#(to clarify i did know that this was a big influence on forester at least. i was just not quite prepared for how much)

[quatregats]

Started reading archived versions of the Naval Chronicle and everything makes perfect sense now actually. I can see exactly how this led to both Hornblower and the Aubreyad

[raindropsduringthesunset]

Chances Few and Far Between (TSS Fateful Fae AU)

Ao3 ~~~ Wattpad

First Part, Last Part, Next Part

Characters: Remus, Virgil, Janus, Roman, Logan (for a moment)

Relationships: Dukexiety (Platonic), Dukexiety (Romantic), Anxciet (Platonic), Anxceit (Romantic?), Analogical (Implied- Momentarily) (Platonic)

TW: panic/fear, arguing/bickering (playful context), violence, drowning, trauma (flashbacks?), attempted murder

CW: Remus (mentioned) cursing, Janus (sympathetic), insecurity, slight non-con kissing (only on cheek, platonic), anger, monsters, water/swimming, embarrassment, talk of gods (Greek pantheon)

Summary: Remus wants to be able to spend time with V. With a little convincing and a bit more time, he realizes a few things.

~~~

Humans were weird. Remus couldn’t tell if he liked or hated that. Judging by how his human was affected by other humans, he decided for the time being that yes, yes he should hate it. He was weird too- mortals didn’t seem to like that though. Good, he had thought to himself, let them hate me.

Mortals were cowardly. Remus despised that trait. Cowards were always too afraid to have fun- too afraid to just live a little. It was so fucking stupid to him. He hated cowards. Another thing humans and him had in common.

They hated cowards too. They ridiculed them, teased them, provoked them until they did what they wanted them to do. Remus hated cowards, but even he knew that was a line to simply not cross. Humans hated cowards, yet created them through trauma. Remus could see that when he looked at V. They tried so hard to make him a coward- to make him scared of everyone and everything.

But V wasn’t a coward.

Sure, V was afraid. He was scared and hesitant to do anything- keyword hesitant. But, as afraid as V was, he pushed through and did things he was scared of. Cowards didn’t do that. Remus admired him for that- though, he would admire him regardless of cowardice or fear. Remus admired that V had enough confidence to do things he was afraid of. He liked that in a being- mortal or not.

What he didn’t like was how everyone was babying V and not letting him near Remus. Sure, V was just hanging out with them, but Remus wanted a turn! He hadn’t gotten to spend any time with V past when they had met in the forest. He’d been hearing about and seeing V interact with everyone but him and it was really starting to get on his nerves.

He was aware that he was scary. He was large, he looked mean, he looked like he could kill- which in all fairness he could. It didn’t quite help that he was half chaos fae. I know, fucking wild, right? Now, with the knowledge that Remus had some chaos fae, it would probably be safe to assume that the Prince was also some sort of chaos fae, right? No actually. Fae children ‘laws’ were strange and made it so Princey- oh so conveniently- was not a chaos fae. Remus was always a little cross about that because that just wasn’t fair.

Being a chaos fae was annoying. He had retractable tentacles- though holding them in too long tended to make his back hurt. He also was more hyperactive and fidgety, L constantly quipping at him to sit still every time they had dinner. He also had a different aura than the rest of his clan.

Everyone else had an aura of something calming- or just in general something good. L had a calming and clarifying aura of a deep blue, Pat gave off a welcoming feeling every time he entered a room, the prince radiated confidence and gentle passion, and J… J’s aura was confusing. He gave off confidence and security, but it also always felt like he was up to something.

Remus gave off a chaotic aura. Being around him made people want to be reckless. He and his brother had broken far too many things for his effect to not be apparent. L would spiral into an infodump whenever Remus was around. Pat would be more reckless with his baking or foraging- Remus had once gotten him to eat a berry that he was 80% sure was poisonous; everything turned out fine but it was still worrying. J was more powerful so he wasn’t as affected as the others were, but Remus is sure he’s done something.

Remus didn’t like the idea of accidentally affecting V with his aura. He was too small, too influenceable. The human mind is so easily broken and he was not about to test its limits.

Still, he so desperately wanted to truly meet V. To just sit with him, to play games. V wasn’t his, he knew that from the beginning, but he just wanted a chance to see what it would be like to have him, if only for a second.

Linebreak

“No Re, you can't hang out with V!” Roman complained, wrestling with his brother in the dirt- thank the gods he could magic his clothes clean or he might actually have to kill Remus. Remus rolled his eyes and flipped them over, sitting on his brother’s back.

“Why not?! I can be civil!” Remus squawked as the prince grabbed his ankle and pressed down on the pressure point. He took the time to squirm out of the position to tackle him again.

“I’m not quite sure you can- hey!” Roman flicked his hand that Remus had licked before grabbing his forearm and using what momentum he had to scramble Remus onto his back. Remus cackled in his position, squirming a bit in an attempt to put Roman off balance.

“You're so possessive of V, I swear. It's like he's your lover or something.” Roman froze above him, his hold faltering just enough for Remus to flip him over and crawl away for a moment to catch his breath.

“What? Do you actually love him?” Remus asked, pushing some of his sweaty hair out of his eyes. Roman stared at him from across the dirt, breathing heavy and shaking slightly from exertion. Remus’s teasing smile faded as Ro looked away, pushing himself off the ground without a word.

“Wait, are you serious?” Remus scrambled up, stepping over to his brother quickly. Roman sighed and rubbed his hands across his face.

“I don’t know, I’m figuring that out. I- well I do love him but I don’t know if I love him like… like how I love you or like… love love him, you know?” Remus whistled and slung an arm around Roman’s shoulders.

“That’s… heavy. Sheesh, and I thought I was the emotionally burdened twin,” Remus joked, laughing when Roman rolled his eyes and pushed him off, “Oh come on, that was funny.”

“It was and I hate it.” Roman huffed, the corners of his lips twitching up. Remus counted that as a win.

“But really, can I please spend time with V today? I don’t care if someone supervises I just-” Remus took a deep breath, he hated admitting defeat just as much as his brother, “I just want to at least be able to know him.”

Roman blinked over to him for a moment, taking in his sullen state before pursing his lips. Remus glanced between Roman and the floor. A few moments passed of neither of them talking. That was long enough for Remus to sigh and open his mouth to throw in the towel.

“Fine-”

“Alright.”

“What?”

“Alright, but I’m sure everybody would prefer if you bright someone else along with you. I’m going to be busy tomorrow, so I suggest asking everyone else before supper for a chaperone and then asking V- at least then you can warn him who’s going to be tagging along.” Roman conceded, much to Remus’s surprise. Huh, who would have thought?

This was big. Nobody- and that means nobody- trusted Remus with V. He didn’t really think his guilt trip plan was going to work but… huh, nice.

Thank Tyche I guess.

“Thank you-”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Roman snipped, slightly deflating his own ego at the hurt expression on Remus’s face, “There’s no guarantee that everyone is going to be as… willing for you to be around V. I suggest asking J to go with you. V seems most comfortable around him and J also tends to be quite… possessive.” Remus smiled again, this time it was crooked but playful.

“Second most possessive to you.” He jabbed. Roman laughed a bit and looked down at the dirt.

“I can’t say you’re wrong dear brother.” Remus’s smile faded. He had a lot to compete with if he was going to spend time with V.

Timeskip

It, unsurprisingly, took several weeks to convince J- or anyone for that matter- to let him and V spend time together, even with supervision. Roman had listened to his complaining the night of the day he and Remus had the whole “You can spend the day with V if…” conversation.

“Eirene give me strength- FINE! Gods, if you could stop squawking at me while I’m trying to work that would be wonderful,” Janus groaned, his hands hovering over a plant that he had been attempting to grow for the past half hour. Remus whooped and did a little dance before leaning down to where Janus was knelt in front of the plant and placing a sloppy kiss on his cheek with a loud shmack.

“Thank youuuu! You’re the best J!” Remus shrieked, standing up and bouncing around, “I’m going to go ask V now- oh he’ll be so excited-”

“Ah-ah-ah, slow down there. Stay here until I’m done. We need some rules before you run off. Sit, I’ll only be a moment if you could not distract me for once.” Janus sent him a quick glare before looking back down and closing his eyes. Remus groaned loudly and flopped onto the floor, drawing little doodles into the dust and dirt.

After what felt like forever, Janus finally lifted his hands, frowning at the plant in front of him and petting its leaves before turning to look at Remus. J stood up swiftly and gestured for the other fae to follow, already moving by the time he was standing.

“Are you ready for the rules? I assume you understand that I will not be letting you near V without fully understanding what you can and cannot do with him,” Janus said, putting his hands behind his back. Remus nodded eagerly and walked directly next to him.

“Yes sir!”

“Do not call me sir,” He bit before sighing, “First rule is you are not to do anything to V without asking him first. If that thing you wish to do with him puts V in way of any harm, it must go through me first.”

A nod.

“Good. Second rule, if V says he doesn’t wish to do something or wishes to back out of something, you must abide by these wishes.”

A nod.

“Third rule,” Janus snapped his gaze to Remus, stopping in his track, “Do not break him. He is not a toy. He is not replaceable. He is a mortal, Duke. Mortals are fragile. We are not going to test the limits of mortality under any circumstances with V. Think of him like… like a glass.

“Glass breaks easily. V also breaks easily.”

Glass is pretty. V is also pretty.

“While glass is replaceable, V is not. Priceless, inimitable, one of a kind. If you break him, we will never have someone like him again. If you break V, it will be the last thing you do. Do you understand me?” Janus threatened. Remus nodded, stepping slightly away from him with his eyebrows raised. Janus nodded and continued walking.

“Good. Now run along and go ask V. He should be with your brother today.” Without another word, Remus turned on his heel and ran for the gateway. Janus sighed and shook his head fondly.

Timeskip

They decided to spend the day at the lake. Remus had some maintenance to perform in the water anyway so he took it as a blessing. Janus and V were sitting on the dock, V reaching his bare feet into the water every few moments. Remus popped out of the water intermediately, having a quick conversation before diving back down. Eventually, Remus popped up and used his tentacles to prop himself up high enough to rest his arms on the dock.

“Hey V,” Remus said, looking up at the human with a toothy smile, “do you maybe want to swim for a little?” V raised his eyebrows and looked to Janus as if asking permission.

“Darling, you can decide this for yourself. I’m not going to be the one to control everything you do.” Janus send a small smile to V and squeezed his hand for a moment. V looked at him, his eyes asking the silent question of ‘really?’ before he turned back to Remus.

“I… Sure? Can we-” Virgil hesitated, looking into the dark water, “Can we go somewhere more shallow first?”

“Yeah, it’s tiring swimming in deep water anyway.”

Remus used a spare tentacle to push himself up onto the dock, retracting them into his back with a gross squelch. V stared up at him with wide eyes as the appendages slotted into Remus’s back, otherwise invisible incisions closing up quickly with a green-tinted clear goo dripping down his back. Remus shuttered and shook his head to get water out of his hair.

Water droplets splashed onto V’s white shirt, leaving dark semi-translucent patches on the cloth. Janus frowned slightly and wiped a bit of water off of V’s face, smirking when he flushed against the touch. Remus rolled his eyes at the sight and placed his hands on his hips.

“Do you need to change clothing or are you fine to swim in your normal clothes?”

“I’ll be fine in this. It’s already wet anyway.” V paused for a moment before pushing himself to stand, stumbling slightly as he tried to gain balance. Remus reached forward and carefully grabbed his forearms, helping to ground him.

“Careful, wouldn’t want you falling,” Remus winked, far too smooth for how awkward he felt saying that. Janus sent him a small glare as V’s face heated up. A smug smile spread across Remus’s face.

V looked out onto the shore, a puddle of nervousness settling in his stomach. The water looked deep. He couldn’t swim in deep water. What if something grabbed his leg? What if he forgot how to swim? What if a storm was coming?

His breath sped up, catching Remus by surprise. Janus on the other hand simply walked over to V’s side, taking his hand and whispering in his ear for a moment. Remus would swear up and down that J used some sort of magic on him because there was no fucking way it was that easy to calm the mortal down.

“Are you ready to go in?” Janus asked, squeezing V’s hand. V looked to Janus for a moment before looking back at the water.

“Would you swim with us?”

“I apologize my darling, but I can’t at the moment. I’ll watch carefully though. If anything happens, I’m here.” Janus sent a look to Remus who suddenly felt very out of place.

Keep your things away from him. I don’t want them to pull him under.

I’d kill them if they even came close.

That’s a lie

J, we literally can’t lie, we’re fucking fae.

Oh, you get my point. Just be cautious. Remember what I said. V is-

Glass- yes, yes, I know. I promise it’ll be fine.

Remus walked into the water, turning around and offering a hand to V.

“Are you ready?” V looked between Janus and Remus before letting go of J’s hand. Remus smiled as V carefully placed their palms together. He gave a gentle squeeze and walked them deeper into the water.

V let out a shaky exhale at the cold water as it soaked into his shirt and shorts. Janus had gotten him to at least wear something that wouldn’t weigh him down. Weigh him down.

God- wait- fuck nono not yet. It’s fine just take a breath, V thought to himself freezing in his spot. Remus sent a worried look back to him, the water only at the waists. Before he could even say a word, V snapped out of it and continued walking forward.

The water was around their shoulders when Remus decided it was far enough for them. It was cold in the lake. One would have thought that one of them might have used their magic to warm it but no. Remus almost regretted not planning to warm the water first until V drifted closer to him, carefully slotting himself nearby to get what heat he was radiating.

It was… cute. Remus didn’t find many things cute, but dear god this was definitely one of the cutest things he’d seen. He could feel Janus’s eyes on them, boring into his head but for the time being, he couldn’t care less.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, an idea sprouted. For a moment- only a moment- he debated even doing it. But he never had much self-control.

Remus reached a hand under the water and reared it back before rushing it forward and splashing water all over V. He flinched and closed his eyes, bringing his hands up to shield himself from the wave going over him. Once the water stopped, V looked over to him, a dazed expression on his face. A beat passed, then two. Then a smile broke out across V’s face. Remus’s heart sped up. Oh.

V splashed the water back at him, laughing slightly when Remus flashed his teeth and copied his movements. Janus watched their antics with a fond stare, rolling his eyes when Remus sent V an offended look when he dumped water onto his hair.

At some point, the two had drifted farther into the water, them having to kick slightly to stay up. Every few seconds V could feel rocks graze over his toes, smooth and detailed. He bobbed slowly up and down, using his arms to steady himself between splashes- speaking of.

Remus dove under the water for a moment before springing out and splashing water all around them- absolutely drenching V and somehow managing to send a few droplets to Janus. V laughed and brought a hand up to push the water and some of his hair out of his face. Bad move.

Remus should have been paying attention.

V let out a gasp as something thin wrapped around his ankle, tugging to pull him under. The faes eyes widened, Remus reaching forward to grab V- but he was just out of reach.

Water surrounded V as he attempted to kick the thing away. A few bubbles escaped his mouth. He couldn’t breathe. Fuck fuck fuck he was there all over again. Kids had flipped him into the well- there was so much water. It was so cold. They laughed at him. He couldn’t breathe, he was drowning.

Look at the freak! Drowning as he should!

Maybe he won’t drown- then we would know he’s a witch!

Yeah! What are you going to do freak? Are you going to die? Are you going to drown?

Oh, stop that- as if your ‘mommy’ would even come for you. Just fucking die already- useless monster.

A hand wrapped itself against V’s forearm, tugging him roughly to the surface. He took in a sharp breath, the oxygen burning his lungs as he was pulled against someone’s chest. His breathing couldn’t slow down- was he breathing? Shit, he still couldn’t breathe. He was going to die here, in this person’s arms. He was going to die.

“Shh shh, little one it’s alright. It’s alright, breathe V,” The Duke's voice called- Duke? “It’s alright, I have you, you’re safe. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Just breathe V.” Water dripped heavily from his clothes, an extra pair of footsteps splashing through the shallow.

“You said you would keep your things away from him!” Janus yelled before reaching out and pulling V away from Remus. J’s eyebrows pinched together, his lips curling up into a snarl as he held V to his chest, rubbing his back gently.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Remus moved forward, ready to fuss over V and comfort him however he could. Janus flinched them away, tightening his hold on V.

“No, run along. I’ll handle this.” Janus hissed out. V was gasping sobs against his chest, shaking like a leaf from either the cold or the adrenaline-maybe both. Remus looked at V helplessly.

“Please, just let me-”

“You’ve done enough. Go.” Pain shot its way through Remus’s chest. Janus brought his coat around V, covering him completely.

“Please,” Remus begged, his hands still outstretched. J looked up and sent him a murderous glare.

“Leave.”

Remus let out a shaky exhale, clenching his fits before shoving them to his sides. A stew of emotion boiled in his stomach. He decided it would probably just be best to leave before it boiled over and he somehow managed to make things worse. He always managed to make things worse.

There was one less sea monster in the lake by the end of the day.

Timeskip

About a week passed after the incident. Everybody was- understandably- very pissed off with Remus. The only person who seemed to tolerate his presence at the moment was his brother- somehow. L was also fine with him being around but Remus could tell he was on thin ice around him.

He felt guilty- of course he did. Remus knew there were dangerous things in the waters and he wasn’t paying attention. He should have at least been aware of how far in V was pushed. The only thing he was glad about was that he got to V before he was pulled too deep in or ran out of air.

As much as he was angry with the animals in the lake, he knew there were plenty that were passive creatures and many more that knew well enough to not dare touch what wasn’t theirs. Remus decided to keep lake maintenance to be done strictly at nighttime. If anything picked a fight with him, there’d be extra room in the lake for more passive creatures.

The moon lit up enough of the terrain and most of the plants were bioluminescent- as were Remus’s tentacles. Hues of light greens and seafoam lit the pebbles and shells under the water. Every so often Remus would find a piece of sea glass and pick it up, putting it in his pocket as a reminder to leave it at V’s door.

He had been doing that every day since V and him had last spoken. He felt bad but gods he was bad at words. He took it as a win when he would leave his ‘room’ every morning and see that the glass he had left was picked up. Sometimes he would get lucky and find a piece that was- according to L- ultraviolet. V really liked those pieces from what he’d heard from Prince.

At the moment, Remus was cleaning up the bottom of the lake and getting rid of the remains that some of the carnivorous creatures would leave behind. When he broke the water’s surface to place the bones of yet another dead lake salamander, he was surprised to see a body sitting on the other side of the dock. He was even more surprised when he noticed the soft and oh so quiet crying and shaking of the figure’s shoulders. He watched them cry for a few moments more before it clicked.

“... V?” Remus called, waiting somewhat impatiently for him to turn around. When he never did, Remus dove under the dock and swam to resurface in front of him.

“Hey, hey V, are you alright?” V sniffled and looked up from where his head but buried in his legs, tears rushing down the sides of his face. He blinked at Remus for a moment, opening and closing his mouth before letting out a near-silent sob and putting his head back down. Remus cooed and pushed himself up and out of the water, the strain on the muscles in his tentacles causing them to shine just a little brighter.

“Little one, I need you to take a deep breath alright? Just in,” Remus exaggerated his breath, frowning when V just heaved and shook his shoulders harder, “Little one, hey, look at me- good. Can I touch you?”

V nodded and unwrapped his arms from his legs, making small grabby hands for a moment before pulling back. Remus caught them before he had taken them too far and moved closer, rubbing his knuckles with his callused and wrinkled hands. V let out a shuttered breath, the sobs fading slightly into cries and weak whines.

“I know, I know, take a deep breath for me- yes that’s it, perfect,” Remus breathed along with him, rubbing his thumb along V’s knuckles in time with when he should breathe, “Good job little one, just keep breathing like that. What’s wrong- what happened?”

V made eye contact with Remus, eyes still glossed over with a panicked sheen. The bags under his eyes were dark and bruised, the moon making his eyes look brighter- the color of his iris seeming to glow in the dark.

“I… I had a nightmare.” V mumbled, looking away. Remus’s lips tightened, his heart heavy as he drifted closer.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“Not… right now. I’m just- I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

“I get that- that’s fine. I’ll get out of the water for you-”

“No! I mean- no I was um… I was thinking maybe uh…” Remus raised his eyebrows and gazed at V gently.

“Would you like to try swimming with me again?” He asked, rubbing his hands against his arms slowly. V paused before nodding, Remus giving him a warm smile. Nervousness settled in Remus’s chest, he can’t mess this up again.

“Hold on just a moment, I need to go check on something then we can swim.” Remus patted his arms before backing away and diving back under.

Swimming through, Remus glanced around for any of the more grabby monsters, sending a silent and rippling threat through the water. A threat of don’t touch what’s mine, if you do I’ll rip you limb from limb- I’ll make you an example. The vegetation squirmed and the creatures buried themselves below the dirt and rocks.

Remus sent a glare to a particularly brave monster and flashed his teeth, flexing his tentacles. It seemed to suffice but he used a bit of his magic to force the creature to bury itself in the rocks like the rest of them. Just in case.

Resurfacing, Remus looked to the mortal who was now standing up and lacking pants and his overcoat. He was shivering slightly, goosebumps all across his body. Remus smiled and offered him a hand, helping him slowly sink into the water.

Once he was completely in the water, Remus slid his hands up to V’s forearm. They were swimming only a few inches away from each other, Remus doing most of the work with his extra tentacles. V squeezed his eyes shut, gripping Remus’ arms tightly as he got used to the water’s temperature.

“Are you alright? Do you need anything?” Remus whispered, trying to read his face. Virgil opened his eyes and sent Remus a pleading look- and oh did that just make his heart break.

“Just- Just help me?” He begged, trying to pull Remus closer.

“I will, I will, I promise. You have my word my horror.” Remus pulled V against his chest, his heart racing. V felt a tentacle wrap underneath him, helping him sit up. He let out a distressed keen, holding Remus’s shoulder with a vice-like grip.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s me,” Remus pressed a kiss to V’s head, “I’m not letting anything touch you.” Remus pulled his head back, using his spare hand to wipe some tears- or water- from V’s cheek.

V looked up at Remus, the light from the moon reflecting off the water and onto V’s face. Remus drifted his hand up the side of his face, tangling his hand in V’s hair. He looked so… precious. Janus was right.

V was glass. He was precious, breakable, one of a kind. Remus realized why the Prince and J were so possessive of him. He understood why Roman wanted to steal him away. He understood why Janus wanted to hold him to the end of time. He understood.

“My horror?” Remus breathed, “May I kiss you my horror?” V nodded and wrapped his arms around Remus’s neck. He didn’t need any more of an invitation.

Remus leaned forward and captured V’s lips with his, pulling him impossibly closer. He could feel his pulse against his lips, he could feel his hands pull at his hair. He could feel so much.

V wasn’t fairing any better, trying to lose himself completely in the smoky taste of Remus’s lips. Gods, other people absolutely did not taste like this. He tasted just like fireside rum- smokey, warm, addicting. A shiver shot down V’s spine as Remus licked gently against his lips, asking a soft question. There was nothing insistent about the kiss, no pressure to move on.

“Well well, what’s going on here?” A new voice asked, making the two of them jump and pull their heads apart.

“L you’re such an asshole!” Remus cursed, his heart pounding, “Don’t scare us like that- holy shit I think I just died a little.” L rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“You aren’t going to die, Duke,” L looked to V, “Good evening V. Why are you awake? Aren’t you going to be busy tomorrow- both of you?” Remus sighed and loosened his grip on V, not quite letting go. He sent a glare to L, starting to push the two of them to the dock.

“V couldn’t sleep, I was working on the lake. Sue us for having fun why don’t you.”

“Oh, you seemed to be having more than fun. I’m sure J or the Prince would be thrilled to hear about this.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” L sent Remus a playful smirk.

“Wouldn’t I?” He looked back to V, “You should head to bed little one, it’s very late.”

Remus whispered a warning before raising both V and him to the dock, placing them carefully onto their feet. V shook the water from his hands, shaking his leg to the side to get what water that was still in pooled in his boxers to fall out. Remus ran a hand from his forehead to the back of his neck, squeezing out the excess water from his hair.

“I’ll go change and sleep in a moment L. Can you… go- please?” L huffed and rolled his eyes, turning his foot to start walking away.

“Alright, I’ll go. Sleep soon, good night.” L turned on his heel and left, disappearing in the brush a few meters away. Remus sighed and rubbed V’s back.

“L is right, you should go to bed.” Remus hummed, looking down slightly to make eye contact with V.

“If I sleep, will you wait by my door in the morning?”

“If the others don’t shoo me away, yes.” Remus chuckled. V nodded and bent down, picking up his clothes. He took a few steps away before pausing and turning around.

“Can you… can you walk me back to the clearing?” Remus smiled and outstretched his hand, allowing V to take it.

“Anything at your request, my love.”

Linebreak

Remus understood. He liked understanding. The others expressed their love for V constantly in gentle touches and soft words. Remus had the privilege of being able to be more intimate with him- to kiss him and hold him close- even if it was at a much lower rate than he would prefer. He understood why the others wanted to keep him. V was everything. Remus wanted to tear the world apart for V.

He didn’t want to keep V forever- honestly, he preferred sharing him. V seemed happy around the others and it made Remus happy to see him happy. There was nothing he loved more than V’s smile, nothing he adored more than his blush, nothing he wanted more than his taste.

Remus wasn’t afraid to say that he loved V- he would scream it to the gods themselves if he could. He thanked Eros for everything he blessed him with feeling and Aphrodite for how she had blessed V. V may be common folk, a mere mortal, but Remus would never hesitate to treat him like a king. He understood.

V was a precious glass and a gift from the gods. Remus would do anything and everything in his power to keep him together- to keep him alive and happy.

Taglist: @i-read-by-lamp

(^if you would like to be added just ask!)

[holographic-chogi]

Protector pt.16/?

Author: holographic-chogi

Pairing: fem!reader x skz

Warnings: heavy swearing, psychological abuse, implications of insanity

A/N: So definitely take the warnings seriously on this one, as it’s a little heavier than the rest, and potentially triggering. Also, Hyoseob and Hyuk are Crush and Dean respectively, and while this is fanfiction so it might already be obvious, but I still feel the need to clarify that this is strictly a work of fiction, and I do not view ANY of these idols as villainous or abusive. However, they make excellent villain material with those stage presences and killer looks lmao. Anyway, as always, I hope you lovelies enjoy, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated! 

Summary: a virus has wiped out most of humanity, and society has collapsed. People survive in groups where they live in constant fear and a struggle to survive. Women were the primary victim of the virus, leaving few behind. You are one of the few, kept in secret since the beginning. However, you’ve just been caught.

Masterlist

Your fingers were white from gripping the silverware, and you shifted uncomfortably in your seat. The tantalizing smell of breakfast tickled your noise, but you didn’t dare take a bite. The seat in front of you remained vacant, but you weren’t alone. The man who had been stationed inside the room was still waiting alongside the table, but unlike the others, he didn’t stare. You appreciated it.

This man had soft features, almost the exact opposite of the man that had woken you up. He had a completely different demeanor too, occasionally glancing over, almost as if to check on you. You needed an ally here; perhaps he was an option.

You spoke quietly, not daring to alert Jiho, who was supposedly still upstairs. “Good morning.”

He cocked an eyebrow at you, but his expression remained soft. “Good morning. Y/N, right?”

You nodded, voice still quiet, “Nice to meet you…” you trailed off, hoping he’d fill in the blank.

“Hyoseob.” He paused, seemingly debating his next question, “what’s with the whispering?”

Should you be honest? Your instinct was that you could, at least with this guy or Hyoseob, apparently. You looked down at the plate, feeling hesitant in your response. “I don’t want Jiho to hear me.”

He doesn’t answer at first, and you begin to feel anxious. Was honesty the wrong route? Of course it was, he works for Jiho. Why would he sympathize? You froze. What would stop him from telling the boss?

He broke you out of your daze, finally responding. “Are you scared of him?”

You look back up at him quickly, barely able to contain the frantic look in your eyes. “No, of course not. I just don’t want to disturb him.” You search his face for any indication of what he was thinking, but it appeared he was doing the same to you, suspiciously scanning your expression. You continue speaking, hopefully not digging yourself any deeper. “Of course I’m not scared of him. Why would I be scared of him?”

He shrugged, seemingly ending his investigation. “Nevermind. Clearly I was mistaken.”

His expression reminded you of Minho’s, back then, whenever caught you in a lie. It gave you a bad feeling.

Speaking of bad feelings, you heard the beginning of footsteps as Jiho descended the stairs. He was beaming, barely acknowledging Hyoseob as he sat across from you. He spoke confidently, “How’d you sleep, Y/N?”

You smile at him forcefully, “Great. Thank you.”

He nods, “Good. I know it isn’t like the cell block, but I’m working on making your space nicer.” funny, how he assumed you wanted your space to be anything like the cellblock. Did he think you wanted that? He began busying himself with his meal, sawing into his cut of whatever meat it was the two of you had been served.

You didn’t know what to talk to him about, so you decided to start there. “Did one of your hunters catch this?”

He looked up at you, smiling. “They did. Our hunters, Hyoseob here and Hyuk, whom I believe you met this morning, are responsible for game hunting.” He looked down at your plate, which had yet to be touched. His eyes darkened; his smile fading. “Eat. Before it gets cold.” You could tell that was a command, not a request.

He watches you as you scramble for your fork, shoveling in a bite of meat big enough to excuse you from speaking. Venison, it made sense based on location.

Once you took your bite, he returned to eating. “We need to work on your table manners. You’ve clearly been rooming with those boys too long. Did they not enforce etiquette while you were there?” He shook his head in disapproval, “You’re a young lady for god sakes.”

You felt your cheeks heat up in shame, and you made sure to finish chewing and swallowing before responding. “I’m sorry, I’ll work on it.”

He continues, not bothering to look up from his plate. “There’s a lot we need to work on. Those boys were a bad influence.” he takes another bite, clearly enjoying his food. “If you want things to go well this time, you need to be well behaved.”

You still, fork frozen over your plate. What did that mean? He’s in charge, was he threatening you? The redness on your cheeks began to deepen, but this time from anger. Your voice was accusatory, “What does that mean, Jiho?”

That earned his attention. He finally looked up from his plate, his eyes were narrow, dangerous. “Watch your tone.”

This was new. While you knew you should be careful, your anger got the best of you. “Maybe I should have stayed with them.”

You expected rage, an outburst maybe, but he remained eerily quiet, just watching you without a word. A small smile crept onto his face, “You were poison to them, you know that, right?”

You gulped. What the fuck did that mean? You felt the beginnings of tears pricking at the edges of your eyes.

He continued, “Did you have your fun? Playing with their feelings?” his smile grew, his eyes beginning to look crazed. “Did you like the attention, Y/N?”

You slammed your silverware down onto the table and sprung from your chair, knocking it to the ground in the process. But as soon as you made your way to the door, Hyoseob stepped in your way, showing no sign of emotion. Perhaps you actually had misjudged him.

Jiho’s voice grew closer from behind you, but you were too scared to turn around. “Where would you even go from here? Hm? Do you remember the way back to the farm?”

Fuck. You didn’t, because you slept on the way through the forest. You don’t know the way out. Then the realization hits you. You remember him walking you in circles, he must’ve purposely been confusing and tiring you out. He made sure you were asleep when he took you to camp so you wouldn’t know the way out of the forest.

He trapped you well.

You turn to face him, mustering as much courage as you could. “Take me back to the farm. I don’t want to be here anymore.” your voice was wavering. You were slipping.

He was barely listening, his eyes still crazed as he reached out to run a finger along your cheek, causing you to shudder. “Now, is that how you talk to your friend?”

Your tears began to build, spilling over onto your cheek. Your courage was fading, and your voice came out in a whimper, “Please...Jiho. You’re scaring me.”

He smiled, stepping back. “There. I like it better when you talk to me without the attitude.” He looked you up and down, did he even hear you? “We’re gonna need to keep an eye on you until you drop these... habits you’ve picked up.” He shakes his head in disdain. “You’re never going back there. Such a bad influence.”

You clenched your fists as he turned away from you, and you dropped your head. You felt defeated. You were defeated.

“Take her back to her room.” He turned away, his expression calm again as he collected his plate, “She needs to spend some time to herself to reflect on her actions.” His eyes flitted up to you, “Next time I see you, I want an apology. Prepare one.”

---

You curled into yourself as tightly as you could, tears streaming down your thighs as you lay on your cot in the fetal position. You were weak, vulnerable. You could feel all the self worth and inner strength you had gained from the farm seeping out of you. Changbin was right, he did make you small.

You wondered how the boys were doing. Have they moved on? You chuckled darkly, because you knew the answer. Of course they have, how dare you flatter yourself like that, assuming they’d care about a mess like you. A sobbing, crumpled mess that can’t even behave herself at the dinner table.

Your sobs grew stronger as you realized Jiho may have been right. You were poison. You remember the fight between Jisung and Hyunjin, and the one between Hyunjin and Changbin. You remember the way Changbin looked the day you left, his eyes tired and hair disheveled. The scars on Hyunjin’s beautiful hands. The pure pain in Jisung’s eyes the night you held him in your room.

All of that was caused by you. You were poison.

A small knock sounded at the door, and you snapped to attention. Your body would have to learn to react in the same way it did at the cellblock. Fast. Quiet. 

Your voice was hoarse, and you winced at the thought that whoever it was could hear you. “Y-yes?”

“Can I come in?” It was Hyoseob. You wouldn’t dare deny anyone again.

“Of c-course” You sat up, but stayed curled up, not daring to challenge anyone else today.

He opened the door and walked in, not showing much hesitation as he stood across from the bed, leaning against the wall. He took in the sight of you and winced, “You look like hell.”

You nodded, “Sorry, I’ll get cleaned up.” As you go to move, he quickly stops you, moving around the bed to gently grab your arm, halting you. He kneeled down, making intense eye contact. “I’m going to get you out of here.”

---

You looked up at him, hopeful at first, but quickly looked back down. This was obviously a trap. Jiho must’ve sent him in to see what lengths you’d go to to escape. Little did he know, you were losing motivation by the second.

You deserved this.

You shook your head, unable to prevent a few stray teardrops from falling to your lap. “No, Hyoseob. This is where I belong, with Jiho.”

He groaned in exasperation, sitting back against the wall again. “This won’t work unless you cooperate. I think we both know you don’t belong here.”

It scares you, but you feel a blossom of hope in your chest. You look up warily, searching him like you did before, trying to find any signs of dishonesty, but he looked earnest. Genuine.

He continued. “I need to know that you’re going to give this your best shot, or we’re both dead.”

Your voice was still hoarse, but it was beginning to gain a bit of life. However, you weren’t sold yet. “Why would you help me? How can I trust you?”

He shrugged, looking away. “I was looking for a purpose, and I think I’ve found one.” He sighed, before continuing, “This place is just a means for survival. Nothing has mattered in a long time.” He looked back up at you, determined. Strong. “This matters. You need to get out, we both do.”

Maybe...you could trust him. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t a trap. After all, what else did you have to lose? “What’s your plan?”

“We can’t leave today, so you’re going to have to survive another day. Can you do that?” 

You nodded, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “Hyuk is on shift tonight, but when it’s my turn tomorrow, we can get out of here. I can only get you so far, so from there I’ll have to give you directions for the rest of the way.”

You raised your brows in surprise, “What do you mean? You aren’t coming with me?” you eyed him in confusion, “I thought you wanted to get out of here too.”

He nodded, “I do, but I need to be here to lead them in the other direction once they notice you’re missing. Otherwise they’ll simply catch up with us and we’ll both be killed.” He’s clearly thought this through. “I’ll find you later, when Jiho inevitably sends us out to find you.”

You nodded vigorously, and he grew solemn, his next words spoken low. “But above all else, you need to avoid Taeil. He spared you before, but he will not hesitate a second time.” He visibly shivered, “remember, for you that man means death. Avoid him.”

You flinched violently at the sound of another knock at the door, immediately triggering your fight or flight response. Hyoseob calmly stood up, giving you a knowing look before responding to the presence behind the door. “Hyuk, you here to take over?”

You recognized the voice from this morning. You did not like him. “Yep. Care to let me in?”

Hyoseob moved to open the door, and you returned to your fetal position on the bed. You needed to play this smart, you couldn’t seem hopeful, or they’d smell a plan. Hyoseob gave you a nod before opening the door, letting Hyuk in.

Hyuk, physically, was the polar opposite of Hyoseob. While Hyoseob had soft, rounded, almost childlike features, Hyuk was pointed in every way. His high cheekbones jutted just below his narrow eyes, and his lips seemed to be pressed into a permanent scowl. Especially when he took in the sight of you.

“My turn babysitting the brat.” He looked back casually at Hyoseob, “All set to switch out?”

He nodded in response, knowing better than to spare you a glance before exiting. You couldn’t help watch him as he left. You wondered if he’d ever truly know how much he’s doing for you.

“Like what you see?”

Your gaze quickly snapped to Hyuk, who was simply watching you with a smirk. “W-what do you mean?” You were conscious of your tone, keeping it weak, small.

“I saw you, watching Hyoseob.” He got a little closer, looming over you as you still sat on the bed. “You’re not into him, are you?”

This was a good cover, how kind of Hyuk to hand it to you. You faked panic, fairly familiar with how it looked at this point. “N-no! Of course not!” You artfully avoided his gaze, almost relishing in how much he was buying it. “You w-won’t say anything t-to Jiho will you?” you trembled your bottom lip. Nice touch.

His grin grew, “Are you going to pursue him too? Wrap him around your fingers like you did our boss?” He walked around the bed, still looming. “I heard you were quite the little whore at the farmhouse. I’d bet you slept around quite a bit over there...all those boys...”

Okay, now you were mad. But you knew better than to show it, it was better to channel it into something else. Though your pride hated you for it, you held your face in your hands and shook your shoulders, fake crying. You don’t think you could muster any more tears.

He chuckled, eating your act right up. “Taeil was right, you’re pathetic.” you heard him move away from you, and towards the door. You couldn’t help but peek a little. “I honestly don’t know what Jiho sees in you. Fuckable, maybe, but this all seems like overkill.”

Another knock sounded at the door, and you abandoned the act, a bit caught off guard as you looked up from your hands. Who else is here? Did Hyoseob come back?

Luckily, Hyuk was turned away from you, now facing the door as he approached it. “I think you have a visitor, slut.” He snickered. God you hated his stupid voice. “But probably not the kind you’re into.”

He opened the door, and revealed Taeil on the other side, a sick grin spread across his face.

Shit.

Taglist: @leetaemintrashnumber1​ @peachescherryheart​ @claire4799​

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[sun-summoning]

summary: sakura and seven women. non-linear timeline. multi-genre. for sakura week.

i. iron will of determination

“are you going to do something you’ll regret, sakura?” shizune asks.

sakura’s jaw begins to ache from clenching it so tightly. no, she wants to say. i don’t know. maybe. yes. yes. sasuke’s fallen over the edge, naruto’s gone rogue, kakashi’s keeping her completely in the dark. oh, and they’re all out of the village. and tsunade is in a coma and about to replaced by that sketchy bastard danzo. yes. yes, yes, yes.

shizune looks at her, sadness in her dark eyes, and she draws sakura into her arms. one hand cups the back of her head, the other is wrapped around her body. shizune holds her despite sakura’s stiffness and after a moment, sakura considers crumbling. but she doesn’t. she wishes she could clutch at shizune, shake and cry because she’s scared and she’s lost and she feels terribly, terribly guilty, but sakura just tightens her jaw until it aches and the only proof of her determination to do something very, very bad is the way her eyes have glossed over. 

“i’m not going to stop you,” shizune assures her, probably already knowing sakura’s plans. “whatever you choose to do, sakura, is entirely up to you.”

sakura nods once. “i know.”

“but you’ll have to live with that for the rest of your life. do you understand?”

“i understand,” sakura replies, not intending for that life to be very long.

shizune smiles at her sadly and hands her a scroll. sakura looks down at it, perplexed. “you’ve been so busy that we haven’t had a chance to work together in a long time.” 

sakura’s eyes stay trained on the scroll, forest green and gilded with gold. sakura doesn’t shift in the slightest, so shizune reaches for her wrist and then presses it into her hand.

“we created this arsenal for a reason,” shizune reminds her, forcing sakura to recall all the nights she spent learning about what certain chemicals can do to a man when mixed with each other in what portions. she doesn’t smile, doesn’t frown, but there’s a sadness in her eyes that cannot penetrate the iron walls forged in sakura’s. “you and i are the only people in the world with access to these poisons. you and i are the only people who are immune. and you and i are the only people with the antidotes.”

sakura swallows thickly because using one of these will mean sasuke will, without a shadow of a doubt, die. her hands begin to tremble so she tightens her grip around the scroll. 

“thank you,” sakura whispers.

shizune leaves sakura to the fate she’s chosen. “do with it what you will.” 

-

ii. connections

the invitation is strange, but sakura still accepts, clearing time in her schedule to meet up with a young woman who claims she wants to write about her. when sakura sits across from her, the writer begins to shake.

“i’m sorry,” the writer says. “i don’t mean to be weird.”

sakura just smiles back. “don’t worry about it.”

“i know you’re a busy woman. former e.r. director, current head of the medical ninjutsu program, part-time practitioner, part-time researcher, weapons development consultant.” the writer raises a finger with every title. “i understand that you’re unofficially off the mission roster for jounin, but i imagine that has more to do with the fact that you have a toddler at home. i’m also going to gracefully not even consider what the next step tends to be for well-trained shinobi with a rare specialization such as yourself.” the writer clears her throat because sakura narrows her eyes in that subtle, suspicious way only the most trained of shinobi might. “i’m going to be direct with you. i want to write your story.”

“pardon me?”

“your story,” the writer repeats. “you are probably the finest kunoichi in this generation and i think it’s important the world knows that. or, at least, our village.”

sakura looks away, a flush forming on her cheeks. she begins to shake her head, wring her hands, and stutter incoherent things. the gestures all seem so strange, so foreign, so uncharacteristic of someone that holds all the titles the writer just mentioned. she finds it sad that haruno sakura can’t take this sort of compliment because this is a woman that can shatter the ground with one finger. 

words should have nothing on her.

“i’m not saying there aren’t strong women out there,” the writer continues. “it takes one glance at the hokage mountain to remember that there are. but you...you’re just...” she shrugs. “simply put, you’re incredible. and i think decades from now someone is going to write a book about all the best kunoichi that ever existed and i want to make sure they have a proper source of reference when making sure that you’re on those pages.”

“why?” sakura asks.

the writer shrugs, but there’s a hopeful sort of smile stretched across her face. “every little girl needs a hero, don’t you think?”

“and you think that’s me?”

“i know that’s you.” 

the writer leans back into her chair and a waitress arrives with the tea the writer had ordered earlier. she takes a sip and contemplates the steam. across from her, haruno sakura is quiet.

“why don’t i tell you my story first,” the writer says. sakura nods so the writer does as well. “i was eight-years-old when konoha was invaded years ago. my parents, both shinobi, were part of the efforts to the stave off the attack. 

“to be clear, this isn’t a sad backstory. they’re both alive. retired, but alive. 

“they left me with my grandmother in what they assumed was a safe place. but there were no safe places. not at that time. not with the akatsuki attacking and all the monsters they brought with them. 

“did you know i used to be afraid of bugs? how irrational. they’re everywhere. but i used to be so frightened by them. and then after my parents left, a giant centipede came out of the ground. we were all running. i fell and i looked back and i saw it. a centipede as tall as a building that i was so certain was going to eat me. i couldn’t move. i was hurt and i was terrified and then all of a sudden i saw a girl leaping in front of me like every incredible manga heroine i’d ever read about. then she took it down with a single punch. 

“the people around were marvelling at the dead monster and talking about how this girl took it down all by herself. but she--” the writer shakes her head. “but you--you didn’t even look at them. you came to me and checked on me and healed my wound while comforting me.

“you saved my life that day, saved more people, and not to be weird, but i’ve been following your accomplishments ever since then. you’re not lauded in the same way people like uzumaki naruto are. not at all. you’re not something flashy, something often spoken about. your influence runs deeper than that. your legacy runs deeper than that.

“no shinobi name, no blatant nepotism--no offence--you started off ordinary. and now you’re--” the writer falters, unable to find the right words to describe what haruno sakura has become. she shakes her head. she grins, something tight and rueful for her shortcoming. “you’re--”

“okay.”

the writer blinks. “what?”

“okay,” sakura agrees. there’s something in the way her posture loosens, in the way she rests an elbow on the table and cradles her chin in her palm. she’s relaxed enough, but the writer catches the way she braces herself for the inevitable onslaught of questions that will likely lead her down a few mental pathways she’s probably spent years ignoring. 

haruno sakura smiles and the writer bites her lip when she remembers that this is her hero.

“what would you like to know?”

-

iii. from a bud to a blossom

her mother doesn’t look particularly impressed when she visits home with an indisputable baby bump and a wedding ring dangling from a chain around her neck. the wedding came first, sakura has the decency to clarify, but the lack of husband at her side leaves mebuki frowning. 

“sasuke-kun and i can’t just--” sakura stops, pursing her lips and then looking away.

unlike her husband, mebuki has never once turned a blind eye to the bruises that used to dot their daughters skin, how limp limbs turned sturdy and powerful over time. perhaps he attributed it all to puberty, perhaps he refused to acknowledge the way her mouth had tightened with grim acceptance, how her gaze had sharpened. her daughter is one of the few from her class that was promoted to jounin, and it wouldn’t surprise mebuki to know that perhaps she was promoted even further. 

sakura might pretend they’re on some sort of journey of redemption or whatnot, but her secrecy is telling enough. 

“sasuke-kun couldn’t join me,” sakura says instead. “he had something he needed to do.”

“for kakashi?”

sakura dons a careful mask of pleasantness. “yes.”

mebuki almost laughs. sakura was never a good liar growing up, too quick to stutter and stumble. even after meeting ino and gaining the confidence only a best friend could provide, sakura couldn’t quite wear the right poker face. it was only after her team split up, after she learned from tsunade, that sakura figured out how to hide the important things a bit better.

“fine,” mebuki acquiesces. they fall silent, so she picks up the cup of tea before her, prompting sakura to do the same. there’s a tension between them that’s only felt when they bring up uchiha sasuke, so mebuki goes for the next best thing and nods to sakura’s midsection. “so.”

“so?”

mebuki raises an eyebrow. “are you not going to tell me about my grandchild?”

“um. you’re having one?”

“how soon?”

“well i’m due in april--”

“are you afraid?”

sakura looks startled. “what?” 

“are you afraid, sakura?”

“i--” sakura swallows thickly. “i am.”

“don’t be.”

mebuki reaches across. she pulls sakura into her arms and almost laughs because she hasn’t held her little girl like this in years and now she’s just so big. she looks down at sakura’s growing belly and reaches out hesitantly. she might be her mother, but mebuki remembers all too well the invasion of hands on pregnant women. after sakura nods, mebuki smiles softly and rests her palm upon her grandchild.

“you’ve grown up, haven’t you,” mebuki murmurs. she looks up, meeting sakura’s eyes, and with her free hand, she cups her daughter’s cheek. “you’ve always been mature--probably more than you ever needed to be--but somehow seeing you like this, about to become a mother...” 

sakura’s eyes, green just like hers, begin to water, and mebuki hopes against all statistically likeliness that this baby might inherit that trait. 

“i love you,” sakura blurts out, her voice wavering over every word. “mommy, i--” she sniffs. “i love you so much.”

mebuki laughs. “hormones, huh?”

“mommy, they’re awful.”

she laughs again, shifting her hands to sakura’s shoulders and then pulling her into a hug. she pulls back and presses a kiss against sakura’s forehead like she did when her girl was growng up. “i love you too, sakura.”

-

iv. zodiac

one day sakura is cooking breakfast while sarada sits at the table reading a magazine. she looks so strange, dressed down in her pyjamas with her hair messy and her glasses askew. she yawns and then says, “hey, we have the same zodiac sign, mama.”

sakura glances at sarada with an eyebrow raised. “you’re thirteen. this is just occurring to you now?”

sarada sticks her tongue out at her. “i’m just saying!” she holds up a page with a ram on it. “aries women are passionate, enthusiastic, and determined.” then she winks at sakura. “they’re also short-tempered, moody, and aggressive.”

“what was that? you don’t want me to make you breakfast and you want to starve today?”

"see! short-tempered!”

sighing, sakura slides the cooked eggs out of the pan and onto a plate. she brings the food to the table and sets everything up for the two of them. sarada needs to eat up for her day preparing for the chuunin exams with her team, and sakura has work to do at the hospital.

“also,” sarada says, stuffing her mouth with a piece of fish, “we aries are optimistic.” she pauses, probably considering herself and considering her mother. “yeah, the both of us really are all of those things.” she nods. “it’s because we’re both aries.”

“that’s absurd.” sakura shakes her head, hardly one to believe in something like astrology. she rests her chin over her palm and stares at her daughter, a young woman full of confidence and drive. she reaches out with her free hand and musses sarada’s hair. “we’re alike because i raised you, not because of some stars.” 

she leans forward, pressing a kiss against sarada’s forehead. when she draws back, sarada is beaming. 

“you have all those amazing traits because you had an amazing mother to teach them to you,” sakura says with a wink

sarada laughs again. “and the negative ones? did i get my moodiness from you or from the stars?”

sakura steals a bit of sarada’s breakfast. “that we’ll blame on your father.”

-

v. japanese mythology

while sakura’s chakra control has always been superior to that of her peers, she still lacks the utter precision of people like tsunade and shizune. she’ll get there, and she’ll get there very soon, they often remind her, but there are still times when sakura’s control falters at the moment meant for release.

sometimes nothing will happen. sometimes she won’t exert properly, won’t protect herself either, resulting in a shattered fist and broken arm, and even worse depending on the intentions of her opponent. 

and other times the opposite will take place. sakura will throw her punch, putting everything into a well-timed attack that results in much more damage than she could ever intend. sakura’s caused minor earthquakes, demolished buildings, shattered foundations, but not because she meant to.

she’s still learning, tsunade will tell her. it hasn’t even been a year, after all.

sakura tries not to use her chakra enhanced strength all too much, but sometimes it’s necessary. 

she doesn’t know where her current team is. ever since her genin cell was split up, tsunade has put her on various squads. she’s mostly meant to heal, but she still needs to fight, and right now she’ll die if she doesn’t.

the kunoichi she’s up against is strong and comes at her with the intention to kill. she’s stronger, so much stronger, and sakura doesn’t know if she can beat her. she wishes she could be as powerful as this kunoichi, as sure of her own capabilities that she had no qualms with separating from her team. sakura scowls, jealous, and curses her old team and curses her current one. she tries to hide to get her bearings, but the yatsugatake mountains do not allow her this reprieve.

“do you intend to run away?” the kunoichi asks. 

she’s much older than sakura, and judging by the scar by her eyebrow and the hardness of her face, she’s much more experienced as well. she moves with a confidence sakura can only wish to one day achieve, and strikes just as surely. 

sakura is just fortunate that she’s much better at dodging. 

"fight me!” the kunoichi yells.

the kunoichi slashes her side and sakura cries out and stumbles. the kunoichi moves to hit her again, but sakura rolls out of the way at the last second. she runs, unashamed by her cowardice. one hand holds her bleeding wound, unconsciously feeding it with healing chakra.

she has to do something. 

she has to do something.

sakura slides down against the jagged stone of the mountain and takes a deep breath to think. she can’t get in close. the kunoichi is better than her. sakura can evade, but she can’t do that forever. she can attack with the few long-range weapons she has on hand, but sakura doesn’t doubt the kunoichi will counter them with ease. 

sakura takes a breath, looks down at her stained hands, and wonders is she can cause a rockslide. 

“stop running--”

sakura concentrates her chakra into her fist. she draws her arm back, punches the mountainside, and release everything she has. she cries out as something breaks in her arm, but she gets the result that she wants. despite her pain, she catches the flicker of fear on the kunoichi’s face when the stone crumbles and immediately falls on top of her. 

sakura herself barely dodges the boulders. she jumps as far back as possible and watches and waits and waits and waits. she waits for the mountain to settle once again, waits for the kunoichi to claw her way out of her grave, waits for the pain in her arm and on her side to turn numb.

finally, sakura moves forward. she takes careful steps, eyes and ears open to the sound of the kunoichi’s counterattack. when sakura hears the tortured groans of a survivor, she turns and finds her opponent. her entire body is covered by the broken mountainside, but half her face is visible. her mouth moves, and sakura can only imagine the pain that causes.

she considers what is left of this section of the yatsugatake mountains and considers how strong she’ll one day become.

“how pathetic,” the kunoichi says. she coughs, causing the boulder on top of her to shift. her eyes squeeze shut and despite the excruciating pain, she laughs. “i can’t believe i’ve been brought down by a child.”

“i’m fourteen,” sakura tells her. she doesn’t mean to take offence, but she does, and so she presses her foot down just so, making the kunoichi cry out once more. satisfied, sakura eases her stance. “i’m old enough that you decided to fight me. am i not old enough to kill you too?”

the kunoichi sneers at her, revealing red stained teeth. “i’m not dead yet, brat.”

“no,” sakura murmurs, slowly sinking to her knees. she considers pulling out a weapon, but her manipulation of chakra still needs practice. and shouldn’t she practice? as her bloody palm nears the kunoichi’s nervous face, sakura takes a deep breath. “but you will be.”

-

vi. acknowledgements

naturally, tsunade’s sudden retirement is a sore spot for sakura. sakura raves, sakura rages, and sakura doesn’t once back down. this is ridiculous. this is preposterous. this is terrible timing. this is not at all a wise political move. she’s cyclical and repetitive, so tsunade mostly tunes her out after the first few days of sakura’s screaming. 

“i don’t see why you’re so against this,” tsunade drawls over a cup of tea. “one would think you might find this ideal, considering who my successor is.”

sakura’s scowl darkens at the reminder that kakashi will soon be taking over as hokage.

“after all, he’s the one who will be dealing with the age old question of what to do with uchiha sasuke.” tsunade leans back into her chair. she drums her fingers over the leather arm and cocks her head to the side. “surely you’re relieved that he won’t be on the receiving end of my brand of justice.”

sakura rolls her eyes. “there’s still the village council. and the other kages. and, well, konoha’s reputation. you’re one person--”

“listen here, you little--”

“--and i know you would never do that to naruto.”

“naruto?”

sakura shrugs. “he wouldn’t take anything less than a pardon just sitting down.”

“and you would?”

“this isn’t about me.”

“then i’m making it about you,” tsunade insists. “do you think i’d do that to you?”

“i--” sakura purses her lips to stop herself from talking. 

tsunade might not be the best politician, but she plays the game better than any of her predecessors because she’s a woman and isn’t it just so easy to underestimate her? shizune sleuths just as well, acts and smiles on cue, and so sakura has picked up these skills too. little sakura knows who to smile at, who to butter up with her femininity, who to demolish with just a couple of words. the girl can argue and make it seem like your idea was never hers to begin with. 

“yes?”

“it’s not about me.”

“i acknowledge that. i don’t care. answer my question.”

“i--” sakura grunts to herself. “no,” she admits. “i don’t think you’d do that to me. but your decision to pardon sasuke wouldn’t be about just me. it would be about sasuke. about naruto and kakashi, about inspiring hope, about--”

tsunade waves a hand. “you don’t have to do that.”

“do what?”

“convince me about hypotheticals. it’s not going to be my call considering i already have a successor.”

sakura flinches at the word and that gives tsunade pause. leaning back, tsunade considers a smile. instead she shakes her head. do i detect jealousy? she wants to ask. but sakura isn’t jealous. sakura is worried. sakura is upset. sakura is upset that kakashi would replace tsunade as sakura’s beacon and that he would replace her as tsunade’s legacy.

“as hokage,” tsunade clarifies. “all this means is that kakashi’s face will be carved into a mountain between mine and some other poor bastard. that’s the successor he is. do you understand?”

sakura frowns and tsunade laughs in her face. 

“don’t be like that,” she says, smacking the back of sakura’s head the way she used to when sakura was young and naive and full of dumb answers despite her obvious intelligence. “kakashi? my new successor?” tsunade mimics with a laugh. she smiles softly, shakes her head, and picks up her box of things. “he might have my title, but you know better than that, sakura.”

-

vii. happy birthday, sakura!

for her twenty-second birthday, sakura and ino makes plans to meet up and celebrate. sasuke makes some excuses so he can lag behind, and while normally that might have annoyed sakura, she takes it with a stride and just goes on ahead. 

she’s seeing ino again. she’s seeing ino again after so long apart and as she runs faster and faster, her heart races from the anticipation. when she finally catches sight of ino at their meeting place, sakura releases a stupid little squeal that ino reciprocates. they run for each, meeting with a hug and moving around with it.

“i missed you!”

“i missed you!”

“your hair is long,” ino says, playing with the locks of pink. “you look so pretty!”

sakura sniffs. “you look pretty.” she pokes ino’s bicep. “do you even lift?”

ino rolls her eyes. “not all of us can be ripped and use our chakra for additional strength.” 

sakura laughs and ino laughs too and then they’re hugging once again.

eventually ino notices how sakura is alone. she peers over sakura’s shoulder as if expecting her partner might appear. “where’s sasuke?” she wonders.

sakura shrugs though. “he has some stuff to do.”

“he’s not joining us for your birthday celebration?” ino asks, sounding thoroughly unimpressed with the man her best friend had chosen to fall in love with. 

“nope,” sakura responds with a grin. sasuke’s absence might irk ino like it irks her mother, but sakura knows him well enough to know that this is his gift to her: time alone with her best friend. sakura loops her arm around ino’s and they begin to move. “it’s just you and me, ino.”

it always was and it always will be. no marriage, no other friendships, no children -- nothing will change ino’s significance to sakura. ino, the friend who brought sakura out of her own shell, the one who gave her confidence and supported her through absolutely everything. sakura loves many people and will continue to do so, but sakura will never be able to replicate the sort of bond she has with her best friend. 

“sounds like a perfect pair then.” ino presses a sloppy kiss upon sakura’s cheek. “happy birthday, sakura.” 

-

fin

[sparda3g]

Attack on Titan Chapter 113 Review

The last chapter left us with one hell of a cliffhanger. It told us that the downhill spiral of a character begins now. This chapter clarified that statement, but not the one you most likely expected. While that itself went differently, the action however was intense as expected. Nevertheless, this chapter as a whole was exciting, satisfying, frustrating for the right intention, and enthralling with its setup and potentially segue to a backstory.

The roar cry from Zeke may have converted the troops at the forest into titans, but those from afar can feel the uncomfortable tingle. It’s a way to narrow down the victims that has drank the wine with Zeke’s spinal fluid. Unfortunately, there are so many to count. Pixis is sadly among the victim list as well as Nile, though it was expected. It’s also a way to confirm Falco’s fate and sadly, he too is doomed to transform. No amount of rinsing will remove the fluid. Moral of the story: drink responsibly. While that’s bad news to all, it at least signal them that Zeke is on the move.

Speaking of him, he reveals his most likely only plan to outpace Levi. When you think about it, what other tactic can he use against him? There’s really no other option and turning into Beast Titan would result to a defeat if you recall the last time. It becomes clear later on with his reactions, but we’ll get to that later. The plan is to force Levi to go against his comrades, who are now his enemies as titans. More importantly, it’s to bring Levi into emotional turmoil. That’s pretty low, but you got to do what you got to do.

It’s actually amazing how we are far into the series and now Isayama is playing the card of “can I kill my friend?” This is not a jab at the writing; quite the opposite. It’s been a while since Levi and others fought a titan. Yes, they have exterminated them for a long time, but they didn’t know who they were. When they learned they were people, it changed their view greatly. Levi has bonded with the recruits for a while, so when they become titans, it hits him that he’s fighting his former allies. It’s equivalent to zombies; when they become one, how would you respond to it.

The flashback gives you an immediate reason why Levi is struggling to fight them. The recruits wanted to drink the wine, but he thought it was nonsense during the mission. He eventually gave in and allowed them to drink. That was a mistake that could have been avoided and that’s rather heartbreaking. It also filled in why Levi didn’t change as he resorted to drinking black tea. Stay classy. Still, it’s sad how it could have been prevented.

As you recalled in the last chapter, it wasn’t told to Levi that wine is the source for spinal fluid insertion, so he has to recollect the memory and draw his own theory, which is practically correct. Smart man. That said he can’t conclude whether Zeke lied about the process of transformation or not, since they did change immediately. It’s good that he mentioned this because I was perplexed as well.

Zeke’s plan seems to be working as Levi is struggling to fight them due to emotional conflict. Obviously, he could easily kill them, but it’s the connection that strikes him down. Like with zombies, that thing was once alive and your comrade. Can you really kill it off? Can you believe that thing was once someone you know? His expression is upsetting. Now he knows about the titan, he can’t fight with ease. Or so I thought.

Zeke’s “farewell” to Levi is interesting. First of all, it becomes apparent that this was his last resort. Levi was killing too much time and wasn’t going to come to an agreement with him. Their trust level barely existed, if not never. His expressions and body language never come across as the brilliant mastermind villain. He speaks more of another man that wants to achieve his goal by any means necessary. Hell, he didn’t want to do it, but he was left with no choice. It’s why he ran in a hurry like a man believing he can outrun a cheetah.

The next part is the reason why he had to “abandon” Levi. He knows the time of World War is upon them, but Paradis Island don’t understand. They believe they have the power, the options, and the time, but it’s not as simple as it sounded. To him, that’s their miscalculation. Lastly, the interesting bit that caught my attention was the mention of his true intention. It appears only him and Eren know and understand; just like real siblings. It’s something Levi and others won’t get. That got me really curious. What is there that is hard to explain? Clearly, it changed Eren. Perhaps we will learn soon enough once Zeke meets with Eren. Or so I thought.

From behind of Zeke, a Shinigami reemerge from his slumber. His name is Levi. That shot of him all bloody-up got me goosebumps. Holy crap. That screams “game over” for Zeke. He knows it because he reacts like his death bed is here; sheer horrified. I was sheer hyped; it turns into a gripping action. It’s not because Levi is about to demolish the hell out of him, well actually that’s one of the reasons, but it’s the intensity of these two at a tensed emotional scale. Zeke is scared shitless and Levi is pissed as hell.

Levi easily kill an approaching titan like nothing, which leaves Zeke no other choice but to fight. That look on his face before transforming says it all; desperation at its best. I thought that gruesome as hell when Beast Titan freaking rip off a head of a titan and squashes it to form “bullets.” My God, that’s crazy. He shoots them like rocks, only well, yeah. I wonder if the anime will slow it down and show those flesh. Ugh, that’s nasty. Another desperate attempt from him is guilt trip Levi for killing his precious comrades. Sadly for him, he has come around to accept the fate and take it on someone.

Levi killed them off based on experience. He has killed many before, so this is practically his second nature. If it wasn’t for the earlier scene, this would have come off illustrating him as a cold-hearted bastard. In context, he has seen enough awfulness to be distracted. It’s like zombies, once you killed one, you will slowly grow accustomed to it. I know I reference zombies many times here, but it is similar in many ways. Case in point, you can say he kills them to end their misery. We know how Ymir felt like during her nightmare.

Levi shoots those thunder spears right at the nape and blast the hell out of Zeke. All it was missing was those weird sound effect words that Dragon Ball did. Regardless, it was so satisfying. That bastard ran off, so he asked for this; all of this. Levi drags his decayed body, insinuating the true monster of the two. After that battle, it’s easy to tell. He won’t kill him, not yet at least. I would prefer death if dealing with him.

The segment at Shiganshina District is frustrating, but it is intentional. I thought it’s neat to see that crater still exist from Bertolt’s action. It looks like a good place for a swimming pool. Joking aside, the scene takes place with Instructor Shadis instructing the new cadets to prepare for titans. It’s like we went back in time when they posed a threat. Actually, that’s the idea with some guys actually thought it’s unnecessary. It’s almost like seeing kids of today would think not going outside is a bliss, but removing their phone is a punishment of hell. They believe the code of the Yeager Faction: down with the people outside the walls.

Some guys think Shadis is useless. Man, the guy can’t catch a break, can he? I can’t help but feel pretty bad for him. Look at his sad face in that one panel; he doesn’t deserve this. Speaking of undeserving, he has special guest coming through, and poor timing, because it so happened to be Yeager Faction with Hange as their prisoner. That’s one image enough to motivate the cadets to join the cause. Now, here comes the frustrating part.

Floch is such a dislikeable character. While I understood his point of view before this new uprising, he was designed to become the cancer of the corps. Now, he has become that and you can tell the power has gotten through his head big time. He acts like he’s in charge or someone who can say, “I am Eren my lord’s second right-hand man.” He is so high and mighty, he believes he’s the true freedom fighter. Sure, he tries to shoot Shadis in the leg to make him talk faster, but it’s all right. It’s just an old man that past his prime. What a dick. Sadly, it works to the cadets and everyone slowly steps forward. Why I get the feeling Isayama is influenced by today’s America…

Fine, Floch can recruit them; I get that new generation don’t know any better of the past. But what irritated me the most is his demand for them to show their resolve, and the only way is to beat up Shadis. Why? Apparently, Shadis is the embodiment of all bad habits and they should weed them out. If they refuse, they will go to jail. Please Isayama. Kill him in the most satisfying way. To give them a credit, they thought that’s maddening since they hesitate to hurt him. The one who deserved the most credit is Shadis. He purposely provoke them to hit him, so they can escape from jail. That’s a man we need to keep the generation strong. Sad that he got pummeled badly.

I seriously hope Isayama has a plan to axe Floch off hardcore. I really hope Hange gets a swing or so at him when the time comes. It’s upsetting how much she has to witness the change for the worst. All of her hard work and sacrifices of her comrades are being wasted. Armin and others are in jail while Eren looks outside. I seriously wonder how he’s really feeling about everything. Perhaps the whole true intention reveal would shed the light on his action. I really hope so.

The last segment is interesting in many ways. For starters, Levi is traveling with Zeke on a cart to somewhere. My guess would be where Historia is at. It makes sense after he told the recruits the new plan, so he might as well follow up on it. It does beg the question; how would Eren know if Zeke is in danger? Should we expect Levi versus Eren? That would be insane. The next part is how Zeke is being held prisoner.

His neck is tied to a wire that connects to the thunder spear. If he move recklessly, it will detonate it and split him into two pieces. Good lord. That’s one way to intimidate a titan shifter; really shouldn’t screw with Levi. Speaking of him, that old grudge doesn’t die away easily, because he still has a lot of anger to take on him. What’s painful is his way to maintain Zeke as his prisoner by not only strap him, but cut his legs off. It’s his way to make sure he doesn’t titan shift. Moral of the story: don’t mess with Levi. Ever.

I may have my joy from earlier with Zeke getting demolished, but I’ll be lying if I say I have no pity. It’s those expressions he makes when being tormented that made his suffering believable. It’s not to say Levi is the villain; it’s just humanity. I thought it was sad that despite his torment, he worries about his glasses, only to get a response, “Who the hell knows.” Levi doesn’t care one bit; Zeke cares like a precious treasure.

The ending ends on a possible sign of Zeke’s backstory being the next chapter’s focus. Some would think, “Of course. Why else show the flashback,” but sometimes they only show it and wait for another time. With that said I do believe this is the best time to reveal his backstory after selling out his parents. I believe that man from the flashback was there during the arrest. I wonder if he meant anything to Zeke and where did his “mission” truly begin.

This was a great chapter. While it’s not on the same level as the last chapter when it comes to the emotional ride, it left me amazed with the character’s reaction. The action was pretty solid with raw emotions of anger and fear. The art is really good with tensed expressions that had me jarring and pitying. Floch continued to piss me off, but if the endgame is to have him slaughtered to death slowly, then it’s all rewarding. The ending left me feeling mixed of pity and curious. I do hope the next chapter is Zeke’s backstory. I don’t mind taking a break from the present time. This could be the beginning to his backstory, but also the beginning to his end.

[cienie-isengardu]

Concordia, Mandalore and Kalevala and their respective economy?

Mandalore, Concordia and Kalevala are three major place representing Mandalore system in TCW and tie-in materials.

Concordia was agricultural settlement turned into mining base what almost destroyed eco system (forest) of the moon. Most likely when mining facilities were shut down, Concordia’s economy once again changed in a noticeable way. There is many questions, like how much ecological disaster influenced agriculture? How many people lost jobs then and needed to find a new source of money for living? Was there any wave of immigrants travelling to Mandalore or Kalevala in search of work? And frankly, did the sudden appearance of expelled warriors has left its mark on Concordia’s economy?.

So far we have seen / were told, Concordia’s the most important merchandise was most likely beskar (Mandalorian iron) which extraction and production was shut down years ago. There is also a chance that Concordia also engages in food production to some extent depending how much the rebuilding eco system allows.

Despite being the “capital” of the whole system, the moment Mandalore was cut off from interplanetary trade routes, we were told both by narrator (“supplies are impossible to come by, except on the black market”) and Satine (”The help we need now is opening trade routes so we may get supplies more freely.“) that the population of the planet is suffering due to limited access to basic goods like food (”Mandalore should not need, to pay smugglers to feed its people” said one member of Ruling Council) - and such desperation increases the growth of corruption (”Beyond these stars, there's a war going on. As long as my company imports goods, most people turn a blind eye to anything else”, said corrupted Mandalorian). All informations comes from the same episode, “Corruption” [s03e05].

Looking at how Mandalore’s main city looks outside (people living under the dome, around just white sands and in general inhospitable environment)

and inside (very built-up space, limited amount of greenery)

do native Mandalorian have access to constant source of food (own farms, greenhouses and the like) or do they rely more on import from the other planets (maybe Kalevala or even Concord Dawn?). Frankly, I’m not sure how many cities and smaller urban centers is on Mandalore though doctor Zaz - the one telling Duchess about poisoned children - did mention they have gotten “reports from across the planet” [s03e05] what may suggest there are other biger cities. How one feed so many people when Mandalore itself to a large extent has contaminated and / or infertile to cultivate lands?

Mandalore may have exclusive goods for sale (advanced technology or art work, maybe? and according to Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Friends like these, the potential economic power of Mandalore was build  around export of beskar) but A) its economy most likely had problems in the recent past (due to Civil War) and B) the shutting down of Concordia’s mines could cause some tension between Mandalore and its moon, depending how economy of one affect the other and C) seems to be dependent on the import of basic goods like food. At this point I think in case of war, Republic don’t even need besiege the planet, just cut it off from food supplies and medicine, and Mandalore is in big trouble.

Kalevala on other hand seems doing much better than previously discussed places, even though TCW did only mention it few times. The Essential Guide states that Kalevala as a toxic desert type of planet. And yet there is at least one New Mandalorian settlement. Satine Kryze and Tal Merrik were born on Kalevala and both have aristocratic (albeit not really clarified) roots. What is more important, tie-in materials like TCW Character Encyclopedia & Visual Guide: New Battlefronts provide additional information suggesting that Kalevala has exclusive goods that  are suitable for export and may positively influence the economy of the planet. Like:

rich cloth

an expensive wine (seen in Voyage of Temptation [s02e13] and maybe it’s what Satine drank in “Corruption” [s03e05]) and

luxury liner(s) like Coronet. In other words, I think TCW and tie-in materials imply that Kalevala produces diversified goods that probably power the economy in a visible way. Of course, we don’t know how much Kalevala is dependent on food supplies from other planet(s) or how much suffered during cutting off Mandalore system from trade routes, but if there is expensive wine, shouldn’t that means there is also some sort of plantation that provides the necessary ingredients for production, to make the wine unique on the galactic market?

Of course, the limited amount of information only allows to draw some basic conjectures. Right now for me Kalevala seems to be the most economical prospering place of all three. At least to Clone Wars.

[kaeyas-beloved]

Mint Eye Madness Ch. 6

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 ~ Coming Soon

Took too long to make this, been losing the will(?) to write recently but I still want to... make sense? Real qucik, (N/N) means nichname for all you readers who didn’t know or needed a refresher^^ Hope you enjoy!

*TW Swearing, Mentions of Weapons/Blood/Drugging (?) Mention/Implied Torture (?), Slight Violence, Name calling*  

List of Triggers COULD be added and some I’m not 100% certain of so please be wary while reading this series, Thank you.

Bang

Bang

Bang

Loud knocks on the wooden door of the cabin stir me from my slumber and I awaken to, not only panicked faces of Saeyoung and Vanderwood, but also Saeran walking over and opening the door, almost like he was expecting them. When the door is fully open, from what I can make out with my blurry vision from just waking up, are 6 Mint Eye Believers and a man with mint blue hair. Wait a minute… that’s V! I jolt up at seeing all the people who have entered the semi-cramped space of the cabin’s living room and hiss in pain from my wounds. Attention is drawn to me from everyone, all eyes are now on me. I sit up a little better and try to stand up but I’m gently pushed back down by Saeyoung. I look up to him, about to say something when he shakes his head. I get the message, he wants me to not say anything and, probably, wants me to not stress myself further.

“You can take me and Vanderwood, just leave her here.” Saeyoung says without looking away from me. My eyes widen. He’s really going to sacrifice himself and Vanderwood just because I have a couple scrapes!? Ha! Yeah right! I stand up, startling Saeyoung a little, causing him to take a step back. I bite my tongue, suppressing the urge to voice my distress, although I’m sure my face portrays my pain anyways. Just as I open my mouth again to argue, V interrupts me.

“Get her too” He orders. The Believers nod and start to advance towards us three. The room isn’t that big so they reach us quick. One Believer goes to each Vanderwood and Saeyoung, grabbing and binding their arms behind their backs. I, unfortunately, get two Believers to restrain me, which they do rather harshly. They bind us with thick rope which is sure to dig into our flesh if we struggle enough, well, from how tight they tied me, I’m not sure about the others.

“Saeran as well” V says after awhile.

“What!?” Saeran growls at him. The remaining two Believers grab and tie Saeran too, but not without a fight from Saeran.

“Let go! Now!” He yells while squirming, trying his hardest to escape the circumstances that Saeyoung, Vanderwood and I are in now. Saeran was unfortunately unsuccessful and ended up getting bounded like the rest of us. We start filing out of the cabin and into the forest, heading in the direction of Mint Eye. I’m in the front, followed by Saeyoung, Vanderwood then Saeran. Specking of Saeran, it seems he’s given up on fighting, for now at least. I sigh quietly, not sure what lies ahead for us. The one thing I know is that it’s in no way good.

 It sort of blurred together, the walk I mean. It seemed to have taken no time at all but I know that the walk from that cabin to the M.E headquarters takes a couple hours. Our surroundings such as the sky have changed colour, also proving that a long time has passed. As we all approach the front entrance, V chants the password to get in. Shroud your vision, and you shall be saved. After saying it so many times and it being practically drilled into your head, there’s no real way to forget that sentence that would give access to the whole building, like now. After being granted entrance into the cult, we walk through hallway after hallway to finally reach what I’ve been dreading.

A bookcase at the end of the hall.

Not just any bookcase though, pulling the right book forward will open one of the passage ways that can lead to the basement. Yes, there are more than one. The Believer on my right reaches over and pulls on one of the books in from of me, or rather it’s a play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Funny how the play ends in a tragedy and the basement is full of those too, makes you wonder if it’s actually a coincidence or not.

After the play is pulled a small click is heard and the book shelf moves forward slightly. The same Believer that pulled the play pulls the shelf forward revealing a winding staircase that travels down. The walls are made of a sort of tan coloured brick and it’s a little stuffy. The Believer returns to my right and I’m roughly shoved forward, a sign that I should start moving my ass or else. Knowing that if I did get free, even with a gun, it’s 1 against 6 where all 6 are armed with guns too, and I’m injured. Maybe if I wasn’t injured, I could take them down, but right now I can’t. So, begrudgingly, I start to descend down the staircase.

Our footsteps echo around us as we walk through a hall that’s lined with cells, both small and big, before finally making it to a large one at the end of it. Our bindings are cut then the twins, Vanderwood and I are practically thrown into the cell.

“You too traitor” one of the Believers states in a deep voice before pushing V in too. V was caught off guard so he wasn’t prepared for it and ended up stumbling in. He would have fallen to the ground if I didn’t catch him at the last second, and I grunt a little in pain at the use of my arm. I wasn’t able to stand for that long though, so I suppose I only delayed and cushioned V’s fall, bring myself down too along the way. I landed on my butt while V landed over of my legs. V realized after a while and quickly got off and apologized and I told him it was okay. I stand up, walk right up to the cell’s metal bars and glare at the Believers, continuing to do so even as they all walk back down the corridor. Well, except for one who remained in their spot in front of us.

“It’s good to see you again (N/N)… I’ve missed you” a small male voice said. I recognized the voice almost immediately.

“Louis? Is that you?” I ask in a whisper, not believing my ears. But I am right. The cloaked figure grabs their hood and flips it over their head to reveal Louis, a blond haired, brown eyed guy. Louis is about 5’9 with a build like V’s. I smile at Louis, new hope filling me that there might actually be a way out of here.

“I’ve missed you too Louis. I would give you a hug, but I’m sort of locked in here,” I say with a nervous laugh as I motion to the bars separating us. I lower my voice to a whisper, “how about you let us out, I’m sure you have the key Louis! Please, then we can all get out of here!” I say with hope in my voice. What he does next surprises me, he chuckles. A somewhat dark chuckle.

“Oh, you mean this key,” he asks, holding up a set of keys that dangle around a ring. I nod my head up and down vigorously.

“Yes, yes, oh my god yes Louis! I knew you’d have them! Now can you-” I was cut off by Louis thrusting his free hand through the bars and his hand wrapping around my neck. My eyes widen at the action and I immediately start to struggle. He pulls me closer to the bars so now the side of my face is pressed up against them. Louis leans close to my ear and whispers in it.

“You’re not getting out (N/N), I won’t let you…” he lets go of my throat and I quickly back away to look at him in disbelief. I look him over and then my eyes widen for a second time. Louis’ eyes, which are suppose to be a brown, are right now shine a bring green minty colour like Saeran’s eyes. Realization hits me, he’s under the influence of the Elixir.

“You’re not the Louis I know!” I say while pointing an accusing finger at him. He merely raises his hands in mock surrender.

“Guilty as charged” he replies with a smirk that’s laced with a mixture of amusement and malice, I growl and hang my head, looking at the ground and trying to keep my tears at bay.

“Nothing to say, hm? Well, then I’ll be going. It was nice seeing you again (N/N)” before he can walk all the way down the hall and out of sight I speck up.

“How long?” The footsteps stop and by the sound of it he didn’t turn around.

“How long?” He echoes back in question.

“How long have you been like you are now?” I clarify. Louis is silent for a small time before he starts to talk again and says the words that I was praying to any god that would listen to a sinner like me that he wouldn’t say.

“When you left me, a year and a half ago” moments later his footsteps start up again, and I know that he’s walking away now for good. When I know he’s far enough away I let some of the tears spill over and run down my cheeks, also wetting my hand in the process because I cupped it over my mouth to muffle the pain, the pain that I feel in my chest right now. The pain of leaving a friend behind when you know there was nothing you could do and yet you still blame yourself. The pain of knowing what happened after they got caught and you got away. Or that you promised you would come back for them and yet it was proven harder than you thought, therefore making it take forever.

“(Y/N)…” Saeyoung starts, walking over and placing a hand on my uninjured shoulder. I turn around and burry my head into his chest, wrapping my arms around his torso too, sobbing the pain away or at least hoping to numb it. Saeyoung wraps his one arm around me while taking the other and rubbing soothing circles on my back. After a while I calm down and start to doze off a bit, but one comment was able to make me wide awake.

“She’s like you, abandoning people who don’t really mean anything to them, only acting like they do.” That came from Saeran.  

“Shut up” I mumble into Saeyoung’s chest.

“What?” I heard Saeran ask in a quiet voice. I lift my head up and look over at him.

“I said ‘shut up’. You don’t know the circumstances at the time” I retort but maybe a little to harshly. Saeran looks at me blankly for a little bit until he rushes forward, ripping me from Saeyoung’s hold, and, holding me by the collar of my shirt, pushing me up against the cell’s bared wall.

“I don’t know the circumstances, I don’t?! HA! I don’t need to know all the details to know that you left Louis just so you could get out. Why you’d even want out is beyond me. How about you tell me why! Hm? Why’d ya leave!? Leave two of your ‘friends’!?” Saeran roughly pushes me into the bars which also means he’s digging his balled fists into my shoulder joints, right where my one wound is located.

“Ah!” I yelp in pain and Saeran drops me to the ground. I sit up against the bars, not really wanting to stand up. I bring my left hand to my right shoulder where the wound is and place it on top of it. On contact, I feel wetness but I pray it’s not blood. I pull my hand back to look at it and sure enough it is blood. There isn’t that mush so I don’t think its bleeding that much. It’ll probably stay that way too, not bleeding that much, since there’s no reason right now for my blood to pump fast through my body.

“To answer your question Saeran, if you got off the Elixir then maybe you’d see it yourself, but this place isn’t a paradise, it’s a goddamn horror show! You know this but your so called “Saviour” brainwashed you, she manipulated you to thinking she’s helping you, when really she’s making you worse!” I say with anger laced in my voice. Saeran whips his head to look at me again but this time it’s already showing anger. He storms back over to me and delivers a swift kick to my stomach making me fall to my side and clutch it.

“Saeran!” Saeyoung shouts but is ignored. Vanderwood starts to walk over to grab Saeran but one look from me has him stopping in his tracks.

“Don’t you dare talk about The Saviour like that you worthless, pathetic traitor!” Saeran leans down close to my ear and whispers, “you know, I think you’re a bigger traitor than both these jokes behind me and I know you know how much I hate them. So, knowing that, how much do you think I hate you hm?” I look into Saeran’s eyes and see pure hatred so I look down to the ground, not being able to look him in the eye knowing that he really does hate me, truly hate me. “Nothing to say? Well okay.” Saeran walks to the corner of the cell and sits down, his head hanging down. I remain in my spot. There’s this awkward silence after, no one specks, we just sit or stand. Saeyoung’s made his way to my side by now, and has pulled my up so I’m laying on his lap though I don’t pay mind to it, too busy thinking over my past mistakes and a way to get out too.

“He’s asleep” Vanderwood’s voice rings out after awhile. We all look towards him but all he does is nod his head in Saeran’s direction. We all get it, well probably not V, he blind, that it now means there isn’t anyone to really stop us from doing something to get out.

“We have to find a way out now” I say and sit up slowly, with a little bit of Saeyoung’s help.

“I may have a way” V answers then pulls out a phone, “there’s not much battery left so you’ll have to be quick.”

“Okay, Saeyoung.” I say then look at him and he nods, knowing that I want him to do it. Saeyoung reaches out and grabs the phone from V. He leans back down near me and I can see him access the messenger and send the coordinates. Just after it sends, the phone dies.

“Let’s hope Jumin gets it” Saeyoung whispers before pocketing the now useless phone. I hum, agreeing, and lay back down on his lap, awaiting what will happen to us next and thinking about how I’ll have to explain what the conversation between Saeran and I means. In the process of thinking, I end up falling asleep on Saeyoung’s lap. I’ll have to enjoy it though, because I know it’ll be the only peace I get before all hell breaks loose.

Not much action I know, but you did get a little bit more info on your background (I hope)! Again sorry this took so long as I mentioned at the beginning that I’m not really writing as much these days but I still want to write! Don’t know when the next chapter will be, might take forever again sorry :( Hope you still enjoyed tho^^     

[heytherebluesky]

Shikaneji Fisrt Fic.

The situation was delicate. Shikamaru was commanding a team whose objective was to investigate a suspected case of possible political corruption in the nearby town of Shikouza. It was one of the closest towns to Konoha, only a few kilometers separated them. And although it was much smaller and quiet, it was believed that some of its leaders were having secret dialogues with enemy cities. At least that was Tsunade's justification when she ordered Shikamaru to gather a team and go out to look for evidence. The Nara summoned his most trusted shinobis, that is, those who had been his academy companions, and whom he knew will most probably carry out his orders. Being a very young captain, many older shinobis did not feel comfortable taking orders from him.

   His team was made up of his best friends Choji and Ino, and he had included Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Naruto, Tenten and Neji. They were many for a mission of espionage, but Shikamaru needed all of them, according to the plan he had carefully plotted in his head. The suspects were many too, and they should seize time investigating them simultaneously. But knowing that the primary objective of the mission was not to be discovered, he had filled his backpack with protective and camouflage seals, which he himself had prepared, after learning about them in the Konoha’s library.

   With Shikamaru’s instructions, the team had managed to collect a lot of useful information. Separated into small groups and guided by their captain through the wireless microphones, they separated into small groups and managed to identify several of the suspects. After the observation confirmed several times the place and time of meeting of the enemies that night, Shikamaru gave the order to return to the clearing where they were camping to prepare the next plan. He would have preferred them to settle inside the town, where they could have continued to make inquiries talking to the villagers, but being so many, they would have attracted too much attention.

   Shikamaru distributed personal seals that were placed on the chest among the members of his team. When activated, the chakra marks of those who carried them diminished. He knew that there were probabilities that they had sensory ninjas distributed around the meeting place, so they needed to kept that covered.

   Once prepared and knowing the roles of each one, they left.

   The meeting place was an old training center that was currently used as a bureaucratic building. There it was assumed that monetary management was carried out, and land was assigned to the citizens to work for them. As a loan, of course, because the land always belonged to the feudal lord. Shikamaru did not like politics at all, because he found it unfair and stupid. That is why he had rejected so many times the proposal of big landowners to join his team of consultants. But those were the laws of the world in which he lived, and he had to endure them.

   Shikamaru had got a map of the old place sniffing around in the village library. It would have been suspicious to start making a copy by hand in front of other users, but he did not need it. Shikamaru’s memory reached an incredible level of detail, so much that sometimes it was overwhelming. He needed only to look once at any graphic or text to remember it exactly. In fact, he considered that maybe 85% of his intelligence came from his eidetic memory. Most people did not know this quality though, and he preferred that they didn’t. People tended to uplift some mechanisms of his mind too much, and that did not please him at all.

   They entered the compound through a crack in the ground dug by Kiba. Akamaru must have stayed to wait in the forest, since its penetrating smell could have given them away. Once inside, they found themselves, as Shikamaru predicted, in an old gutter through which waterways passed previously. Now the rivers had been diverted, and the distribution of water was through another circuit. But this had left a very useful earth tunnel that surrounded much of the halls of the old construction.

   The team began to walk, trusting the eyes of the two Bakugan users to know where there were people. When they found someone, they stopped and put small amplifying microphones on the walls that they transmitted to their hearing aids. The sound was poor and with a lot of interference, but they could hear most of the dialogues.

   Shikamaru was concentrating on analyzing each of the words that came to his mind from the conversation of two sullen-looking adult men, when a muffled explanation of surprise came from behind him. He turned to see who had made the sound. It was Hinata, who was staring at a point behind the wall with wide eyes and an expression of surprise.

   He approached her and questioned her by moving his lips as if he were talking, but not doing so. "What?", he modulated.

   Hinata used the lowest voice her body allowed her to emit.

   -A member of my clan has just arrived.

   That he didn’t expected. At first Shikamaru thought she was confused, but a quick glance at Neji confirmed the sentence. The Hyūga had a frown and was observing the same place as his cousin.

   -Who?- Shikamaru asked again without sound.

   -His name is Hisao, is a very important main house member -Hinata whispered .

   This was weird. Very weird. Not only was he a Konoha person, he was someone from one of the oldest and most prestigious clans in the city. That a Hyūga was involved in a case of corruption could be complicated, because even having evidence against him, they had so much power in the village that it would be very difficult to thoroughly investigate one of their members.  Shikamaru decided not to draw conclusions in advance. But that was not the only reason why the Hyūga’s presence in that place did not please him at all. Luckily he had taken the precaution of decreasing their chakra emissions, but if the man decided for some reason to light his Bakugan, they were lost. This put them in a situation of extreme vulnerability. He shook those thoughts off and concentrated on the conversation that had just begun.

   -Very punctual, Hisao. Did you bring the documents?

   Shikamaru listened as someone waved a bunch of papers.

   -Of course, I have them here. Can we start now?

   -The ambassador has not arrived yet, but we can pass to the room.

   Ambassador? This reunion was filling up with interesting characters. Shikamaru did not know what the guy would be ambassador of, but what he had no doubt was that a person with that type of charge should not frequent secret and suspicious meetings.

   -They're moving, -Neji whispered, beginning to walk slowly next to the men. The rest of the team moved with him, following the same path as the suspects.

   After about 50 meters, the Huga cousins stopped.

   -What's going on? -Shikamaru asked Neji.

   -They entered a room. They have sat down and now they are just waiting.

   In the gloom of the tunnel, illuminated only by a lantern light held by Tenten, Shikamaru could see the features of the Hyūga boy. His frown was still puckered, and there was a certain air of threat in his eyes, which remained nailed to the wall. The Nara had no doubt that his eyes were fixed on the other Hyūga. His face was calm, however, demonstrating Neji's abilities to control his emotions.

   Shikamaru lowered his head to listen more intently to the shallow, halting talk that the men on the other side of the wall were holding while they waited. As he did so, he caught sight of Neji's tight, clenched fists in the shadows. There was no doubt he hated the guy.

   Suddenly the sound of a door opening was heard, and someone else entered the room. Shikamaru moved closer to the wall and closed his eyes to concentrate on the conversation that was finally beginning. As far as he could tell from the words, it was the ambassador, although they had not yet clarified who he represented. Apparently, the man in question had managed to remove some important documents on the distribution of land in the province, and had the intention of replacing them with an altered version of the same, to be able to introduce changes in the disposition. Apparently, Hisao's role had been to use his bakugan to identify a random document in Konoha that possessed the signature of the feudal lord, and to steal it, in order to copy the personal mark. In addition, he managed to get someone to create a false stamp identical to the one on the paper that represented the officiality of the document.

   The situation was undoubtedly murky. From the coming and going of the talk, Shikamaru understood that the objective of the operation was to allocate more land to some villages  considered allies under surveillance, due to previous situations where they showed their disloyalty to the union of districts to which Konoha belonged. In exchange for this modification behind the fief back, the Ambassador and the Hyuga involved would receive economic incentives. Shikamaru considered the situation for a moment. It was probably an individual action from Hisao , since he had no evidence that the rest of his clan was involved. That was good, but it was still very likely that his family would use his influence to cover it. No doubt going back to Konoha with this information would end up being very troublesome for him.

   Shikamaru concluded that they had sufficient data, and that staying in the area would only increase the chances that they would be discovered by Hisao. He gestured to his team to have the microphones removed and set off, to go back the way they had come. Neji took a few seconds to follow them. He seemed to be trying to kill his superior with his eyes, but finally gave up and walked back to the group.

   When they reached the clearing where they had camped, the debate began.

   -Well, it looks like we have them! -Naruto spoke with confidence.

   -Not so fast. We really have no proof of anything. -Shikamaru replied.

   -What??? We just heard all their plan!

   -So what? Recording them was impossible because of interference. Even if we go back to Konoha and tell all this to the Hokague, she will need us to confirm it in some way.

   -How ridiculous. She trusts our word.

   -It's not a matter of trust, Naruto. It is a matter of procedure. No testimony is unbeatable if it can not be proven.

   -But we know what we saw, right? -Tenten interjected. -We know the truth, we just have to find a way to show it.

   -Of course! -Kiba added. -Let's go back to Konoha and accuse that idiot Hyūga. It will be easy to show that he is involved.

   -Do not count on it. -it was the voice of Neji, who came calm as always, but a little dry and resentful.

   -And why not, your highness? It's very simple. We just follow him around a little ‘till he do something incriminatory. -Kiba replied with a mocking tone.

   -You do not know the Hyuga clan. They will do the impossible to protect any member of the main house. It does not matter how dirty the accusation is. Hisao is among the cruelest of them, and he is an aspirant to the central Hyūga council. They have covered him before, and they will do it now.

   -But this does not make sense. If we get evidence, however powerful they may not prevent us from exposing them, right? -Ino said.

   -I'm sorry, but I do not think any of you really understand what levels the influence of the Hyūga clan reaches.

   Shikamaru did. Hell sure he did. He had read several books in the library about the formation of the city, and about the arrival of the first allied clans. The Hyuga were among the first, and in their eagerness to protect their prized ocular jutsu, they had committed many atrocities. Among which could be mentioned the creation of the secondary branch and the cursed seal, which in Shikamaru's opinion was one of the most twisted things he had ever heard about in his life.

   While the discussion continued, Shikamaru stood in silence, his gaze fixed on an invisible point, analyzing the information he had. He would cling to the idea that these acts were the individual will of the greater Hyūga. He had no concrete indications to affirm the opposite, and the scenario that this would imply would be much more troublesome. On the way back, he would ask Neji and Hinata if they thought Hiashi was aware of the situation. If they said no, he would inform the Hokage of the events and propose that their uncle be summoned to a private reunion to discuss it with him. And if Tsunade-sama did not order him to investigate further, she would take the matter into her hands and the problem would be over for him.

   -What should we do, Shikamaru? -Choji's reassuring and appeasing voice came between the discussion. Everyone were silent and looked at him.

   He opened his mouth to talk but was silenced by Neji.

   -Wait. Somebody is approaching.

   -What? -Sakura asked.

   -I feel chakras coming towards us. -He said this while activating his Bakugan. Seconds later his already livid skin got even more paler.

   -It's Hisao and two other men. One was in the meeting, the other has his face covered by a hood.

   -They are going to pass directly in front of us. -Hinata had activated her Bakugan too.

   -How far are they? -Shikamaru asked as his mind accelerated.

   -About seventy meters. -Neji answered.

   -If we try to run away now they can hear us. And if we stay, they will see us. -Ino panicked.

   It was true. The vegetation was not very coarse in that area, and they were too many. They still had the seals that decreased their chakra emissions, but that would not work if the enemy saw them directly.

   Shikamaru took out his backpack, opened it and pulled out a roll of paper, a brush and an ink jar. He walk a few steps and place the roll on the floor, unwrapping about 90 centimeters. He hastened to write some words with the brush, and when he finished he put his hands together and spoke a few words.

   The air around them seemed to tremble as if it were a gelatinous mass.

   -What the hell was that? -Naruto asked.

   -It will keep us invisible in a range of 4 meters for 20 minutes, as long as no one crosses the seal. That's why you should stay behind it. We will keep silence until they pass.

   But they did not pass. They reached the clearing where the group was concentrated at one end, and they stopped.

   -Let's stop here for a moment. -said Hisao.

   They did not seem to have noticed their presence. A space of approximately three meters separated them. They could see and hear them perfectly. If everything went well, they would have gone away in less than 20 minutes without discovering them, and maybe they would even get a little more information. But they could not make any sound.

   -Why have you brought this kid, Hisao? -asked the man who was at the meeting.

   -I needed help to bring the money. You know that an operation like this presupposes convincing many supervisors. And a lot of money means a lot of weight.

   - So you had to put a lot of your money?

   -Take it as an investment. In short time it will return multiplied.

   Both men smiled with satisfaction.

   -And why do we stop to rest? You are not carrying anything now.

   Hisao laughed at the thought that he might be tired.

   -We are not going to rest. Come here, boy.

   He gestured to the hooded person to come closer. The figure hesitated long before taking the first fearful steps towards the man.

   -Hurry, we do not have all day.

   When the stranger reached him, Hisao pulled out his hood, discovering the terrified face of another Hyūga. He shouldn’t be more than 20 years old.

   Shikamaru turned his face slightly to look at Neji and Hinata. By their expressions they seemed to know him. They both watched the scene with their eyes wide open.

   -Take off your Hitai-ate.

   -Mister please. I will not say anything.

   -Come one, Haru, let's not make a scene.

   -No, sir, I swear, I will not tell it. I swear. -the young man began to cry. He watched as if the temperature had turned polar.

   A chill ran down Shikamaru's spine and his stomach contracted. That boy had the cursed seal. And Hisao was going to use it to kill him.

   Some of his teammates had not yet got to this conclusion, but Shikamaru's mind was already analyzing his possibilities. If they tried to save the boy, they would have to face the two men. They could probably win, but if this guy was willing to kill a branch house member, nothing would stop him from trying to killing Neji too. And since the weapon to do it was graven directly on the boy's forehead, the chances of the older Hyūga for getting it activated were too high. Or they let one person die, or two probably would .

   Hisao had taken out the young man’s Hitai-tie and thrown it unceremoniously aside. Then he put one of his hands on the kid’s forehead.

   -Shhh -he whispered. -You did a good job.

   -No, please, don’t. -Hiro cried inconsolably. Shikamaru did not ask himself why he wasn’t running, because he knew that many seals could be activated at certain distances. The boy knew he had no chance against the spell tattooed on his forehead.

   Shikamaru noticed a movement to his left, and saw the startled face of Naruto, who had just understood the situation.The Nara knew that he would try to intervene. He couldn’t allow it, he couldn’t put Neji's life in danger too.

   With no need to use his hands, he extended two shadows tentacles and grabbed Naruto before he could move. The blond young boy was about to throw an insult to him, but when he looked at Shikamaru to do so, the Nara shook his head vehemently and pointed at Neji, who was a few steps behind him. When Naruto looked at him, he seemed to understand. He relaxed his body and closed his eyes, still unable to believe that they were going to let an innocent man die. But he would have felt worse if he had to bear the guilt of the death of a friend.

   A cry of panic caught Shikamaru's attention, and he turned his head to the scene in front of them. Hisao had begun to utter the words that would activate the cursed seal.

   Shikamaru turned his face again, this time to look at Neji. What he saw filled him with grief, and at the same time put him on alert. The young Hyuga's eyes were fixed on Hiro's forehead, more open than ever. He trembled from head to toe, already totally unaware that his teammates could see him. There was no way someone could hide a fear like the one he should be feeling.

   When the cries of pain began to fill the clearing, Neji closed his eyes and lowered his head. His fists were clenched on the sides of his body. Shikamaru could still see his face, and it looked like he was about to scream too.

   He had to do something, or Neji would discover them, digging his own grave. He started walking toward the boy, as slow as he could to make no sound on the grass. He stopped right in front of Neji, covering his vision. He placed himself only a few centimeters away.

   Neji slowly raised his head and looked at him, perhaps hoping he would offer some solution. Shikamaru did not have it, but he had to try that, despite the terrible situation, Neji did not lose sense of where they were and understood that he should keep silent.

   Shikamaru raised a hand and placed his index finger on his lips. Neji nodded, but when a new round of shouting broke the silence of the forest, tears began to flow from his eyes, and he seemed about to sob. Shikamaru quickly turned his hand and covered Neji's mouth with his palm. But the poor boy still seemed about to collapse.

   Around them, their friends looked at each other in anguish at the impotence. No one was watching the scene anymore, it was too strong. Hinata started crying silently and covered her ears. Many of them closed their eyes, as if not seeing help not to listen.

   Shikamaru felt Neji shaking violently, and put his other hand on his back to bring them closer together. He placed his lips over the boy's ear and inside of it he whispered:

   -Shhh...

   He felt Neji's tears wet the palm of his hand. Never in his life had he seen him cry. In fact, he was sure that none of those present had. It was really disturbing.

   A longer, heartbreaking scream erupted, and Neji's fingers dug into the sides of Shikamaru's thighs. The Nara clenched his teeth to contain the sudden pain. Now he would also have to worry about not shouting himself. Hoping it would cushion the sound a little, Shikamaru turned Neji's head to placed one of his ears against his chest, while still covering his mouth. With the other hand he covered his other ear.

   Neji dug his fingers deeper and pressed hard against Shikamaru's chest. He could not help the thought that this young man, who was dying ahead of him, could easily be him. And that made him feel like he was.

   The screams ceased slowly. Shikamaru turned his head a little to see, and saw. He saw Hiro's body lying on the ground with a hole in his empty head, spread over a pool of blood. Shikamaru knew how the cursed seal worked. To protect the Bakugan, the seal not only melted the eyes, but also most of the brain, so that its remains could not be studied.

   -Ok, let's go. -Hisao said when finishing his task.

   -You will not have problems if we leave the body here?

   -Nobody will recognize it. It’s another of the advantages of the seal. Not only does it protect the Bakugan, it also prevents a Hyūga from being identified from a corpse with the naked eye. Today it will rain and all this area will flood, as always happens. The flood of the river will take the body and no one will never find it. Trust me.

   Hearing him speak like that of the cursed seal, as if it were the best invention of mankind instead of an unjust and sadistic weapon, made Shikamaru's blood boil in his veins. On his chest, Neji still shivered and held back his crying as much as he could.

   After Hisao changed his coat for another one, since the one he was wearing had been spattered with blood, the two men left. When he was sure they had gotten far enough away, Shikamaru pulled his hands from Neji's head and placed them immediately on the fingers digging into his thighs. He separated the Hyūga's hands from his legs and held them for a moment, stepping back a little to see his face. His eyes were still closed and he was crying silently.

   -Oh, Kami. That was horrible. -Sakura exclaimed, drying some of the tears she had also shed.

   As soon as those words broke the silence, Neji fell to his knees on the grass. He closed his fists tightly on the lawn and lowered his head, breathing hard.  He was very disturbed.

   -Neji! -Tenten shouted as she ran to his side. She put an arm around him and tried to comfort him.

   Hinata approached to them and knelt too, just crying with her hands joined.

   Shikamaru turned once more and looked at the body again. There were different things in his mind: a feeling of hatred for the older Hyuga, frustration for not being able to intervene, a heartbreaking guilt for letting the boy die, the uncertainty about how to handle things next. And the salty smell of Neji's tears through his hand.

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

   Well, this was my first Fic. Sorry if it's not very well written, English is not my first language. If anyone is interested in being my beta, I will appreciate it very much! I accept any correction. You will also see that I use the metric system, I hope it is not too confusing.

   I tried to add a drawing to illustrate but I'm bad at drawing. So I took the base of this image www.zerochan.net/2007184 . Sorry author. I also just realized that Neji should have his Hitai-ate, but I'm not able to draw it, so I'll leave it like that.

   All the characters belong to the Naruto series.

[anonwriter27]

Story Eight (Finale)

I don’t believe in fairy tales, but I believe in you and me.

It’ll never work out, I’m a Baratheon we’re doomed when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Myrcella had spent the entire train journey telling herself the same thing over and over again, that she was unworthy of happiness.

She stared out the window watching as the trees past her by; she then looked down at her stomach, the small swell bringing a smile to her face, I wonder if they’ll look like him, she wondered. She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts.

She hadn’t meant to get pregnant it just sort of happened, then again, she hadn’t meant to fall in love with Robb Stark, it just sort of happened.

He was a gentlemen, handsome and charming in an unassuming way. He didn’t look for attention nor did he praise it when it was showered upon him. He was a tall, hairy, north man, his auburn curls unruly and unkept, but Myrcella loved him.

It wasn’t a happy love, it was excruciatingly painful; you see Robb was arranged to court Talisa Maegyr of the Volantis Maegyrs. He liked Talisa well enough, but the second Myrcella walked into that hall in a dress of sequinned  gold, his heart would never be the same.

Myrcella would often spend time with his youngest sister Arya. She was a welcome guest at Wintefell; Arya didn’t care for other ladies company so it was a relief that she had found friendship with the Baratheon beauty (Catelyn hoped Myrcella would be a good influence on her outspoken daughter).

Robb used this to his advantage, he would purposefully work from home on days he knew she was coming over for tea. He would make sure he looked his best and she was no different. She would check her hair at least five times before she left her house, her dresses were always pressed and neat on the days she would travel to Winterfell.

He was always the one to greet her at the door, much to the butlers dismay (he often liked to see the young girls warm smile). She blushed profusely when he kissed the back of her hand. They had been doing this for a solid three months before people started to notice.

One such occasion was the ball at Harrenhal.

Myrcella had walked in, her hand resting in her brother Tommen’s arm. She was always so beautiful. She didn’t try to look seductive, she didn’t layer her face in the finest paints and blush, or drench herself in perfumes that all smelled of lavender. Her look was effortless but no less beautiful, her innocent smile and shy disposition only added to her charm.

Robb always smiled when he saw her, and Talisa had noticed this. She had no reason to hate Myrcella, every girl north of the wall swooned at the sight of Robb Stark, so she couldn’t blame the girl for that. It was the fact that Robb felt the same for her, and that was all the reason Talisa needed to show contempt for the young blonde.

“I wonder Robb,” Talisa whispered to him, distracting him for a moment, “Why is it you stare at her like that?” Robb blushed, “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“Well she’s hardly a comely thing. Her mannerisms are not quite polished enough for a lady of her age. The way she runs around your family’s courtyard with those pack of wolves is hideous. As for her style, well the question is does she have any? Perhaps she is merely simple and that’s why she hasn’t changed to the Tyrell silks, everyone else has. And that insipid way she smiles, she must be simple, no one is that….”

“Stop!” Robb said to her, and the three tables around them turned to look at the pair.

“Robb please…” Talisa said, clearly embarrassed.

Robb straightened his stance, adopted his gentleman exterior and kissed the back of her hand.

“Thank you Talisa, you saved me from a big mistake.” With that he left, and he never saw that woman again.

………………

Ever since then Robb and Myrcella’s affections for each other had become more obvious. Catelyn always shared a knowing smile with her husband when they watched Robb ask Myrcella for a dance. Robert had been thrilled by the idea of a match between the Baratheons and Starks, Cersei however had other plans.

She had arranged for Trystane Martell to start courting her daughter, Myrcella and Robb’s romance  was informal, therefore Cersei was within her rights to push her daughter towards then you man she deemed a more suitable match.

Myrcella had refused, but Robert couldn’t argue with his wife. There was bad blood between the Martells and Baratheons, an alliance through marriage would be helpful.

She left her house in the dead of night and met with Robb in the woods.

“I won’t go to Dorne, I want to be here with you!” She cried. “They can’t force you, surely?” Myrcella remembered something her uncle Tyrion told her, “Cersei always gets what she wants.” She echoed.

“I won’t let them,” he said defiantly, “You can stay at Winterfell with me, we can make them understand, they won’t be able to argue.”

“But your reputation… what will people think?” She asked.

Robb hadn’t thought of that, he didn’t care for his own reputation but he wouldn’t risk Myrcella’s. It would look like she had ran away with a lover, people would gossip and call her all sorts.

“Then we marry anyway! We can do it tonight, I know it won’t be the wedding of your dreams but I’ll spend every day making it up to you. You’ll be the happiest wife in Westeros…” He rambled.

“Robb?” “Yes?” “I love you so much.”

He walked up to her and kissed her hard on the mouth. They didn’t plan for it to go that far but all of a sudden they were lying down on the forest floor, naked and out of breathe, staring up at the sky, silently promising forever.

Her mother had slapped her across the face the next day. Myrcella had come home in the early hours of the morning with a few stray leaves in her hair, Cersei’s face turned as red as her dress.

“You stupid girl! Giving yourself to that kind of man! He won’t want you now, no man will, you’re damaged goods!”

“That’s not true, Robb said….”

“Robb said whatever he had to say to get you to sleep with him. Haven’t you heard? The Maegyr girl has insisted they will be engaged by the end of the month.”

Myrcella felt the bile rise in her throat, hot tears staining her cheeks. Cersei softened at the sight of her daughter.

“My sweet girl, you aren’t the first girl to be tricked by a man, nor will you be the last. Trystane doesn’t have to know about this, we’ll keep it a secret….”

Myrcella listened to her mother scheme though no words registered in her mind.

……………….

Myrcella learned she was pregnant three months later, she hadn’t spoken to Robb. Her mother hid the letters he wrote to her and turned him away whenever he visited the house.

This is going to be harder to cover up, Myrcella thought.

It was then Myrella decided she would do something for herself. I don’t want my family name if it means this, she thought. She packed her bag, taking only the money she had on her and a book for the journey. She headed for the train station and booked a ticket to Casterly Rock, knowing her uncle Tyrion would always be there for her, no matter what the circumstances.

So here she was, sat alone on a train, a book in her hand, a baby in her belly, and a tear falling down her cheek.

Myrcella didn’t believe in fairy tales, they convinced the wisest people to act like fools; she would teach her child better, she would let them know that there is always a moral to the story, even if she couldn’t see it herself.

The train pulled to a stop and she looked out the window to see her destination.

She couldn’t see much, the thick smoke of the train hung like a fog around the station. As it cleared, a face she never thought she’d see again presented itself. There stood Robb Stark, out of breathe and sweaty.

She walked off the train trying to compose herself. She didn’t want him to see her cry.

“Hello.” She said lamely. “Myrcella I….” “Is your wife with you? Casterly Rock is a lovely trip out, I’m sure she’ll love it.” She said, a fake smile adorned her face.

“I’m afraid your misinformed Miss Baratheon, I am not married.” He said.

She paused, mustering up as much strength as she could to spit out her words.

“But Talisa said… you were to propose months ago.” She said. “The ramblings of a fantasist.” He clarified, “I wrote to you.”

“I didn’t receive any letters.” She said, cursing her mother. “I wanted to see you, I was going to climb the walls of Kingslanding until Arys caught me.

She chuckled at that, “I thought…”

“I know what you must have thought, but please know that I never intended to dishonour you like that. I want you to marry me Myrcella, I want to be the one to make you smile and laugh. I want to be with you till the end of my days.” He said hopefully.

She hesitated, “Happily ever after doesn’t exist Robb, you can’t promise me that.”

“I’m not asking you to believe that everyday will be perfect, we’ll have our moments, good and bad. I’m only asking that you believe in us enough to give it a chance.”

As she looked up into his eyes she saw his words were true; she nodded happy tears running down her face. He picked her up and spun her around, a delighted squeal leaving her lips causing onlookers to tut and shake their heads in disapproval.

“Now I can give you a proper wedding.” He smiled. “Actually… we might have to rush thing a little bit. I’d like to fit into my dress.”

[shipcestuous]

Altered Carbon

I have finally finished Altered Carbon. The last time I discussed it I was only on episode 5. The brother/sister relationship between Takeshi and Rei is an entirely different one by the end of the season, wow. 

I have a lot of asks about it (in addition to the ones I already answered).  I apologize for making you guys wait!

Massive spoilers! And for anyone who hasn’t seen Altered Carbon, I’ll just say that the brother/sister relationship is definitely...suggestive, particularly from the sister’s side of things.

Anon #1:

Hi, did you watch "Altered Carbon"? There is a very special Brother-Sister-Realtionship in it..

@asweetdeception:

Idk if you've finished Altered Carbon or not but WOW the Rei/Tak relationship is very interesting to say the least and honestly the more you get into the later episodes the more the subtext gets stronger to the point that for me personally it felt more than subtext. It's a hell of a ride. 

Anon #2:

Have you finished watching Altered Carbon? Cause if you think it was shippy between Takeshi and Rei in the flashbacks well...[spoilers!!] she comes back to him and it gets really intense! In the end you'll see how obsessive her love for her brother is, what she would do for him and how far she went to eliminate any other person close to him! My mum caught the last episode with me and thought the whole time they were lovers! (It didn't help that Rei went into Ortega's body and 'flirted' with Tak)

Anon #3:

Has the Netflix series Altered Carbon come up yet? Both the show and the sibling relationship it centers around aren't my cup of tea--the former too graphic and the latter too twisted--but I thought it deserved mention nevertheless. 

The basic conceit of the show is that at some undetermined point in the future humans learned to transfer consciousness seamlessly from one body to another. Those wealthy enough to afford a constant stream of new bodies are immortal, and everyone else is dust beneath their divine feet. (What follows involves spoilers, so do be warned.) The main character, Tak, and his little sister, Rei, grew up in an abusive home; their father killed their mother, and when it looked like he was going to do the same to Rei, Tak killed him, shooting at the base of the skull to prevent any attempt to retrieve his consciousness. He was offered a pardon if he would join the military, but he refused until they promised to find a good home for Rei. 

Years later, he happened to be on a mission to seize a cartel stronghold, and discovered that the recruiter had lied to him. Rei had not gone to a good home, but had been sold in slavery to the cartel. He immediately turned his gun on his squad and she on her fellow criminals, allowing them both to slip off into the night together. There they ran into a resistance organisation; she didn't want to join, wishing that it could just be the two of them, as it had once been, but he convinced her. Then he fell  in love with the resistance leader, something she found unforgivable. She responded by betraying the resistance and ensuring that only she and he would be able to escape. In fact, no one escaped. She was resurrected and paid off handsomely for turning the others in but lost track of him in the process. 

Two hundred years later, Tak finds himself resurrected in an unfamiliar body to perform a very particular task for one of the immortals. She turns out to be the villain of the series,  having become one of the immortals. She spent almost two centuries trying to find out what happened to his archived consciousness, and then engineered an intricate web of plots and gambits to convince another, more powerful immortal to use his influence to get Tak resurrected. She eventually reveals herself to him and tries to get him to trust her, but he quickly pieces together the discrepancies in her story and his memory of the rebellion's fall to realize that she had  betrayed them. 

As you might expect, he does not react calmly, accusing her of having been corrupted by her longevity and become everything they fought against. She points out that he was the one that had wanted to join the rebellion; she just stuck it out because she couldn't leave him. She insists that all the morally questionable and outright despicable things she has done have been to ensure that, when she finally managed to bring him back, they would be able to spend "all our tomorrows together" (direct quote). He responds by initiating his own intricate web of plots and gambits to render her mortal again and, he hopes, redeem her. 

It doesn't end well, unfortunately. He destroys her backups, and they have a big dramatic sword-fight on a crashing airship (it makes more sense in context), but when she seems to have him beaten, she pleads with him to come with her to the escape pods. He gains the advantage, and she tries to bargain with him, instead, saying that, just before she died, she made a backup of the consciousness of the rebel leader he'd fallen in love with, and that she'll give it to him if he'll promise not to destroy her. He refuses, which suggests to me that he cares more for his sister's possible redemption than his lover's possible resurrection. 

She then changes her tune, begging him to shoot her in the stack; she'd prefer real death to being put in cold storage. Fade to black, gunshot sound effect. I was sure that either he was going to shoot himself in the stack, too, or else that there would be a reveal that he had just shot her in the head or something. Alas. In the ending, his stack is recovered from the airship's wreckage, and hers is not. When someone asks him what he's going to do next, he tells her that he knows "she" is still alive, and he's going to find her. The visuals make it clear he's talking about the rebel leader, but my headcanon is that he's talking about Rei. Regardless, however  twisted by abandonment, jealousy, and detachment she became, even as she began to treat non-immortals like insignificant playthings, despising everyone she'd ever known in her past life, the one thing she never let go of was her overwhelming NEED for her big brother. And did I mention that she taunts him at one point by uploading her consciousness into his love interest's body and trying to seduce him? He figures it out before it goes anywhere, but still!

Anon #4:

In Netflix's series Altered Carbon the main character has a sister that he is super close to. They are constantly looking out for and protecting one another. Rei, the sister, even gets jealous when her brother gets attached to or falls in love with other women. I don't want to give away too many spoilers but there are quite a few scenes, especially in the later episodes, where one can sense that her love for her brother isn't entirely sisterly.

Anon #5:

I really need to recommend Altered Carbon for siblings Takeshi and Rei. The big episode that reveals their back story is season 1 episode 7, and there is a LOT of drama and emotional moments to unpack. They're not canon sibcest, but I think even a casual viewer can see that everything Rei does is about trying to be with/stay with/protect her big brother. And the rest of the series ain't bad too. ;)

Thank you all for writing excellent recommendations about this relationship. 

I don’t think we can call it more than subtext, but the subtext is very very strong, and it has to be intentional. There’s just too much of it to dismiss it as acting or writing “fumbles” (that’s the television tropes term). 

I have so many thoughts and feelings that it’s hard to know where to start. Obviously the flashbacks to when they are kids are so sweet. Their relationship was so sweet and so pure before they were separated. And it’s so tragic what happened - their abusive father, the death of their mother, what Takeshi had to do (kill their father) in order to save them, and how that act actually meant their separation. Takeshi’s choice to join the military is understandable, but Rei feeling abandoned is also entirely justified. Even though Takeshi thought she was getting a good home, he still chose to leave her and I don’t think that wound of hers ever healed. 

It really seems like fate that brought them back together. I love how quickly they turned on their respective sides to choose each other. Takeshi had been living a life of purpose - he had missions and accomplishments that kept him busy - while Rei had been infinitely lonelier. Still, she’s pretty quick to forgive him, all told. 

I would have liked to have seen them spend at least a couple of nights alone in the forest before the envoys found them! 

I don’t want to say that Tak was  “in the wrong” - he was free to choose to stay with the envoys, to die for their mission. But he did not take the time to understand Rei’s position. She didn’t care about their mission - she just wanted a home and a family with him. We know that he loves her, she knows that he loves her - but he wasn’t showing her. And then he becomes preoccupied with Quell. 

I do think it was suggestive that Rei was so angry and hurt when she came upon Tak and Quell having sex in the forest but I also can understand, from a sisterly point of view, how that would have hurt. Here he is putting her (Rei’s) life at risk for a mission she doesn’t care about just because he’s hot for the leader. And yet again something is coming between them. 

I’m not sure if it was clarified by the story but I think Rei had already made her deal at that point - however, I’m sure she already sensed the romance budding between Tak and Quell. It’s interesting that Rei chose to kill Quell in person in a knife fight. Did she spare her from the virus because she knew she could use Quell’s stack as a bargaining chip with Tak, or was that just how the plan ended up working out? 

I think it’s really significant how much we see Tak thinking about Rei in those first episodes. When he has that vision of her sitting there talking to him, and then that scene when he’s in the shower remembering their childhood. 

For her it has been 250 years since last she saw him, and that was just for a handful of years - they had their long separation before that. That’s a major testament to how she feels about him. How obsessed she is with him. She obviously cared a lot about her status and her immortality and her wealth and businesses, but she may have started out doing that truly and 100% with the purpose of getting Tak back. She knew she would need money and influence in order to get him out of prison. 

She was truly horrible by the time we catch up with her. But I keep reminding myself that she grew up in the Yakuza. She was raised by her terrible father and her “weak” mother, she was spared from that by Tak’s violence, then she was sold into slavery and raised by gangsters. I don’t mean that this excuses her actions, I just mean that those were the values she grew up with - violence, survival, crime, abuse. And it seems like all the “meths” are horrible in their own ways - the message seems to be that that comes about from wealth and immortality - so she’s got that on top of what she already had. I think Tak understood that, which was why he had hope of saving her, why he still wanted to try and save her. 

All of Rei’s talk about doing everything for him, wanting the two of them to be together forever, not letting anything get between them, etc. etc. etc. was all pretty suggestive. Then we have, of course, the infamous scene of Rei in Ortega’s body. She might have been sussing out Ortega and Tak’s relationship a little bit (again, that’s also suggestive), but I think we can all agree that wasn’t “sisterly”, and who knows how far it would have gone if he hadn’t figured it out. 

She was fierce to the end. He knew he would survive no matter what because he was double stacked but I still love that he died with her, holding her in his arms. Although I wish Quell hadn’t shown up right then to ruin the brother/sister moment. 

I find it hard to believe that all of Rei’s backups are gone. Someone that careful who had survived that long wouldn’t put all of her eggs in one or two baskets. We might not see her again on the show but in my mind she’s out there. So I really like the headcanon that he’ll be out looking for her. And as for Quell, if she believed in her own philosophy, she wouldn’t want to be spun back up, would she? Dead is dead? Isn’t that what she was fighting for?

I’m sure I forgot lots of things. It was really cool to see brother = hero and sister = complicated villain as the main story. We saw that recently in Thor but obviously there were a lot more emotions here and suggestions of incest.  

[weareyourfoxes]

@eksild & @soy Here you go my story bc I don’t feel like creating a Google doc lol

1

I was Brave. I was scared. When I closed my eyes I could see fog slowly emerging over a treeline, everything in blue because it was still so early. Peaceful. I woke up to that sight almost every day. But that was before.

If I opened my eyes now I would see the girl and in the girl’s hands I would see the gun. The gun she had pointed at me. She yelled I had to show her my hidden powers. The hidden powers I didn’t have. I didn’t understand why they didn’t draw the same conclusion as I did; I was nothing, I was powerless. That wouldn’t change the moment they pointed a gun barrel at my face.The girl yelled again, louder this time.

I opened my eyes, leaving the beautiful tree line behind and looked up. She had lowered her gun to my legs now. She was counting backwards. I could have kicked the gun away. I could have yelled I didn’t know how to do what she asked of me, but it would have had no effect.

The girl pulled the trigger and for one blurry moment everything was white blistering pain. The bullet hit my bone. I could feel the path it dug itself though muscles and blood vessels.

The girl got thrown to the side as paramedics rushed in. They tended to me. I was precious. I was their belonging. If I had a flaw they would have to find a replacement. I didn’t mind them, I watched the girl. She stared at me, wide eyed. My fear was reflected in her eyes.

Black spots were starting to form in front of mine. I was losing blood. Fast. Too fast. It didn’t take long for the darkness to succumb me. The last thing I saw were the girl’s clear green eyes.

2

There was no pain. It was the first thing I noticed as the darkness finally started to let go. It took me a moment to open my eyes, and as I was struggling to do so I heard voices. At first I heard whispers, too far away to hear what they were saying. Then words, sentences. I could hear them laughing. They just sounded so far away.

It took a while, but eventually the voices sounded closer. I could even make out sounds like food being eaten and a door slamming shut. After that door closed the room was silent. I needed to wake up. I could feel my eyelids quiver.

“Are you awake?” a girl asked softly. She sounded close. Cautiously I opened my eyes. Hovering inches above me was the face of the girl who shot me. I pushed myself backwards out of her reach, until my head collided with the headboard of the bed.

“Ouch! Are you okay?” the girl asked. I didn’t even feel the pain. There was too much adrenaline coursing through my veins. The need to get away from her was too big. Never before had they confronted me with a guard or scientist who shot me like this.

“Stay away from me!” She took a few steps back and raised her hands up to show she had no intent of hurting me. As if I was going to believe that.

“It’s okay. You’re safe,” she said cautiously.  

“You shot me!” I yelled, trying to look for a way out. She had carefully positioned herself between me and the door.

“No I didn’t, or well I did, but it wasn’t real. I didn’t really shoot you.”

“But all the blood and..” She shook her head.

“Not real. Do you feel any pain?” I stared blankly at her. Pain? “If I really shot you, wouldn’t you feel it?” She had a point. I touched the place where I was sure she shot me. Nothing. The skin wasn’t even scarred.

“How did you do that? And where am I?”

“You’re at the Star, a satellite building of the Network. As for how I shot you without actually shooting you, I have no idea. I’m not a technical wiz. I was actually quite scared it would fail and we’d both die.” I had never heard any scientist or guard mention either the Star or the Network. Was this some new training or test?

“What is the Network? Am I still in the institute?” I asked.

“That’s not for me to explain. I’m Mory, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Project Noa Five. Why can’t you explain that? Why am I here?”

“So many questions. I’m sorry, I can’t explain everything to you right now. If you wait a moment, I’ll bring you to someone who will be able to answer all your questions.” She walked out of the room. I could hear her lock the door behind her, but I still got out of bed to try the door. It didn’t give. The room itself was simple. There was a bed, a few wooden chairs and a closet. The closet was completely empty.

Blinds were pulled in front of what I guessed were windows to an observation room next to this room. I walked over to the windows and opened the blinds. I was expecting there to be double sided mirror, but instead I saw trees. Trees! You didn’t have those in the institute. Where the hell was I?

“Please come with me,” Mory said. I hadn’t even heard her come in, too lost in my own thoughts. I couldn’t be out of the institute. That was impossible. They wouldn’t just let me out of the institute. It had to be a test. Had to be. How else did it make any sense?

“Five? You coming?” I nodded and walked after Mory through the doorway. She led me through multiple hallways. All were empty with walls that were painted blue or purple. All the walls of the institute had been white. At least all the walls I had seen. It was nice to see color. Mory eventually opened a door and let me in. We walked into a meeting room without windows. There was a man in his early thirties in the room, who immediately walked towards me and reached out to shake my hand.

“Hello, I’m Reggie Carter. Please, sit down. Do you want anything to drink?” the man asked. I sat down silently, ignoring his hand that was still hanging in mid air before he smoothed out his jacket.

“Nothing to drink then?” I shook my head. Mory sat down next to me.

“Well then. Hello. What’s your name?” Reggie asked.

“Project Noa Five,” I answered on autopilot as I looked around the room for a way out. The only option was the door through which we came.

“You haven’t let her pick a name yet?” Reggie asked Mory. She shrugged. Maybe I could make it, although I had no way of knowing how much guards were outside.

“Not yet.” I decided I had to get information first. I needed to know where I was.

“Where are we? Are we still in the institute?”

“You mean you haven’t even told her you broke her out of the institute?” Reggie asked. He had my full attention now.

“I figured it would be easier if you told her, while you explained everything,” Mory said.

“I’m not in the institute anymore?” I asked.

“No. You are currently in Toronto, in the Star a satellite building of the Network. Mory broke you out together with a few other members of the Network. That was about three days ago. You slept all that time. Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?” He asked. I never felt this confused. They had to be lying. Had to be. Once you went into the institute you didn’t come out.

“No. What is the Network? Why did you break me out?”

“You’re currently in a satellite building of the Network. The Network is a group of people who are fighting an invisible war against a force that’s not seen by the public eye. Only those of us who take enough notice of our surroundings see the ties that link this global evil together. Have you ever heard of Revival Inc?”

“No.”

“Of course not. She’s their pet project,” Mory said as if the words were poisonous.

“Mory, you wanted me to explain, so let me explain,” Reggie said. “Revival inc is the reason you were in the institute. They wanted to make a weapon out of you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Who are they?”

“Revival incorporate is a global organization. It’s everything and nothing at once,’ Mory said.

“Explain that, please?” I asked. They hesitated.

“95 percent of the current economy is in the hands of Revival inc. The organisation has a say in every government. This means it has power over everything. Production of food and materials, the banking system, the armies, the police, the prison systems, education, all media including the internet.. Everything is in their hands, but it’s impossible to proof. They hide their ties to everything very well,’ Mory explained.

“And the Network does what?”

“We don’t think it’s right for one organization to have so much power. We are the resistance. We want an economy that isn’t dependant on and influenced by one organization alone and that’s why we stand up against the oppression of Revival inc,” Reggie said proudly. I stared at them, not entirely sure what to do with this information. It was a noble cause to want to bring down this apparently invisible evil company, but what did that have to do with me? I still didn’t know why they had broken me out.

“Why did you break me out?” I asked, repeating the question I had asked before.

“To hit them where it hurts,” Mory said. Reggie gave her a look.

“To free you out of the hands of your torturers. When we found out what they were doing in the institutes to you and the other projects we knew we had to do something.” Mory’s reaction sounded way more genuine.

“And what happens to me now you’ve done that?” I asked.

“We hope you’ll join us in our war against Revival inc. We’ve freed the other five Noa projects during the past year and they all decided to join our cause.” They both looked so sure I was going to join them, but all I heard was the word war echoing through my head. It sounded like they wanted to turn me into a weapon, just as the institute had wanted.

“What happens if I don’t join?” I asked. They gave me a surprised look. “I am thankful you freed me, but I don’t want to be a weapon in your war,” I clarified.

“It’s your war too, Five,” Reggie said.

“How so?”

“Like we said, the Noa project is a pet project of Revival inc. They made the Noa project and all the years of torture and abuse you went through possible. Without Revival inc you would have led a normal life,” Mory said. A normal life.. The idea alone was foreign. I suppose I had a normal life until the Noa project got me in their program. I used to live in a house on the edge of a forest. I used to have a family. I used to have a name. Those memories were of a different life. One without nightmares. I looked up to meet their gazes.

“What would my role be in the Network?” They looked relieved I asked the question. As if it meant I had made a decision already.

"We would put you in a team with the other Noa projects. They’re almost done with their training, so you’d only get the last two weeks of newbie training before we’ll put you on your first missions. These missions really can be anything. Blowing up buildings, gaining information undercover, breaking into buildings for information or materials, breaking our people out of prison, abducting or killing high officials,” Reggie summed up.

“Sounds dangerous,” I said. Mory nodded.

“It is,” she dead-panned.

“Once again, what happens when I don’t join?” They gave each other a look I couldn’t quite read, but at least the relief was gone.

“We’d set you up with an apartment and a job and you wouldn’t hear from us again,” Reggie said. A job and an apartment. Freedom. It sounded too good to be true.

“Isn’t Revival Inc looking for me? If we’re such an important project to them, wouldn’t it be dangerous for me to live out in the open?” I asked. Reggie shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“You wouldn’t hear from us again, but we’d always have to watch you, yes, until our goals were met. To keep you safe,” he said eventually. I sighed. Of course. It didn’t feel right to put my trust into the Network and the people in front of me. They could be part of the institute for all I knew. The other option was to have these people watch me as I spent my time pretending to be normal in the outside world. I could either fight, or I could hide and pretend I wanted to live that way. Fighting seemed the best choice here, as at least then I would be able to keep an eye on these people for now. I could always try to escape in the future.

“Alright. There is one thing I want to make clear before I join. I am not your weapon. You don’t control me and as soon as you try I step out. Do we have a deal?” Their surprise only lasted a second, before their relief set in again.

“Of course,” Reggie said thankfully.

“Now what do we do?” I asked.

“We do nothing yet. Mory will bring you to meet your team and get you installed in your new home. Welcome to the Network.” His watch beeped and as he looked on it he cursed. “I’m afraid I have to leave. I’ll come back tomorrow and we’ll talk then.” Reggie shook my hand and walked out of the room in a hurry.

“For a moment there I was afraid you wouldn’t join,” Mory said as she got up.

“You didn’t give me much choice.” She frowned, but then just shrugged it off.

“Want to see your new home?”

3

I had to choose a name before meeting up with Reggie the next morning. That was the assignment Mory had given me after she had told me to settle in my room. We had spent over an hour walking through the corridors of the Star. I had found multiple different escape routes already.

The building was huge. It had two main wings. The east wing and the west wing. The east wing was the biggest. It had a dozen meeting rooms, two training rooms the size of a football field, a fitness room, a pool, a weapons room and loads of other facilities.

The west wing was smaller and was meant for housing people. There was a dinner room, a kitchen, a library, a common room and twelve bedrooms. There was a bathroom connected to every two rooms.

Six of the rooms were now occupied. I hadn’t seen the other Noa projects yet. They had special training and wouldn’t be back until five in the morning. By then I had to have a name.

Project Noa Five was the name the scientists had given me. They named me as their property and I wasn’t theirs anymore. The only problem was that I couldn’t remember who I was before I was Project Noa Five. I couldn’t remember my own name. I had lost it within the years of abuse.

I got up again and tried the door more out of habit than anything else. Every night I would try to open the door in the institute purely to see if one night they might forget to lock it. They never did, but unlike that door, this door did open. I felt my mouth pop open in surprise, but quickly recovered. Of course I could open it. I was free now. I could go wherever I wanted now. That idea sent butterflies through my stomach, which I quickly suppressed with the thought that I still wasn’t sure this was real. It didn’t feel real. As if I had stepped into a different world.

I silently opened the door further and walked into the common room that connected all twelve rooms together. A few table lamps gave off a soft light. The room was filled with signs of life. It wasn’t exactly messy, but there were things everywhere. A book lay open on the couch, there was a forgotten glass on the table, half burned candles, a pair of boots next to one of the doors. There were pictures, too. Pictures of the familiar faces of the other Noa projects. They were smiling, laughing, goofing off with each other.

Their new names were painted on their doors. James, Izaac, Julia, Tobias, Cale and Mory. Mory was a big part of the group. She had explained she was the link between the Network and the Noa projects. She helped to break us out and trained us to be able to go on missions for the Network.

Between the rooms of Mory and Cale there was one unpainted door left. Mine. I sat down on one of the comfortable couches and stared at the empty spot until I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of someone hushing someone else.

“Oh, now look what you’ve done! You woke her up, you idiot!” a girl yelled. She was tall with rough red hair reaching to her shoulders and brown eyes. The guy she was yelling at was grinning ear to ear.

“It’s five AM. She would have woken up anyway, since she’s probably still in the sleep rhythm of the institute,” he said. He looked a lot like the girl. The same eyes and jaw. His hair was short and brown however, and he didn’t have a nose piercing like she did. They were both covered in dirt stains and smelled like they had taken a swim in fresh cow manure.

“You are the siblings,” I said in recognition. The girl was Project Noa Two, the guy Project Noa Four. They both got in and apparently out the project before I did. The guy held out his hand.

“Tobias, and this is my lovely sister Cale. What name did you choose?” They gave me an expectant look.

“I don’t have a name yet.” Two almost identical surprised faces.

“Why not?” Cale asked.

“I can’t think of any.” Tobias gave me a once over, stroking his chin and squinting his eyes.

“You look like an Eloisa to me.” Cale rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think so. She’s more of a Hannah to my opinion.”

“No, Cale. It’s Jessica.”

“Caitlyn.”

“No. Juliette,” Tobias suggested. Cale shook his head at him.

“Seriously? Toby. Seriously? Her name is obviously Maxine. I mean-”

“Max,” I said. The name felt right.

“Ha, told you!” Cale said euphorical.

“Doesn’t count,” Tobias yelled. His sister stuck her tongue out to him. Mory’s door opened.

“Are you guys serious? I asked you to come home silently. You know what that means?” she said glaring.

“Silently. Adverb. The absence of sound. Good morning to you, too. Mory,” Tobias said smiling. She glared at him.

“Go shower you two. I can smell the stink all the way up here,” she said before shutting the door.

“That’s not the way to get her to like you, you know,” Cale said grinning. Tobias rolled his eyes and turned to me.

“Nice meeting you, Max. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to shower. I’ll see you at dinner.” He walked towards his room. Cale gave me a smile.

“Nice to meet you. Looks like we share our bathroom together. I’m going to shower. I’ll see you later.” I nodded and watched as she too disappeared behind her door. I quickly went into my room and sat down on the bed. I wasn’t ready to meet the other Noa projects yet.

4

Tobias was right. I still lived in the sleeping schedule of the institute. We woke up at five, had breakfast shoved into our rooms at ten past five and showered at half past five. After that we went into a full day of testing and training. Tests could be anything, from them probing into our bodies from every angle possible to pushing our heads under water every ten seconds until we passed out.

Training meant we were either pushed to our limits until we passed out or we had to fight. I was a good fighter. I picked techniques up quickly. Fighting helped me control my emotions. One of the few things I had any control over.

I waited until I heard all doors open and shut. When I was sure the other Noa projects were in their rooms I got out and sat down in the same spot where the siblings had found me. I could hear faint whispers coming from Izaac’s room.

“Food?” Mory asked as she seemed to come out of nowhere. I had to suppress the urge to recoil my hand as she handed me a bowl of cereal to me and accidentally touched my hand. I didn’t like to be touched.

“How did you know I was awake?” I asked, trying to shrug off the scare she gave me.

“You all are this early the first week.”

“So what are we going to do today?” I asked after taking a few bites.

“As soon as Reggie is here we’re going to test your skills and afterwards I’m taking you into the city.”

“Tests?” I could feel myself going pale.

“Oh! No, not those kind of tests. It’s just running on treadmills and swimming a few laps. We want to know how much training you need before we can send you on missions. Nothing big,” Mory reassured me. I suddenly didn’t feel like eating anymore and put my bowl on the table. Mory sighed.

“It will get better soon enough, I promise.”

Mory kept true to her word. The moment Reggie came in she gave me training clothes and a bathingsuit. They took a few basic fitness tests which I passed easily, except swimming. I wasn’t a strong swimmer. I never had to train that particular skill. Even though everything was done at my own pace it still reminded me of the institute. I just went through the motions.

Mory and Reggie had left me alone to get dressed. Mory wanted to take me into the city so I could familiarize myself with the streets. I had to be able to find the way back to the Star from any point in the city.

I had just tied my shoelaces when the door smashed open and two people crashed in. They were kissing and losing clothes, fast. They didn’t seem to notice me in their embrace.

“You don’t want to do that,” I said when she was about to pull her bra off. They froze and stared. He was tall, dark skinned and above all he looked very strong. She was Asian and small. Even so she still looked like she could easily kill a guy with her little pinky.

“You must be Max,” she said without batting an eyelash. “I’m Julia. This is Izaac. Nice to meet you, now please leave.”

“Julia, that’s rude,” Mory said as she walked in.

“We were having a moment,” Julia defended herself. Izaac picked his sweater up, that had landed only five inches from me. He looked a bit embarrassed by the situation.

“You guys have had a moment in every single room of this building,” Mory said. She helped me up. “Come on Max, don’t want to mess up our lovebirds’ moment.”

“Sorry,” Izaac whispered as I passed him. Mory let the door slam shut behind her.

“Well at least you’ve met almost the whole gang now. Only one more to go,” she said in a sigh. I followed her silently. She suddenly turned and faced me.

“Dear me, you’re like a scared animal. You’re safe, stop being so tense. It’s giving me chills. If you’re going to look at everything like it might kill you any minute we’re not going to blend into the crowd.” She wasn’t wrong. It still felt like a lie. Just another test, just another trap for me to fall into. It couldn’t be true.

“You try living in the institute for as long as I have. See if you would be any different.”

“Fair enough,” she said as she pushed a door open and pulled me through. Suddenly we were standing in the middle of a bookstore.

“Come on, it’s going to rain soon and I want to at least find a decent coffee shop before it does.”

Toronto was huge. There were people everywhere. They owned the city, gave its building life. We had been walking for three hours, going from one important building to the next.

Mory was a good guide. She was quick, energetic and above all smart. I liked her even though she read me like an open book. I wasn’t an easy person to read, years of frustration under my scientists was proof of that. They couldn’t get a grip of the person I was. Even at my lowest point they couldn’t get into my head. I was thankful for that. Mory however seemed to have no trouble at all. It made me uncomfortable.

She was staring outside with an amused look. I was about to ask what was so interesting when the waitress put two cups of steaming hot coffee in front of us.

“Thanks.” The waitress walked off with a smile.

“You see the buildings surrounding us? They’re all part of Revival Inc. To the outside world this part of Toronto is nothing but the financial district, but in reality all the buildings together form one of three headquarters of Revival Inc. You’re bound to have to break into one of these buildings after you finish training.” She said it so off handedly. Just break into a building. No big deal. I just nodded and looked around, trying to imprint the buildings in my memory. We were almost inside the buildings of Revival Inc. Possibly close to the institute as well. I felt cold shivers run down my spine.

“If we’re this close to Revival Inc headquarters won’t I be recognized?” I asked suddenly highly aware of everyone in the cafe.

“A, we’re currently around 150 km from the institute. And B, the institute is level five security clearance. No one with level five security clearance is going to be sitting in this coffeeshop without at least four bodyguards. Do any of the people here look like they’re that important?” she asked. I shook my head.

“Even the guards have level five security clearance?” I asked.

“Level six. Only the best to protect a bunch of scientists against a few almost powerless teens.” She took a sip of her coffee and smiled. “I love fresh coffee don’t you?”

The whole way back it rained. I wasn’t complaining though. It was the first rain since they locked me up in the institute more than ten years ago. I just let it soak my clothes. Mory was walking next to me under an umbrella, shaking her head or rolling her eyes at me every few minutes.

“You’re going to catch a cold,” she said for the fourth time.

“Worth it.” She shook her head again and opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off short by a guy running up to us from the other side of the street, yelling her name.

“Well, that’s convenient. Max, you’re about to meet the last member of our team.” The guy came to a halt in front of us.

“Max, meet James. James, this is Max. Project Noa Five.” James bowed for me.

“Pleasure to meet you, Max,” he said, still slightly out of breath. Now I knew who he was I recognized him.

“Nice to meet you, too.” I hadn’t seen him in at least two years. He had changed a lot in that time. I remembered him as an insecure teen with wild blonde curls and tired blue eyes. He looked more secure of himself now. He was taller, too.

“Where are you lovely ladies going? Home?” he asked as we started walking again.

“We’ve walked around Toronto for five hours. I think that is quite enough for today. My feet hurt and I’m tired as hell,” Mory said. I didn’t feel tired at all. In the institute they had us up on our feet for 36 hours regularly.

“How sad. Should I call Tobias to give you a foot massage?” James asked teasingly. Mory turned bright red. Apparently everyone knew of Tobias’ feelings towards Mory. The rain had stopped by then.

“So, Cale, what do you think of Toronto so far? Lovely city isn’t it?” I nodded.

“It’s beautiful. Vibrant.” James nodded.

“Indeed it is.”

“What where you doing in town? Didn’t you need to sleep last night off?” Mory asked. James shook his head.

“I had a coffee date. Wonderful girl. Very pretty. Very stupid.” He made a face.

“That’s what you get when you pick random girls up in the bookstore.”

“Smart girls go to bookstores. Smart girls buy books. At least I thought they did,” he exclaimed. The way they talked to each other, joked, teased. They were so comfortable around each other and in their surroundings. It was so different from what I was used to. Mory didn’t even try to go up into the crowd. She just was there. Same with James. They didn’t check their surroundings every two seconds on possible threats or almost jump out of their skin when there was a sudden sound. Mory patted James on his shoulder with mock pity.

“Oh, how hard it must be for you. So pretty and yet you’re still single. I’m so sorry for your pain.”

“Do you blame me? I mean Julia and Izaac are having intercourse everywhere and you and Tobias have been making googly eyes at each other for ages. I’m done with being alone.” We got to the bookstore by now.

“Cale is single, too,” Mory pointed out.

“Yes, because I’d really want a relationship with her,” he said with something that sounded a whole lot like disgust.

“What’s wrong with Cale?” I asked. They both started looking uncomfortable, avoiding my gaze. The girl I had met that morning seemed like a nice person. A bit forward maybe, but that seemed to be a trait everyone of the team possessed.

“You will find out soon enough,” James said. Mory opened the door to The Star by pressing a code into the small box next to the door.

“Time to get some food. I’m starving,” Mory said. James nodded.

“Me too.” I just walked after them, analyzing everything I had seen of Cale so far. Nothing hinted towards her being a bad person. Julia was the person I had the worst first impression of so far, and that was based off three minutes of conversation. If there was one thing I had learned in my life it was not to trust on the first impression you got from people. People tend to overcompensate for their personality when meeting a new person, to make them like them or to scare them away.