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alicescaling · 5 months ago

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Brothers Conflict DENGEKI Girl’s Style Premium Short Story

Masterlist.

This was originally published as a Dengeki Girls Style Premium Story, but was later included in the Brothers Conflict Decade & Love light novel (which is where I read/translated it). Please enjoy!

It won’t end with a summer romance.

It’s a cloudless, blue sky. The midsummer sun shines brilliantly. Before my eyes, the ocean glimmers brightly.

Tsubaki: “This suuuuuucks…”

No matter where I look, there are lovey-dovey couples everywhere. And yet, even when I look away…

Wataru: “Let’s goooo, Yuu-kun!”

Yuusuke: “Jeez! Wataru, you’re getting too worked up…”

They’re like kindergarteners in a sandbox. To make matters worse, that sand flies out towards the parasol that I’m sitting under and hits me.

Tsubaki: “Hey, Yuusuke. You mind taking that over to the ocean or something—?”

Yuusuke: “Whaa, no way. Playing in the water with a little brat’ll make me seem like some sorta desolate guy or something.”

What kind of pride does Yuusuke think he has..?

Tsubaki: “Got it, whaaatever.”

If these guys aren’t gonna move, then I’ll just have to move instead.

(I wish Azusa were here… or even just Natsume.)

I find an empty seat at the edge of a less crowded part of the beachside, at the clubhouse, and sit down.

(It wasn’t supposed to be like this at first, though…)

★☆★

Masaomi: “Hey, everyone. This weekend, would you like to go stay overnight at the ocean?”

After dinner, Masa-nii had said that the day before yesterday.

Ukyo: “This is terribly sudden. What brought this on, Masaomi-niisan?”

Masaomi: “Mmhm– the truth is, Mom’s the one who asked me. Here.”

Masa-nii takes out a tablet. Reflected on it is the home page for a resort hotel.

It’s a small, compact establishment that only has five rooms. On the other hand, though, all the rooms are concept rooms that were made by famous designers.

Tsubaki: “It’s in… Shonan, huh. Hmmm, not bad. We could also head to the beach. Right, Azusa?”

Azusa: “That’s true. It’s a little secluded, too, which means it’ll be quiet at night.”

Masaomi: “It seems that the owner is a friend of Mom’s…”

Originally, the day after, a party of tourists had reserved the entire place for themselves. Then, they suddenly cancelled. The owner, in a difficult position, said that they would book the place for a cheaper price if that worked.

Tsubaki: “Sounds good to me~ It’s pretty close by.”

Azusa: “It’d also be helping someone else out. I won’t be able to join until the second day, though. I have work the first day we’d be there.”

Kaname: “By the way, Masa-nii, what about Imouto-chan?”

Masaomi: “Ahh, a little while ago, she said she’d come.”

At that moment, the atmosphere in the room changed.

Kaname: “I see. In that case, I’ll come too. All the rooms are for two people, right? Haha, I’m looking forward to it.”

Wataru: “Kana-kana, there’s no waaaay I’ll–”

Ukyo: “..... Wataru. Don’t make such an unbecoming face. Kaname, our sister will be getting a room for herself. Naturally, of course.”

Yuusuke: “I-I wanna go too! Even if you say I can’t, I’m goin’ anyways.”

Wataru: “Me too! I can, right, Maa-kun?”

Suddenly, the room went loud and boisterous as everyone erupted into noise.

Azusa: “But if the hotel only has five two person rooms, then the max capacity is ten people. Is it alright if we all go?”

Masaomi: “Ah, that’s…”

Masa-nii explained that some of our brothers had already said they wouldn’t be going.

Louis: “Mmm, I can’t. I’m booked.”

Subaru: “I’ve got training camp starting the day after tomorrow.”

Iori: “You want me to go out with Kaname-niisan? … laughable.”

Masaomi: “And I also called the brothers outside the mansion, but…”

Fuuto: “Don’t ask me stupid questions. I already told you that I’m on location through next week.”

Natsume: “The sea? Hmmmm…. I’d like to go, but I have a business trip this weekend.”

Hikaru: “Yeaaaaah, sorry. I can’t go outside right now due to various circumstances. Please don’t come looking for me… ciao.”

Masaomi: “In which case, the ones who’ll be joining are…. Kaname, Tsubaki, Yuusuke, Wataru, and on the second day, Azusa, too. Ukyo, can you go? The truth is, I have a patient I’m worried about, so I’d like to stay.”

Ukyo: “Understood. I’ll go in your stead.”

Kaname: “So with Imouto-chan, that makes seven people going. Mhm, in which case, we should be fine. …. guess it’s decided, then.”

At that moment, a single aspiration– no, a single dream– was born in my heart.

The truth is, the results of an audition I’d had were due to come out the day after the next.

It’s for an anime adaptation of a really popular video game. Of course, I like it too, but above that, it’s for a game that she loves.

I’d gone for the lead role. I’d gotten a really good response, so I was super confident that I’d get it.

(A nice hotel, the summer seaside… that’s when I’ll reveal it to her. “I got the lead role for the anime based off that game”.)

It’d be a total win for me, wouldn’t it? Seems like the tides are turning my way, right?

The night before we headed out, my heart beat so fast in my chest I could barely sleep.

★☆★

— Then, the appointed day. That is to say, today.

The day that would be jam-packed with meaningful memories and milestones… at least, it was supposed to be.

The first incident of the day happened right as we were getting ready to leave.

Ukyo: “What’s wrong, why does your face seem red?”

She’d suddenly fallen ill with a fever. Like, seriously?!

Luckily, though, it seemed like her fever was already going down with a little bit of rest. That, at least, was a relief.

Ukyo: “We’ll wait and see how she’s feeling in a day. Kaname, you take everyone else and head on before us. We’ll join you tomorrow with Azusa.”

Kaname: “Got it. Sounds good. I’ll keep up appearances for Mom, since we already said we’ll be going. I’m trusting Imouto-chan with you, Kyo-nii.”

Ukyo: “Of course, please leave her to me.”

Kaname: “That being said, don’t let yourself get swayed by any wicked desires while you’re attending her, okay?”

Ukyo: “......... please don’t lump me in with the likes of you.”

I wonder how she’s doing? I’ll have to ask Azusa to keep a close eye on her later.

(Even so, she won’t be coming…..)

To be honest, I was a little disappointed. Still, her health takes priority.

I encouraged myself, getting into the car. We left Tokyo, my spirits lifting a bit once I started to smell the scent of the ocean.

Which leads us into the next incident.

“About that popular anime you auditioned for the other day…”

Once we got to the hotel, I’d received a call from my manager.

“You see, unfortunately, the lead role went to someone else.”

Eh—!!!!

“But that being said, the original author of the work was really impressed by your audition. So impressed that he’s offering you a different role.”

The role of the protagonist’s best friend. Of course, that isn’t bad at all. Any other day, and I’d have no objections. But…. but today of all days!

(Haah….)

She isn’t here. I didn’t get the lead role.

(What was even the point of coming all the way to Shonan, then!? If I know things’d be like this, I would’ve just stayed home and watched a bunch of anime in my room!)

I set my luggage down in my room, and by the time I got to the beach, my mental state was completely wrecked.

★☆★

Kaname: “Why’re you in a place like this?”

Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice call out from nearby.

Tsubaki: “Ah, Kana– huh?!”

Just as I thought, it was Kana-nii who’d called out to me. But he isn’t alone. There’s a woman hanging off of each of his shoulders.

Both of them are showing off their bodies, wearing tight, incredibly revealing swimsuits.

“Hey, who’s this kid?”

Kaname: “Ahhh, he’s my friend.”

“Ehhh~ He’s cute~ The two of you are really good looking~”

Kaname: “Thank you! Let’s all get along, okay?”

“‘Kaaaay~”

I’m pretty sure Kana-nii went off to go buy drinks about ten minutes ago.

And somehow, in only that amount of time, he’s managed to get us into this situation.

Tsubaki: “Kana-niiiii, you’re totally moving too fast.”

Kaname: “Hm? No I’m not. They’re the ones who asked “how about we play together”. Right?”

“Yuuuuuuup.”

“Right~”

Even though he says that, I’m pretty sure that he’s got an atmosphere about him that makes people wanna talk to him. Like some sorta pheromone.

“What’s he mean by “Kana-nii”? Do you two happen to be brothers~?”

Kaname: “Hm? Ahh, no, we aren’t. But he is like a little brother to me, though.”

Woooooah woah woah, we’re totally fully blood related.

Kaname: “My name’s Takanari. So he combines the second and third kana of my name to make “Kana-nii”.”

He says this all as naturally as breathing. And what’s with the fake name?

Kaname: “And over here is…. Tarou.”

What’s up with that random name?

Maybe my irritation is starting to show on my face. Kana-nii slips his hand away from where it was holding one of the girls’, and he whispers to me.

Kaname: “Please put up with it. Who knows what kind of articles the press would come out with if they found out a famous voice actor was flirting around.”

Tsubaki: “I’ve got nothing to do with this. I don’t even wanna flirt with these girls anyways.”

Kaname: “....... huh.”

A slightly mischievous smile rises to Kana-nii’s face.

Kaname: “Sorry, do you mind waiting here for a moment? I need to talk to Tarou about something real quick.”

We move a little bit away from the women, somewhere out of view.

Kaname: “Hey, could this attitude be spurred on by your feelings for Imouto-chan?”

Tsubaki: “Whaddya mean by “spurred on”? I dunno what you mean, I just don’t feel like playing around with girls I don’t know.”

Kaname: “You’re devoted, huh. Of course, I’m not going to force you if you don’t want to. But I do want you to hear me out. …. life is short and fleeting.”

Hah?

Kaname: “That’s why it’s so important to bring color to your life. And the thing that brings you color is called “fate”.”

Tsubaki: “The hell’re you on about?”

Kaname: ““Fate” is what brings about the ties that connect people to each other. It brings people who previously did not know each other together. And from that, new possibilities are born.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about…. But for some reason, I find myself lost in his words.

Kaname: “Life is full of wonderful connections. You could even say that they’re what enrich our lives. However, they’re hard to come by. That’s why we need to take an active role in seeking them out.”

Kana-nii’s voice is slow, the certainty in his voice seeping into my chest.

Kaname: “Maybe the best time to make those connections is now, the opportunity right before your eyes. And if you miss it, you might not get a second chance. Who knows– maybe one of those girls could be one of those connections. Are you willing to let this chance go?”

Kana-nii smiles kindly.

Kaname: “I think that your devotion is wonderful. But I also think that that devotion can wait until you’re dating.”

At first, I thought he was going on about something crazy. But the more I listen to him, the more my head’s completely absorbed in his speech…

(I guess that maybe…. you could say that…)

I find myself maybe agreeing with Kana-nii’s words. Or maybe I’m just being brainwashed.

Kaname: “C’mon, let’s head back.”

Kana-nii suddenly begins moving. I see the women’s forms. Unconsciously, I take a step forward.

Tsubaki: “Tarou here~ Nice to meetcha!”

★☆★

I don’t really remember what happened after that. We ate a lot of different things, and talked about a lot of different things. I think we even had some alcohol, too.

I realize that there are now six women here.

(Huh…. it’s been a while. Since I’ve felt like this.)

Once upon a time, I used to sometimes pass the time like this. I remember it being fun.

(I haven’t done it since she came along, though….)

…. She?

I suddenly find the face of my little stepsister floating to my mind.

(Is it alright for me to be doing this?)

“Hey~ Tarou. Let’s head to the water.”

Someone tugs on my hand. It’s one of the first girls I’d talked to. I recognize her by her hair, which is styled half-up.

“C’mon, let’s go~”

My chest feels hazy, alcohol still flowing through my body. I go to stand up.

“Kyahh!”

At that moment, the woman’s body suddenly tilts. I see her foot get stuck in a cavity in the sand.

Without thinking, I reach my hand out. I wrap it around her waist, propping her up.

Tsubaki: “Are you alright?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Tsubaki: “Can you stand? Your foot isn’t sprained, is it? …. you’re fine, thank god.”

“Thank you…..”

She lets out a large breath. Her face looks like it’s flushed.

“Tarou, you have a great voice.”

Tsubaki: “...... really?”

“Mmhmm. I think you’d make a really good voice actor~”

…. I already am, though.

Still, it makes me happy to hear my voice be praised. A laugh slips out of me despite myself.

Tsubaki: “Sorry, I’m a bit drunk. I shouldn’t head to the water.”

“That so? ‘Kay….. I won’t either, then.”

I drop down to sit on the sand. When I do, she follows suit, sitting down beside me.

Kana-nii looks out at us from over by the water’s edge.

★☆★

As the sun moves through the sky, the sea begins to stain a deep crimson.

The women from earlier are also gone. Yuusuke and the others went back to the hotel a little while ago, leaving just me and Kana-nii left on the shore.

Kaname: “Hey, Tsuba-chan, about that woman with her hair half-up.”

Tsubaki: “Yeah?”

Kaname: “She seemed to have a nice atmosphere about her. Did you two manage to connect?”

Tsubaki: “I’m not sure. But you’re amazing, Kana-nii. You really got me in the mood. As expected from the number two at Club Buddha.”

Kaname: “You’re giving me too much credit. I’m not number one, I’m number two.”

Kana-nii gives me a bitter smile.

Kaname: “But to be honest, I think that this was good for you, Tsuba-chan.”

Tsubaki: “Huh?”

Kaname: “You were in a pretty bad mood today, Tsuba-chan. You seemed irritated.”

Tsubaki: “Kana-nii….”

Kaname: “It might sound strange for me to say this, since I’m still young and inexperienced, but I think that people shine best when they carry themselves with confidence.”

Kana-nii stares heavily at the horizon, the sun submerging behind it.

Kaname: “Hey, Tsuba-chan.”

Somehow, the feeling in his tone changes.

Kaname: “We’ve changed since Imouto-chan’s come into our lives. Of course, many of those changes have been good ones. But I think that we’ve also changed in negative ways, too.”

Negative ways? What’s that supposed to mean?

Kaname: “To tell the truth, we’ve been blessed in many ways. And thanks to that, well…. we’re rather popular. And for a man, popularity is one of the things that gives us confidence, above all else.”

Tsubaki: “..... I mean, I can’t really deny that.”

Kaname: “But that’s where Imouto-chan differs. No matter what any of us do, not one of us has managed to make her look our way. …. which, naturally, is a shock.”

Tsubaki: “..... yeah.”

Kaname: “But that’s because our little sister is a wonderful person. The type of person who doesn’t judge others by their wealth, or pedigree. Much less their appearance.”

Kana-nii turns his gaze to me.

Kaname: “Imouto-chan truly cares about us from the bottom of her heart. …. As family.”

I don’t know why, but Kana-nii’s eyes are tinged with melancholy.

Kaname: “That’s why we shouldn’t lose our confidence. You learned that today, didn’t you?”

Eh?

(Kana-nii could it be, you know about my audition…?)

No, I didn’t realize up until this point. But he must have noticed that something was wrong with me. And he must have surmised the general gist of why. He’s really got incredible powers of observation.

Kaname: “Your voice, too.”

Kana-nii smiles.

Kaname: “That girl praised it, didn’t she? No matter what role you play, I’m sure you’ll always be able to shine the brightest, Tsuba-chan. I’m sure Imouto-chan would tell you the same thing.”

(.... that’s right.)

It never had to be the main role.

Tsubaki: “Hey, Kana-nii–”

Kaname: “Hm?”

Tsubaki: “I was super happy getting my voice praised. But that’s kinda obvious for a voice actor. All of us give our best to try and have everyone hear our best voices possible.”

Ahh, right now, I can feel that I’m smiling.

Tsubaki: “She sees and understands that effort. On top of that, she commends me for it. That’s what’s so amazing about her.”

Kaname: “...... that’s right.”

Kana-nii closes his eyes.

Kaname: “Our little sister really is amazing.”

I wanna hear her voice so much.

(Maybe I should call her. I also want to know if she’s feeling better. …. No, I shouldn’t. I don’t want to trouble her.)

At that moment.

“Ah, they’re here~”

“Takanari~ Tarou~”

Two of the women from earlier rush towards us.

Tsubaki: “Huh, what is it?”

“We saw that you guys were still out by the shore.”

“Hey~ Let’s chat some more.”

Tsubaki: “Ahh… but we were just talking about heading back soon.”

“Then how about we join you?”

“Where are you two staying? I wanna see your room~”

The girl with her hair half-up looks intently at me. …. At which,

Kaname: “Sorry.”

Kana-nii wraps his arm around my shoulder, squeezing me against him.

Kaname: “Our room’s only got one double bed.”

Hah….? What’s this guy on about right now?

…… A few minutes later.

Tsubaki: “Don’t mess with me like that! They totally misunderstood! They thought that we’re a couple!”

Kaname: “It couldn’t be helped. There’s no way we were bringing them back with us.”

Tsubaki: “Like I said! Those girls got totally pissed. I’ve never even heard some of the words they used in any of my scripts before!”

Kaname: “It really was some rather cutthroat, abusive language.”

Tsubaki: “Don’t say it so calmly!! What kinda “connection” was that. It was the worst thing ever, for me and those girls.”

That night, for the first time in a while, I drink like crazy. I drink as much as I can, if only so I can forget everything that’s happened.

★☆★

When I open my eyes, it’s already nearly eleven.

(No way… I slept in waaaay too much. I wonder what everyone else’s doing.)

Trying to ignore the way my head’s throbbing, I head to the lobby. When I get there, I see the back of someone’s figure sitting at one of the sofas.

Tsubaki: “Ah! You came!”

They turn around to look at me. Of course, it’s our little sister.

Tsubaki: “You must be feeling better, then. Thank god.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

She bows her head. I don’t need her to do that at all!

“I’m glad for you, too, Tsubaki-san.”

Tsubaki: “Eh?”

“About yesterday. I heard you were really popular.”

Tsubaki: “Ehhhhh……”

H-how does she…. how does she know?!

Azusa: “You seem surprised, Tsubaki.”

From out of nowhere, I suddenly realize that Azusa’s standing right next to her.

Tsubaki: “A-Azusa….”

Azusa: “Wataru informed us. Yuusuke had some things to add, as well.”

Tsubaki: “No, that’s….”

Azusa: “I thought that they might be lying.”

Azusa’s gaze hurts. It stings. His eyes look dead.

Azusa: “........... how deplorable.”

Azusa turns his back to me, and walks away. That prompts our sister to stand up.

“Um, please excuse me. I’m going to go for a walk with Azusa-san.”

Tsubaki: “Ah, no, uhm…..”

“Will you be heading to the beach, Tsubaki-san?”

She smiles.

“It looks like there are some wonderful people there today, too. …. I’ll be heading off, then.”

At that, she disappears, too.

(Wait a minute……..)

That smiling face. There wasn’t a speck of anger in it– it was a perfectly genuine smile. It’s as if….

“I have nothing to do with who you decide to date, Tsubaki-san. It doesn’t matter to me.”

It’s as if she said that.

(You’ve gotta be kidding me!!)

I look for Kana-nii. If I think back to the root of everything, that man’s the main culprit.

But no matter where I look, I can’t find him anywhere. I knock on his room’s door countless times, but there’s no reply.

Yuusuke: “Shut uuuup, the hell’s the problem?”

The adjacent room’s door opens, and Yuusuke comes out.

Tsubaki: “Yuusuke! D’ya know where Kana-nii is?”

Yuusuke: “What’s this alluva sudden? … Kana-nii left back home earlier.”

Tsubaki: “Hah?!”

Yuusuke: “Think he said he had some sorta urgent business, or something…. Guhh! Tsuba-nii, my neck– stop squeezin’ my neck!!”

— And so, the weekend ended on a terrible note.

Even though she’d finally, finally arrived, I found myself unable to so much as look her in the eyes, let alone talk to her.

No matter how much I tried to consult with Azusa, it’s like he wouldn’t speak to me. Things continued this way for the next few days, even after we returned home.

(No way I’m ever wavering again.)

I make a heartfelt pledge to myself.

(From now on, she’s my one and only. After all, loyalty is always best!)

#brothers conflict #translations #brocon #brothers conflict translations #light novel #light novel translations #otome #otome game #asahina tsubaki #tsubaki asahina #asahina kaname #kaname asahina #brothers conflict decade & love

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lu-is-not-ok · 2 years ago

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Everything you need to know from Leviathan

First things first: this is Not a story summary of Leviathan. This is merely a collection of all the pieces of characterization, backstory, and worldbuilding that I believe is or will be relevant in Limbus Company.

I encourage everyone who has finished Library of Ruina (or doesn't care about spoilers to that game) to read Leviathan yourselves, as I will be skipping over most of the actual plot of the novel.

Also, due to the nature of Leviathan as the direct sequel to Library of Ruina, some endgame spoilers to that game will inevitably come up. That being said, I will try my best to keep those spoilers as minimal and vague as possible.

Preamble: Done. Let's get into this. Something something long post warning ahead. It's also kind of chaotic and borderline incomprehensible. If I missed something then, uh, whoops.

Event Timeline:

The end of Library of Ruina directly causes an event dubbed "the first miracle" by some, and "the second passing of White Nights" by others, during which the people killed in the Library would begin returning to the City as if nothing happened.

An orphanage in the Backstreets of District 22 (V Corp's) was at the epicenter of this event, being destroyed in the process and causing the Ring to take interest in the children raised there.

The events of Leviathan follow half a year after this event, and seem to take place over the course of at least a few days. It's as of yet unclear how much time has passed between the end of Leviathan and the beginning of Limbus Company.

Vergilius:

Vergilius comes from District 22 (V Corp's), a Nest filled with wide water canals and boats that make use of them, making it somewhat reminiscent of Venice.

Vergilius used to be the operator of a highly-experienced and skilled Fixer Office. The lowest Grade Fixer at that Office is Grade 3 until a rookie joins them during the events of Leviathan. This Office seems to be dissolved by the end of Leviathan after half of the Fixers working for it die.

Vergilius's title, the Red Gaze, is a stealth pun in Korean. The word used for Gaze is a homophone to the characters used in an epiphet meaning Immortal Poet.

The red eyes Vergilius is named after appear to have a certain kind of aura to them, which causes him to draw attention to himself and be easily recognised. For missions where stealth is involved, Vergilius has a special pair of glasses to make his gaze less recognisable.

Also, Vergilius owns whole-ass calling cards with his Fixer title and a portrait in a Roman-inspired style.

As a Color Fixer, Vergilius is extremely strong and fast, being able to crack the ground underneath his feet when running at full sprint and literally cut through buildings. In fact, Vergilius's body is heavily augmented with artificially woven muscle fibers, which Vergilius compares to hydraullic cylinders and motors in how it feels to use them, though they're not literally mechanical. Despite that level of power, he's noticeably less experienced or skilled than another Color Fixer seen in Leviathan - Iori, the Purple Tear.

Speaking of her, Vergilius appears to know quite a bit about her, including her name, what happened to her in Library of Ruina, and what one of her goals is. She's also implied to have taught Vergilius a technique called Shin that gets introduced later in Leviathan. Also, Iori calls him a junior, implying a difference in either age or experience between the two. Oh, and he also knew Roland.

In addition to knowing those people, Vergilius appears to have also known Carmen before she died. He recognises the nickname Carmen uses for him within the Light as the one she used for him back when they knew each other. Also, back then, Vergilius's weren't as they are now, implying they've known each other before Vergilius was a Color Fixer.

For some time during his work as a Fixer, Vergilius has had the ability to sense "Flow". A fate-like pressure that he sees as trails of shadows and light, pointing him towards a destination he doesn't know. It's a force he notably struggles to resist, only being able to by following dim Flows, rather than the slow but bright Flow. However, doing so merely brings ruin to Vergilius's life, as the dim Flow inevitably guides him back to the slow Flow.

For ten years, Vergilius has been visitting an orphanage in the local Backstreets, donating money and goods and spending time with the children there. He even keeps an old photograph of him with all the orphanage's residents on him.

Before he found the orphanage for the first time however, Vergilius would go on rampages and kill people he believed were contributing to the horrible current state of the City. One of those rampages involved the slaughter of a whole Syndicate, the leader of which was Lapis's father. It's heavily implied that all the children within the orphanage landed there as a direct result of Vergilius's actions.

Vergilius is consistently shown to be stoic and emotionally distant, yet deeply caring underneath his aloof exterior. This is most clearly shown through his relationship with Garnet, the previously mentioned rookie who was raised at the previously mentioned orphanage. Though Vergilius denies Garnet's claims that he raised him, and regularly thinks about how Garnet's sentimentality is going to get him killed, yet he also can't help but feel proud of Garnet in moments where he truly shines, care a lot about Garnet's safety, and feel horrible guilt when he fails to protect him.

Back during his rampaging days, Vergilius is unable to show mercy, with his "attempt" to do so involving giving the last survivor a cut that would let them survive for a few hours, in gratitude for giving him a code to the door. Inversely, current day Vergilius appears to have softened, as his gladius has a heating mechanism that immediately cauterizes the wounds it inflicts. This ensures non-fatal wounds remain not fatal, even if leaving his target alive could cause him issues later on.

Vergilius's motives for taking care of the kids at the orphanage despite being the one who orphaned them are as complex as they are layered. Guilt is clearly a part of that, as Vergilius believes there's no reason for him to see Lapis again when Garnet offers to take him along for his meeting with her. Another part of it might have been Vergilius secretly wishing that one day, one of the kids would realize what he'd done and take their retribution... however it's unclear how "canon" that particular motivation is due to it only being brought up in a vision of a Mirror World. The orphanage was also a reprieve from his former reality filled with wails and begging for mercy. It was a place of warmth, filled with voices of delight waiting for him every time. At the same time, it was a source of hope for him. A place where he could redeem himself, to raise children who could live with the heart he couldn't have, and who could potentially change the City with their virtues alone. All of these motivated Vergilius to cover up and forget about his true goal. One he's been actively burrying during his visits at the orphanage.

That goal? Redacted from the viewer. The first explicitly set up mystery in Leviathan. However, we know that it is directly tied to how Vergilius wishes to change the City.

Vergilius believes that the City is deeply wounded, with its injuries having festered for a long time. He believes that the way to change it is to continue spilling blood, never letting it dry out. To try and pierce through the City's thick shell into its wounded core. When describing the world he wants, he says it's "a world that can only be understood once you feel it with your whole body".

After a talk with Carmen, Vergilius effloresces into his E.G.O, which allows him to wield blood as both a weapon and armor. It also allows him to become one with pools of blood, however he would be unable to leave them if they were to dry while he's inside. However, the usage of his E.G.O is limited by the amount of other people's blood he has available to him. If he were to run out, he'd be forced to use his own, dying painfully in the process.

Also, Vergilius keeps coming up with one-liners when beating people up. It's kinda funny.

At the end of Leviathan, Vergilius is invited into Limbus Company, being promised to give him Lapis (who had been replaced by Charon) and Garnet (who has been reduced to a tiny glowing jewel) back. Thinking back on his past, Vergilius accepts, though the story ends before we get to see the exact terms of his employment.

Charon:

Previously, Charon was known as Lapis, and was one of the kids at the orphanage Vergilius would regularly visit. She was especially close friends with Garnet, who would later become a Fixer and join Vergilius's Office. In fact, Garnet notes how Lapis wouldn't usually open up to anyone but him, and when they did talk she would often talk about Vergilius. She's also noted to not be a fan of studying.

Lapis ended up at the orphanage after Vergilius killed her father during his slaughter of the Syndicate he led. While we don't get to know much about her father, we do know he cared deeply for her, to the point his last words were calling out her name.

In a flashback to her childhood, we learn that Lapis would always suck on bitter candy as she's able to preserve it and suckle on it little by little, whereas sweet things melt away much sooner. She follows this anecdote of hers up by revealing her wish to "try all the flavors in the world" when she grows up.

After aging out of the orphanage, Lapis got a job at a fruit-harvesting company. During the events of Leviathan, Lapis has decided to meet up with Garnet at a private location. However, the area turned out be occupied by Syndicate members, including that of the Ring, and Lapis was kidnapped to be used in the Ring's experiments with Mirror World technology.

At the end of Leviathan, Lapis turned out to be the only of the "gems" to have survived the experiments. However, she did so because she was the only successful one. Her former identity was completely erased, replaced by that of Charon. Initially, Vergilius is hesitant to make contact with her, feeling like keeping his distant will save both of them from pain. However, he relents when Charon finds a still living piece of the jewel Garnet had turned into.

Gubo:

Gubo is one of the researchers at N Corp, and during the events of Leviathan he comes to an auction held by the Ring for the sole purpose of gaining access to their Corridor and retrieving Aseah.

His connections to a Wing allow him to casually bid 10 billion Ahn like it's nothing. Gubo is also notably frustrated when the auctioneer appears to be breaking their own rules, trying to convince them that doing so would put their gallery in ill repute.

To enter the Corridor despite his failure at the auction, Gubo is willing to sacrifice the lives of the people that had accompanied. Notably, Vergilius is able to tell that Gubo did no fighting himself due to his appearance, reckoning he merely hid while others fought in his stead.

Gubo is someone who's willing to keep himself calm and composed regardless of the situation. He's constantly calculating ways to reach his goal, willing to do anything and pay any price to do so. However, that composure is said to reflect insecurity, obsession, and yearning. He is shown to take some ridiculous risks in pursuit of his goals, attempting to attack Vergilius twice despite being clearly outmatched against a fucking Color.

Despite N Corp being at potential odds with the Ring, due to them kidnapping Aseah, Gubo doesn't act hostile towards the Ring's members outside of getting rid of those who were directly standing in his way.

Aseah:

During Leviathan, Aseah is the main researcher working on the Mirror World technology for the Ring. He's specifically working on modifying and tuning an invention made by Young-Ji, the Glass Window.

By that point in time, Aseah had already joined N Corp, however the Ring kidnapped him to use his knowledge for their own gain. Despite such seemingly dire circumstances, Aseah does not seem bothered to be working for the Ring in the slightest.

Aseah is a cold and usually emotionless individual who only cares about his research. In fact, he only ever shows emotions, specifically passion, when realizing he's made a breakthrough or describing how the technology he's researching works. He's easily swayed to risk other people's lives for the sake of pushing his research even further.

One of this main motives for using the Glass Window is to create a Singularity to surpass Yi Sang's creation, as well as any other competing technology of this kind. Despite his self-imposed rivalry with Yi Sang, Aseah still calls him a friend.

At the end of Leviathan, Aseah is successfully retrieved by Gubo . However, a question is posed: for both to get back out of the Corridor, Aseah must be able to know how to navigate it. If that's the case and he could have escaped this whole time, why didn't he? He must have had reasons to not fly away, even though his cage was wide open. Add that to the mystery counter.

Limbus Company:

Limbus Company shows up at the very end of Leviathan, being a new enough Company for Vergilius to have never heard of them before.

A Special Operations Team from a department called LCA raids the Ring's lab, specifically searching for Vergilius. A woman with hair that seems white from far away, but appears graysih close up, approaches him. This is revealed to be Faust, and she's the one who gives Vergilius an offer.

Work for Limbus Company, and we can bring Lapis and Garnet back.

The Ring:

The Ring are a Syndicate that are said to only believe what they see with their own eyes, and are dedicated to the creation and display of various types of art. They also hold auctions for various pieces.

Some of the Ring's art falls within our understanding of it, such as paintings and sculptures. A large amount of it however includes acts of extreme violence or otherwise cruel behavior.

Many of the lower-ranking members of the Ring and Backstreets residents under their protection are considered to be akin to students, being graded on their pieces and taking art exams. While the Ring does allow resits on their exams, flunking too many times will result in death. In such an environment, a lack of inspiration causes people to have mental breakdowns.

As far as we've seen, the Ring hold two different types of art galleries, which I'll refer to as Syndicate-facing and Public-facing respectively.

Syndicate-facing art galleries are structured more like schools, complete with classrooms and suspicious "art" exhibits within the halls. One of those exhibits we see are "statues" of people with animal heads. However, these statues are actually sill living people that are forced to stay completely still under the threat of violence, or "scolding". Oh, and those people also had their mouths and ears sewn shut. This particular exhibition is revealed to be a part of a test that the Ring was holding that night.

Public-facing art galleries look more akin to modern art galleries we'd see in our world, and their lower floors are accessible to pretty much any public person. These floors are filled with more standard types of art, like paintings and sculptures. The top floor of these galleries is considered the VIP floor, where auctions are held and the true disturbing nature of the Ring is shown to the guests there.

During the auctions, every participant has a veil put over their head, and they are to bow in respect when the one holding the auction enters the stage. The art pieces sold on these auctions can be anything from paintings of real slaughters that took place in the City, to objects made out of or containing pieces of actual people, to straight up dancers stuck eternally dancing in glass stages in which time flows slower. Additionally, the person who wins the bid on the "meister's most cherished work" will be allowed into the Ring's Corridor.

At the time of Leviathan's events, the Ring not only has access to the Corridor, but also Mirror World technology in the form of the Glass Window.

A secret research lab was kept hidden within one such Corridor, where the Ring would test Mirror World technology on "gems" - young people who came from the orphanage at the epicenter of the Miracle. These experiments involved these people experiencing many Mirror Worlds at once within their mind, with those people physically shattering if pushed too far.

The Ring's goal with their research of the Mirror Worlds is to open as many Rifts to as many of them as possible, with one of the high-ranking Ring members saying they wish to open ten thousand rifts at minimum.

This plan appears to be thwarted by the end of Leviathan. It's vaguely implied that N Corp and/or Limbus Company seized the tech in the Ring's possession, leaving it unclear if the Ring still has access to it currently.

Over the course of Leviathan, we learn of two different high positions within the Ring: Docents and Maestros. Each can be identified by the kind of ring they wear on their ring fingers. Also, all of the ones we've seen thus far are gender non-conforming as fuck.

Docents are responsible for taking care of and monitoring the art galleries. Notably, they are responsible for guiding guests and giving lectures on the lower floors of their public-facing galleries. These lectures appear to involve explaining the ideals of their Maestros. Docents wear two-coiled rings that extends down the top of their hands and coils around their wrists.

Maestros are responsible for holding the auctions and appear to have a high amount of control over the Ring's actions. They wear three-coiled rings. They also notably act a lot more according to what they believe is true art, as opposed to the Docents who can still be swayed by money and social standard. As an example, Maestro Jumsoon decides to give his most prized artpiece not to the person bidding billions of Ahn, but to the person who convinces him they can complete the piece due to being personally involved in what it represents.

N Corp:

The physical location of the Ring's secret lab appears to be within N Corp's District. However, due to its entry point being connected to the Corridor, it's unable to be accessed from outside the Corridor.

One of N Corp's main source of income and culture are so-called suicide vending machines, or vending machines that dispense canned experiences that specifically allow a person to experience suicide. This bit of technology is considered both amazing and condemnable, and is said to be one of the main reasons people move to N Corp's Nest.

N Corp Taboos are upheld vehemently. Recorded footage of that secret lab, even without knowing it's located in N Corp, would result in Taboo Hunters being sent out over the breaking of the Nest filming taboo. They are highly efficient, going after everyone who had seen the recording before finally retrieving the footage.

M Corp:

M Corp's full name is MDM Enterprise. In Leviathan, we see M Corp do business with the Ring through delivering their product to them - an entire moonlight stone.

A moonlight stone delivered in a massive box filled with a flesh-like cushion around the stone. Opening the box requires using an unlocking mechanism composed of multiple various levers. Everyone present in the same room as the box during its opening are required to wear ear plugs, while those actually opening it also require airway protection. Upon being pulled open, the stone needs to be cut out of the flesh cushion using a knife.

If sufficient ear protection is not worn during this process, the sound the stone emits while being forced out of its container will cause all that hear it to experience a "wave of hiraeth". This is shown as a sort of dissociative state where the person rambles about the ocean being their home and family, and how they need to return to it.

The moonlight stones themselves appear similar in shape to large pearls. The Ring appears to use them by putting them in translucent containers, where the stone is attached to multiple electrodes and tubes for a yet unclear purpose.

The Light:

After the second passing of White Nights, people would begin transforming into forms similar to cocoons or eggs. This happens when a person becomes aware of how unbearable the world around them is, causing them to retreat from reality.

When seperated from their bodies, people establish their... Redacted. Yet another mystery. However, it's implied to be something along the lines of the ideal world they wish to create, or the dream they wish to make true. If they manage to set this Redacted and endure the process, they can be born anew as a Distortion (or potentially with Effloresced E.G.O). If they can't their bodies are seized by their sins, resulting in the creation of a Peccatulum.

This process is pointed out as being different to the process of Distorting that we're used to seeing, though it's not yet unclear to what extent.

The inside of the Light as utter stillness, shimmering as if somethered in light. When someone is inside the Light, Carmen attempts to guide them towards a specific conclusion, acting kind and trying to absolve them of any guilt over their actions, while showing an utter lack of pity or genuine feeling. She's able to see past the facades people put up, directly looking into what they have been through. She uses that knowledge to direct people towards realizing their true desires and wishes.

Carmen is able to meet and talk with people whose hearts "crack". Who are too overwhelmed with their emotions in the moment. When she discovers a person's true wish has been buried and hidden away, she acts as if the act is so painful that it hurts her by proxy. She uses this opportunity to offer these people the power to create they consider right, one only for their own eyes.

She claims that she's helping everyone paint the City with their own colors, much like the Light, in which all colors perfectly blend together. When it's pointed out to her that doing so would be impossible, due to everyone's colors being different and thus it being impossible for them all to exist together in perfect harmony, Carmen responds by saying everyone should be dedicated to protecting and fighting for the sake of their own world, even if it means fighting the entire world itself.

Carmen describes the process of Distorting or Efflorescing E.G.O as becoming a "self unbound by the eyes and standards of the City", with Carmen attributing the latter to being Ayin's idea. Carmen says that she believes the final destination of everyone's ambitions is Love, specifically unconditional Love towards oneself, as the only person that can truly understand and love them is themself. This is where Carmen and Ayin come into conflict. Ayin believes people should be able fight using clothes and tools, holding the human form in high regard. Carmen, on the other hand, sees that as unnecessary moderation, and argues one should express their love through their body, so that it and their heart can become one.

Effectively, Carmen is trying to guide people to only caring about themselves and their desires, disregarding everything around them. She does so through a "friendly, yet ruthless pressure", by offering the seemingly perfect solution of absolute self-love at the cost of being blind to one's reality. She knows what the "right" choice is, and will be disappointed if one were to choose the other option, but she won't stop anyone from pursuing their desires even if their way is different from what she's envisioned.

...There is a purpose to it all. A goal Carmen has for herself. After all, she's a person too. It's another bit of information that's redacted, setting it up as yet another mystery, but we do have a hint towards what it could be. Somehow, a person who was given power by Carmen failing to fight for their wish appears to contribute towards Carmen's personal purpose.

Speaking of that, Leviathan reveals another, more violent way to defeat a Distortion. By proving the fundamentals of a Distortion's beliefs wrong, by breaking the foundation upon which their wish was built, the Distortion begins to fall apart. With nothing left to its form but vague concepts, an Abnormality is born, tearing out of the Distorted person's body and killing them instantly.

Peccatulae:

The Peccatulae are the result of the process enabled by the second passing of White Nights, in which a person retreats into a cocoon-like form upon finding the world too unbearable and faces an ordeal within. If the person fails the ordeal by not being able to find a wish for which's sake to return to their world, their body is left to be fed on by their sins. This results in their bodies transforming into manifestations of those sins - the Peccatulae. Once this transformation takes place, it cannot be reversed.

Peccatulae are not Distortions, as they are what happens when one lacks the strong desire needed to either Distort or Effloresce E.G.O. They are also not Abnormalities, as unlike them the Peccatulae can be killed.

The Peccatulae visually lack any humanity they may have had before the transformation. At the same time though, the cries they let out are compared to that of humans burdened by life, by the sin of bearing sin.

Those cries are also seemingly able to affect one's mind, causing memories associated with the Peccatulum's Sin Affinity to resurface.

The Glass Window:

The Glass Window is a piece of technology created by Young-Ji, which was co-opted by Aseah and studied by the Ring. This technology is considered to be a Singularity by Wings and Grade 1 Fixers.

The main function of the Glass Window is superimposing Mirror Worlds onto whatever is viewed through it, though in a blurry state. It's noted to be less stable than Yi Sang's Mirror technology, but in exchange it's capable of superimposing a much larger number of Worls at the same time.

The amount of Mirror Worlds and their intensity can be controlled through modifying the Glass Window's Refraction Rate. A higher Refraction Rate allows more overlayed Worlds to stack, at the cost of "yielding more of one's heart to the Glass Window".

Surviving high Refraction Rates without physically shattering involves attaining focus - a process involving perishing one's heart without killing it.

Most weapons cannot damage the Glass Window.

The Corridor:

The Corridor is a piece of technology that the Ring owns during the events of Leviathan. It's a liminal, seemingly-infinite space that can connect to places all over the City. As long as the area they wish to link has an exit, a matching entrance will appear within the Corridor.

Many of the doors within the Corridor are locked using mental locks, to be able to enter them one needs to think specific mental keywords as they attempt to open the door.

Inside the Corridor itself, electronics such as video recorders and ear pieces appear to malfunction.

Despite the Corridor being a mostly linear space, the complex and intricate rules by which its passages connect make it more than possible to get lost within. As such, navigating the Corridor is usually done when accompanied by a guide.

To navigate the Corridor by oneself, one needs to always remember two things - their starting point, and their destination. Knowing those two points will allow one to be able to find their way by feeling which directions to take. This is due to a phenomenon called Reversion of Causality, a phenomenon which some Singularities take advantage of as well.

Breaking through a wall in the Corridor leads to a massive hall made of constantly shifting purposeless surfaces lined within even more purposeless doors. Staying within this outer hall is dangerous, as one would become stuck here if the doors within the Corridor reassembled themselves.

Shin and Mang:

Shin is a technique Vergilius learned from (who's implied to be) the Purple Tear. Shin involves completely relinquishing the control of one's body to one's mind, specifically one's memories and the feelings associated with them. When Shin is used, it causes glowing rings to appear around the weapon (or body part if weaponless) one is using to fight. The glow of these rings is constantly emphasized to be that of the moon.

Vergilius describes Shin as "the power of Light", and "the power of sin".

To use Shin, one needs Mang (referred to as luna/lunae when not a proper noun), often multiple of them. Using Mang is described as filling onces emptied minds with dense and heavy memories, then letting the lunae of these recalled feelings guide one's movements.

Random Miscellanous Bits of Info:

It's a tradition in District 8 (H Corp's) to gift apples on Christmas Eve, to wish the giftee a peaceful night.

Cellphones in the City seem to be at a stage in-between Iphones and slightly older smartphones. The screen only takes up roughly half of the phone, but it appears to be a touchscreen due to the lack of mechanical buttons.

Related to that, payphones also exist in the City. The District the payphone is in gets shown to the one recieving a call from one.

The Seven Association holds seminars for new and aspiring Fixers that teaches them the basics, such as information about major Syndicates, Singularities, spatial awareness, etc. The Seven Association also holds Fixer qualification tests.

Higher education is something one can pursue in the City.

There are still video recorders that use videotapes in the City.

Cognition-warping ID Cards are a thing within the City. However, they are noted to only be useful for brief deception.

One of the canonical Mirror Worlds is literally our world.

Airplanes don't exist in the City.

#lu speaketh #limbus company #leviathan project moon #project moon #this took. so fucking long to write down.#my mouse ran out of batteries in the middle of me writing this #it was hell #but it is done

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ctrlsatoru · 2 years ago

Text

DIABLO chapter one- TOJI FUSHIGURO

content: techbro !toji, reader is gojo's little sister, age gap (toji's in his late 30s, reader in mid 20s) kind of ooc toji, suggestive themes, no smut yet. warnings: 18+ only. suggestive themes. explicit language, references to sexual assault. toji having no sense of decorum. reader is engaged so, cheating? but not really and not yet. minors do not interact. pairing: toji fushiguro x afab gojo!reader word count: 8k a/n: i was listening to diablo by lexie liu and the rest was herstory. started as porn without plot but things escalated. will proofread this later. summary: Toji Fushiguro looks like a problem, and you know better than to let curiosity get the best of you, until boredom strikes. next chapter

There was a time when you speed-walked through this very same building with the drive that only a determined intern could contain. Six days a week, from busy mornings to late nights, you embraced every task they tossed your way, seamlessly transitioning between the demands of different editors.

In the midst of it, one newly appointed creative director saw your efforts and took you under her wing. What began as a professional mentorship soon evolved into an enduring friendship that extended well beyond your time at the magazine.

Utahime Iori, a guiding presence in your life, became one of your favorite people in the world—a friend with whom you shared an unspoken understanding, effortlessly reading each other's thoughts with a single exchange of glances across the room.

Fast-forward five years, and the abrupt, intrusive ring of your phone tucked under the pillow shook you awake. It was Iori on the line, her voice laden with urgency and distress. She was stuck in Kyoto, needing you to do her a solid one. Her father’s condition had worsened overnight, and she wouldn’t be able to make it back to Tokyo for a critical photoshoot.

And so, here you stand, back at the bustling headquarters of the technology and culture magazine where you started your career. Despite your throbbing headache and the relentless fatigue that clings to your tired eyelids, you refuse to let your friend down.

Today's mission: capturing profile photos for an enigmatic tech mogul, a figure so elusive that no magazine has ever managed to secure an interview or collaboration. Probably some Zuckerberg from shein with an amped-up eccentric, incel overlord edge.

Iori had shared the name and a brief overview of the assignment during her desperate call, but the details had slipped through your grasp in the haze of your concern for her.

If you remember correctly, the project is related to something corny along the lines of Diablo.

“Ok,” you breathe after the third scalding gulp of coffee that someone thrust in your hand the second you arrived.

Utahime's assistant, a young girl with striking blue hair and asymmetrical bangs named Miwa, looks up from her phone at you with bright eyes, relieved that you’re finally showing signs of life.

“Uh, who the fuck is this guy again?”

You’re momentarily distracted by how cold this place is. A shiver cuts a straight line up your spine. July in Tokyo is no justification for keeping the set at industrial fridge temperature, you think. For some reason, Miwa’s opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of the water. You know Utahime can make any seasoned truck driver sound graceful when she’s under enough pressure, so it can’t be your choice of words.

You fail to notice your surroundings coming to a stop, or the shadow towering over you.

“Fushiguro. Toji Fushiguro.”

Oh.

That's one way to sober you up.

You’re definitely awake after hearing the deep yet smooth rumble behind you. Everyone within earshot gets ready for what’ll happen next as that oh shit realization settles on your shoulders.

But you’re no longer the eager intern who hid in the bathroom to cry after a rookie mistake. Nothing in your face gives away your heart threatening to crawl out of your ribcage. You turn around bravely and face a soft, dark blue surface.

No choice left but to look up… and up again, until he’s framed inside the thin silver structure of your glasses.

Your first impression of him is simple: no one this tall should stand at this close of a distance. There should be two, or three meters between you to make up for the lack of an acceptable height.

Toji Fushiguro -the name does stick this time- tilts his head to the side and gives you what might be the most shameless once-over. His eyes feel like a dark green horizontal light scanning you from head to toe. It ends with a quizzical expression on his face. The irk is triggered within the second.

“Who are you?”

That same question pops into your mind.

The hair team must've taken their sweet time arranging his inky black hair in just the perfectly unbothered way, and there’s a healthy glow coming off the sharp edges of his face that can only be the result of seamless natural makeup, enhancing his ruggedly handsome looks.

You’re thinking that by too big, Iori meant that he’s massive. Literally. Wide shoulders block the tungsten spotlight behind him, casting a shadow on you and drawing a luminous halo around his silhouette.

Nothing’s angelic about him. You can tell just by looking. It’s a family gift. You may not have your brother’s electric baby blues, but you have thesight, as he calls it, and the alarms in your head are off.

Miwa shifts her gaze between you like she’s about to shit herself when Choso, the head photographer and a good friend of yours, cuts through the tense atmosphere with admirable ease. He rests a warning hand on your shoulder and takes it upon himself to introduce you.

"She'll be our director today, stepping in for Utahime."

Toji Fushiguro turns to Choso, his eyes never leaving you, observing.

“Why? What happened to Utahime?”

"She had an unexpected family emergency and asked her to fill in. She's worked with us before, and she's excellent at what she does. We're in capable hands today."

What a star, Choso. A beacon of diplomacy. The arms industry would collapse if he got into politics, you’re sure.

Still under his scrutiny, your expression remained composed. You knew his steely smile would fade soon, and—

“Well, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” he concludes breezily, extending his hand toward you.

You reciprocate, not looking down to see how his palm engulfs yours. You just know it will. He on the other hand lifts both eyebrows at your firm handshake, lips twitching in amusement.

“I look forward to working with you, Gojo.”

Two hours in, it occurs to you that it might be the case that everyone on set is under some kind of horny spell.

Him nearly walking through the backdrop five minutes in and laughing it off with a cocky comment and a devilish grin sets the entire set on edge from the get-go.

Apparently there’s something about an overwhelmingly tall, ripped, attractive grown man pouting like an iPad kid when his tiny but scary female assistant comes in between breaks to confiscate his phone. There’s a brutish charm about him that makes people act like Victorian gentlemen glimpsing an ankle for the first time.

The wardrobe assistants are in a heated discussion about how many hands it would take to wholly grasp his bulging biceps.

You, however, remain skeptic. Though if you took any part in the conversation, you’d point out how fucking thick his neck is. Does he lift weights with that thing? What does he need all that for?

When the makeup artist approaches him for touch-ups, he widens the distance between his feet until his face reaches a comfortable height for her to work away. The behind-the-scenes team gobbles it up like ravenous piranhas. You expect to see this doing numbers on the magazine’s YouTube channel.

Done with feeling out of the loop and not satisfied with what you catch from the set gossip, you take a bathroom break and allow curiosity to get the best of you. You lock the stall door, sit on the lid, and google him.

His name auto-completes after just three letters. You stare at the Toj on the search bar before going down the rabbit hole.

Self-made, controversial, messy family background. He's the mastermind behind the acclaimed early 2010's video game, Diablo. He's faced years of criticism in several countries for glorifying violence, gang activity, with the healthy dose of satanic accusations.

Nonetheless, Diablo hit it off big and then came along the videogames and software company under the same name. The empire has been steadily encroaching on giants like Tencent with Fushiguro as the elusive face of the company, for better and for worse.

For all his vehement disdain for public attention, he has the general public, a horde of fangirls and red pilled men following his every move. He's idolized in male communities and simultaneously the main character in throves of ridiculous Buzzfeed articles filled with GIFs of him looking scary and hot at the same time, of him looking like the bodyguard of everyone’s dreams, of him taking no shit from the press. Of him looking like a character out of his videogames.

You get the idea.

But something else in the personal life section draws your attention.

He’s a Zenin. And not a distant one. He’s Naobito Zenin’s very own nephew.

According to a twitter thread he severed ties with his fucked up dynasty of a family when he was younger and paved his own way under his late wife’s last name. The reasons for the fallout are unknown to the public, but theories are abundant in the replies. You bookmark that for later.

With all this newfound context, you’re almost disappointed that he showed no offense to your frankly rude introduction. After all, you’re a Gojo, the impulse to antagonize a Zenin runs through your veins. And if it’s not pure instinct, Satoru personally taught you how to deal with them. One of your favorite childhood memories is your brother reducing Naoya Zenin to tears.

The handshake felt layered, like a declaration of war tucked behind a steely smile. There’s a glint in his eyes when you return to the set and he catches you looking, it contradicts the unbothered, enigmatic persona people are simping for religiously online.

It’s there and it’s gone, but you’re fast enough to catch it. It tells you that he’s playing nice as a temporary measure. You have the disturbing feeling that he knows what you were up to during your bathroom break.

Realistically, if you have to guess, he’s planning to make his team bring up your misstep up to the magazine higher-ups.

You're torn between concern for Utahime and a deep-seated desire to see him try.

The day unfolds smoothly with minimal intervention on your part. You stay behind the monitor and let the crew do their job. Your role mainly involves offering insights when requested and flagging promising shots with Choso.

Seeing him go through different stages of boredom and despite his not-so-wide variety of facial expressions, you find that the camera doesn’t hate him. It's a unanimous consensus that, in another life, he could have pursued a career in modeling, or perhaps even acting. When someone inquires about your opinion on the matter, you become the focal point of a few discreet side-eyed glances. Your response is a non-committal hum.

Your attention is currently fixated on the last sequence of preview shots displayed on the screen, there’s a very specific detail that you just can’t let pass.

“Can we take a quick break? I wanna try something.”

Choso, taken aback by your sudden initiative, responds, “Yeah, of course, take your time.”

Toji’s face drops from the draw of his eyebrows as you approach him.

“Hi,” he says with that off-putting lift of the corners of his mouth that is supposed to be a smile. He’s probably thinking that your stalling is only prolonging what he wants to be over with.

“Hi,” you catch his inquisitive glance at the objects in your hand. “Is it okay with you if I wipe off the scar?”

His eyes snap down at yours as he thinks it over, squinting for a bit. You’re certain he’s about to tell you to fuck off when he nods briskly, opening his palms as if beckoning you closer.

“Go ahead.”

It's a polite, seemingly harmless green light, yet it feels like you're a bird about to peck at grains of rice beneath a box suspended by a stick.

“Can you—”

He reads your hesitation and does the same thing you’ve seen several times today. He opens the distance between his feet, clasping his hands behind his back. You, for some reason, wait until he looks up at the ceiling like people on the makeup chair usually do out of instict, but he stares at you instead.

Saturating the Q tip with micellar water, you start working away the thin but high coverage layer of foundation, careful not to overdo the edges. A few swipes in and the natural rosy hue of scarred tissue appears, a few shades darker than the color of his lips. It’s a slender, vertical ridge that cuts across his lips, about an inch long. A feature too distinct to waste.

You pull back and he takes the brief chance to run his tongue across the scar, pulling a face at the taste.

Unfazed, you wipe away any excess micellar water and—well, his saliva, you assume—with the dry side of the cotton swab. Once you’re done with that you pat away with a disposable puff dipped in translucent power, just to get rid of any unnecessary shine.

“All good? You satisfied?”

“Yes.”

“Cause you don’t look satisfied.”

You’re happy with the outcome of your tweaking, yes. The overall shooting? Well, you’re not in love with it, but you don’t have to be. This whole thing has Utahime’s and the magazine’s aesthetic written all over it, harsh contrasts, blunt shadow. You know not everything has to make a statement, but it's rather simple, completely relying on the man's character.

“I’m going with the brief,” You answer, taking a step back to get an overall look and consider any further touch-ups, stopping him when he starts to go up again. “No. Stay right there.”

“What if it was yours?” he asks, complying pointedly.

“Like I said, I’m going with the brief I was given.”

“But if you were the original director?”

You wouldn't even be assigned to the task. You left the magazine shortly after you finished your internship and never looked back, even though you liked it here and were being given a much nicer offer than you were expecting. That same week you found out that your brother had been wining and dining members of the home editorial, showing interest in negotiating for the magazine.

It was a no-brainer for you to part ways and find another way. These days you're independent, working with brands and entertainment agencies that allow for more creative freedom.

“I wouldn’t be so heavy on making the tech oligarch look human.”

You reply more out of impulse than calculation, the same way you touch a cat’s tail knowing there will be consequences.

“You suggesting I don’t look human?” He flashes a cold grin, kind of like a warning.

The novelty has worn off. Most of the crew are busy doing their own thing, discussing lunch and stretching to alleviate the fatigue of a long day. A few lingering glances remain trained on you— Miwa, Choso, his strict assistant.

He doesn’t wait for your answer.

“So, what do I look like?”

Like a shark, you think. Don’t ever grin at me again, creep.

“You’re full of questions, aren't you?”You tug lightly at the neckline of his shirt, just a pinch of the fabric, barely touching him at all. "Maybe that should be included in the profile."

He hums. “I'm a curious man. I get bored easily.”

You conclude the interaction and walk away, acknowledging Choso with a nod, all the while ignoring the way his amused eyes linger on you.

Like you’re just postponing the inevitable. Whatever that might be.

He finds you later that day, after you’ve wrapped up.

He enters the room with the unspoken confidence of someone who believes he owns not just the studio, but the entire building. Like he's just acquired the magazine and now feels entitled to disrupt your peace with a shitty opening sentence.

“Your work.”

You look up from your phone and find him in the mirror in front of you. The hair and makeup team packed their stuff a while ago, all the stations are clean and deserted, and only the lights remain on.

“It’s… interesting. The butterflies, are they alive?”

You look up from your phone and find him in the mirror in front of you. The hair and makeup team packed their stuff a while ago, all the stations are clean and empty, and only the lights remain on.

“Sorry?” You’re unable to hide your annoyance at the unexpected interruption.

“I googled you. Your work. It’s eye-catching, quite… I guess eccentric’s a good way to describe it. Very edgy.”

You’ve heard your fair share of similar comments in the past, but he pouts and frowns with the last two words and irritation pulls at you. You let your hands drop to your lap.

He leans nonchalantly against the door frame, arms crossed, undeterred by your silence and your less-than-friendly attitude.

“I was wondering, are the butterflies real or is it CGI?”

You can’t for the life of you decide if he’s being serious, or decipher his intentions. “Neither. They’re props.”

“They look very realistic.”

“They do,” you agree. “That’s the intention.”

“And the flowers?”

“Those are real. For the most part.”

“I see. So how would you have me?”

“Excuse me?”

He visibly fights back a smile, and you wonder if this one would’ve reached his eyes, but seeing how you’re going back and forth like you can’t let the other get the last word, you doubt it. You also doubt that he’s capable of such a human thing. Smiling warmly. Honestly.

“You said not so heavy on the looking human earlier, so what concept would you go for if we worked together?”

Because he won't leave you alone to discuss dinner plans with Satoru and Suguru, you stand up from your seat and turn around to rest against the floating station. Facing him like this feels a lot safer than speaking to him through the mirror.

He’s dressed in his own clothes, a basic light gray t-shirt several tighter than the soft material the stylist put on him and a pair of dark jeans. His phone is, as usual, attached to his hand, constantly lighting up with notifications.

“I don’t know. It usually takes me a week to get a feel of the concept.”

“I saw the tank pictures,” he replies a bit too quickly as if he didn't care for your answer. You’re certain that you don’t like this man. You don’t like how bluntly he talks about your work, or that you immediately know what he’s talking about.

Knowing how things went on that particular set and from the way he looked absolutely done in the most basic environment without having to do much work, that would be a disaster.

“I wouldn’t put you in a tank,” You snort dismissively, and he tilts his head curiously.

“So?”

A string of visual prompts runs through your mind. Submerging half of his face in black tinted water, his head resting on a white surface, red spilling from his eyes. Perhaps you'd drown him in smoke or apply mechanical prosthetics to his face and neck. You’d make his skin flush like rubies as if it were burning to the touch. In every single one of them, his scar is left untouched.

“Nothing you’d be comfortable with.”

“You see, I think we could meet in the middle.” he reasons, very eloquently, a master of negotiation. You imagine that this is the same voice he uses with his board members to bend them his way. “Can’t say I’d be down for the body-pilling thing or the body suits, but I’m sure we could come up with something that leaves us both satisfied.”

“Are you trying to hire me right now?” You’re genuinely confused. And hungry. And tired. And nursing a lingering hungover.

“No,” he chuckles, like the notion is absurd “but you looked bored today, and I think I could live up to your vision, is that the word?”

“Right, uh huh.” you nod, very condescendingly, remembering that you’re no longer filling up for anyone or hold any professional responsibility. This is just some man wasting your time. “So what is this? You got a praise kink or something?”

He’s unbothered by that. “Not that I know of. Can I be honest?”

You lift your shoulder in a half-hearted gesture. It's not as though he cares about seeking permission anyway.

He lets his eyes drop to the floor and looks back up at you with a bashful little grin.

“I’ve just always wanted to fuck a married woman.”

You’re not as surprised as you are relieved that he’s cut to the chase. He’s not the first man to detest you and want you at the same time. Men often blur the lines between disdain and sex. It’s only fun when they don’t get too comfortable, wanting to only deliver but folding when it’s their turn to take.

The situation settles on you. The room seems smaller now, and the distant sounds of people outside have all but faded away. He's blocking your only exit, put you in this tight spot intentionally.

There’s a possibility that he’s some exception to the norm, that he can take as much as you suspect he can give, but you’re not going to find out.

“Too honest?” He's devoid of any shame or attempts to sound apologetic. Instead, he's assessing you closely, monitoring you for any reaction.

You know men like him. He has to be used to people eagerly dropping to their knees with just a tilt of his chin. Most of the people you worked with today would do so without hesitation. But Toji Fushiguro, with his insincere smile and unflinching demeanor, harbors far more selfish and hostile motives than bending you over the same chair you were sitting in and making you watch in the spotless mirrors.

“Should’ve kept my intentions to myself?”

A corner of your lips lifts, and he zeroes in on it.

“Didn’t scare ya, did I? You’re a big girl, you're not gonna run.”

He’s daring you now. Fully predatory, like he’ll do something at the slightest indication. Shark waiting for a speck of red in the water. You picture him stalking his way into this secluded space that only the crew knows about after finishing recording videos for the magazine’s social media accounts, his shadow looming across the narrow corridor.

Fear and power. That’s his deal. He either wants to witness a furious flush down your neck, your throat bob in trepidation and your hand look for your phone...

“And do what?” You cross your arms, refusing to back down. “MeToo you? Expose Japan’s favorite self-made billionaire hellboy? Reddit would riot.”

Or he wants you to bite back.

“I mean, considering the way you were eyefucking me I think I could probably pull the reverse MeToo card on you.”

Your chin drops, your eyebrows go up, and your head leans back at the accusation. Were you? Eyefucking him?

Maybe. A little bit.

But so was the whole room. Probably every room he walks in.

You're a visual person.

And nothing’s stopping you from bullshitting. “Someone’s optimistic.”

“Is that it?” he smiles, tantalizing. “Does Gojo's little heiress always generously take on the role of a make up artist? Or was she just feeling charitable today?”

You're not going to indulge him with an answer. It's not uncommon for you to take on various roles and responsibilities during your projects.

And if he thinks he'll get to you by casually dropping the four letter word out of nowhere, he's not as sharp as you were hoping him to be.

“Right. You go ahead. Tell Instagram that I sexually assaulted you with a cotton swab.”

“It’d be just another Monday for Gojo’s PR mercenaries, right?”

“Everyone likes to look at pretty things. Don’t get cocky, old man.” His eyebrows get high into his forehead like he’s never been called old to his own face. “You asked me what you look like earlier.”

The scrunch of his nose indicates that he wants to say something before the subject changes, but indulges you anyway.

“I did.”

“You look like a problem,” you let your words hang in the air for a moment. “And not the kind I have fun dealing with, no offense.”

Finally, he grins again, tongue coming out to just graze the edge of his canines. Something inside your belly stirs as you follow the movement.

“And I’m not married yet. So you might want to take your intentions somewhere else.”

He nods thoughtfully, sees the way you twist the ring around and display the stone as if to make a point. Then he buries his hands in the pockets of his jeans and lifts his shoulders, taking in a deep breath. The motion reveals a thin line of hard skin under his shirt and just the edge of his underwear.

Water under the bridge.

“Well, no harm in putting it on the table, right?”

Your phone buzzes. Your drive home is waiting for you outside. You move like he’s not standing by the doorway and blocking your only way out.

“Have a pleasant day, Fushiguro.”

He moves away right before you can crash into him, eyes like green bullets aimed at the back of your head.

It’s Friday when you see him again at your friend’s birthday party.

He’s lurking his way through the party, nursing a drink with his eyes attached to the screen on his hand until the birthday boy himself hunts him down. Haibara, producer and pitchfork sweetheart whose debut album cover art you worked on earlier in the year.

It’s a funny sight, it would be almost endearing if it wasn't him. The sunshine main character dragging the hunched, brooding giant along with him. Toji looks like he’s trying his best to keep up, half-amused, half-annoyed, nodding as Haibara rambles away. You wonder how the two even fit together, Haibara being so charming and him a walking threat.

Then you remember Haibara mentioning that he's been working on the soundtrack for a video game.

Your friends’ conversation mingles with the music and flows around you. Someone’s getting married to his ex-husband’s father. Yuki’s about to open her third concept store somewhere in Europe. You can’t be bothered to focus too much on catching up, but you do meet Shoko’s eyes across the room when Mei Mei says something particularly questionable.

You see a hint of longing in her eyes, a shared sense of missing Iori, just as you do. On a brighter note, her father's health is finally starting to improve.

A hand wraps around yours, and another settles on your shoulder. The cold press of a ring on your skin brings you back to the present.

Hiroki leans over your shoulder. “Car’s here.”

His hand feels hot and clammy on yours as he leads you out of your friend's sight, turning back occasionally to make sure he hasn't lost you in the crowd. He won't stop until you're both outside, standing by the side of the street.

“Call me when you land?”

Of course, he will. Nothing has changed. He’s starting a new project in some small town in the middle of nowhere in Europe in 24 hours. You won’t ask him to stay. Six months will pass, and nothing will change, you’ve both done this before.

But you stall. He always calls a car with this in mind. You kiss by the sidewalk, he squeezes you in his arms until your bones fight back. You’ve done this before. It’ll happen again, considering how his acting career is taking off overseas. You’ll do it time and time again until—

“You taste like pennies,” he tells you. Your finger traces the barely there curve of his thick, straight eyebrows. He pulls back, bringing his fingers up to your face. You push his hand away before it reaches its destination.

Hiroki nods to himself, looking away. Something inside you twists, so you fill the silence.

“Make sure to take an aspirin.”

He nods, always sweet and obedient when you’re nagging. You tuck a strand of hair away from his eyes so that people don't fall too hard for him on the airport. His hair has grown longer in recent months, part of his preparation for a role.

Back inside, Yuki makes room for you by moving her legs off the couch. She asks if everything is okay, and you pull her legs onto your lap, rolling your eyes. She knows you too well.

“Don’t gaslight me. Something was off.”

“Do I look like something’s off?”

“No, but you’re a fucking oyster. Hiroki’s not that good with his face for an actor. He kept looking at you like he was afraid you’d disappear.”

Choso chimes in, draping his arm around her shoulders. "They're getting married. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I think he might like her, and he might enjoy looking at her."

Looking out of the window, your gaze naturally drifts toward a figure seated by Haibara’s covered dock. Earlier, it was adorned with twinkling lights, but now, even in the dark, you can discern a solitary silhouette in the middle of the glittery ocean.

Mei Mei taps her cigarette, fixing her eyes on you from the other side of the couch.

“Does it have something to do with Toji Fushiguro asking about you, by any chance?”

Your stomach drops. Your group of friends reacts quickly.

“Who?”

“What does Toji Fushiguro want with you?” Yuki asks, face snapping at you. “Is he trying to get to Gojo through you?”

“We worked on a shooting with him a few days ago.” Choso calmly explains before she can come up with any conspiracies. “She was covering for Utahime. Made quite the impression on him, I think.”

“Oh, Satoru’s gonna fucking hate that.” Shoko laughs, unexpectedly loud in her inebriated state. “Please, please fuck him. He’ll be so pissed if you fuck him. It’ll be hilarious.”

“No respect or regard for the fiancé.” Choso shakes his head, and it looks like he’s laughing from the way his shoulders move up and down. “Poor bastard.”

“Yeah, well.” Shoko shrugs, not bothering to hide her dislike for your fiancé.

You shake your head and roll your eyes. “He’s just pissy because I was not... very professional. I think the asshole wants to get me blacklisted.”

Choso makes a noise of disagreement. Yuki frowns in concern. “Shit. What did you do?”

“She showed up hungover, asked who the fuck he was when he was standing behind her. Miwa was traumatized.”

“Poor Miwa. She's an angel.”

“Whatever you did, he’s asking around…” Mei Mei adds with a spineless little smile. You don’t like how she makes you feel like she knows exactly what went down that day.

You wonder how well she knows him, and how much he told her.

“...and let’s just say that he’s not the curious type, so make your assumptions, everyone.”

You tap Yuki’s thigh without thinking twice and push yourself off the couch. A string of accusations about scaring you off follow, and Mei Mei teases you about not meaning to do that.

“Fuck off, I just need some fresh air.”

“But you’re gonna consider it, right? For me? Come on, it’ll cheer Iori up.”

“I’m not gonna fuck some random man just because you think it’d be funny, Shoko.”

And you’re pretty sure Iori would be the first to tell you to stay away from him. Shoko sags against the back of the couch like a puppy you stepped on.

You step out of the house, past the pool, the limestone steps, and stop only to take off your sandals. The sand is cold and yielding, no traces of the warmth of the slow Atami day left, soft grains clinging to the soles of your bare feet.

Haibara’s dock stretches out into the ocean, endless until you reach the far end and leave behind the sound of laughter and music. It’s him, like you suspected, sitting on the edge, his legs hanging over the sea.

With one elbow resting on his thigh and a phone in hand, his other palm supports his face. You sweep a strand of hair over your shoulder and inhale the salty breeze, opting to linger a while before revealing your presence.

“I think I got it.”

He looks up at you, momentarily caught off guard, allowing you to take a triumphant sip from your glass, ignoring the stinging inside your cheek. He's still engrossed in the medieval game he was playing during the shooting, his commitment minimal, his thumb hovering over the screen.

You leave some distance between you as you take a seat, glass resting between you. It’s a high drop from here, the water looks as if it could freeze you instantly.

“Hand-held CCTV cameras aimed at your face. Like guns. Point blank.” you finally elaborate, once you’ve found a comfortable position, demonstrating with your hand.

“Sounds fuckin’ uncomfortable.” he remarks, eyeing your demonstrative fingers. You wonder if he’s drunk and how much alcohol it would take to get him there.

You drop your hand, and he follows the movement. “I warned you.”

“So I don’t get flowers? No butterflies?”

“Nah.”

He lifts his gaze from where it had settled on your thighs, and you absentmindedly tap your ring finger against the bare skin out of habit.

“I thought I was pretty.”

You snort in response. Tonight, the moon shines particularly bright, illuminating the dock lounge. It's a serene spot to catch a break from the lively party.

“I changed my mind.”

He sucks on his teeth. “You can’t take a man’s virginity for being called pretty and then take it back. It's cruel.”

“If it helps, you’re still objectively nice to look at.” You say behind your glass. No point in lying, he’s hot. And self-aware. And you’re not blind or ashamed to admit it. You work with hot people all the time.

"Objectively nice to look at.” he repeats, like he’s getting a feel of it, or memorizing it for future use. “What about your fiance, then? ‘s he pretty? Enough for flowers and butterflies and shit?”

“I met him working for an editorial. He did get flowers.”

“Ah, I see. So, does he do that often?”

You let another sip wash down your throat, this time tilting your head to the side to avoid the sting.

He returns to his game, and you trace the profile of his nose while the screen highlights the hollows beneath his eyes and the fine lines around his mouth. If you were a bit more intoxicated, you might be tempted to snatch his phone and toss it into the water, anything to halt the conversation about Hiroki. It would force him to look at you instead.

“Leave you alone at parties.” he adds.

You've momentarily forgotten the initial question. “He’s my fiance, not my babysitter. I can take care of myself.”

“Never suggested otherwise, did I?” he sniffs, and a part of you, the sensible one, contemplates returning to your friends and disregarding whatever pulled you out here. Leave him be to enjoy his game and stay away from the one brewing between the two of you.

“What about your entourage? Are they comfortable leaving you out of their sight?”

“I can fend for myself too.” he says, eyes set on his phone.

"Can I play for a bit?” you ask, extending your hand. He hesitates, briefly glancing at you as if to confirm you're not taking the piss, down at his phone, and back at you.

His phone is big enough to feel like a console, and there's a very on-brand crack on the left corner that he warns can cut you. It gets him a side eye that he reacts to with a careless shrug.

You haven’t played any games in years or downloaded any since the younger members of your family grew out of the age where they came as useful, but you recognize this one from ads you’ve seen on Instagram.

It doesn’t take any experience to figure out that you’re supposed to manage some kind of orthogonal kingdom. There’s a castle and a medieval-style village surrounded by a tall wall, with full crops around. You tap around, collect coins here and there, zoom in and zoom out under his close watch. Every time you tap a building without a full green bar, a few options show up, you bite your lip to hold back a smile and hit the red X on the right corner of what looks like a church.

“Hey—”

He’s snatching his phone out of your hands before you can pretend to be sorry.

“Fuck you’d do that for?”

You don’t know why, but his annoyance hits you as the most entertaining thing you’ve seen or heard tonight. A grown-ass man next to you sulking because you deleted his little 2D church on his phone. Shoko might think you fucking him would be hilarious, but this, to you, is real comedy.

“What? You religious or something?” You doubt he is, given his controversies and the way he enjoys taunting the satanic-panic crowd. He also happens to look like god left the room the moment he was born.

Toji shakes his head, not as an answer but to reiterate that you’ve pissed him off. A laugh full of mirth bubbles out of you. He’s tapping aggressively, filling up the blank spot with a smaller version of the building, and sucks on his teeth again, disappointed at how pathetic it looks around all his leveled-up properties.

“So, what's your deal?” You inquire.

“What?” he gruffly asks, offering you an irritated glance. He’s kind of cute like this, frustration looks like a foreign emotion for a man like him.

“Any conduct disorders?”

He does a double-take again.

“Is that offensive to you?” you ask, struggling to contain your amusement at how confused he looks. "Sorry, I know your generation isn't that comfortable discussing these things."

“See, I might be socially stunted, yeah,” he gruffs after staying quiet for a bit, finally putting his phone inside his back pocket. “But you rich kids—”

“Oh, us rich kids?” you gasp softly, not expecting that turn, you bite your lower lip to stop yourself from laughing out loud as he’s not done with his sudden rant.

You’re tickled.

He shakes a thick finger in your direction.

“You’re fucking uncomfortable to be around, you know? It makes you think that maybe bullying exists for a reason. They don’t rough the bunch of you nearly enough at those expensive private schools, do they?”

"I hate to break it to you, but you are a rich kid inside a grown man’s body.” He rolls his green eyes at you until all you see is white, thick eyelashes fluttering.

“Ah, I get it. You’re self-made and I’m nepo trash. Spoiled little bitch who’s never been taught a lesson, is that it?”

Animosity radiates out of him. He flattens his palms on the wood surface behind him and clenches his jaw, shaking his head like he’s not even going to try to reason with you.

"Don't pretend you're above the rest of us because you took someone else's last name. Blood is thicker than a piece of paper.”

“Nah, you’ve got it wrong there, sweetheart. I don’t put people in such one-dimensional boxes.”

He scratches the side of his nose before elaborating.

“Spoiled little bitch, yeah. But you’re a hard worker. And stubborn, too. You’ve been paving your own way, working real hard to traumatize daddy back. You run on pure spite.”

You scoff, throwing back what’s left of your drink.

“And get this,” eyes now glazed with a cruel glint, he leans in closer like he's about to share a secret, and peers down at your chest when you lean closer “He’s the crowned king of our country’s conservative media, he’s also old as fuck, so that can only mean that he’s a raging homophobe on top of, you know, violently misogynistic. You and your brother must have that therapist of yours living the fucking life.”

He stops and cocks his head, like realization just landed on him.

“And you’re weaponizing the fuck out of him. Christmas at the Gojos's a nightmare for your poor little boyfriend, but you have your fun, don’t you?”

Just a few minutes ago, you’d been savoring the signs of irritation in his body language, mind running wild with all the ways you could make him tick, but now you want to punch him in the throat. Just bury your fist right there in that v-shaped Adam's apple of his.

“You’re cold-hearted for that, sweets. You know you are.” he accuses half-heartedly, the wicked glint in his eyes hinting that he's trying to strike a chord. “Tell me, does he prepare his speeches beforehand or does he just sit there next to you, quiet and pretty and eats his dessert?”

“Don’t talk about my family.” You lick the inside of your cheek, but you know the strung tone of your voice will only egg him on.

“Why not? You’re on the news every day. Everyone talks about you.”

Usually, when it comes to your family, you’ve got thick fucking skin. You’re aware of the stain and privilege of your last name. The advantages you’ve had and people claim you don’t deserve. The fact that you’re the living consequence of your father cheating on Satoru’s mother.

Most of the things they say about your father and his monster of a corporation you can agree with, but you keep your head high and your thoughts to yourself and stick to sharing looks with Suguru when it gets particularly nasty between your brother and your father during family gatherings.

“He’s been causing quite the stir, hasn’t he? Your brother. If Alzheimer’s doesn’t do it, he might be the one to finally spare us and send your old man to hell.”

But you don’t fuck around when it comes to Satoru.

You’re propping yourself up on your wrist and lifting your leg when his hand comes to your bare knee, stopping you from attempting to stand up and walk away. His grip is surprisingly gentle, though the tips of his fingers touching the back of your knees do send the message. It’s like he can’t let you forget how much smaller you are in comparison to him.

“Whoa, easy. I’m just playing with you.”

You blink down at him, face set, hoping to deliver the message that you might push him into the water if he fucks around any further.

“You obviously know I have plenty of family baggage for you to hit me back with, have at it.” he adds, almost kindly.

You remember Naoya Zenin with tears running down his face. If you had to bet on it, you’d say that making Toji Fushiguro cry would single-handedly give you bragging rights over Satoru for the rest of your lives.

He hums when you sit again. “Go on, get as creative as you want.”

“I doubt you even have a family.” you bite “God knows what Zenin lab near Fukushima you escaped from."

He smacks his lips, half buying into it. “Weak but creative, I’ll give a tick for that. So, what I’m getting here is that you get along with him, then.”

You give him an uninterested side eye.

“Couldn’t pretend to give a shit when I mentioned your boy toy, but you looked like a loaded gun the second I brought up your brother.”

Behind the amused curl of his lip, he sounds suspiciously genuine. You don’t feel like elaborating.

“I've met him a few times,” he mentions offhandedly. “Flashy cottonhead prick, doesn’t like me very much.”

“Can’t imagine why, enchanting as you are.”

“Probably gonna like me a lot less after this.” he reasons, more to himself.

"What? Worried I might tell him about your less-than-friendly attitude?"

"Why woud I?" he chuckles, a terrible look of innocence crossing his features. "I've behaved so far, haven't I? Given the circumstances."

"Don't think I want to know your idea of misbehaving, then." you say, and try hard not to shiver at the way he looks down at you as he utters the last words. Like you're the circumstances in question.

"Debatable, that. But I'll let it slide." He chuckles, satisfied with your reaction. “So, two peas in a pod? You and him?”

“I haven't seen him in a while.” you say offhandedly, thinking back about how your dinner plans fell through after a sudden change in his schedule. A common occurrence. It seems to get worse as you get older. “He’s been busy these days, performing some... corporate sacrificial ritual.”

“And the little heiress is too cool to involve herself in such bland, boring affairs.”

You’ve had a bad feeling since your father announced he’ll be stepping down from his position. With the controversies involving the company, the board and investors spiraling and Satoru suspiciously playing your father’s game, you see havoc brewing in the future; your father closing his fist around his leashes, children crying, kittens separated from their mothers and blood spilled on the floor.

And you want none of it.

“I’m an outsider. You don’t need me to explain how it goes, do you?”

He nods at you like he’d tip his drink at you if he had one, looking deep in thought for a while there.

You prop yourself up on your wrist and bring a leg up to rest your feet on the rough wood, inadvertently knocking over your empty glass. You both watch as it tumbles, rolling in a circular path until it meets the edge and drops out of sight, vanishing beneath in the inky water, as if it never existed.

“Water looks nice.” he points out off-handedly..

You hum uncommittedly.

“Wanna take a dip?”

His eyes are already on you when you look up at him. There’s not nearly enough alcohol in you to ignore the distance between you, or the lecherous dip under the friendly, harmless veneer. You wonder what triggered it.

You gaze down at your attire, a deconstructed, stretchy fabric ensemble unsuitable for water activities.

"No, but you can go ahead. I'll stay here and pretend not to see you when you drown."

He dips his head slightly, his frown implying you're a buzzkill. "Come on. You've never gone skinny-dipping?"

“That’s a very lame attempt to get me naked.”

He points at the party with a tilt of his head

“No one’s gonna see you. I will, but I’ll behave, 'cause you’ve had a rough night” The vague fucker carries on again before you can ask what he means by that. “Didn’t really think you’d be this shy.”

“And I don’t think Haibara knows he’s friends with an old man that likes to creep on girls a decade younger.” you retort.

His silence makes you believe he's finally relented.

But he hooks a finger beneath a thin strap of your top that slipped down your shoulder at some point, deftly guiding it back into place. His nail barely grazes your skin, causing a shiver to course through you. He grins wolfishly, his eyes locked onto yours, darkness flickering from beneath his lowered lashes, tantalizing.

“Like you’re some innocent little lamb who doesn’t know better? I don’t buy it.” he mocks you, voice dangerously dropping. “Your cover’s blown, sweets. I see you. You’re a lot darker than you look.”

“You think so?”

“Mhm. You’re a little fucked up, ain’t ya? Got some real violent impulses tucked in there.”

That’s rich, coming from him.

"So perhaps you should tread lightly around me."

“I don’t mind.” he says succinctly like you didn’t just witness the black completely eclipsing the green of his otherwise beautiful eyes. “Tell you what, you’re more than welcome not to hold back around me. Consider me your safe space. Let it all out, you sure look like you need it.”

“How kind of you.” you croon, he blinks, slow and warm for you, lashes coming to rest on the sinking blue-tinted skin of his under eyes.

“You wanna go back and do drugs, Toji?”

The sea roars, a particularly violent wave crashing under you. He looks over his shoulder like he’s thinking of it.

“With your friends?” His tone is derogatory at the last word, unaffected, but you have a theory that if you were to put your hand on his chest, the rhythm of his heart would tell a different tale.

Cute. He’s cute. You want to chew him up.

He hit the spot about you not being the lamb, but another thing entirely. The thought makes you want to laugh in his face, but instead, you smile and pop a dimple, swinging your feet and imagining yourself dropping a handful of rice in front of him.

“No. Just you and me.”

#toji fanfiction #toji x reader #toji smut #fushiguro toji x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk smut #jjk fanfiction #toji fushiguro

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hestzhyen · 4 months ago

Text

Chapter 70 Whelmed Posting

Subdued entry this time, dear void. And I'm back to form with a way-too-long yapfest.

Scans are too potato for me to TL the editor's notes this week, sorry. Might revisit when I can get a clean copy of the JP version.

TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter mentions a very sensitive topic happening in canon (toned down in EN) and I will be talking about it near the end. I'll have another warning reminder for those who'd rather skip that part.

White Purity Mechanics and a GILF(?)

Helloooo handsome.

Wasn't expecting to see this guy yet or get detailed mechanics for how the sword style he founded works in the middle of a fight, but hey, it's fine. I guess. Awkward time for that lore dump but powerscalers will surely be happy. I'm interested in the details myself as a world-building nerd.

Short summary of his name here: Shirakai Itsuo (白廻逸夫), the master of the White Purity style. 白廻 (shirakai) could be roughly translated as "white game" and 逸夫 (itsuo) could be idle/elusive husband lol. At the very least, shira (白) means "white" so that's most likely where that part of the technique's name came from.

As for the rest of it...

居合白禊流 - read as Iai Byaku Gei Riyuu 居合 (Iai) is obvious, that's the type of move being executed here. We know that Byaku comes from the On reading of 白 [shira, "white"]. What are the last two? 禊 is misogi, a Shinto purification ritual; it also means ritual purification or ablutions in general, and/or "...the Japanese mountain ascetic* practice of ritual purification" (thanks, Wikipedia). 流 [riyuu] is simply "school" of method.

Anyway, Hokazono-sensei hit us in the face with a wall of technical terms for how this school works and I had to admit defeat until someone I trusted translated the yap page for it... dear God. Surely the official release will not mangle anything so I won't have to bother that friend for help with TL notes.

I've been thinking that Chihiro is essentially a DPS guy out of the "holy trinity" (DPS, Support, Tank) for a bit now. He's always been about hitting fast and hard without much room for error on his part if he unexpectedly gets hit in return. Thank you, Shirakai, for proving this dumb pet theory correct. Gotta Go Fast: The Move is all about being the fastest guy in the room because if you hit them first then they can't hit you back, right?

The difficulty of mastery part is pretty standard shounen to me in order to explain why someone can't just teach Chihiro how to use it the normal way. Two 18-year-olds picked up the style on their own fairly easily, so while I know we're supposed to see that as proof of how talented those guys are, it's not really anything special to me as a reader. It's unconventional and hard to use because it needs to be for the story more than anything else.

The real meat of this explanation was how changing the grip of the sword on the fly so quickly is ackshully a metaphor for being able to change your mindset. We are continuing the old vs. new themes with the sword style directly now, since Shirakai was mocked for trying to perfect this impracticably difficult Iai move. But the "new" won out in the end since he got the last laugh over all of his detractors. His distraction-free, flexible quick thinking outdid every traditional master that faced him, or so we can infer.

Shame the second coming of this fight left me wholly unimpressed outside of Iori.

(*If you don't want to look it up, then "ascetic" is similar to "austere" in meaning and is specifically for strict self-denial mostly for religious discipline, but can apply for personal discipline too.)

"Whatever," the Fight and Iori

All I could think of during this scene was the two of them chilling awkwardly as pleasant background music played.

I'm not really sold on this fight, honestly. All I'm thinking right now is "good, now that it's over maybe we can go back to the interesting stuff". The poses were cool and all but the theme just isn't hitting. We flew through the buildup to this confrontation and all we got out it was Chihiro winning again despite us being reminded that he's tired, pushing himself too hard, and that Hiruhiko's coming in much fresher and scarier after killing the master of a style.

Kagurabachi's biggest strength was doing character development, exploring core themes, and having sick fights at the same time. But ever since we took a sudden swing into this Iori subplot I've felt like the author is trying to speed run it as fast as possible.

Everything through chapter 59 was awesome. We took the time to introduce characters, set up plot points, threats, and motives, had spectacle fights to get insight into Chihiro's mindset- all the same great stuff that we'd all come to expect. Then we put all that on the back-burner for something related-but-different that wasn't exactly a welcome surprise.

The author primed us for Seitei War reveals and examining guilt as part of legacy. Then the he snapped our necks 90 degrees to witness this sideshow with geniuses, old vs. new, and another thematic foil to Chihiro. Iori was meant to glue this all together and strongly connect it to the main plot we left behind in chapter 59 but it didn't work. She's just a well-designed narrative device instead of a character and I'm still waiting for this stuff to finish so we can go back to what I thought the main event was.

And yet.

She did her best to save this arc.

I do love Iori. She's defending without killing, doing just enough to disfinger her enemies and get them out of the fight. Thanks to her example, Chihiro is able to choose a path that doesn't necessarily involve killing Hiruhiko to win. Yeah the clown is probably still going to be around (sadly for me), just hopefully in a less carnival side-show capacity and more as a proper enemy. Maybe even an object for redemption...

But this is probably going to be the foundation for Chihiro being able to redeem himself from guilt- choosing when to kill instead of thinking of it as the default option. She showed him the best swordplay comes from stilling the mind and heart to attack the reason the enemy bares their fangs, not necessarily slay them. Killing the reason they hold a sword is as effective as killing them but without all the murder stuff. Staying tuned to see if/when this comes back.

The Warning Section

Skip this if Hiruhiko's backstory reveal is not something you want to see a yap about.

The EN version toned it down but the JP and apparently some other languages are explicit. Let Hakuri protect you if you'd rather not read about a slightly different version of "assault"...

Hakuri buffer image for safety (it's super effective).

Alright. For anyone still here...

The FUCK was that about in Japanese?

In case the EN tones it down (bet they will): in the OG Japanese, the language used is very explicit: 手篭にしようと迫る成人男性を噛み殺した昼彦にとって

手篭め [tegome] is literally "rape/violation" and doesn't have any other connotations than what it says on the tin. So yeah. In canon, Hiruhiko was SA'd at 3 years old.

I'm very sensitive about how backstories involving CSA are used for personal reasons. The way it was used here for Hiruhiko did just about everything wrong, in my opinion. Completely wiped out the goodwill I had towards the author after how Hakuri's backstory was handled during the Rakuzaichi arc.

reinforced the stereotype of being SA'd as a child = deeply damaged/dangerous later in life

same-sex SA reinforced men as predators AND homophobic stereotypes

added with no context or buildup just for the easy shock value and pity points

I'm not okay with this at all. The nicest thing I can say is that it's used to explain the feral, bloodthirsty part of his nature and not the social ineptitude (which is probably a personality quirk and/or related to how he was raised). He's twisted but in a way that leans more towards empowerment through activating his survival instincts. Still not at all appreciated though.

100% of my hatred for this comes from my own struggles I'll admit. To see them reflected this poorly in a series I adore by an author I trusted to handle sensitive topics with care really did a number on me. I expected better from the author than to rely on negative stereotypes for this sort of thing and clearly I was wrong. That's my fault and I know better now.

It's fine to use CSA as part of a character's backstory but it needs to be treated with far more care than it was here.

If this had been applied to Chihiro, Hakuri, Iori, or any of the good guys instead I feel like it would have been fine. To show that even if it happens to you, it doesn't make you a bad person who can't function safely around others.

It also would have been fine if it was to show Hiruhiko's a true survivor that needed some help he probably didn't get afterwards- and that's what led him to be the freak he is. If Hiruhiko isn't dead after this chapter there's still time to get into that aspect, maybe even make a point that proper support makes all the difference in a person's outcomes after that kind of trauma. But even if that is the intent, dropping that sort of event without context is a terrible move.

To compare to other traumatic character backstories... basically, Hiruhiko's debut hint doesn't match up with the traumatic event behind it at all.

Chihiro

Give this boy all the hugs he can tolerate.

We see this early in chapter 2 and it's not really a surprise, since the premise of the story is that Chihiro is walking the bloody road of revenge. Something traumatic clearly happened to Kunishige due to the timeskip to "every morning I wake up with fresh hatred" Chihiro meeting Shiba alone on the train in chapter 1, so we were primed for this sort of thing. Batman origin story and all that.

Char

Protect her at all costs.

Char clued us in early on by appearing as a scruffy orphan in her debut chapter- whatever happened to her was not exactly pleasant. From there we slowly learned how she and her mom were experimented on, then separated forever. The logical flow of meeting her, seeing what happened, then watching Chihiro set her on the path to healing made sense. Thankfully she's going to be OK and she will never, ever have anything bad happen to her again (so help me God).

Hakuri

Someone give him all the love he's never had PLEASE.

I already wrote eight thousand words about how Hakuri's traumatic backstory was portrayed in a very realistic and hard-hitting way. The second thing we learn about him being that he "lost his family" five years ago while he's dripping soda out of his mouth on his lonesome was a good clue as to what happened, even if he and the author buried the lede on exactly how that happened and how bad he had it. He lost their love, twisted and manipulative as it was, and endured literal torture to try and earn it back until Ice Lady's suicide snapped him out of it. I honestly can't praise the writing for this character enough.

Iori

She chose her own path in the end...

Being dropped on us out of nowhere as Samura's daughter that everyone's forgotten about wasn't exactly a welcome surprise. But at least it let us know that she's got some difficult circumstances- which could have been expected since she's the daughter of the current arc boss to beat, but still. Her home was trashed and her dad abandoned her and we probably have more to see now that she's remembered everything. But all the reveals so far have been in line with the kind of trauma we'd expect to see given how she was introduced.

Hiruhiko

"Let's be friends, fellow murderer."

And then there's this guy.

Hakuri's the closest comparison to Hiruhiko in presentation with all the understatement going on. But we spent his intro to chapter 24 getting hints that there's something wrong with him that he wasn't talking about. Then we got context for his suicidal jump immediately afterwards, as well as even more hints that his issues go deeper than we've seen.

Hiruhiko's backstory had no build up to the reveal that he was SA'd as a toddler. We only knew he was a freaky, poorly socialised guy the same age as Chihiro who killed at the age of 3. Making us ask what circumstances would force and enable him to do such a thing was good- that's a decent hook to keep us interested in what his deal is while the immediate stuff is going on. Hokazono did it for all the other characters in this list too.

What flopped was the shocker reveal. That single line of "oh, he was assaulted by an adult man, anyway-" was pathetically delivered if it was meant to be an example of understatement. You cannot drop a heavy and sensitive backstory with no follow up. You cannot have it done by the omniscient narrator to launch into why he's such a battle genius.

The biggest problem really is that it's a convenient explanation more than something to explore like every other character's trauma was. When we got those horrific reveals, time was spent looking at them on the page and showing how it affected them. We saw Chihiro and Char crying and looking despondent, Hakuri internalising a harmful mindset about himself, now we've seen Iori pass out from the burden, waver, and will see more exploration of her difficult past to come.

But Hiruhiko, even if we do revisit this topic for him, got nothing except a long yap about what a genius of combat it made him. Nothing at all about his pain or the ramifications. If we still have more to learn about that incident then good, I fucking hope so. But it'll be too little to late for me. I don't know what I did to deserve the friends who helped pull me out of the tailspin this chapter caused, but I'm incredibly grateful to have them in my life.

So...

Current feelings. Also done after this, promise.

Hokazono-sensei isn't "cooked' or on a downswing, burning out early, deserving of being cancelled, or anything like that. I think we're just finally seeing the signs that he's a mangaka being serialised for the first time.

I still like the manga but I feel kind of isolated in being one of the apparent few that isn't having a good time with the story as it is right now. I've been waiting for the issues I've had with this arc to be resolved for a while but they seem to continue piling up. There will still be celebrations of hype moments and good writing but I'm not so keen on giving the author the benefit of the doubt any more.

I'm probably going to be more critical of the manga from hereon out so I don't mind if you unfollow me, dear void. I'm not above being a little anxious and upset when I see that folks have dropped me, but I also didn't start posting to gain a massive following. The idea was that I'd get my thoughts out there and hope a few folks were interested in what I had to say. That's happened and I don't want to chase validation through interaction numbers.

Right now I'm probably going to dial down the investment until either Hakuri comes back or we finally return to the Samura/Seitei War plotline. I feel like Hokazono tried to rush through this subplot with Iori and Hiruhiko as fast as he could to do just that, but that makes me ask a few questions.

What is the purpose of introducing Iori if we are trying to bumrush her big part of the story? Just to be a narrative tool? She's a contrast/compliment to Chihiro, a plot device, and a convenient excuse to get some fights on screen. But the execution was clumsy. It feels like she doesn't exist as a character herself but as a bundle of concepts to glue this arc's themes together and help the segue back into the main story.

Is this sort of thing going to happen every time the author wants to explore a new theme? Are we going to see Hakuri, Hiyuki, Shiba, Iori, and the rest shoved offscreen to introduce a new character tailor-made to explore things the way the author wants to instead of building on older ones? Hiyuki's a total unknown, why not use her? Why not give Shiba some screen time? I get that there are plans for them later on but frankly my patience has run out.

Are we going to see Chihiro running on fumes forever? Right now it doesn't seem like it matters that he's pushing himself too hard- he still got the better of Hiruhiko in round 2. I'm starting to get annoyed that we are being told Chihiro's exhausted, and sometimes shown it, but all of that goes out the window when it's time for him to look cool. Will this ever pay off in the narrative? If not, it's better to stop bringing it up so we stop thinking about it.

I'm still going to be here. I'm just not going to be glazing everything I like and hoping the things I don't like get better with future context any more. There's clear weaknesses in the writing that I can't overlook any longer. That said, I don't want each entry to become a negative rant, so moderation and objectivity as much as possible will be the name of the game.

Alright. If you got through all of this, thank you. Maybe see you next time if I'm still your cup of tea. If not, no hard feelings. Take care of yourself.

#kagurabachi #long post #kb ch70 #Hakuri is a tank obviously #Whoever gets Tobiumne will probably be the support #I earned that terrible disfinger/disfigure pun and I will not apologise for it

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torahoes · 1 year ago

Text

(IDOLiSH7) Haruka Isumi - An Idol's Daily Life Rabbit Chat: Part 1 - "kome up with"

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Please note that I am not a professional translator. If you come across any mistakes, feel free to let me know and I will make the necessary corrections.

Haruka Isumi: Takanashi-san, good work today.

Haruka Isumi: Are you with Yotsuba right now? He hasn't read my text on Rabbit Chat yet

Tsumugi Takanashi: Isumi-san, good work today!

Tsumugi Takanashi: I'm not with him at the moment. He's currently doing a magazine photoshoot with Iori-san, so he might not be able to check Rabbit Chat for a while...!

Haruka Isumi: Ah

Haruka Isumi: So that's why Izumi hasn't read my text either

Tsumugi Takanashi: Was there something you wanted to tell them?

Haruka Isumi: I accidentally took Yotsuba's vocabulary book home with me, and I was wondering what to do. We have a test coming up, so I should probably return it soon

Tsumugi Takanashi: Ah! The English vocabulary test, right? I heard you all studied together for it after school.

Haruka Isumi: Yup. Yotsuba was panicking, so I helped him make the vocabulary book

Haruka Isumi: But the fact that he hasn't noticed it's with me tells me he didn't try to review it yesterday lmao

Tsumugi Takanashi: He mentioned this morning that he gave in to his temptation to watch a TV show and couldn't study… > <

Tsumugi Takanashi: Should I inform him about the vocabulary book?

Haruka Isumi: Nah, it's fine. He'll probably read it after the shoot

Haruka Isumi: I did think of taking it to the dorm right now if it was urgent since I have some free time

Haruka Isumi: But I'll just give it to him at school tomorrow

Tsumugi Takanashi: Sorry for the trouble and thank you!

Tsumugi Takanashi:

Haruka Isumi: By the way, Yotsuba misspelled a word lmao

Haruka Isumi: "kome up with"

Haruka Isumi: So funny

Tsumugi Takanashi: "come" turned into "kome"... > <

Haruka Isumi: And to top it off, he drew a character next to it that looks like a rice grain [1] lmaoo

Haruka Isumi: It's kinda got a relaxed face

Tsumugi Takanashi: Tamaki-san is good at drawing!

Tsumugi Takanashi: He's always doodling King Pudding sketches in the corners of his scripts; they're adorable...!

Tsumugi Takanashi:

Haruka Isumi: Yeah, he is pretty good

Haruka Isumi: Though everything he draws is kinda round.

Haruka Isumi: I'll write down the correct spelling next to the rice grain

Tsumugi Takanashi: Thank you very much!

Tsumugi Takanashi: Speaking of which, I heard your seats recently changed, and now you're sitting closer to each other.

Tsumugi Takanashi: I also heard you always wake up Tamaki-san when he's sleeping during class while you're distributing handouts...!

Haruka Isumi: Seriously, that guy falls asleep during class all the time

Haruka Isumi: Especially on days when we have classical literature in the fifth period; he's out cold

Tsumugi Takanashi: I wonder if it's because he gets sleepy after having lunch... > <

Haruka Isumi: That's probably part of it, but our classical literature teacher is a sweet old lady who speaks super softly

Haruka Isumi: I get drowsy too, so I understand

Tsumugi Takanashi: When a teacher has a soothing way of speaking, it does make you sleepy...

Haruka Isumi: What did you used to do when you were sleepy during class, Takanashi-san?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I would intentionally drop my eraser and pick it up, just to stretch my body a bit...!

Haruka Isumi: What if it rolled in a weird direction? Wouldn't that make you stand out more

Tsumugi Takanashi: There's a trick to making it roll to a good spot!

Haruka Isumi: What? lmaoo what kind of trick is that lol

Haruka Isumi: But yeah, moving around does help wake you up. I also do stuff like taking off my jacket or rolling up my sleeves to cool down

Tsumugi Takanashi: It must be even more exhausting for you all, considering you also have work… > <

Haruka Isumi: But if you're going to school anyway, it's better to just listen to the classes so you don't have to do any reviewing later. Plus, it saves you from last-minute studying before tests

Tsumugi Takanashi: That's impressive, especially with how busy you are!

Tsumugi Takanashi: I heard you occasionally even pack your own lunchbox.

Haruka Isumi: Yotsuba and Izumi talk about stuff like that too, huh? Lol. Only sometimes, when I don't have work

Haruka Isumi: I just pack what my grandma's already cooked or use frozen food, so it's not that big of a deal

Tsumugi Takanashi: That's more than enough...!

Haruka Isumi: It'd be nice if I could quickly whip up something with whatever's in the fridge

Haruka Isumi: But I don't have that kind of repertoire at all

Tsumugi Takanashi: Would you like me to recommend a recipe app?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I use it too, and it's very convenient because it suggests meals based on the ingredients you have in your fridge!

Haruka Isumi: There's an app like that!?

Haruka Isumi: I kinda want to check it out

Tsumugi Takanashi: I'll send you the link later!

End of Part 1.

----------------

[1] Tamaki made a drawing of a rice grain because "kome" (米) means rice in Japanese.

#idolish7 translation #zool #idolish7 #ainana #i7 #id7 #rabbitchat #rabbit chat #haruka isumi #isumi haruka #i7 translation

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paraliveimaginesblog · 1 year ago

Note

Hai, Baby~ 💐

I really Adore your story✨, so... if you don't mind if I can request a headcannon for Saimon, chisei,haruomi, ryoga ,iori,Satsuki ito, Yohei and Toma With Fem MC who is a model and feels that someone is following her but she chooses not to tell them.And ends with them calming the Fem reader with cuddles, kisses (whatever it is, I'll leave it to you 🙏🥲)

Thank you so much my darling, I love you and your blog ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💋💋

(Max is 5 chars per ask, and I don't write Buraikan, sorry love! But I'll do all that isn't them, please just read the rules in the future thank you~)

Iori Suiseki:

Iori’s reaction is calm, nodding his head as you confided the details of your fears to him. It wasn’t unusual for someone striking like you to attract unwanted attention, but it didn’t mean you had to take it sitting down. He thanked you for telling him before it reached a point of no return, holding your hands in his and placing gentle kisses along your hand as he reassured you he’d keep you safe. He sends Zen out to investigate a little further on your stalker, finding out many personal details (as well as personally escorting you from your jobs from this point on) so you wouldn’t be bothered further.

Naoakira Saimon:

Saimon listens to you without interruption, the serious look on his face one you’re not used to. You’d seen a wide range of emotions from your boyfriend but you could see something pained in his eyes, like he was feeling guilty for not being able to read your mind. He pulled you into his arms, hand rubbing your back in slow, deliberate motions to help you calm down. He’s not upset with you as this was a scary situation all around but he didn’t want you traveling alone, saying he’d take time off if he had to or he’d send Yohei with you to keep an eye out. Your safety comes above all.

Ryoga Tosa:

Ryoga has been on his best behavior, a requirement to not get thrown behind bars again, but he felt that itch of violence eating away at him when you came to him in tears one day. He’s not happy that you felt the need to hide it from him, potentially because you knew what his reaction might be, but he thought he probably deserved it since he had failed in the past in that regard. He asked if you wanted him to be a personal bodyguard, not touching the person but showing up with a threatening aura (it came naturally to him). He wrapped an arm around you and pressed kisses to the top of your head as you clung to him, knowing he wouldn’t regret it if he had to use his fists to keep you safe (though he’d try to avoid it).

Satsuki Ito:

Satsuki does his best not to get worked up but to know some creep had been closely following you, and that he could’ve hurt you without Satsuki even knowing—it was just an affront to his manhood! You should let him protect you! Your teary eyes quickly dim his fire and he goes back into comforting you, apologizing for his outburst as he just wanted to keep you safe and happy. He does offer to escort you around from now on, promising not to make a scene if the person appeared but he would be flashing his muscles to let them know to back off unless they wanted real problems.

Toma Hikage:

Toma can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been for you, knowing exactly what it’s like to have fans who don’t understand boundaries. He had to ask if the creep had hurt you or done anything else, frowning as you tell him all the incidents that had occurred this far. He lets you know a few options to keep yourself safe, including you defending yourself or having a bodyguard assigned to you. He held your hand through the conversation, thumb soothingly stroking the back of your hand as he told you that this horrible moment would be a distant memory soon.

Yohei Kanbayashi:

Yohei tried hard not to be irritated with you, wanting to know why you thought that was something you should’ve kept from him. You could’ve been hurt! You can’t trust people, especially in your profession as you were seen as a trophy. He let out a deep sigh when you started to get more upset, stubbing out his cigarette and ushering you to come closer. He wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug, his way of saying sorry while also reminding you that he’s strong enough to keep you both safe. This isn’t something he’ll be turning a blind eye to but he’s relieved that you finally confided in him.

#Paradox Live #Paralive #Paradox Live x Reader #Paralive x Reader #Paradox Live Imagines #Paralive Imagines #Iori Suiseki #Ryoga Tosa #Yohei Kanbayashi #Satsuki Ito #Toma Hikage #Naoakira Saimon #Iori Suiseki x Reader #Ryoga Tosa x Reader #Yohei Kanbayashi x Reader #Satsuki Ito x Reader #Toma Hikage x Reader #Naoakira Saimon x Reader

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seventeenlovesthree · 1 year ago

Text

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

Unfortunately I didn't make it before the end of Pride Month, but - while there are a lot of potentially queer ships in the subtext of the Digimon universe that fit the tone, there aren't as many of them that came this close to technically being confirmed as having a valid (canon) baseline as this one.

To ask if canon provides input on Daisuke and Ken - or Daiken, Kensuke, Daisuken, however you want to call them -, is, once again, like asking if water is wet; they're the most elaborated relationship in the entirety of Digimon Adventure 02, the majority of Ken's development is tied to his bond to Daisuke... If you want to read more about why I value their relationship so much, I definitely recommend this post here, because they're just... Endlessly fascinating to me.

The good-hearted goofball with self-esteem issues that lead him to play a role to impress others initially - meets a corrupted genius and literally slaps the darkness out of his system. They turn from fated rivals to fated partners, facing the powers of darkness together and eventually, they become better people in the process thanks to one another. Daisuke's entire priority system changes upon wanting to give Ken a chance, he not only becomes more honest and less defensive, but also lets his personal sense of courage and friendship shine through; Ken, who's initially reluctant to take the hand Daisuke is offering him due to all the guilt he feels, slowly but steadily becomes the kind and gentle soul that was always within him, because there is someone by his side who has his back. Always.

It's a beautiful story of two complementing souls, whose bond enables the first real Jogress evolution, despite the fact - or even because - they couldn't be any more different. It's a story of repentance, forgiveness, learning to befriend others despite your own trauma and differences - and the story of a romantic subtext that almost hits you in the face if you're not careful enough. There is a reason why the screenshot above exists - the most recent movie literally acknowledged that, even after all these years, the bond between Daiken has not vanished and has, instead, gained a somewhat (actively) flirtatious nuance. While it used to be Ken who blushed due to Daisuke's (oftentimes oblivious) bluntness, the same Ken is now forward enough to openly praise Daisuke in ways that make it impossible to overlook the potential implications here - well, for anybody who isn't Daisuke himself at least...

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

Given the circumstances that we're, unfortunately, not talking about a canonically confirmed ship, we just gotta pretend that there will be a day when Ken's attempts of asking Daisuke out will be answered in two potential ways: 1.) "Huh? YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH ME THE ENTIRE TIME????" or 2.) "Huh? I thought we were together this entire time anyway???" Because both of these would be somewhat plausible "Daisuk-esque" reactions in my opinion.

I thoroughly believe that these two would work out romantically in fantastic ways - even though it'd take a lot of work, but which relationship that intends to last doesn't? They both chose careers that require enormous amounts of time and energy - and very irregular working hours. Granted, the latter applies to the majority of the Chosen Children, but an aspiring chef of his own Ramen cart may only be able to see an aspiring police officer if the latter's break time allows him to grab a meal at a Ramen facility that is coincidentally very close by... Gate hopping may have made that a lot easier, but at this point, we don't even know if that is still a thing anymore.

I still maintain that, as much as they'd be married to their jobs, they both still have quite a romantic side to themselves once the curse is broken - so they would make time, just like they did throughout all these years. While their interests in general might also be quite different, they would always find a way to bond over their mutual love for sports, football in particular. Ken needs someone who pulls him out of his head - and Daisuke needs someone who grounds him, which, as The Beginning suggested, is (basically) exactly their dynamic. They always enjoy group gatherings with their friend groups, food tastings are always a reason for Daisuke to invite everybody over - especially to lure Ken away from work. And let's be real, I can also see them go on cheesy dates - that mostly consist of them doing sporting activities (any kind of ball sport, rollerskating, hiking) where Daisuke can (pretend to) be competitive and Ken knowingly plays along with the teasing, just so they have an excuse to be close. Because they'd be cheesy like that, oh Lord, they'd be so cheesy in the most wanna-be-bro way possible.

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

In a universe in which Miyaken doesn't become canon, there is literally no reason for Daiken not to be endgame - unless the writers actually had some guts and turned them into an official OT3 in The Beginning. Of course I can always enjoys them as just platonic life partners, bros 4 life, you don't even have to give it a label, as long as they remain as close as they are. Because they simply belong together, one way or another.

#daiken #kensuke #daisuken #my two cents #shipping game #meta #daisuke motomiya #ken ichijouji #davis motomiya #the beginning spoilers

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tokiro07 · 7 months ago

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Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2025, Issue #4/5: Wedding Week

One Piece: On the tour of Elbaf, the Straw Hats learn that the Giant youths aren't being raised to be warriors anymore; an anonymous friend of Loki's suggests that he's secretly kind, to Loki's chagrin; Shanks or a lookalike appears with a mysterious partner, summoned by the same demonic sigil as the Elders. "Shanks' " partner has pretty familiar eyelashes...dare I to dream...?

Yozakura: On the day he plans to renew his vows with Mutsumi, Taiyo loses his wedding ring; when he discovers that Kyoichiro took it to polish it, the two have a heartfelt conversation. This was such a good bookend for the series and Taiyo's relationship with Kyoichiro, at least to me since I'm not super invested

Undead Unluck: Andy and Fuuko finish charging up The Heart with their memories, allowing them to take down a fusion of Sun and every remaining UMA. Please, please, please...let the anime get to the end, I need to see this fight animated...

Roboco: It's Wedding Week apparently, with Gaku getting hitched to a girl he saved in the wilderness; Second Year gets jealous and seems to share a story meant to humiliate Gaku, but it turns out to be completely serious and heartfelt despite the subject matter. A weirdly sweet chapter by the end, and certainly always strange seeing Roboco play the straightman

Sakamoto: Sakamoto delivers Heisuke his gun and Piisuke to protect Atari from Torres before rushing to Shin to save him from himself; the flashback to Sakamoto and Shin's meeting begins. I'm suddenly so invested in their friendship, this might motivate me to reread

EluSam: Tokiyuki's drum performance goes terribly, but turns out to be a long con to lure Toki into the perfect position to assassinate him. Seems like an odd gambit, and I highly doubt it's what really happened, but wild if true

Witch Watch: Taiga sacrifices himself in order to allow Kuon to seal Jeanne d'Arc, realizing Ibuki's prophecy. A forgone conclusion, but a well enough written one that I'm not totally unaffected by it

Blue Box: Chinatsu's father regrets prioritizing work over his daughter for his entire life, so he takes a page out of Taiki's playbook and makes a run for it to reach her game in time when his taxi gets stuck in traffic. This might be the most emotionally resonant moment in the series for me specifically

Akane: With a baseline understanding of Issho and Shiguma's history, Akane resolves to figure out the rest of their rivalry through Shiguma's Art; the rest of the Shiguma School resolve to all become Shin'uchi so that they'll be able to reopen their school one day. I saw one comment refer to this as the Sabaody Arc Incident of the series, and I really have no better analysis than that

Kill Blue: Inukai turns out to be Juzo's former child apprentice, who becomes frustrated and disillusioned by Juzo's current behavior; he sets out to eliminate the Jardin members staffed at the school, but is saved by Juzo, proving that he's still the same man, just adapting to the needs and opportunities of his situation. I think Inukai offers an interesting opportunity to the series by giving us a way to see more of the adult Juzo, though it remains to be seen how far Fujimaki will take this concept

Nue: Tsujita pleads with Gakuro not to go after Shiroha because the Fujino Family will certainly kill him and she likes him; Gakuro tells her that he'll give proper thought to her confession; immediately upon infiltrating the Fujino Estate, Gakuro learns that they're one step ahead and expecting a sneak attack. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse at this point, so no comment on this moment until I know the payoff

Kagurabachi: As Iori's memories of Samura try to resurface, the Hishaku arrive at her school to capture her, but Chihiro and the Masumi come to save her. For everything that happened in this chapter, the thing I'm most compelled by is the revelation that Chihiro has earned a reputation in society for being a mass murderer, which will certainly play into the themes of Heroism vs. Sin being levied against the Swordbearers

Chojo: Chojo's old friend Dan, a Yugioh protagonist pastiche, comes to visit, though he is pursued by Rare Hunters; Chojo fends them off with Dan's signature card, a classic YGO trope. I'm with @wickedsick on this one, card game protagonists should be side characters more often, it's such a good bit to see a grown man living like that

Astro Royale: Shikaba turns out to be the organizer of the upcoming event, the Astro Battle Royale tournament, with the Daybreak Ore on the line. We (almost) Have a Title; this kind of gives the impression that the remainder of the series is going to be the tournament, but that doesn't feel right

Kiyoshi: Kiyoshi finishes his basic training with Akari, then begins applied training with Sakaki. ...Is Akari the love interest? Also, I forgot she's supposed to be his partner, she's really not very present...I hope Usui has bigger plans for her, I'd hate for her to just be "The Girl"

Hima-Ten: Suddenly back home, Himari and Tenichi discuss the parameters of Tenichi's employment, expanding his duties and empowering Himari to be more honest with her thoughts and wants. This certainly won't pose any ethical issues when she accepts that she is in fact in love with her housekeeper, who she pays

Ichi: World Hater begins The (legally distinct) Rumbling, but Ichi only gets more excited by the prospect of the hunt and activates an Uroro-Amplified Uruwashi, Hisame's spell. I'm so excited to see Nishi delve into whether or not Ichi's sparkly-eyed obsession with hunting the Magiks is his best quality or simply dangerous naivete, if not both

Shinobi: Tobi blatantly admits to being a ninja, but Mukai thinks it's all part of the Haunted Walk; Yodaka has trouble fighting him in the dark until Hibari and Umineko arrive, allowing him to go all out. I can see other folks disliking it for how dry it is, but I'm still a big fan of Mitarashi's sense of humor; even the dramatic dialogue is pretty clever - "you poor thing, you won't even get to see the moon during your last moments" -> "isn't this great? You'll get to see the moon in your last moments"

Hakutaku: Akamine figures out how Hideout Plan works just from the context of meeting Hikuma, then is suddenly swarmed by friendly wild animals because he's a manic pixie dream man or something; Noto is nearly rejected by the rest of the Tidio team because her actions suggest an incomplete prototype, but she convinces them to give her a chance. I can't help but feel this series is giving a skewed impression of the game dev industry and process; also Akamine's line that there's an annual day of unusual circumstances suggests that there's a supernatural element to this series, which I...don't think I want, but I also feel like that'd be a good twist to make this actually engaging

Syd Craft: Lulu goes to Syd's office to try to get some dirt on him, and instead meets Elio, who she immediately clocks as a crossdresser; through a misunderstanding of a letter delivered by Souffle, the three end up exercising in the middle of the office as a way to...become more romantically charming...I guess? The letter turns out to be a bomb threat. Lulu being introduced to Elio and Souffle and becoming fast friends with both of them is a fun little twist, but until Tsutsui gives me poly or yuri, I won't rescind my earlier assertions that he's a coward

Top three of the week:

Undead Unluck, obviously

Sakamoto Days for continuing to get me so invested after years of mild engagement

Shinobi Undercover for solid dialogue and reminding me why I was so excited to see the Candy Flurry duo coming back

Ichi just barely missed the top 3 this week, I suspect the actual battle next week will push it up a bit, but honestly this whole week was pretty strong for me, so if the next issue brings it just as hard, it could really go any which way...

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ronnie-p · 7 months ago

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Jundori Doujinshi Get!

This doujinshi set is by city_sanzu.

"Until the Sunrise" takes place in 2011 during different points in the year. The artwork is great. It gives me a cozy feeling. I also love how Chidori and Junpei have different outfits throughout the year. It makes the world feel lived in and vivid. From what I've read so far, the way they interact is adorable. I love how Chidori breaks out of her shell and starts becoming more expressive.

"Shadow Junpei, Chidori, and Junpei" is a short comic. Shadow Junpei appears and tries to seduce Chidori. Chidori is forever adorable and has no idea what's going on. Junpei's reaction and expression are great. I like the idea of Shadow Junpei and Junpei working as a Shadow Operative.

The omakes were also cute. Apparently, you can't get a package in the Iori household without nosey people wanting to see it, lol.

If you are able to, please support the artist and purchase their books when they are back in stock on Booth.

#persona 3 #junpei iori #p3 #chidori yoshino #doujinshi #my collection #jundori

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vagabond-umlaut · 2 years ago

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Fall Versus Foliage

Gojo Satoru x Fem!Reader; Geto Suguru Makes His Debut; Takes Place Between Star Plasma Vessel Incident & Death Of Haibara; Fluff, Very Little Angst, Humor & Drama!! Contains Spoilers. Canon-Compliant. [Geto's Already Spiralling Here.] [I Hate Canon.]

Oneshot From Series: One Day, Three Autumns

Your Best Friend is Gojo. Gojo's Best Friend is Geto. Your Mortal Enemy is Geto.

"Oi, you six-eyed cellar spider! Where the fuck you hidin', huh?"

Wrenching the shoji door open, you charge onto the backyard of your home, wading through the tall grasses overcrowding your so precious lawn. Somewhere from behind, someone calls your name in an overly frantic tone— paying them no attention, you proceed forwards, wrath coursing through your arteries and veins– colouring your vision with a furious shade of red.

Honestly speaking, this isn't how you envisioned your weekend going. You were under the impression you might be able to get some indeed very much needed rest these two days— maybe with some fun too in the mix, given how you invited your friends to this tucked away home you've in the countryside.

Then again, you never envisioned someone gobbling your Neapolitan ice cream– the entirety of it– did you, now?

"Hey, Gojo," you holler once again, eyes roaming in search of the bane of your existence, when you suddenly stop at the sight before, only to increase the speed of your attack within the next instant. "Oi, Satoru!" you yell, clenching then relaxing your fists as you march towards that messy mop of white hair partly obscured by the tree trunk its owner's leaning against, "You gone deaf or— huhhh? What the fuck is this??"

Were anyone from your family there right now, you'd have received an earful for such a horrendously unladylike language— you shove every thought of your stick-in-the-mud family members out your mind into the lake nearby, opting to focus on the masterpiece before instead.

Though you're much too unsure, which of them two the masterpiece is.

Must it be the striking painting staring back at you, the woman's eyes carrying fondness yet mystery in their depths while her lips curve in a visibly coy smile, sweet yet cryptic?

Or must it be the striking painter snoozing beside his work, tiny quiet snores leaving him while his head lolls to the side, those black shades sitting tad precariously on his nose?

A muted exhale leaving, you force your shoulders to slump down and relax, your hands reaching forwards to carefully pluck his glasses off– only to still and tense up, registering the presence of another person.

Very intolerable. Very obnoxious. Another. Person.

Suguru offers you an easy smile from where he's propped up against the tree beside Satoru's, an open book lying in his lap. You manage a barely civil smile in response, gritting out, "Why the hell are you here, huh? Never took you to be my 'Toru's watch dog... Senpai."

Even if the boy does detect the disrespect in the term of address you throw in as an after-thought, he makes no comment on it– wearing a smile as placid as before, and replying, "Never took these lawns to be out of bounds for me either— but here are we. Thinking things only to be proved wrong later on. Funny little coin—"

"I'm rather good at reading people," you cut him off, eyes narrowed in a glare as your teeth clack against each other in your attempts to rein in your bubbling irritation and rising volume: Satoru's asleep; he must not be disturbed at any and all costs– "and I think Ieiri-senpai prefers your company to Iori-senpai's when she's smoking. Why don't you go, have a smoke with her, yeah? They're in the other wing of the house."

Or, perhaps, in the same wing of the house adjoining these very same gardens— but you don't add that. With the fewest words spoken, you want Suguru to be gone the quickest, the farthest from Satoru— who seems too delicate, too vulnerable, too breakable in such a state— an uncomfortable shiver slithering down your spine on noticing that tiny scar at the back of his neck, you drag your attention away from him— to the second boy watching you: visibly delighted; tangibly intrigued.

You will your annoyance to be doused: your best friend's asleep; 'Toru Must Not Be Disturbed— his best friend leisurely flips over to another page, though his eyes drift to the new page only for a moment before returning to study you— albeit without the sliver of interest his hawk-like gaze always carries when settling on a hapless girl doomed to be his prey for the night— you observe this with an inward sigh of relief.

Be it for you or for Satoru, you never quite like those who try to come between the two of you friends. You suppose, the white-haired boy is not very fond of such folks either. That pathetic boy who tried to give you an equally pathetic rose in your third grade, still carries remnants of the thrashing your friend had given him on hearing your complaint – you know, the white-haired boy is not very fond of such folks either.

Suguru chuckles softly. "You..." he pauses for a little, seemingly in the search for the right words, then resumes, "You're not good in dealing with feelings, are you? Especially not where it concerns people close to you, right?"

It takes you two seconds before the meaning behind his words spring to life. You clench your fists to keep yourself absolutely rooted there, vision growing red yet again.

"Are you trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me, Geto?" you query quietly, nails digging deep crescents into the skin of your palms. Suguru's face morphs into an unrushed grin, smug and ugly. You reckon one of your nail's finally broken the skin of your left palm.

The Curse Manipulator shrugs. "That depends on what—"

"Being mean to you isn't me not knowing how to handle my emotions or some shallow shit like that," you cut him off, unclenching your fists and letting the air brush over the red-hot indents in your palm, "Being mean to you is me wanting to be; and you better not be expecting me to change that anytime soon, 'cause I won't–" A barely-heard mumble on kikufuku makes you pause. Throwing a sideways glance at the boy mumbling, you return your focus to the other boy, eyes fixed in a hard stare.

"I hate you and I'm so not the type to be polite with someone, only to bitch about them later on, behind their back— so I'm gonna continue hating you to your face— and I don't care what you might have to say on this, so you better save your breath, yeah?"

A moment of tense silence follows your question, broken not too long after by the black-haired boy's incredulous statement, "I never meant that to refer to myself. I was speaking on your feelings for–" He grows silent suddenly, eyes darting to Satoru for a brief second, before they return to you. Cheshire cat grin back in every bit of its dastardly glory.

"Feelings for someone close to you translates to your hatred for me– hm?" he says, throwing a momentary glance at Satoru yet again, grin unbudged, "You are one very weird girl, you know that?"

"Oh, yeah?" you snap back without missing a beat, "You might not be knowing this— but anger and hatred are equally valid feelings as any other— and regarding the matter of you being someone close to me?" you let out something between a scoff and a sigh, shaking your head, "You're one of the five other faces I see from my age group, at school everyday. Of-fucking-course, you're someone close to me. I'll be kind of upset if— Have you ever been told, your grin is low-key terrifying?"

Your genuine question earns one very hearty laugh from Suguru– it grows tempered soon enough, however, when you pointedly glance at your sleeping friend then shoot the other boy a glare. Sharp. Mad.

The latter smiles at you, shaking his head. "You're really one weird girl —perhaps the weirdest of them all..." he says, wiping a tear away from his eye, shoulders still shaking from his subdued laughter– "However, I can't help but wonder..."

You shift your weight to one foot, the other tapping an impatient tune on the ground as you stuff your hands into your jacket pockets. Smile dimming to grow a touch of honest curiosity, he asks, "You say, anger and hatred are valid emotions, but don't you feel they might burn you from the inside out, consume you and every bit of your life, leave your world in smoke and ash— don't you feel ashamed when you're feeling those? Helpless– miserable when your anger and hatred tears at your insides? Teasing you, taunting you— cursing you?"

It takes you few moments to grasp the entirety of Suguru's question; and when you do, you can't help but feel sorry for him— Though you know better than to offer something as trash as sympathy to another.

Not when it cannot retrieve the lost, resurrect the dead.

Not when it cannot remove the scars– seen and hidden.

Not when it cannot... let your 'Toru sleep without reliving the sight of millions of maggots swarming over him, weak, dying, dying, weak— YouNeedToMakeGetoLeaveNOW—

You fake a yawn, flexing and extending your legs, one at a time.

"Jogging, fencing, complaining, being mean, napping— these are my usual go-to's whenever I feel too overwhelmed by negative emotions," you answer, features made into one of nonchalance then add, almost as a mumbled after-thought, "or when any emotion confuses me too, to be honest. Kicking the wall or the source of your distress helps me too, yeah."

"So... violence is always an option, hm?"

A chuckle moves to fall past your lips— you push it back– misgivings standing where humor should be– when you catch the way Suguru's eyes gleam in the shade granted by the drifting clouds— though that gleam doesn't seem to be gleaming to you. One might accuse you to be unfairly prejudiced against him— but you know you aren't letting a smidgen of those biases tint your vision now.

You know that gleam in his eyes is anything but funny. Anything but light. Anything but good—

The Curse Manipulator rises from his slouch on the ground, sending you another of his easy smiles, though it no longer feels as harmless as it used to, earlier. Your feet move a few steps towards Satoru— in response to your instinct to shield the boy or your desire to be within his comforting aura— you're not very sure, which.

Suguru's smile grows, gaze flitting from his classmate to you. "Thank you for inviting us here. All of us really needed this break after... what happened last year," he says, volume dropping to a whisper, "Thanks a bunch, kid."

You just nod your head in response, fighting the urge to rush to your friend's side— the other boy lets out a muted chuckle, feet moving a couple steps away from you, before he stops and points at the piece of drawing lying before Satoru, held down by a stone paperweight. It is the one you gifted him, many years back at a beach, you recollect.

A tad too tickled statement startles you back to the present.

"Your 'Toru's made his 'sweetness' the subject of that portrait there... think, he fancies her or something?"

Not sparing said portrait a glance, you frown up at him. "But it seems to be of an older woman, Geto. Are you trying to suggest Satoru sees me as someone older than her age?"

"Maybe," he shrugs. You observe him for a moment before looking at the fast asleep boy again— dread and dejection filling every small bit of your body, slow yet so steady—

Satoru sees you as someone much older than your age. Satoru never tells you, he'll be drawing your portrait— but he has told that bastard best friend of his, everything. Said bastard best friend keeps being a hindrance, putting a spoke in your and Satoru's eons old friendship— not to mention those way too disturbing vibes he was giving off some time back— Bloody hell, Satoru also ate your ice cream up, didn't he?

"You seem to be overwhelmed with emotions, kid," the black-haired boy comments, still standing in the same place as he was, watching you attentively with hints of a smirk, "What are you planning to do?"

Honestly? You don't know. You're mad. You want Suguru to leave you two by yourselves for some time. But, you don't know how to— okay, no, wait–

Kicking something never not solves your issues... Besides, all of your friends– yeah, even this bang-haired asshole, keep themselves away whenever you and Satoru fight, so...

Stamping down the glee blooming in your heart, you throw Suguru a very unimpressed glance. "What can one ever expect me to do, eh?"

And that's the last thing you utter, before you stomp right up to your best friend, and ignoring the tiny flicker of regret, deliver a sharp and well-aimed kick to his leg— eliciting a yelp from your poor 'Toru– but, at the same time, kicking your oh-so-splendid plan of protecting your friendship, off as well.

[But, in case this plan fails? Something, the sweet half of yourself is a bit too sure, will happen— Shut the fuck up, you goody-two-shoes!!—

Simple!! You'll buy Satoru three– no, five– tubs of that Neapolitan ice cream. Offer to complete his homework, plus massage his shoulders as an apology for hitting him. And pout at him, trembling lips and big teary eyes and all that jazz, and—

Gojo Satoru will be best friends with his sweetness in no time, again!]

I do not own the characters used. Divider is by @cafekitsune. Please do not plagiarize or translate or repost this. Hope you enjoyed reading this! 😊

Please interact with This Post to be added to the series taglist! ❤️

Masterlist

Satoru calls his future S/O sweetness, but trust me when I say— Suguru's S/O will be the sweetest of them all. Stay tuned for the next oneshot in this series, my loves!!! 🥰

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beginningobserver · 10 months ago

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Community Service Ending pt3 [read pt1 & pt2 before]

[02TB SPOILERS IN THIS SERIES BTW]

So, uh, the idea here was like, Rui loses his eyepatch because he's exhausted from working at TWO places at the same time (one is his regular part-time job at the café -- which is another of my pet headcanons lol -- and the other is him doing community service at a daycare under Hikari's supervision -- she offered to help him, and Iori & Taichi managed to convince the judge to accept that offer? idk, I didn't think that far lol)

And then a kid accidentally finds it and goes to give it back to Rui. Note that I assume that Rui is really trying to get used to not having to wear the eyepatch, so he just has a little panic attack thinking that people will find out his secret. But he quickly remembers, "Oh, right... that eye is gone now..." and calms down. I think he kinda had some panic attacks during the movie (like when he, Daisuke and Ken + Mons witness the baby Rui finding the egg...?), so I was wondering if...

Btw, the decision to use a CERTAIN OC of mine instead of some random kid designed specifically for this is... well, not exactly planned -- but Taisuke is kind of like Rui in wanting his family's attention (at least in his original source/project, DigiTimeLines, but here he's not Taichi's son and definitely NOT from an alternate future, btw), so I think this would be a good opportunity for my gremlin son to meet my favorite sad potato.

I'll put a transcript of the text on Read More, there's a lot to put on the Alt text.

Rui: Sigh-- Having to work on two jobs is hard...

Rui: I wonder how some people can manage that...

※ (He) just had finished his shift at the cafe shop.

Rui: But we have to compensate for those BAD things we had done...

Ukkomon: Rui...

???: HEY, MISTER!!

Rui/Ukko: ?!!

???: You dropped your eyepatch.

Rui: [turns back and sees a kid holding his eyepatch] huh------ AH?!

Rui: [immediately pushes the hair bangs to cover his right eye during, desperately] DON'T LOOK AT ME-- I'M--

Ukkomon: RUI!!

Ukkomon: Rui, take a deep breathe!!

Rui: [pants] Ah... I... I forgot that that digimon eye is gone...

Rui: [turns to the kid, scratches his head] S-sorry. I just forgot that I don't need that anymore.

[hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha] ← he's nervous right now

Kid: ...

Kid: AH! You are the person from the rumors...!

Rui: ...?

Kid: The one who got the first digimon partner in the world...!

Rui: [scratches his head again, looks away] Maybe I'm not the first... I don't even know anymore...

Kid: Ok... But why don't you need the eyepatch anymore?

Rui: [points to his face] Because I don't need to hide my injured eye anymore.

Kid: [frowns] Why would you hide your injured eye, mister?

Rui: [looks down, frowning] Because... I was ashamed of having one.

Kid: There's nothing to same here. Everyone has one or two imperfection in themselves, right?

Rui: The truth is... I was repressing it, thinking I was a weirdo now.

[Kid Rui, covering his right eye with his hand: Stupid Ukkomon, look what you did...]

[Kid Rui, depressive: ...]

Rui: BUT...

Rui: Some people made me realize that all of us are imperfect.

[Daisuke, standing his hand to Rui: So, go talk with him!]

Rui: And I was able to fix a few mistakes I've committed before.

Rui: [scratches his head again, smiles awkwardly] Though, I'm still getting used to those changes, haha...

Rui: So, you're right about it. We all have flaws and we shouldn't try to repress them.

[Kid looks at the eyepatch, quietly]

Ukkomon: Can I have the eyepatch?

Kid: [hands the eyepatch to Ukkomon] Sure, here it go.

Ukkomon: [takes the eyepatch from the boy's hand] Thank you~

Ukkomon: Do you have a digimon?

Kid: Yea, but... It's still hatching...

Kid: [takes the egg from his pocket, shows it to Rui & Ukkomon] And it's smaller than the other Digieggs...

Kid: [serious gaze] But that's ok. I'm sure they will hatch soon!

Kid: Their size is not going to change who they are!!

Kid: Because... [holds it closer to his chest, smiles] I'll love them by who they are.

Rui: ...

Rui: [smiles]

Rui: [In a light sassy tone, leans towards the kid] I bet that digimon will be lucky to have a partner like you then.

Ukkomon: [smiles] Yep, yep.

Kid: [smiles back at them] Hehe~

#digimon adventure 02 the beginning #ohwada lui #ukkomon #02tb spoilers

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justicerikai · 1 year ago

Text

Charisma House - Superhuman Sharehouse Story “Charisma” - #83 The Tendou Household

Please read alongside listening to the drama track on Youtube.

Let me know if I missed something!

TL note:

Seiza: Japanese sitting position where one sits politely on your knees.

Atami is a place known as a resort town and for its hot springs. The perfect place to cleanse your soul and soak into relaxation. This is also a location in the easter egg ending of AI: The Somnium Files. This part is irrelevant. I like making people read more than necessary.

Everyone: Ahahaha

Sarukawa: …..

Sarukawa: A dream, huh…

Sarukawa: …!

Sarukawa: Where, am I….

Housemaid 1: Ah, Sarukawa-sama!

Sarukawa: !?

Assistant 2: Nakagami-sensei, what’s the report?

Nakagami: Our personnel and budget got cut, and we must refrain from any conspicuous actions for the time being.

Assistant 2: I knew we went too far, even if it was done in the name of capturing the Charismas.

Nakagami: This damned decrepit country prioritizing appearance rather than results.

Torahime: No matter, Torahime will follow Sensei to the depths of hell!

Nakagami: What’s the destination of the Charismas

(Hitting desk sound)

Torahime: Ngagh!

Assistant 3: Please look at this!

Assistant 1: What is it

Assistant 3: This is the house where Tendou Amahiko was born, but isn’t this place…

Assistant 1: !? Don’t tell me… Tendou is…THAT Tendou!?

Assistant 3: The esteemed family behind generations worth of skilled doctors. The kind whose connections run deep in politics and finance.

Assistant 1: Not a chance we’d even come near if this is where they’re hiding…!

Assistant 2: I’m sure the higher ups wouldn’t want any kind of conflict either…!

Assistants: ….! What do we do… To think it’s really….

Nakagami: Do not falter!

Assistants: !?

Nakagami: It’s irrelevant. Whatever the situation at hand may be, we march to capture them.

Nakagami: No matter the risks we must take.

Assistants: ….!

Torahime: Sensei…

(The sound of housemaids moving around)

Sarukawa: ….

Sarukawa: Um… ‘m seriously doin’ fine here, no need to go outta yer way like that now.

Maidservant 1: How preposterous!

Maidservant 1: Such considerate arrangements are a given when you’re a bosom friend of young master Amahiko!

Sarukawa: We ain’t no chums

Manservant: Sarukawa-samaaaaaa~!

(Sound of running through the corridor, sliding into seiza position)

Manservant: Here, my good sir. Hair wax of the finest caliber in terms of holding power.

Sarukawa: WHA-!?

Manservant: I’m well aware of the peril and life-dangering risks Sarukawa-sama has gone through to keep his hair standing upright, no matter the cost!

Sarukawa: That’s embarrassing! The fuck did you get that from! Who told ya!

Maidservant 2: Sarukawa-samaaaa!

Sarukawa: What’s it this time!

Maidservant 2: It appears that your bosom friends have made their return.

Sarukawa: Eh?

Maidservant 1: Welcome back, Terra-sama!

Terra: Thaaanks~~

Manservant: Welcome, Motohashi-sama!

Iori: Sorry to keep you waiting~

Terra: It sure warmed me all up~

Rikai: Honestly, such a pleasant hot bath.

Iori: Riiight~

Sarukawa: Huh?

Iori: Ah, Saru-chan’s awake! Good morning

Rikai: Looks like you’re fine, what a relief.

Sarukawa: The hell have you guys been up to?

Fumiya: Vacation

Sarukawa: Huh!?? WUH!? EH!? HUEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!!!??

The five of them: Huh?

Sarukawa: VACATION?

The five of them: Yea

Sarukawa: While I was knocked out you went on VACATION!?

Terra: To Atami

Sarukawa: NO WAY!

Iori: The hot springs were amazing.

Rikai: Not to mention how beautiful the ocean was.

Sarukawa: WAITwaitwait, you GOTTA be pulling my leg. What the fuck are you idiots doing

Terra: I mean, it’s not like you were able to lift a finger or anything for a while. So we had time to kill in the meantime.

Fumiya: Then I got an idea. Now's the chance! Let’s go to Atami, like that.

Sarukawa: Don’t just get used to this shit!!! Show some concern no matter how many times this happens!!!

Ohse: Sorry, Sarukawa-san. At the very least take this as a souvenir.

Ohse: A drawing I made of Atami’s sea.

Sarukawa: AS IF I NEED THAT!!!!!!

(Sarukawa throwing a tantrum, the others calming him down)

Iori: Calm down, Saru-chan…! There’s a good reason for this!

Sarukawa: Hahn!?

Maidservant 1: Young master Amahiko, her ladyship is…

Amahiko: ….Understood.

Sarukawa: Hah? Ya bailed outta this place?

Fumiya: Yeah

Fumiya: The Tendous are no small-fry

Fumiya: Timing was just right to get away under the guise of you needing rest, but a new problem popped up.

Rikai: The family has been investigating us.

Rikai: What kind of people we are, what our relationship is with their precious son.

Rikai: And it’s not as if I can say that we’re a ragtag bunch of misfits, save for me.

Terra: Why? Nothing’s stopping you

Rikai: Absolutely not! Amahiko-san’s the worst one of all!

Iori: That’s why, Saru-chan, we had to take shelter for a bit.

Iori: A vacation in name only.

Ohse: It was all an act.

Sarukawa: …..

Sarukawa: That’s what’s up, huh

Sarukawa: So, wasn’t like y’all actually went out on a lil’ trip, huh

The five of them: No, we did.

Sarukawa: YOU DID GO!?

(Sarukawa throwing a tantrum, the others calming him down)

Maidservant 2: Everyone?

Four of them: Wuh!

Maidservant 2: Dinner has been arranged.

Four of them: …

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: …….

Rikai: Terrific…

Ohse: Is such a thing really okay…

Iori: …Unbearable---

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: …….

Terra: YUM! I think Terra-kun’s gotta go for seconds

Fumiya: Unfair, Terra, I want too. Excuse meeeeee

(Sound of a small whistle being blown)

Rikai: You two…! Your behaviour…! And how can you two be so unbothered?

Ohse: Where’s Amahiko-san?

Iori: Dunnooo

Rikai: And where did Saru go?

Iori: Drinking his sorrows away alone in his room

Ohsa: Uwah…

Amahiko’s mother: Is it to your liking?

The four of them: Wah!

(Rikai being flustered)

Rikai: Terra-san, Fumiya-san…! Seiza…! Straighten your back and…! C’mon, hurry…!

Amahiko’s mother: My apologies for showing up during your meal.

Four of them: No no not at all, Ma’am

Amahiko’s mother: Once again, I am Amahiko’s mother.

Amahiko’s mother: Thank you for always taking care of my son.

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: No no no it’s us who should say so, don’t mention it at all.

Amahiko’s mother: How do I say… What sort of person is Amahiko you all…

Rikai: …Eh?

Amahiko’s mother: Ah, please excuse my impoliteness.

Amahiko’s mother: He never mentions anything to us.

Amahiko’s mother: Could you kindly tell me about it, if that is alright with you all?

Rikai: …Ah

Amahiko’s mother: What is his occupation at the moment?

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: HUH!?

Amahiko’s mother: Eh?

Rikai: Huh?

Amahiko’s mother: Hm?

Iori: Wha?

Amahiko’s mother: Uh huh?

Ohse: Mhm?

Amahiko’s mother: ?

Fumiya: ?

Amahiko’s mother: Did I ask something I shouldn’t have..?

Terra: Amahiko-san’s job, right? He’s the World Se--

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: @@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: Huh? World?

Rikai: Ah, no, ah, uuum, well, you see with world, um, yes world yes, um right ma’am you see, it’s it’s it’s that yes Yes uuum Amahiko-san’s work is world, um, Yes! Basically the world! Amahiko-san goes around the world, doing all kinds of wonderful labor!

Amahiko’s mother: Oh my! That’s overseas then.

Rikai: Exactly!

Amahiko’s mother: And what does he do overseas specifically?

Rikai: EH!?

Terra: Stripping and pole da-…

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: @@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: Excuse me?? Stripping????

Rikai: With stripping he means, um, that, that there’s a lot of circumstances surrounding it which Minato Ohse-kun will explain further.

Ohse: Wha-!! You jest, milord!

Rikai: You can do it.

Ohse: …! Um… stripping is like, um, uuuh… poop…? No not poop, absolutely not poop…!

Ohse: …!

Iori: With stripping it’s not meant in the sense of taking off clothes, but stripping yourself of any prejudice towards others.

Amahiko’s mother: Huh

Iori: In other words, Amahiko’s work overseas pertains to helping out any kind of person no matter who they are, isn’t that right, Ohse-san.

Ohse: Yes, exactly that.

Ohse: (IO-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Amahiko’s mother: …Some kind of humanitarian aid, then

Iori & Ohse: Yes!

Amahiko’s mother: And what does that include then?

Terra: Asparagus, Assparagus-

Rikai, Ohse, Iori, Fumiya: @@@@@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: Asparagus?

Rikai: Amahiko-san developed a new variety of asparagus!

Terra: Bobongalinga---!

Amahiko’s mother: Bobongalinga?

Rikai: Bobongalinga is a region under conflict at the moment.

Rikai: Asparagus is being distributed, free of charge, to the refugees and children in need

Terra: ECSTASYYYYY---!!

Iori: Is what the people feel thanks to the economic benefits from cultivating this new form of asparagus.

Terra: Propagating sexy--

Ohse: Scientists are propagating how to grow this new species of asparagus

Ohse: It’s referred to as the Se-XY method, which involves Selenium and the XY system, in order to grow more

Amahiko’s mother: Oh wow… It's as if he’s performing some kind of liberation campaign overseas.

(Sound of dishes rattling)

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: LIBERATION CAMPAIGN! THAT!

Iori: Just as you say, ma’am

Rikai: Indeed, ma’am, it’s truly praiseworthy.

Ohse: Amahiko-san never fails to impress

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: Ahahaha…hahah…

(Sound of the door sliding open)

Rikai, Ohse, Iori: !?

Sarukawa: ★◎◆∴▽★◎◆∴▽★◎◆∴▽!!!!!!!

Rikai: (Saru!? At this timing!?)

Iori: (He’s awfully drunk!)

(Sarukawa throwing a tantrum, the three of them calming him down)

Sarukawa: I’MMAKILLYA!!!!!!!!

Amahiko’s mother: KILL!?

Fumiya: (Slides in) You’re mistaken, ma’am. He’s speaking a different language

Fumiya: He’s a foreigner

Amahiko’s mother: From what country?

Fumiya: Bobongalinga

Amahiko’s mother: Oh my! This guy is!?

Fumiya: He’s one of the children in need

Fumiya: Tendou-san rescued him, and thus brought him to his own home.

Fumiya: His overwhelming joy led him to have one too many drinks, and is unconsciously speaking in his native language.

Amahiko’s mother: Although he seems to be upset for some reason…

Fumiya: Interpreter Motohashi-kun.

Iori: Yessir!

Iori: “I will never forget Tendou-san’s favor. He’s a good man beyond words.”

Iori: “Which is why, Ma’am, no further inquiry is necessary.”

Iori: “ok I’m going to bed now goodnight.”

Sarukawa: WE GOTTA GO NO MATTER WHAT, TO ATAMI! ATAMIIIII!!!!!!!!!

(Rikai and Ohse bringing Sarukawa away)

Amahiko’s mother: …..

Amahiko’s mother, Rikai, Ohse, Fumiya and Iori: Ahahaha… hahaha

Amahiko’s mother: Hahaha.. (cough, cough)

Amahiko’s mother: Fufu.. sorry.

Amahiko’s mother: Thank you, everyone. Your kindness has put me at ease as his mother.

Amahiko’s mother: He’s working hard in his own way.

Rikai, Ohse, Fumiya and Iori: Aah, yes you know, he’s truly wonderful yes…!

Terra: Hmph

Terra: ….

Ohse: (Terra-san wasn’t the only one who thought so.)

Ohse: (If all of this was okay.)

Ohse: ….?

Ohse: …Amahiko-san?

Ohse: …! That’s…!

Amahiko’s father: How far must you indulge yourself to finally have your satisfaction.

Amahiko’s father: You’re a man of the Tendou family. Any more selfishness will not be forgiven.

Amahiko: …..

Amahiko: ………Duly noted.

Amahiko: Dear father…

Extra TL notes for the TL notes enthusiasts:

There’s a pun with 脱いで (nuide, get nekkid) and 一肌脱いで (hitohadanuide, to pitch in and help). This became stripping.

Iori makes a pun on ecstasy with エクスタ市, read as “ekusuta-shi” with the shi part meaning city. Tried to make a pun like, ecsta city, but ECSTA exists as the European Council for Student Affairs. Pun has been just circumvented by turning into something else, especially considering sexy gets the same treatment with セク市 (pun on セクシー).

#charisma house #charismahouse #ito fumiya #kusanagi rikai #tendou amahiko #terra #motohashi iori #sarukawa kei #minato ohse

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entertext · 2 years ago

Text

HGSN 20-1

Chapter (Japanese)

(Please hit the green thumbs up at the end of the chapter to show support)

Rough translation by me

Rie: I'm so sorry...

Rie: Iori

Rie: Mommy was wrong... Are you hurt?

Iori: Uu...

Rie: It's all Mommy's fault

Rie: (I knew)

Rie: (I knew, and yet...)

(sfx: suddenly comes to)

(sfx: tick tock tick tock)

Rie: Is that boy...the one you talked about?

Rie: Whew...Well.

Rie: Sure don't listen even when you warn them, do they? Boys...

Yoshiki: ...I'm sorry.

Rie: No...I also...wouldn't have thought it'd be such a normal boy.

(dish: wrappers read "Shiitake Manjuu")

Rie: ....

Yoshiki: Umm... Thank you for what happened earlier

Rie: You're welcome, it's lucky I just happened to be around.

Rie: But why would something like that...

Yoshiki: Um, uh, that thing...w-what was that?

Rie: The thing from earlier was, well, something like...a curse, made using a very old, very strong "impurity"

Rie: I guess someone made it by digging up an old grave or something

(sfx: pour)

Rie: Luckily, I was able to drive it away...although it might be closer to say it retreated

Yoshiki: (...he's talked about "impurity" before...)

Yoshiki: When you say "impurity"...

Rie: To put it simply...

Rie: It's something like a "ghost" or a "presence".

Rie: This world and that world sit very close together, separated by a thin membrane

Rie: The souls and emotions of the dead pass through that membrane...

Rie: But when there's a distortion, the membrane gets torn, and they come out

Rie: ...and the god of that world allows them to be reborn again in this world

Rie: All I can do is put the ones that come out back in and close some small holes

(sfx: BANG)

Rie: As for destroying them... I'm no god so it's impossible for me.

Yoshiki: Um...I don't really get it, but

Yoshiki: I guess I understand

Rie: As for him over there, ...

Rie: He seems to really attract those "impurities". Although it's true of you, too.

Rie: Like, what's it called, that...

Rie: That needle thing on the roof of a tall building?

Yoshiki: A lightning rod?

Rie: Yes, yes

P10

Rie: It's exactly like that

Rie: When it was on the mountain, it must have drawn all the impurities to it like a lightning rod, so the villages and town were spared

Rie: Now it's accident this incident that... it's a mess.

Yoshiki: So it's not 'Hikaru' himself, ...but the impurities that're the reason for these accidents and all...is that right?

Rie: Yes...but it's honestly unusual for there to be this many impurities.

Rie: Impurities shouldn't all be evil things

Rie: But when there are this many, it's no good.

P11

Rie: Was that huge presence I sensed from the mountain...

Rie: Really only coming from him...?

(sfx: whumph)

Hikaru: ....

Hikaru: Huh?...Where am I? Yoshiki?

Yoshiki: 'Hikaru'

Next chapter: 2023/08/15

Twitter Extra (link):

Yoshiki: (so heavy so heavy so heavy so heavy so heavy)

Rie: Are you alright!? My car's over here!

T/N: I've used the word "corruption" for translating ケガレ (kegare) in places before but I'm using "(spiritual) impurity" now to be more consistent, and better fit the meaning of the term and the way its used in this manga. I've revised the older chapters I've done to be consistent as well. Hope it's not too confusing.

Here is a English wiki page on what the term means for Shinto by the way.

#hikaru ga shinda natsu #the summer hikaru died #hgsn spoilers

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detectiveichijouji · 1 month ago

Text

Act 1-4: Hacking Mission

[AO3 v.]

In the morning, Ken was ready to go to work when he found Miyako at the dinner table, looking at a peculiar object in her hands.

“Miyako-san… what is it?”

“Huh?” she looked at him, “Someone went here last night and dropped this pendrive with a card saying…”

Ken took the card from the table and read it.

[Please, decrypt me.]

“What does it mean…?” the detective raised an eyebrow.

“I thought it was something from work, but… I don’t remember it at all.”

“You’re not in condition to do this kind of thing, are you?” he asked with a worried look on his face.

“If I don’t do that, then who else would do it…?”

“... Just rest for now. We had a baby recently, and I don't want you to push yourself too hard.”

“But…” She was about to argue, but nodded, “Ok. Maybe we can let Izumi-senpai deal with this instead.”

‘The data was stolen and sold to that facility in the first place. So we are just taking it from them and giving it to someone trustworthy, nya.’

Could this person be Miyako though? Well, Noel definitely trusted Miyako and him, and possibly Iori, Takeru and Hikari. Not to mention his loyalty to Daisuke, which would be the best of the six to be nominated ‘trustworthy’ by Noel himself. Though the only person in this small group able to decode stuff like this is Miyako.

But there’s also Izumi Koushiro. Which also would be a good candidate for the description of a ‘trustworthy person’ after all.

Yet this was left in her hands…

“Writing is not easy, but I never thought it would be.”

Takeru talked with Rui, since he had just stopped by at Infinity Cafe to check on the other. There was no suspicion that Takeru had gone there by Daisuke’s request, and Takeru himself wanted to know better what was going on between his two friends.

“I can imagine,” Rui nodded, he was just on a small break and sitting with Takeru on the table, “You said you’re also writing a book of memories in your free time, right?”

“Exactly, the memories of my childhood” Takeru explained, “To be fair, memories of our adventures with the digimon.”

“That’s cool…” Ukkomon commented, eyes shining with excitement, “Rui, we could write a book too!”

“E-eh?! But… I’m not good with words…”

“You could at least write for yourself,” Patamon suggested, “You don't need to publish your thoughts and memories like Takeru.”

“It’s… It’s a bit hard,” he blushed, “What if someone finds it and reads it someday…”

“If you never tell anyone where you hide it, perhaps not~”

“I’m not sure…”

“Anyway, Rui-kun… You seem a little exhausted lately…” Takeru used the ‘up to no good’ smile against Rui.

“Oh… Since Yuna is at home recovering, Kouda-san and I have to do extra work…”

“Anything else?” Patamon asked.

“Anything… else?” Rui frowned, and after that long pause… “There's nothing else at all…”

“Then you could come with us to visit Daisuke next saturday~” Takeru suggested, still doing the ^_^ face. Rui did not know this is the face Takaishi Takeru use to manipulate the others

“I…”

Suddenly, Rui’s phone rang, he took it from his pocket and checked who was calling him. Then he looked back at Takeru, “I’m sorry I have to answer it, it’s Yuna. Do you mind?”

“Go ahead,” Takeru dropped that smile, wondering if this meant Rui’s cousin needed something from him.

Rui got up from the table and went to the supplies storage. Ukkomon followed him in silence.

“He took a moment to think if something else was bothering him,” Patamon muttered to Takeru.

“Yeah, there’s something off with Rui-kun lately…”

“Why would he frown and seem like he was…”

“Hiding something…?”

A few minutes later, they saw Rui (in his casual clothes??) and Ukkomon leaving through the back door of the shop... But in a hurry.

“Takeru!” Patamon turned to the blonde, “Maybe something happened to Rui’s cousin!”

“Maybe we could offer him a ride, if it is far from here.”

They got up and tried to follow Rui but… Mysteriously he wasn’t there anymore??

“Huuuh??” Patamon blinked, “Where did he go??”

“He couldn’t have gone that far in an instant…” Takeru frowned, and he pondered if calling Rui would be a good option.

“Wait, they left out of the blue?” Daisuke frowned. “And by the shop’s back door?!” V-mon added, also mirroring Daisuke’s facial expression.

“Yeah, they did.” Takeru was on a video call with Daisuke, “Rui-kun got a call from his cousin, so we assumed something happened to her and then we ran outside to ask if he needed help…”

“But he and Ukkomon weren’t there anymore!” Patamon exclaimed, waving his paws, “It was like they entered a portal or something!!”

“You can’t rule out that he can and would use the Digital Gate for going there instantly tho…” Daisuke mused, “Have you tried to phone him?”

“I tried but… His phone is not receiving calls.”

“Hmm…?”

“Maybe he turned it off, or there’s no signal where he went…?”

“True true…” V-mon nodded sagely.

“... But why would he just… Leave like that? Like if he was trying to avoid you?”

“Good question…” Patamon commented.

“This is strange, indeed…”

“So, what should we do?” V-mon asked them all.

“Following him is a bad idea, but…”

“We all are busy for a spy mission like that, right…”

“Yeah…”

“Wait a second, I think we can do something. Do you have anything planned for this weekend?”

“Hmmm… Not really, I can explain things to Wallace and Michael so they don’t need to worry.”

“Ok, so let’s try to invite Rui-kun to do something together and if he leaves, we will follow him without letting him and Ukkomon notice us.”

“Alright…!”

“We have another mission for you, rookie” Mizuki said, looking at the rookie Chat Noir and their digimon.

“What is it this time…?” They asked, “Did you discover who bought the data…?”

“Yes and no,” Youta added, “Mizuki looked at the research facility’s purchase history and we did get a name. But the info doesn’t track at all.”

“What do you mean?” The rookie agent’s digimon tilted his head.

“A fake name, perhaps?” the gang’s recruit pondered, stroking their chin.

“More likely someone in the facility altered the data,” Youta explained, “so they could frame another person instead.”

“... And you guys want me to do what exactly?”

“With the power of a good hacking skill we did get the name of the last person to access the server” Lunamon explained, “We don't own mad skills like some other people, but we do a good job.”

“Hmm…”

“The name matches with the list you also got from the server,” Mizuki added, “So it’s clearly a good lead. If this person is the one who purchased Menoa Bellucci’s data from the original thief…”

"So you want us to sneak into this person's house?" the tiny digimon asked.

“Well, that will be easier for someone professional like you two” Youta replied with a smirk.

“If anything goes wrong, I will do something” Noel said, nonchalantly, “I can’t do this by myself but I can still pull my tricks to keep you safe.”

“Fine, I was expecting you to say something like this anyway” their mysterious agent shrugged, “I’ve been doing it for a while, so who cares at this point?”

Noel chuckled, “Your snarky remarks humor me, monsieur.”

Takeru left a message for Rui, and went back to his work. A few hours later, when he had finished his shift, he noticed a reply in his direct message app.

I’m sorry for leaving.

That’s all it said.

Takeru and Patamon looked at each other, and wondered if something happened to Yuna. So they texted him back:

Don’t worry about it! I hope your cousin is okay though. Btw, if you would like to hang out with Daisuke and me this weekend, we got a free pass for you too!

“What are we going to do this weekend, Takeru?” Patamon asked, out of curiosity.

“No idea yet, but we need to make Rui-kun get aboard so a little white lie won’t hurt~”

The phone beeped and there was a new message:

I don’t know… I have a lot of work to do since Yuna is still resting at home…

“Uh, that’s bad…” Patamon frowned.

“I won’t give up yet” Takeru said, while plotting a backup plan.

It’s clear that Rui was trying to avoid Daisuke. But for what reason? It was when Takeru got hit by the Goddess of Creativity, and typed his new offer, his trump card:

Daisuke and I will be free so what if we go and help you? If Kouda-san and you need a few pairs of hands, we're in. What do you think? 😉

“But would it be okay though??” Patamon gasped, “I mean, I’m totally sure Daisuke and V-mon will be willing to help Rui and Ukkomon out but…”

“If he can’t hang out because of work, then we hang out at Infinity Cafe hehe.”

“That’s a very trickish move!” the digimon smiled, impressed by Takeru’s creative plan.

A reply was sent:

… Ok, I guess?

But there’s a lot of work here. We might not even get time to talk to each other properly…

“H-he accepted it?!”

“He took the bait, that’s what matters!” Takeru said, triumphantly.

The phrase ‘decrypt me’ was haunting Miyako’s brain for a while. True, she was feeling better now, but Ken told her to keep resting and not overwork…

“Ok, but It won’t hurt to take a little look at how encrypted the contents inside the pendrive are…”

She took her laptop, set it on the dinner table desk and turned it on. Once its OS had finished loading, she plugged the pendrive on it and opened its folder.

“Huh…??”

There weren’t any encrypted archives. It had just a txt file; she opened it. It contained a message inside:

Greetings.I’m Chat Noir, an acquaintance from Arsenemon, and there’s something happening behind your back.

“What…??”

Someone, whom we hadn’t identified yet, had stolen important data for a forbidden project involving the creation of human-made digimon. Those blueprints and notes belonged once to a digimon researcher, Menoa Bellucci from America.

“I’m not understanding it… what--”

We know you had contact with her before, …

“Whaaa…!!” her heart started to race due to the panic.

… but you don't fit on the list of suspects. Don’t worry about it.

“Phew… Gosh, you scared me!!” Miyako growled, but continued reading it.

Since you’re acquainted with Arsenemon too, this means we’re allies. However, our methods of dealing with undesired people differ. We know Ichijouji Ken is working under the police department, which means things could put us on opposite sides of the law.

“What do you mean? You say you’re our allies but then mention being on the opposite side…?”

By plugging and opening this archive, you may be aware of the consequences.

“What… what consequences?” she said, feeling a bit nervous to continue reading it.

This pendrive has Miss Espimon’s coding and it can hijack machines. It won’t affect your computer’s archives and OS, but right now your webcam is working and we can see you. We won’t do anything to you and your family. We’re doing it to keep you safe.

“W-WHAT?!”

She wanted to unplug that immediately, but her phone just rang. She answered it, without looking at who was calling her.

“Hello!”

“Huh, this voice…”

“Pardon, Inoue-san, for this little jumpscare.”

… yes.

“Noel, what are you doing?” She said with a serious voice, “This isn’t funny!!”

“I agree, but I have no other choice. There’s something you have to deliver to Izumi Koushiro-san for me.”

“I’m not a delivery girl. And I just had a child, If you have to ask someone to do something for you--”

“Oh non, non. I’d like it if you could send him a message.”

“Wait, why are you-- Why don’t you do that?!”

“... I have my reasons. I’ll get to explain them another time. Just open the email textbox and type exactly what I tell you.”

“Why are you doing those…??”

“I’m doing what is needed to prevent another Digital World crisis.”

“By acting like a creepy supervillain?!” She hissed.

“... Sorry. The webcam being online is so I can make sure you’re not in danger. Ichijouji-san is about to mess with someone none of us know yet. And this could put all of his friends at risk.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll do what you said,” she snapped, squinting her eyes at the webcam “but next time ask like a normal and decent sentient being!”

She put the earphones on, plugged its cord on her phone and used the two hands to start typing.

“Once you’re done… Save the email and wait once we track down the bad guy, ok?”

“But you wanted me to send an email to Izumi-senpai--”

“I didn’t say it should be sent right now so please just finish typing it and save it in your drafts. We may get a name in the following days.”

“Wait… What do you mean?”

“Our ally, phantom thief Chat Noir, will be taking care of this. Trust me, Inoue-san.”

“Chat Noir… So you’re involved in the research facility heist?!”

“It’s for a good cause! And don’t worry, he is your ally too.”

“You mean Chat Noir is a good guy…”

“Oui. You can trust him.”

“Ok… I saved the email in my draft folder. Now what?”

“Just wait when I call you again. Merci beaucoup, Inoue-san~”

And he hung up.

“What is he planning to do…?” Miyako wondered, then turned the laptop off, unplugged the pendrive and went back to her and Ken’s bed.

Someone called Chat Noir is just helping Noel. A brand new phantom thief… She didn't notice a pair of green eyes outside that were watching her from the window, though…

#digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure 02 the beginning #young prince detective sequel #arsenemon's ambitious heist case

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