#(( my stupid head was just thinking: give him your body izumi

[ran-orimoto]

I don't know to whom praying to get something about Chiaki written by you. If you accept commissions in writing I'd run

I don’t accept commissions but you could still give me inspos! It would be a pleasure to me. Still, the good news is that I have already written about Chiaki once, though it’s just a bad introduction of her in MTTCI told by Junpei’s point of view. I don’t know when I will take MTTCI in my hands again, but I think it should happen before Christmas because you all always asking about Chiaki makes it hard to resist to such a temptation.

[ Context of the chapter is Junpei, for some specific reason explained later, has accepted to sing for a spectacle in a ballet academy. Since the dancers are practicing, he has been left outside, on a bench, and he has incredibly (LOL ahahah) been chatting with a rather lively Izumi. This is the end of the chapter and it contains fatphobiac insults, as the random OC I added in here is just an a$$ (like Junpei eh, ahahah. I have no mercy in anyone’s regards in the lame world of MTTCI). ]

[ …]

Despite the utter mess he was making while chatting with Izumi, he couldn’t deny she was still making him feel like he had been taken up to the sky she adored so much, had been walking on dreamy clouds for who knew how long. Now, though, some aggressive noise had accidentally made him let go of Izumi’s grip making sure he wouldn’t fall from such a height.

But he had. He had down into a place as immense as the expanse where he came from yet colder, much colder than that one.

“Nakamura-San!”

She marched out of the frozen room without looking back, decelerating only to bring her fingers behind her head. With a single gesture, an undulating motion of her wrist, she unraveled her low chignon in a cascade of dark chocolate, her long pail neck leaning forward in a liberating reflex.

She totally ignored his presence, just like the one of a skinny young man trotting after her.

“Nakamura-San, wait! We have been fantastic! Today I told myself we could really be the best duo out there. Imagine…Us starring in the most famous theatres in Europe, at New York’s Metropolitan too.”

Oh no, dude, you’re so pathetic, please, In the background of that mushy romantic film he didn’t absolutely want to be an extra of, Junpei found it impossible to grimace. And it’s not only because of those ridiculous tights I thank Heavens I could never wear in my life. She’s not interested, indeed, she detests you. She is repulsed by you. She isn’t even looking at you in the face, man!

Not even impulsively grabbing the girl’s hand to force her to turn helped him in his intent, until…

“Chiaki, listen…!”

At his touch her shoulders had already tensed, but that physical response affected her whole body once she heard what Junpei soon discovered it was her first name.

Dumb move. How can you be so stupid?, Junpei asked himself, slowly opening his bag to find a book into which plunging his disinterest. That was such an ashaming spectacle: he wasn’t going to give his eyes that unfair treatment. They didn’t deserve it. Still, surely, it would be so nice if they acknowledged he was there and they were showing a stranger their mutual lack of respect and tact. If he had worn one of his coveralls, they would have undoubtedly seen him. It would have been flashier than the lame blue salopettes he was wearing on a simple orange sweatshirt.

“It’s Nakamura. Nakamura-San for you, to be precise,” She stared into her interlocutor’s restless orbs, her face stuck in a stern arrangement, a detail Junpei casually grasped while searching for a specific page of his music sheet.

“Su-Sur-“

“And, sorry to tell you,” She insisted, cutting him short, impassive. Junpei’s focus would usually take a while to get used to reading and studying, so it was normal he was keeping on getting distracted, wondering how her eyebrows weren’t minimally curving because of her distress. “We haven’t been fantastic. You were out of step, your arms were feeling like noodles on my hips and you would have also stepped on my foot, if I hadn’t made my leg slip backwards on purpose.“

“T-Then…You have been fantastic…Nakamura-San?”’

Junpei’s thinned irises travelled through the lines of the same stave back and forth, hopping on the scribbles occasionally warping the notes’ circular shapes, dwelling on those more than on what he was supposed to be working on. The environment had grown too taciturn for him to animate that mute paper in his mind, so he got unavoidably led to diverting his intellectual efforts on some other topic, on the trembling muscles of the black-haired lad and the statue in front of him.

A statue ready to flee from her despised pedestal.

“I’m sorry, Kobayashi-San,” She sighed, closing her spheres whose shade was still unknown to Junpei. Incredibly, he perceived a minimal turmoil in those features, maybe just a fruit of his fervid imagination.

He also sensed a pang in his stomach at the sight of the young woman, of that Chiaki, leaving her dance partner there , without adding a clarification to that apologize holding so much else in itself. Junpei couldn’t understand why he had got that hunch, -and he wasn’t interested in finding out the reason behind it, no!-, but he could confess to himself it was hurting, somehow. Cautiously observing the profile of the dejected ballet dancer, the tremors of his lips, the abandoned dangling of his limbs next to his hips was having a certain effect on him.

But ,again, he didn’t know why.

He didn’t…

The young man stood in that same spot for a whole minute, losing his dismay in the undefined shadows projected in the near corridor. Then, he found the strength to forge steel fists of frustration and viciously send a glare to the uninvited spectator. That was a decision Junpei should have expected at some point, but he had foolishly grown convinced he had become invisible. Thus, he had lowered his guard and consequently had- he had to admit it, regrettably-, minded about someone else’s business, someone else’s disgrace.

“What are you looking at, eh? Tell me. Don’t you have anything else to do, fatso?”

“Hey,” So, they were starting like that, weren’t they? It was typical. “Since I’m a fatso, you should have noticed I was here. Don’t I occupy this entire bench?” In spite of the heat the young man’s comment had generated in his throat, he wasn’t going to yell in a refined ballet academy, but that didn’t mean he would allow him to disrespect him. “Joke’s on you, man, if you have decided to talk about private matters here.”

“Whatever you say,” The young man replied, displaying his interior weakness once more. Judging from that little he had managed to analyze in the previous confrontation with the girl, he could state he was a spineless and submissive kind of dude. The only thing he could do was to look down on others, as if he had the right to do so. Probably, in his life he had met people giving him the freedom to act in such a superb way, but in that case he could do that just because Junpei was sitting and he was standing. “Looking at you, I wonder how much you have eaten to become so fat.“

“Excuse me…?” Even if he had muttered that question while concealing his shame under his bangs, those words stained with poison had still been spat on Junpei’s appalled face.

“Yes, in the photos on Facebook you look so different. And thinner. What has happened to you?”

It happened that I’m not the same person, easy, He reminded himself, painfully clenching his jaw as a photo of a slightly older opera student materialized in his memories: sliced back hair just like his yet much darker, cocky grin challenging the camera and flash, a stately poise, a handsome, an exceptionally handsome raising star of the lyrical singing panorama.

“Uhm…It’s a bit hard to explain,” The commotion in his tone had faded, his fiery spirit had been tamed by an imposing energy. And he hated that.

“I don’t care ,don’t worry. I’m just laughing at the fact the girls were so excited about this beautiful tenor who was supposed to come. Oh well, better for me. Now that Chiaki is mad at me, I still can try with Kikuchi-San. She is the third girl in the second row, can you see her? She is not as curvy as Chiaki, but-“

“Kobayashi dude, whatever you’re called, now I’m the one telling you I don’t care, man,” He snapped at him, but still turned. He did not because he was curious about who this girl was, what he looked like: when he said he didn’t care, he was serious about it since there only was a girl on Earth mattering to him. He did because Fate had decided that morning would be troublesome to him and had to keep on being such until the end, until he would escape from that chicken coop.

If he had to be honest with himself, however, that definition didn’t really feel that fitting once he found himself surrounded by minuscule shimmers directly pointed at him, on his lumbering silhouette. He was feeling more like if he had become the visitor of an aquarium being contemplated by a shoal of fish that had gathered and attached their mouths to the glass, their thoughts incomprehensible to the human on the opposite side.

Yet, Junpei had experienced the same emotion even without a glass in the middle of his life, even a second after he had put foot in there, had bowed before a displeased audience, had continued smiling despite anything.

Despite being aware he wasn’t the one everyone had been waiting for.

I’m so sick of this place, Izumi-Chan. For real.

[windfighter]

Sticks and stones

”Hey, Kouji”, Junpei said.

Kouji looked up from the game he was playing with Tomoki, looked at Junpei instead. Tilted his head a little. Junpei put the deck of cards he had been practicing with back into his pocket.

”Can you teach me kendo?”

”Uuuh…”

Kouji hesitated. Junpei didn’t like the sound of that.

”I don’t think kendo is for you”, Kouji said.

”Why not?” Junpei crossed his arms. ”Is it because I’m fat and you think I won’t be able to do anything?”

So many people thought that, Junpei was used to it. Hearing it from Kouji though…

”It’s not that”, Kouji frowned. ”Why do you want to learn kendo suddenly?”

Junpei could feel everyone’s eyes on him. He tried to ignore them, sat up straighter and grinned.

”I want to get stronger!”

”Hmm…”

Kouji threw the die, moved a few steps on the board. Tomoki grabbed a card from the board.

”I’m not licensed to teach”, Kouji continued. ”I’m not telling you don’t go for it but… I think something else would fit you better.”

”Like sumo!” Takuya shouted from the tree he had climbed into.

”Haha, very funny”, Junpei answer, not amused.

Kouji looked towards the treetop, shook his head.

”I don’t know how to tell you this, but sumo has a very rigid training and diet regime.”

”It’s just eat and hit, Junpei would excel at it”, Takuya continued. ”He already has the body for it!”

”Yeah”, Tomoki found air somewhere. ”Junpei already looks like a sumo-wrestler!”

Junpei’s shoulders fell. Kouji threw a stick at Takuya, then turned to Junpei again.

”Kendo is about speed and agility, I just don’t think you would enjoy that fighting style. It’s not about strenght.”

”But apart from Takuya you were the strongest back in the digital world!”, Izumi said. ”Surely the kendo must have had with that to do.”

Kouji leaned back, looked at all of them. Looked at the ground.

”I was just… lucky to get the stronger evolutions. But even then, most of my strenght came from speed. While Takuya’s just came from stupidity.”

Takuya threw a stick at Kouji. Kouji grabbed it and chewed on it. Junpei watched in fascination.

”Absolutely gross”, Kouichi said. ”Eat some actual food.”

”Bark is filled with fiber”, Kouji answered.

”So what”, Junpei ignored them, ”are you saying I should just… not become stronger?”

”I’m not”, Kouji frowned again, ”but there are other styles of fighting you could try.”

Kouichi moved a little closer. Looked at his shoes and put his backpack next to Kouji.

”What about boxing?” he asked.

”Boxing?” Junpei asked.

Kouji dove into the backpack, pulled out an apple and bit into it. Tomoki moved his piece on the board.

”Yeah”, Kouichi answered. ”I didn’t… see what went on in Sephirothmon at that time, I was… busy.”

He glanced at Kouji. Kouji was completely distrected by the apple.

”But I saw your battle against Volcamon later and… I think you should try boxing.”

”Actually I think that’d fit Junpei really well”, Izumi said.

Junpei’s cheeks felt hot.

”Really, Izumi-chan? You think so?”

”The hits against the head won’t do much damage either”, Takuya added.

Junpei stood up, glared into the tree.

”Why don’t you come down and say that to my face!?”

Another, slightly bigger, stick flew past Junpei’s head, straight up into the tree and hit Takuya in the face, leaving a thick red line on the side of it. Junpei froze.

”He doesn’t appreciate it”, Kouji’s voice said.

”It’s just friendly teasing”, Takuya said. ”You are a danger to society.”

”Yeah, probably”, Kouji agreed.

Junpei sat down again. Kouji finished the apple and chewed on the stem of it. Kouichi grabbed it and threw it into a bush.

”You’re not a dog, eat actual food.”

”But what if I am?”

Junpei shook his head, laughed and leaned back. Looked at the sky. Takuya started climbing out of the tree. Boxing, hmm… Yeah, maybe Junpei should give that a try. He took the deck of cards out of his pocket again and Kouichi sat down next to Junpei as he went back to showing off his magic tricks.

[tsundere-model]

[Day 16 + Rei] Night drive

@toneofdarkness has suggested a night drive. Also! Take it as an early Birthday present for Rei too!!

Going for a drive was not overly high in Izumi’s ideal date list, if at all.

Riding a motorcycle was for him a synonym of freedom. A moment for himself. To forget about all obligations and worries and just allow himself to enjoy the speed, the wind… the feeling of sprouting wings on your back.

Getting the motorbike was by no means a logical decision. Plenty of better ways of transport out there, from train to bikes… picking a motorbike was a decision that didn’t mesh quite well with his usual logical personality - a quiet cry for help, a hidden wish to be free from the chains on his life.

That’s why he wasn’t all too excited about the prospect of a ‘date drive’... or however people called that. Even so, Rei’s insistence was off the charts, arguments back and forth on why it would be a good idea.

Fine, he decided.

It was Rei’s birthday as well, and if he was going to enjoy the thrill of a drive in the late afternoon he had no reason to say no.

No one had been on his motorcycle since Anzu and the weight of a man significantly taller than himself was completely different. It was almost embarrassing to have the vampire clinging to his waist too… so he decided to just focus in driving and forget about the strange warmth behind him, the rumble of the motor and the hit of cold wind against his face good at making him forget the details and enjoy the moment.

Driving fast along the shore, the mystic change of colors in the bright sky above and the setting sun, drowning in the ocean far ahead was completely visible. An ethereal drive, a painting come to life.

The light poles at both sides of the road turning on one after the other as the sky became completely black, the bright stars above became hard to spot. The moon still nowhere to be seen.

The wintery stars growing distant above them, the warmth against his back felt more reassuring than troublesome now.

He wasn’t sure how long had it been when he finally felt like pulling over… finding a spot by the side of the road to do so. Getting down from the bike and taking off his helmet, he took a deep breath of the cold wind charged in the scent of the ocean.

And just as he turned around, he was met with a slow kiss. Eyes closing gently and head tilting to the side, he easily accepted the gesture, lips locked in a playful game. Soft, warm… after a few moments that felt a bit too short, Izumi pulled back to take another breath.

“And here I thought you had invited me for an actual picnic date” he teased, the annoyed tone not too sincere. Still, if he had gone through great lengths to make a dinner around tomatoes for the vampire -including fresh tomato juice of course- and even add a small Devil’s Food Cake (the name felt somewhat appropriate for him) he expected Rei to eat it and enjoy it.

Fixing the picnic setting on the side of the road, he offered Rei a seat before presenting the set of food for the day.

It was all specially for him, all containing flavors he would like without putting aside the nutritional value. Of course, Izumi couldn’t actually stomach half of the foods so he wouldn’t be sharing it… “I do not eat heavy meals after 7pm” was his excuse -not completely fake but not sincere either

Maybe Rei would be sneaky enough to convince him to share the tomato juice and the cake though -it was both of their birthdays and it wouldn’t be fair if only one of them got to blow the candles and eat the cake.

Izumi didn’t really card about the wish that came from putting off the candles, though. He had everything he wanted right in front of him.

Maybe if he knew of Rei’s plans -which might include his own motorbike put aside since the time of the war- he would have panicked, looking for an equally special present to give back... but right now, just a shared date like this was enough.

[tokusaatsus]

this has been in my mind lately, can i request izumi and madara (seperated please!) having a late night drive with their bike with their s/o <33 im having a bikerboy izumi brainrot rn i don't think im okay.

☆—MIKEJIMA MADARA

You’re curled up on the couch in the dorm, feet tucked beneath you as you leaf through the proposals submitted for the next Fes. It’s nearing 11PM, but you’re not tired and you want to try to be productive for a bit, to try and take some pressure off of poor Producer-chan.

Seriously, those guys take her for granted!? It’s no wonder you’re her favourite, what with the way the others treat her…

Chk!

The sound of something hitting the windowpane makes your head shoot up from where you were poring over Valkyrie’s requirements for their next Live. Huh? You dismiss it. It was probably just a falling branch or something.

Chk!

Your eye twitches. It’s fine. It’s fine.

Chk! Chk! Chk!

Oh my fucking God. You stand up, scowling fiercely. I’m going to kill you, you think viciously. Like, who the fuck throws shit at someone’s window at fucking 11:19 in the night? If your poor dormmates had the tragic luck of seeing you right now, they’d probably be cowering in terror at the intense amount of bloodlust emanating from your body.

You slam open the window frame, ready to give whoever it is a piece of your mind, and just narrowly miss getting headshotted by a rock. Only your quick reflexes prevent any lasting damage, and you feel a vein throb in your forehead.

Why, you little…

“Y/N-saaaan!”

Wh. What. You think you may be hallucinating

No way…

You lean over the edge, and standing just below you, so close you could literally reach out and touch him, is none other than Mikejima Madara, in the flesh and definitely not a hallucination.

“Madara-kun…? What are you doing?”

“I wanted to see you!” You flush. Jeez, he’s so honest about these things. He grins when he sees the way you duck to hide your blushing face. And, oh wow. That’s way too bright for 11:27 at night. “Come down!”

You blink. You can’t deny, his face is a welcome sight after 2 or so hours of reading reports in various handwriting, ranging from neat and pretty (Shu-kun) to downright horrible–what you’re certain is a bastardised version of English and Kanji (Chiaki-kun). But you hesitate, because whatever work you leave now means more work for Producer-chan tomorrow.

Still, you’ve found yourself missing him lately. With all his Double Face work, and how you’ve been busy chasing after everyone, you’ve barely been able to spend any time together in the past few weeks. 

Your resolve practically collapses after you take a look at his smiling face. I can’t say no to that face, you lament piteously.

“Yeah, okay…” You concede. You swing one leg over the bottom edge of the window frame, and begin the arduous task of squeezing yourself through the gap. As you teeter precariously on the razor’s edge between safety and–well, maybe not death, but certainly injury–you pause. “Madara-kun, if I fell, would you catch me?”

“Of course.” The answer comes immediately.

You smile at him, softly. “Okay. Hey, Madara-kun. Catch.”

You push yourself fully off of the window, fully trusting the man below you to catch you in his arms. It’s stupid, sure, but maybe he makes you stupid. And your implicit trust is rewarded as you collapse straight into strong arms, like the perfect bridal carry.

“Y/N-saaaan!” Madara cries out. “Why did you do that? What if I didn’t catch you?”

“I knew you would,” You say. “I trust you.”

That makes him pause, just a bit, before he takes it in stride. Still, you can see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows. He seems to shake himself, then does an abrupt turn and starts marching towards the dorm entrance. You squawk.

“Ah, Madara-kun, put me down?”

“No way!” He chirps. “What happens if Y/N-san gets cold? I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Madara-kun!”

You smack him, affronted. You are not a delicate maiden, or whatever! Despite the fact that you get cold easily, it’s nothing you can’t handle… Still, you find yourself just a tiny bit grateful for the fact that he exudes warmth like a furnace. You resist the urge to snuggle closer. It would be, frankly, embarrassing.

He comes to a stop in front and you squirm out of his arms, wincing when the wet grass squelches unpleasantly under your slippers.

You freeze, caught in the aura of an absolutely gorgeous being, and you feel your soul cleanse itself just by standing in the vicinity of this beautiful lady. You rush forwards to run your hands over the smooth curves and ridges.

“Oh, Baby-chan…” You sigh. “You’re looking lovely…”

Madara-kun laughs behind you. “Sometimes, I think Y/N-san only puts up with me for Baby-chan…but she is very beautiful, isn’t she?”

“You’ve found me out.” You deadpan. “Baby-chan and I are having an illicit affair.”

“I knew it!” Madara-kun makes a mock-affronted noise, but you can see the faint undercurrent of hurt running through it. Maybe someone else might not have noticed, but you’ve spent enough time with him to be able to tell.

You laugh. “Don’t worry, though. You’re still my favourite.”

He smiles as he mounts Baby-chan. “That’s how it should be~ Anyways, climb on!”

You do so, with necessary wariness as he wears his helmet. As much as you love Baby-chan (and Madara-kun, you suppose…), high speeds are not for you, especially in a vehicle without seatbelts. He revvs the engine, and Baby-chan purrs in a way that sends shivers down your spine. “Ready?” He calls over his shoulder. You tighten your arms around his waist. “Hold on tight!”

And you’re off. The streetlights flare yellow as they catch in puddles of water dripping along the roadside. The scenery blurs as you ride past, a flurry of monochrome–black and grey, the moonlight washing everything out. It’s scary.

It’s beautiful.

Baby-chan growls once again, and you flinch. The way he swerves into hairpin turns makes you feel like your heart is going to beat straight out of your chest and onto the road. Of course Madara-kun would be the adrenaline-junkie sort of driver…

“Having fun?”

“Hng. I think we left my stomach behind a few turns back.” You bury your face into his back, grateful that it’s late enough that no one is out and about to see you being such a baby. So undignified! You feel his chest rumble with laughter. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing, nothing! Ah, just…Y/N-san is soooo cute, I want to kiss you right now…”

A beat of silence, while he waits for his words to register in your dizzy brain.

Then:

“HUH!?”

☆—SENA IZUMI

Gorgeous ♡

come to the dorm entrance i have something to show you

You

???

i–

babe what???

Read at 03:31 AM

ok then

omw ig

Read at 03:34 AM

You shove your fingers into your pockets to stave off the cold as you hover nervously near the gates. It’s late, and you’re really lucky ES is pretty lax with curfew. You suppose you have UNDEAD to thank for that, what with all the nighttime Lives they do. You make a note to thank them later.

“Hey,”

You perk up. “Babe, hi! What’s up–oh my God.” Stowing your phone in your pocket as you turn around to catch sight of…

Your boyfriend, dressed impeccably as usual in jeans and a button-up shirt, a leather jacket tossed carelessly over his shoulder (you’re kind of jealous? He looks good in anything. He could probably make a potato sack look good, if you’re being honest?), a silver helmet tucked under one arm. But that’s unimportant. The part you really care about is:

The absolutely gorgeous bike leaning next to him. Silver, with black and chrome tints. A cruiser by the looks of it, with a larger bulky shape, unlike the smooth, streamlined body of Mikejima’s beloved ‘Baby-chan’.

Wow.

Izumi smirks at you. “Like what you see?”

You laugh giddily. “Yes! It’s beautiful.”

“I know.” He scowls briefly as your words register. “I’m not an ‘it’.”

You blink, disconcerted. “I know? I was talking about the bike?”

“Oh.”

You clasp your hands together pleadingly. That bike is the most gorgeous motherfucking thing you’ve ever laid eyes on–second only to Izumi who is literally the single most beautiful thing ever created, so that doesn’t count–and you’ll be damned if you don’t get to ride it at least once.

“Can I drive it? Please? Pretty please?”

Izumi scoffs and turns his head away, but you think you can see the faintest colouring of pink rising in his cheeks. “Sure, whatever.”

He tosses you the keys, and you suppress a squeal. “Best boyfriend ever! Did I ever tell you how I am literally, like, sooooo in love with you?”

“Ew, stop being gross!?”

You roll your eyes lovingly, because if you look up tsundere in the dictionary Izumi’s face is probably the first picture you’ll see. You hop on the bike, and motion for Izumi to follow after. He does so hesitantly, a sour look forming on his face, but you’re too busy running your hands reverently over the sleek metal fastenings to notice.

“Hime~chan,” You murmur, slow and sensual, trying to channel your inner Izumi, the one who’s a part of Knights, who has fans thirsting over him on Tweeter. “Let me give you the best night of your life~”

“Are you…are you dirty-talking a motorbike right now?”

Izumi’s voice is full of derision and barely-concealed annoyance. You turn to look at him. “Who else would I dirty-talk to?”

The subsequent affronted look that appears on his face makes you want to burst out laughing. You force yourself to think of sad, depressing things so you don’t. Sad puppies, sad Mikejima’s, Hakaze when he tries so Goddamn hard to get a date… Yup, that’ll do it.

You revv up the engine, revelling in the roar that vibrates through your fucking bones. “Izumi, are you holding on?”

He places his hands lightly upon your shoulders, and you giggle before reaching behind you to tug his arms tightly around your waist because that’s not going to save him from being thrown off. He makes an aborted sound before he goes silent. “Ready?”

He taps a single finger against your hip, agreement, and you don’t waste a second before you’re tearing across the asphalt like this is Tokyo Drift and you’re the main character (does this make Izumi your love interest?).

The wind tears through your hair, and you know it’s going to be Hell to detangle later, but hey. What’s the use of having a sexy, sexy supermodel boyfriend if he doesn’t pamper you sometimes?

You speed up, just a bit. Just for the thrill. Head thrown back, you laugh as you swerve a perfect U for the next turn, loud and wild and free.

You can feel Izumi’s heart beating a panicked staccato against your chest, so you make an effort to slow down. His grip is tight, nails digging into the curve of your hips, face buried into the curve of your neck. His breathing gradually lessens from the terrified high it had been earlier and by the time you stop in front of the Starmony Dorms, it’s evened out entirely.

You pat the tail-end of the bike lovingly as you flick the kickstand out with the toe of your sneakers. “Oh, Hime~chan, you were wonderful tonight~ I had so much fun!”

Izumi reaches for you at the same time you turn to face him and you find yourself pinned against the wall, his hands framing either side of your head. “I… Izumi?”

“You’re sooo annoying, did you know that?” He huffs. “This whole time, you haven’t looked at me once. What’s up with that? Do you think your bike,”–“Hime-chan,” you correct, much to his annoyance–“is better than me?”

“N-no, of course not.”

“Then what does ‘Hime-chan’ have that I don’t!” Izumi’s brows are furrowed. You soften.

“Aw, babe, if you were jealous you could’ve just told me…” You say, ignoring his mutter of ‘I’m not jealous’. That’s adorable…! “You’re always number one in my heart!”

You lean forward to knock your forehead against his. He wrinkles his nose cutely but doesn’t pull away or complain about the close proximity, just entangles his fingers with yours. “I love you more than anything, okay?”

A mumbled ‘okay’ is your only response, and you smile.

The night sky smiles down on your lover, and you. What more could you possibly need at this moment?

OMAKE:

“When you said ‘Hime-chan’ is gorgeous, did you mean more gorgeous than me?”

“Oh, my God.”

☆—notes!

WC: 2k words

HOLY SHIT wtf i wrote. 2k words. for THIS??? huh??? ty anonnie for fuelling my brainworms, now i have fuckin leather jacket bikerboys on the brain sobs. ik my subtle mama bias is showing but ur honour i love him. also i hc babychan as a naked bike since she’s pretty sleek as far as i can tell? + her handlebars are thinner and i don’t think she has a front windshield so yeah… anyways i saw this as my chance to ramble abt bikes (bcuz bikes are my guilty pleasure!!) so im sorry if u learnt shit abt bikes u didn’t need to know. also tokyo drift is a fast&furious movie jsyk!! not me subtly dragging kaoru LMFAO i swear i love him. i hope u enjoyed this anonnie <3!! bcuz i rlly had fun writing this (which is why it’s so long incase u couldn’t tell sobs)

[kuroo-shitsurou]

Gay Panic (Juban)

note: here's another one, i think i had like a week straight of juban brainrot so i hope those juban worshippers enjoy this dump.

word count: 1.9k

"The hell're you talking about?"

The troupe leaders held a meeting to discuss a few issues regarding a new collaboration play that they were planning to hold for the director's birthday. They were all in the courtyard, since Izumi was being distracted by Taichi and Kazunari in the lounge with some new app that revolved around mixing and matching different spices to make imaginary curry. Chikage was also there in the lounge, pretending not to care, but the troupe leaders could very clearly see his emerald green eyes wide and intrigued.

"It's pretty obvious if you ask me." Tsumugi chuckled lightly, taking a sip from his cup of tea before setting it back down on the table.

"Even you, Tsumugi? I really ain't got the slightest clue about what you guys are on about." Banri huffed in his seat, puffing his cheeks and crossing his arms.

"Dude, you're so obvious it's kinda sad." Tenma laughed, mocking the blond.

"Shut up, you." Banri growled, ashamed.

"W-Well, Banri-kun, I don't think you should be bashful about it." Sakuya spoke up, fiddling with the zipper of his jacket. "No one's really going to act weird about it if you have feelings for Juza-kun."

Banri stood up, slamming his hands on the table. "I do NOT have feelings for Hyodo!"

Sakuya cowered a bit, "Sorry!"

Banri sighed, sitting back down. "No, it's fine. Sorry for raising my voice. It's just, how the hell did you guys even reach the conclusion that I liked Hyodo? I hate his guts."

"That's what they all say," Tenma teased, biting into the scone that Omi had prepared for them earlier.

"The hell does that even mean?"

"Well, I think it's because you don't really get to see yourself the way we see you." Tsumugi answered, putting a hand on his chin. "It's like, you just have your own perspective where you think you hate Juza, but your actions and your body language really says otherwise."

Banri looked up to Tsumugi as someone who was actually intelligent, so he had to consider what he said. But that was stupid. He couldn't possibly have stupid feelings for stupid Hyodo, right?

Speaking of the devil.

"Hey, um, sorry to interrupt," The troupe leaders turned to see Juza emerging from the lounge. He had a blush on his cheeks, and Banri nearly slapped himself for thinking that it was kinda cute.

"Oh, you're definitely not interrupting." Tsumugi eyed Banri, noticing how the younger male straightened his posture. "What did you need?"

"If it's not too much trouble, could I ask for... um, some jam? Citron ate the last bit of jam that was in the kitchen and there are still a few scones left." Juza looked shy to ask for the sweets he wanted, which was oddly refreshing. Even Tenma thought that it was cute how big, burly, scary-looking Juza was actually just a softie who liked sweets; Not that he'd ever say that aloud because one, that's embarrassing, and two, Banri might beat the shit out of him.

"Here you go, Juza-kun!" Sakuya handed him the jar of strawberry jam, and Juza's face lit up.

Tenma and Tsumugi's eyes met before they simultaneously looked at Banri, who visibly gulped and shifted in his seat.

"Thanks." Juza took the jar and gave them all light nods (Except for Banri, because why would he?) before he headed back inside.

There was a brief silence before Tenma broke out laughing.

"How can he not see this?!"

"Now, now, Tenma." Tsumugi started, muffling his own laughter with the back of his hand, "We can't really force Banri to understand it yet, because I think he's pretty much completely oblivious to how he acts around Juza."

"How I act around Hyodo?" Banri repeated, confused.

"I think it's pretty cute when Banri-kun gets flustered around Juza-kun!" Sakuya piped up, and Banri wanted to break the chair he was sitting in. Him? Be flustered around Hyodo and his stupid pretty face? That was preposterous and downright- for the lack of a better word- stupid.

"I do NOT get flustered around him!" Banri rebutted, to which the rest of the troupe leaders just laughed.

"Sure you don't."

-

It was the morning after the troupe leaders' meeting, and Banri still couldn't get their words out of his head. Why would he, Banri Settsu, get flustered or embarrassed whenever Juza Hyodo was around? Sure, the first time that Hyodo beat him in a fistfight was pretty embarrassing, but other than that, he couldn't really think of any event or situation that would lead to him being mortified around his rival

"Hng," Banri's attention was snapped back to reality upon hearing the grumbling of his roommate.

"'S fuckin' hot," He heard the male mutter under his breath, and Banri was incredibly confused as to why his face went warm upon hearing Hyodo's raspy and raw morning voice.

Still pretending to be asleep, his eyes shifted to the other side of the room to see Hyodo sitting on his bed and taking off his shirt.

Banri's cerulean eyes went wide and it took him all of his willpower to not throw a fit right then. Sweat made Hyodo's well-built upper body glisten in the glare of the sun rays that peeked through their blinds. It didn't help either that Hyodo was flexing to relax his muscles; His... meaty, toned, and defined muscles.

Banri shook his head.

No fucking way was he admiring Hyodo's athletic and muscular body. No, no. He was just staring because he needed to plan his own workout routine since he'd be hitting the gym soon. Right? Right!

He took the covers off himself and rushed out the room, slamming the door behind him.

"The hell's his problem so early in the morning?" Juza was left confused and shirtless in their room.

-

Banri splashed some cold water on his face and gave himself a cold stare in the mirror.

"Get yourself together, Banri!" He spoke to his reflection.

"What are you even doing?" Banri nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Tenma's voice from the entrance of the bathroom.

"Warn me next time you sneak up on me, will 'ya?"

"Firstly, that would defeat the purpose of me sneaking up on you," Tenma spoke, putting a hand on his hip. "And second, I've been here since you splashed water on your face."

"Ah, whatever." He waved the orange-haired boy off and continued to wash his face, using the new face wash that Azami recommended to him.

"What's got you so worked up this early? On a Saturday, no less." Tenma walked over to the sink next to him and started his own routine.

"Nothing," Came Banri's snappy reply, and he cringed at how rude he sounded. "Ugh, it's just whatever."

Tenma smirked as he rubbed the foam in circles on his cheeks, "Don't tell me it has something to do with Juza."

Banri nearly slipped and fell face first into the sink.

"What the hell made you think that Hyodo's got something to do with it?!"

Tenma shrugged, staring straight at the mirror in front of him. "Lucky guess?"

"Well, today ain't your lucky day." Banri replied curtly before he rinsed his face with cold water.

"If you say so," Tenma chuckled.

"You guys are really going to be the death of me, I swear." Banri began to brush his teeth, glaring at the younger male beside him.

"Right, right."

"Oi," Juza entered the bathroom, still shirtless.

Banri's face turned bright red and he quickly finished brushing his teeth while Juza and Tenma exchanged greetings.

"Why're you shirtless?" Tenma asked, purposefully emphasizing the word 'shirtless' to make fun of Banri.

"'S hot in our room." Juza replied, using a towel to wipe some sweat from his torso.

"Hey, Banri, what do you-"

Banri didn't even wait for whatever Tenma had to say, because he gargled and rushed out of the bathroom immediately.

"What the hell is his problem?" Juza asked Tenma. "He's been like that since this morning."

Tenma had to stifle a laugh, "You're pretty clueless yourself, huh?"

Juza gave him a confused look. Since Tenma didn't seem like he'd give Juza more information, Juza decided to just do his morning routine so he could eat Omi's breakfast as soon as possible.

-

Banri was sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

There was absolutely no way that he found Hyodo attractive. It was just the heat! But still, the heat was no excuse for Hyodo to be walking around shirtless. It was unethical and disgusting, yet Banri had this irritating urge to just go back in the bathroom to gaze at the sight. It was annoying.

"Good morning, Setzer!" Kazunari came rushing in from the lounge.

"D'ya have to be so loud in the morning?" Banri whined, close to banging his head on the table.

"What's got you so bothered so early today, Banri?" Oh, great. Tsumugi just happened to be there too.

"Nothing! I'm not bothered by anything."

"Sure about that?" Tenma emerged from the bathroom with Juza behind him.

For the third time that day, Banri wanted to bury his head in an inanimate object just to inflict pain on himself.

Hyodo was wearing a plain white shirt and gym shorts. Banri didn't know why he was feeling hot at the sight of Hyodo wearing a t-shirt. Maybe because the fabric was flimsy as all hell and his muscles could easily be defined through the thin layer of- was that even a fucking shirt?

"Lookin' smokin', Hyodle! Where you off to?" Kazu greeted him

"Tasuku and I were supposed to hit the gym today. 'S way too hot to be wearing sweats." Juza answered, slicking his hair back.

For the fourth time that day, Banri wanted to smash his head in the table.

"I guess it really is a change of pace to not see you all bundled up and covered." Tsumugi stated, and Juza could only rub the back of his neck.

"It ain't gonna be like this everyday. Sorry if it bothers any of you."

"Oh, I'm sure MOST of us aren't bothered by it, Juza." Tenma chirped, shooting daggers right into Banri's soul.

"The hell're you looking at me like that for?" Banri growled, shooting a glare in their general direction.

"I ain't even looking at you, stupid fox-face." Juza's answer came immediately, and Banri wanted to facepalm because he wasn't even picking a fight with Hyodo this time. Surprising, but there's a first time for everything, right?

"I wasn't even-" Banri went to look at Juza, but soon found himself stumbling over his words.

"AH, FORGET IT!" Banri slammed his hands on the table and ran out to the courtyard so he could release some steam.

"Never know what's going on in that stupid head of his," Juza muttered. The others could only laugh at Juza's obliviousness.

"Did you guys finally let Setzer know about his gay panic?" Kazu grinned at the troupe leaders.

"Not that he'd actually accept it, anyway." Tsumugi chuckled, getting the kettle to prepare some tea.

"I made a bet with Yuki that he's gonna accept it two weeks from now so I'm gonna make sure that Banri acts on that gay panic of his." Tenma looked at Juza, determined.

"...What the hell is a gay panic?"

[headcanonsandcupcakes]

hola muh dude: so I hear your a maiko shipper? Possibly? Do you have any random Headcanons for them two?

Hey my friend!!! I am so sorry I am getting back to you late on this! I had so many thoughts going around my head regarding these two, that I had to take time to write what I really wanted on this :) Yes, I am a Maiko, Zutara, and Jinko shipper :) But Maiko will always be #1! Are you ready for a lengthy headcanon? Warning: It is also a little depressing :(

- The childhood crush between Zuko and Mai wasn’t one-sided. Zuko also took an affection to Mai, however, it wasn’t as intense of a crush like Mai had for Zuko.

- As they got older, the playing field became level. They had their first kiss together and also hung out with each other outside of Azula (although it was limited because she was threatening). Mai was also the reason why Zuko got into knives and swords. He saw her playing with a small one, and decided he wanted to like knives too, because she liked them. Eventually the interest progressed into swords :)

- Zuko was actually going to ask Mai to be his girlfriend the day after the Agni Kai. However, that never happened. 

- Mai attended the Agni Kai to support Zuko, as she knew he could beat the general. Once she saw that it was Ozai that would be dueling Zuko, she realized it was game over for Zuko. Even as the years passed, she never liked to think about that day. 

- Zuko was banished the day after the Agni Kai, and she never got to properly say goodbye. They kept in touch as best as they could via messenger hawk, but Mai noticed that Zuko drastically changed. It hurt her so much to know that he was going to a TON of pain and turmoil, and she couldn’t do anything about it. Being “friends” with Azula didn’t help matters either, as Mai had to hear horrible commentary about Zuko from Azula. It disgusted her that Azula didn’t even care about her own brother.

- Despite everything that was going on with Zuko, Mai was his shining light. Besides searching for the Avatar, Zuko would look forward to her letters, as that was his only happiness. This explains why he couldn’t get close to Song or Jin, and why it seemed like their relationship came out of nowhere, because they were regularly in contact (until Zuko and Iroh went on the run). Zuko felt a sense of loyalty to Mai, and didn’t want to hurt her by dating other girls. 

- Although Mai had a lack of passion for everything else, she was quite passionate in the bedroom. She is the one who was insistent on cheering up Zuko in “Nightmares and Daydreams”, by having sex, which Zuko graciously accepted. That time was not their first time, however, but rather their first time was during their Ember Island vacation (after ruining Chen’s house). To say the least, Zuko is very awkward, and Mai took charge of most of the activities that night (despite it both being their first time).

- Mai and Zuko dated for two years after the war ended, but took a break because Zuko was struggling with Fire Lord duties and felt that he couldn’t be a proper boyfriend to Mai. Mai rebounded fast, and started dating a councilman’s assistant. Zuko was jealous, but knew that he couldn’t give her what she needed and wanted. 

- Mai ended up dating this man for three years, and many of the nobles thought they were going to get engaged. During this time, Zuko didn’t date anyone and still was madly in love with Mai (this didn’t impress his advisors, who were in insistent on setting him up with someone for an heir). Additionally, although Mai was dating this other man, she still kept in touch with Zuko, and would even visit the palace to check up on him. 

- However, a day came where Mai broke up with the other man. She told Zuko it was because she didn’t see a future with him. Nothing happened between Zuko and Mai for 8 months, as they enjoyed just being friends and being in each others’ company. But, that didn’t last too much longer, as Zuko couldn’t stand to let her get away again. So, he asked her if she would like to try again with their relationship, in which Mai responded, “took you long enough, you’re the one that I want in my future.”

- Their second time dating was a huge success. They realized that the time apart, as well as maturing a little bit, really helped solidify their relationship. They still had their fights, sure, but it wasn’t as unstable as it was when they were teenagers. 

- They dated for a year, until Zuko proposed to Mai. He proposed by getting down on one knee, and presented her a knife that he welded himself. This was the first time he ever saw Mai cry, as she exclaimed, “Yes!”

- Their wedding was absolutely beautiful, and they enjoyed a nice honeymoon on a remote island near the Western Air Temple. They enjoyed married life for several years, and cringed at Uncle Iroh and Mai’s mother’s asks about children. Zuko made a decision a long time ago that he NEVER wanted children because of his childhood, and Mai supported his decision.

- When Mai finds out that she’s pregnant, she’s nervous on Zuko’s reaction (at this point, he was willing to give Tom Tom or Kiyki the throne). She hid it for a few weeks, until Zuko asked her why she was getting sick, eating weird things, and being much moodier than usual, that she confessed. His mind went blank for a moment, but tears automatically streamed on his face. He was already in love with their baby, and realized how stupid he looked for not wanting children.

- When he first felt the baby move in Mai’s belly, he started bawling his eyes out. He loved Mai being pregnant, and enjoyed catering to her every need. One of Mai’s favorite things that Zuko did for her when she was pregnant was that he would heat his hands and place them on her lower back. He also gave into every craving she had, including fire flakes with pickles and ice cream (this was a favorite request of hers). He also was a helicopter husband, as he wanted to ensure that her and the baby were always safe.

- When Mai was in labor, he broke the Fire Lord tradition of not being in the room. He wanted to be there for his wife and see the birth of his daughter. When their daughter was born, they gave her the name Izumi, meaning fountain, where it all started. He was afraid to hold Izumi, as he thought that his daughter would be afraid of his face. After some reassurance from Mai, he held her in his arms, where she looked at him with big golden eyes. He thanked Agni for this blissful moment, and the life he had. It was at this moment that he swore to Izumi that he would always love her, and would NEVER hurt her. 

- Zuko and Mai took to parenting rather well. They wanted to both be hands-on parents, and didn’t want nannies or wet nurses involved at all. Even though Mai always showed a blank canvas, Izumi and Zuko were the only ones that could make her smile and cry of happiness.

- A year and a half after Izumi was born, Mai started to get really bad headaches, to the point that she would have to be bedridden for the day when she would get them. Zuko got really worried, and insisted on Katara coming to the palace to see what the problem was, but Mai told him to back off. She was convinced that it was due to lack of sleep or stress. He did eventually write to Katara, much to Mai’s dismay, and Katara said she would come to visit as soon as she was able (she just had Bumi five months prior to Izumi’s birth, but he was a handful).

- One day, when Izumi was two years old, Mai fainted and had a seizure out in the gardens. Izumi was too young to understand what was going on, and cried for 20 mins until one of the guards found them. Zuko was informed of what happened to Mai during a budget meeting, where he left to the infirmary without saying a word.

- The Fire Sages confirmed that Mai had a death in her brain (cancer wasn’t really studied during their time, but essentially Mai had stage 3 brain cancer). Mai only lived for 6 more months after that. Zuko took time off from his Fire Lord duties (Uncle Iroh stepped in) to take care of Mai at her bedside. Aang, Katara, and Bumi moved into the palace full time to take care of Mai as well.

- Every night, once he put Izumi to bed, Zuko would fire bend in a feral manner. He was incredibly angry that life was dealing him this card, and was also very stressed, because of the pain his wife was going through and also trying to stay strong for their daughter (he had surpassed his Book One anger, that’s for sure). Uncle Iroh, Ursa, and Aang were the only ones keeping him from not going on a rampage, although they understood why he was feeling this way.

- During the last three weeks of Mai’s life, the Gaang came in to check on Zuko, as well as help with the care of Izumi. Zuko was distracted because he knew Mai’s time was coming soon, and wanted to be with her for every moment. However, they had a two year old daughter, and that two year old had needs. So, the Gaang stepped in to feed and put Izumi to bed when she couldn’t stand being at her mother’s bedside any longer (she’s a toddler, it happens).

- Katara tried her best to heal Mai, however, she was too far gone. On the last day of her life, she looked up at Zuko and Izumi with glassy eyes and rasped, “I love you”. Mai died a few hours after that. 

- Izumi was too young to understand what had happened to her mother, however, it didn’t make it easier for Zuko to tell his own daughter that her mother, his wife, the light that kept him going during his banishment, the one that always had faith in him, was no longer on this earth. Although he wanted to be sad and completely disengage from the world, he couldn’t because he needed to stay strong for his daughter. 

- However, Zuko was still numb after Mai passed. He didn’t eat or sleep for two weeks, and went through the motions of the day as if he wasn’t in his own body at all. Even with taking care of Izumi, he wasn’t really “there”. Katara took notice of this, and told Zuko that he needed to grieve. So, he grieved the only way he knew how: being incredibly destructive. He burned an entire wing of the palace that was abandoned for decades. He sat in the middle of the flames and cried for many hours. 

- Mai was buried near the fountain where it all started. Mai always said that she loved that fountain, so Zuko made the decision to bury her right there. For many years after her death, Zuko made it a point to visit her grave every day. Even if he was incredibly busy with Fire Lord duties, he would commit to seeing her and talking to her. The silence when he didn’t hear anything back was always so hard to hear. 

- Izumi doesn’t remember her mother at all, however, Zuko will always talk about Mai to ensure that her legacy is prominent. There are many times in Izumi’s life where he wished she was around to see how amazing of a person Izumi had become. Even when it has been 15 years since Mai’s death, Zuko still aches for her. Before he goes to sleep every night, he kisses the painting that they took together when they were teenagers and says, “goodnight my love”.

[gamespritearchive]

yes i like fullmetal alchemist brotherhood a normal amount (<- lying) this post is going to be long so open the readmore at ur own risk

ok this is genuinely going to be a mess because im really terrible at summarizing things and organizing my thoughts so if ur actually gonna read through this then good luck!

here are just some short thoughts before the longer paragraphs

- i absolutely LOVE the note that plays right after the alchemists clap their hands together that indicates that theyre abt to use alchemy. the sound of the clap + the note that plays is incredibly satisfying

- the strong and well-written female characters in this show was a really good touch and i loved how they brought them (izumi and olivier) together at the end :') also their beefy husbands together was super nice too

- my favorite part of the story was actually the part where ed and al go to briggs because thats wher they introduced olivier. it was super nice to see her talk about how strong-willed she is and her army and all of that

- lan fan is another example of a strong female character but a little less favorable since she serves ling yao. that doesnt make her any less cool though she was super badass and i definitely cried over her more than once

- the details in this show was really nice. alphonse's body being malnourished was something that seemed really obvious, but the fact that when ed got his right arm back it was noticeably less muscular and had longer nails than his left was such a good detail

- in the last episode there was a scene where alphonse made a dumb face that was animated just like how ed's faces looked and that made me really happy that we finally get to see al emote just like his brother :')

- im pretty sure i cried through the entirety of the last episode because being able to see the characters laugh and smile without feeling burdoned by anything after youve seen them go through repeated heartache and physical pain for 63 episodes is a super nice feeling

- "i'm a terrible father but i want to make you two proud" .

- "i'll give you half of my life and you give me half of yours" UGH

- also right after this when ed was laughing at how flustered winry got because normally hes the one who gets flustered :') that was so sweet

- i literally guessed that it was morse code whenever they showed selim banging on al's head because its like why would they put so much emphasis on that and let it go on for like 10 seconds without any music over it. this happened like multiple times too and i guessed it before they made it incredibly obvious bye im the smartest guy alive

ok heres where i talk more besties lets go

fmab was absolutely worth watching 64 episodes. i was convinced that i probably wont finish it because i have trouble finishing 12 episodes but as it may be obvious i got super invested. fmab being this long allowed there to be enough time to explain aspects of the story separately and to watch them all come together at some point. it also allowed for a ton of details that even though they're small, they're still important to the story. they rehash a lot of points because it was a simple detail that could get lost through the story but when its rementioned and you recall the time, it's such a nice feeling to have that click in ur mind.

also the character development was really good and ill get more in-depth about characters later but the length of this anime also allowed for a ton of really good character development. it ties into the whole thing where you learn about a characters backstory and you don't understand why it's important to the show until later on and then you're like ohhhh holy shit that makes sense now! also all that time for character development also lets you get attached to more than just the main characters and makes you care more about the role they play in the story.

roy mustang. at first i liked him, but when he started to speak about how he wanted to become the fuhrer president before he knew the military was corrupt, i assumed that he would just become as corrupt as bradley was ("starting wars for no reason"). i was convinced for the longest time that he would eventually just turn out to be the second bad guy and that nearly came true whenever he was trying to kill envy but riza helped him :) i loved the entirety of their relationship they're so sweet and compliment eachother so well. the scene where roy demonstrates the sheer amount of trust he has in riza's abilities by blindly (heh. he was blind during this if u didnt know.) following her directions and hitting their target ... it was just so good. also even though i didnt trust roy i thought he was super badass the sound of him snapping was always super satisfying as well

i almost want to rewatch fmab because it would be really nice to pick up on things that were later referenced in the anime. because of how long it is, its super easy to forget about things that happened early on in the anime (especially for someone with memory issues lol) so being able to watch back with the second half of the show still fresh on my mind would be almost an entirely different experience. the first thing that comes to mind is whenever we were shown kimblee in prison super early on. i know he had dialogue but i remember nothing about it because i was focused on thinking "literally who the fuck is this guy lol" but now i know. wow.

edward elric. im aware that this is going to be incredibly biased but i literally do not care. anyways. character development is always important and needed within a story but i genuinely feel like ed's character development was interesting to watch. it was never super obvious and his core values never changed. he did somewhat have a change in attitude when he nearly died to kimblee, but thats like expected you know ... being that close to death and all. i think that event was essentially the beginning of the end of his naivety. he was always consistent with the people he cared about though :) he never stopped calling them stupid and weird and he never stopped threatening to punch hohenheim whenever he was frustrated even if they were like in the middle of like a life or death situation. i just think he's neat

when ed destroyed pride('s vessel) i felt my heart well up with. pride LOL. that was his very first explicit win against someone who has been against him this entire time, and seeing him defeat pride with his own two hands was such a nice feeling. it wasnt technically his own win since he was only able to get to that point because of his friends and family around him

episode 60 was suuper good it was the part where the father was gonna swallow god because of the solar eclipse. its super hard to explain if uve never seen it but basically the scene was super cool simply because of how well the animation showed the sheer scale of what was happening. like this guy was literally reaching to the moon. theres a lot of unnatural things that are shown in fmab and although this scene didnt introduce any new concepts, it was still incredibly captivating because of how well the animation was

aand thats it i think! i regret not writing down how i feel during the earlier episodes but i think watching it with little to no distractions was a better experience. if u actually read this im giving u a kiss on the cheek rn ilu

[queentargary3n]

blessings

SasuSaku month 2020 Day 17 

Reincarnation AU  - Police Officer Sasuke AU

There isn’t a single day of his life that Uchiha Sasuke isn’t thankful for his life. For his mother’s gentle smile and kind nature, for his father’s silent praises, for his brother’s company and support. He’s even grateful for his loud mouthed, blond, best friend, who annoys him most of the time, but has his back when he needs it the most. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve such great people in his life.

At 24, having graduated college, and finished training in the police academy, he sets up for a bright career as a police officer and hopes to make detective before he is 30.

So, he goes to work every day, knowing he is making a change. Watching over the people he grew up with, protecting his beloved town, and actually doing something about the crime that has begun to infest it.

Sasuke knows his life is good, he was born in a good family, went to a top tier university, he never lacked for anything. He knows that having his family, being able to afford his own place, buy a new car, and work in something he actually likes is a luxury many don’t actually have.

But even as he counts his blessings every day, he can’t escape the feeling that he is missing something. Like there is a hole inside of him, he can’t seem to fill with anything.

He doesn’t remember when his nightmares started, perhaps he’s always had them. Sometimes it’s the bloody corpses of his parents that terrorize him during the night, the sadness of his brother’s eyes, as he looks at him from afar, eyes shining red and spinning unnaturally. Other nights it’s a white-faced man, with snake-like features that hunts him, forcing him to drink potions that taste horrible and burn down his throat, telling him that they will make him stronger. On other nights he dreams of facing gigantic humanoid creatures, dead bodies littering the ground he steps on.

But some nights, he dreams of pink cherry blossom hair and green eyes. The spring girl, as he calls her, cries behind him, begging him not to leave, or stands in front of him as one of his hands reaches for her neck and the other holds lightning, readying to electrocute her, he assumes.

Not every dream is violent with the spring girl, sometimes it’s just him and her. She hugs him or holds his hand as they look over magnificent vistas he’s never actually seen in real life. Sometimes they are children, sometimes they are grown, sometimes he taps his fingers to a strange diamond tattoo on her forehead and she blushes. Sometimes he kisses her and makes love to her. He wakes up to a feeling of sadness and tears rolling down his eyes. He doesn’t know who the girl with the cherry blossom hair is, or why is she a constant in his dreams, but the dreams bring him to tears he’s not one to usually shed. He can never shake the feeling that there is someone out there in the world, waiting for him.

On the day of his annual mental evaluation he is very concerned. He always seems to be expecting something to happen. Someone to attack him or his family. He has so much fear over losing it all, it causes him anxiety and panic attacks in the most unexpected times. He’s afraid the new department psychologist will find out and deemed him unfit for service.

It’s unnerving, feeling this way, because in reality what does he even know about pain? He’s never seen blood; he’s never even had to fire his gun on the job, what could possibly be the explanation for his nightmares? He wonders.

Itachi, who’s on the department of youth and family services, always tells him that is not how mental illnesses work, his anxiety has nothing to do with how good his life is or how lucky he is, and that he should never dismiss his own struggles or be comparing his suffering to others.

Sasuke understands but doesn’t actually believe it.

“I think you should be honest with the psychologist” He tells Sasuke, even if they take you off duty Itachi thinks, but he leaves it unsaid.

“I’m not going to tell her anything she doesn’t ask me… It’s not like having bad dreams makes me unfit for work” Sasuke responds.

“Maybe you should go see my psychic” Izumi chirps in from the doorway to Itachi’s office. “I wasn’t eavesdropping I promise! I was just coming to take my boyfriend out to lunch and I just happen to overhear”

Sasuke only glares at her, he doesn’t like anyone meddling in this, it feels too personal to share with his soon-to-be-but-not-quite-yet-sister-in-law. Itachi gives him an apologetic look on her behalf but says nothing.

“Still those dreams huh? She has really interesting ideas about those! Do you believe in reincarnation?” She asks him.

“That you believe all that craps she sells you, tells me so much, you’re crazy for starters” Sasuke tells her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“No but hear me out!” Izumi tells him, ignoring his previous comment. “Like, our dreams don’t just make things up, right? You have to have seen those things somewhere, like that girl you keep dreaming about, you met her somewhere, your brain didn’t just invent her, but the circumstances you dream her in don’t match your life, right? Maybe you met in another life! And my psychic can tell you all about that!” she looks in her massive handbag and produces a presentation card that Sasuke takes, out of politeness, but doesn’t bother to look at.

Sasuke doesn’t even believe in that sort of thing, his beliefs always been on the more secular side of things, but even if there is a remote chance he might have lived another life before, where he saw wars, and monsters, and his parents death, he sure as hell doesn’t want to know about it.

So, he goes about his day, entirely forgetting the non-sense Izumi was blabbing on about. He goes to lunch with Naruto, ramen again unsurprisingly, makes a visit to a home for a noise complaint, files his paperwork, and tries to go home early for a change.

He attempted to postpone his psych evaluation as much as he could, that is, until his father, the head of the police department catches him on his way out, and orders him to medical immediately so he can get it over with.

“Go on, you know its protocol, she’s there now” His father chastises.

Sasuke is irritated to no end, but he still obediently makes his way to the new psychologist’s office in the back of the building.

Just keep it simple, don’t elaborate, it’ll be fine, he thinks to himself.

The door to the psychologist’s office is open, so Sasuke stands in the entrance and knocks on the door to announce his arrival. The space is completely littered with boxes and mountains of papers, stacked on top of another and covering the desk in its entirety, so much so that he can’t even see the person seating behind it.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m new, I’m still getting everything settled! Are you here for an eval? Did I get your file? Where are my files!? What’s your name?” She says in a rapid succession.

He stays quiet, so she can gather herself, and takes a seat in front of her crowded desk, and it isn’t until she moves the two gigantic boxes of documents in front of them that he is able to see her.

He sits complete frozen, utterly speechless upon setting eyes on her. Because the person seating in front of him now, is unbelievably and irrevocably the Spring girl.

The shiny pink hair, wide emerald colored eyes and a blushing face he’d never mistake for anyone else’s are facing him now, with a look of surprise on it.

And he is sure his face mirrors hers, especially since the next thing she says to him, is an almost whispered, “Sasuke-kun….”

“I can’t believe this…” She mumbles and looks like she’s about to jump on him, but the look on his face stops her. “Do you… am… do you know who I am?” She asks, a hint of hope sparkling in her eyes.

“The new psychologist… about to perform my yearly eval?…” He responds, unsure of himself.

He can see the deflated expression and disappointment spreading thought her. “Right… I haven’t seen your file… ahem sorry… I think we are going to have to postpone this… maybe someone else can do your evaluations tomorrow, I apologize” She tells him, in a more composed and professional tone.

She stands and grabs a small purse from one of the drawers and tries to make a quick exit.

Sasuke stares at her unable to say anything. He observes every detail he can about her, every slender curve of her body, the way her neat short hair hangs on her delicate neck, and he is suddenly overcome with the image of her, wearing a red tunic instead of the sensible suit, a red and white fan crest in the center of her back.

His hand moves almost of its own accord and grabs her tiny wrist to prevent her from leaving, and she turns to look at him, green eyes wide and full of emotions he’s not able to understand.

“I know you from somewhere” He says, in a statement not a question.

“Do you?  I don’t think so, sorry” She responds and tries to shake his hold on her wrist.

“You said you hadn’t seen my file; how did you know my name?” Sasuke asks her, in the demanding voice she remembers so well.

“I… just… ahem… I don’t….”

“What are you hiding?”

“Do you remember something… anything… about me?” She asks, the adorable blush from earlier spreading through her face again.

Sasuke isn’t sure what she means, but now that she’s facing him, he becomes completely lost in her eyes, his instincts screaming at him to hold her, and never let go. “Who are you?” He asks. Because saying, yeah, I remember you from a dream sounds entirely too stupid to mention.

The moment feels as if suspended from time, the atmosphere too suffocating, he’s afraid of even closing his eyes, sure that the moment he reopens them, she’d be gone like every dream he’s ever had.

“My name is Sakura” she says, and her name sounds like music to his ears. “This is going to sound really strange, and possibly unprofessional, but do you want to go get a drink?” She says, biting her lower lip and taking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

He only nods his head yes and releases her hand. “Just… how do I know you?” He whispers.

She giggles in response, her face more assertive than before. “It’s a long story Sasuke-kun… maybe… I’ll tell you later” She says, poking his forehead with two fingers before grabbing his hand and pulling him to follow.

He doesn’t know anything about the strange girl with the cherry blossom pink hair other than her name, still he would follow her anywhere. He can’t help but to feel his blessings are finally complete.

[fizzingwizard]

Alright alright alright digimon adventure: episode 21, go!!! Last week I was interested to see if the pretty vague ep 21 preview was gonna be a mostly dull fight type filler ep or if the reason for the vagueness was there was too much plotty stuff going on for them to reveal. It’s the latter, I’m happy to say!

It was really cool!! There was a lot of good stuff so YAY! Anything I write here will be a spoiler but let’s just say that T is a very important letter in the alphabet! multiple Ts, in fact!!

Cap of the day: my boy being AWESOME

Let’s get to it! under the cut as usual

Now last week’s episode was A LOT. We rescued Takeru who no one even knew needed rescuing, gained and then immediately lost the Holy Digimon, got him back in the form of a digi-egg, and then immediately lost THAT too. Honestly I get why it’s Chosen Children and not Chosen Adults - adults would be like “are you KIDDING me all this work with NO PAYOFF I am gonna SUE”

Patamon’s digi-egg has been abducted by this guy... Skullnightmon? It seems he was a Xros Wars character. I had to look him up because at first I tried “Scarlnightmon” because Idk I was thinking Scarlet Night??? like night of blood and death??? idk. and Google tried to autocorrect it to “Scranton.” Uh... yeah. Skullnightmon makes more sense because of the BIG ASS SKULL on his breasplate. -.-;

It occurs to me how little I know about any Digimon series other than Adventure X’D I mean, I’m not gonna do anything to change that, but.... yeah I’m gonna continue to mix up stuff like this. His loyal steed is Darkmaildramon.

Yamato, of course, is immediately like Protective Mode On.

So at first I was a bit worried that this ep was gonna just Move Things Along as usual and Yamato wasn’t going to react to his little bro randomly being in the digital world. Let alone in the clutches of pure evil up until just recently. When you’re caught up in battle it’s admittedly hard to find time to Talk about stuff but COME ON

Fortunately, thought we don’t get a lot of Talking, we do get a bit. Like this cute moment where Takeru tries to explain what happened and Yamato’s just like “We can talk later” and gives him this adorable head pat. Ok, fine. I can live with that. It’s better than nothing xP

They arrive at the creepy castle which Taichi recognizes as the place Ogremon directed them to. It looks very evil and in front of it is a giant equally evil moat.

They also find this sinkhole sort of thing which Takeru promptly rushes over to stand at the very edge.

Yamato: OMG kid I look away for ONE SECOND

le gasp! Takeru finds a shiny feather at the edge of the hole! It’s a sign of the holy digimon! We should go investigate!

Oops first we have to find this gross Garurumon knock off... Its name is Splashmon but I think it should be “MeltedCrayonGarurumon”

Splashmon is apparently also from Xros wars and can turn into liquid and take on the form of other Digimon... I don’t know if he’s always this shit at it though. Maybe being controlled by evil is the reason for all the meltyness because he looks pretty cool in his wikia:

rofl...

Splashmon showers them all with acid rain and Yamato protec baby bro :< *wibble*

He then carries him to safety like this. xP

Yamato: Takeru, hide!

Takeru: This bottomless pit that reeks of evil seems like an ideal hiding spot. Niichan will be so proud

No but seriously... looks like we don’t get cowardly, crybaby Takeru this season. The kids getting to y’know Be Human about stuff is a thing it looks like I’m going to continue to miss in this reboot. But on the other hand, I genuinely DO enjoy Takeru throwing his all into saving Angemon.

Skullnightmon sticks Angemon’s digi-egg here where it gets chained down by evil vines. Very evil. Also seems like overkill, I mean, it’s an egg, what’s it going to do, roll off the platform?

We then switch gears and rejoin the kids in the real world, where Koushirou has, apparently overnight, if not in the last five minutes, created an update for their digivices which enables them to always be in contact with their partner. I don’t really get the details but that appears to be the size of it. We also catch up with Mimi and Jou.

At first I thought this was a school, but no, IT’S MIMI’S HOUSE. She has a PERSONAL CHAUFFEUR. Like, 99 Adventure Mimi was well-off, that was especially clear in 02... but... WOWZA.

Mimi’s parents look as stupid as ever xD I love them. They’re joined by her grandpa. After having been gone for three days with no explanation, Mimi’s parents are just like “Don’t you want to take it easy at home today?” when she says she needs to go out. Mimi’s just like “I gotta do what I gotta do!” (ok she actually quotes her grandpa from back in her intro ep but) and leaves like nothing happened.

.... I think grandpa might be dead. He doesn’t move the whole scene. Doesn’t even change his expression. I guess his mouth is a bit more open but that could just be because rigor mortis hasn’t quite set in

Meanwhile in Jou’s (normal, average) apartment, we meet SHIN-NIISAN!!! He’s as much of a dick as ever. I love him. Jou’s parents were mad because 1) he was gone for three days, 2) he skipped cram school, 3) he lost his textbook. I think Shin’s basically like HECK yeah finally my little bro shows his cool side! So he decides to be an enabler. GOOD, seems like Jou needs someone to be on his side at home ;_;

Their Digimon partners are traveling in the interwebz like... this... -____-;

They end up tracking Calmaramon, who is indeed Calmaramon.

I remember from Frontier when Renamon evolved to Calmaramon everyone gave her SO MUCH GRIEF for not being sexy. Wasn’t there like this whole episode devoted to how beautiful Izumi’s evolutions were and then Calmara the Squid Woman shows up and everyone’s like “ewww gross yuck!!” And ok I know she’s evil here too. But guys I JUST THINK SQUID WOMAN IS WICKED AWESOME OKAY. Like that is a LOOK. Versace take notes.

Like can we get some body positivity??? There is NOTHING wrong with being half-squid. Zephyrmon is not better just because she wears lingerie! Bet she can beat everyone at the swim meet. Also tastes yummy fried or raw with soy sauce.

ok I’m done. I’m serious about loving Calmaramon though. I have so many Frontier issues I totally forgot about >_>;

*cough* so yeah Calmaramon and those little green Digimon virus things take control of some boat and Koushirou’s like Uh-Oh Danger Will Robinson. Piyomon tries to attack with Magical Fire and is surprised, for some reason, when it does not do much. They are very much outnumbered and Calmaramon is clearly a much higher level than them so WHY do they think child-level is gonna be enough??

So this is cool!! Koushirou appears to be learning to read digi-code! He sounds out Calmaramon’s name by himself. We still pretty much have the question of why Taichi could just read digi-code fluently (well, almost? he randomly couldn’t read everything at the fortress if memory serves) and Koushirou has to sound it out... will we get an answer to this or?? Like if it were Takeru or Hikari I’d just assume it’s their Magic Baby powers at work but it was never made clear if just Taichi can read like this or they all can, and now it seems like maybe they all can’t since Koushirou’s trying so hard here...

Meanwhile Takeru...

99 Yamato would never have taken his eyes off Takeru for so long lmao

though it makes more sense if this season’s Takeru is more independent which he seems to be

Splashmon turns out to be really tough to beat, because he’s lost his mind and therefore holds nothing back xP He crushes MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon to the ground, infecting them with miasma.

At this point I was disappointed that Taichi and Yamato were still so clear-headed... like when are you gonna worry about your partner dude?? He gets the Crest of Courage because he’s never felt fear in his life??????

But then, their next move fails and WereGarurumon de-evolves back to Gabumon, while MetalGreymon is still in Splashmon’s clutches. He proceeds to pretty much make MetalGreymon’s arm wither away...

And Taichi FINALLY looks worried. ABOUT TIME.

Takeru has made it to the bottom of the hole, where he is startled to find this giant eye. I would also fall right on my bottom if I suddenly came across a giant eye.

Giant eye seems interested in Takeru’s digivice, so Takeru politely lets him have a look. BLINGGGGGGG.

Giant Eye: Ow ow ow turn it down!!!

Takeru: Sorry it’s LED!!

Taichi runs to rescue MetalGreymon in the... most ineffectual way possible... I love him...

The miasma can even hurt humans, it appears. Even though he’s in pain, Taichi doesn’t give up, and we get to hear Yamato shriek “Taichi!” all scared and adorable-like.

Taichi passionately reminds MetalGreymon about what they’re fighting for and succeeds in motivating him to be less dead.

Taichi: GIMME A V DOT THE I CURLY C T O R Y VICTORY!! *CLAP CLAP* VICTORY!! *CLAP CLAP*

Yamato: Incredible... so this is the power of a Pep Talk...

Taichi’s Pep causes MetalGreymon’s arm to... fall off... but it’s ok because it sprouts a long wiggly band of light uhhhhhh which then turns into a Giant Gun. So all is well. because MetalGreymon didn’t already have enough guns

MetalGreymon succeeds in defeating Splashmon and we seem some purple crystal sort of thing disappear, my guess is that’s what was controlling him. Agumon falls from midair and Taichi catches him like this.

They cute. They also need a break. Well, Agumon needs a break, I honestly think Taichi doesn’t even have an Off button...

Just when you think things can’t get weirder... Giant Eye appears.

Takeru’s on top of him looking all cool! Till he immediately falls!

Yamato catches him somewhat more adroitly than Taichi caught Agumon xP

The eye belongs to ElDradimon!! I love “animals with worlds on their backs” so this is totally up my ally. My first guess about the eye was that it was gonna be one of the digital sovereigns but this is still pretty cool.

Sooooooo cooooooooool

Yamato doesn’t even lecture Takeru about going off on his own and not hiding like he was told. SO DIFFERENT CANNOT COMPUTE. But looks how happy Takeru is to be praised by his bro for helping ElDradimon. Awww.

I’ve got to now reevaluate how I think things will go down because I really expected Takeru to be something that drives a wedge between Yamato and Taichi. In the old days, Yamato was super protective but Taichi would let Takeru do whatever and Takeru got a little boy crush on him which fed into Yamato’s inferiority complex. But if Yamato’s not overprotective and Takeru is already capable on his own... New directions are good though. I won’t be sorry if they don’t rehash all that BUT I need it to be replaced with something else. Taichi can’t just always be serious, Yamato can’t just always be cool... I like the reboot but I am still on edge about the character stuff.

... Yeah so ElDradimon was mega cool and then... he opened up his VACANT head... bahahaha.... bahahahahahahahahahahaha

So what I really liked about this ep was what I saw as parallels drawn between Taichi and Takeru on the theme of “Do anything to help your partner.” Takeru can’t stop looking for Angemon’s egg, that’s why he goes into the hole after finding the feather. He might not know what’s doing but he’s still gonna do it. Taichi knows a bit more and he’s usually so calculating and strategic, but when MetalGreymon looked on the verge of defeat he threw caution to the wind and tried to save him himself. Okay, not the first time we’ve seen this, true, but it did seem to be the running theme of the episode.

I know I didn’t really talk about how apparently the kids can now update their partners with new powers/gadgets?? by believing in them enough... but y’know that just sounds like the sort of thing a kid’s show would do. I almost miss the card game from Tamers... it would be cool to see the kids have to think and strategically choose what they want to equip their partners with. That was part of the enticement of Tamers, where Adventure was more inexplicable magic, Tamers relied more on intent. Taichi is such a strategist (and of course there’s also freaking Koushirou) that it seems a waste to not involve the kids in the decision making more.

Next week’s ep preivew was a bit hard to follow but 1) the animation looks better than this week thank heaven and 2) it looks like fun. And we get more bamf Takeru! Woot. Can I still say woot in 2020? I can because of senior citizen privilege right?

[lady-literature]

what a lion cannot manage chp 3

Ao3 | chp 1 | chp 2 | chp 3 | chp 4

Her first thought—after screaming, of course—is that she needs to go tell Kacchan right now. She just found out something big and insane and Kacchan would want to know too.

She curbs that desire before it can go anywhere.

This is huge, yes, and she doesn't want to keep this from Kacchan but it’s also not her secret to tell. All Might- Yagi hadn’t wanted her to know. Otherwise, he would have told her.

But he didn’t. She figured it out accidentally instead.

Ugh.

How is one supposed to deal with figuring out their idol’s secret identity? How is someone supposed to deal with having known their idol for months without actually knowing and she just… Izumi has so many emotions about this.

All his nervousness whenever she brought up All Might makes so much sense now and, oh kami. She’s gushed about him to his face. Just have Kacchan explodo-kill her now. It’ll be a mercy.

How is she supposed to face Yagi now? What is she going to tell him?

She keens, low and long and distressed, in the silence of her room.

It probably says a lot about her general existence that it’s that and not the scream that brings Aoi crashing through her door with a worried expression.

***

The next three days pass in a daze for Izumi.

It’s only by the grace of everyone thinking she’s just upset over Yagi-san that she gets through it. Which, she means, they aren’t technically wrong. But not for the reasons they think.

She misses him like an ache in her chest but it’s her mind that’s the problem.

Aligning the image of the Great Savior All Might, their Symbol of Peace and model by which all great Heroes strive to follow, with her dorky, awkward Yagi who spends his free time telling corny jokes is just… disorienting. It makes both too much and absolutely zero sense.

How can one person be so different and yet so similar at the same time?

She can tell she’s starting to get on Kacchan’s nerves with all her fidgeting and not-quite muttering. He’s taken to knocking her on the head when she spirals too far or when he needs her attention. Sometimes, she can even catch him frowning at her out of the corner of her eye.

It’s the same look he uses when unraveling complicated chemical equations.

She wishes she could just tell him, could share her worries and fears and concerns but she can’t. Instead, she smiles and begs him to take her to the bakery on main street until he gets irritated enough to stop trying to figure out why she’s upset.

***

Her and Yagi talk near every day. Even if it’s only a few texts with hours between responses.

It had taken him two days in the beginning to call her. Days she now knows were probably busily filled with whatever All Might business he’d been pushing off to be here, but at the time she thought he’d been avoiding her. She’d been scared to reach out, hesitant to make the leap as doubts filled her mind.

But after, it was as if the floodgates opened. Calls and texts and video chats were exchanged as often as possible, the pair reaching out with the same vigour they had when they were right next to one another. 

He’s slow to answer texts sometimes, and video chats are often hastily rescheduled with little notice but Izumi understands. He’s busy. He’s All Might, after all. She can’t fault him for saving people.

What kind of Hero would that make her if she did?

***

For all the talking they do, Izumi never actually brings up him being All Might.

It’s not like she’s trying to hide it, but it just… never seems like the right time. It’s not a conversation to have on the phone, she thinks. 

And it’s not like she’s going to tell anyone, so it’s probably fine, right? She’s just waiting until she sees him in person again, until his next visit. It’s a delicate situation that requires a certain level of finesse that you can’t get over the phone, is all.

Not because Izumi is terrified that she’d accidentally betrayed his trust too much to come back from and he’ll never speak to her again if he finds out so she’s trying to prolong her time with him for as long as possible.

Certainly not that.

***

Izumi opens the door right as Katsuki raises his fist to pound on the wood with all the aggression to be found in his boyish body. His fist halts mid-air, almost punching her in the eye.

He scowls at her. “I hate when you do that.”

She grins at the stutter in his heartbeat they both know she can hear. They both know he thinks it’s cool though he’s never said it.

“Did you need something, Kacchan?” she asks instead of pointing that out. He only gets grumpier when she acknowledges those kinds of things.

“What kind of stupid question is that? We’re going to the park, idiot. Or did you forget?”

Izumi thinks back over the last couple days. Katsuki never asked her to go to the park.

She decides not to point that out either.

“Let me grab my notebook.”

“Whatever. Just hurry the fuck up!”

“Language!” someone calls from inside the house. Katsuki automatically flips them off despite not being able to see them or vice versa. She finishes pulling on her shoes and pushes him off down the street before he can get into another screaming match with Uncle Kyo.

“We’re going to the park!” she yells into the house, raising her voice for the benefit of the humans’.

“Have fun, sweetheart!” her mom says from the upstairs along with a chorus of other well wishes from everyone else.

***

Izumi will be the first to admit she has a bit of a skewed metric for what most people consider ‘normal.’ Katsuki’s not that far behind her, she thinks, but Kami forbid she tell him that.

Exhibit A: most kids come to the park to play in the jungle gym or build sandcastles. Izumi and Katsuki… do not do that.

“Kacchan, you’re putting too much strain on your joints!” Izumi calls from where she’s perched along the bar on top of the swingsets, balanced in a way one can only achieve with a tail for a counterweight. “Try bending your elbow more!”

“Don’t tell me what to do, damn nerd!” he shouts, vaulting over the balance beam. “I don’t need your fucking help!”

His heartbeat doesn’t stutter—both because it’s going to fast for it to and what he said isn’t really a lie anyway.

His arms still loosen up, because he knows she’s right and her advice has never been about him needing it.

The new angle should lessen the stress on his elbows but it’s going to make him sore quicker. Izumi makes a note about looking up exercises to help strengthen the muscles in his arms and shoulders in the corner of the page.

For the last month or so, Katsuki’s been all but brimming with excess energy. He’s barely able to sit still in the classroom anymore and seems angrier than ever. He’s even been suspended from the wrestling team for one too many displays of aggression. He still does kickboxing every other day but it’s not quite cutting it.

Izumi’s taken to pulling him out to the track at lunchtime to let him run out whatever energy he can but it’s not enough. The first few hours after school and weekend mornings have become dominated by Katsuki dragging her into the forest to jog up the hiking trails or to the park for her to set up increasingly difficult obstacle courses for him.

Like today.

He’ll keep going until he’s dead on his feet, she knows, refusing to stop until he hits a wall of exhaustion and she has to half-drag, half-carry him back home.

It’s really starting to worry her, watching him work himself into the ground for no discernable reason. But he won’t talk to her about it.

She’s not sure if he’s embarrassed or prideful or some other self-important reason he’s come up with, but it all comes out to the same thing: Izumi floundering around to help treat the symptoms of the sickness Katsuki won’t talk about.

She can’t even yell at him about keeping secrets from her because all that would do is piss him off and make her a hypocrite.

They both know Izumi keeps things from him, has secrets she can’t and won’t share with him (secrets that burn at the base of her throat, that keep building in number despite her best efforts).

One day they’re going to fight about that. It’s all she can do to push it off until tomorrow.

***

Izumi gets good at reading between the lines during her time talking with Yagi.

She’d already been good, in an unpolished fox-born-affinity kind of way. But having to parse through Yagi’s heavily edited daily schedules makes her better.

He’s good at lying without lying. Dancing around issues and straight-up avoiding others. She can see how he’s kept his identity a secret for so long.

It means Izumi has to be sneaky about her questioning. Has to do more than just not be obviously worried after she’d watched some two-bit villain throw him through a wall and oh kami, what about his side? Why isn’t he in the hospital?

She watches All Might fights with something rapidly approaching anxiety these days. Flinches at hits more than she cheers for his wins.

Kacchan notices because he’s far more observant than most people give him credit for.

He’s agitated by it as far as she can tell. Takes an almost personal offence to her worry over the number one hero, which is more than a little confusing for her.

Sure, he’s still a bit touchy about the whole ‘letting people help and worry about him’ thing but Izumi’s never seen him apply that hang-up to another person. Much less All Might.

Every time she wrings her hands at a TV screen or bites her lip while reading an article, Kacchan’s face twists like he swallowed a lemon. She wants to ask about it but is half-convinced it might be related to that other issue he won’t talk to her about, so she doesn’t. For now, at least.

Her temporary solution of waiting until Kacchan calms down just enough that she can tackle-hug him without being immediately thrown off is working well enough anyway.

***

Izumi remembers the first time she told Katsuki she wanted to be a hero, back when he was still all sharp edges and blistering palms. When it seemed like he’d never settle into his skin or breathe without the weight of all the expectations he’d placed on himself.

Before, even, the time she crawled back down a tree to meet the angry words of “why do you do that?”

He’d told her he was going to be a better hero than All Might and Izumi had brightened like he’d hung the stars. Her mouth was halfway around a rambling tirade about saving the day and helping people when he’d laughed. Harsh and cruel.

It stopped Izumi in her tracks.

“How are you gonna be a hero?” he taunts, nose raised in superiority. “All you can do is hear and smell stuff from far away! How are you supposed to fight anyone with a quirk like that?”

This isn’t the first time someone has said this to Izumi, and she doubts it will be the last. That’s the nature of the secret she keeps.

There is indignation in her chest. It is not new.

The anger though? That’s new. She’s never been truly angry at the townspeople before.

It hadn’t been so personal before. It doesn’t matter that she’d only known this boy for a few short weeks, he was hers. The winds whispered it to her, the pounding of the earth demanded it.

The townspeople are kind and friendly and hers in the detached way all innocents are hers, but Katsuki is different—is supposed to be different. Izumi does not know how many Protectors walk the earth, but Katsuki is the first she’d found and that means something whether either of them know it or not.

Her mouth twists into a frown. “Quirks aren’t everything.”

And they aren’t. She knows that, has known it since she sent Daiki to the nurse’s office in third grade.

Izumi has her teeth and her claws, has her mind and a viciousness born of the chaos at her center. She has magic, something so few people know how to wield these days.

And past that? Her Nona remembers the time before quirks, remembers their birth and the riots it started. The hatred. Izumi’s grown on stories and tales of the time before quirks. Of the great feats humanity made with nothing but their hands and minds.

It’s not quirks that make humans special. It never was.

Katsuki, arrogant and prideful and still so young, doesn't agree. Doesn’t understand.

“They hell they’re not!” he laughs and it’s a mocking sort of sound that makes tears prick at her eyes. “You only say that because yours is weak.”

“No!” she shouts. Her voice cracks and her breath heaves from her lungs like she can’t get enough air but she shouts anyway. “I’m not weak. I’m not less than you! You’re just being a bully and mean and that’s not how a hero acts!”

Katsuki pushes her to the ground and she’s sobbing now because the wind whispers to her and she knows, she knows, deep in her chest, that this is important. That there’s a crossroads here and it will change everything if she picks wrong.

“All Might wins and smiles and is kind and you’ll never be like him if you act like a bully!” she yells through her tears. Glares at him from her spot on the ground, through her tears and pain and hope and she thinks no. Not this time. Not him. Not here.

Izumi plants her hands on the ground, her knees dirty and face red, and she stands back up as tall as she can, chin tilted in defiance. She’s a whole head shorter than him and looks a sorry sight with all her tears but she stands before her friend, the boy that Fate Herself decreed would walk at her side until the very end, and she glares.

Greek fire against boiling pools of blood and she doesn’t bother to flinch. She won’t bend for this.

She will bend and bend until she breaks for so many things but not for this. For this, she will be stone or she will shatter.

“You’re not supposed to be mean,” she says firmly, honestly. “If you keep looking down on everyone, you’re only going to be sad and angry and alone. If you can’t see that, you’re not gonna get better and you won’t grow.”

He looks like she slapped him. Stricken and utterly still and furious but she doesn't care.

She’s not weak. Power is an old friend of hers and the world will shake beneath her feet. Izumi will grow up and she will be mighty.

Not even her precious Kacchan can tell her she can’t.

***

It was that moment, she thinks, that truly changed his path. Her inability to let him ruin himself for the sake of his pride.

If she was kinder, less selfish perhaps, she might have let him grow into it himself. Let him make mistakes and learn from them and lean on others for those life lessons.

But she is not and she didn’t. Instead, she shoved him into lessons he was not meant to learn yet for years to come. Instead, she robbed him of his growth and cheapened it because she could not live with him hating her. Because she couldn’t bear to live in a world where he thought her small.

She only hopes that when he realizes what she did, he doesn’t hate her for it.

***

Katsuki knows there’s something strange about his best friend. He’d have to be blind, deaf and fucking moronic to not have noticed.

But, well. Weird shit happens all the time in this town. People do weird shit all the time in this town.

Spirit traps hang from every eve. The crows are smarter here than anywhere else. No one walks through the crossroads at the center of town. People carry salt in their pockets and iron jewellery on their wrists. Half the deaths in town are unexplained.

Something’s weird with his best friend, but then, he thinks, something’s weird with everyone.

He gets used to what he can and pointedly ignores the rest. It’s whatever. It’s not like it really affects him .

Until it does.

***

Katsuki starts seeing things from the corners of his eyes.

Shadows that move and pockets of air that shimmer like hot asphalt. Things that aren’t really there and faces that terrify him even when he can’t remember why. Voices just at the edge of his hearing and feelings he can’t explain.

 A bunch of weird things that don’t mean anything and definitely don’t make him jumpy or paranoid.

So what if he starts keeping a dreamcatcher above his bed or good luck charms in his pockets? Or if he starts flicking his bedroom light on and off three times before actually turning it off at night?

That no one’s business but his own. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t really know why he does it. He doesn't need to explain himself to anyone.

It’s nothing.

At least, until he has to stop looking at Izu head-on because when he does, he gets so dizzy he wants to vomit. Or when there’s suddenly three times as many people in town with familiar green hair that make his vision swim just to look at, and weird, overly large foxes running at the edge of the forest.

***

There’s a door in his house that wasn’t there that morning.

It’s in one of the basement hallways, tucked away in a corner and when Katsuki stares at it, it gives him the same ‘headache behind the eyes’ feeling as all the new broccoli-tops running around town.

A normal person would be unnerved and confused by all the fuckery going on. This has horror movie written all over it, with Katsuki starring front and center to get demonically possessed.

Katsuki glares at the door before barging his way through it without fanfare.

Being unnerved is for losers who never get shit done and any two-bit demon that thinks they can control him will be in for one hell of a surprise. Namely, his fist up whatever the equivalent of their ass is.

***

The door opens up into a stairway that leads to a secret second basement containing a library filled with books and the weirdest shit Katsuki has ever seen in his life.

He plucks a book from the shelf at random, opens to a page in the middle and skims over the overly fancy handwriting.

His blood freezes at what he reads.

***

At eleven years old, Katsuki is filled to bursting with energy and jittering nerves like something in his gut was building and building and building and-

There are things hidden in shadows and the darkness, things with teeth and too many eyes and rules he doesn’t understand but should because they’re all so familiar, why does he-?

There’s a library under his house filled with things that shouldn’t exist and knowledge that belongs in folktales and fantasy books but Katsuki knows it’s true because something in his mind has clicked into place like it was always meant to and suddenly he can see-

He sits at a table surrounded by books and Katsuki reads and learns and his thoughts spin faster and faster and confusion fades to a muted sort of horror and understanding. He feels bile rise in his throat because, oh kami, he didn’t- this wasn’t- he doesn't want to know-

At eleven years old, Katsuki learns about the supernatural and yōkai and all that hides behind the veil and he grows sick because he’s not stupid. He can see now and the books before him are filled with insane things but they’re all real. His best friend is yōkai, is a fox.

And Katsuki’s family has spent generations hunting them.

***

“I think Kacchan’s avoiding me.”

Yagi blinks at her through the screen. “Hello to you too, my dear.”

“Sorry, yes. Hi, Yagi! I miss you lots,” she babbles quickly before going back to the problem at hand. “Kacchan’s avoiding me and I don’t know why.”

Yagi hums thoughtfully even as his mouth twitches with amusement. “Are you sure that’s what he’s doing? Hiding doesn't sound like the Young Bakugou.”

“It’s not hiding,” she defends on instinct, then bites the end of her thumb. “But I don’t know what else it would be. He’s acting… acting a lot like he did when we were first friends. How he only interacted with me when he had to.”

“Now that definitely doesn’t sound like Young Bakugou,” Yagi half-heartedly teases, starting to look worried on behalf of Izumi. “Have you, perhaps, spoken to him about it?”

Izumi gives him a look like he’s just told her he thinks the sky is orange.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“You don’t just spring emotional conversations on Kacchan, Yagi,” she says, looking almost scandalized. “He’ll get hives or something.”

Yagi, for his part, only covers his mouth with his hand instead of slamming his face into the desk or bursting into laughter at her misery. That’s what Aoi did when Izumi asked her for advice, the unhelpful jerk.

“If that’s so, then I’m sure you just need to give him time. He’ll come to you when he’s ready.”

It’s not the advice Izumi wanted to hear because she’d already figured that and she’s far from a patient person. But, she also knows he’s right.

“Yeah, maybe,” she sighs unhappily. Then, she plants her elbows on the table. “So how’s work going? Are your coworkers teasing you again?”

Yagi pulls a face like he’s trying to be long-suffering but it hits too close to amused and fond. “They always are, my girl. Always.”

***

If she didn’t know any better, she’d think Kacchan was just waiting for her to get anxious enough to blab to Yagi before he put her out of her misery. It’s a reliable way to gauge how big of a problem she thinks something is, seeing as she doesn’t like adding more things to Yagi’s already overflowing plate.

It was almost anti-climactic considering all the horrible things Izumi had been imagining. But, in her defense, it was her and Kacchan. Neither of them ever did anything by halves.

He corners her after school and pulls her down one of the hallways no one goes down. She’s so relieved that he’s actually looking at her and not pretending she doesn’t exist that she doesn’t even care when he crams her between him and the corner where the end of the lockers meet the wall, effectively boxing her in.

Her mouth is already halfway around a question, ready to start speaking at a thousand miles an hour without giving him a chance, but he beats her to it.

“I know.”

Her mouth snaps shut in her confusion. Her head tilts. “Know what?”

His eyes are boring into hers, the first time he’s looked her in the eye in… she doesn't even know. A month? It was before he started avoiding her entirely at least.

She watches as slowly, purposefully, his eyes flick to the top of her head.

She’s still confused. Is there something wrong with her hair? Her ears flick in impatience, waiting for him to just tell her-  

His eyes follow the movement.

Her ears stand straight up, panic coursing through her and his eyes follow that too. He can see.

He can see.

“You’re a fox,” he says and it’s not a question. “A Shual Nephesh, right?”

Behind her eyes, her mind spins and whirls like a hurricane. Moving so much faster than everyone around her, a mess of plans and paths and actions laid before her like a prophecy of her own choosing.

She stares into his eyes, into glittering pools of blood, and sees the nervousness hidden there behind the arrogance and bluster. She sees the wariness and the confusion. But no fear. No hatred.

Izumi takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly, and makes a decision.

“We need to talk to Nona.”

***

Everyone’s surprisingly calm about Katsuki being in the know.

Most of the adults give her an almost disappointedly exasperated look before she explains he has the Sight which is what gave them away. Which… rude. Sure, she’s been wanting to tell Kacchan for years but that doesn’t mean she would. Not when Nona gave a direct order.

She can get away with a lot but not even she would test such a boundary. Though, by the looks, she’s almost sure she could’ve. Interesting. A thought for later.

They almost get through it all without a major incident.

That is, until Kacchan opens his mouth and drops a bigger bomb than him being the first person in a hundred years to figure them out.

“There’s something else you should know.” He’s shuffling his feet next to her and if Izumi didn’t know any better she’d think he’s worried. But about what?

Her Nona raises her brow at him. “And that is?”

“My Mom’s maiden name was Takanashi.”

Oh.

Oh.

Yeah. That’ll do it.

***

They try to make her leave the room.

Izumi snorts and latches onto Kacchan's arm, staunchly refusing to let go. You don’t spend almost four years as Bakugou Kastuki’s best friend without picking up at least a few of his brattier habits. Such as his problem with doing things he doesn’t want to.

 Izumi knows what hunters are, knows to be wary of them the same way all yōkai are. She knows who the Takanashi Clan are too, knows they’re the reason her skulk is hidden away on their own land even if no one will tell her why or what they did.

Learning that Katsuki, her best friend, is a Takanashi? A descendant of the same people who cursed her skulk? Her born enemy?

Well. 

Izumi’s not quite as upset as she supposes she should be.

It’s just that, it’s still Kacchan isn’t it? The same boy they’ve all know for years? Nothing’s really changed. He can’t help the family he was born into and it’s not like he’s ever threatened them or was even likely to do so.

She doesn’t understand why everyone’s throwing a fit.

After a long five minutes of people yelling and being unnecessarily dramatic—distantly, Izumi wonders if this is how her classmates feel around her and Kacchan—she decides enough is enough.

She shares a look with Aoi, one of the few people not making a big deal out of this, along with her mother and Nana Naoki. Aoi understands what she needs without speaking.

A sharp whistle pierces the air. Loud and shrill enough to make even the humans wince in pain.

It’s quiet almost immediately, and Izumi grins even as the adults glare at them.

This is why Aoi is her favourite.

“Thank you,” she smiles, then turns back to Kacchan, patting his forearm. “You can keep talking now.”

***

Everyone’s staring at him.

Adults who are older than they look and far more powerful all have their attention on him.

Nona—Midoriya Asuka, the Matriarch—is standing before him, perfectly poised with all five of her tails fanned out behind her. She doesn’t look older than forty even though he knows she has to be more than two hundred. Her silver eyes bore into him and he’s almost positive she’s exactly what Izu will look like in however many years. Powerful aura and all.

He can taste ozone in the air and knows that it won’t matter that he’s known most of these people for years. It won’t matter that he and Izu are practically inseparable or that Inko is as much his mom as she is Izu’s and vice versa with his own parents.

One wrong move and he doesn’t think he’ll leave this room.

He can’t even say he’d blame them. He doesn’t know exactly what his family did to them, but he knows it wasn’t good. Knows it forced them into hiding. Them, Shaalim Nephashoth. These great, powerful beings who should be neatly sat at the top of the yōkai food chain, just under the Kami Themselves and Nephilim.

So, Katsuki does what he always does when faced with a challenge. Raises his chin and charges forward. Failure isn’t an option and Katsuki sneers at the very idea.

He needs them to trust him which means he needs to prove he can be trusted.

There’s a reason he spent so long holed up in that damned library, paging through books that made him queasy to look at. He had to get this right.

He locks eyes with the Midoriya Matriarch and speaks, clear and with as much authority as he, a boy still a few months from twelve years, can muster.

“I, Bakugou Katsuki, renounce my ties to the Takanashi Clan by witness of the earth, moon and stars. The grudges of my ancestors are not my own and no secrets held by the Midoriya Skulk will pass my lips.” His hands flex at his sides and he takes a deep breath. “I walk this path with you, not against you. I swear it.”

He can feel the metal and magic curling it’s way around his wrist, so similar to the one he can now see on Izu's. He doesn’t look at it, too busy holding the Matriarch’s gaze and awaiting her judgement.

It’s tense for a few long seconds and the smell of ozone grows almost overwhelming. He doesn’t dare to even breathe.

And then… she blinks. Her eyes are a warm green rather than gunmetal silver and something like approval rests there.

“Very well. Your oath is accepted, young Seer. I, and that of my skulk, hold no ill will toward you.”

His breath wooshes out of him and he thinks he hears laughter at the edges of the room.

Nona—because that’s who she is again, not the Matriarch—turns her head towards Izu behind him. “You’ve chosen a good one.”

Izu latches onto his arm and Auntie Inko comes up on his other side to thread her fingers through his hair.

“I know,” she says proudly.

***

It falls to Izumi to explain everything, even though it probably shouldn’t have.

Katsuki, unsurprisingly, came in with a good chunk of knowledge. For all that he’s an easily lit fuse, he’s not one to disregard an advantage. And for this situation? Knowledge was the only one he had.

Izumi kindly but firmly corrects any of the stereotypes or misconceptions his source material gave him, which was surprisingly few. The Takanashi’s bestiary was unexpectedly unbiased, it seemed.

Katsuki still looks a bit shaken from having his entire worldview turned upside down and exhausted by all the things he’s learned, so they call Mitsuki and Masaru and tell him he’s going to stay the night. It’s a bit odd, because Katsuki has never set foot in her house before, much less spent the night, but the magic settled around them means that the Bakugous don’t question it. Izumi’s spent more than enough nights at their house, so as far as they're concerned, this is normal.

It isn’t, but they aren’t going to tell them that.

Her and Kacchan build a pillow fort in the middle of her room. Kacchan starfishes out, taking up as much space as possible while Izumi curls tightly into a ball and tucks herself up against the crook of his flung out arm.

“I was pissed, you know,” he says into the darkness, apropos of nothing. It’s still dark outside and they’d be getting up for breakfast soon if they had ever gone to bed in the first place. “Absolutely furious that you kept something this big from me. I thought you- I figured that you were so damn powerful and that you’ve just spent the last four years laughing at me.”

Izumi jolts, lifting her head to stare at him in a mixture of surprise and horror. “Kacchan, I would never-”

“I know,” he cuts her off. “I know. It took me reading two more pages to figure that out. That you weren’t hiding because it was fun.”

“I wanted to tell you,” she insists and it’s true. She hated lying to Kacchan. It was just so fundamentally wrong to lie to him. But this wasn’t like with her name. This wasn’t a secret she could just do with as she wished. It affected more than just herself and she couldn’t risk her skulk the same way she’s willing to risk herself.

She doesn’t really know how to tell him that though.

“I’m still angry, and- and I hate that you could keep a secret this big from me but I… I don’t hate you.”

Izumi nods, because that’s fair.

“I’ll make it up to you,” she promises.

He snorts, knocking the back of his fist against her forehead. “Damn well better, loser. I expect you to be waiting on me hand and foot for the next month.”

 She grabs his wrist, because he’s always so fussy about his hands and the dangers associated thereof, and draws designs into it with the tip of her fingers, just under his binding.

Kacchan harrumphs but doesn't pull away and she has to smother her smile. “Of course, O Great King Bakugou,” she teases. “I am but your loyal servant.”

“Good,” he says haughtily and she doesn't have to look at him to hear the smirk in his voice. “My first order will be that you have to clean my room for me tomorrow.” He pauses. “Also, never call me ‘Bakugou’ ever again. That shit’s weird.”

Izumi gasps. “I knew you liked the nickname!”

“Eat shit and die.”

It’s not a denial and Izumi can't stop herself from chirping happily. Even when it prompts him into trying to smother her with a pillow.

***

 Katsuki’s gotten good at interpreting Izumi’s moods over the years.

She’s an open book—unlike him—and you’d think that would mean it’s easy to tell what she’s feeling but you would, of course, be wrong.

Sure she expresses herself freely and rarely tries to hide her emotions from anyone, but that means jack shit when half of them just get expressed as ‘start crying immediately’ anyway.

The amount of rage and frustration that first year had been, trying to understand her outbursts and anticipate them… Katsuki still winces at some of the following fights.

But the thing about Izu having a tail and ears, about him being able to see them now? It’s that it makes his job about two hundred percent easier. After a brief adjustment period where he has to relearn all her non-verbal signals with the inclusions of ears and a tail, he settles himself neatly at the top of the list of people who can read her like a book. Higher than, perhaps, even Auntie Inko.

It’s a surprisingly comforting thought. Especially since she’s been able to see through him for years now.

Turnabout's fair play and all that.

***

It’s two days later when Izumi sticks her head in through Kacchan’s window. It’s seven in the morning and they don’t have school today. She expects him to still be in bed but instead, he’s hunched over his desk doing ninth-grade level math they weren’t even assigned.

And he calls her the nerd.

“Hey, Kacchan!” she says brightly, grabbing his attention.

He whirls around, palms already sparking dangerously before he sees her at the window.

“Jesus fuck,” he snaps, glare chilling enough to curdle milk. “I’m gonna kill you.”

Izumi pouts at him, laying her chin on his window sill. “Aww. Kacchan that’s not nice.”

“I don’t give a damn.” He slouches back into his desk chair. Then, slowly he narrows his eyes at her, and by proxy, the window she’s leaning through. “How the fuck are you doing that?”

“What do you mean?” she asks, faux innocence.

The look he gives her is ten kinds of unamused. “I live on the second floor.”

“Yeah, so?” Izumi can practically see the steam slowly building in his ears. Smiling, she hoists herself up over the ledge with ease and front flips into the room, arms raised as she sticks the landing.

Kacchan kicks at her legs.

“I hate you,” he says to her form as she sprawls comfortably on the bed.

“Mhmm,” she hums dryly. “Nona sent me over to take inventory of your reliquary. I’m supposed to take whatever’s interesting and burn anything overly insulting.”

He raises an eyebrow at her, challenging.

“They figured I’d be the least conspicuous,” she pauses, pulling a face. “I’m also pretty sure it’s a test of some kind, but I’m not sure what about or why.”

Her only answer is a grunt.

“Now, come on and get dressed! We’ve got work to do.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he snaps but turns around to grab jeans and a black t-shirt with the word ‘SMASH!’ written in red, white, and blue inside a comic book explosion. Idly, she thinks she could probably get that signed for him.

Five minutes later, Izumi descends the stairs with Kacchan in tow to eat breakfast. She tells the Bakugous good morning as she sits at the counter and they regard her with something like amused exasperation. Mitsuki offers to make her scrambled eggs instead of asking how she got into their house without their knowing.

Raising Katsuki taught them when to pick their battles. Meeting little Izumi, who’s as crafty as she is sweet, only served to cement that lesson.

***

The second she steps into the reliquary, her nose wrinkles. Not just at the number of books she’s going to have to sort through—because seriously, were the Takanashis’ some kind of hoarders?—but also at the more… distasteful decorations.

Along the walls and placed on any open space are what Izumi can only assume are meant to be trophies.

Pixie wings pinned carefully onto boards, hollowed horns of more creatures than she can recognize, wings and teeth and claws laid out like cheap prizes. Selkie skins, harpy feathers, swan maiden coats, and wolf fur. Pelts of every color and kind are strung up like tapestries or thrown on the floor like rugs.

Izumi actually hisses when she catches sight of a honey gold foxtail placed in a display case.

There’s more, so much more, but she shuts her eyes and tries to breathe past the smell of death and rot and twisted, hungry magic blanketing the whole room.

She can feel Kacchan frowning at her, hears him shuffle a half step closer to her in an attempt at comfort. “Shoulda warned ya,” he says and it’s about as close to sorry as he gets.

“It’s fine,” she says. “When will your parents be gone?”

There’s a lot in here they need to get out and all of it are things his parents can’t see. Cursed objects in inadequate containers and more remains then she can count that deserve to be put to rest properly.

Kami, her skulk’s going to want to raise the Takanashis from their shallow graves just to kill them all over again when they see this.

“They’re going on a date tonight, actually. They’ll be gone for a couple hours.”

She nods and pulls out her phone to call the house and tell them. This was her job, and she’ll go through the books, but there’s no way she’s touching half the stuff in here without an expert telling her she can. She’s surprised the house hasn’t collapsed with how much malicious magic she can feel in here.

“What books did you already go through? We’ll sort those ones first.”

***

They spend hours down there, skimming through tomes and sorting them into ‘ acceptable’, ‘needs a more thorough read-through’, and ‘ just fucking burn it’ piles.

Nona, along with six of Izumi’s grandparents, arrive ten minutes after the Bakugous leave and their reaction to the reliquary is pretty spot on of what she expected. Which is as gratifying as it is mildly terrifying because she doesn’t think she’s ever seen her family so furious before.

Izumi and Katsuki, sometimes with the assistance of actual adults who should be doing this in the first place, make their way through all the books in about a week and a half. She’s actually kind of impressed with the amount that proved not to be total wastes of time.

She’s also, perhaps, a little bit surprised when she doesn’t catch anyone going back through the books and checking her work. No one questions her judgement.

Izumi isn’t sure what to make of that.

***

“So, is that why you and your family are so fucking weird?”

Izumi pauses, looking up from the collection of Edgar Allen Poe she was reading to stare at Kacchan who’s made himself more than comfortable on her bean bag chair. She tries to figure out what he’s trying to ask her but ultimately gives up.

“Huh?”

“Foxes,” he says like she’s stupid for not being capable of mindreading. “Are they all so fucking weird or is it just you guys?”

Izumi’s lips twist. “Most of the skulk are human.”

Kacchan rolls his eyes, flopping back against all the pillows he stole from her bed to make his throne. “Of course you are. I don’t know why I even tried.”

***

Yagi: Midoriya, my dear!

I’ve discovered a very interesting fact I think you’d enjoy

Me: oh?

what is it?

Yagi: Did you know french fries weren’t originally made in France?

Me: uh…

i guess ive never thought about it?

where were they invented?

Yagi: They were first cooked in GREECE!

Me: …

Yagi no

Yagi: HAHAHA!

Me: you have the lamest sense of humor

im going to tell everyone about your crime against jokes

Yagi: And I’m sure they will find it equally humorous!

Me: youre lucky i like you

Yagi: Of course my dear.

Me: b/c your puns are horrible

im half convinced you only helped me learn english so you can subject me to this

Yagi: That’s not very nice.

And I would NEVER

Me: mhmmm

are we still on for the skype call in an hour?

Yagi: I wouldn’t miss it.

Me: are you finally gonna tell me what the surprise is?

Yagi: Patience is a virtue, young Izumi.

Me: and sloth is a sin

come on! i’m super excited!

you’ve been hinting at it for like,,,, a week

Yagi: Quick-witted as always. Yes. I will be revealing my surprise finally.

Me: yay! :)

see you then!

Yagi: See you then, my dear.

[jokertrap-ran]

[Stand My Heroes] Case File:研究対象Sの記録 (Case File: Records on Research Subject S) Event Story: Investigation ①～③ Translations

*Master-list is in progress *MC name is retained default Izumi Rei

Part 1 / Part 2 

--I might have been born into this world as a “Being”, but… I do not know the contact of “Others”

“Humans” are also something that I cannot comprehend due to how absurd they are.

That’s why…That’s precisely why, I—

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Interrogation Room ☆⋅⋆

Arakida: I’m asking you if you abducted and confined eight people in an underground facility.

Male Suspect: …I apologize for that. I just wanted to see how they’d turn out in the very end.

Arakida: --

Male Suspect: I mean, aren’t you curious about it too, Mr. Officer?

Male Suspect: Aren’t you curious about what they might be hiding? About the reason fuelling them to attempt escape from the underground facility?

Male Suspect: Is it family? A lover? Friends? Their job? Interests? Or is it a promise they made?

Male Suspect: That reason only exists because they’re “Human”. But what if you were only a “Being”? Isn’t fleeing an instinct?

Male Suspect: I was simply gathering reference material for my next new work under the pen name of “Benio. SF. Takeshi”!

Sugano: (Whew, this guy’s really screwed up in the head.)

Arakida: --Real name: Akao Takeshi. So, you’re admit that you’ve confined these people.

Male Suspect: Like I was saying! I’ve only done this all in light of attaining material for my next sublime masterpiece—

Arakida: …I know of such writers who do that, but you’re a totally different case.

Sugano: (Seems like this’ll be a long and gruelling process…)

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Investigation Planning Division ☆⋅⋆

Natsume: --Oh? They say that the writer “Benio. SF. Takeshi” has been arrested.

Aoyama & Yui: Benio…?

Rei: Is that a pen-name…?

Natsume: That’s right. Seems like hhis real name’s “Akao Takeshi (28)”

Natsume: Arrested on grounds of Kidnapping, Assault and Attempted Murder.

Natsume: He’s a pretty popular young author out there. He’s even No.1 Trending on Social Media.

Rei: Heh…Oh, you’re right. He’s even on the top when I search him up on the net.

I clicked on the records we had on him on my laptop. The words “Investigation Department One” entered my field of vision.

Yui: …I see. “New Generation Writer SF, someone who’s works can also be enjoyed by the Young Generation.”

Aoyama: This is the first time I’m hearing of him, though.

Imaoji: It seems like he first gained popularity through publishing a series of short stories on the net.

Natsume: His popular work’s a science fiction set in the near future where a guy eats the female as a part of the mating routine…ugh.

Aoyama: What morbid taste.

Rei: “His motive was to gather reference material for his new work, and he admitted as such during interrogation.” –Or so it’s written here.

Yui: Looks like the eight people he kept captive all managed to escape just fine.

Natsume: It’s also written here that one of the eight people held captive managed to escape and made it to the nearest Police Box in the area.

Imaoji: Wow.

Rei: The guy who escaped also provided his motive for escaping the place during an interrogation.

Aoyama: “It’s my Wedding Anniversary, so I absolutely had to get out of there”, huh.

Rei: That’s a pretty romantic reason, all things considered.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

The conversation ended with us coming to a joint conclusion; no matter what had gone down in that place, it was a good thing that all the victims managed to escape unscathed.

--A few days later.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Inside the Car ☆⋅⋆

Seki: I’m sure you must be tired from walking around all morning. Should we grab lunch somewhere before heading back? My treat.

Seki-san and I had spent the entire early afternoon investigating the area where a new drug was rumoured to have been circulating.

Rei: Thank you so much! I think I’m starting to get a little hungry.

Seki: We’ve been at it all morning after all; good work. We’ve managed to attain some remarkable information so let’s go get a good meal.

Seki: Is there anything you’d like to eat?

Rei: Let’s see…I think I’ll settle for something Japanese. A set meal, maybe?

Seki: Nice. Seems like there are lots of stores around here that sell those too.

Rei: That’s right. It caught my eye when I saw it through the car’s windscreen.

Seki: ----The one over by the traffic light seems like it has a carpark.

“Exquisite Set Meals, 700 Yen~” I caught sight of the flag sparkling under the sun.

Rei: I’m rather interested in whatever their Exquisite Set Meal is.

Seki: Shall we settle for that shop then?

Rei: Okay!

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Izakaya ☆⋅⋆

Shop-keeper: Welcome! How many people?

Seki: Two…

Rei: (It’s pretty crowded in here…)

The store wasn’t very big and one could see that it was a full-house at a single glance.

Shop-keeper: Sorry, will a shared seating be alright with you?

I met Seki-san’s gaze and affirmed him that “I’m okay with that” with a nod.

Seki: We’ll take that, thank you.

Shop-keeper: Thank you very much! Two people; shared seating!

I could hear joyful and enthusiastic calls of “Welcome!” from coming from the kitchen area as we headed to our seats. And then--

Sugano: --AH.

Rei: Ah.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Izakaya ☆⋅⋆

Sugano-kun and Asagiri-san were seated at the table we were led to.

Seki: What a coincidence.

Asagiri: Indeed. Feel free.

Saying that, they both stood up from where they were seated and moved further in to allow us space to join them.

Rei: Thank you so much.

We proceeded to seat ourselves at the table, only to realize that that said table was devoid of food.

Rei: Did you just arrive?

Asagiri: What sharp inference skills you have. That’s right.

Sugano: The Seasonal Set Meals here are really good and they change every season.

Seki: I’m guessing that that’d be the Fried Oyster Set right now?

Sugano: Yup. It’s crunchy and juicy and absolutely delectable!

Rei: Ahh…I can already taste and feel the oysters.

Sugano: Haha. But the Scallop and Ebi Mixed-Fry set is also a pretty bad boy!

Rei: Ahhhh…I can taste the Mixed-fry set already, but my stomach still has the oysters in mind…

Sugano: Haha!

We chatted for a while before an employee came by to serve us water and to hand us wet towels and the menu.

Seki: What are you settling for, Izumi?

Rei: Hmm, I’m still thinking.

Asagiri: I’ll take the Ramen Set.

Sugano: Tsukasa-san, were you even listening to my recommendations?

Asagiri: I’ve actually been craving ramen all morning.

Sugano: Actually, is there even a time where you don’t crave ramen…?

Asagiri: What a stupid question.

Rei: (He really like his ramen…)

In the end, Asagiri-san took the Ramen Set while Seki-san and I took the Fried Oyseter Set. Sugano-kun decided on the Mixed-fry Set and that concluded our order.

Sugano: Oh, come to think of it. There was that one guy in Benio SF’s short stories who loved ramen and was supervising a shady research facility.

Sugano: I recall that he was portrayed to be able to talk for days on end when it comes to anything ramen-related.

Both: ----

Asaigiri: Don’t go giving out investigation information at the drop of a hat like that— Or so, I’d like to say.

Asagiri: But that was something that had already uploaded onto the internet to begin with, isn’t it?

Sugano: That’s right.

Sugano: Rei and Seki-san, have you guys read it before? Benio’s light novel that’s been the talk of the masses recently.

Asagiri: A Science Fiction that takes place in the near future— It’s nice to hear and all but right now, it all boils down to being a criminal’s childish delusions.

Rei: A Science Fiction that takes place in the near future…

Seki: Is that the story that gave birth to his motive as a criminal?

Sugano: Yes…Oh, right. This shop is really thorough in their preparation of food, so it’ll take some time before our food arrives.

Sugano: Shall we talk about his childish delusions as a makeshift way to kill time while we wait? This time in our own style.

Them: ----

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

--This facility was where the “Special Ability Programme” took place.

It also housed “Special Subjects” within its compound. This facility will be…

Watabe: We needed a “Special Communicator” in this place. That’s why I reached out to you with an offer.

Natsume: It’s nice to meet you, Number 1230.

Rei: Am I to be referred to my number at all times…?

Yui: There are a lot of subjects housed here. We’ve also got many communicators like you.

Yui: So it’ll be easier if we just referred to everyone by their serial numbers. It reduces the complications involved.

Rei: …Alright, I understand.

Rei: So…why was I called to this facility?

Yui: Allow me to rephrase your question. “Why is a normal Office Lady (OL) like me who works for an ordinary company-“

Yui: “Being scouted by the Special Research Facility that’s being funded by the National Budget?” --How’s that sound?

Rei: Thank you for translating…

Watabe: The answer’s—

Watabe: Who knows?

Rei: Who knows…?

Watabe: No, sorry. We don’t know what the requirements are when it comes to selecting a communicator.

Natsume: In other words, we only know what the job pertains.

Natsume: Communicators generally face the inmates, in other words you’re going to go up face-to-face with the subjects.

Rei: I’m going up against them? …How is it generally like?

Yui: It’s obvious, don’t you think? You’ll do so with your heart, body, and mind. Basically, you’ll be communicating with them.

Rei: Huh…? I understand the part about the heart, but…wait, what do you mean by body-

Yui: Exactly what I just said.

Rei: --!?

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Rei: C-Communicating with them with my body…? Regardless if it’s on orders by the country, this is a little…

Rei: I can’t do it! I’ve never met them before in my entire life, and it isn’t even ethical in the first place and—

Watabe: Haha…

Rei: !

Natsume: You’re jumping to conclusions way too quickly.

Yui: Seems like I’ve taken this joke a little too far.

Rei: Joke…?

Watabe: There’s only one job for a communicator,

Watabe: To be chat buddies with the subjects since they cannot leave this facility.

Watabe: It’s a straight-to-the-point job with no questionable ethics in play.

Natsume: Well, you’ll still be eaten whole if you let your guard down in here, though.

Rei: Wha-

Yui: Have you not learnt?

Rei: Ugh…it’s a joke again, isn’t it?

Natsume: Sorry, sorry.

Watabe: You can rest assured. Everyone here isn’t all too different from us who lead normal lives.

Watabe: So you can just talk to them like how you do to everyone without base for suspicion.

Yui: Just treat them like normal humans.

Rei: (The more we talk about it, the more confused I get about what I’m even doing in such a facility…)

Rei: Why are the subjects inmates here anyway? What’s the motive?

???: You’ll best bring that up to the chief.

Rei: Huh…?

???: --

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Rei: (Who are they…?)

Imaoji: Nice to meet you, No. 1230. I’m Imaoji, the supervisor of this facility.

Asagiri: I’m Asagiri.

Arakida: …Arakida.

Imaoji: We’ll be protecting you from everything and anything while you’re here.

Asagiri: I’ll bring you to the chief.

Arakida: ……

Rei: I’ll be in your care then…

Watabe: See you, No. 1230.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Chief’s Office ☆⋅⋆

Imaoji: --Pardon the intrusion.

Arakida: We’ve brought. No. 1230.

???: Right on time, I see.

Seki: Glad to see that you’re here. This is the Hattori, the Chief, and I’m Seki, the Vice-chief.

Rei: I look forward to working with you.

Hattori: Chief is just a title.

Hattori: The real Chief of this place is the one who created this place to begin with.

Rei: ?

Seki: This facility was built to isolate people with special conditions and to shield them away from the rest of the world.

Hattori: In the name of justice and love.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Chief’s Office ☆⋅⋆

Rei: ……? Special condition? Whatever do you mean?

Seki: I can’t divulge that.

Rei: Eh…?

Hattori: Well, let’s just leave the complicated parts at that—How about you go meet them instead and see for yourself?

Seki: Let’s bring you to a subject to talk to, where you can do your job as a communicator.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

I followed the supervisor with no questions asked as he took the lead before finally stopping in front of a door.

Arakida: --Here we are.

Imaoji: We’re normally stationed right outside of the room so we’ll be leaving you here.

Rei: I-I’m supposed to go in there alone…?

Asagiri: We’re able to tell whenever there’s an anomaly in the inmate.

Rei: …Alright, I understand.

Imaoji: Before you enter, there’s just one other thing I have to tell you.

Rei: ?

Imaoji: Having a relationship with an inmate is forbidden, so please do watch out.

Rei: I don’t think a relationship’s even possible, given the atmosphere in here…

Imaoji: Heh. Well then, feel free to open the door.

I sucked in a deep breath and turned to face the door.

Rei: (Behind this is a subject who has become an inmate…)

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Room ☆⋅⋆

???: --Oh! You’re here!

Rei: --!?

???: Come on, come on in. Let’s start~

Rei: (He’s way more cheery and optimistic than I expected…)

Rei: Pardon the intrusion.

???: Haha. You can just sit over there. Are you nervous?

Rei: …Yes.

Sugano: Aren’t you an honest one! Actually, we can do away with the polite speech. No need for that here.

Rei: …Okay, sure.

???: I can’t help but to be in high spirits since this is the first time I’ve ever got a communicator assigned to me.

???: I was so excited that I didn’t manage to get even a wink of sleep last night.

Rei: Oh, me too, actually.

Sugano: You too? –Actually, what’s your name?

Rei: Oh...I’m 12-

Sugano: Not your serial number.

Rei: --Izumi Rei.

Sugano: Rei, then. I’m Sugano Natsuki!

Sugano: Hey, Rei.

He suddenly turned to look straight at me, his gaze turning into one of utter seriousness, as if he had just turned into another person; a twin of sorts.

Sugano: Let me out of this captivity.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Room ☆⋅⋆

Rei: Wha-

Sugano: Please? I’m about to go stir crazy from being kept cooped up in this place.

Rei: But…

Sugano: I’ll become yours.

Rei: I’m sorry, what…?

Sugano: I’ll give you anything within my means if you help me.

Rei: Even…Even if you tell me that…

Sugano: ----

Rei: Urk…

Sugano: Just kidding~

Rei: --!

Sugano: I’m joking. It’s just a joke~

He mentioned the word “joke” louder the second time round. He turned to look up. Following his gaze, I could see a surveillance camera mounted on the wall.

Rei: (I suppose they’re listening in to all the conversation that goes on within this room too.)

Rei: (…Well, I suppose that’s to be expected. They are inmates, after all.)

Sugano: But, you know. I’m glad to see people who come in from the “Outside”. They’re always like a breath of fresh air.

Sugano: I do talk to people like You-san, but it’s usually pretty boring in here.

Rei: You-san?

Sugano: Hm? Haven’t you met him? The chief.

Rei: Ahh, you mean Hattori-san!

Sugano: Yup, yup. Pretty handsome, isn’t he?

Sugano: Actually, all the supervisors here have a pretty high facial deviation.

Rei: Now that you mention it…I think you might be right. But, I was so nervous back when I met them, so…

Sugano: What about me?

Rei: Huh?

Sugano: How would you rate my looks?

Rei: You’re…

Sugano: Oh, wait. I think I’m better off not hearing it. I think I might just pin you down if you told me that I was worth a 100 points.

Rei: ???

Sugano: Or are you that sort of communicator, little miss comm?

Rei: I-I’m not going to do it with my body!!

Sugano: Ahaha. That’s a nice reaction. It’s really…how do I put this? Hmm…

Sugano: Like a proper human, I guess?

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

I left Sugano-kun’s room as he saw me off with a farewell line of “Come by soon again!”

Imaoji: Good work.

Rei: Oh, Good work to you too.

Imaoji: I’ll see you to your room.

Rei: Thank you so much.

Asagiri-san and Arakida-san where no where to be found, so I ended up walking alongside Imaoji-san, alone.

Imaoji: How was your first job as a communicator?

Rei: I was a nervous-wreck, overall.

Imaoji: I understand how you feel. The job this time round came by so suddenly, I’m sure you must have it hard.

Imaoji: It’s almost unheard of for a communicator to be privately scouted and hired like you were, so we fully intend to aid you to the best of our abilities.

Imaoji: Do tell us if there’s anything troubling you.

Rei: Thank you.

Imaoji: You don’t have to thank me for it.

Rei: (Whoa…he really does have good looks and a good facial variation.)

For me to be able to think of such thoughts, I suppose my initial nervousness must have worn off. And this must be all thanks to Sugano-kun, since he was such an easy person to talk to.

Imaoji: --Oh?

Rei: ?

In direct line of his vision as he came to an abrupt stop was—

Natsume: I’m telling you, this isn’t anything dangerous at all.

Arakida: Then allow me to check it.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Rei: (The two of them are…having a dispute over something?)

Natsume: It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s not like you have anything to lose anyway.

In his hands was something that resembled a Headgear of sorts, made up of increasingly bizarre and complicated machinery parts.

Arakida: I have. I lost 3 days to sleep…

Natsume: But that was Kotaro-san’s Nutritional Drink at work so that’s not my fault!

Imaoji: What are the two of you standing around here talking about?

Natsume: Ohh, good work.

Rei: Good work today.

I got closer to where they stood and lowered my head.

Arakida: --

Imaoji: Are you asking for experiment assistance again?

Natsume: He’s lumping my experiments together with Kotaro-san’s warped ones!

Natsume: Even though all mine does is to only measure your brain waves!

Arakida: Absolutely not.

Natsume: You seem pretty adamant about it.

Arakida: Tsukasa-san told me to never trust you lot from the Research Department whenever you dish out the word “only”.

Natsume: ……Tsuduki Makoto’s pre-release book.

Arakida: !!

Rei: Wait, you mean THAT famous author?

Natsume: He actually came down here not too long ago seeking data for his new work since it was something science-related.

Natsume: Tsuduki-sensei said that he didn’t mind showing us researchers his new work if we promised not to accidentally leak word of it.

Natsume: So I thought that maybe I could share it with you as thanks for your help.

Arakida: Urk…

Natsume: You heard me, No. 1230. You’ll be able to read it if you cooperate with me; how about it?

Rei: It’s a new work yet to be released to the world?

Natsume: Yup!

Arakida: Damnit…

Rei: But that Headgear…

Natsume: It really only just measures your brain waves. It’s absolutely nothing dangerous at all.

Rei: Then—

Arakida: Wait.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Hallway ☆⋅⋆

Natsume: What is it; Arakida-san?

Arakida: ……I’ll do it.

Natsume: Huh?

Arakida: I’ll cooperate with you.

Natsume: But I’ve already passed it over to No. 1230-

Arakida: Ngh…

Rei: (I-If he’s making such a pained face over this, then I suppose…)

Rei: I’ll back out if he’s willing.

Arakida: --

Rei: (He looks really happy about it…)

Imaoji: Heh.

Natsume: Is that so? I suppose I’ll have to ask Arakira-san to do the honours then.

Arakida: Of course.

He took the Headgear and plopped it atop his head.

--And when he did, an AI spoke from the device, stating “Activation Complete”. …Suddenly, plumes of smoke started billowing from the device.

Arakida: !?

Imaoji: Smoke is…

Rei: Wait a minute, isn’t this…Isn’t this thing burning!?

Natsume: Huh? Wait, this brain wave measuring device’s…

Natsume: Ah! I accidentally brought the one that Kotaro-san prodded at!

Arakida: OI! I CAN’T GET THIS OFF…!!

Natsume: Oh no. Kotaro-san might be the only one who knows how to remove it.

Natsume: Please run to the Research Lab.

Arakida: THIS IS WHY I DIDN’T WANT TO DO IT…!

The both of them made a mad dash for the Laboratory and disappeared down the hallway.

Rei: W-Will they be okay…?

Imaoji: Of course. It’s a usual occurrence after all.

Rei: It’s something that’s normal…?

Rei: (Now I really wonder if I can survive in this facility…)

I rubbed at my eyes that had gotten slightly teary from all the smoke the device atop Arakida-san’s head had been emitting…

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Research Facility: Room ☆⋅⋆

Sugano: What’s with that! That’s so amusing! I want to be there too to see it with my own eyes.

Rei: You think so…? I didn’t see Arakida-san this morning.

Sugano: He might have just overslept. –Want to go pay him a visit?

Rei: Wait…Can you even leave this room?

Sugano: Sure I can. There’s a condition though.

Ran: A condition?

Sugano: You’ve got to put a collar on me.

Rei: (A collar!?)

───⋅𝕿𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊…⋆⋅☆

[miumiu-chan]

Miyase Go STORY 1 Chapter 12-5

Subbed video: STORY-1 12-5

-Home / Entrance-

——4 o’clock in the afternoon.

I brought Miyase-san to my original home for the first time.

[MIYASE]: “Pardon my intrusion.”

[REI]: “Come on in. Ah, here are slippers, too.”

[MIYASE]: “Thank you.”

[MIYASE]: “......This address, I actually already knew it, but”

[MIYASE]: “It really is in the neighborhood to the Kujo House.”

[REI]: “Right.”

[REI]: “——Ah, the other day, when I crossed the intersection in front of the convenience store, I saw that white child-like cat.”

[REI]: “I’m sure it’s the cat’s turf.”

[MIYASE]: “The cat......that’s great. It’s doing fine.”

[MIYASE]: “I was worried because it didn't come to the garden at all recently.”

[REI]: “If I see it next time, I'll take a picture.”

[MIYASE]: “Mn, I want to see it. Next time.”

While exchanging silly conversations, we headed to the balcony.

Going out of the room during bright hours, wasn’t just to avoid the tension of being alone in a closed space.

-Home / Balcony-

[MIYASE]: “......Aa, it’s true. You really did do your best to repair it.”

[MIYASE]: “The flowers look happy.”

I was so relieved to hear Miyase-san’s words when he saw the group planting.

When Kagetsugumi broke into my investigation apartment.

The room was devastated, and even the group planting on the balcony was thoroughly messed up.

The flowers that Miyase-san bloomed in that one pot were destroyed.

[REI]: (The princess lilac and the sweet pea.)

[REI]: (The almeria, the loberia, the sweet alyssum. And also the ficus pumila.)

After the case was settled, I returned safely to the investigation apartment and immediately bought a new pot.

And then I did as much repair as I could.

But——...

[REI]: “The princess lilac was especially trampled, and the flowers had almost withered or were scattered.”

[MIYASE]: “It’s okay.”

Next to Miyase-san, who crouched down slowly before group planting, I also sat down.

[MIYASE]: “Look here. Some side buds are starting to appear.”

[REI]: “Side buds......Ah, you’re right.”

[MIYASE]: “The flowers that had bloomed so far have definitely withered, but”

[MIYASE]: “The stems and leaves are holding out.”

[MIYASE]: “That’s why I'm sure that the beautiful flowers will bloom in the next flowering season and make Rei-san smile.”

[REI]: (The flowers will bloom again. I see......thank goodness.)

[REI]: “Miyase-san, you said it before, right?”

[REI]: “Even if the flowers die, it's not over.”

[MIYASE]: “Yes, it’ll be okay.”

[MIYASE]: “......I can't lie to Rei-san anymore.”

The moment when those reliable words made my face smile broadly,

The last princess lilac flower, which was barely staying on the stem, fell off.

[MIYASE]: “——Or, is what I say, but it’s no good.”

[REI]: “Eh”

[MIYASE]: “I'm very dishonest towards Rei-san.”

[REI]: (Dishonest......?)

My heart began to be noisy.

I also felt it when we were riding the merry-go-round.

I felt like something was wrong. I felt like I was missing something.

Like the flowerless princess lilac?  Like the moonless sky?

——At that warehouse, the moment Miyase-san said “I can't kill” Kujo-san,

The moment he declared, "All the friends here are my family,”

I thought I could believe in this person completely.

I felt that I could decipher Miyase-san’s lies and truths.

[REI]: (But......right now, Miyase-san)

He wasn’t lying but, it didn’t feel like he was telling the truth.

[REI]: “Dishonest, what do you mean?”

I unintentionally stared at him with a strong gaze.

[MIYASE]: “......It means just what it means.”

[REI]: “......H”

My hand was held. 

With a weak force as if feeling for whether he could touch.

Miyase-san, who narrowed his eyes, eventually entwined his fingers deeply and quietly approached with his face.

[MIYASE]: “Rei-san.”

[REI]: (Ah, a kiss——...)

[BOY]: “Uoh! There’s an erotic couple over there~!”

[REI]: “E-Erotic......!?”

[MIYASE]: “Aahaha”

[GIRL]: “I'm sorry for bothering you!”

[GIRL]: “Jeez~ Stupid Takeshi-kun! Let’s hurry and go home!”

[BOY]: “Uwah-, don’t pull~!”

The smiling elementary school duo ran away while swinging their calligraphy bags.

[MIYASE]: “Those kids seemed like good friends last time, too.”

[REI]: “This is also close to the investigation apartment......haha.”

The wind that brought the spring evening blew, and the lingering of the attempted kiss was taken away.

[MIYASE]: “......The sun is about to set.”

[MIYASE]: “It won’t be good to get cold, so shall we head back inside?”

That was equal to Miyase-san already leaving this place.

He said from the beginning that he wouldn't stay long.

-Home / Entrance-

The end of the fun date was at the familiar front door of my home.

[MIYASE]: “Then......thank you for today.”

[MIYASE]: “It was really, truly fun.”

I didn’t want to part yet.

Was it because there were still traces of the discomfort I felt on the balcony earlier?

I felt like I shouldn’t send Miyase-san home as it is.

[REI]: “Um-“

[MIYASE]: “Yes?”

[REI]: “Ah-......Ah, please wait a minute!”

[MIYASE]: “......?”

I knew it was a waste of time, but I picked up that thing and went back to the front door.

[REI]: “This, I thought I wouldn’t be able to return it.”

[MIYASE]: “The apron......”

[REI]: “I properly took it out for cleaning, so”

[MIYASE]: “That apron is already Rei-san’s.”

[REI]: “Eh, but......is that okay?”

[MIYASE]: “Please, take good care of it.”

[MIYASE]: “——No, it’s okay if you throw it away.”

[REI]: “Throw it away......”

[MIYASE]: “Well then, Rei-san.”

[MIYASE]: “Goodbye.”

[REI]: “-......Please wait!”

I impulsively grabbed Miyase-san's hand, who had quickly turned his back.

——The next moment.

[MIYASE]: “Nh......”

[REI]: “!”

In contrast, my arm was grabbed and pulled strongly.

Staggering, I ended up deeply buried in Miyase-san’s chest.

[REI]: “U-Um......-“

[MIYASE]: “I’ve said a lot of terrible things to Rei-san.”

[MIYASE]: “I even forcibly kissed you.”

[MIYASE]: “I've also put your life at risk......”

[MIYASE]: “I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t see his face.

But the voice I heard seemed to sound a little hoarse and very pained.

[MIYASE]: “Towards you......Towards Izumi Rei-san”

[MIYASE]: “-............I,”

[MIYASE]: “........................”

[REI]: “......Miyase-san?”

[MIYASE]: “......I hope Rei-san will always be happy.”

[MIYASE]: “And that you will always be smiling, I......”

[MIYASE]: “I think that, from the bottom of my heart.”

Immediately after I thought our bodies separated, I saw Miyase-san's back disappearing behind the door.

[REI]: “Ah......-“

When I tried to chase after, I noticed.

A necklace around my neck.

The white clover that Miyase-san bought at the spring festival.

Touching the cool resin, I hurriedly opened the door.

[REI]: (He’s already gone......)

-Home / Living-

When I returned to the room, I saw myself sighing in the mirror.

[REI]: “It’s a cute necklace......”

He bought another of the same one, but......it was a matching set, wasn’t it?

And the fact that he gave me this necklace——...

Was it okay to recognize that a new relationship between Miyase-san and I had begun?

[REI]: (......But, what were the words he stopped himself from saying earlier?)

[REI]: (What kind of face was Miyase-san making......?)

I couldn't see it.

The strength of his hug was strong, but I felt somehow that it was weak.

[REI]: (......For some reason, I feel restless.)

Not being able to sit still, I looked over at the balcony.

The group planting came into my sight.

Miyase-san made it, then it broke once, and I tried my best to repair it myself.

[REI]: “Ah, that’s right.”

What I took out of my work bag was the language of flowers pocket dictionary.

Right now, I was curious about the language of flowers for the group planting.

[REI]: (When we planted it, Miyase-san checked it......)

I might have wanted to trace those gentle memories to dispel this mysterious anxiety.

I flipped through the pages.

MIYASE]: “Lobelia is “Chastity and Humility”.”

[REI]: (Eh......”Malevolence” is also written.)

[MIYASE]: “......Almeria is “Compassion and Empathy”.”

[REI]: ““Sympathy”......”

[MIYASE]: “Sweet pea......seems to be “Departure”.”

[REI]: “............“Separation”.”

Thump, my heart began to rampage violently inside my chest.

No.  There was no need to think in an unpleasant direction.

Miyase-san must have been trying to be careful and didn't say the meanings that had negative images.

————But.

[RULONG]: “Little Flower should have understood it from the Hanafuda game earlier.”

[RULONG]: “In Go-chan’s case, not just the cards in his hand, even the set couldn’t properly be seen.”

[RULONG]: “What do you think? I wonder if Little Flower can see through the meaning of the set that Go-chan made.”

[RULONG]: “Rather, Go-chan, you didn’t want to win, right?”

[MIYASE]: “For me, these cards I took are the completed sets.”

[REI]: (Miyase-san’s completed sets......)

He had all the irises of May and the willows of November.

I turned the pages of the language of flowers dictionary with a feeling that I felt like I was going to stop breathing.

[REI]: (If I remember correctly, Miyase-san said that the May cards were Japanese irises.)

[REI]: “Ja......Ja, here it is! The language of flowers is——“

[REI]: ““Happiness is yours”......?”

What was Miyase-san really thinking when he played that Koi-Koi game?

[REI]: “Willow is——...”

“Mourning” “Sorrow of Love”

And also......

[REI]: “———“Freedom”?”

I didn’t know.  The meaning of this set.

Looking for hints, I recalled all the interactions, conversations, and facial expressions I had with Miyase-san.

I was impatient and my hand slipped, and the language of flowers dictionary fell.

When I picked it up in a hurry, I found a beautiful photo of a rose on the page that had opened by chance.

I saw the sentence “The feelings put into gifting rose flowers”, and there was a description of the meanings according to the amount.

[REI]: “Ah!”

[MIYASE]: “Recently, I......really liked the meaning of giving 999 roses.”

[REI]: “999 roses is......”

“I will fall in love with you no matter how many times I am reborn.”

[REI]: “............Even if you are reborn?”

[MIYASE]: “Even if a flower withers, it creates seeds, takes root in the ground, and blooms again.”

[MIYASE]: “......But if humans die without leaving anything, then it is all over.”

[MIYASE]: “I learned that my target of revenge was not the Kujo Family......not Soma-san, but only Kujo Soichiro.”

[MIYASE]: “That man’s ill will should be completely erased.”

[MIYASE]: “After everything was settled, I wanted you to forget about someone like me and be happy.”

[REI]: “Miyase-san————...?”

-Residential Area-

I ran out of the apartment feeling like I wasn’t alive.

Before I knew it, the sky covered with colored clouds spurred my turmoil.

[RULONG]: “Little Flower.”

[REI]: “Rulong-san!?”

[RULONG]: “That state means, you’ve come to realize the meaning of Go-chan’s set?”

[REI]: “Does Miyase-san......-, plan to die!”

It was too painful just to put it in words, and tears came up.

[RULONG]: “Why do you think Go-chan will die?”

[REI]: “He intends to give “freedom”! To Kujo-san!”

[REI]: “If he’s gone, everything left by Kujo Soichiro will disappear from this world......-“

He thinks happiness belongs to the people left behind.

[REI]: “That is the end of Miyase-san's revenge, isn’t it!?”

[RULONG]: “You’re more than I expected.”

[REI]: “Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”

[RULONG]: “Even if I told Little Flower and you tried to persuade Go-chan, Go-chan's will wouldn't change.”

[REI]: “——!”

[RULONG]: “Even if he obtained that true family with Kujo Soma.”

[RULONG]: “Even if Little Flower said “I’ll be together with you”.”

[RULONG]: “Go-chan didn't change his will to die.”

[REI]: “No way......-“

[RULONG]: “Where do you think Go-chan is about to die?”

[REI]: “——The secret room.”

Before I thought about it, a scene came to my mind and it came out of my mouth.

[RULONG]: “Bingo.”

[RULONG]: “If you really understand Go-chan, the Little Flower right now might be able to stop him.”

[RULONG]: “Because not just me, Go-chan also gave that hint only to Little Flower.”

[REI]: “Hint......”

[RULONG]: “Now that Licorice has marked Go-chan, they can forcibly stop his suicide.”

[RULONG]: “But, that would have no meaning.”

[RULONG]: “Go-chan would definitely try to die again.”

[RULONG]: “That's why, Little Flower, I’m asking you, please. Don't let Go-chan die.”

[KUJO]: “I also want to ask that of you.”

[REI]: “Kujo-san!?”

He who suddenly appeared, in his hand was——...A white clover necklace the same as mine.

[REI]: “That......!”

[KUJO]: “It was in a vase in my room.”

[KUJO]: “Kirishima accidentally knocked it down and noticed it.”

The four-leaf clover of happiness for the people you wanted to wear it.

[REI]: (The other one wasn’t for himself, he was going to give it to Kujo-san!)

[KUJO]: “I apologize for asking you to take on such a heavy role.”

[KUJO]: “——But, I want you to keep Go in this world.”

[REI]: “-......Such a, such a situation, why......-“

Finally, the tears overflowed.

[REI]: (I have to stop Miyase-san right now......!)

What if you can’t stop him?

[REI]: (I definitely don't want you to die......!)

Even though you don't know how to keep him from dying?

[REI]: (I don’t know, but———!)

It was all already messed up.

Like the trampled princess lilac.

[REI]: “Miyase-san's will couldn’t be changed even by his two family members.”

At the end of my turmoil, weak words spilled out.

[REI]: “So someone like me, an existence who just met Miyase-san by coincidence——“

[RULONG]: “It was fate.”

[REI]: “Eh......”

[RULONG]: “The encounter between Little Flower and Go-chan was fate.”

[REI]: “!”

[RULONG]: “To be honest, I hate the idea of ​​“You can't resist fate”.”

[RULONG]: “But, Go-chan probably thinks that.”

[RULONG]: “That because the painful reality that has fallen upon him until now and to die was destined, so it can’t be helped.”

[MIYASE]: “It was as if “fate” was telling me that I should definitely complete my revenge.”

[KUJO]: “Go......”

[RULONG]: “If Go-chan wants to be a fate advocate”

[RULONG]: “Then I want to say that Go-chan fortunately meeting Little Flower and saving his life is fate.”

[RULONG]: “That it wasn’t anything like coincidence. It's just wordplay, though.”

[REI]: “Fate......”

[RULONG]: “And this, I���ll give it to Little Flower.”

Rulong-san presented a read paperback book.

[REI]: ““Kokin Wakashū”......?”

[KUJO]: “! That’s......”

[RULONG]: “The seeds in people’s hearts grow into the countless leaves of words——That was me and Go-chan’s secret phrase.”

[RULONG]: “Little Flower has seeds buried in your heart, don’t you?”

[REI]: “Seeds......”

[KUJO]: “......I see. You mean that you want her to convey to Go the feelings she has right now.”

[KUJO]: “I want him to think of living.”

[KUJO]: “Please......”

Kujo-san bowed deeply.

Rulong-san stared at me with strong eyes.

[REI]: (Miyase-san is............an idiot.)

There were so many people here who wished for Miyase-san's future.

Their feelings———...and my feelings.

I won’t let you die.

Definitely.

[REI]: “Either of you, please lend me a car!”

[jumukus]

A3! Event: The Last Runway Chapter 10 Translation

Heads up on the characters’ name! (Kikukawa: Yuki, Minami: Taichi, Hayama: Masumi, Koga: Tenma)

Student A: “I guess Kikukawa will take over the final part in the fashion show this year.”

Student B: “That makes sense. It’s like a hopeless fight.”

Student A: “I want to pair up with Kikukawa~.”

Student B: “That’s impossible. There are a lot of students from the model department who say the same thing. Besides, isn’t it obvious that Koga will pair up with him?”

Student A: “Ah~. Speaking of Koga, it looks like he’ll take part in a collection runway show too. We won’t have any chance at all if he pairs up with a pro.”

“But well, if I can’t be his model, I don’t mind becoming his girlfriend. I can marry into the family who owns that high-end brand KIKUKAWA.”

Student B: “I’ve told you it’s impossible.”

Student A: “If I can’t pair up with Kikukawa, Hayama will do.”

Student B: “Hayama, huh. The competition is fierce if you want to make a pair with him. I heard he’s going to finally start up his brand, after all.”

Student A: “Sighs. Now that I look at the reality, I think it’s better to find a partner quickly.”

Student B: “Right. You’re going to fail otherwise.”

Student A: “I don’t want that!”

Student B: “Well, the model department has more students than the design department, after all. I don’t think we can fail if the gap isn’t too big.”

Student A: “IF the gap isn’t too big, right.”

Minami: “...”

Koga: “Kikukawa, have you found your model?”

Kikukawa: “I haven’t.”

Koga: “Why don’t you pair up with me, then? I can meet your high demands, Kikukawa.”

Kikukawa: “...I’ll think about it.”

Hayama: “Hmm, so you haven’t even decided on your pair. You sure are calm.”

Kikukawa: “It’s not like I have time to be calm.”

Hayama: “Well, you can always use KIKUKAWA’s models when push comes to shove.”

Kikukawa: “We’re not allowed to do that for the final project.”

Hayama: “But if it’s someone from KIKUKAWA, they will allow it, right?”

Kikukawa: “.....”

Hayama: “Let me tell you something: the final part this year will be mine.”

Kikukawa: “Yeah, okay.”

Izumi: (Similar to the first design, Yuki-kun and Masumi-kun’s costumes are casual uniforms, but…)

(Each costumes have distinctive features that suit their own characters.)

(The three of them have high pride even in the play, so it’s great that they can show how the sparks are flying right from the start.)

Kikukawa’s Mother: “Final project is just some student’s games, right. Even if they manage to catch the industry people’s attention, it’s just because their work is new and original.”

Kikukawa: “......”

Kikukawa’s Mother: “You’re already a professional. You should prioritize your job. Don’t put too much focus on your homework.”

Kikukawa: “--.”

Kikukawa’s Mother: “What? Do you have something to say?”

Kikukawa: “...No.”

Teacher: “Is everyone here?”

“For the time being, I will give supplementary lesson to those who fall behind in their final project…”

“This will be like a meeting between those who haven’t found their pair for the show. Those who have found their partners can go home.”

Student A: “Hey, hey. Do you want to pair up with me?”

Student B: “Sure. I’ll be in your care~.”

Student C: “Let’s discuss our concept on our way home.”

Student D: “Okaay.”

Minami: “.....”

Kikukawa: “I’m late.”

Student A: “...Eh, Kikukawa?”

Student B: “I wonder if he hasn’t found his model.”

Student C: “No way. Why hasn’t Kikukawa found his?”

Teacher: “Come in and sit. I’ve already explained this, but you can’t make progress in your final project if you haven’t found your partner. You better hurry and choose yours.”

Teacher: “Have you all chose your partners? Then, all that left is--.”

Minami: “......”

Kikukawa: “Hey, Minami. You don’t have a partner yet?”

Minami: “Eh…? Y-Yeah.”

Kikukawa: “Then, do you want to pair up with me?”

Minami: “Eh!?”

Student A: “You must be lying. He chose Minami.”

Student B: “There’s no way Minami can wear Kikukawa’s clothes.”

Minami: “--.”

Kikukawa: “Do you hear me?”

Minami: “But I--.”

Kikukawa: “Are you going to pair up with me or not? State your answer clearly.”

Minami: “--I-If you’re fine with me.”

Kikukawa: “I get it that you’re short, but it turns out your walking is also bad, huh.”

Minami: “So-sorry…”

Kikukawa: “Do something about it until the D-day.”

Minami: “Say, why did you choose me, Kikukawa? There are other models that you can choose, and yet…”

Kikukawa: “--I don’t really have any particular reason. I’m fine with anyone, so I just chose among the remaining people. Anyone will look decent in my outfits, after all.”

Minami: “--I, I see. You have a point.”

Kikukawa: “......”

Minami: “But for someone like me, I might still be hopeless even if I wear Kikukawa’s clothes…”

Kikukawa: “What are you saying? Are you making fun of my design?”

Minami: “I’m, I’m not! It’s just, I don’t have any talent as a model, I don’t have any sense and I’m short…”

Kikukawa: “We can’t do anything about your short height. But the others are your problems, you know.”

Minami: “But--.”

Kikukawa: “--Aaargh, so annoying! Fine. I’m going to completely revamp you!”

Minami: “--.”

Kikukawa: “You’re not staying in the lines. Do it again.”

Minami: “--Y-Yes!”

Kikukawa: “Your posture is bad.”

Minami: “Yes.”

Kikukawa: “Look at the front.”

Minami: “Ah, yes!”

Kikukawa: “That one is really not good.”

Minami: “Ugh…”

Kikukawa: “You should make the side part more neat and tidy and add more volume to the top. Yeah, that looks good.”

“You’re short, so you’ve got to be careful with your silhouette. It’s basic common sense to understand your figure and choose things that suits your size.”

“Besides, you’ve chosen the brand that you admire--or something like that, right. You’re being rude to the clothes for not wearing the outfits that suit your size.”

Minami: “Uh… you’re right. Poor clothes being worn by someone like me.”

Kikukawa: “Hey, put on this one.”

Minami: “Huh?”

Kikukawa: “This one perfectly fits in your body. It really suits your aura, too.”

Minami: “You’re right… I can’t believe there are clothes that look good on me.”

Kikukawa: “What are you saying? Of course there are.”

Minami: “--Thanks, Kikukawa. I’ll do my best so that I can wear your clothes.”

Kikukawa: “--.”

Minami: “Kikukawa? What’s wrong?”

Kikukawa: “Nothing.”

Izumi: (Yuki-kun and Taichi-kun are perfectly in sync. Since the script is written after deciding on the roles, they play their roles naturally and perfectly.)

(Next is Minami’s performance in the latter half…)

Teacher: “You will showcase your development process at this show. Regardless of your turn and evaluation, the result will merely be temporary.”

“You are also allowed to show the current state of your work. Think of this as something that will help you control the flow of your performance.”

Minami: “We are the third from the last… I’m nervous.”

Kikukawa: “......”

Minami: “Kikukawa?”

Kikukawa: “--.”

Minami: “Are you all right?”

Kikukawa: “Is this really the time for you to worry about other people?”

Minami: “N-No. Well, you’re right.”

Kikukawa: “I don’t plan to show such a halfway-done work at this time.”

Minami: “Kikukawa’s design is flawless! If it’s not, then I’m to blame for that…”

Kikukawa: “......”

Student A: “Hm? Is that Kikukawa’s design?”

Student B: “Hmm, looks like it.”

Student A: “Hmm.”

Student E: “Maybe it’s because the model is Minami, but don’t you think it doesn’t look that great?”

Student F: “I mean, if I were to be honest, Kikukawa’s design isn’t that great in the first place.”

Student E: “Ah, I also thought that a little. It feels like he only has the popularity of his parents’ brand, you see?”

“Even his own brand is basically KIKUKAWA’s secondary lines, right.”

Teacher A: “Hayama is currently in the lead.”

Teacher B: “I wonder what happened to Kikukawa. Unlike usual, his work is lackluster.”

Teacher A: “He might get his hands full on his business.”

Kikukawa: “......”

Koga: “That was such a poor performance. Wasn’t it because you chose the wrong model?”

Hayama: “The problem is beyond that. I don’t get a sense of style from your design. It looks shallow.”

Kikukawa: “--.”

Minami: “It’s not Kikukawa’s fault. It’s because I’m the model--.”

Koga: “That’s obvious. An ignorant amateur like you will only ruin any clothes you wear.”

Minami: “--.”

Hayama: “I’ve told you before. It doesn’t have anything to do with the model. The level of your design is low. I’m disappointed. You’re just riding on your parents’ coattails.”

Minami: “Sorry, Kikukawa. I’m going to work harder.”

Kikukawa: “Why are you saying that when you already work that hard--.”

Minami: “Huh?”

Kikukawa: “......”

Minami: “Are you all right, Kikukawa…?”

Kikukawa: “You asked me why did I choose you before, right.”

Minami: “Yeah.”

Kikukawa: “I thought that if I paired up with a talentless model, they would purely evaluate my design.”

“I want them to purely look at my design, and not because I am the son of KIKUKAWA who has it all--.”

Minami: “...I see, so that’s the reason. If that’s so, why do you give me special training?”

Kikukawa: “I got irritated seeing you being all hesitant.”

Minami: “I, I see.”

Kikukawa: “But you’ve worked hard and began to change. It makes me worried whether I’m good enough.”

“But my eyes are open now. The model isn’t the problem here. I need to think of a way so that I won’t lose sight of my design. That’s the most important thing.”

“I’m stupid for minding what people say about me, that whole ‘he’s riding on his parents’ coattails.’”

Minami: “...I was able to change because of you, Kikukawa.”

“I managed to get into the model department that I had been longing, but I’m short. I don’t even have sense and aura. I was hit by reality.”

“But then you talked to me, who has given up my dream and grew timid, Kikukawa.”

“No matter what your reason was, I would not be able to change for eternity if that didn’t happen.”

“I might be no match for Koga as a model, but I want to wear your outfit, Kikukawa.”

“I want to show the charm of Kikukawa’s design more than anyone else.”

“I’ll do anything in order to achieve that goal. That is why I want you to use me as your model.”

Kikukawa: “I have no intention to change model even if you don’t say that. I could get over my doubts because of you, Minami.”

“I’ll create an outfit that will make you shine the brightest. The ones who are going to land that last spot at the show are us.”

Minami: “Last spot.. Me…”

Kikukawa: “It’s an obvious result. You’re going to wear Lily. K’s clothes, after all.”

Minami: “Y-Yeah. You’re right.”

Kikukawa: “I’ll be in your care, as an equal this time around.”

Minami: “Me too!”

Kikukawa: “You already memorize the programme, right?”

Minami: “Yes.”

Koga: “Heh, so you’re still participating even after being told such things.”

Minami: “Kikukawa’s model is me, after all.”

Koga: “--.”

Hayama: “I hope you don’t embarrass yourself again during the show.”

Kikukawa: “I think you should worry about yourself rather than other people.”

Hayama: “Looks like you’re back to your usual self.”

Student A: “I expect no less from Hayama’s design~.”

Student B: “That looks good. I want it.”

Student A: “Others’ designs look like something that are made by students, but Hayama’s is certainly different. He receives a lot of applause.”

Student B: “Isn’t he pretty much confirmed to take the last spot, then? Who’s next?”

Student A: “The highly touted Kikukawa.”

Kikukawa: “--It’s our turn.”

Minami: “I’m going.”

Kikukawa: “Be confident. That’s the clothes I made for you, Minami.”

Minami: “Yeah. I’m not anxious anymore, since I’m a part of your design, Kikukawa.”

Kikukawa: “Okay--Go.”

Minami: “--.”

Student A: “Whoah…”

Student B: “As expected of Kikukawa.”

Student A: “But don’t you think the model is small? He’s as tall as female models.”

Student B: “I think he’s the perfect choice, though, since the design is unisex.”

Student C: “It looks cute~. I want to wear that!”

Student D: “Isn’t that men’s clothing?”

Student C: “But women can wear that too.”

Student D: “It’s a little bit different than what KIKUKAWA usually makes, but it looks good!”

Student A: “Just as I expected, the one who takes the last spot is one who receives the most applause.”

Izumi: (The result of Taichi-kun’s practice is showing. His walking looks magnificent.)

(Minami looks so confident that it couldn’t be compared to how he looks in the beginning of the play--.)

(There’s no need to worry.)

(The costume that Yuki-kun and Taichi-kun created for this scene made Taichi-kun shine even more.)

Minami: “How, How was it?”

Kikukawa: “Didn’t you say you weren’t anxious before?”

Minami: “Well, yeah, but…”

Kikukawa: “It was perfect.”

Minami: “R-Really!?”

Kikukawa: “It’s the finale. Let’s go on stage together.”

Minami: “Yes!”

Izumi: (Kikukawa and Minami’s strong bond is showing.)

(Yuki-kun and Taichi-kun have always been making costumes together, after all, so that’s to be expected.)

Hayama: “...”

Kikukawa: “I’ve told you not to worry about other people.”

Hayama: “Hmm. As expected of Lily. K.”

Kikuyama: “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Koga: “I don’t think I’m losing here. I’m still better than you as a model.”

Minami: “I know that.”

Koga: “Hmph.”

Minami: “--But I don’t think I’m losing as Kikukawa’s model.”

Koga: “You--.”

Hayama: “Cut it out, stop snapping at them at every chance you have, Koga. I know you’re a big fan of KIKUKAWA.”

Koga: “Wha--.”

Kikukawa: “Ooh. I’ll ask my mom to give you a sample next time.”

Koga: “Eh, seriously!? No, I mean, it’s not like I--.”

Minami: “Haha.”

Koga: “Let me tell you this. I might give away the position for Kikukawa’s model to you, but not KIKUKAWA’s model.”

Minami: “Huh--.”

Kikukawa: “--.”

Koga: “What is it, what’s with that apathetic expression?”

Kikukawa: “Pfft. No, it’s just… You’re right. My design and KIKUKAWA’s are different.”

Minami: “Ahaha. I’m unfit to be KIKUKAWA’s model, you know. I’ll forever be Kikukawa’s model, after all.”

Koga: “What’s so funny about it?”

Kikukawa: “I just didn’t think you would say something so obvious like that.”

Koga: “Haaah!?”

Minami: “Good for you, Kikukawa.”

Kikukawa: “...Yeah.”

Koga: “???”

“What are they saying? Do you get it, Hayama?”

Hayama: “Beats me. It must be Kikukawa’s complex or something.”

Kikukawa: “You’re a real nasty dude.”

Hayama: “Hmph. Next time we will battle it out on stage for professional. You better appear as Lily. K.”

Kikukawa: “You don’t need to tell me that.”

Sakuya: Good job there, guys!

Itaru: GJ, GJ.

Banri: Good work.

Muku: You did great!

Kazunari: GJ!

Sakuya: I’ve never seen a fashion show before, but that was cool!

Muku: Both Taichi-kun and Tenma-kun’s costumes are stunning too.

Kazunari: You guys sure live up to our expectations as the models actor!

Banri: Was the designer course you took effective?

Yuki: Well, it was inspiring in many ways.

Itaru: You suit the designer role, Masumi--you seem very sensitive and prideful.

Masumi: Shut up.

Sakuya: You really gave off the vibe of such designer!

Muku: I expect no less from Tenma-kun, you were great!

Kazunari: You did feel like “The” model.

Muku: Yes, yes!

Tenma: That’s obvious.

Yuki: You didn’t even have to act to bring out Koga’s ore-sama personality.

Tenma: What did you say!?

Banri: Even Taichi really looked like a model at the last part.

Sakuya: Yes. You didn’t look like the usual Taichi-kun!

Taichi: Ehehe!

Yuki: Ah, hold on.

Taichi: Yu-Yuki-chan?

Yuki: I think if we spread the hem a little bit more, your silhouette will look nicer when you walk. I should work on it today.

I’ll be counting on you as my assistant, stupid dog.

Taichi: W-Woof!

Banri: You’re well disciplined as ever.

Izumi: They’re a pair during the play, though…

< Chapter 9 | Masterlist | Epilogue >

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 12

Episode 12 - “One is All, All is One” We open with whoawhoawhoa it’s Beardy from the intro. Papa Elric? Do we finally get backstory on Absent Dad this episode?

Beardy doesn’t look happy about something. And Ed wakes up in shock. More points towards it being Papa Elric, and also it not being the healthiest of families. But hey, this is anime, good luck finding any Protagonist families without Drama. Al says they’re almost at Dublith, asks if Ed was having a bad dream. Then stays oddly quiet when Ed says it was about ‘him’. Jeez, what’s with this guy? In town, both boys are very unenthusiastic about seeing Teacher again. And now the screens suddenly shaking, the door creaks open ominously gah bloody knife what the Oh dear. A very very big man has just stepped outside. Seriously, this guy looks like he could give Armstrong himself a run for his money. [Ed]: “Um… hello, Sig.” [Al]: “Long time no see.” Ah, a butcher! Got it. He’s rather chill about seeing the Elrics after so long, just patting them on the head and commenting on how they’ve grown (and can I just say how it’s adorable for the Giant Fanged Suit of Armor to be happy about having his head rubbed? Daw.) Sig pokes his head through a window, tells “Izumi” that the “Elric Shrimps” have come for a visit, she puts down an Alchemy book and says that she’s feeling a little better today. You’re right Al, that doesn’t sound good. What’s wrong with Teacher? Oh. Oh dear. Ed just got done kicked in the face across the street. I believe I have a good read on Teach, now.

To menacing music, McKickyFace steps outside, looking down on Ed with shadowed face and glowing red eyes. [McKickyFace]: “Hello, my stupid pupil! I hear you’ve become one of the military’s dogs!” And then the creaky door betrays Al’s hiding spot, she turns… and Al’s cuteness factor is unstoppable, McKickyFace instantly transforms to Izumi, commenting on how Al has grown. Aw, that’s nope never mind just a ruse to easily throw Al to the dirt. Jeez, for someone “not feeling well” you’re tossing these chumps around like ah that’s blood. No Teach, I don’t think you’re “perfectly fine.” Sig tells her not to exert herself and oh they’re married. One, that’s adorable, and two, ok that explains why they went to Sig. But above all else that’s adorable. Also funny how their love is so overpowering that Ed’s just standing there unnerved, getting bumped in the head by floating hearts. Inside, the four are sitting around a table, the conversation as typical being about the Philosopher’s Stone. Teacher doesn’t know much about it though, says it doesn’t hold much interest for her. Why’s that, do you know the secret or just have that much faith in your own abilities? Sig contributes that there was one guy in Central who knew about it. A guy called Hohenheim? Whoa Ed what’s wrong? And Al, do you recognize it too? Ah, image of Beardy! Teacher asks why the reaction to the name, Al confirms that it is indeed Papa Elric. Who “ran out” on them when they were little? Damnit man, why do you have to perpetuate the trope of Absent Anime Father? Flashback! Mama and Papa Elric are standing at the door, Baby!Ed and Baby!Al happened to be up early in the morning. Mama’s of course all over her children, but Papa Elric… just glares down at Ed, that’s the only description I can use for that look. Then he turns without a word, and walks out the door. ...seriously? Dude, dick move. So Mama Elric did say later that Papa left, but not with any finality. Then we get various scenes of Mama Elric and the Babies being cute, until… Mama Elric collapsed on the floor. Back in the present, with Ed still lost in Flashback-Land, Ed asks if Papa Elric had said anything about the Stone. Teacher says it was something about a life-long dream coming true. Even happy when he said it. Then she gets up, punches Ed out his sulk, and says that they’re going to eat.

At the dinner, Sig offers Al some food… uh oh. Have the Brother’s really not explained about Al’s state? Wow, really subtle attempt to change the subject to the last episode there Ed. I can tell Sig’s not buying it, he just looks to Izumi drinking her tea. Another flashback? A big storm in their hometown, the young Elrics are looking down with the other townsfolk as men try to keep a sandbag barrier holding against a flood. The wall’s breaking, everyone’s pulling back- except for Teacher, who’s striding past them as the epic string music picks up. With a clap of her hands (ooh, so Ed picked up on not using TCs from her!), she earthbends a bunch of walls up to hold back the river. And then Sweetie Sig walks over with an umbrella as she turns to the crowd. Who don’t recognize her? Ah right, a passerby, she lives in Dublith after all. And then she vomits blood again. Oh dear. Ah, so the boys were too short to see the blood this first time, all they saw was someone being Awesome and Saving The Town. So of course they run up and ask her to be their teacher. Buuut maybe don’t call her “Old Lady”. She refuses at first, she doesn’t teach and she’s just passing through, but when she’s told that they two boys clinging to her arm are orphans? [Pretty Lady]: “How am I supposed to say no to that?” And now for the first lesson: apparently, getting dropped off on an island and left to fend for themselves. Without any alchemy, even. Lady, I have to question your teaching methods.

Titledrop! “One is all… and all is one.” They have- one month?! Good Leto woman, you’re leaving them on their own for a freaking month? Yeah, the boy’s aren’t doing too well their first night. Trying (and failing) to sleep on some palm leaves, stomach’s rumbling. A lesson in wilderness survivalism, then? Ad-break picture of Sig and Izumi looking ready for a fight, shows last name of ‘Curtis’. So what’s their story? Sig seems to be working away as a butcher, a proper butcher unlike a certain Pudgy we’ve met before. But what about Izumi? Where did she get her training, and learn how to do non-TC Alchemy? Aaand where the first picture was of them looking tough, the second is of Big Tough Sig fanning his blood-spitting wife. Lady, maybe you should get that looked at. Oh, show’s answering my question already, apparently they work the butcher shop together. Sig’s wondering if they’re doing alright, Izumi stands by her lesson as being the best way to learn the essentials of alchemy. The same way she was taught, even. Casual throw of sharpened knife to Sig who does a two-finger catch (making me wonder if he has any training?), Big Butcher says he’s more concerned about their lives being in danger. Izumi scoffs, saying her training began with fighting bears for a whole month in the mountains. In winter, no less! ...couldn’t help but notice that you look a bit older that the Elrics in that picture, Izumi. On the island itself, the Brothers have just caught a rabbit in a snare! However, it leaves them with a live rabbit, so they’ll have to kill it themse- Oh that is just not fair. Rabbit’s going full Cute Anime Mode to avoid being dinner. The Brothers are playing Hot Potato with the knife to avoid using it. Until a passing fox takes advantage of the easy meal, and runs off with the rabbit. But look! The fox took the rabbit to feed its cubs! Aw, that’s sweet. Then the cubs start eating, and the Brother’s quickly decide to try fish instead. Yep, kinda hard to fish without rods. Maybe you can carve a spear? Or just build a lean-to, and go without food for a few more days. Yeesh, Ed’s not doing too well. Had a moment where he hallucinated Al as food and chomped, and now is alternating between nomming on ants and screaming about how gross they are. Oh, turning point! Ed’s talking about how he’s alive because he ate the ants. Um, no? I seriously doubt those few bugs gave you enough calories to make up for a few days foodless. Or rather it’s a metaphorical thing, how Ed’s alive because he consumed life. And then I guess he resolves that if he’s going to eat life to live, and by Leto he’s going to be at the top of the food chain! Cue montage of the Brothers going all Lord of the Flies, fashioning tools, chasing down a rabbit and killing it before a passing fox this time, starting a fire. They even get to the point that they toss some cooked food to the fox cubs in passing. Finally, it’s the night before Teacher’s to come back. Al asks Ed if he’s figured out what she meant by “One is all, and all is one.” Ed confirms that after he ate the ants, he thought his body feeding the ants, going to earth and becoming grass that the rabbits would eat... ...if I wasn’t doing a Professor Moody theme this episode, this would be a perfect spot for a Lion King gif. So yeah, Ed thought about the food chain. But also the island, how long ago it was under water, and thousands of years from now it could be the top of a mountain. It’s an “all things are connected” lesson, how in the span of the cosmos even our Main Characters are smaller than ants are to them. Test time! Teacher arrives and asks for their answer. [Al]: “All is one!” [Ed]: “And one is me!” Teacher… bursts out laughing? But she accepts the answer, and says the real training starts now. Now in Dublith, Teach is casually reading a cookbook while she lectures about TCs as the basis of Alchemy and absently spars with the Brothers. Sick moves lady, her technique seems to be all about deflecting and redirecting their attacks. That’s Judo, I think? Reviewing the lesson, Al calls her out on not using TCs when she casts, they ask how she does it. Teacher says something cryptic about herself being the matrix, that it might be something they learn if they see the truth. Wait… truth, or ‘Truth’? And yup, Ed wakes up with a realization: Teacher has seen the truth too. The next day, the Brothers are meeting with Teacher in the front yard, presumably to ask her. But she suddenly Alchemizes a spear from the wall, strikes out at Ed who has to TC-less change his arm to a blade in defense. That, on top of Al being armor and Ed missing two limbs confirms it for her: Edward’s seen it too. Which begs the question: how did Izumi see the Truth? Did she try Human Transmutation too? Yep, she did. And the rebound struck her… stomach. And in the center… Ah. That’s who she was trying to bring back. Izumi confirms the sad tale, why she committed the taboo. And when she says that it must have been awful for them, the Elrics adopt their customary bravado about it. ‘Not a big deal’, Al’s got his list of stuff to do, ect ect... [Izumi]: “You darling little idiots. It’s ok to hurt.” ... [Ed]: “Forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry, Teacher.” [Ed]: “Please forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry.” [Ed]: “Please forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry.” Flashback to the island, the young brothers expounding on living being the deconstruction and reconstruction of old life to new life [Ed]: “Alchemy is part of that flow. And the flow is life itself.” End-credits. Oof. Started out as a mostly amusing episode, was mostly looking for details on Absent Papa Elric. But nope, Brotherhood continues to be brutal to my emotions.

[heart2theocean]

When the sky cries

Drabble on the angst @tsundere-model

The first hint was an obvious one. It was impossible to miss. Band aids covering bruises and cuts he’d never expected seeing. Red marring usually softly pink lips.

“Woah, Senacchi, what’s up with that? Got in a fight or something?” he laughed in a carefree tone, a hand patting Izumi’s small shoulder a couple of times. “So even you can do manly things once in a while~”

He figured acting worried would only make the other avoid the conversation altogether, so he might as well laugh it off.

“What’s that even supposed to mean? I’m a guy too, you know” Izumi huffed, rolling his eyes ever so lightly. He didn’t run off, though “It wasn’t a fight though. I just… hit myself with a door. I was tired.”

That was the second hint. His worry growing deeper.

There was no way the Izumi Sena would let his face get hurt in such a stupid way. Kaoru had already seen him dropping into the weirdest positions and using all sort of things to guard his face from harm. It would often seem as if Izumi cared more about his face than about his life…

Which wasn’t the problem right now.

“No way~ Just how tired do you have to be to hurt your face like that? Isn’t it worth like a billion yen or something?” he tried to push the topic a bit more, remembering something silly he’d heard Izumi say once, a long time ago.

“You sure remember the silliest things, Kao-kun” Izumi sighed, crooking an eyebrow and looking up at him. He didn’t sounded mad, just puzzled.

That look lasted but a second, a self-conscious movement making him lower his face and stride ahead right after, leaving Kaoru to his own thoughts.

--

It really was a strange sight.

That of Izumi’s face… looking not so perfect.

Turning around to give him of the handouts, as he was in the seat right in front of him, the morning sun hit his face diagonally, making shadows across his cheeks.

This was a familiar sight. Izumi turning around like this, a paper on his hand, the sun making him look almost divine.

Except today, the usually perfect shapes of his face were broken. His lip a bit raised up as it was inflamed around the red cut on the right side. His nose lightly bruised with a bandage of top that made him look a bit like a trouble child… a small cutesy band aid on his cheek that seemed almost out of place in a boy. Almost.

He’d never realized –not until now anyway- of how used he was to Izumi always looking right.

It just felt like the natural order of things. Like something that would never change.

The sun would always rise up, and Izumi would always look perfectly pretty.

Yet today, the order was broken, and he was left staring blankly ahead.

“Kao-kun…” returning to himself, Kaoru saw nothing but white in front of his eyes. Well, white with a bit of kanji written on it.

Blinking a couple of times, he realize Izumi had just hit him with the handout, probably trying to get his attention. The paper now lowered, he could see beyond it, the not so amused face of his best friend. He was frowning, lips pursed and blue eyes glaring. Kaoru’s own reflection still looking a bit lost from inside those perfect pools of blue.

“What you spacing out for? So annoying~” the phrase was so like Izumi, it made it obvious this wasn’t some daydream. It was the truth.

“Sorry, sorry~ Was thinking about something else~” he said, not really lying, yet not telling the truth. His fingers grasping at the paper in front of him.

Izumi sighed, lips pursing lightly. The wound in his lip opening just a bit… just enough to make his frown deepen.

“Idiot” he called, turning again so he could focus on his paper.

--

“Senacchi?” he called out, surprised at the sight of Izumi walking towards the front gate.

The sun was still high in the sky… Izumi was never out so early?

Waving off at Kanata, Kaoru rushed towards the small silver haired that had stopped walking to look up at him confused.

“What’s up? Why you out so early?” he asked, tilting his head lightly to the side.

“Mn. Nothing much” Izumi replied in a single breath, looking away as he talked.

He was lying.

That was the third hint.

“Well, if you’re free you should come with me to the arcade” he joked. Tested, actually.

“Mn… just for today” Izumi agreed.

That was the fourth hint.

Izumi was all too stoic to agree so easily… even if Knights’ usual practice was cancelled for some reason, Izumi would surely want to practice on his own.

“Then let’s go” he smiled, trying to ignore the growing dread inside of him.

--

“Man, you’re way too good at that dancing thing” Kaoru sighed, leaning back against a chair in a café not too far away from the arcade.

“You’re just too bad at it” Izumi smiled lightly. Just with half of his mouth –the one that wasn’t red and swollen and tainted with a scab. And it felt like he was only smiling so Kaoru wouldn’t worry.

“I’m actually surprised though” he decided to bring up, sitting up straight.

“Mn?”

“That you came here, instead of practicing at home or something. You’re always practicing” He said, as cheery and uncaring as he could manage to make his voice sound without it straining.

“Am I?” he asked back, staring at the cold water glass in front of him and rolling it around so the ice will hit against each other “Just today won’t hurt. I don’t think practicing today will make any difference”

That was the fifth one.

And he wasn’t going to wait for a sixth one.

“Why wouldn’t it? Did something happen?” he asked, tone dropping right away. Quite serious now.

“Huh? N-nothing, really” Izumi averted his gaze, raising his glass to take a sip. A bit too fast, the cold against the wound on his lip making him flinch.

“I can tell. Unlike you I have gotten into fights before, and I can definitely tell you didn’t hit a door. There are marks of knuckles on your face” he finally dropped.

They were at a café, waiting for their meal. Izumi couldn’t quite run away right now.

“… Stop it Kao-kun” Izumi asked, looking uncomfortable.

 “I’ll stop when you tell me what happened”

“You wouldn’t understand” he hissed, a breathy tone in the back of his throat.

“Well I sure as hell can’t understand if you don’t tell me” he insisted.

It felt like Izumi might flee if he was given a chance. So he refused to give him some, leaning closer to him.

As he did, izumi curled around his bag. As if he was protecting something in it.

Reaching forward he yanked it away from the slender white hand of the model, a yelp and a cry, as Izumi tried to get it back to no avail.

He rummaged through izumi’s books and papers and so many useless things, and finally his eyes stopped on something.

A signed… filled out… drop out form.

I Izumi Sena, will officially drop out from Knights.

He could feel the blood draining from his face, as he looked up at Izumi. At that face that confirmed all his worries and dissipated none.

“Hey… Senacchi… w-what’s this?” he asked, lightly. A part of him still hoping it would be a joke. That at the very least, it wasn’t related to that pretty face being all broken.

Izumi didn’t answer.

“I asked you! What, is, this?” he asked again, more firmly, dropping izumi’s bag to the floor, its contents spilling right away. His now free hand reaching for Izumi’s wrist and tightening around it. “Tell me”

He hadn’t cared about a man this much in maybe forever.

He surely hadn’t cared about anyone, this much, for a while.

But he was trying. To make friends, to take care of them. Just like Izumi was trying in his own –wrong- way. He was sure.

“Just… talk to me, won’t you? We’re friends right?” he was trying so hard, and Izumi wouldn’t bulge, looking the other way.

The food came, so he released the captive hand and picked up the bag, and filled up with everything once more.

Izumi was crying without shedding a tear.

--

It was nothing but silence afterwards, but at least Izumi didn’t run off the second they were done paying.

Instead he walked silently by kaoru’s side, holding his bag tightly.

The sun had gone already, and the lights of the city didn’t let one single star be seen.

They walked side by side, the neon lights of the commercial district falling over them.

They crossed the street, through the many people, and bumped against each other as they walked to the bus station.

And as they left the commercial street, and the sounds of the night seemed to die out, he felt Izumi leaning just a bit closer.

They finally stopped, standing under the plastic ceiling of the bus stop.

They would have to wait a few more minutes.

“…I decided to leave” Izumi started, gently, so quiet it almost seemed as just another breath rather than words “I- I always ruin everything. I’m not a good idol… and I’ve certainly done more wrong than good for Knights I just…”

Kaoru remained silent. His hand reaching up to pat Izumi’s ever so soft hair.

Izumi’s body shook, as if he was crying. But there were still no tears in the blue of those eyes.

“Sakuma… Ritsu… wanted me to talk with Tsukinaga”

It felt so weird to hear their names rather than their nicknames, even for Kaoru himself, and he had to make an effort to put faces to the words.

“Your ex?” he decided to drop, since Izumi wouldn’t say anything else. Izumi nodded quickly.

“He wanted me… to ask him why he was sad or something. Like… I don’t know? Why should I know? Ever since he left I have no idea what he’s thinking”

Kaoru nodded, understandingly. He’d heard a tiny bit about it. A passing note about how Izumi’s first love –and first boyfriend- had never even kissed him.

“And then… Tsukinaga was listening and I… told him I was going to drop Knights… and then he got mad. And Ritsu too and…” izumi stopped for a second. He wasn’t making much sense by now, but Kaoru was trying his best to sew everything together “… Ritsu hit me.”

…

Kaoru could feel his blood boil.

“and he left, so I had to… take Tsukinaga to the infirmary… and he kept trying to tell me that he loves or something… but… I know he isn’t saying the truth. He told me… it was all my fault that Knights was doing badly. That I wasn’t good enough for his songs… I don’t think… I don’t think he ever… loved me?”

He could hear Izumi’s voice, breaking bit by bit.

He had no words to say.

Not at all.

He knew nothing of Knights. That much was true.

But he knew Izumi. He’d seen him since they entered the school. He’d seen him change… and always try his best. And now that they were finally friends, he knew how kind he could be.

Reaching around Izumi with an arm, he brought him close for a side-hug.

Izumi chuckled, and leaned on.

“I thought you didn’t like being close to men”

“Shut it. You’re crying, so this is an exception.”

“I’m not crying” 

[twinfanfics]

The tale of the three head beast: the marching fishes (11/21)

Second part of the tale of the three head beast series, our extra large Digimon Game of thrones Au, you can read the first part The chosen children Here and here, or look for the tag  3t3hb  on this blog.

And you can read all past chapters of the marching fishes in the links below

ACT 1. ESCENE 1: THE RAIN

ACT 1. ESCENE 2: THE WILL  

ACT 1. ESCENE 3: THE TRIP

ACT 1. ESCENE 4:THE SON

ACT 2. SCENE 1: THE ARRIVAL

ACT 2. SCENE 2: BROTHERHOOD

ACT 2. SCENE 3: MOTHER | **warning suicide attempt**

ACT 2. SCENE 4: THE BATTLE OF THE IKKAKU ISLAND

ACT 3. SCENE 1: THE INTERROGATION

ACT 3. ESCENE 2:  DELIVERY

ACT 3. ESCENE 3: RED DRESS: 

The Queen Sora tries to live with the problems in the palace that the war had caused.  

The Crown had declared the veto. On the Capital of the Living Land it was forbidden the loud music, the festivals and the civil unions. The Light dedicated all its religious mass at the well being of the King, the pagans painted black signs over their doors and every child that dare to born on the time of the veto was named after the King or one of the heroes that hadn’t return to home yet.

On the middle of the angst of the city, was The Queen, inconsolable woman who soon could be an inconsolable widow, left behind without a heir.  Sora tried her best to pass all her anger for sadness. Taichi had left her to fight in a war that didn’t need him, just to pass his time on the company of some beauty that wasn’t she; and if he died by his stupid decision the royal family, The Light and the royalty of the Burning Mountains are going to argue all over if she had to conserve the throne or it is going to pass to Hikary Yagami, who hold the blood of The King. The right to be Mother Queen.

“Mother Queen” a soft voice called Sora.

To her surprise it was Hikary Yagami the only one who called that. The irony of the life she gues.

“Mother Queen” Hikary called again “The kids wish to sing a song on your honor”

She passed the morning listened at the children, surprised that they can sing when they barely eat. She could go at the orphans and the refugees and let the people get amused by her present, but no matter how many times Hilary explained the blesses of the crown, the Queen still felt that standing and clapping was quite useless.

At least the young girl has recovered the color of her face. Sora cannot stopped to remember the trembling of the girl who jumped of the balcony.

“Thank you, for all of this Mother Queen” the girl repeated with dearest “You truly doesn’t need to do me any favor”

“Don’t talk like that” the queen answered “you are part of my kingdom and the sister of my husband, we are family Hikary”

Takuya opened the door of the royal carriage and the princes and the Queen found them face to face of Takeru who was guarding the Queen.

Hikary left the carriage with hurry and run discreetly at her chambers. The prince was a statue looking at her missed steps and as soon as the Queen called for him he left, leaving Sora alone with Takuya.

“You had to apologize at the prince, your majesty, he is passing…”

But the Queen just walked by him and entered the castle. The day was young and she was unoccupied. She was bored of the drama of the children. Hikary Yagami had to be able to get the vows at the Light and Takeru must to married one of the many, many girls who would jointly passed the rest of her days with the handsome prince. But the life wasn’t that easy.

Walking by the palace, she heard voices on the war room.

“I assure you that your fears are senseless” it was the voice of the summon alchemist “the King is going to come back victorious”

“You cannot know that” it was the voice of her mother “we hadn’t  had notices from the expedition since they left, it is a war, he could be death”

“I trust that the true god of the Light would kept him safe”

“And I know that I am not the only one worried by the survived of The King”

“Madame?”

“Or are you going to tell me that The Light has no words about the married of the sister of the King”

“The wellbeing of our sister Hikary is one of my biggest concerns and you had know by now that I had insisted with the King and Queen of the burning mountains to aloud their daughter to do the vows” Said the alchemist after an unusual pause. The heart of the Queen raised at the possibility of freedom for the poor girl.

“The married of the princess of the mountain and my nephew is a trick to snatch the throne from my daughter”

“I don’t really understand why you called me to this reunion, your highness”

“Because the cousin of the King is serving on the army of The Light and if the King doesn’t come back my daughter is going to need to marry him as soon as possible”

Before the Summon Alchemist answered Sora opened the door.

“Mother!” the Queen scream “what are you doing?”

“Darling, you come back early”

“What are you doing?”

“Some business with the summon alchemist, nothing that you had to care about”

“How you dare? how you dare to discuss my remarried when the King is still in the war and at my back”

“This is not are your back” the oldest woman said as she fans herself with boredom.

“Don’t you think that I had to be present to discuss my own marriage?”

But the mother didn’t answered.

“It is my duty as the royal adviser and your mother to look after you, darling”

“Majesty” Sora said “you had to call me Majesty, I am the Queen”

Toshiko stand up and left the room without hesitation.

Sora stayed, imagining a thousand of ways to stab her.

“If you allow me to said it” the summon alchemist talked “the King is going to came back with life”

“I don’t allow you to tell me nothing” the Queen said “You are not qualified to give me any advice”

The Queen turned the back at him and walked at the door.

“You must converted at the Light” the man said “you need better advices that the ones that your mother could give you, your majesty”

Sora closed the door behind her, letting the mysterious man alone.

Her mother want to married her again, her husband could be death or loving another person and the woman who was her biggest threat was the kindness and sadness  girl that Sora had never know.

The castle was in silent when the night arrived. Sora was tired of the stillness. The dresses weighed over her body,  the mute of her mother and her court were even heavier on her heart.

She undressed herself and take the black hood over the old dirty armor that she had stolen some years ago.  As so many nights before The Queen opened her widow and scaped  to came to the highest room of the highest tower of the castle. She closed the door and ignited the torches on the ceiling. Only the birds on their nest wake up.

Sora knew that this secret was also a lie. The Light was watching. The guard could see the light turning on in the tower. Takeru was skilled enough to noted her absent. Even then, she needed to do it this way. So everyone could lie to each other.

She had a sword, a bow, an axe and a spire. And a little room. And her anger, her energy to waste against imaginary enemies. The wedding dress was hanging close to the door, she could cut it the times that she wanted and sew it together the next morning. A pass of her sword and it was parted again, the heavy skirt fell to the ground as the breastplate was still haggin of the ceiling.

How much she hate that dress. She cursed the day of her wedding, when the Light come to overshadow her father's legacy. When Taichi made her promises that he cannot fulfill. When her mother sell her to best bidder.

She was sweaty, tired of moving the sword, to jump and exercise for a war that she cannot win. Why everyone could fight except she? If only she could left the King, punished him for his ridiculous coldness, if only she could kill Izzy Izumi.

She stopped at the thought. The summon alchemist, the head of the Light on the Capital, death by her hand. She could started a real fight against The Light. What a silly thought. A silly and stupid child hidden in a tower imagining killing the men that make her unhappy.

A noise on the stairs and the Queen turning to saw at the intruder.

“What are you doing here?”  Her mother asked with an annoyed tone.

“You know what I am doing here”

“You are embarrassing yourself and me”

“Yes, this is so about you”

“Well, if I it’s not me, why don’t you tell me what is wrong, darling?”

“What you think? The Kingdom, the war, the people on the street with hunger and cold, the Light hunting sinners, the name of my father dying and you doing nothing to help it.”

“I have done everything to help you.”

“You married me with a liar!” Sora yelled.

“I married a liar! All the Queens had married liars and murders and stupid, stupid men, Sora, that's what we had to do.” Toshiko scream too “I convinced a King to married me with tricks and low lies so my daughter could had dozens of kings fighting for married her, who cares about your dump husband Sora? he could had been the first of many, the only thing that you should had done was to be pregnant for when he had left you, but your little pride got in the way. God know why you are like this.“

“You think I’m don’t want to get pregnant?” the girl asked incredulous

“I think god doesn't want you to be pregnant, your to weak to raise children.”

“It’s all your work, mother”

The cold hand of her mother slapped her on the face.

Sora scream and cry as she raised the sword that she still hold on her right hand.

The sword stopped at an inch of her mother´s neck. The older woman doesn’t even blink, her cold eyes were over her wrecked daughter.

“You should be better than this” She whispered.

Sora dropped the sword and lost the least of her sanity. Her both hands pushed her mother away of her, the queen mother backed down to steps, her left foot get tangled with the skirt of the old wedding dress and the right one slipped on the worn floor. Sora saw the dark stairs behind her mother and raised her hand to pull her safe, but her fingers get an inch of her mother’s. Toshiko fell and Sora saw red blood over her wedding dress at the bottom of the stairs.

Suddenly, the silence of the night turned terrified.

“Mother” Sora called on a quiet voice. But there was no response. The bloody body kept inmovil on the bottom of the stairs.

I had to go and check her, I had to go and help her, maybe she just need help

Sora repeated the words on her head. But her legs were on the floor and her arms were trembling as her chest and her lips.

“Mother” she repeated.

The bird on the high nest over the ceiling fluttering its wings, trembling one of the torch.

Sora looked over the small creature and its small eyes. If only it would be her only witness.

The mortified girl stand up and extinguished all the torches on the ceiling, living the room on the darkness. She could left the place, pretend that she never left her chamber, fake surprise when someone found the death queen.

Since the dark of the night on the highest tower, Sora saw a light, a tiny candle shining on the window of the tower of the Light´s church. She could not saw with clarity who was the figure standing on the window holding the candle, but she can guess. The Queen light up a single candle on the window and for a moment, it felt as a conversation. The light on the other window extinguished. And Sora waited.

The Queen finally came down the steps until the corpse of her mother. Her neck was broken and the white wedding dress was impregnated with the blood. Sora kneel next to her and closed her eyes.

A calmed steps are getting closer. The Queen turned to face at the Summon alchemist who had come with two guards behind him. He had a candle on his right arm and she still had the old armor.

“I will turn into the Light” She said “And you are going to fix this”.

He agree with a small reverence and she saw a spark of light on the dark eyes of the alchemist.