#I tried to keep it as short since this isn't supposed to be an action fic

[souglias]

The Meeting of Two Monsters [Sougo]

Mafia!AU. Someone, who you come to realise later on is extremely powerful, bids for you at a black market auction

c/w: slavery (purchase at a black market auction, nothing else mentioned beyond that), sougo is sadistic and is up to the usual bullying he does in the anime (though arguably upped by a notch here), crude language

wc: 1.9k words

Okita Sougo x gn!reader

note: This is @username-janai-katsura-da 's request for me as part of the @/ficsforgaza initiative! Prompt is 'try me' taken from this prompt list here. Thank you so much for requesting mwah <3. I may make this into a series but well we will see how it goes

All likes and reblogs are appreciated!

-

You’re thrown onto a bright stage, stumbling to a kneel with alloy-reinforced cuffs around your feet. The overhead lights beam at you, their orange rays starting to make you feel like a dish under food warmers waiting to be sold.

Though, it isn’t too far-fetched to say so. Among the pitch-black sea of darkness in front of you are shady bidders ready to pounce with their money.

Your arms, also restrained behind you with cuffs, start to feel sticky with sweat.

The auctioneer’s voice brims with enthusiasm as he describes you. Some terms and sentences go over your head, but you catch him throw out some characteristics that you are unapologetically proud of. Strong, agile, violent. The enthusiasm maintains even as he describes the injuries you inflicted on your current owner. Standing at the sidelines with a crutch and bandages on his face, you can smell his desperation in trying to get you off his hands. 

Given the gasps from the crowd, you’re certain no one will buy you. No one sane will throw their money for a beast that will bite them. But you don’t despair or feel even a pint of remorse. Throughout the wastelands of your birthplace and the planets you sought refuge in, you fought to ensure you did not have to bow down to others.

Besides, if nobody bids for you, you’ll automatically remain as property of this pathetic man. He and his bodyguards got nothing on you, and you can make your escape again. However, that would have to mean you’d have to make a quick escape. One much further out of the city before a particular group of men catches you again. It was dark the night they subdued you, so you didn’t manage to identify them. There is nothing of note other than the smell of nicotine, which is commonplace and useless information.

However, when the auctioneer begins, the paddles still rise from the darkness. Bidders shout their bids one after another. The scene leaves you bewildered. 

It’s a never-ending rally of shouts and increasing numbers until an assertive voice breaks through the buzz in the hall. When he announces his bid, silence befalls the auction hall. It is a price much higher than the previous by a large margin. If there is any shock, the auctioneer does not show it. He immediately responds, “[name], two thousand million dollars! Calling once!”

You don’t know if you’ll ever understand the workings of the underground world. It’s already difficult for you to comprehend how people are drawn towards danger.

“Calling twice!”

Whoever is throwing this much money to buy you must be a really mad dog.

“And sold!”

The knock of the hammer reverberates through the hall and the chatter resumes. The transfer of ownership makes a little uncertainty take root in your chest. You’re not sure of the capabilities of your new owner, and you hope he and his subordinates cannot match up with yours.

A man with hair of a mustard colour and bangs comes to get you. The alloy-reinforced restraints on your legs are released and you shake your feet to rid of the feeling of the metal eating into your skin. But he doesn’t give you much time before he probes you with the hilt of his sword. The moment he opens his mouth, you’re already set on making trouble for him. 

He drawls and speaks in between yawns, “Hey, hey, get going. I’d like to get to sleep as fast as I can.”

If you weren’t restrained, you’d have given him a good punch. He pokes you with his sword all the way to the car. Admittedly, his carrying of a sword makes you respect him a little. He’s got balls of steel from the way he carried it unapologetically in his belt (before he used it to be irritating). Most have already switched to guns or well-hidden daggers with the sword ban. 

With your hands still cuffed behind, he shoves you into the passenger seat and your face almost hits straight into the gear stick. You shoot him a glare that he doesn’t catch. With your hands behind you, you’re unable to lean back into your seat.

You gather all the propriety you can find within yourself and ask, “Can you release me? I’d like to sit back.”

He stretches over you for the seat belt and buckles it over your awkwardly bent forward body. “No.”

Without warning, he steps on the pedal and begins the drive down the dark city. In a foul mood and slouched against the seat belt pressing into your body, you scrutinise his attire. Long black coat with gold accents. It’s characteristic of a famous syndicate in the underground, but their name eludes your mind. S… S something. Or M… something? 

No matter, you’ll fight him and escape the moment you get out of the car. Even if he doesn’t release the restraints on your hands, you’ll make do with just your legs. Such a powerful organisation isn’t likely to have any business with you.

With the same lazy drawl as before, he says, “Alright, [name], welcome to the club. You’re to heed my every order, even if I tell you to die. In return, you get three meals a day.”

“That’s an awful deal. I’m always hungry, make it five.”

“Pampered much?”

“For my full prowess and to maintain my energetic self, I need that much.”

“Energetic? Oh, I’m guessing you’d be useful even in the sheets.”

What a crude asshole. “I’d detonate your dick.”

“Feisty bitch. You guys are always like that.”

You guys? Does this man have more than one slave? 

The car swerves sharply into a winding side road and you hiss at him. A three-storey Japanese house, surrounded by seemingly endless stretches of walls, comes into view along with smaller ones behind it. They appear well-maintained, but not flashy.

From the distance, you see the traditional Japanese wooden gates open as if they have been expecting the car. You observe the gate, trying to make an estimation on whether you could scale it. As much as possible, you’d like to avoid smashing through the gate and causing a commotion.

The headlights briefly pass the wooden plate nailed onto the gate frame as the car drives in. 

Shinsengumi. 

It hits you like a brick that this is the captain of the first division, Okita Sougo. A pint of anxiety takes root in your chest and for once, you’re unsure about your escape. You’ve fought and won many people, but those were not renowned fighters of the underworld. 

The Shinsengumi is a name that instils fear. They are disliked, but many cower under their gaze.

His subordinate opens the car door and you let him escort you into the building. Okita yawns behind you and you count on his fatigue to lead him to dreamland soon.

The nameless Shinsengumi member guides you to a shoddy, barren room with just a chair. He says something about the captain allocating this room to you. But a sense of danger grows imminent within you, causing most of his words to go over your head. Your legs itch to take off, but you suppress it as if you’re persuading an antsy child to be patient. The restraints need to be released, otherwise, the escape will be a sure failure for you.

The growing uneasiness in your chest warps your sense of time, making time seem to tick hurriedly. You’re not sure how much time has passed when the same member returns to release your cuffs. With no time to waste, you knock out the poor guy and break through the glass window. You hurl yourself over the windowsill. With the momentum of one foot when it touches the concrete, you launch towards the closed gate. 

You do not cover much distance when Okita appears beside you in a blur. You clench your fists and throw them towards him – his face in particular. 

Okita dodges your swing by leaning backwards and he uses the momentum to punch your flank with the side of his arm. You hit the ground on your back, but you compose yourself quick enough to kick him away and flip back up onto your feet.

Both of you exchange blows and swing fists at each other. You soon find that your body is starting to slow with a few days worth of exhaustion. As you punch him towards a tree, he manages to plant his feet on the bark while airborne and propels back towards you. You shift to dodge, but your foot slips. 

In the split second before his mean punch meets your face, you notice the gold of his coat catching the bright moonlight. A memory surfaces. In the pitch black of that night with barely any moonlight, there was a faint flash of gold.

You blackout. 

The next time you come to, you’re slouched over on a chair. The room is dark, and light barely reaches in from the slightly ajar door. Your nose aches and your hands are tied up once again. Raising your head, you meet a crimson-red gaze that’s between you and the door. 

Okita partly mirrors you, seated hunched over in his chair. But his elbows are propped on his knees and he rests his chin on the back of his hands. His eyes do not avert even as you shoot him a glare.

He rises from his seat and saunters over to you. You see the bruises and cuts you had given to him as your eyes adjust to the darkness. It quells your anger ever so slightly, even as he’s relishing looking down at you.

“I knew you’d try that. Energetic enough to fuck with me for a third time?”

“Die.”

You’d lunge at him at this moment, but you’re too exhausted. Sougo unsheathes his sword in a fraction of a second and he raises it above you. Your heart races. Maybe this is the end, but you keep your gaze steeled on him.

He brings down the sword and you hear it hit the floor with a loud thud. You do not feel pain where you expect it to flare. Looking down to assess your hands, a dent in the tatami mat below you catches your attention instead. The rope coiled around your wrists slides to the ground. Aside from the injuries from the tussle earlier, you’re unscathed from his sword.

“I can’t wait to wipe that defiant look off your face.”

The sheer absurdity you experienced from this man fires you up. You stare him back in the eye again. “Try me, assface.”

Even with the slight curve of his lips that he tries to suppress, the sadism brimming in his eyes betrays him. Sougo walks out of the room without a retort and closes the door. Following the sound of the lock, his footsteps fade away.

You slump back down into the chair. Basking in the darkness for a while, you let the last few hours sink in. When you stop trembling, you feel along the walls for the light switch and flick it. You wince from the sudden brightness and your eyes open slowly. 

It’s a clean and tidy room. No windows, presumably to prevent you from pulling an escape using it again. Near a small shelf, there’s a clean, folded futon with a pillow. Fresh clothes similar to the tattered ones you’re wearing sit atop it. Your loyal companion of an umbrella, which you thought you lost, rests closed on the floor beside the futon.

[kentosbabes]

Thoughts on Nanami slowly becoming aware of his raging crush for fellow sorcerer? The reader isn't oblivious tho, they are well aware of different ways he speaks and acts around them as opposed to everyone else at work, but it doesn't click for Nanami until he catches on to readers flirtations and the way they treat him differently from rest of other sorcerers they work with. Thats when he sits and looks at his and her actions side by side and realizes that it isn't a friendly care for a co-worker, man is in love and luckily for him reader thinks he is cute as a button.

OMG I LOVE THIS SOOO MUCH.

You think he’s avoiding you. You’ve been close to him for years now, not one proper argument between the two of you, but this? Much worse than just a silly little argument. You realised you liked him a year or two ago, it was after a curse almost killed him and you realised how much you truly liked him and the bone deep fear of losing him.

“-irl, girl? Hello, anyone home?” Gojo nudged you to get your attention, you apologised and started to pay attention to his rambling about what’s for lunch. “What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be be here, it’s supposed to be your day off.” You tried not to feel a little hurt at his tone and infliction but it was hard.

“I came into do some paperwork that I had left last minute, why?” This is the most he's spoken to you in forever, and you hate how much you actually like it. You just want his attention, it doesn’t matter how much or how, just the fact that he’s given it to you.

He’s acting weird to you, normally when he comes in he puts a cup of joe on your desk with a note telling you to have a good day. But today? He walked right past you without your usual chat and mutual distain for leaving late. You send a small smile to him that drops when you realise he’s not looking at you. Did he finally find out? Did he put two and two together and figure out that you like him? Maybe that’s why, you reasoned. Maybe he just doesn’t like you back and was just being really friendly to you.

“I’m heading to the field with Gojo, there’s a level two curse and then I’ll head home,” you tell no one in particular, and take your bag. Walking out, Gojo stops and tells you he’s feeling under the weather, you nod and tell him that it’s fine you can handle it. “No you can’t, I feel bad enough as it is, Nanami go with her and drop her home.”

He rolls his eyes and you start to head out with him. Keeping a distance from him than usual, walking at a snails pace till you reach a short cut in an alleyway. He finally has enough and turns around to you, “What’s your problem? You’re acting different” You look at him upset, “I’m acting different? What about you? You’ve been ignoring me all week and now you want to talk it out?”

He suddenly darts his eyes to your eyes then lips and then back up to your eyes.

You look up at him through your eyelashes and huff, “Well, of course I like you, I’ve liked you since last year. I’ve been waiting for you to get my flirtations? Do you see me buying coffee for anyone else? Being as nice as I am to anyone else? You’re so silly, I’ve like you for as long as I started being assigned to tasks with you.”

Your phone starts to ring, it’s Gojo so you put it on speaker, “Hey girlieee, the curse has moved locations and Megumi sorted it out so you can go home straight. Is everything ok with loverboy? You know I-“

You quickly interrupt him and tell him he’s on speaker and that you need to go- hanging up on him. “So…”

“Loverboy?” “Oh shut up”

“Gladly,” leaning in to kiss you, your lips meeting in a tender, hesitant kiss- a delicate collision of emotions. With a gentle smile against your plush lips, he reached out, his hand hovering just inches away from your cheek. Your fingers combed through his blonde hair, twisting and tugging at it, deepening the kiss. Nanami nipped at your lower lip and drank in the soft moan you made in response. Kissing you harder and with more urgency, but pulling away to put his forehead on yours, “I like you. I like you back. I just think you should hear it properly if you’ve been wait on me for that long”

You roll your eyes, “It’s ok if you’re a little clueless, you’re my clueless boy now. “

[mechazushi]

God, you're dense [Affectionate].

{a Kn8 short story}

Hoshina wasn't one to play games. Sure, he liked to have fun, but playing with people's emotions and perceptions wasn't something he could get into. He raised himself on the belief that being straight forward on something was the best course of action. If someone couldn't get on the same page as him, that was on them. He worked in a position where the best moves forward and anyone else that can't keep up with him were best left behind. Of course, much like most rules in life, there were exceptions to the rule. His biggest fault to everything he stood for was a tall, jolly, brute of a beast named Kafka. Kafka would be an exception to most everything he would die on a hill for. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, was one person that he held to the highest accordance of his standards. His brother.

Hoshina made a point not to talk to his brother after he got accepted into the defense force. The restrictions on that got tighter after he got accepted as Mina's Vice Captain. Since before, he still showed up to family gatherings at the least to entertain his mother's concerns about his livelihood in the Third Division. Still, just because he didn't make attempts to contact his family, doesn't mean his family doesn't make attempts to contact him. It was always inevitable (because they don't tell him ahead of time) always with the supposed best of intentions (Because what quality road to hell isn't paved with them) and always at the most inconvenient times (an ability that seemed to be an inbred skill in every other family member). Between catching up on chores that should have been done yesterday, decaf in the communal coffee machine, and his third favorite pen breaking, Hoshina found he wasn't in the mood to talk. So obviously it was a perfect time to be visited by his least favorite person.

Walking down the hallway with a mountain of signed paperwork, his pace was intended to be brisk, but felt sluggish all the same. As he passed an intersection in hallways, he noticed the large frame of a burly friend catching up behind him. As Kafka slowed his pace to match his commander's, Hoshina tilted his face in his direction and flashed what was hoped to be a casual and respectful smile.

"Had a feeling you'd feel like that once I heard about the incident at the coffee machine. Here. Brought this for ya." Kafka said as he handed over a steaming mug of dark tan coffee.

"Oh, I already had coffee today." Hoshina tried to politely decline. he guessed his smile wasn't as bright as it should have been if Kafka could see he was feeling off.

"Yeah, but that was decaf." he insisted as he held the mug by its rim and pointed its handle temptingly toward its intended recipient.

Hoshina stiffed its steam heavily as it wafted under his nose. The smell of a caffeinated brew being much more rejuvenating than the bland swill he choked down this morning. He didn't think twice as he shifted the paper load more securely under his arm and took the offered mug greedily. There was a low, grateful moan as the hot, searing, and just lightly sweetened liquid burned pleasantly down the back of his throat.

'You might've just saved my mental state yet again, Kafka." Hoshina finally muttered after nearly downing half of the mug.

Kafka just chuckled as he walked in time with him, and after a while, held out a hand in an offer to carry the paperwork. Hoshina politely refused again, feeling genuinely better now that he had something more stimulating coursing throughout his system. Walking side by side, they engaged in pleasant idle chatter as they continued down the hallway. Without checking how far they had walked, they neared an area that had a lobby that was sparsely populated. As they got closer, an irritatingly familiar voice rang clear in the partially echoey room.

"Brother Dearest!" Soichiro Hoshina, Soshiro's older brother, was leaning against the desk in the back center of the lobby, relaxing like he deserved the space he was taking up.

"Oh God, why aren't I being delivered from evil like I ask every Shrine visit?" Soshiro muttered as soon as he realized who was occupying the open room with them.

"That's your brother?" Kafka asked as he laid eyes on the visitor.

"Unfortunately." Soshiro said with every letter somehow overflowing with distain and loudly enough to be heard by the other person.

"Come on, brother! You had to have known that one of these visits was to have to happen soon? It's been, what, months since you've even sent at minimum a hello to Mother." Soichino's words were playful, a clear difference in demeanor to the attitude his younger brother was radiating. A second had passed as he clearly gave the plus one an interested once-over after he lifted his sunglasses off his face.

"Well, hello soldier. And who might you be?" A salacious smile slithered coolly over Soichiro's glossy, thin lips. His tongue flicked out and over his teeth teasingly as he continued to stare down Kafka with a darkened sense of interest. Kafka bowed deeply in greeting before he introduced himself.

"Kafka Hibino. Officer of the Third Division." was his militantly clipped response.

"Kafka... Kafka... Where have I heard that name before?" Soichiro drawled out as he shifted over to Kafka's side, poking his shoulder with the arm of his sunglasses with playful emphases.

"He's our Kaiju Number Eight, you salacious cur. Now what are you doing here?" Soshiro snarked as he took another sip of his coffee. His brother made no move to acknowledge the comment as he continued to speak directly to Kafka.

"Kaiju Number Eight, huh! So you're the beast on the battlefield. Is it too much for me to ask if you're a beast anywhere else?" That Cheshire smile never left his face as his eyes turned into a more evaluating gaze.

"Well, I'm the Division's only on call Kaiju. It's pretty safe to say that I'm always the beast when it's needed." Kafka smiled bashfully as a hand came up to scratch the back of his neck. Soichiro practically giggled as a hand came up to mischievously smack the other shoulder.

"Look at you! Making out to be something that strong and powerful as a humble brag!" the older brother seemed to slide in closer to Kafka's personal space, with Kafka playing it off as business as usual. Soshiro could feel the handle of the mug creaking under his tightened grip as he looked on at his brother's shameless display.

"Ya know, I had originally cleared out my schedule to take my brother out on a lunch date, but I've just realized he's been a horrible brother and hasn't shown me around the Third Division's main facilities not once!", Soichiro saddled up impossibly closer and even had the audacity to slip a hand around the back of Kafka's forearm, "Why don't I be a good Captain and help clear yours so you can show me around? I'm sure any tour by you would be far more interesting than what he could provide." Soshiro watched as he saw the offer being sealed with an obviously flirty wink.

"Well, I'd be happy to! That is, if it's alright with my Vice Captain?" Kafka asked as he looked innocently toward the younger brother, seemingly unaware or unaffected by the attention he was currently being given.

"No Kafka, that won't be necessary, If my brother is going to come out all this way to see me, then he's just going to have to settle for my company alone." Soshiro said as he placed his paperwork and his coffee mug on the abandoned reception desk.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Maybe some other time?" Kafka asked as he looked at the older Hoshina brother.

"Such a shame. Don't be surprised if I take you up on that offer." Soichiro tittered as he patted the other side of the forearm he was still holding onto. The two brothers watched intently as Kafka turned around and walked down the hallway. Soshiro waited until he was out of every possible hearing range before he decided to speak.

"Alright, you bottle-platinum harlot. What the hell was that display all about?" Soshiro made no attempts to restrain his irritation at his brother's expense. He had no idea what game his brother was trying to play with him, but he wouldn't stand for it since it seemed to involve a very close and personal friend of his.

"I don't know what you mean." Soichiro said as he kept tittering. His posture and demeanor revealing to his younger brother that there was a plan brewing behind those evil eyes.

"I will not have you seducing my strongest man over to your division while I'm here." Soshiro commanded as he leveled a piercing gaze at the other person.

"Excuse me, 'Your man'? I'm sorry, but I didn't see a ring on his finger." Soichiro teased as he turned to face his brother.

"That's not what I meant and you know it, you vile rake." Soshiro spat the words out in an attempt to dissuade any further conversation on the topic.

"So catty today, are we brother? I was simply taking in the local selection. I'm not surprised you're interested in him." Soichiro chatted as he teasingly bit on the arm of his sunglasses.

"I also see you've decided to take up slander as a hobby since last we met." Soshiro grumbled as he found himself forced into a position where he had to talk to his brother in person for more than a minute.

"Oh, please! You know our family has a history of liking them sweet and dumb. How do you think Mother's marriage has lasted this long?" Soichiro continued as he leveled a knowing stare at him.

"If you're going to keep insinuating things that don't exist, I'm going to order you to cancel the lunch date and leave." the younger brother retorted as he turned around to drink the last sips from the coffee mug.

"What do you think I'm insinuating?" Soichiro purred as his sight never left his brother.

"Don't toy with me today, you troglodytic trollup. I am in no mood to bat around this string of yarn you're trying to spin here." Soshina kept snapping back as he took the opportunity to avoid eye contact as he shuffled around the stack of papers.

"Why all the denial, Brother Dearest? Especially since we're so far from Egypt. Besides, it's not slander saying you like a coworker as if your interactions weren't displayed all over the news two weeks ago." The grin broke into a full blown, toothy smile of superiority as the Captain of the Sixth Division draped himself over the desk's top next to Soshiro.

"What... interactions?" the Vice Captain hissed as he slowly turned his head to side-eye his brother

"Should I reenact it for you?" Soichiro giggled before flopping onto his back and dramatically fainting, "Oh! I seem to have taken a terrible fall and broken both of my legs! Oh, is there some dark, handsome, Knight in living armour that can princess-carry my oh so fragile body to the farthest fucking ambulance on scene and completely bypass three others that were unoccupied and were going to take me to the same fucking hospital!" It was clear that he was taking a massive amount of joy retelling his version of events that he saw on the news as his voice raised in volume with every reveal.

"I didn't break my legs, I dislocated my ankles! What would you have me do, walk?" Soshiro started to match his brother's volume and had now fully turned to him to confront this problem of point-of-views head on.

"The cameras clearly show you two having a conversation where it shows you convincing him to carry you!" The two of them were so close to each other's faces now their noses could touch.

"I was trying to convince him not to!" Soshiro returned.

"Because the cameras were rolling?" Soichiro asked.

"Yes!" his brother answered.

"AND BECAUSE YOU TWO ARE IN LOVE! Why else be camera shy about being carried around in public?" The eldest returned triumphantly as he poked him in the chest.

"NO." Soshiro shouted back as he shoved his brother backwards, "We are not in love! What part of this do you think it's okay to date someone like him?"

"Oh don't act like you can't because he's under your position. He makes his own precedent as he breathes! And you are the right type of rebellious, attention craving, delinquent punk that would absolutely fall for someone that is perfect for you in all the right ways, while also him being a human anomaly in every sense of the word! He turns into something our family has been training it's young to kill for centuries so of course you're going to deviate from the norm and be practically head over heels for him!" The Captain couldn't stop himself from cackling as his lungs quaked from talking for so long without breath.

There wasn't anything left on the matter that Soshiro could say to make his brother change his mind, so he decided to let his fists do the talking for him as he sent a vicious right hook. His fist connected to his brother's left eye and caught him off guard for a second. Before he could speak out against the assault, the younger brother wasted no time in jumping onto his brother and throwing his fists left and right. The two soon became a mass of tangled limbs and colorful curse words on the floor. It wasn't like this for long as two other people came across the fight and helped break up the fray.

"Alright, alright! Break it UP!" You two are grown up men, and Defense Force officers at that! ACT LIKE IT!" Okonogi reprimanded them as Aoi held them off the ground by their jacket collars.

"Yes, Okonogi." The brothers said in unison. As they were set back on the ground, they straightened their outfits and waited to see if their new company would leave. When they didn't, Soichiro decided to speak what was left on his mind anyway.

"The lunch date is still on, by the way. Mother's orders. How about I give us an hour to cool down and we try this whole 'conversation' thing again?" he tried to say with as much possible conviction in his smile. Soshiro just glared violently as he picked up the stack of papers from the desk.

"I do what I damn well please, you leporid bunk bunny." he said as he stormed off. Everyone watched as he walked away before his older brother spoke up again.

"He'll be fine."

 𓈒   𑁍 𓈒

It was a little after seven thirty before Hoshina felt fine enough to interact with anyone. Spending some time in the gym helped him feel better after dealing with the Lunch Date From Hell. It also helped that he got to meet his favorite punching bag for sparring.

"Look -huff- I get you -huff- don't like your brother -huff-, but did you really -huff- need to literally -huff- kick my ass?" Kafka's lungs heaved after spending what felt like hours defending himself from his Vice Captain's volley of blows.

"Ya snooze, ya loose Kafka. Intense training is for your own good." Hoshina quipped back as he walked over to his duffle for water bottles. Kafka shambled behind him slowly and sat down on the bench the bag was next to.

"Intense training, my entire bruised ass. That last chokehold felt personal." Kafka began to regulate his breathing by the time Hoshina made it over with the water bottles.

As Hoshina drank from his, he subtly tried to look at Kafka as he poured some of the bottle's contents onto himself. He watched as the water made his partner's bangs stick to his forehead at odd angles and made a swift attempt to cool his fiery red cheeks. Hoshina didn't let his imagination run too far away from him as he thought about Kafka looking worn out and sweaty for a different reason. Of course he denied everything that was said earlier that was concerning the situation between him and Kafka. Mainly because it all implied that Kafka felt the same way he did. Had it been a complete stranger talking to him this morning, it would have shocked everyone that knew him once they heard how different his answers would have been.

As Kafka finished rubbing the cool water into his face and straightened his back and arms out into an intense looking stretch, Hoshina forced himself to look away from the rippling of muscle and the straining of his tank top around said muscles. In moments like this, when he was sure no one would be looking or they were alone, Hoshina liked to play a little game with Kafka. It wasn't one that you could win with points or anything. Hell, some days it made Hoshina feel like all he did was lose by playing, but he couldn't deny that conniving little twitch that begged for him to play over and over again. All so he could see that dumb little smile.

"Still improving as slow as always." Hoshina said after a minute of relaxing on the bench.

"Hey, at least I am still improving, right?" Kafka returned as he looked back at his Vice Captain.

There was a smile, sure, but it wan't big. He could do better.

"Can't say I don't find you to be consistent at least 1% of the time." Hoshina offered as a response, deciding to bring up a well used joke between them. He turned back to look out at the empty gym in front of them.

"God, I still haven't gotten higher than that, haven't I?" Kafka chuckled out of the side of his mouth.

"It was a good thing we found out you were a kaiju when we did. Could you imagine what would have happened if you couldn't raise that percentage up high enough in three months?" Hoshina thought the comment sounded funnier in his head, but once he heard it out loud he wanted to smack himself for it. Everyone knew that it was a horrible thought, thinking about Kafka not being around anymore. Even that was something Hoshina couldn't bring himself to deny or joke about.

"I do every day." Kafka sighed heavily, "Everyday I wake up here." He closed his eyes for a second as he smiled softly, his head coming to rest against the back wall the bench was against.

Hoshina turned back to look at him, taking Kafka's moment of vulnerability to look at him fully this time. He thought about it too. A life in the Defense Force where he didn't get to see Kafka everyday. A life where he didn't bring him coffee or hear his laugh or have drinks with him after work hours. Hoshina could feel his heart squeeze at the thought of Kafka not being in the Defense Force, or worse, suddenly living at a different Division. Being close by technicality, but feeling oh so very far.

"Did you notice my brother was flirting with you at all?" Hoshina felt himself ask before he could take the words back. He felt himself brace for the answer in the brief moments in between his heartbeats.

"Wait... really?" Kafka asked with genuine interest. Hoshina could feel his face twist into something between curiosity and mild disgust. Kafka couldn't tell he was being flirted with? And was okay with it coming from his brother?

"Ye-yeah?" Hoshina returned hesitantly.

"You sure? 'Cuz I mean... wow. He's... actually interested? In me?" Kafka's smile grew bigger and more wonky as he processed what he was told.

"You're okay with this?" Hoshina questioned incredulously. He could not believe what he was seeing, and was actively praying that this wasn't the case.

"Are you kidding? Of course! You're brother is frickin' hot!" Kafka replied with joy, "Is he, like, still around? I mean, I know he's not here kinda around, but I mean, is he like, nearby? Like in a hotel or something? Nah, that would be creepy. Oh! Could you let me have his number?" Kafka prattled on as Hoshina continued to become more and more disgusted. Sure, he was a little happy to hear that Kafka was cool with being hit on by guys, (and clearly reciprocated the sentiment) but felt absolutely horrified at hearing Kafka wanting his brother's number. So much so that he immediately stood on the bench seat so he could get a good enough vantage to stomp on Kafka to stop his train of thought.

"You! Will! NOT! Be! Dating! My! BROTHER!" Hoshina shouted out between the stomping.

"Jesus! And here I thought you wouldn't be having a problem with me liking guys! Yah know, since you told me about it!" Kafka shouted back as he tried to defend himself from the onslaught.

"I don't have a problem with you dating guys! I have a problem with you dating my brother!" Hoshina said as he pressed his foot down firmly onto Kafka's hands that were protecting his head.

'Well then, who would you rather have me date?" Kafka returned rhetorically.

"Me for starters!" Hoshina finally admitted. Once he did, he let the pressure off of his foot and just stayed in the position for a hot minute, feeling as awkward as a school girl admitting to her first crush. Kafka just held onto the foot as he looked up at his commander with wide, unbelieving eyes. All Hoshina could bring himself to do was look away, his cheeks flushing hot and bright. Kafka helped lower the foot down as he got up from his seat to face him from the front.

"Have... have you been flirting with me too?" Kafka asked. Hoshina still couldn't look at him or answer, so his cheeks answered for him.

"How long have you been flirting with me?" Kafka asked again.

"Two... two years." Hoshina answered quietly.

"We've known each other for two years." Kafka responded. Hoshina still hadn't made a move, only crossed his arms defensively.

"YOU'VE BEEN FLIRTING WITH ME SINCE WE MET?" Kafka shouted as he made the realization.

"To be fair, I don't flirt like a normal person and you clearly can't read context clues." Hoshina said as he finally regained some control over his mouth. He just wished he had better control over what it said.

"Why didn't you say anything before now?" Kafka sounded incredulous at the thought of how he could have been dating the most amazing person on base before now, had be been able to read between the lines.

" I kept thinking it was funny?" Hoshina responded in a shy, quivering voice as more blood rushed to his face and made it redder.

"Okay, now I have to ask. What about me do you like? Do you think I'm handsome, or do you really just like to think I'm funny?" Kafka questioned as he waved his hands around animatedly.

"Honestly? I just really like that you're funny." Hoshina said as he relaxed and playfully shrugged. Now feeling better about having all of this out in the open.

" So, just, fuck my face then." Kafka said in a sarcastically irritated manner while turning around and waving his arms.

"I would if you'd stop talking." Hoshina accidentally let slip.

He wasn't ashamed of saying it, but probably should have found a better time to say it. It didn't seem to matter anyway as Kafka took a second to stop his flailing and slowly turned around to face his commander again. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his lips as his eyes darkened at the play on words they stumbled into.

"Well alright then." Kafka chuckled darkly as he strode over to where Hoshina was still standing. He grabbed his legs and threw him over his shoulder, holding onto Hoshina's calves for dear life as he carried his thrashing lover out of the gym.

"Wha-what do you think you're doing?" Hoshina cried as he tried to look back at his kidnapper. Kafka returned the most intensely flirtatious side-eye back at him as they walked out of the gym.

"Moving training to your place, so you can properly shut me up."

"Wha-what, no dinner first?" Hoshina stuttered nervously as he continued to be paraded down the hall on Kafka's shoulder. He got even more nervous as Okonogi slid past his line of sight and watched them walk away.

"You've been flirting with me for two years. Dinner can wait." Kafka growled as the other hand came up and audibly smacked Hoshina on the ass.

[sagaschan]

What happened on Sep 16th: a compilation

If I could clarify some things. Lots happened on twitter within a short timeframe, and I've seen a fair number of people misled, so here goes. The Project Moon User Association(PMUA) had received the reply to their demand letter(can only be received by the recipient, and can't be refused) a week ago, but waited to make their statement because they still believed there was a chance PM could apologize, and because the Youth Union(YU) requested it. PMUA uploaded PM's reply and their statement today.

PM's reply, written by a lawyer, said essentially: You are lying and it affected our sales so I will sue you. The termination was legal because Vellmori said first that she wanted to resign(we have a recording). We wrote the agreement with Vellmori and her lawyer later. In order to protect her and the other employees we did nothing(if that sounds illogical to you, it is). Disappear immediately or we will sue you for defamation.

There are many things wrong with the reply, as covered by the PMUA's statement, but I'll get to that later. Alright let's go for it, says the PMUA.

Then PM tweets two threads. The first thread says: We were only laying low to protect our employees, y'all are lying, if you attack our employees we will sue you. The second one says: The YU tried to use us for political gains, since we were going to announce legal action against employee harrassment anyway but they tried to take the credit for it. Look at this image of a document where YU says they were wrong, and apologizes. This PMUA might be under the YU's control, isn't it suspicious? And political?

PM, though technically it's KJH, keeps insinuating that those such as PMUA and the YU are attacking the employees, when it's only KJH himself who's been criticized since 7.25, when he tweeted that they had 'terminated the contract' with Vellmori for violating company rules. The fans knew that was illegal. The paper that interviewed Vellmori the day after, the various news media that reached out to PM, the unions that spoke out on the matter knew it was illegal. We weren't going to let him get away with it if we could help it.

The YU rep Lee Jongchan(@JCLEE0333 on twitter) provided a more accurate picture. The YU, having just learned of the agreement between Vellmori and PM from PM's reply, had asked the PMUA to delay their statement, contacted PM behind the scenes. The PMUA and the unions they were working with had been trying to solve the situation amicably if possible, if PM would just come to the table and learn how to fix the situation. A legal fight would be the absolute last resort, since they wanted the company to do better.

This is where the supposed statement from the YU that PM included in their second thread comes in. A crude screencap of a word doc with typos and 'draft' in the title. It says: We recognize there was no illegal firing and that you've taken precautions to protect employees. We're sorry and we retract our protest. We welcome that you've stated ideology hunts and cyberbullying against your employees will be dealt with stern legal action. Basically, the YU didn't want Vellmori to be bothered anymore so they'd take a bit of a L.

The thing is, during the negotiations KJH refused to include that PM would take legal action to protect employees from ideology hunts and cyberbullying in the future in PM's statement. Apparently that wasn't something he could agree with. Negotiations fell out(around 8 pm, according to KJH), and the next day PMUA went ahead with their statement.

That's the bare facts of it. But I'd like to elaborate a little on where PM is contradicting itself, though the PMUA has already covered some of it.

1. It's laughable that KJH is using the excuse of 'protecting employees' to explain PM's past actions and future motivations, when he can't even put it on paper.

2. He most definitely did not protect his employees. The initial lack of action against DCinside incels' camping out of their office, how he treated contractors like Mimi(author of Wonderlab) and Monggeu(artist for Leviathan comics), the overwork and harrassment Eng translator Watson experienced, the HHPP manager he used as a scapegoat, the LoR Chinese localization team that still hasn't been paid... the list keeps growing.

3. KJH's words are all over the place. In the very first notice he says Vellmori's contract has been terminated because she violated company rules. You know, just as DC had asked for. In the second one, on 8.3, he says they did not fire her, and that it had nothing to do with ideologies. And that he would sue anyone calling it an illegal dismissal. (Also when news media reached out to ask if that meant she was still employed, said he wouldn't answer.) And in the most recent letter, he claims that during the phone call on 7.25 Vellmori said first she would resign.

Nobody believes that, not in the least because the Hankyoreh interviewed Vellmori the very next day about the unjustness of it. Any 'recording' of the call that he posits as evidence will likely reflect that, and work against him in court, so I'd love to see that actually. KJH apparently doesn't remember that.

4. Can you believe he's fudging his words to make it seem like the PMUA and those associated were the ones attacking employees? Not a single mention of DC anywhere. Now in court, if he's required to provide evidence as to just why Vellmori wanted to resign, well... DC did that. That's undeniable. All this started with wetsuit Ishmael, if anyone's forgotten. And if he admits DC was the reason a perfectly innocent illustrator was left jobless overnight, well, he can do away with his insistence that he was protecting her in any way.

5. And even if he twists legalese to claim Vellmori left of her own volition, it's nothing that hasn't been said by employers in the country a million times over. Advisory resignation this, political controversy that. It's still an unfair dismissal, and an especially rampant problem in the game industry that has been a long time coming to be dealt with.

6. Remember when KJH threatened Mimi and Monggeu with the mention of NDA, when they came out with stories of how they were horrifically mistreated by PM? Hypocritical, just revealing private correspondence with the YU without their permission. As well as the ridiculousness of treating the remnants of a negotiation that fell through like fact. He thinks people can't read, I suppose. It's more ammunition for the unions.

7. The inherent idiocy of evilmongering about 'politics' all thread long. What does KJH think unions Do? He's been fueling the fire regarding a labor rights case for near two months now, but doesn't seem to have learned much other than to dig deeper holes. What he means to do by repeatedly insinuating the PMUA and YU are secretly in cahoots when the PMUA has been open about working with the YU from the start I will never know.

8. Refusing to translate The Notice for 53 days was the first and biggest hint, I think. The radio silence, purposefully leaving international fans in the dark, threatening the contractors, the staunch refusal to name the incels for a single offense. During that time we learned Monggeu had been fired just as quickly as Vellmori, after being made to follow an unrealistic schedule to the point she had suicidal ideation. The workplace reviews in the wake of the incident saying KJH was prone to emotional outbursts. All the translators worked to the bone and abandoned, HHPP's manager announcing an apology with his name for decisions he couldn't have made. Those aren't the actions of someone who has his employees in mind.

The PMUA was created in response to PM's announcement to sue fans back in August. They'd held out hope that KJH would be someone who could see reason. But you'd have to be beyond naive to believe that now. So with all evidence piled up during these two months pointing to KJH being a nasty little guy who has only ever had himself and DC's best interests at heart, I sincerely hope KJH fucks himself over, and for all fans who are eternally confused about what PM has done wrong to be someday in need of a union.

[celestiall0tus]

A Moment of Reflection

So, I've been feeling the onset of burnout beginning while doing my best to offset it. However, I'm finding that the projects I have on the back burners aren't sparking that interest like they should be at this point. I took a moment and sorta just looked at what the issue could be. Well, it's been settling in.

I'm feeling very unsatisfied with my work as of late. Like, I was happiest when I was writing that dark ass shit like Miraculous AU, Absolution (under a weird moon), Bloody Bug, Paradise, and sorta Salvation. This was the shit I thrived on. It was dark, it was gritty, it didn't hold its punches, and I loved it. But I find myself falling into habits of people pleasing.

I don't have to worry as much anymore since I have a job and a way to actually survive. Maybe not thrive, but at least survive. I admit in those months without a job and trying to build myself as a content creator more and trying to expand my platform, I let what I wanted fall to the wayside as I tried to appeal to a greater audience. This including trying to write things that would draw more people in. I see a drastic shift in my more recent shit versus the things I established myself on. And it's just... not what I want.

And, yes, I do have Bloody Bug, but it just isn't the same as something like Miraculous AU that hit those dark, serious, and difficult topics like suicide, overcoming your past/not letting it define you, deep complex trauma, genuine motives behind the characters and their actions, and most of all, healing. There was a catharsis writing them, but not all this new crap.

I suppose to make the short of it, I'm going to be hitting the drawing board again with a lot of these works. I want that itch to be scratched. I want to write about these things not only because it is fun, but to call attention to issues that others would better be left unsaid. I want to offer to others the same kind of catharsis I get while writing these. I want to help those like me and show them they're not alone. I want to show that we can/may still be broken, but it doesn't ever have to define us.

I will keep some light hearted stuff on the back burner, but like I said, I will be returning to my roots. I just can't keep trying to write certain things or have them looming about. And expect some things to get a slight overhaul.

[mastermindmp3]

I feel its no secret that I try to analyze the songs within the context of the album and that alone. I think there's so much artistry that is often ignored when trying to focus so solely on passing paternity tests about parables told by the potential paramour's songs. ( ok, I really reached for that alliteration, sorry. )

But like, I've been a Swiftie since 06. I do know that these songs are about Taylor Swift's life, and frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Empathy and connection are what, I think, her music is about. How deeply personal is absolutely part of the appeal.

I feel like this acknowledgement will definitely be more prescient in analyses to come, but... god, god, this song is heartbreaking, and it feels so personal. Some songs are vertical slices of the author's life, and dear god, does this feel like one.

Suppose the only thing left to do is place the slide under the microscope, yeah?

There's so much to go into here. The song is so mired in death. There's loss and grief, but this one feels more potent. The speaker isn't trying to justify her grief to other people this time, isn't trying to preempt it (see: Down Bad, saying she was heaven struck, even if for such a short time.)

We open on the title, framed in the same interval as church bells ( and Big Ben ) and throughout the song, we realize that the bells are for a funeral. Cause of death: disaffection and depression.

Can I say? I really love the delivery on the very first verse. I saw in my mind fairy lights through the mist. She delivers it so softly, so warmly, with the last bit of hope the song holds. Fairy lights could be so many things - it could be literal, the fairy lights on someone's porch. It can also be literal for the homophonic meaning: ferry lights, seeing the boat leave as she says goodbye to London. It could be the mythic suggestion of the will o' the wisp, which exist to mislead the traveler who sees them. Perhaps our speaker's later actions are all in vain, because she was following ghostlights.

She tells the audience all she did to try and save her love. Kept calm and carried the weight of the rift. Keep Calm and Carry On being, memeticly, a piece of propaganda distributed in Great Britain during the lead up to WWII. This tells us that perhaps she tried to ignore the ways her relationship was failing, and then, when that didn't work, pulled him in tighter each time he was drifting away.

Then, she tells us how her clinging hurt her. To hold so tightly to someone causes muscles to ache, and even the speaker says, [Her] spine split from carrying [them] up the hill. The speaker is starting to lose hope, here, I think. As she sees how much she's putting in, and how little her lover is giving back.

I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the heath. / I stopped CPR / I was going down with [the ship.]

It is so clear, through vocal desperation and how deep Taylor's notes get, that the speaker gave everything she had to try and save this romance. But she was only given "quiet resentment" in return.

I try to only pull from TTPD for these posts, but the talk of going down with the ship, the imagery of rain ( wet through my clothes ) it all brings to mind just... One thing. Well, actually, two things:

Rain as a symbol of depression is very classic shorthand. We call rainy days "gloomy." I feel like, very obviously, the Speaker's lover is depressed, but I think, less obviously: the speaker is too.

How much sad did you think I had in me?

For me, it calls to mind an old friend, who was going through a dark spot at the same time as me. They... refused to work on getting better, and I hate to say it, but yes, getting better is such nasty work. In a way, the Speaker is expressing that too. She was putting in the nasty work of keeping their relationship together, but also, of putting herself back together.

And her lover didn't. He swore he loved her, but the speaker died on the altar waiting for the proof. You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days. Refusing to care, allowing yourself to wallow in depression when someone else is doing the work for you, will be the final straw in many relationships.

I think, by tying the two together, over this running beat, the speaker is explaining why she has to go. Why, for her own mental health, the relationship must end, before she, too, is sacrificed.

I founded the club she's heard great things about.

The speaker put so much work into the relationship (and by proxy, her lover's mental health) that she feels she reinvented her lover. And as he finds new loves, ones who've heard 'great things' about him, she feels resentment... And yet, she also doesn't. After all, she still says that they:

Had a good run / a moment of warm sun / but I'm not the one

In the end, though worsening mental health played a role, the death knell was the all too real: changing hearts and minds. Life went on, and the speaker and her lover fell out of love with each other. The Speaker could no longer choose to stay, not when their love was so obviously corpse cold. I stopped CPR, after all, it's no use.

She knows she'll take blame (You say I abandoned the ship,) for being the one to officially pull the plug. In the context of this song, though, the blame lays with everyone and no one. Some romance can't be resuscitated, and to continue to try well beyond expiration only creates dull, dying pangs.

Taylor creates such a living picture, for such a dying love, and it's genuinely such good songwriting.

[loveandleases]

hello fellow crush! i wanted to ask about how the ROs react to realizing that they're crushing on the MC, what their temperament be like? and would it be obvious? (can they hide it?)

🤭  Well, if it isn't you. Speak of the crush and they shall appear ~ Since you asked so nicely, I suppose I can answer for you. Below the cut sunshine! (you're curious about Kara aren't you :P)

❤️ Cam - So he didn't really realize he was even crushing to begin with. He has always wanted to be around MC. It wasn't unusual for him to mention them in conversation, think about them throughout the day, or even miss them after just a short time apart.

One of the first people to really pick up on Cam crushing was Chris, this was long before Cam even realized it himself. When Cam did realize, he kind of tried to bury it down. He thought it was just a momentary thing. Of course, when he realized it was more than that he became more protective of MC. Clung to them even more, especially when Chris decided to make their move. It was the only way he could try and cope with what was happening in his head and life. It was hard not to notice Cam blushing around MC, even when just in their vicinity.

It was obvious to everyone long before it was to him, and well MC of course. The only person he can really hide it from is MC, and that's only because they don't realize Cam would ever feel that way for them.

💙 G - So for G, they tend to bottle everything up, either it comes out after they hit the breaking point, or their emotions take over and their mouth just lets it all fly out. The good, the bad, and especially the ugly. For someone as "reserved", cold/stoic as G they have always been pretty good about hiding their emotions. But, that's only because people never bothered to get close.

They tend to keep themselves guarded, not letting anyone in. Of course that was till Cam and MC. With those two, G isn't good at hiding any of their emotions, it's all apparent on their face, in their mannerisms, and even their tone of voice. G isn't close to many people, and those they are know just how open they can be.

It may be noticeable that G is acting awkward, or staring at someone. The nervous little tick of combing back their hair, of biting their lip. They tend to blush around their crush, but it's usually covered by their hand same for the smile. They will just come off as acting weird, when in actuality they're crushing.

💚 Kara - Our sweet girl here is good at keeping a secret, and good at hiding things. But, when Kara starts to crush on someone it's so noticeable, that is if you know what to pick up on. She comes off friendly, and flirty in her actions. Always quick to give someone a hug, or hold their hand while just walking somewhere.

She has some tells when it comes to when she is crushing, they may not be as obvious as other people's. Her touch will linger far too long, she would become more sentimental. She would even begin to mimic their behaviors or actions.

If she sees something her crush is interested in, she will make a point to either get the item for them or to do that activity. Not to mention, get a reminder of it. Either give her crush a piece of merch of their favorite band or take a picture to commemorate an occasion. (which she will then make her lock screen.)

💛 M - Our sweet one has no experience at all. (except with themselves). M is always blushing or coming off as shy, (that is until they see someone bother MC). They have had crushes but more so in their youth.

When M is crushing, it would be hard to tell it apart from how they already act. They would still get flustered, second guess themselves, and not to mention accidentally say something then begin to swear. Which is all things M already does.

When M realizes they have a crush it would be so surreal for them. They would agonize over everything to say, things to do, try and sound less like a flustered mess and more "normal", and that would be noticeable. Try to write things down to see if they can figure out what is proper etiquette when they have a crush. They may look like they're working on a book, but in reality, they're trying to figure out how not to embarrass themself further in front of the object of their affection.

💜 Isaac - With someone afraid of commitment (due to their past of course), it isn't hard for Isaac to hide when they have a crush. They are a bit of a flirt anyways, and always trying to joke around. I feel that alone makes it hard to notice when Isaac has a crush because people don't realize just how serious of a person they actually are.

From an outward perspective, you wouldn't be able to notice when they have a crush. Instead it would just seem as if something is "off" with them.

Isaac would become distant (due to their own fears), and would flirt even less, trying to save themself from whatever heartbreak could come their way. It would seem as if Isaac is disinterested which is honestly how they would want it to appear. They would be scared of the possibility of that "crush" leading to something more, and more scared of the fact that they want it to.

🖤 Ardent - He doesn't really do "crushes". He may have had several relationships in the past, but for him, it doesn't get that far anymore (of course that all changes when a certain someone becomes a tenant). That is normally because people become tired of his shit, the act Ardent puts on is great for getting people to lose interest and rather quick.

With MC, Ardent would actually become more of an ass but with a soft side. He would tease sure, but he would have these moments of kindness that he doesn't have with others. It would definitely be noticeable by others and honestly probably even MC. He would show signs of affection that just don't line up with this tough guy act he looks like he gives.

He will continue to tease them, but he will also be quite affectionate in his own way. He would smile more, and not look as vicious even with the scar on his lip. There is someone who could and will easily notice if Ardent is crushing on MC, and I feel for Ardent because they will not hide it at all. (the niece and of course Cupid!)

[o-sachi]

─── A Letter for @lumiambrose ✦

If you have received this, it means you signed up for Sachi's Selfship Event !

WIFEY. Thank you for being my first requester for this event, but thank you even more for being an amazing friend. You match my freak too much that it scares me sometimes /j. And you already know how much I adore Saemi. That's all. You know the rest. ILY <3

✉️ Attachment: ABCs with Sae Itoshi

[B] Best Quality Sae definitely admires your independent nature. He likes that you can be your own person as you go about your life and reach your own goals. It's an important quality for him because he needs a partner that can keep up with him as an equal rather than someone who will constantly rely on him. Sae also likes your work ethic. You're able to balance multiple things at once while still giving him time. He's a pretty busy dude as well, but he manages his time properly. I suppose it helps him feel like you're living at the same pace.

[C] Comfort He's not... really good with words and he lets you know that. Sometimes he does offer practical advice when you seem receptive of it. But in times that you simply need a shoulder to cry on, he'll be there for you. He might not speak much, but he'll hug you, hold your hand, and rub your back. He definitely gets you food to cheer you up as well. It surprises you sometimes how he's able to remember all your food preferences—even the ones that you only picked up recently. Similar with Rin, he gets you ice cream when you're down in the dumps or even when you're stressed out. Pretty much, Sae is a firm believer of actions over words.

[G] Gifts INSANE GIFT GIVER. Sae gives you gifts like it's nothing to him (it is nothing to him; he's rich, y'know). If he remembers your food preference, then best believe that he remembers every little thing that you point out to him. Show him a random piece of jewelry you found online? You'll find it on your nightstand a few days later. He's THAT type of guy. Of course, he has given you major gifts on your anniversary or on your birthday—stuff like rings and handbags. But he's also a frequent gifter—showering you with stuff every now and then (mostly clothes). His favorite gift that he received from you was a metal bracelet with a Spanish saying engraved on it's inner side.

[H] Hugs Truth be told, he'd rather hug it out than talk it out. Although, at first he wasn't a good hugger. He'd hug you back—stiff as a board—like you were just a buddy of his. But through time, he does get better. In fact, when you two are alone, more often than not he'll have you in his arms. Sae's also a big fan of back hugs. When you're standing up by the kitchen counter, he'll sneak up on you and wrap his arms around your waist. Or if you're sitting down (coding/playing Valorant again), he'll wrap his arms around your shoulders—asking you what's taking you so long. (Clingy sometimes, but won't admit it lol). Of course, this also applies to him being the big spoon and you the little spoon. We all know he has a thing for back(sides).

[I] Intimacy I know it's ironic since he's not much of a talker, but I feel like you achieve deeper connection by... talking. And it's not just the normal kind of conversation; it's more like the kind of conversation he'd only have with someone he trusts completely. It's the kind of conversation that he'd pour out his honest feelings. Sure, he'd still be using that same monotone voice, but you can tell that he's sharing things he wouldn't dare tell another soul. In short, showing each other your vulnerabilities is how you get closer. He takes romance VERY seriously. He isn't the type to get into flings. Knowing that you came out of a long-term relationship, Sae will make sure to do even better than your last. (He has an ego on him, what can I say?)

[J] Jealousy Oh boy... SO JEALOUS. He'll deny it and insist that there is not a single jealous bone in his body (liar). He tries to be subtle about it though, but he fails miserably. It starts off with the lingering death glares, then it proceeds to him asking several "innocent" questions. But if you confront him, he'll gaslight you because why would he be jealous when he's THE Sae Itoshi? It also pisses him a bit knowing that you would never reach his level of jealousy... not that he'd do anything to make you jealous in the first place.

Also the type to give you silent treatment if you act oblivious to it or make fun of him for being jealous...

[K] Kisses His kisses are usually quick, especially the ones in the morning before he leaves for practice or if you ask him for one. If you start whining about how that kiss was so "lame," he'll tease you by kissing you again with that same energy. But glare at him once and he'll sigh before pulling you in for a proper kiss. He's so stubborn and for what? He can be passionate if he wants to though. But I feel like you'd be a better kisser than him (sorry, Sae, just facts). He likes giving you forehead kisses though. When he does, then you know he missed you a lot.

[N] Nicknames He says petnames are for childish people. Oh, but watch him eat his words when he starts calling you "Amor". Apparently, it rolls off the tongue well, so you can't really blame him. It did come naturally though. Like one day he accidentally uttered that and decided to own up to it because he is not going to lose aura points right now.

"You know that's also a petname, right?" / "No it's not." / "..." / "It's not corny, so it doesn't count." / "Sure, whatever floats your boat."

Weirdly enough, he's fine if you call him anything though. Amor, love, baby, babe... actually, he's only fine with those. Anything else makes him cringe a bit.

[R] Rituals First thing that came to mind were your annual vacations. Well, you annually go out, but you do so multiple times in a year. You both enjoy travelling and experiencing different cultures, so why not do it together? It's an absolute must for you to travel on your birthdays, anniversaries, Valentines, Christmas, and other relevant holidays. He makes sure you travel first-class, of course. (Random thought, but I feel like he always posts a story of flutes of champagne on his flight... like wherever y'all are going.. soft launch vibes, y'know?).

[W] Wildcard He has a folder on his phone of just pictures of you (mostly funny faces and ones of you asleep because he's secretly a menace). He won't tell you that though. Also, when he has to make a "rare" post on his social media about you—like, say, a birthday greeting—he'll be typing and deleting over and over again because he can never come up with a caption that contains enough feelings, but not too much? Does that make sense? He's so prideful sometimes istg. But, deep down, he's so madly into you.

Thank you for participating. I hope you like it :3

Want to participate? Give this a read.

o-sachi © 2024 pls do not translate/copy/reupload my work on other platforms.

[bluiex]

And another thing for Magic and Memory loss! This is a tab short, but it was only meant to be about how Mumbo and Scar and the rest of the world sees Grian and there's still a whole lot of lore in it, so...yeah.

More talk about abuse and talk about starvation, so if either of those topics make you uncomfy, feel free to just skip this since it shouldn't effect the flow of the story too much.

~~~~

"Okay, I think this is private enough."

Mumbo leans Grian against the brick wall of the alleyway, trying his best to be careful with the quietly hiccuping man. Tears still run down their face, staining their cheeks with the trails they leave behind. He doesn't understand why they started to cry. He doesn't know what he did to cause it. But he is very sorry for whatever it was.

"Can you tell me what got you so upset, Gri? I promise to not do it again…"

Grian doesn't answer him, they just continue to sob quietly. 

"You know, I don't really blame them for still crying," Scar says, leaning against a part of the wall not too far away. "If you were already upset and got taken to some dirty and damp alley, you would probably keep crying."

"Well I'm sorry, but this was the best place I could think of! The last thing they need is strangers looking at them and trying to get in their personal space to help them. And not a lot of people hang out in alleys."

"Except people who are up to no good."

"Shut up."

He carefully cups Grian cheeks, wiping at the tears running down their face with his thumbs. They weakly push at his hands, their thin fingers…No, he doesn't want to think of that. They're home now. They're safe. What happened can be fixed. They will be okay.

He doesn't need to think about how weak their grip is on his wrists, how bony and thin their fingers feel. Or how thin their wrists and arms look. Or how their red tunic looks way too big on them, like it's about to slip off them at any moment…

No, he doesn't have to think about all that…But it still hurts him deeply to have noticed.

"Stop touching me…" Grian says in a wavering voice. "This is wrong."

"I only want to help clean you up a bit. I swear I'm not going to do anything else."

"This isn't how it's supposed to go…This isn't how it's supposed to be."

"You're alright, Gri. You're safe now."

More tears form in their eyes. "You're not supposed to act like this. You're not supposed to be nice."

Grian moves their head and presses themselves more into the wall, almost like they are trying to flatten themselves against it. He keeps his hands raised, thinking that they may freak out if he moves even slightly.

He tries not to take their actions too personally. Sure, it hurts to see them flinch away from him, but he understands. They don't remember. Grian doesn't know they're safe with the two of them. 

"Grian, it's okay…"

"Stop saying that. That's not true. You're supposed to be mean."

"And why is it you think that?" Scar says. "What gave you the idea we're supposed to be like the big mean and nasty people we are in your head?"

He turns his head and glares at Scar, the man raising their hands in a sort of surrender. 

"Not the best time, Scar."

"I'm just asking an honest question here, not trying to be mean here. I would never be mean to our little sunbeam~"

"Can you please take this just a bit more seriously-"

"You have to be mean…" Grian mumbles quietly. "Because it goes against everything I was taught. Everyone was cruel…So why are you nice?"

Scar hums, like they are thinking over those words. "Tell me one thing, sunbeam…What do you want to believe? What does your heart say to believe?"

"I…I…"

"Scar."

"Are you really feeling that unsafe around us?" They continue, paying little mind to his warning. "Or do you just think you should feel unsafe, but you aren't so you create these scenarios that you are?"

Grian's hands grip at the edge of their tunic. "But…But this is wrong. The elders-"

"Everything is wrong depending on who you ask, sunbeam. Are you going to live by the words of those who hate you and wish to see you fail in the most awful way, or will you believe the words of two people who were so desperate to see you again? Who refused to believe you were gone and would never stop until you were back safe and sound?"

Grian stays silent, opting to stare down at the floor while fiddling with the hem of their tunic. They just look so…small doing that. Like a child preparing to get yelled at. And how tiny their body has gotten through this whole ordeal doesn't help them either. 

Just what have they been eating this entire time? 

"...When was the last time you ate, Gri?" He asks, the question coming out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

"A little before you two took me." Their grip on their tunic tightens. "I'm fine…"

"It's been hours since then, Grian, surely you would be hungry by now. What did you eat?"

"...A bread roll."

"Grian-"

"It's fine, really. I don't…I'm not hungry. I just don't eat a lot."

He glances over at Scar, who gives him the same look he's giving him. 

"Honestly, I'm not."

"Yeah, that's not going to work on us, sunshine." Scar pushes themselves off the wall and walks over. "Maybe if you didn't look like a strong breeze would topple you over."

"I'm not-"

"Grian," He says softly. "We all can see how thin you are and how big your clothes are on you. This academy you talk about, it's elders…They never gave you much, did they?"

"I…No."

He hmphs, leaning forward a bit. "You realize that's a bad thing, right?"

"It wasn't like that…They were trying to teach us humility."

"By starving you?"

"It was supposed to teach us to appreciate what we were given…"

"Uh huh, I'm sure you're real appreciative of whatever food you're given when your stomach is empty…" Scar mumbles bitterly.

Grian starts shaking, prompting him to place a hand on their shoulder.

"Look, I know that it's all you know right now, but you don't have to follow it if it feels wrong or is hurting you. You don't have to do things that cause you pain…"

"You are only saying that because you both need me to be calm until you get me to wherever your home is…" Grian says in a wavering voice. "You'll change once you get what you want."

"You can have your opinions, but we can have ours as well. And in our opinion, you need to get something in your system aside from just a bread roll."

They make an annoyed sounding noise, crossing their arms and pouting. He holds back a laugh. They look like such a child doing that.

"You can be upset all you want, it's not a bad thing to be taken care of."

"There should be an inn around this area we can go to. I think you'll like it a lot, sunbeam!"

"Not like you're giving me a choice…"

"Nope!"

OH GRIAN- I'm so glad Scar an Mumbo took him away AAKSJDNSJ

[babiesdreams]

omg it’s been so long i’ve missed your work i wanted to request xiaojun smut where he buys the reader an expensive jewellery set, like emerald set!? for their anniversary & then when she goes to try it on he says i wanna see you in just the necklace nothing else HDHDJHSGAH then basically smUT SMUT PLSSS with nipple play? praise? and xiaojun as a soft dom?? - 🦋

Okay so it's been so long since I do these but I'm back so here we go. It's short 😔🤙

Emerald set +18 Xiao Dejun.

Everything was ready for your anniversary dinner. The expensive wine burns your throat as you swallow it. A drop gets out of your lips and drips down your chin. You clean it off with your fingers. You instantly blush as pervert thoughts cross your mind. "It's our anniversary, It's supposed to be romantic you think to yourself brushing off every perverted thought out of your mind.

The door sounds in the distance and you prepare yourself to act like this is your first glass of wine of the night. "Don't look" he says approaching you with tiny steps. "Close your eyes" he says and you can tell he's smiling by the sound of his voice.

He hands you a box with a ribbon on it and asks you to open your eyes. Immediately you know it's some kind of jewellery. You open the box slowly and your eyes focus on the light reflecting onto the emerald piece. You recognise it instantly but you let him explain it.

"It's Howl's necklace from your favourite film" you smile at him. "I'm sorry" you say with a sigh. "Why, what's wrong?" You look at him with sad eyes. "My gift for you isn't that good"

"where's it? Let me see it" you point at the badly wrapped gift. He runs to it and rips the wrapping as quick as he can. "Oh my god. You made me a sweater?" He asks in disbelief.

"I tried. I'm not good at knitting yet... I'm sorry" yoy try to explain shyly. He puts it on immediately. "I love it. It's so fluffy and comfortable and pretty... Like you" you laugh at his compliments.

"I love you" you say looking at him. "I love you too" he replies with a sweet voice. "I'll help you put your necklace on" he says walking towards you. "Did you have it custom made?" You ask still surprised by the accuracy.

"I did, it's almost the same, excelt for a detail" you raise a brow, curious. "What's it?" He turns the jewel around so you can see the inscription. It reads "My heart is yours"

"Xiaojun... It's so beautiful" you say with tears forming on your eyes. "A beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl" he says. "You're so cocky" you joke around.

"You know... When first saw the necklace I couldn't help but imagine how it would fit you" you smile at him "Did I meet your expectations?" The boy smirks. "Not really"

You pout at his words. "In my mind you didn't have ... Clothes" he says serving himself a glass of wine. "Oh well we can solve that" you say taking your dress off. The boy remains silent observing your body as your clothes keep flying across the room.

"Is this closer?" You say once you're completely naked. "It is, but there's something still missing" he whispers getting closer to you.

His right hand starts playing with your clit while his left hand pinches your nipples. Loud moans fill the room. " You're such a good girl" he says getting faster with his actions. "You always wait for me to let you cum right?" You nod, unable to form words and hold your orgasm at the same time.

He starts fingering you right away. "Cum now" he orders and you let go, feeling the wave of pleasure brush your body completely. "Good girl" he whispers.

You look down and notice how hard he is. "Let's go" you say walking towards your bedroom. He follows you until you're both laying on the bed.

"Now this is exactly what I pictured" he says caressing your cheek. "Well you have all night to make it even better"

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

Masterlist –requests open– How to request?  Check out your score.

[dinrelsanddragons]

I feel like doing this: the list Bryn ran down of the guardsmen. Please note that this is their Twilight Princess verse.

"First, there’s the actual war criminal, who was pardoned for the crime of burning her superiors alive." Yep. Gateni did burn her superiors alive, because she was ordered to kill innocents. Rather than do that, she decided the guys issuing those orders needed to die both painfully and efficiently; fire magic happens to be her specialty.

"Second, there’s Wynne, who’s the queen’s sister, and icy enough that your dick would freeze off if you even went within ten feet of her." Maybe a bit of a fanciful descriptor regarding how cold Wynne is, but if she got a scale from the dragon spirit Naydra and awoke as the Frostclad sage (that lore is still a thing) she could easily do that, elemental control and all that. Not that anyone knows this lore, except for the tiny bit of fanciful myth Wynne has heard in her family history.

"Third we’ve got our steel snob who keeps our weapons in tip-top condition." Sandalio could easily let some well-qualified servants do this job, but he's a bit of a guy who says "if you want something done right, you do it yourself," at least regarding weapons maintenance. (Mun needs to develop his character more, frankly speaking.)

"Fourth is the guy with a stick up his ass, the wimpiest of us since he let a talking cat make him think he lost his wits." Leonard certainly did let a talking cat get the better of him: when he met Tallula Brighid, who in time became his beloved, he had no idea that Tallula had (quite accidentally) bestowed the power of speech upon her cat, Fluffy. Fluffy is a sarcastic and sassy little shit and uses these traits to grand effect when it comes to messing with people.

"Fifth is the guy who knows his legends better than anyone and has a lineage to prove it." Wynne knows her general history better than Hubert, but Hubert has access to certain materials regarding the mythology and legends of Hyrule that qualify him as a special expert. While this doesn't do much to make him sound like a badass, it's probably a better qualifier of his character than saying that he's decent with lightning magic and can use it alongside his chosen weapon of a sword.

"Sixth used to be a master prankster as a kid until his instructors knocked it out of him." Not sure if Isaac was a master prankster, but he certainly committed to it and pissed off a lot of folks in his hometown. Isaac thankfully doesn't have the straight-lacing that Leonard does, but neither is he about to indulge in that hobby again– but it still means he's got a creative and clever mind, always has.

"Seventh is a literal half frost dragon." Enough said, I suppose? There's also that Taunch wouldn't stand for any of the bullshit Garon tries to pull; he is a soul who sincerely believes he has a duty to use his strength to defend the weak. A consummate knight.

"Eighth is the man who runs the fastest of any of us and married to the only person we’ve ever even heard of who can beat him in a footrace." That's Thorn, who is married to a very short Gerudo who, like him, goes nyoom. His wife Lita could easily qualify to be a royal guard if she were a knight of Hyrule, or really, from Hyrule instead of Gerudo. She's that good. Thorn isn't anything to sneeze at himself; he's better than Lita in sheer strength, though certainly not stamina– measure by that and she runs circles around him for hours.

"Ninth, an actual full-blooded stone dragon, you should be grateful it’s impossible to piss him off." Please do not try to piss off Armok, it could be disastrous if he turned his petrifying breath on... well, anyone, given the delicate diplomatic situation. It's possible that his berserk button, if it exists, lies in threatening his hoard of comrades. Well, that happened! He's probably very upset.

"I’m tenth." I guess Bryn feels that her actions speak of her skill set and strength enough that she doesn't need to say what they are. Confident, perhaps "overzealous" (as stated by King Jacinto), but she's good enough at her job– and her king's envoy of choice to the Gerudo if he has to pick someone who can defend herself. She knows diplomacy to some extent, but doesn't care to employ it with obvious jackasses.

"Eleventh is the king’s childhood best friend." I haven't even mentioned in this post that Raven and Hubert are in this group of bros as well, but Vair's loyalty lies where it does because, as a boy and prince, King Jacinto turned him to a better path than self-destruction under the guise of vengeance and justice for Vair's hometown, which was destroyed by a flame dragon when Vair was six. Vair might be odd in a few ways, but he knows his way around his weapons of choice and will put those skills to use without a heartbeat of hesitation.

"And finally, number twelve: Grandson of a legendary war hero with the skills to match." Raven is noted as being the grandson of Link Allaway, who gained many accolades in his (unfortunately brief) time, hidden among them being "hero of time." Raven doesn't possess the exact same skills that his grandfather did– the man died in war when Raven's father Devin was a boy. But there is still power in his bloodline– or perhaps courage, more accurately. (And mun won't lie; if Hyrule had had need of a hero before Raven could have any kids, Raven would probably be worthy of drawing the Master Sword from the pedestal.)

Honorable mentions:

Lita, Thorn's wife. Charismatic enough to wrap an otherwise cold and extremely private man around her finger, and win his heart. She'd definitely earn her spot among the ranks of the guardsmen... except mun doesn't want to bump that number up any further than 12.

Erdan, guardsman of the Twili. His role in the twilight realm much mirrored that of any of the Hyrulean guardsmen; he was close to Princess Midna and took her protection very seriously. He still kicks himself for being away when Zant usurped the throne, and kicks himself for getting himself and his husband Naal trapped in the world of light with no way to return home. Also would have a spot amongst the guardsmen if mun wanted to bump the number up; he has just about nothing better to do with his life except maybe be something like a house husband.

Gwyn, Raven's wife. She's retired from her job and just wants to be a housewife, but the fact is she remains a very able spy that Raven or King Jacinto can call on if needed. Mind her chaotic streak– if something happens that endangers her family, she will put their lives and happiness first, especially should their needs conflict with the kingdom's needs.

[stargazingpsychotic]

Sorry, a very bad rant/personal discussion on partly my distrust of mh services, but also a failing that I have as a psychotic person I suppose

A few years ago I had a very unfortunate conversation with a friend of mine. I was in a bad situation and been pushed around loads of different people in mental health services, lots of sleepless nights at a&e, a few visits to wards or places with unreasonable conditions (was either unable to sleep because that wasn't it's purpose despite being there 10 days, or so cold that no one could sleep with a tiny sheet as bedding to cover us in the coldest of winter).

One of these times I was under section, I had tried to kill myself, not because of some delusion or impulsive action because of voices or whatever had been the reason before, but because I felt it all coming back into psychosis. I decided I'd rather leave then than let myself spiral and have to go through it all again.

Because when I have had attempts in the past before that often it felt out of my control, and like I wasn't going to die, I was just going to leave my body. I wasn't scared of doing that most of the time, and any time I was I'd contact someone who'd help me get to where I needed to go.

I was sent home from that hospital being told they knew I'd hurt myself but they didn't have a reason to keep me there (I was happy with this because I'd at least be warmer). But, as I had tried to get across, I did end up in an episode again.

At some point during this I was, for a short time, scared. I knew I was going to do something, I knew I could justify it as me not dying but escaping, I knew it would hurt but it wouldn't result in my existence ceasing, and I'd be happier for it. But I was scared for a bit, enough to go out and get to the hospital and do my best to explain what was happening, how I was scared, but it doesn't last. Knowing I would do it when I got home from there. And that day really ruined any hope I had.

First they kept me in over night, which was fine, but I did get a bit agitated since I started thinking this was pointless and they were going to trick me or trap me, not without the person I spoke to telling me I'd be a bad friend for doing it. The next morning I see someone else, never seen her before, but she comes in and starts talking. I have to repeat what I said, but differently, this time less fear and more matter of fact. This is going to happen because I have to, and I will be fine. Nothing bad will ultimately happen, I will just move on. And it all resulted in her saying 'just don't do it'. And, sure. I might, if I'm being generous, see how maybe that could slightly help. But this isn't a choice for me. I have to do this. It isn't the first time either, so it isn't like a whole new thing for me.

I'm sent home. I take so many pills it should have done a reasonable amount of damage even if it didn't kill me.

About a week later my friends get in touch and I mention about what happened the week before. I didn't want to bother them because that would mean I was a bad friend for getting them involved. But I wasn't going to lie.

Someone comes over and talks and we go back to the hospital and end up seeing the same person who I saw in the evening a week before. She really went all in on the bad friend thing, as well as explaining how I was going to die in the next couple weeks in a lot of detail and using someone who did die as an example of how I would admit how big a mistake it was and I'd be begging to live. That has never sat well with me. Well I was sent home and that was that.

The conversation I mentioned at the beginning was essentially how I have just had to accept that I might die one day, by my own hands, and not necessarily because I know I'm going to die but because I know I won't die but move on. It won't kill me, just give me the chance to move on. I wanted to kill myself before the episode I felt coming on because at least I would know I would die and it would be easier to understand than me saying confidently that I'm not going to die if I do whatever it is that would kill me.

It's been over 4 years since then. I've had at least 3 (maybe 5) episodes like this since. None have been taken with the seriousness I need to think I could trust the mental health services when it is like this.

One of them I was told I'm not worth helping. Two went on without much involvement because I couldn't even tell anyone and I'm lucky I could claim some other illness during that time because I did not want to waste my time with them. Another it was all apparently because I'm trans (which was what they believed after I, again, did my best to explain the situation).

These last few months have been the same. I wrote it all out. I explained the past. I explained how I act during it and how I really don't want to end up there again, so doing anything to try and prevent it would really help.

Of course I wasn't taken seriously. The doctor decided, over and over, that I can just not think whatever I think. He could say that I can get over it and not end up there.

I'm not faultless here. I went off my meds, and then a few months later, realising this was a mistake, I tried to say I should go back on them, and he said no. I made it difficult because everything I was asked always came back to 'i can't work with you because it would trap me and I have to go home (not earth)'. I made mistakes, ones which might have been prevented if I wasn't put on meds that didn't help at all, but still down to me.

I also realised, early in the year, or last year, my body is dead, this happened 4 years ago, when I had that really bad attempt and experience with them. It's being kept alive by something else, when I'm asleep they are able to reset some control over me and that's why sleeping is bad for me. My flesh is rotting away and I can see that and people are being weird by not mentioning it ever. So I'm not trying to kill my body, instead exhaust the person or people keeping it going by harming it over a long period of time.

I did explain this to them, I really tried, I was scared because I know how awful I feel withholding water and sleep and anything else which should help me. I spent ages trying to fight this, living with a contradiction of having to leave but needing help.

Unfortunately, months of it not being treated, and the most advice being 'don't do that', I have ended up mostly believing this. And I know what happens next. Because I keep having visions, I know how this ends. Either in my being trapped here forever, or leaving by causing enough harm.

On top of that I have to deal with angels being sent to watch and interfere. My family being swapped out constantly, so much that whatever they have become, all they want is for me to die. The world is controlled by It, so no one can be trusted, not really. And I have to appear like nothing is going on (I'm really bad at this).

I feel abandoned. All the talk of how suicide prevention matters, but when I try my best to get out of this, knowing I need to work with others, when I can work with them they refuse, and when it gets into the worst of it, well there's still no support, at least most the time nothing changes.

The cycle will continue until either it just stops and never happens again because of whatever, or I die. And I die not believing I'm going to die but believing I will move on, far off into the universe, going home, where I can finally feel safe for once.

And then there's the contact numbers. So I have to phone people as a way of asking for support, the problem is this is either things like mindline or Samaritans (we know they can't help, especially for psychosis, years ago friends tried with me and yeah, it isn't something I can be talked out of), or the mental health services themselves, which haven't ever come to anything helpful. It doesn't help I struggle with phonecalls and talking in general, especially about myself.

What bothers me more is none of this touches on the dissociation and lost time, on the anxiety and fears I have which get in the way, nor my lacking in various things people are generally expected to do without support.

It's frustrating. And part of it is I don't know what can help me because I don't have any experience in that and I don't know what options there are when the doctor says no to meds and therapy is dependent on nothing leading me to 'i have to go home' - which, when someone talks about any random thing can do this and my reaction usually results in some degree of harm coming to me, either slight or an attempt on my life, then it doesn't feel safe going in without meds to at least calm this down.

I'm fed up. I'm tired. I know where things are going because I have to change doctor and this won't be quick either. But since this current one has decided I can just get over it, despite my past and everything I have told him, I cannot risk another appointment when he doesn't have my best interests there at all.

I have to go home and this could easily happen while under the impression I will not die, and that terrifies me that I have to accept that because there's no support for me in this situation.

Maybe it's what I deserve for getting stuck in this world in the first place.

[containatrocity]

They've already drawn eyes, scolding the town priest in the street in a hushed voice as Joei tries to embrace her father- Absinthe doesn't want much more attention than this- there's eyes everywhere, and he's not sure anymore which sets are trustworthy. "I will explain, I promise, but I cannot do it here." He knows a place they'll go undisturbed- and perhaps the location will lend further credence to what Absinthe needs to make known. "Come with me. It- It may be best to take Joei to Ondine." He inhales. "She knows I've come to talk to you." There is pain in his face- he wants nothing more than to take his daughter into his arms as she reaches, as Esther soothes her from the upset at not being held the way he always had.

It's a short walk no matter what's decided to where Absinthe seems to see fit to have this conversation- a house tucked in the woods left abandoned since 2013, it's seen a few visitors, mostly teenagers on dares- or the rare desperate too-late-to-get-back overnighter. Absinthe knows this place better than most. It's where he was 'born', after all. Thirteen priests died in the walls of the 'horror house' that night- But one slate left blank made himself anew. He crests the porch slowly, taking in the view from atop weathered wood until Esther joins them.

"First, I want you to know that I did not keep this from you intentionally- not... not forever. Much of what I know now was... only made clear to me after the earthquake. More of it still might be missing." Absinthe leans against one of the supports of the porch, offering one tattooed hand gently to Esther. "It is not because I think any less of you than Ondine that I did not tell you sooner- it is because the more people who know what I'm about to say, the more people that might be in legitimate, prevalent danger. I do not think you are crazy, or stupid, or any less deserving to know- I thought only that I was... protecting you. All of us, really. By just... hoping you would trust me. That was wrong of me. I've made a number of mistakes, lately. Deen wanted to tell you. I begged her not to- you already... struggled with your faith, and with your brother- I didn't want to weigh on you more than I already do."

It's only once he can look them in the eye that Absinthe swallows tightly- and starts to tell Esther the truth. "My name isn't Absinthe Capone. Upon my arrival here, I was Abel Fulci, and my duty, that I served singlemindedly, as it was all I had ever known was to come here, and 'free' Huntsville. I failed. Me, and all twelve of my fellow priests. Most were torn to shreds on this porch one thin door away from me." They turn their offered hand slowly- exposing the puncture scars from his metal canines and blunt human teeth in the flesh between their thumb and forefinger. "I savaged myself and warded the door in blood. Two of us inside. I- I tried to open it. To save someone, anyone- I was attacked by my own companion for doing so."

The heavy thud of a broken table leg against the back of his head- the sensation of what had certainly been his skull cracking. "And with my last fleeting awareness in the moment, I killed him, too. Not for any reason other than he had slighted me- the blood on my hands when I was found here was mine but I am soaked sanguine for my actions- it will never wash off. But... by the time Sunflower's people found me, here... I had forgotten. My trauma locked off everything but my knowledge of scripture and my awareness that- My name started with an A." He pauses. "I do not tell you this for any sort of pity. But that you know the person you love is- only 11 years here. The rest of me is... something worse. And for my sake I hid him away. But... The reason I asked you to... separate yourself. Is that things from that life are starting to slip in. Things that I want nothing more than to keep you from, Esther." He swallows.

"I am a weapon of the Vatican. A sword of His will. I am not supposed to think for myself- much less... have what you and Deen are to me."

Esther genuinely hadn't been trying to locate Absinthe, at least not while they had Joei in their arms. They missed the other more than anything, but also understood the unspoken rule that Joei and Sin couldn't be associated. Even if they didn't understand why. It was only when the toddler exploded in excitement did they realize the mistake they made.

Of course they had a minute. When it came to the person in front of them, Esther would give their very last minute, their last breath, for them. Sometimes they wondered if he even understood that. "Should we...find somewhere else to talk?" they asked, especially since Sin had looked around them for any prying eyes or ears.

Gently gripping Joei's small hand, Esther lowered it from reaching out to Absinthe. They scowled at him. "Yeah, no shit," they seethed. "I hate this Sin. I fucking hate being in the dark. That you and Deen can't trust me to know everything because what? Because I'm not good enough? Smart enough? Too crazy for you?" They couldn't help keeping the hurt out of their voice. Sin had long ago asked them not to ask any questions, so they didn't. That didn't stop the silence from hurting any less.

As Joei started to whimper, Esther kissed her forehead and whispered "sorry baby girl, Mama Esth's just a little mad at Dada." With a sigh they let her down so Joei could run over to her father.

[thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch]

I am obsessed with the idea of Kyojuro falling for someone completely different than him, kinda like in uninterested but in my mind they actually have arguments (nothing major obv) and at first he doesn't have any interest in pushing it to be friends. Then suddenly everything he believes in (that love is supposed to be easy, always sweet, never complicated, recognizable) is shattered as he understands that love can in fact be complicated, difficult, not perfect, and that's okay. Idk if you like the idea but I just wanted to share!

a/n: honestly opposites-attracting, but only after turmoil is such a good trope but so overlooked imo- since i dont consider it enemies-lovers (theyre clearly distinctly different asldkfjasdf). also why is it hard to write like a passive-slightly aggressive rengoku? (it shouldn't be considering when he first met tanjiro his mind was literally 'execute child' LMFAO)

also, slight warning bc sanemi and you get into a fist fight lol (very confrontational y/n)

additionally: im not very happy with the outcome of this, and on top of that it's pretty short but hNNG i couldn't just keep this in my draft so im releasing it into the wild and ruNNING away

-x-x-x-

kyojuru is a certified optimist with the skills to back up his optimism

so when you entered his life with a polar opposite attitude, he tried thinking nothing of it

but your constant need to tell him that his optimism is suffocating or stiffling or even 'unrealistic' really grinded on his gears and even he has a limit

kyojuro is a good man, but he isnt a saint

at first it started with small little jabs to try and appease you when you would start talking about whatever came out of your mouth

"you should focus on training and not speaking so much"

"your pessimism is truly deep-seated, isn't it?"

"y/n, please less talking more action"

then somehow, it escalated

you both would bicker constantly- like a rat testing it's luck against a predator owl

it got to the point the hashira ranks and even kagaya knew of your distaste for each other and even teased you both about it

you both would argue over such simple, stupid things

so imagine his inner shock when he saw you caught in a screaming match against shinazugawa one day

arguing with sanemi was already a deadend road, hes about as hardheaded as a bull and will butt heads until he's knocked on his ass or unconscious

kyojuro wondered for the briefest of moments if you both looked like you did now, up in sanemi's face yelling at him while he yelled back trying to fight for the high ground

however, arguments with sanemi never lasted long- but that didn't mean the situation was resolved. they never lasted long because he almost always start a fistfight

and he will fight you no matter who you are- feminist sanemi says 'equal rights, equal fights'. his fists are rated E-for literally everyone

the moment you swung first- taking the one thing away from him that he had (the ability to strike first) it all just snowballed

you both were scrapping around in the dirt and grass and for some reason kyojuro didn't like it

there was a small scene of familiar faces around, all sighing and shaking their heads at the fight like it was just an ordinary day

but kyojuro strangely felt compelled to act- so he did

he quickly intervened, breaking up the fight between you and sanemi. he yanked you behind him, gripping your wrist and keeping you at his back so you didn't run or try to go after the wind hashira again

while kyojuro was confident he could hold you back, he was less certain he could do that and keep sanemi at bay as well, so he quickly took off. draggin you behind him by the wrist

when you both got far enough away, kyojuro made you sit down in front of him as he inspected your face

typical fistfight injuries scattered your skin and you refused to look at him, a scowl on your face the whole time he was inspecting you

"why do you care?" you had asked him and for some reason, it irked him but also hurt him

was he not supposed to care?

sure you got on his nerves and he wouldn't say he was exactly friends with you, but-

"i do not wish to see you injured, is that so wrong?"

"you didn't care before"

"that is not true!"

he yelled at you, just like he always did when you antagonized him- but this time it was different

he wasn't arguing because you pushed him, he was arguing because you were wrong and he did care

he did and hes finally realizing it

he didn't want you to be hurt and he didn't want you to fight with others- deep down he didn't even want you fighting with him

he wanted to form a better relationship with you- a bond with you like he has with others

kyojuro wanted to try and fix this messed up way you two communicated and he knew it would suck and you'd probably fight him the entire process

then he laughed, loud and long to himself at the though of it

you fighting him on not wanting to fight anymore?

that's just like you-

and he cared about all of you, like it or not

[takuyakistall]

to yuu.

Note: I wanted to write short HCs for each character as they wrote the letter when I finished reading everyone's thank you messages (◕ᴗ◕✿) ! All of them are very cute and I couldn't help but get some midnight rot so I had to write it down. Here's the link to the post where every message is listed down. Before you start reading, just a heads up, most of these are written in a romantic light. I also recommend reading the letters themselves first before heading here.

Characters: All students + Grim (Excluding Ortho)

Riddle Rosehearts

"Dear friend," Riddle thought that it was the most appropriate way to address you—or at least, that's what his brain is trying to make him think. Ever since overblotting and you helping him snap out of his frenzy, he had difficulty in labeling what exactly you were to him.

Before everything, you were supposed to be just a mere acquaintance to him and yet here you were sending him gifts out of the blue. The general "rule" towards receiving gifts was to give the giver your thanks. Albeit the better option was to thank you personally, he thought that maybe a letter would be better so that he can sort out his thoughts.

Friend. He nodded, proceeding to write down the rest of his message until he realized that this was an opportunity to invite you to tea with him under the pretense of paying you back for the gift. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he continued writing.

Surely, you would accept his invitation, right?

Trey Clover

"Hey you," was that too casual? Too rude sounding? Trey shook his head as he stared at the two words. He hadn't been expecting a gift from you and frankly, he was more than a bit surprised. Though perhaps he hadn't read the "gift" part when he suddenly started writing down questions about what you liked.

He immediately started thinking of how he should pay you back—gifts? He doesn't know your taste that well. Favours? Hmm, he's not too sure about that one. That's why he decided to ask, if there was something you wanted—he'll do his best to find it for you. A tempting offer, right?

It seems like you have to tell him that this wasn't a trade.

Cater Diamond

"Helloooooo," he started off. The extra amount of Os he used was proof that he's trying to take this occurrence casually. Though in the inside he was absolutely beaming. Gifts never fail to put a smile on his face, especially if it came from someone you didn't expect to give you a gift or someone special to him.

In this case, it was probably the latter. He took a small break as he stared at your gift, wondering what he should write. A small smile took over his face as he picked up his phone and snapped a few selfies of him with your gift with a caption before hitting the post button.

"Received a gift from a dear friend, isn't it amazing? ♪"

Deuce Spade

"Friend," Deuce rarely got to experience receiving gifts from friends to one another judging how his past years were spent as a delinquent. To say that he was happy to receive one from you was an understatement, he was over the moon.

He felt the need to mention it to you with a huge grin on his face. He thought of various ways to give you something back as he let out a small hum, he felt like he was having a field day. He signed the message and told himself that today was going to be a great day.

Ace Trappola

"Hey you," Ace was terribly suspicious of the fact that you sent him a gift out of the blue. Were you trying to buy him silence over something you did? Were you trying to convince him to do your homework for you? A lot of questions springed up inside his mind but not once did he think that it was just a genuine, sweet gift with no ulterior motives hidden beneath.

He knew that you would get mad at him if he continued to suspect you so he said that he was kidding in all caps with three dots after that—which didn't help his situation at all.

He felt awkward trying to convey his feelings like this and he ruffled his own hair as he told you that he just needed to tell you something later, when you're face-to-face. That would make it easier for him to speak.

Leona Kingscholar

"Good day," Leona uncharacteristically typed. He felt like he was being held at gunpoint by his past etiquette teachers as he tried to think of an appropriate response. If it were up to him, he would've just slapped a "thank you" on a piece of paper and asked Ruggie to give it to you.

Though he thought that perhaps it was better for him to actually put in effort for once. Even if it seemed like his so called effort seemed like something he just stole from the internet—that was more than enough, right? He'll just put his signature at the bottom and ask Ruggie to give it to you.

Ruggie Bucchi

"Hey you," a big grin took over his face as he wrote down his first few words. He wasn't as experienced as other people when it came to writing down messages of gratitude, he once tried consulting Leona about it—asking how to make it sound decent only to be met with an answer that went like: "Just put whatever."

And that's what he did! Truly, he's thankful for receiving a gift. For a split second, he wondered if he should share it with the people back in his homeland. Though he pushed that thought to the back of his head as he signed the bottom of the paper with his signature. He'll figure that out once he gives the letter to you.

Jack Howl

"Friend," he doesn't know what to say it's embarassing. Even in letters, he still manages to retain that straightforward yet somewhat roundabout personality of his. A tinge of embarrassment seeping through the letter.

He wished he could've just talked to you in person instead but alas, he was stuck here trying to rack his brain for words. In the end, he felt like it was best to keep it simple—the slightly demanding tone at the end was the result of him getting flustered at the thought that it's possible that it could be a date between the two of you.

Azul Ashengrotto

"My dear friend," Azul couldn't count the number of times he had crumpled a piece of paper and threw it into the trashcan only to get a new one—rinse and repeat. Jade and Floyd had to stifle their laughter when they saw how distressed he was over a single message. Though, perhaps that was the fruit of his unconventional feelings towards the giver.

He didn't want to sound too stiff and professional to the point that he sounded like a robot but also, he didn't want to sound too casual to the point that you might find it weird. He had to let out a small sigh as he ruffled his hair, another piece of paper thrown into the trash can before deciding that he should just play it safe and give you a free drink.

Jade Leech

"To my dearest," oh no. His hand slipped and accidentally made his greeting more intimate than it should be, he could go back and change it but—fufu, where's the fun in all of that? His lips tugged up into a smirk as he continued writing, knowing full well that what he was implying would evoke an interesting reaction out of you. But, if that wasn't enough to stir you up a bit then why not put a little more something? He was a prick this way.

He spotted an empty space on one of his shelves in the corner of his eye, glancing at it for a few seconds before an idea popped into his head. A smile that barely showed off his sharp canines, hidden beneath his gloved hand.

"Truly. Would I lie to you?"

Floyd Leech

"Little shrimpy," he grinned. Floyd was in an especially good mood today after receiving such a thoughtful gift from you. He played with his pen in hand, spinning it around as a distant look took over his face when he tried thinking about the reason why you gave him a gift out of nowhere.

Knowing that Floyd pays a little more attention to you than others, he was bound to be curious and he was more than eager to find out—there's always a reason behind someone's actions, after all. He tried expressing his intent to get the answer out of you which came out a little threatening but if you saw the look on his face there's no mistaking that it was an even bigger threat than you initially thought.

Kalim Al-Asim

"Hey love," Kalim was as straightforward as ever. Not a single filter as he wrote down his raw feelings. There was no reason for him to hesitate especially now that he was practically about to shake from pure joy—he was incredibly close to signing the letter and hopping into his magic carpet to give it to you personally but Jamil was there beside him to stop him if he ever does that.

Though that didn't mean that it was gonna stop him from wanting to ask you out on a magic carpet date with him, he'll just have to explain to Jamil when you accept his invitation. That is assuming you'll accept, right?

Jamil Viper

"Dear friend," Kalim practically forced him to write a letter back to you. Jamil wasn't an ingrate, he knew when to show gratitude when it was appropriate but he preferred thanking you in person. He had to settle for this in the meantime, he thought that maybe he'll just invite you to Scarabia to talk about what he could give in return.

He hadn't really expected a gift from you, especially with all the trouble he might've caused you due to his overblot. Though he didn't think it was all that bad. In fact, he felt a little relieved that you didn't hold any grudge against him.

Vil Schoenheit

"My dear," Vil had an unmistakable smirk placed upon his lips. The choice of words he wrote managed to give out a slightly smug vibe as he stared at your gift on his desk. Impressed by your ability for finding him a suitable gift, he decided to give you a little bit in return.

His smirk slowly turned into a gentle smile as he imagined your face probably tearing up at the thought of him giving you a signed card, he couldn't help but put an offhanded comment near the end. But it was quickly followed up with a single bit of rare praise from him.

Rook Hunt

"Hey love," Rook was always one to act dramatically whenever he had the chance and even in letters, he managed to sound dramatic. As soon as he realized that you had sent him a gift he started gushing about how wonderful it was and how inspiration was raining down on him like tiny droplets.

What's a better way to let his raw emotions out than poetry? That's right, this man wrote you a poem expressing how he feels because of your gift. He almost forgot to say his gratitude because he got carried away but thankfully, Epel pointed it out to him before he could give it to you.

Epel Felmier

"Dear friend," he rarely got any gifts from anyone outside his relatives so when he saw you give him a gift, he was excited to say the least. There's always a certain joy you can evoke in a person when you give them a gift it was almost euphoric for some. He thought that it was sweet of you to give him a gift and decided to give one back with a small message.

Friend. For some reason, it felt a bit off addressing you as that but he quickly shook his head and shot down that thought. As for his gift, he prepared a little something he made himself. Hehe, he's quite proud of it too!

Idia Shroud

"@YOU" it was interesting how Idia didn't bother changing to formal speech when he decided to give you a thank you message for your gift. He's typing the same way he would to his friend, namely "Crimson Muscle", but perhaps that was because he didn't know of any other way to talk to you without sounding unnatural or weird.

People would normally not even think about giving him something and yet you gave him one. He couldn't help but smile a bit when he said how you were a bit of an oddball—he came up with various nicknames for you inside his head. Most of them being different words for the term "weirdo". Yet they always had a hint of affection whenever he would think of it.

Malleus Draconia

"Dearest," Malleus started off. It was rare that he received gifts from people outside his family or nobles back in the Valley since a lot of people found him intimidating—terrifying for some, even. He was glad that you felt comfortable enough around him to show simple gestures such as these. Upon receiving your gift, Lilia noticed how it came from you and urged Malleus to write his thank you message differently from how he usually writes it.

Did you perhaps know of the legends surrounding the Thorn Witch...? If so, then maybe he could sneak in a little joke. The gift of beauty and the gift of song—ah, nevermind. He pursed his lips slightly, he'll just handpick a gift for you himself. A small gargoyle statue, maybe. Or he could ask the other members of Diasomnia to help him.

Lilia Vanrouge

"My dear," his lips formed a small smirk. Lilia appreciated all surprises, big or small. Though, in particular, something about your surprise gift made him more excited about it than usual. Was that just his old age getting to him or was it something else? He couldn't be bothered to think about it that much.

As a form of gratitude, he weighed his options. It was either giving you a gift back or letting you ask a favour of him. He thought the latter would be more acceptable until an idea popped into his head as his eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief. He knew you didn't know what it exactly meant but he gave you his signature nonetheless—he'll leave you to figure out.

Silver

"Hey you," Lilia taught Silver that it was common courtesy to show gratitude when someone gives him a gift. He tried thinking of countless ways to say thank you with his old man bugging him to ask you out on a date instead in the background. In the end, he paid Lilia no attention and instead went with the standard short message and giving a gift back.

He urged himself not to fall asleep as he typed out his message even though he already let out a yawn without him noticing. He glanced at the screen blankly, wondering if he forgot to add anything until he slowly felt himself snoozing off. Head resting on the keyboard and typing out whatnot. When Lilia arrived at the scene, he didn't bother waking him up and just sent the message as it is.

Silver was so embarassed the next day and refused to talk to Lilia temporarily.

Sebek Zigvolt

"Human," he didn't even try addressing you as anything else other than that even in letters. When he found a gift lying by his room, he was a tad suspicious but loosened up when he read the tag attached to it. As stated, it came from you and the gift was meant for Malleus—wait, what. Sebek scrunched up his face as his eyes scanned the words printed on it.

"To Sebek Zigvolt" This was a mistake, right? Sebek was a bit flushed but quickly shook it off by saying how it was probably a subterfuge or whatever that was. There was no way it was for actually for him, right? Surely, you must've sent this in hopes of hearing more about the great Malleus Draconia. Right?

That is... Wonderful!

Grim

"Dear underling," it was cute how he made an effort to write you a letter despite being in the same dorm wherein he could just talk to you directly. But perhaps he was so touched to the extent that he wanted to do this—did you give him tuna? He struggled thanking you properly and ended up boasting about how he was going to be the greatest sorcerer.

Even though he called you underling at first, he couldn't help but soften up a bit. That didn't sit right with him somehow, he didn't know why. He let out a groan as he racked his head for a more appropriate word until-!

Partner... Sounds about right.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

A Thousand Year Love ~ Ryomen Sukuna x Kitsune!Reader

Okay, I wrote the Reader's name as "Kitsune", but that's mostly because I envisioned a nine tailed fox without an actual name, that everyone would just call her "Fox" as if she wasn't anyone worth naming, despite her rank.

This is a little fic which explored Sukuna's supposed backstory, 1000 years prior to he action of Jujutsu Kaisen - Idk if it's accurate, I didn't yet read the manga, I still have 6 more episodes from the anime, but I had this idea and I couldn't stop myself from writing about it.

Most of it builds up the bond that very slowly grows between Sukuna and Kitsune, then snaps during a scene somewhere around episode 4 of the anime, when Sukuna takes over Yuji's body, and Yuji can't switch for a while, but with enough altercations that it's not exactly the same as in the said episode.

Hope you enjoy this <3

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

"What are we doing here...?" Kitsune asked her parents in a voice that was barely audible as she looked left and right at the huge estate's gardens.

Estate? Rather said, palace, since this place was grandiose - Most likely, even more so than the Emperor's own Palace, the girl thought to herself. Everywhere she looked, cherry, plum and pear trees were in blossom, even though it wasn't their time. Statues and little shrines, along with various small pools with flowers, lanterns and lotuses were scattered as much as her vision would allow her to see. Looking up at the estate, she realised just how small she was in comparison to the intimidating and imposing energies radiating all over the place.

"You are going to meet someone very important, dear." her mother spoke, yet her voice wasn't as gentle as usual, rather, it sounded stiff, on the edge...Almost afraid, maybe? It was foreign for young Kitsune, as she has been confined in her little palace her whole life under the pretext of keeping her safe. But it did exactly the opposite, she believed, considering she itched to explore and go on adventures with each second passing. "Who is it?" she asked as soon as they stepped inside the palace...But it was so dark, save for the red, malicious light from the lanterns and candles lit in just the perfect places so it would guide them to the room they had to go to. "...You will find out soon." her father snapped at her, and she could only frown, her fluffy ears flicking as her tails wrapped protectively around herself. She knew something was wrong, and she had half a mind to believe she was brought there as a sacrifice for some War Deity that would allegedly save them from this era of war...Or something along the lines.

After a longer walk than expected, they found themselves in front of two large, red doors, and without any kind of reticence, Kitsune effortlessly slammed the doors open and saw a dimly lit room with a few stairs and a throne where a man with short, kinda spiky pink hair, garbed in a loose, white kimono was smugly sprawled over that royally embellished chair, while tons of gorgeous women dressed in the most luxurious kimonos, their hair done up with intricate headpieces and flowers that would put any living being to shame...

But what is this about? Kitsune was more confused than anything, and she could only step inside the room, slowly and carefully, before turning to look at her parents, who had a pitiful look in their eyes.

"What is going on?" Kitsune demanded an answer, her voice agitated, her body ready to go into a fight or flight mode, her eyes darting rapidly between her parents and the man on the throne whose name she wasn't interested in finding out. "Well, darling...You see...You had to find you a husband. You are old enough to be married, and you can't stay with us forever. You need to have a family and children. You are the princess of the Fox clan, there is nobody more beautiful than you -..." her mother tried to reason, but the young girl wasn't stupid. She understood what was going on. "No. No. If you want to speak - Then speak the truth. Don't lie to me. This guy is strong, isn't he? Some kind of demonic thing that everyone is afraid off. You are giving me away to this guy...To be his...Thousandth concubine in his harem or something, just because you're too weak to take care of our kin. That's the truth, isn't it? Go on, admit it. Stop trying to sugar coat the situation." her nine tails opened from around her in a large, undulating fan, making her aggression obvious, as fire began to immolate the tips of her fur. "SHUT UP, IMPERTINENT, UNRULY CHILD!" her mother slapped her face, not wanting their benefactor to hear his future concubine speaking so foul of him. "You are a woman, and the princess, nonetheless, and your role is to continue our kin and obey your family and husband. Do not speak unless you are allowed to!" but before her mother could grab her face, Kitsune's tail slapped her hand away, and she stepped back. "I am nobody's toy. I will not obey anyone's orders. Not yours, and not his. I will not be just another concubine for some disgusting, good for nothing lecher with no redeeming quality." the girl snarled at them, ready to make her escape out of there, if needed. "If your sister was alive, she would have sacrificed herself for the greater good of this family! You are nothing more than a selfish brat!" it was her father's time to accuse her, which made her ears perk up, while her tails completely deflated. "Yes, of course, how could I forget. It was me who should have died, not my perfect elder sister. Sorry, but you should curse the Gods, not me for that. But, since it seems that my life is meaningless to you, then I will make you a favour! I will end it myself! I'm sure you'll be happy without me, won't you? Ahh...But how will you save our war-ridden? Too bad I won't be alive to witness your demise, huh?" with a dark chuckle, Kitsune's hand went inside her kimono, taking the small kodachi sword and unsheathing it, hearing only the gasps and shrieks of fright from the harem girls. Kitsune could only guess that these girls were all high-born and unfamiliar to the horrible things happening outside of these walls. "What the hell are you doing, you idiotic child?! Cease this madness at once!" her mother shrieked at her, lounging towards her, trying to stop herself from impaling that blade through her body, and yet...

The second the girl launched her hand down to stab herself...She got stopped. The whole place became instantly silent, save for the sound of a blade bouncing down as it fell on the wooden floor. "Enough." a dark, annoyed voice resounded through the place as Kitsune's wrists were grasped by the man's...Front hands? While her body was immobilized in an embrace by his other two arms. "I was promised a beautiful princess as a concubine, and you failed to do as you promised. Leave, before I get bored and kill you." he threatened the two adult fox people who scurried away in a hurry, leaving behind their only daughter without a second thought. "You, however...Will remain here." he chuckled in her ear, but Kitsune wasn't one to be messed with. Her answer came in the form of lighting up her tails on fire an wrapping them around the man, who hissed and unhanded her, allowing her enough time to go into a corner and get in a fleeing stance. "Why did you stop me? I have no intention of being one of your whores. You should have let me end it right there." she scoffed at the man, who dismissed the bottom pair of arms and laughed. It was almost a psychopathic laugh, she thought, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up - Unsure if it was from fright or disgust. "You amuse me, little vixen. Very much, you amuse me. Having a little fox wag her tails around this place, all fired up, would give some sense of fun, wouldn't you say?" his voice was grating her, and she only wanted to sock him in the jaw. "Keep on dreaming. I'm not your toy, and I'm not here for anyone's entertainment. You have enough girls in this place to amuse you. I'll be going now, and even if you chain me, you can't stop me from achieving my freedom." Kitsune growled at him, slamming open the sliding door that would lead into the balcony, from where she could jump the hell away from there. "You proved you value your life even less than your parents do, so chaining you would do nothing. I have never seen a woman as fiery as you. All the ones I have are the same. Meek, soft...Afraid. Boring. They all like the same things, and hate the same things." he groaned pitifully, evidently bored out of his mind. "They hate you, don't they? You want women, but you don't bother treating them right. Can you get even more typically terrible? Pitiful and disgusting, that's what you are. You just want to break people for your entertainment. You are nothing more than a selfish megalomaniac. No wonder you are in need of entertaining, you are thoroughly boring." Kitsune's degrading words, however, didn't seem to phase the man at all - In fact - It made him laugh. Never, in this life, has he heard anything this degrading before - Everyone tried their best to appeal to his benevolent and merciful side - To at least spare their lives. He was stronger than anyone alive, so nobody dared speak up in front of him. It was obvious she had no idea who he was - All the better - He thought. "Ryomen Sukuna, missy, but you can call me your Emperor." that confident laugh was enough to drive Kitsune up the wall with anger as she stomped to his side and actually punched his jaw. It was annoying - The height difference - As he towered over her entirely, but at least she managed to reach where needed, little miss firecracker. "Piss off." the fox girl growled in anger at him...And yet...He only...Laughed. And he cupped her face, getting his own so close to hers that they could feel each other's breaths. "You. Are. Mine." his grin was so wide and sociopathic that he might as well have had his face split in two. "I will never be yours. I will never be anyone's. I'm not an object. I will not obey anyone. The second you leave me out of your sight, I will flee, and you will never see me again. And if I can't, I will find a way to kill myself. I have nothing to live for, but everything to die for." Kitsune bared her elongated canines at him, and gosh, was she enticing. "And if I get rid of the harem?" he asked, not bothering with everything she talked before. "You'll be a heartless jerk who'll destroy

the lives of so many women." she refuted just as quickly. "And if I don't fuck anyone but you?" he threw that, wanting to fluster her, but the fire in her eyes only ignited even higher. "As usual, you can only think with the wrong head, can't you? There's nothing to you but your stupid little prick. How pathetic. And you call yourself a man. Go die in the war or something." she grabbed him by the loose neck line of his kimono, only to hear him laughing condescendingly. "But darling, that just couldn't possibly happen. I am simply too strong to get killed. Everybody fears my power, why else do you think your parents were so willing to give you away? They were weak, just like you said, and every weakling needs the help of Ryomen Sukuna, Japan's own God of War." this statement made the girl's gorgeous eyes widen in shock...Only to start laughing, almost hysterically. "Oh, bow down to the self proclaimed God of War! Can you believe that! Your majesty, tone down your arrogance, it's gonna get yourself killed! I knew it, you're absolutely useless! All you can do is bark, no bite, little puppy! The only thing intimidating about you is your height, other than that, you are just a generic man who thinks he's all to powerful. How ridiculous." the fox girl couldn't stop her degrading laughing, which confused the man for a while, only to smirk and pick her up bridal style, carrying her out of that room, not letting her get out of his grasp, no matter how much she tried to wiggle or burn him. "I won't let you go until you acknowledge my infinite strength, cute, little fox. But don't think that just because I favour you, I will let you get away with all the shit you called me." his voice sounded darker, more ominously, but it didn't seem to intimidate the girl. "Not in a million years. Not even in your sweetest dreams. You're pathetic and I'll never acknowledge you as anything else but a disgusting, lecherous pig!" she yelled at his face, to which he responded by letting her roughly fall on a soft futon, then crouching by her side and gripping her face just as her mother did before. "Say that again when you'll end up screaming my name as if your life depends on it." he laughed at her before leaving her new room, which she won't leave for a while.

This annoying girl, Sukuna was intrigued by her, but at the same time, he was very tempted into strangling her or snapping her neck - Despite all that fire she lets out, he was curious if she'd end up groveling in self-pity, begging him for mercy, going back on her previous misguided and foolish courage. Wasn't it bad enough that she had no idea who HE was? He also had to endure such disrespect - And even worse - Enjoy it? That little fox bitch was ready to commit seppuku in front of everyone just to prove a point, what the hell else could be more entertaining? All the women he's had were given away by their families as tributes, and none said a word. He was a jerk to them, he fucked them, he mistreated them - Sukuna didn't give a fuck about any woman, man, child, animal...Or any living being in the world, except for himself. All were beneath him - Unworthy, weak, frail -...

And yet, they still lie to his face, trembling as they say all the fake, sweet nothings - "I love you, My Lord" the women would say, their voice shaky, jumping in fright as he'd touch them. He was a rough man, he never knew gentleness, nor mercy, no love - Through all the words spewed by the firey woman, the part where she declared he had no idea how to treat women properly - Yes, it was true, but did he care? Of course not.

Humans were all puppets with whom he could play as much as he wanted - All instruments for his entertaining in this terribly boring world, he would manipulate everyone like dolls on his strings, and when they've exhausted their means of entertaining him, the string will be cut, and the puppets will fall in an abyss of infernal fire.

For the first two weeks, Sukuna and Kitsune were literally acting like a cat chasing a mouse - And each time, the cat would surprise the mouse just as she was about to survive - He was giving her hope of success, only to pick her up by one of her many tails, or embrace her from behind, pick her up, trip her, show up from behind a tree, play with her hair as he came up from a tree behind her, and sometimes, even going as far as to mock her by pointing her the way out of the place.

But very soon, she gave up, and decided to starve herself to death by not leaving her assigned room, ignoring him entirely whenever she'd get visited by him - But that ended in the worst way possible - With her fainting and unable to wake up, and Sukuna freaking out because he didn't want his little toy to die before she got boring.

He laid next to her on the futon, holding her in his eyes, brushing her hair out of her face, playing with her vivid red hair - She truly looked like a fox in Sukuna's eyes, and he almost felt his heart warm up as he felt up the soft fur on her tails, waiting for his cursed energy to heal her up. After some time, he noticed the little red ball of fur getting smaller and smaller as she cuddled into his chest, resembling a defenseless kit searching for warmth, love and safety from its mother. She was so much smaller than him - So frail, so thin, so soft...So cute? - What was it that he was feeling? Calmness? Protectiveness?

He was furious at her for neglecting her health just so she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of toying with her - But that was also endearing, in its own, messed up way? She would go to such dramatic extremes to prove him wrong...It seemed that no matter what she did, it would still make him enjoy her company.

Whenever he'd fuck one of his harem girls, he wouldn't stay over, not even for a kiss - Hell, he didn't even know most of their names - Why should he? They were all the same to him - But he felt such a strong sense of protectiveness over he - He didn't want to strangle her to death anymore - Maybe just a bit of fun, some teasing, some startling - His hand around her supple neck as she looks up at him with her sparkling eyes, calling out his name - Sukuna, Sukuna - Pleading softly, but desperately to him for her sweet release - Sukuna, Sukuna - And he will be merciful, for once, and give her what she wants.

Just as he was caught in his own, sick fantasy, he felt the girl move and grumble, turning on her back, her small hands flying to rub her eyes awake - And he rolled over her, a playful, teasing smirk on his face as he waited for her to realise the position they were in - And yet, she was still out of it, for her eyes were half-lidded and gleaming, she was still weak from her lack of self-care, and she could only look up at him, dazed..."Sukuna...?" she mumbled in a whispery tone - What is she doing to him?! How dare she entice him so much? He wasn't supposed to be attracted to her in any way, so why...?!

"Relax, sweet-cheeks. I'm here." he spoke in a low voice, not wanting to alert her...Wait, what - "...Thanks." muttering that, she let out a soft sigh as she closed her eyes again, the corners of her mouth slightly turned upright as she allowed herself to fall back asleep and rest, not caring too much that she felt a slight pressure on both of her hands, in the form of the demon man pressing his own hands to hers, intertwining their fingers together as he towered over her, watching her chest rise and fall rhythmically as she breathed, her kissable, pink lips just a tiny bit parted. He couldn't stop himself - She was too irresistible, and he was much too insatiable - And he leaned down, pressing his own lips over hers - Gently - Very gently in fact, almost as if afraid of breaking a porcelain doll, as if afraid to crush a snowdrop he just picked from a glade, one just just barely managed to get out from under the remaining, melting snow of early spring. "You'll be the death of me, cutie." he found himself saying as he licked his lips, taking in the sweetness of the kiss.

Since then on, despite not being exactly friendly with the man, the fox girl didn't hate him that much anymore. It even got well enough for them to eat in the same room, or play shogi - The girl beating him at it more often than not, which left mixed feelings in his heart - And then he showed her the musical instruments that the concubines would sometimes use whenever he'd want a banquet and more sinful indulgences. He didn't ask her to play for him, though. He realised that the more he tried to push the girl, the less likely she'll actually do anything he wants.

Even more, the more time they spent together, the more his concubines would get neglected - So much that he was completely drawn to this fox girl and all the other women were completely wiped from his head. - And he started gifting her a bunch of beautiful kimonos, only to find them in front of his room's door, rejected. She didn't want anything from him, nor did she want his favour, so she continued wearing her simple clothes.

Until...

Until one night - It was a special night, really - For the moon was full, and big, and gleaming with such a beautiful silver light that neither of them saw in the many years they've been alive. And Kitsune dressed in one of her festival yukatas and went to the lotus pond, surrounded by a few wisteria trees, as the mirror of the water reflected the celestial orb like sparkling zircons. The fox gingerly jumped in the middle of the sheen, walking on it like a spirit, only her feminine silhouette being seen, as her long hair was gently blown by the warm spring wind and her tails were dancing around her in perfect sync. As her feet moved to the sound of the melody she played on a vertical flute she was given by the owner of the place, Sukuna found himself unable to move from his place on the palace balcony, his sight fixated on the woman's form as she alternated playing the instrument and dancing with ribbon-fans.

Her moves were fluid and mystifying like those of a priestess leading a will'o'wisp to rest into kakuriyo, the land of the dead - what was he supposed to do now? He was confused and mesmerised. He's seen his fair share of beautiful women playing instruments and dancing for him - Hundreds of them, in fact - But none could match the effect this nine tailed fox girl had on him.

This continued days on end, but he never admitted to her that he was stalking her every night, nor that he was completely enchanted and under her spell, at the point of no return.

"I'm going to war tomorrow." he told her one evening as he poured himself some sake. "...Good for you. Finally, more entertaining for the most powerful man on Earth...Or something. Bring me a souvenir when you return, I guess." the girl merely shrugged her shoulders as she took the tea pot and poured herself some tea, not bothering with any reaction. "You're not worried for me, are you? What if I die tomorrow? Will you weep for me?" he leaned forward, taking her chin between his fingers. " 'Course not. You're the one who keeps boasting about how you're the most powerful man on Earth and The God of War or something. Besides - If you die, I will just steal all your money and get the hell out of this place, so I can finally see the world through my very eyes, not through inked letters on paper. I want to be free and fly. Life here is boring. I've had enough years of being home stuck, don't you think?" she snapped at him as she snatched the now empty sake up and poured herself some alcohol. "And what if I promise to take you out to see the world when I return?" he smirked at her, watching her ears perk up a bit at the proposition. "...I don't believe you." she looked away before she could reveal any real emotion in her eyes. "I promise. But you also have to promise to relax around me. You're always on the edge, even if you've been here for a whole year. I saw you play in the winter, jump to collect autumn leaves taken by the wind, pick up fruit after climbing up the trees, and make flower crowns in spring. I saw you get buried completely in snow, only one of your tails being seen, I saw you make fruit wine in autumn, send paper lanterns into the sky and bathe in the lotus ponds. We're not strangers anymore, and I've never hurt you even once. So, do we have a deal?" his hunter-like eyes carefully watched her every reaction, noticing how her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly, before biting into it softly - She was nervous, that much was obvious - And Sukuna was now a pro at reading her behaviour. "...I'll try. But if you go back on your promise...I promise you, you won't wake up the next morning." she scoffed, threatening him, but it only ended up making him laugh. "The little kitten has claws, how adorable. That's fair, I'll let you have that." the man chuckled at her, petting her hair just between her ears, making her close her eyes and blush just a tiny bit. He was finally able to reach her - Not by much, but even this much was enough for him...For now.

For a whole month, Kitsune was all alone in the palace - Or so she felt, despite the numerous harem girls and the servants - All who had to obey her every order - But she refused any of that. If she wanted to eat, she would make food for herself. If she wanted to drink, she'd get some herself. If she wanted to bathe, she would prepare the bath herself - Just as she's always done. However, all this time, she was never in need of company. She couldn't handle people, nor their fakeness and many other useless emotions that would only make them vulnerable and susceptible of being used and taken for granted.

She's been through that numerous times while living with her family, and she wasn't about to let that happen again.

Thankfully, Kitsune never felt lonely, nor bored - However, she realised that she actually enjoyed Sukuna's annoying presence, and somehow, she found herself awaiting his coming back sooner.

"Master came back, vacation's over. Take care, everyone...I heard he's been injured. Can you believe it? Never thought demons can bleed." the many rumours circulated around the palace, but the fox girl only snapped at the gossipers, glaring at them to shut up. But she didn't go to greet him, like everyone else did. Instead, she waited until night to go to his room, and she found him on the ground, calmly drinking some sake.

"Ah, look at this, a little fox found its way in my humble abode. What ever could you be doing here, I wonder?" he chuckled teasingly, as she only looked down at him, giving him a slight head tilt, yet no expression on her blank face. "Are you wounded?" she muttered in a low voice, almost half-wanting not to have been heard...But she was. "Ha! So you heard those rumours too, haven't you? How ridiculous! Me? Ryomen Sukuna, the God of War, getting injured? Preposterous!" his bark-like laugh echoed through the place, but it didn't move the girl in any way. Instead, slowly crouched next to him, snatching down the already loose kimono top from his torso, letting it fall down to his chest, as her delicate fingers traced his chest, arm and back, analysing each and every fresh wound and scar alike. "I thought you could heal. Cursed energy magic or something. What you did to me when I passed out. Stupid liar. All you know how to do is to boast to everyone, but you can't even admit that you are still capable of making mistakes sometimes." her voice was obviously pissed off, but not enough to sock him in the jaw again. "Anti-regeneration magic. I didn't know something like that existed. Gimme a break." he scoffed, looking away in mild embarrassment. "Lucky you. Now don't move, or you'll really piss me off." she sneered at him as she made blue fire light up her palms and focused on healing him. It was then that she realised how good it felt to feel someone's bare skin, to feel his muscles, sore from fighting so much. He was finally beginning to look more like a man - A warrior - Not like some obnoxious, bratty, entitled casa nova. "I didn't know you could heal people. It tickles." he smirked slightly, turning his head to watch her focused face. "You don't know many things about me, Sukuna. Don't even bother trying, you'll never be able to, anyway." she scowled at him, but this time, it wasn't as aggressive as usual. "I've always loved a challenge, sugar." he chuckled boastfully, only for her to frown and look at him. "Is that all I am for you? A challenge?" she asked in a softer voice, sounding almost disappointed. "Not anymore. You've always been an enigma for me. You were fun, that's why I kept you around. If you weren't, I'd have killed you. I have no regrets about killing anyone, reason or not. But you got under my skin. I don't want to unveil the enigma behind you anymore. I just want to know you." carefully, his hands found their way on her hips, just before pulling her on his lap, only for her to stiffen up completely, her hands quickly taken off of his skin, as she quickly snapped her head away from him, her face covered by the long hair that resembled the blood he spilled on the battlefield. "Aww, are you shy, cutie~?" his seductive voice was back again, one of his hands reaching up to cup her face - But she couldn't bring herself to speak - Instead, she just gulped and jumped away from him, taking a few deep breaths before getting out of the room, and climbing up to the roof, hugging her legs to her chest, leaning her chin on her knees, her bottom lip bitten into to the point of drawing blood.

What the hell was she thinking, letting herself getting touched like that? By someone like Sukuna, nonetheless, who, if given the chance, would have his way with her, then toss her aside like he did with all the other women in his enormous harem. Her heart was beating so hard, so fast against her chest. It was a foreign feeling that scared her so much that for a long while, she couldn't help but avoid him once again, going out of her way to only leave her room when she was sure he wasn't there. It didn't always work out as she wished, but she still tried nonetheless, as succeeded for most of the time.

"Are you scared of me?" Sukuna asked the girl one night, when he found her softly shedding tears up on the roof. "...No." she offered a monotone answer. "Then why are you avoiding me again? Do you hate me?" he asked again, only for her to hang her head and hug herself. "I realised that I shouldn't be alive. All my life I've known only two emotions - Hatred and Rage - All of them masked by a facade of complete neutrality, passiveness and uncaring. But, now...I can feel my heart beating. And it hurts. I was so ready to throw away my life, and I knew I would have no regrets. I lived for nothing. I have no memories of anything good happening in my life. I thought that...I thought that maybe...I would be able to feel, staying here, with you. I wanted to feel something good, for once. What was that called...Happiness? Love? I wanted to feel those too. I guess it's too much to ask from this cruel life. The second you touched me, I started panicking and I got scared. I was afraid. Not of you, but of the idea of possibly getting hurt. I don't know how to feel, and I don't think I'll ever be able to be a proper being...But maybe...Someday...I will be able to look up at the same sky, at this very same moon, and the very same stars...And smile...And my chest won't be hurting anymore. And I won't be afraid anymore. Maybe, in the next life...Or the one after that...I will be lucky. Maybe times will change, and people won't be so cruel anymore. I'm sorry, Sukuna. I didn't end up being who and what you thought I'd be. I will forever be a disappointment to everyone I meet." she wasn't sure if her words were directed to anyone at all, or if she just found the courage to speak for the first time in her life - To acknowledge the existence of feelings altogether - But Sukuna understood her. Except for the thrill of the kill and fleeting quenched lust, he didn't feel any relief. Just like her, anger and hatred, for the entirety of his life. How different and similar the two of them really were, he realised, as he went to hug her from behind, resting his chin on top of her head. "You have never disappointed me, Kitsune. You cannot disappoint me. I understand what you're feeling. It's a cruel world, and we are much crueler to everyone around us, including ourselves. If you ever think you have it in your heart to accept me, I will be waiting. Forever, if needed. And if not, I will be awaiting in the next life. Or in the next one. I won't give up on you." and saying that, he planted a kiss on her temple before leaving her alone to watch the same silver moon they've been looking up at for so long. "...Thank you." she spoke to herself after who knows how long.

And she smiled.

Every day passing, she would look at the pink haired warrior, and every day, she'd want to throw herself in his arms, but every time, she'd start shaking, and she'd turn around and leave the place. This whole ordeal continued for well over three months, until one day, the palace was attacked with burning arrows, and the whole place was lit aflame.

In the mayhem in cause, the fox girl made sure to gather all the civilians in the huge estate and lead them to safety, and by the time she was done, she rushed to search for Sukuna, the person the enemies wanted to bring down, once and for all. However, by the time she found him, the whole place was ablaze, the once blooming garden was now turned into ashes, and the Demon God of War was heavily bleeding, slouched and leaning his back against a wall.

Opposite of him, many meters away, a menacing looking enemy who had spears in his hands was ready to throw them at him...And Sukuna merely smirked, defeated, and closed his eyes, awaiting for the impact of his ultimate death.

"Sukuna...Keep your eyes closed." Kitsune's low, shaking voice called out to him, but instead of doing as he was told, his eyes snapped open, only to widen in terror seeing the girl he grew to love, impaled by numerous spears, acting as a shield for him. "K...Kitsu...Ne...?!" he managed to usher after getting over his shock. "I told you...To keep you eyes closed...Idiot." she shook her head as she curled her fingers on the wall, taking a few deep breaths, despite her legs shaking. "Idiot. Idiot. You are such an idiot." "No...You...You were supposed to run away...I told you to run away...I told you...To...Live..." his voice was desperate, trembling, not believing what he was seeing before his very eyes. "Not without you...We were supposed to...Go...together...And be happy...And look at the moon...And stars...Together..." but as she said that, she heard the air getting split by yet another set of spears that go through her tails and torso, making her lose strength and fall over the man she was shielding. With her last strength, she punched back the spears out of her body and crawled on his lap, cradling his body, wrapping it up protectively with her tails, holding tightly onto him. "I never learnt how to fight...I never had anything to protect...Until I found you. I have no regrets dying, if you live. Close your eyes, Sukuna. I...I love you." and just before all strength left her body, she cupped his face and stole a weak kiss.

She was happy. She finally found her courage to act as she wished - With her heart, not with her fears. She was finally able to expel all the bad things possessing her. She died, and yet, she was finally smiling. She regretted nothing.

She was really happy.

"...Look there, Kitsune. Look at the moon. And the stars. And we are together. In this life. And the next one...And the one after...I will find you. And I will protect you. Don't be afraid anymore...Nothing will hurt you again. Until then...Sleep well, my Princess...Wait for me...Very soon."

---------

"Don't worry, Yuji! We will find all the victims of this place and rescue them! You'll see!" the cheerful nine-tailed girl wagged her fluff left and right as she dragged her best friend to the ominous place, as their other two team mates followed soon after, both having different reactions, as usual.

As her shikigami fox and Megumi's white wolf were assigned to make sure no cursed spirit would sneak up on them, they tried to make heads or tails of the distorted reality inside the place - They knew they may be dealing with a Special-Grade monster, but to have power of such magnitude seemed...Unreal...And unsettling.

"Guys, calm down. This is the Innate Domain...Cursed energy made this foul play...But I've never seen anything like...This. We have to move fast, and not split up, or we'll get picked one by one." Kitsune gritted her teeth, feeling the fur on her tails stand up. "Where's the door?!" Megumi yelled, turning around, only for everyone to gasp, realising the way they got through completely disappeared. "Th-The door's gone?!" Yuji blinked, incredulous at what he was witnessing. "How?! We just came in through here, didn't we?!" Nobara freaked out, only to make a short, brain dead dance with Yuji. "Calm down. The dog remembers the scent of the entrance." saying that, the two fawned over the two canines as they let them lead the way, only to find three mangled corpses, one of them having a name tag - It was the name of the child of the desperate woman outside of the place, pleading to the police to rescue him.

However, a fight erupted between the two boys who couldn't decide whether they should run away or rescue the corpses, as closure for the woman outside, at least, and while Nobara yelled at them, trying to make them stop...She...Disappeared?! Through a makeshift hole in the floor that wasn't there before.

"B-But...Megumi's demon dog and my fox should have been able to sense the curse...!" Kitsune then quickly turned around, only to gasp, noticing the bloody corpses of the said shikigami protruding from the walls. "NO! CYNDER!" she whimpered, hating to see her lovely companion in such a state. "ITADORI! KITSUNE! WE HAVE TO RUN! WE'LL LOOK FOR KUJISAKI AND -" but before he could finish speaking, Kitsune's whimper, that grew louder, along with the presence of the demon she was pointing at, staring straight at her...Made both boys stop in their tracks, wide eyed and shocked...And very much afraid.

The trio was sweating bullets, trying to move, trying to get the hell away from there - But Yuji moved first, taking out his knife, slashing at the Special-Grade....Only for his hand to go flying far away...From the impact.

"Megumi, run away! Go find Nobara, I'll stay here and create a diversion! Give us a signal when you're out of here! Yuji can get Sukuna and save us!" the fox girl yelled at her brunet friend desperately as she pushed him away, but a mouth on Yuji's cheek, speaking very derogatory, pointed out he doesn't give a fuck about Yuji's body, and that he won't die, even if his vessel does. "Nope~! Even if parts of me inside you die, I've still got 18 other fragments of my soul! Still, irritatingly enough, I don't have control of this body, so go away and switch, if you want! But once you do...I'll kill that brat before the cursed spirit can! Then, I'll go for that woman. She's a lively one. I'll have fuck with her. And then...I'll claim this cute fox girl that you care so much for!" Sukuna kept talking, and it was creating a state of panic in Yuji's heart. "Don't listen to him, Yuji! I know you won't let him take over you completely! You can't hurt us!" Kitsune yelled at her friend, trying to snap him out of the trance Sukuna put him in. "No, no, no, darling, you're wrong. If he's too focused on me, his friends WILL die~!" the demon kept laughing at his vessel, until the Special Grade unleashed a full blast of pure, cursed energy. "Yuji, look out!" she jumped at him, getting him out of the blast's range. "Stop listening to him, and take care of yourself! This isn't Jujutsu, this is pure cursed energy! We have to buy Megumi and Nobara enough time to get the hell out of here! Look at this jerk, he's having fun. I'm sure we can figure something out." the fox girl gritted her teeth in anger, but before either of them could try to attack or dodge - In the blink of an eye, really - She felt herself getting picked up and slammed on the wall before her by yet another blast of cursed energy - Followed by another, that flew her on the bridge in the next room, rendering her barely conscious. "KITSUNE! KITSUNEEEE!" she heard her pink haired friend's desperate wail as he tried to shake her awake. "...Sukuna...?" she asked, her shaking hands trying to rub away the tiredness from her eyes, as she looked up at him with gleaming, half-lidded eyes.

Before he could answer, shocked that she would call him by his demon's name, and even more, his own demon shocked, hearing her say something like that, she managed to cling onto the boy enough to get herself back on her feet, turning towards the attacker, her big, fluffy tails opening like a protective fan for the boy, as she created a blast of blue spirit fire to try to counter the cursed energy blast from the enemy. It made her growl from the pain, but her mind was blank - She had no regrets - No matter what life she was living, she will only get stronger and stronger, until she succeeds and protects the ones dear to her.

But not in this lifetime.

She wasn't strong enough yet. She was nowhere near her mentor, Satoru, in power. She had no way to compete with him, nor could she protect her friends when needed.

How pathethic.

It was her last thought before the cursed energy took over her, burning away some of her skin and creating even more damage after getting slammed and breaking yet another wall. With the last bit of consciousness she was able to hold onto, she saw her pink haired friend still alive and well - By some standards, at least - And she could merely smile and fight back the darkness threatening to take over.

But...Something happened, for the boy now seemed fearless - And he even taunted with the special-grade...And then he healed his own arm, before going to her, looking down at her, shaking his head. The markings on his face...This wasn't Yuji. This was...

"Idiot." a much darker, more masculine voice came from the body of the teenage vessel as he crouched down to the girl. "You never change, no matter what life you reincarnate into, do you? But that's the charm about you, stupid fox. You never really lose your memories of the past, do you?" he gently caressed her face, feeling his heart beating a bit faster as he noticed she was smiling and leaning into his touch. "You said you'll find me...So what is there to fear?" she mused weakly, before she got picked up bridal style, allowing her to cuddle into his chest, finally allowed to rest at ease. "Let's teach this weakling a lesson and get the hell out of here. The moon is up." Sukuna chuckled as he walked up to the demon, effortlessly punching in the head, slamming it into the bridge, only to smash his foot into its head, breaking the bridge altogether. As they fell, the monster grabbed his leg, but the fox-fire burn on his hand was enough to get his to shriek in pain and let go, as Sukuna jumped on one of the falling rubbles, taunting and laughing condescendingly, as he ripped apart the monster limb from limb before impaling it into a wall, as soon as they reached the watery ground. "Honestly, I'm jealous. I could never get to your power with jujutsu alone. Satoru said this thing is 80% born talent. How disheartening." she grumbled, feeling better already. "There's nothing cursed in your heart, sugar. Let the killing to me. I promised I'll protect you, I'm not going back on my word. I'm not going to see you die again." he threw her up a bit to get a better hold on her. "Hang onto me, foxy. Let's show this sucker how we do things." seeing his infamous smirk on his face, she threw her arms around his neck, holding on tightly, seeing as he did a hand seal, calling out his Malevolent Shrine...And they were back home, dressed the same as they were so long ago...A thousand years ago...And the monster got split in 5 slices, before Sukuna dug out another one of his soul-fingers, and he started grinning even laughing even darker, realising that Yuji couldn't switch bodies again, which made villain jump out of the facility, right on top of it. "I guess...No matter what life we live, the sky is going to be forever beautiful." Kitsune sighed as soon as he let her down, but she didn't let go of him. Not this time. Fears won't take over her life anymore. "And yours is even more eternal than the moon's or the stars." he cupped her face, taking in her beauty for the first time in over a thousand years. "It's been to long. I made you wait far too long. I hope you didn't miss me too much." one of his hands found its fingers raking through her hair, and she closed her eyes a bit, taking in the warm, loving feeling that completely took over her. "I'll forgive you. You did take your bloody time...But at least you're here now. And you're not going anywhere. I won't let you." her hands slid down to the neck of his blouse, pulling him to her level, which only made him smirk smugly. "Good. That was my intention." his charming, dark voice spoke, making her heart beating faster, and feeling the hair on the back of her neck and the fluff on her tails stand up from excitement. "Won't it be weird? Being Yuji's body...?" she asked shyly, as he only chuckled, pulling the same Malevolent Shrine trick, so they finally looked as they did when they first met. "Better, sweet cheeks?" he pulled her flushed to his body, as she got on her tippy toes to get closer to his face. "Spectacular."

As the fox girl couldn't stop touching his face, raking her fingers through his hair, feeling his body closer to hers as her whole body felt hotter than ever before - It was just a kiss - His lips so sweet against her own, his arms, so strong, holding her, feeling her, loving her.

It was only them, under the gentle light of the silver moon, guarding them, as the stars softly twinkled, embellishing gold into the dark sky - Just like this love light up the darkness in their hearts.

Her tails wrapped around him instinctively, as they pulled apart, and looked each other in the eyes for the first time since they've known each other. Her eyes were sparkling with happiness, her lips were curled into a kitten-like smile, and she was glowing - It made Sukuna's heart have a pleasant arrhythmia as he saw in front of his very eyes a sight that he's been dreaming about for over a millennium - The woman that captured his heart - Happy, in his own arms, safe, and very kissable.

This feeling and image were worth waiting a thousand years.