with regret from behind Endeavor. His fingers clenching into fists as he tried to calm himself, sinking his teeth into his tongue to keep from showing distress at your state.

You were just a kid, what the hell was Enji thinking?

With the look on his face, he clearly didn’t mean to hit you that hard. But the damage was done and the aura of pure malice that rose from you was nearly suffocating, taking them both aback at the intense feeling of intimidation they suddenly had.

A voice riddled with distortion, tone of nothing but hostility.

“Looks like he was right about you. Nothing but a monster willing to hurt children… Even his own.”

Endeavor felt a chill rush through him at that, but was unable to think for all that long when his instincts kicked in. He and Hawks narrowly dodged a burning blue ball of flames, of which melted right through the concrete.

In an instant, you found yourself being shielded, held in the arms of your big brother. He was absolutely livid, his vision overtaken with nothing but red. Even then, Dabi still cradled you gently, his touch feather light. The feeling of your burnt skin under his hands was almost enough to send him into a rampage like no other.

He was ready to raise hell.

But as he flicked his gaze to your mask, he was close enough to see your eyes. Tired, teary, worried for him.

Wordlessly, he rested his forehead against your’s, took one glance at Endeavor and Hawks and took his leave. Walls of fire keeping them from chasing after him when there were civilians to save instead.

The entire League was positively furious upon hearing what had happened to you, practically ready to go and hunt down the flame hero once again. But with your cool head, you told them to leave it for another time.

After you were treated, you seek out Dabi again and found him in his room. A small photograph held in his hands, something you didn’t mention or ask about.

Just settling in beside him and resting your head on his shoulder. He shows you the photo, taking your hand and squeezing it tightly in his own.

He was shaking, the picture was a little wet from drops falling onto it. But you were quiet, peering at the picture of a redheaded boy holding a bi-colored haired baby, tucked in the lap of a woman with snow white hair.

Dabi never let go of your hand.

~ Dari

[trxxrpg]

Welcome, Kasumi Tenshi to Tabula Rasa, He kind of looks a lot like Lucky Blue Smith please submit your character account within 24hrs

OUT OF CHARACTER

NAME/NICKNAME/ALIAS: Emily / Rooey   She/her

AGE: 22, soon to be 23

TIMEZONE: CST

EXPERIENCE: Roleplaying for about 6-8 years, took a 2 year break during college. Always on Instagram, but the account has been lost.

IN CHARACTER

CHARACTER NAME: Kasumi Tenshi

CHARACTER AGE: 21 physically  (200+ real age)

FACECLAIM: Lucky Blue Smith

GENDER: Male

SPECIES: Mythos

SUBSPECIES:  Angel

TRAITS: Shy, introverted, open-minded, adventurous, loyal, secluded, quiet. 

SKILL SETS: 

Good at cooking and general housekeeping. Good with animals and music, speaks all languages (because angel).  Can fly and control water. Unexpectedly a great leader during a crisis. Always stands up for what he believes in.

Terrible with people despite trying his best to understand them. Introverted, practically shuts down when interacting with large groups of people. Sometime shas a one-track mind that gets him into trouble.  Self-conscious about his true identity. 

  QUOTE/LYRICS: 

“You turn such a sad scenery as this

into light

Even a teardrop

falls like a jewel

Towards the future” 

— Kimi ga Hikari ni kaete yuku (by kalafina)

https://canta-per-me.net/lyrics/kimi-ga-hikari/ 

WRITING SAMPLE

CHARACTER BACKGROUND: Kasumi grew up in a rural area in the middle of nowhere in the human realm. His fair, almost white skin, and light blue hair, combined with his pale silver-blue eyes, he looked like mist. That’s where the name “Kasumi” comes from. The name means “mist”. He had a habit of wearing lightly colored clothes, so that he looked like mist. It suited his shy, quiet nature well. He did not have a good connection with his parents, because they suddenly disappeared when he was 10. They were alive, because they still sent him messages, but could not tell him or anyone where they were or why. They said it was “For his safety” that they stayed hidden. The messages never came in the mail. They always appeared mysteriously, sometimes on his front porch, sometimes in the grass or on his pillow. Sometimes they were even delivered by wild animals, which was quite odd. Kasumi always enjoyed reading them, but they always made him think about why they couldn’t just come back. What were they protecting him from? Kasumi stored the messages in a pile. After every time he read them, he needed to take a walk outside. He would exit his wooden, shabby house that was slowly falling apart, and walk out into the yard. His yard wasn’t just a yard, it was wild, wilderness. But there was one thing he had that no one else had ever seen before: The mysterious mist that surrounded the house. It appeared shortly after his parents disappeared. It fascinated Kasumi. When the sun rose, the mist sparkled pastel colors and twinkled with the morning dew. During the day, it played with him, hiding him, and he could scoop it up and pour it out like water. When the sun set, it glowed orange and pink and purple, and at night it reflected the stars, or glowed in the moonlight. 

Kasumi loved the mist. Other than the occasional animal, the mist was his only friend. Kasumi was too shy to talk to people, anyways. He spent countless days surrounded by the shimmering cloud, mystified by the secrets it held. One day, he received a frighteningly frantic letter from a fox that disappeared as quickly as it came. Kasumi opened it hastily, sensing the urgency that the fox held in its eyes. The letter contained three simple words; “Get out. NOW.” Kasumi crumpled the letter in his hands and stood up, startled. He could feel the presence of something, but it wasn’t an animal. It was human. 

Kasumi did the first thing he thought of. He ran. The mist surrounded him, and he used it as cover, but it seemed heavy, as if it were pulling him down. He lost his focus and noticed that the fog had covered everything, and he now had no idea where he was. He felt the presence of something dark and evil lurking just behind him, and the feeling sent a cold shiver up his spine. He ran again, but this time he lost his footing and fell. Something cold surrounded him, and sharp knives pierced his face and hands. He had fallen into the river, and was face down on the sharp rocks of the riverbottom. He gasped as the pain reached him, and freezing water filled his lungs. He was drowning… 

 He looked up, the surface looked so far away… there was a dark figure standing there. Kasumi held out his hand to the mysterious figure, but it turned and left. The cold water pushed Kasumi down, holding him to the bottom of the river as it dragged his body across the pointed stones, bruising and cutting him until one caught his shirt and kept him there. Kasumi gave up, there was nothing he could do. There was so much left to live for though… so many unsolved mysteries. Then he felt a sudden energy flowing through his body. He lifted his arms once more, as if commanding the water to move, and it did. Water flowed out from his lungs, into his wounds, healing them as he stood up and climbed out of the river. He shook himself dry and soared up through the air, breaking through the thick layer of fog in search of the mysterious figure. He found none. Had this person been his savior, or tried to attempt his demise?  

Kasumi returned to his homeland to escape for many years, only returning to earth 200 years later. He still searches periodically for hints of the figure he saw that day, but after 200 years, the house he lived in and many other clues were long gone. 

  CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY: Kasumi’s one driving goal is to understand who the mysterious figure was, who gave him his water magic, and why, but it has been hundreds of years since this occured, and he has lost most of his clues. He now tries to understand humans and is interested in their daily lives, since in his early years alone in his house he didn’t interact with many others. He has the power to control water, but he hides this, along with his wings and most of his identity. He wears a sweatshirt most of the time and is shy of his body despite being relatively fit and good-looking.  He is afraid of large crowds but his desire to learn more about people often lets him end up in one. He often listens to music to distract him from whatever is going on around him when he is stressed.  He often dresses in light-colored clothing and blue hues, and doesn’t seem to understand that this makes him stand out sometimes. 

PARAGRAPH SAMPLE: 

Kasumi walked slowly through a dark alley towards the flickering neon sign that said “bar open.”  The music playing through his headphones became less and less audible as the loud bass of the bar’s music steadily grew louder. He sighed and paused for a moment, taking out his phone to pause his music. He got out the ID one of his fellow angels had given him, that said he was 21 years old.  It was a lie, since he was really 20 when he died but was now so old he’d lost count of the years. Yet a bar was the one place he could watch people, and socialize if he so chose to. 

The security guard at the front gate gave him a twice-over as Kasumi handed him his ID. 

“Kasumi Angel?” The guard asked with a questioning glare. 

“Yes sir,” Kasumi smiled, removing his hood to reveal his pale blue hair. 

The guard hesitantly handed back the ID card and allowed Kasumi inside.  Kasumi sat in a corner by the bar and ordered his usual liquor, and looked around at the people chatting and dancing as he sipped at it. After a few minutes a young woman with purple hair and several face piercings approached and asked him to dance. Kasumi smiled awkwardly and respectfully declined. He didn’t feel like dancing tonight. He was in a new part of town and wanted simply to observe the type of people that lived there. He wanted to be able to read the atmosphere so he didn’t say or do anything wrong.  It was how he’d always lived, since the passage of time was so irrelevant to him now. He had to make sure he kept up with current culture. 

[apriumjam]

Satsuriku no Tenshi Light Novel Volume 2 - Prologue

Satsuriku no Tenshi - Blessing in Disguise - Prologue

Story by Makoto Sanada, written by Chiren Kina, illustrations by Negiyan, translations by me.

If you want to help out with translations, feel free to contact me!

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Eddie’s Memory | Her Memory of Cathy || Index

The elevator reeks with the stench of fresh blood. The silence is so complete that Ray can hear her own heartbeat thundering in her chest – and her anxiety rises to a fever pitch.

Her calm blue eyes are like that of a still lake at the dead of night. And those quiet eyes of hers reflect only the gaping red wound in Zack’s stomach. It’s painful to look at. Ray slips her trembling hands beneath Zack’s shoulders, and attempts to pull him from the gloomy elevator.

(Heavy…)

However, Zack is unconscious, which makes doing anything of the sort extremely difficult. But she can’t just leave him there. Somehow, using all her strength, she manages to drag him out.

Blood falls to the ground like a pitter patter of rain drops as she drags the man out, the act of pulling him causing more blood to flow.

“Haah…”

(My hands are numb…)

Her body suddenly loses its energy. It’s at that moment that, at the corner of her eye, she suddenly notices a flickering light fall to the ground. Looking behind her, she can see the entire hallway has candles uniformly dispersed along the walls. The lights seem to continue on indefinitely.

(It’s different from the floors before…)

As she gazes down the rather solemn hallway, for some reason, she feels her heart jolt a little. Even throughout B3, she had felt an inorganic atmosphere characteristic of a building. But she can’t feel that at all anymore. She’s seized by the feeling that she’s accidentally wandered into some sort of dignified castle or mansion. But the elevator has, like all the floors before it, “B2” written in red letters.

B2 – they’ve finally come this far. But why did it have to be like this? Ray takes a deep breath to get her bearings, then musters the rest of her strength to take Zack to a wall.

“Zack, we’re on B2,” she whispers quietly, peering into his face as she sits on the ground in front of him.

“…” But he doesn’t respond. Ray’s heart pounds even further at the foreboding thought that this could be the worst possible situation. What should she do? How can she get Zack to open his eyes? He looks so pitiful – as if he might die—and Ray can’t possibly think things calmly like she normally does.

(…Zack.)

It seems unbelievable that after killing Cathy, they had gotten onto the elevator and simply exchanged a normal conversation. However, after falling prey to that woman’s numerous traps, and even injecting himself with strange drugs, Zack’s body is entirely hurt. It wasn’t that strange for that to happen to him.

If Zack doesn’t wake up…the promise we made…

Trying to dispel all the misgivings she feels, Ray takes a deep breath. The terrible end she imagines this coming to, so awfully vivid that it makes her want to close her eyes, is likely nothing more than despair.

(Zack, no…I don’t want this.)

You swore to kill me. You swore to God.

Please…wake up, Zack.

Praying fervently, she stares intently at Zack’s closed eyes, nearly covered by the bandages that wrap his face.

“…”

And, then as if her prayers had been heard – Zack’s eyes flutter open, his face warping in pain.

“Zack, thank goodness…!” Ray’s voice can’t help but grow strained with relief.

“…Aah? We made it…?” His voice hardly leaks out. But his vision is hazy and dark; he can’t see very well. He’s only able to figure out that they aren’t on the elevator due to the strange silence.

“Yes, we’re on B2. But…”

“B2…then let’s go.” He appears unconcerned about the state of his own body. He immediately attempts to stand.

“No! You’re still bleeding!” Ray immediately grabs at the grey sleeves of Zack’s hoodie, trying to stop his reckless movements.

“Huh? …Blood? This is nothin’.” Zack is as impertinent as a child. He doesn’t even attempt to look at his own wound, and Ray’s face pulls into a frown.

“No. The wound isn’t closed – if it opens even more, that’ll be dangerous.”

“I already told ya, it’s fine…” Though Zack attempts to appear strong, his voice isn’t nearly as energetic as it once was. On the contrary, it’s hoarse, as if he might go out again at any moment.

“…No.” Ray looks up at Zack’s face with an expression of sorrow the likes of which she hasn’t shown before. If she says “yes, let’s go” now, Zack will simply push forward, even if he has to drag himself. But that’s simply absurd in this situation. Not to mention that it’s obvious they should rest until the wound closes.

“Huh? Ray…”

In his blurry vision, he sees her making a strange expression, one he’s never seen before. He dimly feels like it might be a bit of a human-like expression. But, because of the intense pain, his consciousness drifts away once more.

“What are ya…makin’ that weird face for…”

Zack’s snakelike eyes narrow even further as he stares into Ray’s muddy blue ones. He sees himself reflected in those eyes as she stares at him intensely. He wonders why – that expression is quite odd.

(Weird face…?)

Why would he say something like that at a time like this? Ray’s eyebrows furrow slightly.

“I’m making a weird face…?” she quietly asks, turning her face away a little. She can’t exactly see her own face, but if it really does look that weird, she would rather he not look at her. But Zack doesn’t respond.

“…Zack?”

She has a bad feeling. Fearfully looking up, she sees that his eyes are closed. That sharp, gleaming golden eye is hidden beneath the bandages winding about his face.

He’s unconscious…

But she is once again assailed by distress, causing her heart to beat harshly.

“…Zack!”

She feels like if she calls that name again, he might open his eyes once more. But his eyelids don’t even twitch. It doesn’t seem he’s about to wake up, either.

Cautiously bringing her face closer to his, she notes that she can feel him breathing.

(It’s okay, he’s just asleep…)

Zack is still alive.

Relieved, she exhales slightly. But she has no time to sit around leisurely. If she doesn’t do something about this soon, Zack will die.

However, it’s not realistic for her to drag his heavy body around. She has no idea what might be lurking on the rest of this floor.

In addition, fresh blood continues to drip from the wound he gave himself. She always carries a sewing kit, with thread and needle. But there’s no point in sewing the wound right now. If she doesn’t stop the bleeding and disinfect the injury soon, the worst possible situation might happen.

(If Zack dies, that’ll be a problem…)

Dark clouds loom within Ray’s mind. However, as she digs her hand into her bag, she sees that she has nothing for first aid. Just what should she do…? She hangs her head in the face of encroaching despair.

If he dies, I won’t be able to get him to kill me…

Her emotionless eyes reflect the horrible wound on his stomach.

“When we get outta here together…I’ll kill you.”

That promise resonates within her ears.

However, she continues looking at the softly breathing Zack, expression unchanging. The blood dripping from his injury is painful to look at. But Zack had done that to himself for no one else but her.

With a soft sigh, she stands.

As she looks down at him, her heart wells up with an emotion she has never felt before. She still doesn’t understand what that might mean. There’s only one thing she knows: that she must leave Zack here to go and find medicine or a first aid kit, on her own –

“…Zack, wait just a bit.”

Seeing Zack lying there motionlessly makes it seem as if all his energy and liveliness earlier had been merely a lie. It gives her pause to leave him in such a dangerous place while he hovers between life and death. Someone might come. And it wouldn’t be strange for an ordinary person to lose complete consciousness in this situation. But she can’t just continue standing around here.

(First of all, I’ll look to see if there’s any medicine on this floor…)

The promise she had made with Zack cuts deep into her heart, as if at some point it had become a part of her.

I’ll definitely be useful to you…so, until then, please…

The words Zack had spoken to her ever since they had made the promise on B5….cradling them all, her hands form into fists.

Looking back at Zack just once more, she advances down the hall to the next room. She’s worried about him. But she doesn’t think to look back again. She only has a bit of time left –

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[myaekingheart]

16. Unmei no Akai Ito

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

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***TW: SELF HARM***

Just continue to move straight ahead. I can't help looking at you. Whether or not I am beside you, there is a red string that ties people together. -Akai Ito, Inaba Koshi

                Rei sucked in a deep breath as she stepped foot into the hokage’s office. She had been rather busy these days, it seemed. Lord Third always needed her to do something. Her only reprieve was that for every mission, she was always placed in a squad with Kakashi. His presence made her feel a bit safer, even if she still felt strange around him. They hadn’t had a chance to spend another night alone together since that first date but simply fighting alongside him at least helped to fill some of the void. She thought about him often, her mind always jumping back to the final exam in the Forest of Death. The more frequently she worked, the more dangerous her missions became and the threat of death constantly loomed over her head. Her only reassurance was Kakashi. She thought of the way he held her close, his promise that he would not let her die. She knew that the hokage had assigned her to look after him, but in a way she felt as if he was looking after her, as well. So long as they were together, she knew she would be safe. Straightening her back, Rei clenched her fists at her sides and approached the hokage’s desk. “You called for me, Lord Third?”

                “Yes, yes, come in, Rei” he motioned for her to step close and she obeyed. Standing off to the side were two other black ops members: Tenshi and a young man who she recognized as Kakashi’s friend Tenzo. She didn’t know Tenzo very well, but she had seen him around the dormitories from time to time. After a while, she had come to understand he was the same shinobi who escorted her through the annals of the ANBU facility the day she joined.

                The hokage huffed his pipe as he explained their mission: track down an enemy ninja seen heading for Kusagakure and return him to the village for questioning to ensure he did not release any intel on the Hidden Leaf or Land of Fire. It was a simple enough procedure, truly nothing they hadn’t already dealt with before. The capture would be easy. It was the interrogation that would prove rough. Kusa-nin were always difficult to read, but Rei had faith in Ibiki and Inoichi’s skill. All Rei had to do was track him down and reel him in. But of course, someone always had to make things unnecessarily difficult.

                “Lord Hokage, don’t you think we’re missing something?” Tenshi asked. The hokage blinked a few times as he tried to thumb through his thoughts but couldn’t come up with an answer. “We’re missing someone” she pressed. When the hokage still did not catch on, Tenshi sighed in minor frustration and explained, “What about Kakashi? Isn’t he joining us, as well?”

                It was then that Rei realized the copy ninja was, indeed, missing and her heart raced for a moment. She didn’t expect his accompaniment to expire so soon. The thought of not having him by her side made her nervous. He was, in a way, her safety net and she cursed herself for ever growing dependent on his presence. Without him, she felt chaotic.

                “I’m sorry to inform you but Kakashi will not be joining you on this mission” the hokage explained. “Kakashi is currently involved in other assignments, but I have good faith that you three can handle things on your own.” The hokage sounded so confident in their abilities, but it was clear there was a charge of panic coursing through the room. Deep down, Rei knew a mission without Kakashi must have meant she was advancing and a good enough kunoichi to work without his surveillance. Still, his absence made her nervous. Moreover, this seemed like the exact opposite of her purpose here, which seemed both promising and puzzling.

                Tenshi of course protested this but ultimately was forced to accept her fate. Rei rolled her eyes behind her mask in disgust. More and more, it seemed like her only motivation to work at all was to get close to Kakashi. Even when he expressed zero interest in her, she refused to give up the fight. She was determined to get him one way or the other, even if by force. The thought of it all made Rei sick. They were elite ninja and all she cared about was getting into someone’s pants.

                “So, who is this guy we’re after again?” Tenshi asked that afternoon, filing her nails as she leapt from tree branch to tree branch. “Whatever, we should just make this quick. I’m sure I can take this guy down with just my little finger.”

                “And risk breaking a nail? Doubtful” Rei snapped.

                “Is it such a crime to take care of your appearance?” Tenshi fired back, whipping around to face the redhead. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good, you know. Not that you would know anything about that.”

                “Alright, ladies, let’s just calm down and try to focus on the mission, alright?” Tenzo interrupted. Internally, he was cursing the hokage for sticking him with two bickering women. Was it really so hard to set their differences aside for the sake of professionalism?

                “Yeah, Tenshi, you can cut the crap. Kakashi’s not here” Rei commented. Tenshi squeaked in surprise, then narrowed her eyes at her comrade. Tenzo’s ears pricked up at the mention of Kakashi’s name, glancing to the two women briefly. So that was the major conflict between them. It took all of his strength not to laugh under his breath. As far as Tenzo knew, Kakashi didn’t give a single care for relationships. He had known the copy ninja for quite some time now and was certain his only focus was his work. He didn’t expend much time for a social life. He did, however, feel a surge of excitement about this intel. He wondered what Kakashi would say if he found out he had two women fighting over him, if he would even say anything at all. Either way, all of that could stand to wait. His primary concern now was the mission. Once completed, then he would be able to test the effects of this new information.

                Tiny bugs crawled up Rei’s legs as she hid in the brush with her partners, eyeing the home where their target was rumored to be staying. From the little information they had gathered, they could glean that their criminal was a spy collecting intel for a greater power but the details, the who and the why, were hazy at best. The longer they waited, the more Rei’s mind wandered on the subject. She had noticed some questionable happenings between the Five Great Nations lately and a sense of danger loomed overhead. If this man had anything to do with it, they wanted answers.

                The plan, per Tenzo, was to hold back until the perfect moment, then strike, arguing that they needed to be careful. The goal was to fulfill their mission quickly and easily, all while not being seen. After all, ANBU infiltrating foreign nations was seen as a threat. They were invaders and one false move could start wars.

                Rei glanced over to Tenshi, who made her boredom very clear. She sighed and tilted her head back, arms crossed. “I say we just jump in there and take him by the balls” the brunette suggested.

                “We’d get ourselves killed, smart-ass. I agree with Tenzo, the only way to do this is to wait for the perfect moment to—” Rei began but her sentence was cut short by their teammate slapping her on the shoulder and motioning for her to look ahead. The back door creaked open and out came their target tugging a hefty garbage bag. The three shinobi glanced to each other with a nod, then swept into action.

                Everything happened so quickly. This was supposed to be an easy mission. In one fluid motion, Rei assaulted the criminal with Water Style: Water Wall, knocking him to the ground so Tenzo could swoop in and trap him with his Wood Style jutsu. The man struggled, however, and escaped Tenzo’s grasp. Tenshi locked her eyes on their target but just as she was about to release a fire style offensive, all hell broke loose. The back door swung open and a blur surged toward the man, shrieking hysterically. Rei extinguished Tenshi’s flames with her water style and yelled at Tenzo not to let him get away. Approaching their target was none other than a small child, her blue eyes wide with terror and spilling with tears. She continued to scream, desperate for her father, her voice carrying throughout the entire village. Then her mother appeared in the doorway, face frozen in shock. The little girl begged her to do something, crying that they were going to take her father away. Rei watched her with sharp eyes as the woman then slowly reached behind her and pulled out a kitchen knife. Shit, she’s armed. Without a moment’s hesitation, the woman aimed the blade right for Rei’s throat with a horrendous battle cry. Dogs barked in the background. Lights were beginning to flicker on, curious about the commotion.

                Meanwhile, the man tried to take advantage of the chaos to escape, shouting for his wife and daughter to run to someplace safe. Tenshi wouldn’t let him get away so easily, though, attacking him with the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison. He screamed and squirmed, desperate to escape, proving that they had no other choice. In a matter of seconds, the man fell to the ground, unconscious. His daughter shrieked, tears streaming down her face. Rei locked eyes with her as she rushed forward and time slowed to a crawl. She had never seen such pain before. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry…

                An arm reached out and pulled Rei back into the brush, snapping her from her daze. Tenshi dragged her all the way to the Land of Fire’s outskirts. The man’s body bobbed as they went, slung over Tenzo’s shoulder. It wasn’t until they were safely within the borders of their own country when someone finally broke the silence.

                “I don’t know about you guys, but I think that went perfectly” Tenshi remarked. The terrifying part was that there was not a single ounce of sarcasm in her voice. She genuinely believed that they had not screwed this up in the slightest.  

                Tenzo shook his head, eyes staring forward. “It could’ve been better” he replied. “This would’ve been a lot easier had the family not intervened.”

                Tenshi flicked her ponytail back over her shoulder and pursed her lips. “They deserved it. They really should’ve seen this coming from a mile away. I mean, what did they expect? I, for one, would never marry a criminal. I mean, that’s just common sense. And then to pop out a kid with the guy? Puh-lease. She had it coming.”

                In that moment, something snapped within Rei. She had been travelling alongside them thus far in a sort of haze, overwhelmed with their situation. She stared at the man slung over Tenzo’s shoulder and wondered about his past and his life. How did he meet his wife? Was he excited to become a father? How did he get to this point? Who was he gathering intel for? And why? Perhaps he was financially unstable and did what he needed to do to provide for his family, even if it meant risking his own life. Despite the illegality of it, it was admirable. They had no idea what his story really was but that didn’t matter. All that was important now was that he was a criminal and their mission was fulfilled. She couldn’t think about his family and how it was now broken and it was all her fault. No matter how hard she tried, however, Rei couldn’t get that little girl’s red, snotty, scrunched up face out of her mind. Her screams echoed in her ears. And now here was Tenshi, inconsiderate and self-centered, saying that this innocent woman and child deserved this pain? Rei gritted her teeth and with one surge of chakra, launched herself at Tenshi. The pair tumbled down where Rei pinned the brunette to the ground and began punching her with all of her might. Tenshi shrieked and squirmed, calling her crazy and begging Tenzo to step in and help. He set the fugitive down in his line of sight and tore Rei off of her partner.

                “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he shouted at her. Rei gasped for breath, brushing her hair out of her sweaty face. Blood from where the wife’s blade had scraped her smeared across her cheek, her mask thrown toward the edge of the brush. As she stared down at Tenshi, face now red and pulsing, she realized what she had done and was overcome with a disgust strong enough to make her sick. She couldn’t bring herself to speak. Tenzo sighed and shook his head in disdain, reaching out a hand to help Tenshi up. She brushed the dirt off her uniform and shouted obscenities at Rei, claiming she was insane and ought to be sent to the nut house, constantly asking her what the hell she was thinking. In any normal circumstance, Rei would fire back filled with fury and passion. Now, she felt absolutely nothing.

                The remainder of their trip back was endured mostly in silence. When the man finally awoke, Rei snapped at him to shut up and threatened a fiery death if he even thought of running off. Tenzo pursed his lips in mild discomfort. He had never seen her so unhinged before. He remembered the day he walked her through the enrollment process for the black ops. He found her gasping for breath with vomit on her lips after receiving her tattoo. I didn’t think she would make it back then, he thought. I thought the hokage had made a mistake, that she wasn’t fit for the black ops, but now I see that perhaps there’s something in her that I never really caught before.

                There was perhaps only one other person he had seen with that much fire and strife reflected in their eyes, the distant white-haired boy with the secondhand eye. He knew nothing of Kakashi and Rei’s history, but in that moment he was reminded of her and Tenshi’s argument earlier, the way they bickered over Kakashi like schoolgirls on the playground. He didn’t want to pick sides or play into some childish game but after what he had seen that day, he knew he was willing to bet his money on Rei. She was cut from the same cloth, filled with the same brand of pain. He saw a lot of Kakashi reflected in her eyes, cold and sharp and determined. He could scarcely sleep that night thinking about it.

                The hokage praised their punctuality and how clean a capture they had achieved. They said nothing of the disaster with the young man’s family. Lord Third didn’t need to know. All that was important was that they had finished the job they were assigned to do. The minute he dismissed them, Rei turned and stalked out the door without a single word.

                She didn’t particularly want to be out and about, but she didn’t want to stay home, either. She stopped in to change clothes and then rushed back out into the village to stroll around mindlessly. Her apartment was too confining. Her own thoughts would bounce against the walls before inevitably choking her.

                She couldn’t shake that little girl’s face from her mind. Her screams still rang in her ears. Of all the missions she had been on thus far, none had ever been quite so bad as this. Was what they did right? She supposed it depended on who you asked. They were only doing their job, retrieving a suspicious ninja who could’ve leaked intel on their village. Who knew what would come of that? But then, would a husband and a father do such a thing? She knew the answer was subjective—if he needed the money, surely he would do anything for his family. Even if that meant breaking the law and leaking information to enemy ninja. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what kinds of repercussions this would have on his wife and child. Would they ever see their beloved again? Or would he be locked up in Konoha’s jail to rot away? Would that child resent Rei and her village for the rest of her life for what she had done? She assumed it was highly probable. Grudges were hard to shake, especially of this magnitude.

                Rei had done her job, she had accomplished what the hokage had asked of her, but at what cost? Was it really worth tearing a family apart like that? A sudden, disgusting realization struck her as she circled the road where her family’s bookstore sat. Perhaps this was exactly why she did not, in fact, belong in the black ops. She had questioned her position here for so long but now she was certain she knew the truth. She just couldn’t keep her emotions at bay. They always found a way to dig themselves up out of the dirt and twist their way into her head. Emotions were dangerous. Emotions were a liability. She was not allowed to feel. And yet here she was feeling all sorts of things: regret, uncertainty, low confidence, even loneliness (which she hated to admit a part of her liked). She pressed her palm against her shoulder where, beneath her sleeve, her tattoo sat. She could feel its presence burn against her skin and she cursed under her breath. This was all one big mistake. The hokage had made a terrible decision. She was not strong enough for this, after all. Her father was right. Kakashi was right. She didn’t belong here at all.

                By sunset, she knew she had no other choice but to return home. It was getting dark and she didn’t particularly want to be out late at night. She knew the kinds of men that lurked through the village after sundown, drunken and disgusting. She didn’t feel like fighting off someone trying to cop a feel. She trudged upstairs only to be met with Tenshi shuffling through her mail. How did she always have so much freaking mail? She must be popular, Rei thought, probably keeping sweet-talking penpals who send her fancy gifts to try to earn a night with her.

                “Where have you been?” the brunette asked, though she didn’t sound super interested in the answer. She didn’t even look up from her mail.

                “What does it matter to you?” Rei fired back. It was then that Tenshi finally looked up, an impressed expression painting her face but not one of ingenuity. Instead, it was the kind of impressed a mother feels when their child talks back to them and the mother wants to test how far the kid will try to push them.

                “We’re feisty today, huh?” she scoffed. “What? Did someone piss in your ramen?”

                “Oh, shut up” Rei snapped. She fished through her pouch for her keys, but her hands shook from having barely eaten all day. She couldn’t stand to stomach food at a time like this. Not when her brain was taking full control.

                “Did you ever get that cut fixed up?” Tenshi asked after a few moments of silence. Rei was surprised at the question, having not expected Tenshi to ever care a single morsel for her wellbeing. She pressed her hand against the side of her neck, the cut shallow but still tender and unclean, and shook her head. “Pfft, you should really take care of that before it gets infected. Although, if you contract some bacterial infection and die within twenty four hours, then I guess I’d get Kakashi all to myself! Maybe rub a little dirt in the thing, then” she continued. There she is, Rei thought to herself with disgust.

                “Yeah, bet things would be much better that way, anyway. Thanks for the advice” Rei said. She had finally dug up her key and began unlocking her door when she felt a firm hand pressed against her shoulder.

                “Wait a second” she heard Tenshi speak. Rei turned to look up at her with daggers in her eyes. “Seriously, what the hell has gotten into you?” she asked. Rei glared up at her for a moment, as if to silently ask whether she really cared to hear the answer, but in the time during which she remained silent, Tenshi began to piece together the truth. “Is this about the last mission? With the screaming brat and try-hard mother?” she asked. Rei blinked a few times, unsure of how to answer. She assumed a simple yes would suffice, but her throat refused to form the words. Tenshi removed her hand from Rei’s shoulder and rolled her eyes begrudgingly. “Really, Rei, grow some balls. It’s not that big a deal. Shit like this happens all the time, just get over it.”

                “Get over it?” Rei asked. Tenshi had no fucking clue. Without another word, Rei shoved her front door open and burst inside, slamming it hard in the brunette’s face.

                A knock. Lord Third bid his assistant entrance, scurrying inside with a pigeon alighted on his arm. “We have just received a message from Kusagakure, Lord Third. I suggest you take a look at it immediately.” The old man nodded and took the scroll from him, unrolling it and scanning the contents. The further into the message he got, the more displeased he became. This was just what he feared. Perhaps the new recruits really did still need Kakashi as chaperone.

                Rei groaned and drew her sheets up over her head as the sunlight filtered through her window. She had spent the entire night tossing and turning unable to stop thinking about the way things were handled, and about that little girl. She desperately did not want to get out of bed, her urge to sleep all day made stronger by the knock that then sounded from her door. Not even Kakashi would encourage her to get up, and that was saying a lot.

                The knocking ceased to stop for five full minutes, and Rei wondered what the hell he even wanted. He didn’t even say anything, just kept rapping mindlessly at the wood. After another few moments, she couldn’t take it anymore. “Alright, fine! I’m coming! Geez!” she shouted, slithering out of bed and sliding a pair of dirty pants on. Her hair was a tangled mess, her breath smelled awful, and she was pretty sure there was a stain on her nightshirt but she wasn’t in a mindset to really care. Kakashi had known her since she was a baby, he had caught her pissing her pants at one point, he could handle her morning alter ego just fine. Or at least she thought he could. She was sure Kakashi wouldn’t care, regardless. And truly, he wouldn’t. Only it was not Kakashi on the other side of the door.

                Tenzo looked her up and down a moment, his eyes wide and disconcerting. “Uh…is this a bad time? Because I don’t want to interrupt if you’re—” he stammered but Rei shook her head.

                “You dragged me out of bed already, might as well spit it out” she said. “So, what is it? What do you want?”

                He couldn’t look her in the eyes, both due to her current state and because of the way she was the other day. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. “The hokage summoned us all to his office immediately, said he had something very important to speak with us about” Tenzo explained.

                Rei blinked, face displeased. “This early? Does the man not know the meaning of sleep?” she asked.

                “I wouldn’t question him. If this is as important as it seems to be, I think it would be a good idea to get over there quickly” he replied. “You’re, uh…you’re not going like that, are you?” he then added nervously.

                The redhead rolled her eyes and stepped inside her apartment. “Of course not” she spat. Tenzo told her to meet him and Tenshi in the lobby in ten minutes or else they’re leaving without her. She nodded in compliance and then slammed the door. As she got dressed, however, her mind began racing with what if’s. What could the hokage possibly want with the three of them? All she could think of was that it had something to do with their mission. Perhaps the mother and daughter were so traumatized they complained to their own kage, who then was so angry he decided to declare war on the Leaf Village and it would all be their fault. Or at least all her fault. She knew none of this was her sole responsibility but no one else seemed to be taking the brunt here, so it naturally laid upon her. Weighing her down like a log crushing a rat. For a moment, she swore she was going to be sick.

                She met with the pair just in the nick of time and walked silently behind them as they approached the hokage’s office. The dome-shaped building seemed far more intimidating now knowing she was very likely in heaps of trouble. When they reached the office, he ushered them inside with a grave look upon his face. “I think it’s time we all had a little talk” he started.

                Tenshi then raised her hand as if she was back in the academy. The hokage paused a moment before granting her permission to speak. “How long is this going to take? I have other things to do today, you know.” Lord Third looked upon her darkly, as if he was struggling not to smack her. Tenzo shot her an exasperated, embarrassed look as if to beg her to shut up. She looked to everyone in the room with genuine confusion. “What? Is it so wrong to try to keep to a schedule?”

                Unable to hold herself back, Rei replied through gritted teeth, “Well maybe if you stopped complaining, we would get this done a lot quicker!”

                “Alright, settle down now” the hokage interrupted, making a patting motion with his hands. “I called you all here today to address some issues pertaining to your latest mission. Late last night, I received a message from Kusagakure’s carrier pigeon detailing some complaints the residents had about a ‘scuffle’ the other night involving the Konoha black ops. Witnesses said there was mass chaos and that things were handled in a very unprofessional matter. The kage himself has stated a great disdain for the way things were handled and recommends I suspend you all lest you want to start some sort of war.” The hokage stopped here to look upon the somber faces of his ninja. Even Tenshi expressed some semblance of guilt. “Compared to your reactions when you returned here the other day, I feel as if I am getting two very different stories and am unsure which to believe. Can any of you tell me now what, exactly, happened on this mission?”

                Tenzo immediately stepped forward. “I will explain, Lord Third” he began. Tenshi eyed him as if he was about to reveal some massive secret, and for a moment Rei truly despised her. Not that she didn’t already hate Tenshi, but the thought of her thinking so little of other people’s feelings to the point where she was willing to shove something like this under the rug? Disgusting.

                The hokage nodded, urging Tenzo to proceed his story. Rei sucked in a deep breath and prepared for the worst. As far as she knew, Tenzo was an honest, upstanding citizen who would explain everything just as it happened. He was well-composed, no waver in his voice. He cleared his throat, and then began.

                “We infiltrated the village from the northwest side, closing in on the building our target was rumored to be staying in. When he exited the premises to take out the trash, we zeroed in on him in what should have been a clean capture but extenuating circumstances prevented such. A woman and child came from inside the house and, as you can likely imagine, were very unhappy. The child began to cause a scene, and the mother used a kitchen knife to try and fight against us. Neither of us sustained any serious injuries, but the blade caught Rei on the left side of her neck. The man struggled and resisted arrest, so we had no choice but to use force and escape as quickly as possible. We departed the village as other residents began to leave their homes in curiosity.”

                The hokage tented his fingers and nodded as he listened. Once Tenzo was finished, Lord Third gazed upon each of their faces a moment before speaking. “I can see that what you say is true, but that does not mean I am happy with the circumstances. I understand that there were external forces at play, but I am still very disappointed in the way you handled this. The situation was managed in a sloppy and disrespectful manner that has damaged the name of the Leaf. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”

                Tenzo opened his mouth to speak but of course Tenshi stepped in and spoke over him, debating the hokage’s stance. Rei only half listened to her argument, her mind spiraling. If anything, this was a simple confirmation of everything she had been thinking since the incident occurred. She was not a good ninja. She made a massive mistake. She put her village in danger. She did not belong here.

                She wandered home in a daze, bumping into the rare villager here and there. Small children paused their games of keidoro in the streets to stare at her, as if they could see straight through her mask, and whisper about her among themselves, saying she seemed scary or something like that. The minute she returned home, she ripped her mask off her face and gasped for fresh air, then tossed the damn thing into the corner of the room with all her might. Fortunately, brute strength was not her forte and she did no damage to the mask itself, but she wished she had. She leaned over her desk and panted heavily, her face beading with sweat. She felt claustrophobic and unhinged, as if she was trapped in a tornado with no reprieve. If her grip on the edge gave way even in the slightest, her hands would lay victim to horrible tremors that would extend all the way through the rest of her body. She caught sight of her reflection in the little mirror nearby and wanted to puke. And then her eyes shifted to the glint of the kanzashi on the desktop. She thought of the tip, of its sharpness, and felt compelled to touch it, to press it against her skin and see what she could make of it. She knew this was not Grandma Teiko’s intended use, and the thought of harming herself with something so sacred pained her, but the urge was far stronger than any regret. Just as she reached for the kanzashi, however, there was yet again a knock at the door and she shouted the most profane word she knew of in response.

                “What do you want?” she snapped, swinging the door open. She expected it to be Tenzo again, or even Tenshi back to dish out more insensitivity, but instead she was met with a shocked Kakashi and she immediately wished she hadn’t said anything at all. He looked her up and down and knew in an instant there was something wrong. Without an invitation, he stepped inside.

                “I heard what happened and wanted to make sure you were alright” he said. He looked around the apartment for anything amiss, finding her mask on the floor. Then he looked to her: her red, sweaty face and glossy eyes and rapid breath. He knew without her even needing to say anything that she was not alright.  

                “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I don’t…I don’t need you checking up on me, alright? Everything’s fine” she lied. Unfortunately, lying was also not her forte. Kakashi cocked a brow and took her shoulders so that he could steady her and look her dead in the eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was that sharingan of his or what but she felt as if when he looked in her eyes, he was staring straight into her soul. She couldn’t carry on lying to him.

                “Now, tell me how you really feel” he urged. She blinked a few times before the tears refused to restrain themselves anymore, spilling down her cheeks silently. Shaking his head, Kakashi pulled her into his arms and held her there, rubbing her back, until she had calmed down.

                “I can’t do this anymore” she had said later, sitting beside him on the edge of her bed.

                “Can’t do what?” he asked sternly. He feared her answer more than anything but knew remaining silent would be an answer in and of itself.

                Shaking her head, she motioned to the room and then pointed to the tattoo on her arm. “This.” Rei buried her face in her hands despondently. “I think there’s been a terrible mistake.”

                “What do you mean?” Kakashi asked. He wasn’t liking where this was going at all.

                “The hokage, he…he screwed up recommending me to ANBU. I’m not…I’m not good enough” she replied, the last part a pained whisper. “I’m supposed to be skilled and emotionless and smart. I’m supposed to be so smart. But I screwed up. I made a mistake. I’m not skilled or emotionless or smart. Instead I’m stupid and talentless and get far too invested in things. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her, that little girl…the screaming is still ringing in my ears. I tore apart a family. I ruined someone’s life. And for what? I’m a bad ninja, Kakashi. Lord Third made a huge mistake. I don’t…I don’t belong here.”

                Kakashi’s heart broke hearing her words, how hard she was on herself. Was this because of what he had done? Was she like this because he told her she wasn’t good enough so long ago? He hated to think he had a hand in this. “You’re wrong” he replied. “A good shinobi is not a robot void of any feelings. A good shinobi does what is right and what is necessary in spite of those feelings. To bring your personal feelings into a battlefield is a death wish, but to know what is right and choose to ignore it is the act of a coward. The enemy’s family was completely out of your control, there was nothing more you could do. At the end of the day, that man was a criminal and he needed to face the consequences of his actions.”

                Rei nodded slowly, though nothing he said made her feel any better. If anything, she felt as if he was just contributing to the blame. So even Kakashi thought she had screwed up. Realistically, she didn’t know what else she expected. “Thanks, Kakashi” she said softly, wrapping her arms around her waist. Even if nothing he said helped, she wanted to at least leave him believing that was the case. She watched him stand and head toward the door, reassuring her that everything would be fine, before departing. Once alone, she was finally able to stew in her own guilt and self-hatred properly. Her eyes darted back to the kanzashi on her desk, Kakashi’s words echoing in her ears. To know what is right and choose to ignore it is the act of a coward. She was a coward, though. She had no idea what she was doing and everything about her life nowadays terrified her. She ripped her gloves and her gauntlets off and tossed them to the floor, a lump rising in her throat, then rose from her bed and crossed the room.

                Lord Third was reviewing the paperwork on his desk when there was a knock at the door. He glanced up, then called for his visitor to enter. Rei clenched her fists at her sides then stepped inside, feeling lucky her face was hidden. “Ah, Rei, I was just about to summon you” he greeted. “What can I do for you?”  

                Rei glanced to the hokage’s assistant and then out the window and then to the floor. “I was wondering, if it’s not too much to ask, if I could request a private conversation with you, Lord Third” she said, voice sounding far smaller than she expected. The hokage paused a moment, blinked, and then motioned for his assistant to leave the room. Once they were alone, he took another long drag from his pipe.

                “You might as well take your mask off now” the hokage suggested, “Seeing as it’s just the two fo us.” Rei’s hand hovered over her face, hesitant, before obeying. “Well? What seems to be the trouble, Rei?” he asked. The redhead fidgeted and refused to look him in the eye. Hiruzen Sarutobi had a relatively firm idea of what she was about to say just based on her body language, but he wanted to hear her say it herself.

                “Well…correct me if I’m wrong, sir, but…I think you have made a massive mistake” she started. Then, when he stared back at her expectantly, she added, “I don’t think I belong in the ANBU.”

                “You doubt my judgment?” he asked.

                “No, no, no! It’s not that! It’s just…” Rei countered. “This last mission got me thinking and I just…I don’t know. I can’t help but feel like I’m not cut out for this. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all.”

                The hokage shook his head and rose from his seat to look out upon the village. What he said next was nowhere near what Rei was expecting. “I’ve seen a change in Kakashi these past few weeks” he stated. Rei’s spine shot ramrod straight and a lump rose in her throat. “He is not nearly the dark, gloomy boy he once was. True, he is still far from perfectly fine but there has been a distinct shift in his mood and his demeanor. Sometimes he smiles now, and he makes conversation with the other shinobi. He never did that before.”

                “Lord Third, w-why are you telling me all of this?” Rei asked, a sense of panic in her voice.

                Hiruzen finally glanced to her from the corner of his eyes. “I tell you this because it means my plan is working. You are fulfilling the mission I asked of you when I assigned you to the black ops in the first place. You remember that afternoon, yes?” Rei nodded. “I thought you would.”

                “But that doesn’t mean anything” Rei argued. “Is this the only reason you even put me in the black ops? To babysit Kakashi?”

                The hokage’s face turned sour. “You know the answer to this, Rei” he replied. “You are more than just a ‘babysitter’ to Kakashi. Yes, the main reason I wanted you in the black ops was to keep an eye on him and help him get back to center, but I would not have appointed you if I did not think you were capable of all that the ANBU required of you. Is that understood?” Rei nodded slowly.

                “But how am I supposed to keep doing this if I don’t really feel like I belong here?” Rei asked. “I feel like everything I do is wrong. My emotions are so strong, they only get in the way. I’m not sure if I’m tough enough for this.”

                “Your lack of belief in yourself contributes to your failure” he stated. The word failure struck Rei hard in the chest, a kunai straight for the heart. So she had failed after all. “Rei, have you ever heard the story of unmei no akai ito?”

                Rei blinked despondently. Somehow it sounded familiar and yet she couldn’t remember a thing about it. She shook her head, trying to discern where Lord Third was going with this.

                “There is a tale about a young boy who encountered an old man on his way home one night” the hokage began. “This man told the young boy that there is a red thread tied around his pinky finger that attaches him to his destiny. While this string may tangle and stretch, it can never break regardless of circumstances.”

                “What does this have to do with anything?” Rei asked. She flexed her pinky finger stupidly, knowing that there was absolutely nothing tied to it. Old man must be crazy.

                Lord Third shook his head and took another drag from his pipe. “The old man showed the young boy who he was destined to be with, a young girl, but the boy had no interest in this and threw a rock at her head. Once the boy had become a young man, he was arranged to marry. When he lifted her veil, he was delighted to see she was very beautiful but had a strange decoration on her eyebrow. When he asked of this, she replied that when she was a child, a young boy threw a rock at her head and left a scar there that she was self-conscious of. This woman was the same young girl that the old man told the boy was his destiny, and they were connected by the red thread of fate, unmei no akai ito.”

                Rei’s heart began racing in her chest. She hated this story and she wished the hokage had never told her any of it. “That’s ridiculous” she said, waving him off. “That’s silly. That makes no sense. That’s just a kid’s fairytale.”

                “Or is it?” the hokage asked wisely. “Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

                A part of her thought she did, but the truth of it scared her and she wanted nothing to do with it. This was getting to be far too much. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

                Hiruzen, however, did not listen to her pleas. “From the moment we are born, we all have a destiny to fulfill. We are tied to this destiny no matter what else may happen. Even if you cannot see it now, everything is working simply according to fate’s design. Meaning that yes, Rei, you do, in fact, belong here.”

                For a moment, Rei swore she could slap the old man. All of that just to try and convince her of something she knew was false? This was ridiculous. She couldn’t help herself from rolling her eyes.

                “I know it is hard to believe that you are meant to be someplace you do not feel skilled or prepared for but I assure you, fate makes no mistake. I am just the vessel through which life brought you here. Have more confidence in yourself, Rei. You are a fine kunoichi and you are more than capable of succeeding in the black ops, and more.”

                Rei trudged home that night exhausted and bothered. Lord Third’s story rang in her ears for the rest of the day, a torturous pang that she could never escape. She peered down the hall as she unlocked the door, her eyes landing on Kakashi’s apartment. She wondered if he was inside, then scrubbed the thoughts from her mind. She didn’t want to think about him. Not now. Once she stepped inside, she changed out of her black ops uniform and slumped into her desk chair tiredly. The kanzashi her grandmother gave her sat nearby, the gold glistening in the moonlight. The tip was still stained with the evidence of her earlier endeavors. She glanced to the markings up her arm and thought of that red thread of fate. Something like that couldn’t really exist, could it? She doubted there was really anything attaching her to her destiny, especially if that destiny involved Kakashi. She still found it hard to believe that that night they spent together was anything more than two friends reuniting after years of distance. She could not possibly imagine Kakashi feeling anything toward her. It was impossible.

                The longer she sat there, the longer her thoughts began to drive her crazy and she considered picking up that stupid, sharp little hair pin again but decided against it. Instead, she rushed to her window and stuck her head out into the cool night air, gasping for breath. The moon shone high overhead and the streetlights flickered. Beneath one, an older man stood, likely a merchant on his way home. She stared at him as he waved down a small boy with goggles on his head and stripes on his cheeks. She recognized him at once. She regretted being unable to hear exactly what the man was saying but saw him point to the east. She followed his finger to the gates of the Hyuga clan’s land, then looked back to find the boy tilting his head in confusion. You and me both, kid.

                No matter how hard she tried to sleep that night, every time she closed her eyes she saw veins of red, threads tangling with one another to make one massive, complicated knot. The scrapes on her arm ached and her chest felt tight and her eyelids began to grow heavy. The old man’s voice rang in her ears. From the moment we are born, we all have a destiny to fulfill. We are tied to this destiny no matter what else may happen. Even if you cannot see it now, everything is working simply according to fate’s design. What a bunch of bullshit. She laughed quietly to herself as she rolled over and pulled the sheets up high over her head.

                Alright, fine, she thought to herself, on the verge of sleep. Let’s test this theory then. Prove to me that this is meant to be. Show me where this red thread leads. Take me to my destiny.

[darquedeath4444]

First Time to See the World

Chapter EIGHTEEN

By the time Sakura managed to make it down to the arena, Gaara was already there and waiting. She tried to focus on her opponent by zooming in on his red hair but everything blurred before her eyes and she suddenly felt as though she was under water. 

Genma's voice was unclear and his face mushed up every time he spoke. She didn’t even realize he had started the match and the only thing that saved her from being crushed by the wave of sand that came at her was the sudden shift in the blurriness and she somehow managed to stumble out of the way. She felt heat surge through her, staring at her stomach, and she left out a soft groan and wrapped her arms around her middle.

She could hear Naruto and Sasuke calling out to her in worry but beneath the nausea, all Sakura felt was thrill.

It was beginning.

She released the killing intent in a single wave, instantly clearing the haze. She saw Kimimaro shoot up from his slouched position, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Her brain began to pound, her blood rushing through her veins. She bared her teeth and clenched them together, feeling her bones vibrating beneath her skin.

The bloodlust she had been holding back since her final battle alongside Haku and Zabuza finally freed itself. Sakura raised her hand, palm towards her chest, and began wiggling her fingers. Her bones began moving and jutted out of her elbow. She lashed out, cutting through the next tendril of sand that came at her.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?" She called. There was a pause but she didn't even wait for a reply. She had watched Gaara's battle against Lee and if there was one way to get past his sand shield, it was to outrun it.

 Sakura was pretty sure that not even Gaara's sand could completely crush her if she strengthened her bones to the max but the key words were 'pretty sure'. Sakura didn't think Gaara would be the type to kill her but she didn't know this for certain.

Thrill of battle made people do funny things, she could relate to that.

She tugged down the neckline of her shirt and formed a particularly sharp bone from where usual people had their shoulder blades. She tested its weight then twirled the blade around. She then hardened the bones around her body, just in case.

"Tsubaki no mai!"

She didn't know how exactly Gaara's sand worked. It didn't seem it was controlled by him, because even when Gaara had been unable to follow Lee's movements, the sand had still tried to stop the Konoha shinobi. She body flickered behind Gaara in the blink of an eye, eyes wide and taking in everything before her. She saw the sand in front of her shift and she struck out with her sword. Gaara clumsily dodged her strike and she spun out of reach, and watched with satisfaction when the sand grasped at her afterimage. She used Gaara's confusion to swoop up at him from behind and landed a mockingly light kick to the side of his shield before dancing out of reach again.

There was a shocked murmur from the crowd as they watched the noname pink haired girl with some bone related kekkei genkai fight the son of the Kazekage on equal grounds.

Gaara's sand shot towards her with increased speed. Still, it was nowhere near fast enough for Sakura to be unable to keep up. When the sand began to spread over the floor, she once again slipped out of reach and planted herself on the higher wall of the arena, so that she was looking down at the Suna redhead.

It looked as though Gaara was out of sand for the moment, for it didn't attempt to climb the surface she was perched on.

From her height, Sakura observed her opponent. Even if speed was not a problem, the reach of the Sand would be one. She would have to split her attention between attack and defense. 

She raised her hands and narrowed her eyes a little. Tenshi sendan! Her body naturally pushed the bones at the tip of her fingers out. The projectiles flew towards the surprise redhead, who only managed to block the attack due to his automatic sand shield.

Sakura clicked her tongue. It seemed her drilling bullets were not enough to pierce even the thinned out sand shield. Just for the sake of it, she gathered the force to a single finger and fired it. This one managed to pierce the first shield but dropped to the floor after hitting the second that popped up a second later.

"This is getting nowhere," she muttered. She moved to the adjacent wall to avoid the next sandy hand that made to grab at her.

"I agree," Gaara called. "I did not think you would be this difficult to catch." With a smirk, he clapped his hands together. "Ryusa Bakuryu!"

Sakura felt a faint vibration through the walls and watched in disbelief as the amount of sand covering the arena floor began to increase. "Uh, no way,” she muttered, glancing around, looking for another perch. 

Finding none, she made quick calculations in her head, then hoping that the speed the sand was increasing at was not controllable, she cut the chakra connecting her to the wall. She landed on the floor and a split second later, was already in the air again. With speeds only those with special taijutsu training could ever hope to accomplish, she darted towards Gaara.

Strengthening the bones in her arms and gathering chakra to her hands, she smashed through the shield that popped up in front of her. Even as she moved, she could feel the levels of sand increasing. She jumped to avoid the next tendril of sand but could not dodge the other and was sent crashing down onto the ground, a tight grip around her ankle.

Last minute bone hardening saved her from the harsh impact but she lay there, wondering if Gaara would fall for the act. The sand around her formed a hand and began to encase around her.

"Forfeit," Gaara called calmly.

"You must be crazy," she replied, trying to mimic his tone. She got to her feet and while the sand kept a tight grip on her ankle, Gaara watched without making any moves to stop her. She tugged at her shirt then began untying the obi that held it together.

There was uneasy murmuring from the crowd and she could hear Naruto yelling at her, though she ignored both. She pulled her loose fitting shirt, similar to the one Kimimaro wore, off her shoulders, leaving her upper body bare, save for her chest bindings.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked, eyes wide. "A girl should not just-"

Sakura stretched, the crack of her neck cutting him short. "Okay, let's continue."

Gaara narrowed his eyes a little and raised his hand. The sand, which had been coiling like a snake around her, began to wrap around her body. The last thing anyone saw was a smirk before she completely vanished.

"What is she doing?" Naruto yelled, eyes wide. "She-She just-"

Sasuke scowled and turned to Kakashi, who had closed his book in favor of watching the fight. "Kakashi."

"Hm?" The Jounin turned to them and raised an eyebrow.

"You've gotta stop the fight, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. "Sakura-chan-"

"-sounded like she knows what she's doing." Kakashi said.

"You don't know her," Sasuke snapped. "Sakura is like that, even if faced with death."

"And you don't know her either, if you think the thought of dying is anywhere is Sakura's mind."

The male members of Team Seven looked up to see Kimimaro standing by the rail. He looked calm, but even Sasuke could see the slight trembling of him limbs. He was breathing heavily as well, and he easily realized that Sakura had been acting similarly.

Naruto stepped forward. "She's your clan mate! You-"

"We Kaguyas grow stronger the closer we are to death," Kimimaro said firmly. "We feed on blood lust and evolve in an instant. Our Kekkei Genkai enables us to adapt to any battle condition." He smirked. "Don't you understand how much fun she's having at the moment?"

Chapter NINETEEN>

<Chapter SEVENTEEN

Chapter List

[0stormy0muses0-archived]

s1lver-bullet​:

“I am The Demon. And I don’t need an opponent. I just need a mugger, or someone robbing a gas station. They should be just fine.”

    “Well, Demon-san, I think the police have muggers and robbers covered. Or they should...I don’t agree with pros stepping in and causing serious damage for small crimes, but what do I know? I’m just a quirkless civilian.”

    As he speaks, Tenshi pours them both a cup of tea and gets back to cooking, the scent of the teriyaki chicken filling the kitchen.

    “Dinner’s almost ready anyways, you wouldn’t want to go out and then get back to find your portion cold, would you? I could warm it up for you of course, but I don’t think the flavor is the same when you reheat it.”

    There’s not much he can do to stop this other personality, so he’ll just keep talking and hope that the Demon will calm down with some good food in his stomach.

@0-stormy-muses-0 wants to meet the Demon!

“Hello, Mister First! Jowi isn’t here right now, but you have good ol’ Split Personality Number One to keep you company! So sit down, stay a while! I promise,”

“I probably won’t bite you.”

[0stormy0muses0-archived]

@symbol-of-terror​ said: ♞ - uncleee

|۩|  Manhandling symbol starters --- Accepting |۩| ♞ - physically pick my muse up and carry them

    It’s been a while since he’s had any visitors. Tomura hasn’t been around in years, certainly moved on with his life and is working on his own plans and schemes (does he remember the lonely man locked in a vault?), his brother has been in Tartarus for months now (good riddance, his mind says, but not convinced he’ll remain there), and even Garaki has been busy with this or that, leaving one of the Nomu to bring him food three times a day.

    He can’t say what’s worse; no company or that of the clearly insane man who almost worships the ground his brother walks on. Either way, it’s not a good life, but it’s been this way for far, far too long. Most people would have broken by now---bu the First has always been stubborn, a small light that refuses to go out while surrounded by endless darkness. He can only endure, endure, endure...

    Dragged out of a dreamless sleep by an often unheard sound, the vault door opening, he remains still. Turned away from the opening, ears listening. Footsteps move closer and he expects to be prodded or poked, even dragged up by his arm or hair. Instead he feels the blanket moved off and then two arms lifting him up. It’s not hard to do, his weight fluctuates between ‘danger of starvation’ and ‘underweight’. If he had to guess, he’d say he’s currently somewhere around 43 kg.

    Seeing as he can’t pretend to be asleep for much longer, Tenshi opens his eyes and blinks up at the person holding him. It’s been years, he’s much older now, but he can’t forget that face.

    “Tomura?”

[0stormy0muses0-archived]

    “Oh yes! I had a brief, but very intense interest in cryptids when I was younger!”

    “My favorite is Mothman for sure! I even dressed up as him for Halloween one year!”

{ Who's the bigger nerd between them? } “Why does everybody blame Mothman for tragedies?! He’s only trying to warn us!! At least that’s how I’d like to think of it.”

“I guess it all depends on one’s perspective... And considering no one’s been able to have a conversation, figuring out it’s motives is a bit difficult...”

He paused, thinking a moment.

“Wait you know about Mothman??”