#(RYO VOICE ' Well you see there's kind of a problem there ')

[goddess-of-green]

More Tobi please !!! It’s so good 😫🙌 I love ur writing so much 😊

I'm running out of Tobi gifs you guys (Part 2 here!)

Warnings: Language, suggestive themes, submissive reader

"Yay! It must be Tobi's lucky day!" Tobi exclaimed as he threw down his cards—his winning cards.

You paled.

This generally wouldn't be such a problem.

Sure, Tobi was suspiciously good at Poker when he needed to be, but you never minded when he beat you by a landslide and proceeded to gloat until one of the other Akatsuki members had to shut him up.

Although, since you didn't really want to wager money on the game -your savings had been dwindling recently and you jumped at any opportunity to save some extra Ryo- you and Tobi decided to instead, make a bet.

If you won, Tobi would be at your beck and call for 24 hours; if Tobi won, you would be at his beck and call for 24 hours.

You knew such a bet could go either horribly wrong or horribly right.

However, you hadn't really let the implications of being at Tobi's beck and call hit you until you saw that winning hand.

Tobi was completely unpredictable and a known troublemaker.

He was always 'innocently' finding ways to insult people or taunt them. You were fairly sure he had some weird sadistic hobby to see how far he could bend people before they reacted violently.

You and Tobi had meshed so well in the organization because you were extremely patient and always reacted positively to Tobi's teasing and jabs.

After a while, Tobi seemed to realize that his taunting and teasing wouldn't make you upset, so he claimed you as his "best friend" and took to following you around in his freetime, you being the only one who could handle his overbearing and deliberately annoying nature.

Tobi loved to cause trouble and make fun of people. Despite his 'innocent' nature, you knew his humor was a little twisted at best.

What the hell did I get myself into?

Tobi was giggling like madman at your expression, a hand raised to where his mouth would be to ineffectively muffle his snickers.

"Y/N-Chan's time starts now! She has to be Tobi's maid for a whole day!" Tobi cheered, throwing his arms up into the air.

You blinked.

Maid?

Fuck.

"M-Maid?" You asked, already knowing that no matter what he responded with you were screwed.

Tobi giggled a bit more, "Yep! Tobi's even got Y/N-Chan a cute little outfit to wear while she does everything Tobi desires~" Tobi explained, his amusement coming off him in waves.

Maid? 'Cute little Outfit'? Tobi's desires!? God, help me.

You sighed, "Very well, Tobi."

"Actually, Y/N-Chan...there's something else Tobi would like you to call him~"

::

Here you are, dressed in a maid outfit.

A frilly black and white choker secured around your neck and your hair down, your top doing nothing to hide your cleavage, and your skirt giving you about two inches of leeway.

If you so much as bent over, your panties would be revealed to anyone in the vicinity. To top it all off, you had a white waist apron with little frills on the ends.

It covered even less than your skirt.

Kami, where did I go wrong? What did I do to deserve this?

Your internal lamenting is brought to halt as you hear Tobi cooing at you.

"Y/N-Chan~ you look so nice, all dressed up for Tobi like this~" He put his gloved hands on your hips, pulling you closer to him as he continued to inspect your form.

You swallowed, "Thank you, Tobi~Sama." You said softly, as he had requested you call him.

You blushed in embarrassment as you said it, unintentionally making yourself look even cuter as you looked up at him through your lashes, hoping he wouldn't make fun of you.

Tobi was unusually silent as he stared at your inadvertently coy expression. His hands still on your hips, and his expression unreadable through his mask.

After a moment, he started giggling.

"Y/N-Chan is such a good little maid for Tobi~ Tobi has a feeling he's going to enjoy this very much~" Tobi purred as he brought his arms up to wrap around your waist and buried his masked face into your neck; his body snuggling into yours in the process.

You gulped as his warm body encased yours.

Is it just me or is it a little hot in here?

You would have tugged on your collar if you had one.

Tobi pulled away from the embrace with excitement as he grabbed your hand.

"Alright Y/N-Chan, you're going to make some for lunch for your master, and then we're going to play a game~" Tobi said brightly, a teasing tone slipping through his usual beaming attitude.

Something about the way Tobi said "game" raised some flags, but you complied nonetheless.

You certainly didn't want to give Tobi a reason to punish you, as he had warned.

You shuttered at the implications.

He didn't mention or signal any sort of sexual things happening, but you could never be too careful. This entire situation was more than a little suspicious.

He's already made it clear he's got a pervy side, if the outfit was anything to go by.

You sighed lowly as Tobi's hand slipped from yours and he wandered off to wait in the living area of the base while you prepared him something to eat.

"It's too bad Tobi has his mask, or he would love to have Y/N~Chan feed him~" Tobi sighed wistfully as he walked off.

Clearly talking to himself, but you were sure he meant for you to hear.

You blushed at the thought, shaking your head to rid yourself of such thoughts as you continued on your way to the Akatsuki base's kitchen.

After you finally washed your hands and got to actually making something for Tobi, you ran into a little roadblock.

You had no idea what kind of food Tobi liked, or even if he had any allergies. He rarely ever ate around you, and when he did you tried not to stare at him too much and respect his privacy.

(Even though you were definitely curious as to what lied underneath his infamous orange mask.)

Even if you had paid attention, you doubt you would have caught much anyway.

Tobi is very sneaky when it comes to keeping his face hidden, and his food is off the plate and in his mouth faster than anyone can even tell what he was eating.

"He's so annoying all the time, yeah! The least he could do is let me catch a glimpse of his damn mug for once, un!"

You smirked as you recalled Deidara's ranting.

Remembering your situation, your smirk slipped away as you considered your options.

You could take a stab in the dark and make something that Tobi may or may not like, or you could go back out and ask Tobi what he wanted.

Neither were very good options.

If you took a wild guess then you would risk Tobi either not liking what you made or having an allergic reaction to it.

The last thing you wanted was to make Tobi sick or unhappy, but going back out to ask posed its own risks.

If you went out into the living room to ask Tobi what he wanted to eat then there was a good chance one of the other members would see you.

Then, they would ask questions.

You knew that Tobi wouldn't hesitate to embarrass you and go into great detail about how you were his cute little maid who would do anything to "satisfy" him.

Your face heated up in embarrassment just thinking about it.

You sighed, biting your lip as you ran through the pros and cons in your head.

You wilted after a moment, your morality winning the internal battle.

Discarding your dignity, and swallowing the last of your pride, you turned around to exit the kitchen and go find Tobi.

::

"But D-Deidara-Senpai! Tobi's not lying! He swears!" Tobi exclaimed, waving his hands around wildly as if that helped his case.

"Tch. Sure Tobi, un. You really expect me to believe that you got Y/N to be your maid?" Deidara scoffed.

It was then that you peaked from the hallway. Calling Tobi's name and desperately hoping that he was alone.

"Ah! Y/N-Chan! Impeccable Timing~!" Tobi said happily, Deidara snapping his head over towards you to see if Tobi really wasn't lying.

Uh oh.

Your face flamed as you tried to retreat back into the hallway, Tobi one step ahead of you, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into the living area for Deidara to see.

Deidara's eyes widened as he looked over your form, clad in a skimpy maid outfit complete with the lacy little headdress on top.

Deidara slowly but surely flushed, before turning to Tobi.

"I want in." Deidara said earnestly.

Your face flamed and you literally wanted to die in a hole of pitiful embarrassment.

Completely appalled, Tobi gasped quite dramatically at Deidara's words and pulled you close, as if protecting you. "Deidara-Senpai! You can't! Y/N-Chan is Tobi's maid! And Tobi doesn't think you would appreciate her like Tobi does!" Tobi said indignantly as he snuggled into your chest.

Good lord, you felt like your face was permanently pink today. From all this excitement you had nearly forgotten what you came out to ask-

"What?! Tobi! You can't keep her all to yourself like this! You're being selfish!" Deidara yelled.

"Nuh-uh senpai! Tobi won Y/N-Chan's free will fair and square! And why would Tobi share? This way she's all mine~" Tobi exclaimed, trailing off into a creepy giggle at the end.

It's like they're two kids fighting over a new toy... You sighed.

You blushed when you realized that you were the toy.

Before Deidara could fire back or you could finally ask what the hell Tobi wanted to eat, something awful happened.

Hidan walked in.

It took him five seconds to skim his eyes over your form, Tobi's face pressed into your chest and Deidara blushing... and burst into laughter.

"Pfft Hahahaha, what the hell kind of kinky shit is going on in here?" Hidan howled, bent over and holding his stomach from laughter.

Tobi hurriedly let go of you and turned around, putting his arms in front of you as if to hide you. "Nothing Hidan-Senpai! Y-You don't have all the information!" Tobi exclaimed, his slightly shaky voice not convincing anyone.

"Tch. Tobi got Y/N to be his maid, and he's keeping this opportunity all to himself!" Deidara scoffed, crossing his arms indignantly.

Interest piqued, Hidan walked over to you, promptly pushing Tobi out of the way and grabbing your jaw.

"His maid, huh? And just how'd he manage that...?" Hidan said, his voice quieter and more husky since he was so close to your face.

You tried to repress the shiver that threatened to crawl down your spine...Hidan had always creeped you out.

Before you could stutter out a response, you felt a stinging on your ass.

Oh my-

He pinched my ass!

You squeaked involuntarily and pushed Hidan off you, Deidara starting to fume as he realized what happened.

"Hey man! Don't touch her like that, un!" He exclaimed, though he probably wanted to do the same thing.

"Hidan!" Tobi gasped, rushing over to pick you up bridal style and cradle you in his arms.

"No one is allowed to touch Y/N-Chan like that! She is Tobi's!" He exclaimed, and you would have been happy for his defense if he didn't keep referring to you as 'his'.

Deidara and Hidan were now straight up fighting, Tobi's yelling falling on deaf ears.

The lewd things Deidara and Hidan were saying about you as they fought had you desperately hiding your burning face in Tobi's chest.

Tobi pet your hair in a soothing manner before running off, with you still in his arms.

"It's too dangerous out here with all the other members! Y/N-Chan will just have to serve Tobi in his room! Alone~"

Lunch completely forgotten, you worried for what was to come as Tobi carried you off, Deidara and Hidan still wrestling on the floor.

It was then that Kisame and Itachi walked in, just in time to hear Tobi's exclamation as they saw you being carried off by Tobi while Deidara and Hidan were rolling around the floor and pulling at each other's hair.

[izzyizumi]

Just Repeatverse Things

This Thing is also a.k.a.:

How to Stop Koushiro Izumi (and Others) from becoming too OP: The Series

[weirdthinkingdragon]

Welcome To The Family (6/???)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / here

Yandere EraserMic household x reader

Fun fact- Tadao was a sudden decision I made up on the spot after chapter 3 and wasn’t expecting to really make him a character other than a mentioned person with a mold/fungus quirk. I did though, and already love him as an OC more than I should. Oops. 

It might be a long while before the next chapter. I think I may have drained myself a bit from focusing on this story so much. 

Warnings- swearing, slight coercion I think? Not really sure but better safe than sorry. 

I promise the darker stuff is coming soon. 

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

I wake up to someone calling me. Hitoshi? Why is he calling me at… 9 in the morning? Come on dude, I want to sleep more for dinner tonight. My fault for hanging out with Tadao a bit later last night than usual. He’s started walking with me to our apartment for the past few days. I wonder why we haven’t hung out until now. Meanwhile, Ryo and I seemed to drift apart. They refuse to even look at me now when I saw them last night. 

Ugh, might as well answer it. “Hey, Hitoshi. You need something?” I tiredly slur from just waking up. 

“Sorry for waking you…” Apologized the familiar voice of Eri. Wait, Eri? Why does she have Hitoshi’s phone? The wonder why she has his phone wakes me up a bit more. 

“Oh, hey, Eri. Is something wrong?” A slight panic enters me in the possibility something bad could have happened to one of the guys. “Wait, is everyone okay?” 

“We’re good. Just wanted to talk a bit with you before tonight.” Pipes up the familiar voice of Hitoshi in the background. 

Relief floods me. “That’s good. What about?” 

“Our dads!” Eri cheerfully informs. 

My eyes narrow in confusion. “What about them?” 

“What do you think of them?” Hitoshi asks. Huh? Why does this need to be talked about now? Maybe because more likely than not the two adults are asleep, and won’t hear the conversation? 

I’m too tired to be filtered right now, so whatever comes to mind is whatever is going to be said. “They’re… An interesting two, to say the least. Hizashi seems like someone I can rely on to cheer me up pretty easily if I’m ever down, and after that day Shouta was sick, I realize Shouta’s secretly a lot more caring than he lets on. Still wouldn’t want to pi- anger him.” Ugh, it’s too early. I nearly just swore with Eri there! Well, saying “piss him off” wouldn’t have been that bad, but she needs to keep that innocence at least for a while yet. 

Hitoshi laughs, probably catching on with what I almost said. “Seen it first-hand with his class. Can’t say I recommend it either.”

“What about looks?” Eri suddenly asks, catching me off-guard. What do their looks have to do with anything? They’re also a married couple, so whatever I think is invalid anyways. 

“Well, had this weird thought of wondering what Hizashi would look like with his hair fully down when we went to the festival, but that’s really not something that I need to tell him. It’s something I probably shouldn’t be wondering in the first place.”

“What’s the problem in wondering that? It’s just hair.” 

“Says the one who always looks like he stuck his head out a car window and hair decided to stay that way.” 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

I go back onto the topic. “Otherwise, I’m not really sure what to talk about with them. It’s their choices of what they wear. Though it IS pretty funny imagining Hizashi forcing Shouta to wear something he normally wouldn’t.”

“It’s happened more than once before.” 

I tiredly let out a laugh. “I believe it.”  

“Daddy made him wear a dress!” 

An almost inhuman sound comes out of me at the thought of Shouta deeply frowning with a strapless hot pink dress forced onto him, and the only reason he does it is Hizashi would probably keep pestering him otherwise. 

“Maybe sometime we could get him to do it again with you here. It’s quite a thing to see.” 

“Oh, really? How did he not kill you for laughing?”

“He almost did,” he replies jokingly. 

“If he tries to attack me when I’m there, you’re taking the blow.” I joke back. 

He goes silent for a moment. “He wouldn’t dare. If he did, he’d have an angry little girl scolding him.”

“Toooshiiii!”

“What? You know I’m right.” 

“Hmph.” 

“Anyway, want to tell them what you’ll wear?”

“No! It’s a surprise!”

“Right back at you two,” I inform the slightly bickering duo.

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

We both hung up after a bit more of talking about tonight. I could swear there was someone talking in the background for a second, but I brushed it off as the T.V. Eri was probably watching something earlier and forgot to lower the volume. 

After playing on my computer for a while since it’s close to my bed, I decided to just get up and get ready. There are not many fancy things I have, so it’s quite limited on what to wear. Hopefully, they don’t mind if it’s a bit more casual than fancy. There’s plenty of time to shop for something, but I’m honestly too lazy to go anywhere. Just something of my favorite color and slightly more fancy than my daily clothes should work. 

I have to dig much deeper into my closet to find said clothing from not wearing it too often. 

One of my favorite color is grabbed. Nope, that’s not it. 

I move a few more. Wait, there it is! I move a few more pieces of clothing and grab it, pulling it out. Hopefully, it still fits. Welp, time to try. I take off my pajamas. 

.

.

.

.

Like a glove. Perfect! 

Just to make sure there are no new forgotten holes or something, I look at myself in my body mirror. Huh, I actually look pretty good in this! I might have to wear it more often. Something feels like it’s missing though. Maybe a ring or something would help? 

I look over to the select few rings I have, including the forgotten one Ryo gave me. My heart slightly twinges at remembering they gave it as a best friends type of ring years ago. A ring with real blue topaz fitting my middle finger. 

Might as well wear it. I slip it on and decide to leave my room, though they won’t be here for a while yet. Maybe Tadao will be around. 

My body instinctively starts looking around for the familiar- oh, not again. Does he LIKE sleeping on the floor in the hall or something? I walk up to his sleeping form. I gently nudge him to move with my foot. 

He groans, and curls his head deeper onto his arm, also bringing his legs up so he’s a ball. “Come on dude, I know your quirk is related to mold and all, but you’re not supposed to BECOME it.” 

“I am one with the floor… I shall be the floor…” He mumbles, probably sleep talking.  

I nudge him harder, making him open his eyes to look up at me. “Heyyy Y/N. What time is it?” He sluggishly asks. 

I check my phone. “Already half-past noon.” 

That got his attention. Both of his eyes snapped open as he shot to sit up. He grabs his rather cracked phone and looks at it. There are a few messages on the screen without him unlocking it. They’re impossible to read as he seems frantic after looking at them. “Already!? Man, I gotta get ready! I’ll be late for work!” 

I don’t even get the chance to ask him anything since he gets to his feet and sprints off past my door, probably to his. 

Glancing at Ryo’s door, the thought of checking on them arises. No, they’re deciding on acting out like this. Crawling to them could only continue this childish way again at some point. Ugh, what to do now though? It will be boring to just sit around for the next few hours. The park could be good for a few hours. 

The villains around though? Nah. Welp, more computer time.

Familiar brown hair in the corner of my eye catches my attention before returning to my door. It’s the woman that glared at me with Hizashi at the studio. What’s she doing around here? Never saw her around before, and she doesn’t exactly strike me as the type to like parties. Funny if she’s attracted to Hizashi like he told me. 

She keeps her glare on me as she… Knocks on Ryo’s door? Oh hell no. There’s no way Ryo is hanging out with someone like that. I’m proven wrong though as Ryo opens the door and pulls them in without looking at me. 

I- What? What’s going on lately?

Also, okay, what the ever-loving fuck Ryo!? 

Calm down, give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the woman hasn’t told Ryo anything about my work, and maybe it can just be a sudden meeting they did at one point, and it’s an opposites attract type of friendship. After all, I haven’t really been around. They were bound to try to find someone else to hang out with I suppose. Should this be a concern to bring up with Hizashi and Shouta though? 

I stand there still staring at Ryo’s door and blink confusedly. They couldn’t have found anyone better to hang out with? Even a villain would have been better than her in my opinion. Sure, more trouble from me being around two- basically three- heroes could arise, but I’d be willing to keep that kind of secret for them. But this? This gives me a bad feeling.

What if she’s the reason Ryo is acting so odd? 

Next Sunday will be the day to get some answers from them. If they will talk to me, that is. 

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

Time seems to slip by while being on my computer. My phone notifies me of a text message. I look at it to see it’s from Hizashi. 

“Hitoshi’s coming in to get ya! We’re waiting!” My eyes widen noticing it’s already past six at night. 

I try to text him ASAP to not let Hitoshi come in. They won’t be happy with my living place. “That will be fine, call him off. I’ll be out shortly.” 

“Too late! Sorry!” 

I sigh. He doesn’t even know which one mine is! I put my computer away and quickly left. Looking left and right, there’s familiar purple hair far down on the right. Obviously, it’s Hitoshi. He is staring with great disgust at the peeling walls and ripped-up flooring.  Oh boy, it’s probably a disaster with what is about to happen in the vehicle now. 

The hallway is rather dimly lit now, making it slightly hard to see, but it’s easy to tell he’s wearing a suit matching his eye color. I’m feeling pretty underdressed now. 

“Hey, Hitoshi. You could have waited outside. Uh… You probably should have no offense.” 

He glares at a piece of wall that falls off onto the floor. “How do you live in this?” 

I shrug. “Eh, you get used to it,” I noticed his frustrated expression. He’s about to ask me why I don’t move or something since I clearly could with my pay. “And before you say anything, I rather like it here. It’s where a lot of my closest friends are.”   

His eyes narrow at me. “You could still visit instead of living here.” 

Someone jumps upstairs, making the place shake, and a piece of the ceiling on this level chips off and falls next to the wall piece on the floor. 

“That’s new,” I comment. It’s true, the ceiling has never fallen before. Makes me wonder when this whole building is going to collapse. Bit worried for my friends here now.

Hitoshi looks at me like I just told him the world is going to end tomorrow. 

I start walking to the exit, having Hitoshi follow behind me too closely for my taste. Makes sense if he’s doing it for my protection, but he obviously doesn’t know these people as I do. He almost could be felt against my back. “You mind standing back a bit? You’re rather close.”

He does, but just barely. 

It doesn't take long for us to get to the vehicle. Just like before, I get in the center and hug Eri. The slight light in the car makes it hard to see her dress, but I'm pretty sure it's a bright silverish blue. The light wasn't on long enough to notice the two up front. 

They do seem to notice Hitoshi in a slightly on edge type of way. For the moment the light was on. 

"What's wrong, little hypno-man?" 

"Their apartment is not fitting to live in."

"What?" Hizashi's tone almost drastically changes. I'm glad I can't see them right now. I focus on the scenery past Hitoshi to try ignoring the growing unease of him whistleblowing to them. 

"It's falling apart. A part of the wall fell to the floor. The inside is much worse than the outside." 

"Why are you still living there? You can easily move with the money we give you." Shouta pipes up. 

"Because I like living there. It's a walking distance from your place, and all my friends are there."

"You could visit them some other time if you moved. We'd pay a bus for you if needed." 

"Exactly! Or I could drive ya to our place! It wouldn't be a problem, and it would give me a little somethin' to do while the grump wakes up in the morning!" 

I don't feel comfortable at the thought of having to rely on them like that. They're already so busy themselves, it really wouldn't be fair to them despite what they say. 

“Uh… no. Thanks for the offer, but my place is good for now.”

The air is rather tense, telling me that they want to push more on the subject, but decide not to for now. 

I decided to bring up what happened earlier.  “Remember that bad woman from before?”

“You mean Chiyo?” Shouta spits her name with such hate, someone would think he’d murder her if he could. Hizashi must have told him about our meeting in his studio. Wait, Isn’t that a first name?

As if reading my mind, Hizashi answers for Shouta. “She doesn’t deserve the respect of last name. What about her?” 

“I discovered today she might be hanging out with one of my closest friends that doesn’t seem to be too happy with me lately. Isn’t it a bit of a concern she might tell them that I babysit for you guys?” 

“That’s confidential information. Like it was said to you before you started, you can’t tell anyone our identities. They can get into serious trouble if they do, and they signed a contract accepting they wouldn’t.” Shouta replies. 

“That’s good to know.” I say, sounding relieved. They could be told how Ryo thinks they’re bad parents for me babysitting so often, but that’s something that probably doesn’t need to be brought up. Especially if she can’t tell Ryo about it. 

Hizashi pulls up and parks in front of the restaurant we must be dining in. wait- fuck, I’ve heard of this place. It’s one of the most expensive restaurants around here! We exit and enter the restaurant. The first thing I noticed was how well-dressed the two men were. Shouta was wearing a navy blue suit, white undershirt, and a light brown tie. Oddly, he’s also wearing glasses. When did he need glasses? 

Hizashi was wearing a cream-colored suit with a dark grey undershirt and a tie matching his eye color. Looking at the four of them and the others around, I am… severely underdressed. Doesn’t feel much better with everyone that stares at me from their tables for a moment. 

Wait- Hizashi’s. Hair. Is. Fully. Down. I whip my head towards Hitoshi and glare in betrayal. 

He notices with a smirk, and puts his hands in front of himself in mock-defense. “Don’t look at me. He was there then, just didn’t speak.” 

My eyes narrow. “So it really WASN’T the T.V.” Seriously though!? That’s so embarrassing! He must have heard everything! 

Him and Hizashi chuckle at me, making me feel worse.

A woman comes up from the counter. “Please tell me the name of your reservation.” 

“The Aizawa’s.” Um… I’m not exactly a part of this family? Well, it does make sense though I guess just to do a last name. Hizashi smirks at Shouta while he glares in return. 

“Right this way please.” She starts to lead the five of us to a table farther in the back. The enormous chandeliers overhead from the really tall ceiling are slightly intimidating if I’m to be honest. Each crystal is taller than Hizashi from the top of his hair in his hero costume to his feet. 

The white and gold walls of the place give a surprisingly calming type of effect. It’s rather cool in here as well. Probably to help combat the ones who wear layers of clothes to be more fancy or something.  

“You couldn’t have chosen anything else?” Shouta hisses quietly enough for the woman not to hear, but I’m close enough that I can. I’m right between them from behind while Hitoshi and Eri are behind me. I can swear Hitoshi keeps trying to nudge me forward closer to them. 

“Aw, don’t worry ‘bout it babe! Besides, you and I both know you’re known much less than me! This way they won’t know us!” He leans even closer to Shouta. “And don’t deny it, you know you like the thought of me bein’ called an Aizawa~” 

I can see red start to cover the side of Shouta’s face even though he tries his best to hide and prevent it. Ha! Now he’s the one to be embarrassed! 

I let out a chuckle, making Hizashi turn and give me a toothy grin. 

We get to a table with booth seats. The color of them is surprisingly similar to Eri’s dress. 

I go to sit with Hitoshi and Eri, but like before, Hizashi grabs my wrist and has me sit between him and Shouta. Why do you keep doing this to me dude!? Shouta is on my right by the wall with Hizashi on my left by the opening. 

Eri is sitting by the wall with Hitoshi by the opening in front of us. I didn’t notice before, but her dress has some candy apple red jewels the shape of diamonds, adorning the dress even more than it already was. Must be new since it’s never been seen by me before.  

… I don’t like the closeness of the two men beside me again. Saying it is uncomfortable is an understatement. A difference than before is the heat of their thighs radiating through their pants onto mine. 

The woman hands us menus. “Someone will be here to take your orders shortly.” 

I try to brush them off while looking at the menu. 

“Hey Y/N, are ya datin’ anyone?” 

“Maybe.” They don’t need to know I’m not. 

“That’s a yes or no question.” Shouta states with slight annoyance. He must have forgotten I told him I’m not the day he was sick.  

“They better not be a villain. We’d hate to have to do something to you and them. Better be honest, you’re not looking the best right now.” Hitoshi accuses. 

What the heck Hitoshi!? You’re just going to turn on me like this!? Why I ought to come over there and smack the back of your head myself! 

My saving grace as the waiter comes- Tadao!? This is where he works!? He comes up to our table with a notepad in front of him. "Hello, I’m Ito, and I’ll be your waiter for tonight. What can I get you started with?” 

“Tadao, you work here?” 

His head snaps up from the notepad, and looks at me. “Oh hey, Y/N!” His face becomes a smirk. “What happened to calling me glowstick?” 

“Well, you’re not really glowing right now in this light, are you?”

“Ha, you got me there.” 

The three men look between us with some look I don’t really understand. 

“Ya know each other?” 

“You could say we’re close.” Tadao informs. They grow rather deep frowns at the news.

He clears his throat and brings his notepad up. “What drinks could I start you guys with?” We each tell him our drinks and he writes them down. “All right, drinks coming right up!” He leaves to go get them. 

“He’s one of the reasons I don’t move out of my apartment. Especially now. We’ve become really close recently.” 

“You should stay away from him. He seems like bad news.” Hitoshi informs. 

??? huh? “Why, do you know he has a villain record or something?” 

“He could be using you. Stay away from him or we might have to make sure he doesn’t do anything.” 

Okay, THAT pisses me off. “First of all, you guys can’t tell me who I can and can’t hang out with outside of babysitting hours. Second of all, I’d really appreciate it if you guys could be less judging of him, because he has never done anything even slightly villainous whenever we met.” My slightly edged tone makes them back off the topic. I wanted to add third of all being he walks with me at night to our apartment place, but that seems like a bad idea if their reaction is this so far. 

It grows awkwardly silent between us all for a moment. Maybe I should have kept the others to myself too, but damn it, they need to have more respect for my decisions they were never a part of, and have no need to be a part of. 

Tadao comes with our drinks. He places them down, and Hizashi immediately takes a big drink of his.

“Here you guys go, and one drink for one special person.” He jokingly winks at me. 

I roll my eyes in response. “Sometimes I truly wonder if I hate you.” I tease.

He rolls his eyes in return. “Admit it, you know you love me.”

Hizashi chokes on his drink. I don’t help him from still being a bit upset. He should be fine anyways after a bit. 

He does, and is able to manage keeping his quirk down as well. 

“Do I?” I question teasingly. 

The three men glare at him. Sheesh, what’s their problem? 

He seems rather uncomfortable by it and leaves in a rush immediately after taking our orders. After I almost had a heart attack from the beyond insane prices, of course. Even the cheapest thing is over half the money I’m given a day for babysitting. 

I’m getting pretty upset with these guys right now. Starting to wonder if they got hit with some odd quirk again or something. 

That calms me down a bit since it would kind of make sense that’s why they’re acting odd. How long will it last though? Better not be long. I don’t know if I can handle them like this without losing my mind. 

“Hey, Y/N. We have something for you,” Hitoshi pipes up, and nods towards Hizashi. 

“Right!” He reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a… necklace? It has my favorite type of jewel in it, encased behind and around the edges with what looks like real gold. A different shine is on it, like something is covering the gold to prevent it from easily being destroyed by weather or wear. The shape is in a rather large teardrop. It looks custom-made as well. Never seen anything even close to what this looks like before. 

“It’s a gift!” Eri cheerfully chimes in.

“That she helped us pick for you.” Shouta informs. 

Please don’t tell me it’s authentic. It looks real though. I can’t even begin to imagine the price of what it must have cost to create it if it is real. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this! It feels too much like I’m just using you guys if I do!” 

The three of them frown. Even Eri seems a bit disappointed. 

Eri asking me my favorite jewel kind of makes sense now, but why would they want to give this to me? 

“C’mon, let’s put it on ya!” He hands it over to Hitoshi and stands up, pulling me to stand up with him. Hitoshi stands as well. 

“Did you guys not hear me? I- I can’t accept it!” 

Hizashi shakes his head. “Don’t be so worried, dear little lovesong! We want you to have it! Ya can’t just say no, we spent too much for it to go to waste now!” 

Hitoshi goes behind me with the necklace and is able to put it on while I’m still rather reluctant to accept such a gift.

Eri’s eyes almost seem to sparkle when the clasp gets shut on it. “You look amazing!”  

I freeze in my tracks to notice everyone is staring at us yet again. This time with slightly different reactions. A couple of them seem to be with envy, making me want to shrivel up and hide in a hole, and others seem to be appreciative I have something more expensive than my clothes now or something.  

At least Shouta seems to give me mercy by pulling me back down in the booth and glaring at them all in such a way that they all stop staring. I’m feeling a bit like a ragdoll at this point. 

Hitoshi joins him, making sure they truly stop. The glare combined of those two could probably curdle the blood of All Might himself. 

The restaurant seems to grow quiet between all of us. 

I decide to escape by using the bathroom. Hizashi didn’t have time to sit back down before it was necessary. “Stay here, it won’t take me long.” They still seem reluctant to let me go alone. 

Getting to the bathrooms, I didn’t have to go, just wanted to get out of the stares and whispers for a little bit. Despite the men’s glares, of course there was still going to be gossip of someone in here who looks so out of place. 

“Hey, Y/N, be careful around them, alright? They’re pretty strange.” Pipes up the familiar voice of Tadao behind me. 

I play dumb. He probably shouldn’t know I know they must have been hit with some kind of quirk. “How do you know? They could just be being cautious since their children are with.”

“I admit, I did watch you a bit at the festival. More so the men you were with when they came. Something about them isn’t... “ He seems to be struggling with figuring out how to explain it. “It’s wrong. I just can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Again, just be careful, alright?” 

I just nod and enter the bathroom. 

A bit after cooling off, I go back to the dinner table, them all still waiting and chatting about school. Well, Shouta being nearly silent as usual. Hizashi quickly stands up to let me sit between them again. Ugh, I really don’t want to. 

Yet I do, just to be kind. The least I can do is sit through this since they went through the effort of such a gift, even though to me it seems highly unnecessary. 

Tadao comes with our food not much later with a secret frown on his face. He’s smiling, but I’ve learned him well enough by now it’s worry he has instead of a cheerful personality. It slightly drops to reveal his true emotions when he notices the guys glaring at him yet again. He doesn’t say a word, just drops all of the food off and leaves. 

This feels like a really ruined dinner, even though this food is incredibly good. The atmosphere has definitely become shit. I seem to be the only one to notice. Hizashi looks over towards me and gives me another grin, not giving much comfort. What’s worse is every time I stop for a moment and rest my hand on my lap, Shouta seems to try to grab it. It led me to just keeping the utensil for my dinner in my hand. 

I’ll have to apologize to Tadao for their behavior tomorrow. Easier said than done since I still can’t exactly tell him who they are. Cursed contract. 

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

taglist-

@dabi-s-whore, @angelicblackwolf, @fuegy-fuegy   

Double fun fact- Did you know slapping someone’s back if they’re choking is actually worse than letting them try to get it out themselves, especially if it’s food? The food can actually get lodged deeper in their throat at the impact. Huh, First Aid is quite interesting.

[deepflourishrosesstories]

Warm Colours of Red and White - Part 2

Male! Koi Mer x GN! Reader

Warning: Literal ball of FLUFF

Word Count: 1.1k

LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG, please!

Part 1, Part 3

It was a bright sunny day, just like the last time you visited the park as you walked through the forest path eagerly. The rustle of leaves seemed to call out to you to continue to journey through the deep shadows of the trees. When you arrived at your normal and familiar peace place, you found the warm colours of the koi fish.

“Ryo?” Your voice rang through the ripples of the big pond and you fiddled with your hand as the sound appeared to be echoing it back to you. “A-are you there?”

For a moment, it was silent and your shoulders dropped when realizing that what happened last time must’ve been just a hallucination of some sort. Sighing, you perched yourself under one of the trees and pulled out a book, the one you prepared for the mer. It was lonely—something you’ve never experienced when staying at this part of the park. You almost froze and halted your reading when you realized the feeling, but continued on with your self-facade of nonchalance.

SPLOSH!

A name then called out to you and you almost stopped breathing. The handsome face of the pale-skinned merfolk appeared in your vision and you smiled broadly.

“Ryo,” you breathed out. Swiftly lowering the book, you dashed and crouched in front of him. “You actually came.”

“I did,” he said bashfully, looking at you with his two twinkling black eyes. The colours of his scales sparkled as his tail moved excitedly under the glittering water. “And you came back.”

“Of course I did.”

“I-is that a book?” he asked, gesturing at the book that was placed back on the tree.

Quickly fetching the item, you came back with it and showed him the title, assuming that he could read human language of English. “My favourite book,” you said fondly. Beaming at him, you flipped a page and traced the ink-sunken words carefully. “I thought you would like it as well.”

His hand hovered over the paper but then drew back when a splatter of water was about to be dropped on it. “Sorry,” he apologized, looking down at his reflection on the pond bashfully.

Taking his hand into yours, you gently caressed his silky, wet hand with your thumb. His adorable blush made you grin like a cheshire cat from amusement and shook your head. “It’s all right.”

The pond suddenly rippled violently and you glanced at the water to see his tail swishing nervously side to side. Then Ryo suddenly tensed and embarrassedly looked at you with wide eyes.

“You’re adorable,” you remarked, tilting your head.

His mouth opening, his gaze darted around you before submerging himself halfway with his nose under the water. “You’re making fun of me.” His voice was blurred slightly and bubbles escaped to the surface of the pond and you laughed wholeheartedly.

“I’m not,” you denied genuinely, poking at the bridge of his nose affectionately. Then he ducked himself fully under while you waited patiently, criss-crossing your legs over one another and laying the book on your lap.

When he jumped out of the water, he laid his arms on the rock and rested his chin on them. “You’ve got a talent for making me embarrassed,” he said, lips forming a pout.

“What can I say? You’re really easy to mess up with.” You smiled. “Do you want to listen to the story?”

“Yes please.” He shifted into a sitting position where his tail rose above the surface slightly and glowed lusciously.

Taking your eyes off of it, you started to read off the pages, the words rolling off your tongue smoothly and seemed to create small ripples through the pond. While doing so, you occasionally peeked over the book to look at Ryo who instantly lowered his head to avoid being caught staring at you. Every time he did, you smiled giddily behind the pages and listened to the constant sound of the water lapping as his tail swished. He never once interrupted and just listened to you intently with great wonders written on his face.

You were not aware of the sky turning dark and you continued to read halfway through the story; yet Ryo tapped your arm gently to get your attention. Humming in response, you halted and looked at him curiously.

“It’s getting dark,” he said softly. Smiling rather sadly, he bit his lower lip as he watched you check the sky. It was indeed getting darker where the colour turned into pastel blue to a tint of a start of vibrant orange. “You should go before the forest becomes dark as well.”

“Right.” You searched for the bookmark you kept in your bag but sighed dejectedly when you couldn’t find it anywhere. “I thought I put it in here,” you mumbled.

“What are you searching for?” he questioned, tilting his head.

“A bookmark to mark the place where we stopped reading,” you answered, pursing your lips as you took another search through the cluttering objects of your essentials. Another sigh left your lips and you were stuck with sticking a piece of napkin between the pages. Looking back at Ryo, you see him nodding to himself with a distant expression and you smiled. “Did you like the story?”

“I enjoyed it very much,” he said earnestly, a bright grin adoring him.

“That’s good to know.”

“It’s very different from the stories I’ve heard from the other folks.” He glanced at you nervously. “Perhaps I can tell you one some day?”

You almost melted at the sight of his blush but you managed to say, “I would love to.”

Surprised, you watched him as he hesitantly placed his hand on yours and cradled it gingerly. They were smooth, soft, and shockingly cold—the touch was incredibly comfortable.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“It was no problem at all.”

He rolled to his stomach and gazed up at you with an unreadable look on him. “I really enjoy being around you.”

Tenderly, you placed your unoccupied hand on his cold cheek and tilted your head to the side. “Me too.” Leaning towards him, you pecked his forehead, your lips lingering on his skin and the cold sensation leaving with you as you pulled away. “I’ll come back again soon to finish the story,” you promised.

His hands shook and his eyes seemed to moisten, but he somehow pulled both of yours to kiss them “Thank you.” His breath tickled against knuckles and you squeezed his hands back. “I’ve never expected so much kindness from you.”

How could you not smile at his words?

”Expect more to happen then.”

Writing a second part of a story that nobody knows of its existence. Anyways, I enjoyed writing this and I hope someone would enjoy reading it as well.

Part 1, Part 3

LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG, please!

[rantingwriter]

Accidentally in Love (Hawks x Civilian Reader) pt. 2

Trigger Warning: Strong language, long hospital stay, lots of anger, depression, and more angst than last time. I swear there will be fluff later...starting in pt. 4.

 “Damn it,” you grumble as you try to support your weight with the parallel bars. 

“You are doing great, [y/n], just a little bit more.” Mayu, one of the physical therapists helping you with your recovery does her best to encourage you. 

The door slams open and you lose your concentration, collapsing to the floor. “Fuck!” 

Mayu cringes at the angered tone, “Ryo!!” 

The man who barged into the room bows apologetically, “I’m so sorry, I was running late,” he hurries off to the changing room for the employees. 

You feel your frustration boiling over, “this is pointless!” 

Mayu turns her attention back to you and her features soften, “Please don’t say that, you’ve only been at this for a week and you are making good progress.” Her positivity only serves to frustrate you more.

“What progress?! I can’t even stand for longer than a couple minutes at a time!”

“I understand your frustration-” 

“How could you possibly understand this?!” You gesture wildly at your legs. “You can stand and walk and you still have both of your feet!” Your chest rises and falls rapidly as you glare at the therapist. 

She simply sits on the floor with you and gives you a very soft smile. “You are right, I will never understand fully what you are going through. So, tell me, what is causing the most frustration and I can do what I can to help.” 

“All of it!” You raise your arms up like you are surrendering. “Trying to stand on these limp noodles, trying to get out of my stupid wheel chair, even getting out of bed…” Your anger quickly morphs to sadness, “it’s just too hard…” Mayu gently pats your shoulder. 

“It’s a process,” She shifts to sit next to you. “Healing can be a very long and difficult process, especially when you lose an ability you’ve been able to do so easily until now.” You feel a lump form in your throat, trying really hard not to cry...again. “I’m not going to lie and say this is easy, but I know you can do this.” 

You wipe your eyes and sniffle, “I’m sorry for yelling…” 

“It’s alright, I understand you are frustrated, but I am here to help.” The employee door opens again. “So is Ryo when he actually shows up on time.” The teasing tone and Ryo’s exaggerated response brings out a soft ghost of a laugh. “Are you ready to give it another try?” 

“Yeah, I guess,” she helps to get you off the floor and on your shaky feet. You grab the parallel bars and repeat the exercise you’ve been doing all morning. A light tap on the window near your station alerts both yourself and your physical therapist to a note on the glass. “What does it say?” You feel your arms give out, but you are able to land in your wheelchair this time.

“Let’s see,” The older woman walks up to read it aloud, “when you are free, please come to the roof. HaWkS!?” Her voice cracks at the name, “who, wait, who is he talking about?!” 

You hold your hand up, “probably me, he said he was going to pop by once I was awake.” You were starting to think he forgot about you. 

“Oh my goodness!” Mayu covers her mouth and looks at you, “are you two friends? Are you dating?!” She gets closer with each question, her eyes shiny diamonds that scream ‘tell me everything!’ 

“He kind of gave me a concussion,” you watch her expression drop into one of horror. “Not on purpose, it was during that big fight that landed me here.” 

“I see, well, we are actually done for today if you want to head on up.” She goes to grab her clipboard and record the progress from today. 

“Does the elevator even reach the roof?” You can feel a knot form in your stomach, why are you so nervous? 

“Yes, the recreational therapy team has a community garden up there for the patients. I can get you some information if you would like to join them for a session.” You never heard of such a thing, it does strike a cord of curiosity, but that is for another time. 

“Sure, just send some to my room when you have the time,” you wheel your way to the exit. “Oh, and uh...thanks for the pep talk.” You rub the back of your neck to hide your embarrassment. 

“No problem, if you need anything just let me know.” Mayu smiles and waves as you leave to go up to the roof. Sure enough, the elevator opens right in front of the door. You push the button to get the door open and find rows of box gardens, some raised, some lowered. 

“Wow, this is neat,” you take a closer look at some of the plants bearing fruit, when you spot your mystery visitor. Your eyes are instantly drawn to the huge red wings on his back. The same ones you saw before you went into your coma. You clench the wheels of your chair and swallow your nerves. “Um…” He appears distracted by something, as he scans the city streets below, his feet hovering off the ground. “Hello? Are you Hawks?” He looks over his shoulder and his features light up with recognition. 

“Hey! Glad to see you up and about!” He lands and folds his wings in a bit before approaching you.

“Yeah, mostly…” You weren’t entirely sure what to say to him. 

He doesn’t seem too sure either as he pockets his gloved hands. “Uh, what’s your name?” 

“[Y/n].” More silence follows, wow the awkward tension is a little too palpable. “Why exactly are you here?” 

He looks taken aback, his wings puffing up a small bit, “I just wanted to see how you were doing.” 

“Well, as you can see, I’m doing just great.” You can’t help the sarcasm as you move your wheelchair. 

His features fall, his eyes aimed towards what’s left of your feet. “I’m so sorry, I made a bad judgment call and you got hurt because of it. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” 

“Unless you have some means to turn back time, there isn’t much you can do.” 

“There has to be something,” he lifts his gaze back up to plead with you. “I’ll do anything, just say the word.” 

You can’t tell if he is being genuine or not, before you can open your mouth a glint of something from the nearby building catches your attention. You wheel closer to the fence that lines the top of the building and spot a man with a camera aimed at the two of you. You whip your head around to face him, “is this some kind of joke to you?!” 

“What?” His golden-brown hues are full of confusion as you struggle to turn your wheelchair around. 

“Look, if you just came to Peacock for the camera’s or throw some kind of a pity party for yourself. I don’t want any part of it!” He looks between you and the nearby building, his feathers get ruffled at the sight of the camera. 

“No, wait, this isn’t what it looks like!” He holds a hand out to try and stop you from leaving. 

“Thanks for checking in, you can leave now.” You try to wheel your way back inside, but something is caught in one of your wheels. 

“I swear I’m not with that guy, he must have noticed me fly up here after I left my note.”

You aren’t paying any attention to him, you are too focused on getting away. “Stupid thing,” you try to muscle through the clog, but you end up tipping the whole thing over and landing on the hard surface of the roof. “Son of a bitch!” You slam a closed fist on the ground as you push yourself up. Tears of frustration and pain leak from your [e/c] pools. You feel a gloved hand on your shoulder but you quickly shove it away. “Don’t touch me!” 

“Please just let me help you,” he tries to reach for you again, but you stop him in his tracks.

“I’ve had enough of your help! Your ‘help’ is the reason I’m here!!” Your voice echoes around you, you wouldn’t be surprised if the camera man heard you. 

You can see the hurt in the hero's eyes as he backs away, his wings drooping as your words settle somewhere deep within himself. 

“Just go away…” you get your wheelchair back up and haul yourself into it again. You can hear the sound of his wings as he takes off, the force of the air blows your hair all over the place. You cover your face as you allow the tears to flow freely. If you were completely honest with yourself, you didn’t truly blame him. It was just easier than accepting your rotten luck. A couple of nurses hurry onto the roof and rush over to you. Apparently someone on the street heard you and told the staff in the lobby. You are immediately wheeled back to your room to rest and have your vitals checked. Your body is exhausted and so was the rest of you. You look out your window at the clouds rolling in, “nurse?” 

“Yes?” The kind man responds as he gets your table ready for dinner. 

“Would it be possible to send a letter to a hero agency?” 

He hums in thought for a moment, “I believe so, why?” 

“I...was just curious…” The nurse drops the topic and leaves you to your thoughts. “Doubt it would make a difference anyways.” You roll onto your side as your eyelids drooped, the sound of rain lulling you to sleep. Your dinner is left for you on the little table, along with a can of coffee with another note. ‘I still owe you a coffee, good luck with your recovery. -Hawks.’

[tcookies777]

Here is a sneak peek at a side story I've written for The Anatomy of Love (a KakaSaku modern college au - AO3 hyperlink included)! You don't need to have read the fic to read this side story since this is a flashback to Kakashi's past when he was a teen, but it does help to understand since it's in the context of the fic itself!

The Anatomy of Love: Side Story - What He's Looking For

About 17 years ago on a sunny September day...

They'd raised the prices on the gum again. Under normal circumstances, Kakashi would've thought that was absurd. Really, 4 ryos for a few sticks of gum with a strawberry flavor that would last for only—what?—fifty chews? But it was also understandable given that the war efforts required such generous financial contributions. Money didn't grow on trees and soldiers didn't come back to life. It was to be expected that the economy would tank during war, but looking at the propaganda posters, anyone would think Fire country was thriving. It was the exact opposite, however, and the high inflation, budget deficits, rise in taxes, and reduced consumption of goods only proved that. So he was loathed to think that he would have to waste a couple of ryo on a pack of gum, but he also wanted to support the soldiers on the frontlines.

With a sigh of defeat, he snatched the pack of gum off the stand before traipsing further down the store in search of his journey's main quest item. There wasn't really much supply to offer these days, and even less food to fill the shelves. But Kakashi wasn't here today to buy some bread or milk, so he had no need to worry about that. All he needed to worry about was looking for the right condoms. And as he entered the aisle of pleasure to peruse his selection for the day, his presence did not go by without notice from a nearby clerk. It was not entirely unusual to see a boy in this aisle, but the clerk had certainly not anticipated that the purpose of the boy's presence here was for contraception. Perhaps he thought the boy was buying for his father, or maybe even an older friend—which, technically, Kakashi suppose he was. But the clerk seemed adamant in keeping his eye on him and Kakashi did his best to ignore him. There was also the possibility that the guy thought he was a shoplifter. After all, despite the clean way Kakashi dressed in his slim dark jeans and olive shirt, he did have the rugged gaze of a kid who'd been beaten up by life but was now ready to fight back. That, and the apathetic darkness in his eyes tended to disturb adults whenever they encountered a kid who was too young to look at them like they were the ones who were younger.

Although, to be fair with the clerk, there had been an increase in theft and street crime ever since the war had started, so Kakashi didn't blame the guy for dogging after him up and down the aisle.

"Uh, hi…?"

The words came muffled through Kakashi's headphones. With a heavy sigh, he slowly reached up and tugged the headphones down to let them rest on his shoulders, but the music continued to blare loudly through both sides of the speakers. The clerk's brow twitched when the boy in front of him still didn't even spare him a glance.

A throat was cleared, and then, "Hi?"

Finally turning to meet the annoyed face of the man, Kakashi crinkled his eyes at him. "Yes, I heard you the first time."

The clerk's brows twitched harder and he shuffled a step closer, still not quite sure how to approach him or maybe the subject before them. "Uh, did you need help finding anything today?" he asked in a peppy voice, remembering to plaster his customer-service smile back on.

"What kind of condoms would a girl like?"

The clerk blinked at him. "P-Pardon?"

"What kind of condoms would a girl like?"

Realizing the boy wasn't joking, the guy's face reddened and he stammered, "I-I-I do-don't know!"

Hmm, pity. "Then I guess you can't help me," Kakashi sighed out, wandering further down the aisle to let the guy lick his wounds.

Ignoring the aghast look cast his way, Kakashi studied a box of condoms that were of various colors and various tropical flavors including strawberry, apple, orange, banana, and—oh!—even cherry. If his suspicions were correct, however, he doubted anyone would appreciate a cherry-flavored condom that tasted more medicinal than fruity. Still, maybe Sakae wouldn't care. She'd always had a wicked tongue that could handle the taste of anything, which Kakashi had learned when she'd swallowed down his cum like she was sucking up the last dregs of a vanilla milkshake.

But Kakashi set down the box and picked up the standard, ultra-fine lubricated condoms instead.

Tonight, he didn't plan to get another blowjob in the back of an abandoned lot. Tonight was meant to be the first lay of his life if he played all his cards right, which he'd had no problem doing so in the past few weeks since the night of his birthday when Sakae had taken him into the backyard to give him his first kiss. Even if the kiss had happened through his mask, she'd liked it enough to guide his hand to her generous breasts which he'd always taken the time to admire during dinners when she'd eat across him with her breasts resting on the edge of the table so that he could study the way a stray crumb would disappear down the same cleavage he often dreamt of burying his face in. And then the week after that, he'd guided her hand to cup him through his jeans, encouraging her to slip that hand down his pants and fist his cock well enough to make him burst into the cage of her fingers. The next week, it was her turn to guide his hand down her shorts too.

It should have left him quivering with trepidation when he'd slipped his finger inside her the first time, hearing her cry out either from pain or pleasure or both. Instead, Kakashi had felt no sense of fear or anxiety—or anything, really, save for the sense of satisfaction and curiosity as he explored the velvet insides of a girl for the first time. His fingers had to have been good enough if it eventually had Sakae collapsing against him, shaking and whimpering as if she was in pain but smiling like she enjoyed it. And so it was last week when Kakashi had to tug his mask back on and pull his face out from between her legs to ask if she could repeat what she'd just said.

'If you can get your hands on a condom, I'll do it with you.'

'Do what?' he'd asked her, her orgasm staining the thin cloth of his mask.

'Sex,' she'd purred in his ear, just as he'd expected.

And so in Kakashi's young but precocious mind, of course it only made sense that he would obey the lady's wishes—as well as his own—and seek out the item of his quest. As it was now, he tossed the box of condoms in his hand much like he would as if he was a character from a video game doing a little victory jig, tossing his trophy in a show of smug triumph.

But because it was still too early in the noon to return to the orphanage and catch Mrs. Matsuda breathing fire out her mouth with more bitching, he took a turn into the next aisle full of baby diapers. The efflorescent smell of baby wipes assaulted his nose, sweet as a baby's bum and much to odoriferous for Kakashi's tastes. Then again, he'd always despised the pungent chemicals of perfume. However, the stray pug in the alley across school was in desperate need of diapers since his crippled hind legs always trailed right through his own filth and feces, and Kakashi had grown tired of bathing the old dog daily with a neighbor's sort-of borrowed hose.

In the midst of studying the difference between 'disposable diapers' and 'disposable underwear', Kakashi was indifferent to the cart that rolled up near him just a respectable foot away. At the background of his thoughts regarding the expensive cons of disposable underwear, a woman's voice spoke aloud, her words lashing out with the venomous bite of anger. She wasn't speaking to him, of course, since he definitely had nothing to do with the 'sorry piece of sods who didn't know a leaf from a ryo bill'.

Inclined to give her a wide berth and let the lady yell into the phone without breaking his left eardrum, Kakashi sidled over a step or two. Apparently, it wasn't enough distance, however, as he felt something bump the side of his left sneaker.

He peered down from the disposable diapers and to the stuffed sloth that had somehow ended up against his shoe. Picking it up, he frowned at the sloth that was barely the size of his one hand. Just then his nose wrinkled at the scent that permeated from the stuffed toy—milk that seemed to have been churned up in the stomach and spat back out. Nose still wrinkled, he quickly adjusted his grip so that it was only his finger and thumb that pinched the ear of the sloth.

A quiet cooing sound quickly stole his attention away and to the side where a baby in a cart stared curiously at him. She was dressed in a hideous tuft of pink that nearly swallowed her whole with two chubby little feet poking out from beneath.

Kakashi glimpsed at the woman who was still berating whoever the poor soul was on the other end of the phone. Her back was turned, and she'd taken too many steps away from the child in her cart to notice Kakashi approaching the babe.

Sure enough, she smelled like milk and baby wipes. But there was also another softer, more subtle sweet scent beneath. Not quite aromatic like perfume, but it clung to her gently as if someone's perfume might've rubbed off on her rosy, chubby cheeks after one too many kisses or cuddles. Or maybe she'd just gone rolling down a hill of flowers—cherry blossoms, it smelled like—for all he knew. He didn't know what babies did in their free time besides piss, poop, and play anyway.

"Here," Kakashi muttered quietly, dumping the sloth in the cloud of pink tulle that was the baby's skirt.

Large spring green eyes blinked up at him as if she was asking, 'what the fuck is this doing on my lap?'

He shrugged and stepped away to return his attention to the shelf of diapers. But no sooner did he pick up a pack when he felt another nudge against his left shoe again. He glanced down at the sloth smiling up at him from its position by his shoe, and then he glanced over to the baby in the cart.

She was staring almost expectantly at him as if to say, 'pick it up, dumbass'. Or maybe she was just curious why a boy was wearing a mask when nobody else was. Perhaps she thought he was a creature of the night come to nom on the fat rolls of her thighs and this was her way of testing him. Nah, babies were curious oddities but not too astute.

With a roll of his eyes, Kakashi bent down to retrieve the sloth whose smile seemed more derisive than friendly now. While the mother was still turned away and barking into the phone, he pressed the sloth toy more firmly, insistently to the baby's front.

There it was again, those big eyes staring up at him like saucers of green tea. Huh, now that he thought of it, he hadn't had a cup of tea in a while. Rin had given away the last pack to a younger kid who'd wasted it down the drain anyway. Shit, but he remembered the prices for green tea had risen too. Oh well.

Taking a step away from the baby, Kakashi was miffed when she suddenly threw down her sloth at his feet again before he'd even had the chance to look away from her. He frowned and glared over at the mother who couldn't be bothered to keep a better eye on her daughter who'd decided only a few months old wasn't too young to start acting like a bratty princess already. A bratty princess who was treating him like her dog that she was playing fetch with, he realized belatedly.

As if to assert her royal if infantile position, she looked up at him, spring green orbs glittering with pure mirth as a gummy smile broke out on her face. Kakashi raised a brow at her, none too impressed when a wave of drool spilled down petal-pink lips and painted her poor sloth's face in saliva so that it looked like it was crying for help now.

Sighing quietly, Kakashi shook his head and decided to make his retreat from the diaper aisle. This was a battle he could not win, and the baby only proved that with a gleeful 'mah!' as she waved her hands, gesticulating in a language he could not begin to comprehend beyond grabby, chubby hands reaching for him. The further he retreated down the aisle, the more she kicked up a fuss, kicking up her tiny feet too. Her mother peeked over a shoulder for a split-second but looked away when she saw her baby was fussing for no reason.

Just as Kakashi turned the corner, he caught a glimpse of the baby tossing her sloth back down to the floor like it was her means of summoning her new dog to play fetch with her at her beck and call. Yeah, well, that went against Kakashi's domineering nature and so he stuffed his hands to search for the literature section.

Much to his pleasure, the books were kept at the back of the store where he could read through them in private without a clerk judging him for not paying for the paperback service instead. Much to his disappointment, however, there was no Make-Out Paradise and the selection of books was few and far between, and not to mention somewhat outdated since all the covers were easily recognizable from the days that he'd spent poring through them. Despite the pitiful collection of paperbacks collecting dust in the hopes a perverted reader might spread open their covers and peruse their naughty tales, Kakashi's attention zeroed in on the single brand-new hardcover tempting him with the 10% off sticker. Even more tempting was the cover art of a high school girl wearing a blouse that was buttoned just enough to keep from flashing a nipple, her tennis skirt a plaid black and red color to imitate the style of a uniform a private school girl was mandated to wear. A private school girl who wore that sultry smile just as well as she wore the necktie hanging loosely around her shoulders and arranged to cover a pair of hardened nipples.

Cracking open the cover, Kakashi inhaled the scent of fresh paper and ink first before glimpsing the first string of words that sat beneath the chapter title. He breezed through the first page, mouth quirking up when he recognized the set up for a good fucking. By the third page, however, his small smile had disappeared once he realized the setup was just that: a setup. No fucking. It was even more disconcerting when he flipped through the pages more quickly and concluded that most of the story was just one agonizingly slow striptease that he had neither the time nor patience for. He could even already see the ending from a mile away just by the building premise riddled with clichés and tropes: the professor gets caught and blamed for his sordid affair while his seductive mastermind of a student twiddles her thumbs in a very plausible show of innocence that hid her conniving smile. Of course, the man who gives in to temptation must always be punished for it in the end. It was a theme Kakashi was consistently seeing in almost every book he read.

With a huff of disappointment, he returned the book to the shelf where it could sit with its siblings to collect its own film of dust.

Straying his eyes over to the magazine section, Kakashi hummed in contemplation as he eyed the cover of a girl drawing the shape of a heart over her exposed lower belly with both hands, a peeled banana angled to censor her pussy. He picked up that magazine, flipping over to the section of the sex tips, most of which he already knew and had already practiced several times with Sakae. But, just for good measure, he decided to review the part that advised him how to last long during sexual intercourse.

It was when he was in the middle of studying about technique over speed did the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly rose up at the same time the smell of tobacco and rotten garbage flooded his nose. Kakashi was about to gag but stopped himself when a man stepped into the aisle—into his peripheral view. There was nothing unusual about the guy as he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt sporting a rock band that had broken up too long ago for Kakashi to even know who they were. What was unusual, however, was the baby hoisted against his hip. The monstrous pink tulle skirt was fluffed up to block her face, but he recognized that hideous dress that nearly swallowed her.

The stench of tobacco and garbage grew stronger as the man stepped closer, and it overpowered the delicate scent of baby milk. Despite having never been a parent before, and certainly not old enough to even have a child, Kakashi was still aware that it was never a good idea to smoke in the presence of a pregnant woman or newborn child. If Rin were with him right now, he had no doubt she would instantly spin on her heel to give the man a good tongue-lashing. And even though Rin wasn't with him right now, he could still feel her elbowing his ribs hard to get him to stop the man.

So with a sigh, he lowered the magazine from his face and sidled his eyes over just to check if the man had some sort of joint in his hand. Nope, nothing but the toy sloth. Kakashi flicked his eyes over to the baby who kept squirming in the man's arms, whining quietly as she swiveled her head left and right as if in search of something. Her toy? No...

Her mom.

Kakashi turned his cheek to glance at the back exit of the store that was reserved for employee use. Just as the man was about to sweep by him, Kakashi dropped the magazine right in his line of path and quickly moved to intercept. The man jerked to a stop, visibly disgruntled by a boy's ass blocking his path to the exit.

"Oh, what a cute baby you've got there," Kakashi drawled out, standing up to set the magazine of sex tips aside. The man paused at the sight of the boy giving him a crease-eyed smile that seemed friendly enough, but hesitation still flickered through his scowling face. Nonplussed, Kakashi tilted his head to the baby beginning to squirm. "What's her name?"

"Hana," the man grunted, moving to step around him.

Kakashi stepped with him, still effectively blocking his path and still smiling beneath his mask although the crinkle of his eyes had smoothened away to display the dead apathy in his gaze. "But that's not really her name, is it?"

The man's eyes widened by a fraction and he stepped back, dropping the sloth toy to reach for something at his back. But Kakashi's instincts were razor-sharp as well, honed by the many late-night street fights he'd often get into on nights when he had trouble sleeping. So before the man could pull out his gun, Kakashi had already pulled out his own pocketknife in a flash and sunk the blade all the way into the man's eyeball so that the hilt rested against the brow bone.

There was an audible 'squelch' that had the baby whimpering louder in distress while Kakashi impassively watched red dribble over the bottom lid of the stabbed eye. The blood started to trickle down a scraggly beard. The man let out a gasp, still staring in surprise at Kakashi as if he couldn't register the knife that'd been jammed into his head or the baby calmly taken from his stiff arms. He stumbled back, reaching up a shaky hand as if considering pulling the knife out even though that would mean taking his eye out with it. With one last gasp, he toppled onto the floor, his one good eye now staring listlessly at Kakashi's scuffed sneakers.

The blood started to pool out from his head rapidly now, spreading across the shiny epoxy flooring of the store. Before the blood could stain the sloth toy, Kakashi swooped down to pluck it off the floor. The baby had stopped her whimpering, looking on curiously as he pressed the toy to her chest.

"This is the last time I'm picking it up for you," Kakashi warned her. "I'm not your dog."

Instead of breaking into tears under his irritated gaze, however, she defiantly dropped her toy sloth (away from the pool of blood, thankfully) in favor of grabbing for Kakashi's face. Faster than he could react this time, she had yanked down his mask to paw and smack his mouth with hands that had probably been in her mouth too. Kakashi's nose wrinkled once more at the weird, somewhat sweet milky scent that he was only now figuring out was indeed saliva.

He jerked his face back in disgust, but that only served to give her a better view of his mouth. She paused, big jade orbs widening at his lips and she broke out into another gummy smile before leaning forth, mouth open like she planned to give him either a great big wet smooch or a great big gummy bite.

"Why not save that for your mom?" He frowned at the river of drool spilling down her chin.

"Agooo!" she squealed gleefully.

"Uh… bless you?"

No longer holding back a cringe, Kakashi held her further away, glancing down when his shoes felt slippery on the floor. He belatedly realized he was now standing in a puddle of blood. And among the sharp scent of copper and the gentle smell of milk, there was now a foul odor that stung his nose and this time Kakashi did gag. The baby giggled aloud, prompting him to glare at her. She only responded with another fart and then a giggle. Kakashi rolled his eyes, adjusting her onto his hip so that he could pull his mask back over his nose even though it wouldn't help much.

"SAKURA!" A woman's voice screamed out—the same woman who'd been too busy arguing on the phone earlier to notice her baby playing fetch with a boy shortly before getting kidnapped by a man.

The woman rushed over in a panic, face flustered with tears and fear. She wrested her baby from Kakashi's arms, glaring murderously at him like he was the culprit and not the dead man on the floor. Well, dead men couldn't tell any tales, so it fell upon Kakashi's shoulders to explain what happened. Maybe it was better to start from the beginning instead of jumping right into the scene where he stabbed the guy's eye out on a hunch. Now the woman was hysterical, crying over her baby's safety and the horror of a dead man on the floor. The woman was still eyeing him warily as the clerk came around to see what all the screaming and blubbering was about. Then he, too, screamed at the dead body on the floor. Which had then resulted in Kakashi retelling his story from the beginning again, this time including how the little babe still farting in her mother's arms had attempted to make Kakashi her toy dog to play fetch with.

The mother hadn't taken too kindly to that part, of course, even though it was the truth and she had demanded him to tell the story all the way from the beginning.

And then the cops had come and now Kakashi was getting really tired of retelling the same story all over again. At this rate, Rin would give him an earful when he got home if Mrs. Matsuda hadn't already blown out his eardrums by then. Of course, it was only until the officers had gotten his statement did they go bother to check the camera footage. And it was only until every microsecond was picked apart and the man was confirmed to have a gun on him did the officers decide to let Kakashi go. If Kakashi had to be honest, he'd thought the police would let him go once he'd mentioned the name 'Sakumo Hatake' to them. Alas, they were too bewildered by the fact that a teenage boy was able to take down a kidnapper with multiple felonies in the blink of an eye. So the fact that said teenage boy was the son of Sakumo Hatake was more or less glazed over.

When the reporters had finally come, it was just a motley crew of young journalists that looked like they were more interested in ordering some burgers than reporting a mere kidnapping attempt. Kakashi couldn't blame them. A burger and a milkshake sound good, he thought to himself, too absentminded when the baby was shoved back into his arms again, this time by her mother who now seemed to have flipped a switch and was giving him—or rather the reporters taking pictures of them—a saccharine smile instead of the accusing scowl from earlier.

One of the reporters had the gall to say, 'smile!' when Kakashi had been forced to pose for a picture, holding the baby against his hip and against his will. Even beneath his mask, it was hard to attempt a smile when she kept making grabby hands at his face. Tufts of pale pink hair tickled his cheek when the mother managed to wrangle her cooing daughter to hold still for just one photo.

"She needs her diapers changed," Kakashi sniffed, all too happy to give the baby back before she really did start treating him like a toy dog to yank around with her.

When the journalists trailed after him in an attempt for an interview, they at least had the common sense to realize their efforts were futile as Kakashi easily sniped them down with curt, one-word answers. Although he'd found it amusing to see them tripping over the cords of their microphones, he was ecstatic (inwardly) when the crew had finally given up and left, having not much else to report but maybe a two-hundred-word essay at most.

Good. He didn't need Mrs. Matsuda blowing up in his face the moment he stepped back inside the orphanage. Not when she was already a ticking time bomb ready to explode over his tardiness and other riff-raff nonsense. She already had disdain for his recalcitrant behavior, and he was sure she was keeping a list of all his shameless shenanigans.

Which was why he hurriedly dumped his box of condoms, the diapers, and the pack of bubblegum on the counter. The clerk, still quietly bemoaning his inevitable duty to clean up the blood at the other side of the store, flinched when Kakashi slapped a ryo bill in front of him.

Only a few years older, the clerk eyed the condoms warily before shifting his attention to the boy who'd just killed a guy like he'd only been playing pin the tail on the donkey—or eye, in this case. "Uh… how old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"You're pretty young."

"There's no age minimum to purchase condoms."

"Yeah, but I mean… aren't you a lil' too young to be..." The clerk trailed off unsurely.

"Fucking?" Kakashi finished for him, deadpan. "Or did you mean killing?"

It was a sincere question. He really didn't know if the clerk was raising his brow because of the condoms between them or because of the pool of blood further away. Or maybe his apathetic attitude to it all exacerbated the awkward atmosphere that reeked faintly of blood still.

There was also the option to just brag to the guy that he was old enough to already have a college degree under his belt and would have his Masters by fifteen years old. After all, prodigies like Kakashi didn't need to follow the guidelines of how to grow up like a normal child. He was far from normal, and they both knew it after what had just transpired today. But Kakashi found it more amusing to see the guy shiver visibly in distraught of how fucked up in the head this kid in front of him had to be to walk away from a crime scene like it was a walk through the park.

"Give me a pack of Spinel," Kakashi nodded to the cigarettes behind the counter.

The clerk hesitated once again. Clearly, fourteen years old was not quite old enough to buy cancer sticks like they were lollipops. But considering what this kid had just done to a full-grown man earlier and without so much as a blink of an eye... Smoking a cigarette seemed to be harmless when compared to killing a man.

With his condoms, diapers, bubblegum, and Spinel cigarettes now packed in a plastic bag, Kakashi crinkled his eyes at the clerk who shivered again when he realized it was the same expression he had just before killing a man. Unperturbed, Kakashi made his way out of the store, but not without suggesting aloud that they restock the literary section for the poor, depraved souls in desperate need of a raunchy book to soothe the ache of their groins.

On his way back to the orphanage, Kakashi stopped by the corner for a quick smoke. He counted his puffs carefully. Mrs. Matsuda had given up warning him of the addiction to nicotine he would develop sooner or later, but she underestimated him. The shrewd woman liked to believe that she knew him like the back of her hand just because he'd been under her wing for a couple of years already. Little did she know that underneath all that 'recalcitrant behavior that brought shame to his father', Kakashi was in complete control of himself. It was almost neurotic for him to fine-tune his body like an instrument—or a weapon—and constantly stay on high alert for any sign of danger. Like a master of his own puppet, he pulled the strings on every single muscle and breath he owned.

He was in control of himself, and he made a promise that no urge would ever control him. If he wanted to smoke a stick, that was fine. But he wouldn't let the cravings get out of hand. Because it hurt too much to want something so badly that it destroyed you, and Kakashi Hatake was all too aware of what that was like. He'd been craving the impossible since he was a five-year-old kid who'd discovered his father's gutted body one stormy night. And though the cravings never really stop, what mattered was that he was in control of himself.

Even so, he finished his last puff and dropped the stick to snuff it out with a quick grind of his heel. The sun was hanging low, signaling that it was almost in time for dinner and Kakashi knew that his tardiness would only add more fuel to Mrs. Matsuda's already raging fire. He could already smell the smoke of danger—or maybe that was just the smoke of his cigarette clinging to him. Still, he couldn't afford to listen to her bitch for an extra hour when he had another appointment to get ready for tonight.

And it was after dinner that he readied himself for that appointment by sneaking out onto the back porch to enjoy the fresh air as well as the bottle of vodka he'd swiped after picking the lock of the alcohol cabinet. The vodka ran down his throat like fire and settled warm in his stomach. He sighed, leaning back to watch a plane fly overhead. The backyard was filled with fireflies at this time of night, the bugs eager to get some fresh, cool air after a balmy day under the sun.

"Someone made the local newspaper today."

Kakashi glanced up as Rin lowered herself down to take a seat beside him. "Front-page?"

"Last," she replied, presenting him with the page of his deed—minus the word 'heroic' though. At the bottom of the page was a photo of him holding the baby, the both of them painted in shades of black ink and icky grey but neither of them even looking at the camera. Kakashi was in the middle of thinking how much the baby's cheeks look a lot like a chipmunk's when Rin sighed beside him. "They say you killed a man, Kakashi."

He raised his eyes to her. Her face was marred by a disapproving frown while his was as smooth and blank as a canvas.

"Yeah... And?"

Rin's frown deepened. "And... you don't seem to care," she said, her gaze heavy with woe instead of bright with fear.

"I don't care that I killed a man that was going to do god-knows-what to that baby?" He couldn't help but get a little defensive. What did she want him to do? Cry and mourn the loss of a man who contributed nothing to society and was more of a fungal infection that needed to be taken care of? Sure, a life was a life and Kakashi had no intention to play god and decide who lives and who dies. But in a situation like that, there was no choice but to decide who lives and who dies—and hadn't he made the correct judgment in killing the guilty to save the innocent?

Every soldier out on the battlefield was doing that right now. Killing people to save people. It was a necessary evil for the greater good, but maybe Rin didn't understand that quite yet. She was still young and naïve in the sense that she was a proponent for idealism rather than realism. She still had yet to take off her rose-tinted glasses and see the world for what it really was and not for what she wanted it to be. And right now, she was squinting through those glasses to scrutinize him.

He didn't know what she saw, but he knew she didn't like it.

"You know what I mean," she sighed, looking at him the same way she'd looked upon that crippled, old pug in the alley. Broken, and waiting for death.

Just like his father.

"Don't look at me like that, Rin," Kakashi muttered darkly. He looked away from her, taking a sharp swig of vodka straight from the bottle.

She clicked her tongue but grabbed the drink to take a sip, wincing from the burn before tapping a finger on the photo from the newspaper. "You know, it almost looks like this is your baby," she said with a teasing smile. "You almost look adorable as a teen daddy."

"Very funny," Kakashi said with a roll of his eyes although he was grateful for the change in subject. "You know I'm never having children, right? They're fussy and needy and I dare even say abusive. This one pulled my mask down and saw my face while I was helpless to do anything about it. She practically tried to assault her own savior!"

"What?! Why, out of all the people in this world, it's a baby who gets to see your face first?!" Now Rin was pouting with him, but a smile was threatening to twitch awake again. "So not fair. I wiped your puke the first time you got blackout drunk and you still wouldn't let me see!"

"I'll show you one day."

But first, he hoped she'd forget about it.

"At this rate, I'll be dead by the time you do show me."

"I promise to show you," he said, taking absolute care not to pinky promise because, according to Rin, those were unbreakable even for him. He dug into his pocket for the pack of strawberry bubblegum and tossed it to her.

"You remembered the flavor I asked for?" She looked pleased.

"I do have perfect memory."

"Only when you care to remember things."

He raised a shoulder into a shrug like he could care less. "Go brush your teeth and make sure to clean your tongue like I taught you. I can smell the garlic chips you snuck in."

Rin sniffed and curled her lip in distaste. "And I can smell the nicotine on you."

"That's from Asuma."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

She rolled her eyes back at him but stood up, brushing the invisible dust off her skirt. "What about you? If Mrs. Matsuda catches you here—and with her stolen vodka..." she had her brow raised at the way Kakashi had grabbed the bottle to hug it to himself. Then her brow dipped into a frown and she followed his gaze to the shadows of the backyard. Her face scrunched up in disgust. "Wait, are you going to be making out with Sakae again?"

"Of course not," he snorted. "I'm way past first base already."

And second, and third, and now he was on the last stretch of his home run.

"You say you'll never have children but you sure like practicing making them," Rin said dryly.

Kakashi shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a healthy growing boy with healthy hobbies."

That earned him a sharp kick in the ribs from Rin but he hardly winced. "Remind me to not buy you the next installment of the Make-Out series when it comes out next year."

Ouch. She knew where to hit him where it really hurt.

Hearing her leave to get ready for bed, Kakashi sat straighter, knocking the bottle back for another swig of vodka. He had a better tolerance than last year, and at 5 feet and 5 inches, he already had a solid build shaping up even if his bones still ached and his voice still broke. But he'd already become a man at five years old, growing up in the hard blink of an eye. The painful whiplash of his childhood ending so abruptly had already faded away, but he still found his thoughts straying to his father even on a night like this.

Glimpsing the photo of himself and that baby, Kakashi couldn't help but replace the image with him in his father's arms instead. He blinked once, and he was back to staring at his deadpanned face in sharp contrast to the giggling, gurgling baby he'd been forced to carry for the photo-op.

Heaving a sigh, Kakashi scrubbed a hand down his face before reaching for the newspaper to tear off that page. He folded the sides, making sure the edges were crisp and aligned before throwing the makeshift plane out into the garden. It caught a warm breeze and rode on the tails of the wind, rising higher into the night sky. Kakashi watched on, his memory of today's events already miles away like the paper plane would soon be; soon to be forgotten completely by the end of the night. And as the paper plane raced over the neighborhood, Kakashi's thoughts were now racing towards the future, particularly tonight during which he'd get to weigh Sakae's generous breasts in his hands again.

They're definitely just as soft and heavy as I remember, Kakashi thought at the back of his mind an hour later. But he'd also just as soon forgotten those plush breasts once he found himself inside of Sakae, fucking her in the shadows of the backyard with the rest of the orphanage (save for Rin) none the wiser. He'd impressed her when he managed to roll the condom on without a problem, and he'd been impressed when she guided him down on the bench to ride him. Then they'd both been impressed when, in a sudden turn of events, Kakashi had ended up bending her over and fucking her from behind, her hands gripping the bench so hard that her knuckles bled white and his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise.

When it was all done and nothing left to be said, Kakashi honestly didn't feel any different from before. Even when Sakae had blushed and stuttered through her words to tell him to take her out on a date, he felt no inclination to return the romantic sentiment. Of course, he'd still proposed to take her to the movies next week, and she'd proposed to give him a handjob if they stayed for the credits. But beyond the primitive nature that drove Kakashi to accept the sex, there was no tug at his heart the way Sakae's had been.

He liked her as much as he liked her big breasts, and he liked the sex just as much as any healthy, hormonal boy would at his age. But his loss of virginity tonight had changed virtually nothing inside him. Sakae didn't seem to notice at all though when she'd peck a goodnight kiss on his cheek, and Kakashi had given her that same crease-eyed smile he'd given to the clerk and the man he'd killed.

After checking that Rin was tucked in bed and asleep, he made his way to the boy's bathroom. There probably would've been a celebration of sorts among his male peers had they known that Kakashi lost his virginity and got to cum inside a girl—four years older than him at that—all in one night. But at the tender age of fourteen and a genius in his own right, the only one he could celebrate with was the old, crippled pug across the school. He was the only one of his peers who'd had sex with a girl, killed a man, and found his father's own corpse, so of course there wasn't really anyone he could talk to except for the pug who was already too tired laying on Death's doors to care about the fucked-up adventures of a fucked-up boy.

And when Kakashi started to strip off his clothes to shower off the smell of sex, it was then that he realized the bit of blood from the store had stained the edges of his sleeve, the red nearly blending into the black fabric. He didn't care for the copper scent, but he did frown at the light smell of thrown-up milk and cherry blossoms. But of course the baby had drooled on his shirt. He was probably lucky enough that she hadn't puked milk all over him too.

"Never gonna have children," Kakashi groused to himself, and then he stepped into the shower to rinse away the last evidence of today's events.

The rest of the chapter will be published soon on AO3 and Fanfiction.Net! Thank you for reading!

[dajaregambler]

AAside - Gyroaxia Band story - Chapter 2 Part 1 “Kenta’s worries”

Translation of Gyroaxia’s band story from the game ‘Argonavis from Bang Dream! AAside’.

Summary: It’s the second day of the starting live. While everyone’s going to see Argonavis’ performance after their stage performance, Nayuta remains in the waiting room.

(Recommendation to read this along the ingame band story, since it’s all fully voiced!)

Live Royal Fes, the second day of the starting live

Nayuta: My opponent ain’t you. What I’m fighting against is…. the world.

Ren: …….

Nayuta: If that's all, go

Shu: Scary Onii-san, may I say one thing?

Nayuta: …..What

Shu: Onii-san’s band is awfully skilled. However…. that’s all there is to it. 

Shu: Nooone of it was entertaining to me. To the point that listening to the sound of construction work would be more fun. 

Nayuta: …….Think whatever you want

--

Waiting room

Kenta: Welcome back. What did you talk to Nanahoshi-kun about?

Nayuta: ...Nothing important. Just flaunted his pointless determination

Kenta: Haha. The usual then.

Reon: It’s kinda… like some weird fate, between these two

Miyuki: After all, they’re both from Hokkaido, right

Ryo: Without a doubt they’ve always been near each other, maybe there’s some meaning to it

Ryo: As if they’re the earth and the moon

Miyuki: Ryo-chin’s a poet huh… Don’t understand any of that

Reon: It’s almost Argonavis’ turn. Wanna go backstage?

Miyuki: Why not. Let’s see what kind of stage they’ll put on

Ryo: It’s been a while since hearing Ren’s songs, I want to listen 

Kenta: Alright, guess we’ll go. Nayuta, what will you do?

Nayuta: Ain’t interested. I’m staying here.

Kenta: ….Right.

Reon: It’ll start if we don’t hurry up

Kenta: Aah, go on ahead. I’ll come at once

Reon: Really? We’re heading off then

(The others leave)

Nayuta: ….Ain’t you going

Kenta: ….Everything alright, Nayuta?

Nayuta: Haah?

Kenta: Your condition is not too well is it now? Ever since coming to Tokyo. 

Nayuta: ……..

Kenta: The temperature and the level of humidity is different between Tokyo and Sapporo. Are you not feeling any discomfort in your throat?

Nayuta: ….Ain’t a problem

Kenta: Then, that’s fine…. I’m off.

(Door closes)

Nayuta: (Heavy breathing) ….

Nayuta: …….Shit

Nayuta: (Even though it didn’t act up for a while… why now…)

Nayuta: Calm down…. calmly breathe….

Nayuta: (Wheezing) …….

Nayuta: …..Goddamnit!

Nayuta: Don’t… get in my way…!

Nayuta: Not yet… I haven’t accomplished anything yet!!

[friendofthecrows]

Posting a way more in-depth description of my alters than any of you want or need because why not

Keiko: friendliest, nicest, cutest, acts the youngest. Used to front a lot when we were hanging out with friends. Still essentially like the rest of us in that she has the same personality disorders (pointing this out because you wouldn’t guess she has ASPD but we all do. No, none of us are “more of a psychopath” or evil vs good or whatever compared to one another). She just seems more able to feel/express the positive spectrum of emotions, she hasn’t repressed it or detached herself from it as much. She/her pronouns. Aroace. Current fave thing: either MLP or stimboards

Miyuki: calm, collected, responsible, acts like a gatekeeper of the system a lot as in she’s the only one we can actually trust to moderate the rules objectively. Also has pulled people out or put people in control before. Less “control panel” access than say Jokul or I though, but probably only due to lack of practice. THE most sane one (idk how that works either) and the one with the least emotional turmoil. Used to wonder if 1. She was capable of caring about people and 2. If she actually felt any emotions at all. The answer is yes she does, she just Bottles Them Up Completely. We are taking it in faith that she feels stuff because the body cried once while she was in control. Pronouns: she/her. Sexuality: ???? when it comes to romance, but definitely ace. Current fave thing: tea, specifically a nice warming oolong like Da Hong Pao.

Yahto: (me!) people are suggesting ways to describe me and it is mean. For most of my knowledge of my own existence as a separate alter, I’ve kind of assigned myself the role of protector. I was very functional as well! Confident (bordering on insufferably arrogant), and with the level of detachment from my emotions I had at the time as well as my complete lack of fear, perfectly suited to deal with a wide variety of situations. Only if we were okay with other people thinking we’re weird because I used to have a worse filter than I have now. I experienced fear for the first time 3.5 years ago right alongside the strongest emotions I’ve ever felt and my mental health has been spiraling downwards ever since :) Also I am literally the most stubborn person you will ever meet. He/him pronouns. Anything having to do with orientation is a big question mark right now, I just know I’m probably not interested in men. I HAVE dated women but tbh I’m no longer sure if I’m even interested in them. Current fave thing: yahto.exe stopped working 38 hours of being awake ago. Uh,,,,idk sorry How about reading fzanfic to pass the time fnafic fanfic

Jezebeth (Jez): (headspace bestie! Great at writing horror poems!) Does Not Care About People but also surprisingly extremely chill. When she’s enthusiastic about something, she’s REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT but otherwise mostly just stays quiet and has a nice time Observing. People either find her really fun to be around or creepy. No in between. She went through a phase where she thought it was funny to creep people out by saying really messed up things so that probably didn’t help. Actually, DURING said phase, she single-handedly made and maintained the best in-school friendship we ever had for 4 years. Literally none of us talked to her except for Jez. She just had endless “creepy” conversation topics and Robin thought it was *amazing. * She/her pronouns, I have no idea sexuality wise simply because she does not talk about that kind of thing. Current fave thing: inking pens :)

Jokul: (sworn enemy, tried to kill myself once to take him down with us) Perfectly reasonable person realistically. Nothing particularly wrong with him. I just Do Not Like Him. Especially since for as long as I can remember, we’ve made it a game to torment each other. You see, we both hate boredom more than anything else, or at least we did when we were even younger and more naive and we’re not actually malicious, and yet foolishly prided ourselves on not being nice and also our ability to manipulate people. No, little kid me was probably not actually an expert on manipulation, we just thought we were at the time. This all resulted in us taking our boredom, pent up malice, and desire to prove we were better than one another on each other. Such a great idea (sarcastic). We did in fact get better at emotionally wounding people after years of practice, and predictably (if we had any foresight on this matter at all) it backfired! I did in fact turn this skill against the one person I cared about in an effort to push them away during one of my breakdowns and it resulted in 6 suicide attempts, not including my own. Jokul has been trying to manipulate me positively since (both of us have been ordered to be nice to each other by Miyuki because we were causing too many problems) and it has Not Worked. If he was a separate person, I would skin him. The only person I’ve hated so much. We’ve been on relatively good terms lately. Been capable of having casual conversations. Things are okay, I guess. His personality is entirely fake, so I don’t know how to describe it except for how he acts when we’re trying to hurt each other, which might be him dropping his mask or it might be a whole different act just for that. Pronouns: He/him. Sexuality: He can change it at will? I think default is aroace though? Current fave thing: *Jokul imitation* “My purple silk dress I wear when I’m meeting people and am desperate for them to worship my beauty. I look so irresistibly elegant in it, it makes everyone like me automatically.” His actual answer is Death Note (cringe) (I’ve been yelled at for calling Death Note cringe)

Gracelynn: (headspace ex-bestie) Everyone thinks she’s the nicest person ever and super loyal and so on. She is to other people but apparently not to me anymore. Still finds it difficult to empathize with people and care about them, but apparently decided to be nice anyways. Like she doesn’t get the fuss about friends but she’s here for them anyways. Spends as much time daydreaming as possible these days, used to front A TON a few years ago. Extremely shy and full of social anxiety and anxiety in general. Goes nonverbal in a plethora of social situations. Freakishly good memory. Has way less memory gaps than I do and I have no idea why. She/her pronouns, probably aroace Current fave thing: brace yourself for no surprises, a tie between horseback riding and the Chronicles of Amber.

Ryo: (the alter of many names: Ryo, Rachel, Ry, Rei, R) The newest. Noticed a new voice and behavior that did not match any of ours a while after the events of 3.5 years ago. Might be coincidence, might not be, I don’t care. Kind of down to earth and practical and normal compared to the rest of us. Despite him being here for years now I don’t know that much about him partially because I don’t care and haven’t been paying attention, and partially because system communication hasn’t been that great (I’ve also been getting way more memory gaps! Whole days lost! Isn’t that great? (sarcastic)). Pronouns: varies, any are fine. (Despite us, in general, identifying as gender fluid so we don’t have to explain, Ryo is the only ACTUALLY gender fluid alter in our system) Aroace. Current fave thing: He said sleep, he wants us to go to sleep. (refuses to answer the fun question genuinely) Well Ryo, you have just failed my vibe check. Your reward is uh,,,AT LEAST 13 more hours of being awake. Yayyy

(I did colors here but the all green theme will stay in other posts <3 Really if I had to describe our auras it would be different shades of blue anyways.)

[frightfurtabby]

HimiKiyo Week Day 6: I Melt With You

// 2nd to last day, the theme is sickness and health. Emi told me about a headcanon about Kiyo having Marfan Syndrome a while ago so I used that for this. And to add another layer I’ve made a nod to a grey’s anatomy episode we watched on a date night. sadly i dont think thats enough for me to be able to tag that fandom tho smh//

Word Count: 1299

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34224124

Amino: (coming soon)

Korekiyo always had health problems in some way since they could remember. It wasn’t easy to live with but Sister had always had it worse. Of course she did, because her ailments were rarer and deadlier, as she frequently reminded them back in those days. It was all about her so without her things went south for several years. (More so than they had been)

Himiko also knew what it was like to lose somebody to something like that. It was one of the things that they bonded over in their early days knowing one another. It took a few conversations to fully open up about that. It took even longer then for Kiyo to confess there was a reason for their lanky appearance and spindly fingers: Marfan Syndrome.

A big catch was that their heart was bad. It could be fixed with surgery, but that and the medications were simply managing it and the dozens or so other symptoms. It, like many of the disorders Kiyo’s sister had while she was alive, was incurable.

Any surgery had risks, but the risks were better than risking the damage to the arteries getting any worse. It had finally come time for the procedure. There were indicators their heart would start to get worse.

Himiko was in the room when the doctor broke the news. In a cruel twist it was she that seemed to need the most comforting about the news. Kiyo kept her up on their lap and brushed fingers across her hand.

“I’m going to be fine, darling.” They told her before giving a peck on the cheek. “Recovery might take a while but when I’m all better, I’ll be better than ever before. Stronger.”

“You’ll really be okay honey?” She clung to them like a koala.

“Yes. I promise that.” A promise sealed with a kiss on her lips. That was the kind that should never be broken, so they knew they had to fight.

There were little conversations day to day about it. It was first caught extremely early as many genetic conditions were. It started with eye problems and scoliosis. A few more observations and tests and it was the answer. Plus, there was a family history with it due to one grandfather having had it.

Kiyo had a morbid sense of humor and one of the jokes was about how they were “Always in and out of the hospital, so why not have something interesting to stay longer. Make things a lot more convenient”

Himiko knew she had to stay in the hospital overnight tonight, so she put a call in to an old friend to house-sit and make sure to feed their kitty child, Ryo. It was the night before the big day.

“Thank you.” Kiyo said, propped up a bit on the pillows. They figured they may get some shut-eye soon. “I got a little sad, but then I thought about how happy he’ll be when his mommies come back home.” They smiled.

“I’ll be glad when this is all over.” she put her phone under the pillow on the visitors couch she was going to sleep on before walking over to hold their hand. “If the doctors mess anything up I’ll sue.” She wasn’t kidding, and hoped it didn’t come to that.

A smile crossed Kiyo’s face as they gently returned her little hand squeeze. “I know you would. I trust that I’ll be fine here.”

She leaned in and gave a kiss. “Is there anything you’d like before bed?”

Stroking their chin in thought, an answer came with a slight delay. “Well… how about a bedtime story? I’ve read those to you many times, so this can be a good opportunity for your turn.”

“Hehe, I thought you might say something like that. So I came up with one already earlier today.” she explained, “So, I hope you’ll enjoy hearing this tale.” It was a relaxing one with a relatively light conflict. Many talking animals inhabited a lush green landscape with the yellow sun shining on them above.

Some of the denizens of this land had assumed a Kitsune had stolen lost items from them when things went missing solely due to the creature’s reputation. After a bit of detective work, starting from a single odd feather out in the nearby farm’s chicken coop led to the discovery that there was a visit from a Tengu and that had been the true culprit.

Kiyo enjoyed laying back and listening instead of telling for once, eyes closed as they listened and visualized what was going on in the story. Following it all along, walking in the shoes of the characters. As time passed they got sleepier, her voice soothing any worry they had.

Happy little yawns popped up here and there. Kiyo expended only a small bit of energy to lean up and nuzzle into her hand as she ran soft, gentle hands along their cheek or through their hair.

“Mmm, I know I tell you this a lot but you really are cuter than you’re given credit for.”

“Am I?” they asked, briefly opening their eyes to look up with a flutter.

“Yes, especially when you’re all sleepy like this. You should rest up.”

The next day Kiyo woke up a little bit later than usual. It was still morning but the sun was approaching the peak it would have at midday. The curtains were open so that meant either one of the doctors or nurses or Himiko opened them.

Their wife was up and about, returning a moment later. “Oh, you’re awake! You were still resting when I got up. I brought you something.”

In her hands was a bottle of water and some toast with jam.

“It’s not very much but since it's today it has to be light.”

Kiyo nodded. “Well, it is breakfast in bed served by my beloved. I’d say that its enough~”

They took a drink first and then a few bites of their food. Himiko walked up for a hug when they’d finished eating.

“So, how do you want to spend the rest of the time before they take you in?”

“I’m not sure, there’s plenty to read or we could watch the television.”

“I’ll watch with you.” she said, pulling a seat up.

Kiyo flipped through the channels until something interesting came up and then put the remote on the bedside table. The couple held hands and tried to keep away the anxiety and worry for a few more hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later the Doctor came in, asking if they were ready. To which Kiyo nodded.

They looked over to Himiko and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll see you again soon honey. Don’t worry about me too much.”

She kissed them and Kiyo reached up around her shoulders to return the kiss.

She waved them goodbye for now, adding before her wife left “I’ll try, but I can’t help but worry at least a little.”

She occupied herself more or less successfully. At least she hadn’t freaked herself out badly. They came back in one piece, still under, just a few hours later. Hours that dragged on yet felt like nothing at all when she knew they were going to be okay.

Her huge grin never left her. Kiyo woke up and looked up so happily tears just about formed.

As the two hugged close, Kiyo said their first words since before the surgery. “Told you I’d be back, This wasn’t so bad now was it?”

“I guess not. I’ll always be here no matter what else you’ll need” Himiko knew there may be a need for further surgery in the future, given what she knew about their medical history from before they met. “That’s what I signed up for after all.”

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 29 – Disaster and Calamity

“Goddamn it...... If only I had arrived sooner...”

“Don’t do that to yourself. It wasn’t deliberate, and you were left in the dark regarding the situation.”

Frankenstein stabbed the end of his sentence with a big fat period, as if warning Lunark that he will hear no more of her self-reprimand.

As she gaped at him, she suddenly made a snickering noise; knowing this is no situation in the world to laugh at, Frankenstein raised his eyebrow.

“I can’t imagine what would have become of us if it weren’t for you.”

Her lips curved in a beautiful crescent, and Frankenstein could feel his head swaying in dazzlement, because of which he could not keep his eyes locked on her face.

To his great relief, his control over his facial expressions was not completely lost. Not just yet.

“Are you saying things would have been irredeemable if it weren’t for me? I know most of your warriors as of now were chosen urgently, but I think you have a trust issue with your own kind.”

“That’s not true. Of course I trust them. But it’s different from the trust I have for you. It’s like... How should I put this?”

After rotating her head to either side for a bit, Lunark set her eyes on a wolfsbane plant, its blossoms embodying the exact color of her pupils.

“My trust for my kind is like trust in a flower. It is capable of thriving and flourishing on its own, but it will surely return your investment as much as you input. On the other hand, you shouldn’t expect much if you did not make much investment, though it won’t wilt so easily.”

Then what about your trust in me?

Frankenstein could not bring himself to ask, lest his voice be marred with expectation too tangible.

“And my trust in you is like... Like that in the moon.”

Lunark raised her head, beholding the milky celestial body glowing above, serving as a spotlight for just the two of them.

“Its presence will never fade away no matter how far it is. It stays inconspicuous for most of your daily life, but you can locate it in its orbit, promised and undoubted, once you seek it. So you can always tell yourself that it will always be there for you.”

And it’s unreachable by all standards. And it shines wherever and whenever I gaze at it.

Lunark muttered her final comment like a whisper, but she soon regretted that she did not furnish it mute in her head.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

Lunark’s heartstrings tugged when Frankenstein retorted, and after hesitation she yielded the latter half of the truth.

“...You shine. You always do, wherever you are.”

As soon as she said that, Frankenstein’s ears, hidden beneath his silky blonde, heated up as his blood boiled, followed suit by his head and heart.

“What? Don’t tell me this is your first time having someone tell you you’re good-looking. I should know it’s not the first, and certainly not the first from me. And don’t you dare ask me to repeat myself. My face is not thick enough to do that.”

As she feigned calmness, the series of words she fired broke the surface of Frankenstein’s heart and caused relentless ripples, each greater than the one before.

Now that he has acknowledged his feelings for her, the words that should contain no meaning (or so he had thought) reached the depths that he did not even know they existed.

On the contrary, he did not hate the fact that she had such high evaluation for him. In fact, he liked it, so much that he felt kind of lightheaded.

The only thing he could do was to peek at her as she stared above, smiling very serenely for a reason Frankenstein could not imagine and would die to figure out.

(Illustration by. RyO - you can find her DeviantArt page here)

He managed to break free from his reverie only when his mind screamed at him that if he keeps gawking at her, he will not be able to produce an excuse when she inquires him what he is looking at.

“So where were you all this time?”

Lunark turned silent at once, not sure what to do.

She had been in Seoul, the perimeter near the neighborhood where Frankenstein used to be. She raced all the way to Korea right after her encounter with Rael.

She wanted to do something to relieve Frankenstein of his stress, so she opted to get something he is fond of from Korea.

To her utmost surprise, she ran up to something not at all she had looked forward to, and she was not sure how she should unleash the details to the man in front of her.

The three modified humans under his wings had a problem – or they were the problem.

And it was by no means insignificant, momentous enough to be dubbed a disaster.

*****

Few days ago, a building zone in Seoul

Never in her life has Lunark ever wished so dearly for a reason.

The one who would have the greatest knowledge of Frankenstein’s likes would be him.

However, immediately after she reminded herself of the fact, she could feel an invisible wall thrusting itself upon her.

‘Just what kind of reason can I give to ask him what Frankenstein likes?’

It was no hour to pay any sort of visit; she regretted that she did not arrive during day, when he would be at school, a much more convenient environment for her to attempt lying that she wanted to say hi during a business trip to Korea.

And since this was a personal visit, she had no legitimate excuse to waste more than a day to fulfill her purpose.

Then it hit her that Frankenstein might not be happy that she had sought Raizel on a personal matter, and in no chance in hell was she going to do something that had even a close-to-zero chance of winning herself his murderous glare.

Which is why she settled on counsel from the three modified humans in his team. For which reason was what she was missing once again.

She did not have to confront them to realize that they are willing to bolt out anytime as soon as she pretends there is something wrong with Frankenstein.

And they were not stupid to buy when she tells them she decided to drop by, whether she had something to deal with or not.

She did break some ice with M-21, offering him a helping hand or two, but she remembered how she made it specific that the only reason why she would ever help him is because he is Frankenstein’s comrade.

‘And why did I ever say that to him...?!’

Unable to find a way out of the labyrinth of trouble in her own mind, Lunark was helplessly exhausting her time, stuck in the shady corner of a nameless building, until she caught a familiar scent in the air.

‘...It’s them. And it’s getting stronger. Like they are coming this way. Did they notice I’m here?!’

Feeling guilty for an unimaginable reason, Lunark made herself even scarcer, well-aware that she had nothing to hide.

She peeked at the sources of the scent, the only hint that she was very close to the ones she was looking for.

She could find the three men, in the exact same looks as the imprinted images in her head, entering a building at distance, in a curiously and highly cautious manner, probably because of whatever that was waiting for them inside.

‘What a coincidence.’

Lunark could not tell whether she should be amazed at herself, having provided herself a chance though it was never intended, or frustrated with herself, incapable of using her chance when it is right there.

She could only watch for what would happen next, and before too long M-21 ran outside – or rather, he ejected himself from within.

Tao followed and held him by his shoulders, and Lunark guessed Takio was near the entrance, by the glimpse of his purple hair dancing.

And M-21 exhibited quite vicious gestures and expressions during their conversation.

‘...No, it’s more than vicious. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him punching at them, and I’d thought they are more than close.’

Lunark knew this requires more investigation, so she slipped away from her secret respite to hear them.

“...This to us?!”

“Hold it, M-21. Let’s just calm down and...”

“I should’ve known something is wrong. I should’ve known something is wrong when you took your least favorite menu from the fridge at an inconvenient spot to reach, and then you started taking out some of our groceries. How could you keep this a secret, Tao? You knew that our fridge has been losing weight recently! Did you give a hand in this?!”

“I didn’t! I didn’t even know what was going on until now. I figured there must be a good reason why Takio didn’t tell us, so...”

“Oh, yes. Speaking of which, let’s hear it. So tell me how good is your reason to keep one of the most dangerous agents of Union hidden in here.”

Lunark could not remember what exactly happened next; when she snapped awake, she found herself looking directly into three pairs of eyes, quaking in recognition.

“W-what are you...”

“Move.”

“What? Uh, wait...!”

Instead of reiterating herself, Lunark shoved herself into the door, the three men too flustered to stop her.

And so Lunark came face-to-face with a woman with red hair and sharp looks all too familiar, flinching at her in a safehouse marred with equipment and supplies boasting Frankenstein’s touch.

“You...?”

“...Aren’t you the 5th Elder?”

“...Care to explain?”

Her eyes were fixed on Yuigi, but Lunark was clearly addressing the supposed inviter, the tall, slender sniper.

“...As you can see, I saved Miss... I mean, her. I found her imprisoned as a specimen in Crombell’s temporary lab and took her with me.”

“Have you lost your senses? She’s not just a Union agent – she’s one of Cerberus, the personal bodyguards of the 12th Elder! Since neither of your teammates knew about this, I guess there’s no chance that Frankenstein or the Noblesse would be aware of this. Why would you fool everyone in your team and hide a Cerberus? Was she your ex-teammate? Or an ex-lover?”

“W-we’re neither of them. If I were to define our relationship, I’d say I personally owe her a debt.”

In spite of the eyes full of curses from both his sides, Takio began his story in a surprisingly peaceful manner, which ended in silence so absorbing nobody would have batted an eye even if the safehouse broke down in crumbles.

Takio was moral enough to feel guilty and break his lips loose from its stun, but Lunark got ahead of him.

“So she actually said she will cooperate if we demand?”

“...Yes.”

As much as she was bothered how he held his breath before his reply, Lunark did not pose a question at him.

‘A Union runaway just got caught by an ally of Union’s greatest fear who also happens to be wolfkind’s executive. Now she will have no choice but be an obedient dog in order to stay alive, although the question remains whether she can be useful to us.’

Not to mention Yuigi is part of 12th Elder’s forces – forces against Crombell. Lunark knew there were more than Crombell and his minions consisting the Union, so she anticipated Yuigi to be a guide in detecting them.

Settled with her decision, Lunark straightened her robe.

“Not that I’m happy with this situation, but I’m not the one who brought her. So I’d have no say in this situation.”

Takio’s and Yuigi’s heads snapped up as soon as she finished her sentence, as if they were electrocuted.

“And don’t forget – you officiated it. You WILL provide us help whenever we need it.”

“So you mean...”

“Prove it. Prove and we’ll see, though this is not really my concern. But instead... You shall be responsible for everything that is to take place from here on.”

Lunark peered at Takio, making sure he put it in his head that he should and shall be the leash for their newfound K9 unit, so that it would not bite off their heads in the future.

Or at least she hoped he would get it in his head, making herself looking as relaxed as possible as she turned on her heels.

*****

Her trip turned out to be much more shocking than expected – so shocking she forgot to her initial purpose – and she still did not have time to fully process it.

‘Should I tell him?’

Lunark, of course, already knew what to do.

‘This guy would completely purge every being that can potentially threaten his master, whether it is a Union agent or a harmless leaf falling from a tree. So even if his teammate is the cause...’

But that did not give her an excuse to play deaf on Frankenstein, and Lunark could feel her mind struggling to escape from her.

To her bewilderment, it was revealed she had worried for nothing.

“Forget it. You don’t have to tell me if you can’t. It’s all good, since you’re back.”

“...What?”

“I know you have a life. And reasons. And I’ve no right to pry them out of you every single time when I can, don’t you think?”

In reality, he was more than interested in her life and reasons; yet he had to shift himself away by force.

He had a good feeling that if he were to let his interest run wild, it will whip itself up as a lethal mental wave and never release him.

Frankenstein feigned leisure as he raised himself from his spot.

“You leaving?”

“Why would I stick around? I’ve no reason to. And you’d better be careful. The Union already trespassed twice; I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go for three and more.”

Frankenstein stepped towards the woods teeming with branches and fruits he could not identify, which brought a reminder for Lunark.

The direction he was taking would take him to the trees exclusively native to her land, notorious for roots protruding as if they were made to trip anyone who passes by and gigantic fruits that were prone to crush anyone’s skull upon walking beneath during the harvest season.

Lunark was about to tail Frankenstein, hurriedly calling after him, when her feet were caught in an especially curvy part of the root, giving her a mortal lesson that there is a reason why people say they should mind their own business.

With a brief cry of alarm, Lunark was about to fall flat on her nose, but luckily it was thwarted by arms sharp and strong.

Then she found herself basically plastered to Frankenstein’s chest.

Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.

That was so very not necessary.

Sorry for being pain in the ass until the last moment.

She could deliver none of the messages floating in her head, and Lunark’s eyes were furiously lost.

So she missed that Frankenstein was just as flabbergasted.

‘...What have I done?’

His body preceded his head, shoving him into a posture that would be impossible for people other than those in a relationship.

‘Relationship my rear end. What you’re doing is no different from groping.’

He should have withdrawn his arms and let go of her waist, but his nerves and joints refused to cooperate.

‘...At least I didn’t hit her in her lips. And that’s good.’

That was the last thing Frankenstein could think of, when he felt her breath ghosting over his own lips.

He was relieved and yet mystified, ticked off from his usual balance and usual celerity to his surroundings, and then a particularly humongous fruit skyrocketed downward and plunged into his head.

The fruit the size of a small melon mercilessly hammered the human’s head before it rolled down the slope, but the two noted nothing thanks to the calamity.

They could not even move for a while, enthralled by the perfume and silkiness of each other’s lips upon theirs.

(next chapter)

At last, ladies and gentlemen, Frankenstein and Lunark kissed for the very first time! XD Originally I did not plan on making them kiss; I was going to have Frankie stare at Lunark in mesmerization, and that was it (which is why the illustration for this chapter does not show them kissing). But while I was composing, I decided it’s about time for them to take a step beyond with their relationship, so here it is lol. Also, it’s about time to introduce more struggles and skirmishes in my fic; I hope you’d stay tuned for more!

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Don’t Be Nervous (Yukio Kasamatsu)

Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Romance ☁

Word Count: 2,087 ☁

Pairing: Reader x Kasamatsu ☁

World: Anime, Kuroko no Basket ☁

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

Your eye twitched at the hand wrapped tightly around your wrist, narrowed eyes sliding up the toned arm to the culprit. “Why do you have to involve me?”

Kagami glanced over his shoulder. “Because you’re one of the scariest people I know.”

A sweatdrop appeared on the back of your head. “I never knew you had such a way with words. I’m surprised the girls aren’t falling over themselves to hear you speak!”

He scowled at the remark but chose to keep his mouth shut.

Silence fell as you made your way to the park. For what, you had no clue.

When you finally reached the destination, your eyes landed on a few familiar faces; Kise, who looked rather chipper. Kuroko, who wore the same blank expression as always. Koganei, who looked excited and ready to go. And Kasamatsu, who looked rather nervous.

Your gaze followed Koganei’s and you raised an eyebrow at the four girls standing off to the side. They were huddled together, whispering amongst themselves and glancing at the group of boys.

You yanked your arm free of Kagami’s grasp and glared at the red-head, ready to demand an explanation when you were glomped by a blonde blur, knocking you back a few paces.

“I’m glad you could make it! Now we can go!” His grip around your body disappeared and he hurried over to the girls, ushering them along. Koga followed happily with Kuroko at his side, while Kasamatsu kept his distance.

Kagami gripped your forearm in a gentle but firm hold, leaning down so he could whisper in your ear. “Kise is trying to find Kasamatsu a girlfriend, but he’s useless when it comes to girls.”

You bit back the smart remark that begged to be released. “Okay… so what up with the group?”

“Kise needed two more guys, and when he asked Kuroko, Koganei-senpai said he would do it. He ended up having to beg Kuroko before he would agree.” He scoffed, shoving his hands into his shorts. “Kuroko threatened me with that damn dog, so I had to come along.”

“And I’m here because…?”

“They were short one girl and I wasn’t about to get set up with some chick I didn’t know.”

“Lovely. I knew I should have ignored your call.”

He sent you an annoyed glare, but you weren’t entirely sure it was meant for you. “If I have to suffer, you can too!”

“You’re such a good friend, Taiga.”

“Shut up.”

“Come now. Is that any way to speak to your elder?”

“Shut up.”

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

To say that the atmosphere was awkward would be the world’s greatest understatement. The only ones talking were Koga and Kise, along with their dates. Honestly, you were fine with Kagami not talking to you but the silence was a bit killer, especially with the aura Kagami and Kasamatsu were giving off.

You rested your elbow on your crossed legs and plopped your cheek into your palm, playing with your shoelace to pass the time which only seemed to drag by. God, you wish Kise would pull the plug already. His little plan obviously wasn’t working. Even when his date said something to him, all Kasamatsu would do was nod. He wouldn’t even look at her!

Your cell phone buzzed in your pocket and you shared a glance with Kagami before fishing it out and flipping it open. Why in the world was Kise texting you when you were in the SAME room?

[Why are you sitting on the floor?]

You held in a snort. [Because I refuse to sit next to some girl I don’t know.]

[Participate, please? :(]

You glanced up and caught Kise’s frown. No matter how tough you liked to believe yourself to be, that look was not something you could easily look over. You sighed before getting up off the floor, only to plop onto Kagami’s lap.

He grunted at the added weight, “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Shut up.” You muttered before forcing a smile as you addressed the girls. “So! What do you gals do for fun, hmm?”

“Shopping!” They giggled in unison.

You hung your head in disbelief, the corner of your lips twitching, ‘I can’t work with this, Kise!’

“U-Umm…”

Blinking, you looked up at the girl sitting across from Kasamatsu. She was a small thing, probably Kuroko’s height, with hair as green as Midorima’s and eyes like emeralds. Thick rimmed glasses were positioned on her face, helping to hold back her bangs that had fallen from the braids’ grip. She fidgeted nervously but managed to meet my eyes with confidence in her voice.

“I-I’m on the debate team at school.”

Your eyes lit up and you leaned forward. Hope! There was hope after all! “That’s cool, right, Yukio?”

He jumped when you nudged him in the side, his face turning a bright red as his hands tightened around his slacks. “Y-Yeah…”

You twitched again. That fool had no idea what he even agreed with! Kagami sniggered, probably at your irritation, and tried to cover it up with a few coughs. A swift nudge to the ribs had him coughing for real.

“What’s taking that idiot waiter so long?” The blonde sitting across from Kise whined, crossing her legs and causing her skirt to ride up her leg. She ended up flashing Kise, but she didn’t seem to care. She wasn’t the type to care. “I’m hungry, Ryo-kun!”

“I’ll go check and see what the hold up is!” You jumped up, a little too eager, ignoring Kise’s sharp look. Seeing how miserable he looked, you figured you’d spare poor Yukio, as well. “Give me a hand?”

His blue eyes snapped up to meet yours as if to make sure you were speaking to him. You held your hand out in confirmation, figuring he might need some help un-sticking himself from between Kagami and Kuroko. He seemed to hesitate, swallowing hard before slipping his sweaty hand into your own. It proved just how nervous and uncomfortable he really was.

You pulled him up with ease, not bothering to spare the others a glance before you turned and left the room, pulling the younger boy along behind you. Only when you were a safe distance away did you release his hand.

“Sorry if you wanted to stay. Just seemed like you were pretty uncomfortable.”

“Ye-Yeah. Thank you.”

You glanced at him curiously. “You really didn’t wanna do this, did you?”

“I don’t have time for gi-girls.”

You chuckled at his response and he glared at you, unamused.

“What’s so funny about that?”

“You’re only saying that because you don’t know how to handle them. That’s why Kise was trying so hard to help you.”

He didn’t respond, instead turning his head away. Guess you pissed him off.

“Well, what do I know?” You laughed, rubbing the back of your head sheepishly. “I don’t know you well enough to say either way. I was just going by what I’ve heard from Kise.”

“It’s not my fa-fault I can’t talk to girls.” He muttered in a soft voice. You almost didn’t hear him.

“You’re talking to me, aren’t you?”

“That doesn’t count!”

“How so?” You raised a brow curiously.

“You’re different. It’s not like I’m ta-talking to a girl when I talk to you!”

Did he just call you a guy? You think he did. This kid was about as useless as Kagami… Kise wasn’t kidding!

“I-I mean…” He stumbled over his words, eyes wide and face bright red. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to form words, but none came.

You laughed again, waving him off. “Don’t worry about it. I know I’m not the girliest thing out there. I’m one of the guys, and it’s easy to forget that I’m female.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not so easily hurt, so relax.” You hadn’t realized he had stopped walking until you glanced over and found the spot next to you vacant. Before you had the chance to turn around, arms wrapped around your body from behind, pinning your arms to your side. The embrace was awkward and you could feel just how tense his body was. It was actually pretty surprising, considering how good looking he is.

You tapped his arm curiously after a minute of silence. “What are you doing, Yukio?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like it came out. I just…”

“I said it’s fine.” You laughed, patting his arm again. You expected his grip to disappear, or at least loosen up a bit, but he tightened it instead.

“The truth is… I always get nerv-nervous around you. I never know what to say or do, and I always get jealous when I see how easy it is for Kise to ta-talk to you. I just wanna smack him!”

“You should. Holding in your anger is bad for your health, ya know.” You were dead serious, too. You love Kise, but he could get on your nerves sometimes. He needed some tough love, especially after tonight’s little escapade. “Your problem is that you think too much.”

You pried his arms off, turning around to meet his confused gaze. His cheeks were alight with red and something burned in the depths of his blue eyes, but you couldn’t make out what it was.

“You think too much about what to do and what to say, and you end up psyching yourself out. Don’t think so much. Be impulsive and just say or do whatever comes to mind. You can think about it later on.”

He looked down at the floor, seeming to think about what you told him. When he looked up again, there was a fire burning in his eyes. You didn’t move as he reached forward, grabbing your shoulders firmly and pulling you into his body. His lips crashed onto your own, his hand sliding to the back of your neck to keep you in place. Your body was thrown into shock… you couldn’t move a muscle! Was Kasamatsu Yukio really kissing you? It seemed like a dream.

After a few seconds, he pulled away enough to create a few inches between your lips. Having him so close, you realized just how good looking this boy really was. With his spiked black hair and intense blue eyes, his strong features and his well-defined brow. He was almost god-like in looks. Kind of like Kise, but more masculine and rough.

You still hadn’t moved and he took that as a bad sign because he began to pull away. It was then that you realized what needed to be done.

Your hand grabbed the back of his neck to stop him in his tracks, fingers sliding through his silky hair. His eyes widened in surprise before your lips collided again, this time with more passion and want. The grip around your waist tightened as your lips moved in perfect synch.

The kiss began to heat up as he pushed you against the wall, his muscled body making you groan in satisfaction as it molded against your own. You guess the sound snapped him out of whatever trance he had been in because he jumped away from, eyes wide like saucers and his hand covering his mouth.

You licked your lips to get another taste of him, chest heaving up and down as you attempted to slow your rapidly beating heart.

The passionate air that you had just been bathed in slowly started to fade away, making way for an air of awkwardness that you weren’t quite sure how you could break. You didn’t know how he felt, so you didn’t know what step you should take next. For all you knew, he could have been just using you for practice.

“I’m s – ”

“Don’t say it.” You scowled, rubbing the back of your head. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“You didn’t pull away.”

“Did you want me to?”

“No,”

Surprised by the answer, your eyes met his. The shock had faded and there was determination burning in his depths. A couple steps were all it took before he was directly in front of you, his lips hovering over your own once again.

“I still feel… nervous around you.”

You grinned, throwing your arms around his neck. “Hmm, we’ll just have to keep practicing until you’re not nervous anymore.”

“What about Kise?” He breathed out.

“Who cares. He’ll find out eventually.” You muttered, capturing his soft lips.

This time, you didn’t let him get away.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[optimisticweeb]

Reon x Kenta

I Don't Want to be Alone

The sun is gone, and the wind blows strongly outside. There may be an incoming storm, so GYROAXIA's practice got canceled. Reon though it was a good thing. He could use some solo practice.

Home alone, Reon sits on his couch, guitar and pick in hand. He plays the melody for their new song, but it's a but difficult without Miyuki's drumming or Ryo's bass. Reon sighs and leans back against the couch.

There's a knock on his door, startling him from his train of thought. Reon frowns, putting his guitar down and shoving the pick in his pocket.

Who could it be?

He opens the door. Standing in the door way, is GYROAXIA's guitarist, Kenta Satozuka. Surprised, Reon scans him quickly. His tie is loose, his red hair messy, face flushed red, and his chest heavy. Reon can smell the alcohol on Kenta's clothes.

Out of all places, he choose Reon's house. It infuriated him slightly. Kenta and Reon didn't really get along well for reasons called Nayuta.

"Kenta? What are you doing here?"

A strong wind blows, and Reon shivers. He steps aside and lets Kenta into his house. Despite being drunk, he still had the decency to take off his shoes and leave them by the entrance.

"Can't believe how drunk you are."

Kenta turns around and points a finger at the guitarst.

"I'm not drunk!" His words are slurred together, obviously he's been drinking more than usual.

"Yes, you are."

"I'm not...fucking drunk!"

It's rare seeing Kenta angry, usually he's calm and quiet. Hearing him swear is another rare thing. Actually, Reon can't recall a moment where Kenta had cursed.

"Alright, can you tell the time?" Reon asked.

"Yes," the redhead turns to a clock on the wall, "I'm not fucking drunk."

Reon slaps a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh loudly. He wished he had a camera to record it. Reon should really help Kenta. But it's another rare thing to see him drunk. Yes, Kenta liked wine and did drink it fairly often, just not a lot in one sitting.

Reon sighs and wraps an arm around Kenta's waist, letting his weight lean on him. Kenta graps Reon's shoulder in an attempt to steady himself. He wonders why Kenta came to his house. Maybe he should do some questioning.

Just a little bit of prying.

"Hey, Kenta. Why are you drunk?"

"Cuz I drank too much?"

Reon rolled his eyes. Okay, so maybe Kenta still had a shitty sense of humor. It kind of ticked him off.

"Nice one. Now tell me, why were you drinking?"

"Oh...fuck. Who knowz? I just got thirsty."

Kenta's words are slightly clearer, but it's kind of hard for Reon to understand him. The questioning will have to be cut short.

Reon takes Kenta to the couch, and the guitarist plops down. The redhead rubs his eyes, a quiet yawn escaping his flushed lips. Reon frowns soflty.

Kenta should take his bed for tonight. Sleeping on the couch isn't really comfortable. Besides, Reon still has practice. He glances at the clock that Kenta talked to earlier.

11:00 PM

"Reon."

"What?"

"What're ya thinkin'?"

"I'm thinking you should take my bed tonight."

"Oh."

He grabs Kenta's arm, and again slowly drags him away. Kenta leans against Reon, using him as support.

"Reon."

"What?"

"I'm hungry."

"No, you're going straight to bed."

"Ugh! Okay."

Kenta reluctantly allows Reon to drag him to the bedroom. He stares at Reon, who cutly bites his lower lip as he struggles to drag Kenta. He finds everything about Reon cute.

"Hehehe~"

"What's so funny?"

"Nnnothin'. You look cute though."

"Kenta, you're drunk."

"For fucks sake, I told ya'! I'm not drunk."

Reon heaves a sigh, relief washing over him as they reached his bedroom.

Why did it take so long?

He throws the redhead on the bed, who let's himself be thrown. Reon rubs his shoulder, which aches from Kenta's tight grip. There's a moment of silence, and Reon can see Kenta's expression change.

His face is still red, but his mouth is set in a straight line, and his eyes seemed watery. Kenta shifts in bed, leaving a wide area empty.

"Reon."

"What?"

"Lay down with me."

"Kenta..."

"Please? I don't want to be alone."

The yellow eyed male is taken aback. Kenta was never open with his feelings. Especially with his desires. So it's surprising to hear Kenta ask something. Especially a request like that.

"Fine. But I'm only going to lay down."

Reon fills the space Kenta left, awkwardly lying on his back. Kenta wraps an arm around his waist, gently nuzzling his face into Reon's shoulder.

"Will stay right here?"

Kenta spoke softly, voice barely reaching a whisper. It was so quiet, Reon thought he hadn't spoken at all. He glances down, and Kenta looks at him with hopeful eyes. Almost like a child begging their mom to stay.

"Sure, for as long as you need me to."

Kenta smiles soflty, a bright and beautiful smile that blinded Reon. He grabs Kenta's glasses and puts them on the nightstand.

Well, if he's going to sleep in the same bed as Kenta, he might as well get comfortable. He rolls onto his side, and brings a hand to the red strands of hair. He gently runs his fingers through the soft locks of hair.

So soft.

Reon slowly closes his eyes, feeling the drowsiness get to him. Weird, he thought. He wasn't tired until Kenta got here. He did waste a bunch of energy carrying him.

The warmth of the sun, brings Kenta back to consciousness, his head throbbing in pain. He groans softly, rubbing his eyes. He realizes the limiting space, and slowly raises his gaze.

Kenta's heart jumps at the sight. Reon's chest rises and falls, a steady rhythm that matches the beat of his heart. His hair is messy, but it makes him look hot. Kenta gulps slightly at the choice of words.

So he likes Reon, what's the problem?

The problem is that he got drunk and blacked out along the way. He doesn't remember jack shit. Kenta doesn't know if he told Reon about his feelings nor if he caused problems.

The thoughts and alcohol make his stomach ache. He realizes this pain, and groans softly. His nausea and head ache isn't really helping. Kenta gently pushes Reon's arm, slowly sitting up. He's careful not to wake him up.

His head feels like it's being squeezed under some sort of pressure. Kenta groans again, rubbing his head.

He feels like throwing up. This is not okay. He slowly gets off the bed, his legs threatening to crumble beneath him. The room spins and he doesn't know if he's on the floor or still standing. Kenta can feel the acid rising up his throat.

He cursed mentally and rushes to the bathroom, forgetting Reon's presence. He manages to get there in time to empty out his stomach. He holds his hair back, spitting into the bowl beneath him. He presses the handle, and watched it flush. Kenta waits patiently.

It comes again, the feeling of something going up and the acid burning his throat. He hates that feeling. Not to mention the taste is gross. He just tastes alcohol and puke. Not a good mixture.

Kenta breathes heavily. He feels something grazing his back. He jumps slightly.

"Hey, hey. Kenta it's me. Just relax, okay?"

Reon's voice is soothing and gentle. Kenta actually feels relaxed. He can still feel his stomach acid churning.

"I brought water and aspirin. Take them once you're done."

Kenta nods, feeling the bile rise up again. He mentally curses, and was slightly ashamed. Reon was in the room, afterall. Bearing witness to this mess.

Once he's sure it's over, and his stomach is no longer bubbling, he sighed softly. And gingerly stood up. Kenta opens the sink and rinses his mouth thoroughly. He rinses and spits repeatedly.

"Hey, I got you a toothbrush. I'll get you some clothes and a towel so you can shower."

Kenta nods once more.

"Thank you."

He cringed at the sound of his voice. Weak.

Reon smiles softly before disappearing again. Kenta rubs his head, groaning softly. He burshes his teeth for about ten minutes. There is no way he won't be thorough with his hygiene. Once that's done, he takes the aspirin and gulps down the glass of water.

The door to the bathroom opens again, and Reon leaves a pile of clothes by the entrance along with a towel.

"Sorry if the clothes don't fit you. They're mine."

Kenta tries his best not to blush. Wearing Reon's clothes is a blessing. He silently thanks Reon, who simply smiles in return.

Luckily, the keys of the showers were simple. He turns only the cold water on, and steps in. The cold water wakes him up. Kenta sighs softly, splashing the water onto his face. He just realized he doesn't know where his glasses are.

I hate myself so much right now.

Kenta groans softly. He's been tired recently. Band practice, school, checking in on his brother, taking care of Nayuta. Now that he's alone with his thoughts, it seems strange.

Why the fuck am I taking care of Nayuta?

Kenta grabs a shampoo bottle, making sure it's shampoo first, and squirts some onto his hand. He feels to relieved to shower. He reminds himself that he's at Reon's place. He blushes furiously, the warmth traveling down his neck and lower. He cusses out loud.

After showering, he grabs the towel and quickly dries himself off. Kenta slips the clothes on. It's rather loose around him. A long sleeved shirt, and grey jeans. They're really comfortable too. He exits the bathroom and steps into Reon's bedroom.

The room has obviously been cleaned and organized. The bed is made and the nightstand only has a clock on it. And...

"My glasses. Thank God."

He grabs them and slips them on. He can see clearly now. He smiles softly. Kenta leaves the bedroom and catches a whiff of food. His stomach rumbled, and he noticed how hungry he is.

Reon can cook?

He enters the kitchen and sees Reon by the stove. A song he doesn't recognize is playing, but it's a good song. Reon gently hums to the song, as he prepares breakfast. Actually, Kenta glances at clock, brunch. The song reached the chorus, and Reon began singing.

"Seiippai kono namida kakiwakete"

"Kimi ni subete o ageru kara"

"Onegai dō ka kienaide kure"

"Ano hi mamoru to kimeta, yakusoku wa kono mune ni"

Kenta smiles soflty. He wished he could see Reon's face. And besides, Reon's singing wasn't bad. It's actually really soothing and calming.

"Good afternoon."

Reon turns and beams at Kenta. It's startling, but the redhead doesn't mind. He enjoys seeing Reon smile. And he rarely smiles at him. So he won't comment.

"Hey! How'd ya sleep?"

Reon asks as Kenta takes a seat at the table.

"Not bad. Uhm, and you?"

"Pretty good, actually."

The kitchen is quiet. Kenta feels awkward, but the air doesn't feel that way. He wants to talk to Reon to ignore the weight of the air.

"What are you making."

"Ah, nothing special. Just curry."

The song that was playing hasn't finished, and it reaches the last few lines. Reon sings all of it flawlessly.

"It's a good song. What's the name?"

"Oh, haha. It's Polaris by Blue Encount. It's the opening for My Hero Academia."

Kenta has heard the name before. He just can't recall what it is.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah, the openings are great and Blue Encount is a great band. I like to cover them sometimes."

Kenta nods, and it feels as if the air is lighter now. After a minute of waiting, a plate of curry is set in front of him, along with a spoon. Kenta thanks him, and gingerly scoops up a but of the curry. Reon sits across from him, setting his own plate.

"Oh, it's good."

Kenta comments. Reon smiles and nods, eating some himself.

"Sorry if it's kind of boring. I wanted to make something simple and quick. It's the only thing that came to mind."

Kenta shook his head.

"Now, tell me what happened yesterday."

Kenta shoves a spoonful of curry in his mouth. Wanting to avoid the question, he took his time breaking down the food. Reon sighs softly.

"Fine, don't answer."

Reon angrily stares at the plate in front of him, eating the food little by little. Kenta felt a little guilty. While showering, he did remember what happened yesterday and why he got drunk.

"I'll tell you what happened. But you have to tell me what I did last night."

"Alright."

Kenta gulps softly, poking at the curry with his spoon. He sighs softly and puts the spoon down.

"Wataru called me last night. He told me we had to talk."

"Your brother?"

"Right. Apperantly, my parents got in contact with him. They told him that they wanted to see me and him."

"Wait, aren't your parents divorced?"

"Yeah, Wataru said we'll be meeting them next week. I didn't want to. I told him I wasn't going to. He got mad at me. We had a small argument."

Kenta fiddles with his sleeves, avoiding eye contact with Reon.

"I decided to drink a bit. And, well, you know the effects of alcohol."

Kenta grabbed the spoon and shoved the curry into his mouth. It's good and made by Reon. He'll eat it. Besides he's done talking.

"Oh, uhm, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Now tell me what happened."

"Oh, okay. You came by my place at like eleven. I let you in and thought you should sleep it off. That's it."

"Did I say anything?"

"Pfft, yeah. You told a clock you weren't drunk."

Kenta blushes madly. Here he was, worried about spilling his unnecessary emotions. But his worst enemy was talking to a damn clock.

"Reon, I'm serious. Anything else?"

"Err, nothing strange. I mean, you asked me to lay down with you because you didn't want to be alone."

Is it possible to blush this much in one day? Yes, yes it is.

Kenta's face grows hot and he looks down at his food. He rapidly eats all of it, wanting to leave the kitchen as quicklt as possible.

"Oh, and Kenta."

"Hm?"

"I think you should talk to your parents."

Kenta nearly chokes on the curry.

"You should be able to rely on them. Of course, that doesn't mean you should trust them right of the bat. I think you should try and fix your relationship with them."

Kenta coughs, startled by the sudden piece of advice. Reon stands and grabs a cup of water. He offers the cup and Kenta takes it.

"Thank you. You did a lot for me."

"Don't mention it. I'd do it again."

Kenta and Reon smile at each other.

"I'll make sure you won't have to."

[alitaimagines]

request: “How about a scenario where Ryo-san (DnA) returns from a practice and finds his s/o wearing his baseball uniform, how would he react? Thanks you” 

kominato ryosuke x fem! reader

fandom: ace of diamond / daiya no ace 

note: I slightly altered the request, I hope it’s okay! 

You had been waiting for Ryo to get out of practice and he mentioned that you could wait in his room until he came back. He knew his dorm mates wouldn’t return to the dorm until later in the night considering it wasn’t usual for everyone to watch some kind of wrestling match after dinner and practice. 

You had fallen victim to boredness after you looked through all of Ryo’s things. He kind of hated that you always looked through his things and he knew when his items were moved but after a while, he stopped caring and if ever had a gift to hide from you, he would hide it in someone else’s side of the room. 

Once you stopped looking through his desk, you opened his bathroom closet and noticed one of his uniforms. You felt a smirk start to tug at your lips as you snatched it out of the closest. The uniform was a bit tight on Ryo so you knew that it would fit perfectly on you. 

You slipped off your clothes and chucked on the pants before buttoning up the jersey. His smell still lingered on the jersey and you immediately looked at yourself on the full length mirror. 

“Damn, these are more comfortable than I anticipated them to be.” You whispered to yourself as you unbuttoned the top two buttons. The pants fit perfectly while the jersey was still a bit baggy. “Maybe I should try out for the girls softball team?” 

You spent most of the morning with Ryo to help him with his up coming game. It was a friendly game, mostly because the players were to invite their family members and friends before the season began. There was food and games being played before the actual game started so you knew you were on seeing Ryo’s family. 

After Ryo left his dorm, you stayed back and got yourself ready in his bathroom. For it only being a high school, the dorms were a lot more prestige than you would have imagined. Their closets were inside of the bathroom so as you were letting your makeup dry before setting it with powder, you raided his closet. 

You left like smacking Ryo and his roommates as you opened their door. None of their dirty laundry was in a basket and it was scattered all over the floor. The only things folded or hanged were their uniforms. From the looks of the sizes, it must have been their first year uniforms. 

You grabbed it from the hook and took off the knee high socks and his jersey. The jersey fit you perfectly and the socks went all the way towards the top of your knee. You knew that Kataoka wouldn’t have a problem with it and it made it even a bit better considering the jersey you had on had Ryo’s name on the back. 

Once you finished your makeup, you quickly went your room and got a fresh pair of pants on before heading to the field. You were able to hear the voices of different family members and friends. 

You seen Haruichi with his mom and decided to say hello to them before you found Ryo. 

“Hi, Haru! Hi, Mrs. Kominato! How was the drive?” You asked as you went to hug her. “I hope it was okay. Is your husband not here?” 

“No, he wasn’t able to come today. But you look great in the jersey!” You felt a warm feeling coming over your face. “Have you see Ryosuke? We’ve been trying to find him.” Haruichi asked. You shrugged. 

“Let me go see if he’s around. He wasn’t in his room so I can’t imagine where else he could be.” You said before you walked away. 

You started walking around the field, he wasn’t around Kuramochi nor was he was Tanba or anyone he considered close to him. After walking around the field a few times, he still hadn’t shown up. 

“I can’t find him anywhere, maybe he’s helping the coach with something?” You said as you walked back to Haruichi and his mother. “But never mind that, let’s find a table before they’re all taken!” 

His mom nodded as the three of you walked towards a table. You managed to find the last empty one and the three of you sat down as you noticed the managers starting to come up to tables with the first round of food. 

“Hey, you haven’t seen Ryo, have you?” You asked Fujiwara. She shook her head yes. “He’s been with Miyuki and Sawamura doing something in the kitchen.” 

You gave one look to his mom and Haruichi before the three of you started laughing. “Ryo, cooking?” You managed to say as the three of you started laughing again. 

Fujiwara laughed as she set the plates down. “Thanks Fuji, if you see Ryo, tell him we’re all waiting on him.” She nodded before walking to give the rest of the table their food. 

The three of you started eating while making small talk with each other. You hadn’t realized that Ryo was making his way towards the table but one thing he noticed was the jersey you were wearing. At first glance, he thought it was Haruichi’s girlfriend that he never told him about but once he took a good look at the jersey, he realized it was his. 

“Hey, where were you!” You asked as you took a chair out for him. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before sitting down and digging into his food. “We had to help with the food and no one told us till today.” 

You laughed as you started to eat again. A few hours passed with you enjoying the time with Ryo’s mom and the two brothers. You couldn’t help but notice the longing looks Ryo gave you. After his mom left and his brother departed to go with Sawamura somewhere, you finally asked him what was up. 

“Well, I get the strange feeling you were digging through my closet today.” You rolled your eyes but before you could say anything else, he cut in. “I never said it was a bad thing, I enjoy seeing you with my last name.” 

While you wanted to say something to continue his teasing, you realized you weren’t going to be caught in his bait. 

“Yeah but it’s also Haru’s last name.” Ryo’s eyes widened as you tried to contain your giggles. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret.” 

You gave him a shit smile before he whispered in your ear. “No one is coming to the room for another two hours so if we run, we’ll have enough time so I can teach you a lesson.” 

You gave Ryo one final look before the two of you booked it back to his dorm. 

ALITA 

[osakaso5]

IDOLiSH7 4th Anniversary Special Story: Best Wishes...

Chapter 4: A Tricky Bad Guy

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

Gaku Yaotome: He said we could take a break. I've gotten pretty hungry.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: They said there was a break room somewhere. Maybe we can find something to eat there.

Tenn Kujo: Don't you think we'll stand out if we just barge into the break room?

Kaoru Anesagi: I'll go buy something, so we can sit and eat somewhere quiet.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Thank you, Anesagi-san.

Gaku Yaotome: I'll help you with the shopping. Let's decide on a meetup spot, since we don't have our phones.  

Tenn Kujo: How about those benches?

Gaku Yaotome: Where?

Tenn Kujo: Look, over there... 

Bzzt

Gaku Yaotome: .......!

Kaoru Anesagi: Eek! It's pitch black in here..!

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: G-guys, where are you..?

Gaku Yaotome: Ryu, your voice is getting further! Don't go that way!

Tenn Kujo: ...The store music is loud, and there's an echo in here... I can't tell which direction is which... 

- - - -

Momo: A blackout? I wonder what happened...

Momo: ...Yuki? Huh!? Yuki!? 

- - - -

Mall Staff: Huh? A blackout? ...Oh well, they'll probably fix it soon... 

BEEP BEEP

Mall Staff: Huh!? An alarm!?

Mall Staff: Maybe it's best to evacuate...

Mall Staff: Ah... The alarm stopped... I wonder what that was all about... Maybe I should call the main office and ask.

Mall Staff: ...It's not connecting. Too many people must be trying to reach them right now. 

BEEP BEEP

Mall Staff: .......! The alarm is back... Ah, you from the shop over there, where are you going?

Mall Staff B: It's dark, and I'm scared something might happen, so I'm going to the emergency exits...

Mall Staff C: They said we should all evacuate for now!

Mall Staff D: They said we should all stand by for instructions!

Mall Staff: Huh? W-what do I do... 

- - - -

Torao Mido: Is anyone here? ...Crap... It's too dark to see anything...

Thud

???: Ah...

Torao Mido: ...Sorry!

Torao Mido: Their hair's long, are they a woman..?

Torao Mido: Hey, are you okay..?  

Minami Natsume: Yes. Judging by your voice, you're Mido-san, yes?

Torao Mido: Oh, it's just you, Minami...

Minami Natsume: What do you mean, "just me". You're so rude.

Torao Mido: Your hair's long, so I thought you might be a woman... Aagh.. 

Thud

???: Ah...

Torao Mido: Their hair's long, are they a woman..?

Yuki: I'm Yuki from Re:vale.

Torao Mido: Re:vale!?

Minami Natsume: Why are you here..?

Yuki: Where am I? Who are you? I feel like I've heard your voices before...

Torao Mido: That's... Aagh..! 

Thud

???: Ah...

Torao Mido: Their hair's long, are they a woman..?

Tamaki Yotsuba: I'm Tamaki from IDOLiSH7.

Torao Mido: Tamaki!? Sogo's partner!?

Minami Natsume: Why is even IDOLiSH7 here!?

Yuki: Tamaki-kun? Where, where?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Here, here. Huh? Is that you, Yukirin? What a coincidence.

Yuki: I know, right. Though it's technically supposed to be a secret that I'm here. Can you pretend you never ran into me?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Sure. Ah, me too! Don't tell anyone I was here!

Tamaki Yotsuba: Can you guys  keep it a secret, too? Who are you, anyway? I feel like I've heard your voices before...

Torao Mido: We're...

Minami Natsume: Mido-san. No one is supposed to know we're here yet.

Torao Mido: Ah, right. Uh...

Yuki: Who are you?

Tamaki Yotsuba: Who are you?

Torao Mido: A...

Torao Mido: A yanki and a sukeban, sir.

Minami Natsume: What are you saying..!?

Yuki: Huh. I didn't know they still existed. How retro.

Tamaki Yotsuba: He's a yanki, but he called you "sir". What a polite guy.

Minami Natsume: What do you think you're doing, Mido-san!?

Torao Mido: Ryo-san's backstory for us was the first thing that popped into my head... Fix this, somehow!

Minami Natsume: Fix how..?

Tamaki Yotsuba: So, what are we gonna do? Maybe we should go somewhere else. Waiting around isn't gonna turn the lights on.

Yuki: Right. Can you guide us somewhere easier to recognize, Yanki and Sukeban?

Minami Natsume: ........

Minami Natsume: Y'all just follow me. 

- - - -

Riku Nanase: Ioriii! Tamakiii! ...I wonder where everyone's gone.

Riku Nanase: If I return to VR LAND, I should run into Mitsuki and the others... I wonder if I'm there yet?

Riku Nanase: Huh!? This place isn't familiar at all!? Where am I!?

Toma Inumaru: Hey! Hey, you!

Riku Nanase: Me? What is it?

Toma Inumaru: Did you get separated from your friends? If you don't watch where you're going, you'll bump into a display and hurt yourself.

Riku Nanase: Ah... You're right. I wonder where exactly we are right now. Are you one of the shopkeepers here, mister?

Toma Inumaru: I'm...

Toma Inumaru: Oh, right. They said this was supposed to be a secret or something...

Toma Inumaru: Um, I'm the big brother of someone who works here.

Riku Nanase: A shopkeeper's brother! What brings you here?

Toma Inumaru: I came to deliver the lunch they forgot. What about you? I feel like I've heard your voice before...

Riku Nanase: I'm Riku Nanase from IDOLiSH7!

Toma Inumaru: Huh!?

Riku Nanase: Ah... No I'm not!

Toma Inumaru: Which is it!?

Riku Nanase: Uh, um, I'm a fan of Riku Nanase from IDOLiSH7. I came here to meet him!

Toma Inumaru: Riku's here?

Riku Nanase: Ah, no!? He's not. I was just passing through here...

Toma Inumaru: ...You're Riku, aren't you? Your air-headedness reminds me of him a lot.

Riku Nanase: No, I'm not!!! Aren't you the one who resembles someone? Ah! Like Toma Inumaru..!

Toma Inumaru: I-I do not. I most certainly do not.

Riku Nanase: You suddenly changed the way you talk...

Toma Inumaru: ...Huh? Can you hear people talking somewhere?

Riku Nanase: I can... They're getting closer.

Momo: ...You're Ryo-san, aren't you!? I can tell by your voice!

Ryo Tsukumo: No, sir. I'm but a humble security guard. But can you even prove that you're Momo from Re:vale?

Momo: Well, duh! Can't you tell by looking at my face!?

Ryo Tsukumo: Ah, I'm afraid I cannot see. It's simply too dark.

Momo: You're really pissing me off...

Riku Nanase: ...Did he say "Momo from Re:vale"? Is that Momo-san!? Heeey, Momo-san!

Momo: Huh..? I think I can hear someone calling me... Heeey!

Riku Nanase: Here, I'm here! It's Riku from IDOLiSH7! ...No it's not! I'm a fan of Riku's!

Momo: W-what..?

Ryo Tsukumo: Huh? A fan of Riku's? I'm the one who's Riku's fan.

Toma Inumaru: Huh..? I think I'm hearing Ryo-san's voice...

Riku Nanase: You're Momo-san, right? I'm a Riku Nanase fan, and this is a shopkeeper's older brother!

Ryo Tsukumo: I'm the one who's Riku's fan. You're not really a fan of his.

Riku Nanase: H-how could you tell!?

Ryo Tsukumo: You're actually not his fan!?

Riku Nanase: Ah, but... I'm happy that you're his fan! Please continue to support him!

Ryo Tsukumo: Huh? Who do you think you are?

Momo: I think I just realized you're missing out on the happiest moment of your life.

Toma Inumaru: Wait, just calm down! Let's all get along, and wait for the lights to come back on.

Toma Inumaru: In times like these, it's best to wait...

Yamato's Recording: Kukuku...

Riku, Momo, & Toma: .......!?

Yamato's Recording: You can't see anything in this darkness, but I can see you just fine...

Toma Inumaru: ...There's someone dangerous here!

Riku Nanase: There is, isn't there!?

Ryo Tsukumo: Oh, I'm sooo scared. If I had my phone, I could film you, post it online, and have you excommunicated from society.

Momo: Let's get a move on! Over there, so we won't bump into each other!

Riku Nanase: Alright! 

- - - -

Haruka Isumi: ...It's to dark to see... Why aren't the lights turning on..? 

POP

Haruka Isumi: Waaah..!!!

Haruka Isumi: ...T-that startled me... A balloon? Did I step on it? I wonder if the people who work here will be mad...

Tenn Kujo: Are you alright?

Iori Izumi: Are you alright?

Haruka Isumi: Ah...

Tenn Kujo: I heard a scream, so... Are you okay? Did you get hurt?

Iori Izumi: I also came because I heard a scream. Someone I know has a tendency to scream, as well...

Haruka Isumi: Ah, I'm fine... I stepped on a balloon. I'm sorry...

Iori Izumi: Ah, I'm sure it's fine. Someone else popped some earlier.

Haruka Isumi: Um... Do you know when this blackout will be fixed? I heard something abut an evacuation...

Tenn Kujo: They sounded an alarm, but it stopped quickly, so I'm sure the lights will be back on in no time.

Iori Izumi: There's most likely a problem with the electrical equipment. The stores are still playing their background music, and the air conditioning sounds like it's still on.

Haruka Isumi: Ah, I see. That's good... Do the two of you work here? Your voices sound kind of familiar...

Iori Izumi: Ah, no, I'm...

Tenn Kujo: I'm a sushi chef.

Iori Izumi: A sushi chef!?

Haruka Isumi: Wow..! You sounded really young to me.

Tenn Kujo: I'm in my late 30's, been doing this for 20 years. What about you?

Haruka Isumi: I'm... Ah, right... Uh... Not a sushi chef, but...

Haruka Isumi: A fish seller.

Iori Izumi: A fish seller!?

Tenn Kujo: You're a fish seller!?

Haruka Isumi: My stock's always freshly gutted.

Tenn Kujo: If we have a sushi chef and a fish seller here, then...

Haruka Isumi: Could the third person be...

Iori Izumi: What's with this lead-up? I'm not going to go along with it...

Tenn Kujo: Who are you, exactly?

Iori Izumi: ........

Iori Izumi: A rice seller.

Haruka Isumi: I knew it.

Tenn Kujo: I knew it.

Iori Izumi: There's no way you could've known. ...By the way, are you really a sushi chef? I think I can remember your voice from somewhere...

Haruka Isumi: Me too... I feel like I know you...

Tenn Kujo: I'm a sushi chef.

Iori Izumi: Talk a bit more.

Tenn Kujo: Wassup!

Haruka Isumi: Ah, he's totally a sushi chef.

Tenn Kujo: Here's yer grub!

Iori Izumi: He really is a sushi chef... I'm sorry for doubting you.

Tenn Kujo: It's fine.

Haruka Isumi: You too, Mr. Rice Seller... You remind me of someone I know.

Iori Izumi: I'm sure that's just a coincidence. Who do I resemble?

Haruka Isumi: This loner guy in my class...

Iori Izumi: Don't you think that's an awful way to remember someone!?

Tenn Kujo: Did you just say "in my class"?

Haruka Isumi: Ah, no, I meant at my part-time job... 

POP

Haruka Isumi: Waah..!

Iori Izumi: ...That startled me.

Tenn Kujo: There seem to be balloons scattered around this area. Be careful.

Haruka Isumi: Got it... Ah, nothing good ever happens with me and balloons.

Iori Izumi: Really?

Haruka Isumi: I used to be in a church choir, and we participated in a volunteer bazaar. They sold balloons there...

Haruka Isumi: Y'know, the ones that float, not the ones that fall to the floor like these ones.

Tenn Kujo: You mean helium balloons.

Haruka Isumi: Yeah. I wanted one, but I couldn’t buy any because I had no money, so they said I could have a leftover one.

Haruka Isumi: I waited for one all excitedly, but the volunteer who was holding them let go of all of them.

Iori Izumi: Ah... So they flew   away.

Haruka Isumi: Yeah. The volunteer looked like a student too, so I guess there was nothing they could do.

Haruka Isumi: That kind of stuff always happens to me. I'm promised something, but I don't get it in the end...

Tenn Kujo: Don't be so pessimistic.

Haruka Isumi: ........

Tenn Kujo: Both satisfying and dissatisfying things can become the ingredients to your happiness.

Haruka Isumi: Bad things can make me happy? How?

Tenn Kujo: If you're satisfied, you'll stop, but if you're not satisfied, you'll keep going until you are.

Tenn Kujo: As a result, something even better might come your way. Something you were destined for... It's all connected.

Iori Izumi: Your way of thinking is very callous, Mr. Sushi Chef...

Tenn Kujo: Thank you.

Haruka Isumi: Connected... Do you think something will come and replace the things I couldn't have?

Tenn Kujo: Definitely. I had to be separated from someone dear to me, but now there's lots of other people who mean the world to me.

Tenn Kujo: I think I'm lucky for that.

Haruka Isumi: I see... Thank you, Mr. Sushi Chef.

Tenn Kujo: You're welcome.

Iori Izumi: ...Huh? Look over there. There's something shining...

Tenn Kujo: That's... a skull..?

Haruka Isumi: You're kidding, right!? Is this some kinda mall horror story!?

Iori Izumi: A glowing skull... It's headed this way!

Haruka Isumi: Eeek! No way, no way, no way!

‭Iori Izumi: It's close..!

Tenn Kujo: .......!? It disappeared suddenly...

Sogo Osaka: ...Ah, the light went out.

Sogo Osaka: I went out of my way to borrow these, but I suppose a light-up mask from a party store isn't enough...

Sogo Osaka: I should use a different mask... Oh..?

Sogo Osaka:  One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six...

Sogo Osaka: Seven... Eight... Nine...

Sogo Osaka: ........

Sogo Osaka: ...I'm missing one...

Tenn Kujo: ...It's real life Bancho Sarayashiki... (1)

Haruka Isumi: I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared..!

Iori Izumi: Why would you walk around with as many as ten masks!?

Sogo Osaka: ...This is no good... ...I need to go back and look for it...

Sogo Osaka: ...Maybe I should count them again... One... Two... Three... Four...

Sogo Osaka: Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine...

Sogo Osaka: ........

Sogo Osaka: I knew it, I'm missing o...

Iori Izumi: Osaka-san! You're Osaka-san, aren't you!? I'm fairly certain that you are, but could you confirm this!?

Sogo Osaka: ........! That voice, is it you, Iori-ku...

Iori Izumi: I am a rice seller! And I'm fairly certain that you are an acquaintance of mine..!

Tenn Kujo: He's being so argumentative.

Haruka Isumi: He's really trying to get the other guy to agree with him.

Sogo Osaka: Ah, I see... Got it.

Sogo Osaka: Nice to meet you. I am the rice seller's acquaintance.

Tenn Kujo: I'm a sushi chef.

Haruka Isumi: I'm a fish seller.

Iori Isumi: Sigh... I've broken into a cold sweat... I wonder if the others are alright... 

To be continued...

Translator’s notes..? 

1) bancho sarayashiki is a japanese ghost story that varies depending on the version, but always involves a woman who breaks one plate from a set of 10 and gets killed for it. people who encounter her spirit will hear her counting the plates up to the 9th one

[eleanor-devil]

{StingYu | Harry Potter AU}

Chapter 2 - Muggle-Born

Something small of a bigger project I’m working on with my friend @mirage-05 !

Story can also be found on AO3 --> https://archiveofourown.org/works/21093521/chapters/50187242

~.~.~.~~.~ 

October, 1992, Hogwarts

Sting didn’t know what was worse to him, the fact that he was already in the second year and still sucked at creating potions or that a first year had been assigned to tutor him for said class. He thought the second was probably the worst, it felt humiliating and that was why he hadn’t said anything to his brothers and sisters about the tutoring, instead he would just find an excuse to leave after the classes.

Despite not being fond of the tutoring idea, Sting had to admit that he was actually starting to get the hang of the class subjects. Yukino was actually a really good tutor when he was in the mood to learn but if he had to point out just one bad thing about her...it would be her humor, or rather the lack of it.

“You don’t smile much, do you?” the blond finally asked after minutes of taking small glimpses at the white haired girl while he doing the task of writing down ingredients used in potions, its properties and in what kind of potions they could be used.

Yukino raised her brown eyes from the book she was reading “Magical Studies”, she was always reading something during the tutoring classes “Why do I need to be smiling?”

The boy shrugged before setting on the table the feather he had been using to write “My dad always says a smile can brighten up anyone’s day.” he proceeded to show an awkward smile.

The girl’s mouth tightened up a bit at the sight and Sting’s smile soon became a pout seeing that his effort had no effect on her. Resting a hand on his cheek, the boy sighed “This was supposed to make you smile…”

There was a silence for a moment and Sting eventually went back to write down notes on his notebook, to his surprise the silence was broken by Yukino this time “Why do you go by the name Sting? Isn’t your name Lysander?”

The blond couldn’t help but make a face at the mention of his birth name, true Sting had been a nickname that came from his sister and to be honest he prefered it a million times over the name Lysander; he didn’t have anything against the name itself...he just didn’t like it and at this point his family only used it when he did something wrong...big time. 

Seeing the boy’s expression at the mention, Yukino’s curious eyes immediately went back to its monotonous look “Pardon me, it’s not my place to ask something personal like that.” her hands were again on the book.

A part of Sting wanted to continue the conversation, after all he had finally got her to talk, in two weeks of tutoring, about something that wasn’t Potions. Another part of him, however, the part that usually took over him most of the time, that is his ego and prideful side, told him that it wasn’t worth continuing this conversation.

But that didn’t mean he wanted the talk in general to stop.

“So…” he started as he continued to scribble the notes down “What’s your feeling about all this? The tutoring?”

He saw the brown eyes lift slightly from the page they were previously set on before going back to place, he pouted yet again when she didn’t seem to want to answer the particular question. Yukino turned over the page of the book “I’m alright with it.” she finally answered “Professor Snape asked me to do it, I don’t have reasons to say no.”

No reasons to say no? Now that got Sting’s attention “Why? Surely you would have better things to do than tutoring a second year student. Like...hang out with your friends?” he surely could name a few things that he would rather do than be stuck on tutoring classes…

Yukino pressed her lips tightly for a moment “I don’t really have friends..” 

‘I wonder why’ a little voice inside Sting’s head sent that thought to his mind but he choose not to voice it out loud. Thankfully Yukino didn’t seem to possess the Legilimency ability. The blond rested once again a hand on his cheek “You seem to be quite ambitious over your studies, I mean you’re tutoring me and studying at the same time, I don’t think many would do that.” he flashed a smirk over his face “Who knows, maybe the Sorting Hat could’ve put you in Slytherin instead.”

The white haired girl sighed, audibly this time, before setting down and closing the book “That...would have been impossible.”

“Why?” he asked while arching an eyebrow curiously 

“...Because your House doesn’t accept in people like me.” she quickly stood up from the chair and grabbed her belongings “I think we have had enough tutoring for today. I will see you tomorrow.” and she was out of his view before he could even voice his thoughts.

To say he was shocked was underestimating it...he would’ve never guessed this about her, ever, if she hadn’t just told him what she had. She hadn’t said it explicitly but it was obvious to him what she meant…

Yukino was a muggle-born.

~.~.~.~~.~

Sting sighed as he climbed the stairs, praying they wouldn’t suddenly start moving as he really wasn’t in the mood to wait for the stairs to move back to place. His mind plagued with the information he had been told not long ago.

If he was already embarrassed, to the point of not telling his brothers about it, that he had to have tutoring classes about Potions now he didn’t know how to feel at the fact that all this time he had been tutored not just by a first year, but a muggle-born nonetheless…

His thoughts were suddenly cut off when he felt something hitting him hard on the shoulders, nearly making him lose his balance on the stairs “What the-?!” Sting turned around only to find out that the something was rather someone, to be more specific...his brother Natsu who was bearing his usual big smirk. Not too far behind were his other brothers and sister, Gajeel, Rogue, Erik and Wendy.

Now to make things clear, neither of them were blood brothers however they were raised as such, they lived in the same house, although they had each been raised by different people; this was after an incident took the lives of their biological parents. Out of all of them, only two had blood siblings, who had also been raised by their foster parents; Natsu had an older brother named Zeref, who was currently on his 6th Year and was a Prefect of the House of Ravenclaw, whereas Sting had an older sister, Lyanna, who had returned right this year to Hogwarts but as a teacher of Ghouls Studies, she too had been part of the House of Ravenclaw.

Erik was the same age as Zeref and thus was also on his 6th Year, out of the boys he and Zeref were the oldest ones. He was a half-blood, apparently coming from both british and latino families; his skin was dark tan, his hair spiky, upward styled and maroon color, his eyes were purple.

Natsu and Gajeel were the second oldests of the house, having the same age and thus being both on their 3rd Year, just a year ahead of Sting. Natsu is half asian and half british and he couldn’t be more different from his older brother despite both having the same mother and father, while it was noticeable that Natsu had asian descendancy with his sharp shaped eyes, Zeref had more round eyes, Natsu had pink hair and slightly tanned skin (but not as tan as Erik’s) while Zeref had black hair and cream toned skin. It seemed that their only resemblance were the dark eyes. Even in their personalities they were different, Natsu was always more talkative and extremely loud while Zeref was more reserved and calm.

Gajeel on the other hand was a full british wizard, he had long black spiky hair which he sometimes would catch in a low ponytail, especially during activities where the hair could be a problem, his eyes were sharp and the iris red in color. He had this very punk-like appearance and some students were actually afraid of him due to his short-tempered personality and he would often fight with Natsu over...well almost anything really. Gajeel was also a fan of piercings, he had three small rings pierced along each of his eyebrows, another pair on each side of his nose and another below his lower lip.

Following them in age, came of course Sting along with Rogue and Wendy, they were the youngest in their home and had the same age, thus all of them were currently in their 2nd Year in Hogwarts. 

Rogue, like Natsu and Zeref, had asian descendancy and in appearance was very similar to Gajeel except with less hair but it was black nonetheless and his eyes were red as well; very often people would ask if they were blood brothers. Despite seeing Gajeel as his idol, the one Rogue was the closest to is Sting, although they were in different Houses (Rogue was in Ravenclaw whereas Sting was in Slytherin), they were inseparable and were seen together many times. Like Sting, Rogue’s real name was not the one he preferred people to call him, his real name was Ryos but he too seemed to have a particular dislike for his real name.

And then there was Wendy, the only girl of the house after Lyanna moved out, and the brightest of them all, she too was a full british wizard. She had long blue hair which she would often catch in two pigtails, creamy skin and big round brown eyes. She was the most calm of the house, always finding ways to avoid fights.

Again despite not being blood related, they all treated each other like siblings and were always there for one another.

“Hiya, Sting!” Natsu greeted his younger brother “Where have you been all this time? We barely saw you today.”

Sting turned around and shrugged “I thought Rogue had told you, I was out practicing for the Quidditch game that’s all.” Sting was indeed a member of Slytherin’s Quidditch Team, he was a Chaser.

“Hmm is that so, blondie?” Gajeel walked past him but not before ruffling his hair, Sting complained and slapped away his brother’s hand, he hated when anyone touched his hair! “Ya gonna beat them all?”

“Of course I am! Do you have any doubts on it?” as always Sting was very prideful and would often claim nobody could beat him in anything, despite Weisslogia’s warnings for him to be careful with that attitude.  

Gajeel smirked “Gi hi hi, we’ll see then little one.” and yet again ruffled the blond’s hair before leaping on a run upstairs with Sting chasing right after him.

“Stop calling me little one! I am just a year younger than you!” the others could hear Sting’s complains and Gajeel’s laugh echoing through the stairs “And stop touching my hair dang it!”

“Language, little one!”

“Argh! I hate you Gajeel!!”     

[floatingcatacombs]

In Praise of the Blonde Twink who May or May Not be a Trans Girl

12 Days of Aniblogging, Day 3

There’s been something in the air recently. Last year, the New York Times’ fashion magazine published an article titled “Welcome to the Age of the Twink”, a 600-word LGBT hitpiece arguing that a new wave of “art twinks” are redefining what it means to be an ideal male. The author argues that the term “twink” is being broadened past just gay culture and we should slap it on every slim attractive straight white dude that we see in order to overturn toxic masculinity. Because there’s nothing more revolutionary than, er, fairly conventional western beauty standards.

The internet promptly responded by shitting on the author’s brazen attempt to export twinkness to the straight world. I too think it’s an awful take, but I get the feeling there was a satirical bend to the article that got edited out or otherwise miscommunicated. After all, the author is a gay man; why would he misrepresent and diminish his own community like that?

The broadening and appropriation of LGBT terminology is a touchy subject, so I’ll save it for another day. If taking gay terminology and morphing it into new definitions is en vogue nowadays, I’m happy to join ranks with Nick Haramis and add new meanings to “twink”. Let’s talk about twinks as Schrodinger’s trans girls.

Unfortunately, I have a type when it comes to media, and it’s twinks who I can project transness onto if I desire it. These characters are beacons of androgyny, male-at-birth characters with some connection to femininity via their appearance or their actions. Often, this connection is left unclear by the end of their series, leaving plenty of room for me to imagine “OK so they’re totally gonna be a girl for real now”. This archetype has proven a very useful crutch for me over the years. For so long, media about cis femininity was too intimidating and distant for me to even dream of consuming. During that time, I read lots of manga and played lots of games starring androgynes, allowing myself to project onto them as well as project their character onto girlhood. (see where this leads by transitive property?) Also, a lot of them were blonde (I’m not gonna read into this! My hair is closer to brown tho). With that out of the way, let me rip my heart open and highlight some of those twinks that I’ve latched so strongly onto throughout the years.

 Kuranosuke from Princess Jellyfish

I’ve written a whole writeup on Kuranosuke, so if you’ve read that you should know where I’m coming from! Kuranosuke is graced with natural femininity and a desire to perform it, and lands himself into a situation where he must pass on a daily basis while designing fashion for the girls of the Amars house. Kuranosuke’s crossdressing is both effortless and extremely laborious, but it always pays off.

Kaito from Himegoto: Juukyuusai no Seifuku

Himegoto is one of the messiest mangas I’ve ever read. Three characters spiral around each other while desperately trying to negotiate their orientations, gender presentations, and livelihoods with each other and with themselves. Kaito is the standout for me – a ‘guy’ who crossdresses in a desperate attempt to ‘mirror’ his ideal image of femininity. Kaito radiates extremely eggy energies, and it’s increasingly obvious as the plot goes on that all his justification is elaborate smoke and mirrors for his desire to simply be a woman. He begins by projecting his feminine ideals onto his tomboyish friend, but by the end of the manga it all comes collapsing back onto himself. The epilogue leaves it rather ambiguous, but one can only hope that Kaito figured it all out by then. 

Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night  

Symphony of the Night is one of my favorite Castlevanias and maybe games of all time. I’ve always been in love with its hand-in-hand elegance and jankiness. Unlike Kaito and Kuranosuke, we’re going to have to stretch out of the canon to justify this placement, but I assure you it will be worth it. In Symphony of the Night, Alucard is a tall deep-voiced bishounen and that’s that. However, the eva problems classic “YOUR ASSHOLE DAD’S CASTLE IS BACK AGAIN” adds a sickening new twist onto the game: what if Alucard wanted to be a woman? This article retraces the full plot and route of SOTN, adding extra backstory and inner thoughts showing Alucard’s visceral bodily discomfort and twisted-up jealousy towards the female monsters of the castle. Eventually, she takes those terrifying first steps towards accepting oneself as a woman. It’s one of the most effective recontextualizations of a piece of media that I’ve ever read, and I’m not afraid to admit that it reassured and helped me with my own transition a few months down the line. Plus, the idea of Alucard But A Girl is somewhere near my ideal aesthetic. 

Ryo Asuka from Devilman

--devilman spoilers--

Ryo is a bit of an oddity. A total weirdo, he doesn’t particularly demonstrate femininity throughout most of the series beyond just being kind of fluffy and cute in the 80s OVAs. However, this all changes in some of the final chapters, when Ryo is revealed to be Satan in disguise. Though every Devilman adaptation has a very different artstyle, Satan’s designed has remained the same: an androgynous fallen angel possessing both breasts and a penis. There’s a lot of associations and implications to unpack there, but I’m not going to do that in this article! While it doesn’t necessarily recontextualize Ryo’s human existence, he sure still is a twink with some Gender happening around him.

  Venus from We Know The Devil

Ok, this one’s just a girl! No questions about it! Someone get her some hugs and a bottle of estradiol, stat!

Honorable Mentions:

Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2

As much as I love slapping the “GIRL” label onto any blonde twink I can find, Raiden’s MGS2 arc of intense emasculation works way better if he's actually a guy. If there’s any further gender stuff happening with Raiden, it’s actually to be found in MGS4 and Metal Gear Rising, in which Raiden sheds his twinkish flesh to become a way more masc cyborg ninja. As The Cyborg Manifesto teaches us, cyborgs are one hell of a post-gender tool. Honestly, reading Raiden as FTM may work way better than parsing him as a trans girl, I just don’t have the specific background and ability to do that headcanon justice.

Lio Fotia from Promare

Promare was maybe the first time I saw a blonde twink character and didn’t  immediately think it might be better if they were a girl. Amidst all its discussions of immigration, racism, and climate change, Promare finds time to be real gay, in a delightfully masc4fem way. Together, Lio and Galo stretch the full spectrum of male presentation, and I wouldn’t want to take that away from them.

 So that’s that! I hope you enjoyed the lineup of twinks who are dear to my heart, and maybe learned a thing or two from my ramble at the start.