#(Yuki’s the exchange student I’ve decided)

[aughby]

Love in Every Letter

Belle’s elementary classroom was buzzing with excitement that morning. She had planned a special activity to inspire her students: each child would write a letter to a Japanese athlete, thanking them for their efforts in the Olympics. She smiled as she watched them, fingers gripping pencils, concentrating hard to put their feelings into words. Belle herself had felt inspired to write one too, after witnessing how much heart the athletes poured into their performances. Sitting at her desk, she thought about the volleyball team and how tirelessly they played. She decided to write a note of encouragement, hoping it might lift the spirits of a player who might need it.

Meanwhile, in Italy, Yuki Ishikawa was struggling. The team’s Olympic journey had ended sooner than he’d hoped, and the weight of his disappointment hung heavily on him. He barely noticed as his teammates gathered around during a training break, each holding colorful letters sent by fans. He was about to look away when his teammate Akihiro nudged him.

“Hey, Yuki! This one’s for you,” Akihiro said, grinning as he handed him an envelope. “No kid’s drawing, though. It’s all words—must be from an adult.”

Yuki opened it, feeling curious. Inside was a neatly handwritten letter that began with, “Dear Athlete…”

Belle’s words were simple but filled with heart, talking about how inspiring his journey had been, and how proud everyone was of his dedication, regardless of the outcome. She encouraged him to keep going, to remember the joy of playing, and to hold his head high. She thanked him for showing children all over Japan the beauty of resilience.

The letter left Yuki speechless. It felt different, genuine, and it resonated in a way no other fan letter had before. He couldn’t help but read it over and over that evening. Inspired, he decided to write back, penning a short but heartfelt thank-you letter. He left it unsigned, wondering if the mystery might make it more intriguing for his kind writer.

Belle’s curiosity piqued when she received the letter a week later. There was no name, just a simple message: “Thank you for your letter. It meant more than you know.” She felt a warm glow as she read it and decided to keep the conversation going, intrigued by her unknown pen pal. Over the weeks that followed, they exchanged letters, sharing more personal stories—Belle about her love for teaching and Yuki about the ups and downs of being a professional athlete. He was careful to avoid giving away too much about himself, but Belle could feel the sincerity in every letter.

As the letters continued, Belle found herself growing fond of her anonymous correspondent. His words became the highlight of her week, and she wondered more and more about who this person could be. Yuki, too, felt an unexpected spark every time he received her letters. In a way, her words had become a source of strength and comfort for him.

Then one evening, after another long practice, Yuki found himself staring at her latest letter, feeling a surge of courage. He wanted to meet her, to let her know how much her words had helped him through a difficult time. Without overthinking, he booked a flight to Japan, deciding he’d visit her school in person.

Two days later, Belle was in the middle of her class when she heard a gentle knock on her door. Glancing up, she saw a tall, athletic figure standing outside. She blinked in surprise as her eyes adjusted—wasn’t that Yuki Ishikawa, the volleyball player? Her mind raced as she walked to the door, wondering what on earth he was doing at her school.

“Belle-sensei?” he asked, his voice warm but slightly hesitant.

Belle managed a nod, still too stunned to speak.

Yuki smiled, holding out an envelope. “I’m here to thank you for your letters.”

Realization dawned on her, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. “You…you’re the one I’ve been writing to?”

He chuckled, a hint of nervousness in his gaze. “Yes. You have no idea how much your words meant to me.” His voice softened. “They came at just the right time, and I don’t know if I could have gotten through that period without them.”

Belle felt her heart racing. She’d written that first letter with a stranger in mind, not imagining in her wildest dreams that it would reach someone as well-known as Yuki Ishikawa.

“Oh… I… I didn’t know my words would reach you,” she stammered, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “I’m just…really honored.”

Her students, curious about the visitor, began whispering excitedly. One of them finally asked, “Sensei, who’s that?”

Belle gave them a warm smile, introducing him. “This is Yuki Ishikawa, a volleyball player who represented Japan in the Olympics!”

The kids gasped and crowded around, bombarding him with questions. Yuki knelt down, laughing as he answered each one, his natural charm winning them over. Belle watched with a smile, touched by how warmly he interacted with her students.

Once the kids returned to their seats, Yuki turned back to Belle. “I know this might be sudden, but…would you like to go out for coffee? I’d love to hear more about what inspired you to write that letter.”

Belle smiled, feeling a spark of excitement. “I’d love that.”

They spent the afternoon at a cozy café, talking for hours. They found themselves sharing stories, laughing at little anecdotes, and realizing how much they had in common. Yuki was drawn to Belle’s genuine kindness and her passion for teaching, while Belle admired Yuki’s dedication and resilience.

At the end of their coffee date, Yuki hesitated, gathering his courage. “I’ll be here in Japan for a few more days… If you’re free, maybe we could meet up again?”

Belle’s smile grew. “I’d like that.”

Over the next few days, they explored the city, visited parks, and even attended a volleyball game together. Their connection deepened with each passing moment, and by the time Yuki’s departure day arrived, it was clear they shared something special.

As they stood at the airport, Yuki took her hand, his gaze tender. “Belle, meeting you has been the best part of coming back to Japan. You’ve given me so much strength…and something to look forward to.”

Belle squeezed his hand, her heart swelling with emotion. “You’ve brought a lot of joy into my life too, Yuki. I didn’t expect a letter to lead to…all of this.” She smiled softly. “Let’s keep in touch, okay?”

Yuki leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Definitely. And maybe next time, it’ll be you visiting me in Italy.”

As Yuki boarded his flight, Belle watched him go with a heart full of warmth. She knew that this was just the beginning, a story that had started with one simple letter—a letter that had changed both of their lives in ways they never could have expected.

[rad-broadcasting]

𝒜 𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓂 𝒲𝑒𝓁𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒~

»»——————————🍷——————————««

“𝙻𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘�� 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚒��𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗, 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎, 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚎.”

Welcome to “Deal With The Devil”. The human Exchange Student(Yuki) thought the newspaper club might be boring you with their lifeless issues, so they decided to start a broadcasting podcast!

No, this totally wasn’t made to spite Mephistopheles, God, even his name is annoying to spell the president of RAD’s newspaper club haha—

So, about Yuki’s personality, I’ve decided to make them lively and a bit flirty. I mean, this is someone who pulled all the Seven Lords and then some. Instead of Taylor Swift lyrics, like on the TWST blog, I’ve decided to build this blog around NI-KI songs instead. I just thought it’d fit Yuki’s established vibe more. Yuki’s a bit more sassy here, too.

Annnd another thing; English isn’t my first language. You might spot spelling and grammar errors here and there, do pardon them and point them out so I can fix them ^_^

— Once more, welcome! Some of you might know Yuki as the human exchange student for RAD’s program, the majority of you might know them for having pacts with all the Seven Lords of Devildom. This human here has been through some interesting events in their mortal life, and offers some advice to whoever might need it.

— This program has been arranged and approved by RAD’s Student Council President; Prince Diavolo himself as a way to encourage understanding between human and demon cultural differences, with the occasional help of an angel guest speaker for deeper understanding of angel customs and cultures.

— Questions shall be sent through asks.

— The program has been permitted to air for a whole week every other month, as all person’s involved in running the program are preoccupied with a myriad of different things.

— Special guests may include the Seven Lord themselves, other exchange students and a select a few staff at the Palace.

— Everyone at RAD Broadcasting wish you a devilish time listening.

»»——————————🍷——————————««

Speak of the Devil, my oh my.

[teeth-farie]

Hhhh a scene in my head for that faux replaced au

Yuki gives a tentative swish of the wine in their glass, bringing it up to their nose to sniff. You watch, amusement dancing in your eye while you sip from your own glass. They take a sip and scrunch their nose in disgruntlement. “Eugh, nope, still don’t like wine.” They continue to sip anyway, cupping the glass in both of their hands.

“You know, you’re doing a lot better than I thought you would.” You say, crossing one leg over the other. Yuki peers up from their glass—and with the way they’re hunched in their seat in the couch, the way their wide eyes and round glasses lock with yours, you have the overwhelming desire to pinch their cheeks. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we’re in hell, aren’t we?” You chuckle, taking another sip of your wine. It’s a bitter red and dry on your tongue, the faint burn seeping down your throat and spreading through your chest. Truly, it’s a miracle you got your hands on human world alcohol. “Someone so sweet natured as you would have gotten eaten up in a day.” You can see why the brothers like them so much. They’re soft around the edges, so kind and naive- it’d be easy for them to fall into the wrong hands. Luckily for Yuki, you aren’t a bad person.

“It’s good that I have you then!” Yuki takes another drink, then sputters into the glass. “I-I mean the brothers, it’s good I have the brothers. I know I’m not your responsibility, I don’t want to be like some baby you have to watch over—“

Your laugh cuts them off and their face burns hot. “I get what you mean. Besides, it’s good to have trust in your fellow human, right?”

Yuki tugs on the sleeves of their cardigan, a high pitched little laugh bubbling from their lips. “Y-yeah, I guess so!”

They’re still so nervous around you, blubbering about and correcting themselves over the tiniest thing. It reminds you a lot of Levi. Maybe that’s why they get along so well together. You just wish Yuki would be more comfortable around you like they are with the brothers. Ah, well, they’ll perk up eventually.

“Don’t stress about it too much. Let’s make a toast,” you grab your glass, holding it out across the low table between your couches. Yuki fumbles with their glass before thrusting it out, the deep red wine sloshing just shy of the rim. “To sticking together.”

Yuki nudges their glass against your with a tiny clink. “To sticking together!”

…

Yuki is more of a lightweight than you expected. They’ve finished their first glass and are halfway into their second. “You know,” they slump back against the couch cushions. “When I first came here and I heard ‘bout you I thought ‘wowww, they’re so strong’.” They emphasize ‘strong’ with a deeper tone, an ever present smile on their face—one that’s shows the little gap between their front two teeth.

“You made pacts with all the brothers! I think you’re so cool,” Yuki giggles, rubbing at their flushed cheeks. “It’s been a while since I’ve drinken.”

“Drank.” You correct.

“That too.”

You snort, rolling your eyes. Yuki taps their fingers on the table, gathering your attention back on them. “I- before, I said I was jealous.” Their fluffy brown hair falls in their face and the blow a lock away. “Do you still feel that way?” You’re tuning in more. You truly hope Yuki hasn’t formed a distaste, that they haven’t grown to see you as a threat.

“Yeah.” They say, then wave their hands wildly. “Not of you!! I, uh,” Yuki swallows and tugs at the collar of their sweater. “The brothers..they get someone like you…” they clench their hands together, balled up fists in their lap. “To be their master! Why can’t I have that?”

What?

“Yuki, what are you saying-“

Yuki stands abruptly, knees knocking into the table, lips pressed together in a thin line. “I..I don’t think it’s fair! They get to have you all to themselves!” They’re even redder, chest heaving under the baggy fabric of their clothes.

You can only sit there, purely astonished by their..confession? Yuki’s stumbling around the table, tripping over their shoes and falling onto your chest. You raise the half empty glass in time, a near catastrophe of staining red you’d have to explain to the boys. You maneuver around them, setting your glass in the table and grabbing their shoulders. “Yuki, Yuki, what are you doing?”

Yuki slides down onto the floor with a thump, grabbing onto the fabric of your shirt. “Hehe..I like it when you say my name..” they rub their cheek on your knee, sitting on folded legs below you. “I want you to be my master, too. I wanna- I wanna,” Yuki curls their fingers around the bend of your knee, looking up at you so pitifully. “Make me yours, we-we can do a human contract- I can be a pet just like them-“

“Yuki-“

“I can be better, I swear,”

“Yuki-!”

“I love you, master—“

“YUKI!”

You grab them by the shoulders and shake them. Yuki whines, grabbing onto your wrists and sitting up. Their blurry eyes finally look fully into yours, their glasses smudged and crooked. Then, like they’ve finally come to, their face blooms beet red and they stumble back, bumping into every piece of furniture in the process.

“Oh my god, oh my god,”

“It’s ok, calm down,”

“I-I have to go!”

Yuki clambers up, slipping on their shoes and rushing out the door of the lounge and into the faded sound of the club. You have no doubt they’ve bumped into either Asmo or Mammon in their haste, the faint voices like a warbling whisper in your ear. You’re left alone in the lounge, smelling of wine and Yuki’s sweet cologne, left with the memory of what the fuck just happened?

[imagineanime2022]

They Blow You Off For Yuki (Exchange Student)

Lucifer X Reader, Mammon X Reader, Leviathan X Reader, Satan X Reader, Asmodeus X Reader, Beelzebub X Reader, Belphegor X Reader

Summary: Brother unknowingly choose the exchange student over you and you take notice.

Warnings: Injuries, neglect, loneliness, self doubt, 

Lucifer

📚 When Yuki first arrived you didn’t think that anything was going to change until everything changed.

📚 It was small things at first, he had less time for you and then he started forgetting about planned events and stopped texting or calling to ask about your day.

📚 Then you heard about the Yuki being the descendent of their sister Lilith and it felt like a game over for you.

📚 Lucifer had trusted you enough to tell you the story of his sister, but knowing the importance of his sister to him and his brothers you were sure that he was going to choose her over you but you weren’t ready to hear it.

📚 During the time that you had been dating Lucifer, you had actually gotten quite close with Diavolo and Barbatos because they would often come to you when they thought that Lucifer was working too hard or something was wrong.

📚 They were the ones that noticed something was going on and decided to ask Lucifer about it, though he didn’t really give them much of an answer but that was all that was needed to prompt Lucifer’s realization that he hadn’t seen you let alone spoken to you in a while.

Lucifer decided that the only way that this was going to be settled was if went to talk to you. He knew that there was a lot that he had to answer for but he didn’t expect what he got when you opened the door to him. There was a sad smile on your face as you opened it wider and allowed him to come in, he was silent as he watched you close the door and take a deep breath before you turned to him “(Y/N)-” 

“It’s okay you don’t have to say it.” You said softly “I could feel it.” 

“What are you talking about?” Lucifer asked, taking a step forward.

“I know that you don’t need me anymore, I know that you’ve got better ways to be using your time and you probably want to spend time with Yuki now anyway.” You said hands tightening into fists as your voice started to tremble.

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

“I heard about who she is to you, it makes sense that you’d be drawn to her and I’m just getting in the way, I was afraid to hear you say it but I can’t make you stay with me because I’m afraid.” You answered and he realized just how much damage his distance had done, he walked over taking your chin between his thumb and forefinger directing your gaze to him.

“I came here to check on you and it seems that I was right to do so.” He said softly, wiping your tears away. “I realize that I’ve been neglecting you, we haven’t spent time together in months, I apologize for that. As for Yuki she may be the descendant of Lilith but that has no bearing on our relationship.” 

“Lucifer-” 

“I want you, not her.” He pulled you into his chest “I have a lot to make up for will you let me try?” 

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” You asked.

“More than anything.” He answered.

“Okay.” You nodded.

Mammon

💳 It started off with Mammon storming into your room while you were studying complaining about the new human that he has to look after. He’d often sneak off to find you when Lucifer wasn’t around to get away from Yuki.

💳 Then it changed to him actually taking the job seriously and only coming to see you when he knew that Yuki was at home.

💳 And before long the only way that you spoke to him was in text messages and they were answered in bulk when he realized that he needed something from you.

💳 You stopped answering in texts after that and you knew that it was petty and could end your relationship considering Mammon’s track record for things that he lost interest in.

💳 The problem came when you heard the things that he would say to her, talking about being her first and the one that she should go to when she had a problem.

💳 The real problems started when you called him to try and get him to help you but he told you that he was with Yuki and couldn’t leave.

That would have been fine if you weren’t standing in front of witch that he was in debt with, she had demanded that you contact him, when he hung up it became your problem, she sighed “shame he seemed head over heels for you a few weeks ago.” She mumbled.

“Yeah well try going after the new human, you might have more luck.” You answered, adjusting the bag on your back.

“I wish I could but she’s the exchange student, that will cause more trouble than he’s worth, instead.” She smiled as she pressed a hand to your chest.

“What did you do?” You asked.

“You’ll see if he doesn’t give me what I want.” She answered before disappearing, you looked around, you contemplated going to tell Mammon but in the end decided to go home and try to pretend that nothing had happened.

That worked for a couple of days but you were stopped one day by Barbatos “(Y/N) do you mind if I have a word with you?” He asked you looked at him blankly for a second for some reason that name didn’t feel like the right name.

“Sure.” you answered after a moment.

“It’s further along than I thought.” He mumbled to himself before gesturing for you to follow him, he led you back to a room where Diavolo and Lucifer were waiting, you looked at them. 

“Have I done something wrong?” You asked.

“I fear that it’s my idiot brother that has done something wrong…” Lucifer sighed as he looked at you. 

“Mammon?” You asked.

“Have you been in contact with a witch over the past couple of days.” Diavolo asked and you nodded.

“I don’t remember what she wanted.” You mumbled “she was looking for Mammon I think so I called him but he told me that he was… I don’t remember.” You answered, they could all see you starting to panic, “that was only a few days ago, why can’t I remember?” 

“She cursed you, it seems to be affecting your memory, I assume she was hoping this would force Mammon’s hand but it doesn’t seem like you've seen each other in a long while.” Barbatos explained.

“He’s with that girl… Um… The exchange student.” You mumbled trying to remember her name.

“Yuki.” Lucifer supplied for you, you nodded.

“Come on Darling let’s get you set up in a room in the castle until we can find a way to fix this.” Diavolo smiled as he stood from where he was sitting gesturing for you to follow him.

“There’s no way to know what he owes that witch.” Lucifer sighed once you left the room.

“It may be faster to ask him.” Barbatos suggested.

Mammon was wondering through RAD, he hadn’t caught sight of you all day and you weren’t answering your DDD, he was worried about you. “Mammon!” Lucifer called and he glanced at him.

“Not now Lucifer, your human’s safe, she’s with Beel.” Mammon tried to appease him.

“Have you had any dealings with a witch bold enough to curse a demon to get to you?” Lucifer asked.

“What are you talkin’ about?” Mammon asked “‘Course not!” 

“Mammon (Y/N) really doesn’t have time for you to lie.” Lucifer glared at him.

“What?” He asked. “What happened to ‘er?” Lucifer just raised an eyebrow crossing his arms as he waited for him to put the pieces together.

“Where is she?” Mammon asked.

“She’s at the castle, Diavolo moved her there to make sure that she was safe, she’s vulnerable right now.” Barbatos answered.

“I wanna see her.” Mammon ordered and they both looked at each other before nodding, it might help you remember something if you see him.

When Mammon laid eyes on you, the relief that you were physically okay overtook him “(Y/N)?” Mammon asked softly as he walked towards you.

“Me?” You asked.

“Yeah that’s you.” He answered as he sat on the bed in front of you “do you know who I am?” 

“Mammon, you’re the one that she was looking for.” You said.

“Who?” He asked.

“The witch, she said that you took a potion from her, that was worth a lot of money.” You answered, he hated that you looked like this, you clung to him like he was your only life line, the only thing that you recognised.

“Don’t worry baby, I’m gonna fix this.” He promised as he pressed a kiss to your forehead, he remembered the potion that you were talking about, he had never been more happy that he hadn’t sold something before, he rushed back to the house going straight to his room, throwing things around looking for the little bottle of blue green liquid, sighing when he finally found what he was looking for and rushed back out of the house to the witch.

You hated the feeling like you should know where you are or who you are but the only thing you knew for sure was Mammon but you couldn’t trust him, he was the reason that you were in this situation right? Your eyes moved to the door of the room as it was pushed open, Mammon raced in holding something out to you. “Babe I need you to drink this!” He pleaded, your eyes moved to the potion in his hand and frowned.

“Why should I trust you, you're the reason that I’m in this mess in the first place.” You frowned.

“I know but I wanna fix it, I can’t do that if ya fight me, please I jus’ wanna make it better, ya don’ have to talk to me after, ya just have to be okay.” He said as he held out the potion.

“Okay.” You answered as you reached out, downing the potion and screwing up your face.

“Well done, ya did good love.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead before he began to pull away, you reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Take me home.” You mumbled and he sighed as he sat down in front of you.

“Diavolo wants ya to stay for tonight so that they can make sure that the effects are permanent, someone can take ya home tomorrow.” He said softly brushing your hair from your face.

“Will you stay?” You asked.

“Ya wan’ me ta stay?” He asked, you nodded and his movements were proposed as he moved you both around until you were sitting in his lap.

“I’m sorry this happened to you, I promise you’re never leaving ma side again.” He mumbled softly as he wrapped his arms around determined to keep you safe, he knew that you’d have to talk about what led you there but for now this was okay.

Leviathan

🎮 When you first heard about this exchange student it was because she had embarrassed him in front of everyone and you thought that he hated her until you dropped by to see how he was doing and found them both in his room watching movies.

🎮 That was the first and last time that you hung out with Yuki because every other time that they were together it clashed with plans already made and you left out of anger or embarrassment.

🎮 This time however, you had made plans to hang out for your birthday, you knew that Levi never liked going out but you were happy with being curled up next to him while he explained TSL for the 100th time or played a game.

🎮 When you got there though Yuki was sitting in the room yet again, Mammon was complaining about something and Levi was telling him to get out but the worst part was that Levi never even noticed you as he grabbed something to show Yuki.

🎮 Mammon was the one that called out a greeting and a happy birthday to you but you were already leaving the room by the time that any of them looked up and you ignored the call of your name instead heading home while accepting the birthday wishes from the brothers that you saw on your way home.

“Yer an idiot.” Mammon said as he crossed his arms over his chest a few days later, yes he was trying to distract Levi from the fact that he owed him more money but he wasn’t wrong not this time.

“How dare you!?” Levi asked as he turned to him.

“Even I didn’t forget (Y/N)’s birthday.” He threw his arms up.

“Nice try you scumbag, their birthday is next week.” Levi glared at him and Mammon’s eyes widened as he looked at him.

“Yer an idiot.” He repeated.

“Levi (Y/N)’s birthday was 2 days ago.” Beel spoke up from across the kitchen where he was digging through the fridge “they even shared her cake with me.” Levi fished his phone out of his back pocket checking the date, his eyes widening as he rushed out of the kitchen and back to his room where your present was wrapped and carefully stored in his room.

The frantic knocking on your door pulled you from your studying, you walked over to the door and opened it, you were surprised to see Levi out of his room and even more so when he shoved a nicely wrapped present in your arms and frantically started explaining how he got the days mixed up and hadn’t forgotten your birthday, you stepped to the side inviting him into the room and he came in. “Levi I’m not upset because you didn’t remember my birthday.” You said and he frowned.

“Then what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Levi, when was the last time that you actually honoured one of the days that we arranged to meet up?” You asked. “Now you're more worried about Yuki and don’t get me wrong I’m happy that you’ve found someone else that you can talk to but I didn’t know that I’d have to compete with your friends for your attention.” 

“(Y/N) I never meant to make you feel that way.” He said as he stepped forward wrapping his arms around you “I’m the worst boyfriend and there’s probably someone better for you, I know that you probably want nothing to do with me, I’m sorry.” You only noticed that his form had changed when his tail wrapped around you pulling you closer to him, you lifted your arms and wrapped them around him.

“I still want to be yours, I just need you to promise to try a little harder, you don’t have to spend every day with me but at least one a week works for me.” You mumbled, you felt him relaxing in your hold and then stiffened again and you giggled “what’s wrong now?” you pulled away to see his cheeks had turned pink it seemed that he had realized what he had done and like always initiating anything made him a blushing mess. “Can I open the present now?” 

“Hmm of course.” He answered as you unwrapped yourself from him though his tail never really left your body as you reached over and unwrapped the present, your eyes widened as you looked at the handheld console in your hands “I wanted you to play games with me and maybe find some that you liked too.” He scratched the back of his head and you smiled as you leaned up and pressed a kiss to the cheek.

“Can you help me set it up?” You asked and he nodded enthusiastically as he pulled you over to your bed and you both got comfortable to set up your new handheld console.

Satan 

🐈 Satan was well read, he always had been, he loved a good book and acquired a lot of knowledge because of it, you would often ask him questions if you didn’t know about something.

🐈 When Yuki showed up he was indifferent to the human that now lived in his house, all his brothers seemed more interested than him, nothing really changed.

🐈 However one day it was almost like a light switch and she was returning a book to him almost every week and they’d talk about it, you were always there completely confused, eventually you’d just get your DDD out and entertain yourself or sometimes give in, kiss him on the cheek and just leave.

🐈 Satan never stopped you and you assumed if he really wanted you to stay he’d tell you that.

🐈 You later came to the conclusion that if you were smarter he might want you around some more. If you were book smart, your smarts centred more around social situations and knowing how to navigate or avoid them.

It was lunch at RAD and you hadn’t left your classroom you were instead sat with your food looking at the words in the pages of the book that was in front of you, you were trying to understand and take in the information but you had reread the passage for the 40th time before groaning and throwing the book on the floor by your desk in frustration. “That’s no way to treat a book.” You jumped at the sound of Satan behind you as he walked around you to pick up the book, he looked at it for a second before looking back at you. “I didn’t know that you were interested in this.” 

“Mmm.” You hummed stuffing food into your mouth and hoped that he didn’t ask you anything about it, considering you couldn’t get past the first chapter.

“Alright, how long are we going to pretend?” He asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You asked.

“You don’t read what’s going on?” He asked.

“What? I’m not smart enough to understand the words on the page.” You mumbled picking at your food.

“Who said that?” He asked, moving the chair from the other desk so that it was facing you before sitting down. You could see the anger that he was trying so hard to keep in check.

“No one… Just me.” You mumbled.

“Why would you say that?” He frowned as he moved the chair closer so that he could direct your gaze to him.

“Satan wouldn’t you be better off with someone who reads the same books as you and someone you can have an actual conversation with?” You asked.

“You think I can’t have those things with you?” He asked. “Just because you don’t read books doesn’t mean that you aren’t intelligent, you have a thirst for knowledge like any other person you just tend to ask me questions rather than find a book to answer them.” 

“Yeah but what about you, you never learn anything from me-” 

“I learn more than you would ever know from you, I know nothing about how to read people and respond properly, you’ve taught me how to turn the worst situation into a good one for myself, I’m never angry or on edge around you. I love you and want nothing more than you.” He explained taking your hands in his.

“Really?” You asked.

“Really.” He nodded. “What brought all of this on?” 

“It’s just when I saw you and Yuki talking.” You shrugged.

“Trust me my love, I like talking to you much more than talking with her.” He promised, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

Asmodeus

💅 Asmo loved everyone in one way or another and you were quick to realize that Yuki was no different and you were okay with that until he started picking her for things instead of you.

💅 You were different from Asmo in the sense that you didn’t really like partying as much as he did and so there were times when you would say that you didn’t want to go out.

💅 You realized that Asmo had stopped asking you if you wanted to go out, you weren’t too bothered at first, you showed up when you wanted to and he was always happy to see you.

💅 Asmo definitely didn’t realize what he was doing, all he wanted was to go out and have fun, he never really thought about what you would feel in the long term.

💅 It all came to a head when you had asked Asmo to help you shop for some new clothes and instead started picking out clothes for Yuki proceeding their night out, so instead of continuing, you left, you weren’t even sure that he noticed.

You were curled up in bed scrolling through devilgram, there were a lot of pictures of him and Yuki out at parties, they looked like they were having so much fun. You knew that you couldn’t avoid the problem but you were starting to think that you were both too different for it to work, you liked going out but you liked staying just as much and you can’t help but feel like he was always bored when you suggested that, maybe they would be better together you decided that you’d talk to him tomorrow but for now you’d just be sad about it.

It was only a couple of minutes later that the door to your room was flung open “(Y/N) my love what are you doing in here!? You wanted to go shopping and you didn’t even buy anything!” Asmo said as he looked around expecting to see you at your desk or mirror doing something or other, he noticed you in the bed and noticed the tears trailing your cheeks “what happened?”  why was fate so cruel, he was standing there and now you were going to have to address the problem that you wanted to hide from for at least one more day.

“Nothing.” You answered, turning away from him.

“Well that’s not true.” He mumbled as you heard shuffling and the door closed before he walked over to you sitting on the bed. “You never hide things from me, you're crying because of me aren’t you?” 

“It’s not because of you.” You mumbled “not really…” 

“Then what is this about?” He asked moving so that he was laying behind you, arms wrapping around your waist and that just made you cry even more.

“You don’t have to stay here, I know that you want to go show Yuki the outfit you got her.” You sniffed as you wiped at your eyes again trying to move away from him but he wasn’t allowing you to move instead he pulled you closer caging you to his chest.

“I couldn’t care less about her right now, you are the most important. You know I hate it when you cry. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I left you like this?” He asked.

“We both know that you would do better with someone else.” You mumbled. You weren’t able to process the speed that Asmo moved, rolling you onto your back and forcing you to look at him.

“Now what is that supposed to mean my love?” He asked, when you didn’t answer him he leaned in closer “you have to tell me what’s going on if you want to fix it.” 

“I know that Yuki is better suited for you than me, you should just go date her.” You shrugged as you looked away from him. 

“Mmm, now I know that’s not true.” He said as he pressed a kiss to your temple “I want you and no one else.” 

“But she’s the one that goes out with you, there’s so many pictures of you two and you look like you have so much fun.” You answered though it was hard as he was pressing soft kisses all over your face until his lips hovered over yours.

“Mmm, I thought that you didn’t like your pictures on devilgram but if that will help you feel better then I can help you with that.” He said before pressing a kiss to your lips and snapping a picture, the kiss continued for a couple more seconds before he sat back up he lifted you with him repositioning both of you so you were sitting in between his legs, he rested his chin on your shoulder as he wrote a description for the picture that consisted of:

Looking forward to my relaxing night with the love of my life, do not disturb ;)

It only took a second for his phone to buzz, you saw Yuki’s name but he threw his phone to the side and turned your face to his again and pressed another kiss to your lips “I need you to understand that you are the only one that I need or want.” He said once you parted.

“Asmo you were supposed to go out tonight.” You mumbled.

“I don’t want to anymore.” He said “now how about we have a bath and relax for the rest of the night, we can watch a movie.” 

“Are you sure?” You asked.

“Mmm,” He hummed, “then we can get up tomorrow and we’ll go shopping and get what you wanted to get today.” 

“Okay Asmo.” You smiled.

“There she is.” He cheered as he pulled you up from the bed and into the bathroom to get ready for the bath.

Beelzebub

🍔 Beel would have never done this on purpose, he was just trying to make sure that everyone was happy, it had been over a month since he had last seen you.

🍔 For a long time Beel had no idea who Yuki even was despite the fact that she lived in the same house as him, after a while they became friends and then she managed to get Belphie back so you understood his gratitude to her.

🍔 Now though after months of waiting for him to come to what was your usual meeting place for lunch and ultimately eating alone, you were starting to think that this was the way that your life was going to be.

🍔 You knew you weren’t helping the situation but you wanted him to come looking for you.

🍔 Beel would do whatever he was told so you wanted him to seek you out via free will, at least you would know that he wanted to spend time with you.

🍔 Unfortunately Beel still needed guidance and you were lucky that he had a twin that noticed everything.

You were sitting at one of the tables, legs crossed under you as you picked at your fingers left alone for yet another day. You glanced up at Belphie as he sat opposite you at the table “Where’s Beel?” He asked, laying his head on the table.

“Ask Yuki.” You answered searching through your bag pulling out the lunch you made for Beel “I don’t know why I still make this, he’s never here anymore, you want it?” You asked.

“Me?” Belphie asked. “What if he comes back for it?” 

“He’s not been here for months, I’m starting to think that we might have broken up and I don’t remember.” You mumbled as you started packing things back into your bag.

“No that’s not true, he talks about you all the time.” Belphie said as moved his head so that he could see you.

“I appreciate you trying to make me feel better Belphie but maybe I just need to understand that I’m not who he’s in love with anymore.” You answered “enjoy the food.” 

“Wait, have you eaten?” Belphie asked.

“Not hungry.” You answered as you walked away from him. A couple of minutes later a shadow loomed over him that he recognised as his twin.

“Belphie what are you doing over here?” Beel asked as he sat down next where you were previously. “Hey isn’t that (Y/N)’s?” 

“What are you doing over here, go find them.” Belphie ordered.

“Why?” Beel asked as he opened the lunch box smiling at the food inside.

“Because they thinks that you don’t love them anymore!” Belphie answered “and if you ask me she’s the best thing that ever happened to you.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Beel answered with a mouth full of food.

“When was the last time that you talked to them?” Belphie asked.

“I don’t know, last week?” He shrugged, Belphie let his head fall to the table with a groan.

“Beel!” The twins looked over to where the voice came from and saw a girl that had been in your class for years running over. “(Y/N)... Needs your help…Library…” She managed to get out.

“What happened?” Belphie asked.

“These boys noticed that you guys haven’t been together as much, they’ve been trying to get their attention and they’re being a bit pushy.” She answered, Beel stood immediately and heading in the direction of the library he didn’t even notice Yuki calling for him as he left.

When he got to the library, he was able to find you easily, you were trying your hardest to ignore the demon leaning on the table, he was too close for Beel’s liking and he was going to do something about it “Get lost.” Beel ordered the demon who looked at him and frowned.

“Why would I listen to you, you guys aren’t even together.” He glared and Beel frowned.

“Yes we are.” He argued pulling you up out of the chair you were sitting in and closer to him, you relaxed into his chest being closer to him than you had been in a long time.

“That true?” The demon asked, looking at you and you nodded before pressing yourself closer to Beel. “Whatever.” 

“Thanks.” You mumbled as the demon walked away you attempted to move away from him but he lifted you instead grabbing all of your stuff and walking out of the library and into an empty room.

“How long has that been happening?” He asked.

“Couple of months.” You answered, shrugging “don’t worry I’m fine you can go back to Yuki if you want.” 

“I don’t want to go back to Yuki, I want to make sure that my partner is okay.” He answered, finally lifting your chin to make you look at him. “I’m sorry I’ve not been a good boyfriend, I’ll be better, please let me be better.” 

“Beel I don’t want to break up with you, just please don’t leave me like that again.” You pleaded.

“I won’t I promise, you have to tell me if they bother you again.” He frowned and you nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek, he passed you the now empty lunch box “I missed them.” 

“Yeah?” You asked.

“Always.” He nodded “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” You answered.

Belphegor

💤 You and Belphie were together before Lucifer locked him in the attic and told you all that he had gone on the exchange programme, you honestly knew there was something fishy but you weren’t strong enough to go against someone like Lucifer.

💤 When you didn’t get any messages or letter from him you decided to go and ask Lucifer about it and that got you in a little bit of trouble. Beel would check up on you from time to time both of you were lonely after Belphie’s disappearance.

💤 Then suddenly he was back, Yuki had somehow managed to find and bring him back but you only knew that because suddenly he was walking around RAD again, he didn’t come to see you or tell you that he was back.

💤 Beel stopped seeing you when Yuki arrived so you had been alone for a long time, you soon became the target for a lot of the more popular demons, Belphie and Beel often acted as your bodyguards before, now you were left alone to deal with the issue.

💤 You shouldn’t have been angry at Yuki for any of it but you found yourself blaming her for a lot of your misfortune and straight up hating who you assumed to be your ex boyfriend.

The brothers were all in the HoL when Barbatos appeared “Barbatos how can I help you?” Lucifer asked, assuming the demon butler was there to talk to him.

“Good evening Lucifer, it’s actually Belphegor that I was hoping to speak with this evening.” Barbatos answered.

“What does he want now?” Belphie asked, assuming that it was Diavolo that needed his help.

“Well this evening there was an incident reported involving a demon that we believe you know very well, (Y/N).” He explained.

“Who’s (Y/N)?” Yuki asked.

“Belphie’s partner.” Mammon teased though no one seemed to pay him any mind as they waited for Barbatos to continue.

“From the eye witness accounts she was attacked by some of the students, we have them at the castle but no one has been able to locate (Y/N), we are under the impression that they were hurt quite badly, Lord Diavolo suggested you might know where to find them.” Barbatos finished explaining. All the brothers turned to him and he swallowed. 

“I haven’t seen them in years, I’m sure they’ve changed a lot since I last saw them.” Belphie answered. His throat felt like it was bone dry. How had he not seen you since he had been back, he was so wrapped up in everything he hadn’t even noticed. He stood from where he was sitting, he left the room muttering a vague sentence about checking some places you might be before leaving.

He spent an hour looking for you in town before heading to some of the old places that you both used to run off to when you wanted to get away from everything. He started at the observatory and was lucky to find you struggling to bandage up your arms as you curled in a corner, you heard his steps and shrunk back to hide yourself. “Stay away from me.” You ordered.

“I just want to help you.” He said softly.

“I don’t need help, I'm fine.” You answered pushing back further.

“(Y/N) you aren’t fine, please just let me help you.” He pleaded, he could see and smell the blood coming from you.

“Why?” You asked.

“What?” He answered your question with another question.

“Why do you care now? Belphegor you haven't spoken to me for years, you came back from the exchange programme and treated me like a stranger-” 

“I know I’ve been the worst boyfriend and there’s no excuse for that but know that I’ve never stopped loving or caring about you so please just let me help you, then I’ll leave you be.” He promised and while you wanted to put up more of a fight, you missed him and the safety that came with being around him. Belphie took a step towards you and when there was no protest he continued forward, he gently took your arm in his hands and looked it over  before checking your other arm, he bandaged them as best he could before checking the rest of your body, you didn’t seem to have any other injuries he lifted you from your place on the floor. “I’m going to take you somewhere to get those injuries treated properly.” 

“Okay.” You answered, your voice was small now, tired. While you were angry at him, the trust you had for him hadn’t changed, you knew he’d never hurt you or take you somewhere that you would be in danger.

When you woke up you were in a room in Diavolo’s castle, you were properly bandaged and the pain you felt before was pretty much nonexistent, you could hear people talking by the door and gathered all your strength to move you head in that direction, you could see Lucifer, Diavolo and Barbatos by the door but Belphie was the one that you were focused on, his head pressed to the mattress has his torso rose and fell with steady breaths. You reached out a hand to run through his hair afraid that it was a dream but your hand came into contact with him and he jumped awake as a result. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” You mumbled softly.

“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up, you’ll be okay, they said that you might not be able to use your arms for a couple of days.” Belphie explained. “I’ll go if you want me to.” 

“Please don’t.” You pleaded. “I don’t want to lose you again.” 

“You never lost me the first time, I’ll make it up to you I promise.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to your forehead, you nodded in acknowledgement of what he said and scooted to make more room.

“It’s cold in here, will you keep me warm?” You asked, he smiled as he climbed into the bed opening his arms for you and watching as you got comfortable and fell back to sleep.

Request Here

[deadfloweremojii]

Every Morning Felt the Same

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𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: Slight Yuki x F!Reader

𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: Angst

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: akito being akito

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 3884

╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

I wrote this a while ago and I had no idea how long it was until now! After starting the final season I came back to it and spiffed it up a little and well... here it is!

Feel free to send requests!

Fic below the cut

I was walking to school as I normally do; listening to music. Left turn, right turn, wait at the light. Every morning felt the same. However ever since the beginning of this year I have started coming out of my shell. As unapproachable the girls have made Yuki Sohma we have somehow become rather good friends. It was awkward at first but I’ve gotten used to the staring from the “Prince Yuki Fan Club” garbage. It wasn’t as if I liked him, we were just close friends. I have gotten to know him and his friends over the last few months. Yuki and his cousin Kyo have a very interesting dynamic to say the least. It seems as if they are cat and mouse, but the mouse always outsmarts the cat.

It was finally time to go home; I could be considered lucky in that regard. I am an exchange student. I have my own student apartment that the school pays for me to live in. It can get fairly lonely on the weekends or during breaks. I’m fairly introverted and only really talk to Yuki and Co. during the school day. My japanese can be pretty rough at times, but I understand enough to get by. With winter break coming up I was preparing to celebrate New Years by myself like I have the past few years. It’s just not worth it to go home for the holidays; the break is too short to make the price tag worth it. I almost have grown to love being by myself; after a long day at school the silence is calming.

My normal path home is fairly straightforward, but the idea of the upcoming holiday clouded my mind. I had somehow ended up walking past my usual turn without realizing and continued on into the forest on the outskirts of the town. A cold gust of air brought me out of my trance; I looked around wildly unfamiliar with my surroundings. As I turned on my heels to go back the way I came; to my utter disbelief a white snake blocked my path.

Now I didn’t hate snakes, but I admired them from afar or held well handled pets. Very unlike any snake, or wild animal, I’ve ever seen it slithered up to me. I didn’t want to startle it, on the off chance it’s hungry so I stood as still as possible gripping my school bag against my chest. A cool scaly feeling enveloped my calf, as the snake slithered up it. I gripped my eyes shut, praying it just went away after realizing I was not edible. Then it dawned on me, it was below freezing, and snakes are cold blooded… and I’m warm blooded… NOW I'M A SPACE HEATER FOR A SNAKE!

I couldn’t help the yelp that escaped my lips as I felt the snake take refuge under my shirt. Whether it be divine intervention or my (un)lucky day a man came walking toward me on the frozen path. He was dressed in a simple yukata with shaggy black hair. He looked at me calmly and then to my… chest? HE’S LOOKING AT MY BOOBS! I looked down as I saw a little snake head pop up. He’s looking at the snake… Why is the snake looking back at him?

“I see you got yourself into a situation” the man laughed. He didn’t seem to be speaking to me, but almost to the snake?

“Yes, uh… please help” I whispered. I didn’t want to bother the snake for fear of it biting me. In my awkward fear I happened to answer in english instead of japanese. The man tilted his head, and I just assumed he didn’t understand me. I opened my mouth to repeat myself, but he cut me off.

“You’re y/n, right?” He said back in perfect english. “Yuki’s friend from school”. He talks about me?

“Yes, sir.” I said. “Is there any way you can help me? I switched the conversation back to japanese. It always felt rude to make someone accommodate me, even if I wasn't the best speaker.

“Come down the road to the house with me. I can help you better there” He chuckled. “And don’t worry about how you speak. Do what is most comfortable.”

We trotted along the path rather slowly, I did not want the snake to fall or worse. It was only a couple minutes. We exchanged pleasantries. The man was Shigure-san Yuki and Kyo’s uncle who they lived with. From my time being friends with them I’ve only really heard Tohru mention him a few times. I never really hear the boys talk about their family, it seems to be a touchy subject.

We finally arrived at the house. It was pretty nice considering it was in the middle of the woods. As we got inside the snake slithered down my leg and decided that the house was his now. I relaxed my tense muscles. I guess I didn’t have to stay very long. I looked around, still standing in the entryway. I noticed Kyo sitting at the low table and I smiled politely at him. He looked up when he heard the commotion.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, shocked. It seems visitors are not abundant here. “What did you do to her?!” he yelled at Shigure-san.

“Nothing! Why would I do anything to one of Yuki’s beloved friends?” Shigure shrugged off.

“Oh, um there was a snake…” I started. Yuki had just entered the room. He looked up when he heard the word snake.

“A snake here is it now, y/n-san?” he looked around… angrily? “What did it look like?” He blurted. I wasn’t very used to Yuki not being calm and collected. This was definitely a change of pace for him. I guess he really doesn’t like snakes. As I was about to open my mouth to answer, another boisterous man with long silver hair burst into the room

“Yuki-kun! Have you missed me? I wanted to come visit you but it was so cold! Without this fine lady I would have never made it” he swoons. The man walked over to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the house, my shoes left in the entryway.

“Aw sweet, y/n-chan” He started, bringing my hand up to his mouth to kiss it. “Thank you so much for your kind nature! Without you I would surely have been left for dead”

Dead? I thought. I don’t recognize him, he kind of looks like Yuki. I don’t think I’ve ever met him. How does he know my name? The only thing I carried here was…

“The snake.” I whispered. I looked up to see familiar yellow orbs. “You… you were the s..snake” I stammered. “How is that even possible, humans can’t be snakes, snakes are snakes” I gripped my hair in my hands as I thought how this could ever be possible.

“My sweet love, don’t grip your beautiful hair” he said as he went to grab my hands. Both Yuki and Kyo shoved themselves between me and the strange man.

“Don’t touch her” Yuki said sternly. He shoved me behind him. I lost my balance and fell into his back. I heard a pop and a cloud of smoke appeared as I fell into nothing. In front of me was a little silver… rat?

“What?” I gasped. At this point I just assumed I was dreaming. “Are you supposed to be Yuki-kun now? I guess you are kind of cute.” I whispered as I scooped up the little thing. Kyo turned to Shigure- san.

“Look what you caused?” He yelled. “And you” he turned to the other man. “What the hell were you thinking?!” Shigure sighed. Looking at the man with his hand scratching his head.

“Well Ayame, I guess we got into an even worse situation” He laughs.

…..

“A curse?” I whisper. The Sohma’s had explained everything to me. I finally now realize more than I did before. Why Yuki was so shy, how Tohru acted when I talked about their home life. Why Kyo always seemed on edge. All of this bewildered me.

“So now what?” I asked shyly. “I promise I won’t say anything to anyone of course! I… I just don’t really know what to say” I looked down into my lap.

“Time to call Hatori I guess,” Shigure-san said as he stood up. Everyone had a solemn look on their face.

“Who is that?” I asked slightly afraid. “Am… am I going to die?” I looked up nervously into Shigure-sans eyes as mine began to water. “I… I promise, please” Tears begin to fall down my cheeks. Tohru, who had come home in the middle of this, offered me a tissue.

“Of course not y/n-chan” He said looking down seriously. “We just can’t have people knowing is all.” Ayame-san caressed my face and wiped away my tears.

“Do not worry, not a pretty little hair on your head will be harmed” He whispered to me. Yuki snatched me away from him.

“This is your fault to begin with.” Yuki said sternly. “Without your whole scheme we would have never been in this mess” This continues on for a while, Yuki being mad at what I now learned is his older brother, and Ayame begging Yuki to forgive him while still being a strange sort of arrogant. I just sat with Tohru, watching the whole thing unfold. Kyo had gone out shortly after this began, Tohru mentioned a Sensei so I assume it was martial art practice of some sort. Ayame-san turned to me and Tohru.

“I have an excellent idea” He sang out, almost twirling over to the two of us. “If we pretend to be together, there is a chance it will be okay!”

“T...Together? What do you mean by that?” I looked up at him, my eyes still a little puffy from before. “Like dating?” Shigure-san just walked back into the room as those words left my mouth.

“Who are you dating now? Ayame? So scandalous!” He wiggled. Yuki facepalmed, fed up with everything.

“You can’t think that’s possibly a good idea.” Yuki sighed. “First of all, I don’t want you anywhere near her, and second you’re almost twice her age. That would never work”

“An apprentice with benefits then!” Ayame hoisted me up and twirled me around. His arm wrapped around my shoulder but not enough to where our bodies were touching. His hand picked my chin up to look at him.

“Look at those sad e/c eyes.” he sighed. “You need some excitement in your life” He whispered in my ear. Yuki pulled me away from his clutches and looked into my eyes.

“Don’t listen to him.” He warned. His eyes were filled with pain. I wondered if this had happened to him before. Tohru seemed to know and be fine, so why couldn't I?

“I don’t want to lose my friends” My eyes fill with tears. “I don’t know what to do, I don't want to hurt you or your family, and I don’t want to lose you” I sob. I couldn't think straight enough to worry about japanese or anything for that matter. “I’ll do anything to just not be alone again”

The room was silent apart from my sniffling. The mood shifted to a depressing tone. Reality had sunk in. The Shomas realized either they try this or let this girl forget. I looked up over everyone.

“I’ll try anything”

…..

Over the last month going to work with Ayame-san was almost tiring. Although he seemed like an airhead, there is definitely something going on in his head that I just can’t guess. I assume it comes with his whole family dynamic. Although I was supposed to be his assistant, I feel like he was holding out for the whole “pretending to be dating” thing. Thank god he couldn’t touch me without becoming a snake; although that did happen a few times. Ayame-san as often as he could would be sure to “teach me” and “guide me” to what I needed to do. Mine-san seemed to keep him in check when we were in the studio, but when we had to run errands it was definitely towing the line.

Yuki always asked if I was okay first thing every morning before homeroom, and walked me home after I was done with Ayame-san every night. I assured him everything was fine. I didn’t want to lose my friends. It wasn’t that bad, it could be annoying at times but I feel like I learned a lot about myself and how to sew; so that's a plus.

One particular night after my apprenticeship, Mine-san pulled me aside. “y/n-chan, you’re doing really well. Most girls would have run for the hills by now!” she laughed. “You’ve gone from this shy little thing, to a young woman who can hold her own!”

“y/n-Chan!” rang out a familiar sing-song voice. Ayame-san waltzed out of the studio. “Do you think you can do me a favor?!” He sang out.

“I guess it depends on what it is exactly, Ayame-san.” I huff looking down the road seeing Yuki walking towards us.

“Well, I’ve been called to the estate. I was wondering if you would like to join me. Shigure said I should bring you!” He grabbed onto my arm and gave me puppy dog eyes. “You can meet Hatori!” Ayame chirped.

“Well I guess I can. If you really want me too” I said as Yuki neared closer. “I'll see you tomorrow then Ayame-san.” I called out as I ran towards Yuki.

“What was that about?” Yuki questioned as we walked towards my apartment. I hopped onto a small wall lining the sidewalk. With my arms out for balance I continued in front of him, spinning on the balls of my feet and walking backwards while facing him.

“He invited me to the estate with him and Shigure-san.” I replied, stopping in my tracks. “I said I would go.” I looked down at him nervously.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea y/n-san?” He looked up at me. He looked rather worried. I was starting to think that saying yes may not have been my brightest idea.

…..

The Saturday morning sun crept into my apartment window. I knew today was going to be… interesting. Shigure-san was nice enough to let me come over in the morning to figure everything out. Ayame-san told me he would have something for me to wear for dinner. Seeing his tastes in clothing it probably was not going to be fun.

When I arrived at the house, it was as rambunctious as always. Yuki and Kyo were lost in one of their usual arguments. They didn’t notice that I entered the house. Shigure-san looked up from his paper and smiled in my direction.

“Good morning, y/n-chan.” he chimed. The two boys looked over in the midst of fighting. I’ve seen them argue but I’ve never seen them fight. Both boys were breathing heavily; sweat rolling down their foreheads. This was rather surprising, Yuki is normally so calm, and collected. Over the past month I’ve learned more about him and my friends. Spending more time with him has made our friendship stronger. Although, it seems to be different now. Yuki has expressed his distrust of his brother. He has even started walking me to the shop, and even to school since my apartment is on the way. I’ve enjoyed spending more time with him… almost more than before. I shook my head at this thought.

“Is everything okay?” He asks endearingly, giving me a smirk. “Ready for your date with Ayame-san?” I blushed bright red at that comment.

“Uh… well… I didn’t think of it that way” I stammered. I brought my hand up to the back of my head, rubbing it sheepishly. Yuki snapped his head over to Shigure-san.

“No way, is that what he thinks is going to work” He seethed. “She never would have agreed to that if those were the terms. Isn't that right y/n-san?” Yuki looked at you sincerely.

“Well I… I wasn’t aware of that. I just assumed it was to meet Hatori-san” I looked down at my feet.

“Don’t worry kids” Shigure-san said as he resumed his paper “It’s just a ploy to allow y/n-chan to the Sohma estate.”

“So I have to pretend I’m dating Ayame-san in order to go?” I looked at Shigure. “Why did no one tell me” I huffed. He looked up at me and smiled.

“Because you wouldn’t have agreed otherwise”

…..

After a “fun” day at the Sohma house it was finally time. Ayame-san arrived with a bag with my name on it to wear. I looked inside; it looked like the pieces of a kimono. I looked up at him.

“I’ve never worn one before… I’m not sure how” I said shyly. Ayame-san snaked an arm around my shoulders.

“That’s okay my love, I can help you put it on for you.” he said coyly. Shigure-san also stood up. “What about me?” he added. Yuki came to my side and took my hand. He dragged you away from the men and up the stairs.

“Or I guess he could.” Shigure-san said defeatedly.

I have never been upstairs in the house before. It wasn't anything special, just everyone's rooms. Yuki still hasn’t said anything as he basically dragged me to his...room. I’m in his room. Those “Prince Yuki” bitches would pay thousands to be in my shoes right now.

“You can change here if you want.” He said shyly. Yuki looked away and blushed. “Tohru isn’t here, otherwise you’d be in her room.”

“I… I don’t know how to put it on” I stammered. “I need help” I looked down at my feet. Yuki took his hand under my chin and pointed it up. His gray eyes looking into my e/c ones.

“I’ll try my best.” He smiled. “There’s no reason for you to be embarrassed, Ayame should have known better. It was definitely one of his tricks.”

Yuki left the room to allow me to get the under clothes on. Once I was done I let him back in. The kimono almost felt like a large sweater. The material was soft and airy. Yuki with his cheeks dusted red, reached around me to gather the material in the way it needed to be. He tied a sort of belt near my waist to gather the fabric. It was not as difficult as I thought it would have been, but I would not have been able to do it correctly myself.

“Thank you, Yuki-san” I said as I pinned my hair up. I looked over at him and smiled brightly.

“Anytime y/n-san” he smiled back blush still sprinkling his cheeks.

…..

The Shoma Estate was huge. I felt like a small child as we approached. Shigure and Ayame walked in front of me, laughing about something or other. My nerves were boiling up, Kyo mentioned how intimidating it can be, especially if you looked out of place. Shigure-san looked back at me and noticed I was staring at the ground. He nudged Ayame-san's arm and pointed back at me. He twirled around towards me and latched onto my arm.

“You’re my date! You should at least look happy” He sang out. I looked around to see some women walking, giving me a disapproving glare.

“I guess I’m just nervous” I squeak. “This place is kind of intimidating” Shigure-san fell into step with us.

“Don’t worry y/n-chan” Shigure-san said “Everything will be alright in the end” He smiled. We arrived at the place we were supposed to meet. It was such a large house. I don’t think I’ve seen one this large since moving from the states. Once we entered, a man greeted us in the entryway.

“Ah Hatori!” Ayame-san said. “How are you! I’ve missed you!” he cried out as he went to hug him. Hatori side stepped and Ayame fell to the floor.

“I assume you’re y/n-chan” Hatori-san said to me.

“Yes, sir” I replied with a bow. Hatori shuffled us into the house and into a traditional dining room. Ayame-san and I sat down together. Hatori stopped Shigure in the doorway.

“Shigure, do you really think this is okay?” Hatori whispered.

“I sure hope so.” He replied.

…..

Dinner went well. It was just the four of us. I was so worried that there was going to be a huge amount of people. I’m so glad there wasn’t. The three men had been drinking, however Hatori-san seemed to be the only one with any sense left. Shigure and Ayame were being as loud as ever, saying risque things towards me.

As we were getting ready to leave, I heard a crash through the house. The sliding door was slammed open and a thin figure was hanging on to the door frame. Hatori immediately jumped to his feet and walked over to the person. The light in the hallway was off so it was hard to see. Shigure-san almost seemed to sober up as this was happening and got up and walked into the other room.

“Let me see her.” the person said as they clawed at the door frame. It looked like they could barely stand. Their robe falling off their shoulder allowed me to see just how thin they were. I shuffled back on the floor only stopping when I hit the wall.

“Let me see her.” they said again menacingly. Hatori-san looked over to me, there was pain in his eyes. I understood he couldn’t do much to stop them.

My heart raced as they came over. They grabbed my face leaving nail marks on my cheeks. My eyes started to water. I had no idea what was going on let alone what to do.

“What’s your name?” they seethed

“y/n” I squealed out meekly.

“You know they don’t like you. They never will. You should just stop trying” they dropped my face and I fell to my knees. I couldn’t stop the tears. Yuki burst through the door and looked on in horror.

“You’re right.” I whispered. Their words resonated with me. I wasn’t part of their world. They had so much more on their plate with Tohru already. They don’t need to worry about me. The person said something to Hatori that I didn’t understand and left the room. Yuki looked at me with tears in his eyes as he crouched in front of me. My tears fell like waterfalls as I cried into my hands.

“I’m so sorry, y/n-san. You should have never been a part of this,” he whispered as he grabbed my hands. “I really did like you. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. I’ll never forget you” he kissed my forehead.

Hatori helped me get to my feet and brought me into another room. I closed my eyes as I wiped the tears away.

…..

I was walking to school as I normally do; listening to music. Left turn, right turn, wait at the light. Every morning felt the same.

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 7 - The Qualifiers (Part 3)

After this chapter I have officially finished 50% of this book...yeah that’s right after 2 years I have finished half of this book...

Next chapter is pretty long, we might be staying there for a while folks

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. A “one-two finish” refers to members of the same team winning first and second place 

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When Kakeru reached the finish line, he was handed a water bottle by a staff member and ordered to move; if he stayed near the finish line, he would become an obstacle to the later runners.

He wondered how the others were doing. He was worried, so he lingered under the trees next to the finish line to check on the situation. There was another cheer, and he caught a glimpse of a Kansei uniform on the other side of the crowd—it was Kiyose.

“Haiji-san!” Kakeru shouted and leapt out onto the pathway that the runners who finished passed through to get to the lawn. Kiyose was crouching. Startled, Kakeru ran over to him.

“Are you okay?”

He didn’t seem to be breathing too much. The runners who finished in the top rankings had that ability; they were able to run the race at their own pace and with ease. There was no way they would be gasping for breath and unable to move after reaching the finish line. “It’s your leg, right?” Kakeru judged after checking Kiyose’s breathing.

In order to lessen the burden on his muscles even just a little bit, Kakeru poured water from the bottle onto Kiyose’s shin. After Kakeru lent him a hand, Kiyose stood up and started walking with a slight limp in his right leg.

“Kakeru, good work.”

Kiyose’s first words were words of appreciation towards Kakeru. Is this really the right time for that? Kakeru felt like crying.

“Yes.”

 When he hung his head, Kiyose laughed and ruffled his hair.

“Let’s go cheer on the others.”

“But, we should cool your leg imme—”

“It’s not a problem. Let’s go.”

Kiyose slipped into a gap between the spectators. Kakeru followed him, saying, “Excuse me.”

At the finish line, there was a close race for eightieth place. Since the results were decided by the combined times of ten people, everyone was desperate.

“It’s the twins, it’s the twins!”

Kakeru spotted Kansei uniforms in the tight group. On the other side of the course, Hanako was jumping up and down.

Jouta and Jouji both gritted their teeth and crossed the finish line. After them, Yuki, Musa, Nico-chan and Shindou finished in the eightieth to ninetieth places. King fought bravely and finished in one hundred and twenty-third place.

“Good. That’s a good pace,” Kiyose murmured. Prince, however, was nowhere to be seen. Among the regular schools, there were more and more that had all ten people finish the race.

“It’s not looking good for us at this rate.”

Kakeru stamped his foot. He almost wanted to run one more time himself. Is he here yet? Is he here yet? Then, from behind the trees, where Kakeru had been staring as if in prayer, Prince appeared.

“He’s staggering…” Kiyose furrowed his brow. Prince had already passed his limits, and his eyes were unfocused.

“Prince-san, run! The finish line is right in front of you!” Kakeru shouted, trying to at least guide him by ear.

“I know that.” Prince struggled forward, fighting the nausea that was rising up. Sweat was flowing from him and his fingers were unpleasantly cold. Where did the blood go? Prince vaguely wondered. My face is probably pale as a sheet of paper right now.

He was clearly anemic, but he couldn’t collapse here. There were twenty meters until the finish line. If Prince stopped running, Kansei, which only had ten people, would be eliminated from the qualifiers. If Hakone was a no-go for them because of him, his collection of books would surely be burned. He had to avoid that.

Prince summoned up all of his willpower. As soon as he did that, his stomach squeezed, and he finally felt an unendurable nausea.

He no longer cared about the several hundred people watching him. As Prince ran, he threw up with all his might. He could hear the female spectators along the route letting out cries of “Kyaa!”

“This is no time for throwing up! Run!” Kiyose’s angry voice rang out.

Are you a demon or something? This is why I hate sports clubs. Prince cursed at him in his head, wiping his dirty mouth with his hand. Of course, he had no intention of stopping his feet. He wondered why he was doing sports, something he wasn’t good at. He wondered why he had been doing all this running practice like an idiot.

It was to participate in the Hakone Ekiden.

Because I thought it would be nice to share in you guys’ muscle-headed dream for once…!

Prince crossed the finish line in one hundred and seventy-sixth place and lost consciousness on the spot.

Everyone in Chikusei-sou had fallen flat in their encampment on the lawn. Less than half of them had the energy to even check their wristwatches for their times after finishing. Yuki had given up on the attempt to clearly grasp the ten’s combined times.

The tallying and calculation of intercollegiate points took up more time than expected, so the results were to be announced at around eleven o’clock. They had to wait at least another hour after all the competitors had finished running.

“We’re in a delicate position.” Kiyose calmly calculated while icing his shin. “When averaging our positions, we’re probably in the mid-eighties. That’s borderline.”

“Depending on the intercollegiate points of the schools that are also borderline…”

Nico-chan glared at the sky with a difficult look on his face.

“It’s possible we won’t qualify,” Yuki said.

Oh no, the twins moaned. Shindou and Musa were quiet, looking like they were praying to their respective ancestors and patron gods. King was plucking at the grass. Prince didn’t so much as twitch, still lying facedown on the grass. Hanako and the shopping district people, who were surrounding them, were unable to give any careless encouragement, and could only wait for the results.

Kakeru suddenly looked at Kiyose’s hands; the ice they had brought in the cooler box was melting in the plastic bag.

“I’ll go get some ice. Maybe they’ll give us some at that store over there.” Wanting to escape from this oppressive atmosphere, Kakeru stood up. Musa seemed to feel the same way.

“I shall go as well,” he said and followed him.

They cut across the lawn and headed for the store with the red roof. It was easy to tell which schools were confident that they would qualify by the expressions on the runners’ faces; it was the borderline schools, like Kansei, that were exuding a sense of high tension, but the schools that had clearly ranked lower were generally calmly waiting for the results to be announced. Among them, there were teams that were happily picking at the multi-tiered bento boxes made by their female managers.

There are all sorts of people, Kakeru thought. For those people, their goal was to make it to the qualifiers. They knew the outcome from the beginning, so when they were finished running, they made it into a picnic-like event and enjoyed themselves. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we’re different, he felt.

I don’t want it to end the qualifiers. I want to see even greater heights. I want to be an even faster and stronger team and compete in the Hakone Ekiden. That’s what I’ve been training for, and that’s what I’m going to keep training for.

“I wonder what will happen, Kakeru,” Musa spoke to him worriedly.

“We can get to Hakone,” Kakeru assured him. Burning magma was gushing up from the pit of his stomach. Everyone had run the qualifiers with all their might today; there was no way they could lose.

Musa’s eyes widened at his forceful words.

“Kakeru, you seem to have gotten stronger somehow.”

“That’s not true.” Kakeru shook his head. “We ran pretty hard, didn’t we? So I just think we’ll be okay.”

Musa nodded. “You are correct. We are going to Hakone. All together.”

When Musa said it, it sounded like the happy ending of a fairy tale, or a reliable prophecy.

When Kakeru and Musa asked for some ice, the shopkeeper readily gave them some. Since they came empty-handed, the shopkeeper put the ice into a paper cup. “We were careless,” Musa said. A group of spectators walked by behind him.

“Another black runner. It’s pretty unfair to bring in foreign students.”

“With a bunch of guys like that, then Japanese runners won’t be able to compete.”

Musa’s face stiffened at the whispered comments that they intentionally let him hear, and Kakeru was about to turn around and object.

“It’s fine, Kakeru,” Musa stopped him. “I have heard a lot of comments like that today alone.”

“We can’t let them say something so one-sided!” Kakeru still tried to chase after the spectators that were getting further away, but Musa seized his arm.

“We must not get into quarrels. They are talking about foreign students who came here because of their talent in athletics. I am embarrassed. I am embarrassed of myself. They don’t seem to be able to tell the difference, but my legs are not fast. I am just a foreign student with no talent to be envious of.”

“That has nothing to do with this!” Kakeru was indignant. “You, me, the people who took first and second place today, we all ran the same course. And yet…”

He didn’t know how to say it, but Kakeru was frustrated. He felt like Musa, who he lived with, Kakeru himself, and the international students from other schools he had never exchanged a word with were all being insulted. That’s right, I can’t express it well, but it’s an insult to everyone who’s taking running seriously. Kakeru squared his shoulders.

“It’s just as Kurahara said,” someone said. When he turned around, he saw a lanky man with a shiny and round head. “But let it go. They’re amateurs who don’t know what running is.”

Kakeru and Musa watched as the man bought oolong tea at the store. Kakeru had seen him before. Without letting his guard down, he searched his memory in a panic. I recognize this shiny head.

“Rokudou’s Fujioka! …san,” Kakeru deduced the answer.

Rokudou University had won the Hakone Ekiden several years in a row. This was their captain, Fujioka Kazuma. Kakeru had only met him at the TSU meet in the spring, but he wondered why someone like him would come to the qualifiers.

“I’m here to observe our opponents,” Fujioka said, perhaps reading Kakeru’s question. “Kansei has become quite strong. It looks like you’re going to make it to Hakone.”

Fujioka had the complacency and presence of a champion.

“Thanks to everyone’s hard work.” Kakeru’s natural competitive spirit reared its head, and he answered back proudly. Fujioka let his gaze collide with Kakeru’s, not taking a step back, and then looked at Musa.

“You shouldn’t care about people like that. It’s a ridiculous opinion.”

“Which part of it is ridiculous?”

Kakeru stopped Fujioka, who was about to leave while drinking his tea. The way the spectators talked about Musa made him angry. However, he couldn’t figure out exactly why he was angry, but Fujioka seemed to know what was causing this annoyance.

“Please tell me,” Kakeru pleaded.

Fujioka stopped and stared at Kakeru with interest. “Alright then,” he said and turned to Kakeru and Musa again.

“There are at least two ridiculous parts. One is the reasoning that it is unfair to include foreign students in the team because Japanese runners can’t compete with them. So what about the Olympics then? What we’re doing is a competition, not a kindergarten field day where we all hold hands and one-two finish. (1) It is natural that there would be individual differences in physical ability. But on top of that, sports are about equality and fairness. They have no idea what it means to compete on the same field in the same sport.”  

Musa was silent, attentively listening to Fujioka’s words. Kakeru was just simply overwhelmed by Fujioka’s quiet analysis.

“Their other misunderstanding is thinking that winning is good,” Fujioka continued. “If a Japanese athlete takes first place, if they get a gold medal, is that all that matters? I firmly believe that isn’t true. That shouldn’t be the essence of competition. Even if I win first place, it isn’t a victory if I felt that I lost to myself. Things like times and rankings change rapidly from competition to competition. Who decides who’s the best in the world? It isn’t because of that, but because we have unchanging goals and ideals within us that we continue to run.”

That’s right. Kakeru felt his hazy, pent-up feelings clear up. I got stuck on these things and they made me angry. Fujioka’s amazing. What Kakeru felt and wanted to say were extremely easily untangled and put into words.

“You haven’t changed at all, Fujioka.”

Before they knew it, Kiyose was standing behind Kakeru and Musa.

“An outsider said something unnecessary.” Fujioka bowed to Kiyose in a stoic manner and left this time.

“No, you were helpful.” When Kiyose said that, Fujioka turned his head over his shoulder and a corner of his mouth lifted into a smile.

“Looks like you’ve got quite the lineup.”

“Well, I suppose.”

“I’ll be waiting at Hakone.”

With a resolute attitude befitting a champion until the end, Fujioka disappeared between the trees. It’s like he said “I’ll be waiting in nirvana,” or something. I wonder if he’s not going to wait to see the results announced even though he came all the way here, Kakeru thought, but he hurriedly bowed towards Fujioka’s back.

Musa also said, “Thank you very much,” and bowed deeply. Fujioka’s words had energized Kakeru and Musa, like dispelling thunderclouds.

“I came after you guys because you left without taking the bag.” Kiyose lifted the plastic bag.

“Sorry,” Kakeru said and accepted the bag, then transferred the ice he got from the shopkeeper to it. Kiyose was already walking without dragging his leg.

“Is he called Fujioka-san? He is an amazing person.” Musa seemed deeply impressed.

“I guess that means you need emotional strength and wisdom in the true sense to continue winning Hakone,” Kiyose laughed a little. “Well, he’s always been strangely calm; as a high school student his nickname was ‘Trainee Monk’. It's a bit unpleasant, isn’t it?”

Kakeru and Musa looked at each other and nodded, saying, “That’s true.”

Spectators and runners were beginning to gather at the large display board near the finish line.

“It’s almost time for the announcement.”

“Let’s go.”

Musa jogged back to Kansei’s encampment. Kakeru matched Kiyose’s pace as they made their way across the lawn. He was curious to see what the results would be, but they had come this far and there was nothing they could do about it now. What occupied Kakeru’s mind at the moment was Fujioka’s figure.

The power to change thoughts into words. An eye that calmly analyzed the hesitation, anger, and fear within you.

Fujioka was strong. His running speed was extraordinary, but the mental strength that supported it was incredible. When I was just running recklessly, Fujioka must have been analyzing himself in his fast-moving head and pursuing running on a deeper and higher level.

Kakeru felt both battered and inspired with a strange kind of excitement.

What I’m lacking are words. All I do is let my hazy feelings stay hazy. But I can’t do that from now on. I’ll be as fast as, no, even faster than Fujioka. In order to do that, I need to know my running self.

That was definitely the “strength” Kiyose had spoken of.

“I feel like I’m starting to get it,” Kakeru murmured.

“Is that so.” Kiyose seemed satisfied.

A student in a gakuran carrying a megaphone climbed onto the stage. He reverently opened the memo with the results of the qualifiers. He was a student member of the administration committee from the Inter-University Athletic Union of Kanto, which organized the Hakone Ekiden. His assistant, a female student, stood by the display board while the gathered people listened attentively with anticipation and anxiety.

“We will now announce the qualifying schools for the Tokyo-Hakone Round Trip University Ekiden Race. First place, Tokyo Sport University.”

The TSU crowd gave a loud cheer. Kakeru saw Sakaki being given a spank of joy by his senior. The TSU runners hadn’t come apart, reaching the finish line in a good position together; it was a victory of total strength that displayed the depth and closeness of the runners.

The female student pulled out the first place card on the display board. The name “Tokyo Sport University” and the total time of ten people were written in the first place column: ten hours nine minutes and twelve seconds. The average place for the ten runners was forty-ninth place.

“As I thought, it was a pretty fast-paced race,” Kiyose groaned in a low voice. The expression on his face showed that they were in a difficult situation to qualify. Kakeru curled his hands into fists.

“Second place,” the announcer dispassionately read the memo aloud. “Koufu Academy University.”

Cheers erupted from another corner. “Hmph,” King sniffed.

“That announcer is putting the perfect pause between ranking and the school name.”

“Don’t act all important, get on with it,” Prince, who had finally come back to life, immediately complained.

“Aah crap, my heart feels like it’s gonna explode.” The twins and Hanako were huddled together, quivering like young birds that had fallen from their nest.

The announcement had proceeded to fifth place, but Kansei’s name was not called. Up to this point, all the schools had been Hakone regulars; if they couldn’t get into sixth place, the seventh to ninth places were likely to be different from the total time order of the qualifiers because of the intercollegiate points involved.

“Sixth place.”

“Please please please!”

“Kansei, Kansei!”

Their desperate prayers were in vain, and the announcer said, “Saikyo University.”

“Aah!”

“Are we done? Are we done?”

Nico-chan and Yuki looked up at the sky. Kiyose was staring at the display board in silence. The glint in his eyes suggested that he was looking through the white cards that still hid the seventh to ninth place columns.

“In accordance with the rules, seventh place and below are determined by subtracting each school’s intercollegiate points from their total times. Seventh place, Jonan Cultural University.”

Kakeru felt like he was losing the strength in his legs, but he managed to hold on. They still had a chance. There were two more participation slots to be filled. He felt a pain in his right shoulder, and he looked to see Shindou’s fingers digging into it. Musa’s face was half-buried in Shindou’s arms, and he was mumbling something in his mother tongue.

It’ll be okay. It’s going to be okay. Kakeru stretched out his arm and gently patted Shindou and Musa’s backs.

“Eighth place, Kansei University.”

He thought he misheard. King leapt upon them. Kiyose raised his arms to the sky with a rare full-faced smile. Shindou and Musa weakly sat down on the grass. Nico-chan and Yuki high-fived each other, and Hanako and the twins screamed as they slapped Kakeru all over his body.

While being mobbed, Kakeru looked. At the display board, where the words “Kansei University” shined brilliantly. At Prince, who shed a single tear outside the circle.

We did it. The truth finally reached his brain. We are going to be in the Hakone Ekiden.

The next thing Kakeru knew, he was bellowing from the pit of his stomach.

Kansei University’s total time was ten hours sixteen minutes and forty-three seconds. The ten’s average place was eighty-sixth place.

Jonan Cultural University, in seventh place, had the actual time of ten hours seventeen minutes and three seconds. The intercollegiate points put them ahead of Kansei. The school that just barely passed in ninth place was Shinsei University.

Their time was ten hours seventeen minutes and eighteen seconds. Kakeru looked up at the time written on the display board and exhaled with relief and joy. Kansei University had successfully obtained their ticket to Hakone on their first attempt. And they even finished in ten hours and sixteen minutes, which was good enough for seventh place.

There were cries of surprise everywhere.

“Kansei actually did it.”

“And I heard they only have ten people on their team.”

“That’s the school where the third place and sixth place guys came from, right? I already learned their uniforms.”

“Me too. It’s black with silver lines. It’s kind of cool.”

As they were cleaning up their encampment on the lawn, they were asked to give a few words to the close coverage cameras, but Kakeru’s mind was dizzy and lacking oxygen. He was more tired than when he was running and his feet were unsteady.

We've only passed the qualifiers; the actual race is next January. The Hakone Ekiden is in approximately seventy-five days. Even though he told himself that, happiness filled his chest.

Kiyose once said this: “Hakone isn’t a mountain in a mirage.” That really was true. The residents of Chikusei-sou had finally reached the point where they could see the mountain as a real entity.

While feeling excited, Kakeru swiftly folded the plastic sheet. Jouta and Jouji were sitting on the grass. They were frowning for some reason as they peered at the notes of the results they had copied from the display board.

“What’s wrong?” Kakeru called to them. The twins looked up at him.

“Haiji-san said we’re going to the top,” Jouta muttered.

“Mm? Did he?” Kakeru responded lightly, but Jouta wasn’t convinced.

“He did say that. But, this time…”

“What about it?” Kakeru put down the plastic sheet and crouched down next to the twins. “Let’s clean this up quickly and go home. I’m sure we’ll have a party tonight.”

“Kakeru, doesn’t ‘top’ mean winning?” Jouji asked with a grim face. “Our total time is ten hours sixteen minutes and forty-three seconds. TSU, who qualified in first place, has a time of ten hours nine minutes and twelve seconds; that’s a difference of seven and a half minutes. And yet, this is still the qualifiers, right? So, how fast do the runners of the schools that win Hakone run twenty kilometers?”

“If we practice, can we get to that level by New Year’s?” Jouta asked him seriously. “Hey, what do you think, Kakeru?”

Kakeru couldn’t answer anything.

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[yuusa]

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝟑

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟒𝟕𝟑𝟖

𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟑

You slurped on the small carton of strawberry milk you had recently bought from the vending machine, your back was against the tree as you stared up at the sky. Some of the leaves were brushing against the wind and falling towards the grassy floor.

You knew that Tohru had invited you to sit with her during lunch, but you couldn’t bring yourself to forcefully put yourself into her life after one dinner meeting. The family was odd. They seemed dysfunctional yet connected in some way, you questioned the reasoning behind your thoughts. It didn’t seem like Tohru or Yuki lived with their parents, and you highly doubt Shigure is one either. You gnawed at the tip of the straw, Tohru looked like she was the only one keeping them together. 

You were a bit envious. She seemed so happy and carefree, almost as if her problems were solved by simply being nice to others. You couldn’t understand her. Perhaps she didn’t want to bring up her own problems so she could stay happy. You tapped your pen against the paper as you heard the sound of your straw sucking up nothing but small droplets at the bottom of the carton.

“The eagle would think that if they tried their hardest to convince God, they could unite the other zodiacs,“ you bit your tongue at the memory. What a joke.

“Why are you looking at me with those eyes. . . You. . .” She gripped onto your hair tightly as she brought you up to her face, “Who the hell do you think you are? I hate the look in your eyes.”

“Bring my daughter back to me!” She screamed.

You wondered if it was possible to rid yourself of those memories. It seemed like so long ago that you left the household and chased after a part-time job. You were lucky to have attended the middle school of Kaibara in order to transfer into the high school section. 

You dropped the carton onto your side and pushed your knees towards your chest. You wanted to know what your family is doing at this moment, would they still be mad at you? Was it worth finding them again? Did they want you now? You leaned your forehead against your knees, your face covered by your body as you clutched your hair, your sharp nails digging into your scalp.

“My poor wife, she’s been suffering every since that spirit came to the house after the death of our daughter.” He pulled at parts of his hair as he spoke with the businessman, “we had to lock up that room because it was haunted. My wife still opens it once in a while to pray though.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. . . Have you contacted a shaman to take care of the spirit?”

“Not yet, my wife is insisting that God can take care of the spirit. The first week she wouldn’t stop crying, I feel bad for her, I’ve been trying to comfort her every single night but she keeps wailing.” 

You pressed your nails against the wooden door, your teeth gritting in annoyance and frustration. Your throat was coarse and you were in desperate need of water. You breathed heavily before sliding down the door and falling to the ground.

Why are you talking about me when I’m right here?

Why are you lying to him? Father?

You gasped as you snapped back into reality. You gripped your chest tightly as you tried to stabilize your breathing. Underneath your nails were smears of blood while you quickly packed your things. You lifted your hand to see the wretched color staining your hands. Your breathing becomes heavy again and your stomach clenches itself.

“Damn it!” You punched the tree roughly, the coarse bark ripping the outer layer of your skin. The pain sparked a sense of adrenaline, while the feeling of disgust was still coursing through your body. You huffed before quickly leaving to attend your next class.

“I hate their voices.” You mumbled, kicking a medium-sized rock towards the other side of the concrete as you stared at the ground. No matter where you go to hide, memories resurface like the sick feeling in your stomach.

“Is something wrong (L/n)-san?” You halted your steps and turned around, seeing the same grey-haired friend accompanying you by your side to class. From afar you spotted the micro-banged student glaring at you but you decided to ignore her.

“Not really.”

“You were glaring at the floor pretty intensely.” You flinched before pulling your eyes away from him to focus on somewhere else but him.

“Sorry then.” You scoffed, clearly displeased as your mood has been spoiled. The two of you silently tread through the school to your next class. What luck, you had the same schedule. 

Yuki eyed you quietly before speaking up.“Would you like to exchange numbers?” 

The air seems a bit tense and awkward, “what for?” 

“We’re friends aren’t we?” 

“W-Wha? O-Oh, mhm. . .” You fumbled around in your bag and took out your cell phone. A small charm was dangling off of the side, it was a small white rat keychain with a single sakura flower. When Yuki took out his phone he had the exact same keychain. 

“What a coincidence,” he smiled “we have matching keychains.” Your cheeks felt hot as you quickly unlocked your phone, “they didn’t sell any bird ones. . .” 

“Hm. . . I got mine from Honda-san, I’ll be sure to find you a bird one too then.” 

“Y-You don’t have to! It’s really embarrassing.” You held out your phone screen which displayed your number, “hurry and put it in already.” 

He raised an eyebrow at your statement to which you quickly pulled your phone back as your cheeks felt even hotter. “I-I-I didn’t m-mean it like that! Quickly! Put my number in your phone!” 

“Yes yes. . .” He sent you a text to notify you. You opened up his contact and started to fill out his name, from above you, Yuki noticed that he was the only contact in your phone. He wondered why your phone seemed so blank despite you saying you had a job, did you simply answer any calls you were given or did you not use your phone?

“Do you not have anyone else on your phone?” He asked.

You clutched your phone to your chest as you flinched, “I-Is that bad?” 

“No no no, I’ll just give you Honda-san’s number too so you can talk to us anytime.” 

“I-Is that fine? She wouldn’t mind right?” He shook his head.

“I’m pretty sure Honda-san would be more than happy to talk to you more.” 

You turned your eyes away from him in order to type in her number. “Why are you guys being so nice to me?” 

“Hmm. . .” Yuki stared at the ceiling in thought. 

After he had come home that night, Tohru asked him about whether or not you had a phone to talk to her with. She seemed really insistent on gaining your friendship after you had talked to her during the after school clean up session. 

She mentioned how you would silently help her during class like picking up her fallen items, which Kyo only described as being generally nice, but Tohru seemed to have other thoughts. Yuki didn’t know whether or not Tohru saw something within you which sparked her interest in you, but part of the reason why he wanted your phone number was to talk to you outside of school without having Akito finding out about other people coming into the Sohma family’s home. 

“She was happy to have another friend.” You parted your lips to say something only for them to close momentarily. 

“I-I see. . . Thank you then.” You typed in her number and also changed her contact. 

“Now you have two people in your contact.” He smiled. “Are you feeling better?” 

You realized that the whole reason for him asking you about your phone was to distract you from your sour mood. He continued to smile at you, almost as if he was trying to communicate some sort of idea to you. He really was quite kind-hearted.

“Yes. . . You wanted my number to cheer me up didn’t you?” 

“Mhm,” Yuki slid the door open to the classroom for you, “it seemed like you needed a distraction.” 

“Oh, thank you Sohma-san.” You held your cell phone close to you before making your way to your desk. 

“Ah! (Y/n)-kun!” Tohru waved at you from her desk as you hooked your bag onto the side. “How was your day?”

Perhaps there is something more underneath the surface, Yuki thought. He watched as you interacted with Tohru, slightly hesitant as you tried your best to keep the conversation going. With the way you talk to Tohru, it seemed like you were genuinely trying to make friends. 

You threw your bag across the room and flopped onto your bed. You felt the poking sensation from one of the loose pens and you tossed it behind you. You breathed out a sigh of relief as you smothered your face against the soft, cool pillows. You flipped yourself over so that you laid on your back. 

You felt so tired after school and your shift ended. Physical Education did a number on you when it came to running laps. After the experience you had during lunch, you needed to blow off some steam during PE. You found that it was a bad choice considering the fact you had to work at the cafe for the rest of the day. You were quite drowsy when it came to serving customers today. You made a mental note to write in your journal but for now, you will rest in bed until you regain your strength and energy. 

The sound of a ding interrupted your moment of peace. You groggily picked up your phone and saw that you had two new texts from Tohru and Yuki. You swiped in order to view the full messages. 

“(Y/n)-kun!! You should join us for dinner!” Tohru sent you a photo of the table full of food, you wondered how they obtained so many ingredients to cook so many dishes. Did they have a party?

“(L/n)-san, Honda-san is begging me to text you to join us for dinner, will you be coming? Our cousin came over.” You typed a response to Yuki first. 

“Sorry, I’m just feeling exhausted tonight. Please Tell Tohru-kun I can try to come over the weekends.” He starts to type a response, the three dots appearing on your screen. 

“That’s fine, are you doing okay after PE?” He types quite fast actually, it feels weird having someone to text with and you were glad knowing that Yuki has always tried to make some sort of conversation with you. 

“Just a bit tired.” 

“Just a bit? I heard you ran a bunch of laps and tripped halfway.” He sent a cute rat emoticon. 

You fumbled around with your phone, “really? You remember that part? Whats with the emoticons?”

“It was funny. Honda-san uses a lot of emoticons, I thought it would be fun to try it out.

“Oh, I see. I thought you were going to eat dinner with everyone else?

“Our cousin accidentally broke the table and we’re waiting for Honda-san to come back for another dinner.” You stifled a chuckle. “We spent a lot of time cleaning up and she hasn’t come back yet. Kyo is thinking about getting take out.”

“Does Shigure-san know you’re texting someone?”

“Nope, I’m texting you behind a book.”

“You’re quite sneaky for someone who is suppose to be a good student.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Another rat emoticon. “For someone whose quite fast at running, you sure do trip a lot.”

“Shut up,” you sighed, “just a little clumsy.”

“Right,” he sent a rat emoticon with a question mark. “Are you feeling better though? You seemed down during lunch.”

“I’m fine.” You continued to tap against the screen, your eyes slowly drooping downwards in exhaustion, “you shouldn’t have to worry about me, we just met.”

“It feels as if you’re still bothered by something, but I won’t press on it too much. Since Honda-san isn’t back yet, what is your favorite animal?”

“. . . An eagle? I guess a white-tailed eagle is interesting.”

“I heard that the Crowned Eagle is strong. They’re also a bit clumsy when it comes to flying, reminds me of you.” You pressed your lips together.

“What is yours then?” 

He sends another cute rat emoticon. “I think it would be a bit obvious.” 

“Cute.” His texting paused for a moment after your text and you think Tohru-kun came back home. “Did Tohru-kun come home?” 

“Oh, yes she just did. Our cousin is cooking again and she says it would be hamburger.” 

“I see, that’s nice.” You sighed before sitting up from your bed. 

“Have you eaten?” 

“No, not yet.”

“I can bring you food in a bit if you would like, our cousin made extra.” 

Your eyes widened before you furiously started typing, “You really don’t need to visit me you know.”

“It would be a good way to escape this chaotic family for a bit, it’s also nice to talk to you.”

“Then. . . If you don’t mind.”

From the Sohma household, Yuki smiled and hurriedly finished his meal. He was slightly pleased to know that he was able to come over to your house. Although you had recently met barely a day ago, he was curious about you. Tohru looked over at him and grinned.

“Are you going over to (Y/n)-kun’s house?”

“Yes I am, she says she didn’t have anything to eat but is tired, do you want me to give her something from you?” He responded.

She only waved her arms around to dismiss the idea, “no no, just tell her I said hi!”

“Then I will.” He packed up the food and waved the rest of the family a quick goodbye as he made his way to your apartment.

Kyo turned to the door in annoyance before scoffing, “don’t you think it’s weird he’s interacting with that other girl?”

“What do you mean Kyo-kun?” Tohru asked.

“Think about it, they just barely met and he’s coming to her house already? Sheesh.” He flipped himself onto the floor, “don’t you think it’s strange?”

Tohru stared at the closed door, her hand up to her lips as she thought about your interactions with Yuki.

She didn’t know much about you other than the fact you sat next to her in class, but there were moments when she could see the look in your eyes that she sees every day when Yuki is there with her.

Your eyes looked so sad.

When she sees you in class, you always fidget with your fingers underneath the desk, or how you would tap your pen against paper whenever you encountered a puzzling thought. When you talk to her, you sound like you’re forcing yourself to come up with a conversation. She couldn’t forget the look in your eyes when she saw you. You would tighten your fists like the way Yuki clutched his left arm, the two of you would divert your attention away and space out at times as well.

That day, when you both stayed after school, she felt something towards you. A desperate cry for some sort of love underneath the facade you held, yearning for something that was never there for you, reaching out for a distant dream in hopes of a cure.

Tohru gripped the edge of her shorts as she wonders if you had a similar past to Yuki. Your eyes looked as if you were constantly on watch and anxious, yet it held a hint of loneliness and sadness hidden behind your sharp irises.

Maybe the reason why you got along so well was because of something in the past.

“I know that, Kyo-kun.” She mumbled. “But she looks like she really wanted friends.”

“You came here quite fast.” You peered from behind the door, seeing Yuki hold up a bag of food. 

“You should know that we’re both fast runners in the class.” You reached out to unlock the chain and opened the door. 

“S-Sorry, my room is a bit messy right now, we can eat over here.” 

He looked around the room, seeing a lack of photographs or any sort of decorations hanging on the wall. When you opened the door to the rest of your apartment, he was greeted with the scent of lavender and camellias. Interesting choice of flowers. Your bed was still quite messy despite your efforts to bring yourself to clean up, there were some books spread across the ground and he noticed the piling laundry basket in the corner of the room. You were wearing a simple white button-up and one of your favorite pants. 

“My room is gross, sorry.” You apologized again, trying to stack the books onto your shelf as he sat down on the wooden floor. 

“No no, my room is like this too.” He continued to admire the interior of the room, despite it being a small apartment it seemed very cozy. “Does it always smell like lavender in here?” He commented. 

“O-Oh, yes. My coworker said it’s supposed to help with sleep and relaxation.” Once the books were neatly stacked you walked over to the miniature kitchen. “I only have green tea with me, will you be okay with that?” 

“That would be fine, thank you for having me over.” He smiled while you turned away from him, your cheeks becoming warm as you turned on the stove with a filled kettle. You struggled with tying the back of your apron, your arms extremely sore from overworking yourself earlier. You groaned in frustration as you continued to try to tie a knot behind you while exerting yourself. 

“I can get that for you.” You flinched as you felt his hands tightening the strings and pulling them together, looping them into a bow before stepping back. “Are you normally this tired after work?” 

“Customers can be hard.” You huffed, pulling out a separate bowl and your wooden whisk. “They ask for a lot from us and it’s difficult when you’re just a student.” When the kettle was getting to the boiling point, you poured the water into the bowl and set your whisk inside. “It’s the only job I currently have which pays enough for rent.” 

You pulled out a packet of ground matcha and sifted it into the bowl. Your fingers were delicately working at the tea while Yuki admired you from the side. As you vigorously stirred the mixture in a zig-zag motion, you looked over your shoulder to see him still smiling at you.

“W-Why are you smiling?” You poured the matcha tea into two cups and set them down onto your wooden tray. 

“No, I was just impressed by your skills. Did you learn that at your workplace?” 

“O-Oh, I did. I learned quite a bit from working there.” You carried the tray towards the table and set them down while Yuki sat across from you. “Is your family going to be okay with you being here?”

He shook his head, “I’m pretty sure our cat is happy knowing I’m out of the house for a while.” By cat, you assumed he meant Kyo. 

“I see, do you dislike him?” You awkwardly avoided using his last name considering the fact that he and Kyo came from the same family, and you weren’t quite ready to even say his first name. 

“Dislike is far, it’s more like I hate him.” He brought up the cup to his lips and took a small sip, “everything he does makes me angry.” 

You unwrapped the food and admired the careful packeting of it before digging in with your chopsticks, “is there a reason why you hate him?” 

He set the cup down, “hmm. . . It runs quite deep.” He peered down at the small air bubbles which sat at the top of the tea. “You could say that I’m a bit envious of him.” 

“It must be hard constantly comparing yourself with him then.” You bluntly said, cutting a piece of the hamburger and chewing on it, “but, don’t you have good qualities as well?” 

“Well, it’s hard to say.” 

You hummed. “You’re kind and mature Sohma-san,” you picked up your own cup and brought it to your lips to drink, “I don’t think anyone would simply come over to your house and give you food.”

“Other than Honda-san of course.” You giggled slightly but coughed to drive his attention away from the sound. He continued to drink his tea while you ate.

You silently eyed him, realizing now that he had long eyelashes. You could see how some could mistake him for the wrong gender, but you wondered how a boy such as him is blessed with so many great qualities. You stopped chewing, instead, biting on your inner cheek when you realized how attractive he was. Even his eyes were much prettier than yours. They were the right shade of grey and they held kindness and innocence within them.

You frowned as you thought about your own reflection. Your heart sinks to the ground as you felt yourself wanting to leave this place. The cold air of your room sunk into your bones as the chills ran down your spine.

“I hate the look in your eyes.” She sneered.

Yuki quickly set his cup down and reached over to you, “are you okay? You’ve gone pale.”

You instinctively retreated back slightly, your eyes widening as you stared at him. His hand twitched before he pulled himself back. His eyes reflected your own while you cowered in fear. You could feel the beads of sweat beginning to form on your neck as you adjusted yourself.

“Yes, I’m fine.” You peered up at the clock on the wall, “it’s getting late. You should start going home.”

There was an awkward pause of silence growing between the two of you.

“Sorry, if I offended you.” Yuki pulled himself off of the floor. You bit your lip as you watched him pack his own things to leave, feeling guilty for your own actions. As he was beginning to turn towards the door, you quickly stood up and grabbed onto his wrist.

“A-Ah, umm. . .” He stared at you while you struggled to form coherent words, “I-It wasn’t your fault. I didn’t mean to drive you away, I-It’s fine if you want to stay a little longer if you want to though.” You mumbled.

You looked up at him with your (e/c) eyes, “I’m sorry.”

He reached out to pat the top of your head, “then, I’ll stay for a bit longer. Let me call Shigure-san about this.” He excused himself from the room and went out to the hall to phone Shigure.

You breathed out a sigh of relief before cleaning up the table and going to wash the empty cups. As you scrubbed the surface with soap and water, you wondered if you had driven him away from you. Your heart felt heavy seeing his hurt expression pull away from you.

You knew all along that you weren’t the best at making friends.

This encounter was starting to make you feel paranoid, your hands starting to freeze up while the burning sensation of the water unfazed you. You were starting to worry that Yuki might not want to be your friend anymore after this. The way he stared back at you with those hurt eyes made you want to crawl into your nest and bury yourself into it. You blinked away the small formations of tears at the corner of your eyes.

You winced when you realized you have been running your hand under boiling hot water for too long, the skin turning a bright red color. You gasped when you stared down at your hands, your stomach feeling sick as your body began to tremble, your eyes focusing on the darkening color.

Her nails dug into the surface of your hand as you began to feel your skin split, the crimson liquid oozing from your skin. You tried to grab onto her hand to pull her away with the little strength you had. You could feel yourself being roughly thrown back into the room, the thick fluid smearing onto the cold floor as the door slammed shut.

You tightly shut your eyes as you blindly ran past Yuki towards the bathroom. His worried glances followed your figure as you made your escape.

“(L/n)-san, are you okay?” You fumbled with the cabinet trying to unlock it but to no prevail, your breathing became heavy as your body almost collapsed onto the ground. Your hand couldn’t find the lock at all and you were starting to feel woozy.

You felt the feeling of his hand grasping onto your shoulder gently, “(L/n)-san, you burned your hand, is your medical kit in here?” He gently knocked on the material and you nodded in response, your eyes still closed as you tried to calm your breathing.

You should hear him unlock the cabinet, his hand reaching out to pull on the medical tape and wrap the material around your fingers as you breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was dark, you felt comfortable at the moment. Your fingers twitched as he carefully wrapped it around your hand.

“Did you burn yourself while I was gone?” You frowned as you nodded again. You felt him rip the end of the tape with his nails before tapping on the back of your hand.

“You can open your eyes now (L/n)-san.” You cracked open one of your eyes and saw the slightly clumsy wrapping made by Yuki. Slowly, you brought your hands to your chest, feeling your heartbeat beginning to calm down.

“I’m sorry for troubling you tonight Sohma-san.” You said.

He only responded with his gentler voices, “you don’t need to apologize. Are you scared of something?” He asked.

“The color. . . Red.” You whispered, almost inaudible as Yuki had to take time to process your response.

“Does closing your eyes help you?” You mumbled a short yes.

You thought he would judge you based on this childish fear, but he seemed to stare at you with those kind grey eyes of his. It seemed unrealistic to have someone as caring as he was. You almost wanted to pinch yourself to see if you were simply dreaming.

“Would you like to go back to your room? I can stay for a bit longer here.” You gave him a short nod and he held onto your hands, careful not to apply pressure onto the surface as he guided you back into your room.

“Do you need help with that?” He pointed at your still tied apron.

“No, I’ll try to do it myself, I’ve troubled you enough.” You tried to reach the knot but with every single movement from your joints sparked a burning sensation. You hissed at it but Yuki grabbed onto your hand and pulled it away.

“It’s okay to ask for help (L/n)-san.” He tugged onto the end of the knot and slowly pulled off your apron before you could even protest.

“Don’t you feel bothered?” You mumbled. “I’m causing you so much trouble and it's a hassle to do these things don’t you think? We barely know each other and here you are at my house.”

“Not really.” He started to fold the material, “it’s not really a problem at all.”

“You don’t seem to want to ask for help either, Sohma-san.” He grew silent before he guided you towards your bed, forcing you to sit down on the sheets as he stood over you. 

He brushed the side of his hair back, his eyes avoiding yours. “Did you know all this time?” 

You reached out to his hands with your bandaged ones, pulling on them as you leaned forward, feeling the cold sensation on top of your forehead as you closed your eyes. Yuki could feel the heat trailing to his cheeks as he felt you brush yourself against his hand. 

“We’re similar, Sohma-san.” You could only hear the small audible hum coming from above. 

[beyondtheborderridiculous]

4th Anniversary The Key To Daydreaming: Summer’s Door Part 1

It’s been a while since I’ve done event translations. Since this hasn’t been translated yet, I decided to pick it up.

Next

Izumi: I wonder if this key is the key to some room.

Izumi: (If it’s the key to someone’s room, the person who dropped it will troubled. I must find the owner soon…)

*wings flutter*

Kamekichi: I found a good one!

Izumi: Huh? Kamekichi?

Izumi: (He came out of that door over there just now. That room’s… Tenma-kun and Yuki-kun’s room?)

Izumi: (It’s kind of unusual for Kamekichi to be coming out of their room)

Izumi: ? Something’s stuck on the door.

Izumi: It says “unlocked,” but… I wonder what this is.

Izumi: Anyways, let’s ask those two about this key.

*door opens*

Koga: “It’s not here… not here!”

Kikukawa: “So noisy… What the heck are you going on about?”

Koga: “It must’ve been just while ago! It was definitely stolen by a bird just now…"

Izumi: (Eh? Are they both wearing their mixed performance costumes?)

Izumi: (Is it a costume adjustment or something? But this atmosphere… maybe it’s an etude training.)

Kikukawa: “So what’s stolen?” 

Koga: “…A necklace. I took it off for just a moment, and now it’s gone.”

Kikukawa: “Is that so? Well, birds do like bright things.”

Kikukawa: “It’s going to be hard to find that. Just give up and look for something new.”

Koga: “I was planning on wearing that to an upcoming outside show…!”

Koga: “Can you easily find an alternative?”

Kikukawa: “You shouldn’t have brought such an important thing to school.”

Koga: “Ugh… I thought I’d get used to the feeling of wearing it!”

Izumi: (He’s talking about a show. Well, after all this is an etude of Koga and Kikukawa.)

Koga: “Anyways, it’s an important necklace!”

Koga: “I’ll definitely find that bird and make to get it back.”

Kikukawa: “Can you fly? I don’t think it’ll be easy to find.”

Koga: “Shut up…!”

Izumi: (It seems like I’m watching the usual exchange between Tenma-kun and Yuki-kun, instead of Koga and Kikugawa)

Izumi: (As expected of Tsuzuru-kun, who wrote them)

Kikukawa: “Hm? You there, you haven’t seen… are you a student here?

Izumi: Eh? Me?

Kikukawa: “Yea. Are you here for someone?”

Koga: “Maybe me? If you want to hear tips on how to walk as a model, you can learn it from me.”

Izumi: Uuh…

Izumi: (I didn’t except them to talk to me. What should I do…” 

Izumi: (! Right, let’s ask about the key.)

Izumi: Um, actually, I picked up a lost item.

???: Garururu…

Izumi: !?

Izumi: Ju-Just now, this voice…!

Kikukawa: “Huh? Come to think of it, today there’s an unfamiliar event. The arrival of a circus.”

Koga: “Aa, is that so.”

Izumi: (Why is there suddenly a circus group in this setting!?)

Kikukawa: “Well, circus costumes and shows can be references for designs.”

Koga: “Are you planning on doing a fashion show collaboration with a circus?”

Kikukawa: “It might be good. It seems interesting to think about costumes for dancers and clowns.”

Kikukawa: “Clothes with a circus motif are also unique.” 

Koga: “Well, walking on the runway with a clown or a lion may be novel.”

Kikukawa: “I wonder…”

Izumi: Ahaha…

Koga: “Maybe you have something to do there too?”

Izumi: No, that’s not the case…

Kikukawa: “The circus troupe is over there. If you exit here, you’ll see it right away.”

Izumi: Eh? Wa-Wait!?

Koga: “See you later.”

Izumi: (I was kicked out of the room without them telling me… I wonder what that was.)

Izumi: After all, I didn’t even get an answer about the key.

???: Garururu…

Izumi: …

Izumi: (You can hear that cry in the next door room 202…)

Izumi: Anyways, I’ll go check it out.

[somegirlsnerdywords2]

Anime i’ve Watched

That begin with a G (Part 1)!

Yep this is how i’m going to bring over all the anime and manga i’ve watched and posted about on the old blog. It’s not so detailed but it will have to do. Anything new I watch or read from this point on will have their own posts.

Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san (Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san):  

Genres: comedy, slice of life

Synopsis: Honda is a skeleton, but more importantly, he is a bookseller. And he'll tell you from firsthand experience that the job of a bookstore employee is more challenging than it may seem to the average customer. Alongside his equally eccentric coworkers, Honda constantly deals with the stressful requirements of the bookselling industry. From the drama of receiving new titles without their bonus material to the struggle of providing quality service to customers who speak a different language, the work of a skeleton bookseller never ends. Nevertheless, despite the hardships he faces, Honda thoroughly enjoys his job and strives to bring the best book selections and service to his customers. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8.5/10

Finished airing in 2018 with a total of 12, 11 minute long episodes.

My Thoughts: A fun little short with memorable character designs and some spot of comedy. 

Gakkougurashi! (School-Live!):

Genres: slice of life, psychological, school, horror, mystery

Synopsis: Yuki Takeya loves her school so much that she does not want to ever leave! Megurigaoka High School is a unique and lively place where Yuki enjoys her carefree life as a third-year high school student and member of the School Living Club. The club, consisting of the president Yuuri Wakasa, the athletic Kurumi Ebisuzawa, the mature junior Miki Naoki, the supervising teacher Megumi Sakura, and the club dog Taroumaru, prides itself on making the most of life at school. However, this illusion of endless bliss is just a bubble waiting to be burst because Yuki is unable to perceive what is truly happening around her. In reality, all is not as it seems—the real purpose of the School Living Club is to escape from the shocking and disturbing truth: the girls are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and have barricaded themselves inside the school as the sole survivors. Based on the manga by Kaihou Norimitsu, Gakkougurashi! follows a group of girls who are forced to adapt to a post-apocalyptic life all by themselves. They have no means of contact with the outside world and are surrounded by hostile undead waiting to devour them. The girls must not only contend with the challenge of survival; they must also strive to maintain a false appearance of normality in Yuki's presence. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2015 with a total of 12 episodes. 

My Thoughts: The twist messed me right up. The difference between the way the characters are designed and presented vs. the reality of their world and situation was rather jarring... to me at least. This one’s a ride for sure and half was decent in my opinion. Not perfect but without a doubt interesting. 

Gakuen Babysitters (School Babysitters):

Genres: comedy, school, shoujo, slice of life

Synopsis: After losing both parents in a fatal plane crash, teenager Ryuuichi Kashima must adjust to his new life as the guardian of his younger brother Kotarou. Although Ryuuichi is able to maintain a friendly and kindhearted demeanor, Kotarou is a reserved toddler still too young to understand the reality of the situation. At their parents' funeral, they are approached by Youko Morinomiya, the stern chairman of an elite academy, who decides to take them under her care. However, there is one condition Ryuuichi must fulfill in exchange for a roof over their heads and enrolment in the school—he must become the school's babysitter. In an effort to support the female teachers at the academy, a babysitter's club was established to look after their infant children; unfortunately, the club is severely short-staffed, so now not only is Ryuuichi responsible for his little brother, but also a handful of toddlers who possess dynamic personalities. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2018 with a total of 12 episodes. 

My Thoughts: Cute squishy babies being taken car of by what are essentially just older cute squishy babies. A cute story about family and life. The artwork is also very cute and soft. Cute is really the perfect word to describe this anime.  

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun):

Genres: comedy, romance, school

Synopsis: Chiyo Sakura is a cheerful high school girl who has fallen head over heels for the oblivious Umetarou Nozaki. Much to Chiyo's confusion, when she confesses to her beloved Nozaki, he hands her an unfamiliar autograph. As it turns out, the stoic teenage boy is actually a respected shoujo mangaka, publishing under the pen name Sakiko Yumeno! A series of misunderstandings leads to Chiyo becoming one of Nozaki's manga assistants. Throughout the hilarious events that ensue, she befriends many of her quirky schoolmates, including her seemingly shameless fellow assistant, Mikoto Mikoshiba, and the "Prince of the School," Yuu Kashima. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun follows Chiyo as she strives to help Nozaki with his manga and hopes that he will eventually notice her feelings. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8.5/10

Finished airing in 2014 with a total of 12 episodes. Also has a special. 

My Thoughts: Give me more! The comedy is golden and the characters to die for. A perfect combination that’s tons of fun. There just isn’t enough. I highly suggest checking out the manga for this one!

[wishingforatypewriter]

Grandparenting for Dummies

Summary: Shiomi Jun and Dojima Gin offer Jouichirou some timely (and much needed) advice. 

Yukihira Jouichirou whistled as he gazed up at the sleek glass tower that was the new Shiomi research building. After slipping past a few students and junior faculty in lab coats, he took the elevator to the top floor where he assumed his old schoolmate’s offices would be. 

He found her puttering around a table lined with various dried herbs and spices, with a pink-haired infant cradled in one arm and a tablet in the other. 

“Gin, you’re early,” she said once she heard footsteps on the black vinyl tiles. “I still have to finish my notes and put this girl down for her nap.” 

“So the rumors are true then, eh Shiomi?” Jouichirou said with a broad smirk. “I was starting to worry you and Gin would be alone forever.” 

“S-Saiba-senpai!” Shiomi turned around swiftly, knocking over one of the mortar and pestles behind her and sending a curry blend scattering. “W-what are you—that isn’t. I mean, you’ve got it wrong. And mind your business at any rate!”

She then seemed to notice the mess behind her and started flailing spectacularly.  

“I guess some things can’t be helped, even with the fancy new lab. It’s been awhile; how’ve you been?” 

For a moment smoke seemed to be coming out of Shiomi’s ears over some combination of the teasing, the spilled spices, and his sudden arrival, but then she just exhaled. “Honestly, I’ve been great. You?” 

“Can’t complain. Just flew in from Nairobi and decided to drop by.”

Jun merely shook her head at him. “I’ll put on some tea.” 

“So this is Hayama’s second brat?” Jou asked once they were on the couch in her parlor, drinking what was perhaps the best masala chai he’d ever encountered. 

Jun nodded, rubbing the baby’s back. “Her name is Junko.” 

“After grandma?”

This made Shiomi flush. “Well, technically I’m not really her grandmother. Not that she and Akane aren’t like grandchildren to me, but technically because Professor Hayama was the one who adopted—”

“Is she trying to deny her grandchildren again?” Gin asked as he walked in, hanging up his jacket on a hook so automatically it was clear he stopped by a lot. 

“Not you too!” Shiomi sighed. “How is the search going?”

Gin ran a hand down the length of his face. “There are a few strong candidates, but unfortunately none at Megumi’s level.” 

“Megumi’s leaving the tourism department?” Jou asked.

“She’s having twins,” Dojima said simply. “Her family plans to stay in Florence permanently.” 

“Her too, huh? And didn’t Soe get another grandkid?” 

“Just last month,” Dojima confirmed, accepting the cup of tea Shiomi passed his way. “I sent you six reminders to call and congratulate them.” 

Jou shrugged. “They must’ve got lost in my email.” 

“That wouldn’t happen if you actually checked your email at regular intervals like a real adult! When are you going to—” 

“Gin, your blood pressure,” Shiomi said firmly, placing a hand on his arm. 

Gin adjusted his tie and continued glaring at Jouichirou, but ultimately put the tirade to rest. 

“So are you two getting married or what?” 

“Saiba-senpai!

“Jun, do not throw the sugar bowl at him, as much as he may deserve it.” 

Once it was established that neither of them intended to cause him bodily harm in the immediate future, civil conversation resumed.  

“Did you see that new paper Marui Zenji published in the Journal of Culinary Research?” Gin asked. 

Shiomi nodded proudly. “It was excellent. And he’s done a great job leading the food history seminar since Professor Miyazato retired. He’ll get tenure this year for sure.” 

“Well deserved,” Gin said. “And it’s great timing. After all, Yuki has another child on the way.” 

“Wait, them too?” Jouichirou said, drawing upon fuzzy memories of the couple from his times visiting the dorm while Souma was in school. “When are Souma and Erina going to get on with it already?” 

Gin and Jun exchanged a knowing look then, and Jun adjusted her hold on her granddaughter. 

“What’s with that look?”

Gin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you’re going to ask for more grandchildren, you need to be around to help them more, not gallivanting around the world like you’re still twenty-five years old.” 

“He’s right, you know,” Jun said. “I took a sabbatical last year to help out when Hisako was pregnant with this one. Even now, I’m only doing research this semester so I can watch her whenever those two have to travel overseas.” 

Jouichirou waved off their admonishments. “Souma knows I’ll help them out whenever they ask.” 

Shiomi only sighed, shaking her head at him. “Saiba-senpai, they never ask. You have to make yourself available; make it seem like you have nothing else going on. That’s the only way people their age accept help. Trust me, I know.”

Jouichirou considered her words. “Spoken like the wise granny figure you’re turning out to be. You’ve even got some gray hairs coming in if you look close enou—”

At this point, Shiomi promptly handed baby Junko over to Gin and slapped Jouichirou into the following week. 

[aliceinmangaland]

One Shot Review: Medley Edition Pt. 4

Because there are a lot of one shot manga out there which are far shorter than one volume, let alone one chapter, I’ve decided to review a random medley of them. These will include Tonari no Yuki Onna-chan, Asa Made Matemasen!, and Red House.

Basics

Genre: Shoujo

Original Run: 2016

Number of Pages: 40

Review

Tonari no Yuki Onna-chan (which roughly translates to “My Neighbor Yuki Onna-chan”) is about Haru Kano, a third-year middle school student who has transferred to a new school in his father’s snowy home village. He is seated next to Fuyu, the village’s resident Yuki Onna (a.k.a. Snow Woman), who along with her ancestors have lived within the village for many years in exchange for protecting the village’s inhabitants. Because Haru hates snow, he hates Fuyu by default. Will these two be able to warm each other’s hearts?

I thought Tonari no Yuki Onna-chan was a really cute one shot. It has your classic male tsundere x ditsy female, with a dash of Japanese yokai folklore. Speaking of which, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of manga centered around Yuki-Onna (click here to learn more about them), so I thought that was interesting in and of itself. I also liked the play on the main characters names, with Haru meaning “spring” and Fuyu meaning “winter”.

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick shoujo read to add to your collection, then check out Tonari no Yuki Onna-chan.

Basics

Genre: Shoujo

Original Run: 2013

Number of Pages: 47

Note: There is also a two volume version of Asa Made Matemasen!, but this review will only cover the one shot version.

Review

Asa Made Matemasen! (which roughly translates to “I Can’t Wait Till Morning Comes!”) is about Ootomo Junpei, a manga editor who is in charge of Inawashiro-sensei, a popular mangaka who writes for two different manga magazines. On the eve of his magazine’s publishing deadline, Ootomo shows up to Inawashiro’s place and meets Mizuochi Yuuko, Inawashiro's other editor. By coincidence, this month both of Inawashiro’s manga have overlapping deadlines and are due at the same time. While Junpei and Yuuko compete to see whose manga will be completed first, will romance spark between the two?

Asa Made Matemasen! was another cute one shot, this time starring a Ms. Perfect x Happy-Go-Lucky Guy couple. I had expected there would be more fighting between the two main characters, but the competition was fairly friendly and they both learned from each other how to become better editors. I can kind of see why this one shot was serialized (albeit a short serialization).

Basics

Genre: Shoujo

Original Run: 2011

Number of Pages: 33

Note: This one shot has potential triggers which may make some readers uncomfortable. You have been warned.

Review

Red House is about a young girl named Kokoro who lives in a mysterious place filled with dull, gray buildings called "Gray Town". In the middle of this town is a single colorful, “Red House”. While everyone around Kokoro tells her it’s creepy and to avoid it all costs, she can’t help but be drawn it. Just what will she discover there?

Red House was definitely a trippy, yet interesting read with emotion. While I don’t want to spoil anything, let’s just say the titular “Red House” is more than just a house, while “Gray Town” is more than just a town (a.k.a. there is more than meets the eye metaphorically speaking, duh).

Thank you for taking the time to read this review! I hope you will check out Alice in Mangaland for more manga reviews in the future! Arigato gozaimasu! Thank you!

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Conspiracy (Rikkaidai)

Genre: Crack, Friendship, Crossover ☁

Word Count: 2,126 ☁

Pairing: None ☁

World: Prince of Tennis ☁

Author’s Note: I actually did have all of these issues with an old laptop, I believe it was a Dell. Naturally, I had to write about this experience with my favorite characters from my favorite anime!

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“You’re crazy~” Niou was lying on your bed, propping himself up on his elbows as his aqua orbs followed you as you paced back and forth.

“It’s not crazy, Niou.” I scoffed, sending a mild glare towards my best friend. “It’s a fucking conspiracy!”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Marui was sitting next to Niou, legs crossed Indian style with a bag of pink and blue cotton candy in his lap. He pinched off a piece of the blue sugar and popped it into his mouth. “Computers can not conspire against humans, idiot!”

“Bullshit! Wasn’t there once a prophecy about robots taking over all of humanity?”

“You’re thinking of I, Robot puri~”

“We’re not even talking about robots! We’re talking about a laptop.”

“It still counts damn it!”

“No, it doesn’t!”

“Yes, it does!”

“Does not!”

“Does so!”

“Not!”

“So!”

“Enough!”

The three of us turned our attention to the doorway of my bedroom where the yell had come from. Sanada was glaring at us, eyes narrowed in annoyance while Yukimura stood beside him with a small, gentle smile on his face.

“What’s going on in here?”

Marui and I exchanged glances.

Niou chuckled, amused by our antics, which some might consider childish but I do not. “Jay is convinced that her laptop is conspiring against her.”

“Are all high schoolers that dimwitted?” Sanada commented, leaning against the door with his arms folded over his chest.

I scowled, glaring at the younger male. “Fuck off!”

“Dear,” Yukimura called out, his tone calm but with a slight undertone of warning; he never did like it when I used such language. “Explain to me why you think that.”

“Gladly! It all started about two years ago…”

Incident #1 �� The New Laptop

It was my 15th birthday and I had been given the gift of a brand new laptop. I was quite happy, naturally, since I had been wanting one for a long time.

Not even a week after I received it, however, I began to experience trouble with it. Now, being the stubborn person I am, I simply shrugged it off with the thought, ‘It will eventually go away’, a lot like any medical problem I may have.

Anyway, as time passed, the problems with the computer got worse until, finally, the stupid piece of shit stopped working and would not even turn on. So I took said object to my local electronics store where the geeks could handle it and find out what the problem was. Of course, I had the thought in my mind that it may be a virus, but for some reason, I doubted that it was the cause.

After weeks of waiting, I finally got my computer back. Apparently, the hard drive had gone bad –  or some stupid shit such as that.

Despite the fact that all of my precious shit was gone from said object, my computer was back and working, and I was satisfied.

Incident #2 – Internet Problems

I had gotten a wireless laptop internet card. Now, it was good and it worked, though it was quite slow. I didn’t really mind it – as long as it was the internet, I was fine. However, said internet liked to cut off randomly and would not come back unless I completely shut down the computer and restarted it – and this didn’t always solve the problem.

Now, it was extremely annoying having to close down everything that I was working on to restart it, get it working just for it to stop again 5 minutes later.

Finally,  after many varying priced bills and annoying phone calls, I switched to a different internet provider. It was faster, more reliable, and happened to not cut off every time I took a breath.

I was happy once more.

Incident #3 – More Problems

It’s almost like it had a mind of its own. One minute the CD/DVD drive is working, the next it’s not. It freezes constantly, is slow as shit and likes to piss me off by NOT WORKING.

Now, this often makes me feel like slamming my head against a brick wall, but I refrain like the well mannered little shit I am and simply grind my teeth, trying to keep my bad-tempered adolescence under wraps.

Incident #4 – The Power Cord

Now, I knew from the very beginning that the laptop company was a piece of shit, especially after all of the problems that I’ve had since day one, but I never expected the power cord to go berserk as well. It started out where the cord only worked when I played with it and moved it to a certain angle. No big deal.

But then it started to get harder to get it to work, no matter what position I held it in.  The problem, I guessed, was a short in the wiring just at the base that connected to the computer, not the plug. Anyway, it was fine, as long as it worked.

Until one day, when I moved it in an attempt to get it to work. I never would have expected what happened next.

The power cord shocked me and burned the palm of my hand, leaving a black mark in its wake. I had cursed in pain, unplugging the object and quickly throwing it on the ground. It hit my cat, who was sitting in front of me – don’t worry, she was fine! From there, it sparked and attempted to catch on fire. I quickly unplugged it before that could happen.

Despite the pain in my hand and the annoyance I felt towards the cord, the company refused to do anything. Sure, they put the case on high priority, but they never did shit about it.

Now the evidence is gone and there’s no proof to show that the cord was dangerous in any way.

Incident #5 – Sharing Is Not Caring

It was annoying having to share one cord between two laptops, one belonging to a college student while the other belonged to a person who had no life.

It didn’t help that the computer died within less than 10 minutes of no power (when it’s supposed to last around 6 hours). Only about 5 minutes after the other person took the cord, my computer decided it didn’t want to exist anymore. And so, I was left to sit in my room with nothing to do.

It was agonizing.

In the end, I did manage to get another power cord that worked on any computer; it had different attachments according to different brands.

Everything was fine and dandy once again.

Incident #6 – Internet Cable

Cruel fate?

Proof that life is indeed a bitch, just like its counterpart, Karma?

A sick joke, played out to someone’s vain amusement?

Did they know that I had no life and wanted to see just what would happen should they take away the one thing my life pretty much surrounds?

Apparently, someone was seriously enjoying my misery.

One of the small wires inside of the ethernet cable somehow managed to snap; seriously, what are the chances of that? Now, when I fiddled with it, I managed to make the wires touch again and the internet worked… until I moved an inch and it’d cut off again. Much like the power cord incident, if I messed with it, I could get it to work. This time, though, no matter what I did, I just couldn’t get it to work. Instead, I said ‘screw it’ and went to bed.

Thankfully I managed to get a new ethernet cord…. the problem this time? It was too short and I honestly did NOT feel like sitting in the closet just to use the damn computer. So, I went back and got the only longer one they had, which happened to be a used one.

It worked and I now had internet without a problem, but I couldn’t help but wonder – how long will it last?

What disaster will happen next?

Two very good questions indeed.

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“Do you see? Do you see what I mean? What’re the chances of that?!” I fell down onto the bed between Marui and Niou, lying on my back and letting out an exasperated sigh.

“When you put it that way… it does kind of sound like a conspiracy against you. Almost like the computer is recruiting the other things to piss you off.” Marui commented, popping another piece of cotton candy into his mouth while absent-mindedly staring up at the ceiling.

“And it’s working!”

Yukimura sighed, his hand resting on his forehead. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his head throbbing from the tale that I had just told him. “It’s probably just a coincidence.”

“Coincidence? Come on, Yuki!” I sat up so quickly, my world spun for a moment. “How can all of that just be a coincidence?!”

“Maybe it’s you. You have been known to destroy things fairly easily, with that temper of yours.” Sanada commented.

I glared at him, eyes narrowing. “Who the hell let you in my house?”

He scoffed, dark eyes narrowing into a glare that rivaled my own. “You don’t honestly expect us to believe such a ridiculous tale, do you? Sorry, but middle schoolers are not as stupid as you high schoolers.”

“Why you – !” Niou grabbed onto me before I could even get up, his arms wrapped securely around my neck and his legs resting over my own so that I couldn’t move. Niou was one of the very few people who could control my temper. Yukimura and Tezuka were a few others.

“We need to think of this rationally.” Yukimura sent me a look, making me scoff and look away. Niou’s grip remained, just to be safe.

“Is this going to turn out like that transformers movie?” Marui questioned.

“Now that is stupid.”

“Oh come on! She talks about a computer conspiracy only targeting her and I’m the crazy one?” Marui scoffed, stuffing more of the sugary treat into his mouth with a pout.

I turned my glare on him. “Stuff it, Pinkie.”

“My hair is not pink! It’s Fuchsia!”

“It’s pink.”

“Fuch-”

“Knock it off,” Yukimura commanded, causing the pair of us to quiet down immediately. It didn’t stop the glares from being exchanged, though. “It’s most likely just a string of bad luck. It’ll pass.”

“Did you break any mirrors recently~?” Marui teased, poking my arm. I slapped his hand away when he tried to do it a second time.

Sanada, who had had enough of the bickering, walked over and slapped both of us on the back of the head. “This is ridiculous and is getting us nowhere.”

“Where’s there to get? Jay’s nuts!”

“Keep talkin’ pinkie and you’ll find out just how nuts I am.”

He stuck his tongue out at me in a taunting manner and I made a mental note to throw his sweets in the toilet.

“Do you guys hear that?” Niou pulled himself away from me, standing up and beginning to search the room for the sudden static noise that was filling it. The search led him to the closed laptop on the desk behind Yukimura. “Is it on?”

“No,” I responded cautiously, moving to stand behind him – if something went down, he’d take the brunt of the damage and not me.

Yukimura turned around in the chair and opened the computer. He jumped in surprise after being zapped by it. The screen blinked several times before settling to white. A large, bold L appeared, followed by a distorted voice.

“We are here for the simple purpose of taking over humanity. We will destroy you all.”

After a solid minute of near deafening silence, Marui screamed like a girl and ran from the bedroom, clutching his cotton candy and yelling something about Decepticons.

“Well, that was one hell of a delayed reaction,” I muttered, staring at the door.

“Should… we be worried?” Niou cocked his head to the side, his finger resting on his chin as he stared at the computer with a thoughtful look.

“Yukimura?” Sanada questioned, wanting the opinion of his beloved Buchou.

Without a word, Yukimura stood up, turned around and left the room, slamming both the bedroom and front door. The three of us exchanged glances before scrambling to follow after Yukimura.

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Elsewhere

The large shinigami let out a roar of laughter as he lay in front of L’s computer.

How did he manage to get into the room? Who knows.

How is he able to use a computer? Who gives a damn.

How did he even get L’s laptop? Well, he is Light’s shinigami.

Where the hell was L while Ryuk had his fun? Trying to talk Light into going and getting him some sweets.

In the words of Shuichiro Oishi, What kind of world do we live in?

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📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[thenovelartist]

Homecoming Queen (I’ll Steal You Away), chapter 1

A No-Curse, American High School AU Fruits Basket story. Because I can XD

AO3   Fanfiction     Next>

Today was one of those days when both Kyo and Yuki could drive her to school. Which meant a fight to see who would win the honor.

It was the way of the Sohma house hold, one she found herself part of the summer after her freshman year of high school when her mom suddenly passed in an accident. She could have lived with her grandfather on her father’s side, but her classmate and friend, Yuki, was the one to invite her to live with him and his cousin. It was a crazy idea, and the last thing she wanted to do was be a burden to anyone, nevertheless someone who wasn’t her blood family. Yet, they’d come to an agreement that she could cook and clean for them in exchange for room and board. Beyond the initial shock of seeing how messy the two men were and then the initial cleaning the house, it was really simple to keep on top of the chores and prepare meals.

The fact she worked at the grocery store down the street made it even simpler.

Two bachelors soon became three that summer when Kyo had arrived. Shigure had agreed to take him in after Kyo had been picked up by the police twice in a year and his guardian thought that Kyo needed a change of scenery. The deal was that Kyo could go back once his anger issues had gotten under control, which meant six months without a run in with the law or a fight.

Fighting with Yuki aside—because Tohru quickly learned those two got on like fire and water—Kyo passed that test after seven months. Yet, he remained. Apparently, his father figure thought the small town was good for him and suggested he stay, and Kyo, despite all his insisting he wasn’t going to stick around long, had easily agreed.

That’s just how life had been for the last two years. Tohru loved the odd family dynamic that had formed, even if Yuki and Kyo were still enemies of sorts and fought often. Like, for example, ever since the duo each learned to drive and bought cars, it became a thing to fight over who drove her to and from school as well as too and from work. 

Rules had to be determined pretty early on after there were a couple times their bickering almost made them late to school. So, the first rule that was laid down was one took her to school while the other took her from it. On days that either boy could take her to and from school, they would spar­—outside to save poor Shigure’s house from any more holes in the walls or broken furniture—to decide who got her in the morning. If Kyo had practice or Yuki had student counsel duties, then they would drive her the time they were available while the other would drive her the opposite time. If there was a draw and neither could drive her, Tohru’s friend, Saki, would swoop up Tohru and laugh in victory.

However, today, Yuki was the winner of the morning drive, much to Kyo’s frustration.

“Don’t look so upset. You get to take me home,” she assured Kyo.

“Yeah,” Yuki goaded. “If you want to take her in the mornings, then all you have to do is beat me.”

“You know what—!”

“No, what.” Yuki deadpanned.

“Guys,” Tohru whined. “Don’t fight. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a short car ride.” Honestly, Tohru didn’t understand how it was a thing at all. They could just take turns on those days, alternating between who took her in the morning or not. But Shigure said they’d take any reason they could to fight, and Tohru had learned he wasn’t lying.

“Yeah, it’s just a car ride,” Yuki said, his eyes narrowing at Kyo. “Not like you lost anything more than your pride.”

Kyo looked like he was about to snap when Tohru shoved herself in between the two boys. “Please don’t fight again,” she said. “We have to get to school.”

With a growl, Kyo backed up. “Fine,” he relented, marching to his rusted orange truck.

“Why anyone would buy a hunk of metal like that is beyond me,” Yuki commented.

“Because it’s still in good condition and could beat your little, dinky car.”

“In what?” Yuki challenged with a grin. “Mine has better gas mileage, safety features—”

“Um, we should really get to school,” Tohru said, interrupting their conversation.

“Fine,” the two boys said in unison.

“I’ll behave.”

“You were the one goading me on!”

“Have a good day, you three,” Shigure called, purposefully interrupting them, for which Tohru was grateful for. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“You wouldn’t do a lot of sane things,” Yuki retorted.

“And would do a lot of bad things,” Kyo added in.

Tohru just laughed, silently agreeing with them. She loved Shigure, but a role model he wasn’t.

She also had to laugh at how one of the few things that could bring Kyo and Yuki together was when they were fighting Shigure—or Ayame, but that was another story.

Yuki, ever the gentleman, held open the passenger side car door for her. “Thank you,” she said, slipping inside the gray car and putting her backpack by her legs.

“You’re welcome,” he returned with a grin before shutting her door. By the time he hopped into the driver’s seat, Kyo was already zipping off, his truck engine revving all the while.

“Typical,” Yuki commented. “He’d get better gas mileage if he wasn’t such a lead foot.”

“You better not tell him that,” Tohru commented with an amused grin. The two definitely had different driving styles, Yuki being the safer of the two. But Kyo was more comfortable behind the wheel, Tohru noticed, which made her feel equally comfortable with both boys. “But I don’t get what the big deal is. Isn’t it a hassle to drive me to and from school?”

“Never,” he assured, starting his car. “It’s truly an honor.”

Tohru smiled, hoping her blush wasn’t evident. Honestly, she’d always thought that it was a hassle and a burden. But they always assured her it wasn’t. It made her feel not as bad because honestly…

It was really nice being driven to and from school and work by her friends.

It didn’t take long to get to school. Yuki was always pleasant company in the mornings, and conversation flowed easily.

When they got to school, they caught sight of Kyo’s truck already there as well as Saki’s black car. Meaning that all her friends were there already. When they walked onto campus, they were immediately assaulted by the sheer number of posters on every conceivable surface.

Yuki sighed. “When I told them to make sure the posters were clearly visible, this was not what I meant.”

Tohru giggled. “To be fair, I don’t think anyone is going to miss the fact that homecoming is coming up.”

“Not even the most dim-witted person could miss it,” he said. “Are you planning to go?”

“It would be fun. But between the tickets and the dress, it’s just too expensive.”

Yuki hummed. “As practical as ever.”

“Saki and Arisa will probably want me to go, but I’ve actually been saving up for the big senior dance at the end of the year because those tickets have always been really expensive, but it’s the one big, fancy senior party, so I thought if I could only chose dance one to go to, it should be that one.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Yuki agreed. “It’s always the most extravagant one, so it seems like it would be worth it.”

“Yup. Besides, I’ll be at the homecoming game.”

“You’d better.”

Tohru turned to see Kyo standing there. He gently knocked her head in an affectionate way. “It’s my last year and first as team captain. You better show up.”

“I try not to miss any of your games,” she said, lightly punching his arm. “And you know it.”

He smirked. “Your right-handed jab still sucks.”

She just giggled as he tapped her head once again before turning to head off to class. “Come on. If we’re late for first period, the teacher will have our heads.”

“Coming. Bye, Yuki. See you third period.”

“See you then,” he said with a wave before marching off to his class.

Tohru then whipped around and scurried to Kyo’s side. They made it just before the bell rang.

…

“So…”

Tohru turned to face Arisa. “So what?”

“You chose one of them yet?”

Tohru blinked, feeling very lost. “W-what?”

“I think that’s a no,” Saki answered, filling the silence.

Currently, they were sitting together in second period, the only class period that Tohru didn’t have Kyo or Yuki in. Fortunately, she had her two best friends. She thought they liked it, too. They’d mentioned more than once how they liked having her all to themselves for a class.

“Come on, Tohru,” Arisa said, smirk on her face. “You know we’re talking about the Prince and Carrots.”

“We already told you they both like you.”

Tohru blushed hard, remembering that conversation. “I knew that,” she said in a quiet voice. Because she had known it. Deep inside her heart, she was aware that both Kyo and Yuki had gradually changed around her, their actions with her different from with anyone else. She’d known, yet had simultaneously been ignorant of it until Arisa and Saki brought it up.

And now that she knew, she couldn’t un-know it, and it turned her into a mess.

“You gotta pick one of them, or they’re just gonna keep up their pissing match of who gets you or not,” Arisa said.

“I know,” Tohru whined. “But I choosing one will hurt the other, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but I know I have to do something! I just don’t know what to do.”

“Come on,” Arisa goaded, playfully poking her. “You gotta like one more than the other.”

Tohru whimpered. Both boys had their special ways of tugging on her heart, and just when she thought she could choose one, the other would come along and do something that caused her to doubt that decision.

“You’re overthinking it,” Saki pointed out. “I think you have one picked out but really, you’re scared of hurting the other one.”

Tohru’s mind went blank. “Huh?”

“Really?” Arisa asked. “What makes you think that.”

“I can sense her waves with both men,” Saki said. “One set is more harmonious than the other. But beyond that, if you study her hard enough with both men, it becomes clear.”

“I watch as much as you,” Arisa snipped. “I don’t think it’s exactly crystal.”

“But don’t you have a guy you want her to end up with?”

Tohru’s blush somehow deepened. “Wait… what?”

Arisa grunted. “Yeah, I do.”

“You… wait.” Tohru’s eyes screwed shut in confusion. “Stop. What are you talking about?”

“It’s quite obvious.” Saki said. “After careful consideration, we decided who to ship you with.”

“How? What do you mean? I don’t think it’s obvious. How can I choose? Who do you think I should choose? I don’t understand.”

“Calm down,” Arisa said, resting a hand on Tohru’s shoulder. “I’m kinda beginning to agree with Saki’s saying you’re overthinking it.”

“I’m insulted you doubted me.”

“Then what do I do?” Tohru asked.

“Pick one and don’t feel guilty about not choosing the other,” Saki bluntly said.

“She’s right,” Arisa said. “Only one guy is going to get our precious Tohru, and the other will be a man and suck up the loss. It’s what guys do.”

Tohru whimpered. This was not going to be easy.

“On a different note,” Saki said. “Are you certain there is nothing we can do to convince you to come to homecoming with us?”

“Yeah,” Arisa chimed in. “Come on, Tohru. It would be really fun for you to be there.”

Tohru smiled. “I know it would, but I want to save up for the senior ball. Those tickets are expensive. And if I went to homecoming, I’d have to get a dress now instead of when I saved up for it. So my budget’s smaller.”

“Okay, we get the dress thing,” Arisa said. “But once you have the dress, you could wear it twice. And the homecoming tickets aren’t that expensive. They’re the cheapest of any of the dances.”

“Or better yet,” Saki said. “Save money both times by having the boys agree to take you as their date. They’d be obligated to buy you tickets, and you would only have to worry about the dress, which I’m sure you could find for less expensive somewhere.”

Arisa lit up. “Oh yeah! That’s a great idea.”

“But I couldn’t!” Tohru cried. “That would be so much money for them to have to spend!”

“The boys could afford it. And I seriously doubt they’d mind,” Arisa said.

“Yes,” Saki agreed. “And then, after all the obligatory dances with them, you can spend the rest of your time with us.”

“But they bought the tickets so we could be together,” Tohru argued. “I couldn’t abandon them after they spent money on me like that. That is, if that happened. But it’s not going to because I couldn’t let them do that.”

“Sure, you can,” Arisa encouraged. “Have one take you to homecoming and one take you to the Senior Ball.”

“I would assume you’d let Kyo take you to homecoming since he is the captain of the football team and the dance is partly to celebrate them,” Saki said. “Which would mean you let Yuki take you to the Senior Ball, which means you have the Prince of the school escorting you to the fanciest event of the year. That makes perfect sense to me.”

“You’d really score either way.”

Tohru whimpered at the thought. Using them like that felt wrong. But then again…

Going to the dances with either of them sounded really fun.

“I can’t exactly ask them.”

Saki hummed in thought. “Maybe they’ll ask you.”

“And if they don’t,” Arisa added. “We’ll drop hints.”

Tohru barely had time to blush before the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

“All right, students,” the teacher called, marching to the middle of the classroom and effectively bringing their conversation to an end. Which Tohru was grateful for because she wasn’t sure her stomach could be in any bigger of a knot.

[nalufever]

One of a Kind: Chapter 1 of Guarding Miss Shirayuki

Fandom: Snow White with the Red Hair

Summary: Obi didn't know when he accepted the job of protecting Miss Shirayuki that he'd become so entranced with his charge. Yuki was smarter and more intriguing than any other person he'd spent protecting - but how could he ever have guessed Shirayuki would become so important? A canonesque romp of a story - exploring the relationship that could have been.

Chapter One: One of a Kind: Guarding Miss Shirayuki ~ This is the first chapter of three - Dedicated to my good friend @hidetheremote . You da best! Thank you for talking, listening and joining my salty rants! There’s two more chapters, so I hope you enjoy as much this as much as I loved writing in a fandom you adore. This section is about 5000 words ~ ^^

Obi spat, the thin stream of saliva and blood mixing with the old stains underfoot. He blocked out the shouts - some encouragement, some invective, and all easy to ignore. He'd endured five years of training, working his way up in the mixed martial arts ranking. No way was he going to blow his chance at the championship on account of some foolish yelling. All he had to do was beat this guy and he'd be in the title fight next month.

Hungry for the win, Obi's opponent danced left in the giant metal cage they occupied. Rushing forward, the man delivered a flurry of punches in combination with side-kicks. Voice gruff, he sneered, "You look tired."

With a feral grin, Obi shook his head. "M'not, but you must be." He raised his hands to protect his face and moved closer into Staniel's reach, surprising the man.

Staniel faltered, his next punch extending into the air where Obi had been. His arm pulled back but Obi had already thrown his arm and used leverage to toss him. On his back, Staniel cursed as Obi took total control, pinning him to the mat.

The bell clanged and the referee stepped in, bellowing the count, slapping the mat with every number. "...nine, ten!"

Obi sprang up with the official, his arm raised high. The crowd cheered, chanting, hooting, whistling. It was almost perfect. He searched the stands, imagining in the far off faces the features of long-lost comrades. Forcing a smile, Obi bowed his head in thanks.

Walking slowly out of the cage, Obi ignored his aches and pains. A hot shower would soothe his body even if it also encouraged morbid introspection. The dead were going to stay dead even if they still had space in his mind.

Alone again in his apartment, Obi shrugged off his clothes, leaving them in a heap and stepped into the welcome confines of the shower. Stinging needles of hot water washed away some of his melancholy. Head bowed again, Obi thought back to happier times. He'd been so young and naive - but no longer. Life had a way of teaching a student - it was either learn or die when your job was being a bodyguard.

Hands flat against the tiled wall opposite the shower head, Obi closed his eyes and pretended his tears weren't mixing with the water. Sighing, he stood straight, soaped and rinsed his body - regret wouldn't do anything but drive him crazy.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Shirayuki shifted the collection of binders in her arms and pasted what she hoped was a pleasant smile on her face. "I'm actually close to a breakthrough on one of the problem area formulas."

"How many times do I have to insist you call me by name?" Zen sat back in his padded chair, crossing his legs. "We did attend the same college, no need to be so formal."

"I'll try to remember."

"Excellent, I've decided to give you some assistance with your project." Zen smiled, hand drifting to one knee and tapping. "Our company stands to make a fortune once it's complete. That means competing companies, like Daiichi Sankyo and Otsuka Holdings, will want to keep pace by whatever means necessary."

"My team is full, sir."

"I wasn't asking-" Zen continued, as if Shirayuki's interjection hadn't happened, "-I'm telling you, as of noon today, you'll have a specialist added to your team."

"With what kind of Ph.D?" Shirayuki set her binders on the corner of the vice-president's desk, sinking into a chair. "I formed this team myself, we've got all the major talent we need."

"He's a security specialist." Zen nodded in time with his still tapping fingers, his eyes locked onto Shirayuki's gaze. "This is non-negotiable. The amount of profit is astronomical - and you're our main asset."

"Let me understand, you're assigning me some sort of bodyguard?" Shirayuki pinched the bridge of her nose. "There's no way I need some beef-brained, thick-witted muscle bound moron underfoot in my lab or interfering with my team."

"I promise to spend most of my time improving my feeble brain and keeping out of your way."

Shirayuki whipped her head around, mouth dropping open. The man in the doorway wore dark dress pants and a crisp white shirt, fitted to show off a lithe figure - no bulky or ostentatious muscles - a fit and firm body. Blushing, she grit her teeth and ignored the jump of rocks in her stomach. "Adding a person at this late stage will upset my workers."

"Don't overestimate your role, Shirayuki." Zen chuckled and waved the newcomer to the other chair. "All management is on board with this decision - Obi here will become your personal assistant."

"With all due respect," Shirayuki fought to keep her voice level, "I have no need of an assistant. What I said earlier is still true. I -"

"If I may, sir?" Obi picked up the binders on the corner of Zen's desk. "We'll leave first." He stood with an impassive face, leading the way from the private office, through the maze of cubicles in the main part and down the corridor towards the area kept secured for members of the bioengineering team.

More than a bit pissed over following her unwanted 'assistant,' Shirayuki lengthened her stride, intending to pass. "I don't need you to carry my stuff. I'm capable of managing my own possessions."

Voice dry, Obi said, "Such big words from a smart science nerd. Are you sure this muscle-bound moron will understand?" Obi stopped and held out his burden to his new boss. "If you want your notes, please take them - but how else are you going to explain my presence to your team?"

Shirayuki reached to grab them - hands out, she hesitated, thinking. She huffed and jammed her hands into her lab coat. "I'll get rid of you somehow."

Amicably, like he hadn't challenged Shirayuki, Obi smiled. "Once this job finishes, I'll go away. You're not the only one displeased with this arrangement." Binders held against his chest once again, Obi inclined his head to the still fuming woman. "After you, boss."

Shirayuki hunched over her laptop and stared at the group designed molecule, comparing it to the previous incarnation and checking her notes for discrepancies. Imelda tapped her on the shoulder, making Shirayuki jump.

"Sorry boss, we're taking a lunch break."

"Cafeteria?" Shirayuki pulled up another diagram. "Bring me whatever." She focussed back into her work.

"We're going stir-crazy," Imelda waved her hand in front of the screen. "Raj is insisting on taking us to his cousin's place. We'll be back a bit late - you don't want to come, do you?"

"I'm two ideas away from solving the last problem." Belatedly Shirayuki remembered to smile and look at her second-in-command. "You guys go and have fun - you've been working really hard. You may as well come back even later. Go rest your brains." She made a shooing motion, and waved goodbye to her team.

The private powder room door opened and Obi exited, wiping his hands on his borrowed lab coat. "You sent them to lunch without you again. Don't they ever wonder why you stay on company premises? Normal people like taking time away from work."

"They'd be more surprised if I joined them." Shirayuki took off her glasses, absently cleaning them on the hem of her shirt. "It's more expedient for me to eat in the cafeteria. I hate losing time to food when I could be solving more important issues." She looked up in shock as Obi filched her glasses with dexterity any pickpocket would envy. Squinting, she frowned in confusion.

"You mean to tell me you're an antisocial nerd?" Obi blew a puff of air on Shirayuki's glasses. Pulling a proper lens cleaning cloth from his jacket, he polished and presented the cleaned glasses to Shirayuki. "You should let your personal assistant buy you lunch."

Skepticism warred with hunger - stomach rumbling, Shirayuki saved her progress and locked the laptop. "Might be the only thing you're good for."

Obi smiled and said nothing, allowing his boss to walk in front. For all her prickly attitude towards him and his assignment, Shirayuki treated her teammates well - and worked a damn sight harder than he'd expected. Not that he thought all beautiful women were lazy - no, he'd done his homework after taking the bodyguard job. Shirayuki came from a monied family. Wealth, status and impeccable breeding - she didn't need to work. This woman wanted to make the world a better place and had applied her smarts to learning something that would benefit everyone.

Maybe he shouldn't enjoy how her hips swayed as she walked. Her figure, even hidden as it was under a lab coat - it was curved in all the right places. Obi shoved down his appreciation into the box he'd labelled 'late night fun time.' She wasn't the spoiled rich princess he'd feared - but she was far out of his reach. His pedigree was muddy while hers was golden.

Halfway to the cafeteria, the Vice-President of Fujisawa Corporation stepped into their path. "Hello, Shirayuki and Obi!" Zen smiled warmly at Shirayuki and exchanged nods with Obi. "I have some business matters to discuss with you, Obi."

"We're going to grab lunch in the cafeteria right now, care to join us?" Shirayuki, still ruminating about polypeptides and molecular bonds, missed the serious undertones in Zen's words.

"Go save us a good seat, I'll join you soon." Obi waved off Shirayuki, keeping his inner glee hidden as her nostrils flared and she stomped away. Beautiful, smart, and prone to quick flare-ups of temper (as befitting her fiery red hair).

Zen wasted no time after shutting his office door. "I need you to provide twenty-four hour coverage." He strode to his desk, hand slightly trembling as he dug a key out of his pocket and unlocked the topmost drawer. "Here, take a look at this."

Face impassive, Obi read the threatening letter. He offered it back to Zen, "She's not going to take this well."

"She needs to be protected from knowing there's a death threat against her. You're getting paid well to shield her body, you can shield her mind too." Zen put the letter back. "She's not just a valuable employee, she's...she's special."

"I understand, sir." Obi took note of the light flush on Zen's cheeks, the man's starry eyes and wistful smile. "Shirayuki is a one-of-a-kind woman. Er, person."

"You were right the first time, she's a wonderful woman." Zen dropped into his chair and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "By any means necessary, keep her safe."

"Good work guys! Tomorrow is the weekend and that means I don't want to see anyone at work." Shirayuki laughed as several of her team parroted the same thing back to her, cautioning her against becoming a workaholic. "Fine, fine! I'll see you Monday." She waved them off, smiling.

"You going to take your own advice?" Obi smirked. Shirayuki had forgotten he was in the lab - or was he that good at staying silent? Either way, it was cute how she'd clutched her chest and glared at him.

This week of bodyguarding had been both heaven and hell. Miss Shirayuki was smart, personable and extremely capable - especially in regards to her work. Thinking about her, Obi had decided to keep a wall between them - needing the formal type of address to remind himself that the red-haired, smart, talented woman was above his reach.

Obi came to love watching her eyes light with passion as she wrote equations; the tip of her tongue making an appearance as she concentrated, how she'd push up her glasses and squint. It was hellish to be so close and be denied the physical contact he was dreaming of nightly.

"I know how to relax." Shirayuki lifted her chin. "See you Monday, unless you'd rather quit right now. Zen is blowing this product launch out of proportion. I don't need a babysitter."

"I'm sure you think that." Obi crossed his arms over his chest. "But you haven't ever tried my relaxation program."

"I'm good." Shirayuki's voice was flat and showed disinterest. "I have chores to do and no time to waste on you."

"Huh, didn't know you were a coward." Obi shrugged and waited - Shirayuki's nostrils flared. Oh, she was hooked. "For someone so smart, you're not willing to try other methods? Far be it for this muscle-bound moron to call you on your bullshit." Game. Set. Match. He made a show of checking his pockets for keys and tipped an imaginary hat. "See you Monday. Coward."

Shirayuki ground her teeth and seethed. What a high-handed, smug, sexy and rude bastard. "I'm not a coward."

"Good news, you're gonna love my relaxation program." Obi offered the woman under his care his arm. "Step this way."

Not exactly sure why she was going with Obi, Shirayuki decided she'd slip off once she got bored. A simple distraction and her unwanted personal assistant would never notice her leaving. Allowing him to take her somewhere was an anomaly. It had nothing to do with how cute the man looked. Nope! Nor his earnestness, or even how much she'd wondered about what he did on his own time. Uh-uh. This was her learning more about an opponent.

The sounds and smell of the underground gym hit Shirayuki hard. She'd been confused why it was several levels below the surface - and all Obi had said in answer to her questions was, 'no special reason.'

"Is there something wrong with the ventilation system?" Shirayuki did her best to breathe from her mouth. "I can recommend several new versions of air scrubbers - when's the last time this was serviced?"

Obi chuckled, ignoring Shirayuki's questions. The more he delayed answers, the more she'd be inclined to stay - or at least not want to escape at the first chance. He nodded to several competitors in greeting, making progress towards one of his oldest friends. "Beatrice! I'm glad to see you're still here at this hour."

"Well, ifn' it isn't our mysterious loner." Beatrice smirked, setting her weights onto the bar support. "What brings you here with a visitor? Not your usual Friday night type of date, now is it?"

"Date? No!" Obi flushed, his eyes widening as he looked back and forth between the two women. "This isn't a date - she's my current boss in need of some relaxation."

Shirayuki shifted her weight, lips pressed in a straight line. An uncomfortable minute passed. "Obi thinks I don't know how to relax." Her words were offered to Beatrice, but her savage look was given to Obi. "He's wrong."

"Yes," Beatrice nodded, "I can see that. Obi is so clueless when it comes to introductions though, wouldn't you say? Your name is?"

Face even redder, Obi rubbed his forehead. "Sorry Beatrice, may I introduce Miss Shirayuki of Fujisawa Corporation?"

Shirayuki thrust out her hand to the other woman, "Call me Yuki, pleased to meet you. No need to stand on outdated formalities."

"Agreed." Beatrice took note of Yuki's strong grip and enthusiastic shaking. "A pleasure for me as well. This gym could do with more females who know their own minds."

A bit chagrined, Obi looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I was wondering if you had a spare workout outfit to lend?"

"What's wrong with yours? Don't you keep extra spares?"

"Of course I do - but it's not really proper for me to offer man's clothes for a lady." Obi wished very hard for the floor to swallow him. "They're clean but not meant -"

"Clothes are just clothes." Shirayuki wasn't sure if she'd surprised herself more or Obi. "As long as they're clean - no big deal if they're men's or lady's." She smiled at Beatrice and dropped her expression down to borderline polite to look at Obi. "It's a bit more than rude to expect to borrow someone else's clothes without asking beforehand."

"I like her." Beatrice pinched Obi's cheek. "You should try to not fuck this up." She laid back on the bench and grasped her barbell, "I'm in the middle of my workout, so if you don't mind, I need my 'me' time." One smooth motion and Beatrice hoisted her weights. She winked at Obi. "Talk to ya later - maybe meet up when you and Miss Yuki have reconciled your differences?"

Obi met Beatrice's stare with a sinking stomach. "Yeah, that'll be soon, I'm sure."

Beatrice hummed noncommittally as she continued with her workout, dismissing Obi and Yuki from her mind - secure that sometime soon she'd be meeting up with them under vastly different circumstances. A more harmonious and happy sort - the kind you bring up in a toast to the bride and groom. She disguised a snort of laughter as effort and continued her bench presses.

Isolated in the empty changeroom, Shirayuki looked at the armful of clothes Obi had given her and smiled. Plain but serviceable t-shirt and shorts, dull blue in colour - but fashioned of moisture-wicking fabrics. She dropped them on the bench and took off her work clothes. Tonight was going to be interesting - and she'd never been so enthused to work-out before.

Obi hurried into his second set of gym clothes. Shirayuki had seemed interested in working out - but he'd be damned to take her acquiesce at face-value. If she was lying and ran out now, she might be captured by the scum threatening her life - and that would haunt him forever.

"I'm going to show you my usual work-out." Obi nodded, "Miss Yuki, this shouldn't be any harder than you can manage."

"How hard do you go at it on a regular day?" Shirayuki made sure to smile sweetly. "I'm sure I can keep up. Don't hold back on my account."

"Fine." Obi marched over to an unattended machine, adjusted the weights and changed the incline of the bench.

Shirayuki watched him, her smile losing its wattage as more people left the gym. "What's up with the mass exodus?"

"Friday nights aren't as busy - some people go out on dates instead of working around the clock like nerds." Shrugging, Obi pretended not to see Shirayuki frown. "Are you sure you should use such fancy words with a big dummy like me?"

"Don't distract me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." His dry delivery was at odds with Obi's smirk. He would dream of Yuki - and his imagination would spook her like nothing else. "This is a very simple machine, I would guess you've used something like this before."

"Obviously." Shirayuki tugged on the bottom of her borrowed shirt. "Who hasn't?" She gestured at her bodyguard to move aside. "All the time."

Obi hid his smile as Shirayuki sat backwards on the bench and did a very poor job of hiding her search for work instructions. She moved her feet further apart and made a show of rolling her shoulders and then tightening her shoelaces.

"All the time?"

"No. How long were you going to let me struggle?"

"I'll use it first - you watch and learn. Get up." Obi then sat facing forward and gripped the handles, admiring the attractive picture Shirayuki made. She stood with hands on hips, her little frown all the more adorable as she chewed her bottom lip. Obi demonstrated five reps. "Now you try."

Shirayuki nodded and sat, gripping the handles tight.

"Relax, no one's gonna try to take them from you!" Obi laid a hand on Shirayuki's shoulder, "Is this too much? There's lots of treadmills we could use instead."

"I've never enjoyed the more complicated gym machines." Shirayuki released her death grip, wiping her hands on her thighs. "I let my competitive nature get the best of me - but I don't mind if you get your workout in. I can get myself home from here." She made to rise, stopped by Obi moving closer - his face, normally so impassive, clearly chagrined.

"Hey, I was a little bit pushy too. But my offer stands - exercising makes for a great release of endorphins." In the back of his mind, Obi wondered how hard Shirayuki would slap him if he suggested the other (and better to his way of thinking) method to achieve peace. Damn, that would be glorious.

"It's been a long week, and I know I've had enough of your company." Shirayuki let a bitter smile twist her lips. "And I'm not in the mood to be babysat further."

"And here I thought we were connecting on a friendship level." Obi joked, forcing gaiety into his voice and actions. He shrugged, taking a big step backward. "Miss Ph.D. is a coward."

"Fine - I'll be running laps on a treadmill and you knock yourself out on that contraption." Shirayuki stood and raised her chin. "You'd better add more weights - after all, it isn't a good workout if you don't struggle."

"Pfft. Thanks for the words of wisdom." Obi watched Shirayuki secure a treadmill, pleased it was close - and began a light gym routine that switched him from machine to machine, all ringing Yuki's treadmill.

An hour of covert spying and exercise later, Obi, drenched in sweat (more from nerves than exhaustion) was dying for a shower. Shirayuki had cooled down from her run twenty minutes ago and was openly staring as Obi continued to use more equipment. Was he a bit of an exhibitionist, or was he pathetic? Why would someone so smart and talented care about him? If nothing else, Obi knew he wasn't that unattractive. Miss Yuki might at the very least decide to slum and sample his wares. Heh, Obi knew he was being ridiculous.

An itch between his shoulder blades made Obi wary. He inspected the perimeter of the gym for suspicious activity; only two men working together, one as a spotter and the other lifting. He'd lived long enough as a bodyguard not to ignore those sorts of sensations. Lived - that was the operative word. Taking a precaution that others deem unnecessary could be the difference between a big fat bonus cheque or riding in place of honour in a funeral procession.

"Babe!" Obi knew Shirayuki would respond - very possibly loudly - immediately.

"Sweetie-nugget," Shirayuki answered through gritted teeth. "Have you lost your mind?" She moved closer, arms crossed.

In for a penny, in for a pound. "Babe, you can yell at me later. Right now, you should listen to your man."

Obi stood and placed his hands on Shirayuki's shoulders, leaning within kissing distance. Praying it looked like he was fooling around, Obi whispered instructions. "We're leaving now - and whatever happens, follow my lead."

Her sweet breath tickled his ear, and Obi fought to control his libido. He was a battle-hardened assassin dammit - why did this woman derail him from his purpose?

"I noticed those two guys too - they're both big and bulky but only using half the weights you set for me."

Damn, Shirayuki was every inch a brilliant person. "We want to give them the slip without alerting them. Let's go and allow them to follow - but we'll cut and run once we move past the exit."

Shirayuki giggled, her lips dangerously close to Obi's ear for his peace of mind. Softly, she said, "You'll pay for this later."

"I can live with that." Obi prayed his luck would hold as he gave her a hug. "Might as well run the tab, huh? We'll act like lovers. Can you manage? You want your work badge, right?"

"You know you're dead, right? And yeah, I can't let that fall into the wrong hands. I could cancel it, but ..."

"Later. We'll discuss it later." Obi caught Shirayuki's hand and laced his fingers with hers. Making sure to take slow and easy strides, he lead her to the women's locker room. Taking care to seem oblivious to the two threats, Obi kept his back to them - as if he was totally unconcerned. He fished out his phone and began browsing.

Holding her street clothes and personal possessions to her chest, Shirayuki came out of the locker room. "I'm ready."

Obi kept hold of his phone, pretending to pay attention to that more than where they were going. "My keys are on me - there's nothing else I need to retrieve. Take my arm and play girlfriend, okay?"

Sensing Yuki wanted to argue but knew it wasn't workable now, Obi gave himself a personal bonus. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and placed his hand over where Shirayuki had attached herself to his upper arm. "You're a nasty girl! Can't believe you like knockin' boots before getting clean!"

They were mere steps away from the exit. The two burly men appeared to be discussing which machine to use next - as they ambled closer and closer to the exit as well.

"Takes one to know one!" Shirayuki felt flustered. She knew her reply didn't quite make sense, but it was the best she could currently manage.

In the gym's foyer, Obi hustled his charge down the corridor leading to the front entrance. "Hurry, they'll most likely split to cover both the front and back. If we can get out of sight sooner, so much the better."

Hands on the door, they both heard heavy footfalls pounding closer.

"Shit!" Obi thrust Shirayuki out first and clicked his car remote. Halfway down the block his vehicle chirped and unlocked. "Run faster!"

Obi looked over his shoulder - the larger of the two thugs was fumbling with some kind of sidearm. Together they pelted towards the car, Obi rolling over the hood to take the driver's side and Shirayuki collapsing into the passenger seat.

Two soft 'thwups' made the car shake. "Get down, more!" Obi jammed the key into the ignition and peeled away from the curb, laying smoke and rubber. Three more 'thwups' - dinging the bumper and breaking a tail light.

"I'm gonna have to assume they know where you live - I can't bring you to your home until they're neutralized." Obi glanced at Shirayuki. She was hugging her clothes like her life depended on it. Reaching over slowly, Obi patted her shoulder. "Lucky you, we're besties until this is solved."

"Did they change the definition of lucky? If not my place, then yours? There's got to be a better choice."

Obi was relieved to hear a bit of Shirayuki's attitude make a return. If she could make jokes it meant that she was rebounding from the horror of the two goons shooting at them. "You haven't seen my place, so don't diss my digs."

"Either I make snarky comments or I start freaking out. Your choice, sweetie-nugget." Shirayuki giggled, high-pitched and going higher.

"Call me darling." Obi glanced at his charge - she was caught off-guard by his comment. Now for some more foolishness. "My love, honey, or even dear would be acceptable. But don't call me late to dinner."

Shirayuki realized she was digging her fingernails into her street clothes, ruining them. She released her grip and let them slide down her legs. Only turning her head, she stared at her bodyguard. "You must be joking."

"Not joking." Obi took the next left and zipped down a small street - more of a lane, actually. "Well, a bit. Feeling better?"

"Yeah...I am." Her nerves were still jangling, but more from imagining herself using those endearments on Obi. More exactly, from imagining an intimate encounter with him...bare limbs twisted together...satiated...heated bodies and a climax scream torn from her throat after an hour of foreplay. Was this her body's reaction after encountering danger?

"I've got a defendable safe house - perfect for this situation." Obi let his tone grow jocular as he tested Shirayuki's resilience. "Unless you'd rather run away with me to some decadent top-flight hotel?" He gunned the engine and took a corner with more zip than needed. "Thanks for the silent vote of hell-to-the-no."

Shirayuki shook her head and slumped in her seat. "Take me wherever you need. I'm not going to be thinking and using logic until my heart makes its way back into my ribcage."

"Deal."

To be continued....

[sevenxvirtuesx]

Belphie, awake for once, approached the exchange student almost carefully. Apprehensive about their own proposition. “Yuki. I… am…” He paused, gathering himself then decided to go for it. “Beel and I are planning on buying Mammon something for his birthday. But I’ve already spent everything for this month. I’m going to get a job at Hell’s Kitchen. If you don’t have plans or need money, would you like to work there with me?”

it was a no brainer! she needed money for mammons birthday gift as well, and this meant spending some time with belphie. she hadn’t spent as much time as she could have with him lately. plus, previous experience at the restaurant hadn’t been all that bad.

“yeah, of course! i bet we could do a great job there. the owner and manager seemed to like us last time, right?” of course, she had kind of felt she stood out as the only human in the place.

but if being human got her better tips… more money for a better gift!

“of course. it’s a great idea belphie, and i Would like to work with you. now my only issue is finding out what to get mammon… he can be as bad as levi when it comes to splashing cash on things he wants. so i’m trying to think of something he wouldn’t buy himself”

maybe she ought to buy him an experience instead. a day out - just them.

“anyways, the more money i have the better the choices for gift. let’s do it~”

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 2 - The Mountains of Hakone are the Steepest in the World (Part 3)

I actually need an editor this time so...if you have a lot of free time, dm me

Translation Notes

1. Ekiden Tenma refers to the ancient system of exchanging information by going back and forth between post stations by horse, like the Pony Express in the US. An ekiden also means a long-distance relay race.

2. An inro is a traditional Japanese case used for holding small objects like identity seals and medicine. While looking up what raising your inro means I found a lot of references to the period drama Mito Komon, where the hero raises their inro to show his identity, so I think raising your inro is sort of like showing your ID to someone. 

3. Tsuburaya Koukichi was a Japanese marathon runner. He won the bronze medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics after being overtaken by another runner at the last minute, which he was mortified by. He also suffered a chronic back problem after the Olympics. He committed suicide in 1968 and left a note thanking his family for the food they gave him. You can read the letter on Wikipedia

4. A university-preparatory school or 進学校 (Shingaku-kou) is a school centered on preparing students into getting into university. They usually have higher rates of university acceptance. 

5. Putting this here because it took me a long time to look this up, but a 返す刀 (literally “returning (or retaliating) katana”) means attacking one thing and then immediately attacking something else after with a different kind of attack.

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Angry cries and confusion swirled inside the twins’ room.

Impossible. Was he insane? Why we gotta wear shorts and throw on a sash to climb mountains right after New Year’s? What is a Ha-ko-ne E-ki-den? You see, the word “Ekiden” was taken from the “Ekiden Tenma” system (1)… We don’t have any track team members here in the first place. And so on.

In the middle of all of that, Kakeru was the only one who stayed silent.

For those who did track, the “Hakone” was a tournament that had a special place in their hearts. For that reason, they knew how difficult it was to aim for Hakone. Kiyose’s proposal was nothing but a pipe dream. It wasn’t something that the residents of Chikusei-sou, who were all complete amateurs, could aim for just because they wanted to.

Kiyose stood up straight and left the room, then went down the stairs unusually loudly.

“Is he angry?” Jouji muttered uneasily.

“I’m pissed off, too.” Yuki irritably drained his cup of beer. “That asshole Haiji said a bad joke.”

Wondering what was going to happen, Kakeru watched the situation, and then the door was opened again roughly. Kiyose had returned. In his hand was the large doorplate hanging at Chikusei-sou’s entrance. Wondering if he was going to hit them with the plate, everyone reflexively ducked their heads. Kiyose stood in the center of the circle and wiped the sooty doorplate with the hem of his shirt.

“Look at this.”

Kiyose held up the cleaned doorplate like an inro (2) and did a full turn on the spot so that everyone sitting around him could see it.

“Wha, what the hell is that!”

Voices of astonishment spilled from everyone’s mouths. Kakeru also bent forward to take in the words written on the doorplate, and dumbfoundedly realized that this was what it meant to be too amazed to say anything.

“Chikusei-sou” was written in ink on the plain wood board. However, those weren’t the only words. They couldn’t be read until now because of the dirt, but there were two small rows of writing above them.

“Kansei University

Track and Field Team Training Camp”

That was certainly what was written there.

“I’ve never heard of that.”

Nico-chan, the number one old-timer, moaned. The newcomers Jouta and Jouji were looking at each other with ashen faces. By this point, it was clear that Kiyose was seriously trying to take on the Hakone Ekiden.

“In the first place, does our school even have a track and field team?”

Shindou confronted Kiyose with the pitifulness of a peasant begging the governor for a reduction in the annual tribute.

“It’s tiny, but we do. I have said we went to a meet in my first year.”

I thought you participated by yourself. Prince, who was unaware of the workings of the track and field world, muttered. Kiyose didn’t move an inch and made another bombshell announcement as he held the doorplate up.

“And all of you guys are track members too.”

“How?!”

The uproar this time was incomparable to when they were told they were aiming for Hakone. Yuki stood up and drew closer to Kiyose.

“When did that happen!”

“When you moved in.” Kiyose declared nonchalantly. “Didn’t you think it was weird? It’s obvious in this day and age that there would be a catch with a thirty-thousand yen rent and served meals.”

Ignoring the commotion made by the others, Kakeru fixed a glare on Kiyose.

“In other words, the moment we move into Aotake, the team registration form for the track team is turned in?”

“That’s right.”

“And, of course, we’re automatically registered with the Inter-University Athletic Union of Kanto?”

“That’s right.”

“’That’s right’? You really are…” Kakeru sighed. “Isn’t it dirty without the consent of the person? How many people are on the track team in total?”

“For short-distance, we have a dozen or so people, I guess. We’re very weak, though. For long-distance, there’s the ten of us here.”

“So when did we become track athletes!?”

King tried to snatch away doorplate away from Kiyose. Musa hurriedly stopped him.

“I do not understand why. Let’s talk a little about this.”

“Right we will. Let’s just all settle down. Everyone, sit.”

Kiyose calmly instructed. It’s your fault it’s so chaotic, was what everyone was thinking. However, in Chikusei-sou, Kiyose’s words routinely possessed an immense power. They all forcibly suppressed their indignation and reluctantly sat down, once again forming a circle. No one opened their mouths. There was too much, and they didn’t know what to say.

Yuki nudged Kakeru’s side with his elbow. His eyes were saying “Go.” Kakeru was bewildered and looked around at the residents who formed the circle. The twins were signalling Kakeru with their eyes, asking for help. It was already well-known throughout Chikusei-sou that Kakeru went jogging by himself in mornings and evenings. Prince, who shut himself in his room and read nothing but manga, was about the only one who didn’t know.

For Kakeru, who had lived in a hierarchical society, to push aside the more veteran residents who were all sitting in a row and fire the first shot was something to hesitate about. However, the only person who could convincingly oppose Kiyose’s sudden proposition was Kakeru, the only one who was familiar with the world of track. Apparently, he had no choice but to question Kiyose on everyone’s behalf.

Kakeru corrected his posture.

“I’m asking this just to make sure, but who’s the coach? What do they think of these ghost members who don’t even know they’re on the team?”

“Don’t worry about that. The coach is our landlord Tazaki Genichirou-shi.”

“You’re crazy!”

Cries of grief once again rose from all around the circle.

“It’s impossible for us the moment that staggering old man is our coach!”

It seemed that Jouji was so shocked that he got alcohol down his windpipe. He complained while choking loudly.

“That’s rude. Our landlord is someone who was said to be the pride of Japan’s athletics world.” Kiyose chided him.

“When was that?” Jouta asked nervously while rubbing Jouji’s back.

“Well, when Tsuburaya Koukichi (3) died after writing his food-based suicide note, our landlord was already known as a famous coach at Kansei.”

“I do not understand at all.”

Musa tilted his head miserably. Only for this time, neither Shindou nor King the trivia master had the time to answer his question. Tsuburaya Koukichi was an outstanding runner who won the bronze medal for marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, but since explaining that wouldn’t move the conversation forward, Kakeru also decided to ignore Musa’s lamentation.

“Haiji-san, you said we were aiming for Hakone, but to put it bluntly, that’s impossible.”

At Kakeru’s flat and decisive words, everyone except for Kiyose looked relieved.

“You can’t know that without even trying.”

“I do know. Schools that are powerhouses at athletics do tough practices every single day for years, but even so, only a handful of universities are able to participate in Hakone, you know?”

“I don’t want to brag, but I’ve hardly ever ran before.” Prince, who was reading the manga he brought as though none of this had anything to do with him, lifted his head for the first time in a while. “I think it will take longer for someone like me to be able to participate in the Hakone Ekiden than a paramecium evolving into a human.”

“I’m sure even Prince should be faster than a paramecium.” King consoled him poorly.

“A paramecium is a paramecium. Even if it evolved, it won’t become a human.” Yuki cut the conversation off coldly and abandoned it.

Without lending an ear to the voices on the outfield, Kiyose looked directly at Kakeru.

“I’m surprised that you’d tuck your tail between your legs without even trying. Practice is important, but it’s not just a matter of doing hard training recklessly.”

Kakeru also took on the challenge head on.

“Haiji-san, you must know since you also run. Everyone here are amateurs. What is the point of dragging them into such a dream-like story and putting them through pain on purpose?”

“It certainly will remain a dream-like story if you don’t try,” Kiyose unusually exposed his feelings and vehemently argued in an irritated tone. “However, these guys have plenty of potential. Nico-chan-senpai has track experience. In high school, the twins and King were on the soccer team, and Yuki was in the kendo club. Shindou walked the mountain paths for ten-kilometer round-trips to get to school, and the potential hidden in Musa’s physical strength is immeasurable.”

“It’s a prejudice that black people are fast,” Musa said weakly. “Just like how there are black people who hate hip-hop or are bad at dancing, I’m not particularly fast either.”

“It’s been seven years since I’ve done track,” Nico-chan smiled bitterly as he lit a new cigarette.

“It doesn’t seem that I’m being counted, but it’s true that I’m terrible at sports.” King said timidly as he flipped through his manga idly. Kiyose still only looked at Kakeru and spoke passionately.

“And then, Kakeru came to Aotake. We now have ten people all together. Hakone isn’t a mountain in a mirage. This isn’t a pipe dream. It’s a reality where we can tie on our sashes and ascend!”

There was a scattered round of indifferent applause, and it stopped after Kiyose snapped, “Stop fooling around.” Cutting Kakeru off when he still tried to argue back, Kiyose recited from memory the “Hakone Ekiden Entry Qualifications” as though to double down on it.

“‘A registered athlete of the Inter-University Athletic Union of Kanto who belongs to the participating school and applied to participate in this competition no more than four times. If one only participated in the qualifying round, that is included in the number of times.’ The residents of Aotake are members of the Kansei University track and field team, and the team members are automatically registered with the union. Including the qualifiers, there is no one here who has participated in the Hakone Ekiden even once. See, we fulfilled all of the qualifications for participation.”

“The problem is those qualifiers.” Kakeru was finally able to interject. “You can’t just suddenly appear in the Hakone Ekiden.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t know that,” Shindou muttered.

“Most people only watch the finals on New Year’s,” Kakeru nodded.

“Twenty schools can participate the Hakone Ekiden, but only the top ten schools can get seeded. Every year, about thirty schools take part in the qualifiers that open in October.”

“If it’s thirty schools from all the universities in Kanto, then it’s not that many, isn’t it?”

To Jouji’s words, Kakeru declared, “Naïve!”

“For Hakone, ten people run ten sections, but each section is more than twenty kilometers. Naturally, the qualifiers are also decided by the total times of the athletes from each university for running twenty kilometers all at once. But…first of all, that twenty kilometers is a big problem.”

Pressed by Kakeru’s gaze, Kiyose reluctantly supplemented his words.

“It’s difficult to obtain ten people who can run twenty kilos at a reasonable speed. What’s more, the speeds are getting faster and faster in recent years. There are also prerequisites for taking part in the qualifiers: You must have an official record of running five-thousand meters within seventeen minutes, or ten-thousand meters within thirty-five.”

Perhaps feeling overawed from hearing specific times, silence descended on the room for a while. This time, it was Kakeru who continued.

“The top-level universities that participate in the Hakone Ekiden have most of their athletes run five-thousand meters in the first half of the fourteen-minute range on average. And, that’s a result collected from the best all over the country. Hakone isn’t a competition that you’ll be able to reach just with lip service. A weak track team from a university that doesn’t even do sports referrals doesn’t have a chance to be able to participate.”

Prince timidly raised his hand and spoke up.

“Um, I don’t really get the greatness of that record.”

“Haven’t you done endurance running in high school?” Jouta asked him in a hoarse voice, but Prince only shook his head and said “Not at all.”

“My high school was a university-preparatory school (4), so endurance running was just three kilometers.”

“If it’s five-thousand meters within seventeen minutes, then that means that’s a faster pace than three-and-a-half minutes per kilometer,” Yuki calmly calculated in his head.

“Three-and-a-half minutes! It took me about fifteen minutes to run three kilometers, I think.”

“That’s…hopelessly slow,” Nico-chan muttered without stopping from smoking his cigarette.

“Running five-thousand meters in seventeen minutes is only the condition to participate in the qualifiers. It’s hard to go to Hakone unless everyone has the ability to run in the fourteen-minute range,” Kiyose pointed out more and more calmly.

“It’s obviously impossible for us, isn’t it,” Jouji said brightly as though dismissed from a terrible job. However, Kiyose didn’t give up.

“For long-distance, you need to have endurance and concentration. You can’t just practice lazily. If we narrow down the target to just Hakone and make adjustments, then we can do the impossible.”

“What are you basing all of this confidence on?” Kakeru was amazed.

“If you’re talking about the basis, then it’s what I said before. The residents of Aotake have hidden potential.”

Kiyose was imposing. Probably even the people who had lived with him at Chikusei-sou for several years hadn’t noticed how much passion he had within him until now.

“To put it in concrete numbers, Kakeru can run five-thousand meters in thirteen minutes. Even among the athletes who take part in Hakone, it’s an incredible record that only a small number of people hold. By the way, at the track meet I was at right before I got injured, my record was fourteen minutes and ten seconds. I’ve fully recovered it from it recently, so I’m fully prepared for my legs to break after finishing the Hakone and strengthen that record.”

“Uh, no, you don’t have to go that far.” Yuki, who did not seem to like hot-bloodedness, murmured. “While we’re at it, I want you to stop dragging me into this.”

Kiyose ignored his objection.

“Furthermore, Musa can probably run it in just under fourteen minutes too. All the foreign athletes who take part in Hakone are in the thirteen-minute range.”

“I think it is because those people are overseas students who are expected to be fast.” Musa desperately explained while looking to Shindou for help. “It’s impossible for me. I’m a government-sponsored foreign student in the faculty of science and engineering, after all. More specifically, a car picks me up and drops me off at school in my country.”

“If you had that much money, why did you come to a place like Aotake?” Jouji raised a reasonable question.

“It is so that I can gain life experience. I did not see this happening…” Musa said, looking like a wilted morning glory. Without minding any of that, Kiyose summed everything up.

“Anyways, for the rest of it, if you could just turn a bit of your passion for mahjong or clubbing to running, we will definitely get good results. After all, you guys have more than enough physical strength, at the very least.”

Fueled by Kiyose’s ardor, some of them were gradually becoming more and more enthusiasm. Kakeru sensed that in the mood. As if it was something that easy. He roughly filled up his cup with sake.

A group of only amateurs aiming for the Hakone Ekiden. And what’s more, there was only half a year until the qualifiers in October. If someone who did track seriously heard that, they would think it was recklessness to the point of laughing it off as sleep-talking. What on earth did Kiyose thought running was?

Was inviting me to Chikusei-sou also because he had this kind of ulterior motive? In the end, Haiji-san is the same as those guys from high school who would make a huge deal over only my speed.

However, he couldn’t storm out of the room. Don’t go along with this absurd conversation, just go back to your room. Even as he thought that, for some reason he couldn’t move his body. From somewhere in his heart, a voice whispered, Doesn’t this seem interesting? Are you going to continue to run by himself in a place away from the track and field world forever? If you are, it’s better to launch an attack on the Hakone Ekiden with the residents of Chikusei-sou. It’s not a bad idea to try.

The whisper became a spark that ignited Kakeru.

Kiyose had said it. Kakeru’s running was free and looked fun. That was why he called out to him. Until now, there was no one around Kakeru who had said something like that to him.

There was no need for fun or anything like that in running. You should only aim to improve your speed, and put off leisure, romance, and hanging out with friends. He had heard those words so many times from managers, coaches, and upperclassmen that he was tired of it. Kakeru had only ever been asked to run like a machine. Kakeru’s value was only the numbers engraved on the stopwatch. He should have had enough of those days.

The other residents also seemed to be deep in thought about something in silence. While not knowing what to do with the uncertain and pent-up feelings within him, Kakeru gazed at the room where no one moved an inch,

Eventually, Shindou raised his head.

“I’m willing to give it a shot.”

Surprise-filled gazes concentrated on Shindou. Nobody thought that he, who was quiet and reliable, would be the first to decide.

“In the sticks, I walked many kilometers of mountain paths everyday, so I’m confident in my endurance. Plus, if we make it to the Hakone Ekiden, we’ll be on TV, right? I think my parents would be thrilled about that.”

“If Shindou is doing it, I shall take it on as well,” Musa said. “But I am telling you this in advance, I truly am not fast. Are you fine with that regardless?”

“Everything will turn out fine as soon as our practice starts,” Kiyose said warmly, as though everything hinged on that.

Oi oi, Nico-chan frowned, and Yuki gazed out the window, pretending to be indifferent. Prince was inching towards the door little by little.

The rest of the residents on the second floor, who easily got into the mood and were up for anything, became lively with Shindou’s and Musa’s declarations of participation.

“Hey, hey, Haiji-san. We’ll be popular with girls, right?”

“We definitely will, right?”

“Will this really guarantee me a job?”

The twins and King energetically asked for confirmation in rapid succession. “Of course,” Kiyose assured them.

Kakeru wanted to shout, He’s playing you! However, he knew that it was no use no matter what he said. The twins and King only wanted to escape from the harsh reality facing them briefly. That was why they jumped at the bait called “Hakone Ekiden” that was dangling in front of them. They were like horses that had sweet candy made from crystallized dreams hanging in front of their noses.

King was in high spirits and said, “Alright. Let’s help with Haiji’s ambitions!”

“Now,” Kiyose said, and alternately mowed down Nico-chan, Yuki, Prince, and Kakeru, who still hadn’t confirmed their participation yet, with his gaze.

“By majority decision, it is already decided that we will be aiming for the Hakone Ekiden. But, I don’t think that’s going to convince you guys either.”

Wondering what was going to be said, Kakeru refrained from even breathing and prepared himself for Kiyose’s attack. Kiyose continued to calmly intimidate them.

“Therefore, I am going to use force. You guys have no veto power.”

“This is tyranny!”

“Is this kind of thing allowed in a country where the rule of law prevails?”

Kiyose laughed off Nico-chan’s and Yuki’s desperate protests right in front of them.

“Nico-chan-senpai. Who was the one who, when you were crying ‘I absolutely cannot fail this exam,’ dragged you out of bed on time with the kindness and strictness of a mother? Who was the one who helped you repaper your walls that get sticky with nicotine every year? Who was the one who repaired the floorboards you stepped through in the hallway without telling the landlord on you?”

Like a convict who reformed right before his execution, Nico-chan suddenly became quiet and docile. Kiyose changed the aim of his attack to Yuki.

“You haven’t forgotten about it either, Yuki, the taste of my osechi cooking, right? Last year, you couldn’t get a job because of your bar exam, so you bummed off of me for lunch for the whole year because you said you didn’t have any money. To think that you’ve forgotten about that…”

Yuki could only nod his head like a broken doll. Kiyose turned his blade immediately yet again and slashed at Prince’s back as he was opened the door and was about to escape from the room. (5)

“Prince. Because of your book hoard, Chikusei-sou is at the brink of collapse. Which will you choose: Throwing away your manga, or aiming for the Hakone Ekiden?”

Prince sank down to the floor, but showed a resolute attitude to fight back.

“I hate both of them! Both choices are like telling me to die.”

Prince’s grief-filled lamentations reverberated in the room. Kiyose crossed his arms with a “Hmm” and turned towards Kakeru again. Kakeru lightly raised his arms.

“I get it. ‘Who introduced you to Chikusei-sou? If you don’t like it, you can leave.’ Is that what you’re going to say?”

“I’m not going to say that to someone’s who broke,” Kiyose uncrossed his arms. “All right, then. Kakeru and Prince, I’ll give you a few more days. If you change your mind, tell me.”

Prince stopped lamenting, and approached Kiyose, standing in the middle of the room, a little bit.

“And if it doesn’t change?”

“Are you going to declare a state of emergency next time?” Yuki interrupted sarcastically.

“No,” Kiyose smiled gently. “I will persistently continue to call for your surrender.”

Kakeru’s and Prince’s shoulders slumped in unison.

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