#and like i always do before eating with someone else i said itadakimasu

[john-smiths-jawline]

growing up nonwhite in america is just like *your white friends don’t do this* *your white friends have never heard of your favorite food* *your white friends think the way you celebrate this holiday is weird* *your white friends still don’t pronounce your last name right even though it’s been literal years* *your white friends

[rosemarygrayson]

"We shall~" Rosie pulled Ren over to the desk and took a seat in front of her pasta.  She waited for Ren to sit before putting her hands together in prayer and shutting her eyes with a smile on her face.  Inside, she was full of contentment, relief, excitement and gratitude.

"Thank you for bringing us together.  Though we find ourselves in a sea of torment, so long as Ren and I are together, there is a little oasis of peace, even here.  I promise to get out of here with him, and to live well, and find justice for the souls lost.  I pray for our happiness.  Both in general, and together~" ❤️ She opened an eye and looked at him, regarding him affectionately.  She was a little surprised to see that he was already looking at her, but she didn't mind~  "Amen."  Dinner was scrumptious, and rightfully so, she'd poured love into each part of it.  While eating, it was hard to keep her eyes off of Ren.  "How is it~?"

"Amen~" He waited until she took the first bite to start eating, but then dug in, though his eyes rarely strayed from her. "It's amazing~ I think this is the best pasta I've ever had."  Pleased, Rosie reached out a free hand to hold his, which he took eagerly.  

"There's cake too~  Double chocolate."  His eyes widened a bit at the sound of that.  

"That's literally my favorite flavor of cake~  Once we're done, do you want me to bring it up?"

"Help me bring the dishes down. We'll load them in the dishwasher and then cut ourselves cake~" Strade had definitely seen her preparing it, not to mention the fact that he'd bought the ingredients himself. Sooo, as much as she wanted to keep all of the cake for herself and Ren, she'd have to save Strade some undeserved deliciousness. "Then we'll come back up here, and enjoy cake and kisses~ Sound good?" He nodded, looking extremely pleased with that idea. 

---

Rosie made a pitstop to her room, grabbing all of her pillows and some blankets too.  Now that she knew Strade was willing to buy her things, she was considering a few other necessities, like a nice thick comforter~  She set up a little cozy nest for them, and then sat down next to Ren, who had both of their plates.  She wrapped his tail around her lap, and the blankets around both of them, and snuggled closer, taking her share of cake.

"What's that cute thing the characters in your manga say before dinner?"

"Itadakimasu~" He answered, and Rosie followed suit, taking a bite.  "Mmmm~" Chocolate was such a cure for the soul~  She watched Ren's expression eagerly as she chewed, and was pleased to see that he was really into the cake.  After swallowing his bite, he turned to her and said; "This is incredible!" He snuggled against her. "You're amazing~"  Rosie's eyes rolled back for a moment, and she was drunk on the straight hit of serotonin that was the combination of literal sugar and Ren's metaphorical sugary sweetness~  Fucking Hell she wanted to eat him up next~  After a pause, he looked back at her with a softer, almost shy expression.  "You know, there's another phrase that doesn't really come up in anime a whole lot...."

"What phrase is that~?"

"Aishiteru.  It means...well. Technically it just means 'I love you,' but it's not really the same as in English. My mom said it was  'daisuki da' yori ōkī, bigger than even really liking someone. I always wanted someone I could say that to."  He gave her a big smile. "And now I do~"

"!" That was a lot to take in, but in the best sort of way.  Wasn't he being way too cute??  How was this even fair? Leaning in, she gave him a big kiss.  What else could she possibly do?  "Mi piaci così tanto~"  She touched her nose to his and nuzzled, wishing things could stay just like this~  With much hesitation, she pulled away from more kisses to get back to the cake.  Rosie was in the middle of commenting on how interesting it would be to grow up in a house where there were four languages being spoken at any time, when she suddenly gave herself a light face palming.  

"Ren...We're huge dummies."  Naturally, he looked confused.  She tucked her fork into what was left of her cake and held it up to his mouth.  "I was so caught up in first date bliss I forgot cheesy romance 101.  Aaah~" It was a quiet sort of bliss to feed him, and when it was her turn to be fed, Rosie was hard pressed to look away from Ren for even a moment.  With their plates cleared, she left the nest just long enough to place the dishes on top of Ren’s desk to be dealt with later.  She moved the blankets aside for a bit, just long enough to get back under them.  Instead of sitting beside Ren, however, she sat right on his lap, straddling him.  She wrapped the blankets back around them and wrapped her arms around his neck.  “You wanna make out~?”  Even if it might seem a little silly to ask now, after they’d shared many kisses, Rosie was determined to get the clear and enthusiastic consent Ren deserved~

To his relief, she accepted his hug, pulling him closer almost immediately. Ren tried to comfort her as best he could while she cried, quietly finding solace in the closeness himself. When Rosie finally spoke, her request caught him off-guard. He’d prayed at home during New Year’s with his family growing up, but he sincerely doubted Rosie was suggesting they start bowing or clapping. How did prayer work for her anyway? She mentioned the floor and a rosary, the latter of which he only had a vague idea about from TV shows. All the same, he figured it would comfort her to pray with her, and maybe he’d find some comfort in it too. Ren folded his hands the way she showed him and closed his eyes.

Please, if anyone is up there, look after that poor woman. And….please help us get home. Or…out of here anyway. Help Rosie get home. 

To his surprise, Rosie spoke her ‘wish’ aloud. Was he supposed to do the same?  Well, it seemed rude to interrupt her now.  He continued silently on his own, opening his eyes only once to check on her when she started speaking in another language. Was that part of it too? Ren quietly went back to his own prayer until he felt her arms wrap around him again.

Rosie seemed to take his reassurance well, and he was glad to hear that it was more Strade than her own pleasure that distressed her. Of course, Strade was usually the problem.

“Not you though.  Never you.”

Ren smiled. Despite her earlier reassurances that she wasn’t mad about the night’s events, somehow these five words were what truly confirmed it for him. It really felt like she was saying ‘I don’t see you as a problem.’ And that was new—a soft, safe, warm, and happy feeling. He never felt like that, not even with Strade. As he gazed into her soft, gentle eyes, Ren suddenly felt overcome with the desire to kiss her. He started moving toward her lips, only catching himself at the last second to plant the kiss on her cheek instead. After tonight, the last thing he wanted to do was force something—anything on her.

After their talk, they rested together for a bit before he had to slip away back to his own room. Once he was back in his nest of blankets, Ren drifted off, thinking of Rosie’s reaction to that kiss. Had she known what he was about to do?

----

The next few days were relaxing, with most of his time spent cooking, playing video games, or spending some secret time with Rosie. As usual though, it didn’t last. A few nights later, just as Ren was drifting off to sleep, he heard heavy footsteps come up the stairs and down the hall to his room. His mind raced—should he look up when Strade came in, or would that encourage him? Should he act like he was asleep, or would that annoy him? He’d learned a lot about Strade since coming here, but it was almost impossible to read his current mood without even seeing him. Either way, the fact that he was up here at all was probably not a good sign. 

In the end, Ren remained frozen in place, eyes closed as he heard the door open. For the next few seconds, he barely dared to breathe. Then the door closed again, and the footsteps moved back down to the other side of the hall. Ren barely let out a tiny sigh of relief before realizing that Strade was probably going to Rosie instead. Newly tense, he strained his ears to hear anything that might clue him in to what was going on. He heard the faint sound of a groan, the low rumble of voices, and a familiar laugh. But no screams—that was a good sign, right?

After falling into an uneasy sleep, Ren got up to check on Rosie the next morning, only to find her looking back at him from under Strade. Relief washed over him as he gave her a small smile and left as quietly as he came. 

----

During package delivery day, Ren was surprised to see packages for Rosie alongside his. It was largely clothes, both functional and just plain pretty. He smiled and nodded at the outfits she showed off encouragingly, but was very mindful of the fact that Strade was watching too. He didn’t dare tell her how absolutely gorgeous she’d look in each one.

Later that same day, Doctor Kojima came over for a routine visit. Rosie went first, so Ren took a seat on the sofa to watch quietly until it was his turn. Unfortunately for Ren, Strade got bored of doing the same pretty quickly. Suddenly, Strade had an arm around him, pulling him flush against his slide as he started playing with his ears. Physically, it felt just as nice as it always did, but any chance of relaxing was ruined by the increasingly eager expression Strade had fixed on him all the while. Soon enough, Strade’s hands wandered under Ren’s shirt, and his teeth moved perilously close to his ears. He could feel Strade’s breath pick up, his grip tighten…

"Strade, I could finish healing her foot."  

Never in his life had he been that relieved to hear Dr. Kojima’s voice. Both Ren and Strade looked over toward him but only Strade seemed to know what on earth he was talking about. Strade’s hands slid away as his attention shifted to the other two, leaving Ren to silently wonder what the heck 'glowly hands' meant.

It didn’t take long to find out.

Ren watched in wonder as Dr. Kojima literally healed Rosie’s wound the rest of the way, seemingly by magic. As it turned out, literally by magic. Could he always do that?? He’d known from the moment he met the man that Dr. Kojima wasn’t entirely human, but he still didn’t  know what he was, and certainly didn’t dare ask. Rosie had no problem asking all sorts of questions though. Dr. Kojima didn’t seem to mind either; in fact, he almost seemed to enjoy it. 

Ren’s check-up went about the same way it always did. Dr. Kojima commented on his diet after doing some bloodwork, doing so in such a way that Ren felt compelled to mutter an apology. It wasn’t that it was scolding per se, and certainly not angry, just…disappointed, maybe? Either way, Ren's response was completely ignored. Other than that, Dr. Kojima checked his vitals and examined some of the more newly-healing wounds for infection. The whole appointment was markedly quieter than Rosie’s. 

Once he was done, however, Strade talked enough for the both of them. Ren slipped out as soon as he could to help Rosie in the kitchen, trying to tune out the conversation Strade was having with Sano, especially when it started to focus on him and Rosie. To Ren’s surprise, Rosie gently shooed him out of the kitchen, leaving him to head to his room and wonder what she was up to. Some sort of surprise for him surely, but what? 

Soon enough, the smell of chocolate, pasta, shrimp, and something dairy—cream maybe?—made its way up to his room, and he realized she was probably making dinner for them to share. While the gesture was certainly appreciated, he couldn’t help but continue to wonder why they weren’t making it together like usual. 

He perked up eagerly as soon as Rosie came back upstairs, but again, she surprised him by not opening the door.

“Ren, dinner’s almost ready~  Do me a favor, okay?  Don’t open the door yet.  Put on whatever you have that’s nicest.”

“Oh uh…okay!” Whatever he had that was nicest? Ren thought back to her recent purchases. Maybe she was looking for something formal?

But he didn’t own anything like that! Most of what he had in his room was T-shirts, tank tops, shorts, and that one pair of pants and long-sleeved shirt for the colder days. Since the latter two items were more pajamas than anything else, he decided to go with whatever else had the least stains and tears. In the end, he chose a simple black V-neck T-shirt and knee-length dark tan shorts. Unfortunately, he really had nothing for his feet, but Rosie tended to go barefoot too, didn’t she?

Not long after he heard Strade’s car drive away, Rosie came back up with yet another unusual request: keeping his eyes closed while she ‘set up’ something in his room. Ren shut his eyes obediently. 

“Alright, come in.”

He sat there quietly, eyes closed but ears fully alert as he tried to figure out what she was doing. He heard the soft clink of plates and glasses, he heard furniture sliding along the floor, he heard her leave and come back with some additional piece of furniture, and he heard….was that Persona 5 main menu music? But then he heard the soft sound of her navigating the menu options. The song that played next was one he recognized from the date scene when you maxed out your relationship with a certain character. 

And then it all clicked into place. The secret meal, the pretty outfits, whatever she was setting up right now…this was a date. An overwhelming mixture of excitement and anxiety twisted together in his gut. The closest Ren had ever been to a real date was…actually, he really didn’t want to think about that right now. But a date with Rosie! He’d dreamed about it, sure, but never in a million years did he think he’d get to actually do it. Ren felt his heart racing when Rosie finally came over and  led him to his feet. 

"Okay~!  Open your eyes!”

After taking one last deep breath to try and calm himself, Ren opened his eyes.  His mouth fell open less than a second after, and for a moment, he just stood there gaping at her in absolute awe. 

Of all the beautiful things she bought, he was 99% sure that dress was not one of them. Or at least, not one he remembered seeing. His eyes trailed down her figure quickly at first, taking it all in, but moved back up more slowly, pausing completely at her chest before making their way back up to her radiant smile.

"You...you look..." 

"Amazing~"

For a split second, his gaze moved to his desk. It was set for two—each place with a glass of juice and a bowl of creamy shrimp pasta. His eyes moved back to her.

"You made all of this for…” he almost said ‘me’, but caught himself, “...us?”

“Heh~ Yes, I did.”

Ren tensed up a bit as Rosie walked closer, his heart hammering violently in his chest. The moment he felt her hands around his though, it began to slow. 

“I hope you like it,” she continued. “It’s a date~”

He’d figured that much out by this point, but hearing her actually say it made his heart skip a beat.

“Yeah…”

“I love it~” All at once, he was overcome with the same soft, warm, safe feeling he’d had a few nights ago before kissing her.  “Thank you, Rosie~” 

Rosie leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Ren~  I like you.  I'm falling in love with you.” 

Despite everything, he hadn’t expected her to say that, not so overtly. As he gazed at her with surprise, his ears twitched.  Holding her this close, he could hear her heart racing—feel it too. Was she as nervous as he was?  That was…strangely comforting, actually. He took a shaky breath. 

“I…”

"I feel the same way. I have for a while now, you're..." Ren took another small breath, trying to figure out how to put all his feelings to words. “You're the most amazing person I've ever met."

Rosie gazed back at him with big, watery eyes just before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into another hug. Her hair smelled like a field of flowers. A moment later, she pulled back, smiling at him once more before slowly moving toward his mouth. Ren leaned in to meet her half-way, just as eager as he was terrified.

And then their lips met.

In movies, first kisses were always full of loud excitement​​—exploding fireworks and rising crescendos. But this was quiet and warm, like sinking into a bath after a long day. All the fear and anxiety from before melted away as he lost himself in the delicate, soft feeling of her lips.

Once they pulled back, Ren's gaze held nothing but love and adoration as she held his face in her hands, then kissed him again. It was just as nice the second time.

“Ren~” she cooed, touching her nose to his. “What a cute, fluffy boyfriend I've found~" 

Boyfriend. Boyfriend boyfriend boyfriend boyfriend boyfriend.

Ren giggled, wrapping his tail around her. That made her his girlfriend too, didn’t it?

"What a gorgeous, soft girlfriend I’ve found~" he replied as he moved in for a third kiss. He let this one linger a bit longer than the others, savoring every second before finally pulling back and giving her the most confident smile he’d ever had since setting foot in this house.

“Shall we~?”

[tsukishumai]

pairing; iwaizumi hajime x gn!reader genre; fluff, brothers best friend to lovers warnings; oikawa!reader, alcohol consumption, suggestive themes, making out, swearing wc: 3.7k+ summary; after years apart, your big brother finally flies back to visit home. Eager to show off just how much you’ve grown, you invite him over to your new apartment for dinner. It was supposed to be sibling bonding time; so why was Iwaizumi Hajime walking through your door???

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

If there was one thing you hadn’t expected from Tooru moving half way across the world, it’s that you would actually miss him.

You had been such a pain in the weeks leading up to his departure. Not only did you create a poster counting down the days until his flight, but you had thrown all your things into and claimed his (much bigger) room before he could even get started on packing his things. You scoffed when he said you’d miss him, going so far as to wear a party hat and bringing confetti to the airport when you dropped him off.

You really did enjoy it, at first. You no longer had to fight over who used the bathroom first in the morning, or who got to pick what to watch on TV. There was no one coming into your room randomly to ask you stupid questions, and the walks home from school were suddenly a million times quieter.

You don’t know when you started lecturing him for forgetting to call, or sending him care packages because it’s almost impossible for him to find Mirin in Argentina. But you had bawled your eyes out when he couldn’t fly back for your high school graduation, and you were forced to come to the realization that you, in fact, missed your older brother.

So when he called to say he was coming home to visit, you could feel your bones vibrating with excitement. Although you spoke to him everyday, it had been years since you’ve seen him in the flesh. You were still just a teenager when he left, a little brat poking fun at your brother’s tear-streaked face as he tried to hug you goodbye.

Now, it was your turn — tears disgracefully staining your cheeks as the snot bubbles around your nostrils. Oikawa laughed when you threw open your apartment door and immediately bursted into tears, rushing forward to engulf him in a tight hug.

“Come on, y/n,” he chuckled, patting you on the shoulder and pushing you off, “I know it’s been a while, but this shirt’s designer, please.”

You step back and smack him hard on the chest before diving right back into his embrace. Oikawa rolled his eyes and finally wrapped his arms around you, giving you a tight squeeze in greeting.

You were eager to show him your apartment, one that you had leased and furnished all with your own hard work. You showed him the plants that you had miraculously kept alive for longer than a week, and he teased you for the family photo you had framed in your living room.

“It looks much bigger in person,” Oikawa commented as you led him to sit down at your dinner table, an assortment of different dishes and sides you had spent hours making spread across. “And since when did you know how to cook?”

“I’ve always known how to cook,” you rolled your eyes, grabbing two beers out the fridge and setting one down in front of Oikawa, “I just never bothered to cook for you.”

“And here I thought you might have gotten nicer over the years,” Oikawa clutched at his heart, feinting hurt before giving you a sad smile, “But this place is great, y/n. You’ve done really well.”

You could feel a sort of strange pride begin to spread across your chest, one that had made you grin a little wider and sit a little straighter. Suddenly, Oikawa lets out a dramatic wail and drops his head into his hands.

“You’re all grown up, and I missed all of it!”

You sighed, a crooked smile on your lips as you pat Oikawa on the shoulder.

“I know. You gave me abandonment issues.”

Oikawa’s head shot up out of his hands, a twisted snarl on his face as he looked at you in shock. “Wha— how could you say that?!”

You laughed at his distress, and Oikawa had started to say something snarky back. But your exchange had been rudely interrupted by four loud knocks. Both of you quickly turned your head over to the front door, your surprised and confused expression the complete opposite of Oikawa’s excited smile.

“Don’t be mad, y/n-chan,” Oikawa started, and nothing good had ever come from that sentence, “But since I’m only in town for such a short time, I kind of, sort of, invited someone else over tonight.”

Oikawa abruptly stands up from his seat, quickly dashing away from the daggers you were glaring at him and waltzing over to your front door. You felt your heart slowly sink into your stomach. You were undeniably upset, having expected to spend some real bonding time with the brother you’d only grown close to over a screen. He was just two years older than you, but the both of you had spent so much time arguing in your teenage years. Now, as adults, you thought this was your chance to really hang out — and he’s still pulling irritating stunts like this.

You had your lecture for him prepared and ready in your head, but when Oikawa swings open the door, any and all negative feelings that you may or may not have been experiencing just a moment prior had quickly dissipated into thin air.

Standing across the threshold of your apartment was your old high school crush, and your brother’s best friend — Iwaizumi Hajime.

Iwaizumi looks at you with a bright smile that made you feel as if you had been transported back in time. Butterflies that you thought long gone flutter their way back into your belly, bringing a heat to your face that left you silent. Iwaizumi must have mistranslated your expressions, as the corners of his lips slowly curl downward, and he turns to face Oikawa with a hardened scowl.

“You didn’t say I was coming,” Iwaizumi said, sighing and rubbing a hand down his face. Though, he was right about that.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa greets, completely ignoring Iwaizumi’s accusations and pulling his best friend through the door before slamming it shut. “SO glad you could make it tonight. Y/N made a ton of food!”

You hastily stand up from your seat, rushing to greet your new guest when Iwaizumi turns to give you an apologetic bow.

“I’m sorry for the intrusion,” he says politely when he stands back up, lamely offering you a bottle of sake in greeting. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Iwaizumi-san, please,” you finally find your voice. You hurry over to take the bottle from his hand, offering him a soft smile. “It’s not an intrusion at all! Come in, come in.”

He returns your smile with a relieved one of his own, finally shedding his shoes and entering your living space. Your heart was pounding like the rhythm of a taiko drum, and you thought it was impossible for them to have not heard it.

You lead the two boys the short distance from your foyer to your dining room table, Oikawa plopping down in his seat to your right and leaving Iwaizumi to take a seat directly across from you.

“I didn’t know you were back in Japan, Iwaizumi-san?” You questioned him as you prepared another place setting and grabbed another beer from the fridge.

Iwaizumi gives you a grateful nod, his fingers softly brushing against yours as he grabs the cold bottle from your grip.

“I just got back a couple of weeks ago,” he answered, watching you as you take your seat, “Something I thought your brother would have mentioned when he should have told you I was coming.”

Iwaizumi glares at the older Oikawa, who quickly raises both his hands up in the air in surrender.

“Do the details really matter now in this situation?” Oikawa squealed, quickly grabbing his own beer and raising the bottle into the air. “What matters is that the three of us are back together! Why don’t we cheers to that!”

You shared an exasperated look with Iwaizumi before the both of you rolled your eyes and begrudgingly raised your own bottles.

The clinking sound of colliding bottlenecks had been quickly followed by an oddly harmonized ‘itadakimasu’, and it was this that finally cut the ribbon of tension that had momentarily filled the atmosphere.

You forget just what a force the Iwaizumi/Oikawa combo truly was, having been deprived of the harmonious chaos the two often created whenever they were together for years. But now, the floodgates had been opened, and you were swept away in the current of nostalgia, all while trying to reconcile with the very new reality you were finding hard to believe was yours.

Everything about this was familiar. Your brother complaining about your cooking, yet still eating three full plates of food. Iwaizumi purposely antagonizing Oikawa with subtle jabs and back handed compliments. Oikawa asking you to take his side, so naturally, you take Iwaizumi’s because he helped you put the empty dishes in the sink. The two stayed bickering about anything and nothing, but the soft look in both their eyes and the way they leaned back against the chair and laughed told you that this was something that was sorely missed.

Yet somehow, none of it was the same.

The three of you still sat at your dining room table, and at first glance, Oikawa was hardly any different. His chest was just a bit broader, hair just a few inches shorter, and his skin had been kissed by the sun in a way it hadn’t been before. But then you see that his shoulders were no longer carrying the heavy burden he had placed on himself for years, and you notice his smiles had finally begun to reach his eyes. He now speaks to you with a gentleness to his tone that had never been there before, and his laughter had ceased to be laced with bitterness and discontent.

Oikawa’s hand moved so animatedly in the air as he talked about the cultural reset he had to go through in Argentina, but when Oikawa spoke of his new home, you knew he finally found a place he belonged.

Iwaizumi segues into a story about his roommates from America, and you could hardly see any shadow of the boy you once knew in the man that now sat in front of you.

Iwaizumi had always been handsome, but now he was drop dead gorgeous. His jaw looked so sharp, you were sure you would cut yourself if you dared to run your fingers along his skin, but you wouldn’t mind if it meant you could your thumb across his bottom lip. He filled out his shirt too perfectly, the outline of his pectorals barely starting to peek through the thin fabric. When he crosses his arms, you notice the veins that travel along the planes of his muscles, and you wonder what it would feel like if they were wrapped around you.

You move eyes up from his chest only to be met with hazy, verdant irises.

You froze in your seat, eyes locked with Iwaizumi’s as you try not to smack yourself on the face.

He caught you checking him out.

You felt your throat dry up at your attempt to gulp, ready to live with the humiliation for the rest of your life, but your despair had turned into irrational hope when Iwaizumi lightly licks his lips and smirks.

You had to bite the inside of your cheek.

“So, your own apartment, a job in the city,” Iwaizumi now turns the conversation to you, “Who would have thought Babykawa would be the most stable one out of all of us.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, cringing at your old nickname, “Do I look like a baby to you?”

“You’ll always be a baby to me,” Oikawa reaches over and pats your head, “but seriously. I’m really proud of you. You’re all grown up.”

Oikawa’s vision may have been blurred by the tears in his eyes, but you could clearly see the way Iwaizumi had looked at you up and down.

“Yeah, you definitely are,” he mumbled, reaching for the sake bottle the three of you had been drinking for the past hour. But when he tries to pour into his empty glass, not a single drop came out.

“We finished it,” you pouted, crossing your arms in a huff.

“Nooo, I want more,” Oikawa whined, banging his fists on the wodden table.

“Stop, you’re going to break the damn thing,” Iwaizumi snaps, and he tries to shake the bottle down for any ounce of liquid that might have been trapped inside. But alas, the bottle was dry, and the fridge had been devoid of beer ten minutes ago.

“Y/N, go buy more drinks,” Oikawa demanded, pointing at the door, “I saw a convenience store a few blocks down.”

You groan at Oikawa, rolling your eyes at him. But you weren’t ready for the night to be over, so you moved to get up from your seat and grab your keys.

But before you could go anywhere, Iwaizumi shoots an arm out to keep you in place, giving Oikawa the dirtiest look.

“Oi, shittykawa, it’s the middle of the night, and you’re going to order y/n to go out alone?” Iwaizumi lectures, “What the hell is wrong with you? Argentina make you forget your manners or something?”

“Ahh, I’m sorry, Iwa-chan, I can’t understand you with that American accent,” Oikawa childishly retaliates, but Iwaizumi just gives him a hard look.

“Damn it, fine, I’ll go,” Oikawa mutters, getting up to grab his coat, “Make some snacks while I’m gone.”

You stare at Iwaizumi slack-jawed. Oikawa was always such a pain in your ass, you could never get used to how easily he bended for Iwaizumi.

Though, you can’t deny you’d bend for —

Your thoughts were interrupted with the slam of your front door.

“That was impressive,” you commented, and Iwaizumi chuckled.

“That’s nothing,” he replies, waving a hand in front of his face, “Thanks again for letting me crash your dinner.”

You smile at how suddenly the previously confident Iwaizumi had melted into the nervous bundle in front of you, as he fiddled with his glass and ran a hand through his hair.

“Well, the bottle of sake made up for it, I suppose,” you joked, sighing dramatically, resting your arms on the table. “Though, your second mistake was only bringing one bottle.”

A comfortable silence fell amongst the two of you as you both leaned back on your chairs, and Iwaizumi’s gaze rested on your face. His cheeks were tinted red, and the corner of his lips had been upturned so slightly, that if you hadn’t been staring at him all night, you probably wouldn’t have noticed.

“I’m glad to see you’re still the same you,” he sighed out, now fully letting his smile rest on his lips.

There was no stopping your lips from returning his smile with one of your own, and you felt incredibly stupid for feeling so giddy over something that wasn’t even really a compliment.

“And I’m just glad to see you, Iwaizumi-san,” the words involuntarily tumbled from your tongue, the creeping onset of inebriation beginning to loosen your lips.

Iwaizumi raises an eyebrow at you. “What’s with the Iwaizumi-san? What happened to Iwa-chan?”

You recall the moniker you had adapted from your older brother, having called Iwaizumi that for nearly the entirety of your relationship.

But that was a different you. And this was a different Iwa. And a part of you didn’t want to drag old aspects of your connections with him into the present.

A bigger part of you wanted to make new connections.

“You don’t like Iwaizumi-san?” You ask, leaning forward to rest your head in your hands. You stared up at him through your eyelashes, copying his move by licking your lips, “How about I call you Hajime instead?”

You could tell Iwa had been taken aback from the way his eyes widened and his mouth dropped, but he was quick to regain his composure.

He leaned forward, dropping his arm down onto the table and ghosting his fingers along your arm.

“If you want to call me Hajime, you have to earn it.”

Your door bursts open in nearly the same you way your heart wanted to burst from your chest.

“I’m back,” Oikawa said, “They only had apple soju. Which, you know, I’m not complaining.”

Oikawa returned the scene, oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place a few seconds prior. Iwaizumi takes the bottles of soju from Oikawa and casually fills his glass, and yours. He sneaks a glance at you before placing the bottle down, and Oikawa complains about having to pour his own drink.

The night continued on as normal. You laugh at Oikawa’s story about how he accidentally bought 60000¥ worth of pineapple at the grocery store, and Oikawa sputters when Iwaizumi tries to teach him English phrases.

But now, you find your eyes staring at the handsome, green-eyed man in front of you much more often than you’d like to admit. And your breath is stolen from right out of your lungs whenever you find him staring at you too.

Four, five, six bottles of soju later, and Oikawa’s passed out on your couch with a fleece blanket draped over him. Iwaizumi was still sat at your dining room table, arms resting on the table as he laid his head on top. Competitiveness may be something they never outgrow, because as soon as Oikawa mentioned a drinking contest, you knew it was game over.

You move past him and into your kitchen, deciding to get a head start on your dishes in an attempt to calm your nerves.

It wasn’t all in your head, was it? Iwaizumi was definitely flirting with you. Well, at the very least, you were flirting with him.

Just as you finish washing the final bowl, Iwaizumi enters the kitchen. You quickly shut off the faucet before you slowly turn to face him, stomach flip flopping in its place as you fought the food and drink threatening to crawl back up your throat.

“Hey, Iwa-chan,” you teased, leaning back against the counter and crossing your arms, “Have a good nap?”

Iwaizumi doesn’t react to your quip, half-lidded eyes honed in on you through an alcoholic haze as he slowly steps in to close the distance between you two.

He doesn’t stop until his chest is mere centimeters from yours, and you use every ounce of your willpower not to shrink away.

“Call me Hajime,” he leans down to whisper in your ear, placing his hands on the kitchen counter on either side of you. You were caged into his arms, and you shivered as his breath fanned down your neck. “I have a confession to make.”

“What?”

Iwaizumi pulled his head back, smirking down at you.

“I asked Oikawa if I could come tonight.”

You felt yourself sober up at his words, straightening your back so you could look him straight in the eye.

“Why?”

Iwaizumi shrugged, moving his left hand from the counter to stroke a finger along your jaw.

“Maybe I just wanted to see you.”

You couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. A part of you was afraid that one wrong turn would instantly shatter the illusion you had fallen under. Another part just wanted to stay caged under Iwaizumi forever.

You felt the warmth of his hand cup the back of your neck.

“Can I kiss you?” every word brought Iwaizumi closer until his breath fanned across your lips. The shadows of his face had been so close to yours, the scent of beer mixed with his cologne started to make your head spin, and you weren’t sure which way was up.

All you knew was that the moment you nodded your head, Iwaizumi bends your head back and lowers his lips onto yours.

Iwaizum felt so plush against you, his kisses felt as rich as velvet and softer than silk. He moved his lips against you in a smooth rhythm, his hand cupping your face while the other arm wraps around your waist.

You feel yourself being lifted off your feet, stabilized by only Iwaizumi’s embrace. You brace yourself against his chest, slowly snaking your arms up to wrap around his neck.

Iwaizumi pulls you even closer than you thought possible, licking and nipping at your bottom lip, asking for more. You could feel your heart beat faster and faster as Iwaizumi nearly whimpers against you, begging to be accepted.

As soon as you parted your lips, Iwaizumi enters your mouth, swirling his hot tongue against yours, making your heart do somersaults in its cage until you felt your knees begin to buckle.

Iwaizumi swallowed your moans with his mouth, and you cling onto him as if he were your only anchor in this spinning room.

The sound of glass breaking had abruptly interrupted your ministrations, causing the two of you to jump so far apart, you were on nearly opposite sides of the kitchen.

You turn to the living room, starkly reminded of the brother you left passed out on the couch. While he was still sleeping soundly, he manages to remind you of his presence by accidentally knocking over the lamp on your side table.

You and Iwa simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

He looks at you. You look at him.

It started with a giggle, which soon evolved into a snicker, and a few minutes later you and Iwa were nearly on the floor laughing.

When the laughter dies down, Iwaizumi helps you clean up the broken shards that scattered in your living room.

You go to throw the glass away in the trash, and you come back to see that Iwaizumi moves to a spot by the front door, kicking his feet at imaginary rocks.

“I better get going. It’s getting late,” he said, finally looking up to face you.

You nodded silently, a stupid smile on your face as you still found yourself at a loss for words.

Iwaizumi turns to leave, but suddenly looks back at you nervously. “Can I call you later?”

You had no idea Iwaizumi could be so charming.

You close the distance between you two, placing a hand on his shoulder and standing up on your tip toes to place a kiss on his cheek.

“Get home safely,” you say, “I’ll be waiting for your call.”

The grin on Iwaizumi’s face was blinding.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Good night, Hajime.”

[pixelwisp-archive]

Itadakimasu!! | Part 5: I Didn’ Ask (Written Chapter)

word count: 1.7k

Atsumu Miya was handsome, that was an undeniable truth. So naturally it would make sense that his identical twin brother would be, well, identical - and yet, you couldn't help the state of shock you found yourself in as you stood before him, your once buckling knees relieved of their pressure as his very large arms grab the box from your hands with a grunt ('lemme take that, looks heavy'). In all honesty, the fact that he was that good looking pissed you off, and watching him be kind, albeit taciturn, to you after bullying you for a month straight on Twitter (okay, fine, it was a mutual bullying, but he definitely started it) only made your scowl deepen. Your eyes narrowed at his back and you turned toward the van with a huff, finding another, perhaps lighter box to take inside.

  "This place has been collecting dust for years, ya sure you guys can make it work?" Miya's voice was deep and rich, every syllable dripped with his Kansai accent. The unfamiliar sound made your chest bubble and you had to stop yourself from outwardly groaning in frustration. You crossed the threshold of the new place and your mouth fell open as you took in the shops current state.

The shop was- well, let's just say there was a reason it was so cheap. Even still, your eyes glittered at the potential you saw. The exposed beams looked in near mint condition as the sun filtered through the windows and soaked the unstained wood in a warm morning glow. It was empty, save for some appliances that definitely looked antique (the thought of being able to restore them made you drool), but the space had more than enough room for café style seating, and maybe even a section for a corner library or a stage for live music. The stairs to the two bedroom apartment that resided directly above the shop space, where you would be living, was tucked away in a hallway off to the side. You made a mental note to make sure it was a bit more livable than the current shop situation downstairs, and motioned for him to settle the boxes along the main counter.

"We're planning on restoring the kitchen within a few weeks, then setting up a pop up stand out front to make revenue while we renovate the rest. Hoping to be fully open come summer." He merely hummed in response as he brushed off the dust left on his hands. You were caught up in your own world, detailing in your brain every minute detail you planned on changing when Kuguri stumbled in through the front door, giant box obscuring his vision as he tripped over the step. "Ah, careful, looks fragile." Miya rushed over to help, taking the box and allowing Kuguri to steady himself. Kuguri blinked, warmth hitting his cheeks as he mumbled a small thank you.

“Don’ mention it,” came Miya’s slightly strained reply as he set the box down next to the others. The room fell into a less than comfortable silence and you tried to look anywhere other than at the man currently standing in your dining area. Kuguri cleared his throat and tightened the grip on his suitcase as he made his way over the stairs. "I'm gonna go check out the apartment. I'll be back in a bit." You shot him a pleading look but he mouthed a quick 'sorry' and scurried off, leaving you alone with the Other Twin.

More uncomfortable silence. You felt warmth rush to your face as you grew more flustered with each beat, neither of you willing to break the tension that had been slowly pervading the air around you like a dense fog. The suffocation ended up winning out over your stubbornness and you turned your head to look at him, embarrassment flooding at the sight of his eyes already on you.

"Uh, thanks, you know, for the help." He gave you a tight, forced smile, uttered a quick 'yer welcome', and began to make his way towards the side entrance. Arms crossed in front of you as you watched him open the door, the tiny alleyway and side entrance to his own shop coming into view. Miya paused at the open door and turned his head to look over at you, a smirk settling on his face.

"By the way, little creepy of ya to stalk us and rent out the space next to us. What are ya lookin' for here? I hope you know this new development doesn't change anythin' between us." Your eyes widened at the sudden change, your brain working overtime to try to process what he said. Once you had caught up to the moment, you scoffed.

"Oh please, Miya, as if. The world doesn't revolve around you. We bought this place over a month ago." His eyes shone with something you couldn't quite place and he let out a small chuckle, one that sounded far too innocent in comparison to his hard gaze. "Whatever you say, Paradis." You scrunched your nose at the familiar nickname, shaking your head.

"Don't call me that; I have a name, you know." Miya turned around to face you fully then, the smirk ever present as he leaned against the frame, his hand still grasping the handle to the shop door. "Ah yeah? You guys don' mention names on your Twitter, and I was always too (again, petty) lazy to bother lookin' it up," he drawled, deepening your frown in response.

"It's L/n Y/n." Miya's lazy smile upturned ever so slightly.

"Ah, I didn' ask, but thanks." 

Embarrassment crashed over you once again and you felt the heat creep up your neck and ears. Your glare seemed to be filled to the brim with hellfire as you bore holes into his back. He turned to leave, and you followed after him, taking hold of the doorknob and watching him make the short distance back to Onigiri Miya's side entrance.

"I noticed you call me Miya, it's quite formal of you,” he noted, now at his own door. You let out a less-than-ladylike snort and waved your hand. "I wasn't being formal - coincidentally, I just also didn't bother looking it up." He laughed then, and it was a nice laugh, and you hated how nice it was with every fiber of your being.

"Osamu," he said, the smugness oozing off him, as if you were just dying to know his name and he decided to humor you. You stepped backward to make room for the door.

"Ah, I didn' ask, but thanks," you mocked, accent and all. You threw a shit eating grin and a quick wave his way before promptly shutting the door. When you saw what seemed like the five stages of grief cross his face in a span of a few seconds, you knew that putting Osamu Miya in his place was going to become your favorite past time.

Based on the way you two had tweeted each other over the last month, Osamu had deduced that you were probably a woman. What he wasn't expecting, however, was just how cute you ended up being. If you had been anyone else he probably would have been nothing short of a perfect gentleman; carrying all the boxes, smooth talking his way through conversation, and working himself up to asking you out. Unfortunately for him, though, there was just something about you that got under his skin, and he genuinely couldn't figure out what it was.

Osamu stood alone in the alleyway, giving himself a moment to process the last forty-five minutes of his life. Paradis Bakery, the company he's been openly beefing with on Twitter for the world to see, not only opened a second location in Osaka, but moved directly beside Onigiri Miya, in the place he had been looking into purchasing for at least six months now. The abandoned café was supposed to be a plan B in case Tokyo had to be pushed off for a few more years - being able to expand Onigiri Miya would have been huge for them if they couldn't swing the Tokyo location, and Kita had been more than open to the idea of expanding. When you said you purchased the café over a month ago, he remembered inquiring about the place at least two weeks prior to Atsumu's visit to your bakery, and the owner mentioning that someone had put in an offer. The sheer coincidence honestly creeped him out more than anything; he didn't like the feeling that fate was behind this because if it was - why?

Osamu shook off the goosebumps and decided he'd worry about fate intervening when it actually decided to do so. Turning toward his own shop, he hustled into the store with tense shoulders and a furrowed brow. Why was he so worked up? He's well aware that he's the one who started the whole social media war between you, and it's not like you guys actually had any reason to hate each other - you were just doing it for the attention. So why does he have this familiar feeling of contempt coursing through him at the mere thought of you?

"Osamu, are you okay? Ya sleep well?" Osamu snapped his attention to Kita, who was standing in the kitchen, already beginning food prep for the day. Kita's knife paused its assault on the spring onions as he waited for an answer.

"Ah, yeah, I slept fine Kita. Ya meet the new neighbors?" Kita nodded, resuming his ministrations. If you didn't know Kita, you would have just assumed the polite smile was just that - Osamu knew better though, and the slight upturn had a hint of what looked like mischief behind it. He gulped at the thought of Kita plotting.

"I met L/n. She's very nice." Osamu face scrunched at the mention of your name, which didn't go unnoticed by Kita, who's eyebrow shot up in surprise.

 "You don't like her?"

"She's...fine." Osamu walked into the kitchen, putting on his apron as he washed his knife in preparation for the salmon.

"Honestly, I'm surprised, I thought you'dve taken a likin' to her if anything." Osamu grunted in response. "I dunno what it is, but there's just somethin' that rubs me the wrong way."

"Give it time, she may warm up to ya."

Osamu doubted that.

Prev | Masterlist | Next

Fun Facts - 

Tendou got an earful when you called him that day, and he bit back a laugh every time you angrily mentioned how hot Osamu was (’Oh my god his face??? his arms??? Why’s the universe gotta have favoritism for the worst people’) 

After hours, Kita also got an earful from Osamu - and he also had to cover his smile with his hand whenever Osamu angrily mentioned how cute you looked when you scrunched your face up. (’-and then she snorted, actually /snorted/, at me and while it was adorable it was rude as hell. She’s rude as hell, Kita.)

Kuguri rushed upstairs partly because he couldn’t stand the tension, but mainly because he wanted first dibs on bedrooms. 

A/N: ahhh I’m SO sorry for such a long wait, I never intended to take nearly a whole ass week to post - I started a new job this week with weird hours so I had to adjust, plus this chapter actually gave me a little bit of grief haha (thank you lark for pulling my head out of my ass multiple times). But exciting things happen!! Y/n finally meets osamu and its awkward and annoying and they’re both so hot what do we do oh no~ I’m very excited to see how their relationship progresses through the next few chapters lol. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy, feel free to pop into my asks if you want to talk about the fic, or your day, or would like to be added to the taglist!! As always, thank you so much for reading, I love you guys!

Taglist -

@larkspyrr @oikawaandkuroostan @fucktheworlddude @doctorspencereid @keiarma @cherriechurros @halesandy @k3nma-fairy @jewlmin @tabipleats​ @kaleidoscopekai​

[szivtalan]

love is in the words unspoken

all these moments are golden,

forever is mine with you

the blossoming of the cherry trees always puts hawks in a strange mood. he thinks they’re romantic, magical - reminds him of a time when he was more naive, more dreamy, didn’t know much about the world. it’s nostalgic, to see the carpet of sakura petals on the streets, reminding him of what is and what could’ve been.

‘hawks!’

it’s ironic that he runs into endeavor’s child just as the flowers begin to fall.

‘hey, it’s todoroki.’ he grins, glancing at the two heroes behind the one already rushing up to him: deku and dynamight. ah yes, the three musketeers, as they call themselves. it’s nice to see the top three teaming up that way. ‘where’s the honorific though, kiddo? i’m still much older than you.’

‘not that much.’ shoto replies, and it feels like a shot to the heart. that’s right... they’re both in their twenties now. ‘and i figured i’d drop the honorifics now that i’m above you on the hero ranking list.’

the tilt of his head would be adorable if he weren’t such an asshole. tokoyami was right when he said that his youngest was different than endeavor - hawks only wished to see such a playful side of him.

‘the disrespect.’ hawks laughs, slapping shoto on the shoulder. he hits harder than what would be necessary, but the boy doesn’t even bat an eye. sturdy. and tall. holy shit, is he taller than hawks now? ‘anyway, i really don’t mind. are you guys patrolling around here?’

‘GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE HALF-AND-HALF, BEFORE I GO THERE AND BEAT IT!’ one youngster yells at them.

‘kacchan, don’t be so rude! he’s talking to hawks-san!’

‘friendly bunch.’ hawks snorts, and shoto just shakes his head with a smile.

‘they’re the best. i’m just trying to catch up.’ he admits, sounding sincere.

‘DON’T IGNORE ME, FUCKFACE!’

‘what are you doing around here anyway?’ shoto asks. ‘isn’t your office in a different city?’

‘yeah, i just came here to stretch my wings, take a walk.’ hawks says, ruffling his feathers a little for emphasis.

‘are you walking on your wings?’

‘n-no...?’

‘then how-’

‘WRAP IT UP NOW!’ at dynamight’s next shout, shoto visibly flinches. he seems more irritated than scared, at least to hawks.

‘i just wanted to thank you for helping my dad all those years ago.’ shoto says then, bowing his head a little. hawks takes it back, he doesn’t have an ounce of disrespect in his body. he’s just a little warped in the social area, and hawks has a fairly good guess where he gets that from. ‘i’ll be going now.’

‘wait, ah- how, how’s the old man?’ hawks tries to aim for anything but desperate. ‘i haven’t heard from him since the retirement.’

shoto looks at him thoughtfully, and those dual-colored eyes make hawks immeasurably nervous. he feels like he’s staring into his soul, opening up the secrets he’s got locked inside.

‘he’s well. i go home on weekends.’ shoto says, pulling up a notebook and a pen. ‘here’s the address. i think he’d appreciate the visit.’

the road to the todoroki estate was the most tiring one hawks had taken in a while. it’s not like it was far from where they met with shoto, but he spent the entire time worrying if he’s dressed well for the occasion, if he should just walk instead of flying to not get gross and sweaty - if endeavor will even let him in, or he’ll just pass by and get told off.

the house is huge, traditional, designed in classic enji taste. hawks could see the roof from a street away, almost walks into a lamppost while staring, his heart picking up the speed both from the scare and the nerves. his feet feel heavier with every step, walking down the street, finally getting to the gate-

and seeing todoroki enji, former number one hero, the feared endeavor sweep the walkway to his door, the scene way too casual to not send an already spring-up hawks into hysterics.

‘what the hell is that?’ hawks spits, laughter erupting from deep in his belly. the look on endeavor’s face just makes him shriek louder, his abs clenching with it. ‘is that- a fucking broom for ants, endeavor, you look so funny-’

‘can’t a man just do his chores in peace?!’ endeavor’s yelling now; sparks fly on his heated skin, and then they burst into flames.

‘now that’s the endeavor-san i know and love.’ he laughs, holding onto his own stomach, wiping his tears. endeavor’s face appears red under all that fire, he walks up to the gate to let him in.

‘what are you doing here, anyway?’ he mumbles, extinguishing himself as hawks walked in. he holds his broom under his armpit rather awkwardly, with the gracelessness of a man not quite used to doing the cleaning. hawks looks at him, observes: the slouch in his shoulders, the specks of grey in his stubble, the blush high on his cheek, the early wrinkles. he smiles to himself, reasons unknown, buried deep in a secluded part of his heart.

‘ran into your kid downtown, he said i should drop by and say hello.’ hawks lifts the nylon bags he’s been carrying, offers a lopsided grin. ‘i brought takeout.’

‘hmpft.’ endeavor is elaborate, as always. a man of few words and plenty actions, something hawks has always admired in him. ‘you can stay. only for the food.’

‘so you’re still very much hopeless in the kitchen, eh?’

‘don’t make me change my mind, brat!’

the house is huge on the inside, at least five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big kitchen and dining room, and one living room all fit into one floor. all of it echoes from their steps, empty and lonely.

‘your boy said that he’s visiting you on weekend.’ hawks pries, shrugging his coat off as he hands over the bag. his fingers brush against endeavor’s fight-hardened, calloused ones and his heart feels like it could jump out of his chest again.

‘whenever he has the time. shoto’s a busy man.’ endeavor nods, his voice dripping with pride. hawks doesn’t need him to say any more to know how fond he is of his son. it makes him smile, actually. ‘why?’

‘and the rest of your family?’ he asks, a little more cautious.

‘i see rei and natsuo on holidays, and fuyumi usually spends her school breaks here.’ enji sets down the bag at the low table, grabs a pair of chopsticks from the dish rack. there are plates piled high there: it seems like he can clean up after himself, but refuses to put things away. hawks figures it’s pretty comfortable, considers that for a second before he realizes how much he can see into endeavor’s private life.

they sit down at the same time, and their eyes meet. ‘i’m not lonely.’ enji immediately turns defensive. there’s probably pity or sadness in hawks’ eyes, he wasn’t paying attention to his expression for a second.

‘i wasn’t suggesting you were.’

‘being alone is something i deserve. so i take my punishment with pride and strength.’ enji squares his shoulder, sitting up impossibly straight at his uncomfortable seat. he takes the boxes out, scatters them across the table for them to reach. no plates, though. ‘itadakimasu.’

they eat mostly in silence, warm, comfortable, and hawks can’t take his eyes off him. endeavor looks so casual, so approachable like this. he looks soft, in the slightly frayed sweatpants, a little weary from use, and the soft cotton shirt hugging his bulging muscles, stretching across his enormous shoulders. his face is a little thin, the wrinkles obvious on its unharmed half. from this close, hawks can see the grey hairs on his temple, too.

‘i’m looking for a place to stay.’ hawks announces once they’re finished eating. the look of surprise and something else - hope? no, it can’t be... - flashing across endeavor’s face startles him, but he’s not about to back down, now. ‘what-... ugh, how much do you think you’d rent out a room for?’

‘what?’ endeavor appears shell-shocked. ‘wh- why?’

‘well, because my apartment building is remodeling, and i’m pretty sick of living in the busier side of the city anyway. figured i’d change it up, move into the suburbs-’

‘that’s not what i’m asking.’ he snaps. ‘why me? don’t you have friends who’d let you stay with them?’

‘not anyone i’d like to move in with.’ hawks shrugs, playing with a few leftover grains of rice. ‘you know, i can cook, and i’m also willing to dry off and put away your damn dishes.’

‘hawks...’

‘c’mon, we can have sleepovers! i can braid your hair and you can braid mine. it will be fun!’

‘i can’t let you do that, hawks.’

‘okay, yes, i admit, your mane’s a little short for a proper french braid, but i can make do-’

‘hawks.’ enji’s voice booms. ‘no.’

‘you’ve known me for almost a decade, old man.’ hawks is talking back, suddenly fired up. ‘why won’t you just let me take care of you?’

‘because i’m a perfectly capable person who doesn’t need anyone to take care of them.’ he huffs, steam seeping from his nose. ‘and because i can’t let you do that to yourself.’

‘what, enji?’ he’s loud. is he shouting? he can’t tell.

‘waste your time on a bitter old man who isn’t worthy of you.’

now they’re pulling up the big guns. hawks deflates, props his head up on his elbows.

‘retired, but still on your self-deprecating bullshit.’ he sighs. ‘will you take it to the grave?’

‘hawks, i’m serious-’

‘and i’ve been serious, too. my entire life, about my feelings for you. you kept shaking me off, saying it wasn’t appropriate for someone your age dating someone so young, saying you were married, but all this time, i kept getting refused because you hate yourself too much to allow yourself to be loved?’

hawks doesn’t know when he stood up, but he’s falling to his knees beside enji now.

‘what kind of an asshole does that...?’ he whispers, staring right into enji’s fearful eyes.

‘an asshole who cares about you.’ enji murmurs, letting hawks hit him in the chest.

‘this isn’t “caring” about someone! this is just lying to yourself and keeping yourself from being happy!’ his fingers tangle in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer.

‘keigo-’ enji hisses, losing his balance and gripping the edge of the table so he doesn’t fall against the other man.

‘tell me no.’ hawks proposes, his free hand coming up to cradle his jaw, so prickly and manly and strong, the shudder that ripples through him from the gentle touch, making him so weak and vulnerable. ‘no more running away, enji, no more games. tell me no right now, and i won’t ever bother you again.’

endeavor furrows his brows, the skin around his scar pulling grotesquely over his face with the struggle. he takes a deep breath, and hawks gets goosebumps as the hot air from the exhale hits his skin.

‘i can’t...’ enji whispers, and hawks can barely hear over the sound of his heart shattering. he starts to let go, but he forgets to breathe and move altogether as enji leans in instead, hand coming up to hold him close by the back of his head. ‘i can’t say no, not anymore...’

the first touch of lips against his have his insides flutter, almost working him into a panicked frenzy. he can only hope that enji can’t feel his heart beating in his throat as he kisses him, deep and desperate and oh so careful. hawks clings into him, lets him chase him for a change, holds on for the ride.

when they separate, hawks feels dizzy, drunk with heat and pleasure. enji looks just about as much present, he seems dumbfounded.

‘well, uh.’ he says, and hawks would kick anyone who says he doesn’t have a way with words.

‘i can come on thursdays and fridays.’ he offers, for now. ‘that way your kids can still have you on weekends.’

‘thanks.’ that’s all endeavor says before he pushes a few stray strands of hair back from hawks’ face, leans in for another kiss.

it’s a date, then.

[bkfics]

IV.

The next morning you wake up earlier, so you go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone, but after a while Ryota wakes up too with Kazuhiko on his back.

‘Ohāyo Okāsan.’ your baby boy tells you with a raspy typical morning voice.

After you greet them, you wonder where your baby girl is, but then she runs with her open arms to you.

‘OKĀSAN!!!’ She screams with a worried tone, so you pick her up as soon she reaches you.

‘What’s wrong honey??’ You ask her with a comforting voice.

‘Okāsan…’ then she starts crying. Ryota starts worrying too and comes to you two and tries to get Kisara from you, but she refuses.

‘O-okāsan my… I can’t find my gel for hands.’ She cries harder.

‘Kisara it’s okay. Niichan will give Kisara his gel for hands okay?’ Kazuhiko tries to comfort her, but she shakes her head.

‘NOOO I WANT MINE! MINE HAD EEVEE ON TOP!’ She yells this time.

‘Yea.. about that.. I might.. hmm.. gave it to Sakusa yesterday…sorry.’ Ryota tells you scratching the back of his head.

‘Why would y-… nevermind’ You tell him sighing.

‘Kisa-chan, Otōsan will buy you a new. With an eevee one, or whatever you want ok?’

This time she nods and goes to Ryota to let herself get pick up.

[Sakusa Kiyoomi POV]

After having breakfast I go to the bathroom to take a shower.

As the hot water starts hitting my head, I start thinking about her, and memories of when we were together in high school. I start smiling and laughing as I remember how I was the first one that fell for her and the first time I talked to her I said ‘Use this mask and stay away from boys... except me or else you’ll get sick.’

‘Why did I even leave you? If I could only go back time. I would go back to 4 years ago and tell you how much I love you.’

‘Whatever Kiyoomi, she already has a family, it’s time to move on.’

I start getting frustrated so I quickly finish showering and go run around the neighbourhood to clear my mind.

Time passes by and parents with their kids keep popping up left and right of my view, so I start running faster, but my shoes are so worn out that the soles are so consumed that a hole is formed.

‘Great! Now I have to go buy another pair. This day couldn't get any better UGH!’ I start yelling in my head as I make my way back home and start getting ready, putting on the necklace I can’t seem to let go of…

[at the mall]

I now just parked my car, making my way inside the mall and going straight at the sport centre, making sure I have my spray disinfectant and hand sanitizer-

‘What is this?.. A hand sanitizer with a Pokemon in it? Why do I have this? Ah right.. Y/N husband gave it to me.. Tch, whatever.’

I go inside and I hear three familiar voices, too familiar for my liking, they are: Atsumu, Hinata and Bokuto.

‘Shopping with my friends!’ Atsumu says taking a video to post it on his story.

‘Wait, you have friends?’ Hinata says with a mocking face while Bokuto tries not to laugh.

I seriously don’t wanna deal with them right now so I turn around, going to the opposite direction, hoping that they don’t notice me. Arriving at the running shoes isle, I grab their new released one, it’s even in our jersey’s color, it’s all black and there's a little stripe in gold, so I ask the employee if they could give me my size of this model. After she gives it to me, I go and pay for it and right at the exit, I get stopped by a woman and a man.

‘Hello sir! Our pharmacy has a new cleaning product and even a new hand sanitizer! It’s better than the previous one, it’s less stickier and has different scents! The new cleaning product cleans better than any other! We’ll be so grateful if you could at least have a look at it! Have a good day sir!’ The man tells me.

I just nod, those new products don’t sound bad, might as well have a look.

The mall’s big and after walking for a good 5 minutes, I see the pharmacy but I bump into someone.

‘Oh, nice to see you again Sakusa.’

‘Same here Wakatoshi-kun and Kageyama.’

‘Are you here to go to the pharmacy too Sakusa-san?’ Kageyama asks me as we start walking.

‘Yes, what about you two?’

‘We were bored so we decided to come here at the mall.. hmm what about having lunch together Sakusa?’ Wakatoshi asks me.

‘Hmm sure, why not.’ I answer him.

We arrive at the pharmacy and get in line.

‘Wow this guy’s so tall’ Kageyama says amaze by the man with purple hair in front of us, eating snacks as he was waiting to enter the pharmacy with his friend too, me and Wakatoshi-kun agree with him.

We then decide to eat first and come later as the line was long.

After finding for a good restaurant not packed of costumers, we order our meals and few minutes later we start eating.

‘Itadakimasu.’ we say at the same time.

While we’re eating, we start hearing whisperings from the people eating inside the restaurant.

‘They are so hot, omg.’

‘I know right!’

‘Let’s sit on the table beside them.’

‘Wait girls, aren't those Sakusa Kiyoomi, Ushijima Wakatoshi and Kageyama Tobio?’

‘OMG you’re right!’

‘Look! Sakusa-san is so handsome!’

‘I agree, but wait.. look at his necklace.. Isn’t that a ring?’

‘Oh.. maybe he has a girlfriend already…’

As they keep on whispering, we finish our meals and make our way to the cashier, then we go around the Mall to buy new clothes or things we need for our places. It‘s getting late, so I offer them a ride home since we live close to each other, Wakatoshi-kun is beside me in the passenger seat and Kageyama is in the back seat.

‘Sakusa-san, I’m curios too.. why do you have a necklace with a ring? Do you have a girlfriend?’ Kageyama starts a conversation.

‘Hmm no.. this ring belongs to my first love.. even if we aren't together anymore. I just can’t seem to throw it away and i wearing it became a habit.’

‘If it really means a lot to you, just keep it.’ Wakatoshi-kun adds.

‘Yea.. but, how are you guys doing?’ I ask, wanting to change the subject.

‘We’re doing good, tho our manager took a week of to spend time with Kise-san, since he just came back and will be going back to the States in 2 weeks for the NBA preliminaries.’ Wakatoshi-kun answers.

‘NBA? That’s cool, also who’s Kise-san?’ I ask.

‘He’s that blonde haired guy who was with her and the kids.’ Kageyama answers.

‘Ahh.. the father of that cute little boy.’ I say with a normal expression but feeling sad inside.

‘Ah no, he’s not the father.. he’s just Y/N-chan’s best friend..’ Wakatoshi-kun says..

‘The father left Y/N-chan..’ Kageyama continues.

‘The father left Y/N? He really left her to raise a son alone?’ I ask, irritated by the fact that a man left her alone.

‘A son? She has two kids. They’re twins. A girl and a boy.’ Says Kageyama.

‘Twins? D*mn, he still left them? He’s not a man. He’s a b*stard.’

After some time, I proceed to drop Wakatoshi-kun to his place first, then I drop Kageyama, but before he could open the door, I stop him and ask:

‘Kageyama, can I ask you for something before you go? ‘Cuz I feel like I won’t be able to do it if I don’t..’

‘Sure, what is it?’

‘Can I ask you for Y/N’s phone number?’

‘WOW. So you’re that type of guy, huh? That goes after women with kids..’

‘HUH?! It’s not, you weirdo. I have something to talk with her in person, so I need her phone number to set up a rendezvous.’

‘I’m just playing, no need to get so worked up, chill.. alright, it’s …’

‘Thank you, see you later.’ I say after getting the phone number.

‘Hey, don’t try doing something stupid, ‘cuz you’re not the only one with your head on the line. Also thank you for dropping me off. Bye and drive safely!’ He says while he enters through the door without looking back.

Well, now.. How should I even start a conversation…

[Back to normal POV]

[2 weeks later. Kansai International Airport]

‘Well, I guess it’s time to board. I already checked-in..’

‘Otosan.. are you going away?’ Kazuhiko asks with tears in his eyes.

‘Are you coming back?’ Adds Kisara

‘Of course.. I’ll be back in no time and you won’t be able to notice that I’m back. I’ll be gone for a while, it’s not a long time.’ He tells the twins with a comforting voice while he’s on his knees hugging both of them.

‘So, while I’m away, I want you two to eat healthy, grow up faster, always help Okasan and always smile, alright?’ He adds before letting go of the hug.

‘Hai, Otosan.’ The twins answer simultaneously while crying and hugging him tighter.

‘Alright, alright. Kazu-chan, Kisa-chan. Stop crying or he’s going to be late. We don’t want that, right?’ Kuroko takes the kids with Momoi.

‘Kise-kun, good luck for the tournament. Also, say hi to the others from me. Have a nice flight!’ Kuroko says with Kazuhiko on his arms crying.

‘Say hi to them from me too! See you later!’ Adds Momoi with Kisara crying on her shirt behind her.

‘Ryota-kun, say hi to the others from me too, also, thank you for your help at the house and for the kids too. I hope you enjoyed your rest time here.’ You tell him with a little bow and a smile.

‘Of course I enjoyed it! Also, I’ll always be here for the kids, I’m their “Dad” after all.’ He says jokingly with a big smile.

‘You’re right! Then, see you later, Ryota-kun. Have a nice trip, call me after you land, alright?’

‘Alright, Y/N-cchi, stay safe when you’re going back. Kazu-chan, you’re the man of the house while I’m not here, alright? Kisa-chan, don’t cry and smile a lot, you’re beautiful eyes and smile need to be shown more!’ He tells the twin before he turns and goes to the departure gate.

You’re all still there watching his back between the crowds of people passing left and right in front of you. Before Kise makes his way to the gate, he turns one last time and stops to look for you. Once he finds you, he says something that really shocks the shiz outta you.

‘I-love-you, Y/N.’ He says it like a whisper and smiles at you, not knowing that you understood what he said, then he goes straight to the gate.

You keep thinking of what he just said, while your face shows how surprised you are, it’s probably something not important.. but you know what he said. You read his lips even though there’s an ocean of people you could read his lips once both of your sight met each other.

masterpost | III. | V.

FACTS: 

Sakusa was pissed that a guy left you with two kids alone, but was also relieved that you don’t have a man in your life.. but he’s now hoping that you and Kise are just best friends.

Kuroko and Momoi are dating. 

Kuroko Tetsuya:

Kise is in a NBA team with Aomine Daiki, Murasakibara Atsushi and Kagami Taiga. 

Murasakibara Atsushi: 

Kagami Taiga:

@rrroadkill @samwise-though @lola2001 @velociraptorenthusiast @mjade1321 @farmertoshi @kurosiee @googiembul @hohoshiumi @floralkawa @miwtze @crapimahuman

[excitedlysuffering]

Perception- Itachi X Reader Part 2

Couldn’t resist Old Man Madara😂🥰 hope you like it @youcanreadit it felt kinda rushed I’m sorry ;-; (part 1 can be found in my profile masterlist!!)

“(Y/N)! It’s been so long, I’m so glad you joined us!” You yelped as Mikoto crushed you to her chest with a strength you didn’t know the petite woman possessed. “I’m glad I’m here too, I really missed you all!” It wasn’t a lie either, the Uchiha’s were very much a second family to you, one that you hadn’t seen in far too long.

“Don’t suffocate the poor girl before she can even get in the door, dear.” The gruff voice of Fugaku filled your ears, a tinge of amusement coloring his tone. Mikoto let you go with a sheepish smile, leaving room for Shisui to step towards you, a grin on his face.

“Hey, squirt, how’s college treating ya?” You grinned chatting with the older male, feeling the familiar ease slip over you. In no time, you were talking with everyone, and your worries slipped away.

“Itachi! Where have you been?! You’re late!” You winced as the door opened and closed, revealing the raven-haired man himself. Mikoto came out to greet him, her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.

“Sorry, mother. I stopped to grab some flowers and dango,” He replies, sheepishly banding the frowning woman the lilies. Mikoto’s frown was instantly replaced with a huge smile.

“Oh, my little gentleman, come here!” She practically tackled him into a bone-crushing hug and he grunted at the surprising force behind it. “You’re just in time for dinner, son, come join us,” Fugaku beckoned, a half-smile on his face.

“Hi, everyone, sorry for the interruption,” He apologized. You kept your focus on the conversation you were having with Shisui and Sasuke, figuring if you pretended he wasn’t there it’d be fine.

“So, you going to talk to Itachi~” Shisui teased. Or not, you sighed. “Hush, you idiot. Besides-“ you saw movement in the corner of your eyes and nearly jumped out of the seat when Itachi took the vacant seat next to you. The universe was out for blood today, huh…

“Long time no see, (Y/N), how are you?” You forced a polite smile onto your face. “I’ve been alright, and you?” He flashed you one of his signature closed eye grins. “Same with me, although I’ve missed seeing everyone like this… I’m glad you came, (Y/N/N).”

You cleared your throat, reminding yourself how to breathe. How dare he- “I am too, it’s been far too long.” Your eye twitched when you saw Sasuke and Shisui smirk as if they were planning something.

“So, (Y/N), found that… special someone yet?” Shisui wiggles his eyebrows and you envisioned yourself wiping them off his face. You saw Itachi tense up and a small, secretive smile spread across your lips. Maybe you wouldn’t kill Shisui just yet…

“Yes, actually… I wasn’t planning on telling anyone but yeah… we’ve been together for about two months.” You were disturbed by the way the lie effortlessly flowed through your lips and at how genuinely surprised everyone looked at the news. Wow.

“Is he, um, is he a good guy?” Itachi choked out. You furrowed your eyebrows at his reaction. “He’d better be since I haven’t heard anything about him,” Sasuke scowled.

“Yeah, yeah, he is…” All three boys opened their mouths to shoot off more questions, but a stern voice cut them off. “Oi, leave her alone, you idiots, I’m hungry and I’d like to eat before the food goes cold!” Well, at least Old Man Madara hadn’t changed.

We all sweatdropped at his ‘grown-up’ pout. “R-right,” I agreed awkwardly. “Itadakimasu!” Everyone echoed.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

Dinner, although it had started off awkwardly, proceeded to go off without a hitch. Mikoto and Fugako filled up a lot of your and Sasuke’s focus with questions and the like, while Shisui kept Itachi busy with conversation.

Madara, for the most part, silently watched and listened as he ate, but you could see a few smiles spread across his face throughout the meal.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’m just going to go take my plate,” You hopped up before Mikoto could insist that someone else do it. Truthfully, you could use the break, although you were having fun, being so close to Itachi after all this time was doing strange things to your heart.

You placed your silverware into the sink and times off your plate. With a calming exhale, you turned to exit the kitchen. You let out an embarrassing screech when you ran straight into a chest.

“I-Itachi! Sorry, I didn’t see you there!” He waves your apology off. “It’s fine. Did you mean what you said… about you having a boyfriend?”

You crossed your arms at the intrusive question. “What of it? Is it that hard to believe that I found someone that genuinely likes me?” He reeled back at the loaded accusation in your tone.

“No! That’s not what I meant,” He cleared his throat, trying to gather his words. “I just… did you really move on from me? Just like that…?”

Your eyes narrowed dangerously as rage spread through your entire being. “‘Just like that’?! You think I moved on ‘just like that?!’” You barely managed to keep your voice down, in order to prevent the others from hearing.

“I‘ve loved you for years and you never once acknowledged it! Not even to reject me! At first, I thought it was because you didn’t care, but now that I realized you only cared now that I’ve found someone I know it’s because you were too much of a coward to do it!”

His eyes widened at your outburst, hurt clouding his eyes. “No, that’s not it-!” You cut off his excuses with a wave of your hand. “I’ll do it for you then. I’m over you, and I want you to leave. Me. Be.” You couldn’t help but be slightly impressed with yourself at how even your voice was.

“Please, (Y/N), don’t say that… I’ve always loved you, I swear… I was just scared to say anything, I thought a relationship would distract us from our goals…” He revealed, borderline tearfully.

You scoffed in pure disbelief. “You expect me to believe that? You know what, I’m still single, but I still won’t believe such a half-assed lie like that.” His expression screamed heartbreak, but he refused to give up.

“I know I was wrong, Kami, I do, but please give me another chance… I was so scared that I had pushed you away for so long that’d I’d lost you for good.” You turned away, biting your lip.

“You really hurt me, Itachi.” His arms hesitantly encircled you, drawing you into him. “I’m so sorry, please, can you ever forgive me?” You clutched his shirt, tears now staining it. “Maybe.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to your hair. “I’m going to make it up to you, I swear it.” You held him tighter. “Don’t hurt me again, okay?” He relaxed just slightly and he pulled you away to look you in the eye.

“I swear on everything holy I will never hurt you,” He promised solemnly. You pressed your lips to his in a fleeting kiss. Even though there was still some more explaining to do, it felt as if a crucial piece of your life had finally joined the puzzle.

“Hn. Finally. I thought the two of you were going to be mutually pining your entire lives.” Sasuke huffed. You hid your face into his brother’s chest, feeling embarrassment cloud your thoughts.

“I know right, but thanks to me you can start planning their wedding Mikoto,” Shisui bragged. Mikoto’s exclamation of pure joy rang out, further tinting your cheeks red. “Oi, brats! Stop canoodling in the kitchen and bring out the dessert!”

I groaned. “M-Madara!” Was it really too much to ask for one moment uninterrupted?! “C’mon, once we finish up here, we can go off on our own, okay?” Oh, Itachi, annoyingly perceptive as always.

Taglist~ Masterlist

@alysplxnet @shinobicas @weaponsofmasspercussion @kunoichihatake @robin-boywonder @islandbbbhere @purequeenoftheimpure @dylvaz @sugarhorizons @usuratonkachiuchiha @softieitachi

[random-blfan]

Alsar 65: I'm Holding my Stomach

"Then, is this design okay?" (It’s a bit more like “Can you do this design?” )

"Oh, leave it to me! I'd like to change some things, so please drop by sometime."

The carpenter who was introduced by Ally-san seems to be a designer too, and when he told us what he wanted, he took notes and asked questions such as "What do you want to do here?" And "How many children's rooms do you want?" In regard to the arrangement of the rooms.

Thanks to that, I had lunch on the way, but today the rough floor plan was decided and we were also able to finish the draft up to the last detail.

"Then please!"

"Thank you"

"We’ll be back in a couple of days." 

The carpenter sent us off and we left the store.

Now Fer-san is holding my left hand and Chris-san and Sig-san walk behind us while talking.

I’ve been thinking, when did it become a rule to always hold hands with at least one person?

They normally hold my hand and I don’t say anything and there’s no opportunity to refuse, well it's not like I hate it so it’s fine but…

"I didn't expect that it would take this long. It's already evening, so let's go home,okay?"

"Yes, but are children’s rooms that necessary ...?"

As I walked home, I looked up and listened to Fer-san, who said with a smiling face.

Children's rooms, 5 rooms ...

Me bearing that many children! ?? Is what I thought, though I was told that wasn’t a problem.

In the first place, it feels strange to talk about children even though we really haven’t talked about it in depth...

"Well, even if you don't give birth to that many,a storeroom would be useful, right? If you give birth to five children, we’ll be able to raise them, so don't worry?"

"Hmm ... that's right ... and the servant's room ..."

I was told it would be a good idea for there to be an extra room, and it was incorporated into the floor plan.

"Ren-chan isn't going to quit being an adventurer, right? Then you have to have a room for the person who will take care of the kids while you're away? It's essential for an adventurer with all your companions, so even if it’s small it’s necessary "

"Well, I understand that but ... I didn’t grow up in that kind of environment, so it feels strange ..."

I’ve been through a lot to become an adventurer, so I want to continue after getting married, I was told that if I couldn’t look after my child then there should be a room for a babysitter. I feel torn.

When I heard that, I thought I should quit being an adventurer for a while, but as a support magician who can support three people, I should be able to reduce the risk of injury and death by doing subjugations together, so I want to continue. So I agreed to make a servant room.

Malik would think! I don't feel like saying that …( I really didn’t get this one not even when my friend explained to me, but Ren is worried about Malik’s opinion on the matter it seems)

"Oh, I will move to that house two days after tomorrow, but I have some furniture, so I wonder if I can leave it as it is? I still don't know if it will fit the new house even if I buy some."

"Ah, but why not just renew the bed in the master bedroom? I think the bed there is too small for us and Ren-kun."

"When you say that, it's certainly impossible for four people. Okay, let’s go to the furniture store tomorrow?"

"It should be as big as possible, right?"

When the three of them talk, it becomes a conversation above me and it is difficult to get into it, so I usually just listen to it.

If there is no particular problem, I won’t try to interrupt them

Besides, they talk to me properly, and even now, Fer-san's is still holding my hand, so I don't feel like I'm out of the group, and it's fun to see the three of them having fun.

"Oh, I can see Malik's house. Today I have to give Ren-kun back to Malik."

"Is Malik already at home?"

"Well ... today his shift should end by evening, so I think it's about time for him to come back."

Yeah, I’m sure.

I have a table with his shifts because the shift changes every month, but I can't confirm it because I keep it at home.

"Let's say hello. He let you stay yesterday ..."

"Really? You think it wasn’t a problem letting cute Ren stay with you?" 

"Fugu !?"

"Wow !? Malik-san!? Sig-san is falling! Please let go!"

I think it happened while Sig-san said that, pointing at the house, from behind, a hand extended to Sig-san's solid neck and wrapped around it as if squeezing.

I didn't notice him, but it seems that Malik-san is strangling Sig-san with all his might.

I ask him to let go immediately! 

"Oh, I can't help it if it’s Ren's request. Fine."

"Goho ... haha ​​... Mari ... ku-san ..."

"Sig-san, are you okay !? Doesn’t your neck hurt? If it hurts should I use 「Heal」? "

Malik-san relaxed his grip and released Sig-san with a look that as if he couldn't help it.

I hurriedly approached Sig-san who was coughing violently while kneeling in place.He shook his head so it seems there’s no pain.

"It's okay. I wouldn't be as careless as to hurt him .... Anyway, you guys come in, also there’s something I need to say to Chris, okay?" 

Malik-san, who is quietly angry and looks unpleasantly sullen, says to the three of them, but why does he want to talk to Chris-san?

But ... before that ...!

"Malik-san? Please apologize to Sig-san? It may have been bad to stay without permission, but it's terrible to go for his vulnerable neck from behind, understand?" 

"Ah…"

It was fine because Sig-san has training, but an ordinary person would have been strangled in the blink of an eye,  why did he strangle him anyway!

When I got angry with that in mind, my pout turned into a troubled expression, and I was scratching my head. ( My friend told me that while the “scratching my head” here can literally just be that it’s also used when someone is embarrassed or suffering) 

"If you don't apologize, I won't make lunch for a while!"

"What!? ... I'm sorry."

"No…" (This no is more like “it’s fine...”) 

This is the only way I can express my anger, so when I declared that, Malik-san made a terribly surprised face and immediately apologized.  I reach my hand out to Sig-san who is crouching to help him stand up. (しゃがみ込む = to squat; to crouch down completely  generally with face looking through knees)

It seems he really said  "I look forward to Ren’s bento everyday" before.

"Hmm ... I'm home for now let’s go in ..."

Malik goes into the house while sighing so those three follow suit.

"Well, sit down"

As we enter the living room, we are asked to sit on the rug, so we do so obediently.

"Malik-san, yesterday I suddenly stayed somewhere else, I’m sorry ... were you angry because of that ...?"

"Ah ... well, Ren is an adult too? So it 's fine. The problem is Chris. If you want to contact me, please contact me directly.Because I wasn’t there at that time I was ridiculed as I had to rely on Hugo to pass the message !? " 

"Eh…?"

He isn’t angry because of the overnight stay?

Eh, Chris-san, didn’t you contact him directly! ??

Thinking so, I look at Chris-san who is sitting next to me looking at Malik-san as if nothing happened. 

"Eh ~? Malik wasn't there, but if you got home, wouldn't you be surprised if Ren wasn't there, I thought you would worry, so I asked them to pass on the message ~? Are you angry? "

It doesn't sound like Chris-san's way of speaking ...

Well, if he  wasn't there at that time, it can’t be helped but ... What does he mean by ridicule?

"... Ku. That's right. You're not in the wrong. The problem is Hugo."

"Right?"

"I don't care about perfection ...?  ...? He didn’t deserve to be strangled ..." 

It seems that Malik-san admitted that Chris wasn't in the wrong,  dropping his shoulders.

And poor Sig-san (愁傷様です=しゅうしょう = shuushou, my friend explained to me that this expression is used to when someone dies or the situation is just to pitiful)

"Hmm ... I can make tea. Malik-san hasn't eaten yet, right? I'll make something, so you three eat too and then please go home."

"Oh, yes"

Apparently that was all, so I decided to make dinner after brewing tea.

There should be various ingredients in the refrigerator, so I wonder if I should look inside and decide on the menu.

"Yes. Today is a simple grated pork rice bowl, miso soup, and salad."

"" "Itadakimasu" ""

Everyone seemed to like what I made and ate quickly.

The grated pork bowl is made by dropping daikon radish on top of boiled and sliced meat then adding seasonings such as soy sauce and lemon juice. It's a solid but refreshing taste, so it's perfect for hot summers. When I was in Japan, I used to make it in the summer.

"As expected, Ren's food is delicious .... Oh, that's right. You guys, do you intend to not take quests for a while? "

"It's really delicious, isn't it? I intend to accept something once I've moved to my temporary residence ..." 

Malik-san, who was eating ravenously, says as he remembered.

The three of them said we’d look for a house and wouldn’t take quests for a week.

I wonder… if there’s something good to accept.

However, since I became B rank, it is one rank up and down.

In other words, it seems that you can only receive quests from A rank to C rank,I can't take the F rank Lulu leaf collection quest anymore. 

"That’s good then, some quests arrived that only you can take, 3 solo quests and one for a party, If you can, why don't you take them? "

"We still have a month before we go to the royal capital .... I'll decide after returning to the guild and checking the contents of the quest. Can Ren do the party quest too?" 

"Ah, yes"

Sig-san  answers, mhh but a party quest...

What is it like?

Are solo quests impossible for me

I’ll have to go to the guild and take a look tomorrow...

The three returned to the guild after getting permission to stay when Malik-san isn’t at night.

TN: Poor Sig...

Ahh It's here ＼(￣▽￣)／ I actually finished translating  yesterday at like 5 AM (Because who needs sleep… ) but I was waiting for my friend to reply to my messages and it’s hard because of the time difference.  

The previous translator liked to put food pictures whenever Ren cooked and as a foodie and someone who loves cooking, I really liked that so I decided to do it too!

I hope you liked it, I really like translating and it is fun also I learn so many new things. 

Take care and if you see typos, grammar errors or whatever feel free to tell me, I want to do my best but English isn’t my first language and I’m still learning japanese. 

[miyiee]

“TOMINO”

“TOMINO”

Written By: Miyie 〴

(Disclaimer! Please do not read if you are someone who is easily disturbed, make sure you are over 13 to read this content may include violence, alcohol, abuse, and blood, Thank you!) This is not your typical horror genre, it truly describes real-life “horror.” I really wanted to bring out these situations, as there are many out there who suffer from these.) -Miyie 〴

It’s only imaginary, it’s something so forfeit, something you cannot deliberately see.

………...See, I once had this friend, it was only engraved in my mind, not necessarily sincere nor significant to me, someone that was so authentically cruel, but yet I followed…..

A bird caged-girl, as she started to plug her ears to block out the interphone chime, I am fighting with an enemy I couldn’t even see, even till the end I was leading myself to a truly unseemly thing. A leash clings on my neck, each step, each walk, each breath I took. I am always being watched by someone, something.

Who, you may ask? My imaginary friend. “And, it has been that way for years.”

“Free me, lift me from my guilt.” If it were only so simple.

1/2/1981

Ever since the day I was born into this world, I have always been those principles of innocence, my mother, my father always checked up on me to make sure I wasn’t doing anything bad and they would always find me quite strange for a child. You see, I was always talking to the wall, in the same position. “Look! Mommy, isn’t he nice?” Yes. Tomino loved me deeply, there was no doubt, but you see, this love was a strange one and cannot be explained. “Sure, whatever you say, Hika.” She leaned down and pet me on the head. Of course to her extent, mother would never believe such nonsense...I always thought Tomino was there, someone everyone else could also see…...

Not just me.

…...

2/18/1988

One day as my mother was going out to head for groceries, I stopped her, no Tomino stopped her, he

told me to.

“Please just don’t go today, I would like you to just stay with me.”

  The day after, it was reported, documented on the news of an incident that happened to be the same street my mother was just going to head to, xxx street of Zemark, a shooting happening between two drunk white men, about 12 people had either died that day, 9 injured within that store. These sorts of incidents would occur several times after then on any random day. “That excuse again?” Tomino this, Tomino that.” Mother would often say to me out of frustration. She couldn’t understand why her daughter was acting this certain way after all. 

Was I really that childish or…. Did I speak the truth?

But, you see, such kindness comes with a price. 

A promise that was forged. 

I spend the days with Tomino, we play together, talk together for hours, I drew and wrote on his requests, but one day, it seems he has gotten quite bored of my childish acts and lingers for a little more fun and excitement. He threw my painting on the floor in anger, “So what do you want me to do then?”I asked. I wished I didn’t have asked, maybe then I wouldn’t need to do whatever he said..…. It was a little dark outside for a spring season while taking multiple glances towards outside the window. He told me to “Go outside and stab this helpless squirrel with a kitchen knife, smear its blood around in a circle on this painting, and to finally make a box around it in the sand with a stick.” When I declined, he would get mad at me and would not talk to me for hours, doesn’t help me anymore, so I did it, I obeyed him like a dog.

Mother tried ever since, to cure me of this disease, this illness. She looked for any doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. “Your child is perfectly healthy,” they said. Not even the best professionals figured it out. Tomino was always mischievous, mysterious, secretive, smart about where he moves each of his pawns. To him, this was no more than just a game.

My father abandoned me because of this, well partly. He cheated on her, secretly, but it was funny since father still had this small affection for mom, so instead, he told her a white lie. I knew all along because Tomino tells me about these things. 

I was only left with my mother. “Why me?” Why can’t I have a normal child?,” I would often hear mother mumble under her breath. My mother was no longer the kind mother I knew. It wasn’t a surprise she has become an alcoholic soon after.  

“What are you looking at? You pathetic little brat, this is all your fault!”, mother said.

“I REALLY HATE THE SMELL OF ALCOHOL.”, I screamed at her.

Miza peered in on us in the corner, she came to my house for the project.

I knew,.... She knew.

……….

Tomino would often come to comfort me when I cry, although sometimes he is upset himself and never comes, he said it wasn’t my fault. “It was Okaa-san’s fault for not understanding us enough.”

School was no different. 

“No wonder her parents abandoned her..”    

“What a spoiled child.”

“Ewww, stay away from me….”

“Manipulative bi**”

“This is all your fault!”

I have always given in the efforts to redeem myself, but they were all main just seen as an unless waste of time.

“I’m not your friend anymore! How could you do such a thing?”

Wait- KI! Wha-what about you Miza, are you going to leave me too?, I asked. Deliberately. 

She looked at me sadly but she said nothing “...........”, as she just walked alongside her other friend.

I was always the one left out. It wasn’t my fault, was it?

I had to transfer to many different schools after then. 

“Ugh, isn’t that disgusting woman her mother?”

“Why would you raise such a slut?”

It always ended terribly. 

Tears were wiped with sleeves. I weep.

So then...

9/16/1990

Mother became even more so tired of all this as each day passed by. She dressed up, packed up. Slammed the door on me.

Unknown: “Wait! What about-!”

She left me…...

 “I don’t need her anymore, I should’ve never given birth to you.”

“Don’t leave me, I promise I will do all my chores, I would never cause you any more trouble ever again, please mother!”, I layed on the floor, begging.

But, that was the last sentence mother said to me, the last she spoke to me, the last time I saw her.

“Ojii-san, Do you think it's my fault?”

Unknown: “It’s going to be okay, Hika, come with me.”

….

Years passed then, it was hard to believe. 

“Hika, breakfast is ready!” “Coming Okaa-  Ojii-san!”

“What a weird grandchild I have.”   “hahaha, Ojii-san that’s mean!”  “Come eat, child.”

“Itadakimasu!”   If you couldn’t tell already, living with my uncle was nice and comforting, for once.

“Okay, I’m off, see you Ojii-san!”

It was only us two that lived together now after dad had left us and mother had disappeared off to somewhere. Ojii-san was the only person I have now, although he is growing quite old as days pass by.

Thing was, we are tight on money. Ojii-san tries his best to reassure me and tells me to just focus on my studies but I know about our financial problems.

The only other major reason why we had food left on our plate was that “Tomino” still exists, he protects me, this was part of our agreement. I thought for sure Tomino would get bored of me soon when I grew older, but he stayed and waited for the promise we made till the very end. It seems like Tomino never really ages and he just stays the same size every day even after years. Things just stayed the same. 

Tomino grants my wishes. But, that’s it….

….

11/7/1994

I walked between pebbles, between bridges, and on bridges. Tomino follows me wherever I go. It's like he’s a stalker, but I'm used to it. "I'm fine today, Tomino, how are you? You know, I know you're there..." "Yes, whatever you say.", he replied. He raised strange doubts when I was a child, but I loved him. It was my friend after all. He was the only person who knew me well. Tomino seems to look old these days, but not so deeply.He still seems to have stayed the same even after years.

As my walk almost reached my destination, I was in the middle of walking passed the archway of the two buildings as a shortcut followed by my upperclassmen.

"Ah, isn't that Hika Normanashi?"

Please, keep in mind that……..Nobody really knows my surname. It was a secret because of family issues. Tomino also knows. And since then I haven't trusted enough people to tell them anything. It wasn’t particularly very nice to see someone expose my surname.

I felt a hand grabbed me by my wrist as they proceeded to push me against the wall as the dude kept mocking my body.

Girl 2: "Hey, knucklehead! This is it! I brought over her here."

Unknown: “This little one doesn’t seem to scream much so it’s fine boss.”

As they threw me onto the ground below them, Grabbing me and pushing my head against the wall.

"S-STOP IT! RELEASE ME!"

Girl 1: "Hey, so what are you going to do? Get your boyfriend to protect you or something?"

“……… ..!”

"Wait! Tomino, don't!"

Soon, the blood of two young girls spilled under me, on the concrete under my feet. I was soaked in blood. The young man looked at me in shock of fear as if I were the murderer.

"Y-YOU MONSTER!", he screamed.

I looked down at my bloody shaking hands. The knife Tomino has given me…...

The young man tried to resist me as much as possible, but Tomino also fled before him and overwhelmed over him. I knew exactly what Tomino wanted me to do. Through the man’s eyes, I could see what it felt like to die, the terror. "Sorry, but you’ll have to die for me, it'll be fast, I promise." I closed my eyes. I took a breath. I wondered how just how many more people do I need to kill? There was no point in arguing with Tomino. This is his identity. I’m sorry Ojii-san………. The next thing I saw when I opened my eyes were two stranded dead bodies tied onto the tracks, two trains which ran at full speed in seconds over them. The man's body was specially cutaway where the organs were visible, but Tomino did not kill him yet. It can be said that Tomino threw him most. I knew about this, the way this guy died was exactly the same as a few years ago. "........ First, a small lead ball creates a large, deep bruise and breaks on subsequent hits. Finally, the skin on the back hangs on a long ribbon and the entire area If the prisoner determines that the prisoner is dying, an unrecognizable chunk, the strike will be stopped. "

I know I'm a murderer ... my feet move suddenly. But in the wrong direction. I could not stop sitting on my lap on the lawn and staring at the dead man.

His face stared at me and wanted to return, in hopes of revenge, I knew deeply.

But, Tomino doesn’t. 

No matter how many following attempts there were, Tomino always got away with it, dragging me along. When the news of these three students was blankly announced, the whole classroom began to place the blame on me. No one dared to approach me after that. I was invisible. It was an inevitable fate.

I couldn’t bring myself to believe my fate.

I couldn’t bring myself to believe Tomino was so cruel. 

I couldn’t bring myself to bear this anymore. I only have hidden the truth. I knew what he meant, by those silent words.

I planned my defeat. If order to win, 

You must lose. 

To bring illusion to reality, how do you do that exactly?

How can you eliminate something you loved so much in the world?

Without a doubt, I am always attached to Tomino, I believed there was always loyalty that has existed between us.   

Tomino made me feel emotions, of all kinds. 

The emotion of being valued, the emotion of being appreciated, and emotions of hatred. 

It was only that I could never tell what his objective was, nor who he was anymore. I cannot recognize him. I cannot be an attachment. I cannot be the one to ‘change’ him. We are like the strings of, the lines, the blinds between the lies. I cannot be there for him, I must stay away father always told me. 

“One day, he would ruin you. Do not be fooled easily, do not be influenced by terrible people easily. Keep that in mind, Hika. ”

…..

Friend, a person whom one knows, likes, or trusts. 

Was there ever trust that has enveloped in this relationship. 

“Let’s stay togeth-er forever, Tomino.”

smiles*

Hey…..., that warm smile you gave me just there…..

Was that a lie…. Or was that the truth? 

Was it a sad one or was that a happy one?

Call me an idiot, although I always have the ability to read people’s expressions…..

 I could never tell Tomino’s. 

I have never thought this day would come. 

I have always thought, it was the truth. 

How could he speak so falsely?

What did you mean exactly? 

….

12/24/1995

“I’ve grown tired of you, Tomino.” , I’ve had enough.

“Kill me, how are you going to kill me?” Tomino mocked me.

” I’m sorry, Tomino.” 

And within that, the only thing that can convince us of their love for each other is the truth. 

“I cannot ever get rid of you until I die, right? I wish you the best in the afterlife ...really.”

5/22/1985

I remembered the day we met, 

The garden was so beautiful, the pond filled with koi fish were so lovely, the flowers were all so pretty, the bridge above it was so clean, but it was all so lonely. I sat there walking and running around playing by myself until I grew tired. Where you came into existence ever since. Then, we would always be together. Where he was always quiet and kept to himself, but I didn’t mind.

 “Ne-ne! Tomoi-no!.....”  “Hi-ka!”(learned each other’s names) I wrote down both of our names and embraced it with a heart, the poor boy seemed so flustered for some reason. 

“Promise me that you would always stay by my side, never leave me, alright?” He seemed hesitant at first but then offered me his pinky.

 But that wasn’t the promise, Tomino hid the truth, he wanted much more. He just wanted to take my white soul.

Thank you for your company. Your kindness, no one can pretend. The flowers were never too strong to sustain itself, and the petals would eventually overtime fade out. The grass are cut away little by little by the humans because they hate how it was. The trees are brought down by the people in order to feed them. But, these were all often done without anything in return. I didn’t want to leave because I have faith in Tomino, but that would be selfish to say that, that was the only reason why I have lived. I wished I hadn’t agreed upon our promise.  I don’t want to stay, because it would mean I would still have to call Tomino a friend.

“I have more than once tried to deceive you, but you will feel that I am now speaking falsely,” Tomino said. 

 Tomino could never touch me because he isn’t real and because he cannot touch me, he cannot stop me. I wanted to cry, but nothing came out. 

 12/24/1995

I feel the breath of life taken away from me by the multitude. 

It was getting harder and harder to breathe as each second progresses. I have always tried to kill myself before. Standing at the edge….. I was a coward I could never face death. 

“Why? All you have to do is just to “jump”? It’ll all be over, right?”

  But, one day I found myself hung.. “I’m sorry.”

And then, everything just blacked out. The man in black disappeared, everything disappeared. There was no “Tomino”. There was just a little boy, all alone forced to carry out his duty.

“Goodbye ..old friend” 

“goodbye,'' he once said.

I could almost hear him saying in response...

12/25/1994

A woman in a black dress came to settle down a few white flowers as she prayed her hands together, she spoke only three words…..,

“I love you.”

….

And soon,

 a few more and more,

 flowers were placed.  

“Happy birthday, Hika.” , Tomino smiled.

“Here’s your present!”, as the young boy cheerfully places down a small box with a little teddy bear sitting on top. 

=//[For anyone confused]// “TOMINO” is her teddy bear, a stuffed animal^^

Well? Where’d do you think Hika has gotten her present from[Teddy Bear]?  

[redvoid-40]

Some of you may have noticed I’ve been posting little fanfic snippets here. Lately I’ve been re-watching Naruto because nostalgia. And despite having to finish my HxH fic or my novel I couldn’t help but start a new work. I dunno, it was just super nostalgic to see all the characters that I used to love (not you Sasuke) and I was left with a desire to write I hadn’t felt in a long time now.

I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure where I’m going with this, but I do know it’ll be friendship and adventure-focused, with a side of GaaraxOC in later chapters (please bear in mind that by later chapters I mean LATER chapters; I won’t really touch the stuff while the character are kids). Also, I’m all for healthy friendships so there’ll be a lot of that too, specially with the girls in the show (I really feel Kishimoto could have invested more on his female characters).

Still, I think maybe someone out there might get some enjoyment out of this, so I’ll start posting my fic here in an ordered fashion. Hope you guys enjoy it! :D

Fandom: Naruto

Fanfic title: ???

Chapter 1: The New Girl

Genre: Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort

Word count: 2205

Warnings: OC is a crybaby none 

---

“Class, from today onward we’ll welcome a new student at the Academy.”

There was a wave of whispers among the children as they wondered about the new kid. Excited, confused and just a little bit anxious, the young Genin-to-be asked one another if anyone knew anything about it, heard any rumours before this sudden announcement. 

Iruka gave his students a few moments to collect themselves before clearing his throat to get their attention. It took a few moments but at last, silence came over the class.

“Please come in and introduce yourself.” Iruka called out, reaching out his hand to the side, towards the open classroom door.

The sound of soft steps came first, breaching the door’s threshold languidly. Then came the image of a little girl with light brown, wavy short hair, that framed her face with messy curls. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt and pants.

At last came the sound of her voice, and just like her eyes, it felt dead.

“My name is Osasu Shin.” The little girl said, bowing at the waist. “Please take care of me.”

The murmurs came again, this time less excited and more anxious. Iruka noticed the tension and smiled brightly at his students as he laid a comforting hand on the girl’s head.

“Why don’t you guys introduce yourselves? I’m sure Shin-kun is just as curious about you as you are about her."

The whispers died at once as the children stared at each other, wondering who'd go first - hoping someone would.

And so someone did. 

A blonde boy stood up and slammed an open palm over his desk, as a huge grin stretched on his whiskered face. The new girl flinched at the sudden noise, but Iruka and the rest of the class just sighed, seemingly used to it. 

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm going to become Hokage, believe it!"

There was an uncomfortable silence afterwards as Shin stared at the loud boy. She didn't know what to say.

"Thanks Naruto. Next time try not to shout it though. Also don't just hit your desk like that!" Iruka said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Anyone else would like to introduce themselves?"

Again silence. 

And then-

"I'm Akimichi Chouji! Welcome! Shikamaru, say hi as well."

"This is such a bother… Hey, I'm Nara Shikamaru."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Yamanaka Ino!"

"And I'm Haruno Sakura!"

One by one, the children spoke their names and at every excited syllable that reached her ears, Shin's eyes became a bit less dull.

Iruka smiled.

---

When lunchtime came the children split in smaller groups and ran out of the classroom in a matter of seconds, all eager to wolf down their food and use the rest of their free time to play.

Shin remained in her place, staring unseeingly at her desk. As soon as the door closed behind the last of her classmates, she felt the all-too-familiar sting in her eyes that announced the coming of another bout of crying.

It had been easier to hold back with everyone around her but now that she had been left alone the task was proving to be much harder.

The little girl swallowed as her vision blurred. She rubbed at her eyes insistently, but once the tears came there was no stopping them. They streaked down the back of her hands and down her forearms. Some escaped and fell directly on her desk, leaving little dark spots all over the wood.

"Why are you crying?"

The voice startled her, as did the pair of bright blue eyes that suddenly appeared so close to her face.

Vision still blurred, Shin could only gap at the boy "I-I…"

"I know what will cheer you up!" The boy, Naruto, announced with a bright smile. "Let's go!"

Not waiting for a response, he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from her own misery.

---

"Oji-san! Two Ichiraku specials!"

"Right away!"

Shin was no longer crying, but her eyes were still a bit red and puffed. However, the owner of this little restaurant and his daughter were kind enough not to mention it as they moved around behind the bar, preparing Naruto’s order.

“This place has the best lamen in the world, believe it!” Naruto exclaimed excitedly, pulling her to sit with him at the bar. Much quieter he added: “Iruka-sensei always brings me here when I’m feeling sad.”

Shin raised her eyes to the blonde by her side and felt a lump form in the back of her throat; those baby blue eyes weren’t the bright shade she saw during the class. They had a shadow over them that spoke of a special sort of sadness that was not unlike her own - the kind which was so personal and so heartfelt it almost became part of one’s self. 

The burn in her eyes was threatening to come back.

“H-Hey! Don’t cry! I brought you here to make you feel better!"

Shin swallowed her lump and nodded her head, pressing the heels of her hands firmly against her eyes.

I can stop crying. I will stop crying.

A few moments later - once Shin had taken a hold of herself - the owner came back with two large bowls of steaming, delicious-smelling lamen.

He smiled at the children as he put the bowls in front of them and Naruto didn't waste a second before digging in with a loud 'Itadakimasu'.

Shin felt her mouth water at the smell and looked up at the man standing across the bar.

He said his name was Teuchi-san. He has such kind eyes;

"Go on." He urged with a warm smile.

Shin nodded again and reached for a pair of chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu."

---

Time, Shin found, didn't pass nearly as slowly as she thought it would today. Between Naruto's excited ramblings and Teuchi's fatherly inputs, late afternoon creeped upon her with ease, involving the streets with warm shades of orange and red.

And with it came a very angry-looking Iruka.

"Naruto! I can't believe you! Not only it's the third time you skip class this month but you also dragged Shin-kun along! On her very first day!"

Shin had the decency to blush and look down in shame. Meanwhile Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe… you found us, Iruka-sensei."

There was a huge vein pulsing on the teacher's forehead. Shin feared it might actually burst.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. It's my fault really. I was-" the words caught in her throat. She didn't want anyone else to know she had been crying. "- I was down. Naruto was just cheering me up."

Iruka's eyes softened as he took in both children, as if seeing them for the first time today.

Naruto was sitting on the stool closest to him, grinning that foolish and innocent grin of his. Shin was sitting on the next stool, staring up at him with brown eyes that were nothing like the haunted gaze he had witnessed early that morning, when the Hokage had brought her to him.

These kids… They are stronger than most Shinobi could ever hope to be.

"Hmph! I'll let this one slide, but don't you try to pull this stunt again, you hear me Naruto? And don't you let this little brat get in the way of your studies, Shin-kun."

Shin nodded, but it was hard to take Iruka’s scolding to heart when he was ruffling Naruto's hair so affectionately.

"Anyway, it's going to get dark soon. Let me walk you two home." Iruka spoke before turning to the owner. "Teuchi-san how much do I owe you for these two?"

"You know that new customers get to eat on the house, Iruka." Teuchi said with a smile. "And since Naruto here is helping me expand my business, I'll treat him this time as well." 

“Ah! Thank you Oji-san!” Naruto said, jumping from his bench. “I’ll be back soon! Believe it!”

Shin bowed her head. “Thank you, Teuchi-san.”

“I hope to see you again soon, Shin-chan! Meanwhile, you be good, okay?”

The little girl was about to jump down from her bench as well, but froze at those words. With wide eyes she looked up at Teuchi, smiling down at her so kindly, so warmly, so like…

“Papa and Mama are leaving now. You be good while we’re out, okay?”

Shin’s eyes burned again, but this time the back of her hands were enough to keep the tears from streaking down her face. She sniffed and, for the first time in weeks, allowed her lips to curl up in the resemblance of a smile.

“I will!”

---

“You should smile more, Shin-chan!” Naruto spoke suddenly as they walked through the streets of Konoha.

“Hm?”

“You have a really cute smile, believe it.” The blonde explained, grinning. 

Iruka sputtered and Shin blinked at the boy, as if his words didn’t make any sense.  

“Naruto! You shouldn’t behave so familiar with a girl you just met!”

The boy’s eyes widened, as a blush crept up his neck. “I-I didn’t mean it like that! Not that you’re not cute, Shin-chan! Honestly you’re almost as cute as Sakura-chan! Ah! I’m not trying to say anything by it though! I think you’re real nice, but I- what I’m trying to say is… Ahhh! You’re my friend! And I like you better when you’re smiling. Believe it!”

An awkward silence befell the trio as the last of daylight disappeared and the street lamps lit up around them. Iruka sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He hoped Shin wouldn’t take it to heart Naruto’s blabbermouth.

Shin lowered her face and turned slightly away from Naruto and Iruka as her shoulders slowly started to shake softly.

“S-Shin-chan! Are you crying? I’m sorry, I didn-”

Shin cut Naruto off, shaking one of her hands in front of herself in a dismissive gesture. It was then that Naruto and Iruka realized she wasn’t crying. 

She was laughing.

When Shin faced both again, she was smiling. But it wasn’t the little thing she had showed them back at Ichiraku; it was a full-blown grin.

“I like you too, Naruto-chan.”

And just like that, Naruto steamed into a glitch.

“Ah! I-I’m sorry!” Shin said, reaching out to support the boy’s shoulders to keep him from falling face-first to the ground. “Naruto-chan? Naruto-chan! Iruka-sensei, what did I do? Naruto-chan!”

Iruka didn’t quite believe in what he was seeing.

They are both completely clueless.

---

“So here we are!” Iruka announced with a grand gesture when they arrived at their destination.

Naruto stared at the door to his apartment, confusion clear on his face. “Ehhh? Iruka-sensei, this is my home! I thought we were going to take Shin-chan to her place first.”

Iruka smiled and pointed to the door just a few meters to the right.

Naruto didn’t quite understand the meaning.

“So, are we going to her place or not? I’m starting to get hungry again, believe it.”

Iruka sighed and shook his head.

“Naruto... Shin-kun will live next door to you as of today. Make sure to help her out whenever she needs, alright?”

“Eh?! Is that true, Shin-chan?”

Shin nodded. “Although I’m new here, if there’s anything I can help you with please let me know.”

“But isn’t this apartment a bit too small? What about your parents?”

“...”

Naruto realized his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. The warm atmosphere from before was quickly smothered by a silence so sad it made Naruto’s ears ring with it. Shin was too kind to say anything, but the shadows that fell over her eyes and the way her lower lip trembled with the strain of holding back tears was enough condemnation to him.

Of course… A new girl who just moved in to Konoha and transferred to the Academy with no warning or explanation. Those sad eyes… She’s like me. She doesn’t have any family.

“Ah, Shin-chan....” Naruto began, staring down at his feet in shame. “I’m sorry. I’m such an idiot, believe it.”

“Shin-kun-” Iruka tried, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. “-I’m sorry. I’m sure Naruto didn’t mean it.”

Shin shook her head as she pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, trying so hard to barricade her tears.

“I’m sorry, Naruto-chan, Iruka-sensei. I know a Shinobi shouldn’t cry. I’m so pathetic…”

Despite her words, there was no hiding the sobs that caught in Shin’s throat or the shaking of her shoulders as sadness suddenly overtook her. She had been so good during the day - even felt something so close to happiness bumbling inside her again - she had almost believed she was getting better. But a few words that reminded her of her parents were enough to reduce her to a sobbing mess again. She was truly path-

“!”

Shin startled at the sudden feeling of warmth around her and raised her face from its hiding place behind her hands. She felt Naruto’s hair tickle her cheek as his hands pressed around her shoulders.

“I know it hurts. Being alone is really painful, isn’t it?” The boy whispered in her ear with a sad voice that Shin felt didn’t belong to him. “It’s okay to cry, but we’re here for you now. Believe it.”

“My poor baby. That thunderstorm was really scary wasn’t it? It’s okay now. Mama is here.”

“Hey, don’t forget about Papa! I’m here too!”

Shin swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded as her hands grabbed on the back of Naruto’s shirt. 

“Thank you, Naruto-chan.”

Iruka watched the scene with a heavy heart. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he walked to them and laid a comforting hand over each of their heads.

It was a cruel world indeed, this one that allowed children to fend for themselves.

[winterysomnium]

What’s left (is you) [2/3]; ; Todoroki Shouto/Midoriya Izuku;BNHA; word count: 4,900+ words; rated: PG-15; warnings: slight gore, violence,full tags on AO3; 

notes:  hii decided to update since I edited the parts I wanted for this chapter and the more I read it over the more I doubt myself so it might be better to just post it. Thank you for all the support on AO3! ♥

summary: After the pro hero Deku loses his memory as a result of an assassination attempt, Shouto is struggling to cope with everything his boyfriend’s recovery entails: from the threat of another attack to the possibility of Izuku’s memories never coming back.

 (Oh, and did Shouto forget to mention that he’s 90% sure Izuku was trying to break up with him before the attack, on top of everything?) 

read the story on AO3

The first week Izuku’s back home is the easiest by far.

Shouto has a lot of paperwork to sort out and Izuku’s mostly spending time with his Mom; he can’t really watch too much TV or be active on his social media at all, so they chat to each other all day and Shouto gives them privacy, as much as he can. Their apartment came with an extra room they didn’t have any particular use for so Shouto put in tatami and essentially turned it into a copy of his dorm room: he keeps a spare futon rolled out in there most of the time anyway.

(As nice as beds with mattresses and thick covers were, some nights Shouto preferred the simplicity and comfort of the soft futon and the feel of tatami under his feet and Izuku respected that, indiscriminately.)

Whenever Izuku was on a long mission out of town, Shouto tended to sleep there rather than alone in their bed, the space too vast without the other, somehow. It was also where Izuku would surprise him sometimes by arriving early, pressing Shouto into the sleepy futon and they’d fuck, sweetly, heatedly; they missed each other enough to just stay there all day, soak in the soft, tender affection.

It’s been a while since Izuku has lost to his want and desire completely, loving Shouto to the core like that.

It all adds to the situation: Izuku’s in their bed thinking it’s solely his own, he has been keeping something from Shouto that neither of them know now and they hadn’t had proper time to be with each other for about two weeks before the attack.

It strengthens Shouto’s resolve not to say anything, to keep lying about their relationship, by omission.

(He doesn’t want to have to explain all that to Izuku, anytime soon.)

Shouto can hear Izuku’s Mom talking with him softly through the door and Shouto feels like he’s eavesdropping, listening in on something sacred and raw.

The first night they’re all home, he lets his frustration and fear slide down his nose and drip into the pillow: it needed airing and the covers a wash, anyway, so he does nothing to stop the tears. All the pictures of him and Izuku were hidden away and it almost felt like Shouto was a spirit: he’s stumbled into a future he fears, an intruder of an incomplete home, of a frightening possibility. It’s almost like they’ve really broken up, like his thoughts have created a universe of their own, throwing him in.

And yet it doesn’t compare to the feeling of accompanying Inko to her train and driving the two of them home, alone for the first time in weeks and as Izuku hums along to a new pop song he’s had the opportunity to memorize already, Shouto’s glad he doesn’t have to talk.

In twenty minutes, they’re alone in the apartment and Shouto’s reheating yesterday’s leftovers, the atmosphere between them thin but sluggish, awkward in a strange, unfamiliar way.

It reminds him of the first time they’ve had a fight, when Shouto was 18 and the notion of being loved hasn’t sunken in yet properly, a weekend away at his family home was enough for him to return moody, shaken and torn between setting himself or everything around him on fire; closing himself off from anyone he could hurt the only option left. The thought scared -- no, terrified -- him and he got overwhelmed, he’d pushed Izuku away and he yelled something dumb and hurtful and he made Izuku cry, Izuku didn’t let it show but Shouto saw him rub his sleeve across his cheeks forcefully.

They were shipped off to a field day together the next morning in class and Izuku was upset and angry and didn’t even want to look Shouto’s way and Shouto was sure he had destroyed everything, everything that truly mattered in his life (his heart).

(Perhaps there was a curse, after all, to become his father, to become his hated half, to become the person who hurt Izuku the most.)

Shouto apologized after their class had ended; resting his forehead against Izuku’s tense back, his shoulders so guarded he felt unreachable, like a pretty sea shell at the bottom of the waves.

Shouto apologized, said he’d understand if Izuku wanted to break up but that he didn’t want to, really, really didn’t want to and the spot where he rested his face against Izuku’s costume was damp and heavy with salt, with his unspoken apology. It was then that Izuku’s defenses seemed to thaw, just enough for him to open up his arms, his warm self to Shouto’s lost hopes.

Izuku probably realized just how scattered Shouto was that day.

(Shouto wasn’t a cracked pane of glass or a cup with a chip on the rim; he was a fully crushed human being, a plate shattered against the far wall.)

He has just started to meld some of his pieces together.

If Izuku held him in his palms, he’d get cut.

The atmosphere now feels tentative in the same way but he tries not to mind it: he puts their plates onto their usual spots while Izuku pours them hot tea.

They exchange a soft, quiet itadakimasu and start eating; Izuku keeps looking up at him across the table and Shouto tries not to see.

“Todoroki-kun?” Izuku asks as Shouto puts down his chopsticks to place his cup to his lips, he’s trying to swallow down the dry, irritating lump in his throat. Izuku still holds his chopsticks and fumbles around with a piece of chicken between them on his plate.

“Hmm?” Shouto hums rather than answers and he drinks his tea too fast; the liquid still a touch scalding on the roof of his mouth. “What is it?”

“What’s your favourite food? It feels kind of stupid to ask now but I’ve been trying to remember what it was all evening but -- couldn’t. So, will you tell me again?” The question is innocent and so is Izuku’s expression: he’s genuinely curious and yet it confuses Shouto’s heart.

(He’s happy about his favourite food being something important, he’s saddened about it being something Izuku doesn’t know.)

He smiles softly, hoping his flush can be blamed on the tea.

“Zarusoba. Iida tended to scold me for never eating anything else in high school.”

Izuku snorts, likes he’s relieved, finally putting the chicken bite into his mouth. “He seems like the type. Do we usually eat dinner together, the two of us?” He gestures and Shouto picks up his chopsticks again, too.

“When we can. Our schedules don’t always match up, though.”

“Who’s the better cook?”

“Your Mom.”

Izuku snorts once more, his grin matching Shouto’s own amused look.

This is nice, Shouto concludes, in its simplicity, its given rules.

Shouto feels … nice.

“And here I thought you’d be a chef supreme, given your quirk,” Izuku notes, amused and Shouto shakes his head, regretfully.

“The only thing I’ve ever successfully made was rice porridge.”

“Am I good at cooking?”

“Not particularly. Bakugou’s been teaching you though. He gave up on me, if that’s any consolation.”

“Huh, Kacchan didn’t say.”

“He’s probably mortified by the thought of you calling him out on doing something nice and helpful for once and someone overhearing.”

“Ah, yeah, probably. He kept insisting he only visited me because Ochako kept pestering him and it was annoying. He’s … kind of a bad liar, isn’t he?”

“And he’s even worse at being honest. Just watching him sometimes is exhausting,” Shouto agrees and it’s as if that word -- exhausting -- has unlocked all of the fatigue trapped within his bones, all at once.

An early night sounds like the best kind of plan for tonight.

They finish dinner and leave the dirty plates in the sink; they wish each other goodnight at the thresholds of their neighboring rooms.

If he tries hard enough, Shouto could pretend that Izuku’s just going to his night shift and he’ll find Shouto in the morning, cuddling up sleepily into his back.

If he tries hard enough, he’ll remember the feeling of Izuku’s kisses on his temple.

If he tries hard enough, maybe his chest will stop aching, so tirelessly.

---

Shouto’s Wednesday isn’t really going well as is, the attack investigation not progressing beyond what they already know: the incident was a coordinated effort to take down and favorably assassinate -- that word still makes Shouto’s heart stop, every damn time -- the hero Deku, attacking all of the bigger agencies in the area in order to isolate him and complicate any backup attempts, with the ultimate goal of rendering him unable to continue his hero duties any further.

But they still don’t know who instigated it or if there are more factions than the cluster of villains they’ve caught and as much as Shouto’s glad that he’s gotten leave to unofficially guard Deku 24/7, not being able to take part in the interrogations is frustrating in itself and it leaves him restless, hyper aware of how inactive he is.  

What he needs is a good, long, proper sparring session.

What he gets is a call from his Father.

Despite them being -- reconciled, of sorts, a decade of stored anger and resentment isn’t something you can simply wish away and Shouto’s been working on it, he has and his therapist would probably tell him not to answer the phone if he’s already in the middle of a constant low grade anxiety attack but here he is, answering the phone like an idiot, snapping at every question and riling up both of their tempers, needlessly.

The call is short, shorter than his Father intended and Shouto knows Endeavor just wanted to comfort him, in his own way, that he just wanted to be the soothing parent to his son that he’d never truly been when Shouto was a child but … it feels misplaced.

(Why couldn’t he have tried sooner?)

On top of that, Shouto’s Mother is away on her planned spa treatment and her cell phone access is limited, which has probably fuelled Endeavor’s check up call further, and that’s partly on Shouto as well. Shouto told her to absolutely not come back when everything happened, that they’re fine, Mom please, please but right now Shouto just wants to curl up and beg his Mother to hold him until he forgets he’s no longer five.

That or break his Father’s nose.

Calm down, he tells himself, his quirks buzzing louder than his heartbeat through his head; he can feel how drastically different his opposing fingers feel to touch.

Man, today really sucked.

Shouto didn’t notice Izuku was sitting on the couch until he stands up, putting the book he’s been reading away.

“Todoroki-kun? Are you alright?” Izuku asks carefully, the concern so obvious on his face it’s almost painfully endearing.

Almost.

Shouto sighs. Rather than a spar, maybe he just needs a nap.

“I’m fine, Midoriya,” he says, trying to convince himself alongside Izuku and if that name -- Midoriya -- isn’t just another layer of messed up twisting his skin tighter and tighter, he doesn’t know what is.

Breathe. Don’t think about your Father. Think about something you have to do.

(You have to stop getting so angry about stupid things, first of all.)

Izuku draws him out of his thoughts, effortlessly.

“I know this might not be the best time to say this but -- I’m sorry, Todoroki-kun. For what I said.” Izuku fidgets and Shouto blinks, trying to remember when Izuku said anything that he’d need to apologize for -- his mind is unhelpfully blank.

“Sorry for what?”

“For what I said about getting to meet your Father, the first time we talked about him. How I said how excited I must have been to meet him and all that. I’ve noticed your reaction was sort of -- off at the time but I couldn’t tell why and I still don’t know what happened between you but I think -- I think he hurt you somehow, has been hurting you and I didn’t even consider thinking about your family situation and that not everyone even has a family and -- I. I just. I’m sorry, for not noticing sooner. For not apologizing sooner.” Izuku’s eyebrows center his expression into a frown and he’s wringing his hands, like he’s trying to iron out all the scars and crooked fractures, like they’re physical marks of his mistakes --

Shouto’s been thoroughly disarmed.

“You don’t have to apologize for that. It’s not your fault,” he insists, sort of bewildered that it’s an issue at all.

That Izuku’s been weighted down by something like this.

Izuku wring his hands harder. “It kind of is.”

“Midoriya --” Shouto tries but he knows there’s no arguing that look Izuku gives him, that look of not backing down, of doing whatever he’s set his mind on doing --

It’s your power!

Shouto slumps in his shoulders.

He’s so, so tired and yet Izuku just existing gives him something akin to hope.

“You were the first person I’ve ever told about it,” Shouto confesses, quietly and he hears Izuku’s weight shifting on the couch, he’s watching him over its back, resting his knees on the cushions.

He’s still supposed to be on bed rest, technically.

“So we were close?” Izuku asks and Shouto lets out a breathy laugh at the memory.

Are you All Might’s secret love child or something?

“No, not really. We’ve barely talked when I approached you. I guess I just thought you could relate, somehow.”

There’s a pause, like the world’s stopped to take in a lungful of air, giving Izuku a moment to recreate the unknown memory.

“Not many people know, do they?”

“No.”

“Why… why haven’t I told anyone? Everyone?”

“Because you knew that’s not what I wanted.”

Izuku looks down onto his own clasped hands, a little less high strung. He looks oddly regretful, like he’s realizing he’s made a mistake on a test he’s just handed over, like he’s forgotten something important at home. “I guess I can understand that. He was already the number two hero when I was in middle school and something like that would surely cause uproar, whatever it is. And more than anything, I probably wanted to protect you…” he trails off and there’s warmth spreading throughout Shouto’s limbs, despite how bone weary the rest of him feels.

“You’re the same as always, aren’t you, Midoriya? You still want to help everyone, memories or not.”

“Ah, do I?” Now Izuku’s the one who looks a little bewildered, a little sheepish, eyes and mouth shy.

Shouto smiles; he’s surprised how easy the expression comes. “I admire that about you,” he says.

And oh, Shouto must be imagining the slight flush on Izuku’s face, the way he ducks his head, away from Shouto’s face.

It must be just another illusion of the sun.

---

[ 2:57pm; from: Yaoyorozu]

How are you two holding up? Please greet Izuku-san for me.

[3:01pm; to: Yaoyorozu]

we’re fine. will do.

[3:03pm; from: Yaoyorozu]

Has he remembered anything yet?

[3:07 pm; to: Yaoyorozu]

not yet.

I’ve got some files on Point Blank and the others involved in the attack from the Endeavor agency

I’ll send them over.

[3:10pm; from: Yaoyorozu]

That would be most helpful! It would be good to finally find more clues in there. Hopefully Izuku-san will recover soon as well.

[3:11pm; to: Yaoyorozu]

thank you.

 [3:47pm; from: Yaoyorozu]

Just for the record, you can count on me, Shouto. Call me if there’s anything I can do. Okay?

Shouto doesn’t answer, but he knows.

He knows.

---

There were times when Shouto regretted giving Fuyumi a key to their apartment.

Right now is definitely, hundred percent one of those times.

“Shouto! You weren’t answering my calls this morning so I came in to check if everything was okay!” Fuyumi enters the apartment with the confidence of a winter storm on the first day of holidays and she slips out of her boots and into her designated slippers with surprising agility; Shouto swears he barely blinks before she pulls him into a heartfelt hug, leaping through the living room.

“Hey, little bro. Long time no see,” Natsuo greets him as well, thoroughly ruffling Shouto’s hair a minute later and messing it up with a delighted smile.

He’s always been oddly entertained by leaving Shouto’s hair a convoluted mess.

“Fuyumi, Natsuo,” Shouto addresses them, too frazzled to say anything more.

Fuyumi gives him one more good squeeze and spots Izuku walking out of the kitchen, lured out by all the noise and aims her fond, welcoming energy towards him, too, just a touch softer, a touch more reserved.

“Izuku-kun,” she calls out and Shouto’s face gets red simultaneously with Izuku’s; Fuyumi holds Izuku’s shoulders gently before she wraps him in a loose hug, careful of his lingering aches.

“I’m happy to see you look so well!” she lets out a relieved sigh against his shoulder and Shouto definitely prefers Natsuo’s subtler methods: he just waves at Izuku from where he’s leaning on Shouto’s shoulder; he’s never been one for hugs.

“Ah, um, thank you --” Izuku’s eyes slide over to Shouto, taking in the appearance of the siblings, the resemblance is unmistakable. “--um, Todoroki-san?” he tests out and Fuyumi steps away, there’s a somber undercurrent to her smile.

She hasn’t really been a person Izuku could recognize from his middle school days and it sinks in that it’s still the case; Izuku’s memories still lost at sea.

“Just Fuyumi works just fine, Izuku-kun! I’m Shouto’s older sister. That’s Natsuo, Shouto’s older brother. We helped the two of you move in way back so I still have the spare key Shouto gave me!”

“That was for emergencies only, Fuyumi,” Shouto complains, rubbing at his cheek, suddenly itchy and a little too warm, not entirely from Natsuo’s added weight at his side.

“Well you weren’t answering your phone. I was worried.”

“I forgot it in my room. I’m fine.”

“I’ve also missed you, you know. Natsuo did too,” Fuyumi points out and Natsuo glances away with a look that says he wants to protest but knows it would be an embarrassingly see-through lie: they’ve gotten fairly close over the past several years.

“I was thinking we could all go out for lunch together! Our treat,” Fuyumi continues, her disarming smile fully equipped to defeat any and all half assed excuses Shouto could come up with, Izuku’s feeble attempts to decline just as ineffective against her charm.

Shouto won’t even try to fight her on it, not with the way she steers the group to the door.

“You don’t have to do that, Todoroki-san,” Izuku tries, nonetheless and Shouto gives him points for doing so but Fuyumi just waves her hand dismissively.

“Please? I don’t get many opportunities to spoil my little brother and he’s definitely not going to go without you. Also, I can share all the good Shouto stories. What do you say? You won’t deprive me of the rare opportunity to mildly embarrass my brother in front of his friends, will you?” she pleads and Shouto’s not sure he likes the curious, conspiratorial grin Fuyumi and Izuku exchange between them but on the other hand, he’s willing to sacrifice a bit of dignity to see Izuku smile like this.

Relaxed, eager, interested in stories about Shouto like Shouto matters, like he’s important in Izuku’s life.

Natsuo snorts at Shouto’s face knowingly and messes his hair up some more.

(Shouto doesn’t bat his hand away.)

He doesn’t regret giving Fuyumi the key, anymore either.

(He fully regrets it again two hours later after his sister’s told yet another story about him that startles a laugh out of Izuku and it would be so much better if it wasn’t about five year old Shouto’s misconception of where babies come from.

Oh, well.

Izuku’s laugh still might be worth it, in the end.)

---

[group chat]

Midoriya: guys!! why didn’t you tell me we have movie nights on Thursdays!!

Uraraka: aah, you found out about that huh >>;;;. did Todoroki tell you?

Bakugou: wtf Deku it’s not even Thursday for like three more days. shut up some of us have work to do

Midoriya:  well SOME of us have been betrayed by their own classmates??

Midoriya: and roommate??  

Midoriya: it was my turn to choose the movie too! and I had to find out because of an alert on the TV

Midoriya: of all things!

Iida: Izuku-kun, I take it you’re doing alright? Also, we always cancel our weekly cinema viewing when someone’s badly injured, so I was going to send out an official cancelation message tomorrow as well.

Jirou: fr once im with Bakugou … as much as I am happy yurr ok Midoriya, Ive gotten home from my shift like two hours ago.I havent slept in like two days. imma be gone now, bye

Ashido: oh hey guys! and I’m sorryyyy Midoriya-chaaaan, but that’s the law of 1-A! Also honestly I’ve forgotten that you’ve forgotten@@

Uraraka: yeah yeah! and if you want we can have one this week!

Uraraka: also you didn’t kill Todoroki right he hasn’t said anything yet

Todoroki: I was in the shower.

Tokoyami: is it wise to have one when Midoriya still hasn’t recovered

Tokoyami: it might be a lot to take in

Midoriya: I think it’ll be fine! I’ve been talking here more often over the past few days so movie banter should be fine as well, right?

Uraraka: do you even know that many movies, with your memories?

Midoriya: hmmm I think so?

Midoriya: I can get help from Todoroki, too

Todoroki: sure thing, Midoriya. but tell me if you get a headache.

Ashido: aren’t you both at home?

Ashido: why are you texting each other on here ;;; weirdos

Kaminari: speaking of movies!! have you guys heard about the new All Might movie documentary???!!!

Midoriya: oh my god

Midoriya: OH MY GOD THERE MUST BE SO MANY NEW HERO DOCUS

Uraraka: Izuku-kun?

Uraraka: …

Uraraka: I think we lost him orz

Todoroki: is it a good time to show him his hero DVD collection

Midoriya: MY WHAT

Midoriya: TODOROKI

Uraraka: oh he was still here!!

Ashido: also did Kaminari just come in here to say that

Uraraka: looks like it

Ashido: guess we’ll talk about the movie night later then? have a good day everyone! It’s really sunny out here in Sapporo!

Uraraka: yeah, for sure! to you too, Mina-chan!!

Uraraka: it was nice to catch up! ^^

Bakugou: I’m muting you all

Bakugou: jsyk

---

Cold, clammy dread sets in Shouto’s chest two seconds after he tells Izuku where to find his extensive hero documentary collection -- there’s a panicked, unwelcome thought stirring at the back of his mind.

Shouto … Shouto thinks he put something in there he didn’t want Izuku to see.

It might not be anything revealing, he tells himself, trying to bring his heart back to its proper place, back to the tight press of his chest. It’s probably a latest hero magazine issue or the various little memories of some trips they’ve taken together or maybe it’s one of the many pictures Izuku has with All Might that Shouto has hidden to avoid some too close questions … it’s probably just the magazine. It’s probably something hero related.

(It’s nothing about them, right?)

Izuku brings the answer with him ten minutes later, carries it in his arms and inside of his shoulders, just when the nervous churning inside of Shouto has subsided, swept away by the quiet lull of sounds.

He should’ve gone with him, shouldn’t he?

“When were you going to tell me?” Izuku asks from the doorway, tone level and low; there’s an odd, wiry stiffness to his shape.

He’s not wringing his hands or moving his feet when Shouto looks up at him, but his voice, his fingers, are trembling against each other.

Izuku’s clutching one of their photo albums in his hands, so tightly the points of contact dip like there’s gravity collapsing around his fingertips and he looks, he looks -- shell shocked. Disappointed. Livid. Hurt.

The dread explodes inside of Shouto’s gut.

Izuku’s anger looks pained, painful.

(Shouto can’t even find words anywhere close to his mouth, lost between his skull and his throat.)

“Were you going to tell me?” Izuku asks once more; he’s subdued, he’s monotone, he’s looking at Shouto like he’s never seen him before, like he’s been replaced.

Shouto’s heart burns in his chest.

“Midoriya --”

“It’s Izuku, isn’t it? It’s probably been Izuku for a while,” Izuku cuts in, something derisive, self-conscious in the tone, like he’s been the punch line of a joke and he’s just found out publicly; like he’s waiting for someone to laugh.

Like he’s looking for someone to blame.

Izuku looks at Shouto.

Shouto feels oddly blank.

“I wasn’t,” he answers, the words slow, sticking to his lips. He’s looking down at his lap and his words feel loud, too loud, too sharp.

(He doesn’t want to look at Izuku, not when he’s saying things like this.

He doesn’t want to see.)

“I wasn’t going to tell you, no.”

Izuku slams the photo book against the table, hard.

(Shouto flinches.)

“Why?” Izuku demands, like he’s the echo of his own voice, like he’s pulling back to throw a punch, stronger, louder, the longer he screams. “There must be a reason, right? I mean -- we still haven’t figured out -- we don’t even know if I’ll ever get my memories back! I might never get them back, Shouto!” he shouts and Shouto’s name feels like a slap, a flicker of burning.

“So tell me! There must be a reason! Were you hoping I wouldn’t remember? Were you trying to end things like this? Like a damn coward? Was it something else? Shouto! Why weren’t you going to tell me? Look at me and tell me!”  and Izuku’s -- Izuku’s started to cry.

Shouto’s earlier conviction of his motives, his infallible logic and unshakable decision all feel minuscule: they feel pitiful and selfish when faced with the sense of grief on Izuku’s face, faced with the thick lilt of Izuku’s voice, the starry, wet constellations spilling across the map of his cheeks.

(Shouto feels ashamed.

So, so deeply ashamed.)

He had managed to hurt him, again.

They resonate, Izuku’s feelings, they catch on the hidden depths of Shouto’s fears and wishes and ground-down emotions and they amplify, they amplify, they amplify; Shouto looks at Izuku and he’s trying not to cry, too.

His voice is shaking when he speaks.

(His feelings burst.)

“I didn’t know what I was supposed to say! Was I supposed to say that I love you but don’t know if you still love me the same way? That there was something wrong before you were attacked and that you were lying to me and that I’ve realized you were trying to break up with me? Was I supposed to lie to you back and pretend nothing was wrong? Was I supposed to explain all of this to you two days after you’d woken up from a state so bad we thought you would die?” There’s a tear on Shouto’s lip, a tear that slips down the slope of his chin, a falling star.

It’s okay to cry, he’d been told.

It still feels like he’s stealing Izuku’s sadness, Izuku’s place of hurt, for himself.

Shouto drags his knuckles across his cheek, angrily.

There’s more he wants to say.

“I didn’t want you to think I’ve used your memory loss to -- to make you love me again. How was I -- I didn’t know what to do with all of this. I still don’t know what to do with all of this! I’m no good and you’re too good, Izuku. You’re too kind and you’d feel guilty, you’d feel obligated to return my feelings, you’d be the selfless you that you are and pretend to love me and Izuku, you’d just -- you’d hurt us both, that way. I -- I didn’t want that.”

Shouto touches his lip, tries to swallow the dry feel of his throat and he wonders if this is how bombs feel after they detonate: scattered, light, earth bound, gone.

Destructive.

Bad.

“Shouto,” Izuku breathes, sown into the spot by the thread of Shouto’s pain, his honesty; he feels woven into time.

He kneels in front of Shouto after a beat, his drum of a heart leading his feet; he kneels in front of the man he barely knows yet knows the most of all, the man he wants to comfort and his palms take hold of Shouto’s face, hesitant.

Izuku’s never been faced with a love like this: with someone’s heartbreak unfolding in his palms.

His smile is a seismic curve.

“Damnit, I can’t believe Kacchan was right. We are as bad as each other.” Izuku’s fingers tighten, press, he’s holding onto Shouto as much as Shouto’s holding him, the affection shoved into his gut known and unknown at the same time: he wonders if this is how he feels every day, every time he sees Shouto’s face.

(He thinks he does.)

“Shouto… I -- I’m sorry. I should’ve known you had a reason, but. But I still wish you’d told me.”

“I didn’t know how.” Shouto’s reply barely registers and Izuku bites his mouth, more frustrated than ever by his lack of progress, by the things he’s missing so effortlessly, like they’ve never been part of him in the first place, like they’ve never even been there.

He’s frustrated, he’s tired, he’s scared.

He’s scared this is all it’s ever going to be.

(He can’t let it be just this.)

“I still don’t remember us,” he admits, quietly, something brave and firm rising in his chest, something that pushes every doubt into a place he won’t wander into, anymore.

He’ll remember.

And if he doesn’t, if he doesn’t --  he’ll just relearn Shouto all over again.

“But I will. I’ll remember. And if not then -- then you’ll have to be patient with me. And I might make you wait for me, for a little bit, because I’ll have a lot of things to catch up on and a lot of things to rediscover but -- but, Shouto. From the moment I woke up, you were there for me. And I thought -- I thought you were most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. And you were so kind. I felt -- protected. I felt important.” Izuku laughs, a sound almost kissed upon Shouto’s mouth itself. “I was so disappointed when you said we were just roommates. I was so bummed out because I knew you were someone I could see myself falling in love with. Maybe I already am, all over again. So just … bear with me, for a little while longer?” Izuku lifts his lashes, he’s hopeful and determined and brave, so so brave, even with his pulse sprinting ahead, a gated flood.

(Shouto drowns.)

“Okay.”

He presses his face into Izuku’s shoulder and stays.

“I will.”

[chemicalmagecraft]

The Gamer Hero, Deku Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, thanks for all you guys who left nice reviews and stuff. Sorry it took me so long to update, but I had a play I had to go to a lot of practices for, which was especially annoying because of the four scenes I was in, I only had an important role in one.

To LadyCalus, I have no idea how to do that.

To the user known as Iliekfishes, I would like to say that, while I do not appreciate your tone, I do appreciate that you gave me some criticism. Now, to address what you said, I said that I hadn't seen any My Hero Academia/Gamer fanfiction, which was at the time true. I have, however, checked some out after you pointed that out to me. If it bothers you that much, though, I can edit it if you ask nicely. As for the formatting, I do admit to using Ryuji's The Games We Play as a sort of reference for the formatting, as I remember that that fanfic was very faithful in formatting to the original webcomic and I couldn't remember how exactly it went. Now, while I can deal with you insulting me to a certain point, I would prefer you not call the other viewers names. I also have no clue what "almost all the tension is midigated by cannon" means. Finally, while I didn't mean to make it seem like I was anyone's gift to fanfiction aside from my own, much less God's, I do apologize if I unintentionally gave off that vibe. If you can possibly think of any tips to not sound like a jackass, I would be willing and grateful to hear them out. Sorry for putting you on the spot like that, but you did call people who were nice to me dumbasses, which I very much do not appreciate.

To Voltrasin, I understand your confusion, but the reason why Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady had ? for titles is because Izuku can't see the titles and levels of anyone fifty or more levels over his. Should've made that more clear, sorry. And yes, all heroes will have their hero names as their titles.

Also, I forgot to include map and quest log to the main menu. Fixed it, but I figured I should let you know

Now, on with the story!

xoxoxo

I stared at the pile of sludge in front of me. "Well, kid, seems like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately for you, I need a disguise." Ping. I looked at the new text box.

A new skill has been created through special action! Repeated exposure to bloodthirst has created the skill 'Sense Bloodthirst' to sense ill will.

Yeah, no thanks. I jumped out of the way as he lunged at me. "Observe"

Name: Kurosawa Shou

Title: Sludge Monster

Level: 26

HP: 1600/1600

MP: 500/500

STR: 30

VIT: 39

DEX: 34

INT: 16

WIS: 6

LUC: 6

Quirk: Sludge Body

Emotions: Grateful, bloodthirsty

Status: Sludge body

"Itadakimasu!" the slime said as part of his body shot out and stuck to my ankle. I gasped and quickly bent down to try and tear him off of me before he could do anything more to me. Unfortunately, my fingers slipped through him with little resistance. "Get over here!" he yelled, and I was yanked into him. As I was painfully dragged across the ground, I heard a ping, but I was a little too distracted by the sludge villain trying to eat me or something. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get away from him before he submerged me in himself and started trying to force himself down my throat. It was at this moment that I noticed something in the corner of my eye that I could somehow see perfectly fine.

HP: 184/250

MP: 275/275

And the HP was slowly going down as I struggled with the sludge villain. That was not a good sign. I struggled harder, but I couldn't get out. I thought I was going to die there. I heard another ping and looked up, hoping it was something I could use.

A new skill has been created through special action! Through repeatedly enduring damage, the skill 'Physical Endurance' has been created.

Due to struggling while unable to breathe, your VIT has raised by one!

Crap. Normally that would be good, but I couldn't use them to escape. My HP was still draining and my vision was starting to go dark. "Am I going to die here?" I thought. Just before I blacked out, though, I heard something.

"TEXAS SMASH!"

xoxoxo

When I came to, someone was lightly slapping me on the cheek. "Hey! Wake up!" a familiar voice said. I groaned and looked up to see... "Whew! Thought we lost you there!"

?

LV?

Toshinori Yagi

The name wasn't familiar, but there was no mistaking who the large, muscled, blonde man was. "ALL MIGHT!" I scrambled to my feet, now aware that I had been rescued by my idol. "Can I have your autograph?" He grinned and pointed at my hero analysis notebook, which must have slipped out of my backpack during the struggle. I opened it to the All Might page and beamed at the autograph that he'd written on it. "THANK YOU!"

"Good to hear it, kid! Always great to see a fan! Nowifyoudon'tmindmeIhavetogoturnthisvillainin!" He rushed out that last part while pointing to two soda bottles that the villain was stuffed in and then jumped away. Of course, by then... "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, KID?! LET GO!" I had stupidly grabbed onto his leg.

"If I let go I'll die!" I yelled back over the wind.

"GOOD POINT!" he said. He landed on a nearby roof and let me off. "I have to go now! Knock on the door and someone should let you down!" He made to jump again.

"Wait!" I yelled and closed my eyes. "All my life, I've looked up to you. I've wanted to be a hero just like you. But... my Quirk has only just surfaced. I'm sure it has potential, but it's going to take a lot of training for me to be able to use it as a hero. Even with potential, though, the exams to get into Yuuei are in ten months. Do you think I can still get into Yuuei?" I looked at him for an answer, but... "WHAT!?"

All Might

LV 9

Toshinori Yagi

If it weren't for the title confirming it, I'd have thought that he was a different person. Sure, he was blonde and very tall, but he was almost literally skin and bones! I guess whatever the hell just happened to him to make him a scarecrow was also what lowered his level, but... "Observe"

Name: Toshinori Yagi

Title: All Might

Level: 9

HP: 500/500

MP: 1100/1100

STR: 11

VIT: 4

DEX: 19

INT: 52

WIS: 35

LUC: 9

Quirk: One For All

Emotions: Annoyed, concerned

Status: Totally Fucked Up

"What happened to you, All Might?"

He sighed, then coughed up some blood. "Before I say anything, I need you to promise me you won't say a word of this to anyone. Don't go blabbing about this online, don't tell your friends, don't even say anything to your family. Got it?"

I nodded vigorously. "I won't tell anyone. It's obviously a big deal."

He sat down and raised up his now-baggy shirt, revealing a giant wound on his... everywhere... that could only be described as "Totally Fucked Up." It looked like someone took a fusion between a sledgehammer and a blender to his chest. "I was in a really bad fight five years ago. Took the villain down, but not before getting this ugly thing in return. By all rights, I should've died by now. Luckily, I 'only' got off with constantly coughing up blood and only being able to do hero work three hours a day."

"Toxic Chainsaw couldn't do that do you!"

"You really know your heroes, huh? No, it was another fight. I made sure nobody would hear about it, otherwise there'd have been a lot of panic. Kid, if you wanna be a hero, maybe you should wait a bit. Put it off 'til college or something, when you can actually use your Quirk." He got up and left through the door. I just stood there, stunned. Then I saw a giant explosion. "That's either a villain or Kacchan snapped," I said. "I wonder which one." Ping. "What's that?"

A quest has been created!

A quest?

What Now, Kacchan!?

You just saw an explosion! Maybe you should investigate.

Time limit: 30 minutes.

Well, I had nothing better to do... I looked down to see what I assumed were the rewards.

Completion: 2000 EXP, ?, ?, ?.

Failure: Bakugou Katsuki dies.

Okay. Definitely doing that now. Even if it could be considered vigilante work, I really didn't want Kacchan to die. I decided to run for it.

xoxoxo

When I got there, I saw a crowd of people standing just outside of the safe area. I pushed my way through the crowd to see the sludge villain from earlier in the middle of a flaming street, struggling with someone who was inside him. "Did he get loose when I grabbed onto All Might?" I thought. "Is this my fault?" I looked at the titles.

Sludge Monster

LV 26

Kurosawa Shou

Lord Explosion Murder

LV 14

Bakugou Katsuki

It was Kacchan in there! Before I knew what was happening, I was running in there. Ping. I looked at the text box.

New objective! Save Bakugou.

Welp. Looks like I made the right call. I focused back on the sludge villain in time to see him turning towards me. "You came back for some more, huh, kid? Well I'll kill you if you want it so badly!" The sludge villain looked like he was about to lunge, so I threw my backpack at his face. He flinched and yelled at me. I ran up to him and started tearing at the sludge around Kacchan's face. I heard a ping but didn't stop to look at it. I managed to get the sludge off of Kacchan's mouth. He gasped, coughed a bit, and then yelled, "GET AWAY, FUCKING DEKU! YOU'RE GONNA DIE!" That was either a death threat or he was actually concerned about me. Either way, my response was the same.

"What kind of hero would I be if I let you die?" I would've said something else, but my Sense Danger activated and I jumped back just in time to not get hit by a gooey punch.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" The sludge villain yelled. I would've done something but then I heard a pair of pings.

"I'M PATHETIC! DETROIT! SMASH!" a familiar voice yelled. A rush of air extinguished all of the fires and somehow blew the sludge villain apart while leaving Kacchan untouched. A few seconds later it randomly started raining. I looked to where the blast originated and saw All-Might standing there. "I'm sorry, boys."

xoxoxo

"What were you thinking!? You could have gotten yourself killed!" The heroes were not happy I rushed in there. I didn't really want to pay attention to their lectures, so I just looked at my text boxes. One of them congratulated me on how I made some sort of ripping skill my tearing the sludge off of Kacchan. It didn't look too good, but maybe I could work with it. The other one, though...

Congratulations! The quest What Now, Kacchan!? was completed!

Completion Rewards: 2000 EXP, Increased closeness with Toshinori Yagi, Access to the Skill Grimoir system, 3000 Skill Fragments

Your level has increased by one!

That... was something. At least I was level six now, even if I had no idea what a Skill Grimoir system was. Or what the heck I do with Skill Fragments. All I knew was that a bunch of balls like Munny from Kingdom Hearts swirled around me before getting absorbed into my body after All Might hit the villain, which apparently everyone saw and I had to explain that I had no idea what the heck happened there to the heroes. Turns out that random balls getting absorbed into the idiot kid who stupidly ran into the villain attack is normally a red flag of some sort. Specifically that, apparently. That is a really specific scenario to be wary of. At any rate, they eventually let me go when I promised that I wouldn't do anything too stupid without adult supervision. I was walking home when...

"HEY! DEKU!" A fuming Kacchan shoved himself at my face. "I DON'T EVER NEED YOUR HELP! IF YOU EVER TRY TO BAIL ME OUT LIKE THAT AGAIN, I'LL KILL YOU!" Just to make his point, he let out an explosion aimed at the sky as he walked away. I sighed and continued along my way... for all of five seconds before All Might ran out in front of me.

"I AM HERE!"

"All Might! What are you doing here? Weren't you speaking to the press?"

"HA HA HA HA! I STAND FOR JUSTICE, NOT SOUNDBITES! FOR I, I AM ALL MI-plghght!" He started to go on this big speech before spewing out blood and shrinking down to his civilian form. I gave him a few minutes to clean himself off before he said, "Young man, I came to thank you and apologize. If you hadn't told me that you couldn't use your Quirk, if you hadn't ran in there... I would've been a worthless bystander, too afraid to do anything. So thanks."

"All Might, I-"

"I'm not done. You told me you couldn't really use your power, so when I saw this boy who might as well be Quirkless try to save a life, it inspired me too. There are stories about every hero, how they became great. Most have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think, almost on their own. And today, that's what happened to you." I'm not going to lie, I teared up at this part. A lot. "Young man, you too can become a hero!"

"I-I don't know what too say! Thank you!"

"And I'm going to give you my Quirk, too!"

"Wait, what?"

"My Quirk. It's called One For All. It's a special power that can be passed on from one generation to the next, cultivated by one user then given on to a successor." He patted the OH GOD wound. "I won't be able to be a hero much longer, so I've been meaning to find someone to give One For All. It's actually why I came here. So, kid. Whaddya say? Wanna be the next All Might?"

midoriyaizuku.exe has stopped working. Reboot? Y/N

Y

"WHAT!?" I yelled.

"I want you to be my successor. I'll also help train you to use your Quirk even if you don't want my Quirk, so don't worry about that."

I bowed. "All Might, I'd be honored!"

"Great, kid! Let's trade phone numbers." All Might asked me for my phone number. ALL MIGHT ASKED ME FOR MY PHONE NUMBER! I gave him my phone number and he gave me mine. "I'll call you when I get everything ready. See you then!" He then walked off. I spent the rest of my walk home in silence, contemplating what just happened today. It was so crazy! But one thing was for sure. One thing that I had to do the second I got home. I walked in the door and immediately said, "Mom! I have to tell you something!"

Mom immediately came running and said, "What is it, honey?" She looked a little nervous.

I gulped. "Mom," I said, "I have a Quirk." The look on her face, that look of relief, joy, and excitement, was something I knew I'd cherish for years to come.

xoxoxo

A/N: Oh, snap! Ain't this a twist! Yeah, I'm way too much of a wuss to deal with the implications of Izuku being able to print money and I didn't know how to get Izuku magic without flat-out introducing magic otherwise, so I just combined the two problems into one solution. Izuku's going to figure out what that Skill Fragment and Skill Grimoir thing does soon, and I won't say anything more until them. Also yes, Izuku is going to make progressively more video game references if I can remember to do it. Seriously, the Gamer needs game shout-outs!

Anyways, I'll see y'all next time! Let's hope I manage to update this thing sometime within a month next!

[with-eyes-unclouded]

Kyoto Day 6

TEA CEREMONY - private home visit

The local guide Ashida-san picked us up in a taxi and we went to the private residence of a local tea ceremony teacher. This was organized by the Kyoto Women’s Association, and these ladies are very enthusiastic about sharing tea ceremony culture!

Although tea has been drunk in Japan since around the 9th century, when it was introduced from China, today's highly ritualized tea ceremony evolved during the Muromachi period (c.1336 to 1573). The third shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) - a resident of Kyoto - developed many of the delicate intricacies of the traditional tea ceremony and is widely cited as the father of the refined and elegant Japanese culture that is famous around the globe.

The art of the tea ceremony - how it is performed - is called お]手前 (O-temae). We first learned the proper manners involved in entering the room - which is more complicated than you would think- and examine and appreciate the lovely items in the room.

The making of the tea was a very deliberate and almost meditative procedure. A Japanese sweet is served and eaten by guests (us) while the tea is prepared (while I watched the process transfixed).

Then bows are exchanged between the hostess and whichever guest is receiving the tea. The guest then bows to the second guest, says “Osakini” which is like saying “excuse me for going before you” and raises the bowl in a gesture of respect to the host and say “Otemae chodai itashimasu” (thank you for making the tea - I will now drink it). You then rotate the bowl to avoid drinking from its front which has an elaborate design - but the reasoning behind this action is more involving modesty- and take a sip, and compliment the host on the tea saying how delicious it is, etc.

NOTE: Josh had to say all of this Japanese stuff too 😊

After taking a few sips, you then wipe clean the rim of the bowl and the procedure is repeated until all guests have taken tea; and you do a small slurp when you’re done to show your appreciation; each guest then has an opportunity to admire the bowl before it is returned to the host, who then cleanses the equipment and leaves the tea room.

*Josh got over zealous with his slurping, thinking he would be extra polite, but the cute little older lady told him it was too much (my slurping was more appropriate)

Later we were also instructed through the ceremony again so that we each got to prepare the tea!

* The tea ladies commented that Josh’s whisking skills were better than mine - so guess we are even-steven 😅

A lot of effort goes into presentation. There are even different bowls used depending on which month of the year it is and they are all elaborate and beautiful!

Sorry we were so involved with the process and so were the ladies - there was really no outside party to take pictures!

COOKING CLASS - Private home visit

Then we went to someone else’s home nearby for a cooking class, again accompanied by our guide to help with English explanations as needed but both ladies actually spoke English very well and were very pleased to hold conversation in Japanese with me as well. I spoke quite a bit of Japanese today!

We learned how to make Tamago-yaki (Japanese rolled up omelet), sesame spinach salad, dashi stock and making proper miso soup, and all the steps involved in making tempura (prawns, pumpkin, onions, peppers, lotus root, eggplant, etc.), and rolled sushi.

We also had persimmon for dessert - YUM 😋

Then Josh got to use the phrase “Itadakimasu” (thank you for the meal, traditionally said befor eating it) for the first time in this trip. And afterwards you thank the hostess for the feast with “Gochisousama deshita” which I always say after every meal here anyway - it’s just polite

They went on and on about how lucky I was that I had such a good cook for a husband (apparently it’s not that common here) and how good at whisking he was... and at using chopsticks ... and asked if he was a professional chef....🙄

Geez - he already had a big head after that one guide in Takayama thought he looked like Russell Crowe ....*sigh*

Again sorry no pics today 😅

POST OFFICE ADVENTURE

Communicating to hotel staff that we needed a box to ship something was not easy.

Finding the main post office at the Kyoto train station was pretty easy.

My Japanese vocal was sufficient to get by the post office employees questions about our forms, and despite it being ridiculously expensive (probably because my Japanese skills are not good enough to request combo air/land mail and rather just priory air mail), I still consider this a success! Yay 😁

There was a random cute penguin statue outside the post office though:

[luukia]

Alsar Chapter 13

Chapter 13 : First Date?!

T/N : Next update will be a little slow.. I’m busy reading mangas and grinding game. lol. 

From now the story will continue from Ren’s POV. Thank you!

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

“Ren? Are you still asleep?”

“Ah! I was! I’m sorry, I’m going to prepare dinner now!”

When Malik-san came back from the guild, I was still sleeping.

I immediately woke up and I look at the clock in panic.

20:06?!

I’ve been sleeping for that long?!

I quickly run to the kitchen and prepare the ingredients for fried rice and simple soup.

I feel bad because I didn’t get to prepare dinner properly so I had to cook something fast instead but Malik-san said it was delicious and eat it happily.

“Even so, it’s unusual for you to sleep off like that. Are you tired?”, Malik-san asks while drinking the tea I prepared.

“*cough* I-I guess? I-I was laying on my bed and then I drifted to sleep..” I chokes after hearing Malik-san’s question.

Malik-san immediately grabs a napkin to wipe me and gently stroke my back. He asks,“Are you alright? Don’t push yourself, Ren. I’m getting worried.. Are you sure you want to take Calhea quest?”

There’s no way I can tell you that I fell asleep because I was too tired from masturbating!!

“I’m sure! I want to try doing subjugation quest and I already promised Chris-san that I will be going with him.”

Ah that’s right! I have to meet with Chris-san tomorrow!

Oh no, I don’t know whether I can face him properly…

My face gets hotter when I remember the things I did this afternoon.

Looking at my reddish face, Malik-san asks again,” Are you really sure? If you’re still feeling unwell tell me immediately, okay?”

“I-I’m fine! I’m perfectly healthy!” I stammer.

“Well if you say so.. Ah that’s right, I’ve prepared something for your first subjugation quest.” After saying that, Malik-san goes to his room.

He comes back a moment later with something in his hand.

“Carrying a tote bag for subjugation quest will become a hindrance so I want you to take this. This is my old magic bag that I used back when I was an active adventurer. It has smaller capacity than what I use now but I think it should be enough for Ren.” Malik-san says and he puts the bag on the table.

It’s a sling backpack with the size of 20x10cm. It’s really small but since it’s a magic bag the outward appearance can be deceiving. The colour is deep red, almost maroon like a wine.

“If you use this, you can use both of your hands freely.” Malik-san adds,”Ah though most adventurer doesn’t use sling bag anymore huh? Nowadays I see them using waist pouch or leg pouch instead..”

The one I’m using now is a tote bag type of magic bag with the size of 30x40cm. Since it’s a tote bag, my other hand can’t move freely because it hang on my shoulder.

For magic bag, the smaller the outward appearance is, the bigger its inventory size is.

My tote bag cost about 40.000 elk, and since the bag Malik-san presents to me is 5 times smaller that means it’s also about 5 times more expensive than my current one.

“I’m thankful if I can borrow this bag, but is it okay to hand it to me?”

“Yes, I don’t use it anymore. Sling bag is not convenient for everyday use because I have to reach for my back everytime I want to take something but for subjugation quest it is okay. You will be focusing more on the battle so the kind of bag that can make you move freely is better.”

That’s right, for everyday use it’s better to use bag that is easy to access.

Since Malik-san is not using it anymore, i’d be more than happy to use it !~

“Then I will borrow it, thanks Malik-san! One other thing, I’m going to go shopping tomorrow but can you please tell me what kind of things I might need for my journey?”

“Well since Chris is used to it you can actually leave it all to him but let’s see.. Hmm.. In that bag there’s 5 set of tent and sleeping bag as well cooking utensils and cleaning utensils.. So I guess the only thing you need to buy is spare clothes and food.”

Amazing!

That means I won’t have to buy much!

Ah, that’s a relief.. I was afraid whether my money would not be enough to buy all the necessities..

“Ah that’s great, so I don’t need to buy much. Malik-san, is there any advice you can give me? Is there anything else I need to prepare?”

“Hmm, well then how about if you prepare the meals for the journey beforehand? You can put the food inside the magic bag, the time works in different way in magic bag so it won’t rot. Even though there’s cooking utensils in the bag I gave you, I doubt you will be able to cook leisurely like you do now and while you’re at it, please prepare some for me too.” Malik-san smiles sheepishly.

I see, so you can also use the magic bag in that way. So clever!

That way I can focus on the quest without have to worrying about food.

“Okay! Since I will be meeting with Chris-san tomorrow, I will start cooking in 2 days from today. Of course, I will prepare a lot for Malik-san too.”

Really, now that I know it my life as house-husband will be even more enjoyable to do! I can prepare a lot of food in advance so that when I’m too lazy to cook,I can just retrieve it from the magic bag.

Ever since I arrived here, I’ve been in charge of the household chores and cooking. I was worried whether Malik-san will be able to at least eat properly while I’m gone but thanks to magic bag, I can be at ease now.

“Oh really? For me too? Ah I’m glad.Ren’s cooking is really delicious and I feel really happy when eating it. I would be really lonely if I can’t have Ren’s cooking. Also, rice! I’m already accustomed to rice that I will feel strange if I go a day without eating rice.”

“Fufu~ Thank you for the praise! I will put extra effort in cooking just for you, Malik-san!”

If someone praise you like that, of course I will feel pumped!~

I’m going to cook lots of delicious food for Malik-san!~

“Tomorrow is going to be the first time for you to go into the market without me huh.. I hope you will have fun.” Malik-san says.

“Yes, you could say that. Malik-san always accompanies me all this time, though I don’t know whether I can have fun or not since I’m going to shop for supplies instead for leisure.”

It’s a shame I can’t go with Malik-san but I hope I will have a good time!

After that, Malik-san and I talk for some more before we finally go into our own room and sleep.

Even though I already slept a lot in the afternoon, I’m still sleepy..

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

“Nng… *yawn*.. I don’t want to take any quest today so I planned to sleep in but I’m already awake at my usual time..”

It’s 7 AM.

Since I’m already up, I’m going to make breakfast and boxed lunch for Malik-san and maybe after that I will clean this house thoroughly.

Today’s breakfast is western style. I make french toast, salad and corn soup. Yup, everything looks balanced.

At 8 AM, Malik-san comes into the dining room and sit down to eat with me.

“Itadakimasu. As usual, the food looks delicious.” Malik-san says as he munch on the french toast.

After Malik-san finish eating, I follow him to the entrance to see him off. I also give him his boxed lunch.

“You’re going shopping today, right? Don’t forget to bring the bag I gave you yesterday. I added a little ‘something’ for you. Ah and, I forgot to say it yesterday but just take the bag. No need to ‘borrow’ it. I don’t even use it anymore so don’t hold back. Well, I’m off now~” Malik-san wave his hand.

“E-eh? W-what? Ah, have a safe trip!”

What did Malik-san say again?

Ah.. Even though I honestly only wanted to borrow it..

Malik-san he really spoils me rotten..

Well, I already knew he would do it but I will still feel bad about it..

“Ah I knew it, he gave me money.. And a lot of it too.. Geez Malik-san, I would turn into irresponsible adult if you keep spoiling me like this!”

I count the money, he gave me 300.000 elk.

Right now, I only have 70.000 elk thanks to Lulu grass gathering quest. I’m really grateful for the extra money, that means I won’t need to worry whether my money will be enough when I go shopping but..

Malik-san, you pamper me too much!

300.000 elk is too much you know!

For the time being, I will only use my 70.000 elk. I won’t use Malik-san’s money unless absolutely necessary.

“Now that I think about it.. I promised Chris-san to meet with him at 12 o’clock. That means I’m meeting him during lunch time. Should I eat lunch first? Or should we eat lunch together?”

I didn’t remember whether I promised to have lunch with Chris-san or not.. Now I’m confused.. Ah….What should I do..?

Do we even have time to eat lunch together? Won’t we be too busy shopping?

But I don’t know whether we might take a long time to shop or not too..

Maybe we can buy something simple from the food stall and eat as we walk?

It’s almost 11:30 AM. From Malik-san’s house to our meeting point, it will only take about 10 minutes.

I guess I will leave in 10 minutes so I won’t be cutting it close.

“Ah because I was too busy thinking about Malik-san’s pampering me.. I forgot about yesterday’s incident! My heart is not ready to meet with Chris-san yet!”

Really, masturbating while thinking about the person you’re about to meet is not a good idea. Not at all.

Human is really weak to desire..*sigh*

“I should just act like usual.. Yes, the usual me.. The usual me.. But I just met him yesterday so there’s no way Chris-san will know what I act like usually, right?”

If I act all flustered, Chris-san will get suspicious so I have to keep my cool. I don’t want Chris-san to think ‘What’s up with this child?’! I want to leave good impression on him. Let’s just ignore yesterday’s incident and act like nothing happened!

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

Alright I’ve arrived.

We’re meeting near the city bell tower.

There’s a lot of people in here because it’s a popular meeting place.

I don’t see Chris-san anywhere.. Well there’s still time before our meeting time but even if Chris-san did arrive first, it’d be hard for me to find him and vice versa since I’m smaller than average Alsar people.

Even if I stretch my neck I couldn’t see anything but the crowd’s head.

Well in time like this, there’s only one thing to do!

“[Search]!”

I chant the support magic [Search] while thinking about Chris-san in my head.

I’ve experimented [Search] with Malik-san, it seems like my maximum radius is 200m.

This is not the first time I use [Search] to look for specific thing. I also use this magic while gathering lulu grass.

Though during quest, [Search] magic is often used to detect if there’s any monster nearby or not. Using [Search] to look for something is not a common practice here.

Malik-san was surprised when I told him how did I manage to collect this many lulu grass.

“I didn’t think to use [Search] in this way!” Malik-san told me while praising me.

It felt good to be praised. I’m happy I can be helpful to Malik-san in any way.

“Ah Chris-san is heading this way. I will just stay here and let him come up to me.”

I detected Chris-san approaching me.

If I move from my spot, I’m afraid I won’t be able to cut through the crowd and end up losing him instead.

A couple minutes later, I finally see Chris-san but he hasn’t noticed me yet. He turn his head around while searching for me.

Chris-san.. He’s really handsome..

He’s wearing a simple short sleeved v-neck t-shirt with blue jeans and black gladiator sandal. (T/N: EUW GLADIATOR SANDAL ON MEN. EUW)

On his neck, there’s a simple dog tag and on his right thigh, a black leg pouch. Is that his magic bag?

Overall it’s a simple casual style but the outfit accentuates his long limbs and leg, making him even more gorgeous.

To top it all, his face is as sexy as ever. The combination between his style and his natural good looking face can make anyone turn their head.

“And on the other end, there’s me. The plain good ol’ me.. Somehow I really don’t want to walk beside him..” I sighed. My inferiority is kicking, Chris-san is just too handsome, I’m afraid people will look at me with scorn for walking beside good looking man like him.

Still, I already promised him so I can’t just back down because of my pettiness!

I see he’s still looking for me between the crowd.

With determined heart, I call out to him, “Chris-san! Over here!”

Hearing my voice, Chris-san immediately perk up and smile at me and say,”Ren-chan!~ I’m sorry I didn’t notice you. Did you wait long?~”

With a small jog, Chris-san approached me. Ah, the closer he is, the more dazzling he become!

I smile back to him,”No, I just arrived a moment ago.”

“Fufu~ Our conversation is just like what people meeting for a date would say~ My first date with Ren-chan~ Have you had lunch yet?~”

D-Date?!

Well it is true our flow of conversation is exactly like what people meeting for date would say but still! D-date?! With Chris-san?!

My face heats up immediately. I know he’s just teasing me but it’s still embarrassing!

“Geez Chris-san, this is not a date, we’re going for errand, right? We have to shop for supply! As for lunch, I haven’t had lunch. What about you?”

“Eh~ That’s great, then let’s have lunch together Ren-chan~”

“Okay, where do you want to eat?”

At first, I thought I would get conscious of Chris-san because of yesterday incident but when I talk to him, I feel comfortable. The conversation flows smoothly and Chris-san is really friendly too.

With a hand on my waist, Chris-san pulls me closer to him to avoid people pushing against me and says,”Hmm, it’s been a long time since I last came here so I don’t know where to eat. Is there anything specific you want to eat, Ren-chan?”

I was taken aback that I almost at lost for word. He’s too close, way too close. My heartbeat won’t stop thumping.

“T-thank you, Chris-san.” I stutter my words.

Chris-san in return smiles gently at me and says ,”No problem. There’s too much people in here, let’s move somewhere else~”

His hand moves from my waist to rest on my shoulder.

“Ah, umm.. Your hand..”

“Hm? Sadly because of our height difference, holding your waist will be uncomfortable for a long period. That’s why, I will hold your shoulder instead~”

There’s only 30 cm difference between our height, I don’t think it would pose that much of a problem. Right?? Why is he so mean..

B-but! Two man walking so close like this, the people will stare!

“It’d be hard for me to walk like this, so can you please let me go?”

“No can do~ This is a date afterall~”

“D-date you say.. But I’m a ma- Ah wait, homosexuality is normal in this world..”

I completely forgot that it’s normal here. When I look around the street, there’s a lot of people in various race and gender walking together. The diversity in this world is amazing..

“Hm? Is it different in Ren-chan’s world?”

“Ah, yes to be specific, in my country the marriage between homosexual couple and polygamy couple is not legal yet.” I explains to Chris-san.

Hearing it, Chris-san in return gives me a strange look.

“Then, what about you Ren-chan? What do you think about homosexuality and polygamy?”

“To be honest, I’m still not sure. Because back in my world that kind can be considered as taboo, I didn’t get any chance to try it.”

Though yesterday I masturbated to Chris-san….

BUT I WON’T TELL HIM THAT. NO WAY

“Hmm, I see.. Since you never experienced it first hand, you don’t know what to think about it.” Chris-san lean his body to me and whispers to my ear,”Then, how about if you try it with me?”

I cover my ear immediately, blood rushes into my cheeks.

“N-No thanks! Right! Where do you want to go for lunch, Chris-san?”

“Aww, I got rejected~ Fine then, I will let you off this time but be prepared, I will give my all next time~ Hmm as for lunch, I saw a nice restaurant when I was walking here, shall we go there?”

“Ah yes, let’s go there.”

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

Chris-san take me to the restaurant he mentioned.

Instead of the shoulder, now he’s holding my hand as we walk.

I already give up on asking him to let go, at least it’s easier to walk this way.

Thinking rationally, holding hands has its benefit. I won’t get lost in the crowd if we hold hands and there’s no prejudice here in Alsar so there’s nothing wrong with holding hand.

But as I thought, we’re still attracting attention for a different reason..

“I knew it, because Chris-san is an ikemen.. People are looking at us, you know.”

“Ikemen? What’s that?”

Ah looks like the word ‘ikemen’ doesn’t get translated through.

I wonder why some words get translated and some doesn’t…What’s the difference between them?

Is it because it’s a popular phrase for modern japanese people?

“Umm, it means Chris-san is really cool and handsome.”

“Fufu, thank you for the praise~ Though I must say, the reason why people is looking at us is because Ren-chan is such a cutie as well~ Half of it is your fault too, you know~”

Uwah, looks like Chris-san is already used to people calling him cool.

He doesn’t look baffled at all.

But it’s to be expected, since he is really cool to the point people would yell, “How can there be a guy like him?!”

Sighing, I reply,” I’m not cute. Come on, I’m hungry Chris-san.”

“Eeh~ You’re really cute though. Oh, we’re almost there. That’s the place.”

Even though I already told him I’m not cute, he still insist saying I’m cute.

Somehow, we look like we’re flirting with each other.

You know, the kind when couple would go “Ah you’re so cute~” “Nooo I’m not, you’re the cute one~” “Nooo it’s you~”

Even though we’re not flirting! Totally not!

Anyway it looks like we’ve arrived.

Chapter 12

Index

Chapter 14

[kimonobeat]

aiko bon “Profile Interview” Chapter 5 (2/3)

ーWhat kinds of part-time jobs did you do the most of?

aiko: I worked part-time at my dad’s bar when I was in junior college. I wasn’t gonna get to see my dad as much when I started living on my own, you know? It was honestly just an excuse to see each other. My goal when working there was to show up and let him see that I was doing just fine. I think I actually went there about 4 or 5 days a week. but it didn’t really matter how much I did or didn’t go, he gave me 50,000 yen a month. I’d work maybe 3 or 4 hours at a time and would  just make it in time for the last train going home.

ーWhat was it like working with your dad?

aiko: I was so tired…… It wasn’t embarrassing or awkward at all. The customers always wanted to talk about the Hanshin Tigers though. I don’t know. Some people would also say horrible stuff to me too, like, “Oh, you wanna be a singer, huh? Just quit now while you’re ahead.” My dad didn’t get any super nasty customers or anything. I don’t think they meant it quite like that.

ーSo was that the only place you experienced working at part-time?

aiko: No, I had a few part-time jobs in high school too. The first job I ever had in my entire life was being a miko. My friends told me to give it a try during my freshman year of high school because “the pay was good”. I decided to keep it a secret from my parents. Then I was hospitalized with appendicitis right before I was supposed to start. Once I’d healed, I started going regularly and was a miko during wedding ceremonies. I get this feeling I tied a pretty loose knot between sooo many couples. It might as well have not even been a knot. (laughs)

ーDid part of you want to do that job because of the outfit you got to wear?

aiko: There was that too, but I used to love doing interesting things like that. I didn’t really want a regular part-time job. Being a miko was a pretty interesting job though. “If you’re family of the groom, please sit over here. If you’re family of the bride, please sit over here.” I had all those lines memorized. Then I’d hand it off to someone else for the San San Kudo part. After working as a miko, I had a job where I had to wear a mascot suit too.

ーOne of those jobs where you put on a mascot suit and gesture around?

aiko: Yeah. I used to go to amusement parks and do Anpanman shows too. I was Butaman though, so I wore a Butaman suit. I was Rapitan at Tojouko Land, and this character named ‘Kotaro’ who was the mascot for a bearing company in the Midousuji parade. The Kotaro suit had these two, round eyes for a head, and the body was a silver outfit that sort of looked like an F1 racer. Anyway, I got into the Kotaro costume but it was so hot, I was just waiting around without the head on. The cameramen who came over to photograph the race queens asked if it was okay to take pictures of ME! (laughs) I was like, “Me? Really!?”

ーAnd you didn’t mind, did you? (laughs)

aiko: The parade was exhausting, though. I couldn’t see because I had this thing on my head, so I had these girls holding my hands to guide me along the entire time. I walked for over an hour holding balloons and just looking at the ground the entire time saying, “Are we there yet? How about now?” Oh, and I just thought of another one. You know when “Itadakimasu” was making rounds to each province? I was in the lion costume. (laughs) The costume was so big on me it just flapped around. I did quite a few costume jobs for dispatch companies. I worked at Lawson part-time too. I quit after about a month though.

ーWas it too ‘normal’ for you?

aiko: Yeah. It just made me wanna sleep sooo bad. When you work part-time at night, you have so much free time. I was SO sleepy. I think I already slept too much as it was. Another part-time job I had was working as an OMC card in a call center as an operator. My job was to answer customers’ questions, like, “Will this be a recurring payment? What's my balance? How much do I have left on the account?” over the phone. I was once a beer girl at baseball games. I worked part-time at Mister Donuts too. I couldn’t stay at any of them for long though. It didn’t matter what job it was, I just couldn’t do it.

ーWhat kinds of things did you do most often when you were hanging out with your friends in your junior college days?

aiko: Hmmm… I’d shoot the breeze talking about dumb stuff with this one guy who was a year below me, or with my other classmates. We also enjoyed bowling and karaoke. Everyone was always trying to get me to come to parties, but I’ve never really been interested in stuff like that. Just look at it this wayーI’m pretty sensitive, so. (laughs) So whenever I went to parties, I’d just end up feeling super exhausted by the whole thing. I’m also not really a big fan of people who know tons of drinking songs. I mean, you’re just forcing yourself to drink, you know what I mean? Like, they start singing, “Nagai’s gonna drink~ Nagai’s gonna drink~ Nagai’s gonna drink it in 5 seconds~”, and then you’ve gotta chug the whole thing while everyone else counts, “One, clap clap. Two, clap clap. Three, clap clap.” I have this image in my head that people who know a lot of those just play too hard. I always thought to myself, “If I ever followed them, they’d ditch me on Mount Ikoma.”

ーWhat does that mean?

aiko: There’s a mountain in Osaka called Mt. Ikoma. The Ikoma Cemetery and Ikoma Amusement Park are there to. Anyway, I was always worried someone would bring me to the top of the mountain and ditch me there. If they were hitting on me, I thought sure I’d get left behind. I was too scared to ever go no matter how often people invited me. I always had it in my head that if I followed them, at the end they’d try to kiss me, take all the money I hadーor depending on the placeーshoot me. (laughs)

ー(laughs) So mixer parties were off the table, then.

aiko: Of course they were. My classmates went to quite a few though. They were always asking, “Hey aiko, we’re going… to a mixer, wanna come?” I’d always answer, “Oh, nah, thanks though.” Especially because that was right around the time the economic bubble burst. Things still had that bubble afterglow back then, though. Y’know, around the time “Konya wa Boogie Back” came out? That was back when you called guys Ashi-kun or Mitsgu. A couple girls I knew had Ashi-kuns of their own. “What’re you gonna do when you graduate, then?” I’d ask, and they’d just say, “Hm, get a job I guess?” That’s why I kinda just, I don’t know, felt like I was too different for all that. I would’ve never been satisfied with stopping after music school. Because of that, I only keep in touch with one of the friends I made when I was at music school. Her name’s Toshie. Whenever I have a concert I still make sure to tell her to come every day. We keep in touch.

ーWas she one of your classmates as a popular music vocal major?

aiko: Yeah, she was. She’s all about Japanese drums and yoga right now. (laughs) I’ve been blessed with friends that constantly make me think to myself, “Wow, we share a real bond” ever since I was a high school student. I had friends like that in high school too. Toshie was that friend for me in music school. When I stopped going to school completely, she’d bring me small amounts of rice at a time in plastic bags and hang them on my doorknob. “I’m worried about you,” she said. “Make sure to eat.”

ーYou’ve had friends like that help you out in all kinds of ways, haven’t you?

aiko: I really have. I used to have these friends who would come over to my house every day whenever I’d just broken up with someone. That’s why I’m still friends with those people now. Just recently I got a package in the mail from one of those friends out of the blue. I was like, “What’s this?” Then I looked in the cardboard box and saw all this “Oi Ocha” in it. It said, “Please drink a bunch.” (laughs) They knew I loved “Oi Ocha” so they sent me some as a gag gift. Now that I think about it, some of my friends send me text messages every single day that say, “I love you aiko!” too. (laughs)

ーAre most of your friends people you met when you were in high school?

aiko: My high school friends are my main squeezes. Or like, an employee at a clothing store that I got to know in music school that I ended up being friends with afterwards. I mean, I introduced myself to people and talked with them while I was in music school, but in the end were just ‘school friends’. Which is why my high school friends mean that much more to me, I think. I guess part of me just figured they all had friends and I didn’t really try hard to get to know them. But my classmates in high school are the kind of people who’d say, “Don’t worry Aiko. If you’re ever bedridden, I’ll take care of you.” (laughs) I tend to get lazy about that sort of thing, even though I know I shouldn’t. I did in music school too, and that’s why I tended to hang out with my classmates and underclassmen in high school more even though there were a few other people who were like, musical majors that I used to chat with.

ーFor example, when you were at school, did you ever go anywhere with your classmates between classes?

aiko: No, never. I’d just say, “I’m going home” and would leave. I was living alone in a room I was renting close to the school, so we’d all used to gather there in the beginning. We’d do that between classes sometimes too. And also at lunch. It became a thing for everyone to come over to my house and eat lunch. Everyone would get so excited they started acting kind of selfish.

ーYou mean like, leaving their trash everywhere and not cleaning up after themselves when they made a mess while eating?

aiko: Exactly. One time my friend left cigarette ashes everywhere and didn’t even clean it up, or apologize. They just said, “Oh well.” That pretty much ended that. I was like, “Welp, nothing else to talk about then.”

ーBut if you had friends over right after starting music school, you must’ve had quite a few friends.

aiko: I only had one left by the end. To be really honest, at the beginning it sort of felt exactly like high school. Going to music college was like, an extension of high school. I just wanted things to be fun again. Right after I started school I made a bunch of friends I was pretty close with. I even had a group of friends who were in the popular music vocal department, but it just felt like it wasn’t really working out to me.

ーAnd then when you closed the shutters, you didn’t open them back up again?

aiko: Not much. I normally don’t, and when that happened, nobody really talked to me. Before I do, people tell me, “Hey, you’re being kinda… y’know…” I work hard in my own way to make things work. I’ll even change my approach and try getting back in contact with people too sometimes. It’s not a done deal, is what I’m saying.

ーYou just lose your patience with people, is all.

aiko: Maybe that’s it. Once I’m done dealing with someone, that’s it. Doesn’t matter if they apologize to me either. I just feel like they’re someone I can’t get along with, so it’s no use apologizing, no matter what they say.

ーSo was that it during the whole time you were at music school? You just stopped hanging out with people?

aiko: Yeah. I thought to myself, “That’s it, I’m not having anyone over at my place anymore.” Then everyone started saying, “Hey Aiko, you mad about something? If you’re mad, then just say so! What happened? You seem down. You can talk to me about anything y’know!” because I was acting differently from before. But I’d already decided I wouldn’t go back on it, so I turned ‘em all down and said, “Nah, I’m not mad at all. I’m not thinking ‘bout a thing! I’m fine, I’m fine, seriously, it’s nothing.” I used to get real shy when it came to stuff like that.

ーYou’re cautious with people to a certain extent until you get close to them now, you mean?

aiko: Yes. I started needing a lot of time to get close to people.

ーBut you were really outgoing up until that point, right?

aiko: Yeah, super outgoing. The thing is though, after that happened I became a lot more shy. I guess, like… it was like this switch went off inside me. Like a switch for being shy just flipped on.

ーNow that you’ve got that ‘off/on’ switch, do you spend a long time checking people out before you become friends with them?

aiko: No, I’ve just sorta learned to talk my way out of things, so maybe now people don’t think I seem shy to them. At first glance, you’d think I was just, y’know, normal. For example, let’s say the person I’m talking to is thinking to themselves, “Well, next time then!” For me though, I require a lot of courage to even go next time. They might think it’s something easy, but for me it feels like a really big deal.

ーYou’ve always given nice, clear answers in interviews without any issues since you debuted, though. I would’ve never thought you were shy.

aiko: That’s ‘cause I may be shy, but I really wanted to be a singer. (laughs) That’s the only thing I’ve had as my goal, all this time. And to achieve that goal I’d do just about anything, no matter how hardーit doesn’t feel like a big deal to me, I guess you could say. Coming to Tokyo and being away from all my closest friends and family was really, really hard on me, but I was fine with it because it was a step closer to working in music. Interviews are the same way for me. I just think to myself, “It’s not the same thing as singing, but I hope they feel something, and a lot of it.”

ーSo you overcame your shyness for that reason?

aiko: Yeah, exactly. In this world where SO many people are debuting every single day, the writers, magazine people, and people at radio stations probably have to listen to a ridiculous amount of songs every day, you know? They probably get tons of demo tapes and samples to play. I thought that if maybe, people remembered me as being this really positive person and not just my music, I’d get lucky and stand out more to them because of that. I don’t even mind if someone only remembers me as “that lively girl with the kappa haircut”. When someone tells me that they’re gonna give me 3 minutes to talk, I bare everything for 3 minutes in the hopes that they’ll learn a lot of different things about me.

ーAnd when you do that, you set aside your shyness for a moment.

aiko: Yeah, yeah. That’s why the people I talk to always seem to think I’m a really outgoing person. Then they’re like, “Here’s my contact information. Text me anytime!” and I just can’t bring myself to. (wry laugh) I’m the same about getting messages, too. I’m the type of person who worries 3 days after I get a text. “I still haven’t texted them back… What do I do!?” I still would hand out my calling card in the beginning, though.

ーYou mean business cards just for when you were “aiko”?

aiko: Right. I just wanted to be included in everyone’s groups. Pony Canyon, Ever For Music, and ‘aiko’. Instead of having one for the record company that promoted me, one for the management agency that backed me up, and another one for aiko, I had them all lumped together. I was trying to be part of everyone’s cliques at once.

ーAnd that one business card was one of the ways you showed it.

aiko: Exactly. Instead of saying, “Let’s do this this from now on!” I was like, “This is what I’m doing as of right now.” I wanted to create circles with everyone instead of being at the center of everyone else’s circles. I wanted to know more about them, and I wanted them to want to get to know me instead of just being diplomatic and taking their business cards. I’d rather be a part of people’s life by making them think, “Oh, is that what aiko’s like? I guess I’ll listen to her music then.” I use my business card to get people to care about me even the smallest amount. It was never with the intention to get them to do all the selling for me.

ーInstead, you wanted to “make sales together”.

aiko: Right, right. I started working as a radio DJ during my music college days, and I’ve watched so many promoters come by. Everyone’s trying the hardest they can to promote their release to the director. Even when the director says they don’t have the time, they just ask, “When are you going to be done with whatever work you’re starting right now?” and wait until they come back. After watching that happen, I felt like I had to brace myself for that once I was in that position, promoting myself along with them. I’d ask them to advertise me but had no intentions of creating that pyramid shape; that’s what the business card was for, making it feel like we were in it ‘together’. When I had business cards made through Pony Canyon, though, they told me that I couldn’t have “The Fuji Sankei Group” printed on it because, “You’re not an employee.” (laughs) So I said, “That’s fine. I’ll draw a picture instead!” and drew a picture where their logo would’ve gone. (laughs)

Read more: Previous « Index » Next

[ryqoshay]

Happy Life: A Roost for Weary Wings

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Words: ~2.6k Rating: K AU: Angelic? Time Frame: The end of the the first week of Yohane’s 1st and Riko’s 2nd year of college Story Arc: Stand Alone

List of all HL scenes

Author’s Note: I actually wrote this scene pretty much entirely backwards. As such, forgive any disjointed transitions. I think I fixed them all, but sometimes I worry.

Yoshiko grinned as she heard the door open. “Welcome home, Riri!” She called happily.

“I’m home, Yocchan.” A tired response came back.

As much as Yoshiko wanted to continue her recently developed habit of meeting her roommate in the entry, she was in the middle of an important task.

“Yocchan?” Riko inquired a moment later as she entered the kitchen. “What are you…?”

“Riri has cooked every meal since we moved so now it’s Yohane’s turn!” The blue-haired girl proclaimed proudly, sparing one hand to make her signature gesture by her eye.

“But…”

“A fallen angel must take pride in sharing with her little demons, the burdens of daily mortal life.”

“Hrm…”

That was not quite the reaction Yoshiko had anticipated, and certainly not the one she sought. Had Riko truly been looking forward to cooking? Had Yoshiko messed up and deprived her roommate of something she enjoyed?

Riko’s gaze scanned the counter. “Is it… normal?” She inquired.

Oh. That was her concern. As much as Yoshiko hated to admit it, that wasn’t a completely unfair question.

“Try for yourself!” Yoshiko held out a spoonful of what she had been mixing in her bowl.

The trepidation was clear on Riko’s face as she examined the food being presented to her.

“Yohane’s Special Deviled Egg Salad, custom tailored to appeal to denizens of the mortal realm!”

Slowly, Riko leaned forward, closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and after a moment of hesitation, finally accepted the sample. Immediately, her eyes snapped open and she began to chew.

“Yocchan…” She said after swallowing. “That was…”

“Good, right?” Yoshiko grinned, forcing pride to hide her fear of rejection.

“Really good.” The older girl confirmed with a nod.

True, unforced pride surged forth to bury all traces of Yoshiko’s prior concerns. “Yohane knows Riri likes hard boiled eggs and sandwiches, so she thought she might combine them.” She smirked. “With a fallen angel’s twist, of course.”

“You know my favorites?”

“But of course! A fallen angel should always pay attention to the desires and vices of her little demons.” Yohsiko explained. “And Yohane is proud to say she knows how to make the favorites of all of her elite little demons.”

“Really?”

“Indeed.” The blue-haired girl confirmed. Well, in truth, Yoshiko still struggled a bit with Dia’s flan, but she didn’t feel the need to point that out at this time. “But Riri has good taste with hers. And since she has had such a long week, Yohane felt a favorite or two might help her relax.”

A gentle smile crossed the redhead’s lips before she stepped forward and pulled the younger girl into a hug. “Thank you, Yocchan.”

If her heart had wings, surely Yoshiko’s would be soaring through the skies by now. Riko was hugging her! And had initiated it! And it wasn’t a wrestling hold type of hug she used when Yoshiko’s teasing went a little too far.

“Y-you’re w-welcome, Riri…” Geez, why was she stuttering?

“What else am I smelling…” Riko sniffed as she released the hug and stepped away. “Chocolate?”

“Yup.” Yoshiko glanced at the timer, grateful to have regained control yet missing the contact. “It’s almost done baking. I figured it could cool while we eat and do some other stuff and I can frost it later tonight for a late dessert.”

“You baked?”

“One of the fallen angel’s greatest temptations: Devil’s Food Cake.”

“… Of course…” Riko chuckled.

“Custom tailored for mortals and little demons alike.”

“But with a fallen angel’s twist?”

“’Twould be a sin to do elsewise!”

Both girls laughed.

“Do you need me to help with anything?” Riko asked.

Yoshiko shook her head. “I’m almost done.”

“Maybe set the table?”

“Oh, sure, yeah, you can do that.”

“Alright.”

That said, Riko headed to the cupboards to retrieve plates and glasses while Yoshiko returned to preparing the food.

“Ooo, strawberries.” Riko commented a few minutes later, as she spotted the dish Yoshiko brought out along with the plate of sandwich wedges.

“They were on sale so I couldn’t resist.” Yoshiko admitted.

“And I know Yocchan likes strawberries.” Riko chuckled. “And chocolate. You’re not the only one who knows her friends’ favorites.”

Yoshiko almost dropped the dishes in her hand at the sight of Riko’s wink. She quickly returned a smile and prayed to whatever deity might listen that the older girl didn’t notice her near fumble. Then, after setting everything down between the two place settings, she took her seat.

“Itadakimasu!” Yoshiko said, clapping her hands together.

“Itadakimasu.” Riko mimicked the gesture. She then reached forward for a slice, but paused when she noticed something. “Is that… a pentagram?”

“An ancient magic circle.” Yoshiko corrected, indicating the arrangement of garnishes around the sandwiches. “To guide the flow of the darkest of magics and fortify the flavor to its fullest.”

“… Is it safe to, uhm… disrupt it?”

“The ritual was completed at itadakimasu, so we’re good.”

“I see.” Riko finally took a sandwich.

For her part, Yoshiko grabbed a strawberry and took a sizable bite. She hummed happily as she chewed, enjoying the pleasant, but not overwhelming sweetness. Before taking a second bite, she glanced at the girl across from her and was thrilled to see a content smile.

“This really is good.” Riko said, meeting her roommate’s gaze. “I never knew Yocchan had such talent in the kitchen.”

Yoshiko grinned. “Yohane has many talents Riri doesn’t know about.”

“Well, now that we’re living together, perhaps I’ll get to see them?”

“Perhaps. But a fallen angel has to have some secrets.”

Riko laughed and the two girls continued their meal while chatting about the day.

“Gonna start studying?” Yoshiko asked after the two had finished cleaning up. “The cake still needs some time to cool so I can come back to that later.”

“Hmmm…” Riko thought for a moment. “It’s a Friday, so I have all weekend… I think… Yeah, I’m going to take a break tonight and spend some time on the piano. I haven’t been able to play for fun in a while.”

Yoshiko perked up at this. “Can I join you?”

Riko blinked, as though not expecting the question. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” Then a smile came to her lips. “I haven’t had an audience in a while, but it’d be nice to have it be someone I know.”

“Then lead the way, Angel, to the Music of the Night!”

“A-Angel?” Pink dusted Riko’s cheeks.

“Angel of Music?”

“I-I… uhm… It’s not night j-just yet, Yocchan.” The redhead sputtered as the two entered the music room. “And I haven’t played Phantom before.”

“Oh. That’s fine.”

“Although, I suppose… if you’d like, I could look into finding the score for piano sometime.” Riko offered. “But I’d need to practice it a bit.”

“Yohane will listen to whatever Riri wants to play.” The blue-haired girl assured as she found a comfortable place to sit that also provided a good view of the pianist.

“Alright, let’s see what I have…” Riko lifted the lid of the bench and began searching through the stacks of sheet music. “Ah, this one is good.” She set her selection on the music rack. “How about Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor?”

Yoshiko tilted her head.

“Trust me.” Riko smiled. “I know you’ve heard this one.” She took a slow breath, positioned her hands above the keys, paused, and…

Yoshiko’s eyes widened with immediate recognition. She had never known the official name of the tune, but it was used everywhere from haunted houses to Halloween cartoons, almost to the point of cliché. And, perhaps somewhat ironically, it had been used in an older movie production of Phantom. Still, Yoshiko had always loved it for its particularly haunting feel. And now, she had the honor of witnessing it performed by her favorite musician.

Wait… favorites. Yoshiko had made Riko’s favorite foods for dinner, and now Riko was playing music with Yoshiko’s tastes in mind. Thought the piece itself wasn’t her absolute favorite, it certainly ranked high. This realization made Yoshiko want to close her eyes, lean back and just bask in the splendor of sound surrounding her.

However, there was a far greater glory for her to observe; the lovely redhead herself. Riko’s fingers danced across the keys with a natural grace. Her smile was unlike any other she displayed elsewhere, one of relaxed and comfortable joy. It was quite clear to Yoshiko that Riko was far more focused on the feeling of the music flowing through her than on ensuring a perfect presentation of the piece. This wasn’t a professional concert, this was just Riko expressing her passion through the piano. And Yoshiko couldn’t take her eyes off her, even if she had wanted to do so.

As the last notes faded and Riko let her hands fall away from the keys, Yoshiko found herself wondering if she should applaud. It seemed odd since she was the only member of the audience, but at the same time, she had to show her appreciation somehow. Oh, what the heck. She brought her hands together.

“Thank you, Yocchan.” Riko turned to the younger girl with a smile. “I haven’t played that one in a while, so I’m sorry for all the mistakes.”

Yoshiko blinked. There had been mistakes? “I thought it was awesome.” She said as some of her confusion slipped into her tone.

“Thanks again.” Riko’s smile widened. “Uhm, I still want to play some more, but I want to shift genres a bit. Do you mind?”

“Yohane will listen to whatever Riri wants to play.” Yoshiko happily repeated.

Riko retrieved several more sheets of music, settled back down on the bench and began to play.

As Yoshiko continued to peacefully watch the performance, her thoughts began to drift. This had been one of the things to which she had looked forward back when Riko first offered the invitation to live together. Well, two, actually, as Yoshiko had definitely anticipated being able to listen to Riko play piano. However, it was the peacefulness and calm that Riko brought into her life, especially since they moved in together that appealed, greatly to her.

Certainly, Yoshiko enjoyed the excitement of her life, embracing her poor luck with her fallen angel persona, and this first week of college had been a blast. But then she came back to the apartment where she could come down. And Riko would be there with her gentle smile and calm aura. Obviously, this wasn’t to say Riko was always calm, on the contrary, she’d been known to get caught up in things quite often. Yoshiko learned back in high school how to push the right buttons to get a reaction out of the older girl. But for the most part, Riko was fairly collected and Yoshiko had always enjoyed her company.

As such, it was in moments like this that Yoshiko was glad she had decided to move in with the other girl. She still carried a torch for the redhead, and as their first night proved, she knew there would be challenges associated with it. However, she was fairly certain she could handle it; she’d dealt with misfortune and unusual circumstances all of her life. Besides, it was worth it. Seeing Riko smile and knowing she was living a happy life was worth anything. Being a part of that life made it all the better. Yes, she had definitely made the right choice.

Yoshiko had lost track of how many pieces had been played when Riko gave her a side glance and a smile before beginning a trilling opening to a new piece. Yoshiko knew she had heard the skittering scales before, but could not readily place them. Then, Riko’s left hand pounced on a powerful and driving melody.

Winged beings flew through Yoshiko’s mind, their swords and spells ready for battle against hordes of invading forces. The images were vivid as blades clashed and magics exploded. So vivid, in fact, that it felt like Yoshiko had been there; like she was seeing memories that had been buried and long forgotten. And it was glorious.

There was no stopping Yoshiko’s applause once the music had come to an end.

“Thanks. I thought you would like that one.” Riko chuckled.

“It sounded so familiar…” Yoshiko pondered.

“It’s been used in movies for ages. And commercials. And many other places.” The pianist explained. “The Ride of the Valkyries is quite a popular piece.”

“Valkyries.” The fallen angel snapped her fingers in realization. “That’s why I was thinking about angels and demons and stuff. Valkyries are kinda like angels, like guiding angels, leading the chosen warriors to Valhalla. To their roost for weary wings.”

“Roost for… wha?” Riko repeated.

“Roost for weary wings.”

“Are they chickens?”

Yoshiko laughed. “No, but they had wings… Or did they just have winged helmets?”

“Depends on the interpretation, I guess.” Riko shrugged.

“Maybe. But my point stands.”

“Hrm… How about a shelter for scattered souls?”

“One’s soul wouldn’t be scattered if kept in a phylactery.”

“A… a wha?” Riko asked in confusion.

“Sorry, sorry.” Yoshiko held up her hand in apology. “It’s a lich thing. Fantasy. Games. And all that… Uhm… anyway, I like that too; the shelter thing.” She nodded. “Both sound like a good place to go. A good home.” She grinned. “Like here.”

“Even though we’re not warriors or chickens.”

“No, but Yohane is a fallen angel and Riri could pass as an angel.”

Riko raised an eyebrow as her smile turned lopsided. “’Could pass?’”

Yoshiko smirked. “Certainly the most angelic of my little demons. Almost as though she fell as well.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I’m pretty sure I’m just normal.” Riko laughed lightly. “But thanks for the compliment.”

Yoshiko pursed her lips. She had never been particularly fond of Riko’s low self-image. As far as she was concerned, Riko was amazing, and she wished the other girl could see herself in the same light. She was just about to push the issue more when Riko continued.

“Though I will agree with you about this place. It is a good home. It is a good place to come to rest one’s weary wings or soul or whatever.” Her expression became wistful. “But you know, I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot lately; since we moved in, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Mmm. And I’ve been wondering if I would feel the same about this place if I was here alone.”

Was Riko implying what Yoshiko thought she was implying? The blue-haired girl waited quietly for a moment in case there was more. When it became obvious nothing was coming, she spoke.

“I think Riri would have made this place quite welcoming to visit.” She offered. “I mean you do it now, and that’s why I like living here.” Because you’re here. She added silently.

“I think that’s just it, though. Having someone else around makes this place feel more like a home.” Riko’s smile grew. “And I’m happy that someone is you, Yocchan.”

Yoshiko’s heart skipped a beat. That sounded a little like a…

“Anyway, thank you for being a good audience.” Riko continued. “It was fun and I really needed to just play something of my own choosing, instead of what I have to for class. But now… I’m actually a little hungry…”

Hungry… Food… “Cake!” Yoshiko blurted. “I baked a cake!”

Riko chuckled. “Yes, I know you did. And if it’s not too much trouble, I think I’d like to try a piece.”

“No trouble!” Yoshiko jumped to her feet. “I’ll go frost it.”

“You don’t need to rush…”

Yoshiko shook her head. “Five minutes. Give me five minutes.”

“And maybe after, I can watch you play your game a bit more?”

“I’d like that.” Yoshiko agreed as she moved swiftly toward the door.

“Alright, it’s a plan. I’ll put things away here. See you in five.”

Author’s Note Continued: First and foremost, to anyone reading these chapters in chronological order: Spoilers. I’ve been meaning to show Yohane making something palatable for a while now, since I’ve shown a disaster of hers in Angel Food. I’ve also written a bit about Riko’s cooking, directly showing a mistake in Angelic Game as well as implying that she is more consistent with her outcomes in Quirky Cooking.

Basically, I headcanon Yohane as being capable of producing higher quality results than Riko, but also fails more spectacularly. To use numbers, I’d set a scale of 0 to 10, with 5 being completely average, 10 being fantastic and 0 being inedible by most standards. Riko’s range would be something like 2 to 9, meaning she could make some simple mistakes that might tarnish a dish a bit, but she can also make a really good dish. And she averages out around 5 and 6. Yohane, on the other hand, gets a range of -2 to 12. As such, she could make something that would have Gordon Ramsay crying tears of joy, but she is just as likely to make something that might burn its way through the table like Alien blood, and any result in between.

As for the music in the scene, I couldn’t help laughing when this anon asked about Phantom showing up in HL, as I had literally written that part the day before. And I may come back to it later, as Riko may very well find the sheet music and learn to play some pieces for Yohane’s sake. Also, here is a clip of Toccata and Fugue and one for Ride of the Valkyries, both on the piano. Though classical music may not be Yohane’s favorite genre of all time, I can still imagine her appreciating these two pieces. Of course, as she herself realizes, there may be a bit of bias due to the pianist. Just a bit.