#✎ hazel's self inserts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ch4rryc0smos · 13 days

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YOU WITH THE DARK CURLS / YOU WITH THE WATER COLOUR EYES ! — DEAR ARKANSAS DAUGHTER | LADY LAMB.

── .✦ ❝ H A Z E L E L E A N O R A - A D E L A I D E V E L L I C H O R . ❞

𓇼 — xxv | cancer | infj | british 🖇️

appearance ; pale skin, mole under the left corner of her bottom lip, emerald green eyes, sharp features, 5'11 [180 cm], athletic [or sleeper] build, barely noticeable scars on hands. scars over most of her body, most visible on back. dimples when she smiles hard. ombre [brown-blonde] hair.

beliefs ; time is finite but the soul isn't. life exists even when you do not anymore, you are infinite in the ways stars are reborn from the dying fumes of another, you are stardust. cosmic child, why do you fret?

⋆ ─ look for what brings you joy, exemplify it, you do not owe the world your bones, your blood, and yourself. ⋆ ─ live as if it's your first time. time does not wait.

personality ; realist, calm & collected, intuitive, cerebral, meticulous, diligent, compassionate, observant, vigilant.

positive traits ; caring, in tune with other's emotions. compassionate, [mostly] voice of reason, empathetic, kind, selfless.

negative traits ; anxious, bottles up her emotions, skeptic [has trust issues], struggles with boundaries.

quirks ; fidgets when she's nervous | voice gets a bit louder and faster when she's talking about her passions | likes to fidget overall | has a [slight] oral fixation.

likes ; flower crowns, writing, reading, coffee, cats, foxes, nature, people watching, deep conversations, psychology, biology, anthropology, autumn, planetariums, museums, kenji sato.

dislikes ; arthropods, heights, loud noises, narrow-mindedness, extreme temperatures, snobby people, arrogance, dishonesty, people who do not take accountability.

deepest secrets ; she actually just wants to make her parents proud, but she also despises them ─ but she doesn't, it's confusing. she wants to give her brother what she never got.

⋆ ─ she wants simple things, she wants a home where she isn't at a requirement to wake up at the crack of dawn, a home where there's silence when she wakes. she wants peace. ⋆ ─ she doesn't like the government, or authoritarian rule in general.

── .✦ ❝ B A C K S T O R Y . ❞

BORN in the heat of summer, hazel vellichor was meant to be the light in her parent's lives. meant to bring them success, and to become the joy they sought out when they decided to have her. but it seemed that, she would end up being everything but the light they wished for. throughout her mother's pregnancy, her father was absent, working in l.a, and he had asked for a son, a man to continue his legacy.

when she was born, aurelia, her mother, was sent into a frenzy, knowing well that hazel's father would not be happy. when he arrived, he was met with the face of his newborn daughter. he was enraged, blamed aurelia for bringing a burden onto the family.

the vellichor family moved to the u.s when hazel was just a month old, so her father could focus on his business, not having to worry about the family reputation back at the u.k.. hazel grew up to be a calm and collected child, mostly keeping to herself until she was five.

that's when it changed, kenji sato moved to l.a with his mother, emiko. and eleanora, hazel's grandmother welcomed the boy and his mother with open arms. which to the young girl, meant that they were safe. they were friends.

one thing leading to another, he became a constant in her life. she thought that for the first time since moving here, it wasn't as lonely, and as depressing. for two years, he was her rock, and she was his. they promised each other, one night under the blanket of stars, that they would never forget each other. that they'd stay at each other's side for as long as possible.

it wasn't long.

at seven, hazel was told that she'd be moving back to the u.k, to the vellichor family house. she didn't know they had one at all. and she wanted to question it, but knowing her parents, their volatility, she didn't test the waters. she complied to their wishes, packed, until the thought of leaving was unbearably loud in her head.

so she escaped to the one place that she knew would provide her with comfort, with solace. kenji's place. she told him about what was going to happen, she expected anger, not silence, not minutes that she could hear ticking, and not him hugging her and asking her to please not take her bracelet off.

when hazel moved back to the u.k, she considered those the most dreadful years of her life. she studied, tried mold herself into the perfect daughter for her parents, a prodigy, a trophy child, took every elective, tuitions, everything. she barely made friends, her only constant then was maple, her best friend. throughout middle and high school, she focused on her studies, on achieving the best. and then her mother got pregnant again, right before she'd be graduating high school.

she knew that her sibling would not be spared the torture that was the vellichor family. and she thought that they would be the undoing of the plan she'd so meticulously created, to be executed the day she turned eighteen.

she turned eighteen, moved out. despite her parent's curses and reprimanding. she left. but that didn't unchain her from their shackles, she went on to become a public speaker.

which brought them fame; all they've ever wanted.

── .✦ ❝ C U R R E N T . ❞

ONE of the greatest speakers the world has ever seen, a public figure, and an advocate. hazel vellichor goes on to fulfill her parent's wishes, unwillingly. but the public doesn't know that. they see her flourishing, they see her joy at being a voice of reason, at speaking up, and not falling victim to capitalism, and what it makes of humanity.

she thinks that nineteen might've been true freedom, and ever since then, it's only been getting better, even the travelling, all the calls don't feel bad. nothing could ever be as bad as living under her parent's roof, and seeing their faces every day, and hearing the words that jabbed into her ribcage, left bruises along the muscle of her lungs.

she's living the life she asked for, until she gets into contact with a hayao sato, someone who apparently knew eleanora hyde, her grandmother. it's been so long since anyone's mentioned her. hazel misses her. she ends up going to japan, for an event, and there, mr. sato helps her re-explore her love for science, something she learnt to sacrifice for the sake of commerce, for speaking, for the publicity her parents wanted her to achieve.

there, he mentions ultrawoman. the role hazel's grandmother once held. her mother should've been the next one in line, but aurelia didn't want the role under any circumstance. hazel promised her gran that if she ever became ultrawoman, she would do her justice.

she didn't think the time would have arrived so soon, that she would be required to accept the role bestowed upon her. but she wouldn't deny it. she would do what she was asked to. that's something that never changed with her, she thinks she was made to serve others, something about it felt right.

what she didn't think about was how hard it would be to find a balance between being a public figure, and being a literal superhero. or how much harder it would be when the person that's meant to help you has too big of an ego himself.

ultraman is clumsy, self-centered, and clearly has no idea what to be doing, but hazel has no idea that he's her childhood best friend that she had to leave behind.

at twenty-five, she is required to figure out a whole new part of her life, one that's always existed, and a part that she had to leave behind. she has to dust off the shelf she refused to visit previously.

and she has to uncover a new story, including him.

𓇼 — appears in reverie [ongoing], saudade [wip].

★ ; i love my girl, THANK YOU!! my ultraman: rising s/i, everyone. this post took so long, can't believe i'll have to make these for my other s/i's too... save me. i also had picrews, but i couldn't find a place to insert them. anyways, here's hazel!!! i have a playlist for her too!

#self insert #s/i #ultraman rising self insert #self shipping community #selfship #kenji sato #ken sato #kenji sato x self insert #public figure self insert #ultraman #✎ hazel's self inserts

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ch4rryc0smos · 30 days

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REVERIE | 01

WOKE UP AT DAWN.

synopsis ┊kenji sato returns to japan, leaving behind everything he's ever known. and fate plays a cruel joke on him, when hazel vellichor walks back into his life, albeit not by choice. she makes a trip to japan, for a charity event, for another speech, and somehow; media wrangles her in for more drama. what they don't know is that she's ultrawoman, and kenji's ultraman, and there's more than to the eye here. they're well intertwined and every time they tug away, the knot gets tighter. everything leads them to each other, and now japan is in their hands, and they have to unravel every secret they refused to acknowledge prior to this. and they have to accept every role bestowed upon them, whether they like it or not. somehow, all of this leads to is them learning that there was always more to their friendship, and that they were truly two puzzle pieces, fit right next to each other.

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊2k.

author's note ┊first part out!! currently in the process of writing number three but, here we have this <3 ken truly comes into the picture in three, so... just a bit more waiting! i also have a playlist for this, if anyone wants it :') the title of this chapter's from 'suntescobar' by lor [again]! happy reading!

prev. | next.

L.A would of course be filled with surprises. So when Hazel receives an email asking her to ‘join’ a baseball game, as a VIP spectator, the first reasonable thing she can think of doing is call Maple. Her trusted best friend. Although, right now that is a doubt too. Considering that Maple would probably have biases, what with her love for sports, and especially baseball. Hazel waits patiently, tapping her fingers on the marble kitchen island, the sun sinks lower behind her, and it casts a beautiful golden glow down the whole room. She watches, as for a moment, her hand looks like it gains colour, and life.

And then a sole ring interrupts the silence, and she picks up. “Maple, I—”

“I can read, oh my gods, you said yes, right?” Maple asks her, and the last time she remembers hearing so much shuffling from her best friend on the other side was the eve of her eighteenth birthday. And that felt so long ago. Seven years, even she didn’t think it had been so long.

“No.” she practically anticipates the groan that interrupts Maple’s shuffling.

Then there’s silence. “Then, say yes!”

“Maple, I don’t know,” she begins, running a hand through her hair. “What exactly will I do there? A philanthropist? A speaker? What relevance do I even hold in such a crowd?” she dares ask. Maple is probably bound to lecture her ears off now, but it doesn’t matter anymore. This game was in a week, flat. And she needs to send an answer within the next two days.

“Can’t you imagine? It’s the influence! And oh, it would be so fun.” Maple sounds like she’s right about to start floating, like dreamland is in the corner of her vision and she’s about to taste cloud nine. Hazel still doesn’t get what exactly her best friend’s seeing, but she’s willing to listen, she supposes.

She sighs, “you know very well that I don’t do well with crowds and loud noises.”

“Absolutely ironic for the fact that you’re a public figure,” Maple says. Well, Hazel really can’t deny that either.

“I don’t exactly do it because I want to,” Hazel tries to reason. “Okay, listen, I do like advocating, but public speaking is genuinely so nerve-wracking.”

“Okay, Shakespeare.” Maple’s eye roll is so loud, Hazel doesn’t even need to be on a video call with her to hear it. “You speak like you were made to be speaking, you literally… enchant crowds.”

“I’m not a magician, I’m just someone who wants to make a change.”

“You’re rich.”

“Irrelevant.”

“Just say yes!” Maple sounds so insistent, this time it’s Hazel that groans.

“Well, fine.”

And she regrets agreeing to this more than she can emphasise. A week passes her by like a gust of wind, and suddenly it’s the day of the game and she receives a message that alerts her about some ride of hers arriving in thirty five minutes. And she’s panicking. As she pulls on a white button up and clumsily buttons it up, her hair falls over her eyes and shoulders, and in the heat of L.A, she hates it so much she doesn’t think she would regret chopping her hair off. She pulls on her belt and she’s clipping it into place when her phone dings again. She glances at it, ten minutes.

Whatever deity is up there, she is so thankful to today. Her hair doesn’t look hideous, even in a bun. And she blows at the two strands that decide to violate her face. But it doesn’t matter. Soon her purse is slung over her shoulder and she’s sprinting out and into an elevator, and she’s smiling, and maybe it’s relief, or the fact that she’ll have Maple absolutely biting her head off later for details and a second-to-second analysis of the game. As if she’s a critic. Maybe for the government, but she thinks that’s where it ends, really.

The car ride is rather peaceful, and she’s humming under her breath as they pull up to a stadium that practically leaves her in awe. She doesn’t watch any sports, but gods, this is magnificent. She’s being led inside and she watches the walls and her mind’s wandering just a bit while she tries to listen to her guide. And she thinks she’s about to slip away completely, but one specific question has her rooted back to reality.

She was acting like a child anyway, how stupid of her. What would Aurelia say if she saw her ogling? Not that her opinion matters, anyway. Hazel hates having to convince herself again and again. It gets tiring, quick.

“Would you perhaps like to meet the top player after the game?” Hazel’s head snaps up to meet a pair of brown eyes, warm, like honey.

The question takes Hazel by surprise. “Oh, no, it’ll be fine! I think this is a great honour as is,” she opts to say. It really was, she didn’t want to overstay her welcome anyway, plus… What would she say or do?

“As humble as they say you are,” Her guide huffs, a playful smile playing on his lips as he leads her down to the front rows. And the cameras that surround them aren’t anything new, of course. But it never seems to feel any better. It doesn’t now, either. She doesn’t know what humility he’s talking about, because to her, this is common sense, but again, who was she to question anything anyway?

She situates herself on the seat marked for her, and notes that she might as well be the last one to be in her seat. She catches a few eyes but looks away. Watching the players as they find their positions, she thinks she can ignore the camera being pointed at her face fine enough.

Which it seems, she did do, by the middle of the game. She’s captivated enough, and that’s when she realises that someone out there would probably look into it too much, and they would think she’s in love with some random player. She shakes her head, stowing the thought away for her to worry about later.

All around her, she can hear screaming, and talking, but there’s one name that she can make out, and it’s just distinct enough for her to be able to tell.

‘Ken Sato’ is being screamed by fangirls from every corner. And it’s actually so funny to Hazel, but she feigns her poker face anyway, and acts like she won’t be laughing about this with Maple once she’s back in her hotel room.

This Ken Sato though, seems to be relishing in the fame, and Hazel would be lying if she says she doesn’t want to roll her eyes. A bit cocky, but alright. He did seem to have the talent to back up that fat ego of his.

Other than the screaming, and the winks being thrown right, left, and centre, the game goes on to be pretty uneventful, for Hazel, at least. She’s growing tired of the same way it’s going, and when at the end she’s asked if she still doesn’t want to meet the best player, she can’t be happier to say yes, she does not want to meet him.

Hazel really isn’t given much reprise, even in the car ride back. Maple is already on her tail, and she’s gushing about Ken, and asking if Hazel caught his eye, because apparently she charms men like she collects awards. Which, in the British woman’s mind is just… nonsense, at best, an exaggeration.

“Did he notice you?” Is one of the first few questions Maple asks, and when she hears Hazel’s sigh, all she does is press on. “Please tell me he did!”

“He did not.” Hazel shakes her head, watching outside her car window as the L.A scenery flashes past her, and how devoid the night sky looks, no clouds, no stars. It’s just sad, to her.

“I’m sure he’d wink if he did!” Maple says, and Hazel raises a brow at her phone, wondering what this was supposed to mean, she really did not care whether he noticed her or not, so why is Maple so pressed about it?

“I really don’t think it matters anyway,” Hazel says, trying to reason with her dumbass of a best friend, and then her phone pings, and she lowers it from her ear. “Maple, I think I’ll have to cut the call short, I’m getting some messages.”

“Urgent?” she asks.

“Yes, I’m afraid so.” And that’s all that it takes for Maple to hang up. Instinctively, Hazel taps onto the messages from Mr. Sato, apparently. Usually, he calls her, so if he’s sending messages… It must truly be important.

Hazel, I’m so sorry for such an unprompted message, but I'm afraid your trip to the US might have to be cut short. I really need a visit from you right about now, especially considering that you’re my last hope.

And that really gets her thinking, What does he mean last hope? Surely nothing’s gotten… that desperate. She sends a message in reply, going ‘Mr. Sato, if it’s urgent, feel free to call me.’

She knows he’s probably worried about disturbing her, but she has nothing to do, and she’s sure that at some point she’ll be receiving a message that goes something along the lines of ‘you offended some political leader, get out.’ Well, good for them, she’ll be leaving before they get the chance to ask her to, or rather; force her. Things like these are one of the reasons she doesn’t visit the US often, as scarcely as possible, actually.

Mr. Sato calls, and she’s quick to pick it up. “Thank you so so much, Hazel—” He begins, but she’s quick again, to cut him off this time.

“It’s nothing, Mr. Sato, what’s wrong?” she asks, her free hand’s fingers drumming along her thigh. She always seems to be doing that when she’s nervous, it’s one of her many nervous habits, and what is even worse, to her is that it’s also one of the many things she gets from her parents.

“My son refuses to pick up any calls of mine, and…” he trails off, but Hazel knows. She’d been one of the first to hear about his injury, and she still feels so bad about it.

“I know, Mr. Sato, you’ve told me, remember?” she starts, trying to comfort him. She hears some shuffling from his side, and then she hears the creaking of a bed. She sighs. Letting him continue.

“Kenji refuses to pick up my calls, check my messages, nothing.” Hazel feels pity when she hears him say those words. And she promises him that if there’s anything she can do, or anything that he wants, she’ll be here for him. Especially if his own son wouldn’t be. Again, maybe she shouldn’t be judging so harshly, but she felt truly bad for Hayao.

“And Hazel?” His voice cuts through the buzz in her mind, and she hums a yes in response. “You don’t have to call me Mr. Sato, just Hayao is fine.”

Well, she thinks that’s disrespectful and she will not be doing it. She says as much to him.

“Then, uncle.”

She knows arguing with him is not going to work, so she doesn’t push any further. Instead, she just accepts it. “Yes, uncle.”

He seems content with that, and says he’ll be waiting for her, patiently. And she can’t lie because she wants to see him too, he was like the only other constant in her life, outside of Maple. Before she knows it, she’s back at the hotel, and she thanks the driver, passing her a tip before she exits the car, catching the glint in the woman’s eyes.

Packing, re-booking her flight, and she’d be ready to head back to Japan. Her phone rings in her pocket, but she pays it no mind, making a mental note to deal with it later. She doesn’t even realise it when she’s done ridding the hotel room of all the life it had while she was there, not until she’s standing up straight and questioning whether she has arthritis or not.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x oc #ken sato x self insert #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #ultraman: rising #ultraman #ken sato #kenji sato #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #fluff #angst #part one

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ch4rryc0smos · 1 month

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REVERIE | 00

WHO WILL BE HERE?

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1k.

author's note ┊i'm actually really REALLY nervous to post this, but i'm doing it! i think i'll be writing it as i post, so that's... that. it might take me some time, who knows :') the title is from 'the sun is not my son' by lor! :D i might make a playlist for this little project <3 happy reading everyone!! [ps, should i have a taglist?]

next.

Eleanora Hyde smiled, big. Her granddaughter watched her with confusion. Then, the doorbell rang, and Dorian was quick to let the door swing open, and from the first glance, Hazel knew that the smile on his face was the practised, and fake one, the one he reserved for anyone that wasn’t his pawn. Yet. His daughter eyed him with disdain, but then her gran brushed past her, and her thin arms enveloped a woman she didn’t recognise. Whose name she learnt was Emiko Sato. And from behind her, peeked out a young boy, with hair that was raven, but shone under the light of the moon, with eyes that glowed like purple gemstones. And then, the woman Hazel knew as “Emiko” was gently pushing the boy out from behind the safety of her knees. He stumbled forward, and Hazel’s mother gripped onto her shoulder, tight.

Greetings, manners, discipline. Right.

She stepped forward, holding out her hand. And she just knew that sick smile was on her mother’s face, even if she didn’t bother to look up. Apparently, the boy himself thought so too, because one glance at Hazel’s mother was enough for him. His eyes flitted between everything behind them, but she held his gaze when their eyes next met.

“I’m Hazel, nice to meet you,” she whispered, catching the tremble in her voice and hand mid-sentence, willing herself to gain some composure, she was Dorian Vellichor’s daughter, he did not accept such tomfoolery, even from a five year old.

The boy glanced at her hand, and then her face, and then he clasped her hand in his, shaking it, his own lip trembling. “I’m Kenji.” He smiled, well, as much as he could, that was. She did not mind.

“You’ve grown quite a lot, Kenji.” Hazel’s gran shakily sat down, now eye-level with the boy, her hands clasped onto his shoulders, and he watched her, arms limp at his side. He smiled tightly, nodding his head.

He probably didn’t even know her. Hazel sighed at the thought, letting the screen of her laptop fall close, the light now no longer illuminating her otherwise dark room. The pitch black enveloped her, yet that didn’t last long. Her phone vibrated on her bedside table, and she reached for it. Eighteen was in five minutes, and so was the beginning of executing her plan.

“Maple,” her voice sounded, albeit quietly. There was no one to hear her, what with her parents heading out, although her mother was pregnant. And going out to fancy restaurants and drinking didn’t make it better, but who were they to pay any mind to a to-be-eighteen year old’s words?

Her best friend rustled on the other side, probably trying to find a comfortable position on her bed. How she always did when she called Hazel. She knew their calls always lasted long, and there was no denying. “Hazel! Are you excited?”

She was far from it. The prospect of freedom danced on her tongue, freeing, as it suggested, and yet, all the worries flooded her senses and left her nerves alight. She felt like she was on fire, the steady beat of her heart the only constant in the room, with her.

“Yes,” she said. The lie echoed against her walls, but Maple didn’t know the guilt that rattled her best friend’s bones. Or the fear clawing at the flesh in her throat, and the air that wasn’t entering her lungs.

“You sound really solemn for someone on the verge of freedom,” Maple pointed out, Hazel laughed, a bit fake. And her stomach twisted into nervous knots. A trait she got from her mother, that laughter. She hated every bit of it, and every part of them that would always exist in her, in her blood, and in the way she lived, but she could not spend any longer moping.

Her green eyes stared back at her through the reflective surface of her phone. “I promise, I’m fine.”

Maple knew she wasn’t, and she promised her a home, and she promised Hazel safety that she knew the girl wouldn’t get otherwise. But she also knew that Hazel would not reach out, or seek help until she was battered and bruised, and death was grinning at her, eye-to-eye.

Eighteen when it first hit, was fear, and then freedom. And then it became a spiral that led her to where she is now. Twenty five whispers behind her back, and her suit fits her just a bit too tight. The scent of her just brewed coffee wafts through the place, and she inhales, deep, and slow. The same phone she had when she was eighteen is waiting patiently for her while she strides around her room, feeling her nerves send small waves of nausea rolling over her senses. But she has done this many times before, and nothing could go wrong now. She is human after all and mistakes happen, well, to some extent. At least. She hopes.

She shakes her head, holding it high, letting her feet carry her to the kitchen island, the mug of coffee slotting right into the palm of her hand. A content sigh slips past her lips, and Hazel thinks this is exactly where she’s meant to be, travelling, advocating and weaving her words together to form sentences, stories that she hopes will educate people. Or do something along the lines of it.

As she walks out of the comfort of her hotel room, Maple’s words of reassurance are the only playing in her mind. The city sounds like mindless background noise as her feet carry her to the venue, the click of her heels almost inaudible in comparison to the chatter that surrounds her.

She is so grateful that this city has seen just enough public figures to not spare her a second glance, she feels normal, for once. And L.A welcomes her again, for the fourth time in many years. The last time she visited, she had been twenty. Five years later, nothing really seemed to change.

Only she seems to have changed, but that was the least of her worries when her presence was requested in front of a crowd of around forty thousand people. She promises that she’s going to make this worth it. Every word she speaks is calculated, and it matters here more than anywhere else.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x oc #ken sato x self insert #childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers #ultraman: rising #ken sato #kenji sato #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #fluff #angst #chaotic fluff #prologue

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ch4rryc0smos · 11 days

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REVERIE | 20

I KISSED YOU UNDER THE STARS!

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.4k

author's note ┊this is actually reverie's last part. i'm just a bit emotional because i've finished it. i finished it a while ago, but posting it made me feel like it was still being continued. but it's over. this is the epilogue, and it's reverie's end, but kenzel aren't going anywhere, i think i'll participate in selfshiptober, so if that happens, you'll most probably be getting many oneshots, some including them <3 happy reading.

prev.

Ken can’t stop looking at Hazel. Who he intends to marry. Or propose to, at least. She’s smiling at him. She’s wearing her floral print dress as they bask in the sun, hands working to weave together flower crowns. Ken’s eyes aren’t focused on the flowers, rather on the way her lips form a light pout and her eyes don’t stray anywhere but to the stems she works to weave. A smile is playing on his lips, and he’s so lost in her concentration, he doesn’t even realise she’s done until she turns towards him, and their eyes meet.

Something about the fact that she doesn’t know what’s going on his mind, and the fact that his heart beats faster when she smiles. And then she holds his hand, intertwines their fingers, and tugs his face closer. Then there’s some rustling, and when he reaches up, he feels the fuzzy feeling of flower petals. Hazel leans closer, and presses a feather light kiss onto his forehead. He latches his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

Her soft gasp of surprise is muffled against his chest. And he chuckles. Her hair tickles his neck, but he weaves his hand through it. She leans into his touch, and he places a kiss on the top of her head. One of her hands finds its place onto his chest, right over where his heart should be.

Ken curses himself for letting his heart rate increase. He thinks he might be blushing and closes his eyes.

“Are you flustered, Kenji?” Hazel asks, and she sounds like she might be laughing. He looks down at her, and the smile on her face makes his heart flutter. Hazel’s grinning. Ken leans down, he can’t help but capture her lips in a kiss. She leans up, and then it’s her hands in his hair and he’s pulling her by the waist, even closer. And she’s practically on his lap.

He doesn’t end up answering her question, but with the way she’s blushing, and the way she’s panting, he doesn’t think she wants the answer anyway. He stands up, holding her up. And she holds onto his shoulders for support.

“Put me down!” she says, hitting his shoulder lightly, and he just laughs instead. He’s carrying her somewhere and despite every protest, he continues. At some point, she does make a valid point that he doesn’t know the U.K well enough, but he doesn’t care. He’s listened to everything she’s said, about her childhood here, and if he can create positive connections to everything that’s affected her here, negatively. He wants to.

He intends to, today.

The simple thought of it makes him want to laugh out loud, with joy, at the aspect of finally being able to devote himself to her. He always could, yes, but he didn’t realise it until she walked out of his life the second time, and now he promises that he’ll be what she needs.

At some point, he finally places her on the ground, and now they’re not in a meadow anymore, they’re at the garden that Hazel said she’d been last before she left the U.K. How that was the last time before she started travelling and speaking, she thought of her childhood.

How adulthood kind of started right here.

She turns around to Ken, and it’s like eighteen washes over her, again. But it doesn’t feel scary, how it did then. Instead of frowning, or crying, she’s smiling at him. At the fact that he remembered. She’s a bit confused when he asks her to turn away, to close her eyes.

“May I know why?” she asks.

She’s so polite he almost just wants to tell her, but he laughs. “No, darling. Just trust me, okay?”

She nods, turning around. Ken sighs shakily, getting onto one knee over the stone pathway, a bit worn with age. He pulls out the box, eyes the velvet cover as he opens it. He smiles at the moss agate ring that sits in the plump cushion. He holds it up. Smiles at the back of Hazel’s head as she waits patiently.

“Turn around, my love.” Ken’s heart might just fall out of his chest as he says those words, and it doesn’t get any better when Hazel turns around, and she’s smiling softly but then her eyes widen, and she claps a hand over her mouth.

She thinks she might cry. She doesn’t even know if she’s smiling anymore, but she’s happy. So happy, she can’t even think right. She doesn’t know if she’s understanding this correctly but he holds up the ring, moss agate, but as he’s saying it, like her eyes. She drops to her knees, clutching onto him, wrapping her arms around him, gripping onto his shirt with dear life. He falls on his ass, but he holds her. Her head rests in the crook of his neck, his cologne faint now but the scent of nature lingering on his skin.

Flower petals fall around them, scattered scarcely as they drop from her flower crown, and from in between his curls and the crevices of her dress, but she’s still clinging onto him for dear life.

“I promised I would be all yours, and I promise now that I’ll stand by you, for as long as you’ll let me,” he says, and she can’t think he’d ever practise this, because it feels like those words that you say when you’ve spent too long in your room and the dust is visible in the ray of sunlight and your eyes meet as you’re messing with something on the wrinkled bed sheets, duvet thrown across the bed.

Those ‘I love you’s that transcend written and practised speech, those words that aren’t meant to hold so much value, but weigh more than a heart that grieves.

“If you’ll let me,” he continues.

She thinks he’s outrageous.

“I’m yours, Kenji. As long as time allows me, I’ll be yours,” she whispers against the crook of his neck, and her heartbeat is loud against the quiet breeze that catches her hair.

“You’re mine?”

“All yours.”

“Then, say yes,” he murmurs against her hair.

“Yes, yes, yes. As many times as you need me to say it, yes!” her voice is growing in volume, and he cups her face in his hands, making her look up.

Emerald and amethyst, meet once again. The books have lost count of all the gazes they’ve shared, and writers couldn’t use a million words to describe a single second of what they felt when their eyes met. How that feeling stayed the same, and never got old.

How when he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against her knuckles, her heart fluttered, how it has for a while now. Then the ring appears in her vision, and he slides it on.

It fits her finger perfectly. And the stone is the colour that her eyes are.

He doesn’t resist when she crashes her lips against his, noses pressed together, breaths merged. Bodies pressed so close, considering them two would be a joke.

“You’re my wife now.”

He sounds elated, and he’s grinning, even while he’s panting and his chest is rising and falling rather quickly. His hands are in her hair, and he’s tucking the stray strands behind her ear.

She runs her fingers down his face, his jaw, and he leans into her touch, turning his face to place light kisses against her fingertips.

She hesitates.

“Promise, I’ll stay.”

Those words become a part of his wedding vows. She doesn’t know that just yet, but knows that even if they didn’t, it was a promise that would linger in the mornings he spends in her arms, and the alarms he misses to watch her sleep, or the breakfast he tries to make and shows up to the bedroom with his clothes stained and a little clip holding up his hair.

He loves the way she laughs when he does these things.

And he vows to be the reason they happen, and to give her that simple sort of happiness for as long as life allows him to. He says that in his wedding vows too. And he’s never been a romantic, but for her? Always.

She is a reverie, and she is his. He didn’t know devotion, until he met her, again. And now all of his was for her. For his reverie. His daydream. And his anchor in life.

And everything she is, is a part of him. Two halves of one. That’s what they were.

It’s always been like that. They just didn’t know all those years ago. Now they do, and they wouldn’t trade it for the world, they say.

They know they wouldn’t, when their eyes meet, after the tears clear up, they know that they would find each other, every time. Somehow. Some way. Every, time.

THE END.

— H.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x self insert #ken sato x oc #ken sato angst #ken sato fluff #kenji sato #ken sato #ultraman: rising #ultraman #angst #fluff #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #tooth rotting fluff #chaotic fluff #part twenty #epilogue

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ch4rryc0smos · 16 days

Text

REVERIE | 15

RATHER LIE THAN TELL YOU I'M IN LOVE.

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.3k

author's note ┊angst, huh, what's that? i didn't know that existed! have fun, it's not too long, i think, but we're reaching the end of reverie soon, kinda emotional because i've barely had the chance or energy to write recently, this made me feel great, right before i was short of time. happy reading?

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Over the next few days, neither of them mention what happened that night Ken returned drunk. They don’t have to, and Hazel hopes they won’t. She honestly thinks Kenji might have forgotten, but he doesn't say anything about it. The days roll around that they can finally be free from their bandages and casts, and all of the wrapping that would aid in their healing. Ken’s beyond elated, and he offers to drive. Hazel’s a bit more exhausted, more so mentally than physically, but it’s enough for her to agree without much fight.

Ken’s humming as he drives them to the hospital, and that’s about the only sound that can puncture the silence that surrounds them. The right side of Hazel’s face is pressed against her window, and she’s about to doze off, but then Ken’s phone goes off. She glances at him, holds it up for him. It’s one of his teammates.

“You can pick it up,” he says.

She picks it up, puts it on speaker.

“That night was amazing, Ken—” someone’s saying, really loud. Hazel thinks he might just be speaking right into the speaker.

“I know, dude.” Kenji laughs.

“Didn’t know you had a wife, though!” the guy on the other side is saying, and laughing. Ken tenses, looks at the phone with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t have a wife?” his tone is questioning. His lips are parted in confusion as he stares at the road ahead.

Hazel’s eyes are plastered on him, and she mouths the word ‘what?’

“You left early because you said you had a wife to get back to!”

Hazel feels a lot warmer, although she has no fucking idea who this guy could be referring to.

“I don’t have a wife, oh my god,” Ken says, laughing.

His teammate and him argue for a bit, albeit jokingly. And Ken ends up winning the argument about whether he has a wife or not. Hazel’s silent the whole time, and she feels really warm, and like there’s a pit in her stomach. She doesn’t even realise when they’ve arrived until the car stops and she has to act like she’s not been in her head the whole drive. She stumbles out, opens Kenji’s door for him. He steps out, offering his hand to her. She accepts it, tentatively.

When they walk in, Ken’s doctor is already greeting him. But what she says leaves Hazel’s mind in complete shambles.

“You’ve brought your girlfriend along?” Her tone is the sweetest, more inquiring thing ever. But when Hazel looks up at Ken, he’s redder than a cherry.

She looks away.

“She’s not my girlfriend—Just a frie…” he trails off. The doctor laughs, not pressing and she escorts him away. Hazel’s left waiting outside.

Her heart is sinking, though.

They never confirmed what they may have been, but friends don’t kiss each other, and almost leave hickies, and raise an infant kaiju together, they don’t do any of the shit that Ken and Hazel do. Friends wouldn’t have seen each other naked, or spilled their guts like that.

She’s looking at the floor when Ken returns and his left hand gingerly brushes her shoulder. She flinches. And she hates that she’s relieved. She’s also mad, but she just can’t tell if she’s allowed to, to begin with.

“Hey? It’s your turn, your doctor’s waiting.”

His fingers are about to brush her chin, but she stands up abruptly, making him stumble a few steps back.

She smiles at him, as much as she can while she’s feeling conflicted. He asks her if he should come along, she shakes her head and asks her doctor to lead the way. They leave Ken looking at Hazel, confused. Hazel thinks he shouldn’t be.

She can’t deny it, but she misses his presence in the room when she goes in for check ups, but she’s willing to act like she doesn’t. When she returns, she wordlessly gestures towards the exit. Ken opens his mouth, but no words come out.

“Come on,” she whispers. She may be mad, but she won’t be unreasonable. She repeats that in her head. She leads him back to the car, and she gets into the passenger seat. He drops beside her, and the car vibrates underneath them as the engine starts.

“Hazel?” he asks, finally starting to drive off. Hazel turns to look at him, he gulps. Now she feels terrible. “What’s wrong?”

She’s trying to not snap into pieces now. “What’s wrong? Kenji… What are we?” she whispers, her voice starts shaking and she curses herself mentally for it.

“I—” and he hesitates. That makes her want to tear her heart out.

“Kenji, friends don’t fucking kiss each other.” She balls her fists in her lap.

He can’t even meet her eyes anymore. And that hurts her too.

Then she does the one thing she thought she wouldn’t. She brings up the night he returns drunk. “Friends don’t go naked in front of each other, they don’t try to leave hickies. They don’t—” Her words die in her throat when Kenji’s head snaps up, and their eyes meet.

And she thinks it’s so unfair that he can have this effect on her when she wants to break him, but she wants to kiss him too. But he doesn’t deserve that if he can’t accept that they were never just friends.

“When—” he starts, but it seems that realisation dawns on him before he completes his sentence.

“Ken, don’t play with my heart.” Hazel looks away. She doesn’t need him seeing the way her eyes well up with unwanted tears. She stares out at the streets.

“Of course not!” he sounds terrified, but she only spares him one glance, and her lips tremble, her frown deepens.

“If you weren’t playing with me, it wouldn’t be so hard to just call me your girlfriend, no?” The indignation is clear in her tone when she says these words, voice shaking intensely, knuckles white with the pressure she was exerting.

“Hazel, I swear,” Ken whispers, he sounds like he’s begging, Like he might be in tears.

“Ken, what the fuck are we? You’ve had my heart for so long, but you’re scared to call me your partner?” She finally looks at him, and she has to bite her lip to fight back any strangled sobs that threaten to spill over, she can’t even hold his gaze for long, she’s looking away, wiping furiously at her face. She’s trying to not heave, because she knows that’ll hurt her abdomen.

“I’m not.” He isn’t looking at her anymore, and Hazel thinks he might just leave it here, hanging, but then she notices that he’s driving back to their his place.

“Take me back to my place.” Hazel looks at him. His whole face falls. She has to fight the urge to cup his face in her hands. He doesn’t deserve that comfort.

“Hazel, please…” his voice is much quieter.

She shakes her head. And resigned, Ken starts driving away. She retraces every street as he drives her back. And when he stops in front of her house, she hesitates for a minute. She thinks he might be hopeful of her changing her mind, but then she opens the door, and steps out. If Ken says anything, it falls to deaf ears as she starts walking away.

She only faintly registers the sounds of an engine as she pushes her door open, and she just thinks it’s so unfair that this doesn’t feel like home anymore. Or the fact that half of her closet is left at his. She groans, lets the door slam shut as she falls onto her couch. She shoves her face into her hands, tries to fight back sobs that threaten to wreck her body. She fails. Tears are staining her sleeves as she shakes with the force of every sob.

She shouldn’t have bared her heart at all, because now it would be no one else’s. And what about Emi? What was she going to do? Her own house doesn’t feel like hers. It’s not home.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x oc #ken sato x self insert #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #kenji sato #ken sato #ultraman: rising #ultraman #angst #fluff #tooth rotting fluff #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #chaotic fluff #part fifteen

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ch4rryc0smos · 12 days

Text

REVERIE | 19

I LOVED YOU LIKE THE SUN!

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1k

author's note ┊lets go chat, we got arden!! maple best aunt, and ken will be the best brother in law, might i add. happy reading, btw <3

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Hazel’s well rested the next day. But she’s worried about returning to the U.K. She wouldn’t back out, of course, but it didn’t make it any less nerve-wracking. She spends the whole morning walking around Ken’s courtyard. She leaves her phone inside, so she wouldn’t get distracted. She’s trying to devise some plan, something that doesn’t sound as stupid as walking into her parent’s house and trying to rescue her brother like she was some superhero.

But she’s spent too long outside and needs to go back inside. The last time she saw Kenji that day was during breakfast. Maybe he can help her.

Hazel stretches her arm above her head, sliding the door to the side as she enters Ken's living room space. He's on his phone but as soon as he hears her footsteps, his head snaps up, and he grins, carefree. It’s enough to make her smile too.

“Hi, barbie!” he sounds so excited as he says, it elicits a laugh out of Hazel. Even in her moments of worry.

She shakes her head, "hi, Ken," she replies. A smile is playing on her lips as she plops onto the couch beside him, and his arm finds its way around her shoulders.

“Anything you’ve got going on?” he asks. He knows well what’s going on, but he still asks. She smiles, nodding.

She tells him about her worries and her initial thought, which she thought was stupid. But Ken assures her is fine. She has the right to do that more than anyone else actually, he says. He holds her as he tells her that he’ll be here when she goes. Hell, he’ll go with her, if it makes her feel any better. She’s so grateful to hear that.

He stands by his words, even when the time comes that she books the flight, and when she packs. He’s there, by her side. She panics for many days, going through some struggles, throughout, but he’s there to hold her, and reassure her, through the entirety of it.

The day comes that she has to go to the U.K, he’s going with her. His arm is wrapped around her waist as she calls Maple, confirms the details one last time, collects herself just one more time until she can’t. He squeezes her hand when she breathes shakily as they board the flight.

She sleeps through most of it, on his shoulder. He reads her favourite book, now that he’s finally found the time. He’s never been too big on reading, but he does it anyway. And he thinks it’s honestly so worth it when she wakes up and smiles at him upon noticing what he’s doing.

They kiss behind one of the big fake trees, and then continue. It soothes Hazel immensely.

When they leave the safety of the terminal, they’re glad to notice that Maple’s already waiting there, with her car. She rolls her window down, smiles at Hazel, but when her and Ken’s eyes meet, that smile does more than just drop.

Hazel thinks Ken’s feeling a bit awkward. She intertwines their fingers, and leads them to the trunk. She lifts it up and she’s about to reach for one of the suitcases but Ken beats her to it.

“I’ll do it,” he says, despite her protests.

She shakes her head, but lets him. And when they finally get to sit in the car, both in the back, Maple glances at them, raises her eyebrow at Hazel, but lets it be.

“You’ll stay at mine, and I’ll have Arden over, so when you go, you can talk.”

Both the best friends have repeated these exact same plans at least a dozen times already, but Maple says it again, and Hazel nods, closing her eyes.

The warmth of Ken’s hand finds her thigh, and she places her hand over his. She opens her eyes to catch his grin and the glint in his eye.

Maple is probably disgusted, but even if she is, she says nothing of it. Instead, she’s focused on driving them safely to their location, which is her place.

There’s not much action that takes place at Maple’s, minus Arden and Hazel’s reunion, where the boy comes running up to her, practically crashing her to the floor. After they’ve had a moment to hold each other, and calm down from their fits of joy, Ken helps them up.

Maple apparently infected the kid with her baseball obsession because he recognises Ken Sato at lightning speed. And when he figures that his sister knows him, he’s elated. And elated is an understatement.

But that’s for the positive part of her journey. Every trip to Hazel’s parent’s house is nerve-wracking, she’s fidgeting with her hands and Ken has to hold them in his to stop her from peeling off the skin. And the conversations are even scarier than the car rides.

Hazel has to listen to her mother trying to gaslight her, and her father guiltripping her, but she gets the court involved. And even if her parents tried to pay them to get them to put it off, Ken’s there. And he’s not letting any effort go to waste.

A few horrible court cases later, and the final one loomed upon them.

Hazel has been strong, and this one should be the one to solidify her guardianship. And Kenji’s there as a witness. He’s said many things, to prove her parent’s guilt.

“She deserves this the most of anyone, she has worked towards it, and through all, she has been there. She’s the one that took responsibility for Arden. She’s—”

He continues, and his words may not be the strongest, and he may be speaking more than he needs to, but Hazel doesn’t stop him. And the next words make her heart flutter.

“Through everything, I’ll stand by her.”

Hazel gets guardianship over Arden that day.

When Maple, Hazel, and Ken walk out, cheers erupt from their mouths instantly. Maple jumps onto her best friend, and Kenji’s watching.

Hazel and Ken’s eyes meet, and she’s smiling ear to ear.

When she runs into his arms, he thinks that’s the day he knows he’ll marry her.

She doesn’t know that his words would become a wedding vow one day.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x self insert #ken sato x oc #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #kenji sato #ken sato #ultraman: rising #ultraman #angst #fluff #tooth rotting fluff #chaotic fluff #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #part nineteen

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ch4rryc0smos · 13 days

Text

REVERIE | 18

I CAN BE LOVED AGAIN-

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.3k

author's note ┊they're so cute, bless kenzel. look at these two. love maple btw, where's the maple love /j happy reading, dear reader <3

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The rest of her time is spent mostly basking in Ken’s arms. As if she was deprived of it. He doesn’t even question it. He doesn’t stop for Mr. Sato walking out of the jet, he places another kiss on her forehead, watching Emi tumble around the shore. The last time they were here, it didn’t end great.

“I miss Mina,” Hazel whispers. It’s a bit dumb, but she really does. Now Emi’s just chittering, the bat’s somewhere along the shore line, and Mr. Sato has to get it before it gets washed into the sea.

“What if we just… rebuilt her?” Ken offers, voice muffled against the top of Hazel’s head.

“Do we have her chip?” Mr. Sato asks, returning to their side.

Neither of them thought he had heard, but apparently he did.

Ken shakes his head. Hazel sighs.

“It’s alright.”

Ken apologises, narrowly avoiding Hazel’s little swat at him as he laughs, walking away. He yells back something about getting them fizzy drinks. Hayao shakes his head.

“Hazel?” he says her name.

She turns to him, smiling. “Yes, uncle?”

“I know this will be so sudden, but…” he’s struggling a bit with his words, as if he’s looking for them, or doesn’t know which ones to use. “Please take care of his heart.”

“What do you mean?” She thinks she might know what he means, but she doesn’t want to assume.

“Kenji. From what I’ve heard from Emiko, he never brought him any girls, he never had the time to really fall in love,” Mr. Sato says, staring off into the navy blue waters.

Hazel blushes. “I’ll take care of him, I promise.”

“I’m back!” Ken taps Hazel’s shoulder and she laughs, reaching up and accepting her already opened can.

She thanks him.

He looks between his father and Hazel, and asks them what they were talking about. Mr. Sato laughs, just mentions Emi. How she’s growing up so well.

Truth be told, Hazel hadn’t actually thought about that enough. Emi was growing up, one day she would be a full grown kaiju. Something about that makes Hazel feel emotional.

“Love?” Ken’s voice calls out.

She snaps her head towards his direction and smiles. “Yeah?”

“What’s wrong?” he asks, he’s frowning softly as he takes a sip of his drink.

“Nothing,” Hazel starts, “just thinking about Emi growing up. We’ve been there the entire time, literally. Of course she’ll grow up, but it makes me feel some sort of way.”

“That’s how I felt when Kenji grew up.” Mr. Sato laughs.

Hazel finds it bittersweet. Did her parents feel that way at all? Or was she just some means of reaching success? Another pawn in their game? She doesn’t want to think about it, because they wouldn’t be her family anymore. Not really.

“Hazel, are you okay?” Ken sounds even more concerned now.

“Yes, I am.” She nods, a bit too quick.

Kenji’s not convinced.

When they return to his place, he builds up the courage to ask her to stay, and she doesn’t deny him that. He says they’ll be doing something special before heading to bed. She’s confused, but she doesn’t mind. As long as he’s not bothering himself too much.

He asks her to wait in the living room, and she raises an eyebrow at him, but agrees anyway. It takes him at least half an hour before he’s back, but there’s soft fabric that covers her eyes. She gasps out in surprise, he tells her it’s just him, and then he’s tugging her to her feet.

He doesn’t budge when she asks what he’s doing, and says it’s a secret. They finally stop at some point, and Hazel tries to touch something around her, but Ken catches her hand before it can make contact with anything at all. He unties the ribbon, and she opens her eyes. She doesn’t have to squint though, it’s not bright at all.

There aren’t any lights at all, actually. Just candles. She glances around his bathroom, and her heart flutters when she realises that he’s made a bath for her. His arms wrap around her waist, and he places a kiss on the top of her head.

“I hope you feel better by the time you’re done, I’ve got your nightgown and towels in that corner.” He points to another side in the bathroom. Hazel smiles, nodding against him.

“Thank you so so much.” She’s smiling as she turns around to face him, their eyes meet.

“We’re going to watch Barbie after this,” Ken says.

Hazel grins. “Really?”

“You’ll see once you’re out.”

Hazel is far too happy to say anything else. She just ushers him out, strips and drops into the bath. A sigh of relief leaves her parted lips as she relaxes into the water. And she doesn’t know what she’d do without the idiot that Kenji was.

She has to tell Maple about this when she can. Maybe her best friend wouldn’t be too happy she’s back with Ken, but she is. And she thinks Maple should know. She should also know that Hazel plans to finally take guardianship over Arden.

Hazel almost dozes off in the bath, but manages through, stumbling out as she dries her body. She pulls her nightgown over her figure, inhaling deeply. The scent of Ken’s detergent is strong, and it’s comforting. She’s drying her hair as she walks out. Ken’s in bed, the blanket pulled up his lower half. But he’s quick to throw it off, making his way over to Hazel. He takes the towels from her hands and makes her sit at the vanity.

“Let me do it,” he says. He doesn’t let her say anything else because he’s already drying the rest of her hair off and brushing it through. And he does that so gently, at some point Hazel’s leaned right into his hands. He chuckles, pulling her to her feet and holding her close.

He takes her over to their bed, helping her sit down as he climbs in next to her. She doesn’t ask as she crawls closer to him, right under his arm, he wraps his arm around her waist, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

“I’ll play the movie, yeah?” he asks.

She nods. And he plays it.

She almost cries at some scenes, but he’s there to talk her through it, even crack dumb jokes, just to lighten her mood. Their fingers are intertwined when the movie’s nearing its end, and Hazel’s barely managing to keep her eyes open.

Ken lays her down gently, pulling her head onto his chest.

“Sleep well,” he whispers.

“Wait,” she says, voice thick with exhaustion, and she turns around, trying to look for her phone.

“Looking for this?” He passes it to her, and she smiles at him, through the darkness in the room, the moon the only light, glowing on his face as he smiles. She thanks him.

She’s a bit slow, but she manages to dial Maple, and her best friend picks up on the second ring.

“Hello?” she says, she sounds a bit busy, but Hazel deems it necessary to mention Arden.

“Hey, Maple,” Hazel starts, “I’m planning to take guardianship over Arden,” she says.

There’s silence, and then a groan.

“What?” Maple sounds too excited.

“Mhm,” her best friend hums. But she’s too tired to answer the rest of Maple’s questions. Her head falls back against the pillow and she has to stifle a yawn.

Ken reaches for her phone and grabs it, holding it up to his mouth, “she’ll call you back later.”

Maple’s instant yelling gets cut off as Kenji laughs, placing Hazel’s phone on his side of the bed, pulling her to his chest, cradling her hands in his hands. He whispers good night as she finally slips into dreamland.

He follows soon after, mentally making a promise to be there for her.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x self insert #ken sato x oc #ken sato angst #ken sato fluff #ultraman: rising #kenji sato #ken sato #angst #fluff #ultraman #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #tooth rotting fluff #chaotic fluff #part eighteen

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ch4rryc0smos · 14 days

Text

REVERIE | 17

YOUR SILVER IS MY GOLD!

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊2.5k

author's note ┊they finally make up chat, let's go!!! if you can't tell, there will be a parallel here <3 just a heads up, because yeah. happy reading, i'm a bit swamped, but it's good :)

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She’s much happier when she returns from Ami’s that night. Hell, she doesn’t even think of Kenji. Well, not until she’s in bed. And the thought doesn’t just come to her naturally, or anything. But she’s tired, ready to sleep, and then her phone rings. She thinks she should always be on do not disturb, for that matter. She glances at the caller ID. and she thinks her heart could’ve jumped right to her mouth, because she thinks that it’s Ken, but then she remembers, she never had him as ‘Mr. Sato’ on her phone. She’s such an idiot.

She picks up, a bit hesitant, but doing it anyway. Mr. Sato has done her no wrong personally.

“Hello, Hazel!” he says, so excited.

Hazel’s stomach coils, because it’s the exact same excitement that his son has. She ignores it.

“Hi, uncle. What’s up?” she asks, smiling at her lit screen.

“Do you want to visit tomorrow? I think Emi misses you,” he says, his voice sounds a bit faint, as if he’s looking at something else, his face turned away from the phone.

“Aw, really?” Hazel’s smiling. She’s missed Emi a lot. She couldn’t visit her much while she was healing, but now she had the perfect opportunity. She could get away from everything, go to Mr. Sato’s place, and spend some time with Emi.

“Yes!”

“Well, I’d love to.”

Hazel ends the call, happier than she expected herself to be when she picked up. Sleep comes to her a bit easier that night. Especially at the prospect of visiting her favourite baby kaiju the next day. What’s even better is that Ken has a game tomorrow and it means she won’t feel inclined to attend it. Even with the ticket that’s collecting dust in her drawer.

She wakes up and the first thing she does is call Maple, tell her about what’s happening. Maple seems happy at first, but Hazel knows her best friend better than that. Knows that there’s something actually going on behind that stupidly fake tone of hers.

“What if he’s there?” There's emphasis on ‘he’ but Hazel doesn’t realise who until she’s splashing water on her face and suddenly it dawns on her. Making her stomach drop.

“He won’t,” says Hazel, but the way she does, it’s like she can’t even confirm that for herself.

She’s so stupid for not having expected it. But he did have a game. Would he miss it? He’s done it before, why the fuck would he not. Oh, she’s so goddamn stupid.

“Hazel. You shouldn’t go.”

“Oh, but I will.” Usually Hazel would agree with her best friend, but right now, that’s the last thing she can care to do. She wants to meet Emi. She thinks she’ll do it, even if she has to deal with him. Which she hopes she doesn’t.

Maple usually is absolutely amazing at making her feel great, but this time, she does quite the opposite. And that’s okay. Hazel won’t die or something if she sees her ex, surely not. Or maybe she will, she hasn’t thought about him enough in the past few days, and having to be in his presence, if by chance? She doesn’t know what she’s going to do.

Anything for Emi, she supposes.

With a slightly heavy heart, she finishes getting ready, willing herself to not linger on anything that makes her feel negative as she catches a cab to Mr. Sato’s. She doesn’t know if she wants to drive herself anywhere.

She’s a bit more delighted to find that Mr. Sato’s waiting for her, although she would have preferred if he had stayed upstairs and not bothered to get all the way down, but as she’s thanking the driver one last time, he’s walking over to her with a big smile. She smiles at him.

“Hazel, thank you so much for taking the time to get here.”

She nods, “of course, uncle.”

“Sadly though, we’ll have to go to Kenji’s.” He’s smiling softly, but Hazel thinks her heart might have just dropped to her ass. What was he on about?

“I’m afraid I don’t understand—” she starts, laughing awkwardly.

“We’ll be taking the jet, of course,” he says, matter of factly.

Hazel wants to run, or maybe jump off a cliff. This is not where she wants to be right now. The possibility of this terrifies her shitless, actually.

“I thought—” she’s stumbling on words, not sure exactly what to say.

“Has something happened?” he asks.

Oh, does he not know? Well, she thinks she’s okay with him not knowing at all.

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about it.”

She’s a bit embarrassed because she’s scared he might see through the lie, she’s never been this shitty at lying, so why is it so hard right now? At least it seems to be working, because he doesn’t question her. Instead he’s leading her to his car, and she offers to drive. He says she’s very nice, and lets her. The drive is mostly spent in silence on her behalf, only with brief interventions with questions when he’s explaining a particularly complicated part of his newest discoveries.

Hazel’s heart is beating in her fingers, in every place that isn’t her chest. It’s kind of overwhelming, and it doesn’t help, the fact that she knows exactly what shortcuts to take to get to his place faster. That she isn’t even questioning it. That’s fucking terrifying, really.

Before she knows it, they’ve arrived. She curses herself for not being confused. But she gets out anyway, and she’s regretting practically every other decision she’s made today. Because why is Kenji standing there, waiting at the door? And he looks a bit surprised, to see her. Like maybe he was just expecting his father. Well, she can’t blame him. She wouldn’t really be here if she knew he was here. Or, she would. Because, she has to remind herself that this is for Emi.

A bit of hurt can’t be that bad, if she can see the infant, she’ll be all good.

Ken doesn’t even try to say a word when he notices the expression on her face, instead turning to his father, smiling at him. Mr. Sato for some reason doesn’t even notice the fact that Ken and Hazel don’t share a word, he’s just quickly wading his way through Ken’s place. And leaving the other two in each other’s presence. The silence is so thick a knife wouldn’t be able to slice through it.

Hazel picks up pace, knowing exactly where to go, for which, she curses herself too.

When they reach the jet, Mr. Sato’s already got the ramp lowering itself, and Hazel’s the first to enter.

“You’re excited to visit Emi, I see.” Hayao’s laughing.

Hazel nods. Yes, she is.

And she’s even more excited to get away from Ken. She can’t bear to meet his eyes and get swept right off her feet, again. It’s such a sick feeling. She’s finally getting better, and now she’s back at block zero, and that’s just so messed up, in her head.

The flight goes peacefully for her. Mr. Sato is busy filling in Ken on Emi’s state, and she’s getting a bit suspicious about the fact that he hasn’t asked why she isn’t talking, but she doesn’t want to intentionally leave her calm little bubble where it’s just her.

When they land, and she gets out, her eyes catch that exact same lake, and the waters glisten just the same. And it’s never failed to amaze her. She stares, at the way the sun’s reflection wavers on the orange hued waters, the edges fighting the orange that threatens to seep in. The sun sinks lower, ever slowly.

There’s silence, minus for the screeching that soon punctures it. And Hazel’s heart leaps up to her throat. She grins when pink joins the oranges and reds of the sky and wings flap into her vision. She’s holding her hands out, waving ecstatically. Emi flies and lands perfectly on the soil, practically raising Hazel into the air as she holds her.

The British woman laughs, checks the pink scales.

“Oh, I’ve missed you so much, Emi!” She’s laughing as the kaiju chitters. Her heart’s melting. This was so worth it, she can’t even begin to emphasise how happy she is that she didn’t chicken out, and end up being selfish.

She doesn’t even register the soft laughter behind her until Emi places her down and she finally turns around, gulping in some air. She thinks she should have not done that. Her eyes catch the way Ken’s face scrunches up, and even with his eyes closed, how captivating he looks. The way the sun’s dying rays are practically illuminating the curvature of his face, and the way it looks so beautiful to her, how familiar it is.

Her nerves wake up, and she hopes she’s not blushing. He doesn’t deserve that anymore.

Mr. Sato places his wrinkled hand on Ken’s arm, and Ken looks at him, Emi still playing with bunny beside him. Hayao says that they should head to the house, that it might get dark pretty soon. Hazel’s so glad he says so. She also thinks Ken might have glanced at her once before agreeing. Their eyes might have met for a split second and Hazel’s convinced she’s actually insane for letting that simple of a gesture fuck up her heart rate so intensely.

By the time her heart rate finally returns to a steady beat, she’s sat on the same porch where Ken opened up to her about how he felt about reconciling with her father. She’s watching Emi run around, chittering as she swings a bat, a bit bashful, but Hazel doesn’t have the heart to tell her to be careful. All she can think about is how Ken held her then, or how she placed her hand on his chest.

That day was one of the moments where they realised that of course they were more than friends, they had always been. If the Hazel from that day knew what happened in the future, would she have pushed him away? Would she shield her heart as carefully as she did until she walked right back into his life, like a fool?

The question can’t be answered, because she feels warmth beside her as the wood creaks. And the familiar scent of Ken’s cologne is overwhelming her senses. She tries to act like she doesn’t even notice him. But she does notice the way he tries to reach out, for her hand, and then he pulls back.

That shouldn’t break her heart the way it does.

She shouldn’t even care.

“Hazel,” his voice speaks her name the way it always has, and yet it’s all it takes to sweep her right off her feet. And a pit forms in her stomach, exactly how it does every time their eyes meet.

She dares look up, and emerald eyes meet amethyst, and it’s a sight that for so long has comforted her. He smiles, just because she looks up. Why does he do this to her?

She hums, in response to his words. She’s so weak to him, and he knows. And he decides to exploit it.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, and his voice comes out muffled because he’s buried his face in his hands, and he’s leaning down.

Hazel looks at him, and she hesitates but she places a hand on his shoulder.

“Why?” she asks, like she doesn’t know exactly why he said that.

“Because I’ve failed you, baby.” He turns his head, glancing up at her. “I was too scared to commit, fuck I didn’t know what I had, until you left.”

“Yeah, you didn’t, Ken,” Hazel wants to curse herself for acting like this, for not having enough remorse in her voice as she says those words. And gods, she’d be his if he just asks, but he doesn’t.

“I’m so sorry, Hazel.”

“Are you?”

“I swear.”

“I don’t know,” is all she can say.

She flinches when he takes her hand, places it over his chest, he’s fully turned towards her. And she hates how oddly reminiscent of that day. He meets her eyes, and his lips are turned down, he’s frowning. The sun’s back on his face, and now it’s just orange, but he’s glowing golden, and he looks so beautiful, she can’t tear her gaze or hand away.

“This,” he squeezes her hand as he moves it to place it right over where his heart should be. “It’s all yours, I promise. I promise on my life. When you left the first time, I was so heart broken because you were all I knew at that point in time. I had no one outside of my mom, but you.”

She doesn’t know why he’s mentioning that again. She still feels horrible for having to leave.

“But then you returned, after two whole fucking decades, and I don’t think the circumstances were ideal, but you were back,” he’s whispering, his voice is still shaky, and he squeezes her hand again. He closes his eyes. “And I swear I felt like we went back to what we were then, but at that point in time, I didn’t really know that I’d grown to love you. I do now.”

“You were too scared to confirm, though,” Hazel mumbles. She wants to pull her hand away.

“I was an idiot, I swear, I promise I’m all yours.” When Ken’s eyes open, Hazel can’t ignore the way she notices tears welling up.

Despite how much she wants to hate him right now, she reaches out with her other hand, and wipes away the first tears to escape. And she leaves her hand there.

“Kenji, you know I was so scared to give my heart to anyone. And you know I wouldn’t kiss my friends. You know that you’re the only I’d ever be any of this for. I’m so weak, I’m so fucking weak with you, and sometimes it hurts me,” Hazel hiccups, she pulls her hands away, wiping furiously at her face. Ken’s hands are on hers and he pulls them away.

He replaces her aggressive hands with his own gentle ones. He wipes away the tears as they fall.

“I promise I won’t have you questioning it again, I’m all yours.” Ken cups her face in his hands, and he pulls her close, into his lap. Hazel’s breathing is a bit shallow.

Her head’s spinning. Being this close to him after saying she wouldn’t is honestly so stupid, but she doesn’t care.

“And what am I to you?” she asks.

“Everything.”

It’s the way he breathes those words that makes it so easy for Hazel to believe them. She breaks into a smile, laughs.

“You’re so dramatic.” She laughs.

He seems so glad to know that she probably doesn’t hate him now. He leans down, captures her lips. Her laughter stops, but she’s content. She’s leaning right into the kiss, weaving her hands through his hair.

“Always have been, and for you, even more.”

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ch4rryc0smos · 15 days

Text

REVERIE | 16

LEAVING ME DAFT AND DIM.

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.5k

author's note ┊these idiots, someone come get them (lock them in a room together please <3) ami friendship is so beloved to me, thanks. i love chiho and her!! :) happy reading!

prev | next

Hazel barely manages to change, wash her face. She’s much slower, without him around to at least cheer her on. She looks out of the window, and the moon is glistening. She thinks she’ll head to bed early, ignore all the pings from her phone. She puts it into do not disturb. But then it starts ringing. And only one person can call her when she’s on do not disturb.

She picks up. “Hey, Maple.”

Fuck herself for sounding like she has a severe cold.

“Arden—Are you okay?” Maple’s tone shifts almost instantly, when she notices how hoarse her best friend’s voice sounds.

Hazel’s not surprised, she cried the whole way through her one hour shower. It’s like she’s gone through a whole fucking breakup, but to Ken she was just a situationship. She can’t bear to think of him, actually.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she lies through her teeth.

“What the fuck did he do?” Maple’s words sound like they’re dripping venom, and Hazel should honestly be happy about it, but she’s more scared than she is anything else.

“Nothing.” She doesn’t know why she’s defending him anymore.

“Hazel.”

She just breaks when her best friend says her name. She spills her guts. Drops onto her bed and cries some more as she tries to explain the situation to her best friend. Maple is seething by the time she stops, although Hazel’s sniffles are rather loud anyway.

“I’m going to slaughter him, I swear to—” Maple starts.

“Please, don’t.”

The way Hazel says it has Maple staring at her phone, mouth agape. Hazel laughs at herself, for the fact that she still doesn’t want any harm coming to him.

She ends the call soon, and even with her shaky hands and burning, puffy eyes, she checks her schedule. And it seems that fate is on her side, she’s got speeches. But she’s also got one of his games.

She won’t attend, simple as that. She places her phone on the side table, closes her eyes, and lets her breathing even out as sleep rolls over her.

She wakes up the next morning, and she isn’t happy to realise that sleep isn’t as refreshing as it used to be. It’s like the old days again. She can’t care less though. She hoists herself out of bed, tries to give herself a pep talk as she gets ready, using ice to try and decrease the redness in her face. It works, not too much, sadly. But it'll do, for now. She thinks.

Her day’s been going great until she makes the mistake of not turning on do not disturb. The next time she tries to check the time, the first thing that catches her eyes instead is a text message from Ken. Her stomach churns. She ignores it.

When she gets back home, she’s so grateful that no one really bothered to talk to her. She’s about to pull off her suit, but then her phone rings. She’s too scared to check, but she does anyway.

It’s just Ami.

She picks up.

“Hey, wanna visit?” Ami asks.

Hazel laughs sadly. Ami says those exact words whenever she thinks Hazel might be feeling lower. Hazel’s not sure what makes the journalist think that she’s sad, unless she’s seen any recordings of her speech.

“I—” Hazel starts, a bit hesitant to agree.

“Chiho wants to see you,” Ami says.

Her bargaining chip. Hazel sighs. She can’t say no when she hears the excited mutters of ‘yes!’ in the background. No doubt by the toddler in question.

That night when Hazel’s getting ready, she’s less than delighted to note that barely any of her good clothes are left. She has one shirt, one part of high waisted pants, and nothing else, not even a coat. She pulls it on anyway, and takes her purse. She calls Ami, lets her know that she’ll be due in a bit.

It feels so weird to her to be driving her own car. The interior feels foreign to her. And she hates herself so much for it. She grips onto the steering wheel. She wants to close her eyes, lower her head into her hands and start crying again, but she fights against it. She’s going to go meet Chiho, and it’ll be fine.

When she pulls up at Ami’s building, she notices Chiho waiting downstairs, with her grandmother at her side. As soon as Hazel steps out, she barely manages to close her door, by the time she turns back around, Chiho jumps onto her, clinging to her legs.

“Hi, bub,” she whispers, with a shaky voice. She pulls the toddler up, holding her at her hip.

Her grandmother chuckles, and she leads Hazel into the building, into the apartment.

Chiho’s already talking, telling Hazel all about her day, and the British woman is listening, all ears.

When they walk into the apartment, Ami greets her with a smile, but the look in her eyes is worried. Like she knows something is wrong. Hazel smiles at her. It doesn’t convince the journalist though. She asks Chiho’s gran to take her away, and she does. Then she sits Hazel down at the couch, holding her hands.

“What happened? If you thought I wouldn’t notice the look in your eyes today at that venue—” Ami starts. Hazel taps the back of her hand. She stops.

“I would be mistaken.” It seems I’ve been mistaken about a lot of things recently, actually. She smiles at Ami.

Ami listens to her as she tries to explain the situation. She’s not feeling particularly level-headed, just yet. But she tries her hardest to sound reasonable. She stops to take a breath, and her eyes flutter close. But then someone jumps on her, and judging from the way small hands grab her face, she knows exactly who it is. She smiles, big, opening her eyes. She pulls Chiho closer. Her mum’s shaking her head, but she’s smiling.

“I’ll go make us dinner, alright?” Ami says, standing up.

Hazel and Chiho nod, together. Chiho jumps down onto the couch beside Hazel.

“Auntie, look! I’ve made so many drawings when you were gone,” she says, she looks so excited, Hazel can’t help but lean forward, nod and listen as the girl shows her all of the drawings.

There’s so many of Ultrawoman, it makes her heart swell with warmth. But that flame is extinguished the moment she notices one particular piece, where Ultraman and her are standing together.

It seems that’s the one Chiho likes best. She keeps on talking about it. Hazel laughs, nodding along. She doesn’t have the heart to actually speak. Even though she truly loves Chiho, when Ami walks in with their dinner, she can’t be more relieved.

She almost clutches her chest. How dramatic. She wasn’t like this before.

She takes the steaming bowl. Ami gently coaxes Chiho away from the table, clearing it to place her own bowl. She sits down beside Hazel and turns on the T.V. The first thing that plays makes Hazel want to close her eyes.

It’s a news anchor talking about Ken’s next game, and it’s displaying a shot of him from one of his last games before he got hurt. He looks so charming, but Hazel tears her eyes away from the screen. Ami is quick to change the channel.

“You know,” she says, the T.V now background noise as Hazel and her get comfortable on the couch. She seems hesitant, but she continues anyway. “I think you might’ve been his whole world.”

Hazel’s questioning whether she’s actually with Ami or if this is some impostor. She never says stuff like this, but when their eyes meet, she knows it is Ami. She sighs, looking away, at the floor. At some of the drawings littered on the carpets.

“If I was anywhere near that, it shouldn’t have been so hard,” Hazel whispers, hands shaking. She’s scared she’ll drop the bowl, so she places it on the table. It clatters a bit with the force, and she flinches.

When she looks back at Ami, she’s not eating, she places her bowl as well, and her undivided attention is on Hazel.

“He’s scared, Hazel,” Ami says.

Hazel nods.

“He’s terrible with emotions.”

“I know,” is all Hazel can muster the energy to say. But I literally bared myself for him. Fuck, we knew each other. “Did you know we were childhood friends?” she says, laughing sadly as she leans back. She turns her head to look at Ami. Her whole face drops.

“I didn’t know,” the journalist admits, shaking her head.

“I actually didn’t even remember, he told me. And it hit me like a truck.” Hazel shrugs.

“How’re your… injuries?” Ami asks. Maybe she’s getting uncomfortable with Hazel’s apathetic behaviour.

Hazel smiles at her, “they’re healing, or healed. I’m not sure. I’ve not checked since they took the dressing off.”

“You should.” Ami’s frowning at her.

Hazel just grins. “I will.”

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x oc #ken sato x self insert #ken sato angst #ken sato fluff #kenji sato #ken sato #ultraman: rising #ultraman #angst #fluff #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #chaotic fluff #tooth rotting fluff #part sixteen

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ch4rryc0smos · 17 days

Text

REVERIE | 14

I'D RATHER DIE THAN HAVE TO CRY.

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.6k

author's note ┊shitty parent mention chat. i just finished my studying for the day, will write in my wip a bit, clear up some doubts, and head to bed probably? i hope y'all have been doing good though. happy reading!

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The next day, Kenji spends the whole day tending to Hazel. He tells his team that he’ll show up late to their little party. Hazel knows he loves them. Although he might be the only person she knows that would go to a party with an injury. She’s been acting like she doesn’t feel guilty about dropping all of that shit on him the previous night. He’s been trying to convince her the whole day that he couldn’t really give one shit. He’s so glad that she opened up. The whole day she spends wrapped up in his embrace, with his stupid jokes, and his charming ass grins. Mr. Sato sends them a video of Emi at some point. He says that she’s trying to be like Ken.

“She’s so much like her dad,” Ken says, clutching onto his chest.

Hazel shakes her head, “do you think she’s anything like me?”

“I think she’s a lot like her mom too.”

Now Hazel’s blushing. Ken doesn’t even react. If anything, the asshole looks like he’s trying to not grin. If Hazel wasn’t feeling so tender right now, she would’ve slapped him right there.

They spend most of the afternoon calling Hayao and listening to Emi chitter in the background, even confirming a visit within the next two days. Both Emi and Hazel are elated. And Mr. Sato is grinning more every time Ken places his chin on Hazel’s head. She blushes, but is so grateful that Hayao doesn’t bring it up.

The night rolls around rather quickly, and Ken now seems a bit more hesitant to leave Hazel, but she stands up, almost tripping on her knitted dress and coat as she places a soft kiss on his cheek. She’s barely done this before, and when he grins, she thinks she might explode.

“I hope that you don’t hurt yourself when you go to that party,” Hazel says.

Ken reaches up with his right hand, cupping one side of her face. “I’ll try not to, I can’t wait to get this off and be able to hold you up all I want.”

Hazel might lose count of how many times she’s blushed already.

“Stay safe, asshole.” She’s waving him off as he laughs to himself, getting into his car. Hazel’s happy, she hums as the door clicks, meaning it’s locked.

She’d been hoping that the happiness would last, but Aurelia just has to ruin everything. Hazel’s relaxing on the couch, almost dozing off as the T.V drones on in the background. But then persistent ringing erupts from her right and she glances at her phone, and the caller ID makes her heart jump into her throat.

She thinks she might have been hallucinating, but the more she looks at her phone, it doesn’t stop.

She ignores it the first time, the second time—She ignores it until the fourteenth call. That’s when she declines the call. And now it’s late. And she’s wondering where the fuck Kenji is because admittedly she’s a bit worried. She considers calling Mr. Sato, maybe not to ask him, but maybe to just talk.

She does end up doing that, because she thinks otherwise she’ll get too anxious. Emi’s there to chitter to her, and she’s feeling much better. Until she gets another call, and it’s Aurelia again. She apologises to Mr. Sato, and hangs up. Places her phone down on the coffee table and stands up.

After a few seconds, the ringing halts, and she sighs, but she’s far from relieved. She strides over to the door because she thinks she’s heard the engine of a car, and she opens the door. She smiles so big when she sees Ken grinning down at her. He wraps his right arm around her, pulling her close as he leans his head down, his breath warm against the shell of her ear.

“I missed you, baby.”

“How many have you had tonight, Ken?” she asks, cupping his face, making him meet her eyes. He tries to kiss her but she stops him. “You reek of alcohol.”

“Just five, that’s not much!” He’s stumbling over to the couch, and Hazel’s phone catches his eye.

“Hazel…” his words are getting slurred now. She’s quick to help him sit down. “Twenty sixth missed call from,” he glances at the phone, “Aurelia.”

Hazel’s heart jumps to her fucking throat. She glances at Ken, and then at her phone, and she fumbles with it, she’s about to pull up her contacts but then the ringing returns. And it’s Aurelia again.

This time, she picks up. Despite how badly she doesn’t want to. She sits down on the couch beside Ken, gulping.

Here it comes. “How dare you decline my call, young lady?!” Aurelia’s loud, angry voice echoes through the house, and even the drunk Ken beside Hazel has gone silent, eyes blown wide as he stares at the phone, and then at Hazel.

“I was busy,” Hazel says, but she’s lying. She just doesn’t want to talk to me.

“You’re busy with saving Tokyo, huh? Can’t spare your mother a minute?” Aurelia sounds like she’s hissing, she snarls the words at her daughter.

Hazel actually flinches, closes her eyes, wills herself to not frown, to not react anymore. Ken is staring, and it’s making her feel shitty. Then a warmth envelopes her, and she’s pulled into Ken’s side. Aurelia continues yelling, Hazel can’t process more than two words at a time.

Ken smells like alcohol but Hazel’s breathing shallow and she thinks her bones are shaking with the way Aurelia’s screeching now.

“You want to be Ultrawoman! You don’t value our words at all, I hope you rot.”

That’s the last of Aurelia’s words and she hangs up. The silence that follows is deafening, Hazel’s shaking. And even in Kenji’s intoxicated state, he’s holding her to his chest, and he’s muttering threats to her mother, even though Aurelia can’t really hear shit.

Hazel inhales shakily. “I hope I rot, too.”

“Hazel, I don’t want you to rot.” She looks up at Ken, he’s pouting. He tucks her hair behind her ear, she leans into his touch. He takes that moment to kiss her. She sighs against his lips.

Pulling away, she stands up, he’s leaning back against the couch, and frowning at her. Goddamn, he looks so cute. But he’s drunk, and Hazel feels like shit right now.

“You look stunning, baby,” he slurs.

She sighs, holding her hand out. He accepts it happily, stumbling into her arms. She flinches a bit when he wraps his arms around her torso. Apparently even while being drunk, that doesn’t go unnoticed by him. He starts apologising against the top of her head.

“It’s fine, let's get you into bed, love,” she whispers against his neck. The proximity is making her heart hammer, even with the tear stains on her cheeks making her feel like she needs to scrub off her skin.

Ken clings onto her as she makes her way to their bedroom. She sits him down on the bed and wants to start a bath for him, but he tugs on her wrist, pulls her onto his lap, arm latches around her waist. He’s pressing his lips onto her neck.

She can’t help but sigh shakily, trying to push away.

“No, Ken, you need a shower, and some sleep.”

“But I want—”

Hazel doesn’t let him continue, she places a finger against his lips, shakes her head. She finally gets up, walks to the bathroom, and starts filling the bathtub up. The water is lukewarm when she dips her finger in. She calls out for Kenji, but when she turns back, he’s already there, and he’s pulling off his shirt.

Maybe it’s the exhaustion, but she can’t help herself when she’s staring at the way his muscles flex, and she only stops when he turns around and he’s grinning.

“Enjoying the view, hm?” he asks, and he’s stepping out of his pants.

Hazel turns away completely, doesn’t even bother to answer his question. She hears water splashing and assumes he’s gotten in. He sighs, and she turns towards the door.

“Won’t help me, baby?” he’s asking.

“No.”

Hazel walks out, fighting the urge to turn around and look at Ken’s face. She closes the door behind her and changes into a nightgown. And then she sits down, closes her eyes. And she’s reflecting on her mother’s words. She places her head in her hands, sigh muffled as it leaves her lips.

Now she’s thinking about her gran. If she were here, she’d comfort her. She knew it. Ken is singing to himself, and that makes Hazel laugh, but it’s not enough to keep her smiling.

She’s thinking about her grandmother, and one fond memory she has of her. Telling her about Ultrawoman. She closes her eyes, thinks back to it. Maybe it’ll bring her some comfort.

Her grandmother places her calloused hand right over where Hazel's heart should be. And the young, green-eyed girl looks at her gran with the innocence of a kid, the one thing her gran allows of her.

“And Ultrawoman?” Gran starts, smiling, the wrinkles on her face stretching to form a beautiful spider web, weaved with love over the years, and with wisdom in every crevice. “She's you.”

Hazel tilts her head, and then she smiles. Her grandmother chuckles softly. "I am Ultrawoman…?"

Her grandmother nods. “And you’ll do great, great things, bub.”

Hazel can’t truly linger on the thought, because the mattress shifts beside her, and when she peers up, Ken’s smiling at her as he pushes himself onto the bed, patting the space beside him. She hesitates, but the way he’s smiling, and with his arm sprawled out, she can’t deny him any of that. She crumples right in his embrace.

He holds her close, the scent of alcohol isn’t strong anymore, it’s just… Kenji.

It’s like as soon she’s in his arms, he’s fast asleep. And she’d like to be off before her mind weighs her down for the night. She closes her eyes, and black takes over.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x self insert #ken sato x oc #ken sato angst #ken sato fluff #ultraman: rising #ken sato #kenji sato #angst #fluff #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #ultraman #part fourteen

8 notes · View notes

ch4rryc0smos · 18 days

Text

REVERIE | 13

IGNORE ALL MY FRETS-

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊2.7k

author's note ┊a softer part, i think. really tired right now, i've got a few study goals to achieve, and to try and write at least 400 words, and to clear up three concepts of mine, tired, but i might survive, i think. happy reading!

prev. | next

Ken smiles at Ami, Hazel’s smiling at him from behind the cameras. No one other than the camera crew, Ami, and them know that she’s there. Ami’s asking him about his performance. And even with a broken arm, Ken is the ever charming man he’s always been. When he’s talking, he glances at what everyone thinks is the camera, but they don’t know that he’s staring right at Hazel when he gives credit to his team, and his family. Ami looks like she’s plainly trying to not smile harder.

Once the interview is over, he’s quick to bid goodbye to Ami and strides right over to Hazel. He holds out his right hand. Intertwines their fingers when she reaches out too. And gently, tugs her up. From the outside, from the first layer, Hazel looks practically unscathed, but her entire torso is wrapped, bandaged, and she’s walking slower now. She smiles at Ami, who nods at them.

Hazel doesn’t even realise that Ken has linked their arms until she’s pressed into his side and she turns her head to look at him, and she’s practically breathing down his neck. He smiles at her, grins even. She looks away.

“You didn’t get the cast wet, right?” she asks. This morning, she let him go to the bathroom alone because she did her own bandages and usually he does them, so if she doesn’t let him, he won’t let her. Apparently that was the deal they made. She can’t even recall it well enough. She’s so used to taking care of him.

Although Ken isn’t playing, Hazel’s at every game, and she’s cheering on the rookie.

After the games, she drives them back now, refuses to let Ken drive one-handed, and she misses his hand on her thigh, but with his plastered arm, it isn’t possible, at the moment. But he makes up for it, in the way that he wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close when she’s cooking. Or when they’re sitting on the couch, or when they’re watching Mr. Sato plays with Emi.

Some nights Kenji gets mad at Hazel, not intensely, but he tells her that she’s working too much. But they don’t have Mina anymore, and someone needs to do the work. Hazel most definitely isn’t letting the house go to shambles.

It’s been a while since she’s been to her own place. Living with Ken has been great. At first it was his guest bedroom, and he’d visit her every morning. She doesn’t know when that turned to sleeping in his bedroom, but she thinks it was one night when they had plans of going out for dinner, but Hazel was too exhausted after her media duties and speeches. They stayed home. And Ken helped cook, for the first day in many. At some point, the dishes were dirty, sitting in the sink, ready to be put into the dishwasher, but Hazel was on the counter, And Ken was standing between her legs, placing kisses on her jaw. And she doesn’t stop him, instead she’s pulling him closer.

He tugs her to his bedroom, closes the door. And her heart’s hammering, but he just places a kiss on her forehead instead. And with his right hand, he pulls her hair out of the bun it’d been in the whole day. He makes her sit down at his vanity, and brushes down her hair, peppering feather-light kisses along her neck whenever he can. She lets him.

She sleeps so well that night. Like the night before their first meet up. Careful to not hurt him, her head’s placed in the crook of his neck, and she drifts off.

The next morning, when she wakes up, there’s a dull ache in her abdomen. Did she forget to take her meds? Probably. She pushes herself up, into a sitting position. And she groans softly. Ken stirs, and she mentally scolds herself for making any noise.

“Mornin’, baby,” he whispers, voice hoarse. He’s squinting up at her, head peeking out from under the duvet. He smiles, but it falls when he notices the way Hazel looks like she might curl in on herself.

“Good morning, love.” She’s quick to start moving, but Ken places a hand over hers. She stills.

“What’s wrong? Need a change?” He's trying to sit up. Even though Hazel would like to leave and go deal with her own dressing, she can’t help herself when she helps him. He takes that chance to gently tug her closer.

“I’m fine, Kenji—” Hazel’s words die in her throat, Ken’s looking at her sternly. But then he presses his lips onto hers, pulling back softly.

“Let’s change that dressing, yeah?” He pushes himself off the bed, walking over to the other side of the bed to help Hazel up. She groans again, and can't tell why it hurts.

Ken seems worried. He makes her sit at the vanity again, and brings out the med-kit. She closes her eyes, biting her lip so she doesn’t make another sound.

“It’s okay if it hurts, don’t have to act like you’re invincible, sweetheart.”

Kenji’s use of pet names has always gotten her flustered, but right now, early in the morning, when she hasn’t even gotten the chance to really wash her face nicely, it’s making her go red. She hopes he doesn’t notice. He must’ve though, because he’s grinning.

After that, Hazel checks his arm, but Ken says he’s going to go check in with his father. And after some convincing from Hazel, he agrees on being driven.

Most of their days recently have been mellow. Not much for either of them to do. Hazel has an interview though, with Ami. She’s slow as she works the last of her breakfast down. Without Ken to be there to help her through the ordeal of food, she gets much slower. But she does finish it, and timing is divine because that’s exactly when Ken sends her a text going ‘finished your breakfast? sorry i wasn’t there to help you through today. promise i’ll be back before lunch, gl with the interview babe’.

Hazel grins, telling him that it’s fine, that she’s done. She confirms with Ami that she’ll be at the studio within the next thirty minutes. She finally gets around to changing out of Kenji’s oversized shirt. Thankfully he’s got her a closet of her own.

She can’t tell what exactly she should wear, but she does decide on an outfit at some point. With some help from Maple, who’s diligently been checking in, and asking if Ken needs an ass whooping. Hazel laughs, deciding on a turtleneck. She hasn’t worn one in a while, thanks to her injury. But she does now. Truth be told, she’s barely worn anything tight, even less so without the help from Ken. She takes in a deep breath as she pulls it down her body. Other than a small flinch, she gives no other sign of discomfort. Over the turtleneck, she wears a white shirt, and tucks it loosely into her jeans that she can’t put a belt on because then she’ll be hurting her torso.

At least she can wear her ankle heels. Once she’s ready, she says goodbye to Maple.

She feels good today, she’s wearing a nice outfit, she’s going to be productive.

The drive to Ami’s studio isn’t too tedious. Although Hazel is a bit slow to leave her car. To make up for that, she tries to speed walk into the studio, but when Ami notices her, she gets a scolding instead. Hazel just grins at her.

“Don’t act like Ken, come on.” Ami’s shaking her head, but Hazel just chuckles softly, careful not to get too loud, or she’s going to feel like her whole abdomen is getting torn into.

Hazel doesn’t let Ami linger on it. She’s tugging her interviewer into her own studio.

They’re quick to settle into their seats, Hazel’s on the seat that Ken was on. She sighs softly.

Ami’s face is now stoic, calm, exactly what the media wants. Hazel smiles.

“You’ve been off the radar recently, what’s been going on?” Ami asks after a small introduction.

Hazel hums, tilting her head to the side. “Just tending to my life outside of speeches.” She shrugs.

“The speeches that you have been giving now also include much talk about family, many critics have noticed, why would that be?” Ami asks next.

Hazel smiles more, “I’ve been delving more into that side of my family, and it has only had such a positive effect on me.” The media doesn't know that she’s not talking about her birth parents. She’s only referring to Arden, Maple, Ken, and the family that she has chosen. Ami seems to know that, but no one else in the studio will.

The rest of the interview is just a conversation between them, really. And it’s close to ending, Hazel glances towards a camera, and she notices someone else there. Purple eyes gleaming at her. Charming grin.

Ken Sato.

She can’t help the smile that’s on her face now.

When she’s done with the interview, she practically wants to bound over to him, but he’s quicker. He wraps an arm around her waist, pulls her up.

“Told you I’d be back,” he says.

“Don’t tell me you drove yourself here.”

He doesn’t say anything.

“Kenji.”

“Yes, love?”

“Ken, I swear—”

But then their eyes meet, and he seems to know exactly how to use that to his advantage. He glances down at her lips once and she shuts up. Can’t find any words, not until they’re in her car. This time he is in the driver’s seat.

“If you drove yourself, where’s—”

“Dad’s car, we were talking on the way here, but he’s heading back now.” Ken smiles at her. He reaches with his right hand, tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and she feels her heart hammering. “Calm down, baby.”

That doesn’t really help her.

Once they’re driving, Ken glances at her, every once in a while. She thinks he has something he’d like to say. Which, he does, apparently.

“Hazel?” he calls out her name.

She turns her head towards his direction, raises an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

“You never really talk about your family,” he starts, glancing at her face as often as he can, wanting to know if he’s not treading waters that he shouldn’t be. She laughs softly. She doesn’t know that his heart flutters.

“Yeah, what about it, Ken?” she asks, tilting her head.

Maybe it’s the fact that over these past few days, weeks, whatever, he’s opened up so much about his past, about his childhood, and she’s mostly been silent, or asking more.

She never lingers on what her past was, she hasn’t even addressed it yet, she thinks she’s a fool for it, and still doesn’t do anything about it.

“Is… something wrong?” Ken’s voice has gone quieter. Hazel meets his eyes, laughs, shakes her head. Makes her look like more of an idiot, probably.

“No, love.” She’s staring out the window again. “It’s just, I don’t ever talk about it.”

“I figured,” he says, and he sounds like he’s smiling. Hazel can see that he is, in the reflection on her window.

“Yeah, well. It was shitty.”

He’s not smiling anymore. He’s asking her to continue.

“I don’t remember much,” she starts. Maybe that’s because I’ve never tried to. He doesn’t hear that. “I was born in the U.K. Moved to the U.S because my father works there, and then I moved back with my family.”

Ken raises an eyebrow at her, they’re waiting at a red light. His undivided attention is on her. She doesn’t know what to do, so she laughs awkwardly.

“Did you know that I had this friend when I first moved to L.A? But she moved away when I was eight?” he says. Now Hazel’s looking at him.

“I moved back to the U.K when I was seven.”

“She was seven too.” Ken’s smiling though.

Hazel’s perplexed, fuck that’s an understatement. She’s so confused. She hasn’t spent long enough thinking about her childhood in almost a decade. But when she’s looking into his eyes, it’s like she feels a new sense of familiarity. She knows those eyes.

She knows him.

She’s always known him.

He’s grinning at her. Like he’s been waiting for her to realise.

“Do I ring a bell, baby?”

“Shut up.”

“How do you think I know that you like hand holding? Or that you’ve always loved cookies, and my mom’s noodles, or garlic bread. Oh you loved your gran’s garlic bread. I’ll never forget.”

Hazel’s blushing.

“I didn’t want to leave, you know,” she whispers, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I know. You were my first friend. You stayed over at ours the night before.” Ken’s smiling, but it’s sad.

He’s not looking at her though, his eyes are glued to the road. She doesn’t even realise that they’re almost at his place, until he’s pulling up.

She wants to say something, but there are no words.

They sit down next to each other, on his couch, and still, he pulls her close.

“Do you remember the time you told me that you would always be here for me?” Kenji's arm is wrapped around her shoulder, and her head's on his shoulder, but there's this heaviness to his words that makes her sad.

Those are the first words he says to her after they’ve spent at least ten minutes in silence.

“Yeah,” she whispers finally, and she wants to apologise for leaving. Really.

“I really believed you,” he starts, and he laughs, but it sounds so broken, she's too scared to look up and meet his eyes. “I don't blame you, of course.” But he sounds like he can't even convince himself.

“I'm just so fucking sorry,” she mumbles, and the clarity to her words is quickly disappearing, very quickly as well. Kenji is even quicker to notice, and he places a finger under her chin, and he makes her look up.

"Don't be. I was mad—" He doesn't continue, because the look in Hazel's eyes tells her that he's just trying to make her feel better.

“You should be.”

Goddamn, he wants to tell her to stop, but also wants to kiss her face, but she doesn't know that, because he just says, “yeah, I am.”

She nods, he should be. She deserves it.

“But I love you, I love you so much I don't care. You're back,” he continues. She's looking up at him, and before even she realises it, he's wiping away the tears that escape. He's not amazing with emotions, she knows that, but when she cups his face, he leans closer.

He closes his eyes, and their bodies are so close together, Hazel can hear the way his heart's hammering. She doesn't know how to say 'I love you' back, so she presses her lips to his. And it's the softest, most loving gesture she's shown anyone, she thinks.

She’s never kissed anyone before Ken, though. He was her first, and she wants him to be her last.

She ends up unravelling completely, in front of him that night. She tells him about what her childhood was like, back in the U.K. Everything that happened. Ken looks more enraged with every second. By the end of it, her eyes are puffy as she finishes off with the way her mother told her that she was a disappointment to the bloodline, that even if she chose to take up the role of Ultrawoman, she’d fail everyone.

Ken’s face is pressed into her hair, he’s holding her as close as possible, even with his injury.

“Darling, you are none of that. I don’t get what the fuck is wrong with them, but don’t listen to them, they’re shitty.”

She nods, sniffling against the crook of his neck. And it’s so embarrassing, that she’s practically a mess in front of him, but she’s been crying for at least an hour now, and he doesn’t seem to be bothered. He chuckles when she tells him she isn’t crying, even though she clearly is.

At some point, he stands up, pulls her into his side, and takes her to his bedroom, tucks them into their bed, sliding in beside her.

She falls asleep soon, he notes that she needs naps after she cries. But she’s not awake to know that he has.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x self insert #ken sato x oc #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #ultraman: rising #ken sato #kenji sato #angst #fluff #ultraman #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #part thirteen

5 notes · View notes

ch4rryc0smos · 19 days

Text

REVERIE | 12

IT NEVER FELT RIGHT.

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊2k

author's note ┊aaa, new one!!! the fight with mr. onda, it makes me pretty sad, i'm also considering introducing my self inserts all separately and making a masterlist for that, but i also feel like i should work on their lore before doing that, and i also feel like making a f/o masterlist because i sure do have more than four, augh so many thoughts.

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They do get to Kenji’s place, but he hasn’t uttered a word to Hazel since Mr. Sato’s been put in the pod. She doesn’t really blame him. If this was Arden, she would’ve been the same. The most she can do is keep on checking up on Emi. And when his leg starts jerking too hard, she places a hand on it, reminding him that she’s there.

“He’ll be fine,” Hazel says, she thinks the first words she’s said since they got back.

Hazel faintly remembers something about him having a game today, but neither of them really give a shit. It feels like their whole world has tilted.

She stares out at the sun. And ignores the weird beeping noise she can hear, because she thinks it’s just her heartbeat. But then that’s not the only sound there. She hears a roar, a literal roar. And she’s quick to stumble out onto the porch. She’s staring off, into the distance.

But when she turns around, Kenji’s gasping, and staring at Emi’s cocoon as it starts cracking. And when it does finally fall off, there’s left an Emi, with wings. She’s just their Emi, and that soothes her. But what doesn’t is when the same roar sounds again, and Hazel’s forced to turn around, face the sea. Emi’s crawling out, and over. And neither Hazel, nor Kenji can convince her as she dives off, and she starts flying.

Mina’s alert falls to deaf ears, for Hazel at least. She doesn’t realise that something’s going to hit them until Kenji’s thrown himself onto her, pushing her back on the floor. And then her ears start ringing as she’s buried in his chest.

She doesn’t feel anything. If there’s a crash, she doesn’t know of it.

Not until she hears Mina’s voice, but it’s broken. And Kenji’s pushing himself off of her, and he pulls her up, into his side this time. But the sight of Mina leaves Hazel without words. A whole chunk has broken off.

She says her system is compromised. Kenji’s clutching onto his side. Hazel glances around, frantically, looking for Mr. Sato. When they ask Mina, she says I’m sorry. And Ken falls to whatever’s left of the floor. Hazel crouches down beside him, cradles his crying form in her arms, presses his head into the crook of her neck, how he did when they were at his old place. Just a day ago, or a night ago. Just some time ago.

He sobs into her neck, and she doesn’t even know what to say. She’s shit at this. It seems.

When Mina drops to the floor though, Ken scrambles over to her. And Hazel sits there, watches as Mina fucking wrecks her with her words. Kenji thanks her, cradles the remnants of Mina in his arms, and she tells them that they can save Emi. Hazel crawls closer, places her hand over Ken’s, and he turns to her, tears line his face.

“Now go get our girl, “ are Mina’s last words.

Unless they counted the cut off nursery rhyme. Something about it fucks Hazel up, alright.

Ken’s about to crouch right against Mina’s body, start crying. But then his watch beeps, and it’s the tracker. He looks at Hazel, squeezes her hand, what she does to reassure him. She can’t tell if he does it for her, or for him. But she doesn’t care. He stands up, pulls her up.

And together, they dive down too, they transform, and their fingers are still intertwined when they soar. When they’ve got one thing to do, they will do it together.

As they soar, Hazel thinks she can recognise Emi’s warbling. And when she sees the baby kaiju, she’s beyond elated. They go in front of her, plant their feet into the waters below. And Ken calls out to Emi.

“Come on, bub,” Ultrawoman whispers. Emi starts flying towards them, but then the fake Gigantron roars, and the green light makes Ultrawoman squint. Emi’s torn between them.

Without being given a chance to do anything, Ken gets attacked, but he’s quick to retaliate. Hazel gets thrown once or twice, but she gets up quick, she’s trying to get Emi to go to her, and she thinks it’s working, until there’s a whole bunch of missiles shooting their way. Or rather, Ultraman’s way. Hazel gets ready to brace Emi, and for a while, it doesn’t hit them, but then it does. It hits Emi, and she goes flying. It hits Ultrawoman in the back, and she goes tumbling. But Kenji’s already dropping his shield and he’s cradling Emi in his arms, whispering ‘no’ repeatedly. Hazel stumbles over to them, and she takes Emi.

When her and Ultraman’s eyes meet, all she can see is pure rage. And she doesn’t care, she is happy about it, actually. She lets him go, she places Emi down on a small island, turns around, flinching from the pain. Watches as Ultraman knocks his fist right into this robotic Gigantron. She watches as he punches it. And she wants to go and help, she does go. But by then, he’s pulled off a bit of metal, and there’s… flesh. There’s flesh underneath it. Emi’s up, and she’s screeching as she communicates with what’s… beneath the layers of metal.

Then Ultraman’s colour timer starts flickering. And Ultrawoman’s still, she’s still and can’t move as she watches Ultraman—Kenji being choked. This looks awfully a lot like what her father used to do, what her mother said should be happening to her. And that scares her. To the point that she’s rendered fucking useless where she needs to be doing something.

Then Kenji changes back, and he falls. And she tries to move her body, tries to fucking reach forward, but her limbs are frozen in fucking place. She can’t do shit, it seems. She hears the soft splash and she thinks her timer’s about to go off too. She closes her eyes, because she’s going to panic. She can’t panic.

But she opens her eyes, and there’s…. Ultra…dad. Mr. Sato has Kenji in the palms of his hand and Hazel wants to start sobbing hysterically. She watches the scene unfold in front of her eyes, Emi flies over to the mech Gigantron. Who is struggling? Hazel walks closer, she tries at least. And she watches as Gigantron roars. And then a piece of metal falls over. And Ultrawoman doesn’t think she’s ever been more grateful to see a kaiju in her whole life. Emi latches onto Gigantron, and Hazel is left clutching at her chest. That feeling of relief doesn’t last long. She watches as escape pods leave, and the KDF flee from the scene.

But there’s still the main ship left.

And she’s horrified by what she sees next.

It’s a whole robot. And at the centre, she can barely make out Mr. Onda’s shape. Or she assumes that’s who it is.

A laser beam shoots down at her, no, it’s going down a line, and she gets one glance back, to see Mr. Sato.

And then her face is submerged under water too. She doesn’t care, she scrambles to get her head up, and along with Emi and Gigantron, she’s stumbling over to Mr. Sato, who’s laying down, Kenji is held to his chest.

Hazel crouches down next to them, but Mr. Sato’s eyes are plastered to the horror that is Mr. Onda’s mech.

“We gonna do this together?”

“Well, I’m not gonna do it alone.”

Somehow while their lives are at stake, these two are joking, and Hazel’s smiling.

When Kenji transforms again though, Hazel has to squeeze his hand once, and she doesn’t expect it, but he squeezes back, even though it is brief.

She lines up with Hayao, and Kenji. And they brace themselves for the first blow. But the mech’s slow, and they dodge. Mr. Sato and Kenji latch themselves onto its arms. And then get thrown. Hazel tries to wrap her arms around what should be its neck and head area, but with one headbutt to her chest, she is thrown back too.

They fight, and when all three of them are thrown back together, Hazel barely makes out Emi and Gigantron’s attack, but she’s quick to be back on her feet again. And then missiles are being fired towards them, and she doesn’t know if the other two are up, but she has to do something. So she forms a shield. Closes her eyes, focuses on strengthening it.

But she can feel it getting stronger than what her powers are capable of. And then, she feels their presence. It takes a moment, but they’re lunging at the mech, again. But Kenji gets thrown and Emi screeches as she follows him.

Hazel’s going to lunge but Hayao has already gone for the shot. Hazel instead aims for the back, get a blind spot, disable something. Make it easier for them to bring it down. She throws a punch, but with one hit to her abdomen, she’s thrown back. And then Gigantron is too. Hayao is left at the front, and Hazel isn’t quick enough. He’s getting punched.

And then she sees it, his leg. He’s clutching onto it.

But she can’t tell if she’s gutted by the sight in front of her, or the words that Mr. Onda is speaking. She knows now that it’s him in the mech. And his words are making her feel sick as she stands up.

The mech brings out a sword, and it’s so bright she wants to squint, but he’s aiming it at Hayao. And she can’t let anything happen to Mr. Sato. She lunges forward, slots herself between the sword and Mr. Sato. She should’ve gone for the arm of the mech, but in her panic, she’s holding the blade. And it’s hot, and it’s burning, but at least she’s stopping it. But she’s not alone. Ultraman comes in, and he sweeps in where she should’ve, under the arm.

And together, they throw it off its feet. The mech stumbles. And Gigantron bites one hand, clamping down on it. Hazel doesn’t know if she processes it when Emi goes in for a hit with some sort of metal thing. And slices the arm right off.

But the arm with the sword is still intact. And it goes right for Kenji’s shoulder blade. Hazel barely manages to push it off as Ultraman clutches at his shoulder, groaning. She glances at him, then back at the mech, and she gulps.

His colour timer starts going off. She’s getting worried. Hers can’t, she needs to be calm.

She hears the scream from Mr. Onda, but her mind’s made, and she can desensitise herself. Kenji and Hayao, together start an attack, she adds on her own, and then Gigantron and Emi join. And the collective beams are so bright Hazel has to close her eyes. She’s pouring her all into this.

She can feel the way the mech tries to fight back, but she is strong.

Together, they throw him back. But then a red light starts flickering, and the beep from it sounds like a heartbeat. Hazel can’t tell exactly what it means, but she knows it can’t be good. She’s quick to start sprinting towards it, and she places herself right over where the core of the mech should be. And forms a shield. She zones out, she can’t really process Mr. Sato’s yells.

Her eyes flutter close, but she feels something brushing against her.

When she opens her eyes, Ultraman’s there. How did he get through? He’s trying to push her off, away. But she doesn’t budge, she refuses to.

Her ears are ringing. And it’s somehow comforting to have Ultraman’s arms trying to pull her off what could possibly kill her. The ringing gets loud as she starts relaxing.

She doesn’t feel it when the explosion comes. It’s peaceful. It’s quiet, minus for the screech from Emi that falls to deaf ears.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x self insert #ken sato x oc #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #kenji sato #ken sato #ultraman: rising #angst #fluff #ultraman #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #part twelve

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ch4rryc0smos · 20 days

Text

REVERIE | 11

THE SKY DARKENS ABOVE YOU.

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.6k

author's note ┊next part, hello! thank you for sticking around, if you still are here! i appreciate you, and of course, the new readers too <3 i hope you enjoy, happy reading! :)

prev. | next.

When Hazel boards their ship, she is left in awe. Emi is chittering but she’s staring, awestruck. The sight that meets her eyes when they land though is even more beautiful. Goddamn, she thinks she might be a bit breathless. And Ken is beyond amused by her reaction. She looks at him, a look that plainly says ‘can you blame me?’ He shakes his head. She smiles at him.

She watches the sun as it's slowly sinking below the horizon, becoming one with the Earth, and the water glistens. And she’s just left speechless. She turns to look around at Emi, who chitters. And she grins at the kaiju.

Later, she’s given a tour around the house, and Ken looks like he’s not seen it in a while, which Hazel learns that, he hasn’t. And when she notices a board in one of the rooms, and she notices pictures, of Emiko Sato, she doesn’t enter. But Mr. Sato and Ken do. She leaves them there.

She sits outside, watches Emi chase Mina, and the conversation she hears makes her heart clench. And she can’t really tell if that’s a good thing or not.

She doesn’t even realise when Ken’s walked out, and it’s a bit closer to the sun completely setting. But he sits down next to her. She spares him one glance, a small smile. He places a hand on her thigh, how he does when they drive back home from games. Her heart flutters. And she smiles. Apparently he knows exactly how to make her smile.

“Can I talk to you?” he asks. Hazel turns to him, raising an eyebrow at him. Of course he can, why is he asking?

“Yeah, sure, love. Go on.” It doesn’t go unnoticed by her the way his hand twitches on her thigh when she uses that pet name. She makes a mental note to use it more often.

“You know,” he starts, he has to stop, take a moment to weigh his words. Hazel places a hand on his, squeezing it gently. “I’ve spent so long distancing myself from everything I’ve ever known about my dad… essentially hating him.” He sighs when he says those words.

Hazel hums, “and?” She’s tilting her head at him, and their eyes meet. Amethyst and emerald.

“But then, all of the effort comes crashing down. Because of Emi, and for her, I’d do anything,” he’s speaking quicker with every word. Hazel places her other hand on his shoulder, and she leans closer, smiling softly. “Of course, I would, but it feels so… right, and wrong. Like, I’m so grateful for his help, believe me.” He continues.

“I believe you, Ken.” she squeezes his shoulder.

“But sometimes I still feel resentful, because… you know, he should’ve been there.”

“I know, baby.” She smiles at him, this time sadly. “I know. Goddamn, I don’t even talk to my parents anymore, not by will, at least. I understand,” she whispers. She can’t look up at him when she says this, she’s staring at her fingers. One hand is on his, the other falls to her lap, and she’s just staring at her fingers. “You’re allowed to feel resentful, but you know what makes the difference?”

Ken hums.

“That he’s trying. Mr. Sato is trying so hard to be better, and you don’t have to let him back in, not just yet, but he’s trying so fucking hard to mend those two decades of hurt, and that is such such a big step that he’s taking.” Hazel doesn’t know where these words come from. She doesn’t mention the hurt that her parents packaged for her, specially, stowed into her heart, asking her to carry it, for all her life.

“I don’t know if I can take such a big step, though.”

“You don’t have to. You can take small steps. Nothing amazing happens overnight, you don’t leap from step one to step twenty, Ken.” Hazel laughs, albeit a bit sadly.

“I know, I just. All my life, I’ve wanted to do things, for him.” He’s laughing too. Hazel finally turns back to him, and she smiles. She wants to reach up, touch his lips. But she decides against it. “Now that I have the chance, it’s like, the anger from then makes me not want to do it.”

“Do you know that it’s valid? You’re allowed to be resentful about it. For an eternity even, if you want. You’ll realise that,” Hazel starts, looking at the sky, at the sun that’s only peeking out an inch now. “One day, that resentment is dissolving, it’s getting less. That doing things for him, don’t feel so bad anymore, and it’ll feel really weird, but somewhere deep down, you’ve just wanted attention, from him. Not anyone else. And he’s trying to improve, which means he's willing to give you that.”

Hazel reaches up, a bit tentative as she places her hand on Ken’s chest. He turns to her, fully. And she’s facing him too. “Someday, you’ll realise that in here,” She taps a finger on where his heart should be. “There’s so much love for him, that all of this resentment, was just love, that really had nowhere to go, and anger is just a reaction, a reaction that essentially says, ‘hey, this isn’t right.’”

“Hazel, are you sure you’re a public speaker? Or are you a therapist?” Ken’s grinning, and he places a hand around her waist, pulling her closer. She might’ve tumbled onto his lap if her hand wasn’t on his chest, steadying her.

“A public speaker, darling.” She laughs. “Don’t flatter me, Kenji.”

“Say that again, I liked it,” he whispers. His voice is a warm breath against the shell of her ear, and she shivers.

“Say what?” she asks, even though she thinks she knows.

He’s huffing, “my name.”

“Ken?”

“No.” His fingers are tracing shapes on her lower back, and she thinks goosebumps erupt on every place he touches.

“Ken..ji?” she drags it out just to piss him off.

He’s frowning, but then he’s grinning.

“Yes, pretty girl. That’s me.” He presses his face into the crook of her neck, and Hazel thinks she might explode. But she pulls him closer, one hand still on his chest, the other weaves into his hair.

Pretty girl. It’s enough to get her heart racing.

She can’t even think straight when Ken’s looking up, and his lips are so close, and he’s asking her if he can kiss her. And it feels like they’ve never done this before. Because she’s sure she’s so red, she could be put next to a tomato and they’d be the exact same.

But she nods anyway, and before she knows it, he’s pulled her onto his lap, and his lips capture hers.

That night, when they go to the shore with Mr. Sato, and they’re sitting on the foldable chairs next to each other, Ken keeps on glancing at her, and then back at Emi. And Hazel just thinks he’s the cutest thing ever.

She’s watching Emi with this proud look in her eyes, and Ken’s talking to his dad. She’s so immersed in the way the moon glistens off the water that she doesn’t realise that there’s something being held up to her until cold touches her skin and she flinches, turning around to Ken.

He’s holding a fizzy drink, up to her. And he opened it for her. She takes it, her fingers brushing against his as she accepts it graciously, muttering a thanks. He grins.

She catches Hayao’s eyes from behind Ken, and smiles softly.

She actually feels relaxed, great. It’s been tiresome, recently. What with practically raising Emi, but she’s loved every second of it. Now that she gets to rest though, she’s beyond happy.

She laughs when Emi tries to use Mina as a ball. And her heart is warming with the talk Hayao’s having with Ken about finding balance. When they stand up, she watches. And it’s just such a bittersweet moment for her, but her smile says otherwise.

That is, until the smile falls. Emi’s screeching, and along with her, the other’s heads whip around to look at.

Ken’s asking her what she’s seen, and Hazel’s already stood up. She walks over to the baby kaiju. Her eyes go up to the sky, and she sees stars, but no, they’re red, and they’re moving rapidly. Towards them.

“Why are the stars moving?”

“Mina, scan for inco—”

“It’s the KDF.”

Hazel knows, and she’s trying to usher Emi back towards their ship. But the infant is tumbling forward, and she bends down, picking up bunny. Hazel is beside her, and she’s asking Emi to go to Kenji. But then the drones get closer right when she turns around. Hazel’s about to change, but with some words from Ken, Emi’s shooting them down. Hazel pats her arm, tells her she’s done great.

And she thinks they can finally leave, but that’s when everything really goes to shit.

Emi falls to the ground, and she enters what Mr. Sato says is a pupal stage. Hazel plants her hand against the pupa, and can feel the faint heartbeat.

As soon as the jet is practically fired up, drones start whirring around them. And they shoot.

Mr. Sato falls to the floor. Hazel’s quick to start rushing, but Kenji beats her to it. And he’s shaking there, for a moment, until he transforms. And Hazel’s left staring at Ultraman as he practically slices through the drones. Mr. Sato stirs, and this time Hazel does end up sprinting over to him.

The night doesn’t end wonderfully.

But they do survive.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x self insert #ken sato x oc #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #ultraman: rising #ken sato #kenji sato #angst #fluff #ultraman #part eleven #childhood friends to strangers to lovers

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ch4rryc0smos · 21 days

Text

REVERIE | 10

BUTTERFLIES CAN'T STOP ME FALLING!

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.6k

author's note ┊ten! this one's fun <3 have fun reading. loved writing this. there's angst to come, but it's okay. can't believe i somehow finished writing reverie. happy reading! <3 [i also do have a playlist for it]

prev. | next

Over the next few days, Hazel’s asked to stay over, by Mr. Sato. Even if she would’ve liked to not bother him, or Ken. She was asked to, and she did not refuse more than twice. A few hours after rescuing the child, Hazel notices Ken sitting alone, shaking his leg, and she realises, that day at the studio—It was a nervous tick. She wants to step in, but Mr. Sato goes in, and she doesn’t have the heart to ruin moments like these. So, she doesn’t.

But when she hears the news, she can’t tell if her heart sinks or if it breaks. She thinks she’ll leave the father and son alone, but when Hayao Sato calls out her name, she’s rooted to the spot. And not until he’s beckoning her closer is she able to move a muscle. But then she’s looking down at Ken, sitting, and frowning. And he looks so worried. Mr. Sato himself looks exhausted.

He’s asking Ken if he thinks this baby kaiju is the priority. And Hazel isn’t even asked, but when she looks at that infant, she thinks it’s obvious that; yes, she is. She turns back to look at Ken, and while he’s looking at her, he nods.

Mr. Sato’s smiling, and when he asks Ken if he has a plan, Mina floats back towards their direction. Hazel looks at the kaiju, and she feels this sort of peace knowing that she’s fine. She’s just asleep.

But that peace doesn’t last long when Mr. Sato is telling Ken what exactly could go wrong with his plans, and Hazel herself has to look at him. Her look and Ken’s words make him stop. She sighs, nearing the containment and unit and placing her hand over it.

Behind her, she’s barely registering Ken and Hayao’s words. To her, it just leads to the same thing, they have to be the one to take care of her, and she doesn’t even care, she’s willing to risk her life for this infant she doesn’t even know.

That night, they promise each other that they’re going to be the ones to take care of her.

She doesn’t end up sleeping.

In the morning, she’s up, early. Mr. Sato hopes she slept well. Truth be told, she didn’t sleep at all, but he doesn’t need to know that. Hazel may have been feeling a bit drowsy, but when she sees the infant sitting on the floor, all traces of exhaustion leave her body. She’s quick to walk over to her, tap her little claws and smile up at her. The baby chitters at her. She’s so immersed in talking to the joyous child, she doesn’t even notice Ken walking in. He yawns and that’s when she turns around to see him, holding his cup that says ‘I hate mornings’. It elicits a laugh out of her. The kaiju is curiously tugging at her hair. She turns back to her.

“... Training regimen.”

“Emi.”

“You named her after mom?”

That’s when Hazel turns around fully, smiling at Emi and apologising gently. She looks at Mr. Sato, and she smiles. She dislikes visiting her childhood, but Mrs. Sato, for the two years that Hazel had known her, was like the mother she never had. And for that, she could never forget her.

Ever.

She doesn’t say anything as she watches Ken and Mr. Sato talk, and her heart warms. Ken’s smiling, and it just makes her feel a certain way. That way makes her feel scared, but she doesn’t have to admit it anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

When Mr. Sato’s done talking, he seems to notice the way Emi isn’t scared of Hazel. He’s walking towards her, quickly. As quickly as he can, and he hands her the bunny plushie from that night. Hazel stares at it. Emi chitters behind her.

Hazel turns back around to the baby kaiju, walking backwards so there’s just some space between them.

“Come on, stand up, bub.” She holds up the stuffed animal. Emi smiles big and does stand up. Hazel claps for her, telling her that she’s doing so great. Some part of her inner child is healing from this, too.

Ken says something about how his father and Hazel are kaiju whisperers. It makes her laugh. Mr. Sato asks her to make Emi hold her arm up. It ends up being rather simple. She watches as Mina does what she is asked to.

Mr. Sato is holding up a treat, but Emi looks like she might just throw up.

Ken’s fingers wrap around her forearm and pull her to the side. Hazel tries to tug Hayao along, but he waves her off. Tells her it’s nothing.

“Ken, I think she’s—” Hazel starts.

“I know.” Ken looks worried. His breath is warm against her ear as he says “Uh, dad. Step away. Seriously.”

Mr. Sato waves him off too. Before he’s shot right to the wall at the other side of the room. Hazel looks at him, worried. Glances at Ken, he looks worried too. Then she looks at Emi, and shakes her head.

It only gets more chaotic from there. Many days they spend as Ultraman and Ultrawoman, trying to teach Emi basic life skills, for kaiju. They have to teach her how to catch fish, which, the first few times, does not go wonderfully. Many of those times, Ken has to go after her, and other times, it’s Hazel. They spend time training with Emi.

Thankfully for Hazel, she’s used to spending many nights awake, and so on. There’s also quite a few occurrences where she finds Ken practically dozing off at his desk, and Mr. Sato and her make him lunch, dinner, whatever it is he needs at that point in time.

While they’re trying their best to parent a baby kaiju, Ken is still struggling with his games. He returns frustrated, quite a lot. But since Hazel’s been living with them, practically full time, she’s been there to comfort him. Consolidate him. And since he says her being there makes him feel better, he’s had special arrangements made for her to be there at his games. The idea of it flustered her at first, but she convinced herself that if it helps Ken, she’s willing to do it.

And anyway, even if he loses, when he sees her, he somehow still manages to smile. It makes her want to throw herself out of a window, the way he makes her feel. A lot of the car rides back home from games like these leave him talking less, but their eyes meet every so often, and on the days Ken places his hand on her thigh, hell, Hazel can’t even meet his eyes. But it doesn’t go unnoticed by her when there’s a small smile that plays on his lips.

She doesn’t know what the fuck they are anymore. And that scares her more than the fact that she thinks she might be falling in love. And that? She isn’t even ready to admit it yet. She doesn’t think she’ll ever be.

But she’s never allowed to linger on it. They get home, lunch is either ready, or she’ll take the time to make it, sometimes with Mr. Sato, sometimes not. And then it’s training Emi how to bat. Hazel likes watching. She doesn’t play, but she does cheer on her favourite baby kaiju and her father Ken.

Hazel doesn’t even realise when the time passes, at these little games with Emi, or the real ones. There’s a rookie in Ken’s team, and some days, Hazel watches him train the new guy. He winks at her sometimes, and it makes her stupid heart flutter like crazy. But before she knows it, Ken is doing better. And she’s elated. She’s not big on cheering, but sometimes she loses herself in the feeling.

She really does.

One time, after a particularly amazing game, she’s practically shaking from the way she’d been cheering, but when Ken runs up to her after the game and pulls her to his chest, she thinks she’s drowning in the feeling. When his hands cup her face, and he plants his lips on hers, she thinks she might fucking explode. On the spot.

But she never pulls away. She does the opposite. She leans in more, lets him kiss her silly, breathless. And he doesn’t even realise what he’s done until he’s done it, he’s apologising for it. But Hazel is smiling like a bit of an idiot. She shakes her head.

“You should do it more often,” she says.

During the car ride back home, neither of them mention it. But the atmosphere is electric. And Ken’s hand on her thigh is making her stomach go wild. She feels warm. Incredibly warm.

It seems that they won’t be allowed to actually talk it through because Mr. Sato runs up to them the moment they’re back. And he starts gushing about how well Emi’s doing. And they’re back on the grind.

Every time she looks at Ken, she thinks about his lips, and the way they felt, and Ami’s words about how he’s doing better. And she thinks her heart skyrockets.

That night, she finds Emi curled up in Ken’s—Ultraman’s arms as they sleep. She changes forms, places kisses on their foreheads, and returns back to normal.

She’s so proud of them, for what they’ve been doing, how they’ve been improving. But she doesn’t notice Mr. Sato, standing in the doorway.

She thinks it doesn’t matter, until he’s grinning at her a lot more than he usually does.

Then he asks her if she’d like to join them on a little trip, he won’t tell her where, but says he’d appreciate her being there.

She can’t say no to spending time with Emi, Ken, or him.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x oc #ken sato x self insert #ken sato fluff #ken sato angst #ken sato #kenji sato #ultraman: rising #angst #fluff #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #ultraman #part ten

5 notes · View notes

ch4rryc0smos · 22 days

Text

REVERIE | 09

WITH MY GUT IN A KNOT-

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1.3k

author's note ┊part nine! trying hard to keep up with the consistency, but i've got another kenzel projects in the works too <3 although that one will probably be slower, considering that i'm much busier now, and constantly tired, but. happy reading! :)

prev. | next.

The days after, Hazel spends more time watching Ken’s games. Which sadly haven’t been going great. Unlike Maple though, she isn’t spending her time raging and over analysing, although she does do her fair share of analysing, when with Ami. She texts him, occasionally, although recently, he’s been taking longer to reply, so she opts to bother him less.

Instead, she’s been working on unravelling the KDF and just getting her thoughts out on paper, which means that she spends time writing. Writing things that aren’t speeches. But no one knows that. She even considers getting a pet at some point, but doesn’t.

She thinks there’s nothing going on in Tokyo, which is surprising.

She ends up jinxing it.

Now she’s out on the streets and she sees a big pink creature. She doesn’t get a kaiju alert but she recognises this one. Oh, how could she ever forget?

She’s quick to change, and the city is again, too small beneath her. But that does not matter. She can see the baby kaiju, waddling about. She’s trying to weave her way through the crowds as the infant doesn’t realise the destruction and chaos that’s being caused in its wake. She watches it tear a streetlight off the pavement, and when she notices what it’s aiming at, her blood is close to boiling. A KDF drone. She’s about to crush it between her fingertips but the kaiju hits it with the streetlight. Like a bat. Like it was playing baseball.

Ultrawoman’s almost too dumbfounded for a moment as she looks at the kaiju. Then she remembers. Right. Ken Sato, was Ultraman. Of course something like this would happen. Wait. This also means that this kaiju has been living under his roof.

That chittering, the day she went over.

Oh, of course.

Him being exhausted.

Goddamnit, how did she not guess it earlier? What a fucking dumbass she was.

She isn’t given the time to linger on it, the kaiju is walking over to her. She’s stunned, but she reaches out, holding her hands out. The infant walks right into her arms, and she wraps it in her embrace, safe as she lifts it. The citizens are staring, in pure horror, but she doesn’t care. She needs to get it to safety. And she thinks she can because it’s clinging on—Until it sees Ken’s face on some billboard and jumps right out of her arms, starts following the picture.

Ultrawoman’s behind her, until the kaiju is going straight for the Tokyo Tower. She glances behind her once and there’s more KDF drones there, she is going to swing—Then she notices Ultraman. Who doesn’t give one shit about the KDF, rather the kaiju that’s climbing up the tower. She turns back, and she’s going to climb up, but she’s beaten to it, by Ultraman.

Ultrawoman takes the chance and starts swinging at the drones. She only gets so many, until she sees it. The needles. She gulps. She doesn’t care, she calls out to Ultraman, but it seems that she’s a moment too late, because the baby kaiju’s pink scales are littered with green needles, and she’s going to fall. Ultrawoman is about to shoot up. But she doesn’t need to. Ultraman catches her, by the arm. Hazel thinks he might have dislocated the bone there. She’s almost certain he has, but at least the kaiju is cradled in his arms, and it’s safe.

Ultrawoman can’t ignore the way his voice is shaking as he cradles the child. Then the KDF planes surround them, and Mr. Onda’s voice is loud and clear. She wants to reach up and crush them.

She doesn’t even register the voice as Ultraman glances at the ships, then at her, and he nods. He looks like he might be trembling. He drops, and then shoots up, brushing against her ever so slightly. She shoots up after him, and the first thing he does is ask Mina to prep his base. She’s silent. Gods, she can’t even bring herself to speak.

She’s glancing between the kaiju and him, noting the desperation as he asks Mina to call his dad. And it just hits Ultrawoman, in that moment, how fragile everything may be. But she can’t linger on it when the infant is whining and she thinks she wants to cradle it in her arms and heal it.

“Is—Are they going to be okay?” she dares ask, she’s too scared to talk. But her worry overweighs her fear.

Ultraman looks at her, for more than a second this time. “I don’t know, I don’t know if she’ll be okay.”

The rest of the trip back is spent in silence. When they arrive at base, Ultrawoman finds herself in a corner, wanting to give as much space as possible. Ultraman lays the child down, holding her gently. Hazel watches, she’s scared her colour timer might go off.

When Mr. Sato walks in, Ultraman’s asking for help, Hazel wants to offer some sort of comfort, but she herself feels so out of place. When Ultraman’s hands move aside and cradle the kaiju’s head, Hayao looks like he’s never seen such a sight in front of him.

The whining gets louder as she touches the needle embedded in her side. Ultrawoman gulps. She’s a bit too scared to look, even though she’s not scared of needles by any means. Ultraman doesn’t look at her, but she is looking at him. She’s way too aware of the way he’s so worried for this kaiju and it makes her want to take back all the doubts she may have had of him in the past.

Mr. Sato runs a chem analysis on whatever’s on the needle, and Hazel’s staring.

The baby Kaiju is whining, and Ultrawoman just wants to cradle her in her arms all over again.

She's staring at the miniscule form of Mr. Sato as he examines her once more, and then their

eyes meet. And they know something that apparently Ultraman in his worry isn't noticing.

Ultrawoman also feels a bit claustrophobic because both her and Ultraman are in here, in this small space, but she thinks she can ignore it for the time being, the Kaiju is the priority. But Hayao notices.

"You can change back, your colour timer might go off too, if you don't." Mr. Sato looks at Ultraman. "He won't freak out... I think."

Hazel considers it, and she thinks it might actually be better. She can help the professor if she does, too. So, with one deep breath, she's changing back, and now she's only a few inches taller than Mr. Sato. He smiles at her, but she can't. She's already moving closer to the injured infant. The kaiju chitters at her, and she starts whispering sweet words to her.

But then a huge hand reaches forward. And she faintly registers Ultraman tapping her head, making her look up. She gulps, laughing nervously.

"Hazel? Vellichor? You're—" He looks like he's so close to absolutely losing his shit, and she doesn't know how to make it better. He looks like if he could, he'd pick her up in his palm and scrutinise her. "First I think Ultrawoman isn't real, and then I find out… it's you!"

His tone makes her shake her head, "well, you'd figure it out... Eventually." She truly doesn't care for the eventually right now, because she just wants the poor baby to get better. And Ultraman seems to notice so too. She watches as Mr. Sato places the bunny on the infant’s arm, and when the song starts playing, Hazel thinks she might melt on the spot. It makes her feel bittersweet, but she doesn’t linger on it. Because Hayao is talking to her.

She barely understands what Mr. Sato says as she nods along, talking to the kaiju when she hears the loud sound, and then the loud screech that follows. She flinches, but it doesn't matter.

She's already back in Ultrawoman form, and she reaches out towards Ultraman, he's hesitant, and it makes her heart flutter, but he hands over the infant. She cradles her, and she's on her knees, holding her close to her chest, telling her that she'll be fine.

The infant chitters. She smiles at it, then at Ultraman, who looks a bit stunned.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x oc #ken sato #ken sato x self insert #ken sato fluff #kenji sato #angst #fluff #ken sato angst #ultraman: rising #ultraman #part nine #childhood friends to strangers to lovers

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ch4rryc0smos · 23 days

Text

REVERIE | 08

FEELINGS I JUST CAN'T IGNORE!

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, co-parenting (?)

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, mentions of drinking, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊3.7k

author's note ┊finally finished writing reverie, it was such a ride, but i'm not done posting it, and hopefully i can keep up the schedule! i'll probably also be posting little thoughts and stuff as well <3 happy reading :)

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“Date with Ken Sato?” Maple keeps on calling it, and Hazel thinks she’s going to lose her shit if she says it one more time. Maple does say it one more time, and her best friend has to stop walking, and stare down at her phone as if it had done some unforgivable wrong. She picks it up, puts her mouth right to the speaker.

“Say that shit one more time, and I’m going to hang up on you,” she says, clearly. It’s more of an empty threat than anything, but with the tone that says it, her message gets across. “And no, it’s not a date.” Hazel has said these exact words quite a few times already, but Maple is being giddy, and what was really just a phone call to the wrong number, seems like it’s more, in her eyes.

She’s back trying to help Hazel pick out an outfit, and this is making the green-eyed woman want to revamp half of her closet.

“Maple… Don’t you think I can just pull on a turtleneck, with like high waisted jeans?” she asks, and the silence from her best friend is actually scary for a moment.

“Add an overcoat.” Is all that Maple says.

“No way, I don’t intend to burn alive!” Hazel says, shaking her head and laughing in what she hopes conveys irritation, or at least says ‘are you stupid?’

“If you want him to give his jacket to you or something so bad, you could’ve just said so,” Maple’s back at being the tease that she is.

Hazel groans. “It’s not about that!”

“Keep on lying to yourself.”

The conversation with Maple goes wonderfully. Peak productivity session with two best friends. At the end, they did end up deciding on the outfit Hazel suggested in the first place. Now she waits until the next day.

She’s feeling much lighter by the time she heads to bed, humming to herself as she ties her hair into a messy bun, melting into her mattress with a sigh of contentment. Sleep rolls over her easily that night, she doesn’t have to toss or turn, she closes her eyes, and doesn’t even realise anything.

That is, until she hears an alarm, and she can’t even tell if she’s slept in the first place. But she doesn’t feel tired, so she’s convinced that she has. Which is surprising, because she doesn’t actually remember the last time she slept so well.

It seems that sleeping well ups her productivity by a considerable margin, gods, even a huge one. When Maple calls her, she’s telling her exactly what she’s already done and what she plans to do next, and her best friend seems extremely happy for the way the day seems to be going at the other end of the world.

“Didn’t think agreeing to a date with Ken Sato would get you like this,” Maple’s humming. Hazel can’t tell if she’s being a tease or if it’s a genuine comment, but it does make her stop. She stares at her phone, at her best friend’s face on the phone. If Maple was here, a punch would've landed to her face, but sadly, for Hazel, she isn’t.

“You’re actually delusional, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you—”

“You’re calling me delusional? Look at yourself!” Although Maple’s trying to add indignation to her tone, she laughs anyway.

Hazel’s back is turned to her, but she’s laughing, that is, until there’s a call that’s dulled out Maple’s voice. She turns back to her phone, and her eyes widen at the caller ID being displayed.

“Uh, I’ll call you back.”

“Yeah, don’t keep him waiting!” And before Hazel can scold her best friend, the cut is called, and the giggling stops abruptly.

She’s fiddling with her phone as she speaks up, and she doesn’t know why.

“Hey,” Ken says, and he sounds really relaxed, which for some reason, Hazel isn’t.

“Hi,” she says, putting the phone on speaker so she can continue tending to the sliding door of her balcony. She continues wiping it down, then she hears a slight cough, so she glances at the phone.

“I was wondering about something,” she thinks it’s really cute how Ken sounds a tad bit nervous now.

She chuckles. “Go on.”

“Do you prefer eating out or homemade?” he asks.

The question warrants her to stop, turn around, and walk to her phone. She picks it up, and she’s inclined to ask why, but goes against it.

“Homemade.” She smiles, even though he can’t see it.

“Thanks! I was… just wondering.” He’s laughing nervously and it makes her laugh along with him.

“No problem, Sato.” She lingers there for a moment, waiting to see if he’ll say anything else, when he doesn’t, she tells him that she’ll end the call now.

“Yeah, sure! I’ll just text you my location, alright?” he says.

The call ends with her humming in response. And just a moment later there’s a ding, she’s sure it’s the text with the location, but she doesn’t check just yet. She’d like to finish tending to her house before she’s staring at a screen.

So, she does exactly that. Although, she does pick up her pace, and she doesn’t know why she wants to check his message so bad. She’s sure it’s just a location, nothing more.

Even with her quickened pace, it took her another hour, by that point she’s already feeling a bit drowsy, but it’s not bad enough for her to want to take a nap, so she plops on her couch, sends a quick thanks text to Ken, who somehow reads her message immediately. But now she feels like she needs another shower. When she checks the time, she’s surprised to see that it’s almost five in the evening. Even though she had woken up early, the day seems to have just breezed past. Guess that’s what happens to you when you’re actually doing things.

She wills herself to carry herself to the shower, which she’s so grateful for. When she walks out, she feels like a changed person. It’s like ten layers of dirt were scraped off her skin. That’s an exaggeration, but she doesn’t care, she just laughs. She’s pulling on the turtleneck and jeans that have been sitting on her bed the whole day. She decides against calling Maple, instead fully devoting her time to trying to do her hair, which ends up in a bun anyway, with her hoop earrings that she’s not touched in a few months swinging at the side of her face.

She texts Ken, asks him when she should be over, he’s quick to message back, telling her that any time is fine by him. She huffs at the text. She replies with ‘I’ll be over by eight’.

He seems to be alright with that.

By the time she’s ready, there’s not much time to spare, she’s careful to not waste it. All she does is check her purse for her essentials, and by then it’s already time for her to be driving over. As she feels her car vibrate underneath her, she’s wondering about her call earlier on in the day.

It was random, really. She hopes he’s not cooking for her, or something along the lines of it. Her thoughts are interrupted by her wonderful GPS, intent on getting her to her location, but a bit of a nuisance. She should’ve messed with the settings. She supposes it doesn’t matter though, because she’s almost there.

Talk about almost, she is there. She glances towards her phone and it says that she’s arrived. Then she looks up, and a house is in fact looming in front of her face. She laughs at herself for getting so lost in her head.

She parks her car, and she’s walking up to the door, when her fist is about to meet it, it slides open. And she’s met with a floating sphere, white.

“Miss Vellichor, welcome,” a female robotic voice drones, although not completely devoid of emotions, props to whoever developed her.

“You know me?” Hazel asks.

“Yes, Ken has told me to prepare for your arrival,” the… android explains.

“Mina!” a voice calls out from behind her. The robot moves aside and Hazel’s peering into a well-lit house.

And there he is. Ken Sato stands in his full glory. Well, not full. His clothes have flour on them, and slight wrinkles. His hair is a bit messed up, but it’s kind of cute. With his eyes wide when he realises who’s standing right outside his door. But Hazel’s smiling, even harder when she notices the way his expression gets even more confused.

“Hey,” she says, waving at him.

“Oh, shit. Mina, why did you not tell me—” He turns back to the floating android, a frown playing on his lips.

“You instructed me to welcome her in when she arrives,” Mina says, simply.

Hazel laughs. Ken does not. He’s glancing between Mina and her, then he finally turns to her.

“Come in, I’m sorry that you have to see me like this.” He can’t even meet her eyes as she walks in.

The door slides close behind her, she smiles at him softly. That’s when she notices the pink coating his cheeks. Gosh, he’s blushing.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

“Mina, please see to it that the food is cooked,” he tells Mina, then his eyes meet Hazel’s. “I’ll… be back, you can have a seat.” He nods at the couch at the other corner.

She nods. “Take your time, Ken.”

She’s left there admiring the interior as Mina leaves to do what she’s been instructed to do, and Ken’s speed-walking away. Hazel can’t help but chuckle as she makes her way over to the couch. She sits down, leaning back against it. Even though Ken looked adorable with his hair all messed up, he did also look worse for wear. At first Hazel thinks she was just looking into it too much, but he did look like he wasn’t getting enough sleep. And with how his games have been, she wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t.

She’s not really given the chance to linger on the thought when Ken enters, and along with him, the scent of the baked goods. It wafts in so gentle, Hazel inhales deeply. She looks up, and Ken’s placing a tray with cookies on the table in front of them. Their eyes meet and he smiles.

He sits down beside her. She glances at the cookies once, then back at him. Her face heats up, for the first time that night. But she breaks into a smile.

“I was baking,” he says. And it’s surprising that he’s not brimming with his self-assured confidence, but it’s… nice.

“I figured.” Hazel shrugs, chuckling lightly.

He grins, and then he asks her to have one. She hesitates, but with the way he’s looking at her, so expectantly, she can’t really say no. So she takes one, and when she bites into it, it melts in her mouth, and the flavours are so concise, it feels like home, like being with Maple and Arden. She smiles, and he grins.

“You like them, huh?” he asks. She meets his eyes, and he raises an eyebrow at her. He looks really proud of himself now.

“Maybe,” Hazel says.

He picks up one himself, takes a bite and hums in contentment, leaning back against the couch. He tilts his head to the side, smiling at her. She really can’t pinpoint why, but the sight makes her feel a bit warmer. She ignores the feeling.

The next few minutes are spent eating cookies, laughing at random stuff, and trying to get to know each other better. It’s really surface level questions, until it’s about their careers. Ken sits up again, and he’s leaning a bit towards her, but she doesn’t mind. She’s focused on his eyes. She also doesn’t think she’s had so many cookies since she was twelve.

“So…” Kenji starts, dragging out the vowel. “Why’d you start speaking?”

Hazel doesn’t remember the last time she was asked this question, because somehow, everyone relates it back to her parents, which okay, maybe it partly was, but she also has her own ambitions. “I’m not sure actually.”

Ken raises an eyebrow at her, but he doesn’t speak. He’s expecting her to continue.

“But I’ve always wanted to send out messages, to advocate, and I’ve been told I know how to speak, how to persuade, how to engage… I thought that I could put those two things together, and here we are.” She shrugs.

Kenji hums in acknowledgement. “That’s cool, I’ve also heard you’re a philanthropist, anything you’ve got to say on that?” He holds up a cup from his coffee table, trying to use it as a microphone. Hazel glances at it, breaks into laughter. He smiles, ever charming.

“I guess, I’ve just wanted to make a change.” She glances the plate in front of them, left with only one cookie and the remnants of previous ones. She hasn’t really thought too thoroughly about why she does what she does, but she knows that she’s always wanted to be a voice of reason, to bring change where she sees that there’s a need.

“You know, I think you are,” Ken says after a moment of silence. She looks up, meets his eyes, and there’s the most beautiful genuine smile plastered on his face. Her heart flutters. She doesn��t even realise until he’s leaning forward and the words die in her throat. Then his hand brushes against the corner of her mouth.

His fingers brush gently against the corner of her lips, and she reaches up as soon as he retracts his hand. Now she’s too embarrassed to meet his eyes. “Was there something—?”

“Don’t worry, just a few crumbs,” his voice has that same glam that he’s known for. She looks up, and then looks away. “It’s nothing!” He bumps his shoulder into hers.

She looks back at him, and he’s grinning. He picks up the last cookie and takes a bite.

She laughs.

“Did you want it?”

“No.” She shakes her head, smiling at him.

The next hour and a half is spent at his kitchen island, he’s apparently made dinner, with some help from Mina it seems. He’s a bit reluctant, but he explains that this was why he couldn’t answer the door himself.

“Is it also why you called earlier today?” Hazel asks, finally having connected some dots.

Ken places his chopsticks down, scratches the back of his head. Hazel waits, looking at him. Then, he nods.

“That’s really sweet of you,” she whispers, her voice now dropping volume. Ken looks up, and she looks away. But now he’s smiling bright, and he places a hand on her shoulder, making her look up.

“I’m glad you think so,” he starts, brushing a stray strand of her hair out of her face. “I’ve made garlic bread too.”

She curses herself for heating up, again.

By the time they’ve gotten to garlic bread, Hazel thinks this is her personal record for eating. She hasn’t eaten this much in at least a decade and a half. Ken is beyond pleased with himself as he hums, letting Mina tend to the dishes. Hazel’s looking at the android with interest, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Ken.

“My parents programmed her, she’s been with us for a while now,” he mentions. She turns to face him completely, and he’s already looking. Hazel’s mouth forms an ‘o’. Ken grins, nodding.

That’s when she notices the time on the clock behind her. It’s five past ten. It’s not really late by any means, but she thinks she’s taken up a lot of his time by now. The thought’s kind of stupid because if she truly had, he would’ve told her, probably.

“It’s kind of late, no?” she says, even though she very much thinks otherwise.

“Is it?” Ken glances at the clock, and back at her. He’s grinning. “I had something else in mind, but didn’t realise it’s been two hours already.”

Ken stands up, holding out his hand for her. She glances at it, and takes it, a bit tentative. He pulls her up, and is tugging her along the wooden floor as it creaks beneath their feet. Then a door slides open and the cold night breeze tickles Hazel’s face. She glances around at the well-maintained greenery and then at the back of Ken’s head, his raven hair gleaming in the moonlight.

“Where are we—” her question is answered before she can complete it. Ken moves aside, and she’s faced with a motorcycle. She’s staring in awe. But then a weight is being placed on her shoulders and when she looks to her side, it’s Ken placing his motorcycling jacket on her shoulders. She feels a blush impending and looks away as he’s trying to zip it up. His motions stop.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, but the tease in the tone is prominent. Hazel rolls her eyes.

“What are you planning?” she says, ignoring his question. He laughs, his shoulders shaking a bit from the force of it, muscles straining nicely underneath his compression shirt.

“I’m taking you on a little drive,” he says matter-of-factly, grinning.

He straps on his helmet and before she even gets to speak another word, he’s pulling out another from a compartment on his bike.

“Where’d you even get your jacket from?” She raises an eyebrow at him. She doesn’t remember him wearing it when they were inside, so how did he—

“Got it while we were walking out,” he answers, shrugging. “Too distracted to notice, hm?” he’s smirking and she knows it. She wants to pull up his visor and poke his eyes out, but refrains. And even if she was going to reach up and do anything, she can’t now. Her hands fall to her sides, limply. He gets closer and places the helmet on her head, fastening it. Their faces are a bit closer now, and she’s sure that if the helmets weren’t there, she could’ve felt his breath. She’s also glad that the helmets are there because if they weren’t, he might have been laughing his ass off at the shade of red that her face is at the moment.

He’s pulling back, but her head turns around at the sound of… chittering, from inside his place. He whips around, now alarmed as Mina floats out.

“Ken—”

“You know what to do, right?” he says, not letting her finish the sentence.

Hazel looks at him, a bit confused. She’s sure she’s heard that same sort of chittering before, but she can’t do so much as entertain the thought, because before she knows it, Mina’s already going back inside and she can’t hear it anymore. Kenji tugs her close to the motorcycle. He gets on, and he’s looking at her.

He pulls up his visor, striking purple eyes meeting hers. “Come on.”

She hesitates, but when he holds out his hand, she doesn’t resist. She lets him pull her onto the seat, and guides her arms around his waist. She’s pressed right against his back, and she hopes her body isn’t as warm as her face is. She’s too scared to even think about why she’s feeling her stomach churn like this.

“This is fine, right?” He asks, his head tilted back slightly.

She nods, not really trusting herself to get the words out.

He chuckles, and his engine roars into life.

Soon enough, they’re driving off and away from his place. The night is quieter today, or maybe it’s just that it’s edging closer to midnight, and that’s why. It’s peaceful. Hazel doesn’t know when, but at some point her head’s also pressed against his back, and she’s just glancing over his shoulder. They’re not anywhere near the heart of the city. She looks down at the road. It’s practically flying beneath them.

“Do… you like this?” Ken’s asking, voice loud over the howling wind as they speed through the emptier streets.

“Yeah!” she answers, trying to be a bit louder, but her head’s practically an inch away from where his ear should be, so she supposes it wouldn’t matter anyway. He leans down, and speeds up. She gasps, pressing her head firmly against his back and wrapping her arms around him even tighter, and she can hear him laughing. Now she wants to slap him, but when she opens her eyes to look towards her side, the city looks like it’s below them. Lights line every inch that she can see, and it’s beautiful.

She’s enamoured by it. Almost forgetting that she’s being driven around.

The rest of the drive back, she doesn’t really speak. Neither does Ken. When they’re back, he gets off first, and helps her down. Ever the gentleman, apparently. Once she’s off, he pulls off his helmet, turning around to help her, but she already has it off. She notes that her bun feels like it might fall off and reaches up to fix it.

Her eyes meet Ken’s, and he’s just staring. She feels her face heat up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He nods, looking away. If Hazel hadn’t been looking at him, she probably wouldn’t have noticed the pink that dusts his cheeks, but she does notice. She smiles.

It’s only when she’s reaching forward that she remembers, or realises that she still has his jacket on. She’s quick to take it off and hand it back to him. He pulls it on, grinning as he bows down jokingly.

“Ladies first,” he says, nodding sideways at his door.

Hazel shakes her head, laughing as she steps back into the threshold of his house.

Mina comes floating back, welcoming them. The British woman thanks the android, turning to look at Ken, who now looks like he’s glowing.

That night when she leaves, after telling Ken that he does not need to drive her back, she’s feeling so much better. A bit giddy. She only barely registers that her turtleneck smells like his cologne. It makes her tighten her grip on the steering wheel. She’s glad Maple isn’t here physically to tease her about it.

Although she would be calling her best friend as soon as possible, to gush? Maybe. To give her updates, most definitely. Her night’s ending on a positive note, and she returns home with a slight skip to her step.

#✎ hazel's works #ken sato x oc #ken sato x self insert #ultraman: rising #ken sato #kenji sato #angst #fluff #ken sato angst #ken sato fluff #childhood friends to strangers to lovers #part eight #ultraman

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