#Hina-writes

[hinataoc]

I'm so excited to have the chance to share my piece for the @twosidesfanzine !! Leftover sales are going on right now and I highly recommend checking it out is you are a SoKai, RokuNami, or even a cookbook fan!

https://twosideszine.bigcartel.com/

I had the honor of working alongside @amyhayanora ❤️ She did the illustrations and I did the writing. Collaborations with her are always a joy and this project was no different.

This piece is a Duality, which means it showcases both SoKai and RokuNami in it as they travel to Potorosso (Luca)!

Aggiungi un Posto a Tavola

Add Another Seat at the Table

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The hatch of the Gummi Ship hissed open. Salty sweet air rushed into the cockpit, igniting Kairi’s senses. She undid her buckle and peeked her head out while the others took in the damage around the ship. Perhaps she should have been more concerned about the fact that they’d just crashed on an unknown world, but the fact that it was a new world took over her curiosity. 

Shimmering ocean surrounded them on all sides. Sea spray cooled her cheeks as waves lapped against the sides of the scuffed ship. Green mountains towered in the distance, and at their base lay what appeared to be a village. 

“Wow,” she whispered under her breath. 

“Yeah,” Sora added, coming up and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Reminds me a bit of the islands.” 

Kairi leaned into him with a hum, welcoming the warmth that filled her chest. “Me too.”

Roxas let out a harsh breath behind them. “Ship now, sightsee later, guys!”

Naminé giggled as Kairi and Sora separated with sheepish laughs. “I am looking forward to seeing the world, too,” Naminé admitted, looking around at the disarray in the cockpit. “Despite the circumstances.”

Roxas plopped back into his seat, defeated. “Circumstances being the ship’s completely out of fuel and we have no idea where we are?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Sora pointed out with a shrug. 

“Sora…that’s not the point,” Roxas groaned, putting his hand over his face.

Naminé gently ran her hand along Roxas’ shoulder. “It’s alright. Let’s get the ship to shore and find a place to stay for tonight. We’ll figure everything out in the morning.”

Roxas peeked between his fingers, a soft smile tipping the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Since that’s settled,” —Sora laced his fingers behind his neck and looked out over the ocean— “where are we exactly?”

As if in reply, a whirring engine of a boat cut through their discussion. They looked amongst each other before all of them rushed to the opened hatch and saw an approaching boat. It was small in size, wooden and worn down from obvious years of use. Inside sat a large, imposing man. A bushy mustache covered half of his face, making his expression difficult to read. 

Roxas cleared his throat and pushed Sora forward, appointing him to talk first. Despite being literally pushed into it, Sora excitedly climbed out of the cockpit and balanced on the Gummi Ship’s wing. 

“Hey there!” he greeted. “I’m Sora, this is—”

“What manner of ship is this?” the man asked in a burly voice. 

“I told you, Massimo,” a young boy’s voice caught everyone’s attention. They looked over, and a boy’s head peeked out of the water. Blue and purple scales covered him, sparkling under the light of the sunset. “I watched them fall out of the sky.” He leaned back against the ship and crossed his scaly arms. “Luca learned about it at school. Anything from space—gotta be aliens.”

Massimo looked between the boy and the ship, his brow gradually raising. 

“Trust me,” the boy assured him. He dove back into the water and leapt onto the boat. The group gasped as he shook the water off and his scales instantly transformed into skin. He appeared no different from any of them. “Just wait till I write Luca about them. He’ll totally agree.”

“I am not so sure, Alberto,” Massimo murmured.

“Yeeah.” Sora rubbed the back of his hair, awkwardly moving on, “Well, um—I’m Sora, and this is Kairi, Naminé, and Roxas!”

“Would you be able to help us ashore?” Naminé asked, stepping in.

“Uh-yeah, of course,” Alberto instantly agreed. “As Potorosso’s best and only lifeguard, I’m basically an expert at saving lives.”

Massimo huffed out a breath, but didn’t say anything as he unraveled a net from the fishing pulley. Alberto grabbed the fishing net and dove into the water. The group watched him with awe as the scales returned the moment the ocean met his skin. He darted around the ship and captured it in the net before coming back up on the other side of the boat and handing Massimo the rope. 

Still in the water, Alberto leaned up against the boat and said, “You guys should totally stay with me and Massimo when we get to town. He’s always making too much food.”

“We wouldn’t want to overstep,” Kairi assured Massimo, unsure about his lack of reaction. 

“We’ll find an inn, so don’t worry about it,” Roxas added. 

“Yeah, I’m sure we can—WOAH!” Sora’s arms waved wildly around when a wave hit the back of the ship and rocked him off balance. Kairi reached out for him, but it was too late as he face planted into the sea. 

Alberto jumped into action to help Sora up to the surface while Massimo let out a long-winded breath. 

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

Sora hummed happily, pulling the sides of the thick blanket further around his shoulders. A towel blocked his sight, but he soaked in everything around him. Savory scents wafted from the kitchen as Massimo cooked what Alberto described as the most incredible and life-altering pasta dish they would ever taste. Mews of cats carried over the breeze coming in from the open window, along with Naminé’s soft voice cooing at them while Roxas chuckled and whispered sweet things that he likely didn’t realize the others could hear. All of that was overshadowed, however, by the gentle massage of Kairi’s hands while she dried Sora’s hair. 

“Better?” Kairi asked, moving the fluffy towel so she could see his face. He beamed up at her, making her giggle. 

“Much better,” he replied, nuzzling into the towel as she continued to dry his hair. 

“I can’t decide who’s more like a cat,” Roxas commented. “Sora, or this actual cat.”

Everyone laughed, including Sora. He lifted a part of the towel out of his face to see them. The biggest cat he had ever seen lay over Roxas’ lap, purring loudly and rubbing against his hand while fluffy kittens climbed over Naminé.

Sora snickered at the sight. “I want a turn with the cat next.”

“Only once you’re all dry,” Kairi said in a teasing tone. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Sora resigned himself to Kairi’s words with a sigh before abruptly grabbing her wrist and pulling her into his blanket. She squealed but quickly settled in beside him, pulling the blanket over her shoulder and cozying up. “We’ll just have to snuggle in the meantime.”

Kairi giggled. “I’ll happily accept that.”

“What a pair of saps,” Roxas jested, chuckling when Kairi stuck her tongue out at him. 

“I think it’s sweet,” Naminé replied. She carefully picked up a kitten and giggled when it licked the tip of her nose. “Don’t you?”

The tips of Roxas’ ears warmed. His smile grew in a goofy, love struck sort of way. “Yeah, I do,” he admitted. 

“Who’s the sap now?” Sora asked. 

“Hey, I can have my moments,” Roxas countered.

Kairi snickered, and that pulled the rest of them into laughing together. A knock on the doorway cut through their amusement, and they looked up to see Massimo. He remained still until the room went silent, then motioned his head towards the kitchen and turned to leave. The four teens looked at each other before following after him. 

A savory bouquet of scents welcomed them to dinner as they passed through the doorway. Old iron pots covered the stovetop, steam billowing over the tops and making it impossible to see what delicious food sat waiting inside. Sora closed his eyes and inhaled, sighing in appreciation before abruptly bumping into a chair. 

“Ah yeah, you might want to watch where you’re goin,” Alberto told them, walking around the table surrounded by mismatched chairs to set out drinking glasses. “Usually it’s just me and Massimo eating in here.” 

“Thank you for making the space for us,” Naminé replied. “I hope it wasn’t much trouble.”

“Psh, please, Massimo loves having company.” Alberto waved dismissively.

Massimo harrumphed in response while he filled dishes with dinner. The group chuckled nervously and quickly found their seats. While Alberto helped with the finishing touches, Sora looked around the kitchen. Copper pans hung from the wall, along with bunches of garlic and dried herbs. An antique radio on a corner cabinet played classical music, the notes warbling through the speaker. Sora grabbed Kairi’s hand and pointed it out to her, along with other various unique decorations that caught his eye. 

“It is my pleasure to present”—Alberto stopped at their table with two bowls of steaming pasta along each arm—”trofie al pesto!”

The group oohed and ahhed as the bowls were placed in front of each of them. Plump curls of pasta filled their dishes, along with cubes of potatoes and green beans, all of it coated with vibrant pesto. 

“This smells amazing,” Roxas said with a growing grin, picking up his fork. 

“It tastes amazing!” Sora enthusiastically agreed with a muffled voice, his mouth already full. 

Roxas let out an exasperated breath but smiled all the same as he took a bite for himself. His eyes widened as he chewed. “This really is good.”

“Yeah, Massimo’s the best cook in Potorosso,” Alberto bragged, wiping under his nose. “He’s teaching me everything he knows. I even put the basil leaf on this time.”

With a chuckle, Kairi picked up the loose basil leaf on top of her dish and waved it at him. “Very elegantly done.”

Alberto grinned, then scrambled to his seat when Massimo cleared his throat. Rather than pick up a fork, he grabbed a handful of pasta in his hand and scooped it into his mouth. Massimo continued to eat his food, paying no mind to Alberto, but the rest of the group stopped and stared. 

“Huh.” Sora looked at his food and put down the fork. 

“Don’t,” Roxas warned. 

“Don’t what?” Alberto asked, his mouth full. 

“Nothing.” Naminé smiled sweetly, and Sora took the opportunity to shovel pasta into his mouth via his hand. 

“Come on,” Roxas groaned under his breath, his hand covering his face. 

“It’s even better this way,” Sora insisted, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb.

“Right?” Alberto replied. “I tried it both ways and hand eating is definitely the way to go.”

“Now I’m curious.” Naminé looked between her fork and Sora.

“Not you too!” Roxas cried out, making them erupt into laughter. 

Even Massimo cracked a smile.

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

Fireflies danced under the moonlight, lighting the way as Alberto led Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé outside to their beds for the night. Bunches of blankets and pillows towered over their heads as they followed, stopping in front of a tree with a treehouse built in the center of its branches. 

“And here we are.” Alberto held his arms out wide. “My secret spot!”

“We can make room inside if you would prefer.” Massimo placed his hand on Alberto’s shoulder.

“We don’t mind,” Naminé assured them.  

“Yeah, we’re used to sleeping outside.” Sora readjusted the blankets in his arms. “Thanks for sharing your secret spot with us, Alberto. It’s great!”

“I added a bit to it since Giulia was here, so it’s pretty much perfect.” Alberto grinned.

“We’ll let you get some sleep.” Massimo ushered Alberto away with him. 

“Thank you again for everything,” Kairi said. “We really appreciate it.”

Massimo simply nodded while Alberto waved enthusiastically and called, “See you in the morning!”

The group waited until Massimo and Alberto were gone inside the house before they made their way up the tree. With their magic, it didn’t take long to get everything up into the treehouse and situated enough to be comfortable. A string of white lights weaved between the branches and flickered to life once Naminé found a switch. Blankets and pillows covered the wooden planks, pressed up against the short walls along the sides. It was a tight fit, but the four of them managed to lay down side by side. Without a roof on the fort, they were able to gaze up at the multitude of stars shimmering above them. 

“What a day,” Roxas whispered. He smiled as Naminé’s hand wound around his. 

“A wonderful day,” Naminé added. “Unexpected, but I’m happy it happened the way it did.”

“We should get that pesto recipe for Little Chef tomorrow,” Sora said with a yawn. 

“I would also like to explore the town tomorrow,” Naminé said. “There were so many unique trinkets inside Massimo’s home, I’d love to buy some from the shops here.”

“Oh me too!” Kairi propped up on her elbow. “Sora pointed out the old radio to me.”

“Wasn’t it beautiful?” Naminé asked, also sitting up.

“I guess that leaves me repairing the ship?” Roxas asked, chuckling when Naminé looked at him with apologetic eyes. “I’m teasing. We could use some downtime. Exploring the town sounds great.”

“I’m glad we crashed here,” Sora said, then he heard Roxas scoff. “What?”

“I am too,” Kairi agreed, kissing Sora’s cheek before she laid down. “It’s a beautiful place and I’m glad we’re here together.”

All of them hummed in their own form of agreement. Their whispers continued to fill the night air until one by one, they fell asleep beneath the stars.

[hysterotic]

✩ 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑶𝑲𝒀𝑶 𝑹𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑹𝑺 𝑿 𝑭𝑬𝑴!𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑹. 𝑨𝑪𝑻 𝑰𝑰

⚠︎ : vulgar language, shinichiro’s death mentioned, pregnancy and abortion mentioned once, another cute lil moment with kazutora except no coke is involved. temperature play, alcohol, usage of drugs, murder threats, violence, hanma has a dick piercing giggles mischievously and runs away, panty stealer!hanma and panty sniffer!kazutora, fingering, p in v, hanma calls you angel, forest sex, semi humiliation kink, you do keisuke's makeup for the halloween party.

<3 𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑻 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 : kazutora hanemiya, baji keisuke, hanma shuji, rindou haitani.

vile’s note : keep in mind that the last part was very rushed and not proofread </3 i’ve got an exam in like 5 hours and i needed to finish this chapter before october so hopefully it's good enough. & thanks to @ljubimaya for helping me figure out a scene with keisuke, enjoy<3

𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑻�� 𝑨𝑪𝑻 𝑰 | 𝑨𝑪𝑻 𝑰𝑰𝑰 | 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑻𝑶 𝑪𝑨𝑴𝑷 (𝑴𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻) | 𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻

flashlights cast eerie shadows across the walls as rindou moves about, cracking glow sticks and laying them around the cabin. you were all in black ghostface cloaks, sitting in a circle on the floor after rearranging the living room to create more space. yet, as the dim flashlight flickers, the scene begins to resemble something more akin to a satanic ritual.

you sat in a side-sitting position, body angled towards mikey’s whose head rested comfortably on your lap. rindou finally sits in the circle and begins to explain the game, carefully tearing pieces of paper and marking circles on all but one, which gets an 'x'.

“If you draw the piece of paper that has the ‘x’ on it, you are the murderer.. and you have to keep it a secret,” He whispers the last part, his speech slightly slurred from the shots he had earlier. he places shot glasses directly in front of each person, except Keisuke who waves off the shot glass before rindou places it, raising his beer bottle to indicate that he’s good with the drink he has.

“So, how do you play exactly?” you ask, twirling Mikey’s hair with your finger.

“You have to hit the lights before playing the game, which..” Rindou pauses, saying as if the power outage had done the job already. “we’ll be wearing the mask so no one will recognize one another or team up, and the killer won’t get real fuckin’ personal,” he mumbles the last part and swiftly glances at someone. Still, you don’t care to check who.

He pushes himself up to walk towards the counter, grabbing a bottle of vodka, lime, and salt for those who need it, and comes back, pouring it into each shot glass.

Before Rindou could continue explaining, Draken interrupts. “yo, Mikey.. you wanna..?”

Mikey nudges your hands off his hair to roll over on his stomach, facing Draken and resting his chin on your thigh, his sharp chin on your thigh making you hiss slightly at the pain, but he doesn't care. “hmm?”

Draken stands up, jerking his head to the side while walking toward the front door, “Y’know.."

“Oh, yeah. excuse me.. be right back.” Mikey starts to crawl toward where Draken is walking, standing up when he reaches the front door, you glance at Emma expecting an explanation, which she shrugs off.

Rindou clears his throat to continue, “Whoever gets the paper marked ‘x’ has to find the knife’s location that’s written on the back, and sneak around to find someone to kill, alone, with nobody around to witness the murder. If you come across a body, you have to yell ‘bodies bodies bodies!’ and then we’ll pull the body back here and try to figure out who did it within 5 minutes, if the timer’s up and nobody figured out who the killer is they’ll stay anonymous and continue to be the killer to keep their streak going.”

He finally reaches your shot glass, looking you in the eye as he pours. “Remember, you can’t trust nobody.”

“So, basically a game of hide and seek except we kill each other,” you note.

He reluctantly nods, “Guess you could call it that.”

Takemichi, sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, speaks up, “I get stressed out every time we play this, someone always ends up beaten up,”

“Exactly what makes this game fun,” Hanma exclaims, his tone a little too excited for comfort.

You jump in, curious as to why Takemichi’s nervous about some game, “Why what happened last time?”

“It got ugly, that’s what,” Keisuke says, swallowing his beer before responding.

“Only because Mikey and Ken fought not that long before the game, so they kept butting heads,” Mitsuya adds.

“Still, that is not fun at all,” Takemichi says.

Rindou knocks back a shot glass, smacking his lips before opening his mouth to speak, “Let’s hope this time, somebody wounds up dead instead, you guys ready?”

Before anyone can continue, Mikey and Draken walk in, “Wait,” Mikey interrupts, glancing at Emma, who is sitting beside Draken on his left. “Emma, move to the right between Draken and her.” he points at you as he stands in the circle.

Emma furrows her brows, turning to look up at Draken who sinks next to her on the floor, “Why?”

Mikey’s expression softens slightly. “I prefer Draken to slap you rather than the rest of the guys, and you’ll be the one slapping her.”

Emma quickly complies, sliding over next to you with a wide grin, too excited at the fact that she gets to slap you.

Mikey then sits down, positioning himself between Rindou and Takemichi. Then Kazutora, who had been watching where Mikey would sit the entire time, nudges Rindou aside and takes a seat next to Mikey. earning a glare from Keisuke as if he knows what Kazutora’s planning. Huh, that was weird.

“Alright, who will do the honors?” Hanma says, crossing his legs and leaning back on his arms.

“Me,” Rindou volunteers, turning to his right to face Kazutora. he knocks back another shot in one go, then smacks Kazutora hard across the face.

Kazutora grunts but laughs immediately after, rubbing his cheek. he then turns to Mikey with a creepy smile on his face, brushing it away over the fact that he could just be coked out. he grabs the shot glass and tosses it back into his throat smoothly.

Mikey’s eyes narrow at him with a glare, to which Kazutora responds with a much harder slap than Rindou did. the sound echoes in the room, making everyone groan at him for that unnecessarily hard slap.

“The fuck, Kazutora?!” Draken yells, almost standing up but Mitsuya stops him, calming him down.

Mikey appears unfazed, adjusting his jaw, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face, you could swear that the color of his eyes just went darker than usual.

“What? It’s the game, chill,” Kazutora replies nonchalantly.

Mikey flexes his jaw, jerking his head to the side in a sharp, dismissive motion, shaking off the irritation as he tips back a shot, the burn of the vodka barely registering on his face.

He then turns to Takemichi, his expression softening at the sight of him, watching Takemichi squeezing his eyes shut. he hesitantly opens one eye, wondering why Mikey’s taking a while to slap him, Mikey’s mouth curves into a silent laugh at that. he raises a hand up and finally slaps him, making Takemichi hiss in pain, clutching his cheek and groaning exaggeratedly, earning a laugh from the guys. despite his initial reaction, he toughens it out, rubbing his cheek.

Takemichi sips the shot, his mouth twists into a grimace from the alcohol burning his throat. then turns to Keisuke, you can tell he’s intimidated by him. hesitantly, he slaps him, but it’s a weak effort, making Keisuke smile, his eyes narrowing as he tongues the inside of his cheek.

“Really?” Keisuke says, his tone mocking. Takemichi chuckles nervously, his eyes darting around the circle who were laughing at the weak tap he’d call a ‘slap’.

“Hit me again, harder, come on,” Keisuke insists, pushing his long hair back and leaning in, his eyes fixed on Takemichi.

Takemichi looks to Mikey, whose eyes are darting between him and Keisuke with an unreadable expression. he takes a deep breath, turning his head back to Keisuke, and slaps him harder. making him grin, “Goddamn..” he mutters.

“Are you mad at me?” Takemichi asks, his voice shaky.

Keisuke shakes his head no, but the gesture doesn’t reassure Takemichi at all.

You lean to whisper in Emma’s ear, “Why are we slapping each other exactly?”

“To give the killer a reasonable motive I guess,” she whispers back.

Keisuke takes a swig of his beer, turning to Chifuyu, and slaps him hard. making chifuyu wince, hissing in pain as he rubs his reddening cheek. he shoots Keisuke a mock glare before turning to Mitsuya.

Chifuyu then drains his shot in one go, feeling the warmth spread through his chest. he quickly slaps him, the impact making Mitsuya’s head jerk to the side. “Shit.” he laughs, rubbing his cheek and looking up at Chifuyu, who was chewing on a slice of lime with a smile. “I’ll get you for that,” he promises, his smile widening.

Mitsuya turns to Draken, almost excitedly, and then his eyes suddenly shift to you, locking onto yours as he licks the salt off the back of his hand and downs a shot. the liquid burns down his throat, but he still keeps a neutral face. he then looks back at Draken and gives him a solid smack in the face, making Draken’s head snap to the side. Draken laughs, a deep, rumbling sound. “goddamn, Mitsuya, was that personal?” he jokes. Mitsuya just shrugs, a soft smile on his face.

Draken then turns to Emma, his expression softening. he takes a shot while maintaining eye contact with her. she quickly tucks her hair behind her ears, offering her cheek. he gives her a solid slap, but not hard enough to harm, making her scoff and roll her eyes.

“Don’t go easy on me because I’m your girlfriend, Ken, c’mon!” Emma protests.

“Nah, you don’t know what you’re asking for little lady. now move on and slap her,” Draken nods at you, leaning back with his hands propped behind.

“Ohhhh yeah.” She giggles, remembering that she gets to be the one to slap you. She takes the shot and scoots closer to you. you roll your eyes at how extra she is as she affectionately cups your face, wiping away the excess mascara smudges under your eyes, and then slaps you hard enough to almost knock you off balance, making the guys collectively wince with some laughter.

“Fucking hell.. Emma!” You exclaim, rubbing your cheek from the burning sensation and glaring at her. Emma tilts her head in a challenging way, her grin still wide and cocky.

Shaking your head dismissively, you grab the shot glass and down it. turning to face Hanma, who seems a little too excited to get slapped by you right now. he licks his canine and leans down to make it easier for you, does he always have to show off that he’s taller than you every time?

You sigh, giving him a soft, shy tap on the cheek, making everyone yell at you for it, including him.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Chifuyu groans.

“Oh, c’mon, what was that?” Hanma says, his tone a mock of disappointment as if he’s talking to a kid.

“Put some muscle into it, new girl.” Keisuke encourages through his beer.

“I don’t bite, go ahead,” Hanma nods at your hand, staring at you with his hypnotizing heavy-lidded purple eyes. fuck, he can’t be looking at you like this, not right now.

You smile nervously, giving him another slap, firmer this time but not as hard.

he slowly blinks, “Seriously? fucking hit me,” Hanma insists.

“If anybody deserves a hard slap, it’s him,” Draken points at Hanma with his beer bottle, “I’ll finish this for ‘ya so you can smash it on his head.” He wiggles his beer.

“C’mon, his face is practically begging for it,” Mitsuya adds.

You glance at Mikey, who gives you an encouraging nod, and your sight then scrolls to Emma, who only gives you an eager nod. knowing her, she would probably kill to be in your position right now. you then take a deep breath, facing Hanma again, you straighten your posture in preparation, and this time you let loose with a solid smack that is hard enough to leave a soft red imprint on his face.

Hanma’s head jerked to the side a bit, biting his lips, he lets out a little hum, which sounded more like a growl. “Atta girl,” he praises, then downs a shot in the blink of an eye, turning to Rindou who took off his glasses in preparation, delivering a slap hard enough to almost knock him out of his position, but Rindou took it well.

he jerks his head to the side, “Jesus Christ, dude,” Rindou winces, he then clears his throat and shakes his head. “Alright, everyone turn around in your seat and put on your Ghostface mask,” he instructs. you all follow suit, putting on the masks and adjusting the cloaks.

“Now, stand up and shuffle around each other so no one knows who’s who, then pick up the papers on the table.” he continues. the group rises, moving in a chaotic, disorienting shuffle. some purposely bumped into you—definitely Mikey—while others suddenly grab your shoulders to startle you.

The group then moves toward the table, they reach for the folded papers, some squabbling over a single piece, while others snatch one and slip away quickly. unfortunately, you’re the last to approach the table. you pick up the final paper, slowly unfolding it, hoping to see an ‘x’ but to your luck, you find a circle marked on it. with a sigh, you crumple the paper before stuffing it into your cloak pocket.

You glance around the cabin, seeing nothing but the shadows of the guys in their cloaks walking away. good, no killer on your radar so far.

Your eyes land on the front door that was left open, as much as running around the woods would be easier than trapping yourself in a cabin with a killer, it’d be safer to stay inside where most of the group is, at least to have someone witness the murder instead of playing dead on the dirt.

You inch down the dark hallway, taking small, tentative steps, doing your best not to trip and fall on the glow sticks. the eerie glow from the flashlights disappearing the deeper you go into the halls. the atmosphere getting more and more sinister.

You make a few turns down narrow hallways, the sound of footsteps you were hearing before going distant, making you feel undoubtedly alone, and yet that thought scares you twice as much.

Eventually, you spot a closet big enough to hide in, before you even begin to think if hiding there the entire game is a good idea or not, something flickers in your peripheral vision. a slight shadow movement in the corner of the hallway, something lurking just beyond your sight. you quickly slip inside, hoping that your sudden movement didn’t alert whoever was at the end of that hallway.

The small space is cramped, hot, and pretty hard to breathe in, especially with this damn mask and cloak on. you remove the attire and slowly push back the hung coats, going deeper into the closet. the closet air is weirdly thick with the scent of cheap beer, maybe one of the coats has beer spilled on it.

You try to steady your breathing to listen intently for any sounds outside. But instead, you hear the soft sound of breathing next to you. your heart pounds as you turn slowly, only to come face to face with another figure in a Ghostface mask, looming over you and practically pinning you against the closet wall with his body.

Your breath catches in your throat as you stare into the dark eyes of the mask, the sound of their breathing filling the small space. you can feel the heat radiating from their body, their presence both intimidating and familiar. the figure breaks the silence, his voice low and menacing, though unrecognizable. “You’re in my spot.”

You clench your fists, trying to maintain your composure. “The spot’s big enough for both of us.”

“Nah, you’re crampin’ it up. I was doing great alone.”

“Well, you’re just gonna have to deal with it ‘cause I’m not moving.” You cross your arms.

“Oh, you’re not moving now?” The figure tilts his head slightly, “and how are you so sure that I’m not the killer?”

Fuck, you didn’t think of that. You let out a short, nervous laugh. “W-what killer would hide in the fucking closet?!”

“A killer that’s waitin’ to pounce,” He replies, stepping closer.

“You would’ve pounced by now,” You retort, trying to sound braver than you feel, positive that he can hear the hammering beat of your heart.

“I would have,” he concedes, “or I could just rat you out to the killer right here, right now.”

Your eyes narrow. “What? you gonna start screaming?” You mock.

He shakes his head slowly, a creepy edge to his voice. “I’ll make you scream.”

“Oh, so cliche. You’re just gonna get us killed, dipshit!” You hiss, trying to keep your voice low.

“Think I care?”

Suddenly, you hear heavy footsteps nearby, growing louder with each step. your eyes widen in panic, and before you can react, the man clamps a hand over your mouth, silencing you. The rough texture of his glove presses against your lips, and you can feel the strength in his grip, since when were we required to wear gloves?

The footsteps stop just outside the closet door. Your heart races, ear ringing from the beat of your heart as you strain to hear for any movement.

There was a brief silence, an anticipation for the closet door to rattle. it was eerily quiet, not a sound from out the closet, but there was still a shadow standing in front of it as if trying to scare you out. you kept your fixed eyes on that shadow, not noticing the mysterious man in front of you lifting your skirt up.

Before you could react to that, you feel a sudden sharp cold chill jolt against your clothed clit, pulling a muffled gasp from you and making you stiffen at the sensation. your eyes dart from the eyes of the mask to whatever’s against your panties, seeing an open ice-cold ultra beer bottle, from which he responds by squeezing your face with his palm as if forcing you to keep your eyes only on him.

You attempt to struggle, grabbing his big arms or hitting his rock-hard chest and pointing toward the closet door with your eyes so he wouldn’t get us caught but he doesn’t budge. he has you pinned so hard against the closet wall that all you can do to squirm is arch your back. you hear him take a staggered breath, clearly enjoying your struggles, feeding off your fear.

You turn to see if the shadow that was in front of the closet is still there, it is, and yet the man shows no sign of stopping as he drags the ice-cold bottle down lower toward your entrance. almost emitting a moan out of you but all that came out was a whimper.

You want to hate this sensation so bad, you want to hate the fact that the tall guy, with a ghostface mask on his head—that looks a little too good on him than frightening—has you pinned against the closet wall with a freezing cold beer bottle against your pussy, shutting you up with his hand and the thrill of the killer opening the closet at any second and killing you both, you really do wanna hate it. but it’s just all too hot, you can’t even tell if the wet spot on your panties came from the beer or if it’s from you, hopefully, he doesn’t notice that too.

He gets closer to your face, “think you can keep that mouth shut?” he whispers, you can feel the warmth of his breath against your cheek and neck as he nudges your panties to the side using the bottleneck. you didn’t respond, you don’t want to, you can’t. you don’t even know who you’re dealing with, and you sure as hell won’t be able to sleep with the fact that there’s a guy here that knows that you like to get fucked with a beer bottle like a cheap whore.

He uncovered your mouth but kept a grip on your face. you blinked up into his hollow “eyes”, you weren’t prepared for something like this at all, not a clue in that little brain of yours how to react. so you just sit there, choking out the desperate needy sounds that kept trying to escape your iridescent pink glitter lips. Oh, fuck. those lips that he’d kill to kiss right now, he wanted to bite it, he wanted to take your lip between his teeth and hear you moan. but your reaction to this was more than enough to fulfill his fantasies. there was uncertainty in your eyes, yes. but there was excitement too. such a fucking minx.

He never expected that type of look out of you, or for you to just sit there and take it. but shit, he’s not fucking crazy to be complaining about this. “Got a fuckin’ clue how hard it was to hold back with you runnin’ around the camp in that skirt of yours?” the man strains.

“h-huh?”

“Don’t play innocent now.” he cuts you off, “glad you didn’t keep that cloak on or I would’ve ripped it off of you.” he starts circling the tip of the bottle against your clit slowly, teasing you, torturing you. “Make everyone see that you’ve got taken advantage of, bet you would’ve liked that huh?”

“Who are you..?” you manage to whisper out, looking back at the closet door, seeing that the shadow’s gone, he grabs your chin, forcing you to look at him again, “Tellin’ you would ruin the fun.”

Just as you were about to feel the bottle being inserted, you hear a muffled shout from across the cabin, “bodies bodies bodies!” the call echoes through, making him step back, the cold feeling on your cunt that you started to crave now gone. “guess the fun’s over.” he murmurs disappointedly, he slips out of the closet, and before you know it he was gone from the hallway.

You continue to sit there, bewildered as you adjust your panties and put on your cloak and mask, not for the game but to hide the shame plastered on your face. Your heart hasn’t stopped racing since then, that was the hottest thing you’ve ever experienced and yet it was with someone completely anonymous, to be honest, you don’t wanna find out who it is, just to save yourself the embarrassment.

You step out into the hallway, walking towards the glow of the flashlights in the corner like it’s a safe spot. As you approach the living room, you spot everybody already there except three people. All also holding a bottle of beer except one whose cloak looks oversized and has a blue glow around their neck, assuming it’s either Emma or mikey. this doesn’t narrow it down for you at all, who the hell could the closet guy be?

You then see two Ghostfaces dragging a body across the cabin floor, they drop the body’s limbs onto the floor and it dramatically plops, whoever’s dead is having too much fun playing it.

The group crowded around it, finally taking off their masks including you. Chifuyu steps in closer to the body, grabbing the mask and pulling it off, revealing Rindou Haitani.

Hanma dramatically gasps at the reveal, Takemichi then steps forward with a half-assed attempt at a eulogy, “Here lies, Rindou Haitani, known around the community, and was such a, uh, he was..” there’s an awkward silence as he scratches his head and looking around at the circle as if asking for help.

Hanma then steps forward, “He was such a genuine person.” he shakes his head exaggeratedly, Oh he’s so drunk. “Who would throw the craziest parties.. he was so sweet and kind, considerate and loving..”

“Alright, you’re draggin’ it.” Draken cuts in, earning a kick in the leg from Rindou, he then sits up from the floor and settles into the couch, pointing at Takemichi and Draken. “remind me to blacklist you two from my funeral.” he says, “Go on! guess who killed me.” He sits back and observes with a grin, loving the attention on him.

You raise a hand up, “I vote Emma,” You interject. “The second you grabbed that paper, you vanished. Seems like someone was a little too excited to be a killer.”

“True, saw her waddlin’ away quick at the glance of her paper” Hanma chimes in, earning a nasty glare from Draken.

“Bitch, please! If I were the killer, I would’ve picked you as my first victim,” Emma retorts at you, crossing her arms defiantly under her oversized cloak.

“You hear that, guys? If I end up dead in this game, vote her out!” you declare, pointing accusingly at Emma.

"Do you hear that, guys? If I end up dead in this game, vote her out!” You declare, pointing accusingly at Emma.

“Nah, if we’re sticking to how the game works, it’s usually who got slapped by the victim, and that is…” Draken points accusingly at Kazutora.

“I also vote Kazutora, he’s oddly too quiet for a game like this,” Emma adds, eyeing Kazutora suspiciously.

“Don’t point no fuckin’ fingers at me. How about we point the fingers at who found the body?” Kazutora shoots back.

“That’s a great point, Hanemiya!” Hanma exclaims enthusiastically, Draken rolls his eyes at Hanma’s inconsistency, “Don’t invite this man for jury duty.” Draken mutters to himself.

“So, who found the body?” Mitsuya leans casually against the couch arm.

“I did, but I had Mikey nearby to witness!” Takemichi steps forward nervously.

“We said no teamin’ up,” Keisuke interjects, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“We just bumped into each other and found the body,” Mikey explains.

“Wait, how did you know that was Mikey?” Chifuyu asks curiously.

“The height,” Takemichi replies, prompting nods of understanding from the group. “The hell?!” Mikey retorts.

“Was the killer the size of a gnome, Haitani?” Keisuke asks, ignoring Mikey’s pout at him, which Rindou mimed, zipping his lips shut and locking it with an imaginary key.

“Alright.” Keisuke stands up, beer bottle dangling from his fingers. “Mikey and Takemichi have each other as an alibi, and two people voted Kazutora.” He then turns toward Kazutora. “You have yet to give us an alibi, where were you?” Keisuke steps closer to him, who maintains a neutral smile.

“I wasn’t even in the cabin, I was outside. Whoever was sitting here first can vouch for that,” Kazutora asserts confidently.

Mitsuya raises his hand. “I was here first, and I did see someone come in from outside the cabin.”

“What were you doing outside the cabin, Kazutora?” Draken questions skeptically.

“Least likely for the killer to find me easily, and a good space to run. C’mon, Ken, you’d know that’s basic horror movie logic,” Kazutora explains, taking a sip of his beer nonchalantly, so Kazutora’s not the closet guy since he was outside, that should narrow it down for you.

“Hmm, hey Emma.. you’re real quiet, tell us your alibi,” Mikey interjects, attempting to corner Emma.

“I was at the balcony.” She replies confidentially.

“Why the balcony?” You cut in.

“’Cause I could hear if the killer walked up the stairs, and I have a good view of the outside of the cabin, duh,”

“Seems like everyone’s got a real good reason why they were at their places,” You observe suspiciously, earning surprised glances from the group that had you a little nervous.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook now, new girl. You were the first one to accuse too, where were you?” Keisuke steps closer to you, his tongue lingers around the top of the beer bottle for a little too long, taking a sip of his beer as his gaze locks onto yours, trying to read you. Fuck, you can’t afford to break a sweat right now, not when you’re being interrogated by none other than him.

“I was hiding in a closet, and I never left it the entire time,” You assert, crossing your arms defensively. “What about you, Baji? Don’t think just because you’re the one interrogating us doesn’t mean you’re not a suspect,” You redirect the attention to him instead.

Suddenly, a ringing sound echoes from Rindou’s phone. “Times up!” He announces, “The killer gets to stay being a killer next round, and the dead.. shall remain dead.” Rindou says in a mock-ominous voice and goes back to playing dead on the couch, almost looking like an excuse to nap.

A chorus of scoffs and groans fills the room at the sound of the alarm. You turn to Keisuke again, his eyebrows jump at you in amusement, his neutral face forms into a smug smirk. Lucky little shit, until next time, Ghostface.

Everybody reluctantly turns around, putting their masks back on and walking away, as you move to follow, a tall figure bumps into you, seeing a familiar sight of possibly the same guy in the closet, same height at least. He raises a hand, points two fingers at his own hollow “eyes”, then directs them toward you as he disappears into the halls.

You ignore the butterflies in your stomach as you scan the living room for hiding spots, your eyes landing on the front door. Maybe Kazutora’s idea isn’t so bad. You walk toward the front door and slowly twist it open, closing it quietly behind you, you keep your eyes on the door in case someone follows you out.

It was pitch black out, the only noises were the rustling of trees and crickets. Regret creeps in for leaving the cabin, but you can’t go back now—that’ll draw attention.

You approach the woods to camouflage your appearance in case the killer’s out here, not going too deep in, staying near the camp and scanning around it. You crouch down behind a tree and fix your eyes on the cabin, seeing occasional black figures walking by the windows, almost reassuring in your opinion.

Then unnervingly, it went completely silent, the cricket noises that once comforted you were now dead quiet, making you a little too aware of your surroundings.

You can’t seem to shake the sense that you’re being stalked, watched, that you’re not alone right now. Your senses are heightened as you start to hear unnatural leaf movement, like crushing it or moving it, you whip your head toward where you think the sound is coming from, you’re not sure what it is exactly but you don’t like it at all.

You want to call out, ask who’s there, but the rational part of you tells you it’s just a mind trick, it does that when it’s pitch black and silent, it makes appearances and noises out of nothing, it’s just your brain playing tricks, that’s all it is, you are completely and absolutely fine.

Then suddenly your spine tingles, somewhere nearby you hear footsteps creeping behind you a little too close, hair prickling along your scalp as your brain screams at you to run, and what would a rational person with survival instincts do?

That’s right, you bolt, not even thinking about investigating what it was, no matter if it was an animal or the wind you’re getting out of there. You run as fast as you can toward the cabin, pushing the doors open enough to have them slam against the walls, and the first thing you see standing in the living room is somebody in a Ghostface mask, holding a knife that does not look plastic.

Panic surges through you as you turn toward the hallway and continue to run. Cause no way in hell are you going back out there and having him and whatever’s waiting outside to chase you. You hear footsteps pounding behind you, your lungs start to burn and your legs feel like lead, but you don’t stop.

Suddenly, you run into another Ghostface emerging from a hallway. Making you crash into them, your instincts forcing you up as quickly as possible. “I’m really sorry!” You apologize to whoever you knocked down, bolting away again.

Breathless and disoriented, you sprint down the hallway, heart pounding in your chest. You glance over your shoulder to see if they’re still chasing you, but it’s hard to tell in the dark.

You quickly turn a corner and find yourself in the living room again. Your breath coming in ragged gasps, heart pounding in your chest. The sound of your footsteps echoes in the dimly lit cabin. You quickly glance around, eyes darting from shadow to shadow, half expecting Ghostface to leap out at you.

Rindou, who’s still sprawled across the couch, body motionless as he continues his charade of being dead from the last round. But when he hears you enter, one of his eyes slowly cracks open, “Hey, you good?” His voice calm, almost lazy.

You nod, still catching your breath. “Yeah… yeah, I just got chased.”

You walk over toward the couch he’s lying on and sink down onto the floor, leaning against it, your legs are still trembling from the adrenaline.

“Yeah?” Rindou’s tone is light as if this is just another round of the game. He shifts slightly on the couch, one arm draping over the backrest. “I just heard them yell out ‘bodies bodies bodies’ just now.”

Shit, how come I didn’t hear that? Whoever’s dead right now is your fault, but you couldn’t help it. Whoever was chasing you took the game a little too fucking seriously.

You hear the couch springs creak behind you, seeing Rindou peering over at you in the corners of your eyes with a smirk as if he’s amused by your reaction. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Are you sure you're good?”

Before you can answer him, the rest of the group begins to gather, removing their masks. Spotting everybody except Takemichi. You fixed your eye on the front door, waiting for someone to walk in but nobody did. Was that all in your head?

Draken drags in the body and places it in the middle of the room. Everyone circles around as Draken kneels down and removes the mask, revealing Mikey lying face-down, playing dead with an exaggerated stillness.

Emma drops to her knees beside him, her gasp over the top as she clutches her chest. “Ohh noo! My big brother..” She wails as he leans over his body, pretending to cry into his chest, her shoulders shaking with fake sobs.

You crawl over to sit beside Mikey’s “lifeless” form, tucking his hair behind his ear to see his face better, silently apologizing for being the one who accidentally got him killed.

Chifuyu speaks up, “Okay, so do we have any nominations?”

“Yeah, I’m for sure voting Emma now,” Draken accuses.

“Ohh, coming in hot,” Mitsuya crosses his arms, leaning against the fireplace wall.

“Why do you think it was Emma?” You ask, still looking at Mikey, why is he still playing dead?

“Yeah, why do you think it was me, Ken?”

“Because she agrees with everything that everybody’s saying to try and steer it away from herself. That’s her strategy in the game, and it always works.” Draken explains.

You tap Mikey’s shoulder repeatedly to try and wake him up, but he’s not budging.

“Do we have any other nominations?” Rindou speaks up.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dead? Shut the fuck up,” Keisuke retorts, earning a glare from Rindou, and yet he still complied.

“Yeah, I nominate Draken,” Kazutora cuts in.

Draken rolls his eyes, clicking his tongue. “Seriously? It’s a low-hanging fruit.”

“I mean, he who casts the first stone,” Kazutora shrugs.

“Guys, why isn’t he moving?” You nudge Mikey’s cheeks, “Mikey, get up.”

“Mikey, you don’t have to keep pretending for this long,” Emma pushes him.

Chifuyu sits next to Mikey’s body, pushing him to face up. He’s still playing dead.

“The hell?” Emma starts to shake him aggressively, starting to freak out, “Manjiro, fucking get up. It’s not funny anymore,” She tugs his arm up but he still doesn’t move an inch, “Guys, he’s not getting up.”

“Relax, he fell asleep.” Draken steps closer and leans down toward Mikey’s body, holding the neck of the bottle and nudging the cold bottle on Mikey’s crotch, making him yelp and immediately sit up from that, holding his crotch. “Fuck, that was cold!”

Emma punches him in the shoulder. “That wasn’t funny at all,”

Mikey grumbles, a little grumpy over the fact that he was woken up. He then looks around, as if searching for somebody. “Wait, where’s Takemichi?”

“Probably playing dead somewhere, poor guy.” Chifuyu snorts.

Mikey raises a brow, “We need to find him, he probably didn’t hear the call.”

“Alright, but… what about Kazutora?” Draken points at him, ignoring Mikey.

“Maybe it’s Draken. He’s always really aggressive when he’s the killer,” Mitsuya notes.

Kazutora snaps his fingers and points at Mitsuya. “There you go.”

“What? No, I am not,” Draken gulps.

“You’re lying. You always gulp when you lie,” Mitsuya continues teasing.

“It would be so fucking obvious if I were the killer, which I’m not.” Draken defends.

Kazutora sighs out of frustration. “Guys, Jesus Christ, can we just point out how Draken hasn’t said a fucking word to defend himself? No alibi, nothing! He’s just denying shit.”

Mikey crosses his arms, giving Kazutora a hard look. “you aware that we’re still playing a game here Kazutora? Quit pointing fingers at Ken and just admit that it was you, take responsibility for once.”

Kazutora’s frustration bubbles over as he points his finger at Mikey. “Ohoho… I don’t need to hear jackshit from you, Mikey. you always act like you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?”

Mikey’s expression doesn’t waver, his tone remaining cold. “what I’ve got figured out is that you can’t handle the truth. you’re the killer, Kazutora. just own up to it, it’s getting late.”

Rindou, lounging on the couch with a bag of chips in hand, suddenly cuts in, nudging Mikey’s shoulder with his foot. his voice is sing-songy, muffled by the crunching. “Dead people don’t taaaalk.”

Everyone ignores him, their focus entirely on Kazutora and Mikey. Kazutora’s eyes narrow, his frustration turning into something darker. “ohh own up to it, huh? let’s not forget what you did to Sanzu. nobody was at your throat for that, were they? cause poor Mikey.. he didn’t even know what was going on when he did that shit to Sanzu’s face!”

Keisuke steps forward, trying to diffuse the situation. “Kazutora, that’s enough.”

Kazutora pushes Keisuke aside, his wide eyes still locked on Mikey. “but when I make one mistake—one fucking accident—everyone’s ready to crucify me but Mikey gets a free pass? why? I don’t get it.”

“That’s different-“

Kazutora cuts in with a bitter laugh, the sound harsh and grating. “different? how? because it was you, it’s okay? but when it’s me, I’m a fuck-up, right? I get called a murderer, that I’m fucking psychotic for that?”

Draken shifts uncomfortably, his eyes darting between Mikey and Kazutora, “Kazutora, calm down—”

Kazutora cuts him off, yet again. “no, I’m not gonna calm down. I’m done taking shit for something that was never my fault. all of you, you’re all fucking hypocrites.”

Mikey stands up from the floor, taking a step forward, and puts his hands up toward Draken to stop him from interfering. “at least I took responsibility for it in the end. you, on the other hand, continue to blame everybody but yourself.”

Hanma, who’s lounging on the couch next to Rindou, snickers as he watches them. “sounds like somebody’s feeling guilty. maybe you’re the killer, after all, Kazutora.”

Kazutora’s frustration reaches a boiling point as he snaps back, his head twitches to the side. “guilty? you’re all so quick to accuse me just because I’m not falling in line like the rest of you. I had to live with that shit for years behind bars while all of you welcomed Mikey with open arms right after he fucking stabbed somebody in the face!”

Draken glares at Kazutora, moving closer. “What’s up your ass Hanemiya? what’s gotten you so pissed like this huh, you on something?”

Kazutora scoffs, shaking his head. “don’t you start with me, Draken. don’t you got other shit to worry about?”

“Tora, shut the fuck up, right now.” Keisuke interrupts, attempting to calm him down before he says something he shouldn’t.

Draken’s eyes narrow dangerously. “and what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Kazutora hesitates to speak, eyes darting between Keisuke and Draken, and for a split second at Emma. he couldn’t hold back as his frustration is tipping him over the edge. “you can barely keep your shit straight with your girl, Ken. you’re no better than any of us. focus on that instead of sticking your head where it shouldn’t, would you?”

Mikey takes a step closer, his voice low and threatening. “Keep my sister out of this conversation.”

Hanma almost choked on his beer, “Woah, woah.. what did I miss now?” eyes darting between Emma and Draken.

The room goes still. Emma’s jaw dropped, slowly turning her head toward Draken, her voice trembling slightly. “You told them about that?”

“Hold uuup, what does he mean by that?” Hanma stands up enthusiastically as he attempts to interfere but gets dragged back down the couch by Rindou, not wanting him to ruin the argument he’s so obviously enjoying.

Draken’s head snaps toward Kazutora, eyes narrowing. “how do you know about that? huh?” he then scans the room, “Who the fuck told him that shit? We're telling everybody our business now?”

Then silence, the room’s atmosphere shifts into something you need to get out of, now. “everybody? what the fuck do you mean ‘everybody’?” kazutora’s voice drops an octave.

Draken scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief. “oh, we’re just gonna ignore the elephant in the room now?”

Keisuke quickly moves to stand between Draken and Kazutora. “Ken, let’s talk about this later,” he then turns to Mikey, whose expression is completely unreadable.

“No, no. Keisuke, let him continue, what fucking elephant in the room? elaborate, c’mon!” Kazutora nods, trying to pick a fight. Keisuke turns to Draken to observe his reaction in case he lunges. seeing his eyes completely blown out and dilated, Keisuke’s eyes narrow at him. “Ken, did you use?”

he ignores him, his focus on Kazutora completely. “Elaborate? fine, I’ll fucking elaborate. when you were in prison, everybody was relieved you were gone. manjiro was relieved, you think any of us gave a shit about you? huh?”

Mitsuya quickly pushes himself off the wall, moving towards Draken, “Ken, calm down, you’re drunk.” he places a hand on Draken’s chest, trying to create a distance between him and Kazutora—who stays silent, his heart beating rapidly.

“the only person that gave a rat's ass about you was Keisuke, why? because he feels responsible for that. he doesn’t give a fuck about you.”

in a blink of an eye, Keisuke steps forward, around mitsuya, and swings a punch at Draken, his fist connecting with Draken’s lip with a strong thud. Draken stumbles back from the impact, his lip split open and blood streaming down his chin.

“You don’t know shit, Ken. so shut the fuck up.” Keisuke spits as he shakes his hand, shaking it up and down to ease the throbbing pain, his knuckles are already forming redness, you didn’t realize how hard that punch must’ve been.

Draken wipes the blood from his chin, still glaring at Kazutora. “I wish you got your head bashed in instead of him, Kazutora.” He growls, the blood staining his bared teeth red. “You spineless piece of shit.”

Mikey’s eyes went dark, and all you saw was a blur of motion and a strong thud. seeing Draken being knocked off his feet, with his head hitting right onto the floor.

“Don’t talk about him like that,” Mikey’s voice is low, deadly calm as he looms over Draken, whose jaw is open, completely not expecting Mikey’s reaction to be this severe.

Still facing Draken, Mikey shoots Kazutora a glare over his shoulder. “Don’t think I’m defending you, Hanemiya.. you’re still dead to me.”

Kazutora, breathing heavily, with his pupils being a frightening dot. he reaches his hand to the beer bottle on the floor, fingers curling tightly around the bottle, slamming himself on the head with it before holding the jagged glass out toward Mikey, his hand trembling with rage and whatever he took before. “I’ll show you who’s really fuckin’ dead, Mikey! I’ll kill you!”

Mikey doesn’t even move an inch, there’s something terrifyingly calm about his demeanor that you can’t really put a finger on, but it feels like time has frozen now, either that or you're just too shocked to move.

“Go ahead, try.”

Kazutora’s breath comes in ragged gasps, his hand tight around the glass. he swings it toward Mikey with reckless fury, but before he can land the blow, Chifuyu and Keisuke rush in, grabbing him by the arms and holding him back.

“Get off me!” Kazutora roars, thrashing violently in their grip. his eyes were wild, full of rage and something else—but it was too dark to tell.

Draken finally pulls himself to his feet, wiping more blood from his mouth, his eyes locked on Mikey with disbelief, as if he didn’t expect him to knock him down. there was a silent exchange between them, his eyes still locked on Mikey. But before Draken can voice his thoughts, his attention shifts sharply to Kazutora.

Draken steps in front of Mikey, his large frame acting as a shield, a shocking sight after seeing him get kicked in the head.

“I’ll fucking kill you all, I swear!” Kazutora yells, still clawing and twisting against Keisuke and Chifuyu. his voice strainer and raw.

Draken spits a wad of blood onto the floor, scoffing. he sneers at Kazutora. “yeah, you’re real fuckin’ familiar with that—“

“Enough.”

Mikey quickly cuts him off, his tone tolerating no argument, so commanding, that even kazutora falls silent for a split second.

Keisuke let go of Kazutora’s wrist, taking Kazutora’s silence as a chance to step in between, casting a wary glance at the three, ready to intervene again if necessary. “this is getting us nowhere, alright? let’s just go to bed, It’s late.” he then grabs Kazutora’s wrist and forcefully pulls him out of the cabin, leaving no room to argue. “we need to talk.”

As Kazutora and Keisuke leave, Mikey shoots Draken a quick glare, “I’m gonna look for Takemichi.” he leaves the cabin, heading toward the forest. the rest follow him out, heading toward the boys’ cabin. mitsuya kept close to Draken just in case, while you and Emma—still shocked from the scene—trail behind, not noticing hanma running to catch up next to Emma.

“Could’ve called me when your boyfriend couldn’t hit the spot for you.. you know I’ll always answer,” Hanma teases loudly. Draken overhears and spins around, throwing a punch that lands squarely on Hanma’s face.

Hanma staggers back but then starts laughing, wiping a smear of blood from his lip. “really? that all you got?” he taunts. Draken lunges again, fists flying. Hanma dodges and laughs, his mocking tone only making it worse.

Mitsuya, Rindou, and Chifuyu rush in to break up the fight, grabbing Draken’s arms and pulling him back.

“He’s trying to get on your nerves, Ken. calm. the fuck. down,” Mitsuya says firmly, blocking Draken’s punches with his hand.

Draken, panting heavily, looks down at mitsuya and then fixes a hard glare at hanma, yanking his fist away from Mitsuya’s grip. he then storms off towards the boys’ cabin. hanma—still chuckling—walks towards a different cabin with Rindou following behind, their laughter echoing through the camp.

You put a hand behind Emma’s back, caressing it. “let’s just go.” you gently push her towards the girls’ dorm. quietly, you open the door and tiptoe inside, heading towards your bed with Emma still following close behind. before you collapse into your bed you quickly change into something comfortable as Emma stares into the distance, sitting on your bed, her face unreadable but clearly exhausted.

When you finally slid on your tank top, you heard Emma sniffling. “Emma? hey, are you crying?” you sit next to her, scooting closer to her to rub her back soothingly.

“I just.. didn’t think he’d get brought up like that.” she whispers, wiping away her tears with her palms, but more keeps pouring down her cheeks. “I don’t know why he’d do that, we were playing a stupid fucking game then suddenly, I..” she starts to choke on her words.

“Shh, it’s okay.” she quickly turns to hug you, squeezing you a bit too tight but you don’t complain, quietly sobbing on your shoulder, she continues to blabber incoherently but you don’t stop her, you run your fingers through her hair as an attempt to soothe her but it only made her cry more. “it’s okay Emma.”

Still, you can’t shake the image of her reaction when Kazutora brought up her and Draken. it lingers in the back of your mind, nagging at you. now that you think about it, you can’t seem to remember any issues they’ve had except for the fact that he took too long to confess. but this isn’t the time to pry, deciding to leave that conversation for another time, when she’s ready to tell you.

After a moment, she loosens her grip and pulls away, her eyes red and puffy as she holds onto your hand. “can i sleep in your bed tonight?” she asks, her voice small and shaky.

“Of course, you can come here.” you crawl under the covers, to your side of the bed, making room for her next to you, pulling the covers up for her to lay in. She lays down next to you, facing you while still having her fingers intertwined with yours. “thank you.” she sniffles. “goodnight..” she buries her face into the blanket, refusing to let go of your hand, even when it’s disgustingly sweaty, but you’ll brush it off for her.

“Goodnight, Emma.”

You jolt awake, heart pounding, drenched in cold sweat. For a few seconds, you’re still caught up in that nightmare. Your adrenaline races as you run from the masked killer, desperate to escape brutal death.

Even as your eyes slowly adjust to the walls of the cabin, you can still feel the masked killer nearby, stalking. Hunting us one by one. It doesn’t help that the location you are in happened to have a similar fate to your nightmares.

Your feet kick at the sheets as sweat pours off your body. Rolling over onto your side and reach for Emma, only to realize that the bed is empty. Guess she might’ve gone back to her own bed at some point.

Fuck, you need air. Now.

You throw the covers off your body completely and slid in your fluffy black slippers, moving toward the front door and slowly opening it to avoid any sound.

Once again, it’s pitch black, no winds, no rustling trees, just quietness. You lean against the porch rail, staring into the night sky, searching for the moon as you take a deep breath.

You hear the faint sound of metal clicking as if somebody was sharpening or playing with a knife. Ignoring the goosebumps, you scan your surroundings, peering around the trees, spotting a figure leaning against a tree a little way off, flipping what seems to be a butterfly knife in their hand. You squint, trying to make out who it is.

He ran his fingers through his long hair and sighed heavily as he gripped it, it’s Keisuke. He looks frustrated, apparently, you weren’t the only one who’s having a bad night.

He flipped the knife again. His fingers were quick and light as the blade swung out. The metal appeared impossibly fluid as he manipulated it through the air, making it look easy, like it was second nature. He played with it for a while without much focus, staring off into the trees as if distracted by something in the distance.

You quickly wipe underneath your eyes, hoping to catch any smudged mascara or eyeliner, and quietly make your way toward him. The leaves crunch softly under your slippers. As you get closer, Keisuke turns his head slightly, still staring ahead. Before you can say anything, he brings the knife to his lips, shushing you. He then points at something with the knife still in hand.

Following his gesture, you see a baby deer standing at the edge of the clearing. It looks peaceful, completely unaware of the human presence nearby. The scene feels almost surreal after the nightmare you just had, almost like you needed a little pureness after that, but it didn’t help seeing Keisuke dragging his thumb across the sharp knife while staring at the poor innocent deer, you were suddenly feeling a hell of a lot warmer.

You cross your arms, still staring at the deer, opening your mouth to speak quietly, “Sorry, didn’t mean to ruin your alone time,”

“Hardly alone.” His deep voice rolled out, making the hair on your skin stand. He flips the knife closed and tucks it in his pocket.

“Seen it’s mom yet?”

He shakes his head in response.

After a few minutes, the deer raises its head, its ears flickering as it senses something. It looks around, then suddenly bolts into the woods, disappearing into the darkness.

You and Keisuke glance at each other, then back to where the deer ran off. “Think there’s a predator around?” You ask.

He made a sound that could have been a laugh, but he wasn’t smiling. “Guess you could say that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Could be a ghost.” He teases, finally facing you, seeing that your cheeks are swollen and your eyes heavy with sleep. “What’re you doing awake?”

“Had a bad dream.. couldn’t sleep after.” You glance up at him, noticing a couple of bruises on his cheek and a cut on his lip and jaw, almost deep enough to have blood dripping down his neck. “Jesus, you look like shit. What happened?!”

He takes a minute to think before answering. Contemplating if he should just tell you but decided to be careful around his words. “It’s nothing don’t worry about it.”

“Let me patch you up at least.”

His tongue swirls over his bottom lip, licking the bleeding cut. “No need.” He mutters as he wipes the blood off his jaw with his thumb,

“You’re gonna get an infection like that. Hold on, I’ll be back.” You head back into the cabin, searching for the first aid kit you brought with you, a cold water bottle, and your phone for the flashlight. Thank god you didn’t listen to Emma when she told you that an aid kit would be useless to bring, now you got an excuse to get close to him and maybe be his little personal nurse.

Returning to him, you find him still leaning against the same tree, staring off into the distance. He turns toward you, giving you a quick once-over, his eyes landing on the tank top you’re wearing with a printed band logo on it.

“What do you know about that band, huh?”

You stop in your tracks, squinting at him. “What do you know about that band?” You step closer and sit right in front of him, patting his bloodied boot and ignoring how painful it feels to sit on the forest ground. “C’mon, sit.”

He stands there staring down at you for a minute, his gaze intense, this position only making your body even warmer than usual. Finally, he sinks down with a groan, indicating there are more injuries than just the ones on his face. He leans back against the tree with his legs spread, resting his arms on his knees, you crawl up between his legs to get closer to his face.

Your scent hits him like a truck the minute you crawl closer, vanilla body lotion mixed with lavender shampoo you borrowed from Yuzuha after the lake. How the hell do you smell so good even after already spending a day at this campsite?

You soaked the cotton pad in alcohol, carefully dabbing it against the cut on his chin. He flinches, a sharp hiss escaping through his teeth.

“Quit being such a baby, relax,” you murmur.

He grumbles under his breath but keeps his eyes glued to you. Leaning his head back against the tree, he gives you easier access to his neck and chin, but the way he’s staring—intensely, unwavering—sends heat crawling up your skin. It’s impossible to ignore, especially with that focused look cutting right through you. His gaze is more than a distraction; it’s a problem, a problem that makes you wanna gouge his eyes out. A problem that makes what’s between your legs throb and you can’t afford to acknowledge right now.

“Can you not stare at me like that?” You say, still wiping the blood off his chin, trying to avoid looking up into his eyes.

“Like what?”

“Like that!”

“What?” A soft smirk tugs at the corner of his lips but quickly vanishes.

“You’re doing it right now.”

“I’m not doing nothing.” He drawls.

“You’ve got that face on your face!” You snap.

He cocks his head to the side, “That face on my face?”

Frustrated, you throw the cotton pad down. “You know what I mean!”

“You’re not even looking at me, and you’re complaining about a face I’m making?”

You let out a huff from your nose as you grab another cotton pad, soaking it in alcohol again, and continued tending to his wounds. After you finish cleaning it up, you place an ice-cold water bottle on his cheek without even looking at him. He quickly swats it away, that action surprises you enough to meet his eyes, he then softly grabs your wrist, guiding it back on his bruised cheek.

“If you’re gonna patch me up,” he says softly, “you gotta look at me.”

Your breath hitches as you release the bottle, forcing him to hold it himself. You reach for a band-aid, your fingers brushing against his skin as you lean in to place it on his chin.

“Technically, I need to be looking at your wounds,” you say, your voice barely above a whisper as you finally meet his gaze again. A hot flush rises up your neck.

“Think you missed my chin there..”

You frown, glancing down at the band-aid and realizing that it’s nowhere near where it should be. So much for being his “personal” nurse, you can’t even get the damn bandaid on the wound. Ripping it off, you try again, cursing yourself under your breath.

“What’s gotten you so distracted huh?” He teases, his voice low, and husky. Like he knows exactly what effect he has on you.

“Baji…” You warn, the sound of his name coming out more breathless than you intended.

“I’m messing with you. You need to relax… Need a smoke?”

You let out an exaggerated sigh. “I’d love to if Emma and Draken hadn’t finished it all last night.”

He hums in acknowledgment, the sound almost sympathetic. “Rough night, huh?”

“Oh yeah…” You shift and crawl over to sit beside him, resting your back against the same tree. The bark is cold and rough, but being next to him makes you feel a bit more grounded.

Keisuke puts the water bottle down and digs into his pocket, pulling out his butterfly knife. The familiar click of metal fills the silence as he flips it open, fiddling with it in his usual absentminded way. There’s something oddly soothing about it, even though your nerves are on edge. His presence makes you want to spill everything that’s been making you paranoid about this campsite.

“I keep having this reoccurring nightmare,” you admit, your voice quieter now, as if saying it out loud will make it more real. “About this Ghostface guy.”

Keisuke lets out a little snort, like it’s ridiculous, and you elbow him lightly in the side.

“I’m serious!” You say, half-laughing. “There’s a serial killer on the loose, and everybody treats it like a joke.”

He’s about to say something but catches himself, offering a quick apology instead. “My bad, sorry…”

Your gaze drifts toward the dark forest in front of you, the trees casting long shadows. You instinctively flick on your phone flashlight toward the direction you're staring at, just in case. “But I don’t know why… That nightmare this time, was way more vivid. Like, more real than before.”

Keisuke doesn’t look up from his knife, but his brow furrows slightly as he flips the blade with a practiced hand. “How so?”

You hesitate, trying to find the right words to explain the feeling gnawing at your gut. “It’s like… The killer is even closer now, y’know? Watching me. I’m twice as paranoid, and I keep seeing things out of the corner of my eye.” You hear a sudden snap of a tree branch nearby, your body tensing as you whip your flashlight toward the sound, but all you see is darkness and the endless maze of trees.

Keisuke, on the other hand, barely reacts. He keeps fiddling with the knife, unbothered. “Think you just really need a smoke.”

“Yeah… Maybe…” You mutter, still staring in the direction of the noise, your heart pounding a little too fast for comfort.

Keisuke flips the knife shut with a swift motion, tucking it back into his pocket as he pushes himself to his feet. “I’ll give you some of mine tomorrow. Just get some sleep.”

You push yourself up as well, stumbling a bit since your feet fell asleep. He jerks his head to the side toward the direction of the girls’ cabin, “I’ll walk you to the cabin so you won’t get killed.”

“That’s not funny,” you mutter.

“It is,” he teases, making you walk in front of him as he follows behind.

Reluctantly, you step ahead, feeling the weight of his presence close behind. The crunch of leaves underfoot fills the dead silence of the night, not even crickets. And you can’t help but feel a little self-conscious with him right there, walking just a pace behind. Every now and then, you glance over your shoulder, catching him watching you, his hands casually in his pockets, fiddling with the butterfly knife as he strolls along like a visible stalker.

When you finally reach the cabin, you stop by the door, turning to face him. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

He gives a soft hum of acknowledgment, his usual way of saying ‘yes’ without actually saying it. His gaze holds steady on yours, and for a brief moment, there’s something unreadable in his expression.

“Okay… Goodnight, Baji.” You smile softly as you push the cabin door open, the wooden hinges creaking as you step inside.

Before you can fully enter, his deep voice cuts through. “Keisuke.”

You pause, glancing back at him, ��Huh?”

“It’s Keisuke,” he repeats, his tone softer now.

Your lips part in surprise, and for a moment, you’re not sure how to respond. But then a small smile tugs at the corners of your lips, face warmer than before. “Alright then. Goodnight, Keisuke.”

He nods, his eyes lingering on yours for just a second longer. “Night.”

You groggily rub your eyes, trying to adjust to the noise of loud chattering and the bright sun hitting your eyes. You attempt to tug the blanket up to hide your face but you struggle, you then attempt to kick the blanket up thinking it was just tucked in the corners but you struggle again, kicking your feet in frustration, you hit something solid, only to realize why it’s stuck.

Mikey, sitting at the edge of your bed like a statue, unbothered by your kicks, as if you barely grazed him. you kick at his back on purpose this time, back to back, each hit harder than before. and despite your persistent kicks, he doesn’t budge, making it seem like he’s completely immune to your attempts.

“Move,” you mutter.

He glances back this time, your voice being the only thing that got his attention, fucking prick. “look who’s awake,” Mikey says casually as if you aren’t still trying to kick him off the bed. “Emma says you know how to do creepy face paint.”

You finally give up, squinting at the bright room, sunlight flooding through the wide-open doors makes everything a bit too much for your still half-asleep mind. the dining table that’s pushed in the center is now a cluttered mess of makeup bags, hair straighteners, and mirrors, as if everyone decided to make it their vanity, spotting Senju sitting there and putting rollers in her hair.

Still too tired to process much, you stretch lazily, letting out a muffled groan as your body cracks back to life like those glow sticks from yesterday. “makeup…?” you murmur, voice still thick with sleep.

“Yeah, yeah. can you do that for me?”

Before you can respond, Emma pops up from behind his shoulder, seeing you finally awake. she approaches the bed and shoves Mikey down, crawling over him.

“Come skinny dipping with me,” she chirps, hovering above your legs as Mikey continues to struggle beneath her, her bodyweight suffocating him as he starts squirming beneath her, grumbling little ‘Get off of me’s’ and ‘Stop!’

You pursed your lips, raising a brow at her as if that’s the last thing you want to hear right now. “Why don’t you ask the other girls?” You mumble, not ready to leave your bed.

“Everyone already did, we woke up late,” Emma pouts, finally climbing off Mikey. She pats you on the shoulder like it’s a done deal, “C’mon! go brush your teeth.”

Mikey, still recovering from almost being squashed to death, glares at Emma before giving you a look like this is somehow your fault, like you’re the one ruining his morning. “bullies, you two.”

“I literally just woke up, I barely did anything to you,” you mutter, kicking him in the back one last time, finally getting him to move. But unfortunately, he stays in the room, lingering like he’s got nothing better to do.

You ignore him now that he’s off the bed, finally having the chance to get comfortable again. you pull the covers up, snuggling into them, ready to drift back into a cozy 20-minute nap.

Just as you’re about to doze off, you feel Mikey leaning in close, whispering something in your ear that you didn’t know you craved. “the lake is really hot right now…”

Your eyes shoot open, no way in hell you're missing out on that. you fling the blankets off, grabbing your toothbrush and toothpaste from your bag and quickly run out of the cabin toward the bathroom.

Outside, everyone from the campsite is already preparing for the Halloween party tonight. at the gate, there were new bikes and cars pulled over, guessing it’s the people that are here for the party and not to stay.

You continue walking toward the bathroom, almost bumping into guys who are hauling logs of wood to stack in the center of the campfire, with some sitting lazily in chairs they were supposed to move. It’s as if the party has already started before anyone’s even put on a costume.

As you approach the bathroom, you notice that it’s already occupied by Keisuke, who’s standing at the sink flossing his teeth, you move past him hoping he would acknowledge you somewhat, but he doesn’t seem to notice your entrance, or at least bother to say ‘Hi’. that kind of stings..

You wave off the thought and start washing your face beside him, glancing at him through the mirror every now and then, until the gorgeous sight gets interrupted by Mikey, who clearly followed you all the way here, walks right up next to Keisuke and stares at him through the mirror. “That’s crazy to look at,” he comments dryly.

Keisuke pauses mid-floss, turning to face Mikey with the floss string still stuck in his teeth. his left hand rests against the sink while his right hand settles on his hip. So dramatic. “What’s that supposed to mean, huh?”

Mikey’s eyes flick to Keisuke’s floss before he grins. “Last time I saw you brush your teeth, you did it with your finger. Now here you are, flossing and shit… who’re you lying to huh?”

Keisuke glares and kicks Mikey in the knee, making him yelp and bolt out of the bathroom, with Keisuke chasing after him, leaving the floss still awkwardly hanging from his mouth.

Kazutora squeezes past them, shooting them a look as they disappear in between the crowd that’s already forming around the campfire they’re making. he walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him, glancing over at you.

“Hey,” he greets casually, not so casually locking the door behind him.

You turn to face him, he looks like he just rolled out of bed, disheveled, yet unfairly attractive. His black and blonde hair is tousled, strands falling messily into his eyes, there’s a slight puffiness to his face, his eyes still heavy-lidded with the remnants of sleep, making him look soft but no less intense.

Your eyes landing on his wife beaters that cling to his figure, creased from sleeping in it. you glance down at his hand that rakes up under his rumpled shirt, scratching his stomach as he squints at the bathroom light with a faint scowl. his blue plaid pajama pants hang low on his hips, before your eyes roam over to his.. obvious print, you greet him with a nod, mumbling out a little ‘Hi!’ as you continue to brush your teeth as if the way he looks didn’t almost make you weak in the knees.

Kazutora moves behind you, stepping closer against you, his body presses lightly against your back, basically pinning you against the sink as his arms move around your waist to grab the toothpaste, his chest brushes your back as he squeezes the toothpaste onto his brush. he made the contact seem casual enough to be innocent, but you both knew it was far from that.

He reaches around you again, this time moving his arm up and over your shoulder to start brushing his teeth, practically enveloping you. his bicep brushes your cheek, he smells so clean, like mint with a mix of shampoo, making it impossible to focus on brushing your teeth. As you glance down, you spot a deep scratch on his arm, the wound looks fresh. probably from the glass he broke last night.

You tilt your head down under his arm, bending over, pressing close against him from behind to spit out the toothpaste, putting yourself in an awkward position and making Kazutora’s hand slip down to your hips instinctively, his hands hold you tight as he mumbles through his toothbrush, “Damn, we’re doing this the second day?”

you quickly wash your face, turning around to swat him lightly in the chest, “Uh-uh, don’t put this on me. You’re the one doing all that just to brush your teeth!” You grab some tissues to wipe off your face.

He finishes brushing his teeth, rinsing out his mouth, and wipes his lips with the back of his hand. “what? didn’t mean nothing.. you were just right there.” he stuffs his hand in his pocket casually, his eyes flick to your lips for a second, as if your words are going in his ear and coming out the other.

“Well, that same argument goes for me,” you counter, leaning back against the sink and crossing your arms.

He steps closer, looming over you, his arms come down again, bracketing you in against the sink. “Yeah, alright.” his eyes won’t stop glancing down at your lips, enough to make him bite his own to hold himself back from pouncing on you.

And you picked up on that, “someone could walk in you know..” you murmur, heart racing as he leans in, his nose gently brushing against yours.

“So?” he whispers, right against your lips. “Let them, I don’t care.” his voice is low, just like how he spoke to you in the same spot yesterday, will he finish what he started this time?

Kazutora’s lips hover just inches from yours, his eyes heavy-lidded and dark. Your breath hitches as you anticipate what you didn’t know you craved so much until he got so close, until yesterday in the same exact spot when he could’ve had you.

“But.. we barely even know each other.” you manage to whisper against his lips, eyes nervously darting at the door and then back at him, he seems to notice that as he tilts his head to make you keep your eyes on him.

“We could get to know each other now,” he murmurs, his eyes looking down at your lips then flicking up to meet your eyes again. “What’s your favorite color?” he asks as his lips graze against yours. The question feels almost like an afterthought with how focused he is on torturing you—and himself.

“Yellow.” you joke as his mouth moves to the corner of your lips, trailing soft, teasing kisses. “What’s yours..?” you mutter, barely getting the word out before his lips are on yours, fully this time, kissing you as if he’s been hungry about you. His hands move up to grip your hips, feeling his fingers go under your waistband.

He hums against your mouth before breaking the kiss to glance down, tugging at your panties to check the color, “mm.. black,” he mutters against your lips as his finds yours again, feeling his hands rake under your shirt to hold your waist, pulling you closer toward his body as his lips find new ways to kiss you each time.

His mouth finally pulls away just enough for you to catch your breath, eyes dark and heavy with need as he leans in again, but instead of another kiss, you feel his hands under your thighs, lifting you effortlessly onto the counter, feeling the cold surface beneath you as he tightens his hold on your thighs, pulling you closer to press his body against yours.

He moves his hand up your chin, brushing his thumb across your lower lip while biting his, making your breath hitch as he lifts your head up and captures your lips between his again, except sloppier—more desperate, yet so annoyingly slow, like he wants to savor your taste against his lips. his tongue delves deep into your mouth as he softly groans against you.

You wrap your arms around his neck, playing with the back of his messy hair as he leans in even more into the kiss, pushing you to lean back against the mirror.

His hand snakes down your stomach, going between your legs to play with your clothed cunt that was embarrassingly soaked just from him kissing and teasing you. he breaks the kiss to rasp against your lips, a string of saliva still connected. “You’re soaked, you know that? I can feel it all through your shorts.” he grits his teeth, “It’s so damn hot.”

You let out a mewl, closing your legs on his hand as two of his fingers start to play with your clit, keeping his hypnotic honeyed-eyes on yours, “How long have you been friends with Manjiro for?” he asks another question as he teases your clothed clit, slowing his fingers down to make you focus on him instead. you can barely think, let alone form a coherent thought as you grip the front of his wife beaters.

“A-a while..” you stammer, glancing down at him toying with you through your shorts, he takes it as a hint for him to go under it as he snakes his hand down your waistband, moving under your panties as he runs two fingers between your soaking wet folds.

The corners of Kazutora’s lips tug into a smile, letting out a small laugh. “a while huh? where were you from me then? you hidin’?” he slowly inserts two fingers inside your cunt, his palm right against your clit for stimulation, making your thighs jerk up as he fucks his fingers into you. You're extra sensitive now and he’s abusing the hell out of it. “m’ sorry.. I wasn’t—” he cuts you off before you can explain by speeding up, making such embarrassingly lewd sounds echoing around the bathroom.

“You do this with anybody else?” he asks another one, making you look up at him from that unexpected question, he’s already possessive of you and it’s only been the second day. God, this is not how things are supposed to go, you didn’t mean to have a guy get possessive over you so soon, the wrong guy too. but you can’t stop him now, not with how his fingers are hitting your sweet spots continuously.

You manage to shake your head, trying to find your voice, but before you can respond, he’s already speaking again, his lips brushing yours. “Good, I wanna be the only one.” his voice soft but his eyes say otherwise. he pulls his fingers out of you, placing them in his mouth, sucking your wetness off his fingers, his eyes still on you.

‏Then his hands move down to your thighs, tossing your thigh over his shoulders, “I know a better way to get to know you more,” he murmurs as he lowers his head down between your legs, his nose coming to bury itself against your soaked shorts, taking your scent in as his hands rub up and down your thighs while his eyes roll back.

Your thighs clamp around his head as he kisses your puffy folds through your shorts, the leg on his shoulder curling around him instinctively as if you are pulling him in for more, making Kazutora growl, hands going up your hips to pull you against his face again, keeping you in place as he takes in your scent while teasing your clit with his kisses.

You then get interrupted by Emma's muffled voice against the bathroom door, calling out your name, “Can you hurry the fuck up? I feel disgusting.” she calls, followed by the rattling of the doorknob as she tries to open it. You quickly move your hand to clamp it over your mouth, muffling out your whimpers.

Kazutora seems unbothered, too distracted getting drunk on your scent as he tugs on the waistband of your shorts, sliding it down your legs with your panties as he glances up at you, expecting you to answer and dismiss her. Nothing's stopping him this time, not when your pretty pussy is displayed in front of his eyes. You can't expect him to stop.. not when he's been craving you, not with his pants getting tighter, rubbing against the annoying confinements of his boxers. if he can't fuck you now, the least he could do right now is eat you.

And you both did just that, "Yeah, just.. give me a second Emma I'll be right out!" you manage to call out, running your fingers through his hair as he buries his face into your pussy, his tongue slid over your clit. Emitting a moan out of you as he licks you again, he flicks his tongue back and forth slowly over that swollen nub.

Every flick made your body jerk, whimpering as you watched him. his eyes remaining fixed on you as his lips close around your clit, his tongue rolling over it, brows furrowing in desperation, moaning against you as if he's tasting heaven on his tongue. His fingers digging into your hips. You cry out quietly, gasping at the feeling of his tongue against you—something you haven't felt in too long, and not this fucking good either.

You start to feel the ache building up slowly, speeding up as you hear Emma's continuous knocking on the door. hearing muffled little 'Hello?'s' and 'Hurry up's' and whatever the hell she was saying through the door, you didn't even care anymore, not with Kazutora devouring you alive right now with his sexy honey-colored eyes fixed on you so intensely.

You whimper against your hand, nodding your head at him repeatedly, silently telling him to not stop as his tongue fucks into you, going in and out, making your legs squeeze around his head and desperately grinding on his tongue. Earning a needy moan out of him, the tip of his dick leaking pre from how hot you are right now. He loves it when his tongue is being used by you.

You move your hand to his soft hair, tugging at it. You're close, so damn close, your ears completely muting Emma's persistent knocks and doorknob rattles as your brain only focuses on him and his tongue, your vision starts to blur around him as his head bobs side to side, only hearing his earring jingle as his tongue glides across your folds, moving back to your clit, sucking on it as your legs begin to shake.

You curl your lips inwards to hold back your moans, melting onto his mouth as the coil bubbling in your belly finally snaps in a rushed climax. you let out a gasp, quickly silencing yourself with your palm as he licks your mess up, not missing an opportunity to taste you.

He hums, reluctantly pulling away from your pussy he calls a delicacy. Chin, and lips still wet from you as he moves his hand back to barricade you. "Wanna keep eating you.." he whispers, almost coming out like a whine. his hand slides up to your hips, moving you closer against his crotch and pushing himself onto you, making you feel how hard he is against you.

Another gasp emits out of your lips, and just as you are about to speak, Emma does it for you. "What the fuck are you doing in there?!" banging on the door even louder than before, causing unnecessarily too much attention around you.

Kazutora clicks his tongue and lets out a heavy sigh, “Of course.”

You let out a scoff, leaning your head back against the mirror again. “I don’t think the universe wants this to happen.” you tease, trying to lighten up the mood but he still looks frustrated.

“Fuck the universe for that,” he mutters, stepping back reluctantly, His gaze lingering on you for a moment before picking up your shorts and soaked panties. looking down at the fabric before bringing it up to his nose, inhaling it in front of you shamelessly. "Let me keep this."

"No, kazutora I can't be walking around with no panties on, give it." You reach out for your panties as he moves them up from your reach. "But I want something to remember this by.. come on." he says with a smile, almost convincing you from how fucking hot he's being, you cup his cheeks, running your thumb on his lips. "You've got more than enough to remember this by." you quickly snatch your panties from him, putting them on with your shorts as he, once again, shamelessly checks you out from behind.

He then wraps his arms around you, pressing light kisses to your neck, tickling you. until Emma interrupts yet again.

"Oh my god, you better be dead in there or I'm ditching you!" she shouts through the door, her frustration obvious not only to you but to bystanders nearby.

"Alright, fine! Jesus!" you call back, exasperated. Kazutora groans and rolls his eyes, begrudgingly pulling away from you, his eyes still fixed on you. even as he backs toward the door, his gaze unwavering as he unlocks and opens the door for you, unbothered by Emma's presence.

Emma stands there, her mouth slightly opening, clearly confused by the sight of Kazutora inside with you. She wasn’t expecting him to be there, much less the two of you together. You slip out beside him, flashing her a sheepish smile, but Kazutora barely acknowledges her, his focus still on you as he finally steps back, nonchalant as ever. he strolls off, ignoring the curious looks from nearby as Emma’s earlier outburst had clearly drawn attention.

Emma rolls her eyes and lets out an exaggerated sigh, grabbing your hand. “Come on, we’ve got shit to do.” she mutters, pulling you toward the forest where Senju and Yuzuha were waiting.

You step outside—pulled outside really—weaving through the camp where preparations for the Halloween party are in full swing, people swarming Mitsuya to alter their costumes, guys passing by, blocking your path and forcing you to go around them as they carry more hefty tree logs toward the center of the camp, a makeshift bonfire already starting to take shape.

Your eyes drift to the right as a familiar car pulls up near the entrance. Rindou and his brother Ran hop out, hauling bags filled with battery-operated Halloween decorations—speakers, candles, everything needed to throw a full-blown party without electricity. Rindou’s crew—slaves—rush to help, gathering boxes and bags and carrying them to the cabin where the party’s taking place.

You continue toward the trees, where Senju and Yuzuha are deep in conversation. Their voices are hushed as if talking shit about somebody, catching bits and pieces as you approach.

“Yeah, ever since Takemichi disappeared, he’s been… different. More persistent with her, it’s weird.” Senju says, crossing her arms in discomfort.

You reach them, slipping into the conversation. “Who are we talking about?” Your gaze drifts, searching for the victim of their discussion.

Emma steps closer to you as she points discreetly toward the chairs where a small group is gathered. “See that guy with the glasses? Sitting next to Hanma.”

You spot the victim immediately—Kisaki Tetta. Not from Emma’s description but because his eyes were already on you. And for a second, it felt like time had stopped. His eyes were so sharp and calculating, almost like he was aware you were talking about him. Something about his stare makes your skin prickle—like he knows exactly what’s going through your head. The corners of his lips quirk up just for a split second. Hina’s complaining about that giving her attention?

“Yeah,” you murmur, dragging your eyes away from his. You fight the urge to do something silly, like twirl your hair and kick your feet.

Emma crosses her arms, leaning into her stance like she’s about to go to war. “He’s got this weird obsession with Hina. They used to be friends back in elementary, but then he turned into a total douchebag.”

Yuzuha scoffs, “And now he thinks he can compete with Takemichi. Not like... Takemichi’s cuter or whatever... but still.”

“Kinda cute…” You let it slip out before you can stop yourself, putting your hand over your mouth as if you said something to the wrong audience.

Emma turns to you, her eyes narrowing as if you’ve just betrayed the entire group. “I hope to god you mean Takemichi.”

Senju steps in, resting her hands on your shoulders. “Actually... distracting him away from Hina might be good for her, at least until we find Takemichi.”

You raise your hands defensively, “Ohh no, no, no.. I’m not going to be whoring around this Halloween all because you want Hina’s boy toy off her dick.. besides, I’ve already got someone in mind.”

Emma’s brow furrows teasingly, a smirk plays at the corner of her lips, “Kazutora?”

“What? No! He wasn’t part of the plan!” You protest a little too quickly.

“Wasn’t?” Yuzuha teases even more.

“Oh yeah, she had her eyes set on Baji Keisuke.” Emma whispers in Yuzuha’s ear loud enough for you to hear.

You groan, rolling your eyes. “Wow, can you say that any louder?”

“I mean, I’ve already seen how Kazutora was practically eating you in the bathroom. I don’t think you can score better than that with Keisuke, at least before the getaway’s over.”

At that, both Senju and Yuzuha gasped dramatically, with little ‘How come you never told us!’ and ‘Where were we during this?’

You shake your head, “I’ll tell you two later! I feel too gross to be standing around right now.” You wave them off as you start to head toward the lake, watching them head back to the cabin giggling as you and Emma start walking toward the lake. “And it was nothing. We barely even kissed.”

“Uhuh, right. Okay.”

You stop abruptly, turning to face her and grabbing her shoulders. “Okay, listen. If I tell you this, you have to swear you won’t tell anyone. Especially Keisuke.”

Emma’s eyes widen, “You’re calling him Keisuke now? Oh my god, what season did I miss? Did I skip a few episodes?”

“Emma. Swear.”

“Alright, alright! I swear.” She holds her hands up in surrender, “So, spill it. What’s going on?”

You hesitate for a second, scanning the area to make sure no one’s listening. “Kazutora and I did coke together.. and after, there was a little tension.."

Emma gives you a long, suspicious look, “There’s some details missing… I can tell from your face.”

“No important details. just little kisses on my legs and all that, but it stopped when the power went out.”

Emma crosses her arms, tilting her head. “Then why are you being so secretive about it?”

“Because he told me not to tell anybody, and I kinda figured that he meant Keisuke.”

“Hmmm.”

You narrow your eyes at her, trying to read her expression. “Do you know why he doesn’t want Keisuke to know?”

She shrugs, “Your guess is as good as mine.”

As you both finally reach the lake, you spot a few empty shampoo bottles littered on the ground, men’s shampoos to be exact. Guess everybody had the same idea, although they could’ve at least picked up after themselves. “Y’know, for being known as rich... they couldn’t afford showers in this dump?” You remark.

“You think they give a shit about quality from a place with history like this?” she responds. Emma wastes no time, quickly peeling off her clothes and stepping into the water. You hesitate, glancing around nervously as you undress, feeling a little too exposed right now.

“Hurry up before it gets cold!” She calls, already waist-deep in the water. “God, I needed this.”

You step into the lake, the warm water enveloping you as you sink into it, letting out a sigh of contentment. The water really was just as Mikey described, hot and relaxing. You dip your face under, wiping the water from your eyes as you emerge.

“We should’ve brought some shampoo,” you mutter, eyeing the empty bottles floating around, and pushing them back to the shore.

Emma leans her head back, letting the water get into her hair. “It’s not worth it. I’ll need another shower after the party anyway. Can’t be wasting it.”

“True…” You murmur, gazing up at the sky.

For a few moments, it’s quiet—just the sound of water lapping against your bodies and the soft rustling of trees. That’s a surprise, you’re not paranoid about silence anymore. This is a nice feeling.

Emma suddenly breaks the silence, her voice low, almost as if she’s been holding it in for too long. “I haven’t spoken to Ken all day.”

You turn your head toward her, sensing there’s more she wants to say.

“I didn’t think he’d tell the gang something so personal, y’know? I didn’t even tell you guys about it… I just thought it’d be fair if he kept it between us too.”

You stay quiet, not wanting to interrupt, though you really want to know the context—what’s gotten them all so tense yesterday, but you don’t want to pry, not when she’s pouring herself out to you.

She takes a breath, staring at the water. “He got me pregnant… and I had an abortion without telling him.”

The words hit like a wave, and though you try to keep your face neutral, Emma already caught the surprised expression on your face before it disappeared. She chuckles a bit at that.

“I just… I thought he’d run away,” she continues, her voice trembling slightly. “That’s a lie, I know he wouldn’t… I like to comfort myself with that thought so I won’t feel shitty about it. But, a part of me didn’t want to tell him because I knew he’d convince me to keep it, saying he’s ready to be a dad and stuff. But I knew I wasn’t, and he didn’t take that lightly.”

“What do you mean?” You ask softly.

She stays silent for a minute before letting out a big sigh. “He kinda took it as me saying I didn’t want a baby with him. It wasn’t that. I just wasn’t ready. That’s it.” Emma pauses, dipping her hand into the water, and swirling it around absently. “We fought about it—bad. Even Manjiro got involved. Everything went to shit after that. Which… was out of character for him, yeah. But things were already going pretty bad for the gang, he and Mikey fought before, and this just kinda made it worse, I guess.”

“Emma, I’m so, so sorry…” You want to reach over and hug her, but the fact you’re both naked stops you. Instead, you extend your hand toward her, and she takes it, squeezing gently.

“It’s okay. It’s been a year since then, and we never really talked about it after, until today. I didn’t think it’d get brought up again, especially not like that.”

“That was really messed up of Kazutora, I’m sorry you had to go through that.” You squeeze her hand back.

She lets out a bitter laugh. “Don’t apologize for him. Yeah, he’s been all up on you lately, but still…”

You smile softly. “I can drop him for you, you know?”

Emma’s eyes widen, shaking her head quickly. “No, no! Please don’t. that’s the last thing I need right now. he’s already being fucking insane I don’t need you depriving him of pussy too.”

She dips her hair back into the water, letting the warmth wash over her as she sinks deeper into the lake. “And then there’s Hanma… It’s like he has a sixth sense whenever Ken and I are having issues.”

You raise an eyebrow. “What, he hits you with a ‘you up?’ text?”

Emma lets out a dry laugh. “Literally! No joke, he’s exactly that cliché. He’s the type who goes after vulnerable women in relationships just for the thrill of it.” She pushes back her hair from her face, getting all the water out. “And back then, he had this weird phase of being obsessed with taking a girl’s virginity, especially mine. Like… I wasn’t even a backdoor virgin at the time.”

You wrinkle your nose, cringing. “Okay, I didn’t need to know that.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh please, like I haven’t told you worse.”

You let out a laugh, shaking your head. “How could you resist him though? I mean, the guy’s hot. He’s got the height, the eyes…”

Emma’s expression drops into a deadpan. “Are you only attracted to the absolute worst of the worst? Be honest.”

“Emma, don’t even try to deny it.”

She sighs, tilting her head as if considering for a moment. “At first? Maybe, before I really knew him. But after dealing with his antics for so long, the charm kind of wears off, and Ken is my type, not Hanma.”

“Ugh, you’re no fun…”

“Bitch, please. if your definition of ‘fun’ is Kisaki and hanma, I’ll pass. and stick with Keisuke—he’s better for you mentally.”

You scoff, leaning back in the water. “Not really… He gives such mixed signals, he was driving me crazy yesterday.”

Before you can elaborate, Emma suddenly perks up. “Hold that thought! I really should’ve brought a bikini before jumping in here.” She stands, the water sliding off her skin as she quickly grabs her clothes to put them on. “You want me to grab yours too?”

You glance around, feeling a little exposed now that she’s mentioned it. “Yeah, please. I’ve been feeling a bit too vulnerable out here.”

She pulls her wet hair out of her shirt, and then nods toward the trees. “Gotcha. I’ll be back.” She starts walking toward where the cabin is, disappearing into the forest and leaving you alone with the quiet ripples of the lake.

You float lazily in the warm water, letting your body relax as your mind drifts back to yesterday. Glad she didn’t pretend nothing happened like those guys did, especially Mikey. He was still acting the exact same this morning, although they do have a history of forgetting their arguments, but this one was too intense. Guess they were just too drunk. It’s pretty frustrating though, it’s like no one but you had felt the weight of what happened.

You tilt your head back into the water, exhaling softly, your mind drifting to the cut on Kazutora’s arm. Sure, you were just as fucked up as they were, but you seriously don’t remember him getting a cut from the glass, or anything really. Maybe he and Keisuke fought after? That would explain Keisuke’s bruises. If that’s so… that fight must’ve been intense.

The water’s stillness is suddenly interrupted by the realization that Emma’s been gone for too long. You push yourself up slightly, scanning the edge of the lake for any sign of her. Nothing. The trees remain undisturbed, quiet except for the occasional rustle of leaves from the wind.

You stand, the cool air hitting your wet skin immediately. As you step out of the lake, you instinctively reach for your clothes, only to find them missing. What the fuck? You start to scan the area, checking to see if they might have fallen or been moved by the wind. Maybe Emma took them with her? But something about that doesn’t sit right. She wouldn’t pull a prank, not after being so vulnerable with you a couple of minutes ago.

Your heart starts to race as your eyes dart around, feeling more and more exposed. You cover yourself with your arms while searching for anything to do the job for you. Finally, you spot a towel draped over a rock nearby. It’s ridiculously small, probably meant to be a face towel, but it’s your only option. You wrap it around yourself as best as you can, covering what’s most important, though it barely does the job.

Still shivering from the cold, you tiptoe into the forest, leaves, and dirt clinging to your feet. You’re wet and vulnerable, like prey ready to be pounced on. The dense canopy overhead makes everything seem darker, and the chill in the air feels sharper against your damp skin. Every rustle of leaves makes you jump, paranoia creeping in. Great, just as you were about to celebrate the fact that you weren’t as paranoid anymore.

As you step deeper into the forest, the towel clings to your wet skin, barely offering any warmth, and you clutch it tightly, scanning the dimly lit path for any sign of Emma or your missing clothes. “Emma?” You call out, although your voice doesn’t seem to be reaching the cabin. It’s as if no matter how loud you scream, no one will hear you. Why did your thoughts lead to that now?

The silence around you feels suffocating, the occasional rustle of leaves now sending a chill down your spine. You’re not sure what’s worse: the fact that your clothes are missing or the creeping feeling that something isn’t right.

You push through the underbrush, the wet towel sticking to your skin, its small size doing little to make you feel more secure. The chill of the air and the dampness on your body make everything worse. You try calling for Emma again, but your voice sounds weak in the thick, still air. “Emma?” you repeat, a little louder this time. The sound of your voice feels hollow, swallowed up by the trees as if there's no one around to hear it.

A twig snaps behind you. you then hear a voice—faint at first, like a low chuckle. you freeze in place, your heart skipping a beat as the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. not right now, not right now! He chuckles again, a deep, mocking sound.

“Lose something?” a familiar voice drawls from behind you, sending a chill down your spine that has nothing to do with the fact that you’re wet and naked.

You turn around slowly, hoping that it’s just a hallucination. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. you spot Hanma Shuji, standing a few feet away, leaning casually against a tree, with your underwear dangling on his finger, his lips curling into a lopsided grin as he witnesses your terrified eyes, his eyes expanding at the sight of it.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” You mutter, your voice betraying the anxiety you’re trying to suppress. You tighten your grip on the towel, taking a step back away from him, considering bolting for it or fighting him for your underwear, at least you would only worry about the top being exposed.

You feel Hanma’s eyes slowly travel down your body, his gaze lingering on the damp skin left exposed by the tiny towel.

“Oh, come on now,” he pushes himself off the tree, taking a step closer to you. “you don’t need to be so shy, not after the little show you’re putting on.” He teases.

You clear your throat, “Hanma, give it,” you demand, trying to keep your voice steady, though you can’t ignore the way your pulse is racing.

Hanma lifts the underwear higher, inspecting them with exaggerated disinterest with a hand on his chin. “hmm, I don’t know. you’re looking pretty good like this. s’ a shame to cover up so soon.” his eyes flick back to you, filled with that lazy, predatory hunger look in his eyes that always seems to follow him.

“Don’t push it,” you snap, though your voice falters just a little. you try to stand your ground, but with nothing but the thin towel to cover you, you can feel your confidence slipping. Oh fuck. you need that underwear now.

Hanma tilts his head, his grin widening, clearly enjoying every second of this. “Black, huh?” he muses, raising an eyebrow as he gives you a slow, teasing once-over. He clicks his tongue in mock frustration, “Damn, was betting on white, y’know.. ” he trails off.

You feel your face heat up instantly, did he hear what you and Emma were talking about? “what the fuck does got to do with anything?!”

Hanma chuckles at your reaction, twirling your underwear around his finger. “unless you’re gonna tell me you’ve been keeping yourself pure for someone special,” he says, his voice dropping low, the words rolling off his tongue with that smug, knowing tone, “are you?”

Your eyes narrow, fighting the urge to lunge at him and snatch your clothes back. “Why does that matter, huh? Can you just give me my clothes back?”

“Answer my question and I’ll give it to you.” he takes a step closer, forcing you to step back into the tree. “Are you, or are you not?” his gaze flicks back down to the towel, then to your face.

You grit your teeth, fighting to maintain control. “That’s none of your business.”

He bites his lip, shaking his head while looking down at your underwear, fiddling with the lace. He then dangles your underwear in front of you once more, but still keeps them just out of reach. “I’d kill to see you walk to the camp like this anyway..”

You might actually bolt for it this time, you glance back toward the camp, where you can already hear the faint sounds of people talking and preparing for the Halloween party. The idea of walking through the crowd like this, wrapped in a towel barely covering a thing, makes you wanna curl up and fucking die. Your eyes dart back to hanma, who’s watching you with that insufferable smirk of his, clearly eating up every second of your discomfort.

You sigh, shoulders sagging in defeat. “Can I please have my clothes back?” your voice comes out soft, almost pleading, just barely above a whisper as you impatiently stomp your feet in frustration.

Hanma tilts his head, matching the soft sound of your voice in a way to mock you, “Answer my question first.” you should be pissed but jesus christ did he sound so fucking hot doing it.

You clench your jaw, knowing you’re trapped. There’s no way around it, not with how he practically has you pinned to the tree, you look away from his gaze. “Okay! alright! I’m not a virgin, whatever! give it back.”

But Hanma only scoffs, “You think I’m just gonna give this to you without proof?”

Proof? Is he fucking crazy? Proof? your breath catches, and you feel your stomach drop. “Proof?”

He steps closer, the gap between you shrinking as he looks down at you. “Let me check.”

Your stomach tightens, heat rushing to your face. “What do you mean ‘let me check’? you can’t just—”

He cuts you off, “You want your clothes back or not?” his grin widening, shameless as ever.

Is this why Emma fucking despises him? cause now you’re starting to get it. You stood frozen, heart pounding, chewing on your lip as your mind races. There’s no way you’re going to let him get away with this, but the way he’s looking at you, the way his voice dips so low, makes it impossible to think straight.

“So?” he leans closer, his breath brushing your ear. “You gonna let me?” he drags his fingers along your curves, going down to your thigh. And unfortunately, your body betrays you. Your mind locked onto the feeling of his fingertips drifting your thighs, going between, accepting the sensation of his fingers drifting up from your inner thighs to what’s next to it. Kazutora’s unfinished business is being handed to hanma, and somehow, you’re not complaining.

A part of you enjoys the way he toys with you, the way he puts you in such a humiliating position just for his own pleasure, just to see you crack. and a part of you wants to crack for him, you can’t hide your masochism forever. unfortunately for you, as much as you try to deny it, and pretend you have self-respect and dignity, your body will always betray you.

He chuckles against your ear as if what he’s feeling on his fingers is unbelievable. “you’re fucking wet.” he whispers, and he hasn’t even touched you yet.

You let out a whimper, almost loud enough for the camp to hear but he quickly covers your mouth. “you don’t want them seeing you like this do you?” he speaks against the back of his hand.

You repeatedly shake your head, already tearing up and he barely did a thing to you. “why’re you crying?” he murmured, his gaze softening at the sight of your tears, but his dick was far from soft at that. his knuckle grazes beneath your chin, tilting your head up, forcing you to meet his gaze. but it wasn’t gentle, no, it was patronizing. “do I need to shut that mouth of yours?”

A soft pout forms on your plump bruised lips as you peer up at him through your lashes, your eyes wide, almost pleading—an instinctive reaction to his taunt.

Hanma tilts his head, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. “you’re really bringing out the big guns with those puppy eyes, huh?” he then holds your underwear up, stretching it out enough to use it to gag you with it, he then stuffs your mouth with it, tying it to the back of your head.

“Bite.” he demands, and you comply, earning little whispers of ‘good girl’ and ‘you look so damn pretty like this’ against your lips as he leans in to kiss you, soaking up your underwear from it, his thick tongue rushes over your own, feeling yourself getting wetter as you silently wish emma doesn’t come back for you.

He then breaks the kiss, yanking the towel off your grasp and exposing you completely to him as he throws the towel aside, the sharp cold air hitting you enough to twitch. before you had time to react, he sinks to his knees, grabbing your thighs and spreading your legs open enough for him to go in between, “that’s a pretty fuckin’ pussy..” he mumbles right in front of your folds before spitting on it to make it easier for what he’s about to do to you. his warm breath fanning your cunt as he uses his ‘sin’ etched hand to lightly play with your clit, watching you twitch and pulsate against his fingers. humming little ‘mhm’s as he inserts two fingers inside you.

You practically melted on him, “so tight..” he coos, “not a virgin, huh?” he teases, you couldn’t even look at him anymore from how humiliating this is, biting your panties to muffle out your moans, and he couldn’t have that either.

He clicks his tongue, “let me hear you.” he says irritatedly as he pushes himself up from the ground to loom over you, wrapping his fingers around your neck with his ‘punishment’ etched hand, forcing you to look up at him again as he speeds up his fingers. shamefully, his long fingers feel so fucking good inside you, and your body can’t help but react to it.

“Don’t be ashamed about it.. wouldn’t expect a girl like you to be alone for this long. hey.. am I the only one that went this far in the camp? tell me.” he whispers huskily as he tightens his fingers around your neck.

You replied with muffled choked whines, but instead, he moved his hand from your throat to grab your chin, forcing you to nod your head at his question. “yeah? such an honor.” he gets his face closer to your lips, hovering over it as his ‘punishment’ hand moves to your thigh, lifting it up to get better access as he goes knuckles deep into your pussy, making you almost short circuit. “y’know, you’re all the guys have been going on about. couldn’t help but wanna get a taste of what they’re cravin’.. maybe ruin it for them too while I’m at it.” you tightened around his fingers at that, making his brow raise and let out a deep chuckle, “Ohh, you liked that huh.”

Your eyes rolled back as you leaned your head against the bark, you couldn’t even tell if it was because of his words or how good his finger felt. and of course, he would turn this into a competition. it makes perfect sense that he’d chase after someone the guys won’t shut up about. that’s just who he is—a thrill-seeking asshole, always needing to one-up everyone else. the exact kind of man Emma kept warning you about. but you just can’t ignore feeling yourself make a mess on his fingers, soaking and tightening around it even more, every time he speaks, like the dirty fucking whore you are.

He pulls it out, putting it in his mouth to suck on, making sure you’re looking up at him as he tastes you. “Mmm, mhm.. you’re ready.” he leans in to meet your lips with his again into a sloppy wet kiss against your panties while he unzips his pants, slipping it down to his thighs as he gives himself slow strokes, precum already dripping down his dick.

He breaks the kiss, biting his lip as he grabs both your thighs and lifts you up, supporting you with the tree he’s got you pinned in. The rough bark scratches your bare back painfully but you don’t care anymore. instinctively, you wrap your legs around his hips.

“Hold onto me better,” he murmurs, you wrap your arms around him and dig your nails on his back for support, leaving behind stinging lines from your nails as he digs his onto your hips, angling your wet slit on his tip.

Your eyes widened looking down at him: his cock is pierced, a curved silver bar fitted through the underside of his tip. you’ve never seen that before— never even thought someone would do that—and you could scarcely imagine how that would feel inside you, and he’s sooo fucking huge too. for a guy who used to be obsessed with being the one to take a girl’s virginity, with a size like his, combined with the piercing.. that would feel so painful, but you assume he’d be into breaking girls like that, making them bleed on his dick, and gosh does that thought turn you on.

It’s so indecent the position he has you in currently, it’s so indecent that you just got your pussy eaten by a different guy you barely know too. this wasn’t even the plan at all, you didn’t plan to have Hanma Shuji driving his pierced cock deep into your pussy right now, and you didn’t plan to have your cunt squeezing his dick either, making him question if what you said about you not being a virgin is true from how goddamn tight you are. you didn’t plan to have your pussy eaten on the second day of the getaway and yet here you are. in the middle of nowhere against a tree with a seven-inch deep in your stomach, you can’t even complain about the cold anymore, not with his hot dick and pre already coating your insides.

“Ohhh fuck, look down.. look down at it angel, watch how it fucks you.” Hanma choked, his face scrunched up with need from how good your pussy was swallowing him. you roll your head down to watch him stretch you open, resting it on his shoulder while watching your skin clap against his as his veiny dick disappears into you, making your clit throb as he drives himself into you over and over. your mouth now dry since you drooled all over yourself, the sight only making hanma even harder from how braindead you look.

You lean back against the bark again, tears rolling down your cheeks, sniffling. so cute to him, so cute as he’s continuously pounding his cock into your puffy, swollen pussy. with each heavy thrust, he hits your spot, making you cry out for him as his hips interact with yours. and you can’t help but make Hanma’s back bleed as he cusses under his breath.

You’re ready to cum, so close to it you feel it in the pit of your stomach as your eyes roll back, a moaning, drooling mess. “uh-uh,” he says sternly, “Look at me.. look at me while I fucking ruin you, c’mon.” he growls, getting even more aggressive as he stretches your legs further up. his dick bulging out of your tummy. he wasn’t even looking at you either, his eyes were on your tits, bouncing each time he thrusts his hips into you. he can’t help it either, every single inch of you is hypnotizing to him.

You let out a soft mewl, breath hitching as you feel yourself coat his dick, the slapping sounds getting wetter, almost echoing through the trees. it all comes crashing down at you as the ache in your stomach snaps, squirming against his grip, legs twitching, and hips bucking against him. you feel so, so painful and sore now but that’s an issue for you to worry about later.

He pulls out his dick, and a part of you wishes he didn’t as you already start to miss him being inside of you. He starts to stroke it. Speeding up as thick, pearl white cum oozes out of his pierced tip, dripping on your stomach and your rhinestone belly piercing, making it shine for him as he groans at the sight. “So damn pretty..”

He pushes himself against you more to pin you hard against the tree for support as he scoops up a bit with his middle finger, grabbing the panties from your mouth and pulling it down to your neck, shoving his middle finger down your throat. “Suck,” he orders, making your clit throb one last time at that.

And you did just that, his purple eyes were focused on your lips as you glide your tongue against it, keeping your doe eyes locked on his as you start to moan around him, his mouth fell open with a desperate sigh as you were sucking down hard on his finger and letting your tongue tease its tip.

You take the chance to distract him with your mouth as you undo your underwear from the back, trying your best to imitate as if you're sucking his dick, his eyes remaining on you with such intensity. you finally undo it, swiftly hiding your underwear behind you as you let go of his finger with a lick, purposely leaving a string of saliva still attached.

“How am I supposed to let you go after that..” he says with hunger so unmistakable and raw it made your legs weaken, almost convincing you to stay with him a little longer. you bring your fingers to your lips, kissing them softly before grazing them against his mouth. his body that was pressing on you momentarily loosening. Taking that chance, you kick him back away from you with all the strength you can muster. His surprised expression is the last thing you see before bolting.

Quickly snatching the towel from the ground, you barely manage to wrap it around yourself as you dash away from him, wiping away remnants of him on your stomach, a sick reminder of what happened as the cold air hits your skin again. Your heart races as fast as your feet as you sprint toward the camp, the towel slipping dangerously, barely covering you.

You finally reach the camp, bursting out of the treelines, your worst nightmare—aside from being murdered—begins in slow motion before you. The once lively camp now silent as everyone stops to stare, conversations freezing mid-sentence as people halt whatever they're doing, gawking at your half-covered figure. You should've at least worn your underwear before running here so you would only have your tits to worry about, but something about the thought of you running around in your underwear sounds just as worse as right now.

You don’t even have time to process the embarrassment creeping up your neck as your grip tightens around the towel, fingers trembling as it threatens to slip from your grasp. You make a desperate dash across the camp toward the girls’ cabin, each step feeling like you’re running through thick mud, the weight of humiliation heavier than anything you’ve ever carried.

Please, not now, not like this…

One pair of eyes catches your attention more than the others. You recognize the blonde hair streaked with blue—fucking Rindou Haitani. His eyes were locked on you, widening as he covered his mouth with his hand, trying—and failing—to hide a grin. He leans over, nudging his brother Ran with an elbow, chin pointing directly at you.

Great. Didn’t even need to get anyone into bed for them to see you half-naked. Already crowned the whore of the century in just two days. Heat floods your face, prickling your skin as humiliation grips you tighter than the towel ever could.

You quicken your pace, legs trembling beneath you. Just when you think you can make it, you hear someone call out, something about Hanma. Wait—Hanma? Why is he brought up?

Your blood runs cold in realization. No. No, no, no... don’t do this to me.

Your breath hitches, and your question hangs in the air for a split second. As if on cue, Hanma bumps into you from behind, his hands finding your waist as he nudges you to the side like you're in the way, "Shit... didn't see you there," he says with a smug, half-assed apology, making his group break into jeering laughter, the kind that digs under your skin.

He then appears in your line of sight, strolling across the camp casually, his usual lazy grin plastered on his stupid, stupid face, the action only fueling his group even more. you don't even need a crystal ball to figure out what they're thinking either—Hanma and you are alone in the woods, with you naked. The weight of their stares nauseating as he walked toward Kisaki, mumbling something in his ear. whatever it is, makes Kisaki glance your way, fucking great. Now you've got Kisaki's attention on you, and Hanma’s as well as his eyes drift back in your direction.

You can feel their stares—Hanma’s eyes burning into you like he knows exactly how uncomfortable you are—and it’s unbearable. The humiliation is indescribable, you’ve never felt more suicidal until now. Your grip on the towel tightens as if it’s the only thing tethering you to reality.

Then, before you can even think of bolting, a familiar, comforting voice yells through the camp, coming to your rescue.

“The fuck you looking at? Huh?!”

Your head snaps up, spotting Draken at your side in an instant, quickly shrugging off his jacket and throwing it over your shoulders with no hesitation, the fabric heavy against your skin. Your legs feel like jelly from the embarrassment, but Draken catches on as his hand finds the small of your back, urging you forward.

“Look away, you fuckin’ cunts!” Draken barks, “Nothing to see here, scram!”

You flinch at his words, the sharpness of his tone making the embarrassment feel even heavier now that all eyes are on you from how goddamn loud he's being. At least he has good intentions, but now you’re not sure whether you want to be hidden or to disappear entirely.

At the corner of your eye, the person you desperately want to yell at—Emma—appears beside him, rushing toward you, her voice apologetic. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to leave you out there!” She urges, her hands hovering uselessly near you as if trying to help without knowing how.

Draken’s towering frame shields you as he leads you toward the cabin. You can still feel their eyes on you—the weight of their stares, lingering like fingerprints on your skin—but it’s all just background noise now.

Just then, the cabin door bursts open, and Mikey storms out, drawn by Draken’s voice. His eyes widen as he spots Draken and Emma ushering you toward the girls’ cabin. “What’s going on? Why are you naked?” Mikey asks as he strides over, nudging you further inside gently as he closes the door behind him.

Your heart pounds in your ears as your face reddens from embarrassment. Legs give out as you sink to the floor. Your face burns, skin hot to the touch from the sheer mortification.

You’re not sure what’s worse—the fact that it happened or that they all saw it.

It was already sunset, four hours before the Halloween party. You stroll toward the boys' cabin with your costume in hand. Your steps are quick since you don’t want to be seen by anybody else right now—the sting of embarrassment from earlier creeping back up your neck. On top of all that, you found out that Emma conveniently decided to make up with Draken, leaving you to fend for yourself naked in the woods. Timing, right? But it’s whatever now. It already happened. What can you do?

The cabin door is left slightly ajar, and through the crack, you spot Mitsuya sitting at the dining table, chatting with Hakkai, who's leaning on a chair in front of him, rocking it back and forth with his long leg. You vaguely remember Hakkai witnessing that whole ordeal earlier since he was nearby helping the others carry logs. Just your luck. With a sigh, you try to center yourself before pushing the door open further, letting it creak to announce your presence.

As you step inside, Hakkai notices you immediately, his eyes widening in surprise before he quickly looks away, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. He glances at Mitsuya for some kind of signal, who only gives him a subtle nod, silently dismissing him.

Hakkai stands awkwardly, muttering a quiet “see ya,” as he shuffles past you, practically shrinking, avoiding eye contact. At least he didn’t comment or stare at you like the rest of the guys did earlier.

Finally, Mitsuya looks up from the table, giving you an easy smile like you didn’t just flash the entire camp. “Hey, what’s up?” he greets, his eyes flicking to the costume you’re holding. “Got something for me to fix?”

You cringe slightly at his casual tone. It’s only the second time you’ve really interacted with him, and you’re already asking for favors. You feel a little guilty, but then again, you only have four hours to get ready. “I hate to be that person, but I completely forgot to alter this… it’s too big on me, and I need it, uh… shorter.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he says, hopping off the dining table, clearing it out for him to start working on your dress, grabbing his glasses from his head and putting them on. He looks so cute with his glasses on… “Hand it here.”

You pass him the costume, and he starts to feel the fabric between his fingers, laying it out on the table for a better look. “Velvet, huh? I can work with this. How short do you want it?”

“Umm…” You chew on the bottom of your lip, reaching for the dress as he moves back with his hands in his pockets. You fold up the bottom of the skirt, nearly half of it gone, showing him how short you need it. You smile sheepishly, feeling a bit ridiculous.

He stares at the fabric for a beat longer than necessary, chewing on the inside of his mouth. “You sure about that?”

“Yeah,” you reply, more confident this time. “I’m sure.”

“Can you, uh… put it on so we can see exactly where you need it?” he suggests, still making sure you really want it that short.

“Yeah, okay.” You take the costume back and slip it over your clothes. It’s loose around your waist, and the skirt falls all the way to your ankles. Walking over to the giant body mirror, you fold the fabric up, bringing the hem slightly above the bottom of your ass. You glance back at Mitsuya, who’s now standing behind you, hand on his chin as he examines the skirt you’ve folded up. A quiet laugh slips out. He rubs the back of his neck, eyes darting between you and the absurdly short skirt.

“Oh, so you’re serious?” he asks, trying to hold back another laugh.

You glance at him through the mirror, your face heating up. “Yeah, I’m serious,” you attempt to say confidently, but you can’t help but crack a smile.

He stares for a moment longer, his eyes drifting over the costume and back to you. “That’s really short,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m not saying anything, I’m just making sure you know what you want…” You can tell he’s debating whether to warn you about how impractical the length is—dancing, bending over… all risks.

“Thanks for the concern, but I know what I want, don’t worry, Mitsuya,” you mutter with a smile. It’s your costume, after all. With a shrug, he nods.

“Alright, I’ll make it work. You mentioned tightening it around your waist, too?” He walks back to the dining table to grab a few pins.

“Yeah,” you confirm, turning to the side in the mirror to inspect the fit. “It’s a bit loose.”

Mitsuya moves behind you with pins in his mouth, his hands hovering near your waist, waiting for permission. You meet his eyes in the reflection and nod with a small smile. He gently runs his hand on your waist as if you are fragile, tightening the fabric at your waist, and carefully placing a pin to hold it. Then, he drops to his knees, pinning the skirt’s hem to the length you want, still hesitating but ultimately deciding to trust your choice. For a moment, it looks like he might add a bit of length without telling you, but he wouldn’t. The customer’s always right anyway.

“Alright, you can take it off now,” Mitsuya says as he stands up.

Careful not to mess up the pins, you slowly slip out of the dress, folding it neatly before handing it to him. He walks back over to the dining table, already gathering his tools to start cutting and sewing.

You follow him, perching yourself on the edge of the table next to his work, watching him as he does his magic—focused and all, long lashes that almost brush his cheeks when he blinks, then to his lavender hair, holding the urge to run your hand through it, then at his hands as he takes off his rings, placing them to the side.

One of the rings catches your eye, resembling the cross earring he wears that you really liked. You hum in interest. Without thinking, you reach for it, slipping it onto your thumb. The ring is far too big, but you try to make it fit, twisting it around, and looking at the details. Mitsuya, still cutting, notices the missing ring, his eyes flicking up to you. With a soft smile, he tilts his head slightly to grab your attention.

“You like it?”

You glance back at him, realizing you’d been caught playing with his ring. “Oh—uh, sorry,” you say quickly, taking it off and setting it back on the table, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Don’t be,” he says casually, his voice soft. “It looks good on your finger.”

“Yeah… it doesn’t really fit though,” you mutter, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear as you place your hands in your lap, fingers fidgeting with the fabric of your pants awkwardly.

Mitsuya’s gaze lingers on your hands fidgeting for a moment longer before he asks, “So, who’re you gonna be tonight?”

“Bela Dimitrescu,” you reply.

He raises a brow, clearly not recognizing the name. “Who?”

“She’s just some hot mutant from Resident Evil. You might recognize her when I put the costume on.”

“Well, I’ll look forward to seeing that then.”

Just as you’re about to ask him what he’s gonna be, your stomach growls, loud enough to make you freeze. Mitsuya glances up at you with a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“You should go eat while I finish this up.”

“Yeah, okay,” you mumble, slightly embarrassed. “Thanks for this, Mitsuya, you really saved me.” Hopping off the dining table, you give him a grateful smile before heading out of the boys’ cabin. Your feet carry you toward the main cabin, silently hoping that they brought an acceptable breakfast. You’d kill for some Honey Cheerios right now.

Reaching for the cabin door, you pull it open and step inside, only to find two guys already there, mid-conversation—the Haitani brothers. Their words pause the moment you enter. Making you hesitate to walk in, but it’s too late to leave. Their eyes are already on you, and turning back now would just make it look like you’re trying to avoid them.

They finally look away as you cast a smooth, subtle glance at Ran without him noticing. He’s frowning so deeply it almost looks permanently etched on his face, his lips pursed as he sips his coffee. You hope it’s just a case of him not being a morning person, rather than something to do with your presence.

Rindou, on the other hand, looks like he’s holding back a laugh as he stares down at his cereal, swirling it lazily with his spoon. You ignore the awkward tension and move to walk past, doing your best to seem unbothered. But just as you pass, you hear Ran mumble, “No good showers… No good coffee… The cheap-ass motel nearby can at least give me a good shower.”

Tell me about it, you roll your eyes at that, moving toward the cabinets and trying not to engage. You sift through the shelves, noticing most of the snacks are half-eaten or left wide open, gross... What do you expect in a cabin full of guys? You turn around and finally spot something decent—a box of cereal right next to Rindou.

“Dude, we can leave after the party… Quit whining,” Rindou says, leaning back in his chair, still playing with his cereal.

You grab the box of supposedly protein cereal, lifting it to see how full it is. Thank God, it’s brand new. You move over to grab a bowl and head to the sink, which Ran is currently blocking with his brooding presence. He’s ignoring you, his attention is still on Rindou.

You let out a quiet sigh and clear your throat. “Excuse me,” you mutter, hoping to avoid any unnecessary interaction with him.

Ran side-eyes you but eventually steps to the side, he seems so grumpy. You quickly wash the bowl, hearing the brothers chatting again, but you’re too tuned out to catch their conversation. After grabbing a plastic spoon, you sit at the dining table and pour yourself a bowl of cereal, only to realize that the milk already out on the table is… lukewarm.

“Goddamnit,” you mutter under your breath.

“Goddamnit indeed,” Ran quotes you, grimacing as he takes another sip of his coffee before slowly stepping out of the cabin to sit on the porch.

You dig into your cereal, grateful to get something in your stomach before getting fucked up tonight. But even that small comfort is ruined by the weight of Rindou’s stare, first on you, then your cereal, like your mere existence is bothering him. His gaze feels heavy, almost like he’s expecting something. You glance up at him, your eyes lock with his, and he doesn’t look away. Which only makes you eat faster, hoping to finish and get out of there as soon as possible.

“You know that’s my cereal, right?” he says with a brow raised.

You freeze mid-chew, looking at him with a mouthful, feeling caught. “I’m sorry,” you reply, your voice muffled by the cereal. “It’s just… everything else was already half-eaten or stale. I should’ve asked.”

“Nah, you’re good, I don’t wanna shit on your morning like he always does with me.” He points his spoon toward where Ran left, then scooping up some cereal for himself.

“Is he always that grumpy?” you ask, still chewing while looking at Ran’s back through a window.

“Mmhm,” Rindou hums in response, resting his head on his palm. Giving you a once-over, a subtle smirk playing on his lips. You pretend not to notice his staring, focusing on your cereal like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

“So, who are you, anyway?” he asks, breaking the silence again.

You pause, swallowing before responding with your name. “…I’m a friend of the Sano’s.”

At the mention of their names, Rindou straightens up slightly, his interest piqued. “Oh, you’re with them? How come I don’t know you?”

You shrug in response, attempting to cut the conversation short since you still feel awkward about this morning but he seems persistent as he still keeps his goddamn eyes on you.

He leans back in his chair, his fingers drumming lightly against the edge of the table. “Interesting. Can’t believe Mikey didn’t mention you.” The way he emphasized his name sounded almost like he was mocking, “So, who’re you gonna be for Halloween?” he tilts his head as if he’s trying to piece together how you fit into their world.

You shift in your seat, feeling the intensity of his gaze as if trying to study you. “Uh… Just some character from Resident Evil,” you say, wiping your mouth with a napkin.

“Oh yeah? Who from Resident Evil? I’m going as Leon Kennedy tonight.”

Your face brightened at the mention of Leon, but you kept your cool, trying to not fangirl as much. “Bela Dimitrescu, that one mutant from Village. So, which Leon are you gonna be?”

“Damn…” he mutters, leaning back with a feigned sigh of disappointment. “Was hoping you’d be Ada. We could’ve matched, y’know.” He teases, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looks you up and down before adding, “You know how he looked in Resident Evil 2? Yeah, him.”

“You gonna wear a wig, too?” you finish up your cereal, only taking spoonfuls of milk now.

“Pfft, nah… I don’t look good with brown hair.” He shakes his head, running his fingers through his hair.

“Really? I think you’d look good.” You respond without thinking twice about the way you said it.

His eyes gleam as he sits up, leaning closer to you with his elbows on the table. “You think I look good with brown?”

You nod, trying to see what he’s getting at since what you said was completely innocent. “Yeah, totally.”

He grins wider, “So you’re saying I look good?”

You roll your eyes, laughing it off, “Okay… I didn’t say it like that!”

He crosses his arms, his arm tattoo distracting you enough to slip up. “So I don’t look good?” He tilts his head again like he’s waiting for you to stumble on your words.

“I didn’t say that either,” you shoot back.

“Which is it then, huh, new girl?”

You stand up, reaching to grab your empty bowl, and putting it in the sink. “Come back with your Leon costume and we’ll discuss,” you reply before heading out of the cabin.

Rindou watches you walk away, leaning back in his chair as you walk toward the door. “I better get an answer by then,” he calls out after you as you bite your lip, trying to suppress your giggles before finally stepping out of the cabin.

You walk out toward the girls’ cabin, seeing some of the guys already loitering around, either borrowing makeup or pleading for help with their own. You vaguely recall Mikey insisting on you doing his makeup too. Ugh, how the hell will you manage both his and your makeup before the party even starts?

As you enter, you spot the girls halfway through their makeup routines, Mikey planted beside Emma while inspecting her makeup, and next to him, Keisuke watches with the cutest look of confusion on his face as Emma carefully applies her eyeliner. It’s hard not to let your eyes linger on him for a moment longer than necessary. Not that he’d notice, though—his attention is all on whatever witchcraft Emma’s doing.

Mikey catches sight of you walking in and immediately perks up. “Fucking finally, you gonna do the paint now?”

You raise an eyebrow, “Who are you even gonna be?” you ask, pulling out your heavy SFX makeup from your bag with a sigh. The weight of it feels appropriate for the mess you’re about to deal with.

“I’m gonna be a vampire,” Mikey replies, crossing his arms with a smirk plastered on his face as if he’d just dropped some mind-blowing revelation.

You can’t help but deadpan as you drop the makeup bag onto the bed. As if you pulled it out for nothing, “Mikey, you barely need makeup for that.”

In the corners of your eye, you catch Keisuke approaching, your heart starts to race as you pretend to be casual about it, keeping your eyes on Mikey as Keisuke jumps in. “You gonna be a vampire? I was gonna be one.” His gaze remains stubbornly fixed on Mikey, making you subconsciously pout. Look at me, look at me!

“Uh-uh, change. I called dibs on being a vampire in August,”

You cut in, “You’d make a pretty solid Eric Draven, Keisuke,” you say with your hands clasped behind your back, holding yourself back from rocking side to side.

Keisuke finally turns his head toward you, raising an eyebrow. “Who?”

You feel your heart skip a beat—not because of him not recognizing an icon, but because, well, he’s looking at you. “He’s from The Crow,” you explain. “You’ve never seen it?”

Keisuke narrows his eyes at you in confusion, and just as you’re about to elaborate, Kazutora, sporting cute little leopard prints on the sides of his face, slides in with his arm lazily draping around your shoulders. “What’s going on?”

“I was just telling Keisuke he should be Eric Draven,” you reply, instinctively leaning slightly into Kazutora’s touch.

“Ohhh yeah, he kinda does look like him,” Kazutora agrees, giving Keisuke a light nudge. “You should totally do it.” A small part of you didn't want him to intervene. But another part of you says that Kazutora can convince Keisuke to let you do his makeup for the party. One, because you can touch his face without him being weirded out by it, and two, you get to see him in corpse paint.

Keisuke looks between you and Kazutora, brow raised in doubt. “You think so?”

“Yeah! He’s got that corpse face paint metalheads do. Plus, he’s got long hair, so you already got that down.” Kazutora explains.

“So, I look like him just ’cause he’s got long hair?"

“Nah, dude, it’s more than that. Trust me, let her do the face paint. It’ll look sick.” Kazutora finally slides his arm off of you, casually strolling away out of the cabin.

“What about me?” Mikey suddenly whines, pulling your attention back.

“Mikey… you literally just need fangs and some fake blood. You barely need anything else,” you say, turning to Emma for backup. “Right, Emma?”

Emma, engrossed in her makeup application, shrugs. “I don’t know what you just said, but yeah, sure,” she replies, turning up the volume on the music playing. Body by Summer Walker flows through the speakers, indicating that she doesn’t wanna be bothered right now.

You move over to your bed, unzipping your makeup bag and grabbing the fake blood bottle to hand to Mikey, "That'll work, just dab it everywhere on you." Then you grab the essentials for Keisuke's makeup, waving him off to sit anywhere so you can get started.

You stroll toward the dining table where everyone’s scattered their makeup tools, only to spot Keisuke already sitting there, leaning on the chair, waiting while bouncing his leg.

His eyes meet yours as you move closer to him, steadying yourself in between his legs as he moves to sit on the edge of the chair, closer to you. Legs apart enough for you to stand in between, his hands loose on his thighs. Occasionally cracking his fingers while you arrange your products away from the other girls'.

You grab the first step of the makeup, the Elf Power Grip primer, squeezing a bit of it onto your fingertips, his brows immediately furrow as soon as the cool, slightly sticky substance touches his skin.

“The hell is this? Feels sticky,” he mutters, instinctively pulling back an inch.

You grab his chin, gently but firmly, bringing him back into place. “You want this stuff to last the whole night, don’t you?”

He grunts, still clearly annoyed by the texture as you wave it off to dry with your hand before grabbing the white under-face paint stick, carefully gliding the pale white makeup across his cheek. You didn't realize how tan he is until you added paint, noting in your head that he might need a double coat as you're making sure to cover every inch, but not touching his neck.

You try not to be affected by how close he is, even though you're feeling his breath on you, and each time your fingers graze his skin, you swear his breathing deepens, just enough for you to notice. You're positive he can hear your heart hammering against your chest but you pretend to be unbothered—impossible—focusing more on doing his makeup.

You grab a brush to blend it all in, and your fingers brush his jaw as you tilt his head for a better angle. His skin is warm beneath your fingertips, a sharp contrast to the cold makeup. His eyes watching you closely, unreadable but so distracting, god why is he so fucking distracting.

You catch his gaze, and it’s like the air in the room shifts, you flash him a polite smile as you tilt his head again, blending the paint in with the brush. He huffs but doesn’t pull away this time, settling into the stool again.

As you move on to the actual white base, you dip the beauty blender into the paint and begin dabbing it across his skin. Almost immediately, he makes a face,

“Stop that,” you mutter, holding his chin steady with one hand, blending the paint in with the other.

He shoots you an exaggerated glare, eyes narrowed like a cat who’s been stepped on. “Feels like you’re trying to knock me out.”

“You’d know if I was trying to knock you out, just stay still,” you mutter, though the words come out softer than you mean them to.

“You’re good at this,” he murmurs.

“I know a thing or two.”

You dab the beauty blender on his cheek again, harder this time just to mess with him, and he grumbles under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest. His long legs stretch out, and he shifts like he’s trying to get comfortable.

“Oh—god, Keisuke. Please don’t move.” You say, exasperated. “You’re making this way more complicated than it needs to be.”

He doesn’t budge, instead choosing to stare at the ceiling, “I’m perfectly comfortable like this,”

You let out a frustrated sigh, “Fix your posture, please?” you insist, tapping the side of his knee with yours. “You’re not helping me here.”

He keeps his gaze fixed on the ceiling, tongue gliding over his teeth before responding. “Nah, I like it like this.” He settles into the chair even more to get comfortable.

You mutter a ‘Jesus Christ.’ and with a huff, you put your knee on the chair, positioning it right between his legs as you lean over him. The closeness makes it harder to focus on the makeup, but you’re determined to make this work.

You reach for a couple of products to hold at hand as you're hovering over him, “If this turns out to look like shit I’m blaming it on you,” you say. He’s unyielding, maintaining that ridiculous position, and you find yourself almost pressed against him as you try to get the angle right.

“Yeah, that’s great,” he teases, his voice low, and you can’t help but roll your eyes at his stubbornness.

When you finally finish with the white, he runs his hand over his face, frowning at the texture. “This stuff feels weird.”

You quickly grab his hand, "Don't touch your face, it'll crease!" You start blending the part he touched to fix it.

He raises a brow, and his expression changes in a way that you could only describe as regret that he even agreed to this, "The hell's the point in this if I can't touch my face?"

You roll your eyes at his impatience, pulling out a small container of powder. “Don’t worry, it won't move when I set it with this.”

He eyes the powder suspiciously, “What is that?”

He squints at it like he’s deep in thought. “Glitter?”

You roll your eyes. “No, Keisuke. It’s powder. You put it on top of the base paint so it 'doesn’t feel gross.'” You mock him, unscrewing the powder and dabbing it with a powder puff, dusting the excess powder before applying.

He frowns but doesn’t argue, letting you dust the powder over his face. As you work, you notice his jaw relax a little, clearly less bothered by the texture now.

You reach for the dark eyeshadow palette on the table, trying to maintain your position against him as you tip over. Just as you feel yourself wobble, his hands find your waist, steadying you on the chair. The suddenness of his touch almost actually made you tip over, the expensive palette slipping from your grasp as you froze in place, awkwardly grabbing it before it fell on its face.

You then look up to see his reaction through the mirror, your breath hitches as you catch a glimpse of his confused expression, making you jolt back to reality. You quickly regain your composure, trying to shake off the flutter in your chest. “Thanks,” you mumble, your voice steadier than you feel.

He, of course, says nothing about it, moving his hands back on his lap as you start on the black around his eyes, applying a generous amount all around it. When you reach for his waterline with your black pen, you feel him tense up again, squinting like he’s bracing himself for impact. You’re careful with the pen, making sure it doesn't bother him and yet he’s still being a baby about it, “You’re getting it in my eye,” he grumbles.

“No, I’m not. Shut up and hold still.”

He huffs, but he keeps still, though you can feel the way he’s resisting the urge to blink. As you finish the last stroke, you step back, admiring the shape of the dark circles around his eyes. He opens them fully and stretches his face again, clearly trying to get used to the feel of the makeup. He's so annoying about it but so cute still.

You shift to the other side of his face, trying to ignore the way your fingers tremble slightly as you work on the black lines around his other eye. More calm now and less freaked out over the pen.

“You’re done with that part, right? ‘Cause it’s—” He frowns, shifting in his seat.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m done.” You pull out the last piece of the look and hold it up in front of him with a grin. “Alright, what’s this?”

He squints at the small tube you’re holding, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “Lipstick?”

“Wrong. It’s eyeliner.”

He mutters something under his breath but doesn’t protest as you move in closer again, tilting his head back to get the last lines around his lips. As you carefully draw the dark line around his lips, filling them in. His eyes stay locked on yours, and for a second, you pause, forgetting what you’re doing. It’s just you and him, his amber-colored eyes pulling you in like they always fucking do.

You watch his mouth move, mumbling a "You good?" with his soft-looking lips, fighting the urge to kiss him right here right now until you remembered where you were. There were people around, everybody is watching, he was watching, and you need an excuse on why you just stared at his lips for too damn long. "Yeah, it's just... I'm trying to figure out how to shape it to your lips."

He hums in response as his eyes blink to the ceiling, lifting a weight from your shoulders, and finally giving you the chance to actually focus on doing his makeup.

When you move to line the corners of his lips, your thumb accidentally brushes the corner of his mouth. His eyes flick back at you at that, but he stays quiet, his lips parting slightly as you paint the dark line.

You clear your throat, trying to ignore the way your hands feel warmer than usual. “Stop staring. It’s weird.”

He slightly smirks in response, probably knowing how much his stare affects you. You scoff, but it’s hard to focus when he’s looking at you like that. You quickly regain your composure as you move to do the lines on his eye down to his cheek, keeping it quick and sharp. You finish the last line and step back quickly from him, and once you do, you feel like you can breathe now.

You reach for the final piece of the puzzle—the setting spray. The bottle makes a soft rattling noise as you shake it, and Keisuke immediately looks suspicious.

“What’s that? Perfume?” he asks with a furrow to his brows.

“Setting spray,” you say, stepping in front of him again. “Keeps everything in place so you don’t look like a melting corpse halfway through the night. Now, close your eyes.”

He blinks a couple of times at that, but he does as he’s told, closing his eyes. The moment you spritz the mist onto his face, he scrunches up like you just sprayed him with water from a hose, his entire face contorting.

“Quit scrunching your face!” you laugh, “Just relax.”

He dramatically holds his breath, still keeping his eyes shut tight but trying to loosen up. You spray another mist, and he manages to avoid flinching this time.

“There, done,” you say, stepping back to admire your work.

Keisuke opens his eyes, blinking a couple of times as if testing whether everything is still intact. His fingers hover near his face, but he doesn’t touch the makeup.

“Feels like I just got hosed down,” he mutters, now testing the feel of the makeup on his face, and his eyes return to yours. There’s a heaviness in the way he stands, the way his shoulders shift as he rises from the chair, towering over you now.

“Well?” you ask, folding your arms. “How do you feel?”

Keisuke stretches his face out again, eyes flicking to the mirror, “Like a dead guy.” He reaches up, running a thumb over the edge of the makeup near his jawline. “You did a good job.”

“Thank you.” You can’t help the smile that pulls at your lips as you watch him.

He tugs at his hair tie, running a hand through his hair, his intense gaze flicking over to you one last time.

“Let’s just hope this shit doesn’t come off,” he mutters, “Or else I’m blaming you.”

Before you could speak, the cabin door creaks open, Mikey, Chifuyu, and Pah-Chin strolling in, all done with their makeup and face paint, on cue to Keisuke being done as well.

Mikey’s immediate reaction is to cackle, his fake vampire fangs gleaming, “Keisuke, you look like you came out of a morgue!”

Keisuke’s eyes cut to Mikey, unimpressed. “Your fangs are bigger than your teeth,” he deadpans.

Mikey instantly shuts his mouth, clearly self-conscious about the oversized fangs, his grin shrinking into a scowl. “Shut up.”

Chifuyu, who’s been checking out Keisuke’s makeup, steps closer, “You look like you’re ready for a metal concert,” he says, his tone amused.

Pah-Chin, who’s dressed as the Joker with his own face painted up, snickers from behind them. “More like the circus.”

“You would know about that wouldn’t you?” Keisuke smacks Pah-Chin’s head from the back as they all head out the door to leave the girls’ cabin. Before he does, Keisuke shoots a final glance at you, his eyes locking with yours for just a moment longer than usual before breaking it and stepping out.

After they finally leave the cabin, you turn back at the mess you and Keisuke made, the lingering warmth of his presence still evident, making you miss him already as you collect the scattered makeup items. Just as you were about to start your makeup, the door swings open, and Mitsuya steps in, a dress draped over his arms, looking almost comically small against his frame, the realization of how tiny the dress actually looks and how naked you’re practically gonna be just decided to hit you. “Hey, almost forgot to bring this over.”

“Thanks, Mitsuya,” you say, “I really need to hurry up.”

He glances at the mess you made on the dining table, “Yeah, good luck with that, see you at the party?” he says as he rushes back to the door, also needing to put on his costume.

“Yeah, I’ll see you.” You say, rushing over to your side of the dining table, your heart racing as you quickly prepare until you realize you almost forgot the most crucial part of the costume, “The blood! I need the fake blood for the look! Oh my god. Mikey!!!” You shout, your voice echoing off the cabin walls, making Emma flinch and almost fuck up her makeup.

© 𝑯𝒀𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑶𝑻𝑰𝑪 all rights reserved. please do not repost, steal, or modify my work.

[hinataoc]

I absolutely loved working on this piece! It was outside my usual style for Fanzines, but there was something cathartic about it too. Deep diving Luxu's mind, especially during the time of Dark Road. Here is a transcription of the excerpt, along with a teensy bit extra that didn't fit in the picture:

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'Luxu remained perfectly still while the whistling wind billowed the bottom of his coat. His gaze went from one gravestone to the next, reading the freshly etched names—Hermod, Urd, Vor... Bragi. He paused at the final name and for the first time since arriving he let out a noise—a single, breathless scoff that was lost in the wailing of the storm.

With a single motion, he pushed back his hood. Rain darkened his auburn hair, sticking it to his cheeks. He leaned his head up towards the clouds, welcoming the storm and closing his eyes. Another life, there and gone again. 

“There…” he said softly. “One last time.” '     

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Preorders for this amazing Dark Road Zine end December 1st! Make sure to check it all out. So many incredible creators helped make this possible.

Calling all Luxu lovers! You're in for a special treat with @hinataoc 's fic!

[kentuckyfriedmegumi]

digital minimeg

from:

[hijinks-n-lowjinks]

Title: crash and crave you

Author: hijinks_n_lowjinks

Chapter Preview:

Yuuji narrows his eyes to get a better look at the stranger, but by the time his vision focuses, the guy is already looking away. Which really is unfortunate, since the guy could easily be considered a Grade A hottie. Yuuji’s eyes practically bulge out of his head when he notices the long, sultry eyelashes, the thick tangle of onyx hair peaking out from beneath his hat, and the lean slope of his neck that looks like it would be perfect to leave a few marks on, in his professional opinion.

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen | Chapters: 1/1 | Rating: Mature | Pairing(s): Fushiguro Megumi/Itadori Yuuji, Minor Kugisaki Nobara/Zenin Maki | Content Warnings: Sexual Tension, Implied Sexual Content, Mature Language, Suggestive Language, getting sloppy in public...

[yuesya]

I’m glad there’s SOMEONE in the Gojo Clan in the Cursed Twin au that is horrified by what they did to Shiki, AKA Shiki and Satoru’s mom.

What happened to her in this AU, if I may ask?

Muneyoshi tries to delude himself he did the right thing and before finding about the situation in one of your shorts, he is proud because Satoru is an outstanding genius and thinks they all did the right thing, but how did his wife - who actually loved Shiki and was horrified by this filicide - act towards Satoru throughout the years? Does she learn of Shiki before Muneyoshi does? Does she help Satoru hide Shiki from her husband in the early years? Did she eventually give up and also quietly followed the Gojo’s actions in raising Satoru as the genius Six Eyes? She dead?

I know this AU isn’t exactly the AU for fluff and unicorns, but is there absolutely no ray of sunlight in the shithole that was the Gojo Clan?

Gojo Hina knew her role:

To be the model wife of Gojo Muneyoshi, and the perfect mother to their future children. As far as marriages went, Muneyoshi wasn't the worst man she could've married. Sachie's husband was a high-ranked clan member with a penchant for drinking, and she's seen the bruises that Midori's husband left on the unfortunate girl's body. Even helped Midori apply herbal ointments, and bandage the worst of the injuries.

In comparison, even though Muneyoshi came off as cold and was a quietly reserved man, he was always unfailingly polite and treated her respectfully. He made an effort to portion out time for them to share their meals together, no matter how busy his schedule became.

Hina didn't love him, but she thinks that she could learn to, someday.

Would they finally become a true, loving family? ... It was something that Hina had never dared to hope for, even as a young girl. Her father's position in the main family ensured that Hina and her sisters would be bargained away in arranged marriages that would be advantageous for him. Hina's own mother walked the halls with empty steps and soulless eyes, and the girl dearly feared that would turn out to be her own future, one day.

Otherwise she would... she would...!

...

Fortunately, fate smiled upon her; Muneyoshi was a good man, and Hina was... content.

The first year of their marriage was a series of careful overtures, discrete glances, and all the things that one might expect to see in romantic stories of courtship, except their rushed political marriage had skipped over entirely.

The second year, Hina became pregnant.

Who would the little one look like? she marveled, one hand coming to a gentle rest atop her stomach. Would their child have Muneyoshi's dark ebon hair, glossy like the wings of ravens? Or would they have the lighter shade of Hina's own?

Would they be a boy, or a girl? The Gojo Clan insisted on being traditional, so instead of getting proper checkups and scans at a hospital, women were forced to rely on the clan's healers and midwives instead. Who were skilled in their own rights, to be fair, except it also meant that there was no way of knowing an unborn child's gender for sure.

In a soft voice, Muneyoshi asks her if she would like to name their child. For a moment, Hina's voice catches in her throat.

"'Satoru,' for a boy," she says. The character for enlightenment, and understanding, because Hina dearly hopes for her child to be able to look past the outdated ways of the clan and become someone capable and intelligent in their own right. Able to think for themselves, instead of mindlessly swallowing the views and beliefs of others. "And... 'Shiki,' for a girl."

Yes. The character for awareness and realization, to be discerning.

"Those are lovely names," Muneyoshi's voice is gentle. The way he looks at her is feather-soft, and it makes her cheeks warm with a faint blush.

Then, he tells her about his own childhood. How his father had always, always passed over him in favor of his more talented brothers, how the only time the man had even looked at him was on their wedding day, when their marriage finally brought the man the advantage that he needed to curtail his rival, Takatomi.

"When our child is born," he says, quiet and determined, "It doesn't matter if they're a boy or a girl. It doesn't matter how many more children we have in the future. I... want to nurture them. I won't be like my father. I'll give them all the attention they deserve. The proper resources that they need to grow into strong, capable individuals. I won't let anything obstruct them, or pull them down."

Hina falls in love just a bit more with her husband, at that declaration.

Yes, she's sure of it. Their child will be loved.

"Hear that, little one?" Hina says to her bloated stomach with a smile. "Your father and I are looking forward to meeting you."

There's a responding light kick beneath the palm of her hand. Hina's heart melts with the surge of warmth that rises in her chest, accompanying her child's movement.

Part of her is scared and nervous, because what if she's not a good mother? She doesn't know how to be a mother! And Hina is sure that her own mother is not a role model to emulate for motherhood. Should she just try to do the opposite?

But Muneyoshi will be with her, and his heart is in the right place. Both of them are determined to do right by their child, and Hina will-

Hina will-

"Twins! The girl's having twins, someone call-"

"That's a bad omen, isn't it? The main family isn't going to be very happy that-"

"Blood, she's losing blood, hand me the-"

"Oh my god. The boy. Look at the boy's eyes!"

"That's-?! Report this to the elders! It's the Six Eyes! Finally, another child has been born with the Six Eyes, how many generations has it been since-"

"Don't start celebrating too early, we still don't know if-"

"Wait, what about the girl? The... twin..."

...

Twins are cursed. Better to give birth to a stillborn than a pair of twins, or so the saying went. Because twins come from one entity in the mother's womb, and so they steal from each other. Fight with each other. Twins are cursed, because neither will ever realize their full potential, because they're incomplete on their own.

Hina. Doesn't. Care!

Her children are promptly taken away from her, as soon as they are born. Hina is left struggling weakly on the bloodied bed, to no avail, and the following days are nerve-wracking.

Your son is born with the Six Eyes.

It is confirmed. Your son possesses Limitless! Six Eyes, and Limitless! At long last, the Honored One is returned-

Part of Hina lights up with fierce joy and pride, upon hearing the news. Her son has inherited the prized cursed technique and ocular curse of the Gojo Clan! The first in hundreds of years!

Another part of her remains trembling with fearful trepidation. What about my daughter? What about Shiki?

...

Shiki is dead.

Muneyoshi killed her.

“... Muneyoshi, what did you do?! You monster, you wretched excuse of a husband, give me back my dAuGHTER-!”

How could he?! Hadn't he been the one who'd said that he would protect and cherish his children? To nurture them? To ensure that nothing would... obstruct or... drag... them... down...

Ah.

Is this how it's going to be, then? Satoru was his son, but Shiki wasn't his daughter?

...

Hina walks through the halls of her own home, feeling like a stranger. Rooms that are full of sunlight are now cold and dim. Walking into the nursery room that she and Muneyoshi had prepared for their child feels like stepping into a grave.

Shiki doesn't have a grave. They didn't even have the decency to write her name down in the clan registry! Instead, they just swept her infant daughter's corpse under the rug because they wanted to deny that she ever even existed-

Hina can't-

Hina can't-

She can't live like this.

One night, with shaking hands, Hina forms a noose out of her bedsheets, and throws it over the rafters. Steps on the edge of her bed. Closes her eyes, raises her neck and-

-falls.

Hina tumbles roughly to the ground with a startled gasp, because the bed had moved. Why? How?! She's not drunk, and there's no way that inanimate furniture just moves-

-on its own-

... oh.

Hina stares. A formless cloud of darkness dives under her skewed bedframe before she's able to get a clear view of it, but Hina can... Hina can feel it. There's a connection, from her to this odd cursed spirit -and there's no doubt that it is a cursed spirit; Hina might not be a sorcerer, but she grew up in a sorcery clan. Speaking of, how in the world was there a cursed spirit in the Gojo Clan? To be fair, it had a weak presence and Hina barely sensed any resentment from it, but that still didn't explain...

Hina slowly lowers herself in a crouch, cautiously peering towards the cursed spirit from where it's hiding under the bed. It shrinks in on itself, hiding from her with a wail-

An infant's cry-

Intuition clicks, and the pieces fall together in her mind. Hina trembles. "... Shiki?"

Her daughter. That's her daughter, turned into a cursed spirit by unjust murder at the hands of her father, that's her daughter-

Tears stream down Hina's cheeks as she finally reaches for her child. There's a faint air of confusion that Hina can sense emanating from her, which makes her cry even harder.

But, there's no time to lose.

She doesn't know how Shiki has been able to go unnoticed all this time, but this definitely won't last. The Gojo Clan is a clan of sorcerers, and it won't be long before her lingering presence is discovered, and the last traces of Shiki are erased. And even if a miracle happened and no one found her -how long would it last, once Satoru started training to become a sorcerer? If one day Satoru came back and found a cursed spirit in his home, wouldn't he exorcise it without a second thought? He wouldn't even know that he'd be killing-

Wait.

Satoru.

Satoru.

... Hina knows what to do.

For the first time, Hina holds her child in her arms. Shiki is oddly docile -can she sense the same connection that Hina feels? The bond between a mother and her newborn child that somehow transcends even death? Hina croons softly to the formless mass of darkness, where the silhouette of something that vaguely resembles a fetus can be glimpsed in its center.

She picks up a knife, and brings Shiki to Satoru's nursery room.

... Satoru is asleep. Of course he is, it's the middle of the night. Shiki stirs curiously, hesitantly lifting a messy tendril to reach for her brother, and Hina feels her heart break all over again.

In another world, if we didn't belong to the Gojo Clan. Would the four of us have been... happy?

Hina shakes her head roughly. Now is not the time for any doubts -and so she steels her will.

... Hina is not a sorcerer. However, her family comes from a long line of powerful sorcerers -one of her ancestors had, in fact, been an honored sorcerer who'd possessed both Six Eyes and Limitless. The very same one who'd died fighting the Zenin clan head at the time, one who'd inherited his clan's Ten Shadows... which then led to the family's difficulties within the Gojo Clan for several generations afterwards.

Her family had nursed a grudge against the Zenins. Decided to investigate the Ten Shadows, not only in terms of the shikigami that could be summoned... but also the particulars of shikigami binding. Which, coincidentally, was also related to the binding of cursed spirits.

"Shhh, be good, Shiki," she whispers to her daughter. "Satoru's cursed energy will be enough to mask your presence. Shadows are fragile, and this won't hold forever, but for now... Protect each other. Go, and stay safe in your brother's shadow."

Ten Shadows allowed a sorcerer to call upon their shikigami with no need for any preparations. Other shikigami users needed to pay a price, in order to bind their familiars. As for what Hina was attempting...

Ritualistic sacrifice. It was only fitting. Now, in order to complete this binding, there was only one thing left to do.

Hina tips her head back and slashes her knife across her throat.

[hinataoc]

Fanfic.net is down *sob* So I'm sharing my new chapter here! <3

The Forgotten Traveler Ch41

Hello! Fanfic.net servers are down for a bit, so I wanted to share my new chapter here. Keres is on her own in Hawaii, her powers slowly returning. She isn't sure where to go from here.

All the while, Sam is on a personal journey to find her father. She and the rest of the Highwind crew are on Montressor, trying to figure out the truth behind her father's disappearance. There's no length Sam won't go to find him.

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Chapter 41

Try Moving Forward

Words: 10846 --------------------------------------------------------

Waves swept across the shore, white foam bubbling over sand and Keres’ toes. She remained still, her knees bent and hands at her sides. Sand gathered between her fingers, creating tiny mounds. If she closed her eyes she could convince herself she was back on Destiny Islands. But she wasn’t. 

Hawaii wasn’t the island, not her island anyway. Hearing the waves made her miss it, but it was likely she’d never see it again. Even given the opportunity she wouldn’t take it. Not with the darkness inside her. Regardless, she wondered how much the islands changed. Was the paopu tree still sturdy enough to hold her? Would the sunsets be the same? 

“How long are you going to keep us here?” The darkness’ voice crept through her mind, filling her thoughts like an invasive mist. 

She didn’t reply. Instead, she breathed in through her nose, the tinge of salt and flowers melding together as a calming wave. Then she released her breath and looked up at the stars. Their light shimmered weakly between the clouds. Any of them could be her next destination. Her fingers twitched in the sand, the tingle of darkness prickled across her palm. It was eager, hungry for its release. All it needed was permission and a Corridor would form. 

Keres remained still. Where would she go? Hinata’s promise remained in her heart, despite the darkness’ greatest efforts to snuff it out. It settled in the back of her mind like a dying ember, still there, flickering with warmth and possibility. She didn’t know what Hinata planned, if she even had anything in mind other than blind determination. Perhaps that was all she needed. Keres wanted to believe that, but the darkness mocked the very idea. Blind determination wouldn’t make up for everything Keres destroyed. Hinata may be able to look past her monstrous form, but would the others? 

“They hate you.” The darkness’ voice sent chills down her neck as if it were whispering right in her ear. “Find a world we can make our own. You will be untouchable. Safe. No one will stand in your way. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted?”

Darkness seeped through her. She felt it moving through her veins like ants forming their tunnels in the earth. Her heart accelerated, her breaths stuttered. 

“Anywhere you want,” it promised. 

Keres raised her stained hand. It trembled, her fingers curling. 

“You want Lilo to be safe, don’t you?” it asked. 

Gritting her teeth, Keres lifted her other hand, gripping her wrist with enough force her knuckles went white. 

“You’ll finally be happy.” Its words dripped like honey. “Stop fighting us.”

Tendrils of darkness sprouted in front of her. Its black inky vines writhed over the damp sand. A Corridor flickered to life, wavering in and out. 

“Where do you think it leads?” it asked. Keres could hear the grin in its voice. 

Her chest heaved. “STOP!” Her scream tore through the night and she collapsed on the sand in a heap. 

The Corridor shattered, pieces disintegrating into pure darkness before hitting the ground. Keres curled in on herself, her breaths deep and hoarse. Chills crawled over her and the once sweet tone in the darkness’ voice turned sharp and low. 

“You will regret this…” was all it said. 

Keres knew she would. She laid there, allowing the white foam of the waves to sweep around her. Behind her, she heard a chitter from a creature, but she didn’t move. A wet nose sniffed her, just inches away from her arm. Then a furry paw rested there. 

“Leave me alone,” Keres muttered. She stared blankly at the ocean, unmoving.

Soft steps moved around her. She saw the indents of prints appear in the sand, but not the one creating them. 

“Houdini, right?” she asked, and the invisible creature paused. “You need to stay away from me.”

Houdini whined and the sand beneath him sank. Faint warm breaths tickled Keres’ arms, then soft fur pressed against her hand.  

“Please,” Keres pleaded.

White, shimmering magic sparked to life, revealing Mr. Fluffy Bear in Keres’ hand. She sat up with a start, staring at the worn stuffed bear. Paw prints imprinted the sand as Houdini respected Keres’ wishes and went away. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Her vision blurred and with a sudden release of breath, she hugged the bear tightly to her chest.  --------------------------------------------

Time passed. Keres’ eyes were heavy with exhaustion. She laid on the beach, curled up and drifting in and out of sleep with Mr. Fluffy Bear tucked beneath her chin. Heavy footsteps thudded against the sand, approaching from behind. Keres twitched, the darkness flashing to attention, but Keres tensed, intent on remaining still. She listened, making out a faint set of scuttering steps. They were familiar, leading the larger one to her. 

The darkness’ laugh rumbled through her, beating against her heart with a sickening drum. “That rodent came back for you.”

Keres dug her fingers into Mr. Fluffy Bear’s plush back. “Stay back.”  

The steps paused. 

“Ah, we-ah thought you were asleep,” a voice, thick with an accent, called back to her. 

She knew that voice. The memories of him showing up with his creatures in the midst of battle rushed to the forefront of her mind. So this was Jumba. Had Houdini led him to her? Why hadn’t he listened to her?

Her muscles ached, convulsing with minute tremors that only showed a fragment of her fight for control. One finger straightened, then another. They bent back with unnatural flexibility, urging the rest of her fingers to follow. Mr. Fluffy Bear fell to the sand. The darkness breathed into her, its chill settling over her bones and she sat up, her head lolling forward as even then, she continued to resist. 

Jumba talked. His words fell on absent ears. The darkness was the only thing Keres heard. It cursed her. Sharp waves of pain throbbed through her, starting from her heart and coursing across her limbs. She’d put off leaving for too long and the darkness was tired of waiting. 

Keres' voice tumbled out of her with words she didn’t choose: “You should have listened when you had the chance.” She laughed, the sound stilted. 

“Now!” Jumba yelled and a needle pierced through Keres’ neck. 

Unknown serum streamed into her system and the darkness shrieked. Keres covered her ears, as if that would dampen the cries of terror and rage inside of her. The corners of her vision darkened, the edges of her tunneling vision swirling together into a dizzying display. Jumba stepped in front of her, his four eyes peering at her with curiosity and suspicion. 

“Thank… you.” Keres managed the words before her eyes rolled back and everything went dark. ------------------------------------------------------

She woke up. Her eyes couldn’t see anything beyond blurred light. Her lungs burned. The crisp air flicked against her lungs like sparks of a flame. She wheezed for a full breath, hot tears forming at the corner of her eyes. 

Her fingers curled against the floor. It was cool to the touch, smooth. Metal. Jumba had taken her somewhere. She turned her head, her neck stiff. Reflection of light bounced off the glass wall. Through it she could make out the fuzzy forms of computers and medical equipment. Another lab. 

After everything, she ended up right back where she started.

She focused on her battered reflection in the glass. Grains of wet sand clung to her. It mixed with her hair and coated her skin. A thin line of dried blood trailed from her neck where the needle pierced her. Her icy fingers pressed against it, feeling the heat radiating from it. Whatever they injected her with, it didn’t blend with her as well as the Organization’s serums did. 

Except, perhaps it did. She closed her eyes and listened. Machines hummed, equipment beeped out of sync with the other. Jumba muttered to himself somewhere out of sight. Houdini’s claws clicked across the floor, still invisible. There was nothing else; no whispers or threats coating her subconscious. Whatever they put inside of her, it silenced the darkness. 

Keres grinned, her breath releasing. She sat up, her head wobbling softly side to side until she steadied it with her hand. “Jumba?” she called out for him. 

Heavy footsteps approached, followed by Houdini’s tiny quick ones. “Aha!” Jumba clapped his massive hands together. He walked in front of the glass, wearing a vibrant unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt that took Keres a moment to take in. “The girl has woken up! How do you feel?”

She hesitated before answering. “I… don’t know yet. What did you put in me?”

“Ah, it was a neural neutralizing serum.” He waved his hand in a circular motion, recalling, “I developed it to pacify my more, uh, unruly experiments.” He motioned towards her, his large mouth spreading into a wide grin as he chuckled. “But look at how fast you woke up! I could have used a much stronger dose than that.”

Keres didn’t say anything in reply. Her eyes flitted around, absorbing the information. The Organization used serums on her to sedate her, but none of them made the darkness fall completely silent. 

While Keres pondered this, Jumba turned away to a nearby monitor. A diagram of Keres’ body appeared on the large screen. It showed an outline of her, dark matter swirling around inside as lines of alien language popped up in thinly rimmed boxes. Jumba held his hand to his chin, his voice ridden with pride: “You are quite an impressive monster. Whoever made you really knew what they were doing.”

Keres flicked her eyes to him. She didn’t tell anyone what she was. “How…”

“You’re a clone, no?” Jumba zoomed in on the diagram, smaller white particles appeared. “Your telomeres are a dead giveaway. But, how say, alarming how much darkness they fused into your cells.” He looked over his shoulder towards Keres. “They must have wanted a real killer beast!” He guffawed, the sound ricocheting off the walls and surrounding Keres. 

Her hands tightened in her lap, her eyes shutting tight to block out his laughter. She hadn’t worried before, but now she wondered what exactly Jumba wanted with her.  

Wiping his eyes, Jumba asked, “Who made you? Was it old Kido? I didn’t think he was this good yet!”

He enjoyed this. That’s all she was to him, to any scientist, an experiment to toy around with. All the destruction she caused, all the death, the pain, and he had the gall to be amused. He continued working at his monitor, his back to her. Whispers echoed in her mind: “Kill him...”

So the darkness wasn’t completely gone. Keres looked away, her nails dug into her palm to distract herself from the intrusive urges. He only suppressed the darkness, she was a fool to believe it was actually gone. Still, he was different from the Organization and once upon a time, helped her fight against them. 

“It…” she hesitated. Jumba paused his typing and looked over his shoulder at her. “The Organization made me.”

He turned around to completely face her, his four eyes blinking. “Not… Organization Thirteen?” All Keres managed was a nod before Jumba’s entire disposition changed. He threw up his arms and roared, “Those amateur upstarts?!” In a rage, he flipped a chair, careening it across the lab. His chest heaved and he rubbed his hand over his head. “What sort of trick do they think they are pulling? It explains the mess! Sloppy, unprofessional!”

Keres scrambled back. Whatever rage she unlocked wasn’t what she intended, but it at least showed the distaste Jumba had for the Organization. He continued on his rant, throwing anything within reach. Everything he praised about Keres’ creation suddenly turned into flaws. How quickly the tables turned. She watched him pace, listening for any bits of information she could glean about the Organization and their methods, but it quickly dissolved into nothing more than cheap pot shots. She wondered if the comments should offend her, but they really only confirmed what she suspected: she was a flawed creation from the start.

“Jumba…” she said his name. “Jumba?” He didn’t stop and she sighed. “Are you done insulting me?”

Jumba stopped just short of throwing another seat, blinking as he came back to his senses. “Ah…” He rubbed his head. “No, no, I am here to help you. It is fortunate, in fact, that they were sloppy. Makes it much, much easier for me to help.”

She looked away. The concerns about his intentions with her withered down slightly. 

“The little girl, ah, Lilo, told me you are unable to control yourself.” The excitement in his voice filled the lab, getting louder and more confident with each word. “Soon I will have a device that will suppress this excess darkness. See, your cells are self replicating the darkness. No matter how much you use, more will come.”

“So this… device. It would let me keep control?” Keres asked. 

“Exactly!” Jumba motioned towards her. He reached up to his upper arm. “It will attach here. Buttons will control the amount you allow through. Darkness keeps replicating, but with this, you only react to certain amount at a time.”

Keres nodded, eyes narrowed in thought. “But wouldn’t that be dangerous? It keeps making more of itself and I’m not using any to get rid of it. At some point, wouldn’t it be too much?”

“Ah, yes, yes, good point.” He wagged a finger, about to sit down before he realized he’d thrown his seat a few minutes prior. “You will come back here. Use this chamber to release the darkness.”

She looked around the large confining room.

“It is my testing chamber,” Jumba explained. “Each of my creations experimented with their powers here. It is indestructible!”

Keres stood up, her legs shaking. She stumbled to the side, but balanced herself. Holding out her hands, she took in a deep, long breath. Sparks of electricity flickered around her fingertips. Meeting together, the sparks arched into a violent bolt. Red hot metal burned, its ashy metallic scent suffocating the room. As quick as it appeared, the lightning flashed away and Keres looked around at the blackened scorch marks along the walls and floor. 

“A moment,” Jumba advised before Keres could speak. 

Thick clear ooze seeped out from between the tiles. It globbed over the walls, turning black as ash and burned bits of metal mixed into it. Then it slunk back into the seams, leaving the walls pristinely clean. 

“Do you have anything else?” Jumba asked and Keres spun around to face him. “Your darkness should return to full power soon. Then you can really show me what you can do!” 

Keres nodded, at a loss for words. She looked around at the room, a sense of ease washing over her. No matter how powerful, she’d be kept at bay in here. Jumba went back to work at the monitor while she took it all in. She attempted more spells, even attacked the glass directly. Any crack, any marred surface, the ooze repaired it. Houdini watched with fascination. Keres could see the prints of his paws pressed against the other side of the window, his body still rendered invisible. 

It didn’t take long for Keres to reach her limit and she sat back down, sweat gleaming on her skin. “What do you think, Houdini?” she asked, looking over at the paws against the glass. “Do you think Jumba can really make something like that?”

With a sparkling magic, Houdini appeared. His big glassy eyes stared back at Keres and he nodded, his ears bouncing. Keres smiled softly. 

Jumba glanced over his shoulder. “Your body produces a large amount of darkness on its own, thanks to that amateur Organization tampering with your cells. It shouldn’t be hard at all to make a device to filter out this excess and keep you more in balance.” He turned around, leaning his back against his desk. “I tell you. In the old days, I would have much rather modified you to make such a thing impossible - then no living creature in the universe could stop you!” He cackled, his back arching as he laughed maniacally. “Ah,” the laughter died down and he wiped tears from his eyes, “but I am reformed.”

“You really were an evil genius, weren’t you?” Keres asked, starting to become amused by his antics. 

“Still am!” he countered, offended. “Just, not as devious as before.”

Keres let out a huff of breath, the corner of her mouth smirking. 

“So, you know this Organization well, then, yes?” Jumba asked. 

She hesitated before nodding, her smirk falling. “You?”

Jumba sighed. He slumped to the ground, sitting down with his back against his desk. “They have been trying to get their hands on my experiments for a very long time. I often wondered who would capture me first, the Galactic Federation or the Organization!” He laughed. “After coming to Hawaii, I thought I finally lost them. But I was smart and cautious. And I invented a scanner to be alerted to their presence. I believe the last time they were here was only a year ago. Well, until today.” He motioned towards her. “I was looking into an alert when little girl tell me you ran away.”

“I set off the scanner?” she asked and Jumba hummed, wobbling his head back and forth. 

“I am unsure,” he admitted. “But you are their creation. So you setting it off is not unlikely.” 

There were enough of the Organization’s fingerprints inside her to be recognized as them. Or maybe the scanner sensed something else. She hadn’t the slightest idea where Saix disappeared to. His Corridor might have been enough to set off the scanner. Since she arrived, she hadn’t been sure why Saix would lead her back to Hawaii, but now, she found it possible he knew of Jumba’s abilities all along. He knew she’d find help. But why would he want that for her? He was part of the reason she was created in the first place. 

“But I wonder how you arrived,” Jumba said.

Keres snapped her attention back to him. 

“Are the Organization somewhere here on the island?” he asked. 

“I… don’t know,” she replied, her finger picking at the cracks in James’ bracelet. “One of the Members, Saix, released me and opened a path for me. It led here. I don’t know where I was before. Just a lab.”

“I see.” Jumba rubbed his chin. “This pathway led you out of the lab. Is this lab in Hawaii? It can’t be! My scanner… Unless they were settled there before my scanner was created. My device watches for incoming visitors, not ones already here.” With a groan, he stood up and went further into his lab. “I must change the scanner's parameters.”

“The path might not have been made in Hawaii,” Keres called after him. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s a portal that can travel across different worlds.”

“Eh, it is still good to double check!” Jumba replied, already gathering his tools. “Better safe than sorry I always say!” He carried his large bag of tools to the desk across from Keres’ chamber. Houdini scurried and grabbed one of the tossed away chairs, bringing it over for Jumba to sit. “Thank you Six-oh-four.” Jumba patted Houdini on the head. He spun his seat around and began taking apart the scanner. 

Keres watched him work. He muttered to himself, holding out his hand for tools that Houdini quickly retrieved for him. Sparks flew, the walls flashed with blue light. The entire lab felt different from the Organization’s. Large, colorful devices stood at varying heights around the space. The walls curved towards the vaulted ceiling, where lines of electric lights brightly illuminated the room. Above the desks, Keres spotted hand drawn pictures taped to the wall, as well as printed photographs of what appeared to be random people at the beach. Despite all the lab equipment and seemingly sterile environment, stuffed animals poked out from under desks. There was even a rag doll sitting on top of a seat, its limp stuffed arms on the keyboard as if it were another scientist along with Jumba. 

“Does Lilo come in here?” Keres asked. 

Jumba paused, he lifted his protective metal mask to look around the lab. “Ah, yes, little girl enjoys seeing my work. She come here to learn about my experiments. She and Six-two-six have captured many of them!”

“Six-two-six,” she repeated. “Is that Stitch?”

“Yes, yes, Stitch,” Jumba waved his hand, getting back to work. “He left shortly after the Organization did. They’ve tried to capture him many times!”

“Lilo said he was helping someone.”

“I do not recall man’s name,” Jumba told her. “Six-two-six seemed to believe he could help him stop the Organization. Haven’t heard much since. It must be going well.”

It was reassuring to know there were others aware of the Organization. Though, Keres wondered what would become of anyone that tried to threaten them. The only ones she trusted to succeed with the venture were Sora and Riku. Perhaps Sora was the man Jumba referred to. She could only hope. 

Jumba tossed aside his tools and picked up the scanner. “Finished!”

“Already?” Keres asked. “How did you-”

“Shush, let us try it out.”

He reinserted the scanner in its designated console. The computer monitor above it blipped on, a map of Hawaii appearing. White pulsing rings swirled around the map, until an opaque circle blinked and everything zoomed in on the location.

“AHA!” Jumba slammed the desk with both of his hands. “There they are!” He pointed to the dot, looking back at Keres with wild eyes. “What did I tell you?! They have been here the whole time!”

Keres got up to her feet. She walked up to the glass and pressed her hands against it, getting a better look at the map. There it was, a base hidden beneath a mountain.

“What do we do about it?” Keres asked. 

The darkness in her mind hissed, its voice returning. “We burn it to the ground…”

“We burn it to the ground!” Jumba repeated the words unknowingly, hitting the desk again. He laughed brutishly. “Let this be the last time this Organization messes with me, Jumba Jookiba, Evil Genius!”

He ran further into the lab, his feet thudding heavily against the floor. Excited ramblings filled the lab as he began gathering supplies and making a plan. Keres didn’t say anything. He agreed with her darkness, and she couldn’t deny the temptation to do the same. The whole time, the Organization had a base here. Was that where Xigbar and Saix were trying to take her initially?

“What are you called?” Jumba asked, standing right in front of the glass. 

Keres startled out of her dazed stupor, seeing him standing there with arms full of supplies. “I-I’m Keres.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. “You will come along, Keres.”

“I… Oh, okay.” She took in that information as Jumba went right back to gathering things. 

He yelled back at her while he paced around the lab. “We will need a team! A select few of my experiments will do. We just need to find where little girl put them. And one we will have to convince. He works with Gantu and Dr. Hämsterviel, but his hacking abilities will be just what we need to bleed the database dry!”

Keres nodded, absorbing it all. The darkness festered with excitement in the pit of her stomach, making her sick. “What about the device? Will that be done in time?”

“Ah, yes, yes,” Jumba assured her. “You will have everything you need. But ah! You will also need your energy. Six-oh-four!” Houdini rose to attention. “Ready her room in the chamber.”

With a chirp, Houdini scurried over to the monitor by Keres’ chamber. He climbed up onto the stool and pressed a few buttons. The tiles in the floor rumbled. Sections lowered, sliding away as furniture raised up in its place. A small bed appeared, along with a bedside table and a lamp. In the other corner rose a shower and toiletries, before being concealed by folding walls. 

“How often do you keep people here?” Keres asked. 

“I have six hundred and twenty-seven experiments!” Jumba reminded her, but somehow that didn’t quite explain it enough for her. “Now, get your rest. We will begin the hunt tomorrow!”

Before Keres could even reply, the lights to the entire lab dimmed to black. She hadn’t even noticed Jumba and Houdini slipping out towards the door as she was too taken aback by the appearing room around her. Two lights remained. The bedside lamp carried a warm golden glow, but it couldn’t touch the dense blackness on the other side of the glass. The other light bloomed underneath the makeshift bathroom, causing silhouettes to show through the folding walls separating it from her bedroom. 

Now alone, the darkness talked freely, teeming with anticipation for their upcoming ‘hunt’, as Jumba put it. Keres didn’t know what to think. She swayed side to side, exhaustion weighing heavily over her. She didn’t entertain the darkness’ whims as it chittered about all the things it wanted to do to the Organization Replicas. If she tried to focus on any one thing it said, she was overcome with a dizzying sensation that made it difficult to think. She was too tired, that’s all it was. She hoped. 

Dragging her feet, she went to take a shower, detangling her hair and washing away the bits of sand still caked to her skin. The heat of the water helped clear her mind. She wasn’t sure what Jumba had in mind for the following day. Recruiting specimens and tracking down the Organization’s lab, she was starting to get excited. Her heart fluttered at the prospect of joining a team, even if for a little while. 

Cleaned up, she made her way to the bed. Mr. Fluffy Bear sat on top of the comforter. Keres laughed breathily. It seemed Houdini and Lilo were set on making her keep that worn down thing. She picked it up, running her thumb along its fuzzy cheek. Then she got into the bed, her muscles releasing a wave of praise for finally having something soft and welcoming to rest on. She looked out at the lab from beyond her chamber. Thin streaks of moonlight streamed through far away windows, attempting to illuminate the lab, but to no avail. Bits of dust danced in its light, sparkling like stars. 

Keres watched them dance, her eyelids heavy and body drifting into a deep trance. It didn’t take long before she fell asleep.

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

Starlight illuminated the dirt path to the Benbo Inn. The air was crisp, fresh from the drizzle of rain earlier in the evening. It was a beautiful night, different from the way Sam remembered Montressor. She recalled the thin layers of dust painted over every surface and the murky clouds of exhaust from ships flying past. A small part of her believed Montressor was different from the distaste she held for it. As if her pain masked its true qualities. 

She walked along the path with Ben and Hinata, trailing two steps behind. The Benbo’s silhouette appeared on the horizon. Golden light warmed its windows, beckoning weary travelers into its walls. Sarah had been doing well for herself since the reopening. Even with closing time approaching, the restaurant bustled with life. 

Coming closer, Sam recognized her mom through the window. She stopped midstep, allowing the others to go on ahead. Her mom delivered meals to a window side table, unaware of Sam watching her. She smiled at the customers, even laughed. Sam’s jaw tightened. Even without being inside, Sam could imagine the sound. It’d been years since she’d heard her mom’s laugh, but the memory of it rang in her mind with pristine clarity. All that time, no matter what she and James did, her mom withered away. It was as if she’d forgotten anyone else existed. But there she was, working, laughing, doing something with herself. Sam should have been happy for her, and a small part of her was. Another, larger part of her couldn’t understand what she’d done wrong. Why wasn’t she able to make her mom happy?

A sharp, chilling breath filled her chest and she looked away. Tears glistened in her eyes and she cleared her throat, roughly wiping them away. 

“Sam?” Hinata approached her.

“Just,” Sam put up her hand, “give me a minute. Alright?”

Hinata nodded, deciding against saying anything else. Instead, she waited beside Sam, looking up at the stars. Ben already disappeared inside, getting them a table. It left the two of them in comforting silence. 

“It’s dumb,” Sam sniffed, wiping at her nose, “after I left here I tried to convince myself it didn’t exist anymore. Mom, the shop, James… I was too far away for it to catch up to me.”

A long stretch of silence went before Hinata replied, “It’s not dumb. I think… it’s what you needed to do to keep moving for a while.”

“Maybe.” Sam ran her hand through her hair. “It didn’t last though, did it?”

Hinata looked towards Sam, then towards the Benbo. “We don’t have to do this.”

Sam shook her head. “As much as I want to forget this place… I want to find my dad more.” She took in a deep, long breath. “I can do this.”

“Then I’m right behind you,” Hinata told her. A soft smile spread across her face when Sam looked back at her. “Let’s find your dad.”

Sam returned the smile and nodded. 

Together, they went towards the Benbo and went inside. Instant warmth greeted them with a cheer from the patrons. They recognized Sam and she waved a half salute in response, surprised at the bustling excitement. Her mom wasn’t in the dining room at the moment. Sam took the opportunity to acclimate to the surroundings and followed Hinata to their table where Ben awaited them. 

Once seated, Sam pressed her earpiece. “Hey, Lupe?”

Only a moment passed before Lupe’s voice came through. “I’m here. What do you need?”

“I was just… wondering if you’d be able to take notes or something when I’m talking with my mom,” she explained.

“Sure thing!” he replied. “I was planning on it already anyways.”

Sam’s mouth twitched with a short smile.

“You got this, Sam,” he encouraged and Sam huffed out a short laugh. 

“Thanks,” she replied, removing her hand from her earpiece. 

Her fingers drummed against the table. Ben tried to keep the spirits up, suggesting things on the menu and asking about them. Hinata took care of answering his curiosities while Sam looked around the inn. The kitchen doors swung open and Jenna walked through them with a pitcher in her hands. Sam’s chest ached, her heart drummed out of sync with waves of nerves. This was it. 

She got out of her seat, her legs heavy and slow. Walking over, she dragged her feet, forcing them to move. Jenna’s back was to her and Sam stopped an arm’s length away. Her throat went dry, her tongue swelling. “Mom,” she forced the word out, her voice dull and short. 

Jenna froze. She turned around, her eyes flickering with a range of emotions at the sight of her daughter. The rest of her expression remained unchanged and she let out a shaking breath. “Jane. It’s… good to see you.” 

“I need to talk to you after work,” Sam told her, unable to hold her mom’s gaze. “Alright?”

“Y-yes, of course,” Jenna stumbled over her words. Sam noticed her hands trembling around the pitcher. “Anything you need.”

Sam twitched. Anything she needed… She swallowed the cutting remarks in her throat and nodded. Without another word, she turned around and went back to the others, letting Jenna continue to work. She slunk back into her seat, only then releasing the breath held captive in her chest. Ben and Hinata both watched her, until Hinata directed Ben’s attention to something on the menu, giving Sam a moment to collect herself. 

Sarah arrived shortly after, ready to take their orders. As she retrieved Sam’s menu, she smiled gently and said: “I’m glad you’re here, Sam.”

Sam strained a smile, looking away. “Thanks for taking her in…”

“I was happy to,” Sarah told her, tucking the menu under her arm. She looked over to where Jenna was serving another table. “It’s good to see her trying. She’s done well for herself here.”

There wasn’t much Sam could say to that. It hurt to hear, even though she knew it shouldn’t have. She nodded, following Sarah’s gaze towards her mom. Sarah put her hand on Sam’s shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before walking away. A lump choked Sam’s throat and she breathed in deeply. 

“Do you want us here when you talk to her?” Hinata asked and Sam nodded before the words even left. 

Hinata accepted the answer without saying anything else. Their late dinner consisted of very few words shared between them, even Ben quieted down and seemed preoccupied inside his thoughts. An hour passed before the final patron left the Inn and Sarah locked the door. She and Jenna got to work cleaning the dining room while Sam fidgeted in her seat. Hinata got up and offered to help with the cleaning, recalling her time working there even though Sarah didn’t remember such a thing. With the extra help, everything was taken care of and Jenna approached the table. 

She untied her apron and carefully folded it over the back of a chair, before sitting down. Her thin hands folded in her lap and she sat with her back straight and poised. Sam shifted in her seat to face her, trying her best to keep her expression leveled. 

She took a breath and reached into her pocket, pulling out a metal locket. Its bluish tint shone under the firelight of the hearth, accentuating the engraving of Montressor’s planet symbol on its surface. It clinked against the table and Jenna’s eyes drifted from Sam towards it. 

“It’s about dad,” Sam told her. 

Jenna didn’t speak. Her shoulders released a tension that cascaded over the rest of her body. The straight posture curved into a slump, like losing most of its will to keep her up at all. Her gaze flitted away. 

This was the version of her mom she remembered. Sam bristled, as if all the previous tension from her mom went and wormed its way into her. Still, she needed information and her mom was the only person that could provide it. “Did James ever show you this?” she asked, sliding over the locket. 

Jenna hesitated before picking it up. Her slender fingers traced the indentation, but she didn’t open the clasp. “Yes.”

Sam waited for more, but there wasn’t. She chewed on her tongue. Resentful remarks swirled in her head, each one biting at the bit to be released. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a breath, spreading out her hands. She could get mad later. Opening her eyes, she pressed further, “Did anything in the recording stick out to you?”

Nothing. Sam sucked in her lips, then opened her mouth. She could see Hinata watching her mom, a mixture of confusion and pity in her eyes. That’s all it ever was for her mom.  

“Breathe.” Lupe’s voice came through the ear piece. 

Sam breathed in deeply, desperately trying to ground herself. “Clarisse said you seemed to recognize her world when she told you about it. And she said the droids in the recording are from her galaxy.”

Jenna’s brow furrowed, a deep sorrow washing over her eyes. “We shouldn’t talk about this.”

Sam’s hands slammed against the table and everyone jumped. “Like hell we won’t! You know something!”

“Sam!” Ben exclaimed, but Sam pushed her hand against his face to shut him up. 

“If you know something, you need to tell me right now.” Sam’s eyes burned with passion and resentment. “I’ll find him with or without your help, but you could make it a hell of a lot easier if you just got over yourself!”

“Jane, please,” Jenna said with a soft, shaking voice. “I… there is nothing I can give you.”

“Why?” Sam pressed. 

Jenna looked up at her, eyes hollow. “Your father made his choice to leave.”

Sam scoffed. “You don’t know that!”

Jenna stood up from her seat, her entire body trembling. “I’m sorry.” She turned to leave, her hand steadying her against tables as she walked. 

“You can’t stay like this!” Sam got out of her seat, yelling after her. “Do you even care how much we’ve lost? I’m trying to get something back and all you say is ‘sorry’?!”

Jenna paused. She leaned against a table for support, head drooped forward and hand over her mouth. Sam waited, her face flush with anger and eyes stinging with tears. Her chest heaved and she swallowed hard, trying to reign herself back in. 

Hinata’s hand settled on her shoulder. A warm comfort spread through her and it took everything in Sam not to break. Hinata walked past and went around to be in front of Jenna.

“I know you’re trying to protect her,” Hinata said. 

“She’s all I have left…” Jenna whimpered into her hand. 

“Then why do you keep pushing me away?” Sam asked, her voice shuddering with sobs. “All I’ve done since dad left is try to make you care. But you never have!”

Jenna shook her head. “I’m so sorry…”

Sam rubbed at her eyes, sniffling. “I’m done. I can’t keep doing this with you. Every damn time I keep expecting you to change. If you’re not going to help me find dad, then I’m leaving and I’m not coming back.”

“No, Sam,” Lupe said with a firm tone that shook Sam out of her tunnel vision. “We need that information. Don’t close the door yet.” 

Ben stood up and walked up beside her. Lupe’s voice came out of him. “Let us talk to her.”

Sam looked over at him, both impressed and embarrassed he intervened. It was the perfect interruption to take her out of the moment and she nodded, getting her leveled thoughts back. She took a few steps back and lowered into a seat. 

“Jenna, we want to help,” Hinata said. She gently grabbed Jenna’s arm and helped her sit down. “I don’t know if you realize but Jarith might be trapped in another galaxy right now.”

Jenna listened, her gaze distant. 

Lupe joined, using Ben’s body to kneel in front of Jenna. “We think he might be on a world under a Separatist Blockade. Have you heard of that before?”

That got Jenna’s attention. She blinked, looking up at them. 

“Which could mean he didn’t get a choice in whether he could come back or not,” Lupe continued to explain. 

“If you have any idea where he could be, we could help him,” Hinata added. “He might even be able to come back.”

Jenna’s shoulders heaved and she broke. Her sobs filled the inn. Lupe stood up, giving her space while Hinata rested her hand on Jenna’s back, gently running her thumb back and forth. Lupe looked back at Sam and made his way to her.

“All this time,” Sam muttered, “she actually thought he abandoned us.”

“Can you blame her?” Lupe asked. “Clarisse said the blockades keep communications from going through. Anything from either of them got intercepted. She might have thought he died until she saw the recording with him alive.”

“Then she assumed the worst,” Sam finished the thought and Lupe nodded. She let out a long breath and shakily moved to stand, until Lupe offered his hand to help steady her. Going over to the table, she grabbed the locket and went back to her mom. “Look… Mom, I…” She knelt down in front of her where Lupe was before. “I don’t know what dad will be like now or what will happen, but I know he never would have left if he knew he couldn’t come back. And I think you do, too.” She held out the locket again and Jenna looked at it through her reddened eyes. “Please.”

Jenna turned her hand over, accepting the locket. She ran her finger over the indentation once again, but this time undid the clasp. The hologram of the vision flickered to life. The domed underwater world came into view, sea life swimming just outside the confines of the gel-like walls. Droids walked past, their feet clanking against the marbled floors. Then Jarith came into view, gazing out into the sea outside. Jenna reached out to touch him, her finger going through the hologram. 

“Anything you can tell us,” Sam urged. 

Jenna nodded, closing the locket. Her tears dried against her cheeks, unwiped. She stared at the closed locket, before curling her fingers around it and holding it close. “Glee Anselm… his homeworld. That is where he is.”

Sam grinned, then it fell. “You knew. This whole time.”

“Yes.” Jenna replied. “He promised to be back…”

“And you just kept waiting,” Sam said and Jenna averted her eyes. Sam stood up. She backed away, unsure what to feel. Her mind hurt with all her thoughts pulling in different directions. With a nod, she simply said, “I’m going to get him back.”

Jenna didn’t reply. She retreated back into her mind, her eyes going distant. Sam let out a breath, recognizing the look. The anger in her chest sparked, but fizzled out almost immediately. She was too tired to fight anymore. 

“Thank you,” Lupe said to Jenna, still getting no response. 

“We’ll leave tomorrow morning,” Hinata told everyone. “Sam, you can stay here tonight.”

Sam wordlessly nodded, already moving to head upstairs. 

“Jane.” Jenna said. Sam paused at the stairwell and Jenna held out the locket. 

Sam waved her hand dismissively. “Keep it. I-um, I made it for you.”

Jenna blinked and looked down at the locket as Sam went up the stairs. ---------------------------------------------------

Back in the synthetic Twilight Town, Sam lounged on Lupe’s couch. Metal shards and wires covered the coffee table, each one precisely placed in line with the hologram above them. Blue light dusted over them and along the walls in the dimly lit room. Sam idly picked up a piece, laying on her back as she half heartedly added it to the partly created device in her hands. 

She could hear muffled voices from Lupe’s room. He listened in as Hinata and Ben went back to Clarisse to settle the details of where to find Glee Anselm. Then they’d be off. Though another galaxy meant a long trip, an anxious one at that. Sam already felt restless. 

Chirithy toddled into the living room and hopped up onto the couch beside Sam. “Can I be of any assistance?”

Sam huffed out an amused breath. “You already organized everything. I think I’m good.” She paused and glanced over. “But, thanks.”

It took the decline rather well and watched as Sam worked. She didn’t put much thought into her movements, her mind instead replayed the evening before over and over again. It kept her up all night. Once she got her dad back, things would change. She’d be able to prove to her mom that they weren’t given up on. Maybe that’d get her out of the god awful slump. Or make it worse since she’d realize all the time she lost. Sam’s grip tightened and a screw careened to the other side of the room. 

“I’ve got it,” Chirithy assured her, disappearing and reappearing around where the screw landed. It hopped around, searching, while Sam sighed and ran her free hand over her face. “Aha, here it is.” It turned around and tilted its head. “Sam, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she muttered. 

Chirithy hummed, reappearing on the couch. It placed the screw back in its rightful place on the table. “You’ve made good progress on the tracker. I think it’d be ok if you wanted to take a break.”

The device slipped from Sam’s hand onto the table with a thud. “Thanks.”

Chirithy watched her for a moment more, its round head tilting this way and that. Then it disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Sam heard it talking with Lupe, whispering something or other about her. Lupe’s head poked out from his room and Sam lifted a hand in greeting. 

“Don’t just look!” Chirithy whispered loud enough for Sam to hear. 

Lupe slipped back into his room. They talked a moment more and Sam sighed. 

“You guys know I can hear you, right?” Sam called and they quieted down. 

“Oh yeah?” Lupe asked. “What’s the last thing I said?”

Sam hesitated, before snorting and throwing up her hands. “Ok, I don’t know exactly what you’re saying, but I know you’re talking about me.”

Lupe snickered and walked out of his room with his hands stuffed in his coat pockets. “Nah you’re hearing things. Hina and Ben should be back soon, then we’ll be on our way.”

“Great,” Sam said in a way that sounded sarcastic, but it wasn’t meant to be.

He looked over the table, nodding. “Looks like you got a bit done. I think.”

She snorted again. “You have no idea, do you?”

He scrunched his mouth and shook his head. Sam rolled her eyes with a scoff. 

Lupe looked around the apartment, puffing his cheeks and blowing out air. Then it seemed like an idea came to him and he walked over, smacking Sam’s knee. “Come on, I’ve got an idea.”

She peeked up at him, but didn’t move. 

“Come on,” he laughed, motioning his arms despite them being in his pockets. “It’ll be great.”

“Fiiiine,” she groaned, getting up. 

They left the apartment and went down the stairs, each step rattling and vibrating the entire stairwell. Twilight Town was calmer than usual. Whatever festival they’d been celebrating finally seemed to end and things were getting back to normal. Sam followed after Lupe, her gaze settled on her feet while Lupe smiled at nearly every person they passed. 

“There you are!” a girl’s voice jolted Sam’s attention. She looked up to see a slender blonde link her arm with Lupe’s. She smiled sweetly, but had a layer of worry in her green eyes. “I was beginning to think you were sick.”

Lupe chuckled, rubbing the back of his hair. “Yeah, sorry about that Anise. I hadn’t meant to make you worry. I’ve been a bit busy.”

Anise giggled and assured him it was fine. She didn’t even acknowledge Sam there beside him. Normally, Sam would have assumed it meant the girl was trying to show off, mark her territory with a guy or something stupid like that. The type of thing Sam saw all the time when she was in school. But this didn’t seem like that. The longer the interaction went, the more stilted it felt. Anise’s eyes weren’t quite right. They lacked a certain life about them. Did Anise even know she was there?

“Hey,” Sam greeted slowly, her brow arched when Anise took a moment to see her. 

“Oh! Hello!” Anise replied, her eyes finding Sam’s. “I didn’t see you there. Are you a friend of Lupe’s?”

“Something like that,” Lupe replied before Sam could engage more. He slid his finger under Anise’s chin and tipped her face up. “I’ll check in with you soon, ok?”

Anise giggled and clasped her hands together in front of her, beaming an incredibly sweet smile. “Sure! That sounds great.”

Sam blinked. It was like Anise didn’t even react to the affection. Lupe continued on and Sam took one more look between him and Anise before following after him. 

Catching up, she asked, “Sooo, is that the girlfriend Hinata was telling me about?”

Lupe chuckled. “Hina spotted me with her, huh? Wonder when that happened?” He noticed Sam still looking at him expectantly and he shrugged. “We’re not dating. Anise is just a friend.”

Sam leaned forward, brows raised. It was nice to have something else to talk about besides Montressor. “You sure? Cause I don’t see a lot of people doing whatever you did to just a friend.”

He ruffled his hair, blowing out a breath. “It’s, ah,” a suave smirk curved his mouth, “it’s complicated.”

“Hah! Sure.” Sam rolled her eyes. “Well it sure seems like she’s into you.”

She didn’t see the way his smile fell slightly.

“Yeah?” he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. 

“I mean, it was like she didn’t even see me until I said something and I was right there.” 

Lupe hummed. He seemed thoughtful for a moment before perking up and changing the subject. “So about my idea…” He sped up to be in front of her and walked backwards. “How do you feel about training?”

Sam groaned, throwing back her head. “Please tell me that’s not your idea. You’re like Hinata. Finally get free time and the first thing she wants to do is spar.”

Lupe snickered. “Let’s make a game out of it. You win, and I’ll tell you anything you want about Anise.”

She perked up at that idea. “And if you win?”

His brow raised as if it were obvious and Sam looked away, annoyed. 

“Do I look like I want to talk about my mom?” Sam asked. 

“Then you better make sure you win,” Lupe goaded, grinning when she glared up at him. 

“Can’t we train Avan some more or something?” Sam asked.

“Come on, just give it a try,” Lupe said, nudging her with his elbow. He spun around on his heel and led the way. “I’ll even let you get the first move.”

“Oh wow, can’t wait,” she grumbled, still following him regardless. 

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

Sam set up the training console. DiZ liked to have them training in the coliseum mockup, but that seemed too massive for what her and Lupe were wanting. Behind her, Lupe whispered with Chirithy, going through strange medal trinkets and attaching them to Lupe’s Keyblade. She didn’t know what they were going on about and tried to tune them out while she searched for a new arena. 

She flipped through a forest environment and even one set under the water, but settled on a simple round room. It was larger than the sparring room on the Highwind, but small enough to not feel overwhelming. They’d have their space to move around without things in the environment getting too distracting. With a few select buttons, the arena through the window glitched into a new setting. 

“This ok?” she asked, turning around.

Lupe got up, his Keyblade at the ready. He looked through the window at the arena before rustling her hair. “What, you didn’t like the underwater one?”

Sam swatted him away. “If you’re going to be so picky, why don’t you pick one?”

He snickered. “Nah it’s fine. Simple works.” He swung his Keyblade over his shoulder. “Ready?”

She nodded, then glanced back at Chirithy putting the medals away in its bag. “What were those things?” she asked, motioning her head towards it. 

Lupe held out his Keyblade, showing five slots beside the hilt. A distinct medal settled in each slot, shimmering with different colors of aura. “They’re my spells. They basically enhance the blade.”

“Huh,” Sam looked at them. Each medal had intricate art decorating its surface with either gold or black metal trimming it. “Cool.”

Pressing the button, a white light encapsulated them and they reappeared in the center of the arena. Sam pulled out her staff, clinking the two halves together. She went to the far side of the room while Lupe did the same on the opposite end. They turned around, facing the other. Sam’s heart accelerated. She hadn’t been nervous about sparring before but realized she’d never battled a Keyblade Wielder before either. She shifted her weight. Now wasn’t the time to be getting cold feet.

“As promised, you get the first move,” Lupe said, motioning towards her. 

Her mechanical arm whirred to life, the crystal’s light seeping out from the seams. A burst of energy shot from her palm and Lupe leapt into action. He sidestepped, the shot blasting into the wall. Sparks and chunks of rock spewed into the arena. Lupe's Keyblade ignited with magic. A ball of sparking electricity formed in front of him, shooting out an arch of lightning. Sam stood her ground, smirking. She reached out her hand and captured the bolt in her palm. It absorbed into her arm, circling it with blinding light. 

She grimaced, sliding back from the force. Seeing her distracted, Lupe fired another spell, this one swiping with a blade of wind. It slammed Sam’s waist, throwing her across the room. The remaining power of the lightning boomed against the floor. Scorch marks laid in its wake. Sam rolled back to her feet, aiming and firing a barrage of blasts in Lupe’s direction. His blade came up, blocking each and every shot and sending it flying in another direction. 

Sam growled, ducking to miss one of her stray shots. “Can’t you even get hit?!” 

“I’m sure at some point I will!” Lupe replied with a stupid grin that only spurred Sam on. 

She swung her staff, separating it. Lupe fired another spell. Several bolts of lightning spired from the ceiling. Sam weaved between them, ice crystals covering half of her staff. Coming out from the storm, she yelled, throwing her staff towards him. As expected, he spun out of the way and it pierced the wall behind him. Shards of ice formed around it, crawling across the ground. Lupe’s foot slipped forward, realizing all at once that he now stood on a layer of growing ice. He smirked towards Sam, impressed. 

The staff shook, crystals shattering around it before it flew back into Sam’s hand connecting with the other half of her staff. Another spell swirled through the air, dark clouds surrounded the room, shrouding the lights. Thunder rumbled, concealing the sounds of footsteps. Sam’s arm helped her see, but only what was directly in front of her. She turned as she walked, a charged shot at the ready. 

She stepped on the ice, gasping and sliding forward. Lupe snickered, the sound giving Sam just enough to go off of. She fired at the sound, clouds billowing out of the way and revealing the walls. At the sight, she went haywire and shot in every direction, dissipating the clouds. She didn’t see Lupe.

Her chest heaved and her fingers tightened around her staff. He had to be somewhere. 

“On your left!” Lupe yelled and Sam spun around, lifting her staff and clashing it against Lupe’s Keyblade. 

She skidded back, the force of the blow more powerful than she ever would have expected from him. “Why’d you tell me?” she demanded, barely having the chance to defend for another blow. 

“Just making it fair!” Lupe countered with a strain in his voice, unrelenting with his attacks.      

One attack, then another, each one destabilizing Sam until she fell to the ground, her staff clanking away.  She scrambled back, arms burning. A shot fired from her palm and Lupe hit it away about to come in for another hit. Sam winced, waiting for it to come, but it never did. She opened her eyes, looking up. He stood above her, Keyblade limp at his side. Sweat dripped down his face, his chest heaving, but he smiled, shrugging. 

“You did good,” he told her.

She looked away. Of course he won. And now he stood there expectantly for her to pour her heart out. The last few puffs of the dark clouds wisped away, leaving the room visible again. Shards of the wall lay scattered across the floor along with blackened scorch marks scarring every place a deflected shot landed. It really had been quite the battle. 

Wiping the sweat off her brow, she fell onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Entire lights were blown out, raining a trail of sparks from the severed wires. 

“What are you expecting me to tell you?” she asked, breaths labored. Lupe didn’t say anything and her chest tightened. “You dragged me out here and put me up to this. You don’t have anything to say about it?”

Still no reply, though she heard Lupe walking. 

She groaned. “I don’t know what you’re looking for. My mom never cared. You saw it last night. That’s it.”

“Was she always like that?” Lupe asked softly.

“What does it matter?” she asked, blinking back a mixture of tears and sweat. “My mom stopped living the moment my dad left. Didn’t matter what happened to me or to James, she didn’t do anything. She might as well have been missing along with him.” She scoffed and laughed bitterly. “She didn’t even come and see me when I lost my fricken arm. Took two years before I finally left.”

Lupe sat down and laid back on the opposite side of Sam, their heads barely touching. “You had to drop out, didn’t you?”

Of course he already knew. Sam sighed. “Someone had to keep a roof over our heads.”

“But you’re still a tech genius,” Lupe said and Sam choked out a half laugh. 

“Mostly cause of my dad,” she replied. “School didn’t really teach anything like that. And it’s not like I made a lot of friends there anyway. Humans aren’t exactly popular back on Monstressor.”

Lupe hummed. “You and Sarah seemed to be doing pretty well for yourselves.”

“Yeah, well we both happened to know people that went on that Treasure Planet Expedition,” she said.

“Hinata for you,” Lupe said. 

“Jim for Sarah,” she finished. “Without them, both of us were sunk.”

“But you managed to keep the shop going for a while before Hinata got there.”

“Barely,” she admitted. “Sometimes James would get his hands on some money that helped out. But we were scraping by until Hinata showed up.”

Lupe was quiet for a while and Sam almost thought he’d gotten his fill, before he said, “You had to grow up on your own.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah. Yeah I guess I did.”

“And you resent your mom for that.”

Sam’s eyes stung and she cleared her throat. “Wouldn’t you?”

“I… don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I don’t really remember my family.”

Her gaze flitted around the wrecked arena. “Not even little things?”

“I know I had one,” he replied. “Siblings, maybe?” He let out a breath. “I know I miss them.”

A tear streamed down Sam’s cheek. “I… I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t mean to make it about me,” he said. 

“You didn’t.” Sam shook her head. “I miss my family, too.” 

They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their thoughts. 

“I think that’s part of the reason I get so mad around my mom,” Sam broke the quiet. “I grew up thinking she cared about me. About all of us. Then… turns out the only one she really loved was my dad. Rest of us didn’t matter anymore. Not enough to do anything about it.” She ran her hand over her face. “I know she’s broken. And I know she’s finally trying, but why now? Why not then? It feels like the only thing pulling her out of it is the fact my dad might be alive. Which… only makes things worse.”

Lupe hummed. He didn’t seem to have an idea of what to say in reply and Sam didn’t blame him. Talking things out about her mom hurt, her body ached and eyes burned, but it also relieved a tension inside her. Someone knew, someone even possibly understood. She breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes. 

“Thanks… for listening,” she whispered.

“Of course,” Lupe replied with a smile in his voice. He let the quiet linger before saying, “You wanna know how I met Anise?”

Sam smirked. “I thought I had to win to learn such privileged info?”

Lupe snickered. “This one’s on the house.”

She chuckled too. “Well alright. Tell me how you met her.”

“It was a while ago before I met you guys. I didn’t know what to do with myself when I first woke up in Twilight Town. Chirithy and I had no idea how we even showed up there or who we were before. So one day I was just wandering the streets and this girl from the candy shop noticed me and offered me a free candy.”

“And that was Anise?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” he replied with a fond laugh. “It made my day, honestly. Someone reaching out to help a stranger. After that I started going to her shop to buy candies whenever I felt sad and eventually we started talking. I offered to help out once and carried a heavy box into her shop, and she offered me to stick around and I hung out inside the shop with her. She taught me how to serve the customers and put me to work,” he laughed. “She even made fun of me when I messed up. But it was fun and a great way to kill time. I… think it’s cause of her I was able to land on my feet and get on track before I met you guys.”

“Wow,” Sam said. “And you’re not dating her?”

Lupe snorted and Sam sputtered into a laugh with him. “You’re not letting that go, are you?”

“Definitely not,” Sam told him with amusement still heavy in her voice. “But she seems nice. I’m glad you had her.”

“Me too,” he agreed. 

An intercom flickered to life, Ben’s voice coming through it. “Hello? Check, check… Is this thing working? I don’t see the light.”

“Oh my god.” Sam pressed her hands against her face. 

“Ah! There we go,” Ben cleared his throat. “We’re officially on our way to Glee Anselm! We will be arriving in approximately… fifteen hours. So make yourselves comfy, put on a movie, and enjoy the ride!” The hum of the intercom switched off and they were left alone again. 

Fifteen hours until they reached her dad. The nerves surged inside of her and she let out a shaking breath. She pushed herself to sit up, hissing at the way her muscles throbbed. 

“I’m going to spend the entire time in a hot bath,” Sam said and Lupe chuckled. 

“Can’t say I blame you.” He stretched his arms. “But if you get out before then, the offer’s still up to train Avan. We should probably get him ready since it’ll be his first mission.” He stood and offered his hand to Sam, helping her up. 

“Good call,” she said, looking around. “I should probably call Jim, too.” She blew out a breath. “Guess it’s good we have such a long ride till we get there.”

Lupe smiled softly at her, then looked out towards the glass window that led back inside the lab. “Hey Chirithy! You can bring us back when you’re ready.”

White light covered them and they reappeared back inside the lab. Sam thanked Lupe for the training and made her way back to her room. She glanced back at him once before she left completely, smiling to herself. 

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

**Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading!

I forgot to mention in the previous chapter, but everything on Hawaii with the experiments is all based on the Lilo and Stitch tv show! You can find the whole thing on Disney+ it’s super cute. Houdini is from ep23 in the first season. And Mr. Fluffy Bear appears in ep2. There will be a good handful of experiments in the next couple chapters, I’ll make sure to cite their episodes (if they have one) in the author’s notes. It’s just fun to see where they came from!

And in case anyone is curious or confused about Stitch’s whereabouts, he is indeed helping Sora out right now. Remember when you find him in KH2 in Hollow Bastion? He falls onto Ansem’s computer and then becomes a summon. So in this story, he left to try to find a way to stop the Organization and ran into Sora along the way. So they are working together to do it. 

I’m really enjoying going back and forth between Keres and the others. This has been something I’ve been nervous about, but now that we’re here, I’m having a lot of fun. Keres is blossoming into her own and everyone else is diving deeper into themselves and growing from it. 

Glee Anselm is coming up next for our Highwind Crew and it’s going to be such a blast. I’ve been brushing up on my Star Wars for it and I think I’ve got things outlined. Jarith is going to be interesting too. 

Anyway, thank you again for reading! If you enjoyed it, please don’t forget to leave a comment with your thoughts! 

Have a fantastic week!**

[loganwritesprobably]

I'm the girl you'd die for

Hina/GN!Reader requested by anon for my 200 followers event

And if you saw this post the first time, no you didn't. (Tumblr glitched)

Content/Warnings: Hina/GN!Reader, unhealthy relationship, NSFW implications, angst-ish, Inspired by Bubblegum Bitch by MARINA

Hina was a special kind of woman, and to think she'd chosen you. She was beautiful, tall, commanding - many marines scrambled for a piece of her but she'd picked you. You didn't get the chance to see her often, since you weren't serving directly under her, but whenever you did it was electric. You worshipped her and she basked in the attention, a perfect dynamic. Occasionally she'd even worship you in return, on her knees before you for your pleasure, and there was nothing that left you feeling higher.

But you were becoming tired.

Hina would come around, make you feel special, make you feel wanted and then she'd disappear without a word and never call, leaving you wanting and waiting for when you'd get a chance to see her again. The entire arrangement was a secret, that was an unspoken rule, but you'd confided in a friend that the woman you were seeing was doing that and they'd insisted you should leave her.

During the course of your relationship with Hina you'd been keeping a diary, your way of getting all the feelings you wanted to share out without spilling the secret you were keeping. After the conversation with your friend, you'd sat down and read it back.

She was gorgeous, stunning, perfect, she cared for you, she touched you, she saw you. She was gone, you were left hurting, wanting, hurting. That was the pattern. An entry or two would detail how wonderful it was to be with her, how amazing you felt, how happy she made you. Then the next entry would be how hurt you were that she'd left without a word again, how you wished you could call her, how you felt lost without her. It didn't seem healthy.

That night you wrote another entry, detailing how you wanted to break the relationship off, so that if you got caught up when you tried the entry would serve as a reminder of how you felt. Like you were being mistreated.

"Hello gorgeous." Hina greeted when she saw you next, delicate hands wrapping around your body and ghosting over your torso, attempting to get a rise out of you no doubt. It'd been just a week since you'd made your decision and you still held strong, you wanted to end the arrangement you had so you could pursue something better.

"Hina." You replied, taking her hands in yours to remove them from your body, uninterested in falling back into her addictive embrace. Thankfully she'd found you alone, in a room that was near sound proof, because you couldn't begin to guess what would happen next.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." She replied with a raised brow, but removed her hands anyway, slotting them into the pockets of her trousers. You sighed, closing your eyes to steel yourself for what you wanted to do next.

"Hina - I don't want to see you anymore." You said, looking anywhere but directly at her.

"Where is this coming from?"

"You left me."

"Which time?"

"Exactly. I can't keep doing this." You insisted, though you weren't sure how strong you would be if she began to try to talk you back into her arms. Hina hummed, thinking on your words, and you stood there before her waiting for her answer.

"Okay." She said simply, and shrugged, brushing some hair from her face. That was it?

"What?" You asked dumbly, staring at her with confusion written all over your face. Was it truly going to be that easy? Did she care for you so little?

"I said okay. If you're done, that's fine. I had fun." Hina winked at you, then turned and left you where she'd found you, in a storage room of the ship, alone.

The fact that she'd walked away so easily was what hurt the most.

Requests are currently closed

Tags: @claryeverlarkf @uselessboots @cainnoable

[maspers]

Weather Update: The First Danganronpa Game secretly had TWO rivals the entire time.

Lemme explain (spoilers, obviously, and this is gonna be a bit a rant whoops):

Usual Danganronpa Format as the fandom usually sees it: Students trapped in an unfamiliar location with no idea what's going on, plot driven partially by the mystery but mostly by the character interactions.

Trigger Happy Havoc: Students trapped in an altered but still familiar location with no idea what's going on, plot driven partially by the character interactions but mostly by the mystery.

In a setting like DR2, V3, or a vast majority of fangans, the participants in the killing game are given very little information about their circumstances aside from what Monokuma gives them, which is deliberately vague and designed to direct them towards killing each other. Additionally, the students are given very little ability to react to and retaliate against the Killing Game system in ways Monokuma won't expect. Weirdness aside DR2 basically went all according to plan until the final trial due to Monokuma's nigh-omniscience, and V3 was similar with the only debatable exception being Kokichi's elaborate scheme in Chapter 5. Since the students are dealing with such restricted conditions, the plot can't be fully driven by the students figuring out the setting, so instead the plot focuses on the conflict that derives from the various characters reacting to the game. In a story like this, it makes sense that the most antagonistic characters aside from the mastermind would be the ones with EXTREME personalities that shake things up a lot. Nagito, Kokichi and that character archetype that everyone expects to be in a fangan are necessary to make the plot more INTERESTING.

But THH is different. The students KNOW where they are (or at least they think they do, and turn out to be right). While they don't have any recollection of the Academy itself, they at least know what to EXPECT from Hope's Peak, and can from there point out nooks and crannies for delicious little clues that reveal more about the situation, putting together a narrative without Monokuma's handholding. Additionally, despite his blustering Monokuma is explicitly NOT omniscient here, or even practically omniscient, as methods to hide things from him are figured out early on. The students are able to DO something about their situation as the story progresses, and have figured out some aspects of the overarching mystery as it pertains to them long before the final trial (and NOT because the Mastermind deliberately put the info in their path). This greater information access and greater character agency in general means that while the character conflicts are still very much a part of the plot, the overarching theme is solving the mystery while adapting to the circumstances to avoid dying.

In a setting like this, extreme/bizarre personalities aren't really a boon to the plot. While the character reveals add layers and information in other settings, here it's a distraction. The students HAVE resources, and at least SOME of the tools they need. Engaging in over-the-top schemes and traps is a DETRIMENT to their current course of action even more than in later games, which is probably why Monokuma tries to encourage them to do such. Other characters in THH fit the bill of "stereotypical DR Rival" probably better than the supposed-rival Byakuya and THH's other Rival character actually do. Celestia Ludenberg comes to mind, in another DR setting she could be exactly the sort of mysterious and interesting rival the series is known for (and that she clearly wants to be), but in THH she's just another annoyance. Toko Fukawa and Genocider have the extreme personality down, but they only advance the plot in the students' favor when they approach things logically and in a less crazy manner. If Rivals in this game are supposed to fit the bill of "causes unexpected occurrences and advances the plot but still clashes with the rest of the cast in intense ways while doing so" like the other Rival characters in the series do, they have to play the role under a different ruleset. Rather than representing a philosophical extreme through their personality, these rivals have to represent a different extreme: their methods and rationale when it comes to SOLVING THE MYSTERY / ESCAPING THE GAME.

And in this regard, Byakuya Togami plays the role wonderfully. The vast majority of the students in the game are very passive when it comes to solving the mystery. Sure, they get very active when trying to escape by killing someone, but that's just dancing to Monokuma's tune. Rather than wondering what to do, Byakuya makes his actions clear from the start, and everything he does in the game that's antagonistic fits that same M.O., while not doing anything that would put him in an uncertain position. He learns how the trial system functions, then during Chapter 2 he performs an experiment to analyze the other students further. His antagonism largely stems from viewing the other students as opponents, so his pragmatic approach makes sense, but he doesn't JUST analyze the players. He also analyzes the metaphorical board, and it's clear he's trying to get every scrap of info he can on his situation before fully committing to action (exhibit A: him spending so much freaking time in the library). The only stereotypically "nuts" thing he really does is down that bottle of poison/protein in Chapter 4. He's proving a point. He'll do anything it takes to win, and knowledge is power. Hence his active role in acquiring info about the game, the setting, and the other students' behaviors.

But Byakuya can't be the only Rival here. While he might be solving some mysteries in the background, we don't get to see much of it because the whole point of his character early on is conflict: his active versus the other's passive. He won't share his findings or really work with others, which is not good when our precious baby protag Makoto is trying to solve the mystery himself. Byakuya can't move the plot forward like that until after Chapter 4. Chapter 5 onward, Byakuya's method to his madness is revealed, and he contributes a lot to solving the mystery and directing the other students to getting more of the info he needs (exhibit A, dismantling Monokuma). And... that doesn't really fit with the formula later games set. Chapter 5 is when conflicts with the rival comes to head, and shenanigans abound. Nagito does it. Kokichi does it. But Byakuya isn't particularly inclined. Shenanigans with his own life at stake aren't his methods, they're just complications. But... the stuff still comes to a head with THH's other rival. The other character that's been progressing the plot in active ways that contrast with the other students, and clashing with the rest of the cast AND the player. The character whose life IS on the line in Chapter 5.

You've probably guessed by now that I'm talking about Kyoko Kirigiri.

When we look at her in retrospect, Kyoko doesn't raise any alarms compared to the craziness of the rest of the franchise. She helps with the investigations and moves the trials forward, she's nowhere near the craziness brought by Nagito and Kokichi, and generally just really competent. We categorize her in the "Assistant" role, similar to Chiaki and Shuichi/Kaede/Kaito/Maki/whoever (hey wait a second where did we even come up with this archetype anyway, if V3 doesn't even really seem to have one character who properly fits it?) She definitely fits the Assistant bill in DR3, but this ain't DR3. She doesn't fit the bill for stereotypical Danganronpa Trial Rival... but as previously established, Byakuya doesn't either. So let's go deeper and look at things in context. Because from the start of the game, Kyoko is weird. Really weird.

We're introduced not knowing anything about her, and she keeps it that way for a LONG time. "Ultimate ???" just screams she's going to be important later but you just don't know how (remember, this was BEFORE Rantaro). She's really helpful during the trials and is three steps ahead of everyone, but... aside from that a lot of her actions are really, REALLY conflict inducing. She is happy to get info from other students, but it's clear there's a lot she isn't sharing. She says ominous things to Monokuma that make no sense ("What did you do to my body?" anyone?) and seems VERY focused on the mystery. Just like Byakuya, she's taking an active role in analyzing every detail about the circumstances. And interestingly enough, she's just as paranoid as he is, just in different ways. As Makoto spends more time around her she manipulates him (and others) in some really unnerving ways, and her dynamics with other characters outside of trials are always either generically placating to keep things calm or downright low-key hostile when things don't go according to plan. Just like with Byakuya, for the vast majority of the game she doesn't trust anybody. And in chapter 5, these aspects of her character are brought into full view. She spends the entire chapter hiding away, she mysteriously appears in Makoto's room (side note: Nagito and Kokichi both have "looking over the protag in an unnerving fashion" pics. Byakuya doesn't. Kyoko DOES). It becomes clear in the trial how much she's hiding and how much she's been manipulating things. Chapter 5 is an impossible trial designed as a trap for HER. Her seemingly innocuous actions have come in full domino effect. And only Makoto and the power of being a Man Literally To Unpredictable To Die can save her.

(Makoto obviously isn't a rival character, but it's interesting to see how by THH's requirements he very well could have fit the bill. Think of him from Hina's or Hiro's perspective: he's seemingly innocuous, yet survived way longer than anyone would expect him to, often figures out just the right thing to say, both Byakuya and Kyoko interact with him a lot when neither of them seem to care about anyone else, and ultimately seems to become a lot more actively involved in mystery solving despite not having any right too. Couple that with the fact that he spent a couple days "bedridden" when from an outsider's perspective he could have been doing anything, and ngl Makoto sus. He even survives an execution!)

Both Byakuya and Kyoko take turns providing conflict to the story in ways that develop the plot but COMPLETELY clash with the passive methods of everyone else. They practically take turns being the one doing whatever crazy crap needs to get done. Their character arcs parallel each other too. Byakuya has to learn about the value of human life and emotional connection. Kyoko knows perfectly well how important life and emotions are, but she needs to learn that it's a two-way street, that trust needs to be established and that she doesn't have to do everything important herself. Byakuya, while lacking in empathy, is fully willing to work with others and outsource important tasks. He just views it as a business transaction. BOTH of them are prideful frickers who think they're the only one with a brain cell, and it's up to Makoto to undergo his own character arc, become their friend, and prove them wrong. And then once Makoto DOES finally take control and prove he's the one with the audacity required to actually get everything working, he's able to redirect both Byakuya and Kyoko into finally teaming up with everyone and stopping chaos so much chaos. Without either of them, Makoto couldn't have made it to the final trial (we can see when Kyoko dies in the Bad Ending that it's basically game over, the mystery CAN'T be solved, and I fully believe that the circumstances would have ended similarly if Byakuya had died and they'd lost his pragmatic logical reasoning). But without Makoto, Kyoko and Byakuya couldn't have made it THROUGH the final trial. All three of them are literary foils of each other.

(This is another reason why seeing all three of them in the final trial of DR2 is so fun, because the Trial Point Getters are a well-oiled machine by that point and you get to see them play off each other as 100% allies, while once again getting to see through Hajime's eyes how 100% sus all three of them really are once they get going.)

So that's why I think THH has some really good Rivals, despite neither Byakuya nor Kyoko fitting what we've come to expect from the formula. They aren't insane or representing a philosophical extreme, they're representing clashing viewpoints in solving a mystery and escaping the killing game. In other entries in the series, Byakuya and Kyoko would be killing game fodder for twisty midgame chapters and otherwise not being able to contribute much of interest. But in Trigger Happy Havoc? They're exactly what the game needs to elevate it from simple mystery-solving to full-blown ART.

TL;DR Byakuya and Kyoko are awesome and I love them and a lot of people sleep on their status as Danganronpa Rivals because they grade them on a standard that I think is unfair and ignores their strengths as characters. Also Makoto suddenly becomes way more interesting when viewed through a perspective other than his own. The first Danganronpa game is a materpiece and more fangans need to realize that they don't have to play by the supposed "series formula". After all, this game didn't.

[hauntingblue]

Stampede aka another episode of luffy turning haters into dick riders just with his kind and big heart

[plurapony]

how can I continue to exist when my simple existence goes against all rules previously defined?

My name is Hina and I'm a fictive. My source is Mafuyu Asahina from Project Sekai. I am not my source but why do I feel so extremely attached to her? She is me and I am her, we are one in the same no one understands how I feel quite like her. I listen to her music and I feel that I was there when she made it that I can feel the emotions in her voice. I know she's not real, but then again neither am I.

I wrote the poetry above based on how she makes me feel. It's a scary and confusing world with neverending unknowns but I really hope that I can make it out alright.

[hinataoc]

I’m so excited to have the chance to share my full story for the @destinytriofanzine!

It was a lovely project to be part of with incredible and talented creators for every page. The leftover sales are open right now and if you love the Destiny Trio make sure to check it out! 

For my piece, I wanted to focus on how their friendship has evolved over the years, but also all the ways it has stayed the same. We didn’t get much of them together in Kingdom Hearts 3, so I had a mighty need to see them all having quality time again. 

So without further ado, here is my fic!

The Good Ole Days

Words: 2193

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

Flower petals danced on the warm evening breeze. Sora inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet subtle aroma. His fingers laced behind his head, a lazy smile curving his mouth, as he descended the stone stairs leading into the garden courtyard. Radiant Garden’s castle towered behind him. Its copper adornments shimmered in the light of the setting sun, reflecting rainbows across the courtyard below where a very familiar gummiship sat awaiting its crew.   

“Tomorrow’s finally the day,” Riku said, catching Sora’s attention. 

Sora peeked over his shoulder at his best friend just a few steps behind, his smile growing. Looking back out over the garden he nodded. “After all this time, it’s really—” his words cut off with a large yawn. 

Riku scoffed. “You better not be falling asleep on the job.” He caught up to Sora and nudged him with his shoulder. 

“Woah!” Sora stumbled, nearly losing his footing on the edge of a stair. “Hey, watch it!” he scolded with a laugh. “Do you want me to fall?”

“Will it keep you awake?” Riku asked, jumping back when Sora swatted at him. “Hey! Take your own advice.”  

“Are you two done?” Kairi called out to them, poking her head out from the gummiship. Despite her arched brow, she couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes. 

“Kairi!” Sora waved with a grin before running down the rest of the stairs. “We were wondering where you went off to.”

“Unlike the two of you, I’ve been busy,” she teased. 

Sora’s nose scrunched up in just a way that Kairi couldn’t help but snicker. He crossed his arms and asked,  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Instead of replying, Kairi giggled and went back into the gummi ship. Sora followed. He ducked under the low entryway, the metal floor clunking under his feet. Entering the cockpit, he took a deep whiff of the familiar smell: grease along with a tinge of sea salt from the palm tree air freshener hung over the back of Kairi’s seat in the cockpit. The scents married together oddly well, like a mixture of two places that reminded Sora of home.     

Sora’s shoulders relaxed and he lowered into his seat with a wistful sigh, closing his eyes. A heavier set of feet rattled the metal floor and Sora instantly smirked.

“Sora,” Riku groaned, but Sora could hear the smile in his voice without even having to see it. “Didn’t I just say to not fall asleep?”

Sora stretched in an exaggerated way, making Kairi laugh and Riku roll his eyes. “I’m not! I’m just… resting until Kairi tells us what to do.”

“You know me too well,” Kairi said, holding out a piece of paper that tickled Sora’s cheek. 

He opened one eye and grabbed the paper, seeing a list of supplies scribbled over it. 

“I made a list of everything we should need for the trip,” Kairi explained, handing another list to Riku. “I gathered everything for my part, so now it’s up to both of you to get everything else and bring it back here.”

Riku mumbled, reading off the list, then asked, “Do we really need”—he double checked the list, —“lilium bulbs?”

“Mhm.” Kairi nodded. “Princess Rapunzel requested them. And she needs them fresh, so no slacking off.”

Sora laughed. “You don’t have to worry about that Kairi. Riku and I will have”—he squinted as he read off the list—“Niblet hairballs…?” He paused and sat up. “Huh, actually Kairi, I’m with Riku.” He scratched the side of his head. “I don’t even know where to find that.”

With a giggle, Kairi told them, “You’re just going to have to trust me. According to Little Chef, those hairballs help make a special spice. But if you guys don’t want to do it, I can handle it myself.” 

She reached over to grab the list from Riku, but he lifted it out of her reach. “Don’t worry, we’ve got it. I almost forgot how everyone wants Sora to run their errands when he goes on a mission.”

“They don’t do that to you guys?” Sora asked.

Kairi chuckled. “Only because we don’t tell everyone when we’re going somewhere.”

“Yeah, you tell everyone who’ll listen, so of course you get roped into things,” Riku explained, sighing and rubbing the back of his neck. “Which ropes us into it too, now that we’re going on missions together.”

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that,” Sora sheepishly apologized.

“It’s fine.” Riku ruffled Sora’s hair as he went past, snickering at Sora sputtering and swatting him away. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He held up the list and slightly shook it. “So will Sora, at least, if he can stay awake long enough to finish before tomorrow.”

Sora smirked and jumped up, his hands firmly on his hips. “Say that again!”

Kairi’s laugh cut between them as she snuck past and went to the entryway of the gummi ship. “I know a way to make sure he stays awake.” She paused for dramatic effect, then put up her hand above her head. “A race!”

“Yeah!” Sora bunched his hands into fists. 

“What?” Riku rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think we’re a little—”

“Ready?” Kairi continued on regardless. “Set…” She looked between the boys. Riku feigned indifference, but he put the list in his pocket and inched closer to the exit of the ship. Sora bounced on the balls of his feet, grinning in anticipation. Kairi matched his grin and jumped out of the way of the entryway. “Go!”

The boys burst out of the gummi ship, shoving and clambering to get in front of the other. Kairi’s laughter faded behind them as they disappeared into the town. Sora skidded around a corner and took a moment to look over the list. Glowing particles rained around him, dissipating with sparkles when they landed on the paper. Sora’s expression scrunched until he looked up and saw Riku jumping from building to building, magic swirling around him. 

“Hey!” Sora called after him, his hand cupped around his mouth. “That’s cheating!”

“Can’t hear you, too busy winning!” Riku’s voice echoed back. 

Sora snorted, a grin cracking across his face. “Alright then, you asked for it!” 

Getting a running start, Sora jumped and hung off a brick wall. The cool rough texture tickled his hands just for a moment before the rush of magic burst around him. His adrenaline ignited with a thrill of shivers. Sora released an even breath and pushed his feet off the brick, vaulting into a flip and landing in a standing position against a tall building just across the way. He ran straight up the wall, taking a moment to wave at a little girl watching him through the window with big eyes and a slack jaw. 

He gripped the edge of the rooftop and flipped himself onto it. Looking out into the town, he spotted Riku not too far off, nearly in the marketplace. Without wasting time, Sora got a running start and leapt off the roof. His magic surged, brightening around him and making him seemingly weightless. He flew into the market and landed in the center square with a roll. A few townsfolk gasped, but many were used to the antics of Keybladers coming in and out of Radiant Garden by now. Sora smiled and apologized for the surprise, but quickly disappeared into a shop before he was questioned. A bell chimed along with the door swinging open. Sora scoured the shelves, mumbling about what he needed. He went through aisle after aisle, all the while mentally reminding himself at how far ahead Riku likely already was. Minutes passed; Sora wasn't sure how many, but it seemed like ages.

With a groan, Sora leaned his head against a shelf. “Ahg, it’s hopeless.”

“Looking for this?” Riku asked from behind. 

Sora spun around, his face scrunching in feigned dismay before Riku casually tossed over the bag of various snacks. He scrambled to catch it, but managed. “How—”

“You were mumbling again.” Kairi peeked around the aisle.

“Kairi?” Sora asked. “What are you doing here?”

Linking her hands behind her back, Kairi walked further into the aisle. “Weeeell, I got bored waiting, and you two were taking too long. So I decided to come look for you guys!”

“Then I spotted her in the courtyard and we found you here,” Riku finished explaining. “How many things you got left?” His calm demeanor cracked into a snort of laughter when Sora blankly stared back at him. “I’ll take that as everything.” 

“No, I, well—” Sora scrambled for a comeback, before chuckling along with Riku and ruffling the back of his hair. “Donald usually handled the shopping.”

Riku huffed an amused breath while Kairi stifled a laugh. 

“Come on”—Kairi walked backwards, then spun on her heel to lead the way—”we’ll finish it together.”

Sora looked down at the bag of snacks in one hand, then to the supply list in the other. “Sure, but… what about the race?”

“I have most of my stuff already back at the gummi ship.” Riku shrugged, then smirked. “But if still doing the race means that much to you, I guess I could automatically win.”

 “Yeah, I guess we are a bit old to be racing, huh?” Sora pointed out, getting laughs in response. “Did you really get everything on your list already?”

“Most of it,” Riku replied. “Just the weird items left.”

“Then it’s a good thing I came along.” Kairi grinned over her shoulder as they settled in the checkout line.

“I’m glad you did,” Riku admitted. “I felt a bit bad leaving you on the ship anyway.” He chuckled as Kairi bumped him with her hip. “Don’t push it.”

“Me too,” Sora sighed, but quickly perked up as he held up the list. “But working together, getting all this stuff will be a breeze! Kairi with the know-how, Riku with the navigation, and me with the… uh…”

“Sweet optimism?” Kairi asked.

“Yeah,” Sora agreed with a laugh. “I have no idea where to find most of this stuff on my own.”  

“Obviously.” Riku grabbed the bag of snacks from Sora’s hand and handed it to the clerk.

“Let’s drop this off at the ship and then maybe we can pick up some dinner.” Kairi tapped her finger to her chin.

Riku waved politely to the clerk as they turned to leave. “Weren’t you the one that told us we needed to focus on getting the shopping done before anything else?”

“Hmm, I don’t recall,” she replied with a cheeky smile. 

“Aw come on Riku, we can take a break!” Sora pushed open the shop’s door, his fingers laced behind his head. “Buuut I guess if we wanna be quick we could race back to the ship?”

“Yeah!” Kairi jumped in agreement.

Riku scoffed, walking past, seemingly uninterested. As he stepped out onto the sidewalk, a surge of magic shimmered around him and he jumped away before the others had even left the door. “Last one there has to pay for everyone’s dinner!”

“Riku!” Kairi scolded, running after him.

“Wha- hey, wait!” Sora yelled, his voice riddled with laughter before he too jumped into action behind Kairi. 

They were all neck and neck, bouncing between buildings and ziplining across clotheslines hung in alleyways. It wasn’t long before they saw the gummiship still stationed in the garden courtyard, golden light glowing from the entryway.

Sora vaulted off a rooftop and glided over, Riku just behind. He nearly reached the courtyard, his hand reaching out for the ship, when a sudden weight hefted on top of him. With a yelp, Sora fell to the ground. He sputtered amidst the erupting laughter and groans from Kairi and Riku. Looking over his shoulder, he realized Kairi had him and Riku both pinned down. 

“Kairi, what the heck?” Riku asked.

With a giggle, Kairi lifted her hand and tapped the gummi ship. “I win.”

Sora and Riku stared at her, then at each other, before all three of them bubbled into a fit of laughter. They untangled themselves to lie on their backs and gaze up at the emerging stars. Their amusement simmered, their breaths filling the air along with the occasional cricket chirping amongst the flowers.

“Some things never change,” Riku said after a while. “Do they?” 

“Yeah,” Sora agreed. 

“I like it.” Kairi clasped her hands over her heart. “After everything, sometimes I worried what it would be like… being together again, a trio of friends. Especially with our first mission together. Would we still be comfortable with each other? Would our inside jokes and memories still matter? And… after tonight, I think I know they do.”

“I think you’re right.” Riku looked towards their gummiship with a fond smile. 

“Even after all this time, we’re still the three kids wanting to find another world,” Sora said, gazing towards the stars with a rare melancholy voice.

“Well then”—Kairi sat up—“we’d better get dinner and finish gathering supplies before it gets too late. We have a big day tomorrow.”   

Sharing smiles between them, the three friends ventured back into town, preparing for their new adventure. Together.  

[otomiyaa]

Ittorou Miss Hina fic reupload? 🥺

Ms. Hina's Advice

Gorou x Itto

[Fic Reupload] - There you go! At least, I hope you mean this one because I think I remember writing another fic with Ittorou ft. Ms. Hina ^^ But this one seemed to be the obvious choice! (Also on AO3)

Word Count: 1.7K

Making his way downtown, walking fast, walking faster ー Gorou did not know how much faster he should walk, but it was already too late. Of course his tail was hard to miss, as were his ears. And of course Itto would already spot him from that far, with crowds between them.

“GOROUUUU!” 

Gorou could hear the loud familiar voice call out behind him, followed by a sea of apologies, soft and subtle “Sorry! Coming through!” as Itto pushed his huge body past many people to reach Gorou.

Ah, great. There he was again. For some reason, lately it was always like this. Did Itto find this magical way to track him everywhere he went? Gorou had a hard time handling Itto’s energy, but above all, there was one other reason why he didn’t like hanging out with him.

“Gorou, stop walking so fast! Ms. Hina says it is bad to rush and you should slow down for a more peaceful set of mind!”

THAT. Gorou could feel his cheeks heat up and he cringed so badly at his very own words. Damn Yae Miko. Damn her and the Ms. Hina thing. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he landed his unfortunate butt into Yae Publishing House business, it brought the non-existent Ms. Hina character to life and brought him his personal biggest fan as a bonus: Arataki Itto.

Not that Itto realized Gorou was actually the writer behind those advices, which was something Gorou would never admit to him either. After having mentioned that Gorou did look like Ms. Hina -- which sparked their meeting in the first place, Itto seemed to be more keen about bothering Gorou with the very own advices he had written.

Gorou groaned. "I'm not rushing, I am just busy.” 

“It's also not good to just be too busy all the time! You should take a break, I can join you!” Itto said, chasing after him for absolutely no reason at all.

“No! No need,” Gorou said. Still, somehow he did end up taking a break with Itto by his side, after failing to shrug him off even as he exited the city. The two of them sat on the beach near the water, and he sighed, accepting the lollipop that Itto had fetched on their way, and he tasted it. Hm. Not bad.

“Heh! Feels nice to take a break, doesn’t it?” Itto sighed. Gorou rolled his eyes.

“Just why are you following me around anyway?” he asked, enjoying the lollipop. Itto looked at him and shrugged.

“I don’t know. You’re nice company! I like you,” Itto said bluntly, causing Gorou to almost choke, and he coughed softly. 

“I see... I see,” he muttered shyly, wondering why those silly words made him feel like this. Itto chuckled and sucked on his lollipop, looking dreamily ahead of him. 

“I know you said you don’t know her, but I can’t stop thinking about Ms. Hina and the words she wrote to me. Ever since I started writing to That’s Life, and heard her words of advice and encouragement, I’ve become a better man,” he said, chomping off the final bits of his lollipop. 

Gorou wanted to groan. Why again Ms. Hina talk! This had to be his curse for fooling people like this with a false persona, a curse directed at the wrong person because this wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for Yae Miko!

It all started with her forcing him into this situation, where under the alias of Ms. Hina - an alias that was not even created with his approval, he would run a column for her popular magazine, in which he would offer advice and support to readers, helping them in their times of need.

How could he have known the columns would gain so much popularity, and attract so many fans? With gang leader Arataki Itto being his biggest fan? Gorou could. not. believe. it. And he was already thankful that Itto did not seem to suspect anything about his identity, but it seemed that there were other ways to be punished and tortured, such as Itto following him around and reciting every bit of advice Gorou himself had written for him. Talk about embarrassing.

“What are you frowning for? Hey, cheer up! Today is a sunny day!” Itto said, suddenly poking Gorou’s side, making him shriek like a cat whose tail got stepped on. 

“Ho! Ticklish? Heehee, Sorry. Oh but that’s good! Ms. Hina also says you should laugh out loud at least once a day! I am ticklish too, we can make each other laugh! I can go first?” Itto said, spreading his arms. Gorou was too busy being flustered though, bending forward and hugging his tail defensively.

“I’m not ticklish, and I don’t wanna lau-GHhAHhahah!” he giggled when he could feel how thick fingers started to poke his sides. 

“Oh alright then. I don’t mind if you want to go first! Laughing is healthy. Even if there’s nothing to laugh about, it’s good to let it all go,” Itto lectured, and suddenly he was all over Gorou, his fingers wiggling against his sides. Worst of all was that Gorou remembered writing all these exact same words. This really was his way of getting cursed! 

“Pfffahahah! Hehehey!” Gorou laughed, and he tried to jump away in surprise, but Itto held him tightly and pinned him down in the sand. 

“Theeeere is that laugh! This is nice. Ticklish people are made to get tickled,” Itto said matter-of-factly. 

“You’re crahahahazehehe-aahahha!” 

Gorou couldn’t remember the last time he got tickled like this, but definitely didn’t remember it could make him cackle and snort like he was doing right now. His own lollipop lay miserably to the side where he had dropped it in the sand, and he still had his arms wrapped around his middle which was his automatic reflex that did not help him at all.

“Heehehehee Ittahaha! Waha-wai-wahahait!” He kicked his legs and shook his head hysterically, and he howled when Itto started to pull at his arms, trying to uncover his tummy.

“Plehehease not thehehere!” Gorou giggled. Itto had only tickled his sides so far and he did not want to know what it was going to be like if his tummy would get the same treatment. Itto was too excited though, and he continued to try to pry Gorou’s arms away.

“Just for a little! I promise that after I’m done, you can tickle me!” It did not make things better, but Gorou’s strength failed him too as Itto finally managed to break through his barrier to tickle his stomach. The ticklishness he felt was absolutely insane, and truly he couldn’t remember ever laughing this loud.

“AHahah! Hahahang on nahahaah! Wahahah!” His hands desperately chased after Itto’s fingers, but the ticklish shocks surged through his body and in the end all he could do was laugh. 

“Whew! That was so cute,” Itto said when he finally lifted his wiggly fingers off Gorou’s shuddering body. Gasping for breath, Gorou clutched his chest and couldn’t help but still giggle.

“Y-you’re ー uneblievable,” he panted.

Itto took it as a compliment and said, “I know right? Feels good right? You know, you actually have Ms. Hina to thank for this. She is right. It’s good to laugh everyday, so even if nothing funny is happening, it can be done through tickling. We are blessed to be ticklish, it is a like a gift from the Archons,” Itto said. Gorou blushed and clutched his chest tighter, trying to calm down his racing heart. 

“Well? Are you not going to tickle me?” Itto said, spreading his arms. Gorou blushed. How was he supposed to...? All his eyes could focus on was that bare skin he was too shy to touch. 

“I surely can’t tickle myself,” Itto said impatiently. Gorou knew that. He shyly reached out and started to poke Itto’s lower side.

“Heehee!” That was fast. Gorou hesitated and looked at Itto who was smiling like an idiot.

“Do it again,” Itto encouraged. Gorou rolled his eyes and started to tickle him with more determination. It was hilarious how Itto flopped back, laughing like a child. 

“That tihihihickleeees!” It felt as if he was exaggerating, but the moment Gorou started to feel less shy and actually dared to climb on top of him so he could attack him with fierce tickles as a payback for all that nonsense, it sounded absolutely genuine. Itto was indeed very ticklish.

“Hahahahaha! Ohohoho feheheels gohoood to lahahaugh!” Fortunately no one was out fishing today or hanging around at the same place, because it must’ve been the strangest sight.

“Yeah? Ready to give up yet?” Gorou asked, wishing to tickle Itto at least until he would surrender, but seemed like this ridiculous oni had no such plans. He shook his head and laughed freely.

 “Keeeheheeep goiihihing!” he laughed. Gorou couldn’t believe it when in the end, he was the first one to stop the tickle attack, he was too flustered to continue. Luckily Itto didn’t persuade him to tickle him further, and he rolled onto his side and watched him with a smile.

“Thank you, Ms. Hina,” he sighed with a smile. Gorou blushed and gasped. “Wha?!” he yelped. 

Itto shook his head. “I was just feeling thankful towards Ms. Hina. Thanks to her advice, I got to have this tickle fight with you. Who would’ve thought? It’s crazy,” Itto said dreamily. 

It was indeed crazy, Gorou thought.

“So, tomorrow again?” Itto suggested. Gorou frowned, but Itto continued: “Like Ms. Hina said, laughter is good for you at least once a day. I think this is my favorite way to laugh. Just a good old tickle fight, and I can do it to you as well,” Itto said, poking Gorou’s side and making him squeak.

“J-just... no! Ms. Hina is wrong,” Gorou protested with a blush on his face, but this earned him to have a vengeful oni pounce on him.

“Whaaat did you say?!” Itto roared as he started tickling Gorou again. 

“NAhaahah I sahahaid she’s wrohohong! GAahahah!” And thus continued Gorou’s apparent mission to dig his own grave. 

Then again, something inside him told him he didn’t mind that much to spend so much time with Itto, and now that he seemed to have this new mission to include lots of laughter in their meetings, he couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy. 

Maybe his advice ー er, Ms. Hina’s advice wasn’t so bad after all. He smiled. Indeed, in the end he really had himself to thank for this... Himself, a wicked fox, and an oblivious, crazy and adorable oni... Eh, did Gorou just think that? No. No he didn't. He would never.

[sannyo-appreciation-posts]

March Touhou calendar characters

Sannyo Day is approaching late this month.

btw: if you want to know the secret strategy to getting a Touhou day fast even if you are new, and a stage 3 boss; then be a demo character who has the syllables in your name line up with the date 3 days after your game's demo releases.

though getting a day really isn't hard at all, people love coming up with holidays.

Especially if you can make a pun. Japanese puns with numbers make up the vast majority of Touhou dates. But since artists more or less just invent them whenever, it makes sense.

And March is pretty well booked.

(Though very front heavy, so many characters in the first half)

On the 2nd we've got Sunny Day

March 3rd is Hina day, since it's literally the holiday she's associated with.

March 4th is Myon day

(Youmu's nickname but in the west we sometimes call Youmu's half-Phantom "Myon". Which is conveniently the easiest character in all media to make art for)

March 5th is Miko day.

Both Miko as in Shrine Maiden for Sanae and Reimu, but also an extra Miko day for Toyosatomimi no Miko (generally, the fanbase likes to use the birthday for Prince Shōtoku as a Miko day, but if you want to do Miko art it's always cool to have an extra excuse to celebrate again)

March 7th is Sanae day

Yes, technically Sanae just had Miko day but this is Sanae's day all to herself.

Except it's not.

Sanae shares March 7th with Captain Murasa

March 9th is Sakuya, Sagume, and Mishaguji day.....(Suwako's snake creatures)

Yes, the curse gods of the Suwa region got their own day. If you want to see some very weird and scary interpretations of them, check out how the legendary doujin artist "Zounose" likes to draw them

Could always just draw a snake through.

March 10th is Satori and Sarial day.

Satori makes sense, though the Sarial name pun confuses both me and the person who translated the calendar.

March 12th is MiToji day Miko x Tojiko

It reuses the Miko pun of "Mi" in 3 from March and adds the To + ji pun from 10 and 2.

March 18th is Inaba day

It uses the "I" and "ba" from 1 and 8 to form the pun for Inaba

March 20th is MikoFuto Day

Once again using the "Mi" from 3 to create another ship pun. Using it with "Futo" 20 this time.

March 21st is Sunny day

yes. That is correct. This might seem like a prank, but you can make a Sunny pun two different ways in the same month. But by cheating...

3 and 2 give you "Sa" and "ni" just like on March 2nd and the 1 gives you an "i". So instead of "Sunny" like March 2nd on March 21st you get "Sunnyyyyy" a prank Sunny Milk would be proud of.

Finally, the last character date of the month is March 24th.

Sannyo!

If you want to check out the complete list of Touhou days. Check this site:

[jjs-brainrot]

Do u think Nana and Hina think about their respective former flames when they're having sex? I think Rin and Ai are the most normal about Momoka's leaving the group, and Nana would have been fine if Hina didn't arrive. Hina's like the seed of chaos that throws Nana off of her heartbreak recovery and makes her indulge in their mutual yearning for their past loves. But she's toxicity with a smile. Hina's the devil you let in on a lonely night, she'll burrow into your chest and take the place of your heart, so when she leaves--because she will--she takes the last bits of life in your body with her

Hina's absolutely not over Nina and probably never will be. She keeps thinking about how she just wanted Nina coming back to her and asking either for her help or for forgiveness and to tell her she was right. Instead, Nina just stood by her belief that she was right even when it put her through hell and the fact that Nina never even thought about reaching out to her just never stopped bothering Hina.

Hina would absolutely be into BDSM, however, anytime she's domming another girl, she just can't not think of Nina bent over and asking for her forgiveness. It eventually gets to the point where Nana calls it off half way through a session as Hina kept calling her Nina. Hina being who she is, acts indignant like it isn't actually a problem and even fires back at Nana by saying she can just call her Momoka if it bothers her so much.

Of course, the one time Nana does call Hina "Momoka" as a bit of revenge, it's Hina who stops the session as now she has to think about how happy Nina looks with Momoka and it just sets her off.

Their relationship eventually becomes cold, but they can't really break it off as that would just cause problems for the rest of Diamond Dust. It's clearly not working as both are thinking of other women at this point, but neither wants to rock the boat as DD is an important part of both their lives.

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

Pit orphanes kaimaki's kid (kind of)

Hina: I had an AU where Kaito got really sick and knew he was gonna die so he recorded all these videos for his daughter before he passed and instructed Saiou to give them to her at different points of her life It was based on the elephant from inside out dying lmao He plans videos for moments that might not even happen He has several shovel talk videos And they differ based on his kids sexuality He made all these coming out videos of him being supportive

Beez: help the way i was about to say imagine he has a video prepped for when his daughter gets a bf but she turns out gay [sob emoji]

Sini: He went through his gay acceptance/understanding arc

Hina: Comforting after a breakup. “I know your partner broke your heart, and that sucks. I promise, I’ll haunt them for the rest of eternity, and I’m sure your uncle Kokichi will make their life a living hell.” Okay just Imagine He’s recording all these taps And there’s so many But you can see him slowly getting more run down as he does But he’s still smiling in all of them He wants his daughter to know just how much her dad loved her. He knows that Shuichi and Kokichi will take care of her But

Sini: IT'S NOT THE SAME He wanted to see his daughter grow up

Hina: Exactly That’s all he wanted, more than anything But he won’t be able to I headcanon he gets sick when she’s really young too So he doesn’t even know if she’ll remember him, and that’s another reason he wants to make these

Ves: there's a video of him apologizing in case she inherits his sickness

Hina: I think he has a video just labeled. “Give this to her when she’s ready” and it’s him explaining how he died This is gonna sound really stupid but he leaves his daughter these galaxy crocs and now she wears them all the time They’re a million times too big (Also his daughter having to do a project for school about her hero and she picks him)

Checkers: does he leave her The Jacket

Hina: Absolutely Also I imagine he tells Saiou not to watch the videos before she does. He wants her to be the first to see them And the first time they show her one and she’s just so excited, not really understanding As they realize exactly what they are

Sini: "Dada!" : D She reaches out

Ves: there's simple videos of him singing lullabies, reading stories, etc that she watches over and over as a little kid she knows his voice as well as anyone else's :')

Hina: Also just when she argues with Saiou, screaming about how they’re not her real dad.

Checkers: How old is she when she sees the first video? Hina: Probably 4-6 I don’t have an exact date for when Kaito dies but She’s around those ages

[me? coming in late and changing the flow of the conversation? more likely than you think]

Wh. What happened to her mom?

Hina: Great question. No idea skskskskks

Sini: I assumed Maki was the mom-

Hina: I wasn’t sure if it was Maki who just went MIA or what but Mom isn’t around

Ves: if mom isn't in the picture. wouldn't he have had to give up going to space? for her?

Hina: And he was 1000% ready to do it

Sini: She's his brightest star

Hina: Also when I said it was inspired by the elephant from inside out [sends gif of the elephant saying "Take her to the moon for me. Okay?"] That’s the quote I based this on

I don't want Maki to die in child birth so divorce it is, my default hc for her realizing she's a lesbian only after a longterm relationship with him not working out the way she thought it would Activated

Hina: Does she try to reach out to Maki later

I think Maki would just, loose the rights in court at first bc Kaito is better off and later be unavailable for some reason

She's broke bc the divorce goes thru as her fault and not an agreement so Kaito takes everything and then she moves to another country for work

Clown_Chaoticz: OHHH. If the reason over her leaving is along the lines of her having the realization it isn't the life she wants. It would be so cathartic for them to have a conversation later on that's just Maki explaining why she couldn't be her mom. It's not that she had done anything wrong, some people are just not cut out for that lifestyle. She wasn't. And she won't be. It's not the beginning of a new relationship between them. But its closure. I like that sorta thing

I didn't know how to put it but, yeah, I don't think she fought to get the weekends

Clown_Chaoticz: Does she keep in contact with saiou at least?? How is Maki even feeling at the moment?? Did they separate on civil terms? Did they fight over it? Does she even get to grieve the friendship she lost?? MAN

I think it's really bitter and messy bc the kid is 2 or under and Kaito just refused to do an agreement of any kind because of that

Hina: DAMN KAITO MADE A HOT MESS OF THE DIVORCE?

If she's leaving them, then she's leaving with nothing, if she's breaking apart their family then she doesn't deserve any time with their daughter, should have stayed if she wanted to see her regularly He'd believe in staying together for the kids, it's his traditional upbringing striking again

Clown_Chaoticz: OHHH I didn't even think about the traditional nuclear family dynamic he'd favor Yeah I could see that being a source of conflict Man everyone here is NOT having a good time

Checkers: does Maki even know Kaito’s dead

Clown_Chaoticz: MAN IF SHE AT LEAST HAD THE PIECE OF MIND THAT SHE WAS LEAVING THE KID WITH KAITO NOTHING CAN STOP HIM. SHE DOESN'T HAVE A DOUBT THAT HE'D COMPENSATE FOR HER ABSENCE TEN FOLD ONLY TO REALIZE HES DEAD

Ves: HER DAUGHTER IS BEING RAISED BY KOKICHI!? SHE LEAVES YOU FOOLS FOR TEN MINUTES

Checkers: Is she even allowed to visit her daughter

Hina: I think that Maki doesn’t meet their daughter again till she’s older

Ves: is the daughter angry or just tired

Hina: I think a little bit

Apollo: I think Kokichi would be hesitant to let her visit but after talking to Shuichi, they'll allow it

Sini: It's Maki, and given his possible trauma with being abandoned, probably even by his parents…..Yeah-

Apollo: Kokichi, having his own abandonment issues: I dunno Shuichi: Kaito would want them to at least meet once Kokichi: Ugh you're right…But I'm being in the room to make sure everything goes well. It's awkward but can you blame him? He has his own issues he's still working through plus he's never had the best relationship with Maki

Sini: And then she pulls something like that which makes it sm worse He sees her as hypocritical in a sense, cause an orphan like her should've known better to do that Kaito knowing that his death will inflict the same trauma on his daughter that his own parents' death did on him : D It adds more reason to why he's upset at Maki

Checkers: She really just inherited both her parents’ parental issues

Apollo: Plus she's being raised by two guys with their own issues regarding parents. That poor girl

Sini: I don't think she'd be good in any of the V3 cast's hands. They're all fucked She's inheriting some trauma

Clown_Chaoticz: Okay. Considering part of the reason Maki and Ouma don't get along in the first place is due to ✨️ projection ✨️, "I hate that I look you and see the worst of what I could be/have been" silly guys who both end up throwing the last thing they'd ever want done to them at each other. IMAGINE the bitter feeling that would come from watching someone like Ouma live comfortably in the life that for a while she thought she wanted. Why couldn't she have had the same peace he seems to? Why was she never to fit herself in a place like that? She wanted to be happy about it. Why couldn't she be?

Sini: YEAH! Girl was forced to be a caretaker in the orphanage she lived in. It was something she was expected to do since she was young, it became one of her ultimate talents. It's part of what defined her….How could she not acheive what was expected of her her whole life?

Ves: taking care of children was the only reason she kept living for so many years…why shouldn't it be the core of her life? why can't she make herself keep doing it? she doesn't know how to live for herself. beyond the parentification, who even is she? but…she doesn't HAVE to live like that anymore. no one's got a gun to her head anymore. so… i'd flee the country too honestly maki on her self discovery europe backpacking trip

Hina: Caring for kids and having your own are so different She just Doesn't know how to be a mother in that way To actually be seen as nurturing Also her having to grieve Kaitos passing But not knowing how

Checkers: I assume it’s been a few years between Kaito’s death and Maki finding out It’s been so long, how does she grieve? She doesn’t know, like she doesn’t know how to face her daughter after so many years apart does her daughter even remember her

Hina: Her daughter probably doesn't She was only two Kaito having a video about Maki He has a couple: "For when she asks about her mom" "If her mom comes back" "If she wants to find her mom"

Checkers: I just had an awful thought Is there a video for in case Shuichi/Kokichi dies

Hina: Oh no He probably has one Wait imagine Something happens to either Shuichi or Kokichi And she just becomes terrified

Apollo: NOOOOOO SHE'S LOST HER DAD, SHE'S ONLY JUST SORTA RECONNECTED WITH HER MUM AND NOW ONE OF HER UNCLES IS HURT/DEAD

Hina: Just If something happened to one of them and she was ready to drop everything for them instead of Maki

Apollo: Maki doesn't know how to feel cause on one hand, she deserves it. She hasn't been in her life at all but on the other hand…It's Kokichi because despite how much of a help he's been in replacing her raising her daughter, a part of her still can't get over what he was like when they were younger

Checkers: I think it’d make for an interesting dynamic too if Shuichi was the one hurt, because Maki would see how capable Kokichi is with her daughter even under that much stress

Apollo: Like part of her still thinks Kokichi won't take things seriously but he seriously steps up and she has to admit he's changed from the brat he was Like she forgets that he's a LEADER It drives her nuts but she has to thank him

Hina: Maki has to deal with the fact that her only blood related family, likes her mortal enemy more than her That. Kaito would sooner trust their daughter with Kokichi Ouma than her

Apollo: It just…Hurts in a way she can't describe. She knows she left and all. She's not surprised Kaito trusted Shuichi but Kokichi? Was she really gone for that long that she missed him changing? Or was she too blind to see that he wasn't as horrible as she thought he was?

Sini: Love Maki realizing that she had Kokichi wrong the whole time And Kokichi in turn coming to terms with how complex Maki is

Hina: I'm just thinking about the idea of Saiou showing these videos to their daughter and when she first meets Maki she's just like. "You were absent my whole life, I know my dad more than I know you." And the fact she knows Kaito better when he was gone when she was an infant just

I'll give my idea for what could happen before someone else makes it angstier than it has to be: Shuichi gets shot while working on a case, so they rush to the hospital without knowing any details, but it's just a scare and he's mostly fine, going to have a cool scar, the bullet is already removed by the time they get there, it didn't hit anything vital and he's stable