#also waiting to see suzus dad but | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sabraeal · 3 years ago

Note

Consider: Obi is green-red color blind

A Color by Any Other Name

Written for @aeroplaneblues for a surprise birthday gift! Many months ago she mentioned wanted to see a colorblind Obi, and I said, WELL WHAT A GOOD EXCUSE TO WRITE THIS PROMPT JOANNA GAVE ME. I hope your birthday is a good one, filled with a lot more nice surprises!

“Are you ever going to introduce me to your guard friends?” Suzu asks around a mouthful of dumpling. “Or are you embarrassed?”

To say Obi is unprepared, would be an understatement; there’s a pork bun lodged between his teeth, his gloves not only coated in pig grease but also far less effective against steam than he’d thought they’d be back when he’d just grabbed a plump little blob off the stall. He’d laughed off Suzu’s concerns about protective equipment; after all, if smiths use leather gloves, they’ve got to be just as good as an oven mitt.

They aren’t. Not to mention the roof of his mouth starting to have a real good think about peeling off and having a vacation. Maybe even with someone who doesn’t eat entire dumplings straight from the basket.

“Wha?” he manages eloquently, nearly drooling spicy meat drippings onto the street.

“I know I’m not cool like they are,” Suzu continues, warming to his new thesis. If his sudden flush of confidence is any measure, he’s spent more of time composing his arguments for this than Obi’s ever seen him work on his actual defense. “And I’m no good with a sword. Or fists. Or really any implement that isn’t a scalpel, and any opponent that isn’t already anesthetized. But I am very smart.”

There’s a thoughtful pause before Suzu adds, “Some people do enjoy that, you know.”

What Obi knows is that this kid tried this conversation on for size in front of Yuzuri, and she didn’t even bother to warn him as a courtesy. See if he buys her any more meat-on-sticks when she’s ‘left her purse in the lab’ now.

“That’s not--” he takes a hurried minute to swallow-- “not what’s happening. I didn’t...”

Even know you knew I didn’t work for the pharmacy. His teeth clamp shut around that winner, and its friend, I didn’t think you lot would want to hang out with a bunch of men without degrees. Not only would that encourage Suzu to make a scene right here, right now, but if it got back to Jirou-- well, if he thought Suzu could turn any day into a disaster, the lieutenant would make that seem like a vacation.

“I didn’t think you wanted to,” he settles on instead. Similar enough in feel, if...creatively edited. “You scholar types tend to flock together.”

“Well, sure,” Suzu murmurs, stymied, “but we’re friends too, aren’t we? If all my friends are your friends, then all your friends should be my friends.”

Only an academic could talk about arithmetic with that amount of confidence, especially the kind that involved transitive properties and letters, and all sorts of things that made Obi’s head spin.

“Well,” he hums, one boot scratching his calf. “You would know.”

Suzu whirls on him, staring down his long fox-snout of a nose. “You mean it? You’ll really...?”

“Sure. If that’s what you want.” He twitches his shoulders, more casual than he feels. “It’s fine if it’s you.”

There’s always been a lazy lilt to Suzu’s eyes, but it disappears now, all the sleepiness gone to surprise. “Me? You wouldn’t want to bring anyone else?”

“Well, definitely not Kazaha.” The glares he’d get bringing that twiggy pedant into the guardhouse might be enough to drop him dead on the spot. “And Yuzuri would be too popular.”

Suzu grimaces. “The number of admirers she’d get from a wink alone...she’d be unlivable.”

He can see it now, her ponytail bobbing with a buoyant glee, giggling through every painstaking penned line from her fan club-- “Think of all the bad poetry.”

“Honestly, that might make it worth it. At least I’ll feel better about not knowing the difference between a quartet and a quatrain.” Suzu takes a thoughtful bite of him bun. “And you couldn’t bring Shirayuki, of course.”

“Right.” Not a one of them could be trusted to keep their lips sealed; she’d hardly have to take a breath and someone would call her Obi’s lady, or ask how they met, or whether she’s still Mistress behind closed doors--

But Suzu wouldn’t know any of that. “Wait, why?”

“Well...” He has the grace to look chagrined about it, whatever it is. “You know. Her hair...?”

“Oh.” Obi shrugs. “Sure, I guess.”

“You guess?” Suzu stares. “Shirayuki has a non-zero amount of stories about being kidnapped for looking like a candied apple, and you guess there might be a fuss about bringing her ‘round to the guardhouse?”

“Well, none of you acted weird about it,” he snips, hiding his annoyance behind a bite of dumpling. “There’s no reason they will.”

“Of course no one at Lilias acted weird, Obi!” he squawks, arms flailing as he talks. “You couldn’t pay them to look at anything but their own project. But when a bunch of normal men with eyes and, uh, other working appendages see a cute girl with red hair and a soft voice, they’re gonna go crazy!”

His palm hooks around his shoulder, thumb digging into the hard knot at his collarbone. “Aw, come on. It’s not that special.”

“Not that--?” Suzu whips around, eyes round as dumplings. “Obi, she’s the only person I’ve ever seen with red hair.”

“You don’t get out much,” Obi deadpans. “No offense.”

“That’s not--” Suzu grunts, throwing up his hands-- “She’s the only person anyone’s ever seen with red hair!”

“Her dad’s is kind of red.” That observation wins him an unimpressed look, one that says you’re missing the point. “And Yuzuri had blue hair when I met her. That’s way more interesting--”

“It was dyed!” Suzu wobbles over to a wall, sitting with his head in his hands. “Shirayuki has a hair color so rare that the birth records in Clarines haven’t noted it in more than fifty years! And you think Yuzuri dying her hair with woad is more impressive.”

“Well, even her natural color is brighter than Miss’s. Not--” he waves a hand between them, quelling-- “that Miss’s hair isn’t nice enough. But I’d think that people would pay more attention to that.”

“...Brighter?” Suzu murmurs after a long moment, stilted. “Obi, could you tell me what color that sign is, right over there?”

“The one for the tea shop?” He wrinkles his nose. “Why--?”

“Just...indulge me for a moment.”

“All right.” He squints up at the moon cresting over a wolf’s head. “Blue.”

“Right, and, um, that coat over there.”

“Yellow.”

“Right.” Suzu’s voice is tight, stressed. “And what I’m wearing?”

Obi squints. This one’s a little harder, but he’s confident when he says, “Green.”

“Ah, right.” Suzu stands, a unsteady on his feet. “That would explain that, then.”

Obi blinks. “Explain what?”

“Obi,” Suzu begins, with all the gravitas of both a grim prognosis and a terrible joke. “You can’t see colors.”

It’s not the first time Obi’s played hound to his prey’s fox, but there’s something distinctly unsettling about it being Suzu that leaves him lagging behind, unsure of himself. Especially with the way he scurries through the concourse, bounding toward the mess hall with this idea caught between his teeth like chicken feathers.

“I can see colors just fine,” Obi informs him with far less confidence than he’d like. “Some of them are just hard to tell apart. Weren’t you and Yuzuri arguing yesterday about whether salmon is orange or pink?”

Suzu waves a hand at him, dismissive. “That’s different. Salmon’s both orange and pink, and what color it looks most like has to do with the composition of your eye-- and it’s pink by the way, with orange undertones--”

Between the two of them, Obi knows who he’d trust to know their colors. “Uh-huh.”

“You can’t make out red and green, which is different entirely, and--” the doors to the mess burst open beneath his hands, a noise lost in the din of a hundred scholars trying to share the same table-- “YOU GUYS WON’T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST FOUND.”

The whole of Shidan’s lab-- minus the man himself-- have taken up right by the door, bags and coats piled to save them their places on the bench. Suzu makes short work of the pile on his seat, haphazardly shoving them to the floor as he sits.

Kazaha peers at him and ventures mildly, “A new way to avoid finishing your thesis?”

“No,” Suzu hums between his grit teeth, “but I have found out--”

“I don’t think we need to do this,” Obi murmurs, handing Miss her muffler. “It’s not--”

“Obi,” he intones with far more gravitas than his name has ever strictly deserved, “can’t see colors.”

“Not at all?” Kazaha turns those sharp eyes to him, like he’s a specimen under glass. “Just black and white?”

“I can see just fine,” Obi huffs, tossing Yuzuri her coat before he slides onto the bench, knee knocking into Miss’s in a way that puts his heart through its paces. “Suzu is just making a mountain out of a molehill.”

“Is that so?” he hums with a grin. “Then what color is Shirayuki’s hair?”

He stifles a sigh. It’s best to put all this to bed now, before he’s stuck playing what’s this color for the next two years. “Red.”

“What’s the point of this?” Yuzuri yawns, already bored. Obi shoots her a grateful look, glad that at least one of them isn’t going to play Suzu’s game.

It’s too bad he’s already puffed up with unearned confidence, like an evolutionist at a botany lecture. “And what’s the color of Ryuu’s cloak?”

He knows it by heart-- how could he not, when the two most important people in this city wear matching ones-- but still Obi glances up, anticipating a trick. Ryuu stares back, confused and guileless. “Blue.”

“Great, good.” Suzu’s grin stretches from ear to ear. “Now what color is your scarf?”

Obi’s fingers knot in the fabric, the weft tickling the pads of his fingers. “Well, it’s...sort of reddish, isn’t it?”

This is the wrong answer.

“It makes so much sense,” Yuzuri murmurs in wonder. “You really don’t know how ugly Suzu’s outfits are. That’s why you still hang out with him.”

“Hey!” Suzu pouts. “That’s not very nice.”

“No, that has nothing to do with color, it’s the cut.” Anxiety spikes through him. “But wait, it is red isn’t it? My scarf?”

“No,” Miss murmurs at his side, cheeks flushes. “Obi, it’s...it’s green.”

He stares down at it, trying to imagine what that might look like. “Green.”

“It looks very nice on you!” Her small fingers wrapping in the fur at his elbow. “It’s your color, really.”

“Oh, sure,” he murmurs, faint. “I guess it matches my eyes.”

“Hey, what do you mean ‘it has nothing to do with the color?’“ Suzu’s hands fly to his hips, brows drawn tight over the long line of his nose. “My clothes are just fine.”

“They aren’t.” Obi leans in next to him, grin feeling thinner than it should. “But I hang out with you anyway, which means you know we’re really friends.”

Kazaha rubs at his chin, where his ode to Shidan’s goatee is failing to thrive. “You know what this also explains?”

Obi blinks. “What?”

“All the black.”

It’s not Kazaha that says it, oh no. That would be too merciful for a mortifying moment out of his life. Instead it’s low and feminine, and when Miss Kiki leans out from the other side of Miss, it’s like a siren emerging from the depths, teeth bared to tear a man to shreds. “What an interesting thing I’ve learned today.”

“Miss Kiki! How--?” He gulps. “Why--?”

“I came to deliver a message from Wirant,” she drawls, too pleased. “And it seems I’ve earned myself a fine tip.”

“No,” he breathes. “You can’t-- you’re not going to tell Master, are you? Or Sir?”

“Oh,” she hums, looking particularly hungry for manflesh. “I certainly will.”

“Oh, there there.” Miss pats his back, the sensation lost among the dozen layers of clothing between them. “I’m sure Kiki won’t tell them, not until you’re ready! You asked her not to.”

“I think that just means,” Obi mutters, voice muffled by his arms and the wall he’s throwing himself over, “that she’ll just enjoy telling them more.”

“Ah...” He doesn’t need to see her to know her grimace. “Yes, that’s...probably right.”

He lets out a heavy, dramatic sigh. It helps a little. So does a bit of flailing.

“They won’t make a big deal out of it,” Miss says, changing tack. “It hardly changes anything! I’m sure they’ll just forget as soon as she tells them.”

He peeps one eye over his elbow. “That’s easy for you to say, you haven’t spent the last half an hour playing What’s That Color.”

“Well,” she wheedles, “they are scholars.”

Obi groans, loud and long, which doesn’t help; but it echoes out over the rooftops, returning back to him, which does.

“How...?”

Miss hesitates, a gloved finger pressed to her lips. He sighs, already braced for the onslaught-- how didn’t you know? how did you go so long without knowing your colors? how do you find people if you can’t even tell what hair color they have--?

“How did you notice?”

Obi lifts his head, unblinking. “What?”

“How did you notice?” Miss repeats, more firmly this time. “You’ve spent your whole life this way, haven’t you? It must have taken something really special to realize there was more than what you see.”

“Uh.” It’s nice that it’s darker here, that it’s cold. He has perfect legitimate reasons to be flushed. “Well, it was Suzu really. He mentioned that--” his teeth clamp down around his words, not letting them out without a hasty edit-- “that people think your hair’s pretty special, and I said I didn’t get why...”

Miss stiffens beside him, a statue that breathes, and he hastily adds, “Not that you aren’t special, Miss. It’s just, the red...”

“Right.” The words comes out stilted, strange. “You can’t see it. You actually...haven’t ever seen it.”

A silence settles on them like a wool blanket; not one of those nice ones at the castle, or the fleecy ones Miss stockpiles like one day the North might run out of sheep, but the itchy, coarse-woven ones of his childhood. Uncomfortable and smelling faintly of animal.

“So,” he coughs, fixing his gaze out over the city. “What did Kiki want?”

“Oh...” Miss shifts, mouth pulling into a guilty grimace. “She came to tell me that the Queen Dowager has invited me to dinner. Tomorrow night.”

His brows raise. “Well, well.”

“Don’t,” she murmurs, head giving the barest shake. “It’s not like that.”

“Are you sure?” He shouldn’t press, but if he doesn’t, no one else will. “After you told Master--”

“I told him a list of reasons why I thought I would be a better ally as a friend, and not as a...” Miss loses steam, letting her words sigh into the air. “I’d like to believe this has to do with my work with Phostyrias.”

He watches her, careful. “But do you?”

“I don’t know,” she says, which is as good as any no.

Obi’s barely stepped into the Protector’s solar when Master asks, “What color is my jacket?”

His head swivels, delivering a glare so flat carpets would be jealous. Miss Kiki only hums, shoulder lifting in a disinterested shrug. “I said I was going to tell them.”

Fair enough.

“It’s blue,” he deadpans, flopping onto the cushiest divan. He’s too long for it, his boots spilling off one arm a idling over the floor. “Apparently I can see that one just fine.”

According to Miss, at least; she’d unearthed a slip of a book from the university’s library, outlining the limits of his sight. Little Ryuu had pored over it for a day before showing up at his door, flushed faced and nervous.

Garrack always told me I had nice eyes, he’d admitted, lingering at the threshold. I was hoping you could see them.

Cross as he is about the whole thing, Obi can’t regret that. He might not have Miss’s hair, or Suzu’s coat-- thankfully-- but Ryuu’s eyes would always look true to him.

“But not red.” Master’s mouth twitches, far too entertained. “Or green.”

“I do see them,” he protests. “They just...don’t look very different to me.”

Just another shade of yellow and brown, if those books are right. Which they are, since he’d always thought so. Subtly different, like the way Suzu and Yuzuri fought over salmon, or Master and Miss Kiki would dither over chartreuse. Just enough that he’d been able to eke by on keeping his mouth shut and a fondness for black.

Still, there’s nothing worse than finding out something new about yourself this late in the game. Especially when--

“What about the curtains?” Master inquires. “Can you see those?”

--Especially when it’s so endlessly entertaining to everyone else. “I can see them,” he grumbles, sinking further into the cushions. “Just because I can’t see some colors doesn’t mean I’m blind.”

“Then what about the note?”

Obi rolls his gaze to where Sir perches at his desk. “Huh?”

“To our red-haired guest.” Sir coughs, a flush working its way up his neck. “It’s just-- you wrote that.”

“Oh, His Grace told me that one.” A lifetime ago, it seemed. “‘The red-haired girl, you’ll know her when you see her, I’m sure.’“

Master winces. Obi can admit his talent doesn’t lie with impressions, especially ones of dour old men.

“Right,” Sir presses, voice oddly tight. “But you don’t see-- I mean, how could you find a girl that looks just like everyone else?”

“Ah...” He grimaces, scrubbing at the top of his head. “Well, I just looked for the girl who didn’t belong. It--” he hesitates, suddenly aware of Master’s eyes on him-- “didn’t take very long.”

Master’s frown belongs above one of those prie-dieu, to remind penitents that forgiveness isn’t absolute. “What is that supposed to--?”

“So what does she look like?” No one could say that after a decade of dedication, Miss Kiki doesn’t know how to do her job; she deflects Master’s brewing sour mood with the ease of a professional. “What does her hair look like to you?”

“Uh.” He clears his throat, tugging at his collar. “I wasn’t lying when I said I bought my scarf to match...”

There is a stillness to the room that is too much, too pitiful. Much as he hated it, Obi would much rather be a joke than a charity case.

“Huh,” Sir grunts, gaze still fixed to his neck. “Now I wonder what we all look like to you.”

“Well, I sort of wonder what you all look like to yourselves.” Obi let a sigh float wistfully through his lips. “At least I know that me and Miss still have the same eyes.”

There’s silence again, but this one buzzes, filled with words no one dares to say.

“What?” he laughs, nervous, pulling himself upright. “Don’t we?”

Sir grimaces. “Ah, Obi...”

Miss is quiet when they walk the walls home that night, the winter stillness making the silence and heavy as any drift. Her mouth is pursed, not with anything like anger, but something closer to consideration. As if there’s words back there she’s sorting through, trying to compose a thought that just won’t come.

Well, she should know: she won’t get anywhere if she doesn’t air a few of them out to look at. “Something wrong, Miss?”

She blinks, shaken out from wherever she gone away. Her mind palace, maybe. Suzu’d told him about those once, with busts and painting and curtained alcoves. What she’d do with a place like that, he couldn’t imagine, but if anyone asked, he’d put his money on hers having apothecary drawers instead, and gardens too. The kind with half crumbled walls, ivies curled around every stone. Cluttered desks piled high with books, and one of them with curtain drawn to let its owner nap the afternoon away.

“Oh,” she breathes, finally. “No, no. Nothing’s, um, wrong. I was just...thinking.”

He lifts a knowing brow. “So something is wrong.”

“That’s not what I said,” she informs him, primly. “I was going over my meeting with Haruto, and...”

Her lips snap shut around the words, distress narrowing her eyes. “And...?”

“She didn’t know about my work,” Miss huffs, arms wrapping tight around her chest. “Or, she did, but only what Zen had told her. Which...”

Was far less than the whole of it. He’d heard that part of her argument that night, try as he might not to. “So she invited you as Zen’s ally?”

“No.” The word is colder than any he’s ever heard fall from her lips. “That I wouldn’t mind-- I’m still trying to be his ally, after all, and if she saw me as an asset...” She shook her head. “No, she wanted to meet his...paramour, even if she didn’t say as much.”

Obi grimaces.

“And even that wouldn’t be so bad if...” Miss took a deep, steeling breath. “When I came in, after all the curtsies and pleasantries, she said, your hair is just as red as he said it was.” Her knuckles are white where they wrap around her elbows. “All those years, all those letters, and the only thing he thinks to tell his mother is that my hair...”

The rest is lost in a sigh, a cloud of mist swirling off the wall.

“It must really be something,” Obi deadpans, gaze following it off the edge. “Since it makes all these people forget how smart you are.”

She’s watching him; he can feel it as she sidles up to where he stands, hands unclenching from her arms and splaying on the crenellations instead. “Obi, you really can’t...?”

Miss hesitates, falls silent. He lets her; she’s put enough words in the air to sort through, and now all she needs is time. Obi’s happy to give it to her.

Especially since there’s a rabbit down there in the dark. A small one, moving slow, hind legs churning like clockwork winding up. It’s nose digs into the snow, snuffling around, searching--

“Can you really see better?” Miss asks, startling him back to the wall. “In the dark, I mean. That book said you could.”

“Well, after the past couple days, I’m a little shaky on what’s normal.” He jerks his chin over the edge. “Can you see the rabbit down there? Right by that sapling?”

She blinks, pressing in close. “The what? It’s just...dark out there.”

“Well,” he says, grin tight on his lips. “There’s your answer.”

Miss settles back on her heels, one hand already cupping her chin. “It makes sense. Without the distraction of color, your movement tracking must be much more acute...”

Obi only half-manages to stifle a laugh. “Seems like it definitely distracts everyone else.”

Miss goes quiet; almost too quiet, enough to make his teeth sit on edge. The seconds tick by, and Obi might play at patience, but it’s not in his nature. He glances down, just from the corners of his eyes, but Miss is already watching him, eyes strangely shuttered.

“Obi,” she says, so clear his name rings in his ears. “You don’t...? My hair, it’s not...” Her mouth works, quiet, before she manages, “It’s not anything to you?”

Anything special, she means. Because that’s what he said so stupidly last night, nothing special.

She’d tied it up tonight, finagling the strange looping knots that were partial to the queen’s court, but already some of it’s worn loose, slipping from its pins. “It is,” he murmurs. “I like it.”

She huffs, unimpressed. “But you can’t see it, not really.”

“Of course I can see it,” he laughs, weary. “Maybe not the color, but that’s fine. I like it because it’s yours.”

She ducks her head, and Obi might not be good at colors, but he can see her cheeks flush in the lamplight.

“Miss.” Her gaze lifts to his, no longer shuttered, just full. “Can I ask you something?”

Her breath catches. “Anything.”

“Be straight with me,” he pleads. “We do have the same eye color right?”

“Obi!” Miss‘s laughter bubbles bright with betrayal as she hops down the stairs after him. “Obi, please--”

“Let me grieve, Miss,” he grumbles, hands shoved in his pockets. “I’ve been a real champ about the rest, but let me have this.”

“Obi!” She catches him round the wrist, mouth twitching as she turns to him. “Is it really so bad that they’re gold?”

“No,” he mutters sullenly, shoulders slumped enough that with two stairs between them, they’re nearly the same height. “It’s just...”

Her eyes flutter wide with curiosity. “Just...?”

“It’s fine enough that they’re unique.” He spits the word with more venom than it deserves. “I just I wanted this one thing in common.”

“In common?” Miss blinks. “You mean, me and...?”

Obi would lay down his life for his mistress, but even she can’t ask him to do this, to lay down his pride for her to walk on.

“Oh!” She flusters, limbs fluttering in the air between them. He’s half-tempted to turn away again, but she grabs his face and holds him steady, her cold, slender fingers caught behind his jaw. “Just-- just one moment...”

“Miss?” he wheezes. This is entirely too close, too much--

“Yes!” He breath flutters over his lips, her own parting in a celebration of teeth. “That’s it. I see it. There’s a little, right there.”

He blinks. “A little what, Miss?”

Her teeth flash around the word, “Green.”

It’s cruel to throw a starving dog a bone, but he snaps it up anyway, heart nearly clogging up his throat with hope. “D’you mean it? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better.”

“Really,” she promises, her nod serious and officious as any she might give Little Ryuu. “There’s a thread, right around the middle. Green. Just like mine.”

“Oh.” His own hands raise, leather muting the feel of her skin, but-- Master always told him about the red thread that bound him and Miss together, that drew them toward their fated meeting, but this-- Obi will take this too. “Thank you, Miss.”

She smiles, eyes shining bright in the lamplight. “No, Obi, it’s my pleasure.”

Not much different between green and red to him, anyway.

#obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #my fic #ans #this request has been sitting in my box since 2017 #when i FIRST started joking about this au #and i always meant to get around to it #but obviously my last few years have been filled with some things that have perhaps kept me #from being able to do all the things I meant to 🤣#but once Anne brought this up again #I knew i had a very good excuse to finally get this thing out in the world #AND HERE IT IS #it takes place some amount of time after the current arc

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ryuu-to-sobakasu-hime · 3 years ago

Text

Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime (Belle) Novel | English Translation | Chapter 3

**This is a machine translation. I put it together by extracting text page-by-page from a .pdf version of the Japanese novel, and running it through Google translate. I have only minorly edited some of the more confusing lines to make it more read-able. It is still a very rough translation, but it’s good enough to understand what’s going on. If there is anyone out there who wants to properly translate the novel, I am more than happy to edit it, if you’ll contact me.**

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Chapter 3: Memory

"Mother."

"What is it, Suzu?"

When I called, my mother turned around and replied.

Eleven years ago. The house was still new. There was no garage yet, and potted flowers were lined up all over the garden. "Do not cut my hair."

I told her that and ran down the slope in front of my house. Mom walked down the stairs opposite her, resting her hand on her waist and waiting. I ran away in the opposite direction, bouncing, saying that I would never let my hair be cut. But I was taken back without a hitch. She was seated on a bench in the garden and dressed in a haircut cape. “I’m going to make you look cute, Suzu.” After cutting my hair, I don't like the tingling of my hair. She shook her legs and sharpened her lips. But when she held the scissors without hesitation, she cut my hair all at once. "Because you’re going to be an elementary school student," I hope the hair on both sides doesn't stick to my shoulders. The bangs were far above the eyebrows. Even when I went to school, my neck was tingling for a while.

I played a lot with my mother. I took a sumo wrestling on the lawn of the riverbed in the evening. I pushed her by force and my mother rolled on the grass. I won, I laughed happily. Mother also laughed. I asked why? Won’t she cry if she loses? Mom shook her head. “I'm glad that the weak Suzu has become stronger.” Dad was laughing while lying on the grass. My mother often made salted seared meat. She lightly sprinkles salt and roasts the bonito stabbed on a gold skewer from her lenticel over an open flame on the stove. I was staring from the top of the chair. Since the fat drips, the microwave oven will not get dirty if you bake it while sucking it with cooking paper. When it gets burnt, dip it in ice water to cool it, and then drain it. It was a style. So as a kid, I had a hard time holding a thick piece of salted meat with chopsticks, and I had a hard time putting it in my mouth. Mom was waiting for dad's return, holding a mug and watching my struggle.

My dad was a salaryman at that time, and he wore a tie and went out to the city every day. Perhaps because of that, we had some money in our house in the old days. Mother bought a state-of-the-art smartphone at the time. I decided to try out the performance of the on-board camera, and on dad's lap, I pointed my smartphone at my mom. I asked dad to help put mom in the frame and pressed the shutter. She is dressed in white.

The smiling mother, she was beautiful. The photo of her was printed on paper and is still at the house. I was a cheerful child running around, unlike now. I definitely liked playing outside rather than inside the house. If there were trees, I climbed, if there were leaves, I tore them, and if there were insects, I chased them. But it didn't burn in the sun. I must have been such a constitution. Instead, my face is freckled.

I was often injured. My knee was also full of scratches. In the woods, on the riverbed, on the slope in front of my house, I often stumbled and fell. My mother ran up in a hurry and she hugged me tightly, crying in pain. Mysteriously, it hurts somewhere. That's when I was happy. I don't know how many times I fell because I ran around vigorously and wanted mother to hug me. Every time mother rushed in as if it was a big deal for her daughter and worried. Every day was like summer vacation. I clung to mother doing the laundry and cleaning and played. After lunch, she opened the tatami mat, laid a summer futon on the tatami mats, and we took a nap together. The smoke of the mosquito coil was rising slowly. When I woke up, most of the time, I couldn't see my mother sleeping next to me, and she was busy doing housework. In retrospect, she never been told me that she is busy. She was always with me when I asked for it. Since my house was in the mountains, I rarely went out to eat somewhere, and instead my mother cooked any kind of food. One day she saw it in a picture book, and she said she wanted to eat yakitori. She had never eaten it before. My mother made yakitori by sticking chicken on skewers one by one. For the first time in my life, I saw yakitori with the naked eye. I didn't know how to eat it, so I couldn't do well by chewing the meat and removing it from the skewers. Dad and mom were staring at me. Never missing what her daughter experiences for the first time in her life. The place where we, who live in the mountains, go out to play is not an amusement park or a shopping mall, but a campsite further in the mountains from our house.

On a sunny summer day, my mom and I wore a wide-brimmed hat and crossed the subsidence bridge. Dad was carrying a lot of camping equipment. The water crystal pool in the depths of the Yasui Valley was a breathtaking blue color even for us living in the area. The water is so transparent that you can clearly see your shadow on the bottom of the river. I feel a little scared as if I were floating in the air. My mother was an advanced swimmer. She boasted that her mother, who was once a local kid, swam like a kappa every day in the summer. She knew all about the fun of the river. At the same time, she never let her swim in dangerous places on dangerous days. Mom wraps around me, floating. She dived into the water to show her off her skills. Still picked up by her, I became anxious and called out. “Mom, don't go.” But mom, she swam in the blue water, as if she couldn't hear me.

One evening, I was playing with my mother's smartphone and saw a strange app. I put it on. When you launch the app, you'll see white and black horizontal stripes lined up. I pointed to what this was and asked my dad who was next to me. Dad looked it and twisted his neck, calling mother, who was preparing dinner. After dinner, mother's hand fixed the smartphone I was holding vertically. I laid it down and found it to be a piano keyboard. As prompted, I pressed one of the keys. There was a "do" sound. I looked at my mother's face. My mother also saw my face, saying that she had come out. It's mom’s music production app. Only then did I look around my mother's room and notice. Old records, cassette tapes, and CDs are lined up on the shelves to the end. And if you set them on a record player or cassette deck and pass them through an amplifier, music will be played from the left and right speakers. The collection was a brilliant one that accurately captured the main points of the history of classical, jazz and rock. I didn’t know at the time, the value and meaning of such a lineup being packed in a room at the end of the world.

In that room, I pressed the keys of the app one after another and recorded. When played, each sound sounds in the order in which they are arranged. Even if you enter an insane scale, it will play back in a lawful manner. I was so happy that I bounced on my chair. My mother was laughing too. Warm incandescent light was illuminating us. After that, I was crazy about this app. I had my mother lend me a smartphone and I was playing around with it day, night and morning. The operation was intuitive and easy to use. There were words that I couldn’t read because it wasn’t a children's app. And there were many functions I didn't understand. But I was absorbed in that kind of thing. I was completely absorbed in the exciting new experience of writing songs. I composed a number of songs and previewed them in front of my mother. The mother who finished listening gave me advice in short words each time. If you do xxx, it will be better, or the trick is to do xxx. She sometimes took out some of the records in the collection and listened to them for reference. My mother is neither a musician nor a composer.

I think each piece of advice is accurate even if I look back on it now. Over and over again, she listened to my melody, and she said she noticed something, and she sang herself to make sure it was. When I asked, she said it wasn't bad. She said she was smirking at me as she said. I put the sound in a place that I wouldn't normally put it. I'm sure this song was a failure, and all the work I've done so far will be ruined. But as it gradually takes shape, it seems strangely cohesive, she said. I felt as happy as I wanted to. I'm sure it's my parents' favor, but even if my mother added, I was happy. For me, I'm not making it with the intention of letting someone else listen to it. It would have been nice if only my mother could listen to it. My mother sings along with the song I typed in. Take the tempo with her right hand and sing gently. The voice of mother, who was also a member of the chorus made by her friends, echoed and was transparent.

She listened to my weird songs many times. I was happy and sang along with it. Anyway, it’s a song that is as nice as my mother.

I couldn't. Happy memories of me and mother suddenly end here. And that August has come. After this, all I have is a painful, painful memory. The voice of a little girl crying and crying echoed in the riverbank. A girl was left alone on a sandbar. Is she 4 or 5 years old? She looked smaller than I was. It was so sunny just a while ago, but I noticed it wasn't a blue sky, and it was covered with overcast clouds. The beautiful and calm river was cloudy, flooded, driftwood-filled, and surprisingly fast. I can imagine that it is raining heavily upstream. Before this happened, there were people happily making noise on the opposite bank when the flow was still transparent. They are now staring at the girl on this shore. She wore colorful outdoor clothing that made it easy to see that she probably came from the city, not a local. The girls' clothes were also bright colors that I had never seen. Why did people from the city overlook the girls' flashy colored clothes? Why did she forget her existence and she came back to this shore? What to do with friends, their families, and those who enjoyed fishing and canoeing on the riverbanks.

It seemed that she couldn't do anything, and she had no choice but to stand and look like a stick. It's no wonder you're standing. The violent flow of the river separated the girl from the people. Everyone realized that it couldn't be helped. One of the adults was talking to someone on his cell phone. However, everyone can see that where the girl is, is gradually narrowing. Everyone is aware that it is very unlikely that the rescue team will arrive in time. Therefore, I have no choice but to stand up without being able to do anything. Is it just listening to the girl's crying as it is? At that time, someone picked up the red life jacket beside the canoe.

I went forward while staring at the girl. She was a mother. Mommy, and I hurriedly clung to the hem of her mother's clothes. She realized that what her mother was trying to do was too dangerous. She wouldn't have been anxious. She screamed and pulled hard, trying not to let her go. Mom crouched down and squeezed my hand, and she told me something. At that time I can't remember what mother said. Maybe I was screaming and not ready to hear the words. Mom stood up to shake off my chasing and ran, locking the buckle on her life jacket. I fell down on a stone in the riverbank trying to chase her. Still, I got up and shouted at mother's back. Don't go. I think mom didn’t hear my words. While checking the girl's whereabouts, I went around the river, went into the water, and got in the stream to help. It started to rain.

How long has it passed since then? Suddenly the surroundings became noisy. The girl was rescued from the river. Adults are pulling the soaked and tired girl out of the river. I was staring at while getting wet in the rain. People running up. A mixture of joyful voices and crying voices. Are you okay? Open your eyes. I'm glad I was saved ... The girl was wearing the same red life jacket that her mother wore. At that moment, I understood at once what was happening. Mom isn’t here.

"Mother ..... Mother .....!"

I looked left and right, searching for her.

Not anywhere.

"Mother ...!"

In the distance, I heard an ambulance siren. The girl was wrapped in a blanket.

Carried by many adults, she leaves the riverbank. Everyone is crazy about it and realizes that my mom isn't there.

She isn't.

"Mom!" Only I raised my voice and kept calling. Many times. Many times. Many times. I don't remember much after that. When I heard that my mother was found all the way down the river, it seemed like a lie. It wasn't long before I realized that the mug that mother was using was missing. Dad put a picture of mother, which he took someday, in a picture frame and put it in a corner of the kitchen. He had to add flowers every day next to it. Neighbors bothered to talk to me every time I met them on the road, listened to me in a friendly way, and encouraged me with tears. Meanwhile, the Internet was flooded with anonymous posts about the accident.

"It's a suicide act to jump into a river flooded by rain"

"It seems that she was confident in swimming, but it's different from the pool."

《It is irresponsible for my child to help someone else's child and die》

《If there is an accident, playing in the river will be a nuisance and annoying》

《Because helping people is a good person, this is what happens》

The person who wrote it probably didn't know anything about the actual situation, and the day after he wrote it, he probably forgot what he wrote. However, the person who wrote it keeps sticking in my chest forever. Immediately after the accident, an acquaintance told me with resentment that it was terrible when I saw this. In front of these words, I was too young to understand all the meanings. However, as I grew up and became able to understand the meaning of the words accurately, I continued to suffer from the unconscious malice contained in them. Losing mother.

How should I pass on these writings as a bereaved family, even though I still can't accept them, as if the mother who helped me was all bad?

Aside from me, my mother just smiled in the picture frame in the kitchen. From that accident, I think something has changed decisively from what I used to be. One evening, in mother's room, where dust began to build up, I stood on her chair, hoping to return to her happy memories. And I sang the song I sang with mother. But when I started singing, I realized I couldn't sing at all. My voice became stuck in the back of my throat and couldn't get out of my mouth. I was confused. Something in my heart was suppressing me from singing. Why can't I sing? Tears came out.

Hey mom. Why can't I sing?

It was clear that the reason why singing was so fun and necessary was because my mother listened to it.

However, just because you can't sing... You don't have to worry about anything. Even if you can't sing, no one will blame you. Life just goes on. I went to a local junior high school. The jumper skirt uniform was stuffy. Many of the elementary school classmates went to the town as they went on to school, and there were not half of the students remaining in the local area, so even in junior high school, it became a compound class. Therefore, the chorus practice was accompanied by the vice-principal teacher, and it was decided to sing in all grades. There were three people in all grades. Because there were only three people, I quickly realized that I was just lip-synching without singing. I was asked why I didn't sing, but I didn't say anything. I thought they would get angry, but they didn't get angry. It means that only I can visit from the next practice.

I sat alone in a corner of the music class and watched everyone practice. I may have looked like a lethargic girl who was just silent. But inside that, there are things that can't be translated into words.

I think it was swirling. When I left school and returned home, I irresistibly entered mother's room in the twilight. The twilight light was shining through the window. Cardboard boxes containing tableware and seasonal home appliances that are no longer in use are piled up on the table. It was completely turned into a storeroom. It's been many years since then. It has passed. I listened to the large number of records there, one by one from the edge of the shelf. Days, days, days. By listening earnestly, I managed to calm my rough feelings. But one day, there was a moment when I thought I couldn't bear it anymore. Upon returning, I entered my mother's room, sat down in front of the keyboard, quickly opened the report sheet, and began to write fiercely with a pen to spit out the incomprehensible feelings in my chest. I was almost suffocating if I didn't spit it out. I turned over the paper and continued to write forever. -Why did mother leave me in the river? Why did she choose to help the child who she didn't even know her name rather than live with me? Why am I alone? Why, why, why – I added paper, supplemented with post-it notes, and wrote long, long lyrics. The scale that springs up is notated long and long. Those that were neither were spit out as pictures. It was a swirl of many kinds. It was like a whirlpool floating on the surface, like a black hole that swallowed everything, and like a hole in the top of my head. The floor of the room was filled with pieces of paper with a mixture of lyrics, pictures and sheet music. But suddenly..... I returned to myself and stopped writing. Right now, I've noticed the worthlessness, meaninglessness, ugliness, and helplessness of the words, pictures, and scales I wrote.

What are you doing? I broke the paper. Everything I've written so far.

I threw it in the trash can without hesitation. The bundle of paper looked like a vomit that I had just spit out. Then I became a high school student.

I finally found myself worthless. The uniform tie was stuffy. I crossed the subsidence bridge while looking down and went to school. I took an exam and passed the exam at a junior and senior high school in the center of the city, and transferred from high school. There, I met my childhood friend Shinobu-kun again.

"Shizu.."

"Shinobu-kun ..."

Now that I was in high school, Shinobu-kun looked tall and shining, all different. On the other hand, I didn't seem to have grown at all since then, and I was irresistibly embarrassed and couldn't even talk. What have I been doing so far? I started a new life going to the city from the mountains, but I couldn't get into studying. Even though I had a hard time taking the exam, I just looked out the window during class. Knowing that this shouldn't be the case. Club activities didn't go anywhere. There were very few such students. On the way home, you can see the students devoting themselves to club activities. The track and field club is jumping the training hurdle in a line in the courtyard. The volleyball club is running on the ground. A percussionist in the brass band with a metronome in his ear is striking a stick in the hallway. The Naginata club sits upright in the martial arts hall with a good posture, and thank you for your cooperation, saying before the practice. The first-year students of the baseball club, who have not yet been numbered, stand side by side and watch as if they are digging into the practice of their seniors. I didn't belong anywhere, so I left school quickly. It was already winter. There is a river called Kagami River that flows from east to west in the center of the city. Since the flow is often gentle, the TV tower and buildings on the opposite bank are reflected like a mirror. When I returned to the station through the road beside it, the girls of the light music club carrying the "Chahahaha" musical instrument case overtook me with a light step while laughing. A cute cat-shaped stuffed animal attached to the school bag is shaking. Attached to my school bag was a cheesy plastic plate of "Gutto Koremaru". "Gutto Koremaru" is an egg-shaped character who can poke his hand against the wall and endure the pain. I have a crack in my head, probably because I endured it too much. Of course, it's not cute.

In a dark and narrow corridor.

I resisted, "I can't do it! Hey!", But I was pulled into the room, saying "OK." The soundproof door slammed behind me. Shinboku "Ah!" There was a flashy room in a karaoke box, and the pink and purple lights were spinning mysteriously. It smells of incense. Only for girls in the class.

I heard that it was a social gathering, but when I saw the frenzy of the girls standing on the sofa and shaking their heads, I thought that I could not get into this tension very much.

"Peggie Sue is cute"

"This is the one that is popular in" U ", isn't it?" On the monitor screen on the wall, the popular Az of "U", Peggy Sue, was seen singing in a black rubber dress. Purple lipstick that shakes silver hair. An eccentric beauty with red eyes. Peggy Sue? "U"? Az? Is it popular? I don't know anything. It's like an event in a different world from me. Then, Hitomi suddenly offered a microphone, "Yes." Sing, and so on. "Huh?" Puzzled. Neither the coat nor the muffler is taken off. But "yes" the microphone was pointed again. Why for a child like me who is at the end of a class?

"Sing together?"

"Hey, sing."

The shadows of the girls press the microphones. What do you mean?

"Are you not going to sing alone?"

"Isn't it a lie that you can't sing?"

I see, so it’s this situation.

Dozens of microphones are forced against my face one after another. "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

"Sing"

"Hey, sing?"

"Sing"

Those voices sound like a threat.

"You're telling me to sing."

"Sing!"

Ahh!

Immediately, the microphone popped off and fell to the floor.

The girls dancing on the sofa suddenly saw me. It's calming down as if I was taken aback.

"What happened? Suzu-chan"

The mic and the shadows of the girls disappeared like a phantom.

"No, nothing. I'm sorry. Hey ..."

Without saying anything, I pushed the door of the karaoke box open by force and went out like crawling. Someone might have heard and told everyone that I couldn't sing.

When I got off the bus, powder snow was flying. I almost slipped down the slope from the bus stop. Even in Kochi, it usually snows in the mountains, aside from the city. When I crossed the subsidence bridge, I heard a crackling sound of thin ice. The surface of the concrete bridge is frozen.

Cold. It's not dexterous enough to get used to everyone, and it's not divisible. On the other hand, I’m not strong enough to be alone, not prepared, and have no idea.

I don't do anything selfish. Rumors that you can't sing, that's a lie. I'm just not confident in myself for a while. I want to get along with everyone. Really. I know. Of course I know. So "Ah ... Ah ..."

In the middle of the bridge, I impulsively exhaled my voice.

"Ah ... ah ... ah ah"

As I breathed in, cold air sank into my throat. Still, I sang towards the river. "Ah..”

Did I sing? It didn't match a song. It's just a growl. The bag slipped off my shoulder. Will you forgive me if I sing? Can I get along with everyone if I sing? It doesn't help to sing alone in such a place. It's like a scream of a dead end before being crushed. Still, I sang that song with my mother with a squeezed voice. I was happy back then. It's different now. Powder snow was swirling in the flow of the river. Suddenly, in front of me it became pitch black. Nausea swelled from the back of my stomach, and I held my mouth with both hands.

"Uuuuu!"

I crouched on my knees. However, I couldn't stand the momentum of the backflowing gastric juice. I pushed my body forward and vomited towards the clear stream under the bridge. The vomit that was about to kneel and vomit fell to the surface of the water, creating a number of ripples. I spit out everything in my stomach and fell on the bridge. My hair is messed up and my mouth is smeared with gastric juice and smells. It's already spicy. I want to get rid of everything. Shivering and crying as if groaning. Drops of tears ooze on my cold cheeks and tingle. I wish I were gone.

I could hear the slight sound of powder snow folding and piled up right next to me. A notification came to the smartphone that slipped off my bag. It was a message from Hiro-chan.

<< Look at this, Suzu. It’s so amazing that I’m seriously laughing. >>

There is a link to somewhere.

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

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dcx2NedPVBEdbfQaU-WC0pJMRmn20ASn7HSC0KY9R7E/edit?usp=sharing ~ Google Doc of the English-translated novel.

ryuutosobakasuhime.wordpress.com ~ English fan-site for Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime where translations, scans, and other content is posted.

#belle #belle movie #ryuu to sobakasu no hime #ryu to sobakasu no hime #ryu #ryuu #studio chizu #mamoru hosoda #竜とそばかすの姫 #belle 2021 #hime

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innovativestruggles · 3 years ago

Note

Gotta space the talk about nagahaul ship so that we dont talk about the same thing often yeah. How about AUs?

Have you heard of spy x family? Spy dad hitman mom i think it fits them to be either. Steampunk AU where lady nagant can gun/firearms and overhaul is a mechanic. Ooh how about koe no katachi/a silent voice AU? Oh wait you probably didnt watch it.

Haha i do wonder what AUs you have of them in mind but i like to imagine them in various matching themed clothes more. Yknow like pajamas, party garb, and white.

Heya lovely! 💞

Oh totally agree. We definitely need to keep the sniperhaul thing going, but in a manner that changes things up a bit 😀

Ohh no I haven't heard of spy x family but I have seen a silent voice! Mmmm ... do you mean sniperhaul as the main character of silent voice or...?

Hmm...I actually haven't thought much of an AU...now you got me super interested. If I have to think of one........ BALANCE UNLIMITED ! But get this, overhaul can play suzue kambe character (the supporting role) and our girlboss nagant can take daisuke kambe's role. I LOVE THIS! What do you think?? Omg hahaha... OR OR have you seen fairy tail? Nagant can totally be the dominating one like ezra and support role overhaul can be like jellal. HAHAHA

Idk why but I have this HC of them as high school AU. Overhaul being the little shit he is and picking fights as per usual and just hating everyone, and then this fierce but sweet girl comes along (nagant) and legit the only one overhaul would listen to (and be remotely nice to) would be her. And also everyone would be scared of overhaul b/c of his quirk but he would be surprised that nagant isn't afraid of him and this really piques his interest in her. zomg I have so many HC for these two but in the MHA universe.

I mean, I do love the whole guy is antisocial and is disliked my everyone AU as well, but then a nice girl comes along and puts him in his place and he totally falls for her. I can see some angst with this 👀

I'll try and see if I can come up with other AU but I'm the type to veer towards more HC. But great that you prompted me to think outside the box hehe

#i miss these two sm #i haven't heard much from them #and also i've been so absent from anime in the past 3-4 months #i'm also so sorry it's taken me so long to reply to your messages/asks #i'm trying to find more time to be online and engaged with tumblr and anime #but i have the time management of a carrot so....#anyways keep prompting me i will always reply and together we can keep the ship going hehe #i'm keenly awaiting for them to be animated yaaasss #sniperhaul #overhaul #chisaki kai #tsutsumi kaina #mha #ask

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arata-is-a-dunce · 4 years ago

Text

The Kanoichi Clan

*This will be long, but bare with me. Please note that this is all speculation and not concrete.*

I have been thinking about this clan. But specifically on one bitch.

Kanoichi Satoru’s deadbeat dad. (I don’t really like the man. And this will be more bashing on the man because of what he did to Satoru.)

Is this man even alive? Don’t know but for now, let’s say yes.

I will focus on Kanoichi-san and his son.

For the rest of this thing, I will call the father “Kanoichi-san” and Satoru “Satoru” or “Kanoichi-kun.”

I am not apologizing for anything that might make one mad and I don’t condone what Satoru did in his introduction. This is to look at the characters on a deeper level.

Anyway, without further ado

This bitch would have allowed his son to be permanently disfigured (at worst, killed) for the house god beside him.

So, exactly what would his reaction be to our main character?

Let’s get a little deeper with this.

According to Satoru, his father had never been like this before. He would never have sacrificed his son for anything. But let’s let it be known that children never know their parents’ true colors until later.

Could it be that Satoru’s father had always been like this, and this incident revealed that to Satoru? Kanoichi-san probably didn’t care much about his son, seeing him as nothing but a tool that can be replaced. He can make more children if Satoru was to die, as stated in these panels.

“Unfortunately, that boy cannot be used as a threat. I can always make another child after all.”

“His eyes . . . His heart . . . Go ahead and gouge them out.”

This fucker, didn’t see Satoru as his son in this moment. “That boy” instead of “my son” or “Satoru” as in Japanese they don’t really have “he/her” pronouns. (Or is it just “you” that they don’t have a word for?)

Anyway. He didn’t care.

Satoru believes that his father would never have done that if it hadn’t been for the Another.

If it had been a different situation, I do believe Kanoichi-san wouldn’t have cared either way. He would have allowed the perpetrator to kill Satoru at any point no matter the situation.

Kanoichi-san probably never cared for his family and Satoru is finally seeing it, but the situation warped his way of thinking. Instead of finding blame in his father’s actions (or lack thereof), he placed the blame on the Another who is protecting them (I think this is how that works, correct me if I am wrong). The Another is there to help prosper the family and home, keeping it safe.

In the anime, during this flashback, Akane was saying how she’s gotten to understand Suzu (the mansion god) a lot better since Arata had come by. She compares Arata to Kanoichi-san:

“Everytime I see how Miyako-san acts with Anothers, I remember my uncle . . . your father. He was friends with Anothers. He was Suzu-sama’s best friend.”

(We also get his face here instead of the manga. Strange. They might have pulled things from the latest volumes.)

(The man would probably be in his late 50s-late 60s now depending on how old he was when he had Satoru. And he would probably not look a day over 40. Here he does look well into his early 30s but it’s difficult to tell.)

In this scene, Satoru and Akane spoke in a way that it came across that Satoru’s father (Akane’s uncle) has passed away.

As noted by Akane saying “[he] was Suzu-sama’s best friend.”

In the manga, the wording is a little different.

“He was even getting along with the mansion god . . .”

“The mansion god” is used instead of “Suzu-sama.”

A little odd on why the anime added more to the elevator scene and changed up Akane and her relationship with the Zashiki-warashi. (Unless that’ll be something later down the road in the series and they just pulled it towards the beginning.)

Again note the change in wording. Here she says

“It reminds you of . . . your father.”

Not whatever she said in the anime. Not the “I remember . . .” but the “It reminds you . . . ”

This makes it a bit more meaningful. Allows us to see a different side. Everytime Satoru sees Arata acting in such a way, he’s thinking of his father. He’s remembering his trauma and what had led up to it, the why he has a scar in the first place.

There’s also this tidbit in the same page:

“Do you leave it there just to spite him?”

Satoru still keeps the scar to spite his father and the clan. And Satoru has made it clear to the audience the only reason he hasn’t given up his family name and turned his back on the clan is because Akane is still there.

So, these are giving mix signals. Is Kanoichi-san still alive or has he passed and Kanoichi-kun is trying to hold onto something as a reminder?

Kanoichi-san is . . . something.

I doubt he’s ever been a good father. He is probably one of those fathers that choose their obsesssion (work or hobby or something) over their own family.

The Zarashiki-warashi is the reason they are prospering. As stated by Satoru here:

You can see his anger but also the fear that he probably still holds.

He doesn’t see the worth in being a sacrifice for prosperity. And I don’t see it either. It isn’t worth sacrificing your child to live a prosperous life unless you’re a greedy person.

And he doesn’t trust Arata because he fears that he will sacrifice a human if it meant appealing to Anothers. He doesn’t have a reason to trust Arata either. He doesn’t know him other than as a new face in the work—naive and ignorant and fully willing to be all buddy-buddy with the beings that messed his life up.

So Kanoichi-san is a person willing to sacrifice his own child for the sake of keeping an Another safe. What’s not to stop him from sacrificing something or someone else for something even smaller?

This will now go into my theory of how Kanoichi-san will react to Miyako Arata. You can skip straight to the comments to rebuttal me.

If anything Kanoichi-san probably has an obsession with Anothers (not like Saejima). It’s toned down, nonchalant with the need to know, to find out. He is patient and does not rush, calm and cautious with his movements.

(I’m trying to think of an anime villain. Probably Aizen from Bleach? Dude planned for hundreds of years and experimented and got things done without rushing and it bore fruit.)

So say, Kanoichi-san is all the willing to watch the pieces on a chessboard fall, being careful in his movements and will take out and sacrifice anything along the way. (I’m not a chess player so this metaphor probably doesn’t make sense but pretend it does)

All of a sudden, some kid comes out of nowhere being able to speak to these creatures that have always fascinated him. This kid can understand them and learn from the creatures than whatever theories the humans make up. He would probably watch carefully from the shadows to see what he kind of information could extract before striking.

Arata is a fascinating character to the outside world. He is descended from a great onmyōji and has this man’s rare ability. So, now, he’s also fascinated by this human.

Patience can always wear thin and break.

Since he would give up his own son to protect an Another. What lengths would he go to get this human with the ability to speak to them on his side?

They are of a prominent clan, so they would be rich. Money could go a long way. Money could sway others where it won’t sway some.

He could most likely get away with kidnapping, yes?

But that’s a thought for another time.

Kanoichi-san gives off these little vibes of an antagonist who’s willing to wait in the weeds for the right opportunity. He will probably resort in taking Arata if it means helping him get close to Anothers. (Trying to think of character who betrayed mc after “teaching” them. Can’t think of anyone atm. Anyone know of anyone?)

(Wait, Kray to Galo. Even if he wasn’t really a teacher nor liked Galo.)

If Kanoichi-san is to cross paths with Arata, then I fear for the redhead. He will probably not see anything wrong with talking about Anothers with someone willing to listen after having been brushed off (maybe a little iffy cause dude bro is sketchy and related to trigger-happy Satoru). Because of this, he doesn’t really delve into weaknesses since he doesn’t really know them. He keeps important information to himself.

Despite being a patient person, Kanoichi-san finally allows himself to move.

Then, well, RIP Arata I guess.

Of course, this is all speculation. Except for the Satoru’s part because wow, he got the short end of the stick. I do feel bad for him, but I don’t condone his burning of babies.

Same with Sakaki Kyouichi, don’t condone him at all in the Hell Arc. I will get into that another time.

I bid you farewell with a soft Satoru. Look at him, baby.

#mayonaka no occult koumuin #midnight occult civil servants #kanoichi akane #kanoichi satoru #kanoichi clan #kanoichi-san #mnok manga spoilers #mnok headcannons #mnok theories #is this a character study?#miyako arata #ears of sand #mnok anime spoilers

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fckyeahdaisukekambe · 5 years ago

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Omg thanks for your translations and general content you’ve been making for the fandom! Seeing your enthusiasm gets me excited too and really brightens my mood! Just curious what your overall thoughts are on the novel? Have you finished reading all of it? Things you hope the anime will change and things you hope they keep? Hope you are staying safe as much as you are able and thanks again for your contributions to the fandom!

thank you so much too! 💖💖💖

Thoughts in the novel is it was written more than 40 years ago during Japan's Showa era (yes, the novel is quite old!) so I could imagine, no cellphones or high tech gadgets but how can you solve cases in those times if you have unlimited amount of money? This masterpiece moves my imagination, and very interesting. My dad actually loves the novel and when I asked if this has a sequel, he said no. Although, I have finished reading the novel, it's actually quite a challenge to translate because this is NO modern Japanese. like there are Showa era jokes that I don't think the younger Japanese wouldn't really appreciate now but overall, the cases gets really exciting and I can't wait to share with you guys what will happen next! (but I do upload late because i'm busy with adulting stuffs and Animal Crossing arghhhhh)

With the anime, I'm actually pretty satisfied! Because if they'll go with the novel, Daisuke and Suzue might *gulps* be in a relationship. I'm already happy simping them as siblings lol. and also, there is no Haru Kato in the novel~ the anime really modernized their take in this classic and they touch the common cases we have today like drugs and terrorism and I really look forward how will Daisuke and Haru's relationship as partners will blooooom.

anyway, i'm safe where i am and i hope you are safe where you are too 💖💖💖

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pikapikaprecure · 6 years ago

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Pikapika☆Precure Under The Big Top episode 5- Pretty Cure Sleepover! Robot fight at 3 a.m?

Finally, it was last period. Even better, Friday. Just five more minutes...

four...

three...

two...

one...

zero! Suzume walked out the door and made her way to her house, Emica running as fast as she could way ahead of her. By the time Suzume got to the front porch, Emica was waiting there for at least two minutes. “Hey Suzu! guess what?”

"What?” Suzume sighed and started to unlock the door.

“I asked Mom and Dad if I could invite some friends over while you were at the rink, and they said yes!”

“Which friends?”

“Well, I only have two options, Noa and Kaede. I asked both of them.”

"You have to have more than two friends.”

“Nope!” Emica made a childish smile. “Anyway, Noa said we could have a sleepover and everyone else said that was okay! Mom and Dad also said you can invite some of your friends too!”

"Okay, I guess.” Suzume made her way upstairs while Emica sat down on the couch. Once she was in, she took Ellie off her bag and told her, “You can talk now.”

“Finally.” Ellie said, shifting out of her keychain form and stretching her limbs. “What’s all this I hear about a sleepover?”

“Oh yeah, Emica’s having a sleepover, apparently I can invite people too.”

“You should invite the other Cures. It’s important for you guys to stay together.”

“You do realize I have other friends, right?”

“Come on, Suzume, what if another robot attacks you? I’ll invite Stripe and Whisker too.”

“You are the tiny floating elephant version of an overprotective mom.”

“I know.”

Suzume took out her phone and called Airi, as she still hasn’t gotten Aina’s number. Airi picked up rather quickly. “Yeah, hey.”

“Hey Airi! I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night at my place?”

“Really? We barely know each other.”

“Well I can invite whoever I want, and Ell-”

“I’m on speaker.”

“Well, you know, she is super cautious and overprotective, so she wants me to invite you and Aina.”

“What about Noa?”

“Emica invited her.”

“Oh, alright. I’ll tell my parents. When should I come?”

“Don’t care. Maybe come soon, we could do some homework together.”

“Alright, see you!” Airi then hung up.

“Okay, Ellie, why don’t you get the other fairies?” Suzume turned around.

“Okay, I guess.” Ellie answered, floating out the window literally moments before Emica walked in. “Hey Suzu! Who’d you invite?”

“Oh, I invited Airi and I’m gonna invite Aina.”

“Are they like, your only friends all of a sudden?”

Suzume wasn’t quite sure how to answer without giving away her secret. Luckily, the doorbell rang. The sisters went downstairs to answer it. It was Kaede, with a giant bag that was filled with what Suzume thought was probably a mix of homework, pillows, and a bunch of toys, probably Precure related.

“Kaede!” Emica cheered. “Suzu, I call our room!” She ran upstairs, Kaede following, though much slower.

Suzume played on her phone for the next few minutes, but soon enough she heard the doorbell ring. She went to answer it. Aina had arrived, as well as the three fairies. “I did’t call you yet, Aina...”

“Oh, the fairies stopped by.” Aina answered. She pet Stripe, then walked inside.

Eventually, Airi and Noa also came. Once they all finished up their homework, Suzume, Airi, and Aina went into the living room to situate themselves. Noa also followed, despite being invited by Emica.

Emica and Kaede went upstairs. Kaede, sat down on Emica’s bed. “You know what’s up with your sister lately? She’s never hung out with anyone as much as she’s hanging out with Airi and Noa and Aina. They’re always doing something.”

“I know, it’s so weird.” Emica responded. “She rarely even hangs out with me anymore.”

Meanwhile, the Cures began to unpack their bags. Noa seemed to be very secretive about the contents of hers, and Aina noticed. “Noa, is something up?”

“No...”

“You sure?”

“Yeah...”

“What’s in that bag?”

“Nothing. I swear.”

“I’m pretty good with telling these things. Come on Noa, we won’t tease you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Me too!” Aina added.

“I guess I won’t either then.” Suzume said as she fixed her ponytail.

“Okay, fine.” Noa took a doll with pale white skin, dark brown hair in ringlets, big blue painted on eyes, and a knee-length white dress with ruffles and pink bows out of her bag. “This is Bell-chan, I’ve had her since I was three. Please don’t think I’m weird or childish for playing with dolls.”

“It’s not weird at all!” Airi said. “I still sleep with a teddy bear.” she added, gesturing to the stuffed bear on her pillow.”

“Can I do her hair?” Ellie asked.

“Of course!” Noa answered. “Be very careful, though.”

Ellie began to braid Bell-chan’s hair when all of a sudden, footsteps could be heard. All three fairies quickly turned into keychains.

Emica and Kaede marched down the stairs, holding replicas of the Bonheur Wand and Chanceux Sword, respectively. “I am sick and tired of being ignored!” Emica yelled, repeatedly beating the wand on her sister. “Viva la revolution!”

“The real thing hurts more.” Suzume responded, not getting slightly hurt.

“How would you know?”

“Just a guess.”

“Why are you all of a sudden hanging out with these girls though? You never hung out with them before.”

“I... I can’t tell you... uhhh, I don’t know.”

This made Emica really mad, hitting Suzume harder than she thought she could.

“Hey bitch, what was that for?”

“Gotta problem?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Fine, me and Kaede versus you and your new friends. Winner gets... uh... I’ll figure it out later. It’s on.”

“Deal.”

Aina, not wanting to see either party get mad, ripped the wand out of Emica’s hand. She twirled it and showed off the skill she got from fighting with the real thing regularly.

Neither of the sisters were remotely intimidated. They just went at each other directly, no weapons needed.

Airi, Noa, Aina, and Kaede knew that someone could get hurt, and tried their best to break up the fight. Suzume and Emica didn’t stop though, and the fight continued until everyone collapsed on the floor.

It was about 4 a.m. when Airi heard a little knock on one of the windows. She was a relatively light sleeper, and even the smallest noise could cause her to wake up.

She ran up to inspect, and she found a robot. “Goddammit,” she muttered. Just when she was about to wake up the others, another voice came from an open window. “Hello there...”

Airi turned around. It was Yukio, who was controlling the rest of the robots, slowly making them circle the house.

Airi quickly ran to Noa. “Noa! Noa! Noa!”

“What time is it?”

“Who the hell knows?”

“What do you want?”

“There’s an army of robots outside.”

“Okay...”

“Don’t you think we should get rid of them?”

“Ten minutes...”

“We can’t wait ten minutes, Noa.”

Aina, suddenly wide awake, turned to the pair. “Get up, Noa.”

“Fine...”

Now the girls had to wake up Suzume. If Airi was a light seeper, Suzume was the complete opposite. It might take more than 10 minutes to get her up. Unfortunately, there was no such time as more and more robots surrounded them. Of course, the girls had no idea, so they tried to get her up by shaking her, whispering in her ear, and turning on alarms. Eventually, Airi had enough.

“SUZUME!!!!!!! GET YOUR ASS UP BEFORE WE ALL DIE!!!!!!”

Suzume, eyes still closed, partially sat up. “What, Mom?”

Opening her eyes, she realized that the voice, in fact, belonged to Airi. “Oh, Airi, sorry. What?”

Airi said nothing, just pointed out the window. Suzume stumbled to the window, and muttered “Holy fuck, that’s a lot of robots.” under her breath.

“To the circus?” Noa proposed. The other girls nodded.

“I know a secret exit,” Suzume said. “Follow me.”

The girls made it to the circus, but the robots still managed to follow them. They came outside and silently agreed it was time to transform, and took out their Pikacompacts.

“Magic circus jubilee change!“

“Magic circus parade change!”

“Magic circus cheer change!”

“Magic circus carnival change!”

“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of beauty and grace! Cure Jubilee!”

“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of creativity and love! Cure Parade!”

“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of peace and hope! Cure Cheer!”

“For the happiness of the world! The Pretty Cure of bravery and friendship! Cure Carnival!“

The Cures all smiled and looked at each other before saying, “Together we are Pikapika☆Pretty Cure Under The Big Top!”

The girls began to prepare to fight the robots, but Cure Jubilee noticed something. “The fairies!”

"Go get them,” Carnival responded. I’ve got it for now.” Carnival aimed her two fists at two robots. Yukio, who was still controlling the robots, made them punch back. The metal hurt, but that didn’t stop Cure Carnival. “Bonheur Wand!” Carnival went back at them, hitting the robots with the sharp edges of her wand. Once the robots were clearly incapable of fighting, she moved on.

“Fêtê Ribbon!” Cure Cheer summoned her ribbon. “Pikapika golden tangle!” Cheer tied up five of the robots, then used the ribbon to push them into a nearby building.

Cure Jubilee was also nearby, now with the fairies. “I got them!” she called to Carnival, who was still hitting robots with her wand. Then she turned to another batch of robots. “Listen up, bitches.” she told them. “You really think you’re gonna win this? The Pretty Cures always win.” She jumped down from the roof she was hiding on and she hit a robot’s face. She turned to another, and kicked his face. She kicked the faces of a few more as well.

Cure Parade stood by. To her, it seemed that all the robots were being taken over by the other girls, and there wasn’t much she could do. Carnival noticed this. “Hey Parade, there’s one robot left, you know.”

She was right. If the Cures looked closer, there was one more robot under Yukio’s control. Since he was the last one left, all of Yukio’s power and energy was being put into this one robot, making him more powerful than all the others.

"You got this one!” Stripe whispered to Cure Parade.

“Are you sure?” Parade answered.

“Of course we are! This one is all yours.” Whisker told her.

Parade turned to the robot. “Chanceux Sword!”

She ran up to the robot, sword in hand. Parade lifted it it up, then carefully aimed it at the robot. Just a moment later, the robot had Parade by the neck, before she could even use the sword. Cure Parade kicked and kicked and kicked, before realizing this did nothing. “Wait a second!” She said to herself. The robot had her neck, her arms were still free. Parade could still stab the robot. She held the sword carefully, aimed, and when the robot wasn’t looking, she stabbed and broke him. Then she could finally break free and finish what the robots started.

"Félicité Bow!” Jubilee summoned her weapon, being the last Cure to do so. All the girls held their weapons in the air. “Pretty Cure Cirque Charge!” The girls then made their way back to the house and detransformed. It was only five in the morning, there was still time to get some sleep.

The next morning, Emica and Kaede woke up and grabbed some yogurt, but the Cures were obviously very tired. Suzume stumbled to the breakfast table and sat next to her sister. “Emica, I’m sorry.”

“Me too, Suzu.” Emica answered. “Could you try to spend more time with me though?”

“I’ll try.”

After breakfast, Emica sat down in her bed. I’ll try? Sure she will. Suzume and all her new friends were super tired in the morning. This doesn’t just happen normally.

Something fishy is definitely going on.

#precure fandom #precure oc #pretty cure fandom #pretty cure oc #precure fanseries #pretty cure #pikapika precure under the big top #precure #pretty cure fanseries #fancure

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theangry-ace · 6 years ago

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currently playing: Ken ga Kimi

update 5

time for our resident haraguro(?) boi, Sakyo. tbh I’m not looking forward for his route at all bc I am absolutely fucking scared of anything close to yan. my kokoro is not strong enough for them. but I do like Sakyo in the drama cds, especially the momoyo tsuzuri one. he’s like the most gentle boi with a tendency to tease Kayo or anyone else, whether or not that’s what he intended to do or not.

WARNING: THIS BOI BROKE ME PLS HELP

so our boi Sakyo has two kind of face; one, the ‘normal’, a bit formal and proper personality he showed to others. the other is the 100% enraged, I-will-kill-you-slowly-bc-I-wanna-enjoy-killing-you type of thing. he has a bit of an anger issue as well that he does exactly nothing to hide if ppl mentioned them. his purpose in life is only to exact the revenge of some oni who attacked and murdered his entire family. Sakyo mentioned in the common route that he didn’t trust (or don’t like) Enishi and Suzukake. I suppose he didn’t like ppl who didn’t seem to be dependable.

after the whole merry joyride to Sunpu, Sakyo went to some cave which was rumored to gather a heck load of oni trying to do... something? IDK. but they had already cleared the cave and was on the way to Edo. back in Edo, Kayo’s dad put up a banquet for the six samurai who had been protecting his precious baby girl but Sakyo didn’t manage to be present. he was instead busy in his pursuit for Zantetsu, one of the oni who killed entire family. but unfortunately, Sakyo walked right into a trap and was surrounded by oni and he got away with a terrible wound on his arm (I don’t remember which but he did say it’s no biggie bc he use his sword in another). it was night when Kayo saw Yanohiko, a neighboring kid, was wandering around saying he was getting some water for a wounded samurai. after Kayo realized it was Sakyo, she took him to her room and somehow managed to hide a whole person for a long time in her own fucking room without her dad even noticed!!! what the heck dad like i respect that u respect ur baby girl’s privacy but a wHOLE GROWN ASS PERSON!!! IN UR FUCKING HOUSE!!! FOR MANY DAYS!!!!

and so while living incognito in a girl’s room, Yanohiko came by as well to play with Sakyo. dude is actually not 24/7 angry or thinking about revenge. he is quite gentle with Yanohiko and taught the boy to write and play goma (spinning top?). there is one goddamn funny scene when Kayo’s dad suddenly wanna talk with her and there’s nowhere to hide Sakyo so she shoved him into her futon and get in with him with his goddamn face between her legs lol. STILL THE DAD DIDN’T FUCKING NOTICE???? welp. eventually Sakyo heard about Zantetsu going to enter the tourney that was going to take place and he took off without telling Kayo, leaving her having to lie to Yanohiko whenever the boy asked for him. she managed to find him later when he was trying to get his family’s treasured sword, Hotarumaru, to be fixed/sharpened by a famous fixer(?). he was refused, though, for obvious reason that Sakyo just wanted to kill with his sword.

Kayo shared this with Suzukake who had been supplying her with the medicine for Sakyo and my son said he, too, gonna join the tourney. so she and Suzukake went to the tourney together to see Sakyo. they heard about Zantetsu (lol Suzu called him ojisan) being a merciless opponent and got worried when later Sakyo was to fight him. Sakyo showed some... I think some kind of arrest warrant or written right for him to ask for a duel to the death, for killing his father, mother and elder sister?? or something?? but since Sakyo having his arm still injured and his sword not fixed, he lost the match terribly. Suzukake and Kayo wanna see him at the back room where he was taken but got refused bc Sakyo was ‘desecrating the holy tourney ground with his selfish need to exact his revenge’ or something. Sakyo was to be dumped into jail but Enishi came by and after some ‘talking’ (remember; he is actually some big shot in the Edo castle), he promised that he will make sure Sakyo will be taken care of and would not be in jail.

Kimi -nice end-

all thanks to strings pulled by Enishi, Sakyo is free from being jailed. he met Kayo to tell her everything about his tragic past. when he was a kid (8yo I think), he had a terrible fever and was bedridden. this coincidentally made him hidden from a murdering oni who came for the entire Sagihara family, who he explained was the descendant of those who forged the Five Heavenly Swords. I could not get why the Sagiharas were killed, but Sakyo survived thanks to his nurse maid and incidentally inherited his family’s heirloom, the Hotarumaru. from the age of 12, he strive to become a samurai and would eventually hunt every oni he could find, but because Sakyo was defeated by Zantetsu in the tourney, Sakyo didn’t feel like he is worthy of such pride of his family’s name. he left it in a cave and determined to carry on life no longer as a samurai. Kayo, after hearing all these, understands the whole dilemma the dude is in, but she told him it’s not reason enough to leave behind what was precious to the memory of his family. convinced by her words, Sakyo and Kayo made their way to the cave where he left Hotarumaru and retrieve it. when he unsheathe it then, glowing orbs of light filled the dark cave like a real firefly. Sakyo was so ashamed that he almost abandoned the sword there and from then vowed to always carry it with him as if he was carrying his family on his shoulders. Kayo later convinced the sword fixer/sharpener(?) person to fix Hotarumaru.

after getting his sword back, he told Kayo he couldn’t let Zantetsu’s sin towards his family to go free so he left her one night with a letter he told her to open if he never returned. while he went for his supposed one-on-one duel, Kayo just can’t sit still waiting for Sakyo to come back. she went to follow him but met Kei on the way of his patrol. buddy told her to stay home while he grab some of his pals to help Sakyo. those pals turned out to be the rest of them samurai who went to Sunpu the other day! thankfully for that, Sakyo was saved by an ambush planned by Zantetsu. Tsuzumi was there as well as he was threatened with Nanae’s life he didn’t cooperate. in the end, Zantetsu is finally dead and Sakyo could then rest easy the revenge he was living for has ended.

in the after story, Sakyo married Kayo with the five samurai buddies became her real bridal escort procession to Sakyo’s home country of Yamashiro.

Kimi -another nice end-

not that different than the previous ending, but Kayo was there with her naginata to help with Sakyo instead of staying home. fortunately, she arrived when Zantetsu got done dead. later there was news regarding Sakyo wanting to return back to his home country and probably will not coming back, and everyone knew about Kayo’s relationship with Sakyo. they all asked if she’s going with him, or why she’s unbothered about him going away, but baby girl really didn’t know how to react. sure, they’re lovers, but Sakyo never told her what he planned to do in the future, or whether or not that involved her at all.

Kayo held another feast for her samurai friends and also doubles as a farewell to Sakyo but the dude came late and has no idea why ppl giving him a farewell party. Kayo noticed him looking angry and restless seeing how close the other samurai dudes with her. Sakyo later couldn’t sit still anymore and pulled her to talk alone. there he told her he has no plan on going home aside from a short trip to visit his family’s grave, and that he planned to open up a free shrine school (kinda like a private but small informal school) for kids like Yanohiko who got orphaned and not privileged enough for a basic education. Sakyo and Kayo promised to marry each other soon.

Ken -too terrible what the heck end-

Kayo still tried to convince Sakyo from acting on his revenge against Zantetsu. Sakyo got annoyed and angry bc of this, that he assaulted Kayo to show how much of a terrible guy he is in actuality. he part ways with her and supposedly never to see her again, but he found himself led by a mysterious force to a cave where the whole shits of Asakura trying to reincarnate Tadanaga. there was nothing there but an ominous looking sword called the Muramasa. Sakyo took it after hearing a woman’s ghostly voice lamenting about her unborn child. he immediately thought the ghost to be his dead sister who had returned to the Sagihara family due to her getting pregnant and wanted to stay close to her parents during the whole pre-natal care.

however unknown to Sakyo, it was a malevolent evil spirit which was leading him to find Zantetsu to murder him. he got drunk with the pleasure to kill and didn’t stop at just one person. he managed to kill 10 ppl in one night at Yoshiwara alone, and he wasn’t stopping anytime soon. Kayo actually met with Sakyo before going on his murdering rampage and he told her he had thrown away his Hotarumaru in a lake bc the evil spirits in Muramasa told him to. there was no doubt that the madman who was killing people in the night was Sakyo, the man that she loved. she asked the help of her samurai friends to stop Sakyo but things got much worst when Yanohiko became his victim. the boy just wanted to show Sakyo his spinning top.

eventually they figured out about the evil sword and thought they’d better try to separate Sakyo from it or kill him entirely. they went to the lake where Kayo heard Sakyo said he dumped Hotarumaru, thinking if there’s any humanity left in him, he might want to reunited with his family’s heirloom. unfortunately, in his clouded mind, Sakyo heavily injured Kayo and she succumbed to the wound despite whatever Suzukake tried to do. Sakyo decided to kill himself in a cave with some kind of explosive.

they met in the afterlife and thought to cross the Sanzu river together to... Heaven? but the evil sword reminded Sakyo how much of a sin he had committed, and that he belongs to Hell. Kayo decided to fall to the endless abyss with Sakyo for eternity. this is a terrible ending I hate it.

Ken -just as terrible end-

Kayo managed to stop Sakyo from killing Yanohiko but the dude fled after realizing what he was trying to do. Kayo figured out that he needed to be reunited with Hotarumaru so she went to the lake where he dumped it. Sakyo was there, but he has already made up his mind that nothing he could do would ever atone his sins so he jumped into the lake. Kayo follow suit and they woke up in the afterlife. they tried to cross the Sanzu river but Sakyo stopped halfway saying there’s a lot of angry ppl on the other side, not gonna let him into Heaven. they were the innocent lives he had murdered before. Kayo, on the other hand, didn’t see the angry souls but instead heard some familiar voices calling for her. Sakyo guessed it must have been her loved ones in the living world. he told her to follow the voice and lived a happy life for his behalf. Kayo woke up again surrounded by her panicky dad and her friends. they told her she was floating by the lake, but Sakyo’s body was nowhere to be seen.

the epilogue has Kayo wanting to pay respect to Sakyo’s victim’s graves.

HOOOO BOY I SURE AS FUCK DIDN’T ENJOY THESE KEN ROUTES ONE BIT WHO THE FUCK WROTE THEM I WANT TO SUE FOR THE EMOTIONAL DAMAGES THEY DIDDDD!!! I’M BROKEN, YOU KNOW!!! THEY SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST HAVE ONE OF THEM WITH SAKYO IS ALIVE BUT HAD TO FACE HIS SINS I KNOW THAT’S NOT A BETTER END BUT AT LEAST BOI IS ALIVE AND KAYO DIDN’T HAVE TO BE SAD WHAT THE HECK THESE ARE TERRIBLE ENDINGS I HATE THEMMMMMMMMMMMM

*inhale, exhale*

well at least I like that in Sakyo’s four routes, the roles of the other samurai dudes are quite prominent. it’s nice to see the whole stupid scene with Tsuzu and Suzu arguing about the other stealing the food, Enishi teasing Saneaki that he can’t drink, also Kei the tsukkomi lol that was a nice scene.

FINALLY!!! now I get to my baby son, Suzukake!!!! I’ve actually half cleared his route before but didn’t see the ending yet. I SURE AS FLYING FUCKERY SHIT WILL NOT BE READY FOR THE ROUTE WHICH MY SON DIE!!!! probably I would skip it....

#ken ga kimi #ending spoilers #hello police pls arrest this game it made me sad

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italicwatches · 6 years ago

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Comic Girls - Episode 11

Today I have to decide whether or not to do a batshit thing to build hype for Smash. But also, it’s Comic Girls, episode 11! Here we GO!

-It all starts at the dorm, where the girls have gotten one of those career-goal surveys from school to fill out. Which has them in a bit of a trouble, since three of the four here already have their plans figured out and even Kaos knows her goals, she’s just struggling to, you know, achieve them. Of course, they all have to put down more than just the obvious first choice…

-So what’s Ruki’s backup plans if this manga train stops? She’d love to teach children. And Kaos gets all sad about the idea of losing Ruki and Tsubasa says, and I quote, “How could you leave Kaos behind to take care of other people’s children?!” And Koyume even backs her up. I’m sorry, Ruki, you’re stuck with this little pink blob thing for life.

-Opening!

-So why teaching, and especially at a nursery school of all places? Low supply, high demand, and she loves working with kids. Really, as much as she loves manga, Ruki would still be pretty dang happy if teaching was what paid her bills, and it’d be a lot more stable…She intends to get the license after she graduates, in fact, just so she has the option if things go sideways. …Just don’t draw any smut in front of them on accident. That’s how you got into this mess in the first place, remember.

-Well, Koyume’s thinking she could always fall back on her family’s sweets shop! She knows most of the recipes already! Oh hey it turns out Kaos’s folks also run a small shop, but they do traditional Japanese confectionaries, not Western sweets like Koyume’s folks. Koyume suddenly totally wants to do a fusion collab. East meets West! They’ll take the treat community by storm, Kaos! Would anyone even buy that…They could build it into a great cultural icon! Have enough space to do events, work with up-and-coming idols, it’d be the coolest! Koyume please focus on your actual current plans and not your wild ideas for if those plans don’t work out.

-So what about Tsubasa? Nothing. And she is NOT putting down anything her parents would want god dammit! …Tsu, you got issueOMINOUS CHANTING. We can never escape. I’m sorry what were we talking about? Oh, right, jobs. Tsubasa is having to figure out actual plan Bs to continue her rebellion. How about being a superhero? No, that’s too unrealistic. A professional swordswoman, maybe…You, you know what, let them help—

-SUZU IS HERE

-FROM THE CRAWLSPACE

-SHE WANTS TO BE A GHOST WHEN SHE GROWS UP

-Actually she also wants to be a caregiver. There’s lots of demand for it back home, as she casually starts to lower a rope to come down to the ground. …Suzu, you’re as much of a dork as Tsubasa. Also she really does want to be a ghost when she grows up. KAOS RUN FOR IT SHE’S COMING FOR YOU

-So after they banish Suzu to the shadow realm, back to this damned form. Tsubasa still has no idea what to write after ‘manga artist’. And Kaos…Kaos has the problem that she has no idea of anything she could do. She’s much too clumsy to help out at her parents’ shop…And she’s the only one without a serialized gig! She’s doomed, DOOMED she tells you! And cue Ririka to come check up on them.

-Soon they’re all talking over coffee and tea, and she explains her own past…How she was facing much the same decision. She was nearly serialized when she was your age, you know…But, she gave it up. The pressure of being a professional manga artist just…took the fun out of it for her. The freedom. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit in front of actual working pros, though she did get to to release a one-shot volume, “The Afternoon Smells Like Oranges”…

-Kaos perks up. Because wait. Wait wait wait. YOU’RE Rika Sonoda-sensei?! You still have fans! Look at all these reviews! And Ririka is embarrassed, most of all to admit that even under that, she just, couldn’t hold up her end of things…It’s one of the reasons why she runs this dorm, to give people a better place to work, to find the strength to be able to do what she couldn’t. Because there is nothing that makes her more proud than seeing an artist become strong enough to stand as a professional…And of course, she still does some hobby work from time to time.

-…Kaos wants to see it. Right now. Right now right now! Koyume also wants to see it! Nnnnope. (It’s all incredibly trashy yuri manga, isn’t it. I remember the flashback scene, I know you were pushing for girls smooching on the cover!)

-But then it’s a firm cut to the notice going up. The dorm’s final days in its current state. Everyone’s got to have their crap gone by February 2nd, because that’s when the wrecking crew is coming. It’s a painful moment for all of them…As Ririka decides she wants to make their remaining time special. And since nobody has deadlines, she needs help going through the storage room…Full of the history of everyone she’s held in these dorms. It’s all got to get organized, boxed, and ready for its next home…And treated right.

-There’s tons of history and weight in this little storage room. Sketches, photos, reference books…Everything that years and years of growing young professionals used. All carefully stored in closed book cases, to keep them safe from the ravages of time. Tsubasa and Kaos end up talking about those damn career forms…Tsubasa just gave up and wrote “manga artist” twice. Let them try and call her on it. But Kaos…Kaos still doesn’t even know if she’s confident enough to write it once. She absolutely wants to be a manga artist…But she gets so scared…

-That’s normal. It’s a scary thing to do. All you can do is just…Put the fear aside, and keep pushing forward. Focus on the dream. Now, come on, help her get this poster down…And when that poster comes down, there’s something behind it. A simple drawing on the wall. A little cheer for the artists still to come, written by someone who long since left this place. The history hits her like a freight train, and she properly realizes she’s standing upon the shoulders of giants…!

-Hard cut to Kaos and Koyume trying to get all fired up. Which mostly means a lot of wiggling and shouting.

-And then it’s night time, and Kaos has been working her ass off all day…When Koyume goes to get her something to drink, and finds Tsubasa and Ruki sipping cocoa. Everyone’s having a bit of a late night, it seems…I can only assume it’s the last night in the dorm, or close to it.

-But then the next meeting, when Kaos brings four storyboards to the meeting with Mayu. She, needs, to, have, SOMETHING accepted before the dorm shuts down! So, each of them is a little different…The first is a rom-com, borrowing some skill from Koyume. It’s…Well, it’s very Kaos. Her idea of strong and manly is firewood-chopping and mighty lung capacity. And full of ridiculous dad-jokes. Because her best concept of ‘manly’ is, well, her own dad. That’s kind of adorable, actually.

-So next. It’s a naughty comedy! She pulled from Ruki but it was like 2 in the morning and seemed like a good ideate the time even if now it feels like a terrible plan in the stark light of day. Also Kaos’s super simple chibi stylings don’t, entirely, work with eroticism. And also the height of perversion that Kaos can internally parse into her art is panty shots. Oh and the firewood again. You’d think someone so thirsty could go heavier.

-Third storyboard…It’s a comedy isekai! You know, that actually has a lot of potential meat on the bone. Meat that Kaos wasn’t really able to properly use, because it’s very cliche…Though Mayu points out that it just needs one good twist. Find a way to make the protagonist stand out, and…he’s chopping firewood. I’m sensing a pattern. Mayu is quietly despairing…

-When the fourth one comes up. It’s core slice-of-life, with a lot of the lessons she’s learned in her life so far…And without a lot of the real zaniness. No, without the over-the-top comedy, the cutesy art is able to just be…cute, and let the real heart shine through. The feel of a girl running on genuine fears and loves, passions and anxieties…It, it’s genuine. Mayu has to admit that she’s a bit brain-drained from chewing on all of these, as it’s been hours now, but…Let her hold onto this one. She wants to read it again in the morning.

-And so Kaos is off…Having left behind her manuscript with Mayu. For a simple, heartfelt manga about four plucky lesbians by the name of The Lord of the Ri—Er, I mean, Comic Girls. Yeah, that. Kaos is full of uncertainty herself, but as she walks home under the light of a full moon, and remembers that simple cheer that was on that wall, from someone who themselves finally escaped rejection hell on their last days in the dorm, she feels like she’s at least gotten her path forward…

-Even if she ends up staying up half the night in fear. Until she gets a call! From her mother! Oh, wh—ANOTHER CALL! It’s from Mayu! Who lets her know…She’s been APPROVED! She made it! She’s getting published! Not just that, they want her to expand Comic Girls into a two-parter! If the surveys come back well, it could even be serialized! Oh god, OH GOD SHE MADE IT! Making it. You ain’t there just yet, kid. Deep breaths!

-And everyone hears and YES you did it! You DID IT! Even Suzu is there, openly admitting she only shows up out of nowhere.

-So when the morning arrives at school, everyone’s got those career forms. Tsubasa’s is simple: Choice one? Manga artist. Choice two? “There’s nothing else.” It is true to her. And Kaos?

-…Kaos no.

-Kaos you’re doing into my bad place. That’s my bad place, stay out of there. I have it just comfortable for me. But anyways she wrote manga artist in the first choice so that’s the important bit.

-Episode 11: My Life Has Reached Its Peak

-Credits!

Well, much like Kaos’s own manuscript, this episode skipped a lot of the absurdist comedy to just…Be really from the heart, for a minute. And it hit fuckin’ hard, too. I guess now we will see what happens in our wrap-up, and if Kaos can stand on her own two feet, next time in the finale. Episode TWELVE of Comic Girls! Wait for it!

#where I watch #recap #anime #comic girls

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aiorevelations · 4 years ago

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The Priority of Patience: Final Part

“And that’s what happened.” Jason finished speaking. It was evening now, and he and Whit were sitting in their living room as Jason recounted the day's events.

“It sounds like you had quite a day.” Whit chuckled.

“Yeah. I certainly did.”

“So then, how did your meeting with Mr. Burton go?”

“It didn’t.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he couldn’t wait any longer for me at the shop, so it didn’t happen.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, son. I know how important it was to you.”

Jason shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. In fact, I’m glad it didn’t work out.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. Because of it, I was able to connect more with Morrie and Suzu, as well as learn a valuable lesson.”

“And what might that be?”

“Patience.”

“Ah.” Whit gave a knowing look.

“I always knew that being a parent required a lot of patience. But it wasn’t until today that I realized just how much. Even when everything started going awry I thought that I could keep my emotions in check. And then I just…”

“Gave in?”

Jason gave a light laugh. “Exploded would be more like it.” He then sighed. “How do you do it, Dad? How do you manage to be understanding all the time with me, your friends, the kids at Whit’s End, Everyone? How do you do it?”

Whit chuckled. “First off, I’m not patient all of the time. The pressures and stresses of the day get to me just as much as they get to you. The question is what do we choose to do with that frustration? Lash out at those around us, or take a moment to pray to God to give us the strength to let go of our anger.”

“Yeah…”

“It also helps to see things in perspective. Remember what’s truly valuable. Is it a business deal or the people that God places in our lives? I...I can’t tell you how many times I wish I learned that lesson sooner. When I think of all the times I chose to spend my time working on my research or on UPF business instead of being with you, Jana, Jerry, and your mom…” Whit sighed and looked down, tears filling his eyes.

Jason reached out and touched his Dad’s shoulder. Tears were now beginning to fill his eyes as well.

Whit swallowed and continued “Treasure the people in your life, Jason. Always. Even when they do things that are upsetting or test your patience, you never know how much time you will have with them.”

Jason looked into his Dad’s tear-filled eyes and softly spoke, “Always, Dad. Always.” The two of them embraced and held each other tenderly.

Meanwhile, Morrie and Suzu sat on the stairs, observing the tender scene between father and son. “That was so...sweet,” Suzu said softly.

“Yeah, I guess it was touching enough. We best get going though before they see us.”

“Yes. You are right.” The two of them stood up causing the floor to creak beneath them.

“Uh oh,” Morrie said.

They tried to hurry up the stairs but heard Whit call after them.

“Morrie, Suzu.”

They stopped in their tracks. Slowly, they turned around and headed back downstairs. They now stood at the bottom of the staircase.

“What are you two doing out of bed at this time of night?” Whit asked.

“Um,” Morrie began, “we were going to get some...water.”

“Really?” Whit continued. It was clear to Morrie and Suzu that Mr. Whittaker knew they weren’t being honest with him. Morrie looked from Whit to Jason and back to Whit again.

“Umm…well, actually, we heard you two talking and wanted to hear what you had to say.” Morrie paused for a few seconds and continued, “I’m...I’m sorry, Jason for what happened. I knew better, and my behavior was uncalled for.”

“As was mine,” Suzu replied, “I apologize.”

“Morrie, Suzu,” Jason began, “it’s alright. I forgive you. I shouldn’t have behaved that way towards you guys no matter how frustrated I was feeling. I promise to be more patient with you two going forward. And, if it’s alright with you both, I was thinking that we could start over.”

They paused. Morrie spoke again.

“...Start over?”

“With our relationship. I haven’t been there for you the way I should. Right now more than ever you need to see God's love through those around you, and I’ve shown the exact opposite. And I want to change that by promising to support you, guide you through your life here, and be a shoulder to cry on whenever you need it. If that’s what you want, of course.”

“Yes, I would like that” Suzu softly replied, visibly touched by Jason’s words.

“Yeah, I suppose I would as well.”

“Good,” Jason replied. “Now that that’s taken care of, can you two please stop with all the apologizing? It’s making me feel weird.” They all laughed.

“Come here you two.” Jason outstretched his arms toward Morrie and Suzu. Suzu walked toward Jason and they shared a loose side embrace. “You too, Morrie,” Jason said.

“I’m not big on physical touch, so...hugs really aren’t my thing.”

“Morrie,” Suzu replied in that tone of voice she used when she was persuading him to do something.

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. I will join in this act of affection. But reluctantly” Morrie gave in. He walked over to where Jason and Suzu were standing and was soon embraced in both of their arms.

Whit smiled to himself at the sight. “Mind if I join in?”

Jason chuckled, “Sure, Dad.”

Whit wrapped his arms around Jason, Morrie, and Suzu, joining them all together in a group hug.

“Um...guys? Is it just me, or am I the only one being smothered in here?” Morrie exclaimed.

Jason, Whit, and Suzu laughed. “You better get used to this Morrie, because this is what we Whittakers do” Jason responded.

“What? Suffocate each other?” Morrie joked.

“No,” Jason laughed. “Give the best hugs on the planet. Well, that and love each other no matter what.”

And the Rydell children couldn’t agree more.

#fanfic #aio fanfic #AIO #jason whittaker

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metalshootingstar · 7 years ago

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Mr. Raccoon

Summary: After a string of robberies, Osomatsu decides to let his kids stay in the restaurant while he works....when his youngest three find the culprit. A tiny raccoon!

“ Why do we have to stay in here?” Asked Megumi, as he and his brothers and sister sat at their designated spot against the wall. Osomatsu stood there, hands firmly on his hips dressed in his work clothes. He was just glad the restaurant he worked at was so lenient.

“ Because with all the robberies happening, I want you to stay where I can see you. Now behave yourselves alright? I’ll bring you guys dinner soon, but in the meantime I’ll be at the bar so don’t be afraid to call me if you need something.” Said Osomatsu, before getting back to work. The kids groaned lightly. Lately, a robber had gone around Akatsuka. Pilfering people’s trash, taking people’s valuables, and/or their food.

Ever since, dad hadn’t wanted them out of their sight for even a moment.

“Kyouya-niisan I have to go pee.” Said four year old Yuki, lightly pulling on his brother’s sleeve.

“ Ok,” Said Kyouya, before the 6 year old hopped off his seat. “ Papa! I’m taking Yuki to the bathroom!”

“Ok!” Said Osomatsu with a smile, greatful his kids were letting him know so he wouldn’t worry. The two boys looked up, as Isuzu was reaching for them from her high chair. The toddler whimpered and groaned.

“ Does Isuzu-chan have to go too?” Asked Yuki.

“ Nii-cha!” She cried out, Megumi went over and set her down beside them.

“ Don’t wander off with anyone strange, and come straight here quickly alright?” Said Megumi, the three of them nodded before scampering off. The bathroom was thankfully, not too far away. Kyouya stood there with Isuzu while Yuki went in. He froze when he heard something clash and bang outside. Isuzu gasped and immediately went to the exit door.

“Suzu-chan!” Exclaimed the six year old, going after his sister. The hallway was pretty narrow, with only the janitor’s office, the door that led outside, and the bathrooms there but. It sure was creepy.

“ Kyou-niisan, what is it?” Asked Yuki after he was finished.

“ Suzu-chan heard something outside.” Said Kyouya, Yuki ever curious went over and opened the door. “ Yuki!”

“ There’s nothing here.” Said Yuki, as he peeked outside. The three of them poked their heads out into the darkened alleyway, and peered left towards the street before peering left to the other end...and found nothing.

“ I wonder what made that sound then.” Said Kyouya.

“ Puppy!” Exclaimed Isuzu, pointing at something in the trash. Both boys looked over, to a nearby trashcan that was on its side, with noise coming from it. Kyouya being the eldest of the three slowly went outside.

“ Yuki, stay there with Suzu-chan, if something happens then go get daddy.” He replied, both Yuki and Isuzu nodded as Kyouya went over to the trashcan. His eyes widened, when he saw it was a baby raccoon. The baby raccoon turned around and sneered slightly growling a bit.

“ Hey it’s ok, I’m a friend!” Said Kyouya, when he saw some bits of glittering chains on the raccoon’‘s paws, and his neck, and he actually looked a little sick. Not to menton, there were bracelets still on his arms and they...looked a little swollen.

“ You’re the thief.” Said Kyouya softly. Now everything made sense, why there was trash pilfered and why food was missing. As well as some jewelry apparently. He’d probably just gotten tangled up in the necklaces, and bracelets and left. “ Don’t worry Mr. Racoon, my name is Kyouya, I won’t hurt you.”

“ Kyouniisan, what is it?” Asked Yuki.

“ Hang on!” Replied Kyouya, before turning to the raccoon. The six year old reached in his pockets, and pulled out a cookie he’d saved from his snack earlier before holding it out to the animal. “Here you go, it’s a tart cookie.”

The raccoon slowly sniffed at it, and licked the cookie a few times before taking it and gobbling it up. The tiny baby blinked a few times, before looking up at Kyouya and squealing a few times. The tiny six year old opened his jacket and the raccoon slowly entered clinging to his warmth. Kyouya zipped up the jacket, and hugged the baby raccoon before heading back inside.

“ Woah, what’s that?” Asked Yuki.

“ It’s my new friend Mr. Raccoon.” Said Kyouya.

“ Oooh.” Said Isuzu, as she and Yuki looked into the jacket. The raccoon however delved deeper into the jacket and made a small sound that worried Kyouya. Hurriedly, the three of them rushed over to the bar where Osomatsu was.

“ Papa!” They exclaimed.

“ Hey every...uh what is it you have there Kyou-kun?” Asked Osomatsu.

“ I found the thief.” Said Kyouya, making Osomatsu gasp slightly. “ He’s in my jacket!”

“ His name is Mr. Raccoon!”

“ Mr. Raccoon!”

Exclaimed Yuki and Isuzu simultaneously. Osomatsu peered inside his son’s jacket, and saw the tiny raccoon looking incredibly sick, as well as having bits of jewelry on him. He sighed in relief, it was just a raccoon this whole time. Still, perhaps he should go take it to the vet.

“ Wait here ok.” Said Osomatsu, the trio nodded, and after explaining everything to his boss, he was granted a few minutes of leave. “Ok, we’re going to go get Mr. Raccoon to a doctor alright?”

“Is something wrong with him?” Asked Yuki worriedly.

“ He’ll be ok, he just...needs a little help from us ok?” Said Osomatsu comfortingly. He looked up at Nagisa and Megumi seated at the table doing his work. Now that he knew who or rather what the thief was he could rest a little easy. “ Nagi-kun, megu-kun stay here alright? I have to take these three and their friend to the vet.”

“ Ok.” Said Nagisa and Megumi, Osomatsu exited the restaurant with the other three.

“ So where did you find him?” Asked Osomatsu curiously.

“ We found him outside in the garbage. “ Said Kyouya as a matter of factly.

“ Wait you went outside? I thought you were going to the bathroom.”

“ We did, but then we heard noise outside and decided to go check it out. Which is when we found him.” Said Kyouya.

“ Papa, uppy!” Exclaimed Isuzu, Osomatsu gently picked up his daughter, and placed her on his shoulders.

“ Well, on the one hand I’m glad you guys caught him, but on the other hand, next time that happens don’t go out yourselves alright? You could have gotten me instead.” He replied.

“ Why?” Asked Yuki curiously.

“ Because it’s much safer.” Said Osomatsu. “ You could have gotten really hurt.”

“ Yeah, but then you would have come! We weren’t scared, because if something bad did happen then you would come and save us!” Replied Kyouya, Yuki and Isuzu nodded in agreement. Osomatsu was shocked at that, but it was sweet to know his children put that much faith in him.

“ Yeah! Papa will always save us!” Exclaimed Yuki.

Osomatsu smiled softly, once they were at the vet they explained everything and after the vet consulted the police the raccoon was taken to the back room. The police came by, to pick up the jewelry the vet took from the Raccoon’s wrists, tail, and neck but..he still looked sick.

“ What’s wrong with him?” Asked a police officer.

“ My guess is, the poor thing must have also swallowed some of the jewelry, poor thing. I’ll take X-Rays, and if it’s true we’ll have to perform surgery.” Said the Vet, before turning to Osomatsu. “ Thank you, for bringing him in, I will notify you if there’s any changes.”

“ Thank you.” Said Osomatsu, before turning to the three children. “ The vet’s going to make Mr. Raccoon all better now, alright? He’s going to stay here for the night, but we’ll know tomorrow if he’s ok or not.”

The three nodded, as Kyouya went over to the vet, and held up a thumbs up.

“ Vet-san, please do your best!” Exclaimed Kyouya.

“ Of course.” said the vet with a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, your friend will be just fine.”

Yuki and Isuzu went over to the baby raccoon whom glanced up at them, with those big dark eyes of his and purred. Yuki gently placed a hand on his head and petted him.

“ You try your best too Mr. Raccoon.” Said Yuki.

“ Try best!” Exclaimed Isuzu.

“ Osomatsu smiled softly, as the three children left, with both Yuki and Kyouya holding on to his sweater.

“ I hope he’ll be ok.” Said Kyouya.

“ Don’t worry, I’m sure he will be. I promise.” Said Osomatsu with a smile. The three smiled back at him, believing him because if papa said it then it had to be true right?

“ Can we keep him once he’s all better?” Asked Kyouya.

“ For a bit, but then we’ll have to release him back to the wild. A raccoon isn’t a domesticated pet, like cats and dogs. An animal like that should be free.” Explained Osomatsu.

“ But I don’t think he was. He wouldn’t go into people’s homes and look for food and get into trouble if he didn’t belong to someone. Other raccoons go outside, they don’t usually come in.” Said Kyouya, “ That’s what uncle Ichimatsu says about cats.”

“Well, we’ll see then alright?” Said Osomatsu softly, as he gently patted his son’s head. The next day, Osomatsu took the kids to the vet after getting a call about the raccoon.

“ Ah, Matsuno-san. The raccoon has made a full recovery, though he is a little weak. The police also tracked down the owner, apparently, he belonged to a young man and we notified him about the raccoon he said he wanted to euthanize him. Naturally, we wouldn’t euthanize a baby, so we were wondering if you wanted to keep it.” Said the vet, immediately all five children’s faces immediately lit up.

“ Alright now wait a minute, before we do. A pet is a very big responsibility, you’ll have to promise you’ll play with him, and give him love and attention alright?” Said Osomatsu. The five of them nodded, and immediately began to clamor in agreeance. Osomatsu smiled softly. “ Alright then, we can keep him.”

“Hurray! Welcome yo our family Mr, Raccoon!” Exclaimed Kyouya, the Raccoon, went over, and clambered up to the six year old’s shoulder, before nuzzling up to him. He giggled, and lightly scratched behind his ear, which the raccoon seemed to enjoy.

After paying the vet, the family headed back home with new pet raccoon in tow. As long as his kids were happy he was happy..even if Osomatsu did have to endure a lecture from Ichimatsu on proper pet care.

#ososan fanfic #osomatsu san fanfic #osomatsu san

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arc-rchk-blog · 8 years ago

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FICTION: Hikikomori

By Kristina Yan

“Yukio! Quit being so selfish and come downstairs. It’s New Year’s Eve and we need to go to the shrine.”

My name is Yukio, most people call me a hikikomori here in our little village called Akigawa. Hikikomori means a shut-in if you don’t know. Akigawa is a very dull place, nobody really comes here and not many get out either. Most of the people here are either shop owners or farmers. Technology here isn’t the best either, the gaming consoles are nowhere near as great as the ones you see in To–

“Yukio, will you please just come outside for once? Go to the shrine make a wish, get a prophecy from the gods, it won’t take long.”

I resent my life here, all I can do here is game and watch anime. Nobody in the town really likes me, I want to go somewhere else, somewhere more… fun.

Everyone seemed to hate me because I was different, I’ve always wanted to explore the world outside but my parents never allowed me to go out of the town, there was no adventure here and the thrill for it also diminished. However, they always want me outside of the house anyways, like now for instance.

I couldn’t care less about the New Year Festivals but I have no choice anyways. I got dressed into a green sweater, black jeans, and put on a scarf. Now just to wait for everyone else to put on their makeup, do their boring routines – blah blah blah.

“Mom! Brother is out of his den already, can you guys hurry up?”

Ugh… What an annoying sister, I swear she can’t keep her mouth shut for a minute.

She kept rambling on about how excited she is to stay up past 12, to go to the festival and buy all of the useless stuff she does each year. It went on for 10 minutes, I don’t even remember how I survived the entire night with her.

We finally got out of home at 10 at night, it only takes 10 minutes to walk to the shrine. It was boring, same thing each and every year. Not a single change in shops or scenery, though everyone else seems to have no problem with the repetitive and mundane tradition.

10:30p.m. …

11:00p.m. …

11:30p.m. …

They were finally done shopping by then and we lined up for the bell ringing and prophecy stuff and all those things that don’t matter.

Finally, as the Suzu started ringing, New Year's Day arrived. People gathered, cheered, and celebrated the new year. Everyone took turns up at the shrine and like every year, waste money on foreseeing their future with these written oracles called “omikuji”. I just don’t understand how anyone is dumb enough to believe in a piece of paper, though it’s not like I have a choice, this family is such a bother.

I went up to the shrine and bought myself a written oracle, I opened it up and in big words I saw “小凶”, meaning I was going to have some bad luck this year.

Annoyingly, my sister was looking behind me and yelled out, “Oh my god, you’re unlucky! Mom, Dad! Yukio is unlucky this year, should’ve expected that considering he only hides in his room all day.”

Ugh.. I hate her. I walked away from her and the rest of the crowd and continued reading my fortune. “You may be lead to a new direction in life, an adventure that will be risky.” Hahaha, funny. An adventure in this stupid town, what a joke!

Obviously upset, I left the shrine and started to walk back home. Texted mom that I’ll be going back, to my own space where I get to communicate with people online. A place where I get to go on “adventures”.

I got home and decided to play with my online friends. I felt relieved for the first hour when I got to dwell in the world I was fond of. However, the people I were matched up with later on were from the other side of the world, so language barriers made it difficult to communicate with the team. As the game progressed, I got more and more frustrated as none of us understood each other. By the second hour I was already tired of the games.

I turned off the lights, closed the door and windows and jumped right onto bed and fell asleep soon after.

Before I fell asleep however, I felt a small gust of wind behind me. Huh? that’s weird, I was sure I closed all the windows before I slept. Although it really doesn't matter.

I woke to what felt like a tiny ball laying on my chest. Sure enough, when I tilted my head towards my chest, I saw a small hedgehog curled up on my chest, snoozing away.

Knowing how random my family is, the first thought that came to mind was, “God, it has to have been my sister asking my parents to buy her a hedgehog after I left. Bad choice, poor hedgehog’s gonna die soon.”

And as soon as I realized I was thinking out loud, I heard a soft yet affirming voice fill the air. Well what I thought was the air anyway.

“Just to be clear, your family didn’t buy a new hedgehog as a pet for new years”

I haven’t heard of this voice before…

I looked around the room, but no one was there.

“Down here dummy.”

I looked back down at the hedgehog, and he was staring right back at me.

“My name’s Compass, nice to meet you.”

I’ve been through a lot of weird things in life, mostly because of my sister, she always sets up pranks and tricks on me, but this was by far the weirdest I’ve ever encountered.

“Uhm… Hi?”

“Yeah yeah, save the formalities I know all about you, just bear with me here.”

I looked in disbelief, never in my life have I thought of talking to any animal, let alone a hedgehog of all things.

“I came to ask you if you would like to follow me to an adventure. See, this town is dull. Nobody likes living here, I doubt you want to stay here for more than a moment. Allow me to show you a whole new world, I can get you out of here.”

“Ugh… wake up!” I yelled as I slapped my face to try to wake. It hurt.

“Okay keep it together Yukio, I know it’s not common but I’m real.” Compass stated while I slowly start to believe.

“Fine. Well I’m not really allowed to leave this town so it’s not possible. You can leave now please.”

“I can take you, your parents won’t even notice. All I need is your permission.”

“Okay, take me away from this place.”

I heard a gush of wind and in a blink of an eye I was somewhere I’ve never seen before. Where I stood there was a forest in front of me, in what seems to be the middle of the forest floating in the sky was a weird looking string instrument. It had five strings attached to it, it looked like a harp but was more cylindrical.

Before I walked forward however, I heard voices behind me. Apparently there were 4 more people here with me. Compass couldn’t you have left me alone?

I didn’t acknowledge them, although this one girl from the bunch came up to me and introduced herself as Elyse. She kept going on about how beautiful the scenery is, quite the flibbertigibbet.

Elyse didn’t leave me alone after but I didn’t really care, I left the place we once were and started walking towards the forest. I wanted to go to where the weird harp was, it seemed like the place to go.

“Hey what’s your name? How did you get here? Where are we going?”

“Yukio. A hedgehog called Compass sent me here. To the floating harp.”

That was really all I said to Elyse before the harp started playing for 5 seconds. The sound it made was really beautiful. Although it just looks like a circle in the sky, it sounded like an angel descending to earth.

“I wonder where the others went, pretty sure they all just separated from each other. I’m a scaredy cat you see. That’s why I found someone not intimidating to sti–” Elyse was cut off by the sound of a string on the harp breaking. It resonated for a while before we were able to process it.

“What a shame.” I said, responding to both Elyse and the instrument.

As we cruised towards the harp, we realized that it was actually floating in the center of the forest, which seemed further and further away as we walked. The round instrument started playing again. It played for 5 seconds and the music stopped again, soon after that another one of its strings snapped.

Confused, I blurted out “That's pretty unnatural. It seems it has a pattern to it, I wonder what that means.”

“Maybe we should pay more attention to it next time. It might be a clue!” Elyse exclaimed.

I’m unsure of why she might think it’s a “clue” but I just ignored her and kept walking, might just be another one of her absurd thoughts or blabble.

After a good thirty minutes of rest, the music from the harp started again, the same pattern from before emerged. Through the resonance of the music, we heard a scream of a man not far away from us. The string snapped as soon as the man’s cries quieted down.

We rushed over to the source of the overwhelming cry to see what happened. We went close to the source and started moving forwards in stealth since we thought there was a predator. We hid behind trees as we neared the origin of the scream.

We found that man a while later, impaled on a tree branch as thick as an arm’s width, still attached to the tree. He was at least ten feet above ground and most likely could not have done that by accident.

I was feeling extremely hyped about this, it’s almost like a dream come true. Like I’m living in a game of danger. Compass really wasn’t lying about this new life, and I’m loving the thrill.

Still behind trees, I thought of a reason for the cause and came up with a conclusion. I pulled Elyse away from the gore filled scene to a place further away from the harp. I told her to try to stay quiet before she could start blabbering again.

I then whispered to her my hypothesis, “Hey, I think the reason that man died was because he was closing in on the harp. I think the forest might be alive, and it’s trying to protect the harp from us. It seems we’ve been put into a risky game. The harp also tells us when we’re in danger and when someone dies. That means only us 2 are left.”

“How come you sound like you didn’t know it was a game?”

“What? You knew?”

Elyse nodded, “Compass told me when he asked me to come here. He said he would teleport me to another realm in which I’ll be participating in a game in his realm. He said I had to figure the rules by myself and that there will be risks but it was going to be fun. I thought everyone else went through that process.”

“Compass you annoying little freak, leaving the details out.” I mumbled under my breath. Elyse could only give him a wry smile.

“Well anyways, since the obstacles stop us from moving towards the harp I guess that’s what the objective of the game is. Quite straightforward.” I analyzed.

Elyse agreed and we set foot to the round harp. There wasn’t a hitch in our journey until we stumbled upon two bodies in front of us, it was the two women we saw at the start, both butchered in a manner so that we couldn’t tell how they died.

“Looks like either someone or something is playing games with us. These corpses can’t be placed in front of us for no reason. Plus, this way we can’t even figure out the cause of death.”

“Well there’s one thing we know, they’re all missing their hearts. The man was impaled by his heart, although no heart was evident on the tree branch. It’s pretty obvious for these two. We’re pretty close to the harp so maybe it’s here to scare us away.”

“Wow I didn’t know you were this good with clu-”

The 2 stringed harp started playing again, the two of us felt extremely threatened at this point, looking around for any movement while staying as quiet as possible.

Neither of us were aware of the sky though, which was a big mistake as Elyse was soon to meet her demise as a crow shaped object in the sky started bolting down.

Crack. Elyse didn’t even make a sound before another string on the harp snapped once again. That was when I saw the clearly oversized crow. It pulled her still pumping heart out within the time of a heartbeat.

It dropped her heart and started to transform.

“Compass?”

“Wow, my dear Yukio, you two were really unaware of your surroundings aren’t you. Thought you were a gamer?”

“That was dirty Compass and you know it. Why are you the one killing us off in the game? I want some explanations”

I was trying to ask as much questions as possible as long as Compass would answer to stall him and come up with a plan to get away. Which he didn’t seem to mind.

“Well first you can stop calling me Compass cause that’s just a made up name. I’m a Tengu demon.”

Okay, explains the transformations and his crow-like features just then. Also explains why he’s killing us. Great.

“I needed five hearts for a project I was working on, but I can’t kill in your realm. So I needed to get you guys to come to my realm, to do that I needed permissions from people. You guys were quite easily persuaded to leave your own comfortable home to pursue a ‘dream’ that you thought was going to come true.”

“Thanks, you make me feel so much better about myself.” You mischievous bird.

Well too bad you left a portal back to my realm right in the middle of this forest right? The harp hasn’t started playing so I’m not in danger just yet. I guess I’ll ask a few more questions just to satisfy my curiosity.

“What happens to our bodies in my realm then?”

“You disappeared of course. I did transfer your actual body here to obtain your heart, so you die here YOU DIE FOREVER.”

The Tengu started to change forms back to his ginormous crow body and the harp started playing a dull one noted tune. I quickly took hold of Elyse’s heart Tengu left on the grass floor and without hesitation threw away from the harp, while I simultaneously ran towards the harp.

The plan worked and Tengu chased after her heart. The tune stopped and I was slightly grateful that the school had forced us to practice shot put. Ah, dear god I hope Elyse forgives me for this. I am so sorry.

It didn’t take long for me to get to the harp. It lowered itself as I was approaching, Tengu furiously screeched from far behind. Although the music has started playing again, I knew the game was going to end.

I could not wait for the harp to lower itself to my height. I jumped up as high as I could and just reached the harp.

Nothing happened.

“You really thought this was a game? There was no way out you fool!”

The last string snapped.

#japan #january #compass #directions #realm #overlord

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