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fairyniceyeah · 2 months ago

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💎🍊Without you, I’m so lonely

Title from Darl+ing (SEVENTEEN)

Summary: Seungkwan is stricken down by the flu during the Follow Tour in Japan. Jeonghan takes care of him but Seungkwan misses Seungcheol.

CW: emeto

Sickie: Seungkwan Caretaker: Jeonghan + S.Coups/Seungcheol + Woozi/Jihoon

Seungkwan groaned as the light was flipped on, attacking his retinas, and turned onto his side to bury his face in the pillow. It barely helped and, even worse, with how stuffed his nose was he only held out that position for another few seconds until he had to turn back onto his back before he suffocated. Despite having his eyes pressed shut, it was too bright.

The bed dipped beside him and a soft hand brushed his hair away from his forehead.

“How are you feeling, darling?”, Jeonghan asked genty, his voice barely above a whisper, yet it hurt Seungkwan’s head.

“Amazing, hyung. Truly amazing”, Seungkwan said through gritted teeth, immediately feeling bad for snapping at the older. Jeonghan, as promised, had come back early from the team dinner - he hadn’t even planned to go to once he had realized how sick Seungkwan was - to check on him. It wasn’t fair of the younger vocalist to be snippy or cold towards him. He was just so frustrated. They had just finished three amazing nearly back-to-back concerts in Nagoya and, instead of celebrating with the rest of the team in Osaka where they were set to perform in a few days’ time, he was trapped in bed.

Feverish.

His head pounding.

Nose stuffed and running simultaneously.

A rough cough making his throat and chest hurt.

Nausea burning in his stomach.

Exhausted.

Sweaty.

“Sorry”, he whispered, coughing slightly, and opened his eyes, “I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful or be rude. I’m just … well, cranky, I guess. I don’t wanna be sick.”

Jeonghan just shushed him, placing his cold hands against Seungkwan’s burning cheeks. Despite his whole body freezing, his face was hot. That was the fever, probably. The touch felt heavenly and he sighed.

“I know, Kwannie. I’m sorry you’re feeling so terrible”, his hyung replied. “Did you take your meds?”

Seungkwan nodded. “I took the meds”, he rasped, coughing again. “I tried to sleep too but I couldn’t. I talked to Coups-hyung on the phone for a bit but he had to leave pretty soon… I really don’t feel good.”

“Oh, Kwannie”, Jeonghan cooed. It should have been awkward, Seungkwan supposed. He was a grown man after all, hell he was closer to thirty than to twenty by now. Yet, with Jeonghan, somehow, it wasn’t weird at all. He just had those parent vibes that not only Carats joked about. And Seungkwan really needed his hyung right now. “Is there anything I can do to help you? Do you wanna cuddle? Maybe it will help you sleep and even …”

He didn’t even need to finish his sentence for Seungkwan to agree. “Please, hyungie”, he whispered, desperate for something he couldn’t describe in his voice. “I …”

“I got you, darling”, Jeonghan shushed him, climbing under the blankets with him. It must have been his plan all along, Seungkwan realized then, because Jeonghan was already wearing sleeping clothes. He knew Seungkwan would never tolerate somebody entering his bed in street clothes. Though he might have made an exception for his hyung in this situation.

As soon as Jeonghan was settled under the covers, Seungkwan buried himself in his chest, shivering as he finally felt a bit warmer. Jeonghan wrapped his arms around Seungkwan and entangled their legs for maximum warmth.

“I’m sorry”, Seungkwan whispered, annoyed with how he could barely hug Jeonghan without being unable to breathe. Even less so was he happy that his nose was now so stuffed he could only breathe with his mouth open, which irritated his already raw throat. “You didn’t have to come back early, you know?”

“Don’t apologize. I wanted to come back and check on you. Without you and Cheollie it wasn’t that much fun either way.”

“Sorry.”

“Nope, you’re not allowed to say that again, Kwannie”, Jeonghan scolded lightly, tapping his fingers against Seungkwan’s temple in a gentle admonishing motion. “It’s not your fault that you are sick. And I wanted to come back and see how you were doing because I was worried. It was my decision and I’d like you to understand that. I’ll always come back to check on my babies.”

“Dino is baby”, Seungkwan mumbled, flushing red and not knowing what else to say. His hyungs words warmed his heart and made him feel loved like little else did. How did he deserve such a caring hyung?

Unbidden tears came to his eyes and he pressed his eyes shut against the burning sensation.

“Dino may be the baby but you … hey, Kwannie, are you crying?”, Jeonghan asked confused. “What? What’s wrong? Don't cry, darling.”

“Nothing”, Seungkwan sniffed, “I just … thank you … for everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me either, hon.” Jeonghan pressed a soft kiss against Seungkwan’s temple. “Your fever really got you emotional, huh? Why don’t we talk later when you are feeling a bit better? Sleep for now.”

Seungkwan nodded against his hyung’s shoulder, sure he was smearing snot on him. He knew Jeonghan didn’t care and while disgusting, Seungkwan was too tired to care either.

“Love you, hyung”, he muttered sleepily, “tell me about team dinner?”

“Love you too, baby”, Jeonghan replied.

Seungkwan fell asleep to tales of Seokmin trying to get Hoshi drunk, Woozi trying to stop Seokmin from trying to get Hoshi drunk and Mingyu trying to stop Woozi from trying to…

💎

When Seungkwan woke up again he was uncomfortably hot and wet. Sweat soaked everything around him and yet he couldn’t even care how disgusting that was. All he could focus on was the nausea in his stomach and the sensitiveness of his skin.

He felt a thousand times worse than he had that morning when he had awoken with just a sore throat and a low fever. The flight to Osaka had not been pleasant at all with how stuffed up he was and by then he had to accept that he wasn’t well … but he hadn’t expected he’d feel this bad. Just the thought of moving made him want to cry.

His stomach was cramping harshly and he couldn’t even begin to describe the feeling in his throat. It was terribly tight and uncomfortable, as if he wasn’t supposed to swallow. It was like he could feel his stomach contents slowly climbing up his esophagus.

Seungkwan was surprised to find Jeonghan still sleeping peacefully next to him. The older normally had issues sleeping after all but he seemed to be so exhausted that not even his bed partner turning into a furnace seemed to wake him. The way Jeonghan was holding him would have been comforting in any other time and place but with how overheated he was, Seungkwan needed him to let go.

“Hyung”, he whispered, shaking Jeonghan’s shoulder. He didn’t want to wake him, not when they all were working so hard but what choice did he have? He felt like he was boiling alive and that couldn’t be comfortable for Jeonghan either.

Luckily the one shake was enough to wake him up, apparently. Jeonghan jerked awake, and instantly fumbled for the lightswitch. When the light was turned on, Seungkwan saw just how much he had sweated. The sheets around him were wet and tinged yellow and so was Jeonghan’s previously white shirt.

Jeonghan didn’t seem to care. His brow was furrowed in worry and he looked so very concerned. One of his hands came up to feel Seungkwan’s forehead. “Oh, Seungkwannie. Are you feeling worse?”

Seungkwan nodded, feeling his expression turn into a pout. “‘m so hot”, he complained, swallowing against the thickness in the back of his mouth, “and so nauseous.”

“Are you gonna throw up?”, Jeonghan asked panically, sitting up and looking around for a receptacle just in case.

“No. Yes. Maybe”, Seungkwan whispered, “I don’t know, hyung. I … my stomach hurts and the cramps are really bad and I feel really nauseous but I can’t tell if I need to puke.”

If he was honest, Seugkwan really really didn’t want to throw up in a strange city, in a strange hotel bathroom. Being sick at home was already bad enough, but somewhere else? No. He couldn’t imagine how awful that would be.

“Okay, try to stay calm, hm?”, Jeonghan suggested. If it was anybody else Seungkwan would have told them where they could stick calm when he was feeling this bad but he couldn’t find any anger flaring towards his hyung. He just wanted a hug. “Let’s sit in the bathroom just in case. I want to take your temperature again and see if we can get some meds to help you, okay?”

Seungkwan nodded and let himself be pulled to his feet by Jeonghan. He had been laying down for the better part of the last sixteen plus hours so, while unwelcome, the headrush wasn’t unexpected. Still he stumbled into his hyung’s arms, Jeonghan’s hand rubbing up and down his spine the only thing grounding him.

Standing up must have triggered his body in other ways too: Suddenly all the mucus that had been stuck in his nose decided to run down to his upper lip and the tickle in his throat turned into a full-blown cough. Jeonghan didn’t pull away, instead just cradled Seungkwan’s head against his shoulder and let him cough.

It was awful, really. The coughing was shaking his whole body and it did his nausea no favors. Seungkwan was barely able to fight back the gags. Jeonghan seemed to understand and within a few seconds had pulled Seungkwan towards the bathroom, where he made him kneel down over the toilet, in case the coughing did bring up something.

By the time the fit was over, Seungkwan hadn’t thrown up but he nearly wished he had. His stomach was just even more angry at him and he felt like he was about to gag and throw up any second now. Leaning over the toilet bowl didn’t help the feeling at all.

Jeonghan, the hyung he was, seemed to sense that. Or maybe he knew from own experiences. Whatever it was, he gently pulled Seungkwan away from his bent over position and propped him up against the glass of the shower.

“Let’s take your temperature, okay?”, Jeonghan suggested, placing his cold fingers against Seungkwan’s brow. Seungkwan nodded. Without letting go, his hyung reached up for the sink where Seungkwan had left the thermometer earlier when he had first gotten the chance to check how high his fever was. Then he sat cross legged in front of Seungkwan, holding the device out to him.

“How do you wanna do this? Under the tongue is more accurate but if you’re feeling too nauseous we can do the armpit too?”

Seungkwan couldn’t imagine sticking the thermometer into his mouth. It sounded like a disaster just waiting to happen. Besides, his nose was so stuffed he doubted he could even breathe with his mouth closed. So he untangled his left arm from his shirt sleeve and put the cold metal under his arm, suddenly shivering from the cold.

Jeonghan entangled their fingers as they waited for the beep, pouting. If he wasn’t so tired and felt like speaking was just a bit too risky, Seungkwan would have tried to alleviate his worry. So he just let Jeonghan busy himself with cleaning up Seungkwan's snotty face while they waited. When he pulled the thermometer away and found a reading of 39.1°C he realized there was nothing he could say to even make this better. It was a pretty high temperature, one that if they were at home in the dorms would have the hyungs call a doctor. Now, in a hotel room, they could ask for the medic of course but Seungkwan really didn’t feel like getting prodded in the middle of the night.

He assumed Jeonghan agreed with not involving the team medic yet, because he just sighed and then scooted to sit next to Seungkwan, letting him rest his weary head on his shoulder. “Do you wanna go back to bed?”

“No”, Seungkwan mumbled, swallowing harshly. Just the one word had been enough to make his stomach somersault. And then he hiccoughed. The panic on Jeonghan’s face would have been funny considering it truly was only a hiccough but the way it made Seungkwan’s mouth water and brought the taste of his earlier food to his throat, made it decidedly unfunny.

“Oh God”, he whispered, feeling himself start to tear up. It hurt his throat and the involuntary motion made the situation feel much more dangerous than it already was. He didn’t want to throw up.

“Let’s get you back over the toilet, okay?”, Jeonghan asked and helped Seungkwan crawl forward.

Feeling his body jerk with the motion, Seungkwan whimpered. His mouth was full of saliva and he spit into the water below repeatedly, trying to get the sour tasting fluid out. His shoulders rolled and his body worked against him, his stomach cramping and feeling so sour and sick.

And yet, nothing happened.

Jeonghan’s hand on his back was a welcome distraction but it didn’t help.

💎

Seungkwan didn’t know how long they sat there, just waiting. It could have been minutes, hours or days from his wonky perception. All he felt was the snot dripping down his nose and the nausea deep in his stomach.

“I don’t think you’re going to throw up, Kwannie”, Jeonghan finally said, patting his hip. “Why don’t we go back to bed?”

“What if I throw up?”, Seungkwan whispered. Deep cleaning a hotel room surely would be expensive for the company and he already felt bad for whoever would have to do that if he got sick on the carpet.

“I’ll get you a trash can, okay?”

Seungkwan had seen the tiny bin in the room. Even if he managed to hit that should the nausea win over, it would overflow within seconds. He shook his head, whimpering as the motion aggravated his headache and dizziness.

“Let’s lean back at least, hm?”, Jeonghan suggested. Without really waiting for an answer he pulled Seungkwan between his legs and into his arms. “No use hurting your back sitting like that.”

Seungkwan allowed himself to curl up against his hyung, shaking and coughing in his arms. Exhausted tears threatened to fall and all he wanted was sleep.

“What can we do to make you feel better, love? You’re due for some meds around now.”

Seungkwan shook his head. He could not stomach anything right now. All he wanted was to be home.

Well, that wasn’t quite true.

He wanted his Coups-hyung.

It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate Jeonghan being with him. He did very much so. But since Seungcheol had torn his ACL in August Seungkwan felt like he had barely seen their leader. They had visited him at the hospital of course and he had been there for their Tokyo concerts, on stage even, but then they had left to film Nana Tour and ever since it had just been phone calls and video chats. While Seungkwan had spoken with him earlier, complaining about being sick, he now missed Seungcheol more than ever.

He must have been quiet for too long because soon enough Jeonghan gently called his name in worry.

“Sorry”, Seungkwan mumbled. He felt terrible saying it out loud - he didn’t want Jeonghan, amazing, sweet Jeonghan who had sacrificed a nice evening with the team and was staying up with him at night, to think he didn’t appreciate him. But he couldn’t help the words that spilled over his lips: “I want Cheollie-hyung.”

Jeonghan sighed, playing with Seungkwan’s hair and patting his back as he coughed once again. “I wish he was here too. Let’s call him, alright? If he picks up he picks up. If he doesn’t, we’ll let him sleep.”

“Please, hyungie.”

There was no time difference between South Korea and Japan, so Seungcheol should be asleep. Resting and healing. Seungkwan felt incredibly selfish. Jeonghan must have read his mind, as he said: “Don’t, Kwannie. Don’t feel bad about it. We all need Cheollie at times and we all miss him. You’re sick and exhausted and overtired. He won’t mind. Besides, he has all the time now to rest for once and he would feel terrible if he found out one of his babies wanted him and didn’t dare call.”

Seungkwan didn’t have a chance to reply before Jeonghan pressed the call button for a video call. So he snuggled his way under Jeonghan’s chin, trembling with fever and anticipation if Seungcheol would pick up.

He did. Bleary-eyed and confused, but instantly concerned when he saw Seungkwan tucked into Jeonghan’s arms.

“Hey, ddaddu”, Jeonghan greeted him, “I got a sick kid missing you here.”

“Morning, Kwannie. Hannie”, Seungcheol replied and moved in the frame of his phone, apparently sitting up. His face was pulled into an adorable, worried pout. “What’s wrong, Kwannie? Are you feeling worse than before? Did you talk to the medic already?”

“I’m so nauseous, hyung”, Seungkwan mumbled, “everything hurts. I just don’t feel good. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, baby”, Seungcheol repeated. “I love you so much. Do you just wanna chat a bit?”

Seungkwan nodded reluctantly, coughing softly. His voice felt very wet and close to breaking when he continued: “I love you, hyung. I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“Don’t be”, Seungcheol and Jeonghan said at the same time, then Jeonghan added: “We didn’t call the medic yet. Kwannie has just been super nauseous and we’ve been sitting here for some time now. I miss you too, for the record.”

“I wish I was there”, Seungcheol said with a sigh, running his hand through his hair, “how often have you been sick, Kwannie? You may need the med…”

“I haven’t thrown up, hyung”, Seungkwan explained, suddenly emotional. He wiped at his eyes. He was so sick of feeling sick. “I … I feel so horrible.”

His throat jumped at his admission and he swallowed harshly.

“Baby, I know you won’t like this suggestion”, Seungcheol started, ��but… Do you want to throw up? It might help you feel better. At least less nauseous so you can take some medication and sleep.”

It was one thing for Seungcheol, who felt like he was on the other end of the earth, to say this but Seungkwan hated that Jeonghan, right behind him, gave a noise of agreement and nodded.

“I do want to feel better … but …”

“Cheollie is right. Getting your stomach empty might help”, Jeonghan agreed.

Seungkwan was doubtful. Why would puking help if he was trying not to puke? Why did having to puke be the solution to not being able to feel better? He hated vomiting. Sure, not as much as Vernon who could be labeled slightly emetophobic or even Mingyu, who was kind of very emetophobic. Seungkwan had no issues with it, as long as it wasn’t him throwing up.

Seungcheol, true leader that he was, perceived Seungkwan’s reluctance even through the phone. “It can help, having your stomach empty. I don’t think Jihoonie would mind me telling you this in this situation but when he has a migraine and is really feeling sick he sometimes tries to make himself throw up so he can lie down and sleep faster. It helps him a lot and it might help you now, too.”

Seungkwan grimaced but he had to give Seungcheol some credit. He had seen how awful migraines made the producer feel and so he kind of got why he would do that. That didn’t mean he wanted that for himself.

But between his raw throat, the coughing that seemed to only get worse and the sniffling he knew he was in for a rough few days. He would be lucky if he was fit for the next concert. So maybe, if he felt better after throwing up…

“Okay”, he mumbled, kind of already regretting it the moment the words left his mouth. “How do I…?”

“I’ll get you a glass of water”, Jeonghan said, clearly knowing what he was doing. He handed the phone to Seungkwan and removed himself from the maknae. Without Jeonghan’s warmth at his back Seungkwan shivered and jerked forward with a forceful sneeze.

“Bless you, baby”, Seungcheol said, “I’m really sorry I can’t be there for you.” “It’s okay, hyungie. Talking with you already helps”, Seungkwan replied, sniffing and using his hand to wipe away the snot dripping down his face. It would normally be disgusting but right now he didn’t care one bit. “Besides, I got Hannie-hyung with me.”

💎

It all happened so fast after that. Jeonghan ended the call - no need for Seungcheol to helplessly listen - and pressed the cup into Seungkwan’s hand, after helping him situate himself over the toilet. “Drink it all in one go”, he explained, “you’re so nauseous it should tip your stomach over the edge.”

Seungkwan took a deep breath, not daring to think about what he was going to do, then gulped the water down in one go. For just a split second he thought it hadn’t helped, but then all he could do was mumble a terrified “Hyungie…” before a geyser of water erupted from his mouth. Waves of vomit splatter relentlessly into the dirty water below, slowly turning from liquidy transparent to chunky and smelly brown.

It was disgusting and painful and it felt like it would never stop. Seungkwan was sure that if Jeonghan hadn’t held him up and kept muttering reassurances into his ears he would have just combusted of awfulness on the spot. He wasn’t sure he had ever thrown up this violently before.

And then it was over. Seungkwan gasped for breath, panicked and terrified and sobbing before he could stop himself.

Yet, as Jeonghan pulled him into his arms, soothing him with soft forehead kisses and warm words, Seungkwan finally realized he felt better.

Sure, his head still pounded. His nose was running and he knew there was a spot of snot on Jeonghan’s shirt. His throat was very close to just giving up on his voice and his chest hurt from coughing and vomiting alike. But the awfulness of nausea was mostly gone.

As that realization came, Seungkwan felt like he was hit by a truck. Tiredness was overruling all other feelings and he was sure if he wanted to he could have fallen asleep just then and there in Jeonghan’s arms. He was pretty close to do so, actually, when his hyung shook his shoulder.

Seungkwan whined. He just wanted to sleep. He wondered if he said that out loud as Jeonghan whispered: “I know, I know. But let’s change your clothes, okay? And we need new blankets, you were sweating so badly earlier.”

It sounded like too many steps, especially too many steps that would require him to let go of Jeonghan. Even that his hyung seemed to have anticipated.

“Let me call one of the other members, okay? We can sleep in my room tonight and I know all of your hyungs will be happy to carry you there, hm? Who do you want me to call?”

Maybe he had his mind still on him due to the conversation earlier or maybe he just wanted his vocal team leader but no matter what it was, Seungkwan found himself mumbling Woozi’s name.

“I’ll call him.”

💎

Fifteen minutes later, Seungkwan found himself laying on Jeonghan’s hotel room bed dressed in fresh clothes, also belonging to Jeonghan, while Jihoon was sitting perched at his side. The thermometer was stuck in Seungkwan’s mouth, even as he was falling asleep, and Jihoon was running gentle fingers through his hair. Jeonghan was taking a shower. Seungkwan hadn’t even realized that he had apparently thrown up on him a bit. He was terribly sorry but an apology would have to wait until morning.

All he could do before finally drifting back to sleep was ask: “How is Hoshi-hyung?”

Jihoon sighed, fondly rolling his eyes.

“Pathetically drunk. He will hate himself come morning.”

Notes: Happy Birthday, Jeonghan!

I don't have a Jeonghan fic written but I think this fits him much better anyways! I already miss him so much :(

Masterlist links: Fairy's Full Masterlist Fairy's Masterlist - SEVENTEEN

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forzaflwrs · 8 months ago

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suzuka blossoms

pairing: lando norris x fem!oc

summary: saki has had no luck when it comes to guys - until lando gets her heart racing after a brief encounter and gradual infatuation at a coffee shop.

format: saki’s (oc) point of view! multi-part!

PROLOGUE

When I saw Lando that day, he was flanked by his security and his hair was tufted messily at the crown of his head, but gradually smoothed over towards the edges of his head. He took a seat nearby to the register I was working at and, to my surprise, came up to order himself.

“One iced matcha latte please.”

Still amazed at the odds that a famous Formula 1 driver had waltzed into the café I work at, I shook my head.

“No?” He chuckled.

I snapped out of my daze rapidly. “Oh no, no, not like that-”

A moment of unbroken silence falls upon us and his eyes do not stray away from mine until I finally show him the baked goods, encased in glass.

“Any pastries perhaps?”

“What do you recommend?”

My cheeks flushed, I replied. “I recommend the Strawberry Cream Brioche.”

“I’ll take one, then, Suki.” He turned to face his entourage of men wearing black tuxedos. “Anything for you guys?”

They don’t respond and Lando takes notice of the smile I have on my face, but does not mention it. I don’t even care that he misread the name tag, pinned to my pocket.

“I’ll have your order taken straight to your table. The name for the order?”

Even though I knew full well who it was.

“Lando. Thank you!” His mouth curls into a smile and his eyes squint, the creases around them being exposed, raw.

Once Lando had finished his food and partially drank his coffee, he walked over to me, after having just served another customer.

“I don’t quite know how it works, but…” He turns back and faces me again. He kisses his teeth and interlocks both hands. “May you clean our table?”

I oblige, waving him away along with his security team as the bell chimes above the door and Lando is whisked away to wherever he was supposed to go to.

Once I had started stacking plates and tucking used napkins into the gaps in between, I noticed one, scrawled on with ink in block capitals and messy handwriting.

LANDO - *******

Swiftly taking it, stuffing it into my apron, then almost immediately taking it out again to affirm what I thought I had saw. Lando Norris? The McLaren driver?

Suzuka is a popular event here each year; people from Nagoya, Tokyo, even some other countries around Asia, flock here to see the tumultuous turns these drivers take to win the race. Ridiculous amount of money is spent, but it’s all in good fun, because families and friends alike come for the atmosphere of it all.

And I just met one of those drivers, giving it his all this weekend.

Incredulous, my mind comes up with remedies to cure the madness that I am experiencing. Surely, this can’t be right?

Despite this, my thoughts continue to stir and I finish my shift, every hour that had passed since I read the note rushed in a blur and a mixture of both pleasant and unpleasant thoughts scrambled until I had finally gotten home.

I argued with myself.

Do I call him? Do I not?

I choose to text, instead. I wish that I did not feel as if I had to contact him, but, either way, it couldn’t hurt — right?

#lando norris #fanfic #f1 #f1 fic #lando fic #formula 1 #racing #motorsports #romance fiction

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discotenny · 1 year ago

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Thinking bout Yandere!Kuko who's so far gone he's twisting his words and bending his own morals until they snap, alwaya creating new mantras to manipuoate you cause he's always known so much, he's always had everyone's best interest at heart, so why wouldn't you listen to his word?

Yandere Kuko thoughts on this fine night…

———

Kuko thinks himself to be a good person. He follows his moral compass and he teachers others to live in their best life. Kuko is a good person- which is why all of the shit he puts you through- all the pain and suffering and manipulation and bullshit- it can all be justified and explained if you would just listen to his words.

He beat up a guy who looked at you funny the other day.

The one time he decides to take you out, the one time he says he’s going to be nice and treat you to a proper date- is the one time some bastard decides to follow you with his eyes. Kuko wastes no time grabbing him by the collar, all very publicly, and pummel him into the ground. He’s violent in that regard, no care for the opinion of those around him because his reputation in Nagoya means they’ll listen to his words anyways.

Gasps of shock and murmurs of fear fill the air as he wipes dust of his clothes- Kuko’s eyes never leaving you for a second. Even as he stands up to address the growing crowd, a smug smile finds itself on his face as he speaks.

“You see, if you want to make an example of an exemplary, seek one who is the opposite of such,” Kuko’s shoe digs into the arm of the absolute fucker who dared to stare at you, “You should never judge a situation just from it appears- for this example of an unexemplary gentleman inappropriately touched my partner. I was just showing the world my dedication to my love and just how gentlemanly I can be.”

He punctuates his statement with that mischievous grin of his and the citizens of Nagoya excuse his violent acts as Kuko just being Kuko. They know him to be brash and bold. And still they know him to be a good person. The speeches and proclamations prove he only had the best intentions at heart.

His eyes look over you as if he’s daring you to say something. Daring you to challenge his word. Daring you to break the image of Nagoya’s good intentioned delinquent monk. But you keep quiet, you always do.

Because if you speak up it’ll just lead to more. More innocent people being beat half to death, more markings on your neck and bodice, more mantras of how partners have to stick together no matter what, more statements saying that you can’t leave him, more and more and more-

And all of it will be excused in Kuko’s eyes. After all, what was it he always said?

If you love something never let them go.

———

Kuko as a delusional yandere tho guys ??? Like do u see the vision do u see it ??-?/??/?!!!!!

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akkivee · 11 months ago

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it is time. stage bat time 😌:

hirono ryouta

hirONO RYOUTA

HIRONO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RYOUTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that’s it that’s the post lmao /j

i’ve btched plenty about kuukou’s writing in the stage but had hirono-san not been at the helm i highly doubt i would have cared for stage bat as much as i do lmao

i’ve fairly recently talked about how he defined the way kuukou moves in auxiliary media and how it brought to life how i envisioned he moved but it bears repeating hirono-san gave me everything and more lmao

like i still think about kuukou stalking up on some guy in track 3, twirling his mic and actually using it as a bludgeoning weapon with utter glee lol he’s so violent 💜

i love love love the feedback loop that quietly goes on behind the scenes with kuukou’s actors lmao

hirono-san mentioned in their cross talk that hayama-san’s 5th live performance was a frame of reference for the kuukou audition iirc, hayama-san a few years later during the 9th live imitated the way hirono-san used to bow as kuukou after nurusara’s division rep battle, and the bat actors took the bat seiyuu’s very cute 9th live blunder, missing their cue to introduce themselves in sync, and owned bat’s chaos by introducing themselves with their individual quirks in their rep live lol

lol during that cross talk, hirono-san mentioned he was endlessly amused by kuukou being tied up and angrily trying to talk in bat’s first drama track and i’m very happy he got to live it for himself after being tied up by dohifu in bat vs mtr lmao

still cracks me up dohifu had their very gay my home duet and kuukou literally went ‘REALLY???? IN FRONT OF MY SALAD?????’ lmao

i’ve been trying my hardest to talk around stage kuukou’s writing but personal bangers despite are!!!!!

him trying to fight jakurai and when the man passed out without kuukou even doing anything he went, ‘bruh🧍‍♂️’!!!!!!!! him getting in hifumi’s face after being called out for his shitty attitude!!!!! him playing the bad guy to bring hitoya and jakurai together!!!!!!

kuukou: *points* HITOYA!!!!!!

kuukou: *points again* JYOOSH!!!!!!

i wish i was normal about bat’s rep live lol like while we may suspect that performance was borne out of his looming graduation, hirono-san snapped off that last remaining chain of sanity and went crazy lol

i think about him butting heads and screaming at kenta-san, one of the ddb guys who is probably the only one who could match that energy lmao, the roaring growing in frequency until he held up his jacket, nagoya side out, and yelling, ‘NAGOYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!’ until he blacked out on stage all the time 😭😭😭

other moments from the rep live i think about lol is that skit where hitoya totally scams kuukou and jyushi lmao but when hitoya told them the statue they ‘broke’ cost like 1000000¥ or some outrageous amount, kuukou started retching and that’s so relatable LOL

and that moment during the host club invasion where he walks in and goes ‘sup btches it’s been a while 😈’ and proceeds to destroy fragrance LOL

and him stuffing like four marshmallows at once in his mouth, expecting to be able to continue being able to speak lmao

and him going so hard his rings flew off and an unplanned mini encore happened as he tried to look for them LOL

saw a report that they were going stoopid one day during their rep live run the crowd was unwilling to let them go so hirono-san convinced the producers to let them do another encore on top of the several they already had 😭😭😭

and can you believe the hype never stopped even when bat wasn’t the focal point lol i heard that man at one point needed to be dragged off the stage during bop2023 bc he staunchly said they’d have to dim the lights on him for him to stop😭😭😭😭

there’s so so many bop2023 moments i think about like his redux rock paper scissors game, or him lifting up sasara only to drop him a second later lmao, him bullying stage posse LOL, the way they let him bring the hype whenever music lulled

and ofc the nb duet lol if the stage doesn’t want to do much by way of ichiro and kuukou’s relationship, thank fck hirono-san was there to carry lmao

crying over that one day when neither ichiro nor kuukou could catch their shared coke bottle to save their lives and kept laughing at each other while performing 😭😭😭😭😭

thank you hirono-san for establishing into stage canon kuukou dropped his bandana at ichiro’s feet after their breakup and that ichiro still has kuukou’s red bandana somewhere. it may not stick but that’s such an amazing take on that bandana’s whereabouts

daigo-san’s jyushi is so BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

THE top line i always think about is him joyfully walking into hitoya’s office in bat’s rep live and going, ‘hitoya-san!!!!! i’ve come to play!!!!! 😃😃😃’

previously that had been me crying anytime i thought about him skipping into hitoya’s office in track 3, cheerfully calling for him only to switch mid sentence into vkei mode once he noticed hitoya has guests lmao

his kuukou impersonation is legendary no joke lmao

AND SO IS ANY MOMENT WHERE HE PICKS KUUKOU UP LONG CAT STYLE SHOUT OUT TO BOP2023 SPECIFICALLY WHEN HE SWUNG HIM AROUND A LITTLE BIT TOO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

that’s the second most bat moment i think about lol

i like how sometimes daigo-san’s default jyushi expression is the equivalent of this lol

another top moment i think about is him yelling how much he loves kuukou and hitoya during bop2023 😭😭😭

especially when you think about those early days of bat???? his first stage role ever was track 3 and he talked about learning the ropes from ruito-san, late night train rides with hirono-san after rehearsals and sharing his insecurities, bonding with them both despite the two of them being shy and UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH

like I COULD CRY about daigo-san incessantly commenting under hirono-san’s posts after track 3 and finally hirono-san went, ‘bro what gives???’ and daigo-san went, ‘i’m trying to be your friend lol’ 😭😭😭😭😭😭

all that bonding culminated to a point daigo-san can make fun hirono-san in his most trying hours lol (he lost a lot of money gambling LOL)

forever haunted by him commenting he and sakakihara-san had an in depth conversation about jyushi after track 3 and we never had them in the same room 😭😭😭😭

i also think about this one report i read where hitoya and kuukou were beefing as they usually do so he sat himself aside and lol when kuukou asked him why’s he sitting over there he responded, ‘well i didn’t want to get in the way of your flirting 😒’ LOL

jyushi being hitoya’s (current) number one fanboy is my canon lol so i’m happy he got a whole solo about hitoya lol

another top moment i think about is jyushi dramatically crying he’s going to die alone in shinjuku because he got separated from kuukou lmao

will forever and always be bitter the mtc rep live with bat as guests wasn’t available for stream so we missed kuukou bullying samatoki by repeating everything he said, kuukou and jyushi getting chased around by juto and rio while samatoki and hitoya waffled (and samatoki oogled hitoya’s body lmao) and jyushi got arrested by juto so he started crying for kuukou who came out asking what was wrong as he piggybacked rio LOL

idk if you can tell but i like stage jyushi lol he’s very funny

both hirono-san and daigo-san are so down bad for ruito-san it’s so funny but i don’t blame them LIKE HAVE YOU SEEN HIM LOL

it’s so funny to see it bleed into their kuukou and jyushi like we ain’t ever getting over them essentially grinding up on him during one of bat’s songs in track 3 LOL

ruito-san is too peak for hitoya frfr lol ain’t no way we’ll get another hitoya who can do synchronised backflips with kuukou 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i almost forgot lol hirono-san commented that after track 3, he got stuck calling himself ‘sessou,’ kuukou’s personal pronoun lol, and similarly, ruito-san has a hard time not touching his chin like hitoya does LOL

stage hitoya is fascinating, simply bc of how much more adjusted he is than canon hitoya lol

like i cannot stress enough how the best morally grey hitoya was written when he scammed kuukou and jyushi into doing good deeds and favours for him lmao

since he’s so well adjusted, some of his and kuukou’s heart to heart changed in execution, but it was neat seeing him call out kuukou for assuming people can be effortlessly strong like him, and have that thought come back when he’s facing jakurai

idk if i have a preference between the stage vs canon on how they resolved hitoya’s and sensei’s relationship but i still think the stage absolutely cooked lol

will always be crying over kuukou’s jakurai impersonation lol and how he revealed it by teasing hitoya for having a date but kuukou apparently got the details wrong so he confidently corrected him that they had gone out for strawberry milkshakes

and fanboy jyushi fell to his knees crying how cute that was, he gets it LOL

there’s this motion stage hitoya does in his courtroom solo i think, where he stands with perfect posture and tilts his arms that makes him look like a scale ⚖️ and it’s so good lol symbolism in DANCING

so more on hirono-san and daigo-san loving ruito-san lol i always think about them gassing up the role he landed in a drag production 😭😭😭 hirono-san didn’t want to miss it and daigo-san eloquently used 🔥🔥🔥 in his hype, amongst other borderline thirst tweet shenanigans LOL

was that their last interview together……….???? but that video of them painting walls together where ruito spills paint all over hirono-san, daigo-san gently caresses paint onto ruito-san’s face, and hirono-san crushes daigo-san’s balls truly lives rent free i’m going to miss the three of them as bat so much 😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💔😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜😭💜

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partyofwords · 1 year ago

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Chaos God Kuko Harai

Summary: Some pesky human is adamant about cleaning Kuko’s temple. He’s not happy. So what is he going to do? He’s going to stop you of course! But how, since he is a God and you’re a human…?

Pairing: Kuko Harai X Reader

Genre: Fluffyish Oneshot

Word Count: 2436

Warning: Swearing, drinking, and yelling

Masterlist

A/N: I got carried away. So much so I also gave every HypMic character a God status. So like… if anyone is interested… let me know…

You definitely had your work cut out for you. The temple in Nagoya was in complete disrepair and infiltrated with bugs and assorted small animals. But you wanted to do this. You didn’t study theology all these years to give up because of how rundown the temple was.

With a determined huff, you rolled up your sleeves and got to work. After surveying the rooms and making a list of what needed to be done, you started to haul plants and debris out of the temple. As you cleaned, you made a mental list of what you needed to pick up from the store to decorate the inside and outside. Ideas of what you wanted it to look like started to form in your mind and you couldn’t help but get excited about it.

However, there was a certain someone who wasn’t excited about all these changes. Kuko was beyond pissed off. Who the hell were you to come into his home and start destroying it? It was the perfect amount of chaos for him and now you were giving it order, which is something Hitoya would do. He was not going to take this lying down!

“That little parasite!” He seethed.

Jyushi glanced over his shoulder, watching your work. “Who? Them? They’re just cleaning your temple. It’s about time honestly.”

“They have no right!” Kuko shouted. “They’re taking away the chaos that makes it known that I am the God of Chaos! How dare they!”

Hitoya sighed, running his hands over his face. “You’re such a child. You let your temple go so now you have no followers and no offerings. At least you have one who is devoted enough to do something about it.”

Kuko scoffed. “They’re ruining it, that’s what they’re doing. And I’m not just going to take it.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Jysuhi asked. “I mean, you’re incorporeal. You can’t really go down and tell her to stop.”

“He could.”

Kuko perked up at Hitoya’s words. “I can? How?”

The older God scoffed. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

“Then why the hell would you bring it up?”

“Because I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to want to do it!” He shot back before sighing. “But if you’re so determined to ruin your reputation as a God, go to Shinjuku and speak to Jinguji Jakurai, God of Humanity. He can turn you into a human for twenty-four hours.”

Before hearing the end of Hitoya’s little speech, Kuko was off. His “supervisor” just shook his head and rubbed at his temples. How he ever got put in charge of the obnoxious God of Chaos was beyond him. He just hoped he wouldn’t do anything too stupid.

Shinjuku was a lot different than Kuko had expected. But he didn’t have time to sight see. He was on a mission to stop that trespasser from ruining his home. And to do that, he needed to find Jinguji Jakurai, God of Humanity. Considering what he was the God of, he took to searching through hospitals to find him. It made sense that a God who cared about the lives of mortals would be in a place where those very lives hung in the balance.

It took a while, but he managed to find an ethereal man standing over a dying woman and giving her life. He whispered to her, “It is not your time yet. Live.”

When he was done and her vitals were once again stable, Kuko cleared his throat. “Hey doc. I have a huge favor to ask of you.”

“Is one of your followers in need of my assistance?” He asked.

“What? No. I don’t have any followers.” He snapped defensively. “I mean I have one and they’re making a huge mess of my temple! Hitoya told me you could give me a corporeal body so I could stop them. Can you actually do that?”

His neutral face morphed into a disinterested frown. “Giving a God a corporeal body for a reason like that is not beneficial to either party. Our followers may not always do what we want but as long as we have enough faith in them as they do with us, things tend to work out. Why would you want to stop them?”

“Because they’re giving order and structure to the temple of the God of Chaos! That’s so wrong on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start!”

Jakurai sighed and shook his head. “I still see this as a selfish reason to give yourself a corporeal form.”

He groaned. “What’s it going to take to convince you?”

The older God held up his hand. “All I said was I see it as a selfish reason. I never said I wasn’t going to do it. We will go back to Nagoya, I will give you a corporeal form, and you will have twenty-four hours to do as you see fit before you revert back to your God form.”

Kuko grinned wickedly. “Excellent.”

And so the two of them went back to Nagoya, standing before the entrance of the temple. He frowned at the debris piling up near the door. They had gotten a lot done when he was gone. Well it was about to stop right now.

“Now, how do we do this?”

“I can’t believe you’re actually going through with this.” Hitoya shook his head, standing next to Jakurai.

Kuko frowned. “Of course I’m doing this! They’re a menace and they need to be stopped! If this is how I have to do it, then so be it! Now, doc, what do I need to do?”

“Just stand there.” Jakurai huffed. “You have twenty four hours exactly in this form. When those hours are done, you will return to your God form. It’s not painful, just awkward. Any other questions?”

“Can I slap them into the next dimension?”

“No, you will not retain any of your Godlike abilities. You will be completely, absolutely human.” Jakurai waved his staff over him. “Your twenty four hours start now.”

It felt different. His body was heavier but not overwhelming. His skin now felt rough to the touch and his clothes had texture to them. It wasn’t like the smooth, glass-like feel when he was in his God form.

But he didn’t have time to revel in the different feelings while being human. He had a bone to pick with a certain pest. Screwing up his face into a fiery scowl and throwing his shoulders back, Kuko marched into his temple. A gust of wind kicked up some dust, causing him to cough as soon as he entered.

“Very funny Jyushi.” He muttered to himself before yelling out, “HEY! WHO’S IN HERE?!”

You popped your head out from one of the many rooms in the temple. At first you looked confused before a bright smile illuminated your face. He hated to admit it, but you didn’t look half bad up close. But now was not the time to be distracted. He came here for a reason and he was going to see it through.

And then you hugged him.

“Oh my Gods, it’s so good to see you! I thought I was the only one who cared about the Temple of Chaos God Kuko. Everyone in town thought I was crazy to come here, but I know the Gods are smiling down on me as I humbly serve them. I’m so glad you’re here! I could use some help cleaning this place up a bit and many hands make light-”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Now, Kuko felt a little guilty as he watched your smile, but he was doing this for a good reason. You weren’t supposed to be here and he wasn’t happy with what you were doing to his home. He was here to stop you.

“I have a permit, if that’s what you’re worried about. I just thought that since Kuko doesn’t have a lot of followers as it is, if I clean up his home temple, more followers would come from it.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want followers because it’s his home.” Kuko snapped.

You frowned, folding your arms over your chest. “Without a base temple, how are his followers going to praise him and ask him for guidance? Sometimes people need a little chaos in their lives-”

He rolled his eyes. “People are pretentious. They think they want his help, but really it’s just them nagging his ear off. No one wants that, least of all him!”

“You’re being unreasonable-”

“No, you’re being unreasonable!” He shot back, venom lacing his words. “You come into his home and mess around with his stuff like it’s yours! Besides, he is the God of Chaos! He doesn’t want a clean, orderly temple! That’s for Hitoya!”

You scoffed. “Fine. If you’re so against this, I’ll go. I know when I’m not wanted.”

“Good! Go!”

Again the gnawing feeling of guilt entered him. It was a strange and very human emotion. But this was for the best. Things would go back to the way it was. And that’s all that mattered.

“Dammit!” He heard you yell down the hall.

Running over to you, he grabbed your shoulder and pulled you away from the door. “What the hell are you doing?”

You glared at him. “Just because you don’t want me here isn’t going to stop me from leaving an offering.”

He paused. “Offering?”

Rolling your eyes, you turned back to the rusty padlock in front of the door. “Yeah, offering. Usually it’s food, but as long as it’s a gift to a God, it’s an offering. That’s what followers do for their Gods. I have some rum and cake in my bag that I was going to leave at his altar but there’s a lock and it won’t open.”

No one told Kuko that followers gave presents to him. If he knew that, he wouldn’t have stopped you. Glancing at the lock, he realized what room this was. It was his room and the messiest room in the temple. A swirl of embarrassment crawled up his neck, as he didn’t want to show you his room. But if he was going to get a present out of it, then why not?

He tried to pry open the lock with his hands when he remembered Jakurai’s words. He didn’t have his Godly strength. They needed another way in. He pointed next to you.

“Hand me that rock.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “You’re not going to bash my head in with it, right?”

He rolled his eyes in response. “Just hand it to me.”

“You could have at least said please.” You muttered as you handed it to him.

With all the might he could muster, Kuko hit the lock. It took a couple tries, but it was rusty enough for it to snap. Wrenching the lock off the door, he opened it, coughing as the dust hit him. His room was still as dingy as he remembered, but that didn’t seem to deter you. You marched up to the center of the room where his “bed” was. Dusting it off the best you could, you opened your bag. Out came a table cloth edged in purple, a bottle of rum with a little cup that you poured some alcohol in, and a dish with some fluffy looking cake. You then kneeled before the altar, pressed your hands together, and closed your eyes.

Oh Lord Kuko.

He could hear your voice in his head. You were praying to him.

I thank you for all the gifts you’ve given me and the challenges you’ve thrown my way. Especially this guy who started harassing me in your temple. I will take this challenge head on and make you proud. Even if everyone is against me, I will restore your temple to its former glory. I swear on my life as one of your most devoted followers. Thank you.

Though guilt continued to fill him for hearing your innermost thoughts, he knew he needed to hear it. You weren’t doing this out of selfish means. You were doing this for him.

“Hey…” He called out as you started to pack up to leave.

“What?”

Kuko felt his ears turn red with embarrassment as he said, “You don’t have to leave. I understand now that you’re not just doing this for selfish reasons. This place, it does deserve some sprucing up, and I think the Gods sent you here to do just that. Please, stay.”

You narrowed your eyes again, but stopped packing your bag. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

With a sigh, you set your bag down. “Well then, come here. I want to show you my ideas and prove to you that it’s not going to be all neat and orderly.”

He sat next to you at the foot of the altar and you showed him your schematics. Kuko had to admit, he was impressed with your designs. Not only were they perfectly chaotic, they were orderly enough so that people could still get through the temple with ease. It was such a perfect design and he wanted to help you create that vision. So he spent the rest of his twenty four hours helping you clean up. He moved debris out of the temple, dusted the marble, and swept up the cobwebs. As you went back to town to sleep, Kuko continued through the night. But by dawn’s first light, he could feel himself fading away. In a last ditch effort, he wrote you a note and left it at the altar for you to find.

And then he was gone.

“So, you didn’t kick them out.” Hitoya’s voice greeted him as he reentered God’s realm. “Why?”

He rolled his eyes with a scoff. “They’re going to bring me presents. Obviously I have to keep them around.” To prove it, he slipped into the altar and took a swig of the rum and a bite of the cake.

Hitoya chuckled as Jyushi said, “Maybe it’s because you like them.”

“I DO NOT!”

“Sure. Whatever you say, Kuko.”

As the two of them left alone, Kuko watched you enter the temple looking for him. But when you saw the note, you looked a little disappointed. He also felt sad for leaving you, but it was for the best. Besides, you continued where you left off last night. He was going to enjoy watching you work and if he missed you enough, he might just have to return to Shinjuku and pay Jakurai another visit.

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thepastisalreadywritten · 2 years ago

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In Japan’s glittering cities, all hustle and light, they can be easy to miss.

With all that sensory assault, who thinks to look down and take notice of something as mundane as a manhole cover? But these are no ordinary bits of civic infrastructure.

In Japan, many manhole covers are works of urban art—elaborate, curious, distinctive, even colorful.

They have become a tourist destination unto themselves and attract a legion of dedicated manhole enthusiasts who travel the country to visit some of the thousands of unique designs.

Japan’s decorated manhole covers—broadly encompassing storm drain, domestic water supply, electrical and other utility access covers—initially took shape as a public relations campaign for sewers.

Beginning in the 1950s, the cast plates featured simple geometric patterns, such as the “Tokyo” and “Nagoya” designs.

Japanese civil servant Yasutake Kameda conceived of the intricate, artistic versions in 1985 to help warm a skeptical rural population to the idea of the costly but necessary modernization of the country’s sewer system.

From these humble and practical beginnings, manhole covers have become a cultural phenomenon.

Typically, “local manholes” or “design manholes” feature elements special to a particular location: a town emblem, landmark, event, or official bird or flower.

For instance, Takasaki, 60 miles northwest of Tokyo in mountainous Gunma Prefecture, has manhole covers that commemorate the city’s popular summer fireworks festival.

Local mascots (known as yurukyara, such as Fukaya City’s adorable rabbit-deer Fukkachan) and cartoon characters also appear.

In Tokyo’s Tama ward, home of the Sanrio Puroland amusement park, one can find covers featuring the ever-popular Hello Kitty.

Local sports franchises are also represented near the teams’ home arenas and stadiums—such as the well-known colorful depiction of the logo of the Hiroshima Carp baseball team.

While there is some logic to the placement of the covers, particularly those graced with color—usually near a landmark, theme park, or stadium—others appear to have been placed without rhyme or reason.

Indeed, it is not unusual to walk down an otherwise unremarkable side street and spot a special one underfoot.

The ornate manhole covers are initially carved from aluminum, which is used to make sand molds for casting.

The majority of the designs are selected by local municipalities, in conjunction with manufacturers.

In most cases, the design is just imprinted in the cover, but in some cases, the covers get another touch—colored resins flooded into voids like enamel on jewelry.

Today, an estimated 95 percent of Japan’s 1,718 municipalities across all 47 prefectures now host their own unique covers.

In Osaka, approximately 10 percent of the city’s 180,000 manhole covers feature ornate designs, of which roughly 1,900 get the color treatment.

Typically, a designed manhole cover, which weighs more than 80 pounds, excluding the frame, costs approximately $585—a five percent premium over the cost of a plain cover.

The color, however, is applied carefully by hand and nearly doubles the price of a manhole to more than $900.

Such is the popularity of these little urban treasures that they have a devout, organized following.

There is the industry-led Japan Ground Manhole Association and the fan-based Japanese Society of Manhole Covers, whose website features thousands of photographs submitted by users across Japan, who have snapped everything from large sewer covers to tiny local utility access panels.

“Manholers,” as they’re known, may travel to distant areas of the country just to photograph covers or collect pencil rubbings known as takuhon.

Trading cards featuring manhole designs are also popular collectors’ items and can command steep prices in online auctions.

One prominent fan is Kei Takebuchi, a popular Tokyo-based singer-songwriter.

Takebuchi traces her fascination with them to the covers of Nagoya, which feature a charming cartoon water strider insect, while she was on tour in 2015.

Since then, she has regularly tweeted photos of manhole covers to her nearly 200,000 followers on social media.

“Every manhole cover design has [a meaning] … it tells me that we can create art with almost anything,” she says, in an interview for this story.

Like many places, Japan is full of people with unusual hobbies or obsessions, but love for the country’s manhole covers has gone mainstream:

a “manhole festival” was held near a major train station in Tokyo last month, featuring trading cards, baked goods, and replica covers from around the country.

Retailer Tokyu Hands ran an extended campaign at its central Shinjuku location, with a range of manhole cover–related goods for sale.

The affinity for manhole covers also seems to tap in to Japan’s fondness for hobbies that involve lots of domestic travel.

Stamp rallies—featuring rubber stamps at train stations and other landmarks—encourage hobbyists to travel to overlooked or lesser-visited locales to add one more stamp to their collections.

“Rail-fans” similarly scour the country to document or experience a rare train carriage, an unusual station melody, or other rail-related minutia.

It is the same for manholers, with the occasionally far-flung or seemingly random placement of coveted covers—and directions of varying accuracy—adding to the sense of a scavenger hunt.

Indeed, Takebuchi recounts once spending three hours on a bitterly cold day in Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture to snap a photo of a particular manhole cover, beautifully designed with an images of Toki no Kane, a historic bell tower.

Similar stories are common currency in manholing circles.

Easy to overlook, but curious and rewarding, Japan’s unique manhole covers are a charming reminder that the mundane can be exciting and that you should never forget to look down.

#Japan #manhole covers #Yasutake Kamed #local manholes #design manholes #Japan Ground Manhole Association #Japanese Society of Manhole Covers #manholers #Kei Takebuchi #manhole festival #Tokyu Hands

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ephemeral-lace · 2 years ago

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Ann-chan (From the United States, living in Aichi Prefecture) Today's fashion theme ✿ Rose Bonnet, Bolero ✿ Innocent World One Piece ✿ Victorian Maiden Socks ✿ Angelic Pretty

Nagoya Snap was held at Sakae NOVA on Sunday, June 9, 2019! Kera on the day! Mo's Minakata Yui-chan appeared as a guest♪ I enjoyed taking two shots with everyone in a refreshing classical Lolita style. Thank you to everyone who participated! This time, it's the fashionable Kera who came to snap! We will introduce you to the cuckoos over 3 times ♡

Photographed by Yuichiro Kawai

#egl #egl fashion #egl community #eglfashion #eglcommunity #glb #gothic and lolita bible #gothic & lolita bible #kera #kera magazine #not my coord #street snap #nagoya Snap #Sakae NOVA #innocent world #victorian maiden #angelic pretty

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bonguri · 10 months ago

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20231230 Nakamura park-Meieki 10 by Bong Grit Via Flickr: トラキチさんのお宅なんですね、きっと。 @Nakamura ward, Nagoya city, Aichi pref., Japan.（愛知県名古屋市中村区）

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chelleluneauthor · 2 months ago

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The Conversation Room Novelization

Hey there everyone! As a writing practice I tried novelizing one of my favorite stories from Alley's. Since I feel like it, kind of, counts as fan art I thought I would drop it here as well. Hopefully I did Mr. Ito justice.

xoxo, Chelle

/) /) ( • ༝•)

By: Junji Ito

Novelization By: Chelle Lune

Life can change in an instant.

Isn’t that what my mother had always told me? A warning that had fell on deaf ears until that ill-fated October day, after it was already too late.

I had just moved from my small town of Takayama to an even smaller town by the name of Kuroshita. When graduating from Nagoya University, only a handful of months earlier, I could have never imagined myself living in a town more remote than the one I had spent my entire adolescence trying to escape.

Kuroshita was a rural, secluded mountain top community that only saw sparks of life during the winter months. Being the hidden holiday vacation spot that it was, tourists would only come to the mountain town from December to March to ski, ice skate, and attend special festivals put on by the local government.

Once spring arrived, however, the town would become desolate yet again. The seasonal visitors would journey back down the mountain, leaving the locals to close up the inns and shops not supported during the off season. Not many year-round businesses remained that would draw in outsiders, like me, except for the one that stood, newly built, on the outskirts of town.

Kuroshita Observatory had been one of the only organizations to give me an interview post-graduation. The engineering field I studied from was extremely competitive. On some days, it felt as though my fellow graduates were snapping potential career opportunities from me left and right. I think my willingness to move to the middle of nowhere, brought on by desperation, is what secured me the eventual job offer.

Surprisingly, I fell into my new life and routine easily. I had begun to wonder if I had started to develop a type of Stockholm Syndrome with the exact type of life I thought I couldn’t stand. I found a small apartment in the heart of town and during the week commuted to the craggy overlook where the observatory stood. It was a relief to discover that I actually loved my job and even enjoyed the rural commute to get there.

In spite of that, it was on this commute that my life, no, my entire perception of reality, changed forever.

XXX

Moootoh? Hashhhhhemottttttttoh?

Mehhss Hashemmmooohtoh?

The first thing that broke through the haze were the words, if you could call them that. The second thing was the pain. My head was so heavy and full it felt as if someone had sewn a cinder block onto my neck. The rest of my body was incredibly sore. Muscles I didn’t even know I had screamed out in protest with each small movement. Hesitantly, I moved the only part of me that didn’t weigh a thousand pounds. My eyelids.

“Ms. Hashimoto?” The world was blurry, but the voice came from right above me. “Are you awake, Ms. Hashimoto?”

Slowly, the world began to take shape around me. Fluorescent lighting hung overhead which created a halo effect around the older nurse leaning over me. She was a stern looking woman with flinty eyes and a no-nonsense set to her mouth. Terribly confused, I watched as her capable hands fiddled with the IV that was, apparently, hooked up to my forearm.

“Where am I?” The words came out much weaker than I had intended.

“This is a hospital ward.” She responded, placing a gentle hand speckled with age spots onto my arm. “You were in a car accident and sent to the hospital.”

My eyes darted around the room to confirm that, yes, she was right. As to be expected from a town like Kuroshita, the hospital ward I was in looked as if it had not been updated in over a decade. The room had one door leading out to a dimly lit hallway, the walls were plain with no decoration, and the only thing to fill the space were five other hospital beds with accompanying side tables.

Five hospital beds, I realized, that were all occupied.

“Your head and arms were injured.” The nurse, whose nametag I could now read said “Watanabe”, continued. “Although the injuries aren’t terribly serious, we are keeping you for observation overnight. Just to be sure.”

Nurse Watanabe looked at my IV one last time before giving a firm nod, pleased with her handiwork. She began to make her way around the small room to check on my newly acquired roommates. I furrowed my brow as I looked at the pockmarked ceiling tiles above me. Now that the fog of whatever drug they had given me had begun to wear off the event that landed me here was starting to come back.

It must have been around seven in the morning on my usual route to work. I remembered groggily bobbing along to the radio as I came upon the intersection next to the local market and gas station. My old, beat-up car chugged along into the empty intersection when a loud scraping roar overtook everything. My head slammed against the driver’s side window. Confusion. Then nothing.

“Ms. Sugie, how are you feeling?”

The question brought me back to the present where Nurse Watanabe was checking in on the girl laying in the bed directly to my left.

“Well, awful obviously,” The woman, Sugie, whined in an exaggerated nasal tone. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and twisted her mouth into an ugly grimace. “Why did this have to happen to me? I’m so unlucky!”

I immediately disliked her.

XXX

With no radio or television, the hours passed slowly in the old hospital room. I napped on and off until a stinging sensation began on my cheeks. It was as if a centipede was crawling across my face, stabbing me repeatedly with needle point legs the whole way. Prodding my face didn’t reveal any scratches or injuries. I worried something neurological had been altered during the crash. It became so uncomfortable it was all I could think about.

“Ms. Hashimoto? Ms. Hashimoto?”

The sound of my last name snapped me out of my worried thought spiral. I turned to the bed next to me in confusion and met the eyes of the whiny girl from earlier.

“I’m sorry?” I managed.

“My name is Sugie,” she said with more haughtiness than an introduction could possibly warrant. “The driver of the car you hit.”

My head physically recoiled in indignation.

“How fast were you driving?” She continued without waiting for a response. “You’re definitely going to be at fault with how you were speeding.”

“Wait a minute, I was not speeding!” My voice was loud and shrill. “I had the right of way. YOU were the one that came charging through the intersection without stopping.”

“I did stop! You barely got hurt but there’s, like, a crack in my leg.” She gestured wildly to the cast on her right leg. “It might be broken!”

The other ward patients sat silently and watched our heated interaction.

It was strange, the other four girls sharing the ward with Sugi and I looked nothing alike. Yet, they all seemed as if they were related somehow. There was an identical dull vacancy in their eyes and the same odd expression settled among their features that made them seem indistinguishable.

“I have to take time off of work now which is going to make my bills pile up. You’re going to do something about it!”

“Hold up!” I protested. “Don’t blame this entire thing on m-“

I was cut off by an angry Nurse Watanabe bursting in through the single ward door.

“Ladies, what on earth is going on?” Her stern voice immediately shut us both up. “You will not yell in this hospital. Am I understood?”

With an annoyed sigh Sugi laid her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes.

“Yes ma’am,” I replied.

I stared angrily ahead and that was that.

XXX

As the night stretched on a crippling anxiety fell over me. The hospital stay was beginning to get to me. The annoying and strange roommates, the fluorescents, the constant smell of bleach and cleaning chemicals, the pain in my body and the non-stop sticking sensation on my face. It was all becoming too much to handle, and I found myself desperately reaching for the nurse call button.

“Ms. Hashimoto? What’s the matter?” The new nurse, Hayashi, asked me once she was at my bedside.

“My neck hurts,” I said pathetically, burying my face into my pillow.

“Oh, it’s probably whiplash. That’s a new symptom, isn’t it?” She asked. “We’ll put a compress on it for now. Wait just a second.”

She went to get the compress, but I lifted myself up off of the bed to stop her.

“Nurse?” I waited until she turned my way to continue. “My cheeks and lips have been stinging since I woke up.’

“Stinging?” She sounded confused.

“Yes.” All afternoon the stinging sensation that had begun on my cheeks had crept its way down to my lips.

“It might be due to the whiplash,” she sounded unsure. “We’ll have the doctor take a look in the morning.”

I nodded in silent agreement before settling back into my bed and waited for her to return.

XXX

I awoke to the soft sound of laughter coming from the far side of the room.

A low whisper, almost indiscernible, followed the laughter. For a second, I wondered if I was still dreaming.

The room had been enclosed in darkness. There was no light, minus the orange streetlamp glow that filtered in from outside. A quick glance around showed that I was the only one awake.

Had someone been talking in their sleep?

“They really are…so pretty…” This whisper came from directly beside me and I jumped, fear spiking in my chest.

The room filled with the hushed murmurs of the other patients punctuated by sporadic laughter. I realized it was the four other girls, the odd ones that had shared the same expression, muttering among themselves.

“There’s a bunch blooming over here too.”

“Where? Oh, wait for me!”

“Hurry up!”

“Haha, slowpoke!”

The cacophony of whispers in the dark made the hair on my arms stand up.

Making as little noise as possible, I lifted myself up into a sitting position and surveyed the room. The room plunged into silence. There was no movement and everyone’s eyes were closed as far as I could tell.

They were sleeping, right? Had I been dreaming? It had sounded so real.

A quick glance at the analog clock hung over the door told me that it was currently three in the morning. The uneasiness gnawing at my gut coupled with the prickling sensation on my face suggested getting back to sleep would be difficult.

Sugie slept soundly in the bed next to me, much to my annoyance.

Must be nice.

I started to lower myself back down to my pillow when the four sleep talking girls sat up suddenly, staring ahead blankly. For a minute everything in the room stayed completely still. My breath caught in my throat, and I froze. They were looming shadows in the night. Outlined dimly by the light from outside.

Another minute passed. Another eternity.

Swiftly, perfectly synchronized, they stood from their beds and walked towards the hallway door. Their slippers slapped the ground in time with one another. Involuntarily, I gasped. They turned as one towards me.

“O-oh, uh,” I stammered nervously under their unwavering gazes. My armpits were suddenly slick with sweat “Where are you guys going?”

A heavy silence hung between us as they stared. Finally, they all turned away and continued their journey to the hallway.

“Bathroom…” Was the reply. I couldn’t tell if it was one voice responding, or all of them.

I watched them go as goosebumps crept up my arms. Going back to sleep would be difficult, indeed.

XXX

“Well, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.” Dr. Sato told me the next morning as he examined my neck and face. “But we’ll get some X-Rays later. At any rate you should stay one more night so we can monitor it and be sure.”

He turned away towards the four other girls and his demeanor visibly changed. When speaking with me he had a friendly smile and a kind crinkle to his eyes but when he faced them, the corners of his mouth immediately turned down and his eyes narrowed.

“You four,” he began, shoving his hands into his white coat. “How do you all feel today?”

I leaned forward with interest, curious about why these strange girls were admitted in the first place. A disgruntled grunt came from my left.

“So, suddenly it’s whiplash?” Sugie’s irritating voice asked. “You’re totally faking, right? If you’re trying to use this to get a favorable settlement, you can forget it. I’ll never let that happen.”

I pointedly ignored her to focus on the doctor’s conversation with the girls.

“The four of you still refuse to eat?” He put his hands down on the metal rail at the foot of a bed and leaned forward. “You did go to counseling at the clinic I recommended, right?”

There was a beat of silence before they all answered together.

“No.”

“Why not?” I could see that Dr. Sato was fighting to keep his tone professional. “This seems to me like a mental health issue. Physically, there’s nothing wrong with any of you.”

“The doctor from that hospital wanted to talk to us separately.” The girl with the blonde ponytail responded.

“And we want to be together.” The girl on my other side added.

“We’re always together,” The youngest looking of the four insisted. “We don’t want to be apart.”

“Maybe that’s the issue then.” Dr. Sato told them. “You’re all influencing one another, for better or worse.”

“We can’t influence each other,” The youngest responded. “Our minds are one.”

I could feel a collective shiver come over the medical staff and I. What the hell did that mean? Something really strange was going on with these girls and I agreed with the doctor. It wasn’t physical.

“We even had the same dream yesterday!” She continued with a vague smile that was mirrored on the other girls’ faces.

“Yeah, we dreamed of a lovely field,” Blonde ponytail said, more to the other girls than to the doctor.

“You were running so slow!” The girl with short hair laughed.

The doctor stepped back from their beds with a huff.

“Regardless,” he told them. “This isn’t healthy. You need to take in more calories. I think it’s best if we transfer you to a larger hospital down the mountain.”

“We’re happy here if we can get our I.V. drip,” Short hair said.

“Yes,” Blonde ponytail agreed. “The I.V. drip is plenty enough.”

“You don’t have many patients, anyway.” The girl with bangs countered smugly. “The rooms are always empty. If we left, your hospital would go out of business.”

This touched a nerve and Dr. Sato turned on his heel abruptly before storming out.

“That’s enough for today!” He called back angrily.

The nurse, obviously uncomfortable, hovered in the doorway. Her eyes darted between the Weird Sisters, as I had dubbed them in my head. They ignored her and laughed behind their hands, as if they were all in on some big joke that the rest of us were not privy to.

“Hey, nurse?” Sugie called out before she could leave the room. “Could you move me to a different room?”

The nurse looked at her startled and went to reply before Sugie cut her off.

“Honestly, it’s pretty inconsiderate to put the victim of an accident in the same room as the person who caused the accident!”

“O-oh,” Nurse Hayashi was obviously flustered by Sugie’s blunt outburst. “That’s because this is the only available room right now. You should have been taken to a larger hospital, but since the accident happened nearby and neither of you were seriously injured, we- “

“I looked a little bit ago and there’s no name plate on Room One.” Sugie cut her off.

“Room One is for storage,” The nurse told her. “Since we’ve had fewer patients these days, we stopped using it.”

Sugie let out a loud exhale as if Nurse Hayashi was purposefully trying to frustrate her.

“Fine, I don’t care.” She snapped. “Just move me there!’

Since Sugie had a cast, Nurse Hayashi helped her up and onto some crutches. The nurse led her out of the room and down the hallway towards Room One. It didn’t take long for Sugie’s shriek of displeasure to travel back to our room.

“You’re kidding me! This isn't a room; this is a dump!”

Without speaking the Weird Sisters all rose from their beds and headed out into the hallway. Curious, I got out of my bed and leaned against the doorway watching. They approached Sugie and Nurse Hayashi before the girl with the long hair stepped forward and spoke up.

“Sugie,” she said, “come back to our room. A room by yourself is too lonely.”

“She’s right!” Blonde ponytail agreed. “It’s not good to be alone. Come back to our room!”

Sugie looked the girls up and down, sizing them up. For possibly the first time in her life, she was speechless. The Weird Sisters placed their hands gently on her back and began to lead her back to our room. Before I returned to my bed, I locked eyes with Nurse Hayashi and watched her slowly shake her head.

XXX

Sugie didn’t stay speechless for long, however. It was only an hour later that she was back to her regular complaining. The Weird Sisters had all been hooked up to their precious I.V. drips and laid back in their beds staring up at the ceiling silently. Thoroughly creeped out I laid down and closed my eyes hoping to hurry sleep so that I could make it to my discharge time tomorrow.

Sugie, of course, had other ideas.

“Hey, Hashimoto,” she started, as always. “I had an important deal at work the day of the accident. The whole thing is probably ruined now. How are you going to fix that, huh? Not to mention my car! It was brand new and cost way more than yours, I’m sure. Hey, are you listening to me?”

Sugie’s whining had me wishing the airbag had ruptured my eardrum, leaving me blissfully deaf. Since I hadn’t had such luck, I kept my eyes closed and feigned sleep.

“I know you’re awake,” I could practically hear the sneer in her tone. “You’re disgusting.”

There were a few blissful moments of quiet before she spoke again. This time her voice wavered, a hint of anxiety creeping in.

“Ah, why are my cheeks stinging, it feels awful.” I almost opened my eyes to this as my cheeks and lips were also still stinging. “Maybe your thing is infectious. Ugh, don’t come near me. If anything, you should go to Room One!”

I couldn’t take it anymore. My eyes flew open and I all but leapt out of my bed.

“You know what Sugie,” My voice dripped in exasperation. “That may be the first intelligent thing I’ve heard you say since we got here.”

Her jaw dropped in outrage, but I didn’t stay to hear her rebuttal. I charged down the hallway and straight to the nurse’s station and frantically tapped on the sliding glass.

“Please move me to Room One!” I begged her as soon as we made eye contact. “As long as I’m stuck next to that woman, I am never going to get better! I don’t care if it’s a mess. It will be leagues better than Room Three.”

Nurse Watanabe stood from her chair and waved her hands at me in a calm down motion.

“I understand,” she said with a knowing look. “I’ll talk to the Director. Please give me a moment.”

She walked out of my line of sight and returned quickly, nodding her head in confirmation. My body sagged in relief. Finally, I could be away from Sugie and the Weird Sisters. Nurse Watanabe slid my name plate out from the holder under Room Three and I followed her towards Room One.

“Go ahead and switch rooms, Hashimoto.” Sugie called from the doorway of Room Three where she was lurking. “Don’t try to sneak away in the middle of the night. I have your license plate number copied. You can’t run from me!”

That wasn’t going to stop me from trying.

XXX

Besides the overwhelming mess, Room One was, in fact, much more relaxing than Room Three. The awful stinging sensation on my face had even gone away. Maybe it had been a side effect of being in Sugie’s Presence.

Around 9pm, Nurse Watanabe informed me that it was lights out and plunged the tiny room into darkness. The only light source came from the moonlight filtering in through the gossamer curtains. The quiet was a welcome comfort but now that Sugie’s voice was not hovering in my ear my mind began to wander and digest the absolute strangeness that was the last twenty-four or so hours.

Sugie aside, I wondered what exactly was going on with the other four girls in Room Three. They were honestly very creepy. With no form of real entertainment, I had watched them during our time together. Everything they did was perfectly synched. They would all wake up and go to sleep at the exact same time. Not to mention going to the bathroom together. Unless they were lying, which I guessed was possible, they could also share dreams and talk to one another subconsciously. The whole thing was so weird.

Krrrrrrrrrrrkkk…

A slow scraping noise interrupted my thoughts. The room was so cluttered it was hard to tell what anything was in the darkness, but I strained my eyes trying to find the source of the sound. There, against the wall, was the slightest of movements. A small bookcase that rested on the far side of the room was moving ever so slightly, the corner of it swinging out into the room like a door.

Leathery, gnarled fingers curled around the edge of the wood and pushed outwards. A second hand extended from that dark space followed by a bald head and a torso. I fumbled with the small lamp on my bedside table and illuminated the room.

A withered old man in a hospital gown crawled out from what I could now see was a hole in the wall the bookcase had concealed. He stood slowly and swayed slightly, obviously unsteady on his feet. I was frozen as his gaze swept around the room before settling on me. Fear shot down my spine.

“Wh-who are you?!” I asked, scrambling backwards on my bed until I hit the wall.

“I’m from the men’s ward, next door,” he croaked. His voice seemed unused to speaking. A maniacal smile lacking teeth stretched across his face. “I’m so lonely so I dug a hole to make friends.”

His tongue darted out to lick his chapped, flaking lips. Stepping toward me with outreached hands, he immediately reminding me of a zombie. He lurched erratically forward and grabbed my forearms, eliciting a squeal.

“Do you want to be my friend?”

“S-stay away from me!” I shrieked.

“Ms. Hashimoto, what’s wrong?” I heard the door to my room be thrown open as Nurse Watanabe rushed in.

She took in the old man grabbing my forearms and gasped.

“Mr. Furuta!” She chided which caused him to release me. “You can’t just barge into people’s rooms. When did you come in here.”

She turned her head to the overturned bookshelf with the gaping hole behind it and exclaimed in surprise.

“What is a hole doing here? Is this how you got in? Shame on you!”

She put her hand on Mr. Furuta’s arm and led him towards the doorway, scolding him the entire way.

“You are going back to your own room,” she said once she had escorted him into the hallway. “Do not come into this room again.”

She threw an apologetic look my way before shutting the door with a click. I stayed pressed up against the wall for a second urging my heart to slow down. This hospital was way too weird for me. Minor injuries, or no, I was leaving in the morning.

I went to settle down again when a giant bang and commotion came from the hallway. I went to the doorway, opening it just a sliver. It wouldn’t be obvious I was spying but I still had a good view of the hallway. Sugie was on the floor, tangled in her crutches and screaming bloody murder.

“Help!” She shrieked, desperately trying to get up with her cast foot. “There’s something wrong with those women. There were snakes in their mouths, and they tried to get into my mouth! It was like a needle repeatedly stabbing me in the face!”

My own hand unconsciously floated up to touch my cheek. The stinging sensation had gone away once I had left the room the four girls were staying in. My stomach dropped. No, Sugie was having some kind of nervous breakdown. She had to be.

Nurse Watanabe tried to help Sugie up, but she knocked her hand away and pointed wildly at the Weird Sisters who now crowded the door of Room Three.

“Look!” She cried. “Don’t you see? Their mouths. Look at their mouths!”

There was a tense standoff as the Weird Sisters and the nurse held each other’s gazes.

“What are you talking about?” Nurse Watanabe finally asked Sugie, concern coloring her voice. “There’s nothing there. You must have been dreaming. Now, please, return to your room this minute. You’re causing a scene.”

This sent Sugie into a full-fledged meltdown. Sweat was pouring profusely down her face causing her skin to shine and her bangs to mat down in a greasy slick across her forehead. She clawed frantically at her mouth, drawing blood and leaving deep gauges in her otherwise unblemished skin. She released a terrified howl.

“NO! STOP!” Everyone else stood fixed in place at her outburst. “IT’S GOING INTO MY MOUTH.”

Nurse Watanabe grabbed her wrist and pulled Sugie’s hands away from her face while calling for help. A male janitor ran to her aid and together they were able to pick up Sugie, still screaming and clawing, off the ground. The janitor and the nurse disappeared with her into Room Three and after a while Sugie's screams quieted into silence.

XXX

I couldn’t move from my hiding spot behind the doorway. Another nurse had made an emergency call to Dr. Sato, and he had come down right away. He quickly made the corner into view and was greeted by Nurse Watanabe.

“You gave her a mild sedative?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.

“Yes, she’s sleeping now,” she responded.

They both moved down the hallway to put distance between themselves and Room Three. Luckily this brought them closer to my room so that I was still able to hear when they dropped their voices to little more than a whisper.

“Doctor,” Nurse Watanabe twisted her hands together. “Is it all right to just leave Ms. Sugie in there? This isn’t the first time a patient has been afraid of the girls in Room Three.”

I had to press a hand to my mouth to stifle my gasp. I leaned even further into the door to make sure I didn’t miss any part of this conversation.

“Those women…” her voice trailed off. “There’s four of them now, but in the beginning, it was only two, right? They were admitted because they weren’t eating. The other two patients in the ward complained of the same symptoms and ended up joining them but they were so afraid at first.”

She stopped talking but Dr. Sato said nothing, so she continued.

“Is the same thing happening to Ms. Sugie? That would make her the fifth…It’s disturbing. We only started to lose patients after those four were admitted. If we don’t get them to leave somehow, this hospital will get shut down.”

“You’re right,” The doctor finally said. “We’ll stop their treatment tomorrow.”

They walked away back to the nurse’s station and disappeared around the corner leaving me staring at an empty hallway. My heart beat hard in my throat, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the door of Room Three. It was slightly ajar, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was someone standing behind that door watching me back.

Shakily, I shut my door and pushed the bookshelf back into the wall effectively sealing the hole to the gross old man’s room. I paced the small room nervously, sweating. The doctors and nurses had told Sugie that there was nothing coming out of the Weird Sisters mouths but I…I had seen it too.

Cylindrical things with sharp pointed ends had stretched out from all four girls’ mouths, twisting together to try to get into Sugie’s. The nurse didn’t see it, but then again, I hadn’t seen it originally either. My stomach lurched as I realized this had been going on from the very beginning. I couldn’t see them, but those needle things tried to get into my mouth while I was in Room Three. Stabbing at my cheeks and lips while trying to find a way in, the same way they were now doing to Sugie.

Thinking of Sugie laying in the dark surrounded by the Weird Sisters while those sharp tentacle things tried to pry into her mouth made me nauseous. The hospital had descended into complete and utter silence. I wondered if Sugie was okay and what was happening to her. Selfishly I worried if they were going to come for me next.

Kreeeee…

A long creak echoed down the hospital hallway causing me to jump and creep back to the door. My heart raced as the sound of multiple slippers slapping the linoleum echoed down the corridor. I cracked my door open just enough to see the Weird Sisters walking in unison towards the nurse’s station. With a jolt of horror, I realized Sugie walked among them.

The tentacles with stingers poured out of their mouths like vomit, all intertwined with one another. Connecting them. From my vantage point, they looked like one entity unable to be separated. Hurried footsteps came from around the corner and Nurse Watanabe and Dr. Sato appeared. They pulled up short and Nurse Watanabe screamed. They could see the tentacles now. They had to.

“W-what are you- “Dr. Sato began but was cut off.

The tentacles shot out in a flurry of motion, stabbing Dr. Sato and Nurse Watanabe in the chest and face. It pierced them over and over again as they screamed. When the tentacles retracted, they both hit the ground with a thud. Where the sharpened points had struck, only bloody, gaping holes remained. The Weird Sisters erupted into giggles as they loomed over the gasping, groaning bodies of the nurse and doctor.

“Poor things…” One of the weird sisters, or perhaps all of them, said.

An involuntary noise slipped from my lips. The Weird Sisters whipped their heads towards me, and I made eye contact with each of them. With a scream I slammed my bedroom door shut and ran to the bookshelf. I pulled it away from the wall and dove through the hole into the old man’s room, reaching back to pull the bookcase back against the wall behind me. I slapped my hand over my mouth and desperately tried to calm my breathing. Mr. Furuta laid, thankfully, asleep in his hospital bed. The only thing that would make this situation worse would be that crazy old man waking up.

“You saw.” One of the girl’s voices came from my room next door. A chorus of the other girl’s voices followed with their own questions.

“Hashimoto, where are you hiding?”

“She didn’t go outside, the window’s locked.”

“Damnit, where is that bitch hiding?!”

“She saw us. She either joins or dies.”

I could hear boxes being flipped, the clatter of my bedside lamp hitting the ground, as the girls tore the room apart looking for me. My mind raced as I tried to make sense of what was happening.

Were the tentacles coming out of their mouth’s nerves or something? Maybe their minds were connected by the tentacles and that’s what connected them to one another. If that was the truth, then maybe it wasn’t five different people with one mind but one person with five different bodies.

No, not a person.

A creature.

If that was the case, this thing was trying to collect more bodies. I had to get out of there. If I didn’t it was only a matter of time before those sharp needles forced my mouth open and burrowed down into my throat, making me become a part of that damned hivemind.

I snuck as quickly and quietly as I could and pushed Room Two’s door open a sliver. Room One’s door was thrown open and if I made a dash for it, I risked being seen by whatever the hell was looking for me.

“She’s not here!” An annoyed screech came from the open door. “There has to be a way out of this room somehow.”

There was a heavy thud, and my heart stopped as I realized it was the bookshelf coming free of the wall. A crazed cackle filled the air as the thing discovered the hole connecting the rooms.

“Room Two! She escaped to Room Two!”

Before I could react, the girl with the bangs pushed Room Two’s door open, throwing me back against the wall.

“Ah!” She exclaimed through a mouth full of tentacles. “Found her!”

She lunged towards me, roughly grabbing my shoulders. The majority of her tentacles streamed out into the hallway keeping her connected to the other girls, but one reared back like a snake and struck at me. I ducked and dove forward with all of my strength, pushing her back as far as I could. She stumbled and before she could regain her balance, I threw my weight against the door slamming it shut.

This action severed all of the tentacles, and she let out an anguished howl. She clawed desperately at the severed ends, and I watched as her features crumpled inward. Her skin seemed to age decades in the span of seconds, wrinkling and pocketing, as her eyes rolled back up into her head, turning yellow. She crumpled to the floor, and I heard a chorus of four other screams coming through the wall. Since they were all connected maybe it hurt them too.

I sprinted out of the door and passed Room One faster than I thought I could in slippers.

“How dare you?” Came the voices of all of the girls in unison. It sounded rougher now. Distorted. “How dare you kill one of my bodies?! Run, run. If you can escape, then run!”

I looked back once at the mangled body on the floor before beelining for the exit. I averted my eyes from the bodies of Nurse Watanabe and Dr. Sato where they laid sprawled out on the floor. Making it to the exit door I flung it open, hurdling into the frigid night air. The distorted voice called out to me from the open hospital door as I ducked into the woods.

“I know your license plate number,” It said. “I will find you.”

Four voices erupted into perfectly synchronized laughter.

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