#PLEASE AUTHOR SAMA

[bmpmp3]

(jigsaw voice) hello viz media. kodansha. seven seas whoever the fuck- hello english manga localization companies. before you is a list of shoujosei manga:

ah itoshi no banchousama

himitsu top secret

love rerun

kotou buchou (and hitomonchaku nara yorokonde while ur at it)

sora wo kakeru yodoka

dame na watashi ni koishite kudasai

you have however long you need to make english releases of these series. WITH physical release. i want them on my book shelf so i can sit on the floor and read them instead of doing my homework. if you do not follow my demands than i will., be sad

[harunayuuka2060]

Idia: H-Hi... M-My name is I-Idia Shroud. The housewarden of Ignihyde...

Yuurin: *bows her head respectfully to him* It's my pleasure to meet you, Housewarden Idia. My name is Yuurin. *has been assigned by Professor Vargas to help him in finishing the exercise*

Idia: O-Okay. Shall we start now?

Yuurin: *nods*

Idia: *lies down on his back, bending his knees*

Yuurin: *holds his feet securely*

Idia: I'm quite good at situps. I can probably do five.

Yuurin: ...

Yuurin: *smiles* That's great, Housewarden Idia.

Idia: OMG!

Idia: R-Really?

Yuurin: *nods* We should start now, Housewarden Idia.

Idia: Ah, yes. *tries to do one situp*

Yuurin: ...

Idia: *struggles to lift his upperbody*

Yuurin: ...

Idia: ...

Idia: *sighs to himself*

Yuurin: It seems you didn't get enough sleep last night.

Idia: Yes...

Yuurin: ...

Yuurin: He's the opposite of Leona-senpai.

Yuurin: ...

Yuurin: Please hold my hand, Housewarden Idia. So I can pull you up.

Idia: Eh? You will do that?

Yuurin: Yes. Your core will still hurt after this even with assistance.

Yuurin: That should be acceptable.

Idia: Th-Thanks...

Ortho: What do you think about her, brother?

Idia: She's nice.

Ortho: That's great! Then can you be friends with her?

Idia: Nonononono— I shouldn't.

Ortho: Why not?!

Idia: Leona will kill me.

Ortho: ...Oh.

Idia: I witnessed how he dragged Ace when he tried to approach her.

Idia: It was the scariest thing...

Ortho: ...

*In the Equestrian Club*

Sebek: *frowning*

Sebek: What is a non-member doing here?!

Student A: Oh. Yuurin is here to visit that horse.

Sebek: That still doesn't answer my question!

Sebek: Our horses are not pets!

Student A: Well, you should ask Sir Riddle.

Sebek: No need! I will ask him myself! *approaches Yuurin*

Sebek: HUMAN! ONLY MEMBERS OF EQUESTRIAN CLUB ARE ALLOWED TO BE HERE!

Yuurin: I have permission from Riddle Rosehearts — Housewarden of Heartslabyul.

Sebek: Do you have proof?!

Yuurin: ...

Her horse: *his tail swishing* *and obviously annoyed at Sebek*

Yuurin: ...

Yuurin: Are you the leader of this club?

Sebek: No!

Yuurin: Then, are you its vice leader?

Sebek: N-No...

Yuurin: I see. So you hold no authority.

Sebek: How dare you, human!

Yuurin's horse: *grunting noises*

Yuurin: Calm down, Aerion. *pets him gently*

Aerion: *snorts*

Sebek: You... YOU EVEN NAMED THE HORSE?!

Aerion: ...

Aerion: *is now staring at Sebek*

Yuurin: ...

Yuurin: Yes. Aerion is a majestic horse. He reminds me of Pegasus.

Aerion: *nuzzles her hand*

Sebek: ...

Sebek: YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO NAME OUR HORSES!

Aerion: *baring his teeth at him*

Yuurin: ...

Riddle: Yuurin has my permission to visit the Equestrian Club.

Sebek: !!!

Sebek: I-Is that so?

Yuurin: ...

Riddle: You should apologize to him.

Sebek: Wh-Why would I—

Yuurin: "One's character is a reflection of their leader."

Yuurin: Is the housewarden of Diasomnia the same?

Riddle and Sebek: ...

Sebek: ARE YOU INSULTING MALLEUS?!!

Yuurin: You're tarnishing your housewarden's reputation with that behavior.

Riddle: ...

Sebek: You... FIGHT ME, HUMAN!

Riddle: Sebek!

Yuurin: Very well.

Yuurin: *walks up to him and punches him straight in the face*

Sebek: *falls on his behind*

Sebek: *blinks in confusion*

Sebek: What—

Yuurin: I advise you to visit the infirmary. And have your nose treated.

Sebek: *his nose bleeding from the punch*

Riddle: ...

Yuurin: *turns to Riddle* I hope you forgive me for my behavior. I will accept any disciplinary action.

Riddle: ...

Riddle: No. It's fine. He asked you for a fight and you gave it to him.

Sebek: ...

Sebek: HE CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD!

Lilia: *chuckles* No, Sebek. You asked for it and he acted based on your request.

Sebek: Keuk��� I see. Thank you, Lilia-sama, for explaining to me.

Lilia: What is his name again? Yuurin? *chuckles* He's quite strong for him to take you down easily.

Sebek: *blushes in embarrassment*

Malleus: Indeed. Why not invite him to visit Diasomnia? I would like to meet him myself.

Sebek: W-Waka-sama?

Lilia: *chuckles* Don't worry, Sebek. We are only curious.

Akihiko: Yuurin...

Yuurin: I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry.

Akihiko: ...

Akihiko: *chuckles* Well, we can't do anything about it now.

Yuurin: ...

Akihiko: Anyway, Yuurin? Are you still taking your medication?

Yuurin: Yes. On a daily basis.

Akihiko: Don't you think it's time that you stop taking them?

Yuurin: ...

Yuurin: But Aki—

Akihiko: Yuurin, I want to hear your real voice someday.

Yuurin: ...

Yuurin: Hm. I'll find an alternative instead to keep this manly voice.

Akihiko: As long as it's not medication.

Yuurin: Yes, Aki.

Akihiko: Thank you, bluebell. *chuckles softly*

Yuurin: *smiles*

[yanderenightmare]

idk if you write for naoya but i have an idea...maybe darling is like maki but actually weak and naoya bullies and takes advantage of them?

love your work btw!! <3

JJK ! IMAGINE

Zenin Naoya x maid ! darling

TW: yandere, mentions of abuse, bullying

Proposal Gift

Sharp hazel eyes follow you in your innocence, narrowing while he judges – concluding once again, as he’d done before, that there really isn’t a single cursed bone in you – only a humble body of warm squeezable flesh and a heart he bets is all too easy to break.

You’ve always been like that. Quick to smile and quick to cry. A bundle of emotions unfit to be raised in such a ruthless clan.

He’s a few years older than you and remembers well what a weak constitution you’ve always had. Anyone could see it, and everyone knew it from the moment you were born – you were never going to amount to much.

He used to find your weakness quite disgusting – used to push your face into the gravel until snot and tears would wet the dirt in a pitiful puddle – with his foot pressed down between your shoulder blades – sometimes until hearing a pop and shriek loud enough to echo off the walls. With words cutting even deeper – telling you what a curse you were, born so weak and so useless – a stain on the great Zenin name.

But now that you’ve grown up, he bites his tongue – silently watching with a strange type of lusty entitlement forming in his gut…

He’s only been away on a mission for a handful of months – who’d have known he’d come back to see you grown into something so… precious.

You’re the prettiest out of the maids – the cutest one too, and undoubtedly the sweetest as well. Walking about the garden where you have most of your chores – watering plants in the sun and picking herbs for healing. You’re quiet and graceful, taking slow steps in your plank shoes that knock softly on the tiles where you peacefully wade through the maze in a pretty flower-patterned yukata.

You look nothing like the snot-nosed brat he’d left in the dirt. You have a swell of breasts now and a feminine face wiped clean of soot – painted with pretty red on your lips and fresh blue on your eyes.

You’re a lady now.

And while your weakness used to disgust him, he’s now realizing what a blessing it is instead. Smirking the more he glares at you – now sitting on a bench in the shade doing some hand stitching, knowing no ill will – he understands he’s quite lucky you turned out such a fragile little thing.

“Naoya-sama-” You spluttered, eyes widening into big round glass orbs.

Jumping to your feet, you nearly threw your needlework down on the bench before folding your fingers together and bowing – much lower than necessary – with a rush that could only be excused with fear.

You hadn’t known he was back yet and felt the surprise like a vice grip wrapped tight around your throat.

Swallowing thickly, you made your excuse while maintaining your bow, praying he’d show you mercy. “Pardon my lack of awareness- I was absorbed in my chores, you see- please forgive me-”

He folded his hands within his pants and raised his chin with a smirk at your spluttering, licking his teeth in enjoyment at your pretty display of courtesy. Eyeing you for a long moment before speaking, mainly to watch you begin to tremble in the wait – cutely dreading the bite of his punishment.

But punishing you wasn't what he was interested in at the moment.

“You’re not in maid robes.” He said instead, ignoring your previous stuttering. His face, jaded with a tone just as callous, aided by that weighty air of authority he always has surrounding him – the one that never fails to make your skin feel raw in the cold.

“Oh-” You fumbled, halting at his lack of anger – wary of the unexpected behavior as it was pretty odd for him not to jump at the opportunity to punish someone like you if and when the chance presented itself.

Though, it wasn’t yet decided he wouldn’t do just that – the way his steely and strangling presence nearly knocked you over with its vicious intensity alone – staring you down sharply with that otherwise smooth hazel.

In return, you had your doe-eyes yielding and down-cast, eying your fabrics with a bite to your lip – trying to keep your voice from shivering while uttering the next line, heat in your cheeks while at it. “These are- uhm- proposal gifts I’ve been asked to wear.”

He snorted at that, and you flinched at the abrasive sound – eyes shifty while eyeing the ground, lowering your head some more, looking down at the paint on your toenails instead.

“From whom?” He asked a beat later.

Your brows pinched at his curiosity and how awfully unlike him it was. Naoya-sama had never struck you as the type to make trivial conversation, especially with the likes of you. 

“I’m- uhm- not exactly sure…” You confessed, twiddling your fingers. “You see, Father doesn’t want to confuse me- after all… it’ll be his decision in the end, anyway.” 

You kept your head bowed while explaining, feeling awkward before him. Trying to think of a time when he’d paid any type of regard to you or your life – remembering none.

“B- but my marital status must be of no interest to you, Naoya-sama.” You blurted then, finding it to be a rather strange matter to discuss with him of all people.

But all the man responded with was a slight hum, keeping his gaze on you and the way you timidly glanced up at him only to look away when seeing him stare back. 

Ears burning, you chewed and sucked your lip under his glare, thinking of how badly you’d witness him beating other maids – having needed to treat many a cut and gash and bruise and broken bone he’d left on bodies much smaller than himself – not to mention the ones on your own frail self he’d given you in your youth. 

“Please excuse my arrogance-” Your memory prompted you to gush. “Doing anything but welcome you home from your mission is rude of me- I heard you lead our clan into many victories- you must be very proud.”

You decided to try you r luck charming him instead, hoping it could sway him from the urge to hurt you.

“Or maybe it doesn’t come as a surprise anymore. You’ve always been rather strong, after all.” You continued but choked on it only a second later – spurring with yet another apology on your lips. “That was thoughtless of me to say- you should feel proud either way- please forgive me for my stupid words, Naoya-sama- I fear the heat has gone to my head and made a complete airhead out of me…”

But despite the obvious hints of regret and panic in your draining face, the man gave no indication of even having heard what you’d said until offering your ramble another rather unusually relaxed response.

“It’s true.” He agreed – much to your surprise, where you’d braced your face for a backhand and your stomach for a gut punch. “It’s become boring.” 

You dared glance up at him through the lashes of your bow – only to see his face still as expressionless as always – a type of stone-cold that made the hairs at your nape rise.

“Still… you must be tired from the trip, if not the mission” You softly started in spite of it – hoping to end the conversation soon. “You shouldn’t stay out here in the sun for too long…” You tried, praying he couldn’t see straight through your intentions. “And- uhm- I should really hurry along- help prep supper for you and your soldiers with the other maids.” You excused, once again bowing your head, waiting for his nod of dismissal – ever relieved when he gave it.

You swallowed your tremors, feeling lightheaded and dizzy while offering up whatever type of smile you could muster.

“It was good seeing you, Naoya-sama.” You lied. “Welcome home.”

You bowed yet again, dismissing yourself before turning and leaving him.

He kept his eyes fixed on you despite it. Observing the distressed spring in your step and how it disturbed the former peace you walked the gardens with earlier. 

A smile inched up his face watching it.

You look very nice in his proposal gift.

He looks forward to having you in his bed.

tip-jar: Kofi

[thewritingrowlet]

The Lost Sweetheart, ft. tripleS Kaede

tags: creampie, first time, strangers-to-spouses

word count: 14k+

author's note: this was harder to write than I had thought it would be but I'm glad I managed to finish it anyway. Next fic will very likely not be about tripleS, by the way (still exploring my options).

“Kae-chan”, says Mrs. Yamada as she knocks on Kaede’s bedroom door, her warm voice the opposite of the cold winter, “your dad wants to have dinner together to celebrate your birthday, sweetheart”. Kaede seems reluctant to go but answers the door anyway. “W-we won’t talk about marriage arrangements, will we?”, she asks. Her mother doesn’t answer her question, opting to show a soft smile that Kaede can’t decipher the meaning of while retreating from Kaede’s sight. Seeing that she got no answer, Kaede bows nervously to her mother in respect before going back to her room.

The way Mrs. Yamada refused to answer makes Kaede nervous: her parents aren’t the cleanest of people and have ties with organized crimes and the sort; what would happen if she was ordered to marry the son of one of their sketchy (and occasionally violent) business partners? Kaede paces the bedroom, feeling very uneasy about potentially meeting her arranged match tonight. After considering her options carefully—including escaping the country—she decides to play along and accept her dad’s invitation to dinner and braces for whatever event might unfold—Kaede has an abundance of filial piety and obedience towards her parents, but orchestrated marriage frightens her.

Kaede opens her wardrobe and eyes the few dresses she has. She opts for the elegant white dress hanging in the wardrobe, hoping that she’d be able to impress the man of her future. Kaede closes her eyes and prays, “papa, mama, I trust your judgement; please don’t put your daughter in danger”. Kaede, despite the cold sweat running down her body, tries to convince herself that everything will be okay. She proceeds to take off her clothes and puts on the dress. After putting it on, she moves to stand in front of the mirror and puts on makeup. No matter how hard she’s gaslighting herself, her heart simply can’t be lied to as Kaede starts shedding tears. “Please, please don’t put me in danger—I’m begging you, papa”, she says, her voice quivering in fear.

After soothing herself, she walks out of her bedroom and goes down the stairs. “Ah, there you are”, Mr. Yamada greets her as he puts a handgun into the holster under his suit, “are you ready to go, sweetheart?”. Kaede eyes her father’s movement carefully, “m-may I ask why you’re bringing a-a firearm,p-papa? W-we won’t be in immediate danger, w-will we?”. Mr. Yamada approaches her and pets her head softly, “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it, my sweetness”.

Mrs. Yamada joins them and announces that she’s ready to go, and Mr. Yamada takes them both in each arm and lead them to the car, where the chauffeur, Mr. Fujiwara, and a handful of Mr. Yamada’s men are waiting. “Attention, gentlemen”, Mr. Yamada calls out to his men, “my family will be heading to The Zen for dinner; you know what to do”. His men bow to him and move to do their assignments: the chauffeur opens the car door for them while the others get in an escort car.

“Master Yamada”, Mr. Fujiwara politely asks for Mr. Yamada’s attention, “I would like to give the heir a humble present for her birthday”. Mr. Yamada turns to Kaede with a smile, “come, my dear, Mr. Fujiwara has a present for you”. Mr. Fujiwara pulls out a small box from his suit pocket, “Kaede-sama, please accept this brooch that my wife has made for you”. Kaede opens the box and gasps in fascination, “this is very beautiful, Mr. Fujiwara! Thank you very much”. Mr. Fujiwara smiles and accepts her praise with a bow before getting in the car. “Papa, can we repay their kindness?”, Kaede asks her father, and gets a smile and a nod of approval as an answer.

-

Mr. Fujiwara stops the car in front of The Zen and opens the door for the Yamada family. Kaede looks around the area and sees that his men have assumed different positions in the perimeter of the restaurant to keep the family safe. “Come on, sweetheart”, Mrs. Yamada steals Kaede’s attention and leads her into the restaurant. Kaede has been to The Zen multiple times, but the glamorous interior never ceases to amaze her. Mr. Yamada chuckles hearing Kaede’s endless wows, “we’ve been come here a lot, my dear; why does it keep fascinating you?”. Kaede giggles softly as she moves to hug her dad, “I like this place, papa; thank you for taking me here”.

“So, Kae-chan”, Mrs. Yamada starts the conversation as they’re eating, “your father wants to introduce you to this excellent young man”. Kaede panics and looks around the restaurant, thinking that the man is in the room with her. “He doesn’t live in this country, sweetheart”, her mother says to Kaede’s relief, “we’re arranging a meeting next weekend for the two of you”. Kaede musters up her courage and nervously ask what kind of man he is. “He’s the eldest son of my overseas business partner”, Mr. Yamada answers her in a stern but calm tone, “we’re thinking about having you get married to him if the prerequisites go according to plan”. In Kaede’s mind, the words “business partner” can only mean that they are as violent and dirty as her parents, no matter how “excellent” they might be, and the thought is terrifying.

Kaede can’t help but look down at her plate in silence, yearning for words of assurance that this man is at least a good person and wouldn’t hurt her in any way. Those words never come out of her parents’ lips, however, and she thinks of another idea. “My deepest apologies, papa and mama, but what if I say no?”, she asks. Mr. Yamada looks at Kaede coldly, “then you must leave”. Kaede is about to open her mouth when her dad cuts her off, “by leave, I meant the house and the country”. Kaede doesn’t want to leave her parents or country, but the inconclusive nature of the situation doesn’t help her come to a decision. “You have until morning to tell us your answer. We will put two things on the dining table at home and whichever you choose is your answer—choose carefully”, Mrs. Yamada tells her.

-

During the ride back home, Kaede stayed silent, floating about in the sea of thoughts. She couldn’t be bothered to listen to what her parents were talking about; she was too busy to pay attention to anything else but her future—with or without this man. “Go to your room, sweetness—your mother and I need to talk about some things”, her father commands. Kaede nods wordlessly and heads to her room, changing clothes immediately before lying in bed. Kaede is never a fan of uncertainty, and the overwhelmingness makes her shed tears. Kaede opens her diary and starts writing today’s entry, pouring all emotions and thoughts into it. Unbeknownst to her, her tears have wetted the paper, a testament to her pure heart.

Kaede takes her sweet time to think, squeezing every last bit of brain capacity to consider every possibility. No other conclusion but to call a friend for help comes to her. Kaede unlocks her phone and scrolls to find her friend’s contact on her phone. “Hello?”, her friend says over the phone, the sweet voice soothes Kaede immediately. “He-hello, I-I’m sorry for calling so late into the night”, Kaede says, tears start running down her cheeks again. “No, it’s okay. My fiancé and I just came home from dinner—why are you crying, though?”, her friend asks. Kaede stifles her weeping before talking again. “I-I want to run away”, she says. “Run away!?”, her friend says, the tone high in disbelief, “have you gone insane?”. Kaede breaks down crying again, “I-I just can’t do this anymore—I’m such a disappointment to my parents”. The friend denies Kaede’s self-accusation but is wise enough to not pry too hard, offering her all the assurance that Kaede has been pining for all night long.

Instead of feeling relieved, Kaede is more determined to leave everything behind and start anew somewhere else, away from her parents and their empire. “I-I must go. Tha-thank you for letting me call you. I’ll see you on the other side”, Kaede ends the call and throws her phone away. Kaede decides to write a letter of farewell to her parents, praying to the heavens that they would understand.

“Dear papa and mama,

I would like to humbly apologize for being a disgrace to the family; I have turned out to be the disobedient daughter that papa and mama are ashamed of.

I ask that papa and mama worry none, as I will do as you wish and leave the family in hope that no more dirt will be thrown upon the Yamada family.

I humbly thank you for everything that papa and mama have done for me in my life, and I wish eternal happiness and safety upon both of you.

There is no need to look for me, as I’ll most likely be in a different country by the time papa and mama read this.

Please refrain from punishing anyone for my actions, for none of this was their fault.

Formerly, the Heir of Yamada

Yamada Kaede”

Kaede wets the paper with her tears and brings it to her lips. “I’m so sorry, papa and mama”, she utters with tears on her cheeks; the same ones that her parents have kissed in love and adoration over the years. Kaede packs her two suitcases and backpack full of her belongings and cracks open her piggy banks—Kaede might be wealthy and is never short of money, but she has always been wise with her money, saving a percentage of her allowance every month for future use. She sees that she has accumulated a decent sum of money over the years and puts everything into her wallet.

Kaede walks down the stairs to the dining room and sees that her parents have indeed put two things on the table: an open velvet box with a ring in it and the box her father uses to keep his handgun in. Kaede picks up the box with the gun in it and shoves it into her backpack, not forgetting to put her letter in its place. To her cluelessness, her parents have been watching her every movement through the peephole of their bedroom door. “She chose the gun, dear”, Mrs. Yamada announces to her husband. “I pray for your happiness and safety, my little princess”, Mr. Yamada says softly, his words not reaching Kaede’s ears.

Kaede drags her suitcases outside and meets Mr. Fujiwara who is sitting on the steps. “Fujiwara-san, please take me to the airport”, she says. Mr. Fujiwara smiles softly and nods as he opens the door for her and helps her with her stuff. He then starts driving to the airport as Kaede has told him to, staying silent throughout the ride.

“Will I see you again, Heir-sama?”, he asks, seemingly sad about her departure. “Maybe one day, I honestly don’t know. Keep me in your prayers, Fujiwara-san”, she says as she gets off the car and head into the airport building. Mr. Fujiwara bows to her one last time before leaving in the car.

Kaede sits on the empty bench and opens her phone to find a ride out of the country. “South Korea, hm?”, she says to herself, “yeah, I guess I can do that”. Kaede buys a ticket for a plane that will leave in about two hours before laying on the bench, finally able to catch her breath and compose herself. A part of her expects one of her father’s men to appear and drag her home, but no one actually came, and for the first time in her 20-something year life, she feels like a regular person and not the heir of a business empire.

-

After landing in a new country, Kaede opens her phone again to book a hotel. No hotels allow midnight check-in, and she has no choice but to sleep at the airport until the sun rises. “I hope my parents won’t have closed my account by the time I wake up”, Kaede says to herself before closing her eyes to take a quick nap.

Kaede wakes up after a few hours and decides that she should call her friend again. “Good morning, Kae-chan”, the friend greets her over the phone, “feeling better?”. “Actually, I’m in Korea right now—you’re here as well, aren’t you?”, Kaede reveals. Judging by her friend’s tone, Kaede can tell that her friend doesn’t really approve of her actions. “Where are you? I’m going to pick you up”, her friend says, and Kaede tells her that she’s still at the airport. Kaede is told to stay put and wait until she’s picked up.

Kaede didn’t need to wait long, as after a quick and refreshing bathroom trip, she receives a text from her friend saying that she has arrived at the airport. Kaede sees that her friend is standing next to a fancy car with a dark window tint. “Kotone-chaaaan”, Kaede runs towards her friend and hugs her, “wow, you look so pretty”. In the corner of her eyes, Kaede sees a man get out of the car and start approaching her. “Kae-chan, this is my fiancé, Jeon Yunho. Love, this is my friend, Yamada Kaede”, Kotone introduces the two. Since Kotone is speaking in Japanese, her fiancé doesn’t know what she’s saying but he smiles every time his name is mentioned.

Yunho asks Kotone to translate for him, forwarding his invitation to a group breakfast to Kaede. “But aren’t you guys dressed for work right now?”, Kaede asks. Kotone looks down at her outfit before bursting out laughing. “We have a subsidiary under Yunho-oppa’s parents’ company; I think we’re allowed to miss work every once in a while—isn’t that right, love?”, Kotone turns to Yunho. “Huh? Yeah, sure, whatever you say”, Yunho chuckles and pecks Kotone’s forehead. “Is this what being in love is like?”, Kaede thinks to herself as she gets in the car.

“So, Kae-chan, what’s your plan?”, Kotone asks as her fiancé starts driving. “Find work and learn the language—not sure about the order, though”, Kaede says. Kotone speaks to her fiancé about some things before turning back to Kaede. “Yunho-oppa offers you the chance to work at our company and we’ll pay for your expenses until you can stand on your own feet”, Kotone says. Kaede types in what she wants to say into a translator and has the app say the translation out loud. “I appreciate the offer, but I feel bad about getting freebies”, the app says, making Kotone and Yunho burst out laughing. “We want to help you, Kae-chan—no offense to you, but we are all you have in this country”, Kotone says.

The car stops on the side of the road after a short ride in front of a small restaurant. Kaede aims her translator app at the text above the door; “House of Congee”, it says. Kaede follows the couple into the restaurant and sits with them. “Yunho-oppa brought me here when we were in college. He bought a plate of chicken gizzard and liver that day”, Kotone says. “Kotone fell in love with me after I bought her congee”, the translator app on Yunho’s phone says, shocking the two women as they burst out in sudden laughter. Kotone playfully slaps and scolds her fiancé in embarrassment as her cheeks are painted red. Yunho grabs Kotone’s chin and comes in for a kiss, causing Kaede to cover her face to hide her unforeseen blush. While Kaede is happy to see her friend be in love, Kaede also hopes that one day she’ll be able to love someone as much as Kotone loves her fiancé.

A waiter brings three bowls of congee and a plate of gizzard and kidney and puts them on the table. Kaede immediately picks up a piece of gizzard and puts it in her mouth, instantly exclaiming in excitement at the taste. Kaede sees Kotone and Yunho smiling at her, thus covering her face with both hands in embarrassment. Kotone shakes her head in amusement and tells Yunho to start eating. “I love this, Tone-chan—the tea is great too”, Kaede says, her mouth full of congee and chicken liver. “I know, right? We have breakfast here at least twice a week”, Kotone says.

Since Yunho doesn’t speak Japanese, Kaede feels comfortable talking to Kotone as she doesn’t need to worry about Yunho judging her. “I envy you, Tone-chan; Yunho­-oppa seems to be so in love with you”, Kaede says. Kotone is reminded of the fact that she hasn’t asked why exactly Kaede left her parents and moved here. “What are you looking for in this country, Kae-chan? You have everything you need at home", Kotone asks in genuine curiosity. “My parents told me that they were going to arrange a marriage for me, and this is the cost of refusal and disobedience”, Kaede reveals, her voice getting smaller due to sadness. Kotone sighs audibly before telling Yunho what Kaede just told her, and Yunho joins her in sighing. “I must take responsibility for my actions, and I ask that you give me the chance to figure things out on my own. That way I won’t be too big of a disgrace for my parents”, Kaede adds. She then asks the couple to take her to a language school so that she can start learning Korean.

Kotone stops Kaede at the door of a language school and hands her a credit card, not taking no as an answer. No matter how persistent Kaede is, she can’t sway Kotone from helping her. “Never hesitate to call us if you need help. We’re here for you, Kae-chan”, Kotone says while hugging. Kaede expresses her gratitude before pulling away and entering the building in front of her.

“Good morning. Is there anything I can help you with?”, the staff at the desk greets Kaede in Korean. Once again, Kaede types in what she wants to say and shows the translation to the staff. “Ah, of course!”, the staff switches to Japanese and pulls out a pamphlet. He then starts explaining everything related to the course, from length, schedule, and eventually, the cost of it. Kaede thinks that this is a good investment and decides to pay in full up front, despite the staff’s suggestion to put down a down payment and pay the rest as the course progresses. “The first class starts tomorrow at 5 pm, Kaede-san. Please feel free to leave. Have a good day”, the staff bids his farewell as Kaede leaves the institution.

Kaede realizes that everything from this point onwards is going to be trial by fire; she’s in a different country which language she doesn’t speak a lick of, there’s no one to hold her hand all the time unlike her Heir of Yamada days, and she needs to be able to fend for herself—Kaede now understands that it’s just me, myself, and I in a whole new world. “Mama, papa, I hope that you look at me in kindness and forgiveness as I start a new journey in this land of hope. I pray that we can meet again soon”, Kaede says softly while looking up at the sky, hoping that the planes flying above will carry her message to her parents.

Kaede takes a deep breath and looks around; there’s a bus stop across the street. Kaede crosses the street and opens her navigation app to figure out how she can get to her hotel by bus. She eyes the route and stops shown on her phone, burning the unfamiliar letters in her memory. From the right, she hears a bus rolling towards the stop; “this must be it”, Kaede says as she makes sure no belonging is left behind.

Kaede keeps an eye on her surroundings, trying to remember what is where while still paying attention to her phone to make sure she doesn’t miss her stop. Despite being a workday, the bus is still decently packed. “I wonder if everyone is lost like I am”, she thinks to herself. If someone was to read her mind, they would see that her head is full of determination and hopefulness. While yesterday’s Kaede feared uncertainty, today’s Kaede embraces it, taking it as a chance to shape herself into a brave and strong girl.

-

It’s been over two months since Kaede arrived in Korea and around 6 weeks after she left her hotel and moved to a small apartment. Kaede is now relatively familiar with the layout of the city, especially where her favorite grub spots are located at. Not only that, but she is also somewhat fluent in Korean, thanks to the language school, and today, she aims to find a job.

The sound of her morning alarm violently shakes her awake. Kaede still hasn’t gotten used to waking up alone, but that’s one of the many side effects of leaving your parents behind that Kaede will need to get used to. She jumps off the bed and heads towards the shower to get her day started. As she stands in the shower, her head starts getting filled with excitement and nervousness at the prospect of getting a job like a regular person in their 20s. “I hope people like me”, she says to herself.

She leaves her unit after putting on a white shirt and a black knee length skirt. Kaede then makes her way towards an all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant at the other end of the block. “Good morning, madam”, Kaede greets a woman who she guesses is the owner, her accent thick but adorable. “Good morning to you as well, young miss”, the lady smiles warmly at her, “can I help you?”. Kaede looks at her feet, shyness creeping back to her. “I-I’m looking for work, madam. I-I’m hoping I can work for you here”, she says.

The lady takes Kaede’s hand softly and pulls her to sit down at a table. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”, the lady asks. The endearment shorts Kaede’s brain momentarily—that’s the same name her mom used to call her. “M-my name i-is Yamada Kaede”, she introduces herself—she slaps herself internally for saying her last name and hopes that the lady has never heard that name before. “You can call me Mrs. Park, Kaede-yah”, the lady smiles at her warmly, “what is a gorgeous girl like you working here for, though?”. Kaede involuntarily lets a tear escape her eyes, “I-I ran away from home, Mrs. Park, and now I need money”. Mrs. Park wipes the stray tear softly, “I’m not going to judge you, sweetheart, but I do sympathize with you”. Kaede shakes her head, “thank you for your kindness, madam, but I brought this upon myself. C-can I work here, please?”.

Mrs. Park reveals to Kaede that the restaurant is only open three days a week and if Kaede is down for it, she can also work at Mrs. Park’s sister’s café when the restaurant is closed. “Thank you for giving me these opportunities, Mrs. Park. I will not let you down”, Kaede says, the fire of determination visible in her eyes. “The pleasure is mine, Kaede-yah—are you okay with starting today, though?”, Mrs. Park says. “Of course, madam. What is my first task? Take out the trash, maybe? Peel some fruits?”, Kaede says as she looks around the restaurant for ideas. Mrs. Park chuckles in adoration, “we need to go to the market, sweetheart; we almost run out of a handful of things—your enthusiasm is inspiring, Kaede-yah”.

-

Mrs. Park hands Kaede a list of items that they need for the restaurant. Kaede reads the list as they walk into the market area: soy sauce, salt, premium grade sliced beef, boneless chicken thighs and breasts, and giant prawns. Mrs. Park wraps an arm around Kaede’s and guides her towards one stall after another, crossing out the list one item at a time. Mrs. Park says that there’s no need to worry about choosing the best beef or seafood as she is good friends with the stall owners, and they always give her the best stuff. “You trust them that much, Mrs. Park?”, Kaede asks. Mrs. Park nods, “yeah, I’ve known these people and their families for so long, we’re basically family too”.

Back at the restaurant, Mrs. Park shows Kaede where to keep stuff. She specifically tells Kaede that everything should be organized neatly. “We have a few hours before we open; please clean the restaurant”, Mrs. Park says as she shows Kaede where the cleaning equipment is kept. Kaede was reaching for a mop and a bucket when Mrs. Park stopped her. “Your clothes are too good for cleaning, sweetheart; don’t you want to change first?”, she says. Kaede agrees to Mrs. Park’s suggestion and heads back to her apartment to change into something more comfortable.

-

“Sweetheart, we’ll pick you up at the airport tonight, okay? Love you”, your mom texts you as you’re rushing towards the airport building, feeling impatient to go home after a business trip overseas that ended up fruitless. You reply to her quickly before making your way towards the toilet to freshen up. “Man, that was such a waste of time—so damn counterproductive”, you say to the mirror in front of you, sighing in annoyance after.

You sit in the waiting room until you hear the announcer say over the speakers that you’re now allowed to board the plane. Once seated, you pull out your tablet to write a summary for your parents and since you’re sitting next to the window, you don’t need to worry about people bothering you. “I can’t believe we’re working with these people”, you shake your head as you start jotting down key words. Your concern is warranted; the company that your parents want to work with is dumping hazardous waste carelessly and illegally, and the only reason that they’re getting away with it is because they’re actively bribing city officials, per the private investigator you have hired.

Your focused and annoyed mind makes the 2-something hour flight feel like it was 15 minutes long, and you hear the stewardess announce that you’re about to land and need to fasten the seatbelt to prepare for the landing process. You lock your tablet and fold the seat table, somewhat feeling annoyed because you’re being interrupted.

Since you only have a tablet, you don’t need to worry about waiting for baggage claim and head straight towards the exit. You see that your parents and sister are waiting for you right outside. “Oppa, welcome back!”, Juyeon greets you with a warm smile on her face. You walk up to your family and hug each person present, getting a kiss on each cheek from mama. “We need to talk”, you say to your family. “Aren’t you tired, though?”, your dad asks, and you shake your head in response and tell him that this is an important matter. Juyeon suggests talking over dinner at a restaurant because she’s hungry. “Yeah, sure, we can do that”, your dad says.

Juyeon said she wanted to have barbecue, so here you are, sitting at a barbecue restaurant of her preference. A waiter comes up to your table and takes Juyeon’s order since she’s always the one in charge of ordering whenever your family goes to eat together. “So, what is it that you deem to be important?”, your mom starts the conversation. You sigh as you unlock your tablet, “where do we even start? They’re so damn shady, mom”. Everyone pays attention to you, and you start by telling them about the alleged tax fraud that this business partner does. “You have proof, yeah? We don’t want to accuse them blindly, dear; we’ve had this partnership for a while now”, your dad says. You assure your dad that everything you’re about to say is based on proof that the private investigator has collected.

You keep rambling on as everyone puts one thing after another in their mouths until Juyeon interrupts you. “Sorry for cutting you off, oppa, but you haven’t touched your food. Here, try this”, Juyeon picks up a piece of wagyu and guides it towards your mouth. You want to keep talking but the taste of meat stuns you, “wow, that is really good, Juyeon-ah”. Juyeon laughs at you, “this family can’t run without me, oppa—we both know that”. You give credits where they are due, and Juyeon deserves some right now. You peck your little sister’s head in adoration, “I love you, you little rascal”. You see your parents smile lovingly as they watch your interaction with Juyeon, feeling happy that the two heirs of the family’s empire get along well with each other.

You resume your lecture after finishing the food on your plate, and if there’s one habit of yours that your parents dislike, it’s how you subconsciously talk so loudly when you’re passionate about the subject. “I think the most fucked up thing that they’re doing is that they illegally dump hazardous waste into the air and river, thus poisoning the community. They bribe officials from top to bottom and send out hitmen to retaliate against whistleblowers—excuse my language, by the way”. Your parents sit in silence as they rub their foreheads to process what you just told them. You look at Juyeon and see that she has a concerned look on her face. “Listen to me, please”, you say, “I understand how important this partnership is, but the Yamada family is a fucking mess. We need to be careful; we can’t be caught doing illegal shit with them”.

In the corner of your eyes, you notice that a female staff is looking directly at you. When you turn your head towards her, however, she breaks eye contact and turns around. You quietly pray to God that she’s not one of Yamada’s spy or something like that. Juyeon catches on to what you’re doing and asks you if anything is wrong. “No, it’s okay. Sorry for being too loud; I just wanted to express how serious these things are”, you say to her.

Your parents and Juyeon stand up to pay and head out while you finish your drink. As you stand up to join them, the same female staff from earlier stops you in your tracks. “Excuse me, sir”, she says softly, “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I heard you talk about the Yamada family”. You slap your forehead, “I’m sorry for speaking so loudly. Please keep it—wait, do you know about them?”. Your question stuns her, and she struggles to answer you. “I-I’m from Japan; I-I’ve he-heard about them before”, she says, her speech stuttering. “Ah, sorry; should’ve known from your accent”, you reach your wallet and pull out some cash, “here’s for you, miss. Please keep what you’ve heard to yourself, okay? See you soon”. She tries to decline politely, but you insist on giving the money to her, and you go back and forth until she accepts.

Your dad is waiting for you outside the restaurant with a knowing smile. “You spoke too loudly and had to give her some shut up money, huh?”, he teases you. “You guys really need to warn me whenever I start raising my voice”, you shake your head in annoyance. Your dad lets out a laugh as he wraps an arm around your shoulder and guides you to the car.

-

“Oppa, wake up”, Juyeon slaps you in the foot repeatedly to wake you up. “Huh? What time is it?”, you ask her, still half asleep. “It’s 7 am”, she says, “mama and papa want to have breakfast together and then you guys are going to have a meeting with Yamada representatives”. Her words send shock to your body, making you jump off the bed and onto your feet. “What the fuck? Why wasn’t I told about this?”, you ask her. Juyeon shrugs in cluelessness and tells you to get ready before making her way out of your bedroom. “Juyeon-ah, wait” you call out to her, “the waiter I tipped last night was looking at us when we were talking; I’m thinking she could’ve been a Yamada spy”. Juyeon laughs at you, taking your words lightly, “sure, whatever you say, oppa”. You roll your eyes in frustration, “just make sure security is tight, okay? That’s all I need from you today”.

You head towards the dining table for breakfast after showering. “Hi, baby. I hope you had good sleep”, your mom greets you with a peck on your forehead. “Juyeon-ie told me that we’ll be meeting Yamada today”, you say. Your mom dismisses your concern, “they’re just sending representatives to follow up on your visit. It’ll be fine, baby”.

Your dad and Juyeon join you after getting ready—your dad has put on a three-piece suit. “Dad? Going somewhere?”, you ask him. “Oh, it’s for the meeting later”, he says, “do I look good, by the way?”. “I swear mom is going to fall for you again”, you say, earning explosive laughter from your family. Your parents, while they’re no longer young, are extremely good looking and fashionable, and they have inherited their good genes onto you and Juyeon, creating a perfect mix of mom and dad in the both of you.

-

“Good morning, directors”, Miss Lee, the secretary for the directors (you and your parents) greets you at the door. You reply to her with a smile and ask her to follow you to your office. “Miss Lee, do you know why the Yamada are visiting?”, you ask her as you take off your suit jacket. Miss Lee looks at her tablet before answering you, “according to the emails, sir, they want to discuss a bigger partnership with you and your parents”. You fish out your tablet from its carrier and send materials and notes to her. “Read them, please, Miss Lee. We need to get you up to speed—oh, and please make sure that we’re safe in this building; there’s something in my mind that I can’t share with you just yet”, you say to her. Her eyes widen as she sees the file names. “Certainly, sir. I will see you at the meeting”, Miss Lee says before leaving your office.

Your brain can’t stop thinking about the girl from the restaurant; there’s something about her that is piquing your interest. You promise yourself that you’ll flip every stone to find her. “We run this city, young miss; you’re not getting out of this place”, you say to the empty chair in front of you, imagining that she’s in front of you right now.

-

Miss Lee notifies you that the guests have arrived, so you walk towards your parents’ office to get them. “Papa, mama, they’re here”, you say to them, “I know I’ve told you all kinds of stories about them, so we must speak carefully”. Your mom laughs out loud, “you’re one to talk, Son Daehyun; if there’s anyone who needs to speak carefully, it’s you”. You sigh in defeat, “yeah, sure—can we go now, directors?”.

On the way to the meeting room, you see a lot of security personnel guarding different parts of the floor. “Dear, why are there so many guards here?”, your dad asks. You dismiss your dad’s question and tell him that it’s simply for safety. You can tell that he’s not satisfied with your answer, but he doesn't feel like pushing for closure and lets it go.

When you enter with your parents, there’s only Miss Lee in the meeting room. “Miss Lee, bring them in, please”, you say to her as you walk towards the far end of the table. “Your dad used to sit at that spot when you were a kid, and now it’s you”, your mom says, seemingly emotional about it. You hold your parents’ hands with each of yours, “Juyeon-ie and I wouldn’t be here without the two of you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us”.

You let go of their hands as you hear the door open slowly; it’s Miss Lee followed by two Yamada representatives. Your parents stand up to greet them, but your attention is still locked on one of the guests. You can tell by his tattoos that are peeking out at you from underneath his shirt that he’s not a regular joe. You glance under the table and see that there’s a gun hanging underneath it, ready to be used in case things go south. “Forgive my rudeness, gentlemen”, you say as you get up from your seat, “welcome to Korea. I hope you had a good flight”. You and your parents take turns shaking the guests’ hands and exchanging pleasantries. “Director, please accept this humble gift from Yamada­-sama”, he says as he hands a box with a gold ribbon on it to you. You see through the plastic cover that it is a Yubari King Melon. “Ah, thank you very much. I’d like to give him a gift as well; please tell Miss Lee when you’re leaving so I can prepare one for Mr. Yamada”, you say to him.

Once all the giggles are out of the way, you start the discussion by first asking them what exactly they’re aiming for. “Most importantly, we want to expand to a new market, director. In exchange, we can help you establish a foothold in our home country”, he says plainly. Your family’s company has been trying to expand to Japan for a while now, and this partnership sounds too good to miss out on. You put every single brain cell to use and think about the plus and minus of this relationship. Sure, the Yamada has massive influence and can put you on with the right people, but at the same time, they’re quite the shady bunch—your mind is still gripping the fact that they’re poisoning the surrounding community.

“We trust that you’ll make the right decision, Director Son—Yamada-sama would have offered you his daughter had she not run away”, he adds. You’re dazed; Mr. Yamada wanted to offer his daughter to you, but she had run away before he had the chance to? Did you hear that right? “Excuse me?”, you ask him. “By giving you his daughter, director, Mr. Yamada thinks that it’ll help build a productive and profitable relationship between the two families”, he says. “Giving me his daughter, he says”, you say in your head, “what on God’s earth is he yapping about”. You notice that your parents have been looking at you and waiting for you to break the silence. You tell them that you can’t give them a definite answer before looking into this extended partnership proposal further, so you ask them to hand over some documents that you hope might be able to help you turn a blind eye to their dishonest practices.

After the guests have left, you tell your parents that you want to go outside and clear your head; “I’ll be back in a few hours; I want to treat Juyeon-ie to lunch”. On your way to the lobby, you decide to call Juyeon and see if she’d like some food. “What are you up to, Juyeon-ah?”, you ask her as soon as she picks up. “Just finished a class, oppa. Why?”, she asks. You ask her if she’s interested in getting lunch together. Unexpectedly, she declines; “I have another class in an hour, and I know eating with you takes longer than that”.

You initially wanted to walk to a nearby restaurant, but you’re reminded of the girl from the barbecue restaurant a few days ago. Since the restaurant is quite a distance away from your office, you decide to take the car. “Would you like to be driven for, director?”, Mr. Seo, your parents’ chauffeur, asks as you get in your car. You politely say no to him before driving away, citing that you want to be alone.

When you arrive at the restaurant, you see a “closed” sign hanging on the glass door but there’s someone on their phone inside. You knock a few times and manage to get a middle-aged lady’s attention. “We’re only open on Friday to Sunday, young man”, she says after opening the door. “Madam, I would like to talk to the female staff who attended the restaurant on Saturday evening”, you say to her. “Ah, Yamada Kaede?”, she mentions the girl’s name, “she works at my sister’s café when we’re closed”. You raise your eyebrows in shock, “Yamada? Did she say Yamada?”. You ask her where her sister’s café is and slam the gas pedal, looking to get there as soon as possible.

You stop in front of a small café called Mellow Shack, “this must be the café”. You investigate the café from inside the car, and as you scan the interior, you see Kaede drop off someone’s order at their table. You turn off your car before jumping out of it and heading inside. “Good afternoon”, you say as you enter the café. Kaede, who initially had her back turned against you, turns around. “Good after—“, she cuts herself off as she’s surprised to see you, “w-what can I ge-get for y-you, si-sir?”. As much as you want to cut to the chase, you don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so you show her a gentle smile. You look at the menu board hanging above the register and tell Kaede that you’d like to have some fries and caramel latte. “Cer-certainly, s-sir. P-please have a seat”, she says. You’re not sure why she’s acting like this, but that’s a question for later—well, actually, you have an idea why; she’s a Yamada and you talked shit about her family (even if it was based on facts).

You choose to sit at the table that is the furthest away from the other customer. The whole time you’re waiting for your order, you see Kaede occasionally steal glances at you. Your order finally comes after about 15 minutes of waiting, and you see Kaede put them on a tray and bring them to you. She puts down your fries in front of you, and you take the chance to hold her hand. “Please have a seat, miss”, you say to her softly. Kaede sits down on the chair in front of you, visibly nervous about it. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. My name is Son Daehyun, may I ask what yours is?”, you say to her in the calmest tone you’ve ever used. “M-my name is Ka-Kaede, s-sir”, she says. “That is a beautiful name, Kaede-ssi”, you smile at her—you want to hold her hands but she’s currently using them to hug her tray, “I apologize for speaking about your family so carelessly”. Her eyes widen in shock, “e-excuse me, sir?”. “You’re a Yamada, aren’t you, miss?”, you say to her, “that’s why you were looking at me when I was talking about them”.

Kaede looks down at the table without confirming or denying anything. You stay silent and wait for her to say something, but instead you see her shed a tear. “I-I’m no longer a Yamada, sir”, she says. You ask what she meant by that, and she reveals that she left her family as a gesture of refusal of an arranged marriage proposal. “So this is the girl that Mr. Yamada wanted to offer me”, you think to yourself—as much as you think that she’s attractive, you sympathize with her. You put your hands on the table and offer them to her in case she needs comfort, and she holds them immediately after putting her tray to the side. You rub the back of her hands softly as you shower her with comforting words, telling her that there’s nothing to worry about.

“I-I’m sorry, sir”, she says as she lets go of your hand, “it was rude of me to hold your hands like that”. You lean forward and wipe her tears, “I’m sorry for being presumptuous, but I just wanted to offer comfort—and please stop calling me sir; I’m no one important”. Kaede says that she doesn’t think it’s right to call you by name, and after finding out about your age, she says she’ll call you “oppa". “I need to get back to work”, Kaede says, “thank you for your kindness”. You’re not sure what sort of kindness you’ve shown her, but you accept her thanks anyway. You walk up to her after finishing your fries and latte. “Here’s for you. You can keep the change”, you hand her a few banknotes and walk out. She chases you outside and holds your hand before you can get in your car. “I-I’d like to see you again, sir—I mean, oppa”, she says. A simple “sure” is your answer, and she tells you that she’ll be off work at 7 pm. “See you tonight, Kaede-yah”, you say to her.

-

You’ve been busy reading and signing documents for the past few hours. You look at the clock on your computer and see that it’s well past 7 pm. “Oh, shit, Kaede”, you grab your jacket and keys and run towards the escalator in panic. You see that your parents’ office is dark, so you assume that they’ve gone home. That doesn’t turn out to be true, as you see your parents standing next to each other at the lobby. “You were so busy and we didn’t want to interrupt”, your dad says, “why are you running like that?”. You tell your parents that you have an impromptu meeting with someone and suggest that they go home without you. Your mom and dad take turns pecking your cheeks before letting you go. “I’ll see you at home, sweetheart”, your mom says, and you reply to her with a nod.

Kaede is sitting on the steps in front of the café when you arrive, shivering from the cold. “I’m sorry, I was caught up on work”, you wrap your jacket around her to shield her from the night. You’re (delightfully) surprised when she decides to hug you. “Thank you, oppa. I’m freezing”, she says. You apologize to her as you guide her towards your car. “May I treat you to dinner, Kaede-yah?”, you ask. She seems hesitant to say yes, but her rumbling stomach is making it hard for her to say no. “S-sure, oppa. I-I’d like to have something warm, please”, she says.

You take her to a diner that is known for its variety of soups. In there, you see Juyeon sitting alone, seemingly savoring the bowl of soup in front of her. “Kaede-yah, that’s my sister, Son Juyeon”, you whisper to Kaede as the two of you approach Juyeon. You playfully slap her in the back, and Juyeon almost knocks over her bowl in shock. “I hate you so much, oppa”, she pouts. “Alone, sweetie?”, you ask her—you forgot for a moment that you’re not alone, and the endearment might daze Kaede. “Yeah, kind of. Who is the lady, oppa?”, Juyeon asks. “Juyeon-ah, this is Kaede”, you say, “Yamada Kaede”. Juyeon’s big eyes widen hearing the last name, “Ya-Yamada?”.

Seeing Juyeon’s reaction to the introduction makes Kaede look down in sadness, and you’re starting to feel bad. “Kaede ran away from home when her parents wanted to arrange a marriage for her”, you explain, “she said to me that she doesn’t consider herself to be a Yamada these days”. Juyeon nods in understanding and reaches her hand out to shake Kaede’s. “My name is Son Juyeon, I’m his favorite little sister. If he ever tries anything stupid with you, let me know”, Juyeon introduces herself. Kaede shakes Juyeon’s hand passionately. “Please don’t hate me; I promise I’m not a bad person”, she says. Both you and Juyeon put on a kind face, “we don’t hate you, miss; it’s just that I didn’t expect to see someone important like you here—oppa, you’re treating her to dinner, right?”.

You invite Kaede to sit at a table a few steps away from Juyeon. “Oppa, you’re close with your sister”, she comments. Kaede’s flat voice makes it hard for you to figure out her emotions—her accent is very adorable, though. “Yeah, we spent a lot of time together whenever our parents were away when we were kids”, you explain, “she was my first and only friend until I reached middle school”. Kaede tilts her head in confusion, “you didn’t have friends until middle school, oppa? Were you not popular for being the child of a rich couple?”. You shake your head and sigh, “I remember one kid specifically told me that he didn’t want to be friends with me because he thought that I was a spoiled brat—I didn’t even do anything to warrant such rejection”. Kaede nods wordlessly, so you take the chance to ask how it was for her. “I-I didn’t have many friends either, and-and I think you can guess why”, she says, “the best friend I’ve ever had moved to Korea for college and got engaged with a businessman like you”.

Your conversation gets cut off by a waiter. “Here’s the miso tofu soup, and here’s the noodle soup”, the waiter says as he sets two bowls in front of you and Kaede. Kaede picks up a piece of tofu, sniffs it, and puts it back in the bowl again. “Are you okay?”, you ask. “I was taught that it’s impolite to start eating before someone older than you does”, she says. You let out a chuckle, “oh, please, there’s no need to do such a thing—look, I’ll eat”. You put some noodles in your mouth and chase it with a spoonful of broth. “Oh, that is so good”, you groan, “your turn, Kaede-yah”. Kaede takes a bite of tofu and chases it with some miso broth, smiling sheepishly at the taste. “Th-this is very similar to my mom’s cooking, oppa”, she says.

You wish you knew any other method to comfort someone other than holding their hands, but you have no alternative as of now. You notice that Kaede gradually moves her right hand closer to the middle, subtly asking you to hold it. You reach over and rub the back of her hand softly with your thumb. “What do you think would happen if you put a ring on that finger, hm?”, your brain asks you, “you find her to be attractive, and she seems sweet”. Kaede is looking at you straight in the eyes as if trying to read your mind. “I know we just met, but I think you’re a sweet person. Can we meet again after this?”, you say, telling her what you were thinking about. “Ye-yes, I’d like to see you again, oppa”, she says, her plump cheeks tinted in red.

Juyeon gets up from her seat and walks towards your table. “Oppa, scoot over; I want to be friends with Kaede-chan”, she says. You do as she asks and move to the empty chair next to you. You turn your head as if looking outside the restaurant and whisper to Juyeon’s ear, “I think I like her”. Juyeon smiles and pinches your thigh softly in response. “So, Kaede-chan, what are you up to nowadays?”, she asks. “I-I’ve just been working; my parents blocked my card s-so I need to earn money myself”, Kaede says. Juyeon offers her a higher paying job as a secretary at your company. Juyeon might not be part of the company yet, but she knows it as well as you and your parents. Kaede shyly agrees to Juyeon’s offer, the reason being that, well, she needs money. Juyeon shakes hands with Kaede before turning to you to shake yours. “Congratulations, director; you have a new secretary, thanks to your sweet little sister”, she says with a grin—she has always been an enabler for you and your parents to chase whatever you desire. You pull Juyeon into a side hug and peck the top of her head, “I can’t imagine a life without you, Juyeon-ah”. When you look at Kaede, you see that she’s smiling widely at you and Juyeon, seemingly in approval of your closeness with your little sister.

-

You hand Juyeon some money and tell her to get a taxi home as you’re going to take Kaede home first. “Be nice to her, oppa. I like her as much as you do”, she whispers to you. You nod in understanding and open the passenger door for Kaede. “Kaede-yah, I’m offering to take you home. I promise I won’t do anything stupid and Juyeon is my witness”, you say to her. Kaede high steps towards you and hugs you, “thank you, oppa. You’re so kind”.

Throughout the ride, all you can think about is how soft Kaede’s hand was when you were holding it and how warm her hug felt. “Oppa, what are you thinking about?”, Kaede says, disrupting your train of thoughts. “I think I like you, Kaede-yah”, you confess to her. Kaede doesn’t say anything and looks down at her knees, and it makes you think that you’ve overstepped. “I’m sorry, I know we just met and all that, but something is telling me that I should be honest with you”, you say, trying to salvage the moment that you’ve just ruined.

Kaede stayed silent throughout until you arrive in front of her building. You get out of your car and rush to the passenger side to open the door for Kaede. You hold out a hand to help her get off, but she doesn’t take it. Once again, Kaede’s flatness makes it hard for you to figure out her feelings. She starts walking towards her building right away after getting out of the car, and you don’t have any choice but to close the door and walk towards your side of the car. As you do, however, Kaede holds your hand and makes you turn towards her. “I like you too, oppa”, she says softly with a smile, no stuttering this time—she’s determined.

Your heart instantly melts after hearing her confession, and your eyes involuntarily release tears. Kaede wipes them off your cheeks the same way you’ve done for her, “you have such a good heart, oppa. I wouldn’t have left my family had they arranged for me to marry you”. You hold her face with both hands and press your forehead against hers. “I was so scared that you’d push me away”, you sigh in relief, “thank you, Kaede-yah”. “No, oppa—thank you”, she says, pulling away from your embrace, “so when can I start working for you, director-sama?”. You shake your head rapidly to shake off other thoughts, “next Monday, please. That way you can say bye to your boss”. She retreats a few steps and waves at you, “see you next Monday, oppa!”.

-

“Oppa, wake up! Your alarm is literally blaring in your ears”, Juyeon slaps your thighs repeatedly, “you’re so bad at waking up, I swear to God”. You get up and pull her to the bed to join you. “Quiet, please”, you say to Juyeon, your arms and legs hugging her tightly. “Aaaaaah, we have things to do, oppaaaaa”, she whines as she tries to free herself, “come on, let’s get up”. Juyeon can tell if you’re being playful or not, so when she sees that you’re not budging, she decides to play along and stop yapping. Your dad opens your bedroom door after knocking a few times. “Oh, there you are—how cute”, he chuckles, “come on, children, we’re waiting for you”.

Juyeon pokes your cheek, “come on, oppa, you heard him”. You groan and let her go, “alright, fine, let’s go”. Juyeon holds your hand and guides you towards the dining room. “Sorry, oppa was being difficult”, she says to your parents. Your dad wants to start talking, but you cut him off, “if it isn’t about Kaede, I don’t want to hear it”. Your dad smiles, “it is about Kaede, Daehyun-ah. I was told that she’s starting today—I was also told that you like her”. The prospect of working with Kaede draws a smile on your face, “yeah, I do. Can’t believe I’m falling for someone at first sight”. Your dad looks at your mom, “I mean, I also fell for your mom at first sight, it’s just that she hated me at first”. Your mom bursts out in laughter and covers her face to hide her embarrassment.

You and your family talk about business during breakfast, a habit that you initially hated but have learned to enjoy since it comes with the life that you’re having. You leave the dining room to take a shower and get ready for work. The feelings are mixed today; you’re tired and want to sleep again but it is Kaede’s first day working for your company, and you don’t want to show her a bitter face. “I understand that you’re tired, but this is the life that we pray and work for”, your dad said after your first day of taking office as one of the directors.

-

You see Kaede standing next to Miss Lee in front of the building when you arrive with your parents. “Miss Lee, starting today, you’ll be taking Miss Yamada under your wings and teaching her your ways”, you say to her as they follow you to the escalator. “Directors, Mr. Yamada is inviting the three of you to a meeting in Japan and they hope that you’ll be able to visit in the next 2 weeks”, Miss Lee says. “Are they forcing our hand?”, your mom wonders out loud. “Probably, but we need to keep an open mind and assume that they mean well”, you glance at Kaede to gauge her feelings and see that she has that flat face on, “we need to talk, Miss Yamada”.

Miss Lee follows your parents to their office to brief them while Kaede follows you to yours. “What do your parents like, Kaede-yah?”, you ask her. “Well, first of all, they’re evil and barely hesitate to do illegal stuff as long as they get what they want—I must say, however, that they have this good businessman façade to hide their true nature”, she says, mishearing your question. “What the f—no, no, no, what do they like, not what are they like”, you correct her. Kaede slaps her forehead, “I’m sorry, sir. I meant to say they like expensive stuff”. “The most expensive things I can think of right now are Cheonsam ginseng and Hanwoo”, you say to her, “talk to Miss Lee and buy them, please”. Kaede, who has no prior experience of being a secretary, stands still and looks at you in silence. You let out a chuckle after coming to realization, “Kaede-yah, that was your task”. She blinks a few times rapidly before running out of your office to find Miss Lee.

-

You arrive at the Yamada Corp building with Kaede on a Friday to have a meeting with them. Kaede was initially against the idea of going with you, but her professionalism as your secretary took priority. Everyone in the building is looking at you and Kaede like you were aliens but you guess that’s just them being surprised to see Kaede in Japan again after being missing for the past few months.

You hear someone running behind you to chase you and Kaede. “Heir-sama!”, he exclaims, “it’s truly an honor to meet you again”. You look at them in confusion as he speaks in a different language. “Oppa, this is Mr. Fujiwara. He’s my parents’ chauffeur and their most loyal employee”, Kaede introduces you to him. “Tell him I’m glad to meet him, Kaede-yah”, you tell her. Kaede relays your message to Mr. Fujiwara, and he shakes your hand firmly before guiding you towards the escalator. “What made you return here, Heir-sama?”, he asks. Kaede tells him that she’s now your secretary and that she has a crush on you. “You are very lucky, sir”, he says to you in awkward Korean, and you smile at him, not really catching on to what they just discussed.

Mr. Fujiwara continues guiding you towards a closed double door. “They are waiting for you”, he says as he opens the doors. The Yamada couple seems to be surprised to see Kaede, and whatever Mr. Yamada just said startles Kaede. An interpreter joins you in the room and shakes your hand, “we have been waiting for you, sir”. You pull him towards you and whisper in his ear, “if they say anything that offends Kaede, warn me”.

You let him go and head towards the empty chairs, “Mr. and Mrs. Yamada, it’s such a pleasure to meet you”. Mr. Yamada gestures to the empty chairs, indirectly telling you to have a seat. Kaede sits close to you and puts the gifts on the table. “You were so kind when you gave me that melon, so allow me to give you some stuff in return”, you say. Mr. Yamada laughs softly, “there was no need for that, director”. You’re surprised to find out that he speaks Korean fluently, but you quickly compose yourself and focus on the task at hand. “I hope you don’t mind seeing Kaede here, sir and madam”, you say to them. “We’ve missed her, director; every single day we’ve spent without her felt like hell”, he says. You can’t tell if this is the façade that Kaede has told you about, but you feel like they’re being genuine.

Mrs. Yamada takes her turn to speak, “I hope you’ve thought about our proposal, director”. You take a deep breath before speaking, “with all due respect, sir and madam, but you don’t have the cleanest records”. Mr. Yamada laughs in amusement, “that is correct, director, and I must inform you that we’re going to prison for that”. The disclosure stuns you and Kaede. “We realized that we couldn’t go to the graves with all this dirt on us, so we have decided to ditch our old ways and gradually clean ourselves up”, he adds. “And how do you plan on doing that, sir, if I may ask?”, you try to not offend them with your question. “The reason why we’re chasing a partnership with your company is that so we can start doing things cleanly”, he says before sighing, “but our sweet Kaede left us before we could start”.

Kaede slams the table in front of her parents, “you were going to arrange a marriage for me, papa and mama; how could I have possibly stayed?”. The Yamadas don’t seem to be offended by Kaede’s actions as they just smile at her. “That is correct, my beloved”, Mrs. Yamada says, “Director Son Daehyun was the one we wanted to introduce you to”. Your and Kaede’s jaws drop to the bottom floor hearing Mrs. Yamada’s words. “We have built good relationship with the Sons before through a joint venture and we saw the opportunity to, as my husband has said, start over cleanly through them”, she explains to you, “we’ll gladly go to prison to atone for our worldly sins as long as it means that Kaede will be safe with you”. You lean back in your chair as you try to process what you were just told. “I’m so sorry, sir and madam, but that was a lot to take in”, you say, rubbing your head in bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Yamada chuckles at you, seemingly amused with your reactions. Mrs. Yamada fishes a box out of her handbag and shows it to you. “Remember this, sweetheart? This is the ring that you left on the dining table”, she says.

Kaede looks down at herself and starts crying. “S-so you’re s-saying that I was supposed to marry Daehyun-oppa?”, she asks her parents. “Well, yes, but you left before we had the chance to introduce you to him”, Mr. Yamada says, “what do you think now, sweetheart?”. You pull out a handkerchief out of your pocket and wipe Kaede’s tears with it, “you don’t have to agree to this, Kaede-yah. We can keep working together even if you decline”. Kaede slaps your hand away and hugs you, “I will gladly marry you, oppa, no matter if it’s arranged or not”.

The way everything is turning out bewilders you; you’ve gone from doubting Yamada Corp because of their shady history and now you’re about to marry their daughter. You see in the corner of your eyes that Mr. and Mrs. Yamada are wiping tears off their cheeks. “Kaede-yah, will you be down to date me first before we talk about marriage? I think we need to get to know each other better first”, you ask her. She pulls away from your arms and returns to her chair, “I’ll date you as your beloved wife—how about that, oppa?”. Mr. Yamada walks over to you and asks you to stand up. “I believe you’ll be needing this, director—please take care of my lovely daughter”, he says as he hands you the velvet box, “I wish you two a very happy and prosperous life ahead”. You wipe your tears as you accept the box from him, “I wholeheartedly promise that I’ll devote myself to making Kaede happy. Her tears will only be shed for nothing but joy”.

Mr. Yamada pulls you into a warm hug, “we look forward to hearing good news from the two of you, my son”.  You pull away from the hug and kneel in front of Kaede. “I understand that everything has been so sudden, sweetie, but I swear to you that I’ll be the best man with whom you want to spend the rest of your life”, you say as you open the box in front of her, “will you marry me, Yamada Kaede?”. Kaede puts her forehead on yours, “yes, oppa, without a shadow of a doubt”. You slide the ring onto her finger as the dam in your eyes break and release every drop of tears, “I love you, my beautiful wife”. You promptly hear claps from Mr. and Mrs. Yamada—and the interpreter as well—as they also let out tears of joy. “This is the hardest I’ve cried in so long”, Mr. Yamada says with a chuckle, seemingly amused with himself.

After taking around 10 minutes to regain composure, you’re now ready to talk about business. “I believe we have things to talk about, sir and madam”, you say to them. Mr. Yamada shakes his head, “we can talk about business some day else, director; today is your and Kaede’s day, not ours”. You peck Kaede’s forehead before turning to your new in-laws, “if you don’t mind, we’ll be heading home right away; we need to inform my family about this”. Mr. Yamada nods in approval, so you pull out your phone to text Miss Lee, telling her to gather your family in the house.

-

“Oppa, oppa”, Kaede says as you walk towards the airport exit, “how many children do you think we’ll have?”. You chuckle, “it’s a bit too soon to talk about that, don’t you think, love? This is our first day”. Kaede instantly blushes after hearing you call her that, “o-oh, y-you called me love”. You stop in your tracks and stand in front of her, “that is because I love you, love”. You try to calm her down when she starts sobbing again. “I’m so overwhelmed with emotions right now, oppa”, she defends herself, “this is all your fault, by the way—just so we’re clear”. You giggle softly, “I’ll take the blame as long as you’re happy”.

Your parents look at you in confusion when they see you holding hands with Kaede. “What happened to you?”, your dad asks. You ask him to take you home and promise that you’ll tell them all about it. “You’re not going to give us a hint?”, he says. “No, dad. Let’s just go home, please”, you demand. Your dad does as you wish and starts driving towards home. You whisper to Kaede very softly to make sure your parents don’t hear it, “I love you so much, honey”. How do you expect Kaede to not cry when you keep showering her with such words?

Anyway, you finally get home after a short ride and are met with Juyeon who also just got home. “Oppa, why so sudden?”, she asks, “wait, you’re holding hands—are you guys dating?”. You ignore her question and ask them to sit on the living room sofa. “Ladies and gents”, you start, still holding Kaede’s hand, “I had a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Yamada this afternoon, as some of you already knew. The biggest thing we talked about was that they had wanted to arrange a marriage for Kaede, but she ran away before things could start going”. Your family looks at each other, unsure of where this is going. “They then revealed that thanks to a good relationship that has been established through a previous partnership, they have decided that they want to start over cleanly”, you explain, keeping the direction of the story vague, “so to do that, they want to establish a new partnership with us”. “Okay, but what does that have to do with you and her?”, Juyeon asks.

You look at Kaede with a smile and she looks at you with a smile. “They wanted to introduce her to me in hope that I’ll keep her safe in case they’re thrown into jail for their past wrongdoings”, you say, “the arrangement was for her to marry me”. Your revelation stuns everyone as you see their jaws drop to the floor. “Y-you want to run that by me again?”, your mom says, “they want you to marry their daughter? Did I hear that correctly?”. You nod, “so here we are, trying to get to know each other better before we make it official”. Your dad takes off his glasses and looks at Kaede. “Do you think that he’ll be able to make you happy, Kaede-yah?”, he asks. “I hope so, sir”, Kaede answers, looking at you with hopeful eyes, “he promised me that he’ll try his hardest to make sure I’m happy”.

Your dad stands up and hugs each of you, “I’ll help you make sure he keeps his promise, sweetie—I’m sure my family will too”. Your mom starts shedding tears, “oh my God, my son has grown into a man right before my eyes—when did this even happen?”. Juyeon warns Kaede about your habit of sleeping through the alarms and not waking up without the help of someone, and Kaede giggles at her, “I’ll make sure oppa wakes up on time every single day, Juyeon-ssi”. Juyeon pinches Kaede’s cheeks playfully, “we’re family now, unnie; there’s no need to be so formal from now on”. You let Kaede’s hand go and see from the side how your family has accepted her as their own. It brings absolute joy to you that they like her as much as she likes them. “Alright, I think we should let them go. I’m sure they have plenty to talk about”, your dad says as he pushes Kaede towards you, “remember, Son Daehyun: we raised you to be a proper man. Do not let us and Kaede down”.

You told your family that you want to have dinner with Kaede and Kaede only, and they undoubtedly agreed to let you go. “Oppa, I want something warm again”, she says as soon as she gets in the car. You grant her request and take her to the same restaurant that you had your first date at (if you even can call it that).

 If Kaede sat across the table last time, she now sits next to you, hugging your arm and resting her head on your shoulder. “Are you in love with me, baby?”, you ask her. “You’re my husband, oppa. How can I not be in love with you?”, she says with a blush. “That is great to hear, baby, because I’m in love with you”, you peck her head and start opening the menu book, “what would you like to have, sweetheart?”. Kaede rubs her cheeks against your shoulder like a cat, “choose for me, oppa. I’ll eat whatever”. You call the waiter over and tell him that you want 2 noodle soups. “Why noodles, oppa?”, Kaede asks. “Well, noodles are long, and they don’t stop delivering flavors until the end bit. That’s like you and me; we don’t stop loving each other until the end of time”, you explain—you don’t care if it sounds cheesy. “Oh my God, oppa”, she blushes, “didn’t know you had it in you like that”. “Neither did I, love. It’s you that brought this side of me out of its hiding place”, you say to her before showering her head with pecks.

You lovey-dovey with Kaede as you wait for your order. Kaede tells you that she wants to go to amusement parks and arcades on the weekends. “Baby, the company is ours; I’m sure we can skip work every now and then”, you say to her. “Oh, speaking of work: will you look for another secretary?”, she asks. “Why would I do that? My beloved wife is my secretary, I don’t want or need anyone else—well, except Miss Lee”, you say, earning laughter from Kaede.

“Kaede-chan, is that you?”, someone behind you calls out to Kaede, making the two of you turn around to see who it is. “Oh, Kotone-chan!”, Kaede waves excitedly, “hiiiii”. You see a familiar face next to this Kotone person. “Jeon Yunho?”, you squint your eyes, trying to make sure if it is him, “long time no see, man—what are you doing here?”. Yunho walks towards you with Kotone and shakes your hand, “I can say the same, Daehyun-ah”. They then sit across the table from you and Kaede.

“Kae-chan, who is this?”, Kotone asks. “This is my husband, Son Daehyun-oppa”, Kaede says, and hearing the introduction surprises Yunho and Kotone. “H-husband?”, Kotone can’t believe her ears, “did you say husband?”. Kaede, in her excited state, struggles to string together an explanation, so you do it for her. You tell them the same thing that you’ve told your family earlier, and they can’t help but listen in silence. “So this is a double date, huh?”, Kotone says, letting out a chuckle after.

A waiter drops off your orders on your table and Yunho takes the chance to order food for him and Kotone. “Noodles, Daehyun-ah?”, Yunho asks, “there are other things that this place is known for, you know”. “I’ve explained my reason to Kaede and I’m not saying it again—I know you’ll make fun of me if you know”, you say. Yunho laughs out loud, “I bet it’s something cheesy”.

Since your food came earlier than theirs, Yunho and Kotone told you to start eating first. Kaede asks you to feed her, as if trying to brag about the new relationship to Kotone and Yunho. You place some noodles and broth on your spoon and guide it towards Kaede’s lips. You see Yunho and Kotone give you four thumbs-up of approval, and you’d be lying if you said that you’re not embarrassed doing this in front of them. Kaede wants to embarrass you just a tad more, however; “the food tastes better coming from my beloved husband”, she says with a grin. “Okay, baby, you’ve teased me enough. Let’s start eating properly now, hm?”, you put an end to Kaede’s mischief.

-

“We’ll be heading home”, you tell Yunho and Kotone, “see you guys soon!”. You start driving away after exchanging goodbyes with them. Kaede asks if you can stop by her apartment, citing that she wants to grab some stuff. “Oh, oppa, I haven’t asked: where will we be living in?”, she asks. You tell her that there’s an empty fully furnished apartment near the company office and invite her to live there for now, and Kaede agrees to your idea. You stop in front of Kaede’s building but since she tells you that she’ll be quick, you stay in the car. True enough, she’s back within minutes while carrying a backpack. “Alright, let’s go to that apartment, oppa”, she says.

-

You enter the passcode and open the door for Kaede, and she exclaims in excitement when she sees the interior. “There’s no way I could afford this with my previous pay”, she comments as she lays on the sofa. “Well, you don’t have to pay anything by yourself from now on”, you take off your jacket and cover Kaede with it, “I don’t want you to get cold”. You sit on the sofa and have Kaede rest her head on your thighs, “what do you want to do now, love?”. Kaede rubs her chin as she thinks of an answer, “I want to have my first time, oppa”. Your heart starts racing, “your first time? Are you sure?”. Kaede moves to sit on your lap, “is that not what newlyweds do? Consummate their marriage with their new spouse?”. You ask her if she’s sure one more time before taking her to the bedroom.

Kaede looks at you lovingly as you start taking off everything but your boxers, showing off the subtle curves of your muscles. “I love you so much, my dear husband”, she says. You get on top of her and hover your head above hers, “baby, aren’t you tired? We just got back in the city a few hours ago”. Kaede shakes her head rapidly, “no, I’m not—can’t you see how excited I am for you?”. She said she’s excited, but judging by her tone, you can tell that she’s quite nervous about this—maybe it’s a mix of both excitement and nervousness, it is her first time after all.

You pull her to sit and ask for permission to undress her, and she grants it right away. You start by unbuttoning her shirt patiently one by one and free her arms from the sleeves. “You’re being so gentle with me, oppa”, she says softly. You peck her in the lips, “it’s my responsibility to take care of you, love”. You tell her to lie down so that you can free her from her skirt. Once it’s off, Kaede starts breathing heavily. “Are you okay, love? We don’t have to continue if you don’t want to”, you pet her head softly to soothe her. “I-I want to continue, b-but I’m scared”, she points at your bulged boxers. You lay down next to Kaede and cuddle her. “I’m as excited as you are to have my first time, love”, you comfort her, “but I won’t force you into doing it if you’re not in the mood”. Kaede snuggles into your chest as if trying to hide from your boner.

“If you promise to be gentle, oppa, I’ll do it”, she says while pulling away from your embrace. You show her your pinky, “pinky promise, love?”. Kaede chuckles as she ties your pinky with hers, “pinky promise, oppa”. You lay Kaede on her back and ask for her consent, your hands ready to pull her white panties down. As soon as she says yes, you start lowering her panties until it’s completely off. You find the thin bush on her crotch to be cute and arousing. “M-my mom told me to not sh-shave, oppa—I-I hope you don’t mind”, she says. You tell Kaede that she’s perfect just the way she is before leaning in for a kiss.

“L-let me see you, oppa”, she says, placing her hands on the waistband of your boxers. You take off your boxers and throw it over your head, thus freeing your cock from its restraints. “Are-are you sure that-that will fit inside me?”, Kaede bites her lip in nervousness, “y-you will destroy me”. You assure her that you’ll take it slow and be gentle, prioritizing her comfort and pleasure over your own.

You get in between her legs and offer her your right hand. “Hold my hand as we go, sweetie. You can squeeze it if you’re feeling uncomfortable”, you say to her. You use your free hand to line up your cock with her untouched pussy. Despite lacking experience, you manage to find her entrance with relative ease. You push forward until your tip is in Kaede’s pussy and stop there. You see that Kaede’s eyes are shut tight, so you take it as a sign that she’s trying to adapt to the foreign object in her vagina. You start pushing forward again, and the way Kaede lets out a grunt tells you that you’ve broken her seal. She taps your hand a few times to get your attention. “Ki-kiss me, oppa, please”, she says as tears start coming out of her eyes.

You lean forward and put your lips on hers. You break the kiss for a moment to ask for permission to keep going down there, and Kaede shows you the green light. You start moving your hips back and forth and the sensation you’re feeling is anything but familiar, “baby, you’re so tight”. Kaede holds your head and chants “I love you” and “I’m yours” repeatedly right into your ears. You hug your new wife tightly and pick up the pace of your thrusts, earning louder moans from her. “I love you, baby—I love you so much”, you say to her, stifling your tongue from letting out a profanity.

“Oppa, my love”, she says between moans, “s-something is about to pop”. You let out a deep groan when you feel her tightening around your cock, “I-I feel it too, baby”. You’re curious what is waiting for you at the finish line, and you really want to get there as soon as possible and aim to take Kaede with you. The two of you moan loudly together as the first ever orgasm in your lives finally hit. You release deep into Kaede’s trembling frame and instantly fall limp onto her body. You hear Kaede sobbing a few times and it makes you panic, “baby? Baby, are you okay?”. Kaede nods, “i-it was p-painful but-but also so good at the same time”. “I’m glad it was pleasurable for you, love, because it for sure was pleasurable for me”, you sigh in relief, “let’s catch our breath for a few minutes and then I’ll run you a shower, okay?”.

Apparently, your brain thinks that “catch breath” equals to “fall asleep”, and you’re only shaken awake because Kaede’s poking your cheeks repeatedly. “Oh, I’m so sorry, love”, you rub your eyes to get yourself together, “I’ll get you cleaned up now, okay?”. Kaede giggles softly, “it’s okay, oppa. I also fell asleep—your hug is so warm, oppa, I like it”. You peck her temple before straightening your back. You lock your sight at your cock as you slowly retreat from her warmth, earning a soft moan from Kaede as you do. You’re not too worried about the blood on the insides of her thighs or the leaking cum as you’ll be cleaning her up anyways.

You take Kaede to the bathroom and make her sit on the toilet while you wait for the bathtub to fill up. “Oppa, you took my first time”, she comments, pointing at the blood on your cock. You get down on one knee in front of her and take her hands in yours. “You also took my first time, love, but I don’t have anything to show for it”, you say, “I love you, my gracious wife”. Kaede smiles at you lovingly, “I love you too, my precious husband”. Honestly, calling Kaede your wife and having her call you her husband feels odd to you, and she feels the same. “On a scale of one to ten, oppa, how serious do you think our relationship is?”, she asks. You rub your chin as you try to come up with a response, “I mean, just because we’re not officially registered on the government’s computer doesn’t make us love each other less, right? So, for me, it’s nine out of ten”. Kaede asks you why you said nine and not ten. “Well, because I’m the one you need”, you blindside Kaede with another cheesy line, forcing her to cover her tomato cheeks.

You’re back in bed with Kaede after getting cleaned up. “Oppa, does your family visit this place often? It’s pretty clean even if no one lives here”, she says. “We take turns cleaning this place to make sure it’s ready for use any time, darling”, you explain, “I’m sure they won’t mind if we claim this place, though”.

Kaede yawns loudly after hearing your answer, “I think I’m sleepy, oppa”. You hug her tightly to make sure she doesn’t get cold considering that she barely has anything on her body, “let’s go to sleep, baby. I love you”. You’re a bit sad when you hear nothing from Kaede, but it’s just that she has fallen asleep.

“I promise that I’ll be the man that you deserve, my love, so God help me”.

[umeumeumee]

Hi Hi! can i please request a shinobu x fem! reader where basically im S2 Ep1 where Uzui tries to take Aoi and Naho, its Reader and Naho instead? Maybe shinobu hears the ruckus and finds reader being held by Uzui (reader and Shinobu are in a relationship, but uzui didn’t know) and he slaps her butt and shinobu gets all pissed and they fight with words, and she bans him from the Butterfly Estate? maybe some fluff or something after . thank youuu s3 is airing rn & i love it sm<3

𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝

summary: a beautiful day, churned sour with the unexpected and unpleasant arrival of the sound pillar.

warnings: uzui touching readers butt, mentions of slight violence

authors note: oh. my. goodness. I am so, so, so very sorry for how late this is— season three aired so long ago! I apologize with profuse and endless apology for how long this took— in honest, it was so far in my drafts i forgot! I apologize again, and I hope you enjoy this even though it's been neons!

it was a lovely day. The sun lit up the newly sprouted cherry blossoms, the breeze carried warmth and the scent of honey, the birds sang and the flowers blossomed. Shinobu, who had found herself rather relaxed, had opened her window to the peaceful atmosphere. The craw of the songbirds and the breeze that flew through her office calmed her crashing nerves, and she bathed in the warmth of the sun.

Occasionally, shinobu would catch the laughter and muffled conversations of you and the girls as you all did chores around the estate, hanging clothes outside and watering plants. It was a very lovely day, and shinobu took the time to write.

You giggled, hanging a few shirts on the clothing line. “Aoi-chan,” you mused, causing the girl to raise a brow. “I was thinking of having dinner in the garden, would you consider joining me?” you asked, moving on to hang a pair of unfamiliar pants. Aoi hummed, scrunching her lips. “I suppose..” she mumbled, causing you to laugh at her dismay.

“Lady Kanao,” you called softly, watching as the girl slowly moved her eyes to you, wondrous. “Would you like to join me and Aoi-chan for dinner in the garden?” before she could flip her coin, Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo ran up to you.

“I want to, I want to!” they cheered, Naho tugging your clothes softly, causing you to smile.

“Of course you three can, I was going to ask Kochō-sama—” your words were cut off by the footsteps of an unfamiliar figure, causing you to shift your eyes up.

You put on a cautious smile, It was the Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen. You placed a gentle hand on Naho, seeing as Sumi and Kiyo scurried off to Aoi, naho holding tightly onto you at the rather muscular man afront you two.

before you could greet the him— a large hand grabbed you by the waist and threw you over his shoulder.

You let out a yell, fear itching your bones as you saw naho in the mans other arm. He began to walk away, saying how you two will ‘be fine.’ Sumi, Kiyo, and Aoi calling out to you.

“Stop it!” you shouted, banging your fists against his back, “stop it, will you!” you pleaded, trying to shake your way out of his strong grasp.

“please stop!” Sumi shouted, tears pricking in her eyes from beside Kiyo, who was crying, Kanao and aoi stared, both seemed paralyzed.

“Lady Kanao!” you called, staring at her as Uzui began to walk away with you in his arms, the sound of Naho sobbing causing you to fear more— but before he could get very far— Kanao bravely reached out to grasp your and Naho’s hand, or, well, Naho’s dress. Your eyes widened, she didn’t flip her coin.

“Lady Kanao…” sumi and kiyo said in sync, tears still present in their eyes.

Sumi and Kiyo suddenly came around, Charging at the man and trying to stop him from taking you and Naho, Kanao trying to pull you from her grasp, aoi joining in as well.

Everyone suddenly paused to look at the new figure, Tanjiro— a friendly boy who stood stunned at the scene, clearly confused.

his flabbergasted face cleared up as Kiyo spoke— “He’s kidnapping them! please, rescue them!” Tanjiro waisted no time in diving in, hoping to help.

Shinobu paused her writing, straightening her back slightly. The sound of the songbirds faded, and the light chatter between the girls had faded as well. Had you and they already moved on? Shinobu’s pen scarred the paper, ruining her writing as screams and yells caught her hearing.

she stood up, quickly sliding open the door to the engawa and making her way to the sound of the crying. As she came closer, new voices could be heard. When shinobu turned the corner, she was blatantly shocked.

The sight of Kiyo and Sumi holding Kanao and Aoi tightly together, and Tanjiro holding a crying Naho was unexpected. She followed her gaze up to the rooftop, her heart falling at the sight of you in the hands of of Uzui Tengen, who seemed to be only conversing with the young Kamado as the boys two friends tried talking to uzui from either side of him, convincing him to put you down.

She watched as the two boys jumped down to Tanjiro‘s level, seemingly convincing him. Shinobu was about to ask what exactly was going on— when the sound hashira placed a first smack to your butt, a smirk making his lips.

Shinobu froze, her nose scrunching so hard the skin could burst, jaw clenching so hard she fear she might snap the bone. For the first time, in a very long time- she felt pure anger.

she took a deep breath, clearing her throat to announce her presence.

“Uzui,” she called, her voice laced with pure venom as she called to the man with no respect in her tone. everyone froze, slowly turning their heads to the insect hashira as she stood with a smile that said more than a thousand words.

If looks could kill, Uzui would be six feet under.

“Ah! Kochō,” he expressed, ignoring the sweat drop that fell down his temple at her expression. He stood up from his squat, “I needed some girls to take to the Entertainment District,” he explained, clearing his throat and ignoring her gaze.

Shinobu saw you try and wiggle out of his grasp, trying to catch sight of her. “Put her down.” she said sweetly, but it struck fear into even Inosuke as he began to tremble, although her attention wasn’t directed to him.

Uzui put on a tough exterior, scoffing and once more ignoring the ball of sweat sliding down his temple, and the fearful faces of those on the floor below him. He hummed, Taking you and tossing you off the roof— the same way he had done to Naho previously.

Being no doubt being fastest Hashira, left her spot within the engawa with such speed— she most likely crossed many dimensions a split second.

You let out a scream as you were tossed off the roof— preparing to no at least receive a concussion from the fact you were most likely going to land face first— but, to your relief, you were caught by a familiar pair of arms.

Your eyes opened to see the face of your beloved shinobu, but the expression she held was nothing short of horrifying. She set you down with such care, like you were a porcelain doll, checking for any cuts or wounds with scavenging eyes before completely releasing you. The girls rushed to you, giving you big hugs and crying now that you were free.

You hugged them back, still keeping an eye on shinobu as you did so.

within not even half a second, Uzui was on the floor underneath shinobu’s foot, causing everyone face to drop cold.

The smile on her face was sinister, almost sadistic as she shoved her shoe on his cheek.

“uzui-san, you are no longer welcome to step foot in my estate.” she announced calmly, but everyone knew she could rip out his throat with her teeth if she wanted.

“If you do, I’m afraid i will have to dispose of you.”

Uzui didn’t reply, uncharacteristically still for his character. You held the girls tightly as they nudged their faces into your white nurse dress, seeking comfort.

Eventually , after some more foot stomping, she released him. Shinobu approached you, smiling genuinely now.

“are you okay, love?” she questioned you with concerned eyes, landing a hand to your cheek. You nodded, leaning into her touch.

“thanks to you, ‘nobu.” you hummed, earning the girls to call for attention as well. Shinobu patted their heads, then gave you a smooch on your lips.

Tengen watched with a perplexed expression, knowing why he was in such big trouble.

he began to try and defend himself, claiming he didn’t know she was dating someone. Shinobu completely ignored him, and the man stood from the floor.

Uzui, tanjiro and his companions left the butterfly estate, uzui sourly rubbing his cheek as he walked off. there was sure to be a bruise.

Aoi took Kanao and the girls’ inside, knowing you and shinobu were close to follow. You held shinobu’s hand, as she refused to let you go.

You watched the girls disappear behind a corner, but your walking was halted when shinobu pulled you back. She placed a sweet, hungry kiss to you lips, placing her hand on the back of your neck.

You hummed to the affection, pulling back and furrowing your brows at her expression.

“why so blue?” you ask softly, brushing some hair from her face.

you could see she was upset, and you knew why.

“You know…” you leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I never liked Tengen-sama.” you affirmed, huffing in disgust at the mention of his name.

Shinobu sigh, bringing your hand to her lips. “I.. just don’t like how he touched you.” she confessed, causing you to smile like a love sick fool.

“Well,” you put a finger to your cheek in thought. “I have a few ways we can get back at him for it.” you proposed, the mischievous tone in your voice caused shinobu to meet your eyes, earning her to smile. “you do, hm?” she whispered, a sly smile made her lips.

“mhm.” your hand squeezed hers as you led her down the hall, to the familiar sliding door of your shared bedroom.

[idyllic-affections]

we'll meet again.

summary. ""I'm sure we'll meet again, but for now… goodbye, [Name]."" trigger & content warnings. major character death (the reader), mild blood. tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. angst, hurt/no comfort. muichiro tokito & hashira mentor!reader. 1.1k words. they/them pronouns for reader. author's thoughts. this is an expansion of these headcanons. while this oneshot could be read as a standalone, it makes slightly more sense with the background context. also i think this oneshot only really makes sense if youve read the demon slayer manga; you wont understand the fight scene if you havent. anyway i have NO excuse for this. im so sorry (no im not LMAO)

       "Tokito, move!"

       Perhaps it was the urgency in their tone, or perhaps it was the evident desire to protect a young life that they deemed unsettlingly evanescent, yet Muichiro obeyed with no hesitation. Perhaps it was simply the trust and respect he held for his mentor.

       Regardless, he moved.

       The second he released the hilt of his blade, they clasped it, pushing the boy further away with all their might. Though they may have missed it, Muichiro grimaced from the utter force they exerted against his core and stumbled slightly when attempting to regain his balance.

       ...

       He hadn't sparred with them in quite a long time. He'd forgotten the kind of power that they could demonstrate.

       Though the blade had been red before when clutched in the Mist Hashira's hand, it was blazing now, making the Upper Moon suck in a sharp, painful breath. Their glare was steely enough to make even the bravest man falter.

       If Kokushibo was not a demon, perhaps even he would have wavered.

       "You will not harm my Tsuguko."

       Lightning struck their core, tearing and searing the seams of their flesh to reach its sharp nails into their delicate innards. They hardly processed the gaping gash across their torso until the pain came in seconds later, making the floor sway beneath their feet and their vision spin. A glare that was once as sharp as their nichirin blade was now unfocused and hazy.

       Their legs gave out from underneath them.

       Through the pounding of their heart in their ears, they heard a distant, faint cry of their name.

       A moment passed, then another.

       Tender fingers brushed hair that'd stuck to their sweaty, pale face away, caressing their cheek with a trembling hand. "...[Name]-nee?"

       "Ah..." they laughed, choking up a bit of blood in the process, before wincing at the sharp pain that struck their abdomen after. "That's the first time you've called me anything other than [Name]-sama, Mui-kun. It's cute. You should've done it a long time ago."

       "H— wait, hold on, just stay awake a little longer," he urged, hands scrambling to peel away at some of the fabric sticking to their flesh. The boy's pupils were blown wide with panic; that much they could tell, despite their blood-loss induced dilirium. "We'll close your wounds, just... I need..."

       "Hey..." they called weakly, gently pushing his hands away from their wound with what little strength they had left. "Tokito."

       "I just, I- I need to start a fire. We'll cauterize them—"

       "Tokito-kun."

       "—It'll be okay."

       "Mui-kun, please, just stop already! Listen to me!"

       Glossy tears spilled over at the sheer breathless desperation in their voice. Never once had their voice raised in his direction, and perhaps it was a mix of the utter overwhelm of the situation and the shock of hearing them yell (at him, specifically) that pushed him over the edge.

       In the end, Muichiro was still only a child.

       Their chest rose up and down in heavy puffs as they tried to catch their breath, squeezing their eyes shut as the room spun.

       "[Name]-nee... don't go yet. Please, please... not you too..."

       "Shh. I'm still here. Just, ah... just give me your hands. I'll throw up if I open my eyes."

       He was quick in clasping their chilled hands between his own, sharing his body heat and offering what little comfort he possibly could to both himself and his rapidly declining mentor. A deep weight settled in his gut at the realization that he wasn't just in some horrible nightmare—that, once again, someone he adored and loved wholeheartedly was leaving him alone.

       To them, the warmth he radiated was indeed a comforting reassurance. He was warm. Alive.

       "Listen to me. You've gotta kill Muzan for me. This isn't fixable. This couldve been you, laying here in your own blood, you know? You're too young to die here. Too many kids have given their lives already. You had better not die, you hear me? I'll give you hell if you do."

       When he laid down beside them, shedding blistering tears on their shoulder, they caressed his head lovingly with the last of their strength.

       "You had better not die, Muichiro."

              — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       "Hello! It's nice to meet you. I am [Surname] [Name], the Demon Slayer Corps' Cloud Hashira, and I'll be your mentor from here on out."

       The warmth with which they regarded him was... foreign. Despite the nervous smile tugging at their lips, their welcoming warmth was oh-so evident. How could one who had seen so much bloodshed still have eyes that shone comparably to stars?

       Muichiro blinked—once, twice.

       "Okay."

       Awkward silence descended for a brief moment as the boy fidgeted slightly with the bandages wrapped around his body.

       "Oh, uh, right," they stammered, plucking amaranth from their hair. Their hand raised with purposeful delicacy so that, had he so desired, he could withdraw from their gentle touch. He did not. His lack of movement prompted them to tuck the plant behind his ear. "Here."

       "What's this for?"

       "Well, I've never had a Tsuguko before, so I want us to have a good relationship. Some of the other Hashira say gift-giving is a good way to build rapport. Also, I've been thinking about your name."

       "My... name?"

       "Yes. The 'mu' in your given name—it's the same as the 'mu' in 'mugen,' isn't it? The 'mu' in Muichiro is the 'mu' in 'mugen.' I like to think so, at least. Amaranth is a symbol of immortality in some countries. It's... it's the closest I could get to infinity," they laughed. "I thought about bringing a lotus instead. Maybe I should have? A lotus would've looked a little nicer. Hmm..."

       The 'mu' in Muichiro is the 'mu' in 'mugen.'

       Where...

       Where had he heard that before?

       "You wanted to bring me a lotus that day, [Name]-nee. It was because they symbolise eternity, right?" Muichiro mused in a quiet whisper that would inevitably be lost to the breeze. No-one else was meant to hear, anyway. His words were for no-one but his late mentor; that much was blatantly obvious. "I didn't think you'd ever join this graveyard."

       The rows of graves behind Oyakata-sama's seemed endless, really. Day after day they used to get bigger and bigger as Demon Slayers fell. It was somehow comforting to Muichiro that no-one would ever have to join said rows ever again.

       "You know, lotuses also symbolise rebirth. That's why I brought you one."

       With delicacy so obviously mimicing that which they had once displayed towards him, he laid the flower on their grave, careful not to disturb the dirt too much.

       "I'm sure we'll meet again, but for now... goodbye, [Name]."

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot! for clarity's sake, the line "The 'mu' in Muichiro is the 'mu' in 'mugen'" is a reference to what muichiro's brother said before he died.

[reikorun]

KlubOutside Q&A 101-200 [Translation]

Translated by @reikorun

Q101.

2021.05.10

Renji is my favorite character, but my surprise exceeded my delight at seeing him as Ichigo's counterpart on the cover of the JET illustration collection. I would like to know if there is a reason why you chose Renji as the paired character?

A101.

On the contrary, I've never once thought of Ichigo's counterpart as anyone other than Renji.

Q102.

2021.05.10

Are there any recent Jump manga that you find interesting?

A102.

Jump manga have been interesting lately huh? My absolute favorites are Undead Unluck and SAKAMOTO DAYS. And recently, High School Family: Kokosei Kazoku too.

Q103.

2021.05.17

Are Harribel-sama's Fracción (Apacci, Sung-Sun and Mila Rose) modeled after Nocchi, KASHIYUKA and a-chan from the music group "Perfume"?

A103.

A long time ago, I was asked the same question by the individuals in question themselves. It's an incorrect assumption, however I like Perfume so I don't mind.

Q104.

2021.05.17

I have a question about the illustrations published in the Gallery's Guidelines on KlubOutside. Are the numbers noted on the side the Copic color number?

A104.

This is the screentone number (a polka dot pattern film that is cut and pasted onto an analog manuscript.)

Q105.

2021.05.17

Have you ever watched professional wrestling?

A105.

I used to watch WWE (known as WWF back then) quite often around the time The Rock was at his peak.

Q106.

2021.05.17

Did someone give Rōjūrō the nickname "Rose" because it was difficult to call him "Rōjūrō"?

A106.

Rose gave himself that nickname because he thinks it's cool.

Q107.

2021.05.17

Why does Ninny wear suspenders in the BTW anime?

A107.

When they saw her wearing it in the color spread for the one-shot, the anime team said "it's cute so is it okay if she wears it the whole time in the anime?"

Q108.

2021.05.24

I think the illustrations from Brave Souls at this opportune time captures the essence of the original work and is incredibly cool, as the original author, what sort of impressions do you have of the Brave Souls illustrations?

A108.

I think it's getting better with each passing year. The design roughs that are submitted for supervision are also excellent.

Q109.

2021.05.24

Where do you start from when making a drawing?

A109.

When I'm not doing a rough underdrawing, I start from the bone around the eyebrows.

Q110.

2021.05.24

I'd like to know about what you've purchased and found useful recently, or something that you're enjoying.

A110.

A Yogibo Pod, Tom Ford sneakers, JINS PC glasses.

Q111.

2021.05.24

Is the playlist on KlubOutside the list that Kubo-sensei is listening to?

A111.

I'm uploading the songs I often listen to in real time.

Q112.

2021.05.24

Did Kubo-sensei decide the OP and ED songs for the anime?

A112.

Basically that doesn't involve me. Occasionally, I'd receive a demo version, and there were also times when I gave a little input when it didn't feel like much of an opening theme.

Q113.

2021.05.31

Will you ever publish a continuation of your one-shot stories like Rune Master Urara.

A113.

Urara had a story prepared for the purpose of serialization but it didn't get past the serialization meeting because it had a female protagonist in a battle setting and the story was hellishly dark. I'm not interested in drawing dark stories right now, but I might do it if I get a lot of free time.

Q114.

2021.05.31

Kubo-sensei, please tell us your favorite font (like Ming typeface or Gothic typeface etc.)

A114.

During BLEACH's serialization, I liked Impact.

Q115.

2021.05.31

Byakuya-san said that Ichigo was only the second person to ever bear witness to his Senkei, but who was the first person to have seen it?

A115.

I can't answer this here.

Q116.

2021.05.31

Regarding the animation production, you mentioned that it would make your stomach hurt while watching it at home due to discrepancies that arose from your lack of involvement in its early days. But, from approximately what episode did Tite-sensei get his hands involved in the production?

A116.

Starting from the Bount arc, I began to do only dialogue checks in the script for the characters belonging to the original work, just before recording.

Q117.

2021.05.31

Old-man Zangetsu tried to reveal his name while in Kurosaki Ichigo-kun's inner world, but it was blocked out with black ink and he was unable to convey his message. Was this the work of Hyōsube Ichibē.

A117.

That's correct.

Q118.

2021.06.07

Is "Rondanini's black dog" Kotodama originating from the West Branch of Soul Society? ×[1]

A118.

That's right.

Q119.

2021.06.07

Your photos of Uni-chan are very beautiful, did you take them with a digital camera? Or was it a smartphone?

A119.

A smartphone.

Q120.

2021.06.07

Did Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku-san realize that Ichigo is Shiba Isshin's son when they came to the Human World as part of the Hitsugaya advance team?

A120.

Both of them realized.

Q121.

2021.06.07

It's come to be that Gin's Special Move in Brave Souls is "Shukyoku - Kamishini no Yari, Butō: Renjin." Is this "Shukyoku" an established concept in the original work?

A121.

That's heart Gin isn't it? It's a game original expression.

Q122.

2021.06.07

When you listen to a character's theme song, it can heighten the depth of each individual considerably, so I enjoy having the opportunity to listen to them. At what stage in the development of a character are these theme songs decided?

A122.

It depends on the character. Some characters change midway through the drawing process.

Q123.

2021.06.14

What kind of thoughts went into the name "Tite", Kubo-sensei's pen-name? The alphabetical notation has always been "Tite" rather than "Taito", but is there some reason for that? Furthermore, I'm also curious as to why the unusual character "帯" is used in your name.

A123.

It means something like "one's head is always filled with many people." ×[2]

Q124.

2021.06.14

When Kurotsuchi Mayuri's bare face was revealed for the first time, his skin color was dark, but was that the case from the beginning? Also, will Kurotsuchi Mayuri's bare face never be seen again? He was more handsome than I expected.

A124.

This is about the anime? I recall watching the broadcast at the time and saying to my editor "his skin color is different!" The request for editorial supervision didn't come to me.

Q125.

2021.06.14

Which organization assigns names to Hollows?

A125.

There's a guy in charge of naming in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

Q126.

2021.06.14

In the final chapter, Orihime appeared as Ichigo's wife, but there was no ring on her left ring finger. Did Kubo-sensei forget to draw it? Or is it establishing that she's pregnant with her second child and her body is swollen, therefore she intentionally took off her ring?

A126.

Huh? You're right! I forgot to draw it.

Q127.

2021.06.14

Why were two Hyōrinmaru born?

A127.

I'd be happy if you could watch the movies as a parallel story rather than considering it part of the official canon.

Q128.

2021.06.21

How do you come up with the subtitle for each chapter? In BLEACH especially, most of the subtitles are in English and occasionally there is Japanese, but is there a particular emphasis placed on that? Additionally, I would be so glad if you could also tell us about any subtitles throughout your entire body of work that you are particularly fond of or any that evoke some special memory. 

A128.

At the time, there was no other work yet which combined Japanese style clothing with the English alphabet, so I deliberately added English subtitles, and in special chapters I made a point of adding Japanese subtitles in order to leave an impression. In that sort of sense, many people may prefer the Japanese subtitles.

Q129.

2021.06.21

I was interested in manga artists' fan clubs and joined one! I started reading BLEACH for the first time last week and am currently on volume 22. I'm looking forward to getting to the final volume! I would really like to know who exactly is sensei's favorite character!?

A129.

Eh? You joined without reading BLEACH!? Is this person real…. I don't have a favorite character. On the whole, I like them all about the same and am equally uninterested in them about the same.

Q130.

2021.06.21

To what extent is Kubo-sensei involved with Brave Souls? Did you ever get to play it again?

A130.

The gameplay mechanics don't concern me, but I oversee the design for the anniversary characters and characters who appear to affect the main story similar to the novel variants. I returned to the game after a long hiatus during BTW, but I was surprised at just how much easier it has become to play.

Q131.

2021.06.21

How did you decide the names of your characters? Do you have some kind of image in mind when you come up with names like "Bambietta Basterbine" and "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez" etc.?

A131.

Everything is named based on how it sounds and my own intuition. I genuinely love naming things, so I always have a list of names belonging to (or sound like they belong to) various nationalities, enough to accommodate several hundred characters. I often draw out names from there.

Q132.

2021.06.21

A fair amount of difference can be observed in Kubo-sensei's art style when comparing the first volume with the last volume, but did you intend for this change at the time the manga was being serialized? Or did it change over the course of drawing a large number of illustrations?

A132.

It's not so much a conscious effort, but more like a perpetual feeling that this isn't the best style for portraying my characters, and I'm trying to explore that while drawing. In the case of BLEACH, of course the final stages are closer to the ideal, and at present I'm even closer to that ideal compared to back then.

Q133.

2021.06.28

I believe Tōsen can Hollowfy → activate Resurrección, but can Ichigo and members of the Visored do this too? Does this mean that both Bankai and Resurrección are possible if they are in a Hollowfied state?

A133.

It's possible.

Q134.

2021.06.28

Is "Top of Horns" a metaphor for various genres of music? For example, I think Bruno represents rock and roll and Roy represents R&B.

A134.

It's different for Top of Horns, but it was actually like that for the Visored.

Q135.

2021.06.28

Please unveil the mystery behind "Ururu" and "Jinta". Who are they?

A135.

They are both Artificial Souls created by Kisuke.

Q136.

2021.06.28

In the illustrations for BLEACH, the characters are seen wearing western style clothes with various designs, but were these designs drawn independently by Kubo-sensei himself.

A136.

All illustrations in the original work are my own designs, all illustrations from the anime do not concern me.

Q137.

2021.06.28

Sensei, when you draw an illustration, do you draw the figure and such without using any references, like an artist's mannequin?

A137.

I once went to check out an art supply store because I thought it would be cool to have a drawing mannequin in my workplace, like one of those skilled painters, but in the end I didn't buy it since I couldn't figure out how to correctly use it as a reference.

Q138.

2021.07.05

I like Senju Kōten Taihō and often chant it, does sensei have a favorite incantation to chant too?

A138.

I generally always like the newest ones the best, so right now it's probably Blue Spark or Supernal Jail.

Q139.

2021.07.05

Was the BLEACH logo sensei's idea?

A139.

That's correct. I had a logo which I drew myself brought to life by an acquaintance, Shueisha bought it and are using it. By the way, the logo on the first chapter spread of Zombiepowder is hand-drawn, and I had BTW use my hand-drawn logo as is.

Q140.

2021.07.05

When you were contemplating the map of Karakura Town, were there any places that you used as reference?

A140.

I sort of used my local town as reference but it turned out completely different.

Q141.

2021.07.05

If it's okay, I would like to know Hinamori Momo-san's name before the change. Also, besides Hinamori-san, are there any other characters whose names have been changed since the initial stages?

A141.

I changed it because it wasn't very good, so the original is a secret. Additionally, Hitsugaya had a completely different first name too until the very last moment of the manuscript. This is also a secret.

Q142.

2021.07.12

I have a question regarding Kira Izuru-kun's healing abilities and the history of his affiliations. He was first assigned to Captain Aizen's 5th Division, while there he was found to have an aptitude for Kaidō and was recruited to the 4th division, but does that mean that he was later poached by Ichimaru Gin of Squad 3? 

A142.

When he was a member of Squad 4, it was Aizen who recommended the transfer to Unohana.

Q143.

2021.07.12

How was it that Kuna Mashiro came to be appointed as "Super Vice-Captain"? Is her armband official? (Personally, I think it's something she wilfully made on her own, or perhaps someone in her Squad prepared it just to placate her.)

A143.

When Kensei returned to the position of Captain, Mashiro pestered Kensei alone saying it's "unfair", so it's a post that Kensei made up himself without consulting anyone. The armband is also a complete fake made with shiny material in the hope that it would please Mashiro. Though, with a single glance Mashiro was satisfied.

Q144.

2021.07.12

In volume 31, when Grimmjow tried to break Loly's leg clean off, she says "if you stop, wait! We can make this our secret!" What was she trying to say next? I haven't spoken openly about it much since being told that I have a bad personality, but the scenario before and after that scene is one of my favorites!!

A144.

It was "I'll let you have your way with me." Loly's the kind of character who would deliver a line like that when she's in a desperate situation. A famous manga artist friend of mine once told me that he loved that scene too, so I think it's fine to openly discuss it.

Q145.

2021.07.12

I thought that the 5 members of the Bambies from the Wandenreich looked similar to Momoiro Clover Z, but what are the facts actually like? 

A145.

The very first design motif I used for them was indeed Momoclo, but after I had finalized the characters I thought "well then, who is Gigi?" So I decided not to say anything. (I just said it.)

Q146.

2021.07.12

I'm really looking forward to the Ninny-chan and Noel-chan figurines, when will the news be updated?!

A146.

I'm looking forward to it too. I wonder when!?

Q147.

2021.07.12

Kubo-sensei, do you drink alcohol? If so, what kind of alcohol do you like?

A147.

I recently discovered that I'm able to drink if it's "Horoyoi*." I like the white one. (*Horoyoi is a brand of canned, alcoholic beverage in Japan.)

Q148.

2021.07.12

Do you have a favorite YouTuber?

A148.

I don't know if I can classify them as YouTubers, but I sometimes watch YouTube videos of people free diving then catching and eating strange fish.

Q149.

2021.07.19

Why is the Shihakushō, which can also be called the Shinigami uniform, black? Is it so that the Monk can enlist their help in case of an emergency?

A149.

The color was decided upon in the days of first Gotei generation, the reason was "so you wouldn't have to throw it away every time it gets stained with blood." However, your idea about the Monk would also make a good backstory.

Q150.

2021.07.19

How do members of the Sternritter perceive Giselle Gewelle's gender? Are they not aware of it, are they aware but pretending not to notice it, or are they just not interested in it? I would be glad if you could tell us.

A150.

It depends on the person.

Q151.

2021.07.19

I have a question concerning Kusajishi Yachiru. Is it a result of the fact that she was called by the name "Yachiru" that she herself possessed a Zanpakutō called "Sanpo Kenjū", while also being "Nozarashi" - the Zanpakutō of Zaraki Kenpachi? 

Like Hihiō Zabimaru or Fuji Kujaku, there are many scenes where a Zanpakutō not called by its true name was unable to demonstrate its true power. I reckon "Nozarashi" bore the essence of a Shinigami and materialized as a consequence of being called by the name "Yachiru" - a Shinigami who actually exists, and perhaps because it was the name "Yachiru" (*Yachi = eight thousand, Ru = flows/styles), she acquired Sanpo Kenjū which was specialized for the act of cutting. 

I'm quite curious about the true identity of Kusajishi Yachiru, so I'd be overjoyed if you could give us an answer.

A151.

Wow, amazing! It's not even written that Yachiru is Nozarashi, yet you managed to find your way here. You are mostly correct within the scope covered by your question. To go further, Yachiru is a form of Nozarashi's Bankai manifestation separated from its main body, and having received her name from Kenpachi, she harbored the power of a Shinigami. The embodiment of Nozarashi itself takes the form of a grown woman. I think it's easier to understand if I got you to imagine Zangetsu and Tensa Zangetsu.

Q152.

2021.07.19

Why are the names of Chad and Orihime's Fullbring not in English unlike the members of XCUTION? I was intrigued because sensei used different languages for naming depending on the faction. 

A152.

Since these two are in a special category, their abilities were given names in their respective native languages.

Q153.

2021.07.19

With Madarame Ikkaku's appearance in the Fullbring chapters, attached to his right shoulder we see some kind of gold plated equipment with the kanji for "dragon" printed on it, is that his own work? I'm curious because it's established in the lore that he's good with his hands.

A153.

It's Ikkaku's own work.

Q154.

2021.07.19

What kind of person is the manager of ABCookies where Orihime worked?

A154.

I have the concept art for him. I ended up having so much fun while drawing him that he became a creepy old man, but he's a good person.

Q155.

2021.07.26

Did Baraggan not reveal his own rank, nor refer to himself as "Espada" due to his rivalry with Aizen?

A155.

That's right.

Q156.

2021.07.26

Please tell us your favorite places in Hiroshima!

A156.

I don't get to go back that often, but I like Soleil (now Aeon Mall). It's huge and exciting.

Q157.

2021.07.26

Is it intentional that the number of English words used in the subtitle from BLEACH chapter 679 "THE END" up to 683 "THE DARK SIDE OF TWO WORLD ENDS" increases with each chapter? 

A157.

Yes.

Q158.

2021.07.26

Aizen said "From the very start, no one has stood upon the heavens," and while looking at Ukitake he said "not you, not I, nor even gods," but was this "you" here hinting at the connection between Ukitake and the Soul King? 

A158.

That is correct.

Q159.

2021.07.26

The haori, jinbei, and hat which Urahara Kisuke wears in the Human World can probably be described as his only good clothes, did Urahara Kisuke himself purchase them at a Human World draper or something?

A159.

Those are all items Kisuke made himself.

Q160

2021.07.26

To what extent does Kubo-sensei supervise the color scheme of the digital color tankōbon? 

A160.

I'm supposed to give them all a look over around the time of their debut, but since I'm making my checks while busy with other things during serialization, I sometimes find myself wondering "did I really choose this kind of color!?" In Brave Souls, occasionally the color of the skills just happen to change, well that is the reason why. I'm sorry!

Q161.

2021.08.02

Spanish is used for words related to the Arrancar and Hueco Mundo, German is used for words related to the Wandenreich and Quincy, but I would like to know why you chose these two languages? Does Kubo-sensei have a special attachment to both languages? 

A161.

I think Spanish has a devilish charm, German has a hard-headed sound to it. By the way, when I told this story at an event in Germany, it was amusing to the Germans. It seems that the German people themselves consider the German national traits to be "idyllic and easygoing", apparently they found it amusing because of the disparity between this and my "hard-headed sound" assessment.

Q162.

In the 13BLADEs. "Frank Questions!" segment, you said that you haven't actually drawn a certain character's Bankai up to its final form yet, was that referring to adult Hitsugaya? If so, from what point in time did you decide you were going to draw the concept of a "slightly aged up" Hitsugaya?

A162.

I was talking about Hitsugaya. It was decided when Hitsugaya was designed therefore it was already decided by the time he debuted.

Q163.

2021.08.02

Kubo-sensei, please tell us the reason why you named your dog "Uni".

A163.

It's an anagram of 'inu'. Just kidding. I named my dog "Uni" because it was expected that her fur would become orange as she grew. It turned out to be a burnt mochi-like color though. ×[3]

Q164.

2021.08.02

Taking into account Isshin and Masaki's origins, it seems to me that Ichigo's grandparents do not exist in the Human World, but is "Grandpa Rin", whose name was mentioned in the Lost Agent arc, an individual who actually exists? Is he a relative of Tsukishima-san? 

A164.

Tsukishima Rinshirō. He's Tsukishima's grandfather.

Q165.

2021.08.02

In the past, there was a "Love Bleach" film featured at a BLEACH event, but would you consider launching the actual product for sale in the future?! 

A165.

"Love Bleach", wasn't that supposed to be some kind of dating simulation game? I guess, If a game company can make a profit, I don't see why not. ×[4] 

Q166.

2021.08.02

I went to the opening day stage greeting for BURN THE WITCH! I saw on social media that sensei also came to see it, but where did you watch it from?

A166.

The seats on the 2nd floor are like cozy sofas. It was awesome.

Q167. *Deleted entry from KlubOutside*

2021.08.09

This is a question regarding the origins of the name "Yhwach". In the original work, it was derived from being called "Yū", "ha", "vē", "ha", but does this have its roots in the monotheistic God of Judaism and Christianity, "YHVH" (Jehovah, Yahweh)? 

A167.

Originally the spelling of "Yhwach" itself was like that, but I was asked to change it because it would 100% cause controversy overseas so it's come to be this current spelling.

Q167.

2021.08.09

Has the status of the Shinigami Men's Association improved since Iba-san, its President, became Captain?

Q167.

Isane also became a Captain, so….

Q168.

2021.08.09

In the earliest iterations of BLEACH, the Shinigami wear Western-style outfits and are armed with guns. It seems that in this universe, Rukia was the only one among them to use a scythe, but what was the reason for making Rukia the only one to wield a different weapon?

A168.

The lore was that Rukia was the only one who continued to use an old-fashioned scythe due to a difference in ideology. Also, at the time, the Shinigami characters were all foreigners.

Q169.

2021.08.09

I would like to know the origin of the name "Macy Baljure" (it's my favorite). If possible, please by all means, let us know!

A169.

I don't know the origin, but Macy's name was the one I struggled with the most and I made alterations within the name alone like three times.

Q170.

2021.08.09

Is there any difference between a short release call for a Zanpakutō and a long one like in the case of Kyōraku or Ukitake?

A170.

Basically, the longer ones are often older Zanpakutō.

Q171.

2021.08.09

When drawing manga, do you tend to forget details in the costume blueprints for characters who, for instance, you haven't drawn in a long time?

A171. 

I forget things very easily. Even during the series, I forgot the location of Rangiku's mole.

Q172.

2021.08.16

Did you devise the opening and ending of the BLEACH anime together with the anime staff? I was wondering if sensei's ideas were incorporated as well.

A172.

I'm not involved with the OP & EDs. Each one is good in it's own way.

Q173.

2021.08.16

Why did Hisagi fail the entrance exam for the Academy twice? 

A173.

Because it's Shūhei.

Q174.

2021.08.16

Regardless of whether they were in a higher or lower position, members of the Visored have been quite casual since their days as Shinigami, using informal language and addressing each other without honorifics. Just because they're all together, I don't think that necessarily means that they were at the Academy at the same time, so what could be the driving force for them to have become this close? 

A174.

All of them are diehard individualists, or rather, the type to follow their own rules, so people of that type get along well with each other, and I get the impression that because they're the same type, many people don't care how informal they are with one another. Rather than a 'driving force', it's more like "for some reason, I feel like I talk to this guy a lot."

Q175.

2021.08.16

I love Sado-kun. I would like to know if there is a backstory regarding Sado-kun's tattoo such as when and how he got it inked.

A175.

When his Abuelo died, Sado got it inked in order to keep his spirit strong.

Q176.

2021.08.16

What is sensei's shoe size in cm? Also, if you have any favorite shoes, please let us know!

A176.

My ankles are big, so it's 27 or 27.5. I like shoes but I don't particularly have a favorite brand.

Q177.

2021.08.16

Are you reading what your fans are writing in the comments in the [DESKSIDE] section of your website?

A177.

I'm reading them all.

Q178.

2021.08.23

This isn't really a question, but I hope that the Radio Kon letters segment, which appeared in the early Tankōbon, makes a comeback.

A178.

I didn't want to do that anymore because I had to draw the cutout faces of characters, every volume, just for that segment which was quite exhausting. I planned to do this myself though.

Q179.

2021.08.23

Will sensei's illustrations mainly be done digitally from now on? I'm curious because I love the illustrations that were colored with sensei's Copic markers. Also, which one do you prefer, sensei?

A179. 

Right now, I'm having fun with digital. I'm still not very good at using digital, but going forward, I'd like to be able to switch back and forth between both depending on my mood.

Q180.

2021.08.23

I would like to know what your favorite buildings are?

A180.

"The National Congress Palace, Brasília" by Oscar Niemeyer and Louis Kahn's "Salk Institute for Biological Studies". Oscar Niemeyer is the origin of Nimaiya Ōetsu's name.

Q181.

2021.08.23

Why does Tatsuki want to become stronger? Her name seems strong, though there is some backstory which revealed that Tatsuki herself doesn't like it, so I'm just allowing myself to imagine that perhaps her parents work at a dojo or do something related to martial arts. I'm also very interested about Orihime in her middle school days, viewed from Tatsuki's perspective. Ichigo and Orihime's pasts have points of similarity, being bullied because of their hair color and experiencing the death of a family member, so I wonder if Tatsuki noticed that they have these things in common?

A181.

The karate dojo that Ichigo used to attend is attached to Tatsuki's home. Additionally, in a flashback which I had to cut due to page limitations, there was a scene where Tatsuki draws a parallel between Ichigo and Orihime. You're quite the reader, huh?

Q182.

2021.08.23

I want to be able to draw illustrations like Kubo-sensei so I'm practicing, but whether it be male or female characters, please let me know if there are any points you pay particular attention to when drawing people.

A182.

There isn't much difference in how I depict men and women. I get the sense that I draw each character with a feeling that's like "this aspect of this character is good."

Q183.

2021.08.23

I have a question about the feathers around Yumichika's eyes. When he appeared in the story about Ikkaku's past, and also 10 years later, it doesn't appear that he's wearing any accessories, but is that sort of like ‘his thing’ these days?

A183.

All the things Yumichika wears are fashionable items, so it varies depending on the season.

Q184.

2021.08.30

What is your favorite Doraemon movie?

A184.

It's "Little Star Wars." It's because I like the theme song.

Q185.

2021.08.30

I would like to know the details about the relationship between Mask De Masculine and James. Is it correct to infer from Yhwach's line "James, so you have died?" that Masculine is like a false manifestation and James is his true form.

A185.

James is the true form, and Masculine is James's ideal hero.

Q186.

2021.08.30

Regarding the subtitle of BLEACH volume 6 "THE DEATH TRILOGY OVERTURE", if literally translated, it becomes "prologue to the Shinigami trilogy", I think perhaps this means the prologue of the series is about facing the Shinigami, the second chapter is about facing the Arrancar and the final chapter is about facing the Quincy. Is it that you decided on the overall structure of the story from the early stages, resulting in a title like this?

A186. 

That is so. Since the Lost Agent arc initially wasn't about Shinigami, it was my plan to mix elements of both preceding and upcoming chapters for a smoother transition.

Q187.

2021.08.30

I know this is a terrible question, but I would like to know Kuchiki Rukia's bust, waist and hip measurements….

A187.

It's a secret. All the people asking about BWH measurements and other boob related questions are women…. Well, it's fine then I guess.

Q188.

2021.08.30

Some time ago, I watched you begin to draw an illustration on a Shikishi board by hand and without a rough sketch too for Jigoku no Misawa-sensei, I was in shock thinking "you must be kidding…." When you draw a picture, are you drawing with a clear image of the whole composition already in a completed state in your head? Also, where do you usually start from when drawing a character? I was all the more astonished because I saw Kubo-sensei's craft in a character that was not sensei's own. ×[5]

A188.

From the time I was an elementary school student, I have been drawing Kitarō starting from his toes, so ever since then, the order in which I draw things has always been chaotic.

Q189.

2021.09.06

Ichigo's attendance score is 13 overall and 6 for male student attendance score, these are also the respective numbers of the squads to which Rukia and Renji belong, that is, two Shinigami with whom he shares a particularly close bond. Was this something you set up intentionally?

A189.

It's just a coincidence. 6 is my lucky number so it makes a frequent appearance within the story.

Q190.

2021.09.06

When I look at illustrations, I often look at the fashion designs of the characters, but I am always impressed by how meticulously Kubo-sensei's illustrations depict the structural lines and details of the clothing. I would like to know if there are any fashion brands and the like which you associate with a certain character's image?

A190.

I was about to say that for every character I've never thought "this character would probably wear this brand", but there was actually one individual alone. Äs Nödt would wear Rick Owens. 

Q191.

2021.09.06

Your pen-name in the past was Kubo Noriaki, but why was your name changed to Tite?

A191.

That's because that 'pen-name' is actually my real name and on top of that, it was a misprint.

Q192.

2021.09.06

How old is Ikumi-san from Unagiya Shop?

A193.

She's 33.

Q193.

2021.09.06

In the original story and the novels, it is mentioned that Soul Society has a one million year history, but of the Four Great Noble Houses, if Byakuya is the 28th generation and Yoruichi is 22nd generation, it seems this falls short of one million years, what do you think?

A193.

The history of the Nobles is the history of the Seireitei, not Soul Society.

Q194.

2021.09.06

I remember that Kubo-sensei frequently used an au talby A5508SA cell phone for many years. Is that the same cell phone model that is hanging from Ichigo's waist on the cover of WJ issue 23, 2005, and the same one that Rukia is clutching in her hand on the cover of chapter 298

A194.

That's right. I still have it at home. I love Marc Newson.

Q195.

2021.09.13

Kubo-sensei, do you prefer raw eggs, boiled eggs, or hot spring eggs?

A195.

I like raw eggs. Isn't this dependent on one's eating habits?

Q196.

2021.09.13

"PIPERS" WOVEN JACQUARD MUFFLER was sold on Whiskrs, but does sensei own serial number 1? (*These were sold in a limited number of 99)

A196.

I have it. Personally, I thought it would have been easier to use if it was a little longer.

Q197.

2021.09.13

Ganju who reappeared in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc has, from where I'm standing, gained a butt-chin, but did that just happen over the course of his growth? Or was it the discipline he received from Kūkaku, or perhaps he was influenced by Shiroganehiko who similarly has a butt-chin? I would be grateful if you could tell us.

A197.

Huh? Wait, Ganju wasn't supposed to have a butt-chin!? Well then, let's go with growth!

Q198.

2021.09.13

The name Nīhashi = 15 → 2+1+8+4.

The names Nīha and Ninny = 15 → Nīha: 2+1+8 and Ninny: 2+2.

Is this something you were setting up as a goal? ×[6]

A198.

I happened to see this on Twitter and surprised myself. The person who spotted this is amazing. However, it's just a coincidence.

Q199.

2021.09.13

Hitsugaya always wears something that looks like a brooch, it appears to be a marigold, is this correct? 

A199.

You mean the clip on his sash which held his sword in his earlier appearances? That's a sun motif. 

Q200.

2021.09.13

I would like to see that school parody with the BLEACH cast (the one that was in JET), will it be released somewhere?!

A200.

I want to see that too, but it would be hard to draw the manga myself, so I'm thinking of sharing character profiles and maybe someone will draw it for me.

Translation Footnotes:

×1. "Rondanini's black dog" is part of an incantation for a Kidō spell. See BLEACH chapter 21.

×2. 帯 = to wear/ to carry/ to bear | 人= people | 帯人 (Tite) = to bear people

×3. The joke is: Inu = dog in Japanese. Uni is sea urchin, in Japan we eat sea urchin as sashimi or sushi and it is orange in color.

×4. Back in 2005, a BLEACH dating simulation game parody video, known as "Love Bleach" was made by staff for a BLEACH event. The gag involved teasing a TBA dating simulator. The video is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0cA-jySdzYE?si=-5OX0MQX1bZKsqws

×5. Tite Kubo drawing for Jigoku No Misawa: https://youtu.be/xRAfswhrQC4?si=6rgKaPK94EbzcBY1

×6. Based on Japanese numerals, Ni = 2, i = 1, ha = 8 shi = 4. 

[dia-souls]

🥀 Subayui fanfic 🥀

Pairing : Subaru 🗡️ and Yui🌸

Author: Admin Irsa

Genre: Romance, possessiveness

TW: Servant abusing, Death threat, mentally illness issues, possessiveness

Admin's Note: I don't even know what I wrote I will be very honest it was literally a passing thought. If you have confusion regarding this one-shot do ask. I will surely clear it. Again reviews are welcomed!

Nightmare of Love

Subaru looked at the tower infront of him. He could hear a shrill scream coming from the tower. He moved towards the tower with heavy steps. If he wanted he could easily teleport inside but he didn't because he was preparing himself for what was about to come.

As Subaru continued to move upstairs he noticed that the scream had died down. He then continued his small journey towards the room. He sighed to prepare himself from the emotional trauma that was about to come.

He opened the door to see her. He noticed that the maid whom he had hired to monitor Yui was glaring at her but her gaze changed as soon as she saw subaru. Yui was sitting on the floor, her back leaned against bed for support. She had pulled her legs towards her chest. Her face buried in between them. She looked frail with her white night gown on her. Her fragile form was something that had always worried Subaru for her safety.

"Yui." Subaru mumbled lightly.

Yui upon hearing her name immediately looked up as soon as her gaze fell on Subaru her eyes went lost, her eyes lost her shine as soon as she saw him.

Subaru raised his eyebrow as he noticed a slit on Yui's lip dried blood was still present on corner of her mouth. He felt anger and rage in his chest, his angry gaze immediately fell on the maid he hired to protect Yui.

"How do you explain this?!?" He said as he frowned and moved toward the maid.

"W-what?.. " The maid immediately backed away upon hearing his angry growl. Yui watched the scene unfolding infront of her with dead eyes there wasn't any emotion on her face. She then started looking at the carpet trying to ignore the angry shouts of Subaru.

"What do you mean by 'What' ?! You are supposed to protect her?! Why is her lip broken?!!"

Subaru said as he angrily moved toward the shivering maid whom was backing away. He immediately cornered her on the wall his fist slamming right beside her head. The maid eyes rolled in fear as she for a moment thought he would punch her skull in wall.

"Hah?! You are abusing her?! I hired you to protect her and to take care of her. How dare you try to hit her?! Who the fuck do you think you are to hurt her?! "

Subaru said as he punched another hole on wall. The maid at this point was crying and was on her feet.

" I-I.... She... Wasn't listening to me so in anger I-I-- Subaru-sama... Please!! Ahhhhh!!"

The maid gave a shrill scream as she was lifted by her hair. Subaru rougly gripped her hair, he pulled her hair so hard as if he was trying to tear her skull through her hair.

"Hahah? Do you really think I would let that slide?! HOW DARE YOU I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!?! "

Subaru threw her on floor before the maid could escape he stepped on her hand. The maid screams increased as she felt her hand being crushed.

Yui who was quite throughout the whole scene also was now scared her fear increased as she watched the scene in horror her eyes whom were empty were now filled with fear for her as well as for maids safety. As much as the maid hitted and scolded her, she doesn't want this to happen to the maid.

Eventhough she was feeling sympathy she still remained quite in fear of shifting Subaru anger to her. As Subaru continued to put pressure on maid hand an ugly crack was heard that caused maid to give a powerful scream. Yui yelped in fear her heart started beating fast as fear gripped her heart her breathing shortened.

Subaru upon noticing the increase in Yui's heart beat immediately looked at her. His eyes filled with anger became gentler his face started showing gentleness. He felt disgust of himself as he saw fear and anxiety in Yui's eyes, her big pink eyes were filled with fear... Fear of him. He felt his heart giving a powerful twist.

"Tch."

He said before stepping away he ruffled his hair. It was as if looking into Yui's eyes stopped him from doing horror to the maid. Her eyes made him gentler. He stood there for sometime he doesn't want her to fear him. She is his love, his life, his everything and the last thing he want is for her to fear him, to be scared of him. His eyes then went from Yui towards the maid who was begging for forgiveness.

He then grabbed her by her shoulder and yanked her roughly towards him.

"Stop fucking crying!! You?! You know I am not the one who you should apologize to?! "

He throwed her towards Yui. The maid immediately apologized to Yui. She started begging her. Yui's eyes widened for a moment as she backed away from the mad maid whom was clinging to her. Yui then tried to console maid. After some time of her constantly asking for forgiveness Subaru spoke up.

"Get out.... leave us alone. "Subaru said but it was clear he was telling the maid to leave."

Yui felt fear as soon as she heard his words this means her turn is next? She doesn't want to be alone with him after what she had witnessed. The maid didn't hesitate to leave Yui and ran out of the door.

Subaru looked at the fleeing maid she is going to die tonight he had already decided if it wasn't for Yui being present she would be dead by now. He then coughed awkwardly as his gaze met with Yui.

He then slowly moved towards her not wanting to scare her with his towering frame.

"Yui.. "

He said gently as he sat beside her on the floor. Yui tried to move away only to be stopped as Subaru grabbed her. His grip on her arm firm yet gentle.

"Don't! .... I won't hurt you... Yui, I will never ever hurt you. You... I love you and you can't hurt someone whom you love. Right? "

Yui didn't answer him instead turned her face away from him. She closed her eyes as some unwanted memory crepped up. She sighed trying to push thoes thoughts away trying to calm her herself. She felt like crying. She choked to stop herself. She was scared... Scared to see Subaru like that she wanted to run but she felt scared to do so.

Yui didn't realize as tears start pouring out of her eyes sliding down her cheek. Subaru frowned at her. He pulled her toward himself to hug her hoping it will ease her as Yui started bawling in his chest.

"Shhh! Calm down... I will never hurt you... Yui... I won't. I love you so much. I love you too much--"

"Stop it!! Shut up don't! Don't say that?! Pleaseee!! "Yui chocked the words out as her crying increased.

"Yui... Seeing you, Feeling you calms me I can't--You are my cure! My fucking cure! I can't stop it--"

"Stop! Subaru stop killing everyone don't kill anyone... If you loved me why are you doing this?! Why are you making me like your mother?! Subaru please let me out! These walls are killing me! Don't lock me here... I am going crazy... I will surely die here please--"

"SHUT UP!"

Subaru said aggressively as he hugged her tighter. Yui started beating his chest but he still remained indifferent to her struggle.

"You not okay... You definetely are not. Can't you freacking see I am trying to protect you... I don't want to lose you?! Your mine! Only mine! Your mine to own understand?!? "

Subaru said as he crazily looked at Yui whom was still struggling against him. His eyes were filled with madness. His mind was filled with dark thoughts. He wants to monopolise her can't she understand?! He is protecting her from getting like his mother. He can only protect her by keeping her somewhere safe and there is no place that is more safe than this tower whoes key was owned by him! The tower that is only reserved for his eyes and no one is the safest option for Yui.

"Subaru... Please... Please I am tired of being locked up here I... I am not like your mom... No one wants to hurt me please... "

Yui chocked her words out of her throat. She wants to make him understand. She doesn't want to be here!

"You look so cute while struggling Yui."

Subaru said as he laughed lightly moving Yui's hair away from her face cupping her wet cheek his thumb caressing her swollen lip.

"I will do whatever the fuck I want. I just want us to be happy... Is it really that much hard to understand? Is it that hard to obey me Yui? To love me? Don't make me hurt you... "

Subaru said before joining his lips to her bloodied lips. Yui muffled as Subaru grabbed her jaw to keep her in place.

"You don't even have slightest idea what you do to here? Do you? When you love something you want to protect it and that's what I am doing Yui... "

He said before getting up and going toward door. Yui immediately started chasing him, screaming at him. He pushed her lightly inside the door and locked the door. The banging on the door continued but he ignored it.

[sashi-ya]

𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟑 DAY 26: SHOWER SEX Sōsuke Aizen x F! Arrancar! Reader

Requested by @muzansfangs ➡ Hi! Since you are literally one of my favorite authors, I would like to submit a request for the kinktober event! I would love to read Aizen + shower sex. I trust in your abilities blindly. Add whateve kinks you like! I don’t remember if I had to specify the gender of the reader. In that case, I would like f!reader. Thank you for your hard work and for blessing us with your works! tw: mdni. bathtub sex. praising. vag. arrancar! reader wc: 1.2k masterlist

The sound of dripping water echoing all around the biggest bathhouse you have ever seen. His head thrown back, his chocolate hair too. Arms strong but also lean helps his naked body to float as he grabs from the sides of the tub.

You take some time to admire his beautiful physique. Abs barely visible from over the water level, protruding collarbones, prominent Adam’s apple and the sharpest mandible framing his relaxing façade.

“What, (Name)?” he asks, surprising you with the tray and a cup of tea on your hands.

“I’m sorry, Aizen-sama. I… brought your tea, where should I leave it?” you ask, stuttering. How could you forget how much of a powerful being he is? Of course he could sense your presence… you’ve been created by himself.

Sosuke opens his eyes and after sighing, he turns his head to you. Him, in that sterile environment with everything so white as everything in Las Noches, stands out in such delightful imagery.

“Bring it to me” he commands, with a soft smile on his lips but eyes full of impure intentions.

You nod, and fast enough bring the tea closer to him. You are aware of his nudity, but still try to act as if he was fully clothed… even if your eyes couldn’t get away from the running drops coming from his wet hair to his chest.

Your lips barely part, letting soft sighs of warm breath scape in between them. You slowly kneel on the ground to serve him the tea, you shouldn’t be above your Lord.

Your pupils dilate as he lifts his back just a little, allowing some more of his belly to emerge from the water. Aizen Sosuke is the definition of temptation, of lust, of need…

“Heh… You like what you see?” he asks, breaking the enchantment all of a sudden. “Excuse me, Sir. I didn’t mean to look, I…” you quickly excuse yourself, although your cheeks get on fire and your breathing accelerated.

The ting of the porcelain cup on your hand echoes as much as the water drops… the more you tremble to keep it steady as you pretend to serve him, the more it resonates. And Aizen is delighted, because if there is something that pleases him is when people consider him a god. He enjoys intimidating you as everybody else.

“You seem to be having trouble to serve me a cup of tea today, (Name)… leave the teapot aside for me, please” he orders, always politely but still perversely.

You leave everything on the floor, bowing before him. “I’m sorry, Aizen-sama. I am so unworthy of serving you!” you repeat, hitting your forehead on the wet floor of his bathroom.

He takes his hand to his chin, observing your pathetic intent for mercy, and stops your whining.

“(Name), you might have trouble serving me tea… but I know you are good with other tasks, aren’t you? Come here, help me bathe” he commands, offering your hands the privilege of touching his godly -not so pure- flesh.

You blink, as he stands up. His whole anatomy surfaces, showing you his attributes with absolutely no shame. Aizen extents his hand for you to grab it, as the very depiction of a godly creature inviting you to heaven.

You swallow. A trembling hand of yours touches his, and with his help you stand up from the floor.

“Very well… now, use this to rub my chest” he indicates, giving you a piece of white cloth imbued in water and a soapy substance.

You take it in between your hands; the cloth is warm and so is the water and your core. Your quivering hand approaches his right pec with delicacy, almost as if you were about to touch something fragile.

Aizen smiles lovingly, looking at you in the same way a master looks at his dog. You are, to him, inferior. And still, cute, so very beautiful.

Slowly tracing circles on his flesh, you let a fine mantle of foam. Your eyes, fixed in the pores of his skin, are battling against your own need not to look any further… down, down where his sin start.

However, and besides not watching, pulled by the transgressive force of desire, you lost the battle against morality… you let your cheek to be pressed right in the middle of his chest.

He gasps, would it be a lie to say he wasn’t surprised. Aizen plans it all, but still… there are some types of physical contact that are simply unforeseen. A man whose life has always revolved around being lonely, breaking limits with no mercy for a higher mean, can still get amazed at a sudden show of love.

Sosuke takes some time to think; never has he ever stuttered… but this time he did; and the final decision meant for him to turn off his mind and let desire to take over. This time, as he learnt the Hogyoku was supposed to do, he just let his heart manifest its true desires…

A heavy hand falls on the crown of your head. Though hefty, it’s also delicate and caring. Aizen presses your face against his chest, you can hear the heart inside pumping harder and faster.

“You love me that much, (Name)?” “I love you more than much, my Lord… with all my soul” “Your soul? Mh… I see”

He sighs, not annoyed but pleased. And his hands pass around your waist, pulling you inside the tub swiftly.

You get your white and black uniform all wet, things he doesn’t mind and also enjoys. The transparency of it, showing hard nipples through. The soaking skirt, attaching to your skin, showing your sex.

“Come here” he murmurs, kissing you with a class that cannot be found in another man. It’s also perverse and deadly, and you are all about losing your life for it.

Slowly, softly… both sliding down. Hips straddled on his lap, the water playing with the hem of your skirt, making it float and dance with the way you hump on his hardness.

Sosuke presses you down with his hands on the small of your back; your hands, hang loosely on his shoulder blades. His lips attacking your neck, and the breasts he freed as he tore your uniform.

And the more his kisses go down, the more your back arches with him holding you with playful fingers along your spine. Your hair rains on your back, your cheeks tinted in black drops as your make up has started to smear.

“You know you are here because I created you? And you are here because I wanted to, right? He whispers, kissing in between your breasts, down your sternum.

“Yes, Aizen-sama. I am beyond grateful because you chose me, my Lord. I am completely devoted to you” you murmur, feeling his sex search for your entrance.

“Would you be a good girl and let me fuck you?” he asks, -in reality he doesn’t need to-

You alone lift your hips to help him accede faster to your insides, you are desperate… “Yes, my Lord… please, fuck me”

Aizen smirks, tracing circles with his index on your lower belly around your hollow. And with his free hand, he guides his shaft into you.

Who knows, maybe you were just one more of his Arrancar… Or maybe you were created from a piece of his own very soul, because when he penetrated you, it felt like two forces were finally rejoined…

Taglist: @miabiaria @carmenthedreamer @stygianoir @electronicwitchcollection @aizenwifey @deputy-videogamer @efrodd17 @mizugami @uzxotic @cyberdazetragedy @bookandyarndragon @fushiguroshotwife 💖🙆‍♀️

[suguru-getos]

Fleeting - Part I

Summary: Broken and bruised, is what your heart feels after losing the love of your life - Geto Suguru, in the hands of someone you barely know. Isn't it your duty to have Gojo Satoru dead at your feet?

Author's Note: Gosh TIS is ANGSTY>!!! I almost cried while writing this part :((

Chapter Summary: You have been told that Suguru is no more, how you cope up can be utterly frightening when there's nothing else to lose anymore.

You stood at the kitchen door, frozen, numb, eyes widened with the sheer panic of everything that befell. The environment around you just felt akin to pure desolation, the very marrow of your bone shattered, broken apart in endless pieces and it was impossible to bring you back. The endless void that Suguru created in your life, the deteriorating feeling of emptiness, hollowing you, sucking your soul up. "Where is he?" You managed to fight from the endless pit of anxiety that grew like a black hole. Mimiko and Nanako are scared to meet your gaze, the woman who's not much older than them but they still consider her as the epitome of love. For both of them, and, their precious Geto Sama.

Your eyes are not allowing the pent-up grief to escape, not a tear shall be shed for this. Never will. You can't wash off all the feelings of being notoriously tainted by Suguru's intensity, by his love. Your mind isn't thinking straight, you want answers, need answers. "I asked a question, Miguel." You asked someone else in the 'Family' that cherished you as much as they cherished Geto. "Please.." Manami, the woman who helped him do his due-diligence being a Cult leader cried out. She knows you will break apart, and they are not sure if they can handle a living corpse after losing Suguru-chan.

"Where is Sugu?" You asked again, desperation of clutching for the fleeting hope of him returning back, evidently smiling with his ever-so-loving, signature smile and warmth ensuing with his hugs. He couldn't… he shouldn't. HE COULDN'T!

"Y/N Sama" Nanako sniffled, running to you and hugging you tightly, loud sobs and wails of torment echoed the room as she fell to her knees. As if she's apologizing. Why is she apologizing? Where is Suguru? You just asked a simple question - where is Geto Suguru? The love of your life, the biggest piece of your heart, the reason of you existing and not dead at your own actions all those years ago.

"Y/N Sama- please don't ask this, you know he's gone… he said he would be the first to come home didn't he?"

You want to kill everyone in this room, you want to kill every sorcerer to exist, you want to kill yourself.

He did… he did promise you. Hugged you close and whispered how grateful he is to have you, over and over and over and over and over and over and-

Why did he have to leave you forever?

Why could he not let his heart beat for you?

"This- is mine." The flashback of Suguru's silky voice haunts you, as his looming, large hands point at the left side of your chest. "You have my heart, and I, have yours." He smiled, holding your hand and softly placing it on his naked chest. "So if this stops working -" He nuzzles against your chest, "Which it would never, because my heart would never give up on you… but if it does, know I've failed to protect you as a man."

"Gosh, so intense and for what" You push him away, rolling your eyes. "Both our hearts wouldn't stop working. You know why? Because - in this world, you bring out a smile in me."

Suguru was right, if his heart was in you - he didn’t fail to protect you, but you did. You're all alone now, the only shred of comfort if ever, in the grotesque way your heart is tattered apart, is the words of Suguru where he calls that 'his heart'. You know that's not true, you know better. Still, what else could you do?

You can't think of anything else, can't speak, can't eat. Time is a construct when it's your other half that you’ve lost.

You don't even remember that a week has passed with you staring at the wall, sleeping in the same bed that has the scent of your person.. fleeting… just like him.

You cry on the eighth day, you roar, you scream, you let the world know that you're here. Even if Geto Suguru is not, you're here.

What's worse than a lion? The king of the jungle, the apex predator?

An injured lion.

You.

All you can think of is how to make the ache in your heart settle, how to breathe again. Or perhaps, how to be worthy of death that you can grant yourself and re-unite with Suguru. What would it take to meet him again…

You drag yourself up from the bed, going to his closet and taking his perfume out, the whisking sound of it spraying all over echoes as you close your eyes, pumping it over and over and over and over and over- you can't afford to not smell like your lover. You are losing your mind- why doesn't everyone else die? Who killed him-

Right, who killed Suguru Geto?

Frantically, tear-stained and in an absolute mess, you opened the door. Stunned to see 'everyone' standing outside. You know why they were there, your screams and sobs were unimaginably painful. You were crying out in utter devastating, soul churning pain after all. None of them knew how to console you after all. How would you tell someone to be okay after they lose the light of their life?

"Who killed him?" You asked the question, looking at everyone.

"Gojo Satoru." Larue responded.

"Gojo Satoru.." You repeated, as if writing his name in red in your broken, bleeding heart. Writing his name in… blood red.

"His best friend?" You snorted, the denial turning you furious and unimaginably dangerous.

"We have a new mission, my family." You smiled. If it's revenge that can keep you alive, so be it.

[gryficowa]

Boycott!

Tia… Supposedly "God's Gang" has a second episode (Strange after a specific reception…), although what offends me more is that "Christians" (Whose name I don't remember… Because Ninjew took all the memory with his name …) didn't know that pork (With cheese, but well, that's less important… Unless we consider Ninjew and his reaction as cheese important… In the sense that as I understand it, in Judaism you shouldn't mix milk with her baby… Wait, what, tia… I still don't understand anything, but yes, I'll skip this reaction to cheese because I don't understand it, ok?) is not allowed in a different religion… Ok, in a different context it makes sense, BUT I REMEMBER, THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN EACH OTHER SINCE YESTERDAY, BUT PROBABLY LONGER, IT HURTS ME, BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE AN ATTEMPT TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE TO THE VIEWER, BUT IT WAS DONE SO INAPPARENTLY THAT THIS CHARACTER SHOULD FUCKING KNOW IT

Now that I have your attention:

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

Yes, it pisses me off, I've been struggling for years to write the best script (that I can) and then you see this hole in the plot and it gives you a headache

And when I understood it, the Muslim character said "Hala"… I mean, I don't understand the context anymore, but "Haram" (Because it's a sin) would rather fit here, but that's carpentry on my part… The mistake I mentioned earlier is more irritated, if it weren't for him, I would have cared more about it, but it was so big that it reminds me of that atrocity from 2010… And yes, I watched a live video on YouTube with commentary (without it, I wouldn't have known that this thing had released a second episode)

You can simply see the typical problems of a novice creator (if there is a novice author), in short, illogicality, so that the viewer gets the key information, it would work better if someone from outside the gang created this burger, then it would make sense that the characters would talk that they can't eat it because it doesn't make sense, the characters have probably known each other long enough, so you understand… It's just a mistake of novice creators (and cartoons from 2010 and years before)

Remember to collect at the top!

[nc-vb]

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚, 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐡𝐰𝐚, & 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐡𝐮𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐬

a long time coming that I've meant to compile a list, but it just kept growing and growing and growing...

the webtoon list includes my very personal & important in-my-heart recommendations. aaaaand the rest are mostly smutty, kinky, and even a little dark.......... do not perceive, just enjoy. and support the official author's work and translations if you can!!

if there are any in this list you'd like a heads up about before reading, feel free to drop me an ask and I'll give you my honest opinion/review.

if you're having trouble locating anything, shoot me an ask (because i have most, if not all, of the links saved).

and feel free to gush to me if you liked any of them!! i'm always happy to talk about mmm's.

[updated july 3rd, 2023] - newly added titles are in green.

𝐵𝐿 = boy's love genre 𝐆𝐋 = girl's love genre 𝟏+ = includes harems & poly relationships ❤ = absolute masterpieces, highly recommended! ! = proceed with extreme caution/heed all warnings

please heed all warnings and tags found within each of these recommendations, as well as my own warnings from the symbol legend above and found throughout this post.

some of these are sfw and some aren't. some of these aren't for the faint of heart and will be marked to be read at your own risk. additionally, not all are translated into English. 𝐵𝐿/𝐆𝐋 are separate from the general list.

𝐖𝐄𝐁𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐍

A Messy Fairy Tale 𝟏+

A Summer Night's Dream

Age Matters ❤

Back to You

Bailin and Li Yun BL❤

Bitten Contract

Boyfriend of the Dead

Castle Swimmer BL

City of Blank

Dating With a Tail

Daytime Star

Devil Number 4 ❤

Devilish Romance

Down to Earth

Dreaming Freedom

Ghost Wife

Ghostly Buddie

Half-Ghost

Harem of LuuAnh

Hello Baby ❤

I'm the Grim Reaper

I Love Yoo ❤

It's Mine

Jeff's Disorders

Kind of Confidential

Little Rain

Lore Olympus ❤

Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell ❤

Mage & Demon Queen GL

Marry Me!

Maybe Meant to Be

Meow Man

Midnight Poppy Land

Midnight Rain

Mom, I'm Sorry

Morgana and Oz

Muse on Fame

My Beloved Emperor

My Dear Cold-Blooded King

My Four Husbands 𝟏+

My In-Laws are Obsessed with Me ❤

My Lovely Bodyguard

Nice to Meet You

Not Even Bones

Operation: True Love ❤

Pastel-colored Pages

Phase

Scorching Romance

See You in My 19th Life ❤

Selina ~ Moon Bride ~

Siren's Lament ❤

Soleil

Space Boy

Strange and Wild

SubZero

Swimming Lessons for a Mermaid ❤

Take Off BL

The Devil is a Handsome Man

The First Night With the Duke ❤

The Guy Upstairs

The Newlywed Diary of a Witch and a Dragon ❤

The RUNWAY

There Must Be Happy Endings

To the Stars and Back BL

Trapped ❤

Unlovable Replacement

When Jasy Whistles ❤❤

Winter Woods

Your Smile is a Trap ❤

𝐒𝐅𝐖

Abe-kun's Got Me Now! (Abe-kun ni Nerawaretemasu)

A Master, Who Woke Up As a Concubine ❤

And Yet, You Are So Sweet (Na no ni, Chigira-kun amasugiru)

Beloved in-Laws (poor transl.)

Bon Appétit ❤

Don't Blush, Sekime

Forget My Husband, I'll Go Make Money (Aug 2023)

Golden Forest !

I, My, Me, Mine ❤ (アイマイミーマイン)

I Became the Male Lead's Adopted Daughter

I Can't Keep Up With My Stallion Duke ❤❤

I Will Change the Genre

I Will Rewrite the Dead End Novel

In the Clear Moonlit Dusk ❤ (Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki)

It's My Destiny to Be the Hero's Saviour !

Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible

Love's in Sight!

Loving Yamada at Lv 999 ❤❤❤

Male Lead, I'll Respect Your Taste !

Ookami no Musume ❤❤

Pink and Habanero ❤ (Pink to Habanero)

Protected by My Dragon Knight (Seijo wa Ryuukishi-sama ni Mamorarete)

Scary Faced High Schooler and Miss Plain Jane

Second Life of a Trash Princess

Sinking too deep in your rabbit hole, now I'm drowning in your love

Stella Next to Me ❤ (Tonari no Stella)

The Cunning Princess and the Shark ❤

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity ❤ (Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku)

The Muscle Girl Next Door

The Obsessive Second Male Lead Has Gone Wild

The Reasons We Fall in Love ❤ (Watashi-tachi ga koisuru riyuu)

The Tyrant's Comfort Doll !

To the Dear F-Phantom of the Opera (Shinai naru F e: Opera-za no Kaijin)

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun ❤ (Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun)

Vampire Lord's Greatest Wife ❤

Welcome to the Yandere Cafe (rating subject to change)

Yojouhan no Ibara Hime

𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐅𝐖

あざと可愛い✕くんの執着サド交尾は本物です x!!!

無能力巫女は狛犬の淫紋快楽漬け x❤!

2LDK IKEMEN Tsuki Bukken Arimasu !!

A Dream Between the Sheets ❤❤

A Gentle Sea Monster and a Lonely Girl !

A Predator in a Skirt !

A Sip of Poison !

Boy's Abyss (subject to change, new read) !!

Childhood Friend's Secret Massage !

Consort to the Fox Spirit Lord

Dark Fall !

Depths of Malice !

Devoured by a Bookworm Girl !

Fire in His Fingertips ❤

Former Delinquent Farmer's Sex Appeal is Dangerous!

From Him to Who? ~Sex With My Body-Snatched Husband ❤

Gokudou to Omega - Mukidashi no Katsuai

Hana's Demons of Lust !

Hare-kon 𝟏+

Heat 200 Meters Away (200 M Saki no Netsu)

Honey, I'm Going On a Strike!

How to Make a Frigid Girl Cum

I'm in Love With Mr. Hanabusa

Lady K and the Sick Man ❤❤

Last Order wa Ojou-san de Dekiai Jouren Kyaku ni Kyuuai saretemasu

Junai - Pure Wet Love

Kuma to Tora ~Taikakusa Osananajimi no Hajimete kara, Kemono ni Naru 2-kakan made~ x

Madoka Exorcist ❤!

Mede Little Roy !

Mr. Tada is a Top Performer

Muttsuri Akazukin-kun kara wa nige rarenai

My Cold Co-worker Obsessively Loves Me

Pet Baby Doll

Pygmalion's Savior is a Big But Immature Love Monster !❤

Red Hot Proposal: Surrounded by His Tanned Body

Sadistic Beauty !!!!

Sakaki the Lazybones Shows His Talents at Night ❤❤

Sapphire Dew ~ Infatuated Gentlemanly Boyfriend Seizes the Initiative !

Seishun no Hekireki

Seriously can't pass this up. - Kohai's passionate sex won't stop until morning

Sinful Nun Pays Penitence to the Serpent ❤❤

Spring Amidst My Wintertide ❤

Superstitious Nine ❤

Sweet Lies Layered Like a Mille Feuille ❤

Tadano Renai Nanka de Kikkonai ❤❤

The Golden Forest !

The Goldfish’s Corpse Lies at the Bottom of the Swamp !!!!!!!!

The Greengrocer is a Carnivore in Bed!?

The Man Who Saved Me in My Isekai Trip Was a Killer!!!!!!!

The Neighbor in Room 203 Disappeared Leaving a Key Behind !!!!!!!

The Reincarnated Saint Falls for the Demon Lord

The Tainted Half !

The Virgin Witch

The Weird Senior in the Seat Next to Me ❤❤❤! (Tonari Senpai)

Toshishita Osananajimi ga Watashi o Shibatte Hanasa nai! x

Totem's Realm

Touching is Better Than Looking

Under the Oak Tree

Until the Obedient Bodyguard Exposes the Body and the Lie of the Fake Lady ❤

"Wanna Cum?" The Pure Taiga Advances Slow and Sweet ❤❤

Welcome to the Muscle Salon ❤❤❤

When Beauty Meets Beasts

When You Are Reincarnated As The villain NPC's Girl And Be Loved By The Strongest Prince Who Is Not A Capture Target !!

Wild Eyes

Will You Pledge Your Love to an Incubus?

Wish Upon a Husband

Yaba Ai Instructor !

You're Too Cute for Me to Be Gentle

𝐁𝐋 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐒

4 Week Lovers BL

A Handless Day BL!

A Hot Wet Job for Three -Adult Toy Tester- BL, 𝟏+

A Kiss for You, My Shinobi BL

A Tree Without Roots BL❤!

Angel Buddy BL❤❤

Bidou Wakadanna Koi Shitau Wa Koushoku Otoko BL❤

Bitten by Moonlight BL

Black Mirror BL!!!

Blind Play BL!!

Can't Think Straight BL

Cherry Blossoms After Winter BL

Confession Night BL

Dangerous Convenience Store BL

Dawn of the Dragon BL

Dear Door BL

DEATH or LOVE BL

Delinquent Omega Belongs to the Beast King BL

Demon of Lustful Hell BL

Desharow Merman BL❤

Die If You Aren't a Virgin BL

Eat Me Up, My Husband BL!

Ennead

Eunsoo's Good Day BL

Eye Contact BL

Fake Fact Lips BL

Frenemies: Thicker Than Blood BL❤

Friends, Engaged

Fucking in the Dorms BL!

Ghost Gate BL!!!!!

Healing Paradox BL❤

He's a Better Top Than Me?! BL

Home Far Away BL❤!!!

Horeta Otoko wa Shin'yuu de BL!

Housekeeper's Love Affair BL

How to convince your best friend to sleep with you BL

Hyperventilation BL❤❤❤

I Didn't Ask You to Eat Me!

I Love You, Nothing Else Matters BL❤

In an Empty Classroom BL

Indigo BL

I Ship My Rival x Me BL

It's Just a Dream... Right? BL❤❤❤

Jinx BL!

Kabukicho Bad Trip BL

Kiss de Egaku Ittousei BL❤

Kiss Me, Liar BL!

Lala no Kekkon BL!

Liveta BL

Love in Kitsch BL

Love is an Illusion BL!

Love Jinx BL❤

Low Tide in Twilight BL!!

Mad Dog BL❤❤

Miscreants and Mayhem BL

Missing Love BL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (<I cannot express this enough.)

My Delicious Dream Boy BL❤

My Demon Crybaby, Maria BL

My Partner Suddenly Got Younger - An Omega Caretaker Plays Alpha BL!

Natsu no Teppen ni Saku BL

Old-Fashioned Cupcake BL❤❤ (has a j-drama)

Pain, Sweet Pain BL

Passion BL

Payback BL❤❤❤

Pearl Boy BL❤!!!!!!

Pink Heart Jam BL❤❤

Please, Candy! BL!

Roses and Champagne BL!

Sadistic Beauty: Side Story BL!!!!!!

Secret Inside My Head BL❤❤❤

Semantic Error BL (has a j-drama)

Sensei wa Nekketsu ga Areba Juubunda! BL!

Sick BL

Sign BL❤❤❤

Sketch BL❤

Speak of the Devil BL

Steel Under Silk BL❤

Surge Looking for You BL❤

Sweet Trap BL

Tabetemo Oishiku Arimasen BL

Tentacle Recipe BL(?)❤

The Blessed Life of a Retired Nian Monster BL

The Crybaby's at the Mean Devil's Mercy BL❤

The Foxy Mouse's Romance BL

The Origin of Species BL!

The Pizza Delivery Man and the Gold Palace BL

The Pure-Hearted Puppy and the Erotic Tattoo BL❤

The Silent Concubine BL!

The Unquenchable Mr. Kim BL❤

The Words in Your Snare BL❤❤❤

To Take An Enemy's Heart BL!

Tomodachi Engagement BL

Trick Turned Into a Threesome With the Tachibana Brother BL

Under the Greenlight BL

Unexpectedly Naughty Fukami BL❤

Unromantic Romance BL❤

Young Lover BL!!

Your Wish is My Command BL❤

Yours to Claim BL

Zenryaku, Onii-chan wa Seijo ni Narimashita BL!

more recommendations will likely be added as time goes on! feel free to copy these recs for your own checklist of 'to reads'.

hope you enjoy them like i did! :)

[sleeper-kerennnnnnx]

MASHLE ：author's Q&A from fan book translation

Please point out any mistakes or errors! I will correct them ASAP, thanks so much!

I will translate this in four parts as there‘s 131 questions in total！

Here are the Q1-Q33 parts!

To the animation fans: There are slight references to the subsequent plot of the comics‼ ️ (Q11 and Q17) Those who are not interested in spoilers can avoid it

Q1. I want to know the name of the pastry shop that Mash will open in the future!

In addition, can rough dough fans and wet dough fans tolerate each other?

A1: The name of the shop is Beard Maggio. Unfortunately, the two cannot be compared, and such struggles of human beings like us have never stopped.

Q2: Will Mash marry Lemon?

A2: It's up to you to imagine.

Q3: What would it feel like if Mash had a different hairstyle?

A3: No one would recognize Mash. Because my character portrait is in the style of Miss Sazae (a comic).

Q4: How strong is Mash‘s grip?

A4: 600 kilograms. Like a gorilla.

Q5: How heavy is Mash's wristband?

A5: One ton, about as heavy as a black rhino.

Q6: Why do owls hate Mash so much?

A6: I don't know why. I'm often barked at by dogs, so it's probably the same feeling.

Q7: How did Mash escape from the castle and be picked up and adopted by Grandpa Regulo?

A7: Of course by the effort!

Q8: Regulo always calls Mash "son", but why does Mash call Mr. Regulo "grandpa"?

A8: Because Regulo looks more like grandpa, similar to a nickname.

Q9: I heard that Mash wants to be a pastry chef, so will he make other desserts besides puffs? In addition, what professions will Finn, Lance, Dot, and Lemon do in the future?

A9: He should start learning other desserts in the future. Finn may be a civil servant...? Lance will be an incredible person, Dot will be a registered tax agent or accountant, and Lemon may be an idol!

Q10: What is the badge on the chest of Mash's black tights?

A10: It's an owl! (Annotate：The badge can be found in the comics but not in the animation)

Q11: Why was Mash's hair slicked back when he awakened? Why did his skin turn black?

A11: Because the blood circulation became faster, the skin turned black and red! The hair also turned upside down because of the blood circulation!

Q12: Is it just a coincidence that Matthew can't do magic? Or did the Pure Root do something before he was born?

A12: It's just a coincidence! That's how genes work!

Q13: Cell War and Mash have similar hairstyles and magic lines. When they get close, they will resonate and cause headaches. Could it be that the Innocent Zero deliberately created such a replica?

A13: That's right! Cell War is a replica!

Q14: Has Mash's iron wand been used by other wizards before? Or has the iron wand been on the ground since it was made and no one has used it?

A14: No one has ever used that wand, it's always stuck on the floor! We don't know who it was made for (crying).

Q15: Finn later became a one liner, so did his second line disappear and become ineffective (crying)

A15: He's still growing up, not yet a complete double liner, so the second line will only appear when he's desperate!

Q16: Which of the parents of the Ames brothers (Finn and Rayne) has black hair and which has blond hair? Or do both parents have two-color hair?

A16: Both parents have two-color hair!

Q17: Did the relationship between the Ames brothers improve when they got together in the last chapter of the comic?

A17: The older brother is a tsundere, but it seems that the relationship has improved!

Q18: Why did Finn call Ryane "Onii-sama"  instead of "brother"?

A18: It's because the two keep their distance, there's a gap...

Q19: Ryane and Finn have always kept their distance. After Ryane became a divine awakener, did Ryane pay for Finn's living expenses?

A19: Ryane is quietly taking a long detour to help his brother bear the responsibility! (Translator comment: So cute hahahahaha)

Q20: Lemon said that the family conditions are not good. How bad are they? Can you tell me her story?

A20: The stew at home has no seasoning and tastes very bland (crying).

Q21: If Lemon's secondth and third-level magic awakens, will torture instruments and appear?

A21: Torture instruments should appear... (crying). So scary（crying).

Q22: What is Lemon's best dish?

A22: Egg rice bowl! This is not easy to make...

Q23: Which do you think is cuter, Lemon or love cute?

A23: Lemon! I like short hair!

Q24: Are the planet earrings that Lance often wears a gift from his parents? Or did he buy them himself?

A24: He bought them himself. (Translator comment: you are so trendy Lance...)

Q25: How is Lance's relationship with his parents?

A25: It's always bad... (crying)

Q26: If Anna has a boyfriend, how will Lance react?

A26: He will die!

Q27: Does Anna know that Lance is a sister-con and has a lot of her peripherals? If she knows, what does she think?

A27: It's okay! That's it!

Q28: Will Anna come to Easton to study?

A28: Yes! (Yeah!)

Q29: I want to know the name of Dort's third-level magic

A29: Because the personal magic is explosion magic, it is to summon "God of Explosion-Vulcanus"!

Q30: What is Dort's sister doing now? In addition, is she covering her eyes because of fashion or for some reason? I want to know if she has other secrets.

A30: She‘s now working outside! Good women are mysterious! So the reason is a secret!

Q31: I want to know what snacks that eat with tea Dot recommends!

A31: Madeleine cake! (Translator's note: small shell-shaped cake)

Q32: Does Dot know that he has Ira Kreuz? In addition, are his family members also people with Ira Kreuz?

A32: He knows that he is. His family all have Ira Kreuz. I don't really know what it means to be a person with Ira Kreuz!

Q33: Is the Barrett family the only one with Ira Kreuz?

A33: In addition to the Barrett family, there should be others!

Please click likes and subscribe if you enjoy it！Thanks for reading！hope you would like it and I‘ll update it ASAP

Chinese version is updated in：longyou1225.lofter.com

[peppercornpress]

Fic Author Self Rec! When you get this reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, or some snippets from upcoming WIPS. Let’s spread the self-love! Love ya and thank you for all you do!! 💖

Ahhhh!! Days!! Love you too and love the idea of spreading self-love! It's so hard for me to do lately... I feel like everything I write is blah.

I've wanted to share WIPs because they're fun... but it goes against my desire to dump out completely finished work so I kept holding back... but a part of me thinks I need some feedback/advice for this specific WIP? Like... if people have opinions on how they'd like the fic to end, I'm all ears because I'm afraid my current direction doesn't have the oomph I'm after. (I know that's not the point of you asking me about WIPS... but I do love what I have so far)

Here's a snippet of my WIP 'A Thousand Papercuts' (Midway into chapter 1)

Hinata made sure to contact Akane’s desk before she swung by the office. Hinata knew she did everything right, and even got a text from her husband five minutes before she arrived on his floor that proved he wasn’t in a crucial meeting. She made sure to properly greet Akane at her desk to ‘check in’.

“Thank you for calling in advance!” Akane said, looking much more pleasant and not a hint of annoyance in her tone. “I know it’s a hassle just to see your own husband, but I really do appreciate when things are done in an orderly fashion. Shall we?” 

“Yes.” Hinata nodded, “Oh, and this is just a small offering for all the hard-workers here.” she passed over the large paper bag she filled with homemade cookies. She had done so every once in a while, and Naruto had always said how grateful the staff was. “As a token of the Uzumaki-family’s gratitude.”

Akane made a noise of pleasure, accepting the gift and peeking inside. “You shouldn’t have! Wow! I’ll be sure to pass them out.” but the way she tossed the bag a little roughly on her desk made Hinata finally pause and give her a long and scrutinizing look.

Akane must have noticed because she immediately back-tracked.

“Sorry, I’m a little heavy handed today–was it breakable?”

“N-no…”

“Please accept my apologies!”

Wordlessly, Hinata nodded. Akane shot her a shrug and a smile.

And that’s when Hinata’s dislike for the woman finally cemented in her heart. All of her previous interactions with the woman, to whom she gave generous excuses for her rudeness, suddenly made a lot more sense.

Akane was purposefully snubbing her. Hinata squared her shoulders, remembering the handful of times this had happened in the past with other bullies while she was still attending the Academy.

“This way.” Akane then flashed her a smug smile, a smile that expressed Akane’s mutual dislike of Hinata. 

“I don’t mean to take time out of your day.” Hinata said, cautiously. Once she realized what kind of person Akane was, she knew it made the most sense to distance herself from Akane as soon as possible. “I know the way to his office, thank you.” She didn’t wait for a reply this time and walked her way to Naruto’s door, but felt Akane’s quickened footsteps following after her.

When Hinata got to Naruto’s office, Naruto’s looked like he was trying to desperately fight sleep while holding a dry electric razor to his face. He quickly shoved the razor under his desk, before relaxing, and seeing it was Hinata. His sheepish, boyish grin made Hinata’s heart ache.

“Oh Hinata!” Naruto got up from his desk. As he cheerfully waved, Akane squeezed past Hinata and entered his office first. She waved as if he was waving to her this whole time. 

Hinata had just been pondering ‘why?’ the short time it took to walk over to Naruto’s office. Why was Akane being so rude? Why did Akane want to be openly rude to the Hokage’s wife? What benefits her for doing such a thing? 

But Akane happily presented Hinata with the obvious reason right away. 

Her voice turned to honey as she addressed Hinata’s husband, “Hokage-sama, I know it’s poor timing on my part, but I need you to stamp a few things?”

“Just put it on my desk,” Naruto said distractedly, waving her off. It didn’t surprise Hinata to see that Naruto didn’t even spare her a second glance. He was just as dense as she was to the come-ons of the opposite sex, or he had no interest in flirty coworkers. He comically craned his neck to keep his eye contact with Hinata even as Akane stood directly in front of him to try to block his view. “Hinata, you got a moment to chat?”

“Of course,” Hinata switched out the duffle bag she was carrying to one she spotted conveniently placed near the far left corner of the room. 

“Yeah, it’s about Boruto and this ‘rebellious’ stage of his–” Naruto said, rubbing the base of his neck and grumbling. That’s when he did a double-take, noticing Akane was still in the room, and frowned.

Hinata took this time to observe how her husband dealt with Akane. 

Naruto calmly waited for Akane to place some files on his desk. Akane was being deliberately slow, placing each piece of paper on the desk as if it was made of fine porcelain. Naruto lost his patience by the ten-second mark. 

Naruto cleared his throat. 

Akane looked up from her task as if snapped from a daze.

“I’d like to talk privately with my wife,” Naruto announced, pointing in the direction of the door. “Today. Now.”

“O-oh! Sorry Hokage-sama, after last night’s long meeting…” she placed a dainty wrist over her mouth to suppress a yawn. “I’m a little sleep-deprived.”

In any other circumstance, I’m sure this would be enough reason for a professional to let Akane linger and drag her feet out the door, but Naruto didn’t have the best manners himself.

“Well, why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” Naruto shrugged. “Shizune-nee-chan can take over from here. Go home.”

Akane looked flustered. “N-no! I’m really ok! I can still work!”

“It’s alright. We all see how hard you’ve been working. You deserve to catch up on some shut-eye.” Naruto assured her brusquely, practically pushing Akane out the door and shutting it without a second thought. “Ugh, surrounded by work-a-holics.” he joked right away as soon as he turned back toward Hinata. 

“Said one of the biggest work-a-holics I know.” Hinata teased. 

“Hey! It’s not just my fault! Nobody seems to want to stop and rest around here–I feel guilty every time I step out of the office!” Naruto whined. “Anyway, about Boruto…”

Naruto was back to rambling, and Hinata found herself not fully present. Much like Akane’s act to get herself to linger in Naruto’s presence, Hinata found her mind drifting on what a comical situation she was in.

She was now a wife worrying about her husband’s secretary. It was so cliche, and stupid. 

She hadn’t had to deal with a jealous fangirl in a while. Hinata wasn’t a fun opponent toward petty women; she had grown up around especially sharp-tongued female relatives at the Hyuuga compound. She knew vicious ladies usually got bored if their victims didn’t entertain them. So Hinata had learned the difficult task of growing a thicker skin and letting barbed words slide off her back.

This method thankfully helped her ward away most of Naruto’s fangirls. They’d move on to more exciting prey. Hinata knew Akane would realize this sooner or later and give up when she realized Naruto was too devoted to his Hokage title to think of much else. 

And Hinata would also have to limit the time she spent around Akane’s presence…

“Hinata..? You ok?”

Hinata blinked, realizing she was nodding when she was supposed to be saying something back.

“You want me to talk to Boruto about his behavior,” she asked, just picking up things from context. “I have your back. I’ll talk to him.”

“That’s the thing! Talking to him ain’t cutting it. And MY yelling isn’t getting through to him! Could you use one of the old ways to get Boruto to straighten up? Like…take one of his favorite toys away–or make him take a time out! He still gets time-outs, right?” Hinata gave him a scrutinizing look, wondering if he was serious, but Naruto snapped his fingers when the right word came to him, “Ground him! Can you ground him for me? I mean…” he then stomped over to the windows and pointed. “Look what he wrote on my face!!”

Hinata walked over to the window and peered up at the rock faces. She saw the awful words ‘shitty dad’ scrawled over Naruto’s stone face, and it only made her heartbreak. 

He misses you. Hinata wanted to say. He’s lashing out! Just like you did! Can’t you see that?

“I’ll handle Boruto.” Hinata heard herself say to her worked up husband. She smoothed a hand over the orange fabric covering his heart. “Don’t worry.”

(End for now)

Essentially, it's a fic that would be resolved very quickly if Hinata just went up to Naruto and told him to fire his pesky secretary...but see, I don't see Hinata really doing that? She'd want to be diplomatic and subtle. She wouldn't want to cause waves... until Akane goes after her kids. It needs a lot more work... But it's REALLY just a fun excuse writing an underhanded mean-girl (Akane) get her just-comeuppance.

And yes--there was an outline... but the more recent changes I made would go against that and I'm fine with it? Haven't re-written a new outline in months so this fic is FULLY in limbo right now. lol

[meowzfordayz]

when you eat a lot — inosuke, tengen

Author’s Note: just a friendly reminder to love yourself, bc the you that you were, are, and will be deserves to be loved — by you. 💘

when you eat a lot — inosuke, tengen

Hashibira Inosuke x Reader, Uzui Tengen x Reader

Word Count: ~600

CW: implied eating insecurity 

Emergency Request Fulfilled: My friends and family have always made fun of how much I eat and I'm really conscious about it! I know that I eat a lot and lately it's been making me really sad. can you please write Inosuke and Tengen (with or without the wives, it's ok how ever you want) with an S/O who eats a lot?

~faqs~

If you think Inosuke wouldn’t challenge you to an eating competition

Then think again 😂

It’s hard to get invited anywhere these days, what w/ how you’ll both demolish a potluck, run up the restaurant tab, etc together 😃

—Bless Mitsuri’s beautiful heart tho, bc she totally still invites you places #she gets it 💖

Ngl, Inosuke doesn’t really understand the insecurity that can come along w/ food and eating

He isn’t intentionally insensitive, but it’s relatively simple to him

Hungry? Eat

Like something? Eat

Still hungry? Keep eating

Really like something? Take extra for the road

Ofc, it helps that his occupation (demon slayer, duh 😆 I should practice writing in canon more often lmao) ~forces him to maintain peak fitness

To him, food essentially = fuel; nothing more, nothing less

He’s intuitive, and certainly picks up on changes in your mood, whether fleeting or enduring

But he wouldn’t immediately connect any dots

In other words: if you want his support, then you’ll prob have to explain yourself + ask him for it

Which, he’d be more than happy to provide! ☺️

Albeit, his support isn’t the most ~refined 😅

“It’s just food, stupid!” grinning widely, “Food’s great!” 😋

“If you’re hungry,” plucking a bun off his plate, and promptly shoving it in your mouth, “Then you should eat!” 💀

“Your plate’s usually fuller than that, gimme a sec!” *disappears to get more food for you*

“You’re so pretty, I’m so lucky I get to love you!” *picks you up to spin you* “See! If you need to eat, then eat!” *puts you down* *affectionately flicks your forehead* “I’ll always be strong enough to hold you, so there’s nothing to worry about!”

First thing that comes to mind?

Man’s envious 😖

And a lil irritated 🤪

Like, “Sweetheart, that’s my job ☹️,” when you offer to finish his dinner for him

“But Tengen-sama, I’m done, and you’re lagging.” 😇

Ooh yOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT 💀

Watch this man go from sexy mf to pouty bby before you can even blink

Shoves his plate toward you, arms crossing with an audible huff, and refuses to make eye contact

“Really?” you raise an eyebrow, poking at his intentionally flexed forearm, “You’re that offended?”

“No.” 😃

“You should’ve ordered what I ordered,” you tease gently, “I bet my meal tasted better.”

Tengen appreciates the out you’re offering him

Tengen is also not the kind of man who takes any outs offered to him

“Actually, my meal was delicious. I hope you enjoy the rest of it.” 😒

“You really don’t mind?” 😕

Aaand now he feels badly, bc he can tell that you feel badly 😓

While he can’t deny the blow to his pride, the last thing he wants is to take you down w/ him

“I really don’t mind,” his tone softens, no longer pouting, arms uncrossing to lean over the table toward you, “I’m always happy to fulfill your needs, so please: let me provide for you.”

🥺😭🥰

Make no mistake

Tengen still throws a mini tantrum every time you eat more than him 🥴

But he’ll be the first to tell you, over and over again

“I really don’t mind,” getting up to serve you another portion, “I love you,” kissing the top of your head, “I’m glad you feel safe enough to be yourself with me,” feeding you a bite 😋

[sugar-glaze-donut]

Once again - Berrien x Aruji-sama (you!)

☆Gender is not specified ☆Slight spoilers from chapter 4 of aknk ☆Angst then Comfort :3 ☆My headcanon of how Aruji-sama comes to the aknk world (at the end) ☆Time skips for every section. (section 1 - 30 years ago, section 2 - A few minutes ago, section 3 - N O W)

[—➰—⏳—➰—]

Faint light trickles from the curtains as a choir of birds chirp outside.

The monochrome man’s eyes flutter open, his eyes squinting at the light as he yawns.

Rubbing his eyes and forcing himself to wake up, he stumbles towards the curtains and opens them.

Morning has come. And like always, another day has begun.

The monochrome man wakes up his two co-workers and prepares for the day.

Comb his hair, fix his tie, and tidy up his side of the room.

He is now ready to start his day.

He greets everyone he meets in the halls, some already competing their duties, some half asleep, and a few… quite literally sleepwalking.

Everything seems to be in order.

Yes… “Order”. The constant loops they all live in.

Repeated routines, same pairs of clothes, tedious chores… this is the constant loop they go through every day.

Living a somewhat immortal life may sound exciting, but it is a tiring and torturous experience.

The time era you lived in… the memories of the past… the people you once knew, all pass away in a blink of an eye. But that’s only how story authors describe it.

They’re not completely wrong, though. Time does move fast.

But his first XXX years of solitary went by too slowly. As if life was mocking him for his existence.

Although it happened centuries ago… it still shakes his soul.

Even if his memory is quite damaged, the mere thought of having to experience that again gives him a feeling of…

Of…

…?

What do you call this feeling?

Sorrow? Hopelessness? Despair?

Whatever it is. He hates it. He never wants to experience it again.

No matter how many times he wants to scream, he cannot. No matter how many times he wants to run away, he cannot. No matter how many times he wants to DIE… he doesn’t want to.

Not now. He must stay strong for all of them.

and for his father and brother…

[—💕—🫖—💕—]

Another few decades have passed.

Faint light trickles from the curtains as a choir of birds chirps outside.

The monochrome man walks through the halls and enters a room, with a pair of teacups and a teapot in each of his hands.

He sets down the fragile objects down on a nearby table, and opens the curtains.

Sunlight beams into the room and on his pale skin.

Today is yet another beautiful day.

The man returns to his usual standing spot and fixes his tie. He fiddled with his gloves and he patiently waited.

Who is he waiting for you may ask?

It’s Y O U of course!

Come on, don’t keep him waiting!

Put on the ring! Come and say hi to him!

[—🦋—💍—🦋—]

A twirl of light appears in front of the monochrome man. He gasps in delight.

You’re finally here!

Small golden butterflies fly out of the light and form into a person.

Your vision slowly returns as you turn your head towards the man.

His pink eyes, filled with adoration are focused onto you.

A soft giggle escapes your mouth. “I’m back, Berrien”

The man, now identified as Berrien, responds to you with a huge smile adorning his gorgeous face.

“Welcome back, Aruji-sama”

He would gladly go through all of those years of solitary again if it meant that he could see you again

Thank you for breaking this cycle, Y O U .

[—🎀—🍩—🎀—] 🍩Glaze's Notes: *comes back from a burnout cutely* hii :3 this shot idea just came into my mind just when I was trying to sleep. I decided to make this into my comeback post for my burnout -3-

Last edited - July 26th 2024 {Please let me know if there are any typos in this post, and I will fix them right away!}

✦ Want to read more of my works? Come and take a look at my Masterlist! Have a nice day, toodles! ✦