#Apparently this is a Look in KHR universe

[shnebrght]

Unlikely KHR Pairings Worth Exploring*

Hi it's Red again, with another small bit.

To get my muse running a little I've decided to share a bit of my opinions and analysis on some of the unlikely, but worth pairings throughout KHR. Please note that this is my opinion, and if somehow this ends up manifesting, then ohmygod I'll be extra excited to see it.

Basically if you want to read a little bit of weird ship/pair dynamics in a fictional universe, then this is my take and I hope you enjoy yourself.

First we need to look at what encompasses a successful pairing worth exploring (in my words).

The way I see it, a good pairing between two characters happens when their personalities compliment each other, when their ideals match and they work together towards them, when their skills augment each other (this is a BATTLE SHOUNEN), and most simply, when their respective canons displayed them to have good chemistry. That is to say, not all canon pairings are good pairings -- because a dysfunctional pairing can also ensue in canon, if underdeveloped and not justified well enough. An example of a bad pairing, is Reborn and Bianchi. The comical aspect of their relationship is apparent, with Bianchi being in her 20s and Reborn being a baby, but. It also plays into Bianchi's character, so we need to take it seriously... Regardless of the fact Reborn is an Arcobaleno.

An example of a good pairing in my opinion would be Ken and Chikusa. Simple enough, even if not romantic, Ken is close-range and Chikusa is long-range. They're both devoted to Mukuro greatly, and their personalities - while uncomplimentary of each other, can have good dynamics for back and forths. I do however feel like this pairing takes better stage in action, more than anywhere else, by virtue of what these characters showed us.

Okay? We got a rough idea? Cool. Let's give 3 of them.

Basil and Haru - Discount Tsuna and Gremlin Kyoko. While I ship Haru with Gokudera, this pairing is 100% platonic/romantic. I feel like this pairing would work really well by virtue of their personalities more than literally anything else. Basil is lax and polite, but serious when it counts. Haru, being more on the chaotic side, would throw a wrench into Basil's composure and force him to react, which I feel is a very potentially funny dynamic to explore. Basil is also very dedicated and kind-hearted, and that kind-heartedness (that was shown in Tsuna too), would probably sway Haru to his good side. If these two end up together, they'd be in for a good life.

There's also the "rejected by Tsuna" dynamic to take into account.

Gamma and Lancia - Remember that bit above that I said close-range and long-range? This applies here too. Power/Platonic/Romantic. While opposites attract, this is a case of complete likeliness. Gamma and Lancia are both extremely devoted to their bosses. Gamma doesn't like fighting kids, and Lancia is flat out great with them. I feel like these two have a lot to talk about, aside from their devotions. Their general vibe, I feel, also meshes well greatly. Granted, Gamma is a little more loose and Lancia is a bit more rigid, but if they were entirely alike, this wouldn't work, right?

Xanxus and Byakuran - This pairing is why I'm writing this post in the first place. Skewed Romantic/Power. This is easily a hate-pairing, from Xanxus' side. But if Byakuran works his magic and manages to persuade Xanxus to move sides, the potential is terrifying. Their personalities directly contrast each other, but in a very complimentary way: Byakuran's laid-back and all-knowing nature can really rile up Xanxus' rage and drive, while Xanxus' constant action requires Byakuran to constantly be on check. If these two end up a pairing, no one is safe; even themselves.

Yeah that's all for now, thanks for reading!

[ciaossu-imagines]

Day 20 Prompt 3

✏️

Ohh, well, this is one that I wasn’t expecting! I don’t often get chances to talk about my original characters very openly. I’ve kind of been talking about a couple KHR OC’s I have had for years but never really done much with here and there with a lovely fandom friend though, just bare basics, and I’m going to take the opportunity given to me to actually share a little bit more information with her and all the other lovely readers here! I got some blow back years ago when I did more openly talk about them so I’m hoping that won’t happen again and again, anon dear, thank you for this opportunity!  

I will reveal an OC that I thought about making and writing.

So, like almost everyone else in the KHR fandom, I’m sure, I’ve made a whole other family within the KHR universe. The way I’ve always figured it is something really major happens within the family itself, some sort of civil war tearing the family apart and the heir apparent to this family and his generation (the teens) become the family’s main hope after the current boss is assassinated during this whole civil war. There’s large portions of the family that don’t support the heir apparent, everyone’s trying to take over, and the heir apparent and his Guardians are just teens. They’re doing their best but they’re a little in over their heads and so they go seeking help to rid the family of the elements that brought about this internal war and to help the heir take control of the family and bring everyone back together again.

And of course, who better to ask than the Vongola family? They are the largest family, the most prestigious and in a way, if the heir to my OC family could forge an alliance with the Vongola, it would not only help with the situation but set this OC family up for growth in both rank, prestige, and power going into the future and as his Guardians kind of point out, that would be good for the family and would look good as a resume building move on his part.

They find themselves blocked from really approaching Timoteo though so they figure where the 10th Generation, Tsuna’s family, might be easier for them to approach, both because they’re roughly around the same age and because they’re a little less well-guarded.

Shame though…Tsuna really doesn’t give the most amazing first impression and while the two bosses really do kind of hit it off and get along, a lot of the OC family don’t really believe that Tsuna and his Guardians are actually going to be any help to them and some of the OC family are initially really rude to the family, though it mostly stems from feelings of ‘oh shit, this was really our biggest hope and kind of our only hope and these kids are kind of losers instead of the big, strong Vongola we were hoping to find.

Now I know what some people are thinking – this family is so going to be a rip-off of Tsuna’s family, but I like to believe that they’re not, both in characterizations and in how the family interact with each other. The OC family does really respect their boss entirely as their leader, but there’s less of a friendship feeling among them all and a real strong familial relationship between all of them. They all grew up from infancy with each other, the family home-schooled them all, and these kids, while not blood related, have lived, learned, played, and done everything together since they were in the crib and so they all really do regard each other as siblings and every situation I have imagined with them really does strongly give that feeling.

The structure of the family – Boss and Guardians all with Sky Flames – is exactly like the Vongola but I like to think that’s where the similarities end. I will also say that other than some mild flirtatious moments that might lead to things in the future, there’s really no shipping in the story, it focuses around a plot and around building strong bonds between the families and between the individual characters.

One thing to note – I fucking suck at naming characters and don’t really have strong names in my head for them because I’m a loser that way, hahahahaha! So, this is the first time I’ve had to sit and think of names so, as of this post, it’s the first time they all get names.

We’ll start with the most obvious OC to introduce. The Boss! Heir apparent of the Accardi Famiglia, Luca is a pretty quiet guy. Mostly because he’s a deaf mute so like…not too much of a chatterbox, Luca. He comes across as being a little uncomfortable around people and to some extent that is true…he doesn’t feel super comfortable with strangers but isn’t exactly shy. It’s just that with his disability, interacting with strangers can sometimes be a struggle and he gets really frustrated at time. He reads lips and signs and his right hand or one of his other family members does translate for those who don’t sign (to mixed results, depending on the family member translating because some of his family members find it funny to say things that are definitely not what he’s signing). He’s a very trusting person, someone who wants to see the best in everyone, who truly loves people and finds humanity beautiful, and he is friendly in his own way. He really wants more friends; he really wants bonds with people…they’re just harder for him to make. He’s really hard-working and diligent but gets overwhelmed sometimes with the expectation of leading the Family and he sometimes does wish that he had a more normal life, something he, Tsuna, and Enma do bond over a little.

Oh, and in a departure from the way it normally works, because absolutely NOTHING says a boss has to be a Sky Flame, Luca’s actually got a Sun Flame and has the purest flame of all his family members, on par with the purity of a Vongola Guardian’s flame.

His right hand? Her name’s Bria and she actually possesses the Sky Flame out of the Guardians. She’s totally and completely devoted to the Family and the others. She wants everyone to be happy and healthy, to live their best lives, and she wants to see Luca become the amazing boss she knows he’ll be. (She might have a small crush on him, just saying, something she struggles with because for most of her life, he was like a brother to her.) She struggles with some social anxiety and self-esteem issues, but she pushes past them and really pushes herself, in general, to an almost unhealthy degree to do everything she can for her family. She’s the one staying up all night to do paperwork, to study harder, to think of plans and such. She’s the one waking up at 4 am to clean and make breakfast for the others so that they don’t need to worry about that. Despite the thought of talking to complete strangers making her nauseous, she’s normally the one translating for Luca and the one laying out facts and talking to the various people. She’s the most accepting, after Luca, of Tsuna’s family and in general is a person who doesn’t judge by appearances. There’s not a time this girl doesn’t remember being stressed, but she wants to appear perfect and good to everyone around her, so she hides behind a mask that not even those closest to her notices is fake.

The family’s Storm Guardian is Lara. Hot-tempered, prone to solving problems with violence, wildly confident and the most likely to get into stupid situations or wild scenarios because she just does whatever comes to mind. She also has a bit of ADHD, just saying. Oh…and she’s fat because like…bodies come in all sizes and she actually likes her body and her curves. She’s really into fashion and accessories so her appearance is as loud and wild as she is.

The family’s Rain Guardian is tall, pierced, desperately wants a tattoo, wears a leather jacket, has a mohawk and plays the guitar. They write sappy songs and poetry and loves cars and motorcycles. In short, Alfonso (who goes by the nickname Fonz and who actually does love The Fonz) is the stereotypical bad boy with the heart of gold. That heart of gold is most emphasized around his ‘siblings’ because he’s the oldest of the Guardians and takes it on himself to be the best ‘big brother’ to everyone that he can be. It’s just strangers who get the brunt of his dirty mouth and ‘fuck off’ attitude.

The family’s Lightning Guardian is Raf. Raf’s kind of a go with the flow kind of guy, though he has no problem with opening his mouth to give you his opinion on things. He’s a little bit of a nerd, with a strong interest in technology, a love of working on things with his hands. He not only listens to DnD podcasts, collects Magic: The Gathering Cards, loves Star Wars, but is a bit of a ‘weeaboo’. Being in Japan? Awesome. The fact that Tsuna and his family seem like weak kids who know nothing about the Mafia? Not so awesome.

The family’s Cloud Guardians are identical twins. Theo and Tony are actually complete opposites in terms of personalities – Theo is more confident and actually really judgmental and manipulative, though he does truly care about and takes care of those he does love. It’s just that he likes getting into people’s heads and playing with them and he’s the rudest, in a very silver-tongued fashion, to Tsuna’s family. It really does come from him now needing to try to figure out how to keep his beloved family safe though. Tony, meanwhile, is quieter and stoic. He’s not really a huge people person – he enjoys time alone or with one or two close people. He’s really big into nature and sports and a bit of a guy’s guy. He’s also a little simple-minded in contrast to his twin. Both twins are more than willing to act on their own, without consulting the others, if they think they’re in the right. While both of them are loyal to the family and do love the others, their main alliance is to each other above all though.

The family’s Mist Guardian is a bit of a kook. Eccentric is definitely a little bit of an understatement for Guiana. Guiana’s very loud, over-dramatic, and honestly leaves most people thinking there’s something wrong with her. She speaks a mile a minute, is a conspiracy theorist, believes she’s the reincarnation of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, and gets really into media. She definitely would be a Tumblrina and is a fandom creator who talks about her fictional others and favourite characters as if they were real people…like someone will ask her what she was doing and she’ll go into this big tale of going on this grand adventure with her favourite character. Yeah, she’s a little divorced from reality and goes with her gut feeling on people, but behind all that, she’s actually a really skilled illusionist and solidly cares about and will protect her family with her life.

[ilbronco]

saikyouya replied to your post “this is a call out post for squalo superbi and kyoya hibari to do...”

[ *rebel* dyring off hours Hibari can wear his shirt any way he likes ]

It turns out Dino is just as bad so 

[paladinwife]

BROOO who's the f/o you've had for the longest or childhood f/os that you've grown out of but who you still look back on and are like "omg little me used to love you and u are such a little bastard but go get em champ" ? im like that with hibari kyoya from khr haha !

Oh my god okay I was actually thinking about how some of the characters I was super into as a child might have shaped my personality, but. I think the honorable mention goes out to one Neji Hyuuga from Naruto, who I was so into as a 12/13 year old. Apparently we still have the same MBTI type, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this bastard was the reason why I’m like that. Incidentally, if I ever get back into Naruto, it will be because Kurenai is a pretty lady.

As for longest... there’s a couple, depending on how you frame it! I think several of my f/os from FE Awakening and Fates have had the longest stint on the f/o list; Frederick probably wins for that one, as he was my first ever Fire Emblem f/o. Byakuya Kuchiki and Retsu Unohana from Bleach probably also qualify, because while they haven’t been consistently on the list (I just readded them both within the last year), I first got interested when I was maybe 13 or so - and in hindsight, it probably should have been an early indicator that I was Not Straight when I was so interested in Unohana as a kid.

There’s also someone from the FFVII universe that I used to be super super into that friends are encouraging me to get back into. But his identity will remain a mystery.

[hopeswriting]

FANDOM: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

EVENT: Flufftober 2020

PROMPT: Tucking in Tag

AUTHOR: @hopeswriting​

RATING: G

SUMMARY:

Vongola holds a second Inheritance Ceremony for Tsuna and his Guardians. Of course they’re all required to attend in the after party.

PAIRING: Chrome & Hibari

WORDS: 1236

*

For the most powerful alliance of mafia famiglie in the world, they sure have time to waste. The old Carnivore passed on his title to Tsunayoshi already, so Hibari has to wonder what the purpose of this after-party is.

His fellow Guardians scattered around the luxurious room, blending in the party unlike him, but he isn’t fooled.

Takeshi and Mukuro keep being engaged in conversations by the others famiglie, and forced to play nice with them. Or so it looks like.

Hibari hovered around them earlier and heard them answer the subtle insults sent their way by subtle insults of their own, then doubling down on them until they were left alone.

The little animal kept to the buffet after being treated like the child he is by a woman one-too many times, Ryohei never straying too far away from him.

And Hibari did think Ryohei wouldn’t have so eagerly partake in the party, but there he is, witness of his shameless betrayal.

Tsunayoshi does look like he’s having a terrible night. The baby keeps pushing him to make small talk with the bigger names attending the party, and he still has to grow out fully of his shy, jittery, and insecure demeanor.

In the meantime he’s being looked down upon, and talked down upon. Hibari can tell from the way they stand around him, the way they look at him.

Hayato would have blow up each of their faces long ago if it wasn’t for Tsunayoshi.

No need for him to worry though, Hibari will bite these fools to death later.

Kusakabe puts himself between him and whoever was making his way over him. Hibari scowls harder, and tries to disappear through the wall.

Kusakabe doesn’t put himself between him and Tsunayoshi, and Tsunayoshi gives him a jealous look while walking by him.

He puts his hands on his hips. “And why don’t I have a competent bodyguard like Kusakabe?”

“What do you think we are?”

“Useless, that’s what. Did you even talk to anyone yet?” Hibari glares, and Tsunayoshi pouts. “Yeah, I thought so.” He slumps against the wall next to him, and sighs loudly. “Well, you’re all useless except for Hayato of course. Bless his soul.”

Hibari huffs. “You won’t even let him speak out.”

“Maybe, but trust me his flames talk for him just fine.” He snickers. “Also it’s the four times he received an important message he absolutely had to show me. In private of course.”

“And you threw him to the wolves in thanks.”

Hayato smiles up at some Donna who apparently never heard of personal space, and it wouldn’t surprise Hibari if he slips a mini dynamite in her bag before he manages to get rid of her.

Tsunayoshi elbows him in the side. “Don’t say it like that, it’s just teamwork alright? And I had to talk to you. Listen, can you find Chrome and check on her for me? I—”

“Chrome doesn’t need to be checked on.” Hibari rolls his eyes. “Just leave her be.”

“I know that, it’s not like that. Do you have to make every instance of me worrying about you belittling?”

“You don’t worry half as much about the rest of us.”

Tsunayoshi throws his hands up in the air. “I wish I could! You know, instead of worrying about literally everyone else in a five miles radius around you?”

Hibari smirks proudly, and Tsunayoshi rolls his eyes. A particularly high-pitched and fake laugh draws their attention to Mukuro and the woman he’s currently entertaining.

Tsunayoshi smiles. “Isn’t it nice he stuck with us for so long already?”

“How suspicious.”

“I know. Do you think he’ll start the mass Mist flames-induced hallucinations soon? Or maybe he’s messing with the food or something?” He sighs. “I wish he would.”

Tsunayoshi sighs again, long and dreamy. He keeps the façade for a whole second before dissolving into a fit of giggles, sharing a knowing look with Hibari.

Hibari huffs a laugh, then chuckles silently, his shoulders shaking.

“I could just bite them all to death.”

“I wish I could let you. Ah, gotta go save Hayato before he commits a murder. Just go check on Chrome quickly, okay? Please? I leave it to you, Kyoya!”

Hibari watches him scurry off, and parts from the wall with a sigh. He walks around the room looking for Mist flames affected area, utterly ignoring any and all who try to catch his attention.

He finds Chrome on the balcony, sat against the wall. There’re subtle Mist flames around her, that don’t appear to make her blend in the surrounding more than stopping whoever is looking at her to register her presence.

Hibari smirks. She would have tricked him if he wasn’t so familiar with her flames.

He leans against the wall. “What are you doing? You’re better than that. Just stare them down hard enough until they take the hint.”

Chrome smiles. “Reborn-kun explicitly said we had to play nice. When you can’t engage with the enemy, you have to make sure not to cross path with them. It’s 101 battles strategies, Kyoya-kun.”

“Then leave. Make yourself a Mist double. One for me too.”

She shakes her head. “Don’t tempt me. Did Mukuro-kun make one?” she adds after a beat.

“Surprisingly no.”

“It’s surprising you’re still here too, you know,” she teases, and he rolls his eyes. Chrome stretches out her legs in front of her, smooths her skirt. She sighs. “I’m not good at this.”

Hibari scoffs. “You fit right in then.”

“Not true,” Chrome says, grinning nonetheless. “It must be even harder for Mukuro-kun, but he’s talking with all these people so easily. I thought it’d be better if I stayed aside instead of ending up making all of you look bad.”

“Like we care, or are any better. Don’t be stupid.” He offers his hand, and Chrome hesitates for only a second. “Hayato will blow up something soon. Or a someone if we’re lucky. You don’t want to miss that.”

Chrome laughs. “No, I don’t think I want to. Thank you, Kyoya-kun.”

She smiles warmly at him, and he shrugs, averting his eyes.

“Let’s go.”

Chrome takes the lead, a joyful skip in her steps. Hibari snorts.

She whips around, the way she suddenly feels self-conscious written all over her face.

“Did you just laugh at me?”

“No.”

“You did! Kyoya-kun it’s so mean, what is it?” She spins on herself, twisting her head to see above her shoulders. “Is it my hair? Is it my clothes?”

Chrome makes a mirror out of her flames, and Hibari holds back another chuckle at the way she flails in front of it.

“You’re fine, hold still.”

He swats her hands away from her hair, and slides them above her shoulder. He tucks in the tag of her jacket.

Chrome inhales sharply, turns to him red-faced, her hands covering the back of her neck.

“You let me walk around with my tag out this whole time? Oh my god, you guys! I’m not going back in there.”

“Don’t be stupid, it’s tucked in now, isn’t it?” Hibari takes her hand and drags her inside, Chrome putting up a halfhearted fight. “Tsunayoshi asked for you.”

Chrome complains to him the whole night, and Hibari has Mukuro hiding the tag of her skirt with his flames instead of bringing it to her attention.

Girls are so unreasonable sometimes.

*

BONUS:

This is after the second Inheritance Ceremony. I headcanon it happens after they all finished high school.

They’re on a first name basis because let’s be honest, KHR is just one big found family trope with a side of supernatural colorful flames, and there’s no point if they don’t actually grow close to each other.

Hibari is also on a first name basis, but only when talking to them and them only, and also with the people who are in their immediate closest circle.

Otherwise he uses his animal vocabulary of his, and also when he’s annoyed with them. (He can’t let people know he feels after all, god forbid.)

Only Lambo is always called little animal (and Tsuna actually felt proud when he went from little animal to omnivore lol), and he doesn’t mind at all because he takes it as the endearing nickname it is.

Reborn is, what, five or six years old here? But Hibari still calls him baby, and he finds it incredibly funny how he can always tell how incredibly annoying it is for Reborn. He keeps it up for a couple of years more lol.

------

Hibari didn’t leave the after party yet (nor Mukuro), because Reborn said they needed to stay around for at least two hours, but he actually never said they needed to talk with anyone.

Hibari manages to not talk to anyone until he could leave.

(But then he actually doesn’t leave, because Tsuna obviously can’t leave the party held for him until there’s no more guests, and he sticks out with him along with the other Guardians.)

------

And the party goes quite well, all things considered. Tsuna is really proud of them.

Yamamoto and Mukuro make themselves enemies of everyone who dared to talk bad of Tsuna or the rest of them with smiles, and a sweet/cheerful voice, and not-so-subtle-turning-to-threats insults the longer the party went on.

(And I headcanon it’s something that would happen because yeah Tsuna was trained by the World’s Greatest Hitman and literally saved the whole universe among other things, but he was still a civilian literally only a couple of years ago, and almost all of his Guardians were civilians too, so I think they’d actually be that much full of themselves to look down upon him/them.)

Ryohei plays it oblivious because he knows he’s not subtle enough to not escalate things if he were to confront them. But you better believe he remembers their names and their face, and, well, you know, will take the opportunity for sweet revenge when it will present itself.

And Hibari feels betrayed he blends in that well because he’s the one who is supposed to be out-of-place in moments like this with him, in his own way.

(When Hibari is not enough—withdrawn and cold and silent—, Ryohei is too much—too extreme, takes too much place, too friendly.)

But if Ryohei has to hear them talk bad about Tsuna, he sure as hell can make sure it won’t be because of him, so he makes sure to be in his best behavior.

------

Lambo sticks around the buffet to cheer himself up first (and yeah he tried to flirt with the women lol), but then he picks up on Yamamoto’s and Mukuro’s flames, and at their signal starts messing up the food of those particular people.

Ryohei distracts them to give him the opportunities, and makes sure he doesn’t get caught. Then Chrome joins them and it becomes much more easy, and more... inventive too.

(A lot of them are bed-ridden the next couple of days.)

------

Gokudera doesn’t actually blow up anything, or anyone. It’s too flashy, and he became more subtle with the years. And who needs dynamite when your flame’s attribute is disintegration?

Do you know the humiliation of losing your pants in public, or having a piece of cloth torn in a way that expose you? Or having food all over your clothes and face because the plate literally exploded in your hands?

Yeah, them too.

(I said he became more subtle, I didn’t say anything about becoming more mature azerfgthjkl.)

------

Hibari just enjoys the spectacle from aside (alongside Reborn), and puts a target on random people's back just because he can lol.

And like I said, Tsuna is really proud of them.

(And if later people have the nerve to come complain to him, he goes full on No-Good, oblivious, what-the-hell-do-you-expect-me-to-do Tsuna on them, all the while cackling on the inside.)

------

I feel like Hibari would be the big brother of the group. A very enabling big brother, who absolutely will be right by your side helping you to cause maximum damage (and who does plenty of damages on his own), but a big brother nonetheless.

Ryohei is the actual, reliable, reasonable-ish (emphasis on the ish) big brother.

Mukuro could be a big brother too, but does he care to? He really doesn’t. He’s actually right there besides Lambo in how willing he is to listen to his every whim lol.

Yamamoto, Gokudera and Chrome are the middle siblings.

And Tsuna is, of course, you would have guessed it, the mother of the group. Unless, of course, he can’t take any more of this mafia bullshit and lets them go loose to their heart content.

(The paperwork is absolutely worth it.)

*

Thank you for reading! Any and all review are appreciated ^^.

[nishicchikouchi]

Plot bunny

(someone adapt this Haha)

I recently watched fire force, and this idea kinda just floated in my head? Haha. It was mainly because of a khr fic. I forgot the title, but the summary contained "Hibari making people combust". So it kinda made me wonder. Since Adolla Burst looked like Tsuna's Sky flames.

What if the world that burned was a parallel world that ended because Trinisette was destroyed and apparently, this Evangelist is an Earthling, that made a new universe, but as a cause of no Trinisette balancing world, it lead to human combustion. Since The flames made by Human Combustion doesn't really get taken out by water, also the people who combusts can take control of it or endure it, so maybe they will themselves to behave. Tsuna and Byakuran, (maybe the important characters in mafia) tries to go to this world by the request of the administrator to fix the mess of people constantly combusting. After going there they find themselves in Italy, and forms a new Vongola there. And the The Special Fire force in Japan hears of this new group and their goal, so they make contact and help each other.

This is just a plot bunny waiting to be adapted. I just wanna read a crossover of these two so yeah. Haha

[chocobunnydrops]

Tortoiseshell Charms

I just realized I never posted my KHR Secret Santa from last year lmao so here it is !!!

Title: Tortoiseshell Charms

Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Rating: G

Words: 2k

Summary: Spanner acquires a cat. A disappointing amount of domesticity ensues.

2k words of cats being cats plotless fluff ft. slightly scatterbrained roommate Shoichi in the college au we all need.

Read on: ao3 •  ff.net • below

Groceries in hand, Spanner unlocked the door of his apartment. It was snowing heavily outside, as it did in Japan, but he rather liked the change in climate from Italy. In the two and a half years he’d been here for university, Japan having four seasons was one of the things he’d come to appreciate.

Spanner shook off the snow and dropped his keys on the counter. Shoichi, his roommate, didn't seem to be home at the moment, which meant he was probably slaving away in a lab somewhere, as Spanner had just returned from doing. Ah, the life of an engineering major.

As he was preparing to unpack the groceries, a loud mrrrrow gave him pause. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think that was…

A cat, perched regally on the kitchen table, licked her paw and smoothed it over her head.  

Spanner pondered the new feline while stocking the cupboards with instant ramen. Courtesy of his term project, it had definitely been a few days since he’d last visited the apartment, but he couldn’t recall there being a cat here. Maybe Shoichi had picked one off the streets, or from the local animal shelter. He had read somewhere that pets helped with anxiety, so maybe that was it…

Ramune in hand, he looked at the animal once again. She was a tortoiseshell, like the one his grandfather had in Italy, with pale green eyes that met his in a cool, level gaze. For a second, he wasn’t sure if he was sizing the cat up, or the other way around.

She was probably female, as tortoiseshells nearly always were. His grandfather called them cheeky little things, but with an affection in his eyes that left no doubt that he loved them. Personally, Spanner was lukewarm to them, but as long as Shoichi’s new pet/therapy animal didn’t bother him, he didn’t mind the new roommate.

The matter settled, Spanner popped open a bottle of ramune, set the kettle on for instant ramen, and sat down to study.

Several hours later, the scrape of the door against the floor signaled Shoichi’s arrival home. The redhead stamped his boots on the welcome mat and dusted himself off, shedding layer upon layer of jackets (Shoichi tended to get cold easily) before joining Spanner in the kitchen.

“Oi,” Spanner said, nodding towards the cat, “Where did that come from?”

Shoichi stared at him. “It was here when I got back from class yesterday. I assumed it was yours.”

Spanner blinked.

Shoichi rubbed his head.

The cat yawned.

“So…want to keep it?”

“You know,” Spanner said a few days later, during another one of his rare visits home, “We haven’t given you a name yet.”

The tortoiseshell, cozy in the new bed Shoichi had purchased from the pet store, didn’t respond.  

"Sen," Spanner decided. "What do you think?"

The cat meowed disapprovingly.

"Doraiba?”

She flicked her tail and turned away from him.

“Fine, we'll wait until Shoichi comes home and see what he thinks.”  

Spanner busied himself making a pot of tea (he was British, after all, and already running low on ramune) before starting on his homework. He’d much rather work on Mini Mosca (he was in the process of adding a vacuuming program) but alas his pesky degree required certain grades to graduate, and certain grades required finishing homework.  

He was halfway done designing the motor for a wind turbine when Shoichi shuffled in, nose bright red from the cold, and declared that Professor Kominato was many words he could not say in front of children for holding lecture in this weather.

Spanner privately agreed and informed him of the name conundrum.

Analytical as always, Shoichi studied the tortoiseshell carefully. “She looks like a Phoebe.”

The cat made a sound of disgust.

Shoichi laughed. “Okay, that’s a no.”

Not-Phoebe hrrrumped in the way only a cat can and rolled on her back, demanding belly rubs as compensation for the ill-fitting name. Suddenly, Spanner was struck by inspiration.

“Maru.”

The cat meowed indignantly.

Shoichi laughed again and stroked her admittedly round belly. “Sorry Maru, but Spanner’s got a point. For a stray, you’re remarkably well-fed.”

Maru huffed.

Spanner pushed up his goggles and rubbed his eyes. He’d lost track of how many hours he’d spent in the lab, but judging by the piles of lollipop wrappers on his desk, it was a considerable amount of time. Two days and eleven hours, by his estimates.

Which meant that it was about time he went home and fed Maru. Honestly, he should probably just program Mini Mosca to do it at set intervals (a much easier code than most of its functions), but Spanner enjoyed the break. It was strange, because he had never enjoyed stopping in the middle of a project before, often working days on end without sleep, spending more time in the lab than his apartment.  

Shoichi constantly scolded him for not taking care of himself. Spanner retorted that Shoichi wasn’t any better, spending literal days glued to his computer in a similar manner, hair disheveled, face unshaved, perfecting his latest project. He had come home far too many times to Shoichi slumped over his keyboard, snoring, while intricate programs ran in the background. At least Spanner always dragged himself to bed (if the little cot in his lab could be called that) before collapsing.  

Spanner’s keys clanked when he dropped them on the counter. The sound always sent Maru purring around his legs, as if the sudden affection would make him dole out an extra serving of cat food. No such luck. Spanner had long grown immune to tortoiseshell charms.

Mini Mosca put the kettle on and Spanner quietly thanked him. Shoichi was sleeping over at that Byakuran kid’s again (they had been spending a lot of time together lately), so the apartment felt oddly quiet without the click-clacking of his keyboard or the electronic bzzzzt of a program running.

Maru pawed at his pant leg, reminding Spanner of the all-important dinner. Spanner poured her food into her bowl, and reprimanded her when she stared pleadingly at him when she quickly “finished”.

“Maru, there’s still food in your bowl.”

Maru gazed at him with devastatingly big green eyes.

“Maru, you haven’t even eaten everything yet.”

Maru mrrowed pitifully.

Spanner sighed and pushed away his instant ramen (Mini Mosca’s cooking functions were advancing, but not quickly enough). He reached for the bag of cat food and pretended to pour more in before placing it back in the only locked cabinet in their apartment. Maru, as they found out early on, could somehow get into every nook and cranny of the apartment they hid the food in. Shoichi had come home one day to find her wedged contently in the heating duct, an empty bag of cat food sitting between her paws, and that had been the last straw. He and Spanner spent the next day reinforcing one of the kitchen cabinets with iron deadbolts and a fingerprint recognition system.

Spanner picked up the bowl and moved it slightly to the right, making sure to swirl the container so the food would be in different places. Lo and behold, Maru trotted right up and started eating again. Spanner stroked her fondly.

“You know, this is why we called you Maru.”

Maru, oblivious to the jibe, licked up the last of her meal with satisfaction.

Now that he had a cat, Spanner preferred to work at home when he could. Maru curled up in his lap while he typed away on his computer, and he absentmindedly scratched her behind the ears. Every now and again she’d hop off and sit in front of the fridge, meowing loudly to remind him that they both needed to eat. If that didn’t break his concentration, she’d plant herself firmly on his keyboard and swat his nose with her paw until he stood up.

But sometimes, she would clamber onto Spanner’s keyboard for no apparent reason. Even after he scratched her under the chin, gave her a toy, and tried to coax her away with cat treats, she still refused to budge. Evidently, it had been far too long since she had sat on Spanner’s keyboard, and she was intent on enjoying it.  

At first, Spanner tried to reason with her. “Maru, I have a spare keyboard on my dresser. You can sit on that one.” To which Maru blinked once before settling down more.

Next came bribery. “Maru, I’ll buy you a new mouse toy if you get off my keyboard.” He received a bored yawn in reply.

Physical action was his last resort. He gently wrapped his hands around Maru’s ample midsection and hoisted the chubby cat off the keyboard. Maru immediately sank her claws into his sweater and positioned herself on his shoulder. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but it was definitely an indication that she wouldn’t be letting go anytime soon.

Which was somewhat of a problem, given that he had class in fifteen minutes (and hence needed his keyboard to finish up a homework assignment he had put off to work more on Mini Mosca…the cycle of procrastination never ends).

Seeing as negotiating had failed spectacularly in getting Maru off his keyboard, Spanner decided that no college student gave enough of a shit to protest his bringing a cat to class. It certainly wouldn’t be the weirdest thing he’d seen in his electrical engineering lecture.

He bundled up Maru in her little penguin-patterned scarf and hat before sliding into his own jacket; Maru graciously lifted one limb at a time to allow him to put it on. Then, with a quick glance at his watch to check the time, they were off.

3 pm was Spanner and Maru’s favorite time of day, because that was when the mail truck rolled to a stop on the curb of their apartment building and started unloading a conglomerate of packages in every shape and size.

Spanner, predictably, was excited because he finally had whatever part he was missing for his project.

Maru, predictably, was excited because of the box said part came in.

It was a symbiotic relationship, and one in which the mailman was very, very well-greeted.

Maru’s Top Five Spots to Nap, as compiled by Spanner

5. Under the kitchen sink

4. On top of Spanner’s keyboard

3. On top of whatever textbook Spanner is reading

2. In Spanner’s underwear drawer

1. Unknown. Maru disappears for a certain length of time and returns looking refreshed. Further investigation needed.

Like winter, midterms had come and gone, leaving Shoichi and Spanner with free time for the first time in weeks. Icicles dripped from the eaves of their roof, and grass was just beginning to peek through melted patches of snow. They embarked on an impromptu but highly necessary trip to the supermarket, where the two roommates enjoyed each other’s company while buying the store’s entire supply of instant ramen and coffee (the latter was for Shoichi; Spanner preferred ramune, even if it didn’t give him a caffeine rush).

Despite being laden with groceries, the walk home was quick and pleasant, and Spanner scarcely had time to unlock the door before both he and Shoichi were calling for Maru.

Truth be told, they had grown a soft spot for the tortoiseshell and couldn’t resist picking up a new toy or two every time they went to that specific supermarket. Shoichi blamed it on the marketing. “Placing cat toys in the check-out aisle…right as we’re about to leave…and always on sale too…it’s cruel.”

His bank account agreed.

“Maru?” Shoichi called again. Their tortoiseshell, usually so diligent about greeting them whenever they came home for the toys, had mysteriously vanished.  

A light mrrrow in response led them to the kitchen.

Maru was perched regally on the table, but upon their entry moved aside to reveal another cat. This one was white and fluffy, but in a way that bore an unfortunate resemblance to the tousled chaos atop Byakuran’s head. Maru mrrrowed again and flicked her tail proudly.  

Shoichi looked at Spanner.

Spanner looked at Shoichi.

“So…want to keep it?”

A/N: Do Spanner and Shoichi ever figure out how two cats managed to sneak inside their locked apartment? …nah probs not.

Sen – Wire

Doraiba – Screwdriver

Yes Spanner is a confirmed nerd who would definitely name his cat after tools…

Maru – round or circle, bc pudgy cats are the cutest and the name just sounds super cute so.

This was my first time writing Spanner and Shoichi, so I apologize if they acted ooc! If you have any comments or constructive criticism, I’d love to hear it :3

Thank you for reading and (belated) Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

~Tressa

Random Headcanons for this au

Spanner came to Japan for university because of its advanced robotics/engineering programs and coincidentally ended up at the same school as Shoichi. Neither really had any friends going in so they were like hey why not let’s be roomies. 

They’re perfect roommates because (before Maru) neither was ever really home—they basically lived in their respective robotics labs and came home only to shower and pick up mail.

They’re both majoring in Engineering, with a specialization in robotics (hopefully that’s a thing). They both find university A Struggle.

Basically Spanner is the definition of a Ravenclaw who is hella smart and could easily get straight As if he actually did his homework on time but would rather work on Mini Mosca/other personal projects.

Spanner and Shoichi both live off instant ramen because neither has the time to make anything better. Since coming to Japan, Spanner has since gotten addicted to ramune because it’s so sweet and fizzy??? Like his lollipops but in liquid form???

Mini Mosca is a side project he’s been working on for the past couple of years. Is basically the same as he is in canon—a mini home assistant—except that he’s not finished yet.

Honestly getting a cat is such a good thing for Spanner bc it makes him actually take care of himself and eat and come home more and she probably actually does help Shoichi with his stomach aches and anxiety too so !!! this has been a psa pls imagine Spanner and Shoichi with cats.

[yuesya]

and all the lovely angels sing [snippet]

Title: and all the lovely angels sing

Category: KHR

Summary: You are born in a body that’s wrong, in a world gone wrong. But somehow, things still manage to turn out halfway alright. [OC]

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and all the lovely angels sing

“of songs unsung and songs unheard”

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Like most people, you do not want to die. Perfectly understandable.

But death is a cruel mistress, and no one is capable of resisting death, when death comes calling. The mightiest of leaders, the lowest of beggars –all are equal, lain prostrate before the unrelenting maws of death, and you are no different from any of them. Plain, average white-collared young woman that you are, there is absolutely nothing special about you that sets you apart from the countless thousands of men who’ve died before you, and the thousands who will doubtlessly follow thereafter. You are no exception. Until you are.

This is what happens:

You die. Then, miracle of miracles, you wake up again in the body of a newborn infant.

And that’s where things start going wrong.

.

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(Reincarnation is a myth. A fantasy. But it’s also a mistake. Something undoubtedly, undeniably wrong.

Maybe some small oversight in the cogs of the cosmic universe was what resulted in your ‘being-reborn-as-a-child-with-memories-intact.’ Maybe it was at the careless choice of some whimsical deity. Whatever the reason might be, you’re firmly of the opinion that it’s nothing but a mistake of stupidly colossal proportions that had better never fucking happen again.

Once is already one times too many, as you come to learn.)

.

.

You are born again in some nameless hospital in the middle of nowhere to some nameless couple you never get the chance to see the faces of as the twin to another similarly nameless child. There is never a chance for you to learn anything more than that about your newest blood relations, because the next thing you know, you’ve been whisked away to some shady warehouse to be raised with a dozen other screaming, wailing infants.

Never. Again.

Time marches on; a slow, painful grind. Between the ever-increasingly sparse visits of neglectful caretakers and the aimless caterwauling of other children, you are left with nothing but your thoughts to keep you company. A prisoner in your own mind, held captive in a body that’s nothing but wrong, wrong, wrong.

You scream, sometimes. Cry. You are a grown woman, stuffed into the body of an infant boy. There’s no way that anything in this situation is even remotely right, and you rage against the injustice of it all, screaming out your anger and helplessness.

No one notices. Of course no one would notice. Your caretakers are indifferent on top of being neglectful, and you’ve quickly come to realize that they have no concern for any of the children except keeping you all alive. Why would they care about something as trivial as mental and emotional wellbeing?

Ha. Hilarious.

You eventually manage to pull yourself together, because you’re a grown-ass woman and crying has never solved any of your problems. Eventually. On the good days, you can almost ignore it –you can convince yourself that you’re just piloting a puppet that happens to be a tiny little kid, happens to be male, and it’s not you, not really. But on the bad days, when you’re all but suffocated beneath the crushing tide of rage and unfairness that threatens to blot out the entire world, all you want to do is destroy.

… Bit of a violent reaction, that. You blame it on your new body, and on the less-than-stellar example that is set by your dubious caretakers.

None of the other children like playing with you very much, which suits you just fine. You’ve never particularly liked children, either.

It all finally comes to a head one day when reacting with violence is not enough not enough, never enough, and it all becomes so overwhelming that your entire world goes up in flames.

Literally.

.

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“Didn’t know you broke them in so young.”

“Don’t give me that shit; this one just went and spontaneously combusted in the middle of the yard on his own. Weird little kid, bit of a loner, keeps getting into random scuffles with the other brats for no apparent reason… too much of a daydreamer, too, if you ask me. Seems like he’s a damn strong Cloud, though, going by those flames of his.”

“… Yeah, he’ll do.”

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After the spontaneous self-combustion incident, you realize that this world you’ve been reborn into isn’t quite the same as the one you once knew, and by then it’s too late.

You’ve always been semi-aware that your caretakers aren’t exactly… aren’t exactly people who live on the right side of the law. You’ve known that ever since you’ve were snatched from your birth parents and promptly dumped in a run-down hovel with a dozen other children. It’s kind of obvious, especially since none of them ever tries to hide anything. Drugs, women, alcohol. You’d say something about bad influences and impressionable children, but it’s far more effort than you’re willing to expend, even on a good day, and there’s nothing you stand to gain from it, anyways. And so you never say anything.

One thing about having an adult mind means that you understand criminal organizations and underground empires will always exist no matter where one goes, as long as humankind survives. But oddly-colored flames that ignite from one’s palms are a whole other kettle of fish entirely.

This understanding is only further heightened when you’re hushed by your caretakers into a tattered car immediately after the incident, and brought someplace a little cleaner where you’re then stuffed into a slightly nicer car, and the pattern repeats. You grow increasingly unsettled as the whole ridiculous cycle continues until you’re sitting in something that might as well be a goddamned limousine.

You’re… what, four years old? Four years old, and… getting kidnapped a second time? Human trafficking? This qualifies as human trafficking, right?

Right?

Throughout the entire process, none of the men ever say anything to you. You have no idea what’s going on. You can’t really find it in yourself to care about what’s going on, either. You’re nothing but a ghost living on borrowed time in a body that doesn’t belong to you. You don’t really care what happens to you anymore.

(That’s a lie. You soon come to discover that that’s a big fucking lie, and this is how you find out:)

Eventually, eventually they bring you to a young man. Well-dressed, respectable-looking. He’s looks to only be in his late teens, but there’s a sharp air to him that states this is a man who knows what he wants and knows how to get what he wants. He takes one look at you and his lips curve upwards. Something about the expression makes your stomach drop.

For the first few moments, no one says anything. The men who brought you in shift restlessly in the background, and you’re equal parts wary and confused and just so very tired of it all.

It happens suddenly, the way a balloon bursts. Like fireworks in too-close proximity. Something crackles and snaps in the air, hot and searing, and it’s only instinct to flinch backwards, except there’s nowhere for you to retreat, not with men well over five times your size blocking the exit and caging you in. It’s… detestable. It’s a detestable sensation, is what it is.

Something burns inside you. Burns. It’s a curious sensation, of something reaching in and trying to take hold of you, except it doesn’t fit, and it’s… disgusting. You almost frown, but frowning takes too much effort. Resisting takes too much effort, too, except this body of yours seems determined to resist this until the bitter end… whatever ‘this’ is.

But what it all boils down to is this: You are a scrawny little kid, tired and underfed. No matter your body’s vehement resistance, instinctive revulsion, there is no contest.

When something penetrates deep, deep inside your core and snaps into place at long last, your only reaction is to close your eyes, ignoring the goosebumps that crawl over your skin, ignoring the way that for once, you and your body are in tandem in wanting to crawl out of your own skin because this is filthy, disgusting, wrong.

“Welcome to the family, little one,” the young man finally breaks the silence between you with a small, satisfied smile.

You do not understand the implications of his words at the time, nor his actions. It does not stop your blood from freezing like ice in your veins at that proclamation.

.

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[i-w-p-chan]

(Dying Will) Flame Hero

Summary: From mafia boss to a pro hero. Tsuna is pretty sure there's at least one big inside joke about the situation he's not privy to.

Alt. title: "Tsuna's Life Lessons"

Note: another reincarnation fic? Another reincarnation fic.

Warnings: Crack (Who Is Surprised?), Very Crack (I'm Talking Revenge-Levels Here), Written At Midnight, Finished In An Hour, *Insert Delirious Cackling*, Yet Another Reincarnation Fic, Prepare To Be Extremely Surprised, Someone Stop Giotto, Tsuna!Endeavor, Ryohei!All Might, Giotto!Shouto, Cozart!Izuku, G!Bakugou.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or BNHA.

.

In his past life, Tsuna had learned many lessons, whether as a mafia boss for the most powerful mafia famiglia or as a civilian kid.

He still remembered them and lived by them.

Reincarnated into another world? Not the first 'other world' he'd been to, he'd manage.

He burst into flame when he was four? Been there, done that, didn't get the t-shirt.

(He didn't even remember that time. But he did clearly remember the other million times.)

People dropping into his life at age thirteen and dragging him off to lead some ambitious life? It was best to go with them before they shot you in the forehead and made you run around town in your boxers.

And that was the case when a Yagi Toshinori, whom he recognized easily as Sasagawa Ryohei, stormed into his life and excitedly pulled him by the arms to watch heroes.

And so Sawada Tsunayoshi, now Todoroki Enji, was dragged like a blank-faced ragdoll into the heroics business.

.

Life lesson #4 said that friends should share ANYTHING with each other.

Toshi-nii (as he insisted Enji call him) shared his mentor, and his memories of his 'predecessor' (there was a long talk about Quirk transferring that day), Shimura Nana, with Enji. Enji was not surprised; 'anything' included people, and it happened quite a lot in their previous life.

Enji listened attentively to his friend and honorary big brother and went on with his day.

(Life lesson #4, addendum #1 declared that 'anything' didn't necessarily mean 'everything'.)

That night, he scoured through every file he could get his hands on, which was a lot, he was a former mafia boss trained by the World's Greatest Hitman; when he wanted to dig, he knew where to dig.

Eventually, he found Shimura Nana's son and his family.

She made Gran Torino and Toshi-nii promise not to get in contact with her child, but she didn't say anything about Enji promising the same.

.

"Enji…" Toshi-nii, All Might, stared intently at him, "What do you mean your house burned down?"

"Oops?" Enji blinked innocently, "Such an unfortunate accident. Guess I need to find another place to live."

His next house was an apartment conveniently next door to one young Shimura Tenko and his parents.

.

Life lesson #2 was hammered into his head early on: use your physical appearance to appeal to others, manipulate them, and make them do your bidding.

As Tsuna and as Enji, he was 'blessed' with a slender, youthful figure, with 'pretty' and 'cute' features, and the apparent inability to pack on a shit-ton of muscles. Hence, he was able to use his figure to reach his goals.

(All without shame. If his looks could stop people in their tracks and prevent them from creating mass destruction, then less paperwork for him. Win-win.)

A simple side pony tail with his red hair, and a bashful look from his blue eyes, coupled with a slight pout, and he could topple armies.

And the Shimuras were no armies.

.

Speaking about being a 'pretty boy'…

Enji, Endeavor, finished off the villain with a flourish of his flames.

He restrained the villain and whirled around, his hair flying in the air, skirt swishing around his knees and heeled boots clacking, to be bombarded by questions and shouts from the press and adoring fans alike.

Only a third of them were interested in the villain's capture, the other two thirds were interested in the Flame Hero, the one officially declared 'The Most Beautiful Hero' by the media.

Endeavor was graceful in his acceptance of the compliments.

(What he didn't like about the situation were the echoes of Reborn's cackles in his head, as if there was some inside joke he wasn't privy to.)

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The first life lesson he learned, however, was to fucking roll with the punches. Even if they were delivered by apparent babies (especially if they were delivered by apparent babies).

That was Enji's first thought when he opened his door and found a baby on his doorstep.

He was 100% sure the whole universe was playing a prank on him.

He sighed and took in the baby, noting the dual colored hair (the right half was white while the left half was red, it was even split right in the middle! The universe was clearly bored and feeling creative) and the dual colored eyes observing him.

Enji stared back at the kid and pondered the situation. His life had played host to babies turning up at his doorstep many times before, be they adults trapped in the bodies of infants or actual infants. And the baby in his arms had that look in his eyes, the understanding, focused, aware stare of the adult-in-a-baby-body baby type.

Was he even a good choice for a parent? He was a pro hero and was out of the house for work most of the time.

Ah, well, at least lil Tenko-chan would get a friend.

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He named the baby Shouto.

Unlike his first impression, Shouto was a fucking hellion.

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"Shouto, I am disappointed in you."

"Is it because I'm wearing a dress?" Shouto pointed at the dress he wore.

"No. You and I both know the dress is yours, stop trying to change the topic. What did I say about putting ideas in Tenko-chan's head about tying All Might's bunny ears into a ribbon?"

"Not to do it?"

"Correct. And what did you do?"

"Put ideas in Tenko-chan's head about tying All Might's bunny ears into a ribbon."

"Exactly."

"Papa… you said you'd stop calling them bunny ears out loud."

.

"Papa! I want to become a hero to create a world where my beloved can frolic around with bunnies without being afraid that someone is going to hurt him!" Shouto declared as he tugged his 'beloved' (a cute kid around Shouto's age with hair a fluffy mess, green eyes and freckles) close to his body.

While Enji pondered what to say in response to what his son just said, another kid stormed towards the three. He was around Shouto's and the fluffy cutie's age with spiky blond hair and sharp red eyes. The newcomer pulled the cutie from Shouto's grasp and tugged Shouto from his collar to pull him far away.

"We need to have words, Shouto."

"Aw, come on! You're no fun!"

Enji ignored his son and his son's apparent new friend to focus on the cutie.

The cutie smiled at him, "Hello, I'm Midoriya Izuku. Please call me Izuku."

"Todoroki Enji, Shouto's father."

The two shook hands.

"The angry one is Kacchan. Don't worry, he won't hurt Shouchan. That's how he shows he cares about Shouchan."

Enji looked from Izuku to 'Kacchan' and Shouto and back again before he made his mind: he was going to sign his son for some martial arts. Baby steps and all that.

.

.

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Years later, U.A, Sports Festival,

Todoroki Shouto stood atop the frozen robots, carrying Midoriya Izuku above his head in a fashion that looked as if he was presenting Izuku to the world.

"BEHOLD!" Shouto started before he was interrupted.

"YOU FUCKING SHITHEAD! ARE YOU STUPID?!" Bakugou Katsuki came flying at them, successfully freeing Izuku from Shouto's clutches and punching Shouto to the ground, "ARE YOU TRYING TO PAINT A FUCKING TARGET ON IZUKU'S BACK?!"

"What? NO!" Shouto screamed from near the robot's feet.

In the stands, Endeavor smirked, turned to the incredulous hero sitting next to him and said, "Those are my kids."

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End.

[kill-it-with-an-x-burner]

Incineration (KHR/BNHA)

This was the fic I was talking about here and here. Yes, finally, the Hisashi-centric crossover has arrived.

I finished this while hungry and sleepy, so pardon any incoherence regarding the plot. I might rewrite/add some things. Maybe. Not guaranteed. 

Summary: Midoriya Hisashi was pretty sure his quirk was breathing fire, so why does he keep seeing things no one else could?

Hisashi didn't even notice it.

He was simply walking home when an old lady approached him. Silver hair from old age was put into a bun, whilst a wrinkled face with twinkling gray eyes and a kind smile greeted him. She had a tiny star-shaped mark on the left side of her bottom lip. Much to his distaste, she wore a bright, gaudy, sequined pink dress.

"Oh, Hisashi, where have you been?" She asked. "Your mother's been looking for you."

"My mother?" Who is this lady? The young man was slightly weirded out. This old woman straight up came to him without warning, telling him about his mom. He didn't even know her, so why was she acting so unreserved towards him?

"Yes, she's waiting for you. Her boss dismissed them early today," The old lady then brought out something from her equally bright pink purse. "I just bought some snacks. Here, have some. I'm sure you're pretty hungry from baseball practice, right?"

As if on cue, his stomach grumbled. Hisashi blushed lightly as the old woman tittered. Hesitantly, he slowly reached for the umaibo, trying to gauge the lady's reaction. Seeing no malice in her expression, he took the snack and pocketed it. "I'll eat it at home. Thanks."

She waved at him. "Well, I've got to go to the market now. Tell your mother I might take long; these old bones don't work the way they used to, you know?"

He nodded. "Right."

She was highly suspicious, but she didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.

What a weird old lady.

Once he got home, Hisashi indeed saw his mother, like the old lady said; which was unusual considering that she always went home at god awful hours in the evening due to her work. "Oh, you're home. Hey," He greeted.

"Hey, sport," She greeted back. "My boss had to cancel today's work because of an emergency, so here I am."

He then decided to ask his mother about the overly-friendly woman. "Hey, mom, do you know any old ladies in the neighborhood?" Because as far as he knew, she was too busy to make friends with the neighbors because of work.

His mother furrowed his eyebrows, gray eyes narrowing in suspicion. He vaguely noted that she and the old woman had similar eye colors. "No, I don't. Why'd you ask?"

"I just met this old lady saying that you're already home and that you were waiting for me?" He rubbed the back of his head. "She also said to tell you she'd take long on her trip to the market."

She pursed her lips. "No, I don't. I wasn't expecting a guest and your father won't come back from his business trip until next week so I know he didn't invite anyone, either. What does she look like?"

Hisashi felt his stomach drop at the implications. Did they have a stalker? "Um, she's old and wore this really ugly dress? Wrinkly face, too." What was the most memorable thing about her face? He crossed his arms in thought before snapping his fingers. Oh, right. He pointed at the bottommost part of his face. "And she had this tiny mark at the side of her mouth? It was weird. She was weird."

His mother rapidly paled as he described the lady. With shaky hands, she grasped her son's. "Dear, does this lady have gray eyes like me?"

"Oh, right. She does." It's not just the color – they have the same shade of eyes, too.

Her grip on his hands tightened. "And is the mark on her face... star-shaped?"

Hisashi nodded vigorously. So his mother did know this person. What a relief! They don't have a stalker, after all. "Yeah! I've never seen anyone with a face mark like that. Is it a tattoo or something?"

Hisashi yelped as she released his hands and slowly skidded to the floor. Her face was contorted in shock and blank gray eyes stared downwards, hands firmly curled into fists. In a split second, his mom had gone from "I sense a suspicious person" into a completely lifeless mess.

Suffice to say, he panicked. "Mom! Mom, what's wrong?!" Hisashi grabbed her and repeatedly shook her shoulders. She didn't respond. "Hey, listen to me! Say something!"

It wasn't until after a few more seconds that his mother snapped out of her stupor and recomposed herself. In an instant, she wrapped her arms around him into a tense embrace. His mother began to cry.

"She... even now, she's still watching over us..."

"Who is she, mom? Why are you so upset?"

His mother just continued to hug him for another minute or two before letting go. Wiping her tears, she gave him a melancholic smile.

Hisashi felt a shiver down his spine when she finally answered him.

"That was your grandmother. She passed away long before you were even born."

The second time it happened, Hisashi remained none the wiser until after the encounter.

He was visiting a bookstore for his school project. They were tasked to make a book report comparing light novels to your regular novels. Unfortunately, neither the school nor the local library had a light novel section; the closest thing was an entire shelf assigned to foreign comic books and manga.

Honestly, he didn't have high hopes for his project. Most of the light novels the bookstore had were of the isekai genre, wherein the protagonist is from the modern world who suddenly gets transported or reincarnated into a fantasy world. However, with the emergence of quirks and the rise of the hero system, this certain genre has become stagnant. Rarely did such light novels not include a protagonist with a useless quirk or a quirkless person altogether.

It wasn't something he was particularly interested in, because most of those light novels were wish-fulfillment given literary form. But he would be lying if he wasn't intrigued by the idea of alternate dimensions- that's kinda cool.

He grumbled as he spied another row dedicated only to harem and loli-centric works. Is this really all they have? The most different one he found was something about gore and magical girls, but it was so old and worn out that he couldn't even read the kanji anymore.

He then felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, young man. Do you know where the manager's office is?" It was a girl around a few years older than him, maybe in university or something. He spotted the book held in her other hand. "The cashier is missing and I didn't see anyone else, so..."

Hisashi inwardly groaned. This always happened. The owner was nice and accommodating, but he kept on hiring slackers who wouldn't do their jobs properly. Might as well call the old man. I should ask if he has other light novels, too.

He beckoned at her to follow. They encircled around the shelves at the back before stopping in front of a metal door. He knocked and called out to the owner, "Hey, old man. It's Hisashi! The clerk's gone again and you have a customer to attend to!"

"Will be right there in a jiffy, sonny! Just let me– oof!" They heard a loud crash from the other side. The teen winced. That sounded like it hurts a lot.

"Does this happen often?" She meekly inquired. He simply closed his eyes and nodded.

He then knocked again. "You okay in there?"

"I'm fine. Nothing's broken this time, too, so it's all good!"

"You should really be more careful! What if you bang your head or something?"

"I've been doing these for decades, boy. If I was accident-prone, I would have been long dead by now." The door swung open as the owner peered from his room. "So what did you want again?"

Hisashi gestured to the girl behind him. "You have a customer. She wants to pay but your cashier's off to who knows where."

The owner scratched his head, confusion evident in his features. "Who're you talking about? There's no one there." The teen's eyes widened before he turned around. Indeed, the girl was missing. "You sure you didn't hallucinate or something, boy?"

"B-But she was just here a-a-and she was even going to buy a dictionary or something–!"

The old man simply patted him on the back. "You gotta get a proper amount of sleep. I know you're a baseball nut and all, but that's not an excuse to skip out on rest."

"No, seriously, she was here! She even talked to me while I was knocking on your door! I'm not lying!"

"Then she must've left when you weren't looking."

Later that day, the owner asked his cashier who was apparently lounging in another area of the store if he had seen anyone. The employee denied it, saying that other than Hisashi, no one else came that hour. It was why he decided to read some manga to cure his boredom.

Hisashi's blood ran cold when they reviewed the security cameras. All this time, he had been alone and was talking to thin air.

What the hell is going on?

This continued for more encounters. In some cases, he would immediately realize that he was seeing things no one else could. In others, he never noticed that he was talking with someone who didn't exist until afterwards. Not to mention that his surroundings felt like they were burning him during these encounters.

Frankly, it was creepy, and it was taking a toll on him. He was getting stressed out real fast.

If no one else perceive them, Hisashi simply concluded that he must be seeing ghosts. He was pretty sure that breathing fire was his quirk, so why was this happening to him? He even went to a quirk specialist who told him that his ability didn't change. His friends were starting to worry. His parents were starting to worry. He was starting to worry.

Fire breathing definitely had nothing to do with seeing things so what's wrong with him?

Hisashi didn't understand.

To make matters worse, he began to see them everywhere – at school, during baseball practice in the field, out in the streets, and other places he went to. It even escalated to the point that he was hallucinating places now.

Sometimes, he'd enter an establishment to buy something and subsequently realizing it's not the same store. At times, when people ask him for directions, he'd point towards a specific building as a landmark and people would end up confused because they're not seeing what he can.

This entire mess was frustrating him.

He met a peculiar guy.

Initially, he merely saw him around the vicinity. Sometimes, it was when he was hanging out with his friends. Sometimes, it was on his way home. In other times, it was during his errand runs. Hisashi thought that he must be a new neighbor, but after asking his mother and the other residents, they didn't know anything about a mover.

Surely, a boy around his age with bright green hair would be eye-catching, right?

Not.

No one knew where he came from. Hisashi presumed that he was a ghost, but he was too corporeal to be one, nor did he try to communicate with him like the other ghosts.

Then who was he?

It didn't take long before he encountered the green-haired kid properly.

It was during his walk in the beach park when the other appeared out of nowhere. Startled, Hisashi tripped over his own feet and fell face first to the ground. The other helped him up and dusted sand off his clothes, encircling him. Satisfied with what he saw, he clasped Hisashi's shoulder.

"So you're the one," The green-haired kid said. "I wasn't sure because you weren't reacting at all. But then, you were always around whenever I appeared."

Hisashi was taken aback by his sudden approach. "I'm the what?"

He smiled as if inwardly laughing at a joke. "The chosen of this world, silly!"

The teen scratched his head. What the hell was this guy talking about? Was this guy some sort of chuunibyou? "Um, 'chosen'? What do you mean?" Perhaps insane?

"Figures you wouldn't notice anything. This is a world of superpowers, after all." The green-haired teen huffed and crossed his arms. "Tell me, have you been seeing weird things lately?"

That was spot-on! Hisashi whipped his head to meet the other's eyes and saw his smile widening. "H-How did you–"

"That's because I'm the same as you. We see things that we aren't meant to see." He began to pace around with his hands behind his back. "While everyone else is limited to the world we live in, we are different. We see beyond that; beyond our own existence."

The green-haired teen stopped in front of him, with the glares of the sun shining from behind. It made his hair shine like a halo and his entire body ethereal. Hisashi felt as if he was staring at something otherworldly.

"What do you know about parallel worlds?"

Haku was his name.

He claimed to be from another world, and that he had been trying to contact Hisashi for a long time now. In his world, there were no quirks – instead, there were Dying Will Flames, the manifestation of a person's will and determination.

According to his new friend, there are a limitless number of worlds that exist, and each world has an infinite amount of parallels. However, one thing that doesn't change in every world are the three absolute powers: the power to connect to the past, the power to perceive the present, and the power to predict the future.

For each world, there is one person who possesses an absolute power. He, Haku, and countless others were born with the ability to perceive the present; the power to see and occasionally, cross parallel worlds. The people and places that don't exist were indeed from parallel worlds. His ability had awakened for the first time and since he's never used it before, it was out of his control.

(All of this sounded so familiar, though. It's as if he's experienced this before.)

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because I had no one to help me when I was in your shoes." Haku looked pensive, as if remembering a particularly bad memory. "Not to mention that you can somehow mingle with people from parallel worlds without any prior training. I don't know how you did it, but it should be impossible to interact with others without any sort of conduit to channel your powers."

Hisashi pointed at him with a disgruntled face. "But aren't you crossing over yourself?"

"I'm not. You can only see me because I'm projecting myself to you, but if you want to be technical about it, we're communicating via telepathy."

T-Telepathy? "I thought people didn't have quirks there. Or is this an ability of your 'Flames'?" He said with matching air quotes. Haku made a vague gesture with his hand. "We may not have quirks, but we do have a superior technology."

Haku was a good friend.

He was a generous person who genuinely wanted to assist him, he could tell that much. He was truly grateful to the other teen that he was willing to go out on a limb for a someone he barely knew. Haku taught him how to control his powers so he wouldn’t keep confusing his world and another. He taught him how to regulate the visions so they would stop showing up randomly and interrupt his daily life.

(Oh, he couldn’t completely put a lid on it, but he was able to manage with what meager control he had over it.)

Because they were in similar positions, both were instantly able to relate to one another. They promptly clicked, like two pieces of a puzzle.

It was why Hisashi found it easy to open up to him. The green-haired boy served as his confidant throughout the years. He told him stories about his daily routine – what he did in his school, what he wanted to do with his life. He even went on to ask him for dating advice, and eventually, ideas on what to name his own child and how to be a proper parent.

But sometimes, when the other thought he wasn't looking, he saw something else.

Was Haku helping him only because he was lonely?

Hisashi finally recalled why his current experiences struck a chord within him.

This all happened, even back when he was still a kid; back before he even received his quirk.

Like any other child, Hisashi wanted to be a hero. Unfortunately, not everyone gets to have a chance to chase their dreams. Even though they live in a superhuman society, his family didn't have anything extraordinary. Both of his parents were quirkless, so were all their relatives before them – a rare phenomenon in this day and age.

Suffice to say, he had resigned himself to a mundane life ahead of him.

He went to an unremarkable school. He got mediocre grades. He didn't have an exceptional talent or boasted an impressive physical ability. He was just... there. Ask anyone and they'll give the same answer: that he was not someone meant for greatness, but a person meant for anonymity.

He would live as an ordinary person and die as one.

But all of a sudden, something different happened.

He had a peculiar dream filled with dread and weariness. There was nothing but darkness around him and he was all alone. In a flash of light, inexplicable warmth enveloped him as a figure gave him a gentle smile. Just as he was about to reach for this person, he woke up with his arm stretched towards the ceiling.

Hisashi felt the same warmth lingering in his room.

For the next few days, he would have the same dream. It wasn't anything bad, so the young boy did not tell anyone about them.

Not long after, he started to suffer from random hot flashes and nausea. Everything was spinning and he could barely stay conscious. He began to hallucinate, as well. Wherever he looked, his surroundings constantly changed and the people never noticed any difference, so he thought that he was simply ill or fatigued. However, Hisashi didn't want to trouble his parents in case it was just a false alarm.

It wasn't until he saw a bizarrely-dressed man that he admits to himself that there might be something wrong with him.

While he was walking home with his friends, he spotted said man across the street. He donned a mask and a trench coat. He also wore a checker-patterned iron hat with matching gloves. The eeriest part of him was the checker pattern on his own face. The teen scratched his head in puzzlement. Is he a hero or something?

Hisashi has never seen anyone like him before.

He nudges an elbow to his friend and gestures in the man's direction. "Hey, do you think that guy's a hero?"

"Hah, what are you talking about? No one's there."

Hisashi blinked and stared back at the other side. The man was still standing across the street. "Um, he's... just standing there? Don't you guys see him?"

His other shook his head in disagreement. "Man, we knew you weren't feeling well, but if you're starting to see things then maybe we should hurry home so you can rest."

"But–" He was about to add more, when he noted their concerned expressions. The teen sighed in exasperation, yet reluctantly backed down. No use arguing when he knew they were only worried for him.

As they walked away, Hisashi stuck his hands in his pockets and huffed. He was so sure that the man was real – there's no way he could be deluding himself! Then again, he briefly glanced at his friends who saw nothing, maybe I'm so tired that I'm imagining things.

He nodded at himself. Yeah, maybe they're right. I haven't had a decent night of sleep recently anyway.

Making up his mind, he snuck one last peek at the bizarre man again to make sure that the other really is not there. His eyes widened when the man smiled and waved at him.

Hisashi was officially spooked.

He started to lose sleep and eat less, neglecting to take proper care of himself. His cheeks began to sink and his eyes darkened. His previously healthy complexion turned pallor. He dozed off at random intervals. It wasn't until he collapsed that his parents found out and sent him to the hospital.

A week's worth of rest and medicine helped him recover, but they sent him to the therapists after confessing he'd been hallucinating.

None of the therapists could figure it out – "There should be nothing wrong with young Hisashi, yet he's still seeing things that aren't there." – and the counselors were of no assistance, either.

"Don't worry, Hisashi. I'm sure that there's someone who can help you," His mother said, trying to console him after another failed session with a new psychiatrist. Her pats on his back were comforting, yet he still felt awful for his current situation and all the trouble he was making them go through.

"...Do you think it could be his quirk?" His father whispered, features darkened and discouraged. Hisashi wasn't blind to how they were starting to look like him. His parents were stressed out by his predicament, too.

"That's impossible!" She slammed her fist on the table. Just like his father, she was equally burdened with the mysterious ailment of her son. Her hair was unkempt and her eyes dry from exhaustion. "We're both quirkless and our son has always been the same for a long time now."

His father snapped, "I'm not deluding myself that he could actually have a quirk, but there's nothing else we can think of. There's nothing wrong with trying!"

And with that, he was brought to the local quirk specialist.

"You should celebrate. Your son doesn't have an extra joint. Theoretically, this means he can develop a quirk," The doctor explained, pointing at an x-ray; particularly, at Hisashi's toes. "You are both quirkless, correct? It isn't unheard of for first generation quirk users to be late bloomers or to have dormant abilities."

"H-How is this possible, doctor?" Hisashi's mother exclaimed, with both his father and Hisashi himself nodding in agreement.

"It's not an absolute that quirkless people can't give birth to a new quirk. After all, the original quirk users did come from powerless families. There's really no guarantee on whether a child would have a special ability or not." The doctor was writing down something on his clipboard.

Hisashi wasn't paying attention to the man anymore. All he could focus on was the fact he has a quirk, after years of thinking he didn't have one.

"Since your son has been suffering from bouts of feverish heat, I believe that this is the reason for his hallucinations." The doctor laid an assuring hand on his shoulder, breaking his train of thoughts. "Young Hisashi will most likely have a fire or temperature-based ability."

True to the doctor's prediction, a few days later, Hisashi accidentally set a tree on fire – fire breath, the specialists inferred. His parents and friends celebrated the fact that he unlocked his special ability and he, too, hoped that it was the end of his problems.

It was.

After he continuously used his fire to stop himself from overheating, the dreams were gone and the world didn't feel like it was set on fire anymore.

Despite that, something was nagging at the back of his mind - that everyone was wrong, and that there's something more to it than just a quirk.

But if they stopped once, what brought it all back to the surface?

He confided in Haku, and the green-haired male didn't know the cause, either. Haku was surprised to hear that he could tap into this power as a child, when the other only awakened his in his pre-adolescent age.

Hisashi couldn't help but feel antsy at not knowing why. It simply remained a mystery. No matter what he or Haku did, they couldn’t figure it out. The issue began to gnaw away on his mind.

There was something deeply unnerving about it, like a calm before the storm.

Even then, the world goes on without a hitch.

Not long after, things went down the drain.

Hisashi tried to do his best as a father even with his current dilemma chipping down on his psyche. He still went to work diligently. He spent time with his wife and son. He did his best to be a pillar of support to the people around him.

However, regardless of his efforts to bury it inside, it stressed him out. And when he was stressed out, he lost what little control he had over his powers. Images of people’s lives from various worlds bled into his daily life. His vision constantly shifted between looking at the world he lived in and a parallel one. He even had a hard time discerning who was speaking due to the voices from the other worlds.

With the intense amount of vision, he was having difficulty in identifying which was his own world.

He felt like he was experiencing his childhood all over again, only ten times worse.

Hisashi saw death everywhere in the streets and flames burned as far as the eye could see; and even in his dreams, they plagued his mind. In all the worlds he had seen, Hisashi only encountered desolation. He fretted on the current state of the parallel existences.

What was happening to the worlds. Why was every world in the brink of destruction?

To make it more horrifying, it wasn’t limited to just seeing now. Sometimes, he could feel their emotions and physical reactions. Hisashi shuddered at the lingering sensation of his skin being peeled off, or being shot in the chest. Indescribable heat pooled in his body with each world he witnessed.

He suffered from sleepless nights in a poor attempt to stop himself from seeing them, but he ends up dozing off due to exhaustion. In addition to that, he ran himself ragged in regulating his body heat by overusing his quirk.

Haku was no help, either. His green-haired friend didn’t have any idea, simply that no matter who he tried to contact, everyone was either in the same position or unavailable. He often talked to Hisashi to distract him from seeing the other worlds, but it wasn’t enough.

Inko asked him countless times what was troubling him, but he waved her worries off. He tried his best to spend time with his family and enjoy life as he used to, but it was hard to focus when he was drowning from seeing the parallel worlds and felt like he was being incinerated to his very core.

Much to his dismay, he and Inko began to argue non-stop.

“Every moment we do nothing but fight! I think we need some time for ourselves!”

“Oh, so you need more time? What about this family, huh? What about our son? He needs us now more than ever!”

“I know that, but there’s nothing we can do for him; not when he’s like this!”

“So this is about Izuku being quirkless? And here I’d thought you’d accept him. Just because you received a quirk unlike your parents, you act like he isn’t even worth your time!”

“Like you’re any better. I saw it – you were disappointed when he didn’t get one!”

Because he was pouring so much of his time in this issue, Hisashi inadvertently neglected them both to the point that they barely talked in their home anymore; and when he did, he merely snapped irritably at his family. His stress was affecting them, too. There wasn't a day that they weren't fighting.

Izuku, his poor son who did not deserve any of their burdens, suffered the most from the rift in their family. Not only was he being bullied at school after he was proclaimed quirkless (which Hisashi wasn't really surprised to hear), he came home to his parents arguing on the pettiest things.

Neither he nor his wife were blind to his predicament, but no amount of prodding could make him talk.

Hisashi could only bury his face into his hands as he lamented on the fact that their family was gradually tearing itself apart.

“It’s just too much for me to handle. What do you think I should do?”

“I think you should come with me.”

Hisashi snapped his gaze to his friend. The green-haired male merely smiled benignly at him as if he hadn’t dropped a bomb on his lap. Come… with him? Sure, crossing over worlds was possible, but Haku himself said it rarely happened. “What do you mean?”

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? You need time away from all of this – your family, your work… everything on top of the problem with the worlds. Out of sight, out of mind.” Haku explained. “Unfortunately, ignoring the parallel worlds is out of the question. It simply can’t be done. Instead, you’ll keep away from your current life. Think of it like a vacation of sorts.”

A break, huh.

He snapped out of his reverie when Haku placed something metallic in his hands. How did–

Hisashi’s eyebrows rose at this new development – they weren’t able to physically interact before. Haku had a proud grin on his face when he spotted the other’s perplexed expression. “Amazing, isn’t it? Technology in my world has developed so much that we can do this now. It’s how I’m going to bring you with me.”

“This ring is advanced technology?”

“Yes!”

Hisashi inspected the ring. Other than the unique design, it didn’t look anything special. It was silver, with folded metallic wings. In the center of the wings was a green gem; it emitted a few sparks when he touched it. He's never seen anything like it. It gave him an eerie feeling and made him gravitate towards it at the same time.

“What is it?”

“It’s what we call a Mare ring. It can amplify our powers to a certain degree. With that ring, you can cross over to my world.”

The jewel glittered under the sun.

It was quite gaudy in his opinion, but the gem was beautiful enough, he supposed. “What am I supposed to do? Wear it? Then what?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it?!”

He made a vague gesture with his hands at Hisashi’s incredulous response. He looks like he was holding back laughter. He probably was, the cheeky bastard.

“What do you think? Want to come with me? It’s not like you’re not coming back.” Hisashi hesitated. Haku tapped his cheek in wonder before snapping his fingers. “How about this – we can do a test run! Spend the rest of the day in my world. Once you’ve reached a decision, you can either stay or go home.”

The urge to wear the ring tugged at his heart.

“What do you say?”

“…I’ll do it.”

Haku’s smile widened.

The world exploded into flames.

Images of people flashed through his eyes. Hisashi witnessed events worth of trillion of peoples' lives all at once, maybe even more. The man clutched his head as his vision jumped from person to person, world to world, as the overwhelming amount of information slowly overloaded his mind.

Hisashi only continued to helplessly claw at his head. It was too much for him to handle. An infinite amount of knowledge crammed into his head in one go was too severe. He vaguely heard someone screaming in the background.

Somebody make it stop.

Make it stop!

Haku simply watched him burn.

After the flames subsided, all that's left in Hisashi's place was the ring, with orange flames flickering and green sparks crackling.

The green-haired man's smile faltered. After he picked up the fallen ring, he tutted in annoyance.

"Ah, it's too bad he burnt out before I could finish the transfer. I guess the world can't handle two of the same person physically existing at the same time in the same place." He sighed. “And after investing so much time on him, too. But you know…”

He gazed at the sky.

“I wouldn’t have figured out the full extent of our powers if it weren’t for you or Sho-chan, so really, I am grateful for your efforts. Thank you for being my friend for what little time we had, and for the valuable data.”

His hands clenched around the small trinket.

"Don't worry, Hisashi. Haku will take good care of you. As long as your will is engraved in the Mare ring, I can extract it whenever I want."

His green hair turned white. Purple eyes twinkled in mischief as his smile turned malicious.

"And this time, you can be my ghostly friend."

So if you didn’t understand... Hisashi is Ghost lol.

Okay, I remarked about Haku/Byakuran’s loneliness. There’s that chapter in KHR where Byakuran was isolated and Yuni was his only confidant at the time. Despite the initial megalomania, he struck me as a lonely person; someone who didn’t have much in common with anyone.

(I believe that buried deep down, was a boy living in solitude due to his awareness about existences. This part of Byakuran was what Hisashi saw.)

Then Shoichi fucked up with the time travelling and Byakuran’s descent started.

The point wherein Hisashi first awakened his abilities in childhood was due to Checkerface showing himself. Why he was there? I believe that Checkerface always knows who the next bearer of the Tri-ni-sette artifacts were, and he checks on them. In the BNHA world, the Mare holder is supposed to be Hisashi, Byakuran’s parallel self.

(Also, note that I never described what Izuku’s father looks like. He’s supposed to look similar to Byakuran.)

The next instance that the ability emerged was due to Byakuran awakening his own ability. Remember that all parallel worlds are connected in some way. I imagine that because he unlocked his powers and tried to project himself over countless other worlds, he jumpstarted the development of those Byakurans, too. This was the case for Hisashi.

So Hisashi trusts Byakuran because they’re technically the same person.

[clockworkspider]

2016 fic in review

Tagged by the amazing @samantha-girlscout . If any of you are into KHR, Ghost Hunt, or Miraculous Ladybug, you should check her out. FF.net | Ao3

total number of stories (completed/WIPs):

I’m gonna go with the date I posted them on AO3... Which aren’t necessarily the date I posted on tumblr but whatever. (Sometimes I think they get bumped up when I fix a typo or something.) 

Also like... idk... my fics are normally oneshots. My multichapter fics are mostly collections of interconnected oneshots, which I spontaneously add to when I feel like it. So in a way they’re never quite complete but already are. 

Total: 29 (Number according to how I sort it on ao3. Though I grouped some together.)  Works In Progress: 3 (Sorry @ayuki-drawing-land , it’s on my list. One day I will finish it. One day in the distant future.) 

total word count: There’s no way. 

fandoms written in: Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Arc-V, Code Geass

looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? A lot more. I can’t believe I’m still writing fanfiction. I started in 2015, admittedly I wrote a few one-shots before that but I didn’t expect myself to make a habit of it. I guess I gotta thank the 10051 shippers and the arc-v fandom for being so receptive. <3

what’s your own favorite story of the year? Do I gotta pick one? Technically everything’s my favorite the day after I write it. But right now it’s still Love is War. I mean... writing wise it’s just one of my better written pieces. 

did you take any writing risks this year? I am risk adversed. 

do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year? No, I deliberately don’t set goals. Setting goals makes it harder for me to write. 

best story of the year? Love is War and A Game of Sentiments, probably? Apparently, I have a Type when it comes to shipping. Apparently, I like to write underage kids doing bdsm. I am going to hell. 

most popular story of the year? A few of my Arc-V fics got really popular on Tumblr. I think the most popular is Home is... To which 3 people added their own parts to the fic. The fusion-xyz-swap-au too... Not as popular notes wise, but definitely got a lot of other people writing. Hehehehhee I love collaborative open aus. >D

That being said... Grooming has the highest kudos on ao3. 

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Cognitive Dissonance Um I thought it was a well-written fic but maybe because I’m not a Code Geass writer so nobody saw it. Only two people commented on ff.net and nobody responded on ao3 or tumblr. It got 6 bookmarks on ao3 but nobody talked to me. So I had to mostly stew in my feels alone. 

most fun story to write: Run. Listen, I got other people to write more of that au for me. That’s been my goal in writing fanfiction since day 1. To get other people to write for me. 

story with the single sexiest moment: Love is War got knifeplay. If you’re into knifeplay. That is about as sexy as I go. 

most sweet story: Listen, Love is War and A Game of Sentiments were both disgustingly saccharine. Apparently, the more bdsm involved the fluffier I write. 

”holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you!” story: There’s this one 10051 fic I wrote for @wreckageofships ‘s birthday. I can’t find it anymore. Dub-con and murder were involved. 

Also... the janushipping regency au... Just because it’s not a real fic doesn’t mean I don’t think about it all the time and also I realized I really should not touch that ship... 

story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters & most unintentionally telling story: Love is War and An Itch. In completely opposite ways. I finished writing it and I was like “I don’t know how to feel about this.”

hardest story to write: That Siren!Kikyo AU. 

biggest disappointment: Nobody liked Aren't we lucky? and An Interlude? Okay to be fair those are my stories which are colder in tone and I know people aren’t into that. But like... I JUST WANT TO READ FICS WHERE REIJI AND SORA KIND OF CHILL AND INTERACTS OKAY? I kind of also want to read like... mutual understanding with Preyshipping that isn’t too sexual or fluffy or sentimental? 

I just... I see both Shun and Sora as “can’t have peace without a war” type of people... by which I mean, have a bit of fightiness in their nature. So I think they COULD have like... a peaceful mutual aggression going on? No? Nobody? OKAY. 

biggest surprise: I mean I guess the number of people that actually likes my fic omg. So much support. XD

Everyone leave such heartwarming tags, such as “#op what is your damage” “#HOW DARE YOU” “#thanks I don’t need a heart anyway” and @dragonowlie , who just tags a bunch of my fics and rambles with “#bruh.” 

taggity tags: @homura-bakura @seasaltmemories @romancedeldiablo

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 068: Get In Loser, We’re Going Shopping

Previously on BnHA: We spent entirely too much time on Mineta and all you need to know is that he passed the final despite my best efforts at sending my Mineta-crushing energy out into the universe. Kirishima, Satou, Mina, and Kaminari did not pass, because sometimes life just hits you hard and shit’s not fair. Aoyama straight up asked Ochako if she was in love with Deku and she was like KYAAAAAA and flew away in embarrassment and ended up handcuffing Thirteen on her way out. I don’t know why we couldn’t have seen Iida and Ojiro’s exam instead of Mineta’s, but they also passed. Basically everyone did except the four I already mentioned. And Tomura made a couple of new friends.

Today on BnHA: Tomura meets Dabi and Toga and tries to kill them! Kurogiri sets him straight and Tomura slinks off to sulk. Aizawa announces that Kaminari, Kirishima, Mina, Satou, and Sero have all failed the exam, but that everyone will be going to the training lodge anyway because he loves plot twists. The kids of class A (minus a few holdouts) go to the mall. Everyone splits up. Deku meets some creepy guy in a hoodie. The creepy guy in the hoodie turns out to be fucking Tomura because of course it is.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 137 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

  apparently Tomura doesn’t like his new friends

“it seems like the two types I hate the most came as a goddamn set” lol. and that’s saying a lot coming from a guy who so far seems to hate mostly everything

basically he doesn’t like bubbly creepy girls or rude assholes

dude even you have to admit they’re better than Stain though

Kurogiri says they should hear them out and that the guy that introduced them is a fairly influential broker. so that’s the hipster guy we saw earlier

this guy wants Kuro to pay him either way lol

okay so now they’re being introduced

holy shit

blood-draining. that’s nice

her name is Toga. she’s crazy and she likes killing things

and now he’s introducing Inside Out. this guy is extremely intriguing to me already and he hasn’t even said anything yet. let’s see what he’s all about

lol I already like him. he reminds me of that redshirt bad guy in Iron Man 3 who surrendered to Tony without a fight and was all “I hate working here anyway”

his name is Dabi. or rather, he says that right now he goes by that name

Tomura wants to know his real name and he’s like, ~too bad~

(ETA: okay so I know that there is a prominent fan theory about this guy’s true identity due to his quirk, his appearance, and the fact that he keeps his real name under tight wraps. and also, I think, due to one particularly odd moment in chapter 82. but I’m gonna refrain from commenting about said theory until I’m caught up with the manga, since I’d like to have the full picture first. as of now, my feelings on this are a solid, “I guess he could be?”)

I really like this guy. even though his name immediately made me think, “MASTER HAS GIVEN ME A SOCK”

to be honest I’d be a whole lot more on board with you doing it than him

uh oh Tomura is triggered by someone talking about Stain. he’s probably the only guy who hates him more than I do lol

wow this motherfucker is charging at my man Dabi now with full intent to disintegrate him for no reason

oh damn

thanks for that, Kurogiri. keeping that peace. Villain Mom

interesting panels showing all three of their hands here

obviously we already know Tomura’s quirk (or part of it), but Dabi’s hand is definitely doing something here too. and Toga’s holding a knife that she seems to have produced out of nowhere. she reminds me of that crazy bodyguard girl in Kill Bill

Kuro’s telling the kids to stop fighting in the backseat

he says Tomura need to expand their organization if he wants to achieve his goals

??

fine, be that way you cryptic assholes

(ETA: it’s a little more clear in the Viz version and the anime subs that he was talking about Stain. basically, take advantage of the PR push he gave you, even if you don’t like that it came from him.)

now Tomura’s storming off, presumably to sulk

ah well. as far as things go, that probably could have been worse

the broker guy is saying that Tomura is too young. yep. but he’s All for One’s son so what are you gonna do

(ETA: he’s adopted)

Kurogiri is so fucking polite and smooth

this is why I said he was a doctor

cut to U.A.!

aww

no lodge for you

Deku is trying to give them hope but Kaminari’s not having it

did he actually poke Deku in the fucking eye

here comes Aizawa!

so they’re all sitting down to wait for their exam results

Aizawa says some of them have failed

oh my god

THIS FUCKING GUY. I KNEW YOU WOULDN’T LET KAMI AND KIRI AND MINA BE LEFT OUT OF THE ANTICS. AND SATOU TOO EVEN THOUGH HIS PERSONALITY HASN’T BEEN AS WELL-ESTABLISHED YET. THAT’S WHAT LODGE ANTICS ARE FOR!!

Aizawa says that everyone passed the written exam, but that the aforementioned four and also Sero (who fell asleep) failed the practical

haha

he just wants to make it clear that all of the senseis could kick their asses, so don’t go thinking you’re hot shit

this fucking guy

did All Might get that memo lol

yay I’m so happy

Iida’s standing up and says that if Aizawa keeps pulling this shit, they’re never going to fucking trust him again

Aizawa is like yeah, true, I’ll think about that

he’s not going to think about anything. he’s going to keep right on pulling this shit

he does say that things are gonna be rougher for the kids that failed, and that they’ll have supplemental lessons

but I agree with Ojiro here!

except for Mineta! but we can just pretend like he’s not there!

they all need to go out and buy some of the things on their packing list, so Hagakure suggests that they all go shopping together!

look at these cute reaction bubbles omfg

(ETA: Mineta’s bubble was so conveniently placed for me to crop him out, how nice)

Bakugou’s mom buys all his stuff, sorry Kirishima

THE KIDS ARE AT THE MALL

THIS IS SO FUCKING CUTE WHY DID KHR NEVER DO STUPID SHIT LIKE THIS

I HOPE THEY’RE NOT SWARMED BY THE MEDIA

I’M SAD MY ANTISOCIAL EXPLODEY SON OPTED OUT AND MY GENTLE GOLDILOCKS SON WENT TO VISIT HIS MOM BUT OH WELL

HAS IIDA EVER LOOKED MORE FORTY YEARS OLD IN HIS LIFE THAN HERE IN THIS PANEL WHERE HE’S WEARING A POLO SHORT AND SLACKS AND CARRYING A MESSENGER BAG

FUCKING LISTEN TO THESE SALES PITCHES OMFG

YOU WITH THE MASSIVE CALVES!!!!

LMAO HE PROBABLY WAS LOOKING TO BUY A NEW PAIR OF KHAKIS

Deku’s looking around excitedly like he’s never been to the fucking mall before

oh shit, barely two minutes there and they’ve already been recognized

probably would have been even worse with Todoroki and Bakugou there

GASP

I’m a simple girl. I see a panel of these two being lesbians, I click the “like” button

Kirishima suggests that they split up, and all of a sudden Deku and Ochako are all alone and being cute and awkward

dammit Aoyama you broke her

now that she’s off on her own she’s thinking “that’s not it... probably!”

okay. it would be fine if it was, but I ship you more with Iida and Deku’s in love with Kacchan so

hmm there’s a panel of Deku all alone surrounded by people and feeling vaguely unsettled

how eerie

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hasldkghalsihoihlk

holy fucking shit. right out in the fucking open. he’s got his bare hand on him. he could kill him instantly right here

shit shit shit shit shit

shit shit SHIT SHIT SHIT

I’M FREAKING OUT??!?!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHIT

HOW DID PEOPLE READ THIS CLIFFHANGER AND SURVIVE FOR THE WHOLE FOLLOWING WEEK HOLY SHIT

 the bonus is just a quick blurb about Toga and how difficult she is to draw. you really think I care about that right now??? jesus.

(ETA: actually it was apparently supposed to be the Mineta costume page for this chapter, and the Toga page for the next chapter. of course, I’m even less interested in the intricacies of Mineta’s costume. so)

[bloodyredfox9]

Two Hibaris??

Disclaimer- I don’t own KHR nor HP.

His world was on the verge of being destroyed after the Muggles found out about magic and went on a killing spree. The stupid Ministry and its’ even more stupid Minister was more interested in keeping the ‘dark’ magic at bay that they kept themselves completely vulnerable to the Muggle World. It was chaotic.

A black haired boy in his late teens shook his head trying to remove the memories from his mind for the moment.

He wore a simple shirt and jeans and his Cloak around his neck. In his hand he carried the Elder wand as his holly one no longer worked powerful enough for him. The Resurrection stone which he had thrown in the forest during the war had somehow come on his dressing table that very night. Apparently the three were bound to him since he became the MoD.

His bright green eyes shined like the Avada Kedavra as he kept looking into the water in the Black Lake. Harry Potter. He had corrected his eyesight permanently when he came to know about the potions, it took away his disadvantage in a fight though.

Sighing, Harry looked around the creatures were killed, the castle ruined, he looked at the ring and frowned. His only option.

Turning the stone he called upon Death. Black mist started gathering into a figure.

“You called me Master?”

“Yes. You were telling me about different universes. Can I take that option now?”

Chuckling, the figure bend down and nuzzled into Harry’s neck, “Master, are you finally giving up on this world?  You have memories here? You don’t want to fight them?”

Absentmindedly patting Death’s head Harry looked at the lake again, “That is one of the reason I want to get away from here. Please take me away from here, somewhere there is no magic. I want to live a normal life.”

“Yes Master. Would you like to start from the start or as you are now?”

“From the start.”

Nodding the figure took Harry’s hand and turned.

He heard the sound of crying. Who was crying and why so loud? He groaned and tried to cover his ears. When he couldn’t he looked at his hands. They were so small!! He blearily looked through his eyes and saw two figures looking down at him.

“He is so cute and handsome like his mama, ne?”

“Hn.”

“Hmph, he would take after me not his papa in any way, I am telling you!”

One of the figure crossed her hands looked away in a huff, while the other glared at him.

“But I will still teach him to fight. I have many enemies.”

“Hari”

“Hibari Hari?”

“Yes.”

That was the day he was born again

 Chapter 1

 Harry, or rather, Hari was looking at his mother with a pouty glare on his face.

“Okaasan! Why is this thing here? I don’t want him.” The two and half year-old boy was watching his mother coddle another crying baby (the enemy) attempting to sooth it down. Narrowing his green eyes, he crawled towards the two. His mother looked amusedly as he sat beside them and tried to poke the baby’s cheek.

It had been two years since he had come here with Death. The new family he lived or was born in, the Hibaris, was an old traditional Japanese family which lived in a small town of Namimori. It was fairly away from the bustling cities. But he liked it there. He had gotten his feminine looks from his mother, who was a cheerful person as compared to his father. His otousan was a very strict no nonsense person, but he remembered the same uptight father staying with him up all night and humming lullabies when he had a nightmare about the war.

The war was another thing. Death sometimes came to meet him when everyone was asleep. He no longer cared about his other Potter persona, no one remained back there for him to rescue anyways. But apparently he had regained some of his wandless magic here. He could pass it of as being an ‘esper’, but the shadow controlling as the Master of Death was new. Death had said he couldn’t use the Cloak so he had to have another way of becoming invisible.

Now coming back to the Hibaris, they lived in an old Japanese mansion behind the Namimori shrine. It was a typical mansion with a huge green garden and a pond. They had a room for sparring, which his father hinted on every day. Hari knew that his father had some criminal ties so learning a few tricks wouldn’t harm him, ‘Constant Vigilance’ Moody would say. But he liked watching his mother cook more. Cooking for the Dursleys had made him more competent in the skill. And handling a knife as his mother did was scary and beautiful. He loved his mother! His father always caved under her glare.

But now in his happy family there was a pooping thing taking his place in his mother’s lap. He frowned and continued poking the baby until it opened his eyes and glared his patent, I hate you, glare at him and huffed.

“It looks weak, are you sure this is my brother?” he looked pleadingly at the women and pouted. the mother took him in her lap too and cooed at him, “So cute Hari! Of course it is your brother, you are a big brother now. Don’t you want a sibling to take care for?” she understood that her eldest child was mature for his age and didn’t treat him as a kiddie kid. But looking at Hari get jealous at his brother was so cute!

A throat clearing startled her and she jumped in surprise, “Don’t do that Keichi! Kyoya will start crying again.”

Keichi chuckled and looked at his two boys and picked up Hari. “Up you get. Come on we start your training from today.” Looking at his eldest child he chuckled again.

Hari clutched his father’s neck and nodded, “Hibaris are strong, which is why the thing shouldn’t be here.” He sneered hatefully at the other child. This was his chance at getting a family and he was getting competition?! This won’t do, nope not at all!

A month had gone by, Hari was getting trained in martial arts and today they would start weapon training, he wanted knives like his mother not tonfas. All males in his family had used tonfas, his mother said he was feminine enough to use knives, which he was not happy about.

“Hari, we are going out to meet your uncle Fon. We would be back by night, take care of your brother too, okay?” His father was already by the door waiting.

He spluttered, “Wha-? But what about my knife training? You promised we would start today.”

Keichi patted his little head, “Not today, it is important to meet Fon today. Family business.”

Oh right, the capital ‘f’ Family business, which further deepened his suspicion of his parents having connection with the underground, which made no sense as his father was in the police. He nodded sadly and went to the nursery.

He heard the main door shut and get locked from the outside. He turned to the crib where baby Kyoya was sitting on his knees and looking at him with his sharp dark eyes. He walked towards him and stared right back at him, “I don’t know why you are here. You are such a weak little thing, like a deer.” He got angrier as time went by and pinched the younger boy by his cheek until he started crying. He was still pinching Kyoya when he got a good look at the face Kyoya was making. He was scared and had fear in his eyes! Why was he scared of him? Startled he let go of his fingers and looked at the crying boy and made no effort to stop him.

‘He is the weak child crying at every single thing. I never cried at such a sma -‘Hari gasped and looked back at his brother who was crying himself hoarse. He was turning into Dudley! Dudley beat him when he was small and helpless and he was doing the same to Kyoya because he was jealous of him.

He choked at the thought and lifted his hand to calm down the boy who flinched when he saw him. Now he was sad, his brother was scared stiff by him. He ignored the flinches and pulled Kyoya in his lap and hugged him as deeply as he could. Maybe he shouldn’t get angry at the little squirt and be happy at the chance of having a sibling instead.

Kyoya stopped wailing and looked at the person who had made him cry multiple times. The boy was now hugging him! What did that mean? The boy then snuggled into him and whispered, “Sorry. I don’t know if you understand or not but I am sorry. Sorry for being such a stupid brother.” Hari looked at the black eyes looking at him and smiled. Maybe he could start by making him laugh now and started tickling the other. Kyoya laughed at the sensation which made Hari even more happy and hugged him again, never again would he let his brother cry, never again.

Keichi and Yuuki had just come from the meeting and looked confused at the silent house. They had thought Kyoya would have cried by now. Silently they made their way into the nursery and got frightened to see it empty.

They searched other rooms and found them empty too.

“HARI? KYOYA? Where are you?” Keichi shouted as his voice echoed through the house. Yuuki went at the back to check the garden and sighed in relief when she saw two little black heads by the porch. “Keichi they are here!”

She hushed him when he came and giggling pointed at the two, “Hari grew up didn’t he?”

Keichi nodded and turned back to say, when he shook his head to his wife taking pictures of the kids from every angle, “Let’s take them inside.”

The siblings’ first picture together and the first of many was framed in their living room. Hari had his arm around Kyoya protecting him from the wind and the little one snuggled happily into his aniki’s chest. Both had a cute smile on their faces.  

Keichi took them both in his arms and placed them in Hari’s bed seeing as he was never going to let go of Kyoya anytime now. He smirked, Hibaris had always been possessive and protective of their loved ones.

[i-w-p-chan]

His Heart Swells (And His Chest Constricts)

Summary: His heart is swelling, as if it's about to fly into the heavens. His heart is beating with such strength as if it wants to burst out of his chest (an all too tight a cage, barely able to keep his maelstrom of emotions contained).

Note: basically a self-indulgent one-shot of 1.3k words about Tsuna and Feels. That's it. That's the whole fic.

WARNINGS: So Self-Indulgent (I Don't Even Have Words), May Actually Be The Most Self-Indulgent Thing That I've Ever Written So Far (I Didn't Even Think That Was Possible).

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

.

When Tsuna's understanding of his own feelings and his perception of the concept of love shift, it is all too quick, all too jarring- an impact that leaves him dizzy, nauseous, out of breath; it leaves him choking on a lump in his throat, fighting tears and the feeling of lead heavy in his stomach.

Ten years into the future and fighting an enemy who apparently conquered the multiverse isn't the time or place to have such a revelation.

For a moment, it appears as if it would get him killed in his hesitance, in the sudden shaking of some of his foundations

Except, he realizes, not all of his foundations were shaken.

His heart is swelling, as if it's about to fly into the heavens. His heart is beating with such strength as if it wants to burst out of his chest (an all too tight a cage, barely able to keep his maelstrom of emotions contained).

He shudders from the strength of the emotions.

That is when it all clears, just as suddenly and just as strong as his emotions; his vision, previously murky, swimming in and out of focus, barely letting him make out any shapes, turns into a sharp and clear focus.

His ears fill with static, a faint tremor travels along his hands, and he stares straight into Byakuran's eyes.

It is all so clear, so obvious, how could he not see it before?

His flames ignite that day, and take a living being's life.

.

He doesn't regret it.

.

Enma stumbles into his life, a muted shade of red, voice quiet and falling over his own two feet.

He reminds me of myself, Tsuna thinks.

With each and every new information Tsuna learns about Enma, an 'oh' reverberates in his mind, knocking loose musings he never knew existed.

Tsuna's heart stutters in his chest. Is that what it is? The feeling one gets when their screams into the void are answered? With a commiserating cry and a silent sense of camaraderie?

I thought many time of running away, Tsuna remembers Enma telling him.

I'm not going to become Decimo, Tsuna tells Nono.

Let's run away then.

.

Injuries are nothing new to them, Tsuna knows this, but it doesn't stop him from worrying, doesn't prevent his heart from screeching into a halt after he hears Gokudera on the other end of the line.

He is dizzy, vision blurry, and throat dry, but he stands.

He doesn't remember the trip to the hospital, doesn't remember barging into the room Yamamoto was in.

But he remembers how Yamamoto looked lying in bed, how his blurry vision snapped into focus, how his mind whirred and tripped over itself with the thoughts whirling inside.

He stares ahead at the door to Yamamoto's room and decides, cold and hot at the same time, to change his response to Nono.

.

Enma attacks him and his friends. Enma takes Chrome. And Tsuna follows.

Tsuna takes the offer given to him by the old man to upgrade the rings and he follows.

His steps are shaky, his limbs stiff, there's a lump in his throat, and he's blinking tears out of his eyes. The metaphorical knife embedded deeply in his gut twists.

.

With Deamon gone, the issue with the Shimon is resolved nicely. Chrome is back. Yamamoto is healthy. Enma doesn't want to oppose Tsuna anymore.

Tsuna cries.

Tsuna cries, relieved and shaken, hurt and worried, still feeling the phantom pain in his gut.

Enma reaches him. Enma touches him. His pain slips away, his shoulders sag, his breath rushes out of him and his tears continue to spill, silently.

Tsuna clutches at Enma and refuses to let go.

.

The Arcobaleno Representative Battles punch a hole in his delicately-held together confidence.

Reborn and Skull refuse to ally, and Enma gives him a sad, sad look.

(He though they put it behind them, the conflict, the fighting against each other. But apparently, the universe has decided not to give him a break.)

Mukuro is on another team. Hibari is on yet another team. Chrome is ill.

Tsuna is lost, for a while, then stitches himself back together, with thin threads barely holding.

It is stupid, arrogant, entitled of him, to believe that he and his friends will always be on the same side, on the same team. Creating a strong front against all enemies.

He is stupid; of course the others have more important things than him to attend to, of course the others won't necessarily rate him as high as he rates them, of course-

An arm slips around his shoulders, a light-hearted laugh travels to his ears, a weight comfortably settles against his body. It's Yamamoto.

Their eyes meet, and Yamamoto gives him a smile, smaller than his usual smiles, more genuine. Gokudera shouts at Yamamoto as is his habit. Reborn lands lightly on his head. The Shimon come into view on the road, on their way to school as well. Enma catches his eyes and waves at him.

The threads holding him together tighten, strengthen. The weariness tugging at him vanishes.

He smiles.

(It is alright. Things will get better.)

.

(He'll make them get better.)

.

Tsuna doesn't realize he grew into the habit of slipping his arm around Enma's shoulders until after Enma is taller, broader, and Tsuna can't comfortably do it anymore.

He is struck with this knowledge after his arm moves of its own accord to slip into the crook of Enma's arm; after Enma tugs his arm, bent at the elbow, closer to his body, bringing Tsuna closer, securing him to Enma's side; after Enma tilts his head to look at him and give him a small smile, fond, and not at all surprised.

Oh, Tsuna stops breathing.

Oh, his heart beats furiously.

.

Tsuna fantasizes sometimes, about the people around him, he wouldn't deny it.

He fantasizes about Enma the most.

His mind tugs at his desires, pulls his wishes together, weaves a tapestry of his hopes, presenting him with images that make his heart want to burst out of his chest.

In his mind's eye, he sees Enma, soft and sleepy, curled up on the bed; he sees Enma in the kitchen, smiling, making tea; he sees Enma in his office, strolling in with an excited air about him, tugging at him, insisting he leave the work for a moment to spend time together; he sees Enma, sprawled on the couch, arms wrapped around him as they bask in the peace and quiet.

His heart is weak, and his mind bows to his wishes, he wishes he has the power to make these dreams a reality.

.

(And if he has fantasies of another nature, slipping into his mind in the quiet night, burning him with a different kind of desire, then it's his business.)

.

Scenarios play out in front of his eyes, how to approach Enma, how to tell him, what will Enma say in response.

He dreams of gathering his courage.

Especially in a situation like this, where he wants and wants, and the opportunity presents itself almost served to him on a golden platter.

Enma smiles at him, eyes half-closed with mirth dancing in them, lips pulled up in amusement.

He huffs, and fights back tears of frustration.

He had never thought Enma would broach the topic of marriage with him.

The topic of arranged marriage.

Granted, Tsuna has yet to tell Enma that he completely shut down Timoteo and anyone else who suggested 'favorable matches' between Tsuna and members of other families.

"I'd marry you." It slips out of him, spontaneous, treacherous, and Tsuna clamps his mouth shut, forcibly pulling his lips up in a mockery of a smile, a feeble attempt to hide his shock, his fear, a plea for Enma to not notice Tsuna heart lodged in his throat and the tears about to overflow.

Enma's smile widens, "Was that a proposal? If so, then it's a strange way to do it." Enma leans forward, the smile slipping from his face, his eyes serious, and he cradles Tsuna's face between his hands, he whispers, "I'd like to marry you as well."

.

End.