#akemi ritsuko

[storiesfromhalcyontale]

Epilogue 2: A sense of Normality

I woke up in my bed, the past couple of months have been somewhat normal I guess. Asriel went into therapy after what happened with Crooler, I guess the image of him stabbing Lagravis still hurts him. Me on the other hand, well I’ve been gradually reintegrating myself back into my normal life. Today was actually my first day back at school, which made me feel all kinds of emotions. I wondered if anybody asked where I was. I looked at my phone deciding to message Asriel.

6:50am Sho: What time will you be in? Asriel: I’ll be in by Period 2 at least. Sho: Alrighty :D. Asriel: I guess I’ll be seeing you Period 2 then Sho. Sho: I’ll make sure to tell Akemi this. Asriel: Thanks Sho. Sho: You're welcome Asriel :].

I stretched and jumped out of bed, putting on my usual clothes, my headphones and a beanie. I grabbed the satchel Laval had given me and grabbed the equipment I needed for the day. I looked at the lion emblem on it and smiled as the gold shined in the radiant sun. I wondered what Laval and Cragger were getting up to in Chima, it made me somewhat happy to know that they had each other. I rushed downstairs and toasted some bread while I hummed. I looked around and saw Grillby making coffee.

"Morning Sho." Grillby said with a smile.

"Morning Grillby." I replied, waiting for my toast to be well…toasted "I'm guessing you're at work today?"

"Yeah.." Grillby sighed, drinking his coffee in delight, "It's going to be a long day."

"Is it?" I grinned, "Well when my school begins job placements maybe I can come work for ya."

"Thanks Sho.." Grillby replied with contempt, "But you're still 16, you can't really bartend and cater drinks can you?"

"Well not really but I can learn." I sighed, looking down at the floor with guilt. "I'm sorry for not telling you about Laval and Cragger." Grillby sighed, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Sho like we've talked about, me and sans understand why you didn't tell us."

"But I still feel bad, man…" I replied, "If I just told you maybe me and Asriel wouldn't have ended up in Chima… I dunno if I can ever forgive myself for what happened there..” Grillby looked at me then hugged me.

"Sho none of that was your fault. You were trying your best." I hugged Grillby back, soon pulling away once my toast popped out of the toaster. I put it on a plate and swabbed chocolate across the bread, sitting on the counter to eat it. There was a long silence, one that I didn't like.

"grillby's right kid." I looked at the archway and saw sans standing there. He had a caring look in his eyes, "Even if you made some mistakes, you took every opportunity to try to help them. even when you were in chima, you took every chance to get yourself and asriel home." Sans jumped up onto the counter and put a hand on my shoulder "that kid is much more noble. honestly, i'm proud of you." I smiled.

"Thanks sans. I really needed to hear that." I finished my toast and jumped off the counter, washing up my dish. I grabbed my satchel and headed for the door, "Well cya in a bit." I shut the door behind me and took a breath in, I put my headphones on and put on Could have been me by the struts. Today was gonna be a great day, I thought to myself as I hummed the melody of the song. No matter what happens.

<- Epilogue 1

This epilogue is the shortest thing I've written I think. But I don't really wanna talk about the chapter, I mean it's just feel good and that's it. Nah, I wanna talk about the fic as a whole. This fic actually means alot to me, I mean it's not everyday someone meets their best friend through something they've written do they? This person literally inspires me and it's amazing how me randomly coming up with an idea in an English Lesson and randomly checking my emails to see that they liked it meant alot at the time actually. Still does today to be honest.

Now that SFAR is fully posted I can actually get to writing new content for this account. Which will be exciting!!!!

[edogawa-division]

There was a knock on the door to the Wicked Requiem residence, upon opening the door, the birthday girl, Kanra Akemi, was greeted by the sight of her friend, Sumire Shinomiya, holding a few boxes of presents.

"Hey there!" The anarchist greeted happily, "Happy Birthday, Kanra!" She cheered.

After letting Sumire in and making some small talk, mostly about how the other's been doing and all that, they eventually got around to opening the presents. Naturally, Kanra picked the biggest one to open first and inside revealed to be...

A large strawberry themed cat house, it was the perfect size for her cat, Haku.

Turning her attention to the next gift, it was revealed to be...

A red hoodie with spider and spider web patterns on it.

After thanking Sumire for her gifts, the black and purple haired girl turned serious for a moment. "Actually, there is one more gift, and it's not from me. She knew I was heading your way and wanted me to give this to you, I'm sure you understand why she can't show up herself but just know that she...cares...or is trying to, anyways."

She shook her head and digged into one of her pouches on her belt. "I don't know the specifics but I think it would make her content to know that you have this, 'for the more darker days' as she put it."

With that, Sumire handed Kanra a small and neatly wrapped gift, before stating that she needed to leave. With a fist bump and another happy birthday wish, Kanra lead Sumire out the door before turning her attention to the present that was still in her hand. After hesitating for a second, Kanra opened it to reveal...

A red devil heart necklace, however, something seemed a little off. Tracing her thumb over the gem, Kanra was surprised to find that it was actually a button and pressed down on it, immediately, a sweet melody began to play.

Happy Birthday Kanra! ❤

Kanra held the devil necklace in her hands, a tear falling down from her face as she heard the lullaby play from the necklace. She understood why Sumire was the one to deliver this gift, and a part of her was glad Mama Ritsuko had sent her a gift even with everything left unsaid between them. God, there was so much unsaid between Kanra and the woman who many contestants in the D.R.B. hated and called a heartless monster. Even Yuriko and Kaoru had some choice words to say about her. 

Kanra, however, could not say the same. She could never truly hate Ritsuko Okada. How could she? That was her Mama. Even now, anytime Kanra saw the scientist, she was filled with something she could only describe as a mixture of anger and love. Hell, even on her worst days the days where she missed her Mama the most Kanra wanted to reach out and hug the woman. Something that confused her. 

Kanra knew one day she would have to confront Ritsuko about everything. That day terrified her for several reasons, but most of all, she was scared of the truth. However, Kanra refused to let her fear consume her. She would face that day head on. 

Suddenly, a strange phrase entered her mind. How odd, but it was one that resonated with what she was feeling at the moment. 

“Whatever happens, happens.”

[shinagawa-division]

Night had long fallen on the division of Shinagawa, and Ritsuko Okada was glad for it as it meant that she wouldn’t have to deal with the disturbances of people trying to give her presents for her birthday. As if she cared for things of that sort of sentiment nature. When all of a sudden Ritsuko heard a knock at her door. It was a rare occurrence for the scientist as very few had the courage to encroach on her territory. Deciding to see who was foolish brave enough to stand at her door, Ritsuko walked from her office to the front door. However, when she opened the door, not even Ritsuko was expecting the person in front of her. Kanra Akemi was standing in front of her and, judging by the gift in her hand, had come to deliver it to her for her birthday. 

“...Happy Birthday Ritsuko-san….I know it’s really late, but I wanted to give you this in person…” Kanra gently shoved the gift into Ritsuko’s hands and took a deep breath as if to prepare herself. “....You feel important to me…and yet I feel so angry at you…I know you have the answers as to who I am…and maybe one day you’ll tell me…but not now…I’m not ready to hear anything…or if I ever will be. So…I’ll see you soon, hopefully...” 

Then, before the raven haired woman could open her mouth to say something, Kanra had begun to run away from the residence. Leaving Ritsuko to watch the pink haired girl as she disappeared from view. Gazing down at the gift in her hands, Ritsuko wasn't entirely sure what to feel. Happiness that Kanra had given her a gift or sorrow that even now Kanra could not fully remember her. Deciding to settle on, neither Ritsuko closed the door behind her. Now, back in her office, the scientist sat down in her chair and began to open the gift. 

Inside the gift box were 2 items. The first was a spider brooch with several green agates embedded into it. The other item was something that immediately grabbed Ritsuko’s attention. It was a vial filled with a poisonous purple colored gas. It was nothing that Ritsuko was familiar with, and she had to wonder where Kanra had gotten her hands on it. Seeing a note inside the box, Ritsuko picked it up and began to read.

Dear Mama Ritsuko-san,

I hope you enjoy the gifts I got you. I saw the brooch at a store, and you popped into my mind. Spiders and green are very you, ya know? The vial, however, I think you’ll find…interesting. It’s something I managed to take from Kaoru’s more dangerous collection. She says it enters the brain and immediately begins to attacking it, rapidly rotting it from the inside out. A horribly agonizing way to die is how Kaoru puts it. I would question why she made something like that, but I’ve learned it’s better not to ask. Maybe you can get some sort of use out of it. I’m sure you’ve made plenty of enemies in your lifetime. 

– Kanra A.

Ritsuko held the spider brooch in her hand, her thumb gently brushing over the smooth gems. Despite her blank expression, the scientist was in deep thought, even after everything, it seemed like Kanra had a habit of taking after her brother because she did not expect her to send something much less actually show up on her doorstep.

A part of her, albeit a very small one, wanted to call out to her, invite her in, God knows that there was a lot that needed to be said but another part of her, a much larger and logical one, agreed with Kanra that now was not the time or place. It would come soon though, she was sure of it, no one can resist the call of curiosity, especially with answers so close you can just reach out and grab it.

Her daughter creation had grown so much and Ritsuko wanted to see if all that work would pay off, for her to realize her true potential, for her to earn the answers she seeks, the ravenette does not believe in foolish concepts like “regret” but even she cannot deny that there was still so much more she wanted to teach and show her. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh before standing up and walking over to the coat rack on the wall where her infamous white lab coat sat hanging, she grabbed hold of it and removed the old brooch that was clipped onto her breast pocket and replaced it with the new one.

“Theta, my dear. For your sake and mine, I hope you’ll find the answers you seek and that you don’t let it change you.”

Thank you for the gift!

[minato-division03]

The OC’s in a Horror Movie 🔪

Dies first: Karada Kessaku (Jet Set Trio), Kensaku Morimoto (ECO BooN), Maki Umemoto (山茶花 Zombeez), Shuu Edogawa (山茶花 Zombeez), Yoichi Shujo (Polar Knights), Joey Kurusu (Justice Shield), Yorii Sakuma (ENIGMA)

Is actually helpful to the group: Anika Kiyozaki (Pixel Syndicate), Shisuta Heisha (Sakura Clan), Kai Quinlan (Private Party), Mireya Quinlan (Private Party), Arisu Chihakisa (Chuohku Tertiary Team), Ayumu Hayami (Valor Guard), Yuuya Kanata (Miraitabi), Yuki Kuraokami (Polar Knights), Mai Yousei (OverDrive), Sayaka Miyuki (Femme Fatale), Miho Kobayashi (CodeX), Wataru Sasaki (Justice Shield), Criss Hiromi (Otaku Corps)

Finds a gun and uses it wisely: Shian Meizono (Pixel Syndicate), Ax (Desolate Paradise), Alexis Ward (Sounds of Silence), Mayumi Tanaka (Chuohku Tertiary Team), Yuriko Kuromiya (Wicked Requiem), Sakura Kito (Silent Tragedy), Akihisa Mashiro (Death Row Block), Saigo Fuyugami (Miraitabi), Teijo Masakazu (地獄Riderz), Eko Seishin (OverDrive), Lola Takahashi (Femme Fatale), Ren Nakashima (Lovesick), Kyler Aaron (Justice Shield), Aika Yumi (Oculus)

Finds a fun and goes crazy with it: Makina Setsukura (Pixel Syndicate), Zakari Hiroya (Private Party), Hisoka Tetsuma (Veiled Vanguard), Lyall Shiba (Valor Guard), Iwao Masuda (Polar Knights), Sumire Shinomiya (CodeX), Meari Miracle (Oculus)

Screams every second: Atlas Kazanari (Desolate Paradise), Yano Ietsuna (ECO BooN), Kyō Sakuma (Wild Shīnu), Keiko Yumi (Otaku Corps)

Completely Unfazed: Miku Shirazuki (R.I.P Märchen), Luis Kōkyū (Jet Set Trio), Ivelisse Martinez (Sounds of Silence), Asato Rikiya (ECO BooN), Seiji Tsukimoto (Valor Guard), Ishihara Daisuke (地獄Riderz), Ritsuko Okada (CodeX), Max Soukoku (Lovesick), Nikki Yoshie (Otaku Corps)

Beats up the enemies: Reiaki Suzubayashi (R.I.P Märchen), Aranai Norikoru (Sakura Clan), Kisouna Yuzairu (Sakura Clan), Riyeko Ietsuna (Chuohku Tertiary Team), Kanra Akemi (Wicked Requiem), Reika Aichi (Silent Tragedy), Rintaro Himura (Death Row Block), Asahi Tomoharu (Miraitabi), Ryuunosuke Sekiguchi (Wild Shīnu), Sen (地獄Riderz), Kureha Koizumi (Femme Fatale)

Has a death grip on someone’s hands because they’re too scared: Anaia Mitsuzume (Desolate Paradise), Ryuko Umemoto (山茶花 Zombeez), Daiki Kamiyama (Veiled Vanguard), Naoki Hamasaki (Wild Shīnu), Elliot Shimizu (ENIGMA)

Is the enemy: Tomi Chōten (Jet Set Trio), Kanon Hojo (Silent Tragedy), Touya Kisaragi (Death Row Block), Ruichi Shujo (Polar Knights), Yuno Kamora (OverDrive), Nadya Kuromiya (Oculus)

Second enemy that helps the group: Queen Card (R.I.P Märchen), Hoàng Diệu (Sounds of Silence), Jack Verrill (Veiled Vanguard), Kaoru Shinozaki (Wicked Requiem), Kaiji Sano (Lovesick), Mina Nakayama (ENIGMA)

@minato-division03 @akihabara-division03 @nagasaki-division @uenodivision @aoyama-division @arakawa-division @roppongi-division @toyama-division @suginami-division @nug-chuohku @obihiro-division @naradivision @edogawa-division @shizuokadivision @katsushika-division @niigata-division @fukuokanodivision @naha-division @sapporo-division @oita-division @saitama-division @shinagawa-division @kobedivision @kanazawa-division @minato-division01 @akihabara-division03 @setagaya-division

[saitama-division]

Division Rap Battle Dead Pool

Do not ask me what this is and why I am posting it, this is yet another product of the insanity that goes on in our 18+ discord server

Credit to @toyama-division / @suginami-division for the idea! 😈

It’s no surprise that with the formation of the Division Rap Battles by the Japanese Government (also known as Chuohku), many teams have been formed either through coercion or by their own volition, with those teams come many high profile people or very prolific celebrities both old and young. As such, a betting ring was formed, by who? Well, no one knows, it could be from criminals to politicians to random civilians to even other contestants in the very same tournament, all that matters is that every person in the Division Rap Battles has a bounty on their head, this is a list of how much they’re apparently worth.

As for the reason why? Figure it out yourself.

Ace Douglas: $0.08

Asato Rikiya: $100

Kyō Sakuma: $100

“Sen”: $100

Criss Hiromi: $500

Ishihara Daisuke: $1,000

Asahi Tomoharu: $1,000

Takumi Wakaba: $2,000

Ryuunosuke Sekiguchi: $2,000

Azusa Furukawa: $5,000

Naoki Hamasaki: $5,000

Teijo Masakazu: $8,000

Yoichi Shujo: $10,000

Fleuret Oshiro: $15,000

Kai Quinlan: $20,000

Mireya Quinlan: $30,000

“Ruichi”: $50,000

Eldrid Iwasaki: $50,000

Zakari Hiroya: $100,000

Ming Kawanoe: $100,000

Ryuko Umemoto: $350,000

Wataru Sasaki: $400,000

Oki Teagan: $500,000

Tasuku Kawanoe: $500,000

Kisouna Yuzairu: $500,000

Ayumu Hayami: $500,000

Kokomi Morozov: $500,000

Keiko Yumi: $600,000

Miku Shirazuki: $700,000

Maki Umemoto: $750,000

Joey Kurusu: $900,000

Aranai Norikoru: $1,000,000

Jack Verrill: $1,000,000

Daiki Kamiyama: $1,000,000

Queen Card: $1,000,000

Lyall Shiba: $1,000,000

Shuu Edogawa: $1,000,000

Nikki Yoshie: $1,000,000

Yano Ietsuna: $1,000,000

Shisuta Heisha: $1,000,000

Luis Kōkyū: $2,000,000

Seiji Tsukimoto: $2,000,000

Evelyn Rose: $2,000,000

Aika Yumi: $2,000,000

Shian Meizono: $2,000,000

Kureha Koizumi: $2,000,000

Ren Nakashima: $2,000,000

Miho Kobayashi: $3,000,000

Rashaad Young: $3,000,000

Meari Miracle: $3,000,000

Ted Bridges: $3,000,000

Chinami Chinen: $3,000,000

Diêu Hoàng: $4,000,000

Juu Judice: $4,000,000

“Ageha Shinozaki”: $4,000,000

Kensaku Morimoto: $4,000,000

Eiji Noguchi: $4,000,000

Sakura Kito: $5,000,000

Hisoka Tetsumatsu: $5,000,000

Kanra Akemi: $5,000,000

Mina Nakayama: $5,000,000

Elliot Shimizu: $5,000,000

Sanyu Inouye: $5,000,000

Kira Chinen: $5,000,000

Sayaka Miyuki: $5,000,000

Yuuya Kanata: $5,000,000

Kotan Anchikar: $5,000,000

Karada Kessaku: $6,000,000

Yorii Sakuma: $6,000,000

Saigo Fuyugami: $6,000,000

Yuki Kuraokami: $6,000,000

Kaiji Sano: $6,000,000

Makina Setsukura: $6,000,000

Masa Judice: $7,000,000

Ivelisse Martinez: $7,000,000

Taria Chinen: $7,000,000

Iwao Masuda: $7,000,000

Lola Takahashi: $7,000,000

Ritsuko Okada: $8,000,000

Nadya Kuromiya: $8,000,000

Kanon Hojo: $8,000,000

Kotono Ohara: $8,000,000

“Aruto Shinozaki”: $9,000,000

“Masuzō Shinomiya”: $9,000,000

Touya Kisaragi: $9,000,000

“Cinder”: $9,000,000

Max Soukoku: $9,000,000

Sumire Shinomiya: $10,000,000

Kaoru Shinozaki: $10,000,000

Mai Yousei: $10,000,000

Reiaki Suzubayashi: $13,000,000

Rintaro Himura: $15,000,000

Kyler Aaron: $15,000,000

Anika Kiyozaki: $17,000,000

Eko Seishin: $20,000,000

Reika Aichi: $20,000,000

Alexis Ward: $20,000,000

Yuno Kamora: $30,000,000

Ryūzō Mizutori: $40,000,000

Yuriko Kuromiya: $50,000,000

Akihisa Mashiro: $50,000,000

Tomi Chōten: $500,000,000

Wild Shīnu: $7,100

Jigoku Riderz: 9,100

Blade Maiden: $70,000

Private Party: $150,000

Otaku Corps: $1,600,500

Sazanka Zombeez: $2,100,000

Sakurai Clan: $2,500,000

Valor Guard: $3,500,000

Liberty Guild: $5,000,000.08

ECO BooN: $5,000,100

MIHANASA: $5,600,000

Veiled Vanguard: $7,000,000

Kuma no ie: $8,500,000

Miraitabi: $11,001,000

Oculus: $13,000,000

Polar Knights: $13,060,000

Femme Fatale: $14,000,000

R.I.P. Märchen: $14,700,000

Birds of Prey: $15,000,000

Last Judgement: $15,500,000

ENIGMA: $16,000,000

Justice Shield: $16,300,000

Lovesick: $17,000,000

Pixel Syndicate: $25,000,000

CodeX: $30,000,000

Sounds of Silence: $31,000,000

Silent Tragedy: $33,000,000

Kiya Kara: $48,002,000

OverDrive: $60,000,000

Wicked Requiem: $78,000,000

Death Row Block: $83,000,000

Jet Set Trio: $508,000,000

@shinagawa-division @kobedivision @kanazawa-division @uenodivision @aoyama-division @arakawa-division @roppongi-division @edogawa-division @shizuokadivision @katsushika-division @niigata-division @minato-division03 @akihabara-division03 @minato-division01 @akihabaradivision @setagaya-division @taito-division @okinawa-division @hakodate-division @naradivision @naha-division @sapporo-division @oita-division @fukuokadivision1 @sendaidivision @fukuokanodivision @obihiro-division @ota-division @ginza-division

[akihabara-division03]

How the OC’s Beat The Heat at Home

Taking a shower every four hours: Kisouna Yuzairu (Sakura Clan), Tomi Chōten (Jet Set Trio), Mireya Quinlan (Private Party), Maki Umemoto (山茶花 Zombeez), Kaiji Sano (Lovesick), Joey Kurusu (Justice Shield), Keiko Yumi (Otaku Corps), Fleuret Otoshiro (Blaid Maiden)

Puts a fan in every room: Anika Kiyozaki (Pixel Syndicate), Alexis Ward (Sounds of Silence), Yano Ietsuna (ECO BooN), Kureha Koizumi (Femme Fatale), Sakura Kito (Silent Tragedy), Akihisa Mashiro (Death Row Block), Seiji Tsukimoto (Valor Guard), Asahi Tomoharu (Miraitabi), Kunio Chōten (Strange Magic), Meari Miracle (Oculus), Criss Hiromi (Otaku Corps), Evelyn Rose (Liberty Guild)

Infinite uses of the air conditioning: Queen Card (R.I.P Märchen), Reiaki Suzubayashi (R.I.P Märchen), Aranai Norikoru (Sakura Clan), Kensaku Morimoto (ECO BooN), Miho Kobayashi (CodeX), Wataru Sasaki (Justice Shield), Yuriko Kuromiya (Wicked Requiem), Reika Aichi (Silent Tragedy), Lyall Shiba (Valor Guard), Saigo Fuyugami (Miraitabi), Aoba Yamamura (Strange Magic), Reiji Enjouji (Diabolik Love), Ayame Kurokawa (Diabolik Love), Yorii Sakuma (ENIGMA)

Lots of cold drinks: Miku Shirazuki (R.I.P Märchen), Zakari Hiroya (Private Party), Asato Rikiya (ECO BooN), Shuu Edogawa (山茶花 Zombeez), Sayaka Miyuki (Femme Fatale), Ren Nakashima (Lovesick), Kyler Aaron (Justice Shield), Kanra Akemi (Wicked Requiem), Ayumu Hayami (Valor Guard), Yuuya Kanata (Miraitabi), Natsume Kurome (Strange Magic), Ruka Shiina (Howling Moon), Kaede Iwasawa (Trickstar), Nikki Yoshie (Otaku Corps), Ace Douglas (Liberty Guild), Rashaad Young (Liberty Guild), Eldrid Iwasaki (Blade Maiden), Ted Bridges (Kuma no Ie)

Banning the use of clothes: Shian Meizono (Pixel Syndicate), Karada Kessaku (Jet Set Trio), Hoàng Diệu (Sounds of Silence), Ryuko Umemoto (山茶花 Zombeez), Hisoka Tetsuma (Veiled Vanguard), Lola Takahashi (Femme Fatale), Max Soukoku (Lovesick), Touya Kisaragi (Death Row Block), Eden Yamamura (Trickstar), Aika Yumi (Oculus)

Actually living in only the few cold hours of the day: Makina Setsukura (Pixel Syndicate), Kai Quinlan (Private Party), Daiki Kamiyama (Veiled Vanguard), Sumire Shinomiya (CodeX), Kaoru Shinozaki (Wicked Requiem), Kanon Hojo (Silent Tragedy), Kei Himeno (Diabolik Love), Hisui Meguno (Howling Moon), Nadya Kuromiya (Oculus), Mina Nakayama (ENIGMA), Kotan Anchikar (Kuma no Ie), Kokomi Morozov (Kuma no Ie)

Stands Still: Shisuta Heisha (Sakurai Clan), Luis Kōkyū (Jet Set Trio), Ivelisse Martinez (Sounds of Silence), Jack Verrill (Veiled Vanguard), Ritsuko Okada (CodeX), Rintaro Himura (Death Row Block), Aoi Yamamura (Howling Moon), Nellie Yukimura (Trickstar), Elliot Shimizu (ENIGMA), Azusa Furukawa (Blade Maiden)

@akihabara-division03 @uenodivision @aoyama-division @arakawa-division @roppongi-division @toyama-division @suginami-division @obihiro-division @saitama-division @shinagawa-division @kobedivision @kanazawa-division @edogawa-division @shizuokadivision @katsushika-division @niigata-division @naradivision @kumamoto-division @hamamatsu-divison @kofu-division @aomori-division @minato-division01 @akihabaradivision @setagaya-division @okinawa-division @taito-division @hakodate-division

[uenodivision]

Hypnosis Mic Shuffle Team, Vol. 3 (Part 3)

Six Pack

Starlight Specters:

Lana "Facade" Alarie

Itsuki "Tsuki" Kamiko

Kanade "Spooky" Alarie

Sakurai Clan:

Aranai "Ride or Die" Norikoru

Shisuta "The Saint" Heisha

Kisouna "Verdict" Yuzairu

Strange Magic:

Aoba "Guinevere" Yamamura

Kunio "James Moriarty" Chōten

Natsume "Wanderer" Kurome

MIHANASA:

Sanyu "MC Rogue" Inouye

Tasuku "Katame" Kawanoe

Ming "Miss Ming" Kawanoe

Femme Fatale:

Sayaka "Rhopalocera" Miyuki

Lola "Aphrodite" Takahashi

Kureha "Eclipse" Koizumi

Silent Tragedy:

Kanon "Mz. Hyde" Hojo

Reika "Belladonna" Aichi

Sakura "Renegade" Kito

RISE FROM DEAD

Chuohku’s Jinchū

Ritsuko "Strychnine" Okada

Kira "Huntress" Chinen

Keiko "Mangaka" Yumi

Chuohku's Justice

Boss Lady

Miho "Iron Maiden" Kobayashi

Kisouna "Verdict" Yuzairu

No Words, Just Action

The IIconics

Lola "Aphrodite" Takahashi

Aika "VeeXn" Yumi

Far from Where We Once Were

Free Spirit

Evelyn "SPIRIT" Rose

Kanade "Spooky" Alarie

Fly High, Baby!

Renowned Explorers

Criss "Paradox" Hiromi

Shian "Ready or Not" Meizono

Japan's Geek Mecca

Yummy Center

Sayaka "Rhopalocera" Miyuki

Kanra "D. Vil" Akemi

Cooking Lessons 101

The Fuzz

Wataru "Overseer" Sasaki

Seiji "Avenger" Tsukimoto

After a Long Day's Work...

Kawanoe Siblings

Ming "Miss Ming" Kawanoe

Tasuku "Katame" Kawanoe

Just Another Day in Fukuoka...

Yamamura Bros.

Aoba "Guinevere" Yamamura

Eden "Ember" Yamamura

Respect Your Brother

@kyoto-division @kumamoto-division @fukuokadivision1 @saitama-division @shizuokadivision @shinagawa-division @ota-division @akihabaradivision @minato-division01 @okinawa-division @akihabara-division03 @edogawa-division @kanazawa-division @niigata-division @fukuokadivision1 @hamamatsu-divison

[cextra-loz]

Oh anime is your comfort series? Oh you are anime girl obsessed?

name eveyr anime girl >:3

2B (Nier: Automata)

Mikasa Ackerman

Yūko Aioi

Taiga Aisaka

Ritsuko Akagi

Moka Akashiya

Homura Akemi

Alita (Battle Angel Alita)

Misa Amane

Android 18

Anita Hailey

Ann Takamaki

Aqua (KonoSuba)

Ami Asai

Athena Asamiya

Mina Ashido

Tsuyu Asui

Asuna (Sword Art Online)

Cagalli Yula Athha

Atoli

Rei Ayanami

Ilia

Baby Bonnie Hood

Belldandy

Benten (Urusei Yatsura)

Queen Beryl

Blossom (The Powerpuff Girls)

Boa Hancock

Alisa Bosconovitch

Euphemia li Britannia

Sarah Bryant (Virtua Fighter)

Bulma

C.C. (Code Geass)

Cammy

Carrot (One Piece)

Caulifla and Kale

Michelle Chang (Tekken)

Chi (Chobits)

Chi-Chi (Dragon Ball)

Chun-Li

Lacus Clyne

Jolyne Cujoh

Tomoyo Daidouji

Golden Darkness

Dejiko

Lala Satalin Deviluke

Momo Belia Deviluke

Nana Astar Deviluke

Chrome Dokuro

Ed (Cowboy Bebop)

Elena (Street Fighter)

Emma (The Promised Neverland)

Ami Enan

Junko Enoshima

Etna (Disgaea)

Felicia (Darkstalkers)

Maya Fey

Mia Fey

Pearl Fey

Anya Forger

Yor Forger

Haruhi Fujioka

Chika Fujiwara

Toko Fukawa

Yuno Gasai

Rias Gremory

Toru Hagakure

Sakura Haruno

Hatsune Miku

Misa Hayase

Lucy Heartfilia

Leona Heidern

Hestia (character)

Kagome Higurashi

Himawari Kunogi

Hinako (anime character)

Tohru Honda

Hsien-Ko

Hinata Hyuga

Yuko Ichihara

Midari Ikishima

Orihime Inoue

Lum (Urusei Yatsura)

Konata Izumi

Sagiri Izumi

Yumeko Jabami

Oscar François de Jarjayes

Kyoka Jiro

Abigail Jones

Juri (Street Fighter)

Jynx

Kagura (Azumanga Daioh)

Kaho Mizuki

Nezuko Kamado

Kamiya Kaoru

Madoka Kaname Midna

Mitsuri Kanroji

Urumi Kanzaki

Karin Kanzuki

Yuu Kashima

Ayumu Kasuga

Sakura Kasugano

Misato Katsuragi

Tomie Kawakami

Ami Kawashima

Nadeshiko Kinomoto

Sakura Kinomoto

Kyoko Kirigiri

Saya Kisaragi

Miyuki Kobayakawa

Kohane Tsuyuri

Yuri Koigakubo

Yotsuba Koiwai

Kirino Kosaka

Yui Kotegawa

Koyomi Mizuhara

Rukia Kuchiki

Nobara Kugisaki

Minamo Kurosawa

Motoko Kusanagi

Minori Kushieda

Anna Kyoyama

Lady (Devil May Cry)

Nunnally Lamperouge

Leafa

Connie Lee (Dr. Stone)

Lenalee Lee

Lillie (Pokémon)

Lina Inverse

Luna (Sailor Moon)

Makimachi Misao

Mari Illustrious Makinami

Hitomi Manaka

Mako Mankanshoku

Wendy Marvell

Ayeka Masaki Jurai

Ryūko Matoi

Sakura Matou

Megumin

Meiling Li

Chiyo Mihama

Sayaka Miki

Mai Minakami

Fujiko Mine

Lynn Minmay

Mikoto Misaka

Misty (Pokémon)

Kirari Momobami

Ririka Momobami

Morrigan Aensland

Multi (To Heart)

Naga the Serpent

Mio Naganohara

Yuki Nagato

Nino Nakano

Nakoruru

Nakuru Akizuki

Nami (One Piece)

Chiaki Nanami

Naru Narusegawa

Atsuko Natsume

Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)

Queen Nehelenia

Nico Robin

Darya Nikitina

Chisato Nishikigi

Himari Noihara

Arale Norimaki

Nyaruko

Yuzuriha Ogawa

Mamako Oosuki

Paninya

Suo Pavlichenko

Yomiko Readman

Rem (Re:Zero)

Revy (Black Lagoon)

Ritsu (Assassination Classroom)

Ritsuko Akagi (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Winry Rockbell

Roll (Mega Man)

Rose (Street Fighter)

Rebecca Rossellini

Ruri (Dr. Stone)

Saber (Fate/stay night)

Haruna Sairenji

Sakaki (Azumanga Daioh)

Yuri Sakazaki

Sakura (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle)

Chiyo Sakura

Kyoko Sakura

Haruko Sakurai

Izumi Sakurai

Shirō Sakurai

Mary Saotome

Ranma Saotome

Chie Satonaka

Erza Scarlet

Senko-san

Yuzuki Seo

Serena (Pokémon)

Yoruichi Shihōin

Mika Shimotsuki

Kaguya Shinomiya

Hakase Shinonome

Kuroko Shirai

Mai Shiranui

Noelle Silva

Elexis Sinclaire

Sinon (Sword Art Online)

Skuld (Oh My Goddess!)

Sonomi Daidouji

Asuka Langley Soryu

Kallen Stadtfeld

Celty Sturluson

Suika (Dr. Stone)

Super Sonico Sonichu

Haruhi Suzumiya (character)

Secre Swallowtail

Swindler (Akudama Drive)

Kiyomi Takada

Saya Takagi (character)

Sora Takenouchi

Taki (Soulcalibur)

Tomo Takino

Yukari Tanizaki

Utena Tenjou

Teresa Beria

Origami Tobiichi

Rin Tohsaka

Mami Tomoe

Trish (Devil May Cry)

Ayu Tsukimiya

Akane Tsunemori

Sarada Uchiha

Ulala (Space Channel 5)

Ochaco Uraraka

Urd (Oh My Goddess!)

Hana Uzaki

Kiri Uzaki

Tsuki Uzaki

Yanagi Uzaki

Shion Uzuki

Faye Valentine

Mereoleona Vermillion

Mimosa Vermillion

Videl

Anna Williams (Tekken)

Elf Yamada

Momo Yaoyorozu

Akari Yukimura

Mikan Yuuki

Maki Zen'in Zelda

Zero Two

[mahoushoujo-ni-naritai]

So, uh... This is a video I've made literally a decade ago for a quizz on Sporcle. With all these copyright problems I never for once thought this video would resist and win(?) the battle, so I'm posting it here now lol. I would love to make more of this, but because of the after mentioned reasons, this is the only one. Everybody is always recalling about opening songs, so of course I felt the need to make something big about ending songs. The songs I chose are VERY random because I tried to make the game enjoyable by not making something so easy that you can answer it just by reading the name of the songs alone. Also, the mixing is a mess but I assure you it still worth listening lol. If you don't want to play the game and just listen to a megamix, here's the tracklist: 01. Nana Kitade - Kesenai Tsumi (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi/FullMetal Alchemist) 02. Berryz Koubou - Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteruu YOU KNOW? (Patalliro! Saiyuki) 03. KOTOKO - →unfinished→ (Accel World) 04. Youko Takahashi - Yoake Umare Kuru Shoujo (Shakugan no Shana) 05. team-F - Hohoemi wo Agetai (Princess Princess) 06. Kinya Kotani - Glaring Dream (Gravitation) 07. Maki Kimura - Ano Hi ni... (Den'ei Shoujo/Video Girl Ai) 08. Kana Nishino - Style. (Soul Eater) 09. Yui Sakakibara - Beautiful Day (Boku wa Otome ni Koishiteru) 10. AiM - Keep On (Digimon Adventure) 11. Hiroki Wada - Mystic Eyes (Tenkuu no Escaflowne/The Vision of Escaflowne) 12. AYANA - Kaze no Tadoritsuku Basho (Kanon) 13. Mai Nakahara & Ai Shimizu - Himitsu Dolls (Strawberry Panic) 14. Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To (Paradise Kiss) 15. the indigo - Namo Shirenu Hana (Ai Yori Aoshi) 16. Younha - Houkiboshi (Bleach) 17. Kohmi Hirose - Groovy! (Cardcaptor Sakura) 18. Keiko Yoshinari - Asu e no Yuuki (Mahou Kishi Rayearth/Magic Knight Rayearth) 19. Shouko Nakagawa - Happily ever after (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) 20. Mai Yamane - The Real Folk Blues (Cowboy Bebop) 21. Claire - Fly Me to the Moon (Shin Seiki Evangelion/Neon Genesis Evangelion) 22. Akemi Kanda, Ai Nonaka, Mamiko Noto & Yuu Kobayashi - Kagayaku Kimi e (Mahou Sensei Negima!) 23. Ritsuko Okazaki - Chiisana Inori (Fruits Basket) 24. Atsuko Enomoto & Chihiro Suzuki - Yume no Naka e (Kareshi to Kanojo no Jijou) 25. T.M.Revolution - HEART OF SWORD ~Yoake Mae~ (Rurouni Kenshin ~Meiji Kenkaku Romantan~) 26. TM NETWORK - Get Wild (City Hunter) 27. Mitsunori Ikeda ft. Aimee B - Fallen Angel (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt) 28. Yifei - Mayonaka no Door (Demaashita! Powerpuff Girls Z) 29. Buono! - Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! (Shugo Chara!) 30. Yukari Konno - Tokimeki no Doukasen (Fushigi Yuugi) 31. Naoko Hamasaki - Tensai wa Saigo ni Yatte Kuru (Elf wo Karu Monotachi/Those Who Hunt Elves) 32. AKIMA & NEOS - Kaze wa Mirai ni Fuku (Trigun) 33. r.o.r/s - escape (Kaleido Star) 34. Koh Ikeda - Eien ni Amuro (Kidou Senshi Gundam/Mobile Suit Gundam) 35. Ichirou Mizuki - Bokura no Mazinger Z (Mazinger Z) 36. Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara & Yuuko Gotou - Hare Hare Yukai (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu) 37. Youko Ishida - Otome no Policy (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R) 38. LEGOLGEL - Mirai (Corrector Yui) 39. LAST ALLIANCE - Shissou (Ouran Koukou Hostbu/Ouran Highschool Host Club) 40. Sheryl Nome starring May'n - Northern Cross (Macross F) 41. Sakurakou Keionbu - Don't say "lazy" (K-on!) 42. Luca Yumi - Truth (Shoujo Kakumei Utena/Revolutionary Girl Utena) 43. Satoko Shimizu - Sajin no Meizu (Tenkuu Senki Shurato)

[storiesfromhalcyontale]

Chapter 14: The Battle of the Outlands.

I woke up the next morning and groaned. Alright today was it. I thought to myself, grabbing my glasses and placing them over my eyes. Either we fail miserably or we stop Crooler. I looked around the room thinking to myself for a moment, a part of me still hoped this was some sort of dream that I was in a coma when the machine exploded. However that wasn’t the case, this was real. I was going to fight in a battle in a couple of hours, I got out of my bed and looked out at Chima. I didn’t realise how beautiful it was. The past couple of days have been so stressful and taking this moment to breathe and take in the scenery was just great. Soon I heard my door open and turned to see Laval standing there.

“How ya feeling Sho?” He asked me, he walked next to me and began looking outside with me.

“I dunno to be honest.” I responded with a sigh, “I’ve just been so stressed the past few days that I just need a moment to myself before this battle”

“I understand what you mean.” Laval looked at me, “I used to do this alot during previous wars. Mainly when Cragger was under the persuader plant.” I looked at Laval, I sat on my bed.

“Really?” I asked curiously, one question lingered in my mind. “Did…Did it hurt fighting Cragger?”

“Huh?” Laval seemed somewhat taken aback by my question, he smiled painfully “Yeah… Especially now that I realised I love him.” He turned to me “But I’d rather not focus on the past!” He grinned, “Cragger has clearly made up for what happened.”

“Yeah” I smiled. That was awfully wise coming from Laval I thought, “Yeah I guess you're right.”

“Yeah. Why are you asking this anyways?” Laval turned to me, “Is this about Asriel?”

“Yeah..” I responded looking away from Laval, “I…I dunno it’s just that I’m worried about what happens today..” Laval sat next to me and patted my back.

“It’ll be alright Sho.” Laval muttered, “Asriel will be alright.” I rested my head on Laval’s shoulder like a little kid would do with an older sibling. Frankly I was scared, and I’m sure my facial expression conveyed that enough. I didn’t know what was going to happen, Laval took notice of this and decided to change the subject. “You know the first thing I’m going to do once all of this is over?”

“What?” I murmured, looking at them with curious intent in my eyes.

“Go on a date with Cragger when I have the free-time to do so!” He grinned although I could tell there was a slight blush coming through their cheeks “And I mean a proper romantic date! Not like speedor racing or anything, plus it’d be a break from all the king duties”

“Really?” I asked, I honestly felt proud of them both. “That’s great!” I smiled.

“Thanks Sho.” Laval responded, “Anyways, what’s your love life like?” He turned to me with genuine curiosity.

“Eh, I’ve always been more of a third wheel.” I answered, shrugging my shoulders. “The whole ‘boyfriend-slash-girlfriend’ thing never really interested me.”

“Oh.” Laval responded, somewhat pleased with my answer. “I mean understandable, that sort of stuff isn’t for everyone.”

I nodded my head, “Even when I was younger I always found it weird, it's something I never understoo-”

"Laval? Is Sho up?" I heard Lavertus shouting.

"Yeah give us ten seconds!" Laval shouted, "C'mon Sho, we have a long day ahead of us."

I lept off the bed and nodded as I I held my hand out. Laval grabbed it and jumped to their feet with a little wobble. Laval embarrassedly grinned and I just chuckled. We both left my room and went to find Lavertus. We found him in the throne room and he seemed to be hiding something behind his back.

“Uncle Lavertus, you wanted to see us both?” Laval asked, trying to peek behind Lavertus' back.

“Yes yes!” Lavertus said with a grin on his face, he seemed to be working on something almost in a world of his own. Lavertus began to take some measurements and I just looked at him confused as he turned around to back what he was doing “Hmmmmm, you both are similar heights…”

“What’s this about Lavertus?” I asked, trying to peek at what he was doing.

“No peeking Mr.Sato!” Lavertus responded, covering up whatever he was doing. “You both need to wait. Although I’m almost done!” I sat by the pool of chi orbs, patiently waiting for Lavertus to finish whatever he was doing. Soon he called us both back over and me and Laval stood there waiting to see what he did. “So! I’m sure Laval that you know that I’ll be battling in the shadowind armour.”

“Yeah you mentioned this to me last night.” Laval responded, I looked at them both confused.

“Well, I thought of something brilliant!” Lavertus responded, He revealed two suits of armour similar to what he was wearing. Almost identical copies, the only difference is that they were modified. I looked at Laval whose eyes were gleaming with excitement whilst I looked puzzled. "I thought since they'll probably target Sho why not have three Shadowinds running about?"

“Wait what hold up-” I looked at Lavertus confused “Why are you doing this exactly?”

“Well.” Lavertus said in a David Tennant-esque way, “I believe that the soldiers will try and target you if they find out you are fighting. So I created replicas of my suit for you, then I realised that we are completely different height-wise so I decided to also make one for Laval!” He gave me and Laval the armour “Try them on please!” I looked at Laval who was staring down at the costume in awe, I looked at it slightly puzzled. But I thought that the points Lavertus had brought up were good ones, I would be targeted for my lack in skills with a sword so anything would help. So I left for my room and walked upstairs as I observed how to get the outfit on in the best way possible. I removed my jacket, although I did feel slightly weird without it on, and gradually got the armour on. Though it was slightly big it did work and I placed the helmet on top of my head, which tinted everything in a cyan colour which took some adjusting to. I left my room, being careful not to trip on the red cape that followed me behind. “How does it fit?” Lavertus asked, looking at me with a curious look in his eyes.

“It’s alright” I responded, taking a seat and removing the helmet “Just tryna adjust my eyes to the cyan lenses you’ve used.”

“Oh they do take awhile to adjust to.” Lavertus responded, taking a seat next to me “However I think everything looks nicer in cyan personally so I’m not complaining about it.” This made me chuckle, though I kind of disagreed with his point of everything looking better in cyan. I heard footsteps and looked up to see Cragger up-ahead. He walked up to us and took immediate notice of what I was wearing.

“Whoa Sho! You’ve got your own Shadowind costume?!” He gasped, looking at me in awe.

“Not only me.” I responded as I stood up and stretched, “Laval also has one, and to be honest I think it’ll look better on him than me.” I looked at the helmet, which was shaped like a lion head, yeah this will definitely look better on Laval. As I thought this I saw Laval walk into the room, and yeah my assumption was correct. I looked back over and smirked as I saw Cragger’s face, he looked flustered by seeing his boyfriend in the suit which made me laugh to be honest.

“How does it look?” Laval asked, not noticing Cragger behind him. “It fits doesn’t it?”

“Yeah it does” Lavertus affirmed, adjusting the outfit slightly. “And I’m also not the only one who thinks that.” Lavertus pointed behind him and began to laugh. I soon began to laugh alongside Lavertus as Laval turned around and saw Cragger behind him, both of them got incredibly flustered over this which honestly I found funny. Laval removed their helmet to reveal that their cheeks had gone bright red.

“Hey Laval.” Cragger muttered, covering the blush on his cheeks with his tail and yet failing to do so as the redness on his cheeks was obvious to make out, “You look good.”

“Thanks mudlover.” Laval responded, placing a careful kiss on Cragger’s forehead. He then turned to me and Lavertus, taking time to compose himself before speaking, “Also Sho you should take this.” he handed me a satchel full. I grabbed it and looked at it carefully.

“What do I need this for?” I asked, looking at Laval as he continued to compose himself.

“If your going to be looking for Asriel inside of the base then you might as well get some chi to the prisoners” said Laval, he had a very strict sounding voice which sounded quite similar to Lagravis actually. He walked over to the chi pool and picked up some orbs. Placing them carefully into the satchel, I took one out and looked at it carefully.

“What’s the use of chi exactly?” I asked as I placed the orb back into the bag.

“Well…” Laval thought for a moment, “We’ve based our entire society around chi basically. They can also be used to power ourselves up, giving us more energy and or power.”

“Oh so like Adrenaline.” I said briefly “Wait then why does Crooler want it then?”

“That I don’t exactly kno-” Cragger placed his hand over Laval’s mouth.

“She wants to seize chi for herself and take out the lions.” He said bluntly, “She’s always had something against the lions, even since we were younger.” He then looked at Laval with a sorry look in his eyes “She used the persuader plant on me to try and take out the lions. But Laval honestly helped me snap out of it. Multiple times in fact.”

“And again you're welcome.” Laval said jokingly before turning to me, “Do you understand why she’s such a threat now to our way of life?”

“Yeah I think so.” I thought for a moment, “But why is she like this though?” I looked at Cragger, as he seemed like the one to answer this. Cragger yet again had a sorry look on his face.

“Well, I was kinda the favourite twin.” He’d mutter, “Which caused Crooler to be sort of neglected.”

“Oh.” I said as I looked down at the satchel. There was an awkward silence, though the information was somewhat useful it was actually kind of upsetting. Though I don’t understand Crooler’s motivations, maybe I could talk to her. Lavertus tapped my shoulder and we all looked at him.

“Get your masks on. I think the lion army is about to begin setting off.” He stated as armed forces began walking out of the temple and to their respective vehicles.

“Right.” Laval muttered as we all put our helmets on, bringing back the cyan tint from before, “Let’s get going, Sho you’ll be hopping into the lion tank with me.”

“Oh alright.” I answered, as I followed Laval out to the lion tank. The suspense was tense and I didn’t know what to expect going into this battle. Laval and Cragger were seasoned fighters whilst I was a kid whose biggest battle was trying to get a bargain at the shops and my first and practically only lesson on sword fighting was yesterday. I sighed, but then I saw Laval turn to me and smile.

“You okay Sho?” He asked as we continued walking, their eyes showed concern but also confidence.

“Yeah… just worried that’s all.” I responded, “Just never been in a battle that’s all.” Laval sighed and looked at me, I could tell he was struggling with what to say.

“Look Sho.” He muttered, “I can’t promise you won’t get hurt, but I do promise that Asriel will be alright. We’ll make sure no harm comes to him.”

“Right…” I responded again, with less confidence than before. I’m guessing Laval could sense my confidence getting lower as he went silent for a moment before speaking again.

“You know there’s this thing that Cragger said once that for whatever reason I still think about today” Laval turned to me, “‘Water is like friendship, it only pulls you down when you fight it. Let it flow! and it shall lift you up and carry you along to all the places you ever wanted to go.’. Something along those lines,  whenever I’m going through some sort of rough patch relating to friendship I just think of those words and they help.” I smiled a tiny bit.

“What’s with the water comparison?” I asked curiously.

“Oh! Well I nearly drowned and Cragger used a comparison of friendship to describe swimming” He laughed, “But I’d rather it be said with the term friendship in mind.”

“Yeah, that fits better.” I grinned, though my mood was still rather down about everything, however Laval’s words did help. And made logical sense too surprisingly even though he used the comparison incorrectly it still made me hopeful. We both soon got to the tank and hopped in. I took my seat and took off my helmet and looked down at it, with hope that this battle wouldn’t end with my death.

We soon found ourselves going through some sort of jungle area, but it was a lot more dangerous and we were overall rushing to get through the area as fast as possible and to the hideout that Lavertus had found. He was leading everyone to the area which seemed to have been cleared out of any dangerous plant-life from what I heard Lavertus saying as we rushed to the area. This was proven to be fact by the time we reached Crooler’s base, as it seemed most of the surrounding area was chopped down for this base to exist. Laval and I both got out of the tank and walked up to Laval, I placed my helmet on my head again and took a steady breath.

“We all know the plan right?” Lavertus looked at me and Laval, “We all know what’ll happen?”

“Yeah.” I muttered in-between breaths, “Rescue the captives first then find Asriel.”

“That’s right Sho!” Lavertus responded, “This feels like I’m looking in a mirror or something.” I heard Laval laugh while I chuckled. “Sho you wait over there until the battle starts, when you hear Laval roar sneak inside and give the satchel to the captives so they can join the battle. We have spare swords for them.”

“Oh alrighty.” I responded, “I’m gonna get going. Wish me luck I guess.” I waved goodbye to Laval and Lavertus and walked up to the base and stood by the wall. Just waiting. Waiting… I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I thought to myself, I’m about to fight in a battle to try and rescue my best friend. I’m sure Laval has felt these exact feelings when he was battling Cragger but… it hurts. It hurts a lot. I don’t want to hurt Asriel or anyone frankly. I sighed. “I’m really gonna do this aren’t I..?” I muttered to myself before hearing Laval roar. I looked towards the entrance of the base and saw a couple of different animals exit through there, many looked ready to fight in this battle. Once most if not all of them ran past, I slipped in. I didn’t know the general direction but I wandered about just looking for the prisoners. It was taking what felt to be around two hours but soon I came across this prison area, most of the animals in there were in fact lions. Many of whom looked like they haven’t eaten in days, one of them came up to the bars. She looked to be a lioness wearing almost a worn out tunic attire.

“Guys someone’s here!” Rest of the prisoners turned towards me, “Lavertus, you came to help us!”

“Lavertus?” I laughed a tiny bit, “That’s a first.” The lioness looked at me confused, “I’m guessing your Li’ella then?”

“Yeah.” She muttered, “Wait, if you're not Lavertus then who are you?” I took my helmet off and threw it onto the floor.

“I’m Sho Sato.” I said as I took the satchel off my shoulder and handed it to Li’ella “And Laval told me to give this to the prisoners.” I looked as she opened the bag, revealing a blue glow on her face. She looked back up at me as she took one of the orbs.

“Thanks Sho.” She smiled, she plugged the orbs into some sort of chestplate. Then a ginormous version of herself appeared for two seconds then disappeared, revealing that blue glint that Lagravis had. She soon began to pass around the chi.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pick the lock. I ain’t no Akemi but-” Li’ella reached round the lock and with her own hand alone, shattered the lock almost effortlessly, “WHOA-” I gasped. Chi is so powerful, I thought to myself as I placed the helmet back on my head.

“Thanks Sho.” Li’ella said as she ushered all the captives out, “And also, Asriel is somewhere in the base. I don’t know why Crooler decided for him to stay here but I can’t read her mind.”

“Alright. Thanks Li’ella.” I muttered as I ran, looking for Asriel. I placed a hand on my sword, my nerves were getting the better of me again. I heard footsteps behind me and turned around as I unsheath my sword. Only to be face-to-face with Asriel.

“Sho. What are you doing here?” He asked as he summoned a chaos sabre, I looked at his eyes and that red glow was still there. He was still under the control of the persuader plants.

“I’ve come looking for you!” I responded, my voice began to tremble, “Asriel this isn’t who you are man!”

“It is and we both know it.” He answered threateningly as I took the helmet off as Asriel seemingly knew it was me, “This is my destiny! To always be some sort of antagonist.”

“Asriel we both know that isn’t true” I shouted, “You aren’t a bad person man!”. Asriel began charging at me as the chaos sabre and sword connected making a silencing clashing sound.

“You lie Sho!” He shouted at me, “Crooler’s right all you do is lie your way out of things!”

“I-” I was astounded, Crooler made up these things about me not only to keep Asriel in her little trap but to also try and push me away. I, however, stayed firm and kept Laval’s words in my head. “Water is like friendship, it only pulls you down when you fight it.” I looked at Asriel, “Asriel that’s Crooler getting to you man! Don’t let her!”

“You're lying to me again?!” Asriel grabbed my neck and held me up in the air, “You're just a pathetic liar Sho. And I don’t need that.” Asriel gripped tightly on my neck, I was sure he was going to choke me out if I didn’t say anything.

“Asriel…I’ve spoken to your parents.” I muttered. “What..?” He dropped me as my sword fell on the floor next to me, “You're lying again.”

“Would I lie about this though?” I asked him, “Asriel, our realm and chima are connected and gaster used a signal booster to contact me.” I could tell Asriel was thinking.

“Sho….” I looked in his eyes, as I saw the red glow flicker.

“Asriel I get that you miss your family.” I said, standing up as I took deep breaths, “I miss mine too. And they certainly miss us, so please Asriel…fight Crooler’s control.” I could tell Asriel was fighting the control of Crooler and honestly I was scared, all my defences were down and one good slash at my chest could kil me.

“Sho…” Asriel muttered as the red glow in his eyes disappeared, “Sho what have I done…?” I hugged Asriel as I began to cry. To be honest I’m not the one that’s supposed to be crying but this is the first time in what four days I’m actually talking to Asriel. The Asriel I know, and frankly I was happy I had someone who I considered my brother back.

“I sososo sorry Asriel!” I wept into his shoulder, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you I’m sorry for causing any of this!”

“Sho..” Asriel hugged me, “None of this is your fault. I honestly don’t blame you for anything.” He then looked at what I was wearing, “What are you wearing?” He asked.

“Something that Lavertus made for today…” I muttered with a slight smile.

“Well it fits nicely” Asriel complimented as he stopped embracing me.

“Asriel what are you doing?” I heard a voice and turned to the direction of it. Crooler. “Asriel you were meant to kill him, not hug him. Are you insane?” stepped in front of Asriel.

“What is your problem?” I asked, trying to keep myself from punching her, “Why are you like this man?!”

“It’s my destiny!” She responded, snapping her jaw at me, “It’s my destiny to control all of chima!”

“You shouldn’t put all your hopes into destiny!” I answered back, “Destiny can be changed and or be wrong all-together depending on the interpretation!”

“Wrong…?” Crooler muttered. I can tell she was confused.

“Look Crooler, I know what you went through.” I said with a tremble in my voice. I could sympathise with her. “And I get it. I also wasn’t given the best hand at life, but I didn’t make it my whole personality and based my aspirations on it. Our childhoods don’t dictate who we are.” I can tell she was thinking.

“But…I…” She shuddered, “This is all I’ve known!” She snapped at me, “All I know is neglect and favouritism towards Cragger!”

“And I get that it sucks Crooler.” I said bluntly, “And blame your actions on Cragger, on Crominus and Crunket. I don’t care. But all of this, that’s your choice my friend!” I could tell Crooler was thinking, and I didn’t blame her. She just had her entire philosophy and motives broken down by a random sixteen year-old human.

“Into the fort!” I heard Lavertus’ voice and me and Asriel turned our heads in the direction of it. However when we both turned our heads back to Crooler. She had vanished, I didn’t know what to say. I just wiped my eyes of any emotions I had and just looked at Asriel. 

“We should probably find Laval.” I muttered, as we both began walking.

“Yeah..” Asriel responded. We both exited the base as celebrations occurred. Crominus and Crunket both walked up to me and Asriel.

“Is Crooler with you two?” Asked Crunket with concern, “Is she alright?”

“No she isn’t.” I responded, “She actually disappeared, we didn’t see where she went. And FYI, you two need to stop playing favourites and love your children equally. Cause that's what motivated Crooler.” Me and Asriel walked away to find Laval and Cragger, leaving Crominus and Crunket rather shocked at my response.

“Asriel you're alright!” Cragger shouted, walking up to us both with Laval following behind. “And not too injured I see too!”

“Yeah. Sho didn’t put up much of a fight really.” He responded, “I just want to go back to the lion temple..”

“Right.” Laval answered, “We’re all about to begin heading back anyways if you two want to hop into the lion tank.”

“Wait before you do.” Cragger tapped my shoulder, “How’s Crooler..?” I looked at Cragger.

“She’s…alright I think. She disappeared.”

“Alright…” Cragger sighed regretfully and let me, Asriel and Laval walk to the lion tank. Laval and I helped Asriel into the lion tank as we both got in. Laval started driving the tank as sat next to him. I looked at Asriel who looked overall worn out and decided to take a photo of him to send to Gaster.

3pm Sho sent a photo. Sho: Too tired to call but Asriel’s alright. Gaster: Okay Sho. I’ll tell Toriel, Asgore and Frisk immediately. The machine needs at least a day of charge before we can get you two home. Sho: Alright Gaster. See you tomorrow.

“Asriel we have one more day here before we can go home.” I muttered, looking at him.

“Alright.” He responded briefly before resting his head. I decided to do the same, resting my head on Laval’s shoulder.

“That was so scary…” I muttered as I yawned.

“Don’t worry Sho it’s over.” Laval responded almost parent-like, “I’m proud of you man. It's not everyday a kid can just rescue his best friend like that. That's honestly something you should be proud of Sho.”

“Thanks Laval.” I answered as I gradually fell asleep, with a smile. Which frankly hasn’t happened in awhile, just knowing Asriel was safe and that I would be going home soon gave me something I haven't felt since Asriel got kidnapped.

Hope.

<-Previous chapter

Next Chapter ->

This chapter actually came out quite nicely, even though it is a bit Steven Universe-Esque. I wanna focus on one specific part of the chapter actually, the moment between Laval and Sho actually not the fight itself between Asriel and Sho (even though I think it came out quite nicely as it showed Sho's almost inability to fight his friends.). Throughout the past couple of chapters I've been building up Sho and Laval's friendship but realised they only really had one moment togehter, that being chapter 3. And I didn't have a somewhat decent way to peak their relationship so I wrote this moment where Sho actually opens up a bit to Laval. And even though it's short I absolutely love it, two characters who I think are too kind for their own good (I'll develop Sho more in Halcyontale btw dw abt it) that are so similar yet different. Just opening up to eachother. Laval opens up about S1 and Sho opens up about his worries about Asriel, it all works nicely!

[edogawa-division]

The day was slowly drawing to a close as the sky turned from blue, to pink, and finally, to black. There was only a few hours left until Kanra Akemi's birthday would be over, so far, the girl in question was having the time of her life, from getting many presents from friends across the Divisions to simply spending it with her family. The young girl really couldn't ask for more. Today was perfect.

The doorbell to the Kuromiya household rang throughout the residence, Kaoru, who was closest to the door, went to go open it. "I got it." She said.

Opening the door, she was surprised to see that no one was on the other side of it, but instead a few boxes of presents sat on the porch. Raising a brow but shrugging it off, she lean back slightly into the house and called out, "Hey Kanra, you got some more here!"

Perking up, Kanra made her way over to where Kaoru was holding one of the presents and awed, "Whoa! That's a lot there! Who do you think they're from?" She wondered as she carried the other gifts inside and sat them down on the living room table. Kaoru sat the present down and shrugged, "Why don't you find out?"

Grinning, Kanra randomly grabbed one present and opened it, albeit carefully as she minded her strength, last thing she wanted was to crush the gift. The first gift, inside the box was a pink Nintendo switch, decorated with My Melody from the famous Sanrio series.

"Happy Birthday, Kanra! Not gonna lie, it was pretty fun gaming with you, even if it did end with a smashed TV and barely avoiding a lawsuit. Anyways, I got you this switch, try not to break it before we can have our next session.

- Sumire."

The second gift was quite light, inside was a cake made with strawberry pocky and actual strawberries. It looked and smelled wonderful, along with it was a note.

"Happy Birthday Kanra!

I wish I could deliver the cake in person but I had to clean up the mess that came with making it haha! Yoshiko helped out if you didn't noticed, she also wishes you a happy birthday! We would love for you to visit sometime!

- Sayaka (and Yoshiko!)"

The third gift was also light and inside was a pot of yellow chrysanthemums, they looked to be handpicked. Like the cake, it also came with a letter.

"Yellow chrysanthemums symbolizes friendship. Happy Birthday."

The last gift...well, it wasn't as extravagant as the others, it was just a plain box, no bow, no wrapping paper...nothing. It was also light, just like the aforementioned gifts. Inside was...a red panda plush. An old one at that, not 'old' as decrepit and unsalvageable, it was actually in good condition but old as in it was obvious that it had been years since someone had touched it if it's faded appearance was anything to go on. Alongside it was a letter.

"Theta...Kanra, I thought you might want this back. Happy birthday."

Happy Birthday Kanra!

Kanra smiled as she went through the gifts she had been given. Making a note to thank Sumire and Sayaka when she had the chance. It was when she opened the last gift did Kanra freeze. A red panda plush stared up at her and with shaking hands pulled it out of the box. It was at this moment Kanra was thrown into a flashback.

A woman with short black hair was kneeling in front of her. Her face was too blurry for Kanra to make out her features but she could feel the almost fondness coming from the woman. In her hands was the same plush but it looked brand new compared to its current form. Kanra could feel the excitement running through her as she reached for the toy. Kanra then proceed to give the woman a hug which seemed to surprise her.

The scene quickly changes and Kanra is once again in front of the same woman and beside her is the same pink-haired male from her dreams. He's crying and begging. Suddenly Kanra feels a hand grabbing her from behind and starts to drag her away. She tries to escape but the hand only grips her tighter. Kanra can only watch as the red panda falls from her arms landing right in front of the two. The last thing she sees before she is dragged out of the room is her brother the pink-haired male screaming at Mama the woman why wasn't she doing anything.

Suddenly Kanra is brought back to the living room with seconds only having passed in real-time.

"Kanra? You good?"

"Kanra you look paler than normal. Is something the matter?"

To both Yuriko's and Kaoru's shock Kanra hugged the plushie to her chest and started to sob. Her shoulders shook at how hard she was crying making her look smaller than usual.

"KANRA?!"

She ignored them continuing to hug the plushie close to her chest.

"Mama. Nii-chan."

[shinagawa-division]

Happy Anniversary to CodeX! One of the first teams to debut! It seems like they were each sent a little something to celebrate!

To Ritsuko from Kanra - A necklace with an actual spider encased in resin 

“I know you're not a big fan of celebrations but I figured you'd get a kick out of this. Happy Anniversary by the way!” - Kanra 

To Miho from Yuriko - An emerald hairpin in the shape of vines 

“Happy Anniversary Miho. May you spend it in merriment. Now here's a little something from me as congratulations.” - Yuriko

To Sumire from Kanra - A figurine of the one and only infamous Jinx

“From a devil to a demon Happy Anniversary Sumire! Saw this and thought of you!” - Kanra 

Of course, no anniversary is complete without any cake so to CodeX a personally made cake from Kanra!

“Happy Anniversary CodeX! Three years strong! Here’s to many more! So enjoy!” - Kanra

Ritsuko looked at necklace with an unreadable expression before sighing softly and putting the necklace around her neck. “Thank you, Kanra…you always seem to pick out acceptable gifts.”

Miho admired the hairpin before placing it in her hair and crasses it before giving an approving nod. “It was quite nice of them to send gifts, considering that we’re not exactly one of the most well liked teams…due to you to.”

Sumire rolled her eyes and smirked at the Jinx figurine. “Whatever, still doesn’t take away that we’ve remained popular for better or for worse.”

Ritsuko chuckled as she pulled the cart holding the cake to the room. “In any case, we should enjoy this moment while it lasts, the same goes for this cake.”

“Well said.”

“Hell yeah!”

Thank you for the gift!

[storiesfromhalcyontale]

Chapter 13: Final Preparations

I woke up from what felt like an endless slumber, sunlight entered my room. I sat upright and grabbed my glasses and put them on my face. I looked around. Today's preparation day. I thought to myself climbing out of my bed and heading downstairs, I could see Laval talking to a group of lions which I guess were a part of some sort of king duties. I decided to not start a conversation with him as he looked somewhat stressed. I continued to walk around for a while, soon finding Lavertus sparring with a lion soldier. I just stood there and watched for a little bit, soon he noticed and stopped the fighting to talk to me.

“Sho, just the kid I wanted to see!” Lavertus shouted, walking up to me.

“Hiya Lavertus.” I replied taking a seat, “Are the lions preparing for a fight?”

“Yeah, the crocs will be joining us from what I’ve heard.” He took a seat next to me, “Anyways, what will you be doing?” He looked at me.

“Obviously I’m joining in. I need to save Asriel after all.” I retorted. Lavertus looked at me for a moment.

“Get up kid.” He said to me, holding out his hand, “You're going to need to learn to fight with a sword if that’s the case.” I looked at him confused.

“Sword fighting?” I chuckled, “Lavertus I like the idea but I’m a gamer that can’t even punch a doll down.”

“That’s why we’ll start with the basics this morning, then later on in the afternoon we’ll get into the more complicated stuff.” He replied, still holding out his hand. I sighed.

“Worth a shot.” I grasped his hand and he pulled me up. He handed me a sword with a blue glow radiating from the middle of it. 

“Alright so… let’s start off with a defensive stance, defensive stances are probably the best stances to start off with..” Throughout the morning, Lavertus taught me two different stances. The defensive stance was for more dire situations, where you're getting swung at. The stance has less mobility about it but did allow for some attacks to be delivered by you, the attacking stance was much better though. However there are two separate versions, the normal one which didn’t include much movement. The second one used much more quicker movements and allowed for more swings and different attacking angles. However it did leave you less defended, I much preferred the second attacking stance in my honest opinion so we both spent the morning perfecting both the defensive stance and second attacking stance. By noon we were both tired and took a seat, soon Laval came out looking for us both.

“There you both are. What were you two doing?” He asked, helping us both up, “You're kinda needed at this meeting.” “Sorry Laval.” Lavertus muttered standing up, “Just teaching Sho how to sword fight that’s all.”

“Oh really?” Laval gasped looking at me, “Didn’t expect you to be much of a teacher Lavertus.”

“Eh, I wasn’t too bad.” Lavertus sighed, and soon we found ourselves inside the lion temple where Cragger and two other crocodiles were also there. One had a golden crown that covered the top half of his face, he was also wearing some sort of red tunic. The other crocodile was wearing a golden crown with white fangs pointing out of the top, she was also wearing a pink dress. 

“Crominus, Crunket, thank you for meeting with us on short notice.” Laval said, I looked back at Lavertus who stood away a tiny bit.

“So this is the kid we’ve been hearing about?” Crominus growled, looking at me. Figures, I stand out afterall. I concluded.

"Yeah I'm Sho Sa-" I was about to say but then I was interrupted.

“Crominus that isn’t important at this moment in time.” Crunket stated, looking at Crominus “We’re here for much more important reasons remember.”

“Right right.” Crominus replied, turning back to Laval. “Cragger says this meeting is important.”

“Then he’d be right.” Laval retorted, looking at Cragger. “Well I’m sure you’ve heard about what’s been going on.” “Cragger has filled us in with the details..” Crunket responded, giving a sympathetic look at Laval. “We are so sorry for what happened to your father..” I saw Laval shudder for a moment before composing himself.

“It’s fine…” Laval responded, “Anyways, thanks again for helping us with this situation.”

“Crooler’s our daughter.” Crominus responded, “She may be exiled but she’s still our daughter.”

“Right..” Laval responded, “Well I’ve planned a massive raid of the camp, we’ll need to find the lion prisoners and free-”

“What about that Asriel kid?” Crominus asked, looking at me. I don't think he meant it maliciously but...I almost saw red.

“What do you mean about that Asriel kid?” I muttered, I stared daggers at him.

“Dad don’t.” Cragger tried stopping his dad from speaking but failed.

“Well logically speaking, is there going to be some consequence for him?” Crominus looked between me and Laval, “He did stab your dad and everything.” I felt my throat begin to dry up, Cragger looked at me with a worried expression.

“Well, he’s being manipulated by the persuader plants. So I doubt there’ll be much of a consequence there.” Laval responded with a shaky voice. Crominus looked as if he was going to say something, but Crunket raised her hand.

“Crominus stop.” Crunket said, “You're making the kid panic..” Crominus turned to me then looked back at Laval.

“Alright.” Crominus bluntly said, “What were you saying Laval?”

“Right...” Laval’s voice began to drain out a bit, I felt a familiar ringing in my ears. Each breath that drew from my mouth was getting bigger and bigger. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I quickly looked behind me and saw Lavertus.

“Kid are you alright..?” Lavertus muttered.

“Yeah…Yeah.” I looked around, I felt a bit shaky… I could hear Laval’s voice again.

“-do you agree with this plan?” I heard Laval say.

“Of-course we do.” Replied Crunket, “We will be there. Just make sure your army is prepared.”

“We will Crunket, don't worry.” Laval replied.

“Alrighty then, now that’s sorted… come along you two!” Crunket gestured towards Crominus and Cragger, “Let’s get back to the swamp.”

“Could I stay at the lion temple for a bit?” Cragger asked, walking up to Crunket.

“But you’ve been here a lot recently, I don’t see a reason to stay here today.” Crunket responded.

“Well…” I could see Cragger trying to find a way out of the situation he’s seemingly put himself in. I looked between them both, trying to think of some sort of excuse Cragger could stay here.

“He’s agreed to help me practise sword fighting.” I quickly blurted out looking at both Crominus and Crunket, “Since I will be joining both tribes tomorrow in the fighting.” I saw Crunket thinking for a moment.

“I see.. Well Cragger, We’ll meet you back at the swamp.” She responded, “It was also nice seeing you again, Lavertus.” I looked at Lavertus who smiled a tiny bit.

“Same here Crunket.” Lavertus responded, and soon Crominus and Crunket left the lion temple.

“Thanks for that Sho.” Cragger said, walking up to me. “I don’t think I could’ve gotten out of that one..”

“It’s fine really!” I said. I turned and looked towards the direction Crominus and Crunket were heading. I sighed and turned back, “Crunket seems nice, I’m not too sure about Crominus though..”

“Yeah sorry about him..” Cragger muttered, “He can be a bit insensitive sometimes..”

“It’s fine..” I whispered, To be completely honest he wasn’t exactly wrong for asking… I looked at Lavertus and smiled, “Should we continue where we left off?”

“Sure sure” He answered,  “you and Cragger go up ahead though. I have some jobs I need to take care of.” Lavertus wandered off somewhere, not in a hurry though so I wondered what he was doing. I looked at Cragger and smiled.

“You're just here cause you wanna see Laval huh..?” I looked at him as he became all flustered, I laughed.

“Yeah…But I can help you with this first!” Cragger replied, shaking his head. We both walked outside and back to the training ground me and Lavertus had used the previous day. “So what was he teaching you exactly?”

“Just like some different stances, we’re meant to be actually using it in combat today.” Cragger began to laugh a tiny bit.

“I love his enthusiasm” He laughed, “But in my opinion, to learn fighting you’ve gotta experience it.” I looked at him like he was making some sort of joke, although he wasn’t laughing.

“Wait, really?” I asked, looking at him shocked, “Cragger, if you think I can fight then you're sorely mistaken.”

“Then we’ll take it in baby steps.” Cragger stated, “Maybe that’ll get us somewhere. Just stand over there then we can begin.” I stood on the other side of the court, A lion guard passed me a sword and I stood in a defensive stance. This made Cragger somewhat chuckle, “What’s that stance?”

“Lavertus taught it to me.” I responded with a mutter, “Why is there anything wrong with it?”

“No No!” Cragger responded, “It’s alright, I just think Lavertus is trying a bit too hard to be like his brother.” I thought for a moment, Well that is true. Lavertus has definitely been acting more serious as of recent memory.. “What you wanna do is…Well I’d never expect to be doing this so I guess we just wing it.” 

“Sooooo what do we do?” I asked in a worried tone.

“We fight.” Cragger unsheathed a weapon similar to mine and charged at me, OH FU- I stood there as our weapons clashed. I saw Cragger smile a tiny bit. “Don’t worry Sho, this is how my dad taught me how to fight. So you’ll be fine.”

“Cragger should I be worried?” I jokingly asked, parrying hits from Cragger with a sloppy execution.

“Well you’ve picked up parrying real fast!” Cragger exclaimed, stopping his attacks. “Now, try and attack me.” I looked at Cragger, surprised, “You can do what you must to knock me down.”

“Are you sure I can do something though?” I asked with hesitation, looking at Cragger, “I’m not that Strong really.”

“Sho, I’m sure you're much stronger than what you give yourself credit for.” Cragger stated, putting his right hand on my shoulder, “Sho, I believe in you. Now c’mon!” Cragger went to the end of the court and smiled at me, “Give it your best shot!” I put my headphones on and began to blast music, I was gonna focus for this.

“Alright!” I shouted, I jogged on the spot for a moment, “I’m sorry if I hurt you!” I began running towards Cragger, Alright.. I think I’ve got this if I can somehow incorporate that right hook then- I swing my sword at Cragger, - I can catch him off guard and- “ACK-” I fell to my feet and looked up, “You used your tail?!” I gasped for air.

“I’ve used that trick loads while play-fighting with Laval. Never had a chance to use it for practice as of recent memory” Cragger stated, helping me up. I took off my headphones, “Also don’t blast music, it wouldn’t be useful in the actual battle.”

“Oh.” I muttered, “I see.” I jogged back to where I was and began to sigh “Alright, here I come!... Again.” I began to run up to Cragger and swing my sword, he was able to parry it. He continued parrying it until I saw my opening, I dropped my sword from attacking and swung my arm in a right hook motion then stopped just before I hit his face, then similarly what he did to me earlier I swept his legs and pointed my sword at his chest.

“Whoa Sho..” Cragger muttered, I offered my hand as he got up “That was sick! Did you pick that up from me?”

“Yeah!” I stated, looking at him, “Although I added some improvisation to it.” I looked around, and saw Lavertus and Laval. Both had their mouths gaping wide open. “You both saw that?”

“Yeah!” Laval said excitedly, “Sho that was amazing!” He ran up towards me with Lavertus following shortly behind.

“Sho how did you manage that?” He asked, looking at me curiously, he was holding some sort of tray.

“Well, I picked up some stuff from Cragger and replicated it. Visualisation thing.” I answered, “Also are those muffins?”

“Yup!” Lavertus responded, “I planned on baking them today. Go on, try one Sho. If anything they’ll give you a boost of energy.” Lavertus handed me a muffin.

“Oh sure!” I responded, I realised I haven’t eaten in days. I took a bite out of the muffin and my eyes glowed excitedly. “WHOA LAVERTUS! THIS IS BRILLIANT!!”

“I knew you’d like it.” Lavertus grinned, “Plus I think it’s given you alot more energy.” This muffin is just as good as Akemi’s cooking . I thought as I scoffed the muffin quickly and smiled, a genuine smile.

“Sho I haven’t seen you smile like that in awhile” Laval said looking at me, he then turned to Cragger. “How’s my little swamp boy doing?” Laval pecked Cragger on the cheek, which made him blush immensely “Wow, it’s weird showing romantic affection in public.”

“Yeah it is.” Cragger responded with a laugh, both him and Laval grabbed a muffin from the tray and began eating them. I sat down, catching my breath for a moment. Laval took a seat next to me as he finished off his muffin.

“You alright Sho?” Laval asked, “You seemed a bit zoned out during the meeting.”

“Huh? No, I’m fine..” I responded, almost taken-aback by this, “Just what Crominus said caught me off guard that’s all.” I looked down at the floor, “What about that Asriel kid?... Well logically speaking, is there going to be some consequence for him? He did stab your dad and everything.” 

“Sho nothing is going to happen to Asriel once we save him from the grasp of the Persuader plants.” Laval stated, “I can promise you that much.”

“Thanks Laval…” I muttered, I stood up and stretched, “Well Cragger should we continue where we left off?” I looked at Cragger, who by this point was just finishing his muffin.

“Sure!” He responded, jumping to his feet and running to the otherside of the court. “Let’s both go all out alright?!”

“Yeah!” I yelled, grabbing the sword and preparing to fight. “I promise I’ll do my best!”

I wasn’t sure how long we spent training, but by the end of the session it had begun to get dark. I had found myself sitting on the floor after a day of training. Although I didn’t win many of the matches I did, although I nearly beat Laval at one point, I had noticed some sort of improvement in my stamina. It might be a tiny improvement but it was still there. Laval and Cragger were training, although it looked more like play-fighting than training, I laughed a tiny bit. Soon, once they had finished training, they both began to walk up towards me and Lavertus who were watching. Neither of them had seemingly noticed the sun began to set.

“That was hella fun!” Laval exclaimed, “I’ve missed play-fighting.”

“Same!” Cragger responded, he looked up to the sky “Well I’m going back to the swamp.”

“Alright, Bye Swamp boy.” Laval teased, Cragger pecked him on the cheek as me and Lavertus waved as Cragger walked out of the lion temple. I looked at Laval as he waved, Then I looked up. I felt my nerves getting to me again… I hope whatever this plan is succeeds… I don’t even know how I’m going to get home yet. I stood up.

“I’m heading to my room.” I said, turning around.

“Alrighty Sho!” Laval responded, “See you in the morning”

“Yeah kid.” Lavertus yelled behind me, “Good luck in the morning.” I waved back and left for my room. I put my headphones on and listened to music for a little bit, I was just thinking. I don’t think I’ve had a moment alone all day, I was just hoping that Laval’s plan would work. I’ll also try and contact Gaster tomorrow if we do rescue Asriel, I just wanted my best friend back.. I laid in my bed and closed my eyes as I hummed the melody of "I say no" from the west-end version of Heathers. Soon I turned off my music and fell Asleep..

<- Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ->

This is actually where I start doing something that carries over into my other stories, and that is referencing media I personally like in my stories. And since I was really into Heathers at the time I decided to add it, though there isn't much reason for it here thought it'd be a nice nod. But after this I started using references for more thematic reasons.

[storiesfromhalcyontale]

Chapter 6: Weekend Hangout

I watched them both head upstairs and smiled. Looks like Cragger confessed and Laval accepted. I thought to myself, I’ll give them time to tell me.. I yawned, It was around 7pm… still early for me. I decided to scroll through my phone although there wasn’t much to be honest. Until my phone pinged, it was a message from Akemi. I clicked on the notification.

7pm

Akemi: Sho want to come to the park with me and Asriel tomorrow? Around 12pm?

Sho: Ofc! I don’t have any plans tomorrow!

Akemi: Brilliant! I’m bringing some snacks so we don’t get hungry.

Sho: Alrighty! I don’t mind being the third wheel!

Akemi: Hahaha very funny. Anyway, cya tomorrow!

I laughed. And put my phone in my pocket, I heard the door open and saw Gaster there.

“How was school today Sho?” Gaster asked, closing the door.

“Eh it was fine. Had a movie night with Asriel,Laval and Cragger.” I answered standing up.

“That’s great! I’m guessing you got to know them?”

“Yes! I learnt they’re from this realm called Chima and they have these orb things that gives them a power up of sorts.” I turned to Gaster.

“Well…I see.” Gaster muttered, turning to me.

I walked up the stairs and headed to my room. I didn’t feel that tired so I went to my laptop and listened to music. I laid on my bed looking for something to listen to… I clicked on a random song and was greeted with Finley. Really, it’s the only song I like from them but I didn’t know what made me like this song, whether it was the drum beat or the lyrics I was unsure of. Unleash the power just slaps. I concluded clicking onto google. I put the term realms into the search bar and hit enter. Mostly dead searches, but something did catch my eye. The realms theory… I clicked the link and read through the page the theory maintained of the idea that there are separate realms, each with differing conditions. I continued looking for some sort of video and I found one. It showed a ghost and…Ninja falling through a similar blue portal described by Cragger on Thursday and exiting through a similar one. I sighed, Normally I would call this into doubt but the guy recording didn’t expect it to happen so it couldn’t seem staged.. And plus everything since Monday has thrown everything into question itself. I continued to read through the theory for who knows how long and decided to head to sleep. I turned my music off and laid my head on the pillows as my eyes grew heavy..

I woke up the next morning and checked the time, It’s 10am.. I’ll get ready at 11.. I got out of my bed and looked at my phone, nothing new. I headed downstairs and got a slice of toast and sat on the sofa where Laval was sitting talking to Gaster.

“Is Cragger still in bed?” I asked while munching down on the toast in front of me.

“Yeah, he just decided to have a ‘Lay-in’ this morning,” Laval said, confused. “I don’t know what that is but it’s gotta do with sleep.”

I laughed a tiny bit “Don’t worry about him. Anyways, wanna watch something?”

“Sure, what would be on?” Laval asked, looking at the TV with curiosity “Another horror film?”

“Hmm…” I looked at the tv. I wasn’t sure what would be on so I began to flick through channels “How about this? It’s about a kid that finds this note that can kill people and it’s sorta like a cat and mouse chase ordeal.”

“Sure!” Laval excitedly exclaimed “It sounds interesting!” For the next hour or so we both sat there and watched this show, soon it got to 11am and I headed upstairs to get ready. I threw on a black Jacket with blue Jeans. I also put my headphones on to listen to music. By 11:30am I headed back downstairs and Laval was still sitting looking at the TV with curiosity.

“Gaster, I'm going out!” I yelled as I opened the door.

“Where to?” He shouted back, coming to the door curiously.

“Just to the park with Akemi and Asriel.” I told him looking back.

“Well, have fun then. I’m guessing you’ll want money for food?” He asked, grabbing his wallet.

“It’s fine, Akemi’s bringing food.” I responded, turning for the door “Well cya!”

“Bye Sho.” Laval said looking back, he had sat crossed legged on the sofa at this point in time “I’ll tell Cragger you said bye.”

“Thanks.” I left the house and began walking down the street.

Soon I met Asriel and Akemi at the park. Akemi was holding a picnic basket and had a genuine smile on his face. Asriel had seemingly brought a blanket for us all to sit on.

“Sho!” Asriel yelled “Took ya long enough!”

“Sorry sorry..” I said looking at both of them “You know I like a good stroll on the weekend."

“Doesn’t matter, c'mon let's set it up!” Akemi commanded, soon we found the perfect spot to set up and eventually set up for our picnic. Akemi had packed an array of food which aligned with most of our taste buds. Akemi was an amazing chef, however that wasn’t where he put his aspirations. He wanted to be a detective and has worked tirelessly to make that dream a reality. “So how does the food taste?” He asked, looking at me and Asriel.

“Brilliant!” We both yelled “It’s one of the best things we’ve had in awhile!”

“Oh really?” Akemi turned to me “Well thank you Sho” Akemi turned to Asriel. “and Rei..”

“Rei?” I said, stunned, “That’s a new one. Almost sounds like a pet name.” I smirked. I've gotten better at identifying pet names. Thanks Laval and Cragger.

“Pet name?” Asriel asked “What’s that?”

“Asriel you're too pure for this world sometimes I swear” I slapped my hand on my head, Asriel can be a bit oblivious sometimes. To be honest I don’t blame him. I sighed “We need more days like this honestly! Just us three..”

“Yeah..” Akemi said proceeding to stand up “But nothing lasts forever I’m afraid..” Akemi was right. Nothing lasts forever.

Throughout the next hour we chatted and had fun, until I got a notification from my phone. I checked and it was a message from an unknown user. Usually these types of messages wouldn’t interest me, however the message itself did catch my eye.

2pm

Unknown: Is this the number of Sho Sato?

Sho: Yes? Who are you?

Unknown: I don’t have enough time, you need to go home now. I’m Unit C, I want to help them.

Sho: Them? Whose them?

Unknown: Just trust me! The ones that were dragged here are in danger! I'll explain more once you get home!

Sho: The ones that were…

Oh no….

I looked shocked… Laval and Cragger… They found them.

“We got to go.” I said, my feet were trembling as I stood up…

“Sho what’s wrong..” Asriel asked “What’s happened?”

“Asriel…They found them..” I started to run back to my house, Asriel and Akemi were behind me. The voices were drowned out by my own thoughts. I was worried… The first time I’ve felt relaxed in a LONG time and this happens?! I ran past the library, I believe Asriel was filling Akemi in on everything that had happened in the past week… Soon I got to Gaster’s house and the doors were eerily left wide open.. I ran inside to find everything totaled.. The living room, kitchen and everywhere was a complete mess.. Looks like there was a fight I thought to myself.. I turned to the sofa and saw Gaster sitting there being healed up by an unfamiliar man… He looked around twenty. He had blonde hair and was wearing an awfully familiar lab coat..

“Sho…your alright..” Gaster groaned trying to stand up.. I looked at his chest. Was he injured?! Soon Akemi and Asriel ran into the home and both were as shocked as I was..

“Gaster what…” I muttered, I couldn’t speak. What happened here..

“Mr Windings please save your energy” The man said continuing to heal Gaster “We haven’t formally met, but I’m Unit C. I work at the science lab near the school..” He turned to look at me.

“Then…why are you here?” I asked, I didn't want to believe it was true..

“My team… they raided the house looking for…them.. A lion and a crocodile. They injured your grandfather.. He tried to protect them..” He looked down regretfully “I’m so so sorry… ever since they got here… I’ve felt so much guilt..”.

I felt my throat tighten, They found Laval and Cragger?! Nonono… I looked at Asriel almost about to cry. I had failed them..

“Sho…” Asriel muttered “What do we do..” I couldn’t think straight, my head was in all sorts of feelings. I couldn’t speak, my throat was getting even more dry than before… I clenched my fist, no one was speaking although I could tell we all were thinking the same thing…

“Look I don’t know who these two are..” Akemi said, breaking the silence “Heck, I’ve only just learnt about them. But we aren’t going to give up.” Akemi turned to me “What do we do Sho? It’s your call, you’ve known them the longest out of all of us here.”

I stood there and thought for what felt like an eternity.. “Unit C… I can trust you right?” I turned to Unit C half expectantly.

“Yes Mr Sato. What Unit A has done is screwed up, I want to redeem myself in any way I can.” I turned away and continued thinking..

“Unit C how did you get them here?” I asked.

“There’s this machine, with enough power we were able to connect two coordinates in two different realms.” He turned to me “Why?”

“Because.” I said, walking in front of the damaged TV “We’re going to go save Laval and Cragger. And send them home.”

<-Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ->

Chapter 6… I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Mainly because of how short it feels again, my favourite aspect of this chapter is that it focuses more on the Halcyontale side of the crossover. It just that this chapter doesn’t do too much special in my opinion. It only exists to move the plot along. I didn’t even add any changes unlike the previous chapter, it’s just a part of the story that gets the plot moving and pushes Asriel more as one of the main characters.

[storiesfromhalcyontale]

Chapter 5: Love within the popcorn

I woke up the next morning and looked around.. I'm still expecting this to be a dream I thought but that isn't true… I exited my room to find Sho leaving his room.

"Ah Cragger!" He said, turning to me "Gaster has already gone to work I see..?" I looked around and failed to see Gaster.

"I think so..?" I remarked looking at him. "Why?"

"It's just that you and Laval will be home alone. Well I'll be a bit later than usual. Just message me if anything happens"

"Will do." I said heading downstairs.

"Tonight will be a blast!" He yelled leaving for the door

"Wait what's going on tonight?" I asked looking at him.

"You'll see!" And he left the house. He's probably walking with Asriel. I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal. Since Tuesday Gaster has taught me how to make a bowl without using too much Cereal and I stood there eating it and thinking.

"Sho went to school?" Laval yelled in a questioning tone.

"Yeah!" I yelled back, Laval walked down to the kitchen tying his mane back into a ponytail.

"I love these circle things! They make it easier to tie my mane back" He enthusiastically told me standing next to me.

"Really?" I asked, looking at him, "Wish I could try it." We both laughed at this little joke.

"Anyways Cragger, I have a question.."

"What? I've had enough questions from Sho but shoot ya shot furboy" I looked at him.

"What were you going to say at Spiral mountain?" I froze up. No way he remembered! There is no way he actually remembered! "You were getting all sentimental and you never got to finish." We both looked at eachother, I have another chance..  I thought Somehow I have another chance…

"Well I'd rather sit down for this." I muttered nervously. My nerves were everywhere.. My emotions was running rampant and my heart was beating in an almost vicious way.

"Oh I see.." He said as we both walked to the sofa.. "Well, what's up."

"Firstly say what you remember… I can't fully remember what bit I got to.."

"Well you were asking really strange questions, if we were friends…how I feel about dating people…Yeah! I think that's where you got to.." He looked at me patiently, you're a good friend Laval..

"Well…" I was almost shaking.. I didn't expect this moment to come so soon! "I-I.." COME ON JUST SAY IT! STAY DETERMINED! "I love you.. Laval.." I said this quickly and it took him a couple of seconds to catch up. I looked at him almost tearing up… I rarely cry like this..

"Whoa Cragger…that's.." He stopped speaking, I couldn't tell if he was thinking or what.. he's probably going to reject me he only sees me as a friend. "I'm sorry if I'm staying quiet, I'm just thinking…" thinking? "I…I just don't know what to do…I've been doing alot of thinking recently and… I think I love you too?"

"Wait what?!" I leaped up. My tail was wagging at this revelation.

"Since playing Mario Kart with Sho I've just…been thinking about alot of stuff.. I've just been thinking alot about you recently and how you helped me.." He stopped for a moment but then continued "I think I realised just before we got to spiral mountain… 'I'm in love with my best friend…' it didn't feel…right." I looked at him sympathetically, I know how it feels to come to a realisation like this. "But I've been thinking and realised I don't care! Even if you're my best friend or not, I love you!" He was much more confident saying this, he was blushing too. I could feel my cheeks warm up as I looked at Laval, not believing a single word that just came out of his mouth.

"Sooo… is that a yes?" I asked, he grabbed my hand.

"Obviously! You're my mudlover! Forever and ever!" He yelled, I couldn't help but smile at him and laugh. That was so cheesy. I guess it's kinda cute. I hugged him and only muttered three words..

"Thank you… furboy."

We just sat on the sofa talking for what felt like hours. We just talked about general things, plus how dating will change things. Soon Sho and Asriel came through the door.

"Finally…"  Asriel huffed "Sho our houses are further than you think! Why have you decided to do this?"

"Because it'd be fun for us all to get to know each other!" He looked at us "Wait did I miss something?!" We both looked at eachother.

"Nothing much" I said clutching Laval's hand, probably wasn't convincing but whatever.

"Hmm… alright anyways Asriel could you set up? I need to grab my dvds from my room"

"Alright alright.." Asriel sighed and started tinkering with the big screen thing in the middle of the room.. Sho was soon running back down with two… cases?

"So I have Halloween and Doctor who pyramids of Mars! What should we watch?!" Sho presented us with two cases..

"Halloween's a weird title for…something…" Laval muttered "How about Halloween?"

"Halloween it is then!" Sho smiled cheekily, my guess for this is that he's seen this before and knew what would happen in the film. He opened the case to reveal this circular disc which he inserted into the…dvd player?

"Sho are you sure about Halloween?" Asriel asked looking concerned "It can be a bit intense at some points.."

"Nah it'll be fine!" He reassured Asriel "Asriel honestly, I don't understand how you find Halloween intense."

"It's a horror film, you can see where I'm coming from can't you?"

"Yeah..." Sho pondered for a second, "But it isn't the most intense horror film from the 70s era. Plus I'm sure Laval and Cragger can handle it!"

"Yeah!" I shouted " We'll be fine Asriel!"

"Wait before we continue, could we do a pronoun check? I'm so sorry I didn't ask this earlier" Sho said, turning to me and Laval.

"Nah it's fine." I told Sho this concept isn't new to me or Laval " I use he/him"

Laval looked at Sho confidently "Honestly, I think I'm he/they at the moment?" I looked at Laval he/they? That's new, musta thought about it with all that thinking he's done.

"Thank you, well come on! Let's take a seat!" Sho happily said not taking a second moment to think.

We all sat down on the sofa and Laval snuggled up to me as we all sat back to watch the film.

"This morning I also bought popcorn! Only sweet popcorn though as my sweet tooth is so big at the moment." He took four popcorn bags out of his bag and passed two to me and Laval. We all sat down and watched the film, Asriel was right. It did get a little tense at some points but overall it was alright. Laval also seemingly loved it, he just kept on looking at the screen with fascination. 

Later, once the film had finished we all stood up "That.was.amazing." Laval gasped, his eyes lit up "That film…whatever its called was brilliant!"

"It is a really good slasher isn't?" Remarked Sho.

"You know Sho… you and Laval are kinda similar." Asriel remarked looking at Sho.

"Whaaat no." Sho said, turning to Asriel in a jokey manner.

"Sho, you both like racing, You both aren't serious all the time AND you both somewhat like horror films. Although Sho likes them a lot more. Plus you both have similar hair, you even said yourself today Sho, it looks like a lion's mane."

"No? We are nothing alike!" Laval and Sho both said this. They looked at eachother and we all laughed.

"So, I was curious, Laval what does your realm look like?" Sho asked, sitting back down.

"Well…" Laval thought for a moment sitting back down "We both come from the land chima, where animals roam free. I don't know how to explain this next part but we have these blue orbs that come from a floating mountain annnddd it powers us up basically.."

"I see, I see… well thank you! I have some other films if you want to watch some more."

"Of course!" I respond "That was alot of fun!"

"Well hold ya horses, I need to get more of my DVDs. But obviously we'll watch more horror films!" Sho ran back upstairs and grabbed more films and we all sat back down. Laval snuggled up to me again and we continued watching horror films until Asriel had to go, which from what Sho said was about 7pm. 

"That was brilliant!" Laval roared "Horror films are sooo strange!"

"I know right?! I absolutely love horror films!" Sho affirmed looking at us still snuggled up on the sofa.

I yawned "Well, I'm off to bed.." I turned for the stairs.

"I'm coming too!" Laval yelled following me upstairs.

We both walked to our room and got onto the air mattress. Laval snuggled up to me once again.

"Love to mudlover." He yawned, going to sleep.

"Love you too furboy." I responded Closing my eyelids and going to sleep..

____________________________________________________ Chat Logs: 9:50pm Unit A: Have we found what happened yet? Unit B: Yes.. take a listen to this audio.. Unit B sent an audio file. “You're going to be alright Laval! C’mon don’t pass out on me goddamit!” “You two…okay?” “GET BACK! YOU LOOK JUST LIKE THEM! YOU LOOK LIKE THE ONES THAT BROUGHT US HERE!” “I…I don’t know what you're on about but he seems really hurt. I can take you up to my grandfather’s house until he gets home, he knows medical treatment.” Unit D: So he's the kid that's hiding them… Unit A: Unit D can we run voice identification on this kid? Unit D: Already on it. Unit D: And done. His name is Sho Sato, from what I'm aware he's living with his grandfather at the moment who doesn't live too far up the road. Unit A: Gentlemen we need to prepare.. Tomorrow the extraction happens..

<-Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ->

Woohoo chapter 5!!! Honestly, this is up there as one of my favourite chapters as I loved developing Laval and Cragger's relationship. I don't remember why I did it early but from what I can remember the original story was meant to end at chapter seven. It didn't end at chapter Seven :P Plus I wanted to show these two being like all new to being in a relationship together. Honestly I think I got the inspiration like for these two like just after I came up with the idea for the story, I was reading a fic with these two as a couple and said like "I want to do that!" or something along those lines.

[storiesfromhalcyontale]

Seo's Memory

TW: Mention of dead parent

I tapped my shoe anxiously on the floor as I waited for my dad to get home, he always works late but it was able to make him a lot of money. He spent most of the money on me actually, making sure I had a decent education and an amazing childhood. But sometimes I really worry about him. He's working so hard for me and yet he never takes a break for himself and that worries me. I was just drinking some green tea, trying to get my nerves down really. Soon I heard the door unlock and my dad entered through it, he looked tired from a long day of work. He looked at me and smiled gently.

“Good afternoon Akemi!” My dad said as he ruffled my hair and slightly undid his tie.

“Afternoon dad.” I murmured as I sipped my green tea. Dad was looking at me with a worried expression.

“Akemi, is something wrong?” He asked me, taking a seat next to me.

“Yeah…” I sighed as I put my now empty cup on the floor, “I’m worried dad. I’m worried that you're gonna overwork yourself.”

“Overwork myself?” I saw my dad tilt his head curiously, “What do you mean overwork myself?”

“Dad, you haven’t taken a proper break in sixteen years.” I responded, “I get that you're doing it for me but you’ve got to find time for yourself…” I looked at my dad as he seemed surprised, “Sorry I-”

“Akemi don’t apologise.” He responded, he placed a hand on my shoulder, “I get what you're saying. I understand I work too much.” I looked down at the floor in guilt.

“Dad can I…ask you a question?”

“Sure thing…” He answered, I took a deep breath in. This was something I never asked about. “What was mum like..?” I asked carefully. I really didn’t want to upset my dad with this question.

“Valeria?” My dad mumbled, before shaking his head and gently laughing, “You’ve never asked me about her before. Why now?” “Well I…” I stumbled on my words a bit, “I was just curious that’s all.”

“Well… Akemi, your mother was the most lovely person anyone could ever meet.” He responded, wiping his eyes, “She was able to light up any room she went to actually by just being herself. She was really really popular actually.”

“Was she?” I responded in shock.

“Yeah..yeah. She had this aura about her which made boys almost fall for her. I wasn’t exactly fooled by it, mainly because we didn’t actually meet till college.” He laughed again, trying to hide the tears in his eyes, “I didn’t know a lick of spanish and she…she took pity on me and showed me around…around campus.” He took a moment before continuing, “That’s how I fell for her. She was just lovely to me and taught me alot of spanish.” I laughed a tiny bit, imagining dad learning spanish with his future wife was cute.

“I see…” I murmured. Dad then looked at me before continuing.

“Akemi, your mum would’ve been so proud of you.” He said before the tears started up, “Valeria would’ve been so proud if she saw our child today…” Soon I began crying, not as much as dad though which was understandable, “She wanted to have a child more than anything. She would’ve absolutely adored you.”

“I…I see.” I responded with a slight quiver in my voice, “What happened after she died…?” I could tell dad was gathering his composure before continuing.

“Well, she was my everything, Akemi. The last thing she said to me was to look after you.” He wiped his eyes, “And after about three weeks of mourning and taking care of you… Nothing was clicking with me. I felt lost.” I looked at dad guiltily, I hated seeing him upset, “But one day, I was thinking back to that day when it finally clicked with me. Valeria went through so much… Yet even with her final breath she was thinking more about you than herself.” This was when I finally began crying, to think that my mum was more worried about me than herself was so uplifting.

“Dad I…” I could feel my dad’s arms wrap around me as he whispered.

“Shhhhh Akemi it’s fine…” He whispered gently into my ear, “Look, I know I work alot but you’re my entire life Akemi. I do everything for you… I want to take care of you as my son and to make Valeria proud…” I nodded my head as he gently caressed my hair in a fatherly manner, “Look Akemi. I’ll take the day off tomorrow and we can spend the day just hanging out. How does that sound kiddo?” I looked up at my dad and smiled softly.

“Yeah, yeah I’d like that.” I sat back up and wiped my eyes. I watched as my dad sat up.

“I’ll go and quickly get changed out of my work uniform. Then we can have some dinner.” My dad then walked upstairs and into his room. Now I understand why my dad never remarried and chose to stay as a widower. He loved my mum too much, but in that sadness I saw a strength he had, that power to continue no matter what challenges life throws at you. That power was admirable, and it’s something that makes my dad a pretty cool person.

No matter what, he’ll always have the strength to continue. That's why my dad is a wonderful person.