#Children Record – side n° 7

[mayura-chanz]

Kagerou Daze VII — from the darkness — Children Record - side n° 7

Tradução feita a partir da tradução em inglês da Yen Press.

Apoie o autor comprando a novel original.

Nota: Eu não lembrava de como traduzi anteriormente "clearing eyes", então a partir daqui estarei colocando como "limpando os olhos".

_____

Nunca cometi um erro a nível de me desconsiderar, mas não tinha ideia de que eu era tão idiota.

Eu sempre fui bem nas provas. Eu estava na faixa dos noventa e tantos por cento nos simulados da faculdade. É por isso que a minha irmã burra costumava me pedir ajuda para um monte de coisas. Ela sempre dizia “Faz favoooor, mano” assim como uma irmãzinha impertinente faz. Eu sempre adotava uma abordagem mais dura, tentando o meu melhor para oferecer orientação a ela. Afinal, não é como se eu tivesse outra escolha.

Tudo isso deveria ter sido um sinal suficiente de que eu não era muito estúpido. E isso não é tudo. Havia uma garota que tinha tingido o cabelo de castanho que se juntou a um dos grupos de nível superior na sala que uma vez me disse: “Você é tão superinteligente, Shintaro.” Hee-hee boas lembranças.

...Não, espera, aguenta aí. Eu estraguei tudo. Agora me lembro: eu respondi algo assim “Nrr... rpphh...” para ela, não foi? Mal saí da cama por um tempo depois daquilo. Droga. É uma lembrança de bosta, não é? É melhor esquecer.

Independentemente disso. Acho, ou gosto de pensar, que minha mente se assemelha um pouco a um autodidata. Eu consigo compreender a maioria dos conceitos depois de explica-los uma vez e geralmente sou bom em reter conhecimentos. Inteligente. Um cérebro, podemos dizer.

Mas algo estava começando a angustiar essa bela mente. Eu me deparei com uma situação um pouco complicada... Não. Não é nem um pouco. É bem complicado. É super incrível e complicado, no nível do Juízo Final.

Duas da manhã de 17 de agosto.

Debaixo de uma lâmpada de baixa intensidade, a sala do esconderijo do Mekakushi-dan estava repleta de uma atmosfera sombria e opressiva. Estávamos cara a cara, cercados por uma variedade de brinquedos cafonas e estátuas estranhas de países que eu não conseguia adivinhar o nome. Para uma testemunha ocular, poderia ter parecido uma reunião do sumo sacerdote de algum culto da Nova Era.

Apesar que talvez isso não fosse muito longe da verdade. Afinal, aqui era o Mekakushi-dan: personagens incomuns, habilidades sobrenaturais, sem regras reais em vigor. Em termos de seu aspecto assustador, classifica-se no mesmo nível de um culto típico.

Foi Kido, líder do grupo e um dos quatro membros deixados na sala, que cortou a tensão primeiro. — Então, — ela disse, os olhos girando entre os outros enquanto mantinha a voz baixa, — alguém tem alguma última palavra?

Seu olhar fixou-se em Kano, seu alvo mais comum de abusos e reclamações até então naquele dia. Seus ombros estremeceram um pouco.

— Bem, ah...hehe... nenhuma.

O habitual sorriso alegre em seu rosto desapareceu. Na verdade, ele agora estava branco feito papel e suando muito, até me senti mal por ele, mas o que eu poderia fazer? Sinceramente, eu também estou um pouco zangado com ele.

Digo, todos nós temos um ou dois segredos que levaríamos para o túmulo. Ou, no meu caso, uma pasta oculta no meu computador. Ou duas. Ou cinco. Na verdade, pode estar na casa dos dois dígitos agora.

Então sim, uma dúzia de segredos ou algo assim.

Mas.

Transformar-se nos familiares e amigos de outras pessoas e agindo como se fossem os mesmos? Isso é meio difícil de engolir.

Tudo começou noite passada, quando ele se tornou a Momo e começou a me provocar. A verdadeira Momo não pareceu chocada ou preocupada pela pequena festa de apresentação, mas eu não fui muito fã, para dizer o mínimo. Que irmão gostaria de ver alguém além de sua irmã fazendo Deus sabe o quê enquanto fingia ser ela? Nenhum irmão, eu sei.

Depois descobri que ele estava me instigando há muito tempo como Ayano, exatamente como ela parecia naquele dia, dois anos atrás. Quando Kano me disse, bem... Foi difícil. O que ela disse naquela época tornou impossível para mim sair de casa, fiquei tão obcecado com aquilo desde então—isso me levou a pensamentos suicidas várias vezes.

Foram esses tipos de jogos que Kano estava jogando comigo. Se os últimos dias incluíssem estritamente essas duas experiências, provavelmente eu nunca mais iria querer ver o cara novamente. Isso por si só já me daria combustível suficiente para a depressão manter o motor funcionando pelo resto da minha vida.

Mas, um outro mas, ele se abriu sobre tudo comigo. Acontece que, desde aquele dia, há dois anos, até o presente, Kano esteve correndo pela cidade fazendo tudo o que podia para resgatar Ayano. Ele tinha toda essa bagagem nas costas desde que estávamos no ensino médio e eu nunca nem percebi.

Assumindo que isso é verdade, então o que Kano me disse na forma de Ayano—sobre como era culpa minha por nunca perceber nada—bem, na verdade era uma bem-dita verdade, não era? Não tem nada de errado com essa acusação. Eu falhei em perceber qualquer aspecto da Ayano e no que ela foi pega.

Saber que seu próprio pai foi infectado por algum monstro estranho que estava colocando seus próprios irmãos e amigos da escola em perigo... Eu me perguntei como Ayano se sentiu. Talvez, em todas as suas conversas fúteis que tivemos, ela estivesse dando pequenas dicas. Dicas que eu poderia ter visto como pedidos de ajuda, que sem dúvida eram, se eu tivesse prestado atenção. Mas não prestei atenção. Entrou por um ouvido e saiu pelo outro.

...O arrependimento era difícil de lidar. Se tivéssemos notado alguma coisa, qualquer coisa, talvez ela ainda estivesse conosco e não lá no outro mundo: Kagerou Daze, o qual a engoliu.

A visão de Kano tremendo feito vara verde sob o olhar fulminante de Kido aparentemente diminuiu seu apetite por novas explosões violentas contra ele; ela suspirou e baixou a cabeça. Na verdade, seus sentimentos também eram sem dúvida confusos—algumas das pessoas com quem ela passou grande parte de sua vida escondiam segredos devastadores dela. Pode ter sido demais para ela engolir tudo de uma vez.

Kano olhou preocupado enquanto os olhos de Kido caíam no chão. Não foi difícil adivinhar seus sentimentos sobre o assunto. Era mais do que não querer que as pessoas ficassem com raiva dele. Era uma sensação de desespero enorme e impossível de imaginar que ele suportou sozinho por dois anos, tudo pela família em sua vida que ele queria proteger. Provavelmente estava com medo de ter criado uma dose igualmente grande de desespero para Kido agora há pouco.

Todo mundo tem um ou dois segredos. A maioria, porém, mantém os segredos em ordem de proteger a si mesmos. Este aqui, por outro lado... Ele não estava pensando em si mesmo ali. Todos aqueles sentimentos que ele devia ter por sua irmã, por sua família... tudo isso enquanto estava cara a cara com uma realidade que deve tê-lo feito querer arrancar os olhos.

Kido levantou a cabeça. Se ela continuasse com seus jogos mentais contra Kano, eu estava pronto para mediar entre os dois. Eu não preciso me preocupar.

— ...Você podia ter me contado antes, seu idiota. — Ela disse em um tom monótono. — Nós somos família. — Em seguida ela afundou de volta no sofá e ficou em silêncio.

Kano parecia estar prestes a chorar por um momento em resposta mas pareceu se recuperar bem a tempo. — Eu absolutamente irei contar na próxima. — Ele respondeu timidamente.

As ocorrências “sobrenaturais” com as quais eles... bem, nós... estávamos lidando provavelmente não eram o tipo de coisa que poderíamos resolver facilmente. Veio com uma pressuposição de nossas mortes coletivas, por exemplo. Não foi nada divertido lidar com o pavor que se seguiu e, por enquanto, não havíamos planejado exatamente nenhuma ideia para evitar esse destino.

Mas ao ver de perto esses membros da família interagindo me fez pensar em algo. A maneira como eles discutiam segredos, os aceitavam e ainda davam as mãos e olhavam para a frente. Essa era a verdadeira força do Mekakushi-dan, eles estavam lutando contra o destino e a injustiça—dois inimigos incrivelmente poderosos—e a força que eles trouxeram para a batalha não desapareceu nem um pouco.

Mesmo que este fosse um inimigo que nenhum de nós poderia enfrentar sozinho, algo me dizia que já tínhamos as melhores armas do mundo para lidar com ele.

...Eita. Pode ser um pouco estranho socialmente sair com eles assim, mas eles realmente são bons irmãos, não é? Kano certamente parecia bastante arrependido por isso e eu não tinha grande desejo de trazer o assunto à tona novamente. Afinal, tínhamos uma montanha de problemas para resolver que começavam a atingir proporções do tamanho do monte Everest. Realmente precisávamos chegar logo ao assunto principal, caso contrário o tempo ficaria apertado...

...Enquanto pensava nisso, pelo canto do olho vi uma forma trêmula com longos cabelos negros começando a mexer. Ei, ei, do que ela está se defendendo? Ela não vai fugir de nós, vai?

Como esperado, ela caminhou em direção à porta da frente, roubando da atmosfera da sala qualquer união familiar que havíamos acabado de criar.

— Ei, para onde, para onde você está indo? — Perguntei para as costas da garota. Ela parou no momento em que tentava completar sua fuga ninja. Ela tinha o cabelo muito comprido preso em um par de maria-chiquinhas e o moletom que havia sido emprestado por Kido ondulava em torno de sua barriga, aparentemente grande demais para caber nela.

— Ah, hm... para o banheiro. — Ela respondeu com um sorriso estranho enquanto tentava desviar o olhar.

— Você acabou de ir há dez minutos. — Kido rebateu. — Sua bexiga é muito pequena ou algo assim?

A garota lutou por uma outra desculpa por mais alguns segundos, mas desistiu sem dizer nada e se jogou de volta no sofá com um baque, de frente para mim. Ela era Takane Enomoto, a segunda acusada do dia: agora se afastando de mim exatamente com a mesma atitude e mau humor que ela exibiu há dois anos.

— Tá, — ela começou, — então nós, tipo, temos algo mais para falar, ou...?

Parecia que eu podia ouvir os vasos sanguíneos ao redor da minha têmpora direita explodirem com o comportamento de “tire-me daqui” que escorria de todos os poros do corpo dela.

— Aah, sim. Então você acha que essa é toda a explicação que você precisava me dar pelo ano de vergonha e auto aversão que experimentei em suas mãos...?

— Pfft. — Enomoto respondeu ao meu golpe ressentido. — Vergonha? Você é o único que se coloca, não é? Reclamando “Ah, por favor, não olhe esses vídeos pornôs que espalhei pelo meu disco rígido como doces” e tal. Ah, qual você assistiu muito ultimamente? Acho que era algo como “Frenesi de Fetiches por Pés Adolescentes Part—”

Ah, olhe. Indo diretamente para a jugular novamente. A Válvula de Segurança de Proteção Fetichista em meu cérebro imediatamente emitiu um aviso. Suor escorria dos meus próprios poros. Eu precisava encerrar o assunto rápido. Então pulei do meu assento.

— Quê?! Você... Você é a única que... Hm... Privacidade! Sim! Tudo bem? Privacidade!

...Silêncio.

Eu podia dizer sem olhar para eles. O olhar frio da Kido já estava arranhando minha bochecha diretamente. Kano, ainda arrependido sobre nossa conversa anterior, não tentou rir como geralmente fazia; invés disso ele me encarou com um olhar sem expressão. Ele estava usando totalmente sua habilidade, mesmo. Eu pude sentir.

Enemoto, entretanto, riu. Era uma risada maligna e familiar. Ela claramente ainda adorava apertar todos os meus botões enquanto tentava esconder o sorriso com uma das mangas grandes do moletom. Meu Deus, era totalmente parecido... com aquele pequeno gesto que as duas faziam. Eu não tinha ideia de como passei um ano sem perceber. Se eu pudesse voltar no tempo, diria ao meu eu passado para martelar todos os meus dispositivos eletrônicos e ir acampar em uma cabana na montanha.

— Sim, — ela continuou alegremente, — bem, não fui eu que tentei interpretar esse personagem legal e acima de tudo na escola, com esses fetiches que você tinha. Tipo, fiquei seriamente chocada! Que trabalho completo você...

— Caramba...!

Havia algo horrível na maneira como Enomoto se afundava em sua malícia. Cerrei os dentes e tentei acalmar minha mente—cada sinapse parecia prestes a explodir de raiva. Caramba, de fato. Eu não esperava que ela chegasse neste ponto. E com o último estilo e aparência que queria ver nela também...!

Ela havia aparecido várias horas antes, aparecendo com um “Yo” casual enquanto eu estava sentado no sofá, ainda cansado de nossa caminhada improvisada na montanha.

Nós tínhamos uma coisa do tipo “animigos” na época—ela era a única colega de classe do meu amigo Haruka—então não podíamos deixar de nos ver com bastante frequência, porque ela estava praticamente grudada nele o ano inteiro. Eles almoçavam juntos e às vezes eu os via no fliperama nos dias de folga. Não tinha como qualquer um de nós se descrever como “amigos”, mas... Tudo bem, ela não era uma pessoa terrível. Naquela época.

Afinal, foi definitivamente ela quem deu o apoio mais próximo e imediato ao Haruka quando ele precisava. Ele precisava muito disso naquela época. Claro, ela era rude, grosseira, malvada e sempre pronta para derrubar você sem nenhum motivo além do de amenizar sua demoníaca gratificação pessoal, mas, com Haruka em cena, eu estava disposto o suficiente a aceitar sua presença.

Isso foi até então, é claro. Agora estava claramente óbvio para mim o quanto eu estava sendo estúpido com ela, o quão errado eu estava. Eu pensei que ela era algum tipo de cria do diabo na época, mas isso não foi longe o suficiente. Não, esta era um arquidêmonio, do tipo que faria até os mais talentosos dos médiuns do comércio infernal saírem com os pés descalços cheios de algemas. Afinal, ela era uma mulher que se escondia atrás de Ene, o espírito maligno que acabara de encerrar uma sessão de tormento de um ano com minha mente.

Quero dizer, por que isso tinha que acontecer? E por que eu? O que foi que eu fiz? Se houvesse algum tipo de eleição para votar na última pessoa no mundo com quem você gostaria de compartilhar um segredo, eu compraria todos os votos para votar em Takane Enemoto. Talvez Kano também, se eu tivesse alguns extras.

Mas, novamente, não faz sentido insistir nisso ou criar elaborados cenários de fantasia de vingança. Enemoto já tinha noção de todas as fraquezas possíveis das quais ostentava na vida. Ela não tinha medo de dar um pequeno aperto nisso sempre que quisesse. Eu estava indefeso.

Mas, não, sério, por quê? Deus morreu ou algo assim?!!

Enemoto, por sua vez, parecia extremamente orgulhosa com aquele sorriso corrupto e desprezível ainda no rosto. Ela tinha me colocado na defensiva até agora, mas eu não estava disposto a cair sem lutar. Até eu tinha algumas ferramentas com quais trabalhar, afinal, durante todo aquele ano em que “Ene” estava acumulando seu baú de materiais para usar contra mim, eu também estava ali do outro lado da tela.

— Bem, olha, — comecei, fazendo um esforço para enunciar cada sílaba da minha declaração de guerra, — você pode dizer o que quiser, Enemoto, mas não acha que está esquecendo alguma coisa? Tipo, como você se apresentou como “Ene, sua garota virtual comum da vizinhança”? Ou como você continuou me chamando de “mestre”? “Aah, mestre, mestre...” Você não se esqueceu disso, não é?

A reação, como pensei que seria, foi imediata. — Ugh. — Enemoto gemeu pateticamente, antes de cobrir o rosto com as mãos e caindo no chão. Era uma visão horrível de se ver.

— Isso, — ela continuou gemendo, — isso... eu estava apenas, tipo, experimentando minhas habilidades, vendo o que eu poderia fazer e... e isso me deixou bem animada e tal, e... ah...

Ela estava tendo dificuldade para respirar. Eu me mudei para o golpe final.

— Ah, sério? Então, durante todo esse tempo, você estava se imaginando como uma linda garota brincalhona voando no meu computador? Essa é realmente a imagem mental que você tinha naquele seu cérebro sombrio e obcecado por fofocas? Cara, fale sobre degeneração.

— Aaaagghhh!! — Enemoto gritou como se eu tivesse acabado de lançar um talismã dissipador de espíritos em sua testa. A maneira como ela recuou, afastando-se de mim, fez-me sentir como se estivesse realizando um exorcismo—e por que não? Ela mesma era o diabo! Ela merecia ser banida! Volte para o mundo ao que pertence!

*

Enquanto nos envolvíamos nessa farsa, a porta se abriu atrás de mim. — Vocês falam muito alto! — Mary reclamou de nós. — Que horas vocês acham que são agora?!

Todos na cena congelaram e olharam em sua direção.

— Pelo menos apague as luzes quando forem dormir. — Ela resmungou antes de fechar a porta.

...Eu já estive nesta situação antes. Você passa a noite na casa de um amigo, passa muito tempo brincando depois da hora de dormir e uma mãe sobe as escadas correndo. Você nunca poderia discutir com um adulto assim e, em algum lugar, com bem mais de um século de idade, Mary com certeza nos derrotava em idade.

Enomoto e eu trocamos olhares, uma careta, e depois estendemos a mão um para o outro em uma sincronização quase perfeita.

— ...Vamos só esquecer sobre isso, Shintaro.

— ...Certo.

Nós apertamos as mãos, ambas ainda molhadas de suor, e forjamos o armistício.

...Espera. Não, nós não forjamos. Seus olhos não estavam sorrindo nem um pouco. Ela está planejando me matar assim que eu abaixasse a guarda. Eu vou precisar dormir com a porta trancada por um tempinho.

Baseado no que ela disse, Enomoto aparentemente fez contato com o Kagerou Daze naquele dia dois anos atrás. Os resultados a transformaram em Ene e acho que ela deve ter obtido a habilidade dos “olhos despertados” ou “olhos focados” que Azami mencionou em seu diário. Tornar-se invisível ou mudar de forma ou algo assim era difícil o suficiente para compreender, mas a habilidade de Enomoto era um pouco mais complicada de interpretar. Basicamente, ela removeu a consciência do corpo e poderia levá-la para onde quisesse. Ela não conseguia manifestar “Ene”, seu eu espiritual, no mundo real, mas, fora isso, parecia um pouco com uma experiência extracorpórea.

Era como se ela fosse um espírito maligno—o que combinaria perfeitamente com ela. Como disse Kano, “cada habilidade tem seus gostos e desgostos quando se trata de “recipientes” e esse foi um exemplo perfeito, se é que já vi um.  

Assim que Enemoto obteve essa habilidade, ela ficou circulando por todas as redes eletrônicas do mundo, em busca do corpo físico que perdeu quando o Kagerou a atingiu. Isso, segundo ela, levou-a ao meu computador.

Abaixei-me, afundando-me profundamente no sofá, e abaixei um pouco minha voz: — Mas por que você veio até mim? — Perguntei. — Você deve ter tido algum outro lugar onde poderia bagunçar por aí.

Enemoto franziu a testa. — Bem, na verdade não. Quero dizer, Haruka morreu e Ayano também não estava por perto também. — Ela olhou para mim. — Além disso, parecia que você ia morrer se eu te deixasse sozinho, então...

— Ah...

Agora estávamos no cerne da questão. Eu odiava ter sido acertado assim. Mas eu não poderia simplesmente ignorar isso.

— ...É, eu não vou negar isso, — respondi. — O que aconteceu com Haruka e Ayano, eu... você sabe, eu fiquei super deprimido.

Foi um bom ponto. Quando essa garota apareceu como Ene, eu estava profundamente desesperado. Fiquei cheio de tristeza por ter perdido dois colegas de classe que eu conhecia muito bem e então Kano se disfarçou de Ayano e disse...aquilo para mim. Eu nunca poderia deixar passar e isso estava me deixando louco.

Os dias depois que ela apareceu no meu computador foram cheios de humilhação e desgosto, claro...mas de certa forma, acho que isso me salvou um pouco. Graças a ela andar por aí como uma galinha com a cabeça decepada, consegui me levantar e sair daquele abismo. Se ela não estivesse lá, eu poderia ter ido dessa para uma melhor.

Quando me lembrei disso, Enomoto começou a tremer e sacudir as pernas, um tique nervoso que não tinha visto antes. Eu olhei para ela.

— Você acabou de dizer “o que aconteceu com Haruka e Ayano”, — revelou. — Mas, uhm, você não está meio que esquecendo alguém?

...Ah. Isso. Agora eu soube o que estava irritando ela. Suspirei, silencioso o suficiente para que Enemoto não perceberia. Hesitar aqui a faria me atacar ainda mais. Decidi simplesmente deixar sair.

— ...Tá bom, sim, foi um grande choque quando você se foi também, tá? Claro que foi. Você não tem que me fazer dizer isso em voz alta.

— Bem, que bom. — Isso foi aparentemente o suficiente para agradá-la. Ela deu um grande sorriso, um que não parecia combinar em nada com seu rosto. Eu juro, o jeito que ela cria cada expressão como essa, calculando com exatidão a resposta que quer; é a Ene pura. Foi estranho o quanto isso me impressionou naquele momento.

— Eu, sabe... — Ela fez uma pausa. — Fico feliz por ter ouvido isso de você. Porque, de certa forma, foi como se eu estivesse em um estado de um sonho louco o tempo todo. — Ela colocou a mão no ombro, dobrou as pernas e se esticou no sofá.

— O que você quer dizer? — Perguntei, não entendendo. Isso diminuiu um pouco o sorriso de Enomoto.

— Quero dizer, eu fiquei fuçando na net o tempo todo como Ene, mas não encontrei nada sobre mim. Sobre meu desaparecimento. — Seu rosto escureceu. — E não só isso também. A doença do Haruka, o suicídio da Ayano, meu desaparecimento... Tudo aconteceu no mesmo dia, entende? As pessoas normalmente não achariam isso estranho?

Odeio admitir, mas ela estava certa, e concordei com ela. Como ela disse, dois anos atrás—15 de agosto—houve muitos eventos que aconteceram em conjunto sem fazer muito sentido. Haruka enfim sucumbir à doença era uma coisa, mas a morte de Ayano? O desaparecimento de Enomoto também, tudo no mesmo dia? Isso não foi normal, não importa como você olhe. As pessoas deveriam estar procurando uma ligação... ou tratando isso como um crime ou afins. Mesmo assim não havia nada sobre nos noticiários. Aquilo foi estranho. Eu não tinha certeza de como responder a isso.

— Você estava vendo as notícias naquela época? — Enomoto cutucou. — Você se fechou em seu quarto nesta época também, não é?

Eu não gostei da maneira como ela expressou, mas balancei a cabeça, em vez de tocar no assunto. — Sim, mas não vi as notícias. — Falei. — Eu não queria ver meus amigos mortos sendo comentados na TV e tal. Eu estava muito deprimido para ligar para isso, afinal.

— Ah não? — Enomoto respondeu, recuando. Por que ela não era gentil comigo com mais frequência?

— ...Espera um pouco. — Kano se intrometeu. — Eu estava vendo naquela época. Takane está certa: foi incrível como ninguém tocou no assunto. Tipo, isso me surpreendeu enquanto via. — Agora sua própria voz se aprofundou, procurando causar uma boa impressão. — Acho que ela pode estar certa. Talvez toda a cidade já esteja tomada. Por esse... poder maluco.

Então caímos em silêncio por um momento.

Kano não nos contou isso para nos assustar ou algo do gênero, pelo menos eu acho, mas parece que teve esse efeito em Enomoto. Isso sim era incomum, mas talvez ela não pudesse ser culpada. Se algum “poder maluco” realmente existe, então significava que tudo o que considerávamos normal em nossas vidas não era nada disso.

Como Enomoto não demonstrou sinais de querer falar, decidi compensar: — Então você está dizendo que essa coisa “limpando os olhos” de que está falando é forte o suficiente para envolver a cidade inteira na palma de sua mão?

— Eu não quis dizer que era muito forte ou algo assim. — Alertou Kano enquanto refletia um pouco. — Eu quis dizer que o poder “limpando os olhos” que assumiu o controle do nosso pai tem vontade própria e que é com isso que realmente deveríamos nos preocupar. Porque é muito inteligente... ou, é tipo, algo com uma quantidade enorme de conhecimento. Estou mais propenso a apostar que, desde que chegou a este mundo, ele tem usado esse “conhecimento” e o corpo do meu pai para acumular dinheiro e poder para si próprio. Esse é o tipo de autoridade que você precisa para assumir o controle de uma cidade inteira.

Ele mudou a posição de suas pernas embaixo dele: — Eu sei que parece algum tipo de brincadeira, mas...

Algum tipo de brincadeira, né...? Definitivamente. Não havia muitas histórias tão bobas quanto esta.

Kano estava dizendo que este super cérebro tomou controle de cada aspecto dessa cidade por trás das cenas. Se uma enciclopédia viva como essa, uma compreensão completa de tudo, desde o início da civilização até a ciência moderna, realmente existisse, então talvez a teoria de Kano tivesse pelo menos um pouco de mérito. Se esta coisa de “limpando os olhos” tivesse o poder de controlar o funcionamento de tudo e de todos e até mesmo controlar seus corações e mentes, isso poderia ser suficiente para governar uma cidade inteira.

Mas simplesmente não fazia sentido algum. Todos nós tínhamos certas fronteiras mentais em nossas mentes, às quais nos referíamos como “senso comum”. Aceitar qualquer coisa que fosse além disso como algum tipo de dado divino nunca seria fácil. Mas o “senso comum” era um conceito. Não um fato. Se os últimos três dias me ensinaram alguma coisa, foi que os valores que associei ao “senso comum” ao longo da minha vida eram mais do que frágeis e fracos.

Essas pessoas com seus “ohos” fantásticos; um outro mundo separado do nosso; esta tragédia sendo preparada para nós de uma forma tão extraordinária... Todos esses eventos absurdos estavam se conectando e lentamente, silenciosamente, formando a “realidade” inexpugnável que agora estava espalhada diante de nós.

Não importa o quanto eu duvidasse disso tudo em minha mente, eu não podia fazer nada sobre o que estava sendo apresentado. As coisas já haviam se desviado muito do domínio do acreditar ou não acreditar nisso.

— Isso só te faz querer rir. — Deixei escapar.

A sobrancelha da Enomoto se levantou: — O que te faz querer rir? Você começou a perder a cabeça ou algo assim?

— Eu não estou perdendo a cabeça, Enomoto. Eu quis dizer que você e Kano simplesmente me chocaram e acho que saquei o quanto essa situação é ruim. É só...

Parei. Eu não tinha certeza se valia a pena dizer o que viria a seguir. Se fosse o eu de antes de ontem, provavelmente teria fechado minha mente e dito para deixar para lá. Mas nesse momento, por algum motivo, não senti necessidade de esconder minhas verdadeiras intenções. Continuei esbravejando, sem me preocupar em escolher as palavras com cuidado.

— Isso é muito melhor para mim, sabe? Era muito melhor ouvir tudo isso do que quando fiquei enfurnado no meu quarto sem saber de nada. Quer faça algum sentido ou não, o primeiro passo para enfrentar algo é ser capaz de ver o que é. Digo, isso é uma lufada de ar fresco e... tal. É como eu me sinto.

Eu meio que perdi a força no final, mas parece que meu ponto de vista havia sido transmitido. “Uau”, disse Kano, que ouviu em silêncio e agora parecia um pouco aliviado. — Fico muito feliz por podermos contar com o novo cara aqui.

Enomoto, por outro lado, teve problemas para digerir tudo. “Hmm”, ela entoou. — Bem, eu li na mensagem da Ayano que meu professor estava confuso. Se fosse algum tipo de habilidade fazendo isso com ele, então teria acontecido antes mesmo de qualquer um de nós ser admitido naquela escola, certo? Acho que o Sr. Tateyama e Haruka se conheciam há algum tempo e foi só no terceiro ano do ensino médio, do nada... você acha que estávamos todos reunidos lá por causa de nossas habilidades? E depois mortos, um por um?

Seu rosto se contraiu, como se fosse chorar. Ela baixou a cabeça.

— Eu tentei não pensar muito a fundo, mas... eu nem sei mais o que está acontecendo. Eu não sei no que deveria acreditar.

Abri minha boca. Eu queria dizer alguma coisa invés de deixa-la ali. Mas não consegui encontrar palavras. Talvez Kano tivesse percebido, pois ele recorreu a Enomoto em meu lugar.

— Eu não quero parecer como se estivesse defendendo minha família ou algo assim, mas estou bem seguro de que o pai nunca percebeu que tinha essa habilidade.

Enomoto inclinou o rosto para cima. Seus olhos estavam vidrados, como imaginei que estariam.

— Essa habilidade funciona obedecendo à sua vontade. Seu senso de identidade, na verdade. Eu acho que você não tem lembrança nenhuma de quando ela te dominou. Então, quero dizer... acho que ainda é seguro confiar nele. Pelo menos aquele que você conheceu na escola. O qual conhecíamos em casa.

Ela mordeu um pouco os lábios. “Sim”, ela sussurrou enquanto virava a cabeça novamente. Eu sabia que ela e Haruka gostavam e respeitavam Sr. Tateyama como seu professor de sala, mas agora o homem era um acusado, um suposto assassino. Eu não conseguia nem imaginar quão chocante isso era.

Mas Enomoto assentiu algumas vezes como um sinal de confirmação e levantou o rosto novamente. Sua expressão voltou ao desdém habitual.

— Sim. Ele ainda é um cara muito bom, eu acho. Não me importo de acreditar nisso e eu realmente acho que alguém assim não poderia ter projetado algo do tipo. Não há nada de “limpando” na maneira como ele age ou fala. Não... acho que é tudo culpa dessa habilidade.

Então ela soltou uma risada desafiadora, como se estivesse liberando algo que estava infeccionado por dentro há muito tempo. Não segui muito a lógica dela, mas parecia que ela estava bastante convencida. Eu assumiria isso no lugar da Enomoto deprimida a qualquer momento—eu nunca suportaria lidar com isso de novo, se pudesse evitar.

— Mas o problema é o seguinte. — Ela acrescentou. — Se o poder “limpando” está realizando alguma conspiração selvagem como essa, então qual é a razão que ele tem para nos matar? Se já é capaz de realizar todas essas coisas incríveis, por que não pode simplesmente nos deixar em paz e fazer o que quiser?

Kano encolheu os ombros e fez uma careta: — Ah... Acho que expliquei isso há pouco.

— Hã? Bem, talvez eu ouvi, mas não peguei de verdade.

Os dois trocaram olhares perplexos.

— Para criar uma Medusa. — Interrompi. — Isso é o que ele quer, Kano?

— Sim. Estou tão feliz que você está aqui agora, Shintaro. As coisas se movem bem mais rápido com você...

Sim, obrigado. Se puder, não quero que você me coloque no mesmo nível intelectual da Enomoto.

— Sim, eu sei disso, mas essa coisa mu-doo-sa, tipo... — ela disse, provando meu ponto.

De acordo com o diário da Azami e tudo mais que sabíamos, havia no total dez habilidades “oculares” diferentes. Trazer todas elas juntas seria o suficiente para recriar a raça Medusa na nossa era moderna e isso, Kano pensou, era o objetivo do nosso inimigo. Aparentemente, isso inevitavelmente significava a morte de todos os outros detentores de habilidades.

Então esses são os riscos. Ou paramos os planos do inimigo ou todos no Mekakushi-dan, exceto eu, morrem.

Era absolutamente loucura, mas...

— ...Vamos ter que parar com isso. — Eu disse. Enomoto e Kano assentiram em uníssono.

— Bem, antes de mais nada, nós não temos muito tempo sobrando, né? Se vamos parar essa coisa, nós temos que nos mover imediatamente.

— Sim. — Kano concordou enquanto esticava seu corpo. Ele continuou sendo como um gato assim, em alguns aspectos. — Gostemos ou não, tudo vai acabar amanhã à noite. Acho que se vamos ter uma estratégia em vigor, é melhor começarmos a pensar nisso agora.

Olhando para trás, para os últimos dias, não me lembro dele fazendo algo como se esticar na minha frente daquele jeito, algo que o deixaria indefeso. Abrir mão do seu segredo deve tê-lo ajudado a relaxar um pouco.

Assim que isso tudo acabar, talvez ele esteja disposto a me contar um pouco mais sobre o passado. Sobre Ayano, sobre Haruka... e sobre tudo mais que não sei sobre daquela época. Enfim, assim que tudo isso acabar.

Exalei um pouco, tentando restringir meus processos de pensamento enquanto olhava ao redor da sala e seus membros. — Certo. — Eu disse. — ...Espera, não durma. Líder, precisamos de você aqui.

Kido estava quase cochilando. Esfreguei seu ombro e ela abriu os olhos distraidamente. Ih. Com ela como nossa líder, tínhamos todos os motivos para temer por nossas vidas... embora com o resto da equipe, as maçãs também não caíram exatamente longe da árvore. Todos neste esconderijo poderiam ter menos de vinte e quatro horas de vida e, ainda assim, mal conseguiam permanecer conscientes.

Voltei para Kano: — Podemos começar nossa sessão de estratégia? Se estragarmos tudo, o jogo acaba, pessoal.

Kano abriu um sorriso para mim. — Ei, você é bom em jogos, né, Shintaro? Temos muita coisa em jogo dependendo de você!

Eu mordi a isca. — Com quem você acha que você está falando, cara? Eu consegui pegar a pontuação perfeita no jogo que seu pai fez, lembra?

Foi, e ainda permanece, uma boa lembrança. Headphone Actor... Talvez tenha sido apenas um espetáculo secundário para o resto do festival escolar, mas ainda assim foi muito divertido. Eu daria pelo menos três estrelas e meia.

Kano riu e sentou-se em sua cadeira: — Certo, Shintaro! — Exclamou, percebendo a energia recém-descoberta na sala. — Estou pronto para continuar com isso até de manhã.

Quando se tratava de aliados nesta minha nova missão, ele era provavelmente aquele com quem eu mais podia contar. Ele havia revelado tudo sobre si mesmo, afinal. Mas eu ainda o questionei um pouco. Olhando em volta, percebi que Kido estava olhando para Enomoto, parecendo que queria dizer algo, mas não conseguia descobrir o quê.

— Q-que foi? — Enomoto finalmente perguntou.

— N-nada. — Kido respondeu apressadamente. — Eu só estava me perguntando como você queria que chamássemos você. “Enomoto” por si só faz você parecer meio tosca.

Tosca? Qual é. Se estamos falando de nuances aqui, como é me chamar de Shintaro esse tempo todo? Isso sim é mais tosco. Ainda assim, evitei deixar escapar enquanto avaliava Enomoto, que parecia um pouco envergonhada.

— Ene está bem. — Ela murmurou. — Seria um saco ter que mudar isso nessa altura do campeonato.

Acontece que, e isso era novidade para mim, “Ene” era seu nome online. Dada a forma de como sua mente funcionava, deve ter sido tremendamente embaraçoso ser chamada de Ene no mundo real. Mas agora parecia que estar no Mekakushi-dan poderia fazer qualquer coisa parecer um pouco melhor.

Então peguei uma caneta e comecei a desenhar um esboço.

Nosso “inimigo” estava se escondendo em algum lugar que, uh, acabou sendo um lugar um pouco maior do que esperávamos. Mas não pensamos muito nisso. Todos estes acontecimentos extraordinários que nos foram apresentados talvez tenham entorpecido a nossa capacidade de sentir o verdadeiro peso das coisas.

No geral foi um dia exaustivo, mas me senti ótimo. Meu segundo fôlego devia estar em alta. Parecia que seria uma longa noite.

*

O “limpando os olhos” que se infiltrou na mente do Sr. Tateyama já havia infectado a cidade inteira, abrindo bem sua enorme boca para nos engolir. Provavelmente era seguro presumir que não podíamos mais confiar em mais ninguém. Estávamos enfrentando um monstro genuíno, aquele que contou a Azami como construir o Kagerou Daze. Não havia mais tempo para brincadeiras. Se não encontrássemos uma forma de impedir o seu esquema diabólico, seríamos todos a próxima refeição desta criatura.

...Então, do fundo da minha mente, senti algo. Algo queimando, de uma forma que nunca tinha experimentado antes.

Pensei um pouco sobre isso e então sorri reflexivamente. A batalha contra esse grupo sombrio, as coisas sobrenaturais acontecendo conosco, o monstro que apareceu, a equipe que se uniu em resposta...

— ....Puta merda, eu não sou um herói desse grupo de RPG, ou sou?

Tentei não deixar minha inteligência subir à cabeça muitas vezes, mas tive a nítida impressão de que tinha o que era necessário para expulsar o desespero da vida de todas aquelas pessoas.

Kido iniciou a Operação: Conquistar o Kagerou Daze graças a uma mistura de excitação e excentricidade. Agora, era uma realidade.

Afinal... cada uma de nossas vidas poderia estar baseada neste plano.

<<anterior — próximo>>  Índice — Novels

[diremoone]

quiet kisses | r. sukuna

prompt 2 — “I’ll kiss you anywhere but under the mistletoe.”

requested by @yuujispinkhair :: Heyyy babe, your Christmas prompt post is so cute 💗💗 If you feel inspired, can you please write a little something for Sukuna + prompt 2 or prompt 7 (whichever you prefer)? 💗💗

a/n: AHHHH thank you so much for sending this in Winter! 🤩 I can’t tell you how much I nearly exploded seeing your request in my inbox! I went with prompt 2 because that’s the one my brain started working for the fastest. I hope you like it and I did your request justice :3

w — alcohol mention, fluff, everyone is 20+ in this fic, modern AU, mentions of prompt 7 heehee, softie! sukuna, sukuna cooks at the end lmao but it’s not related to the chef! sukuna fic

[ Christmas Prompt List ]

[ Christmas Event Masterlist ]

Nobara putting on this Christmas party was anything but unexpected. She was a party girl at heart, but nothing like what you’d see at a frat house or a club. No, she was the party master (or so she likes to call herself). And you kinda had to agree. Her parties weren’t over the top, but they definitely were anything but boring.

This time was no different: catering, along pizza and wine delivery, along with some of the more higher-rated Christmas movies playing on the TV with English Christmas music playing on the background, just loud enough that it wasn’t obnoxious.

You knew your boyfriend had to agree, even if he hated attending social events and parties.

What an introvert, you muse to yourself. You wonder how many people realize that as much as Sukuna seems like it, he doesn’t actually like parties. Nor anyone but himself and you at said parties.

You and Sukuna are off to the side against the bar that separates the kitchen and living area, deep in your own little world of each other. You’re leaning on him, his big arm wrapped around your shoulders comfortably.

You nudge him. “This isn’t so bad. See!”

Sukuna scoffs. “That’s what you said when you forced me into that Santa costume last year.”

“But you had some fun, didn’t you?”

“In the suit? No. Terrorizing children in it? Absolutely.”

You slap his chest. He catches your hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. You grumble. “You idiot.”

“Your idiot,” he remarks with a grin.

Suddenly, like magic, the party suddenly gets loud. Jingle Bells comes on the playlist set up, and everyone has begun to sing as loud as they possibly can. Sukuna grumbles and plugs one ear with a finger, rolling his eyes. He keeps on ear open, and you know it’s just to listen to you as you attempt to sing your way through the giggles.

When the song ends, everyone cheers. Sukuna unplugs his one ear and sighs, taking another sip of the hot chocolate you’ve made for him. They all quiet down, giggling and giddy from the sudden excitement of the old but catchy tune.

But why is everyone now looking at his and your direction?

And then everyone starts chanting: “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

You and Sukuna look up at the same time, seeing a mistletoe being hung over your heads by a fishing rod, but none other than the Party Master herself. Nobara grins sadistically with an evil glint in her eye.

Sukuna cusses and downs the rest of his drink before saying, “I think that’s our cue to leave. Nice party, Kugisaki.”

You attempt to down the rest of yours before he grabs your hand with his bigger one and leads you out the front door, almost stumbling over your own two feet.

Behind you, everyone complains about Sukuna being a “party pooper” and leaving. Before you two leave, he turns back to them and gives them the finger.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if we weren’t the only couple here. Maybe Geto and Gojo should finally shack up,” Sukuna says with an evil grin. The two men next to each other go redder than tomatoes in record time. Sukuna isn’t done though, looking at his little brother. “And maybe you and Fushiguro should finally get a room, too, baby brother.”

The chaos from your boyfriend’s words gives you the chance to leave without trouble, the two unspoken couples now being the main attention of Kugisaki’s evil fishing rod-mistletoe.

Maybe they’ll be together come New Years, you think happily.

Sukuna drives you both home. One hand on the wheel, the other intertwined sweetly with yours. But by the time you get home, you’re halfway asleep in the car, hot cocoa being the perpetrator of your tiredness. You attempt to blink and wake up, but Sukuna’s gruff, “Stay put.” halts you as he turns the car off, keeping his keys in one hand.

You have no idea what he’s doing until he opens your door and slides his arms under your back and legs. You squeal and giggle as he effortlessly picks you up from your seat.

“Goddamn, you got the giggles tonight,” he mutters.

Like he’s done it a thousand times (he’s at least done it a couple dozen), Sukuna unlocks the front door with you in his arms with pure ease. He carries you over the threshold like a husband would his bride and doesn’t set you down. He hoists you up, readjusting your position closer to his chest. And then you see the cunning look in his eyes.

“Sukuna, what are you— mmph!”

He dips his head and captures your lips with his. He’s warm, so warm and comforting. You feel so safe and loved in his hold and damn do you love him. Your arms naturally tighten their hold around his neck as you two kiss in your home.

When Sukuna pulls away, he chuckles. You’re slightly breathless from the sudden kiss, but grinning nonetheless.

“You couldn’t do that at the party?” you inquire curiously.

“I’ll kiss you anywhere but under the mistletoe,” he replies honestly. “Especially at a party in front of people. Not my thing to make such an intimate spectacle of ourselves.”

Your heart flutters and overflows with love at his desire to keep his affection solely for your eyes to see. Sukuna has never been one to kiss or do intimate things in public beyond hand holding or wrapping his arm around your shoulders. For him, he considers that to be sacred; any acts of love he prefers to be behind closed doors, kept between the two of you and not in front of people to be fawned over or talked about.

“You really are the sweetest man I’ve ever met,” you say. “I’m so lucky. I really got the best man ever, didn’t I? Thanks, Universe.”

Your boyfriend’s cheeks tint red. A rare sight.

“Fuck. No, I’m the lucky one.” Sukuna gives you a fat smooch on the lips, the adds, “But I don’t have the universe to thank. I got you all by myself.”

You toss your head back and laugh at his indirect proclamation of arrogance. Or maybe it was just unshakable confidence, who knows?

Sukuna sets you down on the couch and asks, “What do you want for dinner?”

You think for a moment before replying, “Didn’t you say wanted to make some penne vodka the other day? That sounds good.”

“Penne alla vodka,” he corrects you with a stern eye.

You toss your hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry.”

But as Sukuna gets to work on the dish, you can’t help but stare at him as he works. He could be a master chef like Gordon Ramsey, if not better. But you’re kinda glad he’s not, not if you get to see him in your kitchen every night.

Yeah, you’d trade any party and PDA for his quiet kisses and love at home any day.

taglist:

@vagabond-umlaut | @poe-daydreams | @heresan @thedovahqueen | @lotus-n-l0ve | @chiyoso | @miraclecherryblossomsblog | @unbreakableblueheaven | @marscatbutler | @vanillabloo | @wo-ming-bai | @visionsofmagic | @tohsri | @lilacliliess | @bub-ss | @missmuffinr

[ooglyboooglybitxh]

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝

mom!shuri x mom!reader

contains: MEGA FLUFF,sfw, lesbian mothers,male baby

summary: shuri and reader have a child

𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜: Reader is Dominicanã and black,Childs Name is Nahir (Nah-here), Nahir is 7 months, Shuri got reader pregnant. Orange Is Reader aka Y/n, Purple Is Shuri, Nahir Is Blue.

🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳

𝟡:𝟛𝟟:𝟙𝟚 𝔸𝕄

(yes so specific😂)

Nahir crys from his crib besides his mothers bed

Y/n groans from hearing her son whining

“Baby” Y/n groans to Shuri

Shuri wakes up and sits up and looks at her son

“what's wrong, hm“ Shuri says to Nahir as she picks him up

Shuri immediately makes a face as she smell Nahir’s diaper and takes him to the changing table and begins to change him

Y/n sits up ash she puts her hair in a ponytail and walks over to Shuri and Nahir

“Morning“ Y/n says against Shuri’s shoulder as she smiles

“Hey“ Shuri says not looking at Y/n trying to focus on their child “Eh! Hey! no kicking“ Shuri says scolding Nahir

*Nahir giggles* and Shuri smiles and shakes her head as she throws away the dirty diaper

“He's so goofy“ Y/n jokes “He takes after you“ shuri says after washing her hands walking over to Y/n kissing her lips

“Morning breath“ Y/n warns Shuri, and in response Shuri sucks her teeth

Y/n goes to brush her teeth bringing her phone with her

*Nahir Whines* as Y/n walks into the bathroom

(A/N: they have a bathroom in their room which- lemme just put a picture)

(So basically Nahir can still see Y/n he’s just overreacting🤣)

“I'm right here junior“Y/n ressures Nahir

Shuri walks in with Nahir in her arms

“see she's fine she's right here“ Shuri says to her son

Y/n wips Nahir’s tears and kisses his forehead

“Estoy bien, no hace falta llorar“(“I'm okay no need to cry“) Y/n says to Nahir as she begins to brush her teeth

“mmmm“ Nahir whines reaching for Y/n

“she's busy unyana“(son) shuri says kissing her son's cheek

🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳

𝟙𝟘:𝟘𝟞:𝟜𝟝 𝔸𝕄

__________________________

Everyone is in the living room.

Nahir is playing with his toys and watching “Spidey And His Amazing Friends“

(A/N: me personally I will never turn on Cocomelon for my children that's just me 🤷🏾‍♀️)

turning away from the TV Nahir crawls to Shuri leg, putting his arms over her knee

Shuri looks down to see her son looking at her and picks him up and gently sets him on her lap

“hm” Nahir hands her his stuffed turtle

“You want me to hold it?”Shuri says taking the turtle from him

Nahir grabs his baby blue teddy bear and gives it to Shuri

He also picks up his toy robot and begins playing with it

Y/n recording it all

Shuri catches it and just chuckles softly

“So cute” Y/n says saving the video to her snapchat memories and exporting it to her phone

and Nahir just laughs

“what are you laughing at” Shuri says tickling Nahir

🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳

𝟙𝟘:𝟚𝟛:𝟚𝟜 𝔸𝕄

__________________________

Nahir crawls to the kitchen and Y/n saw him

“Hungry Mhijo?” (son) Y/n picks up Nahir and brings him in the kitchen and gently sets him down in his high chair.

Y/n grabs two gerber baby puff containers “blueberry or banana” she says putting them on his little table

(A/N: GERBER BABY PUFFS BUSSSSS😤😤)

per usual he hits the blueberry one

“eh” Nahir grunts hitting the blueberry one

“should’ve even asked” Y/n says under her breath

Shuri come up the stairs from her lab walking to the kitchen

“you’re eating now eh?” She says playfully pushing his cheek and sitting on the counter

Y/n pours puffs on his table and closes the container and Nahir starts to eat

Y/n walks to the couch slamming herself onto the cushion grunting loudly

Nahir notices and side-eyes her then goes back to eating

Shuri laughs at his face expression

“what?” Y/n asks looking up from the couch

“he side-eyed you”she says chuckling

“boujee ass child” Y/n says mumbling under her breath

🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳

𝟙𝟚:𝟜𝟙:𝟛𝟞 ℙ𝕄

____________________________________

Nahir fell asleep on shuri’s chest Y/n notices and walks toward Shuri

“He’s asleep” Y/n tells Shuri

Shuri looks down at Nahir “Oh i didn’t notice” she says softly petting his curls

Shuri carries him to their room, before she sets him in the crib she kisses his forehead

“Ndiyakuthandana, unyana” (“i love you, son”) she says then softly placing him inside his crib putting the blanket over his chest

Y/n walks into the bedroom seeing Shuri watch their son sleep

She leans down behind her and puts her right arm over Shuri’s neck

“you’re so attached to him” she says “and its adorable” she smirks softly

Shuri giggles “He is my child, my everything” she says moving hair from Nahir’s face, then laying her head on Y/n’s chest.

“You know…this all would’ve been possible without you” she says looking up at Y/n “I love you…so much” she says kissing Y/n passionately

Y/n pulls away softly “i love you more amór”(love) she she says as she cups her cheek

🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳🐢🧸💙🐳

____________________________________

yall im sorry if you thought it was short

but i tried my best to make it long as possible 😅

but if you enjoyed and want to see more of Nahir, request and let me knowwww

[d1ana-m0nd]

╭─► ❝The Servant: Umbrella Academy's Servant❞

Five Hargreeves × Female! Reader || Written by Diana (d1ana-m0nd)

➢ Description : It's a well known fact that Sir. Reginald Hargreeves adopted 7 children to save the world from it's impending doom. Though, the number of children will change from 7 to 8 once a close friend of his, Rita Rossweisse was on her death bed and requested him to take in her child, who fortunately was born on October 1st 1989.

➢ Word Count : 8,098

➢ Links : Masterlist && Character Profile

Chapter 2: Run Boy Run

Today was a day like any other, you were double checking the number of plates, meals, and utensils on the table, in case Miss Grace missed something. Though that rarely happens since she is a robot and all. Although she never said it out loud, you knew that she gave you this task to give you a sense of purpose and fulfillment. After all, you couldn’t really help around the house because you were too small - you could easily be mistaken as an eight year old thanks to your height - so you could not help around the house as much as you would like to, the only way you could help around the house was through little things.

As you were busy prepping the table and double checking, Grace carefully placed a vinyl CD on a record player. It whirred and spun the disc for a few seconds till the narrator began voicing a detailed guide on how one must carefully trek a mountain.

"Have you double checked everything Y/N?" The robot asked with a smile, which you reciprocated with both a nod and a smile.

"Yes, Ms. Grace, everything is in order."

"Alright, I'll be calling the others over for breakfast, don't hesitate to join them if you are hungry." She offered whilst she gestured to the vacant seats on the front row seats, enough seats for you and Pogo.

"It's alright Ms. Grace, I already had my fill earlier." You politely declined, as you silently shivered at the idea of sitting besides Mr. Hargreeves; you would most likely lose your appetite before you could open your mouth.

Grace acknowledged your words with a nod and proceeded to ring the bell. In a hurry, you rush to the right side of Mr. Hargreeves’ chair to set it in place before he sits down. On cue, the numbers came flooding into the dining room, they all stood behind their assigned chairs awaiting for the head of the household's orders.

As the Monocle showed up followed suit by his unnerving presence, though everyone was used to it at this point. He then stood before the table, barely glancing at his children nor uttering a greeting instead his lips uttered a command, "Sit."

In synchrony, they sat down then chowed down on their breakfast. However, the others were busy with other things besides eating like: how Allison and Luther were making googly eyes at each other, Diego carving something on his chair's armrest, Klaus secretly making a blunt, Ben reading a book as he ate, and then there was Five who looking at his father, voicelessly requesting his attention - this mere action alone caused you to raise a brow, it was odd - though you knew one thing, you and Vanya knew that something was about to go down.

In your attempt to intercept, you were about to go to Five’s side to ask what was wrong but before you could take another step, he stabbed the table followed by the sound of ceramics and utensils jumping in surprise, catching the attention of the other numbers and the head of the household himself.

"Number Five?"

"I have a question." He stated with a smile, that smile always brought trouble and everyone knew that. In spite of everyone knowing that look, the others continued on with whatever they were doing, as though Five's concern was merely a leaf among the piles of leaves bound to be blown away by the wind.

“If you have a question… wouldn’t it be better you ask the Monocle after breakfast? He will only increase the punishment and training you have to endure if you don’t obey the rules.” You mused to yourself.

"Knowledge is an admirable goal, but you know the rules," Reginald gestures for you to reiterate the rules for the numbers - especially for Five - but, as you were about to open your mouth, Five talked over you. Albeit, it is annoying that he acts as though you didn’t exist but you already knew that was bound to happen… You just didn’t understand why he didn’t like you.

"I want to time travel."

“Ah, that makes more sense.” You internally groaned as the puzzles began to fall into place, he’s always been the impatient type. Of course he would ask for guidance in the most inconvenient times…

"No." The eccentric billionaire firmly declined as he went on with his meal.

"But, I'm ready. I've been practicing my spatial jumps, just like you said," Five abruptly stands up then teleports to his father's side. "See?"

"A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn." The head of the household spoke in riddles but anyone who liked metaphors or riddles knew what he meant, you can never know the other side of the unknown.

“I’d be damned if he didn’t understand this.” You rolled your eyes at the thought of the brown-haired boy with how openly arrogant he is in everything he does.

Five looks away momentarily trying to process his words but his shoulders dropped indicating he gave up. "Well, I don't get it."

"Hence the reason you're not ready." This remark made the younger male’s face scrunched up in fury. Why was the old man so against time traveling? Was it because no one knew what would happen? Is it because no one was brave enough to face the future we set ourselves up with?

You notice from the corner of your eye that Vanya is shaking her head. Although you did not have telepathy, you can base from her facial expressions and body language that she was begging Five to not do anything reckless. The angry boy in school shorts saw his sister’s attempt but disregarded it.

"I'm not afraid." The boy stood his ground, his way of showing that he was not going to falter to his father’s wishes.

"Fear isn't the issue." The Monocle stated as he paused himself from eating, "The effects it might have on your body, even on your mind, are far too unpredictable."

Five scoffs silently in response to his father’s words. The boy hated how he was right but he’s not going to listen to him anymore, he’s not going to be a puppet like everyone else here in this family.

"Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore." The old man said as he resumed eating his meal.

From Vanya’s seat, she looks at Five desperately, as if silently begging him to follow through with his father’s orders but he walks away instead. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing because they were shocked, unsure of how to react, they had never thought or acted upon the idea of opposing their father’s wishes.

"Number Five!"

"You haven't been excused!"

"Number Zero I order you to go after him, make sure to remind him that the punishments he will be facing for his misdemeanor will be severe." You nodded and bowed to the head of the household, then ran after Five.

You ran for the door before it could fully close and hastily opened the gate. The person you were after was a few steps away from you, ready to experiment with his powers. Before the boy could activate his powers, you grabbed onto the sleeve of his blazer, which stopped him from whatever he was doing.

"Master Five, your father is requesting for you to finish your breakfast. Now isn't the time for you to experiment with your abilities. You will have more time to explore them after the meal." You repeated the head of Hargreeves household's words, though they weren't the exact wording since you paraphrased it, because you believed his original phrasing was harsh.

The boy in school shorts slowly turned to you with a familiar scowl on his face, almost mirroring his father's signature look. "You infuriate me."

He took slow steps towards your direction, his eyes not leaving your figure. It felt like you were a deer in headlights willingly awaiting for your death to come. Oddly enough, you kept your composure, externally unbothered but internally dreading what will happen next.

"All you ever do is follow that old man like a puppet, you can't even think for yourself and you speak as though you are following a script." He spat, his words seething with anger but for what?

"I have no use for you, so go back to your box." Five ended with a glare and walked away as though he was satisfied with the damage he had done to you.

Tears lurked the corner of your eyes, every time he opens his mouth you always find yourself crying. Were you the problem? You didn't understand why he was so mean to you and why Vanya cared for him so much. However, you knew you couldn't cry, you didn’t deserve to cry. Plus, you'd give him the satisfaction of hurting you, so it was best to keep it all in. Bottling it up is the only way...

Reluctantly, you came back to the house empty handed.

Unbeknownst to you as you walked away, the satisfaction Five would have in hurting you would be short-lived. Five took huge steps to time travel, with each time he used his powers, the atmosphere and environment of the street he walked upon changed with every step of the way.

"Not ready my ass." Five sneered as he walked away from the mess of a household he used to live in.

For once, he felt like he was free from the shackles his father placed onto him, just because he had finally proven the old man wrong and he could live life how he wanted it to be. The old man was only preventing him from reaching his full potential. He can only hope that from this point on that he continues to prove him wrong.

However, the third time he traveled to the future, he was presented with a different future he had in mind. Everything he once knew lay in ruins, a wasteland of rubble and debris. Remnants of what was once a home or a business are what was left of the city. A once-great civilization now reduced to nothingness.

Five stood amongst the rubble devastated by what the future had become. It was now a world of despair, a place where hope had been lost and the future was uncertain. Out of desperation, Five ran to where he once came but all he saw was rubble, no sign of salvation within sight.

"Y/N!" No one responded.

"VANYA!" Silence.

"BEN!" Not a word was uttered.

"DAD!" Quiet, except for the sounds of fire crackling.

"ANYONE!" The deafening silence was making the child mentally mad, the sound of his own heart beating in his ears and erratic breathing made it difficult to focus.

Frenzied by the future he encountered, he tried to use his powers to undo his mistake, "Come on!"

The boy's powers fizzled as blue energy spilled out of his hands but it didn't work, he was still stuck, "Shit."

He didn't understand why, but the brown-haired boy immediately lost hope. The realization of him being stuck in this future caused his knees to buckle. Five watched the house as he grew up in flames, as the voice of his father saying "I told you so," echoed in his head.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

"I survived on scraps, canned food, cockroaches, and anything I could find." Five chuckles at the thought of his hardships while you on the other hand couldn't imagine living life like that. You don't even think the others would have what it takes to survive that kind of environment.

"You know that rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life? Well, it's total bullshit." He added.

Vanya frowned, "I can't even imagine."

"You do whatever it takes to survive, or you die." The boy said, you could even hear a smidge of sadness in his tone, "So, we adapted. Whatever the world is, we found a way to overcome it."

"We?" You and Vanya questioned at the same time.

Every time Five brought up the apocalypse, he always made it a point that no one survived. So who was this other person? If he says that no one survived then why would there be another survivor? Was he experiencing the effects of time travel or was he that desperate to be sane that he had to project a human onto something?

The brown-haired boy brought the mug up to his lips, but he looked displeased by the lack of taste. "You got anything stronger?"

"Why is Five avoiding mentioning the other person? " You hummed to yourself as you downed the drink. It didn't make sense why he'd hide the other person's identity unless they are detrimental to him in some way, but how?

Obediently, Vanya refills the drink with Vodka and Five effortlessly downs it in one go. From one glance, he already knew what was going on inside your heads.

"You both think I'm crazy." He accused you guys, which caught you off guard and stopped your line of thinking.

"No," Vanya stammered as more words came out of her mouth. "It's just… it's a lot to take in."

"Quantum physics is difficult to understand especially if it hasn't been put into study so it would be understandable we would still be digesting this information…" You tried to reason with Five, which he somehow deemed as reasonable.

Frustrated, Five's nostrils flared as he inhaled plenty of air. "Exactly what don't you understand?"

"Why didn't you just time travel back?" The violinist repeated the question others used earlier.

Five scoffs then sighs, "Gee, wish I'd thought of that. Time travel is a crapshoot. I went into the ice and never acorn-ed."

"You think I didn't try everything to get back to my family?" Everyone in the room went silent, especially you.

You felt guilty for assuming he didn't want to go back home. After all, everyone in the household had no problem saying they would leave the house and it would be a dream come true if they did. You presumed that Five felt the same way, like he had attained freedom the moment he shook you off his trail but, apparently he didn't… Maybe if you had been persistent in pursuing him, then he wouldn't be suffering right now. By any chance, did he secretly wish you had stopped him from time traveling to the apocalypse?

"If you grew old there, you know, in the apocalypse, how come you still look like a kid?" The petite girl reiterated one of the questions that was asked earlier.

The boy in school shorts scoffs, "I told you already…" He sighs then begins to refill the mug with more alcohol. "I must have got the equations wrong."

"I mean, Dad always used to say that time travel could mess up your mind. Well, maybe that's what's happening?"

Your eyes widened at Vanya's words; the fact she was ballsy enough to say that Five had gone mad right to his face was something you didn't hear everyday nor even witness. From the looks of it as well, the boy himself was offended by his sister's statement but tried to hide it from her.

"This was a mistake, you're too young." He walks away from both you and Vanya, "Too naive."

Before he could walk out the door, the violinist grabbed his wrist, coincidentally recreating a past memory you had with Five, "No, Five… Five, wait!"

The boy in school shorts stopped by the door as he slowly turned his attention to his sister. On the other hand, you felt like a leftover, something that's meant to be given attention later, what the hell were you supposed to do?

"I haven't seen you in a long time, and I don't want to lose you again." The petite girl pleaded, her grip on his small wrist tightened, "That's all."

"And you know what, it's getting late, and I have lessons early and I need sleep, and I'm sure you do, too." She excused but you all knew no one was buying it.

Vanya then began to prep the couch for you guys, whilst helping her gather pillows and blankets for you and Five. Though you doubt that you would be able to stand sharing a couch to sleep on with Five.

"Here."

"We'll talk in the morning again. Okay? I promise." Vanya pleaded before she began heading to her room. "Night."

"Night." Five reciprocated her greeting, his eyes following Vanya as she headed to her room.

You did not know what to do… After you had just digested the information he gave, you had the sudden urge to hug Five but; you knew that you couldn't because he would probably find it awkward and you were not his sibling; you were not obligated to comfort him if he practically deems you as a stranger. Though at the back of your mind, something was nagging you to comfort him somehow.

As your thoughts of comforting the boy were internally eating you away, in the midst of your panic you incidentally saw that one of his hands rested beside his thigh as he restlessly drummed his fingers against the couch. Out of instinct, you placed a hand on top of his, his muscles became tensed at the gesture.

"What are you doing?" Five looked you in the eye, trying to figure out what you were up to.

You gulped then avoided his gaze, "I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"For not stopping you."

His once tensed muscles relaxed at your words followed by his signature scoff, "That's one way of driving yourself crazy."

"I should have been there to stop you like your father told me but the moment you told me I was just a puppet… I- I stopped thinking and let you go instead. If I had continued acting like one, none of this would have ever happened… you wouldn't be suffering right now."

"I used to do that." Five said with a sad smile as he looked out the window, "I used to blame myself for not listening to the old man or for not letting you drag me back into the house but, then I reminded myself that I made that choice. It's a learning experience now, it's not something I can undo. The only thing I can do now is prevent the apocalypse."

Your clammy hands found themselves playing with the frills of your dress, unsure what to do with them. You didn't expect - actually, never expected - him to comfort you nor for him to accept the past. It felt so weird hearing something mature come out of Five's mouth, especially knowing how arrogant he is.

Out of nowhere, the boy took out an object wrapped in cloth from his pocket, he carefully unraveled the cloth and revealed a glass eye. He rotated it to the back to show the serial code, the batch number and the company it came from.

"I'm guessing that this eye belongs to the person responsible for the apocalypse?" You quipped more at ease after you opened up your feelings.

"Possibly, it's the only lead to the mastermind." He said, stood up then quickly shoved the eye back into his pocket.

"You're leaving? What about Vanya?" You asked, not wanting to leave her hanging by a thread, unaware of you and Five's departure.

The boy in school shorts merely rolled his eyes at your words; Vanya was the only thing that you could think of even after he told you the apocalypse was nearing. Back then, he would have found this habit of yours annoying, considering how you always doted on the violinist but, after what he went through, it felt like your doting felt refreshing and nostalgic for him.

"We'd only be wasting our time here. Unless you want to stay behind?"

In the end, you guys end up leaving Vanya's apartment through the front door this time. After asking around, purchasing a map, splitting up numerous times and almost getting lost, you guys finally managed to find the company where the glass eyeball came from. From the outside, it looked like a sleek corporation office. Whilst from the inside, the building follows the same vibe as the exterior. It was mostly white, and the walls were made of glass, nothing out of the ordinary, it's what most people considered “modern'' in this day and age.

You stood by the boy in school shorts who was holding onto the glass eye like it is his lifeline; To be fair, it is humanity’s lifeline. If you guys do not identify what caused the apocalypse nor end it then it is the end for everyone. So you could not blame him for carrying it with utmost care. While at it, Five is taking paces back and forth as his eyes wander around the lobby until a doctor that was passing by finally took notice of you guys’ presence.

"Uh, can I help you?"

Five smiled then showed the eyeball to the older man, "I need to know who this belongs to."

"Where did you get that?" The doctor’s eyebrows furrowed as his tone changed. Which took you by surprise, “Why’d he lose his composure all of a sudden? ”

"Why do you care?" The boy shot back, which made you internally slap yourself because you knew his response just arose suspicion from the doctor. You had to make an excuse quickly!

"He… I mean, we found it at a playground, actually." You said with a sheepish smile, but the doctor didn’t seem to buy it.

"Uh, it must have just…" Five clicks his tongue, "Popped out." He ended with a smile. To everyone, that smile seemed harmless but you knew that smile was anything but harmless.

"We want to return it to its rightful owner." You added with a smile, but it became more sheepish instead. You can only pray that the doctor and the receptionist just thought you were the awkward one.

"Aw… You kids are so thoughtful." The receptionist wore a small smile.

"Yeah, look up the name for me, will ya?" The boy dismissed the compliment, wanting to get to the point immediately.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but patient records are strictly confidential. That means I can't tell you-"

"Yeah, I know what it means." Five butted in as his eyes narrowed at the doctor.

"But, I'll tell you what I can do. I will take the eye off your hands and return it to the owner. I'm sure the owner of the eye will be very grateful, so if I can just -" The doctor's hand is out in the open, ready for Five to place the eye on but, the boy beside you merely glared at the hand.

"Yeah, you're not touching this eye." He threatened, his eyes hinting the peak of his anger was on the verge of pouring out.

"No, you listen here, young man-" Before the doctor could finish speaking, Five grabbed him by the collar which made him grunt, his eyes widening at the “young” man’s actions, "No! You listen to me, asshole. I've come a long way for this. Through some shit your pea brain couldn't even comprehend, so just give me the information I need, and I'll be on my merry way."

Before the older man could speak, Five interrupted him, "And if you call me 'young man' one more time, I'm gonna put your head through that damn' wall."

"Oh, dear." Both you and the receptionist mutter, though you more or less expected this from Five.

Despite the fear coursing through the doctor’s veins, he softly requests for the receptionist to call security to which she complies to.

Not wanting to cause anymore trouble, you approached Five and patted his shoulder and whispered, "We should get going…"

Five reluctantly let the man go then leave the building with you in tow. You both head back to the Umbrella Academy to try and find another way to get information on the lead. Leaving behind a confused receptionist and a doctor terrified of the 'younger' generation.

As you guys headed back home, Vanya woke up to find her apartment lacking you and Five’s presence, panic filled her then she began looking for you guys everywhere in her apartment building but found no one. Despite her uneasiness to return to the academy, it was the only place she could think of as to where you guys would return.

In the end, she sucked it up and went back, the violinist arrived at the academy, only to find it empty. She found it rather ironic because of how loud the decorations were compared to what she was hearing. The petite girl couldn't even hear Grace nor Pogo, where the hell was everyone?

"Five?"

"Y/N?"

Out of desperation, she heads upstairs whilst screaming. "Are you upstairs?"

"Five? Y/N?" The petite girl takes a turn to go to where their old bedrooms were located.

As she arrives at Five's room, she met a familiar face, relief washes over her. "Oh, thank God."

"I was worried sick about you guys." She admitted a hand ready to be placed on Five's shoulder but she noticed something odd. "Where's Y/N?"

"Sorry, we left without saying goodbye."

Vanya raised a brow at this, it was rare for Five to acknowledge Y/N's presence. Even when he talks, the boy usually goes out of his way to exempt her, it's usually the servant who bothers to use pronouns like 'we' or corrects him but this time, he acknowledged her presence. It was rather odd… perhaps they were getting closer?

"No, look, I'm the one that should be sorry." Vanya sighs a hand on her chest. "Yeah, I was dismissive, and…"

The boy in school shorts walks closer showing to his sister that he is willing to listen.

"I- I guess I didn't know how to process what you were saying like Y/N said. And I still can't, to be honest." She added, her gaze elsewhere most likely ashamed to show the regret in her eyes.

"Maybe you were right to be dismissive." Five exhales through his nose, "Maybe it wasn't real after all."

He turns and approaches his dresser to examine the decoration he had left behind years ago. "It felt real. Well… like you said, the old man did say time travel could contaminate the mind."

"Then maybe I'm not the right person for you to be talking to. Look, I used to see someone. A therapist. I could give you her information." Vanya suggested, as she rummaged through her sling bag ready to write down the number but she stopped midway through when Five gestured for her to not continue further.

"Thanks, but… I think I'm just gonna get some rest. It's been a long time since I got a good sleep." Five declined her offer.

"Okay." The violinist sighs as she retreats her hand from her sling bag then walks away.

The boy was about to follow her to check if she was going to leave the academy. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by items clattering, followed by you falling on your knees while Klaus comes out of the closet, take that as you will.

"Remind me again why I had to be shoved into a closet?" You muttered, wiping away the sweat that accumulated on your forehead. "Especially with Klaus."

"That's so… touching, all that stuff about family and Dad and time. Wow!" Klaus rejoiced with his hands up, though it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic.

"Master Klaus, we just got Vanya off of our trail. I'd suggest lowering your voice if you don't want her coming back." You suggested but your suggestion only fell into deaf ears.

"I'm moist." The Seance declared, you guys were unsure if he was declaring that he was moist from sweat.

The arrogant boy took one look at Klaus' outfit, only for a displeased look to settle on his face. "I thought I told you to put on something professional."

"Unfortunately, that's the closest we can get to something professional with Master Klaus' closet." You sadly admitted, as you silently helped yourself up, since everyone seemed to be busy with themselves.

Five sighs then checks to the hallway to see if Vanya was still there. "We'll raid the old man's closet."

The curly haired male rolled his eyes, "Whatever, as long as I get paid."

"When the job is done, you'll get paid." You reassured him.

"Okay, but just so we're clear with the finer details, I just gotta go into this place and pretend to be your dear old dad, correct?"

"Yeah, something like that." Five confirmed about to make his way to Master Hargreeves room but Klaus' next question made everyone stop in their tracks.

"What's our cover story?"

"Master Klaus, I don't think a cover story is necessary for this scenario…" You muttered knowing full well your words would fall into deaf ears again.

"I mean, was I really young when I had you and Rosey? Like, 16? Like, young and… terribly misguided."

"Master Klaus, whatever roleplaying ideas you have is best to be kept behind closed doors for now because this is not the time for your shenanigans." You said firmly this time, but your words were not heeded.

"Your mother! That slut... Whoever she was, We met at the disco." Klaus chuckles, then he proudly looks at you both. "Okay? Remember that."

Five played along with Klaus' antics with a simple nod, though it was clear he wasn’t taking Klaus’ shit seriously. On the other hand, you felt like this was only the beginning of hell for you. Albeit you were more used to being surrounded by tamed people like Luther, Allison, Ben, Vanya and Five. Klaus was a different case… the walking contradiction of a man, who flew higher than the icarus yet he never reached the sun.

Suddenly, an idea popped into the seance’s head followed by him snapping his fingers. "Oh, my god, the sex was amazing."

"What a disturbing glimpse into that thing you call a brain." The boy remarked with a revolted look on his face.

Klaus placed a hand on his chest, his face laced with an offended look. "Don't make me put you in time-out."

Once Klaus was finished with his shenanigans, you three headed to Reginald Hargreeves’ room and raided Reginald's closet - though it was mostly you and Five doing the work. You were the one responsible for looking for a decent outfit whilst Five was in charge of looking for the dress shoes. Klaus was mostly responsible for filling in the silence with his usual “outrageousness”, as Five would kindly put into words.

Out of nowhere, Five's heart raced as his mind began playing tricks on him, blending the boundaries between reality and illusion. In his perception, he observed the chaotic scene before him, the world had transformed into a desolate wasteland, reminiscent of the apocalypse. Amidst the devastation, he witnessed a familiar (H/C) young girl in a Victorian maid outfit, your body convulsing as you reached out desperately, attempting to grasp the sky itself.

Fear and urgency surged through the boy's veins as he rushed to your side. Ignoring the dangers that surrounded them, he knelt down beside your trembling form, his hands trembling as well. Out of desperation, he shook you gently, attempting to snap you out of whatever trance you seemed to be trapped within.

As you slowly turned your gaze towards him, your eyes filled with worry, the Five's heart sank. He could see the pain and confusion reflected in your eyes, mirroring his own inner turmoil. The sight of the steel piercing your abdomen only made his stomach twist.

Worried etched onto your facial features as your voice awakened Five from his hallucination. "Are you alright Five?"

The whole room went silent at your words. That was the first time you called him by his name without an honorific, even the usually head-in-the-clouds Klaus caught onto your slip up and started giggling like a little girl. On the other hand, the boy was shell shocked.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but we have better things to do! Which is me getting my 20 bucks." Klaus interjected but a wide smile engraved itself into his features, it's a common sight to see a smile on his face but, this time it felt like it was alluding to something you didn't like.

"There was no 'moment' I was going to ask Y/N about the villains the academy used to face while I was gone." Five excused but Klaus knew otherwise, the way his 'little' brother reacted just now was similar to how he reacted when he wasn't high: Scared, desperate, and depressed.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty startled." You placed both of your hands onto Five's shoulders, asking for his reassurance.

"You called me by my name without an honorific. Of course I would be startled." He lied whilst he redirected your attention to your slip up.

"I… I did?"

Klaus sat up straight then placed a hand on his chest, "I'm wounded and betrayed by you, Rosey! To think we've been together since childhood, I didn't even leave your side for the last 17 years yet, you called him -" The Seance points to Five. "- without an honorific first! Instead of me! Oh, the world is truly coming to an end."

"I don't think you should be joking about that after what Five told you…" You muttered but the boy beside you pats your shoulder as though to tell you it was alright.

"As I was saying," Five adjusted his clothes then sat on an armchair, acting as though he didn't experience an episode. "While I was gone, did a villain named White V show up? Or something along the lines of that?"

You tilted your head, this name didn't feel familiar whatsoever. "I don't recall a villain named White V… maybe they will show up soon?"

"Same here but I do remember most of the villains being different colors besides white." Klaus mused.

"You know I didn't mean it literally Klaus."

"Just thought it would help!"

Trying to change the subject, Five turned his head to you and then asked, "Did you find something decent for this lunatic brother of mine?"

Once you raised a thumbs up, it was everyone's go signal to get ready then head back to the doctor's office to pester him once again.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

At the moment, you three were back in the office. Klaus sitting down with a bored look on his face while you sat beside him patiently. Five, on the other hand, is standing impatiently pacing back and forth, whilst the doctor kept up a professional facade right in front of you three despite what occurred earlier.

"Like I said to your son, earlier. Any information about the prosthetics we build is strictly confidential. Without the client's consent, I simply can't help you." The doctor reiterated.

"Well, we can't get the consent if you don't give us a name." Five tries to keep his cool by gritting his teeth to prevent any unsavory words from flowing out.

"Well, that's not my problem." The man in lab coat merely shrugged which irked Five even more to go through with his promise earlier.

"Sorry, Now, there's really nothing more I can do, so-"

From this point on, your attention is taken away because you heard your phone ring. You look down and read who the notification was from and immediately open your phone.

Just as you finished chatting to Vanya, you heard the impact of a fist coming into contact with skin and Five grunting in pain. Without warning, Klaus tried kicking you in the stomach as well, but you narrowly dodged it but, in the process of trying to dodge it, you were sent rolling backwards. Whilst you two were busy groaning in pain, Klaus decided it would be a good idea to hit himself with a snow globe.

The curly haired male groaned then yelled, "God, that hurt!"

Doctor hastily grabs the telephone. "I'm calling security-" But the seance wrestled it out of his hand.

"What are you doing?"

Klaus gasps dramatically. "There's been an assault in Mr. Big's office, and we need security, now. Schnell!" The phone clatters as Klaus slams it carelessly back into place, his gaze now focused onto the doctor.

"Now, here's what's gonna happen, Grant."

"It's… Lance."

"In about 60 seconds, two security guards are gonna burst through that door, and they're gonna see a whole lot of blood, and they're gonna wonder, 'What the hell happened?' and we're gonna tell them that you… beat the shit out of us." Klaus explains as he manipulates his voice and face to look as though he was appalled and scared of what Lance had 'done'.

You were oddly impressed and scared of Klaus acting skills, while Five seemed proud he chose the right person. Either way, it felt like things were going to turn out how Five wanted it to be but, it seemed like this was too easy for your opinion…

"You're gonna do great in prison, Grant. Trust me, I've been there. Little piece of chicken like you. Oh my God, you're gonna be passed around like a…" Klaus rotates his hips. "You're just- You're gonna do great. That's all I'm saying."

"Jesus, you are a real sick bastard." Lance grimaced at the curly haired man who claimed to be you and Five's Father.

"Thank you." He accepts the compliment as he spat out the glass that was in his mouth.

Once the whole mess was somehow covered up, the Doctor began skimming through the files to look for the glass eyeball. In the end, he couldn't find the glass eye including the information of the owner. He concluded the search by stating the glass eye isn't even manufactured yet, then asked how you guys managed to get the eye.

"I knew it was too good to be true…" You thought to yourself, as you all went back to square one… "Where to now? " Is what you'd ask Five but you doubt he knows what his next lead is since the glass eye was all he had.

"Well, this is not good." Five muttered, his disappointment becoming more prominent on his face.

"I was pretty good, though, right? Yeah. What about my consent, bitch?" Klaus chuckled proudly, you would have cheered on Klaus if it weren't for the fact that you knew now was not the time for that. Five would probably wring you and Klaus' necks just because he's in a bad mood.

"Klaus, it doesn't matter." The boy snapped, his hands stuffed into his school boy shorts.

"What? What? What's the big deal with this eye, anyway?"

"Master Klaus, we already told you, there is someone out there who's going to lose an eye in the next seven days." You reiterated as Five added. "They're gonna bring about the end of life on this Earth as we know it."

The boy in school shorts was about to walk away with you in tow to try and find another lead but, your strides to the different direction were put to a stop by Klaus' words.

"Yeah, can I get that 20 bucks, like, now or what?"

"Your 20 bucks? " Five repeated as he slowly turned to Klaus, his rage on the verge of exploding as more words came out of Klaus' mouth.

"KLAUS READ THE ROOM FOR ONE SECOND! " You internally screamed as you hastily went to Klaus' side ready to shield him from getting punched.

"Yeah, my 20 bucks."

"The apocalypse is coming, and all you can think about is getting high?" Five was seething while you were on the verge of slamming your face onto the pavement.

"Well, I'm also quite hungry. Tummy's a-rumblin'." Klaus imitates a stomach growling then smiles at Five but, the boy isn't too pleased about it.

"You're useless."

"You're all useless!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. You knew that he said it in the heat of the moment but, you were all trying your best to help him…

Klaus noticed your change of demeanor then tried to shift the subject. "Oh, come on. You need to lighten up, old man."

Five sits on the stairway in front of the prosthetics building. Trying to silently think of a plan B but, the seance just had to open his mouth. Five swore if he brought a stapler he would staple Klaus' lips closed.

"Hey, you know, I've just now realized why you're so uptight. You must be horny as hell!" He laughed then added, "All those years by yourself. It's gonna screw with your head being alone."

"If you want to let the stress out, why not ask Y/N for help?"

"Y/N seems like she'd be good in bed, if you're the type to have a corruption kink and all. I wouldn't be surprised if you have one because you seem the type-" Klaus snapped his finger, "And, andd~! She wouldn't get arrested for dating you."

You wanted to die on the spot as more words came out of Klaus' mouth. Even though talking about sex should be normalized, you weren't used to the exposure of it. Neither were you taught on how it works besides the basics.

"Well… I wasn't alone." Five admitted, a rare smile on his face becoming more visible as he reminisced about his significant other.

"Oh?" Klaus looks surprised as you, both numbers - you and Klaus - looked at Five in disbelief.

"Pray tell."

"Her name was Delores." Five looked longing into the distance, as he fidgeted with his ring finger. "We were together for over 30 years."

"Thirty years? Oh, wow!" The curly haired man chuckled. "God, the longest I've been with someone was… I don't know, three weeks. And that's only because I was so tired of looking for a place to sleep."

"We need to find Delores… She could be of help in figuring out what caused the apocalypse. But, is she even in this time period? How do we get in contact with her? " You pondered, your head was clouded with questions.

You didn't notice Five spontaneously grabbed your wrist then you guys are suddenly teleported inside a taxi. Surprised by the turn of events, you and the taxi driver gasp in unison.

"Don't stop, just keep going." Five commanded as he rolled down the taxi window and mockingly saluted Klaus.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! What about my money?!" Klaus screamed running after the taxi you guys were in.

Against Five's will, you threw a 10 dollar bill outside the window. "That should be enough for food! Don't waste it on drugs!"

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

You and Five stood right in front of Gimbel brothers whilst it rained. The droplets stain your clothes and make the clothing cling onto your skin. As you were about to pick the lock, Five stopped you midway through, to which you raised a brow at his actions.

"Are we going to use your powers? Shouldn't you be resting with how much you've used them?" You expressed your concern, only for your concern to be thrown out the window by the person who you expressed your concern for.

Five's brows were stitched together. "What do you mean we? I'm the only one going in."

"I… but why?"

"For starters, I already told you yesterday that I'd be the one dealing with the mess but you didn't listen to my orders. You could've been killed!"

You flinched at his words but tried to defend yourself. "You were about to be killed as well, that's why I intervened."

"Stay here. If anything else happens, call the police then go home by yourself, I don't need to lug around your weight." The boy stated as he teleported into the building before you could even interject.

Reluctantly, you wait for him from a nearby building whilst waiting, you witness two people enter the store. You were about to follow them as Five's back up when you heard gunshots but, you recalled Five's orders, and instead chose to rush to the nearest telephone booth to call the police. Once the police arrived, you wait for Five to exit the store and met up with him in the next corner then escorted him back home.

Unbeknownst to you guys, Allison and Luther were busy talking about Grace and Y/N until you guys show up and pass by them. They stop to see that Five looked beaten up whilst you carried the top half of a mannequin. Hopefully, they don't ask where you got it and what you intended to do with it.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Allison voiced her concern as she went to your side to check if you had any bruises as well.

"Thank god, they aren't asking about the mannequin." You sighed in relief, grateful that they didn't question if you guys committed theft. To be fair, if you would have known Delores was a mannequin you would have just bought her or bought a look alike and dressed it up as her, rather than being chased by the police.

"Are you okay? Can we help?" Luther tries to put a hand on Five's shoulder but the boy caught Spaceboy's wrist midway.

"There's nothing you can do."

"There's nothing any of you can do."

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

As the boy in school shorts began investigating the remnants of the Umbrella Academy, he saw a gloved hand holding onto something round. He ran over to where the hand was poking out and grabbed it. It was a glass eyeball, freshly taken out of someone's eye socket. Five tried to remove some of the rubble to see if the person underneath it was someone he knew, and he was right. It was Luther.

Whilst trying to look for any more clues, Five stumbles upon other familiar faces, one by one he sees his dead siblings: Allison, Diego, and Klaus. Everyone he grew up with was dead, he had lost all hope for mankind. However, amidst the devastation, he witnessed a familiar (H/C) young girl in a Victorian maid outfit, your body convulsing as you reached out desperately, attempting to grasp the sky itself.

Fear and urgency surged through the boy's veins as he rushed to your side. Ignoring the dangers that surrounded them, he knelt down beside your trembling form, his hands trembling as well. Out of desperation, he shook you gently, attempting to snap you out of whatever trance you seemed to be trapped within.

As you slowly turned your gaze towards him, your eyes filled with worry, the boy's heart sank. He could see the pain and confusion reflected in your eyes, mirroring his own inner turmoil. The sight of the steel piercing your abdomen only made his stomach twist.

He hurriedly and carefully removes you from the steel that pierced you. When your eyes landed on him, you wore a small smile.

"Five… Huh, I must be dreaming." You said chuckling though, it turned into a coughing fit instead.

"No, this is the real me, I'm not dead." The boy reassured you by touching your cheek, which led you to cry. The warmth of seeing someone in your last moments made you want to be greedy and hold onto life just a little longer but, you knew you didn't have the strength to do so.

"What happened? Who did this to you?" Five wanted answers quickly, he wanted to save his family somehow, knowing who did this might relinquish the pain he feels right now.

"White V…" Those were the last words that trailed off your lips. In the end, the pain he felt was going to last for 46 years in isolation.

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[forhappysake]

What Lurks Within, Pt. 7

Author's Note: Things are starting to unravel, I hope everyone is buckled up!

Content: When Matt, Spencer, and Y/N decide to interview the police chief's wife, Lucia, they learn more than they ever could have bargained for. The team draws conclusions about who has been tampering with Whittendon's reports, and the walls start to close in around Chief Graydon.

Warnings: Established relationship, fluff if you squint, a coffee-related burn, heavy talk of domestic abuse (both physical and psychological)

We walked out into the main office, searching for Rossi’s shock of gray hair in the sea of workers. “Do you see him?” I asked Matt, who stood at least a head taller than I. I saw him scan the cubicles. 

“Not in here…” he continued to scan the office. It was then I noticed that Police Chief Graydon’s door was ajar. 

“Matt,” I said, pointing in the direction of the office. He noticed the door as well. He led me across the office and brought us to a stop outside the doorway. We stood for a moment, trying to hear the conversation inside. 

Rossi’s voice drifted out of the office. “Chief, you’ve got to level with me here. My team is here to help you.” 

“Agent Rossi, that’s all well and good, but I didn’t ask for your help,” Graydon said. I looked at Matt, who raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, we’re here now. We’re not going anywhere until this case is closed. You can either be a part of the solution or a part of the problem.” Rossi’s voice moved around the room, as if he was walking back and forth. Suddenly, the office door swung open and Rossi stepped out into the main office, almost running into Matt and I. 

Rossi grabbed both of our arms, dragging us back to the conference room and shutting the door firmly behind him. “Has anyone ever told you not to eavesdrop?” he asked. 

Matt and I looked at each other before looking back at Rossi. I felt a mischievous smile tug at my lips. “Not really,” I said. Rossi sighed, leaning back against a shelf on the opposite side of the room. “What was going on in there?” I asked. 

“Something’s up with that guy,” Rossi said, gesturing towards the police chief’s office. “I’ve been working with police chiefs for fifty years, and have never met one that was so uncooperative or ungrateful for our presence.”

JJ looked to Matt and I, waiting for us to fill Rossi in on our newest discoveries. “Well,” I started, “he probably isn’t very happy we’re here considering what Matt and I have just found in Garcia’s compilation of files about each of his children.”

“Ah,” Rossi said, moving from his standing position to get comfortable in an office chair. “Do tell.” I quickly opened my tablet and showed Rossi the hospital admission records for Phillip Graydon. He scanned the files, nodding as he reached the end of the record. 

“So, have we been able to track down this kid? I’d like to know what he has to say about his father.” Rossi handed my tablet back to me, looking at Matt and I expectantly. 

I shook my head. “Not yet. Matt and I were actually coming to ask if we could try talking to Graydon’s wife, Lucia. His file says she opened a domestic case against him years ago, but the charges were dropped. I’d like to see if we could get her to tell us more.” 

Rossi thought for a moment, eyes flickering between Matt and I. He nodded, “Sure. Just try to keep it subtle. If she realizes we’re poking around too much, she could tip him off.” 

“Understood, boss,” Matt said. “Y/N, is Graydon’s address in that file?” I reached across the table for the paper copy of Graydon’s file that Matt had brought in earlier. 

“It is,” I said. Spencer and JJ stood in the corner of the room, watching the interaction from their position in front of the map on the wall. Little red pins dotted each spot where a victim had been found, creating a wide circle around a large span of neighborhoods. 

Matt spoke, jolting me from my thoughts. “I guess we’re ready to go then,” Matt said. Just as we turned to leave the conference room, Spencer cleared his throat. Matt and I stopped to look at him. Spencer stared at the ground and offered a small shrug, “Maybe I should go with you two… just in case.” 

I turned to Rossi who thought this over for a moment. “Are you sure its a ‘just-in-case’ thing or ‘my-girlfriend-is-going-so-I-am-too’ thing?” Rossi joked. 

Spencer turned a light shade of pink, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’d just like to go along,” Spencer said defensively.

“I’m messing with you. Go ahead, kid,” Rossi said, turning in his chair to wack Spencer on the knee. “Keep her out of trouble.”

I rolled my eyes playfully. “I don’t need any help doing that, thank you!” I shouted as we made our way out of the conference room, Spencer in tow. 

As Matt climbed in the driver’s seat with Spencer sliding in across from him, I dragged myself into the back of the SUV. The familiar stinging of the burn on my thigh had settled into a dull pain since earlier this morning. I lifted the hem of my skirt to examine the burn once more. As I did, Spencer turned to look at me. 

“Y/N, are you sure you don’t want to put anything on that?” he asked gently. I shook my head, dropping my skirt back down and offering him a small smile. He sighed and turned back towards the front windshield as we took off from the precinct. 

Matt raised an eyebrow, “What’d she do to herself this time?” This time. I was never known for being overly graceful. I once fell off a step stool in the kitchen back in the D.C. office. Another time, I spilled chardonnay all over my new dress at Rossi’s house. I sighed, looking out the window and expecting Spencer to answer. 

Spencer groaned. “She didn’t do anything to herself. I spilled a pot of fresh coffee on her this morning and burned her leg.” 

“Well, Spencer, that wasn’t very nice,” Matt joked, elbowing him across the console. 

“It was an accident, of course… and I would feel a lot better if she’d let me do something about it.” He gave me a concerned look in the rearview mirror, to which I held up my hands in innocence. 

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry, babe. Speaking of which, how far is it to the Graydon family’s house?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject. 

Matt looked down from the road to glance at the map on the SUV’s dash, “I’d say ten minutes, roughly.” 

I nodded, though he couldn’t see me from my position in the back seat. The car ride was relatively silent. After a couple more minutes, Matt pulled the SUV to a stop in front of a large brick home. I looked the house over, examining the carefully painted shutters and well-trimmed hedges. The picture of a perfect family, I thought, who knew what all went on inside this house. 

“Okay,” Matt spoke first, “what’s the plan of action?” He looked first to Spencer and then glanced at me in the rearview mirror. I shrugged, gesturing to Spencer and awaiting his answer. Spencer bit his lip as he thought and narrowed his eyes at the house in front of him. 

“If she’s been abused, I doubt she’ll be forthcoming with us,” Spencer said, nodding in Matt’s direction. “Y/N, you’ll probably have to get the most information out of her. We’ll just handle introductions and ask a few baseline questions.”

“Sounds good,” I said. Matt nodded from the driver’s seat. 

“Are we ready?” Matt asked. Without a verbal response, we opened our doors and stepped out onto the suburban street. Spencer approached the door first, wrapping his knuckles on the wood quickly before stepping back in line with Matt and I. I could hear shuffling from inside the house and a clicking sound as the deadbolt came unlocked. 

A middle-aged woman with short blonde hair and tired eyes opened the door. She seemed decidedly confused. “Can I help you?” she asked with a furrowed brow. 

Matt reached into his pocket and removed his badge, presenting it to Lucia. “I’m Agent Matt Simmons with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. This is Agent Y/N L/N and Dr. Spencer Reid. We’d like to talk to ask you some quick questions about your husband, Jonathan Graydon, and his work with the Denver P.D.”

Lucia shifted nervously on her feet, crossing her arms over her thin frame and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure I’m the one you should be talking to. I’m sure Jon would be more than happy to talk with you…” Her eyes were planted firmly on the ground in front of us. 

“I think you could provide us with some useful information, ma’am,” Matt said. Lucia sighed, running a worried hand through her hair. 

“Alright, come in. You can’t stay long,” she forewarned. 

Matt nodded. “We won’t need long,” he reassured. Lucia stepped back from the doorway, allowing the three of us to enter the home. I scanned the entryway. Family photos dotted the walls. I saw images of a young boy and girl, who I presumed to be Mira and Phillip. I watched Spencer canvas the room, taking in anything that may have been out of place. Thank God for eidetic memory. 

“You can sit here,” Lucia said, drawing my attention away from the photographs on the walls. She gestured to a couch and an armchair situated in the corner of a living room next to the entryway. Matt sat down in the arm chair, leaving Spencer and I to sit on the leather couch. Lucia sat down on the edge of a wooden rocking chair on the other side of the room, folding her hands in her lap and teetering the chair back and forth. The deep blue of the walls contrasted with her pale skin, and I felt a pang of sadness for the broken woman before us. 

Spencer cleared his throat. “You have a lovely home,” he said kindly. He was always so gentle, so thoughtful. Lucia offered him a polite smile, but anxiety shone through her light-blue eyes.

“So,” Matt said, bringing an end to the pleasantries, “we’re here to talk about your husband.” 

Lucia visibly tensed at the statement, shifting in the wooden rocker. “What do you want to know?” she asked.

“In 2004, you filed a domestic case against your husband and the charges were dropped shortly after. Could you explain what happened?” Matt asked. 

Lucia locked her eyes on the ground again. Her folded hands began to twitch in her lap. “Johnathan and I had a bit of a misunderstanding. I’m afraid that I overreacted. Once I realized what I’d done, I dropped the charges.” I looked to Spencer, who returned my gaze. I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was: This statement has been well-rehearsed. 

Matt nodded, displaying a faux understanding of her situation. “I see,” he said, “I’d like to show a file I brought along…” Matt rose from the chair, causing Lucia to flinch and cower against the wooden back of the rocker. Spencer noticed as quickly as I did, his face contorting in a grimace at the poor woman’s fear. 

Matt also noticed her reaction to his sudden movement and slowed his movements. He lowered himself back down into the chair. The silence that had fallen over the room was more than uncomfortable, and I decided it was my turn to take over. 

“Mrs. Graydon,” I said, “If you’d rather, I’d be more than happy to talk with you in private while these two wait in another room.” Lucia slowly peeled herself off the back of the wooden chair. She bit at her lip before offering a frantic nod. 

“Yes,” she mumbled. “Agent Y/N, you can come with me down the hall to the office.” She rose from her chair without another glance at Matt and Spencer and began making her way down the hallway. I shot up from the couch and followed her, leaving the boys behind in the living room. 

Lucia led me down a hallway to an open doorway, which she entered to reveal a lavish office. The wooden shelves were stacked with several novels. An oak desk was planted in the middle of the room with a leather desk chair pushed in behind. Despite the office’s impressive appearance, papers littered the top of the desk and crumpled trash overflowed the small trash can next to the leather desk chair. 

“Is this your office?” I asked her gently. 

She nodded. “Jon and I share it. I just use it more often… for my writing… I write,” she shrugged and flipped her hands around nervously as she talked. I could tell she was trying to distract from her previous reaction to Matt’s movements, and from the evident tears that had welled up in her eyes. 

I nodded empathetically. “Mrs. Graydon-”

“Lucia,” she cut me off. Her voice cutting through my statement seemed to startle her as much as it did me. She paused for a moment before she cleared her throat and spoke again, “You can call me Lucia.” 

“Lucia,” I began again, “I was looking at some files about your family this morning. There seems to be a history of… conflict… in this house.” Lucia met my eyes as a look of defeat crossed her face. A facade she’d been building for years had come crashing down in a matter of seconds when a few strangers walked in the door. Who could blame her for being upset?

She sighed. “I’m afraid you’re not wrong. This hasn’t always been the happy home I’ve been so desperate to make it out to be.” 

I nodded again, formulating my next question. “Why don’t you tell me why you really dropped the case against your husband?” 

Lucia turned from me as she began pacing the room. I could see the gears turning in her mind. “After all these years, who knew that today would be the day I’d have to say it out loud.” She laughed bitterly, looking up at the ceiling before coming to stand in front of me again. “My husband and I got into an argument, as we had many times before. Only this time it was… it was different.” She spoke with her hands again, flailing them around her head in a frenzy as she spoke. 

“How was this fight different?” I asked, needing more information from her.

“Jon has always been a… a physical fighter. That night - back in 2004 - was the first time he ever got our children involved.” She shuddered, recalling the memory. “He’d hit me again the night before. I told him I’d finally got the guts to hire a lawyer and take his ass to court… He didn’t like that.” 

She trailed off as she shook her head frantically. “He told me that if I went through with it, that he would hurt Phil or Mira.” 

“So you dropped the charges?” I asked. 

“Yes, but-” she dropped her face into her hands, pacing around the room once more. 

I spoke, “But he hurt Phillip anyway, didn’t he?” She paused, turning to me with tears in her eyes. “Jonathan broke Phillip’s arm, right?” I asked. I didn’t wait for her reply, continuing with my train of thought. “Later he broke his foot, he burned him, then he-”

Lucia burst into sobs. “Yes, he did it. He did all of it.” She cried into her hands as she stood in the middle of the office. I wanted to comfort her in some way, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to reach out to her. 

“Lucia,” I spoke again, in a voice that was much quieter this time. “Do you know where your children are now?” 

She nearly choked on her own sob, throwing her hands up in the air. “Why would I? Jon ruined our family. My daughter’s been in and out of rehab for years and my son-” she cried out once more, her face red. I found myself wondering if Spencer and Matt could hear everything that was going on. 

“Lucia,” I said again, more sternly this time, “where are Phillip and Mira?”

She began shaking her head fervently again, brushing her hair out of her face and wiping her tears away. “I’m telling you, I truly don’t know. Jon doesn’t know. He wouldn’t let me see them even if he did know.” Something in the desperation of her voice made me believe her, and I decided that I had gotten enough information from her. 

“Okay. I believe you,” I said. Lucia seemed to calm a bit with my statement of confidence. 

She took a few more deep breaths and we stood quietly in the office. “I presume you’re ready to go,” she said. 

I nodded. “I think we’ve put you through enough. I am so sorry for everything that’s happened to your family. I will personally be in touch to check up.” 

Lucia shook her head as she turned from me, starting back down the hallway towards the living room. She paused just outside the room in an area where the boys couldn’t see us. She spoke in a hushed voice, “Don’t try to contact me by phone. Jon listens. If you find out where my children are, please come back and see me during the day while he’s at the office.” 

“Of course,” I whispered. She looked me up and down for a moment. Deciding my promise was good, she rounded the corner and returned us to the living room. Spencer and Matt sat perched in their same positions. 

“We can go,” I said as I remained planted in the entryway. Lucia lowered herself back down on the edge of the wooden rocker. “We’ll see ourselves out, Lucia. Thank you for your help.” She leaned back and quietly nodded, accepting the opportunity to decompress after her emotional outburst. 

Spencer and Matt rose from their seats. They each thanked Lucia before we showed ourselves out of the house and entered back onto the street. We climbed back into our respective spots in the SUV before Matt fired up the engine. 

Directions to the precinct appeared on the SUV’s screen as the radio started playing and the heat kicked on. Matt leaned forward, turning off the radio, before he turned to face me in the back seat. “What the hell happened in there?” he asked. 

“Could you guys hear her crying? I felt terrible,” I mumbled. Spencer and Matt nodded. 

Matt spoke again, “Yeah, we could hear her. I thought we were going to have to call an ambulance. What did she tell you?” 

I buckled my seatbelt, leaning against the backseat. “You drive, I’ll talk,” I said. Matt nodded, shifting the SUV into drive as Spencer buckled his seatbelt. As we drove back to the precinct, I explained everything Lucia had told me: the threats, the domestic abuse, how Phillip was used as Graydon’s personal pawn. 

As I spoke, I could see Matt’s grip on the steering wheel growing tighter by the second. If anyone loved kids, it was Matt Simmons. I finished my spiel as we arrived in the parking lot. By the way he was shifting in the driver's seat, I thought Matt was going to walk in the office and beat Graydon himself. 

“He’s disgusting,” Matt mumbled, flexing his grip on the steering wheel again. 

Spencer spoke for the first time since leaving the residence. “It’s horrible. It is. But, we can’t let on that we know about it. We can’t just march in there and arrest him for an abuse case from fifteen years ago.”

“What about the most recent offense?” Matt asked. “The records said Phillip had been in the hospital only last year for suspicious injuries. Can’t we do something about that?”

Spencer shook his head, “Not until we know if this has something to do with what’s going on in this precinct. If we try to bring up his children, Graydon will send us back to D.C. and we’ll have to try to collect evidence from afar.”

“I agree with Spencer,” I said. “I don’t know why, but I can’t shake the feeling that all of this is connected. I think we should keep looking for Phillip Graydon.”

Spencer nodded as Matt loosened his grip on the steering wheel. “Fine,” he said, “but don’t think I won’t haul off and beat his ass the second that-” 

“Yeah, yeah. We get it,” I said, waving my hand. “Let’s get inside and fill everyone else in.” We exited the SUV and walked into the warmth of the precinct. Workers busied themselves at their desks as we made our way to the conference room again. 

I saw Emily’s red blouse through the window. “They must be back from the newest crime scene,” I thought aloud. As we entered the conference room, Emily posted new pictures of the latest victim on the board. 

“Shut the door, seal the blinds” Emily instructed Matt, who did so without question. “Sit,” she ordered. We all huddled around the conference room table. Spencer’s hands fidgeted nervously. JJ gnawed on the inside of her lip as Luke thumped his fingers against the table’s surface. Tensions were visibly high. 

“Here’s what I’ve learned this morning,” she started, leaning forward and pressing her arms into the table. “There are only three people in this office who have had unrestricted access to Whittendon’s files. Whittendon, Richie, and Chief Graydon.” All movements ceased at that moment, the stillness and silence in the room was thick with anticipation. 

She waited for any responses. When it was clear none of us were planning to interject, she spoke again. “As of right now, Chief Graydon is our prime suspect for the file tampering.”

To be continued...

[rinskazuu]

rating record of ragnarok characters /10, because i can.

DISCLAIMER: i’m only rating the characters based off what the manga & anime has portrayed. i’ve done little to no research on these people themselves, which is why i don’t condone anything immoral that they’ve done. this was written before the release of chapter 73+

a/n: i think i wanna do this for every anime + genshin & val. PLS WATCH IT & LMK IF YOU GUYS LIKE IT. also i dont care abt grammatical and/or punctual errors, this is a shit post

MANGA SPOILER WARNING!!

THOR: first of all, he’s so fucking hot. his smile caught me so off guard tho, i kinda just stood there watching the screen, baffled. not much character to him, he’s just hot. 7/10

LU BU: i’m chinese, i literally feel so happy when i see chinese characters. biased, but definitely a plus. he, just like thor, has little to no character. first character i called hot, is hot, but there are hotter characters. (what, i am not talking abt hermes wdym?) 7/10

HERMES: 10/10. no explanation. my man right there. i literally scream & cream every time i see him. why is he so fine. not a single panel or clip where he looks bad. pls eat me out, sir i beg. i will serve you. ONE CHANCE. JUST ONE?? i’m in love with him. who needs real men or women when hermes.

GOLL: she is SO ANNOYING. her eng & jp voice are both annoying asl. she’s that one character, that exists in mostly every anime, used to explain background info & battle info on other characters. brunhilde is too nice on her. she reminds me of when i first saw yachi (haikyuu) on screen. yachi, too, was annoying. but i grew to love her🫶. 1/10

BRUNHILDE: SHES SO HOT. ATE. SHE ALDNAHDISKZ. yeah, what else is there to say? 8/10

APHRODITE: she truly lives up to her version in the greek mythology. hottest woman/goddess alive. ate. her boobs, i want to squish them & bury my face in them. WHEN IS IT MY TURN TO HOLD THEM? 8/10

ZEUS: idgaf what anyone says, he’s not hot. not even his younger self. he looks like mirio (mha) turned netero (hxh). love his character tho. the eyes scared me at first. he’s hilarious. 5/10

ADAM: my friend, the one who recommended snv to me, told me he’d be more my type. he was, minus the fact that’s he literally butt fucking naked. nice ass cheeks tho. def pretty boy, his wife is hot too. i want her more😋. his line abt fighting for his children made me cry. should’ve won. i say, let hermes be uncleless & fatherless. 7/10

POSEIDON: he was fs the blueprint for adam. anywho, yk hes fine. SOOO FINE. meowing for him. he doesn’t beat hermes tho. nobody beats hermes. well, look wise at least. it was rlly hard choosing who to root for in this fight. that’s a lie, i was always on humanity’s side. sad he died:( 9/10. -1 for being a little, arrogant, narcissistic, egotistical bitch. 8/10

SASAKI KOJIRO: see, zeus coulda been hot like him at that old age. man aged like fine wine. character was a W. hot, determined, good character, funny. what else can you want from a man? 8/10

HERACLES: disappointed. so disappointed. he looked better in the disney ver. this fight was so boring for me. you’re telling me i’m supposed to watch the fight instead of ogling at hot characters? no. character was okay. 6/10

JACK THE RIPPER: massive L. not supporting a murderer. next. 0/10

SHIVA: hot from the beginning. 4 arms? do what you want to me, sir. 3 WIVES? tengen (kny), is that you bro?😭 anywho, he’s cocky, def my type irl LMAO. i wouldn’t let that slide tho.. his wives are hot too😋 8/10

RAIDEN TAMEEMON: i paid very little attention to this fight. don’t remember his backstory too well (i read this fight not even 24 hours ago btw). not that good looking, not ugly either. i liked his character, upset he took 3 of shiva’s arms. why 3? why not 2? he got 1 arm left. 4/10

BUDDHA: THATS MY GOD RIGHT THERE. ate. i’m not religious, and neither are my family, but they are buddhist, so by default, i am too. i personally think buddhism is the best religion, but we’re not gonna get into that. i have very valid reasons btw. love his personality, love his looks. massive W. ofc he fights for humanity. he’s a walking W. 9/10

ZEROFUKU: precious. definition of deserved better. what made me sad, is how he was written during the fight. he’s consistently hitting, with little to no strategy. his backstory is sad, but his battle exp was written poorly. also the random ass monster possessing took me tf out. 7/10

HADES: fine ass mf. he’s so different from how he’s usually portrayed, both look & personality wise. the first W netflix has pulled. he’s hot and responsible? persephone, we can share him babes. also, the relationship between him & poseidon made me SOB. like actually. hurt so bad i made an angst edit. 9/10

QIN SHI HUANG: first off, i don’t do research on my own ethnicity’s history. i didn’t even know who tf lu bu was. my family knew tho. with that aside, PROUD TO BE CHINESE❗️ he’s so fine. SO FINE. the way his character was written, was wonderful. i loved the fight between him & hades. the tension & the lengths they went to try & win. 9/10

BEELZEBUB: his backstory was so tragic. what i didn’t like, was how they rushed his & lilith’s story. like, they kinda randomly said i love you to each other. i’d love to see their adventures tgt. lilith, leave that emo thing, and come be w me. he’s fine too. i rlly like how they introduced him. 8/10

NIKOLA TESLA: i don’t have much of an opinion on him. very chatty, which i don’t actually mind. i guess we’ll have to wait for more chapters to release before i form an opinion on him. 5/10

ODIN: the hair bro. THE HAIR. i keep forgetting he exists, but i’m not his biggest fan. not bad, but i prefer his sons. i do like the theory of him being a traitor. he looks the part. 5/10

LOKI: honestly, i liked him a lot in the beginning, but now, it’s like he’s kinda on the side. cute & hot. thor is the better brother tho. speaking of, how tf are they even brothers? moving on, i like his personality. i like his shocked, mixed w angry, facial expressions more. 7/10

ARES: the hair again. very stylish, i do like it, but it took me out. walking around looking like a school girl. i don’t like how he tries to be a know-it-all w hermes, when he literally relies on him for info. but that’s my man for you. his expressions are SO WELL. 6/10

ADAMAS: i was awfully confused, at first, when there were 3 older brothers to zeus. usually, it’s just hades, poseidon & zeus. not his biggest fan, his character was rushed. 4/10

BONUSES

JESUS: i was very happy to see jesus. i’m not sure why, i just was. why is he the only character, THAT LOOKS LIKE THEMSELVES? 9/10

LU BU SIMP AGENCY: 10/10. i don’t need to say anymore. W cheng gong. love that man.

FORSETI: what a loser. he was so annoying. 2/10

EVE: mother? mommy? whatever. MEOW. 9/10

SASAKI SIMP AGENCY: love them as well. 10/10. walking Ws all around.

i don’t think i’m missing anyone, am i?

[rainmustfallts4]

Vongola Family Legacy Challenge

◇ Introduction

Yet another challenge I wrote over a year ago. When I was growing up, this anime was a huge part of my life and I adored it. It will always have a special place in my heart, even if I’ve moved on from obsessing over it. You do not have to know this anime in order to enjoy this challenge, it’s open to everyone!

For the record, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is about a young boy named Tsuna who finds himself in line to become the boss of the infamous Vongola family. Reborn, a hitman tutor, is sent to train and guide him on his journey while also finding those who will join his family and fight at Tsuna’s side. Hilarity ensues with a few dark moments, too.

◇ Getting Started

Choose one house to be the Vongola Headquarters for the challenge.

Babies can be aged up as soon as it’s almost their birthday.

Infants can be aged up after unlocking 5 different milestones.

Toddlers can be aged up after reaching level 3 in all skills.

Children can be aged up as soon as their aspiration is complete.

Teens can be aged up as soon as they get an A and earn one scout badge.

All young adults must enter the criminal career (unless otherwise stated) but it’s your choice if you want to reach the specified level or max each one.

The main challenge is gens 1-7. The extended family 1 & 2 are optional!

Let me know if you spy any issues c:

◇ Main Family

GENERATION ONE – Flame of the s k y (cielo)

_ Hair color: orange / Eye color: orange (or brown)

_ Family Oriented, loyal, good.

_ Complete friend of the world aspiration.

_ Join the criminal career and become the boss, reach level 10.

_ Max comedy skill.

_ Max charisma skill.

_ Max parenting skill.

_ Have six best friends.

_ Max relationship with child.

_ When scolding your child, do it calmly.

_ Buy the mentor reward trait.

GENERATION TWO – Flame of the s t o r m (tempesta)

_ Hair color: red (or silver) / Eye color: red (or silver)

_ Clingy, hot-headed, loyal, maker.

_ Complete chief of mischief aspiration.

_ Join the criminal career and reach oracle, reach level 10.

_ Max mischief skill.

_ Max handiness skill.

_ Max guitar skill.

_ Have a great relationship with your parents until they die.

_ When scolding your child, do it strictly.

_ Get into ten fights throughout your life.

_ Buy the storm chaser reward trait.

GENERATION THREE – Flame of the r a i n (pioggia)

_ Hair color: bright blue / Eye color: bright blue

_ Angelic, outgoing, cheerful, active.

_ Complete the master chef aspiration.

_ Join and max football as a teen.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 3.

_ Max cooking skill.

_ Max fitness skill.

_ Max gourmet cooking skill.

_ Buy the always welcome reward trait.

_ Buy the carefree reward trait.

GENERATION FOUR – Flame of the s u n (sereno)

_ Hair color: yellow (or silver) / Eye color: yellow (or silver)

_ Wild, bro, active, adventurous.

_ Complete the bodybuilder aspiration.

_ Join the bodybuilder career until level 5.

_ Join the criminal career and reach 3.

_ Max fitness skill.

_ Max wellness skill.

_ Max rock climbing skill.

_ Buy the heatproof reward trait.

_ Buy the gym rat reward trait.

GENERATION FIVE – Flame of the l i g h t n i n g (fulmine)

_ Hair color: green / Eye color: green

_ Silly, jealous, clumsy, romantic.

_ Complete the serial romantic aspiration.

_ Join the criminal career as a teen, reach level 5.

_ Max programming skill.

_ Max mixology skill.

_ Max romance skill.

_ Buy the shameless reward trait.

_ Buy the beguiling reward trait.

GENERATION SIX – Flame of the c l o u d (nuvola)

_ Hair color: black (or purple) / Eye color: black (or purple)

_ Independent, loner, animal enthusiast, genius.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 5.

_ Complete the friend of the animals aspiration.

_ Max logic skill.

_ Max pet training skill.

_ Max veterinarian skill.

_ Have one cat, one dog and a hedgehog.

_ Only have good relationships with animals.

_ Earn an A in both middle and high school.

_ If you scold your child, you must do it strictly.

_ Buy the observant reward trait.

_ Buy the needs no one reward trait.

GENERATION SEVEN – Flame of the m i s t (nebbia)

_ Hair color: dark purple / Eye color: dark purple

_ Inquisitive, genius, self-assured, mean.

_ Join the secret agent career, villain, and reach level 10.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 5.

_ Complete the renaissance sim aspiration.

_ Max programming skill.

_ Max video gaming skill.

_ Max piano skill.

_ Buy the connections reward trait.

◇ Extended Family 1 - Varia

GENERATION 8 – Flame of the w r a t h f u l sky

_ Hair color: black / Eye color: orange

_ Fussy, mean, hot-headed, lazy.

_ Complete leader of the pack aspiration.

_ Join the criminal career and become a boss, reach level 9.

_ Max mixology skill.

_ Max nectar making skill.

_ Max juice fizzing skill.

_ Meet your partner at a bar.

_ Have a cat (optional: with a tiger skin) and max friendship.

_ Buy the professional slacker reward trait.

GENERATION 9 – Flame of the e m p o r e r rain

_ Hair color: silver / Eye color: blue

_ Wild, hot-headed, active, child of the ocean.

_ Complete beach life aspiration.

_ Join the military career and reach level 4 then quit.

_ Join the criminal career and become an oracle, reach level 9.

_ Max logic skill.

_ Max riding skill.

_ Max vampire lore skill.

_ Befriend a dolphin.

_ Have twins.

_ Buy the waterproof reward trait.

GENERATION 10 – Flame of the l a u g h i n g storm

_ Hair color: Blonde / Eye color: yellow

_ Charmer, mean, cheerful, childish.

_ Complete chief of mischief aspiration.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 5.

_ Max mischief skill.

_ Max comedy skill.

_ Max herbalism skill.

_ Max out friendship with a fox.

_ Greet everyone you meet with a rude introduction.

_ Buy the savant reward trait.

GENERATION 11 – Flame of the f a s h i o n a b l e sun

_ Hair color: green (or multi-colored) / Eye color: Yellow

_ Fussy, cheerful, foodie, insider.

_ Complete party animal aspiration.

_ Max dancing skill.

_ Max baking skill.

_ Max fitness skill.

_ Join the style influencer career, stylist, and reach level 10.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 3.

_ Earn 10,000 social media followers.

_ Buy the connections reward trait.

GENERATION 12 – Flame of the h a r d w o r k i n g lightning

_ Hair color: black / Eye color: green (or yellow)

_ Clingy, Overachiever, loyal, childish.

_ Complete Soulmate aspiration.

_ Max bowling skill.

_ Max cross-stitch skill.

_ Max fishing skill.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 5.

_ Buy the lightning proof reward trait.

_ Buy the storm chaser reward trait.

GENERATION 13 – Flame of the g r e e d y mist

_ Hair color: purple / Eye color: purple

_ Independent, materialistic, kleptomaniac, genius

_ Complete fabulously wealthy aspiration.

_ Max entrepreneur skill.

_ Max gemology skill.

_ Max research & debate skill.

_ Join the criminal career, oracle, and reach level 8.

_ Buy the frugal reward trait.

_ Buy the free services reward trait.

◇ Extended 2 - Arcobaleno

GENERATION 14 – Pacifier of the s k y

_ Hair color: black / Eye color: purple

_ Angelic, family Oriented, good, generous.

_ Complete Big Happy Family aspiration.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 3.

_ Max gardening skill.

_ Max flower arranging skill.

_ Max parenting skill.

GENERATION 15 – Pacifier of the s t o r m

_ Hair color: black / Eye color: black

_ Wild, active, good, foodie.

_ Join the detective career and reach level 5 then quit.

_ Join the criminal career and reach level 3.

_ Complete Font of Tomarani Knowledge aspiration.

_ Max archaeology skill.

_ Max fitness skill.

_ Max logic skill.

_ Unlock the mentor reward trait.

GENERATION 16 – Pacifier of the s u n

_ Hair color: black / Eye color: black

_ Charmer, cheerful, bookworm, neat.

_ Complete insect collection.

_ Join and reach level 6 of the criminal career, boss branch.

_ Unlock the mentor reward trait.

_ Unlock the coffee fanatic lifestyle.

_ Complete neighborhood confidante aspiration.

_ Complete The Curator aspiration.

_ Max charisma skill.

_ Max writing skill.

_ Max knitting skill.

GENERATION 17 – Pacifier of the l i g h t n i n g

_ Hair color: green / Eye color: green

_ Inquisitive, genius, ambitious, creative.

_ Join and reach level 10 of the scientist career.

_ Join and reach level 3 of the criminal career.

_ Complete public enemy aspiration.

_ Max robotics skill.

_ Max logic skill.

_ Max violin skill.

_ Create 5 servos.

GENERATION 18 – Pacifier of the r a i n

_ Hair color: blonde / Eye color: blue

_ Silly, active, cheerful, self-assured.

_ Join and reach level 10 of the military career.

_ Join and reach level 3 of the criminal career.

_ Max fitness skill.

_ Max snowboarding skill.

_ Max singing skill.

_ Complete extreme sports enthusiast aspiration.

GENERATION 19 – Pacifier of the c l o u d

_ Hair color: purple / Eye color: purple

_ Fussy, jealous, gloomy, clumsy.

_ Complete seeker of secrets aspiration.

_ Max media production skill.

_ Max dancing skill.

_ Max dj mixing skill.

_ Join criminal career and reach level 7, oracle branch.

Share your stories with the hashtag #vongolalegacys4!

[davisexplainableart]

DM 30th Anniversary Show (recap):

(Keep in mind, this isn't actually real. Just pretend that it is)

Wow, what a night that was!

I would say that was the best show I've done this year, but considering all the other shows I've done this year, that's not really saying much.

Still, I enjoyed being back on the stage after several months, and the band played excellently.

Especially Torts of the Glorp Corp on drums, the way he replicates Tony's drumming and rhythm is immaculate!

Of course, Footi, Magnifo and Chao were great too.

For the gig, we made sure to only play songs that were officially released during the Definitely Maybe era.

We were hoping to make a big surprise with a few of the songs (i.e. I Will Believe and Cloudburst), until Liam Gallagher played them himself for his own Definitely Maybe anniversary shows. I mean, we played them anyway, but still.

Also, the reason we didn't play Acquiesce, Headshrinker or Talk Tonight was because they were b-sides from the Some Might Say single. And because Some Might Say was included on their follow-up record, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", and not Definitely Maybe, that meant that those didn't count.

Don't worry, when we celebrate "WTSMG?", we'll make sure that Acquiesce and Talk Tonight are on the setlist.

But speaking of which, here's what we did play at last night's show in Southampton:

1. Rock 'n' Roll Star

2. Columbia

3. Fade Away

4. Digsy's Dinner (w/ a little jab during my introduction at the United States for misspelling it "Digsy's Diner")

5. I Will Believe

6. Listen Up

7. Shakermaker (w/ Coca-Cola verse, which is why I dedicated the song to the "Coke drinkers")

8. Strange Thing

9. Bring It on Down

10. Up in the Sky

11. Cloudburst

12. (It's Good) To Be Free

13. Cigarettes & Alcohol

14. Married With Children (replaced "shite" with "tripe")

(Acoustic Set w/ Me & Footi)

15. Sad Song (w/ me on vocals)

16. Half the World Away (w/ me on vocals)

17. D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman? (w/ me on backing vocals)

18. Take Me Away (w/ me on backing vocals)

(Rest of Electric Set)

19. Slide Away

20. Alive

21. Live Forever (w/ "take 2 sugars in my tea" during the 2nd chorus)

22. Whatever (w/ Mixies Orchestra)

(Encore)

23. Supersonic

24. I Am the Walrus (w/ Mixies Orchestra)

[themusingsofafanficwriter]

The True Meaning of Family - Chapter 7

Summary: A found family Supernatural AU. Ophelia Humphries is an English 19-year-old who is just trying to finish her online history degree when she receives a letter from two brothers she never knew she had.

A/N: Chapter 7 is here! Sorry for the little break, life got in the way. If you want to keep more up to date, I'd suggest heading over to AO3. If you didn't see the previous chapters, you can find the master list here. Let me know what you guys think!

T/W: Death of both adults and children.

Dean was right, this seemed like a simple haunting.

A 53-year-old woman went missing, and then another, and then another.

“Did anything happen in this town?” Ophelia asked Sam eventually.

“Uhhh not much can happen in a town the size of Reeds Spring, Missouri. So if we look through old records, we might find something that stands out.” Sam said with a smile.

Hours passed.

Ophelia made lunch. Then she made dinner. Then she went and found a sweet treat. Soon enough it was almost midnight when Sam quickly turned his laptop around to face her.

“A girl went missing… 40 years ago.” He said slowly enough so Ophelia could connect the dots herself.

“These women would have been 13? Did they know the girl that went missing?” There was a slight tone of excitement in her voice. “Do we know what happened to the girl?”

Sam’s face was soft and nurturing, like a teacher who was proud of a student.

“Okay, slow down, we’ve not solved it yet. If I give you the girl’s name, can you look at any records about her and I’ll work the angle that these women may have known her.”

He paused as he turned the laptop back to face him and skimmed the rest of the article.

“Okay, it looks like her name is Ruby Evans and yeah, she was 13 when she went missing after not making it home from a friend’s party. They found her body 13 days later near where she went missing.”

“Does it say who her friend was?”

“Yeah, and….” Sam paused as he checked the recent missing women articles. “The friend whose party it was, Amanda-Rose Jameson, was the first woman who went missing.”

“Okay, so the ghost is 100% Ruby then?”

“Most likely. I’ll go let Dean know that we’ve found the ghost’s details. Do we know if she was buried or cremated?”

“Does it matter?”

“Oh big time.” Sam paused slightly before explaining. “If she has been buried then we can go find her grave, dig it up, burn her bones and then that usually does it. If she has already been cremated then we have to find any small mementos that she could still be tied to like baby teeth or a locket of hair.”

“Gross.” Was all Ophelia could muster to say.

Sam just nodded in response. Ophelia scanned the old newspaper obituary.

“Looks like her parents just buried her in the local cemetery. They asked people to come wearing purple as it was her favourite colour… How sweet!”

A slight wave of sadness crept into her chest as she pictured a family grieving the loss of their child

“That's definitely a start. Nice work ‘Phelia, I'll talk to Dean and we can get Ruby to the other side soon.”

Then the waiting began.

Her brothers left early that next morning, hoping that they could dig up Ruby’s bones and get back within the day.

When they weren't back by midnight that night, Ophelia began to worry.

‘I’m sure everything is fine. They do this all the time, it is quite literally their job.’ She thought to herself. But the waiting and not knowing was excruciating.

She had done everything she could to keep busy.

Cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms and other communal areas. Wrote a paper, started writing another for university, and attended a meeting with her personal tutor.

“Oh, a new background Ophelia? Have you moved again?” Her tutor asked from her Zoom window.

Dr Ahn, a plump British-Korean woman with a speciality in Asian mythology and a love of loud printed clothing, seemed genuinely concerned for all of the people under her tutelage. She had made it known to Ophelia over the last term that she always could talk to her about Ophelia’s home life.

The Docter cocked her head prompting Ophelia’s reply.

“Yeah… I have. Umm, some family from my dad’s side reached out and I’m now living with them.” She said cautiously.

“Oh well, that’s good!” Dr Ahn replied with enthusiasm. “And how are your studies?”

Yet, after all of that, Ophelia hadn’t heard from Sam or Dean since they had arrived at Ruby Evans' parents home.

Not knowing what else to do, she reached out to Cas.

A whoosh of wings and the angel was standing in the doorway of the library.

“Is everything okay Ophelia?” He asked.

“Uhh.” She started. Not wanting to make a big deal out of nothing.

“I can read your mind if you’re unsure how to tell me.”

“Oh no. It’s okay.” She took a deep breath. “Have you heard from Sam or Dean…?”

“They have not reached out to me”

“Is that normal?”

“Quite normal.” The angel had a quizzical tone. “Are you okay Ophelia?”

“Oh yeah, I’m sooo fine.” She said, trying to convince herself.

“I can tell when you are lying, even when you try to cover it with sarcasm.” Cas said as he crossed the room towards the couch Ophelia was sitting on.

“Right, yeah.” She sighed. “I guess I was expecting more updates? They said they’d be home by now and I’m trying to be so chill about it.” Ophelia’s head was in her hands, hiding her face and the cringing that she was now experiencing.

“That is understandable.” The angel replied as he sat next to her. “Would you like me to check in with your brothers?”

“That seems weird. Like they are obviously good at this and I know nothing about any of this.” Ophelia gestured to the bunker around them.

After a long pause, Cas placed his hand on Ophelia’s back and gently rubbed in small circles. Ophelia had not realised how anxious she was about this until the small kind gesture of Cas.

“They are not used to having someone that would want them to check in with.”

“I suppose you’re right.” She said with a sigh.

“You should eat and get sleep. They will be home soon.” Cas said finally as he stood.

Taken aback by his abruptness, Ophelia just blinked in response. Another second passed and when she opened her eyes again, the angel was gone.

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

“Hello.”

“Castiel! What are you doing here?” Sam asked with a start.

Sam was sitting on a single bed in a motel, papers strewn around him and his laptop propped up on a stack of books.

“I am here about Ophelia.” He replied.

“Is she okay?” Dean asked cautiously as he came out of the bathroom.

“Have either of you contacted her?”

The brothers glanced at each other. “No, why? Is something wrong?” Sam questioned.

Cas sat on the second single bed and studied the two men.

“She, in her words, is trying to be ‘sooo fine’ and ‘so chill about it’.” Castiel said, mimicking Ophelia’s likeness. “But she is simply worried about you both.” “Oh. Is that it? She’s worried about us?” Sam questioned further.

“Yes.”

“She knows we know what we are doing right?” Dean replied.

“Yes.” Was all Cas responded again.

“I’m confused.” Dean stated.

“Oh shoot, is that the time?” Sam said with a start as he checked his phone. “We told her we would be home hours ago, Dean.”

“Right but she knows that this sort of thing takes time. And… and cases can evolve and become more complicated right? Like, she knows that?” Dean gestured to the papers.

Sam looked guilty. “How would she know that Dean?” he replied.

A flash of guilt crossed Dean’s face too. “I’ll call her.” He replied.

“It is best that you do not mention that I told you about this. Remember she is trying to be ‘so chill about it’.” Castiel once again mimicked the Winchester daughter.

Ophelia had not been asleep long when her phone rang.

Dean’s name flashed across the screen. She sat up as she clicked the answer button.

“Hey kiddo, sorry for not getting in touch earlier. The Ruby case took a little bit of a turn.”

‘Remember, you’re so chill.’ Ran through Ophelia’s mind. “Oh, no worries!” She said in as chipper tone as she could. “Uhh, how is it going?”

“Ahh well, you know how these things go.”

“Dean?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“I quite literally have no idea how these things go.”

“Oh, yeah right.”

The phone went silent for a moment.

“Well, we found her grave, dug it up and lit it on fire.” Dean started explaining the case. “We thought that would be it but another one of the women who was at that party went missing.”

Ophelia nodded absent-mindedly as Dean continued.

“So, probably some baby teeth or something kicking about at her parents' places, we thought.”

“So we were wrong about it being Ruby? Ophelia asked.

“Oh no it’s definitely her, kiddo, you and Sam did solid work.” Relief filled Ophelia.

“We’re thinking it’s an object that’s keeping her here. We saw her bedroom, her mom has kept it as a shrine to Ruby. It could be anything in there.” Dean explained.

“Did she have a childhood toy she loved? Or maybe a diary?” Ophelia asked as she looked around her new room that was already filled with mementos of her childhood. “This is a teenager, not a young child, ‘Phelia.” Dean replied softly.

“I am almost 20 years old and you have seen my room both here and at my mum’s place.”

“Point taken, but this is a shrine to her, where would you start, you know, as a teen girl and all that.” Dean said with a sigh.

Ophelia slouched back into bed, racking her brain for what she would love so much as a young teen that her spirit could attach itself to.

“What was Ruby like? A girly girl or more masculine or what?”

“She liked lots of things, horses mainly by the look of it.” Dean said.

“Did she compete?”

Dean looked over at Sam and repeated their sister’s question, there was a pause but eventually, Sam nodded.

“Look for her first big win ribbon or trophy.” Ophelia said. “I danced as a kid and the way I was obsessed with winning those medals and for a while I slept with my first place medal on my bedside table every night.”

“That’s a great place to start. I’ll let you get some sleep. Thanks, kiddo.” Dean said.

“Yeah, no worries Dean.”

“Oh and kiddo, We really are sorry for not calling earlier.” Dean replied with a genuine tone.

“It’s really not a problem, Dean. Don’t worry about it.” Ophelia kept her voice even as she picked at a hangnail on her thumb.

The phone went dead and she was alone once again. Eventually, Ophelia fell back asleep and hours passed.

She didn’t hear when, almost 10 hours later, Sam and Dean re-entered the Bunker and started debriefing with Cas.

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

Later that morning, Dean walked over to Ophelia’s room and gently knocked.

A groggy Ophelia woke to Dean pushing the door to her room open and poking his head around it.

“Can I come in?”

She hummed a reply and gestured for him to sit on the end of her bed. She flattened her curls as Dean made his way across the room.

“Your thinking was right, Ruby’s spirit was tied to a first-place dressage medal she had won earlier that year.”

“Oh, nice.” Ophelia finally said. “Did you find those women?”

“We found one of them alive.” Dean paused. “Ruby had killed the others by the time we got there.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Why did she do it?” Ophelia finally asked.

“Well, they killed her.”

“Wait? Really?”

“Yeah, those girls weren’t her friends. They only invited her to that party to make fun of her and, I don’t know kiddo, they ended up killing her.”

The siblings were silent.

“So this was revenge?” She said.

“Yeah. Those women are the real evil if you ask me.” Dean said casually.

“I suppose they are.”

“Why don’t you come sit with us, ‘Phelia.” Dea said as he stood.

She nodded and threw back her covers. Her bright PJs instantly brought a smile to Dean’s face.

The morning was filled with the brothers recounting the final fight with Ruby’s spirit and similar fights that they had had, as well as the promise that they would be better at keeping her in the loop.

“You could always take me with you. Not on the hunt as such but, like, I could stay in the hotel or wherever you are staying and just do research or my uni work… or whatever.”

The two brothers looked at each other.

“Yeah, maybe, kiddo.” Dean said finally. The hesitation was clear in his voice.

“It could be helpful Dean.” Sam said finally.

“Okay, if you two are going to be like this, I want you,” He pointed at Ophelia, “trained in how to fire a gun and basic hand-to-hand combat before we take you out of this bunker and to the location of a case.

Sam and Ophelia looked at each other in astonishment, not believing how easy that had been.

“And I will determine when you’re ready.” Dean quickly added.

There it was, the caveat that made his relenting make sense, but at least they had made progress.

[nourfk]

BASICS

Full Name: Nour El Farouk

Nickname: N/A

Gender: Cis Female

Pronouns: She/her

Sexual Orientation: Questioning / Unlabeled

Romantic Orientation: Questioning / Unlabeled

Birthdate: February 9th, 1941

Birthplace: Alexandria, Egypt

Neighborhood: Oakbury

Occupation: Mail Courier at Stillwater Post

Ethnic Background: Egyptian-Palestinian

Religious Views: Muslim

Language(s) Spoken: English, Arabic

PHYSICALITY

Face Claim: May Calamawy

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Green

Height: 5'6''

Tattoos: NONE

Piercings: One on each ear lobe

Style/Aesthetic: Nour loves fashion; she normally sports long skirts and shirts with sleeves and flare pants. She loves knits and an earthy color palette. She would most likely say her fashion icons are Farrah Fawcett, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, and Charlotte Rampling.

Usual Expression: 🌻 🍵 📬 click the emojis to view

Distinguishing Features: Curly hair and a big smile

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Physical Ailments: NONE

Neurological Conditions: NONE

Allergies: Mild seasonal allergies

Sleeping Habits: When she's stressed, its hard for her to stay asleep for more than 3 hours. She'll often wake up in the middle of the night but she's found routines and methods that will help her go back to sleep.

Exercise Habits: She enjoys walking outside and jogging too, and will work out at home when she can. Otherwise, she enjoys doing physical activities if they're fun, like hiking!

Emotional Stability: Nour is a pretty composed person. She has a very gentle demeanor but harbors a lot of loneliness that she tries to keep to herself.

Sociability: She's very friendly! Due to her job, she's not a stranger to small talk and doesn't mind talking to strangers. She knows how to mind her own business so she's definitely the person people will go to if they need to rant or let off some steam. She's a good listener but it's tough for her to share her own problems at an equal level.

Body Temperature: Warm/cold

Addictions: NONE

Drug / Alcohol Usage: She tries not to partake in anything that would harm her body, due to her religious beliefs, but there are times when Nour can't help but indulge if she feels desperate. The times are very rare though.

PERSONALITY

Positive Traits: compassionate, hard-working, warm-hearted

Negative Traits: stubborn, jealous, overcritical

Goals/Desires: Nour often feels like her goals and desires are out of reach, mostly because she still feels like that teenage girl who has to make her parents proud. Still, she'll daydream about living in a place that's away from the city, probably on a farm where she can be by nature with someone she loves.

Fears: Running into people from her past that she's actively tried avoiding. For example, bullies from high school or a particular doctor from Stillwater General. As she gets older though, Nour knows she has to move on but she doesn't feel like she's quite there yet.

Hobbies: Nour has fantasies about being a fantastic roller skater like the ones she watches at The Hub, but hasn't had the courage to jump into skates herself. You can say she enjoys people-watching and seeing others do things she wishes she could do. She also loves doing crochet, collecting records, and sewing.

Habits: She's a hair twirler! Absentmindedly, she'll often twirl her curls when deep in thought, and she'll also nibble on her bottom lip. She also shakes her leg quite often without thinking.

FAVORITES

Season: Spring

Color: Purple

Music: Her music taste ranges all across the spectrum; there isn't much she doesn't like, and she struggles to say who her favorite artists are. It changes every week!

Movies: West Side Story, The King and I, Cabaret

Food: Sushi

Beverage: Lemon water or tea

Animal: Birds

FAMILY

Father: Jabari Farouk

Mother: Rania Farouk

Sibling(s): Femi El Farouk (younger brother by 7 years)

Children: NONE

Pet(s): NONE

Family Financial Status: Middle to low income

Relationship: Single

EXTRAS:

Astrological Placements: Aquarius Sun, Virgo Rising, Cancer Moon

MBTI: IXFJ

Enneagram: Type 2: The Helper

Moral Alignment: Neutral Good

Primary Vice: Envy

Primary Virtue: Humility

Element: Earth

[honeybeewhereartthee]

MY DARLING DOLLS 41

PREVIOUS || PT 7 CH41 || NEXT

PRESENT:

"...you know something...." His blue eyes that once full of tears become dull as he look at the false god setting upright on the sofa.

"Who knows~ do I 'know' or do I not..." Kanata said In a sing a song, trying to test the patient of the phantom without sense of fear.

"..." The phantom gaze at the false god who flick the strings that tries to held him --to give him answer--in a choke hold, the strings all turn into dust in his touch. Giggling as he stares at the anger in those blue eyes. Amused.

"ooohhh... Are you 'mad'? Good....good..." Kanata laughs as he stood up and give a side glance at the figure in the floor before he takes the doll off his arm. Kanata skip holding the almost finished doll.

"Im 'glad' I was the first one from all of us...." His emerald eyes shine in full of glee. "It's mean, I have watch and know everything unfold..." With a cryptic smile he disappears before everyone with a golden glow. "I was the one "trusted" unlike any of you..." Was his last words to DDs in the house.

".........." -mayoi.

"well now that's something new you don't see everyday." Rinne commented as he drink some soda. He was watching how it all unfold and damn was the drama legit.

"Did you get it recorded?" He sneakers as he whisper to aira. Who was recording everything. "N-no!!" aira lieds as he hide his phone.

"Don't be shy, share it to me later. MC will laugh at this once they come back. Gyahahaha." The monarch chuckle before he went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Tatsumi and hiiro went to comfort Mayoi who was not moving from his spot.

"Mayoi--" Tatsumi called out for the phantom but the said person disappear from where he was seating earlier to who knows where.

...

PAST: MC

You look at the old tojou who's sewing something. "Are you making a toy again?" You ask him as you yawn. "... Where you not the one who told me about this???" The old tojou tilt his head in worry and confusion about your reply.

"Greedy children gets punish." The visitor of the old man says as he look at you with aurora eyes. His fluffy hair bouncing around as he move.

"Do you know something about this?" The old tojou stared at his visitor, his very concern about your lack of memories as you start to look through some journals you found in your room.

"Wow those writing are so bad. Ahahaha ~" you chuckle not even able to read your own writing nor remember them.

"in some sense, yes..." The visitors nodded his head. "It has some bits of mine... And some other worldly beings'magic." To be able to grant wishes to that extent. It's a very much a huge fit. He thought.

"Hey, do you know? Some magic can be fueled by treasured memories. If you sacrifice some memories for a hint of magic, you got some cool stuff ya see..." He pointed out. He open his hand and a ice rose appear.

"It's something that long livid beings can use in their advantage yet a human like you did some thing like that... That other worldy being most have taken your memories instead than your lifespawn."

".... Kids those days are really concerning." The old tojou sigh. He give you two one more look before he went to return to what's his doing. "Hmm... How does this work." He start to trace the pattern you once given to him to the fabric.

Your focus is on the journal your read, more like looking at the pages. You saw an drawn image of a big house. Some happy people smiling.

Some funny scene and a portrait of different people in some angle, there some that's more than others. You can't read the names of those people but they look very good looking.

"ikemen..." The visitor who's looking at the drawing over your journal commented. "Those people most be in some false or click bait otome games or something. Ahaha." He pointed out.

"what's that?" You tilt your head in confusion. "Some games full of handsome lads. Out to get your money." He answers.

"Btw... You have some weird stuff inside of you.... Hmm... Your soul. It's barely there. Only a connection you have linked with someone, some people is the main reason that's making you live till this day. " He notice those as he come closer to you.

"Based on what I see... You only have a few years left." How odd. There's some hint of that thing that cause you to be in that state. That other worldly magic... Just what up with this kid.' he thought as he went back to his seat.

"that's very rude to say I'm going to die soon." You laughs not thinking much about it. But your words have shaken some fluffy creature and made some cries and worries for you.

"It's not that soon. As long you don't do anything dumb you'll live to see modern age." The visitor corrected you.

"hell na. And be called as a witch? No way." You laughs as you look at the work of the old tojou.

"Hey! your doing it wrong!" You don't know why you think so but you quickly taken the pattern from him and corrected the stitches. Doing the other side in one go and was about to finish it when a hand pulled your need away.

"That's weird." The visitor clearly notice how your lifespawn seems to decrease a bit when you sew that pattern. He wanted to see what's up with that as he rudely takes the pattern and did some sewing too.

He felt something being absorbed but it's not that much he should concern about. He did the final stitches as you did the rest before him. He look at the doll body that's faceless. It's like a rug doll but with beautiful and loved stitches.

"you kids have no respect for this one." The old tojou who saw you two have taken his job for him can only sigh in disappointment for the new generation. "Is that it?" He pointed at the doll. "What's the next step then."

"who is to test it out with." The visitor stares at the fluffy creatures that's all surrounding you all. They all look fearfully at the doll body as it's something unknown and off to them. It was weird and scary for some.

" Ok jump to My hand if you wanna." They added and from all the fluffy only one jumps without fear to your hand instead of the visitor hand. It is as the blue with hint of green one. "Those fluffy thing sure is based." The visitor commented as he sigh.

"cutie." You give a soft kiss to the courageous fluffy who's willing to do it before the others. The little creature jumps up and down in a slow motion in Glee at your words before you put him close to the doll body.. gesturing him to go on and soon he jumps into the doll. You stared as he taken over the doll with a soft blue-green like the sea that reflect the never ending sky.

An image of blue haired who's familiar yet not comes in mind

"... My beloved dollmaker... I'll accompany and assist you till the end..." You heard a soft voice as you close your eyes from how bright it was. Once you open them, a beautiful blue haired stranger with jellyfish like hairstyle. His emerald eyes that's stares at you with admiration and happiness.

"Kanata Shinkai... You can "call" me Kanata." He introduced himself as he found himself use to be able to speak finally. He who watches you since the beginning with everyone else. Cannot help but smiles so warmly and sweetly at you, his "glad" to take the first step than others.

[mayura-chanz]

Kagerou Daze VII — from the darkness — Children Record - side n° 3

Tradução feita a partir da tradução em inglês da Yen Press.

Apoie o autor comprando a novel original.

_____

Enquanto descia as escadas correndo, meus olhos foram recebidos por uma parede metálica novinha em folha, pintada de branco. Estávamos no andar que procurávamos e tínhamos impulso. Assim que passássemos por esse corredor, estaríamos parados bem na frente da sala onde ficava a “limpeza”.

Shintaro, respirando com dificuldade, continuou olhando para trás. Eu podia ver que ele tinha um fone de ouvido em uma das orelhas.

— Nossa, Momo...eu disse para você ir com tudo, mas não quis dizer esse tanto.

Assim como ele havia dito, o poder total e descontrolado dos “olhos cativantes” era inacreditável. Mesmo tão longe dela, foi preciso quase toda a minha concentração mental para me forçar a pensar em qualquer coisa além da aparência, da sensação, do conceito de Momo Kisaragi. Eu não conseguia acreditar que ela teve a coragem de manter tudo em segredo até agora. Se isso continuasse, todo esse evento poderia entrar para a história.

— Eu diria que tem um monte de gente no chão acima de nós agora, — eu disse. — Não acredito no quanto Kisaragi é popular.

— Sim, — Shintaro respondeu, olhando para trás novamente. — Com gente suficiente, o inimigo não vai conseguir pedir reforços à vontade. Supondo que ele consiga tirar Momo de lá como planejamos, isso deve resolver as coisas lá em cima. Mas...ugh, eu disse para ela não fazer nada perigoso, e agora olha...!

A missão de Kisaragi nessa operação era desviar a atenção do nosso inimigo e impedi-lo de pedir reforços. Eu sabia que Shintaro disse isso também: “Tome cuidado, Momo, para não se machucar.” Acho que Momo se empolgou um pouco... tudo bem, foi demais.

— Ei, ela está fazendo o melhor por nós, sabia? Digo...estamos todos arriscando nossas vidas aqui.

— É, mas há certos limites, cara, — Shintaro choramingou enquanto virava a cabeça para frente.

*

Os corredores sinuosos e ondulados bifurcavam-se com regularidade, avançando para dentro como um labirinto construído deliberadamente para nos atrapalhar. Eu já tinha estado aqui várias vezes antes, mas foi a primeira vez que consegui atravessar sem qualquer hesitação. Na verdade, tudo se resumia a Hibiya e seu mapa, é porque chegamos tão longe em tão pouco tempo.

Essa habilidade de “olhos focados” é uma loucura. Nós praticamos só um pouquinho ontem à noite, e Hibiya já pegou. Tudo o que ele tinha que fazer era olhar (imaginar em sua mente, na verdade) seu alvo, e ele conseguia se lembrar de vários tipos de coisas sobre o alvo, assim mesmo, até o último detalhe.

Era psicometria levada a extremos absurdos. Mostrei a ele uma foto do pai só para testar, e bum—ele tinha uma noção de toda a planta deste prédio. Cada canto e fenda.

Nós esperávamos algum tipo de mapa básico, mas o que ele nos deu era mais como um atlas rodoviário. Fiquei chocado. “Eu sempre gostei de mapear estruturas complexas e coisas assim”, foi como ele explicou, mas isso pode ser algum tipo de talento de nível gênio o que tínhamos aqui.

Enquanto eu me maravilhava com a proeza mental de Hibiya, o celular de Shintaro tocou. Paramos, com os olhos arregalados. Esse foi o terceiro telefonema da noite, mas isso não tornou o clima entre nós menos tenso do que os dois anteriores.

Shintaro pegou o celular e apontou para o cruzamento em T bem na nossa frente.

— Es-está vinda da direita! ...Entendeu, Konoha?!

Seu cabelo curto e branco esvoaçaram por um momento.

— ...Tá!

Konoha, perfeitamente silencioso até agora, seguiu o comando de Shintaro e saltou para frente como uma bala. No mesmo momento, um homem com equipamento defensivo branco apareceu da bifurcação do lado direito. Ele estava armado com uma arma, e no momento em que nos notou, preparou sua mira para nós.

— Não, você não pode!

Antes que ele pudesse terminar de falar, o pé direito de Konoha chutou a arma para longe. Ela fez um barulho alto contra o teto. O homem ficou surpreso o suficiente para que o joelho direito de Konoha se enterrasse em seu plexo solar.

— Uaaaau, — não pude deixar de dizer. Era como algo saído de um filme de ação, quando o homem caiu no chão sem nem gritar. Nós verificamos para ter certeza de que ele estava desmaiado, então soltamos um suspiro de alívio.

— ...Haah! Quantos desses malditos existem, afinal?!

— Acho não tem mais ninguém por perto, — Hibiya respondeu pelo celular, — mas tome cuidado, tá?

Isso mesmo...seus “olhos focados” estavam em nós o tempo todo, expondo os perigos em nosso caminho, oferecendo conselhos. Esse era o seu trabalho.

Konoha curvou-se educadamente para seu inimigo caído, então retornou para nós, com um olhar triste em seu rosto.

— Eu...eu acho que realmente não gosto de bater nas pessoas.

Foi tão manso da parte dele, manso demais para alguém que acabou de fazer aquela bobagem de kung fu. Ele estava desviando os olhos até.

Shintaro suspirou e coçou a cabeça. — Olha eu sei que é um pé no saco para você, mas é meio que uma emergência, sabe? De qualquer forma, acho que você vai ter um descanso por um tempo.

Konoha visivelmente se iluminou com a fala, olhando expectante para Shintaro.

— Estou...estou sendo uma ajuda para vocês, Shintaro?

— Somos amigos. É muito mais do que “ser uma ajuda”. — Ele sorriu. — Estamos totalmente contando com você.

Nada do que ele disse poderia ter deixado Konoha mais feliz.

Amigos, hein? Acho que estou começando a gostar do conceito.

Depois de recuperar o fôlego, seguimos em frente, pegando a próxima bifurcação à esquerda e imediatamente encontrando a porta que queríamos.

Senti um arrepio na espinha. Está aqui. Além desta porta. Nosso inimigo mortal.

Shintaro, sentindo meu nervosismo, deu um tapinha no meu ombro.

— Aquele é seu pai lá, certo? Se você é filho dele, é hora de dar um pedaço da sua mente para ele, tudo bem?

...Droga, Shintaro. Você tem um dom para as palavras em momentos como esse. Odeio admitir, mas realmente vou ter que contar para Kido sobre isso.

Seguindo em frente, me aproximei da porta. Ao sinal de Shintaro, Konoha a abriu com um chute.

No momento em que ele chutou, estremeci com o odor intenso de formaldeído.

Cabos, em uma variedade de cores, enfileiravam-se na sala. Equipamentos experimentais estavam espalhados por todo lugar, e havia um número incontável de monitores na parede...

E lá estava ele, bem no fundo do laboratório mal iluminado, olhando diretamente para nós de seu assento. O brilho dos monitores tornava impossível ver sua expressão, mas eu podia dizer que ele estava dando um sorriso vulgar.

— Ora, ora, o que vocês estão fazendo destruindo a casa de alguém no meio da noite? Vocês já ouviram falar de educação pirralhos?

Era a voz do meu pai, mas ele nunca tinha falado assim. Era áspera, desagradável, como uma cobra lambendo os lábios. Não havia dúvidas agora. Ele estava agora na vanguarda.

— Heh, — Shintaro resmungou. — Desculpe por isso. Ainda estamos no ensino médio, sabe. Se você não gosta, experimente nos dar um sermão.

Ele começou a andar para dentro do laboratório, não demonstrando um pingo de medo. Não havia ninguém na sala, e nenhum de nós conseguia nem imaginar que tipo de armadilhas poderiam ter sido feitas. Parecia incrivelmente impetuoso, mas dava para ver no rosto dele. Aquela confiança. Não tinha se dissipado nem um pouco. Eu não gostaria de não ter mais ninguém do meu lado nessa situação.

— Bem...sério isso? Só vocês três avançando contra mim? É só isso que vocês pensam de mim, hein? E eu aqui pensando que vocês eram mais espertos do que isso.

Os olhos dele estavam em mim agora. Eles eram de um vermelho profundo. Aquela cor odiosa, tão odiosa, uma que eu nunca esqueci desde aquele dia. Tentei conter minha raiva enquanto falava:

— É, bem, nós meio que temos um novo talento promissor do nosso lado, certo? E eu não acho que ele vai ser derrubado tão facilmente...acho que você sabe disso.

Os olhos vermelhos se voltaram para Konoha. Apesar de toda a sua pieguice de um momento atrás, sua boca agora estava esticada em uma linha reta, combinando com seu olhar.

— Ouvi falar de você, — disse ele, seu tom monótono ecoando silenciosamente pela sala. — Sr. Tateyama..Não. O “cara mau”. Tentando matar todo mundo...não posso deixar isso acontecer.

Então a sala se encheu de risadas exageradas. — Ah, vamos lá, qual é o problema? — Nosso nêmesis disse, esfregando o cabelo. — Você finalmente conseguiu os “amigos” que queria também, não?

Shintaro se aproximou para interrompê-lo antes que ele pudesse continuar com seus delírios despreocupados. — Sabemos sobre seu esquema, — ele disse. — Sobre Azami...sobre o kagerou daze...e a maneira como você quer matar todos eles para poder criar uma nova medusa.

Isso não perturbou o pai nem um pouco. Shintaro não deixou que isso o impedisse.

— Eu não sei por que você está fazendo isso, mas acabou. Renda-se agora mesmo e liberte todos que estão em seu alcance. Se você não puder... — Ele apontou para Konoha. — Nós...Konoha vai te ferrar.

Konoha bufou para acentuar o ponto.

Cara. Eu me sinto patético agora. Shintaro deveria escrever todos os nossos diálogos para a gente.

Houve uma pausa. Então meu pai soltou um suspiro profundo e preguiçoso e por fim se levantou da cadeira.

Shintaro piscou. Eu não tinha percebido na penumbra antes, mas nosso inimigo tinha uma arma na mão direita. Konoha endureceu seu corpo em resposta, pronto para lutar.

— Ugh, — o homem do outro lado disse. — Eu juro, por que diabos eu tenho que aturar essas crianças o tempo todo...?

Ele levantou lentamente o braço, apontando a arma para Shintaro enquanto seus olhos vermelhos o perfuravam.

— N-não!

No momento seguinte, Konoha ficou entre os dois, ambas as mãos estendidas.

— N-não seja idiota, Konoha! — Gritou um Shintaro em pânico. — Você está se colocando em perigo!

— Nós, nós precisamos parar com isso, — Konoha disse ao homem que ele estava enfrentando. — Vai ser preciso mais do que uma arma para me matar...e tenho certeza de que posso derrotar você em um instante.

Eu sabia que o corpo de Konoha foi abençoado com incríveis habilidades físicas e regenerativas. De acordo com o que Kido me disse, ele teve um buraco enorme no estômago e ficou bem depois. Aquele cara devia saber disso. Era obvio que ele não tinha chance.

— Ah, Konoha. Sim, você tem um corpo bem resistente aí. Este não teria chance contra você.

Ele parecia pronto para se render. Mas seu sorriso despreocupado permaneceu em seu rosto e seu dedo ainda no gatilho.

— Então...que tal isso?

Ele virou a arma. Pensei que seria em mim, mas ela continuou virando...até que foi apontada diretamente para sua própria cabeça.

— Ah...! — Não pude deixar de gritar. — O que você está fazendo?!

— Hmm? O que...? Não é claro como o dia? Vou estourar os miolos do seu pai.

A visão me fez lembrar das palavras repugnantes que ouvi há pouco tempo. Lá, no telhado naquela noite, ele disse: “sou eu quem permite que você e sua família permaneçam vivos.”

Ah. Então era isso que ele queria dizer. Pensei que ele estivesse falando sobre nós, as crianças. Mas ele quis dizer que tinha a vida do nosso pai em suas mãos.

— Então, o que você vai fazer agora, seu pirralho? São todas as suas vidas, ou a desse cara. Quem vai vencer?

Ele estava falando com Shintaro, parado atrás do perturbado Konoha. Pedindo para ele decidir quem vive ou quem morre...Ninguém poderia fazer isso. Especialmente alguém com a visão sobre a vida de Shintaro.

— Ei, agora, — o atirador continuou, com um sorriso torto no rosto, — não me deixe esperando. Apresse-se, ou então eu...

— ...Eu pensei que falei para você. Acabou.

A declaração de Shintaro fez seu sorriso desmoronar um pouco.

— Hã? O que você acha que está dizendo?

— Ah, você não entendeu? — Shintaro disse, sua voz inabalável. — Bem, deixe-me esclarecer, então...

Oh, ótimo. Eu estava tentando segurar, mas agora até eu estava sorrindo. Shintaro é tão engraçado. Eu amo ele.

— Blindfold[1] completo.

De repente, a sala começou a tremer, um capuz roxo balançando no ar diante de nós.

A garota de cabelos brancos que seguiu imediatamente depois pegou nosso inimigo mortal em sua mira. Sem outra palavra, ele congelou no lugar, retornando a sala a um silêncio estranho.

— ...Você se importa em não roubar minhas falas, Shintaro? — Acusou uma Kido perplexa.

— Ah, o que um pouco de diversão pode fazer de mal? Eu meio que precisava dizer algo para encerrar as coisas agora!

Mary arqueou as sobrancelhas com isso. — Isso...eu acho que não soou tão legal.

— Hã? Mas...nnnhhh...

Ele levou as duas mãos ao rosto e caiu de joelhos. Aw, não fique tão arrasado por isso, Shintaro. Eu mesmo achei que foi meio legal. Não que eu fosse dizer isso. Não perto dela.

— ...Certo. — Konoha cutucou o corpo do meu pai um pouco, então se virou. — Parece que ele está imóvel por um tempo.

Kido soltou um suspiro de alívio. — ...Cara. Essa foi uma operação arriscada...mas acho que deu tudo certo. Achei que estávamos mortos quando Mary ficou sem fôlego...

— V-vocês correm rápido demais! — Mary, de bochechas inchadas, protestou. — Tentei chamar o Kano, mas ele simplesmente me deixou para trás...!

— O que você quer de nós? Não conseguimos ver você. Não tínhamos como saber. Era assim que a operação devia funcionar.

— Sim, — Shintaro interrompeu enquanto se levantava e sorria. — Mas todos nós ainda tínhamos que estar aqui, ou então não poderíamos ter pego aquele cara desprevenido. Mas o que está feito está feito, né? Eu fiquei meio assustado quando ele pegou aquela arma, mas...

Ele estava tão calmo e digno há pouco, quando estava falando mal do nosso inimigo. Agora não havia sinal disso.

Ah, bem. Eu meio que gosto mais desse Shintaro, de qualquer forma.

A operação foi uma grande surpresa quando ouvi sobre ela pela primeira vez, mas tive que admitir, Shintaro resolveu tudo para nós. Nesse sentido, eu meio que fiquei sentado ali, de molho...nunca fazendo nada, no final.

— Quando ele fez o pai de refém daquele jeito, — comecei, — quero dizer...Cara, fiquei surpreso. Tipo, nossa, exatamente como você disse que ele faria, Shintaro.

— Ah, foi só um palpite estimado da minha parte, — ele respondeu modestamente. — De um jeito ou de outro, de qualquer modo, eu estava planejando neutralizá-lo com o poder da Mary.

— Sim, mas... eu realmente te devo uma. Nós poderíamos ter feito Konoha contê-lo...eu não sei como te agradecer.

— Ah, credo, para com isso, — Shintaro protestou, corando. — Isso não é do seu feitio.

Algo sobre seu ato era familiar. Eu acho que Ayano nunca percebeu, mas Shintaro sempre sorria para ela de uma forma diferente de todos nós. Eu nunca gostei muito disso. É por isso que eu sempre fui tão frio com ele quando comecei a me passar por ela na escola. Agora eu me sinto mal por ser tão mau com ele na forma dela. Eu sou horrível.

Mas apesar de tudo isso, Shintaro deixou passar. E agora ele estava sorrindo para mim...assim mesmo.

Ahhh, não consigo vencer ele. Ele é invencível.

— ...Então, e agora? — Disse Kido, apontando para nosso pai congelado. — Temos que fazer alguma coisa antes que o poder de Mary acabe, não é?

— Hã, é. Você quer dizer isso?

Konoha pegou um rolo de fios de metal.

— Nós vamos amarrá-lo com isso e tirá-lo do esconderijo, — explicou Shintaro. — Kido pode usar sua habilidade para evitar que alguém nos perceba...e deve ser isso, sério.

— Sim, — acrescentou Kido, com os olhos brilhando. — Quaisquer habilidades que ele tenha, ele não será capaz de usá-las se não tiver um corpo livre. Depois disso, podemos simplesmente colocá-lo no espremedor em nosso esconderijo até que ele dê alguma informação sobre o Kagerou Daze...

— Hum, deixa eu te lembrar, — protestei, — ele é nosso pai, então...

— Ah, eu sei, eu sei. Você está pronto, Konoha?

Ao seu comando, Konoha começou a enrolar o fio em volta do corpo do meu pai.

Eu nunca imaginei em um milhão de anos que poderíamos realmente pará-lo.

Ou que qualquer um de nós realmente tivesse um futuro.

Se as coisas continuassem indo tão bem, talvez pudéssemos mesmo tirar minha irmã do Kagerou Daze. Talvez até nossa mãe.

Eu nunca tinha pensado nisso. Nem uma única vez.

O que eu diria se as encontra-se de novo? Havia tanto para falar, eu não saberia por onde começar. Mas eu sabia que elas estariam sorrindo para mim. Sorrindo, rindo, falando sobre todo tipo de coisa...

...Como um idiota, eu estava imaginando aquele futuro impossível até o momento em que Konoha caiu diante dos meus olhos.

____

[1] Blindfold: “olhos vendados” traduzido. Por ser o nome da operação optei por deixar em inglês.

<<anterior — próximo>>  Índice — Novels

[psychedelicsunflwr]

TASK ONE: ABOUT ME

BASICS Full Name: Phoenix Ophelia King Nickname: Phoe, P, Arizona (a nickname given to her on the army bases as a child) Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Romantic Orientation: Biromantic Birthdate: January 18, 1943 Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona Neighborhood: Willowdale (Flamingo Trailer Park) Occupation: Waitress at Ruby's, Cashier at Groove's Records Ethnic Background: Sephardic Jewish, Ashkenazi Jewish, Caucasian and Native American. Religious Views: Currently bordering between Agnostic and Atheist, though her father grew up in a predominantly Jewish household and some of their beliefs were instilled in her as a child. Language(s) Spoken: English

PHYSICALITY Face Claim: Riley Keough Hair Color: Auburn Eye Color: Blue Height: 5'5 Build: Slender Tattoos: She could never afford nice ones, so instead she has a stick and poke smiley face on the side of her wrist and 'rock n roll' on her ankle. Piercings: Lobes and nose. Style/Aesthetic: boho/grunge, Usual Expression: Phoenix usually has her head in the clouds, and it's easy to tell by the far off look in her eyes. Though she always has a smile on her face. Distinguishing Features: Her long, wavy hair, and starry blue eyes.

HEALTH & WELLNESS Physical Ailments: A mild case of tinnitus from many years of listening to live music. Neurological Conditions: ADHD (undiagnosed given the time period) Allergies: Cats (though, that doesn't stop her from petting them) Sleeping Habits: Both a night owl and an early riser. Needless to say, she doesn't sleep much. Exercise Habits: ...Does travelling to most places on foot count? Emotional Stability: For the most part, Phoenix is able to maintain her composure and mask negative emotions. Though it can be difficult for her to do so when she feels overwhelmed or triggered by something that reminds her of the past. She definitely needs more help than she lets on. Sociability: Extroverted to a fault. Body Temperature: Predominantly cold. Addictions: Nicotine Drug Usage: marijuana (frequent), psychedelics (socially) Alcohol Usage: Socially

PERSONALITY Positive Traits: creative, adventurous, outgoing Negative Traits: impulsive, brash, stubborn Goals/Desires: freedom/control over her own life, to see the world/experience music from all over the globe. Fears: control, abandonment, not amounting to anything Hobbies: playing the guitar, singing, painting, going to concerts, Habits: biting nails, smoking, doodling in the margins of her papers, humming

FAVORITES Season: summer Color: sage green & mustard yellow Music: Jefferson Starship, Heart, Led Zeppelin Movies: Valley Of The Dolls, Lolita Food: french toast, sushi, burgers Beverage: root beer, cocktails, beer Animal: foxes

FAMILY Father: Walter King Mother: Margaret King Sibling(s): Sharon King Children: N/A Pet(s): N/A Family Financial Status: working class Relationship: Single

EXTRAS: Astrological Placements: aquarius sun, sagittarius moon, leo rising MBTI: ENFP Enneagram: Type 7 (The Enthusiast) Moral Alignment: Chaotic Good Primary Vice: Envy Primary Virtue: Humility Element: Air

[hufflpuffin]

Criticizing a foreign country for committing horrific war crimes is not antisemitism. Nor is criticizing zionism #antisemitism, i see your tags dipshit.

Playing atrocity porn in front of people protesting an ongoing genocide is revolting behavior. Everyone knows and agrees 10/7 was bad and an atrocity, thats why it's speaking to thin air. Pro-Palestine people understand that it didn't happen in a vacuum. Blasting 10/7 footage in front of an anti-war protest is propaganda because it's being used to justify war crimes and unconditional aid to a country that is currently on trial in the international court of justice for genocide.

I don't think you'd like it very much if UCLA students set up a giant tv to play all the footage of IOF soldiers running over palestinians with their hands ziptied behind their backs using tanks while Israelis celebrated it in telegram channels. How about playing videos of dismembered Palestinian children hanging from walls after Israeli airstrikes. How about children being sniped in the head by the IDF? How about the countless videos of the IOF stealing bras and underwear from women's dressers and pillaging jewelry and other things to bring home to their families. How about playing the recording of 6 year old Hind Rajab's call before she was deliberately murdered by the IOF? How about playing videos of the zionist terrorists destroying humanitarian aid at the border? How about the Palestinian civilians who were released from Israeli detention talking about being tortured and sexually abused? How about Israelis mocking dead and dying palestinians? I mean, if playing true events will “agitate” counter protesters, I don’t know how to tell you this, but that’s a group in serious denial.

Do you actually want to know why they're called agitators? Most of them aren't even students. They're called agitators because they:

Were caught shouting "kill the jews" to make it look like the student protestors said it. Heres a whole article on it!

Were caught attempting to infiltrate the protests by dressing up like pro-palestine students.

Illegally brought mace to school grounds and disingenuously filmed videos trying to portray themselves being prevented from going to go to class after students blocked him from entering the encampment. Edited the video to exclude people showing and telling him to go around the encampment. Exposed for being an actor and working with cops.

Literally cry about being ignored by peaceful protestors.

Call a black student protestor the N-word and then spit on him

Screamed "I hope they rape you" at students.

Make monkey noises at black students.

Are literally IOF trained soldiers serving in foreign militaries wearing keffiyahs to infiltrate the encampment.

Screamed “You stand no chance, old lady!” while violently attacking a woman.

Waved extremist Chabad Messianism flags while throwing glass bottles at and bear-macing students

Dragged and violently gang-beat students on the ground

Oh look at them attacking more students in front of that stage they set up with that $70,000 they raised!

Agitators beating a student with wooden boards to the point the student had to have 12 staples to the back of their head.

How about Zionists bringing bunches of a banned food item to throw at students knowing the food item was banned because one student was deathly allergic to it?

Screamed misogynistic things at women

Yelled at someone to "go back to asia"

Called women whores

More zionist agitators starting fights

Zionist agitators threw a backpack full of live lab mice at student protestors.

Zionist agitators yelling “animal” “go listen to your master” and “fuck BLM” at Black pro-Palestinian protesters while waving Israeli flags in their faces.

Zionist agitators waving JDL terrorist flags

Zionist agitators trespassing and destroying flags

Attacked Walter Masterson

Attacked a woman and pulled her hair

Violently beating, choking, and stomping on students.

Had neo-nazis on their side

24 minutes of violent zionist agitator violence.

Throwing unknown chemicals at students

Throwing chemical bombs at students that hospitalized nearly a dozen people

Zionist agitators throwing fireworks into the encampment.

Zioinst agitators violently gang-beating a student sticks. More footage of them laughing after and macing students.

More agitator violence.

Launching more fireworks at students.

Screamed "second nakba" while attacking students. That sounds pretty genocidal to me.

A large group of Pro Israeli agitators surround a Pro Palestinian student hitting him with sticks while yelling “there’s no place for you in this world” eventually taking him to the ground and beating him.

Tearing down barricades that are protecting students from violence.

More terrorist JDL agitators.

Zionist agitators ripping down posters of palestinian children murdered by israel. Again, If playing true events will “agitate” counter protesters, I don’t know how to tell you this, but that’s a group in serious denial.

Zionist drove into students, got out, and then started punching them.

Punch a woman in the face

Try to steal a keffiyeh off a Jewish man

Scream about how they'll kill palestinian children

More misogyny by zionist agitators.

Another one yelling the "n-word" at students while attacking them

And another "N-word" incident.

Spraying pro-palestine student directly in the eyes with mace while he was peacefully talking

Calling a woman a terrorist for wearing a keffiyeh

Stealing flags

“Kill the babies! Kill the babies so they don’t grow up to be terrorists!”

played israeli songs in the middle of the night outside the encampment that were famously used to torture captured palestinians in west bank and gaza

more violence

More destroying property

Stalking women and sexually demeaning them

These are the guys you're defending. These are the guys you're calling "not agitators". Go ahead. Defend all of that.

(comic by Eli Valley, a Jewish cartoonist for The Jewish Currents)

30,000+ Palestinians are dead, most of them are women and children, and thats the extremely low conservative estimate, and you're still crying about people saying "from the river to the sea"? Israel has slaughtered more children in 6 months then children were massacred in the entire Bosnian Genocide.

And that slogan is not claimed by only one group, it was invented by Zionists. You know that right? In fact the Israeli version is actually the genocidal one. “Between the sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty,” and "The Jordan has two banks; this one is ours, and the other one too." That actually calls for the death of everyone who is not Jewish/Israeli. Unlike "Palestine will be free" which means "free from oppression and occupation" because Palestinians have been systemically having their land illegally stolen/annexed and given to settlers. Palestinians live under brutal occupation, blockades, and apartheid.

If you interpret that as violence then its on you, and that just means you can't imagine a free Palestine or a 2 state or 1 state solution. You can't imagine a Palestine free from Israeli violence or occupation or apartheid. Thats a self-report.

Oppressed Palestinians using a slogan that was made to oppress them and turning it into a slogan about emancipation and freedom from oppression is not antisemitic.

"Thus, on one side, we have students and a politician representing the demands of tens of millions of citizens who call for freedom for the Palestinians. On the other, we have the power of the American state supporting the core policies of Israel’s government that over the past few decades has acted ceaselessly to ensure that “between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.” Rather than focusing on real war crimes designed to uphold Israel’s exclusive sovereignty over the entirety of historic Palestine from the river to the sea, the priorities of Congress and the paragons of the Ivy League lie elsewhere, as is evidenced by their disgraceful, laser-like focus on completely spurious thought crimes." -It’s Time to Confront Israel’s Version of “From the River to the Sea"

The reality is that Palestinians have no power and you care more about tone policing slogans from people who are losing their entire families in Gaza then the current ongoing genocide being committed by Israel right now that Israel is on trial for in international court. Palestine has no air defense or sea defense or army or nuclear weapons like Israel. They have fucking reclaimed slogans. But the most powerful and influential Israelis in the world can say as much genocidal, violent shit about annihilating Palestinians and they're given billions of dollars. Here's 18 whole pages of citations of the most powerful and influential people in Israel being openly genocidal. It starts on page 59.

And I know you're gonna come at me with the "Israel is not an apartheid state" nonsense so read this and fuck off.

Israel is an apartheid state according to:

The United Nations

South Africa

Namibia

The former head of Israel’s Mossad from 2011-2016

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Over 450+ Palestinian NGOs, organizations, and civil society and trade unions, independent Palestinian international and regional human rights organizations

Over 20+ Israeli human rights groups and NGOs: the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Adalah, B’Tselem, Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights, Breaking the Silence, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Haqel, Human Rights Defenders Fund, Combatants for Peace, Emek Shaveh, Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Gun Free Kitchen Tables, Human Rights Defenders Fund, Ir Amim, Looking the Occupation in the Eye Social TV, Mashsom Watch, Mehazkim, Ofek, Parents Against Child Detention, Peace Now, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights, Social TV, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Torah of Justice, Woman to Woman, Yesh Din, Zazim - Community Action, Zulat

-65% of Middle East Scholars

-The leading professor of the Holocaust at Hebrew University in Jerusalem

-Israel's Law Professors Forum representing 120+ Israeli law professors

-The former president of Colombia

-Daniel Levy, former Israeli negotiator 

-Former secretary-general of the United Nations

-Two former Israeli ambassadors to South Africa

-Jon Allen, former Canadian Ambassador to Israel (2006-2010) 

-The Presbyterian Church in the United States, United Church of Christ, The Vatican & Pope John Paul II, the Church of Sweden, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada 

-UK Labour Party conference 

-Yehudit Karp, former Israeli deputy attorney general 

-Michael Benyair, former Israeli attorney general

-Over 22 Canadian NGOs and organizations

-Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa

Would you like the links to every hundred page report, legal study, statement, analysis, special investigation committee, they published to get to those conclusions?

Or if you’re just lazy here’s a good video explaining why Israel is an apartheid state.

Or you can listen to Ta-Nehisi Coates describe visiting Israel and recognizing Israel's apartheid system to America’s apartheid.

Or listen to this Israeli scholar that visited Palestine and discovered the apartheid for himself.

Or maybe read A Day in the Life of Abed Salama and read how Israeli apartheid affects the average life of the every-day Palestinian.

Look at it for yourself. Look at what life is like for Palestinians under illegal occupation.

And listen to the Jewish experts on apartheid.

Ask yourself why Israel:

Armed the Rwandan genocide

Arms the Armenian genocide

Armed the Bosnian genocide and denied it's a genocide

Supported apartheid South Africa, did not enforce sanctions. To the point the ADL hired a spy to gather information on Black anti-Apartheid activists & Arab Americans who then shared that information with the South African government & the FBI.

Arms the civil war in South Sudan

And listen to what a genocide survivor and genocide scholar has to say about it. Listen to holocaust scholars. Read from Israelis.

On raising money, you're really comparing zionists raising $70,000 to buy and set up a stage to agitate students on the other side of the lawn, some of that money which was probably used to violently attack students with mace and fireworks a couple days later, or zionists raising $500,000 to throw counterprotesters a frat party for a people that made monkey noises at a black student and a fraternity that always seems to be under some new rape investigation

To a fucking $6,000 fund for pro-palestine students to buy face masks, respirators, covid 19 tests, and air purifiers? are you fucking joking? Did you even read what you linked? You think that makes you guys look good?

I will mock Zionists for spending nearly $100,000 on a counterprotest that wasn't even up for a week, and $500,000 on a party all goddamn day. It's genuinely embarrassing. At least Pro-Palestine students actually have demands- for their schools to divest from Israel. A completely reasonable goal where they did the same thing for apartheid South Africa. What are zionists demanding? Bring the hostages home? Yeah i'm sure the Hamas members in the tunnels under UCLA will listen and get on that pronto. Continue sending weapons to blow up children in Gaza? Yeah America is already doing that. Protest for no ceasefire? No peace deal? No hostage exchange? Just keep carpet bombing Gaza to no end and hope the hostages don't die? Keep killing entire families and think you wont radicalize the people that lost their loved ones into fight back?? It's fucking ridiculous and completely unserious.

We demand a ceasefire, we demand the return of hostages on both sides. We demand divestment. Universities have divested from Israel already. Our protests have reached Gaza and we are not relenting. These pictures above are all we need to know to keep protesting in spite of zionist aggressors and state sanctioned police violence. Yet the families of the hostages claim to care about are on the street protesting Israel bombing and shooting their children, what are you doing for them? They're being silenced by the media, shot with water canons, arrested, sent threatening letters by the government for speaking out against Netanyahu's war. So far Israel's careless violence has killed more hostages than they have saved.

Mother of captive soldier: State scared us into silence after our sons were abducted

A hostage’s mother says toxic gas from Israeli bombs killed her son. Is she right?

‘The hostages weren’t our top priority’: How Israel’s bombing frenzy endangered captives in Gaza

What are you doing for the people you are protesting for? $70,000 dollars to set up a stage to thin air and violently attack UCLA students. $500,000 to throw a racist frat a rager. That's why I don't take you or any zionist seriously.

You know, I was a brainwashed zionist once too but I dug myself out of the cult. I hope you get out of it too.

Imagine raising $70,000 to set up a screen and a stage on a cordoned off section of the lawn solely to play propaganda to thin air and agitate student protestors you are vastly outnumbered by and who have been peacefully ignoring you for days instead of...i dont know, giving that $70,000 it to the families of the hostages you are crying about who are currently being silenced by Israeli media for protesting their children being carpet bombed and shot to death waving white flags by their own government.

Zionists are completely unserious.

[the-hem]

"Ceasing to Strive." Ether 15. From the Book of Mormon.

From Chapter 14, the beginning and the ending:

The iniquity of the people brings a curse upon the land—Coriantumr engages in warfare against Gilead, then Lib "appetites" , and then Shiz "shit" —Blood and carnage cover the land.

1 And now there began to be a great acurse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land.

31 Now the loss of men, women and children on both sides was so great that Shiz "shit" commanded his people that they should not pursue the armies of Coriantumr "the Voice of God"; wherefore, they returned to their camp.

-> When the conscience is violated, one may choose to act or not. When the law is violated there are no options. Whether or not a tool or a weapon should be shelved depends on the level of attunement one finds oneself in with the law, which by its very essence always exceeds the conscience.

The prophet says discrimination between all of these began to fail and there were consequences:

CHAPTER 15

Millions of the Jaredites are slain in battle—Shiz "shit" and Coriantumr assemble all the people to mortal combat—The Spirit of the Lord ceases to strive with them—The Jaredite nation, the descendants, is utterly destroyed—Only Coriantumr - the Voice of God- remains.

1 And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the awords which Ether had spoken unto him.

2 He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly atwo millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children.

3 He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul amourned and refused to be bcomforted.

4 And it came to pass that he wrote an epistle unto Shiz, desiring him that he would spare the people, and he would give up the kingdom for the sake of the lives of the people.

5 And it came to pass that when Shiz had received his epistle he wrote an epistle unto Coriantumr, that if he would give himself up, that he might slay him with his own sword, that he would spare the lives of the people.

6 And it came to pass that the people repented not of their iniquity; and the people of Coriantumr were stirred up to anger against the people of Shiz; and the people of Shiz were stirred up to anger against the people of Coriantumr; wherefore, the people of Shiz did give battle unto the people of Coriantumr.

7 And when Coriantumr saw that he was about to fall he fled again before the people of Shiz.

8 And it came to pass that he came to the waters of Ripliancum, [rip= healing, ian= Ea, N=nasham to breathe, cum=beside] which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all; wherefore, when they came to these waters they pitched their tents; and Shiz also pitched his tents near unto them; and therefore on the morrow they did come to battle.

9 And it came to pass that they fought an exceedingly sore battle, in which Coriantumr was wounded again, and he fainted with the loss of blood.

10 And it came to pass that the armies of Coriantumr did press upon the armies of Shiz that they beat them, that they caused them to flee before them; and they did flee southward, and did pitch their tents in a place which was called Ogath ["o+ gath= miraculous wine press."]

11 And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah [High, Exalted]; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon [Mor=like myrrh, mon= the dwelling] did ahide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.

-> So a MORMON is the place where the incense of God resides. How about that? It is a title belonging only to a saint of the highest order.

The [name of the] ingredient pure myrrh also alludes to [the connection between these spices and the name Elo-him]. The numerical value of the word for "myrrh" [in Hebrew, "mor", spelled mem-reish] is [240, which is] 2 x 120. This number [i.e. 120] is the number of permutations that exist for the name Elo-him.

SO a Myrrhman is one who has achieved competency and stability within the essence of the Holy Ghost and undergone all the permutations necessary to understand Him and act in complete concordance with Him as detailed in the Scriptures.

12 And it came to pass that they did gather together all the people upon all the face of the land, who had not been slain, save it was Ether.

13 And it came to pass that Ether did abehold all the doings of the people; and he beheld that the people who were for Coriantumr were gathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were for Shiz were gathered together to the army of Shiz.

14 Wherefore, they were for the space of four years gathering together the people, that they might get all who were upon the face of the land, and that they might receive all the strength which it was possible that they could receive.

15 And it came to pass that when they were all gathered together, every one to the army which he would, with their wives and their children—both men, women and children being armed with aweapons of war, having shields, and bbreastplates, and head-plates, and being clothed after the manner of war—they did march forth one against another to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not.

-> the Myrrh is on the inside. The rest, the personality the reputation, the behaviors, the caretaking of the body, these either smell like myrrh or like Shiz.

16 And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and after they had retired to their camps they took up a howling and a alamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.

17 And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day; nevertheless, they conquered not, and when the night came again they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people.

18 And it came to pass that Coriantumr wrote again an epistle unto Shiz, desiring that he would not come again to battle, but that he would take the kingdom, and spare the lives of the people.

19 But behold, the aSpirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and bSatan had full power over the chearts of the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed; wherefore they went again to battle.

20 And it came to pass that they fought all that day, and when the night came they slept upon their swords.

21 And on the morrow they fought even until the night came.

22 And when the night came they were adrunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine; and they slept again upon their swords.

23 And on the morrow they fought again; and when the night came they had all fallen by the sword save it were fifty and two of the people of Coriantumr, and sixty and nine of the people of Shiz.

24 And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they fought again, and they contended in their might with their swords and with their shields, all that day.

25 And when the night came there were thirty and two of the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people of Coriantumr.

26 And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men as to the strength of men.

27 And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted with the loss of blood.

-> Three hours= the Three Days and there was still blood flowing, this means lots of time was spent in war, spilling blood that could have been spent preparing to pressvwine.

28 And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient strength that they could walk, they were about to flee for their lives; but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that he would slay Coriantumr or he would perish by the sword.

29 Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had aall fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood.

30 And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz.

31 And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised up on his hands and afell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died.

32 And it came to pass that aCoriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life.

->Can the Voice of God fail to be heard as if it is not being spoken at all or is it reserved just for the dead and the unconscious?

33 And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he afinished his brecord; (and the chundredth part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi "the Disciples" did find them.

34 Now the last words which are written by aEther are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am bsaved in the kingdom of God. Amen.

Now that you know who you are, and who you are not, are you ready to get rid of the thieves that have stolen your futures from you? If you don't take your consciences off the shelf the law will come for you. One way provides the future with options, the other narrows away them all.

[sleep-deprivedracoon]

In the Shadows

Pairing: Ayato x shuumatsuban! F reader

Timeline – After events in Inazuma, Ayato story quest, and Irodori festival

Story type – 3 or 4 part story (Not a huge series like Diluc x F reader that I am currently writing as well)

Warnings: Angst, abandonment, smut, fluff, violence, blood (This is for the whole story)

Art credits - Link (@pnk_crow on twitter)

Part 1 - A silent voice

Hot liquid flowed from your arm as you wince in pain. You aimed your Kunai at the weak spot of the Fatui armor. The tall bulky Fatui howled in pain as he swung his hammer at you. A corrupted device being used by him charged his hammer. You feel your hair stand up as electricity crackled through the hammer. You tried dodging it but your hand was hit by his attack. Pain coursed through your body as you saw white. You shake it off, your vision is blurry as you brace yourself.

The Fatui were tailing your Lord Kamisato, the commissioner of the Yashiro commission. It was your duty to protect him from the shadows as you had done most of your life. You were a ghost. No one knew of your existence, not even Lord Kamisato. As a young Shuumatsuban recruit, you were tasked with protecting one of the two children of the former Lord and Lady of the house. You were under strict orders to maintain your identity a secret. Your name was stripped and you no longer existed as (y/n). Your identity was Chinmoku which meant silence. You were to protect the young lord, following him without anyone noticing, eliminating any internal or external threats. Your fellow shuumatsuban, Sasayaki was tasked to do the same for the young lady. Sasayaki had left her position, betraying the orders when Lord Kamisato was named the head of the clan after his parents' demise. The two of you were ghost units who did not exist in any records. You had diligently followed your mission, protecting the Lord. Over time, you had developed a lot of respect for this man as he wasn’t power hungry like most of the clans but was concerned about the nation and its people. Sure, he was philanthropic and kind but that didn’t make him naïve. He was calculating and was an expert strategist.

You notice a man on the cliff with a rifle pointing at someone as the Fatui agent with the hammer kept you occupied. You knew exactly who he was pointing at. You quickly dash towards the cliff, climbing up using your ninjutsu. You were light on your feet which provided a huge advantage as your opponent with the hammer struggled to climb with his heavy armor. The sniper is shocked as you approach him. You quickly throw a bomb at him which decapacitates him, tearing him in half. You look in the direction of the sniper’s aim. Lord Kamisato was safe. You pant, slowly steadying your breath. You needed to gather medicinal herbs tonight to help with your injuries. You head in his direction, to ensure his safety. The Fatui ambush was unexpected, they must have a plan that you weren’t aware of. You had to get to the bottom of this soon. Sure, there were assassination attempts on Lord Kamisato but nothing of this magnitude. You had to deal with 7 Fatui agents. As you approached closer to the Yashiro commissioner, you see another Fatui agent with a hood making a move toward him. Without thinking, you dart towards him, coming out of your hiding spot. You place yourself between the Yashiro commissioner’s group and the agent as his sacrificial blade pierces through your rib on the left side. Hot searing pain radiates through you as you see him use a pyro delusion. He pulls out the blade from you and pushes you aside. You fall to the floor, your injuries from your previous fight and the stab wound were taking a toll on you. Black spots appear in your vision and you try to push them back. You had to protect him. Your mission wasn’t over yet. You were his shadow. You push yourself off the ground, seeing the assassin laying the soldiers to waste. As he makes his way to the Kamisato clan’s leader, you lunge at him with your sword and stab him in the back. You pull your sword through him, cutting his spine. He falls to the ground, motionless as the blade from his hand falls out. At this point, the air around crackles, and you’re thrown back. You feel something in your hand as you lay on the ground. You look at it and you see a vision in your hand. You exhale, exhausted from your battle.

“Hold on. Help is on the way!!” You see the lord beside you.

Your eyesight blurs, and you feel numb. You smiled, knowing that you were faithful to your mission until your last breath. You had no family, no home, no friends. Your whole life was dedicated to this mission. Your eyes close as you hear the distorted voice of the young lord.

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Your eyes flutter open to the golden sunlight bathing the room. You were in a soft comfortable bed, wrapped by a fluffy duvet. Your eyes adjust to the light and you try to get out of the bed. A sharp pain shoots through your left side. Your eyes widen as you recollect the events before you slept. You had managed to save the young lord but at the cost of your anonymity.

You try to get out of the bed and your body protests. You were bruised, injured and you knew you had lost a lot of blood. You didn’t know how long you were asleep but now you had to get out and heal on your own. You slowly make your way to the window and try to push it up to get out of the estate. Your trembling hands barely had any strength.

“Oh, you’re awake! Let me go find Thoma!!” A staff of the Kamisato estate rushes out of your room. You had seen her multiple times over the years. She was a soft-spoken, frail lady.

You shake your head. You had to get out of here before they ask you questions. If your presence was ever revealed, the protocol was to not divulge any details unless one of the four people were present.

“What do you think you’re doing? You’ll open your stitches!” You hear a familiar voice behind you. You see Lord Kamisato and the Kamisato estate’s housekeeper entering your room. Your eyes widen and you felt like a startled deer. Your Lord rushes towards you. “Please, rest here until you’ve recovered. No one here is going to harm you.”

You remain silent. Your eyes shift between the housekeeper and the clan head, looking for an opening. You are nudged by the clan head who leads you back to the bed.

“Your efforts to quell the threat to the Yashiro commission and the Kamisato clan are much appreciated. As a clan head and the commissioner of the Yashiro commission, tell me, what is it you wish for? If it is within my power to bestow it upon you, I will give it my consideration.” He smiles at you.

You do not speak anything. You simply followed what you were told 14 years ago when you were nine years old.

“My lord, please return this back to her.” Thoma gives something to his master.

“Ah yes,” The clan head places a vision in your hand. “You were given this by Celestia a few moments before you lost consciousness.”

You examine the vision in your hand. An electro vision. You were blessed by the heavens with the element of your shogun. Your heart swelled with happiness as tears escaped your eyes. You never had anything that truly was yours except this vision.

“Your fighting style is similar to that of the shuumatsuban. However, nobody within the shuumatsuban recognizes you or knows the details of your origin. You are quite the mystery. What is your name?” The clan head looks at you curiously.

You shake your head. You couldn’t reveal anything. You were forbidden to.

“My lord!” A soldier of the Yashiro commission stood by the door.

“Yes?” He answers without taking his eyes off you.

“She is here.” The soldier bows. “Should I send her in?”

“Yes, please. And please also ask someone to bring some food and water to this room.” He dismisses the guard.

“Miss, My lord is kind. You do not need to worry about anyone. You can speak without fear here.” The housekeeper tries to reassure you.

You knew he was kind. You’d seen him almost all your life. You knew he protected his people but that was not your problem. You were his protector. His shadow. You were told that your anonymity was of utmost importance to ensure his safety.

“My my. What do we have here?” You see Guuji Yae enter the room.

You try to get up again to pay your respects to her but she shakes her hand dismissively. You fret that she was angry at you for fumbling your mission.

“Guuji Yae, I am delighted that you finally accepted my invitation to come to the Kamisato estate to assess this situation.” The clan head walks towards her.

“How can I refuse the Yashiro Commissioner, hmm?” She smirks and walks toward you. She sits beside you and strokes your hair. “Little one, what is your name?”

Under the order you were given, you could only reveal your presence to your taskmaster, the late lord Kamisato, and the Guuji. You hadn’t heard from your taskmaster for 8 years now and the former Lord was dead. This was the main reason Sasayaki had abandoned her mission.

“Chinmoku.” You whisper. You don’t remember the last time you spoke to another human being.

“Speak louder, dear. You have such a pretty voice. No, I am not asking for your assigned name. What is your real name?” She smiles at you.

“(y/n)… My name is (y/n).” You speak a little louder.

“And what is the name of your family, little one?” She probes you further.

“I don’t know.” You shake your head.

“I have been trying to find you for quite some time now, but you always seem to evade my people.” She smirks. “Your friend… hmm what did she go by? Ah yes… Sasayaki came to me 3 years ago. Told me about the mission given to the two of you. Your taskmaster was slain in battle a few years ago. You can rest easy now, little one. There is no longer a need to protect Ayato. Your mission has come to an end.” She caresses your cheek.

Your eyes widen and you open your mouth to protest but she places a finger on your lips to silence you.

“You did good, little one. Really good. Your resolve is very impressive and your commitment to your duty truly is remarkable. But what was done to you was unfair. Robbing you of your childhood, not compensating you for your work, no shelter. It is barbaric and done under my nose.” She gets up from the bed. “So (y/n), you’ve been released from this mission and you will be compensated fairly.”

Ayato raises his eyebrow. “So, Guuji Yae. Would you please explain what the situation is?”

“Ah yes, of course. You see (y/n) here was asked to protect you by your parents from when you were young. She and another young member of the shuumatsuban protected you and Ayaka from behind the scenes. Their names were erased from any record, essentially making erasing their existence for this purpose.” She smiles sadly. “One of my failures.” She shakes her head.

“And my parents,” Ayato adds. “Thank you Guuji Yae for clearing this confusion for us.”

“I’ll be off now. Let me know when she fully recovers. I shall send some medicines from the Grand Narukami Shrine. It’s the least I can do.” She walks out of the room.

“It seems I am indebted to you for more than just the last encounter.” Ayato looks at you.

“It's… It's alright, my lord. I was just doing my duty.” You bow.

“Please, call me Ayato.” He smiles.

You shake your head. “I cannot do that, my lord. I am nobody and someone of your status is owed respect.”

“My lord, I have brought some food and water as requested.” The lady from before enters the room.

“Thank you, Komugi. Please give them to (y/n).” Ayato instructs her.

You weren’t used to being addressed to (y/n). You weren’t used to being acknowledged at all. It felt different. It felt good. The lady places the tray on your thighs and slowly hosts you up making you rest on pillows. The tray had a bowl of steaming creamy liquid and a few other items. As a shadow with no money, you learned to live off the wild. Your diet primarily consisted of fruits, vegetables, and edible roots. On rare occasions, you would catch some saltwater fish and grill them. You hadn’t bothered learning the names of dishes or familiarizing yourself with them. Sure, you’d heard about a lot of dishes. You hear things from people but you never knew what they looked or tasted like.

“It is Miso soup, egg rolls, and mushroom skewers.” She explains.

“Thank you.” You nod at her as she leaves.

You take a sip of the soup and your taste buds relish the burst of flavor. You’d never had something so good. You’d smelled all kinds of food being prepared at the estate or in the city but tasting them was a completely immersive experience. You almost moan at the taste of the soup.

“Wow, she really likes food. I can relate to that.” Thoma chuckles. “Hey! I can cook your favorite food for dinner tonight. Consider it as gratitude for saving my lord.”

“Favorite… food?” You tilt your head. “I don’t know. I haven’t really eaten a lot like you have. I mostly eat whatever I find. I like mushrooms and fish though.” You take a huge bite from the mushroom skewers and you find yourself swaying as you were ecstatic.

“Really??? So you’re like a blank canvas!!! I will whip up the best feast you will ever see.” Thoma seemed extremely motivated and he leaves the room.

“That Thoma.” Ayato shakes his head. “Is the food to your liking?”

“This is really good, My lord.” You nod. “Thank you. I have never had anything like this.”

“Please, do not mention it. You’re a special member of the Yashiro commission.” He smiles at you. “If I may ask, how long have you been following me around?”

“14 years, 3 months, 6 days… Wait, how long was I sleeping?” You ask.

“About a week.” He answers.

“Then 14 years, 3 months, 13 days.” You finish your soup.

“How old are you?”

“24…” You answer as you take a bite off the egg roll. The puffy texture of the egg and the flavors were exquisite to your pallet.

“You’re just a year younger than I am. What were my parents thinking?” He whispers.

“Please do not blame them. They wanted to protect your sister and you.” You explain.

“And what about your life? Why did you continue to protect me? Guuji Yae said your friend abandoned the mission and reached out to her.” Ayato was frustrated.

“My lord, please calm down. You must not let such matters upset you. I merely did what I knew to do. Why did I not abandon my mission? I don’t know. My whole life, I was your shadow. Following you, fighting for you is all I know. You fight for the people of Inazuma. You change lives and the nation counts on you. You work tirelessly, even when you are sick and yet you greet everyone with a kind smile. To me, it is only natural to protect someone like you.” You look into his eyes for the first time in your life.

Ayato seems taken aback by your sincerity. “I see. But I will no longer have you hiding in the shadows, (y/n). It is time for you to see what this world has to offer.” He smiles.

“My lord, I appreciate it but I am not sure what to do from now on.” You pause. “I have no skills that I know of except fighting and now I have been blessed with a vision.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. You need to rest and recover. You owe yourself that. Please, rest in this room. I owe you that much and more for all that you’ve done.” He pats your head and walks away.

“Oh and (y/n).” He turns his head to you at the door.

“Yes, My lord.” You nod, waiting for him to talk.

“I’d like to know more about you and talk to you again. Guuji Yae is right, you do have a beautiful voice.” He smiles and leaves.