#Bet it was such a big relief for him for the official manga to be finally over

[rottingobssession]

I have no proof but I think Horikoshi is going to make a series or spin-off or anything like that. However, he's likely only going to supervise and let others do the work (if they want to continue it or smth).

Bnha ending notably IS rushed and no one can deny that, and he knows that. It probably has to do with him wanting to start another manga, the deadlines, and burnout. The series or spin-off would probably addressed all the questions like Deku's dad, Deku's relationship with the others during the span of 8 years, and more that were not tackled by the official manga.

He has a habit of doing that.

Exhibit A. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Exhibit B. My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions

And many others. And according to him, they're canon. So yeah, it's not yet the end of everything.

[astrummorte-m]

trigun verse rehaul: polycule. (mentions/includes @breathofcosmos' milly and meryl.) (mentions/includes this blog's Knives.)

main notes below.

towards the end of the manga timeline, it diverges as listed.

vash and knives still fight, they still aim to go until death, but something's, incredibly different. there's a life signature on the incoming ships that makes knives pause. in turn, so does vash.

delight and relief and panic and fear crosses vash's face. it couldn't be that person, could it? it couldn't be him. it shouldn't be. how could it be?

and through the air waves, crackles a familiar voice; luka's.

though he doesn't intervene, luka's presence gives vash a reason to fight all over again, as well as a reason to defend.

vash does what he set out to do: stop knives.

and as a result, oh joy to us, the planet is saved, and the people have arrived. but before anybody can even thank vash, or further ostracize him, he's across the grounds faster than someone can barely take a breath.

luka is talking to the other humans, engaged in deep conversation about something relating to waking the others up, annoyed visibly & yet not. he's the odd man out, small and well built from a good regiment for himself but also standing out among the denizens of no man's land.

with a ceremonious pick up around the waist and jostling the old 'friend' from the sands of the near endless desert, vash delights in the pirate's company, asking too many questions and not allowing a single answer. stopping him by twisting to face him and place his hands on the sides of vash's face, he offers a smile - a REAL smile.

"you're home, this time?" "i'm home, for good."

though no one knows what this means, the older hands of the ships of SEEDS would remember vash stopping by the crash sites and finding luka passed out and bleeding out. a bleeding heart he is and was still then, vash helped to personally take care of him - and when met with what was perceived as hostility in return, vash saw the fear of someone who didn't know where they were, and was far from home.

vash remembers seeing a younger version of luka - a more reckless version, one that worried him, more than he worried about anyone else. worried him the way a careless behavior worries a lover.

now, though, luka is older - not by much, but the effects are visible.

they don't tell anybody what happened or when they confessed to each other for the first time, or how it managed to stay this whole time. all that's needed to be seen is that luka, the cruel captain who means the best for his crew, the man who appeared on ship one day and the following day the transmission was broadcast like a beacon of prayer and plea - luka looked like he was smiling too big to notice he was crying.

little trivia about this verse.

after the end of the Academy Troubles campaign is when luka's timeline diverges (though he never marries mollymauk, in this verse, as well). when he's safe to, and after letting his mother and father know he's leaving, he channels most of his magic into a couple spells - one to send a message, one to locate a person, and one to take him the safest way to that person.

vivian keeps in touch, as does simon. noire checks in too, confusing people as to how they're even getting around so fast. vivian has a bet that it'll only be a couple years before they're receiving the "news". vash and luka both don't know what they're talking about - meryl bets on a decade with information she's had before about vash, as the newest addition to the polycule.

wolfwood - who in this version survives the attacks against him in that last fight he was meant to lose - relents after a few months post - manga, accepting his fate as a part of this lovey dovey group. granted, ah, he wasn't doing good at hiding his love anyway.

milly is the one who suggested they all date each other, as if it were second nature to her. or perhaps it was just that she didn't know how they weren't official at that point.

luka, much more well adjusted to the thought of being loved, shows his affection in small ways. he's not loud about it, like wolfwood or vash are, but he does inevitably find himself caring quite deeply, where it scares him briefly, only to be reassured by vash and milly - meryl and wolfie just (nervous blush) about it occasionally.

[bonsai62]

Part 1: The Compatibility between Pisces and Capricorn

Hello everyone! Today, since I am hella bored and have nothing to do this fine evening, I am going to talk about the relationship between our two boys; Yuji and Megumi and how much they represent their signs so much.

Before I get started, I am not going to talk about their sex life even though it’s kinda important if you are into astrology, however, for this case I won’t because both of them are minors. But if you want to read more about their comparability then be my guess and look at the underline links. I will provide links in the discussion so you can have a better understanding on how the signs are and use manga pages for you to visually see it.

Also, excuse my English. I am very bad at it! Even though it’s my first language I still have lots of errors in my writing!

Also beware of manga spoilers too!!

Let’s get started on this very long essay!

Traits of a Pisces: Itadori Yuji

Positive: Compassionate (top), empathetic (middle), & creative (bottom)

We also have: Warm/gentle, caring, intellectual, animal lover, and romantic

Here we have the positive side of a Pisces and let me tell you it screams Yuji so damn much. Yuji is such a compassionate guy. I don’t think I have never seen a character who is very compassionate like Yuji (I have but we are talking about Yuji here lol). He can empathize with a whole lot of people and no matter what the situation is he understands. Yuji doesn’t need to have the same experience as someone because he can feel and get in their head to make him understand what their going through. Which brings me to that he has a really high empathy level when it comes to people (I can relate a lot because I have the same thing). However, having a lot of empathy isn’t all that’s cracked up to be but I’ll talk about it soon.

A Pisces is also very creative and they love hobbies. One of Yuji’s favorite hobbies is, I have a feeling is sports but that just based on what his old school thought of him + the baseball game. Plus cooking! Cooking is an amazing hobby and it lets you get creative with your hands and skills! I like to imagine that he is the best cook throughout the school and loves to share with his classmates and have them rate his cooking lol! Cooking is also a relief of stress so I can also imagine him having a bad day and just ends up being in the kitchen.

Now....

Negative: Overly emotional (top), impressionable (bottom), closed off (middle)

I messed up the order lol

We also have: melancholy, lazy, stubborn, moodiness, etc

Yuji is a very emotional person. We have seen him at his best and at his worse. He is such an emotional person that he felt bad for killing Choso’s brothers. His emotions gets the best of him when Junpei died, Megumi was hurt, seeing what Sukuna has done in Shibuya, and Nanamin/Nobara getting destroyed by Mahito. It’s an unhealthy feeling because we’ve seen Yuji get distracted with his injured friends and him kinda fucking up on his fighting. Another unhealthy trait that Yuji had is not talking about himself. We’ve seen him not talk about his feelings and I mean personal deep feelings that’s always going to be in the back of his head. Like when Megumi knows that something happened to Yuji but Yuji simple doesn’t want to talk about and closes it. He doesn’t really like talking about himself and rather hear other people/helping other people rather than face his own demons. If he’s facing his own demons, he rather be doing it on his own.

I also want to point out that many people think that he gets over people’s death hella easily. No... that is not true whatsoever. The boy has been through so much trauma that eventually you just get so tired of crying about it and you don’t have the energy anymore, you eventually start telling yourself “it is what it is” or “what can I do now?”. Noabra is a perfect example. He didn’t need to cry because he had the biggest mental breakdown when it happened. So when he asked Megumi about her status... he just had to say “alright”.

In my theories... she is definitely alive. Again, Gege is playing half of you guys. She is gonna pop out in the next couple of chapters or even the one coming up next.

Another things that I find interesting in Yuji which according to the links I put, Pisces tend to trust people easily:

Ease of being cheated: A desire to see the best things in other people makes the Two Fish very impressionable individuals. They trust others without any suspicions and often suffer from their frivolity. Any pressure of stronger people is accepted as a command for them and they easily agree with them without any doubts.

For instant, Todo and Choso. Those two mf were about to kill him but they didn’t because of what Yuji’s mind fuck did (I know Gege sensei said that isn’t a theory but still it’s mind fuck lol) He instantly call Todo his best friend like I can hear Nobara (Big sis) twitching somewhere lol. Whenever I think of Yuji and Todo’s relationship, I think of Vinny and Paula D from Jersey Shore haha!

Any who, while trusting people isn’t a bad thing, you still don’t know what their intentions are and everything. It’s a very naive thing to do.

But I felt for Yuji and Choso... Yuji didn’t have much of a choice...

I would like to know what changed Yuji’s mind into staying with Choso. I’m curious how Yuji “trusted” being with Choso after everything that went down. Yuji is a very forgiving character too (minus Mahito). But now, I think we can see that Choso has no bad intentions towards Yuji because he “might” be his brother. And their so cute too!!

On to our other boy!

Traits of a Capricorn: Megumi Fushiguro

Positive: Resourcefulness (top), discipline/patient (middle: also thank @pantherbeamish for the photos!), and reliability (bottom)

We also have: Responsibility, loyalty, diligence, team player, etc

Megumi is a very interesting character. Whenever I see him I get more interested in him. He is exactly what you would describe a Capricorn. We have seen Megumi be resourceful when it comes understanding how curse energy works thanks to him. He is very detailed when it comes to explaining and also a very patient man when Yuji, who doesn’t know jack shit about the Jujutsu world. Never, not once, does Megumi call Yuji an idiot for not knowing all these things. That’s what makes him amazing because if it were other Shonen mangas, the “rival” would’ve called Yuji an idiot. The only time Megumi ever calls Yuji an idiot is when Yuji literally does or says something stupid. To me, that is normal and not being a dick about it because we all know that if we had a friend like Yuji we would’ve stared at him like “why are you like this...”

It’s me... I’m a lot like Yuji lol

But no, he is very patient and tries to explain everything to Yuji as best as he can. I have this thing where almost everyone relies on Megumi a lot because he’s a serious guy + very responsible with his tasks. We see Maki trusting Megumi too. Like the time when Megumi was hyping Yuji up saying he can beat everyone in the Kyoto school if they didn’t use curse energy (something like that lol). Yuji also can confirm himself that Megumi is very reliable. He mentioned it while back at the prison because both sibling duo thought they were lost.

Negative: Sensitivity (top), seriousness (middle), reservation (bottom)

We also have: Unforgiving, criticism, suspicion, pickiness, etc

Just like Yuji, we have seen Megumi’s negative side a lot but it’s simply because he’s sensitive and thinks logically. Sometimes, I also feel like he thinks through his heart as well but that’s just me. That is where the sensitivity comes along. Megumi is hella sensitive he doesn’t need to show it because you can feel it.

In the article:

Sensitivity: It is better not to offend Capricorns who are very sensitive people. They can’t stand being laughed at and remain serious in public but feel badly deeply in their souls. Even a minor joke can result in resentment from their side!

In many, many occasions we have seen everyone fucking around or getting on Megumi’s nerves, especially in our recent Jujustroll where Gojo is saying a bunch of nonsense and embarrassing tf out of Megumi. His seriousness gets in the way and that’s what makes him sensitive.

On the side note: I also wanted to add something. As I was reading a few articles, some mentioned that Capricorns are... bland. Please, Capricorns!! No me ataques! I just find it interesting that someone, like Todo, who thinks Megumi is boring. Todo honestly thought he was boring since he first asked him what was his type and while Megumi gave us the best answer, Todo expected something more fun. But no, it was boring. Also, Megumi lives a simple life. Now, I’m not saying that Megumi is boring because as a matter of fact I like how simple he is. He likes to keep things neutral. Personally, on his activities he is considered “bland” and honestly, I can see why but I would still go out my way to enjoy it with him if I was his significant other lol I also feel like he has a good sense of style in fashion. I’m saying that judging from the official arts + “Lost In Paradise” because in that ED Megumi be looking like a bowl of fruits. A bowl of snacks lmao!

But, anyways! Megumi is also reserved to himself. He does not like talking about himself at all (hon hon does that sound like someone?). He doesn’t open up to a lot of people but I kinda feel like he does with Gojo but that’s just because Gojo raised him and he just knows when Megumi is feeling a certain way. Also, I bet Gojo just knows when Megumi is having a bad day too. We witnessed him just being in his own bubble in the current arc that is happened in the anime. Yuji and Nobara calls him out about him being so reserved to himself. He does eventually tells them what is going on, but it takes a lot for a Capricorn to open up and it’s totally understandable. I feel as if you want a Capricorn to open up, you have to let them give you time for them to get to know you. Give them your intentions and put in the effort to make them trust you.

Now in to the fun part!!

1. Trust:

Positive:

Articles 1: They will often understand each other well enough to respect their relationship and keep it clear of dishonesty

I’m a use this imagine again btw because this speaks their relationship clearly

I think what I truly love about their relationship and love the idea of them being an endgame is the trust that they have for one another(even though someone is gonna die). They barely knew each other for 2 months and their chemistry is off the mf charts.

The picture above isn’t just them having an eye opening moment but the fact that they trust each other to save one another.

Megumi had saved Yuji so many time

Yuji had also saved Megumi so many times

Tbh, when I was thinking about Megumi coming in to save Yuji from Yuuta and Naoya, I thought it would be the same as when Yuji saved Megumi and Maki from Hanami, but we got something better. We got to see Megumi never doubting Yuji and always making sure that he gives him as many chances as he gives. I hope that sparks a realization for Yuji because sometimes I always felt that he doesn’t really acknowledges Megumi doing a whole lotta things for Yuji. I’m still complaining about it because if he can say “thank you, best friend” to Todo or “thank you, Kugisaki, for letting me know that I am not alone” to Nobara, then he should definitely see how much Megumi gives a fuck about him.

I expect a “thank for being by my side and never doubting me” for Megumi.

Articles 2: Pisces, who prefers to hand off important decision-making to dominant Capricorn, feeds into the goat’s need to be in control. On the flip side, Capricorn trusts Pisces to attend to its emotional needs—something that can be very difficult to allow at first.

This is interesting because a lot of the time Megumi is always making the plans and the choices. I feel like Yuji tends to rely on Megumi a lot because Yuji respects the way Megumi thinks (I’m not saying he doesn’t do that with anyone either).

Another thing is that:

“Capricorn trust Pisces to attend to its emotional needs-something that can be very difficult to allow at first”

I want to use Yuji asking Yuuta to kill him if Sukuna comes out especially for Megumi’s sake as an example of “emotional needs” because we see that Yuji does not want to be anywhere near Megumi because of Sukuna. In Yuji’s emotional state, he would rather have Yuuta kill him than Megumi. A lot of people also have this head canon that the reason why he asked Yuuta to kill him instead of Megumi is because Megumi already has a lot on his plate or something. I forgot the theory lol

But... I have a feeling that Megumi is gonna end up killing Yuji at the end because it should be him...

But yes,

Let’s see where things end with the current event that is happening now.

But unfortunately, I have to stop right here because Tumblr only allows 10 images in one post. Tragic!

I do hope you guys enjoy and please comment if I’m missing anything with them! Let’s hope I won’t take long with part 2 because I’m hella busy at times! Overall, tell me what you guys think!

[thatoneao3writer]

Here are some more TTOS headcanons!

Raiu Rakurai (Denki's biological father)

Raiu means thunderstorm and Rakurai means lightning strike

A big buff, black-haired guy who has a white lightning bolt streak on a long fringe. His hair is also very long and he liked to tie it into a ponytail. (To those caught up manga areaders, yes, he's the lightning guy with the PLA. I dunno if he had an official name, but I named him anyways XD)

He's an asshole who beats up his wife and kid whenever he's mad or drunk.

A drunkard and also a chain smoker (surprised he isn't dead by cancer yet)

He has an electric type quirk that looks like a lightning strike (hence the name I chose for him)

He would sometimes disappear randomly without telling where he goes (to the PLA base) which is a relief to his wife and kid.

Killed his wife.

He didn't do the same to Denki since he needed an errand boy

An overall asshole and I don't like him (I don't even know why I named him)

Amai Rakurai (Denki's biological mother)

Amai means sweet. Her maiden name was Amai Kaori, and Kaori means scent.

A beautiful blond woman who was sold to Raiu by her father as a payment for a lost bet.

Her quirk is called 'Aroma Therapy', as you can guess, she emits a sweet and soothing smell from all over her body and spreads out to her surroundings. (I honestly just needed a factor to affect Denki's quirk, the 'I can't control where my quirk goes or what it affects' factor. I like what I came up with tho)

Everyone in her vicinity while using her quirk would immediately relax and calm down.

The scent she emits turns sour whenever she feels distressed.

Raiu got really mad when she started emitting "the wrong scent" and beat her up, even more, saying he wouldn't stop until she starts smelling sweet again (news flash, she doesn't)

She absolutely loathes Raiu, but she loves her son so much that she doesn't let her husband near Denki until he was two. (She got even more abused for that)

The physical abuse she got from Raiu severed her mental health, her last string of sanity snapped when she witnessed Raiu fling her baby into a wall for crying too much. (He was just three!)

Raiu must have noticed her murderous intent and killed her at night without telling Denki.

She named her child but her mental state made her forget what it was.

I don't know why I can't make an OC who is doesn't have an angsty life and doesn't die... I'm super weird and I think I'm a sadist (a very mild one... Ehehe)

[ghosthunthq]

Not All Treasure Is Silver or Gold

By: @humanrebel

Ghost Hunt Fanworks Weekend 2020

Prompt: Ghosts at sea. Ghost ships/haunted lighthouse -Anonymous

Summary: It’s not an old location; it was built just ten years ago. The haunting was severe, though, already causing physical damage. Just an average case, like the ones theyve investigated before. The only difference? They were investigating a ship out at sea. And it unnerved her to know that help is so far away. [Post manga]

Word count: ~4.5k

She breathes in the salted air and sighs into the breeze. Sure, she’s seen the ocean – she’s basked on warm summer beaches and jumped over white-tipped waves – but it holds a different quality during the winter.

The kick of sand turns to the crunch of snow. Icicles hang from wind chimes, adding a delicate touch to the sound. And the breeze from the ocean carries a different scent – lighter, fresher, it chills her to her bones in a decidedly good way.

Yes, Mai decides. The ocean is even better in the winter.

“Are you coming, Mai?” asks Naru. “Or do you plan on staring at the water all day?”

“It’s just refreshing, that’s all,” she pouts, but follows him onto the ferry anyway. In the distance, quite a ways out, she can see their destination. She’s not sure how it became haunted — it’s a large ten-year-old yacht — but maybe that’s why the case piqued Naru’s interest. A deceptively innocent place with no exciting history to speak of.

And they had it all to themselves.

Well, mostly. While rooms were often rented out for vacation, there were no tourists here. They still had the crew — none of the SPR team could operate a ship this size — as well as the client and his family, which went against Naru’s wishes.

Because the ghost was violent. It claimed the family as its own, punished them, left them bruised and battered and begging for help. Sure, they’ve had violent cases before, but they were all, for the most part, on solid ground. The only brush they’ve had with the sea was the Yoshimi case.

Mai shivers as she remembers it. She agrees with Naru, there should have only been a skeleton crew and maybe three adults, but when you’ve got as much money as this Ando-san, you don’t listen to logic. Ghosts aren’t motivated by money. While Mai hopes for a quick, painless exorcism, she’s not about to hold their breath.

She’s grateful for the ferry, though. At least they’ll have full supplies while they’re at sea — all the cameras and microphones and screens will help to keep an eye on things. It gives her a small sense of security. (Plus the wind in her hair feels absolutely amazing after being stuck in that stuffy old van for hours.)

She’d rather they investigate while the ship was docked, but apparently the ghosts were only active away from the coast. Which, you know, is fair when you want people to disappear, which has only happened once or twice. To complete strangers. People who rented out Ando-san’s yacht for a quick vacation.

Mai suddenly doubts the client’s intentions. As far as she knows, Naru did nothing to piss him off. Still, Naru pissing someone off is a very likely happening, so she’ll just keep an eye on the Ando family. To make sure they don’t pull any funny business, that’s all.

(She’s joking, of course.)

=•=•=•=

Her mouth drops open when she sees their base. There’s nothing set up yet, but the room–the room is huge. Way bigger than their usual bases, way bigger than she thought would be on a ship this size. The ceiling sits above her, the same size as the rest of the rooms on this floor(deck? level?), but the walls! The walls are far apart, lined with tables and chairs — this is a dining hall, Ando told them. There’s a kitchen through the doors in the back, and chefs that made meals all throughout the day — though Naru dismissed them upon arrival.

She entertains the idea that, perhaps, they were meant to use the dining room as a shared bedroom — but of course Ando thought of that. They each have a room, three in a row across from base. It’s not unusual for her to have a room alone, being the only girl among the official SPR crew, but Naru and Lin often had to share one. She wonders how they feel about that — sure, they shared a hotel room before, and now share an apartment, but to be on a case and have extra rooms? It must be so odd to them.

Then again, their usual clients aren’t always as well off as the Ando family. Mai wonders, not for the first time, what they did to earn such wealth. Sure, Ando rents the yacht out for a not-so-subtle fee. He refers to it as a ‘floating hotel’, but she thinks a cruise ship is more accurate. Either way, he’d need to have some serious money to set up the whole thing. According to him, he came from a small family in a somehow smaller village until he was discovered by a foreign talent agency. That wasn’t how he ‘struck gold’ though. It was just a stepping stone, and he refused to divulge his secrets past that.

Sketchy client or no, Naru took the job. They had no choice, and since the ferry was under Ando’s command, they wouldn’t be able to escape if they wanted. Not that they were ever planning on it. Naru doesn’t run, not when ghosts are involved. He watches and he learns. He’ll figure out what this haunting is and he’ll make sure to solve it with as little damage possible.

He’s saved her life before, and she trusts he’ll save it again if need be.

So she sets down the cameras and sets up the shelves, and she helps Naru with some preliminary camerawork. She throws herself into her work, taking temperatures and running cables, and when she yawns she doesn’t notice. It’s not until her limbs feel like lead and her eyes slide closed that she checks the clock.

“Naru,” she says as she places a box on a table, “I think it’s time to call it a night.”

“We’re almost done setting up.” He digs through the box and pulls out a cable, handing it off to Lin. “You can go ahead and lay down. Lin and I can finish here.”

“You two need rest, too!”

Lin’s voice chimes in, soft and smooth. “It’s almost two in the morning, Noll.” He hooks the cable to a monitor. “This should be fine for right now. We probably won’t get much activity, considering it’s the first night.”

Naru sighs. “I just don’t want to miss anything. You never can tell.” But he scans the monitors, checking over the four that are running, and then he nods. “Very well. Mai can take the room in the middle. That way one of us is bound to hear her if she wanders off.”

“Hey! I’m not–”

He shushes her. “It’s late, remember. Don’t want to wake up the clients,” he says with a smirk.

=•=•=•=

The caffeine in her tea is severely insufficient. Her yawns follow her throughout the day, and it only reminds her of the four hours of sleep she got. Naru wanted to argue for more time, but surprise, surprise! No activity on the first night, as usual. Not a flicker, not a fluctuation, not even one of those vague feelings she sometimes has. The only thing she felt last night was sick.

The rocking of the boat wasn’t so noticeable when she was up and working, but she felt it when she laid down. As soon as her mind settled, her stomach rolled, tossing about like the waves outside her window. It took several stumbling trips to the toilet to finally calm herself enough to sleep.

A yawn breaks her concentration, the twelfth one since she woke up three hours ago. Exhaustion clings to her mind, pulls it further and further down. She rests her head against the table, watching Lin and Naru discussing something in front of the screens — the schematics of the yacht are pinned to the board beside them, dots marking cameras and mics. Deciding where to record next, then. Surely they wouldn’t mind if she took a quick nap? She wants more control over her visions anyway, and what better way than to practice?

She doesn’t even have time to shut her eyes.

“Mai, go set up a camera in dining room B.”

So much for her nap. “Okay!”

With forced cheer and false energy, she stands and collects one of the night vision cameras. A headset, a tripod, and a coil of wire later finds her one level lower. The room isn’t nearly as big as base, but is still formidable in size. Her eyes scan the walls, more decorated here than above. The biggest picture hangs from the wall beside the door and is of Ando and his family — an older, foreign blonde woman, a teenage son, and twin little girls. The other photos are guests, she presumes, though she recognizes a few faces from movies.

All the portraits are haunting, in a way. They line the wall, glaring through glass panes and hanging crooked from their nails. She hurries through the process of setting up the camera, listening to Naru’s directions as she positions it. It takes all her self control not to sigh in relief when he tells her to return. She pulls the door open and steps out–

Four eyes stare up at her, glowing in the dim light.

A small Eep! escapes her, but she reigns it back in when she realizes it’s just children — living children — watching her. She smiles down at them. “I’m sorry. You startled me.”

Two girls stand before her, seven-year-old twins if she had to guess. Their stare grows just a touch unnerving when they speak.

“You’re here with the ghost hunters?” the one on the left asks.

Mai nods, and the two girls look at each other before they look at her.

“And you’re staying up there.” The one on the right points to the floor above, to where her very room would be located if they were up the stairs.

“Yes…” Mai answers. The girls look at each other and lower their voice to a whisper. She tries to listen in, but can’t hear.

“That pretty boy,” the one on the left starts, “his room is beside yours, isn’t it?”

Her face heats up. “It sure is,” she says.

The girls burst out in a giggle. “Secret boyfriend,” they sing to themselves. “Secret boyfriend, secret boyfriend!”

“I bet he sneaks over to her room at night,” says one.

“I bet he kisses her to sleep,” says the other.

“He doesn’t do any of that!” says Mai. Her face is hot, a blush exploding across her cheeks. Seeing her face turn red only proves to excite the girls. They giggle and sing, teasing still, hopping in one place.

And then they stop. They stand still, faces solemn as they look from Mai to the corridor.

“She’s not going to like that,” whispers one.

“She’s going to take him,” whispers the other.

“What are you talking about?” Mai asks them, dread settling in her stomach.

“Naiya,” the girls answer as one. The one on the left continues with, “Naiya owns the boat.”

“I thought your father–”

“She likes to collect things. Pretty things.” The girl on the right says.

The one on the left turns to her twin. “She might want to collect her, too,” she says.

They look at each other, then run away.

“Wait!” Mai runs after them, but they’re gone when she turns the corner. Her walk back to base is full of racing thoughts — namely Naiya and her collection.

“Don’t tell me you got lost on the way back.”

“Hm?” She raises her eyes to Naru’s raised brow.

“I expected you back ten minutes ago. What took so long?

“Oh. I ran into two of the children on board. I think they know something.” He says nothing, waiting for an explanation. “They said someone called Naiya owned the yacht, and that she liked to collect pretty things.”

“I guess I’ll have to be careful, then.” Naru smirks as Mai rolls her eyes, then says, “Yasuhara-san is already investigating the history of the ship. I’ll tell him to look for this Naiya person, as well.”

Mai nods. “I wonder if Masako would be able to help.”

Naru stiffens beside her. “I believe even Matsuzaki-san would be more helpful than her right now.“

“What? Naru, don’t be rude! She’d be able to tell if there were spirits here! Besides, there aren’t any trees nearby. Ayako can’t do anything here.”

“She can make charms and at the very least drive the spirits away. She’s not useless. Hara-san only knows basic warding magic.”

“I only know basic warding magic.”

“But I’m keeping an eye on you,” Naru says, smiling as her face heats up again.

“Nope! No using PK to protect me, Oliver.”  Mai smiles as his face hardens. “I’m not about to be the cause of you being hospitalized…”

Again hangs in the air, but she won’t admit it. The Yoshimi case still burns in her mind, only a few months behind them. She still blames herself. His eyes lose their edge, but his frown deepens.

“It’s always been my fault,” he whispers to her.

She shakes her head, but changes the subject. “Maybe Ayako should be here. Better to have an actual doctor, just in case. Right?”

Naru sighs. “Lin, go ahead and call the regulars, and let me know when they can arrive. We’ll need to tell Ando to have a ferry ready for them.” Lin nods. “As for now, I’d like to start interviews. Mai?”

“Yes, sir!” She grabs her notebook and pen and follows him down the hall.

=•=•=•=

When the case was brought to them, Hiroyuki Ando showcased spectacular showmanship. He was an actor, hamming it up for a captive audience, but the bruises that lined his arms were all too real. His plea was ignored at first — spending time on a ship could mess with one’s equilibrium, after all, and stumbling one day could develop bruises the next.

Naru would have dismissed this case if it hadn’t been for the grizzled old captain. He’d spent most of his life on the sea, and actually was rather shaky on land. He had bruises as well, hidden beneath the long sleeves of his jacket. He didn’t want the crew to panic, he claimed, when they saw that even their captain was subject to whatever this mysterious force was. And, well, it worked.

The crew had no idea anything was going on. None of them had experienced the bruising or the noises; in fact, they thought SPR was there as guests, not as investigators. A few of the younger ones tried to flirt with her, and a few of the older ones turned their nose up at them. They refused the interview, claiming the ghosts to be a figment of imagination, and Mai threw them a nasty look when their back was turned.

“You shouldn’t be so childish,” Naru tells her after the fifth one walks away.

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don’t act like it doesn’t bother you, too.”

“They’ll either believe or they won’t. Nothing I do will change their mind. The best we can hope for is them staying out of our way.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult. You’ve driven away worse with just a look– yeah! That’s the one!” Mai laughs as his face sours further.

“You two seem to get along well. If I had known better, I would have given you a room together.”

“A-Ando-san!” They turn to face him. “It’s not like that-” Mai starts.

“Can you tell us where the rest of your family is?” Naru asks. “We’d like to ask about their paranormal experiences.”

“Of course,” he says, leading them down the hall.

Naru ignores her as she pouts. In fact, he seems to be smirking at her. Did he want Ando thinking they were together? She’d drop it for now, she had to focus on not falling when two blurs in blue collided with her legs.

“Nee-san!” They cry, smiling up at her.

“You brought your boyfriend with you this time!”

“He’s really pretty, isn’t he?”

“He’s like a prince, I bet!”

“Nee-san, are you okay? You’re all red!”

She chokes out something that she hopes at least resembles an affirmative, and when she looks at Naru, his lips are set in a thin line. But oh, she can see the amusement in his eyes, and he’s going to pay for it.

“Keiko! Kimiko!” Ando-san calls. “That’s no way to treat a guest!”

“Keiko and Kimiko?” Naru ignores Ando, and so do the girls. He kneels down to study them. A smile tugs at his lips, but other than that his expression is unreadable. “You told Mai a little about Naiya, didn’t you? Can you tell me a little more?”

The twins look at each other, expressions flying across their faces in a language only they can decipher. Naru’s eyes soften as he watches until they nod. A decision has been made. They turn back to him.

“She’s a mermaid!” they yell as one.

“She came from far, far away!” says the one in navy blue.

“She bought this boat a long time ago!” says the one in deep purple.

Naru shoots Mai a glance, and she starts writing.

“What makes you think she’s a mermaid?” he asks.

“She lives in the water! She’s always there when we see her, and she never shows us her legs. She told us she doesn’t have any.”

“We want to join her crew, but she says we’re too young. But she does keep an eye on us, and if someone hurts us, she’ll hurt them.”

“Is that so?” Naru mumbles. He glances at Ando and back to the girls, quick enough that only Mai notices. He turns back to the girl in purple. “So you’re able to talk to Naiya, Kimiko?”

She nods. “Yes! She likes to watch us play. She taught us how to play pirates. She says we’d make fine additions to her crew, but only when we’re older. Right now, we just find coins and stuff to give her.”

He turns to Keiko, the one in blue. “How do you give it to her?”

Keiko looks to her twin. “We throw it,” she says.

“And where do you throw it?”

She looks at her father, standing behind Naru. “We, um… we throw it in the water.”

“Is that what you’ve done with your mother’s earrings?!” Ando asks– no, demands. “I’ve told you time and time again, this Naiya is just-just an imaginary friend! Don’t throw stuff away just because–”

“Ando-san!” Mai cuts him off. The girls are huddled behind her, hiding from him. Her hands hover in front of them, as though she can protect them.

Ando glares at her. “This is a family matter, Taniyama-san,” he yells. He steps forward to grab the girls, but Mai backs up with them. He waves his hands towards the stairs. “They’ve thrown tens of thousands of yen into the ocean! Because of some stupid, fake pirate!”

Mai opens her mouth, but his ranting doesn’t stop until Naru steps between them. “Ando-san,” he says, voice smooth and unbroken. “There are many cases of spirits befriending children in the form of imaginary friends. Don’t discount them just because they’re young.”

He turns around to face the children. “Thank you for your time, Keiko, Kimiko. You may leave.”

Keiko grabs Kimiko’s hand and pulls her away, running down the hall. Ando huffs, opening and closing his mouth. His face is red and drawn, eyes narrowed at Naru. He clears his throat, shivering as the temperature drops. “Excuse me,” he says, opening one of the doors in the hall, “it’s gotten rather cold, hasn’t it? Must be an open window somewhere…”

He walks away, checking each room as he goes. Mai sticks her tongue out at him.

“Let’s go back,” Naru says, “before they accuse me of being unprofessional.”

“What was that?” She ponders as they walk. “He seemed so mad about their imaginary friend.”

“He was mad because they’ve been throwing valuables into the sea.”

“He owns a yacht. It’s not like he’s going to miss ten-thousand yen. I spend about that much on groceries for a week.”

“Then he’s greedy. Don’t worry about it, Mai.”

“Well, let’s just hope he doesn’t throw that much of a fit when he sees the bill for this case.” Naru rolls his eyes, but she smirks at him. “I know you’re charging extra for the inconvenience of working on a ship. Don’t think I haven’t seen the nausea medicine you and Lin are trying to hide.”

A smirk plays at his lips. “You’re getting more observant, aren’t you?”

“I have to be when we’re fighting ghosts all the time. Oh! Can I have some, by the way? I get motion sick at night…”

=•==•=

Thunder rolls in the distance. The moon hides behind clouds, and the threat of rain pulls Oliver into bed before he’s done reviewing notes. Mai left for her room earlier, and Lin not long after with a warning for him to sleep soon.

He’s only an hour behind them, really. He can sleep at any time he wants. It’s not that hard.

Except for when the voice calls out for him.

“Noll,” it says in his own voice. “Find me, Noll.”

But he did. He found Gene, and took him home, and laid him to rest, what else could he want?

“Naru,” the voice shifts. It changes, growing higher, then frantic, morphing into Mai’s distressed tone. “Please, Naru! Hurry!”

Well that’s just playing dirty.

He still stands. The floor is cold against his feet, and it almost makes him want to crawl back in bed. But then Mai screams his name again, and he tears himself away from it.

The hall is empty — Mai’s door is shut tight, probably locked. But then, why wouldn’t it be? He knows it’s not really her calling him. It’s some phantom voice that can read him well enough to use her as bait. But her safety is not something he’s willing to risk, so he follows it anyway.

Oliver follows the voice up the slippery staircase and out onto the moonlit deck. The cold knocks the breath from his lungs. He can’t even see the way it clouds before the wind rips it away. He takes a deep, shaking breath, ice sinking to his lungs and spreading through his limbs.

Mai wouldn’t be out here. No one would. They’d freeze before they took two steps. He should just check on Mai and return to bed.

He doesn’t, though. He hears his name again. Ignoring the urge to run to it, he scans the silvery deck. Shadows dance at the edge of his vision, only to vanish as he turns his head.

The voice isn’t on the ship. It’s yelling from over the side.

He walks to the rail and studies the water. It’s the only blotch of darkness in this moonlit scene. The voice changes again. Soft, lilting, it beckons him now, no longer afraid. He circles the ship, trying to pinpoint its location.

It still sounds like Mai.

Anywhere should do, he thinks. He can swim to her. She wouldn’t hide from him. His hands grip the rail, and he jumps. He kneels on the metal, fingers going numb. He just has to find the source. That shouldn’t take long. He tips forward.

A loud bang wakes him. His shoulder explodes in burning pain. Chanting fills his ears, and he can’t sit up. He’s too disoriented, and there’s a weight on his chest holding him down. Rain pelts his face, stinging as it hits his skin.

Then the weight is gone and he’s pulled to his feet.

“Run, you idiot!” Mai yells in his ear, but she’s dragging him anyway. Her clothes cling to her body, and her fingers freeze against his. She drags him down the stairs and into base, slamming the door. She pants as she leans against it, too tired to move.

“That was too close,” she mutters between breaths. Then she glares at him. “What the hell, Naru? What was that?”

“How long has it been raining?”

“Naru!”

“I heard–”…you… “–someone calling me. I went outside to investigate and…”

“And tried to jump into the ocean!” She’s breathing heavily, still, and her shoulders shake. He can’t tell if she’s cold or crying, but if he had to wager a guess, he’d say both.

He’d been tricked. Mai’s shivering worsens as the air chills, and she wraps her arms around herself. Naru stands, offering her his hand. She takes it and lets him lead her to her room.

“Go take a shower and change,” he tells her. “You’ll freeze at this rate.”

“No thanks to you,” she mumbles.

“Meet me at base when you’re done. I’m going to get Lin. We’re going to sleep there tonight, and when Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san get here, you’re all going to share that room.”

She almost refuses — there’s no need for such precaution, she thinks. But then she remembers Naru, dragging himself through the storm, wobbling on the thin handrail. The adrenaline that surged through her, tearing him from the spirit’s grip. The emptiness in her limbs as that adrenaline fades.

“Okay,” she ends up saying, swinging the door shut. Naru stops it with a foot before it closes, and opens it as he leans forward. His lips tickle her earlobe, and when he speaks, his voice is warm.

“Oh, and Mai?” he whispers, grateful for the cold that hides his blush. “Thank you.”

[artikgato]

Souyowrimo Day 20

Prompt list here, other completed prompts in this tag.

I DEFINITELY didn’t straight-up rip off The Ancient Magus’ Bride, an excellent anime/manga series that you should totally watch/read. (Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it, you don’t actually need to know anything about it to understand this!)

Day 20 - Fantasy

“A church grim?” Souji asked, his cool silver eyes looking over the small tea table at his guest with a great deal of confusion. “I’m being requested all the way out in Inaba just to take care of a church grim?”

“That is only the first,” the silver-haired man sitting opposite him sighed. “Not many are willing to travel out to Inaba, so they’ve let quite a number of other requests pile up.”

“How long do you expect I’ll be there for?” Souji asked. He got nothing from the older man but a shake of his head.

“There is no telling. You’d better pack warm clothing, as winter is approaching,” he replied. Souji blinked.

“I haven’t said I’ll accept the requests,” he said.

“I’ve accepted them for you,” the older man replied. “Requests here in the city have been dwindling. You need to restore the Seta name to something to be proud of.”

“B-but, I-” Souji started to protest, but the other man simply stood up.

“I’ve arranged for your train fare as well. You leave tomorrow morning. Is that clear?” he asked, and his silver eyes bored down on Souji, so cold and commanding, that all Souji could do was nod.

“Yes, father,” he replied, trying not to sound bitter.

“Good. And while you’re in Inaba, perhaps you’d like to learn how to make a decent cup of tea?” his father suggested, coldly, before turning and leaving. Souji kept his head bowed as he left, not daring to let his father see the anger burning on his face. He’d just started to get used to his life here in Tokyo, and now he was being sent out to a tiny town like Inaba? Where he’d be taking care of small, unimportant cases like exterminating church grims? He let his rage seethe out as soon as his father had left, shutting the door behind him.

Luckily, Souji’s father had also arranged for lodging in Inaba, so that he didn’t have to struggle to find an open house in the small town. Ryoutaro Dojima, come to find out, was actually Souji’s uncle on his mother’s side. He had been none the wiser until the gruff-looking man introduced himself as such. He would later find out that his parents were ashamed of their Inaba heritage and had hidden it from Souji for his entire life. It didn’t come as much of a shock as it should have to him, to be honest. (As time went by, he would find that he greatly preferred the outwardly cold but inwardly warm Dojima, and he would end up adoring his young cousin, Nanako.)

Dojima was also the police detective in charge of supernatural cases in the Yasoinaba area, which was extremely convenient. The huge stack of requests that he plunked down on Souji’s desk, however, was not.

“These are all requests for the Magus Order?” Souji asked, incredulously, and Dojima just nodded, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Yes. A lot of them are probably old enough that they’ve resolved naturally, and...I still haven’t caught them, but there are non-mages around here that seem to go around solving these cases on their own,” Dojima replied.

“But that’s dangerous,” Souji replied, and Dojima sighed.

“They’re probably teenagers. Amateur witches or whatnot. I can’t say this officially, but they’ve actually been very helpful. Getting a mage out here is, well…” Dojima trailed off, and Souji nodded.

“Yeah. I had to be forced to come out here myself but…” a sigh, “now that I’m here, I might as well get started.” He picked up the paper on the top of the stack and, sure enough, it was the request made about the church grim. As much as he wanted to try to do the older requests first, as they would probably already be resolved...he knew he needed to do some actual work. If nothing else, he needed to get paid.

And so, he found himself in the local graveyard at 3am, huddled in his mages’ robes with only a small lantern for light. It was...surprisingly cold. He had (begrudgingly) taken his father’s advice and packed warm clothing, but he hadn’t thought he’d need it just yet. He let out a small sigh, careful not to make any noise, and resisted checking the time for what felt like the thousandth time.

He hoped the stupid grim showed up tonight - if it didn’t he’d be out here tomorrow night, again. And again after that, until he found the grim.

Just when he had started to doze off a little - he wasn’t even sure how, as he was both cold and uncomfortable, kneeling on the hard dirt - he heard a distant sound. It sounded like crying. And, predictably, it was coming closer. Good, it looked like the grim was going to show up after all. The crying got steadily louder, going from a faint just barely-there sound and rising to an audible level, like that of a human sobbing loudly. And then the grim appeared...or maybe not.

What did appear was a man, which was definitely not a normal church grim thing, but not entirely unheard of. What was weird was the fact that the man didn’t have a scrap of black anywhere on him. Between the light of the almost-full moon and the lanterns set up around the graveyard in intervals, Souji could tell for certain that this man was most definitely not wearing black clothing, nor was his hair black. He had slightly tan skin and light brown hair, and he was wearing a white shirt and red pants. Not how a grim would look by any stretch of the imagination, but-

He was definitely not human. He’d walked out of thin air, for starters. He was also crying a name, and to the average person he might just look like a distressed person who’d lost their lover or relative, but the cries had that specific tininess to them that suggested that he was somehow supernatural.

Still, this was very odd. The reports had said that the church grim was haunting the grave of a recently deceased woman by the name of Saki Konishi. And, indeed, the crying man was calling her name, and kneeling down at her grave, clutching the stone in bare hands and sobbing. Dressed for the part or not this being had to be the church grim... or whatever was being mistaken for one, at the very least.

Making as little noise as possible, Souji dropped the bundle of bamboo and eucalyptus he had been holding, as he decided that this being was more of a threat than he’d initially thought it would be. He very carefully reached down to his thigh and started to loosen the bindings on the mage’s rod he had strapped to his leg, pulling it free and unsheathing a dagger from his belt with his opposite hand. He didn’t want to fight, but if he had to…

Just as he was getting ready to stand up and calmly announce his presence, he sensed something… else. So did the not-grim, as the man immediately froze and started to look around in a panic. Maybe he really was just a normal person, and the actual grim was going to arrive soon? But, no, the sudden dark chill in the air was definitely not a grim. It was something much, much more sinister.

“I thought I’d find you here if I waited long enough,” a voice cut through the air, and both Souji and the not-grim froze, wide-eyed. Souji felt fear climb up his back and settle in his throat for the first time in years, fighting down a full-body shiver.

The voice had come from behind him.

Footsteps started to sound, the soft crunching of leaves underneath boots, as someone - no, something approached, and all Souji could do was fight to remain as still as possible, dagger at the ready. The way he was wearing his cloak made it so that he couldn’t easily see behind him without turning his head.

“Wh-who are you?” the not-grim asked, and Souji’s eyes flicked back to him, his face a mask of fear, as he stared at whatever was approaching from behind Souji. Souji heard a chuckle, and every nerve in his body wanted him to run away as fast as possible as the being spoke again.

“That doesn’t matter, does it? You won’t be alive long enough to care,” the voice said, and to Souji’s intense, momentary relief, the being stepped past him, missing him only by a few feet, and continued walking towards the not-grim. It hadn’t seen him at all. Its true target was the not-grim, who was starting to back away in fear. From the angle he was crouched at, Souji couldn’t see much of the newcomer’s features, but he could tell that he at least had the form of a man with short, black hair. And to Souji’s utter confusion, he was dressed like...a normal person. He was wearing what looked like a casual suit - black pants, black coat, red tie, white shirt, with a yellow coat over that. He wasn’t even holding any kind of weapon. Just who - or more accurately, what, was he?

“What do you want?” the not-grim asked, panicked, and Souji realized that he was being very carefully steered back towards a large tree. Whatever this strange being was, it was a very seasoned hunter. Souji didn’t want to get involved - he really didn’t - but this was his first assignment, damn it all, and he needed to get paid. And the look on the brown-haired man’s face was absolutely destroying his self-restraint.

“That’s far enough,” Souji said, voice clear and cutting through the night, and the newcomer stopped, slowly turning his head to peer over his shoulder at Souji. He had normal enough looking features, but his eyes were bright red and even seemed to be glowing, and the sinister look on his face was enough to make Souji’s blood run cold.

“Ehhh? What’s this? Did a Mage finally deign to grace our little town with his presence?” the newcomer asked, with a big, cold smirk. “I’ll bet you thought it would be easy out here, like shooting fish in a barrel. Heheh.”

“Who are you?” Souji asked, slowly but calmly lifting his hand to reveal the dagger he was holding. The newcomer laughed again.

“Like I told this guy, you won’t live long enough for it to matter,” the black-haired man said, turning back to the not-grim just in time to see him trying to sneak away. “Oh no you don’t.”

The newcomer made to lunge at the terrified brown-haired man, but Souji quickly lifted his rod and fired off a small fire spell, making sure that it impacted on the ground directly between them. The not-grim yelped, and the newcomer turned back to him with a glare.

“Hey now, little mage. Wait your turn, I’ll eat you once I’m done with him,” he said, his tone a warning. Souji repressed a shudder - eat him? What was this guy? He brandished his rod anyway, making a show of charging another spell.

“Not on my watch,” he said, and the black-haired man turned to face him fully, his back to the not-grim, with a big, chilling smirk.

“Oho, you’ve got spunk. I like it - gives you an interesting flavor when I’m eating your intestines. Not as good as fear, though,” he replied, and Souji once again repressed the urge to panic. Instead he looked over the black-haired man’s shoulder, very briefly, and made eye contact with the brown-haired man, hoping he’d get the message to run while he could.

“I’ll only warn you once, monster,” Souji said, fire spell at the ready. “Leave now, or you won’t live to regret it.”

“You know, Mages are so rare around here, I consider them a delicacy,” the man replied, totally ignoring Souji’s warning. He took a step forward and started to speak again, but Souji simply unleashed his fire spell instead of letting him talk. The man was instantly engulfed in a pillar of flames that shot up into the sky. He heard the not-grim gasp and saw him turn tail and run, and thought that was probably a great idea. He glanced back to make sure his path was clear, and then took off running.  He let his hood fall back against his shoulders, making it all the easier to look back and make sure the monster hadn’t escaped the fire somehow. He saw a hand shoot out of the flames, clutching a gun, and he couldn’t react fast enough. Metal pierced one of his legs and he went down hard on the cold ground.

“That was a high-level fire spell,” the cold voice said, and Souji managed to roll himself onto his back and sit up, dagger and rod at the ready in front of him. The black-haired man was calmly approaching him, gun in front of him and trained at Souji’s head. He appeared to be a little singed, smoke rising off of his form. He’d managed to overpower Souji’s fire spell, somehow, and all Souji could think was that he’d at least damaged him. The man came to a stop a few feet away from him, never lowering the gun, red eyes glaring down at him with unmasked hatred.

“Just for that, I won’t eat you. I’m going to tear you limb-from-limb, and rip your soul apart! How does that sound, brat?” he seethed, and Souji tried to get his thoughts in order enough to at least prepare a shield spell to stop the bullet, but his leg hurt so much and he was losing blood.

All of a sudden, a gigantic brown dog leapt from the trees nearby and barrelled straight into the black-haired man, knocking the gun out of his hands and pushing him to the ground. The dog went straight for the black-haired man’s throat, intent on ripping it out, but the black-haired man shoved him back. The dog landed in a heap on the ground nearby with a yelp, and he was somehow covered in huge, bloody gashes. Souji didn’t even realize why until he looked back and the black-haired man, whose hands had seemed to sprout huge black claws, now dripping red with the dog’s blood. The black-haired man snarled, and Souji saw his window of opportunity. He’d been avoiding using this spell, but this was life-or-death, and he didn’t know if the man’s boast about ripping apart his soul was true or not, but he didn’t want to take chances.

“Hamaon!” he shouted, and he saw the black-haired man’s eyes widen just before a huge burst of white light engulfed him and lit up the surrounding area. Souji felt his energy drain to almost nothing, felt his skin go cold, and barely kept himself from passing out, but when the light faded the black-haired man was gone. Souji honestly didn’t have enough awareness to tell if he’d been vaporized by the spell or simply fled, but the important part was that he was gone. A ring of soft golden light was around both Souji and the dog, and nothing could enter the ring and harm them as long as the light didn’t go out.

And he’d found his church grim. He was certain of it - even though it wasn’t a black dog, it was still the grim. He just needed to keep it alive or...wait, maybe he should let it die? The request had only been to stop the grim from making noise at night and keeping the surrounding houses awake. In any case, he needed to take care of himself first. He didn’t even have enough energy left to heal his own bullet wound, after all. He struggled into a sitting position and, with a sigh of regret, ripped a long strip of fabric of of the bottom of his now ruined robe, wrapping it tightly around the wound. When he looked up from that task, the dog had somehow gotten up and shuffled closer to him, because he found himself face-to-face with it. He flinched back, startled, and tried to back away only to get the painful reminder that, oh yeah, he’d been shot.

“Oh, sorry,” the voice of the brunette from earlier rang out, and the dog’s form shifted into the form of the man from earlier. He looked like he was in even worse shape in this form, blood running down the side of his head from a cut in his hair and clothes nearly torn to shreds. But he gave a cheerful smile anyway, and sat down in front of Souji. “Guess I was a little scary in that other form, huh? Sorry about that,” he said, as if he wasn’t literally bleeding to death. “Name’s Jiraiya and...we’re both in kind of a tight spot, aren’t we?”

“Souji Seta,” Souji replied, as if he wasn’t also bleeding to death, holding out his hand to shake. Jiraiya held his hands up, palms out, to show Souji that they were both absolutely covered in blood and dirt.

“Prolly not a good idea,” he said, and Souji nodded. “Anyway, I don’t want to die here, and I’m sure you’ve got better things to do too.”

“Yes,” Souji replied, somewhat baffled at the fact that this guy - Jiraiya, he amended - could be so cheerful when they were both literally bleeding to death.

“So...and I know this is kind of a ‘last resort’ type of thing, but I want to make a deal with you,” Jiraiya continued. Souji raised an eyebrow, but he doubted that Jiraiya could see it, as he wore his bangs so long they covered them.

“Go on,” Souji prompted. Making a deal with a fairy could be dangerous, he knew that of course. But Jiraiya was very badly injured, and Souji was less so - and Souji had far more magical ability than Jiraiya did. It might at least be worth hearing him out.

“You don’t have a familiar, do you?” Jiraiya asked, looking somewhat hesitant, and Souji’s shock must have shown on his face, because Jiraiya laughed, nervously. “Well?”

“I don’t...but you do realize that if you became my familiar, your life would be in my hands, right? You would die when I die. You’d have to go where I go and do what I say,” Souji answered, and Jiraiya laughed.

“Of course I know that,” he replied. “But does it look like I have a lot of options? I’m dying, here. And even if I managed to make it out of this magical ring alive, that guy would just come again another night and try to eat me. I don’t want to get eaten, especially by someone like him.”

“What is he?” Souji asked.

“I heard stories about him all the time when I was a kid, but I never thought he was actually real…” Jiraiya started, looking terrified. “He’s a ghoul. But like, not a normal ghoul that eats humans. He likes to eat fairies, and ghosts, and all kinds of supernatural stuff.”

A ghoul that could eat fairies, huh? Souji shivered. He really had only barely escaped with his life and soul intact, then. If he was going to have to deal with something like that, he’d need all the help he could get. He might even have to contact his father...if he made it out of this forest alive, at any rate.

But would his father even talk to him, if he knew he’d taken on a fairy for a familiar…?

“Alright,” Souji said, finally. “If you’re sure it’s what you want, then you can become my familiar.” He saw the grim visibly relax and breathe out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks man, you’re a lifesaver. Literally, heh,” Jiraiya replied. Then he held out his right hand, palm up, and Souji nodded. He carefully unwrapped part of his leg and swiped his right hand through the blood, taking time to re-bandage the wound. Then he lifted his hand toward Jiraiya’s, threading his fingers with the brunette’s before pressing their palms together.

“Hey, Hana-chan!” a voice called. It was a warm voice, a nice voice, and it belonged to a girl that was just as warm and nice as the voice implied. She had long, wavy blonde hair and a big, gorgeous smile. Souji could tell right away that this was Saki Konishi, and he could see why Jiraiya had been so attached to her that he’d come to cry at her grave every night.

“Hana-chan, here boy!” Souji turned to look at where she was looking, and a dog came bounding over a nearby hill. The dog wasn’t as big as Jiraiya’s grim form was, and instead of the darker brown color it was a lighter, almost golden brown. Saki laughed as the dog - Jiraiya - bounded toward her and stopped short of pouncing on her, rising up on his hind legs to lick at her face before she wrapped her arms around him, laughing all the way.

Souji turned to see Jiraiya beside him, in human form. He was wearing a long robe made of brown fur, and his eyes were sad, but hopeful at the same time.

“I was just a normal dog,” Jiraiya explained, turning to look over at the scene playing out - one of his memories. Souji noticed that the cloak had a hood, and there were two ears on the top of the hood, and a bushy tail on the back. Cute. “I always wanted a human form, so I could comfort her. She got bullied a lot, y’know.” The scene faded as Saki settled down on the grassy hilltop, the dog’s head in her lap as she petted him. “...and then she died. I didn’t know what to do. The police think it was suicide, but Saki was murdered, damn it.”

“So that’s why you became a grim?” Souji asked, and Jiraiya nodded. They appeared to be standing in a void of blackness now. Jiraiya turned to face him fully, ducking his head a little.

“I know I already asked you for a lot, becoming your familiar, but...do you think you could help me find Saki’s killer, and bring him to justice? After that, I’ll be content to do whatever you want me to, for as long as you want me to.”

Souji sighed. As if he didn’t have enough work to do. But...he just couldn’t say no.

“Sure,” he said, and Jiraiya looked up with a huge grin. The tail on his cloak was wagging, which was a little weird, but Souji had seen weirder.

“Okay then,” the grim said, reaching out and grabbing both of Souji’s hands. “All that’s left is to give me a name. I can’t go by Jiraiya anymore.”

The name ‘Hana-chan’ came to mind, but Souji dismissed it immediately - he didn’t exactly know the rules, but he couldn’t pick a name that the familiar would have any connection to. He stared at the grim, thinking about the brown grim form and the golden dog form, and noticed that he had a splash of freckles across his cheeks. Cute.

Was it bad to fall for your familiar? Probably.

“Yosuke,” Souji named, and Yosuke’s eyes slid closed, his grin fading to a pleased smile. The black void turned white around them.

“Yosuke,” he said, as if tasting the name. “I like it.”

[imaginesnkdorks]

“Thank Goodness for Crazy”

| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 |

Part IV: Too Bad I Wasn’t a Fan

Pairing: Erwin/Reader;

Warnings: Mentions of death and violence

Summary: Reader is just your regular gal from our world, but that changed one day when she woke up in the world of Titans. Giving a fake name to Erwin Smith who found her, she tries to understand the world she’s thrust upon and to survive in it. And try she did. Thing is, she knows nothing about this new world.

“Seriously? You’re asking me that now?” Okay, so I said that my best choice was to be cooperative and to never be hostile. Well, I’ve never been good at making smart choices. Thankfully, both Erwin and Shadis remained calm.

“Judging by your questions earlier, I’d say it is impossible that you were living right where we found you. You didn’t know what Titans are, you are unaware of the walls and your outfit was quite peculiar.” It seems like Erwin isn’t just an eye candy, he’s pretty smart, too.

And what do I say to smart guys? “No shit, Sherlock.” I answered purely free from sarcasm. It was more of an instinct now, really.

Erwin chose to ignore my little comment and continued, “there is still the possibility that you weren’t truthful. If that were the case, you would be someone really strong and wise to be able to survive among titans.”

“Yeah, well thing is I really am not from here. I literally don’t know why and how; I’m even hoping that I’m just dreaming. I’m … scared.” I admitted, my voice quivering. Oh no, the weight of all this is finally crashing in.

Tears soon fell from my eyes. I can’t help it. I’m lost, I’m surrounded by strangers and strange things, and I am handcuffed in an office of a high-ranking military man. I tried my best to cry quietly, but a sob escaped.

Pathetic. I have to get a grip. I, … “huh?” A hand tore me from my thoughts; a hand that wiped my tears. Looking up, it was the man seated in front of me. The men exchanged another look of understanding, then Erwin freed my hands.

“We believe you, for now.” He told me. I’ll take that. I still don’t trust myself enough to open my mouth, so I just nodded instead. Last thing I need is to completely breakdown. Breathing deeply, I successfully calmed myself.

“Erwin, I’d like to talk to her a little more. Privately.”

Saluting, Erwin complied with the Commander’s request, but before closing the door he took a long look at me. My eyes lingered on the closed door until the Commander cleared his throat.

“You know Miss Frost; you are not the first person found beyond the walls.”

“What? You mean you come across many people? Have you seen anyone who is strangely dressed like me? Or said they were from somewhere that you don’t have any idea where? Just like me?”

It was a rush, I feel excited. I hope there is someone like me, I surely need someone who knows the Beetles and Elvis right now. Being here has made me feel like a Martian, so far.

“I’m afraid not. There was only one person, and he was suffering from memory loss. As for his clothes, it was pretty much like the clothes we have. I’m telling you this because there might be a chance that you know this man.”

“It is possible. I hope he is someone I know.”

“His name is Grisha Yeager. Do you know him?”

“No. I don’t know anyone called that. But he lost his memories, right? Maybe that’s not his name. If I could see him, I can tell for sure.”

“That makes sense. Well, I guess we should also talk about where you will stay.”

Oh boy. This is it. Are they going to lock me up?

I guess my fear was evident on my face, because Shadis comforted me. “I’m going to take a risk and trust you. You’re not a prisoner, however we can’t let you live among the civilians. You don’t have any papers, and if the government learns about you, your future will be very bleak.”

“You’ll be staying with us – The Survey Corps. That way, we can keep an eye on you.”

I didn’t realize I was even holding my breath until now that I let go of a sigh of relief.

“Survey Corps?”

“We’re a branch of the Military that ventures outside the walls.” That’s a very concise explanation. I’m guessing Commander Keith Shadis is always straight to the point.

“Okay, so I’ll be living here in your base?”

“Yes. But you must not tell anyone of your origin. Only me and Erwin knows so far, and let’s keep it that way.” He told me in a tone so serious it made me feel like he was lecturing me.

Anyhow, I vowed to never reveal my origin.

My new background story? I’m from the Northern part of the walls, and my parents apparently died. They also happen to be close friends with the commander, so now he is my official guardian.

The days went by slowly, especially when there is no internet. Apparently, this world is medieval. Even though I keep on referring to this place as a whole other world, I’m still not sure I completely believe that. But if you’re the one experiencing this, you’ll learn to just shut off that part of your mind and just live your life in peace.

Commander Shadis – or uncle Keith now – gave me a room in the wing were the high-ranking officers stay. And it just so happened that my room is between his and Erwin’s. I still am under their radar.

For the first couple of days, I’ve been hoping that I would wake up in my room. Instead, I wake up in a room so bare it put minimalists to shame. The only furniture I have are the ones already in it – a sad-looking, wooden bedframe with a plain white mattress, a drawer and a cabinet. Oh, a single nightstand, too. The bedsheets and pillows were like hospital issued – they’re plain white.

It was tough, having to live by candle light. And it can get too hot without an AC. Electricity is like bigfoot here – it simply doesn’t exist. I was thankful though because they at least have indoor plumbing. There was no shower, however. It was big ass pumps and you have to use basins and buckets.

And my clothes! Oh my goodness, all they gave me was a couple of dresses which is an ugly shade of pink, mustard yellow and green. All colors that I hate. And the dresses’ style kinds of reminds me of the kind of dresses that milkmaids wear – you know, long sleeves, corsets and long plain skirts. At least that’s what they wear in the shows and cartoons that I’ve seen.

Hmm, shows. I bet what’s happening to me will make for a great show.

Trapped in a foreign land – a different world, even! Saved by a prince charming on a white horse from a man-eating titan. Well, not a prince per se.

Hmm, titan … I can’t help but think like I’m missing something.

Titans, … titans … I’m sure it’s not only used by Homer. Where else did I hear titans. Titans that attacks people. Attack?

OH. MY. GOD.

It’s that movie. And anime. And manga. Attack on Titan! Damnit. It’s about soldiers and walls and titans, right? Crap!!!! I’ve never seen a single damn episode!!! All craziness aside, I think I’m inside that world. The one anime that I didn’t get around to see yet. Perfect.

But I always believed and followed the words “Don’t cry over spilled milk”, and so I just brushed off my realization. It’s not gonna help me. Call me a loser, but I honestly don’t know a lick about the anime attack on titan. I just have to tread blindly in this world, hoping I won’t die.

And hope I did.

Copyright © 2017 by imaginesnkdorks. All rights reserved