#But then he kills Karma out of nowhere and it's an ��Ah! You fell for his lies too– remember he's nothing but evil. He cares just as little

[sskk-manifesto]

Ep 4 :)

[le-poor-writer]

Serve at First Sight (Kageyama Tobio x F!Reader)

"I bet I can..." Hinata mumbled and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Hah?" Kageyama glared back. "What did you just say?"

"I'm not good at setting. BUT I BET I CAN HIT THE LONGEST AND FASTEST SERVE!"

"IS THAT A CHALLENGE?"

"YOU WANNA GO NOW?"

"Uh... Kageyama, Hinata, Stop messing around or else you'll get an earful from Daichi-san." Yamaguchi tries to mediate the situation. The last time the idiotic duo did something stupid, all the first years had to run extra laps. And he was not up for that today.

"No use talking to idiots Yamaguchi." Tsukki sneered. "They have an IQ capacity of a teaspoon."

Hinata stood at the line of the court, deciding to go first. Throwing the ball into the air, he jumped as high as he could. As if he were a crow that leaped into the sky. His ball managed to land a good one meter away from line of the opposite side. A loud bang resonating the court and he beamed smugly at his tall opponent. Kageyama had a ball ready in hands as he took Hinata's place. Itching to outperformed the record set by the orange-head. Closing his eyes, he briefly replayed Oikawa's diabolical jump serve from their previous practice match. He knew he was a hundred years too early to be able to do that. Doesn't mean he won't try his luck though.

With a deep exhale, he took flight. Blocking out all sounds surrounding him, save that of his squeaking shoes and the volleyball as he slapped it forward. The stinging sensation felt on his hand causing him to grin. Not quite like Oikawa's, but still powerful. This is it, it will definitely plunge further than Hinata's. And it did. The ball flew pass that one meter mark. And hit a person. Kageyama's eyes blinked twice before the situation finally seeped through his thick skull. He had hit someone's head! Suddenly he could hear his surroundings again. Hinata panicked scream. Yamaguchi running towards the unfortunate human being who fell to the ground. Tsukki trying not to laugh at this slapstick comedy.

Kageyama sprinted towards the person. A hundred thoughts running through his mind. Is the person alright? Is he going to get in trouble with Daichi for this? Where are the third years anyway? Most importantly, when was that person there? How is it he did not notice them? What were they doing there in the first place? Surely no one would actually collapsed from that hit, right? He stood behind Yamaguchi who was trying to communicate with the seemingly unconscious person. And that was when Kageyama noticed, the person was a girl. A petite girl. He kneeled beside Yamaguchi. She seemed to be a little pale.

"Hello?" Yamaguchi tapping her shoulder. "Excuse me, can you hear me?"

No reply.

"KAGEYAMA KILLED SOMEONE!" Hinata hollered.

"What are you going to do now Kageyama?" Despite knowing that she only passed out, Tsukki decided to humour Hinata.

"I'll take her to the nurse's office." Immediately he carried her and jogged out of the court. Hoping not to run into anyone. Especially Daichi.

He couldn't help but glance at her face every three seconds. Wondering if she will wake up midway. But she didn't and that worried him more. If it weren't for her soft faint breaths he would have thought that he actually committed manslaughter with his jump serve. Besides, she has such a small frame. He was afraid if he really did break her. Kageyama held her closer to his body. Noticing how she fit snugly in his arms. And when looked closely, she's actually really cute. A blush spread quickly all over his face. What was he thinking? He doesn't even know her.

~~~~~~~~~~

(Y/n) blinked slowly. Feeling slightly dazed.

She woke up late today, all because of that stupid extra Japanese literature homework that had to be submitted during first period. And because she woke up late, she skipped breakfast. She wanted to get something during lunch, but had to drop by the school library to return some books that were due today. Well what do you know, apparently everyone needed to return their books today. If she had known she would've asked her friends to at least get her melon bread. She had about 10 minutes left before lunch ended, but she ran into her senior and was reminded to submit the club activities report today.

It was so hard to focus on classes for the rest of the afternoon. She drank lots of water in hopes to delay the impending dizziness. It was somewhat working. She only needed to wait until clubs and activities time. She'll get a sugary drink from the vending machine, then tell the club leader that she's going to head home early. But karma really had to be a bitch today. Her wallet was not in her bag. (Y/n) dreaded the fact that she might have dropped it somewhere. Searching for her wallet with this now nasty migraine is really going to be such a pain. That is until she suddenly remembered she left it in her drawer at home. She had forgotten about it amidst the rush.

(Y/n) crouched in front of the vending machine. What are the gods playing at exactly. Is it really so hard to get a single bite? Is this karma for denying Mr. Snuggles his treat last week? Well it was not her fault that he knocked over her pudding off the table! She was on the verge of tears when she heard the sound of volleyballs. Oh right, the vending machine was sort of close to the volleyball court... Didn't Yachi say she was recently the co-manager for Karasuno's volleyball club along with that beautiful senior Kiyoko. There is hope. She only needed a little money to get that small carton of drink.

She stood up quickly and regretted it. God, this migraine is killing her. With every ounce of determination she had left, she dragged her feet towards the court. Swaying a little every now and then. The sounds were getting louder, The ball hitting the court, shoes squeaking and people yelling? This is a good thing, it meant that she was getting closer. This is also a bad thing, because it's splitting her skull. Everything around her blurred as she entered the hall. Shit, where is Yachi? She took a few more steps before she felt a hard impact on her head. Dear lord that hurts like hell. And she lost all control of her body before everything went black.

"Oi." a gruff voice distracted her thoughts.

She sat up immediately. Hitting her head on the bed post in the process. She has realized by now that she must have passed out and someone from the volleyball club took her to the nurses office. It must have been this boy sitting beside her. But that still didn't mean she wouldn't be caught off guard. She has always been somewhat intimidated by the male species. Especially those tall towering ones that had to bend a little to talk to her. It's one of the unfortunate things one has to endure being 4'10 and having a small frame. People often joked that she could fit in a suitcase. Though seeing her other shorter friends did brought her pleasure, it still doesn't change the fact that a lot of people around her were giants.

"Idiot."

"Excuse me?" she glared. What's the big idea calling her an idiot out of nowhere. He was the one who surprised her. Sitting on a stool at her bedside, ain't that too close for a stranger, sir?  Who is he again? The volleyball club is pretty popular here in Karasuno after they managed to get into the finals of Inter high recently. It was unfortunate that they lost to Aoba Johsai, but everyone acknowledged what a monster the school was. Yachi said everyone felt down but it didn't dampened their spirit, for their next chance will be the Spring Tournament.

"S-sorry." the guy replied.

Dark eyes darting away from her face. She could make out an intimidating look on his face. Eyebrows furrowing sternly. Lips set on a grim line. Yet his cheeks flushed. Or was it because of the orange hue from the setting sun (she couldn't really tell), which also made his black hair glow. It dawned upon (y/n) that if he could just smooth away his frown, he would be handsome (she thinks). And if only he weren't being gruffy. Wait a minute. Tall volleyball player, black hair, intimidating frowning face but yet somehow still good looking?

"I'm Kageyama Tobio-"

"I know."

Silence... Well that was awkward.

She cleared her throat. "I'm (L/n) (Y/n). From Class 5. Um, Yachi's friend."

"Oh." Shoot. He didn't know she was Yachi's friend. What will the manager say about this. "I'm sorry. That my jump serve knocked you out."

"No no no! I was actually a little hypoglycemic. So your uh, jump serve was just the final nail in the coffin." Damn, she knew that getting hit by any ball was going to hurt. But the ball just now, it felt like it could tear her head off. Or maybe that's just an exaggeration of being starved the whole day. She realized his expression went from frowning to horrifying. "N-not that it will literally be the final nail to my coffin! It was just an expression. Maybe not a good one. Sorry I'm just bad with words when it comes to strangers. I mean not that you're an absolute stranger. It's just that- I'm sorry, I'm blabbering too much."

"Not at all!" he yelled. Ah, he got too animated. He didn't understand why. But he just thought everything about this girl is cute. From her petite stature that makes him want to shield her from the wind. To her way of talking that showed just how shy and awkward she was as how it is with him. Trying to reassure him that it was fine. He couldn't understand this sudden grip in his heart and the tingling sensation at his fingertips. Though maybe it was because he hasn't touch the volleyball for a few hours now.

Another awkward silence ensues.

"Anyways," (Y/n) was still a bit shy. She was after all talking to one of the most popular boys at school. But seeing as how he is now, she thought she could loosen up her guard a bit. "Have you seen my glasses?"

"You wear glasses?"

They rushed back together to the volleyball court. Yachi attacked her with a hug as she lamented about the news she heard from her fellow peers. Daichi scolding him to be careful next time whilst Tanaka giving him his infamous gangster glare. Hinata coming forward with his head down as he presented (Y/n)'s broken glasses. He accidently stepped on them when he was panicking, though he only realised it when she was sent to the nurse's office. Her glasses must have fallen off her head when she got hit. That hard huh. Really God, you want to test her that much today. Fine, she'll apologize to Mr. Snuggles when she gets home.

Unbeknownst to her, Kageyama felt even worse than earlier. His ball caused her to knocked out, and now it even knocked off the glasses from her head and broke it. Stuttering on his words, he apologized again. Hands balled into a tight fist. He just felt so bad. Suga noticed how dejected he sounded. But he also noticed how pink his ears were. Oh? Well even if it wasn't what he thought, there was no harm in... light teasing. Besides, they'd looked adorable together, no?

"If you really feel guilty. Then you should walk her home today." slinging his arm over Kageyama's shoulder, Suga tried to keep a neutral expression. Well there was a slight smirk, but he tried. "What if she falls down on her way home? Or run into a pole?"

"I am short-sighted Sugawara-senpai. Not blind." (Y/n) said through gritted teeth. Really these eyesight jokes should be old by now. "Besides, I will need to stop by the optic shop to have new ones made."

"All the more for him to accompany you. It will get dark soon. Might be dangerous to be walking alone with such bad eyesight."

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to burden-"

"Let's go." Kageyama interrupted. And when she declined again, he argued back. "Stop being a stubborn idiot. You still haven't eaten, you can't see well and you're so light that people can just easily carry you away."

Did he just called her an idiot for the second time in the short the period they have known each other. How rude! Not that his points were invalid. He was right. But boy does this person lack delicacy. In the end, she agreed to let him accompany her. He bought two cartons of milk from the vending machine. One for each of them, and they set off on their merry way.

~~~~~~~~~~

"No- Okay. Once again. Osmosis only works with solvents. Simple diffusion, both solvents and solutes. So in osmosis, solvents will move from low solute concentration-" (Y/n) stopped explaining when she noticed how Kageyama's brows were almost touching. His lips formed a small pout. "You know what, we have been revising for more than an hour. Let's take 5. Then continue for another hour. It's getting late and although my mum likes you, my dad wouldn't like you being in my room for too long."

Ever since that day where he sent her home, she began hanging out more with Yachi and the volleyball club. Not that she never hung out with her close friend, it's just that (y/n) felt out of place when she mingles with unfamiliar crowds. But now that every member knew her as the girl who got hit by Kageyama's jump serve, that became the basis of her acquaintanceship with the club and she got to hang out with Yachi more. And before she realized it, Kageyama has just been around her circle. Always there. Heck he has been walking her home more often now that even her mother likes him. Then they became just friends. Or she hoped it stayed that way, because she noticed her emotions began crossing unknown territories.

(Y/n) has come to learn a few things about Kageyama Tobio over the course of their friendship. One, he is an obsessed volleyball freak. A prodigy people say. But what (Y/n) sees is a person consumed by passion for the things he loves. And that isn't necessarily bad. Two, he can be quite childish. He fails to control his frustration which later comes off the wrong way whenever he expresses them. But really he means no harm, because when he is happy, he expresses them genuinely. And three, he is quite sensitive. He may want to show that he didn't care, but he actually takes things to heart. He may feel down about a comment, but he will learn to improve from it.

"Sorry."

"What for?"

"For having to teach an idiot like me."

"Oh stop it. Everyone is good and bad at something. We can't all be the perfect prodigy. That's just how things are. You may be bad at studying, but with your volleyball skills I bet you can represent Japan one day." noticing his eyes lit up, she continued. "So in order for you to attend your camp. Let's just try our best okay?"

Kageyama nodded. It was a little embarrassing to have her comforting him like this. But at the same time it brings him immense joy. When he first met her, he would get flutters looking at her cute appearance. Now, he just feels all warm and fuzzy whenever she talks to him. He liked that she didn't judge him or anyone she's ever met. She would scold him sometimes, but at the same time explained her reasoning. And he really appreciated that, how patient she was with him. It does make him guilty, but at the same time he wants to start behaving better. Is this what Suga meant when he said he has a crush on (Y/n)? Kageyama doesn't really know. He will need time to analyze everything.

"(L/n), do you have time during our Spring Tournament?" he tried looking anywhere else but her face.

"You want me to cheer on the club? Sure thing."

"Yes." Hearing her reply made him smile. With a steady gaze he stared straight into her eyes. "Watch me play, (y/n). I'll show you a really strong serve."

(Y/n) could only smile back as she felt butterflies in her stomach. "Then we better get back to studying."

[snowrobin-133]

A Happy Ending Yet to Happen

Characters: Xiao x F!Reader (Y/N), implied traveler x Xiao at end, ft. Venti and Paimon Fandom: Genshin Impact WC: 8.2k words Tags: character death, immortal(?) x mortal, grief, sadness, tears, angst, spoilers for Xiao’s voice lines and stories, Xiao might be slightly OOC in some scenes A/N: I’m pretty sure you can’t call Xiao an immortal since yakshas can die and stuff but like they live a long time so it sorta works HAHA. Also this hasn’t really been beta read and so there’s probably a couple of mistakes, sorry about that!

[EDIT] I FORGOT A PART FLIP- anyways yeah I accidently deleted a part somehow while it was in the doc??? Idk what happened but it’s back slkasdjasldaj

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

In the center of Mondstadt’s square stood a fellow clad in green, playing a lyre as he weaved a tragic tale of an adepti and a mortal. The fellow first introduced himself as Venti before starting the tale to curious onlookers that stopped to listen.

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

Many centuries ago, a young girl, in her twenties perhaps, clad in strange attire, arrived in Tevyat, injuries scattered across her body. She was somewhat near the Liyue Harbor of that time and the millileth found her, quickly bringing her to the doctor where she was treated. The injuries were severe as if she had been slammed with a heavy rock that flew out of nowhere. With some healing and herbs, the doctors managed to save her life.

After a couple of days, she awoke. The millileth arrived and they asked her many questions.“Where did you get those injuries? What were you doing out in the wild? Where did you come from?”

Every question they asked was either given vague responses or a simple “I don’t know”. It seems that she had lost her memory. The millileth was in a tight spot. They then asked her one last question, hope shining in their eyes, “What is your name?”

The girl looked down at her lap, searching through the hazy memories in her mind. One word stuck out to her, perhaps that was her name. After a few more seconds of pondering, she answered with, “Y/N.”  

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

After a couple of weeks, Y/N was released from the hospital. She was given a home to stay in and got a job as a waitress in one of Liyue Harbor’s most popular restaurants. She quickly fit in with the atmosphere of the city and got along with the city folk, a drastic change from when she first appeared in Liyue.

After some time, Y/N decided to take a couple of weeks off to travel around Liyue, although not all of it, just to places she had heard of from customers and colleagues. Her first stop was near Dihua Marsh. According to what Y/N was told, on an islet of the marsh stood a stone pillar with a large golden-leaved tree sitting on top of it. There were also rumors of a young man, called the Conqueror of Demons, that would be seen in the area. There was little to no details of the man other than that he seemed to hold an anemo vision and fought with a polearm. 

Y/N was slightly curious about this man but thought little of him, being distracted with simply trying to get to the area unscathed first. The monsters that stood in her way were rather easy to trick and avoid. Some were slightly persistent but she managed to shake them off after a couple of minutes. Although she lacked her memories, she, strangely enough, seemed to remember some pointless, or in this case, useful survival tips. 

After a couple of days, Y/N arrived at the islet as the sun began to set. She decided to look around to set up camp but was quickly interrupted by the growls and yells of hilichurls. Looking around, she quickly spotted them, getting into a position to run if needed. Y/N then paused, noticing something sinister coming from them. 

“There’s something different about these hilichurls…” she murmured to herself, attempting to back away quietly and hide. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to notice her movement and she hid behind some bushes nearby. She noted that they seemed to be walking towards her and she quickly put a hand over her mouth and nose, muffling her breathing as she hoped they wouldn’t notice her.

Before they got too close though, something suddenly came out of the sky, slamming down into the ground with green-colored spears shooting out of the ground. The force of whatever had slammed into the ground nearly blew Y/N away but she thankfully only fell on her butt.

She quickly regained her balance and watched the scene unfold in front of her. As the dust cleared, she could see a young man with black and teal hair and green tattoos standing straight with a polearm in hand. 

He was a somewhat distance from her with his back towards her but his head then turned around, making eye contact with Y/N. She flinched at his piercing gaze but he quickly turned away. Y/N was unable to think more of it as the young man started fighting the hilichurls. As she watched him fight, a sudden bad feeling started to stir up in her stomach. With the bad feeling in mind, she decided to back away a bit more as the fighting got more and more intense. 

The young man handled the hilichurls quickly, treating them as if they were ragdolls. Y/N watched in awe and slight terror at his strength. In just a few minutes, the hilichurls laid on the ground, not moving at all, and the man stood over them with cold gazes. He then whipped around and walked towards Y/N.

Y/N flinched at the sudden attention and leaned back as the young man loomed over her. His glare pierced through her, making her sweat bullets, “I- uh...thank you…!” she squeaked out under his intense gaze. 

He scoffed before speaking, “Night. When the darkness comes to envelop you, Don’t stay outside,” he turned around, preparing to leave.

“W-wait! What’s… What’s your name?” she stuttered out.

He looked at her, pausing before saying, “Adeptus Xiao,” and seemingly evaporated as he looked away.

Y/N sat on the ground, frozen, as she attempted to comprehend what just happened. After a couple of minutes, she snapped out of her daze and decided to heed Xiao’s words. 

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

Venti hummed a bit before speaking, “After that first meeting, the girl and the Adeptus would run into each other many more times. Each run-in brought the two closer and closer, far more than they would realize” he smiled mischievously.

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

The first run-in with each other happened only a couple of months after they first met. Y/N hadn’t seen Xiao once since the incident and returned to Liyue Harbor with little trouble. She attempted to look up some more information on him but came up empty. The only thing she managed to find out was that he was a Yaksha, an adepti that protects Liyue from demons and mutants that appeared when gods fell during the Archon War. She figured that the hilichurls she saw Xiao defeat that day were likely mutants. 

I’m glad I didn’t get involved with them at all… Y/N thought to herself as she set up some tables early in the morning.

“Ah, Y/N!”

Y/N turned around to see her boss, “Ah, Zhang Wei*. Do you need something?”

“Yes, is it fine if I trouble you to find some of these ingredients for me? I’ll give you a couple of weeks off to do so!” He handed her a small piece of paper with a list of ingredients with locations listed next to the names.

“Ah… Sure,” Y/N took the piece of paper from him. 

“Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to pay you double for this!” Zhang Wei smiled.

Y/N nodded, her mind focused on the location next to Horsetail. Dihua Marsh. Y/N wondered if she would see Xiao again.

She decided her first stop would be Dihua marsh, hoping to see the young adepti once again. Y/N doubted she would see him again, but why not try?

Y/N looked at herself in the mirror of her small home, she wore simple clothes that would make traveling easier, and over her shoulder was a satchel to put the ingredients in. Double-checking that she had everything, Y/N put on her shoes and left her home.

Y/N finally arrived at Dihua Marsh, although she was on the ground and out of breath. She had already grabbed some horsetail just moments earlier but then a group of hilichurls came up. They were different from regular ones though and she noted that they were similar to the hilichurls she had seen when she first met Xiao. After a while, she finally managed to lose them by hiding in some large bushes.

She threw her head back, taking a large breath of air. “Damn those hilichurls, huff… Why must they all be so… persistent…!” she muttered.

“You’re lucky they didn’t find you out.”

“Yeah… Wait-!” Y/N jolted and whipped around, seeing the familiar cold stone face of Xiao standing behind her.

He closed his eyes and sighed, “It seems I’ve caused you trouble again. I apologize.”

“...Huh? How did you cause me trouble?”

“That is because the changes that occurred in those hilichurls came from me, or more precisely, from the karma I’ve accumulated.”

“Ah...but you just killed those monsters, right? So if anything, you did me a bit of a favor,” Y/N laughed quietly and smiled at him.

He scoffed, “Anyways, there will likely be more of these monsters, so you best watch out,” he then turned to leave.

Y/N jumped up, “Ah! Wait!”

“...What?”

“Can you, uh, act like a guard for me? I doubt I’ll be able to avoid those monsters like normal ones…” Y/N laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck.

“Huh? Why should I?” Xiao asked coldly, crossing his arms.

“I have no way of protecting myself and like I said, I doubt I’d be able to avoid those monsters like normal ones…”

“Hmph… You’re quite bold to ask me that.”

Y/N clasped her hands together, “Please~! Just for a couple of days! That’s all!”

Xiao stayed silent for a few minutes before speaking, “...Fine.”

Her head shot up as she looked at him in hope. Before she could speak though, Xiao spoke again. “But don't think about getting close, and stay out of my way, or all that awaits you is regret,” he warned.

Y/N looked at him in surprise and slight confusion before nodding, “Oh, alright. Thank you so much though! Oh! By the way, I’m Y/N”

Xiao didn’t understand why he was agreeing to protect this feeble girl. There was nothing special about her, no vision, no special aura, nothing. So why is he even wasting his time with her? He sighed as he watched the girl gather more horsetails in the area. “Reduced to being a guard for a feeble girl, how pathetic,” he muttered under his breath, yet he kept his guard up and watched out for her.

After Y/N gathered enough horsetails, the duo made their way to Quince Village to gather jueyun chilis. Night soon arrived and Xiao decided for them to rest, gruffly claiming “You humans barely have any stamina.” 

After a bit of searching, the two found themselves in front of some ruins by Wuwang Hill. As Y/N began setting up a camp, Xiao jumped up, landing on top of one of the ruined structures, “Go and rest. I'll be here,” and sat down.

Y/N tilted her head, “Aren’t you going to sleep as well?”

Xiao glared at her, “You think I sleep? You have no respect for the ways of the adepti!”

She flinched at his sudden outburst, “Ah, sorry…”

His hard glare softened into a cold gaze, “...Just go rest,” and turned away, looking out into the wilderness.

Y/N’s lips curled into a soft smile, He’s harsh… but I think he has a good heart she thought and quietly giggled, settling down into the makeshift bed she made and watched the night sky. 

The two continued to journey for another week before separating. Y/N arrived back in Liyue Harbor with all the ingredients collected feeling a bit more giddy than usual. Her friends in the city all noticed, asking who the lucky fellow is. Y/N simply laughed, telling them that she made a new friend.

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

The next meeting was when Y/N was exploring around Mt. Tianheng as the sun hung low in the sky. She had finished work and decided to walk around. On impulse, she decided to go off the road and was walking past a waterfall when she noticed something in the grass. Raising an eyebrow, she decided to walk closer, only to see the familiar hair and clothing of Xiao. 

Y/N’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of blood and quickly looked over his unconscious body. She hurriedly opened her bag and searched through it, eventually finding a pouch of first aid items.

“I’m glad I had the foresight to pack first-aid items,” she sighed in relief and began to apply first aid. Y/N was surprised with how natural it felt to apply first aid as if she had done it countless times before. Perhaps she was some kind of doctor in the life she no longer remembered. Y/N quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the injured man in front of her. 

After some time, she had patched up all of the severe injuries and she looked over the rest of his body as Xiao awoke.

“Ah! You’re awake! Phew…”

“... What are you doing here…?” he asked groggily.

“I was taking a walk, and anyways, I should be asking you that!”

He attempted to sit up but flinched and Y/N quickly went to help, “Don’t touch me.”

“Huh? But you’re hurt and-”

Xiao quickly cut her off, “Prolonged interaction with adepti will become dangerous, as your souls are not as robust as ours are.”

Y/N glared at him, “We’ll worry about that later! Can you move a little at least?”

“Hmph, of course I can.” 

“Then let’s get you out of the open, it looks like it’s about to rain soon.”

“... Fine.” Xiao finally allowed her to help him up and to lead him away from the open. They decided to take a rest in the cavern behind the waterfall, rain beginning to fall as they neared the cavern. 

As Xiao settled down against the wall, Y/N noted that it was colder thanks to the mist flowers that grew nearby. Standing up, she took off her coat, passing it to Xiao. “Here, it’s cold.”

“My body is used to these temperatures. Your body is not.”

Y/N sighed, “And who exactly is the injured one out of us?… Just take it,” she dropped the coat on his lap before turning away to set up a fire. Xiao sighed, too exhausted to argue.

As the fire blazed alive, Y/N asked, “... What exactly happened to leave you passed out in the grass?” 

“... It’s none of your concern,” Xiao answered coldly.

Y/N sighed, “...Alright.” 

Xiao paused before speaking, “In the thousands of years that have passed, I have taken countless wraiths. If you want no trouble, stay away from me.”

Y/N looked at him in surprise, “... Like I’m gonna do that,” she stuck her tongue out at him and he scoffed in response. Y/N sighed, opting to not say anything more, and turned her attention back to the fire as she began to make something with what little ingredients she had.

After ten or so minutes, she decided to speak up, “... Is there anything troubling you, Xiao?”

“Trouble..? Hmph.. trouble means nothing to Adepti. There is no trouble that can last for a thousand years” Xiao glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

“Ah…”

“...Don’t worry needlessly about me, as I said, you should stay away from me instead of getting closer.”

“You’re still going on about that, huh? Well, guess what! I’m just as stubborn as you so I’m not gonna leave you alone!”

Xiao sighed, “... What a menace…” he muttered.

Y/N pouted in response as she handed him a plate of Almond Tofu, “Here, eat up.”

“...Isn’t this a dessert?”

“Haha, yeah it is… but the ingredients it needed are the only things I had on me that I could turn into a meal, and besides it’ll boost your strength!”

Xiao sighed, “Human meals are rarely ever good.”

“Just try it, Xiao, you need food to get back on your feet y’know!” 

“I’m an Adeptus, my body does not follow the same rules that your bodies do,” he scoffed yet reluctantly put a spoonful in his mouth. 

Y/N pouted in response and turned away, preparing a dish for herself.

Xiao swallowed down the spoonful before speaking, “... dreams.”

“Hm?”

“It tastes like the dreams I once devoured.” 

Y/N paused before staring at him as if he had grown two heads, “... I, uh… Is that a good thing…?”

Xiao opted to not answer, instead, he ate another spoon of the almond tofu. Y/N sighed, deciding that it would be useless to try and pry further. The two ate in silence, listening to the rain pitter-patter outside of the cavern.

Y/N cleaned up the area a bit before leaning against the wall, putting a distance between her and him, and relaxed. Her head turned to the cavern’s entrance, making note of the heavier rain, “It looks like the rain won’t let up anytime soon…” and closed her eyes, falling asleep.

After a couple of minutes, Y/N’s breathing had become slow and steady. Xiao wondered if this was because of the prolonged contact between him and her. 

Once confirming she was asleep, Xiao stood up and walked towards her. He wrapped the coat she had given him around her, whispering a quiet “thank you”. He raised his hand, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear before standing up. His eyes remained on her as he made a conscious decision to avoid her as much as he could. The more contact she had with him, the more danger she would be in. Gazing at her for a few more seconds, he turned around and disappeared. 

Y/N awoke late at night, quickly noting that there was a warm weight on her. As the grogginess wore off, she noticed that the weight was the coat she had given Xiao. Speaking of Xiao, he was no longer where she last saw he was. 

“Ah… he must’ve left already… He better not have reopened his wounds.”

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

The next meeting was several months after that incident. Even after traveling to Dihua Islet several times, Y/N did not see Xiao once, even if she had brought almond tofu with her. Y/N wasn’t completely sure if he did actually like her almond tofu but she was going to take any chances to get to see him. Thinking back to their time in the cavern, Y/N wondered if he was trying to distance himself because of the energy situation. She could understand the reason but still couldn’t help but miss the yaksha.

Y/N stared at her cup of tea, lost in thought wondering where Xiao was, as she hung out with three of her friends. They were talking about some kind of gossip when one of them noticed her silence and smiled mischievously, “Y/N~?”

Y/N quickly snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her friend with a hum, “Yes?”

“Just what are you thinking so deeply about? Ever since you went on that journey of yours, you’ve been staring out into space way more than usual~” she teased.

Y/N flinched at her observation and laughed, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about…”

Her friend pouted, “Oh don’t be like that Y/N~! Tell me! Please?” By now, the other two had noticed and began joining in.

Y/N simply laughed with a shake of her head, “No way!”

“A shame…” her friend hung her head and so did the others as they sighed dramatically, albeit did nothing in changing Y/N’s mind. It’s not likely that they would believe in her tale of becoming (sort of) friends with an adepti, a yaksha that vanquishes demons at that. Anyways.

“At least tell us if you’re thinking about a guy !” one of her friends leaned on her as she laughed, deciding to cave in a bit.

“Alright, alright,” at that, her friends perked up immediately, all eyes on her as she looked away, slightly blushing, “... it is a guy.”

They all gasped dramatically, “Oh my! What’s he like?!” they all asked excitedly.

Y/N decided that it wouldn’t hurt to tell them a small bit, “Hm… he’s a jerk that’s cold and rough,” she giggled at her description of him, “…but he’s still a caring person underneath it all.”

Her friends shared a knowing look with mischievous smiles, “It sounds like you got a crush, Y/N~” one of them teased.

Y/N laughed, “Even if I do, it’s not like I’d tell the three of you.”

“A pity.”

“So when are we gonna meet him?”

Y/N smiled at them, “never,” and sipped her tea. 

“Oh come on~ Whyy?” they whined. Y/N only laughed, not answering any more of their questions about Xiao. After a couple of minutes, they gave up on trying to pry answers out of her and moved onto other topics. 

Y/N walked home, humming to herself, planning her next trip to Dihua Islet, “Hm...I wonder if I should bring something else other than almond tofu…”

“Stick with the almond tofu. Other mortal foods are things I can’t stomach.”

“Huh, is that so- wait-” Y/N whipped around to see the familiar face of Xiao leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, wearing his signature frown. She quickly gasped, “Xiao! I was so worried about you! But wait, what are you doing here in the harbor?!” Y/N remembered the journey he had accompanied her on, how he had mentioned hating crowded and loud places. Although the area they were in at the moment was deserted and quiet, the noise of the marketplace could still be heard.

“The constant offerings of Almond Tofu and notes were beginning to get annoying,” he remarked bluntly, making Y/N flinch.

“A-ah, sorry,” Y/N laughed as she scratched the back of her neck.

He glanced at her and sighed, before tossing an item to her. Y/N quickly caught it with both hands, looking at her hands in surprise. “...What’s this?” she asked as she took a look at the item, seeing that it was a butterfly made of leaves.

“... It’s an adepti amulet I made. It staves off evil.”

Y/N eyes sparkled in awe as she looked at the beautiful details of the amulet, “Thank you… but why?”

“You mentioned your day of birth was near this time,” Xiao bit his lip, deciding not to mention that he thought the celebration of someone’s birthday was something he considered redundant. Why he kept his thoughts to himself would be a mystery to himself, but perhaps it had something to do with her happy expression.

Y/N glanced at him in surprise, “Oh wow! You remember that?!”

“Hmph, I was simply reminded of it from that last note of yours.”

“Geh-!” Y/N flinched as the memory of writing her last note to him flashed by, “... I forgot I wrote that…” she looked away with an awkward grin.

“Hmph, I will take my leave now.”

“Ah! Wait!”

“...What?”

Y/N looked at him from head to toe, “How are your injuries?”

Xiao sighed, “They’ve healed already, you need not worry.”

Y/N pouted at him, “How am I not going to worry? You disappeared for countless months without letting me see you once!”

“Did you forget what I had said? Mortal souls are-”

“Are not as robust as yours are,” Y/N finished with a sigh, “Even so, can’t we just meet up regularly? Like every couple months or so!”

Xiao stared at her pleading expression and sighed, “It is not wise to do so.”

Y/N sighed, “Ok then… let’s exchange letters!”

“...Letters?”

“Yeah! We can talk regularly without any physical interaction!”

Xiao sighed and attempted to answer, but was quickly cut off with a pang in his head. He grimaced as he flinched and held up a hand to his temple.

Y/N drew closer at his pained expression, “Are you ok?” she asked, panicking.

“Their voices... I can always hear them. Their screams, their cries, demanding more death... This is my burden to carry. It has nothing to do with you.”

“...But I’d like to at least help,” she smiled sadly at him.

“And just how do you plan to do that?”

“Umm…” Y/N then raised her hands to his face, stopping as he flinched away, “ah, sorry, uh, can I?”

“... Fine,” Xiao muttered, a faint tint of red on his cheeks, and leaned forward, flinching slightly at the feeling of Y/N’s hand on his face. “... Just how is this helping?” his body rigid in her hold.

Y/N pouted, “I’m trying my best! And anyway, just try to relax,” she murmured, avoiding his piercing gaze as her thumbs began rubbing circles on his cheeks.

Xiao sighed, pulling away, “This isn’t really helping me.”

Y/N pulled her hands away with a sigh, “that’s a shame…” she muttered. She then brightened as she thought of something, “Oh! Maybe we can make some kind of potion or medicine that’ll help!”

“...I understand your intentions, but mortal medicine has no effect on Adepti.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Y/N slumped over with a groan, “I’m sorry…”

“As I said, this has nothing to do with you, you do not need to spend your time helping me.”

Y/N looked down, “... Even though it has nothing to do with me… it still hurts to see you in pain as well.”

“...You better not be pitying me.”

“Of course not! I’m being empathetic!” “Huh? Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No! Of course not! Pity and empathy are two different things!” Y/N then went on a rant about the differences as Xiao sighed. Yet he didn’t feel annoyed, instead, there was a warm fuzzy feeling that replaced it. If he hadn’t noticed it, he would’ve let a small smile slip as well.

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

Like Y/N had proposed, the two began exchanging letters. Her letters were usually long-winded and filled with emotions while Xiao’s were short and blunt, reflecting his personality, which amused Y/N. They only exchanged a few letters due to Y/N being unable to go out of Liyue Harbor often, but within those few letters, they found their attraction to each other growing.

Y/N stared out the window in a daze. In front of her was some paperwork from the restaurant, albeit she paid no mind to them. Instead, she found herself thinking about Xiao. She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed a light in the sky. It was far in the distance but Y/N quickly realized that it was a lantern.

“Right, it’s almost time for the lantern rite… I wonder if I can convince Xiao to come by…” With a sigh, Y/N returned to the papers in front of her, making a note to ask him later.

Sometime later, Y/N finally finished the letter. Written in it was the general stuff she normally wrote with updates on her life and some interesting trivia she learned recently. At the end of the letter, she made sure to mention the lantern rite. “By the way Xiao, did you know the lantern rite’s coming up? You should come by to watch the mingxiao lantern! I heard it’s super amazing!” 

With a smile, Y/N closed the letter and prepared to leave the harbor. As she was preparing, a sudden and small thought popped up in her mind. I wonder what Xiao looks like smiling…. Y/N blushed as soon as the thought registered in her mind and shook her head. 

Quickly she set out for the designated area that they left their replies. Dihua Islet. Xiao often wandered in that area which made it an area that they would both find the replies easily. Silently, Y/N hoped that she would also get to see him once she arrived there.

Surprisingly, her small wish would come true. As she arrived at Dihua Islet, Y/N’s eyes were quickly caught by the familiar figure of Xiao sitting on one of the boulders on the islet. A smile appeared on her features as she quickly called out his name, “Xiao!”

Xiao turned at the familiar call of his name, greeted with the sight of Y/N rushing towards him with the oh-so-familiar smile that made his stomach turn in knots. He nodded as a greeting and he jumped off the boulder, meeting her halfway.

Her grin grew in size at the acknowledgment, even though butterflies began to flutter in her stomach. She quickly rummaged through her bag and took out the letter, handing it to him. “By the way… The lantern rite is coming up,” she informed him.

“The lantern rite? The time for humans to discard their glowing trash into the sea has returned, how childish…” 

Her smile quickly dropped, “... You really think that?”

“I do… the hatred and residual energy of the dead gods from some centuries ago sometimes erupt, and they often erupt in a large scale during this troublesome festival.”

“...And so you’re the one that’s fighting every time, right?”

“Yes.” “... It doesn’t happen every lantern rite though, right?”

Xiao glanced at her and sighed, “...No.”

“Then could you at least stop by to watch the mingxiao lantern? It’ll be worth your time! I promise!”

Xiao watched her as she stared at him with desperate eyes. He did not wish to admit it, but he knew deep inside that he couldn’t say no, and eventually gave in, “...If you insist, I will go with you.”

Y/N’s expression quickly lit up with a smile and she cheered, “Yay! I know a great place outside of the harbor that we can meet at to watch it!”

Xiao watched as she grabbed a map of Liyue out of her bag and began pointing at areas where they could watch it. Although he didn’t say it out loud, he was grateful that she was picking areas where there wouldn’t be many people. Nor would he say that he was growing nervous at how close she was, or how he was looking at every detail of her delicate face, or...

After a couple of minutes, they made arrangements to meet and watch the mingxiao lantern. As she walked away after (reluctantly) saying their goodbyes, Y/N internally celebrated with glee, a light pink blush tinting her cheeks.

The day finally came, the night of the Lantern Rite and when the large mingxiao lantern would be released into the sky. Y/N spent the first half of the day serving customers at the restaurant before returning home to prepare for her meeting with Xiao. She had everything in her bag but was quickly distracted when she noticed a food stall. Although Xiao couldn’t stand most human foods, this particular food stall was selling Almond Tofu. With a smile, she quickly bought some almond tofu as well as food for herself before setting off to find Xiao.

As Y/N arrived at the meeting place, she quickly spotted the lonesome figure of Xiao, standing at the ledge. She quickly called out his name and jogged up to where he was, handing him the almond tofu.

“... why did you get me this?” He asked, although took the plate.

Y/N smiled, “Because the lantern rite isn’t just about the lanterns! Plus I was hungry…” she quietly admitted the last part with a pout. Xiao released a huff of air and the two ate in silence, waiting for the time that the mingxiao lantern would be released. 

After some time, Y/N figured that it must be getting close so she gave him a piece of plaustrite and a carving tool as she took out two xiao lanterns.

“What are these for?” Xiao asked, motioning to the plaustrite and carving tool.

“We carve our wishes on these, then we stick it into the lanterns and let them float away!” she explained to him.

Xiao took the plaustrite and carving tool with a huff, “How exactly will these grant our wishes?”

“Hm… I’m not sure,” Xiao looked incredulously at her as she laughed. He sighed and glanced at the plaustrite sitting in his hand.

Y/N calmed down before she thought about what to wish for. A wish then popped up in her mind after a few seconds, “I wish to spend more time with Xiao”. She blushed at the wish, but deep inside, she knew it was the one thing she wanted more than anything. Steeling her resolve, she quickly carved the wish into the plaustrite with a faint blush on her cheeks. 

Xiao finished carving and glanced at Y/N before quickly looking back down at his own piece of plaustrite. He didn’t write a wish for himself since he didn’t have any wishes or desires. So, he decided to go with a statement, a promise. “If she finds herself clinging onto the past, reluctant to move on, I shall quietly remember the memories in my heart for her”. 

The two placed the plaustrites into their own respective lanterns before letting them fly into the air. They stood close to each other, their hands brushing against each other, as they watched their lanterns fly mingle in the air with the many other lanterns. 

After a couple of minutes, Y/N glanced at Xiao from the corner of her eye, spotting a small smile of awe appearing on his face. Her eyes widened at the sight of the rare smile and blushed before quickly looking away and into the sky. Tightening her jaw, she made the risky move of interlocking her pinkie finger with his. Y/N expected him to pull his hand away, and he did, yet he quickly returned his hand to interlock his slim fingers with hers. Y/N’s eyes widened again, a deep blush spreading across the rest of her face, as she looked down and squeezed his hand. Unbeknownst to her, painted on Xiao’s face was also a deep red blush.

----------------- [Edit: this is a part that got deleted accidently but it’s back lol]

Xiao found himself puzzled. Recently, a strange mortal had been hanging around him, wanting to get closer to him. Even stranger was that he felt the same way, wanting to get closer to them. The feeling and fluttering in his chest and stomach were foreign and even a tinge disgusting. Yet he seemed to crave more, more of their smile and expressions, more of the peace that surrounds them. He knew better though. Yet he found himself persisting against the knowledge of the mortal soul.

Xiao found himself falling deeper into the rabbit hole. Perhaps he could find momentary peace with the mortal. 

Y/N was traveling to Dihua islet, wanting to check if Xiao had left a reply to her previous letter, as well as a chance to actually see him in person. If he didn’t, then she had a letter to put in its place. On her journey, she encountered a traveler, who had told her that there was a group of treasure hoarders camping by the main road. She was told to either go back and or to take a detour. Y/N was confident in her skills though and decided to continue traveling through the main road.

What a bad decision that was.

As Y/N passed some ruins, a small blade flew past her face, barely grazing her nose. She gasped, slapping a hand over her nose as she stepped back. Quickly checking her hand, she sighed in relief at the lack of blood before looking up.

Stepping out of some bushes was a small group of men dressed in the clothing of the treasure hoarders. Y/N eyes widened, cautiously taking a step back.

One of them snickered, “Scared little girl? No need to be. We only want one thing.”

Another threw their shovel over their shoulders, “Right, just give us your stuff and we’ll leave you alone.”

Y/N glared at them, pushing her bag to rest on her back instead of the side, “Like I’m giving you all the stuff I worked my butt for.”

“Hmph, you’ve got a pretty face but a pretty bad sense of danger. Fine, we’ll just take it from you with force.”

Y/N tensed, preparing to run as the treasure hoarders came after her. Quickly turning around, she attempted to make a run for it. Before she could even lift her leg, an arrow pierced her calf, with a scream. Blood splattered onto the ground and she collapsed, “Ack-!”

Pain seared through her from her leg up and sat up with a groan. Shadows loomed over her and Y/N whipped around, seeing the Treasure hoarders smirking above her.

The one with the crossbow grabbed her by the wrist, “If you don’t want to get even more hurt then hand over your stuff.”

Gritting her jaw, Y/N twisted her hand around to grab the man’s wrist, twisting it to release her. He yelped in surprise before being pulled to the ground. Y/N stood up while she could in the shock of the moment and attempted to run. The arrow stuck in her calf made it difficult to run but the adrenaline rushing through her numbed the pain. 

Before she could even get far, a barrage of arrows flew towards her, multiple hitting her and throwing her to the ground. With a screech of pain, she collapsed, arrows sticking out from many limbs of her body.

As she laid on the ground, her mind wandered to Xiao’s smiling face. It was merely a glimpse into his softer side, but she remembered that that mere glimpse was enough to make her fall even deeper into the abyss of love. As her consciousness began fading in and out, she whispered his name, “Xiao…”

The treasure hoarders that stood over her were suddenly thrown to the ground, skidding away from the force that had crashed into them. Y/N squinted up, spotting the familiar black and teal hair of the young yaksha. “I’m here,” he announced, glancing at her.

“Mhm…” She smiled as tears clouded her eyes.

To the yaksha, seeing the state Y/N was in as she laid on the ground brought the deepest depths of his fury to the surface. He turned his gaze to the treasure hoarders, tightening his grip on his polearm before bringing swift justice to them, albeit not killing them. The treasure hoarders laid on the ground, groaning and moaning in pain. 

“Worthless,” Xiao muttered coldly, allowing his polearm to disappear. Xiao turned around and walked towards the injured Y/N. He knelt beside her, picking her up gently, a stark contrast to his hard glare, and avoiding the arrows that stuck out of her.

Feeling the warmth of Xiao, Y/N smiled, snuggling into him as she tried to ignore the pain of her wounds. “Thank you...Xiao,” she whispered. 

Xiao didn’t reply but he tightened his grip on her. He then spoke, “If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name. Adeptus Xiao. I will be here when you call.”

Y/N pulled away slightly and met his strong gaze. As his words registered in her mind, she could feel her eyes start to water again, and whispered his name, resting her head on his chest “...Xiao.”

Xiao’s strong gaze softened at the whisper, “I’m here.”

The tears clouding Y/N’s vision began to fall as she whispered his name many more times, fisting his clothes and burying her face into his chest. Xiao tightened his hold on her comfortingly, replying every time she whispered his name. 

Some time passed and Xiao had taken Y/N somewhere safer. Dihua Islet. Where he treated her injuries. Due to the amount of blood and tatters on her, Xiao had thought she was more severely injured, but thankfully, none were severe.

Y/N sat on the ground, trying to stay still as Xiao treated the injuries on her arm. She stayed quiet before her eyes wandered to Xiao’s stern expression. Her eyes then fell to his lips, finding herself wondering what it felt like to kiss them. Her eyes widened as she realized what her thoughts were and quickly shook her head, a raging blush on her cheeks.

Xiao glanced up, an eyebrow raised at her sudden outburst. He dropped back down to her arm before speaking, “...It's too late now, you know. The connection between us is too strong. Even if you wanted to, it's too late to sever it.”

Y/N shook out of her flustered state, glancing at him, “Huh? Why would I do that?”

Xiao raised his head in surprise, “... You've never thought to sever it?” he paused and sighed, “This eternal dance of demon subjugation... My fight goes on… But… I would like to know more about you.”

Y/N stared at him in surprise, before her features softened into a small smile, “I want to know more about you too, Xiao…”

The two fell further into the rabbit hole. Deciding to risk everything for the peace they found in each other.

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

Time passed and Y/N’s memory came back in small pieces, but they were enough for her to know a general amount of her past. She came from far away, perhaps a different world, that was far more advanced than the places here in Tevyat. The clothes she first arrived here in as well were similar to what the people wore in her memories as well.

After remembering more and more of her past, she decided to look into the other 7 nations of the continent, hoping to find her home. She brought home some books on the other nations to her house. After only a couple of hours, Y/N figured out that her home didn’t belong to any of the 7 nations. Many were far from advanced than the places she remembers in her memories. 

“I guess I am really in another world…” she spoke to herself quietly. Y/N wasn’t sure what to make of this. Perhaps she had a happy life in her original world, happily living with people that she no longer knew. But now this world had also become a home to her. At the thought of home, her mind flashed to Xiao.

Her cheeks heated up and she rested her head in her arms, warm feelings bubbling up within her. Xiao had only held her for less than an hour when she had been attacked, yet the warmth and gentleness of his hold were addicting. Y/N missed it. She glanced out the window, finding that the night was rather lonely.

After the incident with the treasure hoarders, Xiao decided that he would come to her instead of Y/N coming to him at Dihua Marsh. Y/N first protested, bringing up his distaste of crowded areas, but the yaksha was stubborn. Eventually, she relented, but she came to enjoy the monthly visits of the Yaksha. 

She perked at the knocking sound of the door to the balcony. With a smile, Y/N stood up and walked to the door, seeing the familiar Yaksha leaning against the railings of the balcony. Opening the door, she grinned, “Hey, Xiao.”

Xiao simply nodded but didn’t come inside. Y/N crossed her arms behind her, contemplating a slightly bold question. He noticed her contemplating gaze, throwing a gruff “What is it?” at her.

Y/N tilted her head, “... Can I hug you, Xiao?”

Xiao jumped at the question, his eyes wide and a blush beginning to adorn his cheeks, “Just what are you asking? Do you have no respect for the adepti?”

Y/N giggled quietly, “It’s a yes or no question, Xiao.” Xiao grumbled, not replying. Y/N giggled again, holding her arms open, “Well?”

Xiao sighed, holding his arms slightly open as well, unable to find it within himself to refuse her. Y/N giggled, walking towards him and wrapping her arms around his slim waist. Xiao tensed at the touch but slowly relaxed in her warm embrace. Within a couple of minutes, he wrapped his arms around her as well and rested his head in the crook of Y/N’s neck. Y/N glanced at him in surprise at how quickly he relaxed in her embrace but smiled. Her arms tightened around him, smiling at the familiar warmth of his embrace.

The unspoken words of “I love you” were stuck in both of their throats, yet pushed it down so as to not break the peaceful atmosphere of the hug. Xiao found that all of the yelling and screaming of the voices within his head would quiet down while Y/N found warmth and comfort on a lonely night. Neither wished to let go so they didn’t, enjoying the peace in each others’ presence.

It was unfortunate that the peace they found in each other would disappear as fast as they had first discovered it.

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

Y/N was feeling great and energetic, but that mood quickly went sour as she collapsed. Kneeling on the floor, a series of loud coughs shook her body. As her hand drew away from her mouth, Y/N's eyes widened in shock at the sight of red liquid, dribbling down her palm. She was unable to think further about it as her arms gave out, falling on her side with the cold tile.

People around her panicked, yelling for healers, doctors, anyone that could help her. Their yells were quickly drowned out though, as Y/N succumbed to sleep.

The week that passed was nothing but a blur to her. Only remembering different people doing different things to her. They tried speaking to her, asking her about how she felt. Y/N could only mutter incomprehensible words in reply.

As the middle of the second week arrived, the healers and doctors deemed that she was beyond saving. Her friends came to see her, although Y/N could barely pay attention to them as her vision blurred. 

Before the healers and doctors retreated back to their offices riddled with guilt, they provided Y/N with painkillers, hoping that it would save her from further pain. As they closed the doors, they could hear the pitiful girl mutter out one word, 

"...Xiao..."

The door closed with a loud echo and Y/N succumbed to sleep once more.

Y/N awoke to a hesitant and rough, yet gentle, touch to her forehead. She could recognize that touch from anywhere after countless hugs despite the warnings. She leaned into his touch. The touch of the one she found herself growing to love. Y/N opened her eyes slowly, meeting the familiar golden eyes of Xiao. She smiled weakly, softly whispering his name.

He lifted his hand, a bitter and heartbroken expression crossing his face. He bit his lower lip before he found himself revealing all of his guilt to the frail one under him.

"Why...why must a foolish mortal like you continue to be around me…? You are only like this because your soul cannot handle being around adepti like me…I told you that, yet you continue to be near me, and now, here you are, dying."

He drew his hand away, the radiating warmth of his fading away. Y/N weakly reached for his hand, grasping it weakly. "...I stayed, beside you because, because I… I love you, Xiao," they whispered.

Xiao's jaw tensed, "Don't be foolish, us adepti would never be able to understand you mortals' emotions."

Instead of pouting like they normally would, Y/N simply laughed weakly, "You're right… but that doesn't... stop me from loving you, Xiao…"

Xiao growled quietly, and sharply took back his hand from the weak grip of Y/N, turning around to the window to leave. Barely getting more than five steps away, he heard a large collision to the floor. Whipping around in alarm, he saw Y/N attempting to sit up.

Without realizing it, Xiao took a few large strides, kneeling down next to them and helping them up. Although as soon as his hand had come into their sight, they quickly grasped his hand. Slowly lifting their head up, Xiao was taken aback to see tears falling down their cheeks. Before he could scold them, Y/N weakly began to speak.

"It's… it's fine, if you...if you don't like me back… but please, please don't leave me alone," They rested their head against Xiao's chest, clinging to his shirt now, "Please, please don't let me die all alone again…"

Xiao was tempted to take their hands off of his shirt but was taken aback at their last sentence. Although confused, he gave in after a few minutes of silence, awkwardly resting his hands on top of their head and back as Y/N cried into his chest. He didn't understand what they meant, but it didn't matter. Because he's known for a long time by now that he could never say no to Y/N.

“...You’re a foolish mortal, Y/N,” he gruffly whispered as Y/N calmed down. They froze at the whisper of their name coming from his lips, realizing it was the first time Xiao has ever said their name. Finally processing what he had said, Y/N smiled weakly.

“I guess I am.”

Xiao shifted and maneuvered their body so that he was holding them in his arms. He stood up slowly, and placed them back into their bed, tucking them in. Y/N allowed themself to soak in the gentleness and comfort of Xiao’s touch.

They turned to their side, resting their right hand on top of Xiao’s hand. He flinched at their touch but made no move to remove his hand from theirs. Her eyes shifted from their hands to his golden eyes as he stared outside the window. Xiao’s golden eyes were always beautiful, but the beauty couldn’t hide the spark of sadness and guilt in his eyes. Y/N wanted to wish those emotions in his eyes away, wishing that she could’ve made her wish about wanting him to always be happy instead of wanting more time with him. 

Y/N snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Xiao’s voice, “...You should rest,” his eyes shifting to her own.

“...But-”

“Sleep. I will be here when you awake,”

Both of them knew Xiao was lying, a lie to bring her comfort in her final moments. 

Y/N wanted to stay awake, to continue being with Xiao for as long as she could. As she struggled to stay awake, Xiao shifted his hand and interlaced his fingers with hers.

“There’s nothing to fear, I will keep you safe while you sleep.”

Y/N wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that she’s not sleepy, but is unable to even speak as Xiao uses his free hand to close her eyes. “Geh-”

“Don’t fight and waste your energy, Y/N.”

Y/N used the last of her strength to force a pout but smiled at his awkward attempt of showing that he cared for her. Before allowing herself to slip into the depths of sleep, she whispered.

“I...I love you, Xiao.”

Xiao stayed quiet as the hand intertwined with his hand started to grow limp before falling out of his grasp completely. Tears were welling up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. The breathing and movement of her chest came to an eventual stop and he held back a hiccup. 

Xiao leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to the fading warm lips of the girl below him. He pulled away after a few seconds, whispering the three words she never got to hear. “I love you too… Y/N”

By the time the moon rose to its peak, the adepti was gone from the scene. The only evidence of his presence was the wet patches on the sheets and the qingxin flower that rested on the girl’s chest.

Xiao stood at the base of Dihua Marsh, watching the moon rise with a sad expression, before placing his mask on and disappearing from view.

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

Venti finished his story with a beautiful but sad song note and the crowd before him had tears welling up in their eyes. Despite the sad note, they applauded him and tipped him with mora. As the crowd dispersed, a couple of children came up to him. “Venti! Venti! Why didn’t they get a happy ending?” they whined.

Venti smiled sadly, “Although those two didn’t have a happy ending, it doesn’t mean that the story ends there.”

“Does that mean the adepti will find someone else to love?”

Venti laughed, “I’m sure he will.”

Meanwhile, in Liyue, a floating pixie sneezed as she talked with her companion. 

“Paimon, are you sick?” her companion asked.

“Paimon never gets sick!” the pixie rebuked, resting her fists on her hips.

The companion simply laughed in response and Paimon pouted. The two were in Dihua Marsh near the Wangshu Inn as they spoke. Paimon quickly brought the both of them back to the previous topic, “Anyways, isn’t that Xiao over there?” and pointed in a direction.

The traveler looked in the direction Paimon was pointing at, seeing the familiar yaksha, sitting before a formation that looked similar to that of a grave.

“What is he standing in front of?” the traveler murmured as they observed the yaksha.

“How about we check it out?” Paimon suggested and the traveler nodded.

They approached the adepti but the traveler froze in their tracks as they noticed a slightly transparent figure next to Xiao. The figure was in the shape of a young woman, softly smiling down at the adepti.

Paimon also saw the figure, quickly freaking out, “Gah-! Is… is that a… a ghost?!”

The shrieks of fear from Paimon quickly alert the figure and Xiao. As Xiao turns around, the figure disappears, and Xiao sighs at the sight of the pair.

“You two. What are you doing here?”

“A-ah… we just saw you, so uh…” Paimon tried speaking but was still frozen in place after the sight of the figure.

The traveler sighed, before continuing for her, “And we wanted to see how you were doing.” 

Xiao sighed and crossed his arms, “You need not be concerned about that. But why were you shrieking?” The traveler and Paimon exchanged glances before replying, “Uh… well Paimon saw what looked like a… a ghost, next to you!”

“A ghost…?” Xiao echos, pondering over it, “...I see.”

“...Do you know that ghost, Xiao?” the traveler asked.

“...It’s not of any importance,” he replied and turned around, “I must get going now.”

Before the traveler or Paimon could ask, the yaksha disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“Sheesh!” Paimon crossed her arms, “why is he so rude sometimes?!”

The traveler smiled at Paimon’s whining before turning to look at the makeshift construct before them. Paimon follows their gaze, “Oh! We should check that thing out! We might get some clues!”

“...I feel like we’re intruding on his privacy by doing this,” the traveler mumbled as they followed Paimon. They stopped in front of the formation, noticing very little of any unique details. As they observed it, the traveler froze, sensing a presence behind them. Sharply turning around, they saw the figure of the young woman once again. 

“Huh? Is something wr-” Paimon quickly cuts herself off with a shriek as she turns around, seeing the ghostly figure as well. She quickly floated over to the traveler, hiding behind them, quivering in fear.

Taking out their sword, the traveler got into a fighting stance but was interrupted as the figure’s mouth moved. Although unable to hear it immediately, the words it spoke floated upon the wind, reaching the ears of the traveler with a tickle.

“...Take care of Xiao, please…” it whispered with a sad smile.

The traveler stares in confusion but is unable to speak further as the figure fades away.

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

*this isn’t an actual character in the game, I just searched up Chinese names and got this lol

Anyways I hope everyone likes this!

[just-asks-and-beats]

Land Ho!

Water. That was all Gray could see.. for soooo long. He just wanted to pass out. His body felt sluggish, it was getting harder by the minute to sit up straight, and his head was pounding. He tried to ignore it, but it really seemed like karma was beginning to catch up to him. It certainly didn’t help to be in the presence of Ship for the whole ride… they were too damn happy, too damn hug-y..? Is that even a word..? He didn’t know, didn’t care. He just wanted them to stop hopping around the ship hugging everyone and get to the volcano already. As a gentle sea breeze ruffled his cloak, he took a moment to let everything that was happening set in… Big mistake. He felt sick, guilt coming along with his realisations. Oh, how he didn’t want to have to face Barracuda.. but what other choice did he have!? What would everyone do to him if they found out who he really was…? He wished he’d died in that final fight.. he hardly even remembered what happened, just how much it hurt. Nobody had ever accepted him, and he was sure there were no chances at a happy life for him now. He’d ruined every chance he had. He let out a quiet sigh as he looked down at the water below…

Darkness. That was all Lycan- or Lichen? Was he still using the code-name? He didn’t remember… Anyway, it was dark. Way too dark. For soooo long. He hated being stuck as Gray’s body, it was getting hot being covered up in fabric the whole time! They wished Ship had a motorboat so they could just speed over to the volcano instead of this. It was hard to see, hard to breathe, and getting tiring holding Gray up. He wanted to complain about it, but alas, giving away both of their identities would mean quite a bit of trouble. He’d just have to complain to Barracuda when they got there. He began thinking of the volcano, how nice it would be to stay there again. Sure, his last visit ended in disaster, but it was the fun kind of disaster! He truly didn’t care about being corrupted, he just liked having the extra sass and slight power boost! Sure, they weren’t as much of a threat as they were when they’d first been corrupted, the treeangle shard greatly powering up the volcano, but they could still kick ass! He wondered how Bareacuda would react to seeing them both… a question entered his mind. Should he tell Barracuda that Gray is really Blixer…? Well, if Ship said he hadn’t been in a good mood lately, then the answer was probably no. He would just have to wait until Barracuda was feeling better to speak about it with him in private! …He hoped everything would go well when they arrived at the volcano…

The sea, the sky, the beautiful clouds, the shining sun, oh how Ship loved it. There was nothing better to them than setting sail, gazing out over the horizon… this “Gray” was quite the character. Gray top, blue bottom, they’d never seen another shape like him, but they certainly weren’t judging. They liked Gray, even if something about him seemed… off. They couldn’t quite place their finger on it, but they figured it best to let sleeping dogs lie, and let him live his own life without asking too many questions. Ship took out their telescope and pour it to their eye, getting a better look at everything. The telescope was a family heirloom, passed down through quite a few generations, and always kept on tip-top shape, just like their ships. As they gazed through the glass they took in a deep breath, letting out a hearty

“LAND HO!”

Gray had practically jumped right off Lycan- or Lichen? Were they still trying to convince everyone that sorry excuse for a lie was their name? He wasn’t sure. Anyway- he’d practically jumped right off their shoulders as Ship’s call rang out across the waters. He saw the volcano in the distance, quickly getting larger and larger. Finally.

Lichen sat up straight, fully alert. What was going on? He couldn’t see a thing and he felt too nervous to try and peek out.. Maybe the volcano was close! He really hoped so… luckily his guess was correct as he heard Ship began to speak about things like “droppin’ ye off ‘ere” and “dockin’ the boat”. He quickly told up, hiding his paws in the cook and holding onto Gray to keep him steady as he hopped out of the boat onto the volcano’s island.

“Alrighty, I hope everythin’ goes well for ye here, and I really hope ye can get that grumpy lad t’ be a bit more cheerful! I’m surprised he hasn’t “unleashed his wrath” on us yet! Well, maybe he just recognises ye! I wish ye the best o’ luck, I’ll be takin’ me leave now!” And with that, Ship began sailing away, leaving Gray on the island to try and help Barracuda. They waved to him as they sailed off.

“Ah, thank you ever so much for your generosity!” Lycan did his best to sound mature once again, speaking so Gray didn’t have to. He waved back where he’d heard Ship’s voice come from, hoping it was at least general the right direction, since he couldn’t see all too well. He heard Gray sigh.

“….Alright… let’s get goin’ I guess….” His voice sounded weak, and quieter than usual. Lichen felt a bit worried about the poor guy.. They peeked out of the cloak and began to walk towards the tunnel leading into the volcano. As they entered, Lycan finally looked out of the cloak completely, then kneeled down to Gray could get off of his shoulders. As Gray climbed down he really wasn’t really to hav to hold himself up completely on his own, and almost fell over, doing all he could to keep his legs from giving out entirely. He leaned against a wall of the cave, trying to be as nonchalant about everything as possible, but Lycan knew something was wrong.. Gray’s condition was getting worse.

“Uh.. you stay here! I’ll try to find Barracuda! I don’t think you’d do too well climbin around the rocks n stuff over the lava. I’m used to it though, or at least I was getting used to it when I was here for a bit… Whatever, I’ll be fine. See ya!” And with that he ran down the tunnel into the main area of the volcano.. Where was Barracuda? If he was apparently making such a fuss over here, then why wasn’t he there to greet them? Lycan scaled a rocky wall, climbing up to a ledge and jumping onto another rocky platform.

“HEY BARRACUDA!? I BET YA RECOGNISE MY ANNOYING VOOOIICE! DID YA MISS ME?” He called out, hoping for any kind of response.. Barracuda was the only one he knew that might be capable enough to help B- Gray without maybe also wanting to kill him. He needed to find him. He continued searching, leaping from place to place, his attention shifting more to the search than to his surroundings… He called out again to Barracuda, his voice echoing throughout the cavern. He hardly noticed a slight trembling of the rock beneath his feet. He walked to the ledge, ready to leap to a rocky wall and grab on when suddenly, just as he was about to jump, the rock broke beneath him. He yelped as his plunge to the lava below began. No! He didn’t want this to happen again, it hurt! He braced himself for the intense burning sensation when suddenly, he stopped! Something had grabbed him, a long tail of some sort curled around his torso, it’s grip tightening as he was slowly hoisted back up to a stable ledge. He gripped the ground below him, trembling slightly before shaking his head and trying to stand up… but he couldn’t. He noticed the tail was still tightly gripped around him… wait.. this is-!

“Just what do you think you’re doing here…?” A cold, stern voice asked. Lycan looked up to see none other than Barracuda glaring at him… suddenly he felt a lot more helpless. He stammered a bit before being cut off by one of Barracuda’s dramatic sighs. He pulled his tail closer to himself, bringing Lycan along with it. He took the time to inspect the pink splotches making their way into Lycan’s complexion.

“…I see the corruption hasn’t quite treated you well, has it? Let me guess, you’ve come to run from your problems..” His voice was calm, yet accusatory in a way. Lycan looked a bit uncomfortable, staring at the ground.

“…I.. I need your help.. we need your help. I have someone with me that.. isn’t doing too well.” He shrunk back as he noticed how infuriated Bareacuda looked.

“What do you think this volcano has become, a hospital!? Why do you think I would ever care about some stranger, and some annoying pup come to ruin my only chances as finding a sorry excuse for peace!?” Lycan gave a small whimper as Barracuda’s grip on him tightened as he got angrier, which seemed to make Barracuda let go of him altogether. He gave an almost apologetic look before curling his tail around himself and looking away.

“….Lycanthropy, I just want everyone to leave me alone. I have… much on my mind currently, and as you can tell i’m horribly irritable. So if you could just… leave. That would be ideal.” He tried to make “go away” sound a eloquent as possible.. Lycan seemed to get the message, but he had no other options.. he couldn’t leave.

“…I’m sorry for being so annoying and I promise I’ll try not to cause any trouble but please! Please let us stay, we don’t even have any way to leave and even if we go leave we have nowhere to go! Shapes started freaking out when they saw the pink growing back on me! And- and Gray is… I.. I’m worried he won’t last for much longer without any help and I don’t know what to do!” He looked at Bareacuda, desperate for any kind of look of pity. He got a flash of one, but Bareacuda quickly composed himself and returned his stern gaze.

“I have no help to give. I’m sorry. I can temporarily fix the bridge to this island so that you and this “Gray” may leave, but that. is. all.” Barracuda may be stubborn, but Lycan was too. He decided it was time for the final trick up his sleeve… the puppy eyes. He did his best to look as pitiful as possible, his big eyes shining as he did his best to convince Barracuda one final time to let them stay…. Eventually he got up, looking sadly at the way back down. He tearfully nodded as he climbed down, slowly making his way back to the tunnel where Gray was waiting. Barracuda felt… guilty. Did he really just deny a kid and someone who is potentially deathly ill from taking shelter here…? He didn’t want to think of himself as a bad person, but… this was certainly a new low. Oh how he hated this feeling, but… he couldn’t force Lycan and his friend to leave, his conscience would never recover.. He slowly slithered down, as he reached the bottom he used his magic to transform his serpentine bottom half back into normal legs. He ran into the tunnel after Lycan.

Gray has been sitting here alone for quite some time.. where was Lycan.. was he hurt…? He hoped not, he’d never forgive himself if he got this kid into even worse trouble… His head was foggy, thoughts swimming around and crashing into one another, he could hardly even stay awake. He didn’t notice the sound of footsteps approaching until Lycan was standing right in front of him, he sleepily looked up, slightly relieved to see him ok. Lycan began to speak to him… what was he saying…? Something about… Barracuda… guilt-tripping….? He had no idea what was going on… He noticed Lycan looked worried.. they knelt down in front of him and waved a hand in front of his face… what were they doing…? He just grunted and shook his head, he didn’t feel well.. Lycan backed off, but still seemed troubled as he stared at him. Then, Lycan looked over down the tunnel, he smiled a little and got up to greet someone… Gray did his best to see who it was…. it was Barracuda.. he really was here… he was staring at him, did he do something wrong…? He… wasn’t sure what expression Barracuda even had… he felt nervous, guilty… He felt so tired… Barracuda was here.. that was good…. he’d help… good… that means Gray could just… close his eyes… for a minute…

“D-DID HE JUST DIE!?” Lycan exclaimed, looking at Gray who practically just passed out. He looked over to Bareacuda for some kind of reassurance, but all he got was silence.. Barracuda was still staring at Gray, why? Was he that upset a stranger was here..? Lycan watched as Barracuda picked Gray up and walked away with him, taking the time to look back and make sure Lycan was following, which he was. Barracuda had changed his normal legs into a serpentine tail once again to scale the rocks, and had eventually lead Lycan through a small crevice, which lead into a larger cavern area, illuminated by a mixture of candles, lamps, and glowing mushrooms. Oddly enough, there was furniture here. There was a couch, a table and chairs, a laptop, and a whole bunch of boxes filled with all sorts of different things all neatly organised. There was a fire going, a pot hanging above it on a small rack, the smell coming from it made Lycan’s stomachs growl. He hadn’t eaten in a while and whatever was in there smelled great. Barracuda placed Gray down on the couch, grabbing a blanket and putting it over him, then going into the boxes and pulling out two bowls and spoons. He grabbed a ladle resting by the fire and used it to serve two bowl-fulls of a mushroom stew. He handed a bowl to Lycan, which quickly sat down at the table and began to scarf down his meal. He also took his bowl to the table and began eating in a much calmer manner. He looked up at Lycanthropy who clearly seemed to me enjoying the meal and slightly smiled to himself… maybe he could get use to these two idiots staying for a while..

[alexius-fr]

Chapter 3 - Dissent

Click the link for the AO3 experience or just read below the cut ^^

The Spire's top village was bustling with traders, visitors, and locals there to shop for their daily needs. It'd been a while since Sanguine had been in such a busy place, feeling a bit uncomfortable, noticing he was drawing attention from the overall much smaller dragons. He knew Zephyr's parents owned a food stand, but there were so many in the bustling tiny streets he kind of lost his way. The smells coming from them was making him hungry though.

The afternoon sun beamed down on the busy alleyways, colourful banners asking his attention everywhere he passed. They all advertised the stands they belonged to, like bright colourful billboards. It'd just rained this morning and the sandy path was still a bit damp and muddy, Sanguine sinking down with every step he took. It aggrovated his old injury, having to work harder to even just walk.

Finally, he found it. Zephyr was standing at the side with a tired smile. No wonder, if he'd been up since before dawn to fish. His catch from this morning was laying on display, on a bed of ice to keep them fresh. Odd, where did they get ice here? Sanguine hadn't seen any ice dragons around yet, and the frozen icefields were too far to transport ice from without having it melt.

“Hey, you actually came!” Zephyr smiled happily when he noticed him.

“Was that in doubt?” Sanguine frowned. “No, I'm just happy to see you.” Zephyr said, genuinely. “Welcome to my family's little business.”

“It's indeed very...little.” Sanguine agreed, looking over the little stand, which was in front of what he presumed was their home, hewn out of the rock of the spire, just like all the other houses in the street. It looked like it

“I know, it's not much, but it sustains us. We're happy with what we have, and it's a good life here.” Zephyr said, not offended. “My father's just gone to get us some other supplies we need for tonights dinner. Do you want to come in?”

“Oh, no thank you. I'm fine.” Sanguine said. “Too soon huh? I'm sorry, I get like that.” Zephyr smiled apologetically. “How have you been?” “Well, thank you.” Sanguine appreciated the self reflection, smiling amicably. “Yourself?” “It's been busy. I help Alexius a lot and then I also have to help out here. It's a tough job to juggle it all.” Zephyr said. “Or should I just say I'm fine? Is that the well mannered way?”

“No, I appreciate your honesty. You seem like a hard worker.” Sanguine said, in earnest.

“I suppose I am. I won't deny that I envision a more exciting life for myself eventually though.” Zephyr confessed. “I've read books about monster hunters, a life on the go, helping the people get rid of the most terrifying monsters? Now that sounds exciting to me.”

“Forgive me for saying so, but you don't strike me as a fighter.” Sanguine noted.

“I'm not. Not yet.” Zephyr grinned. “But my mother is going to teach me! She's a fearsome warrior from an old nature bloodline. She tells me stories of how her grandfather fought a great battle in the Icefields, where she was born.” “Ah, so she's the one keeping your food fresh.” Sanguine nodded, understanding.

“She is. But she's been through a lot. She fought hard in her younger days, and she just wanted somewhere to settle and have quiet life with my father and my siblings.” Zephyr said, a fond, loving look in his eyes. It was clear he cared about his family a great deal. A feeling Sanguine had never known. He caught himself wishing he could be closer with the family he had left. Perhaps he really was going soft, just as Silas said.

“Zeph?” a deep, powerful voice spoke, both Sanguine and Zephyr looking up. From Zephyr's home walked a tall ridgeback, her hide as green as forest, her antlers reaching far behind her head, that was tilted back a little bit due to their weight. Sanguine's blood turned to ice at her stare, piercing platinum casting their gaze right through him. Her eyes were not the same colour, but her facial structure and the antlers she grew had Sanguine shudder with the realization that the bloodline Zephyr mentioned was one he was very familiar with. He looked at her and saw him.

Athelstan.

The realization grabbed him by the throat and took his breath away, his heart shrinking in his chest. The likeness was uncanny, there was no doubt. He stood frozen, baffled, staring at her as she greeted her son, unaware of the disturbance her presence had caused.

“Mom, this is Sanguine, the leader of the clan that arrived here two weeks ago.” Zephyr introduced him, oblivious of Sanguine's discomfort. “Sanguine, this is Ziray, my mother.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Ziray smiled, her wizened eyes friendly. Of course, she had no idea who he was. She'd never met him. This put Sanguine at ease somewhat, and he bowed his head.

“Honoured.” he said, respectfully. His eyes lingered on her antlers, which were very impressive in size. Is this what Athelstan would've looked like as well, if he hadn't interfered? He found himself not wanting to think about that subject. He'd destroyed a beautiful young life and there was nothing he could do to change that. He was a plague dragon, it was kill or be killed. Use or be used. Being ruthless was the only way to survive. He believed it. He had to believe it or be lost to despair.

“I know. They're a bit of a chore at times.” Ziray saw him looking at her antlers, but was obviously proud of them as she said it. “They're a gift from the Gladekeeper. Her magic runs deep in our line, even if I was born in a different territory.”

“I think they look beautiful.” Sanguine said, as politely as he could. If she knew what he had done to her relative, she would kill him on the spot. He might even let her, with the wave of regret that washed over him. “I'm sorry, but I can't stay long. I promised my brother we would scout the forests below for more plentiful hunting grounds.” “Aw.” Zephyr pouted a little bit. “That's a shame. But please don't be a stranger.”

“Thank you. I won't. It was lovely to meet you, Ziray.” Sanguine bowed his head again, hearing his mother snap at him for showing such subordination in his thoughts. Leaving, he saw Zephyr looking at him with a concerned frown, but if he knew what was good for him, he would stay away before Sanguine would ruin his life as well. How cruel of fate to place someone he liked in his path and have them be related to his greatest regret in life.

Perhaps Karma really did exist.

Back at the temporary lair, Silas was waiting anxiously, hopping from one foot to the other.

“You're late.” he snapped, as Sanguine struck land in front of him.

“And?” Sanguine frowned.

“I don't know what's gotten into you, brother, but we agreed that we would be gone from this place in a few days. It's been two weeks.” Silas said, obviously annoyed. “And you're planning on staying here even longer. We were supposed to head back home!”

“What does that even mean anymore?” Sanguine scoffed. “We've been on the run for so long that nowhere is home to me.”

“To you, maybe.” Silas said, headstrong. “I miss it. The heartbeat of the land under my feet, the warmth of the bubbling pools, the green haze that coats everything in a dim light.” he sighed, wistful. “It's where we belong, Sange. Regardless of the struggle that awaits us, we have to fight for our rightful place. Our home.”

“Since when do you make the decisions here? I've lead us this far, I think I can go a little bit further.” Sanguine said, irked.

“It's my life too, Sanguine. And that of others in our clan. I'm not the only one who thinks we should be moving on by now.” Silas replied with held back anger. “Besides, your decision making has been rather poor, lately. I thought-”

“-Thought what? That you could talk me into doing something stupid, like turning myself into an abomination?!” Sanguine snapped, his voice mighty as he raised it and growled. He lashed out, Silas flinching, but the bite was never meant to hit him, so it didn't. Sanguine just wanted to put him in his place. He'd had enough of the whining, of the incessant talking, the constant pushback he received from his brother.

Silas looked hurt, angry as he hissed back. “How dare you, I am stronger than you'll ever be!” he snarled, but did not lunge back.

“The Banescales were sealed away for a reason. They were weak. For someone who values our home so much you sure don't seem to uphold it's values, rejecting the form that you were granted on birth, the one gift our mother saw fit to bestow us. She made us stronger than all the others, and you rejected that.” Sanguine spat.

“Adapt. Survive. Overcome.” Silas said, repeating the values. “I adapted, brother. Whereas you'd rather stay weak, crippled. The day will come where you can't threaten people into obedience with your words anymore. And when that day comes...well you'd best beware.”

“Are you threatening me, you little snake?” Sanguine narrowed his eyes.

“Not so little anymore, brother.” Silas challenged. “It's time you started taking me seriously.” “I will.” Sanguine said, raising his head with eyes full of disdain. “When you stop being a joke.”

Silas fell silent, his ruby eyes glinting with rage, his lip pulled up, sharp teeth showing. But he had no reply for Sanguine, silence tense between them. They'd drawn a crowd, other members of the clan looking on tensely. Sanguine tried to gauge their moods, their alignment in the argument, dark eyes scanning the crowd. He felt how interested some where, their judgemental eyes upon him. He hadn't noticed the dissent until now, so in a way Silas was doing him a favour with this. Now all that remained was for him to stamp this fire out before it truly got going. He stalked towards Silas threateningly, holding eye contact. Silas boldly stared back, defiant as always.

“You'd better believe I will be ready when that day comes. I suggest you step back in line and learn your place. I lead this clan. You're just a parasite. Always have been.” he said, his voice low, threatening. “And if anyone else has a problem with me leading, feel free to speak up now.” he called, seeing some onlookers shift uncomfortably. Sanguine allowed the moment to become awkward, the silence dragging on as Silas looked around for support but received none, most dragons resuming their previous activities. Eventually Sanguine scoffed.

“I didn't think so.

He turned is back on Silas and walked into the lair, head held high, not showing how his heart beat in his throat. He'd never imagined he would have to worry about a betrayal that was so close to home. But he would be ready, if Silas tried it again. He sighed, finally out of sight of the others, climbing to his roost to rest and think for a bit.

He didn't notice the gleaming red eyes that watched him from the darkness, a bright rage burning inside them..

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 043 [Karma’s A Bitch]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,939

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

〈“Expired chances, but we gotta make it through again. ‘Cause there’s nowhere else to run. There’s still so much here, a life worth living.” AmaLee, “Again (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Cover)”〉

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

The door creaked out and both Kurogiri and Tomura stepped inside. I glared at them, a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. Since the day I had arrived at this hideout, I had only seen Tomura once and that was when I landed in front of the fucker. So why is he here now? This ain’t gonna end well, is it.

“Release her,” Tomura’s scratchy voice rung out. Wait, what? His red eyes narrowed between the fingers of the hand covering his face. “Don’t get any funny ideas, Winchester. You remember what my quirk is and what it can do, don’t you?” He held his right hand up, flexing his fingers.

Images of Aizawa’s skin decaying and cracking flashed through my mind. I remember the excruciating pain I felt when my own skin was decayed. I remember seeing the muscle, my heart skipping as panic flooded my senses. My lips pursed as Kurogiri unlocked the chains, letting them fall to the ground with a loud thump, kicking up dust into the air. I stood up on shaking legs – it feels like millions of tiny needles piercing my skin. I stomped my foot, making Tomura’s head tilt.

“Are you throwing a tantrum?”

“No, you fuck. I’m trying to wake up my legs.” I scowled. “You try sitting for a fucking week with your legs chained to a damn chair. Shit ain’t pleasant!”

He humphed, fingers curling around my wrist, his thumb held out and away from my skin. “We’re taking a trip. Be on your best behavior, Winchester, or else.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whateva.”

A warp gate appeared in the doorway and he started toward it, tugging me sharply forward. Kurogiri came up behind me, his arm wrapped around my right. The warp opened up to a water tower on top of a roof, the sky shining a rich, neon red as the sun sunk across the horizon. A man was sitting on the edge of the roof with his back to us.

“Huh, Hosu city looks nicer than I expected,” Tomura commented. “So, what are you gonna do?”

Wait, this is Hosu? My brow furrowed. Why the fuck did he bring me here? I know this is where Iida is interning… could I get his attention and get help from the hero he’s interning with? That could get messy and there’s no way for me to find them. One thing’s for sure though, Tomura just gave me a huge chance to escape by bringing me here.

“I will reform it,” the man answered in a deep voice. “In order to do so, blood must be spilled.”

“You have a clear goal,” Kurogiri commented. “Your dedication is admirable.”

“Ah, finally someone who understands.” The man stood up, his back slightly hunched over.

Tomura raised his free hand to rest over his right shoulder. “I get the feeling you enjoy picking on me.”

I noticed bandages peeking out from the sleeve of his sweater. Is that leftover from the USJ? “What’s wrong, Handiboi? Did the big bad villain hurt your feelings~?” I mocked, making his hand tighten around my wrist, angry eyes boring into my own. That’s gonna leave a bruise.

The man turned his head, red eyes settling on me. “Who is she?”

I scoffed. “You’re supposed to introduce yourself before asking who someone else is you Voldemort’s reject cousin lookin’ ass.” Not to mention he looks like he drowned his sorrows in a Ninja Turtles marathon. And why the fuck is his tongue hanging out his mouth like that? Bitch, are you a dog?

“Winchester,” Kurogiri scolded, his grip on my arm increasing.

“What? It’s the fucking truth.”

“I am Stain.”

My body tensed. Stain… this bitch is Stain? The mother fucking hero killer?? I swallowed hard, glancing at Tomura. They’re trying to recruit him? Wait, does that mean that neither of these dipshits knows that Stain killed my mom? I’ve personally never been in love with anyone that ain’t an anime character, but I’m pretty goddamn sure if the person I loved was killed by someone, my ass wouldn’t turn around and try to fucking recruit that someone. They must not know… should I say something?

Stain smirked, holding his arms out to the side. “Hero is a title for those that have accomplished great deeds. This city is full of false champions. All they care about is money and fame! Until this world realizes its mistakes,” he reached around, his fingers curling around the hilt of the sword strapped to his back. “I will continue my work!” And then he jumped from the roof.

“Fuck,” I muttered. “He almost makes Handiboi look sane.”

“I can hear you,” Tomura scoffed, his fingers squeezing my skin. “He talks all high and mighty and stuff, but he’s wasting his time focusing on a small stage. He’s so noble, I could cry.” He dropped my wrist to scratch at his neck.

“You shouldn’t spurn his methods,” Kurogiri scolded. “The reality is – in all the cities where Stain has appeared, crime rates have fallen. Perhaps because heroes are more conscientious or perhaps out of fear. Regardless, he does bring change.”

Tomura started to monologue about Stain’s actions, stepping away from me. Kurogiri still has his arm around mine, but his grip is looser than it was a few minutes ago. This might be my only chance.

“Kurogiri, bring out the Nomus.”

My eyes widened. ‘Nomus’? As in, plural?? It took everything Toshi had in him to beat that bird brain fuck, now there’s more of them? Fuck.

Several warp gates opened up on the roof below us, three different Nomus stepping through them. One hovered above the ground with discolored bat-like wings. One was huge like the Nomu from the USJ. One was thin and spindly.

Fuck, this is really bad, bro. They’re not attacking heroes in training, they’re attacking fucking civilians! Some of which may not even have a damn quirk. Fuck fuck fuck, what do I do? I have to do something. I took a deep breath, my body shaking as my blood started to boil within me.

Limit release!!

My school shirt shattered as power shot through my body. Before Kurogiri could react, I ripped my arm from him and rushed at Tomura, cocking a flaming fist backward but before I could make contact, I saw a stream of black from the corner of my eye. Something large slammed into my body, throwing me across the alley and to the next roof, my feet sliding across the ground to stop my momentum.

“Don’t kill her!” Tomura snapped. “Kurogiri, why did you bring her here?!”

“I didn’t. She must have come with one of the other Nomus.”

This Nomu is different. My eyes narrowed as it landed on the roof across from me, feet cracking the rooftop. While it had the same black, muscled body as the Nomu from the USJ, it was a bit smaller and its face was covered by what appears to be a paper bag with holes for its eyes. Brown hair fell to its shoulders from behind the mask.

“I order you to return,” Tomura growled angrily, but the Nomu just smirked, teleporting in front of me. I couldn’t react fast enough, its large fist connecting with my cheek and sending me flying back off the roof. It teleported behind me, its knee slamming into my back as it laughed. I cried out in pain, snapping my eyes to the ground below me. I teleported, but it was unstable, my body stumbling as I tried to catch my breath.

The Nomu landed in front of me, the force cracking the cement beneath its feet. “What’s wrong, Tegu? Where is that fire of yours?!”

My eyes narrowed. “How do you know that name?” As far as I can remember, I only used that name once when I first got here, and that was with Gran and Toshi. Had I told someone else?

It smirked. “You don’t remember me? How hurtful!” The Nomu reached up, untying the mask from its face. It slid down, fluttering on the breeze.

My eyes widened and it felt like my heart stopped. “S-Skye? How…” What the fuck is happening right now? Am I dreaming? Is this some sick joke?

She licked her cracked lips, running a hand over the scarred flesh of her face. “I was in the hospital for months because of what you did. When I finally recovered and returned to school, my friends abandoned me. They said my face was too gruesome to look at! Said it made them sick to their stomach! Even Heather betrayed me, fucking my boyfriend!”

I stood up straight, flames engulfing my hands. “Is this the part where I’m supposed to feel sorry for your ass? Don’t fucking count on it, bitch. Everything that fucking happened to you was good ol’ Karma. You got what you deserved.”

She tilted her head and giggled like a maniac. “Karma, you say? Yes, yes, it was karma that stabbed Heather and my ex-boyfriend. They betrayed me and Karma got them~”

“You fucking stabbed them for cheating? What, are you fucking Jane the Ripper?”

“Weren’t you fucking listening?!” She snapped angrily. “It was karma.”

“I always knew you were a fucking psychopath but damn…”

Her anger dropped and she giggled again. “When that shadow man walked in on me while karma was at work, I tried to stab him, but he’s immune to that. He offered me power, offered to make me stronger. How could I possibly deny such a wonderful offer? He brought me to this world, to this man that gave me power. Now, I’m unstoppable!”

My brow furrowed. Gave her power? As in, a quirk? I thought only One for All could be passed down like that. I guess… if there’s one that can do it, there’s gotta be another.

“You look confused, Tegu~ You never were very smart, were you? I’ll just have to show you instead!”

Within the blink of an eye, she appeared behind me, both of her fists coming down hard onto my shoulders. I bit back a yelp of pain as my body hit the concrete, my left shoulder going numb. She’s always been ridiculously strong, but this is just fucking ridiculous.

“Don’t tell me you’re done yet!” She brought her foot down and I rolled out of the way, jumping to my feet.

She’s super fast and strong, plus she can teleport. What is her quirk? I need to keep my distance, I can’t win in a hand-to-hand battle with her.

A scream ripped through the air behind me and I turned my head to see the large Nomu chasing after a woman – and she was carrying a small boy in her arms. I narrowed my eyes, focusing as I teleported between them, holding up my arms as the Nomu slammed into my body. I was able to slow it down, but it didn’t stop, my boots digging into the ground as it pushed me backward.

The woman had stopped in surprise and I groaned. “What are you fucking doing?! Run!”

She snapped out of her shock and began to run again, but Skye appeared in front of her with a maniacal grin. “Look at you, Tegu! Trying to act like a hero, huh? How disgusting.” She held out her hand, lightning crackling across her palm. “Too bad it’s in vain!”

My eyes widened as the lightning shot toward the woman. Damn it! I propelled myself forward with flames under my boots, my shoulder slamming into the woman’s back and shoving her to the side. The lightning hit me square in the chest and a scream ripped from my throat, my heart beating so quick I wondered if it would burst within my breast. My hair stood on end, goosebumps covering my skin. The lightning faded and I fell to the ground, my body screaming at me, begging me to stop fighting back.

I lifted my head, my fingers digging into the concrete. I coughed a few times before managing to bring myself to my knees, glancing at the side. There was a small opening between the two buildings, just barely big enough for a person to slip through. The woman and the child were gone. Good.

There’s a Nomu behind me and I don’t know what its quirks are. Skye is in front of me – super strength and speed, teleportation, and lightning. I can’t beat them, but… if they focus their attention on me, they won’t attack civilians.

“Are you really in any position to be smiling, Tegu?” Skye growled before rushing forward.

“How can I not smile when I’m looking at that gruesome face?!” Fire shot out from my body, wrapping around my torso and jerking my body upward as the flames took on the shape of a phoenix. It dropped me onto the roof before circling above me.

The building shook as Skye landed in front of me. “You won’t escape me, I’m going to rip your body apart and feast on your heart!!” She threw her head back, voice taking on a more demonic tone as she laughed.

Sweat rolled down my cheek as I stood up on shaky legs, forcing a grin. “I don’t think your boss will be happy if you kill me.”

“My boss?” She responded incredulously with a bark of laughter. “That’s hilarious, Tegu! That hand fool thinks he can control me? With these powers? Not a chance!” She lifted her hand and the ground started to shake violently, pieces of concrete broke apart and lifted up into the air, shooting toward me. I swept my arm in front of me, raising a wall of fire to destroy the debris before they could hit me.

How many fucking quirks does this bitch have??

“Skye Atol, calm yourself.” Kurogiri’s deep voice reached my ears and I could see the pulsing purple on the other side of the fire. “We need her alive. By using more than three of your quirks, you risk -”

“Shut up!!” She screamed, the rooftop lighting up as she used her lightning attack. A huge gust of wind put out my flames, pushing me backward. My heels hit the small lip surrounding the roof and I fell backward, my body falling through the air toward the earth below.

What am I supposed to do here? I’m not strong enough to beat her, but if I run away, she’ll attack other people instead! I tilted my head to look at the sidewalk at the end of the alley, focusing on that spot. I teleported, falling to my knees and breathing heavily as a sharp pain shot through my head. Shit, I’m at my limit for porting.

“Winchester?”

My fingers dug into the cement beneath me and I forced my head up. Endeavor? What the fuck is he doin’ in Hosu – A sharp pain rang through my body as something slammed into me from behind, sending me flying across the road. I shielded my face as my body slammed through the glass of the building across the street.

“Winchester!”

I coughed, rolling over onto my side. My stomach throbbed painfully and I glanced down, seeing a piece of glass lodged into my right side, blood dripping down the glass. I groaned. This is so not how I wanted to spend my fucking week.

The crackling of flames made me glance over my shoulder, remembering Endeavor. I clutched the piece of glass, the sharp edges cutting into my palm as I tugged it from the wound with a grunt. Blood splattered to the ground and I placed my hand over the wound. Fuck, this is gonna hurt so bad…

I closed my eyes, focusing my power into my hand as it started to heat up. I pinched the skin together, my teeth burrowing in my bottom lip at the searing pain that shot through my body. It hurts so goddamn bad, but it’s better than bleeding out. Breathing heavily, I forced myself to my feet, limping toward the broken window.

Endeavor is going toe-to-toe with Skye and he seems to be holding up a shit-ton better than I was. As I watched her, my brow furrowed. Her muscles are starting to rip apart, cuts appearing across her body. Is that part of a quirk? She’s not talking, either, instead just making deep, guttural noises like… the bird brain Nomu…

Skye roared loudly, her muscles twitching as they expanded. Sweat rolled down my cheek as I held the building for support. Her power shot through the roof, her aura fluctuating like crazy. Oh, shit sticks.

“Get away from her, Endeavor!!”

His narrowed turquoise eyes glanced over at me and he huffed, holding his ground. Goddamn prideful ass fuckers.

Skye’s muscles continued to expand, her voice deepening as she roared, the sound shaking the world around us. There was a good half a second of dead silence before her body exploded from the inside out with a huge gust of wind, knocking me back against the brick wall of the building. I yeeted myself through the broken window just as a chunk of metal hit the wall where I had been standing.

I waited a few seconds until the howling wind died down before peaking around the broken window. Endeavor had blood sliding down his face from Skye’s exploded form, his eye twitching in anger. I still hate the flame fuck honestly, but at this moment, I couldn’t be fucking happier to see him.

“I told you to get away from her, flame fuck.” I released a shaky breath, sinking to my knees.

⊱ ────── {⋅. 🔥 .⋅} ────── ⊰

▸ Forward

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[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Saying Good-Bye to Yesterday-Chapter 5

Andy reveals his true feelings about Rusty and then he and Sharon are back to work after their holiday vacation. Sharon begins to deal with the ramifications of being on the short list for Assistant Chief, including coming into Winnie Davis's line of fire. Andy struggles with not being cleared for full duty.

You can read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15321687/chapters/37261535

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13004092/5/Saying-Good-Bye-to-Yesterday

and here:

“Andy, can you help me with this tie?”

“Sure kid.” Andy set his spoon down and rose from the dining room table where he was having breakfast with Sharon.

“I‘ve tried it like 10 times just the way you showed me but I can‘t get it right.” Rusty turned his back allowing Andy to lean over him from behind and direct him in deftly flipping the tie into a perfect knot.

“Remember, wide end on the right, small on the left and you’re only going to move this wide side. Put the wide end over the small end here, and then up into the loop from underneath. “

Rusty shook his head with defeat. “I don’t know how you do it so quickly.”

“Practice. You‘ll get it.” Andy turned him around, straightened the knot then gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Watching them, Sharon warmed at the very natural father and son moment shared between the man she loved and her son. “You look very handsome this morning,” she said to Rusty.

“Yeah, thanks.” He grimaced and tugged at the tie. “I just hate how it feels like it’s choking me.”

“You better get used to it, Andy sat back in his chair. “If you’re going to be a lawyer you’re going to spend a lot of time in a suit and tie.”

“I know.” Rusty sat with them at the table and grabbed the box of Wholegrain Cheerios.

“Are you looking forward to your internship?” Sharon tried to ignore the several spoonfuls of sugar he added to his cereal.

“I am. I’m a little nervous.”

“You’ll be fine. Just listen to Andrea. You’ll learn a lot from her. Do as she says and---”

“And don’t irritate her, I know, I know.”

“I never told you not to irritate her.” Sharon was taken by surprise. “Who told you that?”

“Him.” Rusty pointed at Andy who had just taken a mouth full of oatmeal.

“Andy.” She turned to him with exasperation.

Andy swallowed and shrugged. “What? Come on, I love the kid and all but, he can be…“ He froze with his spoon halfway to his mouth, realizing what he’d just blurted out. “Well, uh, “he fumbled, “he can be, you know…irritating.”

“Said the pot to the kettle. “ Sharon smiled into her coffee mug, amused by his discomfort. It was the first time she‘d ever heard Andy say he loved her son and that sentiment did all kinds of funny things to her insides.

“What does that mean?” Rusty tried to focus on what Sharon was saying but was still trying to process Andy’s comment.

“It means that you are both know-it-alls and that in turn makes you both come off as irritating at times.” Sharon rose to bring her cereal bowl and coffee mug to the sink. While she was rinsing her bowl, she heard her phone go off back at the table.

“Who is it?” She asked Andy.

He took her phone, swiped it and keyed in her password. “It’s Caroline Mitchum.”

“Caroline?” She wiped her wet hands on a dishrag then took the phone from Andy. Caroline had taken over for her as the LAPD’s Women’s Coordinator when she left the PSB to take over Major Crimes. Since the Women’s Coordinator handled sexual harassment issues and hostile work environments the department liked the position filled by someone in Professional Standards. For almost 10 years that had been her. “Yes, hello Caroline.” She wandered off with the phone while Andy and Rusty finished cleaning up.

Andy’s curiosity was piqued and he tried to hear what Sharon was saying to Caroline but Rusty began yammering on about having Gus over for dinner when he got back from his holiday visit with his mother in Las Vegas and he couldn’t hear much of anything. Finally, he cut the kid off mid-sentence. “Yeah, yeah, Gus, dinner, okay, now sshh…” He wagged a hand at him in a ’keep it down gesture and walked to the edge of the kitchen hoping to catch some of the conversation, but Sharon was too damn soft-spoken.,

“You know it’s rude to eavesdrop, right?”

Andy rolled his eyes and smirked. “Like I said, irritating.”

Finally, Sharon clicked off on the call and before she could even set her phone down Andy asked, “What did Caroline want?”

Sharon sighed. “To talk to me about the Assistant Chief position.”

“I had a feeling. I told you that you should go for it.”

“Andy, we’ve discussed this. I’m happy where I am.”

“I know you are. But you’d be really good.”

Sharon grabbed her coat, her stomach knotting. She’d tried to put her worries about the vacated position aside while on their Christmas holiday, but now it was right there, front and center. She wasn’t going to be able to avoid it for much longer. Chief Pope had said he would begin the promotion process and interviews after the New Year. She knew she was on the shortlist, and that there were others on the short list who might do her division harm if they got the job.

“Karma really is a bitch, I guess,” she reflected.

“Why do you say that?” Andy took his coat from her and scooped the car keys out of the bowl where they kept them.

“After Chief Delk died, as the Woman’s Coordinator I went to Brenda and tried to push her into interviewing for the position. She said she didn’t want it, that she was happy where she was. I didn’t give that answer much credence. I thought she was crazy not to go for it. Now I understand why she didn’t.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I love the work that I am doing, it’s challenging and fulfilling in ways that my work in FID wasn’t. And I love the people I work with. If Brenda felt even a small percentage of what I feel, I get it now. But what I saw then was a woman reluctant to grab her power, a woman who didn’t want to step on the toes of the man she’d had an affair with and who was now also up for the same position. And that is just one of the many reasons I don’t think Pope will give me the job.”

“Because you convinced Brenda to go for it?”

“Not just convinced her to go for it, actively supported her for the job over him… and he knows it.”

*******************************

There would be no easing back into work after an almost two-week absence. Sharon had barely gotten started looking at her budget when she got the call that a body had been found. With most of her team off at active shooter training and Andy at the doctors trying to get re-instated for full duty, it was up to her to head to the crime scene. She’d just pulled up beside the three black and whites and the medical examiner's cars when her phone started going off. Swiping the screen, she saw the text was from Fritz who had returned early from DC.

“Provenza cheated. Major Crimes failed training. Davis on the warpath. Will need to redo the training after the written exam.”

“Shit.” She cursed under her breath. Frigging Provenza. She should have known he’d pull a stunt like this. He hadn’t taken the training seriously. He never did. All morning he’d been griping about it, trying to find ways he wouldn’t have to attend. After 40 years on the job, he liked to think he knew everything there was to know about police work and without Andy there to take the tactical lead and keep him at least semi in line, what happened was almost inevitable. Still, she really wasn’t looking forward to having Deputy Chief Winnie Davis breathing down her neck. It was no secret that as the Deputy Chief second in command to former Assistant Chief Russell Taylor; Winnie had expected the Assistant Chief position to be hers by default after he was killed in the courtroom shootout. When Fritz was directed to fill the interim position, she made no secret of her displeasure. Sharon also knew that her own name, along with several others, was being floated about as a possible replacement, putting her right in the line of fire. So far, she’d been able to avoid Winnie’s hostility, but considering that trainings fell under the unpleasant woman’s jurisdiction and one of Sharon’s team had just metaphorically spit in her face, she was sure she was going to hear about it.

It was while she was in the crime tent examining the dead body of a young woman curled up in rigor in the fetal position, that she was interrupted by the arrival of her team.

“Ah, good morning, Captain.” Provenza breezed into the tent as if all was right with the world. “Sorry we're late. But, overall, I'd say that the training went off without a hitch. “

Sharon stood and faced him with a look that told him she already knew everything and wasn’t pleased. “Acting Assistant Chief Howard already texted me, Lieutenant.”

“Yeah, but if you don't count that very last moment…”

“I'm unofficially reprimanding you for failing to comply with the rules.”

Given his Captain’s near obsession with following the rules, the slap on the wrist was a best-case scenario for him and he took it as such. Rather than argue his point, which would get him nowhere and only piss her off even more, he kept his mouth shut. While she questioned Buzz, his eyes moved to her left hand, surprised to see the ring finger bare.

Damn. That meant he owed Tao five bucks.

Given the way Andy was acting before they left for their holiday ski trip, nervous, giddy, grinning like an idiot in love, a side of Flynn he’d never seen until he fell in love with their Captain, he’d thought for sure that he was ready to pop the question. So, there could only be two reasons her finger was still bare. Either Flynn hadn’t been able to grab his balls and just do it or…Oh God, maybe the Captain had said “no”.

Funny how that speculation caused his heart to plummet. Not very long ago he’d thought Flynn hooking up with the Captain was about the worse idea his friend had ever had, and Flynn had a history of bad ideas. Okay, well, maybe he was the one with the bad ideas and Flynn usually went along for the ride, but still, he’d thought Andy was nuts. Yeah, the Captain was gorgeous, had legs that wouldn‘t quit and a surprisingly warm, nurturing heart. He got why Flynn was attracted to her. But getting involved with her romantically was another thing altogether. It felt impetuous, ill thought out and based on an infatuation, all motivations characteristic of Andy Flynn. More importantly, it had the makings of a disaster, possibly destroying everything they’d built in the Major Crimes division. Of course, he’d been wrong about all that. Very wrong, even if he had yet to admit it to anyone but himself.

As it turned out, Flynn was good for Sharon. He softened her hard edges, made her smile and loosened her up. She laughed more when he was around and displayed an easy affection that at one time would have seemed astonishing. Some women were natural flirts, teasing men 18 to 80 whether they were interested in them or not. Sharon Raydor was not that kind of woman. She didn’t flirt with men to butter them up or get what she wanted. In fact, he had never seen her flirt with any man except Andy, not even her ex-husband.

And Sharon was good for Flynn. She’d been able to work her way under his abrasive, cynical armor to find the lonely, unhappy man inside, changing his life in a 180 that was nothing short of incredible. Her calm disposition and serenity seemed to settle his intense, volatile nature. Anyone who knew Andy 10 years ago would barely recognize the man he was today, kinder, happier and finally at peace. Sure, he could still be an ass at times, but Sharon softened him in much the same way he softened her. Over the years he’d watched the guy go from woman to woman, never emotionally involved, never finding what he needed. Maybe because, as it turned out, what he needed was the woman he had once referred to as the “ice queen of FID”. Sure, he supposed the same could be said for him, at least until he’d found his darling Patrice, but at least he’d been caught six times. Six times down the aisle. He winced. Maybe Andy was right. Maybe he was the impetuous one, rushing from one marriage to another. Flynn had never even come close to walking down the aisle again, at least not until now. Maybe that’s why seeing the guy fall so hard for their very self-contained boss had been so shocking…and scary. He’d never seen Flynn crash, and given his history with the bottle, he never wanted to. If the Captain had turned down his proposal…Well hell….He could only hope that isn’t what happened.

****

Sharon was slipping the surgical booties over her Jimmy Choo heels when Andy arrived to join her and Julio at the morgue. He didn’t say anything, just grabbed his scrubs and started putting them on. That wasn’t a good sign. If he’d gotten the all clear, she knew he’d be talking her ear off.

“Well?” She finally asked. Andy scowled. “I take it the news isn’t good.” She rested a sympathetic hand on his arm.

“He still won’t sign off on me returning to full duty. I told him that I barely have any numbness now at all, that it comes and goes, but until it’s completely gone, he won’t sign off. “

“Andy, there’s a good reason for that,” she opened the door to the exam room and he followed her in. “You can’t be handling a firearm if your hand goes numb, you‘ll be a danger to yourself and to others.”

His sigh told her that he knew she was right but it also spoke of a world of disappointment.

“She wasn't raped,” Dr. Morales said. “I broke her legs out of rigor. There were no signs of sexual assault, which will have to be our silver lining because the story only gets more brutal. At first, I noticed bruising on your victim's neck and petechia.”

“Kendall says she was strangled?” Andy looked up from the file he was reading.

“But it's worse than that. Kendall didn't have the benefit of seeing an x-ray. Unfortunately, I do. Dislocation of her C2 vertebrae. Severed her spinal cord. So the killer was very strong. Or very angry. Maybe both. The pain would've been unbearable. And there are these weird post-mortem indentations on her arm. See these marks running across it?

“From something she was lying on? “ Sharon asked.

“I wish I could be more certain, but without knowing where she was murdered... this dress... Hmm.”

Julio’s cell phone went off. “Ma'am, text from Sykes. No Missing person report with us for someone matching the vic’s description.”

Morales interrupted, “You know what? Stay here.” As soon as the door shut, Andy turned to Sharon.

“Hey, you know my buddy in Operations? You remember Clint?”

“Mm-hmm.” Sharon tried to remain focused on the case, but the minute Andy mentioned Operations she knew where he was going.

“He says that Winnie Davis is up in arms about the way Provenza left training, claiming he cheated. “

Sharon glanced up at Julio and he tipped his hand back and forth in a gesture indicating, maybe a little bit.

“Well, it wouldn't have happened had I been there.”

“Light duty only till the doctor says otherwise.” Though he said nothing, she could feel his frustration and made a note to keep him as involved intellectually and strategically in the case as possible.

“Anyway, Davis could use this cheating business as a way to push you out of the running for Assistant Chief.”

“Let her. How many times do I have to say it? I'm happy where I am.”

Andy looked to Julio for back up and Julio jumped in. “You would be good at the job, though, ma'am. Deputy Chief Davis? Who knows how she feels about us. “

“Well, I think Chief Howard... “

“Will always be former FBI. The department will never accept him as Assistant Chief on a permanent basis.” Andy paused, remembering their breakfast conversation regarding know-it-alls and tendencies to irritate, adding, “Uh, my opinion.”

Morales re-entered the room. “I knew it. There was a call earlier asking if we'd found a woman named Allie King, age 26, and the description of her clothes match down to the blue-on-blue pattern of this dress.“

“Was it a call from Missing Persons?”

“No. Private investigator. Said he was representing Ms. King's boyfriend, whose name I don't have. But the PI's name was Clark Farman.”

“I found Allie King's Facebook page. Profile pic matches, but her page is private.

“Clark Farman. Well, I wonder if he'd sit down with us for a minute.”

*********************************

“Hey, guys.”

Everyone came to attention when Rusty entered the room in a suit and tie.

“Who died?” Provenza asked.

“It's my first day interning at the D.A.'s office, and Andrea sent me over to get video from your murder. “

“How's it going so far? “ Sharon asked.

“It's fine, fine. But the, uh, the servers are down, so I'm running around picking up stuff... documents, briefs, crime scene videos, and, um, coffee. Mom, do you have a second?”

“Mm-hmm“

Provenza shook his head. “First you want to be a journalist, now a lawyer. Where did I go wrong?”

Rusty grinned at the older man’s mocking dismay. “I’m irredeemable, Lieutenant.” He moved in close to his mother, speaking softly for privacy. “Um, okay, so I just got this really weird text from Gus this morning from Vegas. Um... "Visit with Mom okay. Been thinking when I'm back we should sit down and discuss the future."

“Did you call him?”

“Yeah, of course I did. “ He knew by now it was the first thing she would suggest doing. She was always telling him that important things should be discussed in person, that it was too hard to gauge tone and intent in texts and emails. “But he said that... that he... he couldn't talk and that what he had to say needed to be done face to face.”

“Are you two having problems lately?”

“N-No. I mean, I've... I've been watching myself for things, like, unconscious selfishness... and... And not paying attention and not wasting other people's time and... “

“Gus may have something good to say, Rusty. Try not to worry so much. ” Though she understood why he always thought the worse, given the life he’d led prior to moving in with her, she hoped one day he’d be able to expect the best.

Buzz returned and approached them. “Here, Rusty, this has all the video from where the body was found and part of an interview with the P.I. who claimed to be searching for the victim.”

“Thank you.”

**********************

Sharon was in the middle of watching the interview with Jeffrey Day, the very wealthy, very angry ex-boyfriend of their victim Allie King when Andy poked his head in.

“Uh, Sharon. Deputy Chief Winnie Davis is here.”

“Now? I'm watching an important interview. Tell her I'll be out in a second.”

Winnie stepped right into the open doorway clearly not appreciating the dismissive impatience in Sharon’s tone. “It can’t wait. If you could please join me.” Though she used the word please, it was a firm order.

Sharon tried to contain her irritation. “Grab me if something happens,” she said to Andy as she passed by him to follow Davis.

Provenza watched carefully for the door to close before turning to Buzz. “Headphones Buzz. Headphones. I mean, how do you expect us to hear them?”

Buzz rolled his eyes and put the headphones on while Provenza moved closer to the door trying to hear what Davis was saying to Sharon.”

“I expected more from you, Captain,” Winnie said sternly.

“More what?”

“An e-mail, a text, anything to explain your division's disrespect for training on the biggest safety issue we face as a department.”

“Did you not hear about the young woman that we found strangled to death? “ Seriously, where were the woman’s priorities?

“You could've kicked that case up to Hollywood.”

“And violate LAPD policy. Why?”

“Because when our most overly resourced division blows off training, it sends a message across the rank and file.”

“Overly resourced?” There it was. Winnie Davis did have it in for Major Crimes.

“And Lieutenant Provenza's dismissive attitude set a poor example. “

“For which he has been harshly reprimanded.” Okay, so maybe that was laying it on a little thick, but Winnie didn’t have to know that.

Winnie noticed Provenza in the window eavesdropping. “Do you mind if we step over here?” She moved Sharon further away from her team.

Watching them move away from the door Wes asked Andy, “So who's that?”

“That is Deputy Chief of Operations Winnie Davis. And she's here because you guys cheated during training. “That still gnawed at him. How the hell could he have Sharon’s back if he wasn’t even going to be allowed out in the field? Not that he would make that complaint to Sharon. His very independent fiancée had once told him, under no uncertain terms, that she had been looking out for her own best interests at work for a very long time and she didn’t need him for that. Well, maybe she didn’t, but it wasn’t going to stop him. He was always going to have her back, whether she liked it or not.

“No, we didn't cheat,” Julio said. “The lieutenant sacrificed himself for others.”

“As is my nature. All right, get rid of the headphones. We need to go back to work.”

Winnie crossed her arms with a glare. “Why are you publicly challenging my authority?”

Sharon was flabbergasted; the woman was deliberately trying to pick a fight with her. “I didn't... Look it up. A murder victim found on public property is de facto a major crime. “

“Which I hope you can solve by tomorrow when I expect your division to at least take the written tests. And while you're at it, why don't you schedule a new training session.”

“Uh, Captain. Interview's getting good.” Andy stood in the doorway looking at the two women.

“I'll be right there. “ She waited until Andy had gone back in the room, inhaled to keep her annoyance in check, then turned back to Winnie in her most conciliatory, respectful manner. “We'll do everything we can, Chief. Should I expect to be seeing more of you while these promotion issues get sorted? “

“I think I made my point. Go ahead. Your boyfriend's calling you.”

Stunned, Sharon pivoted on her heels with a glare. What the hell was that all about? A fresh swell of anger rushed through her veins and she rubbed at the headache building in her temples.

“Ah. Pleasant conversation?” Provenza tried to smooth out the situation when she re-entered the room, but he did feel bad for having caused her problems with Davis. He probably should have just sucked it up and done the training properly.

“It was bound to happen. “ As pissed as she was, Sharon tried to brush it off. It wouldn’t do to get her whole team worked up. She‘d never liked the idea of pitting divisions against each other. Ultimately, they were all one team whose job it was to protect the citizens of Los Angeles. When people lost sight of that, when it became personal, that‘s when the trouble started and God knows she‘d seen enough of that over at the PSB. “She's been desperate to complain about me for months.”

And evidently, she wasn’t done. After rarely seeing or hearing from Davis she was suddenly everywhere, monitoring every move Sharon was making, First thing the next morning she was summoned down to Fritz‘s office to meet with him and Davis over a request she had made late the previous night. The team had been following a suspect and when that suspect was pulled over by a local black and white, she had requested that the officer let him go so they could continue to follow him. When the officer said it was a “no-go” that the guy was drunk, blasted, and could end up killing someone, it was the end of the story for Sharon. But not for Winnie. Now they both stood in front of Fritz’s desk, one accusatory, one defensive.

“You tried to bully an officer into actions that could've made her liable for a crime.”

“Bully?” The sheer gall of this woman was appalling. “I made a request. We had reason to believe our suspect was heading to a location of interest for... “

“He was driving drunk,” Winnie interrupted. “And Officer Ahern felt... “

“We did not know he was drunk when I made the request. Everything I've done is by the book. If you would like to have Professional Standards look into it... “

“Wow! Offer to be interviewed by your old friends over at PSB? How brave.” The outrageous, over the top condescension Winnie was displaying was enough to cause Fritz to call an end to what he considered a ridiculous waste of his time.

“Okay, I don't know about brave,” he said. “But an Internal Affairs investigation is completely unwarranted. Major Crimes was set up outside the suspect's house. How could they know he was drunk?

“But he's sober now, and the sooner I can talk with him, the better.”

Fritz nodded, giving Sharon permission to leave.

“Thank you.”

Once Sharon was gone, Fritz regarded the severe-looking angry woman standing before him. “If you really want to replace me, Winnie, you're going about this the worst way possible. “ Accusing Sharon Raydor of all people of not following the rules made her look petty at best, foolish at worst. And making enemies of everyone else up for the position she wanted was not going to earn her any points.

“Thanks for your advice, sir. But in the absence of firm leadership, I have a duty to prevent this department from breaking up into self-interested factions. Anything else you want me to know?” Her disdain for him was palpable, making it quite apparent that Sharon Raydor was not the only person in her line of fire.

****

Andy glanced up from his computer when he saw Sharon returning from Fritz’s office. He could tell she was pissed by how fast she was walking and the hard click of her high heels on the floor. He followed her into her office, watching her slam a folder down on her desk. Oh yeah, she was pissed. She didn’t show her anger often, but when she did, well, watch out.

“What did that bitch want this time?”

“Andy! “ Her eyes snapped to the door to make sure no one heard him. “Shut the door.”

He did so and then approached her desk. “So?”

“She accused me of bullying that officer last night, trying to force her into letting a drunk driver back out on the road.”

“That’s bullshit, Sharon!” he exploded. “The minute she said he was too drunk to be let back on the road you dropped it.”

“That’s what I said. I offered to bring the case to Internal Affairs.”

“Are you kidding? They’re not, are they?”

“No. Fritz made her stand down.”

“Damn. What the hell is she after?”

“A promotion... and maybe my job.”

Given Winnie’s belligerence, it was becoming more and more apparent that if she received the promotion to Assistant Chief, it might very well be the end of Major Crimes.

TBC

[hello-bangtanboys]

Finale(WATCH YOUR BACK)

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x OC

Genre: Angst

Previous: Ch.11 | Next: Epilogue 

A/N: First book is almost done!!! Epilogue will be posted today as well. And maybe the opening chapter to the next book of the series. - Admin Kook

Jungkook POV

I opened my eyes to see Soo Jin. Wonho turned to face her as she held him at gun point.

"You've come back? Hell I thought you'd be halfway out of town by now.", Wonho laughed.

"Well I guess I had a few loose ends to tie up.", she replied with confidence in her voice.

"Why are you here? This has nothing to do with you wench."

"This has everything to do with me asshole. In case you haven't noticed all of this started because I took over my dad's position. Your boss wasn't too happy about that I see.", she said with a smirk.

"You must really want to die here.", he said waving the gun around. She fired at his hand, causing him to drop the weapon. He let out a pained groan as He held where his finger used to be.

"No, I want to live. I have a more important reason to live now. I won't let you or Min Yoongi take that away from me.", she spat. Wonho moved to grab the gun and she raised it so it was at eye level with him.

"You wouldn't want to lose another finger now would you? Or maybe an entire hand?"

"Why are you doing this. To save him? The man who has been trying to kill you is the man you're trying to save.", He laughed, holding his bleeding hand and she frowned.

"He did try to kill me but my issue is with him. Not his family. They're innocent and didn't have any part of this.", she argued.

"I'm just doing my job.", Wonho spoke.

"A job that you're failing at.", she spat and he frowned. His body radiated anger before moving to pull out a concealed pistol. At that moment she fired twice, sending the rounds through his chest. He stumbled to the ground, trying to muster up strength to fight back.

Blood ran from his lips and onto the floor as he held his wound. He rose to his knees trying his best to delay the inevitable. As he looked up the barrel of her gun rested on his forehead and she sighed.

"You're gonna regret this."

"Karma's a bitch."

And with that she pulled the trigger landing a clean shot to the head. His body fell to the floor and she leaned on a nearby wall. My mother moved to help my brother off of the floor. He held his abdomen waving her off.

"I'm done mother. Nothing too life threatening.", he laughed.

Soo Jin gagged at the scene before dashing to the bathroom. My mother followed her and held her hair back as she emptied her stomach.

"Are you alright dear?", she asked her while getting a wet towel. Placing it on her forehead she nodded with a weak smile. She got up and walked outside taking a few deep breaths. I followed her lead and leaned on the door.

"Thank you."

"I didn't do it for you. I did it so he wouldn't chase after me anymore.", she said.

"And for the baby.", I added causing her to look up at me.

"Taehyung told me. In the alley.", I told her and she frowned.

"I'm sorry for this. For everything. I know you may not forgive me as long as you know how sorry I am, that's enough for me."

"He's going to pay for all this. I don't know how or when. But Min Yoongi will pay.", I sneered and she dug into her pockets. She pulled out a small usb before handing it to me.

"Taehyung said everything you need to get to him, is on that usb.", she said and I looked up at her with wide eyes.

"He also said that you'd come to realize the error of your ways. And to give that to you when you did."

I remained silent and ran inside to my computer upstairs. I plugged in the usb, watching the files appear on my screen. My mother along with Soo Jin walked into the room and I ran a hand through my hair.

"This has everything. His location, the list of people he's got hits on, everything. Surveillance. Kim Taehyung you sly son of a bitch.", I chuckled as I pulled up a map of the city.

My eye scanned over my screen as an illuminating red dot caught my eye.

"The car dealership? Why would he hide there?", Soo Jin asked and I bit my lip.

"Because it's the one place no one would look.", I replied standing up before she stopped me. The sound of screeching tires reached our ears and Soo Jin dashed to the porch.

"That could be Seokjin.", I reached out for her as she walked out the door. As the words left her lips a black suv swerved around the corner into oncoming traffic.

"Soo Jin come back inside." I said moving toward her. She came to a stop as the car came to a stop letting two men out. "Get to my room and stay quiet. Go, now go!"

She rushed to my room closing the door behind her as  ran to the kitchen, grabbing a knife. I waited behind the wall for one of them to com around. I didn't know what weapons they had or how skilled they were. But I couldn't think about that right now, all I could do was fight back. One of the intruders stepped into the kitchen where I moved to stab him in his throat but he swiftly dodged, grabbing my wrist and tossing me to the the floor behind him.

"Too slow." He smirked down at me and I chuckled while rolling to my side.

"If you stay here Yugyeom, I'll have no choice but to kill you and Jinyoung.", I stated and he laughed out loud.

"You're in no condition to make threats Jungkook.", He replied pulling out a knife. Before I could make a move he kicked my weapon out of my hand, bringing his own down to my chest. I avoided the attack as I held onto his arm. I pushed out to set as much space between us as I could but when he placed both hands on the hilt the tip of the blade pushed past my skin. I flinched as the knife went deeper into my chest and hearing my mother scream afterwards. My eyes flickered to Jinyoung who was attempting to kick in my bedroom door.

"Jimin didn't teach you everything about knife fighting.", he taunted.

"I didn't learn knife fighting, I learned how to kill.", I retorted, colliding my forehead into his nose. I smashed an elbow into the side of his skull, the soft spot high on the temple. His movements became sluggish as he tried to focus and I wasted no time to wrap my arm around his neck. With no hesitation I yanked back with my right forearm, snapping the young man's neck like a tree branch. His body hit he floor and I let my body relax for a quick second before grabbing the knife and going for Jinyoung. When I waked out he was nowhere to be found. I went up to my room and scanned the living room.

"Barricade the door and don't come out until I come back." I said through the door before holing the knife defensively in front of my chest. Jinyoung stalked around the corner with a frown.

"You just had to be a fighter.", he commented and I shrugged.

"My mother raised me to be a fighter."

"The she dies afterwards.", he shouted moving to swing his knife at me. I easily dodged before standing in a offensive stance. Knife in front of me as I anticipated his next move. He jabbed at my shoulder but I moved to the side before quickly bringing the blade across his chest. He hissed before swinging again. This time I grabbed his arm before punching him in his gut watching as he stumbled backward.

"You're gonna pay for that.", he sneered charging at me from across the room. He swung his fist, striking my cheek before swiping his switchblade across my arm. As I held my arm he sent another punch to my jaw sending me falling backwards onto the floor. He slammed his foot on the open wound in my chest causing me to shout.

"Ah so you do scream. Too bad that'll be the last time.", As he moved to strike the final blow a familiar vase fell on his head from above. His grunts and curses repeated while he stared up at Soo Jin who threw a second vase down below. He moved to go after her but I grabbed hold of his ankle causing him to fall onto the floor. The adrenaline pumped through my veins as I ignored the pain surging through me and jumped to me feet, knife in hand. I plunged to blade in his stomach multiple times so he would bleed out quicker. His weapon hit the floor with his now limp body following closely. I fell to my knees and leaned on the stair rail for support.

I took a deep breath. It hurt my chest, ribs and all. I exhaled, inhaled again, inched my arms under me and pushed myself up on my hands and knees. My head swam. I stayed that way for a bit, on my hands and knees with my head hanging, like a winded horse. My eyes focused a little better. I could see Jinyoung's blood pooling under his body. I crawled over, got hold of the stair railing and slowly got myself upright. Everything blurred for a minute, then came back into focus gain. I inhaled a deep breath and felt a little more steady. I could hear footsteps decending down the steps and I turned to see Soo Jin and my mother with fear in their eyes.

"Are you alright?", I questioned and everyone remained silent.

"Are we alright? You look like you've been hit by a car.", Soo Jin stated down at my bruised form and I followed her gaze to the many red stains tainting my shirt.

"We have to get you to a hospital.", she said and I frowned.

"No I'll be fine. I have to get to Yoongi.", I started but my legs gave out on me and I feel back on the floor.

"No you're hurt, you have to get to the hospital or you'll bleed out. You're too injured to do anything else.", she stated kneeling next to me and I shook my head in defiance.

"No I'll be alright just let me go.", I argued.

"Jeon Jungkook you will not go anywhere.", my mother shouted and I sighed.

"Why do you even care? After all that's happened? What I tried to do."

"Your family was in trouble and while I won't forgive you yet for killing my father, If the roles were reversed I would've done what I had to protect him.", she explained and shut my eyes feeling too weak to argue back. Before I knew it my head has rested on her shoulder and she wrapped her arms around me.

"Everything will get better."

[readbookywooks]

- thought so -, said Rincewind to himself.

‘These people, why did we have them brought here?’

The vizier twirled his moustache, probably foreclosing another dozen mortgages.

‘The hat, highness,’ he said. ‘The hat, if you remember.’

‘Ah, yes. Fascinating. Where did we put it?’

‘Hold on,’ said Rincewind urgently. ‘This hat … it wouldn’t be a sort of battered pointy one, with lots of stuff on it? Sort of lace and stuff, and, and-’ he hesitated-’no-one’s tried to put it on, have they?’

‘It specifically warned us not to,’ said Creosote, ’so Abrim got a slave to try it on, of course. He said it gave him a headache.’

‘It also told us that you would shortly be arriving,’ said the vizier, bowing slightly at Rincewind, ‘and therefore I - that is to say, the Seriph felt that you might be able to tell us more about this wonderful artifact?’

There is a tone of voice known as interrogative, and the vizier was using it; a slight edge to his words suggested that, if he didn’t learn more about the hat very quickly, he had various activities in mind in which further words like ‘red hot’ and ‘knives’ would appear. Of course, all Grand Viziers talk like that all the time. There’s probably a school somewhere.

‘Gosh, I’m glad you’ve found it,’ said Rincewind, ‘That hat is gngngnh-’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said Abrim, signalling a couple of lurking guards to step forward. ‘I missed the bit after the young lady-’ he bowed at Conina-’elbowed you in the ear.’

‘I think,’ said Conina, politely but firmly, ‘you’d better take us to see it.’

Five minutes later, from its resting place on a table in the Seriph’s treasury, the hat said, At last. What kept you?

It is at a time like this, with Rincewind and Conina probably about to be the victims of a murderous attack, and Coin about to address the assembled cowering wizards on the subject of treachery, and the Disc about to fall under a magical dictatorship, that it is worth mentioning the subject of poetry and inspiration.

For example, the Seriph, in his bijou wildernessette, has just riffled back through his pages of verse to revise the lines which begin:

‘Get up! For morning in the cup of day,

Has dropped the spoon that scares the stars away’

- and he has sighed, because the white-hot lines searing across his imagination never seem to come out exactly as he wants them.

It is, in fact, impossible that they ever will.

Sadly, this sort of thing happens all the time.

It is a well-known established fact throughout the many-dimensional worlds of the multiverse that most really great discoveries are owed to one brief moment of inspiration. There’s a lot of spadework first, of course, but what clinches the whole thing is the sight of, say, a falling apple or a boiling kettle or the water slopping over the edge of the bath. Something goes click inside the observer’s head and then everything falls into place. The shape of DNA, it is popularly said, owes its discovery to the chance sight of a spiral staircase when the scientist’s mind was just at the right receptive temperature. Had he used the lift, the whole science of genetics might have been a good deal different.[16]

This is thought of as somehow wonderful. It isn’t. It is tragic. Little particles of inspiration sleet through the universe all the time travelling through the densest matter in the same way that a neutrino passes through a candyfloss haystack, and most of them miss.

Even worse, most of the ones that hit the exact cerebral target hit the wrong one.

For example, the weird dream about a lead doughnut on a mile-high gantry, which in the right mind would have been the catalyst for the invention of repressed-gravitational electricity generation (a cheap and inexhaustible and totally non-polluting form of power which the world in question had been seeking for centuries, and for the lack of which it was plunged into a terrible and pointless war) was in fact had by a small and bewildered duck.

By another stroke of bad luck, the sight of a herd of white horses galloping through a field of wild hyacinths would have led a struggling composer to write the famous Flying God Suite, bringing succour and balm to the souls of millions, had he not been at home in bed with shingles. The inspiration therefore fell to a nearby frog, who was not in much of a position to make a startling contribution to the field of tone poetry.

Many civilisations have recognised this shocking waste and tried various methods to prevent it, most of them involving enjoyable but illegal attempts to tune the mind into the right wavelength by the use of exotic herbage or yeast products. It never works properly.

And so Creosote, who had dreamt the inspiration for a rather fine poem about life and philosophy and how they both look much better through the bottom of a wine glass, was totally unable to do anything about it because he had as much poetic ability as a hyena.

Why the gods allow this sort of thing to continue is a mystery.

Actually, the flash of inspiration needed to explain it clearly and precisely has taken place, but the creature who received it -a small female bluetit - has never been able to make the position clear, even after some really strenuous coded messages on the tops of milk bottles. By a strange coincidence, a philosopher who had been devoting some sleepless nights to the same mystery woke up that morning with a wonderful new idea for getting peanuts out of bird tables.

Which brings us rather neatly on to the subject of magic.

A long way out in the dark gulfs of interstellar space, one single inspiration particle is clipping along unaware of its destiny, which is just as well, because its destiny is to strike, in a matter of hours, a tiny area of Rincewind’s mind.

It would be a tough destiny even if Rincewind’s creative node was a reasonable size, but the particle’s karma had handed it the problem of hitting a moving target the size of a small raisin over a distance of several hundred lightyears. Life can be very difficult for a little subatomic particle in a great big universe.

If it pulls it off, however, Rincewind will have a serious philosophic idea. If it doesn’t, a nearby brick will have an important insight which it will be totally unequipped to deal with.

The Seriph’s palace, known to legend as the Rhoxie, occupied most of the centre of Al Khali that wasn’t occupied by the wilderness. Most things connected with Creosote were famed in mythology and the arched, domed, many-pillared palace was said to have more rooms than any man had been able to count. Rincewind didn’t know which number he was in.

‘It’s magic, isn’t it?’ said Abrim the vizier.

He prodded Rincewind in the ribs.

‘You’re a wizard,’ he said. ‘Tell me what it does.’

‘How do you know I’m a wizard?’ said Rincewind desperately.

‘It’s written on your hat,’ said the vizier.

‘Ah.’

‘And you were on the boat with it. My men saw you.’

‘The Seriph employs slavers?’ snapped Conina. ‘That doesn’t sound very simple!’

‘Oh, I employ the slavers. I am the vizier, after all,’ said Abrim. ‘It is rather expected of me.’

He gazed thoughtfully at the girl, and then nodded at a couple of the guards.

‘The current Seriph is rather literary in his views,’ he said. ‘I, on the other hand, am not. Take her to the seraglio, although,’ he rolled his eyes and gave an irritable sigh, ‘I’m sure the only fate that awaits her there is boredom, and possibly a sore throat.’

He turned to Rincewind.

‘Don’t say anything,’ he said. ‘Don’t move your hands. Don’t try any sudden feats of magic. I am protected by strange and powerful amulets.’

‘Now just hold on a minute-’ Rincewind began, and Conina said, ‘All right. I’ve always wondered what a harem looked like.’

Rincewind’s mouth went on opening and shutting, but no sounds came out. Finally he managed, ‘Have you?’

She waggled an eyebrow at him. It was probably a signal of some sort. Rincewind felt he ought to have understood it, but peculiar passions were stirring in the depths of his being. They weren’t actually going to make him brave, but they were making him angry. Speeded up, the dialogue behind his eyes was going something like this:

Ugh.

Who’s that?

Your conscience. I feel terrible. Look, they’re marching her off to the harem.

Rather her than me, thought Rincewind, but without much conviction.

Do something!

There’s too many guards! They’ll kill me!

So they’ll kill you, it’s not the end of the world.

It will be for me, thought Rincewind grimly.

But just think how good you’ll feel in your next life -

Look, just shut up, will I? I’ve had just about enough of me.

Abrim stepped across to Rincewind and looked at him curiously.

‘Who are you talking to?’ he said.

‘I warn you,’ said Rincewind, between clenched teeth, ‘I have this magical box on legs which is absolutely merciless with attackers, one word from me and-’

‘I’m impressed,’ said Abrim. ‘Is it invisible?’

Rincewind risked a look behind him.

‘I’m sure I had it when I came in,’ he said, and sagged.

It would be mistaken to say the Luggage was nowhere to be seen. It was somewhere to be seen, it was just that the place wasn’t anywhere near Rincewind.

Abrim walked slowly around the table on which sat the hat, twirling his moustache.

‘Once again,’ he said, ‘I ask you: this is an artifact of power, I feel it, and you must tell me what it does.’

‘Why don’t you ask it?’ said Rincewind.

‘It refuses to tell me.’

‘Well, why do you want to know?’

Abrim laughed. It wasn’t a nice sound. It sounded as though he had had laughter explained to him, probably slowly and repeatedly, but had never heard anyone actually do it.

‘You’re a wizard,’ he said. ‘Wizardry is about power. I have taken an interest in magic myself. I have the talent, you know.’ The vizier drew himself up stiffly. ‘Oh, yes. But they wouldn’t accept me at your University. They said I was mentally unstable, can you believe that?’

‘No,’ said Rincewind, truthfully. Most of the wizards at Unseen had always seemed to him to be several bricks short of a shilling. Abrim seemed pretty normal wizard material.

Abrim gave him an encouraging smile.

Rincewind looked sideways at the hat. It said nothing. He looked back at the vizier. If the laughter had been weird, the smile made it sound as normal as birdsong. It looked as though the vizier had learned it from diagrams.

‘Wild horses wouldn’t get me to help you in any way,’ he said.

Ah,’ said the vizier. ‘A challenge.’ He beckoned to the nearest guard.

‘Do we have any wild horses in the stables?’

‘Some fairly angry ones, master.’

‘Infuriate four of them and take them to the turnwise courtyard. And, oh, bring several lengths of chain.’

‘Right away, master.’

[sumflower]

The Egg

One of my all time favorite stories (by Andy Weir) that encompasses life, death, karma, and kindness:

You were on your way home when you died. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me. And that’s when you met me. “What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?” “You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words. “There was a… a truck and it was skidding…” “Yup,” I said. “I… I died?” “Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said. You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?” “More or less,” I said. “Are you god?” You asked. “Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.” “My kids… my wife,” you said. “What about them?” “Will they be all right?” “That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.” You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty. “Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.” “Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?” “Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.” “Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,” “All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.” You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?” “Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.” “So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.” “Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.” I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had. “You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.” “How many times have I been reincarnated, then?” “Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.” “Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?” “Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.” “Where you come from?” You said. “Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.” “Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.” “Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.” “So what’s the point of it all?” “Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?” “Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted. I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.” “You mean mankind? You want us to mature?” “No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.” “Just me? What about everyone else?” “There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.” You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…” “All you. Different incarnations of you.” “Wait. I’m everyone!?” “Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back. “I’m every human being who ever lived?” “Or who will ever live, yes.” “I’m Abraham Lincoln?” “And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added. “I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled. “And you’re the millions he killed.” “I’m Jesus?” “And you’re everyone who followed him.” You fell silent. “Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.” You thought for a long time. “Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?” “Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.” “Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?” “No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.” “So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…” “An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.” And I sent you on your way.