#Mikoto would definitely never sleep with him again I think

[ridiasfangirlings]

I don't know if you've done something like this before...so Saruhiko loves Misaki, they're dating ig....buut unfortunately Misaki can't satisfy him in bed, let's say he isn't lacking only in height oops ;) but you know who is troubled by such problems? Mikoto 👀 So now we have Saruhiko who loves Misaki but he loves to do the devil's tango with Mikoto since his bf unfortunately can't satisfy his other needs. Please entertain the idea even if it may go beyond Saru's huge love for Misaki and may sound a bit OOC to you 🙏

Okay devil's tango made me laugh XD I do have some trouble seeing Fushimi doing something like this, since he'd be once again knowingly hurting Yata, but maybe looking at this less like Yata not being able to satisfy Fushimi and more Fushimi attempting to subconsciously sabotage his own relationship because he still thinks it's going to collapse anyway. Also maybe relating this to one of those asks I had in the past about attachment disorders, imagine Fushimi with more of a fearful-avoidant attachment disorder and so in this AU rather than avoiding touching strangers at all costs Fushimi's had a lot of sexual partners as just flings, basically his way of searching for affection while also rejecting anything with permanency since he assumes it won't last. Post-ROK Yata confesses his feelings to Fushimi and Fushimi accepts them but at the same time he's still dealing with all the old fears and doing his best to keep those from Yata, like he's simultaneously in love with Yata and terrified of Yata leaving him but at the same time he still can't bring himself to think this will last either.

When they start sleeping together Yata is of course a total virgin but say he's completely unaware that Fushimi is not, just assuming that the Fushimi who always hated being close to anyone certainly wouldn't be sleeping with other people while they were apart. Really though Fushimi's had multiple partners and he's pretty well aware that Yata is not, ah, well-endowed and also doesn't particularly know how to use it either, leaving Fushimi unsatisfied entirely. Fushimi doesn't say as much but it starts eating at him, like maybe assuming this is another sign they aren't compatible and he never should have let things get this serious. Assuming this is also Everybody Lives AU imagine this is when he ends up going to Mikoto, who has no idea that Yata and Fushimi are dating (because I think he'd absolutely refuse if he knew Yata and Fushimi were together). Even during the betrayal years Fushimi's had something of an 'not-quite-enemies-not-quite-friends with benefits' thing going on, like imagine Fushimi getting into some trouble at a bar once when he was trying to pick up a partner for the night, almost having his drink spiked or something, and Mikoto happened to be there and helped him. This spiraled into sort of a thing that Fushimi claims to hate but never actually did, and it's far too easy to go back into old habits (and maybe part of Fushimi is vindictively excited about this, cheating on Misaki with the same person he still feels like Yata 'replaced' him with). Mikoto isn't thrilled about the whole thing at all because I think he'd at least have some idea that if Fushimi's here wanting to sleep with him again there may be some emotional things going on but he also figures better him than Fushimi going to a random bar again.

Eventually Yata would have to find out about this and of course he'd be heartbroken (and Mikoto I think would be fairly pissed at Fushimi for not being honest with him, I could see him basically telling Fushimi to deal with his own problems and not draw other people into it, and that would be the end of things between them). Fushimi would just take Yata's betrayed look and part of him feels excited by it even as the rest of him is disgusted with himself, like I could see him in some twisted way thinking see Misaki this is how it feels when someone throws you away. But at the same time he knows he's just broken the best thing he ever had because even now he still can't bring himself to believe in anything permanent and isn't it for the best anyway, that Misaki won't be tied down to him anymore. I think it would be hard but not impossible for them to reconcile from this but Fushimi in particular would need some therapy or something, like he needs to face that he's purposefully hurting Yata and that he's allowed to have permanent things, he's allowed to be happy, and come to terms with the fact that what he really wants is for Misaki to stay by his side. Yata being more the hurt party in this situation I think more would have to try and understand why Fushimi's doing this, like to him at first it's unforgivable but when they finally talk and he starts to realize how afraid Fushimi is of everything to do with real intimacy and relationships he at least starts to realize what the reasons behind all this was and it gives him an outlet to forgive Fushimi if only Fushimi will ask him to.

[archivalofsins]

Hey, this isn't going to be a long post because I want to get back to playing Caligula Effect 2. However, confirmed that Double is mostly a dream with small snippets of reality while MeMe is reality with breaks into dreams. Also that the graphs we see displayed distortedly throughout Double are a polysomnography.

X X

"I’m probably just having a bad dream, I need to wake up soon." - "All I did was dream, and that’s what you found GUILTY? “He’s a liar”, you said, and made me out to be a scoundrel, why?"

So, let's talk about this for a bit.

all gifs made by @apatchworkstar

So, in Caligula Effect 2 there's a heavy focus on the meaning of the word dream. It's highlighted multiple times that a dream can be something you have at night while sleeping or refer to something you want to do in the future. So, throughout double the word dream itself even has a double meaning.

I think that when John states all he did was dream contextually he's referring to the dreams one has when they sleep. I believe this because the structure of Double as I stated before is more dream like than MeMe. Though I have another pertinent reason for believing this outside of that. Let's discuss the telltale signs of a dream displayed throughout Double first.

1. Takes place mainly in one location.

Unlike MeMe where we change locations frequently. From the underpass to the inside of their home, to the dumping area outside of their home, to their bathroom. Double is limited to the train station and the train only. Despite seeing John commuting he never makes it home or to work. He is confined to this location.

2. Seemingly endless terrains. (Never-ending passages or areas that seem to go on forever.)

3. Partial literacy or none. (Not everyone can read within dreams but those who can rarely can read the same thing twice. Instead the words will either keep changing or go blank.)

People who can read in dreams are pretty rare. They tend to be in communications based professions or writers.

CAN YOU READ IN YOUR DREAMS? SCIENCE REVEALS WHY MOST PEOPLE CAN'T

There are also other things that can't be done in dreams according to other sources.

X

That are helpful when it comes to differentiating between reality and dream in Mikoto's case. Also bringing more scrutiny to John's statements during the interrogation where he claims they attacked random strangers on the street an impossibility if it was really a dream like they both claim. We see in Double that none of the people have faces, they're all mannequins.

Since John stated he attacked some stranger it makes sense for everyone in Double to appear this way because in dreams you can't really just create a full ass person that you've never seen before. So, this makes everyone in John's version of events a stranger to him. However, you know where that's definitely not the damn case.

In MeMe where we see this guy plain as day-

As Mikoto does a very physical activity. However, this is a good time to interject- Dreams are very personalized.

Personal anecdote. I once had a dream when I was in a bookstore, and I was browsing around. I'd read a book I'd liked but I was unsure if I wanted to really commit to purchasing it but there was limited time was there with others, I had like twenty minutes at most, and I'd looked at a clock just to see what time that'd be. When I went to skim the book again it was blank. Then I looked at the clock and it was blank too. I was in high school at the time and had already looked into information around dreams and became acutely aware I was which led to a bit of lucid dreaming before I woke up. In other dreams I've been in fights, used weapons etc. even ran for a good while.

So, yeah, I've done physical activities in my dreams before, and I've seen people I know and have never known in my dreams too. It's different for everyone.

Yet, it's still valid to question-

Why would Double something primarily from John's perspective follow the rules of dreams more than Mikoto's?

If what they did was just a dream, then those rules should be applicable to both songs not just one.

It's not as though all of MeMe just shows the reality of the situation either. In fact, dream and reality are more neatly separated within their first trial song. Something that is displayed by one of those things listed. The inability to look in mirrors.

And being confined to one place regardless of how it changes over the course of the video.

So, yes there are very logical ways to discern between what is a dream and what is reality within Mikoto's trial songs. Milgram has done nothing to hide this. They even further displayed this by putting dream in large font for all to see over most of double.

Yet what's the other thing that makes me so sure that when John is discussing dreaming, he's discussing the dreams you have while sleeping and Mikoto is discussing dreams for the future?

For one Mikoto is specifically paired with the woman who sings this-

"Is the damage to get in the way of someone’s dream."- "If it damaged someone’s dream to the points of stopping it I’ll gouge you out with my fangs."

So chances are a part of the reason they were connected is because they lashed out due to someone gettting in the way of their personal goals and dreams. Yet there's also the fact he plainly fucking states what his dream was in his written trial one interrogation.

Q.04 Are you picky when it comes to fashion?

Mikoto: Of course I am. Nobody would want to ask for anything from an unfashionable designer, right?

06 What do you hate?

Mikoto: working overnight / reptiles / violence

Q.14 Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years?

Mikoto: It’d be nice if I could build up my own self-sustaining design business. That’d be pretty liberating.

"Hey now, I saved you, right? So why in the hell are you crying? Cling to me, hoist me up as your “savior”, stand up and sing out your gratitude, that’d be good."

Mikoto even uses similar verbage to that used in his first written interrogation when asked about these things in the lyrics of Double. Such as right, and that'd be good.

So, yeah there's all that.

[good-beanswrites]

Could you write a drabble for Mikoto and Shidou plus Blood? This request miiight be inspired by the fact that Mikoto mentions his body hurting a lot but doesn't seem to be receiving any medical treatment, either because Mahiru and Fuuta take priority or because there's no obvious cause, and therefore cure, to his pain...

👀👀👀 Thank you, this is such a good combo ough!! It's so interesting how much focus the others get when it comes to physical health, since Mikoto has clearly complained of his condition :( It looks like Milgram is trying to push the idea that he's completely oblivious to his alters, but I spun it where he's aware, just deep in denial. So have some Mikoto angst to get us hyped for Double!

Mikoto should be grateful. He was lucky. That’s what he kept repeating to himself. He had both of his eyes intact. Both his arms. He was strong enough to walk around freely. He wasn’t on the verge of death, or collapse. Thus, he should be grateful no one was offering him any help, because it meant he didn’t need it. He repeated it again. Maybe this time he would believe it.

With a groan, his body rolled out of bed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up actually feeling rested. Everything ached. His muscles tightened with soreness. His throat felt as raw as his knuckles, though he hadn’t been using either. He had no desire to lift his arms over his head, or twist around too much, so he didn’t change out of yesterday’s uniform. Maybe the belts and buckles had made it difficult to sleep. The theory wasn’t a convincing one, but dwelling on things like that had never gotten him anywhere.

He ran his fingers once through his hair, combing out a bit of the mess. Looking in a mirror was the last thing he needed. He made his way to the dining hall. 

The others trickled in for breakfast. His appetite, at least, hadn’t suffered. He hardly noticed the others giving him wide-eyed stares. What were they expecting? Of course he was looking worse for wear, given the circumstances. He ignored them, glad to focus on the hot meal before him.

A hand weighed heavy on his shoulder.

“Mikoto,” Shidou’s voice may have remained calm, but it was urgent. “Do you need some help?”

“Huh?” He shrugged his hand away, offering a weak smile. “I’m fine! Oh, I think Kazui was saving a seat for you over there, if you --”

“-- How about we go to my cell for a moment? Or yours, if that would be more comfortable.”

What was everyone’s problem this morning? Mikoto did his best to keep his voice pleasant. “Really, man, I’m good.” 

Shidou’s expression remained unmoving. Very carefully, he informed him, “you’re bleeding. Pretty badly by the look of it. You’re coming with me.” 

Mikoto blinked. He looked over his shoulder, following Shidou’s gaze. The back of his uniform was torn across the center. A significant splotch of blood seeped into the material, growing even larger as he shifted to see it. 

“...Oh…” 

Back in Shidou’s cell, sad to have left his breakfast plate behind, he slumped into a chair. Shidou gathered together some supplies. As always, he got right to the point. “What happened?”

“I… I’m not sure. I don’t remember anything from last night. I don’t remember most nights, recently. I know that sounds crazy, but…”

“It’s fine. I have definitely heard crazier.” He smiled, something gentle and reassuring. As usual, there was something hidden behind his eyes. It was as if he already knew what Mikoto was up to late at night that earned him so much soreness the following days. He didn’t offer an explanation, though. Mikoto didn’t press him for one.

He winced as he was helped out of his uniform. Removing his shirt revealed the mysterious gash. Shidou’s eyes widened at the array of scratches and scars. Some were fresh, but most originated long before Milgram. Though he didn’t ask, Mikoto answered.

“I’m pretty clumsy, huh?” Maybe this time he would believe it. 

Shidou was kind enough to pretend to. “Here, allow me…”

Shidou got to work cleaning and dressing the injuries. Mikoto closed his eyes. Even though the disinfectant stung, and sometimes those gloved fingers pressed a little two hard, it felt nice to have things patched up. 

“Is there anything else going on? Are you feeling pain anywhere else?”

Mikoto could have laughed. He didn’t. “I’m just sore. And my head’s been killing me, but I’m used to migraines. Perks of the verdict, I’m sure.”

Shidou hummed in thought. 

“Thanks, by the way. I’ll try to be more careful.” Not that he had much choice in the matter, it seemed. But he’d do his best. 

Shidou kept his face straight, but there were traces of pain in his voice. “I will too. I’m sorry, Mikoto. If I had known… I’ve been distracted lately, but I should have paid closer attention.”

“It’s fine,” he flashed a grin. “I know the others are pretty fucked up. And I’m not dying or anything. I’m lucky, you know?”

“I wouldn’t say so. Doctors don’t only treat the dying.”

Mikoto frowned. 

It didn’t take much longer to finish treatment. Shidou gave him a few instructions about the bandages, then offered him a clean shirt. “You’re good to go. I’ll be checking in more often, now. I’ll see if I can find something for your head.” 

“Thanks. Really.”

He returned Mikoto’s torn uniform. “You should talk to Es about getting a new one. Until then, you’ll want to clean this with --”

Mikoto waved a dismissive hand, heading out of the cell. “Don’t worry, I know how to wash blood out of my clothes. Er, that sounds bad. I’m just a clutz, yeah? The blood’s always been my own.”

Maybe this time he would believe it.

[mukuberry]

hihi new mutual :D fellow decohead ... i hope this ask isn't weird err but i was curious abt your miko + nocturnal kids connection !! i never thought about it before but i can see it ... + i like hearing abt the mlgr covers ppl wanna see ^_^)/ there's lots of possibilities i think

new mutual hihi :D i briefly talked about Mikoto covering it in this post about what cover songs i think each character should get but i will gladly go into depth >:D

Using this NK translation and this voice line translation btw! This post operates under RBGkoto and focuses on Redkoto specifically so if you aren't familiar with that then it might not make much sense ^^;

Starting at the chorus "If you cry in earnest and strain yourself, come this way anytime" "We'll love each other over and over again, shining all the while" "I want to keep saving you." We know Redkoto cares deeply for Bluekoto and his safety, saying "If it's to protect me (Bluekoto), I (Redkoto) will do anything" and singing to Blue "I should have saved you, but why are you crying? Rely on me, praise me with your song, I am your savior." It's clear that Red wants nothing but to protect Blue, even if he does it in a misguided way and Blue isn't aware of it.

Now that we've established how Red feels about Blue, we'll go back to the start. ""How I wish I could finish this and forget you." How long will I fight with that kind of face on? I'm on my own again. Even though I love you". This relates to how Red doesn't make contact with Blue and keeps him unaware of his existence so that he can live the safe and normal life that Red and Green can't.

Continuing, "Every time, my wounds show up again as though to remind. Why are the miseries I take in from 1 to 10 and then to 100 the only thing that doesn't die off?" MeMe explicitly shows that Red is extremely depressed in his life, and doesn't at all enjoy what he does, but continues anyway because it's essential to Blue's safety. And now that he's been trapped inside of Milgram, that pain he feels has only grown, especially since he's failed to completely protect Blue.

This last part is mostly my hopeful wishing, but I'm really hoping for a happy end for Mikoto, in which the system finds a way to work together and accept each other. If this could happen, i guess Nocturnal Kids would work better as a trial 3 song, but either way if this ending comes true, the rest of the song will be perfect. "You can sleep now. I'll protect you diligently, after all." "Shouldn't we look forawrd and laugh now?" "What hurts hurts, but we'll get through it together."

Some extra lil bits that I wanna mention but don't have too much to talk about:

"This indelible awfulness isn't the ideal, but such a euphoric shyness is perfectly all right" reminds me of Green's "The minus energy that I swallowed hugged me"

Nocturnal Kids references Anti Beat, which would be a good link to Kotoko, since Mikoto is paired with her

""I'm not lonely or sad." When you've rinsed off the deep blue of those bluffs you caked on, we'll say goodbye" Bluekoto is, well, blue, and frequently masks himself in order to fit in more with the people around him.

"It never ends. We're kids another day." Mikoto clearly has suffered an extremely traumatic childhood, and Red is fighting their past constantly to keep everyone safe.

Definitely a reach, but we only ever see Red in MeMe in the outside world when it's night- he's nocturnal :}

"We've transmitted our voices to each other" links with "Praise me with your song"

"We hold onto each other and breathe in this room" links with"Snuggle together and say goodnight"

[amugoffandoms]

Could you do a director's commentary on "Are You In There" from Whumptober?

Heyo, kyanako! I'd be down to! Lemme pull up the fic and I'll be pulling out passages that I remember small details from. So, here we go! Mug's Director Commentary!!

First of all, the title "You in There?" That's basically the Whumptober prompt as its name, but the exact phrase is not used that often in the fic because I didn't feel like Muu would use that exact phrase? At least, she says something else on her birthday, so I decided to just reword the question multiple times.

Ever since the Warden’s second interrogation, she was starting to feel on edge about everything. So, her sleep wasn’t the best. She can probably deal with it eventually, though. It’s not a big deal. She’s going to get forgiven again, anyway. They know it’s not Muu’s fault.

There's no specific time when this beginning scene occurs, but I have a feeling it's a few days after Muu's voting ends. I'd like to think all of the prisoners hear the Voices, so Muu is kind of just actively denying them because she can't be wrong.

”You have to eat, Haruka.” “Aah… I… I guess I do…” “…You have to come out of your room to eat.” “…!! Yes, yes… Um… I can’t do that.”

I wanted Haruka to still lean into what Muu wants because she shows him attention, but then suddenly realize he has to keep his promise first. His promise is the most important thing right now.

...also, it's kinda funny to see the quick switch back and forth.

Mikoto stands in the kitchen area, staring at something. Muu starts slowing down and looking away. Mikoto is a very nice guy, but ever since the end of trial one, he’s gotten a little scary…

I don't actually recall if Muu ever said this, but considering her reaction to Kotoko in trial 1, I kinda think she'd have a similar reaction to Mikoto in Trial 2.

As she turns away from Mikoto, he calls out to Muu one last time. “Hey, tell Haru I hope he’s alright. I’m glad he’s all confident now, but he seems upset now… Or something.” “I will.” ”Thanks.” When Muu makes it back to Haruka’s cell, she can barely hear Haruka inside. “…they forgave me. They forgave me.” “Haruka! I brought you some food.” Muu calls out. “…o-oh! Thank you, Muu.” Something inside Haruka’s cell moves around, probably Haruka before the door slowly opens to half of Haruka’s face.  “Y-you can leave it there…” ”Can we talk in your cell today, then?” “Oh… um… I guess so.” Haruka fully opens his door and Muu finally can talk to someone who listens.

OOOH boy, here's a long one. breaking it down time we ball!!

I feel like, despite pulling away from the group a little out of fear of himself, Mikoto would still notice a few things, especially Haruka changing so much. Plus, I'm pretty sure he's noticed Haruka change even before Trial 2. He's noticed Haruka pulling away, too.

We never actually see Muu tell Haruka that Mikoto hopes he's alright, but I'd like to imagine during their conversation she does. (Not because I forgot that Mikoto had just done that. Definitely not.)

I enjoyed throwing Haruka murmuring that he was forgiven in because I thought it would be nice to include his thoughts on his verdict as well. He cares about Muu's, but he also cares about his because Es affirmed him, right? They said he was good and forgiven. So, why did they take it back? He was right, right? RIGHT??

oops sorry writer mug came in there (that may happen a lot, I like explaining my fics by accidentally writing more in character stuff), anyways.

Once again, going back to Haruka leaning into what Muu wants. He thinks that maybe it's not time just yet, that he has a little longer to think.

“You haven’t left your room in a few days, Haruka… It’s not healthy to be inside all day.”

This sentence implies she's been doing what she was doing in the previous scene every day now. Also kinda funny considering they're inside a prison, but she's telling him that's it's not healthy to be inside all day. I know what I meant inside his room, but STILL!!

Also, side note, i really enjoyed this next passage, so yeah :D!

Yuno sighs. “Fine, then. Even if Haruka clearly wants to be alone, do whatever you want.” “Muu is at least trying to be friends with Haruka. You stopped trying to be friends with anyone after the first trial verdicts were revealed! Can’t you be happy you were forgiven by the Warden?” “Forgiving everyone basically ruined the fun atmosphere here, so I’m upset. The Warden can do whatever they want, but what they’ve done has caused MILGRAM to be entirely bothersome. I don’t want to bother with any of it.” ”Upset? Bothersome? What are you even talking about? Does it even matter if MILGRAM is bothersome? You were forgiven, can’t you relax and enjoy it?”

Yuno's first line is kinda just a reference back to how she has opinions but doesn't act on them that often. She believes that Haruka should be left alone, but if Muu wants to do whatever, then so be it. It's all up to her.

Muu kinda makes a good point here where Yuno pulled away, but it's because of what happened after them. (Which is what Yuno mentions next.) (Also, "forgiving everyone" was an odd term to use here, I think it would've been better to say "Judging everyone," but "Forgiving" works considering how most people acted because they were voted FORGIVEN...

Muu wants to enjoy her... um, past forgiveness, I guess. It's because in that moment, it solidified the fact that she was right. That she was never in the wrong and it could never be her fault, right? So, she's finally able to relax. No one's out there actively trying to hurt her. (Actively look away from Muu's verdict please PLEAS)

“It does matter when people almost died because of MILGRAM! Why are you acting like what happened to Fuuta, Mahiru, and Mikoto never happened? Because it did!” ”What does that have to do with Muu? They deserved it after all.” Yuno stares at Muu. “What the fuck do you mean they deserved—”

OHH I needed this scene emotionally actually JAIODJOWIA I really wanted Muu and Yuno to fight, especially over this because they definitely have differing views on this. Yuno talks to Mahiru, who was severely impacted by Kotoko's attacks. She even mentions in her second voice drama that Kotoko is the type of person to make an assumption and not go beyond that.

On the other hand, Muu mentions that Kotoko's attacks were sorta deserved because Es did not forgive them.

so. woo D:!

”P-please stop f-fighting…!” Haruka squeaks out. Yuno and Muu quickly turn to Haruka standing in front of his cell door. “I-I know it’s my fault for not leaving m-my cell, so… it’s okay… Yuno, um… I’ll walk with Muu. I love walking with her.” “See! It was a good thing Muu didn’t leave Haruka alone!” Muu grins. Yuno stares blankly at the two before shaking her head and walking to her cell. “Oh, and, Muu… Just to let you know…” ”Eh, what does Yuno want?” “The Warden said the forgiveness was temporary.” With a chill going down Muu’s spine, Yuno enters her cell without another word. Glancing at Haruka, they both already realize they knew that.

Looking back at this, I sometimes have like a fifty-fifty opinion on Haruka's lines, but I think they kinda work. (I don't remember if he's ever broken up a fight as well, so this could be a first for him and he doesn't want to mess up. Not after everyone thought he was being so good.) He wants them to stop fighting about him. He appreciates the attention, but he doesn't want to be the source of someone else's torment again. He blames himself because that's all he's ever known.

Also, I really wanted to drop that "Forgiveness is temporary line" because 1) It's coming from Yuno, who believes she can't even be seen as something other than forgiven and 2) it's towards the two prisoners who lost their forgiveness. That line drills in the fact that they weren't forgiven again. And, it's terrifying.

"Haruka?” Muu knocks on the cell door. There is no response.  “I brought you some food.” Muu holds the food up higher as if he would see it through the door. “Are you alive?”  There is no response. She’s… starting to get scared now.  "You haven't grown mold or anything?” Muu tries joking. There is no— Haruka’s cell door slowly opens with Haruka looking at the food and Muu. Haruka looks down. ”.....Oh, thank you very much. Muu, I'm sorry, that ..... I..” Muu shakes her head. ”Don't shut yourself up in that cell forever! You have to eat properly too, you know? I understand if you feel this way though, the recent atmosphere has been feeling bad lately.” "Um, I said it's okay..... I, thought of what I should do, a little.” Haruka mumbles.

You might recognize this! It's because it's Haruka's birthday timeline from a while back!! I really wanted to include it because this fic is very much based around Haruka pulling away to fulfill his promise and Muu checking in every time.

This is when anaphora my beloved comes in and I begin to repeat the phrase "There is no response." more often :D. You could actually see it in the last scene, too!!

“Thought about what you should do…?” Muu blinks before slowly nodding. “…oh, Muu remembers.” “…I’m glad.” He smiles. “…” Muu exhales. “I think that you should… do what you want to do, Haruka.” “E-eh… What does that mean…?” "I'm... worried, that's all." Haruka looks up at Muu, who, even if she still seems confident, has a bit of fear behind her confidence. “Muu, you… you don’t have to worry… I’m just thinking about what to do, for you, right…?” Haruka smiles. “Y…yeah. Okay. Yeah.” Muu exhales before giving him a small smile, which he returns. She hands over some food which he takes with a nod. “Muu hopes she sees Haruka next time she drops off the food.” “…yeah.” Haruka nods. Muu looks around before finally leaving. “What do I do, what do I do, to keep... My promise. For Muu’s sake....”

I believe this is the only time I write in Haruka's POV? I kinda wanted to have a small glimpse into Haruka's side, but not too much considering this is a Muu-POV fic!

Here's also where I branch off from the original timeline but go right back to it. I really wanted for them to have a conversation about Haruka's promise. Although Muu seemed pretty nonchalant about what Haruka's promise was in Queen B, she also believes that friends are people who let you do what you want because they listen to you. She cares for Haruka. If she didn't, she wouldn't have done everything she's done for him. She's worried, and she doesn't want him to go through with it because she can't lose another friend, another person who listened to her because who else would?

“Are you there? Are you alive?” She tries joking. It worked a couple of times before, but this time, no response. Muu swallows; her fear is slowly rising. “You have to come out… It’s… bad for you! And, you have to eat, too!” Muu knocks on the door a little longer this time. She places the dish on the ground as she knocks even more. No response. “Haruka! Please!” Muu screams at the door. “Muu— I miss talking to you. I miss talking to someone. The atmosphere has been feeling so bad lately and… I’m scared— Please. Just— Just come out this one time…! Or, write something to me and slip it under the door! Please!” No response.

Oh, here comes hell (and my friend anaphora!). Alright, so this is when Muu really shows how terrified of losing friends again. Last time that happened, she was left to deal with the bullying of everyone and she can't do that again.

She tries joking because that's what she believes will work first. Then, sorta telling him that he has to come out because it's not healthy because it worked last time.

Then, she loses it because she's terrified. She can't let this happen again.

She even stops using "Muu" (which, although I don't use it often when writing for Muu, it's an intentional switch). She just needs someone.

“Haruka!” Muu places her head against the door and begins banging the door with her hand. “…please, please…!” No response.

This is a reference to her After Pain scene where she's banging from the inside of the hourglass. She's begging. She's back to where she once was and she can't have that; she can't have that.

“I’m begging you. Please— Please just leave your cell! I’m scared. I’m scared. I don’t— I don’t want to lose you. You’re my friend, Haruka. Please don’t leave me—” Muu sobs. No response.

This is basically a repeat of what I said, but Muu is terrified of losing Haruka. She's gotten "better" in her eyes and she can't go back to when she was on the ground, getting kicked around and ignored again. She can't lose someone who listens and cares. She can't lose Haruka because he's her friend. She can't lose someone to something stupid like judgment again.

“Please… Haruka…” Muu begs. “I’m scared. I can’t… I don’t want to lose a friend again…” “…Are… you alive…?” No response.

She's terrified. She can't do this again. (It can't be her fault, right!? It was Rei's fault first. Is it hers? Is Haruka dying her fault? She didn't mean this. She didn't mean anything wrong. She was supposed to be FORGIVEN.)

She's in the same position as when she killed Rei, except it's worse because Haruka cared. He listened. He listened.

And, he's not listening, and he's not responding. Say something! Anything! Muu needs to know he's still alive.

“…you in there…?” Muu quietly asks the door. There is no response.

Muu needs Haruka to be alive, in there, because who else would be there for her?

Anyways.

I mentioned this in the ending notes, but I was intentionally vague with how it ended, so you can interpret what really happened to Haruka. Is it a dream? Is he sleeping in? Did he fulfill his promise?

As a fan standpoint, good God, he has to be sleeping in. As a writer, honestly, let's see where MILGRAM goes.

So, that's my director's commentary! Thank you for reading through this longgg post ahah. Sorry for the moments where I blended commentary with writing, it helps me explain sometimes ;;

If anyone else would like to give some commentary (whether long or short, a whole fic or selected passage), I'd love to do this again ^^!!

[atopearth]

Norn9: Var Commons Part 2 - Heishi Otomaru Route

Hmm, I don't really remember Nanami having much of a role in the anime so this should be interesting, especially since I definitely don't remember anything about Heishi. Hahahaha, sorry Heishi, if I didn't play a route in this game yet, I totally would have thought the same thing as Sorata and be like who was this guy again😂 I knew Nanami was terrible at cooking but I didn't think Heishi was a disaster too hahaha. To be fair, it's not necessarily that they're bad at cooking, since technically they didn't even cook lol, all Nanami did was throw random stuff in everything and Heishi forgot to cook the fish but couldn't be bothered lmao. I think it's quite funny that Nanami's description has it that she doesn't talk much but I honestly think she talks quite alot haha. Anyway, Heishi's powers are definitely a favourite even if he can't fully control it, telepathy and feeling other people's emotions are very useful. Oh, how interesting, Heishi just randomly wandered aboard the ship and wasn't actually "called" I guess? From first impression, I'd say that Heishi matches Nanami the most because of how bright he is and how he's always able to make her feel a bit happier because of the person that he is, but I am very curious about her other matches with Akito and Ron. However, Heishi really doesn't know what personal space is huh! The worst thing is you can't even shut him up because he uses telepathy to wake Nanami up in the morning, what a nightmare! I think I would strangle him.

I guess it's understandable for Nanami to not really understand what it means to be feminine and why it's important when she's grown up never having been taught about it. Personally, Mikoto does push the ladylike thing a bit too much so I think Nanami should just do what she likes. Lmao when Masamune went to help out the fight between Senri and Kakeru, and Kakeru ended up growing flowers on Masamune's head😂 Under Heishi's happy-go-lucky personality, it seems that his smiles are also fake in a way in that he feels like he's forced to always be happy because he knows that his emotions can be felt by others so he does his best to suppress anything negative, which must be pretty tough. Lmao at that flashback of Heishi accidentally barging in when Mikoto was changing and he kept blurting out his thoughts about what he saw and how Sakuya was going to kill him through telepathy😂 I like how much Nanami is agonising over how to express her feelings to Heishi in a way that he can understand what she is truly thinking. Words are difficult because even though you know exactly what you mean, the other person isn't you so they don't necessarily process it in the same way, so I like how Nanami finds it so troubling but refuses to give up on trying to convey it. I've been really enjoying how much guidance Itsuki has been giving Nanami, it's very kind.

One thing I've been really enjoying with Norn9 is how all three heroines' romance progresses with their respective partner in the route you're on. It's cute how protective Masamune is over Koharu, and even though I can understand Mikoto thinking Itsuki is annoying, it's actually really cute how she's about to go to sleep and she can't stop thinking about how frustrating he is haha. I never saw how much Itsuki seemed to like Mikoto but seeing him watch over her sadly at times makes me wonder about their relationship. It's quite convenient that instead of Heishi explaining love to Nanami, he could just have her experience the rollercoaster of emotions for her to understand haha. Even though Heishi and Nanami are cute, I don't feel like I see the chemistry enough to think that they match or even that they really like each other. However, I do think Heishi's dream of wanting to have a happy family was cute, it wasn't something I expected Nanami to want though. I guess what's lacking in this route is that I don't feel like I really know Nanami at all and Heishi is still a mystery in terms of his background. Aww that's slack, they finally confessed to each other and now Nanami has to use her power and erase his memories to protect him since Ron and Natsuhiko don't want him to remember that they're here on this ship. Ron is honestly quite cruel to Nanami and he's going to need to do alot to redeem himself in his route lol, I think the worst was when he kept telling Nanami she's all alone and that he'll kill Heishi if she told anyone about him and Natsuhiko. I never really thought about fusing esper powers together, so thinking about how destructive it could be to have Nanami's power fused with Heishi's to mass wipe out people's memories is very interesting. I felt bad for Heishi when Nanami thoroughly rejected him..

Lmao at the hiyoko penguin version. I like the CG with the guys in swimsuits, that was an unexpectedly nice surprise. I definitely liked the second confession during the power outage much more haha, I thought the CG of them putting their hands on the door separating them was sweet. They were blocked by a door but their feelings connected. Gotta love Heishi for knowing how to ruin the mood for saying he'd reject Mikoto even if she threw herself at him naked LMAO. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole escaping the ship thing but I really did enjoy how much of a bro Itsuki was the whole time even when Heishi wasn't the most amicable about it. Interesting to see that Masamune can see people's past. Anyway, even though I'm still not too fond of the pairing, I really like Heishi and Nanami's life of travelling together and taking photos for a job, that's very nice and sweet. However, I think I prefer the sadness of the tragic love ending. I liked how Nanami ended up using her power to erase Heishi's memories of her so he could live happily again without being burdened about the need to protect her because dang he went nuts and abusive. But yeah, I felt really bad for Nanami in that ending. Personally, I think the short story is basically what I enjoyed most about Heishi and Nanami's relationship, where they're both troublemakers, but at the same time, they both try their best to try and make the other happy, and they both just relish spending time together and enjoy the moment.

Overall, I had high hopes for Heishi's route especially since the first half was not bad, but I thought the second half was quite boring especially after the escaping thing. Otherwise, I enjoyed seeing Heishi and Nanami cause trouble for Akito and all the people who try their best to avoid their food lol. I liked how Heishi basically never left Nanami alone so you can say his existence itself helps to mend Nanami's past sadness for being all alone and forced to erase people's memories to sustain her clan. Personally, even though I don't mind Heishi and Nanami individually, I find them rather bland together. They don't click imo haha, I mean, they did on paper but not in this route apparently lol. Even though I enjoyed the scene where Heishi expressed his feelings towards Nanami the second time, I really didn't feel their feelings towards each other. I also think it's because they never really developed as characters for me either. I never really felt like I knew as much about Nanami and Heishi to make me feel like they "came to life" for me, or enough for me to think that I would like to care for them anyway. So yeah, disappointing imo but hopefully Akito will be the better route since he seems to be the poster boy for Nanami.

[airashisakura]

My last entry for @ssskmonth | Prompts used Festivals and Family

Kin

Summary: When Sasuke struggles with letting go of pain from his past, Sakura and Sarada remind him that he doesn't have to do this alone.

Rating: Mature

_

“Anata?”

Sasuke stopped dusting off the shelves and looked over in Sakura’s direction. He frowned though, seeing Sakura perched on a stool dangerously, trying to clean the cobwebs of their apartment.

“I was asking…” Sakura scrunched her face in displeasure. She hadn't realized when she had left with Sasuke on his journey that it could bring this much work.

A week ago, when they unlocked the door of their apartment, back after a year with their three-month-old daughter, they had realized making their home habitable again wasn't going to be easy. The exhaustion of their journey back to Konoha hadn’t left their souls, but the Uchiha couple prioritized cleaning over resting.

Sasuke walked over to her and steadied her wobbling stool.

“What?”

Sleep deprivation had left him cranky. He had hoped that Sarada's wailing would cease after they had moved from roads to Konoha. Although he was glad that she was more safe under a roof, it hadn’t stopped her from crying the whole night.

Sakura caught the irritation laced in his voice, and considered whether she should say what she was about to.

“Obon is in two days..." She spoke cautiously, busy with her work. "I was asking if you want to…” She trailed off again, not sure how to phrase this.

“Obon?” Sasuke looked up in her direction. He was about to ask her again, when he realized. “Obon.”

Sakura turned, facing him, and asked nervously, “Should we?”

In all these years, he had never celebrated Obon. When he was a child, he remembered his mother strictly following rituals, preparing to welcome the spirits of their clan's ancestors.

He realized that although he always carried his long gone family in his heart, he never had given any damn about the festival.

“Aah,” he agreed.

Sakura's face lit up with a wide grin, but that died off when they heard Sarada crying at the top of her lungs.

While Sasuke rushed to attend Sarada, Sakura wrestled with more dust and ended up coughing.

Although Sarada’s shrill cries bore holes in his eardrum, all the chaos of his new-formed family had settled down all the internal chaos that he had carried for years.

_

Sasuke stirred out of his slumber engulfed with warmth . Sakura's body was pressed against his back, her arm snuggly thrown around him. Sarada had been quiet after days, and he felt fully rested, refreshed after a sleep devoid of nightmares too.

The light filtering from the curtain told him it was still early, and Sakura's breaths on his neck made him want to wake her up and kiss her numb. He had lost count of the number of days he had felt her bare skin on his, slowly and passionately driving her crazy. The days and nights after Sarada’s birth went by changing diapers and trying to understand the meaning between different kinds of cries, which he hadn't quite mastered yet.

Sasuke was tempted even further when Sakura pressed her lips on his neck and murmured 'morning,' her pert nipples brushing against his muscular back. Sasuke suppressed a gasp, his twitching member, and the urge to reciprocate his wife's desire. He gently pried away from his wife's leg, and regretted it when Sakura retracted herself from him.

"Anata?" Sakura sat up with a myriad of emotions on her face — confusion, hurt and rejection.

Sasuke didn't want to make her feel like that.

"I… I'm going to visit my parents' grave."

Sakura nodded and smiled, her features relaxing.

Sasuke never thought that gulping down the guilt of neglecting his dead family could be that easy.

_

Sasuke sauntered through the path that led to his parents' grave. The place was cold and distant like his heart had been for many years. Neglected even, he mused.

He stopped when he found the stone that bore his parents' name. Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku — names engraved with such beauty that was ironic considering the way they had died. A surge of rage and emotions pumped through his veins in a way that he was too familiar with — it had made him a person of sins that he was still redeeming for.

He stood there unable to repress the painful memories that had seeped from his past like a poison. His surroundings reverberated with the screams and blood that painted his nightmares.

Years of redemption had seemingly healed his wounds, but the sharpness of the past always cut, and the wounds bleed as they always had.

Unable to anchor himself, he looked anywhere but his parents' name. His eyes darted across the ungrazed grass, wild flowers, and puddles formed by summer rain. Stubborn weeds creeping over his parents grave, like the past that was attached to him.

His eyes caught something. And there it is, he mused again. A small pink wildflower intertwined with weeds, facing the sun. A gentle breeze that made its petals gleam in the sunlight reminded him of Sakura's unwavering love. The love that had waited for him through his sins and redemption — love that assured him every day that he no longer was in the darkness alone — love that gave him Sarada.

He crouched down, sighing. The summer heat was getting unbearable, and beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead. This reminded he should get going. Sometimes Sarada got all fussy, and it was hard for Sakura to manage her alone. Although his heart was heavy when his eyes glided over the name of his parents again, he smiled thinking about his new family.

Sasuke traced his finger on kanji of his mother's name, dirt gathering on his finger tip. He picked up the rag that he had brought with him and scrubbed the dirt and mud from the stones. With every swipe of the rag, the images of lifeless bodies of his parents became clearer in his mind. His fingers twitched, but he did his work diligently. The dirt from his parents' name was gone now, like the blood from the wooden floor that had pooled out from his parents' bodies.

Shaking his thoughts off, he held his shirt sleeve with his teeth and rolled it upwards. He went on plucking the weeds, wishing if it was this easy to pluck away memories of his past. There was a hopeful part of him — a little part — thought that with time, the pain of his lost family would wash away, but maybe hope wasn't a thing for Uchiha Sasuke.

He bid adieu to his dead parents, and got up to leave. As he walked away, he looked back over his shoulder to get a peek of the pink flower that remained. The pink flower that had grown in his life — accepting him and his past.

_

As he reached the threshold of his house, he stiffened when he couldn’t feel the familiar chakras he was accustomed to.

He looked around and found Sakura had almost finished cleaning their house. Bookshelves no longer had cobwebs, the white sheets had been removed from the furniture, and the floor was polished.

“Sakura?”

He was answered by the empty hallways and a note. It was a note from Sakura that said she was going out for grocery shopping.

He ran fingers through his hair, sighing, and walked towards the kitchen. He decided to cook a proper lunch. They had been surviving on simple food after they had returned, courtesy of Sarada's fussiness. It amazed him sometimes how their child managed to command all their attention.

Sakura always jokingly complained that it was something Sarada definitely had inherited from him. Sakura boasted that she was a quiet infant, and her parents always backed her up. Sometimes he felt a tinge of jealousy at that.

He opened the fridge and grabbed the leftover rations that they had, and he remembered Naruto grumbling about something similar. He knew he shouldn't find that soothing, but he realized in that aspect he wasn't alone.

In fact, he wasn't alone at all anymore.

Sasuke delved into cooking, but as time ticked on, he got impatient. He decided to go out and look for them. Something made him scared that he couldn't pinpoint.

As he was going to turn the stove off, he heard the click of the door knob. He heard Sakura calling him and responded.

Relief washed through him as Sakura approached him. He had been worrying over nothing. Perhaps his heart was still as fragile as his younger self's. Too afraid to lose, yet too afraid to accept his weakness.

Sakura kept the bag of groceries, grinning widely at him before she complimented the smell of the food. He was captivated by her green eyes, but his daughter seemed to have his attention now. Sarada happily clapped her hands on seeing him and wiggled in her baby sling to reach for him.

Sasuke bent down, and Sarada reached for his cheeks and patted them with her small hands, grinning toothlessly. This was Sarada's way to embrace, Sakura had told him once. Sasuke kissed her little palm before straightening himself.

"When did you return? We were sort of feeling alone, so we decided to make a quick trip to the market. "Ne, Sarada-chan?" Sakura cooed, rubbing her nose on Sarada's head, and Sarada giggled, agreeing with her.

"But someone had more fun than she expected." Sakura tickled Sarada, and she joined her in fits of laughter.

A smile slipped past his lips, and all the heaviness that had settled in his heart from that morning began to dissipate.

"She seemed to be in a good mood," Sasuke commented, looking for something from the bag.

"Yes." Sakura hummed, sifting her fingers through Sarada's hair.

His eyes lingered on them, before he started grating ginger.

"Umm, Anata? Isn't that too much?" Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke nodded, but he added it to the pan and said, "Father always liked it this way."

Sakura blinked. She didn't know how to respond. Sasuke rarely talked about his parents, so she stood there just nodding.

The space between them stilled, with only sounds of food sizzling on the pan and Sarada's squeals.

"Father used to love the spice of ginger, so Mother used to cook like this," Sasuke explained.

"I see," Sakura replied, excitement spiking in her voice.

"Mother also added less Mirin than required," Sasuke went on, and Sakura listened raptly, watching him while he cooked Gyudon.

Sakura didn't miss the melancholy in his eyes when Sasuke said that Gyudon was his father's favourite, and it stirred Sakura's heart

Sakura knew the things which are gone always hurt, but she knew too it took time to heal them. So when Sasuke told her bits of his family, she was glad that Sasuke talked about them without any resentment — sharing his lost happiness with her. She wanted to thank him, so Sakura tiptoed, her arms wrapping around Sarada, and she pecked on Sasuke's cheek.

It was unexpected, and Sasuke stared wide-eyed at the contents in the pan, while the tips of his ears turned red.

"I'll remember this when I cook next time," Sakura blushed.

Sasuke nodded, smirking.

Sarada wiggled in her sling to reach for Sasuke again while Sakura giggled and commented on how restless she was growing.

The house, the people, and the meal he had once shared together with his parents were long gone for him, but now he saw himself in Sarada who was trying to get her father's attention like he used to. He realized time had its own way to fix things.

_

Sasuke watched the sky, summer clouds lazily drifting and strings of smoke whirling between them. The smell of smoke from the neighborhood mingled with the evening breeze, and he felt nostalgic.

His clan breathed fire, and where there was fire, there was smoke. He remembered tasting the bitterness of smoke that lingered on his tongue when his lungs had flamed out a great fireball in childhood. He’d been excited to share his experience, and Itachi had confirmed with his too gentle smile that he had felt the same way

It was a memory that had been long forgotten. Years and years of using katon jutsus and chasing his older brother for revenge had made him ignorant to these feelings that he had held precious in his childhood.

The orangish hue of the setting sun told him it was time.

It was the first day of Obon. He looked around and saw the lantern that was tied at the entrance of their house swinging with the wind along with a windchime.

The lantern will guide them home, Sakura had said when she had tied them.

He knew that too. His mother had told him during childhood while Itachi had set up the bonfire for mukaebi. He had complained that bonfires are for winters, not for summers. His mother had laughed and had corrected him.

Sasuke, this bonfire and lanterns are for the spirits of our ancestors to guide their paths back home.

He had shrugged back then, because he thought he wouldn't have to bother about this in future.

Sasuke set the twigs, and lit them using a small fireball jutsu.

He sat there, remembering that Obon during his childhood had never been so solemn. Lots of people visited during that time. He hadn’t remembered any of them, though Itachi remembered some of them. Sasuke had challenged Itachi: Just you see, nii-san, next time, I'm going to remember everyone's name. Itachi had chuckled and had flicked his forehead.

The next time hadn't ever come. Before he could add more people to his growing list of people he knew, Itachi had wiped out everyone. And then Sasuke was alone.

He realized after all these years how much he had missed his older brother. He always wanted to bury the feeling because it came with the realization that Itachi was dead because of him. Itachi was dead because of Konoha.

Itachi was dead because he wanted his otouto to live.

"Anata?"

Sasuke lifted his eyes from the flames to Sakura, who looked worried. He looked back to flames.

"Are you okay?"

Sasuke nodded. He knew they had spent enough time together for Sakura to know he wasn't alright. His eyes were fixated on flames, so he didn't notice the way Sakura's eyes softened when she sat beside him.

He didn't want to ask her, but he found himself talking anyway. "Do you think Itachi can find his way?"

For the second time in the day, Sakura blinked in confusion.

Sasuke clarified again, "He doesn't even have a grave."

For a second, Sakura felt like she couldn't breathe. She had never seen Sasuke so vulnerable before.

"This place… Konoha…" He gritted his teeth. "I- I don't know how to call Konoha my home after what they did to my clan… to Itachi."

"I can't," He said, his voice louder and filled with accusation.

But as soon as these two words left his mouth, his eyes widened in the realization of what he had done. He shut his eyes and apologized to Sakura.

He felt Sakura's palm on his left cheek. It reminded him of his daughter's gentle touch — that they were his home.

Sakura smiled when his mismatched eyes met her green, and spoke softly, "Hate it till you can love it back, Sasuke-kun."

_

Sasuke swallowed the soft moan that fell out of Sakura's plump lips before he moved down on her neck, leaving a trail of kisses. When their house turned silent from Sarada's cries, they both sought comfort in their bed, limbs tangled innocently. Sasuke was comfortable enough now to delve into his wife's gentle touches. Gentle touches soon turned greedy when he kissed her the way he had wanted to that morning. It wasn't too long before their clothes were scattered across the polished wood of the floor.

He nipped her neck, eliciting a whimper and a delicious clench of her walls around his pulsing cock. He groaned and pushed deeper into her wet velvety cunt. The air from the ceiling fan cooled their sweating bodies, but the heat where they were intimately joined made both their spines tingle.

Sasuke leaned down to capture her lips again, and Sakura reciprocated wantonly meeting with his thrust. They gasped for air when they parted, saliva smeared across the corners of their lips. Sasuke held his gaze with hers, which was always soft, assuring, and accepting. Like a wanderer on a cold night regarded the flames that kept him warm, Sasuke tried to emanate his gratitude for her through his mismatched eyes.

He inched deeper, relishing the warmth of her skin. Sakura's lips parted in a silent cry when he hit the spot that he knew made Sakura come undone. Their rhythm became more erratic, and the heaving and slapping of wet skin was driving Sasuke to his own finish.

Sasuke angled his hips and thrust roughly. Sakura shuddered, her nails digging deep in his bare shoulder. He closed his eyes, focussing on the pleasure unknoting in his belly, he pushed roughly again, and felt—

Sarada's whimpers reached their ears. His eyes snapped open reflexively like he was waking in the midst of a nightmare, and Sakura's grip loosened on him. Sakura winced as he reluctantly pulled out of her. He wasn't sure if it was because Sarada's cries intensified, or if it was because they’d been interrupted.

She smiled weakly and slid out of bed. Sasuke huffed and dropped onto the bed, watching Sakura hurriedly putting his shirt to cover her curves.

When he made his way towards them, Sakura was pacing along the room, cradling Sarada in her arms trying to calm her down.

"I fed her, changed her diapers, and still she is crying," Sakura said, expression etched with worry and irritation. Sarada shrieked louder, and Sakura's patience was waning thin.

Sasuke stretched his arm towards her, and Sakura handed the baby over. When he took her in his arm, rocked her and carefully nuzzled his nose on her forehead, she stopped crying. Somehow, it felt strange yet so good that someone needed him.

He was sure Sakura was red with envy and embarrassment when she mumbled something and walked away. He couldn't help himself but let out a chuckle, and Sakura turned and laughed too.

_

Konoha's streets were overflowing with families, people enjoying and dancing around the yagura stage to the beats of Taiko drums on the second day of Obon.

"Ino and I always loved dancing to this rhythm."

Sasuke didn't remember anything from his genin days. Maybe Sakura had told him back then, but he never paid attention to it like the other things he had missed while chasing blindly after revenge. This festival, this tradition, and Sakura were always there, and he had always been a piece out of the puzzle.

But Sarada with all her charm had made him fit in the puzzle. And now he and Sakura sat on the engawa, basking in the comfortable silence that they shared while the sound of Taiko drums reverberated with his heart beats.

Sakura held Sarada close to her body. He smiled, eyes falling on the Uchiha fan on her little back.

"I sprained my ankle the previous year. It was all stupid Ino's fault."

Sakura went on telling him about her Obon experiences while his eyes lingered on the swell of her chest, the bindings tugged down for Sarada to suckle. Sarada fed herself without any complaints, her little fingers clutching on folds of the beautiful green yukata Sakura was wearing.

The beautiful cherry blossom print on her green yukata accentuated her beauty, but it was the Uchiha crest that she sewed on her yukata in the afternoon that accentuated her beauty.

Sasuke's eyes trailed upwards to her exposed skin, and he noticed the hitch in her breath when his eyes stayed on the purplish mark he had given her the night before. They locked eyes, trapping her green with his mismatched ones.

Sakura blushed furiously under his gaze. Sasuke smirked and asked, "Want to go to the festival?"

_

The sound of heavy breathing disturbed the silence, as both of them came down from their high, basking in the afterglow. A sheen of sweat covered them like velvet, limbs entangled and limp. Sakura's yukata lay crumpled between their bodies, tugged upwards and sideways unceremoniously.

Sasuke had committed to memory the way her pink hair seamlessly smudged with the green of her yukata when he had pushed inside her from behind, losing himself to pleasure. His fingers lightly traced her pink nipples, and Sakura gasped.

She turned her head back, and Sasuke pulled her closer to his body, his palm now resting over her beating heart. Sakura smiled, and Sasuke realized there were so many colours that adorned his life now — the red of her lips, the pink of her hair, the green of her eyes, and that mirthful smile.

His heart skipped a beat when he felt Sakura's heart dancing under his palm, synchronising with his. Their lips found their way to each other, the uchiwa on the Sakura's garment silently observing their love.

_

A wisp of smoke rose into the air while twigs in the bonfire crumbled down to ashes. Sasuke sat in front of the extinguished bonfire, looking above at the dark sky.

The moon hid behind the clouds and stars twinkled, trying hard to compensate for the overcast skies. A breeze touching his skin gave him a familiar feeling. He had spent more time under open skies wandering than under a roof with a family. However, tonight he felt the same heaviness that he had carried for a long time.

After they had dinner, Sakura had reminded him that it was the last day of Obon. Reluctantly, he had lit the okokuri-bi — the bonfire that sent the spirits back to their resting place. Maybe he didn't want to part with his dead family. Maybe holding on to the illusion where his father, mother and brother were with him was easier.

The breeze swept the hair that covered his eyes, his mismatched orbs growing wet. It wasn’t because of anger anymore, though. It just hurt. He clutched at his chest, fingers digging into his shirt, trying to soothe the pain that was there. An invisible pain that he only owned — that Sakura and Sarada couldn't replace.

"Sara-chan, did you like it?"

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts as Sakura approached him. Sarada fiddled with a toy that Sakura bought recently for her. Sarada cooed in excitement, and Sakura giggled.

When she reached closer to him, Sakura stretched out her hand towards him. Words were not their way, and Sakura smiled gently, coaxing him to take her hand.

And Sasuke did.

Because there were things Sakura and Sarada couldn't replace, but he could relive and recreate memories with them. Severing bonds would never ease his pain, he knew now; instead, new bonds would help him embrace the old ones.

They were there for him — he wasn't alone, and he didn't need to do this on his own.

_

FFN | AO3

Obon is a Japanese custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This custom involves a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon Odori.

Credits: Inspired from Warm by @catflorist . For those who haven't read, please read this wonderful piece.

Thanks to @fm-white for telling me more about rituals of Obon.

Thanks for @fictionalquacker's headcanon that Fugaku loves beef, which helped me making an assumption that it could be Gyudon. Also thanks to lovely @birkastan2018 for giving some tips about cooking Gyudon 💪. A big thanks to @theredconversegirl for naming my fic 🥺. Believe me, I would be forever grateful to you for this❤️

Thanks to @something-like-air for beta-ing this. 🤗

Last but not the least, @thatsakurastan :") with her constant support and nagging, I was able to complete and post this fic. You deserve big slabs of chocolate!🍫🍫🍫

[pennylanewrites]

I got seven different asks about the College AU so here are some headcanons I have about them! (imagine aiura is in the picture I couldn’t find a good one with all of them)

I definitely didn’t mean to make this so long but I can’t help it I love them all so much<3

~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~

Saiki Kusuo

→ marine!!!biology!!!major!!!!!!!!

→ doesn’t need to study but he still does bc he finds marine life so fascinating

→ read all of his textbooks on the first day bc he was so excited eeeek

→ always wears his germanium ring in class so he can stay hashtag focused

→ him and aiura have to bail toritsuka(didn’t go to college) out of jail once a month

→ speaking of aiura, she somehow has convinced him to go on a date on five different occasions

→ i think after high-school he realised he didn’t mind a kind of casual not-relationship with her

→ lets her hug him to greet him and sometimes he hugs back bc college boys stare a lot and he is just worried for her okay?

→ maybe I’m just projecting bc I kin aiura

→ does not go to parties unless he absolutely has to

→ if he does go to a party he’ll drink something quietly in a corner, just watching the crowd

→ a perv laced Teruhashi’s drink and almost lured her up the stairs so of fucking course Kusuo sprinted to help her, holding her on the way home bc men are drawn to her like bees to honey

→ she didn’t let him live it down ever

→ he rented a studio apartment and keeps it super clean, minimum clutter but enough to look lived in

→ cooks amazing food that Nendo smells from upstairs and next thing you know, they’re all bringing chairs to Kusuo’s apartment and have dinner

→ nothing excuses the fact he makes at least eight servings every time–

→ such a dad to everyone honestly

→ usually studies at a library or teleports back home if there’s a big test

→ mrs. saiki was banned from visiting every two days but she still ends up there somehow

→ not that he minds bc he’s the biggest mama’s boy ever

→ probably graduates a year early

→ doesn’t move away even though he got a job at the aquarium at the other side of the city help–

Kaidou Shun

→ fine arts major you can NOT change my mind

→ doesn’t do good in theoretical subjects but mans can draw some good bowls of fruit

→ wears those stained from the paints t-shirts all the time bc ‘no they’re not dirty it’s art!’

→ him and aren have small designated spaces in their apartment so they can focus on their hobbies/studying

→ his corner at the living room has newspapers on the floor to protect it from the splattering paint, some canvases propped up on the wall and a lot of unfinished projects

→ hides all of them when Nendou comes over

→ can not cook or clean to save his life

→ so he calls his mum to help clean up when Aren is at work

→ got over his 8th grader syndrome at some point

→ still wears red bandages bc he’s edgy

→ volunteers at the neighborhood exhibit centre

→ got asked to showcase his own works for a night and hasn’t shut up about it since

→ goes to yumehara for relationship advice and braids her hair as a thank you

→ couples sleepovers with Yumehara and Teruhashi (yes they’re dating shut up)

→ always makes something for Aren at special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries etc)

→ at first he went back home every saturday bc he missed his family :(

→ Aren helps him get over it though!!!!

Nendou Riki

→ got in on a sports scholarship

→ we already know he couldn’t be accepted in a college otherwise

→ in the chiropractic major bc he wants to be one of those athlete doctors

→ has failed way too many exams and classes

→ Hairo helps him so much though!!!

→ the last one in the group to graduate but somehow gets a job first (excluding Saiki)

→ him and hairo get up at 5 am for jogging or to hit the gym

→ and then he goes and gets noodles bc ‘if noodles aren’t for breakfast why do shops open at 6 am?’

→ hasn’t stepped foot in class in months

→ he gets decent grades after failing the first semester and it’s totally not Saiki’s doing

→ he ends up signing up for way too many clubs

→ attends all of the meetings and has so many friends through them

→ I would be his friend too in college honestly

→ a fraternity wanted to get him bc he’s so good at sports

→ he declined bc he does not understand how fraternities even work

→ is the life of EVERY SINGLE PARTY change my mind you can’t

→ whatever you do don’t imagine nendo surprising his boyfriend with flowers after every practice

→ *dies cutely*

Kuboyasu Aren

→ SOCIOLOGY MAJOR

→ idk I just think he would enjoy Marx’s Capital

→ debate club? hell yeah

→ gets in philosophical conversations at the school yard for HOURS

→ kaidou has to drag him away

→ only shops at thrift stores and makes coffee at home bc “capitalism is not accepted in this household”

→ rides his motorcycle to college even though he lives five minutes away

→ grew his hair out in a mullet again and he looks *chef’s kiss*

→ thought he would be moving too fast if he asked Kaidou to rent an apartment together

→ aiura convinced him it was fine

→ cooks kaidou’s favorite foods every day

→ participates in student rallies, human rights protests etc etc

→ comes home with bruises and kaidou thinks he looks so hot but still yells at him

→ Aren’s favorite place to study is his balcony or at a coffee shop

→ always with kaidou! cute boyfriends who do everything together!!

→ gets so drunk when they go out

→ drunk karaoke with kokomi yes yes yes

Hairo Kineshi

→ did someone say Athletic Training?

→ does every single sport and is amazing at it

→ will cheer for his bf if they have a game at the same time though

→ it was his idea to move in together bc ‘hey we’ve been dating for three years now might as well’

→ volunteers at a nearby elementary as a coach for the kids

→ SO GOOD WITH KIDS

→ wants to be a P.E. Teacher and he’s going to be great at it

→ does everything he can at campus

→ helping random clubs, making posters, cleaning up the hallways, helping the cheer squad with their new routine

→ dances ballet as a hobby even though he’s so good at it that he could be a professional

→ makes everything a competition with Nendo so they never get bored

→ once made everyone get up to jog with them and they ended up sleeping on random benches while Hairo and Nendo were halfway across town

→ will punch someone if he sees them catcalling a girl

→ doesn’t drink at all and eats super healthy

→ designated driver for the group’s outings downtown

Aiura Mikoto

→ THEATER MAJOR

→ is so good at stage acting it’s unreal

→ lands the lead role almost every time

→ is also an amazing singer so she gets great roles in musicals as well

→ doesn’t have to get a job bc she gets all her money from doing readings on campus

→ gets coffees and pastries from all the coffee shops around campus and sits Kusuo down so he can taste them

→ they have a little taste-testing date in his apartment until they decide none of them are as good as the ones at Cafe Mami

→ she totally doesn’t make him teleport there every morning and he totally doesn’t listen to her

→ moved in with chiyo bc they wanted a nice place that they couldn’t afford on their own

→ teruhashi told them to move in with her but they already loved their little place

→ aiura’s bedroom is the most comfortable and cozy room ever

→ their apartment is also the hang out spot for the group bc it’s just so homey

→ hangs out with her theatre group a lot, especially after class

→ they can’t compare to her friends though:(

→ everyone goes to her when they’re worried and she loves it bc she’s the mummy of the group

→ she makes everyone coffee and their comfort food before big exams:)

Yumehara Chiyo

→ psychology major one thousand percent

→ you know how they say that people choose psychology bc they don’t know what major they want?

→ that’s exactly what happened except she fell in love with it immediately

→ such a good student!!!

→ always does her assignments on time and still manages to have a social life

→ teruhashi asked her out at the end of their first semester and that’s the first time chiyo missed a deadline

→ practically lives with teruhashi, insisting it’s just to leave aiura alone

→ she’s just IN LOVE OKAY?????

→ would want to be a sorority girl at first

→ changed her mind when she realized how much shit they all talked

→ her and kaidou drink wine and talk about their relationships and studies

→ she’s so sleep deprived it’s unreal

→ she doesn’t need sleep anymore though

→ coffee is her best friend

→ makes asks Aiura for readings twice a week

→ brings all her psychology friends home and they analyze their textbooks

→ once she got the hang of it, she decided to examine Kusuo

→ she told him he needs actual medical evaluation

→ he almost threw her out the window when she offered some Xanax for his nerves

→ chiyo is a neat freak one hundred percent

→ hates when Aiura throws everything on the floor, but she loves cleaning

→ opens her own office after school

Teruhashi Kokomi

→ PRE-MED

→ lesbian doctor :)

→ just wanted to get away from her perv brother at first

→ she always wanted to be a doctor though, preferably a neurosurgeon

→ she’s super duper smart and hates when she gets good grades bc of her good looks:(

→ makes it her goal to show her professors that she’s more than a beautiful girl

→ hasn’t failed a single exam

→ helps everyone with their studies even though she’s drowning in work

→ drops the perfect girl image at college and decides she should try and aim for something normal

→ gets invited to every single party

→ in a knitting club bc it would get disbanded without one more member

→ knits!!!matching!!!sweaters!!!for all of her friends!!!

→ asked Chiyopipi out while drunk

→ never regretted it though

→ her and aren get so drunk when they go out with the group

→ it’s honestly unreal how much they can drink before passing out

→ has to get carried home

→ wakes up after getting drunk and runs to her class before remembering it’s Sunday

→ her penthouse has the perfect view of the sunset and sunrise and is all she could ask for in life

→ does get lonely so she’s practically living with Chiyo and Aiura

→ once she realized she didn’t like boys she made it her goal to get Saiki and Aiura together

→ people wonder how she has so much time to play matchmaker and volunteer while she’s in premed

→ does her internship at a hospital

→ ends up working there as a neurosurgeon after her Doctorate degree

~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~

[horanghoe]

warm milk & honey - SKZ fic

A/N: I just realised I forgot Han ^ I am screaming

Pairing: OT7/reader

Rating: PG friendly (with a friendly warning of poly / multiple person relationship).

Genre: POLY!SKZ / Fluff / Very slight angst & mentions of bad sleep patterns.

Word Count: 3.6k exactly, my doods

Summary: A restless night, ultimately remedied by your sweet baby man angel boys. Or alternatively: Istg if Jisung makes one more weird noise imma end this man’s whole life no cap, Binnie hold me back -

Back to ~ SKZ Masterlist

Back to ~ Main Masterlist

Special Mentions <3

 @domjaehyun​ for being a yoghurt eating legend that takes a year to respond ASKDJF ILY BICH//

@seowoos​ for inspiring this whole damn thing & helping me feel more comfortable w publishing more niche content models. Even if it’s just cheesy enough for the two of us <3 //

@chocolvte​ for being another OG on this list, n just generally being a sweet bean <3 baby girl ur reactions were the second inspiration to get me INTO SKZ in the first place. ily uwu // 

and lastly, surprise @mikoto-ica-fics​ !! You were the last part of the equation that got me to write smin for these boys. I binged practically all your fics in two nights bby, keep making michellin star fics <3

Tonight wasn’t working out quite as you had expected.

To be honest, it was fucking shit.

Well, the night itself was okay. In terms of activities. An evening in with your boyfriend, Chan.

Just you two versus the world. The poor boy was so tired that honestly, it had only consisted of a walk through the park to grab snacks, and returning to the empty dorm to laze around the whole evening. A Netflix date with some *ahem* late night fun to settle you both into a deep, restful state.

It was brilliant, fantastic. Until it wasn’t.

Until you lay painfully awake in his bed and suffocated in the dark silence and space between you. It wasn’t Chan’s fault; the obnoxious whirring of electronics made your head spin, tiny flashing lights and minute feelings of unease at the cupboard door leaning open; all made it virtually impossible to sleep.

It was too cold. Too hot. You were so comfortable, melted into the mattress. But it was swallowing you and your claustrophobia was starting to make you twitch. Moving off of your angelic boy’s limbs, you shimmied to the cooler side of the bed.

He stirred a little, before settling on turning away, onto his side. Phew. At least you hadn’t woken him. It wasn’t like you were trying to be selfish, but fuck. This was insufferable.

Every time you looked at the clock you were sure it slowed down - balls, at this point it could’ve skipped back an hour and you wouldn’t have batted an eye. Mostly because if they weren’t checking the clock, they were staring dead straight up at the ceiling.

Eh. Ugh. Fuck. I can’t sleep.

That’s all your brain could think. Stuck - monotone and on a never-ending loop.

It seemed like everything you had ever thought was swimming around in your brain like some kind of primordial juice. Feelings and emotions swelling and bloating in your belly until they settled.

And then a car passed outside, and everything started to swell up again.

Chan was on his side, turned away and peacefully gaining some shut-eye. He was only lightly sleeping though, that much you could tell. His body gently lifting, then falling with breath. Like you; he often struggled to sleep deeply, usually not lasting very long when he did manage to.

You were so pissed.

How dare he sleep. And look so good doing it. Even just his bareback looked hot as shit - here you were, a messy, greasy big toe wrestling with your stupid ape brain to shut off the useless brain thoughts, next to this slice of heaven - just, ugh existing so perfectly.

“Oh my god, this is torture.” You cursed quietly into the dead space.

Maybe the frustration was all from hormones?

Nah, fuck that. Feminism and all that jazz. That’s just part of the human condition, babycakes. Happens to the best of us, unfortunately.

No, what it was, was the constant whirring coming from the TV screen and Felix’s PlayStation tower and large monitor. The tiny little flashes, whirrs, huffs from the fan and rotating lights. It was driving you abhorrently insane. FUCK.

“Chan? Channie, baby, are you awake?.” You whispered into the air. His breath faltered a little, stirred mostly by your movement to groan, gruff and flip the duvet off your hot, sticky body. Gentle though you tried to be, it was still enough to wake his fuzzy brain.

“Chan, please. I’m sorry babe but that TV is driving me fucking insane.” Your voice was too alert and frustrated for him not to stir. His heart panged a little at the distress laced in your tone.

“Please, Channie. I’m so sorry…”

He rolled on his back to look at you. Slowly, and with much effort. He groaned softly before wiping his eyes and leaving his arms above his head.

“Hey.” He whispered, warmly smiling.

“Don’t be sorry – can you not sleep again, baby girl?” Chan asked softly, watching you sit stiffly upright. His deep voice made your heart flutter, nodding as he groaned. He smiled despite any resentment you may have allowed him to feel. Resting his warm palm against your rib as he muttered a response - you excused his fumbled words for definition - so tired he was barely able to keep his eyes open.

“You can turn it off, yeah?” Chan sighed.

What he meant was ‘You know how and where to turn it off, without messing up the whole system like last time, right?’. You nodded quickly, squeezing his bicep lightly before slipping from the exposed mattress.

Dashing up to scramble behind the low TV unit and find the one wire to end it all. Your infernal pain that was.

He watched you, letting his eyes rest occasionally. Truth was, you looked so beautiful to him when you were concentrating on something. For example, pulling out the HDMI cord triumphantly. And holding in a small squeal (scream), of relief when the high pitched buzzing cut out with a slight electronic fuzz. He chuckled, not missing your little feet pattering in step with a tiny little victory pump.

“Yes. Fuck. The noise, it’s gone!” Chan chuckled softly, keeping his arm outstretched until you landed beside him. Pulling you toward him, under the covers.

“Yeah, you really got that wire Y/N. Showed it who’s the boss, huh?” His tired enthusiasm outweighed his sarcasm, owning a soft kiss to the cheek as you clambered over the bed, only to flop with a weighted sigh straight down onto his shoulder.

He giggled, smiling with a yawn as he tucked his arm against your ribs, tucking you up against his chest in a bearhug.

You fell asleep quickly; soft breaths and just the presence of Chan's being, enough to satiate the gnawing ache in the back of your brain.

And it was peaceful. Restful. Warm, and so pleasant.

Until it wasn’t.

Turns out tonight wasn’t your night. The clock read 1:28 am – and the boys were due to come home from practice any moment now. To be honest they were pretty late.

Chan had originally had the day off, hence the chance for you to be led here in his arms. But you were starting to think it really hadn’t made that much of a difference.

It wasn’t just the high pitched whirring that had aggravated you, but now the uncomfortable heat radiating from Chan's body. The small whoosh of cool air against your neck at any vehicle that passed by. Or just the evening breeze. You groaned softly, dropping your head back to Chan’s chest with a soft thud, lulling back into a light and unrestful sleep.

Ten minutes or so passed. Waking from a fuzzy dream, you were disorientated. The worst dreams always happened in short little bursts. Like little hellish fever dreams.

The clock now read 1:39 am and the time between minutes was becoming unbearable. Too long to bear . You had to move. Speak. Scream. Cry. Kick. Do something.

Peeling off Chan’s arm, and replacing yourself with a large fluffy pillow, you left your lover to rest. You dread to think that it would be able to replace you, but hey, at least it wouldn’t move like one big fat sweaty ferret, right?

Sigh. Sad times.

You abandoned Chan for the disgustingly bright hallway. Seeking new comforts, from whoever would take you. The boys were home; noises of beings floating down the hall, past Chan’s room.

By the time you had gathered the strength to rise off the bed though – blinking away the stars and excited little lines in your vision and raising enough chi to move your soul, and body upwards off of the bed – an inkling of tiredness was starting to itch into your consciousness.

You ached to be held. Loved.

You weren’t sleepy enough to get back into his bed though. Though; you missed Chan’s body as soon as you had tumbled yourself away from it.

---------

Fetching your favourite fluffy square pillow and putting on one of Chan’s big shirts, you padded out and into the hallway. The door closed behind you with a soft putt, pillow tight against your belly.

The tired but comfortingly loud voices of your other lovers were coming from the kitchen.

You wobbled forward, groaning to yourself as your thighs began to ache. Just from being alive, you guessed. Your thighs tingled your skin into little chilly goosebumps, a shiver sparking down your spine.

Maybe the heat of Chan’s bed wasn’t so bad, you began to consider. Before a voice echoed down to where you were slowly walking from.

“Ya – hold up, I’ll grab my jumper then we can watch that stupid shit-film you were on about earlier?” You heard Jisung shout over the kitchen to the boys gathered on the sofa.

The boys muttered some form of agreement and before you could process it, the firm but soft body of Han Jisung had swung right around the corner and straight into your zombie path.

Being conscious, and not half-dead like you, he was able to stop abruptly in front of you and step back a little. The shock of a body blocking his path was quickly masked with warm love as he cooed at the sight of you.

“Y/n-ieeeeee look at youuuu~” He whispered loudly, wrapping his arms around you to squeeze you firm against his body.

His presence eased you, despite the chaotic energy he may have appeared to have. He was just one big squirrel with muscles. The perfectly-right size to pull you against him, your neck flopping so skin met skin, cheek to shoulder in that white sleeveless shirt of his.

You melted into his caring touch, groaning when he gave a squeeze and actually, not hating how firmly he held you. For a moment, he seemed to be just quietly accepting your unspoken words. Night-long grief expressed in the way you clung to him.

Eventually, he asked the inevitable questions, though.

“Baby, why aren’t you asleep? Hmm, pretty? It’s like, 2 am already!” He exclaimed softly, somewhat conscious of Chan’s sleeping presence down the hall. And your zombie-eardrums.

You couldn’t answer, instead, you let him pull you away so he could peer down at your head against his shoulder. The pillow was a soft barrier between you, though he removed it to place it softly on the floor.

“As cute as you look in Chan’s top right now, baby, this hallway is pretty cold. Gosh damn, your legs are shaking so much. How long have you been standing out here princess? Let’s get you warmed up, yeah?” He squeezed you against him once more - rubbing his warm palms against your trembling, shivering thighs.

As he stood back up you groaned again, reluctant to articulate how badly you just wanted to be softly touched. Not aggressively rubbed. Even if you appreciated the notion, it was cutely awkward. Your expression made him laugh softly, tucking hair behind your ear and placing a kiss on your cheek, head, forehead.

“You okay though? Wanna come sit with us?” You nodded quickly, body flopping into his hold as soon as his arms went to lift you. Your head rested on his shoulder, Jisung’s body dipping to lift you and wrap your knees around his hips. He was such a careful, sweet baby boy.

“Ya – come on you big baby, you. Who do you want to be delivered too for the meantime, huh? I gotta go change out of my gym stuff.”

“Hyunjin-ah... please...” You mumbled airily. Despite how unused your voice was, it was sweet as honey. He smiled, responding with a soft “Sure" before turning back to where he had come from. Heart warmed by the opportunity to care for you, even if for just a moment.

And even though he was a bit sticky – and the thought ‘yuck' registered quickly in your half-conscious brain – you didn’t mind the smell. Or the languid way he carried you.

You nuzzled against his neck, groaning once more as his entrance was announced to the room. A loud “Han Jisung's Special Delivery Service!” was projected, I.N. slipping by with a quick ruffle of your hair before moving to turn down the hall, into his room. The boys looked up at the noise and your entrance into the room, immediately softened by the sight.

You, entirely snuggled against a buoyant Jisung, that held you so carefully against his chest. Messy hair tucked under his chin; your eyes were puffy, sore, and barely open as he came into the centre of the soft-lit room.

“Nawww – cuuuutieeee~” Changbin cooed, Lee Know giggling as Seungmin stepped forward to kiss your cheek, sweetly brushing hairs away from your face. The proximity to Jisung didn’t seem to spook his intimacy.

Your eyes fluttered close from the embrace, Seungmin smiling to himself at his ability to soothe you. Even just a little.

“That’s a funny looking jumper, Ji.” Seungmin quipped, before adding a quick “Hi Y/N.” With a small squeeze of your cheek, before heading toward the kitchen.

“Hyunjin-ah you have a special request delivery here, where shall I put her?” Jisung questioned, approaching the sofa nimbly.

Hyunjin smiled, shuffling a little before holding out his arms, patting his lap.

“Right here~” you heard, before feeling gravity weigh at your back. You got off early, aided by Jisung and Hyunjin’s hands on your hips. Quietly you yawned, turning to a barefaced beautiful boy, smiling at you cutely.

Jisung pecked a kiss on your shoulder before passing, leaving to go sort himself out.

Hyunjin smiled up at you with a coo, pulling you down towards him with his long limbs. With you laying, legs tangled above him he wiggled back so you could lay comfortably on his chest.

He kissed your cheek before tucking your forehead against his chin, your eyes slowly bobbing open and shut as his calm vibe washed over you. Changbin shared some of your weight on the somewhat roomy sofa; kissing your hair softly and curling against you to keep you warm.

The television was on a late-night MC show playing. Though it registered to you as white noise. The boy’s voices over you were soothing, even if they edged a little loud occasionally.

At some point, you had started to drift off again. For the most part, Hyunjin was a gentle giant anyways. So despite his resistance to skinship, your body (and some of the boys), was never left out in terms of body-pillow-comforts.

Meaning, he treated your limbs like a very bony pillow he could encapsulate entirely.

You weren’t sure where the others were. Or what part of the sofa you were even on. You figured the end since the guys had their feet up. But you didn’t mind. It was safe. Here, in their arms. Against their bodies.

Even the bright overhead lights of the kitchen and hallway weren’t enough to stop you lulling into sleep.

At a later point, you awoke again with a startle – Jisung shushing your tired whines with a kiss as he jumped onto the sofa to your left, a little too enthusiastically. Hyunjin moaned like a brat, ultimately having a play fight underneath you until you mustered up a death stare to end all squabbles, ever. Period. Jisung settled, intertwining your fingers on Hyunjin’s belly until your breath softened. Falling into a weak slumber once more.

Once again; your sleep was great. Perfect. Until it wasn’t.

An abrupt jostle of Hyunjin jolting to stop spilling the food he held above your head, was met with an unattractive grunt of pure disgust on your part. Eyes squinted, head wrinkled and body tense, you were once again awake.

“Sorry baby! I didn’t mean to wake you!” Hyunjin whined, too loudly next to your throbbing head. Changbin noticed your tense limbs and pulled you backwards against his chest. This merely caused another squabble to ensue between them - who held the right to hold you, like a fluffy comfort blank.

Suddenly everything was bothering you again.

Their constant jostling and boyish movements were just too much. You pulled up from Changbin. Avoiding the tugging, whining, needy arms and hands from Hyunjin to stand weakly once more.

Frustrated. Tired. And all coupled with a reasonably ugly scowl weeping over your face.

They were so engrossed in their silly little arguments, little kicks, punches and teasing laughter, that they barely even noticed your sluggish movements to get up.

Until you were on your feet. Your body heat sapped from them in a bitter attempt at being sour. Hyunjins hands immediately flew out to steady you. Changbin pouting but ultimately letting you retreat once more.

“Y/Nieeee~ Come baaack, I didn’t mean it. Come lay back down, baby~” Hyunjin whined warily, the other two boys still giggling amongst themselves. You swatted against the tiredness on your face, grumbling before stumbling backwards.

You made it a few steps before you folded over on impact at hitting the kitchen table. The table thudded on impact and the boys winced, watching your face scrunch up in pain immediately.

A new pair of hands caught you this time, stuttering before lean arms caught you.

“Woah! Careful there pretty girl, nearly took the whole bloody table out. You okay?”

Felix's. Soft, caring and most importantly soft voice and calm motions of support waved over you in a way that gave you immediate comfort. You rested your head against his chest as he tugged you up, body slumping into him with an inaudible impact. He giggled, despite your weighted movements, speaking lowly with that deep, tired voice of his.

“Y/N, you silly sausage, are you alright?” He prompted quietly, leaning his head down to capture your whines and huffs of pain.

“Owww, my butt… That hurt~” You groaned, not minding his giggles but sending a puffy glare to the others snickering away on the sofa.

The table (or your idiot bulldozer body), had set a deep ache right into the cheek of your butt. Your hand kneaded it gently before Felix’s hand quickly replaced yours, rubbing and squeezing softly until your face scrunched, the pain subsiding.

“Ouch.” You whispered, peering up at him with a pout. He kissed your nose cutely with a little eruption of giggles, helping you crack a pouty smile.

“Come on, cutie.” He mumbled before grabbing your hand to guide you slowly into the kitchen. “I could kiss it better?” He prompted, ultimately softening at your lack of response. You were so morgue-ish you hadn’t even registered his words. Letting him tug you blindly as your eyes struggled to stay open.

You could barely register his hands, pressing at your waist. Weakly managing to hold on as he lifted you on top of the counter. Squinting, you could see the clock read 2:23 (am) on the cooker. Ugh. What a night.

You’d feel shit in the morning. But that was nearly impossible to think about with the way Felix was holding you right now. Like a baby. Or a puppy. A little ball of fluff.

He kept some form of contact as he moved around you – a hand to the knee or his hip between your legs. Or even lips against your hairline, using the counter space around you to do something. What he was doing, you were tired to even care.

“You know what used to help me Y/N? When I couldn’t sleep at night?” He prompted gently. You shook your head, pulling back with a weak sway

“Warm milk and honey!” He exclaimed quietly. Too cute for his own good. You smiled, and he pulled you against his chest to kiss your cheek and giggle delicately.

“You want some? Then we could try to sleep? You look like you need some shut-eye, baby. Don’t wanna miss out on that beauty sleep! If you want - we can always sleep in – just call in sick? Your boss is honestly so nice, I'm sure she won’t mind. You say you’re always working through lunch breaks anyway?”

Despite his rambling, you just nodded. Tired eyes once again resting as the hum of the radiator, the vibration of his chest eased your brain. Your head tucked so right underneath his chin. His palms folded behind your lower back.

At some point, Changbin had appeared. Sweeping a thumb over your forehead before kissing you sweetly, cheek resting on Felix’s shoulder.

“I love you, princess. Sorry for waking you.” He had whispered against your lips. “Mmm-I-love-you-too-Binnie~” You managed in one tumbling sentence. In fairness, the touch would've probably led you both somewhere (the bedroom), if you weren’t in such a zombie-like state.

“Sure thing, pretty.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to your puffy cheeks before retreating. He let you both be, cold marble beneath your thighs now warmed by your constant body heat. You passed out pretty quickly against Felix’s chest. Cocooned, safe.

What you did miss in your deep, deep sleep was the way they carried you.

Felix physically, to their shared room. Changbin carrying your drinks and fetching your favourite pillow from the hall.

And what you heavenly missed in the night; they made up to you in the morning.

And the next night. And the night after that.

Because even though you occasionally suffered restless nights, you knew one of them would always be there to catch you.

And you’d do the same for them.

P.S. Fuck Chan’s wiring system. Extension cables were the bane of your nightly living. *holds up fingers in a cross and hisses*

well would you look at that: updated 03/OCTOBER/2021

[nissakii]

Scent. a Haikyu!! Fanfiction pt.13

[want to read all chapters right now? Our fanfictions get updated every monday on our blog, click here to continue reading!]

With a stumble to her step, Asami bolted out of her bed and scrambled for her glasses.

Cursing under her breath as she nearly stepped on them, she quickly stepped into some sweats that were lying on the floor.

Her heart was beating fast, her mind still too numb to process all of this, but she could feel the urgency through the texts that Mikoto sent her.

Something is happening.

Is she in heat again?

Is someone else in rut?

Is it Bokuto?

Her hair was an absolute mess, resembling more sheeps wool than anything was swept out of her face with a quick motion.

Nt caring how she would look like to the people around her, only focused on the fear that grew steadily in her mind she crashed through the door of her dormitory and dashed forwards.

It’s probably not that bad!

No caps, no emojis, and an emergency.

No.

No this is definitely bad.

Breathing heavily, she bolted into the door with the correct label.

“Mikoto?!”

No response, but a giggle underneath the bed sheets.

Huh?

Walking in, Asami kept her guard up as she went closer to the bundle on the bed.

“Mikoto? Are you okay? It’s like 9 am on a saturday?”

“BOO!”, the omega suddenly screamed and emerged from her fortress of blankets and the beta quite literally almost peed her pants.

“OH MY GOD! Wait, Bokuto?”

The alpha shot up from the end of the bed with tousled hair and a pout on his face.

“Is this the emergency? I thought something happened!”, she yelled in frustration, her heart rate calming a little.

“Oh something happened! And it is veeery important!”, Mikoto nodded with a smile.

Bokuto, still pouting, pressed his eyes together to emulate his sadness, “Akaashi is mad at me”.

“And?”, the beta asked.

“And! We need your help”.

The beta sighed, crestfallen at the precious hours of sleep that were now wasted.

“You guys do know that I’ve been awake until like”, she paused and stared at the wall for a couple of seconds, “uh- four in the morning?”

Rubbing her eyes she set her eyes on the desk chair, took a couple of steps until she reached it and sat down with a sigh.

“Oh, come on Asami please! We really need you!”, Bokuto whined and got up from under the bed where he was hiding.

“Just to be clear, If you would’ve done your essay beforehand you wouldn’t have to stay up so late”, Mikoto scolded the beta, to which Asami just groaned and buried her face in her arms.

“So what do you guys want?” She mumbled almost asleep on the chair but snapped her head up at another whine from Bokuto.

“Ok so here’s the situation!”, Mikoto got up from the bed and pushed her chin up with her hand, “the mission is called: Akaashi is mad”.

The beta visibly shook for a moment, her eyes almost popping out of her sockets.

Akaashi was a reserved and maybe occasionally snarky person. For the average eye the traits he first exhibits are a hard working nature, an interest in art and his position in the beta committee. Some people who know him from his classes mind find out that his retorts are pretty deadly, and that he really likes rice balls.

But there was one thing that was rarely seen with Akaashi.

Anger.

Not saying that the beta is always happy-go-lucky and never gets angry, quite the contrary. Thanks to the chaotic duo that was Bokuto and Mikoto, the committee meetings and reigning Kenma in, Alpha’s snarking at him left and right and not to forget he was an actual student at this university, aggravation was not a new feeling for the man.

Still, Akaashi is someone who internalises his anger. Never someone who acts out on it. Maybe it was his personality or just from his beta nature but even then he distracted himself with work or tried to push past it all.

It’s the serenity of Akaashi’s anger that is so terrifying, and Asami gulped when she thought of the times she got on his nerves.

“Is he mad? Or like, mad, mad?”

“I don’t knoooww”, Bokuto slurred, but quickly held himself up again, “He was fine yesterday when he was studying, but when I went to his dorm today we was all gloomy in his room”, the alpha gestured weirdly.

“Gloomy?”, Asami asked.

“Yeah! And then he was like”, and Bokuto’s shoulders slouched down to emulate Akaashi hanging over his desk, “Bokuto, not now. Go away.”

Mikoto made an “oof” sound and pretended to be shot in the heart, her torso flopping over dramatically.

“So, I conclude that you woke me up to talk to Akaashi?”, Asami looked in disbelief and shook her head, “I am the last person that should get there. I get on his nerves just as much. Mikoto, you should go!”

To that the omega pursed her lips as if she were disappointed and fished out her phone to show her friend a message.

She had been spamming him but only to be left on delivered...

Stifling a laugh and getting a glare from Mikoto, Asami thought about what she could o to subdue the beta.

“I mean he probably is just busy and you guys caught him at a bad time”, she mused, “maybe he just wants to be left alone”.

“If he’s cooped up in his room though I’m scared he might overwork himself again”, Mikoto brought up a valid point.

“I hope he’s eating and drinking well, he tends to forget to do anything else”, Asami stood up again and ushered the other two to get their stuff, “Come on guys. We’re going to get him something to munch, maybe onigiri will help”.

After a couple of moments, the trio was a bit better dressed and on their way to the stores outside. Bokuto and Mikoto sandwiched Asami between them who tended to cling to Mikoto with her arm grazing her friends occasionally.

Half an hour and too many jokes later, they all made their way back to Akaashi’s dorm room.

Tired eyes focusing on the bag of rice balls and a Starbucks refresher in her hands, Asami felt a deep sense of sudden peace. In another part of her life, waking her up early to get something would’ve disrupted her whole day, but right now she was almost kind of glad she got dragged out by these raging extraverts.

As they arrived at Akaashi’s door which was locked from the inside, which Bokuto checked beforehand as he was excited, they set down the bag in front of the door and Mikoto knocked softly.

“Akaaashi~”

“Wait, now he’s not gonna open the door like that!”, Asami grimaced and knocked again, “Akaashi, we brought you a snack!”.

“Yeah! Gotta eat properly if ya wanna use those brain muscles!”, Bokuto roared and Mikoto snickered.

“Brain muscles?”, Asami grinned and Bokuto nodded fiercely.

There was still no reply from inside, but some shuffling to be heard.

Paper or something probably.

“Eat something Akaashi! Also, don’t leave me on delivered!”, Mikoto shot at the door and looked at it for a lingering moment.

“I think that went well”.

Previous Next

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Make It Up To Me

Kakashi Hatake/Anko Mitarashi

1036 Words

Kiss: Text Kiss

Training. One of the most boring ways Kakashi can think of to pass his time. Especially when he was the one stuck on the sidelines watching his teammates train without him, because he was still too chakra exhausted from their last mission to risk further strain on his body.

And even if he tried to, Tenzo would end him on sight. 

No, training wasn’t happening for him. Instead, Kakashi was stuck watching as Itachi and Tenzo went back and forth with attacks, relaxing in the tree he had chosen for himself and wondering why Tenzo had felt the need to drag him all the way out here just to watch. 

Was this a new form of torture that Tenzo had come up with to punish him? Maybe he thought that if Kakashi had to watch them from the sidelines he would rethink overexerting himself on the next mission to protect his teammates from the enemy.

He was wrong of course. Kakashi would gladly end up in the hospital getting yelled at all over again if it meant keeping his teammates alive. He had buried enough friends in his lifetime already.

The sound of his cell phone’s text notification pulled his attention from the sparring match down below. “Who could that be?” He wondered, digging his phone out of his back pocket and opening it to see what message was waiting for him.

Text: Gai says you’re back in the village? Why didn’t you come for a visit last night? :( 

Anko of course. Apparently Gai had left out the fact that Kakashi had been forced to stay in hospital overnight so that they could make sure he got some rest. In fact the only reason he wasn’t still there was because Tenzo had convinced the doctor to let him steal Kakashi for a bit with assurances that Kakashi would not be training and that he would return after.

He was still working out a way to convince Tenzo not to drag him back to the hospital. 

Opening up his keyboard, he started to type in a short response.

Text: Was stuck at hospital. You know I would never skip out on a night with you ;).

It might not be a complete truth, since Kakashi was known to go home and pass out after long missions or just forget to go to Anko’s when he was a little too tired. Still, it was the thought that counted. If he had the energy and he didn’t think she was already in bed, he would gladly join her at her apartment. It was much more fun to sleep with Anko curled up in his arms rather than alone in his own shitty bed. 

Text: Do you plan on making it up to me tonight?

Just the escape he needed. Tenzo couldn’t say no to Anko, she’d poison him. 

Texts: Will have to convince Tenzo not to take me back to the hospital. Think you could help out?

There’s a pause in messages, giving Kakashi a chance to look back over at Itachi and Tenzo just as Itachi managed to land a solid punch against Tenzo’s jaw. He was definitely going to be feeling that one for the next few hours.

When his phone dings again, he looks down to find a short response.

Texts: On it.

He’s not sure exactly what Anko’s plan is, but there is no possible way this is going to end well. Either he’s going to be in the hospital getting yelled at by Tenzo for involving his girlfriend, or Tenzo’s going to end up in a hospital bed plotting his revenge.

Either way, he was in trouble.

He’s just about to put his phone away when it dings once more, and this time when he looks at the screen he can feel his face turning a bright red. Right there, smack in the middle of his text conversation, is a picture of Anko with one of her favorite snakes wrapped around her neck, a stick of dango in hand and her hand down in an ‘air kiss’ motion.

And that was it. There were no clothes to be seen anywhere. Just Anko in all of her natural glory on display for him.

“Taicho?” His hand scrambles to slam the phone face down into his knee. The last thing he needed was Itachi seeing THAT picture. Mikoto would murder him if her 13 year old saw such a thing.

And that was if Tenzo didn’t do it for her first.

“You’re looking a little red, Senpai,” Tenzo showed up to Itachi’s left, leaving Kakashi sitting there in front of both of his team mates trying desperately not to let them see the picture on his phone as the object dings once more. “Is everything ok? Who are you texting?”

“It’s fine!” He screamed maybe just a little too loud, already contemplating how he was going to get back at Anko for this. “Get back to training. You need to work on guarding yourself more and Itachi stop pulling your punches. Tenzo can take a hit.”

Even with his commentary on their spar, the pair don’t seem to fully believe him. For a second they look like they might even try to push further, but as soon as they take one look at each other they seem to decide to leave things be and head back down to the training field to continue their spar. 

With that disaster averted, Kakashi turns his phone over to see what else Anko has sent him, and somehow he’s not at all surprised by the text message he see’s waiting for him.

Text: This is what you’re missing out on if Tenzo doesn’t listen to reason. I hope you have your puppy dog eyes ready if he says no to me.

There was nothing in this world that could make him miss his shot at a night with Anko after seeing that picture. He’d make Tenzo’s life a living hell if he tried to force him back to the hospital when he could be curled up in those arms, getting real proper kisses from that beautiful mouth. 

The puppy dog eyes would only be the beginning, and Tenzo rarely survived those.

[ridiasfangirlings]

1) Sarumi is dating and prepare for the wedding, but it turns out to be very stressful and Fushimi is tired of the daily influx of friends of the couple in connection with the preparation, quarrels with Yata. He runs away and thinks that he wants to be alone for a couple of days, returns home in the morning and goes to sleep next to Yata. When he wakes up later in the morning, he realizes that not only Yata has disappeared from the apartment, but also all his belongings,

Poor Fushimi, even after he gets together with Yata the worst day of his life is still that he was ever born in the first place ;^; So say post-ROK the two of them have gotten engaged and on the one hand Fushimi's feeling almost happy, that he's finally patched things up with Yata and he has someone who loves him and won't ever leave him and it feels like maybe his life is finally going to stop sucking. But then at the same time as the wedding gets closer maybe Fushimi's old insecurities start flaring up really bad, like even after all this time he's still been struggling and he's tried his best to beat back those feelings like this could be broken at any time. Plus all the extra stress and preparation for the wedding is working on his nerves too, Fushimi's probably not sleeping as well as he should be and Yata's attention keeps being taken away by visiting friends and wedding planning needs so he's not even noticing that Fushimi's mood has been getting worse and worse.

Finally say Fushimi misses some important wedding-related event, like they were going to tour the place where the reception's supposed to be held and take some pictures. Fushimi's been burying himself in work to avoid having to think about wedding stress and ends up forgetting about the whole thing, Yata's at first really worried because he knows Fushimi never forgets things and he gets all worked up thinking Fushimi might have like gone out on a mission and gotten injured. When he gets home though Fushimi's there looking fine, working on his laptop. Yata's exasperated like do you know how worried I was and Fushimi just looks at him blankly. Yata reminds him that they were supposed to look at the wedding venue today and since he didn't show up or answer his texts Yata ended up calling a couple of the Homra guys over to help him check the place out instead. This makes Fushimi suddenly annoyed, like even though he knows he's in the wrong here it irritates him that Homra seemingly took his place and he gets all sharp with Yata, who in turn gets angry that Fushimi's turning this on him when Yata didn't do anything wrong.

Fushimi ends up saying a couple hurtful things about Mikoto and the moment he sees the flash of pain on Yata's face he knows he's gone too far. Fushimi stands abruptly and says he needs some time alone, Yata calls after him but Fushimi just gives this mumbled 'sorry' and wanders off into the night. He's just having all this self loathing, feeling like he doesn't deserve Misaki when all he does is say things to hurt him. Fushimi wonders why Yata even keeps forgiving him and he's just like in a whole downward spiral. At some point maybe he runs into a guy being harassed by some street thugs and Fushimi beats them up just because a little violence will definitely make him feel better. The guy he saved offers to give him a wish in return, Fushimi snorts and is like 'I wish I'd never been born' as he walks off. Behind him the guy's just like 'well, if you say so...but I don't think that's the kind of wish you want to make.'

Fushimi wanders around in the night for a while longer before finally getting up the courage to go home, noticing that his phone is full of missed calls from Yata. When he gets back to the apartment Yata's asleep on the couch still holding his phone and Fushimi feels that guilt again, how Yata keeps believing in him when he doesn't deserve it. Fushimi manages to carry Yata to bed and curls up beside him, thinking again how he ruins everything in the end doesn't he.

The next morning he wakes up and Yata's not there in the bed, Fushimi's immediate thought is like worrying that Misaki's left him before he reminds himself that Yata probably just left early for work or something. But as he walks around the apartment he can't find any of Yata's stuff, it's like Yata never even lived there. Fushimi realizes suddenly that the ring on his finger is gone and that really messes him up, wondering if Yata's so mad at him that he just decided to leave Fushimi behind. Fushimi pulls out his PDA to call Yata but the number isn't in his phone – in fact, there aren't any numbers in his phone at all and now he's worried for a different reason because even with all his insecurities Fushimi knows that Misaki isn't good enough with technology to wipe all the numbers in Fushimi's phone.

He decides to stop by Homra before going to work, but then while looking for his clothes Fushimi finds his Scepter 4 uniform is missing, along with his sword and even his knives. This puts him on edge even more (imagine him grabbing some knives from the kitchen and securing them randomly with belts under a normal coat because going out without a single hidden weapon feels wrong okay). When he walks into Bar Homra Kusanagi greets him formally, as if he's a customer. Yata isn't there and Fushimi asks Kusanagi if he's seen Misaki. Kusanagi's surprised that Fushimi knows Yata's first name and asks if they're old friends, Fushimi's like you know who I am. Kusanagi says he's never seen Fushimi before, Fushimi tries to like jog his memory and maybe pulls his collar aside hoping to show the remains of the Homra mark but there's nothing on his chest, no mark or burn. Fushimi quickly says he has to go, practically running out of the bar. He goes to Scepter 4 next and can't even get past the gate, turned away by Hidaka who keeps apologizing but says he doesn't recognize Fushimi and the Captain and Lieutenant are busy but if Fushimi's in trouble Hidaka can see if third in command Akiyama is free.

Fushimi's pretty much figured out now that no one knows him and maybe that's when the Strain shows up, like I told you this wasn't a good wish. Fushimi's ready to stab the guy with a kitchen knife and the Strain's like hey it was your wish, you wanted to never be born so that's how it is. Fushimi actually even wonders if maybe things are better this way, like maybe everyone's happier without him. The Strain wonders if that's true and tells Fushimi that he has three days to undo the wish. The only way to do that would be to find true love's kiss, Fushimi gives this cold laugh like what true love. The Strain says are you sure there isn't one, taking Fushimi's hand and placing something in it before walking away. Fushimi opens his hand and there's his engagement ring, the one Yata gave him when he proposed. Fushimi remembers Yata telling him all the time, 'believe in me,' 'I won't ever leave you,' 'we're partners, right' and he clenches his fist, deciding that this time he's going to try and trust in Misaki.

So now Fushimi has to like seduce Yata in the span of three days and imagine him just completely unsure how to do that. Oh maybe he ends up getting some help though, like this world's Anna kinda knows what's going on due to her powers and even though she doesn't really 'know' Saruhiko she feels like she does, and she wants to help him get together with Misaki. Also imagine in this world maybe there is in fact a marked difference in the way Yata acts, because he was an outcast in middle school and then joined Homra on his own in high school after getting in a lot of fights and after Mikoto and Totsuka died he got a lot more jaded and lonely. Even so Fushimi can tell that this is still Misaki and he wants to do anything he can to make this right, realizing that the thing that makes him want to keep being in the world the most is knowing that Misaki's there too.

[bouncyirwin]

“This wasn’t meant to be a date, but we’ve had such a good time and now it’s 2 a.m. and I should really go home…” for my ItaSaku pining heart because I’m tired of being tired and want to wrap myself in something warm and fluffy and maybe a bit smutty. Thank you in advance❤️ stay safe!

Hey love, I’m sorry you’ve been feeling so down! I’m not taking drabbles anymore but I made an exception for you, I hope you feel better soon ❤️

You can find this one-shot on AO3!

Word Count: 2,150 words Rating: T 

Night Owl 

The Uchiha compound was quiet at night.

Sakura wasn’t sure why she found that surprising or what she had expected in the first place. But at two in the morning, it was quiet. Dark, and peaceful, and not at all like the bustling sector it was in the daylight.

She had assumed, in an unconscious way not entirely rooted in rationality, that the Uchiha were alert and aware at all times. She had no doubt, of course, that if she were to run down to a police post she would find officers on night shift.

But from her perch on the rooftop of the clan head's home—sitting with his son no less—she could see nothing but the magical stretch of the starry nights.

Not a sound, not a light, not a soul.

She and Itachi, and the warm spot between them fanned by their body heat.

Itachi had never looked so peaceful.

She knew Itachi perhaps better than his own parents did. Sakura knew that torment haunted him every waking hour of his day. She also knew that he craved peace in his marrow.

Now she wondered why she hadn’t considered him to be a night owl before. He certainly appeared to be, drinking tea on his rooftop without a shred of worry for the approaching day or the receding night.

And why should he? In this silence, in this protective cloak of suspended night, it was hard to worry about the passage of time or a tomorrow that felt forever away.

It wasn’t meant to be a date, regardless.

Sakura had only swung by the Uchiha compound to heal the broken leg of a high profile elderly in the clan. On her way out, she was accosted by a young woman. The woman had heard from her aunt that Sakura would be here, and was ordered to call her. It turned out the woman's sister had gone into labour more than fifteen hours ago and they wanted Sakura's help.

One might be surprised by this staggering show of trust from a clan such as that of the Uchiha. Except everyone knew that Itachi Uchiha, future head of their clan, was courting Sakura Haruno.

As far as those women were concerned Sakura was already one of them. Better yet, the future matriarch of the Uchiha.

It was almost midnight by the time Sakura passed the little boy, healthy and wailing like no tomorrow, to his exhausted mother to cradle.

She hadn’t expected to find Itachi waiting at the doorstep by the time she was escorted out. But then again she hadn’t been surprised. He said he wanted to walk her home—not at all unusual, Itachi in all the time that she had known him never failed to be a gentleman.

Sakura glanced around the quieting street, and back at her boyfriend whom she hadn’t seen in a week, and found that she didn’t want to leave yet.

And so they ended up here. Itachi’s family had already retired to bed, and Sakura was glad for it. She didn’t wish to explain to the foreboding Fugaku Uchiha what she was doing with his son after midnight. In their own house no less.

Not that they were doing anything yet. Unless Fugaku took a strange offence to the way Itachi’s pinky danced along the side of her hand resting on the cushion between them.

Sakura didn’t want to think of Fugaku anyway. He might approve of her relationship with his son, support it even, but Sakura couldn’t deny the resentment that filled her every time she remembered the way he treated Itachi in his youth.

She sighed softly.

Itachi looked at her. “I hope I’m not keeping you.”

That made the ghost of a smile tickle the corners of her mouth. “Of course not,” she reassured, and then added, “and didn’t I blatantly invite myself here?”

“You know you’re welcome here any time of the day,” Itachi said, his hand covering hers, calloused and protective.

It was so innocuous and yet it made her heart flutter. “Not sure the elders would approve of seeing us like this,” Sakura joked lightly, leaning against Itachi’s side.

In response, he leaned against her, resting his cheek atop her hair. “When did the elders approve of anything anyway?” He muttered over a huff, half-breathy, half-laughing.

“Good point,” Sakura agreed, “knowing them they would accuse me of enticing you.”

“Maybe. Or they could accuse me of tainting your honour,” Itachi mused, “In which case they might suggest immediate betrothal.”

Sakura looked up at him curiously, “You sound awfully calm for someone who could be solicited into marrying me at a moment’s notice.”

Itachi blinked down at her, like she was being deliberately obtuse. “It would be an honour to be married to you.”

Sakura stared at him, uncomprehending. “How can you say that with a straight face?”

That earned her a smile. “Because it’s true. What did you think my intentions were anyway when we entered this relationship?”

Sakura had wondered that many times before. At first, she supposed Itachi wanted to appease his parents by picking a respectable woman. They happened to be close friends already, so that made her an obvious choice.

And then she thought Itachi was probably looking for a good match if he had to spend the rest of his life with someone. And they were a good match, no doubt there. “I don’t know, it did occur to me that the final goal could be marriage though.”

“I understood from previous discussions that you were fine with that. Are you having any second thoughts?” He wondered in that same matter-of-fact tone he used to discuss the weather. The lightness of it, however, betrayed his true emotions. It mattered to him a great deal what Sakura's answer would be.

Sakura immediately shook her head. “Not at all. Of course not. I did worry about Sasuke at first, but... I think you’re the one for me so ...”

Itachi leaned down to press their lips together sweetly, “As do I, my love.”

As always, Sakura blushed at his affection. She couldn’t ever seem to help it.

His arm wiggled out from between them and drew her closer to his chest.

Sakura relaxed into his embrace. He always smelled like sweets and spices and incense. A product of visiting shrines and eating dango and spending time cooking with his mother, she supposed.

Itachi matted her hair back, tucking wayward strands behind her ear. “Would you come over tomorrow for lunch?“

“I have surgery at noon so I might be a little late,” Sakura said, dejected at the prospect. Itachi and Mikoto made the best food.

“Dinner then?” Itachi wondered, ever unrelenting.

“I think I can do dinner,” Sakura said, mentally reviewing her schedule. “Is eight fine?”

“Perfect,” Itachi squeezed her against him. “We can have Anmitsu for dessert.”

A secret smile graced her lips at the mention of her favourite dessert. Her arms wrapped around Itachi’s middle in appreciation. “You always have wonderful ideas.”

He snagged a strand of pink hair and twisted it around his index. “Not sure about always ... I was thinking the other day we should pack up and run away for a couple of weeks.”

Sakura giggled. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that. I could definitely use a break.”

“Hmm, you work so hard.” His lips pressed against her hair. “... don’t you have an early shift tomorrow?”

“Seven a.m.,” Sakura confirmed with a soft sigh, basking some more in his closeness.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home,” he told her. “You need to sleep.”

Sakura groaned, but he was right as always. So she let him pull her up to her feet and together they jumped across rooftops, steps silent.

Once beyond the Uchiha compound, they walked leisurely, Itachi’s fingers slipping between hers. He was always more affectionate in the absence of prying eyes. It made Sakura wish they could take late night walks forever if it meant having this intimacy.

She watched the shifting shadows of alleyways and cats on a late-night prowl. Some houses had their dim lights on—perhaps night owls themselves?

They arrived at her doorstep too soon, and she instantly missed the feeling of Itachi’s palm against hers when his hand slipped away.

As she unsealed the door and fumbled with the key, she asked him hesitantly, “... want to come in?”

When she looked at him again his eyes were unreadable.

“You can stay if you want,” she tacked on hastily.

The corners of Itachi’s mouth twitched up faintly and he reached to caress her cheek. “I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not imposing,” she said, voice thick, and cupped his hand against her cheek. “Plenty of room for you next to me.”

His smile warmed, “Promise me you’ll sleep?”

“I promise,” she enunciated for effect, dragging his hand off her cheek and using it to tug him into her apartment

Itachi followed willingly, kicking his shoes off at the door and treading together through the dark living room. He paused at her bedroom door, “I’ll make tea while you change?”

“Sure,” she said kindly, and let him go.

Her pyjamas were still on the bed where she discarded them that morning, and after rooting through her closet she found one of Naruto’s old sweatpants for Itachi to borrow.

He returned minutes later with a steaming mug, which he handed to her. Sakura passed the sweatpants to him, “Naruto left those once upon a time. They should fit you.”

“Naruto?” he sounded puzzled, “since when did Naruto stay nights?”

“Since your brother gave us a scare by leaving the village and poor Naruto started having nightmares that I would leave too.” Sakura took her tea mug and settled under the sheets of her bed, sipping it tentatively.

She tried not to make it obvious that she was watching Itachi out of the corner of her eye. He was a vision of lean sinewy muscles as he chucked off his shirt and exchanged his pants for the ones Sakura gave him.

He stretched his legs. “A bit short, but they’ll do," he remarked casually.

Sakura patted the space next to her. “Come on then, I demand kisses and cuddles.”

Itachi chuckled, sounding even more carefree here than he had been on that roof. He happily crawled onto the space next to her, lithe muscles and deadly grace, and extracted the mug from her grasp. He placed it on the nightstand before drawing her into his arms. “Sleep,” he told her softly.

“And where are my kisses?” She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Ah, my bad,” Itachi chuckled again, lips fluttering over her forehead in answer. They pressed again over the corner of her eyelid, before finally meeting her own.

Sakura hummed, content with the gentle lips that kissed slowly and unhurriedly. The pad of his thumb stroked along her jawline, and when she parted her lips he met her tongue with his.

It took her a moment to realise the growing fogginess of her thoughts was in fact desire, not lethargy. When Itachi made to pull away, she found herself sinking her fingers in his hair and holding him in place.

He made a noise in his throat, a little like he was surprised, but he sunk back into her kiss without complaint. The same hand that was tracing along her jaw landed on her hip and pressed them closer together.

“What happened to sleep?” Itachi rasped against her mouth. The tenor of his voice was so wonderfully throaty it made her shiver.

Sakura’s hand dragged appreciatively down his bared torso, feeling along the wicked ridges of his muscles. “We’ll sleep plenty when we die.”

“Tsk,” Itachi responded, but he had already moved along to lavishing her throat with kisses. “I only promised cuddles and kisses.”

Sakura arched against the hot sensation of his lips descending her body, her eyes closing. “K-kisses sound great,” she strangled out when he sucked her nipple through her shirt.

The hand on her hip dragged up and down her thigh, tugging her closer and slipping his thigh between her legs. “My, I’d swear you brought me back here for some nefarious intentions,” Itachi worked his way up her throat again, and back to her mouth.

His tongue dipped between her lips once more to caress her own and she ground her hips against him.

With each wicked glide of his tongue, sleep lost some more of its importance. And with every roll of her hips against his thigh, it drifted further and further off her mind.

Her last coherent thought was what she could possibly say to Shizune tomorrow when she showed up looking like a zombie.

After all, she couldn’t exactly tell her she had Itachi Uchiha in her bed keeping her up all night, could she?

[kazdoesntknow]

sorry for the stickers and lines in the latter image of leo, it’s the original one from before i got my sketchbook.

i ended up changing leo’s face. his right eye is burned, as well as his shoulder, and he’s blind in his right eye.

he wears goggles now- lightly based off of steampunk goggles. they read thermals, as well as zoom in and out. he’s also the only turtle who still has their mystic weapon- april still has hers.

leo’s really been through things. at his current age of twenty-one, he’s the leader of the team. though at sixteen, when he and his brothers went to fight draxum and most of the foot clan, he realized they were being overrun and he surrendered as a distraction so his brothers would be able to escape. he ended up being tortured over the next two years, as well as experimented on, but he eventually escaped and returned home, where he’s now planning on how to take his world back from the yokai, establish equality, and throw big mama and draxum away for their crimes, seeing as those two released shredder and made sure everyone else was shoved underground as the yokai had been.

he’s quieter now, and less quick to joke, and matured a lot faster than he should have. but somewhere in that heart of his, he’s still the same leon. he’s just struggling with how to express it.

he has a lot of mental disorders due to everything that has happened.

again, sorry for the stickers and stuff. that’ll go for just about everyone else,,,,

so this is raph. probably not the best drawn, i’ll redraw him soon, i promise that much. but anyway, as you can see, he’s got a few scars, and where leo has teal eyes, raph has green. ( aka i wanted to give them eye colors, and here they are. ) he’s twenty two, and during leo’s two years away, he’d begun to think leo was dead. but he blames himself fully for leo’s disappearance, and regrets not being the one to think of surrendering first. he doesn’t have his mystic weapon, though he does use his sais. once leo returned, he passed leadership onto him, because leo was the one who showed leadership and protected them all.

raph’s still his cuddly self, though his fear of being alone has gotten stronger, and he usually sleeps in mikey’s room to avoid waking up with panic attacks. he also has a strong fear of abandonment, and is terrified his brothers will leave or get kidnapped again.

also heavily blames himself for splinter’s death, even though he wasn’t fighting shredder with miko and casey.

stickers, yada yada. you get the gist.

anyway! this is the baby, mikey. i liked the addition of a bandana, so i threw it on him. he’s the youngest at age 20. upon leo disappearing, he chose to neglect the new way of life and pretend that nothing’s changed. upon leo’s return, though, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. he couldn’t seem to comfort leo. but mikey tried his best anyway.

during leo’s time in captivity, mikey was constantly with raph, bonding more heavily with his elder brother, due to donnie being more in his lab to deal with his own problems. mikey still loves to paint, and he simply wishes he could see sunlight again. he often plays video games with raph and does quite a bit of art- the lair is covered in his art, whether it be on canvases or walls. he chats about everything he wants to do.

he probably took draxum’s betrayal the hardest, seeing as he was the one the most supportive of draxum’s redemption. he wanted his two dads, and now, sadly, he has none.

and this is donatello, the last, but definitely not the least, of the turtles.

he fully blames himself for the abduction of his twin. fighting draxum was also very difficult for him, because his battle shell was torn apart ( again ) and he was carried home due to the wounds on his face and on his shell. he ends up cutting off his right arm for what he claims to be self improvement, though there is an underlying truth no one’s managed to dig out yet. he woud have cut off his other upon leo’s return, but leo had stopped him from doing that.

still a tech guy, he tends to isolate himself in his lab, save for whenever miko decides she wants to waltz in there like she owns the place. he doesn’t find her much of a bother because she’s usually pretty quiet. he’s still sarcastic and sassy, but he is very angry and defensive, and forgets to eat and sleep. he, though he would never admit it, probably missed leo the most because of their twin bond.

he has pilot goggles now, which is pretty neat, i think. they’re modified by the mystic crystals, though, so they work the same as his old ones did.

this is casey jones, age 22. living,,, somewhat his best life.

he met the turtles when he was fifteen, while he was out being a bit,,, crazy on the streets and doing his vigilante thing. he’s played hockey since middle school, and absolutely loves it. he’s learned hand to hand combat, and at school, he’s close friends with april o’neil. though at first, he had no idea she knew about the turtles until she went to introduce him to them, and... well, it just hit him. he was like “hey, i know those guys!”

he went with miko and splinter to help in stopping the shredder, and feels pretty sad about splinter dying, so he does the usual thing: vigilante shit. he fights off yokai who are harming humans or mutants, with the help of april and mayehm. he has hockey sticks, golf clubs, and baseball bats.

overall, casey’s a fun guy to hang out with. currently, he’s working on building up a resistance group to fight back, with leo’s strict instruction. in previous years, he was doing it on his own accord.

APRIL O’NEIL! age 21.

she’s pretty neat. has a scar on her chin that actually isn’t from fighting- her and casey were fucking around on the skateboard ramp in the lair and she fell and,,, chin scar. her jacket is immortal. her glasses are broke, though, and she had to tape them together, but she’s not too mad about it. in fact, she’s not too mad about anything.

she fought big mama with lavi, and though they lost, they managed to escape, and april still has her mystic bat. she snatched that up real fast when she bolted. she ended up forced underground, and she hangs out with her mom sometimes, and tries to hang out with casey vigilanting, and occassionally bugs donnie in his lab, or tries to help lavi pull the family back together- not to much avail.

she’s smart, and funny, and sassy. she’s the same as she was when she was younger, but she’s also gotten to be more independent and strong. she’s very confident, and though she’s been through a lot, she has a firm belief that they’ll win soon enough.

this is hizashi mikoto, an oc.

she’s a small. age 21. she’s formerly a business CEO, despite her young age, and graduated from MIT at the age of 15. she was raised in japan until she was twelve years old, and upon the death of her father and sister, she ended up moving to america with her mom. when she turned fifteen, her mom ended up dying as well to a foot clan attack. her relationship with her mom wasn’t the best- her ninja mother was fascinated with science, especially mutations, and inserted tiny bits of chameleon dna into her daughter through spars with swords. miko’s now partially chameleon. she met the boys by literally falling in on them. chasing down a few criminals vigilanting, she ended up falling into their lair and spraining their wrist when she was fourteen years old.

she fought the shredder with casey and splinter, and heavily blames herself for splinter’s death. she’s in love with technology and science, having of built a company off a computer chip she developed when she was twelve years old. so her favorite spot in the lair is in donnie’s lab. but she also likes to spar, and write on occassion, and is sometimes found watching tv with mikey.

this is lavi, the last oc.

gunslinger. she was born in watertown, new york, where her mother had abandoned her before her father found her and her little brothers in their home, but spent most of her life in maine, until conflict caused her to move away from her family and live with her mémé ( great grandmother ) up in new york. wanting to be a police detective and invest her time in chasing down cases at the age of fourteen, she ran around in a deep search for something to do, something to solve, and one of those days, she found leo. and literally just peppered him with questions about where she could go to find some cases to solve. and then they started being friends because “finding cases” turned into “spa day in the hidden city.”

after leo’s disappearance, she ended up searching for the turtle with donnie. the two were relentless in their searching, but two years later, they ended up finding him because he had broken himself out. she tries her best to comfort him as she had the rest of the turtles and their friends.

often passes out in a pile of pillows. leo usually throws a fluffy blanket over her.

but yeah! those are the main characters,,,, lemme know what you think!

[jokertrap-ran]

[Gakuen K] Kusanagi Izumo Route: Clubroom test cramming Translation

*Translator’s note : MC’s name shall remain as my normal (水嶋ラン) *Gakuen K Masterlist *Spoiler FREE : Translations under cut !

Totsuka: Sorry for calling you out here on your precious lunch break.

Ran: You said you wanted to talk?

Totsuka: About that~

Mikoto: ...It’s probably something lame anyway.

Totsuka: Come on! Don’t just write it off like that; not when I haven’t even started! Besides, it’s not lame or anything…

Kamamoto: I wanna buy the bread that’s only on sale during lunch at the School Store so please make it short and snappy~!

Misaki: Oh! I’ll go with you. I’ve got sports class today so I’d definitely get hungry after.

Totsuka: I’ll get right to the point then. How about we all hold a study session today?

Ran: With everyone…? I agree! That’s a pretty good idea.

Totsuka: Right~? Hehe.

Mikoto: Rejected.

Misaki: Nope!

Kamamoto: Then it's a no-go for me too.

Totsuka: Everyone's against it; why? Isn't it more efficient if we all study together?

Ran: Mikoto-senpai? Why are you against it?

Mikoto: It's sure to be a hassle.

Ran: ...Huh…?

Mikoto: Haa… I'm telling you that it's too troublesome.

Totsuka: Even though you've already retained for years because you keep thinking that everything was too much of a pain?

Mikoto: It's my choice to be retained for another year.

Totsuka: Hehe, you're speaking about this as if it is your will to be retained.

Totsuka: I'll forget Kamamoto even said anything because he's probably just following whatever Yata chose.

Totsuka: Yata, do you not want to study because you find it to be too much of a hassle too?

Misaki: I...I'm just bad at studying.

Ran: Don't you normally study because you're bad at it?

Misaki: Ack! Shut up…

Totsuka: I won't tell you to get flying colours, but you'll really end up like King if you don't manage to score adequately, at least.

Misaki: Huh? I can become like Mikoto-san so long as I get bad grades on my tests!?

Misaki: Ohhhhh yes!! I'll never study in my life again!

Totsuka: Ah...sorry, I really shouldn't have worded it like that.

Totsuka: I was trying to say that "you'll end up being retained for another year like King".

Misaki: Well, of course that'll happen...I wouldn't be working so hard if only it were that easy to become more like him.

Ran: (He really does look up to Mikoto-senpai, doesn't he…)

Totsuka: Sorry, I said! Don't look so down…

Misaki: No, it's fine. I'm the one who misunderstood it afterall.

Mikoto: ...It's so noisy up here that I can't get a wink of sleep. I'll head back to the classroom.

Totsuka: It'll be appreciated if you turned up for the study session after school.

Mikoto: ...Yeah.

Totsuka: Yes! King's been successfully captured~ Now you two are the only ones left.

Misaki: I-I…

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Misaki: UWARGHHH!!! I'm done for! This is as far as I ca— Bwah!?

Izumo: Yata-chan, you're hella' noisy! What are you goin' to do if you broke a eardrum or two in here?

Izumo: I don't mind lending you this place as a study spot since it's nearing the test period; but if you're goin' to study, then at least do so quietly! Is there such a need to be kickin' up such a fuss?

Misaki: I'm really sorry, Kusanagi-san! But, but I'm-

Izumo: Not buts! Shut up and study!

Misaki: Kamamotooo...You can still survive out in the world without studying, right? Right!?

Kamamoto: Well...I suppose it'll be find if you're going to make a living off something the only requires muscle and no brains.

Misaki: Right!? There's that option too, isn't there!?

Kamamoto: But I don't know what I can say for someone who managed to read "Oda Nobunaga" as "Oda Shinchou"...

Misaki: Wait, seriously!? It wasn't Shinchou!?

Kamamoto: He's super duper famous, though. Why don't you know him!?

Ran: Oda Shinchou…

Totsuka: Ahaha...there might be no saving Yata anymore.

Totsuka: How about you King; how are you faring?

Mikoto: …………

Ran: ...He's completely asleep.

Totsuka: Haa…I wonder why he's being so lax about this. Take this!

Mikoto: ……!

Totsuka: King, you can't be sleeping in the middle of a study session.

Mikoto: ...This is sleep learning.

Totsuka: You're making this up, aren't you?

Izumo: Haa...Oh boy. This situation is only going to continue until the test ends, huh. How depressin'.

⊳ Choice: Should we move?

Ran: Should we move to the Library; even if I'm the only one?

Izumo: No, no. There's absolutely no need for you to move. You can stay right here.

Ran: But…

⊳ Choice: We'll be under your care.

Izumo: I can't exactly turn you down now that you've gone off and said that, can I?

Izumo: You can stay here and study. Or, I can also supervise you if you'd like?

Ran: You don't mind?

Izumo: Sure. I'll teach you everythin' from start to finish.

Totsuka: Kusanagi-san; you're too nice when it comes to girls…

Kamamoto: That's right. You even told us to get outta here too.

Izumo: Shut up. How about you all become girls instead if it doesn't sit well with ya'!?

Totsuka: Okay. It doesn't sit well with me so... Kamamoto will be the one turning into a girl.

Kamamoto: Ehhhhh!? Me!?

Totsuka: Yup! Let's dress you up as a girl and surprise him!

Kamamoto: No, that's...that's impossible. I don't think anyone would wish to have their eyes sullied by such a sight.

Ran: Kamamoto-kun, dressed as a girl…

Izumo: I don't wish to see it for even 0.01 seconds. Sounds like somethin' right out of a nightmare…

Izumo: Maybe I should think up a new menu or something to keep the spirits up in here.

Ran: Food items?

Izumo: Ya' got it.

Ran: I really love the food you make so I'll be looking forward to the new things you cook up!

Izumo: Yeah, leave it to me!

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Next Scene: Regrettable

[skaylanphear]

King’s Dagger and Queen’s Angel

Summary: Zidane never returned following the war, leaving his friends to assume the worst. Garnet’s had to move on with her life as best she can, but some of the things Zidane left behind will always weigh on her heart. Zidane, meanwhile, had intended to return to Alexandria, but life put him on a different path—one not unlike Garnet’s own in the advent of rescuing thousands of genomes from the ruins of Terra. But—as many others silently realize—it’s inevitable that their paths cross once again.

Final Fantasy IX fic

Chapter 5

"I don't know what it was saying," Avon replied, still appearing somewhat scared as he lay in bed. "I couldn't understand."

"Why couldn't you understand?" Garnet asked delicately, her fingers sifting through his hair. She sat beside him on his bed, still clad in her day clothes despite the fact that it was late and he was more than ready for bed.

"It was saying things I didn't know," he explained, his bottom lip and chin trembling. "But it sounded really s—scary."

"I know," Garnet comforted. "But whatever it was, it's gone now, right?"

He nodded.

"And I'm right here with you." Reaching out, she laid her free hand over his own. "I'll never let anything happen to you."

He nodded again, even as a few tears trickled down his cheeks.

"It—It was like when Aunt Freya a—and Uncle Fratley visit, and they start saying things that nobody u—u—understands."

Moving her hand to his face, Garnet wiped away his tears. "You mean, like another language?"

"Y—Yeah…"

A disconcerting revelation. The fact that her son was hearing voices in his head wasn't wholly unfounded, given that he did have eidolon's residing within him. But eidolons learned to communicate with their hosts by reflecting their own communicative skills. If any of his own eidolons had been trying to communicate with him, they should have been speaking a language he could understand. If he was hearing voices that were not only threatening, but speaking in a different tongue, then that was definitely reason to be alarmed.

Not that Garnet voiced as much. Instead, she stayed at her son's side until he fell asleep, which took him considerable time given how upset he was. But the activity of the day did inevitably take its toll, Garnet remaining some moments after he'd drifted off, if only for her own state of mind.

Yet she knew others were waiting on her.

Leaving Avon in Steiner's care, who was still too wound with nerves to even try to sleep, Garnet allowed her knight to watch over him while she retreated quietly down the stairs. Beatrix awaited her on the bottom level of the guest room, the two meeting up before continuing on out into the hall. The stairs directly in front of their room led down into a small lobby, where Chancellor Mikoto and Commander Akitis were waiting.

"It took Avon some time to fall sleep," Garnet said as they met the two other women at the bottom of the staircase.

"After what happened earlier, I'm sure he was still quite upset," Akitis replied, their voices low so as not to draw too much attention.

No, they weren't doing anything underhanded, strictly speaking, but Garnet knew Cid would disapprove of her speaking with the Terran leaders in his castle without him being aware. And more than likely, word would get out that she had. But for the time being, she'd see what it was they wanted to speak to her about and what details she could gather from them otherwise. If any of it was pertinent to Cid and his kingdom, she'd certainly let him know.

"Did you find out what the voice was saying to him?" Mikoto asked, tone ever flat and her delivery straight to the point.

"I asked him, but he couldn't understand it," Garnet replied. "He seemed to think this voice was speaking a different language. And he was entirely convinced it was dangerous. Threatening, perhaps."

An explanation that elicited little from Mikoto aside from a thoughtful turn of her head.

"Do you know something about all this?" Garnet said, less asking a question so much as demanding an answer—albeit in a civil tone.

"Such quaking is not unheard of on the Forgotten Continent," Akitis replied. Garnet waited a moment for her to continue, but she failed to do so.

"You know the cause of it, then," Garnet pushed.

Read More