#I do think with distance and time Shiro would come to change his mind on that and mourn “Kuron”'s lack of autonomy while still hating that

[kismetconstellations]

Just two things I want to add, because I'm otherwise in total agreement with you:

One; Shiro is a major proponent of agency and autonomy after having his own violated to such brutal extremes.

After hearing Hunk express that he missed his own family, and, "never signed up for a lifetime in space fighting aliens",

Shiro halts Keith's lashing out at Pidge, however partially justified it was, to remind him

(Everyone who thinks that Shiro is totally okay with the fact that he's been tasked with leading a group of child soldiers into an intergalactic war none of them asked to be a part of can go touch a cactus.)

Allura, whose stakes in this war are also deeply personal, doesn't try to stop Pidge leaving, either.

And, Two;

I thought the relationship between Hunk and Shay was genuinely sweet, especially with Shay being a not outwardly feminine or sexualized alien and her active role in the narrative galvanizing Hunk, inciting his character development and bringing out his heroic side. And, it makes so much more sense to me than the, in my opinion, bafflingly popular fandom pairing of Hunk and Romelle, which has no basis in canon whatsoever.

I want to talk, for just minute, about the amount of self-disparagement in Shiro's statement, here. He's grievously injured, ailing, and trapped in a tiny cave with creatures lurking outside, waiting for their next opportunity to attack him.

Despite this, he's been repeatedly assuring Keith that he's "all right", and inquiring after Keith's well-being whenever he hears Keith struggling over the comms. Then, Keith expresses his belief that Shiro's presence and influence changed his life, and Shiro agrees. On the grounds that he's actively made Keith's life worse.

Keith's response to this extremely concerning assertion?

Nothing. He hears Shiro cough, tells him, "Stay with me, Shiro," and that's it.

This is an example of exactly what I mean when I say that Shiro has no support system. His best and closest friend hears him say something seriously disconcerting while in a state of utmost vulnerability, placing all of the blame for Keith's current predicament on himself, which is objectively not true, and does nothing to refute him. No, "Hey. Stop beating yourself up. We're gonna be just fine". Or, "How could this possibly be on you? Did you purposely eject us from the Castle?". Or even, "When we get out of here, we need to talk about why you feel like you don't matter and something completely out of your control is your fault. It's not like you asked to be here, either."

Maybe I'm expecting too much from a young adult with his own trauma whose interpersonal skills have already been shown to be lacking. I know I expected too much from a team of showrunners who believed that dark content automatically equals mature content, and insisted on shoving as much disturbing subject matter and questionable to outright deplorable messaging as they could manage to get away with into a series aimed at children. Shiro was never meant to heal from his trauma. The intention was to kill him to pave the way for Keith to take his place as The Chosen One.

But, in this fandom's determination to woobify their favorites to the extreme based on said favorites' moments of insecurity, they seem to have forgotten that the most blatantly traumatized member of the cast is the most blatantly traumatized member of the cast. Self-loathing and passive suicidal ideation are every bit as much a part of that as Shiro's flashbacks and the fear-induced paralysis that seizes him when a repressed memory resurfaces from the dark corners of his mind to drag him under. And, he, too, deserved all of the sensitivity, care, and love that they believe their favorites do, which makes it all the more abhorrent that he was repeatedly denied it in this show's canon.

[kotonoba]

ISYT (Jushiro/F!Reader) Ch. 38

The plot continues & hopefully flows a little faster

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

It was a few days after embarrassing yourself in front of your former captain because you insisted on telling her the day of that you were transferring out of her division and into your husband’s. But you wobbled around like a newborn calf, so much that he had to support you even though he had a shoulder wound in the slow healing process. 

Jushiro seemed to have something stuck on his mind because he didn’t notice his two loudest officers walk into his office, and you soon followed afterward with some report on the material world. He had repeatedly told you that you needn’t go, but no one else was going, so you checked in on it a few times in your free time. Or whenever an officer was too afraid, they’d ask you to join them. It was a surefire way to guarantee if they went missing, their captain would do his best to find them because you were with them. How sly. 

“Something on your mind, taichou?” You hummed, knocking on his desk a little to draw his attention; if the two bickering like lovers couldn’t catch his attention, how likely would it be that your call out to him would catch his attention? 

Seeing him snap back into reality with a smile, how he was so willing to greet you lovingly until you shook your head and pointed with your elbow at the two bickering behind you. Hurriedly, you went to the two bickering to nudge them and point at Jushiro, who was waiting for their report. You only walked up to hand him a report instead of waiting for– you were quickly met by a kiss on the lips; a sly smile graced his features before he sat down to take the report from you. 

You were about to leave with the other two, but Jushiro only told you to lock the door after they left. You did as he told you to. By the time you had turned towards him, you had managed to bump into him, not realizing that he had walked up the moment you went to lock the door. As you bumped into him, you were about to apologize before you were met with another kiss; this one was longer and far more passionate than the spur of the moment. 

“Your report,” he started. You fixed your gaze on him before he picked you up to sit back in his chair, placing you on his lap, “I read it while the two were summarizing what happened while I was doing paperwork.” You nodded; his gaze seemed to reprimand, “I’m glad you fit into your position just fine, but I don’t want you to go to the human world. It’s dangerous. So, I want to make you my lieutenant.” 

He knew he’d get an instant rejection of that offer, so he seemed a little sad to even hear it from you, but he understood it, “‘Shiro, I recently joined your division. We’re married, but I don’t want favoritism; I have experience from the fourth division, but that’s drastically different from your division. From purifying Hollows to the paperwork load, it’s a drastic change from what I’m used to. I think you should pick someone more capable.” 

“Like who?” 

You hummed a little, you had someone on your mind, but you had a feeling her brother would reject your idea. But that’s for Jushiro to decide, “Rukia-chan.” 

You watched him pause and nod, “I will talk to Byakuya about it. Would you like to come with me?” 

As much as you wanted to take his offer, you shook your head, “I need to prepare dinner for you, no?” 

He laughed, giving you another kiss before letting you go. But he followed you a short distance to the Ugendo; part of him was trying to protect you, and the other part was that he was unwilling to be alone. Ultimately, he followed you home before parting ways with you. 

You made dinner, and you even managed to finish your paperwork. Although not all of it was yours, some of it was your colleagues who made up a reason to push it onto you because it was a hazing ritual, you supposed. But hazing was expected, as far as you understood it, the human world, people did it too, but theirs were more fun, from what you experienced at least. 

It wasn’t until late at night that Jushiro returned; you greeted him, and he was surprised you were awake then. He peered over at your shoulders and frowned at the stack of paperwork but decided to ignore it because you were so eager to drag him to dinner. 

“How’d it go?” 

“Byakuya said no, it was too dangerous he said, but I managed to say we should let Kuchiki-san go to the human world to hone her skills, that way you don’t have to go, and she can prove to her brother that she’s strong enough to be a lieutenant,” he smiled a little. 

“That’s good. When is she leaving?” 

“Tomorrow, I’ll tell her tomorrow morning, and she will leave tomorrow night.” 

“Can I give her some tips?” 

“Of course, do as you please, but you’ll have to be my stand-in lieutenant until Kuchiki-san returns.” 

You gave Jushiro a long stare before nodding, “of course. How can I say no to you?”

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

New schedule, I'm really going to try to post every Wednesday afternoon. Like now, but it's 5:45 PM right now. So don't hold me to it; I have school & work. So the schedule will be switching from daily (because God knows I can't keep up with y'alls reading pace) to weekly.

Cloudy's AO3 • My Carrd

[dungeonsandwoodelves]

The Sacred Blossoms of Hyousetsu Shiro

The Glaviencrag Mountains loomed vast and unforgiving, their snow-choked cliffs disappearing into a sky churning with perpetual storm. The wind that howled through the peaks was merciless, stripping flesh from bone with icy precision, as if the mountains themselves resented life clinging to their sides. But high within these cliffs, hidden where the cold could not reach, stood Hyousetsu Shiro, the last sanctuary of the white tiger Tabaxi.

For centuries, the village had thrived in this inhospitable place, its existence tied to the sacred Fubuki Blossoms—cherry trees whose delicate pink petals bloomed eternal in the snow. These blossoms, untouched by the cold, pulsed with a magic older than the mountains themselves, their roots entwined with the blood of the Tabaxi who called this place home. Seya of the Snow, a warrior-mage from a time long forgotten, had given her life to bind the Tabaxi to these trees, sacrificing her soul so that the magic of the blossoms would protect her people from the relentless frost.

But even the strongest magic fades.

Elise Snowstrike stood at the edge of the frozen lake, her breath sharp in the frigid air. Her fur, white and striped with orange, stirred in the wind, but she did not pull her cloak tighter. She welcomed the cold. It kept her mind sharp, her body alert. The lake below her was still, a sheet of ice so thick and clear that it reflected the storm above like a mirror. In the distance, beyond the frozen water, the Fubuki Blossoms glowed faintly in the twilight, their petals unmoving despite the wind that tore at everything else.

Elise’s gaze remained fixed on the horizon. She had stood in this exact spot many times, but today the mountains felt heavier, as though they pressed down upon the village with an unfamiliar weight. She could feel the change coming—something dark, creeping up from the valleys below, from the lands her people had not ventured to in generations.

"You’re restless, Elise."

The voice belonged to Tora Kin, the leader of the Snowclaw Clan. He approached slowly, his footfalls heavy on the ice, though they left no marks. His fur had grayed with age, and the war axe that hung from his back—a relic of the Frost Giant War—seemed almost ceremonial now, more a symbol than a weapon.

Elise didn’t turn. “I’m not restless, Tora,” she said, her voice steady. “I’m thinking. We can’t stay here forever.”

Tora joined her at the lake’s edge, his gaze following hers out toward the blossoms. For a long time, he said nothing, and the silence between them was thick with the weight of unspoken truths. Finally, he spoke, his voice low, as though the mountains themselves were listening. “The blossoms sustain us. As long as they bloom, we endure.”

Elise’s hands tightened into fists at her sides. “But for how long? We’re growing weaker, not stronger. The war took too many of us, and those that are left… they’re withering. We’re withering.” She turned to face him now, her amber eyes burning. “We can’t survive by hiding behind magic. Seya gave her life so that we could live—not so that we could spend centuries fading away in the snow.”

A Legacy in Ruin

Tora’s expression remained unreadable, his eyes locked on the blossoms. “You speak of survival, but what you’re really asking for is abandonment. You would leave the sanctuary of Hyousetsu Shiro, leave the magic that has protected us for generations, to wander into lands we do not know. Do you think we can survive out there? Among people who have forgotten us, who do not care for us?”

Elise’s jaw tightened. She had expected this. “I’m not asking for abandonment. I’m asking for a chance. If we stay here, clinging to the blossoms like they’re all that define us, we’ll die with them. The magic is fading, Tora. You’ve seen it, just as I have.”

Tora finally turned to face her, and for the first time, Elise saw the doubt in his eyes—doubt he had not shown to anyone, not even to himself. “You are right about one thing,” he said, his voice quieter now. “The magic is fading. But what you’re suggesting… to leave behind our history, our connection to Seya’s sacrifice…” His words faltered, and for a moment, he looked not like the unyielding leader of the Snowclaw Clan, but like an old man faced with the erosion of everything he had ever known.

Elise softened, her anger receding. “I don’t want to abandon Seya’s gift,” she said, her voice lowering. “But we can’t let that gift become a prison. We have to honor it by living, not by hiding.”

The Tension of Survival

The debate between tradition and progress had begun long before this moment, but now, standing together at the edge of the frozen lake, it felt as though everything hung in the balance. Elise could feel the pulse of the Fubuki Blossoms in her bones—the way their magic sustained her, kept her strong even in the face of the bitter cold. But she could also feel their weakness, the way that pulse had slowed in recent years, becoming less a lifeline and more a crutch.

Tora turned away, his gaze distant. “If we leave, we risk everything. Out there,” he gestured toward the dark valleys beyond the mountains, “we are nothing. Here, we are Tabaxi. Out there, we’re just another people, fighting for survival in a world that has forgotten us.”

Elise stepped forward, her voice resolute. “We’re already fighting for survival. But we’re doing it alone, isolated, relying on magic that is running out. If we don’t leave, we’ll fade into nothing. I’m not saying we abandon our past, Tora. I’m saying we take it with us, and we find a future where we can thrive, not just survive.”

For a long time, Tora said nothing. The storm howled around them, and the world seemed to hold its breath.

An Earned Decision

Tora finally spoke, his voice tired but not defeated. “You’re right, Elise. The magic can’t save us forever. But neither can leaving. The future is uncertain, no matter what path we take. I won’t stop you from leading those who wish to find a new way. But I will stay here. Someone must remain, to tend to the blossoms, to honor the sacrifice that gave us this life.”

Elise nodded, a bittersweet smile tugging at her lips. “I’ll find a way to honor it too. Out there.”

The world seemed to breathe again as the two warriors stood in silence, neither victorious, neither defeated—just two people, facing the weight of a fading past and the uncertainty of the future.

[ruvatia]

Sorry if this is a bit much with everything going on, but could I request a scenario where the Paladins + Matt & Lotor have a black s/o and they’re scared abt everything that’s happening in their country and are sad that racial injustice is happening? I’ve been rlly worried the past few days, but if this is smth too uncomfy I understand ;w; Thank you 💖💖💖

This got really long, I apologize but I turned it into half-headcanons with just the main paladins-- i apologize for not doing all the characters you’ve mentioned, but I don’t think they would fit all in a single post anyways www

On another note I hope you and every other reader take good care of their mental health; it’s important to be aware of what’s going on but it’s also important to be in the right mindspace to be able to tackle everything that’s being shared. It’s pain that’s been boiling for a very long time and there is absolutely no shame in taking some downtime to recover before heading back into current issues.

SHIRO:

If you were saddened, Shiro would suggest that maybe you switch to something else; if there was something that he knows will distract you and temporarily have you be a little more at ease, he’d do that!

But also maybe add a little twist-- extra soft blankets (fresh out of the oven! Screw the bills you’re worth it), extra cheese on your favorite dish, whatever it is that can make your smile a little wider, bigger or brighter just let him know!

Would give you hugs if you asked, but usually Shiro pets your head and brushes your cheek for comfort

He also does this when he wants to ask something of you, but thats another story

Why the TV was still on was a mystery to you, you’d stopped listening a long time ago. Your partner besides you noticed, and you felt the hand around your shoulder tighten his grip a little, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Hey, maybe we should watch something else?” he asked softly, brushing your cheek with his hand. “I can’t really listen to this anymore.”

“Yeah… Sure.” you replied, though it felt like an automated response more than your actual opinion.

“Okay, I’ll switch to that weird show Pidge recorded the other day, we agreed to watch it, right?” he replied, quickly grabbing the remote to change the program.

The first episode started playing, but the moment that it did, you felt cold as Shiro left your side.

“Where are you going?” you asked, your interlaced fingers the only thing keeping him close.

“Ah, I thought I’d make us something. We both kinda skipped dinner….”

He’d thought about putting something together that you’d like, maybe order dessert to surprise you but seeing the look on your face, leaving your side was the hardest thing to do right now.

So he gave in, and your both fell asleep until the doorbell rang with your delivery.

KEITH:

I have this headcanon that Keith isn’t very good with physical touch but after the end of voltron and after enough time of humanitarian relief, he learns how important it is for someone that’s in a specific state of mind

So the best he has to offer when his words fail is physical touch

Over your time together he’s learned what you need depending on your mood, and it helped him out lots when you were more vocal about it-- if anything he liked it when you asked for things that he could easily deliver, he’d do anything to see you smile

A hand came over your phone screen, Keith’s fingers lacing into yours and making you drop the device onto the crevices of the sofa.

“Why did you--”

“You’ve been staring at that thing for the past hour, biting at your nails.” he said in a worried tone. “That’s enough. We’re going to bed.”

“But it’s just--”

“We’re going to bed.” he repeated in a harsher tone, lifting you off your seat.

Keith sat down onto the bed first, pulling you into him. You both fell onto the bed, Keith quickly pulling the covers over your shoulders before his arms came around you.

“My alarm is my phone.”

“That’s nice, but we both know we have nothing to do tomorrow.” he replied right away, making you chuckle.

“Keith…” you called, your hands sneaking up to his face.

You brushed away some of his hair from his face as he gave you a complicated expression, unable to reflect the small smile you wore. He knew things were shit outside, that being apart from your family and other loved ones was a toll on both you and that lately negative thoughts have plagued you more often than not but Keith, despite his good intention was still somewhat of an awkward man.

“Thank you.”

He kissed you in reply and you both left it at that, glad that he had someone like you to meet him halfway.

LANCE:

Lots of hugs the moment he feels something is off with you

Will be a brat™ for the sole purpose of distracting you, bET

I feel like post-series Lance tries his best to be as observant as Allura and tries to understand others better-- but it didn't take a genius or incredible empath to know why your eyes looked like they were about to overflow at the sight of the news.

I’d like to think that Lance, with a big connected family is one of the paladins that very easily gets what you’re going through, wouldn’t be surprised he’s been called one or two things in his past either

That being said it doesn’t mean that he completely understands your personalized struggles with racial injustices that you encounter everyday; as another minority himself + coming from a culture and upbringing that might be different than yours, its a very different experience.

Memories flooded as the news anchor spoke about “lootings” and as you scrolled down your feed to see feeble attempts at sympathy from local peacekeepers. You sigh and retweet another thread, only to find something equally as shocking right after. You stopped commenting in quote retweets a while ago, you felt like you were constantly repeating that none of this was okay and that a reform was desperately needed. Rather than typing out your thoughts you typed out your name, address and email over and over again, signing one petition after the other.

Hearing sigh after sigh, Lance eventually put an arm around your shoulder. He startled you, but his soft voice made both your shoulders and your guard lower.

“Hey, do you want to make a midnight snack with me? I’m getting kinda hungry.”

“What about that new rule we were talking about? Not eating 4 hours before we went to bed?”

“Every diet has one or two cheat days, don’t they?” he replied, kissing one of your eyelids. “Come on, I’m sure your neck is sore from being like that for so long.”

In the end you both made some soul-food until a food-coma knocked you out until tomorrow. In the morning, you realized that Lance must’ve woken up in the middle of the night because you remember cuddling on the couch, and yet you’re waking up on the bed. Of course, still in his arms.

HUNK:

Having a sensible heart, I feel like both you and hunk would struggle a little about maintaining a healthy distance with current events.

Though overtime he would understand that keeping in touch with everything that’s going on is important, but not at the sake of burning out

His best bet, to him, to pull you out of a such a dark space is with comfort food

“Ok ppl feel like they want to eat a horse but they actually cant when they’re in that mind space Hunk, let’s make something sweet and small; something direct and straight to the point! Let’s add smiley faces on it!”

Your turned down the volume from the news, let your head fall backwards and brought up your forearm over your closed eyes. It felt warm and made it you realize that you had probably been staring very intensely at the screen as a wave of comfort hit your eyes the moment they were drowned in darkness. Letting out a deep breath, you stilled and let yourself bask in your thoughts until a familiar voice brought you back.

“Maybe a little bit more sugar? No, then it would be disbalanced. The base is already so sweet-- Ah, I have to take the cupcakes out or else they might get burned!”

You felt a smile grow on your lips, making you ignore the horrid news being broadcasted to turn to your partner that as usual, seemed to juggle ten thousand things to create a whole meal.

“What’s going on over here?” you asked, leaning over the counter to note that one of your favorite dishes was made and machines that were mostly used for baking had been brought out.

“Oh you know, just a little pick me up for my most favorite person ever.” he shrugged, but a smile soon came to his face. His hands were full but he leaned over, his lips meeting your cheek. “Things outside are a little dark, so I thought we could both use a little something nice.”

He turned on the machine after dropping a drop of dye to make it your favorite color and within a few minutes the icing was finished. Hunk scooped up a small amount on his finger and brought it to his lips and nod.

“Wanna taste?” he asked you, his finger dipping into the icing.

A mischievous grin spread on your features as you took his wrist and let his finger fall on your tongue, the sweetness quickly spreading through your mouth. The yellow paladin shivered as you let his digit hang in your mouth for longer than necessary, letting out a satisfied hum when you returned it to him.

“Tastes perfect.”

PIDGE:

She knew what could be fixed, she knew how to fix it but this meant she was also aware of how long such a transition would take

I think Pidge would be similar to Shiro: whatever she remembers that helps you be at ease, she would defect to that in hopes to maybe distract you for a while.

I don’t think Pidge is a very touchy person either, so if she reaches out to you _physically_ in worry, it’s a very clear sign she’s serious/anxious

I feel like she would reach out in other ways and then if she knew you were in a specific state of mind where touch was not useful, or if she just also wanted to try things out lol

As you watched the twisted information that was being shared on screen, another message caught your attention. Rather than a small red icon in the corner, a small window appeared in the middle of your computer screen.

<I found a way to modify notifications sent to another device.>

The video had stopped, every horrible gif about police brutality was paused and there was nothing else but the small window pidge had thrown onto your screen. You chuckled, and felt a pressure behind your working chair.

Another message popped up.

<You’ve been catching up with twitter for the past two hours. Surely you’re done now?>

A soft laugh came from you, making Pidge release a breath she didn’t know she was holding. You typed out an answer:

<Is it possible to be completely caught up with twitter? I follow like 500 accounts.>

<Okay, but half of them are just cat videos and the other half are just retweets of said videos.>

<Oh here I was thinking that this was an intervention to brighten my mood. We’re dragging each other’s follows now?>

<Oh please like you don’t want to be dragged, with that kind of follow list.>

<I can’t believe you’ve done this.>

You both laughed, before Pidge turned around and tapped your shoulder. She let her hand float in the air, yours coming to join it as a soon as your turned her way.

“Wanna take a nap?” she asked, letting her head fall onto your shoulder. “I had Chip make some hot chocolate, Hunk style.”

You squeezed her hand, putting your computer on sleep mode.

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

[petri808]

Oh look at the date! Klance ficlet for @diablosart they know why lol 😏

“What the hell we’re you thinking?!” Keith snapped as he popped his helmet off and chucked it hard at the ground. “Thanks to you were now trapped in a cave in!”

“Look, I’m sorry! I got distracted!” Lance snapped back.

“By what?! We were supposed to be scanning for the jababian dagger. What were you doing, watching your smut videos again?!”

Lance pulled off his helmet with a scoff. “First off, I don’t watch smut videos. Second, even if I did, that’s none of your business. And third, no, I was scanning, just wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

Keith rolled his eyes and spat back with a sarcastic riff. “Well that explains why you knocked both our cats out of the damn air crashing us into this place!”

Using a flashlight, Keith scanned the inside of the cave and noticed a lot of fractures spanning the walls. According to the computer in his Lion, the cave was full of an unstable and weak type of volcanic rock. ‘No wonder it caved in so easily…’ He groaned again. “Just great, if we try to blast our way out, it might collapse the ceiling on us.” Keith walked over to his helmet and picked it up. “I’ll need to do a thorough analysis before attempting to break free. The computers on the ship could do a better job scanning this cave, but they won’t arrive until morning.”

“Are you serious?! We’re stuck in here?!”

“At least for the night, so, stop your bitching since you’re the one who got us into this mess! Why don’t you start a fire while I get to work with the computer.”

“Fine,” Lance stomped away muttering to himself. He was just happy Keith was too irritated and didn’t press him further on what he’d been distracted about.

The pair had been sent ahead of the rest of the Voltron group to look for some kind of special dagger. Lance couldn’t remember what was so important about it, just that it possessed magical properties and they didn’t want it falling into the enemy’s hands. A distress signal was sent out to their ship, so now they just needed to settle in and stay warm until help arrived. He managed to find a cache of old animal bones deeper in the cave to use as fuel for the fire, coupled with some dried leaves and tetrodontyl feathers that must have blown in over the years for kindling. Whether it would last the night was yet to be seen, but it was all he had to work with. Their Lions only held so much in terms of supplies because they weren’t meant to hold long term reserves. But luckily there were emergency blankets and some instant rations they could eat.

Lance never realized just how cold and uninviting a cave could truly be until he became stuck in one. It was creepy with the sounds of bugs scurrying in the darkness, water drops echoing through the silent air, and occasional cracking sounds from any temperature fluctuations. He hated the quiet emptiness because it left open room for his mind to wander and more thoughts to break through as he stared into the flames of their campfire. Lance frowned and brows furrowed, remembering the distraction that led to this debacle. Of course, this was the opposite of what he would have wanted! Their lions sustained damage, and to be stuck, alone, with the reason for his distracted mind was causing his stomach to turn inside out.

Maybe Lance should have pushed Keith harder to drag Pidge or Hunk or Allura along on this trip and not him, anyone but him. He didn’t want to come. Didn’t want to be alone with the man. Hasn’t, for a while now ever since he’d developed different feelings for the guy. ‘How ironic,’ Lance groaned in his head. To go from professional jealousy to romantic pining, he was such a fool. Could anyone blame him? Keith was handsome and smart, but not surprisingly it took someone who could be as hot-headed as himself to catch his eye. Or maybe it was surprising if Lance really thought about it. Girls easily caught his attention, but with Keith it was an attraction that grew through close working confines and of admiration. In essence, he fell for the character of the man and not just for his looks.

“Oi?” Keith snapped his fingers to get Lance’s attention. “The eta is now 8 hours till Shiro and the rest get here.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, okay.” Lance responded in a rather distracted tone that mirrored the monotonous looping thoughts in his head. He felt horrible about causing this disaster in the mission while at the same time kept thinking about Keith…

“That’s all you can say?” Keith questioned his teammate. “Okay?” But when he received no response, he pushed the man’s shoulder hard. “What is going on with you lately Lance? You’ve been distracted a lot and it’s starting to affect your performance.”

“Am I not allowed to have a bad day?” Lance retorted. “Everyone has their bad days, man, it’s not always a crisis.”

Keith sighed. His anger had dissipated but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still annoyed. He thought they were close enough friends that would turn to each other if something was wrong, but apparently he was mistaken. “It’s my job as the leader to worry, so cut the bullshit Lance. I know enough to know something is really bothering you. If you don’t wanna talk about it, fine, but you need to figure it out cause this,” he gestured to their damaged lions, “can’t keep happening.”

“I know, I know,” Lance dropped his head with a long exhale. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to screw up. It’s just— there’s something eating me up and I have no idea what to about it.”

A silence took hold as the two men sat there illuminated by the fire’s light. Keith didn’t want to keep pushing, but he could see the angst on Lances face and it bothered him. In all the years they’ve known each other, there was only one other time he’d ever seen the man so… sad? But it couldn’t be for the same reason, because if Lance had met a new girl he was interested in, Keith was certain he would have heard about it immediately. Lance wasn’t exactly shy about the subject unlike himself. So, what could it be? Keith stared at the fire as he pondered what to say next, but nothing really felt right to say to his friend. This wasn’t exactly a topic he was skilled in with his own little buried secret. For the next couple of hours, they stayed that way, shifting only to stoke the fire or eat some of the rations they had available. It would probably be a great idea to get some rest, but neither made a move to do so. Just… kept staring in awkward silence at a dying fire.

The temperature change in the cavern was slower than it would have been if exposed to the outside air, but nonetheless, by the mid-way mark of their wait the pair could feel it dropping. Blankets were pulled tighter around their bodies in an effort to hold back the cold, and the men had moved closer together to conserve the body heat between them. Maybe it was the exhaustion kicking in, but the limited distance no longer bothered Lance. The hours of silent reflection were also leading him to one conclusion. If he wanted to stop the frustration, coming clean was the best solution. Yet one thing kept holding him back from making the leap— the proverbial aftermath.

Yeah, so telling Keith how he really felt might take the weight off his shoulders, but what would happen after that? What if Keith is disgusted? He’ll not only lose a friend, but how could they continue working together? That would be so uncomfortable! Lance groaned in his head. Would he be willing to give up his role in Voltron? What if Keith ended up leaving instead, causing him to feel guilty about it? Would the others hold it against him? Maybe if they talked it out, they can work out something amicable… ‘Argh!’ Lance screamed in his head as cradled his lowered head. Why did he fall for a teammate!

Keith looked over at the movement and saw Lance’s demeanor. “If you’re tired, why don’t you rest?”

“It’s not that,” Lance mumbled. “I mean I am, but it’s not that.”

“Oh…”

“Have you ever had a crush on someone but didn’t know how to tell them?”

‘So it is over a girl…’ Keith’s brow raised. “Why can’t you tell them?”

“Because, it’s awkward when you’ve known them for so long.”

‘Huh, so maybe it is Allura.’ Keith couldn’t say he was surprised, but it stung just a little. “You should probably just tell them, I mean if it’s eating you up this bad, isn’t it better to just know how they feel too?”

“I don’t know…” Lance sighed. “It’s not like they’ve ever given me a reason to think they’d like me back.”

“Still, once you do know, you can start moving forward again, cause right now you’re stuck and that’s worse.”

Lance glanced over to Keith who was looking in his direction. The man was right. Didn’t make a decision any easier… but he was probably right and all he could do is hope for the best. That didn’t mean he was ready to face Keith head-on either or see the physical reaction the man might have. Lance turned his head away and kept his arms wrapped tightly around himself for protection. “It’s… you…” he mumbled quietly.

“Come again? I didn’t catch that.”

“I said… It’s you.” Lance mumbled again, but this time a little louder.

“Me??”

“See, yeah, I told you it would be awkward— just forget I said anything. I feel better just getting it out.”

Keith forced Lance to turn back to him. “No, I mean I was just surprised cause you’re always chasing after women, but—”

“I’ll just drop it and move on,” Lance cut him off. “I don’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable.”

“But that’s the thing,” Keith interjected, “I’m not. It’s okay because I’ve liked you too but I just thought you weren’t into guys.”

Lances eyes flashed wide. He really hadn’t expected such a response, especially not this quickly. “You do?” His voice trembled as he verified the man’s statement.

“Yeah…” Keith blushed. “I don’t exactly have experience in this stuff, but I like you too Lance.”

Lance jumped up in excitement. “Wow— for once my screw up turned out to be a good thing!”

“Uh-huh…” Keith chuckled. “But don’t do that again!”

[chaosmax]

"Moki, acquaintance is enough, him and Sera" from the WIP tag game!

@norealgoodbyes

It was rarer that Mokuba came back to Japan these days. And even less did he return to Domino. There wasn’t much reason for him to, for there wasn’t anything to draw him back anymore. His work was usually overseas, but it was one of the rare occasions this time.

The weekend left him with some much needed free time, and of course he spent it doing one of his favorite things: spending quality time with his dog, Shiro. A pretty lithe pale golden half Labrador and something else the shelter hadn’t known. On his off days, Mokuba always spoiled her rotten with attention.

He drew the line at food though, no matter how much she stared up at him with her dark eyes while he ate his bento at the park.

“No, it’s not for you.”

Curses, she upped her game after that, putting a paw on his knee.

Mokuba dug the tennis ball out of his backpack and after glancing to see if anyone was coming he tossed it into the distance for Shiro to chase instead.

She went sprinting after it, but the fun was cut short by it crashing into some bushes and disappearing. She skidded to a halt and stuck her nose into the leaves before giving a bark and scratched at the ground.

Mokuba got up with a groan. But before he’d caught up a passerby was already digging between the branches and pulled the ball out a moment later, returning it to Shiro who took it carefully in her jaws.

“Oh, thanks. It would have been a real tragedy if she’d lost it forever, I’d be forced to stop by the store on the way home,” Mokuba joked.

The young lady who’d retrieved the toy smiled at him and something felt familiar about it. She was much shorter than Mokuba, though that wasn’t saying much with how he towered at six foot eight. Brown eyes and hair, the latter which was up in a loose ponytail, and a golden necklace with a triangle hanging from it.

Mokuba could have gotten knocked over right then by just a nudge of Shiro's snout, but thankfully she spared him from that embarrassment.

“You’re… Diva’s sister.”

Yet Mokuba was in the same boat as her as she quickly looked up at him to stare.

“And you’re Seto Kaiba’s brother,” she said after a pause.

Shiro very helpfully spat out her now slobbery ball into Mokuba’s hand.

“Small world, huh?” Sera remarked as she gave Shiro a belly rub on the ground back near Mokuba’s original spot.

“I think I might enter the lottery after this actually. Domino is pretty big and I only come here sporadically a few times a year,” Mokuba said with a small laugh, trying to not stew in the awkwardness for too long.

◇ ah! So this was an idea I had for a long time in the future Mokuba happening to run into Sera on one of his trips back to Japan (she’s living there on her own for a while for work) Seto died many years ago and they’ve both changed a lot in appearance. Mokuba’s dog, Shiro happens to cause them to re-meet. This Mokuba is struggling since the main person he had companionship with is now gone, he tries to make friends--even force himself to, but it never quite gets to the level of being close with anyone no matter what he does. But then when he semi-monthly starts hanging out with Sera and she doesn’t judge the large gaps in getting together he finds comfort in that. On the outside, it looks like Mokuba should have everything, but he gets hit with strong bouts of loneliness sometimes.

Sure, they have a friendship, but it’s very casual and they don’t often get to see each other due to logistics. Mokuba has a busy schedule working aboard on costume design and his mind just isn’t wired to keep in contact consistently over calls/texts/etc. He asks if this bothers Sera, and while she doesn’t really get it, when they do see each other it’s always enjoyable, and she’s fine with that. Over time, Mokuba realizes simply having acquaintanceship and companionship is enough. I really do want to finish this as feel-good fic, and also to poke fun at the ol’ “two people are friends so they must be dating” thing too. Unfortunately what’s above is as far as I’ve gotten OTL

I love Shiro though, she is goodest gorl.

[miyanom]

THE FIVE TIMES HE DIDN’T

MASTERLIST | KEITH KOGANE X ALTEAN!READER

WARNINGS: weapons, fighting, mentions of war

NOTES: If anyone wants, I actually have ideas for a sequel (and a spin off where it’s the times Y/N didn’t) to this! So if you enjoy this, please let me know if you’d like them too!!

i.

Keith trails slightly behind Y/N as her eyes flicker from store to store. The only reason he had agreed to stick with her was so nothing would happen to her. It wasn’t that he didn’t know Y/N could protect herself — no, he knew she was more than capable of taking down an enemy combatant. All of that training her and Allura had gone through as Altean children was for a reason — but he didn’t want to risk her getting hurt.

And maybe part of him wanted to spend time with her. Even if that meant staying about 10 feet behind her at all times.

Y/N glanced over her shoulder, a frown tugging at her lips when she noticed Keith was trapped in his thoughts.

“Keith,” she called out, coming to a stop.

Keith, still trapped in thought, only snapped out when he felt his chest colliding against her back. “I’m s-”

“Don’t be,” Y/N laughed.

A beautiful sound, if you asked Keith.

“Come on, walk alongside me, Keith,” she pleaded. “We are friends, are we not? Friends walk with each other, not behind one another.”

Keith fell into line as they continued through the mall, still on the hunt for the lenses that Coran needed for the teludav. “What’s on your mind?” She questioned.

“Nothing,” he quickly shook his head.

“Oh…” The two fell into an almost comfortable silence. If Shiro were here right now, he’d be giving Keith looks, trying to get him to finally say something. To confess the feelings that felt like they were eating him up. But Keith couldn’t. He couldn’t risk that.

Maybe before, before they had met Ulaz. But now? Now it wasn’t a good time.

Keith looked down as his hand brushed against her own, he was half tempted to hold hers. “Y/N-” He started speaking before he even knew what he was doing.

Though at the same time he spoke, Y/N was pulling away and stopping in front of a shop window, a grin forming on her features as she stared at the shiny jewelry inside.

What was he even thinking? Did he seriously believe now would be a good time to tell her how he felt? Y/N would end up hating him, and then not only would it ruin their friendship, but it’d mess with the team’s dynamic too.

How were they supposed to work together in the Red Lion if she hated him?

ii.

“Keith.”

His head shot up at the sound of his name, but when he realised it was Y/N - standing there in her armour, a confused expression on her face - he lowered his head in shame.

“You’re-”

“Galra… yeah,” Keith breathed out.

Y/N blinked, before stepping closer as she moved to sit beside him. “I was going to say you’re going to be okay. This doesn’t change anything, Keith.”

“It changes everything!” Keith shouted as he stood up, moving away from Y/N. “You should hate me, Y/N.”

“Well, I don’t,” Y/N shook her head. “I could never.”

“But Allura… and Altea-

“Allura will come to understand,” Y/N stood up. “You may have Galra blood, but you are not them. You aren’t part of the Empire that did that to my home. You’re Keith, from Earth. Paladin of the Red Lion, and my friend.”

She took his hand in her own, causing Keith’s expression to soften slightly. “I will never hate you, Keith. Especially not because of something so out of your control.”

At that moment, he wants to tell her. He wants to spill everything he’s been feeling. Explain those butterflies in his stomach that appear when she smiles at him, or the nights he can’t sleep because he’s thinking of her.

But he doesn’t. And when Y/N finally notices that he won’t say anything, she sighs and drops his hand. “I hope you’ll see what I see one day, Keith,” she whispered, before turning to leave the room.

Keith just watched as she felt, slipping from his grasp again.

Maybe it’s for the better. Everybody leaves in the end, maybe it was a good thing she was doing it now rather than later. After all, her words could’ve just been a lie in an attempt to comfort him.

What if she hated him for being Galra?

iii.

Tomorrow was the day.

They were finally going to take down Zarkon. And while Keith knew he should probably be getting rest, preparing for the battle. He was instead walking through the Olkarion castle, half hoping Y/N would be awake and willing to talk too.

Keith stepped out onto a balcony, his eyes falling onto Y/N, whose arms were crossed as she stared into the distance.

“Hey,” he spoke softly.

It took Y/N a moment before she turned to see who was there, and suddenly a smile began to tug at her lips. “Hi.”

“What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

Y/N’s eyes flickered between the sky and Keith. “Well, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” She shot back.

Keith couldn’t help but smile as he walked over to stand beside her. “Good one, Y/N.”

As she faced the city below them once more, Keith found himself staring at her. “I couldn’t sleep,” she answered quietly. “The Empire… We finally have a chance to stop Zarkon, and then you and the other Paladins will be free to go home. I just…”

“What?” Keith’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Well, I’m happy for you all. Truly,” Y/N sighed. “But Altea won’t come back just from defeating the enemy. And I know I have Coran and Allura, and the Castle ship but- but it’s not home.”

“I know it’s not the same but you can… you can always come back to Earth. With me,” Keith muttered.

He could’ve sworn that Y/N’s face softened as she blinked away the tears that had been forming in her eyes. “I’d love that, Keith,” she smiled sadly. “But do you really think your people will accept us?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. He really didn’t think about that. Or about how they’d see him if Earth were ever affected by the Galra. “But you’ll always have a home with me, Y/N. No matter what.”

“Thank you,” Y/N whispered, glancing at him as a blush crept onto her cheeks.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and just as Keith was about to lean in, the door behind them opened. “I guess I’m not the only one who can’t sleep,” Hunk realised, shuffling over to stand with his friends.

Y/N quickly averted her gaze, turning to face Hunk. “Are you alright?”

Keith frowned, a quiet sigh escaping his lips as he left the balcony.

Why did he even try?

iv.

“You look like you could use some rest,” Y/N called out. When Keith lowered his sword, he could see her leaning against the doorway, still dressed in the gown she had worn for their meeting with the ambassadors of the planets they had just rescued.

“Seriously, Keith, have you gotten any sleep since…” She trailed off when Keith narrowed his eyes in her direction. “I’m sorry. I just worry.”

“We aren’t replacing Shiro,” he told her angrily. “I don’t care if it means losing Voltron. We aren’t replacing him.”

Y/N looked taken aback, as if she were surprised that Keith would speak to her like that. Honestly? It surprised Keith too.

Y/N had been the one to help him search for Shiro ever since the battle, she was one of the only people who hadn’t given up. And this was how he was treating her?”

“Sorry,” he whispered, averting his gaze.

“Keith, I know how you feel,” Y/N sighed, walking over and placing a hand on his shoulder. He hated to admit it, but her touch felt comforting. “When I met you all and found out what happened to the old Paladins, I didn’t want any of you anywhere near the lions. I didn’t want to replace the Paladins of old…”

He glanced at her, wondering where she was taking this. “But we must do what’s best for the universe. That is our role as Paladins. Even after such a great loss, we must continue fighting. And while I didn’t know Shiro for long, I know that’s what he would want us to do.”

Part of him wanted to shout, to tell her that she didn’t know anything about Shiro. But when he looked into her eyes, he could see the concern, he could see that she cared - almost just as much as he did.

“He’s not gone,” Keith whispered. “He… he can’t be.”

Y/N frowned, but pulled Keith into her embrace nonetheless. He just stood there for a moment, before dropping his head to rest his forehead against her shoulder. “I’m sure Shiro is still out there, and we will find him. I know it,” Y/N spoke softly. “But right now, we need a Paladin for the Black Lion. The Empire won’t wait for us to find Shiro.”

As he pulled away, Y/N stared at him, a sad smile on her face.

Realising just how close they were, a blush crept onto Keith’s face. But instead of moving back, he just stayed there. However, when she began to lean in, he quickly stepped away. “I’m sorry for shouting at you,” he sighed, looking away.

“Oh… You don’t have to be,” she told him. “He’s like a brother to you. Just like Allura and I. If she disappeared like Shiro… I’d be acting the exact same right now.”

They both went silent for a minute, before Keith suddenly headed for the door. “Where are you-?”

Y/N’s voice was drowned out as the door to the training room shut behind him, but instead of waiting for her, he just continued toward the Black Lion’s hangar.

He didn’t mean to brush her off like that, but maybe it was better this way.

v.

“Keith, where were you?”

He pulled the hood of the Blades uniform off his head as he turned to look at Y/N. He could practically feel the anger radiating off her as she held tightly onto the helmet of her own paladin armour.

They had been drifting since the lion switch, now that they didn’t share a lion. And then even more when Keith took a step back to work with the Blade of Marmora. He was sure she hadn’t even noticed - not when she had been so busy working with Voltron or bonding with Lance, who now shared the Red Lion with her.

“I’m-”

“We needed your help back there,” Y/N pointed out. “Keith, Voltron needs a leader. We cannot-”

“Can you stop?!”

Y/N’s eyes widened slightly, before they shifted into a glare. “Excuse me?”

Keith, who usually would have been surprised at the tone in his voice, simply met her eyes with a glare of his own. “It seems like all you want to do is snap at me recently!”

“Maybe you deserve it! You’re our leader, the Paladin of the Black Lion. And yet, you’re never here. You continue to run off with the Blade of Marmora, like their errand boy… The Blade doesn't need you as much as we do.”

Y/N had a good point, he was supposed to be their leader and he wasn’t around to actually lead. But he had let Lance get in his head, how there were too many Paladins and not enough Lions. And now that Shiro had reconnected with the Black Lion, well… Keith didn’t have to pretend to be the leader he wasn’t meant to be.

“I need to be with the Blade of Marmora right now, they-”

“You need to be with us, Keith,” Y/N told him. For a moment, he let himself believe that she was saying that because she needed him. “The universe needs Voltron.”

But he let himself believe in a lie. The truth was, Y/N was already leaving just like everybody else in his life. And it’d just be easier to push her further away.

“I have to go.” He pushed past her, about to leave the hallway, when he heard Y/N scoff from behind him.

“Fine. Run, like you always do. I guess we just don’t matter to you after all.”

Keith looked over his shoulder, opening his mouth to say something. But he could see Y/N’s figure already retreating down the hall.

He lurked around in the castle for a little while before finally heading to the bridge, where the entire team was waiting for an explanation. The words seemed to come better to him there than they did when he was in the hallway with Y/N just an hour ago.

And he fessed up, about how him being absent allowed Shiro to reconnect with the Black Lion, and how he had made the decision to join one of the Blades missions to infiltrate the Galra’s quintessence supply line.

“It could take weeks, maybe months to pull off, but… if there is a chance, we have- I have to take it,” he spoke. “I need to be on that mission.”

He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, so he continued. “Shiro, you are the rightful leader of this team,” he stated. “And you proved it today by reconnecting with the Black Lion. It was always meant to be yours.”

“Keith…” Shiro stepped forward, gently placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “If this is what you feel is right, then we won’t try to stop you. But just know that we’re here for you whenever you need us.”

“I know you are,” Keith smiled. “And I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

Shiro pulled him into a hug, one that the entire team joined in on. Except Y/N, who started heading for the door, refusing to even look in his direction.

“Y/N-”

“She will come around,” Allura sighed, watching her friend leave the room as an awkward silence began to loom over them.

Keith frowned, staring at the closed door. He needed to leave soon, there wasn’t enough time for him to run after her right now, no matter how much he wanted to. So with a sigh, he turned back to the team, forcing a smile onto his face as he did so.

He had hoped to leave without so many regrets weighing him down. That had been a foolish dream clearly.

taglist (join here)

@filipinhce

[canariie]

under the blue moon

Rating: K+

Synopsis: One of their first meetings at night: though they may have been on different paths in school, under the light of the blue moon, they found themselves coming back to a home they both didn’t know they needed.

Word Count: 3050 words

Setting: Shinigami Academy Days (post Bleach Chapter -16 & somewhere in between Bleach Drama CD Track 08 'Flashback')

Prompt: Hitsuhina Week 2021 Day 2 - Dream / On a Field of Ice 

Authour’s Note: I’m here! I’m here! I know it’s been a while but I have been loving all of the posts that everyone has been doing for this weeks celeberation!!  So lovely to see the hitsuhina community alive :)

Sorry this was late but this has been sitting in my wips for about a year? And I had most of it written but it was harder to finish since it had been so long! However, when I saw the themes for this year’s @hitsuhina-week​, I knew I had to finish it up!

Special shout out to Aoi Tori & Still With You being the songs that I played continuously on repeat to finish this up :)

Enjoy!

—

Momo clutched the fabric of her uniform as she looked dejectedly at the final report. No matter the amount of times that she stared at the red marks on the paper, they didn’t disappear. Her vision blurred as an onslaught of tears pricked at her eyes, making her head hurt. For once this semester, Momo was glad she was alone so her roommate wouldn’t see her in such a sorry state.

At the end of the fifth year were the practical’s that determined what concentrations one would focus on in their last years of study before graduating from the Academy. Momo, Renjii and Izuru were all studying different paths to focus on: Renjii in physical swordmanship, and Momo and Izuru with the demon arts, hers in combat and his in healing. For the past couple weeks, the trio had been studying and practicing almost every waking hour that they were not in class. Also, as part of the advanced class, there was an expectation that one would pass all the practical’s in the first round before continuing on. If not, one had to wait until the next semester before taking the exam again.

Unfortunately, the brown-haired girl had pushed herself to the point of exhaustion. On top of the near sleepless nights, her anxiety had grown inside her, almost crippling her. Momo had usually preferred taking written tests over the physical tests since she could pull things easily from memory. However, the thought of failing the exam had left her mind at a blank when she tried to remember the incantations for the written portion of the exam. The fear of failure haunted her still to the physical component where they practiced different spells and she found herself missing the target—and almost singeing the hair off her professor’s head.

She didn’t wait a second longer after the dismissal and ran to her room, ignoring Renjii and Izuru’s concerned looks. Momo locked herself inside, hiding herself underneath all her many blankets. There was no need to look at the practical results posted outside the Grand Assembly Hall as she already knew it in her heart—she didn’t need to physically see it.

Momo sighed as she looked at the clock in her room, signaling it was way past the time she usually went to sleep. Even the sight of the blue moon illuminating a path on her bed couldn’t cheer her up, and Momo tucked her feet in, pulling her knees tight to her chest. She didn’t know how long she had cried but now she felt exhausted and spent. Skipping dinner didn’t really help her cause and it only left her to focus on the bitter thoughts that replayed and occupied her mind.

I’m so pathetic…how am I ever going to become a vice captain if I can’t even pass the practical’s.

The wind howled outside and she could hear the branch of the tree hitting her window, reminding her of windy nights in Junrinan.

I wish I were home now with Obaa-san…and Shiro-chan.

The tree rapped at her window persistently.

How can I face them with marks like this? What would they say?

Louder and louder the noise grew, competing with the roaring outside.

What a disappointment I am…

The noise grew louder and it as almost as if something knocking urgently at her window. Momo turned her head just as a white tuft of hair popped up, follow by the two scrawny arms of her childhood friend.

“Shiro-chan!” Momo gasped. “What are you doing? You can’t climb in through the window!”

“And why not?” Toushiro retorted as he pulled himself on the ledge. “There’s no one here to stop me.” He looked around, noticing the empty room. “Where’s your roommate?”

“She went home for the weekend,” she responded quickly, distracted by the way the boy was perched on the window sill. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you should have used the dorm entrance! You could have gotten hurt!”

“I climb trees all the time back home,” he replied offhandedly, “Climbing up to your window is no different.”

“That doesn’t matter Shiro-chan! You can still get hurt!” Momo could feel her anxiety pick up as she shook her head furiously, her pig tails whipping around.

Toushiro gave her a pointed look. “Hinamori, didn’t you say you would call me ‘Hitsugaya’ by now?”

She bit back a retort as she did realize, yes that she had agreed to that when he had entered the academy. “It’s still taking me a while to get used to,” Momo mumbled.

He scoffed and settled himself on the ledge. A part of Momo wanted to urgently grab him and pull him inside, for fear of him falling. However, what rooted her on her bed was the knowledge that her deeply inquisitive childhood friend would immediately notice her dried tear tracks—and she did not want him to see her in such a sorry state.

Though she seemed anxious of his safety on the outside, inside she was elated that he was here. It had been a while since they had properly seen each other, with the last time being when she introduced Toushiro to Izuru. The first year was extremely busy Momo remembered, and she had hardly seen Toushiro except for quick glimpses of his white hair moving through the hallways. Their lunch schedules were also different as she had practical’s during the first-year lunch slot—so even those moments were hard to come by. Now looking at him in his uniform, it was the first time that Momo realized how much he had grown into his clothes. It didn’t hang off his slender body, like his clothes in Jurinran did. Almost as if…

“You’ve gained weight,” Momo stated softly.

The boy turned his head sharply towards her. “What?”

Her eyebrows rose in shock, suddenly realizing the misimplications of what she just said. “No-no! I mean you look healthy! It’s a good thing!” Her warm brown eyes crinkled fondly. “I’m happy you’re able to eat more here.”

Toushiro’s eyes widened, before he narrowed them. “I had enough to eat at Obaa-san’s. Not that you would know.”

After he said it, he immediately regretted it when he saw her face fall. Momo grabbed her arms, tucking her them further into herself.

“You’re right,” Momo admitted. “I wasn’t there often for you and Obaa-san.” She sighed dejectedly. “I’m such a terrible person…” 

A silence stretched in between them that no one wanted to fill. Toushiro didn’t know what he had planned that night—words of comfort weren’t really his forté and he didn’t want to get too close to her in case he hurt her. But he knew inside, he had to make sure she was alright.

“I saw the results posted outside the Assembly Hall.” He looked at her with his dark jade eyes. “…how are you?” It was just above a whisper, but something inside her broke.

Her eyes glimmered with tears and could feel a sob crawl into her throat. Though she had not wanted to alarm her dear friend, when she looked into his eyes, she found herself retelling everything. From the hours of study to the actual exam day, as Momo recounted everything she could visibly see Toushiro soften with a look of pity. “I’m so pathetic,” Momo commented as she picked a stray thread on her bed spread, “if I can’t pass the practical’s, how can I even think of becoming a vice captain?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be here…” she turned her face into the pillow, refusing to look at the boy.

Toushiro remained rooted on the ledge, frozen and unsure what to do. He had never seen Momo this dejected before and yet, he didn’t know what he could offer for comfort.

Though it was a couple steps, it felt like a mile-wide gap. His shoulders tucked into himself and he could feel his resolve crumbling. The necessary distance to keep her safe was pushing her further away. Toushiro could see Momo receding back into a shell that was not the confident girl he knew—and it ached inside to see her in such a sorry state.

“And-and I could feel the anxiety in my stomach,” Momo lamented softly. “My mind blanked and I couldn’t remember anything…it was like I was paralyzed.” Even now thinking about it again made Momo want to curl back into a ball and hide away from the shame. Clutching her head, she moaned, “And now my head just hurts…”

All of a sudden Momo felt a cool touch on her forehead. Like a sigh of clarity, she could feel her mind slow down and the dull ache that was throbbing in the back began to dissipate. What felt like a tempest of anxiety inside her chest dulled to a breath of fresh winter air.

Momo looked up in wonderment. “…How?”

Just as quick, Toushiro pulled his hand back, almost as if he had burned himself. “I can’t control it well but that should help your headache for a bit.” His jade eyes flickered anxiously at the proximity. “However, I shouldn’t stay close,” he said as he began to move himself away.

“No!” Momo yelped as she scrambled to pull his hand in. “Please don’t go,” her voice broke at the last note. She couldn’t handle being by herself for another moment longer. Momo looked up and could see an inner storm inside the boy’s eyes. For as much as his body was stiff with shock, his eyes gave it away that he fought a battle within to bring himself to stand by her bedside.  

He sighed in defeat and Momo could instantly feel a lightness in her chest. “I’ll stay…” he managed out weakly. “Just until you fall asleep.”

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely for even the hanging blue moon wouldn’t say what hour it was. What initially was an anguished long sleepless night became a comfortable quiet accompanied by the soft whistles of the wind. Her eyelids fell heavily though Momo struggled to remain awake, determined to be as present as she could now that her friend was here. However, she could not resist the quick falls of slumber, especially when she began to sense soft sapphire lights after she closed her eyes.  

“Your reiatsu…I can start to see it now.” Momo sighed in content.

“Really?” He was shocked as he had just started to work on controlling it. The first years were required in their core classes to practice channeling their reiatsu before proceeding further in the rest of the Shinigami curriculum.

“I don’t think I ever realized before how…blue it was.” She smiled to herself. “It’s like snow—like the first day that I met you.” He too remembered that day well; it was the first one in his memories.

Toushiro was apprehensive as he laid the back of his hand on her forehead. “Does it…hurt?”

“No…It’s actually comforting.” She closed her eyes as she whispered. “It reminds me of home.”

At that point, Toushiro was glad that it was the dark of the night for his ears felt as if they were on fire–and he couldn’t imagine how red his face was. Momo’s breaths had evened and he could see her chest move up and down peacefully. He was glad to see her eyebrows relaxed and a peaceful expression of sleep on her face.

He trailed the back of his fingers down her cheek and could feel the dried tracks of her tears. “Stupid…” he muttered, “don’t keep everything to yourself.”

This was the first time since coming to school that he had tried channeling his rieatsu. Since he had almost unwillingly froze his grandmother to death, Toushiro isolated himself from the rest of his class— in case he had hurt anyone unintentionally. He couldn’t risk hurting anyone so he shied away from handshakes, familiar gestures and cornered himself in the back of the crowd—never close enough to touch another soul. Even now today, he second guessed coming here. It was only seeing the results pinned on the door that cleared his doubts and he took off in the night.  

This was the first time that he was so physically close to someone.

It terrified him to be beside Momo.

It shocked him more that she was comforted by his reiatsu.

He hadn’t seen her for a long time since she was so busy studying. Even though they were now in the same school, he felt even more distant from her. A part of him resented that she had not come home more to visit him and Obaa-san. A small voice would coax in his ear that she had abandoned him and solely him by moving on to new friends. He knew it was irrational to think so but it was difficult to deny himself that bitterness. That being said, he couldn’t fight the feeling of making sure she okay—which as long as he was in school, he could do.  

Toushiro wasn’t rushing to finish his studies; as long as he could control his rieatsu and powers, that was the main reason he would stay.

Well….He looked down as he felt Momo clutch his shirt in her hand.

Maybe that wasn’t the only reason.

--

The dreams had not stopped since he had entered the academy. From the moment he closed his eyes, he could feel himself falling back until he hit hard ground.

It was always the same world.

White plains stretching as far and wide to meet the sunless horizon. There was no sense of day and night. Only the dead spindly trees piercing the sky indicated that life couldn’t continue in this hopeless place. Toushiro always felt like these were the premonitions of his inevitable future, a feeling that knotted at the pit of his stomach.

However, he was never alone. A thundering noise always echoed in the distance but he could never place it. Though far, he could feel its intensity at the tip of his fingers, as if beckoning him to grab a hold of it.

It was only when a grand ice dragon appeared in front of him that it turned dark with a winter storm.

Toushiro had to draw his arms up against the torrid bursts of biting wind. Though it did not move, Toushiro could feel its ancient presence of powers from far before him, holding his stare and rooting him to ground. It was crushing him and embracing him—as if thunder was falling in his palms.

“Who are you!” But a loud burst of wind obscured the thunderous roar of the dragon. “I can’t hear you!” And again and again he would call out, wanting and yearning to learn of this beast—but never would he get far before waking up in a cold sweat.

Until tonight, when the storm receded and the quiet came.

The dragon stood, as if waiting for Toushiro to make the first move. Throwing back his head, he gazed up and stared into his blood red eyes. Maybe he should’ve been afraid of dying a cold death. But instead, he felt a kinship to this icy beast—almost as if they had the same soul. Looking into the beast’s eyes he could recognize loneliness.

And it ached inside him.

“There are things I want to protect with this borrowed strength…”

The desperation clawed from inside of his chest; a deep well of pent up feelings brimming to the surface so much so that he wanted no more than to fling it out as much as he could.

“I want to protect…”

A desire grew inside for the energy that thrummed inside, to take it and use it. To let it consume him and envelop him whole for a now clear goal.

A flash of warm brown eyes appeared in his mind.

“I want to protect her!”

The dragon roared again but this time Toushiro could feel its power resonate inside him, as if he were the one calling out to be named.

“My name is…Hyourinmaru!”

His eyes flew open in shock and his could see his breath appear in a puff of frost. Immediately, he turned his head trying to look at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Mmhh…Shiro-chan.” He looked down to see Momo’s head against his chest, clutching his shirt tightly. Somehow, in the middle of the night, she had pulled herself onto his chest and tucked herself right under his chin. Toushiro’s visceral reaction was to push her off before she caught hypothermia from him. However, right as he grabbed her shoulders he felt immediate warmth flow into his hands. It traveled through his whole body, alleviating any anxiety that Toushiro had.

Is she countering my rieatsu with her’s?

He could sense a soft red orange glow and warmth emanating from Momo. As she breathed softly against his chest, the warmth grew in intensity, like a candle that flickers during a cold night. It reached inside him to his soul and sent welcome heat throughout his body. Toushiro closed his eyes in content and wrapped his arms around her instinctively.

What was that about?

As if frost had melted off a glass pane, his dream was clearer than ever before. Instead of the sound of thundering obscuring its name, Toushiro had been able to heed the voice of the dragon and even feel it resonate inside his soul. Hyourinmaru...even its name echoed immense power.

For now, many questions were running through his mind. However, a realization as clear as a bell in the night ran through his head.

Toushiro looked down at the sleeping form, blissfully unaware of all that had transpired. Though they were in complete darkness of the middle of the night, the blue moonlight only highlighted her features. Long thick lashes that were once spiked with tears rested gently against his chest. Her mouth slightly open as she sighed in content. Toushiro had never seen Momo look so at peace, which he realized, quelled the inner storm of his world.

This power, it’s meant to protect her…

In the back of his mind, he could hear the roar of the dragon, almost as if in assent.

And with that he closed his eyes—ready to face a new day with his resolution in his arms.

—

Authour’s Note: This was inspired by a post I had seen once talking about how Momo’s fire rieatsu counteracted Toushiro’s icy one -- which was one of the reasons that Obaa-san started to freeze after Momo left. (headcanon post by @alexiethymia) I loved the premise though, especially that I can totally see it as canon that their powers both balance each other out and they really are stronger together :)

I also definitely headcanon that through some revelation concerning Momo does Toushiro finally overcome whatever inner block he has and is able to learn the name of his zanpaktou. Definitely inspired by the drama CDs, I think there’s such rich material that expands on the hitsuhina relationship. In my mind, she’s kind of the like the defroster on his frosty glass that is his mind hahahaha

See you all in the next one :)

[corvus--rex]

First of two ideas I played with as a foil to OLIP (Our Life in Pictures, for the uninitiated, and on Ao3). Pretty short, just under 1k. I decided I wasn't really happy with where it was going, so I abandoned it. Because it was meant to be a foil to OLIP, it is an Omegaverse, and as usual, skip it if it's not your thing! :)

Side note: the book mentioned, Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers, is part of the Lord Peter Wimsy series of detective stories written in the 1930s.

~*~*~*~

Keith sat on the floor of his studio apartment, putting the final brushstrokes on his latest painting. His alarm went off, telling him that he needed to be ready to leave in twenty minutes to get to his job at Olkarion, the independent bookshop he worked at. He rushed around the open space, cleaning up from painting, getting himself changed, and then putting the still-wet painting out of reach of his cat. Red sat like the emperor he knew he was, watching. They had originally thought he was a Maine Coon, since that was what the shelter said, but the vet later identified him as a Norwegian Forest Cat. Keith scratched his fluffy head on his way out the door, reminding him to behave.

He was an unusual Omega. 24 and still unmated. Living on his own. His Alpha half-brother checked in on him every couple days, but Shiro knew Keith was fine. It was really their mother Krolia who worried. She was afraid of what could happen to an unmated Omega living alone in the city. She didn’t need to. Keith may have been an artist who worked in a bookshop, but he was also an experienced martial artist and could more than take care of himself. It was why Shiro didn’t worry about his little brother the way their mother did.

Olkarion was within walking distance of Keith’s apartment. He preferred walking, especially with city parking and everything he needed being within walking distance anyway. It was one more thing Krolia worried about with her younger son.

“Hey, Ryner,” Keith said as he walked in.

Ryner, a thin, grey-haired, older Beta, was the owner of Olkarion. Warm hazel brown eyes sparkled with intelligence from behind her green wire-framed glasses. “Oh, Keith, there you are,” she said from behind the counter.

He stopped, turning back to her. “I'm not late, am I?” he questioned.

She laughed. “Oh, no, not at all. Romelle has been attempting to sort out the Art section and I’m afraid it hasn’t been going well. If you could take over for her, please? You know it far better than she does.”

Keith snorted. “Sure thing, Ryner. You want me to send her up here?”

“Please do. The Shakespeare club will be in soon. We’re still reading Much Ado About Nothing, and the arguments! But, yes, please, send Romelle up.”

He laughed to himself and left for the bookshop’s back room. Ryner had been running a Shakespeare book club for years with some members who had been there since the beginning and the rest coming and going. Keith had been working there since high school, and knew all the oldest members. He also knew how much they liked to argue over interpretation. He would never forget one time when they were in the middle of Romeo and Juliet, and Miss Trigel, Ryner’s oldest friend, announced to the whole of the bookshop, “It’s all swordfights and dick jokes anyway!” The entire shop had gone dead quiet for several long seconds before Ryner and Miss Trigel burst out laughing.

In the back room, Keith hung his jacket and slid his messenger bag into one of the antique wooden “lockers” Ryner had bought from a boarding school’s remodel several years earlier. Her entire shop was like that. Full of “rescued” antique wood in the form of bookcases – the only rule was that they had to be approximately the same height, sort of – side tables, chairs, the two latter scattered liberally throughout, and the farmhouse table surrounded by armchairs taking up an entire alcove.

Keith found Romelle in the Art section, where she was sorting books by size as opposed to subject and author.

“Ryner wants you up front for now. Shakespeare club,” Keith said stopping beside her, “I’ll take over here.”

“Finally! Thank you,” the other Omega sighed in relief, “I don’t know how much longer I could do this. How do you do it?”

He shrugged. “I dunno. I just kinda tune out, I guess.”

“Well, I’d better get up there.” Romelle practically skipped away.

Keith shook his head at her energy and got fixing the disaster. An hour later, and he’d mostly done it. Romelle hadn’t done as much damage as he’d been afraid of. Another twenty minutes, and he was reshelving the last misplaced book. Coming down from the tracked ladder built into the wall shelves he nearly walked into someone. He found himself eye-to-shoulder with an Alpha. The Alpha quickly backed up.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention. Are you ok?” he asked all at once.

Keith blinked in surprise and backed up himself. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Was there something you were looking for?”

“I think I’m in the wrong place. I’m supposed to be looking for Gaudy Night?”

The Omega nodded. “Dorothy Sayers. Mystery’s this way,” he said, leading the way through the maze of shelves and bookcases to an entire room dedicated to the genre. He pulled a copy off the shelf, handing it over. Keith folded his arms and leaned back against the shelves. “I hope you don’t mind my saying, you don’t seem like the type for Thirties detective stories.”

“It’s more my sister’s thing, but she’s been trying to get me into it for years and I'm finally giving in.”

“Well, if you end up liking that one, there are several others in the same series and a couple other authors from the same period that are all good.”

Keith knew the Alpha nodded just from the wave his scent made. It was woody, but green, unlike the strong musk most Alphas had. A forest at the height of summer, bright and earthy, and if sunlight had a scent, this Alpha had it. Keith looked up to bright blue eyes watching him.

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19

[izlaria]

Someone you like (part 5)

This is the fifth chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform.

This and the fourth chapter are also inspired by the “Distance” and “Talk to me” animatics by @suerakocy, so please check that out and give the artist some praise. They deserve it so much, because those pieces are beautiful.

Summary: It takes Lance years to come back to the Garrison but, when he does, his friends are there for him.

We finally get Lance pining hour!

Trigger warning: Talk of PTSD and mention of blood, but no description of violence. The story really just starts right in it.

24 and 22 years old

Lance woke up to a dark, quiet room and for a moment he couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. The air felt stuck in his throat, because as soon as he inhaled the sound of his haggard breathing would break the silence and alert whatever awaited in the shadows.

But there’s nothing there, Lance told himself.

He had dreamt of the war, again. In his nightmare, there was another explosion and Lance hadn’t been quick enough to shield whoever was with him in the room. The darkness that followed was oppressing, dense enough that he’d felt like it was water flooding his lungs.

And then the water had turned into blood.

He sat up in bed, trying to control his shaking. It had taken years and a lot of therapy, but Lance had managed not to fall into panic attacks every time such memories made their way into his dreams. Still, he was glad to have built his own house on the farm grounds. His parents deserved a good night’s rest, especially after what Lance had put them through during his time with Voltron.

He reached for his cellphone with unsteady fingers. After their last battle against the Galra, Lance had learned to leave it on during his sleep, just in case he woke up like this: with adrenaline running through his veins and the vague sensation that something was terribly wrong.

He hesitated over his contact list, before finally scrolling down and pressing call. It didn’t take long for the other person to answer.

“Is anyone hurt?” was Keith’s greeting.

“No.” Lance swallowed once, trying to erase the grit from his voice. “Nightmare.”

There was a second of silence and then the rustle of sheets. “Okay.” He heard Keith exhale harshly, but Lance knew it wasn’t in annoyance. The whole team had gone through this more times than they could count. “Okay.” Keith seemed a little calmer now. “Are you all right?”

“Not really,” Lance confessed. He leaned against the headboard and pulled his knees up. It was easier to concentrate on his breathing when he wasn’t lying down. “It was Sendak’s first attack, again.”

“You’ve been thinking about that one a lot lately.” Keith’s observation made Lance grind his teeth. It was true, but he didn’t need to say it.

“Could you call her?” Lance breathed out. His voice sounded pained and he winced, thankful that only Keith was privy to it.

“Lance, we can’t keep doing this.” His friend’s tone was weighted with his own share of hurt. “If you want to know how she is, then you need to call Pidge.”

“I do call Pidge. Just not…”

“Not when you are feeling vulnerable?” Keith sighed into the phone, sounding more tired than normal.

“You weren’t sleeping, were you?” Lance latched onto this realization. He felt stupid not to have recognized it earlier, with how quickly Keith had answered the call.

“Don’t change the subject.” The reply came harshly and it only served to confirm his suspicions.

“I’m not! We made a deal to call one another if the flashbacks started again.” He lit up the lamp on his nightstand and frowned at the pictures he kept on the opposing wall, as if it could make the real Keith feel his irritation. “Would you have talked to anyone if I hadn’t called?”

“My mom is here with me,” Keith admitted after a moment. “She and Kolivan have kept me company while Xitry is away.”

Lance let relief replace his anger. “Are both Xitry and Acxa on a mission?”

“Yeah… My leg still isn’t completely healed, so I couldn’t join them. Acxa will take another phoeb to come home, but Xitry should be back in a few days.” Keith paused and there was the sound of other muffled voices. “Mom says you should call Pidge.”

“You are a traitor and a hypocrite.” Lance scowled, despite how no one could see him.

Keith scoffed and Lance could feel the mockery in his expression even so many miles away. “I have called my partners every day they’ve been gone. Can you say the same?”

“Pidge is not my partner!” he protested, feeling heat rise up his neck.

“No, she’s just the first person you think about when waking up from a nightmare and then you call me, because if you called Hunk he would just spill it to her first chance he got.” Lance did not appreciate all the sarcasm Keith was giving him.

“I just want to be sure that she’s okay!” He frowned down at his knees, picking at a piece of lint that stuck to his pajama pants.

“Then ask her yourself!” Keith, too, was being too loud for the middle of the night. His vexation almost felt like a victory to Lance. “Pidge is smart, she can tell there’s something strange about my calls.”

“How are you a spy with this kind of acting skills?” Lance chastened.

“I’m no longer a spy, remember? I’m part of a humanitarian organization!” He heard Keith take a deep breath. “This would be much easier if you just told Pidge you’re in love with her.”

The words gave him pause. Lance didn’t yet know how to describe what he felt for Pidge. She was one of his best friends, the person who had stuck around the most after the team went their separate ways. Shiro had his own family to rebuild, and Keith and Hunk had a whole universe to help stabilize.

Pidge and Lance had found their own goals, but staying on Earth allowed them to check in on each other much more often.

“She doesn’t see me like that, Keith.” Lance hadn’t meant to sound so defeated, but it came out that way.

“Yeah, well, neither did Allura, but you wore her out.”

The reminder didn’t bring the same pain it would have a few years earlier.

Lance knew that he would always love Allura, but his feelings had settled into a more comfortable kind of affection. With the privilege of hindsight, Lance was able to see that their relationship didn’t have the same base as his friendship with the other paladins. Even if she had lived, Allura would have left to be queen, too invested in the rebuilding of Altean society.

And Lance would have stayed on Earth. That had never been in question. He had put his family through enough suffering while with Voltron.

He had seen the greatness in Allura when he was only eighteen, but that also meant he would have stepped aside if he thought their relationship was putting a strain in both of them. He didn’t regret the time they’d had together, but her continuous rejections had also taught Lance to value himself.

Keith’s voice snapped Lance out of his thoughts. “I didn’t mean to bring up Allura.”

“No, it’s fine.” Lance rubbed his eyes. “I just… I don’t want Pidge to think of Allura if I ever do ask her out.”

“I can’t promise you that.” He respected Keith’s honesty, even though it did nothing to calm his worries. “But she will never see you as a romantic prospect if you don’t make things clear to her. As far as Pidge knows, you’re still in mourning.”

Again, Keith was right. Lance had been ruminating this notion for quite some time. There were times when he still felt indebted to Allura, like he was the one responsible for maintaining her legacy, but the years had given him enough maturity to understand that was a burden Allura would wish on no one.

It was difficult to take the first steps towards a new future when he’d spent so long wallowing in the darkness of the war. In the middle of it all, Pidge had been a beacon of light, a safe port for him to rest his mind. It was no wonder that he had fallen for her.

“I’m thinking of going back to the Garrison.” He swallowed thickly, the fear of this confession rising up to knot at his throat.

The line went silent for a moment. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Lance chuckled. “I’ve been working with Shiro and Doctor Holt, because the quintessence Allura left in me allows me to interact with Altean technology a little better than most. And since I’ve put my pilot license to good use in my travels, Shiro said the officers are ready to reinstate me.”

“That’s amazing, Lance!” It was weird to hear Keith sound so enthusiastic.

“I think that’s why the memories are coming back again, actually.” His next exhale came out shaky and forced. “I keep thinking of the Garrison and I just – I’m afraid that I’ll get there and it will be too much.”

“The place has changed a lot since the war,” Keith assured him. “Even if something happened, though, Shiro and Pidge are there to help you through. This could be really good for you.”

Lance snickered at his directness. Keith didn’t hide his opinions, didn’t coddle him like so much of his family. “So you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s the best idea you’ve ever had.” His friend’s voice was blunt, without the dramatics that Lance himself would have added to such a statement. “Which is not saying much,” Keith teased.

“Hardy har har.” But Lance felt a smile pull at his mouth. “Does that mean you will call Pidge for me?”

There was a groan from the other side of the line. “Lance, no. I’m putting my foot down.”

“What? Why?” he complained and, with his movement, one of the pillows slipped to the ground. Lance glared at it.

“Because I’m sick of watching two of my closest friends dance circles around each other.” Keith sounded increasingly exasperated. “Talk. To. Her. Pidge is a tough girl, but she has grown a lot. She won’t be mad at you for calling.”

“I know that!” Lance grumbled.

“Then do it!” Before he could disagree, Keith had already hung up the phone.

Lance stared at the screen in discontentment. The display told him it was just before 4 am in Varadero, meaning that it wasn’t even 2 am in Arizona. His talk with Keith had distracted him from the nightmare, but now that Lance was alone with his thoughts images of it had begun to flash in his mind.

Against the dimly lit wall of his bedroom, he could almost see the silhouette of Pidge’s younger self, her body contorted by the force of a blast Lance hadn’t been quick enough to protect her from.

His need to know Pidge was safe overrode his anxiety over disturbing her sleep.

The phone rang more times than it had with Keith, which was a bit nerve-wrecking, but also a relief. Lance hoped she was having a better rest than he was.

“Lance?” The breathiness of her voice made him swallow. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he replied, at a loss of what else to say.

“Nightmares?” From her low volume, Lance could tell that Pidge must have been at her parents’ house. He felt bad for disturbing them.

“You’re okay, right?” His words were jumbled together. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, but– You are safe, aren’t you?”

“I’m safe, Lance.” He closed his eyes, feeling the last of his distress leave him with the sound of her voice. “I’m glad you called, actually.”

He tilted his head back until it hit the headboard. “Were you dreaming of me, Pidgey-Pidge?”

“No,” she cut him off brusquely, “but I imagine you were dreaming of me.”

“Why would you think so?” He grimaced at how strangled his voice sounded.

“Because I know you have had Keith calling me for the past couple months.” Her no-nonsense attitude made Lance feel like a deer-in-headlights.

“I can’t believe he ratted me out!” Once again, Lance directed his glare at a photo of Keith on the wall. “I have some choice words for that half-alien tattletale!”

“Keep your words, he didn’t say anything.” Pidge heaved a sigh. “I just know you two. As soon as he mentioned the explosion Sendak caused, I knew he was acting on your behalf.”

Lance winced, but didn’t protest. He should have realized that Pidge couldn’t be tricked. Not only was she a certified genius, but her loyalty to her friends often translated into being more observant than one might like. She and Hunk had that in common: the uncanny ability to get involved in other people’s business.

“Keith dreams of Shiro or his father. When I do appear in his nightmares, it’s usually about not being able to grab me when we were in Honerva’s mindscape,” she went on. “That dude still harbors a displaced sense of responsibility towards us.” Her tone shifted into accusing. “Which we should not be exploiting.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to do that.” Lance slipped on the sheets until he was lying down again.

“What’s going on, Lance?” Pidge sounded concerned. “Why didn’t you just call me?”

There were many reasons, but none that he felt comfortable sharing. It had been a year since Lance had realized how much of an effect Pidge had on him, how happy he was to hear her voice, how warm his chest felt when she visited the farm. It wasn’t even a new development. He had loved her for as long as he could remember, so he couldn’t really define when it had gone from platonic to romantic.

Maybe the roots of it had always been there, hidden by the flashiness of other infatuations.

A part of him had resisted the urge to call Pidge because, despite how she probably knew him like the charted universe, he had hoped she would see strength in his recovery. Lance still wanted to be perceived as the hero who survived the war with a smile on his face and his psyche intact, no matter how far from the truth that might be.

“Shouldn’t it be easier?” he asked, so low that he hoped Pidge couldn’t hear him. “Shouldn’t I be over it?”

“Lance…” Even the way she sighed his name sent a shiver down his spine. “No. It shouldn’t be easy. We’ve talked about this.”

He had heard this from a number of therapists, as well as every other member of the team, but it was difficult to go against the ideals he’d created in his head.

“But you’re doing good,” Lance argued and his gaze fixed on the ceiling, without really seeing it.

“So are you, most of the time.” When Pidge said it like that, full of confidence, he could almost believe it. “When I feel like the memories are hurting me, I reach out. I come to see my parents, I stop by Shiro’s office.” She paused to take a breath. “I call you.”

Lance turned on his side, sticking the phone between his ear and the pillow. He badly wanted her to be there. They had slept side by side once, though he couldn’t remember the details of it. Even then, what had stuck out the most was the softness of her presence and the calm she provided.

He closed his eyes and focused on Pidge’s voice. “I really miss you.”

“I’m right here, Lance.” Like this, he could pretend she was in bed with him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

--

“I can’t believe you put a firewall to keep me out of your virtual diary, Pidge. It’s rude that you would think so low of me.”

Lance stopped short. It wasn’t the content of the conversation that surprised him, but the fact that it was Hunk’s voice, coming from the laboratories. His best friend had been on a diplomatic mission of two months and was supposed to contact Lance when he stopped on Arus to refuel his ship.

“I was clearly right, because you wouldn’t know of it unless you had tried to hack in.” And this was Pidge, sounding more incensed than he’d heard in quite some time. “I learned my lesson during our Garrison days, Hunk!”

“Shouldn’t you be buttering me up? You called me for help on this aircraft, young lady.” Lance almost snorted at this. He could already imagine the indignation on Pidge’s face.

“If I had known you’d be like this, I would have found a way to neutralize drag simply to negate your role here!” she spit back. From behind the glass walls, Lance observed the redness of her complexion and how her freckles disappeared into the color.

He expected Hunk to back down, but the man crossed his arms stubbornly and looked down his nose at Pidge. “You’re only saying that because I’m right.”

Lance knocked against a metallic frame on the door, which had been open.

“Team Punk is back at it?” He raised his hands in mock despair. “I knew I should have stayed home.”

“Lance!” Hunk rushed over to him, engulfing Lance in a hug. Over his shoulder, he saw Pidge hang back, but the anger had melted away from her expression. “Sorry I didn’t call you earlier, man. This little menace caught me on the way back from Firilar and she wanted me at the Garrison ASAP.”

“Yeah, I regret it now,” she retorted with a glare.

Hunk let Lance go in order to direct another exasperated look at Pidge.

“Hey there, Pidgeon.” Lance scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to do. She didn’t move from her spot on the workbench and he approached almost without thinking. “Long time no see.”

As soon as he was within reach, Pidge pulsed on the balls of her feet and threw her arms around his neck. Lance’s arms were around her with no hesitance, holding her up against his chest.

“Hello,” she muttered into his shoulder. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the Cabul complex with Shiro and Curtis?”

Even as she talked, Pidge didn’t give up her grip on him. It made laughter bubble up Lance’s throat. He’d been all around the world, assisting the Garrison centers in completing Earth’s first fully functioning planetary defense system, so it had been months since he’d last seen Pidge in person.

“I flew over once the installation was done. They needed me to activate the shields with quintessence, but then Arizona called.” She slowly slid down back to her feet, putting some space between them. “Something about needing their star pilot to test a new jet.”

He watched as first confusion, then realization dawned on Pidge’s face. To the side, he could see that Hunk was also grinning.

“Are you back? Don’t you lie to me, McClain!” She pushed at his shoulders, but there was excitement in her eyes.

“I’m back. I got the go-ahead earlier today.” He felt awkward under the combined stares of his two best friends. “I do remember telling you I wasn’t ready to retire. Guess my vacation ran a bit long.”

“Oh, man, we’re back together! The last time it was just the three of us in the Garrison we were still cadets.” Hunk jumped in, waving his arms widely. “I still couldn’t go on a simulator without getting motion-sickness! Lance still thought Pidge was a guy!”

“Yeah, I’m not making that mistake again.” Lance gave Pidge a cheeky once-over, making her flush.

She had let her hair grow out again. It was tied back in a long braid, but some strands had already escaped and framed her face in a reddish halo. She looked pretty like this, but Lance thought she was always pretty.

It had taken her some time to find middle ground between the androgyny of her adolescence and the femininity of Katie Holt. Lance hadn’t always been the most tactful during this period, but Pidge had known he meant well and that he was supportive of however she felt like expressing herself. It was nice to see her feel good in her own skin.

Pidge socked him on the arm. “We’ve talked about this, loverboy. No flirting with me unless you want a new bruise.”

“But, Pidgeon,” he put a hand over his heart, “this is how I show my love.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Hunk put a hand on their shoulders. “We don’t want to start a fight right next to the billion-dollar prototype.”

“Fine,” Lance drew out his vowels, making a show of it. “Honestly, though, you two look good.”

He wasn’t just saying this. Coming back to the Garrison allowed him to juxtapose the images of who Pidge and Hunk had been with their current selves.

Hunk hadn’t grown much taller and he had maintained the same robustness from their first meeting, but the anxiety that had followed him as a teenager now gave way to self-assuredness. He didn’t curl into himself anymore when going past other groups of students, nor did he cower in the face of Garrison officers.

They were all still young and maybe a little broken up after Voltron, but it had also taught them a lot about themselves and their worth. It was nice to see.

And then there was Pidge. With her long hair, her high-tech glasses, her unconventional wardrobe. She was nothing like what younger Lance had thought he wanted in a girl, but that didn’t stop her from occupying all of his thoughts.

“You do too!” Hunk exclaimed, clearly a little embarrassed. “I haven’t seen you this excited in years.”

“Yeah.” Lance chuckled, unable to stop himself. “It feels good to be back. We’ll see how things go with the other MFE pilots, but I’m not too worried.” He wiggled his brows at Hunk. “I’m pretty sure I can charm the pants out of them.”

“And if that fails, you can always count on Shiro and I to intimidate people,” Pidge cut in, a teasing smile on her face, but there was a deeper current of truth to her words. They had his back and Lance was grateful for it.

“I’m pretty intimidating myself.” Lance smirked. “We just need Keith and then the gang will be completed: the Garrison bad boys, who stole a prisoner and disappeared into the night!” He made a motion in the air, like a ship cutting through the sky.

“I take it back, I don’t want to be associated with you.” Pidge’s dry comment earned a laugh from Hunk and a pout from Lance.

“Oh, come on, Pidge!” He draped an arm around the girl to pull her closer, but Pidge didn’t react as he’d hoped. She leveled him with unimpressed eyes, making no move to acknowledge their proximity. Lance found himself as the one feeling flustered and hurried to mask his discomfort. “You could at least say you’re happy to have me around.”

“Of course I’m happy, Lance,” she conceded with little fanfare. “That doesn’t mean I feel like contributing to enlarging your already massive ego.”

Pidge was looking at him over the top of her glasses. Uncovered from the greenish tint of the lenses, the honey brown of her eyes appeared strangely expressive. There was an emotion in them that he had seen a lot through the years, when they were on video calls at night, by themselves, but that he hadn’t had the opportunity to see in person yet.

Lance felt his own expression soften as he stared down at Pidge.

Before he could figure out what to say, Hunk, who had been preoccupied with a series of beeps from his communicator, had turned towards them and snapped his fingers. “We have so much to show you, now that you have the clearance!” His smile was even more contagious in person than through a screen. “I don’t know how much Veronica has told you–”

“Told me?” Lance interrupted with a laugh, trying to seem as innocent as possible. “As if my sister would spill transnational secrets.”

Hunk’s mouth twisted disbelievingly. Pidge, too, shook her head.

“I know how it is to have a family in the Garrison, Lance,” she admonished, slipping out of his hold. “Everything is confidential until something slips out in the middle of Sunday lunch.”

“Well…” Lance squinted at the LED lights on the ceiling. “If something did slip out, like the existence of a certain wormhole-jumping craft that is supposed to make teludavs obsolete, then you couldn’t really blame Ronnie.”

“Especially since the only one with a high enough rank to know about that is Shiro.” Pidge groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “A lifetime in the military and he’s still the most trusting person I’ve ever met.”

“It’s not like he’s broadcasting it to the rest of the coalition,” Hunk pointed out good-naturedly. “It’s just Lance.”

Pidge didn’t look appeased. “I’ve seen Lance reveal all our identities because he wanted to impress an alien groupie.”

Lance grimaced at the memory. It had been a little after the war, when the Garrison was still arranging diplomatic meetings with the liberated planets. As a result of his words, he and the other paladins had been mobbed and Coran had to create a diversion to get them back in their ships.

“That was a long time ago,” Lance whined. “Besides, the so-called groupie was a child and you know I can’t resist children!”

Pidge fixed her glasses, her expression a mixture of aggravation and amusement. “If you ever have kids, you’re gonna spoil them rotten.”

Lance had to bite back his immediate response. His mind had come up with an image of what his and Pidge’s children might look like – brown haired and brown skinned and too smart for their own good – and the idea warmed him to the core. He had almost said that his kids would be fine, because of their mother’s genius.

His thoughts must have shown somehow because Lance caught Hunk looking at him with a smile that promised no-good.

Lance cleared his throat. “What were you two fighting about, anyway?”

“Hunk has been trying to access my daily annotations,” Pidge explained, moving to one of the nearby computer monitors.

Over her head, he and Hunk continued to share looks and mouthed words. He couldn’t really tell what his friend was trying to say, but Hunk pointed at Pidge, then at the computer, making exaggerated facial expressions that would have been comedic in any other circumstance.

At their apparent silence, Pidge’s fingers paused over the keyboard and she whipped around to look at them in suspicion.

“She means her diary,” Hunk interjected quickly, only to receive the brunt of her glare. “How am I supposed to know what’s going on over here if you won’t let me read it? I spend half my time out in space!”

“Can’t you just believe the things I tell you? Like, I don’t know,” this Pidge grumbled with a sour look on her face, “a normal person?”

Hunk snorted. “You want to talk to me about being normal?” He glanced at Lance, as if to ask if he had actually heard her correctly. “Pidge, we had to build you a dorm in the Mecatronics Advancement building, because you kept falling asleep in the lab.” Hunk turned back to Lance and pointed a thumb at Pidge. “She would be passed out with the new Rover just constantly knocking against her back.”

“So what?” She crossed her arms and jutted out her chin in defiance. “I like what I do. At least I’m not a busybody!”

Lance could feel a new fight brewing. Or maybe it was fairer to say that it was an old fight, one that every paladin had already had with Pidge.

“Katie.” His use of her given name made Pidge’s attention snap to Lance. “We’ve talked about this. Your therapist has talked about this.” He put a hand on her shoulder, then slid it down until their fingers intertwined. “I know you like feeling useful, but we’re not at war anymore. You can rest.”

“Exactly.” Hunk sighed, thankfully not making a big deal of Lance’s touches. He reached out to ruffle her hair. “We worry, girl.”

Pidge let go of Lance to bat Hunk’s hand away from her braid. The smile she gave them was tight-lipped but fond. “Then just say that, you idiot.”

“Why should I?” Hunk shrugged, sending her a sly look. “You only seem to believe it when it comes from Lance.”

He was saved from Pidge’s cold fury by his communicator going off. It sounded more like an alert than the normal message, filling the lab with high-pitched beeps that could have awoken even Pidge in her days of all-nighters working on the lions.

“Shoot!” Hunk frowned at the device. “I have a meeting on the other side of the complex!” He looked around with wide eyes.

Pidge picked up a folder that rested on her workbench and thrust it into Hunk’s chest.

“I hope you’re late,” she said in a deadpan, making both Lance and Hunk laugh.

“I’ll see you in the taxiway later, right?” Hunk asked, already half-out of the door.

Lance gave his friend a thumbs-up. “And we can go into town after the demonstration!”

When he turned to face Pidge, she was back at the computer, shaking her head at the screen with a smile still on her lips. He leaned against the table and simply stared at her as she worked, knowing full-well that part of her attention was still on him.

“What?” she caved after a few seconds. Lance batted his lashes at her. “Ugh, stop! If you want me to go into town, then I have to finish this calculation.”

“Eight years since we were cadets here and you’re still a stick-in-the-mud.” He watched her roll her eyes. “Please, you gotta come! I don’t know any of the cool spots anymore and Hunk has been off-planet!”

“As if that could stop Hunk from knowing the good restaurants,” Pidge muttered under her breath, frowning at something on the computer. She clicked one final key, before fixing her gaze on Lance. “Also, it’s actually been twelve years since we were cadets. Time might not have gone by for us, but things here certainly did change.”

“Quiznack, don’t even remind me of that!” Lance ran a hand across his face. “Rachel has finally shut up about how we’re the same age now.”

“Did she?” Pidge raised a brow at him, leaning her hip against the workbench in much the same way as Lance had. “Cause she still called me hermanita the last time I visited the farm.”

“Yeah, you ain’t getting rid of that nickname.” He chuckled. “It’s better than mami and pop-pop calling you Palomita, though.”

Machines whirred around them, a distant sort of sound that barely registered in Lance’s mind. His thoughts were stuck in the contentment displayed across Pidge’s features, like talking about their adventures on the farm filled her with as much warmth as it did him.

And maybe it did. The paladins and their families had grown closer during the years following the end of Voltron. They had all needed support in ways that only those who had also gone through the same grief could understand. His mother had talked to Colleen and Krolia multiple times, looking for advice on how to handle his PTSD, and Lance himself had reached out to Matt when he didn’t feel like speaking to his siblings or to the team.

It was odd to look back and remember how lonely he would feel back in Castle of Lions, when there were so many people now who he loved and who had gone to the ends of the universe for him.

“What are you thinking about?” Pidge tilted her head to the side, her eyes glinting with curiosity behind those glasses.

“About the team,” he answered, because it was partially true. “About how long we’ve known each other.”

Pidge nodded, but her gaze had shifted to the ground. Hesitance furrowed the line of her brow.

“Does being here–” She paused, then seemed to gather her courage. “Does being here remind you of Allura?”

The question caught him a little off guard. It was inevitable to think of Allura when looking back at their time as a team, but Lance hadn’t expected Pidge to focus on that. Keith’s words from a few months ago echoed in his mind, that Pidge couldn’t know he had finished mourning for Allura if Lance never told her.

“A little, I guess, but it’s not bad.” He made a humming noise, considering what to say. “It feels strange to realize we’ve been without her for longer than we ever knew her.”

She pushed away from the table, just a little, so that they were facing each other. “Time doesn’t have to limit how significant a person is to us.”

“I know, but no matter how important Allura was to me, I know now that she wasn’t the love of my life.” Lance let Pidge catch his gaze, willing her to recognize that he wasn’t lying. “Because my life goes on.”

“Which is why you’re here?” There was doubt in her tone, as well as something that Lance wished he could call hopefulness.

“Which is why I’m here,” he repeated with more certainty.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Soul of a Lion (Chapter 8)

Sequel to The Smallest Blade.

Summary: After the Red Lion steals them away from the Marmora base and takes them through a wormhole, Shiro, Keith, Katla, and Lance find themselves in front of a majestic castle with nowhere to go but inside. The events that unfold while they’re there will change the fate of the universe.

Also posted on AO3 under the username “kishirokitsune”.

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8 | Picnic on the Shore

Lance was pretty sure that he looked as miserable as he felt, but after his nap with the four mice he didn't have time to do more than splash some water on his face and smooth out his borrowed clothing in an attempt to make it look a little less rumpled. (It only slightly worked, but Lance couldn't bring himself to feel too upset about his disheveled appearance at that moment.) At least Allura was the only one who would see him in such a sorry state.

The room was easy enough to find, especially with the Princess waiting for him at the door and taking away his one final chance at escape.

“Uh, hey,” he greeted, lamely lifting his hand before dropping it back to his side.

Allura turned and faced him with a smile. “I'm glad you joined me, Lance. I'll admit, I was a little worried that you would change your mind.”

“Yeah, well, it doesn't sound like I have much of a choice. Not if we want to find another Lion,” Lance said, knowing his tone was flat and unable to bring himself to fix that. He took a deep breath. “What do you need me to do, princess?”

The answer turned out to be meditation, which seemed simple enough. At least it meant Lance wouldn't have to try and carry on a conversation with her, though it did mean sitting still and trying to clear his mind enough for her to connect with him. Which was a problem, because he didn't truly want her to connect with him.

Mostly it was the fear that she'd get a clear look into his head and find out the truth, and he was far from ready for that to come out.

But he'd promised himself and Keith that he would try his best, so Lance uneasily settled down in the center of the room and held Allura's hands. Clearing his mind long enough to properly meditate was more of a challenge than usual, but after a half-varga or so he felt that familiar floating sensation. He breathed out slowly as a form began to take shape in the unfamiliar inky darkness and soon Allura was there in front of him, her long hair billowing around her as though they were underwater.

(Lance wondered if it was the result of their combined mental landscapes. His was normally much brighter, as though he were high in the clouds and resting on a floor of reflective water.)

Lance looked up and saw a web of brightly colored string crisscrossing above him. “Huh, so that's what that looks like.”

“Oh, good! Katla and Shiro already told you what we're looking for!” Allura said, sounding pleased.

“Uh, yeah,” Lance lied. “We're... looking for a string?”

“Specifically, a glowing one,” Allura said, turning her gaze to the web. “It may be faint and rather difficult to see. The two unclaimed Lions are the Blue and Yellow ones, which should make things easier for us.”

Lance took that to mean that the strings would be the same color. Good. That would help it go more quickly and then he could go and... and do something else. The temptation to retreat back to his room was strong but it also wasn't helping him feel any better. He thought back to the quick list he made, trying to remember if finding Katla or talking to Hunk was the second step. After a moment, he picked Katla, if only to give his frazzled nerves a quick break.

“...the outer ones.”

Lance guiltily snapped his attention back to Allura, who didn't seem to have noticed his lapse. What was she saying? Something about “outer ones”? Was she still talking about the strings?

He looked up again, taking note of the way the web formed. Everything eventually linked up to a hexagonal shape in the center, crisscrossing and wrapping around to form what looked very much like a spider web, including the supporting strands that stretched out into the distance. There was a massive and bright cluster that Lance assumed led to his home, a smaller cluster that was possibly the Blade of Marmora HQ, and then a few rogue ones that were all by themselves. (Maybe the members of the Blade who weren't at HQ?)

Lance walked until he was standing beneath one of the single blue strands, taking a moment to examine it and see if he could spot a glow around it. He moved on after a few ticks, checking each and every one of the blue or yellow strands along the way. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Allura doing the same.

And then, finally, he saw it. A soft haze of pale blue around a dark blue string.

He was a Paladin.

Lance's breath caught in his throat as he reached out to the strand and then suddenly the world shifted around them. The other strings vanished into the distance as they were whisked along through space, rocketing past galaxy after galaxy. He could hear Allura struggling to name each of them as they whipped by.

And then everything began to slow. They passed by a massive gaseous planet with rings. Another with swirling red clouds. A dusty red one.

The string led to a pretty blue planet with wisps of white clouds and bursts of green from landmasses.

That was where the Blue Lion was hidden.

“It's beautiful,” Allura said softly. “I wonder what it's called. This is far beyond the range of space we explored ten thousand years ago. I hope I can find it on the star map.”

Lance didn't know what to say to that. He almost volunteered to help her, but was that something he could handle? It wasn't completely awful to be alone with her – not the way he thought it would be – and it wouldn't be the end of the world if they spent a little more time together. He sighed and shoved his hands into the deep pockets of his pants. Baby steps, he reminded himself. “If it does give you trouble we could just do this again, couldn't we?”

Allura's eyes lit up. “We could! Actually, would you mind if we follow the strand back to the center point? I want to make sure I'm remembering everything correctly.”

Lance took one last look at the mystery planet and then nodded, once again reaching up as though to touch the glowing blue string.

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Arus was easily one of the more beautiful places Keith had ever had the privilege of setting foot on. (Not that there were many of them.) The wildlife within the bubble was sparse, with just a few birds and some short greenery, maybe a tree or two, but beyond the cliffside where the Castle of Lions rested were beautiful fields and a sprawling forest. There was also a village full of tiny beings that Keith and Lance had taken to calling the “Arusians” but it didn't seem like they strayed too far from the plains where they built their homes.

It was only because Keith thought it was safe that he invited Katla out for a picnic. Being in a new and unfamiliar place was no excuse to ignore their courtship and he wanted to start it out the right way.

Katla looked equal parts intrigued  and unimpressed with being “out in the wilderness”, as she phrased it, for the first time. She'd gone her entire life living in synthetic environments and surrounded by technology, so it was a complete change of pace for her and one that Keith intended to make memorable.

“I guess it's kind of pretty,” Katla murmured as they passed by a flowering bush. She slowed down and breathed in, smiling at the pleasant scent before immediately sneezing – it was a tiny, delicate sneeze and Keith had to turn away so she wouldn't see his grin and think that he was making fun of her for it.

“I'm glad you like it,” he said. “We don't have to go much farther. The spot I picked is just up the hill and under that big tree.”

Katla rubbed her nose and looked at the flowers with a little more wariness in her gaze. “I wouldn't say it's going to become my favorite thing, but I don't hate it.”

Keith grinned at her. “We've only been out here for five doboshes. Give it a little more time.”

“Fine,” Katla agreed, crinkling up her nose. “But only because I trust you.”

He'd know that for a long time, but hearing her state it in a way that was so matter-of-fact brought a flush to his face. He looked away and adjusted the basket he was carrying into a more comfortable position.

They walked to the top of the hill in comfortable silence. Once they got there, Katla unfolded the thick blanket they borrowed from the Castle and spread it out across the grass before she eagerly sat down in the shade. Keith set down the basket near one of the edges and then joined her before opening the basket and pulling out the food and drinks that he pilfered from the kitchen that morning. (Okay, so Hunk caught him halfway through packing everything up and insisted on helping, so it wasn't really pilfering but Keith could pretend.)

“Please tell me that isn't nunvil,” Katla said, dread creeping into her voice as she pointed to the bottle of reddish liquid.

Keith quickly shook his head. “It's some kind of juice that Hunk made. I tried some before I packed it and it's pretty good. Mostly sweet with just a bit of tartness. Hang on...” He paused to retrieve a pair of cups and handed one to Katla, who immediately poured one for each of them.

She took a cautious sip and her expression melted into one of bliss. “Never tell my mom I said this, but the food here is so much better than anything we grow back home.”

That was one secret Keith was happy to keep. He liked living.

He picked up a basket of berries that had a slight coating of some sort of sweet and thickened sauce. Hunk had insisted on making them for him, saying that it was a staple of romantic dates and that Keith should hand feed one to Katla. It sounded silly to Keith but he figured that there was no harm in giving it a try.

“Here, try one of these,” he said, plucking one out of the basket and holding it up.

Katla reached out to take it and raised an eyebrow when Keith shook his head and pulled it away.

“I, uh, I'm supposed to feed it to you,” Keith said.

Katla still looked a little puzzled, but lowered her hand to her lap and leaned forward, opening her mouth once Keith pressed the berry near her lips. She took a tentative bite, humming a little as she savored the flavor, and then finished off the rest. “Interesting... Your turn now!”

Keith held out the basket so she could choose one for him and then obediently leaned forward to accept the berry from her hand. The coating was sweet, with a slight bitterness to it that only served to compliment the natural flavor of the berry; altogether a tasty treat. It was only the act of eating it from Katla's fingers that felt strange.

He sat back and put the basket between them so they could enjoy the rest at their leisure.

“So, what brought this on?” Katla asked, gesturing to the food around them.

“I...” Keith's voice faltered for just a moment. He took a deep breath as he met her eyes. “Katla, two decaphoebs ago I asked if you would accept my courtship once you came of age and earned a place as a member of the Blade of Marmora. I was going to ask you after your Trial, but then we ended up here in the Castle and have been busy ever since. Now that we have some time to ourselves, I am officially asking: may I court you?” Without taking his eyes off of her, he held out his hand.

Almost immediately, Katla slid her hand into his, an effortlessly bright smile upon her face as she nodded. “Yes!”

And with that great weight lifted from Keith's shoulders, their picnic continued on.

They kept the conversation light and casual as they enjoyed the food and pleasant weather, both needing a break from the constant talk about the Lions and whether or not the Alteans would ever be able to trust them or how they would maintain contact with Kolivan and her family. Instead, they brought up old stories and joked about what lengths Slav would go through next in order to see Shiro again.

“I just don't get it,” Katla remarked, shaking her head. “Shiro's cool and I feel lucky to have him as my mentor, but sometimes Slav invents these ridiculous reasons why it has to be Shiro who flies him to another location.”

Keith chuckled as he finished off the last of his juice. As he reached out to put the cup back into the basket, movement from the pond down the hill caught his attention. He looked a little closer, watching the ripples on the surface of the water, one hand reaching for his dagger, and relaxed when a massive fish jumped out of the water and landed with a heavy splash.

Katla jumped in surprise. “What was that?!”

“Some kind of fish,” Keith said, continuing to track its movement. If it stayed near the surface, maybe they could go down and catch it. It wouldn't be the most romantic activity for their first date, but it would be nice to have some tasty fresh fish.

It jumped again and Keith caught sight of a ribbon of purple painted across its side. In that moment, Keith realized what he was looking at and knew that they weren't going back to the Castle until it was flopping in his arms.

“Wait, is that...?” Katla trailed off, her voice full of wonder. “I've never seen one that big. We're going to catch it, right? That's enough to feed us and Shiro for days!”

“We don't know for sure if it's a daagti or not,” Keith pointed out.

Daagti were a type of rare fish that were a delicacy to the Galra. They had soft flesh that had a melt-in-your-mouth quality once cooked and a high amount of protein that was especially valuable to young cubs. For the Blade of Marmora, it was a dish saved for those who needed it most – particularly those who were recovering from injury and occasionally for a young cub who needed the nutrients.

Keith had the privilege of eating it more than once upon his arrival to their Headquarters, but it stopped once he reached the proper weight and height for a half-Galra his age – not that he was underweight before, but apparently the nutritional needs of a human child and Galra cub were very different. He remembered going with Kolivan to pick out which fish he wanted and seeing how small and how few they all were. There were only so many they were capable of raising at once and while they were fairly fast growers, they were also in high demand.

Katla was already on her feet, her tail twitching in interest as she began walking down the gentle slope towards the pond. Keith was fast to follow in her footsteps while keeping a close eye on the fish. The pond was a decent size. If they lost sight of it, they were unlikely to find it again.

“We need a plan,” Keith told her. “How are we going to catch this thing?”

Katla slowed down a little. “Good question. Maybe we could use our blades? If we come at it from an angle and herd it towards the shore then it has less opportunity to slip away from us. Stabbing it might be our best bet.”

“Worth a shot,” Keith agreed. He removed his dagger from its sheath and, in one fluid motion, transformed it to its sword form.

Katla drew her stiletto blade and held it in front of her for a moment before flicking the point and smiling as it shifted into a curved sword with an ornate guard. With unspoken agreement, she moved to the left while Keith went left and they slowly entered the water.

It was all very anticlimactic after that and both Keith and Katla agreed to embellish it for all of their retellings because it all went exactly as Katla planned. They drove the fish towards the shore, which made it flop around more in a futile escape attempt, and then Keith speared it through the head until it stopped moving.

It was too big for either of them to lift on their own, so once they hefted it onto the grass Katla ran back up the hill for the blanket and they used it to drag the fish back to the castle with minimal effort while also carrying the basket.

Shiro spotted them on their way to the kitchen and came to a dead stop. “What's going on?”

“Nothing!” Keith said defensively.

“We caught dinner!” Katla chirped.

Shiro raised an eyebrow as though he didn't believe them  - which was only fair after all of the shenanigans they got up to as cubs – but rapidly changed his tune once he got a look at what they had dragged back to the Castle. He stepped in to help them take it the rest of the way and then helped filet it into more manageable pieces, some of which were set aside for dinner while the rest was put away into stasis. (That didn't stop him from eyeing the smallest of the cuts, wishing he could try a piece then and there instead of waiting.)

“Where did you find this, anyway?” he asked instead.

Katla left it up to Keith to explain how they were picnicking near the skinny end of a massive lake. She would jump in if he needed any help with their embellished tale about wrestling the massive fish onto the shore, but he didn't seem to have any problems.

She smiled to herself as she began moving the fish into the stasis chamber.

She and Keith were officially courting.

It felt - well, not inevitable exactly - like they were on the path that they'd always been heading towards. Their transition from friendship to courtship was easy for them because they already knew where they stood with one another. It was something she'd been dreaming of for years, even before he promised to ask once she passed her Trial and there was a part of her that thought they would have to push it back thanks to their untimely arrival on Arus, but Keith managed to surprise her in the best way possible.

In their world of uncertainties, it was nice to know that there was one constant she could rely on.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

Allura called everyone to the Bridge for a meeting just before dinner.

There were no looks of surprise or curiosity as they all shuffled onto the deck, which left Allura to assume that they all expected a meeting of some kind. Lance, who had been with her when she decided to make the call, had picked a wall to lean against while they waited and it was to him that Shirotak, Katla, and Keith flocked once they arrived. Hunk stood somewhere in-between and was joined by Coran, who was the last to arrive simply because he had been in the lowest part of the Castle of Lions, where he continued his examination of the engines.

Allura serenely folded her hands in front of her as she looked over the future Paladins and hoped that she was doing the right thing by trusting them.

Once she had everyone's attention, Allura activated the star map to show off the carefully placed markers she'd taken the time to set up. Each one showed where one of the Lions were located – all but the Yellow one. The Black and Red Lions were shown on Arus, which was in the center of the map. The Green Lion wasn't too far away on a planet lush with flora, but on the other side of the room was the planet holding the Blue Lion.

“As you can see, we have successfully found two more of the Lions. This leaves only the Yellow Lion without a Paladin.” She paused to let her words sink in as well as to brace herself for the aftershock of her next idea. “I've given it some thought and it is my belief that the Yellow Paladin is in this room.”

Allura noted with some interest that Shirotak's gaze slid to Hunk. Good. She could use someone to back her up. She took a deep breath and also looked at Hunk, whose gaze reflected confusion at first but swiftly turned to mild horror. “Hunk,” she said softly, even as he started to shake his head in denial.

“You're wrong,” he croaked.

“Hunk, there could be no better choice for the Yellow Lion. You share many of the qualities that Gyrgan...” She choked up a little but plowed on. “Traits that the previous Yellow Paladin exemplified. Your strong will and mighty heart make you the only one right for the job in my eyes and I do not doubt that the Yellow Lion feels the same.”

Coran gently placed a hand on Hunk's shoulders when the dark-haired Altean continued to struggle with the idea. “He would be proud to know that you are here to follow in his footsteps.”

Hunk looked around the room in search of help but found only friendly, smiling faces urging him to give it a try. Even Lance gave him a nod and attempted a smile. Hunk's shoulders slumped in defeat and he nodded. “Okay... but only if this is what the Yellow Lion wants.”

Allura clapped her hands together in relief. She'd honestly been expecting a drawn out battle, filled with plenty of pleading looks and perhaps a hint of bribery.

“So, does this mean you guys are going to the garden?” Katla asked.

Allura shook her head. “No, if you don't mind waiting, I believe Hunk and I will be able to connect here. This won't be the first time we've connected our mental landscapes, so I don't think it will take us long at all.”

“Why don't I show you all some of the controls while we wait!” Coran said eagerly. “Each of you has a seat around the main console from which you can control small drones for exploration and reconnaissance!”

Allura and Hunk left the others to their new task while they retreated to a corner so they would be out of the way. They decided to sit on the floor rather than stay standing since neither of them were sure how long it would take.

Luckily, it wasn't long before Allura found herself in a familiar hallway lined with old-fashioned, wood shuttered windows. Each one had a letter and a symbol embossed on the surface – Hunk's preferred way of organizing his mental landscape. The windows represented the people around him and he could open or close them at will, depending on whether or not he wanted a better “look” at their emotional state. The one nearest to her had the first glyph of her name and the image of a Juniberry flower in full bloom.

She didn't touch it, despite the temptation to do so, and instead made her way to the end of the hall, which branched off into numerous winding directions. Hunk was standing just inside one of those branches and was nervously shifting from foot to foot.

“Do you feel drawn towards a particular direction?” Allura asked.

“I... maybe?” Hunk sounded unsure. “It feels like there's something over this way, but I haven't wanted to go look.”

Allura nodded in understanding. He'd mentioned in passing that his mental shields weren't in great shape after sleeping for so long – even if that amount of time felt like nothing to them in stasis, it still had an effect on them. (She wasn't back to her full strength either.) It was reflected in the way the halls of his mind darkened as they progressed away from the main area.

The shutters of the windows were broken. Cobwebs were strung across the corners where the walls met the floor. The starry sky above them grew dim.

Allura shivered and tried not to look too hard at the windows they passed by – the windows that showed a broken connection to all of those they had lost. She only stopped when Hunk's sharp inhale broke the silence and his footsteps stuttered to a halt.

There was one window that wasn't broken. The shutters were painted a cheerful yellow and in the very center was the raised, detailed face of a Lion.

They had found him.

☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆ - ☆

But of course, it wasn't as easy as immediately leaving to retrieve all of the Lions. They needed a plan first and ideally, a full night of sleep before any of them set off for far-away planets. Katla's disappointment was palpable in the air, but luckily Shirotak found a way to distract her. (Something about a fish for dinner? Clearly, there was something Allura had missed.)

“In order to reach each of these worlds I will have to create wormholes,” Allura told them, gesturing broadly to the star map glowing around them. “The only downside to this is that we will also have to lower the Castle shields, which will leave us vulnerable to the enemy. They will be able to pick up on the energy signature the Castle gives off. We will have to move quickly to retrieve the Lions and bring them back here. I need each of you to be prepared for a fight.”

“The Castle of Lions isn't ready for flight, but the weapons systems are all in tip-top shape and ready to provide support,” Coran said.

Allura nodded. “Good. We may need it.” She paused and looked over everyone, who looked a little dismayed with the idea of needing to immediately fight upon finding the Lions. It wasn't an ideal situation by any stretch.

“Go and enjoy your evenings,” she said. “Tomorrow morning we find the Lions.”

Maybe she should practice giving more inspirational speeches. No one looked particularly enthused as they left the Bridge. Allura sighed and took her time turning off the star map, allowing herself a moment to get lost in her thoughts.

As she turned to leave, she caught sight of the four mice tumbling in from one of the vents near the floor. She could feel their excitement as they raced over to her and she knelt down to pick them up, all the while trying to make some sense of what they were trying to communicate. She could understand them but since they didn't speak using words it took a little bit of creative interpretation on her part.

“A picnic?” Allura asked. She smiled when Chuchule twirled around in her palm and fell against Platt. “That's really sweet. And you say Shirotak and Hunk bonded over the training deck? Ah, over Hunk showing him how it functions. Yes, that makes more sense. And... wait, slow down. What are you saying about Lance?”

There was so much squeaking, so many different thoughts bombarding her at once that it was hard to parse through. Finally, Chulatt elbowed the others aside and they went quiet.

Allura's eyes went wide and she sucked in a gasp, struggling to accept what he was telling her. “Lance is... Lance is a what?!”

[itsuki-minamy]

“K - THE FIRST STORY”

CHAPTER 5: THE LINK (Complete)

* K - The First Story (List of Chapters) * Projects & Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

For Misaki Yata, friends were the most important thing.

Since he was a child, he was good with people and was able to confirm his existence by trusting someone.

When he was young, he felt something like the importance of his existence by protecting his mother, who raised him as a single mother. Since his mother had only him, he had a strong determination to be strong in his childhood.

As he got older, his general temperament grew stronger and he came to think it was more fun to do it. He would cut the wind on his shoulder, and if someone messed it up, he would fly and wave his fist.

However, in the end his mother remarried and she had a new child with her new husband, and her mother was no longer the one he had to protect. He went on to do things like "use" instead of "trust."

Leading friends and doing stupid things together, eating alone was irrational and boring. Even if he was having fun, he couldn't laugh alone. However, Yata silently built up his prowess because he did not have the skill and finesse to match others by force, and he could not accept loneliness.

He met a boy and spent several years with him, but when he remembers him, he gets angry, so he erases it from his memory.

For Yata, it was a man named "Suoh Mikoto" who changed his world.

The "King" with overwhelming power that destroys Yata's prowess.

He was cool and he got addicted to all of it.

Yata took Suoh's hand and befriended the followers of the "King".

Friends became the most important thing to Yata. It doesn't matter if it was used, regardless of everything, he just looks at Suoh's back and follows him, and if Suoh says "Burn them.", he becomes a flame with his friends and will do his best to do so.

This place where he can hang out with friends, is the absolute only place to live in Yata.

(Totsuka. Somehow...)

Remember that while he was shedding blood, as if trying to reassure Yata, Totsuka's face tried to laugh somehow.

Two people, Yata and Kusanagi, rushed in after receiving the news of Totsuka's shooting. Fallen on the rooftop, at midnight in December, it was Yata who lifted Totsuka's cold body that was still bleeding. Totsuka touched Yata's tearful cheek and tried to smile, but in the end his hand fell limp and left a mark of blood on Yata's cheek.

(I'm sorry.)

That was Totsuka's last word.

He was a man who always laughed. He was good at finding fun and was in the center of his friends and made everyone laugh a lot. He was an executive of "Homura", an old friend of Suoh, a weak but fluid person, who took care of his friends. For Yata, he was a person whom he sometimes considered a kind brother, and other times a good friend.

That person was killed.

The criminal is now in this school.

"Hey, hurry up, get a PDA!"

However, when he saw a couple of boys walking through that area, he grabbed their chests and they were terrified, the boys made a pitiful voice.

It's nice that Anna's skill revealed the criminal's whereabouts, but it seems like they have to go through a locked door to enter the school premises. Yata and Kamamoto knew they needed a school designated PDA for that purpose, and they were harassing the boys to get the pass.

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you, so please forgive me!"

"You should have been this honest from the beginning."

Yata exhaled through his nose and played with the PDA he had obtained.

"Can I come through with this? Sorry to copy you."

Yata turned his harsh gaze towards Kamamoto.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Yata, along with Kamamoto, headed back to Gakuenjima's gate. Among them, there is a person who broke something important in Yata.

Yata stepped forward with a burning killing intent that was stronger than anger.

++++++++++

After being taken by Neko and returning to the classroom, the boy feels that the situation is strange.

Kuro quickly moved the needle and sewed the costume, looking at the boy.

The boy sits alone in the back seat of the classroom, gazing vaguely out the window. The expression is clearly shaded and the outward-facing eyes are out of focus to show that his heart is not here.

He's a nice guy so he's okay to float more when he found his alibi, but the glow was gone immediately after finding that in his room. Of course, the situation has not been resolved, so it would be a problem if that were discovered, but it is a strange time to put a serious face.

Currently, Kuro's comment about the boy was trying to settle down to the point that "I don't trust him, but he doesn't seem like a bad guy." He seems to be a person who loves this school and his friends.

"Kuro-kun is amazing! The seams are straight and very tight, although the sewing is very fast."

Kukuri looked at Kuro's hand and made his eyes shine. She is a very good, hard-working and kind girl. She was the type of person that Kuro respected.

"This is natural as Ichigen-sama's disciple."

"Kuro-kun, do you have a teacher? A sewing teacher?"

"No. Ichigen-sama was a swordsman and a master of life. Ichigen-sama was not only a kind and thoughtful person, but also a wonderful person who was familiar with all things. I am a swordsman because of Ichigen-sama. I learned various things like sumo wrestling, horseback riding, car, bicycle, helicopter, boat, etc., and studying for licenses, cooking, sewing, cleaning, tea ceremony, flower trail, fishing, dancing, and investment in dance. He faced me with one thing seriously and always led me harshly with a calm heart. Ichigen-sama's beautiful heart and profound culture are reflected in the haikus that Ichigen-sama sang, and I impregnate my heart with that. It is my Favorite moment listening to his haikus. Not only is the phrase wonderful, but the depth of his voice is exceptional as well."

When it comes to Miwa Ichigen, he gets a fever. The boy said something rude, like "annoyed", but Kukuri asked him with a smile. The student next door has a stern look, but Kuro decided that he couldn't hide his surprise from her because she was so versatile.

"Kuro-kun is interesting. I'm glad that Shiro-kun has a friend like Kuro-kun."

Unable to grasp the intention of Kukuri's words, Kuro bowed his head. In the first place, Kuro was not friends with the boy, and although he did not have a single life, the boy seemed like a person with many friends.

Kukuri lowered her eyebrows and laughed, pointing her eyes at the boy sitting vaguely in the distance.

"Shiro-kun is good friends with anyone, but it seems that no one can enter deep places, so I feel like one day he will go to some fluffy place alone, and I'm a bit worried. But Kuro-kun seems to enter Shiro-kun, and I'm relieved that you don't lose sight of Shiro-kun."

Kuro was confused by the words he heard. He was surprised by the boy's reputation, and "they" were not the friends he expected, on the contrary, in some cases he felt guilty for having to kill the boy.

"Kukuri! I have you!"

Before Kuro said anything, Neko hugged Kukuri from behind.

"Oh, that's right. Kukuri-san, let's give you a special super spicy rice cake."

Kukuri laughs and walks away from Kuro with Neko. When he saw his back and sighed, he turned to his hand. He cuts the thread with which he has sewn.

He folded the finished costume, he stood up and lined it up with the other costumes.

"Are they all costumes? Okay, then check yours and report immediately if the size doesn't fit."

When it comes to manpower, he looks at the group doing other work.

"What is the progress of the decoration?"

"A little more…"

"Okay. I'll join. There are other things I can do..."

Looking around, Kuro noticed a thread extending from Kukuri's sleeve trying to open the rice cake for Neko. As he walks silently, Kukuri mysteriously raises her face from him.

"What? Kuro-kun…"

"There is a tear in the elbow of the uniform."

"Oh, really. I wonder if I ripped it somewhere."

"By the way. I'll sew it up. Don't move from where you are."

When he pulled out his own needle and thread that he had been using earlier, he repaired a small tear around Kukuri's elbow. Looking at Kukuri that she got stuck while she was holding a bag of rice cake, Neko seems to be dissatisfied.

While sticking a needle into Kukuri's sleeve, Kuro again snooped towards the boy by the window.

Surrounded by sunlight, the boy looked strangely dreamy. He felt that he would melt into the light just as he was, and when he was poisoned by Kukuri's story, he changed his mind and retreated lightly.

"Isana Yashiro! How long will you be like this!"

"Shiro, he got mad!"

Neko was happy, probably because she wasn't really mad at his voice. Kukuri said to Kuro, who turned his attention from her to the boy, with the needle stuck in her sleeve, "Ah, Kuro-kun, please don't look away now!"

She raised a terrified voice.

The boy clears the look of disgust, changes his face and turns to them.

"Sorry. Well, what should I do?"

"Let's eat Senbe together!"

"I'm telling you to work!"

"Oh, Kuro-kun, please..."

After making a discordant voice, Kukuri suddenly changed her face.

"Oh, that's right. Shiro-kun, if you don't have anything to do, can I ask you a favor?"

Kukuri's request was a small purchase, primarily for the purchase of additional fireworks.

"Will you use them again?"

"Don't complain! Generally, when Shiro-kun was working yesterday, he missed some fireworks, right?"

The lost fireworks were probably used by the boy to evade the attackers from him. The boy seemed to have no words to answer, and he was cheating and laughing.

After her sleeve was repaired, Kukuri laughed happily "Thank you." and turned to everyone.

"Everyone! Shiro-kun will take care of it, tell him what you need!"

"Oh Shiro saved us! I'm running out of nail polish, so buy it!"

"Shiro-kun, can you buy me two purple threads?"

"I want potatoes! Consomme flavored!"

"I want chocolate and cookies! In a large bag of individually wrapped packages for everyone to share!"

"I want to eat ice cream!"

"The ice will melt!"

"Then bring me wool!"

"Take a receipt!"

"Wait, wait, I'll take a note now!"

Surrounded by colleagues, the boy writes on a piece of paper. The laughing boy in the middle of the crowd doesn't seem to disappear one bit, but something is trapped in Kuro's heart.

"Be careful, Shiro-kun. Please come back early!"

Kukuri laughed cheerfully and pushed the boy back, entrusting him with a general shopping mission.

When they accompanied the boy without a PDA and left the school by the back route without going through the gate, Kuro, the boy and Neko walked together across the connecting bridge. Neko was cheerful wanting to walk. As for the clothes, she put on the school girls uniform that she had worn in the morning, and when Neko ran, the hem of the short skirt fluttered.

Neko, who was walking while her interests changed from here to there, jumped onto the railing of the connecting bridge and happily looked at the landscape from there.

Kuro and the boy also stop.

The sea reflected the light and shone.

When he arrived, he ran down the street without looking around his due to his anger and his sense of mission, but when he looked at it like that, it was a truly beautiful sight.

As Kuro and the boy follow Neko and approach the parapet, the sea breeze blows gently and makes his hair flutter.

Looking at the calm and beautiful landscape side by side, he felt calm after a long time.

When he thinks about it, peace hasn't come to Kuro's heart since Miwa got sick. Miwa's death pushed Kuro into deep pain and a feeling of loneliness. Even so, the reason he stayed was because he made a promise to Miwa before he died. Defeat the evil "King". Determination to fulfill that last mission made him walk straight even after Miwa's death.

However, on the way, he was preparing for the festival with boys and girls of the same age, and relaxing with a mysterious boy, and Neko, looking out to sea.

"It’s beautiful."

He leaked from his mouth inadvertently. The boy leaning against the parapet looks at Kuro and laughs softly.

"Right? I also really like the view from here."

"Glitter killer!"

Following the boy, Neko said happily and took a deep breath.

"Shiro, let's finish soon and go home early!"

Neko laughs with her whole face. The boy also looked towards Gakuenjima with a warm smile somewhere in the shadow.

"Yes. Let's go home early. Kukuri is waiting for us."

++++++++++

For Fushimi Saruhiko, the moment his heart moved was extremely rare.

Most of the time, his emotions only move in the direction of irritation or disgust, and he has lived by cutting off most of the joy and sadness from him. He does what he is supposed to do, but most things are lazy and annoying. Additional involvement with others is the worst of all. He is not thrilled by his daily life.

It was partly due to the quirks of Fushimi's growing environment, because he stopped waiting for others early on, and because he left most of the world.

He met one of them and spent a few years with him, but in the end he broke it into pieces with his own hands, so he is not going to tell anyone.

Tatara Totsuka was killed, and the members of "Homura" who are angry are looking for the criminal, but Fushimi was still unmoved and participated in the search for the criminal, because that is Fushimi's job.

"Scepter 4" is different from "Homura", and adapts to Fushimi's character as he is. It wasn't a hassle to get the job done quickly without getting used to it.

However, situations where easy tasks cannot be accomplished quickly, and situations where incompetence becomes a silly obstacle and makes work difficult, is purely painful.

"I am very sorry for the sudden request, but I would appreciate your cooperation. I want to reiterate; we will not cause problems at your school."

"That's right, but... given the current age, revealing students' personal information is not correct."

In the reception room of Ashinaka School, the incompetent-looking headmaster and vice-headmaster give a clear answer as they get confused over Awashima's request.

Fushimi was taken by Awashima to the Ashinaka school, also known as Gakuenjima, which the "Yoshii" system identified as the criminal's hideout. Awashima's job was to persuade the directors, and Fushimi was waiting standing behind Awashima's chair, but he was tired of listening to the careless exchanges.

"I would like you to understand that we are willing to pass through the hands of the judiciary if necessary."

"No, that's…!"

"Yes. I don't want to complicate things as much as possible, so I would like to have voluntary cooperation."

"However, when it comes to searching for a student without knowing his name or class from all the students, it is not realistic to do it right now..."

Awashima's voice also begins to sharpen with irritation. However, the director kept trying to escape with an errant word, he wanted to avoid making a decision here. It was getting harder and harder to hear the silly conversations, and Fushimi looked out the window, letting their voices flow like a distant noise. The wind is strong, he watches the clouds slide and flow.

"Are you sure? This investigation is already a decision. If your school does not have the investigation capacity, we will do it for you."

"Are you going to do it? It's too overbearing."

"I don't want to be misunderstood, but I am not convincing them. I am explaining the situation to them and telling them to take appropriate action."

In Fushimi, this whole situation became irrelevant.

Fushimi turns his back on the exchange between the headmaster and Awashima, who was making noise.

Fushimi quietly escaped from the reception room when he looked at Akiyama and Benzai, who were lined up in a polite manner, and he touched Akiyama's shoulder with the intention of pushing the rest away. Awashima didn't even look at Fushimi, although she did notice.

He walked into a quiet hall with a light humor. Unlike the area where students walk, this building for teachers and foreigners is quiet. Fushimi took out the PDA and slid his finger from it to call the spokesperson for this school. He took a quick look and discovered that the student council room is the right place to fulfill his purpose. The student council room was located in the building across the courtyard from here.

As they exited the building, the soft light of the winter afternoon sun fell on Fushimi.

Contrary to Fushimi's mood, as he walks under the clear blue sky, Fushimi feels the area around his lips twitch and he notices the quiet irritation within himself.

The death of Tatara Totsuka. Suoh Mikoto's selfishness. The Weissman deviation of the "Red King". The "Colorless King" killing a member of the clan. The revenge of "Homura". The "King" who wants to invite the slaughter. Possible consequences.

Maybe Izumo Kusanagi understands it and is on the way, and Anna Kushina knows it. But the others would not know anything. Especially that boy.

Fushimi clicked his tongue and sped up.

When he got to the student council room, he opened the door a little and looked inside the room, there was only one student. A mature woman with braided hair tied next to her head.

Fushimi thought about what to do for a moment, but it became problematic to use an indirect hand and chose a direct means.

He closed the door again, knocked gently and moved his body to hide behind the door.

The door opened and the student appeared. Fushimi presses a medicine-soaked cloth against the student's mouth from behind her. The student who took the medicine lost consciousness and was bent over.

Fushimi lifted the student's body with minimal physical contact and carried her to the student council room. If he borrows her fingerprint to unlock the computer, he will have access to all the students' data. He connects his PDA with a cable and starts hacking.

Once he has full access rights to the campus network using the student council computer as a springboard, he can begin to match the faces of all students, teachers, secretaries, and all the people who belong to this school with the face of the criminal.

Fushimi also felt irritation burning inside his chest, looking at the automatic compilation work. Like static electricity, it is annoying and disturbs Fushimi's thinking.

When he sighed sharply, an electronic sound was heard and the screen showed a screen informing her that the job was finished and the result.

Looking at the screen, Fushimi raises his eyebrows and lifts his back from the back of the chair he was sitting on.

At that moment, he heard a familiar voice far away, outside the window.

"Look closely, don't look away, fool!"

The voice yelling at someone, as soon as it enters Fushimi's ears, it turns into something that bristles his skin and spreads all over his body.

Fushimi stood up, stuck his finger into the hole in the blind that covered the window, and looked outside.

The figure immediately jumped into Fushimi's eyes.

A student intertwines with two male students and is listening to their destiny. A boy with a skateboard under his arm and a beanie that would be more appropriate for a young man, a boy with a boyish look who is lifting a tight fit.

He can understand why they are there and what they are doing without asking. He remains straightforward and can only see what is in front of him.

He remembered irresistibility and destiny.

For Fushimi Saruhiko, the moment when his heart moves are extremely rare.

But now, Fushimi twisted his mouth into a smile, feeling shaken after a long time, as if to repaint the annoyance and little irritation he had felt a while ago.

++++++++++

It was okay to invade the school, but the Ashinaka school was so big that he thought it was stupid.

It is far from Yata's school image, which he thought was at best about the school building, the gymnasium, and the school grounds. Here is a clock tower, cafes, shops like supermarkets, fashionable open spaces, etc. It could be said that it was already a town.

Of course, there is not just one school building, but several school buildings are built in a relaxed way using a sprawling site, and there are other buildings such as a research building, a teacher building, a clubroom building, a dormitory room student, etc. There is greenery between them, a mysterious fashionable bronze statue and an arch with stained glass on the ceiling. It seems that the school festival is near and preparations for the festival are underway here and there.

Yata was stressed while he wandered around such a place while he listened to the murmurs.

"Hey, don't you know this guy?"

"Don't you know where this guy is?"

"Do you know this guy?!"

He asked randomly as he showed the photo of the criminal that he put on the PDA, but he never got a good reaction. They always shook their heads if they didn't know about it, or they were scared of Yata and ran away, and he couldn't find any clues.

As he bit the impatience and irritation with his back teeth, Yata searched for the next student to listen to him, and his footsteps became wild and steady.

"Please wait, Yata-san!"

Kamamoto, who had been left behind before he knew it, shook the giant body and reached for it. Yata clicked his tongue.

"Idiot! Go shopping and eating after asking."

"Yata-san, have you eaten? Did you rest? Since that day..."

He tried to tell him not to change the story, but Kamamoto's eyes on the back of the sunglasses seemed to be more serious than he expected, and Yata was a bit confused and then smiled.

"It's okay."

He has little awareness of whether he is eating or resting properly. If he is hungry, he will put something in his mouth, and if he is sleepy, he will sleep. But since that day, he certainly has felt less hungry and sleepy. He is addicted to the excitement of anger.

The sight of that cold ceiling revives in his mind. Blood spilled onto the concrete and the eyes lost light. Totsuka will never return.

He remembers the back of a man whom Yata respects more than anyone, stretching out his hands before the Blues and being captured without resistance. There is no way Yata knows what Suoh is doing now and what he thinks he is.

With that in mind, he doesn't really care about food or rest.

Yata turned his back on Kamamoto and started walking. He heard a small sigh behind him, but Kamamoto followed Yata without saying anything else.

The inside of his chest is noisy, and Yata searches for the next person to ask as he walks fast as if he's looking for a place to hit his feelings with nowhere to go.

Yata, who was impatient, kept asking with astonishing tenacity, but the results did not improve after all. When he wandered around the big school and asked in a half lost state because he did not know where he was, he felt like a small boat that had gone out in search of a sunken ship and was in danger.

"Hey, you guys! Look at this picture! Do you know this guy?"

When they found a couple of boys behind the school building and he hit the PDA screen like he was hitting the pent-up frustration, they made an openly scared face. Yata clicked his tongue, saying this guy will scare people just by talking to them.

"I do not know..."

The boy said backing away, but it was clear that he was looking for an escape route and not looking directly at the screen.

"Look carefully!"

When Yata asks, the boys' eyes escape even more.

"You've averted your eyes right now, huh? Oh! Do you know this guy?"

"I do not know!"

"I do not know..."

Faced with the guys trying to escape at any moment, "Where is he?" Yata asked, and put his hand on his shoulder from behind.

Kamamoto grabbed Yata by the shoulder and shook his head.

Yata clicked his tongue and turned away from the student, who was leaning forward with his forehead down. Seeing Yata settled, the two boys fled as if rolling.

"Is it a dead end again? I'm angry."

"Yata-san, you can't help it. This place seems to be huge."

"Shut up!"

Biting Kamamoto, who makes a terrifying voice, Yata takes off from the front and starts walking.

"I don't want to delay another second. I will avenge Totsuka-san's death."

Yata told him to ask in a lower voice. At that moment, he heard a small woman cry.

When he rolled his eyes, he saw two schoolgirls, looking at Yata and Kamamoto standing in a way that was clearly inappropriate for this school, and huddled together.

Yata was openly scared.

He may be strong against men, but he is not good at dealing with women. A woman is a different creature from a man, who hurts himself quickly and he does not know what she is thinking. He's not good at knowing what kind of attitude he should have. Yes, he is not good at understanding it, but he is aware of women and gets nervous. Yata insisted on his heart.

"Ah, you there! Come here for a moment. I have something to ask you!"

Ignoring Yata's feelings, Kamamoto called out to the two schoolgirls with a lot of pressure. Being called out by a standing giant with blonde hair, a beard and glasses, the schoolgirls get more and more scared.

"No, oh, that..."

"Ah? What is this? I'm just saying there is something I want to ask you..."

Without saying anything until the end, Yata hit Kamamoto's head with a fist. Kamamoto makes a plaintive voice.

"Hey, don't scare the girls like that! I'll punish you."

He was so upset that his voice changed. Yata turned to the girls with a flushed face.

"Hey, sorry, that was wrong..."

He intended to act like a gentleman to the best of his ability, but when Yata screamed, the female students finally fled with a frightened voice that they could not bear.

Yata lets them go, and then slams Kamamoto's head next to him to shake off the awkwardness.

"Gya! Please forgive me, Yata-san."

"Shut up! I always tell you not to threaten a woman!"

"No, I haven't raised my hand... First of all, Yata-san, you've only asked the boys all this time."

"To find a boy you must ask other boys!"

When Yata said that, Kamamoto made an exaggerated gesture. When Yata clenched his fist again to hit him again, a voice that touched the most sensitive part of his nerve slipped into Yata's ear.

"It feels like the virgin is exposed as usual."

The moment he recognized that voice, Yata's head turned white.

It was a very familiar voice and, at the same time, very distant.

Yata slowly shakes his head and looks back at the sight that he feels like he's shaking.

First, the toes of the boots came into view. Looking up, he saw an abominable blue uniform and a saber with a blue scabbard at the waist. AND…

"Damn..."

A face with a murmuring smile. From the other side of the black-rimmed glasses, his familiar eyes stare at Yata.

"Saruhiko!"

Fushimi Saruhiko, a man who is now a member of "Scepter 4" and was once Yata's partner, was there.

A voice containing rumors flows from Fushimi's thin lips, which form an undistorted smile, and entwines with Yata.

"It's a strange situation. How is this? Ah, Anna. But Kusanagi-san can't let you listen to this recklessly. Misaki lost control without permission? Seriously, as always."

Perhaps by the way, he said the first name of him and of Yata's close friends. Throwing those friends, their spirits, into messing with them was annoying.

"Shut up! Don't call me casually! Don't feel free to talk about my friends! Traitor!"

Fushimi laughed deep in his throat.

"It couldn't be helped. After all, I am of a different race than Misaki and the others. It was inevitable to leave."

"Ah! You are not wrong about that. You are different from us!"

"Yata-san...! If you make noise in a place like this..."

Kamamoto inserts a frustrated voice between Yata and Fushimi, who are filled with tingly air. However, Fushimi behaved as if he hadn't seen Kamamoto's existence.

"By the way, Misaki. How did you sneak in here?"

"Ah? It's none of your business."

"The security level here is high. Where is your pass? Show me, Misaki."

"It's none of your business! Don't call me by my name, you make me sick!"

Fushimi also makes a catchy laugh.

"Oh, that's right, you hate being called by that name right?"

Fushimi locked eyes at Yata. His lips move slowly as in slow motion and a moist, sweet, audible voice is exhaled.

"Mi... sa... ki..."

Something snapped in Yata's head.

A fiery red light seeps from Yata's body as if anger is overflowing with a physical form.

"You asked for it..."

Fushimi lifted the edge of his mouth.

"Yata-san! This is not good! Remember what Kusanagi-san said, don't let Mikoto-san have been captured in vain! What good would fighting that monkey do?"

The word "Mikoto-san" affects the feelings and power of Yata, which he is about to attack. Yata managed to restrain his furious fist with desperate self-control.

"Mikoto-san, huh?"

The tone of Fushimi's voice becomes lower and the laugh becomes darker. It was a voice that lurked with malicious intent, and Fushimi's sheer irritation.

"He seems to have lost his bearing on him, right? After all, he decided to give himself up. I guess it means he has matured. You should learn from him, Mi… sa… ki…"

Yata was filled with an icy rage, which was the exact opposite of the rage that had blood on his head, making him feel cold and icy.

Insult Suoh. Fushimi's mouth said it, no one else.

Yata took a deep breath and threw down the skateboard he was holding. The skateboard turns vertically and falls into a position waiting for Yata to get on. He didn't want to take anything anymore. He hears Kamamoto's impatient voice in the distance, "Yata-san!"

"Saru... You are going to die!"

Yata barked.

Fushimi laughs and touches the handle of the sword.

"Fushimi, ready for an emergency battle."

As Fushimi drew his sword, Yata put one foot on the skateboard and kicked the ground. The red light that overflows from his body turns into a flame and is directed towards Fushimi.

Fushimi lightly avoided Yata's rush with a laugh. Yata spins his skateboard without killing the momentum with which he jumped, increasing the output of the flame.

The flame that rises from the body swirls and becomes a bright red pillar that stretches to the heavens. At his feet, the wheels of the skateboard with the power of Yata sandwiched the tiles on the surface of the street.

Yata, who turned into a swirling pillar on fire, approaches Fushimi again. Fushimi turned the sword with a smile and inserted it into the swirling flame with the tip of the blue light.

As the blade was soft and flexible and entered the column of flame, Fushimi took a deep breath. The power of the blue poured from Fushimi's body onto the sword in one go, scraping away Yata's flame and scattering it.

Yata and Fushimi's eyes were intertwined as the red and blue colors mixed and danced. Fushimi's eyes seemed to be a mixture of pleasure and murder, and some emotions that Yata couldn't read.

Yata jerked it off him, focused the flames on his hardened fist and struck him down. Fushimi avoids Yata's fist with his sword, grabs his arm with a blue barrier, and stops him.

Fushimi is familiar with Yata's movements and fighting style. It was uncomfortable to realize that, and Yata enthusiastically jumped up on his skateboard and launched a nosedive attack. Fushimi received the bottom of Yata's skateboard with the sword from him.

Yata's skateboard and Fushimi's sword fight each other, and Fushimi raises the sword, deflecting the trajectory of Yata's power. However, just before being played, the skateboard wheel scraped off Fushimi's sword. His glasses flew off.

Fushimi, who exposed his true face, narrowed his eyes and looked at Yata, narrowing the distance with the lightness of taking steps, and extended his sword.

Yata jumped to avoid the sword. He flips high as he is, and at the same time he lands, he attacks again.

A fist like a bullet of fire. Kicking with the body on fire. If it's just a knife, it can be defeated, but there is also Fushimi's sword, which uses the power of blue that also serves as a barrier.

Fushimi attacked Yata. A blue light like fluttering phosphorescence. Yata leaped like a small animal and withdrew as he avoided a gentle but violent push, and used the skateboard as a folding shield.

The eyes of the two meet.

When they looked at each other they felt something emotional, and Yata kicked Fushimi down as if to shake him, and he too jumped on the skateboard and came down from behind.

"Ke, you're not as good as before, Saru!"

Fushimi laughed at Yata's provocation with just a sigh. He slowly lifts the glasses that have fallen to the ground and puts them back on.

"No... I'm stronger. Much stronger than before."

"Silly stuff!"

Yata kicks the ground again. He coiled the flames all over his body, kicked the back of the skateboard with his left foot, and jumped high.

Fushimi catches Yata attacking from above with his sword.

After taking action for a short time, Yata jumps once with Fushimi's sword power that can be repelled, regains his position, and charges immediately.

He remembered that he was rushing too much when he was next to Fushimi. However, stupid or not, Yata's haste has set in motion what is in front of him. Fushimi used to follow Yata running aside, but that is no longer necessary. Yata has both power and stamina. He doesn't need to be smart. He will push everything with just force.

He engulfed him with a fist engulfed in flames. Fushimi dodged Yata's attack or defended himself with the power of blue, but his legs slowly fell back.

Yata laughed at Fushimi, who was being pushed passively.

"What's the matter, Saru?"

Suddenly, Fushimi's mouth made a smile.

Fushimi flashes his left hand from the position where Yata becomes a blind spot. He sees a flying red light.

Yata opens his eyes to the red color that Fushimi gives off, and the reaction is delayed. The red light from "Homura" ignited Fushimi's knife that pierced Yata's shoulder.

The first thing he felt was heat, not pain.

When he realized it was a sensation of fire, Yata hit and rolled on the ground. He hears Kamamoto's impatient voice saying "Yata-san!"

Frowning, Yata grasps the right shoulder from which the knife is sticking out.

The burning pain from the wound pulses according to the heartbeat.

Yata removed the knife from his shoulder and gritted his teeth.

This knife is familiar to Yata. Originally, Fushimi was darker. Fushimi mainly used to throw knives as a weapon when he was in "Homura". Yata looked closely many times as if this knife had the power of red.

But now, Yata was completely surprised that Fushimi used a knife with the same red power that he used back then. He can tell that he was scared.

Distorted by anger and the feeling of wanting to cry for some reason, Yata crawls across the ground and covers himself.

Fushimi looked at Yata with a smile.

"Didn't I tell you? I left Suoh and got stronger. This is the test!"

The sword from "Scepter 4" that houses blue light and the knife he used in the "Homura" era that houses red light.

Looking at Fushimi, who is holding both colors, Yata's head was boiling.

"Ah, two colors?"

Kamamoto said in a frustrated voice and stepped out, perhaps trying to protect the fallen Yata.

However, the foot stops in one step. A bright red Fushimi knife flew in and stabbed into Kamamoto's feet. At that moment, the red power in the knife explodes and the column of fire rises. Kamamoto falls on his butt.

"Stay out of the way, I'm not interested in small fish!"

Yata staggered to his feet, staring at Fushimi's profile, who screamed at the impulse to change his voice.

"Saru is right… Stay out of this."

He grabs the knife stuck in his shoulder. Fushimi's red power burned Yata's palm. Regardless of the burning pain, he pulled the knife out hard and threw it.

The flames that were once shared as a partner are hurting Yata. Attacks of the same color are difficult to defend. Even if the blue power can be blocked by the red power, the same red power cannot be well noticed. It is the power of friends, not the ones that originally clashed.

Yata was unable to forgive Fushimi, who used that power as a tool while he was wearing a blue uniform. The more he felt the pain in his shoulder and the more aware he was of the heat of the blood flowing from him, the more his fighting spirit burned.

"Saru, don't get excited just because you have those powers. Do you intend to conquer this country?"

"I'm not interested in the vulgar things in the world. I'm interested i ..."

Fushimi distorted his face. His pupil opens behind his glasses.

"Blood and flesh."

Yata clasped his hands into his fists and screamed from the bottom of his stomach. He blew up a flame to squeeze all the power from the core of the body.

He looked directly at Fushimi. If he hits all the power he has now and knocks him down, that's all Yata has, and he can't see other scenarios.

Looking at Yata, Fushimi laughed with satisfaction.

Fushimi holds the sword. Yata, who has turned into a mass of flames, kicks the ground to hit Fushimi.

He didn't care if he died or killed.

At that moment, a cold, sharp blue wind blew and tore between the hot Yata and Fushimi.

"That's!"

I heard the anger of a woman.

When he looked, a woman dressed in blue was standing there with her two subordinates. Seeing her holding a sword in her right hand, he knows that blue breeze was a power cut from hers blue hers.

The wind it produced scattered the flames of Yata and the hot air between them.

Seri Awashima, a lieutenant from "Scepter 4", a blue-clad woman with an outstretched back, declared it again and sent an attentive glance at Fushimi.

"Fushimi, put your sword away, what are you doing? Where do you think you are?"

Awashima's cut seemed to have dissipated the damp heat that Fushimi was wearing, and Fushimi turned around with a fake smile on his face.

Awashima lowered her eyebrows, but she did not repeat any more words to Fushimi and turned her eyes to Yata.

"Misaki Yata, a member under the command of the "Red King". The captain of the "Homura" team who controls the skateboard, and you answer to the name of Yatagarasu."

He didn't feel bad about being called by two of his favorite names, and Yata snorted and laughed.

"I know you too. Seri Awashima, the right arm of the "Blue King". Call me a ruthless woman."

Awashima had an indescribable look, as if she was angry and stunned.

"I think that name was probably said by the owner of the bar, right?"

"Eh?"

"Anyway, it is a fact that I cannot ignore that you are here, but unfortunately it is too great a disadvantage to be here now. What if you guys postpone the meeting?"

"He was the one who started it."

"Yes? Maybe I was not clear. You are going to postpone a meeting, understood? Is that better?"

Yata looked wryly at Awashima, who was like a teacher, with only one corner of his mouth raised.

"I have no intention of obeying a Blue."

"Yata-san!"

Kamamoto called out in a voice trying to stop him, but he ignored it and continued proudly. He thought that retreating just because these Blues appeared would make "Homura" look bad.

"Your king…"

Suddenly, Awashima's voice seemed to be soft. Yata's shoulder shuddered at the words.

"All he does is complain about the food, but he finishes it and goes to sleep. I'm totally blown away."

He felt him being pushed hard in the chest.

Suoh seems to be Suoh and he's fine. He was so relieved that he wanted to cry over that fact, and he felt his strength gradually increase.

"Mikoto-san..."

Awashima smiled at Yata when he accidentally muttered. At that face, he suddenly felt uncomfortable when he remembered that Awashima, whom he had only thought of as an "enemy", was a woman.

"Let's go."

He turns around to hide his flushed face from her and starts walking with Kamamoto.

As he walked, Yata looked back just once. Fushimi kept his sword down and turned, not even looking at Yata. Yata clicks his tongue bitterly and turns to the front.

His injured right shoulder was annoying.

++++++++++

"Do you have something to say?"

Awashima said in a very calm and simple voice.

"I'm sorry."

Fushimi made an apology, but it was neither an apologetic voice nor an apologetic tone.

However, Awashima forgave Fushimi's attitude as if it didn't matter.

"So how did it go?"

Awashima asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. You accessed the school's data anyway, right?"

Fushimi was struck by the void for a moment and blinked, realizing that he was discovered.

His thoughts and actions were read by Awashima, it made him feel a bit interesting and he evaluated.

His head went cold because he faced Yata, and his emotions that trembled after a long time settled in the original place, and his head switched to working mode.

"How is he? Is that boy a student from here?"

The result of the collection of data from school officials hacked from the computer in the student’s council room revives in Fushimi's mind.

"No."

No applicable person.

After matching with the photo of the criminal's face, the system concluded that.

"The suspect is not enrolled in this school."

++++++++++

Yata thought it was done.

It was Yata who insisted, "I'll just ask one more person!", shaking Kamamoto, who was persuaded to go home after first aid treatment for the wound on his right shoulder that was stabbed with a knife.

He was wondering if he could go home empty-handed, and he was so upset that he had that conversation with Fushimi that he didn't feel like coming home, and he was worried about Yata. It was also because Kamamoto is stubborn, he would tell Yata to go home as if he was trying to calm his son down.

Yata then stopped a group of students passing by without even looking at the other person's face before being stopped by Kamamoto.

"Yes?"

However, in that group, it was a female student who stopped in response to Yata's voice. The skirt of the Ashinaka high school uniform fluttered, and the hair cut with an ornament on the side swayed.

He stopped a woman. Yata was afraid to notice. On the other hand, the student who stopped didn't seem to be scared of Yata and tilted her head with a clean face.

He can't run away, Yata averted his eyes from her so as not to make eye contact with her, but pushed forward the image of the criminal boy that was displayed on the PDA.

"I'm looking for... this guy... have you seen him?"

The schoolgirl looks at the boy in the picture.

"Kukuri! We will get ahead of ourselves!"

A student who seems to be friends with her spoke to her from a distance. The girl named Kukuri looked at her friend, replied "Oh, yeah!", and then turned to Yata.

"I'm sorry."

Kukuri said with an apologetic bow.

"Do not know him."

[a-cat001]

The Coolest Lion in Daikanyama

“Huuuuuhhhh, I’ll never get through all this paperwork at this rate, aaaahhhh”, Arsalan rolled over onto his side on his desk in exhaustion as he had been hours at  work filling out paperwork for the abbey as per requested by Maria. “There has to be something to do other than this” he whined, no sooner than he had spoken, an angel came by his desk with another stack of paperwork causing Arsalan to bury his face into his arms in defeat. “I wish a certain cub would come by, I bet they could make this mundane work more exciting.” he said to himself, his face still planted in his arms. A sudden loud noise made him lift his head back up to see its source, “Come on Maria!”, “No Gabriel, you have responsibilities to attend to here, you can’t go to the party.”. It was Gabriel and Maria with Gabriel trailing behind Maria clinging to her clothes in a pleading fashion “But I got to put on a hit performance at such a party, even MC is going to be there!” Gabriel cried, this caused Arsalan’s ears to perk up at the mention of your name and a party, “What’s this about a party Maria?” the lion asked. “Shinjuku Academy is hosting a large party to celebrate their recent academic success schoolwide” replied Maria, “Yeah and the one thing that a party needs is a show and you know what's even better? A duet collab, it’s just what the people are waiting for!” Gabriel exclaimed indicating she wanted you to perform with her. “Again Gabriel, you have responsibilities to take care of on top of the fact you nearly gave them a heart attack last time you decided to randomly pull them on stage” said Maria, quickly cutting down Gabriel’s hope of performing, “Plus I believe that the party is only for Shinjuku students” she added. Gabriel continued to cling to Maria as she walked off, still whining about attending the party, leaving Arsalan to himself. He soon begin to think to himself about the party, staring at the stacks of paperwork on his desk, feeling more exhausted as he thought about the hours he would spend filling them out, “I’m sure that one break couldn’t hurt, it’ll boost my moral and I’ll be able to finish this paperwork in no time, plus I bet my young cub could use some company at such a rowdy event.” he thought to himself, stroking his chin as a smile came to his face.

It was the night of the party and you meet up with the rest of the summoners before heading down to the main reception “Ooooh I can’t wait to hit the buffet line, I heard Choji prepared all kinds of delicious stuff for the party!” Ryota said as he bounced along, “Hold your horses there bud, you may have to compete with Behemoth on that one” Kengo remarked. “Don’t take me lightly Kengo! All is fair in food and war and I don’t intend to lose, not even to Behemoth!”, Ryota said, “Woah where'd all this seriousness come from?!” Kengo replied. “Isn’t it all is fair in love and war?” Shiro quipped looking puzzled at Ryota’s earlier statement, “Same thing” Ryota replied which made you laugh, “looks like no ones changed” you remark. “Remember we are here to enjoy ourselves, my friends not to fight.” Moritaka said, “There will be plenty of food and games to enjoy for everyone, speaking of which I think I may enjoy myself in a game of frisbee toss while we’re there.” he added his tail wagging at the thought of frisbee. After you arrive at the party some of your friends break off to go enjoy different parts of the party while you go with Ryota to enjoy the buffet table, sampling the delicious array of food that is present until a sudden noise from the crowd in the distance catches your attention. You and Ryota move in to find out what the noise was about, running into Kengo in the process and asking what the was causing the commotion but Kengo simply stared forward with his mouth agape before answering “Uh, who is that?”. You turn in the direction he motions to and your jaw quickly hits the floor at the sight of a large lion transient wearing shades, white high top sneakers, shorts, an unzipped leather hoodie with the sleeves ripped off and a white t-shirt with the words “Lion Pride” written on it. “Hey yo cubs! The coolest lion in Dai- Shinjuku has arrived!” Arsalan roared as he pumped his fist into the air, “That Kengo, is a cry for attention” you sigh. Perhaps you spoke too loud as Arsalan quickly turns to your direction before his face lights up and he runs over to you picking you up off the ground into a massive hug, “greetings young cu- I mean, how’s my main cub!” he shouts, earning you more than a few stares. By the time Arsalan puts you down your face is beet red and you grab Arsalan’s paw to lead him to a less crowded area where you can talk to him, “What are you doing here?”, “What, I’m just here to enjoy the party and see my favorite cub.” he responds. You cross your arms and raise an eyebrow at him to which he breaks his facade ,”Awwww come now, don’t look at me with that face, you know I don’t do well with paperwork.” he whines, you give him a quick boop on the nose before reminding him he can’t just ditch his responsibilities. “This will be a one time instance, besides Maria will have my tail if I return now”, You give a defeated sigh and uncross your arms, “Fine, just try to blend in ok?”, you ask, “Gotcha” he replies, flashing you a smile and a pair of finger guns, “Huuh, ok, also what’s with the outfit?”, “Hmm, I thought this is what the youth of this world normally wear is it not?” he replies. Looking him up and down you chuckle before heading back to the party, you spend most of the party hanging around Arsalan, partially to keep him company and part to watch over him. You and Arsalan play mostly sports games and mingle with the crowd, meeting up with several of your friends and students from your class, with Arsalan “trying” to keep inconspicuous. HIs methods are however, drawing more attention to the two of you, “Hey yo! Nice to meet ya, how’s it hangin”, he would shout or he would shout into crowds, “Come on cubs raise your hands in the air!” and while it definitely got you some puzzled looks you couldn’t help but enjoy his enthusiasm. This continued for a while so you decided to take a break and grab a drink, but as you do a pair of students from another class come up to you with smug grins on their face. “You always tend to attract the freak show don’t you” one of them said, the other behind him chuckling, you give them a glare “What’s it to you what my friends are like” you retort. “Oh it's nothing it just makes sense that someone as weird as your friend would be following you around considering just how weird you are yourself.”, “What’s that supposed to mean?” you reply, now getting tired of the pair's attitude. “Oh come on, you may be the big talk around school but don’t think I haven’t seen the way you really are, crying to yourself, freaking out for no reason, hanging around a bunch of weird transients all the time, you're just like your friend, nothing but hot air.” he says, “I-” you begin but hang your head down at the realization that someone was calling you out on your problems. The pair laugh at your defeat and turn around to leave but are stopped as the first one collides into a large figure that had been listening in on the conversation. “Would you care to repeat yourselves little cubs?” Arsalan says, his face contorted in anger, “Who are you to judge others, especially MC. They have done nothing but devote themselves to others in need, which is why I and many others follow them. They have done more for this Arsalan and many others throughout Tokyo than you two could ever hope to as you are!”. They pairs grinning faces quickly turned to scowls “Why don’t you mind your own business you old poser geezer.” The first one says as they both unseath their sacred artifacts, Arsalan grins through his serious face as he pulls out his own sacred artifact, plunging it into the ground causing oil to spew up.

Back at the abbey, Maria had just received a phone call from the police that an incident had occurred at Shinjuku Academy involving one of their guild members. Upon arriving with Zabaniyya they are shocked to find Arsalan cuffed hand and foot, his head hung low, learning later he had been apprehended after he knocked two of the students unconscious. He was later released to the two after multiple witnesses testified that the students had instigated the fight but was still warned about starting fights especially considering the amount of oil everywhere after the fight. “I can’t believe you snuck out to go to a party Arsalan, you need to be setting an example!” Maria cried, “I know Maria, I deeply apologize for my actions and accept my punishment.”. Maria continued to huff for a minute before she left to talk with the police again about the incident and to apologize to staff, so you decided now would be your chance to talk to the lion. “H-hey thanks for standing up for me back there” you start, the lion perking up at the sight of you, “It was the least this Arsalan could do for you considering all you have done for me.”. You motion for him to lean down to your level to which you plant a quick kiss on his cheek, causing his face to blush deeply as he places his paw on his face where your lips had just been. “You know if you're getting bored at the abbey I could always drop by more often to hang out.” you say, the lion giving a wide smile before replying “Thank you my precious cub, I will be excitedly awaiting your arrival -Owowowow!”, Maria had returned and began to drag Arsalan away by his ear. As he was dragged away he waved at you still smiling wide. Zabaniyya approached you to express his thanks for watching over Arsalan before he leaned down to whisper to you, “I thank you for giving lord Arsalan the quality of time, he truly misses you back at the abbey and enjoys your company,... as do I, we both await your company”. You give Zabaniyya a smile before you decide to tease him a bit “maybe next time we can take you out with us.”, Zabaniyya begins to get flustered for a minute before he settles down to respond “Perhaps we could try something simple, I do not believe I am ready for such an occasion, and if I may request that I not be forced to wear such an attire, please?”.

[actress4him]

Whumptober 2020 - Day 23

Today’s fic features young, black haired Shiro, and wittle baby Keef!

 As a side note, I just wanted to clarify that all of these fics take place in different universes (I don’t think poor Keith would survive all these things actually happening to him in one universe!). I say that because even though I most definitely subscribe to the headcanon that Keith experienced some not so great foster homes (as I’m sure you’ve noticed), I don’t stick with any specifics. So you’ll likely never see me mention the same foster home twice.

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Day 23 - Exhaustion/Sleep Deprivation

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Warnings: foster homes, referenced child abuse

“Hey, kiddo. You fall asleep waiting for me?”

Lifting his head from his arms, Keith blinked up at Shiro, then scrubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. “No. Just resting.” There was no way he could fall asleep, not with the way his brain was running in circles at ninety miles per hour.

Shiro frowned, settling down onto the bench next to him and resting a hand on his upper back. Keith tried to hide his flinch at the touch. “You look exhausted, bud. Everything okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just, you know...nervous about the exam, I guess.”

His newfound mentor smiled knowingly. “Nerves keep you up last night? I can’t count the number of times that’s happened to me.”

Images and sounds from the night before flashed through Keith’s mind, and he barely held back a shudder. “I guess. Mostly, just, you know...studying.” 

“Couldn’t resist last-minute cramming, huh?” Shiro’s smile widened, and he ruffled Keith’s hair. Despite the friendliness of the gesture, his spine stiffened, waiting for it to turn painful. “I told you you had this in the bag. I’m certainly not gonna blame you for studying hard, though. As long as you at least got some sleep.”

The truth was he had only gotten an hour at the most, but he really didn’t want to tell Shiro that. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer.

Standing, he reached a hand down to Keith with a smile. “Ready to ace this?”

His stomach turned a flip. Ace it. Shiro expected him to ace it. He had to ace it, no matter what Shiro expected, because acing it was the only way the Garrison would look twice at a foster kid with a record like him. If he didn’t ace it, he’d be stuck in that house for the foreseeable future, or sent back to the group home, which was almost as bad.

Which is why he desperately needed to have spent as much time studying as Shiro seemed to think he had. He wanted to be studying that much. He just...couldn’t.

Now he had taken far too long to respond, and Shiro was giving him an odd look. “You sure you’re okay, Keith?”

“Mm-hm.” His head ached fiercely and he felt like he might implode from sheer exhaustion at any second, but those were the kinds of things that adults didn’t care about. All they wanted to know was whether he could do the tasks he was supposed to do, and the answer to that was yes. He hoped. 

Taking the offered hand, he stood from the bench. Immediately the room swirled around him, and his knees buckled. He vaguely heard Shiro shout his name from a distance before his head smacked into something hard and everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted him. He blinked, trying to sort through the fuzziness in his head, until the smell of antiseptic assaulted his nose and woke him further. It smelled like the doctor, but why was he at the doctor he hated the doctor and he was supposed to be taking his entrance exam…!

“Hey bud.” Shiro’s voice pulled him out of his spiraling thoughts. “How’re you feeling?”

“Why ‘m I here?” Keith mumbled, then brought his hands up under him and pushed himself up, disregarding the way his head throbbed and swam. “What happened, what about the exam? I can’t miss the exam!”

“Whoa, whoa!” Hands came down on his shoulders, preventing him from standing. “Calm down, buddy. You had some kind of fainting spell and hit your head pretty good on the floor. You need to take it easy.”

“But the exam,” he protested, breathless. “I have to take the exam, I have to!”

“And you will. Just not today.”

Keith’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“I’ve already talked to the officer in charge of admissions. They’re gonna give you another chance to take it in two weeks.”

Two weeks. Keith slumped over, releasing his breath with a whoosh. Two extra weeks in that house, but also two extra weeks to study. This time, he’d make sure he actually could. Somehow.

“Keith...are you sure you’re not sick?”

He shook his head, slowly. “No. Just...tired. Like I said.”

Shiro studied him, making him want to squirm. “How much sleep did you actually get last night?”

Keith looked down at his fidgeting hands. “Some.”

“What about the rest of the week? Have you stayed up studying every night?”

“No,” he answered far too quickly. It was the truth, he hadn’t stayed up studying. That wasn’t the reason he hadn't slept. 

“Keith.” He couldn’t meet Shiro’s gaze, despite his firm tone. “Something is going on here. People don’t just collapse for no reason, and you’ve got huge bags under your eyes. Talk to me.”

He swallowed. “It’s just...hard to sleep. Sometimes.”

“Yeah?” Shiro’s voice had softened. “Why’s that? Nightmares?”

“No.” Yes, but not always. “My…” He didn’t want to say it, but he had to say something. “My foster parents fight.”

“Oh. I gotcha. And that keeps you awake?”

The way that Shiro just took the answer in stride made him pause. There was no sigh, no eye roll, no insistence that he was overexaggerating or that he shouldn’t make excuses for himself. Nothing like how many social workers and teachers had responded to his complaints over the years...before he learned to stop bothering to complain about anything that wasn’t life-threatening. It put a little spark of hope in his chest. Before he knew it, more of the story was spilling out.

“Yeah. They, um. They yell a lot, and sometimes...sometimes he throws things? So it, you know, it gets pretty loud. It’s been...worse. This week. And I’m the oldest there, so...somebody has to watch the babies, and make sure they stay in their room and don’t cry. He hates it when they cry. I don’t want them to get hurt.”

Shiro’s face was etched with concern. “Does he hurt them, ever?”

“Um...no, he...he hasn’t. Yet. I just...I don’t trust him.”

“I understand.” Shiro nodded, and Keith felt like he really, actually did understand. “I need you to tell me something, though. Has he...ever hurt you?”

“Um.” He continued staring at his fingers, heat creeping into his face. He’d known the question was coming, eventually. He thought he could trust him enough to tell the truth. It was just...scary. He wasn’t used to trusting anyone. 

The answer came out just barely above a whisper. “Sometimes.”

Shiro’s voice dropped in volume, too. “Can you tell me about it?”

“He…” His shoulders drew up around his ears. “Sometimes, when they’re fighting, she’ll leave. Like, get in the car, and...and drive off. And a lot of times...he’s not done. He’s still mad. So...so he…”

“He takes it out on you.”

Keith nodded slowly. “Yeah.” 

“What does...he do?”

He hesitated, torn between wanting to say and thinking he shouldn’t, but finally decided just to show him instead. Shuffling around on the bed, he eased his shirt up until his back - and all the marks on it, a few old and many new - was mostly bared.

“Keith,” Shiro breathed.

Yanking the shirt back down, he turned quickly and shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal. I’m okay. And that wasn’t even last night, it was...I don’t know, a few nights ago, I guess. Last night nothing really happened besides them fighting, I was just…” He cut his eyes to the side. “I was scared.”

“Hey.” A gentle hand was placed on his knee. “I’d be scared, too. And it is a big deal. Nobody should be allowed to hurt you like that. That’s not okay.”

Keith shrugged again. “I thought...I thought if I could pass this exam and get into the Garrison, then that’d be over, so I figured I’d just put up with it until then. But every time I try to study, I get interrupted by them fighting, or telling me to do chores, or...or the babies need me, or...something.” Tears pricked at his eyes. “I’m sorry, Shiro. I really tried to do my best.”

“Hey, listen kiddo. You don’t have to apologize to me.” The hand still on his knee squeezed. “I want you to get in for you, not for me. And it doesn’t sound like any of it was your fault. Including today.” 

When he looked up, Shiro was smiling sympathetically at him. “You’re exhausted, Keith, and I don’t blame you. But hey, now you’ve got two more weeks to get ready for the exam, and in the meantime, I think you and I should go and talk to your social worker. I know it’s a pain to have to change houses again, but I don’t want you staying there anymore. Or the other kids, either, if we can help it.”

Keith nodded, though a bit reluctantly. “Yeah. I guess that’s probably best.”

“And maybe this time around I can actually help you out with your studying a little. If whoever you’re staying with next doesn’t mind, maybe you can even spend the night at my place a time or two. Make sure you get some sleep in a place that’s nice and quiet.”

Though he could hardly believe what he was hearing, Keith found the corners of his mouth quirking upwards. “Yeah. That...that sounds really nice.”

[bakubabes-tatakae]

The Demon’s Keeper (Part Six)

Author’s Note: If anyone wants to be added to the taglist for this feel free to let me know ! Happy to add anyone !

(Rin Okumura x Reader)

Summary: Rin Okumura is a hot headed demon who is hard to keep under control, only one person seems to be able to do it better than anyone, Y/N. For that, she’ll be known at the Demon’s Keeper, but what exactly does that entail for them?

AO3 Link

Part One, Part Two: *NSFW Ahead!*, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

Part Six:

Word Count: 2219

As morning broke light it made its way through the cracks in the curtains and the sound of our alarm filled the room. Each beep from the alarm was like a jackhammer pounding in my head. This constant stress headache was going to be the death of me. Rin slowly started to stir, today was the day we left for True Cross University. He was nervous to say the least, but that was to be expected. I would have been worried if he wasn’t nervous. I felt Rin’s soft hand touch my arm. “Y/n, we have to get up. We’ve only got an hour before we have to leave. Mephesto will be here soon to get us.”

I grumbled and rolled over, grabbing the bottle of pain medicine off the nightstand along with the nearest water bottle. They went down with ease and Rin threw the blanket off of us. I cringed as the cold air hit my skin, almost hissing at him. 

He ignored me and got up, throwing on the clothes that he had left out for himself before taking mine off the dresser and throwing them at me. As my clothes hit me he laughed, the look on my face anything but amused, making him laugh even more. 

I grabbed the clothes from my lap and started dressing. I didn’t know what our new life would entail for us, but if I didn’t say I was as nervous as Rin was I would have been lying. “Rin,” He looked back at me with a goofy grin. “You should go check on Yukio and make sure he’s ready to go as well.”

“Yea.” He started for the door. “I’ll go see.”

He shut the door quietly behind him and I was left to my own devices. The sheer amount of emotions that I had been holding in lately wasn’t good for me, but my body didn’t want to seem weak. We had been through so much in such a short amount of time…

* * * * * * 

I made my way downstairs and into the living room, the only light in the room came from the half open curtains in all the windows. Shiro had always been the one to make sure everything was bright and sunny when we had all woken up. Now that he was gone the darkness loomed over us. No one wanted to take on the roles that Shiro once held. Rin was standing in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of orange juice, leaning against the counter. 

“Did you find Yukio?” I walked sluggishly over to the same counter, hopping up onto it. “We only have fifteen minutes before Mephesto is going to be here.”

Rin placed his empty glass into the sink and walked in front of me, placing his hands on my thighs. “From what the monks told me, they haven’t seen him all morning.”

“I bet he’s visiting Shiro. We’re talking about Yukio here, where else would he be?”

Rin placed his head on my collarbone and I placed my hands on his head, intertwining my fingers into his raven colored hair. “You’re right.” He looked up at me. “Want to just go wait outside? It’s pretty nice out”

I smiled. “Sure.” He helped me off the counter and grabbed our bags, following me out the front door. 

The sunlight hit my face and the feeling was almost refreshing. It had been so long since Rin and I had just sat outside and taken in our surroundings. As we took in all the familiar sounds and sights we were interrupted by the sound of a car speeding our way. When we looked up we both thought our eyes had been deceiving us. A pink limo stood in front of the walkway and when the door opened and a person stepped out we realized we should have known who it was. 

With the tip of his hate Mephesto Pheles stood before us, his white shoot shining brightly in the sun. “Well, well, well.” He smiled a tooth grin at the two of us sitting on the porch. “I see the sun's out. It’s a glorious say for new beginnings, wouldn’t you say?”

Rin stood up from the porch and took my hand, helping me up as well. He walked leisurely over to Mephesto. “You got a freaky car.”

I hooked my arm behind Rin’s back and glared at Mephesto. “How did you get us into True Cross University. I feel like we have a right to know what your connections are since we’re using them.”

He pointed his finger at us and spoke matter-of-factly. “I’m the director at True Cross University. That’s the official title anyway.”

Rin’s jaw dropped. “Huh?” 

I took my hand under his chin and helped him shut it. Yukio’s voice jumped the both of us. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He had a giant grin across his fast as he approached us. “I’m so glad this all worked out. Now the three of us can stay together.”

Mephesto turned away from the three of us and raised his voice, scaring some people walking by. “Come now my friends, True Cross University awaits!”

We all piled into the limo, the three of us keeping our distance from Mephesto. Yukio looked over to Rin. “What’s wrong?” If Rin thought he was hiding his annoyance it wasn’t working. Neither of us knew what could possibly have been wrong with him.  

“Nothing.” Rin ignored the question and changed the subject. His favorite defense tactis. ‘Where were you this morning?”

“Visiting dad’s grave. Did you go?” 

An upsetting noise came from Rin’s mouth as the realization hit him, it would probably be a while before he was able to visit him again. “No… I didn’t” He hung his head.

Mephesto broke the awkward silence now looming over the car. “Just a few minutes more and we’ll be in the center of True Cross University town.” We all stared out the window at the blossoming town before us. “Every learning facility under the sun can be found right here in University Town. Enjoy, dig in, and study until your heart’s content.”

We approached a giant building a couple minutes later and Mephesto looked at Rin and I. “Now then, we’ll step out, you two need to change into your uniforms.”

I could feel my face change to annoyance before I was able to stop it. “You couldn’t have told us to make sure we were in our uniforms before we got here?” 

Mephesto ignored the question and Yukio and him stepped out, leaving us to change. As we stepped out of the limo the two of them waiting patiently on the sidewalk. Mephesto motioned toward him and spoke. “Come now, you have orientation to get to.” He led us to an auditorium full of students. “Find a seat, they’ll give you further instructions from there.”

As the speech from one of the teachers started the two of us zoned out. There was nothing worse than listening to someone talk at you about something you didn’t have any care for. The only thing that pulled our attention back was the words “And now, let’s hear from your freshman representation, Yukio Okumura.”

Rin’s jaw dropped once again, a look that wasn’t befitting for him. “Yukio?!” 

I pushed his jaw up. “That shouldn’t surprise you Rin, Yukio’s always been a smart guy.”

Yukio stood from a couple rows in front of us. “Yes sir,” Girls around us were swooning over Yukio as he made his way to the podium on the stage below. “To be able to join you all here at True Cross, a school I’ve long admired, is something that is both thrilling and sobering.”

Rin placed his hand on my thigh. “The little crybaby that always got bullied,”

“I hope that I can live up to the standards of this place. I’m your freshman class rep, Yukio Okumura.”

Tours of the campus were starting so everyone from the auditorium made their way to the courtyard outside the building. The three of us stood together and more girls made their way to Yukio, still overcome with him, I had never seen so many girls throw themselves at him. Yukio’s face turned bright red as they all spoke to him. Rin watched him with concerned eyes. We both knew how little it took to embarrass Yukio.

As our tour began Rin couldn’t hold back his excitement. Every different area we saw he was dumbfounded. The entrance hall was the first stop, escalators that took you up to the next floor pushed Rin over the edge. “This is a school?!” That goofy grin spread from ear to ear and I couldn’t help but giggle as I watched him. The dining hall was stop two and it made his shock even more clear than the first stop. “Woah,” He grabbed my waist and squeezed me, pointing up. “Would you get a load of those chandeliers, it’s like a fancy shmancy restaurant.”

Students around us were watching, but the little raven haired boy didn’t seem to care. The tour took us to classrooms, Rin walked around, admiring every knock and cranny. “Damn, do you think they could have made this room any bigger?” He sat at a desk and his wide eyes expression made more people watch him. “Even these desks are bigger than the ones at the monastery.”

A group of girls off in the distance were speaking about him. “What’s with that guy over there, he’s freaking out.” Another girl spoke back. “I know, what’s a weirdo like that doing here?”

I started to step toward them, ready to give them a piece of mind when my jacket of my uniform was grabbed by Rin’s strong hands. “Leave it alone Y/n, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

As we left the classroom and the tour concluded a man’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “That’s all for today, classes start next week so you should go back to your dorms and get settled in.” We made our way down the stairs and as we got to the bottom we realized that we didn’t even know where we were going. Rin threw his hands in the air. “Where the hell is the dorm, no one told us jack about that.”

I grabbed his arms and pulled them back down. “Relax Rin, we’ll figure it out. Let’s find Yukio, maybe he knows.” A strange sound, almost like a whimpering came from our feet and we looked down to see a small white dog with a pink bandanna around it’s neck. “Who let you in?”

The dog grabbed the ankle of Rin’s pants and started tugging at him, causing Rin to holler out and spin to try to get it off him. The dog let go and stared at us, slowly moving forward, clearly wanting us to follow. We followed as it ran further and further, when it was completely away from everyone at the school it climbed up onto a light pole and in a poof it was no longer a dog. Rin and I both threw ourselves backwards, basically tripping over each other. Mephesto sat before us. “Pardon me, but it would unseamly for the director of the university to be caught prowling around the halls during the day.”

Rin’s confusion was about to overtake him. “You shape shifted! Does that mean that exorcists can shape shift?!”

“God no.” Mephesto almost looked offended. “Although I am an exception.” He held up two keys, tossing them at Rin and I. We each caught one and stared between Mephesto and it. “That key grants you access to the cram school through any door at any time.”

“Cram school?”

“It’s where the two of you will train to become exorcists. Each day you’ll attend normal high school classes, but afterwards you’ll train at the cram school to become a page. While you study exorcism you’ll be considered an exorcist in training. Your high school classes don’t begin until next week, but cram school…” he stepped toward us. “That starts today.” He put his face inches from Rin’s. “I trust you’re ready to begin?” 

“Never been more ready.” The corner of Rin’s mouth curled upwards as a smirk pulled at it. 

“I have to warn you tho. It would be best if you kept the whole son of Satan thing confidential. Say what you want about your ear, fangs, and tail, but the flames are a no no.” Rin tensed. “Control yourself.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Fabulous.” Mephesto jumped on the concrete wall beside us. “Let’s get to it.” He jumped off the edge of the wall on the opposite side and we both ran for the edge, afraid that there was nothing there. Mephesto stood on the ground in front of a door on the opposite side. “Try using one of your keys I just gave you on this door.” We both hopped over the ledge and stood in front of the door. As Rin placed his key in the lock and the doors open we both stood with our mouth gaping open.

Even just the hallway was immaculate. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Mephesto started to corral the two of us. “Come on, your class is this way.” 

Taglist 💕 @thebookwormfairy @psycho-emi @pnkcts @chenosaurr​

Updated: 5/13/2020

[shigarakis-fifth-hand]

Shigaraki x Todoroki! Reader; The Mask

Enjoy the series! one two three four five six seven

Shigaraki sat at the bar, thinking about the girl who he had let into his life, into his home, and into his thoughts. He had no idea who she was, what she looked like, or even how old she was. The last part freaked him out the most. But in he end, he had fallen for a girl based on her sweet personality. Weird

It was late, but Shigaraki was a night owl villain with a lot on his mind. Standing up and looking out the window, he noticed the full moon and stars. Out in the city, heroes roamed the streets looking for him, and the mysterious girl who he had just tucked into bed.

As he wrapped himself in the blanket near by, looking out onto the streets below, he tried to recreate the feeling of her warmth on him. The vanilla smell that meant that she was around, her comforting voice, and when she had cuddled up to him when falling asleep. He tried wrapping himself tighter, or looking out into the city to feel something good. Something warm. Something that could tell him that he didn’t have to have the girl, and that he would be okay.

But no blanket could recreate the bubbly feeling that was in his chest whenever he looked at her, or the melting of his body whenever they touched. My god, that girl did wonders to him and his mind. Shigaraki sighed, walking to the door and putting on his black hoodie before walking out. Taking the steps down to the alleyway, he enjoyed the harsh, cold wind that hit his nose as he walked down the street.

Very few people were out and about, and the ones who were didn’t look very innocent themselves. Shigaraki didn’t care at all, he needed to think about her, the league and everything else. He walked towards the park, stopping on the bridge and looking out at the city. In the distance he saw Endeavor’s agency, and for a moment, wondered where the missing girl could be.

She had gone near this location, and she could be anywhere. Was she alive? Or was she dead? Had she killed herself, or maybe just ran away? Was she like her father... or was she different? No, she was a terrible person. Being an arrogant, rude hero was in hero blood. You couldn’t change blood, and that was a fact. He would never trust a hero, especially since she had been aspiring to be one.

As he walked back, he thought about the girl that he had put to bed. She was gentle and kind, yet competitive and powerful. She had a kill streak for gods sake, yet she was soft and innocent. Shigaraki would even call her Precious, but he’d never say that out loud. What was her deal? She had a nice body and was kind and warm yet she killed people for fun, and was still younger than him. Who was that perfect? She had to be hiding something... there had to be more to her!

Shigaraki began walking back, before seeing a missing poster stapled to the light post nearby. He looked closer before seeing that it was the girl. He rolled his eyes and began walking, before looking closer. It was a photo of her in her school uniform, smiling happily. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and Shigaraki couldn’t help but feel as if he had seen her before. Something weird was going on. Shigaraki grabbed the poster and stuffed it into his pocket before walking off.

As Shigaraki entered the bar, he walked to his room, threw off his shirt and hoodie, and plopped on the bed, falling asleep.

When Shigaraki opened his eyes, he was in a cloud. Looking around, he saw the missing girl in front of him. “Find me Tenko! You have to find me.” She exclaimed, sitting in front of him with a very revealing bathing suit. He blushed, looking at her beautiful body. “You need to find me. I want you to find me, but you have to look for me. Do you love me Tenko?” She asked as he looked away, blushing at her chest. “You say I’m just a hero’s daughter, but I can be more.”

Shigaraki stared at her, his eyes wide. “I want you just as much as you want me Tenko. You just have to find me.” She leaned it to kiss him, before a scream could be heard behind them. Shigaraki turned to see the mystery girl, being chased by Endeavor, Aizawa and Present Mic. “We know you have something to do with her! We know it!” They screamed, grabbing her and beginning to strangle her. “Tomura! Tomura! Please!” 

She screamed as he was forced to watch them choke her, her skin becoming pale as the last air escaped her lungs. She was wearing Tomura’s shirt and nothing else, and her mask was off. Yet, for some reason he couldn’t see her face. “Tomura! Please!” She screamed as Shigaraki got up, beginning to run to her side as he jerked up from his pillow, screaming out loud.

It had just been a nightmare... a terrible and confusing one though. He got up and looked in the mirror at himself. He had slept until two in the afternoon again, and he still had terrible bags under his eyes. That’s when he heard running up the stairs, and his door swing open. “Tomura! Are you okay?” Mystery girl ran through the doorway before stopping, seeing him shirtless. 

“God woman, do you knock?” Shigaraki asked, very aggravated from his dream still. “I heard you screaming and got worried.” She confessed as he looked back at her, disappointed that she was yet again wearing her mask. “I’m not a child, go downstairs.” He told her as she walked downstairs. Shigaraki took that moment to check out her ass in the mirror before putting on a shirt and following her to the kitchen.

He walked to the couch, sitting down next to Dabi to look around. Dabi was watching the news intensely, while Twice and Toga sat on the barstools, talking to Mystery Girl who was twirling around in the kitchen. “Senpaiiiii. Why don’t you take off your mask?! I bet you’re realllyyyy pretty!” Toga exclaimed, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

“I don’t know. The mask if kind of my thing I guess. It’s like my trademark for my identity to be unknown.” She tried to explain, but nothing sounded good, causing Shigaraki to become suspicious as he walked over to the kitchen. “The hands are Shigaraki’s trademark, but he takes them off. Come onnn. Who are we going to tell?” Twice asked as she kept quiet, unable to find a reason to justify it.

“Can’t you tell? It’s because that she’s not serious about being a villain. She wants to be able to have her fun, and then go shopping with her friends in public the next day. Well that’s not how you do it small fry. You’re either in it all the way or not in it at all, and honestly, I don’t think you can handle it.” Shigaraki crossed his arms, smirking at the angry girl in front of him.

“Excuse you! Just because I did most of my work alone in the past does not mean that I’m not legit. I can take just as much as you can, if not more!” She challenged, standing on her tip toes to try and look tougher. “Oh, well alright then. We are all going to Overhaul’s to discuss plans for the attack on UA, we’ll see how much you can take then.” 

Shigaraki was ready for her to back out any moment. She would coward like the child she was, and it would prove that she was just a kid. If she was just a kid, Shigaraki would easily lose any feelings. “Sounds great, what time should I be ready?” She asked as Shigaraki stepped back, receiving looks from everyone else in the room. “S-six, but if you’re not up to it you can-” He was interrupted by her giggling. 

“I told you, I can do just as much as you. Just because I’m younger doesn’t mean anything.” Then she handed him a plate of food before looking at the two at the bar. “Let’s go out in the alley.” She suggested as they nodded, following her out, leaving Shigaraki in the kitchen, absolutely stunned.

“What did I just do...” He mumbled to himself before getting smacked in the head by Dabi. “You’re a dumbass Crusty, ya know that?! Did you think that she would just crumble over and accept defeat? No!” Dabi yelled as Shigaraki stood there, unable to comprehend what had just happened. “She can’t go. She’ll get hurt. Overhaul is absolutely unpredictable. He’s crazy Dabi! We can’t allow it!” He tried to justify it, but Dabi just smirked at him.

“You’re not going to be able to talk her out of it now Crusty. That’s what you get when you think with your dick. And you’re just jealous that Overhaul obviously thought that she’s hot, like you think. Don’t think I don’t realize that. And she’ll be fine, she’s more powerful than all of them.” Dabi walked back over to the couch, Shigaraki following him.

The two sat there as he rolled his eyes, seeing that the rich girl from his dreams was on tv. “I’m tired of seeing her face. Sure she’s hot, but like, get over it. She’s not that special.” Shigaraki exclaimed as Dabi nodded in response. “A lot of people are worried about her dude. They’re not going to stop until they find her. First her brother and now her, they know something is up.” Dabi explained as Shigaraki sat there, thinking of the poster in his jacket pocket.

“I hope they’re both dead. The heroes need to pay, and the greatest thing that can be taken away from them is their children afterall. I think it’s brilliant. Rich girl deserves pain.” Shigaraki expressed as they showed another interview with some of the missing girl’s friends. “Her name is Shiro Todoroki, and honestly, Endeavor doesn’t care about his kids. He never did, never will. That entire family is fucked.”

Dabi expressed, before arguing could be heard from the alleyway. Both men shot up from their seat and ran to the back, opening the door to see everyone arguing at each other. The mystery girl had cut her arm, and Toga had a drip of blood on her finger. “Toga! Don’t do it!” Mystery girl yelled as Toga stared at the drop of blood. “You’re one of my best friends Senpai. I’d die for you, and yet you won’t tell me your identity at all. What did I do wrong?” She asked as Twice nodded.

“Please don’t Toga! I’ll do anything!” Mystery Girl looked up at Shigaraki, her eyes wide with fear. That’s when Shigaraki realized that he was the one who couldn’t know her identity, but he didn’t know why. What was she hiding? “Senpai, I have to. It’ll make our bond stronger.” Toga slipped her finger into her mouth, licking the drop of blood off as Mystery Girl began to run towards her.

Before their eyes, she made a large ice wall circling them both, hiding them from everyone’s view. Toga took a moment to change before she looked around. She could see the white hair in front of her, but that was it. As she stood up though, she looked into the ice and gasped at her reflection before turning to Mystery Girl. “Y-you’re-” Her eyes were wide as she walked towards her white-haired best friend.

As quiet as she could, she whispered, “You’re Shiro Todoroki.” She watched a single tear slide down her cheek before moving her hands to take the mask off of Mystery Girl. Sliding the mask off, tears filled Toga’s eyes. “Oh my god.” The two girls hugged each other before Toga realized something. “Shigaraki will kill you if he finds out. That’s why... oh Senpai I’m so sorry.” Shiro smiled in response before Toga put her mask back on, tying it extra tight.

“I only did a drop so it’ll go awake any minute... oh Senpai, I’m so sorry!” The two girls hugged tighter as Shiro lowered the ice wall, revealing a normal looking Toga hugging her. “What happened? What does she look like?” Twice asked as Dabi and Shigaraki stared at them. “Oh, she’s normal. Pretty eyes, nice face. She’s just great.” The two giggled, gripping hands as Shigaraki sighed, not taking his eyes off the masked white-haired girl.

Dabi smiled in relief before making his way inside, leaving Shigaraki to watch the three experiment with the masked girl’s quirk. Who was she? What was she hiding? He had to find out, or else he would go absolutely crazy.

The hours went quickly, and before Shigaraki knew it, it was 5:30 and everyone was getting ready. Toga and the masked girl were upstairs getting ready, while the rest of them were just chilling. “God, what’s taking so long?!” Shigaraki angrily expressed, wallowing on the couch as Dabi chuckled. “Toga wants to dress her up.” Dabi explained as Shigaraki rolled her eyes.

“She’s not trying to impress him!” He jealously yelled before looking up at the stairs to see the two girls. It was Toga dressed normally, with the masked girl in a black dress and doc martens with her hair pulled back. “I think she looks really professional, don’t you think?” She asked as Dabi and Twice gave thumbs up, Shigaraki having to turn away to hide his blush. “Let’s go, we need to be there on time.”

The group snuck threw the alleyways, being the most quiet they had ever been before seeing the house. It was small, but it was obvious the real base was underground. Shigaraki knocked, and then pressed his thumb to the door handle to open it. With a click, it opened up, showing a small room with a staircase. 

“He’s waiting down there. Dabi, I want you to go first, then Twice, then Toga, me, and then small fry. I want you in the back and closest to me in case he tries to pull something.” Shigaraki explained as everyone got in line, walking down. The hallway was poorly lit underground, and it felt strange with just one door at the end of the hallway. When Shiro walked down, she couldn’t help but feel as if she was being watched.

As Dabi was about to open the door in front of him, Shiro felt herself getting pulled back into a tight squeeze, one arm wrapped around her chest and the other around her waist. When she yelped, everyone turned to see Overhaul pulling her close and closer, her eyes showing pure fear. 

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